546 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



[Last official Letter of the immortal 

 Nelson.^ 

 A(Iiniralfi/-oJ/ice, Nov. 9. 

 Letter fro7n the late Lord f^if count 

 Melsoriy Ji. B. to W. Marsden^ 

 Esff. dated Victory^ ojf' Cadiz, Oc- 

 tober 13. . 



Sir, 

 I herewith transmit you, for the 

 information of the lords oomniis- 

 sioners of the admiralty, a letter 

 from captain Hoste, of the Eury- 

 dice, dated the 7th instant, together 

 with the list of tcsscIs captured, as 

 therein mentioned. I am much 

 pleased with captains Ilostc and 

 Thomas, for their exertions in get- 

 ting the Eurj'dice so expeditiously 

 ofl'the shoal, particularly so, as she 

 is stated to have received no damage. 

 Nelson and Bronte. 



Eurydice, Oct. 7, off Cape Umbria. 



My Lord, 

 I have tlie honour to inform you, 

 that yesterday morning. Cape Um- 

 bria bearing N. E. by N. seven or 

 eight miles, several sail were seen 

 coming along shore from the cast- 

 ward, apparently from St. Lucar ; 

 and on its falling calm, the boats of 

 his majesty's ships Eurydice and 

 iEtna, were dispatched for the pur- 

 pose of intercepting thom. On 

 their closing the vessels, they were 

 found to be under the convoy of a 

 large Spanish armed settee, mount- 

 ing two long 24-pounders in the 

 bow, two 15-pound carronades, and 

 two 4-pound swivels, with a consi- 

 derable number of men on board. — 

 A heavy fire was kept up from this 

 Tessel as the boats approached the 

 convoy, notsvithstanding which, they 

 gallantly persevered, and succeeded 

 in capturing four of them. Finding 

 the Eurydice was closing fast with 

 the armed vessel, they desisted, till, 

 inder fire of the ship they might at- 



tack her with greater advantage ; 

 and from her appearing of too great 

 a force for the boats to attack with- 

 out some vessel covering them, I was 

 induced to run the Eurydice closer 

 in than I otherwise should have 

 done ; and in the act of luffing up, 

 to let go my anciior, unfortunately 

 took ground on a shoal about half 

 a mile from the main land. Owing, 

 however, to the very great assistance 

 I received from captain Thomas, of 

 the yEtna bomb, and, in a great 

 measure, owing to the situation she 

 was placed in, and his exertions after- 

 wards, the Eurydice was soon afloat 

 again. I fiiid the armed vessel is a 

 privateer, from Cadiz, bo\ind to jNIo- 

 quer, to purchase wine for their tlcct. 

 She had been three days out when 

 captured, called La Solidad, captain 

 Don Augustin Larodi* Great praise 

 is due to lieutenant Green, first of 

 the Eurydice, and the officers and 

 men under him, for their exertions 

 in getting off the privateer, and the 

 gallant manner in Avhich they at- 

 tacked the convoy, before the Eu- 

 rydice closed with them. I enclose 

 your lordship a list of vessels cap- 

 tured, &c. since the 3d inst, . 



William Hoste. 

 Ships of JVar and Merchantmen cap- 

 tured by his Majasti)''s ship Eury- 

 dice, beizceenOct. 3 J and 8th. 

 Two Spanish settees (names un- 

 known), laden with fruit and char- 

 coal : run on shore and bilged, Oct. 

 3, oil' the river Moquer, the crew 

 having deserted. 



Spanish IMustuo La Soledad, Don 

 A. Larodi, captain of six guns, from 

 Cadiz, bound to Larodi: capture* 

 by Mr. Coy, mastcr's-mate of the 

 Eurydice, October 6th, off ditto, 

 the crew having deserted. 



A Spanish settee (name unknown), 

 from St. Liicia, laden with wine, i 

 captured by the yEtna, on the same i 

 2 day, I 



