Part 36 (1/2)
Thereupon Admiral Cornwallis recalled us, and we stood off the land with the prizes we had taken, and eight others, captured by the frigates, laden with wine and brandy. A good many small vessels, however, escaped us by plying to windward under the land, to gain the anchorage in Palais Roads.
The next day it was calm, so that the enemy could not, even if they had had a mind to do so, come out and attack us, and in the evening a breeze springing up, we took the prizes in tow, and stood away for the Channel.
Sighting Scilly, Admiral Cornwallis ordered the _Kingfisher_ to convoy the prizes into port, while we stood back to the southward and eastward to look after the French squadron. Several days had pa.s.sed when the _Phaeton_, our look-out frigate, made the signal of a French fleet in sight; but as nothing was said about the enemy being of superior force, and as she did not haul her wind and return to us, Admiral Cornwallis must have concluded, as did our captain, that the signal had reference to the number rather than to the apparent strength of the French s.h.i.+ps, and we accordingly stood on nearer than we should otherwise have done.
It was not indeed until an hour afterwards that we got a sufficiently clear sight of the French fleet to make out that it consisted of one very large one-hundred-and-twenty gun s.h.i.+p, eleven seventy-fours, and the same number of frigates, besides smaller craft. d.i.c.k Hagger, who had been sent aloft, told me that he had counted thirty at least.
”Never mind! If we can't out-sail them, we'll fight them, and show the mounseers that 'hearts of oak are our s.h.i.+ps, British tars are our men,'”
he exclaimed with a gay laugh, humming the tune.
All hands on board our s.h.i.+p were in the same humour, and so were the crews of the rest of the squadron. We knew that we could trust our stout old admiral, for if he was at times somewhat grumpy, he was as gallant a man and as good an officer as any in the service. I heard it said, many years after, that when some of the Government gentlemen offered to make a lord of him, he declined, saying, ”It won't cure the gout.”
The admiral now threw out the signal to the squadron to haul to the wind on the starboard tack under all sail, and form in line ahead, the _Brunswick_ leading, and we in the _Mars_ being last. Thus we stood on for about three hours, when we saw the French fleet on the same tack separate into two divisions, one of which tacked and stood to the northward, evidently to take advantage of the land wind, while the other continued its course to the southward. Of course it was the object of our admiral to escape if possible; for, fire-eater as he was, he had no wish to expose his s.h.i.+ps to the risk of being surrounded and sunk, as he knew, well enough might be the case should the French get up with us.
After this we twice tacked, and then we saw the French north division tack to the southward, when the wind s.h.i.+fted to the northward, and this enabled that division to weather on us, and the south division to lie well up for our squadron.
The first division now bore east by north about eight or nine miles, and the south division south-east, distant about ten miles on our larboard quarter. Night soon came on, and we could not tell but that before it was over we might have the French s.h.i.+ps close aboard, and thundering away at us, ”Well, if they do come,” cried d.i.c.k, ”we'll give them as good as we take, although we may have three to fight; but what's the odds if we work our guns three times as fast as they do?”
To our surprise the watch was piped down as usual, for the admiral knew better than we did, that the enemy could not be up with us until the morning while the wind held as it then did.
We slept like tops, not troubling our heads much about the battle we might have to fight before another day was over, but I doubt whether many of the officers turned in.
The middle watch got their sleep like the first. After that the hammocks were piped up, and every preparation made for battle. Two of our s.h.i.+ps, the _Bellerophon_ and _Brunswick_, which were always looked upon as fast sailers, had, somehow or other, got out of trim, and during the night had to cut away their anchors and launches, and to start a portion of their water and provisions. The old ”Billy Ruffian,”
however, do all they could, would not move along, and they were compelled to heave overboard her four p.o.o.p carronades with their carriages, and a large quant.i.ty of shot. Notwithstanding this, and that they were carrying every st.i.tch of canvas they could set, we and the other s.h.i.+ps had to shorten sail occasionally to keep in line with them.
It may be supposed that we had been keeping a bright look-out for the French fleet, and when daylight broke we saw it coming up very fast, formed in three divisions.
The weather division, consisting of three s.h.i.+ps of the line, and five frigates, was nearly abreast of our s.h.i.+ps. In the centre division we counted five s.h.i.+ps of the line and four frigates, and in the lee division four sail of the line, five frigates, two brigs, and two cutters. These were somewhat fearful odds, but notwithstanding, as far as I could judge, the hearts of none on board our s.h.i.+p, and we were the most exposed, quailed for a moment. We had made up our minds to a desperate fight, but we had confidence in our old admiral, and we knew that if any man could rescue us, he would do it.
Stripped to the waist, we stood at our quarters, waiting the order to fire, and resolved to fight to the last. At that moment I did not think of my wife, or home, or anything else, but just the work we had in hand.
At such times it does not do to think. We all knew that it was our business to run our guns in as fast as possible and fire when ordered.
We watched the approach of the French s.h.i.+ps, eager for the moment when we should begin the fight.
A seventy-four was the van s.h.i.+p of the weather division, and a frigate led the centre division. We had had our breakfast and returned to our guns, when the seventy-four opened her fire upon our s.h.i.+p, the _Mars_.
We immediately hoisted our colours, as did the rest of our squadron, and returned it with our stern-chasers. Directly afterwards the French frigate ran up on our larboard and lee quarter, and yawing rapidly, fired into us. This sort of work continued for nearly half an hour.
Several of our men by that time had been struck down, though none that I could see were killed, while our standing and running rigging was already a good deal cut up. We had been blazing away for some time, and the enemy's shot were coming pretty quickly aboard, when I heard a crash, and looking up saw that our main-yard was badly wounded. Now for the first time I began to fear that we should get crippled, and, being surrounded by the enemy, should be unable to fight our way out from among them.
Two other s.h.i.+ps, the _Triumph_ and _Bellerophon_, were now warmly engaged, and soon afterwards the remainder of the squadron began firing their stern or quarter guns as they could bring them to bear on the enemy. The _Brunswick_, it should be understood, was leading, then came the _Royal Sovereign_, next the _Bellerophon_ and _Triumph_, we being, as I before said, the sternmost. We now saw the _Royal Sovereign_ making signals to the two s.h.i.+ps to go ahead, while she, shortening sail, took her station next in line to the _Brunswick_.
We had kept up so hot a fire on the first s.h.i.+p which had attacked us, that we had at length knocked away her main-topgallant mast and had done considerable damage to her rigging. To our great satisfaction we saw her sheer off and drop astern.
”Hurrah! there's one done for,” cried d.i.c.k Hagger.
”So there is, my boy, but one down another came on,” remarked a wag among the crew of our gun, pointing as he spoke to a French seventy-four, which, crowding all sail, was approaching to open directly afterwards a brisk cannonade on our larboard quarter.
”Never mind, lads, we will treat her as we did t'other, and maybe we'll capture both of them,” cried d.i.c.k.