xliv 



1813; Major, 1837; Lieutenant- Colonel, 1841 ; Colonel, 1851 ; Major- 

 General, 1856 ; Lieutenant- General, 1865 ; and General, 1870. He 

 was gazetted K.C.B. in 1869. 



After a year at Woolwich he proceeded to Gibraltar, and returning 

 in 1807 was appointed to the Horse Artillery, in which he served at 

 various home stations until the end of 1812. On his promotion in 

 January, 1813, he fell to a company in Canada, and it was on his 

 voyage to Halifax in the " Manchester," Falmouth packet, that he 

 had the first opportunity of showing how gallant a spirit was to be 

 afterwards diverted from the pursuit of military distinction into' 

 other channe]s. The "Manchester," when eight days out, was 

 attacked by one of those American privateers which swarmed at that 

 period to such an extent that they captured one out of every four of 

 the Falmouth packets in 1812. After a running fight of twenty hours' 

 and a close engagement of over an hour, she had to strike her colours 

 to greatly superior force, on the 24th June, in latitude 47° 10' N., 

 longitude 24° 10' W. The privateer was the " Yorktown," Captain 

 Rider, a cut-down East Indiaman of 500 tons, carrying nine long 

 12-prs. and a crew of 116 men, of whom thirty-six served as marines. 

 The " Manchester " had only three 9-pr. carronades, two long and 

 two light 6-prs., with a crew of only thirty-six men, including pas- 

 sengers, and only two could be spared to return the musketry fire 

 of the enemy. That an obstinate resistance was offered with such 

 disparity of strength, that the British packet fought until she had 

 only 10 lbs. of powder left, and the 9-prs. were reduced to firing 

 6-pr. case-shot, those guns being disabled, was pre-eminently due to 

 the gallantry of Captain Sabine seconding her commander, Captain 

 Elphinstone. "Captain Sabine and his servant" (a gunner of the 

 old school) " were of the greatest assistance to me," wrote the com- 

 mander, " and the enemy has confessed that my stern chasers, which 

 were pointed by Sabine and a Mr. Bell, passenger, so completely 

 annoyed them, and did them so much damage, that, although greatly 

 our superiors in sailing, they were loth to range alongside." Sabine 

 himself wrote a detailed account of the action, in which he observed : 

 " We had the satisfaction to find, notwithstanding the difference of 

 metal, the ' Yorktown ' had received as much material injury 

 as the 'Manchester,' her foremast and foretop-gallant-mast being 

 shot through, and her hull much damaged ; the ' Manchester's ' 

 mainmast and maintop-mast were struck in several places, and 

 scarcely a rope left whole in the ship, the grape-shot and musketry 

 having been very heavy, especially at the close of the action 

 when we neared one another. The enemy fired high, and our bul- 

 warks were very good, which accounts for only three men being 

 wounded — two with grape and one by a musket-shot. The ' York- 

 town's ' bulwarks were 14 inches solid timber, which formed a 



