ing him to look out for and endeavour to detain some Spaniards about to sail from the Havannah for Europe. He shortly afterwards fell in with two vessels, one of 12 guns and 60 men, the other carrying 8 guns and 40 men; their superiority in force was not greater than what they possessed in sailing; determined, however, to defend his little craft until the last extremity, he fought them for half-an-hour, and did not yield until she began to sink, taking with her to the bottom the whole of the killed and wounded. For several months from that period, Mr. Roberts was imprisoned in a damp dungeon, treated in the harshest manner, and kept destitute of the most common necessaries of life. On recovering his liberty, he was again received by his friend. Sir John T. Duckworth, with whom he returned to England, in a very deplorable state of health, as passenger on board the Acasta frigate[1]. We have already stated, that he was a volunteer under Lieutenant (now Sir Nisbet Josiah) Willoughby, when that heroic officer conceived the idea of cutting out a Spanish corvette from the harbour of St. Martha[2], His first commission bears date May 22, 1806.
We next find Mr. Roberts serving as lieutenant of the Unicorn frigate, Captain Lucius Hardyman; and commanding a detachment of 50 seamen, at the capture of Monte Video[3], on which occasion he rendered important aid to the right column of the assailants, by scaling the walls of the town, near the north gate, and helping to force it open from within.
After his return from South America, Mr. Roberts became senior lieutenant of the Unicorn, in which capacity he assisted at the destruction of la Ville de Varsovie, French 80, and her consorts, in Aix roads, April 12, 1809[4]. He subsequently removed, with Captain Hardyman, to the Armide 38, and commanded her boats at the capture and destruction of 15 of the enemy’s coasting vessels, near Rochelle, in Jan. and Feb. 1810[5].
