Sept. by mis. .cor 1808. Antigua, island of Guadeloupe, bearing south-west, the british gun-brig Maria, of twelve 12-pounder Maria carronades and two long fours, with 65 men and chases boys, commanded by lieutenant James Bennett, saw take a and chased a sail bearing south-east by south, in the french hope to cut her off from the land, towards which vette. the vessel, supposed to be a french letter of marque, was then steering. Instead, however, of being a letter of marque, the stranger was the ship-corvette Département-des-Landes, now mounting 16 carronades, 24-pounders, and four long 8-pounders* on the main deck, and two brass 6-pounders on the quarterdeck, besides a large swivel on the forecastle, with a crew of at least 160 men and boys, commanded by captain Joseph-François Raoul. Is attacked Just as the Maria had got within gun-shot of her by her. opponent, a flaw of wind from the land took the brig aback. The weather almost immediately afterwards fell dead calm, and the Maria, in consequence, lay with her stern exposed to the broadside of the corvette; who, hoisting her ensign and pendant and raising her ports, poured into the british brig a most destructive raking fire. Before the Maria could get her sweeps to act, the Département-des-Landes was enabled to give her a second broadside; and, when the brig did sweep herself round, her fire was too insignificant to be of much avail, while the effect of that of her opponent was soon visible in the shattered state of the Maria's masts, yards, rigging, and Death hull. Owing to the latter's ensign-halyards having of lieut. been shot away, her colours came down. On this Ben nett. Maria surren the french captain asked if she had struck. Lieutenant Bennett replied "No." Presently afterwards. this gallant officer received three grape shots into his body, and fell dead beneath the colours which he had rehoisted. The action was still maintained with spirit, for ders in several minutes, by the master, Mr. Joseph Dyason; a sink. ing state. *For her armament in 1805, see vol. iv. p. 200. on marks on the when the Maria, being in a sinking state, and having 1808. lost, besides her captain, one midshipman (Robert O'Donnel) and four seamen killed and nine wounded, surrendered. One or two men slightly wounded appears to have been the extent of the loss sustained by the french corvette; and, considering the unmanageable state of her opponent at the commencement of the action, and her very inferior force, that was as much as could be expected. Scarcely had the Département-des-Landes taken possession of the Maria and removed the prisoners, than the prize-crew were compelled to run the vessel on shore Is run to prevent her from sinking under them. Nothing shore. could better testify the gallantry with which the Maria had been defended, and that against a ship in every respect but gallantry so decidedly her superior. Mr. Dyason, who writes the official letter to sir ReAlexander Cochrane, calls, or by the Gazette is made to call, his opponent," le Sards." As the ship's Département-de-la-Manche french frigate was mostly, for shortness, called Manche ;* so the Départementdes-Landes, we have no doubt, was named by her officers and crew "les Landes." This accounts pretty well for the name given to the corvette in Mr. Dyason's letter; and our contemporary, having no better guide, is excusable for adopting the same name, or rather "le Sarde," a word, by the by, as here spelt, not french. But how happens captain Brenton to call the Maria's opponent a "brig of war," when Mr. Dyason and sir Alexander Cochrane had both officially stated that she was a ship? We know, too, from the french captain's account, that she was the Département-des-Landes. This very corvette, it will be recollected, was one of сарtain Mudge's" two frigates; and, if any person was justified in applying that term to the french ship, it was the officer who lay alongside of her in a brig of * See vol. iv. p. 488. + Brenton, vol. iv. p. 272. See vol. iv. p. 207. name. 1808. 172 tons. Nowhere, however, in Mr. Dyason's letter, Sept. nor in sir Alexander Cochrane's, does the word frigate" appear. ment en british brig. 66 66 Dé- After carrying his prize into Martinique, captain parte Raoul sailed again on his voyage to France. On des- the 9th of November, in latitude 21° north, lonLandes gitude (from Paris) 64° west, the Département-desgages a Landes, according to the french accounts, fell in with an english brig of war, carrying 32-pounder carronades," and, after an action of two hours, dismasted and would have taken the brig, but for the appearance of "two british frigates" advancing to her relief. Captain Raoul states his loss on this ocfrigates casion at only two men killed and a few wounded. and ar- Although we have searched the logs of six or seven France. of the 18-gun brigs at this time cruising in the West Es capes from two british Indies, we have not been so successful as to discover the brig engaged by the Département-des-Landes. There were, however, three or four brig-sloops with 24-pounder carronades, and some gun-brigs with only 18-pounders, stationed off the french islands. Having escaped from the two british frigates, the Département-des-Landes hastened towards Europe, and on the 8th of December was fortunate enough to reach the river of Bordeaux. On the 10th of November, at 6 h. 42 m. P. M., while the british 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Amethyst, captain Michael Seymour, with the wind at east-northeast, was standing from the north-west point of the island of Groix towards the main land of France, a battery at Larmour fired several shot apparently at her. In three or four minutes afterwards a sail was observed astern, running about west by south. Ame- The Amethyst immediately wore in chase, and prechases sently fired two muskets to bring to the strange Thétis. vessel, now discovered to be a large ship. The thyst latter was, in fact, the french 40-gun frigate Thétis, captain Jacques Pinsum, from Lorient bound to Martinique, with troops and 1000 barrels of flour, besides other stores. It was therefore the object of the Thétis to pursue her course, and she did so under 1808. all sail. We may here mention, that it was at this Nov. ship that the french battery had fired, not having received notice of her intended departure. Vain At 9 P. M. the Amethyst, having got within a quarter of a mile, discharged her bow gun at the Thétis, who smartly returned the fire from one of her stern-chasers. Convinced now that the latter was an Makes signals enemy, captain Seymour, as his duty prescribed, let off one or two rockets, and soon saw them answered by three flashes in the east-north-east. The ship that did this was the Triumph 74, captain Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, and who instantly made sail in the direction of the rockets. Shortly after firing her stern-chasers, the Thétis took in her lower studdingsails, and the Amethyst the whole of her studdingsails and her royals. At 9 h. 15 m. the Thétis, then going nine knots, suddenly luffed to on the starboard tack, with the intention of raking the Amethyst, tempt who was advancing upon her weather quarter. To avoid the rake, and yet be ready to close, the rake Amethyst put her helm hard a-starboard; and, ponent. the instant the Thétis had discharged her starboard broadside, the Amethyst shifted her helm to hard a-port, and, just clearing the french ship's starboard quarter, shot up in the wind right abreast of her to-windward. In this way a close and furious action commenced between the two frigates; who, losing their way, fell round off and stood again to the westward, engaging broadside to broadside. at of Thé tis to her op luffs up again. At 9 h. 40 m. P. M., the Amethyst shooting a little Thétis ahead, the Thétis attempted to cross her opponent's stern, and rake or gain the wind of her; but, not having room, ran her jib-boom between the Amethyst's main and mizen rigging. After being a few minutes in this position, the two ships separated, and went off in hot action, steering nearly the same course as before. AmeAt 10 h. 5 m. P. M., having got sufficiently ahead to thyst execute the manoeuvre, the Amethyst put her helm Thétis. crosses 1808. hard a-starboard, and, crossing her opponent's hawse, Nov. raked her severely. The Amethyst then put her helm hard a-port, and brought the Thétis a little before her starboard beam, still running with the wind about a point on the starboard quarter. At 10 h. 20 m. P. M. the mizenmast of the Amethyst came down, and, falling in-board, broke and damaged the wheel, and encumbered the whole quarterdeck. Scarcely had the Thétis increased her distance by this disaster of her antagonist, than her own mizenmast fell over the side, and the two ships again lay abreast of each other. tries to Thétis At 11 P. M., having for the last half hour been graboard, dually sheering closer, the Thétis put her helm a-starboard, and steered to lay the Amethyst on board. Aware that the Thétis, after striking the Amethyst on the bow, would rebound off and bring the quarters of the two ships together, captain Seymour reserved his fire. The ships met at the bows, and then at the quarters, and off went the whole broadside of the Amethyst, with double-round from the maindeckers and grape from the carronades. As; just before the discharge, the french officers, troops, and seamen were assembled on the quarterdeck ready to spring on board the british frigate, its destructive effect may be partly imagined: one proof of it was, that four guns only were returned by the Thétis. In a minute or two afterwards the outer arm of the Amethyst's best bower anchor entered the foremost maindeck port of the Thétis, and held her fast. In this way the action was maintained, with destructive effect on both sides, particularly to the Thétis, who had been set on fire in several places, until about 20 minutes Thétis past midnight; when, having completely silenced the ed and guns of her antagonist, the Amethyst boarded and carried carried her. Ships get foul. board The following diagram will explain the manœuvres that took place in this action; but we must observe, that the straight tracks, as in many other similar cases, are necessarily shortened, to suit the space to |