miral Trogoff, indeed, declared in favour of these conditions; but Admiral St. Julien, who had been recently invested with the chief command,together with the crews of seven of the ships, for some time exhibited a spirited although ineffectual resistance. They were accordingly forced to yield; and on August 28, 1793, the English obtained possession of Toulon, of which Rear Admiral Goodall was declared governor, and Rear Admiral Gravina, commandant of the troops. But as it became necessary to take possession of the forts which commanded the ships in the road before the fleet could enter, fifteen hundred men were previously landed under Captain George Keith Elphinstone; who, after effecting this service, was ordered to assume the command of the whole, as governor of Fort Malgue.

But the English in their turn were at length fated to be exposed to all the sudden changes incident to a state of warfare. A few days after their arrival, General Carteaux, at the head of a detachment of the republican army, which had lately taken possession of Marseilles, and routed the troops raised by the associated departments, appeared on the heights near Toulon. As he was only accompanied by an advanced guard of seven hundred and fifty men, and ten pieces of cannon, the governor of Fort Malgue placed himself at the head of six hundred British and Spanish troops, with which he marched out, put the enemy to the rout, and seized their artillery, ammunition, horses, together with two stands of colours, &c. &c.

On

On the first of October the combined British, Spanish, and Neapolitan forces, under the command of Lord Mulgrave, Captain Elphinstone,and Rear Admi ral Gravina, also obtained a complete victory at the heights of Pharon over a detachment of the French army, consisting of nearly two thousand men; of whom about one thousand five hundred were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, during their precipitate retreat. The loss on the side of the allies amounted to only eight killed, seventy-two wounded, two missing, and forty-eight taken prisoners.

But the enemy soon recovered from these defeats; and a body of about fifteen thousand men having been assembled, they obtained possession of several out-posts, and seized on the heights of Cape Brun. On the junction of the victorious army, which had lately captured Lyons, they at length threatened storm the forts and by the aid of Buonaparte, then an obscure officer of artillery, found means to carry some, and annoy all our posts.

:

It was therefore reluctantly determined, in a general council of war, that Toulon was no longer tenable; measures were accordingly adopted for the immediate evacuation of the town and arsenal, as well as for the destruction of the ships of war. In the evening of the 18th of December, the artillery, stores, and troops, in consequence of this, were embarked, together with several thousand of the French royalists, without the loss of a single man. This important service was conducted with singular success, under the judicious management of Captain George

1

Keith Elphinstone, assisted by the Captains Hallowwell and Matthews; and it is to their unremitting efforts that many of the inhabitants were indebted for an asylum.

Having returned to England with a convoy in 1794, Captain Elphinstone was honoured with the order of the Bath as a reward for his services and in the autumn of the same year we find him cruising in the Channel fleet, then commanded by Earl Howe, with J. Elphinstone as his captain; bearing a flag as rear-admiral of the white, on board the Barfleur,* having been promoted to that rank July 4, 1794They continued at sea during the greater part of the winter; but returned occasionally to Spithead, Torbay, and Plymouth, to refit and water.

We have hitherto beheld the subject of this memoir acting under the command of others, but we are now to contemplate him in a different situation.

Early in 1795, Sir George Keith Elphinstone was entrusted with an important expedition; and a squadron having been previously fitted out for him, he hoisted his flag as a rear-admiral of the white, on board the Monarch of seventy-four guns, and sailed for the Cape of Good Hope on the second of April.

Having arrived early in July in Simon's Bay, near the Cape, he immediately transmitted intimation of this event to the Dutch governor, M.Van Sluysken; whom

Sir George Keith Elphinstone succeeded to the command of this ship in the room of Vice Admiral Bowyer, who was wounded during the action of the 1st of June.

he

he earnestly entreated, at the same time, to spare the effusion of human blood, by placing the settlement under the protection of the King of Great Britain, the friend and ally of his serene highness the Stadtholder. But notwithstanding a written order is said to have been enclosed from the Prince of Orange, his Excellency peremptorily refused to accede to this proposition, and immediately ordered the inhabitants of Simon's town to retire from, after setting fire to, their habitations.

But this was prevented by Major-general Craig; who. having on the fourteenth landed with four hundred and fifty of the seventy-eighth regiment, and three hundred and fifty marines from the squadron, precluded a measure that must have been attended with no small inconvenience on the part of the invaders as well as of the settlers.

In the mean time, the admiral and general perceiving that they must expect the most determined resistance, abandoned all further ideas of negotiation, and prepared for vigorous operations. Having learn, ed that the Dutch militia and Hottentots occupied a strong pass at Muissenberg, and finding their own patroles annoyed by the enemy, who had taken post on the adjacent hills, it was determined to dislodge them immediately. Accordingly a detachment of seamen having been landed, and a gun-boat fitted out, together with a number of launches mounted with carronades, Commodore Blanket, who had lately joined the fleet, proceeded, August 7, with the America, Stately, Echo, and Rattlesnake sloops,

which were preceded by the flotilla alluded to above. Luckily this naval force, from the situation of the place, was enabled to act efficaciously: for the ships,' after intimidating the enemy so much as to abandon two advanced posts mounted with heavy cannon, arrived opposite the camp; and commenced a decisive fire, which obliged the Dutch to fly with such precipitation, as to enable Major-general Craig to seize a portion of their artillery.

On the next day the enemy collected a large force, and endeavoured to regain their former position, but they were repulsed, and the seamen and marines upon this occasion conducted themselves with equal courage and conduct.

Notwithstanding this failure, an attack of the British camp was determined upon but just as they had begun their march they discovered fourteen sail of East Indiamen, on the morning of the third of September, which, fortunately for the success of the expedition, had on board a considerable body of troops, under Major-general Alured Clarke, who' was originally destined to command the land forces. Intimidated by this unexpected succour, they immediately dispersed, while the admiral and general, encouraged by so timely a reinforcement, determined to put an end to the contest by an immediate attack on the Cape town.

The troops and artillery having been accordingly landed, on the fourteenth of September the army began its march, each man carrying four days provision in his haversack. Commodore Blanket at the same

1805-1806:

C

time