“In obedience to your orders, the Thunder bomb was placed, by the pood management of Lieutenant Gourly, her present commander, assisted by Mr. Jackson, master of the Ville de Paris, who volunteered his able services, within 2,500 yards of the walls of Cadiz; and the shells were thrown from her with much precision: but unfortunately it was soon found that the large mortar had been materially injured by its former services. I therefore ordered her to return under the protection of the Goliath, Terpsichore, and Fox. The Spaniards having sent out a great number of mortar-boats, armed launches, &c., I directed a vigorous attack to be made on them; which was done with such gallantry, that they were driven and pursued close to the walls, and must have suffered considerable loss. I have the pleasure to inform you, that two mortar-boats and an armed launch remained in our possession. * * * * * My praises are generally due to every officer and man, some of whom I saw behave in the most noble manner, and I regret it is not in my power to particularize them. I must beg to be permitted to express my admiration of Don Miguel Tyrason, the commander of the gun-boats:– in his barge he laid my boat alongside, and his resistance was such as to honor a brave officer, 18 of the 26 men being killed, and himself and all the rest wounded.”
From the manner in which our great hero speaks of his encounter with Don Miguel Tyrason, the public have been led to believe that his boat alone was opposed to the Spaniard, and that 18 of the enemy lost their lives by the sword and pistol. The fact is, that Lieutenant Jackson boarded the enemy’s vessel on one quarter at the same moment that Nelson did on the other; and that several of the Spanish crew were drowned in consequence of their being thrown overboard by the Egmont’s people when they attempted to get possession of Lieutenant Jackson’s boat. The knowledge of this circumstance may be useful to Nelson’s future biographer:– Messrs. Clark, M‘Arthur, and Southey, seem not to have been aware of it when writing their accounts of his lordship’s splendid actions.
The Egmont being paid off at Chatham early in 1798, Lieutenant Jackson was then appointed to the Superb 74, in which ship he continued until his promotion to the rank of Commander.
After serving some time with the Channel fleet, and as part of a detached squadron under Commodore Home, the Superb accompanied Sir Charles Cotton to the Mediterranean, in pursuit of an armament which had escaped from Brest; and on
