Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez, Vol. IRoss, John, Sir
History
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez, Vol. I
Ross, John, Sir
Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Saumarez, James, 1757-1836
We have, as yet, no accounts since we sailed. You will have the
pleasure of mentioning to the relations of the young men I have,
that they have all behaved most nobly, and are perfectly well:
it is a particular circumstance that, out of six ships, three
masters should have been killed, and not one lieutenant hurt out
of the whole number.
I hope the benevolence of the public will be extended to the
sufferers in these actions: some are piteous objects; indeed, no
less than three brave men with the loss of both arms.
I send this by a vessel belonging to Jersey.
My dear brother, most sincerely yours,
JAS. SAUMAREZ.
John Saumarez, Esq. Guernsey.
P.S.--I am under great concern at the uneasiness you must all
suffer at our unsuccessful attack off Algeziras; but this will,
I hope, soon remove it. Messrs. Le Mesurier, jointly with Mr.
Tucker, Lord St. Vincent's secretary, are appointed agents.
The following letter to Lady Saumarez is dated 17th July, on board the
Caesar, at Gibraltar; and gives a detailed account of his proceedings
after his arrival there.
Since our arrival here on Tuesday afternoon, every distinguished
attention which can be thought of has been paid to the squadron.
The day following, the royal standard was hoisted; at noon the
garrison saluted; and, in the evening, the most splendid
illuminations took place in every habitable part of this famous
Rock. Yesterday the governor gave a dinner, and he intends to
invite the ladies to a ball on this occasion. We have, also,
invitations from the different corps for every day we are likely
to remain here: but what has afforded me more satisfaction, is
the manner we were received after the attack of Algeziras,
which, from the arrival of the Spanish squadron, subjected the
garrison to every inconvenience of a port blockaded. The St.
Antoine I have ordered to be purchased into the service; and I
propose to appoint officers to her. She is a very good ship, and
has suffered so little that I expect to have her fit for service
in less than a fortnight. The Spencer and Audacious I detached
off Cape St. Mary's, and I shall join them with the Pompee and
Superb the first easterly wind, and resume my station before
Cadiz, where they cannot have more than four ships ready for
sea; and, I may venture to pronounce, the Spanish ships will not
come out, except the French take possession of the batteries and
compel them. We have almost daily accounts from thence,
describing the disagreements between the French and Spaniards as
most serious. They also describe the two French ships as being
in a very shattered condition, and there being no materials in
store to repair them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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