Star.
London, England, 1814-08-31 00:00:00

and every arrangement made for sailing, and I in-
tended to let them critize off to give the Essex
Junior an opportunity of escaping. On the 2Sth of
March, the day atter this determination was formed,
the wie:l came on to blow fresh from the southward,
when I parted my larboard • cable and dragged my
starboard anchor directly nut to sea- Not a moment
was to be lost in getting sail on the ship. The enemy
were close in with the point forming the west side of
the bay ; hut on opening them I s.sw a prospect of
passing to windward, when I took in my top-gallant
sail., which were set over single reefed topsails, and
braced up for this purpose ; but on rounding the
point., a heavy squall Struck the ship and carried away
her main-top-mast, precipitating the men who were
aloft .into the sea, who were drowned. Both ships
now gave chace to me, and I endeavoured in my dis-
abled sate to regain the port; but finding I could
not recover the common anchorage, I ran close into a
small hay, about three quarters of a mile to leeward
of the battery, on the east side of the harbour, and let
go my anchtir within pistol shot of the shore, where I
ir tended to repair my damages as soon as possible.
The enemy continued. to approach, and chewed an
evident inteetien of attacking, regardless of the neu-
trality of the pl.ice where I was anchored ; and the
caution observed in their approach to the attack of
the crippled Essex was truly ridiculous, as was their
display of their motto flags, and the number of jacks
et all their mast heads. I, with as much expedition
as circumstances would. admit of, got my ship ready
for rction, mid endeavoured to get a spring on my
cable, bur bad not succeeded when the enemy, at 54.
rn mites -Ater three P N. made his attack ; the Phoebe
01 :cline herself under my stern, and the Cherub on my
•riut,rd.bow :. but the Cherub soon finding her
ion a hot one, bore up and ran under my stern
where both ships kept up a hot rakieg fire. I
. 4.1 got three Ping. 12-pounders out of the stern ports,
ei hicts uere worked with so much bravery and skill,
that in hell an hour we so disabled both as to,compel
'hem to haul off to repair damages. In the course of
this firing, I had by the great exertions of Mr. Ed-
• tiarnewall, the Acting Sailing Master, assisted
by Mr. Linscott„the. Boatswain, succeeded in getting
springs on our cable three different times; but the fire
of the enemy was so excessive,• that before we could
get ur broadeide to bear, they were shot away, and
thus rendered useless to .us. My ship had received
many injuries,. and several had been killed and
w untied; but my brave officers and men, notwith-
standing the unfavourable circumstances under which
en were brought to action, and- the powerful force
opposed to .us,. were noways discouraged—.all ate;
peared determined to defend their ship to the last ex-
tremity, and to die in preference to a shameful sur-
render.. Our gaff, with the ensign. and the motto
flag at the mitten, hadbeen shot away, but sr free
trade and sailors' rights" continued to fly.at tln fore.
Qur ensign was-replaced. by another; and to guard
against a similar event, an ensign was made fast in
the mieeitrigging,and several jacks were hoisted in
different parts oldie ship. The enemy soon repaired
his daeiages for a fresh attack; he now placed him-
self, with both his ships, on my starboard quarter, out
creche reach of .my earronaeles, and where my stern
guns could npt.be brought to bear ; he there kept up
a most galling fire, which it was out of my power to
return, when I saw no prospect of injuring him with-
out getting under way and becoming the assailant.
My top-sail sheets and 'radioed: were all shot away,
as well as the jib and fore7top-mast-itarsait-lialiards.
The only rope not mit was the hying-jib-haliards ;
end .hat being the only sail I could set, I caused it to
be hoisted, my cable to be cut and. ran down on both
ships, with an intention of leying the Phoebe on board.
The tiring on both sides 'was now
.tremendous; I had
let tall my fore-top-sail and fore-sail, but the want of
tacks and s'!eets rendered them almost useless to us—
yet we wire enabled, for a short time, to close with
the enemy ; and although our decks were now
strewed with dead, and our cockpit filled with
wounded—although our 'ship' had been several times
on fire, and was rendered a perfect wreck, we were
still encouraged to hope to save her, from the circum-
stance of the Cherub, from her crippled state, being
compelled to haul off. She did not return to close
action again, although she apparently had it in her
pow r to do so, but kept up a distant firing with her
long gees.

The Phoebe, from our disabled state, was ena-
bled however, by edging off, to choose the distance
which best suited her long guns, and kept up a tre-
mendons fire on us, which mowed down my brave
companions by the dot/en. Many of my guns had
been rendered useless by the enemy's shot, and many
of them had had their whcle crews destroyed. We
manned them again from those which were disabled,
and one gun in particular was three times manned—.
fifteen men were .slain at it in the course of the ac.
tion, but, strange as it may appear, the Captain of it
escaped with only a slight wound.
" Finding that the enemy had it in his power to
choose his distance, I now gave up all hopes of clos-
ing with him, and, as the a Ind for the moment seem-
ed to favour the design, I determined to endeavour
to run her on shore, land my men, and destroy her.
Evzry thing seemed to favour my wishes. We had
approached the shore within musket shot, and I had
no doubt of succeeding, when, in an instant, the wind
silifted from the land (as is very common in this port
in the latter part of ti!e day) and payed our head
down on the l'hcebe, where we were again exposed
to a dreacitill raking fire. My ship was now totally
wimanageable ; yet, as her head was toward the
aid be to leeward of me, I still hoped to be
able to hoard him. At this moment Lieutenant
Commandant Downes come on board to receive my
or.lers, under the impression that I should soon be a
prisoner. He could be of no use to me in the then
wrea.:lied state of the Essex ; and finding (from the
enemy's putting his helm op) that my last attempt
at hoarding Would not succeed, I diiiv.ed him, after
he had been about ten minutes on board, to return to
his own ship,' to be prepared for defending and de-
stroying her in cast of attack. He took with him
se►eral of my wounded, leaving three of his boat's
crow un boi.rd to make room for them.

" The Oherub now had an opportunity.of distin.,
gtiishitt berseh, by keeping up a hot fire on him
during leis return. The slaughter on board my ship
1,0 now become horrible, the enemy continuing to
rake trs, And we unable 'to bring a gull to bear. I
tiWreii:re ditected a hawser to be lutist to the sheet
atichOr, and the aufior to be cut from the bows to