Annotation:Brest Fleet (The)

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BREST FLEET, THE. English, Country Dance Tune or Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The Brest Fleet was the name of the French fleet of warships commanded by Admiral D'Orvilliers. In July, 1778, he took twenty-seven ships out to meet Admiral Keppel's thirty Royal Navy warships off Île de Ouessant (Ushant), Brittany. The action itself was inconclusive, although the French could claim a strategic victory, as they had badly damaged many of the British ships with accurate cannon fire, resulting in a loss of British control over the French coast.

The engagement off Ushant, 1778

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: T. Straight (24 Favourite Dances for the Year 1779), 1779; p. 6.

Recorded sources:




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