The captain at this time stood on the poop, holding on only by a howitzer that was lashed before the mizenmast, the officers and crew clinging to other parts of the wreck.  The boats were all stove, except the pinnace, in which about twenty men had collected, when a sea, breaking over the wreck, washed her overboard, capsized her, and all perished.

Another sea struck the Defence with such excessive violence as to lift a spare anchor from its berth, throw it up on end, killing in its fall upon the forecastle about thirty men.  The booms were washed away, and with them nearly one hundred men, who were clinging to the different spars.

The following account of the escape of one of her crew is so interesting, that it has been thought better to leave it as nearly as possible in his own words, than to alter it for the sake of brevity:—­

’I got on one side of the booms that were floating among the rest of the wreck.  At that time every man, except two, John Platt and Ralph Teasel, two of the men who were saved, were washed off.  Myself and several more were at the same time swept off the mizen-top.  I then made the best of my way from one spar to another, until I got on one side of the booms.  At this time about forty men regained their position upon the booms, when another sea washed all off except four.  I got on the booms a second time, and spoke to John Brown, and told him I thought we were approaching the shore.  There were then about twenty men on them, but when we reached the shore there were only six left.

’Two Danes on the beach came to our assistance; my foot got jammed in amongst the small spars, and my comrades, seeing that I was unable to get off the raft, were coming to my help, when the Danes made signs to them to be quiet.  One Dane made three attempts before he succeeded in reaching the raft, and the third time he was nearly exhausted; he managed to get hold of my foot, and wrenched it out, and carried me on shore.  I was then taken up to a shed to wait for some carts which were coming for us, most of us being unable to walk.  In about ten minutes a number of gentlemen arrived on horseback, and some carts came down upon the beach.  We were then placed in them, and driven to a small village called Shelton.  On the road the man who drove the cart spoke to a woman, and asked her if she had any liquor.  She replied by drawing a bottle from her pocket, and made each of us take a dram, which I believe was in a great measure the saving of our lives.

’We soon arrived at the houses in the village, where we were stripped and put to bed, and treated by the inhabitants with the greatest hospitality and kindness.  When I awoke, I found another seaman had been placed in the same bed with me; he had come on shore some time after myself upon a piece of wreck.  He said, just as he reached the shore the poop and forecastle were capsized, and not a man to be seen, except a few upon pieces of wreck.  In the evening, a gentleman who spoke English came to our bedside, and told us that an officer had been brought up to the house.  He also told us that there was another ship on shore to the southward of us, which appeared to be a three-decker, lying with her stern on shore.  We knew directly it could be no other than the St. George.