They now held four consecutive islands, from north to south, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, and Santa Lucia.
Barrington had two ships of the line: his flagship, the _Prince of Wales_, 74, and the _Boyne_, 70.

If he had been cruising, these would probably have deterred the French.

Upon receiving the news he put to sea, going as far as Antigua; but he did not venture to stay away because his expected instructions had not come yet, and, like Keppel, he feared an ungenerous construction of his actions.

He therefore remained in Barbados, patiently watching for an opportunity to act.
The departure of Howe and the approach of winter determined the transference of British troops and ships from the continent to the Leeward Islands.

Reinforcements had given the British fleet in America a numerical superiority, which for the time imposed a check upon d'Estaing; but Byron, proverbially unlucky in weather, was driven crippled to Newport, leaving the French free to quit Boston.