by mis

take a

Is attacked

1808. Antigua, island of Guadeloupe, bearing south-west, Sept.

the british gun-brig Maria, of twelve 12-pounder Maria carronades and two long fours, with 65 men and chases boys, commanded by lieutenant James Bennett, saw

and chased a sail bearing south-east by south, in the french hope to cut her off from the land, towards which vette. the vessel, supposed to be a french letter of marque,

was then steering Instead, however, of being a
letter of marque, the stranger was the ship-corvette
Département-des-Landes, now mounting 16 carron-
ades, 24-pounders, and four long 8-pounders* on
the main deck, and two brass 6-pounders on the
quarterdeck, besides a large swivel on the forecastle,
with a crew of at least 160 men and boys, com-
manded by captain Joseph-François Raoul.

Just as the Maria had got within gun-shot of her by her. opponent, a flaw of wind from the land took the brig

aback. The weather almost immediately afterwards
fell dead calm, and the Maria, in consequence, lay with
her stern exposed to the broadside of the corvette;
who, hoisting her ensign and pendant and raising
her ports, poured into the british brig a most de-
structive raking fire. Before the Maria could get
her sweeps to act, the Département-des-Landes was
enabled to give her a second broadside; and, when
the brig did sweep herself round, her fire was too
insignificant to be of much avail, while the effect of
that of her opponent was soon visible in the shat-

tered state of the Maria’s masts, yards, rigging, and Death hull. Owing to the latter's ensign-halyards having beneut. been shot away, her colours came down. On this

the french captain asked if she had struck. Lieu-
tenant Bennett replied “No.” Presently afterwards
this gallant officer received three grape shots into
his body, and fell dead beneath the colours which
he had rehoisted.

The action was still maintained with spirit, for ders in several minutes, by the master, Mr. Joseph Dyason;

nett.

Maria surren

a sink ing state.

* For her armament in 1805, see vol. iv. p. 200.

on shore.

marks

when the Maria, being in a sinking state, and having 1808. lost, besides her captain, one midshipman (Robert O'Donnel) and four seamen killed and nine wounded, surrendered. One or two men slightly wounded appears to have been the extent of the loss sustained by the french corvette ; and, considering the unmanageable state of her opponent at the commencement of the action, and her very inferior force, that was as much as could be expected. Scarcely had the Département-des-Landes taken possession of the Maria' and removed the prisoners, than the prize-crew were compelled to run the vessel on shore Is run to prevent her from sinking under them. Nothing could better testify the gallantry with which the Maria had been defended, and that against a ship in every respect but gallantry so decidedly her superior.

Mr. Dyason, who writes the official letter to sir ReAlexander Cochrane, calls, or by the Gazette is made to call, his opponent, “ le Sards.” As the ship’s Département-de-la-Manche french frigate was mostly, for shortness, called Manche ;* so the Départementdes-Landes, we have no doubt, was named by her officers and crew « les Landes." This accounts pretty well for the name given to the corvette in Mr. Dyason's letter; and our contemporary, having no better guide, is excusable for adopting the same name, or rather “ le Sarde," a word, by the by, as here spelt, not french. But how happens captain Brenton to call the Maria's opponent a brig of war,”+ when Mr. Dyason and sir Alexander Cochrane had both officially stated that she was a ship? We know, too, from the french captain's account, that she was the Département-des-Landes. This very corvette, it will be recollected, was one of captain Mudge's “ two frigates ;f and, if any person was justified

in applying that term to the french ship, it was the officer who lay alongside of her in a brig of

on the

name.

the all

De

rece A

qual

desLandes enbritish

Escapes from two british

1808. 172 tons. Nowhere, however, in Mr. Dyason's letter,
Sept.

nor in sir Alexander Cochrane's, does the word
“ frigate” appear.

After carrying his prize into Martinique, captain parte. Raoul sailed again on his voyage to France. On

the 9th of November, in latitude 21° north, lon

gitude (from Paris) 64° west, the Département-desgages a Landes, according to the french accounts, fell in brig.

with an english brig of war, “ carrying 32-pounder
carronades,” and, after an action of two hours, dis-
masted and would have taken the brig, but for the
appearance of “ two british frigates” advancing to

her relief. Captain Raoul states his loss on this ocfrigates casion at only two men killed and a few wounded. and ar. Although we have searched the logs of six or seven France. of the 18-gun brigs at this time cruising in the West

Indies, we have not been so successful as to discover
the brig engaged by the Département-des-Landes.
There were, however, three or four brig-sloops with
24-pounder carronades, and some gun-brigs with
only 18-pounders, stationed off the french islands.
Having escaped from the two british frigates, the
Département-des-Landes hastened towards Europe,
and on the 8th of December was fortunate enough
to reach the river of Bordeaux.

On the 10th of November, at 6 h. 42 m. P.M., while
the british 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Amethyst, cap-
tain Michael Seymour, with the wind at east-north-
east, was standing from the north-west point of the
island of Groix towards the main land of France,
a battery at Larmour fired several shot apparently
at her. In three or four minutes afterwards a sail
was observed astern, running about west by south.

The Amethyst immediately wore in chase, and prechases sently fired two muskets to bring to the strange

vessel, now discovered to be a large ship. The
latter was, in fact, the french 40-gun frigate Thétis,
captain Jacques Pinsum, from Lorient bound to
Martinique, with troops and 1000 barrels of flour,
besides other stores. It was therefore the object of

Amethyst

ahe

ster

Thétis.

bai

Vain at

the Thétis to pursue her course, and she did so under 1808. all sail. We may here mention, that it was at this

Nov. ship that the french battery had fired, not having received notice of her intended departure.

At 9 P. M. the Amethyst, having got within a quarter of a mile, discharged her bow gun at the Thétis, who smartly returned the fire from

one of her stern-chasers. Convinced now that the latter was an Makes

signals enemy, captain Seymour, as his duty prescribed, let off one or two rockets, and soon saw them answered by three flashes in the east-north-east. The ship that did this was the Triumph 74, captain Sir Thomas Mastermán Hardy, and who instantly made sail in the direction of the rockets. Shortly after firing her stern-chasers, the Thétis took in her lower studdingsails, and the Amethyst the whole of her studdingşails and her royals. At 9 h. 15 m. the Thétis, then going nine knots, suddenly luffed to on the starboard tack, with the intention of raking the Amethyst, tempt who was advancing upon her weather quarter. To avoid the rake, and yet be ready to close, the rake Amethyst put her helm hard a-starboard ; and, ponent. the instant the Thétis had discharged her starboard broadside, the Amethyst shifted her helm to hard a-port, and, just clearing the french ship’s starboard quarter, shot up (in the wind right abreast of her to-windward. In this way a close' and furious action commenced between the two frigates; who, losing their way, fell round off and stood again to the westward, engaging broadside to broadside.

At 9 h. 40 m. P. M., the Amethyst shooting a little Thetis ahead, the Thétis attempted to cross her opponent's aged in. stern, and rake or gain the wind of her; but, not having room, ran her jib-boom between the Amethyst's main and mizen rigging. After being a few minutes in this position, the two ships separated, and went off in hot action, steering nearly the same course as before. Ame

thyst At 10 h.5 m. P. M., having got sufficiently ahead to

crosses execute the manoeuvre, the Amethyst put her helm Thétis.

of Thé

tis to

ar

Thetis tries to

1808. hard a-starboard, and, crossing her opponent's hawse,
Mer raked her severely.' The Amethyst then put ber

helm hard a-port, and brought the Thétis a little
before her starboard beam, still running with the
wind about a point on the starboard quarter. At
10 h. 20 m. P. M. the mizenmast of the Amethyst
came down, and, falling in-board, broke and da-
maged the wheel, and encumbered the whole quar-
terdeck. Scarcely had the Thétis increased her
distance by this disaster of her antagonist, than her
own mizenmast fell over the side, and the two ships
again lay abreast of each other.

At 11 P. M., having for the last half hour been graboard. dually sheering closer, the Thétis put her helm a-star

board, and steered to lay the Amethyst on board.
Aware that the Thétis, after striking the Amethyst
on the bow, would rebound off and bring the quarters
of the two ships together, captain Seymour reserved
his fire. The ships met at the bows, and then at the
quarters, and off went the whole broadside of the
Amethyst, with double-round from the maindeckers
and grape from the carronades. As; just before the
discharge, the french officers, troops, and seamen
were assembled on the quarterdeck ready to spring
on board the british frigate, its destructive effect

may be partly imagined: one proof of it was, that four Ships

guns only were returned by the Thétis. In a minute
or two afterwards the outer arm of the Amethysts
best bower anchor entered the foremost maindeck
port of the Thétis, and held her fast

. In this way
the action was maintained, with destructive effect on
both sides, particularly to the Thétis, who had been

set on fire in several places, until about 20 minutes Thetis past midnight ; when, having completely silenced the ed and guns of her antagonist, the Amethyst boarded and carried carried her.

The following diagram will explain the manæuvres that took place in this action; but we must observe, that the straight tracks, as in many other similar cases, are necessarily shortened, to suit the space to

get foul.