1797 - Sir John Jervis off Cape St.-Vincent


 
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Naval History of Great Britain - Vol II
1797 Sir John Jervis off Cape St.-Vincent 43

The Blenheim also was much cut up. All her masts, yards, and bowsprit were more or less wounded. She had received 105 round shot in the hull, many of them near the water's edge ; and her two foremost ports on the larboard side were knocked into one. Nor will this account of her damage be considered extraordinary, when it is known that, at one time during the action, she had five Spanish ships upon her at once, a three-decker on her larboard bow, two two-deckers astern, the four decker close on her larboard beam, and a second three-decker on her larboard quarter.

The loss sustained by the British was comparatively of no great amount, and fell, except in the cases of the Egmont and Colossus, where the damages were the heaviest. The Egmont had not a man hurt. The Britannia had one seaman, the Diadem, one seaman and one soldier, the Colossus, four seamen and one marine, the Barfleur, seven seamen, the Goliath, four seamen and four marines, and the Orion, one midshipman (Thomas Mansel), six seamen, and two marines wounded. The Victory had one seaman killed, and two seamen and three marines wounded ; the Namur, two seamen killed and five wounded; and the Prince-George, seven seamen and one marine killed, and seven seamen wounded. The Irresistible (on board of which ship at 5 p.m. Commodore Nelson shifted his broad pendant), had one sergeant of marines and four seamen killed, one lieutenant (Andrew Thompson), one midshipman (William Balfour), one master's mate (Hugh M'Kinnon), 10 seamen, and one marine wounded. The Excellent, her boatswain (Peter Peffers), eight seamen, and two marines killed, one master's mate (Edward Augustus Down), nine seamen, and two marines wounded. The Culloden, one lieutenant of marines (George A. Livingstone), seven seamen, and two marines killed, 39 seamen and eight marines wounded. The Blenheim, 10 seamen and two soldiers killed, one lieutenant (Edward Libby), one master's mate (Joseph Wixon, since dead), her boatswain (James Peacock), 39 seamen and seven soldiers wounded. The Captain, one major of marines (William Norris), one midshipman (James Goodench), 19 seamen, and three soldiers killed, the commodore (by a bruise), her boatswain (Mr. Carrington), one midshipman (Thomas Lund), 49 seamen, and four soldiers wounded; making a total of 73 killed, and 227 wounded.

The latter number, however, comprised only the badly wounded; a great number of whom died. In this case, contrary to what is customary, the slightly wounded, or those deemed so at the date of the despatches, were not allowed to be included in the returns. One consequence of this was, that amputations, arising from mortification and other unexpected changes, were actually undergone by several, who had not been returned as wounded. In comparing, therefore, the loss in this general action with that in any other, it will be fair to consider

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