478
POST-CAPTAINS OF 1802.
town, disabled the guns, demolished the works, burnt all the vessels that were on the stocks, brought off part of a large convoy, and destroyed the remainder in the harbour.
We have already stated, that by the fall of Ragusa, the allies became masters of every place in Dalmatia, Croatia, Istria, and the Frioul, with all the islands in the Adriatic Sea; and as Captain Hoste commanded the naval force and a detachment of military employed in the reduction of the important fortresses of Cattaro and Ragusa, we shall here insert his own account of the operations which led to their surrender:
“Bacchante, off Castel Nuova, Oct. 16, 1813.
“Sir,– I arrived off Ragusa on the 12th instant, and joined the Saracen and three gun-boats, with a detachment of the garrison of Curzola on board, commanded by Captain Lowen, who had been directed by Colonel Robertson to act on this coast. From the information I received from Captain Harper, of the Saracen, together with the state of the country about Cattaro, and the insurrection of the Bocchese, I lost no time in proceeding to this place, with the vessels under my orders. On the 13th, in the morning, we forced the passage between Castel Nuova and the fort of Rosa, and after some firing, secured a capital anchorage for the squadron, about three miles above the former. In the evening, I detached the boats of this ship and two Sicilian gun-boats, under the orders of Captain Harper, who very handsomely volunteered his services, to capture the enemy’s armed naval force, which I understood were lying between Isle St. George and the town of Cattaro. Captain Harper completely succeeded: the enemy had deserted their boats on his approach, and having succeeded in manning them with the armed Bocchese in the neighbourhood, he most gallantly attacked and carried the island, the commandant and his garrison surrendering at discretion. I enclose his report of the affair, with the account of the guns, &c., captured[1]. This is a point of the utmost importance to our future operations: it commands and fronts the narrow channel to the narrow branch of the river that leads up to Cattaro itself; and, fortified as it is, it would have been with difficulty, if at all, the ships of war could have passed it. The fort of Peroste was taken by the Bocchese the same night; and I have now the pleasure to acquaint you, that Castel Nuova, and Fort Espagnol, surrendered by capitulation to the British force this morning. The garrison remain prisoners of war till exchanged; the officers are allowed their parole. There are several Croats amongst the garrison, who are willing to enter the Austrian service, and I intend sending them to Fiume. I shall lose no time in getting up to Cattaro. Fort St. John is the only place the enemy possess in the Bocco. The French general, Gauthier, has retired into the fort, with