BOSCAWEN DEFEATS M. DE LA CLUE.
The honour of the British flag was much more effectually asserted by the gallant admiral Boscawen, who, as we have already observed, was intrusted with the conduct of a squadron in the Mediterranean. It must be owned, however, that his first attempt savoured of temerity. Having in vain displayed the British flag in sight of Toulon, by way of defiance to the French fleet that lay there at anchor, he ordered three ships of the line, commanded by the captains Smith, Harland, and Barker, to advance and burn two ships that lay close to the mouth of the harbour. They accordingly approached with great intrepidity, and met with a very warm reception from divers batteries, which they had not before perceived. Two small forts they attempted to destroy, and cannonaded for some time with great fury; but being overmatched by superior force, and the wind subsiding into a calm, they sustained considerable damage, and were towed off with great difficulty in a very shattered condition. The admiral seeing three of his best ships so roughly handled in this enterprise, returned to Gibraltar in order to refit; and M. de la Clue, the French commander of the squadron at Toulon, seized this opportunity of sailing, in hopes of passing the Straits’ mouth unobserved, his fleet consisting of twelve large ships and three frigates. Admiral Boscawen, who commanded fourteen sail of the line with two frigates, and as many fire-ships, having refitted his squadron, detached one frigate to cruise off Malaga, and another to hover between Estepona and Ceuta-point, with a view to keep a good look-out, and give timely notice in case the enemy should approach. On the seventeenth day of August, at eight in the evening, the Gibraltar frigate made a signal that fourteen sail appeared on the Barbary shore, to the eastward of Ceuta; upon which the English admiral immediately heaved up his anchors and went to sea. At day-light he descried seven large ships lying-to; but when the English squadron forbore to answer their signal, they discovered their mistake, set all their sails, and made the best of their way. This was the greater part of the French squadron, commanded by M. de la Clue, from whom five of his large ships and three frigates had separated in the night. Even now, perhaps, he might have escaped, had he not been obliged to wait for the Souveraine, which was a heavy sailer. At noon the wind, which had blown a heavy gale, died away, and although admiral Boscawen had made signal to chase, and engage in a line of battle ahead, it was not till half an hour after two that some of his headmost ships could close with the rear of the enemy, which, though greatly out-numbered, fought with uncommon bravery. The English admiral, without waiting to return the fire of the sternmost, which he received as he passed, used all his endeavours to come up with the Ocean, which M. de la Clue commanded in person; and about four o’clock in the afternoon, running athwart her hawse, poured into her a furious broadside: thus the engagement began with equal vigour on both sides. This dispute, however, was of short duration. In about half an hour admiral Boscawen’s mizen-mast and topsail-yards were shot away, and the enemy hoisted all the sail they could carry. Mr. Boscawen having shifted his flag from the Namur to the Newark, joined some other ships in attacking the Centaur, of seventy-four guns, which, being thus overpowered, was obliged to surrender. The British admiral pursued them all night, during which the Souveraine and the Guerrier altered their course, and deserted their commander. At day-break, M. de la Clue, whose left leg had been broke in the engagement, perceiving the English squadron crowding all their sails to come up with him, and finding himself on the coast of Portugal, determined to burn his ships rather than they should fall into the hands of the victors. The Ocean was run ashore two leagues from Lagos, near the fort of Almadana, the commander of which fired three shots at the English; another captain of the French squadron followed the example of his commander, and both endeavoured to disembark their men; but the sea being rough, this proved a very tedious and difficult attempt. The captains of the Téméraire and Modeste, instead of destroying their ships, anchored as near as they could to the forts Xavier and Lagres, in hopes of enjoying their protection; but in this hope they were disappointed. M. de la Clue had been landed, and the command of the Ocean was left to the count de Carne, who, having received one broadside from the America, struck his colours, and the English took possession of this noble prize, the best ship in the French navy, mounted with eighty cannon. Captain Bentley of the Warspite, who had remarkably signalized himself by his courage during the action of the preceding day, attacked the Téméraire, of seventy-four guns, and brought her off with little damage. Vice-admiral Broderick, the second in command, advancing with his division, burned the Redoubtable, of seventy-four guns, which was bulged, and abandoned by her men and officers; but they made prize of the Modeste, carrying sixty-four guns, which had not been much injured in the engagement. This victory was obtained by the English admiral at a very small expense of men; the whole number of the killed and wounded not exceeding two hundred and fifty on board of the British squadron, though the carnage among the enemy must have been much more considerable, as M. de la Clue, in his letter to the French ambassador at Lisbon, owned, that on board of his own ship, the Ocean, one hundred men were killed on the spot, and seventy dangerously wounded. But the most severe circumstance of this disaster was the loss of four capital ships, two of which were destroyed, and the other two brought in triumph to England, to be numbered among the best bottoms of the British navy. What augmented the good fortune of the victors was, that not one officer lost his Life in the engagement. Captain Bentley, whom the admiral despatched to England with the tidings of his success, met with a gracious reception from the king, who knighted him for his gallantry.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
PREPARATIONS MADE BY THE FRENCH FOR INVADING ENGLAND.
As we propose to throw together all the naval transactions of the year, especially those that happened in the European seas, that they may be comprehended, as it were, in one view, we must now, without regarding the order of time, postpone many previous events of importance, and record the last action by sea, that in the course of this year distinguished the flag of Great Britain. The court of Versailles, in order to embarrass the British ministry, and divert their attention from all external expeditions, had in the winter projected a plan for invading some part of the British dominions; and in the beginning of the year had actually begun to make preparations on different parts of their coast for carrying this design into execution. Even as far back as the latter end of May, messages from the king to both houses of parliament were delivered by the earl of Holdernesse and Mr. Pitt, the two secretaries of state, signifying that his majesty had received advices of preparations making by the French court, with a design to invade Great Britain: that though persuaded, by the universal zeal and affection of his people, any such attempt must, under the blessing of God, end in the destruction of those who engaged in it; yet he apprehended he should not act consistent with that paternal care and concern which he had always shown for the safety and preservation of his subjects, if he omitted any means in his power which might be necessary for their defence: he, therefore, acquainted the parliament with his having received repeated intelligence of the enemy’s preparations, to the end that his majesty might, if he should think proper, in pursuance of the late act of parliament, cause the militia, or such parts thereof as should be necessary, to be drawn out and embodied, in order to march as occasion should require. These messages were no sooner read, than each house separately resolved to present an address, thanking his majesty for having communicated this intelligence; assuring him, that they would, with their lives and fortunes, support him against all attempts whatever; that, warmed with affection and zeal for his person and government, and animated by indignation at the daring designs of an enemy whose fleet had hitherto shunned the terror of the British navy, they would cheerfully exert their utmost efforts to repel all insults, and effectually enable their sovereign not only to disappoint the attempts of France, but, by the blessing of God, turn them to their own confusion. The commons at the same time resolved upon another address, desiring his majesty would give directions to his lieutenants of the several counties, ridings, and places within South Britain, to use their utmost diligence and attention in executing the several acts of parliament made for the better ordering the militia.
ACCOUNT OF THUROT.
These and other precautionary steps were accordingly taken; but the administration wisely placed their chief dependence upon the strength of the navy, part of which was so divided and stationed as to block up all the harbours of France in which the enemy were known to prepare any naval armament of consequence. We have seen in what manner rear-admiral Rodney visited the town and harbour of Havre-de-Grace, and scoured that part of the coast in successive cruises: we have also recorded the expedition and victory of admiral Boscawen over the squadron of La Clue, which was equipped at Toulon, with a design to assist in the projected invasion. Not withstanding this disaster, the French ministry persisted in their design; towards the execution of which they had prepared another considerable fleet, in the harbours of Rochefort, Brest, and Port-Louis, to be commanded by M. de Conflans, and reinforced by a considerable body of troops, which were actually assembled under the duc d’Aiguillon, at Vannes, in Lower Bretagne. Flat-bottomed boats and transports to be used in this expedition, were prepared in different ports on the coast of France: and a small squadron was equipped at Dunkirk, under the command of an enterprising adventurer called Thurot, who had, in the course of the preceding year, signalized his courage and conduct in a large privateer called the Belleisle, which had scoured the North Seas, taken a number of ships, and at one time maintained an obstinate battle against two English frigates, which were obliged to desist, after having received considerable damage. This man’s name became a terror to the merchants of Great Britain; for his valour was not more remarkable in battle than his conduct in eluding the pursuit of the British cruisers, who were successively detached in quest of him, through every part of the German Ocean and North Sea, as far as the islands of Orkney. It must be likewise owned, for the honour of human nature, that this bold mariner, though destitute of the advantages of birth and education, was remarkably distinguished by his generosity and compassion to those who had the misfortune to fall into his power; and that his deportment in every respect entitled him to a much more honourable rank in the service of his country. The court of Versailles was not insensible to his merit. He obtained a commission from the French king, and was vested with the command of the small armament now fitting out in the harbour of Dunkirk. The British government, being apprized of all these particulars, took such measures to defeat the purposed invasion, as must have conveyed a very high idea of the power of Great Britain, to those who considered, that, exclusive of the force opposed to this design, they at the same time carried on the most vigorous and important operations of war in Germany, America, the East and West Indies. Thurot’s armament at Dunkirk was watched by an English squadron in the Downs, commanded by commodore Boys; the port of Havre was guarded by rear-admiral Rodney; Mr. Boscawen had been stationed off Toulon, and the coast of Vannes was scoured by a small squadron detached from sir Edward Hawke, who had, during the summer, blocked up the harbour of Brest, where Conflans lay with his fleet, in order to be joined by the other divisions of the armament. These different squadrons of the British navy were connected by a chain of separate cruisers; so that the whole coast of France, from Dunkirk to the extremity of Bretagne, was distressed by an actual blockade.