near the Chesapeake, where she was afterwards destroyed by the British.
On his return from the above service, Sir Richard was employed in the blockade of Rochefort, until the summer of 1809, when he assumed the command of the naval part of the expedition destined for the occupation of Flushing, and the destruction of the French ships of war, arsenals, &c. in the Scheldt. This armament consisted of thirty-seven sail of the line, two ships of 50 guns, three of 44, twenty-four frigates, thirty-one sloops, and five bombs, besides gun-boats and other small craft, together with 40,000 troops, under the orders of the Earl of Chatham.
On the 28th and 29th July, the ships of war and transports sailed in two divisions; and a landing having been effected in the islands of Walcheren and South Beveland, Flushing was immediately invested. On the 13th Aug. the batteries were completed, and the frigates and small vessels having taken their stations, the bombardment commenced. The next day, the line-of-battle ships cannonaded the town for some hours; the enemy’s fire ceased, and on the 15th they demanded a suspension of arms, which was succeeded by the surrender of the garrison, 6000 strong. In the mean time a very numerous French army assembled in the neighbourhood of Antwerp , the forts in the Scheldt were well manned, and every preparation was made for defending the passage of the river, and for conveying the ships so high up as to be beyond the reach of either naval or military operations.
All idea of pushing up the Scheldt being necessarily abandoned, Lord Chatham, with the greater part of the troops, returned to England on the 14th Sept.; and a distemper having broken out among those who remained, which carried off from 200 to 300 men per week, it was determined to evacuate the island of Walcheren, which was carried into effect, after demolishing the works and basin of Flushing, on the 23rd of December.
On the 3d July, 1810, Sir Richard Strachan was presented with a sword, and the freedom of the city of London, which had been voted to him for his achievement off Ferrol, in 1805. He was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral on the 31st of the same month, and became a full Admiral, July 19, 1821.
