ward of her, made such signals as proved them also to be enemies. Captain Maitland had now no alternative but to make sail in order to get from between those two squadrons; the latter of which afterwards proved to be from Brest, and was the same that Sir J. T. Duckworth encountered off St. Domingo, on the 6th Feb. 1806[1].
The last service performed by Captain Maitland in 1805, was that of capturing, in company with the Egyptienne frigate, la Libre of 40 guns and 280 men, which ship surrendered after an obstinate resistance of half an hour, during which she had 20 men killed and wounded, and received so much damage that all her masts fell soon after the British had taken possession of her. The Loire on this occasion, although the first in action, had not a man hurt; but 8 of her consort’s crew were wounded, 1 of whom mortally. Captain Maitland took the French frigate in tow, and arrived with her at Plymouth Jan. 4, 1806, eleven days after the action. On the 22nd April following, he captured the Princess of Peace, Spanish privateer, pierced for 14 guns, mounting one long 24-pounder, with a complement of 63 men.
On the 24th July, 1806, the Loire fell in with another French squadron, consisting of four frigates, and used every effort to close with them, but without being able to get nearer than 8 or 9 miles, the enemy having hauled to the wind as soon as they made her out to be a ship of war. The night proving dark and stormy, Captain Maitland steered for the rendezvous of Sir Richard Keats’ squadron, 50 leagues west of Belleisle, and having met with that officer on the 27th, was making his report to him on the Superb’s quarterdeck, when the enemy were discovered by the ships to windward. Chase was immediately given; but the day being far advanced, the Mars alone kept sight of them, and the next evening succeeded in cutting off le Rhin, of 44 guns and 318 men[2].
- ↑ See vol. I. p. 261. The French squadrons do not appear to have recognized each other as friends; if that had been the case it is more than probable they would have formed a junction; instead of which the Rochefort ships returned to port immediately, while those from Brest proceeded direct to the West Indies.
- ↑ See vol. I. p. 726.
