Dee.

one marine of the party on shore, and two seamen 1809. on board the Attentive, wounded. The Pultusk had also a considerable share in the cannonade, and received into her larboard side amidships, a hot shot or carcass from the battery, which, although a foot under water, continued burning until a plug was driven into the hole.

The Nisus had sailed from Lorient on the 30th of October with a cargo of flour, had arrived at the Hayes on the 1st of December, and, when captured, was again ready for sea with a cargo of coffee. Being a fine brig of 337 tons, the Nisus was added to the british navy under the appropriate name of Gaudeloupe, or Gaudaloupe, as the name is spelt in the lists.

Bear

Me

On the 14th the british 18-pounder 36-gun frigate CapMelampus, captain Edward Hawker, cruising off ture of Gaudeloupe, after a chase of 28 hours, captured the nais by french 16-gun brig-corvette Bearnais, of 109 men lampus and boys, commanded by lieutenant de vaisseau Louis-Charles-Gaspard Bonnefoy-de-Monthazin; who did not surrender till he had one man killed and several wounded, and had wounded two men on board the Melampus. The Bearnais was from Bayonne bound to Gaudeloupe, with flour and warlike stores; and, being a brig exactly similar in size to the Nisus, was added to the british navy under the name of Curieux, the former brig-sloop of that name having recently been wrecked in the West Indies.

ture of

Rosa

On the 17th, close in with the island of Sante- CapCruiz, another french brig-corvette, of the same class Papilas the Bearnais and Nisus, the Papillon, commanded lon by by capitaine de frégate Thomas-Joseph Lamourex mond. de la Génetière, was captured after a 38 hours' chase, but without, as it appears, the slightest resistance, by the british 18-gun ship-sloop Rosamond, captain Benjamin Walker. The Papillon mounted, like the rest of her class, 14 carronades, 24-pounders, and two sixes, with, including 30 troops, a crew of

1809. 110 men and boys; had been 33 days from Bordeaux, Dec. and was carrying a cargo of flour to Gaudeloupe Being a fine brig of 343 tons, and only two years

andOb

old, the Papillon was added to the british navy under the same name.

Junon On the 13th of December, at 1 P. M., latitude serva- 17° 18′ north, and longitude 57° west, as the british teur 38-gun frigate Junon, captain John Shortland, in company with the 16-gun brig-sloop Observateur, french captain Frederick Augustus Wetherall, was lying to frigates boarding an american ship, four large ships made

with

four

The

their appearance to the northward. These were the french 40-gun frigates Renommée, commodore François Roquebert, and Clorinde, captain Jacques Saint-Cricq; having under their convoy the two armées en flûte and late 40-gun frigates Loire and Seine, commanded by lieutenants de vaisseau Joseph Normand-Kergré and Bernard Vincent, mounting 20 guns each, (iron 36-pounder carronades and long 18-pounders,) and laden with troops and military stores for Gaudeloupe; with which, on the 15th of the preceding month, they had sailed from Nantes.

The Junon and Observateur immediately made sail in chase, and at 4 P. M. discovered that the strangers were frigates. Soon afterwards, having cleared for latter action, the british frigate and brig hoisted their decoy the colours, and the Junon fired several guns to induce british the strangers to show theirs. At 5 P. M., approachby spa- ing near, the Junon made the private signal: on nish which the Renommée first, and then her consorts, signals. hoisted spanish colours, but showed no disposition

frigate

private

to bring to. The british frigate, still bearing down, now hoisted the spanish private signal, a blue pendant at the fore and a ball at the main; when, almost immediately, the Renommée hoisted a red flag with a white cross at the fore, which was the proper answer to the signal. Thus deceived, the Junon continued to approach the four french frigates; until, at 5 h. 30 m. P. M., the latter shortened sail and hauled their wind in line of battle on the larboard tack..

The Junon immediately shortened sail also; and, 1809. when about a quarter of a mile to-windward of the Dec. french squadron, the Renommée, who was the leading frigate, hauled down the spanish and hoisted french colours, and poured a destructive broadside into the starboard bow of the british frigate.

mence

Junon.

Finding, from the state of her rigging, that it was Comimpossible to escape to-windward, the Junon ran action under the stern of the Renommée and raked her. with The Observateur, about the same time, discharged her starboard broadside at the french frigate's bows, but at too great a distance for the brig's carronades to do execution. Meanwhile the Clorinde, the second astern to the Renommée, had hauled close to the wind, and now ran nearly foul of the Junon on her starboard side. In this position a spirited cannonade ensued for upwards of 10 minutes, to the apparent disadvantage of the Clorinde; when the Renommée, who, after having been raked by her opponent, had wore to avoid a repetition of the salute, ran foul of the Junon on her larboard side. As if these two french frigates were not sufficient to overpower the single british frigate, the Seine and Loire stationed themselves, one ahead, the other astern, of the Junon; and the troops on board of each, particularly of the Loire, who lay with her bowsprit over the british frigate's larboard quarter, kept up a most destructive fire of musketry, which nearly cleared the Juno's quarterdeck of both officers and men.

Short

It was at about this time that captain Shortland Capt. had his leg broken by a grape-shot, and was also land badly wounded by splinters. The command of the mortalship, in consequence, devolved lieutenant Sa- wound,

upon

ly

muel Bartlett Deecker. The Clorinde now attempted ed. to board the Junon on the starboard quarter, but was most gallantly repulsed by a few men led on by lieutenant John Green of the marines, who nobly fell in the struggle. The Renommée would probably have made a similar attempt on the opposite side; but the Junon, lowering her foresail, shot

1809. ahead, clear of her two opponents. The latter, however, were not slow in regaining their position, Junon and, boarding the Junon simultaneously, one on each surren- side, took possession of the british frigate; who had

ders.

Mutual

loss, &c.

by this time fought her four opponents more than 45 minutes, the whole of the time, with two of them at least, yard-arm and yard-arm.

The Junon was cut to pieces in her hull and lower masts; and, out of her reduced crew of 224 men and boys, of whom 44 were Spaniards and Portuguese, she lost 20 officers and men killed and 40 wounded. The Observateur, who had hauled her wind as soon as she saw what was likely to be the fate of her consort, suffered neither damage nor loss. The Renommée, as acknowledged by captain Roquebert, had, out of her 360 men and boys, 15 men killed and only three wounded; and the Clorinde, whose complement was the same, six killed and 15 wounded; total, 21 killed and 18 wounded. The two armées en flûte, each of which had on board, including 200 troops, about 400 men and boys, owing to their safe position during the engagement, escaped, it appears, without any loss Junon whatever. In so shattered a state was the Junon at stroyed the time she surrendered, that her captors, despairing of getting their prize into port, although Gaudeloupe, the island to which they were bound, was at no great distance to-leeward, quickly removed the prisoners and set the ship on fire.

de

ac

The Junon had on board her french guns, 46 in number,* and the Renommée and Clorinde were each armed exactly the same as she was. CommoFrench dore Roquebert is honourable enough to say of his counts. antagonist, "Le capitaine anglais, a manœuvré sa frégate avec autant de courage que d'habileté; mais il lui était devenu impossible de nous échapper."+ It is somewhat strange, however, that the french captain should refer to the Loire and Seine no other

* See p. 221.

"Trois," Moniteur, February 3, 1810; probably a misprint for "vingt-trois."

wise than as, without naming them, "les transports 1809. que nous convoyons," and should not state that Dec. they took the slightest part in the action. We hope, for the sake of consistency in M. Roquebert, that the minister of marine, or the supervisor of official letters, has been the cause of so important an omission.

british

count

What is there in this action, that the account of it No should have been denied a place in the usual deposi- official tory of naval and military achievements, the London acGazette? Here is a british frigate defending herself of this against four ships, each of two of them her equal in action. guns, and greatly her superior in men, until she loses more than a fourth of her crew in killed and wounded, and inflicts upon her two principal antagonists a loss two thirds as heavy as that which she suffers herself; thus combining, what is not always found united, even in a british ship, a high degree of gallantry with an equal share of practical skill. But the Junon's affair was a defeat. Was not the affair of the Blanche a defeat, a far less honourable defeat? Yet captain Mudge was fortunate enough to get his long letter blazoned in the Gazette, and circulated all over the kingdom. As far as our humble efforts can prevail, justice shall yet be done to the officers and crew of the Junon; and these pages at least shall tell, of the brave defence maintained by that frigate against a force more than trebly superior her own.

vateur

com

cates

to

On the 15th, at 1 P. M., the Observateur arrived off ObserBasse-terre, Gaudeloupe; and, having telegraphed the 38-gun frigate Blonde, captain Volant Vashon muniBallard, that five french frigates (captain Wetherall intellinot having witnessed the destruction of the Junon) gence were within six hours sail of her, stood on under a squapress of canvass towards Martinique. Captain Bal- dron off lard, having then in his company the 38-gun frigate loupe. Thetis, captain George Miller, and the 18-gun shipsloops Hazard and Cygnet, captains Hugh Cameron and Edward Dix, immediately made all sail for the

Guade