fleet under Adm. Louis d’Arsac de Ternay was
bearing down upon Newport with the army of
the Comte de Rochambeau—6,000 strong—in
its holds. Clinton again exhorted his naval op-
posite to sail and reinforce the garrison before
the enemy landed, but Arbuthnot responded
with his usual vacillation and awaited rein-
forcements. The following month a strong
squadron of ships under Adm. Thomas Graves
arrived, and the combined British fleet took
blockading stations off Newport, then besieged
by the French. Clinton pressed strongly for a
decisive action of some kind, but Arbuthnot de-
murred and merely watched French activity
from the safety of Long Island Sound. Such pas-
sivity drove General Clinton to distraction, and
he made repeated requests to the government
for Arbuthnot’s replacement. Worse, while on
station, Arbuthnot received a letter from the
distinguished Adm. Sir George Rodney, who
had arrived from the West Indies, that he was
taking command. Arbuthnot, furious at being
leap-frogged by a man many years his junior,
loudly and publicly remonstrated his displeas-
ure to superiors. When the admiralty indeli-
cately supported Rodney, Arbuthnot summarily
tendered his resignation for medical reasons.
Before action could be taken, Rodney had re-
turned to the West Indies in pursuit of the
French and the matter was dropped. Arbuthnot
remained in control, but his overreaction to the
entire episode did little to enhance an already
sagging reputation.
Despite a strong start by Cornwallis,
Britain’s strategic position in the southern the-
ater was slowly deteriorating by December
- Clinton then resolved to launch a diver-
sion in Virginia on his behalf under Gen. Bene-
dict Arnold. The following March, word ar-
rived that the French fleet, under Adm.
Charles-Rene Destouches, had departed New-
port, and Clinton feared that it might trap
Arnold’s force in Chesapeake Bay. He then pre-
vailed upon Arbuthnot to seek out and engage
the enemy in open combat—and secure
Arnold’s safety. Amid much grumbling, the old
admiral sortied his entire fleet on March 10,
1781, looking for the French. He found
Destouches waiting for him near Cape Henry,
Virginia, six days later. The two fleets were
evenly matched in strength, and the French
were uncharacteristically full of fight. By com-
parison, Arbuthnot’s uninspired, textbook ap-
proach to battle cost the British heavily. With a
strong wind to their backs, British vessels
could not open their lower gun ports without
taking on water and were thus outgunned by
the French. The ships of the English van there-
fore sustained a heavy battering they could not
adequately return. Arbuthnot then com-
pounded his errors by failing to hoist the signal
for close action, and the bulk of his squadron
failed to engage. The wily Destouches, sensing
this indecision, suddenly double-backed
against the British line, hitting them hard
again. With three of his ships crippled, Arbuth-
not could not pursue his quarry, and the
French returned safely to Newport. The poor
British performance at the Battle of Cape
Henry proved Arbuthnot’s undoing. Spurred by
a mounting stream of criticism, Lord Sandwich
finally relieved the old admiral, and he was
succeeded by Adm. Graves on July 4, 1781.
Arbuthnot was never officially censured
for his dismal performance during the Ameri-
can Revolution. In fact, he was promoted to
full admiral in February 1793, but he never
again held an active command at sea. The gar-
rulous Arbuthnot died in London on January
31, 1794, having done little to win the war in
America; in fact by dint of stubbornness and
timidity, he contributed greatly to its loss. His
tenure represents a dark period in the history
of the Royal Navy and its hallowed tradition
of vigorous, aggressive leadership.See also
Arnold, BenedictBibliography
Billias, George, ed. George Washington’s Opponents:
British Generals and Admirals of the American
Revolution.New York: Morrow, 1969; Clark, Ernest
A. “The Error of Marriot Arbuthnot.” Nova Scotia
Historical Review8 (1988): 94–107; Clarke, ErnestARBUTHNOT, MARRIOT