538 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



and hauled up on the beach : nOns 

 of them having cargoes of any va- 

 lue, I conceive it an act of inhu- 

 manity to deprive the poorer inha- 

 bitants of tiie means of gaining their 

 livelihood, and shall not molest 

 them. On inspecting the brig, as 

 she had only the lower rigging 

 over-head, and was not in a state of 

 forwardness, I found it impractica- 

 ble to bring her away, and therefore 

 set fire to her : she is now burnt to 

 the water's edge. I cannot conclude. 

 my letter without giving the portion 

 of credit that is their due to* the of- 

 ficers and men on board the ship ; 

 they conducted themselves with the 

 greatest -steadiness and coolness, 

 and, although under a heavy fire, 

 pointed their guns witli the utmost 

 precision, there being hardly a shot 

 that did not take eftcct. To lieutr- 

 Hants Lawe and Berti-am I feel much 

 indebted, as well as to Jlr. Shea, 

 the purser, (who voiunlecred his 

 services, and to whom I gate the 

 charge of the quarter-deck carro- 

 nades in INIr. Yeo's absence,) for 

 (he precision and coolness displayed 

 by the men under their command in 

 pointing the guns, as well as the ex- 

 act attention paid to myorders, and 

 ceasing fire the instant the union 

 jack made its appearance on t!ic 

 walls, by which, in all proLiability, 

 the lives of several of our men were 

 saved. Mr. Cleverly, the* master, 

 brought the broadside to bear with 

 much quickness and nicety, by 

 means of the spring. I send you 

 herewith a list of our wounded on 

 board, and on shore, with one of the 

 enemy's killed and wounded, and an 

 account of their force at the com- 

 mencement of the action, 



I have been under the necessity. 

 of being more detailed than I could 

 ■wish, but it is out of my powjer, in 



a smaller compass, to do justice td 

 the exertions and conduct of thfe 

 ofi&cers and men employed on the 

 different services. — It is but fair at 

 the same time to state, that, much 

 to the credit of the ship's company, 

 the bishop and one of the principal 

 iuhabitants of the town came o)i to 

 express their gratitude for the or- 

 derly behaviour of the people, 

 (there not being one instance of 

 pillage,) and to make oflFer of every 

 refreshment the place affords. — I 

 am now waiting for the land breeze 

 to carry us out, having already re- 

 called the officers and men from the 

 fort, the guns be ng spiked and 

 thrown over the parapet, the car- 

 riages rendered unserviceable, and 

 the cmbrazuros, with part of the 

 fort, blown up. 



I a'm, ^-c. Fred. Maitland. 

 Rcar-admirul Dnny, S)C. Cove. 



Loire, JMuros Bay. June 4. 

 Sir, — I have the pleasure to ac- 

 quaint you, that I proceeded on 

 shore with the party you did me 

 the honour to place under my com- 

 mand, for the purpose of storming 

 the port on the Point, agreeable to 

 your orders, which on our approach 

 the soidi?rs quitted. On my arrival, 

 i observed a strong fort at the en- 

 trance of the town, opening a heavy 

 fire on the ship ; and, judging it 

 practicable to carry it by storm, 

 from a thorough l;nowledge I had 

 of the determined bravery of all the 

 ofitcers and men, I ordered them to 

 follow me for that purpose, which 

 was obeyed w ith all that energy and 

 gallantry which British seamen and 

 marines are so wel-1 known to pos- 

 sess on such an occasion, and in a 

 very short time reached the outer 

 gate, Avhen the French centincl 

 lirodt, and retreated into the fort, 



whkH 



