Concluding Operations 163 



side by side, the St. Lawrence drawing ahead, while 

 the firing was very heavy. Then Captain Boyle 

 put his helm a-starboard and ran his foe aboard, 

 when in the act of boarding her colors were struck 

 at i .41 P.M., 15 minutes after the first shot. Of 

 the Chasseur's crew 5 were killed and 8 wounded, 

 including Captain Boyle slightly. Of the St. Law 

 rence's crew 6 were killed and 17 (according to 

 James 18) wounded. This was a very creditable 

 action. The St. Lawrence had herself been an 

 American privateer, called the Atlas, and was of 

 241 tons, or just 36 less than the Chasseur. The 

 latter could thus fairly claim that her victory was 

 gained over a regular cruiser of about her own 

 force. Captain Southcombe of the Lottery, Cap 

 tain Reid of the General Armstrong, Captain Or- 

 dronaux of the Neufchatel, and Captain Boyle of 

 the Chasseur, deserve as much credit as any regu 

 larly commissioned sea-officers. But it is a mistake 

 to consider these cases as representing the average; 

 an ordinary privateer was, naturally enough, no 

 match for a British regular cruiser of equal force. 

 The privateers were of incalculable benefit to us, 

 and inflicted enormous damage on the foe; but in 

 fighting they suffered under the same disadvantages 

 as other irregular forces; they were utterly unreli 

 able. A really brilliant victory would be followed 

 by a most extraordinary defeat. 



