" Wednesday, 14th, 1816. Lord Exmouth arrived at Gibraltar with the powerful fleet which the Lords of the Admiralty had placed at his command, for the purpose of either reducing Algiers, or of obliging the Dey to submit to a treaty which had been prepared; annulling many of the articles contained in the former, and inserting others which would place the English consul on an equal footing with the consul of the United States. Also, on a demand for the immediate release of all Christian prisoners, with reparation for insults offered to the British consul. " His majesty 's brig, Prometheus, had been dispatched to Algiers to bring away the consul's family in a private manner previous to the arrival of the fleet.
But Capt. Dash wood succeeded only in bringing; awav the consul's family, the consul being detained under the following circumstances. " The Dey, having heard of the expedition through the French papers, felt suspicious that something was going on when the Prometheus arrived there, and having discovered that the consul's wife and daughter had embarked, disguised in midshipmen's clothes, the discovery having been made through a female Jew servant who had been employed as nurse to her child, she felt it her duty to tell the Rabbi, who immediately through fear of bringing the Jews into trouble, apprised the Dey of what had happened. He would not permit the consul to leave, but instantly put him in irons to which was attached a heavy chain, and confined him in a small room in the ground floor of his house; and also detained two boats with eighteen men belonging to the Prometheus.
" Capt. Dashwood was obliged to sail without them as he expected the arrival of the fleet every moment. "On the 26th August, Lord Exmouth arrived, ran in, anchored his ships in fine style abreast the batteries, to the utter astonishment and consternation of the Turks. A boat with a flag of truce was immediately dispatched toward the shore with an interpreter and a letter for the Dey. It was expected of course that a boat from the shore would meet them before they had approached near enough to be in danger, which however was the case. A long and prevaricating conference on the part of the Algerine government, determined Lord Exmouth to demand immediate decision, which they not only refused to do, but opened their batteries upon the fleet.
" No sooner was the smoke seen than his lordship gave the order, ' Fire, my good fellows! ' and I am sure that before his lordship had finished those words, our broadside was given with cheering which was three times within rive or six minutcs, and at the same instant the other ships did the same. This first fire was so terrible that they say more than five hundred persons were killed and wounded by it, and I believe this, because there was a great crowd of persons in every part, many of whom, after the first discharge, I saw running away under the walls like dogs, walking upon their feet and hands. After the attack took place on both sides in this horrible manner, immediately the sky was darkened by smoke, the sun completely eclipsed, and the horizon became dreary.
Being exhausted by the heat of the powerful sun, to which I was exposed during the whole day, my ears being deafened by the noise of the guns, and finding myself in this dreadful danger of such a terrible engagement, in which I had never been before, I was quite at a loss, and like an astonished and stupid man, and knew not where I was. At last, his lordship, having perceived my situation, said, ' You have done your duty; now go below.' Upon which I began to descend from the quarter-deck, quite confounded and terrified, and not certain that I should reach the cockpit alive, for it was terrible to hear the whizzing of the shot, to see the wounded men brought from one part and the killed from another; and especially, at such a time, to be found among the English seamen!
To witness their manners, their activity, their courage, and their cheerfulness during the battle! It is really overpowering and beyond imagination. On this subject I wish to make one remark. While I was going below, I was stopped near the hatchway by a crowd of seamen who were carrying two wounded men to the cockpit, and I had leisure to observe the management of those heavy mins on the lower deck. 1 saw the crews of the two guns nearest the hatchways; they were out of wads and sung out for them, and not being immediately supplied, two of them, with an oath, took out their knives and cut the breasts of their jackets off and rammed them into the guns for wads.