During the whole of this time, preparations were being made by the Chinese for future operations in the Canton River; fireships were prepared, guns collected, and troops exercised.
Few days had elapsed before the Chinese sent a number of fireships to endeavour to destroy the English merchant-ships collected at the anchorage of Capsingmoon, but they proved a complete failure.
Kanaris was undoubtedly aided by the almost incredible sloth and folly of his opponents, but he chose his time well, and the service of the fireships was always considered peculiarly dangerous.
He was allowed to come close to the Turkish flagship, and succeeded in attaching his fireships to her, setting them on fire, and escaping with his party.
He was no less distinguished in other attacks with fireships at Samos and Mytilene in 1824, which finally established an utter panic in the Turkish navy.
I have written for all the Greek vessels that are ready, including the fireships and explosion-vessels, to join me," he said in a letter to Dr.
The frigate Hellas is victualled for two months, four gun-boats have been ordered to be built, and fireships are in progress in addition to those which were already fitted out.
He had made arrangements for attacking them with the fireships and his explosion-vessel.
The splendid exploit with the fireships in Basque Roads followed in 1809, and with that Lord Cochrane's services to England as a seaman were brought to a conclusion.
The equipment of the brigs and part of the fireships is now completed, in spite of all difficulties, and I shall not delay one moment the endeavour to effect something useful to the interests of the State.
The fireships and attenders were soon among those three.
I transfer my flag at once," he said, "to the Eagle, so as better to direct a flotilla of fireships and boats.
The English had got us in shoal water, their fireships and attenders came at us and burned us; their boarding parties came in two hundred boats--we could do nothing after the first resistance!
Back went, therefore, the fireships and attenders--this time it was the turn of the transports.
Reaching the Eagle, Rooke, who had now the command of the attacking party, rapidly made his dispositions for despatching the flotilla--the officering of the various fireships being at his disposition.
And so he apportioned out the various commands, until, in all, two hundred fireships and attenders were ready to go into the doomed fleet.
On the 9th of June information arrived that the enemy had resolved on an attempt to destroy the fireships in the Moro San Paulo, and that the second division of their army was being embarked in transports for that purpose.
Quitting the enemy's ships cut off, we therefore hauled our wind, to join the vessels which had kept aloof, and to proceed to the station previously appointed as the rendezvous of the squadron, whither the fireships were to follow.
The course taken was to send fireships among them.
On the night of the 28th of July the fireships were sent in, and produced an utter panic in the Armada.
At midnight the French sent a flaming squadron of fireships down upon the British ships which were discharging their stores at Orleans.
Our seamen thought it was good sport to tow the fireships clear of the fleet, and ground them on the shore, where they burned out.
From time to time fresh fireships were sent down; but Parma had now established a patrol of boats, which went out to meet them and towed them to shore far above the bridge.
At two o'clock in the morning the Spanish sentinels saw four fireships approaching the dyke.
When the fireships reached the stakes protecting the dyke, they burned and exploded, but without effecting much damage.
They were met by several hundred Spanish troops, who, as soon as they saw the fireships burn out harmlessly, sallied out from their forts.
Guided by the light of the fireships they approached the dyke, and the Zeelanders sprang ashore and climbed up.
Much against his will, he was persuaded by Lord Mulgrave, at that time First Lord of the Admiralty, to bear the responsibility of attacking and attempting to destroy the French squadron by means of fireships and explosion-vessels.
He met them bravely, but being able to do no more than hold his own by the ordinary method of warfare, he sent three fireships against them in the afternoon.
As the fireships began to light up the roads," he said, "we could observe the enemy's fleet in great confusion.
The fireships with which he had been ordered to ruin the enemy's fleet had partly failed through the error of others.
On the 11th of June," said Lord Cochrane, "information was received that the enemy was seriously thinking of evacuating the port before the fireships were completed.
One of the fireships was consumed in a vain attempt to burn them, and several firerafts and a sort of infernal machine were tried with no better success; the unwelcome visitors still held their posts.
Yet the fireships did no other harm than burning alive one of their own captains and six or seven of his sailors who failed to escape in their boats.
Apparently they did not wish to fight by day, but thought the night more suitable for their design, which was to send their two fireships against our galleons.
Then one of their fireships approached our flagship; but our artillery checked this rash boldness, hurling at the fireship terrible volleys on the starboard quarter until it came under the stern-gallery of our flagship.
The fireships in the several squadrons are to endeavour to keep the wind; and they (with their small frigates) to be as near the great ships as they can, attending the signal from the admiral, and acting accordingly.
When I would have all the fireships to prime, I will hoist a chequered blue and yellow pennant at the mizen topmast-head.
Captains of fireships are not to quit them till they have grappled the enemy, and have set fire to the train.
Howe had two fireshipson the First of June, 1794, but did not use them.
He did not tow the fireships out of reach, in accordance with his own previous instructions, but gave orders for his cables to be cut.
The crews were ripe for panic now, and when at midnight eight fireships came flaring down upon them with the wind from the English fleet, the duke seems to have lost his head.
Fireships were used in antiquity, and in the middle ages.
The fireships were sent down with the ebb-tide, straight for the crowded British fleet.
The best man on the French side was killed for nothing; no harm was done to the British; and for equipping the fireships the Bigot gang put another hundred thousand stolen dollars into their thievish pockets.
Yet as late as the month of May the Court was diminishing the crews of the few fireships that were still kept in commission in the Thames.
By the beginning of July a fleet of a hundred and two warships and ten fireships was ready to sail from the Texel under the command of Tromp.
These preparations did not pass unperceived by the enemy, and it was at least suggested to the Duke of Medina Sidonia to prepare pinnaces with grappling irons for the purpose of towing off any fireships the English might send among them.
It was counted one of the advantages of the windward position that it facilitated the despatch of fireships against the enemy to leeward.
The fireships were 26 in number, and there were 14 yachts; a few bombs hoys, hulks, ketches, and smacks made up the remainder.
Their fireships had destroyed two of the enemy, nor had any English vessel struck till she had exacted her full price from the Dutch.
The command of the fort and of the fireships had been given to a naval officer, Sir Edward Spragge, who made all the fight that was possible in the circumstances.
With the single exception of their use of the fireships in Calais Roads, the English leaders did nothing to force the Duke of Medina Sidonia into a disadvantageous position.
After dark, and when the tide was flowing strongly, the fireshipswere sent in before the westerly wind.
A light squadron of thirty vessels, including eight French, was sent in with eight fireships to attack the Dutch at anchor.
The desperate exertions of the Government did at last succeed in collecting a squadron of frigates and fireships in the Thames under the command of Sir Edward Spragge.
Now, if we examine closely the Port Arthur case, we shall find it pointing to the existence of certain inherent conditions not dissimilar from those which discredited fireships as a decisive factor in war.
Such armed sailing ships as then existed were regarded as auxiliaries, and formed a category apart, as fireships and bomb-vessels did in the sailing period, and as mine-layers do now.
All the fireships carried quick-firing guns, with which the enemy maintained a constant fire.
The whole fleet left the rendezvous on the 26th of March under the cover of night, and accompanied the fireships up to a distance of some miles from Port Arthur.
Sidenote: Channel Still Unclosed] The exact amount of obstruction caused in the channel by the sinking of the fireshipscould not be ascertained.
Up to the present thirty men, including two mortally wounded officers who sought refuge in the launches, or were rescued from the fireships by us, have been picked up.
Three-quarters of an hour afterwards our searchlights revealed a number of fireships making for the entrance to the harbor from the east and southeast.
The survivors of the fireships were by this time all picked up and the several vessels of the flotilla were concentrated and retired out to sea.
One Foundered, and went down burning; all the sea Red as an angry sunset was made fell With smoke and blazing spars that rode upright, For as the fireships burst they scattered forth Full dangerous wreckage.
His fleet, consisting of one hundred and fourteen sail, besides fireships and ketches, was commanded by the duke of York, and under him by Prince Rupert and the earl of Sandwich.
They were preparing fireships to attack him, and he was obliged to strike.
In the battle of Scheveningen, however, Dutch fireships cost the English two fine ships, together with a Dutch prize, and very nearly destroyed the old flagship of Blake, the Triumph.
The admiral fired a gun as a signal, and all cut their cables and hoisted sail, and succeeded in getting out to sea before the fireships arrived.
They had the day before been kept at work cleaning and refitting, and the fireships had disturbed them early in the night.
Ayscue had previously sailed up Channel with forty men-of-war and five fireships for a similar purpose.
He had twenty-three warships and three fireships under his command.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "fireships" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
