NAVAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

SIR RICHARD STRACHAN'S ACTION.

VICE-ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD, now the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet, continued throughout the greater part of the remainder of the year at his station off Cadiz, watching the 10 or 11 shattered enemy's ships that lay at anchor within it. Four days after the action Vice-admiral FrançoisEtienne Rosily arrived at the port direct from Paris, to supersede Vice-admiral Villeneuve in the command. Instead of 18 fine fresh ships, the new admiral found five disabled ones, or rather four, the Héros having considerately kept herself in so efficient a state, that she was able at once to hoist the flag of Admiral Rosily, and even to carry him to sea, had such been his intention, and no blockading force been cruising off the harbour. There were still four ships of the combined fleet present at the battle of Trafalgar, whose movements require to be traced. These, it will be recollected, were the four French ships that escaped to the southward, under the command of Rear-admiral Dumanoir, in the 80-gun ship Formidable.

Having by dark on the day of the battle gained a safe offing, M. Dumanoir commenced repairing the few damages which his squadron had sustained; few, indeed, for his ships, in making off, carried royals upon a wind, and to the British, who were attentively observing them, exhibited no signs of injury. One or two of the ships, however, were certainly struck in the hull by some of the British ships, most probably by the Minotaur and Spartiate; for the Formidable made a good deal of water, and had three of her guns dismounted, and the Duguay-Trouin had one petty officer mortally and four others slightly wounded. Upon looking into the rôles d'équipage of the four ships, we

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cannot discover that they sustained any other loss in the battle of Trafalgar.

With the wind as it blew, the French admiral would have steered towards Toulon, had he not received intelligence that Rear-admiral Louis, with a squadron of four or five sail of the line, was cruising in the neighbourhood of the Straits. Nothing now remained but to proceed on a cruise, or to endeavour to make a home port to the northward. Fortunately for British interests, M. Dumanoir chose the latter alternative, and, having stood to the westward until the squadron doubled Cape St. Vincent, which it did not do until the 29th, he steered north, intending to enter the road of the isle of Aix.

Two or

The celebrated Rochefort squadron of five sail of the line, three frigates, and two brigs, under Rear-admiral Allemand, had escaped from their anchorage since the preceding July, and was now at sea, playing sad havoc with British commerce. three squadrons were seeking M. Allemand, and every British cruiser was on the alert, in the hope of hearing some tidings of him. In the latter part of October the British 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Phoenix, Captain Thomas Baker, steering, with sealed orders, to a prescribed spot, a short distance to the westward of Scilly, received intelligence from two or three neutrals, that the Rochefort squadron had recently been seen in the bay of Biscay. Considering that the importance of this communication would justify him in prematurely breaking open his despatches, Captain Baker did so, and found they merely contained an order to proceed to what was likely to prove to the Phoenix and those on board of her a profitable cruising-ground.

Without a moment's hesitation in the choice between private interest and public duty, Captain Baker made all sail towards the bay of Biscay; and, having crossed it, had just reached the latitude of Cape Finisterre, when, on the 2nd of November, at 11 A.M. standing on the starboard tack, with the wind at northnorth-west, the Phoenix discovered and chased four large sail, bearing west-north-west. Soon after noon the strangers bore up, under all sail, in chase of the Phoenix; who thereupon bore up also, and steered south, Captain Baker being aware that a British squadron under Sir Richard Strachan was cruising off Ferrol; and into whose hands he hoped to be able to lead, what he believed to be, a part of the Rochefort squadron.

At 3 P.M. the Phoenix discovered four additional sail of large ships bearing south. In a quarter of an hour more the four sail first seen, having made the same discovery, hauled to the wind

on the starboard tack. Immediately the Phonix, then steering south-south-east, hauled up to south by west, the better to keep sight of the ships first seen. These, which were, as it will be conjectured, the French 80-gun ship Formidable, and 748 MontBlanc, Scipion, and Duguay-Trouin, under Rear-admiral Dumanoir,' subsequently wore and stood to the eastward; and the Phoenix, firing guns and covering herself with signals, stood again to the south-south-east, to join the four large sail seen in that direction, and judged, but not yet ascertained, to be friends. Much about the time that the Phoenix gained a sight of the four ships of M. Dumanoir, bearing from her west-north-west, the British 38-gun frigate Boadicea, Captain John Maitland, and 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Dryad, Captain Adam Drummond, discovered and chased them in the east by south. At about 8 h. 45 m. P.M. the Phoenix saw the Boadicea and Dryad; but, as the latter were between herself and the supposed Rochefort squadron, the rockets they threw up failed to produce the desired effect, and the Phoenix continued to stand from them. At about 9 h. 30 m. the Boadicea and Dryad discovered to leeward the same four ships, towards which the Phoenix was hastening, together with three others at no great distance from them, making seven sail in all. These were a British squadron under Sir Richard Strachan, which had been detached from the Channel fleet since the 29th of October, in search of the Rochefort squadron, and consisted of the

Having, without getting any answer to their signals, arrived within two miles of the Cæsar, which was the weathermost ship of this squadron, and then standing close hauled on the larboard tack, the Boadicea and Dryad, at about 10 h. 30 m. P.M., tacked to the north-east, and soon lost sight of friends and foes. At 11 P.M. the Phoenix passed under the stern of the Cæsar, steering as before about north by east; and, after the receipt of a shot and the interchange of a few hails, discovering the ship

1 For the names of the captains see vol. iii., p. 386.

to be what she was, Captain Baker informed Sir Richard Strachan that the Rochefort squadron, or four ships at least of it, were then not far distant upon his lee bow.

Sir Richard's squadron being at this time very much scattered, the commodore directed Captain Baker to make sail to the southsouth-east, and hasten forward the ships astern. The Cæsar then bore away under all sail, with the wind at west-north-west, followed at a great distance by the Hero, Courageux, and Æolus. Scarcely had the Phoenix stood away from the Cæsar before the light of the moon discovered to Sir Richard the objects of his chase, then in the east-north-east, under a press of canvas, in the act of bearing away, closely formed in a sort of bow and quarter line. The Cæsar and her three nearest consorts continued the pursuit until the setting of the moon, at about 1 h. 30 m. A.M. on the 3rd, accompanied by hazy blowing weather, concealed the enemy from view; they then shortened sail, to await the coming up of their friends astern.

At daylight on the 3rd, by which time the wind had veered to west-south-west, the Santa-Margarita joined the Cæsar and her three companions; and at 7 h. 30 m. A.M. Cape Ortugal appeared in sight, bearing south-east half-east distant 36 miles. At 9 A.M. the French ships again showed themselves in the northnorth-east; and the British ships, spreading everything they could set, immediately chased in that direction. At 11 A.M. the Namur, preceded by the Phoenix, and followed at some distance by a frigate which afterwards proved to be the Révolutionnaire 38, Captain the Honourable Henry Hotham, appeared far astern, using every effort to get up. At noon the French ships were about 14 miles distant, and in the same line of bearing as when first seen, the wind south-south-west, blowing strong. Towards 3 P.M. the Santa-Margarita, by her superior sailing, became the leading ship in the chase; and the Phoenix, upon joining in the evening, was despatched ahead, to assist the former in harassing the enemy's rear. To the great mortification of her officers and crew, the Bellona had by this time parted company.

On the 4th, at daylight, owing to the indifferent sailing of the Formidable, aided by the partial influence of the wind in its fluctuations throughout the night, and which now blew moderately from the south-east, the British ships had gained so far in the chase, that scarcely six miles intervened between the Cæsar, still the leading line-of-battle ship of her squadron, and the Scipion, the rearmost ship in the French line. Such also, during the preceding night's chase, had been the zeal and acti

vity on board the Santa-Margarita, that, by 5 h. 45 m. A.M. this frigate got near enough to fire her starboard foremost guns at the Scipion; who, in a quarter of an hour afterwards brought her stern-chasers to bear, and presently killed the boatswain, and badly struck the hull, of the Santa-Margarita. At 9 h. 30 m. A.M. the Phoenix got up, and opened a fire from her larboard guns into the Scipion's starboard quarter. In this way the two British frigates, practising every feasible manoeuvre to keep clear of the broadsides of their formidable opponents, continued to harass the French rear. Meanwhile the Cæsar, Hero, and Courageux, now formed in line ahead, and just favoured by a shift of wind to south-south-east, were rapidly approaching, to give a more decided feature to the combat.

At about 11 h. 45 m. A.M., finding an action unavoidable, the French admiral threw out the signal for his ships to take in their small sails, and haul up together on the starboard tack, with their heads to the north-east by east. This they presently did, and then fell into a line ahead in the following order: Duguay-Trouin, Formidable, Mont-Blanc, Scipion. From the last-named ship the Cæsar at this time bore about south by west rather more than a mile distant: consequently she was well on the weather-quarter of the French rear. The Namur and Révolutionnaire had been great gainers by the slight change in the wind. They were now running with it upon the quarter, and bore from the commodore and his line, the one south-west, or nearly astern, distant about 14 miles, the other west-south-west, or a little upon the lee-quarter, distant about seven miles. A trifle to the westward of the Révolutionnaire's line of bearing, and just out of gun-shot from the enemy, lay the Eolus; and, much nearer, the Santa-Margarita and Phoenix, who had already performed so well, and who were still doing their utmost to cripple the rearmost French ship.

Having announced to Captains Gardner and Lee, by hailing, that he should attack the centre and rear of the enemy, Sir Richard edged away for the French admiral; as did the two former, in like manner, for M. Dumanoir's two seconds astern. At about 15 minutes past noon the Cæsar opened her larboard guns upon the Formidable, then, as well as her three companions, carrying topsails and topgallantsails with courses clewed up, and having the wind, as before, about a point abaft the starboard beam. In a minute or two after the Cæsar had begun firing, the Hero and Courageux, in quick succession, discharged their broadsides into the Mont-Blanc and Scipion. The