1810	Spartan with Cérès and consorts	249

made use of by her two principal opponents to carry them out of it ; and, owing to the disabled state of the Spartan's rigging, the Cérès and Fama, the latter hauling up to windward of her consort, succeeded in gaining the protection of the batteries of Baia. The Spartan then wore : and while with her starboard guns she severely raked the frigate and corvette, and cut away the latter's fore topmast, a single broadside from her larboard guns compelled the brig, with the loss of her main topmast, to haul down her colours. This was at 10 a.m.; and the gun-boats presently afterwards came down, in a very gallant manner, and, by towing her away, rescued the crippled Fama from the fate of the Sparvière The following diagram is meant to represent this, termination of the contest.

Although the proper complement of the Spartan was 281, having an officer and 18 men absent in a prize and being four men short, the frigate commenced action with only 258 men and boys ; exclusively of Captain George Hoste of the royal engineers, who was a passenger on board, and, during the attention of Captain Brenton and his first lieutenant in manoeuvring the ship, took charge of the quarter-deck guns. The loss on board the Spartan was tolerably severe, amounting to one master's mate (William Robson), six seamen, and three marines killed, her captain (severely), first lieutenant (already named), 15 seamen and five marines wounded ; total, 10 killed and 22 wounded. This heavy loss was chiefly occasioned by the long 18-pounders of the gun-boats, while they lay upon the frigate's stern and quarter. The hull of the Spartan had, in consequence, been severely struck ; and, although none of her masts were shot away, they were most of them wounded, and her rigging and sails cut to pieces.

The French acknowledged a loss of 30 officers and men killed and 90 wounded, exclusively of the loss on board the Sparvière ; which, in killed, as 87 prisoners were all that were taken out of her, probably amounted to 11. Among the killed on board the Cérès, was the second captain ; and the first captain is stated to have lost his arm. Some of the English accounts represented the loss on board the French squadron at 150 killed and 300

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