Séville was such, that the latter, soon after her capture, filled and sank, carrying down with her one of the seamen belonging to the British brig. On the 10th of December, in the evening, the British 10-gun brig-sloop Rosario (same force as Briseis*), Captain Booty Harvey, cruising off Dungeness, with the wind blowing hard from the westward, fell in with two large French lugger-privateers, whose intention was evidently to board her. Knowing their superiority of sailing, Captain Harvey, with the utmost gallantry and promptitude, ran the nearest lugger alongside : whereupon Lieutenant Thomas Daws, with a party of men, sprang on board, and in a few minutes succeeded in carrying her. The Rosario at the same time was engaged on the starboard side with the other lugger; but who, on seeing the fate of her companion, sheered off and effected her escape, owing principally to the loss of the Rosario's jib-boom in boarding the captured lugger, and her consequent inability to make sail to windward. The prize was the Mamelouck, of Boulogne, Captain Norbez Laurence, carrying 16 guns and 45 men; of whom seven were wounded. The loss on board the Rosario amounted to five men wounded, two of them severely. On the 12th of December, at 8 A. M., the British cutter Entreprenante, mounting eight 4-pounders, with 33 men and boys, Lieutenant Peter Williams, while lying becalmed off the coast of Spain, about midway between Malaga and Almeria bay, observed four vessels at anchor under the castle of Faro. At 9 A. M., these vessels, which were French latteen-rigged privateers, one of six guns, including two long 18-pounders, and 75 men, another of five guns and 45 men, and the remaining two of two guns and 25 men each, weighed and swept out towards the cutter. At 10 h. 30 m. A. M. the privateers hoisted their colours, and opened their fire. At 11 A. M., which was as early as her lighter guns would reach, the Entreprenante commenced firing at the privateers; one of the two largest of which lay on her starboard bow, the other on her starboard quarter, and the two smaller ones rght astern. The action was now maintained with spirit on both sides, at a pistol-shot distance, each party firing with round and grape shot, and the cutter with musketry also. At noon the Entreprenante had her topmast, peek-halliards and blocks, fore jeers, fore halliards, and jib-tie shot away; also two of her starboard guns disabled, by the stock of one and the carriage of the other being broken. Seeing the cutter in this disabled state, the nearest of the two large privateers attempted to board; but her men were driven back by the British crew, who, with the two foremost guns and musketry, kept up an incessant fire. A second attempt was made to board, and a second time it was defeated, but with a * See p. 230. loss to the cutter of one man killed and four wounded. The Entreprenante now manned her starboard sweeps, and, getting round, brought her larboard guns to bear. With two broadsides from these, she compelled three of her antagonists to sheer off. All the cutter's canister-shot and musket-balls were now expended; but at this moment two well-directed broadsides, doubled-shotted, carried away the foremast and bowsprit of the most formidable of the privateers. Grown desperate by a resistance so unexpected, the Frenchmen made a third attempt to board the British vessel, but met with no better success than before; although in their effort to repulse them, the Entreprenante had two of her larboard guns dismounted, and experienced some additional loss. The fire of the privateers now beginning to slacken, the cutter's people gave three cheers, and, with two guns double-shotted, poured a destructive raking fire into the vessel that was dismasted. This decided the business; and, at 2 h. 30 m. P. M., the two greatest sufferers by the contest were towed to the shore by boats. The Entreprenante continued sending her shot after her flying foes until 3 P. M., when they got beyond her reach. The castle of Faro at this time fired a few ineffectual shots at the British cutter. Notwithstanding the length and severity of this action, and the more than double force opposed to the Entreprenante, the latter escaped with no greater loss than one man killed and 10 wounded. The loss on the part of her opponents could only be gathered from rumour, and that made it as many as 81 in killed and wounded; not an improbable amount, considering how numerously the privateers were manned, and how well the cutter plied her cannon and musketry. On his return to Gibraltar, Lieutenant Williams, and the officers and crew of the Entrepre nante, received the public acknowledgment of the commanding officer on the station, Commodore Charles Vinicombe Penrose. Some other marks of favour were conferred upon the lieutenant; but the reward the most coveted, and, considering that a particle less of energy and perseverance might have lost the king's cutter, no one can say, a reward not fully merited, promotion, appears to have been withheld. We judge so, because, according to the admiralty navy-list, Lieutenant Williams was not made a commander until the 27th of August, 1814. On the 7th of December, after dark, the British 10-gun brigsloop Rinaldo (eight 18-pounder carronades and two sixes), Captain James Anderson, while cruising off Dover with the wind from the westward, discovered to windward, and immediately chased, two large armed luggers standing towards the English coast. The two French privateers, as they proved to be, the moment they saw the Rinaldo outside of them, endeavoured to pass her and effect their escape over to their own coast. One of them, the Maraudeur, of 14 guns and 85 men, after sustaining a running fight of several minutes' duration, attempted to cross the brig's bows; but the Rinaldo frustrated the manœuvre, by putting her helm hard a-port and running her jib-boom between the privateer's jib-stay and foremast. By this evolution the two vessels were brought close alongside. The Frenchmen, being all upon deck, now attempted to board, but were repulsed by the Rinaldo's crew; who, in their turn, although only 65 in number, including several boys, boarded from the fore-chains, in the most gallant style, led by Lieutenant Edward Gascoigne Palmer, and soon cleared the privateer's decks and compelled her crew to call for quarter. This promptly decided and very spirited affair cost the Maraudeur her captain and four men wounded, two of them very severely; but no one was hurt belonging to the Rinaldo. While the latter was occupied in exchanging prisoners, the other lugger effected her escape into Calais. The prize was a fine fast-sailing vessel belonging to Boulogne, only 13 days off the stocks, pierced for 18 guns, and, as a lugger, of very large dimensions. On the 17th of December, at 3 h 30 m. P. M., while stretching out from St.-Helen's, on her way from Spithead to her station off Dover, the Rinaldo discovered four lugger-privateers in the offing, lying to, with all their sails lowered down. Knowing it would be useless to chase them, Captain Anderson altered his course and steered in-shore to the northward, with the view of decoying the privateers within the reach of his brig. To enable them to overtake her about dark, the Rinaldo trimmed her sails by, and kept in such a position as to prevent their making her out to be armed. The manœuvre succeeded, and the four luggers made all sail in chase of the British brig. At 5 P. M., the Owers light bearing west-north-west distant half a mile, the two largest luggers came up under the Rinaldo's stern, and, hailing her in a very abusive manner to strike, poured in several volleys of small arms. The Rinaldo, being all prepared, allowed the privateers to come close upon her quarters, and then tacked, thus bringing a broadside to bear upon each of them: she then wore round on her heel, and poured a second broadside, within pistol-shot, into the larger of the two; who, having discovered her mistake, was endeavouring to escape by bearing up. This well-directed fire brought down the large lugger's masts and sails; and immediately the latter called for quarter, and requested boats to be sent, as she was sinking. Just at this moment the second lugger, who had hauled her wind on receiving the first broadside, ran down upon the bow of the Rinaldo, apparently with the intention to board, keeping up as she advanced, a constant fire of musketry. The brig immediately hauled off from the disabled privateer, and attacked the other, who, running within the light, lowered down her sails and called also for quarter. In wearing round and manning her boats, to assist the one, and take possession of the other lugger, the Rinaldo was carried by the calm and strong ebb-tide on board the Owers light-vessel, and became so entangled with the latter, that it was not deemed prudent to send away her boats; especially as, by this time, the two other luggers had come up and were beginning to fire into the brig. While the Rinaldo was using every exertion to get clear, the second lugger that had struck ran up to the first one; and in a minute or two afterwards, finding that her consort was in the act of sinking, she made all sail to the French coast. The two remaining luggers made off about the same time, having received several shot from the Rinaldo as she lay alongside the lightvessel. It was afterwards ascertained that these four privateers, three of which mounted 14 guns, with 70 men each, belonged to Dieppe; and, from the Vieille-Josephine, of 16 guns, the one which sank, the captain and two men were all that were saved out of a crew of 80. The boom-mainsail and two topsails of the Rinaldo were completely riddled, and a number of musket-shot were found among the hammocks, but fortunately no one on board was hurt. In this little affair both seamanship and gallantry shone conspicuously; and Captain Anderson, and the officers and crew of the Rinaldo, were entitled to great credit for their performance. On the 4th of April, at 1 P. M., the British 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Success, Captain John Ayscough, and 18-gun brig-sloop Espoir, Captain Robert Mitford, while running along the coast of Calabria, abreast of Castiglione, discovered three vessels on the beach and men loading them. Considering the destruction of these vessels an object worth attempting, Captain Ayscough despatched on that service the boats of the Success and Espoir, under the orders of Lieutenant George Rose Sartorius, third of the frigate, assisted by Lieutenant Robert Oliver, of the Espoir, and master's mates George Lewis Coates and Richard Peace. Just as the British had arrived within musket-shot of the shore, three of the boats struck on a sunken reef and swamped; whereby two of the Espoir's seamen were drowned, and the ammunition of all in the three boats was wetted and spoiled. The officers and men swam to the beach with their cutlasses in their mouths. At this moment a fire was opened upon them from two long 6-pounders and four wall-pieces; which, having been secreted behind the rocks, were not perceived till the boats grounded. Regardless of this, Lieutenant Sartorius and his party rushed on, and obliged the enemy to desert the guns and retreat to some adjacent houses; from the windows of which, until dislodged and driven to the mountains, the enemy maintained a fire of musketry. The British then spiked the two 6pounders, and destroyed their carriages; and, having set fire to two laden vessels, already stove, and recovered their three swamped boats, the party returned on board with no greater additional loss than two marines wounded. On the 25th of April, at 10 A. M., the British 38-gun frigate Spartan, Captain Jahleel Brenton, accompanied by the frigate Success, and brig-sloop Espoir, being off Monte Circello, discovered one ship, three barks, and several feluccas, at anchor under the castle of Terrecino. The two frigates and brig immediately made all sail; and, on arriving off the town, Captain Brenton detached the boats of the squadron, under the orders of Lieutenant William Augustus Baumgardt of the Spartan, assisted by Lieutenant George Rose Sartorius of the Success, to endeavour to bring the vessels out. At about 30 minutes past noon the boats pulled for the shore, covered by the ships; and Captain Mitford, with great energy and judgment, ran in with the Espoir and sounded under the batteries. Shortly afterwards the two British frigates and brig came to an anchor, and began cannonading the shore and the batteries. In the mean time Lieutenant Baumgardt, with the boats, pulled into the road, and, in the face of a heavy fire, gallantly boarded the ship; which mounted six guns, and was defended for some time by her crew. At length the latter abandoned her to the British; who also took possession of the three barks, and brought off their four prizes with no greater loss than one seaman killed and two wounded, On the 1st of May, having detached the Espoir, Captain Brenton was cruising with the Spartan and Success; when, at 5 h 40 m. P. M., the south-west point of the island of Ischia bearing south-east distant three miles, two ships, a brig, and a cutter were discovered in the bay of Naples. These were the French frigate Cérès and corvette Fama, the Cyane's old opponents,* with the armed brig Sparvière and cutter Achille. The two British frigates immediately bore up and crowded sail in pursuit, with the wind from the south-west; and at 7 P. M. the French squadron put about and made all sail for Naples, chased nearly into the mole by the Spartan and Success. On the 2d, at daylight, the Cérès and her consorts were seen at anchor. The two British frigates then stood out towards the entrance of the bay; and Captain Brenton, feeling satisfied that the French commodore would not put to sea while two British frigates were cruising off the port, detached the Success, that evening to the Spartan's rendezvous, from five to ten leagues south-west of the island of Capri. The Spartan then stood back into the bay, with the intention, by daylight the next morning, of showing herself off the mole of Naples, in the hope to induce the French squadron to sail out and attack her. But Prince Murat had formed a bolder design than Captain Brenton gave him credit for. Having caused to be embarked in the frigate and corvette, 400 Swiss troops, and directed seven large gun-boats, with one loug French 18-pounder each, to accompany the squadron, the prince ordered the commodore to * See p. 174. |