The difficulties under which merchantmen carried on their trade with foreign countries before the navy had reduced to order the highway of the seas, is well illustrated in many a narrative of adventure with pirates and fights with privateers, which equal in the heroism and daring they display the proudest stories of naval conquest. The following story taken from Young’s “History of Whitby” is a case in point.
Mr. Richard Hornby, of Stokesley, was master of a merchant ship, the Isabella, of Sunderland, in which he sailed from the coast of Norfolk for the Hague, June 1st, 1744, in company with three smaller vessels recommended to his care. Next day they made Gravesant steeple in the Hague; but while they were steering for their port, a French privateer, that lay concealed among the Dutch fishing-boats, suddenly came against them, singling out the Isabella as the object of attack, while the rest dispersed and escaped.
The conquest was very unequal, for the Isabella mounted only four carriage guns and two swivels, and her crew consisted of only five men and three boys, besides the captain; while the privateer, the Marquis de Brancas, commanded by Captain André, had ten carriage guns and eight swivels, with seventy-five men and three hundred small arms.
Yet Captain Hornby, after consulting his mate and gaining the consent of his crew, whom he animated by an appropriate address, hoisted the British colours, and with his two swivel guns returned the fire of the enemy’s chase guns. The Frenchmen, in abusive terms, commanded him to strike, to which he returned an answer of defiance. Upon this the privateer advanced, and poured in such showers of bullets into the Isabella that Captain Hornby found it prudent to order his brave fellows into close quarters. While he lay thus sheltered the enemy twice attempted to board him on the larboard quarter; but by a dexterous turn of the helm he frustrated both attempts, though the Frenchmen kept firing upon him both with their guns and small arms, which fire Captain Hornby returned with his two larboard guns. At two o’clock, when the action had lasted an hour, the privateer, running furiously in upon the larboard of the Isabella, entangled her bowsprit among the main shrouds, and was lashed fast to her; upon which Captain André bawled, in a menacing tone, “You English dog, strike!” but the undaunted Hornby challenged him to come on board and strike his colours, if he dared. The enraged Frenchman took him at his word, and threw in twenty men upon him, who began to hack and hew into his close quarters; but a discharge of blunderbusses made the invaders retreat as fast as their wounds would permit them.
The privateer, being then disengaged from the Isabella, turned about, and made another attempt on the starboard side; when Captain Hornby and his valiant mate shot each his man as they were again lashing the ships together.
The Frenchmen once more commanded him to strike, and the brave Briton returning another refusal, twenty fresh men entered, and made a fierce attack on the close quarters with hatchets and pole-axes, with which they had nearly cut their way through in three places, when the constant fire kept up by Captain Hornby and his brave crew obliged them to retreat, carrying their wounded with them, and hauling their dead after them with boat-hooks. The Isabella continued lashed to the enemy; the latter, with small arms, fired repeated and terrible volleys into the close quarters, partly from his forecastle and partly from his main deck, bringing forward fresh men to supply the place of the dead and wounded: but the fire was returned with such spirit and effect that the Frenchmen repeatedly gave way. At length Captain Hornby, seeing them crowding behind their main mast for shelter, aimed a blunderbuss at them, which being by mistake doubly loaded, containing twice twelve balls, burst in the firing, and threw him down to the great consternation of his little crew, who supposed him dead; yet he soon started up again, though greatly bruised, while the enemy, among whom the blunderbusses had made dreadful havoc, disengaged themselves from the Isabella, to which they had been lashed an hour and a quarter, and sheered off with precipitation, leaving their grapplings, pole-axes, pistols, and cutlasses behind them.
The gallant Hornby fired his two starboard guns into the enemy’s stern; and the indignant Frenchman soon returning, the conflict was renewed, and carried on yard-arm and yard-arm with great fury for two hours together. The Isabella was shot through her hull several times, her sails and rigging were torn to pieces, her ensign was dismounted, and every mast and yard wounded; yet she bravely maintained the conflict, and at last by a fortunate shot which struck the Brancas between wind and water, obliged her to sheer off and careen. While the enemy were retiring, Hornby and his brave little crew sallied out from their fastness, and erecting their fallen ensign gave three cheers.
By this time both vessels had driven so near the shore that immense crowds, on foot and in coaches, had assembled to be spectators of the action.
The Frenchman, having stopped his leak, returned to the combat, and poured a dreadful volley into the stern of the Isabella, when Captain Hornby was wounded in the temples by a musket shot, and bled profusely.
This somewhat disconcerted his companions in valour; but he called to them briskly to take courage and stand to their arms, for his wound was not dangerous; upon which their spirits revived, and again taking post in their close quarters, sustained the shock of another assault, and after receiving three tremendous broadsides, repulsed the foe by another well-aimed shot, which sent the Brancas again to careen. The huzzas of the Isabella’s crew were renewed, and they again set up their shattered ensign, which was shot through and through into honourable rags.
André, who was not deficient in bravery, soon renewed the fight; and having disabled the Isabella by five terrible broadsides, once more summoned Hornby, with dreadful menaces, to strike his colours.
Captain Hornby animated his gallant comrades—”Behold,” said he, pointing to the shore, “the witnesses of your valour this day!” then finding them determined to stand by him to the last, he hurled his final defiance upon the enemy. The latter immediately ran upon his starboard and lashed close alongside; but his crew murmured, and refused to renew the dangerous task of boarding, and, cutting off the lashings, again retreated. Captain Hornby resolved to salute the privateer with one parting gun; and this last shot, fired into the stern of the Brancas, reached the magazine, which blew up with a tremendous explosion, and the vessel instantly foundered. Out of seventy-five men, thirty-six were killed or wounded in the action, and all the rest, together with the wounded, perished in the deep, except three who were picked up by the Dutch fishing-boats. The horrible catastrophe excited the commiseration of Captain Hornby and his brave men, who could render no assistance to their unfortunate enemies, the Isabella having become unmanageable, and her boat being shattered to pieces. The engagement lasted seven hours.
For this singular instance of successful bravery Mr. Hornby received from the king a large gold medal commemorating his heroism. He survived the action seven years, and dying at sea of a lingering illness, was buried at Liverpool, being then fifty-two years of age.