| On May 22nd 1810, the Alceste, 38, Captain Murray Maxwell, chased several French vessels into a fortified bay near Frejus. A battery, having great command, stood on each side of the entrance. Maxwell detached two parties, one under Lieutenant Andrew Wilson, and the other under Master Henry Bell, to storm the works that night. Wilson\'s party was unsuccessful, and had to retire; Bell\'s, though it carried its battery and spiked the guns, had to abandon its conquest, as the opposite battery had not been reduced. Maxwell then made use of a ruse. On the night of the 25th, he sent his barge and yawl, manned and armed, under Mr. Bell and Midshipman James Adair, to lie in a cove near the mouth of the bay; and, in the Alceste, he stood to sea. On the following morning, the French, supposing the blockade to have been raised, sailed out boldly, the result being that, in spite of resistance and the fire from above, four feluccas were captured, two forced ashore, and the rest driven back to harbour. On the British side there was no loss. |