Cornwallis held one of the highest positions in the colour hierarchy, outranked in this account only by St Vincent. He commanded the Channel Fleet from the 110-gun HMS Ville de Paris, named for the French flagship captured at the Battle of the Saintes. Napoleon's invasion plan required the Channel Fleet to be drawn away or deceived more than once. Cornwallis had extensive experience from the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He added no Napoleonic battle to that record because the French fleet would not come out and fight him, a result that shows the strategic effect of blockade without a fleet action.
Chapter · 26:51-29:16
William Cornwallis and the Channel Fleet
William Cornwallis commanded the Channel Fleet from the 110-gun HMS Ville de Paris, the force Napoleon's plan had to evade or deceive.