Editing Glorious First of June (section)

===Rear===
Of the British rear ships, only two made a determined effort to break the French line. Admiral [[Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport|Hood]]'s flagship [[HMS Royal George (1788)|HMS ''Royal George'']] pierced it between [[French ship Royal Louis (1780)|''Républicain'']] and [[French ship Sans Pareil|''Sans Pareil'']], engaging both closely, while [[HMS Glory (1788)|HMS ''Glory'']] came through the line behind ''Sans Pareil'' and threw herself into the melee as well. The rest of the British and French rearguard did not participate in this close combat; [[HMS Montagu (1779)|HMS ''Montagu'']] fought a long range gunnery duel with [[French ship Neptune (1778)|''Neptune'']] which damaged neither ship severely,{{sfn|James |2002|p=167}} although the British captain [[James Montagu (Royal Navy officer)|James Montagu]] was killed in the opening exchanges, command devolving to Lieutenant [[Ross Donnelly]].<ref name="ODNB">[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/7823 Donnelly, Sir Ross], ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[John Knox Laughton|J. K. Laughton]] and [[Andrew Lambert]], (subscription required), retrieved 10 May 2012</ref> Next in line, [[HMS Ramillies (1785)|HMS ''Ramillies'']] ignored her opponent completely and sailed west, Captain [[Henry Harvey]] seeking ''Brunswick'', his brother's ship, in the confused action around ''Queen Charlotte''.{{sfn|James |2002|p=163}}

Three other British ships failed to respond to the signal from Howe, including [[HMS Alfred (1778)|HMS ''Alfred'']] which engaged the French line at extreme range without noticeable effect, and Captain [[Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet|Charles Cotton]] in [[HMS Majestic (1785)|HMS ''Majestic'']] who likewise did little until the action was decided, at which point he took the surrender of several already shattered French ships. Finally [[HMS Thunderer (1783)|HMS ''Thunderer'']] under [[Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet|Albemarle Bertie]] took no part in the initial action at all, standing well away from the British line and failing to engage the enemy despite the signal for close engagement hanging limply from her mainmast. The French rear ships were no less idle, with [[French ship Entreprenant (1787)|''Entreprenant'']] and [[French ship Seduisant (1783)|''Pelletier'']] firing at any British ships in range but refusing to close or participate in the melees on either side. The French rear ship [[French ship Saint-Esprit (1766)|''Scipion'']] did not attempt to join the action either, but could not avoid becoming embroiled in the group around ''Royal George'' and ''Républicain'' and suffered severe damage.{{sfn|James |2002|pp=167–168}}