APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



309 



18. Lord Wellington, in a letter 

 dated Guarda, Aug. 29, gives an 

 acccount of the fall of Almeida, 

 which was hastened by the explo- 

 sion of the principal powdermaga- 

 zine. The enemy opened their 

 fire on the 26th, and the place 

 surrendered on the 27th. The 

 enemy immediately advanced on 

 the outposts of the British army. 



22. Captain Wolfe, of his ma- 

 jesty's ship the Aigle, relates that 

 on the 12th, after a chase of 

 thirteen hours, he captured Le 

 Phcenix, ship privateer, of Bour- 

 deaux, last from Passage, pierced 

 lor twentyguns, carrying eighteen 

 English eighteen-pounder carro- 

 nades, and a complement of 129 

 men, burthen about 200 tons 

 (French measurement) com- 

 manded by M. Jacques Pertaud. 



The capture of this privateer is 

 of great importance to the British 

 trade ; she has the best crew I ever 

 saw, composed of strong, healthy, 

 active, stout young seamen, and 

 her commander a very clever ex- 

 perienced officer, a lieutenant de 

 vaisseau, brought up in the French 

 navy prior to the revolution, and 

 received the orders of the Legion 

 of Honour from Buonaparte, for 

 the havoc he made in the East In- 

 dies, being captain of the Bellona 

 privateer upwards of nine years, 

 and came to Europe captain of 

 the Cannoniere ; he tried us on 

 every point of sailing ; but, thanks 

 to a gale of wind, we caught her, 

 having run 134' miles in thirteen 

 hours. She is a very superior 

 sailer, and has headed the Aigle 

 ever since her capture; was chased 

 by four different vessels, but es- 

 caped ; siie is copper-fastened. 



Information from admiral sir R. 

 G. Keats, at Cadiz, of the landing 

 a force of Spanish troops, under 

 the orders of general Lacey, in 



their way to Maguer, wtiere it 

 was understood the French were. 

 The Spaniards surprised the 

 French ; but the combat lasted 

 the whole day. The naval part 

 of the enterprize was under 

 the direction of captain Cock- 

 burne, of the Implacable; who 

 besides speaking highly of the 

 cheerfulness with which the Spa- 

 nish troops bore the fatigue of 

 marching twenty-two miles, after 

 being without rest for three suc- 

 cessive nights, says, the steadiness 

 and valour they displayed in the 

 action that ensued, has excited my 

 highest admiration, and made me 

 more sanguine than ever in the 

 hope, that such people in such a 

 cause must be ultimately suc- 

 cessful. 



Sir Home Popham, of the Ve- 

 nerable, captured L'Alexandre, a 

 privateer ketch of St. Maloes, of 

 sixteen guns, in a fog, Sept. 18. 



Lieutenant Streatfield, of his 

 majesty's ship Ruby, destroyed 

 two Danish armed vessels of 

 Lessae. 



The king has signified to the 

 lords commissioners of the admi- 

 ralty his royal pleasure that those 

 post captains of his majesty's navy, 

 who, being commissioners of the 

 navy, victualling, or transport ser- 

 vice, may have been passed over 

 at any flag promotion, by officers 

 junior to themselves being pro- 

 moted to the rank of rear admirals, 

 shall be allowed to wear the un- 

 dress uniform of a rear admiral of 

 his majesty's fleet, with the devi- 

 ations undermentioned, viz. — The 

 epaulettes to be without the star 

 of those worn by rear admirals, 

 and in all respects similar to those 

 worn by post captains. The but- 

 tons to contain the arms of the 

 navy-office (three anciiors) or of 

 the victualling-office (two anchors 



