Page 500 - INDIANNAVYV1

4G8 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAYY.
river bank, the principal one, which lay exposed to view on the
face of a sloping hill, appearinj^ to be about a square mile in
extent, full of men, and mounting several guns. As the flotilla
came up the river, led by the ' Diana,' having Sir James
Brisbane on board, the enemy's boats tried to escape, but the
Commodore, passing close under their works, without a shot
being fired on either side, anchored above the principal stockade,
thus cutting off the escape of the boats.
The first meeting between the Burmese envoys and the British
Commissioners— Sir Archibald Caujpbell, Sir James Brisbane,
and Mr. Robertson, of the Bengal Civil Service, was held on the
Istof January, and, on the 3rd, a treaty of peace was signed, sub-
ject to ratification by the King of Ava. So assured did the pros-
pects of peace now appear, that, on the 6th, Sir James Brisbane
issued a memorandum to the Naval portion of the Expedition,
thanking the officers and men for their conduct during the war.
In this Order his Excellency eulogised "the officers of all
descriptions, for their prompt obedience, unwearied exertions,
and gallantr}^ which the}^ had conspicuously displayed
throughout the late campaign. The various materials of which
the flotilla was composed," he continued, " brought together for
one grand object, might have occasioned frequent collisions
between the members of different Services, had not a spirit of
emulation pervaded all ranks, surmounting all difficulties, and
producing a universal feeling of harmony and good-will. The
Commodore will long remember, with feelings of the highest
gratification, the period which he has commanded this branch of
the Expedition, and the personal acquaintance it has afforded
him with individual merit. The Commodore begs the officers,
without distinction, to be assured that he has brought under the
notice of their superiors his opinion of their merit, and the
brave men who have served with them, giving, as they have,
the most striking examples of activity and exertions, under the
greatest privations in open boats."
There were at this time fiftj'-six of the Hon. Company's gun-
vessels and row-boats, forming five divisions, and the officers
attached to these divisions were Lieutenants Laughton and
Rowband, and Messrs. Lindquist, Crawford, Ravenscroft,
Robson, Power, Leggatt, and Cooper. The Royal officers were
Lieutenant Nagle of the 47th Regiment, and ]\Ir. Winsor, R.N.
Sir James Brisbane, owing to failing health, was forced .to
relinquish the command of the flotilla to Captain Chads, to the
regret of all those who had served under him, and, proceeding
to Penang and New South Wales, died at the latter colony on
the 19th of December, 1826.
The gallant Commodore was premature in issuing his General
Order on the conclusion of peace, for the King of Ava declined
to ratify the treaty, and, after the usual exhibition of lying and