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1805. chased the Sirius for nearly two hours, and compelled Dec. her to part company.

Arethusa falls

sir

Early on the morning of the 16th, when the character of the only squadron now seen by captain Brisbane and his companions became clearly ascertained, 17 of the convoy, by signal from the Arethusa, steered south-west, and the remaining six sail, with the three men of war, tacked and stood to the northwest. The french squadron immediately did the same, and continued the chase throughout the day; but, towards evening, rear-admiral Leissegues tacked, and again stood to the south-west. Since morning captain Brisbane had detached the Wasp to Rochefort, Ferrol, Cadiz, and Gibraltar, to inform the admirals commanding upon those stations, of the situation of the French when last seen; and at 2 P. M. the Boadicea had been sent to admiral Cornwallis off Ushant with similar intelligence.

At midnight, with the six vessels of the convoy in with then in her company, the Arethusa made sail to the westward. Along with daylight on the 17th, again Duck- appeared M. Leissegues and his squadron, in full worth, pursuit, but at a very great distance. In a few hours

John

the french admiral gave over the chase, and left the Arethusa and her small charge to pursue their course unmolested. On the 23d, at 4 h, 30 m. P. M., when about midway between Madeira and the Canary isles, the Arethusa fell in with the following squadron under vice-admiral sir John Thomas Duckworth:

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On the 15th of November rear-admiral Louis,

Who

from

with five ships of this squadron, by the orders of 1805. vice-admiral lord Collingwood, the commander in Nov. chief of the Mediterranean fleet, was blockading the few french and spanish ships which the battle of had Trafalgar had left in the port of Cadiz, when sir sailed John Duckworth, in the Superb, joined from Ply- before mouth and assumed the command. On the 26th, in Cadiz the evening, the 18-gun ship-sloop Lark, captain search Frederick Langford, informed the Agamemnon, that Roche.. on the 20th, off the Salvages, a cluster of rocks be- fort tween Madeira and Teneriffe, a french squadron of qua five sail of the line, a rasée, three frigates, and two brig-corvettes, had dispersed a convoy of six sail, which she was conducting to Gorée.

Raising the blockade, sir John, with his six ships of the line, made all sail towards Madeira, in quest of the above five french ships of the line, which were, as conjectured at the time, the Rochefort squadron under M. Allemand, with the captured Calcutta in company. * On the 5th sir John made and communicated with Madeira, and on the 15th arrived off Teneriffe. The vice-admiral then stood on to the southward as far as the Cape de Verds, and was on his return to resume the blockade of Cadiz, when fallen in with, as already related, by the Arethusa and her convoy.

in

of

As the british squadron was now working back to the northward, the direction in which the french squadron was when seen by the Arethusa, no immediate alteration became necessary in the course of the former. On the 25th, at 6 h. 45 m. A. M., latitude 30° 52′ north, longitude 20° 16' west, when standing close hauled on the starboard tack, with the wind about east half north, the British descried, in the Sir south-east quarter, which was a little abaft the wea- falls in ther beam, nine strange sail standing to the south-with ward. At 7 A. M. the squadron tacked in the same chases direction; and every rag of canvass was presently M.Wilupon sir John's six sail of the line and two frigates,

* See p. 215.

John

and

laumez

1805. in chase of the still supposed Rochefort squadron, of five sail of the line and smaller vessels.

Dec.

Is gain

During the whole day and night of the 25th the chase continued, both squadrons still on the larboard tack with a moderate breeze from the eastward. On the 26th, at 8 A. M., it was evident that the Superb, Spencer, and Agamemnon, with the Amethyst frigate, were gaining upon the sternmost french ship. It was also discovered, in the course of this forenoon, that, instead of five, the enemy had six sail of the line. These, as may be conjectured, composed the squadron of rear-admiral Willaumez, numbering, with the absence of the Volontaire, just nine sail, on its way to St.-Helena. The chase continued, with increased advantage to the British, until 1 P. M.; when the ing on relative distances of the ships, according to the mean calculations of the two headmost british ships, were as follows: french sternmost ship from Superb about seven miles ;* Spencer astern of Superb about four miles, and Amethyst frigate rather nearer; Agamemnon about five miles astern of Spencer, and hull down to Superb; Acasta frigate and Powerful 74 about 22 miles from Spencer, and out of sight from Superb; and Canopus and Donegal out of sight of both Spencer and Superb. According to the statement of a contemporary, the computed distance between the Superb and the sternmost ship of her squadron, which we take to have been the Donegal, was, by meridian observation, about 45 miles.+

him.

At the time stated, 1 P. M., to the joy of M. WilAban- laumez, and to the surprise, and of course the regret, of such of the british ships as could see it, chase. sir John directed to be hoisted a signal annulling

dons

the

the chase; and the Superb, with more awkwardness than she ever betrayed, before or since, shortened sail and hove to. This unfortunate signal

* Superb's log says "nine or ten miles," Spencer's "five or six, ahead of Superb." We have taken the mean of the two, † Brenton, vol. iii. p. 522.

Dec.

was run up in latitude 28° 35' north, and longitude 1805. 19° 10' west, after a chase, reckoning until 1 h. 15m. P. M., of 30 hours and a half, during which the leading ships had run about 149 miles in a south-southeast direction.

In July, 1801, without waiting for friends, the Superb dashed alone among the rearmost ships (two of them three-deckers) of an enemy's fleet;* but captain Keats was then the first, not the second, officer in command of her. The alleged motive for sir John's discontinuing the chase was the divided state of the british ships; owing to which the Superb might have got herself surrounded and captured before any assistance could reach her. It appears, however, that the french squadron itself, during the latter part of the chase, was by no means concentrated; and that, had the Superb brought to action, as in the course of a few hours she might, the sternmost french ship, the Spencer and Agamemnon were sufficiently advanced to keep in check any other french ships that might have shortened sail to cover their rear. As it is not likely that the french admiral would have abandoned his rearmost ship, a general action would in all probability have ensued; and, as the ships of the two squadrons were equal in number, and all of them two-deckers, (there being but one french frigate, the second british frigate would have compensated for the Agamemnon's inferiority,) the issue, in all reasonable calculation, would have been favourable to the British.

John

thyst

Having, by standing for a short time to the north- Sir north-west, collected his scattered ships, sir John detachdespatched the Amethyst to England with intelli- esamegence of the strength of the french squadron and of its to Engsupposed destination to the East Indies; and then, land. at about 6 h. 10 m. P. M., bore away west-south-west, Proto get a supply of water at the Leeward islands, to West the stock on board not being likely to last until Indies the squadron could work back to its station. On the 2d of January, 1806, the island of St.-Antonio,

* See vol. iii. p. 182.

ceeds

Jan.

1806. bearing north-west half-west distant 10 or 12 miles, sir John detached the Powerful, first to victual herself among the Cape de Verds, and then proceed on to taches the East Indies, to reinforce the squadron under ful to rear-admiral sir Edward Pellew.

De

Power

Indies.

Arrives

East On the 12th of January, with his remaining five sail of the line and one frigate, sir John anchored at Bar- in Carlisle bay, Barbadoes, and immediately sent badoes. the Acasta to the island of St.-Christopher, or St.

for and

Christ

Kitts, to expedite the preparations for watering the Sails squadron. On the 14th the squadron weighed from arrives Carlisle bay; and, steering to the westward across att Fort-Royal bay, Martinique, the vice-admiral anopher's chored, on the evening of the 19th, in Basse-Terre road, St. Christopher's. On the 21st the 74-gun Is join-ship Northumberland, captain John Morrison, bearing North- the flag of rear-admiral the honourable Alexander umber- Cochrane, and the Atlas, of the same force, captain and Samuel Pym, joined company, but without commuAtlas. nicating a word of intelligence respecting any french squadron.

ed by

land

Re

ceives

of a

Sir John here commenced watering and refitting intelli- his ships for their homeward passage; when, on the gence 1st of February, the 16-gun ship-sloop Kingfisher, french captain Nathaniel Day Cochrane joined, with intellisqua- gence, that a french squadron of three sail of the Sails in line had been seen steering towards the city of pursuit Santo-Domingo. Immediately the british squadron,

dron.

now consisting of seven sail of the line, one frigate,
and one sloop, weighed and made sail in quest of
the enemy. On the 3d the ships lay to off the
island of Saint-Thomas, and were joined by the
14-gun brig Epervier, lieutenant James Higginson.
The squadron then ran through the Corvel passage,
and at noon on the 4th passed the island of Zacheo
in the Mona passage.
On the 5th, at 8 A. M., the
east end of the island of Saint-Domingo bore north-
west eight or nine leagues; and shortly afterwards
the 12-pounder 36-gun frigate Magicienne, captain
Adam Mackenzie, along with a danish schooner
which she had detained, joined company, bringing a

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