seniority, had been shot through the breast with a musket-ball, and taken below; and at 4 a.m. the master (Samuel Parker) had his head carried off by a round shot. Still the Africaine continued the action; but her fire gradually grew feebler, until about 4-45 a.m., when it entirely ceased. The ship was now with her three lower masts reduced to a tottering state, her hull pierced in all directions, her quarter-deck nearly cleared of officers and men, and her main-deck so thinned that only six guns could be properly manned. Being in this disabled state; seeing also, from the calm slate of the weather, no chance of relief from the Boadicea, whom the opening day-light discovered about four or five miles off, and having no hope of escape, nor means of further resistance, the Africaine, at a few minutes before 5 a.m., hauled down her colours. Although this was done, and every light extinguished, the French, contrary to the law of arms, continued, for nearly fifteen minutes, to fire into the British frigate; whereby Captain Elliott, of the army, and several men were killed.
“Of her complement, including soldiers, of 295 men and boys, the Africaine had 49 killed and 114 wounded. Captain Corbett bad his leg amputated below the knee during the action, and died about six hours after the operation had been performed. Had he survived, he must have submitted to a second amputation above the compound fracture. The loss sustained by the French frigates, as stated in the letter of Commodore Bouvet, amounted to 10 killed and 35 wounded. The damages they sustained bore a proportion to their loss of men. The Astrée was very slightly injured in hull or spars: the Iphigénie had her masts, yards, and rigging more or less wounded and cut, but none of her masts so dangerously struck as to require replacing.”
Mr. James, in continuation, says, “No sooner was the Africaine in possession of her captors, than her shot-lockers were ransacked to supply the Iphigénie, whose guns were of the same calibre; but only fifty round shot remained of the former’s originally ample store. That they had been expended in the action is certain; but there is reason to believe, that the Africaine’s crew had been very little, if at all, exercised at the guns: consequently that, in nine times out of ten, the men might as well have fired blank cartridges as shot.” The former part of this statement is certainly incorrect. – Not only was her shot-locker nearly full, but even the racks around the hatchways still contained many shot, blackened as they were before the action. Our informant, now a captain in the navy, is of opinion, as are many other persons, that the Africaine’s crew, disgusted
