Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp1.djvu/483

 by that means avoided the danger. The batteries and all the ships at the same time kept up a constant and furious fire of shot, shells, grape, and musketry, but without doing any injury to Captain Joyce or his boat. The flood-tide, which ran strong, and the wind and sea being all against them, the boat was exposed to this fire; and what considerably increased their danger, was the explosion of another fire-vessel, just without them, which distinctly showed their position to the enemy .”

Captain Joyce and his gallant companions reached Lord Cochrane’s frigate in a nearly exhausted state, from having had to pull hard against tide, wind, and sea, for upwards of four hours. It is unnecessary to say that their conduct was universally admired.

In May, 1810,the subject of this memoir was appointed acting Captain of the Amazon frigate, and sent to co-operate with the Spanish patriots in harassing their invaders, destroying the French batteries, &c., and laying bare of defence the sea-coast in the enemy’s possession.

Captain Joyce was thus employed for a period of nine months; and subsequently appointed, pro tempore, to the Manilla 36, in which frigate he conveyed Sir John Sherbrooke to his government at Halifax.

The winter of 1811, and the spring of the succeeding year, will be ever remarkable in the page of history, for the calamities it entailed on the British navy: in our annals we have not a year of equal misfortunes, since the death of Sir Cloudesley Shovel. Among the numerous men of war doomed to destruction at the above-mentioned era, was the Manilla, which ship had been some time cruising off the Texel. At about 6-30 P.M., on the 28th Jan. 1812, when by the soundings the pilots considered her nearer to Smith’s Knowl than the Dutch coast, it then blowing a gale of wind from the S.W., and the weather very thick, she struck on that part of the Haak sands where the Hero 74, with all her crew, perished not three weeks before. On striking, the sails were hove aback, the water started, and every effort made to get her off, but in vain; unfortunately she had taken the ground