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SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH.

WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH, the son of a captain in the army, was born in 1764; and after having gone through a course of naval studies, entered the navy, at the age of thirteen. In 1780, he became a lieutenant; in 1782, a commander; and, in 1783, obtained post rank, with the command of the Nemesis, of twenty-eight guns. In 1778, with the permission of his sovereign, he entered into the service of the King of Sweden, who presented him with the grand cross of the order of the Sword, for the skill and energy he displayed in an attack on the remains of a defeated Russian flotilla, a great part of which he appears to have destroyed.

On the termination of hostilities between Russia and Sweden, he entered the Turkish service; but, meeting with a number of unemployed English seamen, at Smyrna, he conveyed them, in a vessel he had procured at his own expense, to join the British fleet, at Toulon, where he offered to burn the French dock-yards and arsenal, which difficult and hazardous exploit he performed with signal ability. On his return to England, in 1794, he was appointed to the Diamond, of thirtyeight guns, attached to the squadron under Admiral Warren. On the 4th of July, 1795, he made a bold but unsuccessful attempt on two French ships and a convoy, near La Hogue; and in the following September, chased L'Assemblée Nationale, a French corvette, of twenty-two guns, among the rocks before Trequier, where she struck, and went to pieces.

In March, 1796, with his own ship, and two smaller vessels, he attacked and burnt a corvette, two luggers, four brigs, and two sloops, that had taken refuge in the port of Herqui; having previously, with a party of his men, succeeded in spiking the guns of two batteries, on the promontory. In the following April, while attempting, with the boats of his squadron, to tow out a French lugger, from Havre-de-Grace, which had drifted above the forts, he was attacked by a superior force, and compelled to

surrender. The French government refusing to exchange him, he was confined for two years in the prison of the Temple, at Paris; from which, he at length succeeded in obtaining his liberty, by the aid of Monsieur de Phelipeaux, a gentleman of spirit and intrepidity, and two of his friends. An order of the minister of the day was forged, directing the gaoler of the Temple to deliver to the bearers Le Chevalier Sidney Smith, for the purpose of transferring him to another prison. Furnished with this document, to which, by means of a bribe, the actual seal of the minister had been procured, the two friends, one of whom was dressed as an adjutant-general, and the other as a subaltern officer, presented themselves at the prison. The gaoler read the order, attentively examined the seal of the minister, and then withdrew into an adjoining room, doubtless to compare it with others in his possession. In a few minutes he returned, quite satisfied, and desired the prisoner to be called. Sir Sidney affecting to be chagrined at his removal, the adjutant-general begged to assure him, with much gravity, that government had no desire to aggravate the hardship of his situation, and that he would be well treated in the place to which they were going to conduct him. The gaoler then observed, that the adjutant-general would require six soldiers of the guard, as an escort; and the adjutant, without seeming to be the least disconcerted, answered, that it would be as well, and gave orders accordingly. Pretending, however, to reflect for a moment, he turned to Sir Sidney, and said:-" Commodore, you are a soldier; I am one also; your word of honour will satisfy me; if you will give me that, I shall be in no need of a guard." After some other forms had been gone through, Sir Sidney Smith was allowed to quit the prison with his liberators. They walked a short distance, and then took a fiacre; which, however, had not gone far, before the coachman drove over a

cripple. A crowd instantly collected; but Sir Sidney and his friends hastily left the spot, while the people were engaged in abusing the driver. The party soon afterwards separated, and Sir Sidney hastened to an appointed place, where he met Phelipeaux; with whom he proceeded, by means of false passports, to Rouen, and thence, in an open boat, to the channel, where they were taken up by the Argo frigate, which soon landed them at Portsmouth.

In commenting on this singular escape, Captain Brenton, in his Naval History, asserts, that it had been connived at by the French authorities. "Of this," he adds, " perhaps, even Sir Sidney himself was, at the time, ignorant. The police of France was too vigilant, and too avaricious, to allow a victim to elude its grasp without a sufficient reason; and a bribe of £3,000, sent to one of the directory, by our own government, unlocked the gates of the Temple, and removed all obstructions to the sea coast."

Shortly after his arrival in London, Sir Sidney Smith was appointed to the Tigre, of eighty guns; and in November, 1798, sailed for the Mediterranean, to assume a distinct command, as an established commodore, on the coast of Egypt. On the 3rd of March, 1799, he succeeded Trowbridge, in directing the blockade of Alexandria; on the 15th, he proceeded to St. Jean D'Acre; and, on the 16th, captured a French flotilla, the guns of which he employed in the defence of Acre, against Napoleon Buonaparte, who invested it two days after. The French kept up a heavy fire, until they had effected a breach, which they made various unsuccessful attempts to mount. Early in May, they erected batteries within ten yards of the Turkish ravelins, and repeatedly endeavoured to carry the place by storm, but without success. On the fifty-first day of the siege, the fleet of Hassan Bey, with a reinforcement of troops on board, appeared in sight. The French redoubled their efforts, in the hope of gaining possession of the town before the Turks could land; and effected a lodgment in the upper story of the north-east tower. On the following day, the troops of Hassan Bey were got on, shore, and led, by Sir Sidney, to the breach; from which

they repulsed the enemy, after a protracted and exceedingly severe contest. A new breach was, however, speedily effected; through which a body of French troops was permitted to enter. They descended the ramparts unmolested; but, on entering the pacha's garden, they were attacked by the Turks, and compelled to retreat, with great loss. No subsequent attempt appears to have been made on the town; the siege of which was raised on the 20th of May; and Sir Sidney Smith, shortly afterwards, received a splendid sable and aigrette, from the grand seignior, and the thanks of both houses of parliament, for his services.

During the siege, two attempts, it is said, were made to assassinate him; and a paper was published, charging him with having put some French prisoners on board a vessel infected with the plague; but this accusation has been clearly refuted by Sir Robert Wilson. The paper which contained it, was attributed to Buonaparte; whom Sir Sidney thought proper to challenge. Napoleon laughed at the message; to which he replied, that he had no objection to fight a duel, if Sir Sidney could bring a Marlborough to meet him.

After having refitted his squadron, Sir Sidney Smith proceeded to make an attack on the enemy, at the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile; which, although at first successful, ended in a signal repulse, on account of the impetuosity of Osman Aga, and the troops which he commanded as a reserve. Buonaparte had now quitted Egypt; and Kleber, who had succeeded him in command, soon afterwards entered into a convention with Sir Sidney Smith, at El Arisch; by which it was agreed, that, on condition of obtaining a safe conduct home, the French troops should evacuate Egypt. By this treaty, the British government, denying Sir Sidney's powers, refused to abide; and he soon after received an intimation to that effect, from Lord Keith, the naval commander-in-chief on the coast of Egypt, which he forthwith despatched to Kleber. Buonaparte, in a conversation with Barry O'Meara, on the subject, is said to have observed, that, by this honourable conduct, he saved the French army,

which, had he kept the communication from Lord Keith a secret for seven or eight days longer, would necessarily have been compelled to surrender. The Turkish troops, under the command of the grand vizier, had, however, in full confidence of the stability of the convention, advanced to Heliopolis, where they were defeated by the French, soon after the latter had received notice from Sir Sidney Smith, that the treaty would not be ratified.

In 1801, he co-operated, at the head of a party of seamen, with the army sent out to Egypt under Abercromby; and he is described, in the despatches of the commander-in-chief, as having been "indefatigable in his exertions to forward the service on which he was employed." In the battle which proved fatal to Abercromby, he received a wound; and soon afterwards, on account of the jealousy manifested towards him by the Turks, he returned to England. At the latter end of the year, he received a valuable sword, with the freedom of the city, from the corporation of London; and at the general election, in 1802, he was returned for Colchester.

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In 1803, he obtained the command of a small squadron, with which, in 1804, he attempted, but without success, on account of the shallowness of the water, to prevent the sailing of a French flotilla from Flushing to Ostend. consequence of this failure, he is said to have employed himself in the construction of vessels capable of acting with effect in a similar situation. Early in the last-mentioned year, he had been made a colonel of marines; and, in 1805, he was made rear-admiral of the blue. In 1806, he proceeded, in the Pompei, of eighty guns, to the Mediterranean; and Lord Collingwood, the commander-in-chief on that station, soon afterwards despatched him with a squadron against Naples; which, on his arrival, he found illuminated, on account of Joseph Buonaparte having proclaimed himself King of the Two Sicilies. "It would have been easy," said he, in his despatches, "to have interrupted this ceremony, and show of festivity; but I considered that the unfortunate inhabitants had evil enough on them; and that the restoration of the capital to its lawful sovereign and

fugitive inhabitants, would be no gratification, if it should be found a heap of ruins, ashes, and bones." He, therefore, refrained from firing a single gun against the city; and, having previously thrown supplies into the fortress of Gaete, which still held out against the enemy, he proceeded to Capri, where a party of his seamen and marines landed, and soon compelled the French garrison to capitulate.

About this time, he was presented with the grand cross of the order of St. Ferdinand. In 1807, he convoyed the royal family of Portugal to South America; and, during the same year, distinguished himself under Admiral Duckworth, against the Turks, in the Dardanelles. In 1809, he commanded a squadron on the South American station; a detachment of which, under Captain Yeo, expelled the French from Cayenne. On the 11th of October, 1809, he married the widow of Sir George Rumbold, formerly British consul at Hamburgh. In 1812, he was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean fleet, and hoisted his flag in the Tremendous, seventy-four; from which, on his arrival at Toulon, he removed to the Hibernia. On his return to England, in 1814, he was presented with the freedom of Plymouth; in the following year, he was made a knight commander of the Bath; and, in 1821, a full admiral.

In resolution, and love of enterprise, Sir Sidney Smith has scarcely ever been surpassed. More valorous than discreet, he has, on some occasions, suffered his ardour to involve him in difficulties, which a commander less daring and impetuous would have foreseen and avoided; but, had his prudence been greater, his exploits would not, perhaps, have been so honourable to himself, or so beneficial to his country. His achievements, like those of a celebrated military commander, may, for the most part, be designated happy temerities." In a letter to Marmont, written in 1799, Napoleon thus mentions him:-" Smith is a young fool, who wants to make his fortune, and is continually thrusting himself forward; he should be dealt with as the captain of a fire-ship. He is, besides, capable of any folly, and to whom no able or reasonable project can

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be attributed." At St. Helena, however, he spoke of him in the following terms, to Barry O'Meara :-" Sidney Smith is a brave officer; he shewed great humanity and honour in all his proceedings, towards the French who fell into his hands. He was confined in the Temple as a spy; and, at one time, it was intended to try and execute him. Shortly after I returned from Italy, he wrote to me from his prison, to request that I would intercede for him; but, under the circumstances in which he was taken, I could do nothing for him. He is active, intelligent, intriguing, and indefatigable."

It is related of him, that having re

ceived a letter, soliciting his interest to obtain a very important post for the writer, who, it is added, might, on a moment's reflection, have perceived the absurdity of his request, Sir Sidney ironically replied in the following terms: "I am sorry I cannot oblige you; these appointments do not rest with me. The office of prime minister is filled to the public satisfaction, as well as the one you solicit; the see of Canterbury is also disposed of. I fear nothing attainable in this country, will suit your ideas of power. Let me recommend you, therefore, to go to Egypt; where I have interest to get you made a bey."

SIR JOSIAS ROWLEY.

JOSIAS ROWLEY, grandson of Sir William Rowley, vice-admiral of England, having entered the navy, in 1779, was advanced progressively to the rank of post-captain, which he attained on the 6th of April, 1795. Being commissioned to the Braave, he served, in 1797, at the Cape of Good Hope, whence he returned to England, in the summer of 1799, in the Imperieuse frigate. He was next appointed to the Raisonable, sixty-four, and distinguished himself, under Sir Robert Calder, on the 22nd of July, 1805, in the action off Ferrol. He subsequently proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, with Sir Home Popham, whom he also accompanied to the Rio de la Plata.

Being shortly afterwards intrusted with the blockade of the Isles of France and Bourbon, on the 21st of September, 1809, with the assistance of a small military force, under Lieutenantcolonel Keating, he stormed the batteries at St. Paul's Bay; took the Caroline, French frigate, of forty-four guns, a brig, of sixteen guns, and three other vessels; re-captured the Streatham and Europe, East-Indiamen, both laden with valuable cargoes; destroyed the magazines; and, in a few days, compelled the governor to surrender. In the following year, the same manders, with little difficulty, effected the reduction of the whole Isle of

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Bourbon. Shortly after, Rowley, in the Boadicea, almost alone and unsupported, re-captured two English ships, which had been taken in an unsuccessful attack on the enemy's shipping at Sud-Est, and made prize of the largest French frigate in the Indian Seas; thus restoring, in that quarter, the naval pre-eminence of the British. He subsequently rescued the Africaine from a superior force; and, on the 18th of September, 1810, after a short but close action, took the Venus, forty-four, which had, only a few hours before, captured his majesty's ship, the Ceylon, having on board Major-general Abercromby and his staff.

In the following November, he served, under Admiral Bertie, in the successful expedition against the Isle of France. Being sent home with despatches, he was, shortly after his arrival in England, commissioned to the America, seventyfour; which, in May, 1812, assisted by two ships of inferior force, stormed the batteries of Languella, in the Gulf of Genoa, captured sixteen merchantmen, and destroyed several others. In December, 1813, after having taken the batteries, and driven the enemy from the town of Via Regio, he made an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Leghorn. Early in 1814, he assisted at the reduction of Genoa; and, on the 4th of June, in the same year, attained the

rank of rear-admiral.

In 1815, he hoisted his flag in the Impregnable, and proceeded, with Lord Exmouth, to the Mediterranean, but continued afloat only for a short time, owing to the cessation of hostilities. In 1818, he was appointed commander-in-chief on the Irish station, where he was employed for three years; during which period he received the freedom of the city of Cork, and obtained his return to parliament for Kinsale.

On the 2nd of November, 1813, he was created a baronet, and, on the 4th of December, made colonel of marines. On the 4th of June, 1814, he became rear-admiral of the blue; in January, 1815, he was made a knight commander of the Bath; and, subsequently, vice-admiral of the blue. As a naval commander, he is described, apparently with justice, to have possessed great judgment, perseverance, skill, and intrepidity.

JOHN MACKELLAR.

He

THIS officer, eldest son of General Mackellar, was born at Minorca, in 1768; and, in 1781, entered as a midshipman, on board the Romney. was wounded in the action at Porto Praya Bay, with the French admiral, De Suffrein, and subsequently served, in various vessels, on the West India, Newfoundland, and American stations. While cruising off the Havannah, in the Enterprise, of twenty-eight guns, he distinguished himself by the assistance he rendered in the capture of several armed vessels; and he also commanded one of the boats sent up the river to destroy some store-houses; an object which, notwithstanding the resistance of the native militia, was successfully accomplished. While on the same coast, he was sent, with two boats, to destroy a brig driven on shore by the Enterprise, and effected his pose in the presence of five French men-of-war going in Boston Harbour. In 1790, he was made lieutenant of the Circe frigate; he subsequently removed to, and, on the 28th of August, 1796, acted as first-lieutenant of, the Assistance, of fifty guns, at the capture of the Elizabeth, by Vice-admiral Murray's squadron, on the Halifax station.

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Early in 1797, he was appointed to a sloop-of-war recently launched at Bermuda; but, being superseded by another officer, he returned as a passenger, in the St. Alban's, sixty-four, to England. On the 5th of July, in the same year, his rank of commander was confirmed; and, in the following November, he was commissioned to the Minerva

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frigate, armed, en flute, for the expedition against Ostend; where, in May, 1798, though labouring under a severe attack of dysentery, he distinguished himself by the activity and zeal with which he defended the vessels in the basin. On the capitulation of the British troops to a very superior French force, he became a prisoner of war; and while confined in the citadel at Lisle, at the risk of his life, materially aided in quelling a mutiny among the Irish portion of the captives. Having been released, in the December of the same year, he was appointed to the Wolverene sloop; and, soon after, to the Charon, forty-four-gun ship, in which he proceeded to the Mediter

ranean.

On the 27th of April, 1799, he was promoted to post rank, in consideration of the gallantry that led to his late imprisonment, which, though he might have escaped, he had braved for the purpose of remaining on shore to assist Sir Eyre Coote, who was in want of an officer to command the seamen. From Gibraltar he proceeded to Constantinople, with a transport of artificers and artillerymen, intended to instruct the Turks in military science; and, on his return, conducted to England, in safety, the homeward-bound trade, from Smyrna, Sicily, and Minorca. He chased a privateer schooner on his passage, but she escaped, by throwing overboard her boats, guns, and anchors; and he subsequently assisted at the evacuation of the Helder.

In the Jamaica, of twenty-six guns,

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