While the Americans were happily intercepting British ships, the British North American fleet, which they had not caught, was happily intercepting American ships. They traveled south along the coast of the United States, first off the coast of Boston, where they caught three American merchant ships and a returning whaling ship. The British had no available ports not far away, and it was impossible for them to control these merchant ships and sail them back to Canada, for the American fleet must be there today.

As for sailing back to England directly, it is also impossible, because the reserves of fresh water on these ships cannot support such an ocean-going voyage. So the British had to board the ships, bring over some of the supplies that their fleet could use, and burn the merchant ships in one fell swoop. As for the sailors on board, they were given a small sampan and let them row to the United States on their own. Anyway, it's not far from the coast, so you can go ashore after a day or two.

They then continued south, burning six merchant ships bound for New York in one fell swoop. Then he caught two American merchant ships bound for Philadelphia at the mouth of the Delaware River and killed more than a dozen fishing boats. At this time, news that the British naval fleet was attacking American ships at sea also began to spread in the United States through the French cable cable.

Most of the ships that were going to leave the United States and go to Europe were afraid to leave the port, but those who were returning to the United States from Europe did not know about it, and no one else could inform them. So, in the following week, the British burned more than a dozen merchant ships into torches in one fell swoop. If you want to compare the tonnage of the engagement, the British fleet has a clear upper hand.

Because there was no radio, the news that the British were wreaking havoc off the coast of the United States could not be sent directly to the American fleet, which was still waiting in Cabot Strait, and the fellows of the American fleet thought that the British North American detachment had taken refuge in the Bay of St. Lawrence.

The Americans sent another clipper to Cabot Strait and found the American fleet, and it was only then that the guys of the American fleet knew that the British fleet had actually run to play a broken engagement. And the United States suffered even more losses than the British suffered in the Cabot Strait.

Because the British released almost all the sailors, the Americans had quite a clear idea of the composition of the British detachment.

"Three steam-sail hybrid battleships, two steam-sail hybrid cruisers. That is to say, the main warships of the British North American detachment were there. Admiral Cade, commander of the U.S. fleet, made this judgment based on what he had learned.

He knew that he could not let this British detachment continue to wreak havoc on the American coast, otherwise, no matter how many British merchant ships he captured, it would be useless. However, the whole fleet going south is not necessarily a good way. Not only did this abandon the blockade of Canada, but it also slowed down the reaction – because none of the other ships could run as fast as the Free Trade and Common Market.

So General Cayde made such a decision, and he led several other ships to continue to intercept British merchant ships here. Let the two fastest and most combat-ready French ships in the formation rush back at once to drive out and destroy the British fleet.

As a result, the "Free Trade" and the "Common Market" left the formation and headed south.

The news of the declaration of war by the United States on Britain had also reached Europe by this time. The British immediately intended to send a powerful fleet to teach the Yankees a lesson. Hehe, we can't beat the French, can't we beat you?

But along with this news came another piece of news, that is, the French claimed that the British fleet had attacked a French merchant ship. The French Foreign Minister summoned the British ambassador to lodge a strong protest. The British ambassador said he was not aware of the matter. And very doubtful about the authenticity of the news of the French.

But the authenticity of the news doesn't really matter, it's just an excuse anyway. Under the pretext of this kind of thing, the French can make a lot of it casually, just like a certain country in later generations can easily come up with a lot of washing powder.

The citizens of Paris then took to the streets to demonstrate, demanding that the ruling government take concrete action to protect the safety of France's shipping lanes. Napoleon immediately ordered the army to be put on alert, suspended the demobilization of the army this year, and announced that the French navy and army would hold a large-scale landing and anti-landing exercise in Calais.

Calais is located on the eastern shore of the Strait of Dover, just a few dozen kilometers from the British coast. The French were conducting military exercises in this position, and what if the British did not pay attention to it, what if in the course of the exercises, a navigation error occurred, and the French fleet landing force got it in the wrong direction and landed in England?

Therefore, the British could only scold the French for not being a thing since ancient times, and at the same time cancel the battle plan to support Canada on a large scale, and at the same time order the British navy and army to put on alert, ready to resist a possible invasion by the French at any time.

But despite the help of the French, the US Navy did not perform well enough.

First of all, the two supercruisers heading south did not immediately spot the British fleet. The British, calculating the time, estimated that the two supercruisers hired by the Americans might have gone south, so they left the American coast and began to search for and intercept American merchant ships farther from the coastline.

Of course, this did by the British, which greatly reduced their own interception efficiency, but also made it difficult for the Americans to find them. "Free Trade" and "Common Market" ran along the American coastline, and even the hair of the British fleet was not found.

But on the other side, the U.S. warships that remain in the Cabot Strait are in great danger.

The British sent the "Indomitable" supercruiser only after the news that the Americans had leased two supercruisers to France reached Britain. So the ship is not in the sequence of the North American detachment at all, and the Americans are not aware of its existence at all.

Today, the French supercruisers had gone south, and the Cabot Strait was not wide, and the British at opposite ends of the channel could easily see the entire American fleet through telescopes. They quickly came to the conclusion that the two French ships had left.

So on the morning of that day, while the guys of the American fleet were bored and waiting for the rabbits and watching the whales, their observation post noticed that there was a pillar of smoke in the distance to the east of them.

The Americans were a little nervous about this plume of smoke at first, because it could be that the British North American detachment had circled back. Without the presence of the "Free Trade" and the "Common Market," the American fleet could not defeat the British North American detachment.

However, the Americans did not panic, because they were sailing faster than the British North American squadron, and the situation was really wrong, and they had the initiative to withdraw from the battle.

What's more, if it is in other seas, most of the ships emitting black smoke are steam-powered ships, most likely warships. But in this sea area, there is another kind of ship that emits black smoke, and that is the whaling ship.

In order to get more money every time they went to sea, they cut off the whale fat directly on the ship and smelted it into whale oil, and as for the rest of the whale, most of them were thrown directly into the sea except for the baleen of the whale.

In order to smelt whale oil (otherwise whale fat will rot), such ships have a large boiler with a fire to make whale oil. So the plume of smoke seen in this area is not necessarily a steamship, but it is also likely to be a whaling ship on its way back. So at this time, the US Navy does not yet know what kind of opponent they will face.