Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp4.djvu/78

  “My Lord,– I do myself the honor to report to your Lordship, the circumstances attending an action which took place on the 17th inst. about 50 miles west of Cape Corse, between this brig and a French ship of war mounting 28 guns (twenty 26lb. carronades, and two long 12-pounders on the main deck, and six long guns, 9 or 12-pounders, with some smaller ones, on her upper deck); and the disinclination of our opponent to renew the contest, alone, I am assured, prevented its terminating in his capture. Should I enter too much into detail in describing the event to your Lordship, I hope that it will be attributed solely to an earnest desire to do justice to the merits of those whom I had the honor to command on the occasion.

“At daylight on the 17th, a frigate was observed in the E.N.E. which, from not answering our signals, I concluded to be an enemy. I continued to approach her until I could see her water-line from the deck, and then, having ascertained that she had only twelve ports of a side on the main-deck, I thought she was not more than a match for the Pilot, and consequently did my best to get alongside of her. At 2 the stranger having taken in his small sails, and apparently prepared for action, he hauled towards us, and fired a gun to windward, hoisting a tri-coloured pendant and ensign. At half-past 2, after some manoeuvring on both sides to endeavour to gain the weather-gage, I placed the Pilot close on his weather beam, and hoisted our colours. Observing that he was preparing to make sail to pass us, and an officer having hailed in a menacing tone, desiring me ‘to keep further from him,’ and his people continuing to train their guns at us, I ordered a shot to be fired through his foresail to stop his progress. The flash of our gun proved the signal for the general discharge of his broadside, and the action then commenced within pistol range, our shot being from the lee guns, and directed low, evidently striking his hull in quick succession, and his disabling our rigging greatly. By 4 o’clock, the fire of our opponent had slackened considerably, and I sanguinely looked and expected every instant to see the tri-coloured ensign hauled down. At half-past 4, he hauled up his mainsail, and backed his mizen-top-sail, in order to drop a-stern; I endeavoured to shorten sail also, to retain our position on his beam, but I found every brace, bowline, and clue-garnet cut away. We thus unavoidably ran a-head of him, and as the only alternative, I put the helm up to rake his bows, of which he took immediate advantage, by hauling close to the wind, and making off with all the sail he could carry: and it was with deep regret I saw that I had it not in my power to follow him immediately, in consequence of our disabled state aloft, the yards being wholly unmanageable, the main-top-gallant-mast over the side, the main-top-sail-yard shot away in the slings, and our stays, and the greater part of our standing, and all our running rigging, gone. Thus situated, it was some time before we could secure the masts and yards, so as to follow the French ship: however, in less than an hour we had another main-top-sail-yard across, and the tail set, and by 7 o’clock were going nearly 7 knots by the wind in chase of our opponent, with the