The French
ships fired on the British approaches; but, with one
notable exception, not effectively, because some of them
masked others, while they were all under British fire
themselves, both from the Lighthouse and the Royal
Batteries, as well as from smaller batteries along the
harbour. Vauquelin, who shares with Iberville the honour
of being the naval hero of New France, was the one
exception. He fought the Arethuse so splendidly that he
hampered the British left attack long enough to give
Louisbourg a comparative respite for a few hasty repairs.
But nothing could now resist Boscawen if the British
should choose to run in past the demolished Island Battery
and attack the French fleet, first from a distance, with
the help of the Lighthouse and Royal Batteries, and then
hand-to-hand. So the French admiral, des Gouttes, agreed
to sink four of his largest vessels in the fairway. This,
however, still left a gap; so two more were sunk. The
passage was then mistakenly reported to be safely closed.
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