On the 24th, the enemy had erected a battery on a point of the bay, close to which the Weazle must necessarily pass; this they opened upon her about noon, when she arrived within range. At 1 P.M. the gunboats, having pulled out in a line astern, commenced their fire also, and, supported by the musketry from the shore, continued it all the time she was warping out. At 5, they ventured within range of her larboard broadside, but were soon driven off, from which period she received no further annoyance.
The conduct of Captain Black, his officers, and crew, during these three days of most arduous service, deserves the warmest praise; indeed, we are at a loss which most to admire, their determined bravery in action, or their steady perseverance in warping out of the enemy’s bay. One of the killed was Mr. James Toby, boatswain; among the wounded (twenty-five in number), were Captain Black, Lieutenant Thomas Whaley, Mr. William Simkin, master’s-mate, Mr. James Steuart, midshipman[1], and Mr. Benjamin Bremmer, carpenter; the first named petty officer lost his right arm early in the action.
Respecting this truly gallant affair, the late Sir Thomas F. Freemantle, under whose orders Captain Black was then serving in the Adriatic, expressed himself as follows:–
“In having the honor of forwarding, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Captain Black’s report of his attack on an enemy’s convoy near Spalatro, it is my duty to represent what his modesty has not allowed him to make an official report of, namely, that he is himself badly wounded by a musket-ball, which passed through his right hand, and now confines him.
“Having made it my business to enquire and examine into all the particulars, I can have no hesitation in saying, that many would have undertaken the enterprise, but few vessels under such circumstances could have been extricated from such a force, and such difficulties, as were opposed to the Weazle. Much credit is due to Captain Black, his officers, and ship’s company, for their gallantry, perseverance, and steadiness.”
On the 24th May, 1813, the Weazle, in company with the Haughty gun-brig, captured and destroyed six French vessels, laden with grain, from Stagus[errata 1] bound to Cattaro: in the
- ↑ Correction: Stagus should be amended to Stagno
