Amidst the excesses and cruelty which the French at this time committed, it was their custom to sell the Imperialists who fell into their hands, to the Spaniards, by whom some were transported to the mines in South America, and others selected for recruits. In the above convoy were found 152 Austrian grenadiers, who had been taken prisoners of war, and were thus happily delivered from the horrible fate that awaited them.
Captain Cockburn’s next appointment was to la Minerve, of 42 guns and 281 men; in which ship his friend Nelson hoisted his broad pendant on the 10th Dec. 1796, and proceeded, with the Blanche frigate under his orders, to superintend the evacuation of Porto Ferrajo. On his way, he fell in with two Spanish frigates, the Sabina and Ceres, each mounting 40 guns. La Minerve engaged the former, which was commanded by Don Jacobo Stuart, a descendant of the Duke of Berwick, son of James II. After an action of three hours, during which the enemy, according to Commodore Nelson’s letter, had 164 men killed and wounded, the Sabina struck[1]. The Spanish Captain had hardly been conveyed on board la Minerve, when the Matilda, of 34 guns, came up, compelled her to cast off the prize, and brought her to action. After half an hour’s trial of strength, the British frigate compelled this her second antagonist to wear and haul off, and would most probably have captured her, had not a 3-decker and two other ships hove in sight. The Blanche, from which the Ceres had got off[2], was far to windward, and la Minerve escaped only by the anxiety of the enemy to recover their own ship, in which they succeeded, but not until the whole of her masts had fallen[3]. From the Commodore’s official letter to
- ↑ The Spaniards in an account of the action published at Carthagena, stated their loss at 10 killed and 45 wounded, 2 of them mortally.
- ↑ See superannuated Rear-Admiral D’arcy Preston.
- ↑ See Captain Sir T. M. Hardy, in our next volume.
tained by the British was 1 man killed and 3 wounded. On the 25th of the preceding month, the boats of the Agamemnon, Diadem, Meleager, and Peterell, cut out four vessels laden with provisions, wine, arms, and ammunition, from under the batteries at Loano, on which occasion Lieutenant (now Captain) Noble of the former ship, and two seamen belonging to the Meleager, were wounded.
