Shortly after the capture of the Isle of France, Captain VVilloughby was tried by a court-martial, for the loss of his ship, and for his conduct from the time she anchored off l’Isle de la Passe until her surrender. The following is a copy of the sentence:
“The Court is of opinion, that the conduct of Captain Willoughby” (on the twenty-second Aug.) “was injudicious, in making the signal ‘enemy of inferior force’ to the Sirius, she being” then “the only ship in sight, and not justifiable, as the enemy was superior. But the Court is of opinion, that his Majesty’s late ship Nereide was carried into battle” (on the twenty-third) “in a most judicious, officer-like, and gallant manner; and the Court cannot do otherwise than express its high admiration of the noble conduct of the captain, officers, and ship’s company, during the whole of the unequal contest, and is further of opinion, that the Nereide was not surrendered to the enemy, until she was disabled in every respect, so as to render all further resistance useless, and that no blame whatever attaches to them for the loss of the said ship: the Court doth therefore adjudge Captain Willoughby, the officers, and ship’s company of his Majesty’s late ship Nereide, to be most honorably acquitted; and they are hereby most honorably acquitted accordingly.”
Captain Willoughby’s address to the Court, corroborates what we have stated at pp. 159 and 161, respecting the enemy at Port Louis being ready for sea, and his volunteering to lead in and attack Duperré’s squadron. It moreover informs us, that the signals “ready for action” and “enemy of inferior force” were made, to counteract the effect of an indication of inability, by the appearance of a stage up la Nereide’s foremast, which had been badly wounded on the 20th August.
Having thus placed upon record the “glorious” and “noble” conduct of “poor Nereide,” whose officers, &c., were, in our opinion, rather to be envied than pitied, we cannot avoid remarking, how weighty a responsibility Captain Willoughby took upon himself, in volunteering to lead his senior officer into action; and the anxiety he must have experienced both on the 22d and 23d August: had la Nereide, from any unforeseen circumstance, got on shore when running down to the enemy, a universal outcry would have been raised against him, and his judges would have passed something very different to the above unprecedented sentence,
