1809	Destruction of French frigates at Sable d'Olonne	97

Jurien stood to sea, and in the evening, when off Belle-Isle, steering along the coast to the south-east, descried in the offing the squadron of Commodore Beresford. On the 24th, at daylight, the Tour de Baleine made its appearance ; and the British 38-gun frigate Amelia, Captain the Honourable Frederick Paul Irby ; accompanied by the 18-gun brig-sloop Dotterel, Captain Anthony Abdy, both of whom had been in chase during the whole of the night, now approached so near to the Cybèle, the rearmost French frigate, that her two consorts hauled up for her support. It was about this time that Captain Jurien observed the squadron of Rear-admiral Stopford, approaching from the south-east. Being thus completely cut off, the French commodore, with the wind now at about south-east by east, steered for the Sable d'Olonne, and was followed closely by the Amelia and Dotterel. At 9 a.m. the two latter tacked to the north-east, as the three French frigates had previously done ; and in ten minutes more the Amelia, having wore round, hauled under the stern of the Cybèle, and opened a fire in passing. At 10 a.m. the Amelia tacked and steered after the enemy, in company with the Cæsar, Defiance, and Donegal, who had just joined.

In a minute or two afterwards the three French frigates came to anchor in line of battle, with springs, close under the powerful batteries of the town of Sable d'Olonne. At 10 h. 30 m. a.m. the British ships stood towards the former in the following order : Defiance, Cæsar, Donegal, Amelia. At 11 A.M. the Defiance, as drawing less water than either of the other line-of-battle ships, anchored in seven fathoms' water, within about 600 yards of the three French frigates, and opened her fire, receiving in return the fire of the latter, as well as of the batteries on shore. In about 20 minutes after the Defiance had commenced firing, the Cæsar and Donegal opened their broadsides, and in another 10 minutes the Amelia joined in the cannonade ; the batteries, all the while, keeping up a heavy fire at the British.

At 11 h. 50 m. a.m., unable to withstand the fire of their opponents, particularly of the Defiance, some of whose wads had set them partially in flames, the Italienne and Cybèle, cut their cables and ran on shore. Immediately the Defiance veered her cable, that her guns might again bear upon her opponents ; and, while the Cæsar to get into deeper water had wore to the south-west, the Defiance, Donegal, and Amelia, continued the engagement for a few minutes longer, until the weathermost French frigate, the Calypso, that she might not mask the fire of the Italienne, and feeling sensibly the effects of that of the Defiance, veered her cable, and soon drove on shore stern foremost. The ebb-tide making, and the water falling fast, the rear-admiral, at noon, signalled his ships to stand out. At about 15 minutes past noon the Defiance cut her cable and made sail towards the Cæsar, then with the Donegal and Amelia, nearly two miles to the southward. The three latter ships soon afterwards tacked

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