On the 7th March, 1800, his Lordship anchored at Leghorn, for the purpose of co-operating with the Austrian army against the French, under the command of General Massena, who at that time occupied the city and territory of Genoa. On the 14th he issued a proclamation wherein he signified to all neutral powers, that the ports of Toulon, Marseilles, Nice, and the coast of the Riviera, were in a state of blockade.
Three days after the above event, Lord Keith had the misfortune to lose his flag-ship, the Queen Charlotte, by fire, between Leghorn and the island of Cabrera, which there was some intention of attacking. An account of this melancholy accident, by which upwards of 600 gallant men lost their lives, and one of the noblest ships in the British navy was totally destroyed, will be given under the head of the Hon. Captain G. H. L. Dundas, in our next volume. His Lordship was on shore at the time the conflagration happened; after which he hoisted his flag in the Audacious, but subsequently shifted it to the Minotaur, and proceeded in that ship, with part of his fleet, off Genoa. As there was little probability of being able to reduce that place by any other means than famine, it became an object of the first importance to cut off all supplies by sea; and this service was so effectually performed, that in the beginning of June the French General was obliged to capitulate, being reduced to the greatest extremity for want of provisions. This achievement in our naval annals would not have failed to shine forth as it deserved, had not the disastrous result of the battle of Marengo, and the convention of Alexandria, between the Austrian Baron de Melas and General Buonaparte, overwhelmed Europe with astonishment and dismay. It is here proper to remark, that the Austrians never fired a gun against Genoa, during the whole of the siege, and that its reduction was wholly caused by famine, which the vigilance and severity of our sea blockade had occasioned[1].
- ↑ During the blockade of Genoa, the city and mole were frequently bombarded by the British flotilla; and on one occasion la Prima, the principal galley in the port, having on board two brass 36-pounders, 30 brass swivels, 257 men, and rowing 50 oars, was brought off in triumph.
