truce was hauled down; and at 6 h. 15 m. A. M. the British squadron commenced the action. As soon as the ships had fired about three broadsides each, Captain Brisbane, at the head of a portion of his crew, boarded and carried the Dutch frigate; whereupon the Latona warped close alongside and took possession. Meanwhile a party of the Anson's men, headed by Captain Lydiard, had boarded and secured the Surinam. This done, Captains Brisbane and Lydiard pulled straight for the shore, and, landing together, proceeded, at 7 h. 30 m. A. M., to storm Fort Amsterdam. The vigour of the assault was irresistible. Some of the British breaking open the sea-gate with their crowbars, while others escaladed the walls, the fort, although garrisoned by 275 regular troops, was carried in about ten minutes; as, shortly afterwards, and with equal quickness and facility, were one or two minor forts, the citadel, and the town. On the return of Captains Brisbane and Lydiard to their respective ships, a fire was opened upon Fort République, which fire the fort might have silenced in half an hour; and 300 sea men and marines were landed to attack it in the rear, which service they would have found a very difficult one to execute. By 10 A. M., however, or a little after, the British flag waved on the walls of Fort République; and, by noon, the whole island of Curaçoa had capitulated to the British arms. This unparalleled morning's work was achieved with no greater loss to the British, than two seamen killed and five wounded belonging to the Arethusa, one killed and two wounded belonging to the Latona, and seven wounded belonging to the Anson; total, three killed and 14 wounded; and the only spar shot or carried away was the spritsail yard of the Arethusa. The loss on the part of the Dutch was much more severe. The Halstaar had her captain and two petty officers killed, and three others badly wounded; the Surinam, one seaman killed, her commander (dangerously), one lieutenant, one midshipman, and one seaman wounded; and the schooner Flying-Fish (Viligende-Vis) one killed and one wounded; total, five killed and eight wounded, exclusive of the loss on shore, represented to have amounted, in killed and wounded together, to nearly 200 men. The Dutch ships were bravely defended; and so probably would have been the forts, had not the hour and the suddenness of the attack completely scared the drowsy garrisons, and the occupation of the harbour by the enemy's ships prevented the junction of a considerable reinforcement which had assembled at Otra-Bandy. The capture of a valuable Dutch colony, by four British frigates and their ships' companies, was an exploit of which even four British sail of the line, and a dozen transports with troops, might have been proud. Captain Brisbane, the planner and leader of the enterprise, was knighted by his sovereign, and all four captains received medals commemorative of the brilliant service they had performed. Nor were the most distinguished of the subordinate gallant participators overlooked. Lieutenants John Parish, first of the Arethusa, and Thomas Ball Sullivan, first of the Anson, both of whom assisted at the storming of Fort Amsterdam, were made commanders. As soon as war was declared by Denmark for the attack upon her capital and the seizure of her fleet, her powerful enemy proceeded to gain possession of the Danish colonies. Accordingly, on the 16th of December, an expedition, the naval force under the command of Rear-admiral the Honourable Sir Alexander Cochrane, and the military under that of General Bowyer, sailed from Carlisle bay, Barbadoes, and on the 21st anchored off the island of St.-Thomas. A summons was then sent in to the Danish governor, Colonel Van-Scholten; who after a short parley acceded to the terms, and the island and its dependencies were on the same day formally surrendered to Great Britain. On the 25th the island of Santa-Croix followed the example of its neighbour. No ships of war were found in the harbours of either island, but a great many merchant vessels, nearly the whole of them under the Danish flag. SOUTH AMERICA. In our last year's account of the proceedings in the Rio de la Plata, we left Commodore Sir Home Popham and Brigadiergeneral Backhouse in the possession of Maldonado harbour, and of the small island of Gorreti near its entrance.* On the 5th of January Rear-admiral Stirling, in the Ardent 64, with a small convoy, arrived at Maldonado, to supersede Commodore Sir Home Popham. The rear-admiral also brought out Brigadiergeneral Sir Samuel Auchmuty to take the command of the troops. On the 13th Maldonado was evacuated without opposition, and a small garrison only was left in Gorreti. It was now determined to invest Monte-Video, a strong town, mounting on its different batteries 160 pieces of cannon, and respectably garrisoned; and the following was the British naval force ready to co-operate in the attack : Accordingly on the 16th, in the morning, the ships having assembled off the island of Flores, a landing was effected in a small bay a little to the westward of the Caretas rocks, and about eight miles to the eastward of the town. The strength of * See p. 214, the breeze, and the intricacy of the navigation, rendered it very difficult for a covering force to approach near enough to be of much use; but the frigates, under the directions of Captain Lucius Hardyman of the Unicorn, got so close as to command the beach, had any opposition been offered by the body of troops in view on the heights. On the 19th the army, including about 800 seamen and marines under the orders of Captains Ross Donnelly and John Palmer (the latter of the ship-sloop Pheasant), moved forward, and in the evening the ships of war and transports dropped off Chico bay; near to which, and at about two miles from the town, the troops encamped, having during the march had a slight skirmish with parties of the enemy. Such was the shallowness of the water in front of Monte-Video, that the ships could lend no effectual co-operation in the siege, beyond landing a part of their men, guns, and stores, and cutting off all communication between Colonna and Buenos-Ayres. On the 25th the general opened his breaching batteries, and the lighter vessels of the squadron opened a distant cannonade. The siege continued, with doubtful result, until the 2d of February, when a breach was reported practicable. In the evening a summons was sent to the governor, to which no answer was returned; and on the morning of the 3d, before day, the breach was most gallantly stormed, and the town and citadel carried. The loss sustained by the army, from its first landing to the termination of the siege, amounted to 192 killed, 421 wounded, and eight missing. The distance from the shore at which the ships were obliged to anchor, the constant high wind and heavy swell, and the distance which the guns, when landed, had to be dragged over a heavy sandy road, rendered the duty of the seamen particularly arduous. For these and other services, so many were required, that the daily number of men absent from the squadron, including the division imbodied with the army, was about 1400; and the Diadem herself was frequently left with only 30 men on board. The loss sustained by the navy on shore amounted to six seamen killed, one sub-lieutenant (George Stewart), three midshipmen (the Honourable Charles Leonard Irby, Henry Smith, and John Morrison), and 24 seamen and marines wounded, and four seamen missing. So low was the stock of powder reduced by the protracted length of the siege, that, when the breach was made, no greater quantity remained on board the ships of war, transports, and fleet of English merchantmen in company, than would have furnished two days' further consumption. None of the few Spanish vessels of war found in the harbour were of much value. A corvette of 28 guns was burnt by the crew. There were two or three other unserviceable corvettes, and some schooners of war; also 21 gun-boats. The remaining vessels were merchantmen. |