came up through the gap created by Victorys passage. The broadsides cut Temeraires rigging, brought down her foreyard and main topmast, and damaged her fore mast and bowsprit. By now unmanageable, Temeraire came under fire from the San Justo, lying just astern of Neptune. Leaving Temeraire, and declining combat with the newly arrived , Maistral turned eastward, and at 2.30 pm came alongside the starboard bow of the 74-gun . Belleisle had become isolated and took the fire of several French ships until British ships were able to come to her rescue. Neptune battled briefly with the 64-gun , and as the British began to overwhelm the Franco-Spanish fleet, she prepared to run for Cadiz, giving supporting fire for the Principe de Asturias as the Spanish ship withdrew, before joining the retreat to Cadiz. During the fighting Neptune had sustained a relatively minor amount of damage, and had just 15 killed and 39 wounded. Sortie Having come through the battle relatively unscathed, Neptune was able to join the sortie made by Captain Julien Cosmao on 23 October, in an attempt to retake some of the captured prizes. Neptune put to sea in company with two French ships, the 80-gun Indomptable and the 74-gun Pluton, and two Spanish ships, the 100-gun and the 74-gun . Also with the ships of the line were the smaller French ships that had been present at the battle but had not taken part, the frigates Cornélie, Thémis, Hortense, Rhin and Hermione, and the brigs Furet and Argus. In preparation for the counter-attack the British cast off several of the prizes and formed a defensive line, allowing the frigates to retake two of the captured prizes, both Spanish ships, the 112-gun Santa Ana and the 80-gun Neptuno. Of the two recaptured ships, only the Santa Ana made it back to Cadiz, when the sortieing ships ran into difficulties in the heavy storm that blew up after the battle. The Neptuno ran aground and was destroyed, while a similar fate befell both the Indomptable, after she grounded off Rota, and the San Francisco de Asis, in Cadiz Bay. The Rayo attempted to anchor off San Lucar and ride out the storm, but rolled out her masts in the heavy seas. came up, and being unable to resist, Rayo surrendered to her, but was driven on shore on 26 October and wrecked. Neptune had to be towed back