Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall v3p2.djvu/451

 fleet at anchor, in such a situation as would render it impossible for any one of them to escape, except by running on shore, and to make the attack in the day time, when, with the arrangements which, I am going to recommend, the Greek fire-vessels cannot possibly miss their objects; and as the weather-ships will be fired first of all, these will necessarily, drift down upon those that are to leeward, and will become fire-ships in their turn.

“In the Mediterranean and Levant seas, the wind, as is well known, most generally, in the summer season, blows directly into all harbours during the afternoon and early part of the night; so that, if the Greek fire-ships should make their attack in the early part of the evening, they would at once see the object of attack, and be sure of having a leading wind in, which in all probability would not fail them before they completely effected the object in contemplation.

“In order to make the attack as effective as possible, I proposed, in the first place, to have the fire-ships filled with empty casks, and would have them carry very little, if any ballast, and then they may he hulled repeatedly by the batteries without being in danger of sinking; and, if any of them should happen to be dismasted, they would still drift in before the wind, and create confusion, if they did no further mischief. This misfortune, however, is not much to be apprehended. Not one of Sir Johh Duckworth's squadron was dismasted in passing through the Dardanelles in the day-time; and not one of Lord Nelson’s ships was dismasted at the battle of Copenhagen, till long after every one of them had taken her proper position. It is morally impossible, therefore, that more than two out of a dozen of the Greek fire-vessels could be dismasted, or materially crippled, by the Turkish batteries, in passing, with a fair wind, into any harbour, before they had run the enemy’s ships on board.

“In the second place, I propose that the fire-ships shall make the attack in couples, connected by a cablet, or chain, fastened to their quarters; by which means, if properly conducted, they will be sure to enclose the objects of their attack, and must necessarily remain in contact, even if the grapplings should not retain their hold. It can hardly be necessary to point out the advantage which this mode of attack would possess over every other. A single fire-ship, with no one at the helm, is very likely to pass wide of the object of attack; or her grapplings may not retain their hold, even if she should get alongside, when she is going with equal rapidity through the water; but it is not likely that the object of attack should escape, when she is enclosed by two fire-ships, which are