anelles on the 19th of February, 1807, with little or no
opposition. This being a Turkish festival day, the soldiers of the
scanty garrison were enjoying the festivities of the occasion, and none
were left to serve the few guns of the forts which had been prepared for
defence. But while the admiral was waiting on the Sea of Marmora for the
result of negotiations, or for a favorable wind to make the attack upon
Constantinople, the fortifications of this city were put in order, and
the Turks actively employed, under French engineers and artillery
officers, in repairing the defences of the Straits. Campbell, in his
Naval History, says:--"Admiral Duckforth now fully perceived the
critical situation in which he was placed. He might, indeed, succeed,
should the weather become favorable, in bombarding Constantinople; _but
unless the bombardment should prove completely successful in forcing
the Turks to pacific terms, the injury he might do to the city would not
compensate for the damage which his fleet must necessarily sustain. With
this damaged and crippled fleet, he must repass the Dardanelles, now
rendered infinitely stronger than they were when he came through them_."

Under these circumstances the admiral determined to retreat; and on the
3d of April escaped through the Dardanelles, steering midway of the
channel, with a favorable and strong current. "This escape, however,"
says Baines, "was only from destruction, but by no means from serious
loss and injury. * * * * In what instance in the whole course of our
naval warfare, have ships received equal damage in so short a time as in
this extraordinary enterprise?" In detailing the extent of this damage,
we will take the ships in the order they descended. The first had her
wheel carried away, and her hull much damaged, but escaped with the loss
of only three men. A stone shot penetrated the second, between the poop
and quarter deck, badly injured the mizzen-mast, carried away the wheel,
and did other serious damage, killing and wounding twenty men. Two shot
struck the third, carrying away her shrouds and injuring her masts; loss
in killed and wounded, thirty. The fourth had her mainmast destroyed,
with a loss of sixteen. The fifth had a large shot, six feet eight
inches in circumference, enter her lower deck; loss fifty-five. The
sixth, not injured. The seventh, a good deal damaged, with a loss of
seventeen. The eighth had no loss. The ninth was so much injured that,
"had th