XLIV. CHA P. valuable fhips were lying in Saldanha Bay. On his approach, they were fet on fire, but the flames being extinguifhed, four were taken, and the Middleburgh alone deftroyed. July. 1781. Auguft. and other 21ft Oct. to 12th Nov. AN expedition haftily formed from Fort MarlboNepatam rough, on the coaft of Sumatra, reduced all the Dutch places taken. fettlements on that island; Negapatam, in the Tanjore country, was taken after an active fiege by Sir Hector Monro; and, early in the ensuing year, Sir Edward Hughes, with a small detachment of fepoys and artillery men, stormed the fort of Trincomalé, on the ifland of Ceylon. Jan. 1782. Arrival of fquadron. THE arrival of de Suffrein, and the indefatigable the English exertions of the French, in fending out reinforcements to their African fettlements, afforded flattering hopes of crushing the British power. On the return of commodore Johnstone to Europe, his fquadron was committed to captain Alms, when a tempest separated and difabled feveral of the fhips, and the Hannibal, of fifty guns, fell into the hands of the enemy. The remainder, confifting of the Hero of feventy-four, the Monmouth of fixty-four, and the Ifis of fifty guns, joined Sir Edward Hughes in the open road of Madras. M. Sir Edward de Suffrein, unapprized of their arrival, bore down to Hughes takes attack the English fleet, with twelve fail of the line, fix frigates and eight large tranfports, but perceiving their augmented force, ftood out to fea, and the Englifh admiral re-captured five English, and took the Laurifton, a French tranfport of thirteen hundred tons burthen, with a train of artillery, and a large quantity of military ftores, thus by one fortunate ftroke rendering abortive all the projects for affifting Hyder Ally. 8th Feb. 15th Feb. fix tranfports. 16th Feb. His firft engagement with de Suffrein. THE efforts of de Suffrein to protect his convoy, produced an engagement, which was diftinguished only by the gallantry with which five Englifh fhips feparated from the reft by the weather, repelled the attack of the whole fleet. After repairing his damaged veffels, and being reinforced by two more from England, 1782. Sir Edward Hughes again encountered the French ad- C H A P. miral, on the fame day that Rodney gained unfading XLIV. laurels in the Weft Indies. This conflict was equally honourable, though lefs decifive, no fhip being cap- 12th April. tured on either fide, though both fleets were compelled engagement. to put into port for repairs. His fecond ALTHOUGH thefe engagements produced no accef- Their effects. fion to the force of either party at fea, they contributed to make Hyder Ally defirous of peace, as his patience was exhaufted by awaiting the delufive promifes of France, and his notions of British fuperiority greatly enhanced by the difplay of valour and skill in fuch difproportioned encounters. The French ftrained every nerve to efface these impreffions, by strengthening their force at Cuddalore, on the coaft cf Coromandel, while the fleet, repaired, re-victualled, newly manned, and augmented, again challenged the British commander to an encounter. Sir Edward Hughes, though inferior in numbers, did not decline the engagement, which was, for the first time, general, and a complete victory was almoft gained, when a fudden fquall faved the defeated enemy, and enabled them to 6th July. effect a retreat. The Severe, a French fixty-four, gagement. had ftruck her colours to the Sultan, but taking advantage of the change in the wind, treacherously fired a broadfide into the English fhip, and rejoined the French fleet without colours flying. This violation of the laws of war was feebly vindicated by de Suffrein, and subsequently by the French government. Third eu Trincomalé BOTH fleets were again reinforced, and the French Auguft. retaining a confiderable fuperiority, recaptured Trin- re-captured. comalé. Sir Edward Hughes made great exertions for the relief of the fortrefs, but arrived too late; he fought, however, another engagement with the French admiral; the fuperior fkill of the British fleet more 3d Sept. "The taking and re-capture of this fort are but briefly noticed here; but the details are worthy of perufal, and may be found in Captain Percival's Account of Ceylon, p. 49. Fourth en gagement. XLIV. CHAP. than counterpoifed the difference of force; the action was unufually bloody, and de Suffrein again owed his fafety to flight; he broke fix of his captains, and fent them prisoners to Mauritius. 1782. Siege of No further tranfaction of moment occurred between the European powers during the remainder of the year, and their next campaign was chiefly employed in the fiege of Cuddalore, which was valiantly defended by the marquis de Buffy, and affailed with great skill and valour by general Stuart. The Eng20th June. lith fleet was at this time reduced to a miferable condition by the scurvy, but Sir Edward Hughes did not decline a fifth and laft encounter with his old antagonift; it was fought at a great distance, and, like the preceding, terminated without a capture. 1783. 25th June. Fifth en gagement. Naval exer trons in Europe. 13th April. 1782. Sundry captures. THE united enemies of Great Britain threatened, by a combination of their marine forces in Europe, to ruin commerce and defolate the country. But these menaces, however loudly founded, were rendered abortive by the vigilance and valour difplayed by the English naval commanders, in preventing the junction of the hoftile fquadrons. Admiral Barrington, having failed from Portsmouth with twelve fhips of the line, met the French fleet at a small distance from Ufhant, commenced a chase, and took twelve tranfports, with a great number of troops. Captain Jervis, now earl St. Vincent, in the Foudroyant, of feventy-four guns, encountered le Pegafe, of equal force, and after a fpirited though fhort engagement, compelled her to ftrike. The most remarkable circumftance of the action was the disparity of lofs; the French having more than eighty men killed, while the Foudroyant had only three or four wounded, and not one flain. The prize, reduced to a mere wreck, was committed to the charge of captain Maitland of the Queen, who, in conducting her to England, captured the Action For thefe tranfactions, I have confulted the Gazettes, narratives of officers, and memoirs of the war in Afia. XLIV. naire, a fixty-four, but armed en flute; conveying a CHAP. great quantity of naval and ordnance ftores, and feveral chefts of money. Captain Jervis was rewarded with the order of the Bath. 1783. 29th May. port. ADMIRAL BARRINGTON being obliged by ftrefs of The Dutch weather to return to port, admiral Kempenfelt, with confined in nine fail of the line, repaired to the ftation he had quitted, while lord Howe, with a fquadron of twelve fail, terrified the Dutch into a relinquifhment of their defigns on the Baltic and northern trade of Great Britain. and Spanish MEANWHILE, de Guichen had formed a junction Junction of at Cadiz with the Spanish fleet, under Don Louis de the French Cordova; their united fquadron, amounting to twenty- fleets." five fail of the line, occupied the chops of the Channel, having in their cruize captured eighteen veffels of the outward-bound Quebec and Newfoundland fleets: but lord Howe being returned from his expedition Capture of against the Dutch, accomplished, with only twelve fail Newfoundof the line, the arduous task of protecting the home- land fleets. ward-bound Jamaica trade; and thus an inferior naval force baffled all the projects of fo mighty a combi- lord Howe. nation. Quebec and Trade pro Rodney's BUT what the enemy could not effect to the preju- Fate of dice of the British marine, the elements in their un- prizes. fparing fury accomplished. Some of the great prizes made by Rodney and Hood on the glorious twelfth and nineteenth of April, were difpatched with English fhips to convoy the homeward-bound trade. On this 20th June. fleet, fell the feverest rigours of one of the most tempeftuous fummers ever experienced. The Ville de Paris, Centaur, Glorieux, Hector, and Ramillies, foundered under different circumstances, and the merchant veffels fuftained a proportionate damage. The horror of these misfortunes was aggravated by an accident at home, which roused the fympathies of the nation by a refiftlefs appeal. Lord Howe, returning from his well-conducted cruize against the united fleets, urged with the utmost celerity the XLIV. 1782. Lofs of the Royal CHA P. equipment of a fquadron for the relief of Gibraltar. The Royal George, of a hundred and eight guns, one of the fhips deftined for this fervice, was placed 29th Aug. in an inclined pofition for the purpose of stopping a leak, when a fudden fquall of wind intirely overfet her, and buried in the ocean the brave veteran, admiral Kempenfelt, and nearly a thousand failors, marines, women, and children. A victualler which lay alongfide, was swallowed up in the vortex occafioned by the fubmerfion of fo large a body, and it was fome time before the final craft could be employed in affifting those who escaped the general calamity. Not more than three hundred were faved, and the national humanity was honourably displayed by an ample fubfcription for the relatives of those who perished. 1781. the fiege of Gibraltar. April. 1782. De Crillon THIS accident did not, however, impede the preparations for the relief of Gibraltar, the fiege of which engaged the attention of all Europe. FOR fome days after the deftruction of their works, Progrefs of by the well-judged fortie in 1781, the Spaniards did not even attempt to extinguifh the fmoaking ruins, but feemed ftupified by furprife. Recovering, however, from their confternation, they laboured with increafing affiduity, and again conftructed very formidable approaches. The bombardment continued with various degrees of vigour, and was anfwered by correfponding efforts from the garrifon. But after the capture of Minorca, the duc de Crillon, with twenty commands. thousand French and Spanish troops, joined the befiegers, and affumed the command. The garrifon received information of thefe circumftances, and of the intention of the enemy to make their principal attack by fea, with battering fhips of a new conftruction, calculated to refift the effect of shells, and even of red-hot cannon balls. They displayed no alarm at these tidings, nor at the view of the formidable preparations in the port of Algeziras; confidence and alacrity generally prevailed, and the privates even volunteered extra fervices to affift the artillery corps. |