Letters to and from John Marshall January 1814.

A series of 14 letters during January 1814 including a copy of a letter from Captain Farquhar to Captain Devon with diagram of the squadron comprised Hearty, Blazer, Piercer, Shamrock, Redbreast, and the gun-boats No.s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 at the French forts Napoleon and Phare. (While the gunboats fired on Phare, the British landed a number of guns and established a battery of six 18-pounders, two 32-pounders, and two 6-pounders. Before the battery could start firing on the 30th, the French surrendered both forts); a second letter from Captain Farquhar contains a copy of capitulation of forts of Glückstadt; a letter from John Marshall to Adirmal William Young about the haven of Glückstadt and an account of Danish Prize property.

Administrative / biographical background
From late December 1813 Farquhar's squadron, comprising Desiree, Hearty, Blazer, Piercer, Shamrock, Redbreast, and eight gun-boats (the seven from Cuxhaven plus No. 12), supported Swedish forces under the command of General Baron de Boye against the Danes in the attack on the town and fortress of Glückstadt at the Elbe river during the War of the Sixth Coalition. The British arrived on 23 December and by 25 December had erected a battery of two 32-pounder guns. (They had landed six but the poor quality of the roads meant that only two were in place.) To support the bombardment on the next day, Farquhar sent in the gunboats and the brigs, whose armament he had reinforced with two 18-pounders each from Desiree. The bombardment continued to the 28th. Glückstadt having failed to surrender, Farquhar established three more batteries, one of two 18-pounders, one of four 32-pounders, and one of the two 13" mortars captured at Cuxhaven. An English rocket brigade under Lieutenant Amherst Wright contributed to the bombardment. These batteries commenced bombarding the town on 1 January 1814, keeping it up for the next two days. On 4 January Farquhar sent in a flag of truce, and after negotiations, the governor surrendered on 5 January.

Record Details

Item reference: MSH/2/3; MS1976/109 MSS/76/109
Catalogue Section: Personal collections
Level: ITEM
Date made: 1814-01-00
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
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