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Naval history of Great Britain
by
William James
1807
BRITISH AND FRENCH FLEETS
341


the polacres. Meanwhile another party of French sailors, having gained a height above Lieutenant Hayes and his men, annoyed the latter excessively, notwithstanding that some of the Hydra's guns kept playing upon the spot.

By 3 h. 30 m. P.M. Lieutenant Drury was in complete possession of the vessels ; and the seamen, with characteristic intrepidity and coolness, deliberately carried out hawsers to the very rocks occupied by the enemy, and continued warping out their prizes in the teeth of a fresh breeze, and in defiance of a galling fire of musketry. On seeing this, Captain Mundy despatched his third lieutenant, James Little, with the remainder of the boats, to assist Lieutenant Drury and his little party ; and at 4 P.M. the three prizes rounded the point of the harbour. The marines then re-embarked, under a heavy discharge of musketry from the enemy, who had collected his whole force to harass the British rear.

The captured polacres were the ship Prince-Eugene of 16 guns and 130 men, brig Belle-Caroline, of 12 guns and 40 men, both belonging to Marseille, and brig Carmen-de-Rosario, of four guns and 40 men. Among the fortunate circumstances attending this very spirited and well-conducted enterprise, was that it was achieved with so slight a loss, as one seaman killed and two wounded on board the Hydra, and Mr. Goddard and three seamen and marines wounded of the detachment on shore. The frigate's damages, also, were confined to a few shot in the hull, slightly-wounded fore and mizen topmasts and foretopsail yard, and some trifling injury to her rigging. The name of Lieutenant Drury, in the list of commanders at the latter part of the year 1807, shows that his gallantry met its due reward.

On the 18th of August the British 18-gun ship-sloop Confiance, Captain James Lucas Yeo, cruising within a few miles of Guardia on the coast of Portugal, received information that a lugger privateer was in that port. It being calm, Captain Yeo despatched, to cut the vessel out, the boats of the Confiance, under Lieutenant William Hovenden Walker, assisted by master's mate, Massey Hutchinson Herbert and midshipman George Forder. Although the privateer was moored under two forts, one of four 24-pounders and the other of six 18-pounders, with 150 troops stationed at them, and that both the latter and the forts opened a heavy fire upon the boats long before they reached the vessel, Lieutenant Walker and his party, in the most gallant manner, boarded and carried her, without the slightest loss. She proved to be the Reitrada, of one long 12 and two 4-pounders, with a crew of thirty men ; one of whom was killed, and several wounded : the remainder leaped overboard and effected their escape.

On the 25th of August the British 38-gun frigate Clyde, Captain Edward William Campbell Rich Owen, cruising off the French coast between Ypont and Fécamp, despatched her boats,

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