of my flag." He was taken below where the shattered leg was amputated. Captain Hope kept the ship in the engagement, pounding the 74-gun Éole until the French ship was forced out of the line. Bellerophon had by then lost all three topmasts, and her mainsail and lower shrouds had been cut to pieces. Hope then signalled the frigate to tow Bellerophon clear of the action. Despite being under heavy fire during the battle, Bellerophons casualties were comparatively light, amounting to four men killed and between twenty-seven and thirty wounded. Bellerophon returned with the fleet to England after the battle, where the wounded Pasley left the ship. Bellerophon was taken into Portsmouth Dockyard for repairs, and then resumed her patrols in the Western Approaches with the Channel Fleet. Captain Hope was superseded in late November, and on 1 December 1794 Bellerophon received a new commander, Captain James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun. Cornwallis's Retreat Bellerophon returned to sea in May 1795 after three months anchored in the Solent. She had been at Spithead on 1 May, when the 98-gun caught fire and blew up, with Bellerophon rescuing twelve men. Still with the Channel Fleet, she joined a squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir William Cornwallis which was patrolling off Ushant. The squadron had arrived on station on 7 June, and the following day captured a convoy of eight French merchants off Belle Île. The squadron remained in the area until 16 June, when a lookout on Bellerophon spotted a large fleet to the east-south-east. This was the Brest fleet, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, two frigates, two brigs and a cutter, under Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse. Heavily outnumbered, Cornwallis ordered a retreat, but Bellerophon and sailed unusually slowly and he found himself being steadily overhauled by the French. Keeping his ships together, Cornwallis ordered Bellerophon to take up position at the head of his line, later explaining that "The Bellerophon I was glad to keep in some measure as a reserve, having reason at first to suppose there would be full occasion for the utmost exertions of us all ... I considered that ship a treasure in store, having heard of her former accomplishments, and observing the spirit manifested by all on board when she passed me, joined to the zeal and activity shewed by Lord Cranstoun during the whole cruize." After a full day of pursuit, the leading French