_By an officer engaged._
The Leander, fitted for the flag of Rear-Admiral Milne, was at Spithead,
in June, 1816, when Lord Exmouth arrived with a squadron from the
Mediterranean, where a dispute had arisen between the Dey of Algiers and
his lordship, in consequence of a massacre that took place at Bona, on
the persons of foreigners, then under the protection of the British flag.
When the particulars were made known to government, Lord Exmouth was
ordered to return to Algiers, and to demand, in the name of the Prince
Regent, instant reparation for the insult offered to England. The
squadron being still on the war establishment, the crews were discharged,
and another expedition was ordered to be equipped with all possible
dispatch. The Leander instantly offered her services, and she soon had
the satisfaction to hear, that they were graciously accepted, and never
was greater joy expressed throughout her crew, than when her Captain
(Chetham) announced the determination of the Admiralty, that she was to
complete to the war complement; an extra lieutenant (Monk) was appointed,
a rendezvous for volunteers opened on the Point at Portsmouth, and in ten
days she was ready for sea, with 480 men on board.
The flag of Rear-Admiral Milne was hoisted, and the Leander sailed for
Plymouth, where she anchored in two days, and joined part of the squadron
intended for the same service: the Queen Charlotte, bearing the flag of
Lord Exmouth, soon appeared, and on the 29th of July, the expedition
sailed from England with a fine easterly breeze.
The expedition arrived at Gibraltar in eleven days, when it was joined by
a Dutch squadron of five frigates and a corvette, under the command of
Vice-Admiral Von Capellan; five gun-boats were fitted out and manned by
the ships of the line, and two transports were hired to attend with
ammunition, &c. All lumber and bulkheads, were landed at the dock-yard;
the ships were completed with water, and in all points ready for sea by
the 13th of August. The Rear-Admiral shifted his flag into the
Impregnable, and on the 14th the combined expedition sailed for Algiers.
The Leander was ordered to take a transport in tow, and keep on the
Admiral's weather-beam, and the Dutchmen kept to windward of all. We were
met by an easterly wind two days after leaving Gibraltar, and on the
third day we were joined by the Prometheus, from Algiers, whither she had
been dispatched to bring away the British Consul; the Dey, however, was
apprized of the expedition and detained him, as well as two boats' crews
of the Prometheus, but the Consul's wife and daughter escaped, and got
safely on board.
The foul wind prevented the squadron making much way, but the
time was employed to advantage in constant exercise at the guns, and the
men were brought as near to perfection as they could be; in handling them
each man knew his own duty, as well as that of the captain of the gun,
fireman, boarder, powder-man, rammer, &c. Each took his turn to the
several duties, and continued changing up to the 27th.
The coast of Africa was seen on Monday, and as the day dawned on Tuesday,
the 27th, Algiers appeared about ten miles off. The morning was
beautifully fine, with a haze which foretold the coming heat: as the
morning advanced, the breeze failed us, but at nine o'clock we had neared
the town to within about five miles; the long line of batteries were
distinctly seen, with the red flag flying in all directions, and the
masts of the shipping showed above the walls of the mole. The Severn,
with a flag of truce flying, was detached with the terms of the Prince
Regent, and this was a most anxious period, for we were in the dark as to
the feelings of the Dey, whether the offered terms were such as he could
consistently accept, or that left him no alternative but resistance.
During this state of suspense, our people were, as usual, exercised at
the guns, the boats hoisted out, and prepared for service by signal, and
at noon we were ready for action.
The ship's company were piped to dinner, and at one o'clock the captain
and officers sat down to theirs in the gun-room, the principal dish of
which was a substantial sea pie; wine was pledged in a bumper to a
successful attack, and a general expression of hope for an unsuccessful
negotiation. At this time, the officer of the watch reported to the
captain, that the admiral had made the general telegraph "Are you ready?"
Chetham immediately directed that our answer "ready" should be shown, and
at the same moment the like signal was flying at the mastheads of the
entire squadron. The mess now broke up, each individual of it quietly
making arrangements with the other in the event of accident, and we had
scarcely reached the deck, when the signal "to bear up" was out, the
commander in-chief leading the way, with a fine, steady breeze blowing on
the land. We ran in on the admiral's larboard-beam, keeping within two
cables' length of him; the long guns were loaded with round and grape,
the carronades with grape only; our sail was reduced to the topsails, and
topgallant sails, the main-sail furled, and the boats dropped astern in
tow. The ships were now steering to their appointed stations, and the
gun-boats showing their eagerness, by a crowd of sail, to get alongside
the batteries. As we drew towards the shore, the Algerines were observed
loading their guns, and a vast number of spectators were assembled on the
beach, idly gazing at the approach of the squadron, seemingly quite
unconscious of what was about to happen. Far different were appearances
at the mouth of the mole as it opened; the row-boats, fully manned, were
lying on their oars, quite prepared for the attack, and we fully expected
they would attempt to board, should an opportunity offer; each boat had a
flag hanging over the stern. A frigate was moored across the mouth of the
mole, and a small brig was at anchor outside of her.
At fifteen minutes before three P.M. the Queen Charlotte came to an
anchor by the stern, at the distance of sixty yards from the beach, and,
as was ascertained by measurement, ninety yards from the muzzles of the
guns of the mole batteries, unmolested, and with all the quietude of a
friendly harbour; her flag flew at the main, and the colours at the peak;
her starboard broadside flanked the whole range of batteries from the
mole head to the lighthouse; her topsail yards (as were those of the
squadron,) remained aloft, to be secure from fire, and the sails brought
snugly to the yards by head-lines previously fitted; the topgallant sails
and small sails only were furled, so that we had no man unnecessarily
exposed aloft.
The Leander, following the motions of the admiral, was brought up with
two anchors by the stern, let go on his larboard beam, veered away, until
she obtained a position nearly a-head of him, then let go an anchor under
foot, open by this to a battery on the starboard side at the bottom of
the mole, and to the Fish-market battery on the larboard side. At this
moment Lord Exmouth was seen waving his hat on the poop to the idlers on
the beach to get out of the way, then a loud cheer was heard, and the
whole of the Queen Charlotte's tremendous broadside was thrown into the
batteries abreast of her; this measure was promptly taken, as the smoke
of a gun was observed to issue from some part of the enemy's works, so
that the sound of the British guns was heard almost in the same instant
with that to which the smoke belonged. The cheers of the Queen Charlotte
were loudly echoed by those of the Leander, and the contents of her
starboard broadside as quickly followed, carrying destruction into the
groups of row-boats; as the smoke opened, the fragments of boats were
seen floating, their crews swimming and scrambling, as many as escaped
the shot, to the shore; another broadside annihilated them. The enemy was
not slack in returning this warm salute, for almost before the shot
escaped from _our_ guns, a man standing on the forecastle bits, hauling
on the topsail buntlines, received a musket bullet in his left arm, which
broke the bone, and commenced the labours in the cockpit. The action
became general as soon as the ships had occupied their positions, and we
were engaged with the batteries on either side; so close were we, that
the enemy were distinctly seen loading their guns above us. After a few
broadsides, we brought our starboard broadside to bear on the Fish-market,
and our larboard side then looked to seaward. The rocket-boats were now
throwing rockets over our ships into the mole, the effects of which, were
occasionally seen on the shipping on our larboard bow. The Dutch flag was
to be seen flying at the fore of the Dutch Admiral, who, with his
squadron, were engaging the batteries to the eastward of the mole. The
fresh breeze which brought us in was gradually driven away by the
cannonade, and the smoke of our guns so hung about us, that we were
obliged to wait until it cleared; for the men took deliberate and certain
aims, training their guns until they were fully satisfied of their
precision. But our enemies gave us no reason to suppose that they were
idle; so great was the havoc which they made amongst us, that the surgeon
in his report stated, that sixty-five men were brought to him wounded
after the first and second broadsides.
About four o'clock, a boat, with an officer, came with orders from the
admiral to cease firing, as an attempt to destroy the Algerine frigates
was about to be made. Accordingly three boats pushed into the mole,
running the gantlet in gallant style; they boarded the outermost frigate,
which was found deserted by her crew; and in a few minutes she was in a
blaze; in doing this the boats' crews suffered severely. The smoke of our
last broadside had scarcely left us, when the Algerines renewed their
fire of musketry upon our decks, fortunately the men were lying down by
the guns, and the officers alone were marks for them, but one midshipman
was their only victim at this time. The masts began to suffer in all
parts, splinters were falling from them, and shreds of canvass from the
sails came down upon us in great quantities; traces, bowlines, and other
running gear, suffered equally; the shrouds, fore and aft, got cut up so
quickly, that the rigging men attempted in vain to knot them, and were at
last forced to leave the rigging to its fate.
When the boats returned, we recommenced our fire with renewed vigour;
occasionally a flag-staff was knocked down, a fact which was always
announced with a cheer, each captain of a gun believing himself to be the
faithful marksman. The Algerine squadron now began, as it were, to follow
the motions of the outer frigate; the rockets had taken effect, and they
all burned merrily together. A hot shot, about this time, struck a
powder-box, on which was sitting the powder-boy, he, poor fellow, was
blown up, and another near him was dreadfully scorched.
Through the intervals of smoke, the sad devastation in the enemy's works
was made visible; the whole of the mole head, near the Queen Charlotte,
was a ruin, and the guns were consequently silenced; but we were not so
fortunate with the Fish-market; the guns there still annoyed us, and ours
seemed to make no impression. A battery in the upper angle of the town
was also untouched, and we were so much under it, that the shot actually
came through our decks, without touching the bulwarks, and we could not
elevate our guns sufficiently to check them.
As the sun was setting behind the town, the whole of the shipping in the
mole were in flames; their cables burned through, left them at the mercy
of every breeze: the outermost frigate threatened the Queen Charlotte
with a similar fate, but a breeze sent her clear on towards the Leander;
a most intense heat came from her, and we expected every moment to be in
contact; the flames were burning with great power at the mast heads, and
the loose fire was flying about in such a way that there seemed little
chance of our escaping, but we checked her progress towards us, by firing
into her, and in the act of hauling out, we were rejoiced to see a
welcome sea-breeze alter the direction of the flames aloft, the same
breeze soon reached her hull, and we had the satisfaction in a few
minutes to see her touch the shore to which she belonged.
The guns were now so much heated by the incessant fire kept up, that we
were forced to reduce the cartridges nearly one-half, as well as to wait
their cooling before reloading; the men, too, were so reduced at some
guns, that they required the assistance of the others to work them; the
aftermost gun on the gangway had only two men left untouched, Between
seven and eight o'clock, the fire of the enemy's guns had sensibly
diminished, and their people were running in crowds from the demolished
works to the great gate of the city; they were distinctly seen in all
their movements by the light of their burning navy and arsenal. The
battery in the upper angle of the town, which, was too high to fire upon,
kept up a galling fire, and another further to the eastward was still at
work. To bring our broadside to bear upon it, a hawser was run out to the
Severn, on our larboard bow, the ship was swung to the proper bearing,
and we soon checked them. At 45 minutes past nine, the squadron began to
haul out, some making sail, and taking advantage of a light air off the
land, while others were towing and warping: the only sail which we had
fit to set, was the main-topmast staysail, and this was of too stout
canvass to feel the breeze; the boats of our own ship were unable to move
her, after a kedge anchor, which was run out to the length of the
stream-cable, had come home; thus we were left, dependant either on a
breeze or the assistance of the squadron. An officer was sent to tell the
admiral our situation, but the boat was sunk from under the crew, who
were picked up by another; a second boat was more successful, and the
admiral ordered all the boats he could collect to our assistance. At this
time the Severn, near us, had caught the breeze, and was moving steadily
out; a hawser was made fast to her mizen-chains secured to its bare end,
which had just sufficient length to reach the painter of the headmost
boat, towing; by this means the Leander's head was checked round, and we
had again the gratification to see her following the others of the
squadron. The small portion of our sails were set to assist our progress;
but without the help of the Severn there we should have remained; our
mizen-topmast fell into the maintop, shot through. When the Algerines saw
us retiring they returned to the guns which they had previously abandoned,
and again commenced a fire on the boats, which made the water literally
in a foam; this fire was returned by our quarter guns, but with very
little effect. As we left the land, the breeze increased; the Severn cast
off her tow, and our boats returned on board: at 25 minutes past eleven
we fired our last gun, and the cannonade was succeeded by a storm of
thunder and lightning. At midnight we anchored within three miles of the
scene of action; the report of a gun on shore was still heard at
intervals, but all was soon quiet, except the shipping in the mole, which
continued to burn, keeping all around brilliantly illuminated. We now
attempted to furl sails, but the men were so thoroughly stiffened by the
short period of inaction since the firing had ceased, that they stuck
almost powerless to the yards; after great exertion, the gaskets were
somehow passed round the yards, and the labours of the day ended; grog
was served out, and the hammocks piped down, but few had the inclination
to hang them up.
Soon after daylight we mustered at quarters, and found that 16 officers
and men were killed, and 120 wounded; the three lower masts badly wounded,
every spar wounded, except the spanker-boom; the shrouds cut in all parts,
leaving the masts unsupported, which would have fallen had there been the
least motion; the running gear entirely cut to pieces; the boats _all_
shot through; the bulwarks riddled with grape and musketry; 96 round-shot
in the starboard side, some of them between wind and water; the guns were
all uninjured to any extent, and remained, the only part of the Leander,
efficient.
The ship's company were again at work, clearing decks, unbending sails,
and making every preparation to renew the action; but at noon we had the
satisfaction to hear that the Dey had accepted the terms which were
offered him the day before; at the same time that this information was
conveyed to the squadron, a general order was issued to offer up "public
thanksgiving to Almighty God for the signal victory obtained by the arms
of England."--_United Service Journal_.
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