floated under our walls upon the wreck. It was impoffible that greater exertions could have been made to prevent it; but there is every reafon to believe that a great many wounded perished in the flames. All the battering fhips were set on fire by our hot hot, except one, which we afterwards burnt. The admiral left his flag flying, and it was confumed with the ship.

A large hole was beat ine bottom of my boat; my coxfwain was killed, and two of the crew were wounded by pieces of timber falling on her when one of the battering fhips blew up. The fame cause funk 'one of my gunboats, and damaged another,

Two of the enemy's bombketches were brought forward, and continued to throw fhells into the garrifon during the attack of the battering fhips.

A confiderable detachment of feamen did duty as artileryifts upon the batteries, and gave great fatisfaction.

The officers and men of the brigade of feamen under my command, in whatever fituations they were placed, behaved in a manner highly becoming them.

I have the honour to enclofe herewith a lift of the battering fhips. They were of different fizes, from 1400 to 600 tons burthen. Their guns, in all 212, were brafs twenty-fix pounders, and entirely new.

The enemy had collected, from different ports, between two and three hundred large boats, befides a vast number belonging to this vicinity, to be employed in carrying troops, or any other fervices connected with their operations against this fortreís.

Total of guns

76

guns

guns in ufe, exclufive of officers and marines for working the ships. ROGER CURTIS.

Extract of a Letter from Captain Curtis, of bis Majefy's fhip Brilliant, to Mr. Stephens, dated Camp at Europa, Oct. 16, 1782. ON the evening of the 8th inft. it being deemed proper to use all means to fend home an account of the late events at this place, which had hitherto been inpoffible, the Governor purchased a small veffel, and he wa fent off for Leghorn, or any other port in Italy, with our dispatches.

On the afternoon of the roth, it blew very fresh from the fouthwelt. The enemy made many fignals along fhore; and two frigates and a cutter arrived from the west⚫ ward. Towards the following morning the gale increased, and the guns of difirefs were heard from the combined fleets in the bay. Juft at the break of day, the St. Michael, a Spanifh fhip, mounting 72 guns, was difcovered very near the garrifon in a crippled ftate; and after having two men killed and two wounded from the fire of our batteries, fhe fell on fhore near to the fouth bastion. As the day advanced, the fleet of the enemy appeared to have fuffered confiderably by the gale. A hip of the line and a frigate were on thore near the Orange Grove; a French fhip of the line had loft her fore-maft and bowfprit;. a fhip of three decks and another of the line were forced from their anchors, and ran to the eastward; feveral others were driven far over towards the garrifon, but withal to the northward. I took poffeffion of the St. Michael as foon as pof

fible, landed the prifoners, and carried out anchors to prevent her going further on flore. I have no doubt of faving her: fhe is a very fine ship, and was commanded by Don Juan Moreno, a Chef D'Efcadre, and had on board about 650 men.

At three in the afternoon of the 11th, the fignals made by the enemy indicated the approach of the British fleet. The Latona anchored in the bay foon after funfet. Only four of the convoy fetched into anchorage, the remainder were driven to the back of the rock, to which place the fleet alfo repaired.

Extract of a Letter from Captain Curtis, to Mr. Stephens, dated on board the Victory, at fea, October 22, 1782.

THE Admiral, Lord Howe, having conducted the remaining fhips of his convoy into the Bay of Gibraltar on the evening of the 18th, and landed the troops at the fame time, General Eliott charged me with the final communications his Excellency had to make to his lordship; and I embarked on board the Latona frigate, for the purpofe of repairing to the Victory, and left the Bay about midnight. The fituation of the enemy's fleet the next morning, cut off my return to Gibraltar, and I was put on board this hip in the evening, when the fleet brought to, after it had gained the Atlantic.

I have great pleasure in acquainting my lords, that the St. Michael, a Spanish man of war of 72 guns, which being driven from her anchors in a gale of wind very early on the morning of the 11th, and captured under the walls of

Gibraltar,

Gibraltar, as mentioned in my letter of the 16th, was got off on the 17th, and has not received the leaft damage. She is a very fine thip of large dimenfions; and I am forry that, having loft her mizen-mait, and the most of her ftores being taken out to lighten her, it was impoffible to fend her home with the fleet.

The enemy threw a prodigious number of fhells at the Saint Michael, while fhe was on fhore, with the intent to destroy her; and they annoyed us exceffively in the getting her off, but without any obstruction to our work, or doing us any material damage.

Admialty-Office, Nov. 30, 1782. Lieutenant Alexander Allen (commander of his Majefty's armed transport the Royal Charlotte) arrived at this office yesterday, with difpatches from Vice Ad. miral Sir Edward Hughes, Knt. of the Bath, and commander in chief of his Majefty's fhips in the Eaft Indies; of which the following are extracts :

Extract of a Letter from Sir Edward Hughes to Mr. Stephens, dated on board bis Majefly's Jhip Superbe, at fea, April 4, 1782. I SAILED on the 31st of January from Trincamale for Madras Road, in order to get a fupply of provifions and ftores; of both which the hips were then in

want.

On the 8th of February I anchored in Madras Road, and the fame day received advice from

Lord Macartney, the governor of that place, that a French fquadron, confifting of thirty fail of fhips and veffels, was at anchor about twenty leagues to the northward of that port. In the afternoon of the 9th, Captain Alms, in his Majesty's fhip Monmouth, with the Here, Ifis, and the armed transport Manilla, joined me in the road. I continued to ufe all poffible diligence in getting the neceflary fores and provifions on board the feveral fhips until the 15th of February, when the enemy's fquadron, confifting of 12 fail of line of battle fhips, 6 frigates, 8 transports, and 6 captured veffels, came in fight to the northward, ftanding for Madras Road, and about noon, the fame day, anchored about four miles without the road. In the mean time I placed his Majesty's ships in the most advantageous manner to defend themselves, and the other fhips in the road with fprings on their cables, that they might bring their broad fides to bear more effectually on the enemy, fhould they attempt an attack.

At four in the afternoon the fouthward, when I immediately enemy weighed and stood to the made the fignal to weigh, and ftood after them, having received on board a detachment of 300 officers and men of his Majefty's 98th regiment, who were diftributed to the hips of the fquadron that were the worst manned. I ftood with the fquadron, as permargin*, to the fouthward all that night under an eafy fail, and in the morning at day-light found

the

the enemy's fhips had feparated in the night; their 12 line of battle fhips and a frigate bearing east of me, diftant about four leagues, and to fail of their frigates and tranfports bearing S. W. diftant about three leagues, and fteering a direct courfe for Pondicherry; on which I instantly made the fignal for a general chace to the S. W. in order, if poffible, to come up with and take their tranfports, well knowing the enemy's line of battle fhips would follow, to protect them all in their power. In the course of the chace, our copper bottomed fhips came up with and captured fix fail of fhips and veffels, five of which were Englih, taken by the enemy when to the northward of Madras, out of which I ordered the Frenchmen to be taken, and the veffels to proceed with their own crews to Negapatam; the fixth was the Lauriston, a tranfport, having on board many French officers, 300 men of the regiment of Laufanne, and laden with guns, fhot, powder, and other military stores. This hip, fo valuable to us, and of fo much confequence to the enemy, was taken by Capt. Lumley, of his Majesty's fhip Ifis.

So foon as the enemy's fquadron difcovered my intention to chace their tranfports, they put before the wind, and made all the fail they could after me; and, by three o'clock in the afternoon, four of their beft failing line of battle flips were got within two or three miles of our sternmost fhips; and the hips in chace were very much spread by the enemy's fhips they were chacing fteering different courfes, fome to the S. E. others to the S. and feveral to the

S. W. I therefore judged it neceffary to make the fignal for the chacing fhips to join me, which they all did about feven o'clock in the evening; and I continued ftanding to the S. E. under an eafy fail, all that night, the enemy's fquadron in fight, and making many fignals.

At day-light in the morning of the 17th, the body of the enemy's fquadron bore N. by E. of ours, distant about three leagues, the weather very hazy, with light winds and frequent fqualls, of fhort duration, from the N. N. E. the enemy crowding all the fail they could towards our squadron.

At fix in the morning I made the fignal for our fquadron to form the line of battle a-head; at 25 minutes past eight, our line ahead being formed with great difficulty, from the want of wind and frequent intervals of calms, I made the fignal for the leading fhip to make the fame fail as the admiral, and made fail formed in the line a-head, intending to weather the enemy, that I might engage them clofely. At ten the enemy's fquadron, having the advantage of the fqualls from the N. N. E. (which always reached, them firft, and in confequence continued longeft with them) neared us very faft, and I made the fignal for our line to alter the courfe two points to leeward, the enemy then fteering down on the rear of our line, in an irregular double line a-breaft. At half past noon, I made the fignal for our fquadron to form the line of battle a-breaft, in order to draw the rear of our line clofer to the centre, and prevent the enemy from breaking in on it, and attacking

it

it when separated. At three in the afternoon, the enemy ftill pufhing on to our rear, in a double line a-breaft, 1 again altered my courfe in the line, in order to draw our fhips ftill closer to the center; and, at 40 minutes after three, finding it impoffible to avoid the enemy's attack, under all the difadvantages of little or no wind to work our fhips, and of being to leeward of them, I made the fignal for our fquadron to form at once into the line of battle ahead. At four the Exeter (which was the fternmoft ship in our rear when formed in line of battle ahead on the larboard tack) not being quite clofed to her fecond a-head, three of the enemy's fhips in their first line bore right down upon her, whilit four more of their fecond line, headed by the Hero, in which fhip Monf. Suffrein had his flag, hauled along the outside of the first line towards our centre. At five minutes paft four, the enemy's three fhips be. gan their fire on the Exeter, which was returned by her and her fecond a-head. At ten minutes past four I made the fignal for battle, and at 12 minutes past, the action became general from our rear to our centre, the commanding fhip of the enemy, with three others of their fecond line, leading down on our centre, yet never at any time advancing farther than oppofite to the Superbe, our centerhip with little or no wind, and fome heavy rain during the engagement.

Under thefe circumftances the enemy brought eight of their best ships to the attack of five of ours, as the van of our line, confifting of the Monmouth, Eagle, Bur

ford, and Worcester, could not be brought into action without tacking on the enemy; and although the fignal for that purpofe was at the maft head ready for hoifting, there was neither wind fufficient to enable them to tack, nor for the five fhips of our center and rear, then engaged with the enemy, hard preffed, and much difabled in their mafts, fails, and rigging, to follow them, without an almost certainty of feparating our van from our rear.

At fix in the afternoon a fquall of wind from the S. E. took our fhips and paid their heads round on the enemy to the north-eastward, when the engagement was renewed by our five fhips, with great fpirit and alacrity, from our ftarboard guns; and at 25 minutes past fix, just before dark, the enemy's fhips engaged with ours, having vifibly fuffered feverely, the whole of them hauled their wind, and stood to the N. E.

At this time the Superbe had loft her main yard, shot into two pieces in the flings, had five feet water in her hold, and continued for fome time to gain on all her pumps, until feveral of the largest hot-holes under water were plug. ged up, and neither brace_nor bow-line left entire; and the Exeter, reduced almost to the state of a wreck, had made a fignal of diftrefs. The other three thips in our rear, the Monarca, Ifis, and Hero, had fuffered lefs, as the enemy's fire appeared plainly to be directed principally against the Superbe and Exeter.

It is with particular pleasure I have to acquaint their lordships, that the officers and men of the