4S4 



Memoirs of Lord-Nelfon. 



[Dec. 1, 



and to abhor any event that could tear 

 him trim his de?.r home. But no fooner 

 did the Britifh Minifters. indicate a deter- 

 inination to iiUer);ofe in the domettic con- 

 cerns of France, and a war appeared un- 

 avoulahle, ihan he eagerly repaired to 

 town, and ofFcred his iervices to the Ad- 

 miialty. 



Fortunately for his country thefe fer- 

 vicfs were accepted, and he was appoint- 

 ed t. the Agamcmron of 64. guns. 



That able and gallmt officer Lord 

 Hoed being at that ptrioJ a;>pointed to 

 command m the Me 'ittrraman, he ac- 

 companied him thidur, and w^s prefent 

 . af die time his Lordfliip occupied Toulon, 

 which he gan ilbned .^-iih Enilift), Spaniin, 

 and Neaptlian troops. Captain Nellon 

 was alio prtlent at the (iege oi B'llia, 

 having landed at the head of a boily of 

 I'eamen, with whom he feived in the bat- 

 teries until the capture ot thittity, which 

 funtndtrfd Miy 22, 1795. He after- 

 wards rcpaiiedto Calri, and whik liufily 

 emp oyerl bttore it loft an eye. His con- 

 diici on b'th thefe occafions excitea the 

 h'glielt eiilojiums •.•n the part of the Ad- 

 niiial who c. mmandci'. 



On th'; 25th of April, 1805, being 

 accom anied hy the Melcager, Diadem, 

 and Petieiell, he performed a brilliant ex- 

 \>Wn at Lsona, having boarded and cut 

 out four Fiench ftore Ihips, by means of 

 the boa;s of his fquadron, under the fire 

 cf 'he hatt :ies, and ami.ilt an ir.ceflant 

 difchaige of miuquetrv Several veflels 

 laden wiih cannon ocftined for the fiege of 

 JViantua, were alfo cp'ured in ilie neigh- 

 bi urhocd of Ontglia ; fo that his name 

 le -nit n itrror to the foe. 



Vice Admirxl Kotham having fucceed- 

 ed Lcni Huod in the command, Capt.iin 

 Neiion wrii piefent at the ai^ion with the 

 French fle. t (March i 5. 1 795), on vvhich 

 occafi.n te itrved m the centre divifton, 

 counting as folhws : 



I. Agami-mncii, Capt, Nelfon, 64 guns, 



49 I men. 

 a. llluftrious, Cspt. Fre^lerick, 74 guns, 



590 nisii. V 



3. Coiirageux, Captain Montgomery, 74 

 guns, 640 men. 



4. Britni.i.ia, Vice-Adm. Hothain, Capt. 

 Hollc'vay, 100 gui s, 8 19 men. 



5. Egmont, Rear-Admiril Linzee, Capt. 

 Siition, 74 gurs, 590 men. 



The R-olii';) fl.et c^nfilttd of fourteen Ai! 

 of the line, and tha: of the enemy of fif- 

 teen, >*itli an adiniiaTs flag flying on 

 btiiid the Sans-Culoctes ot lao guns and 

 2000 men. 



After a fliarp and bloody conflift, two 

 fiiips* were captured ; and the Agamem- 

 non was twice called off by fignal, on ac- 

 count of his eajjeinefs for a clofe a8ion. 



Soon after this he was detached with a 

 fmal! fquadronf from the Mediterranean- 

 fleet, by means of which he fwept the 

 adjacent coafts of the enemy, and cut out 

 nine (hips belonging to the French fronj 

 the bays of Alafllo ;ind Anguelia, in the 

 neighbourhood of Vado. 



Wiien the Vietroy of Corfica (Sir Gil- 

 bert Elliot, now Lord Minto), foreleeing 

 the approaching evacuation oi that ifland, 

 thought fit to feize on thi- Ifle of Elba, he 

 was »mployed for this purpofe ; ai d hav- 

 ing firft fcffefled a landing, and then placed 

 the Captain of 74 guns wi-.hin half a pif. 

 tol fiiot <f I he grand baftion, the Gover- 

 nor confented to a capiiulation, and the 

 town of Purto-Ferrajo, with one hundred 

 pieces of cannon, was immediately fur- 

 rendered. 



In December 1796 Captain Nelfon was 

 gratified for his (ervices by ihe permifTion 

 of hoiftirg a br -ad pendant as commodore 

 on boa'd La Minerve, in which frigate he 

 captiiied La Sabina, a forty-gun (liip.^ 

 Of the enemy one hundred and fixty-four 

 were killed ar.d wounded, while the lofs 

 was only forty-one on board hisown'vef- 

 fel. Soon aher this he defcried the Spa- 

 nifli fleet, and immediately fteered with 

 the imelligence to thcfquaoron command- 

 ed by Sir J hn JtrvLs, who by his conduit 

 on that day (February 14, 1797) merited 

 and acquirea the title of Earl of St. Vin- 

 cent. 



The luhjeS of thi.s memoir had barely 

 time to communicate the pariiculars rela- 

 tive to the force and ftate of the enemy, 

 and to (hift his pent'ant en board the Cap- 

 tain ot 74 guns, conim:'.nded by Capt.iin 

 Miller. The Commander-in-Chief, who 

 , had relinquilhed the l.hckade of Cadiz in 

 oidtr to purfue the fleet under D.jn jo- 

 leph de Cuidova, no Iboner received the 

 joyful tidings, than he pi»*'ared for ac. 

 tion, although he had only fifteen, to op- 

 pole twtnty feven fail ot the line. He 

 however did no: upon this cccafion diloain 

 to make ufe of the advantages arlfing out 

 of lupcrior (e nia-fliip i for, by failing 

 down in a clofe and compaft order, he 

 CO: tiived to begin the engagement befoie 



* The ^a-Ira of 84 guns, and the Cenfeur 

 of 74 guns. 



•f- I. A2amemnon ; a. Inconftant ; 3. Me- 

 leager j 4, Southampton } 5. Tartar ; 6. 

 Ariadne 5 and 7. Speedy. 



the 



