For 1809, the _personnel_ was 130,000. Estimates, £19,578,467. Ships of the Navy, 728; of which 113 were of the line. In this year the maintenance allowance of the British fleet, which had been £3 15s. 0d. per man per month, was increased to £4 16s. 0d. In February, owing to a gale, the British fleet blockading Brest had to withdraw; and Willaumez came out with the object of collecting a few ships at Rochefort and Lorient, and then sailing to relieve Martinique. He was, however, found and blockaded in the Basque roads, and attack on him by fire-ships was suggested. In April, Lord Cochrane was sent out with a squadron to attack by fire-ships. Three of these were the special invention of Cochrane. The hold of each was filled with powder casks and sand, covered in with big booms and topped with hand grenades and rockets. On the 11th, Cochrane, leading the expedition with one of his “explosion vessels,” went in to attack; to discover that the enemy had anticipated things and built a boom. This, however, was struck by Cochrane’s vessel, which was then blown up, shattering the boom to pieces. The rest of the fire-ships came down through the gap, but were badly handled in the majority of cases, and no French ships were fallen on board of. The “explosion vessels” had, however, created such a panic that the French ships cut their cables and drifted ashore, except one ship, which was grappled with, but succeeded in disengaging. When day broke, the French ships were seen to be mostly ashore, and Cochrane urged immediate attack. Gambier, however, displayed considerable lack of energy, consequent on which many of the French got off. Three ships were, however, captured and destroyed, and two others were destroyed by the French themselves. Cochrane thought that it should have been possible to destroy the whole fleet, and made use of his being a Member of Parliament publicly to oppose the vote of thanks to Lord Gambier. Gambier then demanded a court-martial, which was undoubtedly “packed.” He was acquitted; and Cochrane, one of the most brilliant officers of the Navy of that day, was compelled to leave the Service. Until his re-instatement, many years afterwards, he spent his career in the service of the revolting Spanish colonies in South America. Napoleon had long been fortifying and improving the Scheldt, and in 1809 the decision to destroy it was come to. The expedition, which left England on the 28th July, consisted of thirty-seven ships of the line, thirty-nine frigates or intermediates, fifty-four sloops or brigs, together with 400 transports, carrying 39,000 troops, under the Earl of Chatham. The fleet was commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan.