The expedition was ready, there was nothing to wait for save the moment to go out of port, but Admiral Hawke was cruising before Brest; it was only in the month of November, 1759, that the marquis of Conflans, who commanded the fleet, could put to sea with twenty-one vessels.

Finding himself at once pursued by the English squadron, he sought shelter in the difficult channels at the mouth of the Vilaine.

The English dashed in after him.
A partial engagement, which ensued, was unfavorable; and the commander of the French rear-guard, M.St.Andre du Verger, allowed himself to be knocked to pieces by the enemy's guns in order to cover the retreat.

The admiral ran ashore in the Bay of Le Croisic and burned his own vessel; seven ships remained blockaded in the Vilaine.

M.de Conflans' job, as the sailors called it at the time, was equivalent to a battle lost without the chances and the honor of the struggle.