CHAPTER XV.. 1832 to 1836.

1832 to 1836.

Political opinions and conduct of Lord de Saumarez.--Death of his second son.--His letter on that occasion.--Anecdotes of his carriage being robbed.--Of Sweden.--The King of Sweden presents him with his portrait.--Count Wetterstedt's letter and Lord de Saumarez's answer.--Lord de Saumarez's last illness and death.--His Christian fortitude.--His professional character.--Moral and religious character.--Remarks and conclusion.

After Sir James's elevation to the peerage, he came during the session from his residence in Guernsey to London, in order to attend his duty in Parliament, but did not join any party in politics. We have already said that he voted for the Reform Bill, being fully convinced that some reform was necessary; but we know that he was firmly attached to the Constitution and to the Established Church, and he may be said to have followed nearest to the opinions of Earl Grey, after whose retirement from office he did not appear in Parliament. When the Author paid his lordship a visit at Tunbridge Wells in the winter of 1833, he found him much altered, and it was but too evident that his constitution was broken. In the summer of 1834 he had to deplore the loss of his second son (Thomas), who died on the 4th of July, on which mournful occasion he wrote the following letter to his son.

In the heavy affliction with which it has pleased the Almighty to visit us, he has not left us without consolation; and our confidence in the Divine mercy, and the hope that your beloved brother is removed to a better world, in the enjoyment of the blessed, through the precious merits of our dear Redeemer, must tend to assuage our sorrow, and induce us to submit with due resignation to the divine will. It will be to me a source of the greatest consolation, as it must be to us all, my dear James, to have witnessed his meek and patient resignation during his severe illness. It has been to me, as yourself and your dear Mary will readily believe, a most distressing and truly painful trial; but it has pleased God to support me through the whole of this sorrowful time far beyond what I could ever have thought myself to have been equal to, and I trust that your dear mother and beloved brother and sister will continue resigned to the will of Providence.

Lord de Saumarez's amiable disposition afforded him support under severe and unexpected losses of every description, of which the following anecdote is a proof. In the spring of 1834 he met with a loss on his journey to visit Sir John Orde at Beckingham, which we will venture to say would have been borne in a very different way by many of his brother officers. His own carriage being under repair, he had borrowed one from the coachmaker, which could only take one trunk behind; in this trunk the female servant, who had lived a long time in the family, had deposited his valuable diamond star of the Order of the Bath, together with some costly jewels and trinkets belonging to Lady de Saumarez and her daughter. On their arrival at Sir John's mansion at Beckingham, it was discovered, to their utter consternation, that the trunk had been cut off by thieves and carried away with its contents, the value of which amounted to near 1000l. Sir James bore the loss with the most philosophic coolness; for, instead of finding fault with the servant for placing such valuable articles in so hazardous a situation, with his true habitual kindness, he used his utmost endeavours to soothe the distress she felt as having been the unintentional cause of the loss. Information was immediately given at the Police-office, but none of the property was ever heard of, excepting the trunk, which was found empty in a field by the road side.

In Sweden the name of Saumarez will be for ever spoken of with gratitude and respect, and all strangers who visit that country are sure in their memoirs to mention the services which he had rendered. In Mr. Lloyd's book we find:

To the good understanding which existed between Count Rosen and Sir James Saumarez, our admiral on that station, may be ascribed the flourishing trade which was afterwards carried on during a period of nominal war, and the re-establishment of peace between the countries which soon after followed. Of Sir James Saumarez the inhabitants still speak in the highest terms of respect and regard, for his mildness and moderation in command, and for the attention he invariably paid to their numerous applications and wants.

A tourist in Sweden writes as follows:

Stockholm, 22nd Jan. 1832.

To-day I shall again have the honour of dining with Count Wetterstedt. Many, many inquiries were made after the health and happiness of the gallant and amiable Lord de Saumarez, whose name is beloved and respected throughout the whole kingdom. I landed at Christiania and travelled by land within fifty miles of Stockholm, and even the peasantry are familiar with my Patron's excellent name and character, the great friend of Sweden.

In October 1834, Lord de Saumarez received the last mark of Royal favour from the King of Sweden, who sent him a splendid full-length portrait of himself, which was forwarded with the following letter from the late highly respected Count Wetterstedt, then Minister for Foreign Affairs at Stockholm:

Stockholm, le 7 d'Octobre 1834.

MILORD,

Depuis longtems le Roi mon auguste Souverain vous avait destine, Milord, son portrait en pied comme un temoignage de son estime des services signales que vous avez rendus a la Suede dans les annees 1810-12.

Divers incidens en avaient retarde l'expedition, d'autant plus regrettables au Roi, que sa Majeste avait appris l'interet que vous aviez attache a ce souvenir de sa part. L'occasion opportune qui se presente maintenant de pouvoir embarquer ce portrait a bord du batiment a vapeur, le Lightning, de la Marine Britannique, qui transporte ici Monsieur de Disbrowe, a ete saisie par le Roi, et j'ai l'honneur de vous annoncer en son nom que cette expedition vient d'etre effectuee.

En faisant placer sur ce portrait cette inscription, "Charles XIV. Jean, a James Lord Saumarez, au nom du Peuple Suedois," sa Majeste s'est plue a transmettre a la posterite une preuve eclatante des souvenirs qui restent chez elle, et chez la Nation qu'elle gouverne, des vues eclairees du Gouvernement Britannique a une epoque a jamais memorable, et de la noble loyaute que vous mites, Milord, dans leur accomplissement.

Il m'est d'autant plus agreable, Milord, d'etre aupres de vous l'organe de ces sentimens de mon Souverain, que je trouve une occasion d'y ajouter ceux de la haute consideration avec laquelle j'ai l'honneur d'etre,

Milord, Votre tres humble et tres obeissant Serviteur, LE CTE. DE WETTERSTEDT.

This portrait, which is the natural size of the illustrious donor, arrived safely at Guernsey, where the Author saw it, and can affirm that it is an excellent likeness of his Majesty, who was always grateful for the services which Lord de Saumarez had rendered to his adopted country. Not less so were the merchants in London, who were preparing a splendid piece of plate, which the noble admiral did not live to receive, but which was presented to his son, the present lord.

We now approach the last days of this great and good man. He had yet another contest to encounter, and he entered upon it with that same moral courage, which, being founded on his trust in the Almighty, had hitherto enabled him to overcome every difficulty, and to face every danger; he had yet another victory to achieve, in which he came off more than conqueror. We are now to behold him as no longer holding intercourse with earth, but rather standing on the confines of either world; not indeed as preparing to meet his God, for that had been the business of his whole life, but as ready to obey whenever his summons came.

With the exceptions of occasional attacks of gout, which in general were more tedious than severe, he may be considered to have enjoyed a good state of health; but for the last three years his friends perceived that advanced age was gradually bringing on its debilitating effects. He was no longer able to walk with that firm commanding step, and that erect posture of body for which he had always been noted; but his mind retained its usual energy, and when he fell in with any of his old companions he would converse on the deeds of his more active life with all the vigour and animation of youth. Notwithstanding he had nearly attained the latest of those periods assigned by the Psalmist as the general boundary of human life, his children had still fondly hoped that he might yet have been spared a few years; neither had she, who for forty-eight years had been the joy and solace of his existence, and who had watched over him with the most sincere and devoted affection, any particular reason to think that they were so soon to be severed. A few weeks before his death, his increasing debility; attended with loss of appetite and inability of retaining food, excited some slight apprehensions, which, though not sufficient to cause alarm on the first appearance of those symptoms, led, as they increased, to the conviction that the system was decaying.

On the 30th of September Lord de Saumarez seemed to have recovered his usual good looks, and appeared with the cheerfulness which, when in health, he always assumed. That day he received several friends, who congratulated him on his convalescence; but the members of his family who watched him most attentively, observed that he received their congratulations with distrust, as if conscious of his declining state; and, on their departure, calling one of them aside, he emphatically told him, that his looks were not to be depended on, for that he really felt ill. It is even said that he had already given directions to his confidential servants respecting some of the last duties. On the morrow his increased debility showed that his opinion of his own state was but too correct, and on the next day, which was Sunday, he awoke, after an uneasy night, under the pressure of distressing symptoms. Finding it was too late for his family to go to church, he requested they would read the service to him, and was afterwards much employed in meditation. It was now apparent that he was impressed with the belief, that the time of his departure was at hand, for he seemed as if taking a farewell of terrestrial objects and resigning his soul to his Maker and Redeemer.

More than once he exclaimed, "I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." "What comfort, shall never die," he repeated, in a manner which showed the hope he himself entertained of a blessed immortality. He was well acquainted with every page of the sacred writings, the perusal of a portion of which, including the psalms of the day, had for many years formed part of his regular employment, and it was now he felt the comfort which they inspired and the support which they afforded under the near prospect of death and the grave.

Monday brought no amendment; it was evident that nature was sinking, and his medical attendants no longer concealed their apprehensions of the result. Those of his family, who had the privilege of attending him at this solemn period, while they were filled with sorrow at the prospect of losing one so deservedly dear to them, could not contemplate the calmness and composure with which he met the approaching change, without feelings of the most devout admiration.

Still seeking comfort from its only true source, Heavenly themes were the prevailing occupation of his thoughts. "The Lord," he said, "is my light and my salvation; of whom then shall I be afraid?" He also repeated from memory the 23rd and 34th Psalms, together with some other parts of the holy volume. On the Thursday, which may be considered as the last day on which he enjoyed the full power of speech and consciousness, his tongue was still employed in magnifying the God of his salvation: several times he repeated, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" sometimes adding, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Once he said, "Oh, my poor mind!"--"Not a poor mind," was the reply, "but a rich one, stored as it is with such heavenly things:" when he meekly answered, "I have tried to make it so."

The two following days he felt increased difficulty in breathing, and though only able to give occasional utterance to his thoughts, the constant joining of his hands, and the devotion of his countenance, showed that his understanding was still able to unite in the supplications which his family offered up in behalf of the dying husband and parent. His recollection, however, was gradually leaving him; for, on Lady de Saumarez approaching his bedside on the morning of Saturday, he no longer recognised her; he appeared to be fast passing from this world to better and everlasting habitations. It was, as this excellent and truly Christian woman acknowledged, more than mortal strength which enabled her to contemplate without a murmur the separation that was so soon to take place, and which raised her mind above the distressing scene before her, to find utterance in prayer for herself and for the departing spirit of her husband. She was not sensible that she was heard, till, a few moments after she had concluded, he distinctly said, in the metrical version of the 122nd psalm, "It was a joyful sound to hear." It is uncertain whether this alluded to the words of the prayer just uttered, or whether the Almighty was already pleased to vouchsafe to him, as there is reason to believe he does to his faithful servants when approaching the great conflict, some assurance of his salvation, by admitting him to a distant sound of the Hallelujahs of those blessed spirits which surround the throne. From whatever source sprung this sentence, dear and precious must it ever be to those who loved him; for these were the last words he distinctly pronounced,--the last sound of his voice in this world!

The next day (Sunday) was the 9th of October, a day which had been one of peculiar interest to him, being the birth-day of his eldest son, who was unfortunately prevented by a weak state of health, attended with bodily infirmity, which would not admit of his crossing the water in the stormy weather then prevailing, from being present at the dying bed of his beloved parent.

His breathing now became very laborious, but his lordship was apparently at ease and free from pain. Sometimes it was thought a degree of consciousness existed; for when at noon his second son, who had just arrived from England, appeared in the apartment and spoke, a slight movement of the body was perceptible. Towards night the pulse rapidly declined, the breathing, which had been much relieved during the day, became gradually fainter, every limb was at rest, the whole body in repose, as if indicating the happy state of that spirit which was about to be resigned into the hands of Him that gave it.

A few minutes before midnight, the wise Disposer of all things was pleased to close the mortal scene; the cessation of the act of breathing was the only sign of dissolution; and even at that moment his countenance bore an expression no language can portray; unimpaired by illness, or the course of nearly fourscore years, time seemed to have restored to his features and complexion the freshness and bloom of the prime of life. In beholding such a blissful termination of mortal existence, we have here a happy illustration of the words of the prophet, "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness, and assurance for ever."

Isaiah, xxxii. 17.

In order to form a correct estimate of the merits of the late Lord de Saumarez, his character should be viewed under the opposite relations of life--professional and domestic; and very few who have belonged to the navy, or indeed any service, have been more distinguished in either. Rear-Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, Bart. &c. now Lieutenant Governor of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, has given us the following sketch of his professional character, of which he must be admitted to be the best judge, having served several years as his captain under the most trying circumstances of his life.

I had frequent opportunities of observing him in both characters, and knew not which to admire most--that perfect enjoyment which he seemed to possess in the bosom of his family; that peculiar faculty of giving and receiving happiness in the truly happy circle of which he was the centre--or that energy of character which led him with enthusiasm into active service, and which made the good of his country paramount to every other consideration. Perhaps the most weary of all situations, to a naval officer, is, when placed in command of a squadron, watching an enemy's fleet, particularly on such a station as that of Brest; and there my noble friend was severely tried, first, as a captain with a squadron under his orders, and afterwards as a flag officer. The rapidity of the tides, as well as their irregularity, and the constant heavy gales from the westward, render the service a most anxious one; and he indeed felt the full force of the responsibility; but the determined resolution with which he maintained his position, under the most threatening circumstances, gave the fullest assurance to the commander-in-chief, that this most important post was in able and sure hands. All his officers and crew had their regular portions of repose; but sleep to the officer charged with this immense responsibility was almost impossible during the night, and a few transient snatches of rest through the day, when danger could be seen or avoided, were all that could be obtained, and these enabled him to sustain the fatigue to which he was exposed.

During the long winter nights, we could all observe the effects of this most trying situation upon the Admiral's appearance, who, having alone the responsibility for the safety of all the ships under his command, suffered in proportion to its amount. It was, at the same time, a subject of general remark, how every trace of fatigue and anxiety instantly vanished on the arrival of a letter from his family. It would have been natural to suppose that, deeply as he felt the happiness of home, so in proportion would have been his distaste for a service that deprived him of it; but the moment that he was assured of the welfare of the objects of his affectionate solicitude, his countenance was lighted up by the utmost gratitude to the Giver of all blessings, and he again devoted himself to the fulfilment of his arduous duties with renewed energy.

It was frequently said by Earl St. Vincent, that when an officer of the navy married, he lost much of his value in his profession. There are, doubtless, many exceptions to that rule, and Sir James Saumarez was a most striking one; for I believe he was most powerfully stimulated to great and good actions, by the consideration of the share those dear to him would enjoy in their results. And, certainly, no energy whatever was wanting to get his ship, or squadron, ready for sea, or to proceed with the utmost despatch in the execution of his orders, however it might curtail the period of his domestic enjoyments; everything gave way to duty, and every possible degree of energy and zeal was brought into action for the execution of it.

The lively sensibility, which formed so prominent a feature in the character of our lamented hero, was most remarkable. It was not only in the intercourse of private friendship and in acts of kindness and benevolence, that this feeling was evinced; but upon all occasions, public as well as private, he manifested how deeply his heart was engaged in events which might bear on the interests of his friends and his country. I well remember, when off the Black Rocks in April 1801, his coming on board, from a visit he paid to the commander-in-chief, and bringing a newspaper, containing an account of the landing in Egypt, and the attack on the Danish fleet at Copenhagen by Lord Nelson. He directed me to cause the hands to be turned up; but when they were assembled, his feelings had so completely overcome him, that he found it utterly impossible to read the account. Many instances of this peculiar depth of feeling and goodness of heart might be enumerated. I shall only add, that he was most exemplary in his conduct, and most exact in causing all the offices of religion to be performed on board his ship, allowing nothing short of the most imperative duties of the ship to interrupt divine service!

In conclusion, we must seriously recommend to our young readers, and particularly to those of the Royal Navy, to whom indeed the whole memoir is addressed, to read with attention the following remarks on the moral and religious character of the late illustrious and noble Admiral.

His lordship was a sincere Christian, in the most exalted sense of the word; his religion was a strong principle, pervading every decision and action of his long and distinguished life. It was a principle emanating from a sound knowledge and love of scripture truth; those who were honoured with his confidence, and who saw him at all times, and under different circumstances, particularly in the hour of sickness and in affliction, can testify with what earnestness he turned to the great source of strength and consolation, with what warmth of feeling he spoke of the redeeming mercies of God in Christ Jesus; it was a theme to which he delighted to give utterance, and in a way which convinced those who heard him, that it constituted the firm, prevailing, comforting belief and support of his own mind and heart. A friend, who visited Lord de Saumarez during a severe illness, was deeply affected on hearing him say, that he had passed a sleepless night, not so much from the bodily sufferings he endured as from the painful reflection of the misery and danger of the multitudes who were living without God in the world, particularly those who were opposed to the gospel of Christ, and that he had earnestly prayed to God on their behalf. It was a similar feeling which led him to employ himself with so much zeal, and such magnificent liberality for the erection of St. James's church in his native island: it owes its existence mainly to him. No sacrifice appeared too great to ensure the success of an undertaking which provided four hundred free sittings for the use of the poor population. More recently, in the same spirit, he became a bountiful contributor to another church, in a populous district of the island; and his last public act was laying the foundation-stone of that edifice. The multitudes who there saw his benign countenance, will not quickly forget the devotion which mingled with the performance of the ceremony. He ever liberally supported the schools and religious institutions; but indeed his charity was unbounded. In every case of public emergency, or of private distress, he was a sure refuge; and the hopes entertained of his assistance and sympathy were never disappointed. The success which attended his Lordship in his profession, has proved that moral and religious worth, far from unfitting men for the naval service, only qualifies them the more for the right discharge of their arduous duties. No commander ever possessed in a higher degree the confidence of the navy, the respect of the community at large, and the love and veneration of friends and relatives; and surely it is not too much to add, that this homage was paid, not more to his professional skill and valour, not more to the eminent services he had rendered to his king and country, than to the Christian excellency which ever adorned his life and actions.

ADDENDA.

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF LIEUT. GENERAL SIR THOMAS SAUMAREZ.

In adding the following memoir of this distinguished officer, who is a younger brother of the late noble Lord, we feel confident that it will be read with interest, his services having been in some degree mixed up with those of his illustrious brother, in the prosecution of the American and the late Continental war. The author having been intimately acquainted with Sir Thomas, and having for many years kept up a constant correspondence with him, has peculiar satisfaction in discharging this duty of gratitude to a friend for whom he had always the highest regard and respect, and to whom he materially owes his advancement in the profession to which he has the honour to belong.

Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Saumarez entered the army in January 1776, at the early age of 15 years, when he purchased a second lieutenancy in the 23rd regiment or Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He was at the taking of New York Island, and assisted at the storming of Fort Washington and in capturing 3300 men.

In April 1777, he embarked on board transports with the regiment, and proceeded to destroy all the military stores and provisions the enemy had collected at Danburg in the province of Connecticut. He first distinguished himself in the action fought at this place, and in the actions of Ridgefield and Compo Point. Having obtained a lieutenancy in 1778 without purchase at Philadelphia, he soon after was selected to serve in the company of grenadiers which was then attached to the brigade, composed of more than fifty companies of grenadiers. He was in the severe action fought at Monmouth, in the Jerseys, when the captain, and more than one-third of the company to which he belonged, were killed or wounded. His services were volunteered with the regiment to serve as marines on board Lord Howe's fleet, destined to attack the French fleet, under Count D'Estaing, at Rhode Island, very superior in size and weight of metal to the British: a dreadful storm arose when the two fleets were within gun-shot of each other, which prevented the engagement. In 1779, he embarked and went up Hudson's River to East Chester, and Ver Plank's Point, and was at the attack of Fort La Fayette and other fortified places, which surrendered.

On the return of young Saumarez to New York in September 1779, he was strongly recommended by his commanding officer to General Clinton, the commander-in-chief, and, in consequence, was permitted to purchase a company in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, although he was only 19 years of age. The day following, he embarked with several regiments, under the command of Earl Cornwallis, with the intention of attacking several French West Indian Islands. A few days after leaving New York, a frigate hove in sight, the captain of which gave information to Vice Admiral Arbuthnot, that two days before he had seen a large fleet of men-of-war, under the command of Count De Grasse, very superior in numbers to our convoy, and that he supposed the enemy to be within a day's sail of our ships. Upon this the Admiral made the signal for all the transports to return as expeditiously as possible to New York, where he disembarked.

In December, our young officer embarked with many regiments, under the command of Lieutenant General Clinton, and sailed for South Carolina, to besiege the city of Charlestown, which surrendered on the 12th of May 1780. Soon after this, he was detached with 4000 men, under the orders of Earl Cornwallis, and after marching upwards of one hundred miles took possession of Camden. At this place, our little army became so sickly that we had more than 1100 men in the hospital, which, with many detachments, reduced our number to less than 2000 effective men. The enemy being apprised of this, was induced to collect a force of more than 7000 men, with the intention of attacking and capturing our little army, under the command of General Gates. On the 15th of August, Lord Cornwallis was informed that the Americans were within twelve miles of Camden, and consisted of six to one in numbers more than we had to oppose to them. Upon this, his lordship considered it was too late to think of retreating to Charlestown, and not wishing to abandon our sick in hospital, decided at once that, by attacking the enemy, we had a great deal to gain and little to lose. He accordingly issued an order to march at nine o'clock the same evening. About two hours after, the advance guards of the British and of the Americans encountered each other, as the enemy had begun to march precisely at the same hour: after skirmishing some time, the firing ceased, and both armies waited most impatiently for the dawn of day of the 16th, when they formed, and immediately engaged; the Americans at the same time detaching troops on both the flanks of the British, to prevent their escaping, under the expectation of taking the whole prisoners. On the other hand, the British marched coolly to meet the enemy, although under a very heavy fire of cannon and musketry, until they came within twenty yards of their opponents. Here Lord Cornwallis took off his hat, which was a signal for the line to give three hearty cheers, advance, and, when within a few yards of the enemy, fire a well-directed volley and charge: this was done with such effect that the first line of the Americans ran away and overset their reserve; the result was, that the British killed (mostly with the bayonet), wounded, and took prisoners 300 more than they had men in the field, took seven pieces of brass cannon, 150 waggons, full of all sorts of military stores, camp equipage, &c.

About three weeks after this action, Lord Cornwallis, upon finding the greater number of the sick had left the hospital, issued an order for all the officers' baggage which could possibly be dispensed with to be destroyed immediately, as the little army was going by forced marches in pursuit of the enemy. The troops accordingly marched seventeen successive days, from five o'clock in the evening to eight or nine the following morning, oftentimes with a very scanty allowance, or no provisions, as it was through an exhausted country, without bread, (as the corn mills had been rendered unserviceable,) except some Indian corn used by the cattle, and this corn was taken from the fields. The troops were without tents or any covering to shelter them from the intense heat and heavy rains peculiar to the climate. They had to ford frequently four or five rivers and creeks in a day; some of these were deeper than their waist, and so rapid, that the officers and soldiers found it requisite to tie and support each other. Under these circumstances the men were frequently exposed to a most galling fire from the enemy, strongly posted: if a man was wounded, he was let go down the stream and drowned.

During a march of 1500 miles through South and North Carolina and Virginia, the officers and soldiers were subjected to the greatest sufferings, privations, and hardships, which, (as Lord Cornwallis frequently observed in his despatches,) could not be possibly exceeded, their clothes being worn out, especially their boots and shoes. They were, moreover, almost without wine or spirits, having destroyed the greater part when orders were issued at Camden to lessen the baggage as much as possible, which deprived the officers of the comforts they so much required, and which they had obtained with the greatest trouble and expense: for this sacrifice, they never received the smallest recompence. The officers having the rank of captain were allowed to ride on a march, but in consequence of a requisition made to Lord Cornwallis by Colonel Tarleton, commanding the cavalry, not only for the riding horses, but also for all the cart horses, which were most serviceable to mount his troopers, his lordship most reluctantly compelled every officer to deliver the best of the horses for the cavalry. The captains naturally lent their horses to the officers and men who might require them from illness or otherwise; it was soon found out that they could not be dispensed with, so that cast-off horses were substituted for those they had been obliged to give up.

The little army being nearly exhausted with fatigue, the officers and men became most anxious that, instead of the minor actions and skirmishes to which they were frequently exposed, the enemy would collect all his force and give them an opportunity to fight and end their labours.

On the 14th of March 1781, Lord Cornwallis received intelligence that General Green, with a force five times greater as to numbers than the British, was within ten miles. His lordship determined to attack them the day following, and put his little corps in motion at daybreak of the 15th of March. About noon, he fell in with the enemy most advantageously posted, and formed in three lines; the first, which was behind rails, kept up a most incessant fire, from four six-pounders and musquetry, upon the British troops as they advanced upon a ploughed field, which was very muddy from rain that fell the day before. Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, they marched coolly to the Americans without firing a musket until within a few yards, when they halted to fire a well-directed volley and charged. Upon this, they had to encounter the enemy's second and third lines, which were attacked in the same manner and totally dispersed, leaving their four six-pounders, the only guns they had, in the field, which were bravely taken by the brigade of guards: these four six-pounders were soon after retaken by a charge from Colonel Washington's cavalry, and two of these guns were ultimately taken by Captain Saumarez, who had the command of the left wing of the regiment from the commencement of the action, after Captain Pater, who commanded the royal Welsh Fusiliers, was wounded in the early part of the engagement, and the left wing had been separated from the right wing when in pursuit of the first line of the Americans. The other two six-pounders were also taken by Colonel Tarleton's cavalry: these four guns were all the Americans brought into the field.

The enemy's loss in killed and wounded was very considerable. The Welsh Fusiliers and most of the other corps of Lord Cornwallis's army had about one third of the officers and soldiers in the field killed and wounded, and most unhappily, during the action, the lighted paper of the cartridges set fire to the dried leaves, so that many of the unfortunate wounded, which could not be removed, belonging to the British and Americans, were burnt to death. Earl Cornwallis mentioned in his despatches, "that the conduct and actions of the officers and soldiers that compose this little army, will do more justice to their merit than I can by words. Their persevering intrepidity in action, their invincible patience in the hardships and fatigues of a march of many hundred miles, in which they have forded several large rivers and numberless creeks, many of which would be reckoned large rivers in any other country in the world, without tents or covering against the climate, and often without provisions, will sufficiently manifest their ardent zeal for the honour and interests of their sovereign and their country."

This engagement was generally considered to be the hottest and bloodiest, as well as the best fought throughout the war. The army marched from Guildford the 18th of March for Wilmington, where it arrived the 7th of April. At this place the officers and soldiers fortunately were enabled to supply themselves with a small quantity of wine and spirits, with which they had been without for some months, also with tea and sugar and some clothing, of which they began to be in the greatest need, in consequence of having been compelled to destroy the greatest part of their baggage twice for the good of the service, since they arrived at Camden in June 1780.

The action of July 1779.

On the 25th of April 1781, he marched from Wilmington, North Carolina, for Petersburg, Virginia, a distance of 800 miles: here he arrived on the 20th of May, after undergoing the greatest privations and hardships, which Lord Cornwallis deplored, and felt the distresses of his little army so much that he became very ill with a fever, which prevented the possibility of his lordship's sitting a horse, and made it indispensably requisite for his being conveyed in a waggon over mountains, rivers, and creeks.

On the 4th of July the troops marched from Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, for James Town, near which place there was a river three miles wide, which the army had to cross. On the 5th, the baggage of the army passed over the river, and some of the troops. The day following, Lord Cornwallis received intelligence that the Marquis De La Fayette with 2000 Americans were within a short distance of the British, with the intention of destroying the rear guard: upon this, his lordship prevented the main body of his little corps from embarking, and placed it in ambush behind a high hill to wait the attack of the enemy. About four o'clock in the afternoon, the Americans began to attack the piquets, which had orders to sustain their ground as long as possible; in consequence, several officers and soldiers were wounded: at length the main body of the enemy formed in front of the British, when the latter, after receiving the repeated discharges of the former from two six-pounders and musquetry, advanced, with the greatest impetuosity, fired a volley and charged, which completely dispersed the Americans, who were pursued until dark, the enemy leaving the two pieces of cannon and more than 300 killed and wounded on the field. Another hour of day-light would in all probability have prevented a single man of the Americans escaping.

Earl Cornwallis was so well pleased with his little army, that in his despatches he mentioned, that he could not sufficiently commend the spirit and good behaviour of the officers and soldiers. On the 25th of July the little corps marched for Portsmouth, and arrived at York Town and Gloucester on the 9th of August, when orders were issued to fortify both places as well as practicable. The Welsh Fusiliers were directed to erect a redoubt on the right flank of the town, more than five hundred yards in advance, there being a ravine between York and the position allotted. Lord Cornwallis declared that the Fusiliers would have to defend this post. On the 28th of September, 8000 French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau, and 1500 American troops under General Washington, with a large French fleet of ships of war, made their appearance, with the avowed intention of besieging the army under Earl Cornwallis, consisting of only 4017 men fit for duty: 1933 officers and soldiers were wounded and sick in hospital. The night following, the enemy broke ground within three hundred yards and continued their approaches.

On the 6th of October, 3000 French grenadiers made a most vigorous attempt to storm the right advanced redoubt, and were bravely repulsed by only 130 officers and soldiers of the royal Welsh Fusiliers, and 40 marines. Two other attempts were made by the French to take the redoubt, which proved equally unsuccessful. For the gallant defence made by the troops in the right redoubt, they received the particular thanks of Earl Cornwallis, and also the most flattering testimonials of approbation and of admiration from the general officers of the army, for their intrepid conduct during the siege, and upon all other occasions. Even the French general officers, after the termination of the siege, gave the Welsh Fusiliers their unqualified praises for their firmness and courage in repulsing the three attacks made by such vastly superior numbers on the redoubt, and could not be easily convinced that so few men defended it. Captain Saumarez was the second officer in command in the advanced right redoubt.

On the 19th of October 1781, the garrison of York Town capitulated. Lord Cornwallis having ordered that one captain and three subalterns of each regiment be required to remain with the prisoners, the captains drew lots, when Captain Saumarez proved so unfortunate as to be the one to remain with the regiment, in order to visit the non-commissioned officers and soldiers very frequently; to be an eye-witness of their treatment; to take care that the quantity and quality of the provisions issued to them were conformable to the terms of the capitulation; to distribute clothing and necessaries, and also to be of every other use and benefit to them in his power. On the 29th of October, he marched from York Town with the regiment, and arrived on the 15th November at Winchester, in the back settlements of Virginia, where the soldiers were confined in barracks, surrounded with a stockade. The 12th of January 1782, he marched with the regiment and a part of Lord Cornwallis's army from Winchester, through the State of Maryland to Lancaster in Pennsylvania, where they arrived the 28th following. The cold was so intense during the march, which proved so harassing and fatiguing, that many of the men were frost-bitten, and many others suffered exceedingly.

The 2nd of June 1782, Captain Saumarez and the other twelve captains taken prisoners with the army under Earl Cornwallis, were ordered by the American Congress and General Washington to assemble at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania; and to draw lots, that one might be selected to suffer death by way of retaliation, when the lot fell on Sir Charles Asgill, who was in consequence conveyed under a strong escort to the American army, stationed in the Jerseys, the place fixed upon for his execution. Here he remained in prison for six months, enduring the greatest hardships, expecting daily that his execution would take place. The manner adopted for drawing lots, was by placing the names of the thirteen captains in one hat, and in another twelve blank pieces of paper, beginning with the names one by one, and by each piece of paper, until the paper was drawn upon which was written the "unfortunate." It may be observed that Captain Asgill had to pass through Philadelphia, where the Congress was assembled; and he being attended voluntarily, and most humanely, by Major Gordon, of the 80th regiment, the senior officer of the British troops prisoners of war, he made it his business to wait upon the French Ambassador, and desired in the most impressive manner his Excellency's interference with the Congress, to prevent the execution of Captain Asgill. The Ambassador refused complying with the entreaty, but it was thought he afterwards relented, as he was seen going to Congress; and that his remonstrances, together with the strong representations of the captains, who wrote and applied in the most decided manner to General Count De Rochambeau, who commanded the French troops in besieging York Town, had the effect of at least suspending the sanguinary intentions of Congress and of General Washington, to put Captain Asgill to death, until the Government and the Queen of France, to whom application had been made to interfere in his behalf, and if possible save his life, were ascertained. The only reason alleged for the above transactions, was, that a rebel captain named Huddy, who was patrolling with Americans, fell in at night with another patrol of royalists commanded by Captain Lippencott, who was taken prisoner by Huddy, and who, without trial or any other cause but his being a loyalist attached to the British army, hung poor Lippencott. The latter's brother, shortly after this most infamous occurrence, was patrolling and took Huddy prisoner, upon which, to retaliate for the murder of his brother, he executed Huddy. The above transactions were made known to the thirteen captains whilst prisoners on parole, and credited by them. They were also informed very frequently, that General Washington had often declared, that of the two events of his life which grieved him and that he lamented most, one was his not having done his utmost to prevent the thirteen captains taken by capitulation drawing lots.

Brigade of Guards:--Earl Ludlow, Sir Charles Morgan, Captains Eld, Greville, Asgill, and Perrin. Captain Saumarez, 23rd, or Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Captain Coote, 37th Regiment. Captains Graham and Barclay, 76th Regiment. Captains Arbuthnot and Hathorn, 80th Regiment. Captain ----, name unknown.

Captain Saumarez being the senior officer of the British troops, during the time they were prisoners at Winchester and at York Town, in Pennsylvania, had the charge and superintendence of 3000 men, stationed at each of these places during nineteen months, which caused the greatest anxiety, and often-times the utmost distress. In consequence of his unremitting zeal and exertions upon this arduous service for the comfort and welfare of the soldiers under his superintendence, as well as to prevent their deserting to the enemy, from whom they received every enticement to do so, he was frequently offered passports and encouragements to go to England, and abandon the soldiers, by the American authorities; but flattering himself that he was most useful to them, and being impelled by a sense of public duty, he voluntarily continued a prisoner on parole, until, in May 1783, he had the satisfaction at the end of the war of conducting the first division of the army to New York, where upon his arrival he was honoured in obtaining the thanks and approval for his conduct from Sir Guy Carleton, the Commander-in-chief, and also from the Field Officers of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Soon after his arrival within the British lines, he was permitted to embark for England. On landing at Portsmouth, he had the mortification of hearing he had been placed on half-pay, in consequence of the army having been reduced, although he had fought in three general actions, several skirmishes, and two sieges, since he purchased his company in 1779. Having repeatedly offered his services, he was preferred to a company in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1787, upon the augmentation of the army, and when war was expected to take place; but was unfortunately reduced three months after, as the peace continued. In 1789, he was appointed to a company in the 7th or Royal Fusilier regiment, and joined it in Scotland: soon after he embarked at Leith for Gibraltar, to join his colonel, his Royal Highness Prince Edward, who was pleased to form a company selected from all the bad and worst-behaved soldiers in the regiment, and appointed Captain Saumarez to command and take charge of them: some time after this, he was honoured with his Royal Highness's best thanks, for the reformation he had caused in the conduct and discipline of these men, and for doing this without corporal punishment. The Duke was pleased to honour him with the appointment of Equerry, and afterwards of Groom of the Chamber to his Royal Highness.

In 1791, he embarked with the regiment for Canada, and soon after this he was permitted to go to England. In 1793, on the declaration of war with France, he offered his services to raise a regiment, when Mr. Secretary Dundas and Major General Thomas Dundas, the latter being appointed to command-in-chief at Guernsey, earnestly solicited him to accompany the Major General to the island, on account of his knowledge of the language, the laws, and customs of the island, and of its inhabitants; and being informed that the enemy meditated to attack it, he was induced to accept the appointment of Major of Brigade to 2000 militia of the island: he besides voluntarily did the duty of the quarter-master-general's department to the troops. He also had the superintendence and examination of all strangers as they landed, which enabled him to cause many disaffected persons and rebels from Ireland to be apprehended: he had the selection and appointment of pilots to the ships of war requiring them, and otherwise rendered himself as useful as possible to the public service, without additional pay or emolument whatever, for the space of five years, and until the arrival of 7000 Russian troops, when he was appointed assistant quarter-master-general, and, upon four French corps arriving in the island, he was appointed their inspector.

Mr. Secretary Dundas, and Mr. Windham, secretary at war, were pleased to confide to him the secret correspondence with the enemy's coast, from Havre to Brest, when he obtained intelligence of the utmost importance, for which he repeatedly received the thanks of His Majesty's ministers. In 1794, he was deputed to carry an address from the States of the island, on the marriage of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent; and on this occasion Major General Small, who was the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-chief, was pleased to recommend his services in so strong a manner to the King's ministers, that he had the honour of being knighted. In 1799 he was promoted to be inspector of the militia of the island, in which situation he continued to serve until June, 1811, when he obtained the rank of major general.

In the year 1800, when the author was acting Lieutenant of H.M.S. Weasle, he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in one of the boats, and was on the point of falling a sacrifice to the injustice of those in power at St. Malo, when Sir Thomas, who had the care of the French prisoners at Guernsey, being aware of his situation, sent in conjunction with the Governor, the late Sir Hew Dalrymple, an offer to the Prefect at St. Malo of forty men for his exchange, which, although it had not the effect of procuring his liberty, was certainly the cause of saving his life, at a period when the execution of a fellow-creature was a matter of little moment; and the author soon after found means to escape.

In February 1812, Sir Thomas was appointed commandant of the garrison at Halifax, Nova Scotia; and in August 1813 he had the honour of going as President of the Council, and to command in chief the province of New Brunswick. In July 1814, he returned to Halifax, and soon after he embarked for England.

Before his departure from New Brunswick, His Majesty's Council presented him the following address:

"To his Honour Major General Sir Thomas Saumarez, late President and Commander-in-chief of the province of New Brunswick.

"THE ADDRESS OF HIS MAJESTY'S COUNCIL.

"Fredericton, 6th July 1814.

"SIR,

"The unsettled state of the government in New Brunswick has long been a subject of general regret in the province, where the changes of President have occurred no less than nine times in the course of seven years. But although the period of your Honour's administration in particular has been short, it will not be soon forgotten; it has made a lasting impression on the minds of all such as have had opportunity to observe, and justly to appreciate, your vigilant and unwearied attention to the duties of your station, and your constant ambition, by every means in your power, to promote and secure the prosperity of the colony committed to your care. His Majesty's Council therefore request your acceptance of this address, not as a mere compliment, but as a sincere tribute of respect and esteem; which, together with their best wishes, they offer in the confident assurance that, on this occasion, they speak the sentiments of the province at large."

Sir Thomas Saumarez, who had long been the senior Lieutenant General in Her Majesty's army, was advanced to the rank of General at the Coronation of Her most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria.

Sir Thomas has almost constantly resided in his native island, and no one has done more in promoting its improvement. Those who have visited Guernsey with an introduction to him, and even perfect strangers, will gratefully remember his hospitality. He was long the highly esteemed friend of Her present Majesty's illustrious father, his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent; and he is no less esteemed for the urbanity of his manners and kindness of heart. The author can testify, that those who know Sir Thomas Saumarez have a sincere and invaluable friend.

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN PHILIP DE SAUMAREZ.

The deeds of this brave and meritorious officer, who was the uncle of the noble Lord whose memoirs we have recorded in these volumes, would probably have been buried in oblivion, had not some official documents been discovered, of which we have gladly availed ourselves in presenting to the public a more full and authentic account of his glorious career than has hitherto been given.

Philip de Saumarez was the third son of Mathew de Saumarez of Guernsey, and Anne Durell, born at Guernsey 17th of November 1710. At an early age he was removed from his native isle to a grammar school at Jersey, where he continued under the immediate patronage of his aunt, Lady de Carteret, till the age of eleven, when with the view of making himself a proficient in mathematics and classics, as well as of acquiring the English language, which at that period was but partially spoken in these islands, he was sent to Southampton, and there placed under the care of Mr. Isaac Watts and Mrs. Kinsman. That he made considerable proficiency in learning, and employed the short time which in those days was devoted to education, preparatory to entering the service to advantage, may be justly inferred, if we may judge from the style of his letters, and from the precision and accuracy which mark the astronomical observations to be found in his journals.

At Southampton he remained about two years and a half, when he met with his uncle Captain James Durell, of the Royal Navy, a brave and distinguished officer, who took him to Greenwich, with the view of placing him in the Royal Navy, which he was soon after able to accomplish. Mr. Philip de Saumarez commenced his naval career on the 4th of February 1726, under Captain Charles Kendal, in his Majesty's ship Weymouth of fifty guns, then attached to the Baltic station, from whence she returned in November. In the spring of the year 1727, she was ordered to the Nore to attend his Majesty George II, then going to Holland, and in the month of August she sailed for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean station.

On the 1st December 1727, he was removed from the Weymouth to the Gibraltar of twenty guns, commanded by the Hon. George Byng, who was succeeded by Captain John Stanley, with whom our young officer served till the 20th December 1729, on which day he joined Captain Byng in the Princess Louisa, of sixty guns, and sailed under his command till the 7th July 1730, when Captain Byng, having been appointed to the Falmouth of fifty guns, removed into the latter ship, and took Mr. De Saumarez with him, who had now served the necessary time, and had received flattering testimonials from his respective captains. Captain Byng mentioning that he was deserving of promotion, he obtained leave to go to London to pass his examination, which he did on the 17th of October 1732, at which period he had served above six years and seven months.

After passing, he immediately rejoined the Falmouth, and continued to serve two years longer as midshipman and master's mate. He now became extremely anxious for that promotion to which his services and excellent conduct so justly entitled him. He therefore returned home to apply for it, receiving a very strong certificate from Captain Byng, dated 25th June 1734. In August following he arrived in London; and several officers, among whom Capt. Saunders appears to be foremost, having recommended him for promotion as a most deserving officer, he was placed on the Admiralty list, being appointed as midshipman and subsequently as master's mate to the Blenheim, of ninety guns, bearing the flag of Admiral Cavendish. Having arrived at the West Indies, he was appointed to the Dunkirk on the Jamaica station, anxiously waiting for promotion. He was above two years in that ungenial climate, where his health became much impaired before he received his commission. Several letters he wrote to his friends express his extreme desire to obtain it, as will be seen by the following short extract:

"12th January 1737--I wish I had it in my power reciprocally to enhance our satisfaction by acquainting you with my advancement; that period has not yet arrived; fortune seems in regard to me to be at a stand, and I find that I am obliged to fill the chasm by a constant perseverance of patience: probably this season may prove more auspicious, and I am in hopes of shortly seeing some revolution to my advantage."

The season after did indeed prove the fatal effects of the climate, on which subject he thus writes to his brother: "We have undergone a severe season this summer, heat being excessive, attended with calms that rendered it insupportable; this has occasioned a great mortality, and made death quite familiar to us, it being the usual thing to attend the funeral of the friends we conversed with the day before. Though this made us a kind of mechanic philosophers, (if I may use the term,) I do not observe that it contributes towards rectifying the morals of the inhabitants here, or making us better Christians."

On the 6th of August 1737, he at last succeeded in obtaining his long-expected promotion as lieutenant from Admiral Digby Dent, Commander-in-chief at Jamaica. This pleasing intelligence was communicated in a letter to Lady Carteret, dated the 10th of October 1737, which mentions that he was appointed lieutenant of the Kinsale of forty guns, and that the Admiral signed his commission only three hours before his death. On the 28th July, he was removed from the Kinsale by the Commander-in-chief, but on the 22nd of August he received his confirmation from the Admiralty to the Diamond, which confirmed also both the former. He returned to England in October 1739, when he visited his friends in Guernsey and Jersey, and recruited his health, which was naturally delicate, and had been seriously impaired by the West Indian climate; but the imperious demands of active service soon called him away.

It was in this year that the memorable voyage round the world was projected, and shortly after the command was given to Commodore Anson, who had the privilege of selecting the officers who were to serve under him on that interesting and important enterprise, when Mr. Saumarez was chosen as second lieutenant of the Centurion of sixty guns, his own ship; besides which the squadron consisted of the Gloucester, fifty guns, Captain Norris; the Severn, fifty guns, Captain Legge; of the Pearl, forty guns, Capt. Mitchell; of the Wager, twenty-eight, Captain Kidd; and the Tryal of eight guns, Captain E. Murray; besides the Centaur store-ship and two victuallers, the Anna and Industry Pinks.

From numberless delays injurious to the expedition, it was not before the 17th of September 1740 that the Commodore was able to leave St. Helen's, and proceed on his intended voyage.

As the account of the proceedings of Commodore Anson has been published in almost every naval history as well as in the biographical memoirs of that illustrious navigator, it need not be repeated here, and we shall therefore confine ourselves to the part in which the conduct of Lieut. Saumarez was conspicuous.

Lieut. Saumarez in 1741 was made acting commander of the Tryal, in the place of Lieutenant Saunders, who was appointed to the vacancy occasioned by the death of Captain Kidd, but who from ill-health was not in a state to be removed from the Centurion. In this situation he remained seven weeks, during which time he gave proofs of his consummate skill during a period of excessively inclement weather. Captain Saunders, on his recovery, assumed the command on the 19th February, when he returned to the Centurion as first lieutenant.

The following account given by Lieutenant Saumarez of the action with the Spanish Galleon, off Manilla, cannot be read without much interest. It is dated on board the Centurion, 1742.

"I shall run over briefly the dates of our voyage, and give you a rude sketch of our proceedings: to enlarge on particulars would exceed the limits of a letter.

"You will recollect our squadron left England on the 18th September 1740. We had a tedious passage of forty-one days to Madeira, the usual one being ten; to this accident several secondary ones succeeded, as loss of time, and the season proper for navigating the Southern seas, and declining health of the men, especially the soldiers. We stayed a month at this island, employed in watering, and taking in our stock of wine. It is highly probable that we narrowly escaped a squadron of the enemy, which were discovered from the mountains, cruising off the west end of the island, and which, if the commanders had behaved like disciplinarians, might have intercepted us, and it would have fully answered the designs of the Spanish court if they had disabled us from pursuing our voyage, which must have been the consequence of an engagement. They had also the advantage of being double our number; but, leaving them to their reflections, we pursued our course, and crossed the line and tropic without any remarkable accidents occurring, excepting that fever and fluxes began to attack us, especially the soldiers; and in forty-four days we arrived at the island of St. Catherine, on the coast of Brazil, on the 19th March 1740.

"We stayed at St. Catherine's twenty-eight days, employed in recovering our sick, who lived on shore in tents, and in making preparations for doubling Cape Horn in a tempestuous and advanced season.

"We sailed hence on the 18th of January 1741, and soon after began to meet with uncertain, stormy weather, in which the Tryal sloop lost her mainmast, and was towed by one of the squadron; the rest separated from us, but as our rendezvous was at St. Julien's, a port on the coast of Patagonia, or, as others term it, Terra Magellanica, in 49 deg. 30' South, we rejoined them there, by which we heard of Pizarro's squadron, from whom we narrowly escaped off Pepy's Island. We stayed here eight days, employed in putting all our lumber on board the store-ship, and were in hopes of meeting with the Spanish squadron.

"The coast here is a sulphureous and nitrous soil, abounding with salt lakes, but destitute of verdure, shrub, tree, or fresh water, and seems the seat of infernal spirits; nor indeed was there the trace of any animals, besides seals and birds. We here took in salt and refitted the sloop.

"Captain Kidd's death made a revolution by promotion amongst us, and I was appointed first lieutenant of the Commodore; but my predecessor, to whose command the sloop descended, was taken dangerously ill, and became incapable of taking possession of his charge. I was ordered to take the command until his recovery; and here I must confess to you, I was sanguine enough to flatter myself with the same addition of good fortune, some favourable crisis in my behalf: but I was born to be unfortunate.

"We sailed hence on the 27th of February 1741: my station was a-head of the squadron, to keep sounding and make timely signals of danger.

"The 4th of March we discovered the entrance of the Strait of Magellan, and on the 7th passed through the Strait le Main, lying at the extremity of Terra del Fuego, between that and Staten Land.

"This day was remarkably warm and favourable, and though in latitude 55 deg. 50' South, we began to look on the conquest of the Peruvian mines and principal towns in the Pacific sea as an amusement, which would naturally occur. From this time forward, we met with nothing but disasters and accidents. Never were the passions of hope and fear so powerfully agitated and exercised; the very elements seemed combined against us. I commanded the sloop at the time of the separation of the ships that returned home, being stationed to look out for islands of ice; and had to endure such fatigue from the severity of the weather, and the duty which the nature of the service necessarily brought on me, that really my life was hardly worth preserving at the expense of such hardships. Our own ships had several miraculous escapes, which, in the obscurity of the night and the violence of the weather, often endangered foundering the sloop.

"Having had the command of the sloop several weeks, I was at length superseded by her proper captain, who had recovered on board the Commodore's ship; and I returned to my post.

"During this time, the scurvy made terrible havoc among us, especially the soldiers, who, being either infirm old men or raw inexperienced youths, soon lost their spirits, grew sick and disabled, and from the stench they occasioned, contributed to infect our seamen.

"This distemper is the consequence of long voyages, and exhibits itself in such dreadful symptoms as are scarcely credible, viz. asthma, pains in the limbs and joints, blotches all over the body, ulcers, idiotism, lunacy, convulsions, and sudden death. Nor can the physicians, with all their materia medica, find a remedy for it equal to the smell of turf, grass, or a dish of greens. It is not my province to account for what is a matter of much doubt and perplexity even to the most learned, but I could plainly observe that there is a je ne sais quoi in the frame of the human system, that cannot be removed without the assistance of certain earthy particles, or, in plain English, the landsman's proper aliment, and vegetables and fruits his only physic. For the space of six weeks we seldom buried less than four or five daily, and at last it amounted to eight or ten; and I really believe, that, had we stayed ten days longer at sea, we should have lost the ship for want of men to navigate her.

"At length we arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez, in the South Sea, after having had several imminent dangers of shipwreck on the coast of Chili, off which the nature of our rendezvous required us to cruise, in hopes of rejoining the squadron.

"We anchored here on the 16th June 1741, as we subsequently learned, just ten days after the departure of a Spanish ship of war, which was sent by the Admiral of these seas to gain intelligence, himself having cruised with his squadron of four sail a considerable time, in hopes of meeting with us, well judging the condition our ships might be in. You will be surprised to hear that in a sixty gun ship, on our arrival at this island, we mustered but seventy-two persons, including officers and boys, capable of appearing on deck; the rest being all sick, having lost 228 since our leaving England, which includes nine months.

"We were joined by the Gloucester and Tryal sloop, (vide Anson's Voyage, p. 114,) the crews of which vessels had suffered still more, so that had there been an experienced enemy to have dealt with us, they might have made a very easy conquest of us all. But, 'whatever is, is right.' They gave us time to recover our spirits and rally our forces, for which we visited them afterwards and shut up their ports.

"I shall not attempt a description of this island at present, but only tell you it is the most romantic and pleasant place imaginable, abounding with myrtle trees, and covered with turnips and sorrel. Its bays, teeming with all kinds of fish, seem calculated for the reception of distressed seamen. We stayed here three months, employed in refitting our ships, and restoring the health of the sick, and this without any loss of time to us, it being the winter season, in which, from April to September, navigation is judged unsafe by the Spaniards. In the beginning of this month (September) we were agreeably surprised by the sight of a sail, to which we immediately gave chase, slipping our cable; but night intervening, we lost her. We soon after fell in with another, who was her consort, of 500 tons, and much richer, having about 18,000l. in money on board, besides a cargo, which would have been valuable (being chiefly sugar) could we have brought it to a proper market; but in these parts it is a misfortune that nothing but money is truly valuable, having no ports whereat to dispose of anything. Here I commenced captain again, in the Tryal's prize, having twelve guns, besides swivels, with thirty men, and had a separate cruise ordered me with Captain Saunders. (Vide Anson's Voyage, p. 114.) She was a ship he had taken in the sloop, which then proved so leaky and disabled in her masts by a gale of wind, that she was sunk, and her prize commissioned in her room. As nothing appeared on our station, which was to leeward of Valparaiso, we had no opportunity of exerting ourselves. We next proceeded along the coast of Peru, and took two prizes, both very valuable to the Spaniards, the one being loaded with ship timber, and the other with iron bars, but to us of no great service; by the latter, (viz. the Nuestra Senora del Carmin, 250 tons of cargo, value 400,000 dollars,) we had information of a rich vessel in the road of Paita, bound to Lousuata on the coast of Mexico, the money being still in town. This was a chance worth pursuing; and having arrived off the port in the night, we sent in all the boats manned and armed, with fifty men, surprised and took the town with scarcely any resistance or loss, except one killed and one wounded on our side; the inhabitants abandoning their houses, and retiring to the neighbouring mountains.

"This event happened on the 15th of November 1741. (Vide Anson's Voyage, p. 149.) We kept possession of the town two days and a half without any disturbance from the natives, and, having plundered it, set it on fire, but spared the two churches.

"We found here about 30,000l. besides jewels; there was much more, but the inhabitants carried it off. We sunk two galleys and two snows, and carried away with us the small ship that was to have carried the money. We departed hence on the 16th, and some days after joined the Gloucester, which had been ranging the coast, and intercepted some vessels, though not so valuable as ours. We then proceeded along shore, burning some of our prizes, which proved dull sailers, and arrived at the island of Quibo, 17th December 1741, a delightful uninhabited place, abounding with wild deer and other refreshments. Having watered here with all imaginable expedition, we sailed hence on the 19th December, with a design to cruise off Acapulco, on the coast of Mexico, for a rich ship that was expected from Manilla, on the island of Luconia, in the East Indies.

"There is a yearly ship whose cargo amounts to an immense sum, and could we but have had a favourable passage thither, she must indubitably have been ours; but we were disappointed, having been seventy-nine days in effecting a passage which has been performed in twenty, meeting with a long series of calms and uncertain weather. Hence we arrived five weeks too late, and therefore hoped to speak her on her return, which generally is in March; she would then have been laden with money to purchase another cargo. We cruized off this port and the coast of Mexico two months, at a distance not to be discovered from the shore, and having intelligence, by a boat we took, of the day of her sailing, we made no doubt of her being ours. We were five sail in all, with our prizes, and lay at three leagues distance from each other, and ten from the port. During this time we lived on turtle, which we caught daily in our boats. Our squadron described a half moon, our boats being at the same time three leagues from the shore within us to watch the port. The disposition was so just and regular, it was impossible she could have escaped. I was so curious as to calculate my share, which would have amounted to 10,000l.; but Providence ordained it otherwise.

"I should have told you that that ship mounted sixty guns. Having cruised till our water was almost all expended, and having an enemy's coast whereon to replenish, we were obliged to depart, but left a boat behind to watch her motions. After many searches, we found a convenient bay for watering called Chequetan, where Sir Francis Drake had refitted. We sunk and burnt all our prizes, in order to cross the great Southern Ocean, and, with the Gloucester in company, go to the East Indies. We learned afterwards that this rich ship was detained, having had information from the coast of Peru of our being on the coast. We left Acapulco on the 6th of May 1742; and here begins another series of misfortunes and mortality surpassing the first. We had a passage of three months and a half to the Ladrone Islands, which is generally made in two; yet it was a vulgar opinion amongst our people that we had sailed so far as to pass by all the land in the world! Length of time and badness of the weather rendered both our ships leaky; this, joined to our mortality, the scurvy raging amongst us as much as ever, obliged us to destroy the Gloucester, which ship was ready to founder, and receive the men on board, who were all sick and dying. It is impossible to represent the melancholy circumstances wherein we were involved previous to our arrival at these islands. We anchored at one called Tinian, uninhabited, but abounding with wild cattle, hogs, fowls, and fruits: we could not have fallen in with a better place. I am convinced, had we stayed out ten days longer at sea, we should have been obliged to take to our boats, our leak increasing so fast, and our people being all infirm and disabled. We immediately sent all our sick on shore, and began to hope for better times, feeding plentifully on roast beef, when an accident fell out, on the 22nd September 1742, which nearly ruined us all.

"My post as first officer generally confined me on board the Commodore, whilst most of the officers and men were on shore for the recovery of their health, when a storm came on and rose so mountainous a sea as none of us ever saw before. The ship was in danger of being pooped as we lay at anchor; at last we parted both our bower-cables and drove out to sea, with the sheet-anchor hanging in the hawse, a whole cable and three quarters of another out (excuse these barbarous sea terms), and narrowly escaped driving on a ledge of rocks, that was near, and leaving the Commodore and all the rest behind. The ship, by her labouring in such a troubled sea, made so much water that I was in doubt whether she would not have foundered; our ports and the guns were but ill-secured, owing to the suddenness of the storm, which also upset the long boat. Under these circumstances we drove to sea with one hundred men and boys on board, not knowing whether I should not at last be a captain in spite of my teeth. In this manner I drove seventy leagues, and was fifteen days before I recovered land, beating up against a fresh trade and the current. The Commodore, you may imagine, was overjoyed at my return, as were all the rest. They were very busy in building a vessel to carry them all to China, as they preferred venturing to sea in it to remaining in an uninhabited island, or to be exposed to the cruelty of the Spaniards who live in the neighbouring islands, the Commodore concluding that either the ship was lost, or that I should never be able to beat to windward. At last, after many hazards, we sailed on the 22nd of October 1742, and met with a tolerably good passage to the island of Macoa, a Portuguese settlement on the coast of China, where we arrived on the 11th November, having buried one hundred and sixty men since our leaving Acapulco, or four hundred and twenty since we left England, including Indians and negroes, whom we detained as prisoners."

Commodore Anson arrived at Macoa, and having careened and repaired the ship, and been reinforced by some Lascars or Indian sailors, and by some Dutchmen, he sailed from Macoa on the 1st May, giving out that he was bound to Batavia, Captain Saunders of the Gloucester having gone to England in a Swedish ship; but when fairly at sea he made known to his crew that he was going to cruise off Manilla for the purpose of intercepting the two galleons expected there, one of which he ultimately took on the 20th June, just a month after they arrived off the station, after a severe action, in which the galleon, which was called the Nostra Signora Cabadonga, commanded by General Don Jeronimo de Montivo, had sixty-seven killed and eighty-four wounded, while the Centurion had only two killed, and a lieutenant and sixteen men wounded. Lieut. Saumarez, who had highly distinguished himself in this action, was now made Post Captain of the prize, which he safely conducted to Canton. She had on board 400,000l. in specie, besides property estimated at 600,000l. which was destroyed; he had now therefore obtained his rank, and a considerable share of prize money.

On the 7th of December 1743, they sailed from Canton, and arrived in England, to be welcomed by their families and friends, on the 15th June 1744, after an absence of four years, wherein they had endured hardships of every description. Captain Saumarez went to Bath for the recovery of his health. He subsequently served in the Sandwich, York, and Yarmouth: in the York he encountered a heavy gale, in which his superior seamanship was severely put to the test. He was subsequently removed to the Nottingham, of sixty guns, and on the 11th October 1747 fell in with the Mars, a French sixty-four gun-ship, with five hundred men, commanded by M. de Colombe, being one of the ships that had separated from D'Anville's fleet in the storm off Newfoundland. She was returning to Brest. The Nottingham had sixty guns and four hundred men. After an engagement of two hours within pistol shot, in which the Mars had twenty-three killed and nineteen wounded, she struck. On board the Nottingham only three men were killed and nine wounded, which was attributed to the superior seamanship of the Captain, who obtained an advantageous position in the battle.

Captain Saumarez had been often heard to say that his highest ambition was to fall in with an enemy of equal force, and on this occasion his honourable feelings were completely gratified. He received congratulations from all his friends, and particularly from the Lords of the Admiralty, who expressed their highest approbation of the skill and courage he displayed on this occasion; but his mild, liberal, and generous treatment to a vanquished enemy was no less conspicuous in this instance than his bravery; it was indeed one of the strongest traits in his character. On this subject he received the following letter from the Secretary of the Admiralty:--

"The Chevalier de Crenay, late Captain of the Mars, having taken notice to the Lords of the Admiralty, in a letter their lordships received from him and his officers and company, I am commanded to let you know, that your civil treatment of them after they were taken, has been no less satisfactory to their lordships than your resolution and success in taking them.

"I am, sir, &c. &c. "THOS. CORBETT, Sec."

A letter from Chevalier Crenay himself is written in the strongest terms of gratitude and regard; after enumerating many civilities, he declares that every article had been restored, even to a box of porcelain, and that his officers and men all joined in offering their grateful thanks. It may be added, that Captain Saumarez did all in his power to obtain Captain Crenay's exchange. The Mars was carried into Plymouth, and being found worthy of repair, was, from the representation of Captain Saumarez, taken into his Majesty's service: she was nearly 300 tons larger than the Nottingham, and found afterwards to be an excellent ship.

Captain Saumarez' ship was speedily refitted, and on the 3rd May 1747, he joined Lord Anson's squadron, which obtained a complete victory over the French fleet, commanded by M. Jonquiere, taking six men-of-war and three East Indiamen. After the engagement, the Nottingham, with two more ships, was detached to pursue the convoy, and had the good fortune to capture four very valuable vessels from St. Domingo.

Captain Saumarez afterwards cruised under Admiral Warren, and on the 10th of September following he was ordered to join Admiral Hawke: he remained with that officer until the 14th October, when the Admiral came up with a French fleet, commanded by Monsieur De l'Etendiere, off Cape Finisterre, which he defeated, and took six of the enemy's ships; but the Tonnant, an 80 gun ship, with the Intrepide, 74, having escaped, Captain Saumarez, with the Yarmouth and Eagle, immediately gave chase to them. Having come up with the Tonnant, although the Nottingham was so unequal in size and number of guns, he gallantly engaged her before the other two English ships joined. After about an hour's close action, a shot from the enemy put an end to the existence of this brave officer, who, during his whole life, had served his king and country with honour and zeal; he died lamented by all those to whom he was known.

The following is an extract from the Rear-admiral's despatch: "Having observed that six of the enemy's ships had struck, and it being very dark, and our own ships dispersed, I thought it best to bring to that night, and seeing a great firing a long way astern of me, I was in hopes of seeing more of the enemy's ships taken in the morning; but, instead of that, I received the melancholy account of Captain Saumarez being killed, and that the Tonnant had escaped in the night, with the assistance of the Intrepide, who, by having the wind of our ships, had received no damage that I could perceive."

Ships taken:--Le Terrible; Le Monarque, 74; Le Neptune, 70; Le Trident; Le Fougueux, 64; Le Severn, 50.

The last will of Captain Philip Saumarez is an interesting document, inasmuch as it portrays his true character as an officer and a Christian, impressed with the uncertainty of human life, and almost anticipating the glorious fate which ultimately befel him; and as it is also replete with piety, morality, gratitude, and the other virtues which adorn the life of a hero, we shall conclude this memoir with some extracts taken from the original, which begins thus:

"I, Philip Saumarez, commander of H.M.S. Nottingham, from a reflection of the uncertainty of human life in general, particularly when engaged in a military profession: in order therefore to face death cheerfully, whenever duty or nature shall call upon me, I hereby dispose of whatever Providence has blessed me with, in the following manner:

"To my honoured mother, I bequeath the sum of 1500l. to be paid after my father's death, and until then to remain at interest; if she dies before him, to be divided equally among my eldest brother John's children.

"To my sister Anne, 300l. To my sister Elizabeth, 300l.

"To my brother John, 1000l. all my silver plate, and a diamond ring, formerly belonging to Lady Carteret.

"To my niece and godchild, Carteret Saumarez, my brother John's daughter, I bequeath 1000l.

"My brother Matthew Saumarez, 1500l. and all my books; and to his daughter, 500l.

"My brother Thomas Saumarez, 1000l. with all my linen, liquors, furniture, and apparel.

"My brother-in-law, Philip Durell and his wife, I bequeath 50l. each, their fortunes being sufficient: his wife to buy mourning.

"To my aunt Durell, at Westminster, 100l.

"My aunt Sauvaine, 10l. to buy mourning.

"Mr. Solomon Durell, 40l.

"To my worthy friend James Wallace, commissioner of the victualling office, 100l.

"To my steward, 30l. besides a suit of mourning; and to my other servants, 5l. each.

"In case I am killed in action, or die whilst I command the Nottingham, to the three lieutenants a suit of mourning each, which I beg they will accept; and to Mr. Surroude, my chaplain, I bequeath the sum of 100l. in regard to his large family; and to Mr. Redley, my clerk, the sum of 30l. for the trouble of making up my accounts.

"To Admiral Anson and Sir Peter Warren, I desire they will accept a mourning ring each, my executors to lay out 30l. in each ring; and to the former I recommend my brother Tom.

"I likewise desire that 300l. may be laid out to purchase a handsome monument, made in London, to the memory of my late aunt, the Lady Carteret, to be erected in the church where she is interred, and a due epitaph, enumerating her exemplary virtues and life, to be inscribed on it in French and English, and recorded to posterity; and this I desire my brother John will see duly performed, as well as my other executors, with expedition; this piece of gratitude to her memory having been neglected by all her relations.

"In case it should not be attended with any inconvenience, the surgeon to preserve and embalm my corpse, to be interred in a military manner on shore, in whatever port the ship may put in; and the surgeon to be presented with 30l. for his trouble. I bequeath to my brother officers, Captains Thomas Coates, Martyn, Keppel, Rodney, and Timothy Brett, a mourning ring of 10l. value each; the same to Mr. Logie, first lieutenant of the Nottingham.

"To the poor of the parish in the island of Guernsey, where I was born, 100l. to be distributed: the remainder of what fortune I may have to bequeath, to my honoured father. And I do hereby constitute and appoint my worthy friend Pussey Brook, Esq., James Wallace, Esq., and my eldest brother John Saumarez, Esq., executors of this my last will and testament, revoking all former wills by me heretofore made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at sea, this 30th day of June, and in the twenty-first year of the reign of our sovereign Lord George the Second over Great Britain, France, and Ireland, &c., and in the year of our Lord 1747.

"PHILIP SAUMAREZ." (L.S.)

"Signed in the presence of, Robert Richards, Master. Alexander Gray, Gunner."

The wishes expressed in the will of this brave officer were implicitly complied with; his body was embalmed and sent to Plymouth by the admiral, in the Gloucester, commanded by Captain Durell, (afterwards Admiral Durell,) his brother-in-law, and was buried in the church at Plymouth with military honours. A neat tablet is erected in the said church, with the following inscription: "Near this place lies the body of Philip Saumarez, Esq. commander of H.M.S. Nottingham. He was the son of Matthew de Saumarez, of the Island of Guernsey, by Anne Durell, of the island of Jersey, his wife, families of antiquity and respectability in those parts. He was born 17th November 1710, and gloriously but unfortunately fell by a cannon-ball, 14th October 1747, pursuing the ships of the enemy that were making their escape, when the French were routed by Admiral Hawke."

Out of respect to his memory, his brothers and sisters caused a plain monument to be erected to him in Westminster Abbey, with the following inscription:

"ORBE CIRCUMCINTO,

"Sacred to the memory of Philip De Saumarez, Esq., one of the few whose lives ought rather to be measured by their actions than their days. From sixteen to thirty-seven years of age, he served in the navy, and was often surrounded with dangers and difficulties unparalleled: always approving himself an able, active, and gallant officer. He went out a lieutenant on board His Majesty's ship Centurion, under the auspicious conduct of Commodore Anson, in his expedition to the South Seas: he was commanding officer of the said ship when she was driven from her moorings at the island of Tinian.

"In the year 1747, being captain of the Nottingham, a sixty gun ship, he (then alone) attacked and took the Mars, a French ship of sixty-four guns.

"In the first engagement in the following year, when Admiral Anson defeated and took a squadron of French men-of-war and Indiamen, he had an honourable share; and in the second, under Admiral Hawke, when the enemy, after an obstinate resistance, was again routed, in pursuing two ships that were making their escape, he gloriously but unfortunately fell.

"He was the son of Matthew De Saumarez, of the island of Guernsey, Esq. by Anne Durell, of the island of Jersey, his wife.

"He was born November 17th, 1710; killed October 14th, 1747; buried in the old Church at Plymouth, with all honours due to his distinguished merits; and this monument is erected, out of gratitude and affection, by his Brothers and Sisters."

APPENDIX A.

The first of the De Sausmarez (Saumarez) family found on the public records of the metropolis, is Nicholas, the son of Matthew de Sausmarez, who in 1331 made application for a confirmation of his rights and prerogatives as formerly enjoyed by his ancestors, and whose son Thomas was Lord of the Seigneurie of Sausmarez in the year 1481. Thomas married Colishe, daughter of Nicholas Fonachin, bailiff of the island of Guernsey, and had two sons and two daughters; one of whom, Michael, inherited the estate, and was succeeded by his eldest son John, who in 1543 was jurat of the island of Guernsey, and married Margaret, daughter of James Guille, then bailiff. John was succeeded by his son Thomas, also a jurat of the Royal Court, who married Rebecca Hancock; and the property descended to his son, likewise a jurat of the Royal Court, who married Bertrand, daughter of Cardin Fautrart: he was succeeded by his son Thomas, who married Martha Nicholi, and does not appear to have been of any profession. His only son, Michael, who was married to Charlotte, daughter of James le Marchant, jurat of the Royal Court in 1681, became the next heir, and was succeeded by Matthew de Sausmarez, his only son, who was the eleventh in the direct line since the year 1331. This Matthew was born at Guernsey on the 4th June 1685, was colonel of militia of the island, and married Anne, daughter of John Durell, Esq. lieutenant-bailiff of the island of Jersey, on the 1st of January 1705. By this, his first wife, he had--first, John de Sausmarez, who was born on the 12th January 1706, and died 4th April 1774. He was Attorney General in the island of Guernsey; and married first, Martha, daughter of Daniel Delisle, Esq. of Guernsey, and the lady who repossessed the estate, which had become the property of John Andros, in right of his wife, Judith de Sausmarez. The second son died an infant. The third son was Philip de Sausmarez, born on the 17th November 1710. He was first lieutenant with Commodore Anson, and commanded the Nottingham 64, when that ship captured the Mars, French 74. Anne married Captain Philip Dumaresq; Elizabeth, Margaret, and Magdalen, died unmarried. Matthew Saumarez was the fourth son; he was born on the 10th October 1718; and was the father of the late Lord de Saumarez. He was drowned on his passage to England in March 1778. Thomas, the fifth son, born 20th April 1720, is particularly mentioned in the commencement of this work. William, the sixth son, was born 29th April 1722, and died in the East Indies; and Michael, the seventh and last son, was born on the 8th October 1725, and died an infant.

See a biographical notice of this distinguished officer, page 348.

We now come to the brothers and sisters of the first Lord de Saumarez, children of Matthew, the fourth son, already mentioned as remarkable for his urbanity of manners and hospitality, particularly to strangers.

By his first wife, daughter of Thomas Dumaresq, Esq. of Jersey, Matthew Saumarez had issue Susannah, an only child, who married Henry Brock, Esq. of Guernsey: by his second wife, Carteret, daughter of James le Marchant, Esq. he had a numerous family. First,--Anne, the eldest daughter, was married to Isaac Dobree, Esq., and is now living a widow: she has four daughters, all married. Charlotte, second daughter, married Nicholas Peter Dobree, rector of St. Mary. Mary, the third daughter, is unmarried. Carteret, fourth daughter, married Peter Lihou, Esq. colonel of militia. Philip, the eldest son, was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and died at Gibraltar, 1774. John, the second son, surgeon-general to His Majesty's forces on the island, became heir to his father; he married Judith, daughter of William Brock, Esq. sister of Harriet, wife of Sir Thomas. James, was the third son, and first Lord de Saumarez. Sir Thomas, the fourth son, was born at Guernsey, 1st July 1760, and entered the army at the age of 15. He married Harriet, daughter of William Brock, Esq. of Guernsey.

See a separate notice of this distinguished officer in page 332.

APPENDIX B.

THE ACTION OFF DOGGER BANK.

"Fortitude, at Sea, 6th August 1781.

"SIR,

"Yesterday we fell in with the Dutch squadron, with a large convoy, on the Dogger bank: I was happy to find I had the wind of them, as the great number of their large frigates might otherwise have endangered my convoy. Having separated the men of war from the merchant ships, and made the signal to the last to keep their wind, I bore away with the general signal to chase. The enemy formed their line, consisting of eight two-decked ships; ours, including the Dolphin, consisting of seven. Not a gun was fired on either side until within the distance of half-musket shot; the Fortitude being then abreast of the Dutch Admiral, the action began and continued with unceasing fire for three hours and forty minutes: by this time our ships were unmanageable. I made an effort to form the line, in order to renew the action, but found it impracticable; the Bienfaisant had lost her fore-topmast, and the Buffalo her fore-yard; the rest of the ships were not less shattered in their masts, rigging, and sails. The enemy appeared to be in as bad a condition; both squadrons lay a considerable time near each other, when the Dutch with their convoy bore away for the Texel. We were not in a condition to follow them.

"His Majesty's officers and men behaved with great bravery, nor did the enemy show less gallantry. The Fortitude was extremely well seconded by Captain Macartney in the Princess Amelia, but he was unfortunately killed early in the action; Lieutenant Hill has great merit in so well supporting the conduct of his brave Captain.

"As there was great probability of our coming into action again, Captain Macbride very readily obliged me by taking command of that ship, and I have appointed Mr. Waghorne, my first lieutenant, to the command of the Artois. This gentleman, although much hurt in the action, refused to leave my side while it lasted. Captain Graeme, of the Preston, has lost an arm.

"Inclosed, I transmit a list of the killed and wounded, and an account of the damage sustained by the ships.

"The enemy's force was, I believe, much superior to what their Lordships apprehended; and I flatter myself they will be satisfied that we have done all that was possible with ours.

"I am, Sir, "Your most obedient and most humble servant, "H. PARKER.

"P.S. The frigates this morning discovered one of the Dutch men-of-war sunk in twenty-two fathoms water; her top-gallant masts were above the surface, which Captain Patton has struck and brought to me on board: I believe she was the second ship of the line of 74 guns."

* * * * *

Return of killed and wounded on the action of the 5th of August 1781.

English Fleet.

Ships' Names. Guns. Men. Killed. Wounded. Total.

Fortitude 74 620 20 67 87 Bienfaisant 64 500 6 21 27 Berwick 74 600 18 58 76 Princess Amelia 74 620 19 56 75 Preston 50 300 10 40 50 Buffalo 50 450 20 64 84 -- --- --- 93 306 399 Dutch Fleet.

Ships' Names. Guns. Commanders. Killed. Wounded. Admiral Generaal 74 Com. J.S. Kinsbergen 7 41 Admiral de Ruyter 68 Rear-admiral Zoutman 48 90 Hollandia 64 Capt. Dedel 25 45 Erfprins 54 " J.S. van Braak 23 42 Batavier 54 " J.W. Bentinck 18 49 Admiral Piet Hein 54 " W. van Braam 9 58 Argo 54 " E.C. Staringh 11 87 Medenblik 54 " D.G. Rynveld No returns. --- --- 141 412 141 --- 553 ---

From the most authentic accounts, however, the Dutch were known to have lost 1,100 men, although their published report was for only half that number.