1827.] Science of the British Navy. 6 1 9 



has not . unfreqtiently led to tho capture of the whole of their rear 

 division. 



So superior arc foreign ships to our own, that our captains in the navy 

 universally covet them. Thus we find the gallant admiral, now at the 

 head of the Navy Board, as comptroller, Sir Byam Martin, pursuing his 

 active course principally in the Fisgard, which was the French frigate La 

 Resistance ; and in the Implacable, 74, mentioned previously. The 

 former was captured in the river Fisgard, in Ireland; and the latter by 

 Sir Richard Strachan, in 1805, forming one of Dumanoir's squadron, 

 which had escaped from the battle of Trafalgar. In these ships Sir Byam 

 Martin exhibited a fine specimen of what may be done by valiant seamen 

 in fast-sailing ships. In the latter, particularly, the Implacable, by the 

 velocity of his ship, when fighting in aid of the Swedes, in the Baltic, in 

 1819, against the Russians, he was enabled to overtake the opposing squa- 

 dron, intercept and capture two of them, \vhile the remainder of the 

 Anglo-Swedish fleet were far behind. A natural inference from tho occur- 

 rences of this encounter is, if the whole Anglo-Swedish fleet had been 

 fast sailers, the Russian fleet must have been annihilated. It would be 

 a pleasing task here to dwell on the feats of war performed by Sir John 

 Borlase Warren, in La Pomone frigate, captured at the commencement of 

 the revolutionary war. But this we must pass over; as we must also of 

 L'Egyptienne, a large French frigate, similar to those of America, carrying 

 thirty 24-pounders on the main-deck, which was taken in 1802; of the 

 Bonne Citoyenne, &c. &c. In fact, every victory which reflects honour 

 on our sailors, conveys a stigma on our ship-builders. It was not till tho 

 French had pointed out to us the advantage of increasing the dimensions 

 of ships, that our Caledonia, of 120 guns, was built, and the sister class of 

 ships. The French ordinance, of J 786, determined on 208 feet of length 

 for their first rates ; while our's were only 192 feet long. 



The Danish ship Christian the Seventh, when commanded by Sir Joseph 

 Yorke, had the first character in our navy as a man of war ; and the Dane- 

 mark and Norge, ships of war and Venus, Danish frigate alike shew that 

 every small maritime power excelled us in ship-building. Our surprise is 

 more excited at Denmark excelling us in ship-building than at the French 

 nation, \vho have often had a fleet as extensive as our own, and have 

 always aspired to dispute the domination of the seas with us; whereas the 

 naval energies of Denmark have been circumscribed by various circum- 

 stances, and by its peculiar geographical situation. 



But if our astonishment has been excited by an almost dormant mari- 

 time power, though of ancient date, like Denmark, excelling us in her 

 ships, what shall we say at finding the infant maritime nation of the 

 United States surpassing us by infinite degrees ! If we refer to the last 

 naval war of this country with the United States, we shall perceive that 

 the superior character of only one class of vessels is sufficient to perform 

 prodigies. From the surpassing celerity and windward qualities of their 

 sixty gun frigates, our immense navy was not only eluded, but its very 

 character, in a measure, compromised. In vain did we send out ships of 

 the line to combat with them : there was not an instance of our being able 

 to overtake them. In vain did we send out small squadrons of light ships 

 to subdue them : they failed from the same causes. Blockading was at 

 last resorted to, as the partial preventive to their extensive depredations on 

 our commerce ; but, on account of the vast range of coast and numerous 



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