GENERAL HISTORY. 



[113 



of the situation of affairs ; and at 

 day-light, on the 21st, the Rippon 

 took the advantage of a breeze to 

 close with the enemy. The Le 

 Weser bore up to the Rippon and 

 struck her colours, after having 

 exchanged two broadsides with the 

 Scylla. She was so much crip- 

 pled, that sir C. Cole took on board 

 the greater part of the prisoners, 

 and towed her into port. No 

 great loss of men was sustained on 

 either side ; and the principal cre- 

 dit of the action was given to 

 capt. Macdonald for his perseve- 

 rance in attending on the enemy's 

 motions. 



A success of a similar kind was 

 obtained in the same month by the 

 capture of the frigate La Trave, of 

 28 French 18 pounders, and 16 

 18 pound carronades, with a crew 

 of 321 men, nearly all Dutch. 

 While sailing under jury masts, 

 near the entrance of the English 

 Channel, she was chased on Oct. 

 23rd by the Andromache, captain 

 Tobin, upon which she opened a 

 fire from her stern guns; but it 

 was not returned till a position was 

 taken by the Andromache on her 

 weather quarter. She made a fee- 

 ble resistance for about 15 mi- 

 nutes, and then struck her colours ; 

 and her captor observes, that such 

 was the disabled state of her masts, 

 previously to the encounter, that 



any further opposition would have 

 been the extreme of rashness. 



The part taken by the British 

 squadren commanded by captain 

 Farquhar, of the Desiree, in reduc- 

 ing the French batteries near the 

 mouth of the Elbe, is reported by 

 that officer in a letter, dated off 

 Cuxhaven, Dec. 1. In co-opera- 

 tion with a body of Russian troops, 

 a line of gun-boats cannonaded 

 Fort Napoleon on Nov. 29th, and 

 in the meantime the ships were 

 employed in landing guns, and 

 constructing a seaman's battery 

 within 400 yards of the strong 

 battery of Phare, or Cuxhaven. 

 This was completed on the 30th ; 

 but before it began to fire, a flag 

 of truce was hoisted by the enemy, 

 and both batteries were surren- 

 dered, mounting 26 heavy guns 

 and two mortars, with a block- 

 house, and a garrison of 300 men, 

 who became prisoners of war. 

 Within the lasttendays (says capt. 

 Farquhar) the small detachment 

 of Russian troops, commanded by 

 col. Rodinger, assisted by his Ma- 

 jesty's squadron, have reduced four 

 strong batteries, consisting of 50 

 heavy guns, 4 mortars, and 800 

 men and officers, all made prison- 

 ers of war. This success was ob- 

 tained without any loss on the part 

 of the navy, and a trifling one on 

 that of the Russians. 



Vol. LV. 



[I] 



CHAPTER 



