HMS Canada fought with particular intensity under William Cornwallis. Contemporaries connected that performance with a desire to answer the perceived dishonour of his elder brother's surrender at Yorktown. Hours after the fleet action, fire broke out aboard the captured French ship Cesar. The blaze reached her magazine and killed about 400 French prisoners and 58 British sailors, including the prize officer from HMS Centaur. The two stories place personal honour beside the uncontrolled human cost that continued after formal surrender.
Notable Point · 1:30:17-1:31:02
Family honour and catastrophe follow the surrender
HMS Canada's performance was linked to the Cornwallis family's Yorktown reputation before fire destroyed the captured Cesar that night.