1809	Lord Gambier at Basque Roads	115

Basque roads by signal at 3 h. 30 m, p.m. anchored between the Revenge and Valiant. At 6 p.m. the Tonnerre, who lay just out of range of the nearest British ship, the Revenge, was set on fire by her officers and crew, all of whom landed safe upon isle Madame ; and at 7 h. 30 m. p.m. the ship exploded. The Calcutta appears to have been set on fire by the midshipman of the Imp�rieuse without orders, and at about 8 h. 30 m. p.m. blew up with a tremendous explosion, her hold containing an immense quantity of powder and other ordnance-stores.

The only British ships that sustained any loss in this attack were the Revenge and Imp�rieuse. The Revenge had one seaman and two marines killed, and one lieutenant (James Garland), five seamen and nine marines wounded ; two of them mortally, and nearly the whole with contusions. The ship had her bowsprit severely wounded, a great part of her running rigging and sails cut to pieces, five planks of the quarterdeck cut through and a beam carried away ; besides which a number of shot had struck different parts of her hull. The damage in the hull, and the killed and wounded, are stated to have been caused by the fire of the batteries on Isle d'Aix, and the cut rigging by the fire of the Aquilon and Varsovie.

The loss sustained by the Imp�rieuse consisted of three seamen killed, her surgeon's assistant (Gilbert), purser (Mark Marsden), seven seamen, and two marines wounded. The frigate received several shot in the hull, and had her masts, rigging, and sails a good deal cut : both loss and damage principally the effects of the fire of her three antagonists on the Palles, especially of the Calcutta. The Indefatigable and Beagle, although they escaped without loss, received more or less of damage in their masts and yards-from the enemy's shot. It is remarkable that, although the batteries of Isle d'Aix and of Saumonard [Saumonards] on the isle of Oleron [d'Ol�ron ] kept up a constant fire of shot and shells, the Revenge and Indefatigable were the only British vessels of the 14 engaged that suffered from it : the damage to the Indefatigable, indeed, was merely a wounded topmast.

With respect to the French loss in this attack, our information is not of the most certain kind. The Calcutta is described to have had her hull riddled before any assistance came to the Imp�rieuse and to have lost, out of a crew of 230 men, none killed, but 12 badly wounded. The captain of the Aquilon appears to have been killed, as he was sitting by the side of Lord Cochrane in the boat of the Imp�rieuse by a shot from one of the Tonnerre's guns, which accidentally went off while that ship was burning. The Aquilon's loss on board was inconsiderable, owing, as it was stated, to Captain Maingan, when he found he could not return the enemy's fire, very prudently directing his officers and men to lie down. The Varsovie lost upwards of 100 in killed and wounded together. The Oc�an sent her boats

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