that, by standing further on, more guns would be brought to bear upon us, without our being enabled to near the fort so much as I wished, I ordered the helm to be put down; and when, from the way she had, we had gained an advantageous position, anchored with a spring, and commenced firing. Although I have but little doubt that, before long, we should have silenced the fort, yet from the specimen they gave us, and being completely embrasured, it must have cost us many lives, and caused great injury to the ship, had not Mr. Yeo’s gallantry and good conduct soon put an end to their fire.
“I must now revert to him and the party under his command. Having landed under the small battery on the point, it was instantly abandoned; but hardly had he time to spike the guns, when, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, he perceived a regular fort, ditched, and with a gate, which the enemy (fortunately never suspecting our landing) had neglected to secure, open a fire upon the ship; without waiting for orders he pushed forward, and was opposed at the inner gate by the Governor, with such troops as were in the town, and the crews of the French privateers. From the testimony of the prisoners, as well as our own men, it appears that Mr. Yeo was the first who entered the fort; with one blow laid the Governor dead at his feet, and broke his own sabre in two; the other officers were dispatched by such officers and men of ours as were most advanced, and the narrowness of the gate would permit to push forward: the remainder instantly fled to the further end of the^fort, and from the ship we could perceive many of them leap from the embrasures upon the rocks, a height df above 25 feet: such as laid down their arms received quarter. Fora more particular account of the proceedings of Mr. Yeo and his party, I beg leave to refer you to his letter enclosed herewith, and I have to request you will be pleased to recommend him to the notice of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; being a very old officer j and in the two late instances, he has displayed as much gallantry as ever fell to the lot of any man. He speaks in the strongest language of the officers and men under his command on shore: and I feel it but justice to attribute our success wholly to their exertions; for, although the fire from the ship was admirably directed, the enemy were so completely covered by their embrasures, as to render the grape almost ineffectual.
“The instant the Union was displayed at the fort, I sent and took possession of the enemies’ vessels in the Road, consisting of the Confiance French ship privateer, pierced for 26 twelves and nines, none of which, however, were on board; the Belier, French privateer brig, pierced for 20 eighteen-pounder carronades; and a Spanish merchant brig in ballast. I then hoisted a flag of truce, and sent to inform the inhabitants of the town, that if they would deliver up such stores of the ship as were on shore, there would be no further molestation. The proposal was thankfully agreed to. I did not, however, think it advisable to allow the people to remain long enough to embark the guns, there being a large body of troops in the vicinity. A great many small vessels are in the bay, and hauled up on he beach. None of them having cargoes of any value, I conceive