Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp1.djvu/494

  On the morning of April 22, 1808, being then at single anchor in Grand Bourg bay, Marie-Galante, Captain Spear discovered two brigs of war in the S.E., standing to the northward; and at nine o’clock, finding that they paid no attention to the private signal, he slipped his cable and made all sail in chase, with a moderate breeze at E.S.E.

Confident in their strength, the strangers immediately shortened sail, and hoisted French colours. At 10 A.M., the action commenced (about four miles from the town of Grand Bourg), one brig to leeward of the Goree, within pistol-shot, the other on her weather quarter; and both of them giving their guns the greatest elevation, in order to cripple her aloft, which unfortunately they accomplished.

At the end of an hour’s cannonade, observing the approach of a British brig, the enemy bore up, and were speedily under a press of canvas, leaving the Goree with her top-sail-yards shot through in the slings, the fore-yard without lifts or braces, the starboard quarter of the main-yard cut through, and the sail torn away from the part remaining aloft, the whole of the lower-masts and top-masts badly wounded, scarcely a shroud or brace left uninjured, the peak-haliards gone, and the ship in other respects so disabled as entirely to preclude the possibility of pursuing them. Owing, however, to the high firing of her two opponents, the Goree had only 1 man killed, and not more than 4 persons wounded; whereas their joint loss amounted to 8 slain and 21 wounded.

The enemy’s brigs were both intercepted by British cruisers in Oct. following, and proved to be the Pylade and Palineur, each mounting 14 twenty-four-pounder carronades and 2 long guns (nines and sixes), with a complement of 110 men. Sir Alexander Cochrane, when reporting the capture of the latter vessel) informed the Admiralty that she was “the last of the two which were so gallantly beaten by his Majesty’s sloop Goree .”

