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Naval History of Great Britain - Vol II
1798 Capture of Minorca 197

head; standing for that port. Chase was instantly given ; whereupon the strange squadron, which consisted of the Spanish 40-gun frigates Flora and Proserpine, and 34-gun frigates Santa-Cazilda and Pomona, with their prize, the late British sloop Peterel, captured at noon on the preceding day, hauled to the wind for Majorca. The Peterel, hauling more up than the rest, was pursued and recaptured by the Argo ; while the remainder of the British ships continued in chase of the four Spanish frigates. At 11 p.m. the Leviathan, taking with her the Calcutta and Ulysses, returned to Ciudadella ; as, in the course of the next day, the 14th, did the Centaur and Coromandel, the Spanish frigates having completely outsailed their pursuers. It appears that the Spaniards had. behaved extremely ill to the officers and crew of the Peterel, having plundered them of almost every thing. The chief part of the clothes belonging to Captain Long and his officers, however, are represented to have been subsequently recovered. This charge of ill-usage was officially contradicted in the Madrid Gazette of the 12th of the following April, but was, nevertheless, essentially true.

Upon his return, on the morning of the 16th, off Ciudadella, Commodore Duckworth found that, owing to the active measures pursued by General Stuart, the town had been summoned on the 14th, and that on the 15th the whole island had surrendered on terms of capitulation, without the loss of a single British subject. The Spanish troops, composing the different garrisons on the island, amounted to between 3000 and 4000 men. A great quantity of ordnance and ordnance-stores was taken in the forts ; and in the arsenal at Mahon was found abundance of naval stores. No Spanish ship of war was afloat in any of the harbours ; but the keel and stern-frame of a man-of-war brig was found on the stocks at Port-Mahon, with the whole of her timbers and rigging, and a part of her clothing, The vessel was afterwards completed, and launched as the Port-Mahon. She measured 277 tons, and is now the police-depôt moored off Somerset-house. Several gun-boats were also taken, but none of any value. Of merchant vessels there were three ; a ship of 540 tons, partly laden with cotton, gum, and drugs, a ship of 200 tons, in ballast, a xebec of 60 tons, laden with horn, and four small tartans.

The conduct of the British seamen and marines, that had been detached from their respective ships to serve on shore, was on this, as we have shown it to have been on many other occasions, of the most exemplary description ; so much so, as to call forth from General Stuart the following written testimonial, addressed to Lieutenant William Buchanan, second of the Leviathan, under whose orders the men had been placed: " I have the honour to return you, and the gentlemen employed on shore under your command, my sincere thanks for your activity, zeal, and assistance, in forwarding the light artillery of the

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