with grape, and then sent in a boat party, under Lieutenant James Hay, to destroy her. The remaining French schooner, which was ashore, was also destroyed. The Amaranthe's loss was 1 killed and 5 wounded. In the other vessels there were 2 killed and 5 wounded.1

On December 30th, the Imperieuse, 38, Captain Lord Cochrane, sailed into Caldagues Bay, where were several French vessels laden with supplies for the besieged garrison of Barcelona. In spite of the fire of a battery, and of the French Gauloise, 7, and Julie, 5, Cochrane sank the two vessels; with a landing-party captured the battery; and took possession of 11 ships laden with provisions-all this without loss to his crew. A few days later, he captured a battery at Silva, and rolled all the guns into the sea. As a return for his hard and splendid work, Cochrane was positively reproached by the Admiralty for using too much powder, shot and stores! 2

So troublesome had French privateers in the Channel become, that, at the close of 1808, steps were taken to arrange a system of signals by which warships could be informed of the whereabouts of such craft. The system was rudimentary, the direction of the enemy being indicated by a number of shots fired from alarm guns.

On January 1st, 1809, the sloop Onyx, 10, Commander Charles Gill, cruising in the North Sea, encountered the Dutch Manly,3 16, of superior force, brought her to close action, and, after two and a half hours' fighting in heavy weather, forced her to strike. The Onyx lost only 3 men wounded. The Manly had 5 killed and 6 wounded. On the following day, off the Dutch coast, the Aimable, 32, Captain Lord George Stuart, gave chase to the French corvette Iris, 24, Lieutenant J. J. Macquet, and captured her on the 3rd, after twenty-four hours' pursuit. The Iris was laden with flour, and was under orders for Martinique. She was purchased for the Navy, and became the Rainbow, 28.5

On January 5th, the French corvette Hébé, 20, laden with flour for San Domingo, was taken by the Loire, 38, Captain Alexander

1 James, v. 86; Brenton, ii. 255; Gazette, 1809, 146.

2 Autob.,' i. 325, 336. The Gauloise and Julie were subsequently raised by Cochrane.

3 Ex British; captured in the Ems, Jan., 1806. She was restored to the service. James, v. 146; De Jonge, v. 656; Nav. Chron., xxi. 78. Gill was posted Jan. 16th, 1809, and his first Lieut., Edward William Garrett, was made a Com. on

the same day.

5 James, v. 147; Troude, iv. 61; Nav. Chron., xxi. 171.

1809.]

CAPTURE OF THE "JUNON.”

431

She was

Wilmot Schomberg, in the Bay, after a slight resistance. The Hébé was caught in the act of taking possession of a prize. prize. added to the Navy as the Ganymede, 34.1

On January 16th, the Melampus, 36, Captain Edward Hawker, captured the French brig Colibri, 16, to the north of Barbuda.2

On December, 1808, the Topaze, 40, Captain P. N. Lahalle, with a cargo of flour for Cayenne, had escaped from Brest, after a brush. with the Loire, 38, in which she suffered some damage. On reaching Cayenne, she had found the port blockaded, and had steered for Guadeloupe. Reaching that island on the night of January 21st22nd, 1809, she was sighted by the Hazard, 18, Commander Hugh Cameron, Jason, 38, Captain William Maude, and Cleopatra, 32, Captain Samuel John Brooke Pechell, and took refuge under the guns of a battery on Pointe Noire. The Cleopatra was the first of the British ships to get near her, and at about 4.30 P.M. on the 22nd anchored with springs and opened fire. The Topaze had moored with springs, and she poured in her fire as the Cleopatra approached. Almost at once one of the Topaze's springs was shot away, and the French frigate swung round, exposing herself to be raked. Though unable to bring the greater part of her broadside to bear, she held out till the Jason and Hazard came up, when she struck, with 12 killed and 14 wounded. The British loss was 2 killed and 1 wounded.3

On February 7th, the Junon, 40, Captain J. B. A. Rousseau, after having been for some weeks blockaded in the harbour of the Saintes, escaped to sea. She was sighted next day by the British vessels Supérieure, 14, Commander William Ferrie, and Asp, 16, Commander Robert Preston. The Supérieure gave chase; but the Asp soon dropped behind. In the afternoon of the 9th the Supérieure was still bravely pursuing, when the Latona, 38, Captain Hugh Pigot (3), opportunely hove in sight, and joined in the chase. On the 10th, the two vessels were some distance astern of the Junon. At that point, two more British vessels, the Horatio, 38, Captain George Scott (1), and Driver, 18, Commander Charles Claridge, came into sight, steering on the opposite tack. Their appearance compelled the Junon to turn and go before the wind,

1 James, v. 147; Nav. Chron., xxi. 172; Troude, iv. 61.

2 Nav. Chron., xxi. 261.

3 James, v. 148; Nav. Chron., xxi. 318.

But with only 4 gums (18-pr. carr.) on board.

whereupon she was headed off by the Latona, and forced to double back and meet the Horatio. She passed the Horatio on the opposite tack, exchanging a hot fire, and then wore, and hauled up. But the Horatio outstripped her in speed of wearing, and was able to rake her. The Junon hauled up again on the starboard tack, and was brought to close action by her antagonist, running on the same tack. The Horatio's main and mizen topmasts, fore top-gallant mast, and fore topsail tie were shot away, and her Captain was wounded. The Junon soon drew away, with less serious injuries to her rigging but greatly shattered in hull. The Supérieure pluckily opened fire on her, the Latona being too far away to give any help; and the Driver not hastening up to engage. At last the Latona got within range and opened fire, and the Driver got near enough to attack. The Junon's main and mizen masts fell in an attempt to tack, whereupon the French flag was struck, after a most creditable and skilful resistance to greatly superior force. The Junon lost 130 out of a crew of 323; the British loss was 7 killed and 33 wounded.1

On February 8th, the boats of the Amphion, 32, Captain William Hoste, and Redwing, 18, Commander Edward Augustus Down, cut out an armed brig and a coaster from the Dalmatian harbour of Melada. Three guns mounted ashore were carried off.2

On February 15th, the Belle Poule, 38, Captain James Brisbane, attacked the French storeship Var, 26, moored under the guns of Valona, on the Albanian coast, and cut her out with very little trouble. The guns ashore did not open fire.3

During January and February the Proserpine, 32, Captain Charles Otter, acted as look-out ship close inshore for the British squadron off Toulon, and showed such boldness that the French determined to trap her. During the night of February 27th, whilst she was becalmed to the south of Toulon, the Pénélope, 40, Captain Bernard Dubourdieu, Pauline, 40, Captain F. G. Montfort, and Pomone, 40, worked out to the west under Cape Sicié, hidden from view by the deep shadow cast by the moon. They then turned before an E.N.E. wind, and bore down upon the Proserpine. The British cruiser saw them too late, attempted escape, and was quickly brought to action by the Pénélope and Pauline, one on each quarter.

1 James, v. 149; Troude, iv. 62; Gazette, 1809, 543; Logs of Horatio and Supérieure.

1809.]

THE "AMETHYST" AND THE "NIÉMEN.”

433

Against such a superiority of force she had no chance of success, especially as the Pomone, with the Ajax, 74, and Suffren, 74, was coming up astern. After 40 minutes' firing, in which she inflicted no loss whatsoever upon the enemy and had her own rigging cut to pieces, she hauled down her flag, with 1 killed and 10 wounded. The French vessels suffered some slight damage to their rigging.'

On March 12th, the Topaze, 36, Captain Anselm John Griffiths, and Kingfisher, 18, Commander Ewell Tritton, chased and attacked the French frigates Danaé, 40, and Flore, 40, in the Adriatic. In spite of their great inferiority in force, the British vessels escaped loss or serious damage. It can only be conjectured that the French frigates had received orders not to fight, or were upon some important mission.2

At daylight on March 15th, the boats of the Arethusa, 38, Captain Robert Mends, were sent, under Lieutenant Hugh Pearson, into the port of Lequeitio, on the northern coast of Spain, where 20 guns, mounted in the batteries, were destroyed and several prisoners captured. On the 16th and 20th, other damage was done in the river Andero and at Baigno and Paissance.3

In the evening of April 1st, the boats of the Mercury, 28, Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan (3), under Lieutenant Watkin Owen Pell, rowed into the port of Rovigno under a heavy fire, and boarded and carried the French gunboat Léda, with a loss of 5 killed and wounded. On May 15th, a party from the same ship, under Lieutenant Robert James Gordon, destroyed seven coasters in the Italian harbour of Rodi."

On April 5th, the French frigate Niémen, 40, Captain J. H. J. Dupotet, on her way from France to Mauritius with stores and food, was sighted in the Bay by the Amethyst, 36, Captain Michael Seymour (1), and Emerald, 36, Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland (2), which were engaged in watching the Gironde. The British ships gave chase; but, as the evening of the 5th was very dark, they lost sight of one another and of the enemy. The Amethyst, however, made a good guess at the Niémen's course and sighted her again at about 9.40 P.M. Two hours later she was near enough to open with her chasers; and, at 1.15 A.M., she succeeded in bringing

VOL. V.

1 James, v. 154; Troude, iv. 64; C. M. Oct. 30th, 1814.

2 James, v. 171.

3 Ib., v. 156; Nav. Chron., xxi. 430.

4 James, v. 178; Nav. Chron., xxiii. 395.

2 F

her starboard broadside to bear. On this the Niémen wore from the port to the starboard tack with the wind at E.N.E. The Amethyst imitated the manoeuvre, again closed with her adversary, drew ahead, and passed under the Frenchman's bows, pouring in a very effective raking fire. She then bore up, and, a second time, was passing under the Niémen's bows, when the French ship fell on board her and received a heavy fire from the after guns of her

REAR-ADM. SIR MICHAEL SEYMOUR (1), BART., K.C.B.

(From H. R. Cook's engraving, after the painting by J. Northcote, R.A., of Seymour
as a Post-Captain.)

starboard battery. Apparently neither side attempted to board, and the two ships soon drew clear. The action was continued broadside to broadside. Soon after 3 P.M. the Niémen caught fire in her port hammock-nettings, and, in quick succession, lost her mizen mast and main topmast. The fire in her hammock-nettings was barely got under ere another broke out in her main top. The attention of her crew was thus distracted from the battle, and her guns were all but silent. The Amethyst, observing this, bore up to pass under