The guns of the Amethyst were precisely those which she mounted in her action with the Thétis; but in complement the frigate was short, having two lieutenants and 37 men absent ; all, except one of the lieutenants (who had been appointed, but had not joined) away in prizes, the prisoners from which, 69 in number, were then on board. Of her 222 men and boys, the Amethyst had six seamen and two marines killed, and her first and second lieutenants of marines (Henry Waring and Samuel Prytherch), her boatswain (Mr. Lacey), 24 seamen, and 10 marines wounded. The armament of the Niemen was the same as that of the Thétis, except that the former mounted two additional 36-pounder carronades, or 14 in all; making her total number of guns 46, two more than are stated in Captain Seymour's letter. The French frigate, whose hull was much cut up by shot, and whose remaining mast was in a tottering state, had on board as her complement, when the action commenced, 339 men and boys; of whom she lost 47 in killed, and 73 in wounded. The Arethusa, not having been fired at except by a single gun, sustained no loss or damage whatever. The same statement of comparative force, given in the action between the Amethyst and Thétis, will, without being more particular, suffice to show the relative force of the Amethyst and Niemen. Every Englishman who is proud of the martial spirit of his country, must regret that a third party came to interrupt a meeting, which his own, although the numerically weaker side, was so near bringing to a favourable termination. A view of the relative damage and loss sustained by the two frigates, and of their relative means of further annoyance, as displayed by the vigorous fire of the one, and the slackened and still slackening fire of the other, cannot leave a doubt that, at the time the Arethusa made her appearance, the combat between the Amethyst and Niemen was virtually, if not formally, decided. On the day succeeding that of the capture, the foremast of the Niemen, as a proof of the damage it had received in the action, fell over the side, and the Arethusa took the prize in tow. Being only nine months old, and a remarkably fine frigate, the Niemen became a great acquisition to the British navy; in which, under her French name, she classed the same as the Amethyst's former prize, the Thétis. Captain Seymour, soon after his return to port, was made a baronet of the United Kingdom; and the first-lieutenant of the Amethyst, Mr. William Hill, who, from the absence of two lieutenants, had a double share of duty to perform, was as deservedly promoted to the rank of commander. That, as Captain Seymour in his official letter is careful to state, "the French captain defended his ship with great ability and resolution," the length of the action, the execution done to the Amethyst, and the circumstances under which the surrender took place, sufficiently testify. And yet the Moniteur of July 13, 1809, contains a letter purporting to be from M. Dupotet, which, if genuine (and there we have our doubts), does not speak much for the French captain's veracity. As may be conjectured, the effect produced by the fall of the Amethyst's main and mizen masts is taken due advantage of. "L'ennemi prit chasse vent arrière, ayant à la traîne ses deux mâts,” says M. Dupotet; and he gravely adds :-"Au bout de quinze minutes mon premier lieutenant Valin me fit prévenir que l'ennemi était rendu, et qu'on criait de son bord de ne plus tirer. Je designai l'enseigne Kerangoué pour aller l'amariner; mais bientôt on vit venir une frégate qui venait au secours de celle-ci." Knowing that Frenchmen, in many of their actions with the British at sea, have mistaken the cheers of triumph for the screams of despair, we pass over the statement that the people of the Amethyst called upon those of the Niemen to cease firing; but the assertion, that the mainmast of the Niemen fell after the Arethusa had opened her fire, is a deliberate falsehood, which can admit of no palliation. Fortunately for the cause of truth, it is disproved in an instant; for thus says the log of the Arethusa :-"At half-past 3, observed both ships going before the wind with only their foremasts standing. At 3 h. 45 m. commenced firing on the enemy." The assertion, that the foremast of the Amethyst was in a shattered and unsupported state is equally false, although that may have arisen from misinformation. The fact is, that the foremast was only struck by one grape-shot, and was not even fished after the action. We designated the movement, forced upon the Amethyst by the fall of her masts and sails in the water, an unfortunate one. It was very much so. Less, however, in reference to the easily refuted misstatements of the captain of the Niemen, than, as we gather from the proceedings which afterwards took place in the admiralty prize-court, to the misconception that seems to have prevailed among the officers of the Arethusa. A little forethought in shortening sail, before the Amethyst bore up athwart the stern of her beaten antagonist, would have given quite a VOL. V. C different tone to the letter of Captain Dupotet, if indeed any such letter had then been published; and would have left no grounds for a second British ship, by establishing a claim for head-money, to make it appear that she had any share in producing the surrender of an already silenced and defenceless French frigate. It was formerly stated, that early on the morning of the 22nd of February, the day after Commodore Beresford was chased from off Lorient by the squadron from Brest, the three French frigates, Calypso, Cybèle, and Italienne, sailed from that port, and that they were not immediately followed by the three sail of the line at anchor in the road, because the tide did not suit.1 In a few hours the depth of water became sufficient; and commodore Amable-Gilles Troude, with the three 74-gun ships Courageux, Polonais, and d'Haupoult, having under their convoy the two armed en flûte frigates, Furieuse and Félicité, laden with troops, flour, and military stores, for the island of Martinique, escaped from Lorient, unseen, or at all events unmolested, by any of the British ships cruising off the French coast. On the 29th of March, having from some prizes he had made on the passage learnt that Martinique had surrendered to the British arms (an account of which will appear in its proper place), the French commodore entered the Saintes, to watch for an opportunity of getting across to Basse-terre, Guadaloupe. Scarcely, however, had the French ships anchored, than a superior British force arrived to blockade them. The line-ofbattle portion of that force consisted of the Gun-ship. 98 Neptune / York 74 Pompée Captain 64 Polyphemus Rear-admiral (r.) Hon. Sir Alex. J. Cochrane, Bt. Robert Barton. William Charles Fahie. The Saintes consist of two small islands, each about three leagues in circumference, exclusive of three or four still smaller ones, so arranged as to form a commodious road or harbour between the larger islands; the westernmost of which is called Terre d'en Bas, and the other Terre d'en Haut. They lie between Vieux Fort, near the southern extremity of Basse-terre, Guadaloupe, and Pointe des Ajoupas on the west side of MarieGalante, about five leagues distant from the latter and two from See vol. iv., p. 393. the former. The road or harbour of the Saintes, having three entrances in different directions, is not easily blockaded. Under these circumstances, it was thought advisable to land a body of troops, for the double purpose of driving the French ships to sea, and of reducing the Saintes islands, which had at all times afforded to the enemy's ships a capital shelter. Accordingly, on the 12th of April, a small British squadron, under the orders of Captain Philip Beaver of the 40-gun frigate Acasta, accompanied by a fleet of transports, having on board from 2000 to 3000 men commanded by Major-general Frederic Maitland, sailed from Fort Royal bay, Martinique, and on the next day arrived off the Saintes. On the 14th the troops were landed with a very slight loss; and on the same afternoon possessed themselves, with some difficulty, of a mountain 800 feet high, called Morne-Russel, and which completely overlooked the ships in the harbour. Upon these two 8-inch howitzers were presently brought to bear with such effect, that at 8 P.M. the three line-of-battle ships began to get under way, and at 9 h. 30 m. P.M. sailed out through the windward passage; but, although favoured by an unusually dark, night not unseen by the British in-shore squadron of sloops and brigs, under the orders of Captain Hugh Cameron, of the 18-gun ship-sloop Hazard; and who immediately made the preconcerted signal to the admiral outside. At this time the Neptune was off the south-west passage at some distance, and the Pompée about a mile and a half to the westward of Terre d'en Bas, or the Lower Sainte. In a very few minutes the Pompée discovered the three French ships bearing down under a press of canvas, followed by the Hazard and other vessels belonging to the in-shore squadron. At 10 P.M. the Pompée closed with the sternmost French ship, and endeavoured to stop her by the discharge of two broadsides; but, having a strong breeze in her favour, the latter continued her course to the west-south-west without returning a shot. At 10 h. 15 m. P.M. the 18-gun brig-sloop Recruit, Captain Charles Napier, got up and opened her fire at the enemy's sternmost ship. At 11 P.M. the Neptune joined in the chase, and at 33 minutes past midnight crossed so near to the same ship, that the latter fired into her and killed one and wounded four of her men. On the 15th, at 4 A.M., the Recruit, by her superior sailing, again got near enough to discharge a broadside at the d'Hanpoult, now the rearmost French ship; and the Pompée was very soon in a situation to open a distant fire from her bow-chasers; all three French ships as they steered in line abreast, returning the fire with their stern-chasers. At 10 h. 30 m. A.M. Captain Napier had his sergeant of marines wounded by a shot from one of the French ships; but the Recruit still persisted to harass them with her attacks. So annoying were those attacks, that at 10h. 45 m. A.M. the d'Haupoult broached to and discharged her main and quarter-deck guns, cutting away two of the brig's fore-shrouds on the larboard side and doing other damage to her rigging, but fortunately, wounding no one. Even this did not intimidate Captain Napier; for, no sooner had the d'Haupoult resumed her course before the wind, than the Recruit ran across her stern, and poured in one or two broadsides, receiving in return a fire from the 74's stern-chasers. The Pompée also joined occasionally in the running fight; and thus the day passed. At 8 P.M. the French ships separated, the d'Haupoult altering her course to west-north-west, while her two consorts continued steering west-south-west. The Pompée immediately hauled up after the d'Haupoult, and was at this time about three miles to the eastward of the latter, full five miles to the eastnorth-east of the Courageux and Polonais, and about the same distance ahead of the Neptune; who, since the forenoon, had detached the Hazard and Supérieure, and was now in company with only the Hawk brig. At midnight, the Pompée could no longer see the two French ships in the west-south-west, but still kept sight of the d'Haupoult. On the 16th, at daylight, the wind still from the eastward, the d'Haupoult was about three miles north-west half-west, and the Neptune about nine miles south-east half-east, of the Pompée. The Recruit, having dropped astern, on account probably of her damaged rigging, was not now in sight. In the course of the forenoon the British 38-gun frigate Latona, Captain Hugh Pigot, and 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Castor, Captain William Roberts, made their appearance in the north-east, and soon joined in the chase. At 5 P.M. the Neptune was no longer visible from the Pompée's mast-head; and the latter ship and the d'Haupoult sailed so nearly alike, that no apparent alteration had taken place in the distance between them since the preceding day. At 5 h. 30 m. P.M. the high land of Porto-Rico was seen from the Pompée, bearing north-north-east, about nine leagues distant. The night shut in extremely dark, and the ships, as they approached the land, were baffled with light and variable winds from the northward and westward. By midnight |