1807 - Richmond and Spanish lugger, Boats of Spartan off Nice


 
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Naval history of Great Britain - Vol. IV
by
William James
1807 Light Squadrons and Single Ships 334

the United States, especially along the shores of Chesapeake bay, treated every thing that was British with the greatest indignity : they destroyed 200 water casks belonging to the Melampus, and committed numerous outrages of a similar description. This showed that the offer of redress had been prematurely made ; particularly when coupled with Mr. Munroe's instructions, received soon afterwards, and submitted to the British government.

Notwithstanding the violent conduct of the United States, as made known by their newspapers, and by the introduction, in the American minister's note, of subjects foreign to the immediate cause of complaint, the British government, by a public instrument, dated on the 16th of October, and entitled, " A proclamation for recalling and prohibiting seamen from serving foreign princes and states, " declared, that the claim to the seizure of deserters from the national ships of other powers could not again be brought forward by British naval officers. In addition to all this, Vice-admiral Berkeley, the officer who had issued the order to search the Chesapeake, was recalled from his command ; and at a subsequent day, two (one having died) of the three deserters from the Melampus, being, as before stated, natives of the United States of America, were sent back to their country.

On the 19th of April, the British gun-brig Richmond, Lieutenant Samuel Scudamore Heming, working up towards Cape Mandigo, on the coast of Portugal, discovered a lugger with Spanish colours flying, at anchor in a little bay about six leagues to the northward of Peruche. Lieutenant Heming immediately began preparations for destroying her, and, in the evening as soon as it was dark, detached the gig and jollyboat, with Sub-lieutenant George Bush and boatswain's mate Ebenezer Lyons. The two boats pulled boldly into the bay, and in the face of a heavy fire, which wounded three of the men, boarded and carried the lugger privateer Gaillard, of four 4-pounders and 36 men ; all of whom, except 12, jumped overboard and escaped the shore.

Deeming it unfair to make use of the labours or good fortune a contemporary without an acknowledgment, and being desirous to set an example to those who have already given proofs, that they require some stronger stimulus than a mere consciousness of doing wrong to deter them from the meanness of plagiarism, we shall again transcribe from the pages of Captain Edward Brenton's work an account of the proceedings of his brother's ship.

"The Spartan frigate of 38 guns, commanded by Captain (now Sir J.) Brenton, met with a severe loss on the 14th of May, off Nice ; she had been all day chasing a polacre ship, and at sunset both were becalmed at the distance of about five miles from each other : the vessel appeared to be an unarmed merchant ship. The boats of the Spartan with the two senior lieutenants,

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