Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp2.djvu/307

  Count De Caen, a staunch adherent of Napoleon Buonaparte, had been making preparations to retake that city, and to punish its inhabitants for their friendly reception of Sir William Beresford. To further the Count’s views, two brigs, each mounting six long 18-pounders, a fine schooner, eight gun-boats, and four armed chasse-marées, had anchored in a line across the mouth of the Dordogne river, which falls into the Gironde about six miles above Blaye, and four leagues below Bourdeaux.

At day-light on the 2d April, this flotilla was discovered near Blaye, apparently pushing for Talmont. Very few minutes elapsed before the British boats were in pursuit; and on their approach, the whole of the enemy’s vessels ran ashore near the citadel, from whence 200 French soldiers marched out to protect them, although their crews, were greatly superior in number to the attacking party. A smart fire was also kept up from the citadel; but nothing could check the ardour of our countrymen, who dashed on, landed, charged the enemy, drove them into the woods with great loss, and kept possession of the beach until the tide allowed the greater part of the vessels to be brought off. They consisted of one brig, the schooner, six gun-boats, and three chasse-marées, together with an imperial state barge, rowing 26 oars. The other brig, gun-boats, and chasse-marée were set on fire and destroyed.

In the performance of this exploit, the British had not a man slain, and only sixteen persons wounded:– two men, officially reported as missing, were afterwards recovered by Rear-Admiral Penrose, who highly commended the gallantry and excellent conduct of Lieutenant Robert Graham Dunlop, senior officer of the detachment; of whom it is said, that when the party landed, he caught a horse, twisted some rope-yarns together for a bridle, and mounted; observing to those near him, that unless he could keep a-head of his fine fellows, he did not know where they would stop! The exemplary behaviour of Lieutenant Patrick Robertson, R.M.,