The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-13 00:00:00

The Naval Action in the North Sea,

(From the Correspondent of the Times.)
OFF CUXHAVEN, Wednesday, May 11.
The telegraph will have informed you of the sea
fight which took place off Heligoland on Monday
afternoon last. The Austro-Prussian flotilla returned

to their moorings at the mouth of the Elbe between
3 and 4 a.m. yesterday morning, bearing evident
signs of having been severely handled. The fol.
lowing particulars of the engagement may be re-
lied upon as authentic:—
_ _ _

On Saturday last, May 7, the Austrian frigates
Schwarzenberg and Radetsky, in company of the
Prussian gunboats Adler and Blitz, left their anchor-
age off Cuxhaven for a cruise in search of the Danish
fleet. Capt. Teggetnff, under whose orders the com-
bined German flotilla is placed, is described by the
English pilot who brought him up channel as a very
smart fellow, and the crews as bent upon fighting.
However, the Danish fleet was not to be found, and
on Monday morning the flotilla returned to its
anchorage at the mouth of the Elbe after a cruise of
48 hours. They had scaEclkly dropped anchor when
a telegram reached the Austrian Consul at Cax-
haven, informing him that three Danish frigates
were bearing down towards Heligoland. This in-
telligence was instantly forwarded to Capt. Tegge-
toff, who give orders to get up steam and put out
to sea at once.

The Schwarzanberg is a screw steam frigate, car-
rying 50 guns. Her crew amounted to 540 men on
the morning of the engagement. Between decks
she is fitted with heavy guns, mostly 60 pounders,
her upper deck guns being 24 pounders. Of these
last, two fore and two aft are rifled, the rest smooth-
bored.

The Radetsky is also a screw steam frigate, car-
rying 30 guns, and is likewise fitted with two rifled
24 pounders on her upper deck, fore and aft. Her
crew numbered 310 men.

The Prussian gunboats Adler and Blitz, both cased
with iron plates 2t inches thick, carry four rifled
guns each on the upper deck.
A little before 2 p.m., the German flotilla came in
sight of the Danish frigates, which showed every
willingness to accept the offered battle. The Schwar-
zenberg opened the proceedings by firing three
blank shots, which were unanswered by the Danes.
After this warning Capt. Teggeteff, taking the
Schwarzenburg well in between the Danish frigates
the Niels Juel and the Dagmar, handling his ship
as Admiral Lyons was wont to do the Agamemnon,
fired a double broadside against the enemy's ships
on either side of him. Although somewhat taken
aback by this daring bit of seamanship, the Danish
frigates lost no time in returning the relief, and the
engagement soon became general. One of the first
shots fired by the Niels Juel struck the officer se-
cond in command of the Schwarzenberg full in the
breast, and of course killed him on the spot. He
was buried yesterday in the cemetery at Cuxhaven,
a large concourse of persons attending.

Shortly after, two shells struck the Schwarzen
berg near the same spot, by one of the heavy guns,
which was served by 16 men. Out of the 16, five
were killed on the spot and nine wounded, only two
getting off unscathed.
This episode was shortly followed by a disaster
which threatened the destruction of"the ship, The
sails were, of course, furled, and, as ill-luck would
have it, a shell forced its way into the canvas, and,
bursting, set the whole rigging of the foremast in a
blaze. The ship having her head to the wind, it be-
came necessary to put her about, to prevent the
flames communicating themselves to the mainmast.
In this manner the Schwarzenberg was temporarily
reduced to the sole use of her two aft rifled guns.
While the foremast was still burning, a shell
burst in the outer chamber of the powder.maga-
zine, setting the timbers on fire, and creating a mo-
mentary panic among the crew. The flames, how-
ever, were at once extinguished, and the danger
averted. To complete the discomfiture of the
Schwarzenburg, her bowsprit was carried away by
a round shot.
During the course of the engagement the Schwar-
zenberg was struck 70 times by shot and shell, and
once by chain shot, which is preserved on board.
Her foremast is burnt down to a stump, and the
side of the mainmast turned towards the flames is
blistered all over from the heat.
The actual loss on board the Schwaizenburg
amounted to 31 killed, 44 severely wounded, and
between 30 and 40 slightly wounded. Although
nothing is known for certain of the Danish loss, it
must have been considerable, or the Schwarzenberg
in her disabled condition must have fallen into the
enemy's hands. It seems the general opinion that
officers and men behaved with, great bravery and
coolness, and the Emperor of Austria has already
shown his sense of Captain Teggetoff's services by
promoting him to the rank of Admiral.
While it fared in this manner with the Swarzen-
berg, the Radetzky did her best to draw off the at-
tention of the Danish frigates, which showed con-
siderable unwillingness to attend to other business,
_ until they should have succeeded in completely die.