N this year, as in the preceding,

afforded to the British navy to act a distinguished part in the course of events which will ever render the period memorable. The French tavy, reduced to inaction, or to a few petty and stolen attempts, bas presented no occasion of fair and decisive combat; and the blockade of the American coast has curbed that adventurous spirit which some unexpected successes appeared to have excited in the infant navy of the United States. Actions worthy of record have not, however, been entirely wanting; and in several instances of co-operation with the land forces, our seamen have found room for the display of their accustomed courage and activity.

The first event, however, to be related, is one of additional misfortune, though not of disgrace, to the British Bag. His Majesty's frigate Java, Capt. Lambert, bound to the East Indies, with Lieut. Gen. Heslop, and the officers of his staff on board, descried, on Dec 29th,

1812, off St. Salvador, on the

which she gave chace. The ship proved to be the American frigate Constitution, which, shortening sail about two o'clock in the afternoon, came into action. The American manœuvred for some time to avoid close combat, aiming by firing high to disable the masts of his antagonist, in which he obtained some success, having shot away the head of the bowsprit with the jib-boom of the Java, and much injured the running rigging. Capt. Lambert, finding the enemy's raking fire very heavy, ordered him to be laid on board; but this was rendered impracticable by farther damages to the inasts and rigging which left his ship quite unmanage able, with most of the starboard guns useless from the wreck lying over them. At half-past three the captain received a dangerous wound which obliged him to be carried below. From this time till a quarter past four the Java could only fire two or three guns; but her

mizen mast being then shot away, she fell off, and many of her starboard guns were brought to bear. The two ships were now brought broadside to broadside, and both continued to fight for some time in this position. The Constitution then made sail a-head out of gunshot, to repair her damages, leaving the Java a wreck, with only the main-mast standing, and that tottering. Every attempt was however made to put her in a state for renewing the action, but the mainmast fell over the side, and the starboard guns were nearly all covered. The enemy now standing forwards to make an attack, and preparing to take a raking position, Mr. Chads, the first lieutenant, consulted his officers whether, in their disabled condition, with great part of the crew killed or wounded, it would be justifiable to waste more lives in continuing a fruitless defence. The result was, that they agreed in the painful necessity of striking their colours; and their victor, Commodore Bainbridge, gave a testimony of the desperate state to which their ship was reduced, by ordering her to be set on fire as soon as the wounded were removed. The loss on board the Java was very severe in officers and men, and the gallant Captain Lambert died in consequence of his wounds a few days after, and was interred with all military honours in fort St. Pedro. The loss on board the Constitution was also considerable. The respective force of the ships was, Java, guns, 46; weight of metal, 1034lb.; crew and supernumeraries, 377: Constitution, guns, 55; weight of me. tal, 1490; crew, 480. It scarcely needs be added, after this relation,

that the surviving officers of the Java were most honourably acquitted of blame for the surrender of their ship.

An action in which a serious loss was sustained, with no other advantage than the gallant repulse of a superior foe, occurred in an engagement between his Majesty's ship Amelia, the Hon. Capt. Irby, and a French frigate, off the coast of Africa. Capt. Irby, being about to quit Sierra Leone river at the close of January, was informed by Lieut. Pascoe, of the Daring gunbrig, that he had been obliged to run his vessel on shore, and blow her up, in consequence of being chased by a French frigate, which, with two consorts, he had left at anchor off the De Loss islands. Capt. Irby dispatched Lieut. Pascoe to reconnoitre, who brought intelligence that the force of the enemy was two frigates of the largest class, L'Arethuse and Le Rubis, with a Portuguese ship, their prize. Capt. Irby, thereupon, determined to cruize off those islands in order to fall in with any other English ships of war that might be coming down the coast, and protect the trade to Sierra Leone. One of the French frigates stood out to sea on Feb. 6th, and on the next day the other stood towards the Amelia, which had been lying off the island of Tamara in the night. Capt. Irby, with the hope of drawing her from her consort, continued standing to sea till sun-set, when, not perceiv ing the other ship from the masthead, he shortened sail, wore, and stood to her. At 45 minutes past seven, p. m. the two antagonists began firing within pistol shot, and the action continued till 21

minutes

minutes past 11, when the French frigate bore away, leaving the Amelia in an ungovernable condition, with her sails and rigging cut to pieces, and her masts injured. During the action the Amelia twice fell on board the enemy in attempting to thwart his hawse; when he made efforts to board, but was repulsed. "The superior force of the enemy (says Capt. Irby), the considerable quantity of gold-dust we have on board, as well as the certainty of the other frigate coming up, would have prevented my seeking a renewal of the action, if it had not been totally impracticable." The slaughter on board the Amelia was too good a proof, together with the disabling of the ship, how well the enemy's guns were served. The return of killed, and since dead, was 51, of wounded, 95. Among the former were three lieutenants, and Lieutenant Pascoe, of the Daring. Capt. Irby was severely wounded. He immediately proceeded homewards, and arrived at Spithead on March 22d.

A brilliant service performed by the Sicilian flotilla under the command of Capt. Hall, aided by a part of the 75th regiment, was reported by Sir Edward Pellew, the admiral in the Mediteranean, in the month of March. Capt. Hall, in a letter to Lord W. Bentinck, relates, that the enemy having thrown up new works, at Pietra Nera, on the coast of Calabria, confided so much in their strength, that a convoy of 50 armed vessels assembled to transport timber and other government property to Naples. On receiving this intelligence, Capt. Hall, on the night of Feb. 14th, proceeded with two divisions of the flotilla, and four

companies of the 75th regiment, commanded by Major Stuart, and arriving at day-light, landed about 150 of the soldiers, with an auxiliary party of seamen under the command of Lieut. Le Hunt. Major Stewart immediately led them to occupy a height defended by a whole battalion, with two troops of cavalry, and two pieces of artillery. A most determined attack was made, which was resisted till the enemy's commander and most of his officers were killed or made prisoners, and the height was covered with their dead. The flotilla, under Capt. Imbert, in the meantime was cannonading the batteries, which held out till they were stormed by Lieut. Le Hunt with his seamen. Every thing now came into the possession of the assailants, who launched the most valuable of the vessels and timber, and set the rest on fire. enemy, 150 were killed, and 163 wounded, and their two guns were taken. The loss of the victors was comparatively trifling, but the gallant Major Stewart was unfortunately killed by a musket shot as he was pushing off from shore after the re-embarkation of the troops.

Of the

Another successful enterprize in which the land and sea forces were conjointly engaged was the capture of the Isle of Ponza, off the gulf of Gaeta, on the Neapolitan coast. Capt. Napier, of the Thames, having taken on board Lieutenant Col. Coffin, and the 2d battalion of the 10th regiment, arrived off Ponza, accompanied by the Furieuse, on Feb. 23d. The harbour of the island is about a quarter of a mile wide, with a mole at the extremity, defended by four bat

teries,

teries, mounting ten 24 and 18 pounders, and two mortars. It was agreed, as the shortest way of accomplishing their purpose, that the two ships should be run into the mole, and the place carried by assault. The weather was unfavourable till the morning of the 26th, when the ships bore up in close order with a fine breeze. The enemy were prepared, and opened their fire half an hour before the ships' guns could be brought to bear, but with little effect; and when the ships began to fire on both sides, the defenders soon retreated into a strong tower. Col. Coffin then landed, and pushed his men for the tower; but the commandant, not waiting for the assault, hoisted a flag of truce, and capitulated, the garrison remaining prisoners of war. In this affair not a man was lost in either service.

To the disasters which the American war has brought on the British navy, must be added that of the destrustion of the sloop of war, Peacock, of 18 guns. Capt. Lawrence, of the American sloop of war, Hornet, relates that on cruizing from the coast of Surinam to that of Demarara, after making the latter, on the morning of Feb. 24th, he discovered a vessel at anchor, apparently an English brig of war. On beating round a bank, in order to get to her, he descried another sail on his weather-quarter, edging down to him. This proved to be the Peacock; and after some manoeuvring to get the weathergage, in which the American succeeded, the action commenced about half past five, p. m. Capt. Lawrence ran his antagonist close on board on the starboard quarter,

and kept up so heavy a fire that in less than 15 minutes by his own account, but, by that of some English who escaped, after an action of 45 minutes, she surrendered by hoisting a signal of distress. On sending a lieutenant on board the Peacock, it was found that her commander, Captain Peake, was killed, and many other officers and men killed and wounded, and that the ship was sinking fast, having six feet water in her hold. Notwithstanding every endeavour to keep her afloat till the prisoners were removed, she went down, carrying with her thirteen of her crew, and three American, sailors. Four of her men had previously taken her stern-boat, and go to land. The Peacock was considered as one of the finest vessels of her class, and appears to have entered into action with confidence of success. The Hornet, however, was of somewhat superior force, and her fire, like that of all the American ships which have engaged the British, seems to have been truly formidable.

Captain Black, of the Weazle sloop of war, sent an account from Lissa, on the coast of Dalmatia, that on April 23d he gave chase to an enemy's convoy, making for the ports of Trau and Spalatro. The greater part of them, with ten gunboats, bore up for the bay of Boscaline, where he attacked thein under a fire of two guns, and 2 or 300 musketry. Six of the gunboats were taken, driven on shore, and sunk, when four more arrived and took part in the action, and running behind a point, kept a galling fire with grape upon the Weazle's people. After dark,. boats were sent in, which destroyed

all

all the gun-boats, and eight sail of the convoy.

Admiral Sir J. B. Warren, being of opinion that a flotilla of small vessels might be usefully employed in penetrating the rivers at the head of Chesapeake bay, detached, in April, Rear admiral Cockburn with a light squadron for that purpose. This officer reported, on the 29th, a successful attempt by the Fantome and Mohawk on. French-town, a considerable distance up the Elk river, where was a depot of stores. A resistance was made by a six-gun battery, but it was abandoned, and the town and stores left to their fate. The latter, consisting of flour and army necessaries, together with five vessels, were burnt, Adiniral Cockburne's second report, on May 3d, gives an account of an attack upon Havre de Grace, a place at the entrance of the Susquehanna, where the Americans had erected a battery. The attack was made by two divisions of seamen and harines, who drove the enemy from the battery and town, set fire to some houses of the latter, and then proceeded to a cannon foundry at some distance, which they entirely destroyed, with a number of guns, and also took 130 stand of arms. A third report from Sassafras river relates successful attacks upon George-town and Frederick'stown. A body of 400 militiamen by whom they were defended was soon dispersed, and the villages were destroyed, with the excuption of the houses of some peaceable inhabitants who took no part in the hostilities. Some other places in which there were no public stores or property, and no preparations made for resistance,

were spared; and thus the expedition terminated.

The capture of his Majesty's sloop of war, Vincejo, on the coast of Britany, by a French fictilla of 17 gun-brigs and luggers, on May 8th, after a vigorous, but unavailing, resistance against so disproportioned a force, was another of the small disasters of the British navy.

The time, however, now approached in which the British flag was to recover a large share of its accustomed honours from that foe against whom its glory had suffered a temporary eclipse. Capt. P. V. Broke, of his Majesty's frigate Shannon, whose station was off the port of Boston, had been singularly assiduous in exercising his men at great and small arms, and bringing them into a state of the most perfect discipline. In that harbour lay the United States frigate, Chesapeake, Capt. Laurence, a fine ship of 49 guns, 18 and 32 pounders, with a complement of 440 men. For this vessel, Capt. Broke had long been watching, desirous only of contending with it on fair terms; and that the enemy might not be prevented from coming out by the apprehension of having more than one antagonist to deal with, on the first of June he stood close in with Boston light-house, presenting himself as a challenger to single combat. He soou had the pleasure (to use his own expression) of seeing the Chesapeake stand out of the harbour for the purpose of accepting the proffered contest. Capt, Broke took a position between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, and then hove to, that his antagonist might join him. The American came down in a very handsome manner, with

three