Page images
PDF
EPUB

1813. at least six or seven very young boys.

Care

neces

ing of

by her

tion.

The tophamper necessarily diminishes the vessel's rate of sailing; and another impediment frequently arises from the inexperience of her commander, in the art of working to advantage a schooner-rigged vessel.

+

66

To whatever is classed under one head, people are sary in apt, and very naturally, to attach an idea of equality; judg- and the stronger party is sure to triumph in his a ship's Victory, until the weaker party has shown the disforce parity of force against which he had to contend. deno- It too frequently happens, that this is not done; mina- and, before it can be done with effect; two operations are necessary: the removal of one impression, and the substitution of another. The President and the Southampton* are frigates;" the Peacock and the Childers are " sloops of war;" and the following statement will show, that one "man-of-war schooner' may differ in force and size from another, to even a greater extent than in the case of the frigate or the sloop. The american privateer-schooner Harlequin, of Boston, measured 323 tons, and mounted 10 long 12-pounders, with a crew of 115 men. Her mainmast was 84 feet, and her fore yard 64 feet, in length. Her bulwark was of solid timber, and four inches higher, and two inches thicker, than that of the british 18-gun brig-sloop. The Whiting schooner and her class, on the other hand, measured 75 tons, and mounted four 12-pounder carronades, with a crew of 20 men and boys; and her bulwark, if it deserved the name, consisted, with here and there a small timber, of an outside and an inside plank.

Propri

naval

We trust that the importance of the subject, into ety of which we have entered at such length, will be remen of ceived as an excuse for this digression; but, in experi- reality, it is only the concentration of remarks which would otherwise have been scattered over our accounts of the different american actions, and perhaps in the not so well understood, nor so usefully applied.

ence

con

sulted

* See pp. 7 and 10.

† See vol. v. p. 39.

con

struc

war.

Previously to quitting the topic of improvements in 1813. ship-building, we have one more observation to make. It has already been stated, that the american government is in the habit of appointing an experienced tion of naval captain, to superintend the construction of each ships of of their larger ships of war. This, although accomplished with ease in a small navy like that of the United States, would be quite impracticable in a navy like that of England. But, as in most of the higher classes of british ships it is usual to construct many individuals from one draught, might not that draught, with an accompanying exposé, showing the size of the intended scantling, the number and nature of the ordnance, the length and diameter of the masts and yards, and, in short, every other particular calculated to dispense with the actual inspection of a model, be submitted to a committee of experienced naval officers? Had any three captains, or commanders, been consulted, when the Bonne-Citoyenne's beautifully proportioned form was proposed to be shortened and contracted for "improvement," the british navy would never have owned such ships as the Cyrus and her 17 class-mates.

1

of the

british

navy.

The number of commissioned officers and masters, Officers belonging to the british navy at the beginning of the year 1813, was, Admirals Vice-admirals Rear-admirals

وو

[ocr errors]

superannuated 28

[blocks in formation]

64

69

68

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Commanders or sloop-captains

وو

Lieutenants

Masters

superannuated 50

And the number of seamen and marines, voted for

the service of the same year, was 140000.*

* See Appendix, Nò. 6.

Inac

state of

1813. Owing to a deficiency of seamen and the disaffected state of those that remained, the Scheldt tive fleet, numerically strong as it was, gave, during this Scheldt year, very little trouble to those that blockaded it; and nor did the Brest squadron, or fleet, as it now might fleets. almost be called, make any attempt to put to sea. Open- On the 27th of August the newly-formed port of ing of Cherbourg was opened, with great pomp, under the bourg. eyes of the empress Marie-Louise; and on the 12th

Brest

Cher

Fleets

before

of October the 80-gun ship Zélandais, the first lineof-battle ship constructed atCherbourg, was launched: another was also getting ready with all possible despatch. Since the 28th of May the french 74-gun ship Régulus, from Rochefort, had anchored in the river of Bordeaux; and, according to the french accounts, she was the first ship of her class, that had ever entered the Gironde.

Toulon was now the only french port to be looked and in to for any operations of importance between the Toulon fleets of England and France. The british Mediter

ranean fleet remained in the able hands of vice-admiral sir Edward Pellew, and the fleet in Toulon was still under the command of vice-admiral the comte Emeriau. The flag of the latter was flying on board the 130-gun ship Impérial, and the flag of the second in command, the baron Cosmao-Kerjulien, on board the Wagram, of the same force. On the 15th of August the 130-gun ship Héros was launched; making the sixth three-decker in the port. Not being able to discover the launching of any three-decker in Toulon named Impérial, we consider that the Austerlitz had recently changed her name; especially as, at the latter end of 1812, the flag of viceadmiral Emeriau was flying on board of her. The addition of the Héros makes the total number of lineof-battle ships 21; all, except the Héros and Montebello, at anchor in the inner and outer roads, in company with ten 40-gun frigates and one 20-gun corvette. On the stocks there were two 80s, and one 74, the latter in a very forward state,

Toulon

Although a dearth of seamen, owing to the draughts 1813. sent away to the army, prevented the Toulon fleet, as a body, from making any serious attempt to put to of seasea during the year 1813, large divisions of it, when men in the wind would serve also for returning, frequently fleet. weighed from the road, and exercised in manoeuvring between the capes Brun and Carquaranne. In the latter part of October the british fleet was blown off its station by a succession of hard gales, which lasted eight days; and it was only on the evening of the 4th of November, that the in-shore squadron, consisting of the 74-gun ships Scipion, Mulgrave, Pembroke, and Armada, captains Henry Heathcote, Thomas James Maling, James Brisbane, and Charles Grant, arrived off Cape Sicie. The main body of the british fleet at this time consisted of the

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

Eme

out.

On the 5th, at 9 h. 30 m. A. M., vice-admiral comte Comte Emeriau, in the Impérial, with, according to the riau french accounts, 12, and according to sir Edward sails Pellew's letter, 14, sail of the line, six frigates, and the Victoire schooner, got under way with a strong east-north-east wind, and stood to the usual spot for exercise. Captain Heathcoté's squadron was off Cape Sicie; and the main body of the british fleet, consisting, as already shown, of nine sail of the line, had just hove in sight from the southward, standing under close-reefed topsails, to reconnoitre the port. At vanced 11 h. 30 m. A. M., just as the french advanced squa- sion dron, of five sail of the line and four frigates, under baffled rear-admiral the baron Cosmao, had got a little to wind.

French

ad

divi

by the

Nov.

1813. the south-east of Cape Sepet, the wind suddenly shifted to north-west. This unexpected occurrence, while it set the french ships to trimming sails to get back into port, afforded to the leading british ships a prospect of cutting off some of the leewardmost of the former, the names of which were as follows:

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

cote

engages

rear.

Capt. The british in-shore squadron immediately stood Heath- for the french rear; and at 34 minutes past noon the stands leading british ship, the Scipion, opened a fire from for and her larboard guns upon the nearest french ships, french which were then standing on the opposite or starboard tack; as did also, in succession, the Mulgrave, Pembroke, Armada, and Pompée, (who had just joined,) as they followed the Scipion in line astern. At 40 minutes past noon, having passed over, the Scipion wore, to bring her starboard broadside to bear; and in two minutes afterwards the first french shot that took effect carried away part of the Pembroke's wheel. The five british 74s, having wore round and come to, continued the cannonade with their starboard broadsides, and were then not more than a mile distant from the shore near Cape Sepet. Sir At 45 minutes past noon the advanced squadron Pellew, filled and stood on; and at 1 P. M. the Caledonia, with Boyne, and San-Josef, who were far ahead of the reships, mainder of their fleet, stood in-shore athwart the takes bows of the former. In four minutes the Caledonia the opened a heavy fire from her larboard guns upon the sternmost french ship, the Wagram; who, being then on the starboard tack, returned the fire with her

Edw.

three

part in

action.

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »