fide by the Canada; and in a defperate action of near two hours, was reduced almost to a wreck. Captain Cornwallis was fo intent in his defign upon the French admiral, that without taking poffeffion of the Hector, he left her to be picked up by a frigate, while he pushed on to the Ville de Paris. It feemed as if M. de Graffe was determined to fink, rather than ftrike to any thing under a flag; but he likewife undoubtedly confidered the fatal effects which the ftriking of his flag might produce on the rest of the fleet. Other fhips came up in the heel of the action with the Canada; but he ftill held out. At length Sir Samuel Hood came up in the Barfleur, juft almoft at funfet, and poured in a most tremendous and deftructive fire, which is said to have killed fixty men outright; but M. de Graffe, wishing to fignalize, as much as poffible, the lofs of fo fine and fo favourite a fhip, en dured the repetitions of this fire for about a quarter of an hour longer. He then truck his flag to the Barfleur, and furrendered himself to Sir Samuel Hood. It was faid, that at the time the Ville de Paris ftruck, there were but three men left alive and unhurt on the upper deck, and that the Count de Graffe was one of the three.

Upon the whole, the fea has not often exhibited a more noble naval and military conteft; and if we were difpofed to adopt the founding language fometimes uted on the continent, it might be faid, without much extravagance of hyperbole, that miracles and prodigies of valour were performed on both fides. The Cefar, which was

one of the best ships in the French fleet, was unfortunately fet on fire, and blew up in the night of the action. This happened thro' the inordinate behaviour of the French prifoners, who throwing off all obedience to their officers from the time she struck, and finding the English on board too few in number effectually to restrain their ill conduct, were guilty of the greatett enormities. A lieutenant and fifty English seamen perifhed, with about 400 prifoners.

The advantage of clofe fighting with English hips and feamen was never more happily exemplified, or more demonftrably thewn, than in this action. The lofs of men on the fide of the enemy was prodigious. Three thousand are faid to have perished every way, and double that number to have been wounded. We are far from confidering thefe eftimates as entirely accurate; and the latter, in particular, is probably too large; but it is undoubted that there were more men, killed in the Ville de Paris, and in fome other fingle French thips, than in the whole English line. The hips likewife fuffered extremely, and the fleet in general was little less than ruined; while, on the other fide, a fquadron of Britifh fhips were fresh and fit for action at the close of the day. It is to be observed, that the small fuperiority as to the number of fhips on the English fide, did not contribute any thing to the fuccefs of the day, as more hips of Sir Samuel Hood's divifion than that difference amounted to, were held back through the want of wind, from coming into action. It would be of little avail, and entirely befide our purpose,

to

to attempt any enquiry into the caufes of that fuperiority which British feamen poffefs in clofe fight; but the fact feems to be eft blished.

The lofs of men in the British fleet was wonderfully fmall, confidering the length and violence of the battle, the prodigioufnefs of the fire, the nearness of the combatants, and the obftinate bravery of the enemy. The whole number killed and wounded in the two actions of the 9th and 12th (for no feparate lifts have been given) amounted only to 1050, of which 253 were killed upon the spot. It is obfervable, that the flain in the Ville de Paris only, was faid to amount at leaft to 400. The brave Captain Blair of the Anfon, who, in the preceding year, had moft gallantly fought the Dolphin against the Dutch, in the north-fea action under Admiral Hyde Parker, fell gloriously on this day. The lofs of Lord Robert Manners, fon of the late Marquis of Granby, and brother to the Duke of Rutland, was univerfally lamented by the nation as well as the navy. That gallant young nobleman, in the command of the Refolution of 74 guns, had been highly distinguished during the war, by a feries of the most brilliant actions; and being moft grievously wounded in this battle (although with fair hopes of recovery, from the excellency of his conftitution) was, to the great lofs of his country and the fervice, carried off by a locked jaw, a few days after, on his paffage to England.

Thirty-fix chefts of money, deftined to the pay and fubfiftence of the troops in the defigned invafion

of Jamaica, were found in the Ville de Paris. The peculiar circumftances of that ship with refpect to her name and origin, as well as her greatnefs and beauty, rendered her a prize not a little flattering to the victors. She had been a prefent from the city of Paris to Lewis the 15th, in that fallen ftate of the French marine which prevailed towards the clofe of the former ruinous war, fuftained by that nation against England. No pains or expence were fpared to render the gift worthy of that great city, and of the monarch to whom it was prefented; fo that fhe was faid to have cost 176,000l. fterling, in her building and fitting out for sea. It feemed to be a fingular fortune that the whole train of artillery, with the battering cannon and travelling carriages, intended for the attack on Jamaica, happened to be on board the ships which were now taken.

As it grew dark, the admiral thought it neceffary, in order to keep the fleet collected, to fecure the prizes, and to afford time for enquiring into the state and condition of the fhips that had suffered in the action, to bring to for the night. The routed enemy made off to leeward, in the greatest disorder and confufion; and were totally out of fight in the morning. The rout and difmay had been continued and increased, by the close purfuit of Commodore Affleck in the Bedford, and some other of the British fhips, who kept an unceafing fire upon them until it was quite dark. Some ran down for fhelter and relief to the Dutch island of Curaçoa; which was but in indifferent con[*0] 2

dition

of Porto Rico from Hifpaniola. A general chace immediately enfued; and after feveral hours purfuit, the Valiant and Magnificent of 74 guns each, having far outfailed the rest of the fquadron, came up with, and, after a fhort engagement, took the Jafon and Caton French fhips of war of 65 guns each, together with two of the frigates which were in their company. The third frigate, when upon the point of being taken, had the fortune to escape, by an unexpected fuift of wind in her favour. The two French fhips of the line loft a number of men, and foffered greatly otherwife in this fhort action; while the lofs in the two English ships was very trifling.

Thus the enemy loft eight fhips of the line by the late action; fix of thefe were in the poffeffion of the English, one had been funk, and the Cefar blown up after her capture. Four other of their fhips had got into Curaçoa, and the French commanders were for feveral weeks totally ignorant of their fate; fo that no lefs than twelve fail of their line were miffing, and for any thing that was yet known, the whole were either loft or taken. Sir Samuel Hood joined the fleet off Cape Tiberoon; and the enemy having now no force to windward, Sir George Rodney proceeded with the difabled fhips and the prizes to Jamaica, as well for their repair as for the greater fecurity of the island, if the combined enemy fhould ftill venture to make any attempt towards the profecution of their former defign. He arrived there by the end of April; and nothing

could be more glorious, or more flattering to human nature, than the real triumph, though without its ancient oftenfive and odious forms, which he enjoyed upon that occafion. The inhabitants of that ifland, which had been fo long marked out for war and ruin, and menaced by a preparation and force fo vaft as had hitherto been unknown in the new world, not only faw themselves at once freed from the danger, but beheld the principal commander of that armament which had been fo long and fo great an object of their terror, himself brought a prifoner into the intended fcene of his hoftility and conqueft, and accompa nied by fix of thofe capital fhips, now under English colours and command, which had fo lately been the deftined inftruments of their deftruction.

Indeed the fortune of Sir George Rodney had been peculiarly fin gular, as well as highly glorious in the prefent war. Within a little more than two years, he had given a fevere blow to each of our three powerful and dangerous enemies, the French, Spaniards, and Dutch. He had taken an admiral of each nation: a circumstance perhaps unequalled. He had in that time added twelve line of battle fhips, all taken from the enemy, to the British navy; and deftroyed five more; and to ren der the whole ftill more fingularly remarkable, the Ville de Paris is faid to be the only first rate man of war that ever was taken and carried into port by any commander of any nation. It would not be easy, after fuch inftances, confidered in all their circumstances, [*0] 3

liar favourites.

The admiral had left Sir Samuel Hood, with about twenty-five fhips of the line, to keep the fea, and watch the motions of the combined enemy at Hifpaniola; for they were ftill formidable both by fea and land, at least with refpect to numbers and appearance. The Spaniards had 16 fhips of the line, and about Sooo troops, at Cape Francois; feveral French men of war, of the fame defcription, and on the fame defign, had been through the year upon that ftation: and the remains of the Count de Graffe's fleet, which were now collected there under Vaudrevil, amounted to twenty-three fail of the line. But the spirit of enterprize was now no more. The late blow was too fevere to be foon for gotten; and the parties who had felt any part of its weight, were neither difpofed or in condition for farther exertion. All their defigns upon Jamaica were accordingly given up by both nations. The Spanish fleet and troops returned to the Havanah; a number of the French fhips of war came home with convoys; and the Count de Vaudrevil, with the remainder, amounting to thirteen fail of the line, proceeded to North America; but more to evade the hurricane feafon, to recover his men, and to repair or fupply his ships, than with a view to any active fervice.

This happy naval victory, great in itfelt, and rendered greater by the critical nature of the time, not only fecured our remaining poffeffions, but might be faid to Glofe the Weft India war; nothing

undertaken on either fide in that quarter. It was of still greater importance in its general effects, from that fudden and unexpected change it produced in our fitua tion, from the high reputation which fo extraordinary and fuccefsful an exertion afforded, at an inft nt when he seemed to be nearly overwhelmed, as well as furrounded by our numerous and powerful enemies, and by the additional weight it gave us as a nation, whether for the accomplishment of peace, or for the further profecution of the war.

Admiral Pigot having arrived from England to fucceed Sir George Rodney on the West India station, that commander failed from Jamaica in the beginning of Auguft, on his way home to the enjoyment of those honours which were the due reward of his fervices; for he had been created an English peer, by the title of Lord Rodney, immediately upon the firft account being received of the late victory. Sir Samuel Hood was likewife honoured with an Irish peerage. Admiral Drake,

whofe conduct and gallantry had fo admirably feconded the views of his commander in obtaining the late victory, together with Commodore Affleck, who had been highly diftinguished in both actions, were honoured with baronetages. Thus honours, in the prefent inftance, held their due courfe; becoming the prizes of valour, good conduct, and fignal fervice.

North America afforded no military tranfaction of any confequence' during this period. The oppo