Aug. 1814. The Albion, following, brought up, at first, close ahead of the Impregnable; but, finding herself too near to the three-decker, she filled, and at about 3 P. M. came to again, within her own length of the Minden. The latter, quickly passing her streamcable out of the larboard gun-room port to the Albion's bow, hove the two ships close together. In this way the eight heaviest ships of the fleet took their stations; the Queen-Charlotte, Superb, Minden, Albion, and Impregnable, from the mole-head in a north-easterly direction, and the Leander, Severn, and Glasgow, from the fish-market battery in a curved direction to the south-west. Státions The station assigned to the dutch squadron was of the against the batteries to the southward of the city, dutch and it appears to have been the intention of the frigates dutch admiral to place the Melampus in the centre of his five frigates; but the Diana's captain, not understanding exactly the orders given to him, did not go far enough to the northward. Seeing this, the baron gallantly pushed the Melampus past the Diana, and at about 3 P. M. anchored his frigate with her jib-boom over the taffrail of the Glasgow. The Diana and Dageraad anchored successively astern of their admiral. The two remaining dutch frigates anchored further out; and the corvette Eendragt, as she had been directed, kept under way. Of the cus, &c. The Granicus and Hebrus frigates and the smaller Grani- vessels (except the bombs) being considered in the Hebrus, light of a corps de reserve, had not had any particular stations assigned to them, but were to bring up abreast of any openings they could find in the line of battle. Impelled onward by the ardent desire of filling the first of these openings, the Hebrus got becalmed by the heavy cannonade, and was obliged to anchor a little without the line, on the QueenCharlotte's larboard quarter. The Granicus, finding herself shooting fast ahead, hove to, with the intention of waiting until her companions had taken their stations. As, owing to the dense smoke which pre vailed, nothing beyond the distance of a cable's 1816. length could be seen, except the Queen-Charlotte's Aug. masthead flag, captain Wise allowed 10 minutes to elapse for the ships to anchor. The Granicus then filled, let fall her foresail, set topgallantsails, and, soon gaining fresh way, steered straight for a beacon that, phoenix-like, seemed to live in the hottest of the fire. With a display of intrepidity and of seamanship alike unsurpassed, captain Wise anchored his frigate in a space scarcely exceeding her own length between the Queen-Charlotte and Superb; a station of which a three-decked line of battle ship might justly have been proud. and The different sloops attached to the squadron also took their posts; the Heron, Britomart, Prometheus, and Cordelia remaining under way, and the Mutine anchoring on the larboard bow of the Impregnable. The four bomb-vessels were soon of the in their stations, at the distance of about 2000 yards bombs, from the enemy's works, and began their destructive batterdischarges; as did also the battering flotilla, com- ing manded by captain Frederick Thomas Michell, consisting of gun-boats, mortar-boats, launches with carronades, rocket-boats, barges, and yawls, in number 55. flotilla. struc fire. Such was the precision and destructive effect of Dethe Queen-Charlotte's fire, that her third broadside tive levelled the south end of the mole to its foundation effect of Queenshe then sprang her broadside, until it bore upon the Charbatteries over the town-gate leading into the mole. lotte's Here gun after gun came tumbling over the battlements; and, when the last gun fell, which was just as the artillerymen were in the act of discharging it, one of the algerine chiefs leaped upon the ruined parapet, and shook his drawn scymitar at the ship, whose fatally pointed cannon had so quickly demolished that which, by its brave defenders at least, had been considered impregnable. The excellent position of, and the animated fire kept up by, the Leander very soon cut to pieces the The 1816. algerine gun-boats and row-gallies; whereby their intention of boarding the nearest british ships was outer entirely frustrated. Towards 4 P. M. the Leander, alge- by orders from the admiral, ceased firing, to allow Frigate the algerine frigate moored across the mole, at the set on distance of about 100 yards from the Queen-Char rine fire. Dis abled state of preg lotte, to be set on fire. Accordingly, the flag-ship's barge, under the command of lieutenant Peter Richards, assisted by major Gossett, of the corps of miners, lieutenant of marines Ambrose A. R. Wolrige, and midshipman Henry M'Clintock, proceeded to execute that service. A gallant young midshipman, Aaron Stark Symes, in rocket-boat No. 8, "although," as lord Exmouth says, " forbidden, was led by his ardent spirit, to follow in support of the barge.' His boat, being flat-bottomed, could not keep pace with the barge, and became exposed, in consequence, to a cannonade that wounded himself, and killed his brother-officer and nine of the boat's crew. In about 10 minutes, lieutenant Richards in the barge succeeded in boarding and setting fire to the algerine frigate, and returned from the enterprise with the loss of only two men killed. The blaze was in a manner electrical; and lord Exmouth testified his approbation, by telegraphing to the fleet, Infallible." 66 At 4 h. 15 m. P. M., the algerine frigate in flames drifting out towards the Queen-Charlotte, the latter shifted her birth to let the vessel pass. At 4h. 24 m. rear-admiral Milne sent a message to the commander in chief, communicating, that the Impregnable had Im- sustained a loss of 150 in killed and wounded, nable. (including a third of the number by the bursting of a shell from the enemy's works,) and requesting that a frigate might be sent to divert some of the fire from the ship. The Glasgow was immediately ordered upon that service; but, the wind having fallen in consequence of the heavy firing, she was unable to do more than take up, after the lapse of nearly three quarters of an hour, a somewhat better ships position for annoyance than her former one. Here, 1816. a short distance ahead of the Severn, with her stern Aug. now towards that ship, the Glasgow became exposed to a severe raking fire from the fish-market and contiguous batteries; which dismounted two of her quarterdeck carronades, and in a few minutes did her more serious injury than all she had previously suffered. At 7 P. M. the Leander, being greatly All the cut up by the fish-market battery and others on her in the starboard bow, ran out a hawser to the Severn and mole in brought her broadside to bear upon them. About also this time, by the incessant and well-directed fire of part of the mortar, gun, and rocket boats, all the ships and vessels within the harbour were burning. The flames subsequently communicated to the arsenal and storehouses on the mole; and the city also, in several parts, was set on fire by the shells from the bomb-vessels. flames, city. the ex vessel. The ordnance-sloop, which, fitted as an explosion- Burstvessel, had accompanied the expedition from Gib- ing of raltar, for the purpose of being sent against the ships plosion in the mole, was now, as they were all destroyed, placed under the directions of rear-admiral Milne. Lieutenant Fleming, who during the action had been commanding with great credit a battering-boat stationed close under the stern of the Queen-Charlotte, proceeded, in company with major Reed of the engineers, to take command of the explosion-vessel, and to place her where an officer, sent by rearadmiral Milne, should point out. This officer was captain Herbert Bruce Powell, a volunteer serving on board the Impregnable. In a short time the sloop was run on shore, close under the semicircular battery to the northward of the lighthouse. There, at a few minutes past 9 r. M., the vessel exploded; and, having been charged with 143 barrels of powder, must have operated very successfully as a diversion in favour of the Impregnable. The whole of the ships kept up a tremendous fire British cease firing and out. 1816. upon the town and forts until about 10 P. M.; when, the upper tiers of the batteries on the mole, being in ships a state of dilapidation, the fire from the lower tiers nearly silenced, and the ammunition of the attacking ships reduced to a very small quantity, the Queenstand Charlotte cut her cables and springs, and stood out before a light air of wind, which, fortunately for the British, had just sprung up from the land. The remaining british ships, by the orders of the admiral, began cutting also; but, owing to their disabled state, they made very slow progress, and the Leander, Superb, and Impregnable suffered much, in consequence, from the raking fire of a fort at the upper angle of the city. Before 2 A. M. on the 28th every british and dutch ship had come to out of reach of shot or shells, the algerine fleet and storehouses illuminating by their blaze the whole bay, and greatly assisting the former in picking an anchorage. As if to add to the awful grandeur of the scene, the elements began their war as soon as the ships and batteries had ended theirs. For nearly three hours the lightning and thunder were incessant, and the rain poured down in torrents. We are sensible that a diagram would have been particularly useful in this action, and had hoped to have been able to give one ; but, on consulting the logs, we found the positions of very few of the ships laid down with the requisite accuracy. Nor could we rely upon any of the few plans that have been published, having discovered mistakes in every one of them. Loss on board the fleet. Now for the account of casualties sustained on the part of the assailants. The Queen-Charlotte had british seven seamen and one marine killed, three lieutenants (George Morison King, John Sampson lago, and Frederick John Johnston, latter mortally,) one secretary to the admiral, (Joshua Grimes,) one captain of marine-artillery, (Charles Frederick Burton,) one lieutenant of marines, (Patrick Robertson,) her boatswain, (William Maxwell,) five midshipmen, |