and 170 men, Le Milan, of 14 guns and 14 men, Le Reguin, of 14 guns and 70 men*, and L'Utile, of 16 guns and 120 men. In March, 1801, Captain Keats was appointed to the Superb, of 74 guns, in which ship he remained as Captain, Commodore, and Rear-Admiral, till 1810. One of his first services was under the command of Sir J. Saumarez. Owing to being becalmed in the ofting, on the 6th of July, the Superb was not in the action before Algesiras, but he was a principal actor in the engagement which followed. Having lost all chance of joining the Admiral, on the 6th, and having no anxiety as to the result of a meeting between Saumarez and Linois, he deemed that his best plan was to return off Cadiz with the Thames frigate and Pasley brig, to watch the enemy in that port. On the 9th, at daylight, the fleet weighed and stood for the Straits, evidently with the intention of escorting the squadron of M. Linois to Cadiz; and the Superb, Thames, and Pasley crowded all sail before them. In the afternoon the enemy anchored in the road of Algesiras, and Captain Keats before Gibraltar. Our squadron at this time was lying in a shattered state, and one, the Pompée, too bad for present remedy. Yet Saumarez was determined to have a brush for the palm; and, all hands working with unparalleled alacrity, accomplished a re-equip ment. On Sunday, the 12th, when the enemy loosed sails at dawn, the Cæsar, our flag ship, was still refitting in the Mole, and receiving powder, shot, and stores. At noon, Linois broke ground, with a force of two three-deckers, and seven other sail of the line, three frigates, a lugger, and some gun-boats. At one, the Cæsar warped out of the Mole; and at three rehoisted the flag, and inade the signal for weighing. This was a scene of the highest interest: five sail of the line, four of which were damaged, with a frigate, a sloop, a brig, and a Portuguese frigate, were seen standing towards the fearful • This ship was capsized the lay after her capture, by which a master's mate and ten seamen were unfortunately lost. odds before them, with an enthusiasm never surpassed. The whole garrison and population of the Rock poured out to witness it; the Line-wall, Mole-head, and batteries were crowded, from the Dock-yard to the Ragged Staff, and the military bands made the air resound with " Britons, strike home!" The moment that the enemy had cleared Gibraltar Bay, the Admiral hailed, and directed the Superb to lead on and attack the enemy's rear. In an instant all sail was set, and, passing the Cæsar, she soon neared the hostile squadron. At eleven P. M., the Cæsar was the only British ship in sight, and full three miles astern. In twenty minutes after, Capt. Keats ran the Superb within a couple of cables' length of a Spanish three-decker, the Real Carlos, and opened a tremendous fire upon her, which had so good an effect, that some of her shot striking another three-decker, the San Hermenegildo, her second in a line abreast, confused the Spaniards, and made them commence firing on each other, and, it is supposed, with hot shot. At the third broadside it was observed that the Real Carlos was on fire, upon which Captain Keats ceased engaging her, and proceeded to the next ahead, which proved to be the St. Antonio, of 74 guns, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore le Roy, who surrendered after a contest of about thirty minutes. Thus far a single ship had done all the mischief; but soon afterwards the Cæsar and Venerable came up in succession, when, seeing the St. Antonio's pendant entangled in the rigging, and not being aware that she had already struck to the Superb, they fired into her, as did also the Spencer and the Thames. Meantime the San Carlos fell on board the San Hermenegildo; and, while engaging each other in the mistake occasioned by the address of Keats, and blazing fore and aft, the agonized screams of the people are described as having been most dreadful; at length both ships blew up, when, out of 2000 men composing their crews, not 300 escaped destruction. The Superb then remained off Cape Trafalgar with her prize, whilst the rest of the squadron pursued the discomfited enemy. - On the recommencement of hostilities in 1803, Captain Keats was attached to the command of Lord Nelson; by whom he was despatched to demand satisfaction from the Dey of Algiers, for having dismissed Mr. Falcon, the British Vice-Consul, from his dominions; a service which he performed most ably and honourably. The Superb afterwards accompanied that great commander to the West Indies, in the memorable pursuit of the combined fleets of France and Spain. When those extraordinary exertions were concluded, the Victory and Superb anchored at Spithead on the 18th of August, 1805, and Lord Nelson struck his flag, and returned home for a short time. Keats's ship, which had shared the cruises of Nelson from the beginning of the war, was now put under repair, in order to rejoin his fleet; but though no means were neglected to accelerate her equipment, she was not ready in time to be at the hero's last battle. The Superb at length got clear of Portsmouth Yard, and on her way down Channel called at Plymouth, where the Royal George was fitting for the flag of Sir J. Duckworth; but, the ship not being ready, Captain Keats consented to receive the Vice-Admiral on board. On the 15th of November, they arrived off Cadiz, and found that the glorious conflict of Trafalgar had taken place. Shortly afterwards, Duckworth quitted the station with six sail of the line, and a couple of frigates in quest of the Rochefort squadron, which was now known to have sailed from France, and it was supposed bound to the West Indies. On the 25th of December, they caught sight of the enemy off the Cape de Verd islands, and chased them, the Superb taking the lead till she lost sight of some of her own companions. This scattered state induced Sir J. Duckworth to give up the pursuit and collect his squadron; and the strange fleet, which afterwards proved to be that under Admiral Villaumez, was quickly out of sight. Having despatched the Powerful, 74, to India, Duckworth made all sail for the West Indies, where he soon learned the arrival of another French squadron, and therefore proceeded with the utmost celerity to St. Domingo. On the 6th of February, 1806, they had the good fortune to discover the enemy, whose force consisted of five ships of the line, two frigates, and a corvette. The necessary dispositions were immediately made for an attack, and the French slipped and got under sail to receive them. The behaviour of Captain Keats at this critical moment is well remembered, and the success of the fight was mainly owing to the charge he personally took upon himself of conning his ship. The action was begun by the Superb, at the head of the weather division, closing on the bow of the Alexandre, of 80 guns, the leader of the adverse line, and pouring round and grape into her till she became unmanageable, and sheered off, when he boldly laid his ship abreast of the Impérial, of 120 guns, " le plus beau et le plus fort vaisseau que eut jamais été construit dans aucun pays du monde." The three-decker was within pistol-shot, and had apparently reserved a choice broadside for the Superb; but at this critical moment, Rear-Admiral Cochrane gallantly ran the Northumberland into the narrow space between the two ships, and received the whole dose, many of the shot passing quite through the Northumberland into the Superb. The conflict then became general, and terminated honourably for the British arms; for, though the enemy was somewhat inferior in force, a mighty first-rate, two 80-gun ships, and two 74's, were taken or destroyed in less than two hours. "To speak individually of the conduct of any one," says the Vice-Admiral, " would be injurious to all, for all were equally animated with the same zealous ardour in support of their King and country; yet, possessed of these feelings, I cannot be silent, without injustice, to the firm and manly support for which I was indebted to Captain Keats, and the effect that the system of discipline and good order in which I found the Superb, must ever produce." Never, indeed, was enthusiasm greater than that of the Superb's crew, who went to it literally with heart and hand. Previous to a gun being fired, Keats went to his cabin, and, bringing forth a portrait of his late friend, Nelson, suspended it to the mizen-stay: there it remained, unhurt, but was completely covered, as was the Captain himself, with the blood and brains of one of the boatswain's mates. The loss sustained by this ship was not severe, considering the part she bore; it consisted of six killed and fifty-six wounded. Captain Keats, who had been honoured with a Colonelcy of Royal Marines at the Trafalgar promotion, now received the thanks of Parliament, together with his brother officers, and the option of a sword or vase of the value of 100l., which was voted by the Committee of the Patriotic Fund. The Superb now joined the Channel fleet under Earl St. Vincent, as a private ship; but Captain Keats was soon detached with six sail of the line, to relieve Admiral Stirling, and cruise to the westward of Bellisle. In August he fell in with four French frigates; but after a chase of 150 miles, the Mars, the headmost ship, could come up with only one of them, which immediately struck, and proved to be Le Rhin, of 40 guns and 318 men. In the following year, Keats was employed as Commodore of a division of Lord Gambier's fleet, in the expedition against Copenhagen, and was detached with four line-of-battle ships, three frigates, and ten gunbrigs, to secure the passage of the Great Belt between Holstein and Zealand. He also blockaded Stralsund, and had the most arduous duties of the whole fleet. On the 2d of October, 1807, the subject of this sketch was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and hoisted his flag in the Superb, as one of the Baltic fleet, under his old come mander, Sir J. Saumarez. On the 10th of May, 1808, he left Yarmouth Roads with the important expedition of Sir John Moore to Sweden, and arrived at Gottenburg on the 17th. His next attention was directed to the Spanish army under the Marquis de la Romana, which Napoleon, under pretence of securing Hanover, had marched from their own country, preparatory to his own designs upon it being carried into effect. From the moment that the patriotic flame burst forth in Spain, it became an object of solicitude with the British government to assist this banished army; and the task, which VOL. XIX. E |