Vice Admiral Boscawen was sent to intercept French ships carrying reinforcements to Canada, even though Britain and France had not yet formally declared war. Fog scattered the French force, but the British captured Alcide and Lys near Cape Ray while another ship escaped. Alcide's Captain Hocquart had now lost a ship to Boscawen for the third time, a striking personal thread within the larger campaign. The prizes included French personnel and a substantial pay chest intended for Canada. The captured pay and reinforcements made the action strategically significant and complicate any simple dating of the war's beginning.
Chapter · 59:17-1:03:36
Boscawen's pre-war capture off Newfoundland
The 1755 action against French reinforcements and pay for Canada shows that naval fighting had begun before the conventional 1756 start date.