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3 or 4 of the largest were burnt & blown up
without our being able to save scarcely any
of the people onboard. about 3,000 however
were taken out of the 11 ships destroyed
on this & the foregoing day: probably a
greater number were burnt or drowned.
Dead bodies were floating about for a fortnight
afterwards. I kept 7 of the officers prisoners
onboard my vessel for about a
week: during which time the pleasure of
making their situation tollerably comfortable
was perhaps as great a pleasure as ever
I felt. P.P. afterwards took them as well as
all the other officers to headquarters, where
they were well taken care of. A Negro
I kept for myself. On this day we lost
very few men: no vessel but a rowing
boat which was sunk. The remaining
part of the large fleet were driven
out to sea; and though they
have of late returned with a further
reinforcement, the Captain Pasha never
does venture to come within the Liman.
On the first of July, while I was at Cherson
the flotilla attacked the town Ochakoff and
burned upwards of 20 of the small vessels
which had taken shelter under the batteries.
One Galley only was taken & brought away.
The Turks however have again got
together above 100 sail; of which 15 are
of the line. They lie within sight of
Ochakoff, but can give it no relief.
On the other hand, our army, encamped
around the town with batteries within
pistol shot of the entrenchments, are unable
to take it. There cannot be 5,000 men in
the town: but they have so well buried
themselves in the earth, that our Shot do
them no harm. We have been expecting
every day for these 2 months the town
to be taken: but P.P. is affraid to lose
men by assault, and seems to be waiting
for their surrendering. We had above 30,000
men before the town: who how many are sick
and dead I know not.
P.P. you may well imagined, was transported
with our success: and by his recommendations
we were in the opinion of all others
too much rewarded. almost all onboard
the flotilla were advanced a rank: the chief
of us got the order of St. George and
this only for the action of the 7th.
These distinctions as you may imagine
must make a multitude of jealousies.
All the officers of the Army, who have been
exposed to the inconveniencies of perhaps
ten marches, and or at least tedious
encampments, now began to think they
had much better have been too on the
flotilla: all the Navy officers, who in P. Jones
squadron looked on and saw us come
off safe, in short all the world who were
not among us, are crying out at the extravagency
of giving more St George's crosses
for what we have done, than were given
all last war: but Fanshaw and I, as
being most employed and made Colonels
by a particular of the Empress,
over the heads of many others even of such
as were made nearly at the same time by
seniority, we two Englishmen excite a
most terrible envy, so much so that
we are actually both of us kicked out
of the flotilla for peace & quietness sake. Circumstances
tis true, contributed much to our expulsion
P.N. through ennui & other causes, fell ill: so
that it was more convenient to him to live ashore
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