Chap. V. during the Reign of §lueen Ann.

*703. (as -it was feared) had fallen into their dy for Service, (e) in Order to surprizeHands. and destroy such of the Enemy’s Men

Upon this, Rear-Admiral Byng, with of War and Merchant-Ships, as theythe Ran e lag h, Sommerset, Tor bay, Cam- might find in those Parts, or, at least,bridge and Winchejler, was ordered to to interrupt their Commerce. He far-ly in Wait, to intercept them in their ther proposed, that, if there should beReturn to Dunkirk ; And Rear-Admi- Occasion for it, Sir Cloudejly Shovelral Beaumont was sent off of that Port, might ly off of the Ifle of UJhant, with Which iswith his Squadron, for the fame Pur- his Squadron, (f) The Lord High a PP roz> do fpose i But they had the good Fortune Admiral, having considered these Pro-to get in, with their Prizes, before ei- posals, directed him to obey Her Maje-ther of these Squadrons could get up sty’s Commands; And the Queen waswith them. (d) pleased to order him to proceed, as he

^.Admiral The Admiral, having lain some Time had offered, (g)ts* at wind-bound in the Downs, arrived, the The eighth of May, the Fleet, be- The Fleetelen’j. seventeenth of April, at St. Helen’s ; ing off of Plymouth, was joined by Vice- s a, [ 5 } AndAnd Vice-Admiral Leake, of the Blew Admiral Leake, when the Admiral, ^

Squadron, came about the fame Time, tho’ at that Time sick, and confined to Leake.pMakes a ^itb several Ships, to Spithead, from his Bed, appointed a Rendezvous for the\\hfalto the French-Co&ft. ; And now the Admi- Dutch, if they arrived inTime. (h) The%? Ur / t °f ral proposed to sail to the Bay of Biscay, ninth, being about fifteen Leagues fromTaty ’ with all the Ships and Vessels, which UJhant, he called a Council of the Flag-

were, at that Time, at Spithead, rea- Officers. ( 7 ) Pursuant to a Resolution a '

there

769

1703.

from meeting any of the French Fleet, which rey, who pretends the Englijh had four Men offailed out, at that Time ; and to do the Enemy War, fays, two of them, with four Merchant-no Harm, and not so much as to disturb their ships, were taken.

Quiet, by coming near their Coast; At ,-last (e) These were two First-, four Second-, onehe returned, without having attempted any and twenty Third-, one Fourth-, three Fifth-,Thing. and one Sixth-Rates, with five Bomb-Vessels, ten

[d ) Th E Circumstances of this Action were as Fire-ships, and three Hospitals. Besides these,tz follows : there were already on the French Coast, under

* tc hett. Captain Cotton-, who commanded the Salis- Command of Captain Charles Wager , one Third-,bury-, came with that Ship, and the Adventure, three Fourth-, one Fifth-, and one Sixth-Rate,

. from Goree , in Holland-, the ninth of April, and who had taken a Ship of fourteen Guns; But mostnext Day, about one o’Clock, discovered seven of their Trading Vessels, as well as their smallSail bearing down on him, with Englijh Colours. Convoys, were escaped to Havre de Grace , Cher-Thefe Ships proved to be three French , and one bourg , La Hogue , and the Ports along the Coast;Fy-sm/T Man of War, the others Privateers. The And-there were also one Second-, four Third-,Salisbury was constrained singly to engage with and ten Fourth-Rates, designed for the Fleet,most of them, that the Trade and the Yachts which had not then joined the Admiral,might better secure themselves, in one of which (f) It was his Opinion, that the Dutch Ships,was the Earl of JVinchelfea, who was returning designed to proceed with Sir Cloudejly , to theifc-

from the Court of Hanover- The. Adventure was di terr am an, might as well join him there, as

a-stern, and the Salisbury endeavoured to edge on our Coast; But yet , he thought, theredown all that possibly the could, to assist theTail would be no Occasion for this additional Force,of the Fleet, with which was a hired Store-ship, if the Intelligence of the Enemy’s Preparationsof considerable Force, named the Mufcovia-Mer- could be depended on.

chant ; But she, without any Resistance, struck (g) About this Time, Rear-Admiral Beau-to the Enemy, and the Adventure , to save her- mont was ordered with a Squadron to look afterself, stood away, with all the Sail she should car- the French Ships, in Dunkirk and Oftend; Off of

ry So that the Salisbury bore theBrunt upwards which Places, and in Pursuit of which Ships to

of two Hours; She was boarded by two of the the North; As likewise in Convoying and Secu-French Ships, which were bravely put off; But, ring our Northern Trade, he was employed thesoon after, Monsieur St. Paul, who commanded whole Summer, 'till his Return to the Downs ,in Chief, lying on her Bow, ready to clap her on where he was lost in the Great November Storm,Board again, another on her Broadside, the Mil- as we shall see below.

ford (taken from us the last War) on oneQuarter, (h) This Rendezvous was, with the Wind

and the Jiueen of Spain, a Ship of OJlend, on-the Westerly, at Torbay ; But if it should happen t-oother, all of them making what Fire they possi. blow Easterly, from fifteen to twenty Leaguesbly could, they disabled her Masts, Sails, and West from UJhant.

Rigging, dismounted several of her Guns, and (i) At this Council of War were present, withher Hull was very much torn. This, with the the Admiral, Vice-Admiral Leake, and Rear-A d-killing eighteen, and desperately wounding both miral Dilkes, and his first Captain, Capt. Jamesher Lieutenants, and-three and forty Men, toge- Wijhart, who perusing the Instructions from Herther with the throwing Hand-Grenadoes into her, Majesty, and the Intelligence received fromso thick, that they were-not able to continue on Brefi, of the Enemy’s Preparations, together withthe Deck, constrained the Captain to yield the a Project for a Descent in the Bay of F°.rdon, atShip to them, which they afterwards fitted out, the Mouth of the River of Bourdeaux, determi-and employed against us. By this Account, one ned to fend some Frigats thro’ the Race, to gain\Vould think tho Adventure escaped ; ButDe Lar- farther Intelligence from Brejl, and to proceed

with