BANTERER.

His Majesty's ship Banterer, of 22 guns, under the command of Captain
Alexander Shephard, was lost on the 29th October, 1808, between Port
Neuf and Point Mille Vache, in the River St. Lawrence, whilst in the
execution of orders, which Captain Shephard had received from Sir John
Borlase Warren, directing him to proceed to Quebec, with all possible
despatch, to take a convoy to England.

The following is the account of this disastrous affair, as given by
Captain Shephard:--

'Being as far as the Island of Bie in pursuance of orders, through
rather an intricate navigation, with foul winds the greater part of
the time, where the charge of the ship devolved upon myself, and the
only chart I could procure of the navigation in question being on a
very small scale, I felt myself relieved from much anxiety by
receiving a branch pilot on board on the 28th October last, on which
night at eight P.M. we passed between that island and the south shore,
with the wind north by west, and very fine weather; at nine, the wind
coming more round to the westward, we tacked for the north shore, in
order, as the pilot said, not only to be ready to avail himself of the
prevailing northerly winds in the morning, but because the current was
there more in our favour. At midnight we tacked to the southward, and
at two A.M. again laid her head to the northward; and at four A.M. the
pilot having expressed a wish to go about, the helm was accordingly
put down, and on rising tacks and sheet, it was discovered that the
ship was aground. As we had then a light breeze at west, the sails
were all laid aback, the land being in sight from the starboard-beam,
apparently at some distance, I immediately ordered the master to sound
round the ship, and finding that the shoal lay on the starboard
quarter and astern, ordered the sails to be furled, the boats hoisted
out, the stream anchor and cable to be got into the launch, and the
boats to tow her out two cables' length, south-west from the ship,
where we found the deepest water; but by this time the wind had
suddenly increased to such a degree that the boats could not row
ahead, and latterly having lost our ground, we were obliged to let
the anchor go in fifteen fathoms, about a cable's length W.S.W. from
the ship, on which, having got the end of the cable on board, we hove
occasionally as the flood made, and in the meantime got our spare
topmasts over the side, with the intention of making a