The National Register. — London, England, 1809-12-03 00:00:00

were seen, to which we immediately gave chace, and pursued them till a fter dark; when., front shoal water, and the wind being direct on the shore near the entrance of the Rhone, it be came necessary to keep to the wind during.tbe night. The fol lowing morning, the 25th, the same ships were .tgain seen, and chased bet %‘ ern Cette and Fromlgnao, where they ran on shore. Two of them (an SO gun ship, bearing a ltear-Admiral's gag, and a 74) at the tatter place, and one ship of the line and a fri gate at the former. From the shoal water and intricacy of the navigation, it wise impossible to get close enough-to the enemy's two line Of battle ships near Frornignan, to attack them when on shore; for in attempting to do so, one of his Majesty's s hips wasonder five fathoms weter, and another in less than six. On the Vfith i I sent the boati to sound, meaning, if possible to buoy the channel (if any had been found) by which the enemy's ships could be attacked ; but at night we had the satisfaction to see them set on fire.. From the circumstances under which the ship and frigate ran on shore at the entrance of the port of Cette, have little doubt the former will be lost; and the frigate. must certLlnly have received considerable damage; but they cannot be gotat on account of the batteries. Your Lordship must be well aware that nothing but the-great press.of sail carried by his Majesty's ships, and the good look• out kept, could have enabled them to close with those of the enemy, hula the distance they were at the time. they commenced the chase. J. have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) J. MA RTIN. Vice-Adm. Lord Collingwood, Commander in Chief, &c. Ville de Paris, off Rosas, - .••••• Sia,--When the enemy's convoy was chased on the i3d .their transports separated front the ships of war, and, ender the protection of an armed store-ship. Two bombards atala zebeck made for the bay of Itosas. When the ships of war, were disposed of, a s rel a t e d i n m y l etter o f yester d ay , t h e con voy became the object of my attention. and on the 29th the Apollo was sent oil Rosati to examine what vessels were there, and how far they were in a situation assailable. The next day I appointed the ships as per margin+, far this service, ender the orders of Captain .Hallowell, to bring them out if the wind 'was favourable, or otherwise to destroy them. The state of ,the wind ai.d sea would not permit this operation until last night, when, after dark, the ships bore up for the bay, and anchored about five miles from the castle of Rosas, under the protection of which castle, of Trinity Fort, and of several. other newly erected batteries, the convoy consisting of eleven vessels, five of them armed, as per accompanying list, were moored. The boats being arranged in separate divisions, the whole were put tinder the orders of Lieutenant Tailour, First *lieutenant of the Tigre, and proceeded to the attack of the' enemy, who, although he could have had no previous intitua- tion of such an enterprize against him, was found vigilant and completely on his guard. The ship, which was a smaller sort of frigate, was enclosed in hoarding netting', and a gun-boat advanced a-head of her for the look oat; on being hailed, and the alarm-gam tired, our boats stretched out, the crews at the highest pitch of animation, filling the air with their cheers;, .each division took the part previously allotted to it, the armed ship was boarded at all points, nod carried in a few minutes, • notwithstanding aspirated mil sturdy resistance which the enemy made; all their armed vessels were Well defended, but the Bri- i tish seamen and marines, determined to subdue them, were not to: ,be repelled, even by a force found to be double that which was i expected, and besides the opposition made by the vessels, the; guns from the castle, the forts in the bay, the gun-boats, tual musketry from the beach, kept a constant fire on them. On *heti opening of day, every ship or vessel was either burnt, or brought otf, aided by the light winds which thee came from the land;! and the whole of the convoy that came from Toulon for thesupel ply of the French army in Spain, has been dsotroyed, with thet exception of the frigate, whiCh escaped to Marseilles, and one' store-ship not since heard of. I cannot conclude this narrative without an expression of tboll sentiment which the execution of this bold enterprize hus in.,! spired me with, and the respect and admiration I feel for those who performed it.' In the first place, success depended upon the. previous arrangement which was made by Captain lialloway with a judgment and foresight that distinguishes that Officer in every (service neis employed on.; the division of the boats; the preparation of fire materials, and providing them with every! • 4 ' Canopus, Renown, Tigre,' Sultan, Leviathan, and Cum berland. • + Tigre, Cumberland, Volontaire, A poll*, Topaze, Pkilo •el, Scoot s and Timm; implement that contingency could require, established a confi dence throughout the whole; mid in this he wa, ably assisted tiv the experience and 'teal of *Captains Woodhou.e, e„aylor, and Hope. The brigs were under sail, as near the vessels attacked as the light winds would allow,. and Captaip Hallowell speaks in high terms of praise of the condikt of their Commanders Crawley, Itaiit, and Wilson. The Firs( Lieuted. !met Tailour led to the assault in a most gallant manlier, and was followed by the other Officers, as if each was ambition:4.9f his place, and desired to be first ; the ,whole 'limy 'bravely maintained the character which British seamen have estahlish ed themseiveo. I am sorry I have to add, that the loss • has been considerable, of which I enclose a list. Lienteonnt Tait, of the Volontaire, an excellent and brave young Oil!( er, and Mr. Ctld ell, Master's Mateof the Tire, a y ~ r ent promise, were the only Dificers slain. Many Officers ni fleet were desirous of bcing volunteers in this service. I 0. Id not resist the request of Lieutenants Lord. ~Viscount 1141,;((nie, the lion. J. A. !Hanle, and the lion. W. Viraldegray . e, of the Ville de Paris,, to have the command of boats,, in whicli the', displayed that spirit which is inherent in them. I transmit alsp Captain liallowelCs letter, relating his prscceeditits, W Ph list's of the Officers who commanded boats, and Ned appointnients in this service, and of the vessels burnt arc" Captured, . I have the honour to be, &c. (Stgued) COLLIN G . R . 0 . 0 1. P. S. I have charged Lieutenant Waldegrave, of the Ville de Paris, with the delivery of my dispatches: an Officer of great merit, and who commanded one of the boats employed os this service. His Majesty's ship Tigre, off Capefit,. Sebastian, Nov.l, 1809. M T Loan—ln obedience to your Lordship's order of the 304 t ult. 1 proceeded to the bay of Roses with the ships and sloops named in the margin, where, finding it impracticable to attack the enemy's convoy while under weigh (the wind being at S.*. awl a heavy swell), I anchored the ships of the squadron yes terday evening after dark, about five miles off the towo of Rosas, and detached all the boats under the command of Lieu. tenant Tailour, First of the Tigre, to destroy them ; the spirited manner in which he led them on to the attack, cow- , mantled the admiration of every one present; and the gallant manner in which he was supported reflects the highest honour' on every person employed on the service. 1 have the honour to inclose a list of vessels taptured and destroyed on this occasion and wile% your Lordship is informed that the enemy was aware of our intention to attack him, and had taken the precaution of fixing hoarding nettings, and placing a launch with a gun in it in advance, to give him notice of our approach, and that thtt vessels also defended by the very strong batteries on shore, 1 trust your Lordship will consider it equal in gallantry andjudg tnent to any exploit that has occurred under your Lordship 's command. Our loss has bean severe, and among the list of killed I have to lament the loss of Lieut. Tait, of the Vulon taire, of whom Capt. Bullet] speaks in high terms, anal) Officer who has distinguished himself upon many occasions; and Mr. Caldwelln Ma,:er's Mate of the Tigre: the latter has left a widowed mother in distressed circumstances, who looked to him fer comfort and support. Among the wounded are Lient. Tai lour, of the Tigre. and Lieut. Forster of the Apollo, severely. The brigs were directed to keep under weigh, and were in an admirable situation at day-light to have given assistance, bad it been necessary. Y have the honour also to inclose a list of the' Officers employed on this service; and I have only to state than condnct, and that of the seamen and marines under theist; command, was such as to exceed any encomium from my pen, and entitles them to my warmest thanks and approbation. I have the honour to be, (Signed) B. lIA LLOW ELL. A list of ships and vessels captured and destroyed by the hoal4 of the Squadron under the command of Benjamin Hallowell, Esq. Captain of His Majesty's Ship the Tigre, in the Bay of • Rosas, on.the Morning of the Ist of November, 1809. Armed store-ship La Lemproye, Bertanit la Brectreete, Lieu tenant de Vaisseatt, Commander, of 16 nine-pounders, 116 melt, and 600 tons; burnt—Pierced for 22 guns ou the main deck. — Vessel of war. Bombard, La Victoire, Garribou, Ensign de Vaisseau, Coin mander, of 14 six-pounders, and 80 men ; burnt.—Vesel of war. Felucca, L'Arsacien, Rouve, Master; of 25 tuushets, and2o - ; burnt.—Transtiurt belonging to Gov.ernment. L'Union, of 150 tuns; burnt.—Landed her cargo. h o n Bien Aiuie r of 150 tons, with biscuits; burnt. .i.i•imiNINII 766 4C .• de. oa • . r • - fr" . ; - ', , • THE *ATI r . kAL L `~- r -"~ .