Lieutenant Pascoe reported back on 3 February that he had sighted a force consisting of three ships. Two were the French frigates Aréthuse and Rubis. The third ship was a Portuguese prize, La Serra, which they were unloading before sailing to intercept British merchant vessels, a convoy from England being expected daily.
The master and the rest of the crew from Daring arrived in a cartel, having given their parole, and confirmed Lieutenant Pascoe's report. Standing in towards Tamara on 6 February, Captain Irby met the government schooner Princess Charlote and learned that the two frigates were anchored a considerable distance apart. Although he was not aware of it, Rubis, the southernmost one, had struck a rock, which had disabled her. The Aréthuse weighed and stood out to sea followed by Amelia, Captain Irby having hopes of enticing her into action.
For nearly four hours they exchanged fire, throughout which Aréthuse used the usual French practice of firing high. Having cut Amelia's sails and running and standing rigging to pieces, the French ship bore up. Twice during the action the enemy had attempted to board but the marines, under the command of Lieutenant Simpson of the Royal Marines, drove them back.
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| John Christian Schetky, "HMS Amelia Chasing the French Frigate Aréthuse 1813" |
Herewith I transmit a list of the killed and wounded, and I have the honour to be, &c.
FREDRICK PAUL IRBY, Captain
John Wilson Cocker, Esq.
&c. &c. &c.
List of Killed and Wounded on board His Majesty's Ship Amelia, Commodore the Honourable Frederick Paul Irby, on the 7th day of February 1813.
KILLED.
John Pope, ditto.
George Wills, ditto.
William R. Pascoe, ditto, late commander of the Daring gun-vessel.
John Bogue, late purser of the Thais.
Charles Kennicott, midshipman.
James Meddal, quarter-master.
George Cooper, able seaman.
John Wilson (1), ditto.
John Brown (3), ordinary seaman.
Samuel M'Kenza, ordinary seaman.
John Welch, ditto.
Roger Vivian, able seaman.
James Greig, caulker.
Saul Therre, ordinary seaman.
Michael Laughlin, ditto.
Thomas Gardner, ditto.
Charles Squires, quarter gunner.
Peter Blair, ditto.
Robert Shearer, able seaman.
James Laughton, ditto.
James White, ditto.
George Edwards, carpenter's crew,
William Matthews, landman.
John Dirks, ordinary seaman.
John Corlett, landman.
Alexander Finesson, ordinary seaman.
Hugh Williams, ditto.
John Hayes, landman.
Thomas Crispin, ditto.
Abraham Tebball, able seaman.
William Hammond, supernumerary boy (3rd class).
William Hall, ditto.
George Brown, deserter from the Fisgard.
William Scott, captain of the forecastle, late of the Daring.
John Lawless, ladman, ditto.
Hugh Norton, ditto, ditto.
Anthony Newstub, supernumerary boy (3rd class), ditto.
R. G. Grainger, second lietenant of the marines.
Thomas Smith, serjeant of marines.
Thomas Shefton, private marine.
John Barber, ditto.
William Sneyd, ditto.
Louis Jones, ditto.
Richard Lang, ditto.
William Marshall, ditto, late of the Daring.
Total Killed ------ 46
Since dead.
David Wells, landman.
Anthony Francisco, ordinary seaman.
Simon Carter, private marine.
Peter Bartlett, ditto, late of the Daring.
Robert Francis, serjeant of marines.
Total killed, and since dead -------51
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| "HMS Amelia in action with the French Frigate Aréthuse, 1813" |
WOUNDED.
Dangerously.
John Parkinson, boatswain.
Edward Robinson, master's mate,
George Albert Rix, midshipman.
John Newbury, able seaman.
Joseph Gowcr, ditto.
Patrick M'Evoy, landman.
Jeremiah Edwards, ordinary seaman.
Edward Cole, captain of the after guard.
Robert Dunning, able seaman.
Thomas Smith (1), landman.
John Hill (2), able seaman.
David Wells, landman.
William Francis, Serjeant of marines.
Daniel Goodall, private.
Simon Carter, private.
Thomas Coleman, ditto.
Total 16.
Severely.
 |
| Captain Irby of the Amelia |
John Otto, quarter gunner.
John Watson, ship's corporal.
Robert Creer, landman.
Thomas Pearce, landman.
John Cooley, ordinary seaman.
Richard Poole, eaptain of the forecastle.
Thomas Hood, landman.
Robert Craid, ditto.
Benjamin Daniel Smith, able seaman.
John Brookman, landman.
John Bombay, able seaman.
Peter le Page, ditto.
William Rouse, landman.
Man. Faibo, ordinary seaman.
Adam Watson, able seaman.
Joseph Saunders, ditto.
Antonio Francisco, ordinary seaman.
Jeptha Leech, quarter master.
William Welch, landman.
John McManus, ordinary seaman.
James Cribbs, supernumerary boy (2nd class).
John McLeary, gunner's-mate, late of the Daring.
Samuel Hardy, landman, ditto.
Edward Roberts, able seaman, ditto.
Richard Smith, private marine.
William Smith, ditto.
Thomas Bobbett, ditto.
James Webb, ditto.
Edward Ward, ditto.
John McDonald, ditto.
William Rambridge, corporal of marines, late of the Daring.
William Higgetts, private marine, ditto.
William Jones, ditto, ditto.
Peter Bartlett, ditto, ditto.
Total 35
Slightly.
William Reeve, lieutenant, late of the Kangaroo.
Anthony De Mayne, master.
John Collman, purser.
Thomas D. Buckle, midshipman.
George T. Gooch, ditto.
Arthur Beever, (1st class).
John Soames, able seaman.
Stephen Fyfe, ordinary seaman.
Thomas Thomas, ditto.
John William Bennett, landman.
Mig. Pinto, ditto.
Samuel McGregory, ordinary seaman.
Edward Thompson, able seaman.
William Newby, quarter-master.
John Brown (5), sail-maker's mate.
John Redhead, quarter-gunner.
Samuel Ely, landman.
Erasmus Anderson, quarter-master's-mate.
Michael Ayres, landman.
Wilmot Carr, quarter-gunner.
John Brown (2), ordinary seaman.
John Narrington, able seaman.
Joseph Hazlegrove, ordinary seaman.
James Mills, ordinary seaman.
James Perry, landman.
Daniel M'Manus, (3d class).
Henry Piper, ordinary seaman, late of the Daring.
William Higgins, ditto, 3d class, ditto.
John Simpson, first lieutenant of marines,
John Skinner, private ditto.
James Healey, ditto.
John Sidebottom, ditto.
David Hughes, ditto.
Richard Dauncey, ditto.
Patrick Clarke, ditto.
Mark M'Donald, ditto.
Nathaniel Warwick, ditto.
James Farrell, ditto.
William Tankard, carpenter's crew.
Robert Dickens, private marine.
William Griffiths, late of the Daring, ditto,
Steward Sutherland, supernumerary.
David Fulton, ditto.
Edward Garnish, ditto.
Total 44.
Total wounded.
Dangerously 16
Severely 35
Slightly 44
______________
Total 95
(Signed) FRED. PAUL IRBY, Captain.
STEPHEN WILLIAMSON, Surgeon.
You may be interested to learn that one of the Marines listed as 'Dangerously Wounded' - Daniel Goodall - did survive, although with the loss of his left leg below the knee. He claimed a pension from the Royal Hospital, Greenwich, and died in 1857, in Edinburgh.
ReplyDeleteHe had originally joined the Royal Navy as a sailor, served aboard HMS Temeraire (and was aboard her during the mutiny of 1801), was paid off, and enlisted into the Royal Marines in 1803. He was discharged on the 1st November 1813, and his memoir, Salt Water Sketches: Incidents in the Life of Daniel Goodall, is available as a downloadable PDF from Google books or, alternatively, as a print-on-demand book from Amazon.
(I am involved in researching the Royal Marines with an aim to co-writing a book tracing their history during the later years of the 18th century, and up to the end of the Napoleonic Wars.)
This is really interesting... thanks for sharing the extra info with us!
DeleteYou're very welcome!
DeleteI must say, I do like all the information that you have here, and if I wasn't on the wrong side of the Atlantic (and a woman!) I would love to join your crew as a Marine.
I have taken the King's Shilling as a member of the 50th Foot, however, so it's not all bad.