Confused mêlée and individual ship actions

Within an hour of the opening volleys the British and French lines were hopelessly confused, with three separate engagements being fought within sight of one another. Behind the combat, HMS Valiant under Thomas Pringle passed close to Patriote, whose crew suffered from contagion and could not take their ship into battle. Three other British ships failed to respond to Howe's signal, including HMS Alfred, which engaged at extreme range without noticeable effect, and Captain Charles Cotton in HMS Majestic, who did little until the action was decided, then took the surrender of several already shattered French ships. Thornbrough brought his small ship between the ships of the French battleline, opened fire on Éole, helped drive off three ships of the line, and then towed Bellerophon to safety.