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a large fleet 5 or 6 times superior to ours,
who were waiting at the distance of a few
versts; under the cover of which we obliged
their small fleet to return, after having
lost 2 or 3 we dont know which.
On our part we suffered but very little; all the
enemies shot went over us; we had not in all
50 men killed. I had on my own vessel
2 killed & 7 wounded by an iron 36 pounder:
which burst as I was standing behind to
aim it; myself, not a yard from the breech.
The men on both sides, & even one behind me
was wounded: some of them in upwards of
an hundred parts of their bodies, by different pieces
of the gun: but I received no hurt but singing
my hair & scorching off one of my eyebrows.
The celebrated or rather notorious Paul Jones,
from a sudden want of officers and a kind of
enthusiasm for his supposed courage & abilities,
blown up excited greatly by P.N., had been taken
into the Empress's service as Rear Admiral;
and being arrived here was put to command
great fleet here; which, frigates & armed
merchantmen together, amounted to 11 sail.
His command was entirely independent of
our flotilla, and though we were required
to act together P.N. & he were neither to
give nor receive any orders from each other.
At first P.N. was so highly prepossessed in favour
of P. Jones that as to vow vengeance against
those who should shew
the least slight to him.
this however did not prevent Fanshawe & me
from declaring, that nothing but the presence of the
enemy could induce us to serve with him,
and no consideration whatever could bring
us to serve under him.
On the 16th, when our flotilla had been augmented
by a few more gun boats, we saw
the whole Turkish fleet consisting, great &
small, of more than 100 sail, form in a
line across the Liman in all appearance
to attack us; but as they seemed to be waiting
for the next morning, we determined at a
council of war to put the best face upon
the matter, and, if we could get the start of them
in the morning to advance to attack them.
Although on former occasions the disposition
of P. Jones had appeared over prudent to Pet.,
it was at this council of war the latter lost
all patience; and served he would advance
with his flotilla, though the former should
stay behind with his Ships.
On the 17th we were in a line parallel
to that of the enemy at about 5 or 6 versts
[distance] our flotilla being dispersed in the intervals
of P. Jones's squadron: when, upon our weighing
anchor an one of his armed merchantman was
presently sunk by a bomb from the town
of Ochakow: and of P. Jones squadron some
scarcely stirred from their moorings, the rest
one by one came to anchor again, and
left our flotilla to shift for itself.
We had presently the satisfaction to see
2 of the Turkish ships of the line ashore; of
which one was that of the Captain Pasha, who
had made his retreat in a boat.
We passed by these to follow after the rest:
who certainly, were frightened at the misfortune
of this commander than hurt by our shot,
were retreating as fast as they could out to
sea or close in under cover of Ochakoff.
The 2 ships left onshore were burnt by
the bombs & fireballs we threw in them
which certainly added not a little to the dismay
of the turks, as well as it encouraged us in
as much as to have no more idea of fear.
With respect to myself the bursting of my gun
in the former action had made me so much
affraid of my own guns that at first
I could not prevail on myself scarcely to make
use of them: but kept for the most part
at about a mile's distance firing out
of a 13-inch brass mortar: till spirited
up by our success I approached by degrees
and tried again my guns on the poor
unfortunate ships. Although forsaken
by all the rest of the fleet, these two defended
themselves till the fire caught in different
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Identifier: | JB/540/487/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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