138 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



dated on board the Caledonia, Port 

 Mahon, March 7, 1813. 



I have the honour to enclose the 

 copy of a letter from lord William 

 Bentinck, enclosing the narrative 

 of a very gallant affair on the 

 coast of Calabria, under the direc- 

 tion of captain Hall, commanding 

 the Sicilian flotilla, which you will 

 please to lay before their lord- 

 ships. 



Palermo, Feb. 23, 1813. 



Sir, — I have the satisfaction to 

 transmit to you the copy of a report 

 on a very brilliant and gallant en- 

 terprise on the coast of Calabria, 

 which reflects great honour on 

 brigadier Hall, commanding the 

 flotilla, and major Stewart of the 

 75th regiment, as also on the whole 

 of the officers and men employed 

 under their orders. 



I am sorry to add, that the ser- 

 vice has to regret the loss of major 

 Stewart of the 75th regiment, a 

 very gallant and deserving officer. 

 I have, &c. 

 (Signed) W. C. Bentinck, 

 Lieut.-Gen. 

 Sir Edward Pellew, bart., &c. 



Messina, Feb. 16, 1813. 

 My lord ; — I have the honour 

 to inform your lordship, that since 

 the attack of the 21st of July, the 

 enemy had thrown up new works 

 at Pietra Nera, and felt such con- 

 fidence in their protection, that a 

 convoy of fifty sa;il of armed vessels 

 had assembled within a few days 

 past to transport to Naples timber 

 and other government property. 

 Conceiving it necesrary to destroy 

 this confidence, I submitted a pro- 

 posal, which having gained your 

 lordship's sanction, I proceeded on 

 the night of the 14th with two 

 divisions of the flotilla, and four 



companies of the 75th, under the 

 command of major Stewart. Light 

 and contrary winds prevented the 

 boats arriving until nearly day- 

 light, when about 150 men, with 

 an auxiliary party of seamen under 

 the command of heutenant Hume, 

 were landed ; and major Stewart 

 without waiting the arrival of the 

 rest, pushed up immediately to the 

 height, which we had previously 

 concerted to occupy, and which a 

 complete battalion, with two troops 

 of cavalrj', and two pieces of artil- 

 lery, were prepared to dispute. 

 Aware of the enemy having caval- 

 ry, I landed a detachment of the 

 rocket corps, under the direction 

 of corporal Barenbach, the fire of 

 which threw the enemy into con- 

 fusion, and facilitated the approach 

 of our troops, which charged the 

 heights in a most determined way. 

 The enemy, however, did not 

 abandon it until the colonel-com- 

 mandant Roche, and most of his 

 officers were killed or made pri- 

 soners, and the height was literally 

 covered with their dead. The di- 

 vision of the flotilla under captain 

 Imbert had now commenced a most 

 destructive cannonade on the bat- 

 teries, which held out with such 

 obstinacy, that I was obliged to 

 order them to be successively 

 stormed. This service was per- 

 formed by lieut. Le Hunte, with a 

 party of seamen, in a very gallant 

 style. At eight o'clock every thing 

 was in our possession, the most 

 valuable of the enemy's vessels and 

 timber launched, and the rest on 

 fire. Upwards of 150 of the ene- 

 my killed and wounded, 163 pri- 

 soners, amongst whom is the co- 

 lonel of the regiment, three of his 

 captains, two captains of cavalry, 

 and one of artillery, with his two 



