GENERAL HISTORY. 



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a shot bringing down his main- 

 topmast, he dropt a little astern, 

 on which triumphant shouts of 

 Vive V Empereur resounded from 

 the French ships. Captain Gor- 

 don, however, in the Active, push- 

 ed on, and brought the sternmost 

 to close action ; whilst the French 

 commodore, shortening sail, fairly 

 engaged the Alceste. After a 

 warm conflict of two hours and 

 twenty minutes, the French commo- 

 dore, in the Pauline, thought pro- 

 per to bear away to the westward, 

 the crippled state of the Alceste 

 not suffering Captain Maxwell to 

 pursue him. The other ship then 

 struck, and proved to be the Po- 

 mone of 44 guns, and 322 men, 

 commanded by Captain Rosamel, 

 whose skill and courage are very 

 honourably recorded by the victor. 

 He had fifty men killed and 

 wounded ; his antagonist, the Ac- 

 tive, had thirty-two, among whom 

 were Captain Gordon, who lost a 

 leg, and his first lieutenant, who 

 Jiad an arm carried away. In the 

 mean time, Captain Chamberlayne 

 in the Unite had overtaken his 

 chase, which struck after a trifling 

 resistance, and to his mortification 

 proved to be only a store ship of 

 twenty-six guns and 190 men, 

 named La Persanne. The Active 

 was sent with the prizes and pri- 

 soners to Malta, and the two 

 others were immediately refitted 

 for service. 



In addition to the naval losses by 

 shipwreck at the close of the last 

 year, that of the. Manilla frigate of 

 'thirty-six guns. Captain Joyce, was 

 reported by Admiral Winter, com- 

 mander of the Dutch Texel fleet, 

 as occurring near the end of Janu- 

 ary. This siiip having struck on 

 the Ilaak sand in a dreadful gule 



on the evening of the 26th, made 

 signals of distress, upon which 

 some fishing boats were sent out 

 to her relief. These were obliged 

 to return without being able to 

 reach her ; but on the next day, 

 the weather becoming more mo- 

 derate, they approached her, when 

 the chief pilot risked his life by 

 venturing upon the shallows and 

 sunken rocks, and the English hav- 

 ing made a raft of empty barrels, 

 he was enabled to bring off thirty- 

 five of them. During the 30th 

 and 31st all the rest of the crew 

 were brought safe to land, whence 

 they were marched as prisoners to 

 Amsterdam ; the whole loss from 

 the wreck appearing to have 

 amounted only to six men. The 

 ship went entirely to pieces. On 

 this occasion, the exertions of the 

 Dutch to preserve the lives of the 

 sufferers were highly meritorious. 

 About the same time the Lau- 

 rel, Captain S. C. Rowley, a fine 

 new frigate, was lost in Quiberon 

 bay. This ship, with two other 

 frigates, had been ordered to pur- 

 sue three French frigates which 

 had escaped from the Loire ; and 

 on the morning of January 31, 

 they weighed anchor, and made 

 sail through the passage Taigneuse. 

 It blew hard, and the weather be- 

 came hazy ; when the Laurel struck 

 upon a sunken rock, and had a 

 large hole made in her bottom. 

 She was backed off", and the men 

 continued pumping, till the vessel 

 was reported to be sinking, when 

 the cable was cut, and she was run 

 ashore on a reef of rocks, about a 

 mile from the French coast. In 

 this situation, a heavy fire being 

 opened upon her from the enemy's 

 batteries, a flag of truce was hoisted. 

 The firing was, however, con- 

 tinued. 



