Oct. 1805. quarter of an hour the Montanez sheered off, and the Achille made sail to succour the Belleisle, then lying to-leeward totally dismasted, with three enemy's ships upon her. While on her way to perform this duty, the Achille found herself obstructed by the Argonauta. The british 74 immediately brought to on the spanish 80's larboard beam, and a close action ensued, which lasted an hour. The Argonauta now attempted to set her mainsail to shoot ahead, but, failing in that, ceased firing, shut her lowerdeck render ports, and, as it appeared on board the Achille, of Ar threw an english jack or ensign over her larboard quarter. Sur gonau ta. At this moment two french ships came up, and one of them soon found other employment for the english Achille than taking possession of the Argonauta. The french Achille edged down on her english namesake's larboard quarter, and engaged her in passing to-windward; and the Berwick, who had been distantly engaged with the Defence, ranged up on the english Achille's starboard side, between the latter and the Argonauta. The french Achille passing on in the direction of the Belleisle, and the Argonauta dropping to-leeward, the english Achille and Berwick were left in fair single combat. The Sur- action continued for upwards of an hour, when the of Ber- Berwick hauled down her colours, and was taken possession of by the Achille. render wick. Da The masts of the latter, although all standing, mage, were badly wounded; and so was her bowsprit: her &c. to hull had also received considerable damage. The Achille loss on board the english Achille amounted to one english midshipman, (Francis John Mugg,) six seamen, and six marines killed, and two lieutenants, (Parkins Prynn and Josias Bray,) one captain and one lieutenant of marines, (Palms Westropp and William Leddon,) one master's mate, (George Pegge,) three midshipmen, (William H. Staines, William J. Snow, and William Smith Warren,) 37 seamen, and 14 marines wounded. nauta wick. The Argonauta, the english Achille's first steady 1805. opponent, appears to have suffered greatly in rig- Oct. ging, hull, and crew, but to have had no spars of Also to any consequence shot away: her loss is represented Argoto have amounted to nearly 400 in killed and and wounded, including among the dangerously wounded Berher captain. It is doubtful if the whole of this damage and loss was inflicted by the english Achille : the Argonauta must have exchanged some broadsides in passing with other british ships. The Berwick was dreadfully cut up in her hull, and her three masts were left in a tottering state. The Achille's officer, who took possession of the ship, counted upon her decks and in her cockpit and tiers 51 dead bodies, including that of her gallant captain, M. Camas; and the wounded of the Berwick, according to the report of her few surviving officers, amounted to nearly 200: her loss in officers was very severe, the quarterdeck having been twice cleared. Nearly the whole of this loss was attributable to the close and unremitting cannonade kept up, for more than an hour, by the english Achille, On the other hand, the principal part of the latter's damage and loss was caused by the steady fire and determined opposition of the Berwick. tive fire dout We quitted the Victory at about 1 h. 30 m.P. M., or Vicjust as lord Nelson had been carried to the cockpit, tory. mortally wounded from the mizentop of the Re- Des doutable. So destructive to the Victory was the fire truckept up from the Redoutable's tops, as well as from from her seconddeck guns, occasionally pointed upwards, Rethat, within a few minutes of lord Nelson's fall, seve- able's ral officers and about 40 men, nearly the whole of tops. them upon the third or upper deck, were killed or wounded. A single 18-pounder carronade on the poop, mounted upon an elevating carriage, might very soon have destroyed the Redoutable's mizentop and all that were in it; but the Victory had no guns whatever mounted on her poop. The same effect might * See p. 61. 1805. have been produced upon the fore and main tops by Oct. one of the 68-pounder carronades; but their carriages would not give the required elevation. Nor, we believe, could the 68-pounder on the starboard side be even fired a second time upon the decks of the Redoutable,* owing to some accident that had since befallen it. Dr. Beat 66 Although, from the loss of the men stationed at them, the 12-pounders of the Victory were for the most part abandoned, her 24 and 32 pounders upon the decks below continued to fire, the larboard guns, for a few minutes, (until the english Neptune and ships astern of her intervened,) distantly at the starboard quarters of the Bucentaure and Santisima-Trinidad, and the starboard guns, with much more certain effect, right into the hull of the Redoutable. "The starboard guns of the lower and middle decks," says Dr. Beatty, ty's ac- were depressed, and fired with a diminished charge count. of powder, and three shot each, into the Redoutable. This mode of firing was adopted by lieutenants Williams, King, Yule, and Brown, to obviate the danger of the Téméraire's suffering from the Victory's shot passing through the Redoutable which Imust have been the case if the usual quantity of powder, and the common elevation, had beeniven to the guns. A circumstance occurred in this situation, which showed in a most striking mammer the cool intrepidity of the officers and men stationed on the lower deck of the Victory. When the guns on this deck were run out, their muzzles came into contact with the Redoutable's side; and consequently at every discharge there was reason to fear that the enemy would take fire, and both the Victory and the Téméraire be involved in her flames. Here then was seen the astonishing spectacle of the fireman of each gun standing ready with a bucket full of water, which as soon as his gun was discharged he dashed into the enemy through the holes made in her side by the shot."+ * See + Beatty's Narrative, p. 31. shown. The respectability of the authority has induced us 1805. to give this quotation entire, yet we positively deny oct. that the Victory's guns were fired in the manner there Its stated. Not only have our inquiries fully satisfied us inacrespecting this fact; but we doubt even if the Témé-curacy raire had come in contact with the Redoutable at the period to which the statement refers. When, too, the Téméraire did lash herself to the Redoutable, all effective opposition on the part of the latter had ceased, to the Victory at least; and, after firing a few shot, and ascertaining that the Téméraire was foul on the Redoutable's starboard side, the Victory began to busy herself in getting clear, to seek a more worthy antagonist. This hitherto disputed fact, the details of the Téméraire's proceedings, into which we are now about to enter, will more clearly establish. 66 ceed raire. Being an extraordinary fast sailing line-of-battle Proship, the Victory, urged as she was, would probably ings of have been, like the Royal-Sovereign, far ahead of Teméthe ships in her wake; but that the Téméraire, having on board very little water or provisions, was, what the sailors call, flying light." After the Téméraire, having closed the Victory, had, instead of leading the column as at first proposed, been directed to take her station astern of the Victory, the dismantled state of the latter from the enemy's shot rendered it very difficult for the Téméraire to avoid gong ahead of her leader; and to keep astern she was obliged, besides cutting away her studding-sails, occasionally to yaw or make a traverse in her course. Hence the Téméraire shared with the Victory, although by no means to so great an extent, the damage and loss sustained by the head of the weather column from the enemy's heavy and incessant raking fire. Shortly after the Victory had poured her larboard broadside into the Bucentaure's stern, the Téméraire opened her fire at the Neptune and Redoutable. When the Victory put her helm a-port to steer towards the Redoutable, the Téméraire, to keep clear of her leader, was compelled to do the Oct. 1805. same; receiving, as she passed the Redoutable, a fire that carried away the head of her mizen topmast. When, after striking the Redoutable, the Victory again brought her head to the northward, the Téméraire stood slowly on a short distance to the southeast; and then hauled up to pass through the enemy's line. Meanwhile the Victory had, as already stated, dropped alongside the Redoutable, and the two ships were paying off to the eastward. Scarcely had she begun to haul up, so as to avoid being raked by the french Neptune, ere the Téméraire discovered, through the smoke, the Redoutable driving towards and almost on board of her. Even had the breeze, now barely sufficient to fill the sails, permitted the Téméraire to manoeuvre to clear herself from the Redoutable, the Neptune, who, to avoid getting foul of the Redoutable and Victory, had wore and come to again on the same tack, and at this time lay with her larboard broadside bearing upon the starboard bow of the Téméraire, opened so heavy a raking fire, that in a few minutes the latter's fore yard and main topmast were shot away, and her foremast and bowsprit, particularly the latter, greatly damaged. In this unmanageable state, the Téméraire could do no more than continue to cannonade the Redoutable with her larboard guns. This the former did until, having, as she had done those on the opposite side, shut down her lowerdeck ports, the Redoutable, at about 1 h. 40 m. P. M., Témé- fell on board the Téméraire, the french ship's bowfoul of sprit passing over the british ship's gangway gangway a little Redou- afore the main rigging; and where, in order to have table. the benefit of bestowing a raking fire, the crew of raire the Téméraire immediately lashed it. The raking fire was poured in, and very destructive, as we shall soon show, did it prove. Most of the few effective men, left upon the Victory's upper deck after the Redoutable's destructive fire formerly noticed,* being employed in carrying * See p. 79. |