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London, England, 1809-08-03 00:00:00


and other gun-hrige mike a mil for the sue/borne,
preceding the fraperieure, and winch I judged was
from the di,ections they received from the Com-
Mander-in-Chief; I thought it prndeut to reserve
iu prederetiou, my bower &anchor cod cable for any of
' the ships that might require it; cont;inding t het cloy
that there was a great probability that it might be
required for either the line of Linde Oliva or fri-
gates, I caused my own stream ancliur to be ready
with a 'Ong to It, to make use of a, a bower, to
bring up the sloop Laufer my command ; the wind
being then moderate enough to ride her by; and
to facilitate my movements wherever my judgment
might require; I brought up in Aix Roads with
my stream-enchor, wader the Larboard-quarter of-
the foyer/rest, mad without her, merely that I
might not interrupt the anclikkrne of the line-of-
battle ships and frigates that were close to me.
The Iminh and the gua-brigs were laid a little fur-
ther to the vvestis aril of me ; the re were some shot
tired in their direction, awl towards env, from the
haperieuse; nn signal whatever having been made
for the &rectify., of any of the vessels, I sent Lieu-
transit Prier with a inessege to Lnrd Cochrane, to
know if those shot tired were at the Isle of Oleron,
or by mist ike, or intentional ? if the latter, I felt
very intligiaant at rt, and 'nought up there, be-
c lose I should not he in the way of the frigates and
lane-of-battle slips; and I should hose thought it a
must injudicious step, hail I placed nay ship in such
a satiation, as to have prevented the services of
a larger force ; neither was there room betweea
the hiperiens • amid the Pallas Shoal for may more
than one, sylie7h situation the bed,:fatigable butt
up; moreover I explain, that I hod neither clia:t,
nor was there any perma oil board that was ever •
there before, the tide then falling ; nod if I hail
touched upon the Pallas, the Beagle roust inevi-
tably be.m lust; I sent the officer away with One
m.-ssage ; I was prepared to weigh my anchor its
toe event of any eminent Iwitag pouted oaf; the
',sal of the. Imperieuee was maile ler me to close;
the anchor wits at my bows; in &about two or three
minutes, I shifted me vessel in betweeis the Inde-
fatigable and the wreck of the Jean Hart, that was
previously cast away on the Pallas shoal, and
!weight an with my sterain-anchor the seemed lime.
I commenced finiag upon the enemy, the Ville de
Vart,vie more particularly ; this continued about
a quarter of all hour or twenty minutes; five in-
mites after, my rudder coming almost in contact
With the wreck of the Jean Hart, and being too
near the Indefatigable, so much aa, that my mast
mil rigging were in danger by her are, I got a; art-
coml time under weigh, and kept au *aid eight
o'clock that night, with my top-sail, jib and span-
ker, to annoy tine enemy iii such situations as I
thou4ht I could act best in. My 211 Lieut. was sway
from the tint.- I sent the message to sound about the
Panes, end the entrance to the Charente, and oh-
servin4 that the Calertta was Om:Aimed, weal on
board of her; at the ramp time another boat, which
I understood to be the larprrieu.re's, came to take
pistessimi of her. Seeing an uppOrtUility to annoy
the Aymilon, I in ode sail for her stern; within pistol
shot, commenced tiring on her, she returning it,
carrying away many of my ropes, and all my main-
topmast rigging ; leaving tired upon her for about
ten minutes, its near as I can recollect, with my star-
board broadside, she struck her colours ; I lowered
a boat down to send au officer to take possession of
her; she (Nana opened has limy and I wireohliged
to return it also ; I kept my multi topsail spilling,
to preserve my situation close toiler; perceiving all
her boats famine-I, and the ship's company ahem
don her, I concludes! that her lying, after she had
struck, was froin accident, not by &sip. I
then • t 'nil o t a id hack again, as occasion might
require; being then in 17 (kr 14 feet water, the
ode fast lathing, and no more annoyance could
he given to aniy or the enemy's slip*. namely,
those upon the Pallas Shaul, which I afterwards
learnt to lie the Cakeito, Arpoilaa, title de Var-
sooie, mid Tonlere; I then recolleet, seeing nothing
inure to be done, ill my Gondola, to have recom-
mended some of the frigates to slip their enco'ir
roil shoot a little further out, to prevent their
grouudiug at low water, telling them that I found a
little more water to the W.S.W., or S.W. About
six or half-past, I brought up my ship with my
bower, and widened, then about five fathoms;
walling brio;; required of the Beagle, I causes! the
slaiii'r compauy to get their (limier.
Q. Were you taut subject to aimoyauce rrotn the
shot of the English ships, while you lay so close to
the Alqui/on, as you have before described ?—A.
My situation was such, that I emild stand in and an-
on). the Ayuilon, with the English ships giving
its may annoyance. The Varrovie had presiously
yielded, and was directly in al line, or rather in the
wake of the Arprilan, so as to prevent most of our
ships from acting against tbeflirdlost, without firing
at the Formic
Q. Was the Beagle on the Pallas Shoal, at high
water ?—.l. I was mot there at high water, about
an hour and a half afterwards.
Q. At the time you were there, were any of the
ships whit!) afterwards escaped up the Charente
within reach of being destroyed by your shot ?—A.
No.
Q. Could you, as far as your information of the
depth of water enabled yon to judge, have at
near enough to those ships to destioy them F—A.
No.
Q. Were the gun-brigs as fair advanced towards
the enemy's ships as the Beagle—A. No.
Q. Do you know of ally reason which prevented
them ?—A. No. a
Q. What • iter does the Beagle draw ?—A Near-
ly 15 feet abaft, and about 141 forward.
Q. Do yon know what water the gun-brigs draw?
—A. To the best of my recollection, frnan the re-
ports I have been accustomed to receive from them,
about 10 or 11 feet.
Q. Could they have advanced towards the ene-
my's ships nearer than you were, without being
reformed to the tire of the British squadron ?
A. Ihd they so done, they would have rebelled
the service, and subjected themselves to the tire of
our own Alps.
Q. By what means would they have retarded the
service?—A. Being subject to receive the tire of
our Aim, instead of that of the enemy.,
Q. How long did the Beagle remain in Aix
Roads F—A. From the 14th of April to the day of
recall, ou the 15th or 160.
Q. Was Mete airy time after the 14th, in which
frigates and smaller vessels might have destroyed

~-~~

the eoetny's ships, which were not destroyed on
the 12th?—A. On the morning 01 the 1341 lay.
Lord Cochrane made arrangemeuta to that effect,
be *ending the Beagle on t4l%' larboard-quarter of
the Orton, the Etna bomb, with the gessishrle's,
three or four, near the wrecks of Oar enemy's ships,
the Aquilins and Varsveie. About ten o'clock
proeesohri in timinis the enemy ; -the Vice-Adati.
rat's 4181 p. another 73, and a French frigate. situ-
ated in the th of the Charatite ; I brought up,
when oia the (kegs'* gunner, up lit feet enter, and
engaged her hoot the hour of eleven, or father be-
fore, tiutil four o'cleck ; she returned the 'lie from
her stern mid quarter, us well as the other line-of.
battle ship, as also the frigate, with shells occo-
'tonally front isle d'Aix, auJ many of the splinter*
fell upon deck ; during these tire hours, the *wild-
ing and ranting riggilig were very much cut, my
tower yard was shut through, mid insin-top-mast.
Lord Cochrane, Lelia... I came to anchor, sob-served,
he WV:lla totaling in his frigate ; but this, howevei,
I recominciaded him wit to do, judging there was
not snfficient water, and the wind blamiarg directly
into the misuth of the Charmite,, with tha tide, I
dare say, ruining at lemon two and a half knots, or
thereabouts; I gave this &titter, because I was
theta furnished with a good chart, of a large scale,
Junior the time I was In 11C11011, slid tinting the ene-
my bringitc4 their guns to brat upon all the vessels, I
caused the signal to lie uncle to the droperieure,
first at the mein-yard, mad *another signial that the
erten).s ships were superior to those in dentin ;
when at three fathom :to I a half water I in ode
the telegraph sigma' t the Imperieuse, tbat the
frigate might then attack with advnimage ; I was ie.
ductal to make this signal, bring at the mire
time folly convinced that in soaking, they could
not have remained in that rituatioa more than
two hours, without entlatigeriog theweelves; this,
however, iniAlit be thought too hazardous to
attempt. I sent a messenger by the Second Lieu-
tenant to Lord Cischratie, to .signify that I should
want powder, 54 I then had only two ballets kit ;
and also to ob,vrse, that 1 Jerold take the ground
at low water, was 1 not so come out until 4 o'clock ;
the answer was, to entue not at my own
About half-past three the enemy's 3-decker, as well
as the 3-Decker, prepared to push further up the
Charente, it thou being high water, end 1 weighed
at four o'clock, the title falling, and tarried op to
my former anchorage, under a heavy fire (roan the
batteries nil the Isle d'Ais ; at about am o'clock. I
brought up with my bower at toe anchorage I left.
Q. By the damage you observed the enemy's
ships to have unearned ft, in the attack you have
now detailed, was it your opinion that a repetition
of such attack would have destroyed them, or pre.
vented their getting up the Cnarante ?—A. By no
means; because the cease!' of the description that
• made the attack I have now detailed, could not,
with propriety, advance further; but had there been
' a few hoinb-vessels, with some gun-boats, it is very
prof:Sallie that the enemy miAtit have levis more RIP.
noyed isti the day ;titer ; u.i. via,* of ve.eila was not
' with the British fleet.
Q. What time did yoti arrive in Basque Roads ?
—A. On the I nth, rind left it on the rite.
Q. Can you state any iastance of neglect, mis-
conduct. or inattention, in the proceedings of the
Commander-in-Chief during that pettoti?-4.
None; save and except had the Corgrameacer-iu-Cltief
till-meld it proper, from his siteation,.6lllave sent
vessels in either that) they went ; although there
might he a great risk in in 'Hog, there was a possi-
bility of annoying the enemy more than they acre
annoyed ; but our ships nines hare been subjected,
nevertheless, nut only to the fire of the enc.ny that
reinaitie.l at incisor, hut also to that f ors the bat-
teries of the Isle D'Aix. I cannot presume to place
my ju Igineiii in competiti•ni with th it of the Coin-
inaiiiler-in-Chief, how ler it was proper to send in
ships earlier than they were temt.
Q. Under the circumstances of the annoyance
which the ships earlier sent in would have been
subjea to, Irons the two French ships remaining
at auchor, aii.l Irons tile betterier of the Isle of
Aix, and consideraug the state of the tide and of
the wind at the tune. would you, had you been
the Conimander-iii-Chief, have sent the ships ear-
lier in, to attack those of the alueiny oil shore ?
A. With the circumstance of the wind alai tide, as
they were, I think at rather log great a hozare ;
cud a want of a perfect knowledge of depth of wa-
ter, rather in the southward, betwseu the Polies
mei the Isle of Aix.
Q. If the British...hips had been sent earler in,
would they have been subject to animynnee frrim
the Frecich ship the OCCIM, as well as the two
Freiseli ships remaining at macho,. and the batteries
of the Isle of Aiit I titbit: they would.
Q. Suppose the English ships had been sent in
at eleven o'clock of tile forenoon of the 13th, or at
noon of that day, and heal received untemil da-
mage from those eneoyancea you have described,
hose liner must they have remained under the tire
of the French ships Acid batteries, before they could
have again • -me out of the Road of Aix ?—A. A
coasiderable tune; for it was fly °pumas, from the
short kiiowledge I had of the plaice, that large
ships., as the wind then wits, must hare tacked
and filled out with a strong ebb ode; and even
then, they were still subject to the tire frorn Isle
as well as the shells from the island of
Olerott; had any unfortunate eh once shot crippled
their masts and yards, there was every probability of
their tieing destroyed altogether.
Q. From the first attack "Iron the ships of the
enemy, to the time of your leasing Basque Roads,
was there lei your judgment every thing dour that
was practicable to be done to destroy the enemy's
ships f—A. Considering all the circumstances I
have stated, I think there was.
Lisa/mom tincetNos celled is egad*.
Q. At what tune did the two French *hive slip
th. ir cables ?—A. The Canard shot her cable at
ten minutes put one, and the Nadi-opal. at about
twenty Initiates past one. I
am positive to this
feet. The three-decker hauled off at two o'clock,
the other het *reit mfr and twit o'clock.
Captain Kitten caned in again.
Q Did you, on the evening of the liSth of April,
or ally day after, receive from Lord Caschraue him-
self, any intimation of theoliore aucluarage, or dial
you receive such eominuineatmii from any of the
Captain, of the Pleat The only cons' ttttt
cone I had with Laird Cochraur, was through the
Master of the iferenge, who was seat to :sound im-
seedietely oe that ship's anchoring; ou his mum