Melpo

1801. mandant of the garrison of Gorée, to attempt to Jan. carry by surprise a french 18-gun brig-corvette and an armed schooner at anchor within it; in order, mène their means, as vessels of a less draught of water at Se than the frigate, to get possession of the battery that commanded the entrance to the river, and eventually of the settlement itself.

négal.

Accordingly, at 9h. 30 m. P. M., five boats, containing 55 volunteers from the Melpomène, five from the crew of a transport in company, and lieutenant Christie and 35 men from the African corps, being 96 in all, placed under the orders of lieutenant Thomas Dick, assisted by lieutenant William Palmer, and by lieutenant William Vyvian of the marines, quitted the Melpomène upon the service intrusted to them. Having passed in safety the heavy surf on the bar with the flood-tide, also the battery at the point, without being discovered, the boats, at 11 h. 15 m., arrived within a few yards of the brig; when the latter, by a single discharge of her two bowguns, killed lieutenant Palmer and seven men, and sank two of the best boats. Notwithstanding this, the three remaining boats pulled alongside of, boarded, and, after a 20 minutes' severe contest, carried, the french brig-corvette Sénégal, of 18 long 8 and 12 pounders (the latter carronades probably) and about 60 men, commanded by citizen Renou.

In the mean time the schooner had cut her cable, and run for protection nearer the battery; the fire from which, and from some musketry on the southern bank of the river, frustrated every attempt upon the former, although lieutenant Dick had turned the guns of the brig against her. Having effected as much as he could, lieutenant Dick cut the cables of the brig, and made sail with her down the river; but, owing to the ebb-tide's having made, and no one on board being acquainted with the navigation across the bar, the Sénégal grounded. After several vain attempts to get off the prize, lieutenant Dick and his party quitted her; and, with the three boats, suc

ceeded in making his way to the ship, across a tre- 1801. mendous surf, and under a heavy fire of grape-shot Jan. and musketry from the adjoining batteries. The brig afterwards sank up to her gunwales, in the quicksand on which she had grounded. The loss sustained by the British in this spirited, although but partially successful affair, amounted to one lieutenant, (William Palmer,) one lieutenant of marines, (William Vyvian,) one midshipman, (Robert Main,) six seamen, one marine, and one corporal of the African corps killed, one master's mate, (John Hendric,) one surgeon's mate, (Robert Darling,) 10 seamen, one corporal and four privates of marines, and lieutenant Christie of the African corps wounded; total, 11 killed and 18 wounded.

On the 6th of January the british 28-gun frigate Mercury, captain Thomas Rogers, cruising in the gulf of Lyons, fell in with a convoy of about 20 sail of vessels, bound from Cette to Marseille, under the escort of two or three french gun-boats. The weather being nearly calm, captain Rogers despatched his boats (but how commanded does not appear in the gazette-letter) to attack the convoy; 15 of which, including two ships and four brigs, and all deeply laden with brandy, sugar, corn, wine, oil, and other merchandise, were brought off with very little resistance and no loss, the gun-boats having all fled upon the Mercury's approach.

On the 20th, the island of Sardinia bearing eastsouth-east distant 40 leagues, and the wind blowing fresh, the Mercury fell in with, and after a nine hours' chase captured, without loss or resistance, the french 20-gun ship-corvette Sans-Pareille, of 18 brass 8-pounders and two brass 36-pounder carronades, and (the London Gazette says, fifteen," but the french captain's deposition in the prizecourt) 155 men, commanded by lieutenant Gabriel Renaud, from Toulon the day preceding, bound to Alexandria, with a full cargo of shot, arms, medicines, and supplies of every kind, for the french

66

Jan.

1801. army. Although described as quite a new vessel, and well-found with stores of every description, the prize does not appear to have been added to the british navy.

of

Guade

On the 15th of January, while the 20-gun ship Boats Daphne, captain Richard Matson, 18-gun ship-sloops Cyane, Cyane and Hornet, captains Henry Matson and James &c. at Nash, and schooner-tender Garland, were at an loupe. anchor in the harbour of the Saintes, a convoy of french coasters, in charge of an armed schooner, was observed standing across towards Vieux-Fort, island of Guadeloupe. At midnight the Garland schooner, accompanied by two boats from each of the three ships, under the command of lieutenants Kenneth Mackenzie and Francis Peachey, was despatched to attempt the capture or destruction of the convoy. The whole of the vessels, however, except one, succeeded in getting under the guns of Basse-terre. That one, having anchored near Vieux-Fort, was boarded and brought off under a heavy but apparently harmless cannonade.

Cap

Eclair.

On the 17th in the afternoon, the french schooner ture of Eclair, of four long 4-pounders, twenty 11⁄2-pounder brass swivels, and 45 men, the escort of the convoy in question, was observed to put into Trois-Rivières, and anchor under the protection of one principal battery and two smaller flanking ones. Lieutenants Mackenzie and Peachey volunteered to attempt cutting her out. For this purpose the first-named officer, with 25 seamen and marines, went on board the Garland; and at 5 A. M. on the 18th, which was as early as the breeze would permit, the Cyane, tender, and boats stood across to Trois-Rivières. On arriving at the anchorage, the Garland ran the Eclair on board, and lieutenants Mackenzie and Peachey, with 30 men, boarded and carried the french schooner in the face of the batteries.

This gallant exploit was not performed wholly without loss, the British having had one seaman and one marine wounded, and a sergeant of marines and

two seamen wounded. In defending herself, which 1801. she appears to have done in a very manful way, the Jan. Eclair lost one seaman killed, two drowned, and her captain, first and second lieutenants, and six men wounded. The schooner had recently sailed from Rochefort; and, although mounting only four guns, was pierced for, and, being 145 tons, was well able to carry, 12 guns, the number she afterwards mounted in the british service.

Late in the month of December, 1800, the british 8gunschooner Active, acting-lieutenant Michael Fitton, having returned to Port-Royal from a long cruise, needed a thorough repair. To employ to advantage the intervening time, captain Henry Vansittart, of the Abergavenny 54, of which ship the Active was the tender, allowed lieutenant Fitton to transfer himself and crew to one of the Active's prizes, the late spanish privateer N.-S. de los Dolores; a felucca of about 50 tons, mounting one long 12pounder on a traversing carriage, with a screw to raise it from the hold when wanted for use. Having embarked on board of her, and stowed as well as he could, his 44 officers and men, lieutenant Fitton, early in January, 1801, sailed out on a cruise upon the Spanish Main.

In her way along the coast, for every part of which her commander was a pilot, the tender, whose rig and appearance were an admirable decoy, destroyed two or three enemy's small-craft; such as, although not worth sending in, were precisely the kind of vessels which had recently been committing such serious depredations on West India commerce. It may be observed here, that small, swift-sailing, armed vessels, properly commanded and appointed, are the only description of cruisers which can operate with effect against the hordes of tiny, but well-manned, and, to a merchant vessel, formidable privateers, that usually swarm in the West India seas. The Active herself had perhaps captured or destroyed more of these marauders, than any frigate

VOL. III.

1801. upon the station; and it need not be urged at what Jan. a comparatively trifling expense.

A succession of stormy weather, and the leaky state of the felucca's deck, by which chiefly 22 of the men had been made sick, induced her commander to steer for, and take possession of, a small key near Point Canoe on the Spanish Main. Here lieutenant Fitton erected a tent, landed his men and stores; and, after making the best disposition his means would admit to resist an attack, examined the state of his vessel. The main beam, on which the gun rested, was found to be badly sprung. This was irreparable. The vessel's rigging was decayed, and he had no cordage; her sails were split and torn, and he had neither canvass, nor even sailtwine. Being, however, a man of resources, lieutenant Fitton reduced and altered the shape of the sails, the seamen using for twine what they unravelled from the remnant pieces. He then rigged the tender as a lugger, and reembarked his men, gun, and the few stores he had left.

In this ineffective state, the tender bore up for Carthagena; her commander intending to coast down the Main to Porto-Bello, in the hope of being able to capture or cut out some vessel that might answer to carry his crew and himself to Jamaica. On the 23d of January, early in the morning, as the tender was hauling round Cape Rosario, a schooner was discovered, to which she immediately gave chase. The schooner, which was the spanish garda-costa Santa-Maria, of six (pierced for 10) long 6-pounders, 10 swivels, and 60 men, commanded by don Josef Coréi, a few hours only from Carthagena, bore down to reconnoitre the lugger. The latter having her gun below, and as many of her men hid from view as the want of a barricade would permit, the garda-costa readily approached within gun-shot. Although he could have no wish to contend with so powerful an adversary, lieutenant Fitton could not resist the oppor