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Updated: May 13, 2025
By this time it was day-light, when, to the great surprise and concern of the Duke William's people, they saw the Violet on her broadside at a little distance, the fore yard broke in the slings, the fore-topsail set, and her crew endeavoring to free her of the mizen-mast; probably she had just then broached to by the fore-yard giving way.
For instance, in a ship or barque there are three which are called respectively the main, fore, and mizen-masts the main-mast being near the middle of the ship, the fore-mast forward, towards the bows, and the mizen-mast "aft," near the stern or poop. But each one of these is divided into several pieces, which pieces have distinct names in the sailor's vocabulary.
The wind soon increasing, blew strong from the E. S. E. with a very heavy sea, and about three o'clock in the morning of the 17th flew suddenly round to the contrary point, blowing most tremendously, and accompanied with rain, thunder and lightning; the Ramillies was taken by the lee, her main-sail thrown back, her main-mast went by the board, and mizen-mast half way up; the fore-top mast fell over the starboard bow, the fore-yard broke in the slings, the tiller snapped in two, and the rudder was nearly torn off.
The English Admiral having placed himself against the French, and the British ship Hannibal being under sail, cannonaded furiously the French Admiral, who, with superior spirit and success, resisted them; insomuch that, having carried away the Admiral's mizen-mast, and sails of the main and fore-mast, with no small damage of his hull, the commander of the English ship Hannibal, despising the fire from the battery of St.
The French line-of-battle ship had suffered dreadfully from the fire of the Portsmouth. Her main-mast and mizen-mast were over the side, her forward ports were many of them almost beat into one, and everything on board appeared to be in the greatest confusion. "She can't stand this long," observed Captain Lumley. "Fire away, my lads."
They were yard-arm to yard-arm, discharging their broadsides into each other. A light breeze played over the water the ships emerged from the cloud of smoke. The English frigate had lost her mizen-mast, and its wreck lay over her quarter. Harry groaned, but directly afterwards he shouted, "They'll not give in, though they'll not give in, I am sure they won't."
At 10 A. M. the ship labouring so much, and her being eight streaks of her main-deck under water, abreast of her main-hatchway, so that we had very little prospect of her living two minutes above water, it was thought necessary to send her mizen-mast by the board, in order to righten her; but while going, the mizen-mast heeled to windward and caught her royal-yards in the top-sail tye, and stayed her so, that we were compelled to cut away the main-mast, which carried the fore-top-mast and jib-boom; and, while in the act of going by the board, it knocked an invalid down and killed him on the spot.
The admiral, therefore, gave orders for all the buckets to be manned, and every officer to help towards freeing the ship; the mizen-top-sail was set upon the fore-mast, the main-top-gallant-sail on the stump of the mizen-mast, and the tiller shipped. In this condition, by bearing away, she scudded on at so good a rate that she held pace with some of the merchantmen.
Continuing to pursue the Cacafuego, the admiral promised to give his gold chain to the first person who descried the chase, which fell to the share of Mr John Drake, who first discovered her, one morning about three o'clock. They came up with her about six, gave her three shots, which struck down her mizen-mast, and then boarded.
At two in the morning of Wednesday the fourth, they tried to wear the ship, but without success, and judging it necessary to cut away the mizen-mast, this was immediately done, when another attempt made to wear her was equally fruitless as the former.
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