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CHAPTER XII.

Naval Affairs. Captain Hoste's engagement with a French and Italian Squadron. Success in the Bay of Sagone. Flotilla captured on the Coast of Calabria. Capture and Destruction of a Convoy at Ragoniza. Danish Gun-Boats taken at Nordeney. Convoy destroyed and taken on the Coast of Normandy. Surprise of French Ships in the Gironde. Engagement with the Boulogne Flotilla. Fort and Gun-Boats taken in the Gulf of Salerno. Batteries and Vessels taken on the Coast of Naples. Fast sailing Privateer captured. Action between a French and English Squadron off Madagascar; and Tamatave retaken. Loss of the Saldanha Frigate, and of the Hero, Defence, and St. George Men of War.

WHI

THILE the land forces of Great Britain were gathering laurels in the well-fought fields of the Peninsula, its navy, finding no adequate antagonist in the whole range of ocean, was reduced to such minor exploits as occasion presented, in which, however, it sufficiently manifested the superiority of its discipline and enter. prise.

One of the most brilliant of these actions was the defeat of a combined French and Italian squadron off the Isle of Lissa, on the Dalmatian coast, by an English squadron under the command of Capt. Hoste, acting as commodore. The enemy's force, consisting of five frigates and six smaller armed vessels, sailed from Ancona, on the 18th, with 500 troops on board for the purpose of fortifying and garrisoning the Isle of Lissa. They were descried, on March 13th, lying to off the north-point of the island, by the English squadron of four frigates, the Amphion, Active, Cerberus, and Volage. The French commodore, Mons. Dubordieu, a

man of distinguished courage, confiding in the superiority of his force, bore down in two divisions under full sail to attack the English, which was formed in one close line to receive him. The action commenced at nine A. M. when the French commodore, failing in his attempt to break the English line, endeavoured to round the van ship, and thus place the English between two fires; but

was

so roughly handled in the attempt, that his ship became unmanageable, and went on shore on the rocks of Lissa. The action was still maintained with great fury, till two more of the enemy's ships struck. The remainder to windward then endeavoured to make off, but being pursued as well as the crippled state of the English would permit, the sternmost was compelled to surrender. Two of the frigates crowded sail for the port of Lessina, and the small craft dispersed in various directions. The result of this very gallant action, in which the superior skill and steadiness of the English'

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marine was strikingly exemplified, was that the French Commodore's ship, La Favorite, of 44 guns, was burnt, himself being killed in the engagement; the Corona of 44, and the Bellona of 32, were taken; the Flora of 44, after having struck her colours and ceased firing, taking advantage of the impossibility of being occupied during the heat of the action, according to the common, but dishonourable, practice of French ships, stole away and escaped, Captain Hoste in vain afterwards claiming her as a lawful prize. The surviving crew and troops of La Favorite were obliged to surrender at Lissa after the action. The loss of the English on this occasion amounted, in officers and seamen, to 50 killed and 150 wounded.

Near the close of April, intelligence having been received by Capt. Barrie, of the Pomonc frigate, that some large French ships had put into the bay of Sagone in Corsica, he stood into the bay, in company with the Unité frigate and the Scout sloop, with an intention of taking a tower and battery which guarded it, by surprise. Finding the enemy, however, prepared, he abandoned that plan, and on the morning of May 1st, caused the ships to be towed in, and commenced an attack on the French vessels, which lay with their broadsides to the sea-ward, under the protection of the tower and battery. After a severe cannonade of an hour and half, the two larger French ships, La Giraffe and La Nournie, were observed to be on fire; and the flaines communicating to the third, a merchantman, they all blew up, and the tower and battery were de

stroyed by the explosion. This complete success was attended with but a moderate loss to the assailants. The French ships were laden with ship timber, and were of the burdens of 1100, 900, and 500 tons.

The capture of a whole flotil'a, on the coast of Calabria, by an. English frigate and a sloop, deserves recording, on account of the masteily manner in which it was effected, though the trifling resistance encountered on the occasion gave bat little scope for the display of the habitual courage of British seamen. Capt. Napier, of the Thames, in a dispatch, dated July 21st, relates that being informed by Capt. Clifford, of the Cephalus, of a convoy of 22 sail which he had compelled to take shelter in Porto del Infreschi, as they were attempting to proceed round Cape Palinuro for Naples, the two ships made sail for that port, where they arrived at five in that evening. They directly steered in, and anchored; and having soon silenced a line of gunboats, moored across for the protection of the merchantmen, they landed a body of marines, which gained possession of a tower and 80 men of its garrison, though the adjacent hills were lined with musqueteers. The boats at the same time took possession of the whole convoy; all of which were alongside, and the ships under weigh, in less than two hours, without a man killed, and only five wounded. The capture consisted of eleven French gun-boats, one armed felucca, 14 merchant vessels, and four rafts of large spars for the Neapolitan navy.

On Oct, 11th, his Majesty's fri-
gate

gate, Imperieuse, the Hon. Capt. Duncan, commander, attacked three of the enemy's gun-boats, carrying each an 18 pounder and 32 men, moored under the walls of a strong fort near Positano, in the gulf of Salerno. The enemy were soon driven from their guns, and one of the gun-boats was sunk, by the fire of the Imperieuse, which, however, was unable to dislodge the men from their shelter in the fort. A party of marines and seamen, under the command of Lieutenants Travers and Pipon, was therefore landed, which gallantly forced its way into the battery, though defended by treble the number, and put them to flight, leaving 30 men behind them. The guns were then thrown over the cliff, the magazines destroyed, and the two remaining gun-boats were brought off with a very trifling loss on the side of the vic

tors.

A brilliant exploit of the army and navy combined took place at the latter end of the same month, on the coast of Naples. Twp hundred and fifty soldiers of the 624 regiment, commanded by Major Darley, were disembarked from the Thames and Imperiease frigates, with 50 marines under Lieut. Pipon, in the face of 900 of the enemy posted at Palinura, whom they attacked with fixed bayonets, and drove from their position. They then destroyed the enemy's batteries and cannon, and three gun-boats; captured six more with 20 merchantmen, and after staying two days on shore, re-embarked and returned with their prizes to Melazzo.

The capture and destruction of an entire convoy, in the Adriatic, VOL. LIII.

is related by Capt. Gordon of the Active, in a dispatch, dated off Ragosniza, July 27th. He states, that upon anchoring there he detached the boats of his ship, with the small-arm men and marines, under the command of Lieut. Henderson, to attack an enemy's convoy which had run above the island on which the town of Ragosniza stands, and had taken shelter in a creek on the main. As the entrance was narrow, and protected by three gun-boats, the lieutenant landed his armed men to take possession of a hill which appeared to command the creek, leaving orders with the boats to push for the gun boats the moment a signal should be made from the hill. The attack thus concerted was executed with so much spirit and precision, that the enemy was presently put to flight, leaving a number of killed and wounded; and the whole convoy was seized, of which, 18 vessels with the gunboats were brought away, and 10 were burnt. They were chiefly laden with grain for the garrison of Ragusa, and were defended on shore by 300 armed men, who, however, were so panic struck, that the whole loss sustained by the assailants was four men wounded in the boats.

On Aug. 3d, the boats of the squadron lying off Heligoland performed a galiant exploit 'by boarding, under a tremendous fire, and capturing, four of the enemy's gun boats at the Isle of Nordenéy, on the Danish coast, which were drawn up in line, and prepared to receive them. The British loss on this occasion was four killed, and fourteen wounded.

On the 19th of the same month, [H] Capt.

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Capt. Bourchier, of his Majesty's sloop Hawke, cruising off St. Marcou, on the coast of Normandy, to intercept the enemy's trade, descried a convoy of French vessels steering for Barfleur. He gave chace, and on approaching found that they were protected by three armed national brigs, carrying from 12 to 16 guns, and two large luggers. This very superior force did not hesitate to attack the English sloop, but their reception was such that two of the brigs and the two luggers, with 15 of their convoy, were driven on shore, and of the remainder many had struck, when the Hawke unfortunately grounded, which gave them an opportunity to escape. By proper exertions she was got off, and came to an anchor; and her boats being sent to bring away or destroy as many of the enemy's vessels on shore as was practicable, they succeeded in bringing off, under a heavy fire of musketry from the beach, a national brig, and three large transports, laden with shiptimber the rest were on their broadsides, and completely bilged. This service was performed with a very small loss.

An enterprize in which both courage and stratagem were successfully employed was undertaken by his Majesty's ships Diana, Capt. Ferris, and Semiramis, Capt. Richardson, lying off the mouth of the Gironde. Perceiving four sail of vessels, under convoy of a national brig of war on the inside of the shoals at the mouth of that river, Capt. Ferris, disguising the English ships so well that pilots were sent to their assistance on the supposition that they were French, brought them

to anchor between the Corduan Lighthouse and Royan, on the evening of Aug. 24th, and dispatched armed boats to capture or destroy the convoy then lying about four miles distant up the river. At daylight he determined to attack the national brig, and another stationed for the protection of the river, still having kept up the deception so well, that the port captain, who commanded one of the brigs, came on board the Diana to offer his services, and did not discover his mistake till he was ascending the quarter deck. Capt. Ferris then laid the outer brig on board, and succeeded in taking her without loss on either side. She proved to be the late English gun-brig, Teazer, mounting twelve 18 pound carronades, and two long 18 pounders, with 85 men. In the meantime the Semiramis drove on shore, and burnt under the guns of the Royan battery, Le Pluvier, of 16 guns and 136 men. The captured merchant vessels were then brought out, and the business was terminated with complete success.

During the visit of the French emperor at Boulogne, in September, an incident occurred which must have afforded him a mortifying proof of the insufficiency of his boasted armament in that place to cope with even the minor force of the British navy. Capt. Carteret, of the Naiad frigate, anchored off that port, writes that on the morning of the 20th, he observed much bustle among the enemy's flotilla, moored along shore under their batteries, which seemed te indicate that some great affair was in agitation. About noon, Bonaparte, in a barge accompanied by

several

several officers, was seen to proceed along their line to the centre ship, which immediately hoisted the imperial standard at the main, and lowered it at his departure, substituting for it a vice-admiral's flag. By his express orders, as was afterwards learned, seven praams, each carrying twelve long 24 pounders, and 120 men, and commanded by rear-admiral Baste, then stood out with the flood tide towards the Naiad, which awaited the attack at anchor, with springs on her cables. The praams, which had the option of choosing their distance, came up successively within gun shot, gave their broadsides, and tacked, and continued this mode of engaging, joined afterwards by ten brigs, for upwards of two hours without intermission. The Naiad, which had returned their fire, and had not a single man hurt, then weighed and stood off, partly to repair some small damages, but principally to endeavour to get to windward, that she might be enabled to close with the enemy. After a time she tacked and made all sail towards them; but it falling calm, the flotilla anchored under the batteries, eastward of Boulogne, and the Naiad resumed her former anchorage.

On the following morning, the enemy's Aotilla of 7 praams and 15 smaller vessels weighed and stood out, apparently to

renew

their former distant cannonade. The Naiad weighed, and getting well to windward, joined the armed brigs Rinaldo, Redpole, and Castillion, with the Viper cutter, which had come in the night to her support. They all lay to on the larboard tack, gradually draw

ing off shore, in order to entice the enemy further from the pro tection of his batteries. At the moment when the French admiral, having reached bis utmost distance, tacked in shore, the English squadron bore up with the greatest rapidity in the midst of a shower of shot and shells, without returning any till within pistol-shot, when their firing threw the enemy into inextricable confusion. The French admiral's praam was the Naiad's chief object, but he pushed so fast for the batteries that it was impossible to reach him without too great hazard. The Naiad, however, succeeded in separating one praam which had gallantly attempted to succour her chief, and running her on board, after an obstinate resistance, obliged her to surrender. She carried 112 men, of whom 60 were soldiers of the line. The remainder of the flotilla was completely defeated, but escaped capture on account of the proximity of the formidable batteries. The loss on the English side was inconsiderable; and the whole affair was only important as a kind of experiment of what might be expected in a more serious encounter of the same na

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