for the purpose of making some slight repairs, and while in this position, a gle of wind suddenly arose, which threw the ship on her side, and the ports being all open, she instantly filled and went to the bottom. The Admiral, with many of the officers, and from eight hundred to a thousand other persons were lost, and only about three hundred of the crew, who were on the upper deck, escaped.

The Dutch fleet having returned to port, the ships which had been sent to the Downs to watch its movements, joined the fleet which had been collected at Portsmouth, for the Gibraltar expedition. It consisted of thirty-five ships of the line, and several frigates and fire-ships. The command was given to Lord Howe, and he was accompanied by Admirals Barrington, Milbank, Hood, Sir Richard Hughes, and Commodore Hotham. He sailed on the 14th of September, with a great number of transports and store-ships, having on board a large body of troops.

A violent gale of wind, in the Straits of Gibraltar, during the night of the 10th of October, threw the united fleets of Spain and France into great disorder, and occasioned considerable damage to those in the bay, where they had taken a position to co-operate with the powerful floating batteries, which had been prepared at great expense, for the reduction of the fortress. One of the Spanish ships, of seventy-four guns, having been driven on shore, under the batteries, it was taken by the boats of the garrison; two other ships of the line were driven into the Mediterranean, and a third was dismasted.

The next morning, the British fleet entered the straits, in a close line of battle ahead; and early in the evening, the van having arrived off the bay, an opportunity was afforded for four of the store-ships to reach their destined anchorage without molestation; but twenty-seven others having missed the bay, were driven through the straits during the night. Lord Howe having proceeded up the coast, to collect his scattered convoy and escort them back to Gibraltar, the combined fleet sailed on the 15th from Algeziras to recover their two ships, as well as to intercept the British fleet and prevent its return with the transports.

When intelligence reached Lord Howe of the approach of the enemy, he was abreast of Fangarola, between Gibraltar and Malaga. He immediately despatched a sixty-gun ship with the convoy, which had been collected at the Zefarine islands on the coast of Barbary; and the Panther, of the same force, being left in the bay of Gibraltar, for the protection of the store-ships as they arrived, his force was reduced to thirty-one sail of the line.

Near sunset the combined fleet, consisting of sixty-four sail, of which forty-two were of the line, were seen about five leagues distant, bearing down, with a strong wind, in a line of battle. At daylight, the next morning, they were discovered close in with the land, but at such a distance, as not to be visible from the deck.

In the course of the night several transports which had not proceeded to the Zefarine isles, joined Lord Howe, and the wind becoming favorable, he proceeded in order of battle toward the straits, and succeeded in sending into Gibraltar bay, eighteen of the convoy. By the 18th, those which went to the coast of Barbary arrived, and two regiments which were on board the ships of war were landed, besides fifteen hundred barrels of powder. The garrison being thus relieved, Lord Howe took advantage of an easterly wind, to return through the straits, to the westward, on the morn

ing of the 19th. When in the entrance of the straits, the combined fleets appeared in the northeast in pursuit, and the next morning had obtained a position to windward, about five leagues distant. The British fleet formed in order of battle to leeward. At sunset the enemy began a can-. nonade at the van and rear of Howe's fleet, but at such a distance as to produce very little effect. Part of his van, however, being separated from the rest, an attempt was made by the French and Spanish Admirals to cut off that division; but they met with such a gallant resistance, that the object was abandoned.

The next morning the combined fleets were at a considerable distance, apparently on their return to Cadiz; and Lord Howe having accomplished the object for which he had been despatched, proceeded on his way to England; but on his route sent eight ships of the line to the West Indies, amd six to the coast of Ireland.

Ten ships of war, including those taken by Sir George Rodney, in the action with Count de Grasse, having sailed from Jamaica with a large fleet of merchantmen, encountered a tremendous gale of wind off Newfoundland, on the 17th of September, in which the Ville de Paris, Glorieux, Hector, Centaur, and Ramilles foundered. Only one man, out of the two first-named ships, escaped, and but twelve, with the captain from the Centaur, who got into the only remaining boat, without compass or quadrant, with a blanket for a sail; and after traversing 800 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, and subsiting for sixteen days upon only two biscuits daily, divided among the whole number, they arrived at Fayal.

Seventeen sail of the merchant ships were captured by the American cruisers and carried into L'Orient.

In April, 1782, Captain Joshua Barney, in the Hyder Ally, of sixteen guns, engaged, off the entrance of Delaware Bay, the General Monk, of twenty, commanded by Captain Rogers. The General Monk bore down. upon the Hyder Ally, and while coming up, Captain Barney observed to his officers and crew-"If I direct you to prepare for boarding, you are to remain at your guns and be ready to fire, the moment the word is given." As soon as the two vessels were within hailing distance, the commander of the General Monk demanded the surrender of the Hyder Ally; when Captain Barney gave the order, in a loud tone of voice, "Prepare to board!" which, being heard on board the General Monk, the commander mustered the greater portion of his crew on deck, to repel boarders. At that moment the word was given to fire, and such a destructive broadside was delivered, that twenty were killed, and thirty-three wounded, and among the latter, Captain Rogers, dangerously. The General Monk was then instantly boarded and captured.

When intelligence of the commencement of hostilities between England and Holland was received in India, the Presidency of Madras prepared an expedition against Negapotam, the most important Dutch settlement on the coast of Coramandel. The land forces, amounting to five thousand men, were commanded by Sir Hector Munro; and Admiral Hughes having arrived with his squadron, took such a position off the harbor, as to intercept all relief; and, by landing a portion of his seamen, and all his marines, rendered essential assistance to the army. The garrison had been reinforced by the troops of the celebrated Hyder Ally, the greatest warrior prince that had ever appeared in India, and who was, at that time, in alliance with France.

The troops were landed on the 21st of October, and the extensive works having been carried by assault, the governor capitulated on the 10th of November, 1781.

After Sir Edward Hughes had weathered out the monsoons, that set in immediately after the surrender of Negapotam, he proceeded to Ceylon, for the purpose of attacking the Dutch settlement of Trincomale, on the northern coast of that island, and arrived in the bay the beginning of January, 1782. Having landed a detachment of seamen, marines, and seapoys, Fort Trincomale was immediately taken. This gave the Admiral the command of the chief landing place, and Fort Ostenburg was soon after invested, and compelled to surrender. Two Indiamen, richly laden, and a number of smaller vessels, which lay in the harbor, surrendered as soon as the forts were taken.

Admiral Suffrein arrived off Madras on the 15th of February. On his way thither he captured the Hannibal of fifty guns, which had been separated from three other ships of seventy-four, sixty-four, and fifty guns, that had been sent from England, to reinforce Sir Edward Hughes' squadron. With the Hannibal, Suffrein's force was composed of twelve ships of the line, six frigates, eight large transports full of troops, and six British prizes.

Admiral Hughes had repaired to Madras roads, shortly after the reduction of Trincomale, to land his sick, and take in stores; and having been joined by the three ships which had escaped the French fleet, previous to its arrival, on the coast of Coramandel, his squadron consisted of nine sail of the line. Notwithstanding the inferiority of his force to that of Suffrein, he stood out to sea to meet him; and as the French commander avoided an action, and bore away to the south, he was pursued during the day and night. At daylight the next morning, it was discovered that the transports and prizes were making for Pondicherry, under the protection of the frigates, and that the ships of the line were at about twelve miles distance. A signal was therefore made to chase the frigates and vessels in their company, and six of the latter were taken, one of which had on board a large quantity of munitions of war, and three hundred troops; the other five were English prizes. As the French fleet was perceived to be bearing down to protect the frigates and transports, Admiral Hughes recalled such of his own ships of the line as were in pursuit, and prepared to meet it. The remainder of the day was employed in various movements on both sides, to gain the advantage of position; and during the night the respetive squadrous kept near each other.

On the 17th Admiral Suffrein directed his attack upon the rear division of the British squadron. Sir Edward Hughes' ship being the only one which was in a position to afford assistance to that division, which was separated from the remainder of the squadron, the effects of the attack fell chiefly upon him and Commodore King; but as the wind changed abont six, the engagement became more general, and was continued until night. The French had about two hundred and fifty killed and wounded, and the British over one hundred and fifty, besides Captains Stephens and Reynolds, who fell early in the action.

The next morning the French fleet was not to be seen, and Admiral Hughes proceeded to Trincomale, to repair the damages his squadron had received. This having been accomplished, he returned to Madras; but as no tidings of Suffrein were received, he hastened back to Trincomale, with supplies for the garrison, and to meet a convoy from England, accom

panied by two ships of the line. Suffrein having been informed of the approach of that force, was on his way to intercept it, when he was descried by Hughes, on the 8th of April; and before he could reach the harbor of Trincomale, the French gained the wind of him, and on the 12th bore down in order of battle. The British squadron, at that time, lay close to a lee shore. Suffrein ordered his van division to attack that of the British, while he assailed the Admiral, with the remainder of his squadron. The action was maintained with equal vigor, on both sides, till it was nearly dark, when the British squadron anchored, as it was in the midst of rocks and shoals, with only fifteen fathoms of water; and the French being much damaged, drew off to a considerable distance. Both parties had suffered so much in the action, that neither of them were in a condition to renew it, and lay several days in sight of each other, repairing their respective damages. At last the French bore down in a line of battle; but perceiving that the British squadron had been reinforced by the two ships of the line from England, and was fully prepared to receive them, they stood off and kept their course, until night coming on, they could no longer be seen.

The British loss, in killed and wounded, amounted to five hundred and sixty-seven, and that of the French was equally as great.

Admiral Suffrein proceeded to the harbor of Batacalo, on the eastern side of the island of Ceylon, where he was employed, until the beginning of June, in repairing his ships, when he returned to the coast of Coramandel, where the squadron was amply supplied with provisions by the Dutch, and received a large reinforcement of men, from the French port of Cuddalore. The British squadron was, at that time, at Negapotam, and on the 5th of July Admiral Suffrein appeared off that place, when Sir Edward Hughes immediately put to sea, and stood after him. The evening and night were spent in gaining the wind, which having been accomplished, the British fleet bore down upon the French, and commenced a close action at half-past ten. It continued with great energy on both sides, till near one o'clock, when the British squadron was thrown into disorder by a sudden change of the wind, while the French re-formed their line to windward. Sir Edward made the utmost efforts to gain such a position as would enable him to renew the action advantageously; but his squadron was so much scattered, that it was impracticable. The French squadron stood away, until it was dark, and then anchored about nine miles to leeward; and at the same time the British anchored between Negapotam and Nagore.

At break of day Suffrein got under way, and sailed for Cuddalore; and the ships of Hughes were so much injured that he was unable to pursue him. The slain and wouuded in the French squadron amounted to nearly eight hundred, and in the British to about three hundred. Among the slain, in the latter, was Captain Maclellen, of Admiral Hughes' ship.

Admiral Suffrein having received information that a large number of transports, with troops and munitions of war, had arrived at the island of Ceylon, under the convoy of three ships of the line, he repaired his squadron with the greatest expedition at Cuddalore, and sailed early in August, with the determination to attempt the reduction of Trincomale. Having formed a junction with the transports and men of war, he proceeded to the harbor of Trincomale, where the troops were landed, under the fire of his squadron. Batteries were immediately constructed, which silenc d those of the garrison in two days, and the commanding officer was obliged to capitulate on the last day of August.

In the meantime Admiral Hughes was repairing his squadron and taking in provisions and amunition at Madras; but having obtained intelligence of the departure of Suffrein from Cuddalore, for Ceylon, he sailed, as soon as it was possible, for Trincomale, where he arrived on the 2d of September, and was astonished to find that the forts had been taken, and the French squadron was at anchor in the bay, consisting of fifteen ships of the line, while he had only twelve; but he did not hesitate to prepare for an immediate engagement; nor was Suffrein averse to abide the issue of a contest, for he came out the next morning, and the action commenced at noon, with great fury on both sides. The conflict was continued with equal obstinacy by both squadrons, till about seven o'clock, when the French Admiral, having lost his mizzen and main-mast, and several of his ships being essentially damaged, he withdrew; and the British squadron was so much shattered, that it was not in a condition to pursue them. During the night Suffrein returned to Trincomale, but one of his ships, of seventy-four guns, was wrecked, in entering the harbor.

In this action the French loss in killed and wounded was nearly eleven hundred; and that of the British about three hundred and fifty; but among the slain were Captains Watt of the Sultan, Wood of the Worcester, and Lumley of the Isis.

While Suffrein was enabled to repair his ships in safety at Trincomale, Hughes was obliged to bear away to Madras for that purpose; but in consequence of the setting in of the monsoon, he was compelled to repair to Bombay, and as the weather was continually boisterous, he was not able to reach that place before the close of the year.

The beginning of June, 1783, Cu Idalore was besieged by General Stuart, while Admiral Hughes, with seventeen sail of the line, lay off the harbor to prevert all co ninunication by sea. On the 20th, Admiral Suffrein, with fifteen sail of the line approached, in order of battle, when Admiral Hughes, drew up his squadron in the same manner. The engagement began at four in the afternoon, and lasted three hours. During the night the French squadron returned to Pondicherry, and the British sailed the next day for Madras. The loss of the British was five hundred and thirty, and thit of the French amounted to a greater number.

This engagement ended the naval operations of England and France in the East Indies. Six battles had been fought between Sir Edward Hughes and Admiral Suffrein, and five of them within the brief space of seven months. There is not an instance, in the annals of maritime warfare of such a signal and obstinate competition for victory, as was exhibited by the officers and crews of those two squadrons; and it is equally honorable to them, that so brave and determined were the commanders of every ship, that not one was captured, on either side; while the number and duration of the engagements, and the immense slaughter resulting from each, evinced that idomitable perseverance and desperate courage, which will render the battles of the rival fleets of Hughes and Suffrein ever memorable in naval history.

Congress passed a resolution, in 1776, directing that three ships, of seventy four guns, should be immediately undertaken in New Han.pshire, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania;" but only one of them-the Americawas built. She was constructed at Portsmouth, and Captain John Paul Jones having been appointed commander, he was launched in her, on the 3d of September, 1782; but the Magnifique, of seventy-four guns, having