1809 - Lord Gambier at Basque Roads

Contents

Next Page

Previous Page

10 Pages >>>

10 Pages <<<

1809 Lord Gambier at Basque Roads 103

Gun-frig.
44 Indefatigable Captain John Treymayne Rodd.
38 Impérieuse Captain Lord Cochrane.
36 Aigle Captain George Wolfe.
Emerald Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland   
32 Unicorn Captain Lucius Hardyman.
Pallas Captain George Francis Seymour.
Mediator (flûte)    Captain James Wooldridge.
Gun-b. slp.
  Beagle Captain Francis Newcombe.
18 Doterel Captain Abdy.
  Foxhound Captain Pitt Barnaby Greene.
  Lyra Captain William Bevians
10 Redpole Captain John Joyce.
Bb.
  Thunder Captain James Caulfield
  Ætna Captain William Godfrey
Gun-brig
14      Insolent Lieut. John Row Morris
12 Encounter Lieut. James Hugh Talbot
Conflict Lieut. Joseph B. Batt
Contest Lieut. John Gregory.
Fervent Lieut. John Edward Hare
Growler Lieut. Richard Crossman
Schooner
[10] Whiting [Lieutenant Henry Wildey]
Hired Cutters
[10] Nimrod [Master's Mate Edward Tapley]
[10] King George [Master's Mate Thomas Makeet]

Some attention is now due to the party against whom all these formidable preparations are making. Among the officers of the Brest squadron, who disapproved of the forbearance of Rear-admiral Willaumez to attack the four 74s under the command of Commodore Beresford, was Captain Jacques Bergeret, already so well known to us. What ship of the squadron that officer commanded we are unable to state, as he afterwards quitted her for Paris, and the captain's names assigned to the ships in the list given at a preceding page are as they stood subsequently to the appointment of Captain Bergeret's successor.

A letter from the last-named officer to the minister of marine occasioned Rear-admiral Willaumez to be recalled. On the 16th the latter struck his flag on board the Oc�an, and went on shore ; and on the morning of the 17th Vice-admiral Allemand hoisted his flag on board the same ship. Rear-admiral Gourdon remained as second in command ; but two or three of the captains, including M. Bergeret, were superseded by others, leaving the whole as they stand in the list already referred to.

When M. Allemand joined the fleet, he found it moored in three lines at the entrance of the passage, and too far out. He ordered the ships to weigh, and, dropping lower down, anchored them in a double indented line " ligne endent�e ; " which may be explained by considering each point in the following figure as, a ship with her broadside bearing against it: /\/\/\/\/\/\/ the two parallel lines of ships bore about north-north-east and south-south-west ; and the ship's heads were to the northward. The van-ship of the outer line bore due south of the battery at the southern extremity of Isle d'Aix, and was distant from it about 640 yards. The two lines were about 250 yards apart, and the ships of each line from the stern of one to the head of the other full 170 yards; thus making the distance from the stern of the rearmost ship in the outer line to the fort (reckoning each ship's length upon an average at 70 yards) 1520 yards, or nearly seven eighths of a statute mile. Each ship was moored with one cable to the north-west and another to the south-east. At about 740 yards in front of the outer line lay the three

^ back to top ^