minutes, His Majesty's brig
Epervier, Captain Wales, rating and mounting 18 thirty-two pound
carronades, with 128 men, of whom 8 were killed and 15 wounded,
according to the best information we could obtain. Among the
latter is her first lieutenant, who has lost an arm, and received
a severe splinter wound in the hip. Not a man in the Peacock (p. 199)
was killed, and only two wounded, neither dangerously so.
The fate of the Epervier would have been determined in much less
time, but for the circumstance of our fore-yard being totally
disabled by two round shots in the starboard quarter from her
first broadside, which entirely deprived us of the use of our
fore and fore-top sails, and compelled us to keep the ship large
throughout the remainder of the action. This, with a few top-mast
and top-gallant back-stays cut away, a few shots through our
sails, is the only injury the Peacock has sustained. Not a round
shot touched our hull; our masts and spars are as sound as ever.
When the enemy struck he had five feet water in his hold, his
main top-mast was over the side, his main-boom shot away, his
fore-mast cut nearly in two and tottering, his fore rigging and
stays shot away, his bowsprit badly wounded, and forty-five shot
holes in his hull, twenty of which were within a foot of his
water line. By great exertion we got her in sailing order just as
dark came on.

In fifteen minutes after the enemy struck, the Peacock was ready
for another action, in every respect but her fore-yard, which was
sent down, finished and had the fore-sail set again in forty-five
minutes: such was the spirit and activity of our gallant crew.
The Epervier had under her convoy an English hermaphrodite brig,
a Russian and a Spanish ship, which all hauled their wind, and
stood to the east-northeast. I had determined upon pursuing the
former, but found that it would not answer to leave our prize in
her then crippled state, and the more particularly so, as we
found she had in her $120,000 in specie, which we soon
transferred to this sloop. Every officer, seaman, and marine did
his duty, which is the highest compliment I can pay them.

I am, respectfully,
L. WARRINGTON.

No. 38.