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THE LIFE

OF

ADMIRAL VISCOUNT EXMOUTH

BY EDWARD OSLER, ESQ.

     For every virtue, every worth renowned,
     Sincere, plain hearted, hospitable, kind;
     Yet like the mustering thunder when provoked,
     The dread of tyrants, and the true resource
     Of those who under grim oppression groaned.

                                              THOMSON.

A New and Revised Edition.

LONDON:
GEO. ROUTLEDGE & CO., FARRINGDON-STREET
AND 18, BEEKMAN-STREET, NEW YORK.
1854

London:
Printed by STEWART and MURRAY,
Old Bailey.


TO

THE NAVY,

The Bulwark of their Country,

AND

WHOSE TRIUMPHS ARE THE PRIDE OF HER HISTORY,

THIS WORK

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.




PREFACE.


At the commencement of hostilities, whose extent and duration none can
foresee, it is the wisdom of those to whom England will hereafter commit
the honour of her Flag to study well the example of the great
sea-officers whose services illustrate the annals of their country.

Among these bright examples, none is more worthy of careful study than
Admiral Lord Exmouth. Entering the service a friendless orphan, the
success which he achieved by merit alone is most encouraging to all who
must rise by their own deserts. In his perfect seamanship, his mastery
of all that relates to his profession, his zeal and energy, his
considerate forethought, his care to make his crews thorough seamen, and
the example by which he spurred and encouraged them, the secret may be
found, not less available to others, of his many brilliant successes,
and of the little loss with which he obtained them. His truly parental
care for his young officers to train them to their duties and to advance
their interests, as conspicuous when commander-in-chief as in his first
frigate, is a lesson for all in authority. Nor will his personal
qualities be less admired: the honourable independence which he
maintained as an officer and a peer, and the moral excellence which
marked his life, and was finally proved on his death-bed.

And here I may relate an anecdote, as the praise it gives is only for
the subject of the biography, and for which I am indebted to
Vice-Admiral Sir Fleetwood Pellew. Soon after the first appearance of
this work, one of the first officers in the French navy, Vice-Admiral
Bergeret, whose name appears more than once in the following pages,
presented a copy to a young relative he was sending to sea, and bade him
to learn from the example it afforded to become all that his friends and
his country could desire.

Lord Exmouth's attack on Algiers, the most memorable occasion on which
men-of-war have attacked fortifications, is peculiarly instructive now.
The immediate destruction of the enemy's works opposed to the _Queen
Charlotte_, and the comparative impunity she thus obtained, shows the
wisdom of laying the ships as close as possible, where the concentrated
fire of her batteries may overwhelm the enemy, and destroy the few guns
which alone can be opposed to her; whereas, by anchoring at a distance,
the enemy's guns from a great extent of the works may be trained to bear
on her, while her own shot strike with uncertain aim and diminished
effect. The results of this latter course may be learnt from the fate of
the floating batteries at the siege of Gibraltar, and from the
_Impregnable_ at Algiers; the ships having anchored at too great a
distance, were exposed to a destructive fire, while their own attack was
comparatively harmless.

This biography of Lord Exmouth was written at the desire and under the
eye of his eldest brother; in youth his second father, and through life
his confidential friend. Every incident relating to points of service
was supplied or corrected by officers personally engaged; and the whole
was finally revised by four officers who were the most constantly and
intimately acquainted with the Admiral--Mr. Gaze, master of the fleet in
the Mediterranean and at Algiers, and who sailed with him in every ship
from 1793 to the last day of his command; Sir Christopher Cole and
Captain Crease, his intimate friends; and his only surviving sailor son,
Captain, now Vice-Admiral Sir Fleetwood Pellew.




CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

FAMILY HISTORY.

     Birth and education--Anecdote of early daring--Enters the
     Navy--Leaves his ship, with one of his companions, at
     Marseilles--Joins the _Blonde_, Captain Pownoll--His
     activity--Anecdote of General Burgoyne--Instance of extraordinary
     boldness--Campaign on the Lakes of Canada--Distinguishes himself in
     the actions, of October 11th and 13th, 1776--Complimented by Sir C.
     Douglas, Lord Howe, and Earl Sandwich--Appointed to command the
     _Carleton_--Nearly takes General Arnold--Narrowly escapes being
     made prisoner--Commands a brigade of seamen in Burgoyne's
     campaign--In danger of killing his brother--Events of the
     campaign--Constructs a bridge, by which the army crosses to
     Saratoga--His brother killed in action--Recaptures a provision
     vessel from the enemy--Admitted to the Council of War, and pleads
     that the sailors may be exempted from the capitulation--Sent home
     with despatches in a transport--Defends her against a
     privateer--Promoted to be a Lieutenant.                      page 1


CHAPTER II.

HIS SERVICES FROM 1778 TO 1791.

     Influence of the late campaigns on his character--His extraordinary
     strength and activity--Narrow escapes from drowning--Appointed to
     a guard-ship--Presses for active employment, and proposes to resign
     his commission--Appointed to the _Licorne_--Becomes First
     Lieutenant of the _Apollo_, Captain Pownoll--Action with the
     _Stanislaus_, French frigate; Captain Pownoll killed, enemy driven
     on shore--His letter on the occasion to Earl Sandwich--Promoted to
     be a Commander--Anecdote in relation to his promotion--Appointed to
     the _Hazard_--Appointed to the _Pelican_--Gallant action--Promoted
     to be a Post-Captain--Appointed to the temporary command of the
     _Artois_--Captures an enemy's cruiser--Anecdote of Captain
     Macbride--Marriage--Appointed to the _Winchelsea_ frigate--Conduct
     in her--Appointed to the _Salisbury_, Vice-Admiral
     Milbanke--Anecdote of Lord Thurlow.                         page 28


CHAPTER III.

THE NYMPHE AND CLEOPATRA.

     Becomes a farmer--Remarks on naval officers' farming--His ill
     success--Omen of his future fortune--Offered a command in the
     Russian Navy--Remarks on serving foreign states--War of the French
     Revolution--Appointed to the _Nymphe_ 36-gun frigate--Enters a
     number of Cornish miners for her--Cornish miners--Equipment and
     movements of the _Nymphe_--Captain Israel Pellew joins her as a
     volunteer--Sails from Falmouth--Remarkable dream of one of the
     officers--Falls in with the _Cleopatra_; her high state of
     equipment--Gallantry of both ships--Cap of Liberty--Action--Death
     of the French Captain, Mullon; his heroism--Captain Pellew's letter
     to his brother.                                             page 47


CHAPTER IV.

THE WESTERN SQUADRONS.

     Presented to the King and knighted--His liberality to the widow of
     Captain Mullon--Use of carronades--He suggests the employment of
     independent squadrons in the western part of the Channel, to check
     the enemy's cruising frigates--Value of these squadrons--Appointed
     to the _Arethusa_, and joins Sir J.B. Warren's squadron--Action of
     April 23rd, 1794--Engages and captures _La Pomone_--Action of
     August 23rd, 1794 A second squadron fitted out, and placed under
     his orders--_Artois_ and _Revolutionaire_; chivalrous conduct of
     Sir Sidney Smith--Conveys important intelligence to the
     Admiralty--Appointed to the _Indefatigable_, 44--His dispute with
     the Navy board--Allowed to fit her according to his own
     plans--Success of them--Accuracy of his judgment on a ship's
     qualities--_Indefatigable_ strikes on a rock--Sir Edward nearly
     lost in attempting to save two of his people--His success on
     different occasions in saving lives--Wreck of the _Dutton_ at
     Plymouth--He boards her, and saves all the people--His report of
     the service--Honours and rewards; created a Baronet--Captain Cole,
     and _L'Unité_ French frigate--Sir Edward's letters on the occasion
     to Earls Chatham and Spencer--Notice of Captain Cole--His death,
     and Sir Edward's feeling--Action of _Indefatigable_ and _La
     Virginie_--Conduct and gallantry of her Captain, Bergeret.  page 61


CHAPTER V.

EXPEDITION AGAINST IRELAND.

     State of parties--Enemy's preparations for invasion--Reflections on
     Ireland--Lord Exmouth's opinion on the Roman Catholic question--Sir
     E. Pellew watches Brest with his frigates--His perseverance and
     hardihood--Sailing of the expedition--He embarrasses its
     movements--Arrives in England--Misfortunes of the British
     fleet--Enemy arrive at Bantry Bay--Prevented from landing, and
     driven off the coast by gales--Reflections on the failure of the
     expedition--Sir Edward puts to sea with the _Indefatigable_ and
     _Amazon_--Meets and engages the _Droits de l'Homme_, 74--Finds
     himself on a lee-shore, hauls off, and saves the _Indefatigable_
     with difficulty--_Amazon_ wrecked--Admirable conduct of her
     officers and crew--_Droits de l'Homme_ wrecked--Horrible
     circumstance of her fate--Anecdote of the French
     Commodore--Eventual fate of the Captain of the _Amazon_.    page 86


CHAPTER VI.

THE MUTINY.

     Remarks on Sir Edward's character as a seaman and an officer--His
     conduct when his ship was on fire--His consideration for his
     officers and men--The Duke of Northumberland--Mutiny at
     Spithead--Preparations for a second invasion of Ireland--General
     Daendels--Proposed expedition baffled--Sir Edward off
     Brest--Proposes to burn the French fleet--Success in capturing the
     enemy's cruisers--_La Vaillante_--Royalist priests and Madame
     Rovère--His liberality--Appointed to _L'Impetueux_, 78--Her
     mutinous state--Observations on the mutinies in the Navy, from
     1797--Sir Edward's opinions on the subject--His
     precautions--Attempted mutiny in the _Indefatigable_--Conspiracy in
     the Channel fleet--Mutiny on board the _Impetueux_--His firmness
     and promptitude in suppressing it--Court-martial--Earl St.
     Vincent's opinion of his conduct--His conduct at the execution--His
     decision on the court-martial on a mutineer--Illustrative
     anecdote--He commands an expedition to Quiberon--Proposes to attack
     Belleisle--Cruises off Port Louis--Mr. Coghlan cuts out _La
     Cerbère_--He directs the landing of the army at Ferrol.    page 108


CHAPTER VII.

BLOCKADE OF FERROL.--PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY.

     Peace--Made Colonel of Marines--His popularity--Envy in
     consequence--Anecdote--Elected M.P. for Barnstaple--State of
     parties--Renewal of hostilities--Appointed to the _Tonnant_,
     80--Pursues a Dutch squadron--Blockades a French squadron in
     Ferrol--His seamanship and exertions in maintaining the
     blockade--Difficulty of supplying the ships--His recall--Earl St.
     Vincent's naval reforms--Mr. Pitt's opposition--Naval inquiry,
     March 15, 1804--Sir Edward's speech--Its effect--Promoted to be a
     Rear-Admiral, and appointed to be Commander-in-chief in India.
                                                                page 134


CHAPTER VIII.

SIR EDWARD'S COMMAND IN INDIA.

     Character required for a Commander-in-chief--Hostility of the new
     Ministry--Sir T. Troubridge sent to take the more valuable part of
     the command--Oversight of the Admiralty--Dispute between the two
     admirals--Sir Edward confirmed in his command--Melancholy fate of
     the _Blenheim_, Sir T. Troubridge--Sir Edward sends Captain
     Troubridge in search of his father--Actions in the Indian
     Seas--_San Fiorenzo_ and _Psyché_--_Piedmontaise_ and _Warren
     Hastings_--Ferocity of the French first lieutenant, and Sir
     Edward's general order in consequence--_San Fiorenzo_ and
     _Piedmontaise_--French privateers--Murderous contest between the
     _Victor_ and Malay pirates--Attack on Batavia Roads, and
     destruction of the shipping--Captain Fleetwood Pellew at
     Samarang--Attack on Griessée, and destruction of the line-of battle
     ships--Sir Edward's protection of commerce--Convoy
     system--Resolutions of the Bombay merchants--His care of the
     fleet--Establishes a naval hospital at Madras--Punishment: Sir
     Edward's regulations--Encounters a hurricane on his homeward
     voyage.                                                    page 148


CHAPTER IX.

NORTH SEA AND FIRST MEDITERRANEAN COMMANDS.

     Declines an offer to be second in command in the
     Mediterranean--Commander-in-chief in the North Sea; his activity
     and energy--Receives the Mediterranean command--Affair off
     Toulon--His expectations of a battle--Disposition of his
     force--System of the fleet--His attention to discipline; to
     economy--Frigate affairs off Toulon--Care of his officers--Nature
     of the service in the Mediterranean--Daring of the crews--Effect of
     their successes--Diplomatic responsibility--Sir Edward's anxiety
     for a battle--Anecdote of Napoleon--Affair of November 5th,
     1813--of February 13th, 1814--Capture of Genoa--Peace.     page 170


CHAPTER X.

SECOND MEDITERRANEAN COMMAND.

     Sir Edward created Baron Exmouth--His letter on the occasion--Made
     Knight of the Bath--Renewal of hostilities--Resumes the command in
     the Mediterranean--Services at Naples--Services at
     Marseilles--Instructed to negotiate with the Barbary
     Powers--Anecdote of the Pope--Causes the city and defences of
     Algiers to be surveyed--Previous ignorance of the place--General
     order to the fleet--Peace made with Algiers--Abolition of slavery
     at Tunis and Tripoli--Second visit to Algiers--Violent discussions,
     negotiation broken off, danger of the party, hostile
     proceedings--Negotiation renewed--Arrangement--Lord Exmouth's
     anxiety at having exceeded his instructions--Debate in the House of
     Commons--Massacre at Bona--Determination of the Government to
     enforce the abolition of Christian slavery.                page 187


CHAPTER XI.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS.

     Description of the defences--Force demanded by Lord
     Exmouth--Surprise of the Admiralty at the small force he
     required--Lord Exmouth's confidence--His entire satisfaction with
     the arrangements of the Admiralty--He refuses to allow his
     relations to accompany him--His promptitude--Sails--Preparations
     for the battle--A Dutch squadron joins at Gibraltar--Preparations
     made by the Algerines--Particulars of the battle--Fleet hauls
     off--Lord Exmouth's conduct after the battle--His very narrow
     escapes--Submission of the enemy--Lord Exmouth's account of the
     battle, in a private letter--Closing remarks.              page 200


CHAPTER XII.

LORD EXMOUTH'S RETIREMENT AND DEATH.

     Honours paid him--His exertions for his officers--Thanks of
     Parliament--Activity of his mind--Command at Plymouth--Trial of the
     Queen--His unpopularity, and remarks on it--His independence in
     politics--Catholic question--His religious principles and
     conduct--Peace of his declining years--Anxiety for the safety of
     the country--Death of his daughter--Death of his grandchild; his
     reflection on the occasion--Made Vice-Admiral of England--Death of
     Sir Israel Pellew--Lord Exmouth's attachment to the Church, and
     confidence in God's protection of it--His last illness and death.
                                                                page 221




THE LIFE

OF

ADMIRAL VISCOUNT EXMOUTH




CHAPTER I.

FAMILY HISTORY.


The life and services of Lord Exmouth are of no common interest; not
more because he has advanced the reputation of his country, and
connected his name with her history, than that he began his career an
almost unfriended orphan, and rose to the highest honours of his
profession without having been indebted to fortune or to patronage. One
of the most interesting spectacles is that of rising merit struggling
from its difficulties. The most encouraging, is the honour which rewards
its exertions. The young officer, who, like him, has devoted himself to
an arduous service, with nothing to rely on but his sword, may derive
instruction from his example, and encouragement from his success.

Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth, descended from a family which was
settled in the west of Cornwall for many centuries, but came originally
from Normandy, where the name is still met with. After the close of the
war he received a letter from a family there, claiming kindred, and
offering the name and armorial bearings in proof. The original
orthography, "Pelleu," was retained until a comparatively recent period.
They are said to have landed at Pengersick Castle, near St. Michael's
Mount, and appear to have remained in that part of the county until the
beginning of the 17th century. They had a family tomb in Breage, a
parish on the eastern side of the Mount's Bay, in which they had
acquired property, and they still possess a small estate in that
neighbourhood. Part of this early history, it will be seen, can rest
only upon tradition; and indeed, it is of very little importance. The
weakness of seeking credit from remote ancestors, for one whose personal
honours require no further illustration, may well be exploded. But there
is one kind of ancestry where an inquiry will always be
interesting--that where the traits which distinguished the founder of a
family may be traced in the character of his forefathers.

The earliest of the family of whom anything is certainly known lived
during the great rebellion at Plymouth, where his loyalty made him so
obnoxious to the republicans, that the mob on one occasion assaulted him
on the Hoe, and plundered his house. A small piece of antique plate,
still preserved, and bearing the date 1645, was the only article of
value saved from them. His son, Captain Pellew, Lord Exmouth's
great-grandfather, served in the navy during the war of the succession.
A very fine portrait of him remains.

Humphry Pellew, the grandfather, was an extensive merchant. He held a
large property in shipping, and traded chiefly to America, where he had
purchased a valuable tobacco plantation of 2,000 acres, in Kent Island,
Maryland. Of this estate, upon which the town of Annapolis Royal is
partly built, the writings remain, but the property was lost at the
revolt of the colonies. No portion of the compensation fund voted by
Parliament was in this instance ever received; and General Washington
afterwards declared to a friend of the family, that the fact of three
of the brothers having borne arms against the States would prevent the
success of any application to the American Government.

Mr. Pellew built part of Flushing, a large village on the shores of
Falmouth harbour, including the present manor-house, in which he
resided; but this, being leasehold property, has long ago reverted to
the lord. In 1692, he married Judith Sparnon, of Sparnon and Pengelly,
in Breage, by whom he had six sons and five daughters. Mr. Pellew
maintained a high character through life, and his memory was long
preserved among the older inhabitants of the village. He died in 1721.
His son Israel married Miss Trefusis, upon whom the estate of Trefusis,
which includes Flushing, was entailed, in default of more direct heirs
from the then possessor; Thomas married Miss Whittaker, who was
grand-daughter of Viscount Fauconberg by a daughter of Cromwell; three
died unmarried; and the children of the youngest son were at length the
only male survivors of the family.

Samuel, youngest son of Humphry Pellew, commanded a Post-office packet
on the Dover station, to which he had been appointed through the
interest of the Spencer family. He was a man of great determination, and
became in consequence the subject of a characteristic song, which was
long remembered by the watermen and others at Calais. The recollections
of his family, and documents which have been preserved, show him to have
been most exemplary in the duties of private life. In 1652, he married
Constance Langford, daughter of Edward Langford, Esq., a gentleman
descended from a considerable family in Wiltshire. The co-heiress of
Edward Langford, Esq., of Trowbridge; married Henry Hyde, of Hinton,
father of the great Earl of Clarendon, and by the marriage of her
grand-daughter with James II. became the ancestor of Queen Mary and
Queen Anne. Thus connected by blood, as well as attached by principle to
the exiled family, Mr. Langford joined the standard of the Pretender in
1715, and distinguished himself at the battle of Preston. After the
Rebellion was suppressed, he escaped to the west of Cornwall, and
settled at Penzance. The Pretender took an opportunity to acknowledge
his services by a present of costly china. His daughter, Mrs. Pellew,
was a woman of extraordinary spirit. Mr. Pellew's political feelings
differed widely from those of his father-in-law. It was his practice to
make his children drink the king's health on their knees every Sunday.
He died in 1765, leaving six children, four of them boys, of whom the
eldest was at that time eleven years old, and Lord Exmouth, the second,
only eight. Three years after, an imprudent marriage of the widow
deprived the children of their remaining parent, and threw them upon the
world with scanty resources, and almost without a friend.

It has been well observed, that a general condition of distinguished
eminence is to be required to force a way to it through difficulties.
Desertion at an early age indeed subjects the individual to a most
severe trial; but where there is strength to bear the discipline, it
exalts the principle which it fails to subdue, and adds force to the
energies which it cannot tame. The Pellews were probably indebted for
much of their success, as well as for the fearless independence which
distinguished them, to the circumstances which thus compelled them from
childhood to rely only upon themselves.

Samuel Humphry, the eldest brother, was intended for the navy, and was
borne on the books of H.M.S. _Seaford_, Captain Macbride. But afterwards
devoting himself to medicine, he became one of the earliest pupils of
John Hunter, with Home, Pitcairn, and Baillie, for his class-fellows.
After serving for some time as a surgeon of marines, and assistant
surgeon to the Dockyard at Plymouth, he relinquished a partnership with
Dr. Geach, of the Royal Hospital, and settled at Truro, where he
obtained a considerable and lucrative practice. He finally became
collector of the customs at Falmouth. Gifted with a clear and active
mind, he did not confine himself to the routine of his official duties,
and his suggestions on several important subjects were adopted by the
Government. The Quarantine Law of 1800 was first proposed by him, and
framed chiefly on his suggestions; as well as a tonnage duty by which
the charges of the quarantine establishment were covered. The convoy
duty was also imposed on his recommendation; and he first proposed the
plan of warehousing goods in bond, and was much consulted during the
perfecting of the measure, by which so great facilities have been
afforded to the trade of the country--to the merchant, relief from the
necessity of locking up large amounts of capital; to the consumer,
cheapness, and a security against adulteration. Mr. Pellew served at his
post till he was fourscore years old, and for years beyond that, he
retained the freshness of feeling and enthusiasm of youth. He died in
his 90th year.

Israel, the third brother, born August 25th, 1758, was sent to sea at an
early age. He served with distinction in the American war, and was one
of the officers entrusted with the defence of posts, when the Comte
d'Estaign appeared off New York. Promoted to be a lieutenant, he cut out
a vessel so well protected by batteries, that his brother officers
thought it a service too desperate to be attempted. In command of the
armed cutter _Resolution_, he engaged and captured in the North Sea, the
Dutch privateer _Flushinger_, of fourteen guns, which had proved so
destructive a cruizer, that the merchants of Hull memorialized the
Admiralty in his favour; and Keppell, the First Lord, continued him for
three years in command of the cutter, notwithstanding the signature of
peace the day before the action, expressly to reward his gallantry and
success. He was made a commander in 1790. He was passenger in his
brother's frigate the _Nymphe_, when she gave the first earnest of the
naval successes of the war, by the capture of the _Cleopatra_; and he
contributed much to the brilliant result of the action, by taking
charge of the after quarter-deck gun, with which he disabled the enemy's
wheel. For this service he was at once promoted and appointed to a ship,
and he continued to be so actively employed, that he never once saw his
family, till after the peace. In September, 1796, his ship, the
_Amphion_, 32-gun frigate, blew up while alongside the hulk in Hamoaze,
and nearly all on board, about 300, perished. Captain Pellew was at the
moment at dinner in his cabin, with Captain Swafneld, of the
_Overyssel_, 64, and the first lieutenant. At the shock of the
explosion, which took place in the fore magazine, Captain Pellew, and
the lieutenant sprang into the quarter gallery, and were thrown into the
water and saved; Captain Swaffield perished.

Soon after the renewal of hostilities, he was appointed by Earl St.
Vincent to the _Conqueror_, one of the largest and most powerful
seventy-four's in the Navy. She carried twenty-four pounders on her
upper deck, there being only fourteen ships, out of 100 of the same
nominal force, which were so heavily armed. In her he shared with Nelson
the chase of the combined fleet to the West Indies and back, and took a
very distinguished part in the battle of Trafalgar. Following, abreast
of the _Leviathan_, the three leading ships of Nelson's column, she
engaged, captured, and took possession of the _Bucentaure_, flagship of
the commander-in-chief of the enemy, Villeneuve; and she afterwards
assisted in the capture of the _Santissima Trinidada_, and _Intrepide_.
In 1807, still in command of the _Conqueror_, Captain Pellew joined in
saving the fleet and royal family of Portugal, when the French, under
Junot, entered Lisbon; and afterwards in blockading a Russian squadron
of nine sail of the line in the Tagus, till the victory of Vimiera
placed them in the hands of the British.

He became rear-admiral in July 1810, and on his brother being appointed
commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean in the following May, he sailed
with him as captain of the fleet, to the close of the war. On the
return of Napoleon from Elba, he rejoined his brother in the same
capacity, having, on the extension of the Order of the Bath, been
appointed a knight-commander. His last service was to take a chief part
in the negotiations with the Barbary Powers, for the abandonment of
Christian slavery, in 1816. Lord Exmouth would not allow him, or any of
his family, to accompany him to the attack on Algiers, in the autumn of
that year. He died at Plymouth, June 19th, 1832, only seven months
before his brother Lord Exmouth.

John, the youngest brother, entered the army. While still a youth, he
became aide-de-camp to General Phillips in Burgoyne's campaign, and was
killed in the battle of Saratoga.

Edward, the second son of Samuel and Constance Pellew, was born at
Dover, April 19, 1757. He was named after his maternal grandfather, and
as there appeared at first but little probability that he would live, he
was baptized on the same day. Before he was quite eight years old, he
lost his father. The widow then removed with her family to Penzance,
where he was placed at school with the Rev. James Parkins, the clergyman
of the parish. Here he gave a remarkable proof of a daring spirit. A
house, in which was a considerable quantity of gunpowder, took fire; and
while every one else was afraid to approach, he went alone into the
burning house and brought out all the powder. He was afterwards sent to
the grammar school at Truro, of which the Rev. Mr. Conon was head
master, under whom he made a satisfactory progress, and before he left
could readily construe Virgil. As it was then the general practice in
schools to allow the boys to settle their own disputes, the fearlessness
of his character, and a strength beyond his years, enabled him to
maintain a very respectable position among his school-fellows. At
length, having inflicted upon some opponent a more severe punishment
than was usual in juvenile combats, the fact came under the cognizance
of the master, and to escape a threatened flogging, he ran away He told
his elder brother, who had now to act as head of the family, that he
would not return to school to be flogged for fighting, but would go to
sea directly. Happily, his inclinations were indulged, though his
grandfather, who wished him to be placed in a merchant's office,
strongly opposed the step. "So, sir," said the old gentleman, when the
boy came with his brothers to take a farewell dinner with him, "they are
going to send you to sea. Do you know that you may be answerable for
every enemy you kill? and, if I can read your character, you will kill a
great many!" "Well, grandpapa," replied young Pellew, "and if I do not
kill them, they'll kill me!"

He entered the navy towards the end of 1770, in the _Juno_, Captain
Stott, which was sent to the Falkland Islands, in consequence of the
forcible seizure of them by the Spanish squadron. It is remarkable that
this paltry dispute, which might be almost forgotten but for the
virulent invective of "Junius," and the masterly defence of the
Government by Dr. Johnson, should have given to the navy two such
officers as Nelson and Pellew; neither of whom might otherwise have
found an opportunity to join the service until they were too old, in the
five years of peace which followed. After the _Juno_ had been paid off,
Captain Stott was appointed to the _Alarm_, in which Mr. Pellew followed
him to the Mediterranean, where an unpleasant difference with his
commander made him leave the ship. Captain Stott, who had been a
boatswain with Boscawen, was an excellent seaman, but unfortunately
retained some habits not suited to his present rank. He kept a mistress
on board. Among the midshipmen was a boy named Frank Cole, who was three
years younger than Mr. Pellew, but had entered on board the _Juno_ at
the same time. Mr. Pellew was warmly attached to him. The woman had some
pet fowls, which were allowed to fly about; and one day, when the ship
was at Marseilles, and the captain absent, one of them was driven off
the quarter-deck by young Cole, which led to great abuse from the
woman, and a sharp reply from the boy. When the captain returned, he
became so much enraged by her representations, that he not only
reprimanded the youngster severely for what he termed his insolence, but
so far forgot himself as to give him a blow. This was not to be borne,
and having consulted his friend Pellew, he applied for his discharge.
Captain Stott ordered a boat immediately, for the purpose, as he said,
of turning him on shore. Pellew instantly went to the captain, and said,
"If Frank Cole is to be turned out of the ship, I hope, sir, you will
turn me out too." Their spirited conduct attracted the notice of the two
lieutenants, Keppel and Lord Hugh Seymour, and laid the foundation of a
friendship which continued through life: and Lord Hugh Seymour, finding
that the boys had no money, very kindly gave them an order on his agent
at Marseilles. Captain Stott afterwards tried to induce them to return,
but not succeeding, he gave them the highest testimonials of their
ability and desert, saying that he believed that they would become an
honour to the service. Mr. Pellew found a master of a merchant vessel on
shore, who had known his family at Dover, and now offered to take him to
Lisbon, but declined to accommodate a second passenger. Mr. Pellew
pleaded so earnestly for his young friend, and so positively refused to
leave him, that the other at length consented to give them both a
passage. From Lisbon they reached Falmouth in one of the packets. Little
could he then suppose that he was next to see Marseilles as a
commander-in-chief, and one day to save it from destruction. Twelve
years after, when he had become a post captain, and was in command of
the _Winchelsea_, he took under his protection a son of Captain Stott,
who was then dead, and did every thing in his power to promote the young
man's interests.

It was now his happiness to sail in the _Blonde_, with Captain Pownoll,
an officer who had been trained and brought forward by Admiral
Boscawen, and whose character was among the highest in the service.
Captain Pownoll soon appreciated the merit and promise of his
midshipman, who returned his kindness with almost the affection of a
son. Such mutual confidence and attachment between a captain and his
midshipman has very rarely been met with; and it was peculiarly
fortunate for Mr. Pellew, that his quick and determined character,
which, with a judgment not yet matured by experience, might have carried
him into mistakes, found a guide so kind and judicious as Captain
Pownoll.

And here it will not be uninteresting to observe how far the influence
of a great commander may extend. St. Vincent and Pownoll, who were
brought up under Boscawen, and received their lieutenant's commissions
from him, contributed materially to form a Nelson and an Exmouth; each
the founder of a school of officers, whose model is the character of
their chief, and their example his successes.

Active beyond his companions, and devoted to his profession, he soon
became a thorough seaman; while the buoyancy of youth, and his playful,
fearless spirit, prompted him continually to feats of extraordinary
daring. In the spring of 1775, General Burgoyne took his passage to
America in the _Blonde_, and when he came alongside, the yards were
manned to receive him. Looking up, he was surprised and alarmed to see a
midshipman on the yard-arm standing on his head. Captain Pownoll, who
was at his side, soon quieted his apprehensions, by assuring him that it
was only one of the frolics of young Pellew, and that the General might
make himself quite at ease for his safety, for if he should fall, he
would only go under the ship's bottom, and come up on the other side.
What on this occasion was probably spoken but in jest, was afterwards
more than realized; for he actually sprang from the fore-yard of the
_Blonde_, while she was going fast through the water, and saved a man
who had fallen overboard. Captain Pownoll reproached him for his
rashness, but he shed tears when he spoke of it to the officers, and
declared that Pellew was a noble fellow.

The revolt of the American colonies, which rose in this year to the
importance of a national war, was soon to furnish him with objects
worthy of his skill and courage. On the 10th of May the Americans
surprised Ticonderoga, and, having secured the command of Lake Champlain
by a strong squadron, were enabled to prosecute offensive operations
against Canada. Sir Guy Carleton, the governor and commander-in-chief of
that province, had very inadequate means to defend it. The enemy took
Montreal, and in the beginning of December laid siege to Quebec,
expecting an easy conquest; but their commander, General Montgomery, who
had summoned Sir Guy Carleton in the most arrogant and threatening
style, was killed on the 31st, in attempting to storm the place, and his
troops were repulsed. The siege, however, was continued by Arnold, till
Commodore Sir Charles Douglas, in the _Isis_, with two other ships under
his Orders, forced his way through the ice, much before the season at
which the river is usually open. His appearance drove the besiegers to a
hasty flight, in which they suffered such extreme privations, especially
their sick and wounded, that General Carleton most humanely issued a
proclamation, in which he ordered them to be treated as fellow-creatures
in distress; and encouraged them to claim the offered hospitality, by
assuring them that they should be unconditionally liberated as soon as
they were able to return home. At the same time, with energy equal to
his humanity, he hastened to complete the deliverance of the province.
Additional reinforcements which reached him in the spring enabled him to
give the enemy a final defeat at Trois Rivières in June, and then to
take measures for wresting from them the command of Lake Champlain; an
object essential to the security of Canada, as well as to prosecuting
offensive operations against the New England States.

Lake Champlain is a long narrow lake to the N.E. of Ontario,
communicating with the St. Lawrence a few miles below Montreal by the
river Chamblee, or Sorel. It is nowhere more than eighteen miles across,
and its average breadth does not exceed five. Below Crown Point it is a
mere channel for ten or twelve miles to its southern extremity at
Ticonderoga. Here it receives the waters from a small lake to the
southward, Lake George, but the communication, as well as that with the
St. Lawrence, is interrupted by shoals and rapids. From Lake George to
the Hudson is only six or eight miles, the sole interruption to a water
frontier from the St. Lawrence to New York, navigable for vessels of
burden for four-fifths of its length, and for bateaux nearly all the
way. The command of this line would enable the northern and southern
armies to co-operate effectually; to press on the New England States
along their whole border; to cut off all communication between them and
the rest of the Union, and to prevent any hostile attempt on Canada.

Measures were promptly taken to secure this important object.
Detachments from the King's ships at Quebec, with volunteers from the
transports, and a corps of artillery, in all, nearly 700 men, were sent
across to the Lake, there to construct, with timber felled by
themselves, and in the presence of a superior enemy, the vessels in
which they were to meet him. A party joined from the _Blonde_, under
Lieutenant Dacres, with Mr. Brown, one of the midshipmen. Mr. Pellew was
to have remained with the ship; but he appeared so much disappointed at
the arrangement, that Captain Pownoll allowed him also to go.

The season was already so far advanced, that it would have been a
creditable service only to complete the preparations for the next
campaign; but the zeal and exertions of the officers and men surpassed
all calculation. They got across to the Lake thirty long-boats, many
large flat-bottomed boats, a vast number of bateaux, and a gondola of
thirty tons, carrying them over land, or dragging them up the rapids.
The keel and floor-timbers of the _Inflexible_, a ship of three hundred
tons, which had been laid at Quebec, were taken to pieces, and carried
over to St. John's, on the Lake, where a dockyard was established, under
the superintendence of Lieutenant Schanck, an officer of extraordinary
mechanical ingenuity. Here, on the morning of the 2nd September, the
_Inflexible_ was again laid down, and by sunset, all her former parts
were put together, and a considerable quantity of additional timbers
prepared. The progress of the work was like magic. Trees growing in the
forest in the morning, would form part of the ship before night. She was
launched in twenty-eight days from laying her keel, and sailed next
evening, armed with eighteen twelve-pounders, and fully equipped for
service. Two schooners, the _Maria_, and the _Carleton_; the _Loyal
Convert_, gondola; the _Thunder_, a kind of flat-bottomed raft, carrying
twelve heavy guns and two howitzers; and twenty-four boats, armed each
with a field piece, or carriage-gun, formed, with the _Inflexible_, a
force equal to the service, where but a few days before, the British had
scarcely a boat upon the waters. No time was now lost in seeking the
enemy, and Sir Guy Carleton himself embarked with the squadron. Captain
Pringle, as commodore, sailed with Lieutenant Schanck in the
_Inflexible_. Lieutenant Dacres, with Mr. Brown and Mr. Pellew, were
appointed to the _Carleton_.

On the 11th of October, the enemy was discovered drawn up in a strong
line across the passage between Valicour, one of the numerous islands on
the lake, and the Western land; and so well concealed by the island,
that the squadron had nearly passed without observing them. They had
fifteen vessels, carrying ninety-six guns, fourteen of which were
eighteen-pounders, (eight of them traversing), and twenty-three twelves.
General Arnold commanded. The _Carleton_, being nearest to the enemy,
attacked at once, though her force was only twelve six-pounders.
Unfortunately, from the state of the wind, no other vessel could come to
her assistance, and she was obliged to engage the whole force of the
enemy single-handed. Sir Guy Carleton saw her desperate position with
extreme anxiety, but it was impossible to bring up the squadron, and he
could only send in the artillery-boats to support her. Meantime she was
suffering most severely. Very early in the action, Mr. Brown lost an
arm; and soon after, Lieutenant Dacres fell, severely wounded and
senseless. He would have been thrown overboard as dead, but for the
interference of Mr. Pellew, who now succeeded to the command. He
maintained the unequal contest, till Captain Pringle, baffled in all his
efforts to bring up the squadron, made the signal of recall, which the
_Carleton_, with two feet water in her hold, and half her crew killed
and wounded, was not in a condition to obey. In attempting to go about,
being at the time near the shore, which was covered with the enemy's
marksmen, she hung in stays, and Mr. Pellew, not regarding the danger of
making himself so conspicuous, sprang out on the bowsprit to push the
jib over. The artillery-boats now towed her out of action, under a very
heavy fire from the enemy, who were enabled to bear their guns upon her
with more effect, as she increased her distance. A shot cut the towrope,
and Mr. Pellew ordered some one to go and secure it; but seeing all
hesitate, for indeed it appeared a death-service, he ran forward and did
it himself. The result of the action was far beyond anything that could
have been expected from the excessive disparity of the force engaged;
for the _Carleton_, with the assistance of the artillery-boats, had sunk
the _Boston_ gondola, carrying an eighteen pounder and two twelves; and
burnt the _Royal Savage_, of twelve guns, the largest of the enemy's
schooners.

Arnold escaped in the night. The squadron pursued, and on the morning of
the 13th overtook him, within a few leagues of Crown Point. After a
running fight of two hours the four headmost vessels of the enemy
succeeded in reaching Crown Point, and sheltering themselves in the
narrow part of the lake beyond it. Two others, the _Washington_ and
_Jersey_, were taken; and the rest were run on shore and burnt by their
own crews. The enemy then set fire to their works on Crown Point, and
abandoned it.

The _Carleton's_ action on the 11th, which certainly was never surpassed
for gallantry and conduct, obtained for her crew the credit they so well
deserved. Lieutenant Dacres, who recovered sufficiently to go home with
the despatches, received promotion as soon as he arrived in England, and
was honoured with a personal interview with the king. He rose to be a
vice-admiral. How Mr. Pellew's services in this, his first action, were
appreciated by his superior officers is best told in their own words. In
a few days, Sir Charles Douglas, the senior officer at Quebec, to whose
command all the Lake service was subordinate, sent him the following
letter:--


                                    "Isis, Quebec, Oct. 30th, 1776.

     "SIR,--The account I have received of your behaviour on board the
     _Carleton_, in the different actions on the Lakes, gives me the
     warmest satisfaction, and I shall not fail to represent it in the
     strongest terms to the Earl of Sandwich and my Lord Howe, and
     recommend you as deserving a commission for your gallantry; and as
     Lieutenant Dacres, your late commander, will no doubt obtain rank
     for his conduct, when he reaches England, I am desired by General
     Sir Guy Carleton to give you the command of the schooner in which
     you have so bravely done your duty.

                                                 "CHARLES DOUGLAS."


The report of Sir Charles Douglas, obtained for Mr. Pellew the following
letter from the Commander-in-Chief:--


                                 "Eagle, New York, Dec. 20th, 1776.

     "SIR,--The account I have heard of your gallant behaviour from
     Captain Charles Douglas, of H.M.S. _Isis_, in the different actions
     on Lake Champlain, gives me much satisfaction, and I shall receive
     pleasure in giving you a lieutenant's commission, whenever you may
     reach New York.

                                                            "HOWE."


It is, perhaps, a singular occurrence for a midshipman to be honoured
with a letter of thanks from the First Lord of the Admiralty, but the
service itself was important, and Captain Pownoll strengthened Sir
Charles Douglas' report of his young officer's conduct, by a
communication of his own. Their joint eulogy obtained for Mr. Pellew the
following letter from Lord Sandwich:--


                         "Admiralty Office, London, Jan. 5th, 1777.

     "SIR,--You have been spoken of to me by Sir Charles Douglas and
     Captain Philemon Pownoll, for your good conduct in the various
     services upon Lake Champlain, in so handsome a manner, that I shall
     receive pleasure in promoting you to the rank of a lieutenant,
     whenever you come to England; but it is impossible to send you a
     commission where you now are, it being out of the jurisdiction of
     the Admiralty.

                                                        "SANDWICH."


Sir Guy Carleton remained at Crown Point as long as the season would
permit. He employed Mr. Pellew on the narrow inlet, which extends from
Crown Point to Ticonderoga, along which his proposed operations were to
be conducted; and Mr. Pellew attended to his charge with unceasing
vigilance and activity. On one occasion, the American Commander-in
Chief, Arnold, most narrowly escaped becoming his prisoner. Having
ventured upon the Lake in a boat, he was observed, and chased so closely
by Mr. Pellew, that when he reached the shore and ran off, he left his
stock and buckle in the boat behind him. This was preserved as long as
he lived by Mr. Pellew's elder brother, to whom Arnold's son, not many
years ago, confirmed the particulars of his father's escape. The
General, seeing that his men were panic-struck when they found
themselves chased, encouraged them to exertion by the assurance that the
pursuers were not enemies, but only a boat endeavouring to outrow them.
Pulling off his stock, and seizing an oar, he promised them a bottle of
rum each, if they gained the shore first. Well had it been for Arnold;
happy for the gallant young officer, who was the victim of his conduct;
and perhaps, on so small a contingency may the fate of a campaign
depend, happy for the British army, to whose misfortunes in the
following year his skill and courage so materially contributed, had the
fortune of the chase been different.

Mr. Pellew had a scarcely less narrow escape. He was invited with a
party of officers to spend an afternoon with some young ladies in the
neighbourhood, and they were on the way to keep their engagement, when
Mr. Pellew stopped, and said to his companions, "We are doing a very
foolish thing: I shall turn back, and I advise you all to do the same."
They hesitated, but at length returned with him; and afterwards learnt
that their Delilahs had posted a party of soldiers to make them
prisoners.

At length Sir Guy Carleton, having satisfied himself that Ticonderoga
was too strong to be attacked with his present force at that advanced
season, re-embarked the troops, and returned to Canada. He there exerted
himself through the winter, in making preparations for the ensuing
campaign, and had almost completed them, when the command of the army
was taken from him, and given to officers who had been serving under his
orders. Though his success had surpassed the utmost hopes of his
country, and his great local knowledge and experience claimed the
confidence of the British Government, he was not even consulted on the
expedition they had planned, and of which the very details were so far
settled in the cabinet, that little was left to the unfortunate General
who was to conduct it. He felt like an officer on the occasion, and
resigned the government of Canada; but he acted like an Englishman, and
though he disapproved materially of some parts of the plan, he omitted
no exertion which might contribute to its success.

The army devoted to an expedition thus inauspiciously commenced, was
composed of 7,000 regular troops, of whom 3,200 were Germans; a corps of
Artillery, 2,000 Canadians, and 1,000 savages. Sir Guy Carleton knew too
well the ferocious and uncertain character of the Indians to trust them;
but the government at home entertained a very different opinion; and it
was, perhaps, the chief motive for their conduct towards him, that he
had only amused and kept them quiet, instead of calling them into active
service. Lieutenant-General Burgoyne was selected for the command,
assisted by Major-Generals Phillips and Reidesel, and Brigadiers Frazer,
Powell, Hamilton, and Specht.

Mr. Pellew was attached to the army, with the command of a party of
seamen, and during its advance, was again actively employed on the Lake.
While on this service, he narrowly escaped a calamity, which would have
clouded all his future life. His youngest brother had come out from
England to join the army; and being appointed Aide-de-Camp to General
Phillips, though only seventeen years of age, he was sent down the Lake
in charge of the General's baggage. He was told that he had nothing to
fear from the enemy, but that he would probably meet his brother; and,
with the unthinking sportiveness of youth, as he knew that he was not
expected, he determined to surprise him. Accordingly, he fell in with
him in the night, and when hailed, answered, "A friend!" "What friend?"
exclaimed his brother; "tell who you are, or I'll shoot you." "What! do
not you know me?" "No!" said the other, presenting a pistol. "Your
brother John!"

On the 21st of June, the army being encamped on the western side of the
Lake, and a little to the north of Crown Point, General Burgoyne made a
war-feast for the savages, and addressed them in a speech which enforced
every motive calculated to restrain their ferocity. But, unfortunately,
he hoped to terrify the inhabitants to submission by threatening them
with all the horrors of Indian warfare; and a proclamation which he
published to this effect, was remembered to his serious prejudice. After
a short stay at Crown Point, the troops advanced along both sides of the
Lake, accompanied by the squadron under Lieutenant Schanck; and on the
2nd of July, arrived before Ticonderoga, then garrisoned by General St.
Clair, with nearly 5,000 men. Ticonderoga possessed great natural
advantages. It was protected on three sides by the water, with very
rocky shores; and on the fourth, partly by a morass, and where that
failed, by a strong breast-work. It was, indeed, commanded by a
neighbouring height, Sugar Hill, which the Americans had neglected to
secure, presuming upon its almost inaccessible character. Opposite
Ticonderoga, they had fortified a high conical hill, Mount Independence,
and connected it with the fort by a very strong bridge, which was itself
protected by a massy boom. The Americans had been employed for ten
months, in giving to these works the utmost possible strength and
solidity.

On the 5th, the British had nearly completed their preparations, and
General Phillips had carried a road almost to the top of Sugar Hill,
when General St. Clair determined to evacuate the fort. That night he
sent away his stores and baggage in more than two hundred bateaux, under
convoy of five armed gallies, to Skenesborough, a town about eight miles
distant, at the head of a small inlet, South Bay, which branches off
from the Lake at Ticonderoga. The troops marched to the same place,
leaving more than a hundred guns behind.

Daylight showed the flight of the enemy. Reidesel and Frazer immediately
followed in pursuit, while Burgoyne embarked the rest of the army on
board the squadron. The boom and bridge, which had cost so many months
of labour to complete, were presently cut through by the sailors and
artificers. The squadron were enabled to pass at nine o'clock, and at
three came up with the enemy near Skenesborough Falls. After a short
resistance, two of the gallies surrendered, and the enemy set fire to
the others, and to all their bateaux and stores.

Early next morning, Reidesel and Frazer overtook a strong body of the
enemy, and defeated them, with the loss of their Commander, and nearly
1,000 men killed, wounded, and taken. Another division was encountered
and routed by Colonel Hill. The fugitives escaped to Fort Edward, on the
Hudson.

General Burgoyne might now have returned to Ticonderoga, and thence
crossed to the head of Lake George, from which there was a waggon-road
to Fort Edward, only eighteen miles distant. But fearing that a
retrograde movement might check the enthusiasm of the army, now elated
with their rapid career of victory, underrating the difficulties of the
country, and too much despising an enemy who had been so easily
dispersed, he determined to ascend Wood Creek as far as Fort Anne,
whence the direct distance to the Hudson is shorter. He waited,
therefore, a few days near Skenesborough for his tents, baggage, and
provisions; employing himself, in the mean time, in clearing the
navigation of Wood Creek, while his people at Ticonderoga were
transporting the stores and artillery over the portages to Lake George.

The enemy offered little resistance in the advance to Fort Edward, but
the difficulties of the country were almost insurmountable. So broken
was it by creeks and morasses, that it became necessary to construct
more than forty bridges and causeways, one of them over a morass two
miles long. The enemy had created every possible obstruction by felling
trees across the paths, and destroying the communications. Scarcely
could the army advance a mile in a day, and it was the end of July
before it arrived on the Hudson.

On the approach of the British, the enemy quitted Fort Edward, and
retreated to Saratoga. All kinds of provisions and stores had already
reached Fort George; but the means of transport were lamentably
deficient, and the impossibility of bringing up supplies compelled the
army to a fatal inaction. On the 15th of August, after a fortnight's
incessant exertion, there were only four days' provisions in store.

Meantime, the enemy was daily becoming stronger. The conduct of the
savages had roused the whole country; and the British bore the odium of
excesses which the General could not prevent, and dared not punish. The
loyalists could not remain near the army, for they were almost equally
exposed to the cruelties of the savages, who spared neither age nor sex.
Others, who would have gladly staid at home, found that their only
safety was to take arms, and join the camp. Thus the British were left
without a friend in the country, while the American commanders, who took
every advantage of these atrocities, were soon at the head of an army
more numerous and formidable than that which had been dispersed.

General Arnold was sent to command the force at Saratoga. He drew it
back to Stillwater, a township about twelve miles down the Hudson, that
he might check Colonel St. Leger, who, with 700 or 800 men, was
besieging Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk, and had given a severe defeat to
a party sent to relieve it. General Burgoyne, desiring to effect a
junction with St. Leger, moved down the east bank of the Hudson to
Saratoga, where he threw a bridge of rafts over the river, and crossed
an advanced corps. Being almost destitute of supplies, and too weak to
maintain his communications with Fort George, he detached a force to
surprise the enemy's magazines at Bennington; but on the 15th of August
it was overpowered and defeated, with considerable loss. A week after,
St. Leger was obliged to retire from before Fort Stanwix. General Gates,
who was now the enemy's Commander-in-chief, detached Arnold against him
with 2,000 men, and the savages, hearing of his approach, threatened to
desert St. Leger if he remained, and even murdered the British
stragglers on the retreat.

Provisions for thirty days were at length collected; but nearly three
months had been consumed in forcing a way through almost impassable
woods and morasses in the worst of weather, and in vexatious inaction
from deficiency of means to advance; service far more destructive than
severe fighting. A heavy swell caused by the rains had carried away the
bridge, but Mr. Pellew constructed another by which the army crossed to
Saratoga. The General would afterwards rally him as the cause of their
subsequent misfortunes, by affording the means for their advance in the
construction of this bridge. General Gates remained in the neighbourhood
of Stillwater; and the army, advancing through a difficult country,
found itself on the 19th of September very near the enemy. General
Burgoyne marched at the head of the right wing, which was covered by the
light infantry and grenadiers, under Frazer and Breyman, who moved along
some high ground commanding its flank; while the left wing and
artillery, under Phillips and Reidesel, kept along the road and meadows
by the river side. While thus advancing, the enemy marched out of his
camp, and attempted to turn the right wing, and take the British in
flank. Foiled in this by the position of General Frazer, they
countermarched under cover of the woods, and threw all their strength
upon the left. Arnold led them on to repeated, and most determined
attacks; nor were they finally repulsed till dusk, after four hours'
severe fighting. Victory remained with the British; but the fact that
the enemy could so long withstand regular troops in the open field, was
decisive of the fate of the campaign.

Next morning the army took a position almost within cannon shot of the
enemy, fortifying the right wing, and covering the bateaux and hospital
with the left. The position of the enemy was unassailable. The savages,
whose atrocities had mainly contributed to create the present
difficulties of the army, now deserted altogether; and great part of the
provincials and Canadians followed their example.

Hoping that he might be relieved by a diversion from New York, Burgoyne
sent advices to Sir Harry Clinton, acquainting him with his present
situation, and his intention to remain till the 12th of October.
Meantime, he took every precaution to secure his camp. While his army
was melting away by sickness, battle, and desertion, the enemy were
daily becoming stronger. They had even been enabled to detach a force to
the northward, which, on the 17th of September, surprised the posts on
Lake George, and took an armed sloop, some gun-boats, and a great number
of bateaux. They afterwards ventured to attack Ticonderoga and Mount
Independence, and cannonaded them four days before they were repulsed.

At the beginning of October it became necessary to reduce the allowance
of provisions. This and every other hardship was submitted to without a
murmur; and never did an army better maintain its character than did
this gallant force in its hour of hopeless danger. On the 7th, as there
had been no intelligence from New York, General Burgoyne, accompanied by
Phillips, Reidesel, and Frazer, made a movement to reconnoitre towards
the enemy's left, with 1,500 men, and ten guns. They had advanced within
three quarters of a mile of the enemy, when a sudden and determined
attack was made upon their left, while a strong body moved to flank
their right. The light infantry and part of the 24th regiment were
quickly disposed to prevent the success of this latter movement, and
cover a retreat; but the enemy, throwing an additional force upon the
left, already hard pressed, it gave way, and the light infantry and 24th
were obliged to hasten and support it. In this movement General Frazer
fell. The troops retreated in good order, but with the loss of six
guns.

Scarcely had they regained the camp, when the enemy rushed to storm it;
Arnold, as usual, distinguishing himself by the impetuous courage with
which he led on his men. The battle was maintained where he fought with
the utmost desperation, till he fell, severely wounded, and his
followers were driven back. In another part, the enemy were more
successful. Colonel Breyman was killed, and the entrenchments, defended
by the German reserve which he commanded, were carried. Night ended the
battle, and left to the army the melancholy task of summing up its loss,
which included several officers of distinction. The brother of Mr Pellew
was among the dead.

But there is little grief for the slain when every one feels that he may
lie with them to-morrow. That night the army moved to a new position,
and next morning offered battle; but the enemy were securing their
object by safer means. They pushed forward a strong body to turn the
right of the British and surround them. To prevent this, the army
retreated in the night through torrents of rain, to Saratoga. The sick
and wounded were necessarily left behind.

Next morning, a party was seen throwing up entrenchments on the heights
beyond the army; but a demonstration being made against them, they
crossed the river, and joined a force on the other side. A retreat to
Fort George was attempted, and the artificers were sent forward to
repair the bridges, and open the road; but the appearance of the enemy
made it necessary to recall them. The opposite bank of the river was
covered with parties of the enemy, and the bateaux could no longer be
effectually protected. Some were taken; and among others, the vessel
which contained the small remaining store of provisions. This loss would
have deprived the army of its last hope; but Mr. Pellew, with his
sailors, attacked and recaptured the vessel. To guard against such a
calamity for the future, the provisions were landed. General Burgoyne
acknowledged this service in the following letter:--


     "DEAR SIR,--It was with infinite pleasure that General Phillips and
     myself observed the gallantry and address with which you conducted
     your attack upon the provision-vessel in the hands of the enemy.
     The gallantry of your little party was deserving of the success
     which attended it; and I send you my sincere thanks, together with
     those of the army, for the important service you have rendered them
     upon this occasion.

                                                    "JOHN BURGOYNE.

     "N.B.--The vessel contained 500 barrels of provisions, of which
     article the army was in great want."


A retreat to Fort Edward by a night march, the troops carrying their
provisions on their backs, now offered the only hope of safety; but
while preparations were being made for this, it was found that the enemy
had effectually provided against it, by throwing up entrenchments
opposite the fords, and securing the heights between Fort Edward and
Fort George. Secrecy was impossible, for the parties of the enemy were
everywhere so numerous, that not a movement could be concealed.

Still hoping to be relieved from New York, the army, now reduced to
3,500 effective men, of whom not 2,000 were British, lingered in their
camp, where they lay always under arms, with the grape and rifle shot of
the enemy falling continually around them. On the 13th they had only
three days' provision remaining. A council of war was therefore held, to
which General Burgoyne summoned all the principal officers. Mr. Pellew
attended, as commander of the brigade of seamen; and a more decisive
testimony to his merits and services could not be afforded, than the
unprecedented compliment of calling a midshipman, only twenty years of
age, to sit in council with generals.

Mr. Pellew, as the youngest officer present, was required to offer his
opinion the first. He pleaded earnestly that his own little party might
not be included in the proposed capitulation, but permitted to make the
best of their way back. He had never heard, he said, of sailors
capitulating, and was confident he could bring them off. It is very
possible that they might have escaped. Soldiers are accustomed to act
only in orderly masses; but sailors combine with discipline the energy
of individual enterprise. Mr. Pellew's party had acted as pioneers and
artificers to the army during its advance; and their knowledge, and
readiness at resources, would have given them great facilities in making
their way through a hostile country. But their escape would have cast a
very undeserved discredit upon the army, and the proposal was
discountenanced. Burgoyne said, what sailors could do, soldiers might
do; and if the attempt were sanctioned for the one, the others must
throw away their knapsacks and take their firelocks. As Mr. Pellew still
clung to his proposal, the General took him aside, and having
represented the impossibility of drawing off the army, convinced him of
the impropriety of permitting the attempt by a small part of it.

The result of the council was a communication to General Gates, who,
knowing the desperate condition of the British army, and his own
irresistible superiority, must have been surprised at the gallant spirit
manifested in its hopeless extremity. When he observed that the retreat
of the British was cut off, he was told that the British could never
admit that their retreat was cut off while they had arms in their hands;
and to his proposal that the troops should pile arms within their camp,
it was replied, that sooner than submit to such an indignity, they would
rush on the enemy determined to take no quarter. Terms proposed by
General Burgoyne were finally acquiesced in; and the American commander,
as far as _he_ was concerned, faithfully observed and enforced them with
the most considerate delicacy.

Mr. Pellew, after having shared in the hospitality of General Gates, was
sent to England by General Burgoyne with despatches, a distinction to
which his services in the campaign were considered to have entitled him.
At Quebec he met his former commander, Sir Guy Carleton, whose successor
had not yet arrived, and who charged him with additional despatches, and
the following letter to Lord Sandwich:--


                                         "Quebec, November 2, 1777.

     "MY LORD,--This will be presented to your lordship by Mr. Edward
     Pellew, a young man to whose gallantry and merit during two severe
     campaigns in this country, I cannot do justice. He is just now
     returned to me from Saratoga, having shared the fate of that
     unfortunate army, and is on his way to England. I beg leave to
     recommend him to your lordship, as worthy of a commission in his
     Majesty's service, for his good conduct.

                                                    "GUY CARLETON."


He came home in a transport, in which Major Foy was also a passenger. An
enemy's cruiser chased them, and the Major, as the superior officer, was
proceeding to assume the command; but Mr. Pellew told him that he was
the only naval officer on board, and must himself fight the ship. The
Major acquiesced; and under Mr. Pellew's command, the transport engaged,
and beat off the privateer.

It is scarcely necessary to state that immediately on his arrival he
received the promotion which his services had so well deserved.




CHAPTER II.

HIS SERVICES FROM 1778 TO 1791.


There are circumstances which in a few weeks or months may give the
experience of years; and when these occur in early life, they make a
permanent impression on the character. In the honours and misfortunes of
the late campaign, its toils, and its anxieties, Mr. Pellew had very
largely shared; and if rashness would have been the natural fault of a
mind like his, a more effectual corrective could not have been desired.
The quick conception, and the forethought, which enabled him in after
life so well to combine caution with daring, must have greatly depended
upon natural character, but he certainly owed much of it to the severe
discipline of his early service.

He had now completed his twenty-first year. Tall, and with a frame of
strength and symmetry, nerved by the hardships of two severe campaigns,
his personal activity and power were almost unrivalled. The spot was
shown for many years at Truro, where he sprang over the high gate of an
inn-yard at the back of one of the hotels, when, hastening across the
court to assist on the sudden alarm of a fire, he found the gate fast.
The consciousness of superior strength, while it made him slow to
offend, enabled him to inflict suitable punishment on offenders, and
some incidents of a ludicrous character are still remembered.

The water was as a natural element to him, and he often amused himself
in a manner which, to one less expert, would have been attended with the
utmost danger. He would sometimes go out in a boat, and overset her by
carrying a press of sail. Acts of daring like these must find their
excuse in the spirit of a fearless youth. But he often found the
advantage of that power and self-possession in the water which he
derived from his early habits, in saving men who had fallen overboard,
and especially in the happiest of all his services, his conduct at the
Dutton. More than once, however, he nearly perished. In Portsmouth
harbour, where he had upset himself in a boat, he was saved with
difficulty, after remaining for a considerable time in the water. On
another occasion, he was going by himself from Falmouth to Plymouth in a
small punt, fourteen feet long, when his hat was blown overboard, and he
immediately threw off his clothes and swam after it, having first
secured the tiller a-lee. As he was returning with his hat, the boat got
way on her, and sailed some distance before she came up in the wind. He
had almost reached her when she filled again, and he was thus baffled
three or four times. At length, by a desperate effort, he caught the
rudder, but he was so much exhausted that it was a considerable time
before he had strength to get into the boat.

The gratification felt at receiving his commission was soon forgotten,
when he found himself appointed to a guard-ship. He repeatedly solicited
more active employment, and at length took an opportunity to accost Lord
Sandwich in the street at Portsmouth. The First Lord asked him if he
were the young man who had been writing him so many letters; and after a
reproof for accosting him in the street, appointed an audience at the
hotel. He there told him that he could not be employed as he wished,
because he was included in the convention of Saratoga; and when Mr.
Pellew pleaded that the enemy had broken the convention, Lord Sandwich
replied, that was no reason why England should do so too. At length,
after every other plea had been urged in vain. Mr. Pellew took out his
commission, and begged that he might be allowed to return it, declaring
that he would rather command a privateer, than remain inactive while the
war was going on. Lord Sandwich, smiling at his ardour, desired him to
put up his commission, and promised that he should not be forgotten.
Soon after, he was appointed to the _Licorne_.

In the spring of 1779, the _Licorne_ sailed for the Newfoundland
station, under the orders of Captain Cadogan, who had lately superseded
Captain Bellew, her former commander. On her passage out, she engaged
two of the enemy's cruisers, and Lieutenant Pellew's conduct in the
action received the praise of his captain. She returned to England in
December, when he left her to join the _Apollo_, commanded by his
excellent friend and patron Captain Pownoll, who was so delighted to
obtain once more the services of a follower whom he regarded with equal
pride and affection, that he removed for his sake an officer of high
connexions, whose seniority would have prevented Mr. Pellew from being
the first lieutenant.

Mr. Pellew was too soon deprived of this inestimable friend. On the
morning of the 15th of June 1780, the _Apollo_, cruising in the North
Sea, in company with some other ships, was ordered away by the senior
captain in pursuit of a cutter. She had almost come up with the chase,
when the _Stanislaus_ French frigate hove in sight, and the _Apollo_
left the cutter for a more equal opponent. She overtook and brought her
to action at half-past twelve, engaging under a press of sail, for the
enemy made every effort to escape to the neutral port of Ostend, which
was not far distant. In an hour after the action commenced, Captain
Pownoll was shot through the body. He said to his young friend, "Pellew,
I know you won't give his Majesty's ship away;" and immediately died in
his arms. Mr. Pellew continued the action for more than an hour longer,
and drove the enemy, beaten and dismasted, on shore; but he was
disappointed of his prize, which claimed protection from the neutral
port. The _Apollo_ had five killed, besides the captain, and twenty
wounded. A musket ball, which had struck Captain Pownoll in a former
action, was found after his death, lodged among the muscles of the
chest. The _Stanislaus_ was got off, and carried into Ostend, where,
being brought to sale, she was purchased by the British government, and
added to the navy.

None despond so readily as talented and sanguine young men, who are too
apt to regard as irreparable the loss of anything they had relied on for
the attainment of a favourite object. Only time can show that a strong
mind is not dependent upon accidental circumstances, but creates
facilities for itself, as a river will make if it do not find a channel
for its waters. But Lieutenant Pellew was too young to have learned this
lesson; and depressed as he was with grief for his patron, and
disappointment at the escape of the French frigate, his prospects seemed
altogether clouded. A letter which he wrote to the Earl of Sandwich on
this occasion, displays all the struggle of his feelings. Circumstantial
proof that everything was done to prevent the enemy from escaping; a
modest allusion to his former services; expressions of the keenest
sorrow for his loss; a bitter sense of his desolate condition; with
earnest appeals to every feeling of justice and sympathy, which might
induce the First Lord to extend to him the patronage not always given to
an unfriended claimant; yet still with anxiety to do full justice to his
officers and men, are blended in this very characteristic letter. It is
not certain that it was ever sent; for the copy preserved is too
carefully written for a rough draft, yet contains many corrections and
erasures. He was, perhaps, dissatisfied with it, and before he had
determined what to send, his promotion spared him the necessity of an
application. Still it is an interesting document, affording, as it does,
a detailed account of the action, a sketch of his former services, and
a transcript of his feelings at the time.


     "MY LORD,--Your Lordship will receive herewith, from Admiral Drake,
     an account of an action fought by H.M.S. _Apollo_, at sea, June 15,
     which lasted for two hours and twenty minutes. I trust your
     Lordship will excuse my troubling you with a private account of the
     engagement, to inform you of many occurrences during the action
     which my public letter would not admit of. When the action began,
     both ships had all their sails set upon a wind, with as much wind
     as we could bear. The ever-to-be-lamented Captain Pownoll received
     a wound through his body about an hour after the action commenced,
     when standing at the gangway. The enemy had then suffered much,
     having lost the yard-arms of both his lower yards, and had no sails
     drawing but his foresail, main-top-gallant-sail, and mizen-topsail,
     the others flying about. We had engaged her to leeward, which, from
     the heel his ship had, prevented him from making our rigging and
     sails the objects of his fire; though I am well convinced he had
     laid his guns down as much as possible. When I assumed the command,
     we had shot upon his bow. I endeavoured to get the courses hauled
     up, and the top-gallant-sails clewed up, neither of which we could
     do, as we had neither clue-garnets, bunt-lines, or leach-lines
     left. However, we got the top-gallant-sails down, with most of the
     stay-sails, and the mizen-topsail aback; but finding we still
     outsailed him, I had no other method left but that of sheering
     across his hawse, first on one bow, then on the other, raking him
     as we crossed, always having in view the retarding his way, by
     obliging him either to receive us athwart his bowsprit, in which
     case we should have turned his head off shore, or to sheer as we
     did. He, foreseeing our intention, did so; but never lost sight of
     gaining the shore. In this situation we had continued for a
     considerable time. His bowsprit had been at two different times
     over our quarter-deck, but never so far forward as to enable us to
     secure him. All this time we were approaching the shore, and we
     were then, I am certain, within two miles of it. I had been
     cautioned by the master, whose abilities and great assistance I
     must ever gratefully remember, more than once, of the shoal water,
     and I had repeatedly called for and sent after the pilot; and I am
     sorry to inform your Lordship he did not appear. Thus situated, in
     three and a half fathoms water, and steering towards danger, there
     was no time to hesitate; and, with the advice of the master, I
     wore, and brought to under the mizen, with her head off shore,
     until we could get the courses and other sails taken in, not having
     then a brace or bowline left, and being fully determined to renew
     the action in a few minutes. We had scarcely wore, when his
     foremast, main-top-mast, main-yard, and main-top fell, leaving his
     mainmast without rigging; and the ship at the same time took a
     large heel, which made us all conclude she had struck the ground.
     It was then half-ebb, and I firmly believe, had we pursued him, in
     less than ten minutes we must have run aground. She had fired a gun
     to leeward, seemingly to claim the protection of the port, which
     was answered by three from the garrison. I was at this time
     preparing to wear again, to anchor alongside him; but Mr. Unwin,
     the purser, bringing me some orders found in Captain Pownoll's
     pocket, among which was one relative to the observance of
     neutrality, I did not think myself justified in renewing the
     attack. I therefore continued lying to, to repair our damages. Our
     masts are much wounded, the rigging very much torn, and several
     shot under water, by which we made two feet water an hour.

     "Your Lordship will, I hope, pardon me, for troubling you with the
     relation of private feelings. The loss of Captain Pownoll will be
     severely felt. The ship's company have lost a father. I have lost
     much more, a father and a friend united; and that friend my only
     one on earth. Never, my Lord, was grief more poignant than that we
     all feel for our adored commander. Mine is inexpressible. The
     friend who brought me up, and pushed me through the service, is now
     no more! It was ever my study, and will always be so, to pursue his
     glorious footsteps. How far I may succeed I know not; but while he
     lived, I enjoyed the greatest blessing, that of being patronized by
     him. That happiness I am now deprived of, and unassisted by
     friends, unconnected with the great, and unsupported by the world,
     I must throw myself totally on your Lordship's generosity. If I
     have erred, it was not from the heart; for I will be bold to say,
     the love and honour of his country makes no heart more warm than
     mine.

     "And if, after a constant service, never unemployed for thirteen
     years,[1] and the character I bear with every officer with whom I
     have had the honour to serve; having been three years in America,
     and in every action on Lake Champlain, for one of which, in the
     _Carleton_, Lieutenant Dacres, our commander, received promotion;
     afterwards in a continued series of hard service, in that
     unfortunate expedition under General Burgoyne, whose thanks for my
     conduct I received in the course of the campaign, and whose
     misfortunes I shared at Saratoga, not in common with others, but
     increased by the melancholy sight of a dead brother, fallen in the
     service of his king; having then returned to England in a transport
     to fulfil the convention, with Generals Carleton's and Burgoyne's
     despatches, as well as General Carleton's letter, recommending me
     to your Lordship; and permit me to mention, my Lord, without being
     thought partial to my own story, my having received the thanks of
     Sir Charles Douglas, by letter, for my behaviour in the different
     actions in Canada; and having acquitted myself much to Captain
     Cadogan's satisfaction in action with two ships, when on our voyage
     to Newfoundland; and if on the present occasion, conscious of the
     rectitude of my conduct, I can be entitled to your Lordship's
     approbation, permit me to hope from your Lordship's well-known
     generosity, which I have already experienced, that you will extend
     to me that protection which I have lost in my dear departed
     benefactor. I have now no friend to solicit your Lordship in my
     favour. I stand alone to sue for your protection, in some
     confidence that you will not suffer the dejected and unsupported to
     fall. I presume to hope forgiveness for thus intruding on your
     time, particularly by a memorial that comes unbacked by any other
     name; but believe me, my Lord, there never was an officer with whom
     I have sailed, who would not do much more than back this, were his
     ability equal to his good wishes for my promotion.

     "I cannot, in justice to the officers, close this without assuring
     your Lordship of the great and unremitting assistance I received
     from Mr. Milburn, the master, on every occasion; and from Mr.
     Mansfield, the marine officer, who was particularly active to
     assist on the quarter-deck. To Mr. Bunce, second lieutenant, I am
     much indebted for his exertions on the main-deck, and his diligence
     was unremitting in distributing men where most wanted. Mr. Ritchie,
     master's mate, was particularly distinguished for his gallantry
     and activity; and the behaviour of the whole, my Lord, was such as
     entitles them to my warmest gratitude, and general commendation.
     Most of the wounded are dangerously so, being all by cannon balls.
     We had three guns dismounted.

                                                   "EDWARD PELLEW."


Lord Sandwich's communication to him was equally kind and prompt. On the
18th of June, only three days after the action, he wrote to him:--"After
most sincerely condoling with you on the loss of your much-lamented
patron and friend, Captain Pownoll, whose bravery and services have done
so much honour to himself and his Country, I will not delay informing
you that I mean to give you immediate promotion, as a reward for your
gallant and officer-like conduct."

He was made commander into an old and worn-out sloop, the _Hazard_, in
which he was stationed on the eastern coast of Scotland. Having nothing
but the emoluments of his profession, he found it difficult to meet the
expenses required by his promotion and appointment. A tradesman in
London, Mr. Vigurs, equally known and respected by the young men from
Cornwall, who were generally referred to him for the advice and
assistance they required on their first coming to town, not only
supplied him with uniforms, though candidly told that it was uncertain
when he would be able to pay for them, but offered a pecuniary loan; and
Captain Pellew accepted a small sum which made the debt 70£. In a few
weeks he received 160£. prize-money, and immediately sent 100£. to his
creditor, desiring that the balance might be given in presents to the
children, or, as he expressed it, "to buy ribbons for the girls." He
never afterwards employed another tradesman. When he had become a
commander-in-chief, it was his practice to prevent a deserving, but
necessitous young officer from suffering similar embarrassments, by
advancing him a sum equal to his immediate wants when he gave him a
commission.

He took command of the _Hazard_ on the 25th of July, 1780, and paid her
off in the following January, having been employed between Shields and
Leith. He held his next ship for a still shorter time. On the 12th of
March, 1782, he commissioned the _Pelican_, a French prize, and a mere
shell of a vessel; so low, that he would say his servant could dress his
hair from the deck while he sat in the cabin. He sailed from Plymouth,
on his first cruise, April 20th; and next day took a French privateer,
with which he returned to port. On the 24th he sailed again, and stood
over to the French coast. On the 28th, observing several vessels at
anchor in Bass Roads, he made sail towards them; upon which a brig and a
lugger, of ten or twelve guns each, laid their broadsides to the
entrance of the harbour. He attacked them immediately, and compelled
them to run themselves on shore under a battery, which opened on the
sloop. The _Pelican_ tacked, and stood out of the harbour, returning the
fire, and the same night arrived at Plymouth. Her loss was only two men
wounded. A heavy shot which struck her was begged by a friend, who, in a
recent letter, makes a jocular allusion to it, and says that it is still
doing service in the kitchen as a jack-weight. The action was most
important in its results, for it obtained for him that rank in which he
would rise by seniority to a flag. Had he remained a commander through
the peace, which, but for this action, in all probability he would have
done, he could not have become a flag-officer till near the close of the
revolutionary war. The country would then have lost his most valuable
services; and he would have been remembered only as a distinguished
captain. His promotion was announced to him by the First Lord in the
following terms:--


                                    Admiralty Office. May 25, 1782.

     "SIR,--I am so well pleased with the account I have received of
     your gallant and seaman-like conduct in the sloop you command, in
     your spirited attack on three privateers inside the Isle of Bass,
     and your success in driving them all on shore, that I am induced to
     bestow on you the rank of a post-captain, in the service to which
     your universal good character and conduct do credit: and for this
     purpose, I have named you to the _Suffolk_, and hope soon to find a
     frigate for you, as she is promised to a captain of long standing.

                                                          "KEPPEL."


Captain Pellew thus obtained every step of rank expressly as a reward of
a brilliant action in which he personally commanded; and in this
respect, and in the number and extent of his services while he remained
in the lower grades of his profession, he was singular, not only among
his contemporaries, but perhaps in the annals of the navy.

On the 4th of June, in the absence of Captain Macbride, of the forty-gun
frigate _Artois_, Captain Pellew assumed the temporary command of that
ship, and sailed two days after to cruize on the coast of Ireland. Her
master was Mr. James Bowen, so highly distinguished in the battle of the
1st of June, when he was master of the fleet, and who afterwards became
a retired commissioner, and rear admiral. On the 1st of July, the
_Artois_ fell in with a French frigate-built ship, the _Prince of
Robego_, of twenty-two guns, and 180 men; and after a four hours'
pursuit, and a running fight of half an hour with the chase guns, ran
alongside, and took her. Captain Pellew gladly availed himself of this
opportunity to show his grateful respect to the memory of his
benefactor, Captain Pownoll, by giving the agency to his brother-in-law,
Mr. Justice, one of the officers of Plymouth-yard: and the plea of
gratitude which he offered to his own brother, was felt to be quite
conclusive. Captain Macbride wished to appoint an agent of his own; but
Captain Pellew asserted his right, as the actual captor, with so much
temper and firmness, that the other at length gave way. He had known
Captain Pellew from early childhood, having been his father's intimate
friend, and quite understood his character, of which he now expressed an
opinion in language less refined than emphatic. "Confound the fellow,"
said he, "if he had been bred a cobbler, he would have been first in the
village."


Peace left him without employment for the next four years. In 1783, he
married Susan, daughter of J. Frowd, Esq., of Wiltshire; who survived
him nearly four years. For a short time after his marriage, he lived at
Truro; but when his elder brother became collector of the customs at
Falmouth, he removed to the village of Flushing, which is separated from
Falmouth only by a narrow creek, and which had peculiar attractions for
him from family associations.

During this period he went out in command of his brother's armed lugger,
the _Hawk_, in search of a notorious outlaw, Wellard, who commanded an
armed smuggler in the Channel, and who was at length killed in action
with the _Hawk_, and her consort, which captured his vessel. Active
occupation, indeed, was essential to his comfort, and he found a life on
shore most irksome. At length, in 1786, he commissioned the
_Winchelsea_, for the Newfoundland station. Among her midshipmen was the
late gallant Sir Christopher Cole,[2] to whose pen the reader is
indebted for the following animated sketch of his service in that
frigate:--


     "I joined the _Winchelsea_ under Captain Edward Pellew's command in
     1786, recommended to him by my brother. Captain Frank Cole, who
     told me, 'You are going to serve under a gallant and active
     officer, and one of the best seamen in the navy, who, if he live,
     must one day be at the head of his profession. Make a friend of
     him by your good conduct, and you will do well.' The _Winchelsea_
     was manned with good seamen, with scarcely a landsman on board; and
     the first lieutenant, senior master's mate, and boatswain, were all
     excellent practical seamen; so that the midshipmen and youngsters,
     to the number of nearly thirty, could not be in a better situation
     for obtaining a knowledge of practical seamanship. We soon found
     that the activity of our captain would not allow us an idle hour,
     and there was so much kindness of heart, and cheerfulness of
     manner, blended with daring exertion in the performance of his
     duties, that we were all happy to imitate his example to the best
     of our abilities. In the course of our passage to Newfoundland we
     encountered much blowing weather, and at all hours of the day or
     night, whenever there was exertion required aloft, to preserve a
     sail, or a mast, the captain was foremost at the work, apparently
     as a mere matter of amusement; and there was not a man in the ship
     who could equal him in personal activity. He appeared to play
     amongst the elements in the hardest storms, and the confidence this
     gave to those under his command, on many occasions, is not to be
     described.

     "The reduced peace complement of the crew made it necessary that
     they should work watch-and-watch, and one part of his system was,
     that the watch on deck, assisted by the idlers, should be in the
     habit of making themselves equal to every call of duty, without
     trespassing on the rest of those whose turn it was to be below. I
     remember relieving the deck one night after eight o'clock, when the
     captain was carrying on the duty, and shortening sail upon the
     quick approach of a severe gale, and being an old sailor for my
     age, being then sixteen, he ordered me to the mizentop, to close
     reef and furl the mizen-topsail; and this being done, from the
     increase of the gale, we had before twelve o'clock to take in
     successively every reef, furl most of the sails, and strike the
     topgallant-masts and other spars, to make the ship snug; the
     midshipmen being on the yards as well as the men, and the captain,
     when the gale became severe, at their elbow. In close reefing the
     main-topsail, there was much difficulty in clewing up the sail for
     the purpose of making it quiet, and the captain issued his orders
     accordingly from the quarter-deck, and sent us aloft. On gaining
     the topsail-yard, the most active and daring of our party hesitated
     to go upon it, as the sail was flapping about violently, making it
     a service of great danger. A voice was heard amidst the roaring of
     the gale from the extreme end of the yard-arm, calling upon us to
     exert ourselves to save the sail, which would otherwise beat to
     pieces. A man said, 'Why, that's the captain--how the ---- did he
     get there!' The fact was, that the instant he had given us orders
     to go aloft, he laid down his speaking trumpet, and clambered like
     a cat by the rigging over the backs of the seamen, and before they
     reached the maintop, he was at the topmast-head, and from thence by
     the topsail-lift, a single rope, he reached the situation he was
     in. I could mention numberless instances of this kind, but will
     proceed to relate a few others fresh in my recollection. On our
     arrival at St. John's Newfoundland, we anchored in the narrow
     entrance in the evening; and many officers would have been
     satisfied to have remained there until the morning, as we could
     reach our anchorage only by the tedious and laborious operation of
     laying out anchors, and warping; but we saw that the captain was
     bent upon exertion, and we went heartily to work. In the course of
     our progress against a strong wind, the ship had been warped up to
     the chain rock, and it became necessary to cast off the hawser
     attached to it, but all the boats were employed in laying out an
     anchor and warps elsewhere. The captain called to the men on the
     forecastle, and desired 'some active fellow to go down by the
     hawser, and cast it off,' at the same time saying that a boat would
     soon be there to bring him on board again. The smartest seaman in
     the ship declined the attempt. In an instant the captain was seen
     clinging to the hawser, and proceeding to the rock; the hawser was
     cast off, and to the astonishment of every one, he swang himself
     to the side of the ship by the same means, mounted the ship's side,
     and was again directing the duty going on. After nine hours
     laborious and incessant exertion, the ship was anchored near the
     _Commodore_ in St. John's harbour, before daylight; and as a salute
     had been prepared in the hope of seeing the _Commodore's_ pennant
     before sunset on the evening before, the captain remained on deck
     with the gunner only to assist him. The rest of the officers and
     men, being excessively fatigued, had been sent below to rest; and I
     was not singular in being unconscious of the firing, although my
     hammock hung close to the open hatchway, and immediately under the
     deck that the guns were fired from.

     "The strong mind and fertile genius of our commander kept the young
     mids., in particular, in constant employment. Besides that some of
     the number were stationed on every yard in the ship, the mizen-mast
     from the deck to the truck was entirely managed in the sails and
     rigging by the midshipmen, who were not such dandies as to despise
     the tar-bucket, or even volunteering the laborious task of working
     the oars of one of the boats in harbour. They were all emulous to
     leave nothing undone to make themselves practical seamen, and they
     all found the advantage of such examples as they had then before
     them, many years afterwards, at the breaking out of the
     revolutionary war.

     "In the course of this year we visited every harbour, nook, and
     corner, on the east coast of Newfoundland, that the ship could be
     squeezed into; and the seamanship displayed by the captain, in
     working the ship in some most difficult cases, was not lost upon
     the officers and crew. With respect to his personal activity, I
     have often heard the most active seamen, when doubting the
     possibility of doing what he ordered to be done, finish by saying,
     'Well, he never orders us to do what he won't do himself;' and they
     often remarked, 'Blow high, blow low, he knows to an inch what the
     ship can do, and he can almost make her speak. On our return from
     Newfoundland, he applied to cruise after smugglers in the winter
     months, instead of being kept idle in harbour until the season
     opened for visiting Newfoundland again; but this did not come
     within the scope of the management of that day. In 1787, we
     returned to our station at Newfoundland. The summers there are very
     hot, and on the birthday of the good old king, George III., the 4th
     of June, the ship's company obtained permission to bathe. The ship
     was at anchor in St. John's harbour, and the captain prepared
     himself for the public dinner at the Governor's by dressing in his
     full uniform, and mounted the deck to step into his barge, which
     was ready to take him ashore. The gambols and antics of the men in
     the water caught his attention, and he stepped on one of the guns
     to look at them; when a lad, a servant to one of the officers, who
     was standing on the ship's side near to him, said, 'I'll have a
     good swim by-and-by, too.' 'The sooner the better,' said the
     captain, and tipped him into the water. He saw in an instant that
     the lad could not swim, and quick as thought he dashed overboard in
     his full dress uniform, with a rope in one hand, which he made fast
     to the lad, who was soon on board again, without injury, though a
     little frightened, but which did not prevent his soon enjoying the
     ludicrous finish of the captain's frolic. The lad's boasting
     expression gave an idea that he was a good swimmer, and I believe
     if ever the captain was frightened, it was when he saw the
     struggles in the water: but his self-possession and activity did
     not forsake him, and no one enjoyed the laugh against himself more
     than he did when the danger was over.

     "This season at Newfoundland was passed in the same course of
     active exertion as the former one. We sailed for Cadiz and Lisbon
     in October, for the purpose of receiving any remittances in bullion
     to England, which the British merchants might have ready on our
     arrival. We had light winds and fine weather after making the coast
     of Portugal. On one remarkably fine day, when the ship was
     stealing through the water under the influence of a gentle breeze,
     the people were all below at their dinners, and scarcely a person
     left on deck but officers, of whom the captain was one. Two little
     ship-boys had been induced, by the fineness of the weather, to run
     up from below the moment they had dined, and were at play on the
     spare anchor to leeward, which overhangs the side of the ship. One
     of them fell overboard, which was seen from the quarter-deck, and
     the order was given to luff the ship into the wind. In an instant
     the officers were over the side; but it was the captain who,
     grasping a rope firmly with one hand, let himself down to the
     water's edge, and catching hold of the poor boy's jacket as he
     floated past, he saved his life in as little time as I have taken
     to mention it. There was not a rope touched, or a sail altered in
     doing this, and the people below knew not of the accident until
     they came on deck when their dinner was over.

     "In every instance when a life was in danger, he was instant to
     peril his own for its preservation; and I could fill pages, if it
     were necessary to notice any but those which I was so fortunate as
     to witness."


After the _Winchelsea_ had been paid off in 1789, Captain Pellew was
appointed to the _Salisbury_, 50, bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral
Milbanke, on the Newfoundland station; in which he served till 1791. His
brother Israel became the first lieutenant, and was promoted from her.
While in this ship, he was one day required to decide on the case of a
seaman belonging to a merchant vessel in the harbour, who came on board
to complain that his captain had punished him for a theft. Finding that
the captain had acted illegally, though the man had really deserved a
far more severe punishment, he said to the complainant, "You have done
quite right in coming here: your captain had no business to punish you
as he has done, and that he may learn to be more cautious in future, we
order him to be fined--a shilling!" The man turned to leave the cabin,
much disappointed at the award; but how was his surprise increased, when
Captain Pellew said, "Stop, sir; we must now try you for the theft." The
fact, which had been already admitted, allowed of no defence; and before
the man left the ship, he was deservedly brought to the gangway.

The admiral's secretary, Mr. Graham, afterwards the well-known police
magistrate, related this circumstance to Lord Thurlow. The chancellor
relaxed his iron features, and throwing himself back in his chair in a
burst of laughter, exclaimed, "Well, if that is not law, it is at least
justice. Captain Pellew ought to have been a judge."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This seems to require explanation, for Mr. Pellew entered the navy
in 1770, only ten years before. It was the allowed practice at that
time, and for many years after, for young men intended for the navy to
serve by proxy. A ship's boy would be borne on the books in the name of
the future midshipman, who was allowed the credit of his substitute's
service, and whose time in the navy was thus running on while he was
still at school. Not only so, but, by permission of the Admiralty, the
time served by one boy, personally, or even thus by proxy, might, if he
left the service, be transferred to the account of another! It has been
stated that Mr. Pellew's eldest brother was borne on the books of the
_Seaford_, till he gave up the profession of the sea for that of
medicine; and while Mr. Pellew was serving in America, he wrote to his
brother a letter which still exists, requesting him to procure the
transfer to himself, of his nominal Service. It would therefore appear
that Lord Exmouth, when a midshipman, had the three years of his elder
brother's nominal service added to his own time, though his brother was
never at sea.

[2] The Coles were through life intimately connected with the Pellews,
to whom they were neighbours in childhood, when both families lived on
the shores of the Mount's Bay; and their fortunes were very similar.
Left when very young, to the care of a widowed mother, and in narrow
circumstances, they all rose high by their own deserts. Two entered the
church, and became, one Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, the
other Chaplain to Greenwich Hospital, and Chaplain-General of the Navy.
Two entered the Navy, of whom Frank, the eldest, was selected to take
charge of the late King William IV., when he was sent to sea as Prince
William Henry. Christopher went to sea at ten years old, and became one
of the first officers in the service, and not less distinguished for
business habits and talents, in every post of duty. His capture of the
strongly fortified island of Banda Neira, garrisoned with 1,200
soldiers, with a mere boat party of 180 men, was an exploit, perhaps,
unequalled. He was in charge of two frigates and a sloop of war, and
having obtained the Admiral's permission to attempt the capture, nor
without a strong caution, he proposed to come upon the place
unexpectedly at day-break, and, like Sir Charles Brisbane at Curaçoa,
lay the ships as close as possible, and storm the works under their
fire. This plan was baffled by the premature discovery of the ships by
the enemy. He then resolved upon a night attack with the boats, and left
the ships soon after midnight with 400 men: but the wind rose and
dispersed the party, and at day-break he found himself with only 180 at
hand. Undismayed, he pushed ashore with his little handful of heroes,
rushed up the hill to Fort Belgica, which crowned and commanded the
island, mounted the walls, swept the ramparts like a whirlwind, followed
with the panic stricken enemy through the gate of an inner
fortification, and carried the fortress, and with it the island, without
the loss of a man, and even without a wound. He was second in command of
the naval force at the capture of Java, and directed the landing of the
troops, which, by his promptitude, and wise arrangements, was effected
without loss. He twice received the thanks of the Supreme Government of
India for important, political services. From his sovereign he received
the rank of K.C.B.; from the Admiralty, a naval medal; from Oxford, the
honorary degree of D.C.L., and from the East India Company, a service of
plate. He represented Glamorganshire in Parliament for twelve years; was
captain of the _Royal Sovereign_ yacht, and colonel of marines. He died
suddenly, August 24th, 1836. It may encourage young officers whose
promotion is slow, to learn that the brilliant successes of Sir
Christopher Cole were preceded by thirteen years active service as
midshipman and mate, and seven years as lieutenant.




CHAPTER III.

THE NYMPHE AND CLEOPATRA.


Rich only in reputation, and with an increasing family, Captain Pellew
felt the pressure of narrow circumstances; and with the mistake so often
made by naval officers, he thought to improve them by farming. There was
a moderately large farm, Treverry, within a few miles of Falmouth, which
had descended in the family to his elder brother, and he proposed to
cultivate this upon the principle of sharing the profits. His brother,
though not very sanguine on the result, readily agreed to the
experiment; and when in no long time Captain Pellew complained that he
found it impossible to keep the accounts so as to make a fair division,
he was allowed to rent it on his own terms. It will not occasion
surprise that the undertaking was anything but profitable.

Indeed, farming is almost always a very losing employment to a
gentleman, and especially to a sailor. Nothing can be more incorrect
than the conclusion that education ought to excel, because ignorance
succeeds; for success depends upon attention to a multiplicity of petty
details, which inexperience will be likely to overlook, and talent may
find it irksome to attend to. If the small farmer, who cultivates his
little ground by the labour of his own family, and the more considerable
one, who devotes to his estate skill, capital, and undivided attention,
so often fail, what can he hope for, who depends upon labourers whose
mistakes he cannot correct, and whose indolence, and even dishonesty, he
is scarcely able to check? The failure of crops which depend for their
success upon the knowledge and activity of the principal; and the
necessary and constant outlay, which is great beyond the conception of a
novice, may ruin even him who farms his own land, when the care of it is
only a secondary object; and this it will generally be to a professional
man.

The expected pleasures of fanning will be likely to disappoint, even
more than its profits. When the fields are waving with abundance,
nothing appears more delightful than to direct the labours they require;
but the enjoyments of the harvest month, when all the weary toil of
preparation is forgotten, will be found a poor compensation for the
daily annoyances of the year. To be excelled in management by the
uneducated, and over-reached by the cunning: to study systems of
agriculture, to be thwarted in carrying them into effect, and when they
fail, to become an object of contemptuous pity to the ignorant but
successful followers of the old routine: to find that all around take
advantage of his ignorance: that servants, the best with other masters,
become careless and unfaithful with him: to become involved in petty
disputes with low neighbours, and to be unable to avoid them except by a
forbearance which encourages aggression: to find, that with all his
attention and trouble, the income lags far behind the outgoings--those
are among the pleasures of a gentleman farmer.

To Captain Pellew, the employment was peculiarly unsuitable. His mind,
happy only while it was active, could ill accommodate itself to pursuits
which almost forbade exertion; and a business within the comprehension
of a peasant was not for a character which could fill, and animate, with
its own energy an extended sphere of action. Even now, when agriculture
has become an eminently scientific profession, it requires to make it
interesting that it shall be thoroughly understood, and conducted upon a
proper scale; but at that time it was commonly a mere routine of dull
drudgery, and nowhere more so than in the west of Cornwall. To have an
object in view, yet be unable to advance it by any exertions of his own,
was to him a source of constant irritation. He was wearied with the
imperceptible growth of his crops, and complained that he made his eyes
ache by watching their daily progress. He was not likely to excel in
occupations so entirely uncongenial. The old people in the neighbourhood
of Treverry speak with wonder of the fearlessness he displayed on
different occasions, but shake their heads at his management as a
farmer. They have no difficulty in accounting for his fortune. While he
lived at Treverry, a swarm of bees found an entrance over the porch, of
the house, and made a comb there for many successive years; and to this
happy omen they attribute all his after success. The apartment is still
called the "bee-room."

The offer of a command in the Russian navy gave him an opportunity to
escape from his difficulties. It was recommended to him by an officer of
high character, with whom he had served, and who possessed so many
claims upon his confidence that he thought it right to strengthen his
own decision by the opinion of his elder brother, before he finally
refused it. His brother, who had always encouraged his every ambitious,
and every honourable feeling, and who, even at this time, confidently
anticipated for him a career of high distinction, of which, indeed, his
past life afforded ample promise, would not for a moment listen to his
entering a foreign service. He said, that every man owes his services,
blood, and life, so exclusively to his own country that he has no right
to give them to another; and he desired Captain Pellew to reflect how he
would answer for it to his God, if he lost his life in a cause which had
no claim upon him. These high considerations of patriotism and religion
are the true ground upon which the question should rest. Deeply is it to
be regretted that men of high character should have unthinkingly
sanctioned by their example what their own closer reflection might have
led them to condemn. Still more is it to be deplored that deserving
officers, hopeless, in the present state of the navy, (1834) of
promotion, or employment, should be driven by their necessities to
sacrifice their proudest and most cherished feelings, and to quit for a
foreign flag the service of which they might become the strength and
ornament. War is too dreadful a calamity to be lightly incurred. Only
patriotism, with all its elevating and endearing associations of
country, homes, and altars, can throw a veil over its horrors, and a
glory around its achievements: patriotism, which gives to victory all
its splendour; sheds lustre even on defeat; and hallows the tomb of the
hero, fallen amidst the regrets and admiration of his country. But he
who goes forth to fight the battles of another State, what honour can
victory itself afford to him? or how shall he be excused, if he attack
the allies of his own country, whom, as such, he is bound on his
allegiance to respect?

The decision of Captain Pellew on this occasion proved as fortunate as
it was honourable. At the beginning of 1793, there was no appearance of
hostilities; and when the French republicans put to death their king, on
the 21st of January, and declared war against England twelve days after,
the Government, which had made no preparation for such an event, was
taken by surprise almost as much as the country. The navy was on the
peace establishment, with only sixteen thousand seamen and marines; and
it became necessary in the course of the year to raise for it sixty
thousand men. Mr. Pellew, whose situation at Falmouth enabled him to
obtain the earliest information, hastened to Treverry as soon as he saw
that war was likely to break out, and advised his brother immediately to
offer his services to the Admiralty in person. Captain Pellew, too happy
in the prospect of exchanging the ploughshare for the sword, returned
with him to Falmouth; and the same night was on the road to London.

He was immediately appointed to the _Nymphe_, of thirty-six guns,
formerly a French frigate, which, by a striking coincidence, had been
taken by boarding in the former war, after having been disabled by the
loss of her wheel. He fitted her with extraordinary dispatch; but from
the number of ships commissioned at the same time, there was great
difficulty in manning her. Anticipating this, Captain Pellew wrote to
Falmouth as soon as he had received his appointment, and adverting to
the importance of getting his ship to sea quickly, he requested his
brother to assist him in procuring a crew--of sailors, if possible; but
if not, then of Cornish miners.

The choice may appear extraordinary, but Cornish miners are better
calculated to make seamen than any other class of landsmen; not so much
because they are always accustomed to difficult climbing, and familiar
with the use of ropes, and gunpowder, as that the Cornish system of
mining, with an order and discipline scarcely surpassed in a ship of
war, compels the lowest workman to act continually upon his own
judgment. Thus it creates that combination of ready obedience, with
intelligence, and promptitude at resource, which is the perfection of a
sailor's character. Familiarity with danger gives the miner a cool and
reflective intrepidity; and the old county sport of wrestling, so
peculiarly a game of strength and skill, now falling into disuse, but
then the daily amusement of every boy, was admirably calculated to
promote the activity and self-possession necessary in personal
conflicts.

Captain Pellew's quick discrimination is remarkably shown in thus
discovering the capabilities of a class of men, who had never before
been similarly tried, and with whom he could have had comparatively but
little acquaintance There were no mines in the immediate neighbourhood
of anyplace where he had lived; and as his professional habits were not
likely to give him an interest in the subject, he had probably never
held much intercourse with miners, except when he might have met them as
rioters. For at that period, the attention of the west countrymen was
devoted almost exclusively to their mines and fisheries, to the neglect
of agriculture; and the county being thus dependent upon importations,
famine was not uncommon. At such times, the poor tinners would come into
the towns, or wherever they had reason to believe that corn was stored,
with their bags, and their money, asking only barley-bread, and offering
the utmost they could give for it, but insisting that food should be
found for them at a price they could afford to pay. If the law must
condemn such risings, humanity would pity them for the cause, and
justice must admire the forbearance displayed in them. At one of these
seasons of distress, when there was a great quantity of corn in the
customhouse cellars at Falmouth, a strong body of miners came in to
insist that it should be sold. Mr. Pellew, the collector, met them in
the street, and explained to them the circumstances under which he was
entrusted with it, and which left him no power to sell. They were
famishing men, and the corn was in their power; but they had come to
buy, and famine itself, with the almost certainty of impunity, could not
tempt them to steal. They received his explanation, and left the town
peaceably.

About eighty miners entered for the _Nymphe_ and joined her at Spithead.
She sailed on her passage from Spithead to Falmouth very badly manned,
having not more than a dozen seamen on board, exclusive of the officers,
who were obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the sails, the captain
setting the example wherever anything was to be done, and often steering
the ship. A corporal of marines was captain of the forecastle. Arriving
at Falmouth, after a rough passage, she soon picked up a few good men.
She took a convoy from thence to the Nore, another from the Nore to
Hamburgh, and a third from Cuxhaven to the Nore again; never letting
slip an opportunity to press as many men as could be spared from the
merchant-ships. The captain would remain in a boat all night, and think
himself amply repaid if he obtained only one good man. From the Nore,
she returned to Spithead, and thence sailed on a cruize, in company with
the _Venus_, Captain Jonathan Faulknor, having now a full proportion of
good seamen, though she was still short of her complement, and none of
the crew had ever seen a shot fired. She parted company with the _Venus_
in chase, but rejoined her on the 29th of May. On the 27th, the _Venus_
had engaged the French frigate _Semillante_, one of a squadron then
cruizing in the Channel under the orders of Captain Mullon, of the
_Cleopatra_. The action had continued two hours, much to the
disadvantage of the enemy, when the _Cleopatra_ was seen coming up, and
the _Venus_ was obliged to fly. On the _Nymphe_ rejoining her, the two
frigates went in pursuit of the enemy as far as Cherbourg. Thence
Captain Pellew proceeded to the North Channel, where some French
cruisers were reported to have gone; but having swept the Channel
without seeing anything of them, and taken on board his brother Israel,
then living, a commander on half-pay, at Larne, he returned to Falmouth.
Here, on the 16th of June, the _Nymphe_ pressed the crew of a
South-seaman, which full manned the ship.

She sailed from Falmouth on the evening of the 18th. That afternoon,
Captain Pellew was informed that two French frigates had again been seen
in the Channel, and he discussed with his brother Israel, at their elder
brother's table, the course most likely to intercept them. After they
had talked over the advantages of sailing along the English or the
French coast, they at length determined to keep mid-channel.

An active and most anxious pursuit of the enemy for the last three weeks
had made the crew not less eager than their commander; and the subject
of the expected battle engrossed their sleeping and waking thoughts. A
dream of Captain Israel Pellew had perhaps some influence on the result.
His brother would not allow him to be called till they were just closing
the French frigate, and meeting him as he ran on deck half dressed, he
said to him, with much emotion,--"Israel, you have no business here! We
are too many eggs from one nest. I am sorry I brought you from your
wife." But Israel, whose whole attention was occupied with the enemy,
exclaimed, "That's the very frigate I've been dreaming of all night! I
dreamt that we shot away her wheel. We shall have her in a quarter of an
hour!" His brother, who had already inferred her high state of
discipline from her manoeuvres, replied, "We shall not take her so
easily. See how she is handled." He was a perfect artillerist, and,
prompted by the suggestions of his sleep, he took charge of a gun, made
the wheel his object, and ultimately shot it away. Not less
extraordinary was the dream of a master's mate, Mr. Pearse, who had
served in the _Winchelsea_. He dreamt that the _Nymphe_ fell in with a
French frigate the day after leaving port, that they killed her captain,
and took her; and so vivid was the impression, that he firmly believed
it to be a supernatural intimation, and spoke of it accordingly to his
messmates. They rallied him immoderately on his superstition, but his
confidence remained unshaken; and when his papers were examined after
his death, for he was killed in the action, it was found that he had
written the dream in his pocket-book.

At day break on the 19th, as they were proceeding up Channel, being
still some miles to the westward of the Start, a sail was observed in
the south-east, winch was soon made out to be a French frigate. Before
six o'clock they had approached very near, the enemy making no attempt
to escape; and, indeed, if both nations had wished at this early period
of the war to try the merit of their respective navies by a battle, no
ship could have been better calculated than the _Cleopatra_ to maintain
the honour of her flag. Her commander, Captain Mullon, was deservedly
considered one of the most able officers of the French marine. As
Suffren's captain, he had taken a prominent part in the actions with Sir
Edward Hughes in the East Indies; and the code of signals then used
along the French coast was his own invention. The _Cleopatra_ had been
more than a year in commission, and, with such a commander, it may be
supposed that her crew had been well trained to all their duties.
Indeed, it was known that the enemy had taken great pains in the
equipment of their cruizers; and the generally inferior description of
the English crews, inevitable from the circumstance that a navy was to
be commissioned at once, had led to great apprehensions for the result
of the first action. The seaman-like style in which the _Cleopatra_ was
handled did not escape the eye of Captain Pellew; who, conscious of his
own disadvantage, from the inexperience of his ship's company,
determined to avail himself of the power which the enemy's gallantry
afforded him, to bring the ships at once to close action, and let
courage alone decide it.

In the courage of his men he placed the firmest reliance; and when he
addressed a few words to them, before they closed with the enemy, he
knew how to suggest the most effectual encouragement in a situation so
new to them all. To the miners, he appealed by their honour and spirit
as Cornishmen; a motive which the feelings of his own bosom told him
would, above all things, animate theirs. Probably there is no place
where local pride prevails so strongly as in the west of Cornwall. The
lower classes, employed for the most part in pursuits which require the
constant exercise of observation and judgment, and familiarized to
danger in their mines and fisheries, are peculiarly thoughtful and
intrepid; while the distinctness of name and character which they derive
from the almost insular position of their county, and the general
ignorance of strangers in the interesting pursuits with which they are
so familiar, have taught the lower classes to regard it less as an
integral part of England, than a distinct and superior country. They
have a nobler motive for this feeling, in the successes of their
forefathers against the arms of the rebel parliament, when their
loyalty, unwavering amidst prosperous treason, and their victories over
superior discipline and numbers, obtained for them the grateful eulogy
of their unfortunate sovereign. His letter remains painted, as he
directed, in a conspicuous part of their older churches, a most
honourable monument of their virtues and his gratitude. No man could be
prouder of his county than Captain Pellew himself; and, as it was an
object much coveted by the most promising of its young men to serve in
his ship, and he continued steadily to patronize those who showed
themselves deserving, there is scarcely a town in it from which he has
not made officers. Thus his feelings were in perfect unison with theirs;
and never was an appeal made with greater confidence, or answered with
higher spirit, than when he reminded them of their home.

At six o'clock the ships were so near, that the captains mutually
hailed. Not a shot had yet been fired. The crew of the _Nymphe_ now
shouted "Long live King George!" and gave three hearty cheers. Captain
Mullon was then seen to address his crew briefly, holding a cap of
liberty, which he waved before them. They answered with acclamations,
shouting, "Vive la Republique!" as if in reply to the loyal watchword of
the British crew, and to mark the opposite principles for which the
battle was to be fought. The cap of liberty was then given to a sailor,
who ran up the main rigging, and screwed it on the mast-head.

At a quarter past six, the _Nymphe_ reached the starboard quarter of the
_Cleopatra_, when Captain Pellew, whose hat was still in his hand,
raised it to his head, the preconcerted signal for the _Nymphe_ to open
her fire. Both frigates immediately commenced a furious cannonade, which
they maintained without intermission for three quarters of an hour,
running before the wind under top-gallant-sails, and very near each
other. At a little before seven, the mizen-mast of the _Cleopatra_
fell, and presently after her wheel was shot away. Thus rendered
unmanageable, she came round with her bow to the _Nymphe's_ broadside,
her jib-boom pressing hard against the mainmast. Captain Pellew,
supposing that the enemy were going to board, ordered the boarders to be
called, to repel them; but the disabled state of the _Cleopatra_ was
soon evident, and he at once gave orders to board her. Immediately the
boarders rushed on the forecastle, a division of them, headed by Mr.,
afterwards Capt. George Bell, boarding through the main-deck ports, and
fought their way along the gangways to the quarter-deck. The
republicans, though much superior in numbers, could not resist the
impetuosity of the attack. At ten minutes past seven they had all fled
below, or submitted, and the pennant of the _Cleopatra_ was hauled down.

While the boarders were pouring in upon the enemy's forecastle, the
mainmast of the _Nymphe_, having been much wounded, and with the main
and spring-stays shot away, was most seriously endangered by the
pressure of the _Cleopatra's_ jib-boom. Fortunately, the jib-boom broke,
and the _Cleopatra_ fell alongside the _Nymphe_, head and stern. The
mainmast was again in danger, from the _Cleopatra's_ larboard
maintopmast-studding-sail boom-iron hooking in the larboard leech-rope
of the main-topsail, and dragging the sail. Captain Pellew ordered some
active seaman to go out upon the yard, and free the sail, promising ten
guineas, if he succeeded; and a main-top-man, named Burgess, immediately
sprang out, and cut the leech-rope. Lieutenant Pellowe had been already
directed to drop the best bower-anchor, as a means of getting the ships
apart; and by the time half the prisoners had been removed, the prize
separated, and fell astern.

The crew fought with a steadiness and gallantry above all praise. A lad,
who had served in the _Winchelsea_ as barber's boy, was made second
captain of one of the main-deck guns. The captain being killed, he
succeeded to command the gun; and through the rest of the action,
Captain Pellew heard him from the gangway give the word for all the
successive steps of loading and pointing, as if they had been only in
exercise. In the heat of action, one of the men came from the main deck
to ask the captain what he must do, for that all the men at his gun were
killed or wounded but himself, and he had been trying to fight it alone,
but could not. Another, who had joined but the day before, was found
seated on a gun-carriage, complaining that he had been very well as long
as he was fighting, but that his sea sickness returned as soon as the
battle was over, and that he did not know what was the matter with his
leg, it smarted so much. It was found that the poor fellow had received
a musket ball in it.

The loss was severe on both sides, and, in proportion to the respective
crews, nearly equal. The _Nymphe_, out of a crew of 240, had 23 killed,
including her boatswain, a master's mate (Pearse), and three midshipmen;
and 27 wounded, among whom were her second lieutenant, the lieutenant of
marines, and two midshipmen. The _Cleopatra_ lost 63 killed and wounded,
out of a crew of 320. She came out of action, therefore, with 67
effective men more than her conqueror. It is highly creditable to the
_Nymphe's_ crew, that they beat a ship like the _Cleopatra_ by gunnery,
notwithstanding their inexperience; and carried her by a hand-to-hand
conflict, notwithstanding their inferior numbers.

Captain Mullon was killed. A cannon-shot struck him on the back, and
carried away great part of his left hip. Even at that dreadful moment he
felt the importance of destroying the signals which he carried in his
pocket; but in his dying agony, he took out his commission in mistake,
and expired in the act of devouring it;--a trait of devoted heroism
never surpassed by any officer of any nation. These signals, so valuable
as long as the enemy did not know them to be in possession of the
British, thus fell into the hands of Captain Pellew, who delivered them
to the Admiralty.

Captain Pellew arrived at Portsmouth with his prize on the following
day. He sent the flag under which she fought, and the cap of liberty, to
his brother. This, the first trophy of the kind taken in the
revolutionary war, is about seven inches long, made of wood, and painted
red; with a round, tapering spear of brass, about three feet and a half
long, the lower half being blackened, with a screw at the end to fix it
on the mast. The following letter accompanied these trophies:--


     "DEAR SAM,--Here we are--thank God! safe--after a glorious action
     with _La Cleopâtre_, the crack ship of France; 40 guns, 28 on her
     main-deck, and 12 on her quarter-deck, some of 36 pounds, and 320
     men. We dished her up in fifty minutes, boarded, and struck her
     colours. We have suffered much, but I was long determined to make a
     short affair of it. We conversed before we fired a shot, and then,
     God knows, hot enough it was, as you will see by the enclosed.[3] I
     might have wrote for a month, had I entered on the description of
     every gallant action, but we were all in it, heart and soul. I owe
     much to Israel, who undertook with the after-gun to cut off her
     rudder and wheel. The tiller was shot away, and four men were
     killed at her wheel, which I verily believe was owing to him. I
     will write again in a day or two, and do all I can for everybody.
     We must go into harbour. _Cleopatra_ is fifteen feet longer, and
     three feet wider than _Nymphe_--much larger, Poor dear Pearse is
     numbered with the slain[4]--Plane and Norway slightly wounded--old
     Nicholls safe. God be praised for his mercy to myself, and Israel,
     and all of us!
                                              "Yours, ever,   E.P."

     "Be kind to Susan--go over, and comfort her; I cannot write to poor
     Pearse's mother for my life--do send her a note; I really cannot. I
     loved him, poor fellow, and he deserved it.

     "_June 20, 1793._"


FOOTNOTES:

[3] A list of the killed and wounded.

[4] After the action, Mr. Norway requested permission to keep the body
of Mr. Pearse for interment by his friends. Captain Pellew for answer
desired Mr. N. to read the contents of a paper which he drew from his
pocket. It was a direction that if he, Capt. P., should foil, his body
should at once be thrown overboard. Of course Mr. N. immediately
withdrew his request.




CHAPTER IV.

THE WESTERN SQUADRONS.


The capture of the first frigate in a war is always an object of much
interest; and the circumstances of the late action, the merit of which
was enhanced by the skill and gallantry of the enemy, gave additional
importance to Captain Pellew's success. "I never doubted," said Lord
Howe, "that you would take a French frigate; but the manner in which you
have done it, will establish an example for the war."

The brothers were introduced to the King on the 29th of June, by the
Earl of Chatham, First Lord of the Admiralty; when Captain Pellew
received the honour of knighthood, and his brother was made a
post-captain. Besides the usual promotions, the master, Mr. Thomson,
received a lieutenant's commission. As Mr. Thomson was a master of
considerable standing, the captain supposed that he would decline the
change to be a junior lieutenant; but the master preferred to get into
the line for promotion, and as the result showed, he decided wisely, for
he followed Sir Edward to the _Arethusa_ and _Indefatigable_; and as he
had the singular fortune to fight four brilliant actions in three years
and a-half, each of which obtained promotion for his first lieutenant,
Mr. Thomson thus rose rapidly to seniority, and was made a commander for
the action with the _Droits de l'Homme_.

Captain Mullon was buried at Portsmouth, with all the honours due to
his gallantry. One of Sir Edward's first acts was to write a letter of
condolence to the widow; and as he learnt that she was left in narrow
circumstances, he sent, with her husband's property, what assistance his
then very limited means enabled him to offer. Madame Mullon acknowledged
his attention and kindness in a most grateful letter. He received also
the warm acknowledgments of the _Cleopatra's_ surviving officers, the
senior of whom requested and received from him testimonials of the skill
and gallantry with which they had defended their ship, without which
their defeat, in the bloody councils which then prevailed, would
probably have brought them to the scaffold. What was scarcely to be
expected at such a time, and after a first defeat, it was admitted in
the _Moniteur_ that the "superb frigate" the _Cleopatra_ had been taken
by a frigate of equal force.

The action between the _Nymphe_ and _Cleopatra_ is interesting as the
first in which a ship had substituted carronades for her quarter-deck
guns of small calibre, making them a material part of her force. This
gun had been invented about three years before the close of the former
war, and the Admiralty had allowed it to be introduced generally into
the navy; but except in one ship, the _Rainbow_, 44, which was armed
entirely with heavy carronades, it was considered as supplementary to
the regular armament, being mounted only where long guns could not be
placed, and not affecting the ship's rating. The _Flora_, when she took
the _Nymphe_, in 1780, thus carried six 18-pounder carronades, in
addition to her proper number of long guns; and the _Artois_, when Sir
Edward commanded her, was armed in the same manner. The carronade was at
first very unpopular with the sailors, generally prejudiced as they are
against innovations, and who, not understanding how to use it,
attributed failures which arose from their own mismanagement to defects
in the invention. Sir Edward, who had no prejudices to contend with in
training his crew, obtained permission, when he fitted the _Nymphe_, to
exchange the six-pounders on her quarter-deck for 24-pounder carronades;
and the result of the battle confirmed his favourable opinion of them.
His next ship, the _Arethusa_, was armed precisely as the forty-four gun
frigates at a later period of the war, with eighteen-pounders on the
main-deck, and 32-pounder carronades on the quarter-deck and forecastle.
He joined her in January 1794.

Towards the end of 1793, the enemy fitted out a number of frigates,
which cruised at the entrance of the Channel, chiefly in small
squadrons, and committed the most serious depredations. Sir Edward
formed the idea of checking them by an independent cruising squadron;
but, expecting that a measure so unusual as to create a distinct command
within the limits of an Admiral's station would be very strongly
opposed, he would not, as an officer without influence, venture to
recommend it himself; but he explained his views to Sir J. Borlase
Warren, whose interest was great, and urged him to apply for such a
command. The Admiralty, whose attention had already been anxiously
directed to the successes of the enemy, approved of the proposal, and
gave Sir John a small squadron of frigates, of which the _Arethusa_ was
one, and which were to rendezvous at Falmouth. Such was the origin of
the Western squadrons, which, from the number of their successes, and
their character of dashing enterprise, became the most popular service
in the navy. As a school for officers and seamen, they were never
surpassed. Almost all their captains rose to high distinction, and a
list of well-known flag-officers may be traced in connection with them,
such as, perhaps, was never formed by any other service of the same
extent. It may suffice to mention such names as Sir Richard Strachan,
Sir Israel Pellew, Sir Edmund Nagle, Sir Sidney Smith, Sir Richard
Keats, Sir James Saumarez, Sir Philip Durham, Sir Charles V. Penrose,
Admirals Barlow, and Reynolds. Nothing equals the animating duties of a
cruizing frigate squadron. The vigilance in hovering on the enemy's
coast, or sweeping over the seas around it; the chase, by a single ship
detached to observe a suspicious stranger, or by the whole squadron to
overtake an enemy; the occasional action; the boat-attack;--service like
this gives constant life to a sailor. In a line-of-battle ship, with the
perfection of discipline, there is less demand for individual
enterprise, and fewer of the opportunities which fit crews for exploits
where all depends on rapidity and daring. On the other hand, a single
cruizer wants the stimulus supplied by constant emulation. But in a
squadron, all the ships vie with one another; and the smartest of them,
herself always improving, gives an example, and a character to the
whole.

In the middle of April 1794, Sir J.B. Warren sailed from Portsmouth in
the _Flora_, with the _Arethusa_, _Concorde_, _Melampus_, and _Nymphe_.
At daylight on the 23rd, he fell in with a French squadron off the Isle
of Bass; the _Engageante_, _Pomone_, and _Resolue_, frigates; and the
_Babet_, 22-gun corvette. The enemy, who were standing to the
north-west, made sail on perceiving the British squadron; the Commodore
in _l'Engageante_ being a-head, then _Resolue_, _Pomone_, and _Babet_.
Soon after, the wind shifted two points, from S.S.W. to south, giving
the British the weather-gage, and preventing the enemy from making their
escape to the land.

Outsailing her consorts, the _Flora_ came up with the enemy at half-past
six; and giving the _Babet_ a passing broadside, stood on and attacked
the _Pomone_. The _Pomone_ was at that time by much the largest frigate
ever built, being only one hundred tons smaller than a 64-gun ship, and
carrying long 24-pounders on her main deck. The _Flora_, being only a
36, with 18-pounders, was a very unequal match for this powerful ship,
which soon cut her sails and rigging to pieces, shot away her
fore-topmast, and left her astern. The _Melampus_, which,
notwithstanding her endeavours to close, was still far to windward on
the _Pomone's_ quarter; now fired on her, but unavoidably at too great a
distance to produce any material effect, though the heavy guns of the
enemy inflicted on her a greater loss than was sustained by any other
ship in the squadron. The _Arethusa_, which had previously cannonaded
the _Babet_, while she was pressing on to overtake the frigates, soon
came up with the _Pomone_, closed her to windward, and engaged her
single-handed, and within pistol-shot, till she struck. The _Flora_, in
the mean time, took possession of the corvette. A short time before the
close of the action, the _Pomone_ took fire, but her crew succeeded in
extinguishing the flames. At half-past nine, the _Arethusa_ shot away
her main and mizen masts, and compelled her to surrender.

As soon as the enemy struck, the Commodore, in the full warmth of his
feelings, wrote to Sir Edward a short and expressive note:--


     "MY DEAR PELLEW,--I shall ever hold myself indebted, and under
     infinite obligations to you, for the noble and gallant support you
     gave me to-day.

       "God bless you and all yours!
                        "Your most sincere,
                              "And affectionate friend,
                                          "J.B. WARREN."


He then made signal for a general chase. Both the _Flora_ and _Arethusa_
were too much crippled to follow immediately, though the latter in a
very short time repaired her damages sufficiently to enable her to make
sail; and the _Nymphe_, to the great mortification of all on board, was
so far astern from the first, that she was never able, with all their
exertions, to take any part in the action. But the _Concorde_, commanded
by Sir Richard Strachan, by superior sailing, came up with the
_Resolue_; when the French Commodore, in _l'Engageante_, coming to
assist his consort, Sir Richard brought his new opponent to close
action, and took her. The _Resolue_ escaped. It is remarkable that this
frigate had been attacked and compelled to submit by Sir R. Strachan,
in November, 1791, for resisting the search of some vessels which were
carrying stores to Tippoo Saib; and that she was afterwards taken by the
_Melampus_.

The squadron carried their prizes into Portsmouth. The Commodore was
honoured with a red ribbon, a most unusual distinction for a service of
this extent, and which he often said Sir Edward Pellew had mainly
contributed to place on his shoulder. Sir J. Warren's acknowledgments
were not the only flattering notice which Sir Edward received. The First
Lord of the Admiralty sent him a letter, dated on the third day after
the action.


     "DEAR SIR,--I have but a moment to acknowledge your letter, which I
     have received this morning with infinite pleasure; and to say, that
     I am extremely happy the same success and honour attend you in the
     _Arethusa_ as in the _Nymphe_. I shall be very glad to see you
     while you are refitting, as soon as your leg will permit it, and
     which, I am happy to hear, is only a sprain.

                             "I am, dear Sir,
                     "Your very faithful, humble servant,
                                                    "CHATHAM."


From Lord Howe, the Commander-in-chief on the station, then just about
to sail on the cruise which proved so honourable to himself and to his
country, he received the following letter:--


                   "The _Charlotte_, St. Helen's, 28th April, 1794.

     "SIR,--I had already desired Sir John Warren, before the receipt of
     your favour of this day's date, to present my congratulations on
     the very distinguished success which has attended your late
     undertaking. The superiority of the _Pomone_ adds much to the
     credit of it; although the event has not surpassed the confidence I
     should have entertained of it, if I could have been apprized of
     the opportunity before the action commenced.

     "I am much obliged by the communications which have accompanied
     your letter; and remain, with sentiments of particular esteem and
     regard,

                               "Sir,
                  "Your most obedient, humble servant,
                                                  "HOWE."


On the 23rd of August following, the squadron, now consisting of six
frigates, which had sailed from Falmouth on the 7th, chased the French
frigate _Volontaire_, and the corvettes _Alerte_ and _Espion_, into the
Bay of Audierne, a large bay immediately to the southward of Brest,
having the promontory at the south entrance of that harbour, the Bec du
Raz, for its northern, and Penmarck Point for its southern extremity.
Four of the squadron chased the frigate on shore near the Penmarcks,
where she was totally wrecked. The corvettes took shelter under the
batteries, where they were driven on shore and cannonaded by the _Flora_
and _Arethusa_, until their masts fell, and great part of their crews
escaped to the land. The boats of the _Arethusa_ were now ordered to set
them on fire; but when it was found, on boarding them, that many of
their wounded could not be removed with safety, Sir Edward contented
himself with taking out the rest of the prisoners, leaving the wounded
to the care of their friends on shore, and the stranded corvettes, which
were already bilged, to their fate. _L'Espion_ was afterwards got off by
the enemy.

The state of the Channel was at this time very different from what it
had been a few months before. The enemy's cruisers, which then were
almost in possession of it, could now scarcely leave their ports without
being taken. While the frigates swept the Channel, spreading themselves
to command a very extensive range of view, it was difficult for an enemy
to elude their vigilance. Chasing in different directions, to take
advantage of every change of wind, and to circumvent him in every
manoeuvre, it was impossible for him, once seen, to escape their
pursuit.

The services of the western squadron led the Admiralty to increase the
force, and divide the command; and the second squadron was given to Sir
Edward Pellew. On the 21st of October, at daybreak, the _Arethusa_, with
the _Artois_, Captain Nagle; _Diamond_, Sir Sidney Smith; and _Galatea_,
Captain Keats, fell in with the French frigate _Revolutionaire_, eight
or ten miles to the westward of Ushant, the wind being off the land. The
squadron gave chase, and the Commodore took the most weatherly course,
observing, that if the French captain were a seaman, the prize would
fall to himself, for his only chance of escape was to carry a press of
sail to windward. Instead of this, the enemy kept away; and the _Artois_
overtook, and brought her to action. After they had been closely engaged
for forty minutes, the _Diamond_ came up; but Sir Sidney Smith, with
that chivalrous feeling which marked his character, would not allow a
shot to be fired, saying, that Nagle had fought his ship well, and he
would not diminish the credit of his trophy. But when the enemy did not
immediately surrender, he said, that she must not be allowed to do
mischief, and ordered a broadside to be ready. Then, taking out his
watch, he continued, "We'll allow her five minutes: if she do not then
strike, we'll fire into her." He stood with the watch in his hand, and
just before the time expired, the French colours came down.

Captain Nagle was deservedly knighted for his gallantry. The prize,
which had been launched only six months, was 150 tons larger than any
British-built frigate, and superior to any captured one, except the
_Pomone_. She had a furnace for heating shot, which the enemy had used
in the action. She was commissioned by the Commodore's early friend.
Captain Frank Cole, and attached to the squadron. It would have added to
the interest Sir Edward felt when he took possession of this very
beautiful ship, could he have known that she was to close her career in
the navy under his second son, at that time a child. She was taken to
pieces in 1822, at Plymouth, after having been paid off by the Hon.
Captain Fleetwood Pellew, who had commanded her for the preceding four
years.

On the 22d of December, when Sir Edward's squadron was at anchor in
Falmouth, the Channel fleet being at Spithead, and a large outward-bound
convoy waiting for a fair wind at Torbay, an English gentleman, who had
just escaped from L'Orient, arrived at Falmouth in a neutral vessel, and
reported to Mr. Pellew, the collector of the Customs, the important fact
that the Brest fleet had just been ordered to sea. He had received the
information from the naval commandant at L'Orient, and a line-of-battle
ship in that port, _Le Caton_, was to join the force. Sir Edward was
immediately sent for by his brother, and the very important information
they received appearing certain, it was deemed necessary that Sir Edward
should communicate it in person to the Admiralty, and send advices from
the nearest post towns on the road to the admirals at Plymouth and
Portsmouth, as well as to the senior officer at Torbay. He went off
express the same afternoon, accompanied by the marine officer of the
_Arethusa_, afterwards Colonel Sir Richard Williams, K.C.B., late
commandant of the division of marines at Portsmouth; and arrived in
London on the 24th, at that time an almost unexampled despatch.[5]

The object of the French fleet in putting to sea at so unusual a season
was most probably to strike a severe blow at British commerce, by
intercepting the convoy from Torbay; and in this there is every reason
to believe they would have succeeded, but for the timely information of
their intended cruise, and the prompt measures which were taken in
consequence, for the wind became fair that night. It was one of those
events which so frequently occur in history, and as often in private
life, where important consequences depend upon some accidental, or, to
speak more properly, providential circumstance, which yet is unavailing,
unless improved by judgment and energy.

When Sir Edward made his communication to the Admiralty, Earl Spencer
observed, that the first step was to send advices without delay to the
admirals at Plymouth and Portsmouth. "That," replied Sir Edward, "has
been already attended to. I sent despatches from Exeter and Salisbury."
"Then, Sir," said a junior Lord, apparently with displeasure, "you have
left nothing for the Admiralty to do."--"Except," interposed Lord
Spencer, "to get the British fleet to sea with as little delay as
possible."

The Board directed Sir Edward to return to Falmouth, and proceed without
delay to reconnoitre Brest. During his absence, Sir J.B. Warren had
arrived with his frigates; and a squadron, consisting of the _Pomone_,
_Arethusa_, _Diamond_, _Galatea_, and _Concorde_, sailed from Falmouth
on the 2nd of January, and arrived off Ushant on the following morning.
The _Diamond_, commanded by Sir Sidney Smith, was sent a-head to
reconnoitre, and the squadron followed. A line-of-battle ship was seen
at anchor in Bertheaume Bay on the evening of the 4th. The _Diamond_
persevered in working up through the night, and at eight next morning
was seen returning to the squadron.

Sir Sidney reported that he had completely reconnoitred Brest at
daylight, and ascertained that the enemy's fleet was at sea. On his
return, he was under the necessity of passing very near the French
seventy-four, but having disguised his ship with French colours, and a
_bonnet rouge_ at her head, he went boldly under the enemy's stern, and
hailed her in French. She was the ship from L'Orient, _Le Caton_, which
had been obliged to return to port disabled, and her pumps were going as
she lay at anchor. Sir Sidney gave the name of his own ship as _La
Surveillante_; and having offered assistance, which was declined, he
took leave, and made sail for the squadron.

The enemy's fleet, thirty-five sail of the line, thirteen frigates, and
sixteen smaller vessels, had put to sea towards the end of December.
Some of them were driven back by a gale, but the fleet continued to
cruise until the end of January, when they were obliged to return to
port, with the loss of five ships.[6]

The squadron, having effected their principal object, arrived off
Falmouth, and landed despatches on the 6th. They afterwards continued
their cruise until the 22d, when they returned to port.

Sir Edward now left the _Arethusa_, and joined the _Indefatigable_, one
of three 64-gun ships which had lately been cut down to heavy frigates.
One part of the plan was to reduce their masts and rigging in proportion
to the diminished size of their hulls. All of them proved slow and
unmanageable ships; and Sir Edward, who had satisfied himself of the
cause of the failure, applied to the Navy Board for permission to alter
the _Indefatigable_. The Comptroller of the Navy was much offended at
the request, denying that the plan of the Navy Board had failed; and
when Sir Edward alluded to the notorious inefficiency of the ships, he
said that it arose entirely from faulty stowage of the ballast and hold.
They parted, mutually dissatisfied; and Sir Edward appealed immediately
to Lord Spencer, who, a short time before, had been placed at the head
of the Admiralty. This nobleman showed every desire to meet Sir Edward's
wishes, but expressed very great reluctance to involve himself in a
difference with the Navy Board; and requested him to arrange the affair,
if possible, himself. He accordingly attempted it; but finding no
disposition to meet his views, he at length declined the appointment,
saying that he would not risk his credit by commanding a worthless ship.
This brought the question to a point; and he was allowed to alter the
_Indefatigable_ according to his own plans. They were entirely
successful, for she became an excellent sailer and a most efficient
ship.

Sir Edward was remarkably accurate in judging of a ship's qualities. For
this he was probably indebted in the first place to the practical
knowledge of ship-building which he acquired, when he assisted to
construct the squadron on Lake Champlain, and to his very close intimacy
with Lieutenant (afterwards Rear-Admiral) Schanck, an enthusiast on the
subject, and who always regarded him with peculiar pride and attachment,
as a pupil of his own. The general knowledge which he thus obtained,
could not fail to be improved in the course of his own service. Many
illustrations may be given of the correctness of his opinion in this
respect. The _Bordelais_, a French cruiser taken by the
_Revolutionaire_, carrying 24 guns on a flush deck, 149 feet long, was
bought into the service, and commissioned by Captain Manby. She was one
of the fastest and most beautiful vessels ever seen, but so dangerous,
that she was called, in the navy, "the coffin." Sir Edward saw her
alongside the jetty at Plymouth, and pointing out to her commander the
cause of her dangerous character, recommended the means of guarding
against it. His advice was always acted upon, and the _Bordelais_
survived; while two other captured sloops of war, the _Railleur_ and
_Trompeuse_, built after her model, but on a reduced scale, foundered
with their crews on the same day. When the 10-gun brigs were introduced
into the service, he condemned them in the strongest terms; and being
asked what should be done with those already built, he replied, "Put
them all together, and burn them, for they will drown their crews." His
prediction has been too correctly fulfilled in the fate of these
vessels, of which six were lost in the packet-service in six years and a
half, with two hundred and fifty people. At a much later period, when
the beautiful _Caledonia_, the most perfect ship of her class, was about
to be made the victim of an experiment, he implored, but unfortunately
in vain, that she might be spared.

The _Indefatigable_ sailed from Falmouth on her first cruise on the 2nd
of March; and in the following week, the squadron captured fifteen out
of a convoy of twenty-five vessels, which had taken shelter among the
rocks of the Penmarcks. On the 7th of May, she had a most narrow escape
from shipwreck. The extraordinary circumstances connected with the
accident, are related in the words of the late Capt. George Bell, at
that time one of the officers.

"In the summer of 1795, the _Indefatigable_, when cruising off Cape
Finisterre, fell in with Admiral Waldegrave's squadron of line-of-battle
ships, and the _Concorde_ frigate. The admiral made signal for the
_Indefatigable_ and _Concorde_ to chase a small strange sail running
along shore. All sail was soon set, royals, top-gallant studding-sails,
&c., the wind being northerly, and the water as smooth as glass. At
noon, Mr. George Bell, acting master, was in the act of crossing from
the starboard gangway to the quarter-deck, to report twelve o'clock to
the captain, who was looking over the larboard quarter-deck hammocks at
the land, and strange sail, when he suddenly heard a rumbling noise, as
if a top-sail-tie had given way, and the yard was coming down. He looked
aloft, but saw nothing amiss, and then perceived that the ship was
aground. Mr. Bell instantly sprang into the main-chains, and dropped the
hand lead over. Only eighteen feet water was on the rock, the ship
drawing nineteen and a half feet abaft. There were twelve and fourteen
fathoms under the how and stern, consequently she hung completely in the
centre. Sir Edward, whose judgment in moments of danger was always so
correct and decisive as never to have occasion to give a second order,
immediately directed some of the main-deck guns to be moved, and the
ship's company to sally her off the rock. This fortunately succeeded.
The ship fell over heavily, and started into deep water, with five feet
water in her hold. Signals of distress were now made to the flag-ship,
and the admiral ordered the _Indefatigable_ to proceed to Lisbon to
repair, and the _Concorde_ to accompany us to the mouth of the Tagus. We
arrived on the third day after the accident. So serious was the leak,
that the men could not quit the pumps for a moment, and only a good
ship's company, such as we had, could have kept the ship afloat.

"On the evening of our arrival, the English consul sent on board a
number of Portuguese, to relieve the crew. Early next morning (having
the morning watch) I observed all these people leave the pumps. It was a
saint's day, and they would not work. I ran into the Captain's cabin to
state the circumstance; he in a moment came out in his dressing-gown,
with a drawn sword, chased the Portuguese round the gangways and
forecastle, made them to a man lay in at the pumps, and kept them at it
till the pumps sucked.

"In order to ascertain whether both sides of the ship had been injured.
Sir Edward resolved to examine the bottom himself; and to the
astonishment and admiration of everybody who witnessed this heroic act,
he plunged into the water, thoroughly examined both sides, and satisfied
himself that the starboard side only had been damaged. This saved much
time and expense; for had not Sir Edward hazarded the experiment, the
apparatus for heaving down must have been shifted over. The
_Indefatigable_ was docked on her arrival at Plymouth, early in August,
and it then appeared how accurately he had described the injury. She had
twenty-seven of her floors and first futtocks broke, and the Portuguese,
in repairing her, had put in seventeen feet of main-keel. The frame of a
regular-built frigate could not have stood the shock.

"A few days after the submarine inspection, the gun-room officers
invited Sir Edward to dinner, to commemorate the 10th of June, the
_Nymphe's_ action, on board the _Principe Real_, a Portuguese 80-gun
ship, used as a hulk by the _Indefatigable's_ crew, while their ship was
repairing. In the evening, some of the crew took Sir Edward on their
shoulders, carried him all over the hulk, and swore they would make him
an admiral."

In her next cruise, the _Indefatigable_ nearly lost her gallant captain.
On the 31st of August she had strong gales and squally weather, the wind
flying round from W. by S. to N.E., S.E., and S.W. In the afternoon the
weather moderated. The ship had been hove to under a close-reefed
main-topsail, with the top-gallant yards down, the sea running very
high, and the ship pitching much. It was Sunday, and the captain was at
dinner with the officers, when a bustle was heard on deck. He ran
instantly to the poop, and saw two men in the water, amidst the wreck of
a six-oared cutter. One of the tackles had unhooked, through a heavy sea
lifting the boat, and the men had jumped into her to secure it, when
another sea dashed her to pieces. The captain stepped into the gig,
which was carried over the stern above the cutter, and ordered it to be
lowered; and though his officers urgently dissuaded him from so
dangerous an attempt, he determined to hazard it. At this moment the
ship made a deep plunge aft, the boat was stove, and the captain left in
the water. He was much hurt, and bled profusely, for he was dashed
violently against the rudder, and his nostril was torn up by the hook of
one of the tackles. But his coolness and self-possession did not
forsake him, and calling for a rope, he slung himself with one of the
many that were thrown to him, and cheerfully ordered those on board to
haul away. As soon as possible, the jolly-boat, with an officer and
crew, was hoisted out from the booms, and fortunately saved the men.

This was the third time within the present year that Sir Edward had
risked his life to save others. While the ship was being fitted out, he
had been instrumental in saving two lives at Point Beach. Again, a short
time before she sailed, and while she was lying at Spithead, the
coxswain of one of the cutters fell overboard. The captain ran aft, and
was instantly in the water, where he caught the man just as he was
sinking. Life was apparently extinct, but happily was restored by the
usual means. Perhaps no man has oftener distinguished himself in this
manner; but the splendour of one act of heroism and humanity leaves all
the others in the shade.

On the 26th of January, 1796, when the _Indefatigable_ was lying in
Hamoaze, after having been docked, the _Dutton_, a large East Indiaman,
employed in the transport service, on her way to the West Indies with
part of the 2nd, or Queen's regiment, was driven into Plymouth by stress
of weather. She had been out seven weeks, and had many sick on board.
The gale increasing in the afternoon, it was determined to run for
greater safety to Catwater; but the buoy at the extremity of the reef
off Mount Batten having broke adrift, of which the pilots were not
aware, she touched on the shoal, and carried away her rudder. Thus
rendered unmanageable, she fell off, and grounded under the citadel,
where, beating round, she lay rolling heavily with her broadside to the
waves. At the second roll she threw all her masts over board together.

Sir Edward and Lady Pellew were on their way to dine with Dr. Hawker,
vicar of Charles,--who had become acquainted with Mr. Pellew when they
were serving together at Plymouth as surgeons to the marines, and
continued through life the intimate and valued friend of all the
brothers. Sir Edward noticed the crowds running to the Hoe, and having
learned the cause, he sprang out of the carriage, and ran off with the
rest. Arrived at the beach, he saw at once that the loss of nearly all
on board, between five and six hundred, was almost inevitable. The
captain had been landed on account of indisposition on the preceding
day, and his absence could not fail to increase the confusion of a large
and crowded transport under such appalling circumstances. The officers
had succeeded in getting a hawser to the shore, by which several of the
people landed; but this was a slow operation; and none but a bold and
active person could avail himself of this means of escape, for the
rolling of the vessel would now jerk him high in the air, and then
plunge him among the breakers. Every minute was of consequence, for
night was approaching, and the wreck was fast breaking up.

Sir Edward was anxious to send a message to the officers, and offered
rewards to pilots, and others on the beach, to board the wreck; but when
every one shrank from a service which they deemed too hazardous to be
attempted, he exclaimed, "Then I will go myself." Availing himself of
the hawser which communicated with the ship, he was hauled on board
through the surf. The danger was greatly increased by the wreck of the
masts, which had fallen towards the shore; and he received an injury on
the back, which confined him to his bed for a week, in consequence of
being dragged under the mainmast. But disregarding this at the time, he
reached the deck, declared himself, and assumed the command. He assured
the people that every one would be saved, if they attended quietly to
his directions; that he would himself be the last to quit the wreck, but
that he would run any one through who disobeyed him. His well-known
name, with the calmness and energy he displayed, gave confidence to the
despairing multitude. He was received with three hearty cheers, which
were echoed by the thousands on shore; and his promptitude at resource
soon enabled him to find and apply the means by which all might be
safely landed. His officers in the mean time, though not knowing that he
was on board, were exerting themselves to bring assistance from the
_Indefatigable_. Mr. Pellowe, first lieutenant, left the ship in the
barge, and Mr. Thompson, acting master (son of Mr. Thompson, who had
been master of the _Nymphe_), in the launch; but the boats could not be
brought alongside the wreck, and were obliged to run for the Barbican. A
small boat belonging to a merchant vessel was more fortunate. Mr.
Edsell, signal midshipman to the port admiral, and Mr. Coghlan, mate of
the vessel, succeeded, at the risk of their lives, in bringing her
alongside. The ends of two additional hawsers were got on shore, and Sir
Edward contrived cradles to be slung upon them, with travelling ropes to
pass forward and backward between the ship and the beach. Each hawser
was held on shore by a number of men, who watched the rolling of the
wreck, and kept the ropes tight and steady. Meantime, a cutter had with
great difficulty worked out of Plymouth pool, and two large boats
arrived from the dockyard, under the directions of Mr. Hemmings, the
master-attendant, by whose caution and judgment they were enabled to
approach the wreck, and receive the more helpless of the passengers, who
were carried to the cutter. Sir Edward, with his sword drawn, directed
the proceedings, and preserved order--a task the more difficult, as the
soldiers had got at the spirits before he came on board, and many were
drunk. The children, the women, and the sick, were the first landed. One
of them was only three weeks old; and nothing in the whole transaction
impressed Sir Edward more strongly than the struggle of the mother's
feelings before she would entrust her infant to his care, or afforded
him more pleasure than the success of his attempt to save it. Next the
soldiers were got on shore; then the ship's company; and finally. Sir
Edward himself, who was one of the last to leave her. Every one was
saved, and presently after the wreck went to pieces.

Nothing could equal the lustre of such an action, except the modesty of
him who was the hero of it. Indeed, upon all occasions, forward as he
was to eulogize the merits of his followers, Sir Edward was reserved
almost to a fault upon everything connected with his own services. The
only notice taken of the _Dutton_, in the journal of the
_Indefatigable_, is the short sentence:--"Sent two boats to the
assistance of a ship on shore in the Sound;" and in his letter to
Vice-Admiral Onslow, who had hoisted his flag at Plymouth a day or two
before, he throws himself almost out of sight, and ascribes the chief
merit to the officer who directed the boats:--


     "DEAR SIR,--I hope it happened to me this afternoon to be
     serviceable to the unhappy sufferers on board the _Dutton;_ and I
     have much satisfaction in saying, that every soul in her was taken
     out before I left her, except the first mate, boatswain, and third
     mate, who attended the hauling ropes to the shore, and they eased
     me on shore by the hawser. It is not possible to refrain speaking
     in raptures of the handsome conduct of Mr. Hemmings, the
     master-attendant, who, at the imminent risk of his life, saved
     hundreds. If I had not hurt my leg, and been otherwise much
     bruised, I would have waited on you; but hope this will be a
     passable excuse.

              I am, with respect,
                         Sir,
        Your most obedient, humble servant,
                                       ED. PELLEW."

     "Thursday evening."


The merit of services performed in the sight of thousands could not thus
be disclaimed. Praise was lavished upon him from every quarter. The
corporation of Plymouth voted him the freedom of the town. The merchants
of Liverpool presented him with a valuable service of plate. On the 5th
of March following, he was created a baronet, as Sir Edward Pellew, of
Treverry, and received for an honourable augmentation of his arms, a
civic wreath, a stranded ship for a crest, and the motto, "Deo adjuvante
Fortuna sequatur." This motto, so modest, and not less expressive of his
own habitual feelings, was chosen by himself, in preference to one
proposed, which was more personally complimentary.

Appreciating Mr. Coghlan's services, and delighted with the judgment and
gallantry he had displayed, Sir Edward offered to place him on his own
quarter-deck. It is unnecessary to add that the career of this
distinguished officer has been worthy his introduction to the navy.

On the 9th of March the _Indefatigable_ sailed from Falmouth, with the
_Revolutionaire_, _Argo_, _Amazon_, and _Concorde_. On the 21st, the
_Indefatigable_ gave chase to three corvettes, one of which she drove on
shore, and destroyed. On the 13th of April, she fell in with the French
frigate _l'Unité_, on her way from l'Orient to Rochefort, having on
board, as passengers, the governor's lady, Madame la Large, and her
family. The _Revolutionaire_, which was ordered to chase in shore to cut
off the enemy from the land, came up with her a little before midnight.
Captain Cole hailed the French captain, and urged him repeatedly to
submit to a superior force; but the enemy refusing to strike, he poured
in two destructive broadsides. He was preparing to board, the frigates
at the time running ten knots, when the French ship surrendered. She had
suffered very severely from the fire of the _Revolutionaire_, without
having been able to make any effectual return. Sir Edward sent the
passengers to Brest in a neutral vessel, and finding that one of the
junior officers of the prize was a son of Mme. la Large, he took the
young man's parole, and allowed him to accompany his mother.

With his official communication to the Admiralty, which accompanied
Captain Cole's account of the action, he wrote a private letter to the
First Lord, and another to the Earl of Chatham. It was his practice
through life thus to strengthen an interest for his officers in every
possible quarter, and it was one, though not the only, cause of his
remarkable success in obtaining promotion for so many of them. His
letters on this occasion, though they display the warmth of private
friendship, are not stronger than he was accustomed to write for others,
whose only claim upon him was that which every deserving officer has to
the patronage of his commander. The following is the letter to Lord
Spencer:--


     "MY LORD,--I have much pleasure in informing your Lordship of the
     capture of the French frigate, _l'Unité_, of thirty-eight guns, and
     two hundred and fifty-five men; and I have more in conveying to
     your Lordship my sense of Captain Cole's merit upon the occasion.
     Nothing could be more decided than his conduct; and his attack was
     made with so much vigour and judgment, that a ship of very superior
     force to _l'Unité_ must have rewarded his gallantry. To his extreme
     vigilance and zeal, the squadron are indebted for this prize. It is
     not improper for me to say, that on all occasions I have found much
     reason to respect Captain Cole as a skilful and brave officer, and
     I rejoice in the opportunity of bearing testimony to his merit."


To the Earl of Chatham, with whom he was intimate, he wrote in a more
familiar strain:--


     "MY DEAR LORD,--Much as I dislike breaking in upon your time, I
     cannot resist the pleasure of repeating to you the good fortune of
     my friend, Frank Cole, who was the fortunate man among us in taking
     _l'Unité_, alias _la Variante_. There are few things, my Lord, that
     could raise my friend either in your opinion or mine; but one
     cannot but rejoice on finding our expectations realized.

     "I am satisfied that nothing could be better conducted than Frank's
     ship upon this occasion, or courage more coolly displayed; a proof
     of which was strongly exhibited in his conversation with a vaunting
     Frenchman, boasting of his own strength, and threatening the
     vengeance of his partner. It will not be advancing too much when I
     say, that a ship of far superior force must have shared the same
     fate. The French commander complains bitterly of Cole's taking such
     advantages as his superior skill afforded him. The _Revolutionaire_
     is much improved since her mainmast was moved, and you will believe
     her, my Lord, always in good order. I have with infinite pleasure
     given my testimony of Frank to Lord Spencer, and I doubt not but
     your Lordship will give him a lift in the same quarter."


Captain Cole, though his career had been less brilliant than that of his
friend since they parted, had gained most flattering distinction. His
high character as an officer, and his reputation for peculiar
correctness of conduct, added perhaps to his more than common advantages
in person and manners, had obtained for him the honour of being
selected, conjointly with the late Sir Richard Keats, to have the
particular charge of his late Majesty, when he first entered the navy,
being made lieutenants of the watch in which the Prince was placed. He
was introduced by his royal pupil to the Prince of Wales, who said of
him, "They may talk of a cockpit education, and cockpit manners; but a
court could not have produced more finished manners than those of your
friend Captain Cole." The friendship between Sir Edward and himself had
continued from their boyhood, and they had cherished for each other the
affection and confidence of brothers. He died at Plymouth in 1799. A
little before his death, Sir Edward, who had just returned from a
cruise, came to see him for the last time. "Now," said the expiring
officer, "I shall die more happy, since I have been permitted to see
once again the dearest of my friends:" and when Sir Edward at length
tore himself from the room, unable to control his feelings any longer, a
burst of grief, on returning to the mother and sisters of Captain Cole,
prevented him for a considerable time from regaining sufficient
composure to quit the affecting scene.

On the morning of the 20th of April, the frigates were lying-to off the
Lizard, when a large ship was seen coming in from seaward, which tacked
as soon as she perceived them, and stood off without answering the
private signal. The _Revolutionaire_ and _Argo_ were ordered by signal
to proceed to port with the prize, and the others to make all sail in
chase, the wind being off the land. Towards evening the _Concorde_ and
_Amazon_ had been run out of sight, but the _Indefatigable_ gained upon
the chase, which made the most strenuous efforts to escape, and was
manoeuvred with no common ability. She was the 40-gun frigate
_Virginie_, one of the finest and fastest vessels in the French marine,
and commanded by Captain Jaques Bergeret, a young-officer of the highest
character and promise. The _Virginie_ was one of the fleet of Villaret
Joyeuse, when, ten months before, Cornwallis, with five sail of the line
and two frigates, effected his justly celebrated retreat from thirty
French men-of-war, of which twelve were of the line. On this occasion,
Bergeret attacked the _Mars_, with a spirit and judgment which gave full
earnest of his future conduct.

Finding that the British frigate outsailed her on a wind, the _Virginie_
bore away; but the _Indefatigable_ continued to gain on her, and at a
little before midnight came up within gun-shot, and took in royals and
studding-sails, having run one hundred and sixty-eight miles in fifteen
hours. The _Virginie_ fired her stern-chasers, occasionally yawing to
bring some of her broadside guns to bear, but without material effect;
and the two ships, still running under a press of canvass, came to
action. The _Indefatigable_ had only one broadside-gun more than her
opponent; but her size and very heavy metal gave her an irresistible
superiority. Seven of the _Virginie's_ people were killed at one of the
quarter-deck guns, which struck such a panic in those around them, that
it was with difficulty they could be induced to return to their
quarters. Yet Bergeret fought his ship with admirable skill and
gallantry, and maintained a very protracted action, constantly
endeavouring to cripple the _Indefatigable's_ rigging. Sir Edward had a
very narrow escape. The main-top-mast was shot away, and falling
forward, it disabled the main yard, and came down on the
splinter-netting directly over his head. Happily, the netting was strong
enough to bear the wreck.

It was an hour and three-quarters from the commencement of the action,
when, the _Virginie's_ mizen-mast and main-top-mast being shot away, the
_Indefatigable_ unavoidably went a-head. In addition to her former
damage, she had lost her foreyard and gaff, and her rigging was so much
cut that she was unable immediately to shorten sail. The _Virginie_ was
completely riddled. Some of the _Indefatigable's_ shot had even gone
through the sail-room and out at the opposite side of the ship. She had
four feet water in her hold, and more than forty of her crew were killed
and wounded. Yet she attempted to rake her opponent as she was shooting
a-head, and had nearly succeeded in doing so.

While the _Indefatigable_ was reeving fresh braces, the other frigates
came up, having been enabled to make a shorter distance by the altered
course of the combatants during the chase. On their approach, the
_Virginie_ fired a lee-gun, and hauled down her light; and being hailed
by the _Concorde_, replied, "We must surrender, there are so many of
you: we strike to the frigate a-head." A more brave and skilful
resistance is scarcely afforded by the annals of the war; and the
officer who thus defends his ship against a very superior force may
challenge more honour than would be claimed by the victor.

A boat was sent from the _Indefatigable_ for the gallant prisoner, who
was deeply affected at his misfortune, and wept bitterly. He inquired to
whom he had struck; and being told Sir Edward Pellew, "Oh!" he
exclaimed, "that is the most fortunate man that ever lived! He takes
everything, and now he has taken the finest frigate in France."

Bergeret was for some time the honoured guest of Sir Edward and his
family, and the British Government considered him an officer of
sufficient character to be offered in exchange for Sir Sidney Smith, who
had been made prisoner at Havre just before. They sent him to France on
his parole, to effect this object; but his application not being
successful, he returned to England. Two years after, Sir Sidney Smith
escaped, and the British Government, with a feeling most honourable to
themselves, set Bergeret unconditionally at liberty. Thus do the brave
and good, in challenging the respect of their enemies, contribute to
soften the rigours of war, and to create a better feeling between
hostile nations.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] A trifling incident occurred in this journey, which may, perhaps,
deserve to be mentioned. In going down a hill, two or three miles beyond
Axminster, both leaders fell, and the night being very cold, for the
wind had set in strong from the eastward, a ring, on which he set
particular value, dropped from Sir Edward's finger, as he was getting
into the carriage again. He was vexed at the loss; but the road being
very dirty, and the night dark, it was useless then to seek it. He
therefore tore a bush from the hedge, and left it where the carriage had
stopped: and ordering the post-boys to draw up at the next cottage, he
knocked up the inmates, and promised them a reward if they found it. To
his great pleasure, the expedient proved successful, and the ring was
delivered to him on his return.

[6] The _Revolutionaire_, 110, wrecked Dec. 24, on the Mingan rock, near
Brest; the _Neuf Thermidor_, 80. _Scipion_, 80, and _Superbe_, 74,
foundered in a heavy gale on the 28th of January; and the _Neptune_, 74,
wrecked in Audierne Bay.




CHAPTER V.

EXPEDITION AGAINST IRELAND.


France, having at length obtained internal quiet, and a settled
Government under the Directory, and secured the alliance of Spain and
Holland, prepared for a decisive blow against Great Britain. The
condition of the British empire was at that time peculiarly critical. Of
her allies, some had joined the enemy, and the others had proved unequal
to resist him. In the East, the most powerful of the native princes were
preparing to subvert her authority. At home, Ireland was organized for
rebellion; and England herself contained a strong revolutionary party,
checked, indeed, by the energy of the Government, and still more by the
excellent disposition of the people, but prepared to rise in formidable
activity, whenever the successes of the enemy should enable them to
declare themselves.

Well acquainted with all her difficulties, the French Government
hastened to take advantage of them. Through the summer and autumn of
1796, a powerful fleet was equipped at Brest, to land an army on the
shores of Ireland; after accomplishing which, a squadron of eight sail
of the line was to be detached to India, where its support would
probably encourage the hostile states to an immediate and general war.
Its prospects were the more promising, as the armies of two of the
native princes were officered by Frenchmen. As for Ireland, that was
regarded as a country of which they had only to take possession; and the
well-known feeling of a considerable part of the inhabitants warranted
the most sanguine hopes of the invader.

The history of Ireland affords a melancholy, but most instructive
lesson, pre-eminent as that unhappy country has been, at once for
natural and political advantages, and for misery, turbulence, and crime.
A Government, to command the obedience of the people by its firmness,
and their confidence by a marked consideration for their feelings and
welfare; a gentry, united with them as their leaders, protectors, and
friends; and a Church, winning them to a purer faith by the unobtrusive
display of benefits and excellences: all these blessings might have been
its own. But by fatal mismanagement, the gentry, those of them who
remained, were viewed as the garrison of a conquered country by the
multitude, who were taught to feel themselves a degraded caste. The
Church became identified in their minds with all that they most
complained of; and the faith for which they suffered was doubly endeared
to them. Thus the instruments for their deliverance confirmed their
thraldom, and what should have won affection aggravated their enmity.

If there were a mistake beyond all this, it was that of expecting peace
from concessions extorted by violence, and calculated only to give
increased power to the enemies of existing institutions. Lord Exmouth
held a very decided opinion upon this point, and foresaw that strong
coercive measures would become necessary in consequence. He well knew
how feeble would be the restraint imposed by any conditions contemplated
by the advocates of change; and in allusion to the remark of the Duke of
Northumberland, who had expressed a belief that he would think
differently, when he saw the securities which would accompany the
concessions--"Securities!" he said, "it is all nonsense! I never yet
could see them, and I never shall." He justly anticipated, that as long
as anything remained to be extorted, new demands would be founded upon
every new concession. "How would you like," he said to one of his
officers, "to see Roman Catholic chaplains on board our ships of war?"
While the question was in progress, he wrote with prophetic truth--"The
times are awful, when the choice of two evils only is left, a threatened
rebellion, or the surrender of our constitution, by the admission of
Catholics into Parliament and all offices. I think even this will not
satisfy Ireland. Ascendancy is their object. You may postpone, and by
loss of character parry the evil for a short space; but not long, depend
upon it. You and I may not see it, but our children will, and be obliged
to meet the struggle man to man, which we may now shirk. By God alone
can we be saved from such consequences; may He shed his power and grace
upon us as a nation!"

The political being everywhere dependent on the religious creed, a
country where popish superstitions prevail will always contain two
parties hostile upon principle to a free and constitutional government.
The multitude, who have surrendered the right of private judgment upon
the most engrossing subject, lose the disposition to exercise it upon
matters of inferior importance; and become dangerous instruments in the
hands of designing characters. A party will be found among them, whose
penetration can detect the mummeries of imposture, but not perceive the
claims of religion; and who, as they throw off allegiance to God, revolt
at any exercise of human authority. Political privileges, the strength
of a nation, where the intelligence and morals of the people support the
law, will in such a country give power to rebellion, and impunity to
crime. A government paternal in vigour as in kindness; the control of a
firm authority, supreme over all influence, to maintain order, to leave
no excuse for party, to protect the peaceable, promptly to suppress all
resistance to the law, and to give to the demagogue only the alternative
between obedience and rebellion, will be required not more for the
safety of the state, than for the welfare of the misguided people.

When the progress of the French revolution engaged the attention of
Europe, there was no country where it was regarded with greater interest
than in Ireland. The Papists hoped from it the opportunity to overthrow
Protestant supremacy: the Liberals hailed the triumph of their own
principles. Emissaries were sent to France, who represented that nothing
was wanting to secure the independence of Ireland but a regular army for
a rallying point; and France, hoping to give a fatal blow to her most
formidable enemy, and to gain a valuable province for herself, readily
promised the aid required, and as soon as her own distracted condition
would allow, hastened to fulfil her engagement.

The auxiliary force which the rebel delegates deemed sufficient, was
fifteen thousand men; but an army of at least eighteen thousand was
provided, commanded by that determined republican and distinguished
officer, General Hoche, who had very recently succeeded in suppressing
the revolt in La Vendee. Vice Admiral Villaret Joyeuse, defeated by Lord
Howe on the 1st of June, was selected to command the fleet; but, a
misunderstanding having arisen between him and the General, he was
superseded by Vice-Admiral Morard de Galles.

The Minister of Marine, M. Truguet, whose able arrangements seemed to
have anticipated and provided for every difficulty, had intended that
the descent should be made in October, or at latest by the beginning of
November; but the General having preferred to embark the whole army at
once, it was delayed for the arrival of Rear-Admirals Pachery and
Villeneuve; of whom the first, with seven sail of the line and three
frigates, was waiting for an opportunity to come up from Rochefort, and
the other was expected with five sail of the line from Toulon. The
secret of the enemy's intentions was so well kept, that England had to
conjecture the destination of the armament, and it was doubted to the
last whether its object was Ireland, Portugal, or Gibraltar. In this
uncertainty, a principal division of the Channel fleet, under Lord
Bridport, remained at Spithead: Sir Roger Curtis, with a smaller force,
cruised to the westward; and Vice-Admiral Sir John Colpoys was stationed
off Brest, at first with ten, but afterwards with thirteen sail of the
line. Sir Edward Pellew, with a small force of frigates, latterly
watched the harbour.

About the middle of November, Sir R. Curtis returned to port, and soon
after, M. Richery sailed from Rochefort, and entered Brest on the 11th
of December. Sir E. Pellew, who had necessarily retired on his approach,
immediately sent off two frigates with despatches, the _Amazon_ to
England, and the _Phoebe_ to Sir J. Colpoys. On the 15th, he stood in
with the _Indefatigable_, and though chased by a seventy-four and five
frigates, stationed in Bertheaume Bay, he persisted in watching the port
as usual. In the afternoon, he saw the French fleet leave the road of
Brest, and immediately sent back the _Phoebe_ to report the fact to the
Admiral. The enemy anchored between Camaret and Bertheaume Bays, in
front of the goulet, or entrance into Brest road.

Knowing how much depended on his vigilance, Sir Edward had watched Brest
with the most anxious attention. The wind blew generally from the
eastward, at times so strong, that the line-of-battle-ships would be
under a close-reefed maintop-sail and reefed foresail; and the weather
was intensely cold: yet he went every morning to the mast-head, where he
would remain making his observations for a considerable part of the day,
one of the older midshipmen being usually with him. "Well I remember,"
writes one of his officers, "that on being one day relieved to go down
to my dinner, I was obliged to have some of the main-top-men to help me
down the rigging, I was so benumbed with the intense cold: yet the
captain was there six or seven hours at a time, without complaining, or
taking any refreshment."

On the 16th, the wind being from the eastward, the French fleet,
forty-four ships, of which seventeen were of the line and thirteen
frigates, got finally under way, not waiting the arrival of Villeneuve.
The Admiral purposed leaving Brest by the southern entrance, the Passage
du Raz, between the Bec du Raz and the Saintes. By taking this course,
and by so timing his departure as to clear the land just at nightfall,
he hoped to elude the vigilance of the British fleet off Ushant, whose
usual cruising ground was not more than six or seven leagues to leeward.
But through the delays inseparable from getting a large and encumbered
fleet to sea, it was four o'clock before all the ships were under sail;
and as night was fast closing in, and the wind becoming variable, the
Admiral determined not to attempt the narrow and dangerous passage he
had fixed on, but to steer for the open entrance in front of the
harbour, the Passage d'Iroise. Accordingly, he altered his own course,
and made signal for the fleet to follow; but neither was generally
observed, and the greater part of the ships, as previously directed,
entered the Passage du Raz. The Admiral, therefore, sent a corvette into
the midst of them, to call their attention to his own ship, which
continued to fire guns, and display lights to mark the change in her
course. By this time, it was quite dark, and many circumstances
increased the enemy's confusion. The _Seduisant_, seventy-four, ran on
the Grand Stevenet, a rock at the entrance of the Passage du Raz, where
she was totally lost that night, with nearly seven hundred of her
people. Her guns, and other signals, prevented those of the corvette
from being attended to; and the _Indefatigable_, which kept close to the
French Admiral, made his signals unintelligible to the fleet.

Sir E. Pellew had stood in that morning with the _Indefatigable_ and
_Revolutionaire_, and at noon came in sight of the enemy. At a quarter
before five, when they had all got underway, he sent off Captain Cole to
the Admiral, and remained with his own ship to observe and embarrass
their movements. With a boldness which must have astonished them,
accustomed though they had been to the daring manner in which he had
watched their port; under easy sail, but with studding-sails ready for a
start, if necessary, he kept as close as possible to the French Admiral,
often within half-gun-shot; and as that officer made signals to his
fleet, he falsified them by additional guns, lights, and rockets. At
half-past eight, when the French ships were observed coming round the
Saintes, he made sail to the north-west, with a light at each mast-head,
constantly making signals for Sir J. Colpoys, by firing a gun every
quarter of an hour, throwing up rockets, and burning blue lights. At
midnight, having received no answer, he tacked, and stood to the
southward until six o'clock. Still seeing nothing of the Admiral, though
he had sailed over all his cruising ground, he sent off the _Duke of
York_, hired armed lugger, to England, with despatches, intending to
remain with the _Indefatigable_, and take part in the expected battle.
But reflecting on the importance of conveying the information quickly to
England, with the uncertainty of its being carried safely by so small a
vessel; and assured that the _Revolutionaire_, which he had again spoke
that morning, would not fail to meet Sir J. Colpoys, he gave up the hope
of distinction to a sense of duty, and made sail for Falmouth. He
arrived late in the evening of the 20th.

If Lord Bridport had been waiting at Falmouth, with discretional powers,
Sir Edward having been instructed to communicate directly with him, he
might have sailed early on the 21st, and found the enemy in Bantry Bay,
where, perhaps, not a ship would have escaped him. It is, however, to be
remembered, that as the destination of the French armament was unknown
to the last, the Admiralty might very properly determine that he should
receive his final instructions from themselves, and therefore would keep
the fleet at Spithead for the convenience of ready communication.

On the 25th, Lord Bridport attempted to sail. The enemy had arrived four
days before, and if the weather had allowed the troops to land, the most
complete naval victory would have been too late to save the country. The
fleet was prevented from putting to sea on that day by a succession of
accidents, by which five of the heaviest ships were disabled before they
could leave the harbour. The _Prime_ missed stays, and fell on board the
_Sans Pareil_. The _Formidable_ ran foul of the _Ville de Paris_; and
the _Atlas_ grounded. Four of these were three-deckers, and the other
was one of the finest 80-gun ships in the service. When at length part
of the fleet reached St. Helen's, a shift of wind kept the rest at
Spithead; and the Admiral could not put to sea till January 3rd. The
baffled enemy was then returning, and seven of his ships had actually
arrived in Brest two days before the British sailed from Portsmouth to
pursue them.

How Sir J. Colpoys missed the enemy may appear extraordinary. The
explanation, which every circumstance tends to confirm, is, that he was
restrained from attacking them by his instructions, his force being
intended only for a squadron of observation: for though the enemy's
fleet, as it actually sailed, would have given him an easy victory,
there was always reason to believe that it was much too strong for his
force. Exclusive of the five sail which were hourly expected from
Toulon, there were twenty-four line-of-battle ships in Brest, and there
was no reason to conclude but that the greater part, if not the whole of
them, were to sail with the expedition. As the British would be so much
outnumbered, Sir E. Pellew offered, in the event of a battle, to take a
place in the line with the _Indefatigable_. The Admiral thanked him, but
declined the offer, believing that the enemy's superiority was too great
to hope for victory. When the enemy put to sea, the British fleet was
eight or nine leagues to the westward of their usual cruising ground,
and thus was missed, not only by the _Indefatigable_, but also by the
_Revolutionaire_, which did not join with the information till the 19th.
Next day, the Toulon ships were seen, and chased into port; and the
Admiral, having no means of learning the course of the Brest fleet, and
some of his own ships being obliged to part company, in consequence of
injuries they had sustained in a gale, bore away with the remainder for
Spithead.

Meantime, almost everything favoured the enemy. The two divisions of his
fleet, which were separated on the evening of the 16th, by putting to
sea through different passages, rejoined on the 19th, and reached their
destination early on the 21st, without having met a single British
cruiser. When they appeared off the Bay, a number of pilot-boats came
out, supposing them to be a British fleet; and thus the French Admiral
obtained pilots for his ships, and gained all the information he wanted
of the British men-of-war on the coast. A line-of-battle ship and three
frigates were still missing. Their absence would not have materially
weakened the enemy, whose force still exceeded what the rebel delegates
had required; but the two commanders had embarked in one of the missing
frigates, the _Fraternité_; and Rear-Admiral Bouvet and General Grouchy,
the seconds in command, could scarcely act with decision while their
chiefs were hourly expected.

The _Fraternité_, with the other three ships in company, was very near
the fleet on the 20th, but it was concealed from her by a fog; and a
gale which dispersed the fog, separated her from her consorts.
Proceeding alone to the Bay, she had nearly reached it on the 21st, when
she fell in with a British frigate, which she mistook for one of her own
fleet till she was almost within gun-shot. Night saved her from capture,
but the chase had carried her far to the westward, and it was eight days
before she obtained a fair wind to return.

The ships continued beating up to Bearhaven against a fresh easterly
breeze until the evening of the 22nd, when the Rear-Admiral anchored
off the eastern extremity of Great Bear Island, with eight sail of the
line, two frigates, and some smaller vessels. Seven sail of the line,
and eight frigates, kept under sail; and the wind rising in the night
blew them all off to sea.

It blew hard, with a heavy sea, through the next day and night. On the
24th, the weather having moderated, it was determined in a council of
war to land the remaining troops immediately, and General Grouchy made a
formal requisition for that purpose. A suitable landing-place was found,
and the necessary preparations were completed; but it was now late in
the afternoon, and the landing was necessarily deferred until morning.
That night, the gale rose from the eastward, and increased through the
next day to a tempest. At length the ships began to drive from their
anchors. The _Indomptable_, 80, ran foul of the _Resolve_ frigate, and
totally dismasted her. The other frigate, the _Immortalité_, in which
Rear-admiral Bouvet had embarked, though his proper flag-ship was the
_Droits de l'Homme,_ parted one of her cables in the evening, and was
obliged to cut the other, and run out to sea. The weather would not
allow her to return until the 29th, and then the Rear-Admiral, hopeless
of re-assembling the fleet, decided to proceed to Brest.

Others were less fortunate. The _Tortue_ frigate, two corvettes, and
four transports, were taken. The _Surveillante_ frigate was wrecked, and
a transport foundered in the bay; and a third frigate, _l'Impatiente_,
was driven on shore near Crookhaven. The sailors determined to secure
for themselves alone the means of escape, leaving the troops to their
fate. Where such a feeling could exist, the discipline required for
their own safety was not likely to be found: and all perished but seven,
who were saved chiefly by the exertions of the people on shore.

Part of the fleet, after having been blown out of the bay, steered for
the _Shannon_, which had been fixed on as a rendezvous in the event of
separation; but they were too few to attempt a landing, and after
waiting for a short time in hope of reinforcements, they found it
necessary to return.

The _Fraternité_, with the two commanders-in-chief, continued to beat
against an easterly gale till the 29th, when the wind became fair for
the bay. Standing towards it, she fell in with the _Scerola_, rasé, in a
sinking state, with the _Revolution_, 74, engaged in taking out the
people. She assisted to save them, and the two ships continued their
course towards Ireland, hoping to fall in with so many of the fleet as
might still enable them to make a descent. But next day, not having seen
any of them, and their provisions becoming short, they steered for
France. On the 8th of January, they were very near eleven of their
ships, which they would presently have joined, but that they altered
their course to avoid two British frigates, the _Unicorn_ and _Doris_,
which at the time were actually being chased by the French. Next day
they again fell in with the frigates, and on the morning of the 10th
they were chased by Lord Bridport's fleet, from which they narrowly
escaped. On the 14th they entered Rochefort, the last of the returning
ships.

Such was the fate of an expedition, in which nothing was neglected which
foresight could suggest, and nothing wanting which ability could supply;
whose fortune attended it until success might be deemed secure, and
whose defeat was attended with circumstances too extraordinary to be
referred to common causes. History records no event, not attended by
direct miracle, in which God's providence is more strikingly displayed.
The forces of atheism and popery had joined to overthrow a nation, the
stronghold of Christian truth, and the bulwark of Protestant Europe. In
this, so emphatically a holy war, no earthly arm was allowed to achieve
the triumph. Human agency was put aside, and all human defences
prostrated; and then, when the unresisted invader touched the object of
his hope, the elements were commissioned against him. That the vigilance
of a blockading force should be so eluded, and that unusual misfortunes
should prevent a fleet from sailing till nothing remained for it to do;
that the enemy's two commanders should be separated from their force
when it sailed, and afterwards prevented, by so many well-timed
casualties, from rejoining it; that when the fleet had actually arrived
in the destined port, half should be blown out to sea again before they
could anchor, and the rest driven from their anchors before they could
land the troops; that the returning ships should be prevented from
meeting their commanders; and that every disappointment should just
anticipate the moment of success;--such a combination of circumstances
it were folly and impiety to ascribe to anything less than the hand of
God.

A victory would have saved the country, but it would not have afforded
such ground for assured confidence in her future trials. This
deliverance was a pledge of protection through the terrible struggle of
the next twenty years; when, long disappointed in her hopes, and at
length deserted by her last ally, England still maintained her good
cause with a firmness more honourable to her character than even the
unrivalled triumph she achieved. It remains a pledge, that amidst all
dangers she may perform her duty as a Christian country, in full
reliance upon God's blessing: or, should the greatness of her trials
confound all human resources, that she may wait, in quietness and
confidence, for God's deliverance.

It was Sir Edward Pellew's fortune, as he had been prominent in the
services connected with the sailing of this armament, to mark the return
of it by a battle, the only one fought, and equally singular in its
circumstances, and appalling in its result. He put to sea with the
_Indefatigable_ and _Amazon_ on the 22nd, and supposing the enemy to
have gone to the southward, cruised off Capes Ortugal and Finisterre
until the 11th of January. On the 2nd, the _Amazon_ carried away her
main-topmast, and on the 11th, the _Indefatigable_ sprung her
main-topmast and topsail-yard in a squall, and was obliged to shift
them. Returning towards the Channel, on the 13th of January, at a little
past noon, the ships being about fifty leagues south-west of Ushant, and
the wind blowing hard from the westward, with thick weather, a sail was
discovered in the north-west. Sail was made in chase, and by four
o'clock the stranger, at first supposed to be a frigate, as she had no
poop, was clearly made out to be a French two-decker.

The enemy's ship, the _Droits de l'Homme_, commanded by Commodore,
_ci-devant_ Baron Lacrosse, was one of those which had proceeded to the
Shannon, after having been blown out of Bantry Bay. She was the
flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Bouvet, but this officer, according to a
frequent practice of French admirals, had embarked in a frigate. General
Humbert, who commanded one of the expeditions to Ireland in 1798, had
taken his passage in her. That morning she had arrived within
twenty-five leagues of Belleisle, and as the weather appeared
threatening, she stood to the southward, fearing to approach nearer to
the shore. Early in the afternoon she saw two large ships at a short
distance to windward, probably the _Revolution_ and _Fraternité_, but
not waiting to ascertain their character, she made sail from them to the
south-east. At half-past three she first discovered on her lee-bow the
two frigates, which had observed her three hours before, and were
steering a course nearly parallel to her own, to cut her off from the
land.

The wind had now increased to a gale, and the sea was fast rising. At
half-past four the enemy carried away her fore and main-topmasts in a
heavy squall. At three-quarters past five the _Indefatigable_ came up
with her, and having shortened sail to close-reefed topsails, poured in
a broadside as she crossed her stern. The enemy returned it from some of
the upper-deck guns, and by showers of musketry from the troops, of whom
there were nearly a thousand on board. So close were the ships, that
some of the _Indefatigable's_ people tore away the enemy's ensign, which
became entangled in the mizen rigging. The _Indefatigable_ then tried to
pass ahead and gain a position on the enemy's bow, but the
line-of-battle ship avoided this, and attempted, but without success, to
lay the frigate on board, actually grazing the _Indefatigable's_
spanker-boom.

The British frigate engaged the line-of-battle ship single-handed for
more than an hour, before her consort, which was several miles astern
when the action commenced, could get up to assist her. At length,
reaching the enemy, the _Amazon_ poured a broadside into her quarter,
and then, with the Commodore, maintained the engagement until about
half-past seven, when the _Indefatigable_ found it necessary to repair
her rigging, and both frigates shot ahead.

At a little past eight, the frigates renewed the action, and placing
themselves one on either bow of the _Droits de l'Homme_, raked her
alternately. The seventy-four brought her guns to bear upon one or the
other of her antagonists as well as she could, and occasionally
attempted, but without success, to close. At half-past ten, her
mizenmast was shot away, when the frigates changed their position, and
attacked her on either quarter. Soon after she began to fire shells. The
gale continued all night, with a very heavy sea, and the violent motion
of the ships made the labour of the crews most excessive. On the
main-deck of the _Indefatigable_, the men were often to the middle in
water. Some of her guns broke their breechings four times; others drew
the ring-bolts, and from some, the charge was obliged to be drawn after
loading, in consequence of the water beating into them. But under these
most trying circumstances, the crew did their duty nobly. The _Amazon_,
being a smaller ship, experienced still greater difficulties than the
_Indefatigable_. She emulated her consort most gallantly, and suffered a
greater loss. Her masts and rigging were very much damaged; her
mizen-top-mast, gaff, spanker-boom, and main-topsail-yard being
entirely shot away; the main and foremast, and the fore and main yards
wounded in several places by large shot; many of her shrouds, stays, and
back-stays shot away, besides those which had been knotted and stoppered
in the action; all her spare cordage was expended in reeving running
rigging, and she had three feet water in the hold. The loss of men in
both ships was remarkably small. The _Amazon_ had three killed, and
fifteen badly wounded; and the _Indefatigable_, though she had so long
fought the seventy-four single-handed, had only her first lieutenant and
eighteen men wounded; twelve of them slightly, and the two worst cases
from accidents. The lower-deck guns of the enemy were nearer the water
than is usual in line of-battle ships, and in consequence of the heavy
sea, she could use them only occasionally. From this cause, as well as
from the excellent positions maintained by the frigates, and her
crippled state through the latter part of the action, she could make but
a very unequal return to their fire. She suffered very much. More than a
hundred of her people were killed--a severe loss, yet small compared to
what it must have been, from the crowded state of her decks, and the
unprecedented length of the action, if the darkness, the heavy gale, and
the consequent motion of the ships, had not made the firing slow, and
the aim uncertain.

It was nearly eleven hours from the commencement of the action, when
Lieutenant Bell, who was quartered on the forecastle, and who had kept
the ship's reckoning through the night, satisfied himself that they were
near the French coast, and ordered one or two sailors to keep a good
look-out. One of these men thought he saw land, and reported it to his
officer; who, perceiving it distinctly, went aft, and told the captain.
Immediately the tacks were hauled on board, and the _Indefatigable_
stood to the southward, after making the night-signal of danger to the
_Amazon_, which, with equal promptitude, wore to the northward. The
enemy, who did not yet see the danger, thought they had beaten off the
frigates, and poured a broadside into the _Indefatigable_, the most
destructive she had yet received. Seven shot struck her hull, the three
lower-masts were wounded, and the larboard main-topmast shrouds were all
cut away close to the seizings of the eyes at the mast head. It required
extraordinary activity and coolness to save the topmast, the loss of
which, at that time, would have made that of the ship inevitable. Under
the direction of Mr. Gaze, who immediately sprang aloft, the captain of
the main-top cut away the top gallant-yard; while Mr. Thompson, acting
master, got up the end of a hawser, which he clinched around the
mast-head. Thus they saved the main-topmast, and probably prevented the
mainmast itself from being sprung. Mr. Gaze, who received a master's
warrant a few weeks after, continued with Lord Exmouth to the last day
of his command. He was master of the fleet in the Mediterranean, and it
was he who carried the _Queen Charlotte_ in such admirable style to her
position at Algiers.

None at this time knew how desperate was their situation. The ships were
in the Bay of Audierne, close in with the surf, with the wind blowing a
heavy gale dead on the shore, and a tremendous sea rolling in. To beat
off the land would have been a difficult and doubtful undertaking for
the best and most perfect ship. The _Indefatigable_ had four feet water
in the hold, and her safety depended on her wounded spars and damaged
rigging bearing the press of sail she was obliged to carry; while the
crew, thus summoned to renewed exertion, were already quite worn out
with fatigue. The fate of the other ships was certain; for the _Amazon_
had all her principal sails disabled, and the _Droits de l'Homme_ was
unmanageable.

The _Indefatigable_ continued standing to the southward, until the
captain of the mizen-top gave the alarm of breakers on the lee-bow. The
ship was immediately wore in eighteen fathoms, and she stood to the
northward till half-past six, when land was again seen close a-head on
the weather-bow, with breakers under the lee. Running again to the
southward, she passed the _Droits de l'Homme_ lying on her broadside in
the surf, at the distance of about a mile, but without the possibility
of giving the smallest assistance. Her own situation, indeed, was almost
hopeless; and Sir Edward Pellew himself was deeply affected, when,
having done all that seamanship could accomplish, he could only commit
to a merciful Providence the lives of his gallant crew, all now
depending upon one of the many accidents to the masts and rigging which
there was so much reason to apprehend. Happily, the sails stood well;
the _Indefatigable_ continued to gain by every tack; and at eleven
o'clock, with six feet water in her hold, she passed about
three-quarters of a mile to windward of the Penmarcks; enabling her
officers and men, after a day and night of incessant exertion, at length
to rest from their toil, and to bless God for their deliverance.

She had scarcely bent new topsails and foresail, the others having been
shot to pieces, when two large ships were seen at some distance a-head,
crossing her course, and standing in a direction for L'Orient. One of
them was at first supposed to be the _Amazon_, of which nothing had been
seen since the close of the action, and the extent of whose damages was
not at all suspected. The other was considered to be a French frigate,
and Sir Edward gave orders to make sail in chase. But the officers
represented to him, that the crew, entirely exhausted by the
unparalleled length of the action, and by their subsequent labours, were
quite incapable of further exertion; that their ammunition was very
short, scarcely a cartridge filled, and every wad expended. Had the
French frigate been alone, this would have been a subject of much
regret; for she was the _Fraternité,_ with the two commanders-in-chief
and all the treasure of the expedition on board; but her consort was the
74-gun ship _Revolution_.

The _Amazon_ struck the ground about ten minutes after she ceased
firing. Her crew displayed the admirable discipline which British seamen
are accustomed to maintain under such circumstances; more creditable to
them, if possible, than the seamanship which saved the _Indefatigable_.
From half past five until nine o'clock, they were employed in making
rafts, and not a man was lost, or attempted to leave the ship, except
six, who stole away the cutter from the stern, and were drowned. Captain
Reynolds and his officers remained by the ship until they had safely
landed, first the wounded, and afterwards every man of the crew. Of
course they were made prisoners, but they were treated well, and
exchanged not many months after.

Conduct like that of the _Amazon's_ people in their hour of extreme
danger--and it is nothing more than British seamen commonly display in
the same situation--makes an Englishman proud of his country. Nor should
it be forgotten, for it exalts the feeling of patriotism and honest
pride, that a man-of-war's crew at that time was made up, in part, of
the lowest characters in society. What, then, must be the strength and
excellence of that moral feeling in England, which can display itself
thus nobly where it would be the least expected! The fact conveys an
impressive lesson; for if the intelligence, decision, and kindness,
which, with few exceptions, characterize our sea-officers, can effect
such happy results where they operate on the most unpromising materials,
it is clear, that whatever faults the lower classes in England display
must be attributed, in a great degree, to the neglect or misconduct of
those, whose station in society, as it gives the power, imposes the duty
to guide them.

The fate of the _Droits de l'Homme_ presents an awful contrast indeed to
that of the _Amazon_. She saw the land soon after the frigates hauled
off, and after hopeless attempts, first to avoid it, and afterwards to
anchor, she struck the ground almost at the same moment as the British
frigate. The main-mast went overboard at the second shock: the fore-mast
and bowsprit had fallen a few minutes before, in her attempt to keep
off the land. When danger was first seen, the crew gave an alarm to the
English prisoners below, of whom there were fifty-five, the crew and
passengers of a letter-of-marque, which the _Droits de l'Homme_ had
taken a few days before: "Poor English, come up quickly; we are all
lost!" Presently, the ship struck on a bank of sand, nearly opposite the
town of Plouzenec. Cries of dismay were now heard from every part.
Signals of distress were fired, and several of the guns hove overboard.
Many of the people were soon washed away by the waves, which broke
incessantly over her. At daylight the shore was seen covered with
spectators, but they could afford no assistance. In the meantime, the
stern was beaten in by the sea, and no provisions or water could
afterwards be obtained.

At low water an attempt was made to reach the shore, but two boats which
were brought alongside drifted away and were dashed to pieces on the
rocks. A small raft was constructed to carry a hawser to the shore, by
the aid of which it was hoped that preparations might be completed for
safely landing the people. A few sailors having embarked on it, the rope
was gradually slackened to allow it to drift to land; but some of these
people being washed away, the rest became alarmed, cast off the hawser,
and saved themselves. After a second unsuccessful attempt with a raft, a
petty officer attached a cord to his body and tried to swim on shore;
but he was soon exhausted, and would have perished, but that he was
hauled back to the ship.

On the second day, at low water, an English captain and eight other
prisoners launched a small boat, and landed safely. Their success
restored confidence to the multitude, proving, as it did, how easily all
might be saved, if proper means were quietly adopted. But discipline and
order were wanting; and attempts made without judgment, and without
concert, ended in the loss of all who made them.

Perishing with cold, and thirst, and hunger--for the ship, her stern
now broken away, no longer afforded shelter from the waves, and they had
tasted nothing since she struck--the unhappy crew saw a third day arise
upon their miseries. Still the gale continued, and there was no prospect
of relief from the shore. It was now determined to construct a large
raft, and first to send away the surviving wounded, with the women and
children, in a boat which remained. But as soon as she was brought
alongside, there was a general rush, and about a hundred and twenty
threw themselves into her. Their weight carried down the boat; next
moment an enormous wave broke upon them, and when the sea became
smoother, their corpses were seen floating all around. An officer,
Adjutant General Renier, attempted to swim on shore, hoping that a
knowledge of their condition might enable the spectators to devise some
means for their deliverance. He plunged into the sea and was lost.

"Already nearly nine hundred had perished," says Lieutenant Pipon, an
officer of the 63rd regiment, who was on board a prisoner, and who
afterwards published the dreadful story.[7] "when the fourth night came
with renewed terrors. Weak, distracted, and wanting everything, we
envied the fate of those whose lifeless corpses no longer needed
sustenance. The sense of hunger was already lost, but a parching thirst
consumed our vitals. Recourse was had to wine and salt water, which only
increased the want. Half a hogshead of vinegar floated up, and each had
half a wine-glassful. This gave a momentary relief, yet soon left us
again in the same state of dreadful thirst. Almost at the last gasp,
every one was dying with misery: the ship, which was now one third
shattered away from the stern, scarcely afforded a grasp to hold by, to
the exhausted and helpless survivors. The fourth day brought with it a
more serene sky, and the sea seemed to subside; but to behold, from fore
and aft, the dying in all directions, was a sight too shocking for the
feeling mind to endure. Almost lost to a sense of humanity, we no longer
looked with pity on those who were the speedy fore-runners of our own
fate, and a consultation took place to sacrifice some one to be food for
the remainder. The die was going to be cast, when the welcome sight of a
man-of-war brig renewed our hopes. A cutter speedily followed, and both
anchored at a short distance from the wreck. They then sent their boats
to us, and by means of large rafts, about a hundred and fifty of near
four hundred who attempted it, were saved by the brig that evening.
Three hundred and eighty were left to endure another night's misery,
when, dreadful to relate, above one-half were found dead next morning."

Commodore Lacrosse, General Humbert, and three British infantry
officers, prisoners, remained in the wreck till the fifth morning; and
all survived: so great is the influence of moral power to sustain
through extreme hardships. The prisoners were treated with the utmost
kindness, and in consideration of their sufferings, and the help they
had afforded in saving many lives, a cartel was fitted out by order of
the French Government to send them home, without ransom or exchange.
They arrived at Plymouth on the 7th of March following.

The Admiralty awarded head-money to the frigates for the destruction of
the _Droits de l'Homme_. As there were no means of knowing her
complement with certainty, Sir Edward wrote to Commodore Lacrosse to
request the information, telling him it was the practice of his
Government to award a certain sum for every man belonging to an enemy's
armed vessel taken, or destroyed. The Commodore answered, that the
_Droits de l'Homme_ had been neither taken nor destroyed, but that the
ships had fought like three dogs till they all fell over the cliff
together. Her crew, with the troops, he said, was sixteen hundred men.

The gallant captain of the _Amazon_, one of the earliest and closest
friends of Sir Edward Pellew, perished at length by a not less
distressing shipwreck. At the end of 1811, being then a rear-admiral, he
was returning from the Baltic in the _St. George_, a ship not calculated
to remain so late on such a station. After having received much damage
in a former gale, she was wrecked on Christmas-day, as well as the
_Defence_, which attended her to afford assistance; and only eighteen
men were saved from the two line-of-battle ships. Rear-Admiral Reynolds
and his captain remained at their post till they sunk under the
inclemency of a northern winter; when, stretched on the quarter-deck,
and hand in hand, they were frozen to death together.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] Naval Chronicle, vol. viii. p. 467.




CHAPTER VI.

THE MUTINY.


In less than four years Sir Edward had fought as many severe actions,
and the number of his successes is even less remarkable than the very
small loss with which he generally obtained them. Against the
_Cleopatra_, indeed, where he engaged a superior and skilful opponent
with an inexperienced crew, he suffered much; but he lost only three men
in taking the _Pomone_, and none in his actions with the _Virginie_ and
the _Droits de l'Homme_. The same impunity continued to attend him; for
not a dozen were killed on board his own ships through all the rest of
his life.[8] Results so uniform, and applying to so long a service,
cannot be ascribed to accidental causes.

By his seamanship, his example, a strictness which suffered no duty to
be neglected, and a kindness which allowed every safe indulgence, he
would quickly bring a ship's company to a high state of discipline. In
the language of an officer who served with him for almost thirty
years--"No man ever knew better how to manage seamen. He was very
attentive to their wants and habits. When he was a captain he
personally directed them, and when the duty was over, he was a great
promoter of dancing and other sports, such as running aloft, heaving the
lead, &c., in which he was himself a great proficient. He was steady in
his discipline, and knew well the proper time to tighten or relax. He
studied much the character of his men, and could soon ascertain whether
a man was likely to appreciate forgiveness, or whether he could not be
reclaimed without punishment. During the whole time he commanded
frigates, his men had leave in port, one-third at a time, and very
rarely a desertion took place."

His quick and correct judgment, which at once saw how an object could be
attained, was seconded in the hour of trial by a decision which secured
every advantage. Nothing like hesitation was seen in him. "His first
order," said an officer who long served with him, "was always his last;"
and he has often declared of himself that he never had a second thought
worth sixpence. This would be an absurd boast from a common character,
but it is an important declaration from one whose life was a career of
enterprise without a failure. Always equal to the occasion, his power
displayed itself the more, as danger and difficulty increased; when,
rising with the emergency, his calmness, the animation of his voice and
look, and the precision of his orders, would impart to the men that cool
and determined energy which disarms danger, and commands success.

Not less striking was his influence in those more appalling dangers
which try the firmness of a sailor more severely than the battle. The
wreck of the _Dutton_ is a memorable example. At a later period, during
his command in India, the ship twice caught fire, and was saved chiefly
by his conduct. On one of these occasions, the _Culloden_ was under easy
sail off the coast of Coromandel, and preparations had been made for
partially caulking the ship, when a pitch-kettle, which had been heated,
contrary to orders, on the fore part of the main deck, caught fire, and
the people, instead of damping it out, most imprudently attempted to
extinguish it with buckets of water. The steam blew the flaming pitch
all around; the oakum caught fire, and the ship was immediately in a
blaze. Many of the crew jumped overboard, and others were preparing to
hurry out of her, when the presence and authority of the Admiral allayed
the panic. He ordered to beat to quarters; the marines to fire upon any
one who should attempt to leave the ship; the yard-tackles to be cut, to
prevent the boats from being hoisted out; and the firemen only to take
the necessary measures for extinguishing the fire. The captain, who was
undressed in his cabin at the time of the disaster, received an
immediate report of it from an officer, and hastened to the
quarter-deck. The flames were rising in volumes from the main hatchway,
but the Admiral was calmly giving his orders from the gangway, the
firemen exerting themselves, and the rest of the crew at their quarters,
all as quiet and orderly as if nothing had been going on but the common
ship's duty.

His patronage was exerted to the utmost. The manner in which the navy
was chiefly manned through the war made this one of the most delicate
and responsible parts of a captain's care. The impress brought into it
many whom nothing but the strictest discipline of a man-of-war would
control; but many also who had entered the merchant service with the
view and the prospect of rising in it, some of whom were not inferior in
connections and education to the young gentlemen on the quarter-deck.
Nothing could be more gratifying to a commander than to promote these,
as opportunity offered, to higher stations. Some thousands of them
became petty and warrant officers in the course of the war, and not a
few were placed on the quarter-deck, and are found among the best
officers in the service. Sir Edward brought forward many of them, and
his favour has been more than justified by their conduct.

He was particularly attentive to the junior part of his crew. A steady
person was employed to teach the ship's boys, and he always had the
best schoolmaster who could be obtained for the young gentlemen. It was
an object much desired to be placed with him, and could he have stooped
to make his reputation subservient to his interest in this respect, he
might have secured many useful political connections; but this
consideration never seems to have influenced him. Many of his midshipmen
had no friend but himself, and rank obtained no immunities, but rather a
more strict control. He once removed from his ship a young nobleman of
high connections, and who afterwards became a very distinguished
officer, for indulging in what many would consider the excusable frolics
of youth; but to which he attached importance, because the rank of the
party increased the influence of the example; nor could he be induced by
the young man's friends to reconsider his determination. The Duke of
Northumberland, who had himself known all the duties and hardships of
service, could appreciate the impartial strictness of Sir Edward; and
when he determined to send into the navy, first a young man whom he
patronized, and afterwards his own son, the present Duke, he was happy
to avail himself of the services of Captain Schanck, to place them with
such an officer. Acting upon the same principle, he would allow neither
of them more than the usual expenses of the other midshipmen. All who
entered a public service, he said, whatever their rank, should have no
indulgences beyond their companions. His sense of Sir Edward's conduct
was shown by a warm friendship, which terminated only with his life.

In a few weeks after the action with the _Droits de l'Homme_, the mutiny
broke out at Spithead, which deprived the country for a short time of
the services of the Channel Fleet. The western squadrons were now of
peculiar importance, for they became, in fact, the protectors of the
Channel. The _Cleopatra_, commanded by the late excellent Sir Charles V.
Penrose, was at Spithead when the mutiny took place; but the good
disposition of his crew enabled him with admirable address to escape,
and she joined Sir Edward's squadron at Falmouth. Thence she sailed with
the _Indefatigable_ and _Revolutionaire_ on a cruise, in which all
displayed extraordinary exertion, as, under such circumstances, all felt
the necessity for it. One incident will mark their zeal and activity.
The _Cleopatra_ carried away her fore-topmast in chase, but replaced it
so quickly, that she never lost sight of the privateer, which she
overtook and captured. Several armed vessels were taken; and Sir Edward
was careful often to run in with the squadron upon different parts of
the French coast, that he might impress the belief that a considerable
British force was at sea.

Undismayed by the failure of their attempt on Ireland, the enemy were
now preparing for a more formidable descent. They equipped a larger
fleet than before, with a far more numerous army, over which they
appointed the same able commander: and by an agreement with Holland, the
Dutch fleet in the Texel, under Admiral de Winter, was to carry over a
second army. This was to be commanded by General Daendels, an officer of
great ability and decision. Napoleon thought very highly of him, and it
was a material part of his own plan of invasion to send him with thirty
thousand chosen troops to Ireland. He afterwards became Governor of
Java, where he acted with an independence which awakened the jealousy of
his master. Discovering this, he wrote to declare that he could hold the
island against any force which France, or even England, could bring
against him; but that to mark his devotedness to his emperor, he was
ready to resign his command, and serve in the French army as a corporal.
He was Governor of Mons during the invasion of France by the Allied
armies; and he boasted to Mr. Pellew, who spent a few days with him
after the peace, that an advancing army made a considerable circuit to
avoid him, and that he held the fortress unmolested until Napoleon had
abdicated; when he wrote to the Allied Sovereigns, asking to whom he
should resign it. An invasion of Ireland, directed by generals such as
Hoche and Daendels, and at a time when the British navy was in a state
of mutiny, was an event justly to be dreaded; but all these mighty
preparations were overturned more easily and quietly than the former.
Everything was ready; and General Hoche had gone to Holland to make the
final arrangements with his brother commanders, when the Legislative
Assembly of France quarrelled with the Directory, and gained a temporary
ascendancy. On the 16th of July, the new government displaced
Vice-Admiral Truguet, the able Minister of Marine, and appointed M.
Pléville le Peley his successor. With the usual madness of party, the
new minister and his employer hastened to overturn all that had been
done by their predecessors. They discharged the sailors, dismantled the
fleet, and even sold some of the frigates and corvettes by public
auction. When the Directory regained their power, September 4th, after
an interval of only six weeks, they found that the preparations which
had cost them so much time and treasure to complete, were utterly
destroyed. In the following month, Admiral Duncan annihilated the Dutch
fleet, and thus the proposed expedition was baffled at every point. Were
a history of England written, with due regard to the operations of
Divine Providence, in deliverances and successes effected not by human
wisdom, or human strength, what cause would it afford for unbounded
gratitude, and for unbounded confidence!

While the enemy were fitting out this armament, Sir Edward was again
employed to watch the harbour of Brest; a service which he performed so
much to the annoyance of the French commander, that he sent a squadron
to ride at single anchor in Bertheaume Bay, to prevent the frigates from
reconnoitring the port. This squadron chased the _Indefatigable_ and her
consorts repeatedly, but without being able to bring them to action, or
to drive them from their station. Once, however, a frigate narrowly
escaped capture. The _Cleopatra_ was becalmed close inshore, with the
_Indefatigable_ about two miles to seaward, and another frigate between
them, when a light air rose, and freshened off the land. The French
ships slipped, and bringing the breeze with them, neared the
_Cleopatra_; and a frigate actually succeeded in cutting off her
retreat, while a seventy-four was fast coming up. Just then, when the
capture of the _Cleopatra_ seemed inevitable, the _Indefatigable_ made
the well-known signal for a fleet, by letting fly the sheets, and firing
two guns in quick succession. Ushant being on her weather-bow, the enemy
naturally supposed, as was intended, that the British fleet was coming
up from behind the island; and putting about immediately, hastened back
to their anchorage. A similar deception is understood to have been
practised successfully by _the Phaëton_, during the celebrated retreat
of Cornwallis; nor is it in either case an imputation upon the enemy,
that they should readily take alarm, when they knew that a British fleet
was cruising near them.

Early in August, the _Indefatigable_, after a short stay in England, was
again at her station off Brest; and Sir Edward, having carefully
observed the port, and fully satisfied himself of the state of the
French fleet, returned to Falmouth on the 14th, and, on the 26th, joined
Lord Bridport at Torbay. At this time he offered to conduct an attack,
which, had it been made, and with success, would have transcended the
most brilliant results of naval enterprise. The weakness of the French
Government, arising out of the struggle of parties for the ascendancy,
seemed to offer a favourable opportunity to the royalists, with whose
chiefs Sir Edward was on terms of confidential intercourse; and to
assist them in their objects by an exploit which should strike terror
into the republicans, he proposed to go into Brest with his frigates,
and destroy the dismantled fleet. He thought it probable that he should
succeed, and urged that the greatness of the object might warrant an
attempt in which nothing was to be risked but a few frigates. The
conception was in the highest degree daring, but there is a faith in
naval affairs which works impossibilities, and it has been generally
found, that the officer who can plan a bold action, has shown himself
equal to accomplish it. Relative strength is almost thrown out of
calculation by a well concerted and unexpected attack, conducted with
that impetuosity which effects its object before the enemy can avail
himself of his superior force. Thus, Sir Charles Brisbane, with four
frigates, at Curaçoa, and Sir Christopher Cole, with a few boats' crews
at Banda, achieved, with little or no loss, what would have been justly
deemed proud triumphs for a fleet of line-of-battle ships. Sir E. Pellew
was never a man to commit himself rashly to what he had not well
considered. "There is always uncertainty," he would say, "in naval
actions, for a chance shot may place the best managed ship in the power
of an inferior opponent." Hence he would leave nothing to chance, which
foresight could possibly provide for. With such a character, and with
his intimate knowledge of Brest and its defences, which were almost as
familiar to him as Falmouth harbour, his own confidence affords strong
presumption that he would have succeeded.

The First Lord took an opportunity to submit this proposal to Lord
Bridport at Torbay, and Sir Edward was in consequence called on board
the flag-ship by signal. The Admiral received him on the quarter-deck
with a very low and formal bow, and referred him to Earl Spencer, in the
cabin, whom he soon found not to be influenced by any arguments he could
employ.

Lord Bridport was never pleased that independent frigate squadrons were
appointed to cruise within his station. It was, indeed, an irregularity
which nothing but the emergency could have justified, when it was
desirable to relieve the commander-in-chief from lesser
responsibilities, and enable him to devote all his attention to the
fleet which threatened the safety of the country. Their successes had
made the squadrons so popular, that the system was continued when they
might, perhaps, have been placed, with equal advantage, under the
orders of the Admiral; and it would naturally give pain to that officer
to find himself denied the privilege of recognizing and rewarding the
most brilliant services performed within his own command. Lord Bridport
would occasionally evince such a feeling when speaking of the "Western
Commodores," and it may have influenced his manner upon this occasion;
but his approval of Sir Edward's plan was not to be expected, for he
would scarcely sanction the proposal to effect with a few frigates what
it would not be thought prudent to attempt with a fleet.

The _Indefatigable_ sailed from Torbay with a convoy, from which she
parted company on the 13th of October, off the Isle of Palma. On the
25th, near Teneriffe, a large corvette chased her, supposing her to be
an Indiaman, and approached very near before she discovered the mistake.
She had formerly been the frigate-built sloop _Hyæna_, which the enemy
had taken very early in the war, and cut down to a flush ship; a change
which improved her sailing qualities so much, that she might perhaps
have escaped from the _Indefatigable_, if she had not lost her
fore-topmast in carrying a press of sail. It is remarkable, that in this
war Sir Edward took the first ship from the enemy, and after nearly five
years, recaptured the first they had taken from the British.

It was a part of Sir Edward's system, while he commanded cruising ships,
to have the reefs shaken out, the studding sail-booms rigged out, and
everything ready, before daylight; that if an enemy should be near there
might be no delay in making sail. In the course of 1798 his squadron
took fifteen cruisers. The circumstances connected with one of these,
_La Vaillante_ national corvette, taken on the 8th of August by the
_Indefatigable_, after a chase of twenty-four hours, were of much
interest. She was bound to Cayenne, with prisoners; among whom were
twenty-five priests, who had been condemned for their principles to
perish in that unhealthy colony. It may well be supposed that they were
at once restored to liberty and comfort; nor would Sir Edward show to
the commander of his prize the attentions which an officer in his
situation expects, until he had first satisfied himself that the severe
and unnecessary restraint to which they had been subjected, for he found
them chained together, was the consequence of express orders from the
French Government. His officers and men vied with him in attentions to
the unfortunate exiles, and when he set them on shore in England he gave
them a supply for their immediate wants. Among the passengers on board
_La Vaillante_ were the wife and family of a banished deputy. M. Rovère,
who had obtained permission to join him, and were going out with all
they possessed, amounting to 3,000_l_. Sir Edward restored to her the
whole of it, and paid from his own purse the proportion which was the
prize of his crew.

Early in the following year the Admiralty determined to limit the period
of command in frigates. In obedience to this regulation, on the 1st of
March, Sir Edward, with much regret, left the ship and crew he had so
long commanded, and exchanged the activity of a cruising frigate for a
service which offered little prospect of distinction. He was
complimented with the _Impétueux_, formerly _L'Amérique_, one of the
prizes taken by Lord Howe on the 1st of June, a most beautiful ship, and
so much superior to the largest 74, that she was made a class by
herself, and rated as a 78. He was allowed to select twenty men to
follow him from the _Indefatigable_.

Going on board the _Impétueux_ for the first time, he was accosted at
the gangway by the boatswain: "I am very glad, sir, that you are come to
us, for you are just the captain we want. You have the finest ship in
the navy, and a crew of smart sailors, but a set of the greatest
scoundrels that ever went to sea." He checked him on the spot, and
afterwards, sending for him to the cabin, demanded what he meant by
addressing him in that manner. The boatswain, who had served with him in
the _Carleton_ on Lake Champlain, pleaded former recollections in
excuse; and after submitting to the reproof with which Sir Edward
thought it necessary to mark his breach of discipline, informed him that
the crew were all but in a state of mutiny, and that for months past he
had slept with pistols under his head.

Mutinies were the natural fruit of the system which had prevailed in the
navy, and it is only wonderful that obedience had been preserved so
long. All the stores were supplied by contract, and the check upon the
contractor being generally inadequate, gross abuses prevailed. Officers
who recollect the state of the navy during the first American war can
furnish a history which may now appear incredible. The provisions were
sometimes unfit for human food. Casks of meat, after having been long on
board, would be found actually offensive. The biscuit, from inferior
quality and a bad system of stowage, was devoured by insects,[9] until
it would fall to pieces at the slightest blow; and the provisions of a
more perishable nature, the cheese, butter, raisins, &c., would be in a
still worse condition. Among crews thus fed, the scurvy made dreadful
ravages. The _Princessa_, when she formed part of Rodney's fleet in the
West Indies, sent two hundred men to the hospital at one time. The
purser received certain authorized perquisites instead of pay, and
one-eighth of the seamen's allowance was his right, so that their pound
was only fourteen ounces. Prize-money melted away as it passed through
the courts and offices. Not even public charities could escape; and the
noble establishment of Greenwich was defrauded by placing in it
superannuated servants, and other landsmen, as worn-out sailors, and
conferring the superior appointments, intended for deserving naval
officers, upon political friends. The well-known case of Captain
Baillie,[10] who was removed and prosecuted for resisting some of these
abuses, is a memorable, illustration.

A gradual improvement in all the departments of the public service
commenced from the time of Mr. Pitt's accession to power; and the worst
of these abuses had been corrected long before 1797. Still so much
remained, that the demands of the seamen, when they mutinied at
Spithead, were not less due to themselves than desirable for the general
interests of the service. A moderate increase in their pay, and
Greenwich pensions; provisions of a better quality; the substitution of
trader's for purser's weight and measure; and an allowance of
vegetables, instead of flour, with their fresh meat, when in port, were
their chief claims. They did not resort to violent measures till
petitions, irregular ones it is true, had been tried in vain. They urged
their demands firmly, but most respectfully; and they declared their
intention to suspend the prosecution of them if their country should
require their services to meet the enemy at sea. But though their claims
were most just, and their conduct in many respects was worthy to be much
commended, _that_ was a mistaken conclusion, and most deeply to be
regretted, which made any concession to violence. Hard as the principle
may appear, no grievance can be held to justify a breach of discipline;
and when the sailors at Spithead had placed themselves in the position
of offenders, the question of redress ought to have been preceded by
unconditional, and, if necessary, enforced submission. It was humbling
the majesty of the law to negotiate with criminals, and destroying its
authority to submit to them. If the sailors had first been compelled to
return to their duty, and their grievances had afterwards been properly
investigated and redressed, the whole fleet would have respected the
authority which enforced obedience, and received every favour with
gratitude. Nor is there reason to believe that it would have been
difficult to bring men to their duty, whose hearts were still sound. It
is most honourable to the character of the country, that respect for the
law, and obedience to the constituted authorities, are so much the habit
and the principle of Englishmen, that invincible as they are in a good
cause, they have always shown themselves cowards in crime. A few
soldiers are sufficient to disperse the largest mob. The timely decision
of an officer has seldom failed to quell the most formidable mutiny.
Timorous as the men are from conscious guilt, uncertain in their plans,
and doubtful of the firmness of their companions, the respect
involuntarily felt for the noble bearing of a man whom they have always
been accustomed to obey, and who in a good cause is standing as it were
alone against a multitude, gives a commander all the power he could
desire. But if he would take advantage of this feeling, he must be
prompt to assert his authority. If he waver--if he allow the men once to
feel their strength, and to stand committed to one another--his
influence is gone. And if Government should stoop to parley with them,
it sanctions their proceedings, strengthens their hands by the
confession of its own weakness, and raises them from being offenders
against the law, to the dignity of injured men, honourably asserting
their rights. Thus, when the Lords of the Admiralty, and the first
Admiral of the British navy, received on terms of courtesy criminals
whose lives were forfeited, and negotiated with them as with
equals--when the Government submitted to demands which it evidently
feared to resist--and the Parliament hastened to legislate at the
bidding of triumphant mutineers, the navy was taught a fatal lesson. The
fleet at the Nore mutinied almost immediately after, without the shadow
of a pretext; and the idea of mutiny once become familiar, the crews of
the best ordered ships thought little of seeking redress for any real or
fancied grievance by resisting the authority of their officers. Almost
every ship on the home station mutinied in the course of the year; and
considering bow naturally the first fault leads to more guilty excesses,
and how many worthless characters were swept into the navy, disgracing
the service by making it the avowed punishment of crime, and corrupting
it by their example, nothing can appear more natural than that mutiny
should at length display itself in a darker character, and proceed in
some unhappy instances to murder and treason.

Sir Edward Pellew deeply lamented the submission of the Government. He
was satisfied that a proper firmness would have quelled the present, and
prevented the future evil; and he was strengthened in his opinion by the
circumstances of the mutiny on board one of the ships at Spithead, in
which one of his own officers was a principal actor. Captain Williams,
of the marines, formerly lieutenant in the _Arethusa_, applied to his
captain for authority to act, assuring him of the good disposition of
his own men, and pledging himself by their means to save the ship. But
his captain, though one of the bravest and best men in the service,
shrank from committing the marines to a possible conflict with the
sailors, and recommended a little delay. In a few minutes the marine
officer returned: it was not yet too late, but not another moment could
be spared. The humane feelings of the commander impelled him still to
temporize, and when the marine officer returned, it was to say that his
men must now save themselves, and the ship was lost. The more desperate
mutiny at the Nore was not quelled by submission.

Afterwards, when mutinies were continually occurring among the ships at
Plymouth. Sir Edward proposed a very decisive measure to stop the
mischief. He recommended that a ship, manned with officers, and with
volunteers who could be fully trusted, should attack the next that
mutinied, and, if necessary, sink her in the face of the fleet. The
officer who takes the first step in any measure must feel himself
committed decisively to all possible consequences; but the mere display
of such a resolution, with the knowledge that an officer of unflinching
determination commanded the attacking ship, would most probably spare
the necessity of firing a shot. Lives are commonly sacrificed only when
a mistaken humanity shrinks from duty till the proper time for action
has gone by. The disposition of the crews was not generally bad, but
they were misled by example, and encouraged by impunity. When the
_Greyhound_ mutinied, and Captain Israel Pellew demanded if he had ever
given them cause for dissatisfaction, if he had not always been their
friend, they admitted that they had nothing to complain of, but said
they must do like their friends around them. They would have landed him
with every mark of respect; but he declared that, after such conduct,
not one of them should ever row him again, and he hailed a waterman to
put him on shore. Still, though he had reproached them in no measured
terms, they manned the side, and gave him three cheers when he left the
ship.

Even Sir Edward Pellew, popular as he was, and though he might well
expect that a crew which had fought with him two successful actions
within the past year would be too proud of their ship and commander ever
to fail in their duty, yet felt it necessary to take precautions, when
mutinies were occurring around him without the smallest reasonable
cause. Determined to maintain his authority at all hazards, he prepared
for the worst, and provided himself with weapons such as he deemed would
be the most effectual, if he should be compelled to the dreadful
necessity of a personal conflict with his crew. A pointed and two-edged
blade, four inches long, was fixed in a rough buckhorn handle, with a
groove for the thumb across the top. A pair of these were carried in
sheaths, secured in each waistcoat-pocket. With these, a strong and
active person, in the midst of a crowd where he could not use a sword,
could strike right and left with terrible effect.

Once a mutiny was planned in the _Indefatigable_, but he checked it
before it broke out. She was lying with the _Phoebe_ in Falmouth
harbour, and the frigates were to sail next morning, when the crews were
determined not to proceed to their station until they had received their
pay. A sailor who had overstayed his leave came in the dead of the night
to inform his commander of the plot; and assured him, that though all
the crew were privy to it, more than half of them would support their
officers. Sir Edward professed to discredit the information, and,
apparently, took no steps in consequence. But when the ship was to be
got under weigh, the lieutenant complained to him that the men were
sulky, and would not go round with the capstan. He then came forward,
and declaring his knowledge of their intentions, drew his sword, and
ordered the officers to follow his example. "You can never die so well,"
he said, "as on your own deck quelling a mutiny; and now, if a man
hesitate to obey you, cut him down without a word." The crew, accustomed
to prompt obedience, and attached to their officers, at once returned to
their duty, and the _Indefatigable_ was soon under sail. The _Phoebe_
was earned by her crew to Cawsand Bay, and in justice to them it should
be added, that although she anchored in the midst of several ships which
had lately mutinied, no further irregularity took place: and after
having been paid, she hastened to join the _Indefatigable_ off Brest.

The crew of the _Impétueux_ supposed, and probably with truth, that Sir
Edward was selected to command them in consequence of their known
disaffected state, his frigate having been almost the only ship on the
home station which had not actually mutinied. Under this impression, a
mistaken pride would not allow them to be controlled, and their secret
spirit of revolt became more determined. The feeling might have worn
itself out in a short time if the ship had remained at sea, for the men
soon learned to respect their new commander. But when, on the 25th of
April, the French fleet escaped from Brest, and sailed for the
Mediterranean, the British Admiral, Lord Bridport, supposing it to have
gone to Ireland, cruised for a few days off Cape Clear, and then
anchored with twenty-six sail of the line in Bantry Bay. Here the bad
spirits of the fleet had leisure for mischief, and facilities to
communicate with one another. A general mutiny was planned, and the
disgraceful distinction of setting the example was assigned to the
_Impetueux_.

On Thursday, the 30th of May, at noon, Sir Edward, being engaged to dine
with Sir Alan Gardner, had gone to dress in his cabin, leaving orders
with the officer of the watch to call all hands at the usual time, one
watch to clear hawse, and the other two to wash decks. When the order
was given, it was obeyed by all the marines, but by scarce any of the
sailors. Very shortly after, signal was made to unmoor, upon which a
noise of "No--no--no!" was heard from the main hatchway, and the seamen
came pressing forward in great numbers; those in the rear crying, "Go
on--go on!" The first lieutenant, Ross, and Lieutenant Stokes, the
officer of the watch, demanded what was the matter; and after some
murmuring, were told that there was a letter. The officers asked for it,
that it might be given to the captain, but the cry of "No--no--no!" was
immediately renewed. Lieutenant Ross then desired Lieutenant Stokes to
inform the captain, upon which the mutineers shouted, "One and all--one
and all!" Sir Edward instantly ran out in his dressing-gown, and found
between two and three hundred on the quarter-deck. On his appearance,
the clamour was increased, mingled with cries of "A boat--a boat!" He
asked what was the matter, and was told they had a letter to send to
Lord Bridport, complaining of tyranny, and hard usage. He demanded the
letter, declaring that he would immediately carry it himself, or send an
officer with it, to the Admiral; but all cried out, "No, no,--a boat of
our own!" He persisted in his endeavours to pacify them as long as a
hope remained of bringing them to reason, intreating them not to forfeit
their character by such shameful conduct. But when some of the
ringleaders declared with oaths that they _would_ have a boat, and would
take one, he quietly said, "You will, will you?"--gave a brief order to
Captain Boys, of the marines, and sprang to the cabin for his sword. The
marines, who had previously withstood every attempt of the conspirators
to seduce them from their duty, now displayed that unwavering loyalty,
and prompt obedience, for which, in the most trying circumstances, this
valuable force has always been distinguished. Sir Edward returned
instantly, determined to put to death one or more of the ringleaders on
the spot, but the evident irresolution of the mutineers spared him the
necessity. He immediately ordered the quarter-deck to be cleared, the
marines to be posted on the after-part of the fore-castle, and the
fore-part of the quarter-deck and poop, and the sentries to be doubled.
The carpenter in the mean time ran to Sir Edwards cabin, and brought
swords for the officers, who, at the first alarm, had hastened to place
themselves by their captain's side. The mutineers, after a moment's
hesitation, ran off the quarter-deck, and threw themselves down the
hatchways, exclaiming to put out all lights, and remove the ladders. The
officers followed them closely, and soon secured the ringleaders. Sir
Edward himself seized one of the most violent, and threatening him with
instant death if he resisted, dragged him up from below to the
quarter-deck. The letter, an unsigned one, was now given up, and the
ship's company returned quietly to their duty.

The plot was thus entirely disconcerted; for the crews of the other
ships, who knew nothing of the attempt and its failure, but waited for
the example of the _Impetueux_, followed her when she obeyed the
Admiral's signal. On the 1st of June, Lord Bridport, who had now learned
the course taken by the French fleet, sent off Sir Alan Gardner with
sixteen sail, of which the _Impetueux_ was one, as a reinforcement for
Earl St. Vincent in the Mediterranean. His orders on this occasion were
promptly attended to; and no other attempt was made by any of the crews
to resist the authority of their officers.

The _Impetueux_ being now for a short time under Earl St. Vincent's
command, Sir Edward took the earliest opportunity to enforce the
application for a court-martial, which he had previously made to Sir
Charles Cotton. The Earl, upon inquiry, was so startled at the magnitude
of the plot, that he thought it better, as the mutiny had been so
promptly suppressed, to conceal it altogether. Sir Edward differed from
him entirely. He considered that the worst effects would follow, if the
men were allowed to think that their officers feared to punish the
ringleaders in such a conspiracy; and as the Earl, who was on the point
of resigning the command from ill-health, appeared still reluctant, he
decided the question by declaring that if the court-martial were not
granted, he should immediately go on shore. Accordingly, it was held on
board the _Prince_, in Port Mahon, on the 19th and 20th of June, when
three of the ringleaders received sentence of death. One of them, after
his condemnation, disclosed all the history and circumstances of the
plot; and this, added to the consideration of his previous good
character, to which Sir Edward had borne a strong testimony on the
court-martial, made his captain think him a proper subject for mercy.
But upon this point, Earl St. Vincent was inflexible. "I am glad of it,"
he said, when Sir Edward spoke favourably of the prisoner's former
conduct; "those who have hitherto suffered had been so worthless before,
that their fate was of little use as an example. I shall now convince
the fleet that no character will save the man who is guilty of mutiny."
May there never be a recurrance of such unhappy times as shall make it
the duty of an officer to act upon this stern principle!

The circumstances were concealed from the country, and the rest of the
fleet, as effectually as if the court-martial had never been held. The
distant and retired harbour where the mutiny occurred; the quietness
with which it was suppressed; the holding of the court-martial abroad;
the frequency of aggravated mutinies within the preceding two years; the
magnitude of the political occurrences at that period; and the anxiety
felt at the movements of the enemy's fleet, probably the largest they
ever had at sea, for it numbered, with the Spaniards, forty sail of the
line, all concurred to prevent it from becoming an object of public
attention. But Earl St. Vincent appreciated Sir Edward's conduct very
highly. "Your brother," he once said to Mr. Pellew, "is an excellent and
valuable officer, but the most important service he ever rendered to his
country was saving the British fleet in Bantry Bay. We know that it was
the intention to burn the ships, and join the rebels on shore."

When the time arrived for executing the mutineers, it was found that
preparations had been made to give to their fate the appearance of a
triumph. For it strongly marks the general feeling in the navy during
this unhappy period, that the individuals who thus suffered were
regarded rather as martyrs than criminals. Encouraged to hardihood by
his mistaken shipmates, generally excited by spirits, and some times
even decorated with knots of ribbon, the mutineer went boldly to
execution, leaving the spectators less appalled at his fate, than
admiring his fearless bearing. Sir Edward quickly changed this feeling
when the prisoners came up to the forecastle. Addressing a few words,
first to the men who had followed him from the _Indefatigable_, and
afterwards to the rest of the crew, "_Indefatigables_" he said, "stand
aside! not one of you shall touch the rope. But _you_, who have
encouraged your shipmates to the crime by which they have forfeited
their lives, it shall be your punishment to hang them!" Quailing before
their commander, their false feeling was destroyed in a moment; and as
there is no medium between the hardihood and the cowardice of guilt,
they felt as he intended, and many of them wept aloud. Afterwards, there
was not in the service a more orderly ship than the _Impetueux_, or a
crew more pleasant to command.

Considerate as he was upon all occasions where human life was concerned,
and unwilling to resort to punishment, he was always anxious to make it
as impressive as possible, whenever it became necessary to inflict it.
He assisted to try one of the mutineers of the _Hermione_, whose crew
had murdered their officers, and carried the ship into a Spanish port.
This man's crime was attended with circumstances of peculiar
aggravation. He was coxswain to Captain Pigott, who, savage tyrant as he
was in general, and richly deserving of the fate he provoked, had
brought him up from a boy, and treated him with much kindness and
confidence. Yet he headed the murderers; and when they broke into the
captain's cabin, and that officer, perceiving their intention, called
for his coxswain to protect him, he replied with an opprobrious epithet,
"Here I am to despatch you!" He had been entrusted with the captain's
keys; and when the work of blood was over, the officers, even to
unoffending midshipmen, being slaughtered, and the murderers were
regaling themselves with wine, he told them that he knew where to get
them better than what they were drinking. His crime was fully proved;
and the court being cleared, Sir Edward proposed that sentence should be
executed immediately. The circumstances of the case demanded, in his
opinion, unusual severity, which might be expected to have a good effect
upon the fleet; while there was every reason to conclude, from the
prisoner's demeanour before them, that if delay were allowed, he would
meet his fate with a hardihood which would destroy the value of the
example. The court at first questioned their power to execute without
the warrant of the Admiralty; but this was quickly settled by reference
to the Act of Parliament. The President then declared that he could not
make the order. "Look here!" said he, giving to Sir Edward his hand,
trembling violently, and bathed in a cold perspiration. "I see it, and I
respect your feelings," replied Sir Edward, "but I am sure that such an
example is wanted, and I must press the point." "Well," he replied, "if
it be the _unanimous_ opinion of the court, it shall be done." It was
agreed to, and the prisoner was called. Though, sure that he must be
condemned, he entered with a bold front; but when informed that he would
be executed in one hour, he rolled on the cabin-deck in an agony. "What!
gentlemen," he exclaimed, "hang me directly? Will you not allow me a few
days--a little time, to make my peace with God?" The whole fleet was
appalled when the close of the court-martial was announced to them by
the signal for execution; and at the end of the allotted hour, the
wretched criminal was brought up to undergo his sentence.

A similar stern decision quelled in a few hours the spirit of resistance
during the special commission for trying the Luddites at York, when the
county was almost in a state of rebellion; and it was found necessary to
protect the court with cannon. Six of the ringleaders having been
convicted on the first day, the intrepid judge, Le Blanc, ordered them
all to be hung at six o'clock next morning. While the multitudes,
stunned by this unexpected vigour, waited in trembling anxiety for what
was next to follow, eight more were convicted on the second day, and as
promptly executed. The whole county was struck with terror; and the
judge, having thus effected the great object of punishment, by
compelling them to respect and fear the law, could now venture to show
mercy. It is the hardest effort of human resolution for a judge to
consign to certain and ignominious death the helpless being who stands
trembling before him, imploring the mercy or the delay which it rests
but with him to grant; but whenever justice demands life, duty requires
that so great a sacrifice shall be made most useful; and to effort
this, execution must take place before abhorrence for the crime is lost
in pity for the offender. _His_ proper time for repentance is the
interval before conviction. Little dependence can be placed on the
contrition which never shows itself till every hope of life is gone.

The _Impetueux_ formed part of the force which pursued the combined
fleets from the Mediterranean to Brest, and from which they escaped so
narrowly. She afterwards remained with the Channel fleet, under Lord
Bridport and Sir Alan Gardner. On the 1st of June, 1800, Earl St.
Vincent, who had assumed the command a short time before, detached Sir
Edward Pellew, with seven sail of the line, and some smaller vessels, to
Quiberon Bay, whore they were to land five thousand troops under General
Maitland to assist the royalists. Next day, the squadron arrived and
anchored; and on the 4th, the forts on the peninsula were attacked and
silenced by the _Thames_, 32, with some of the small craft; and
destroyed by a party of troops. Several vessels, taken at the same time,
were brought off or scuttled. Very early on the morning of the 6th, the
armed launches, and a division of small craft, were sent away under
Lieutenant Pilford, of the _Impetueux_, which completed the destruction
of the shipping in the Morbihan, bringing off six prizes, and destroying
several others, among which was the _Insolente_, 16-gun brig. They
landed at the same time about three hundred troops, who carried and
dismantled a fort. The whole service was effected with the loss of two
men killed on board the _Thames_, and one in the boats. By this time, it
was placed beyond doubt that the invalids were not strong enough to
warrant a descent. Sir Edward, therefore, proposed an immediate attack
on Belleisle, which had long been a favourite object with him, from a
conviction that nothing would enable the British to harass the enemy
more effectually than the possession of that island. He earnestly
combated the doubts of the General, and pressed the point with all the
energy of his character. Filled with the ardour so naturally inspired by
the opportunity to attempt a long-cherished enterprise, he exclaimed, "I
will be everywhere at your side, only let us attack the place without
delay." But the General, who could not feel that confidence founded on a
knowledge of the place, which Sir Edward had gained from having long
cruised in the neighbourhood; and who well knew the difficulty and loss
which a much larger force had formerly experienced in taking it,
objected to the attempt, and the enemy in a few days decided the
question by strongly reinforcing the garrison. The troops were then
landed upon the small island of Houat, about two leagues to the
south-east of Quiberon Point, where they remained encamped, while Sir
Edward cruised with his squadron off Port Louis.

Towards the end of July, Mr. Coghlan, who had assisted Sir Edward in
saving the people from the _Dutton_, and was now commanding the _Viper_
cutter, tender to the _Impetueux_, with the rank of acting lieutenant,
proposed and obtained permission to cut out a brig of war, which lay
moored within the port. Accordingly, with twelve volunteers from the
_Impetueux_, and a midshipman and six men from the _Viper_, in the
line-of-battle ship's ten-oared cutter, a boat from the _Viper_, and
another from the _Amethyst_ frigate, he went away on the night of the
26th to attack a national brig of seven guns, three of them long
twenty-four pounders, and with eighty-seven men on board.

The object of his attack, _La Cerbère_, was moored with springs on her
cable, within pistol-shot of three batteries, surrounded with armed
vessels, and not a mile from a seventy-four and a frigate.
Notwithstanding her formidable position, and though her crew were
prepared, while the boats of the _Amethyst_ and _Viper_ had not been
able to keep up with the cutter, he pushed on with the single boat, and
made a dash at the brig's quarter. In the act of springing on board, he
became entangled in a trawl-net, and before he could disengage himself,
he was pierced through the thigh with a pike, and knocked back into the
boat. Still undismayed, they boarded the brig further ahead, and after a
desperate struggle on her deck, carried her. Of the boat's crew, one man
was killed, and eight wounded; the brig had six killed, and twenty
wounded. The other boats now came up, and the prize was towed out under
a heavy, but ineffectual fire from the batteries.

This very brilliant action was rewarded with peculiar notice. The
squadron gave up the prize to the captors; Earl St. Vincent presented
Mr. Coghlan with a sword; and a most unusual distinction, he was
immediately made a lieutenant by an order in council, though, by the
regulations of the service, he had still to serve a year and a half
before he would be entitled to promotion.

A few days after, Sir J.B. Warren arrived, with a small squadron and a
fleet of transports; and having re-embarked the troops from Houat, and
taken the _Impetueux_ under his orders, proceeded to attack Ferrol. The
fleet arrived in the bay of Playa de Dominos on the 25th of August, and
Sir James Pulteney, the military commander-in-chief, desired that the
troops might be landed immediately. The direction of this service was
committed to Sir Edward Pellew, who first silenced a fort of eight
twenty-four pounders by the fire of the _Impetueux_, assisted by the
_Brilliant_, 28-gun frigate, _Cynthia_, sloop of war, and _St. Vincent_
gun-boat; and landed the whole army the same evening, without losing a
man. Sixteen field-pieces were landed at the same time, and the sailors
got them, with the scaling ladders, to the heights above Ferrol.

A slight skirmish took place on the first advance of the troops, and a
sharper one next morning; but the enemy were effectually driven back,
and the heights which command the harbour of Ferrol gained, with the
loss in all of sixteen men killed, and five officers and sixty-three men
wounded. Six sail of the line, two of them large first-rates, were in
the harbour. Sir James now resolved to abandon the enterprise. Sir
Edward entreated that he might be allowed to lead on with his sailors,
for he was confident that the town must yield. But Sir James--to the
intense disappointment and indignation of Sir Edward, who refused
afterwards and in consequence even to meet him at dinner--declined to
advance, and the troops and guns were all re-embarked without loss the
same night. It was afterwards ascertained, that the garrison, despairing
of effectual resistance, were prepared to surrender the keys.

The squadron escorted the transports to Gibraltar, to join a force
already assembled there; with which, under the command of Abercromby,
and protected by the fleet of Lord Keith, they proceeded to Egypt.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] Quiberon Bay, one killed in the boats; landing at Ferrol, none;
Batavia Roads, one killed in the boats; Griessee, none; skirmishes off
Toulon, one killed by accident; Algiers, eight.

[9] The sailors gave professional names to the various specimens of
entomology which infested their stores. Thus, a large maggot found in
the biscuit they called "Boscawen's bargemen."

[10] The case of Captain Baillie is remarkable as the first in which
Erskine pleaded. When this brilliant advocate, then a junior, unknown
even to his brethren at the bar, was assailing Lord Sandwich as the
prosecutor of his client with equal eloquence and courage, and even in
defiance of a rebuff from the Judge, the latter, Lord Chief Justice
Mansfield, leant over the bench and inquired in a whisper, "Who is that
young man?" "His name is Erskine, my lord," replied the clerk. "_His_
fortune is made," observed the Judge as he resumed his seat.




CHAPTER VII.

BLOCKADE OF FERROL.--PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY.


The _Impetueux_ remained with the Channel fleet until she was paid off
at the end of the war, when Sir Edward was allowed a short repose. He
passed it chiefly in the quiet of domestic retirement at Trefusis, a
seat belonging to Lord Clinton, which occupies the promontory between
the two principal branches of Falmouth harbour, and adjoins the little
town of Flushing, where his grandfather had lived. Here, in the bosom of
his family, and with many of his companions and friends in the service
around him, he enjoyed his first period of relaxation from the beginning
of the revolutionary war.

Early in 1801, there was a naval promotion, which left him nearly at the
head of the post list; and he was shortly after made a Colonel of
Marines. His popularity was now very great, for the credit gained by his
first action was increased by every future success, until there was no
officer of his rank whose name was more known and honoured through the
country. That this should create jealousy was only to be expected; for
it is always the hardest trial of liberality to be just to the superior
fortunes of a competitor. Some, contending that he enjoyed a reputation
beyond his deserts, would under-rate his services, which, they said, any
other officer with the same chances could have performed as well. But
chance, though it may afford an occasional instance of unexpected
fortune, never gives a long and uniform career of distinction. Sir
Edward displayed the same character through all his grades of rank, and,
except in the _Hazard_, which was employed on a station and a service
which could afford no opportunity for distinction, obtained the same
success in every ship he commanded. It is encouraging to unassisted
merit to observe, that he had no influential friends until he had made
himself independent of their support, and was attached to the fortunes
of no leading commander. All his promotions, and every honour he
received, were given expressly to reward some recent and distinguished
service.

Many years after he had retired from active employment, he made a modest
allusion to this subject at a naval dinner, at which his late Majesty,
then Lord High Admiral, presided. In rising to return thanks, when his
health was drunk with compliments which demanded acknowledgment, he
referred to his own history as a proof that no officer, however
unsupported by influence, need despair of receiving his due reward from
the justice and gratitude of his country. "I have never known," he said,
"what fortune meant. I never chose my station, and never had a friend
but the King's pennant; but I have always gone where I was sent, and
done what I was ordered; and he who will act upon the same principles,
may do as I have done."

At the general election in 1802, he was solicited to stand for
Barnstaple; for which, after a severe contest, he was returned on the
8th of July, by a very large majority. His correspondence at this period
shows he was very early wearied with his situation. Nor was he better
satisfied when he had gained an insight into the nature of a
parliamentary life. Indeed, a naval officer of reputation will seldom
promote his comfort by going into Parliament; where his inactivity may
present an unfavourable contrast to his professional character, or his
prominence expose him to the virulence of party. Yet the experience
thus obtained was not without value to a man who was henceforth to be
employed as a commander-in-chief, with a greater share of political
responsibility than usually attaches to a naval command. If he had
wished to estimate the value of political friendships, and the spirit of
party intrigue, a lesson which professional employment at sea is little
calculated to teach, he could not have entered Parliament at a better
season. The high character and truly English politics of Mr. Pitt had
united very different parties to support him in carrying on a just and
necessary war; but when the bond which he had afforded to his party was
removed by his going out of office, and peace had deprived them of their
common object, former principles of repulsion regained their influence;
and the uncertainty whether the premier was the rival or the _locum
tenens_ of Pitt increased the confusion. It was still more embarrassing
when, at a later period, Mr. Pitt threw himself into avowed opposition
to a government, of which the premier was his friend and pupil, and the
other ministers, one of whom was his own brother, might all be regarded
as his nominees. Indeed, six remained in office when he returned to
power, and the ex-premier himself joined the administration in a few
mouths after.

Sir Edward had not long been in Parliament, before he expressed a
confident opinion that Mr. Pitt would soon come in. Succeeding events
strengthened this conviction; and when the peace, or rather armed truce,
of Amiens was evidently drawing to a close, he said in one of his
letters, "Pitt _must_ now be the minister." He gave a general support to
the Government in the very small part which he took in the business of
the House, but he availed himself of the earliest opportunity to escape
from it; and on the very day when the King's message was delivered,
which indicated the renewal of hostilities, he solicited and obtained
employment.

On the 11th of March, 1803, he was appointed to the eighty-gun ship
_Tonnant_, in which, after some delay, occasioned by the general
difficulty of procuring men, he joined the Channel fleet. Anxious to
take part in the important naval operations to be expected, he wished to
sail with Nelson, whose reputation gave a just presage that the most
decisive blow would be struck where he commanded; but after he had been
appointed to a station, his sense of naval obedience forbade any attempt
to change it. With that care for the improvement of his young officers
which was always a prominent feature of his conduct, he advertised for a
superior schoolmaster for the _Tonnant_, to whom he offered 50_l._ per
annum, in addition to his pay, that he might obtain for them better
instructions than the regulations of the service would afford.

Early in the summer, he was detached from the Channel fleet, with the
_Mars_ and _Spartiate_ under his orders, to intercept or blockade a
Dutch squadron, which had put into the neutral port of Ferrol, on their
passage to India. The enemy had proceeded on their voyage the day before
he arrived, and he followed under a press of sail as far as Madeira.
They were the ships which he afterwards destroyed at Griessee. In his
absence, a French squadron of five sail of the line arrived at Corunna
from St. Domingo, and took advantage of the first westerly gale to cross
the bay to Ferrol. Here they were blockaded by Sir Edward, whose force
was soon increased to six, and afterwards to eight sail of the line.

On the 2nd of September, during a strong easterly gale, with thick
weather, two other French ships from St. Domingo, the _Duguay Tronin_
74, and _Guerrière_ frigate, were chased by Sir Robert Calder, who was
coming out to relieve the Commodore. The _Culloden_ had a running fight
with the enemy for two hours and a half, but could not prevent them from
getting into Corunna. In autumn, the _Tonnant_ having been refitted at
Plymouth, Sir Edward resumed the command, and maintained a very close
blockade, at considerable risk, by night and day. He constantly expected
a French force from Brest, and often remarked to his officers, that
they would have to fight both squadrons at once. Under such
circumstances, every precaution was required, and though unwilling to
interfere with the men's rest, yet, to prevent surprise, he thought it
necessary to keep them at quarters all night, and pipe down the hammocks
in the morning.

As the season advanced, the weather became so tempestuous that the
squadron was often driven off the land for many days together, and only
occasionally fetched near Ferrol. Sir Edward became anxious therefore to
find an anchorage in the neighbourhood, where the fleet could ride out a
gale, and obtain necessary supplies. He first examined a bay near Cape
Ortugal, but this was too distant. He then went in a cutter into the Bay
of Bentanços, between Ferrol and Corunna, on the eastern side of which,
in a bay called Ares, he considered, contrary to the opinion of the
celebrated Spanish hydrographer Tofino, that the anchorage was safe, and
the ground good. The correctness of his judgment was proved by the
number of heavy gales which the squadron rode out through the winter.
The place much resembles Cawsand Bay, and a windmill stood on the
adjacent height, from which the harbour of Ferrol could be seen as
distinctly as Hamoaze from Maker Tower. In this mill, the English and
French officers on the look-out often met. As long as the wind was
westerly, the squadron remained here; but when it shifted to the
eastward, which was fair to leave Ferrol, Sir Edward anchored his ships
across the entrance of the harbour.

Owing to the prevalence of the westerly gales, the supplies from England
were totally inadequate to the wants of the squadron: and it became
indispensable to procure them on the spot. Occasionally a few live
cattle were received, but the vessels bringing them were driven back, or
detained, until the beasts were almost dead. Water was soon found: but
it was not easy to obtain provisions in the depth of winter from so poor
a country. The Spaniards were very lukewarm, and the French Admiral
naturally created every obstacle in his power. This important charge was
entrusted to Mr. Fitzgerald, purser of the _Tonnant_, and acting
secretary to the Commodore, a gentleman of great resources, and
unbounded courage and enterprise. By his exertions a small supply of
fresh meat was obtained, with some wine and biscuit; and as confidence
became established, cattle and other necessaries were purchased forty
miles in the interior. In the performance of his arduous service, Mr.
Fitzgerald was twice attempted to be assassinated; and he escaped only
by killing the assailant upon one occasion, and by wounding some of the
party on the other. Sir Edward was thus enabled to maintain an effectual
blockade all the winter. He always expected an attack from Brest, which
perhaps might have been attempted if the enemy had known his real
strength; but his frequent exchanges with the Channel fleet deceived the
French Admiral into a belief that a force was cruising in the
neighbourhood, of which the ships he saw were only the in-shore
division. Early in the year ships arrived from England with supplies,
and every difficulty had been removed, when political events at home led
to his recall.

While the general wishes and confidence of the country were directed to
Mr. Pitt, as the only minister to carry on the war with energy, the
chief support of the Government was the reputation and decisive
character of Earl St. Vincent, First Lord of the Admiralty, whose
ability as a great commander was even surpassed by his consummate skill
as a politician. But the Earl was now suffering the common fate of a
practical reformer, to be opposed by the retainers of a former system,
and distrusted by all who could not appreciate his innovations.
Thoroughly acquainted with his own service, he had introduced
everywhere, and especially into the dockyards, a bold and unsparing
reform, which no ingenuity could evade, and which was felt the more from
being coincident with the reductions of peace. All who were thus cut
off, and others whose emoluments he curtailed, naturally became hostile;
and the inconvenience always created by a change, and which it was the
direct interest of so many to aggravate, afforded too favourable
opportunities for the prejudiced to misrepresent, and the candid to
misunderstand him. In abolishing the practice of building line-of-battle
ships in private yards, he took a step of which all subsequent
experience has proved the wisdom; but it united against him an extensive
and most powerful interest. It was contended that his measures displayed
great and unnecessary harshness, and were calculated to break down the
effectiveness of the navy. Very many persons of the highest integrity,
too little acquainted with the facts, were thus deceived; and even Mr.
Pitt, though he had recommended Earl St. Vincent for the Admiralty,
believed that he was weakening the most important arm of the country.
Under such circumstances, Sir Edward Pellew was recalled, ostensibly,
that the Admiralty might confer with him upon these disputed questions.
Nothing could be more flattering to him, or indeed more honourable to
both parties, than this confidence; for there had never been much
cordiality between Earl St. Vincent and Sir Edward, who was both
politically and personally an admirer of Mr. Pitt; and it was clear to
every one that the ministry was about to fall. But the Earl was too
conscious of the wisdom of his measures to fear the judgment of a candid
opponent; and he too well appreciated Sir Edward's character not to feel
assured that he would allow no private motive, or political
predilection, to interfere with the discharge of his duty.

Thus, when Mr. Pitt gave notice of a motion for inquiry into the state
of the navy, of which the avowed object was to censure the naval
administration, a mutual friend was employed by the Admiralty to learn
Sir Edward's opinion of the subjects it embraced, and on finding that
his judgment condemned them, to induce him to express his sentiments in
the House. To this proposal he readily assented. They had all engaged
his attention previously, particularly that relating to the gun-boats,
which he had frequently discussed with the late Sir Sidney Smith, who
contended that they might be made effective against a line-of-battle
ship. Sir Edward would always say, "I should choose to be in the
line-of-battle ship." On the day he went to the House, he observed in a
letter to his brother that he now quite understood why he had been
recalled from Ferrol.

On the 15th of March, Mr. Pitt brought forward his threatened motions.
He contended, that although the enemy had made the most formidable
preparations for an invasion, which would probably be attempted within a
few weeks, the effective force of the navy, from line-of-battle ships
down to hired armed vessels, was at that moment inferior, and less
adequate to the exigency of the danger, than at any former period.
Notwithstanding it was so evidently necessary to oppose to the enemy's
flotilla a force of a similar description, capable of acting in shallow
water, the Admiralty had ordered only twenty-three gun-vessels to be
built, of which five were to be completed in three, and the remainder in
six months, though the necessity for them was immediate and urgent. He
condemned the Admiralty for giving up the former approved plan of
building line-of-battle ships by contract in private yards. Two-thirds
of the navy, he said, had been thus built; for during a war all the
strength of the King's yards was required for repairing ships, and
building was necessarily suspended in them almost entirely. Through the
last war, of twenty-nine line-of-battle ships, twenty-seven had been
built in merchants' yards; while in the present only two had been
contracted for, although fourteen or fifteen slips fit for building them
were then unoccupied in the river. He contended, finally, that the
Admiralty had been very remiss and unsuccessful in raising men for the
navy. In the war of 1793 we began with 16,000 seamen and marines, and
had 75,000 or 76,000 at the end of the year. In the present war we
began with 50,000 men, and had raised them only to 86,000. Thus, in the
former war there had been an increase of 60,000 men in the year; but in
the present only of 36,000, though our mercantile marine was so much
greater. Upon these arguments he founded motions for an account of all
ships, from line-of-battle ships down to hired armed vessels inclusive,
in commission on the 31st of December 1793, 30th of September 1801, and
31st of December 1803, specifying the service on which they were
respectively employed; for a copy of the contracts made, and the orders
given by the Admiralty in 1793, 1797, and 1803, with respect to the
number of gun-vessels to be built; for a list of ships built in the
King's yards for 1793 and 1801; but if it should be thought that any
intelligence on this head might be a channel of improper information to
the enemy, he would abstain from pressing it, for he was aware that
there would still be grounds sufficiently strong to convince the House
that it was the preferable plan to construct vessels in the merchants'
yards; and, finally, for a similar list of vessels built by contract in
private yards.

Mr. Tierney, who led the defence for ministers, would agree only to the
first and second motions; and he moved, as an amendment to the first,
that it should include all other armed ships and vessels employed in the
public service. He denied Mr. Pitt's assertions, and combated his
arguments. It was an extraordinary proceeding, he said, that an inquiry
should be proposed, having for its object the censure of the Admiralty,
when every port of the enemy was sealed up, our commerce protected in
every direction, and our trade prosperous in an unexampled degree. Our
naval force was immense, and admirably calculated for a great variety of
service. We had 1,530 vessels employed, of which 511 included the force
from line-of-battle ships to hired armed vessels; and 624 were a
flotilla completely equipped and ready for immediate service; besides 9
block-ships supplied by the Trinity-house, 19 ships furnished by the
East India Company, and 373 lighters, and small craft, fitted in the
King's yards. Of 100,000 seamen and marines voted by Parliament, 98,174
had been raised, besides 25,000 sea-fencibles; and this, although the
volunteer force of the country was 450,000. He strongly condemned the
practice of building ships in merchants' yards. He alluded to the
_Ajax_, which had been thus built. She had cost 41,000_l_., and the
bargain was thought a good one, yet in three years she required a
further sum of 17,000_l._ to fit her for service.

Two parties in the House supported the motions; Admiral Berkeley, Mr.
Wilberforce, and others, because they agreed with Mr. Pitt in condemning
the measures of the Admiralty; Mr. Fox and his friends, because they
considered that an inquiry would redound most highly to the credit of
Earl St. Vincent. They contended that ministers opposed it only to
screen their notorious incapacity under the shelter of his great name.
On the other hand, Admiral Sir Charles Pole, Mr. Sheridan, Mr.
Addington, Captain Markham, and others, supported Mr. Tierney, and
confirmed all his statements. Nothing, it was said, could afford a
stronger proof how enormous were the abuses which Earl St. Vincent had
corrected, than the argument of Mr. Pitt and his friends, that
men-of-war could not be built in the King's yards, although 3,200 men
were employed in them; and it was known that forty-five shipwrights
could build a seventy-four in a year. Four hundred of the men discharged
had been receiving six shillings a day for doing nothing. Blockmakers'
and coopers' work, for which 2,000_l._ had been paid, was proved upon a
survey to be worth only 200_l._ As to the gun-boats alluded to, which
were built by contract in the last war, they were so bad, that
eighty-seven out of a hundred-and-twenty had been sold by public
advertisement for almost nothing. The men-of-war launched from private
yards had been the ruin of the navy. Three of them went to Portugal, and
were found so defective that it was necessary to send them home, with a
frigate for convoy. The arrangements for the naval defence of the
country were most admirable and complete, and if there were any delay in
building the twenty-three gun-vessels ordered by the Admiralty, it was
because no dependence was placed upon that description of force. It
would be folly to meet the enemy with the inferior weapons which
necessity obliged him to employ, when we possessed a more powerful arm
in our heavy men-of-war and frigates. The depth of water would allow
these to act close to our very shores; and if the enemy's flotilla
should venture out, Captain Markham, Sir Edward Pellew, Sir Thomas
Troubridge, or any officer known in our naval records, would, with a
single seventy-four, shoot through and sink a crowd of their
contemptible craft.

Ministers obtained a majority of 201 against 130; a most triumphant
result for Earl St. Vincent, considering the character of his accuser,
and the grounds upon which Mr. Fox and his friends voted for the
motions.

Sir Edward Pellew met the charges against the Admiralty with the plain
and straightforward declarations of a seaman. Nothing could be more
disinterested than his conduct upon this occasion; for there was little
to hope from the gratitude of a ministry just tottering to their
overthrow, and everything to fear from the resentment of their
successors. But he justly considered that upon a vital question, and at
such a crisis, no personal or party feeling should intrude; and he felt
himself called upon to support the Admiralty with more than a silent
vote, because he quite approved their measures, which no man could
better understand. He rose fifth in the debate, and spoke as follows:--


     "SIR,--As I very seldom trouble the House, I hope I may be
     permitted to make a few observations on a subject of which, from
     the professional experience I have had, I may be presumed to have
     some knowledge. From the debate of this night, there is one piece
     of information I have acquired, that the French have got upwards of
     a thousand vessels in Boulogne. I am glad to find they are shut up
     there; we have one advantage in it--we know where they are. I wish
     we had any means of knowing when they intend to come out. I know
     this much, however, that they cannot all get out in one day, or in
     one night either; and when they do come out, I trust that our
     cockleshells alone, as an honourable admiral has called a very
     manageable and very active part of our force, will be able to give
     a good account of them.

     "Sir, I do not really see in the arrangement of our naval defence
     anything to excite the apprehensions of even the most timid among
     us. On the contrary, I see everything that may be expected from
     activity and perseverance to inspire us with confidence. I see a
     triple naval bulwark, composed of one fleet acting on the enemy's
     coast; of another, consisting of heavier ships, stationed in the
     Downs, and ready to act at a moment's notice; and a third, close to
     the beach, capable of destroying any part of the enemy's flotilla
     that should escape the vigilance of the other two branches of our
     defence.

     "In respect to what has been said of building ships by contract, I
     must confess that I do not much admire that mode of keeping up our
     navy. I have seen some of them--I particularly allude to the _Ajax_
     and _Achilles_--that I took for Frenchmen.

     "As to these gun-boats, which have been so strongly recommended,
     this musquito fleet, they are the most contemptible force that can
     be employed. Gun-brigs, indeed, are of some use; but between a
     gun-brig and a gun-boat there is almost as much difference as
     between a line-of-battle ship and a frigate. I have lately seen
     half a dozen of them lying wrecked on the rocks.

     "As to the probability of the enemy being able, in a narrow sea, to
     pass through our blockading and protecting squadrons, with all that
     secresy and dexterity, and by those hidden means that some worthy
     people expect, I really, from anything that I have seen in the
     course of my professional career, am not disposed to concur in it.

     "I know, sir, and can assert with confidence, that our navy was
     never better found; that it was never better supplied; and that the
     men were never better fed and better clothed. Have we not all the
     enemy's ports blockaded from Toulon to Flushing? Are we not able to
     cope anywhere with any force the enemy dares to send out against
     us? And do we not even outnumber them at every one of the ports we
     have blockaded? It would smack a little of egotism, I fear, were I
     to speak of myself; but as a person lately having the command of
     six ships, I hope I may be allowed to state to the House how I have
     been supported in that command. Sir, during the time that I was
     stationed off Ferrol, I had ships passing from the fleet to me
     every three weeks or a month; and so much was the French commander
     in that port deceived by these appearances, that he was persuaded,
     and I believe is to this very hour, that I had twelve ships under
     my command, and that I had two squadrons to relieve each other, one
     of six inside, and the other of six outside."


He was highly complimented by several who followed him in the debate,
particularly by Mr. Addington, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Courtenay, as well
as by other members out of the House. Twenty, who had come down
intending to vote for Mr. Pitt's motions, were induced to support the
Admiralty, confessedly by Sir Edward's statements. But it is, perhaps,
the most decisive proof of the effect of his speech, that Mr. Pitt
himself referred to it in a debate on the defence of the country six
weeks after. At the same time he disavowed the gun-boats, and contended
for "good stout gun-brigs," declaring that he had observed with much
satisfaction the efforts which had lately been made to increase that
description of force.

Mr. Addington resigned on the 12th of May, with Earl St. Vincent; Mr.
Yorke, the Home Secretary; and Lord Hobart, Secretary at War. They were
succeeded by Mr. Pitt, and Lords Melville, Harrowby, and Camden.

On the 23rd of April, there was a naval promotion, in which some of the
senior captains, including Sir Edward Pellew, were advanced to be
Rear-Admirals of the White, passing over the intermediate step. This
favour was probably considered due to them, for they had served
considerably beyond the time which had hitherto given an officer his
flag, the former promotion having been a small one, and the interval
much longer than usual.

Sir Edward received with his promotion the appointment to be
commander-in-chief in India. He hoisted his flag in the _Culloden_, and
gratified Captain Christopher Cole, the youngest brother of his deceased
friend, and who had served with him as a midshipman in the _Winchelsea_,
by naming him for his captain.




CHAPTER VIII.

SIR EDWARD'S COMMAND IN INDIA.


The arduous charge of a commander-in-chief requires more than great
decision, and a judgment matured by experience. It claims also a mind
naturally comprehensive, that it may be equal to great and complicated
responsibilities. He has other, and not less important duties than to
harass the enemy. He is to protect the commerce of his country; to make
his influence so felt over every part of his station, that merit may be
encouraged, and negligence effectually controlled; to provide in all
respects for the efficiency of his fleet; and to act with the full
powers of an ambassador, whenever there is no accredited minister. In
addition to these more obvious duties, occasions will continually arise
which demand the utmost temper and discretion. If the secret history of
the greatest, and most popular commanders were fully made known--what
difficulties they encountered, and what anxieties they endured--not many
would be found to envy them their distinctions.

The change in the ministry, which took place within three weeks after
Sir Edward's promotion and appointment, subjected him, in its
consequences, to many and great inconveniences; for the new Board of
Admiralty manifested a decidedly hostile feeling. Such was the temper
displayed, that he thought it necessary to caution his brother Israel to
observe the utmost circumspection in all his conduct, and never even to
sleep out of his ship. The evident desire to deprive him of his command
left him very little expectation that he would be allowed to keep it,
and in his first letter from India he observed, "Probably my successor
is already on his way to supersede me." He was not far mistaken.

The most valuable, indeed the only valuable part of his command was that
to the eastward of Ceylon, which included the two chief presidencies,
and all the rich colonies of the enemy. It was resolved to deprive him
of this, by creating it a separate station, leaving to him only the
western seas. The more desirable portion was conferred upon Rear-Admiral
Sir Thomas Troubridge, an officer whose reputation must endure as long
as the name and services of Nelson are remembered; and whose
unquestioned merit affords every cause to regret that he was innocently
made the instrument of such a proceeding. He hoisted his flag in the
_Blenheim_, an old three-decker which had been cut down to a
seventy-four, and sailed from England in the spring of 1805, with a
fleet of Indiamen under his convoy; and after beating off Rear-Admiral
Linois, who attacked him with the _Marengo_ and _Belle Poule_, reached
India in August.

When Sir Thomas went on board the _Culloden_, on his unwelcome, but not
unexpected errand, Sir Edward inquired if he had brought his own letters
of recall. Finding that the Admiralty had overlooked the essential step
of sending them, he declared, that until they arrived he could not
resign any part of his command. He was charged with it by the King, and
was required by the regulations of the service to hold it until recalled
by the same authority. Sir Thomas thought that a commission was
cancelled by a posterior one, without a direct recall; but Sir Edward,
who was equalled by very few in his knowledge of naval law, found it
easy to convince him to the contrary, or at least to refute his
arguments. He told Sir Thomas that if he remained in India, it must be
under his own orders, for his commission comprehended all the station,
and it was impossible for a junior to command in the presence of his
superior officer. When Sir Thomas, indignant at the proposal, refused to
act under the other's authority, Sir Edward brought the question very
promptly to an issue, by writing, and handing to Sir Thomas, an order on
service.

Both officers were naturally warm, and Sir Thomas, disappointed as well
as irritated, and who was taken so entirely by surprise, had by this
time quite lost his temper. Indeed, the altercation had gone so far,
that nothing but a sense of their public responsibility prevented a more
unpleasant meeting. Sir Edward had hitherto maintained his self-command;
but as Sir Thomas continued warm, and he was conscious of the infirmity
of his own temper, he went himself to the cabin-door, and calling for
Captain Cole, desired him to remain as a witness of all that passed. The
two Admirals quickly came, not perhaps to a more friendly feeling, but
at least to a better understanding. Sir Thomas could not but see that
the other was acting in strict conformity to his duty, and he had the
assurance that the Admiralty would correct their oversight as soon as a
reference could be made to them. Sir Edward must have felt it most
painful thus to meet an officer whose character stood deservedly among
the highest in the service; the trusted friend, and almost the other
self of Nelson. Acting with the utmost disinterestedness, though he
could only expect to be superseded, for a public board will seldom
confess itself to have been in error, he did not hesitate, as soon as
his own authority had been properly admitted, to give Sir Thomas a
separate squadron in the best part of the station. It proved a most
lucrative command, for in addition to its general advantages, some
prizes of immense value were taken. On the 20th of July, 1806, the
_Greyhound_ frigate and _Harrier_ sloop of war fell in with two large
armed Indiamen, richly laden with spices, and protected by a frigate and
a corvette. The British gallantly attacked them, and captured, with
little loss, the frigate, and both the Indiamen. To add to the
gratification of the Admiral, it was his son, Captain Troubridge, who
commanded the _Harrier_.

Sir Edward, as far as he was himself concerned, had eventually little
reason for regret. The position of true dignity, to be always ready to
sacrifice to public duty personal feelings, and to surrender, when
necessary, personal interests, but never to compromise any point of
principle or character, is generally the course not less of prudence
than of honour. He obtained on this occasion all he could desire, and
more than he had hoped for, a candid inquiry. Before his letter reached
England, there had been a change in the ministry, and Mr. Grey was at
the head of the Admiralty. Nothing could be more honourable than all his
conduct. It was at first believed that Sir Edward had committed an
illegal and unprecedented act of resistance to that authority which, as
an officer, he was bound implicitly to obey. Yet, believing that he had
acted hastily, Mr. Grey himself went to the Duke of Northumberland, as
Sir Edward's friend, to say, that the board would allow him to write a
letter on service, recalling his ill-advised communication. The Duke
sent to Sir Edward's brother, who was then in town, that he might write
to India without delay; but Mr. Pellew at first thought the step
unnecessary. His brother, he said, was not in the habit of acting
without due consideration, and he did not think it would be found that
he had done so now. But next day. Earl St. Vincent called upon the Duke,
and insisted more strongly on the necessity for the step. Sir Edward's
letter, he said, was not a question of this or the other administration,
but an act of insubordination which no ministry could overlook: that his
professional prospects would be entirely destroyed if the board took
cognizance of it; and that extraordinary lenity was shown in allowing
him to recall it. A letter was accordingly written; but before a ship
sailed, Mr. Grey came a second time to the Duke, and told him he had
found, upon inquiry, that Sir Edward was right. He did more; for he
wrote to Sir Edward himself a very kind and handsome letter; and though
opposed to him in political opinions, while Sir Thomas Troubridge was
connected with his own friends, he recalled this officer, whom he
appointed to the Cape, and continued to Sir Edward, as at first, the
entire command in India.

Sir Thomas had with great reason assured himself of a different result.
He prepared immediately to cross the Indian Ocean to the Cape in the
_Blenheim_, though she was utterly unseaworthy, and required constant
pumping even in harbour. She had grounded on a shoal in the Straits of
Malacca, and was obliged to throw her guns overboard, and cut away her
masts, before she could be got off. Her back was broken, her frame
shaken to pieces, and she hogged excessively. In fact, her head and
stern fell so much, that she rose like a hill amidships, and a person at
the door of the poop-cabin could not see the sentry on the forecastle
below his middle. Sir Edward Pellew entreated the Admiral to select any
other ship on the station for his flag. The Captain of the _Blenheim_
formally reported her condition, but was told, that if he were afraid,
he might go on shore, a taunt that compelled the unfortunate officer to
sacrifice himself with the ship's company. The Admiral thought to force
back the broken keel to its place by putting in a very heavy mainmast,
and could not be convinced that he thus increased the danger. The
distinguished officer who supplied these particulars went on board the
_Blenheim_ the day she sailed, to take leave of the Captain, and found
that he had just written a last farewell to his wife, from a conviction
that the ship must inevitably founder. On the 12th of January, 1807, she
sailed from Madras, in company with the _Java_ frigate, and the
_Harrier_ sloop of war. On the 5th of February, the _Harrier_ parted
company off the island of Rodrigues, in a very heavy gale, in which the
unfortunate _Blenheim_ and _Java_ were seen to make repeated signals of
distress. They were never again heard of!

The possibility that the ships might have run on shore induced Sir
Edward to send the Admiral's son with the _Greyhound_ frigate in search
of his lamented parent. Captain Troubridge explored the coasts with all
the anxiety that filial affection could inspire, receiving every
assistance from the French authorities at the isles of France and
Bourbon; but he could discover no certain traces of the ships, and no
doubt remained that they had both foundered.

Sir Edward had been in India but a very short time, when his friend and
former opponent, Bergeret, was brought to him a prisoner. This gallant
officer had employed himself through the peace in the merchant service,
with the _Psyché_, formerly a small national frigate. When hostilities
were renewed, he armed her with thirty-six guns, and sent her out in
charge of another officer, Captain Trogoff, not choosing to command a
privateer. In her first cruise, on the 11th of April, 1804, she
attacked, and was beaten off by the _Wilhelmina_ store-ship, Captain
Henry Lambert, and returning to the Isle of France, disabled, General
Decaen, the governor, bought her into the national marine, and appointed
Bergeret to command her. He cruised in the Bay of Bengal for a short
time with much success, while his very liberal conduct obtained for him
the highest respect of the British residents. Fortune was again unjust
to him. On the 14th of February, 1805, the _San Fiorenzo_, commanded by
Captain Lambert, late of the _Wilhelmina_, and which had been sent
expressly in pursuit of him, fell in with the _Psyché_ off Vizagapatam,
and after a chase of two days brought her to action. Bergeret defended
his ship against a very superior force for three hours and a half, when
the _San Fiorenzo_ hauled off to repair her rigging, leaving him with
his ship entirely disabled, and more than half his crew killed and
wounded. On the approach of the British frigate to renew the action, he
surrendered.

Sir Edward was a warm admirer of the brave prisoner, whose character so
much resembled his own, and who returned his friendship with equal
warmth and sincerity. There is not often such a scene on board a
man-of-war as occurred when the two officers first met on the
quarter-deck of the _Culloden_. Both were deeply affected, and the
struggle of their feelings, from meeting under such circumstances, drew
tears from many who witnessed the interview.[11]

Sir Edward was not always so happy as to meet with enemies thus
deserving of his sympathy. A French frigate, the _Piedmontaise_, was
guilty of conduct which would have-disgraced a pirate. Cruising off the
Cape, on the 17th of February, 1805, she fell in with the _Warren
Hastings_, one of the China fleet which on a former voyage so gallantly
bent off the squadron of Admiral Linois; and after a very long and
severe action, in which the Indiaman was dismasted, and otherwise
completely disabled, took her. Her brave defence appears to have excited
the fury of the enemy, probably because her very crippled state
increased the probability of recapture. Before taking possession of the
prize, the frigate, by her own mismanagement, fell on board.
Immediately, the first lieutenant, with a party of ruffians, many of
whom, like their leader, were intoxicated, rushed on the deck of the
Indiaman with horrid imprecations and drawn daggers, accusing the
prisoners of having run foul of the frigate intentionally. The
lieutenant himself wounded Captain Larkins dangerously, and stabbed a
young midshipman in several places; and the second officer, the surgeon,
and a boatswain's mate, were wounded by his followers. Sir Edward did
not become acquainted with these facts for two years, as Captain Larkins
and his crew could not depose to them until they reached St. Helena,
after they had been liberated from the Isle of France. The
_Piedmontaise_ was then cruising in the Indian seas, and Sir Edward
transmitted copies of the depositions to every ship on the station,
with a general order, in which "the attention of the respective captains
and commanders of H.M.'s squadron is especially called to the statement,
in order that the ferocious conduct of the first lieutenant, and part of
the crew of the _Piedmontaise_, may receive the general reprobation of
H.M.'s service."

The _San Fiorenzo_ was again the fortunate frigate which stopped the
career of the enemy. Commanded by Captain George Nicholas Hardinge,
brother of Lord Hardinge, the present Commander-in-Chief--a young
officer of great promise and distinguished courage--she fell in with the
_Piedmontaise_ on the evening of the 6th of March, 1808; and after an
exchange of broadsides that night, and a severe but still undecided
engagement next morning, brought her to close action on the afternoon of
the third day, and took her. The _San Fiorenzo_ commenced action with
only 186 effective men; the _Piedmontaise_, a larger and heavier
frigate, had more than 500, including 200 Lascars. Captain Hardinge was
unfortunately killed on the third day. For some time before the enemy
struck, the first lieutenant was seen exposing himself to the hottest of
the fire; till, disappointed of the death he sought, and dreading to
fall into the hands of the British, he discharged his pistols into his
own body. It is said, that as he did not die immediately, he ordered
some of his people to throw him overboard alive.

The French naval force in the Indian seas was at no time considerable,
for whenever a cruiser was known to be committing depredations, her
career was generally cut short by some of the squadron. It consisted
chiefly of privateers, for which the Isle of France afforded a
convenient rendezvous; and of which some were large enough to capture a
regular Indiaman. The _Emiline_, taken after a two days' chase by the
_Culloden_, had been a British sloop of war: and the _Bellone_, taken by
the _Powerful_ and _Rattlesnake_, was added to the navy as a small-class
frigate, and actually maintained a running fight with the seventy-four.
The resemblance between ships of war and the larger Indiamen more than
once deceived the enemy. The _Union_, a small privateer, mounting only
eight guns, thus ventured to chase, and was taken by the _Culloden_; and
the _Jena_, national corvette, was taken in the same manner by the
_Modeste_ frigate. The _Jena_ was a remarkably fine and fast vessel,
and, as the _Revenant_ privateer, had formerly cruised long and very
successfully. She was commissioned as the _Victor_, to replace a sloop
of war of that name, which in the preceding year had been the scene of
one of the most extraordinary and tragical events on record.

The _Victor_, commanded by Captain George Bell, whose name has been
already mentioned in connection with the _Nymphe_ and _Indefatigable_,
had taken four brigs in Batavia Road, and was returning to Prince of
Wales' Island. On the 15th of April 1807, off Cheribon, she met three
Malay prows under Dutch colours, which, on its falling calm, she
detained with the armed boats, and brought alongside. The crews of two
of them, a hundred and twenty men, were taken on board the _Victor_, and
placed under a guard, while the prows were being examined; but the
people in the third being refractory, a carronade was fired into her,
and some small arms, which they returned by throwing spears and firing
pistols. A second gun was therefore fired, some sparks from which
reached a quantity of powder which had been taken out of the prows, and
blew up the after-part of the ship. The guard ran to extinguish the
flames, leaving the prisoners, who instantly seized their arms, with the
spears and knives which had been thrown on board, and attacked the crew
with all the desperation of their character. The prows were immediately
cut adrift, and the crew, under the direction of their officers,
proceeded with admirable order and coolness, one part to extinguish the
fire, and the rest to defend themselves against the murderous attack.
After half an hour's dreadful struggle for life, for the Malays would
take no quarter, eighty of them lay dead on the deck, and the rest were
driven overboard. The _Victor_ had her first lieutenant and five men
killed, and her captain and twenty-five wounded; nine of whom died
shortly after.

Holland, which in reality, though not yet in name, was now a French
province, had a moderately strong squadron in India. Two frigates had
been taken since Sir Edward's arrival, the _Maria Riggersbergen_, by the
_Caroline_; and the _Pallas_, by the _Greyhound_ and _Harrier_. The
first was the unfortunate ship which, under the name of the _Java_,
shared the fate of the _Blenheim_; the other was the convoy of the spice
ships. Two line-of-battle ships, the _Pluto_ and _Revolutié_ with a
frigate and several corvettes and gun-boats, were at anchor in Batavia
Road; and information had been received by the _Powerful_, 74, Captain
Plamplin, that Rear-Admiral Willaumez, with six sail of the line, one of
them commanded by Jerome Bonaparte, might be expected in the Indian
seas. To destroy the ships already at Batavia, and to intercept the
French squadron, Sir Edward sailed on the 22nd of October 1806, from
Madras to Trincomalee. Here a fleet of Indiamen under his convoy was
joined by other ships, and went on to Europe in charge of the _Woolwich_
and _Duncan_; while the Admiral, with the _Culloden_, _Powerful_,
_Russell_, and _Belliqueux_ line-of-battle ships, and _Terpsichore_
frigate, proceeded to the Straits of Sunda, where the _Albion_ and
others were to join him. Lieutenant Owen, commanding the _Seaflower_
brig, was instructed to disguise her as one of the expected French
squadron, and to hasten on before. On the 23rd of November, they were
joined by the frigate _Sir Francis Drake_, Captain Pownoll Pellew; and
on the same day they learnt that Willaumez had gone to America. On the
26th they arrived in the Straits of Sunda, where they found the
_Seaflower_, which had already communicated with the Dutch authorities
at Bantam as one of the expected French force, and information was sent
accordingly to the Governor at Batavia. So completely were the enemy
deceived by this step, that the squadron sailed along the coast of
Java, and anchored on the 27th in Batavia Road, before its character was
suspected.

As soon as it was known to be British, the _Phoenix_, 40-gun frigate;
the _Aventure_ and _Zee-ploeg_, national corvettes; the _Patriot_, and
another ship of 20 guns, and three brigs of 14, Company's cruisers; with
more than twenty merchant vessels, ran themselves on shore under the
extensive batteries of Batavia. Another corvette, the _William_, struck
to the _Terpsichore_ as she was entering the road; but the
line-of-battle ships had sailed a few days before to Griessee, a
fortified harbour on the Sourabaya river, at the eastern extremity of
the island. The boats of the whole squadron, with five hundred picked
men, commanded by the Admiral's second son, Captain Fleetwood Pellew, of
the _Terpsichore_, and covered by the fire from the frigates, were sent
without delay to destroy the enemy's ships. The decision of Captain
Pellew, which scarcely allowed them time to man their guns, made their
fire almost harmless. He boarded the _Phoenix_, whose crew quitted her
on his approach; turned her guns on the other armed vessels; burnt all
the shipping except three merchant vessels, which were brought away; and
in less than two hours returned with the boats, having effected the
whole service with no greater loss than one man killed and four wounded.

One of the ships lay at the little island of Onroost, which is piled and
jettied all around, and contained a small and compact repairing yard for
merchant vessels of all nations. Two boats were sent to destroy her,
with strict orders to injure nothing on shore; but unfortunately she
drove alongside the jetty, and, to the great regret of the Admiral, the
flames communicated to the buildings, and occasioned much damage. The
squadron sailed on the 1st of December, the _Culloden_ and _Belliqueux_
to return to India, the others for their respective stations. Thus
easily was completed an enterprise, as admirably planned as it was
gallantly executed. General Daendels, when he became Captain-General of
Java and the Moluccas, some time after, sent a message to Sir Edward,
that he hoped he would not pay him a visit without an invitation.

In the following June, the Admiral sent Captain Fleetwood Pellew in the
_Psyché_, with the _Caroline_ under his orders, to ascertain the
condition of the Dutch line-of-battle ships at Griessee. Captain Pellew
displayed on this occasion the same spirit which had marked his former
service. The frigates reached their destination August 29th, and on the
following day learned that the men-of-war were lying in the port
dismantled, and very much out of repair. They now proceeded to Samarang,
where the _Psyché_ arrived, and anchored off the port at midnight, the
_Caroline_ having parted company in chase. At daylight she weighed, and
stood into the road, where an armed schooner and a merchant brig were
anchored near the batteries. These were brought out by the boats, under
a heavy but ineffectual fire. Two large ships and a brig had been seen
early in the morning at anchor outside, afterwards found to be the
_Resolutié_, armed merchant vessel, of 700 tons, with a valuable cargo,
and having the colours and staff of a Dutch European regiment on board;
the _Scipio_, national corvette, of 24 guns and 150 men; and the
_Ceres_, Company's brig of war. That he might be ready to take advantage
of the sea-breeze, Captain Pellew destroyed the prizes, and before noon
the _Psyché_ was clear of the harbour in chase, the enemy having weighed
and stood to sea. The frigate gaining fast upon them, they all ran
themselves on shore at half-past three, and opened their fire. The
_Psyché_ anchored as near as the depth of water would allow, and
presently compelled the merchant ship to surrender. At half-past four,
just as the frigate was lowering her boats to board, the _Scipio_
struck: and the brig soon after fired a broadside, and hauled down her
colours. They were all got off safely the same night, and Captain
Pellew, after arranging with the Governor of Samarang for sending on
shore the prisoners, who far outnumbered his own crew, returned to port
with his prizes.

On the arrival of the _Psyché_, Sir Edward sailed from Madras, with the
_Culloden_ and _Powerful_, seventy-fours; _Caroline_ and _Fox_,
frigates; _Victor_, _Samarang_, _Seaflower_, and _Jaseur_, sloops of
war; and _Wexford_, a large Indiaman, fitted as a troop-ship: with five
companies of the 34th regiment, and a company of artillery, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Lockhart. The squadron proceeded first to Prince of
Wales' Island, where it embarked the Royals, and the 34th; and on the
20th of November sailed finally for its destination. On the morning of
the 5th of December it arrived off Point Panka, the eastern extremity of
Java; and Sir Edward sent a summons to M. Cowell, commander of the
Gallo-Batavian force, to surrender the ships of war under his orders.
"The British," he wrote, "are the natural friends of the Dutch. We are
impressed with correspondent sentiments. It is become our duty to
prevent the Dutch ships of war from acting under the control of France
in hostility to the British." He then proposed that the ships of war,
and all vessels under French colours, be given up, promising in that
case security for the inhabitants and garrison; and threatening, in the
event of a refusal, those hostile operations which the naval and
military forces were jointly prepared to accomplish. Captain Fleetwood
Pellew, with a military officer, and the Admiral's secretary, delivered
this proposal to the French commodore; but that officer, in violation of
the flag of truce, detained them all as prisoners, and returned an
answer of defiance.

The force assembled for the attack was such as might deter the enemy
from attempting resistance, with a sufficient force of small vessels to
be equal to the service, if the line-of-battle ships should be unable to
get up. At the entrance of the river, about ten miles up the harbour,
the _Culloden_ and _Powerful_, though they had been previously
lightened, and trimmed to an even keel, to equalize their draught of
water fore-and-aft, grounded on what was called the bar, and which
proved to be a flat, several miles in extent. Part of their water was
started, and their guns, shot, provisions, and whatever would materially
lighten them, were removed into three coasting-vessels detained for that
purpose; but still they remained fast. The rest of the squadron, except
the troop-ship, which was also aground, crossed the bar, and passing a
stockade of large trees, anchored in deep water below the island of
Madura. On the evening of the 6th, Sir Edward, seeing no probability of
carrying up the large ships, determined to force the passage, and attack
the place without them, and accordingly shifted his flag to the
_Caroline_. Fortunately, at nine o'clock that night the water began to
rise; and by ten, the _Culloden_ was afloat and under sail. Following a
boat with a light, which was directed by Mr. Gaze, the master, she
passed the stockade, and by eleven o'clock was anchored above the bar in
deep water. Before daylight, the Admiral returned to her, and all the
squadron, except the _Powerful_ and the troop-ship, which had not yet
floated, weighed with the sea-breeze, and stood for the narrow passage
between Madura and Java. At half-past eleven, they were engaged with the
batteries on the island; but they passed them by half-past twelve,
without having received material damage. At a little past four, the
squadron anchored abreast of the Fort of Griessee, but no farther
resistance was offered, except a few ineffectual shots fired from that
fort at the _Culloden_; M. Cowell having previously determined to defend
the place to the last against the frigates and sloops, but to surrender
if the line-of-battle ships got up. The _Powerful_ joined next day. In
coming up, she was struck from the batteries on Madura with hot shot,
but her people extinguished the fire. The troops took possession of the
fort, leaving the town in the hands of the civil authorities: and on the
9th, the Governor and Council of Somabaya, having thankfully acquiesced
in the liberal terms dictated by Sir Edward, all hostilities ceased.
They had promptly released the gentlemen whom the commodore had so
unjustifiably detained; and a deputation of three members of their own
body accompanied them to the Admiral, to disavow the act of M. Cowell,
and to treat for a capitulation.

Having burnt the _Pluto_, _Revolutié_, and _Kortenaar_, line-of-battle
ships, and a large Indiaman, fitted as a frigate, and destroyed the
military stores and batteries at Griessee and Madura, the squadron
weighed on the 13th, and stood down the river in charge of the Dutch
pilots. On the 15th, they crossed the bar, and two days after, having
completed their provisions and water, left the coast. Not a man was lost
in all the service. When Java was taken, in 1811, a squadron was sent to
Sourabaya; but none of the large ships could get over the bar; and their
officers would scarcely credit the fact that the _Culloden_ and
_Powerful_ had reached Griessee.

The _Culloden_ arrived at Madras on the 10th of February, and found
there the _Russell_ and _Duncan_, with troops embarked to attack
Tranquebar. They sailed next day, and the place surrendered on being
summoned.

But all these operations, complete as they were in their success, were
of far less importance than the effectual protection which Sir Edward
afforded to commerce. His position, with reference to this point, had
been peculiarly fortunate: for the confidential intercourse which
existed between him and his brothers, and the warm interest which they
took in one another's pursuits, had induced him to give much attention
to the commercial system of the country. Particularly, he had become
familiar with the important subject of insurance and convoys, upon which
his brother had been much in communication with the government. At an
early period of his command in India, he submitted to the merchants and
underwriters a proposal to establish a regular system of convoys; and
invited them to suggest from their own local experience the regulations
likely to be the most convenient and effectual. The merchants entered
readily into his plans and the results were satisfactory. Some loss was,
indeed, still experienced through a frequent practice of masters of
vessels to sail without convoy, or to separate from it on the passage.
The commanders of the enemy's cruisers generally treated their prisoners
well, and released them at the earliest opportunity; so that sailing
without protection became a mere commercial calculation between a higher
premium of insurance, and the profits from an early arrival, for little
personal inconvenience was to be apprehended from capture. To check this
practice, the Bengal Government, in December, 1806, issued a
proclamation, declaring that all masters of vessels who separated from
their convoy without sufficient cause, should be removed from India; and
in 1808, the Court of Directors ordered, that the master of every
country ship should enter into a bond of 5,000 rupees, at the
custom-house from which he cleared, as a penalty for any separation. Not
that the danger was often great, for the vigilance of the squadron
seldom allowed an enemy's cruiser a long career; but it sometimes
happened, as was particularly the case while the force was assembled for
the expedition to Sourabaya, that an enemy would unexpectedly show
himself, and commit serious depredations.

During the debate in the House of Commons, on the vote of thanks for the
victory at Algiers, Mr. Money, an East India Director, who had been in
India during Sir Edward's command, bore a strong testimony to the merit
and success of his system. "Such," he said, "was the vigilance with
which Sir Edward had chased the enemy from our extensive shores, and so
powerful the protection which he gave to our commerce in those seas,
that property to the amount of millions had been saved, which otherwise
would have fallen into the hands of the enemy." Making all the allowance
which a loose and general estimate usually requires, the assertion at
least shows the estimation in which Sir Edward's services were held. A
series of resolutions entered into by the merchants and underwriters of
Bombay, in December, 1808, when he was on the point of returning to
Europe, affords more precise evidence. From the data furnished by the
trade of this port, may be inferred the greatness of the benefits which
the commerce of India received from his protection.


     "Resolved--That it appears to this meeting of merchants,
     shipowners, and underwriters, of Bombay, to be an indispensable act
     of justice, more especially under existing circumstances, publicly
     to declare, on the approaching departure of his Excellency
     Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew for Europe, the extent of the
     protection which the commerce of Bombay has received, since the
     assumption by his Excellency of the command-in-chief of his
     Majesty's ships in the Indian seas.

     "--That it appears by a document framed in the insurance-office of
     Bombay, that the rate of premium from Bombay to China, and from
     China to Bombay, from the year 1708 to 1805, fluctuated between
     twelve, ten, nine, and eight per cent.; while, during the period of
     Sir Edward Pellew's command, from 1805 to 1808 inclusive, it has
     stood at eight per cent., with a return of three per cent., if
     sailing with convoy, and at five per cent., if warranted with
     convoy: the rate of insurance has, therefore, been fifty per cent,
     lower on the commerce of the port of Bombay during Sir Edward
     Pellew's command than at any former period.

     "--That since the arrival of Sir Edward Pellew, a period of only
     three years, one hundred and ten ships have exported and imported,
     to and from China, under convoy during the whole voyage; while only
     twenty-eight have run the passage unprotected, in consequence of
     their sailing out of the seasons fixed for the regular convoys; at
     the same time that those which have departed unprotected on the eve
     of appointed convoys, or have separated in the course of the
     voyage, have not failed to attract the notice and remonstrance of
     his Excellency.

     "--That the operation of the system of convoys had afforded
     complete security to the trading capital of Bombay, of which the
     amount insured at this settlement, from May 1st, 1806, to October
     31st, 1808, has been 6,700,000_l._; that the premium paid by the
     trade on that sum amounts to 445,000_l._; that the losses by
     captures amount to 61,000_l._; that the losses by sea risks
     extended to 69,000_l._; and that the profits to the underwriters
     amount to the sum of 314,000_l._; the losses by captures being
     under one per cent, on the principal insured, and exceeded by those
     arising from sea-risks; while the former have occurred beyond the
     influence, or have been a consequence of a departure from that
     regular system of convoy, by which the commerce of the western
     division of the peninsula of India has been so extensively
     benefited.

     "--That the advantage resulting from protection by convoys, which
     the trade of this port has thus experienced, has originated in that
     system which was established, and has prevailed, since the
     succession to the command of H.M.'s ships in India by Sir Edward
     Pellew; a system proposed at his express invitation, in the letter
     addressed to his Excellency by the three leading firms in behalf of
     the merchants of Bombay, on the 12th of February, 1806, and adopted
     in the reply of his Excellency's secretary of the following day.

     "--That at a time when the enemy has sacrificed his maritime
     reputation, and every feeling of naval ambition, to a degrading
     system of privateering, in the prosecution of which national ships
     of superior force and construction are employed, for the purpose of
     committing depredations on our trade, it is indispensable to the
     successful prosecution of our commercial interests, essential to
     our national credit, and justly due to the character of those to
     whom the protection of these valuable and important trusts is
     committed, that a steady adherence to that system should be
     observed, of the solid advantages of which, the experience of
     three years has afforded so decided a proof.

     "--That independently of the ample protection afforded to the
     commerce of the port, his Excellency Sir Edward Pellew has
     manifested a degree of personal anxiety for the security of its
     trade, characteristic of that zeal and vigilance which have ever
     distinguished his professional career; that the interference of his
     Excellency led to the advertisements issued at his suggestion by
     the insurance society of Bombay in the year 1806, promotive of
     encouragement to sail and continue under convoy; and subsequently,
     to the salutary provisions contained in the proclamations published
     by the governments of Bengal and Bombay in the year 1807,
     restrictive of the practice of ships separating from convoy; and,
     moreover, that his Excellency's solicitude in this respect has
     succeeded in establishing a degree of control over our shipping,
     hitherto unknown in the Indian seas.

     "--That these important facts, as established by the most minute
     investigation, do eminently entitle his Excellency Sir Edward
     Pellew, to a more formal declaration of those grateful
     acknowledgments which he has already received from a great and
     decided majority of the merchants, shipowners, and underwriters of
     Bombay.

     "--That these resolutions be communicated to his Excellency Sir
     Edward Pellew, with a suitable address, and published in the
     _Bombay Courier_.

                                        "CHARLES FORBES, Chairman."


The great extent of the Indian command, and the comparatively small
force with which it was held, called forth the utmost exertions of every
officer; and the attention of the commander-in-chief was unceasingly
directed to everything which was calculated to maintain his squadron in
the highest state of efficiency. Lord Torrington, who was at that time
serving under his orders, bore testimony in the House of Lords to the
care and judgment by which, while he prevented any waste of naval
stores, he kept the ships always well supplied, and in a state always
ready for action. Overlooking nothing connected with the interest of his
crews, he established a naval hospital at Madras, a measure fraught with
economy to the country, and advantage to the service.

As an Admiral, not less than as a Captain, Sir Edward interested himself
in the welfare and comfort of every man under his command; but the
clamour of that false humanity which is one of the most prominent vices
of the present day would never influence him. He knew that, even in the
best ordered ships, punishment may be sometimes necessary as an extreme
alternative, though the exercise of it demands great discretion. Too
many will be found, especially during a war, when it is impossible to
inquire into the character of those who come into the service, who are
callous to every better motive; and with reference to such, we must
respect the humanity more than the judgment of those who would
substitute privations injurious to health, for the pain of the lash, and
studied indignities for the shame of it. Little consideration can be
claimed for that pretended sense of honour, which is sensitive to the
shame of punishment, but callous to the degradation of crime. The
experience of every good officer will bear out the assertions, that a
strict commander is always the most popular; that the orderly system of
a well regulated ship, in which every man knows his duty, and performs
it without being teasingly interfered with, affords the best security
against offences; and that when an offence has been committed, the
ship's company, and even the culprit himself, will respect the captain
who patiently investigates the fault, and dispassionately orders the
deserved punishment.

But on the other hand, except in particular cases, as where a ship has
been manned by drafts from the fleet; in other words, by receiving the
skulkers and incorrigibles, whom every captain desires to get rid of,
frequency of punishment is the most certain proof of unsatisfactory
discipline. Either there will be a laxity which encourages by the
prospect of impunity, or else a want of system, in which the caprice of
the officer is the rule for the moment, and the men can never fall into
regular habits. Sir Edward's observation had taught him, that while the
power to punish can be entrusted only to the discretion of the
commander, it is right, on every ground, that it should be exercised
under some check. Accordingly, soon after he went to India, he required
a monthly return of punishment from every ship in his fleet; and the
Admiralty, struck with the simplicity of the plan, and not less with the
excellent effects, adopted it for all the navy. This was the first step
in the milder and more effectual system of discipline which has since
prevailed; and if he had no other claim than to have originated this, it
would be sufficient to entitle him to the gratitude of every officer and
man in the service.

He sailed from India in February, 1809, with a fleet of Indiamen under
his convoy. Off the Isle of France they encountered a violent hurricane,
in which the _Culloden_ was in the greatest danger. For three days no
provisions could be cooked, and the crew subsisted chiefly on dry rice,
with a dram every four hours. So violent was the motion of the ship, as
she rolled from broadside to broadside, that the chain-pumps were almost
useless. All the quarter-boats were lost, the quarter-galleries washed
away, and three of the dead lights stove. Fortunately her bottom was
sound, but she broke much in the upper works; the bolts working
themselves loose, and many of the knees giving way. Even the cabin
bulkheads were thrown down. It was suggested to the Admiral, who was
almost constantly on deck, encouraging the men at the pumps, that the
ship would be materially eased if the upper deck guns were thrown
overboard. He replied, "I do not think it necessary; she will do very
well, and what would become of the convoy if we meet an enemy?" It was
his intention, if the gale had continued, to cut away the mainmast,
which, being very heavy--for it weighed twenty-one tons--strained the
ship exceedingly. The mizen-mast had given way in the top. Four of the
convoy foundered, and the rest were scattered; but all which escaped the
gale re-assembled at St. Helena, and, with the _Culloden_, arrived
safely in England.

FOOTNOTE:

[11] Bergeret rose to be an Admiral, and was not long since
Commander-in-Chief at Brest.




CHAPTER IX.

NORTH SEA AND FIRST MEDITERRANEAN COMMAND.


The expedition to the Scheldt was being fitted out when Sir Edward
arrived from India; and had he reached England but a few days sooner, it
was understood that he would have received the naval command. The
military commander-in-chief, whose friendship he had long enjoyed,
wished him to be appointed; but the final arrangements of the Admiralty
had been already completed.

Lord Mulgrave afterwards proposed to him to be second in command in the
Mediterranean; and suggested that Lord Collingwood would probably be
glad to surrender his charge to an officer who possessed the confidence
of the Admiralty; for that of late he had repeatedly expressed a desire
to be relieved from it on account of his declining health. But Sir
Edward, who was not aware of the actual condition of that distinguished
Admiral, declined the offer, for he could not be persuaded that Lord
Collingwood would resign a command which he filled so usefully and
honourably, as long as he could possibly hold it with advantage to his
country.

He did not remain long unemployed, though he never attempted to create
an interest in his favour by any indirect means. Political intrigue, he
has said, does not sit well on a sea-officer; and he would not attach
himself to the fortunes of any administration, or party. This, as it is
the most honourable, is also in the end the most successful path; but
the man who travels thus alone and unsupported, must be prepared for the
many attacks to which such a position will expose him. Some such
annoyance or interference may have prompted the following blunt avowal
of independence in a letter, of the 28th of July, 1810.

"I have no right to the favour of Mr. Percival, or any minister.--I have
never intrigued, nor ever will--and as to sneaking after such people, I
will not--and as to the command of the Channel fleet, be it Pole, or be
it Calder, I care not one straw--and whether I am on the shelf by any
new set, is equally indifferent--and for me, who am fifty-three, except
the heart-felt satisfaction of serving my country in such times, I will
never be at the trouble to write a letter to ask a favour of any
minister alive. I care not who comes in, or who goes out, and if they
send me on shore, well; and if not, it is the same."

In the spring of 1810 he hoisted his flag on board the _Christian VII_.
as commander in-chief in the North Sea. He rode at anchor with his fleet
all the summer, off the mouth of the Scheldt, just in sight of land;
while his smaller vessels were actively employed along the whole line of
coast. He frequently stood into the Scheldt in a cutter, that he might
reconnoitre the enemy's fleet in person. A gale from the eastward having
blown the fleet off the coast, it was at anchor in the Downs, when a
gun-brig arrived with intelligence that the enemy had dropped down to
the Western Scheldt, apparently ready to sail. He ordered the fleet to
sea immediately; but many of them having made signal of inability, for
the pilots refused to get them under weigh, he sent for the chief pilot
of the flag ship, and questioned him if it were practicable to take out
a ship in such weather. The pilot having reported that it was quite
safe, even for the _Christian VII._, which from her great length was the
least manageable ship in the fleet, much more so for the others, some
of which worked like cutters, the Admiral made signal for all captains
and pilots to come on board. He then repeated his order to sail, and
enforced obedience. The fleet sailed, and beat across the North Sea to
their station, without an accident; and the enemy returned to their
former anchorage as soon as the blockading force appeared. As the autumn
advanced, the pilots gave up the charge of the fleet; but Sir Edward
kept his station, until the increasing severity of the gales compelled
him to take shelter in the Downs.

In the spring of 1811, he succeeded Sir Charles Cotton as
commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. He proceeded to his station in
the _Caledonia_, with his brother Israel, lately promoted to be a Rear
Admiral, as captain of the fleet; and arrived off Toulon on the 18th of
July. Next morning, two French frigates returning from Genoa with
conscripts for the fleet were chased by the _Conqueror_ and _Sultan_,
the inshore squadron; and the French commander, Vice-Admiral Comte
Emeriau, sailed out with thirteen line-of-battle ships and a frigate, to
protect them. The _Conqueror_ approached near enough to fire upon the
frigates, and afterwards, with her consort, exchanged a few distant
broadsides with the advanced ships of the enemy: but these, whose only
object was to secure the frigates, did not wait for the main body of the
British force, now fast coming up, but hastened back to their anchorage.
This affair, with the evident high state of equipment of the French
fleet, led all to expect that there would soon be a general action; a
hope in which the Admiral fully participated. He writes thus on the 28th
of December, 1811, when the fleet was on its way to Mahon:--


     "MY DEAR BROTHER,--I would not permit a ship to sail direct for
     England without carrying you a few lines to say we are all well, on
     our way to replenish our provisions and water for the winter's
     cruise: when this is done, we return to our old ground; or it is
     possible we may attempt to lay in Hyères Bay, should we find the
     ground good for winter gales, of which at present we are not quite
     assured. We lay there a month in full expectation it would force
     the enemy to give us battle, and it will probably at last compel
     them to do so next spring. They are actively fortifying the islands
     and bay all around, in order to guard against attack, and have at
     least ten thousand men at work: they suspect our army will move
     this way. As far as we can judge from appearances, I have never yet
     seen a French fleet in half the order the Toulon one is. They have,
     I am sorry to say, adopted but too many of our arrangements, and in
     point of clothing, they exceed us. They also keep everybody on
     board, so that the French officers are now of necessity obliged to
     find amusement in their duty; and become acquainted with their
     people. The ships are magnificent; four of 120 guns, larger than
     _Caledonia_, and twelve fine two-deckers, are all ready and manned.
     Two of 120, and two of 80 are building, and may launch by March or
     April; so that I think we shall have twenty to fight, without any
     from Genoa, Naples, or Venice; and I trust a glorious day we shall
     have. Keats is a host of strength to me; and we are all well
     together, eager for the day, which I trust will help to put an end
     to the miseries of war, and the irksome eighteen years' confinement
     between wooden walls we have all experienced.

                      "God be with you ever,
                           "My dear Sam,
                      "Your truly affectionate brother,
                                                 "E. PELLEW."


The hopes of the fleet were disappointed: for the enemy came out only
when the wind was fair to return; and thus, though they often allowed
the advanced ships to approach nearly within gunshot, nothing was, or
could be done, on those occasions.

In the following week, prompted perhaps by the recollections of the new
year, he again writes:--


     "I never expect to live the war through, and am not at all anxious
     about it. If I can only have the happiness of doing service to the
     country, I would give a great deal to be ten years younger; but as
     that cannot be, I must content myself with the reflection that my
     children are good, and provided for; and that I leave them attached
     to their mother, and to each other. We have all reason to be
     thankful, and to praise God for his great and manifold mercies. We
     are ready to start at a moment's notice, and have a strict
     look-out. The enemy are also ready, sixteen sail, a three-decker of
     140 guns launched Christmas Day.

     "God bless you, and yours; and may He enable me to do honour to my
     country and my family--for myself, I care not."


The number of points which required to be constantly watched (for more
than two thousand miles of coast, from the Ionian Islands to Gibraltar,
was in the hands of the enemy), made a considerable force necessary; and
the Mediterranean fleet was at this time one of the largest ever
entrusted to an Admiral. The commander-in-chief, with a principal part
of the line-of-battle ships, blockaded the French fleet in Toulon,
cruising off that port from the beginning of March to the end of
November, and sheltering in Mahon through the three winter months. A
Rear-Admiral was kept at Malta, with a sufficient force under his
direction to guard the different points of the station at the upper part
of the Mediterranean. Another Rear-Admiral was stationed on the south
coast of Spain, to watch the movements of the enemy, and to assist the
Spaniards whenever they could assemble in numbers to make a stand. A
third remained at Gibraltar; and a Commodore, with a ship of the line,
and frigates, watched the Gulf of Genoa, and the western coast of Italy.
Frigates and small vessels were detached wherever their services became
necessary.

Knowing from his own experience what could be done by the flag-officers
and captains of his fleet, he was enabled to assign to all of them their
respective duties in the full confidence that they would not disappoint
him. He associated much with them, and was in the habit of freely
communicating his ideas, as well on general subjects connected with the
movements of the fleet, as on their own personal charge. By his prompt
measures, and personal attention to the repairs, victualling, and
storing of the fleet, and his care to obtain ample supplies of stores
and provisions from England in such good time as never to be deficient
in any necessary article, he kept all the ships in a high state of
equipment, and afforded at the same time an example of activity and
forethought which was not lost upon his officers. He was attentive to
everything which affected the discipline of the crews, and was
particularly strict in enforcing regulations for constant exercise at
the great guns and small arms.

How perfect was the discipline of the fleet may be inferred from the
fact, that with so many ships, and on a station where the enemy had the
chief part of his naval force, he lost, in three years that he held the
command, not a single vessel by capture: and only one, a small gun-brig,
by shipwreck. It may be added, that through almost twenty years of
command in war, as Commodore and Admiral, no vessel under his orders was
ever taken. Something of this may be ascribed to fortune; but more must
be referred to the excellence of the officers and crews; which, when the
results are so uniform, is in fact also the praise of the commander.
Indeed, the superiority of the Mediterranean fleet under his command was
well known, and James, in his Naval History, complaining of the dearth
of good seamen on other stations, laments that "so many thousands of the
very best of seamen, who, under the wise regulations of Sir Edward
Pellew, were daily improving themselves in the neglected art of gunnery,
should be denied the power of showing their proficiency where it was the
most wanted."

He was particularly anxious to keep down the expense of the fleet, and
indefatigable in his exertions to economize stores of every description,
which at this time were procured from home with much difficulty. When it
was found that fresh water could be obtained at the mouths of the Rhone,
the fleet went there, and usually completed in forty-eight hours. He was
thus enabled to discharge several transports. From the size and force of
that river, the fresh water floats for a considerable distance over the
sea; and at first, some of the cruisers completed their water by dipping
it carefully from the surface. But on the fleet anchoring in the bay,
the launches, with the armed boats to protect them, were sent up the
river, where the water was not at all brackish. An arrangement was
eventually made with the French General, who agreed not to molest the
boats, the Admiral on his part promising that none of his people should
be suffered to land on the marshes, or in any way to disturb the cattle
grazing there, of which there were many thousands. In the strong
north-west gales, so common in the Gulf of Lyons, the ships were in the
practice of furling sails every night, and driving off from Toulon,
standing in-shore again under easy sail when the gale moderated. During
the winter months, when he sheltered in Mahon harbour, the ships had
their repairs made good, and their stores and provisions completed; the
Admiral being as active in the dockyard, where he would often be found
at the earliest dawn of the morning, as he showed himself when afloat.
Care was taken that while the fleet thus lay in harbour, it should
always be ready for an immediate start if the enemy should put to sea;
and two frigates, occasionally with a line-of-battle ship, were kept off
Toulon to make a daily observation of the state and movements of their
force. On two occasions, the in-shore frigates particularly
distinguished themselves. On the 22nd of September, 1811, the
_Volontaire_ and _Perlen_ retreated from a division of three
line-of-battle ships, and two frigates, with which they were repeatedly
engaged during six hours; and saved themselves through their admirable
seamanship without loss: and in the following May, the _Menelaus_ alone,
when close in-shore, was chased by several line-of-battle ships; and
though her fore-topmast was nearly cut in two by a shot from the
batteries, she secured it, and escaped.

Competent masters were provided for the young gentlemen of the
_Caledonia_, who were assembled every day in the Admiral's fore-cabin,
and kept closely at their studies; the Admiral himself often visiting
them, and interesting himself in their progress. The French and Spanish
interpreters instructed them in these languages: the flag-lieutenant
superintended their navigation, and that they might perfect themselves
in seamanship, a frigate-built yacht of eight or ten tons was provided,
upon which they were exercised in sailing, rigging and unrigging, and
every part of a practical seaman's duty. All the arrangements of the
ship, with regard both to officers and men, displayed consideration for
their comfort and advantage. When the Admiral thoroughly knew his
officers, he confided in them in their respective situations, never
teasing them with interference, or disturbing himself by unnecessary
watching or anxiety, after his orders had been given. The influence
which he exerted on their behalf, and his great success in obtaining
promotion for them, gave every one the strongest inducement to excel. He
had known the anxieties of a young man forcing his way through the
service without friends; and his own recollections taught him how best
to assist and encourage others.

No man could be more careful of the reputation and feelings of his
officers, or more ready to suggest a plea in excuse for their errors. He
had an extreme dislike to bring any of them to a court-martial, and
would never resort to this painful extremity where it could with any
propriety be avoided. Very few cases occurred under his command; so few,
indeed, that it has even been asserted that not one took place. This it
would be too much to affirm. It may be quite true that he was in no case
the accuser: it certainly was his practice to prevent extreme measures
wherever he could support the authority of the superior without
subjecting the accused to the consequences of a public trial; and the
recommendation of the commander-in chief would generally be conclusive.
Still, a serious case would sometimes occur, in which it was impossible
to prevent the law from taking its course. At a particular period of his
command, and on a very important and critical occasion, one of his
captains placed him in a position of much embarrassment, by entering
without authority into a treaty with the Queen and Court of Murat. The
commander-in-chief arrived very soon after, and annulled the treaty; but
he spared the officer the pain of his position by charging him with the
most prominent and honourable service connected with his own
arrangements. In his despatches to the Admiralty on the occasion, he
touches very lightly on the error, but enforces every exculpatory plea.
Of the unauthorized arrangement with the enemy, he merely writes, "which
I should have been glad he had never entered upon;" yet he adds, "from
my conviction that he had been actuated by the purest motives, and
placed in a peculiar situation. I thought it right, in acknowledging his
letter, to express my approbation of his general proceedings; and in
consideration of all the circumstances connected with his engagements. I
gave him my sanction to," &c. He then proceeds to describe the
flattering trust he had committed to this officer.

But kind as he was, he endured no relaxation of discipline, and never
forgot what was due to his rank and station. His manners were formed by
his character; and whenever an individual with commanding talents
directs them to worthy objects, combining a proper sense of what he owes
to himself with a just consideration for others, he will always, and
without an effort, appear dignified and amiable: far more so in his
unaffected simplicity, than the man who only assumes the character of
the chief and patron, because his position requires it.

His temper was warm, the common failing of quick and active minds. No
one was more conscious of it than himself; and where he feared it had
given pain, he would labour to remove the impression by marked and
continued attentions. In the multiplicity of cares and duties which
surround a commander-in-chief, there are so many sources of irritation
and disappointment, that it is no wonder the mind should sometimes be
brought to that extreme point of endurance, when a small additional
annoyance destroys its equanimity.

The service in the Mediterranean was one of multiplied details,
individually too unimportant for history, yet calculated to influence
materially the progress and result of the war. Along the eastern coast
of Spain, the support and co-operation of the ships afforded that
encouragement to the inhabitants which in the western provinces they
derived from the presence of the British army. Even when the fortresses
had fallen, and Spain had no longer a force for a rallying point in that
part of the country, the guerillas, acting in concert with the fleet,
were enabled to perform exploits which alarmed and distressed the
invader, and kept alive the spirit of hope and resolution. Along the
shores of Italy and France, the most daring and brilliant enterprises
were continually achieved. Batteries and forts were stormed in open day,
and prizes, sometimes in whole convoys, carried off from anchorages
where they seemed to be unassailable. Looking at the evident danger of
such attempts, one is astonished at the constant success which attended
them, and at the generally inconsiderable loss sustained. It would be
unjust to the courage of the enemy, and still more to that of the
gallant officers and men who performed such services, not to state the
cause of this impunity and success. It was not that the defences on
shore were feebly maintained, or that their defenders were surprised and
overpowered by the reckless desperation of the assailants; but that the
different boat attacks were planned with a judgment, and supported by a
force, which prevented effectual resistance. Officers such as Hoste,
Gordon, Rowley, Maxwell, Duncan, Ussher, and indeed all, for no
commander ever placed more general and deserved confidence in his
officers than Sir Edward Pellew, were not men to send away their people
on doubtful and desperate services. The Admiral himself, much as he
admired enterprise, strongly discouraged all acts of useless daring. He
was always most unwilling to risk men's lives in boat attacks, when they
could not be supported by the fire from the ships; and when his own
boats were necessarily detached on service, his anxiety for their safety
was very great. But the men, who saw in these successes only the daring
courage which obtained, but not the considerate judgment which planned
them, learned to fancy themselves invincible, and would go to what might
appear a death service, as if it were an excursion of pleasure. The crew
of the _Imperieuse_, who had often distinguished themselves in these
attacks, petitioned their captain to remain with them, when he had been
appointed to a finer ship, and offered to prove their attachment to him
by taking any two French frigates they could meet. It is right to add,
that their captain, a son of the great and good Lord Duncan, submitted
their petition to Sir Edward Pellew, who continued him with his faithful
followers. "You are a brave nation," said Napoleon at Elba to an English
captain, one of Sir Edward's officers, "so are the French; but the
English are individually brave." Services like these create the
individual bravery which Napoleon admired.

Still more important was the moral influence which these attacks
impressed on the enemy. When the inhabitants along the southern coasts
of Europe could scarcely look upon the waters without seeing an English
cruiser; when they saw the apparent ease with which their strongest
defences were carried; when they felt themselves at the mercy of the
assailants, yet always experienced their forbearance and protection; the
respect felt for an enemy so powerful and generous, taught them to
desire the more earnestly their own day of deliverance from the common
tyrant. And when the tremendous judgment which visited him in the
Russian campaign offered the prospect of his speedy and final overthrow,
every facility existed for acquainting them with the full extent of his
reverses, and preparing them to avail themselves of the earliest
opportunity to assert their freedom. "Affairs in these countries," says
Sir Edward, in one of his letters, "look well, and promise much next
summer, all over the East. Detestation, amounting to horror, is the
general expression against this tyrant of the earth."

The ordinary cares and duties of his command, and his very extensive
correspondence, for the number of letters he was in the habit of writing
on service was almost incredible, were by no means Sir Edward's heaviest
charge. Perhaps there was no ambassador on whom a greater diplomatic
responsibility was imposed than on the commander in the Mediterranean.
It formed by much the largest and most anxious portion of Collingwood's
duties, and the greatness of the trust, the impossibility of confiding
it to another than the commander on the station, and the uncommon
ability with which Collingwood sustained it, gave the British Government
much uneasiness when the state of that officer's health threatened to
deprive them of his services. It increased materially in extent and
importance after Sir Edward had succeeded to the command, when the
reverses of the French in Russia opened a prospect of deliverance to all
the states along the shores of the Mediterranean, including the southern
provinces of France itself. Sir Edward exerted himself unceasingly to
prepare them for this consummation, and to encourage them to seize the
first opportunity to effect it; and the judgment he displayed in these
services obtained from a British Cabinet minister the declaration, that
"great as he may be as a sea-officer, he is still greater as a
statesman."

One professional distinction was yet wanting, and this he anxiously
desired, as a means of hastening an honourable peace, and on personal
grounds, perhaps, to connect his name with the history of his
country--to command in a general action. Though the enemy had shrunk
from meeting him, as he expected when he first assumed the command, yet,
while they continued to build ships of the largest class, and to keep
their fleet always ready for sea, he could not but hope that they only
waited for a favourable opportunity to try the fortune of their flag. At
the end of 1811 there were sixteen sail of the line in Toulon. Two
others were launched next year, and by the close of 1813 there were
twenty-two, of which six were three-deckers of the largest size. Sir
Edward gave them every opportunity, and every prudent advantage, but he
never could induce them to attack him. They had been forbidden to
engage, and the Emperor had hitherto seen nothing to induce him to
recall the order. Thus, though they were kept in a state of high
equipment through the whole period of Sir Edward's command, they never
ventured far beyond the protection of the batteries; and came out only
when they had a leading wind to return.

The restoration of his fleet was a favourite ulterior object with
Napoleon; and if a different result of the Russian campaign had placed
the resources of Europe at his command, there is no doubt but that the
days of St. Vincent and Trafalgar would have been renewed. There was an
English officer who was much in his presence and confidence at Elba, and
to whom he proposed the most flattering inducements to enter his
service. "I am honoured by your Majesty's offer," was the reply, "but I
was born an Englishman." Conversing with him on naval affairs, he one
day said, "I would have had two hundred sail of the line, and when I
brought against you such a force, you must have been crushed." But the
officer soon convinced him that the tactics which he had made so
effectual on land, by concentrating an overwhelming force upon his
enemy, were not applicable to naval operations. Sailors are made but
slowly. It requires an able commander to direct twenty ships, and the
most skilful could scarcely manoeuvre forty. Dark nights and gales would
disperse the unwieldy armada, and a small, but well managed force, would
hang upon it and destroy it in detail. The Emperor saw the force of the
objections, and closed the conversation with the compliment already
related.

Once, towards the end of the war, an opportunity seemed to be offered by
which the enemy might be compelled to sacrifice part of his fleet, or to
risk a general battle. On the morning of November 5th. 1813, the French
fleet had sailed out of Toulon with the wind at E.S.E., and advanced to
a greater distance than usual, when the wind suddenly shifted to
south-west. Immediately the enemy made every exertion to work back to
their harbour. The main body of the British fleet was just in sight to
the southward, and an advanced squadron of four sail, with a fifth at no
great distance, was about half-way between the two fleets. This squadron
lay up for the enemy under all sail, with every appearance of being able
to cut off the rear ships, the _Wagram_ of 130 guns, with four
two-deckers and four frigates. On the approach of the British, the enemy
tacked, and stood in so close, that many thought they intended to run
themselves on shore; but they again tacked off to the southward, and the
advanced squadrons stood on with every prospect of passing to windward
of them. Unfortunately, as the British ships approached, the wind headed
them, and threw them off so much, that they only fetched just within
gun-shot of the _Wagram_, the enemy's rear ship. The fleet was at this
time bringing up the original wind, and the _Caledonia, San Josef_, and
_Boyne_, actually fetched within gun-shot of the French Admiral, before
the wind headed them. The _Wagram_, which had reserved her fire for the
_Caledonia_, exchanged broadsides with her, but at too great a distance
to produce material effect; and the enemy being so far to windward,
succeeded in reaching Toulon. Eleven shots from the _Wagram_ and the
batteries struck the _Caledonia_, wounding the mainmast, cutting some of
the shrouds, and destroying a small boat upon the booms. Much
disappointment was felt by all the fleet, and the conduct of the
advanced squadron was strongly censured by many in the ships astern, who
supposed that they had intentionally bore away, when in fact they had
come up within influence of the head wind.

A more serious, though very partial affair occurred in the following
February. On the evening of the 12th, Rear-Admiral Kosmao Kerjulien
sailed from Toulon, with three sail of the line, and three frigates, to
escort a seventy-four which was expected from Genoa. On the following
morning, the fleet returning from Mahon, discovered the enemy to the
eastward of Hyères Islands. They were at first supposed to be British
ships, but the Admiral himself going aloft, clearly made out their
character. The _Boyne_, Captain Burlton, a small three-decker, sister
ship to the _Victory_, was considerably in advance of the fleet. It was
on Sunday, and the ships were preparing for the morning service, which
had already commenced on board the _Boyne_, when the signal for a
general chase was thrown out. The wind blew strong from E.S.E., and the
_Boyne_, perceiving the enemy's intention to come through the little
pass of Hyères Bay, stood for that pass to intercept them. Sir Edward,
who was leaning on the foreyard, watched her with admiration, but
extreme anxiety. "Hold on, my brave Burlton!" he exclaimed, as the
_Boyne_ dashed at their whole force. Then, as he feared they would all
close, and overpower her before he could arrive to her assistance, he
turned to an officer at his side, and declared with energy, "If they
take her they sha'nt keep her, for I'll go in with the fleet!"

Passing through the enemy immediately astern of a frigate, to which she
gave a broadside, the _Boyne_ separated the rear-ship from the others,
and brought her to action. This ship, the _Romulus_, a two-decker,
immediately hauled in for the north shore, and kept so close, going
round all the bays, that the _Boyne_ could neither run her on board, nor
get inside her. They ran side by side with studding sails set, and at
the rate of ten knots, before the wind, which blew directly into Toulon.
Once it was thought that the _Romulus_ was aground, as she luffed up to
the wind, which brought all her sails aback, and her starboard lower
studding-sail in upon the gangway. The _Boyne_ also backed her sails,
and continued close to the enemy; but the _Romulus_ paying off, and
filling again, continued to run alongshore, and when she reached Cape
Brun, at the entrance of the harbour, had gained on the _Boyne_. The
_Caledonia_ had by this time come up, and the Admiral waved to Captain
Burlton to haul his wind to the southward. The _Boyne_ tacked
accordingly, being then within pistol shot of Cape Brun battery; and the
_Caledonia_ fired a broadside at the _Romulus_, as she ran in to join
her consorts in the harbour. The _Caledonia_ then gave the _Boyne_ three
hearty cheers, and Captain Burlton received the thanks of the
commander-in-chief by signal.

Napoleon was now contending for existence on the soil of France, and the
remains of his former conquests were rapidly melting from him. In the
course of January and February, every place in the Adriatic had
surrendered. In the following month, Lord William Bentinck left Palermo
with an army, supported by a squadron under Commodore J. Rowley, to
reduce Genoa. The advanced guard was landed considerably to the
eastward, and moved forward, supported by the squadron, carrying and
dismantling the batteries as they advanced. On the 30th, the defences
round the Gulf of Spezzia capitulated. On the 13th of April, the army
was landed at Recce, in the Gulf of Genoa; and at day-break on the 17th,
a joint attack was made by the land and sea forces on the defences
around the place. These were carried in the course of the day; and
preparations were in progress to attack the town, when Sir Edward Pellew
arrived with several line-of battle ships. The governor, already alarmed
at the rapid progress of the assailants, capitulated, and the town was
taken possession of next morning. Four gun-brigs, and a number of
merchant vessels were found in the mole; and the _Brilliant_, a fine
seventy-four on the stocks, was launched, and still remains in the navy
under the appropriate name of the _Genoa_.

Paris had already capitulated; and on the 28th of this month, Napoleon
left France in a British frigate for Elba. He landed on the 3rd of May
on the little island which had been assigned to him for a sovereignty,
and a prison: and thus ended a war, one of the longest, the most
dreadful, but in all respects the most glorious, which England had ever
waged.




CHAPTER X.

SECOND MEDITERRANEAN COMMAND.


The contest for naval supremacy was so entirely decided by the battle of
Trafalgar, that no opportunity was afterwards afforded for great
successes. But at the end of the war, when the leading Peninsular
generals were raised to the peerage, it was thought due to the service
to confer a similar distinction upon a naval officer. Sir Edward Pellew
received this mark of his sovereign's favour. He was created Baron
Exmouth, of Canonteign, a mansion and estate in the South of Devon which
he had purchased for a family property; and the pension was settled on
him which is usually granted when a peerage is conferred for eminent
public services.

He was still in the Mediterranean when the news of his elevation reached
him, and he received the first account of it from a newspaper. In
allusion to it, he writes:--"I was never more surprised than at this
event. Never was man more ignorant of its being thought of; much less
reason had I to expect it; and it has happened only by a combination of
events quite unconnected with influence or power. I had some reason to
believe a red ribbon was intended, and ---- wrote that it had been
granted; but if so, it was changed next day to what it is, which, for
the sake of our family, I hope will be useful and respectable. For
myself I am indifferent, and know it will only tend to multiply my
enemies, and increase my difficulties." ... In the course of this year,
he received a handsome compliment from the officers of the Mediterranean
fleet. It is a beautiful model of the Warwick vase, executed by Messrs.
Rundel and Bridge, at a cost of 580 guineas, and bears the following
inscription:--"Presented to the Right Honourable Admiral Lord Exmouth,
&c., &c., &c., as a mark of their respect and esteem, by the officers
who served under his Lordship's command in the Mediterranean."

At the beginning of the next year, when the order of the Bath was
extended, he was included among the knights commanders; and was
afterwards advanced on an early vacancy to be a grand cross. The former
was entirely unexpected, as he knew nothing of the intention to extend
the order. He thus begins a letter to his brother on the 5th of
January:--"I seize this moment, when the arrival of the post has brought
me the enclosed without one single line from any friend I have on earth:
possibly, it was owing to the lateness of the nomination. I had not the
most distant idea of this event, and I can only account for its coming
to me by the squabbling of parties ... to end which, it was probably
decided on giving it to the commander-in-chief. On this ground only can
I account for it, as it was by no means necessary to add this, which was
once considered due to me as a reward of sufficient magnitude, without
any other.

"6th January, 1815.--I had written the above before any gazette reached
me, which explains the whole. But as it shows my heart and mind to you
without reserve, and as I can call God to witness, that I never in my
life kept anything from you. I send it.--May God bless you."

He had remained but a few months in England, when, on the renewal of
hostilities consequent on the return of Napoleon from Elba, he was sent
back to the Mediterranean. Hoisting his flag in the _Boyne_, and again
with his brother, Sir Israel, as captain of the fleet, he hastened to
his station. His services were first required at Naples, which he was
so happy as to save from all the horrors of anarchy. Murat, that he
might create a diversion in favour of Napoleon, had rashly attacked
Austria, and thus violated the compact by which he was allowed to hold
his usurped throne. What followed scarcely deserves the name of war. His
army, not waiting for the enemy to approach, fled like sheep, and left
the Austrian commander an unresisted march to Naples. Lord Exmouth,
after having arranged with Lord W. Bentinek for the co-operation of the
forces from Sicily with the allies, had arrived on the evening of the
18th of May, at Civita Vecchia, whence, on learning the rapid advance of
the Austrians, he proceeded without delay for Naples, where he anchored
on the evening of the 20th. Madame Murat embarked the same night on
board a British seventy-four, and immediately wrote to Lord Exmouth,
requesting that he would take measures for the security and peace of the
city. No capital in Europe contains within itself more formidable
elements for popular tumult; and upon this occasion, the mob, excited by
the general confusion, and not restrained by any adequate authority,
were proceeding to the last excesses of rapine and violence. Lord
Exmouth was not slow to take the steps which such an emergency required.
On the morning after his arrival, he landed the marines, who took
possession of the forts, and the castle of St. Elmo, and conjointly with
the civic guard, restored, and maintained order. On the 23rd, the
Austrian army entered the city, and next day the forts were delivered
up, and the marines embarked. The king, Ferdinand, was unbounded in his
expressions of gratitude, and invested him on the spot with his highest
order.

After having concluded some very difficult and delicate negociations
respecting the queen and court of Murat, who were eventually sent to
Trieste, Lord Exmouth proposed to General Bianci, to embark a few
thousand men, and make a dash at Toulon. Unfortunately, the instructions
of the Austrian commander would not allow him to join in such an
expedition. The squadron therefore sailed for Leghorn, where it landed
the first division of the Austrian army, and thence proceeded to Genoa.
Accounts received on the 3rd of July of the situation of affairs on the
coast of Provence determined Lord Exmouth, in concert with Sir Hudson
Lowe, to embark 3,000 men, part of the garrison of Genoa, consisting of
the 14th, and two Italian regiments, and including 200 artillery and
cavalry, with which he sailed direct for Marseilles. Here the troops
were landed, with a body of seamen, and the marines of the squadron, and
stopped the advance of the rebel Marshal Brune, who was marching from
Toulon upon Marseilles avowedly to destroy it. The inhabitants, grateful
to their preservers, were unceasing in their attentions, both to the
fleet and army, as long as they remained in the place. Their sense of
the important services which the two commanders had rendered, as well to
their city, as to the cause of their rightful sovereign, was marked by
the present to each of a large and beautiful piece of plate, which was
executed at Paris. On the base of that presented to Lord Exmouth is a
medallion of the noble Admiral; and a view of the port of Marseilles,
with the _Boyne_, his flagship, entering in full sail. It bears the
simple and expressive inscription,--"_A l'Amiral mi Lord Exmouth, la
ville de Marseilles reconnoissante_."

The squadron wintered in Leghorn roads, being detained in the
Mediterranean for instructions, which were delayed for some time,
through the magnitude of the negotiations then in progress. At the
beginning of 1816, Lord Exmouth was ordered to proceed to the different
Barbary powers, to claim the release of all the Ionian slaves, who, by
the late political arrangements, had become British subjects: and to
make peace for Sardinia. These were to be matters of compulsion; but he
was also to make peace for any of the other states in the Mediterranean
who would authorize him to do so. Naples readily availed herself of his
offer. Unable to protect herself, it was to her an inestimable blessing
to gain security from such a dreadful scourge on the easiest terms which
the influence of the first maritime power could obtain for her. Nothing
can be conceived more horrible than the condition of the Christian
slaves, subjected as they were, in countries where no law gave
protection, to all the caprice and cruelty of masters, who hated and
despised them for their faith. Nor was it a small aggravation of their
misery, that as Roman Catholics, they were cut off from the observance
of rites which they deemed essential. To the fear and danger of being
reduced to this miserable condition was the maritime population of the
states around the Mediterranean continually exposed: while the great
naval powers, deterred from exterminating these pirates, either by more
pressing concerns, or by the failure of the different expeditions which
had attempted it, purchased a discreditable security by presents.

Lord Exmouth afterwards visited Rome; but the Pope declined the offer of
his services, perhaps from difficulties arising out of religious
scruples at confiding a formal trust to a Protestant. He received the
Admiral, however, with the utmost courtesy, and even attended to his
request upon a subject where it was scarcely to have been expected that
the interference of a Protestant would be allowed. A young Spanish lady,
who was confined in a convent at Minorca, under circumstances of an
oppressive and distressing nature, had contrived to bring her case to
the knowledge of Lord Exmouth, and to place in his hands a memorial,
which he took an opportunity to deliver personally to the Pope. A
British admiral interceding with the Pope for a Spanish nun was a novel
occurrence; but Pius VII. received the memorial very graciously, and
placed it in the hands of Gonsalvi that proper inquiries might be made.
It is satisfactory to add, that Lord Exmouth received a letter a few
months after, informing him that the poor girl's prayer to be set at
liberty had been complied with.

Before he took any steps in fulfilment of his instructions he made the
arrangements necessary for an attack, which was to be the alternative if
negotiations failed; a result much to be expected at Algiers, which had
hitherto withstood so many formidable armaments. He ordered Captain
Warde, of the _Banterer_, to proceed to Algiers, where he was carefully
to observe the town and the nature of its defences. Lord Exmouth's
instructions on this occasion, and which were written with his own hand,
afford an admirable illustration of the forethought with which he
provided for every contingency, and which was the chief secret of his
constant success.

It were injustice to Captain Warde to state how he performed this
difficult and important service in any language but that of the Admiral.
In his despatch which accompanied the treaty made with Tripoli, and
which he sent to the Admiralty when proceeding on his second visit to
Algiers, he writes:--"Previous to my leaving Leghorn, I despatched
Captain Warde in the _Banterer_ to Algiers, to make his observations on
the anchorage and sea-defences, which service he performed with entire
secresy and judgment, and highly to my satisfaction. The accompanying
plan of the works, with his remarks after visiting all the forts and
arsenal, I found correct in every respect; and when it is considered
that he had not the means of taking angles, but was compelled to pace
the distances, and trust much to his recollection, to avoid being
suspected, I think him deserving of the highest commendation. The
soundings round the mole, and the bay to the N.W. of the lighthouse,
were all made by him personally in the night without discovery; nor did
even the consul suspect the purport of his visit."

Indeed, Captain Warde played the careless idler to perfection. He
escorted the ladies of the consul's family everywhere by day, and danced
with them in the evenings, covering a keen and constant observation with
the appearance of frivolity; while at night he was silently moving
outside the port in a boat, taking the soundings with a pole.

It adds to the merit of this officer, that all the previous plans of
Algiers were so incorrect, that he was obliged to begin his own from the
outlines, as if the place were a new discovery. Lord Exmouth afterwards
declared that if he had proceeded to hostilities at his first visit,
without having been furnished with Captain Warde's plan and
observations, he should have assigned to the ships stations which they
could not have occupied. The plan in the Admiralty book of charts, among
other inaccuracies, laid down the sea-face of the city as four miles
long, instead of one; omitted the bay to the north-west of the
lighthouse; represented the pier on which the strong fortifications are
built as quite straight from the lighthouse in a southerly direction,
whereas it forms a quarter of the compass, bending round to the
south-west, or towards the city; and laid the distance between the piers
at the entrance of the mole, a mile, instead of sixty, or sixty-five
fathoms. Notwithstanding this, and his great disadvantages arising out
of the secresy he was compelled to observe, Captain Warde's observations
were so accurate and complete, that Lord Exmouth afterwards sent to the
Admiralty his original plan, to illustrate the despatches of the battle.

Thus prepared for every alternative, Lord Exmouth, on the 21st of March,
made known to the squadron the service upon which they were proceeding
in the following General Order:--


     "The Commander-in-Chief embraces the earliest moment in which he
     could inform the fleet of his destination, without inconvenience to
     the public service.

     "He has been instructed and directed by his Royal Highness the
     Prince Regent, to proceed with the fleet to Algiers, and there make
     certain arrangements for diminishing at least the piratical
     excursions of the Barbary states by which thousands of our
     fellow-creatures, innocently following their commercial pursuits,
     have been dragged into the most wretched and revolting state of
     slavery.

     "The Commander-in-Chief is confident that this outrageous system of
     piracy and slavery rouses in common the same spirit of indignation
     which he himself feels; and should the government of Algiers refuse
     the reasonable demands he bears from the Prince Regent, he doubts
     not but the flag will be honourably and zealously supported by
     every officer and man under his command, in his endeavours to
     procure the acceptation of them by force; and if force must be
     resorted to, we have the consolation of knowing that we fight in
     the sacred cause of humanity, and cannot fail of success.

     "These arrangements being made at Algiers and Tunis, the
     Commander-in-Chief announces with pleasure that he is ordered to
     proceed with all the ships not on the peace establishment to
     Spithead without delay, except the _Bombay_, bearing the flag of
     Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose, which ship is to be relieved by
     the _Albion_, daily expected.

                                       (Signed)           "EXMOUTH.

     "N.B. This General Memorandum to be entered in the public
     order-book, and communicated to the respective officers, seamen,
     and marines of the fleet."


The squadron went in the first place to Algiers, where Lord Exmouth
obtained the objects of his mission without difficulty. The Ionian
slaves were freely released as British subjects; and peace was made for
Naples and Sardinia, the former paying a ransom of five hundred, the
latter of three hundred dollars a head. The fleet then sailed for Tunis,
where accident gave an entirely new character to the subsequent
proceedings. Lord Exmouth had directed the interpreter to tell the Bey,
that it would be very agreeable to the Prince Regent if slavery were
abolished; but the interpreter, by mistake, said that the Prince Regent
had determinded to abolish it. Upon this the negotiation was suspended,
and the Divan assembled. Lord Exmouth soon became aware of the mistake,
and availing himself of the important advantage which it gave him, he
allowed them two hours for deliberation, and retired to the consul's
house to await the result. Before the time expired he was sent for, and
informed that the Divan had deliberated on his proposal, and would
comply with it. Proceeding to Tripoli, he made a similar demand, and it
was there submitted to without hesitation.

In the mean time, he had received instructions to claim from Algiers the
privilege of selling prizes, and refitting privateers in that port,
which had lately been granted by treaty to America. Returning on this
errand, he took the opportunity to press, as at the other Regencies, the
abolition of Christian slavery; but here he had a more formidable power
to deal with. His demand was refused; and when he hinted at the
alternative of force, the Dey answered as a man confident in his
strength to resist it. Lord Exmouth assured him that he formed a very
inadequate idea of a British man of-war, and declared, that if
hostilities should become necessary, he would engage with five
line-of-battle ships to destroy the place. A very sharp altercation
ensued; and Lord Exmouth left the Divan, giving them two hours to
consider his proposal. When the time expired, he took Mr. M'Donell, the
consul, and walked with him towards the boat; but they were stopped at
the gate. After a communication had been made to the Dey, Lord Exmouth
was allowed to pass on, but the consul was detained, on the pretext that
money was due from Portugal, for which, as well as for England, Mr.
M'Donell was accredited. The whole party had been in the greatest
danger. The crowd who surrounded them discussed aloud the question of
putting them all to death; and the conduct of the captain of the port
was extremely suspicious. He was observed to cock his pistol, and Sir
Israel Pellew exclaiming, "At least we'll die with arms in our hands!"
attempted to draw his sword. Happily, the pressure of the throng
prevented him; for in the temper which then prevailed, the appearance of
a hostile movement would probably have been fatal. Lord Exmouth was much
irritated at this outrage; and when one of the principal officers of
state followed, and asked him, as he was just stepping into the boat, to
allow them two days to consider his proposal, he replied with warmth
"No, not two hours!" Hastening on board, he got the fleet under weigh to
attack the place immediately; but the wind was too strong to allow the
ships to take their stations, and they were obliged to anchor again.

Two British officers, Captains Pechell and Warde, had gone on shore, not
anticipating a hostile movement. They were seized by the people, who
dragged them off their horses, rifled their pockets, tied their hands
behind them, and in this state marched them through the town to the Dey.
But when they reached the palace they were immediately released; and
except some trifling articles, which could not be found, all their
property was restored. After two or three interviews with the Dey, the
object of which appeared to be to investigate the cause of a cut which
Captain Pechell had received in the hand, when he was taken off the
horse, they were allowed to go to their ships. Such conduct, at a moment
when Lord Exmouth was evidently preparing to attack the place, indicated
an irresolution which might enable him to gain his object without a
battle; and next morning, as a calm, with a heavy swell, prevented the
fleet from moving, he sent Captain Dundas, of the _Tagus_, with renewed
proposals. The result was, that Sir Israel Pellew, with Captains
Brisbane, Pechell, Dundas, Warde, and others, went on shore; and the Dey
agreed to appoint an ambassador, who should proceed first to
Constantinople for the sanction of the Porte, and thence to England to
treat on Lord Exmouth's proposal. It may be supposed that the Admiral
would not have endured this evasion, had he been authorised to act; but
he had pressed the demand without instructions, and felt that he would
not be justified in resorting to force, if it could be creditably
avoided. He was not even certain that his conduct in thus pressing the
abolition of slavery would be favourably received; for it was a common
remark, that the obstructions to the navigation of the Mediterranean,
created by the Barbary corsairs, were advantageous to British commerce.
He expressed this doubt in a letter which he sent on shore on the 23rd
of June, when the fleet had arrived in the channel:--"It is with great
delight I again bring myself nearer to you and the rest of my family,
after a longer absence than I had any reason to expect when I left
England, and which has at last ended without realizing that for which it
was said we were kept so long abroad after peace was signed. I had
anxiously hoped I should have been directed to enforce the abandonment
of their cruel system of retaining Christians who fell into their hands
(in what they term war) in slavery. I hope I have made the path easy for
the Government, having obtained by my own exertions the relinquishment
from two States, and a promise to treat on that point from the most
violent, Algiers, after discussions which did not promise sometimes
amicable terminations. But I intreat you to observe the utmost silence
on this point, as it may lead me into an awkward situation; for I have
acted solely on my own responsibility, and without orders; the causes
and reasoning on which, upon general principles, may be defensible, but
as applying to our own country, may not be borne out, the old mercantile
interest being against it."

Four days previous to the date of this letter, Mr. Brougham had moved in
the House of Commons for copies of Lord Exmouth's treaties with Algiers
for Naples and Sardinia, and for all the correspondence connected with
them. He condemned the principle upon which the treaties had been
conducted, because, by ransoming the slaves, we had virtually
acknowledged the right of these parties to commit their depredations. He
understood that the Algerines, dissatisfied with the Dey for having
limited their sphere of plunder, had been pacified only by the
assurance, that though restrained from cruising against Neapolitan
subjects, there still remained a wide field for their enterprise. The
Roman States had already felt the effect of the new direction given to
their piracies. He then described the wretched condition of the slaves.
In one case, out of three hundred prisoners, fifty had died of
ill-treatment on the first day of their arrival, and seventy during the
first fortnight. The rest were kept in the most miserable condition,
being allowed only a pound of bread a day, and subject to the lash from
morning to night. No age, no sex was spared. A Neapolitan lady of
distinction, carried off with eight children, six of whom survived, had
lately been seen by a British officer in the thirteenth year of her
captivity. That it might be seen we did not countenance such
proceedings, it was necessary to ascertain what use we had made of our
influence in the late negotiations.

The minister objected to the motion, only however on the ground that all
the documents necessary to afford complete information had not yet
arrived; and he assured the House, that the cause of humanity had been
very materially served by the proceedings of the squadron. An animated
debate followed, in which every one expressed the utmost anxiety that
the barbarians should be compelled, and by force, if necessary, to
relinquish their piracies. This unanimous display of feeling in the
House of Commons, ensured to Lord Exmouth full approval of all that he
had done, and enabled the Government to take the decisive step which
immediately after became necessary. It is, indeed, a subject for just
pride, that upon every national question, the feelings of the people
have never hesitated to throw themselves upon the side of humanity and
justice, however seemingly opposed to their own interest.

Lord Exmouth had not yet reached England, when accounts arrived which
determined the Government not to await the issue of the proposed
negotiations with Algiers, but at once to exact the most ample
satisfaction and security. On the 23rd of May, the crews of the coral
fishing-vessels at Bona had landed to attend mass, it being
Ascension-day, when they were attacked by a large body of Turkish
troops, and most barbarously massacred. Lord Exmouth was at Algiers when
this took place; but as Bona is two hundred miles to the eastward, and
he sailed as soon as he had agreed with the Dey, he did not hear of it
until he arrived in England; and thus it devolved upon the British
Government to direct the measures which such an atrocity demanded.
Justly concluding that these barbarians, so long the common enemies of
the civilized world, and whose very existence was a reproach to it, had
filled the measure of their crimes by this last bloody outrage, they
determined to exact complete submission, or to inflict the most signal
vengeance. They appointed Lord Exmouth to complete his work, and placed
at his disposal whatever force he thought necessary to effect it.




CHAPTER XI.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS.


The town of Algiers is built on the declivity of a hill fronting to the
eastward. It is of a triangular form, having for its base the sea-front,
which is about a mile in length, and rises directly from the water. It
is strongly fortified on the land side, and the sea defences are most
formidable, as well from the great thickness of the walls, as the number
of heavy guns.

The harbour is artificial. A broad straight pier, three hundred yards in
length, and upon which the storehouses were built, projects from a point
about a quarter of a mile from the north extremity of the town. A mole
is carried from the end of this pier, which bends in a south-westerly
direction towards the town, forming nearly a quarter of a circle.
Opposite the mole-head is a small insulated pier, which leaves the
entrance to the harbour about a hundred and twenty yards wide. The rock
upon which the mole is built extends about two hundred yards to the N.E.
beyond the angle at which the pier joins it. The shores recede
considerably from the base of the pier, forming a small bay on either
side of it.

All the works around the harbour were covered with the strongest
fortifications. Immediately beyond the pier-head stood the Lighthouse
battery, a large circular fort, mounting between sixty and seventy guns,
in three tiers. At the extremity of the point of rock beyond the
lighthouse was a very heavy battery, of two tiers, mounting thirty guns
and seven mortars in the upper. The mole itself was filled with cannon,
like the side of a line-of-battle ship, mostly disposed in a double
tier, with ports below, and embrasures above; but the eastern batteries,
next the light-house, had an inner fortification, with a third tier of
guns, making sixty-six in these batteries alone. All these batteries had
together above two hundred and twenty guns--eighteen, twenty-four, and
thirty-two pounders; besides two, at least sixty-eight pounders, and
upwards of twenty feet long. On the sea wall of the town were nine
batteries; two at the southern extremity; then the Fish-market battery
in three tiers, bearing three hundred yards west of the molehead; three
between the Fish-market and the gate leading to the mole; one over this
gate; and two on the wall beyond it. Along the shore, within twelve
hundred yards south of the town, were three batteries, and a very heavy
fort. Another large fort, and six batteries, commanded the bay to the
N.W. Many guns in other parts of the fortifications of the town, and in
forts and batteries on the hills around it, were in situations which
enabled them to fire upon ships. Altogether, the approaches by sea were
defended by scarcely less than five hundred guns.

The Admiralty were greatly surprised when Lord Exmouth proposed to
attack these works with five sail of the line. Many naval officers who
were consulted by the Board considered them unassailable. Nelson, in a
conversation with Captain Brisbane, had named twenty-five line-of-battle
ships as the force which would be required to attack them. The opinion
was not founded upon his own observation, and he was evidently misled by
the errors in the received plans; for that number of ships could not
have been placed before the town; but it marks his sense of the great
danger in attacking powerful batteries with ships, and of the tremendous
strength of Algiers. Lord Exmouth was offered any force he required, but
he adhered to his first demand; for he had satisfied himself that five
ships could destroy the fortifications on the Mole as effectually as a
greater number, and with far more safety to themselves. After he had
fully explained his plans, and marked the position which every ship was
to occupy, the Admiralty allowed him to act upon his own judgment;
though they found it not easy to believe that the force was equal to the
service; nor were persons wanting to remark that he had at length
involved himself in a difficulty, from which he would not escape with
credit. His own confidence never wavered. "All will go well," he wrote,
"as far at least as it depends on me." As he was going down Channel, he
said to his brother, who accompanied him as far as Falmouth, "If they
open their fire when the ships are coming up, and cripple them in the
masts, the difficulty and loss will be greater; but if they allow us to
take our stations, I am sure of them; for I know that nothing can resist
a line-of-battle ship's fire." He wrote to the Admiralty before he left
England, declaring himself fully satisfied with all the arrangements,
and taking on himself the responsibility of the result.

He was scarcely appointed, when officers came forward in crowds to offer
their services. On the 29th of June, only six days after he arrived in
the Channel, he writes--"Government has taken a very proper view of the
subject, and has determined to send out a proper force. I immediately
said, it was my duty to finish that which I had begun, and that I should
cheerfully go. My offer is accepted, and I embark in the _Queen
Charlotte_, with _Impregnable_, and others. The only delay will be want
of men; but I hope they will be induced by the offers made, to volunteer
for the service, to be rewarded after it." On the 4th of July, he says,
"I have refused Israel, Pownoll, Fleetwood, Harward, and both Admiral
and Captain Halsted,[12] volunteers. Even Lord Spencer brought his son,
and a hundred others."

With very few exceptions, the officers were selected by the Admiralty.
It was understood that Sir Charles Penrose would be the second in
command, his appointment at that time as commander-in-chief in the
Mediterranean entitling him to the preference. He was very highly valued
by Lord Exmouth, under whom he had served with the _Cleopatra_ in the
western squadron. It was intended that despatches should be sent in time
to enable him to join the expedition; but greatly to the disappointment
of both officers, the information was received too late.

Lord Exmouth persisted in refusing all his relations. The motive of
duty, which was imperative on himself, applied to none of them; and all
were anxious to go. For himself, he might well trust that the Providence
which had shielded him forty years, for so long was it since he had
fought the _Carleton_ on Lake Champlain, would guard him in the
approaching battle; or, if he were doomed to fall in what might truly be
deemed a holy war, he had a better confidence than the pride of a hero,
or even the self-devotedness of a patriot. Before he sailed, he made
every arrangement which his death would render necessary; and among
others, wrote a letter for his eldest son, chiefly on the subject of the
duties which would devolve upon him as a British nobleman, and which he
designed for his last injunctions. The existence of this letter was not
known until some time after his death, when it was found among his
papers.

The Admiralty would not send back the squadron which had just returned
from the Mediterranean, probably thinking it right that ships going
expressly to fight a severe battle should be manned with volunteers.
This decision greatly increased his difficulties. Naval officers seldom
think a ship effective until she has been some time in commission.
Within two months, Lord Exmouth commissioned, fitted, and manned a
fleet, and fought the battle.

As soon as he had completed his first arrangements at the Admiralty, he
hastened to Portsmouth, where the _Boyne_, his flag-ship, was lying
with her consorts. He went on board as soon as he arrived, and there was
not a little excitement when the Admiral was seen coming alongside at a
very early hour in the morning. He mustered the ship's company on deck,
and having read to them the Admiralty letter, invited them to join him;
but at that time scarcely a man came forward. They were unwilling to
enter for a new service until they had enjoyed some liberty on shore;
but after they had been paid off, and spent their money, numbers of them
volunteered, and many more would probably have done so, but for the very
short time in which the crews were completed. No difficulty was
experienced in manning the fleet. The whole ship's company of the
_Leander_, then on the point of sailing as the flag-ship on the North
American station, volunteered to go, and accordingly her destination was
changed for the time. Rear-Admiral Milne, for whom she had been fitted,
obtained permission to go out with her; and as Sir Charles Penrose did
not join at Gibraltar, he hoisted his flag in the _Impregnable_, as
second in command. Among other volunteers were a number of smugglers,
who had been taken on the western coast, and sentenced to five years'
service in the navy. They were sent to the eastward as prisoners in a
cutter in which Mr. Pellew had taken a passage to make a parting visit
to his brother, and they implored his intercession on their behalf. He
advised them to enter for the _Queen Charlotte_, and gain a title to the
indulgence they sought by their good conduct in the battle. They all did
so: no serious casualty occurred among them, and they behaved so well
that Lord Exmouth applied to the Admiralty, and obtained their
discharge.

Lord Exmouth's marine officer in the _Arethusa_, the late Sir Richard
Williams, then commanded the marine artillery, and Lord Exmouth wrote to
request that he would aid him to the best of his abilities, by selecting
officers and men from his corps. Sir Richard displayed on this occasion
all the activity and judgment to be expected from his character, and
Lord Exmouth acknowledged his services after the glorious result of the
expedition, in the following words:--"I should be very ungrateful, my
dear friend, if I neglected to thank you for the care and pains you took
in selecting, for the service I was ordered upon, the best officers and
men I ever saw during my service. I assure you that all the officers did
you full justice: they not only knew their duty well, but they performed
it well."

In addition to the five line-of-battle ships, two of which were
three-deckers, the force included three heavy frigates, and two smaller
ones; four bomb vessels, and five gun-brigs. Four of the line-of-battle
ships were to destroy the fortifications on the Mole; while the fifth
covered them from the batteries south of the town, and the heavy
frigates, from those on the town wall. The bomb-vessels were to fire on
the arsenal and town, assisted by a flotilla of the ships' launches,
&c., fitted as gun, rocket, and mortar-boats. The smaller frigates and
the brigs were to assist as circumstances might require.

The fleet left Portsmouth on the 25th of July. On the 28th it sailed
from Plymouth Sound, and the same afternoon was off Falmouth. Twenty
three years before, Lord Exmouth had gone from the house of his brother,
who now took leave of him, and sailed to fight the first battle of the
war from the port whence he was proceeding on the service which was to
close and crown it. From this place the _Minded_, 74, was sent on to
Gibraltar, that the necessary supplies might be ready when the fleet
arrived. Through all the passage the utmost care was taken to train the
crews. Every day, Sunday excepted, they were exercised at the guns; and
on Tuesdays and Fridays the fleet cleared for action, when each ship
fired six broadsides. On board the _Queen Charlotte_ a twelve-pounder
was secured at the after part of the quarter-deck, with which the first
and second captains of the guns practised daily at a small target, hung
at the fore topmast studding-sail boom. The target was a frame of laths,
three feet square, crossed with rope-yarns so close that a twelve-pound
shot could not go through without cutting one, and with a piece of wood,
the size and shape of a bottle, for a bull's-eye. After a few days'
practice, the target was never missed, and on an average ten or twelve
bottles were hit every day. Thus kept in constant preparation for the
battle, and daily gaining new confidence in themselves, the crews were
in the highest degree elated. Officers and men felt they were going to
an assured victory, and that to obtain complete success the plans of
their chief required only the exertions which every one resolved to
make. As a consequence of this enthusiasm, which never had a check, for
the excitement of preparation was followed by the flush of victory,
their health and vigour were beyond all parallel. Scarcely a man came on
the sick-list; and when the _Queen Charlotte_ was paid off on her
return, only one had died, except from the casualties of battle, out of
nearly a thousand who had joined her more than three months before.

On the 9th of August, the fleet reached Gibraltar, where the _Minden_
had arrived only the preceding night. Here they found a Dutch squadron
of five frigates and a corvette, commanded by Vice-Admiral the Baron Von
de Capellan, who, on learning the object of the expedition, solicited
and obtained leave to co-operate. The ships, having completed their
ordnance stores and provisions, were ready to sail on the 12th; but the
strong easterly wind prevented them from moving for two days. On the
13th, every ship received a plan of the fortifications, with full
instructions respecting the position she was to occupy. A general order
to this effect had been issued on the 6th, but the co-operation of the
Dutch squadron had made some change in the arrangements necessary. To
this squadron was assigned the duty of attacking the fort and batteries
south of the town, a service previously intended for the _Minden_ and
_Hebrus_, which were now to take a position among their consorts in
front of the Mole.

The fleet sailed next day, and on the 16th was within two hundred miles
of its destination, when the wind again shifted to the eastward. That
evening the ship-sloop _Prometheus_, Captain Dashwood, joined direct
from Algiers, with information that the Algerines were making every
preparation to meet the attack. All the former defences had been made
completely effective, and new works had been added; forty thousand
troops had been assembled; all the Janizaries called in from distant
garrisons; and the whole naval force of the regency, four frigates, five
large corvettes, and thirty-seven gun-boats, were collected in the
harbour. The _Prometheus_ brought the wife, daughter, and infant child
of Mr. M'Donell, the British consul. The two former had succeeded in
getting off, disguised as midshipmen; but the infant, which had been
carefully concealed in a basket, after a composing medicine had been
given to it by the surgeon of the _Prometheus_, awoke, and cried as it
was passing the gateway, and thus led to the arrest of all the party
then on shore. The child was sent off next morning by the Dey, and, "as
a solitary instance of his humanity," said Lord Exmouth, "it ought to be
recorded by me;" but the consul was confined in irons at his house, and
the surgeon, three midshipmen, and fourteen seamen of the _Prometheus_,
were detained as prisoners; nor could the most urgent remonstrances of
Captain Dashwood induce the Dey to release them.

The fleet continued beating against a head wind until midnight on the
24th, when the wind shifted to south-west. On Monday the 20th, at noon,
they made Cape Cazzina, the northern point of the Bay of Algiers, and
about twenty miles from the town. Next morning at daybreak, Algiers
itself was in sight As the ships lay nearly becalmed, Lord Exmouth sent
away Lieutenant Burgess in one of the _Queen Charlotte's_ boats, under a
flag of truce, with the terms dictated by the Prince Regent, and a
demand for the immediate liberation of the consul, and the people of the
_Prometheus_. The _Severn_ was directed to tow the boat, but as she
made very little way, the boat was ordered by signal to cast off, and
proceed alone to the shore. At eleven o'clock, she was met outside the
mole by the captain of the port, who received the communication, and
promised an answer in two hours. In the mean time, a breeze springing up
from the sea, the fleet stood into the bay, and lay to about a mile from
the town.

At two o'clock the boat was seen returning, with the signal that no
answer had been given. The _Queen Charlotte_ immediately telegraphed to
the fleet, "Are you ready?" Immediately the affirmative was displayed
from every ship, and all bore up to their appointed stations.

The _Queen Charlotte_ led to the attack. It was Lord Exmouth's intention
not to reply to the enemy's fire in bearing down, unless it should
become galling. In that case, the middle and main-deck guns, thirty long
24-pounders, were to have opened; keeping the upper deck for shortening
sail, and the lower for working the cables. The guns on these decks were
not primed until the ship had anchored. But the Algerines reserved their
fire, confident in the strength of their defences, and expecting to
carry the flagship by boarding her from the gun-boats, which were all
filled with men. Steered by the master of the fleet, Mr. Gaze, who had
sailed with Lord Exmouth in every ship he commanded from the beginning
of the war, the _Queen Charlotte_ proceeded silently to her position. At
half-past two, she anchored by the stern, just half a cable's length
from the Mole-head, and was lashed by a hawser to the mainmast of an
Algerine brig, which lay at the entrance of the harbour. Her starboard
broadside flanked all the batteries from the Mole-head to the
Light-house. The Mole was crowded with troops, many of whom got upon the
parapet to look at the ship; and Lord Exmouth, observing them as he
stood upon the poop, waved to them to move away. As soon as the ship was
fairly placed, and her cables stoppered, the crew gave three hearty
cheers, such as Englishmen only can give. Scarcely had the sound of the
last died away, when a gun was fired from the upper tier of the eastern
battery; and a second, and a third followed in quick succession. One of
the shots struck the _Superb_. At the first flash, Lord Exmouth gave the
order, "Stand by!" at the second. "Fire!" The report of the third gun
was drowned in the thunder of _Queen Charlotte's_ broadside.

The enemy now opened from all their batteries, the _Queen Charlotte_ and
_Leander_ being the only ships which had yet reached their stations.
Preparations had been previously made in all, to avoid the necessity of
exposing the men aloft when shortening sail. Following the flag-ship,
the _Superb_ anchored about two hundred and fifty yards astern of her,
and the _Minden_ at about her own length from the _Superb_. The _Albion_
came to astern of the _Minded_, which passed her stream cable out of the
larboard gun-room port to the _Albion's_ bow, and brought the two ships
together. The _Impregnable_ was anchored astern of the _Albion_.

The large frigates, and the Dutch squadron, particularly the _Melampus_,
their flag-ship, went into action under a very heavy fire, and with a
gallantry that never was surpassed. The _Leander_ had placed herself on
the _Queen Charlotte's_ larboard bow, at the entrance of the harbour;
her starboard broadside bearing upon the Algerine gun-boats with the
after guns, and upon the Fishmarket battery with the others. The
_Severn_ lay ahead of the _Leander_, with all her starboard broadside
bearing upon the Fishmarket battery. Beyond her the _Glasgow_ fired upon
the town batteries with her larboard guns. The Dutch squadron took the
assigned position, before the works to the southward of the town. It was
their Admiral's intention to place the _Melampus_ in the centre; but his
second ahead, the _Diana_, having anchored too far to the southward to
allow this, he pushed the _Melampus_ past her, and anchored close astern
of the _Glasgow_.

The two smaller frigates, the _Hebrus_ and _Granicus_, were left to take
part in the battle wherever they might find an opening. Eager to gain a
position, in the line, the _Hebrus_ pressed forward to place herself
next the flag-ship, till, becalmed by the cannonade, she was obliged to
anchor on the _Queen Charlotte's_ larboard quarter. Captain Wise, of the
_Granicus_, waited until all the ships had taken their stations. Then,
setting topgallant-sails and courses, he steered for where Lord
Exmouth's flag was seen towering above the smoke; and with a seamanship
equalled only by his intrepidity, anchored in the open space between the
_Queen Charlotte_ and _Superb_; thus, with a small-class frigate, taking
a position, of which, said Lord Exmouth, a three-decker might be justly
proud.

Eastward of the Lighthouse, at the distance of two thousand yards, were
placed the bomb-vessels; whose shells were thrown with admirable
precision by the Marine Artillery. The smaller vessels, except the
_Mutine_, which anchored, continued under sail, firing occasionally
wherever they saw opportunity. The flotilla of gun, rocket, and mortar
boats, directed, by Captain Michell, were distributed at the openings
between the line-of-battle ships, and at the entrance to the Mole.

Thus the ships commanded the strongest of the enemy's defences, while
they were exposed to the weakest part of his fire. The officers and men
felt new confidence when they saw the power derived from the admirable
disposition of their force. All behaved most nobly; and it was not long
before the state of the Algerine batteries gave proof that their courage
was fully equalled by their skill.

In a few minutes, indeed before the battle had become general, the
_Queen Charlotte_ had ruined the fortifications on the Mole-head. She
then sprang her broadside towards the northward, to bear upon the
batteries over the gate which leads to the Mole, and upon the upper
works of the Lighthouse. Her shot struck with the most fatal accuracy,
crumbling the tower of the Lighthouse to ruins, and bringing down gun
after gun from the batteries. The last of these guns was dismounted
just as the artillerymen were in the act of discharging it; when an
Algerine chief was seen to spring upon the ruins of the parapet, and
with impotent rage, to shake his scimitar against the ship. Her men
proved themselves as expert amidst the realities of war, as they had
before shown themselves in exercise; and some of them were detected
amusing themselves, in the wantonness of their skill, by firing at the
Algerine flag-staffs.

Soon after the battle began, the enemy's flotilla of gun-boats advanced,
with a daring which deserved a better fate, to board the _Queen
Charlotte_ and _Leander_. The smoke covered them at first, but as soon
as they were seen, a few guns, chiefly from the _Leander_, sent
thirty-three out of thirty-seven to the bottom.

At four o'clock, when a general and heavy fire had been maintained for
more than an hour without producing any appearance of submission, Lord
Exmouth determined to destroy the Algerine ships. Accordingly, the
_Leander_ having first been ordered to cease firing, the flag-ship's
barge, directed by Lieutenant Peter Richards, with Major Gossett, of the
Miners, Lieutenant Wolrige, of the Marines, and Mr. M'Clintock, a
midshipman, boarded the nearest frigate, and fired her so effectually
with the laboratory torches, and a carcass-shell placed on the main
deck, that she was completely in flames almost before the barge's crew
were over her side. The crew of a rocket-boat belonging to the _Hebrus_
were prompted by a natural, but unfortunate ardour, to follow the barge,
though forbidden; but the boat pulling heavily, she became exposed to a
fire of musketry, which killed an officer and three men, and wounded
several others. Lord Exmouth stood watching the barge from the gangway,
delighted with the gallantry and promptitude with which his orders were
executed. When the frigate burst into a flame, he telegraphed to the
fleet the animating signal, "Infallible!" and as the barge was
returning, he ordered those around him to welcome her alongside with
three cheers.

It was hoped that the flames would communicate from this frigate to the
rest of the Algerine shipping; but she burnt from her moorings, and
passing clear of her consorts, drifted along the broadsides of the
_Queen Charlotte_ and _Leander_, and grounded a-head of the latter,
under the wall of the town. The gun-boats, and the _Queen Charlotte's_
launch, then opened with carcass-shells upon the largest frigate, which
was moored in the centre of the other ships, too far within the Mole to
be attempted safely by boarding. They soon set her on fire, and
notwithstanding the exertions of the Algerines, she was completely in
flames by six o'clock. From her the fire communicated, first to all the
other vessels in the port, except a brig and a schooner, moored in the
upper part of it, and afterwards to the storehouses and arsenal. At a
little past seven, she came drifting out of the harbour, and passed so
close to the flag-ship as nearly to involve her in the same destruction.

About sunset, a message was received from Rear-Admiral Milne, requesting
that a frigate might be sent to divert from the _Impregnable_ some of
the fire under which she was suffering. She had anchored more to the
northward than was intended, and consequently became exposed to the
heavy battery on the point of rock beyond the lighthouse, and which was
covered from the fire of the rest of the fleet. The _Glasgow_ weighed
immediately, but the wind had been driven away by the cannonade, and she
was only able, after three-quarters of an hour's exertion, to reach a
new position between the _Severn_ and _Leander_; a better for annoying
the enemy, but where she was herself more exposed, and suffered in
proportion. As it was found impossible to assist the _Impregnable_, Lord
Exmouth sent on board Mr. Triscott, one of his aides-de-camp, with
permission to haul off. The _Impregnable_ was then dreadfully cut up;
150 men had been already killed and wounded, a full third of them by an
explosion, and the shot were still coming in fast; but her brave crew,
guided and encouraged by the Rear-Admiral and Captain Brace, two of the
most distinguished and successful officers in the service, would not
allow her to go thus out of battle; and she kept her station,
maintaining an animated fire to the last. To relieve her in some degree,
an ordnance sloop, which had been fitted at Gibraltar as an
explosion-vessel, with 143 barrels of powder, was placed at the disposal
of the Rear-Admiral. She had been intended for the destruction of the
Algerine fleet, but this service had already been effected by other
means. Conducted by Lieutenant Fleming, who had been commanding a
gun-boat near the _Queen Charlotte_, with Major Reed, of the Engineers,
and Captain Herbert Powell, a volunteer on board the _Impregnable_, the
explosion-vessel was run on shore under the battery which had annoyed
her, where, at nine o'clock, she blew up.

The fleet slackened their fire towards night, as the guns of the enemy
became silenced, and the ships began to feel the necessity for
husbanding their ammunition. Their expenditure had been beyond all
parallel. They fired nearly 118 tons of powder, and 50,000 shot,
weighing more than 500 tons of iron; besides 960 thirteen and ten-inch
shells thrown by the bomb-vessels, and the shells and rockets from the
flotilla. Such a fire, close, concentrated, and well-directed as it was,
nothing could resist; and the sea-defences of Algiers, with great part
of the town itself, were shattered and crumbled to ruins.

At a little before ten, the objects of the attack having been effected,
the _Queen Charlotte's_ bower-cable was cut, and her head hauled round
to seaward. She continued, however, to engage with all the guns abaft
the mainmast, sometimes on both sides. Warps were run out to gain an
offing, but many of them were cut by shot from the batteries southward
of the town, which had been very partially engaged, and also from forts
on the hills out of reach of the ships' guns. A very light air was felt
about half-past ten, and sail was made; but the ship, after cutting from
her remaining warps and anchors, was manageable only by the aid of her
boats towing, and then the only point gained was keeping her head from
the land. At eleven she began to draw out from the batteries, and at
twenty-five minutes past she ceased to fire. The breeze freshened, and a
tremendous storm of thunder and lightning came on, with torrents of
rain; while the flaming ships and storehouses illuminated all the ruins,
and increased the grandeur of the scene. In about three hours the storm
subsided, and as soon as the ship was made snug, Lord Exmouth assembled
in his cabin all the wounded who could be moved with safety, that they
might unite with him and his officers in offering thanksgiving to God
for their victory and preservation.

The two Admirals came on board the _Queen Charlotte_ as soon as they
could leave their ships, and spoke their feelings of admiration and
gratitude to Lord Exmouth with all the warmth of language and
expression. The Dutch Admiral, who, with his squadron, had most nobly
emulated the conduct of his British allies, declared himself in terms of
the highest eulogy of the _Queen Charlotte_, which, he said, by her
commanding position and the effect of her fire, had saved five hundred
men to the fleet. Perhaps there was no exaggeration in the praise; for
the destruction occasioned by her first broadside, as she lay flanking
the Mole, must have contributed much to protect the ships which had not
yet reached their stations; and the havoc she inflicted by a cannonade
of nine hours must have been great indeed, since her fire could destroy
the fortifications on the Mole-head in a few minutes.

In no former general action had the casualties been so great in
proportion to the force employed. One hundred and twenty-eight were
killed, and six hundred and ninety wounded, in the British ships, and
thirteen killed and fifty-two wounded in the Dutch squadron. Yet,
except the _Impregnable_, which had fifty men killed, no ship suffered
so much as is usual in a severe engagement. Generally, in fleet actions,
the brunt of the battle, and the chief amount of losses, fall upon a
few; but here every ship had her allotted duty, and was closely engaged
throughout. After the _Impregnable_, the frigates suffered the most,
particularly the _Granicus_, which took a line-of-battle ship's station;
and the _Leander_, which was much cut up by the Fish-market and other
batteries, and as late as seven o'clock was obliged to carry out a
hawser to _the Severn_, to enable her to bear her broadside upon one
which annoyed her. The loss in the other line-of-battle ships was
remarkably small. They had together but twenty-six killed, including the
casualties in their respective boats.

Lord Exmouth escaped most narrowly. He was struck in three places; and a
cannon-shot tore away the skirts of his coat. A button was afterwards
found in the signal locker; and the shot broke one of the glasses and
bulged the rim of the spectacles in his pocket. He gave the spectacles
to his valued friend, the late gallant Sir Richard Keats, who caused
their history to be engraven on them, and directed, that when he died,
they should be restored to Lord Exmouth's family, to be kept as a
memorial of his extraordinary preservation.

On the 28th, at daylight, Lieutenant Burgess was sent on shore with a
flag of truce, and the demands of the preceding morning; the
bomb-vessels at the same time resuming their positions. The captain of
one of the destroyed frigates met the boat, and declared that an answer
had been sent on the day before, but that no boat was at hand to receive
it. Shortly after, the captain of the port came off, accompanied by the
Swedish consul, and informed Lord Exmouth that all his demands would be
submitted to. On the morning of the 29th, the captain of the port came
off again, being now accompanied by the British consul; upon which
Captain Brisbane, of the flag-ship, went on shore, and had a conference
with the Dey. Sir Charles Penrose, whom the Admiral had expected to the
last, arrived this day in the _Ister_ frigate, from Malta, where he had
waited for his expected orders, until he heard that Lord Exmouth was in
the Mediterranean. Lord Exmouth committed to him the management of the
negotiations, the only compliment he could now offer. Where nothing
remained but submission for the vanquished, the arrangements were soon
concluded, and next day the final result was officially communicated to
the fleet.


                  "_Queen Charlotte_, Algiers Bay, August 30, 1816.

                  "General Memorandum.

     "The Commander-in-Chief is happy to inform the fleet of the final
     termination of their strenuous exertions, by the signature of
     peace, confirmed under a salute of twenty-one guns, on the
     following conditions, dictated by His Royal Highness the Prince
     Regent of England.

     "I. The abolition of Christian slavery for ever.

     "II. The delivery to my flag of all slaves in the dominions of the
     Dey, to whatever nation they may belong, at noon to-morrow.

     "III. To deliver also to my flag all money received by him for the
     redemption of slaves since the commencement of this year--at noon
     also to-morrow.

     "IV. Reparation has been made to the British consul for all losses
     he has sustained in consequence of his confinement.

     "V. The Dey has made a public apology, in presence of his ministers
     and officers, and begged pardon of the consul in terms dictated by
     the captain of the _Queen Charlotte_.

     "The Commander-in-Chief takes this opportunity of again returning
     his public thanks to the Admirals, Captains, Officers, Seamen,
     Marines, Royal Sappers and Miners, Royal Marine Artillery, and the
     Royal Rocket Corps, for the noble support he has received from
     them throughout the whole of this arduous service; and he is
     pleased to direct that on Sunday next a public thanksgiving shall
     be offered up to Almighty God, for the signal interposition of his
     Divine Providence during the conflict which took place on the 27th,
     between his Majesty's fleet and the ferocious enemies of mankind.

     It is requested that this memorandum may be read to the ship's
     company.

     "To the Admirals, Captains, Officers, Seamen, Marines, Royal
     Sappers and Miners, Royal Marine Artillery, and the Royal Rocket
     Corps."


Above twelve hundred slaves were embarked on the 31st, making, with
those liberated a few weeks before, more than three thousand, whom, by
address or force, Lord Exmouth had delivered from slavery.[13] Having
sent them to their respective countries, and leaving a ship to receive a
few who had yet to come up from the interior, he sailed on the 3rd of
September for England. On the 8th, when on his way to Gibraltar, he
wrote an account of the battle to his brother, to whom he had previously
sent a very laconic communication, stating merely the result.


     "It has pleased God to give me again the opportunity of writing
     you, and it has also pleased Him to give success to our efforts
     against these hordes of barbarians. I never, however, saw any set
     of men more obstinate at their guns, and it was superior fire only
     that could keep them back. To be sure, nothing could stand before
     the _Queen Charlotte's_ broadside. Everything fell before it; and
     the Swedish consul assures me we killed above five hundred at the
     very first fire, from the crowded way in which troops were drawn
     up, four deep above the gun boats, which were also full of men. I
     had myself beckoned to many around the guns close to us to move
     away, previous to giving the order to fire; and I believe they are
     within bounds, when they state their loss at seven thousand men.
     Our old friend John Gaze was as steady as a rock; and it was a
     glorious sight to see the _Charlotte_ take her anchorage, and to
     see her flag towering on high, when she appeared to be in the
     flames of the Mole itself; and never was a ship nearer burnt; it
     almost scorched me off the poop; we were obliged to haul in the
     ensign, or it would have caught fire. Everybody behaved uncommonly
     well. Admiral Milne came on board at two o'clock in the morning,
     and kissed my hand fifty times before the people, as did the Dutch
     Admiral, Von Capellan. I was but slightly touched in the thigh,
     face, and fingers--my glass cut in my hand, and the skirts of my
     coat torn off by a large shot; but as I bled a good deal, it
     looked as if I was badly hurt, and it was gratifying to see and
     hear how it was received even in the cockpit, which was then pretty
     full. My thigh is not quite skinned over, but I am perfectly well,
     and hope to reach Portsmouth by the 10th of October. Ferdinand has
     sent me a diamond star. Wise behaved most nobly, and took up a
     line-of-battle ship's station; but all behaved nobly. I never saw
     such enthusiasm in all my service. Not a wretch shrunk any where;
     and I assure you it was a very arduous task, but I had formed a
     very correct judgment of all I saw, and was confident, if
     supported, I should succeed. I could not wait for an offshore wind
     to attack; the season was too far advanced, and the land-winds
     become light and calmy. I was forced to attack at once with a
     lee-shore, or perhaps wait a week for a precarious wind along
     shore; and I was quite sure I should have a breeze off the land
     about one or two in the morning, and equally sure we could hold out
     to that time. Blessed be God! it came, and a dreadful night with
     it, of thunder, lightning, and rain, as heavy as I ever saw.
     Several ships had expended all their powder, and been supplied from
     the brigs. I had latterly husbanded, and only fired when they fired
     on us; and we expended 350 barrels, and 5,420 shot, weighing above
     65 tons of iron. Such a state of ruin of fortifications and houses
     was never seen, and it is the opinion of all the consuls, that two
     hours more fire would have levelled the town; the walls are all so
     cracked. Even the aqueducts were broken up, and the people
     famishing for water. The sea-defences, to be made effective, must
     be rebuilt from the foundation. The fire all round the Mole looked
     like Pandemonium. I never saw anything so grand and so terrific,
     for I was not on velvet, for fear they would drive on board us. The
     copper-bottoms floated full of fiery hot charcoal, and were red hot
     above the surface, so that we could not hook on our fire-grapnels
     to put the boats on, and could do nothing but push fire-booms, and
     spring the ship off by our warps, as occasion required."


The battle of Algiers forms a class by itself among naval victories. It
was a new thing to place a fleet in a position surrounded by such
formidable batteries. Bold and original in the conception, it was most
brilliant and complete in execution. Nor was it more splendid for the
honour, than happy in the fruits. It broke the chains of thousands; it
gave security to millions;--it delivered Christendom from a scourge and
a disgrace. To complete the happiness of the achievement, a nation
co-operated, the natural ally of England, and the truest of her friends;
bound to her by the proudest recollections of patriotism, and the
dearest ties of religion; and which, if it should be required once more
to strike down the power of whatever evil principle may desolate Europe,
will again be found at her side, strong in virtue as in courage, to
emulate her prowess, and to share the triumph.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] Sir Israel, his brother; Captains Pownoll and Fleetwood, his sons;
Captain Harward, and Sir Lawrence Halsted, his sons-in-law.

[13] Slaves liberated by Admiral Lord Exmouth:--

                       AT ALGIERS.

     Neapolitans and Sicilians                1,110
     Sardinians and Genoese                      62
     Piedmontaise                                 6
     Romans                                     174
     Tuscans                                      6
     Spaniards                                  226
     Portuguese                                   1
     Greeks                                       7
     Dutch                                       28
     English                                     18
     French                                       2
     Austrians                                    2--1,642

                       AT TUNIS.

     Neapolitans and Sicilians                  524
     Sardinians and Genoese                     257----781

                      AT TRIPOLI.

     Neapolitans and Sicilians                  422
     Sardinians and Genoese                     144
     Romans                                      10
     Hamburghers                                  4----580

                                                   _______
                                                     3,003




CHAPTER XII.

LORD EXMOUTH'S RETIREMENT AND DEATH.


Lord Exmouth's services were acknowledged as became such a victory. He
was advanced to the dignity of a Viscount, and received an honourable
augmentation of his arms. In the centre of the shield a triumphal crown
was placed by the civic wreath; below was a lion rampant, and above them
a ship, lying at the Mole-head of Algiers, and surmounted with the star
of victory. The former supporters were exchanged for a lion on the one
side, and a Christian slave, holding aloft the cross, and dropping his
broken fetters, on the other. The name "Algiers" was given for an
additional motto. The kings of Holland, Spain, and Sardinia, conferred
upon him orders of knighthood. The Pope sent him a valuable cameo. The
city of London voted him its freedom, and a sword, ornamented with
diamonds, which was presented by the Lord Mayor at a banquet,
appropriately given by the Ironmongers' Company, as trustees of a
considerable estate left for ransoming Christian slaves in Barbary by
Mr. Betton, a member of the company, who had himself endured the
miseries of slavery. He received the freedom of the city of Oxford, and
the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University. A society for
promoting the liberation of Christian slaves, lately formed at Paris,
chiefly by the exertions of Sir Sidney Smith, caused a medal to be
struck to commemorate the victory. It presents a well-executed profile
of the Admiral, with a suitable inscription on the reverse.

In general, every disposition was shown in France to do justice to Lord
Exmouth's merit on this occasion. Yet it was to be expected that the
feelings so natural under the circumstances of their recent defeat, and
the present occupation of their territory, would lead many to detract
from the honours of the nation which had so severely humbled them. Some
illiberal reflections which appeared in the French journals, prompted
the following lines by the late Lord Grenville:--


       "These hands toil-worn, these limbs by fetters galled,
     These bodies, scarred by many a servile blow,
     These spirits, wasted by disease and woe,
     These Christian souls, by miscreant rage enthralled,
     What band of heroes now recalls to life?--
     Gives us again to hail our native shores,
     And to each fond, despairing heart, restores
     The long-lost parent, the long-widowed wife?
     O Britain! still to lawless power a foe,
     'Gainst faithless pirate armed, or blood-stained Gaul!
     Vain is the taunt which mocks thy lavish cost,
     Thy thankless toil, thy blood poured out for all,
     Thy laurels, gained in fight, in treaty lost--
     HEAVEN STILL SHALL BLESS THE HAND WHICH LAYS THE OPPRESSOR LOW!"


A medal, most appropriate in the devices, and of the most exquisite
workmanship, was executed by command of his late Majesty George IV.,
then Prince Regent. The medals are of gold. Only four were struck, one
of which was presented to Lord Exmouth, and remains in the possession of
his eldest surviving son. The officers of the squadron presented to
their commander a magnificent piece of plate, of 1,400 guineas value,
representing the Mole of Algiers, with its fortifications. The
subscription exceeded the cost; and the surplus was paid to the Naval
Charitable Society, of which Lord Exmouth was a vice-president.[14]

His venerable and excellent friend, Admiral Schank, under whose command
he had fought his first action, went to Teignmouth to receive him, when
he came home from this, the last of his triumphs. The day of his return
was made a general festival, and the inhabitants went out to meet him
with all the arrangement and display which could manifest admiration and
attachment.

The promotion which followed the victory was to have been on the usual
scale, but Lord Exmouth succeeded in obtaining some extension of it; for
he considered it inadequate to the merits of the junior officers, who
had enjoyed unusual opportunities for distinguishing themselves. The
flotilla of armed boats, which had behaved most gallantly, and afforded
essential service, was commanded chiefly by mates and midshipmen, and he
pressed their claims upon the Admiralty with much perseverance. He
urged that commissions should be given to all who had passed their
examinations; and submitted a list of the officers whom he thought
entitled to promotion, drawn up in such a form as to be readily examined
and referred to, and in which their respective services and claims were
enforced in a manner which marked at once his discrimination of their
merits, and the warm interest he took in their welfare.

The victory was prominently noticed in the royal speech, and on the 3rd
of February received the thanks of Parliament. The First Lord of the
Admiralty, who introduced the motion to the House of Lords, expatiated
at length on the circumstances which enhanced the merit of the
commander:--"When the expedition against Algiers was determined on, it
became necessary to collect men from different guard-ships, and to call
for the services of volunteers for this particular enterprise. He
mentioned this circumstance, because those who knew the value which
naval officers attach to a crew long accustomed to act together, would
be the better enabled to appreciate the skill and exertions of Lord
Exmouth, and the difficulties he had to contend with, in rendering
crews, collected as he had stated, efficient for his purpose. To that
object Lord Exmouth devoted his daily, his hourly attention, and
accomplished it in a manner which reflected the highest credit on his
judgment and ability. He then proceeded with his squadron on the
appointed service. He proposed certain terms to the Dey of Algiers,
according to his instructions, and no satisfactory reply being given,
the ships took their positions. It was due to Lord Exmouth here to state
a circumstance not generally known. An opinion had prevailed in many
quarters that accident and the elements had been very favourable to Lord
Exmouth in the execution of the enterprise: but the fact was, that when
Government had determined on the undertaking, many persons, and among
them several naval officers, were of opinion that the defences were so
strong that the attack could not succeed. Not so Lord Exmouth, though he
was perfectly aware of the difficulties with which he had to contend. He
had himself formed the plan of his operations, and gave it as his
opinion that the object might be accomplished, not from any idle
confidence, but founded on the reasons which he stated and the plan
which he had formed. He had in this plan settled the position which
every ship was to take, and when the despatches came, he (Lord Melville)
had noticed that the positions actually taken were exactly those which
had been before settled. The whole scheme of attack was before prepared
by him, and exactly followed; and the whole transaction reflected the
highest credit upon Lord Exmouth as a naval officer, as well as upon his
perseverance and gallantry." After describing the battle and its result,
and descanting upon the enthusiasm which animated every officer and man,
and the gallantry they displayed, Lord Melville alluded to the
co-operation and effectual assistance afforded by the Dutch squadron, to
which also he moved the thanks of the House. "The flag of the
Netherlands had long been distinguished in Europe, and the officers and
seamen had acquired a high renown for skill and valour. In this
enterprise that flag had again appeared, and a noble emulation prevailed
between the two squadrons as to which of them should most strenuously
exert itself to accomplish the common object."

Similar motions were brought forward in the House of Commons by Lord
Castlereagh, who dwelt on the splendid character of the transaction,
upon which, he said, there could be but one opinion either in that House
or throughout Europe. Alluding to the very conflicting opinions which
had prevailed on the subject of attacking Algiers, he eulogized the
great ability and judgment of Lord Exmouth, whose perfect accuracy had
been so fully proved by the result. "He should not attempt," he said,
"to add any thing more to an action so glorious both as to the
principles upon which it was undertaken, and the mode of carrying it
into execution, but only observe that he intended to extend the thanks
to the officers and seamen of their brave ally, the King of the
Netherlands, whose co-operation had been so beneficial. He was sure the
House would feel a peculiar gratification in seeing the navy of Holland
united with ours for the general liberties of mankind, and be anxious to
mark their sense of the services performed by the Dutch Admiral, his
brave officers, and sailors."

"So great were Lord Exmouth's professional abilities," said Mr. Law, who
seconded the motion, "that whatever he undertook he was sure to succeed
in. From the commencement of that series of great operations which arose
out of the revolutionary war, success had uniformly marked his long
career. With respect to the late brilliant enterprise, too much could
not be said of it; and it was gratifying to know that the feelings of
the House and the country were the same."

"No one," said Lord Cochrane, "was better acquainted than himself with
the power possessed by batteries over a fleet; and he would say that the
conduct of Lord Exmouth and the fleet deserved all the praise which that
House could bestow. The attack was nobly achieved, in a way that a
British fleet always performed such services; and the vote had his most
cordial concurrence, for he never knew, or had heard, of anything more
gallant than the manner in which Lord Exmouth had laid his ships
alongside the Algerine batteries."

Lord Exmouth had now gained everything he could hope for. He was still
in the full vigour of life, with the prospect of many years of health.
His children had all been spared to him; and he was accustomed to dwell
on their conduct with a father's pride and satisfaction. With a
liberality not often displayed, he gave them their full portions as they
successively left him; and he had the gratification of entrusting to
each of his sons one of the many honourable tributes to his worth and
services which he had received from different public bodies. His eldest
son, who had served many years under his orders, was living near
Teignmouth, at the family mansion of Canonteign. He represented
Launceston in Parliament, and when he first entered the House had
exerted himself, though without success, to obtain for seamen serving on
foreign stations the privilege, since granted, of receiving part of
their pay abroad. He had been much impressed with the evils of the
former system, which his liberality had obviated for his own crews. Lord
Exmouth maintained a most unreserved intercourse with him, and often
expressed a confidence in the strongest terms, that he would do honour
to the rank he was to inherit: hopes never to be realized, for he
survived his father only a few months.

It is a memorable illustration of a truth, which all admit, but none
entirely feel, till their own experience has taught them the vanity of
worldly success, that when the attainment of every object had left him
without a wish ungratified, Lord Exmouth would sometimes confess that he
had been happier amidst his early difficulties. Indeed, his natural
character, and all his habits, were very unfavourable to repose. The
command at Plymouth was given him in 1817, on the death of Sir John
Duckworth; but this, though it prevented a too abrupt transition to
complete retirement, was a life of inactivity, when contrasted with his
general pursuits for almost fifty years.

While he held this command he was required to attend in his place in the
House of Lords on the trial of the Queen, one of the most lamentable
events in modern English history. He had received her then Royal
Highness on board his flag-ship in the Mediterranean with all the
attentions due to her exalted rank, and his principal officers were
assembled to pay their respects to her. But when he was desired to
furnish a royal standard, which, it was said, the vessel was entitled to
carry, though a foreigner, he replied that the standard of England
could be carried only by a British man of war. He shared the temporary
unpopularity of the noblemen who supported the bill, and the mob at
Plymouth and its neighbourhood expressed their feelings towards him with
much violence; but this, as far as he was concerned, gave him no
disquiet. He had not then to learn how little this kind of hostility is
to be regarded, when it is provoked by the faithful discharge of duty.
When the storm was at the highest he wrote the following letter:--


                    "Admiralty House, Plymouth Dock, Nov. 20, 1820.

     "MY DEAR BROTHER,--I am much obliged by your kind letter, and wish
     I could give you in return anything good, or worth detailing. The
     fact is, the people are mad, and the world is mad; and where it
     will end, the Lord only knows; but as sure as we live, the days of
     trouble are very fast approaching, when there will be much
     contention and much bloodshed, and changes out of all measure and
     human calculation. You and I have no choice. Loyalty is all our
     duty, and we shall, no doubt, stick to it. As for myself, you may
     well think me D.D.,[15] for I am burnt, and kicked, and torn in
     pieces for many nights; but here I am, quite whole, sound, and
     merry, in spite of them all, poor fools! In a fortnight they will
     fain know how to make amends. They have a particular dislike to me,
     and I am glad of it. We shall live to see it changed."


With the command at Plymouth, Lord Exmouth's public life may be
considered to have ended; for though he shrunk from no duty which his
rank and character imposed upon him, he would not submit to become a
political partizan. This decision, so happy for his peace, was the
result of his habitual judgment and feeling. In a letter before alluded
to, which he wrote for his eldest son before he went to Algiers, he
observed, that though not rich, he would be independent, and enjoined
him never to entangle himself with party politics. While none more
firmly supported the great principles upon which the security and
welfare of the country rest, he chose always to keep the high position
of an independent British nobleman. The splendid rewards which his
services had obtained for him, he received, not as from any particular
administration, but from his country; and he felt himself entitled to
assert the same independence in the House of Lords, which he had always
displayed as a commander. Thus, by a conduct equally prudent and
honourable, he secured, through periods of great political excitement,
an exemption almost singular, for a man in his position, from the
attacks of party.

At the same time, his best services were always at the command of the
Government, who frequently availed themselves of his judgment and
experience. Few important questions occurred in connection with his own
profession, upon which he was not consulted. Most of these were
necessarily confidential; but the following may with propriety be
noticed. In 1818, when the extreme difficulties of the country demanded
the utmost possible retrenchment, it was proposed, among other measures
of economy, to destroy Pendennis Castle. Two commissioners, sent to
survey and report upon this step, were instructed to communicate first
with Lord Exmouth. His opinion decided the preservation of this noble
fortress; which is at once so important from its position, and so
interesting for its heroic defence, when, in the great rebellion, it
obtained the honourable distinction of being the last stronghold of
loyalty.

On the question of concessions to the Roman Catholics in 1829, his
opinions and conduct were most decided. His eldest son resigned his seat
for a borough, which he held unconditionally, under the influence of the
Duke of Northumberland, as soon as that nobleman declared his intention
to support the claims. The ground of Lord Exmouth's opposition to the
measure has been already given in his words.

That moral elevation, not always associated with powerful talent and
splendid success, which forms the most admirable part of Lord Exmouth's
character, was derived from religion. Young as he was when he first
entered the service, and though such principles and feelings could not
be supposed then to be very strongly fixed, yet he was guarded in his
conduct, and always prompt to check any irreverent allusion to serious
subjects. His youth was passed in camps and ships, at a time when a
coarse and profane conduct too much prevailed, now happily almost
unknown; but he was never deterred by a false shame from setting a
proper example. On board his first frigate, the _Winchelsea_, the duties
of the Sundays were regularly observed. He always dressed in full
uniform on that day, and, having no chaplain, read the morning service
to his crew, whenever the weather permitted them to be assembled.
Advancing in his brilliant career, the same feelings were more and more
strikingly displayed. It was his practice to have a special and general
service of thanksgiving after every signal deliverance, or success. Too
often is it found, that with the accession of worldly honours, the man
becomes more forgetful of the good Providence from which he received
them. From this evil, Lord Exmouth was most happily kept; and additional
distinctions only confirmed the unaffected simplicity and benevolence of
his character. When he was fitting out his fleet for Algiers, amidst all
the anxiety of hurried preparations, he took care that every ship should
be properly supplied with the sacred volume. For this purpose, he
obtained from the Naval and Military Bible Society, of which he was a
Vice President, every copy which could be procured at so short a notice.
Finally, after this, the last and greatest of his services, a battle of
almost unexampled severity and duration, and fought less for his country
than for the world, his gratitude to the Giver of victory was expressed
in a manner the most edifying and delightful.

With such principles, he might well have hoped for happiness when he
retired from public life. Religion alone can fill and satisfy the most
active and capacious mind; but that its power may be felt to calm,
strengthen, and support, under whatever circumstances of endurance, or
of action, it must govern the character always, and be the supreme
controlling principle. For this, the position of a naval officer is not
favourable. War has much, in addition to the miseries and evils it
directly creates, which only necessity can excuse; and there is too
little leisure for reflection amidst the anxiety of early struggles, the
full career of success, or the pressure of exciting and important
duties.

But when external responsibilities had ceased to divert his attention
from himself, his religious principles acquired new strength and exerted
a more powerful influence. They guided him to peace; they added dignity
to his character: and blessed his declining years with a serenity, at
once the best evidence of their truth, and the happiest illustration of
their power.

The quiet of domestic life offers little to be recorded; and except when
public or private claims might call him for a short time from home, Lord
Exmouth passed the remainder of his life at Teignmouth. He had nobly
done his duty; and now enjoyed in honourable repose all that the
gratitude of his country and the affection of his family could bestow.
Though he knew himself liable to an attack which might be almost
suddenly fatal, he dwelt on the prospect without alarm, for he rested
upon that faith whose privilege it is to rise above present suffering,
and to regard death itself as the gate of immortal life.

No man was more free from selfish feeling. His honours and success were
valued for the sake of his family. His services and life were for his
country. He had a truly English heart, and served her with entire
devotedness. Nothing, indeed, could be a finer commentary than his own
career upon her free and equal institutions, which, by the force of
those qualities they so powerfully tend to create, had enabled him to
rise from the condition of an unfriended orphan, to the dignity of the
British peerage. Most painful, therefore, were his feelings, when revolt
and anarchy in neighbouring countries were held up to be admired and
imitated at home, until a praiseworthy desire of improvement had become
a rage for destructive innovation. In a letter written at this time,
Nov. 12th, 1831, after alluding to his own declining strength, he thus
proceeds:--"I am fast approaching that end which we must all come to. My
own term I feel is expiring, and happy is the man who does not live to
see the destruction of his country, which discontent has brought to the
verge of ruin. Hitherto thrice happy England, how art thou torn to
pieces by thine own children! Strangers, who a year ago looked up to you
as a happy exception in the world, with admiration, at this moment know
thee not! Fire, riot, and bloodshed, are roving through the land, and
God in his displeasure visits us also with pestilence; and, in fact, in
one short year, we seem almost to have reached the climax of misery. One
cannot sit down to put one's thoughts to paper, without feeling
oppressed by public events, and with vain thought of how and when will
the evils terminate. _That_ must be left to God's mercy, for I believe
man is at this moment unequal to the task."

He then passes to another subject. It was a trait in his character,
that, through all his success, he never forgot his early friends.

"When I sat down, I intended to commence by letting you know that I have
heard from ---- of the last week's illness and decease of our early, and
I believe almost our oldest friend, ----. He states, that he died, by
God's mercy, free from pain; that his suffering was not much, and he
bore it patiently, with a calm mind, keeping his senses to the last few
hours. That you had paid your old friend a last visit, from which, he
says, he appeared to be quite revivified; that his eyes sparkled with
inward joy, and that he had asked kindly after me; that he went off at
last in a kind of sleep, without a struggle, and had felt all the
comfort which could be given him by a sincere old friend. I was very
glad to hear that you had given him the comfort of taking leave of him,
for I readily believe he ever felt for you unabated friendship, and for
myself also. I think we must have known him above three-score years. I
am sure you will derive pleasure from having shown him that your
friendship could only end by his death."

In the last week of December, 1831, after an extraordinary exemption
from such trials in his own family, he lost his youngest daughter.
Little more than two months elapsed, when on the 2nd of March the
warning was repeated in the almost sudden death of a grandchild,
daughter of his eldest son. He communicated this event with the
reflection--"We have long been mercifully spared. Death has at length
entered our family, and it behoves us all to be watchful."[16]

In the spring of this year he was made Vice-Admiral of England, and was
honoured at the same time with a very flattering letter from his
Sovereign. This he immediately enclosed to his elder brother, to whom he
knew it would give pleasure. Of the appointment itself, he remarked, "I
shall have it only for one year." He held it but for a few months.

In May, Sir Israel Pellew was on his death-bed; and Lord Exmouth, though
he now travelled with much difficulty and pain, could not refuse himself
the melancholy satisfaction of a parting visit to one with whom he had
been so closely and affectionately united. Their brother came up from
Falmouth on the same errand, and on this painful occasion they all met
for the last time. He then returned to his home, which he never left
again.

He cherished a very strong attachment to the Church; and for more than
thirty years had been a member of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, which he joined when the claims of the society were so little
appreciated, that only principle could have prompted the step. It might
therefore be expected that he would feel deep anxiety when the safety of
that Church was threatened. But upon this subject his mind was firm; and
in one of the last letters he ever wrote, dated August 28th, he declares
his confidence in the most emphatic language. After some personal
observations to the friend he was addressing, one of his old officers,
he alludes to the cholera, then raging in his neighbourhood; "which," he
says, "I am much inclined to consider an infliction of Providence, to
show his power to the discontented of the world, who have long been
striving against the government of man, and are commencing their attacks
on our Church. But they will fail! God will never suffer his Church to
fall; and the world will see that his mighty arm is not shortened, nor
his power diminished. I put my trust in Him, and not in man; and I bless
Him, that He has enabled me to see the difference between improvement
and destruction."

Not many days after, he suffered a most violent attack of the illness he
had long anticipated. The immediate danger was soon averted; but the
extent of the disease left not the smallest hope of recovery. He
lingered until the 23rd of January, calmly waiting the event which his
gradually increasing weakness convinced him was inevitable. Sustained by
the principle which had guided him so long, his death-bed became the
scene of his best and noblest triumph. "Every hour of his life is a
sermon," said an officer who was often with him; "I have seen him great
in battle, but never so great as on his death-bed." Full of hope and
peace, he advanced with the confidence of a Christian to his last
conflict, and when nature was at length exhausted, he closed a life of
brilliant and important service, with a death more happy, and not less
glorious, than if he had fallen in the hour of victory.

Lord Exmouth was buried at Christow, the parish in which are the family
mansion and estate of Canonteign. The flag under which he fought at
Algiers was used for a pall, and a young oak, to bear his name, was
planted near the grave; a suitable memorial for a British seaman.

Two noble line-of-battle ships, the _Algiers_ and the _Exmouth_, of
91-guns each, and fitted with screw propellers, of which one is just now
commissioned and the other just launched, preserve in the navy the
memory of his name and victory, and may yet be commanded by officers
trained by his care, and formed by his example.

FOOTNOTES:

[14] The plate bore the following most flattering inscription:--


                     TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
                 EDWARD, VISCOUNT AND BARON EXMOUTH,
                          And a Baronet,
  Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath,
   Of the Royal and distinguished Order of Charles the Third of Spain,
       Of the Royal Sicilian Order of St. Ferdinand, and of Merit,
    Knight of the Royal Sardinian Supreme Order of the Annunciation.
Knt. Gd. Cross of the Royal Sardinian Order of St. Lazarus & St. Maurice,
     and of the Royal Military Order of William of the Netherlands,
              This Tribute of Admiration and Esteem
                 Is most respectfully presented by
            THE REAR-ADMIRAL, CAPTAINS, AND COMMANDERS,
               Who had the honour to serve under him
            _At the memorable VICTORY gained at ALGIERS_
                    On the 27th of August, 1816,
Where, by the Judgment, Valour, & Decision of their distinguished Chief,
                   Aided by his brilliant Example,
                 THE GREAT CAUSE OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
                       Was bravely Fought, and
                        _NOBLY ACCOMPLISHED_.


[15] "Discharged, dead." The mark by which a man is reported dead on the
ship's books.

[16] It is a remarkable fact, that after the death of his daughter,
seven members of the family died within three years.

THE END.