Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849Gilly, William O. S.
History
Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849
Gilly, William O. S.
Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 18th century; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 19th century; Shipwrecks
There still remained about two hundred men, who were employed in
constructing a raft, as the last chance of saving their lives. After
considerable labour, this was effected, by lashing together a topsail
yard and a cross-jack yard, the only spars that remained.
Upon this, ten men left the wreck, but the timbers being improperly
secured, they broke adrift, and the first sea that came washed five
men off; the others gained the shore, one of whom died.
According to all accounts, even the few who survived would have
perished, had it not been for the humane conduct of the Danes who came
to their assistance; these, at the risk of their own lives, succeeded
in rescuing from the raft the seven exhausted sufferers who survived,
out of the crew of seven hundred and fifty men.
The St. George, as has been already mentioned, was in company with
both the Cressy and Defence. Captain Pater, who commanded the former,
seeing the impossibility of rendering any assistance to the St.
George, and the imminent risk to his own ship if he remained longer on
the starboard tack, wore, and escaped the danger.
The master of the Defence reported to Captain Atkins that the St.
George had gone on shore, and that the Cressy had veered and was
standing to the southward,--at the same time pointing out the great
danger the ship was in, and recommending that he should follow the
example of the Cressy. The captain inquired whether the admiral had
made the signal to part company; upon being answered in the negative,
he replied, 'I will never desert my admiral in the hour of danger and
distress.'
At about six o'clock A.M., the hands were turned up to wear ship, but
before this could be accomplished she struck, the sea made a breach
over her, and washed several men overboard.
The captain gave orders to fire minute guns, and cut away the masts.
Five or six guns only had been fired, before they broke adrift, so
that it was impossible to fire any more; but providentially these had
been heard by the look-out men on shore, to whose assistance may be
attributed the preservation of the few lives that were saved.
The waves swept over the vessel, forcing numbers of the crew down the
hatchways, the guns and other heavy articles had broken loose, killing
some, breaking the arms and legs of others, whose agonizing cries
served only to add to the horrors of a scene scarcely within the power
of description.
The captain at this time stood on the poop, holding on only by a
howitzer that was lashed before the mizenmast, the officers and crew
clinging to other parts of the wreck. The boats were all stove, except
the pinnace, in which about twenty men had collected, when a sea,
breaking over the wreck, washed her overboard, capsized her, and all
perished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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