1811.]

HOSTE'S ACTION OFF LISSA.

479

Hoste made all sail in chase, with a fine breeze from N.N.W. At about 6 A.M., the enemy, having formed in two divisions, bore down to the attack with every possible sail set, the starboard or weather division consisting of the Favorite, Flore, Bellona, and Principessa Augusta, and the larboard, or lee one, of the Danaé, Corona, Carolina, and small craft. The British line, formed of the Amphion, Active, Volage, and Cerberus, in the order named, was ranged in the closest possible order on the starboard tack to receive the enemy.

At 9 A.M. the action began by the British firing on the headmost ships as they came within range. The aim of Dubourdieu was obviously to break the line in two places; but his effort was foiled by the hotness of the British fire, and the compactness of the formation. The French commodore then endeavoured to round the British van-ship, the Amphion, and to engage from leeward; but in attempting to accomplish this, he ran his frigate on the rocks of Lissa, she having first been rendered well nigh unmanageable. Hoste thereupon wore his ships, and the enemy's weather division passed under the stern of the line and engaged it from leeward, while the

lee division tacked and remained to windward, hotly engaging the Cerberus, Volage, and Active. Owing to the narrow waters in which the battle was fought, and to the numbers of the assailants, the British ships were frequently in positions which exposed them to raking fire; but officers and men fought magnificently, and at 11.20 A.M. they were rewarded by seeing the Flore strike. At noon her example was followed by the Bellona. The enemy to windward then tried to make off, and was followed as closely as the disabled state of the British ships would permit. At 3 P.M. the Active and Cerberus succeeded in obliging the sternmost of the frigates, the Corona, to surrender, and thus the battle ended with three frigates taken and one on shore. The Favorite was set on fire by her crew,

and at 4 P.M. blew up.

"I must now," says Hoste, "account for the Flore's getting away after having struck her colours. At the time I was engaged with that ship, the Bellona was raking us; and when she struck, I had no boat that could possibly take possession of her. I therefore preferred closing with the Bellona and taking her, to losing time alongside the Flore, which I already considered belonging to us. I call on the officers of my own squadron, as well as those of the enemy, to witness my assertion. The correspondence I have had on this subject with the French Captain of the Danaé (now their Commodore), and which I enclose herewith, is convincing; and even their own officers (prisoners here) acknowledge the fact. Indeed, I might have sunk her, and so might the Active; but as the colours were down, and all firing from her had long ceased, both Captain Gordon and myself considered her as our own. The delay of getting a boat on board the Bellona, and the anxious pursuit of Captain Gordon after the beaten enemy, enabled him to steal off, till too late for our shattered ships to come up with him; his rigging and sails apparently not much injured; but, by the laws of war, I shall ever maintain he belongs to us."

The losses on board the British ships in this most admirably managed action were:

The officers killed included Midshipmen John Robert Spearman, Charles Hayes, Francis Surrage Davey, and John George, and Purser Samuel Jeffery. Among the officers wounded were

1811.]

REWARDS FOR LISSA.

481

Hoste, and Lieutenants David Dunn and George Cumpston. The enemy suffered much more severely. In the Favorite, upwards of 150 people were killed or wounded, and among the killed were Dubourdieu1 and La Marre La Meillerie. The Corona is believed to have sustained a loss of upwards of 200 in killed and wounded. The Bellona lost 70, including Duodo, who was fatally hurt. Captain Péridier, of the Flore, was badly wounded; but it cannot be ascertained what were the total losses of his ship.

After the battle, the Corona, when in tow of the Active, caught fire. In extinguishing the flames, the victors increased their losses by 5 drowned and 4 injured.

Seeing that on this occasion 886 British seamen were opposed to at least 2500 French and Venetians, and that the allies had a gun superiority of more than 100 per cent., Hoste's victory off Lissa may be regarded as one of the most creditable in British annals. Each of the Captains present was given a gold medal, and the first Lieutenants of the ships engaged, David Dunn of the Amphion, James Dickinson (3), of the Cerberus, William Wilmot Henderson, of the Active, and William Wolrige, of the Volage, were promoted to the rank of Commander as from the day of the action.2

After the Favorite had been set on fire, about 200 of her crew retired to Lissa, which was held by two Midshipmen of the Active, James Lew and Robert Kingston, who also had charge of two prizes that lay in the port. These youngsters, assisted by a few privateersmen, summoned the French, who actually laid down their arms. Very different was the behaviour of the master of the Sicilian privateer Vincitore, 14, who lay in San Giorgio. He was threatened by a small Venetian schooner, probably the Lodola, previous to the commencement of the action, and, in spite of the presence of the British squadron, hauled down his flag without resistance. Lew 3 and Kingston presently drove off the schooner and retook the privateer.5

The capture, on May 18th, 1809, of the Danish island of Anholt, in the Kattegat, has been noticed in the previous chapter. The place

6

1 Bernard Dubourdieu, born 1773; entered navy as quartermaster, 1793; enseigne

de vaisseau, 1797: one of the best French cruiser captains of his day.

2 James, v. 351; Randaccio, i. 171; Nav. Chron., xxv. 429; Moniteur, Apr. 11th,