The third was drowned in the thunder of the _Queen Charlotte's_
broadside.
The effect of such heavy metal at so short a range was terrific. The
walls absolutely crumbled before it, and it is said that five hundred
men fell at the first discharge. All the batteries of the city at once
opened fire; the ships did likewise, as they successively got into
position, and for some hours after that the roar of artillery was
incessant, for, despite the irresistible fire of the fleet, the pirates
stood to their guns like men. Thus, although the leading vessels
succeeded in anchoring quietly, all the rest of the ships went into
action under a very heavy fire, particularly that of the Dutch Admiral,
who displayed great wisdom and gallantry in the part which he played.
The line-of-battle ships formed in a sort of crescent round the outside
of the island. The _Superb_ anchored two hundred and fifty yards astern
of the flag-ship; the _Minden_ anchored about her own length from the
_Superb_, and passing her stream-cable out of the larboard gun-room port
to the _Albion_, brought the two ships together. Next came the
_Impregnable_. These sufficiently engaged the batteries on the island
or mole. The heavy frigates passed ahead and anchored,--the _Leander_
on the port bow of the _Queen Charlotte_, the _Severn_ ahead of her,
with her starboard broadside bearing on the Fishmarket battery. The
_Melampus_ and _Diana_, Dutch vessels, passed beyond and engaged the
southern batteries of the town. The smaller vessels cruised about,
directing their fire where it seemed to be most needed, and the flotilla
of mortar and rocket boats were distributed at the openings between the
line-of-battle ships and the mole.
This admirable disposition of the force seemed to inspire the men with
additional confidence, if such were possible, but ere long the dense
smoke rendered everything invisible beyond a few yards' distance from
the actors in the tremendous fight.
In a few minutes after opening fire, the _Queen Charlotte_ had reduced
the fortifications on the mole-head to ruins. She then brought her
broadside to bear on the batteries over the gate leading to the mole and
on the upper works of the light-house. Her shot told on it with fatal
accuracy, crumbling the tower and bringing down gun after gun, thus
proving that the ball-practice on the voyage out had not been undertaken
in vain. Indeed, so expert did some of the gunners find themselves that
they actually amused themselves at one part of the day in attempting to
hit the Algerine flag-staff!
It chanced that, owing to some alteration in the arrangements, our
friend Rais Ali was transferred from the battery on the walls, where he
had originally been stationed, to that on the light-house, and when he
beheld gun after gun tumbling helplessly over the crumbling parapets,
his spirit fired, and he amazed his comrades by displaying a disregard
of personal danger for which he had never before got credit. Whether it
was that Ted Flaggan had underrated him, or that there is truth in the
proverb about extremes meeting, we cannot tell, but certain it is, that
when Rais Ali saw every gun of the battery dismounted but one, he rushed
at that one like an enraged lion, seized the rammer from the man who
wielded it, and began to load.
He might have spared himself the trouble, for before he got the charge
rammed home, a shot from the terrible _Queen Charlotte_ struck the
parapet just underneath, burst it up, and toppled the gun over. Rais
leaped on the ramparts, waved his scimitar with a yell of defiance, and,
tumbling after the gun, was lost amid a cloud of lime-dust and debris.
Strange to say, he rose from out the ruin almost unhurt, and quite
undismayed.
Hasting along the quay without any definite end in view, he found the
captain of the port getting the flotilla of gun-boats ready for action.
There were thirty-seven of them, and up to that time they had lain as
snugly in the harbour as was compatible with a constant shower of shells
and rockets tumbling into them. With great daring the pirates had
resolved to make a dash with these, under cover of the smoke, and
attempt to board the British flag-ship.
"Where go you?" demanded the infuriated Rais.
The captain of the port hurriedly explained.
"I go with you," cried Rais, jumping into one of the boats; "it is
fate--no man can resist the decree of fate."
All the boats pushed swiftly off together, and did it so silently that
they were close under the bow of the flag-ship before being observed.
The _Leander_ also saw them, and a few guns from her, as well as from
the flag-ship, were instantly turned on them.
"Musha! look there!" cried Ted Flaggan, who chanced to be on the part of
the ship nearest them.
A tremendous crash followed, and thirty-three out of the thirty-seven
boats were in one moment sent to the bottom!
Of the four that escaped and put about to retreat, one came within the
range of the gun at which Flaggan served. It was trained to bear.
"Fire!" said the captain.
"Howld on!" cried Ted, suddenly clapping his hand on the touch-hole, and
receiving the red-hot poker on the back of it.
"What's that for, mate?" demanded the man who held the poker, as he
quickly raised it.
"All right, me hearty; fire away," said Ted, as he quietly removed his
hand.
Next moment the gun leaped back as if affrighted at its own vomit of
shot, smoke, and fire, and a column of white foam rose from the sea,
astern of the boat.
The momentary check had delivered it from destruction, and Ted Flaggan
had the satisfaction of knowing that he had saved his friend Rais Ali,
as he tenderly patted his injured hand.
More than an hour of this heavy firing failing to produce submission,
Lord Exmouth resolved to destroy the Algerine fleet. The _Leander_ was
ordered to cease firing, and the flag-ship barge, under Lieutenant
Richards, was ordered to board the nearest frigate of the enemy, with
laboratory torches and carcass shells. This duty was gallantly
performed, and so effectually, that the men of the barge had barely time
to tumble over the side when the frigate was a mass of flames. The
barge was received with three hearty cheers on its return. Next, the
launch of the _Queen Charlotte_ opened on the largest frigate in the
port with carcass shells, and despite the frantic efforts of the
Algerines to save her, she was soon completely on fire. From this
frigate the fire spread to all the other boats and vessels in the
harbour, and from these to the storehouses and arsenal, until the whole
place was wrapped in smoke and flames.
Meanwhile the other ships had done terrible execution on the walls and
houses immediately opposite to them, while the bomb-vessels threw their
deadly missiles right over their own ships and into the town and
arsenal, with tremendous effect.
Thus the work of destruction went on all the afternoon, while men, of
course, fell fast on both sides--for the deadly game of war cannot be
carried on except at fearful cost. Even in the secondary matter of
_materiel_ the cost is not small. As night approached the guns of the
enemy were completely silenced, and the ships began to husband their
ammunition, for they had by that time fired an immense quantity of
gunpowder, and 50,000 shot, weighing more than 500 tons of iron; besides
960 shells of large size, as well as a considerable quantity of shot,
shell, and rockets from the flotilla! The result was that the entire
fleet of the pirates was destroyed, and the sea-defences of Algiers,
with a great part of the town itself, were shattered and crumbled in
ruins.
Then the fleet hauled off with considerable difficulty, owing to the
absence of wind; but the pirates had not given in, for they kept
spitting at their foes from the upper batteries of the town until
half-past eleven at night, when the ships got out of range and firing
ceased.
Strange to say, the powers of nature, which had hitherto slumbered
quietly, now came into play. The breeze freshened and a tremendous
storm of thunder, lightning, and rain came on, as if to mock the fury of
man, and humble him under a sense of his relative littleness.
But man is not easily humbled. Next morning the pirates still showed a
disinclination to give in, and the British fleet resumed the offensive
in order to compel them to do so.
The gun-boats were again placed in position, and Lieutenant Burgess was
sent ashore with a flag of truce to demand unconditional surrender.