560 



BLAKE. BLANCHARD. 



fleet of forty-five sail, the force of B. amounting only 

 lo twenty-three. He, however, fought so l>r.ively,thnt 

 van Troiup was obliged to retreat. He then conti- 

 nued his cruise, took, a number of Dutch mercluuit- 

 jnrii, and, after several partial actions, drove the 

 in my into their luirbour, and returned to the Downs. 

 May 29, he was again attacked by van Tn>inj>, whose 

 fleec was now increased to eighty sail. 11., who 

 could not bear the thought of a retreat, engaged thi> 

 vast fora- with u very inferior number, and an unfa- 

 vourable wind ; but, after every possible exertion, 

 was obliged to retreat into the Thames, on \\liicli 

 vanTromp was so much elated, that lie siiled through 

 Uie channel with a broom at his mast head, to Minify 

 that he ha<l swept the sea of British ships. In the 

 February following, U., having with great diligence 

 repaired his fleet, put to sea with sixty sail, and soon 

 after met the Dutch admiral, who had seventy sail, 

 and three hundred merchantmen under convoy. 

 During three days, a furious running fight up the 

 channel was maintained with obstinate valour on both 

 sides ; the result of which was, the loss of eleven 

 men-of-war and thirty merchant ships by the Dutch, 

 while that of the English was only one man-of-war. 

 It was in April, this year, that Cromwell assumed the 

 sovereignty, on which occasion, B. and his brother 

 admirals issued a declaration, that, notwithstanding 

 this change, they resolved to persist in faithfully 

 performing their duty to the nation. " It is not for 

 us (sud B. to his officers) to mind state attains, but to 

 keep the foreigners from fooling us." June 3, he 

 again engaged van Tromp with dubious success ; but 

 renewing the action the next day, he forced the 

 Dutch to retire, with a considerable loss in ships and 

 men, into their own harbours. On his return, he 

 was received by Cromwell with great respect, and 

 returned member in the new parliament for Bridge- 

 water. Aware of his affection for a republican 

 government, the protector was not displeased at 

 having occasion to send bun, with a strong fleet to 

 enforce a due respect to the British flag in the Medi- 

 terranean. He sailed first to Algiers, which sub- 

 mitted, and then demolished the castles of Goletta 

 and Porto Ferino, at Tunis, because the dey refused 

 to deliver up the British captives. A squadron of 

 his ships also blocked up Cadiz, and intercepted a 

 Spanish Plate fleet. Being now very sick, he resolv- 

 ed to do one more service to his country before his 

 death, and sailed with twenty-four ships to Santa 

 Cruz, in Teneriffe ; and, notwithstanding the strength 

 of the place, burned the ships of another Spanish 

 Plate fleet which had taken shelter there, and, by a 

 fortunate change of wind, came out without loss. 

 His brother having failed in some part of duty 

 during this service, he immediately removed him 

 from his command. Finding his disorder making 

 rapid progress, he then sailed for England, and, 

 amidst his frequent inquiries for the sight of the 

 English coast, expired while the fleet was entering 

 Pi) mouth sound, Aug. 27, 1657. His body was ho- 

 noured with a magnificent public funeral, and interred 

 in H enry VII.'s chapel, whence it was pitifully remov- 

 ed at the restoration, and buried in St Margaret's 

 churchyard. The foregoing detail sufficiently evin- 

 ces the bravery and talents of this able commander, 

 who first deviated from the old practice of keeping 

 ships and men as much out of danger as possible, and 

 gave the example of bold and spirited achievement. 

 So disinterested was he, that, after all his rich cap- 

 tures and high posts, he scarcely left behind him 

 5fcO of acquired property, freely sharing all with 

 his friends and seamen, into whom he infused 

 thnt intrepidity and spirit of enterprise, by which 

 the British navy has been ever since so highly 

 distinguished. 



BLAKELEY, Jolinslon, a captain In Uie American navy 

 during the kite war, was l>oru in Ireland, in October, 

 1781. Two years after, his father. Mr John Blake- 

 ley, emigrated to the United States, and settled in 

 Wilmington, North Carolina. Young B. was placid 

 in 17U6, at the university of North Carolina, being 

 Intended tor the law. His father died the year after. 

 In the year 1799, circumstances having deprived B. 

 of the mains of support, he left college, ami tin- 

 next year obtained a midshipman's warrant. In 

 1813, lie was made a master commandant, and soon 

 after appointed to the command of the Wasp. In 

 this vessel, he fell in with his Britannic majesty's 

 ship Reindeer, in lat. 48" 36'. This ship lie, took, 

 after an action of nineteen minutes. The loss of the 

 Americans was twenty-one killed and wounded ; 

 that of the enemy sixty-seven. The Reindeer was 

 cut to pieces in such a manner as to render it impos- 

 sible to save her; and she was accordingly set on 

 fire. After this, the Wasp put into L'Orient ; from 

 which port she sailed Aug. 27, and, four days after- 

 wards, falling in with ten sail of merchantmen, under 

 convoy of a ship of the line, he succeeded in cutting 

 off one of the vessels. The evening of the first of 

 September, 1814, she fell in with four sail, two on 

 each bow, but at considerable distances from each 

 other. The first was the brig-of-war Avon, which 

 struck after a severe action ; but captain B. could not 

 take possession, as another enemy was approaching. 

 This vessel, it seems, however, was called off to the 

 assistance of the Avon, which was now sinking. The 

 British reported that they had sunk the Wasp by the 

 first broadside ; but she was afterwards spoken by a 

 vessel off the Western Isles. After this, we hear of 

 her no more. In his person, captain B. was rather 

 below the middle stature; his eyes black and ex- 

 pressive, his manners mild, manly, and unassuming. 

 Among his brother officers, he was considered as a 

 man of uncommon intellect, courage, and professional 

 skill. He was married, in Decemoer, 1813, to a lady 

 of New York ; and left an only daughter, who re- 

 ceived one of the most affecting tributes of public 

 gratitude, which have occurred in the history of the 

 United States. The legislature of North Carolina, 

 December 27, 1816, after prescribing the destination 

 of the sword they had voted to captain B., " Resolved, 

 unanimously, that captain Blakeley's child be edu- 

 cated at the expense of this state; and that Mrs 

 Blakeley be requested to draw on the treasurer of 

 this state, from time to time, for such sums of money 

 as shall be required for the education of the said 

 child." 



BLANC, MONT. See Mont Blanc. 



BLANCHARD, Frangois, one of the first aeronauts, 

 born at Andelys, in the department of the Eure, in 

 1738, was fond of mechanics from his youth, and, in 

 his sixteenth year, invented a self-moving carriage, 

 in which he rode a distance of eighteen miles. This 

 invention, which he improved hi 1778, recommendea 

 him to the court of Versailles. He displayed equal 

 ingenuity, by the invention of a hydraulic machine, 

 in the nineteenth year of his age, and, afterwards, in 

 the construction of a flying ship, which, by means of 

 a counterpoise of six pounds, was raised to more than 

 twenty feet from the ground. He eagerly availed 

 himself of the discoveries of the brothers Montgolfier, 

 and the improvements of the same by professor Cliar- 

 les and M. Robert in Paris. After having made his 

 first aerostatic voyage, March 4, 1784, he crossed the 

 channel from Dover to Calais, 1785, with doctor 

 Jeffries, a gentleman of Boston, in the United States. 

 For this exploit, he was rewarded, by the king of 

 France, with a present of 12.000 francs, and a pen- 

 sion of 1200. In the same year, at London, he first 

 made use of a parachute, invented by him, or, ac- 



