o put themselves in motion the moment their signal is made,
which they are to answer as soon as observed.

A fireship ordered to proceed on service is to keep a little ahead and
to windward of the ship that is to escort her, to be the more ready to
bear down on the vessel she is to board, and to board if possible in
the fore shrouds. By proceeding in this manner she will not be in the
way of preventing the ship appointed to escort her from firing upon
the enemy, and will run less risk of being disabled herself; and the
ship so appointed and the two other nearest ships are to assist her
with their boats manned and armed.

She is to keep her yards braced up, that when she goes down to board,
and has approached the ship she is to attempt, she may have nothing to
do but to spring her luff.

Captains of fireships are not to quit them till they have grappled the
enemy, and have set fire to the train.

XXIV. Frigates have it in particular charge to frustrate the attempts
of the enemy's fireships, and to favour those of our own. When a
fireship of the enemy therefore attempts to board a ship of the line,
they are to endeavour to cut off the boats that attend her, and even
to board her, if necessary.

XXV. The boats of a ship attempted by an enemy's fireship, with those
of her seconds ahead and astern, are to use their utmost efforts to
tow her off, the ships at the same time firing to sink her.

XXVI. In action, all the ships in the fleet are to wear red ensigns.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This and Article II. appear to be the first mention of working the
fleet by 'guides.'

[2] The original has here the following erasure: 'The same is to be
understood of the bearing indicated, though the admiral should shape his
course from the wind originally when the signal for forming upon a line
of bearing is made.'

[3] It was Nelson's improvement on this unscientific method of attack
that is the conspicuous feature of his Memorandum, 1803, but it must be
remembered that Howe had not yet devised the manoeuvre of breaking the
line in all parts on which Nelson's improvement was founded.

[4] _Cf._ note 1, p. 224.

[5] Howe's insistence on these points both here and in Articles
XXII.-XXV. is curious in view of the fact that the use of fireships in
action had gone out of fashion. From 1714 to 1763 only one English
fireship is known to have been 'expended,' and that was by Commander
Callis when he destroyed the Spanish galleys at St. Trop