Soon After
This, The Duchess And We, Still Both Firing, Came Back Close Under The
Enemy, And Had Like To Have Fallen On Board Of Her, So That We Could
Make Little Use Of Our Guns.
We then fell astern in our birth alongside,
and at this time the enemy threw a fire-ball into
The Duke from one of
her tops, which blew up a chest of loaded arms and cartouch-boxes on our
quarter-deck, and several cartridges in our steerage, by which Mr
Vanburgh, the agent of our owners, and a Dutchman, were very much burnt;
and it might have done us much more damage if it had not been soon
extinguished. After getting clear, the Duchess stood in for the shore,
where she lay braced to, mending her rigging. The Marquis fired several
shots, but to little purpose, as her guns were small. We continued close
aboard for some time after the Duchess drew off; till at last we
received a second shot in our main-mast, not far from the other, which
rent it miserably; insomuch that the mast settled towards the wound, and
threatened to come by the board. Our rigging also being much shattered,
we sheered off and brought to, making a signal to our consorts for a
consultation; and in the interim got ordinary fishes up to support our
main-mast as well as we could.
Captains Courtney and Cooke, with other officers, came aboard the Duke,
in obedience to the signal, when we took the condition of our three
ships into consideration. Their masts and rigging were much damaged, and
we had no means of procuring any repairs. If we again engaged the enemy,
we could not propose to do any more than we had done already, which
evidently had not done her much harm, as we could perceive that few of
our shots penetrated her sides to any purpose, and our small arms
availed still less, as not one of their men were to be seen above board.
Our main-mast was so badly wounded that the least additional injury
would bring it down, and the fore-mast of the Duchess was in as bad a
state. The fall of these masts might bring down others, and we should
then lie perfect butts for the enemy to batter at, and his heavy guns
might easily sink us. If we should attempt to carry her by boarding, we
must necessarily run the risk of losing many of our men, with little
prospect of success, as they had above treble our number to oppose us,
not having now in all our three ships above 120 men fit for boarding,
and these weak, as we had been long short of provisions. If, therefore,
we attempted to board and were beaten off, leaving any of our men
behind, the enemy would learn our strength, or weakness rather, and
might go to the harbour and retake our prize, in spite of every thing we
could do to hinder.
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