1810	Boats of Spartan &c. at Terrecino	245

board the Owers light-vessel, and became so entangled with the latter, that it was not deemed prudent to send away her boats ; especially as, by this time, the two other luggers had come up and were beginning to fire into the brig.

While the Rinaldo was using every exertion to get clear, the second lugger that had struck ran up to the first one ; and in a minute or two afterwards, finding that her consort was in the act of sinking, she made all sail to the French coast. The two remaining luggers made off about the same time, having received several shot from the Rinaldo as she lay alongside the light-vessel. It was afterwards ascertained that these four privateers, three of which mounted 14 guns, with 70 men each, belonged to Dieppe ; and, from the Vieille-Josephine, of 16 guns, the one which sank, the captain and two men were all that were saved out of a crew of 80. The boom-mainsail and two topsails of the Rinaldo were completely riddled, and a number of musket-shot were found among the hammocks, but fortunately no one on board was hurt. In this little affair both seamanship and gallantry shone conspicuously ; and Captain Anderson, and the officers and crew of the Rinaldo, were entitled to great credit for their performance.

On the 4th of April, at 1 p.m., the British 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Success, Captain John Ayscough, and 18-gun brig-sloop Espoir, Captain Robert Mitford, while running along the coat of Calabria, abreast of Castiglione, discovered three vessels on the beach and men loading them. Considering the destruction of these vessels an object worth attempting, Captain Ayscough despatched on that service the boats of the Success and Espoir, under the orders of Lieutenant George Rose Sartorius, third of the frigate, assisted by Lieutenant Robert Olives, of the Espoir, and master's mates George Lewis Coates and Richard Peace.

Just as the British had arrived within musket-shot of the shore, three of the boats struck on a sunken reef and swamped ; whereby two of the Espoir's seamen were drowned, and the ammunition of all in the three boats was wetted and spoiled. The officers and men swam to the beach with their cutlasses in their mouths. At this moment a fire was opened upon them from two long 6-pounders and four wall-pieces ; which, having been secreted behind the rocks, were not perceived till the boats grounded. Regardless of this, Lieutenant Sartorius and his party rushed on, and obliged the enemy to desert the guns and retreat to some adjacent houses ; from the windows of which, until dislodged and driven to the mountains, the enemy maintained a fire of musketry. The British then spiked the two 6-pounders, and destroyed their carriages ; and, having set fire to two laden vessels already stove, and recovered their three swamped boats, the party returned on board with no greater additional loss than two marines wounded.

On the 25th of April, at 10 a.m., the British 38-gun frigate

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