On the 20th of April, 1792, that party in France, the self-constituted National Convention, in whose hands were the person of the king and the reins of the government, declared war against the Emperor of Austria, as King of Hungary and Bohemia. This was the first war (although from the situation of Austria not a naval one) in which France had been engaged since the peace of Amiens. Maritime hostility, however, if such it can be called, soon broke out, the National Convention, on the 16th of September, declaring war against the King of Sardinia,. Ten days afterwards a French army entered the territory of Savoy, and a French squadron of nine sail of the line, commanded by Rear-Admiral Laurent-Jean-François Truguet (a young officer just promoted to that rank by the republican minister of marine, Bertrand), and having on board a strong body of troops, took possession of Nice, Montalban, Villa-Franca, and finally, after a destructive cannonade, and an assault by storm, with all its horrid military consequences, of the port of Oneglia.

On the 1st of October, according to an official return, the navy of France amounted to 246 vessels; of which 86, including 27 in commission, and 13 building and nearly ready, were of the line. The squadrons were designated according to the ports in which they had been built, or were laid up in ordinary; and, of the above 86 line-of-battle ships, 39 were at Brest, 10 at Lorient (afterwards united in designation with those at Brest), 13, including the only 64 in the French navy, at Rochefort, and 24, including a strong reinforcement recently arrived from the Biscayan ports, at Toulon. Of frigates at the different ports, there were 78, 18 of them mounting 18-pounders on the main deck, and none of them less than 12-pounders. Those, resembling in size and force the British 28-gun frigates, classed as 24-gun corvettes. *

* See Appendix, No. 4.