The Loss of the Royal George

by William Henry Giles Kingston

The enemy did not obey the order, and we immediately poured a broadside into her. The Spaniards returned it, doing us little damage. While we were loading our guns, to give her a second dose, she put up her helm, and endeavoured to join her consorts to leeward. We immediately kept away and engaged her to leeward, and in about twenty minutes we had silenced her fire, having had only a couple of men hit; we were about to take possession, when we saw the other four frigates close to us. While hauling up, to avoid being raked by the leading frigate which had opened her fire on us, we fell aboard her, carrying away her main-topsail-yard. We had handled her pretty roughly, when two more frigates coming up, one on each side of us, we kept blazing away at both of them, till the fourth arrived, followed by the two brigs. We were now surrounded by more enemies than even our fire-eating captain thought it prudent to contend with. However, either the Spaniards forgot to put shot in their guns, or fired them wildly, for we received but little damage, only two more men having been hit; we quickly hauled to the wind and stood out from among them, unharmed, although they were blazing away as fast as they could get their guns to bear on us. We then steered for a part of the convoy which had been somewhat scattered during the action, and succeeded in cutting off a large brig; but as the frigates were close upon our heels, we had only time to send a couple of boats on board, under the command of Harry and Mr Leslie, who, having taken out her crew, set her on fire fore and aft. So rapidly had they executed their orders, that they were back again in a little more than five minutes, and we again made all sail, just as the four Spanish frigates coming up got us within range of their guns. As we had no longer any chance of capturing either of them, we continued our course, and soon ran them out of sight, they evidently having no inclination to follow us. Though it was not to be compared to our escape from Toulon, still it was a dashing piece of business, which required good seamanship to accomplish, and I therefore think it worthy of being mentioned.

Both Harry and Reginald were naturally anxious to do something to distinguish themselves, by which they might make sure of their promotion. They had behaved admirably on every occasion, and all they wanted was the opportunity which, as is well known, does not fall to the lot of every man.

We had been cruising in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay, when, standing towards Brest, we made out under the batteries in Camaret Bay a brig-of-war at anchor, with springs on her cable. One of our lieutenants was ill, and another away in a prize. Harry, to his great satisfaction, having got leave to lead an expedition to cut her out, asked for me to accompany him; Reginald had command of one boat, and a midshipman had charge of a third. We knew that there were several ships-of-war at anchor scarcely a mile off, which might have sent their boats to stop us if they had known what we were about. We stood inshore as soon as it was dark, and when about two miles from the place hove-to. The boats were lowered, and we shoved off. Harry and I were in the cutter, a fast-pulling boat, and kept ahead of the other two boats. We could tell the position of the brig by the lights on shore, and, after a hard pull, we caught sight of her. We guessed by the sounds that reached us that her crew were at quarters, but, though the other boats were still some way astern, Harry was eager to board at once; we made for her quarter, and hooking on, we sprang over her bulwarks with our cutlasses in hand. The Frenchmen made a desperate rush at us; I looked round, but nowhere could I see Harry. The next instant I found myself hurled back into the boat among several of our men who had boarded with me. I sang out for Harry, but he was not in the boat, and I feared that he had been cut down; just then I heard his voice, and found that he had sprung into a trawl-net which hung over the brig’s quarter. We made another attempt to gain the deck, and kept back the Frenchmen; while Harry extricated himself, with the help of two of the men, from his dangerous position, and leapt back into the boat, into which we were again driven.

“Haul the boat more ahead, and we will try it again!” he shouted out.

Though I had had a thrust with a pike in my side, and I guessed that several other men were wounded, not being aware, however, that Harry himself had been hurt, we again sprang on board. I kept close to him this time, and warded off a heavy blow aimed at his head; pistols were flashed in our faces, pikes thrust at us, and cutlasses were whirled round our heads, and

again we were driven back with more men hurt, while I had received another wound from a cutlass. I began to fear that we should not succeed. It was but for a moment. Harry’s voice cheered me up:—

“At them again, lads!” he shouted; and once more we sprang up the side, cutting down every one of the Frenchmen within reach of our weapons. Six or eight of us having gained the deck, the rest followed; and charging the Frenchmen we drove them aft, killing or wounding everyone who attempted to withstand us. In less than three minutes the brig was ours, and the enemy cried out for quarter, even before the other two boats came up. The men in them not required at the oars jumped on board to assist in securing the prisoners, the cable was cut, and, while we were making sail, the boats took the prize in tow; and before the people in the forts knew what had happened, we were standing away from the land. We found that six Frenchmen had been killed, and twenty wounded, some of them pretty badly. We had lost one man, and eight of us were wounded, Harry in two places, and I in no less than six. As soon as we got the breeze, we took the boats in tow, and stood towards the frigate. The captain was highly pleased at the success of the enterprise, and told Harry that he might be sure of his promotion.

We had been on the point of returning home, and we now made the best of our way with our prize up Channel. I was not aware, till the doctor came to overhaul me, how much I had been hurt, and the next day I was unable to leave my cabin. Harry, who had the cabin of the absent lieutenant, was also confined to his. As soon as he could, he came to see me.

“I would willingly have been much more hurt rather than have missed taking the prize,” he said, after he had inquired how I was getting on. “I hope that Captain Leslie will at least see that I am worth something.”