the loss of H.M. sloop Atalante, and maturely and deliberately weighed and considered the same, it appears to the court that H.M. sloop was lost by running on the Sisters Rocks, or the eastern ledge, off Sambro island, in a fog, having mistaken the guns of some ship or vessel for the fog-signal guns on the same island, which fog-signal guns are established for the guidance of H.M. ships on approaching Halifax harbour in thick weather; but in consideration of the ship being short of provisions, of her having despatches on board for the commander-in-chief, and of its having been the practice for H.M. ships on this station to run for the said harbour under similar circumstances of weather by the sound of Sambro island guns, the court doth acquit Captain Frederick Hickey, the officers, and company of H.M. late sloop Atalante, of all blame on that occasion.”
It was afterwards ascertained that the guns were fired by the Barrosa frigate. The following is an extract of a letter from Jeremiah O’Sullivan, Esq. of Limerick, who had recently escaped from New London, and was then a passenger on board the Atalante:–
“In twelve minutes she was literally torn to pieces; the crew swam to the boats; and to see so many poor souls struggling for life, some naked, others on spars, casks, or any thing tenable, was a scene painful beyond description. I was in the cabin when the ship struck; the shock told me our fate. To the honor of Captain Hickey, he was the last who left the wreck; his calmness, his humanity, and his courage, during the entire of this awful scene, was superior to man: every thing is lost but our lives.”
Captain Hickey’s post commission bears date Feb. 19, 1814, He subsequently commanded the Prince Regent 56, bearing the broad pendant of Sir James Yeo, on Lake Ontario; the St. Lawrence 102, in which ship he continued until the peace with America; and the Blossom 24, on the South American station, from whence he returned home, with specie to a large amount, Aug. 8, 1819.
In 1815, when returning from Canada, through the United States, Captain Hickey was arrested at the suit of a Yankee skipper, whose schooner had been accidentally run down by the Atalante, so far back as the year 1810. The sum thus unexpectedly demanded of him was no less than 40,000 dollars, for which he was obliged to find bail before he could leave the country. On this occasion, an American lawyer most handsomely said, that a British officer should not be consigned to a gaol, under such circumstances, for want of a surety, and instantly gave his bond for the full amount of the alleged damages. In 1820, the trial took place; – Captain
