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Accordingly, on the 16th of September, a detachment of 368 officers and men embarked at Fort Duncan, island of Rodriguez, on board the 12-pounder 36-gun frigate Néréide, Captain Robert Corbett, 18-gun ship-sloop Otter, Captain Nisbet Josiah Willoughby, and the honourable company's armed schooner Wasp, Lieutenant Watkins; and, on the evening of the 18th joined, off Port-Louis, Isle of France, besides the Raisonable, the 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Sirius, Captain Samuel Pym, and 38-gun frigate Boadicea, Captain John Hatley. Early on the following morning 100 seamen from the Raisonable and Otter, and the marines of the squadron, 136 in number, forming, along with the troops, a total of 604 officers and men, were put on board the Néréide; Captain Corbett's perfect acquaintance with the coast rendering him the fittest person to undertake the important service of landing the detachment. Thus prepared, the squadron, in the evening, stood towards Bourbon, and early on the following morning, the 20th, arrived off the east end of the island,

On approaching the bay of St.-Paul, the Néréide, to prevent suspicion, preceded the other ships; and, on the 21st, at 5 A. M., having anchored close to the beach, the frigate disembarked the troops, without causing any alarm, a little to the southward of Pointe du Galet, distant about seven miles from St.-Paul. The troops and marines, commanded by Colonel Keating, and the detachment of seamen by Captain Willoughby, immediately commenced a forced march, with the view of crossing the causeways that extend over the lake, before the French could discover their approach. This important object the British fully accomplished; nor had the French time to form in any force until after Colonel Keating and his party had passed the strongest position.

By 7 A. M. the troops were in possession of the first and second batteries (Lambousière and la Centière), and immediately Captain Willoughby, with his detachment of seamen, turned the guns of those batteries upon the shipping; from whose fire, which was chiefly grape, and well directed, within pistol-shot of the shore, the troops suffered much. From the battery of la Centière, a detachment marched and took quiet possession of the third battery, or that of la Neuf; having previously defeated the islanders in a smart skirmish. The enemy having been reinforced from the hills, and having also received 110 troops of. the line from the Caroline frigate, the guns of the first and second batteries were now spiked, and the seamen sent to man the battery of la Neuf; which soon opened its fire upon the Caroline and her consorts. The fourth and fifth batteries shared the fate of the others; and, by 8 h. 30 m. A. M., the town, batteries, magazines, eight field-pieces, 117 new and heavy guns of different calibers, and all the public stores, with several prisoners, were in

the possession of Lieutenant-colonel Keating and the little army he commanded.

In the mean time the British squadron, having stood into the bay, had opened a heavy fire upon the French frigate, and the two Indiamen and other armed vessels in her company, as well as upon those batteries which, owing to their distance from the point of attack, were enabled to continue their fire. The British squadron then came to an anchor in the road, close off the town of St.-Paul, and began taking measures to secure the Caroline and the rest of the French ships; all of which, having cut their cables, had drifted on shore. The seamen of the squadron, however, soon succeeded in heaving the ships off, without any material injury.

Thus was effected, in the course of a few hours, by a British force of inconsiderable amount, the capture of the only safe anchorage at Isle Bourbon, together with its strong defences and shipping; and that after a loss by no means so great as might have been expected. Of the naval detachment serving on shore, there were two seamen and five marines killed, one lieutenant (Edward Lloyd, Raisonable), two lieutenants of marines (Thomas Robert Pye, Boadicea, and Matthew Howden, Raisonable, the latter mortally), two seamen, 13 marines wounded, and one seaman missing; and of the troops, eight killed, 40 wounded, and two missing: total 15 killed, 58 wounded, and three missing.

The captured ships were the Caroline French frigate, “Grappler," 14-gun brig, the honourable company's late ships Streatham and Europe, and five or six smaller vessels. The British did not sustain any loss on board the squadron, and the ships were equally fortunate in respect to damage. The loss sustained by the French either afloat or on shore has not been enumerated. By evening the demolition of the different gun and mortar batteries and of the magazines was complete, and the whole of the troops, marines, and seamen returned on board their ships.

On the 22d, in the evening, the appearance of a French force collecting upon the hills induced the lieutenant-colonel and commodore to reland the detachment of marines, accompanied by a few seamen, with orders to Captain Willoughby, who had again volunteered to take the command, to destroy the stores containing the public property. An extensive government store, containing all the raw silk which had been on board the Indiamen, and was valued at more than half a million sterling, was set on fire and destroyed. The remaining stores within reach were left untouched, merely because a doubt existed as to their being public property. This important service effected, the detachment re-embarked without the slightest casualty, although almost within gun-shot of a much superior force.

On the 23d at daybreak, the troops, marines, and seamen were all in the boats ready again to land, under cover of the Néréide, when it was discovered that General Desbrusleys, the governor of Bourbon, had, in the course of the night, retreated across the island to St.-Denis. The commandant of the town of St.-Paul, Captain St.-Michel, being now disposed to negotiate with the British, terms for the delivery of all public property in the town were drawn up and agreed to. General Desbrusleys having shot himself, through chagrin, as alleged, at the success of the British, a prolongation of the armistice was granted for five days. On the 28th the truce expired; and the British troops, marines, and seamen immediately began shipping the provisions, ordnancestores, and small remainder of the cargoes of the captured Indiamen. Captains Dale and Gelston were then reinstated in the command of the Streathem and Europe; and, with the aid of the British squadron, the ships were refitted for sea. This done, Commodore Rowley and his squadron made sail from the bay of St.-Paul.

The Caroline, a tolerably fine frigate of 1078 tons, launched at Antwerp in August, 1806, was commissioned under the appropriate name (a Caroline being already in the service) of Bourbonaise, and Captain Corbett was appointed to command her. The vacancy in the Néréide was immediately filled up by giving post-rank to Captain Willoughby, who had so gallantly and so successfully exerted himself on the occasion; and of whom Lientenant-colonel Keating and Captain Rowley, in their several despatches speak in the highest terms.

The above, in substance, is as the account of the expedition of St.-Paul's bay stands in our first edition; but a contemporary has given a somewhat different version of it. He names Captain Corbett as Captain Willoughby's assistant on shore, although the former never quitted the Néréide; and had he landed, would of course, from his superior rank, have assumed the command. The following paragraph also appears: "The Sirius (commanded, it appears, by Captain Corbet,' not Captain Pym) anchored with her stern within pistol-shot of the beach, and sustained the fire of the batteries, a frigate, two Indiamen, and a brig. She never returned a shot till both her anchors were let go; the British troops then rushed on; and in 20 minutes every French flag was struck. The grape-shot of the Sirius went over the most distant ships of the enemy; and so severe and well kept up was her fire, that both the French and English expressed their admiration."*

The principal part of this statement will be best answered by a short extract from the logs of two of the ships present at the attack. The Sirius herself says: "At 7 A. M. Néréide tele

* Brenton, vol. iv., p. 398.

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graphed Raisonable, troops on shore.' Observed a union jack on one of the batteries. At 7 (h. 30 m. meant, it is believed) enemy opened a fire on the Néréide. At 8 Raisonable opened a fire on the French frigate. At 8, 10, Sirius fired several broadsides. Filled and made sail to windward. 8, 45, tacked and stood in shore. 9, 15, brought up with the stream and small bower, opened a raking fire on the Caroline, Indiamen, and battery. At 10 ceased firing, shipping and batteries in possession of the British troops." The Otter, by her log, says: "At 8, 45, observed all the batteries in our possession. 8, 50, observed Sirius make signal, Permission to anchor.' Affirmed by the Raisonable. 9, 14, observed Sirius anchor and open a raking fire on the frigate. 9, 20, the frigate hauled down her colours." Among other misinformation that appears to have reached Captain Brenton, is, that Captain Feretier, late of the Caroline, and not General Desbrusleys, committed suicide.

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In the summer of the present year the French frigates Vénus and Manche, accompanied by the 14-gun corvette Créole, were cruising in the bay of Bengal. On the 26th of July, off the south end of the Great Nicobar island, the Vénus, then alone, captured the honourable company's brig Orient, Captain Harman, bound with despatches from Madras to Prince-of-Wales's island. Sending his prize to the isle of France, Commodore Hamelin cruised on the same station about a week longer, and then proceeded to Carnicobar island for water. He was there joined by the Manche and Créole. Having completed their water, the two frigates and corvette made sail for the Preparis isles, and then for Acheen head.

The French commodore continued cruising, with very indifferent success, off the north-west coast of the island of Sumatra until the 10th of October; when he detached the Créole to seize the honourable company's settlement of Tappanooly, on the small island of Punchongcacheel, close to the west side of Sumatra. On the 12th the Créole arrived off and took possession of the settlement. On the 21st the Vénus and Manche joined the Créole; and Commodore Hamelin immediately proceeded on the work of destruction. The few guns on the battery were disabled, the property, both public and private, confiscated, the buildings of every description set on fire, the cattle carried off, the horses maimed, and the plantations on the main destroyed. All the residents found at Tappanooly were brought on board the Vénus; but subsequently the female part of them were put on board a prize schooner, and allowed to proceed to Padang. According to a private letter from one of the sufferers, which appeared in the London papers of the day, the behaviour of Commodore Hamelin, to the female portion of his unhappy prisoners especially, was of the most disgraceful and revolting character. We shall not, however, enter into the particulars,

but merely state, that on the 23d of October the French squadron, having thus signalized itself, quitted Tappanooly, and steered for the bay of Bengal.

On the 18th of November, at daylight, latitude 6° 30′ north, longitude 92° 45' east, the honourable company's outward-bound ships Windham, Captain John Stewart, United-Kingdom, Captain William Parker D'Esterre, and Charlton, Captain Charles Mortlock, while standing on the larboard tack with a light breeze from the westward, discovered in the east-south-east, about seven miles distant, three ships close hauled on the starboard tack. At 6 A. M. the strangers, which were no other than the Vénus, Manche, and Créole, tacked and stood towards the Indiamen.

The three latter were of the same size as the Streatham and Europe; and two of them, the Windham and Charlton, mounted the same guns on the main deck, with six medium 9-pounders on the quarterdeck. The United-Kingdom mounted 20 medium 12-pounders on the main deck, and six 6-pounders on the quarterdeck. Each ship had a crew of 110 men, including Lascars; and between the three were distributed about 200 recruits going to join the Indian army. Opposed to two heavy French frigates and a corvette, the three Indiamen would have stood no chance; but, as it would have been equally impossible to escape, and particularly as one of the frigates, the Manche, was considerably detached and to windward of her two consorts, Commodore Stewart considered that a prompt and well-concerted attack upon her might succeed before she could be supported by the ships to leeward. He accordingly telegraphed his wishes to the United-Kingdom and Charlton, and they affirmed the signal. Upon this the Windham bore down under all sail, and was tardily followed by her two consorts.

At 8 A. M., having arrived well up with the weathermost French frigate, and finding that his two consorts still remained far astern, and were making no efforts to co-operate with him, Captain Stewart resolved singly to engage the French frigate, hoping to be afforded a chance of boarding her. His proposal was cheered by the ship's company and troops, and the Windham continued to advance towards the Manche. At 9 h. 30 m. A. M. the latter hoisted French colours and commenced a heavy fire, but the Windham continued to close without returning a shot. Seeing her determination, the French frigate evaded it by wearing round on the starboard tack. The Windham followed the frigate in the manœuvre and opened her fire; but Captain Stewart soon found that, while the shot of the Manche were flying over him, those of the Windham fell short. The latter now backed her main topsail, and commenced a close action with the Manche; who, finding that the Windham's two consorts kept aloof from the battle, merely firing now and then a few distant and harmless

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