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
On the 21st, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the party reached
Maritimo, having been sixteen hours in the open boat, and the next
day they proceeded to Trepani, in Sicily. On the 24th, they arrived at
Palermo; the news of the sad event had already been conveyed thither
to Sir Sidney Smith, by a letter which had been written from Maritimo.
The Eagle, of 74 guns, was instantly ordered to the Esquerques, but
returned with the intelligence, that all who were left upon the wreck
had perished, with the exception of two men, who had been picked up on
a raft by some fishermen. They related that the poop had separated
about eleven o'clock on the morning after the launch left them, and
that they, together with ten others, clung to it, but all had either
been washed off or died except themselves. There were also two other
rafts, on one of which were three warrant officers, and on the other
Captain Raynsford and Lieutenants Swinburne and Salter; but it was
found impossible to disengage the rafts from the rigging to which they
were attached, and the unfortunate men all perished.
The existence of the Esquerques, as we have already stated, had been
doubted, but from Captain Raynsford's exclamation, previous to the
ship striking, we may infer that he himself was not sceptical on the
subject. From whatever cause this fine frigate may have been lost, the
gallantry, at least, and self-devotion of her commander, from the time
the vessel first struck, will rescue his memory from reproach.
There's a prayer and a tear o'er the lowliest grave;
But thousands lament o'er the fall of the brave;
And thou, whose rare valour and fate we bemoan,--
In the sufferings of others forgetting thy own,--
O'er thy dust, though no trophies nor columns we rear,
Though the storm was thy requiem, the wild wave thy bier;
Yet thy spirit still speaks from its home on the flood,
Still speaks to the gen'rous, the brave, and the good;
Still points to our children the path which you trod,
Who lived for your country, and died in your God.
J.H.J.
Three hundred and fifty of the crew perished, while one hundred and
forty-one men, with two women, were all who were saved.
THE NAUTILUS.
ONLY a few weeks after the loss of the Athenienne, and of so many of
her crew, a shipwreck occurred in another part of the Mediterranean,
attended by circumstances of most painful interest.
His Majesty's sloop, Nautilus, commanded by Captain Palmer, left the
squadron of Sir Thomas Louis in the Hellespont, on the morning of the:
3rd of January, 1807, bearing dispatches of the utmost importance for
England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account