1809	Light Squadrons and Single Ships	178

Dalling and Thomas Boardman, midshipmen Joseph Gape, Charles Henry Ross, George Castle, Charles Henry Kempthorn, William Lee Rees, and Charles Bruce, and first-class volunteer, or boys, Thomas Edward Hoste, Francis George Farewell, and Robert Spearman ; also surgeon's assistant Jonathan Angas. For his distinguished behaviour on this and on several previous occasions, Lieutenant Phillott was immediately promoted to the rank of commander.

On the 1st of April in the evening, the British 28-gun frigate Mercury, Captain the Honourable Henry Duncan, detached her boats, under the orders of Lieutenant Watkin Owen Pell, assisted by Lieutenant Robert James Cordon, Mr. Richard Hildyard the master, Lieutenant of marines James Whylock, Jeremiah Crawley the carpenter, George Anderson captain's clerk, midshipmen John Sterling, John Wilkes, William Parker, and Charles Adam, and Mr. Robert Williams acting surgeon, to cut out from the port of Rovigno, on the coast of Istria, two France-Italian gun-boats moored close to two heavy batteries.

After dark the boats pulled into the harbour, the entrance which is not more than 100 yards wide ; and, under a very heavy fire of great guns and musketry, they boarded and carried although fully prepared with boarding-nettings triced up to a mast-head, the gun-boat Léda of one long 24-pounder and six large swivels, commanded by a French enseigne de vaisseau. The other gun-boat, similarly armed, was lying close to her, and would also have been captured ; had not a fog unexpectedly come on, which completely deranged the plan of attack, and obliged the boats to tow the prize out under the additional fire of five guns, mounted upon an island that was to have been stormed by the marines. In this very gallant affair, the British had one seaman killed, and Lieutenant Pell, who had previously lost leg in the service, wounded severely in two places, and three seamen-wounded slightly.

On the 15th of May the Mercury anchored within half gunshot shot, in four fathoms, and cannonaded the town of Rotti, near Manfredonia. After pouring in a few broadsides, Captain Duncan sent in a boat's crew and a party of marines under Lieutenant Gordon, who landed and destroyed seven trabaccolos which had been hauled on shore, and returned to the ship with no other loss than himself severely wounded by an explosion of gunpowder while burning one of the vessels.

On the night of the 7th of September, the boats of the Mercury, under the orders of Lieutenant Pell, assisted by Lieutenant Gordon, Lieutenant Whylock of the marines, Mr. Sandell the gunner, and Mr. Anderson captain's clerk, each of whom commanded a boat, went into the harbour of Barletta near Manfredonia, and boarded and carried, in a very gallant style, French national schooner Pugliése, mounting five 6, and two 18 pounders, with 31 men on board, commanded by an enseigne de

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