The difficulty of provisioning so large a force as twelve ships of the line at first threatened to prevent the withdrawal, supplies being then extremely scarce in the port; but at the critical moment American privateers brought in large numbers of prizes, laden with provisions from Europe for the British army.

Thus d'Estaing was enabled to sail for Martinique on the 4th of November.

On the same day there left New York for Barbados a British squadron,--two 64's, three 50's, and three smaller craft,--under the command of Commodore William Hotham, convoying five thousand troops for service in the West Indies.
Being bound for nearly the same point, the two hostile bodies steered parallel courses, each ignorant of the other's nearness.

In the latitude of Bermuda both suffered from a violent gale, but the French most; the flagship _Languedoc_ losing her main and mizzen topmasts.

On the 25th of November one[54] of Hotham's convoy fell into the hands of d'Estaing, who then first learned of the British sailing.