784 ENG] 
fail of the line and fourteen frigates made their appear¬ 
ance. The large fhips came up in fuccefiion, June 27, 
and ilightly fired upon fome of his veffels. An attack 
apparently more ferious was made upon one which had 
fallen to leeward; but, even in this fhip, not a man was 
kiWed. Before fun-fet, the firing ceafed; and the timid 
enemy tacked and flood off. The Britifh fleet, by the 
exercife of a fmall degree of courage and dexterity on the 
part of the French, might have been brought to a general 
action ; but their dominion is not on the feas : and, as 
they declined the riik, it would have been an acl of def- 
peration in the vice-admiral to encounter fo great a force. 
His men, far from wifhing to avoid an aClion, were eager 
to engage; but he was not fo rafh as to let loofe their 
valour, and rather thought that the efcape was a fair 
ground of congratulation, than that the lofs of fuch an op¬ 
portunity of exertion was to be regretted. His character, 
far from fuffering on this critical occafion, acquired repu¬ 
tation and praife. In the month of July, 1795, the French 
were again attacked by vice-admiral Hothani, and a (hip 
of confiderable force was taken from them ; but it foon 
blew up, with the lofs of about 350 of the crew. After 
fome intervening captures on both Tides, the French re¬ 
covered a fiiip of the line, and took thirty fail of a valua¬ 
ble Englifh fleet returning from the Mediterranean. They 
alfo made prize of part of a Jamaica fleet; and indeed, 
both in this and the preceding year, the Britifh trade buf¬ 
fered immenfely from their attacks, while their own de¬ 
clining commerce prefented few objects of reprifal for our 
cruifers and privateers. 
Though the French had been very fuccefsfu'l on the 
continent, they were by no means unwilling to diminifh, 
by negociation, the number of their enemies. They 
courted the king of Pruffia into forbearance, and per- 
fuaded him that his fafety and interefl required peace. 
Satisfied with his rapacious acquilitions in Poland, and 
defpairing of the fubverfion of the French republic, that 
prince feceded from the confederacy, and concluded a 
treaty, on the 5th of April, 1795, by which he relin- 
quifhed his poffeflions on the left bank of the Rhine. By 
another agreement, he fecured the neutrality, and pro¬ 
vided for the peace, of the north of Germany. The king 
of Spain was alfo induced to agree to a pacification with 
the victorious republic. In the former part of the year, 
the French met with great fuccefs over the troops of the 
Spanilh monarch, and threatened him not only with the 
lofs of confiderable provinces, but with the propagation 
of revolutionary doCtrines among his people. To avert 
thefe dangers, the king of Spain purchafed peace by the 
refignation of that part of the ifland of St. Domingo which 
the Spaniards had poffeffed everfince the time of Colum¬ 
bus. Even the eleCtor of Hanover, though he remained 
the mod aCtive member of the confederacy in his capacity 
of king of Great Britain, neverthelefs ordered a treaty of 
peace to be figned with the French, as far as related to 
the electorate ; as did alfo the landgrave of Heffe Caffel. 
The endeavours of the French convention to reftore 
peace and order to thofe weftern departments which had 
bitterly experienced both the dreadful effeCts of inteftine 
war, and the fanguinary rage of the officers of the govern¬ 
ment, were fo far fuccefsful, that Charette, and other 
leaders of the mal-contents, fubmitted to the republic. 
The peace, however, was of fhort duration. The ftandard 
of royalty was again ereCted ; and the people were invited 
to promote the claim of Louis XVIII. (for fo was the 
count de Provence ffyled, immediately after the death of 
the fon of Louis XVI.) to the throne of France. The 
Britifh government favoured the infurgents with various 
fupplies, and fent a body of emigrants to their aid. But 
this expedition, which was planned by Mr. Windham, 
was ill-concerted and difaftrous. The royalifts polfeffed 
no towns on the coaft, and were too clofely watched by 
the republicans to be ready to co-operate effectually with 
the expeCted auxiliaries. The fquadron having reached 
the bay of (iujberon,.the troops landed on the peninfula, 
-AND. 
reduced fort Penthievre, and raifed entrenchments for 
their defence. The count d’Hervilly advanced into the 
country with a body of the infurgents ; but they mani- 
feffed no courage, and fled before a fmall party of the 
enemy. About five thoufand me<r afterwards attacked 
the redoubts which guarded the palfage to the main land. 
Two of thefe works were forced; but, in the progrefs of 
the affailing corps, a mafked battery played with fuch 
vigour as to produce great' confufion. A rapid retreat 
enfued ; and, if the fire of fome of the veffels had not 
checked the purfuers, the fugitives would perhaps have 
been completely crufhed. Many of the French prifoners 
who had engaged in the expedition, now deferted the 
caufe, and repaired to the ftandard of the convention, 
communicating to general Hoche and his officers fuch in¬ 
formation as was calculated to promote the republican 
interefl. That commander, profiting by the treachery of 
his own countrymen, furprifed the fort in the night of 
July 21, and prepared to attack the camp. While many 
of the royalifts, commanded by Puyfaye, difpcrfed them- 
felves over the neighbouring country, the gallant Som- 
breuil animated the emigrants to a fpirited refiftance: 
but a confiderable number refufed to fight againfl the re¬ 
public. When the camp was forced after the daughter 
of many of its defenders, the furvivors retired toward the 
extremity of the peninfula. One body of the enemy ap¬ 
proached them in front, while two divifions marched to 
the right and left to preclude their efcape. The Englifh 
brought off as many as could reach the veffels, amount¬ 
ing to about nine hundred of the men who had failed from 
England, afnd fifteen hundred of the inhabitants. The 
reft (about four thoufand in number) being expofed to 
extreme danger, defired to capitulate; but Hoche would 
only promife that they fhould be treated as prifoners of 
war, if the convention fhould approve that indulgence. 
To this conditional engagement they were obliged to fub- 
mit; and many of thefe unfortunate men were afterwards 
facrificed by the vindictive fpirit of the republicans. 
The great exertions of the early part of the campaign 
having rendered a refpite expedient, it was late in the 
year before any operations of moment diftinguifhed the 
war in Germany. Jourdan then forced his way over the 
Rhine, ftormed the citadel of Duffeldorff, and reduced 
the greater part of the duchy of Berg. Pichegru paffed 
the fame river near Manheim, and took poffeflion of that 
garrifon. The former general, having eroded the Lahn, 
was attacked by the Auflfians, and obliged to retreat. 
They again encountered his army, made a forcible im- 
prellion on his rear, took four thoufand of his men, and 
drove him back over the Rhine. General Wurmfer was 
repelled by the French near Manheim; but his troops 
returned to the charge, and became victorious. The 
republican camp near Mentz was attacked by Clairfait, 
and forced after a fpirited refiftance. Manheim was re¬ 
taken ; and the French were alfo difpoffeffed of feveral 
other towns which they had feized in Germany. Some 
of the rencontres in Italy were unfavourable to the 
French arms ; but the battle of Loano was attended with 
lofs and difgrace to the Piedmontefe and Auftrians ; and 
the viCtors were enabled to make effectual incurfions into 
the adjacent country. 
As the Dutch, though nominally independent allies of 
the French, were eafily induced to become the enemies 
of their former friends, letters of marque and reprifal 
were iffued againft them by Great Britain ; and directions 
were given for the feizure of their colonial territories, 
which, however, the king profelfed his intention of re- 
ftoring, whenever the ftadtholderian government fhould 
be re-eftabliihed. Vice-admiral Elphinftone appeared 
with a fleet in Simon’s-bay, near the Cape of Good. Hope ; 
and, as it was fufpected that the governor intended to 
fet fire to Simon’s-town, from which he had ordered all 
the inhabitants to retire, major-general Craig landed, and 
took poffeflion of the place, but prohibited his men from 
committing any other aCt of hoftility, When the militia, 
however. 
