Naval battles of the world : $b Great and decisive contests on the sea ... with an account of the Japan-China war and the recent battle of the Yalu; the growth, power, and management of our new Navy.Shippen, Edward
History
Naval battles of the world : $b Great and decisive contests on the sea ... with an account of the Japan-China war and the recent battle of the Yalu; the growth, power, and management of our new Navy.
Shippen, Edward
Naval battles; Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895; United States. Navy
Casa Bianca, the captain of the Orient, is said, by some accounts,
to have died by the Admiral’s side; but, by the account most
generally received, he died, with his son, who was only ten years
old, in the great explosion. Captains Thévenard, of the Aquilon, and
Dupetit-Thouars, of the Tonnant, were killed, and six other captains
were dangerously wounded.
Mention must be made of the Culloden, which had run on a reef of rocks,
off the Island of Aboukir, and did not get into the action. Her running
on shore saved the Alexander and Swiftsure--both of which ships did
such good service. Every effort was made, with the assistance of the
Mutine brig, to get the Culloden off. But the swell increased, and she
lost her rudder, and began to leak badly. Next day she came off, much
damaged, and with seven feet of water in her hold, but was eventually
saved, by good seamanship.
In this great action the number of line-of-battle-ships was the same on
both sides; but the weight of metal, the gross tonnage, and number of
men were on the side of the French. The French ships were conquered in
detail, by a masterly and bold manœuvre of Nelson’s. Had the unengaged
French ships got under way, they would have no doubt captured the
Culloden, prevented the two other English ships from entering the bay,
and, possibly, turned the tide of battle.
The great disaster which befell the huge three-decker, the Orient, no
doubt gave a decided turn of the action in favor of the English.
With respect to the behavior of the French, nothing could be more
gallant than the defence made by each of the six van-ships; by the
Orient, in the centre, and by the Tonnant, in the rear. The Heureux
and Mercure appear to have been justified in quitting the line, by the
great danger of fire ahead of them--however precipitate in running
themselves on shore. No instance of personal misconduct was ever
reported, in either fleet.
The engagement and its consequences ruined the French hopes of
receiving the reinforcement of troops destined for Egypt; it left the
Porte free to declare war against them; it rekindled the war with
the German States; it opened the Mediterranean to the Russians, and
occasioned the loss of Italy and the Adriatic possessions, which had
been won by Bonaparte in his great campaigns. Finally, it put the
English at ease concerning India, while the Egyptians became more
inimical, and the French there, isolated as they were, were put upon a
strictly defensive policy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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