Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp1.djvu/505

 the manner in which the guns were afterwards brought forward. His zealous conduct on this occasion being duly reported to the Admiralty by Sir Alexander Cochrane, Captain Withers was promoted to post rank shortly after the receipt of that officer’s despatches; his commission bearing date May 13, 1809.

Captain Withers returned to England in Nov. 1809, and was soon afterwards appointed to succeed Captain (now Rear-Admiral) Cochet, as principal agent for transports on the Mediterranean station.

In 1810, when Joachim Murat marched into Lower Calabria, and encamped his army immediately opposite Messina, threatening to invade Sicily, and boasting that he would effect the subjugation of that fine island in less than 20 days, Captain Withers, and the people under his orders, rendered essential services to the Anglo-Sicilian garrison, by contributing to the formation of a flotilla, and co-operating in most of the conflicts that took place between it and the enemy’s numerous gun-boats, during the time that the usurper continued his warlike preparations; a period of more than four months. The following is a copy of a letter which he received from Lieutenant-General Sir John Stuart, shortly after the breaking up of the Neapolitan camp:

“Messina, 17th Oct. 1810.

“Sir,– The departure of the enemy from the opposite coast, and the suspension of his demonstrations having, for the moment, put a term to the operations in which we have lately been engaged, I avail myself of that opportunity to take the liberty of betokening to you the sense I entertain of the material assistance which, during the whole of that period, the army has derived from the department under your direction, as well as returning to you my best acknowledgments for the voluntary exertions of your personal services, for which we were often indebted to your zeal and activity; – and I have further to request, that you will be so obliging as to become the channel of conveying to the masters and crews of the transports under your orders, my due impression of the promptitude and alacrity with which, by the employment of their boats and other means in their power, they have afforded us essential support on most occasions of danger as well as fatigue.

(Signed)“, Commander of the Forces.”

“''To Captain Withers, &c. &c. &c.''”

From July, 1812, until the termination of hostilities, in