1807. down the stream, and resumed her position in Fair April. Water.

&c.

Her The loss on board the british ship, by this gallant loss, though vain effort to relieve the prussian garrison, was tolerably severe, her first lieutenant (James Edward Eastman) and "nearly half" her crew being wounded by the incessant fire of musketry poured upon them. The mizenmast of the Sally was also shot through, her rigging and sails much cut, and upwards of 1000 musket-shot lodged in her hull. The loss on the part of the French, according to information received a day or two afterwards, amounted to upwards of 400 in killed and wounded.

less.

Loss of On the 24th the French, having completed their Daunt- works, began bombarding the city, and on the 29th attempted to carry it by storm, but were repulsed. On the 16th of May the british 18-gun ship-sloop Dauntless, captain Christopher Strachey, made a gallant but unsuccessful attempt to supply the garrison with 600 barrels of gunpowder. Having a favourable wind, the Dauntless ran up the river with studding-sails set, firing on the enemy as she passed; but the wind, either from shifting or from an unexpected bend of the river, became unfavourable, and the ship broke round off. The channel being too narrow for the Dauntless to work in, and the fire of the enemy under such circumstances too heavy to be resisted, captain Strachey ran his ship upon the Holme within half musket-shot of the french batteries, and surDant- rendered. On the 21st a capitulation was proposed; zicsur and on the 27th the garrison of Dantzic, reduced from 16000 to 9000 men, marched out of the fortress with the honours of war. On the 14th of June the battle of Friedland was fought; on the 25th an armistice was agreed upon between France and Russia at Tilsit; and on the 7th and 9th of July, at the same place, treaties were concluded between France, Russia, and Prussia.

renders

Peace

of

Tilsit.

That the french emperor had not, in the mean time, wholly neglected strengthening his marine, a

means

glance at his naval means at the conclusion of that 1807. treaty will show. In the ports of Brest, Lorient, BuonaRochefort, Ferrol, Vigo, Cadiz, Carthagena, and parte's Toulon, were upwards of 45 french and spanish sail naval of the line ready for sea, or nearly so, exclusive of at that three french sail of the line in the West Indies and time. America. Buonaparte flattered himself that he should soon have also at his disposal nine portuguese sail of the line in the Tagus, and five russian in the Mediterranean. These 62 sail, even while lying in port, would occupy the attention of an equal number of british ships; and every division that escaped to sea would, in all probability, be pursued by at least two squadrons of equal force. Moreover it was requisite to have an adequate british force in the colonies, east and west, to be ready to act, in case an enemy's fleet should suddenly make its appearance. Hence, a great portion of the british navy was fully employed in the southern, eastern, and western seas: we have still to show what force might be opposed to the remainder in the northern sea.

at Ant

In the port of Flushing, and at Anvers, or French Antwerp, as more usually called, were three dutch ships and eight new french, sail of the line, ready for sea, werp. or fitting with the utmost expedition. All these were 74s, built from dutch models: two, the Charlemagne and Commerce-de-Lyon, were launched on the 8th of April, 1807, two others, the Anversois and Illustre, on the 7th of June; and the remaining four, the Audacieux, Duguesclin, César, and Thésée, in the latter end of that month and beginning of July. Two other 74s, the Albanais and Dalmate, were on the stocks, getting ready with the utmost expedition. In the Texel were also three dutch sail of the line, making a total of 14.

But these ships were not all. The french emperor, who, besides his grand army in the neighbourhood of Tilsit, had one of 70000 men on the confines of Swedish Pomerania, and meditated sending another to occupy the danish monarch's newly

1807. acquired territory of Holstein, flattered himself with obtaining, either by fair means or by foul, the 11 sail of the line belonging to Sweden, and the 16 belonging to Denmark. There is also good ground for believing, that one of the secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit placed at the conqueror's temporary disposal the 19 or 20 fine new ships, which the emperor of Russia had ready for sea, or nearly so, in the ports of Revel and Cronstadt.

A

mount

Here would have been a confederate french, of con- dutch, swedish, danish, and russian fleet of 60 sail fede- of the line in the North and Baltic seas. Admitting fleet. the plan to have been realized to only half the ex

rate

England

tent in the alleged contemplation of Napoleon, 30 sail of the line and a proportionate number of transports could have conveyed a powerful army to Ireland; and the french emperor not only possessed a powerful army ready to act, but had reason to expect that he should soon have leisure personally to direct its energies towards the fulfilment of an oft-repeated threat, the humiliation of the most constant, the most formidable, and the most dreaded of his enemies.

In this state of things England naturally kept a sends watchful eye upon naval affairs in the north. A troops reliance upon the firmness and continued friendship den. of the king of Sweden induced her to send some

to Swe

troops, chiefly Germans, to his assistance; but, by the time the first division of these had landed in Rugen and Stralsund, the aspect of affairs in this quarter had materially changed, and the swedish monarch was compelled at length to retire, with the remnant of his army, to the last-named fortress. Discó- It was during the long and friendly discussion confe- between the emperors on the Niemen, preparatory deracy to the peace of Tilsit, that England became apprized her.. of the confederacy that was forming against her in

vers

against

the north; and it was then, or soon after, that she learnt that the weakness of Denmark was a second time to operate as her excuse for favouring the views

of France, by shutting up the Sound against british 1807. commerce and navigation, and lending the Copenhagen fleet to assist in the attempt to subjugate a power, whose friendship it was at all times the interest of both Denmark and Russia to cultivate.

Re

sess

danish

On the 19th of July, and not before, Great Britain solves came to the determination to demand of Denmark to posthe temporary possession of her fleet, and, in case herself of refusal to deliver it up on a solemn pledge to of restore it entire at the conclusion of a general peace, fleet. to take it by force of arms. Owing to the lateness of the season, and the necessity of fulfilling the object of the expedition before the winter months put a stop to operations in the Baltic, the utmost despatch was required. As a proof that it was used, Sailing on the 26th of July admiral James Gambier, with the principal division of the fleet, consisting of the tion. following 17 ships of the line, exclusive of 21 frigates, sloops, bomb-vessels, and gun-brigs, set sail from Yarmouth roads:

On the 1st of August, in the evening, when off

John Bligh.

Peter Puget.

Isaac Wolley.

John Draper.

Donald Campbell.

Robert Campbell.

of ex

pedi

Aug.

De

com

to

1807, the Wingo-beacon, at the entrance of Gottenberg, commodore Keats, with the Ganges, Vanguard, Orion and Nassau, also the 38-gun frigate Sibylle, taches captain Clotworthy Upton, 36-gun frigates Franmod. chise, captain Charles Dashwood, and Nymphe, Keats captain Conway Shipley, and 10 brigs, parted comGreat pany by signal, and steered for the passage of the Belt. Great Belt, in order to cut off any supplies of danish troops that might attempt to cross from Holstein to Zealand. On the 3d, in the forenoon, having previously ascertained that no opposition would be offered to the passage of the fleet into the Salutes Sound, the british admiral interchanged salutes Sound. With the castle of Cronberg, and shortly afterwards anchored in the road of Elsineur, where was lying the danish 32-gun frigate Frederickscoarn. On the 5th, in the morning, the 74-gun ship Superb, captain Daniel M'Leod, joined the expedition, and on the morning of the 6th weighed and made sail after the Vanguard and squadron, to receive the broad pendant of her old commander.

the

On the 7th the Inflexible and Leyden 64s, captains Joshua Rowley Watson and William Cumberland, with a large convoy of transports, arrived ; also rear-admiral William Essington, with the 74gun ships Minotaur, captain Charles John Moore Mansfield, and Valiant, captain James Young. On the 8th and 9th the Mars and Defence 74s, captains William Lukin and Charles Ekins, joined, the first with a convoy of transports. On the 12th, in the Cath- morning, the 38-gun frigate Africaine, captain Richard Raggett, arrived from Put bay in the island the ex- of Rugen, having on board lieutenant-general lord pedi- Cathcart, the commander in chief of the land-forces to be employed. Lord Cathcart had sailed from England in the same frigate on the 5th of July, and had anchored on the 16th in Put bay. His lordship and suite there disembarked, and proceeded to the neighbouring fortress of Stralsund.

Lord

cart

joins

tion.

By the time the transports from Rugen had joined,