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WILLAUMEZ ESCAPES FROM DUCKWORTH.

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was working to the northward, in which direction Leissègues had been last seen, he held on his course. On December 25th, being in lat. 30° 52′ N., and long. 20° 16' W., the British sighted nine strange sail standing to the southward, and tacked after them in chase, with every rag of canvas set. On the morning of the 26th, it was perceived that the enemy's force included six instead of only five sail of the line; and the supposition that it was the Rochefort squadron began, therefore, to be discredited. Until 1 P.M. the chase was continued, with increasing advantage to the British; and not more than about seven miles seems to have then intervened between the foremost of the British and the rearmost of the French ships. But Duckworth's command was drawn out over a distance of nearly fifty miles; and, professedly influenced by this consideration, and by the fear lest the Superb, the leading ship, might be overwhelmed before she could be assisted, the ViceAdmiral annulled the chase in lat. 28° 25' N. and long. 19° 10′ W. It was surely an unfortunate decision. The French were neither of superior force, nor so concentrated as to be in a position to crush the British ships had they come up, as they might have come, in reasonably quick succession; and it is all but certain that, if Duckworth had persisted in the pursuit, he might have forced his opponent, who was none other than Willaumez,' either to abandon his rearmost vessel, or to shorten sail, cover his rear, and accept a general action.

Duckworth collected his squadron, sent the Amethyst to England with news of the strength and supposed destination of the French, and then, his stock of water having run low, bore away for the Leeward Islands. On January 2nd, 1806, he detached the Powerful, 74, to fill up with provisions and water at the Cape de Verde Islands and then to proceed to the East Indies as a reinforcement for RearAdmiral Sir Edward Pellew; and on January 12th, he anchored in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, and sent forward the Acasta to St. Kitts to make arrangements for the watering of the squadron at that island. Weighing from Carlisle Bay on the 14th, he reached BasseTerre road, St. Kitts, on the evening of the 19th, and on the 21st was joined by the Northumberland, 74, Rear-Admiral the Hon. Alexander F. I. Cochrane, Captain John Morrison (1) (actg.), and

1 The force of Willaumez was as set forth in the note on p. 184, save that the Volontaire, having been detached with prizes, was absent.

2 Confirmed, Feb. 5th, 1806.

the Atlas, 74, Captain Samuel Pym. As Cochrane brought no news of any important movement on the part of the enemy, and as both he and Duckworth were entirely ignorant of the course which had been taken by Leissègues, Sir John, without special haste, watered and refitted preparatory to returning to his station. But on February 1st, the Kingfisher, 16, Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane, brought intelligence that three French sail of the line had been seen making for

(From a drawing by W. Evans, after the portrait by Sir Wm. Beechey, R.A.)

the town of San Domingo, and at once Duckworth weighed and made sail to look for them. Off St. Thomas, on the 3rd, the squadron was joined by the Epervier, 14, Lieutenant James Higginson. On the morning of the 5th, off the east end of the island of San Domingo, it was further joined by the Magicienne, 36, Captain Adam Mackenzie, who confirmed the previous news, and who had with him a Danish schooner which had sailed from San Domingo road after the French had arrived there. On the following morning at dawn,

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DUCKWORTH OFF SAN DOMINGO.

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the British drew in sight of the roadstead; and presently the Acasta and Magicienne, which had been ordered ahead, signalled the presence at anchor, first of two frigates, and, subsequently, of nine sail.

Eight of these vessels composed the force with Vice-Admiral Leissègues, who, after chasing the Arethusa and her convoy on December 16th, had attempted to pass N.W. of the Azores, and had fallen in with bad weather, which had not only forced him to bear up and pass to leeward of the islands, but had also done him much. damage, and had obliged the Alexandre and Brave to part company. On January 20th, Leissègues had anchored in San Domingo road; and he had subsequently disembarked troops and stores for the relief of General Ferrand and had been rejoined by the Alexandre and Brave. When discovered, on February 6th, he was practically ready to proceed in execution of his orders.

At 7.30 A.M., the French, conscious that they were about to be attacked, slipped their cables and made sail in a westerly direction with a light N.N.W. breeze. As they approached Punta Palenque, they formed in line of battle, the Alexandre leading, and being followed in succession by the Impérial, Diomède, Jupiter, and Brave. The Félicité, Comète, and Diligente formed a parallel line closer inshore. The British, formed in two lines, steered to cross the course of the leading French vessels," Duckworth signalling that the main object of his attack would be the French admiral and his two seconds, i.e., the three headmost ships of the enemy. The starboard or weather line consisted of the Superb, Northumberland, Spencer, and Agamemnon; and the port or lee one, of the Canopus, Donegal, and Atlas. At 8 A.M. the Canopus was nearly abeam of the Spencer, and the ships of each British line were in fairly good order. The Acasta, Magicienne, Kingfisher and Epervier, had taken stations to windward of the line-of-battle ships.

"Soon after 8 A.M.," says James, "the inequality of sailing among the British ships began plainly to show itself. By 10 A.M. the Agamemnon had dropped considerably astern, and the Canopus, the leading ship of the lee line, was now no further advanced than the former. The three leading ships of the weather line were in close order, and gaining fast upon the French squadron; the ships of which, at about 9.45 A.M.,3 hoisted their colours, and, owing to the wind having shifted to N.E. by E., were now steering

1 The other was a merchantman.

2 This was because Duckworth believed that the French were seeking to join a friendly force to leeward. Disp. of Feb. 7th.

3 When Duckworth signalled his ships to take stations for mutual support, and to engage the enemy as they got up.

with it about a point upon the starboard quarter. At 10.10 A.M. the Superb, having shortened sail, opened a fire from her starboard guns upon the Alexandre; as, in three minutes afterwards, did the Northumberland upon the three-decker, the Impérial. In another five minutes, the Spencer, who was close upon the Northumberland's starboard quarter, joined in the cannonade, taking the Diomède as her more immediate opponent, but firing occasionally at the three-decker ahead of her; and all the engaged ships kept running nearly before the wind, at the rate of about eight knots an hour."

After having exchanged three broadsides, the Alexandre hauled up on the port tack, passed astern of the Superb and Northumber

ADMIRAL SIR PULTENEY MALCOLM, G.C.B.

(Engraved by Wm. Ward, after the portrait by S. Lane, painted when Sir Pulteney was a Vice-Admiral, 1821-37.)

land, and tried to cross the bows of the Spencer. This ship, however, crossed the Alexandre's bows, raked her, and then, wearing, brought the Frenchman to action on the port tack; and the Alexandre eventually fell among the British lee division, which dismasted her. The Spencer's change of sides was at first unperceived by the Superb and Northumberland, which were en

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veloped in smoke, and which, for a few moments, fired into her. Soon, however, the truth was realised; and, while the Spencer and Alexandre remained closely engaged with their heads to the southward, the rest of both squadrons continued to the westward, the Northumberland pushing up on the Superb's starboard quarter, and very gallantly intervening between the British and French flagships. When, at about 11 A.M., the Spencer had set the Alexandre on fire and reduced her to impotence, she filled and bore up to assist her consorts. The lee division, after passing across and firing into the bows of the Alexandre, separated, the Canopus standing on towards the Impérial, and the Donegal and Atlas attaching themselves to the Brave and Jupiter; so that the action was by that time general, save that the Agamemnon still remained unable to get up. The Donegal, having first poured her starboard battery into the Brave, wore under that ship's stern and engaged her with the port battery, the result being that the Brave was the next ship of the enemy, after the Alexandre, to strike her colours. The Donegal then stood on, ranged ahead of the Jupiter,' and obliged that ship to run her on board, the Frenchman's bowsprit coming over the Donegal's port quarter, where it was secured by means of a hawser. This determined action on the part of Captain Malcolm soon induced the Jupiter to surrender; and the Donegal at once sent a crew on board, and took her prize in tow.

The Atlas, having left the Jupiter to the Donegal, had pushed on and begun to seriously annoy the Impérial, when, unfortunately, her tiller became jammed. At almost the same instant she received an unexpected fire from the Diomède, and, in the confusion, she fouled the Canopus and carried away her own bowsprit. But, quickly heaving aback his after-sails, Captain Pym cleared his consort, and, dropping alongside the Diomède, engaged her warmly with his starboard battery, until the Spencer came up.

It was then about 11.30 A.M., and

"the French admiral, much shattered and completely beaten, hauled direct for the land, and, not being a mile off, at twenty minutes before noon ran on shore, his foremast then only standing, which fell directly on her striking; at which time the Superb, being only in 17 fathoms water, was forced to haul off to avoid the same evil; but, not long after, the Diomède . . . pushed inshore near his admiral, when all his masts went." 2

1 The Jupiter had by that time been quitted by the Atlas, which, in pursuance of Duckworth's orders, had stood on after the Canopus to assist the attack upon the enemy's van.

2 Duckworth's Disp. of Feb. 7th.