1801 - Phoebe and Africaine


 
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Naval History of Great Britain - Vol III
1801 Light Squadrons and Single Ships 140

The two ships with their heads to the northward, then continued the engagement within pistol-shot distance, until 9 h. 30 m. P.M.; when the Africaine being nearly unrigged, having five feet water in the hold, her decks literally encumbered with dead, and the greater part of her guns dismounted, struck her colours. Her masts were all badly wounded, and, had there been any swell, would have fallen over her side. The Ph�be's masts were also much injured, and chiefly owed their stability to the smoothness of the sea. Her rigging and sails, too, were scarcely in better plight than those of the Africaine.

Although her net complement, including 18 boys, was 261, the Ph�be had sailed from Cork seven men short, and since manned and sent to Gibraltar, one recaptured brig with seven, and one detained brig with eight men; so that her crew on board was reduced to 239. Of this number the Ph�be had only one seaman killed, and her first lieutenant (John Wentworth Holland), master (Thomas Griffiths), and 10 seamen wounded.

The loss on board the Africaine was truly dreadful. The total number of persons on board of her were 715 ; of which number 315 composed the ship's regular crew, and the 400 were troops and artificers of various descriptions. Of her 715 in crew and supernumeraries, the Africaine had Commodore Saulnier, one brigadier-general, two captains in the army, eight petty-officers, three surgeons (actually killed in the cockpit, while dressing the wounded!) and 185 seamen, marines, artillerymen, troops, and artificers killed, and one general of division (Desforneaux), one general of battalion, one general of cavalry, one aide-de-camp, one major of battalion, her first lieutenant, or capitaine de frégate (Jean-Jacques Magendie, in the head), five other lieutenants, two volunteers, two lieutenants of grenadiers, one lieutenant of foot, three petty officers, and 125 seamen, marines, artillerymen, troops and artificers wounded; making a total of 200 killed, and 143 wounded, the greater part of them mortally. A return to this effect, signed by Captain Magendie, was delivered to Captain Barlow ; but the former stated in the return, that it probably fell short of the real loss sustained, especially in killed.

The force of the Ph�be, whose guns were in number 44, has already appeared.* That of the Africaine consisted, according to the return signed by Captain Magendie and subjoined to the official letter, of 26 long 18-pounders on the main deck and 18 long 8-pounders � on the quarterdeck and forecastle: total 44 guns also. If her eight 32-pounder carronades gave the Ph�be a slight preponderance in broadside weight of metal, the decided superiority in number of men, even of her regular crew, gave the Africaine a still greater advantage in that very essential point; an advantage

* See vol. ii., p. 93, and vol. i., p. 327.

� Misprinted in the London Gazette " 18 de 9," instead of " 18 de 8."

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