Thunderer's captain did not take possession of the dismasted Révolutionnaire when ordered during the night. French reinforcements reached the first rate before dawn and placed an undamaged ship of the line and smaller escorts around her. Audacious was still too damaged and too close to resist that superior force, so she escaped through rain squalls and returned to Plymouth. Révolutionnaire also limped back to France rather than rejoining Villaret. The episode shows how incomplete prize possession could remove one ship from each fleet without giving either side the captured hull it wanted.
Notable Point · 1:06:24-1:09:12
Why neither battered ship reached 1 June
A missed chance to secure Révolutionnaire ended with French escorts saving her and the damaged Audacious retreating to Plymouth.