1809 - Boats of Topaze at Demata, Pomone and Lucien-Charles

Contents

Next Page

Previous Page

10 Pages >>>

10 Pages <<<

1809 Cyane Off Ischia and Procida 173

case circumstanced like the present. At all events it is evident, that Captain Griffiths, in chasing and attacking two such opponents, evinced a considerable share of gallantry.

On the 31st of May the Topaze, cruising off the coast of Albania, observed nine vessels lying at anchor in the road of Demata, situated behind the reef of rocks under the fortress of St.-Maura. Finding that the ship could not with safety approach near enough to capture or destroy them, Captain Griffiths despatched upon that service the boats of the Topaze, under the orders of the first lieutenant, Charles Hammond (whose right hand was nearly useless from a previous wound in cutting out vessels), assisted by the acting master George Garson, Lieutenants of marines Edward Smith Mercer and William Halsted, and master's mates Henry Packhurst Taylor and Robert Bisset Fenwick.

Being obliged to row along outside the reef, and having then to round it, the boats were necessarily exposed, within a musket-shot distance, to the galling fire of the enemy's whole force. Notwithstanding this formidable opposition, Lieutenant Hammond and his party gallantly pushed on ; and, with so comparatively slight a loss as one marine killed and one seaman slightly wounded, boarded and brought out the whole nine vessels ; among which were, one xebec of eight carriage guns and six swivels, with a crew of 55 men, one cutter of four, and one felucca of three guns, and two gun-boats of one gun each. After this act of gallantry performed by Lieutenant Hammond, and the severe wounds which his former services had cost him, we regret to find, by a reference to his name in the list, that he still bears the rank he did 20 years ago.

On the 13th of June, at 8 a.m., Cape Bon bearing south-west distant seven miles, the British 38-gun frigate Pomone, Captain Robert Barrie, captured, after a short chase, the Neapolitan privateer Lucien-Charles, a new bombard, mounting one long 12, and two long 6 pounders, with a crew of 53 men, commanded, of all things, by a French adjutant-general, and no less a man than the Chevalier Charles-Lucien Prevost de Boissi ; who could also add, to his title of privateer's-man, that of " officier de la légion d'honneur. "

On the 24th of June Rear-admiral Martin, with the 80-gun ship Canopus, Captain Charles Inglis, 74-gun ships Spartiate and Warrior, Captains Sir Francis Laforey, Bart., and John William Spranger, 22-gun ship Cyane, Captain Thomas Staines, and 18-gun brig-sloop Espoir, Captain Robert Mitford, with a numerous flotilla of British and Sicilian gun-boats, and a fleet of transports with troops, anchored to the northward of the islands of Ischia and Procida, in readiness to make an attack upon them. In the course of the evening, the rear-admiral detached the Cyane and Espoir, with 12 gun-boats, to take a station to the southward of those islands, for the purpose of

^ back to top ^