some time off Brest, he again proceeded to the Mediterranean station, and on the 10th Feb. 1800, assisted at the capture of le Genereux, of 74 guns, by the squadron under the orders of Lord Nelson[1].
In the month of May following, Captain Martin succeeded to the command of the force employed in the blockade of Malta, which he conducted with the greatest perseverance and success until September 5, when the garrison of la Valette surrendered by capitulation. The following ships of war, &c. were found in the harbour; l’Athénien and le Dego, of 64 guns each; la Cartaginoise frigate; the two latter not in a state to proceed to sea; several gun-boats, and six merchant vessels[2].
We next find our officer accompanying the expedition sent against the French in Egypt, under the orders of Lord Keith and Sir Ralph Abercromby; and it appears by the official return of casualties at the landing of the army in Aboukir Bay[3], and during the subsequent operations, that the Northumberland sustained a full proportion. She returned to England, and was put out of commission in the autumn of 1802.
On the renewal of the war in 1803, Captain Martin obtained the command of the Colossus, 74; and subsequently
- ↑ See Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Berry.
- ↑ The capture of the island of Malta will stand on the page of history as a most incontrovertible proof of the consequence of the British Navy, as well as of the unremitting assiduity of its commanders. Unassailable with any prospect of success, on account of its natural and artificial strength, the fortifications of Valette, which had bid defiance to the assaults of the most powerful armaments, scowled defiance on the usual methods of siege. To have proceeded according to the accustomed mode of attack, would have caused only the needless sacrifice of the lives of thousands, without materially advancing or furthering the wishes of the assailants. A more sure, but infinitely more tedious method, was prudently resolved ou; and a determinate perseverance effected that purpose which the utmost effort of human gallantry might probably have been unable to attain. When the labour, the difficulty, and the manifold impediments which naturally oppose the blockade of a port in a far distant quarter of the world, in defiance of an enemy, assiduous, enterprizing, brave, and anxious in the extreme to render the project abortive, are considered, the success which attended it cannot fail to reflect the highest honour on those who undertook the arduous task.
- ↑ See p. 259.
