minutes the Sultane wore from the Astrea, and 1814. stood before the wind, leaving the latter and the Jan. Etoile still in close action. ceases follows Sultane At 3 h. 45 m. the Etoile also wore round on the starboard tack; and in five minutes afterwards the Astrea's mizenmast, with the topsail a second time in flames, went by the board, carrying some of the firemen with it. In a short time after she had wore Etoile and ceased firing, the Etoile stood towards her con- firing sort, who was waiting for her under easy sail; and and the Astrea, having by this time had the whole of her lower and topsail braces shot away, and being otherwise greatly damaged in rigging and sails, was in too unmanageable a state to follow. At 4 h. 15 m. the Sultane's main topmast went over the side; and the Astrea, having soon afterwards partially refitted herself, wore round on the starboard tack with her head towards San-Jago. At this time the Creole was not visible to the Astrea; and the two french frigates were about four miles distant in the south-west, steering south by west. At 4 h. 30 m. P. M. the Creole was discovered under the land, standing into Porto-Praya bay; where at 4 h. 45 m. she anchored, and where, in about an hour afterwards, the Astrea joined her. mage loss to The principal damages of the Creole have already Dabeen related her loss, out of a complement of 284 and men and boys, amounted to one master's mate, the seven seamen, and two marines killed, and 26 petty parties. officers, seamen, and marines wounded. The Astrea, besides the loss of her mizenmast and the damage done to her rigging and sails, had her fore and main masts wounded, and was a good deal struck about the stern and quarter. Her loss, out of the same complement as the Creole's, consisted of her commander and eight seamen and marines killed, and 37 petty officers, seamen, and marines wounded, four of them dangerously and 11 severely; making * The logs of the Creole and Astrea concur in stating it to have been the mainmast that fell, but both ships were mistaken. 1814. the loss on board the two british frigates 19 killed March, and 63 wounded. The two remaining masts of the Sultane, and all three masts of the Etoile, were badly wounded; and, that their hulls escaped no better is most likely, because the acknowledged loss on board of each, out of a complement of 340 men and boys, was about 20 men killed and 30 wounded, or 40 killed and 60 wounded between them. Re on this Here were two pairs of combatants, about as marks equally matched, considering the character of the action. opponent parties, as could well be desired; and who fought so equally, as to make that a drawn battle, which, under other circumstances, might have ended decisively. Had the Creole, having already witnessed the fall of the Sultane's mizenmast, been aware of the tottering state of that frigate's main topmast, captain Mackenzie would not, we presume, have discontinued the engagement, simply for the preservation of his wounded foremast; especially, when the Creole's main and mizen masts were still standing, as well as all three of her topmasts, and when, by his early retirement, he was exposing to almost certain capture a crippled consort. No frigate could have performed her part more gallantly than the Astrea; but two such opponents, as the one that had so long been engaging her, were more than she could withstand. Fortunately for the Astrea, both french frigates had seemingly had enough of fighting; and the Etoile and Sultane left their sole antagonist, in a state not less of surprise than of joy at her extraordinary escape. Sultane and Etoile fall in On the 26th of March, at 9 A. M., these two frigates, (the Sultane with jury topmasts and mizenmast,) when about 12 leagues to the north-west of the Isle de Bas, steering for Saint-Malo, in thick weather, with a moderate breeze at south-west, fell in with the Hanni- british 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Hebrus, captain bal. Edmund Palmer, and 16-gun brig-sloop Sparrow, with Hebrus and captain Francis Erskine Loch. The latter was so near to the french frigates that, in crossing them, March, she received seven or eight shot from each; which 1814. greatly damaged her rigging and sails, killed her master, and wounded one seaman. The brig now tacked towards the Hebrus, who was on her weather quarter, standing on the larboard tack. The latter, as she passed the french frigates to-windward on the opposite tack, exchanged distant broadsides with them, and fired her weather or larboard guns as a signal to her consort, the 74-gun ship Hannibal, captain sir Michael Seymour. At 9 h. 30 m. a. M. the Hebrus again tacked, and in 10 minutes afterwards, on the fog clearing, observed the Hannibal coming down under a press of canvass. At 10 A: M., being joined by the 74, the Hebrus crowded sail after the two french frigates, then bearing from her south-east by east distant about four miles. At 11 Hebrus A. M. the wind suddenly shifted to north-north-west, Etoile, and blew very fresh. On this the two french and frigates, finding their pursuers rapidly approaching, bal, separated: the Sultane changed her course to east Sultane by north, and the Etoile hauled up to south-east. Directing by signal the Hebrus, as the best sailing ship, to chase, in company with the Sparrow, the most perfect frigate, the Hannibal herself went in pursuit of the other. chases Hanni Etoile action. At 2 P. M. the Hebrus lost sight of the Hannibal Hebrus and Sultane, and at 5 P. M., of the Sparrow; and the brings Etoile then bore from her south-east by east, to distant three miles. Soon afterwards the Etoile gradually hauled hauled up to east-north-east, but was still gained upon by the Hebrus. About midnight the french frigate reached the Race of Alderney; when, the wind getting more northerly, the Hebrus came up fast, and took in her studdingsails. At 1 h. 35 m. A. M. on the 27th, having run the length of Pointe Jobourg, the Etoile was obliged to attempt rounding it almost within the wash of the breakers. At 1 h. 45 m., while, with her courses hauled up, the Hebrus was following close upon the larboard quarter of the Etoile as the latter wore round 1814, the point, the french frigate opened a fire upon the March, british frigate's starboard bow. This fire the Hebrus quickly returned within pistol-shot distance, running athwart the stern of the Etoile, to get between her and the shore; and that so closely, that her jib-boom passed over the french ship's taffrail. The Hebrus was now in eight fathoms' water, and the land within musketshot on her starboard beam. At 2 h. 20 m. A. M., while crossing the bows of the Hebrus to get again inside of her, the Etoile shot away the british frigate's fore topmast and fore yard, and crippled her mainmast and bowsprit, besides doing considerable injury to her rigging, both standing and running. It had been nearly calm since the commencement of the action, but at 3 A. M. a light breeze sprang up from the land. Taking advantage of this, the Hebrus succeeded in pouring several raking fires into her antagonist, and at 3 h.45 m. shot away her Etoile mizenmast by the board. At 4 A. M. the Etoile surren- ceased firing; and, after a close and obstinate com ders. Da mage and loss on board each bat of two hours and a quarter, hailed to say that she had struck. No sooner was possession taken of the prize, than it became necessary to turn the heads of both ships off the shore, as well to prevent them from grounding, as to get beyond the reach of a battery, which, having been unable in the darkness of the morning to distinguish one frigate from the other, had been annoying them both with its fire. The tide fortunately set the ships round Pointe Jobourg, and at 7 A. M. they anchored in Vauville bay, about five miles from the shore. Although the principal damages of the Hebrus were in her masts and rigging, her hull had not wholly escaped, as is evident from her loss; which, out of a crew of about 284 men and boys, amounted ship. to one midshipman (P. A. Crawley) and 12 seamen killed, and 20 seamen, two marines, and three boys wounded; four of the number dangerously, and six severely. The Etoile's principal damages lay in her hull, which was extremely shattered, leaving her at the close of the action with four feet water in the 1814. hold: her loss, in consequence, out of 327 men and March. boys, (including the wounded in her former action,) amounted to 40 killed and 73 wounded. of the The guns of the Hebrus, one of the new yellow- Guns pine frigates, were the same as those of the Belvidera.* two The Etoile mounted 44 guns, including 14 carron- frigates ades, 24-pounders, and two 8-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle. Of her acknowledged crew of 327, we shall allow 12 for the badly wounded, and not yet recovered, of the action of the 26th of January. on the As the crew of the Hebrus was quite a new ship's Recompany,with scarcely a single draught from any other marks ship, while the crew of the Etoile had been formed action. out of the united ships' companies of the Aréthuse and Rubis, and had even since fought a creditable, if not a victorious, action with an equal force, a great share of credit is due to captain Palmer, his officers, and crew, for the successful result of this action; considering, especially, how near it was fought to the french shore, and how critically circumstanced the Hebrus was, both during its continuance and at its termination. We formerly concluded, that the stock of ammunition on board the Etoile must have been considerably diminished when she fell in with the Hebrus; but it has since been proved to us, that, after her capture by the latter, the Etoile had a considerable quantity of powder and shot left: consequently we erred in our supposition, and are extremely gratified, that the inaccuracy has been * See p. 120. |