The _Beagle_, to the command of which ship Lieutenant Hewett had been
appointed on the 3rd July, was off the town of Genitchi, where there was
a floating bridge which it was most important to destroy, as it
communicated with the town and the Arabat spit. Mr Hewett accordingly
despatched his gig, under command of Mr Hayles, gunner of the _Beagle_,
and paddle-box boats under Mr Martin Tracy, midshipman of the
_Vesuvius_. The undertaking was one of considerable danger, for troops
lined the beach not eighty yards off, and the adjacent houses were
filled with riflemen, all of whom opened a hot fire on the boats. The
_Beagle_ fired on them in return, as did Mr Tracy from the paddle-box
boats, causing great confusion and dismay in their ranks. However, Mr
Hayles pulled in, ably seconded by a seaman lent from the _Agamemnon_,
Stephen Trewavas, who, though already wounded from the fire of the
enemy, cut the hawsers and cast the boats adrift. Mr Hayles was also
wounded. Trewavas obtained the Victoria Cross for his coolness and
determination on this occasion.
The squadron continued its course round the coast, destroying fisheries,
guard-houses, barracks, stores of forage and provisions, and vessels,
wherever they could be found.