 The action was the culmination of a campaign that had <unk> @-@ crossed the Bay of Biscay over the previous month in which both sides had captured numerous merchant ships and minor warships and had engaged in two partial , but inconclusive , fleet actions . The British Channel Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe attempted to prevent the passage of a vital French grain convoy from the United States , which was protected by the French Atlantic Fleet , commanded by Rear @-@ Admiral Villaret @-@ <unk> . The two forces clashed in the Atlantic Ocean , some 400 nautical miles ( 700 km ) west of the French island of Ushant on 1 June 1794 . 
