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dered throughout Europe to the manly perseverance displayed by this country amidst the convulsions of the continent, and with expressing his persuasion that they would ascribe the advantages they have possessed, under

Providence, to that constitution which for a century it has been the object of his family to maintain unimpaired.

The Lord Chancellor then declared the prorogation of parliament,

CHAPTER XV.

Naval Transactions.-Attempt by Sea and Land on Leghorn.-Capture of La Ceres.-Capture of L'Alcmene and L'Iphigenie.-Capture of La Terpsichore.-Capture of La Clorinde.-Capture of La Sultane and L'Etoile.-Capture of the Essex American Frigate.Capture of the Frolic American Sloop.-Capture of the Reindeer British Brig by the Wasp American Sloop.-Destruction of the American Privateer Gen. Arnold.

THIS HIS year, like several of the preceding, has been destitute of occasions for any of those great actions which, in the former part of the war, conferred so much celebrity ou the British navy. The attempts of the French ruler to regain maritime consequence, were so effectually thwarted by his ambitious projects on land, and their fatal results, that the equipment of a few frigates was the greatest exertion of which his naval resources were capable; and the number of those captured has peculiarly distinguished the early months of the year. After that period, one enemy alone remained to contend against the British flag; and it was only upon those inland seas, on which that antagonist possesses at least divided sway, that any equal trial of strength could occur. The powerful fleet blockading the American coast has been chiefly employed in aiding the operations of the land forces, and in small expeditions up the bays and rivers, for the purpose of harassing the commerce, and destroying the resources of the enemy. In return, the Americans have been extremely active

in annoying the British trade by their privateers, to which species of warfare they have chiefly confined their enterprize on the open sea, their larger vessels having seldom appeared out of port.

We revert to the close of the last year for a narrative of a gallant enterprize conducted under the command of Captain Sir Josias Rowley, of the America, in conjunction with a land force of Italians under Lieut.-Col. Catanelli, the object of which was to surprize the port of Leghorn. On Nov. 29th, Captain Rowley sailed from Palermo in company with the Termagant, and having joined the Furieuse and Mermaid, and taken on board the Italian levy, amounting to one thousand men, sailed for the coast of Italy. They arrived off Via Reggio on December 9th, having met with the Armada and Imperieuse, which were detained to assist in landing the troops. This service having been effected, Lieutenant-Colonel Catanelli proceeded to Lucca, which was surrendered to him, and a party of marines took and destroyed a fortified signal-station. Catanelli afterwards repulsed with

loss a party of troops from the garrisons of Leghorn and Pisa, which came to attack him at Via Reggio; and the weak state of the remaining garrison of Leghorn being learned from the prisoners, it was determined to make an attack upon that place. The ships accordingly proceeded for Leghorn roads, and the troops, with the marines, were landed on the 13th. On that evening they got possession of the suburbs of Leghorn; and on the following morning the marines were attacked on the Pisa road by a considerable body of the enemy, infantry and cavalry, with two field-pieces, They received the charge of the cavalry with great coolness, killing the greatest part of them; and afterwards, advancing against the enemy's infantry, they put them entirely to the rout. The commandant of Leghorn was then summoned, but without effect; and it being now ascertained that an attack on the place could not be attempted with any chance of success, it was thought expedient to re-embark the whole force, which was effected during the night or the next morning without molestation from the enemy. The loss sustained by the assailants in this spirited attempt was inconsiderable: that of the adverse party was estimated at from 250 to 300 in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Captain, Rainier, of the Niger, communicated, on January 6th, to Rear-Admiral Dixon at Rio Janeiro, an account of the capture of a French frigate. He stated, that having made the island of St. Antonio on the preceding morning, for the purpose of correcting his longitude, he discovered a strange sail, and immediately gave chase,

in company with the Tagus, Captain Pipon. The chase continued all that day, and at daylight on the 6th they were only a mile and a half from the object of pursuit. The Tagus being to windward, was first enabled to open its fire, which was briskly returned by the enemy; when, after a few broadsides, the French frigate's maintop-mast was shot away, and her escape rendered impossible. The Niger then coming up, farther resistance would have been an useless waste of lives; the French ship, therefore, firing another broadside, struck her colours. She proved to be La Ceres, of fortyfour guns and three hundred and twenty-four men, commanded by the Baron de Bougainville, only one month from Brest, on her first cruize.

Rear-Admiral Durham, commander-in-chief on the Leeward Islands station, reported in January his success in the capture of two French frigates. On the 16th of that month, the Cyane having given the signal for two strange sail, chase was immediately made, and the Venerable, by superior sailing, came up with them at the close of the day, leaving the Cyane far astern. The lewardmost of the ships being hailed to surrender without effect, a cannonading began, when she made a bold attempt to lay the Venerable on board, but the consequence was, that she herself was boarded and taken. She proved to be the Alcmene, a fine French frigate of 44 guns, commanded by M. Ducrest de Villeneuve, an officer of merit. Her resistance cost her thirty men killed and fifty wounded; the loss in the Venerable was inconsiderable. Her consort, in

the mean time, made her escape, but the Cyane having kept her in sight, she was pursued during the night and the two following days, and at length was overtaken and captured by the Venerable. She was the Iphigenie, a frigate of the largest class, fully manned, and like her consort, entirely new. They had sailed from Cherbourg on a cruise in October.

On February 3rd, Captain Hayes, of his Majesty's ship Majestic, being on his way from St. Michael to Madeira, at daylight descried three ships and a brig of a suspicious appearance in the S. S. E. two of which gave chase to him. On approaching, he discovered them to be two 44 gun frigates and a 20 gun ship; and he bore down to the headmost frigate, which shortened sail, and brought to for the others to close. Captain Hayes made all sail, in hopes of getting alongside of her before this could be effected, but was foiled by her wearing and joining the other; and the whole with all the sail they could carry, stood to the S. S. E. Somewhat past two o'clock, the sternmost frigate hoisted French colours, and opened a fire from her aftermost guns. It was returned by the Majestic with such effect, that at forty-nine minutes past four she struck. The wind increasing, and the prize being in a state of confusion, Captain Hayes was obliged to stay by her, and suffer the rest to escape. The captured ship was the Terpsichore, of 44 guns and 320 men, which, with her consort the Atalante, sailed first from the Scheldt, and last from L'Orient. The loss was inconsiderable on board the Terpsichore, and none on board the Majestic.

A well-fought action between an English and a French frigate was reported on March 1st by Captain Phillimore, of the Eurotas. Having parted company on the night of Feb. 21st, with the Rippon, in chase of a vessel, on endeavouring to rejoin her on the 25th, he perceived, in lat. 47. 40. N. long. 9. 30. W. a sail, to which he gave chase. She was soon discovered to be an enemy's frigate, and the Eurotas having the advantage in sailing, was enabled to bring her to close action about five in the evening. A desperate engagement ensued, the vessels lying broadside to broadside, in which all the masts of the Eurotas successively fell, and the main and mizen masts of her antagonist. At ten minutes after seven the French ship slackened her fire, and by the help of her standing fore-mast got out of range. Captain Phillimore was now obliged, through loss of blood from a wound, to quit the quarter-deck, and give up the command to his first lieutenant Smith, by whose exertions the wreck was cleared, and the enemy was kept in sight during the night. Ou the next day, before twelve, the Eurotas was fully prepared to renew the action, and was fast coming up with the enemy, when, "to the mortification of all on board," two sail were observed crossing the chase, the Dryad and Achates, who deprived the people of the Eurotas of the gratification of having her colours struck to them. The French ship proved to be the Clorinde, Captain Dennis Legard, of 44 guns, and a picked crew of 360 men. Her loss in the action was computed at 120 men; that

of the Eurotas was 20 killed, and 39 wounded.

On March 26th, the Hannibal, of 74 guns, Captain Sir M. Seymour, and the Hebrus frigate, Captain Palmer, gave chase to two French frigates near the coast of France, one of which, the Sultan, of 44 guns, was soon captured by the Hannibal off the isle of Bas, and was brought into Portsmouth, on the 28th. The other was pursued during the whole day by the Hebrus, and at midnight had reached the race of Alderney. She then rounded Point Joubourg to get into the bay of La Hogue, where, about one or two on the following morning, the Hebrus, running in between her and the shore, brought her to close action. After an obstinate combat of two hours and a quarter, the ships almost touching, she struck her coJours. It was necessary immediately to put the heads of both ships off shore, as well through apprehension of grounding, as in order to get clear of a battery on shore, which had been firing at both, not being able to distinguish one from the other. The prize was L'Etoile, of 44 guns and 320 men, commanded by by M. Phillibert, who was returning with La Sultane from a four month's cruise to the westward. She had 40 killed, and upwards of 70 wounded, in the action, and the loss in the Hebrus was considerable, amounting to 13 killed and 25 wounded.

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The American frigate Essex, Captain Porter, which had been long cruizing on the coasts of South America, and had made many captures, especially among the English south-whalers, was at length taken off Valparaiso in

Chili, by the Phoebe frigate, Captain Hillyar, in company with the Cherub sloop, Captain Tucker. Captain Hillyar, in his letter dated Valparaiso Bay, March 30th, informs the Secretary of the Admiralty, that on the afternoon of the 28th inst. after nearly five mouths anxious search, and six weeks more anxious look-out for the Essex and her companion, (a corvette of 20 guns), to quit the port of Valparaiso, he saw her. under weigh, and immediately, accompanied by the Cherub, made sail to close with her. On rounding the point of the bay, the Essex lost her main-top-mast; and not being able to regain the limits of the neutral port, bore up and anchored very near to the shore a few miles to the leeward of it. After some distant firing, the Phoebe closed with the Essex at 35 minutes past five in the afternoon, when a very serious, and, indeed, unequal conflict ensued, the Che rub much contributing to the annoyance of the enemy. The defence of the Essex (says Captain Hillyar) did honour to her brave defenders, and fully evinced the courage of Captain Porter and those under his command. She was twice on fire, and did not strike her colours till her loss of men was so great, and her condition so bad, that farther resistance was manifestly unavailing. The engagement ceased at 20 minutes past six. The loss on the part of the victors was not very considerable. A very detailed account of this affair was transmitted to the American government by Captain Porter, written in an ostentatious and evidently partial manner, and differing in several respects from the plain narrative of Captain Hil

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