بہت Oct. crew an at to their wounded comrades to the cockpit, captain Hardy, 1805. captain Adair of the marines, and one or two other officers, were nearly all that remained upon the quarterdeck and poop. The men in the Redoutable's mi- French zen top soon made this known to their officers below; repuland a considerable portion of the french crew quickly sed in assembled in the chains and along the gangway of tempt their ship, in order to board the british three-decker; board. whose defenceless state they inferred, not merely from her abandoned upper deck, but from the temporary silence of her guns on the decks below, occasioned by a supposition that the Redoutable, having discontinued her fire, was on the eve of surrendering. A party of the Victory's officers and men quickly ascended from the middle and lower decks; and, after an interchange of musketry, the french crew, who, in addition to the unexpected opposition they experienced, found that the curve in the hulls of the two ships prevented their stepping from one to the other, retired within-board. casion. The repulse of this very gallant assault cost the VicVictory dearly. Captain Adair and 18 men were tory's loss on killed, and one lieutenant, (William Ram, mortally,) thatoc one midshipman, (George Augustus Westphal,) and 20 men wounded. Captain Adair met his death by a musket-ball received at the back of the neck, while standing upon the Victory's gangway encouraging his men, and several seamen and marines were also killed by the french musketry; but the lieutenant and midshipman, and four or five seamen standing near them, were struck by a round shot, or the splinters it occasioned, which shot had come obliquely through the quarterdeck, and must have been fired from one of the Redoutable's maindeck guns pointed upwards in the manner already described. The account which the French give of the origin of this boarding attempt, and of the cause that led to its failure, is as follows: " In the twinkling of an eye," (alluding to the time when lord Nelson was carried below,) "the quarterdeck of this ship (the 1805. Victory) was deserted: the gallant fellows of the Oct. Redoutable wanted to rush upon it; but the rentrée of the two vessels presented an obstacle. In order French to obviate this, captain Lucas directed the main yard count of his ship to be lowered, meaning to make of of this it a bridge whereon to pass on board the Victory. action. At that moment the three-decker Téméraire ran foul ас trans curacy of the Redoutable on the side opposite to that on which the Victory lay, pouring in at the same time the whole of her broadside. The effect of this fire was terrible upon the crew of the Redoutable, the whole of whom were then assembled upon the forecastle, gangway, and quarterdeck. Nearly 200 were placed hors de combat. The brave captain Lucas, although wounded, remained on deck. The junction of the Téméraire giving fresh courage to the crew of the Victory, the latter recommenced firing, but soon afterwards ceased in order to disengage herself from the french ship.”* Its ac- Is it likely that a french 74 would attempt to board shown. a british three-decker fast to her on one side, while a second british three-decker was foul of her on the other? We have not a doubt, therefore, that the french account is in this respect correct. In fixing the relative time of these occurrences, we should say that, in about five minutes after lord Nelson was carried off the deck, or at 1 h. 35 m. P. M., the boarding indication commenced. Admitting the contest, when the Téméraire put an end to it, by lashing the Redoutable's bowsprit to the fore part of her main rigging, and pouring in her destructive raking fire, to have continued five minutes, that would fix the time of the Téméraire's getting foul, as we have already stated it, at 1h. 40 m. P. M.; and another five minutes may be allowed for the ship to drop fairly alongside. Less considerate than either of her antagonists about fire, although in equal if not greater danger from its effects, the Redoutable continued throwing *For the original, see Appendix, No. 7. British in ex guish hand-grenades from her tops and yard-arms, (" les 1805. grenades pleuvent des hunes du Redoutable,"*) some Oct. of which, falling on board herself, set fire to her Exertilarboard fore chains and starboard fore shrouds. The ons of fire from the fore shrouds presently communicated to the foresail of the Téméraire; but, by the active tinexertions of her forecastle-men, led by the boatswain, ing fire the flames on board both ships were presently extin- on guished. The Victory's crew, after having put out Redoua fire that had spread itself among some ropes and table, canvass on the booms, also lent their assistance in extinguishing the flames on board the Redoutable, by throwing buckets of water from the gangway upon her chains and forecastle. board ship men from sent to ting it All further hostility having, as well it might, Two ceased on board the Redoutable, captain Hardy midordered two midshipmen, messieurs David Ogilvie and Francis E. Collingwood, along with the sergeant- Vicmajor of marines and eight or ten hands, to go on tory board the french ship, and (not to "take possession," assist for, had that been deemed of any importance, a lieu- in puttenant would have been sent, but) to assist in putting out. out a fire which had just broken out afresh. This party, not being able to step on board for the reason already given, embarked from one of the Victory's stern-ports in the only remaining boat of the two that had been towing astern, and got to the Redoutable through one of her stern-ports. As a proof, too, that all hostility had then ceased on board the french ship, the Victory's people were well received. Their boat, we believe, was soon afterwards knocked to pieces by a shot. The other boat had been cut adrift by a shot just as the Victory was about to open her fire, and was afterwards picked up with her oars and tackle as complete as when, early in the forenoon, she had been lowered down from the quarter. Very soon after these young midshipmen had been despatched, a lieutenant of the Victory, looking out of * Victoires et Conquêtes, tome xvi. p. 174. + Beatty's Narrative, p. 55. Four a tier. 1805. one of her aftermost ports on the starboard side, saw Oct. a second french two-decker lying close upon the Téméraire's starboard side; and, as the Victory, a ships in few minutes afterwards, was in the act of booming her bows off from the Redoutable, the same officer read the name upon the stern of each french ship. The circumstances under which the second french ship came in contact with the Téméraire, we shall now proceed to relate. Témé raire and In our account of the proceedings of the Belleisle and Mars, we noticed the hauling off from the former Fou- of the french ship Fougueux. After quitting the gueux. Belleisle, the Fougueux stood slowly across the wide space between the Santa-Ana and Redoutable, steering a course directly for the starboard beam of the Téméraire, then with her head nearly east. The object of the Fougueux was probably to pass towindward of the Téméraire and rake her; or it might have been (and the french crew were actually assembled on the forecastle in apparent readiness) to board the british three-decker, the latter's appearance indicating that she was much disabled, and her colours being at this time down, owing to the fall of her gaff. Indeed, as the number of men with which the Téméraire had begun the action was only about 660, and as, of the number at this time fit for duty, not perhaps exceeding 550, nearly the whole were below, whither they had been sent by captain Harvey, that they might not be injured by the handgrenades constantly thrown from the Redoutable's tops, the Fougueux, with her 700, or, allowing for a slight loss, 680 men, might have made a serious impression upon the Téméraire's decks. While captain Harvey devoted his attention to the Redoutable on the larboard side, the first lieutenant, Thomas Fortescue Kennedy, assembled a portion of the crew on the opposite side, to receive the Fougueux. Not having yet discharged her starboard broadside, the Téméraire was in perfect readiness there, but delayed firing until the Fougueux arrived so close that she could not well escape. At length 3 the latter got within 100 yards. Instantly the 1805. Téméraire's broadside opened, and a terrible crash Oct. was heard on board the Fougueux. Crippled and confused, the french ship, at about 2 h. P. M., fell foul of the Téméraire, and was immediately lashed, by her fore rigging, to the latter ship's spare anchor. Lieutenant Kennedy, accompanied by Mr. James Arscott, master's mate, and Mr. Robert Holgate, midshipman, and 20 seamen and six marines, then boarded the Fougueux in her larboard main rigging. On the french ship's quarterdeck lay captain Beaudoin, mortally wounded; and the second captain and other officers were encouraging the men to repel the boarders. In the onset, however, the second captain became severely wounded; Fouwhereupon the french crew suffered themselves to be gueux driven off the quarterdeck by the British, few as they ed by, were; and, in 10 minutes from the time of her being boarded by lieutenant Kennedy and his 28 followers, ders to, the Fougueux was completely in the possession of Témé the Téméraire. board and surren raire. clears This occurrence took place at about 2h. 10m. P.M.; Vicand it was within five minutes afterwards, or at try 2h. 15 m. P. M., that the Victory, by fire booms and herself. the slight assistance which her helm and sails could afford, disengaged herself from the Redoutable. While the Victory gradually got her head to the northward, the three fast-locked ships from which she had just parted, the Redoutable, Téméraire, and Fougueux, swang with their heads to the southward. table Scarcely had the Victory broken away from the Redougroup, ere the main and mizen masts of the Re-isdoutable came down. The mainmast, falling on board masted. the Téméraire, carried away the stump of the latter's mizen topmast, broke down the poop-rail, and with its wreck encumbered the whole after-part of the ship. This accident put an entire stop to the Redoutable's hitherto formidable musketry, (even admitting it to have continued till this time, which we |