Is un 1809. ceased firing altogether. But, as the Cyane, besides June. having expended all her powder, was at this time approaching fast towards the mole-head of Naples, able to then scarcely a mile and a half distant, Mr. Joseph posses- Miller, the master, upon whom, for the reasons that sion, will presently appear, the command had devolved, found himself unable to take advantage of the enemy's confusion. take &c. Her se rious da and loss. This being the case, the Cyane hauled off, with all her sails completely riddled by the enemy's grape mage and langridge, her standing and running rigging cut to pieces, her fore and mizen masts badly wounded, 45 round shot in and through her sides, her chainplates, and several port-timbers destroyed, and four guns disabled from the drawing of the ring-bolts; also with a loss of one seaman and one marine killed, her captain and first lieutenant, James Hall, (both dangerously,) second and only remaining lieutenant, (John Ferrier,) one midshipman, (John Taylor,) 11 seamen, four marines, and one boy wounded. The Espoir, who had some share in the latter part of this engagement, sent the gun-boats to the assistance of her crippled consort, and they towed her out of the bay. On account of her greatly disabled state, the Cyane was immediately sent to England to be refitted. wound, SeveriThe wound of captain Staines was indeed a severe ty of He lost his left arm out of the socket at the captain one. Staines' shoulder, and was also wounded in the side. Lieu&c. tenant Hall's wounds were in the thigh and arms; and it gratifies us to observe that, in a few months after the very gallant service in which he had been engaged, he was promoted to the rank of commander. Of the proceedings of the Cyane altogether, in the vicinity of Procida, they are such as do honour to every officer and man who was on board of her; and, certainly, nobler behaviour than that which captain Staines displayed on the occasion, we have never had to record. On the 28th of July, in the morning, the british 74-gun ship Excellent, captain John West, being at drives a into an anchor off Triest, discovered an enemy's convoy 1809. standing along the northern shore towards that port. July. With the view of cutting off the vessels, captain ExcelWest got under way, and took up a position between lent them and their destined port. Seeing this, the con- french voy took shelter in Duin, a port four leagues to the convoy north-west of Triest. Having in company with him Duin. the 18-gun ship-sloop Acorn, captain Robert Clephane, and 16-gun brig-sloop Bustard, captain John Duff Markland, captain West deemed it practicable to get possession of this convoy; and accordingly, at 10 P. M., captain Clephane, with the two sloops, and all the boats of the Excellent, under the orders of her first lieutenant, Mr. John Harper, was detached to perform the service. Her boats, sloops, gun &c. About midnight the boats, covered by the Acorn and Bustard, who from her light draught of water covered led in, pushed through a heavy fire into the har- by two bour; and, while captain Robert Cummins, of the bring marines, landed with a small party to dislodge the out six enemy from the rugged precipices round the port, boats, lieutenant Harper and his detachment gallantly boarded and carried six italian gun-boats, three of three long 24, and the remainder of three long 18 pounders; and which gun-boats, along with 10 laden trabaccolos, or coasters, were brought off with no greater loss to the British than the Bustard's master, Mr. Katly Robinson, and seven seamen and marines wounded, one of them mortally. phion an off the On the 24th of August the british 18-pounder Am32-gun frigate Amphion, captain William Hoste, reconnoitred the port of Cortelazzo, situated be- chors tween Venice and Triest, and discovered lying there river six franco-italian gun-boats, and a convoy of mer- Piavie. chant trabaccolos, moored in a strong position, under a battery of four 24-pounders, at the mouth of the river Piavie. Finding it impracticable, on account of the shallowness of the water, to enter the port with the frigate, captain Hoste, having received from a fisherman a very correct account of the force 1809. and situation of the vessels and battery, resolved to Aug. send in his boats. To prevent any suspicion of his design, he kept out of sight of land until the evening of the 26th; when, crowding all sail, the Amphion stood in shore, and at 1 A. M. on the 27th anchored off the entrance of the Piavie. Detaches At 3 A. M. a detachment of 70 seamen and maher rines, commanded by lieutenant Phillott, assisted by boats lieutenant George Matthew Jones, and lieutenant of lieut. marines Thomas Moore, landed about a mile to the Phillott southward of the battery; leaving lieutenant William under Slaughter, with the boats, to push for the river the instant the fort was carried. At 3 h. 15 m. A. M. the alarm was given; and at the same instant lieutenant Phillott and his party attacked the fort. So vigorous was the assault, that, in 10 minutes, although surrounded by a ditch and a chevaux de frize, the Who fort was carried, and the concerted signal made for gal- the boats to advance. The four 24-pounders on the carries battery were instantly turned upon the gun-boats, and which were also attacked by a fire of musketry from lieutenant Moore and his marines. Thus assailed, the six gun-boats were boarded and carried, after a slight gunt opposition, by the Amphion's, boats under lieutenant Slaughter. lantly a fort cap tures boats, &c. *A4, Names of officers Four of the gun-boats mounted one long 24-pounder each, and two of them, of a larger description, mounted each one long 24-pounder in the bow and one long 12-pounder in the stern, with four swivels along the gunwale, and a crew of 36 men. Two trabaccolos with cargoes were taken, and five burnt. Having spiked the guns at the battery, and totally destroyed it, together with an adjacent barrack, lieutenant Phillott and his detachment reembarked at 1P.M., with so slight a loss as one marine accidentally wounded by an explosion, and that not badly, after the battery and vessels had been captured.. In addition to the officers already named, there were present in this very gallant and important exployed. ploit, master's mates John Dalleny and Thomas em Boardman, midshipmen Joseph Gape, Charles Henry 1809. Ross, George Castle, Charles Henry Kempthorn, April. William Lee Rees, and Charles Bruce, and first-class volunteers, or boys, Thomas Edward Hoste, Francis George Farewell, and Robert Spearman; also surgeon's assistant Jonathan Argus. For his distinguished behaviour on this and on several previous occasions, lieutenant Phillott was immediately promoted to the rank of commander. cury after boats in On the 1st of April in the evening, the british 28- Mergun frigate Mercury, captain the honourable Henry sends Duncan, detached her boats, under the orders of boats lieutenant Watkin Owen Pell, assisted by lieutenant two Robert James Gordon, Mr. Richard Hildyard the gunmaster, lieutenant of marines James Whylock, Jere- Rovigmiah Crawley the carpenter, George Anderson captain's clerk, midshipmen John Sterling, John Wilkes, William Parker, and Charles Adam, and Mr. Robert Williams acting surgeon, to cut out from the port of Rovigno, on the coast of Istria, two franco-italian gun-boats, moored close to two heavy batteries. no. Lieut. Pell lantly carries one After dark the boats pulled into the harbour, the entrance of which is not more than 100 yards wide; Lie and, under a very heavy fire of great guns and mus- galketry, they boarded and carried, although fully pre- boards pared with boarding-nettings triced up to her mast- and head, the gun-boat Léda, of one long 24-pounder of and six large swivels, commanded by a french them. enseigne de vaisseau. The other gun-boat, similarly armed, was lying close to her, and would also have been captured; had not a fog unexpectedly come on, which completely deranged the plan of attack, and obliged the boats to tow the prize out under the additional fire of five guns, 'mounted upon an island that was to have been stormed by the marines. In this very gallant affair, the British had one seaman killed, and lieutenant Pell, who had previously lost a leg in the service, wounded severely in two places, and three seamen wounded slightly. On the 15th of May the Mercury anchored within 1809. half gun-shot, in four fathoms, and cannonaded the town of Rotti, near Manfredonia. After pouring in Lieut. a few broadsides, captain Duncan sent in a boat's Gor- crew and a party of marines under lieutenant GorRotti. don, who landed and destroyed seven trabaccolos don at Lieut. which had been hauled on shore, and returned to the ship with no other loss than himself severely wounded by an explosion of gunpowder while burning one of the vessels. On the night of the 7th of September, the boats Bar- of the Mercury, under the orders of lieutenant Pell, letta. assisted by lieutenant Gordon, lieutenant Whylock Boats po of the marines, Mr. Sandell the gunner, and Mr. Anderson captain's clerk, each of whom commanded a boat, went into the harbour of Barletta near Manfredonia, and boarded and carried, in a very gallant style, the french national schooner Pugliése, mounting five 6, and two 18 pounders, with 31 men on board, commanded by an enseigne de vaisseau. Although the schooner fired as the boats approached, was moored with eight cables inside, almost touched the mole lined with musketry, and was within musket-shot of a castle mounting eight guns, and of two armed feluccas, from under the fire of which the Pugliese was towed without rudder or sails, so judiciously and promptly was the attack made by lieutenant Pell, that not a man of his party was hurt. On the 11th of May the british 38-gun frigate of Mel- Melpomène, captain Peter Parker, chased a danish mène man-of-war cutter, of six guns, on shore at Huilbo, Huilbo. a harbour in Jutland. The Melpomène immediately at anchored in 19 fathoms, and despatched her boats, under the orders of lieutenants James Hanway Plumridge and George Rennie, to destroy the cutter. The boats, covered by the fire of the Melpomène, completely effected their object under a galling fire from the enemy, but not without loss, lieutenant Rennie, two seamen, and three marines having been severely wounded. On the 15th of May the british 18-pounder 32-gun |