By Conduct and Courage: A Story of the Days of Nelson
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CHAPTER XVIII
ST. VINCENT AND CAMPERDOWN
On the 19th of January, 1797, Lord Bridport detached Rear-admiral Parkerwith five battle-ships--among them the _Jason_--and one frigate, toGibraltar, and on the 6th of February they joined Admiral Sir John Jervisoff Cape St. Vincent.
They were cruising along the Portuguese coast when, on the morning of the13th of February, Nelson brought Admiral Jervis the long-expected news ofthe approach of the Spanish fleet. Its exact strength he had notdiscovered, but it was known to exceed twenty sail of the line, whileJervis had but fifteen, two of which had been greatly injured by acollision the night before. The repairs, however, were quickly executed,and they fell into their positions. Jervis made the signal to prepare foraction. During the night the signal guns of the Spaniards were heard, andbefore daylight a Portuguese frigate came along and reported that theywere about four leagues to windward. At that time the fleet weresouth-west of Cape St. Vincent. The Spaniards, who had hitherto beenprevented by an adverse wind from getting into Cadiz, were ready to meetus, not knowing that the British admiral had been reinforced, andbelieving that he had but some ten ships.
The wind, however, changed during the night, and, acting in strictobedience to his orders, the Spanish commander-in-chief determined to setsail for Cadiz. When day broke, his fleet was seen about five miles off,the main body huddled together in a confused group, with one squadron toleeward. It was then seen what a formidable fleet lay before us. Theadmiral's flag was carried by the _Santissima-Trinidada_, one hundred andthirty, and he had with him six three-deckers of one hundred and twelveguns each, two of eighty, and eighteen seventy-fours. Our fleet hadscarcely half the ships and guns. We had two ships of one hundred guns,three of ninety-eight, one of ninety, eight seventy-fours, and asixty-four. There was, however, no comparison between the men. Our ownwere for the most part tried and trained sailors, while a considerableproportion of the Spaniards were almost raw levies.
The morning of the 14th February was foggy, and neither the number nor thesize of our ships could be made out by the Spaniards until we were withina mile of them. Then, as mid-day approached and the fog cleared off, theysaw Jervis bearing down upon them in two lines. His object was to separatethe Spanish squadron to leeward from the main body, and in this hecompletely succeeded.
The _Culloden_ led the way, and the greater part of the fleet followed,opening a tremendous fire as they came up with the Spaniards, andreceiving their broadsides in return. The Spanish vice-admiral attemptedto cut through the British line, but was thwarted by the rapid advance ofthe _Victory_, which forced the admiral's ship, the _Principe deAsturias_, to tack close under her lee, pouring in a tremendous rakingbroadside as she did so. Fortunately at this moment Commodore Nelson wasin the rear, and had a better view of the movements of the enemy than hadthe commander-in-chief. He perceived that the Spanish admiral wasbeginning to bear up before the wind, with the object of uniting the mainbody with the second division. Accordingly he ordered his ship the_Captain_ to wear.
Up to this time she had hardly fired a gun, but this movement gave her thelead of the fleet, and brought her at once into action with the enemy. Ina few minutes she was attacked by no fewer than four first-raters and twothird-raters. The _Culloden_, however, bore down with all speed to herassistance, and some time afterwards the _Blenheim_ came up to take ashare in the fight. Two of the Spanish ships dropped astern to escape thetremendous fire of the three British seventy-fours, but they only fell inwith the _Excellent_ coming up to support the _Captain_, and she poured sotremendous a fire into them both that one of them struck at once. She leftthe other to her own devices and pressed on to join Nelson, who greatlyneeded help, for the _Captain_ was now little better than a wreck.
Her chief antagonist at this time was the _San Nicholas_. Into that shipshe poured a tremendous fire, and then passed on to the _San Isidro_ and_Santissima-Trinidada_, with which the _Captain_ had been engaged from thebeginning. The fire of the _Excellent_ had completed the work done by the_Captain_, and the _San Nicholas_ and the _San Josef_ had collided witheach other. Nelson, being in so crippled a state that he could no longertake an active part in the action, laid his ship alongside the _SanNicholas_ and carried her by boarding; and after this was done the crewcrossed to the _San Josef_, and carried her also. Other prizes had beentaken elsewhere; the _Salvador Del Mundo_ and _Santissima-Trinidada_surrendered, as did the _Soberano_. The _Santissima-Trinidada_, however,was towed away by one of her frigates. Evening was closing in, and as theSpanish fleet still greatly outnumbered the British, Jervis made thesignal to discontinue the action, and the next morning the fleets sailedin different directions, the British carrying their four prizes with them.Considering the desperate nature of the fighting the British loss wasextraordinarily small, only seventy-three being killed and two hundred andtwenty-seven wounded. Of these nearly a third belonged to the _Captain_,upon which the brunt of the fight had fallen. For this victory AdmiralJervis was made an earl, and two admirals baronets. Nelson might have hada baronetcy, but he preferred the ribbon of the Bath. Also, he shortlyafterwards was promoted to the rank of Rear-admiral. Captain Calderreceived the ribbon of the Bath, and all the first lieutenants werepromoted.
The captain of the _Jason_ had earned golden opinions from his crew by themanner in which he had fought his vessel and the careless indifference hehad shown to the enemy's fire as he walked up and down on the quarter-deckissuing what orders were necessary. Their losses had not been heavy, butamong them, to Will's deep regret, the first lieutenant had been killed bya cannon-ball.
"I am grieved indeed," the captain said the next morning to Will, "at thedeath of Mr. Somerville. He was an excellent officer and a most worthyman. It is, however, a consolation to me that I have a successor so worthyto take his place. Since we have sailed together, Mr. Gilmore, I havealways been gratified by the manner in which you have done your duty, andby the skill you have shown in handling the ship during your watch. It isa great satisfaction to me that I have so good an officer for my firstlieutenant."
It was but a few months after the battle of St. Vincent that a greaterdanger threatened England than she had ever before been exposed to. Theseamen in the navy had long been seething with discontent, and all theirpetitions had been neglected, their remonstrances treated as of noaccount.
Rendered desperate, they at last determined to mutiny, and the firstoutbreak occurred on the 15th April in the Channel fleet, which was at thetime anchored at Spithead. On Admiral Lord Bridport giving the signal toweigh anchor, the seamen of the flagship, instead of proceeding to theirstations, ran up the rigging and gave three cheers, and the crews of therest of the ships at once did the same. The officers attempted to inducethe men to return to their duty, but in vain. The next day two delegatesfrom each ship met on the _Queen Charlotte_, the flagship, to deliberate,and the day after all the men swore to stand by their leaders, and suchofficers as had rendered themselves obnoxious to the men were put onshore.
The delegates then drew up two petitions, one to Parliament the other tothe Admiralty, asking that their wages should be increased--they hadremained at the same point since Charles II was king,--that the poundshould be reckoned at sixteen ounces instead of fourteen, and that thefood should be of better quality. Further, that vegetables should beoccasionally served out, that the sick should be better attended and theirmedical comforts not embezzled; and, finally, that on returning from seathe men should be allowed a short leave to visit their friends.
On the 18th a committee of the Board of Admiralty arrived at Portsmouth,and in answer to the petition agreed to ask the king to propose toParliament an increase of wages, and also to grant them certain otherprivileges; but these terms the sailors would not accept, and expressedtheir determination not to weigh anchor till their full demands weregranted.
The committee now sent, through Lord Bridport, a letter to the seamengranting still further concessions, and promisin
g pardon to all concerned;but the sailors answered expressing their thanks for what had beengranted, but reiterating their demands.
On the 21st Vice-admirals Sir Allen Gardner and Colpoys and Rear-admiralPole went on board the _Queen Charlotte_ to confer, but they were informedthat until the reforms were sanctioned by the king and Parliament theywould not be accepted as final. This so angered Admiral Gardner that heseized one of the delegates by the collar and swore he would hang the lot,and every fifth man in the fleet. The delegates at once returned to theirships, and the seamen of the fleet proceeded to load the guns. Watcheswere set as at sea, and the ships were put into a complete state ofdefence.
On the 22nd Lord Bridport, having received a letter from the mutineersexplaining the cause of the steps they had taken, went on board, and aftera short deliberation his offers were accepted, and the men returned totheir duty.
The fleet was detained at St. Helens by a foul wind until the 7th of May,when news was received that the French were preparing to sail. LordBridport made the signal to weigh, but the crews again refused to obeyorders, alleging that the silence that Parliament had observed respectingtheir grievances led them to suspect that the promised redress was to bewithheld.
For four days matters continued in the same state, but on the 14th AdmiralLord Howe arrived from London with full powers to settle all disputes withan Act of Parliament which had been passed on the 9th, and a proclamationgranting the king's pardon to all who should return at once to their duty.
After various discussions the men agreed to the terms, and on the 16thMay, all matters having been amicably settled, Lord Bridport put to seawith his fleet of fifteen sail of the line.
Notwithstanding these concessions the sailors of the ships lying at theNore broke into mutiny on the 20th of May, their ringleader being a seamanof the name of Richard Parker, one of a class of men denominatedsea-lawyers. The delegates drew up a statement of demands containing eightarticles, most of which were perfectly impossible, and the Admiraltyreplied by pointing out the concessions the Legislature had recently made,and refusing to accede to any more, but offering to pardon the men if theywould at once return to their duty. The mutineers refused, and hoisted thered flag. They landed at Sheerness and marched through the streets, and inmany ways went to greater lengths than their comrades at Spithead. Theyeven flogged and otherwise ill-treated some of the officers.
This outbreak now assumed the most alarming proportions. Eleven shipsbelonging to the North Sea fleet, on the way to blockade the Texel, turnedback and joined Parker, and the greatest alarm was felt in London, theFunds falling to an unheard-of price. The Government acted, however, withvigour; buoys were removed, and the forts were manned and the men orderedto open fire should the fleet sail up the river. Bills were rushed throughParliament in two days, authorizing the utmost penalties on the mutineersand on all who aided them.
This had the desired effect, and early in June the fleets at Portsmouthand Plymouth disavowed all complicity with Parker, and two ships--the_Leopard_ and _Repulse_--hauled down the red flag and retreated up theThames, being fired on by the rest of the fleet. The example was, however,contagious, and ship after ship deserted until, on the 14th, the crew ofthe _Sandwich_ handed over Parker to the authorities.
He was tried, convicted, and hanged on board that ship on the 29th ofJune. Some of the other leaders were also hanged, some were floggedthrough the fleet, and some sent to prison.
The mutiny was not confined to the ships on the home stations, but itnever became serious at any point, and a display of timely severity soonbrought matters back to their usual condition of discipline and obedienceto orders.
A mutiny of a different character, as it was caused by the tyranny of thecaptain, and had very different results, took place in the West Indies.
On the night of the 21st of September the thirty-two-gun frigate_Hermione_ was cruising off Porto Rico. Its captain, Pigot, was known tobe one of the most harsh and brutal officers in the navy. On the previousday, while the crew were reefing topsails, he had called out that he wouldflog the last man down. The poor fellows, knowing well that he would keephis word, hurried down; and two of them, in trying to jump over thosebelow them, missed their footing and were killed. When this was reportedto the captain he simply said: "Throw the lubbers overboard." All theother men were severely reprimanded. The result of this, the last of asuccession of similar acts of tyranny, was that the crew broke intomutiny. The first lieutenant went to enquire into the disturbance, but hewas killed and thrown overboard. The captain, hearing the tumult, ran ondeck, but he suffered the same fate as his second in command. Themutineers then proceeded to murder eight other officers, two lieutenants,the purser, the surgeon, the captain's clerk, one midshipman, theboatswain, and the lieutenant of marines. The master, a midshipman, andthe gunner were the only officers spared. They then carried the ship intothe port of La Guayra, representing to the Spanish governor that they hadturned their officers adrift. The real circumstances of the case wereexplained to the governor by the British admiral, but he insisted upondetaining the vessel and fitting her out as a Spanish frigate.
Many of the perpetrators of this horrible crime were afterwards capturedand executed. Had they contented themselves with wreaking their vengeanceon their captain, some excuse might have been offered for them when thecatalogue of his brutalities was published, but nothing could be said incondonation of the cold-blooded murder of the other officers, includingeven a midshipman and the young captain's clerk, neither of whom couldhave in any way influenced their commander's conduct.
The _Hermione_, however, was of but little use to the Spaniards. Sir HydeParker, in October, 1799, hearing that she was about to sail from PortoCabello, in Havana, detached the _Surprise_ under Captain Hamilton, toattempt to obtain possession of her. On arriving off Porto Cabello hefound the _Hermione_, which was manned by four hundred men, moored betweentwo strong batteries at the entrance to the harbour, but, nothing daunted,Captain Hamilton resolved to cut her out. At eight o'clock in the eveninghe pushed off from the _Surprise_ with all his boats, manned by onehundred officers and men.
Undeterred by a heavy fire, the boats made for the _Hermione_ and weresoon alongside. The main attack at the gangways was beaten off, but thecaptain, with his cutter's crew, made good his footing on the forecastle,and here he was joined by the crew of the gig and some of the men from thejolly-boat. He then fought his way to the quarter-deck, where he was soonreinforced by the crews of the boats that had at first been repulsed. In avery short time, after some desperate fighting, the _Hermione_ wascaptured. The cables were now cut and the sails hoisted, and under a heavyfire from the batteries the frigate was brought off, though much damagedboth in rigging and hull. A few days later she anchored in Port Royal.
This feat stands perhaps unparalleled in naval history for its audacityand success. The victors had only twelve wounded; the enemy lost onehundred and nineteen killed and ninety-seven wounded. Captain Hamilton wasknighted for this achievement, the legislature of Jamaica presented himwith a sword valued at three hundred guineas, and on his arrival inEngland after his exchange, for he was taken prisoner on his way home, thecommon council of London voted him the freedom of the city. He was,however, much injured in the attack, and was to the end of his life undermedical treatment.
After the battle of St. Vincent the _Jason_ required some repairs to herhull, but as her spars were uninjured she was ordered by Admiral Jervis toproceed to Portsmouth with despatches. Here, to Will's great joy, he wasconfirmed in his position as first lieutenant. He was unable to get leave,as it was found the repairs would take but a short time, and after tendays' stay in port the _Jason_ sailed to join Lord Bridport's fleet. Ondoing so, she was at once despatched to reinforce the North Sea fleetunder Admiral Duncan, then blockading the Texel.
It was while engaged in this monotonous work that the news came of AdmiralNelson's disastrous attack on Santa Cruz. The expedition was a completefailure, one hundred and forty-one being killed or dro
wned, and onehundred and five wounded or missing. Among the wounded was Admiral Nelsonhimself, who lost his arm.
The news of the mutinies taking place at Spithead and the Nore was asource of great anxiety to the officers, but the men were so attached tothem that there was no real cause for uneasiness with regard to their ownship, and when the eleven ships of Duncan's fleet joined the mutineers atthe Nore, the _Jason_ was one of the few that remained with the admiral.
During the equinoctial gales many of the ships were so badly strained thatAdmiral Duncan returned to Yarmouth Roads to gather and repair his fleet,leaving the _Jason_ and two other ships to watch the enemy. De Winter lostnot a moment in taking advantage of his absence, and on the 7th of Octobersailed out with his whole fleet, chasing the watch vessels before him. Ontheir way, however, they met a squadron under Captain Trollope, consistingof Duncan's ships which had been refitted. The Dutch fleet, on seeingthem, thought that the whole British fleet was behind, and not at the timewishing to engage, went about and steered again for the Texel. On the 9ththe _Active_ came in sight off Yarmouth Roads with the signal flying thatthe enemy were at sea. At once a general chase was ordered, and by thetime the _Active_ joined them the whole fleet was under way. Her captainwas hailed and ordered to guide the fleet to the precise spot where he hadlast seen the enemy.
Captain Trollope had, as soon as the Dutch fleet went about, started inchase of them, and kept them in sight until they approached the Texel,when he steered to meet Admiral Duncan. He was therefore able to give theexact position of the enemy, and at once the fleet sailed towards them. Onthe morning of the 11th October, 1797, the admiral came in sight of theenemy about nine miles from shore and nearly opposite the village ofCamperdown. The fleet, however, was greatly scattered owing to thedifferent speeds of the ships. De Winter, as soon as he saw the Britishcoming, got up his anchors and made for shore, hoping that he might beable to get so close in among its shoals and sand-banks, which were muchbetter known to him than to his antagonists, as to deter Duncan frompursuing him. He was, above all things, anxious to avoid action; not somuch because his fleet was slightly inferior to the British, as becausehis instructions enjoined him to regard his junction with the French atBrest as his chief object.
The British admiral, seeing his arrangements and divining his object,pressed on, regardless of the scattered state of his fleet, and made thesignal for each ship to attack as she came up. Another signal intimatedthat he should attempt to break the enemy's line, so as to get between itand the land. But this signal was not generally seen by the fleet. It was,however, seen and acted upon by the second in command, Admiral Onslow, inthe _Monarch_, who soon after led the larboard division through the Dutchline, three ships from the rear, and then closely engaged the _Jupiter_.Duncan's own ship, the _Venerable_, the leading ship of the starboarddivision, marked out the _Vryhide_, De Winter's flagship, as his ownantagonist.
The Dutch ship _States-general_, the flagship of their rear-admiral,seeing his design, pressed so close up to his chief that the Britishadmiral was compelled to change his course and pass astern of her; but ashe did so he poured so terrible a fire into her stern that she was glad tofall back and leave the _Venerable_ free to attack the _Vryhide_. Othersof our ships followed the example of their chief, breaking the Dutch lineat several points. At one o'clock the battle became general, and wascarried on with unsurpassed courage on both sides. The two biggest Dutchfrigates, which carried as heavy guns as the British line-of-battle ships,crept forward into the fight and fought gallantly, the _Mars_ raking the_Venerable_ severely while she was engaged with no fewer than three Dutchline-of-battle ships.
The crew of the _Venerable_ had been particularly anxious to fight, theirship having been for the past five months engaged in the dreary work ofblockading the Texel; and when they had seen the Dutch with their topsailsbent, as if intending to come out, they had offered to advance into thenarrow entrance to the Texel, and in that position stop the way againstthe whole fleet, or at least fight their ship till she sank. Now theyproved that their offer had been no empty boast, for, although fightingagainst overwhelming odds, they stuck to their guns with unexampleddevotion.
More than once every flag they hoisted was shot away, and at last one ofthe sailors went aloft and nailed the admiral's colours to the stump ofthe main topgallant mast. The _Vryhide_ also fought with desperatecourage. Other British ships, however, came up, and the disparity innumbers turned the other way. The _Ardent_ attacked her on the other side,and the _Triumph_ and _Director_ poured a raking fire along her decks. Oneafter another her masts fell, and the wreck rendered half her gunsunworkable. Her crew were swept away, until De Winter was left alone onher quarter-deck, while below there were hardly enough men left to man thepumps. Then the gallant admiral with his own hand hauled down his colours,having fought to the admiration of the whole British fleet. The_States-general_, almost disabled by the fruitless attempt to foul the_Venerable_, maintained a vigorous conflict for some time against asuccession of adversaries, during which she lost above three hundred menkilled and wounded, until at last her captain was compelled to strike. Noone, however, attempted to take possession of her, and, gradually droppingastern until clear of both fleets, she rehoisted her colours and made offto the Texel.
"AT LAST HER CAPTAIN WAS COMPELLED TO STRIKE"]
Ship after ship struck, and of the whole Dutch fleet but six ships of theline and two frigates managed to reach the Texel, and this was only due tothe fact that several of the Dutch vessels, knowing that the orders hadbeen that they were not to fight, stood aloof and disregarded theiradmiral's signal to engage. The entire casualties among our men exceeded athousand. Many of the ships were completely riddled by shot, and on someof them the men were employed day and night at the pumps to keep themafloat till they could cross the Channel to our own harbours. Twoseventy-fours, five fifty-fours, two gun-ships, and two frigates remainedin our hands, but all were so battered that not one of them could ever bemade fit for service. The two fleets were nearly equal in strength, theBritish being about one-twelfth the stronger. Some of the Dutch ships tookno share in the action, but the same is true of the British. Some of themarrived too late, the hazy weather having prevented the signals of the_Venerable_ from being seen by them. For one of them, however, the_Agincourt_, no excuse could be found, so her captain was tried bycourt-martial and declared incapable of serving in the navy for thefuture.
The _Jason_ had taken her share in the battle. She had at once placedherself alongside the _Brutus_, a battle-ship of the same size as herself.All the afternoon the duel was continued, and both ships lost some mastsand spars and had their hulls completely shattered. It was not until theengagement had almost ceased elsewhere that the enemy hauled down hercolours. The battle was a desperate one, and Will had felt the straingreatly; there was comparatively little for him to do, for both shipssailed along side by side, and there was no attempt at manoeuvring. He had,therefore, simply to move about, encouraging the sailors and directingtheir fire. So incessant was the cannonade that it was with difficulty hecould make his orders heard, and, cool as he was, he was almost confusedby the terrible din that went on around. It was found, after the _Brutus_surrendered, that her loss had been one hundred and twenty killed andwounded, while on board the _Jason_ little over half that number hadsuffered.
As soon as the prize surrendered, parties were put on board to takepossession, while the rest of the men were engaged in attending to theirown and the Dutch wounded. The next day jury-masts were got up, and the_Jason_, with her prize in tow, sailed with the rest of the fleet forEngland. When they arrived at Sheerness the _Jason_ was found to require acomplete refit. The crew were therefore ordered to be paid off, and Willwas promoted to the rank of captain, and at once appointed to the commandof the frigate _Ethalion_, thirty-four guns, which had just been fittedready for sea.
He had no difficulty in manning his ship, as a sufficient number of the_Jason's_ old crew volunteered, and he was soon ready for service.
Towards the end of July, 1798, the vigilance of the frigates, if possible,increased, for it became known that two French squadrons were beingprepared with the intention of landing troops in Ireland. On the 6th ofAugust a small squadron slipped out of Rochefort, and, eluding the Britishcruisers, succeeded, on the 22nd, in landing General Humbert and elevenhundred and fifty men at Killala Bay, and then at once returned toRochefort.
The attempt ended in failure; the peasantry did not join as was expected,and on the 8th of September General Humbert surrendered at Ballinamuck toLieutenant-general Lake.
Another fleet sailed from Brest on the 16th of September, 1798, consistingof one ship of the line, the _Hoche_, and eight frigates, under CommodoreBompart. It had on board three thousand troops, a large train ofartillery, and a great quantity of military stores. It had set sail forIreland before the news of the failure of Humbert's expedition hadarrived, and it was certain that as soon as it reached its intended placeof landing in Ireland it would endeavour to return without delay. Two orthree days earlier the _Ethalion_ and the eighteen-gun brig _Sylph_ hadjoined the thirty-eight-gun frigate _Boadicea_, which was watching Brest.At daybreak a light breeze sprang up, and the French made sail. Leavingthe _Ethalion_ to watch the French fleet, the _Boadicea_ sailed to carrythe news of the start of the expedition to Lord Bridport.
At two o'clock on the 18th the _Ethalion_ was joined by the _Amelia_, athirty-eight-gun frigate, and at daylight the French directed their courseas if for the West Indies. At eight o'clock they bore up, and five oftheir frigates chased the English ships. Presently, however, finding thatthey did not gain, they rejoined the squadron, which bore away to thesouth-west. On the 20th the two frigates were joined by the forty-four-gunfrigate _Anson_. At noon the French were nearly becalmed. There was now nodoubt that the destination of the squadron was Ireland, and the news wasdespatched by the _Sylph_ to the commander-in-chief of the Irish station.
On the 26th the French ships turned on the frigates, but gave this upabout noon, and proceeded on their way. The sea now became so rough thatall the ships shortened sail. On the 29th the weather moderated, and theFrench squadron again started in chase. About nine o'clock the Frenchbattle-ship, the _Hoche_, sprung her main-topmast, and one of the Frenchfrigates carried away her top-sail yard. At this both the French and theBritish ships shortened sail. The French ships wore away to thenorth-west, and the British again followed them; but the _Anson_ hadsprung her topmast, and in the evening the _Hoche_ lowered hers. Theweather now became very bad, and the frigates hauled up and soon lostsight of the enemy. A week later the _Amelia_ left them, but three daysafter, they fell in with the squadron that had been despatched fromCawsand Bay when the _Boadicea_ arrived with news of the start of theFrench squadron from Brest. They were also joined by the frigates_Melampus_ and _Doris_, which while at Lough Swilly had received news fromthe _Sylph_ of the destination of the French squadron. The whole wereunder the command of Sir John Warren.
With the hope that he had now shaken off his pursuers, Admiral Bompartbore away for Killala Bay, but as he neared the land his leading frigatesignalled the appearance of the British squadron. Sir John Warrenimmediately gave the signal for a general chase, but a heavy gale set inthat evening, during which the _Anson_ carried away her mizzen-mastmain-yard and main-topsail-yard. The _Hoche_, however, was even moreunfortunate, for she carried away her main-topmast, and this in its fallbrought down the fore and mizzen-topgallant-masts. A few hours later the_Resolue_ signalled that she had sprung a leak which she could not stop,and the admiral signalled orders to her captain to sail towards the coast,and by burning blue lights and sending up rockets to endeavour to lead theBritish squadron after him, and so allow the rest of the fleet to makeoff.
Admiral Bompart now changed his course, but at daybreak found himselfalmost surrounded by the British vessels. Both squadrons waited, but withvery different feelings, the order to commence action. The _Robust_ ledthe way, followed closely by the _Magnanime_, and was received with a firefrom the stern-chasers and the quarter guns of the French frigates_Embuscade_ and _Coquille_. A few minutes later the _Robust_ returned thefire, and bore down to leeward for the purpose of engaging the _Hoche_,which, like herself, was a seventy-four-gun ship. In half an hour all theFrench frigates that could get away were making off. The _Hoche_ by thistime was a mere wreck, having suffered terribly from the fire of the_Robust_; her hull was riddled with shot, she had five feet of water inher hold, twenty-five of her guns were dismounted, and a great portion ofher crew were killed and wounded. After the battle had raged for threehours she struck her colours. The _Embuscade_ had also surrendered. Theother British vessels set out in pursuit of the fugitives. The _Coquille_,after a brave resistance, was forced to haul down her colours, and the_Ethalion_ pursued and captured the _Bellone_. Five French frigatesattempted to escape, and in doing so sailed close to the _Anson_, whichhad been unable to take part in the action owing to the loss of hermizzen-mast, and as they passed ahead of her, poured in such destructivebroadsides that she lost her fore and main masts, and had much otherserious damage. Of the ships that had escaped, the _Resolue_ was capturedtwo or three days later. The _Loire_ made a good fight; she was pursued bythe _Mermaid_, and _Kangaroo_. The latter, which was an eighteen-gun brig,engaged her, but lost her fore-topmast. The _Mermaid_, a thirty-two-gunfrigate, continued the pursuit.
At daybreak the _Loire_, seeing that her pursuer was alone, shortenedsail. As the _Loire_ was a forty-gun ship the fight was a desperate one,and both vessels were so badly injured that by mutual consent they ceasedfire. The _Mermaid_ lost her mizzen-mast, main topmast, and had hershrouds, spars, and boats cut to pieces. She was also making a great dealof water, and was therefore necessarily obliged to discontinue the fight.The _Loire_, however, was out of luck, for a day or two later she fell inwith the _Anson_ and _Kangaroo_, and in consequence of her batteredcondition she had to surrender without resistance. Similarly, the_Immortalite_, while making her way to Brest, fell in with the _Fisgard_,a vessel of just the same size. The _Immortalite's_ fire was so well aimedthat in a short time the _Fisgard_ was quite unmanageable. Repairs,however, were executed with great promptness, and after a chase the actionwas recommenced. At the end of half an hour the _Fisgard_ had receivedseveral shots between wind and water and she had six feet of water in herhold. Nevertheless she continued the fight, and at three o'clock the_Immortalite_, which was in a semi-sinking state, and had lost her captainand first lieutenant, hauled down her colours.
Thus seven out of the ten vessels under the command of Commodore Bompartwere captured.
In the combat with the _Bellone_ Will had been slightly wounded, and as hewas most anxious to proceed with his investigation with regard to hisrelations, he applied for leave on his arrival at Portsmouth.
This was at once granted, and at the same time he received his promotionto post rank in consequence of his capture of the _Bellone_.