Chapter IV: The Defence of the Thames (5)

In his parish church, at Southill, is the following inscription to the memory of this unfortunate officer:--

"TO THE PERPETUAL DISGRACE OF
PUBLIC JUSTICE,
THE HONOURABLE JOHN BYNG,
VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE,
FELL A MARTYR TO
POLITICAL PERSECUTION
ON MARCH 14, IN THE YEAR 1757:
WHEN BRAVERY AND LOYALTY
WERE INSUFFICIENT SECURITIES
FOR THE LIFE AND HONOUR
OF A NAVAL OFFICER."

IN INDIAN SEAS.

1758-9.

Though the great achievements of large fleets are apt to monopolise fame, it often happens in the story of our English navy that small squadrons in out-of-the-way places show equal heroism in achieving less important results. Of such services the following are illustrations.

Captain Forrest, of the _Augusta_, having sailed from Port Royal in Jamaica, in 1758, proceeded to cruise off Cape Francis, a harbour in the island of St. Domingo; he was accompanied by Captains Suckling and Langdon, commanding the _Dreadnought_ and _Edinburgh_. There lay at that time, at the Cape, a French squadron of four ships of the line and three stout frigates, which the French commodore, piqued at seeing the coast insulted by Forrest's little squadron, reinforced with several store-ships, which he mounted with cannon and supplied with seamen from the merchant vessels and with soldiers from the garrison. Thus prepared, he weighed anchor and stood out for sea. When Forrest perceived the approach of the French ships, he called his two captains. "Gentlemen," said he, "you know our own strength and see that of the enemy. Shall we give them battle?" Being answered in the affirmative, he bore down on the French fleet, and between three and four in the afternoon came to action. The French attacked with great impetuosity, and displayed uncommon spirit in the sight of their own coast. But, after an engagement of more than two hours, their commodore found his ship so much shattered that he was obliged to make a signal for his frigates to tow him out of the line. The rest of the squadron followed his example, and availed themselves of the land breeze to escape in the night from the three British ships, which were too much damaged in their sails and rigging to pursue their victory.

Captain Forrest signalised his courage in this engagement; but he displayed equal courage and still more uncommon conduct and sagacity in a subsequent adventure near the western coast of Hispaniola. Having received intelligence that there was a considerable French fleet at Port au Prince, a harbour on that coast, ready to sail for Europe, he proceeded from Jamaica to cruise between Hispaniola and the little island Goave. He disguised his ship with tarpaulins, hoisted Dutch colours, and, in order to avoid discovery, allowed several small vessels to pass without giving them chase. The second day after his arrival in these parts he perceived a fleet of seven sail steering to the westward. He kept from them to prevent suspicion, but, at the approach of night, pursued them with all the sail he could crowd. About ten in the evening he came up with two vessels of the chase, one of which fired a gun and the other sheered off. The ship which had fired no sooner discovered her enemy than she submitted. Forrest manned her with thirty-five of his own crew, and now perceiving eight sail to leeward, near the harbour of Petit Goave, ordered them to stand for that place, and to intercept any vessels that attempted to reach it. He himself, in the _Augusta_, sailed directly for the French fleet, and, coming up with them by daybreak, engaged them all by turns as he could bring his guns to bear. The _Solide_, the _Theodore_, and the _Marguerite_ returned his fire; but, having soon struck their colours, they were immediately secured, and then employed in taking the other vessels, of which none had the fortune to escape. The nine sail, which, by this well-conducted stratagem, had fallen into the power of one ship, and that even in the sight of their own harbours, were safely conducted to Jamaica, where the sale of their rich cargoes rewarded the merit of the captors.

While Forrest acquired wealth and glory by protecting the trade of Jamaica, the vigilance of Captain Tyrrel secured the English navigation to Antigua. In the month of March 1758 this enterprising and judicious commander demolished a fort on the island of Martinico, and destroyed four privateers riding under its protection. In November of the same year, he, in his own ship, the _Buckingham_, of sixty-four guns, accompanied by the _Weazle_ sloop, commanded by Captain Boles, discovered, between the islands of Guadaloupe and Montserrat, a fleet of nineteen sail under convoy of the _Florissant_, a French man-of-war of seventy-four guns, and two frigates of which the largest carried thirty-eight, and the other twenty-six guns. Captain Tyrrel, regardless of the great inequality of force, immediately gave chase in the _Buckingham_; and the _Weazle_, running close to the enemy, received a whole broadside from the _Florissant_. Though she sustained it without much damage, Mr. Tyrrel ordered Captain Boles to keep aloof, as his vessel could not be supposed to bear the shock of heavy metal; and he alone prepared for the engagement. The _Florissant_, instead of lying to for him, made a running fight with her stern chase, while the two frigates annoyed the _Buckingham_ in her pursuit. At length, however, she came within pistol-shot of the _Florissant_, and poured in a broadside which did great execution. The salutation was returned with spirit and the battle became close and obstinate. Mr. Tyrrel, being wounded, was obliged to leave the deck, and the command devolved upon Mr. Marshall, his first lieutenant, who fell in the arms of victory. The second lieutenant took the command, and finally silenced the enemy's fire. On board the _Florissant_ one hundred and eighty men were slain and three hundred wounded. She was so much disabled in her hull that she could hardly be kept afloat. The largest frigate received equal damage. The _Buckingham_ had only seven men killed and seventeen dangerously wounded; she had suffered much, however, in her masts and rigging, which was the only circumstance that prevented her from adding profit to glory by making prizes of the French fleet under so powerful a convoy.

In the East Indies the French squadron was commanded by M. d'Aché, and the English by Admiral Pocock, who had succeeded Admiral Watson. The former was reinforced by a considerable armament under the command of General Lally, an adventurer of Irish extraction in the French service. The English admiral was also reinforced March 24th, 1758, by four ships of the line; and, being soon after apprised of Lally's arrival, hoisted his flag on board the _Yarmouth_, a ship of sixty-four guns, and sailed in quest of the enemy. He made the height of Negapatam on March 28th, and the day following discovered the enemy's fleet in the road of Fort St. David. It consisted of eight ships of the line and a frigate, which immediately stood out to sea and formed the line-of-battle. Pocock's squadron consisted only of seven ships; with which he formed the line, and, bearing down upon M. d'Aché, began the engagement. The French commodore, having sustained a warm action for about two hours in which one of his largest ships was disabled, sheered off with his whole fleet. Being afterwards joined by two more ships of war, he again formed the line-of-battle to leeward. Admiral Pocock, though his own ship and several others were considerably damaged, and though three of his captains had misbehaved in the engagement, prepared again for the attack. But the manoeuvres of the French fleet seem to have been intended merely to amuse him; for they neither showed lights nor gave any signal in the night, and next morning the smallest trace of them could not be observed.

Admiral Pocock made various attempts to bring the French squadron to a second engagement. These, however, proved ineffectual till August 3rd, when he perceived the enemy's fleet, consisting of eight ships of the line and a frigate, standing to sea off the road of Pondicherry. They would have gladly eluded his pursuit, but he obtained the weather-gauge, and sailed down upon them in order of battle. As it was now impossible to escape without coming to action the French prepared for the engagement, and fired on the _Elizabeth_, which happened to be within musket-shot of the ship in their van. But this spirited attack was not seconded with equal perseverance. In little more than ten minutes after Admiral Pocock had displayed the signal for battle, M. d'Aché set his fore-sail, and bore away, maintaining a running fight in a very irregular line for nearly an hour. The whole squadron immediately followed his example; and at two o'clock they cut away their boats, crowded sail and put before the wind. They escaped by favour of the night into the road of Pondicherry; but their fleet was so much damaged that, in the beginning of September, their commodore sailed for the Isle of Bourbon in order to refit, thus leaving the English admiral, whose squadron had always been inferior to that of the French in number of ships and men as well as in weight of metal, sovereign of the Indian seas.

In the glorious '59 the French fleet, under M. d'Aché, was augmented to eleven sail of the line, besides frigates and store-ships, an armament hitherto unknown in the Indian seas. The English commander, however, no sooner had intelligence of their arrival than he sailed to the coast of Coromandel, and determined to pursue and give them battle, notwithstanding the fact that the French had a superiority of one hundred and ninety-two guns and two thousand three hundred and sixty-five men, besides a great advantage in the size of their ships. On the morning of September 2nd the French fleet were descried from the mast-head. Admiral Pocock immediately threw out the signal for a general chase; but, the wind abating, he could not approach near enough to engage, though he crowded all the sail he could carry. At length they totally disappeared, and the admiral stood for Pondicherry on a supposition that they intended to sail thither. His conjecture was well founded; for on September 8th he observed them standing to the southward, and on the 10th, about two in the afternoon, M. d'Aché, seeing no possibility of escaping, made the signal for battle. The cannonading began without farther delay, and both squadrons engaged with equal impetuosity; but the French directing their cannon at the masts and rigging, while the English fired only at the hulls of the ships, the former sustained such a loss of men, and found their vessels in so shattered a condition that they were glad to sheer off with all their canvas set. The loss on the side of the English was not inconsiderable, there being five hundred and sixty-nine men killed and wounded; that on the side of the French must have been far greater, as their ships could hardly keep the sea, and they were obliged to make the best of their way to the Island of Mauritius in order to be refitted. Soon after this engagement Admiral Cornish arrived from England with four ships of the line, and confirmed the dominion of the English over the Indian seas.

THE STORY OF THE "GLORIOUS FIFTY-NINE" AND THE BATTLE OF QUIBERON BAY.

The year 1759 has been described as one of the most glorious years in the history of England, a year during which "it was necessary to ask every morning what new victory there was, for fear of missing one." The early part of the year was, indeed, one of "magnanimous fear"--as Pitt called it--for the French were known to be making unparalleled efforts for the invasion of England with the proud hope of entire conquest, and in Germany, in America, and in India, England was at war. Hostile fleets were assembled at Havre, Brest, Dunkirk, and Toulon. The fleet at Havre was an immediate menace to the English coasts; the Brest squadron was destined for the invasion of Ireland, the ships at Dunkirk were commissioned to harass Scotland, while it was hoped that the Toulon fleet would supply reinforcements wherever needed. In France this naval combination was regarded as irresistible.

But Pitt had aroused the national spirit, and aggressive reprisals were adopted with enthusiasm. Admiral Rodney was entrusted with an attack upon Havre, where a vast number of flat-bottomed boats with a quantity of military stores of all kinds had been prepared to assist in the projected invasion. On July 3rd he anchored in Havre roads. The French commander had been forewarned of the English approach, and had made ample preparations for resistance. Powerful batteries had been erected all along the shore, and on both sides of the river's mouth; these were garrisoned with several thousand men, who opened a heavy fire on the squadron the moment it came within gunshot. The pilots proved wholly ignorant of the place, but some of Rodney's captains worked all night in taking soundings. The bombardment was continued without intermission for two days and two nights. Nearly all the French transports and boats were burnt, with all the warehouses containing the stores; and Havre itself was so disabled as to be valueless as an arsenal during the remainder of the war.

In August the Toulon fleet slipped through the Straits of Gibraltar, with the intention of re-inforcing the Brest fleet; only, however, to be vigorously attacked and decisively defeated by Admiral Boscawen, who gave battle in Lagos Bay off the south coast of Portugal; meanwhile the ships at Dunkirk were blockaded by Admiral Boyce.

In May, Admiral (afterwards Lord) Hawke was ordered to blockade the Brest fleet. For six months the blockade lasted. The gales and the difficulty of victualling the fleet governed the situation. When a westerly gale sprang up, the French could not get out to sea from Brest; but there was the great danger of some of the English ships being driven on shore, and the question was "How to get the fleet into a place of safety, like Plymouth or Torbay, and out again before the wind changed and allowed the French to sail." It was like "a cat watching a mouse." The difficulties of the commissariat may be estimated by a letter in which Hawke wrote to the responsible officer at Plymouth: "The beer brewed at your port is so excessively bad that it employs the whole of the time of the squadron in surveying it and throwing it overboard.... A quantity of bread will be returned to you; though not altogether unfit for use, yet so full of weevils and maggots that it would have infected all the bread come on board this day."

The fierce gales of November made Hawke's task of keeping a large fleet in the Bay of Biscay one of supreme difficulty, and unusually wild weather compelled him to run for shelter in Torbay. On the 14th the storm abated, and De Conflans, seeing the coast clear, put to sea. The same day Hawke left the shelter of the English coast; on the 16th he was off Ushant. "On that afternoon," writes Dr. John Campbell, "several English transports returning from Quiberon Bay passed through the fleet, and informed the admiral that they had seen the French squadron on the preceding day, standing to the south-east, and distant about twenty-three leagues from Belle-Isle." The intelligence was received by the whole British fleet with acclamations, and every ship prepared for action. The wind also became favourable and every sail was spread to catch the gale.

On the 20th, about half an hour after eight o'clock in the morning, the _Maidstone_ frigate let fly her top-gallant sails, which was a signal for discovering a fleet. About nine, Lord Howe, in the _Magnanime_, made signal that they were enemies. Sir Edward Hawke immediately told his officers that he did not intend to trouble himself with forming lines, but would attack them in the old way, to make downright work with them; and accordingly he threw out a signal for seven of his ships to chase, in order to allure the enemy to fight.

As the British neared the French, the weather became squally and rough; but Conflans in a very gallant style seemed to offer battle: his courage, however, soon cooled, and long before the fleets were within the range of shot, he changed his plan, and stood right before the wind toward the shore. It was two in the afternoon before our headmost ships could get up with his rear; but at that time the _Warspite_ and _Dorsetshire_ began to fire.

The imagination can conceive nothing more sublime than the spectacle which the hostile squadrons presented at this moment. A dreadful storm darkened the face of the heavens; the sea was rolling in tremendous waves which on all sides were dashing themselves into foam on treacherous rocks and shallows unknown to the English pilots. In the midst of these terrible circumstances, calculated, from the very majesty of the physical power in action, to awe and intimidate, two adverse navies, the greatest that had been employed in one of the greatest wars in the annals of Europe, freighted with the fate, and worthy of being intrusted with the glory of the rival nations, were preparing for battle.

It was a moment as if nature had resolved to contrast the tameness of physical terror with the grandeur of heroism, and to show how much more sublime are the moral sentiments of a collected mind than all the awful phenomena of the heavens darkened, and the ocean agitated by a tempest, with the multifarious dangers of secret rocks and unknown shallows.

In the open sea Conflans might have hazarded a battle without the imputation of temerity, as his fleet was equal in force to that of Hawke, but like a prudent commander he endeavoured to avail himself of all the advantages arising from the local knowledge of his pilots, who were well acquainted with the navigation of the shallows. He directed them to steer in such a manner as to decoy the English among the rocks. But the very execution of this proceeding, which at the time was thought disreputable to his character as a commander, required more time in execution than the occasion allowed, and the British ships came up with the French before they were well prepared for action.

At half an hour after two o'clock the British van opened fire on the French rear. The _Formidable_, a French man-of-war, commanded by Admiral de Verger, a man of great courage and noble determination, behaved in the most heroic manner; broadside after broadside were poured into her by the British as they sailed successively past towards the van of the enemy; and she returned their fire with a promptitude that excited the admiration of friends and foes.

In the meantime, the _Royal George_, with Hawke on board, was approaching the _Soleil Royal_, which bore the flag of Conflans. Intent, as it were, only on her prey, she passed on without heeding the shot of the other ships. The sea was dashing over her bows, and as she came rapidly nearer, she appeared as if she had been actuated by the furiousness of rage. Her pilot, seeing the breakers foaming on every side, told the admiral that he could not go farther, without the most imminent danger from the shoals. "You have done your duty in pointing out the danger," said Hawke, "but lay me alongside of the _Soleil Royal_." The pilot bowed in obedience, and gave the necessary orders.

The _Superbe_, a French ship of seventy guns, perceiving what was intended by the movements of the English admiral, generously interposed between her commander and received the whole fatal broadside which the _Royal George_ had intended for Monsieur Conflans. The thunder of the explosion was succeeded by a wild shriek from all on board. The British sailors gave a shout of triumph, which was instantly checked by a far other feeling; for the smoke clearing away, only the masts of the _Superbe_, with her colours still flying, were seen above the water, and in a moment they were covered by a roll of the sea, and seen no more; but the _Soleil Royal_ was spared; she escaped to the shore, where she was afterwards burnt with disgrace.

About four in the afternoon, the _Formidable_, which had maintained the whole battle with such heroic determination, struck her colours; but not until after all her officers had been killed. The _Héros_, a seventy-four, also struck, and the _Thésée_, of seventy guns, was sunk like the _Superbe_.

Darkness coming on, the remainder of the enemy's fleet fled; seven ships of the line hove their guns overboard, and ran into the River Villaine; about as many more, in a shattered condition, escaped to other ports. The wind blowing strong in shore, Hawke made the signal for anchoring to the westward of the small island of Durnel. Here the fleet remained during the night, and as the tempest continued to increase, the darkness was occasionally broken by the flashes of cannon and the howl of the wind; and the roar of the breakers was augmented in horror by the sound of guns of distress. "This action, more memorable on account of the terrific circumstances in which it was fought, than any other of equal magnitude in the annals of heroic achievement," put an end to the naval power of France for many years, and therefore, to all fear of invasion. It, moreover, indicated the overwhelming superiority of the English marine.

The capture of Goree in January, and of Guadaloupe in June, the victory of Minden in August, and of Lagos in September, the capture of Quebec in October, and the crowning victory of Quiberon Bay in November have immortalised "the glorious fifty-nine" in English history.

THE STORY OF LORD RODNEY.

BY JOHN CAMPBELL.

George Brydges Rodney was born at Walton-on-Thames in the year 1718. His father, Henry Rodney, was at the time of his son's birth commander of the yacht in which the king, attended by the Duke of Chandos, used to pass to and from Hanover; hence he was christened George and Brydges after the king and the duke, who stood godfathers to him. He entered the navy at fourteen years of age, and obtained command of a ship at twenty-four. He was made governor of Newfoundland in 1749, and in 1759 admiral of the blue. This same year he distinguished himself by destroying the stores prepared for the invasion of England at Havre de Grace. In 1761 he served in the West Indies and was made a baronet. In 1768 he was elected member of parliament for Northampton; but the cost of his election ruined him and he was obliged to seek a temporary asylum on the Continent. While here he received overtures from the French government, which he rejected; upon which the English government gave him command of the Mediterranean squadron. The two principal victories of his life were gained over the Spanish and French fleets in 1780 and 1782, in connection with his appointment to the West Indian squadron.

There were two naval objects which demanded the attention of the ministry at the commencement of the year 1780, the relief of Gibraltar and the protection of the West Indies. To secure both these Admiral Rodney was appointed to command a fleet in the West Indies, and _en route_ to convoy a large supply of provisions and stores to Gibraltar. The admiral had been but a very few days at sea when he fell in with a Spanish fleet, bound from St. Sebastian to Cadiz: it consisted of fifteen sail of merchantmen under the protection of a fine new sixty-four gun ship, four frigates, mounting from twenty-six to thirty-two guns, and two smaller vessels; these ships of war belonged to the Royal Company of the Caraccas, and had been assigned to the others as a convoy. The whole fleet were captured; and on examining the cargoes of the merchantmen, the capture was ascertained to be extremely fortunate, as the greater part of them were laden with wheat, flour, and other stores, which the admiral of course destined for Gibraltar. On January 16th, about a week after this capture, he fell in with another Spanish squadron, consisting of eleven ships of the line, under the command of Don Juan Langara, off Cape St. Vincent. As the Spaniards, being inferior in force and favoured by the wind, endeavoured to escape, the British admiral changed the signal for a line of battle abreast to that for a general chase, with orders to engage as the ships came up. Night came on, but the pursuit was still continued, though the dangers of a dark and tempestuous night were increased by the vicinity of the shoals of St. Lucar. About four o'clock the headmost ships began to engage. Early in the action the Spanish ship _St. Domingo_, of seventy guns and seven hundred men, blew up, and all on board perished; the English ship opposed to her nearly suffering the same fate. The engagement did not terminate till two in the morning, when the _Monarca_, the headmost of the enemy's fleet, struck to the _Sandwich_, Admiral Rodney's own ship. Three others were also taken and carried safely into port; among these was the _Phoenix_, of eighty guns, Don Langara's ship. Two others had struck, but after the officers had been taken out, they were driven on shore by the tempestuous weather, and one of them was entirely lost. Two frigates and four ships of the line escaped; of the latter, two were much damaged in the action. Our loss amounted to thirty-two killed and one hundred and two wounded.

The convoy having been conducted safely to Gibraltar, and the provisions and stores having been landed there, Admiral Digby, taking under his charge the Spanish prizes and homeward bound transports, sailed for England on February 15th, 1780; and Admiral Rodney, with the remainder, proceeded to his station in the West Indies.

The great object of the French and Spanish forces in the West Islands at this time was the reduction of Jamaica. Hitherto foiled in attaining this object, they were in great hopes of being more successful in 1782. In order to frustrate their design, soon after his arrival in England, in the fall of the year 1781, Admiral Rodney was sent back to resume his command in the West Indies, with a reinforcement of twelve sail of the line. He sailed from the Channel in the month of January, 1782, and arrived off the island of Barbadoes on the 19th of the following month. Having formed a junction with Sir Samuel Hood he resolved to proceed with his whole fleet to St. Lucia; the most convenient station for watching the motions of the enemy. As soon as he arrived off this island he ordered some of his frigates to cruise, for the purpose of giving him the earliest intelligence of the movements of the enemy; and in the meantime took on board provisions and water sufficient to last him for five months.

The first object which Admiral Rodney had in view was to prevent, if possible, the junction of the French and Spanish fleets, as he had reason to believe that, if this junction were effected, Jamaica would fall a prey to the enemy. The Spanish fleet at this time were to leeward of the French.

On April 5th Admiral Rodney was informed that the French were embarking troops on board their ships of war; and on the 8th of the same month, at break of day, a signal was made from the _Andromache_ that their fleet was coming out of Fort Royal and standing to the north-west. Admiral Rodney immediately made the necessary signal for weighing anchor and getting under weigh, and this was obeyed with so much promptitude and alacrity that the whole British fleet, consisting of thirty-six sail of the line, was clear off Grosislet Bay before noon. They proceeded, under as much sail as they could carry, in pursuit of the enemy, so that before daylight the next morning the French fleet was discovered under the island of Dominica. At this time both fleets were becalmed; the enemy got the breeze first, and taking advantage of it stood towards Guadaloupe. The breeze next favoured the van of the English fleet, under the command of Sir Samuel Hood, who stood after them with a press of sail; all this while the rear and the centre of Admiral Rodney's fleet were still becalmed. This circumstance, which to all appearance was unfavourable to the English, proved in the issue highly advantageous to them; for the Count de Grasse, who had determined to avoid an engagement, and to press forward in order to effect a junction with the Spanish fleet, perceiving the van of the English at a distance from, and unsupported by, the rear and centre, was tempted to engage; so as soon as Sir Samuel Hood's division came near enough the Count de Grasse bore down upon him with his whole force. Sir Samuel Hood was not dispirited; though at one period of this very unequal engagement his own ship, the _Barfleur_, had seven of the enemy's ships firing upon her, and during the greatest part of the action not less than three. The example of the _Barfleur_ was followed by all the rest of the division, so that no advantage could be obtained over them. At length part of the centre got near enough to engage; and the breeze soon afterwards reaching the rear of the British fleet, the Count de Grasse withdrew his ships, and having the advantage of the wind was enabled to decline any further contest, notwithstanding all the endeavours of Admiral Rodney to continue it. During this partial engagement the _Royal Oak_ and the _Montague_, the leading ships of the van, sustained considerable damage. Captain Boyne of the _Alfred_ was killed. Two of the French ships were so disabled as to be obliged to take shelter in Guadaloupe.

The British fleet lay to all the night after the action for the purpose of repairing their damages, but the next morning made sail to the windward in pursuit of the enemy. But the pursuit seemed in vain, for on the morning of the 11th the French fleet had got so far to windward that some of their ships were scarcely visible.

About noon on April 11th one of the enemy's ships was seen in a disabled state, a great way to windward; Admiral Rodney now entertained hopes that he should either be able to capture her or to bring on a general engagement, if the Count de Grasse bore down to her support; he therefore ordered a general chase. Towards evening, one of the leading ships of the British approached so near the disabled ship of the enemy, that her capture was inevitable if she were not assisted. The Count de Grasse, perceiving her danger, bore down with his whole fleet for her protection. Admiral Rodney had now gained his object; for by nightfall the two fleets were very near each other: it was necessary, however, to put off the engagement till the next day, April 12th. Still, however, as during the night the French admiral might have drawn off his fleet, Admiral Rodney took such measures as effectually prevented this from taking place; so that when daylight broke he had the satisfaction to perceive that the Count de Grasse, even if so inclined, could not avoid a general engagement. The action was begun about half-past seven in the morning of the 12th by Captain Penny, of the _Marlborough_, the leading ship of the British van. The two fleets met on opposite tacks; the British ranging slowly along--there being but little wind--and close under the lee of the enemy's line, continuing a most tremendous fire, which the French received and returned with the utmost firmness. About noon, Sir George Rodney in the _Formidable_, having passed the _Ville de Paris_, the French admiral's ship, and her second--and during her passage directing against them a most tremendous and effective fire--stood athwart the line of the enemy, between the second and third ship astern of the _Ville de Paris_; she was immediately followed and supported by the _Duke_, _Namur_, and _Canada_; and the rest imitated their example. As soon as the _Formidable_ had broken the line she wore round; and a signal being made for the van division to tack, the British fleet thus gained the wind and stood upon the same tack with the enemy. By this bold and masterly manoeuvre the French line was completely broken and the whole thrown into confusion; the consequences were decisively advantageous and glorious to the British; for though the enemy still continued to fight with great gallantry, it was evident that the victory was with Admiral Rodney. The action hitherto had been chiefly supported by the van and centre of the British; for the rear under Sir Samuel Hood being becalmed, did not for some time get into the engagement; and when the breeze did spring up, it was so trifling that Sir Samuel Hood, in the _Barfleur_, took an hour and a half to reach that part of the enemy's line where it had been broken through by the _Formidable_. During all this time, however, he kept up a tremendous and well-directed fire.

As the French ships always carry a much larger complement of men than the British, and as, moreover, at this time they had on board a great number of troops, the carnage was extreme; notwithstanding this, however, and the certainty that they must ultimately be beaten, the Count de Grasse in the _Ville de Paris_ and the other ships in the centre, withstood till the evening all the efforts of the various ships that attacked him. Nor was the gallantry of the British inferior to that of the French. Captain Cornwallis, of the _Canada_, especially distinguished himself; for, having obliged the _Hector_, a ship of the same force as his own, to strike her colours, he did not lose time by taking possession of her, but leaving her in charge of a frigate pushed on to the _Ville de Paris_, which he engaged for the space of two hours, notwithstanding her great superiority, and left her a complete wreck. The Count de Grasse, however, refused to surrender; and as it was supposed that he would not yield to any vessel that did not carry an admiral's flag, towards sunset Sir Samuel Hood poured from the _Barfleur_ a most dreadful fire into the _Ville de Paris_. The Count de Grasse bore it for about ten minutes, when he surrendered: at this time there were only three men alive and unhurt on the upper deck, and of this number the count himself was one. Besides the _Ville de Paris_ and the _Hector_, the _Ardent_, of sixty-four guns, which had been captured in the British Channel, was re-taken; the _Cæsar_ and the _Glorieux_, of seventy-four guns each, also surrendered after they were made complete wrecks. The _Diadem_, early in the engagement, bore up to assist in protecting the _Ville de Paris_ from the _Formidable_, but by a single broadside from the latter she was sunk.

Night, which must have been ardently wished for by the French, now came on; when the British admiral made the signal for his fleet to bring to, in order that he might secure his prizes. In the course of this night the _Cæsar_, one of the prizes, blew up by accident; and a British lieutenant and fifty seamen, with about four hundred prisoners, perished.

The _Ville de Paris_ was the most important of the prizes; she was the largest ship in the French king's service. She had been a present from the city of Paris to Louis XV., and no expense had been spared to render the gift worthy of the city and of the monarch; the expense of building her and fitting her for sea is said to have been one hundred and fifty-six thousand pounds. On board of her there were, at the time of her capture, thirty-six chests of money, intended for the pay and subsistence of the men who were to have been employed in the expedition against Jamaica: in the other captured ships the whole train of artillery and the battering cannon, and travelling carriages meant for that expedition, were also found.

The loss of men in the British fleet in both actions, on April the 9th and 12th, was very small, amounting only to two hundred and thirty-seven killed and seven hundred and seventy-six wounded. The loss of the French is computed to have been three thousand slain and more than double that number wounded. In the _Ville de Paris_ alone upwards of three hundred men were killed; and several other of the captured ships lost between two or three hundred.

Two sail of the line and three frigates were captured the following day, so that the total loss of the enemy amounted to eight sail of the line and two frigates; six of which were in possession of the British, one sunk and another blown up. The Count de Grasse was sent prisoner to England.

After his success, Sir Samuel Hood joined Admiral Rodney, who proceeded to Jamaica with his prizes; leaving Sir Samuel with twenty-five sail of the line to keep the sea and watch the motions of the enemy.

Admiral Pigot, having arrived from England to succeed Sir George Rodney on the West India station, the latter sailed from Jamaica in the beginning of August. The news of his victory gave great and universal joy in Great Britain, and the admiral was created an English peer, and a pension of £2,000 a year was conferred upon him. Sir Samuel Hood was created an Irish peer.

Lord Rodney died in 1792, and a memorial was erected to his memory in St. Paul's Cathedral by public subscription.

THE LOSS OF THE _RAMILIES_.

BY G. H. WALKER.

Admiral (afterwards Lord) Graves having requested leave to return to England in 1782, was appointed by Lord Rodney to command the convoy sent home with a numerous fleet of merchantmen from the West Indies in the month of July. He accordingly hoisted the flag on board the _Ramilies_, of seventy-four guns, and sailed on the 25th from Bluefields, having under his orders the _Canada_ and _Centaur_, of seventy-four guns each, with the _Pallas_ frigate of thirty-six guns, and the following French ships taken by Lord Rodney and Sir Samuel Hood, out of the armament commanded by the Count de Grasse, viz., the _Ville de Paris_, of one hundred and ten guns; the _Glorieux_ and _Hector_, of seventy-four guns each; the _Ardent_, _Caton_, and _Jason_, of sixty-four guns each. These were originally British ships and had been in so many actions and so long absent from England, as to have become extremely out of condition, while that of the prizes was still more deplorable; and the following authentic account of the various disasters which attended this distressed convoy will be found equally melancholy and interesting.

Soon after the fleet had sailed, the officers of the _Ardent_ united in signing such a representation of her miserable plight as induced Admiral Graves to order her back to Port Royal; and the _Jason_ by not putting to sea with the convoy, from the want of water, never joined him at all. The rest proceeded, and after the vessels that were bound for New York had separated, the whole convoy was reduced to ninety-two or three sail.

On September 8th, the _Caton_ springing a leak, made such alarming complaints, that the admiral directed her and the _Pallas_, which had also become leaky, to bear away immediately and keep company together, making for Halifax, which then bore north-north-west and was about eighty-seven leagues distant.

The afternoon of September 16th, showing indications of a gale and foul weather from the south-east quarter, every preparation was made on board the flag ship for such an event, not only on account of her own safety, but also by way of example to the rest of the fleet. The admiral collected the ships about six o'clock, and brought to under his main sail on the larboard tack, having all his other sails furled, and his top-gallant yards and masts lowered down.

The wind soon increasing, blew strongly from the east-south-east with a very heavy sea, and about three o'clock in the morning of the 17th flew suddenly round to the contrary point, blowing most tremendously, and accompanied with rain, thunder, and lightning; the _Ramilies_ was taken by the lee, her main sail thrown aback, her main mast went by the board, and her mizen mast half way up; the foretop mast fell over the starboard bow, the foreyard broke in the slings, the tiller snapped in two, and the rudder was nearly torn off. Thus was this capital ship, from being in perfect order, reduced within a few minutes to a mere wreck, by the fury of the blast and the violence of the sea, which acted in opposition to each other. The ship was pooped, the cabin, where the admiral lay, was flooded, his cot bed jerked down by the violence of the shock and the ship's instantaneous revulsion, so that he was obliged to pull on his boots half-leg deep in water, without any stockings, to huddle on his wet clothes, and repair upon deck. On his first coming hither, he ordered two of the lieutenants to examine into the state of the affairs below, and to keep a sufficient number of people at the pumps, while he himself and the captain kept the deck, to encourage the men to clear away the wreck, which by its constant swinging backwards and forwards by every wave against the body of the ship, had beaten off much of the copper from the starboard side, and exposed the seams so much to the sea that the decayed oakum washed out, and the whole frame became at once exceedingly porous and leaky.

At dawn of day they perceived a large ship under their lee, lying upon her side, water-logged, her hands attempting to wear her by first cutting away the mizen mast, and then main mast: hoisting her ensign, with the union downwards, in order to draw the attention of the fleet; but to no purpose, for no succour could be given, and she very soon went down head foremost, the fly of her ensign being the last thing visible. This was the _Dutton_, formerly an Indiaman, and then a store ship, commanded by a lieutenant of the navy, who in his agitation leaped from her deck into the sea; but, as might be expected, was very soon overwhelmed by the billows. Twelve or thirteen of the crew contrived, however, to slip off with one of the boats, and running with the wind, endeavoured to reach a large ship before them, failing in which, however, and afraid of filling if they attempted to haul up for that purpose, they made up for another ship more to the leeward, who, fortunately descrying them, threw a number of ropes, by the help of which these desperate fellows scrambled up her sides and fortunately saved their lives. Out of ninety-four or ninety-five sail seen the day before scarcely twenty could now be counted; of the ships of war there were discovered the _Canada_ half hull down upon the lee quarter, having her main-top mast and mizen mast gone, the main top damaged, the main yard aloft, and the main sail furled. The _Centaur_ was far to windward, without masts, bowsprit or rudder; and the _Glorieux_ without fore mast, bowsprit, or main-top mast. Of these the two latter perished with all their crews, excepting the captain of the _Centaur_ and a few of his people, who contrived to slip off her stern into one of the boats unnoticed, and thus escaped the fate of the rest.

The _Ville de Paris_ appeared to have received no injury, and was commanded by a most experienced seaman, who had made twenty-four voyages to and from the West Indies, and had, therefore, been pitched upon to lead the ship through the Gulf; nevertheless, she was afterwards buried in the ocean with all on board her, consisting of above eight hundred people. Of the convoy, besides the _Dutton_ before mentioned and the _British Queen_, seven others were discovered without mast or bowsprit; eighteen lost masts, and several others had actually foundered.

In the course of this day the _Canada_ crossed upon and passed the _Ramilies_. Some of the trade attempted to follow the _Canada_, but she ran at such a rate that they soon found it to be in vain, and then returned to the flag ship. The _Ramilies_ had at this time six feet of water in her hold, and the pumps would not free her, the water having worked out the oakum, and her beams amid ship being almost drawn from her clamps.

The admiral therefore gave orders for all the buckets to be manned, and every officer to help towards freeing the ship; the mizen-top sail was set upon the fore mast, the main top-gallant sail on the stump of the mizen mast, and the tiller shipped. In this condition, by bearing away, she scudded on at so good a rate that she held pace with some of the merchantmen.

The day having been spent in baling and pumping, with materially gaining on the water, the captain, in the name of the officers, represented to the admiral the necessity of parting with the guns for the relief of the ship; but he objected that there would then be left no protection for the convoy. At length, however, he consented to their disposing of the fore castle and aftermost quarter-deck guns, together with some of the shot, and other articles of very great weight. The ensuing night was employed in baling and endeavouring to make the pumps useful, for the ballast, by getting into the well, had choked and rendered them useless, and the chains had broken as often as they were repaired. The water had risen to seven feet in the hold. The wind from the eastward drove a vast sea before it, and the ship, being old, strained most violently.

On the morning of the 18th nothing could be seen of the _Canada_, she having pushed on at her greatest speed for England. The frame of the _Ramilies_ having opened during the night, the admiral was prevailed upon, by the renewed and pressing remonstrances of his officers, although with great reluctance, to let six of the forwardmost and four of the aftermost guns of the main deck be thrown overboard, together with the remainder of those on the quarter-deck; and the ships still continuing to open very much, he ordered tarred canvas and hides to be nailed fore and aft from under the sills of the ports on the main deck under the fifth plank above, or within the water ways; and the crew, without orders, did the same on the lower deck. Her increasing complaints required still more to be done. The admiral directed all the guns on the upper deck, the shot, both on that and the lower deck, and various heavy stores, to be thrown overboard; a leakage in the light-room of the grand magazine having almost filled the ship forward, and there being eight feet of water in the magazine, every gentleman was compelled to take his turn at the whips or in handing the buckets. The ship was besides frapped from the fore mast to the main mast.

Notwithstanding their utmost efforts the water still gained on them the succeeding night, and the wind blowing very hard, with extremely heavy squalls, a part of the orlop deck fell into the hold: the ship herself seemed to work excessively, and to settle forward.

On the morning of the 19th, under these very alarming circumstances, the admiral commanded both the bower anchors to be cut away, all the junk to be flung overboard, one sheet and one bower cable to be reduced to junk and served the same way, together with every remaining ponderous store that could be got at, and all the powder in the grand magazine (it being damaged); the cutter and pinnace to be broken up and tossed overboard, the skids having already worked off the side. Every soul on board was now employed in baling. One of the pumps was got up; but to no purpose, for the shot lockers being broken down, some of the shot, as well as the ballast, had fallen into the well; and as the weather moderated a little everything was made ready for heaving the lower-deck guns into the sea, the admiral being anxious to leave nothing undone for the relief of the ship.

When evening approached, there being twenty merchant ships in sight, the officers united in beseeching him to go into one of them; but this he positively refused to do, deeming it, as he declared, unpardonable in a commander-in-chief to desert his garrison in distress; that his living a few years longer was of very little consequence, but that, by leaving his ship at such a time, he should discourage and slacken the exertions of the people by setting them a very bad example. The wind lulling somewhat during the night, all hands baled the water, which, at this time, was six feet fore and aft.

On the morning of the 20th the admiral ordered the square and stream-anchors to be cut away, and within the course of the day all the lower-deck guns to be thrown overboard. When evening came the spirits of the people in general, and even of the most courageous, began to fail, and they openly expressed the utmost despair, together with the most earnest desire of quitting the ship, lest they should founder in her. The admiral hereupon advanced and told them that he and their officers had an equal regard for their own lives, that the officers had no intention of deserting either them or the ship, that, for his part, he was determined to try one night more in her; he therefore hoped and entreated they would do so too, for there was still room to imagine that one fair day, with a moderate sea, might enable them, by united exertion, to clear and secure the well against the encroaching ballast which washed into it; that if this could be done they might be able to restore the chains to the pumps and use them, and that then hands enough might be spared to raise jury masts, with which they might carry the ship into Ireland; that her appearance alone, while she could swim, would be sufficient to protect the remaining part of her convoy; above all, that as everything that could be thought of had now been done for her relief, it would be but reasonable to wait the effect. He concluded with assuring them that he would make the signal directly for the trade to lie by them during the night, which he doubted not they would comply with.

This temperate speech had the desired effect; the firmness and confidence with which he spoke, and their reliance on his seamanship and judgment, as well as his constant presence and attention to every accident, had a wonderful effect upon them; they became pacified, returning to their duty and their labours. Since the first disaster, the admiral had, in fact, scarcely ever quitted the deck; this they had all observed, together with his diligence in personally inspecting every circumstance of distress. Knowing his skill and experience, they placed great confidence in them; and he instantly made, according to his promise, a signal for all the merchantmen.

At this period, it must be confessed, there was great reason for alarm, and but little for hope; for all the anchors and guns, excepting one, together with every other matter of weight, had been thrown overboard, and yet the ship did not seem to be at all relieved. The strength of the people was likewise so nearly exhausted, having had no sleep since the first fatal stroke, that one half of the crew were ordered to bale, and the other to repose; so that, although the wind was much abated, the water still gained upon them, in spite of all their efforts, and the ship rolled and worked prodigiously in a most unquiet sea.

At three in the morning of the 21st, being the fourth night, the well being broken in, the casks, ballast, and remaining shot rushed together and destroyed the cylinder of the pumps; the frame and carcase of the ship began to give way in every part, and the whole crew exclaimed that it was impossible to keep her any longer above water.