78 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



His Majesty's Culier Viper, 

 Tuesday Morning, eight 

 o'clock. 

 Dear Sir, 

 I have succeeded in bringing out 

 the gun-brig Le Cerbere, of 3 guns, 

 24-pounders, and four 6-pounders, 

 and 87 men, commanded by a 

 lieutenant de Vuisseau — pray for- 

 give me when 1 say from under 

 the batteries of Port Louis, and 

 after a most desperate resistance 

 being made, first by her, and after- 

 wards by the batteries at both sides, 

 and a fire from some small vessels 

 which lay round her ; but nothing 

 that I could expect from a vessel 

 lying in that inactive situation, 

 was equal to the few brave men 

 belonging to your ship, whom 

 I so justly confided in, assisted by 

 6 men from the cutter, and Mr. 

 Paddon, midshipman, who, I am 

 soi-ry tosay, was wounded in several 

 places, though I hope not mortally. 

 I am sorry to state the loss of 1 man 

 belonging to the cutter, who was 

 shot through the head, and4of your 

 brave men, witli myself, wounded 

 in different parts of the body : the 

 principal one I received was with 

 a pike, which penetrated my left 

 thigh. Mr. Patteshall, in the 

 cutter's small boat, assisted with 

 two midsliipmen from the Amethyst 

 in one of their boats. The loss of 

 the enemy is not yet ascertained, 

 owing to the confusion, 



I remain. Sec. 



J. Coghlan. 



N. B. There are 5 killed and 

 21 woiuided ; some very badly. 



A Return of killed and wounded in 

 a len-ouied Cutter belunginglohis 

 Majesty's Ship Impeteux, under 

 the Command of' Lieutenant 



Jeremiah Coghlan, on the Night 

 of the 2Qth July, in boarding the 

 National Gun-brig Le Cerbere, 

 commanded by Lieutenant de 



Vaisseau Menage. 



Viper cutter — 1 seaman killed ; 

 lieutenant Jeremiah Coghlan, Mr. 

 Silas H. Paddon, midshipman, 2 

 seamen wounded. Impeteux — 4 

 seamen wounded — Total 1 killed, 

 8 wounded. 



London Gazette, November 29- 

 Admiralty- Office. 



Copy of a Letter from Captain 

 Frederick Watkins, Commander 

 of his Majesty's Ship Nereide, 

 to Evan Nepean, Esq. dated in 

 Curai^ao, IfUh October. 



Sir, 



Be pleased to inform my lords 

 commissioners of the admiralty that 

 I have thought it indispensably ne- 

 cessary, to send these dispatches to 

 England, by my first oflicer, lieu- 

 tenant Paul, to acquaint their lord- 

 ships of the surrender of the valu- 

 able island of Curasao to his ma- 

 jesty's frigate under my command. 

 I beg leave to transmit duplicates 

 of all my letters to the right 

 honourable lord Plugh Seymour, 

 and the articles of capitulation 

 agreed between his excellency 

 Johan Rudolph Lautfer and myself; 

 as also inventories of warlike stores, 

 shipping, &c. I hope their lordships 

 will sanction my conduct in taking 

 possession of this centrical and valu- 

 able island in his majesty's name. 



Lieutenant Paul I cannot recom- 

 mend in too strong language to their 

 lordships, for his zealous exertions 

 during the whole of the siege ; and 

 for any farther inform alion he is per- 



