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Aug.

and

of capt.

1811. rapid approach of the fleet had prevented the enemy from ascertaining the intended place of landing in time to send a force thither to guard it: this being noticed by captain Cole, he made the signal from Zeal the Caroline, for the advance of the army to land promp- immediately, then hoisted out his boats, tripped his titude anchor, and dropped the Caroline nearer to the Cole. shore. No time was occupied in arranging the order of the boats, they being ordered to shove off when manned and filled with troops. His example being followed by captains Elliot and Pelly, and the boats of the other men of war being sent to assist in conveying the troops, about 8000 soldiers, with their guns, ammunition, and provisions, were landed in safety by half past six o'clock: Soon after dark the british advanced guard had a skirmish with the enemy's patroles, who, but for Captain Cole's alacrity and promptitude in making the above signal, with out waiting to complete the arrangement of boats, &c., as usual in such cases, would have taken post in a wood at the back of the beach, and might have occasioned great loss to the invading army."*

Dutch

force

General Daendels, the late governor-general of on the Java, had recently been superseded by general Janisland. sens; and the latter, who had only been apprized of

the intended attack since the 1st or 2d of the month, was now with his army, amounting to between 8000 and 10000 effective troops, native and european, shut up in the strong hold of Meester-Cornelis, an entrenched camp, situated about nine miles from the city of Batavia, and defended by two rivers, one on the east, the other on the west, with a number of redoubts and batteries guarding each pass. The circumference of these fortified lines was nearly five miles, and there were mounted in different parts of it 280 pieces of cannon.

On the 6th the Leda and small cruisers proceeded off the entrance of the river Anjole, or Antziol, dis

* Marshall, vol. ii. p. 515,

vance

quiet

of Ba

tavia.

tant about two miles from the capital; and the fleet 1811. anchored off Tonjong-Prioch; where, in the course Aug. of the day, the advance of the british army, under British the command of colonel Gillespie, took post. On adthe 7th, in the night, the advance crossed the river takes Anjole on a bridge of flat boats, prepared by the navy, possesunder the direction of captains Sayer, Maunsell, and sion Reynolds. On the 8th, in the morning, a flag of truce was sent into the city of Batavia, and a deputation came out from the inhabitants, requesting to surrender at discretion, and put themselves under the protection of the British. The lieutenant-general and commodore having agreed to respect private property, the advance under colonel Gillespie took immediate possession of the city; and the men of war and transports removed to the anchorage before it.

adm.

On the 9th rear-admiral the honourable Robert RearStopford joined the expedition, and superseded Stopcommodore Broughton in the command of the fleet, which now consisted of the

gun-ship

Scipion

74

Illustrious

(rear-adm. (r.) the hon. Rt. Stopford.

captain James Johnson.

commodore Will. Rob. Broughton.

captain Rob. Worgan Geo. Festing.

ford

joins

the ex

pedition.

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Benedictus Marwood Kelly.
Joseph Drury.

Company's cruisers, Malabar, (commodore John Hayes,) Aurora, Mornington, Nautilus, Vestal, Ariel, Thetis, and Psyche; making, with the transports and captured gun-boats, a total of nearly a hundred sail.

On the 10th a smart skirmish took place between. the advanced division of each army; which ended in British the defeat of the Dutch, and in the occupation by pare to the British of the important post of Weltervreeden, attack, distant about six miles from the city on the road to Jan- Cornelis. Preparations were now made to attack sens. general Jansens in his entrenched camp at the latter

general

Dutch

make a

but are

repuls

place, distant about a league beyond Weltervreeden. On the 20th, in the night, the british army broke ground within 600 yards of the enemy's works; and on the evening of the 21st the batteries, mounting 20 long 18-pounders, together with eight howitzers and mortars, were nearly completed. To assist in erecting and fighting these batteries, 500 seamen had been landed from the squadron, under the orders of captain Sayer, assisted by captains Festing, Maunsell, Reynolds, and Edward Stopford: the latter a volunteer from on board the Scipion, where he was waiting to join his ship the Otter. A detachment of marines, under captain Richard Bunce of that corps, had also been disembarked from the ships, to increase the strength of sir Samuel's army, already considerably reduced by sickness.

On the 22d, early in the morning, the Dutch made sortie a sortie, attacked the works of the British, and gained a momentary possession of one of the bated. teries; but the former were at length repulsed and driven within their lines. Being thus foiled, the Dutch began to open from their redoubts a tremendous fire. Thirty-four heavy guns, 18, 24, and 32

On Aug.

assault

pounders, bore upon the british front, and kept up 1811. an incessant and very destructive cannonade. the 23d neither party fired; but on the 24th a severe cannonade began on both sides, and continued throughout that and the following day, with much mutual slaughter, and to the evident disadvantage of the Dutch, many of their guns being dismounted and their front line of defence much damaged. In this state British of things, an assault was resolved upon, and that and truly gallant officer colonel Gillespie was intrusted carry with the command of the principal attack. At mid- dutch night on the 25th the troops moved off, and, after a most desperate struggle, in which the british seamen and marines bore a distinguished part, carried all before them. Nearly 5000 troops, including three general officers, 34 field-officers, 70 captains, and 150 subaltern officers, were taken prisoners, more than 1000 were found dead about the works, and many others must have fallen in the pursuit.

the

works.

ralJan

to the

each

side.

General Jansens made his escape with difficulty Geneduring the action, and reached Buitenzorg, a distance sens of 30 miles, accompanied by a few cavalry, the sole escapes remains of his army. The dutch commander in eastchief quitted Buitenzorg, a little while before the ward. british cavalry entered the town, and fled to the eastward. The loss to the british army, including the natives attached to it, from the 4th to the 27th of Losson August inclusive, amounted, according to the official returns, to 141 killed, 733 wounded, and 13 missing; and the loss to the british navy, between the same dates, amounted to 11 seamen and four marines killed, captain Stopford, (right arm carried off by a cannon-shot,) one lieutenant, (Francis Noble,) two lieutenants of marines, (Henry Elliot and John Stepney Haswell,) wo master's mates, (John Dewdney Worthy and Robert Graham Dunlop,) 29 seamen and 20 marines wounded, and three seamen missing; making the total loss of the two services, up to the 27th of August, 156 killed, 788 wounded, and 16 missing.

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Two

1811. The two new french 40-gun frigates Nymphe and Sept. Méduse, which, under the orders of commodore Joseph-François Raoul of the former, had escaped french from Nantes in the spring of the year, were at this at Sou- time lying in the harbour of Sourabaya. Rearrabaya. admiral Stopford, on the day after his arrival in

frigates

sail out

by the

Batavia road, despatched four frigates, the Akbar, Phaeton, Bucephalus, and Sir-Francis-Drake, to look after these french frigates, and watch the different entrances by which they might effect their escape. On the 30th of August the Akbar, who had been in company with the Bucephalus at an anchor off the east end of Java, weighed and sailed to the

westward.

They On the 3d of September, at 3 P. M., the two french and are frigates, having received on board several of general chased Jansen's aides-de-camp, and others of the principal Buce fugitives from Cornelis, weighed and began warping phalus themselves into the outer road. The Bucephalus Barra- saw the manœuvre, and instantly weighed and made couta. sail to close the enemy. On the 4th, at daylight,

and

the Barracouta joined the former; and at 10 A. M. the british frigate and brig wore and stood towards the two french frigates; who, during the night, had warped themselves considerably ahead, and were now under sail working out of the harbour, with the wind a moderate breeze at north-east. The Bucephalus and Barracouta immediately proceeded in chase; and at midnight the two french frigates bore from the first, who was far ahead of her consort, north-west half-west distant three or four miles. By daylight on the 5th the Bucephalus was ahead of the Barracouta six or seven miles, and the french frigates on the former's lee bow, the weather nearly calm. At 5 h. 30 m. A. м. a breeze sprang up from the eastward; and at sunset the french frigates Barra bore north-east by north distant seven or eight miles. drops During the 6th, 7th, and 8th nearly the same distance was preserved between the two french frigates astern. and the one british frigate, which, accompanied by

couta

out of

sight

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