Wet 
nant Parker, the Hon. Mr. Cochrane, 
the boat{wain, and crew, boarded, when, 
by the impetuofity of the attack, they 
forced them inftantly to ftrike their co- 
lours. He has to lament; in boarding, 
the lofs of one man only, and the (evere 
wounds received by Lieutenant Parker and 
the boatfwain, 
Lord Cochrane fays, the Speedy’s force, 
at the commencement of the action, was 
54, officers, men, and boys. 
A letter received from Lord Ne!fon, 
dated on board his Majefty’s fhip Medufa, 
off Boulogne, the ath of Auguft, flates, 
that the enemy’s veffels, brigs, and flats, 
(lugger rigged) and a {chooner, twenty- 
four in number, were that morning, at 
day-light, anchored in a Jine in the front 
of Boulogne ; the wind being favourable 
for the bombs to aét, he made the fignal 
for them te weigh, and to throw fhells at 
the veffels, but as. little as poffible to 
annoy the town; the Captains placed their 
fhips in the beft poflible pofition, and in 
the courfe of the morning fix were on 
fhore, evidently much damaged ; at fix in 
the evening, before high water, five of the 
veffels which had been a-ground, hauled, 
with difficulty, into the Mole, the other 
remained under water: his Lordfhip be- 
lieves that the whole of the veffels would 
have gone infide the pier but for want of 
water. What damage the enemy have 
fuftained, beyond what his Lordfhip faw, 
it was impoflible to tell. 
The Noble Admiral anchored, on the 
jth of Auguft, in Margate-roads, with 
fixteen fail of gun-brigs, and was received 
with well deferved honours. 
Lord Nelfon, on his arrival at Margate, 
difpatched an expre{s to Captain Rudi{dell, 
Commanding Officer of the Ramfgate Sea 
Fencibles, to know whether he might rely 
on the affittance of that corps, if circum- 
ftances fhould render it neceffary to call 
them forth ; to which they unanimoufly 
anfwered, ‘* that if his Lordfhip would 
fend a gun-boat for them, they would im- 
mediately attend his Lordfhip whither- 
foever he pleafed.” 
The following is the refult of the au- 
thentic intelligence which has been re- 
ceived from Lord Nelion refpecting a fe- 
cond attack upon Boulogne on the 18th of, 
Augut. 
Lord NeJfon imputes the failure of fuc- 
cefs principally **to the darknefs of the 
night, with the tide and half-tide, which 
feparated the divifions, and to the circum- 
{tances of all the divifions not arriving at the 
fame happy moment with Captain Parker, 
but he begs leave to be perfectly under- 
State of Public Affairs in Auguft, 1801. 
ftood, that not the leaft blame attaches it. 
felf to any perfon.”” The plan of attack 
was as follows:—eight flat boats, with 
howitzers, were under the direction of 
Captain Conn; and fix flat boats, armed 
with marines only, together with the boats 
belonging to the different fhips and cut- 
ters in the fquadron, were put under the 
command of Captain Somerville, of the 
Eugenie, who made four equal divifions 
of them, each confifting of flat boats, and. 
about eleven ‘fix-oared boats. The fAr@& 
divifion, with himfelf; the fecond, under 
Captain Parker, of the Medufa; the third, 
under Captain Cotgrave, of the Gannet ; 
and the fourth, under Captain Jones, of 
the Diligence. Each divifion having af- 
fembled on -board the thips appointed, 
fhoved off from them about eleven o’clock 
in the night of Auguft the rsth. Each 
divifion haying its proportionate number 
of the enemy’s veff<ls to attack ; the firft 
beginning to the eaftward, and fo on in 
the order weftward. | 
The fecond divifion got in firft, the third 
foon after, which commenced a fire upon 
the enemy, but they were both (oon obliged 
to retreat, having loft many men, particu~ 
larly the former.. The firft divifion, ow. 
ing to the firength of the tide, did not 
reach the part allotted them until a little’ 
before day-light, when, amid(t a tremen- 
dous fire of thot, fhells, and mufquetry, 
from the fhore, as well as from the gun- 
vefiels, they very gallantly boarded the 
largelt of the enemy’s veflels, a brig, 
mounting long twenty-four pounders and 
carronades, two of which were upon the. 
quarter-deck, pointing forwards. She 
was manned with 150 foldiers, befides 
feamen ; her crew was ftrongly barricaded 
abaft the main maft, and kept an inceflant 
fire upon our men; in the interim of 
boarding, being firft obliged to clear away 
her firong boarding-netting, thofe allotted 
to cut the cables, to their great difap- 
pointment, found her moored with ftrong 
chains alfo, fixed to her keel. Owing to 
the heavy fire from the foldiers on boards. 
which was {piritedly returned by our ma- 
rines, they were noi able to get entire pof- 
feffion of her, nor could they get at any 
means to fet her on fire. After being 
three quarters of an hour on hoard and a- 
long fide of her, they were obliged to aban- 
don her, leaving a great number of their 
dead upon deck. The fourth divifiony 
notwithiland ng every exertion of Captain 
Jones, and the officers and men in his di- 
vifion, to getinto action, could not fuc- 
ceed, owing to the tide. 
Amongft che wounded are Captain 
Parker, 
