British trade in that quarter, and were then lying at the island of Capraja. Being joined by the Meleager frigate, Captain Sutton lost no time in proceeding thither; and finding on his arrival that the enemy’s place of retreat was inaccessible to the ships, he immediately sent a detachment of boats to attack them. This service was most gallantly and successfully performed under a heavy fire of musketry from the Frenchmen, who had landed and placed themselves behind rocks in preference to remaining on board their vessels, although they were moored at the entrance of a creek where there was scarcely room left for the boats to enter. The prizes proved to be two privateers of 6 guns each, one vessel mounting a long brass 24-pounder, and two armed row-boats. Another batch of marauders was afterwards brought out from an inlet in the island of Corsica, under nearly similar circumstances, Lieutenant Robert Sause directing the whole detachment, and Mr. Jackson commanding a boat on each occasion. In the first attack the assailants had not a man hurt; and in the second only 4 persons were wounded.
The Romulus subsequently joined the Agamemnon 64, in an attack upon the forts and batteries of Bastia; on which occasion she was struck several times by hot shot, and her main-sail partially set on fire: but although the action continued for a considerable length of time, she fortunately had not a single person slain, and only a few wounded.
From the Romulus, Captain Sutton removed into the Egmont 74; which ship, as we have already stated, sustained a loss of 7 men killed and 21 wounded, when engaged with the Toulon fleet, Mar. 14, 1795[1]. On the day after that action, Mr. Jackson had a very narrow escape, the Egmont having thrown her top-sails aback, in order to facilitate the operation of taking a prize in tow, and, suddenly gathering stern way, run down the boat into which he was then receiving the stream cable through one of the gun-room ports. Providentially, however, himself and crew were got on board without any serious injury, although the boat was stove to pieces and instantaneously sunk.
