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 ser vice.

To the disasters which the American war has brought on the British navy, must be added that of the destruction 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 manœuvring 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 got 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 23rd 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 them 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 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 dépôt 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. Admiral Cockburne's second report, on May 3rd, 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 marines, 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 exception 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 expedi tion terminated.

The capture of his majesty's sloop of war, Vincejo, on the coast of Britanny, by a French flotilla 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, captain 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 soon 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. Captain 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

of 18 guns, and a schooner. They were however soon silenced and taken possession of by the first division of boats, and the troops landing upon the islands of Ports mouth and Ocracoke, became mas ters of them without opposition, and thus command was ob tained of the channel between them and the coast, through which the inland navigation was conducted.

The adventurous spirit of British seamen and marines, when acting on shore, has seldom been more strikingly displayed than in the capture of Fiame, in the gulf of Venice. Admiral Freemantle reports to sir Edw. Pellew, that on July 2nd, with the squadron under his command, he anchored opposite Fiume, which was defended by four batteries, mounting 15 heavy guns. On the 3rd, the ships weighed to attack the sea-line of the batteries, whilst a detachment of seamen and marines was to storm at the Mole-head. The wind permitted only one ship to get up, which silenced the second battery; when, the signal being made to storm, captain Rowley, at the head of the marines, carried the fort, and capt. Hoste took the first battery. Capt. Rowley, without loss of time, dashed on through the town, dis regarding the fire from the windows, and a field-piece placed in the centre of the principal street; and the seamen and marines drove the enemy before them with his field piece, till he came to the square, where he made another stand, taking post in a large house. From this he was at length expelled; and the different parties of assailants making a junction, the batteries, field-piece, stores, and, shipping were taken possession of,

the governor, officers, and soldiers of the garrison having all fled from the town. This success was ob tained with a very trifling loss; and it was highly to the credit of captains Rowley and Hoste, that although the town was stormed in every part, not an individual was plundered, nor was any thing taken away except what was afloat, and in the government stores. Of 90 vessels captured, more than half were restored to their owners; 43 were sent to Lissa, laden with oil, grain, powder, and merchandize. A number of guns were rendered useless, and others were carried away, and 500 stand of arms, with powder and military stores, were destroyed. On the 5th, the ships moved to Porto Ré, the forts of which had been abandoned by the enemy. The destruction of the guns, works, &c, being completed by the seamen, the squadron returned to its station.

An instance of similar enterprise was reported on August 18th, by capt. Usher, of the Undaunted, off Marseilles. An attack was made on the batteries of Cassis, between that port and Toulon, protecting a bay in which were a number of small vessels covered by gun-boats. Light winds not permitting the Undaunted to take her intended anchorage, the whole business was effected by a party of marines under captain Coghlan, who carried the citadel battery by escalade, and drove the French at the bayonet's point from all their defences to the heights above the place; after which the mole was entered by the ship's boats, and all the vessels within it were brought out or de stroyed.

The capture of an American sloop of war in St. George's chan

nel by an English vessel of the same force, gave another timely proof that the superiority of British seamanship was still no empty boast. Captain Maples, of the Pelican sloop of war, being directed by admiral Thornborough to cruize for the protection of the trade, descried on the morning of August 14th, off St. David's head, a vessel on fire, and a brig standing from her. He immediately made chace, and at half-past five, a. m. came along-side of the United States sloop, Argus, of 18 twenty-four pound carronades, and two long 12 pounders. After a warm action on both sides of 43 minutes, the Pelican was in the act of boarding, when the American struck her colours. Her loss in killed and wounded amounted to about 40, among whom was her commander. That of the victor was only two killed and five wounded; so that in this instance the superiority of fire was clearly on the side of the English ship, whose complement of men was 116, whilst that of her antagonist was 127.

The gulf of Cataro was the scene of some spirited actions in October, in which the British navy displayed its usual enterprise. Capt. Hoste, in the Bacchante, joining the Saracen, capt. Harper, and three gunboats, off Ragusa, on Oct. 12th, having been informed of the state of the country about Cataro, and the insurrection of the Bocchese, or people of the Bocche (mouths) of the gulf, proceeded thither on the 13th, and forcing the passage between Castel Nuova and the fort of Rosa, anchored his squadron above Castel Nuova. In the evening he detached the boats of the

two ships and two Sicilian gunboats, under the command of capt. Harper, to capture the enemy's naval force lying between St. George's isle and the town of Cataro, in which he completely succeeded. He then attacked and carried the island of St. George, the commandant and garrison of which surrendered at discretion; and thus an important post was gained, commanding the narrow channel leading to Cataro itself. On the 16th, Castel Nuova and fort Espagnol surrendered to the British force, the garrison remaining prisoners of war. Several gunboats, and a quantity of stores, were taken in this expedition, and the blockade of Cataro by sea and land was the result.

A success over a foe, little capable indeed of resistance, was reported in the same month by capt. sir Christ. Cole of the Rippon. The French frigate Le Weser, of 44 guns and 340 men, lost her main and mizen-masts in a hard gale on Oct. 16th. On the 18th, she was fallen in with, sixty leagues to the west of Ushant, steering under jury masts for Brest, by his majesty's sloop Scylla, capt. Macdonald, who kept her in view till the 20th, when he met with the sloop Royalist, capt. Bremer, who volunteered to join him in an attack of the enemy. The two sloops bore up in close order, the Scylla on the quarter, and the Royalist on the bow of the frigate, and commenced an action, which continued an hour and a half; when their sales and rigging being much cut, they drew off to repair damages. A man of war then appearing in sight, the Royalist was dispatched to convey intelligence