April. euse cap 1805. country. The name of Thomas Oliver among the commanders of the year shows, that this officer's conduct, as all similar conduct ought, excited the notice of those to whom the power belonged of dispensing rewards to the brave and meritorious. Graci- On the 8th of April, at 1 P. M., the british 12-gun schooner Gracieuse, midshipman John B. Smith, tures a tender to the 74-gun ship Hercule, the flag-ship of spanish rear-admiral Dacres at Port-Royal, Jamaica, cruising off the city of Santo-Domingo, fell in with and captured a large spanish schooner, bound from that port to Porto-Rico, with passengers. On the 9th, at 6 A. M., the Gracieuse chased and fired at a french sloop within gun-shot of the forts of Santo-Domingo, but could not succeed in overtaking her. schoo ner. At 4h. 30m. P. M. an armed schooner was seen coming out of Santo-Domingo, as if to attack the Gracieuse. The latter, accompanied by her prize, immediately hauled off shore, in order to have searoom, should the schooner attempt to retreat. At 8 P. M. the Gracieuse shortened sail and hove to, with her prize, the spanish schooner, under her lee quarter. At 8 h. 30 m. P. M. the armed schooner, gages a which, according to the report of the Spaniards late armed belonging to the prize, was a french national vessel, schoo- edged down within musket-shot, and opened upon En french ner. the Gracieuse a very heavy fire of musketry and great guns. This the latter quickly returned, and a smart action ensued. At 9 P. M. the schooner bore down with an intention to board the Gracieuse; but, seeing the opposition she was likely to experience, hauled her wind and renewed the cannonade. At 9 h. 20 m. the attempt was repeated, but again failed. Upon this the schooner made all sail to escape, firing her stern-chasers and musketry. At 11 P. M. she tacked and stood in for the land; and, after receiving from the Gracieuse a heavy fire of grape, canister, and musketry until 3 h. 30 m. A. M. on the 10th, the schooner ran on shore upon Point Vizoa. Finding it impossible to close with the schooner shore, her. on account of a reef that intervened, the Gracieuse 1805. hove to about half a mile off. At 4 h. 30 m. A. M., ob- April. serving the schooner afloat again, and sweeping along- Drives shore, the Gracieuse filled and proceeded in chase, on and finally compelled the schooner, at 8 h. 15 m. A. M., and deto run on shore upon Point de Selma. The Gracieuse stroys stood in; and, having anchored with a spring in four fathoms, Mr. Smith sent a boat with a hawser, for the purpose of getting off the vessel, whose crew had by this time landed from her bowsprit. The attempt, however, was found impracticable, the schooner having already filled from the number of shot-holes in her hull. Her force was found to consist of one long brass 12-pounder, mounted on a circle amidships, two long brass 4-pounder carriageguns, and four brass 3-pounder swivels, with a crew of 96 men. On the next day, the 11th, Mr. Smith, by means of his boats, brought away the long twelve, and set fire to and destroyed the vessel. The service, thus creditably performed, cost the Gracieuse no heavier loss than one midshipman (Robert Marley) and two seamen wounded. spanish teer. On the 15th of April, while the 14-gun brig-sloop PapilPapillon, captain William Woolsey, was lying at lon and an anchor in the harbour of Savana la Mar, island privaof Jamaica, intelligence was received that a spanish felucca-rigged privateer was cruising off the west end of the island to the great annoyance of the coast. Being apprehensive that, if the Papillon stood out after her, the privateer would make her escape, captain Woolsey borrowed a shallop from one of the merchant ships in the port, and, disguising her as a drogger, despatched her with lieutenant Peter Stephen Prieur and 25 men, including the purser, Mr. John Christie, who volunteered his services on the occasion, to endeavour to take the privateer by stratagem. At 8 P. M. the drogger fell in with the privateer close under the land; and lieutenant Prieur, with 3 April. 1805. great coolness, allowed her to run alongside and make herself fast. He then ordered his men from below, fired a volley of musketry, and boarded, and in four minutes carried, the spanish privateer Concepcion, of one brass 3-pounder and 25 men, well armed and equipped. In this ably conducted little enterprise the British sustained no greater loss than two men slightly wounded; but the Spaniards suffered severely, having had seven men killed and drowned, and eight badly wounded. May. corn at Fran On the 6th of May, in the morning, Cape François Boats in the island of St.-Domingo bearing south-west by of Uni- south distant eight or nine leagues, the british 12Cape pounder 32-gun frigate Unicorn, captain Lucius çois. Hardyman, discovered a french armed cutter, distant seven or eight miles on her larboard bow. The prevailing calm rendering a chase by the ship impracticable, captain Hardyman despatched four boats, under the command of lieutenant Henry Smith Wilson, assisted by lieutenants James Tait and Henry Bourchier, midshipman Thomas Tudor Tucker, (a passenger from the Northumberland,) lieutenant of marines Walter Powell, and purser Charles Rundle. After a pull of several hours, the boats reached the object of attack, and, in the face of a heavy fire of great guns and musketry, boarded and carried, without the slightest casualty, the french cutter privateer Tape-à-bord, of four long 6-pounders and 46 men, commanded by citizen Hemigueth. On the 4th of May the british 38-gun frigate horse Seahorse, captain the honourable Courtenay Boyle, Spanish while cruising off Cape de Gata, received intelliconvoy. gence, that a spanish convoy, laden chiefly on go Sea and a vernment account with gunpowder, ordnance, and naval stores for the gun-boats at Malaga, Ceuta, and Algeziras, was upon the coast. Keeping close alongshore, the Seahorse, at 2 P. M., discovered the convoy from her mast-head, and at 5 P. M. observed the vessels haul into San-Pedro, an anchorage to the eastward of Cape de Gata, under the protection of 1805. a fort, two armed schooners, and three gun and May. mortar launches. viour of Covered by the fire of the Seahorse, her first Gallant lieutenant, George Downie, in the six-oared cutter, behaassisted by midshipman Thomas Napper, in a four- lieut. oared boat, went in and gallantly boarded and Downie brought out an ordnance-brig, laden with 1170 quintals of powder and various other stores, and commanded by don Juan Terragut, a master in the spanish navy. The Seahorse, in the mean time, had, as it was believed on board, sunk one of the gunlaunches, and damaged, if not sunk, several of the convoy. Finding that the gun-boats, by their welldirected fire, were constantly striking her, having already had her main topgallantmast, and several braces and bowlines shot away, and one man killed, and wishing to get from the coast while the breeze and daylight lasted, the Seahorse discontinued the engagement and stood out to the offing. in the On the 27th of May, the british 12-pounder 36- Lieut. gun frigate Seine, captain David Atkins, while cruis- Bland ing off Aguadilla, island of Porto-Rico, despatched Seine's her barge, under the command of lieutenant of ma- barge. rines Thomas Bland, in pursuit of an armed schooner; which, after some resistance, but no loss on either side, was captured, and proved to be the Concepcion, mounting two long 6-pounders, with a crew of 10 men, besides several passengers, who escaped in a small boat. About three weeks afterwards the same enterprising officer, assisted by midshipman Edward Cook, being on a cruise in the barge and away from the ship, destroyed a spanish sloop, and captured, after an action of three quarters of an hour, a second Concepcion, a large felucca, bound from Porto-Rico to Cadiz with a cargo of cocoa and cochineal, and armed with two long 4-pounders and 14 men; of whom five were severely wounded. No loss whatever was sustained by the barge. On the 1st of June the british 38-gun frigate Loire, Jun June. at Ca nas. 1805. captain Frederick Lewis Maitland, being off the coast of Spain, discovered and chased a small priBoats vateer, standing into the bay of Camarinas, situated of Loire to the eastward of Cape Finisterre. The weather mari- becoming quite calm after dark, captain Maitland despatched the launch and two cutters, with 35 officers and men, under the command of lieutenant James Lucas Yeo, assisted by lieutenant of marines Samuel Mallock, master's mate Charles Clinch, and midshipmen, Massey Hutchinson, Herbert and Matthew Mildridge, to endeavour to bring the vessel out. Owing to the intricacy of the passage, the boats did not reach the point of attack until break of day on the 2d; when, instead of one, they found two privateers, and these moored under a battery of 10 guns. Ordering the launch, commanded by Mr. Clinch, to board the smaller vessel, lieutenant Yeo, with the of lieut. two cutters, gallantly attacked and carried, without Yeo. loss, the other; which was the spanish felucca_Esperanza, alias San-Pedro, armed with three long 18-pounders, four 4-pounder brass swivels, and 50 men. Of her complement, when mustered, 19 were found missing, including several that had been killed by the pike and sabre, the only weapons, to prevent discovery on the part of the battery, used by the British. The launch attacked her opponent, a lugger of two 6-pounders and 32 men, with equal success and freedom from loss. Gallantry The weather being still perfectly calm, the two prizes close under the guns of the battery, which, since the moment of their capture, had opened an ill-directed fire upon the British, and the distance from the ship precluding all chance of assistance, lieutenant Yeo was obliged to abandon the small vessel to secure the other. This he at length effected, with the loss of only three men slightly wounded. In his way out with the felucca, lieutenant Yeo took possession of three small merchant vessels, laden with wine for the combined squadron at Ferrol. |