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HER MAJESTY'S NAVY
VOL. III.

LORD NELSON.

LOWERING THE ENSIGN AT SUNSET.
VOL. III.
LONDON: J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited.

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HER MAJESTY'S NAVY

INCLUDING

ITS DEEDS AND BATTLES

BY

Lieut. CHAS. RATHBONE LOW, F.R.G.S
{Late Indian Navy)
AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY," "LIFE OF LORD WOLSELEY," ETC., ETC.

THflUtb Coloured 3Itustrations
By W. CHRISTIAN SYMONS and W. FRED. MITCHELL

IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. III.

LONDON
J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited
294, CITY ROAD, and 26, IVY LANE

LONDON :
PRINTED BY J. S. VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED,
CITY ROAD.

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0 t>

CONTENTS.

vol. in.

CHAPTER I. PAGE
Battle of Trafalgar — Nelson's Plan of Battle— Collingwood opens the Attack— The Victory engages the
Bucentaure and Redoutable — Lord Nelson is wounded — Details of the part taken by each Ship in the
Battle — Last Moments of Lord Nelson — The Gale after the Battie — Fate of the Prizes — Obsequies of Nelson
— Some Account of the Services of the Victory  .... 1
CHAPTER II.
Sir Richard Strachan's Victory over Dumanoir's Squadron — Gallant Defence of the Arrow and Acheron — Capture
of the Psyche by the San Fiorenzo — Loss of the Cleopatra and her Recapture — Lieutenants Yeo at Muros, and
Pigot at St. Mary's River — Capture of the Marengo and Belle Poule — Loss of the Blanche and Calcutta —
Capture of the Didon by the Phoenix — Sir John Duckworth's Victory off San Domingo — Capture of the
Impitueux and Fate of Admiral Willaumez's Squadron — Sir Sydney Smith at Naples — Services of the Boats
of the Pique and Benommee — Exploits of Lord Cochrane — Loss of the Indiaman Warren Hastings — The
Blanche and Guerriere — Services of the Navy on the Coast of Cuba — Capture of French Frigates by Sir
Samuel Hood's Squadron — Surrender of Cape Town — The Expedition to the La Plata — Capture of Copen
hagen — Admiral Duckworth in the Dardanelles — The Abortive Expedition to Egypt — Captain Brisbane at
Curacoa — Capture of the Lynx by the Boats of the Galatea — Repulse of the Boats of the Spartan — The
Weasel off Corfu — The Windsor Castle Packet and the French Privateers  33

CHAPTER III.
The Naval Situation in Europe in 1808 — Capture of the Russian seventy-four Sewolod — Action between the
San Fiorenzo and Pie'montaise — Services of the Navy on the Coasts of Norway and Denmark — Death of
Captain Conway Shipley — Some Cutting-ont Expeditions and Boat Actions — The Seahorse and Turkish
Frigate — The Se'millante and Terpsichore — Fighting in Danish Waters — The Amethyst with the Thetis and
Niemen — Destruction of French Ships in Aix Roads by Lord Cochrane— The Expedition to the Scheldt —
Frigate Actions in 1809 — The Spartan with a Squadron off Naples — Boat Actions in the Adriatic, and with
Danish and Russian Gunboats — Loss of the Junon — Capture of French Colonies — Death of Lord Colling-
Wood — Frigate Actions in 1810 — Repulse at Palermo — Loss of three Indiamen — Captain Willoughby at
Jacolet — Capture of Reunion and Isle de la Passe — Loss of Four Frigates off Grand Port, in Mauritius — Loss
of the Africaine and Ceylon, and Recovery of the latter — Capture of Mauritius and Amboyna — Captain Cole
at Banda-Neira — Actions with the Boulogne Flotilla and on the Coast of Holland — Defeat of the Danish Expe
dition to Anhalt— Loss of the St. George, Defence, and Hero — Captain Hoste's Victory off Lissa — Action
between Single Ships in 1811 — Capture of the Pomone — Action off Madagascar — Capture of Java— Frigate
Action in 1812-14 — Capture of the Bivoli and French Frigates — Conclusion of the War .... 56

yi CONTEATl'S.
CHAPTER IV. PAGE
The War with the United States — The President and Little Belt — President and Belvidera — The Guerriire and
Constitution — The Frolic and Wasp — The Macedonian and United States — The Java and Constitution — The
Peacock and Hornet — Capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon — Loss of the Dominica and Boxer; — Capture
of the Argus— Boat Attacks in Chesapeake Bay— The Fighting on the Canadian Lakes in 1813— Capture of
the Essex — the Epervier and Peacock — Loss of the Reindeer and Avon — The Expedition to Washington —
Captain Gordon at Alexandria — The Attack on Baltimore— The Fighting on the Canadian Lakes in 1814 —
The Operations near Mobile and on Lake Borgne — Capture of the President — Loss of the Cyane, Levant,
Penguin, and Nautilus  97

CHAPTER V.
Biographical Notices of some distinguished Admirals and Captains of the Revolutionary War — Captain John
Harvey — His Gallantry and Death in the Action between the Brunswick and Vengeur — Captain Robert
Faulknor — His glorious Death on board the Blanche — Captain Richard Bowen — His Career and Death at
Teneriffe — Some Account of Sir Andrew Douglas — A brief Notice of Earl Howe — Also of Lord Graves and
of Lord Duncan ; of Captain Hood, who fell when in command of the Mars ; and of Captains John Cooke
and George Duff, who were slain at Trafalgar  119

CHAPTER VI.
A brief Notice of Lord Nelson's Career — Also of some of the most celebrated Commanders of the British Navy
during the War with France : Sir Thomas Troubridge — Captains Hardinge and Lydiard — Lord Gardner —
Lord Collingwood — Lord Bridport — Lord Hood — Sir Samuel Hood — Lord Keith — Sir Sydney Smith — Earl
Howe — Lord Duncan — Earl St. Vincent — Sir John Louis — Sir John Duckworth — Sir Charles Cotton — Some
of Nelson's most famous Captains and other Officers  157

CHAPTER VII.
Lord Exmouth's Victory at Algiers — Details of the Action — Some Particulars of the Queen CJiarlotte, Canopus,
and Implacable — The Battle of Navarino — Defeat and Destruction of the Turkish Fleet — Anecdotes of the
Battle— The Syrian War— Capture of Sidon— Bombardment of Acre  209

CHAPTER VIII.
Expeditions against the Pirates of the Persian Gulf in 1809 and 1819— Capture of Ras-ul-Khymah — Expedition
against the Beni-Boo-Ali Arabs — The first Burmese War — Operations on the Irrawaddy — The first Chinese
War — Capture of Chusan and the Bogue Forts — The Navy on the Seaboard of China and on the Yang-tse-
Kiang— Captain Harry Keppel and the Pirates of Borneo — The second Burmese War — Capture of Rangoon
— Other Operations of the War— Forcing of the Parana River in South America — Actions with Slavers —
The Persian and New Zealand Wars — A brief Survey of Arctic Exploration— Sir Edward Parry's Voyages
towards the North Pole— Sir James Ross's Discoveries in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions— Sir John
Franklin — Expeditions in Search' of the great Explorer — McClure and the North-West Passage — Collinson's
Voyage in the Enterprise — McClintock discovers traces of the Franklin Expedition ..... 229

CONTENTS. vn
CHAPTER IX. PAGE
The War with Russia — Expedition to the Black Sea — Bombardment of Odessa— Siege of Sebastopol — The
Expedition to Kertch and Yenikale — Commander Lyons, of the Miranda — Expedition to Kinburn —
Operations in the Baltic — Capture of the Forts of Bomarsund —Commander Lyons at Kola — The Failure
at Petropaulovski — The Baltic Fleet in 1855 — Bombardment of Sweaborg— The Indian Mutiny— Services
of the Shannon Brigade at the Relief and Siege of Lucknow — The Indian Navy Detachments serving on
Shore  265
CHAPTER X.
The China War of 1856-60 — Action at Fatshan Creek — The Operations off the Peiho — Repulse of Admiral
Hope before the Taku Forts — The Abyssinian and Ashantee Expeditions — The Naval Brigade in South
Africa — The Defence of Ekowe — The War in Egypt — The Seizure of the Suez Canal — The Bombardment
of Alexandria — The Naval Brigade at Suakin — The Nile Expedition — Conclusion  277
CHAPTER XI.
(SUPPLEMENTARY.)
The MateHel of the British Navy in 1892 — England's Responsibilities and the Condition of the Fleet — The
Transition from Wooden Ships to Ironclads — British Ships-of-war of the Past and Present — The Guns of
our Day — The Naval Defence Act of 1889, and the New Programme of Shipbuilding — The Royal
Sovereign — Some other Battle Ships— Our Cruisers — Our Torpedo Flotilla — Comparison of British with
Foreign Navies — The Personnel of the Navy — Our Reserves  . .311

list of illustrations. vol. hi.

PAGE
Lord Nelson  Frontispiece
Lowering the Ensign at Sunset  Vignette
The "Victory"  To face page 20
"Captain"  52
A Boarding Party  76
H.M.S. "Thrush"  100
2nd Class Petty Officer   124
At the Breech-loading Gun ....  . . 148
H.M.S. "Speedwell"  172
Signalling  . 196
Lieutenant and Signal Boy .  220
Landing Order ....  244
H.M.S. "Blenheim" ...  . . 268
Ship's Cook ...  300
H.M.S. "Royal Sovereign"  _ 332
Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers  340

HEE MAJESTY'S NAVY.

CHAPTER I.

Battle of Trafalgar — Nelson's Plan of Battle — Collingwood opens the Attack — The Victory engages the Bucentaure
and Redoutable — Lord Nelson is wounded — Details of the part taken by each ship in the Battle — Last Moments
of Lord Nelson — The Gale after the Battle — Fate of the Prizes — Obsequies of Nelson — Some account of the
services of the Victory.
T OED NELSON — having given expression, in his beautiful prayer, to his gratitude
to the Almighty for affording him the opportunity of destroying the naval power
of France and Spain, thus conducing to the establishment of peace and the safety
of his beloved country, and enjoining humanity on the crews of his fleet — disposed
of his private affairs, and then, quitting his cabin for the last time, visited all the
decks of the Victory, and, addressing the men at their quarters, cautioned them
to take aim and not throw away a single shot. On his return to the quarter-deck,
Captain Blackwood expressed to Nelson the anxiety of his lordship's friends lest
his conspicuous dress, with the orders glittering on his breast, might attract the
fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, and prayed him to shift his flag to the Euryalus,
or allow the Temiraire to go ahead of the Victory. To this he said, with a significant
smile to Captain Hardy, " Oh, yes, let her go ahead." But at the same time he had
10 such intention,, and, indeed, hailed Captain Harvey, commanding that ship, to
keep his place, nor would he permit a yard of canvas to be shortened.* The Victory,
therefore, kept her station and led the fleet into battle.
* When the Teme'ravre ranged up on the Victory's quarters in order to pass her and lead, Lord Nelson hailed her
md speaking, as he always did, with a slight nasal intonation, said, " I'll thank you, Captain Harvey, to keep in your
>roper station, -which is astern of the Victory."
VOL. III. B

2 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The wind was so light, that although the British ships had studding-sails set on
both sides, they only made three knots an hour. Apprehensive that the enemy might
run for the port of Cadiz, which was about twenty miles on the lee bow, his lordship
signalled to Admiral Collingwood, " I intend to pass through the van of the enemy's
line, to prevent him from getting into Cadiz." The reversed order of their line having
brought the shoals of San Pedro and Trafalgar under the lee of both fleets, the Victory
made the signal for the British ships to prepare to anchor at the close of the day. Lord
Nelson was pacing the deck when he remarked that some signal yet appeared to be
wanting, and added, " Suppose we telegraph that ' Nelson expects every man to do his
duty.' " Captain Blackwood suggested whether it would not be better to substitute the
word England, when Lord Nelson rapturously exclaimed, " Certainly, certainly," and
at about llh. 40m. the signal, so well known to every Englishman, " England expects
that every man will do his duty," was hoisted at the mizen-top-gallant-masthead, and
was greeted with three cheers by every ship in the fleet.
"Now," said Nelson, "I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer
of all events, and the justice of our cause. I thank God for this great opportunity of
doing my duty." He now sent the captains of the frigates to their ships, and as
Blackwood shook him by the hand on leaving, saying he hoped to come back soon and
find him well and in possession of twenty prizes, Nelson replied, " God bless you,
Blackwood, I shall never speak to you again."
The British fleet bore down with the wind on the port quarter, in two columns, led
by the Victory and Royal Sovereign, which were about two miles apart, the former having
directly ahead of her the Bucentaure, Yilleneuve's flagship, with the Santissima
Trinidada as her second, ahead ; and Collingwood, with the lee division, bore down on
the Santa Anna, Yice- Admiral Alava's flagship, while the Principe de Asturias, bearing
the flag of Admiral Gravina, the Spanish Commander-in-chief, was the rearmost ship of
the hostile fleet.
It was just about noon that the Fougueux, the second astern of the Santa Anna,
fired the first gun upon the Royal Sovereign, which was considerably ahead of the ships
of her division, and thus commenced the action. Immediately the British Admirals
hoisted their flags, and every ship, the St. George's, or white, ensign, and in order tc
prevent confusion in the heat and smoke of battle, a Union Jack at their maintop-mast-
stay, and another at their fore-topgallant-stay, while the Victory carried at her main-
topgallant-mast-head, Nelson's customary signal, "Engage the enemy more closely."

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY, 3
The enemy's fleet replied by hoisting their national colours, and the Admirals their
flags. Soon after noon the Royal Sovereign, then close up to the Santa Anna, poured
into her the whole of her port broadside, the guns being double-shotted, and with
such terrible effect, that, as the Spanish officers afterwards acknowledged, nearly 400 of
her crew were placed hors de combat, and 14 of her guns were disabled. With her
starboard broadside, similarly charged, the Royal Sovereign raked the Fougueux, but
owing to the distance, with little effect. It was just as the Royal Sovereign was passing
between these two ships, that Vice- Admiral Collingwood called out to his captain,
" Eotheram, what would Nelson give to be here ? " And by a singular coincidence,
showing how completely the minds of these two great seamen were in sympathy, Lord
Nelson, the moment he saw his friend in his enviable position, exclaimed, " See how
that noble fellow, Collingwood, carries his ship into action." Having passed under the
stern of the Santa Anna, the Royal Sovereign put her helm a-starboard and ranged so
close alongside of her, that the guns were nearly muzzle to muzzle. But the Royal
Sovereign soon found that she had more than one opponent to contend with, as the
Fougueux, having bore up, raked her astern, while ahead, about 400 yards, lay the San
Leandro, which raked her in that direction, and on her starboard bow and quarter, within
less than 300 yards, were the San Justo and Indomptable. At length, observing that
three or four British ships were fast approaching to the support of their gallant leader,
the four two-deckers, one by one, drew off from the Rogal Sovereign and left her to
combat solely with the Santa Anna. For upwards of fifteen minutes the Royal Sovereign
was the only British ship in close action, but now the Belleisle came up, and firing a
broadside into the lee-quarter of the Santa Anna, bore away for the Indomptable.
Lord Nelson directed the Victory to be steered towards the bow of the Santissima
Trinidada, his old opponent at the battle of St. Vincent, but it was not with the intention
of attacking her, as a Spanish Eear- Admiral, whatever the force of his ship, was con
sidered an unworthy object, while a French Vice- Admiral commanded the fleet, and his
lordship was of opinion, and the sequel proved that he was correct, that Villeneuve was
in one of the two or three ships next astern of the four-decker. Slowly the Victory,
with studding sails set on both sides, bore down on the enemy's line, Nelson anxiously
trying, with his glass to his sound eye, to descry the flag of the French Commander-in-
chief, though he could distinguish nothing. It was about twenty minutes past noon
that the Bucentaure fired her first shot at the Victory, but it fell short. A second soon

4 HER MAJESTY' 'S NA VY.
followed, and others in quick succession, the Bucentaure having now come within range.
As soon as this was perceived, several of the enemy's fleet opened fire upon the Victory,
which now sustained such a cannonade as few ships have encountered. Still the flag
ship pursued her way silently, as from her position no guns could be brought to bear,
but it was a trying time for the gallant crew, as officers and men began to fall without
having the excitement of working the guns to occupy them.
Mr. Scott, the Admiral's secretary, was killed while speaking to Captain Hardy, and
as the Victory had got within 500 yards of the port beam of the Bucentaure, her
mizen-topmast was shot away, and her wheel was knocked to pieces, so that the ship
had to be steered in the gun-room by the first lieutenant, Mr. Quilliam, and the master,
Mr. Atkinson. Now a double-headed shot killed eight marines on the poop, and
wounded several others, and so, under this iron hail, the gallant old ship stood bravely
on at a rate of speed, owing to the wind having died away, of not more than a knot and
a half an hour. Presently a round shot, passing through four hammocks, stowed in
the nettings, struck the launch on the booms, and the fore-brace bits on the quarter
deck, and passed between Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy, whose left foot was bruised
by a splinter. Doctor Beatty says in his "Narrative," "They both instantly stopped,
and were observed by the officers on deck to survey each other with inquiring looks,
each supposing the other to be wounded. His lordship then smiled and said, ' This is
too warm work, Hardy, to last long,' and declared that through all the battles he had
been in, he had never witnessed more cool courage than was displayed by the Victory's
crew on this occasion."
At this time the ships closed around the Bucentaure, and the enemy's line was
divided nearly in the centre, fourteen being in the van and nineteen in the rear, with
an interval between them of about 1,200 yards. Captain Hardy, thereupon, represented
to the Admiral the impossibility of passing through the group of ships around the
Bucentaure, without running on board one of them, when his lordship quickly replied,
" I cannot help it. It does not signify which we run on board of. Go on board which
you please. Take your choice."
At length, when 20 men had been killed and 30 wounded, and the studding
sail-booms had been shot away, and her sails riddled, the foresail being almost stripped
from the yard, the order was given to open fire, as the Victory passed under the stern of
the Bucentaure. The 68-pounders, mounted on the port side of the forecastle, each
charged with a round shot and a canister, containing 500 musket balls, were discharged

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. g
right into the cabin windows of the French flagship, and were followed by the whole
broadside of 50 guns, double or treble shotted. So close were the ships at the time that the
Victory's port main-yard-arm touched the vangs (steadying ropes) of the Bucentaure's gaff,
and the guns' crews were nearly suffocated by the smoke that blew back into the Victory's
port holes, while Lord Nelson and others on the quarter-deck were covered with dust
from the crumbled woodwork of the Bucentaure's stern. As in the case of the Royal
Sovereign, French officers placed the effect of this tremendous broadside on board
Admiral Villeneuve's flagship, as " nearly 400 men " killed and wounded, and 20 guns
dismounted. Close ahead, ready to return the fire which the Bucentaure was quite incapacitated
from doing, lay the Neptune, of 80 guns, and as the Victory's bows opened clear of the
Bucentaure's stern, she poured into her a destructive raking broadside, which caused
considerable damage below and aloft, and then setting her jib, ranged ahead in order to
prevent the Victory falling on board of her. But Captain Hardy had decided to close
with the Redoutable, which had been firing into the flagship with her foremost guns,
and porting his helm, ran foul of the French seventy-four. Presently the Victory
dropped alongside the Redoutable, and her starboard fore-top-mast studding-sail boom-
iron hooked in the leech, or outside edge, of the latter's fore-topsail, when the two ships
fell off from the wind, the Victory's lower deck guns almost touching the side of the
Redoutable, which had closed most of her lower deck ports. In this position the
Redoutable used her main-deck guns and musketry from her open ports and her tops
on the deck of the Victory, which retaliated with her middle and lower deck guns
chiefly, and the boatswain cleared the French ship's gangways by discharging the
starboard 68-pounder carronade loaded with a heavy charge of canister.
Now happened the sad event which resulted in the death of England's greatest
and most cherished hero. Lord Nelson, accompanied by Captain Hardy, was uncon
cernedly pacing that portion of the quarter-deck, about twenty-one feet in length,
bounded abaft by the wheel, and forward by the cabin companion, when just as the pair
faced about, the Admiral was seen to fall on his knees with his left hand touching the
deck. As the captain of the Victory stooped to assist him, the Admiral fell on his left
side, exactly on the spot where his secretary had fallen, and, indeed, Mr. Scott's blood
dyed his master's uniform.
Eagerly Captain Hardy expressed a hope that his lordship was not severely
wounded, but the answer he received must have struck a chill to his brave heart.
VOL. III. P

6 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
" They have done for me at last, Hardy."
"I hope not," rejoined Captain Hardy, encouragingly.
" Ves," said his lordship, " my backbone is shot through."
A musket ball had passed through the left shoulder, and descending, had lodged, as
he too truly said, in the spine. The wound was mortal, and the gallant sufferer from the
first entertained no illusion on this point. It had been inflicted by one of the small-arm
men in the mizen-top of the Redoutable, which was only about fifteen yards distant.
Ender Captain Hardy's instructions, a sergeant of marines and two seamen tenderly bore
their revered chief below to the cockpit, where, lying on a midshipman's cot, he was
attended to by the surgeon of the Victory, Dr. Beatty, who has written a detailed
description of the circumstances of the great seaman's death. We will now revert to
the incidents of the battle, giving an account of the services of each individual ship.
The Royal Sovereign was joined, after fifteen minutes' close action with the Santa
Anna, by the Belleisle, which, after a single broadside, passed on. Lord Collingwood's
flagship was closely engaged with the Spanish three-decker, which, at the end of an
hour and a quarter, had lost all three masts, and 45 minutes later, at 2.15, the Santa
Anna struck her colours. Her opponent had suffered to an almost equal extent. At
the time of the surrender, the Royal Sovereign's mizen-mast went over the side, and soon
it was followed by the main-mast, and the foremast was left in a tottering condition, and
stripped of most of its rigging. Her loss was one lieutenant, the master, a marine
officer, two midshipmen, and 42 seamen and marines killed ; and two lieutenants, a
marine officer, four midshipmen, a master's mate, the boatswain, and 85 seamen wounded.
The Santa Anna's loss was much more severe, and among the dangerously wounded was
Vice- Admiral Alava.
The Belleisle passed through the enemy's line abreast of the Fougueux, and pouring
a broadside into the Santa Anna, and exchanging several with the Indomptable, she first
engaged, at long range, the San Juan Nepomucino, which shot away her main- top-mast, and
then entered into close action with the Fougueux, which collided with her on the star
board beam. The Belleisle soon lost her mizen-mast, but the Mars coming up, the Fougueux
dropped astern. At 1.30 the French Achille took up a station on her port quarter, over
which the wreck of the mizen-mast lay masking her after guns, and the Belleisle also
received the distant fire of the Aigle and two other ships, so that the British seventy -four
had a hot time of it. Thus surrounded, her mainmast was shot away, and fell over the
poop and port side, completely disabling her guns. At 2.30 the French Neptune placed

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 7
herself across the starboard bow of the Belleisle, and soon her foremast and bowsprit were
shot away by the board, and she lay a bare and helpless hulk on the water. But there
was no thought of surrender on the part of Captain Hargood and his brave crew, who
displayed a Union Jack fastened at the end of a pike, and, at length, between 3.15 and
3.25, the Polyphemus interposed between the Belleisle and Neptune, the Defiance took off
the fire of the Aigle, and the Swiftsure, passing close under her stern, the crews cheering
each other, engaged the Achille, which soon lost her main and mizen topmasts. The
Belleisle now ceased firing, and Captain Hargood, being close to the Spanish 80-gun
ship Argonauta, which had surrendered, sent his only remaining boat on board to
take possession. In the desperate conflict she had so nobly maintained, the
Belleisle had two lieutenants, one midshipman, and 30 men killed ; and one lieutenant,
a marine officer, two master's mates, two midshipmen, and 86 seamen and marines
wounded. The ship's hull was battered to a fearful extent. Her three masts and
bowsprit were shot away, as also all her boats, except the pinnace, and her figure-head
and anchors.
The Mars, the ship next astern of the Belleisle, suffered severely from the raking fire
of four ships, and became engaged with the Pluton, while her stern was raked by the
Monarca and Algesiras. Presently the Tonnant came to her assistance, and the Mars,
which had become unmanageable, owing to her damaged condition aloft, fell off before
the wind, receiving the fire of the Fougueux' s starboard broadside and a raking fire from
the Pluton. At this time a round shot struck Captain Duff, carrying off his head, and
throwing his body in the gangway, and also killed two seamen standing behind him.
Lieutenant Hennah assumed command, and, soon afterwards, other ships coming to her
assistance, the Mars was relieved from further molestation by the Fougueux and Pluton
standing off. Besides her captain she had lost a master's mate, two midshipmen, and
25 men killed ; and two lieutenants, her master, captain of marines, five midshipmen,
and 60 seamen and marines wounded. The Mars had her main-top -mast and spanker-
boom shot away, all her masts were badly wounded, and the foremast subsequently
went over the side, and her hull was much shattered. The Pluton 's loss was about
300, out of a complement of 700 men.
The Tonnant, after assisting by her fire the ships surrounding the Mars, ran under
the stern of the Monarca, into which she poured a raking broadside, and hauled up
alongside the Spanish seventy-four, which dropped astern and struck her colours, but
soon rehoisted them. The Tonnant, which had lost her fore-top-mast and main-yard, port-
o 2

8 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ing her helm, ran on board the Algesiras, while with her port guns she fired at the Pluton
and San Juan. The battle raged with great fury between the antagonists, locked in
deadly embrace, and soon the Tonnant had her main and mizen-top masts shot away, and
the French seventy-four, her foremast. An attempt made to board the Tonnant was frus
trated by the fire of her marines, and at 2.15, just as her main and mizen-masts went
over the side, the Algesiras surrendered. Fifteen minutes later the San Juan hailed
that she had struck, and a jolly boat, the only one that would float, with an officer and
two men, was sent to take possession, but a shot sank her, and Lieutenant Clement
and his companions were with difficulty saved. The Tonnant lost one midshipman
and 25 seamen and marines killed, and among the 50 of all ranks wounded were
Captain Tyler (severely ) and three other officers. The Algesiras had upwards of 200
casualties, among the mortally wounded being Eear- Admiral Magon, who had been
previously wounded in two places, but refused to leave the deck.
The Bellerophon, following some distance in the wake of the Tonnant, crossed the
enemy's line under the stern of the Monarca, which, having rehoisted her colours after
engaging the British 80-gun ship, attacked her on the port bow and the Aigle on
the starboard, while she also received the fire of three other ships. The Bellerophon
soon showed the effects of this concentrated cannonade. Within half an hour her main
and mizen-top masts were shot away, and the sails caught fire. Captain Cooke was
killed, when the command devolved upon Lieutenant Cumby ; the master was slain
about the same time, and the musketry fire from the Aigle, which was near enough for
her people to throw hand grenades from the tops, swept the decks of the British seventy-
four. Nevertheless all attempts to board were repelled, and the Bellerophon remained
unconquered when the Colossus drew off the fire of three of her opponents, and the
Aigle dropped astern, and, though unmanageable, she even compelled the Monarca for
the second time to haul down her colours, when she took possession of the prize. The
Bellerophon lost, besides her captain and master, one midshipman and 24 men killed,
and the captain of marines, one master's mate, four midshipmen, the boatswain, and
116 seamen and marines wounded. The three lower masts and most of the yards were
Ibadly wounded, her main and mizen-top masts, and much of her rigging, were shot
away, and her hull and decks were much damaged. Her opponents suffered no less
severely, the Aigle losing nearly two-thirds of her crew, including her captain and
first lieutenant among the killed.
The Colossus, receiving the fire of two or three of the enemy's ships, was laid along-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 9
side the French Argonaute, which, after a hot cannonade, managed to clear herself and
get away, with a loss, according to French accounts, of about 160 killed and wounded.
At this time Captain Morris lost a leg above the knee, but applying a tourniquet, refused
to go below. The Colossus now engaged the Swiftsure, and also the Bahama. Soon
the former dropped astern, when the British seventy-four devoted her attention solely to
the Bahama, which surrendered, after losing her main mast. Again the Colossus engaged
the Swiftsure, and brought down her mizen-mast, and as the Orion, in passing, gave her a
broadside which shot away her main-mast, the French seventy-four surrendered. In haul
ing up to take possession of her prizes, the Colossus carried away her wounded mizen-
mast, and during the following night, had to cut away her main-mast, thus leaving her
with only the fore-mast, which was shot through in several places. In addition, her
hull was shattered, her anchors and three boats were destroyed, and, as in most of the
ships, some of her guns were disabled. The Colossus lost 40 killed, including her
master, and besides her captain, she had two lieutenants, a marine officer, one master's
mate, eight midshipmen, the boatswain, and no less than 146 seamen and marines
wounded. But she took a striking revenge on her adversaries, as besides the loss inflicted
on the Argonaute, the Bahama and Swiftsure * had each nearly 400 men placed hors de
combat, among those killed being the captain of the Spanish seventy -four, and both
ships were reduced to the condition of wrecks.
The British Achille, sailing close astern of the Colossus, engaged the Montanes to
leeward, and on her sheering off, stood towards the Belleisle, then lying totally dis
masted and engaged with three of the enemy's ships. But the Argonauta barred her
passage, and a close action ensued, lasting an hour, when the Spanish 80-gun ship
surrendered, but before the Achille could take possession, her namesake and the Berwick
came up, and the latter, interposing between her and the Argonauta, a deadly duel
commenced between these well-matched opponents. At the end of an hour the British
seventy-four triumphed, and the Berwick hauled down her colours. The former lost one
midshipman and twelve men killed, and two lieutenants, two marine officers, one
master's mate, three midshipmen, and 51 men wounded. She had also suffered consider
ably in her hull, and all her masts and bowsprit, though standing, were much injured
by shot. The Argonauta is stated to have lost nearly 400 in killed and wounded,
including her captain (dangerously), and the French Achille, all whose masts were in a
* In both the French and British fleets engaged at Trafalgar, were ships bearing the names of Swiftsure, Neptune,
and A dalle.

10 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
tottering state, had 51 killed including her captain, and nearly 200 wounded. We
will now deal with the operations of the ships of the weather column, led by the Victory,
which got into action some time after Lord Collingwood's division.
Lord Nelson received his mortal wound at 1.30, from a musket-ball from the mizen-
top of the Redoutable, and so destructive was the fire from the ship's tops and deck that
within a few minutes, nearly 50 officers and men were shot down on the upper deck,
and the guns here were mostly abandoned. But the lower and middle deck batteries
were hotly engaged, the port guns firing distantly at the Bucentaure and Santissima
Trinidada, while the starboard guns, charged with three shot, were making great havoc
on the decks of the Redoutable. " A circumstance in this situation," says Beatty, " showed
in a most striking manner the cool intrepidity of the officers and men stationed on the
lower deck of the Victory. When the guns on this deck were run out, their muzzles
came in contact with the Redoutable 's side, and, consequently, at every discharge there
was reason to fear that she would take fire, and both the Victory and Temeraire be
involved in the flames. Here was seen the astonishing spectacle of the fireman of each
gun standing ready with a bucketful of water, which, as soon as the gun was discharged,
he dashed into the enemy through the holes made in her side by the shot."
Within a few minutes after Lord Nelson fell, the fire from the Redoutable almost
cleared the upper deck of the Victory, the men still effective being engaged carrying
below their wounded shipmates. Encouraged by the apparently defenceless state of
the flag-ship, Captain Lucas, the gallant commander of the French seventy-four,
directed his men to board her, but Captain Hardy, who, with Captain Adair, of the
marines, and one or two officers, still remained on the poop and quarter-deck, called up
his men from below, and, after an exchange of musketry, the French seamen abandoned
the attempt. In repelling this daring assault, Captain Adair and 18 men were killed,
and Lieutenant Earn (mortally) and Midshipman Westphal — who survived to attain
high rank and a great age — and 20 men were wounded.*
At this time the hardly-beset Redoutable found herself opposed to yet another
antagonist. The Temeraire was close in the wake of the Victory, and, soon after the latter had
raked the Bucentaure, opened fire on the Neptune and Redoutable, and when the flag-ship
* Captain Adair was killed by a musket-ball in the neck, and the two wounded officers were struck by a cannon-
shot, which, from the oblique direction it took, must have been fired from one of the Bedoutable's main-deck guns
pointed upwards,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 11
closed with the latter, Captain Harvey hauled up to pass through the enemy's line,
receiving so heavy a raking fire from the Neptune that his foreyard and maintop-mast
were shot away, and his foremast and bowsprit much damaged. The British three-
decker continued to bring her port guns to bear on the Redoutable, which was still
engaged with the Victory, and about 1.40, the French seventy-four fell on board tho
Temeraire, whose crew immediately lashed her bowsprit to their main rigging, thus
enabling them to pour a raking fire into her. According to the French accounts "the
effect of this fire was terrible upon the crew of the Redoutable, who were assembled
on the forecastle, gangway and quarterdeck. Nearly 200 were placed hors de combat.
The brave Captain Lucas, although wounded, remained on deck." The fore-shrouds
and channels of the Redoutable were now in flames, which communicated to the fore
sail of the Temiraire, but they were extinguished in both ships by the exertions
of the fore-castle men of the three-decker, assisted by the crew of the Victory,
which also had been on fire in the booms. All resistance having now ceased on board
the Redoutable, Captain Hardy despatched two midshipmen and a party of men to
assist in subduing a fire which had just broken out afresh.
The Victory disengaged herself from the French seventy-four about 2.15. Her
loss had been heavy while receiving the raking fire of a division of the enemy's ships
•when bearing down to the scene of battle, and from the cohorns and musketry fire from
the Redoutable's tops. Besides the Commander-in-chief and his secretary, Captain
Adair, and Lieutenant Earn, she had killed two midshipmen, the captain's clerk, 32
seamen and 18 marines. The official account placed the wounded at 59 seamen and
nine marines, exclusive of two lieutenants, two marine officers and three midshipmen,
but, in addition, says Dr. Beatty, the boastwain and 26 men reported themselves to
him as wounded after the returns had been made up. The Victory lost her mizen-
top-mast, and her fore and main-masts, with all the yards and the bowsprit, were
badly injured, and all her running and standing rigging was cut to pieces, and her
hull was much damaged.
It is interesting to compare the authentic narrative of the action between the Victory
and the Redoutable, as received in England, with the French official account, written by
Captain Lucas, the officer commanding the seventy-four. In many points the writer
was incorrect, as in saying that, before the fall of Nelson, the British flagship ceased
firing, because she could offer no further resistance. The musketry fire of the Redout
able was alone destructive, and she was overmatched bv the English three-decker long

12 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
before the Temeraire came alongside, and she surrendered to the boarders from Captain
Harvey's ship. Nevertheless, Captain Lucas and his brave crew performed their duty
manfully, and Admiral Villeneuve wrote to him: — "Had all the captains acted in like
manner to you, the battle would not have been indecisive for an instant, and no one
knows this better than myself." After giving an account of the manoeuvring of the
two fleets before the battle, Captain Lucas says that his proper place in the line was
third ship from the admiral, but it seems that the two which should have been in front
of him were, either from mismanagement or bad sailing qualities, unable to get into
station, and, accordingly, at the last moment he closed up, and, as he puts it, " ordered
his bowsprit to be placed on the poop of the Bucentaure'' He then goes on to say : —
" At half past eleven the enemy's fleet hoisted its colours ; those of the Redoutable were
done in an imposing manner, the drums and fifes playing, and the marines presenting
arms as the flags were hoisted. The enemy's column, which was directed against our
fleet, was now on the port hand, and the flagship Bucentaure began firing. I ordered
a number of the chief gunners to mount on the forecastle, told them to notice how many
of our ships fired badly, and found that all their shots carried too low. I then com
manded them to aim at dismasting, and above all to aim well. At a quarter to twelve
the Redoutable began to fire with a shot from the first battery, which cut through the
foretop-sail yard of the Victory, causing it to lay over the fore-mast of the Redoutable,
whilst shouts of joy resounded in all our batteries. Our firing was well sustained, and
in less than ten minutes this same ship was deprived of her mizen-top -mast, fore-topsail,
and main topgallant-mast. We kept so close to the Bucentaure, that several times they
cried to me that I should run her down ; in reality the bowsprit of the Redoutable
touched the crown of her poop slightly, but I assured them they had nothing to fear.
The damage done to the Victory did not at all change the daring manoeuvring of
Admiral Nelson, he repeatedly persisting in trying to cut the line in front of the
Redoutable, and threatening to run us down if we opposed. The proximity of this ship,
followed by the Temeraire, instead of intimidating our crew, only increased their courage,
and to show the English admiral that we did not fear his fouling us, I had the grappling
irons hoisted on all the yards. The ship Victory, not having succeeded in passing the
stern of the French admiral, ran foul of us from stem to stern, and sheered off aft in such
a way that our poop lay alongside her quarter-deck. From this position the grappling
irons were thrown on board her ; those from the stern parted, but those forward held on,
and one broadside was discharged, which resulted in a horrible slaughter. We con-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 13
tinued to fire for some time, though many were delayed in loading our guns, through
not being able to bring them to bear on the ports, which were closed by the flank of the
Victory, but by means of the firearms through the port holes we prevented the enemy
loading. At last they ceased firing on us. What a day of glory for the Redoutable if
she had only had to fight the Victory !
"After her batteries, not being able to resist us longer, had at length ceased
firing, I had the trumpets sounded, which was the signal to our men for boarding.
She gave a similar order, and her officers sprang at the head of their company, as if it
was only an exercise. In less than a minute our decks were covered with armed men,
who dispersed themselves on the poop, netting and shrouds. Then began a heavy fire
of musketry, in which Admiral Nelson fought at the head of his crew. Our firing
became so rapid and was so superior to his, that in less than a quarter of an hour we
caused that of the Victory's to cease. More than two hundred grenades were thrown
on board her, the decks were strewn with the dead and wounded, and Admiral Nelson
was killed by the firing of our musketry. Very soon after this the topsides of the
Victory were deserted, and she ceased firing, but it was difficult to board her, because
of the motion of the vessel, and the height of the third battery. I, therefore, gave the
order to cut the supports of the mainyard, thus to cause it to serve as a bridge. A
midshipman and four seamen sprang on board by means of the anchor of the Victory
and we observed there was no one left in the batteries. At the moment when our men
were hastening to follow, the ship Temeraire, which had noticed that the Victory fought
no longer, and that it would be captured without fail, came full sail on our starboard
hand, and we were subjected to the full fire of her artillery.
"It is impossible to describe the carnage produced by the murderous broadside
of this ship ; more than two hundred of our brave men were killed or wounded ; I was
wounded also at the same time, but not sufficiently to prevent me staying at my post.
Not being able to attempt anything at the side of the Victory, I ordered the rest of
the crew to place themselves promptly in the batteries and fire at the Temeraire, from
the guns her firing had not dismounted, The order was carried out. By this time we
were so damaged, and had so few guns that the Temeraire opposed us with great
advantage. A short time afterwards another ship, whose name I forget, came and
placed herself on the stern of the Redoutable, and fired on us at pistol range. In less
than haK an hour our ship was damaged in such a manner that it looked nothing
but a heap of dSbris. In this state the Temeraire hailed us to surrender ^nd cease
VOL. III. d

14 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
prolonging a useless resistance. I ordered some soldiers who were near me to answer
this by firing, which was done with great alacrity. Almost the same moment the
masts of the Redoutable fell on the English ship, the two topmasts of the Temeraire
fell on board us, our whole poop was stove in, the rudder, tiller, sternpost, quarter-
galleries, and the steering gear were broken into bits, the decks were pierced with
the fire of the Temeraire and the Victory, and all our guns were shattered or dismounted
by the broadsides of these ships. In addition to this, one 18-pounder gun of the
second battery, and one 32-pounder carronade on the forecastle had burst, and killed
and wounded a great many of our men, both sides of the ship, with the port-lids
and ledges, were cut to pieces, and four of our pumps were broken, as well as our
quarter-deck ladder, which rendered communication between the batteries below and
the upper deck very difficult. All our gangways were covered with the dead, buried
beneath the debris, and a large number of wounded were killed, too, on the main
deck. " Out of the crew of 643 men we had 522 hors de combat, of whom 300 were
killed, and 222 wounded, nearly all the staff among them. Of the remaining 121,
a large number were employed in the hold, and handing powder, so that the batteries
and decks were absolutely deserted, and we were unable to offer the least resistance.
No one that had not seen the state of the ship Redoutable, could ever form an idea
of its condition. I know of nothing on board that was not cut to pieces with
cannon-shot. In the midst of this terrible slaughter those heroes who had not suc
cumbed to their wounds, cried, " Long live the Emperor ! we are not taken yet. Does the
Commander still live ?" Our helm about this time took fire, bat happily nothing else
did, and we succeeded in quickly extinguishing it. The ship Victory fought no longer.
She occupied herself only with getting clear of the Redoutable, but we were cut to
pieces by the cross fire of the Temeraire, by whom we were still engaged, and by the
ship which fired on our stern. Enable to parry it, and not seeing any of our ships,
which were all too far to leeward to come to our assistance, I waited no longer to
surrender, as the leaks were sufficiently large to ensure our going to the bottom,
and as soon as I had satisfied myself of this, I gave the order to strike our flag, and
it came down by itself by the fall of the mizen-mast. We were then abandoned by
the ship which fired on our poop, but the Temiraire continued to fire on us, and did
not cease until her men were obliged to do so by having to work at extinguishing
the fire which had broken out on their own ship. A short time after, the Victory

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 15
and Redoutable, which, with the Timiraire, were connected through their masts having
fallen across each other, being deprived of the use of their helms, formed a group
which drifted at the mercy of the wind and ran foul of the ship Fougueux which,
having fought against several of the enemy's ships, was abandoned by them without
having struck her flag. She was completely unrigged, and no longer capable of
being steered, and finding herself boarded by the Temeraire, was beyond making any
resistance. Nevertheless, her brave captain, Beaudoin, made some efforts to do so, until
he was killed in her vain defence, and his second in command being wounded at
almost the same moment, some men of the crew of the Temeraire jumped on board and
took possession."
The remainder of the narrative describes how, after a long struggle to keep her
afloat, the Redoutable went down so suddenly that a large number of her wounded
were drowned.
We have given an account of the doings of the Temeraire, the ship next to
the Victory in the weather division, up to the time when she was lashed to the
Redoutable on one side, the flag-ship being closely engaged on the other. At this
time the Fougueux, which, after quitting the Belleisle, had stood across the space
between the Santa Anna and the Redoutable, neared the British three-decker, with the
object of raking or boarding,* and received, within a range of 100 yards, her full
starboard broadside. The effect of this crushing discharge was terrific, and the
Fougueux, about 2 p.m., ran foul of the Temeraire, some of whose men immediately
lashed her fore-rigging to one of their ship's anchors. Thereupon Lieutenant Kennedy,
accompanied by a party of two officers and 26 men, boarded in the port main rigging,
and the French sailors being driven below, the Fougueux became the prize of the
Temeraire. On her quarter-deck were found Captain Beaudoin mortally wounded, and
the second captain, who was severely wounded in the brief struggle for mastery. It was
at this time that the Victory cast off from the Redoutable, whose main and mizen-masts
came down, the wreck of the latter falling over the poop of the Temeraire, and across
the spar acting as a bridge, a party of her crew, led by Mr. Wallace, the second lieu
tenant, made their way on board and quietly took possession.
The TemSraire lost a captain and lieutenant of marines, one midshipman, a warrant
officer, and 43 seamen and marines killed; and a lieutenant, a marine officer, one master's
* French ships carried larger crews than British ships of the same class. Thus the Tdmeraire, though a three-
decker, commenced the action with only 600 men, while the Fougueux, a 74-gun ship, had a complement of 700.
d2

16' HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
mate, the boatswain and 71 men wounded. She lost her mizen-mast, main-topmast,
foreyard, and fore and main topsail yards, and her fore and main masts and bowsprit
were so badly wounded as to be unfit to carry sail. All her rigging was cut to pieces,
and among injuries to her hull, eight feet of the starboard side of the lower deck was
stove in, and both her quarter galleries carried away when coming into collision with the
two French seventy-fours.
Of these, the casualties sustained by the Redoutable have already been given in
Captain Lucas's official account. She had lost her fore and main masts, bowsprit and
fore-topmast from the fire of the three deckers, which she had so gallantly sustained,
her rudder was shot away, her hull riddled in every direction, and 20 of her guns were
dismounted and one had burst. The Fougueux had suffered but little in comparison,
only some 40 of all ranks being killed and wounded, including her captain among the
former, and her first lieutenant among the latter.
The Neptune, next in the British line, became engaged, about 1.45, when she
raked the Bucentaure, shooting away her main and mizen masts, and committing great
havoc on board. Closely following in her wake, the Leviathan poured in her fire within
30 yards of the Bucentaure' s stern, and the Conqueror did likewise, and then hauling
up on her lee quarter, shot away her fore-mast. Thus fearfully mauled, the French
flag-ship, which had been raked by three ships in succession, hauled down her flag,
and was taken possession of by a party of five men from the Conqueror, under Captain
Atcherley, of the marines, to whom Admiral Villeneuve handed his sword as a token of
surrender. But considering that this honour should be conceded to Captain Israel
Pellew, his commanding officer, Captain Atcherley secured the key of the magazine,
which he locked and placed under charge of two marines, taking with him the French
Commander-in-chief and his two captains, and pulled to the Mars, the Conqueror having
proceeded in chase, where the French Admiral was received by Lieutenant Hennah,
the acting commander, Captain Duff having been killed.
The Neptune, after raking the Bucentaure, passed under the stern of the Santissima
Trinidada, raking her also with such effect that her main and mizen masts went by the
board. Laying herself alongside the huge Spanish four-decker, the Neptune brought
down her fore-mast, but her attention was called off by the approach of some of the
enemy's van-ships, which, bearing up, raked her with great effect. The dismasted
four-decker was not taken possession of until the close of the action, when the Prince
took her in tow.

HER MAJESTY'S NA FY. 17
The Neptune sustained a loss of ten killed, and one officer and 33 men wounded,
but her damages aloft were not very severe. The Conqueror lost her mizen-topmast and
main-top gallant mast, and her fore and main masts and all her rigging were much cut
up. Her loss had been only one killed and two officers and seven seamen wounded,
but when Admiral Dumanoir's squadron, at the close of the action, hauled to the wind,
a round shot killed her first and third lieutenants, Messrs. St. George and Lloyd.
The Bucentaure was dismasted and much cut up in her hull, and lost upwards of
400 officers and men, including among the latter, Admiral Villeneuve and his flag
captain. The Leviathan, standing in close in the wake of the Neptune, and ahead of the
Conqueror, after pouring in a raking broadside into the Bucentaure and the Santissima
Trinidada, stood towards the French Neptune, which evaded a conflict, but about 3
o'clock, she found a more worthy antagonist in the San Augustin. Captain Bayntun
poured a broad into the starboard quarter of the Spanish seventy-four, at a range of
less than 50 yards, which brought down her mizen-mast, and ran her on board, the
jib-boom catching the British seventy-four's main rigging. The Spaniards were soon
driven below by a hot fire from the poop carronades and decks of the Leviathan, and
the third lieutenant, Mr. Baldwin, boarded at the head of a party of men and carried
the ship. The prize was then lashed to the British seventy-four, which soon after
received the passing fire of the Intrepide. The Leviathan, which had only four killed
and one midshipman and 21 men wounded, was a good deal cut up aloft in her rigging
and spars.
The Africa, 64, which, when the action began, was broad on the Victory's port-
beam, nearly abreast of the van-ships of the enemy's line, exchanged broadsides with
the van division, and at 3.20, engaged the Intrepide for nearly 45 minutes, when the
Orion came to her assistance and took off the fire of the French seventy-four, which
had almost silenced her. In less than a quarter of an hour the Orion shot away her
opponent's main and mizen-masts, and about 5 o'clock, on the approach of the Ajax and
the Agamemnon, the Intrepide hauled down her colours, having lost nearly 200 in killed
and wounded.
The Orion lost only one seaman killed, and two midshipmen and 21 men wounded,
and had her main-topsail yard and main top -gallant mast shot away. The Africa, which
was so opportunely succoured, had her three lower masts and bowsprit too badly injured
to stand, and her main-topsail yard was shot away, and all her spars and rigging much

18 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
cut up. Out of 490 men she lost 18 killed, and one lieutenant, the captain of marines,
two master's mates, three midshipmen and 47 seamen and marines wounded.
Meantime, obedient to the signal that they were to take part in the action, the ten
ahips of the enemy's van, not yet closely engaged, about 2.30 were endeavouring to
wear or tack, and on completing the manoeuvre, one Spanish and four French ships, under
Pear- Admiral Dumanoir, hauled their wind on the starboard tack, and the remaining
five kept away as though to join Admiral Gravina, then to leeward of the rear, in
escaping. The Britannia, Agamemnon, Orion and Ajax got among the latter division
and exchanged broadsides with them, but the only ships that remained to engage were
the Intrepide, which, as already described, surrendered to the Orion, and the San
Augustin. The Britannia had one lieutenant and nine men killed, and her master,
one midshipman and 40 men wounded. The Ajax had only two killed and nine
wounded, and the Agamemnon two and eight respectively. None of the three ships
suffered very materially below or aloft.
The division, under Admiral Dumanoir, which hauled to the wind, consisting
of the Formidable, flagship, Duguay-Trouin, Mont Blanc, Scipion, and Neptune, in
making off, passed at a distance the Victory, Temeraire, and Royal Sovereign, all of
which lay almost helpless on the water, while these five ships were practically intact.
They exchanged a few distant shots with the Victory, and one or two broad
sides with " the fighting Temeraire," which lay, with her two prizes, the Redoutable
and Fougueux, alongside, but no attempt was made to attack these ships or turn the
tide of victory. The Minotaur and Spartiate, the rearmost ships of the weather
column, gave them an opportunity to engage by lying to, and exchanged broadsides
with the four foremost ones; and succeeded in cutting off the Neptune, 80, which
gallantly defended herself for over an hour, and surrendered at 5.10, the last ship
to do so, having lost her mizen-mast and fore and main topmasts. In this affair the
Minotaur, which lost her fore-topsail yard, had three men killed, and her boatswain,
one midshipman and 20 wounded. The Spartiate had likewise three killed and 20
wounded, including her boatswain and two midshipmen.
The Dreadnought, one of the ships of Collingwood's (the lee) division, got into
action about 2 o'clock with the San Juan Nepomucino, which had been hotly engaged
with several ships, and had struck to the Tonnant, but got away, and was now
supported by two Spanish ships and the Indomptable. The Dreadnought ran on board
the San Juan, which hauled down her colours, and passing on, engaged the Principe

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 19
de Asturias, which, however, succeeded in effecting her escape, though Admiral
Gravina, the Spanish Commander-in-chief, lost an arm from a round shot and died
of the wound. The British ninety-eight lost seven killed, and one lieutenant, two mid
shipmen and 23 men wounded. The San Juan was greatly shattered and had nearly 300
casualties, including her captain, who was mortally wounded.
The British Swiftsure succeeded, about 3.30, in bringing the French Achille to
action, and a running fight ensued, in which the Polyphemus took part. At the
end of about forty minutes the French seventy-four, having lost her mizen-mast
and foreyard, ceased firing. The Swiftsure had her mizen-top -mast shot away, and lost
nine men killed, and one midshipman and seven men wounded, and the Polyphemus
had only six casualties.
The Revenge, in crossing the bows of the Aigle, fouled her jib-boom, and poured a
couple of broadsides into her, but when standing on, received the fire of Gravina's
flagship, which, assisted by three seventy-fours, all almost fresh ships, continued to
fire into her until the Dreadnought and Thunderer arrived to her assistance, when the
three-decker and others made off.
The Revenge had been severely handled. Her masts and bowsprit were shot
through, and her hull was riddled with cannon shot, while she lost two midshipmen
and 26 seamen and marines killed, and her captain, master, one lieutenant, the captain
of marines, and 47 men wounded.
The Defence got into action with the Berwick at 2.30, and, when the latter hauled
off, and engaged the Achille, to whom she finally surrendered, attacked the San
Ildefonso, which struck to her at the end of an hour, having lost quite one-third
of her crew. The Defence had her main-mast shot through and received much
damage aloft, besides losing seven men killed and 29 wounded. The Thunderer, which
came so opportunely to her assistance, when attacked by the Principe de Asturias,
engaged her and the French Neptune, in conjunction with the Dreadnought, until they
retreated, the Spanish three-decker having lost in her partial engagements with
several British ships, a lieutenant and 40 men killed, and 107 wounded, including
Admiral Gravina and many officers, while her main and mizen-masts were so much
injured that they went over the side. The Thunderer suffered but little, and had
only four men killed and two officers and ten men wounded.
The Defiance, one of the ships that had engaged Gravina's flagship, ran along
side the Aigle, which had suffered a good deal in her engagements with five or six

20 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
other British ships, and attempted to capture her by boarding, but the boarders were
driven off. She then took up a station within half pistol shot range, and plied her
with her guns until the Aigle surrendered. The Defiance had her masts shot through
and her hull and rigging were much cut up. She had one lieutenant, a midshipman, her
boatswain, and 14 men killed, and her captain, two master's mates, two midshipmen, and
48 seamen and marines wounded. The Aigle, which had defended herself with gallantry
throughout the day against her numerous enemies, lost 270 officers and men killed and
wounded, and was much shattered in her hull and aloft.
The Achille, which had been engaged in succession with her British namesake,
the Belleisle, Swiftsure, and Polyphemus, and lost her mizen-mast, main-top-mast and
foreyard, caught fire, when every effort was made by the Prince, the last to engage
her, and other British ships, to rescue the crew, but the service was a dangerous one,
owing to the French ship's guns going off, and about 5.45 the Achille blew up, and
her gallant captain, who had been wounded, and 500 men, out of 700 forming her
crew, perished.
Thus, of the nineteen ships, forming the allied rear, eleven were captured, one
was destroyed, and seven escaped. Of the fourteen ships, composing their van
division, inclusive of the Redoutable, only three were captured in the line of battle,
but of the remaining eleven, three were taken after they wore out of the line, and
eight only escaped. Of the eighteen lost, half, including the Achille, were French
ships, and nine French and six Spanish escaped, of which four French got away
to the southward, and eleven, five being also of that nationality, all much
shattered, with all the frigates and brigs, succeeded in reaching Cadiz. The battle
which commenced about noon, was at its height about 1.30; at 3 the firing began to
slacken, and about 5, wholly ceased, with the exception of the Achille, her destruction,
forty-five minutes later, being the last incident of this memorable engagement, which
had such far-reaching consequences.
We will now turn to the cock-pit of the Victory, where the life of the hero, to whom is
due the credit of this great success for the arms of England, was slowly ebbing away. It
was a sad, but sublime, scene that was presented in that dark recess of the lower-most
deck, beyond the water-line, whither was borne the sound of the guns booming over
head, which, at any other time, would have been the sweetest music to the ears of the
dying seaman, and even now, though painful to his distracted head., brought a fervent
expression of thankfulness to his lips. ;

CC :i
O £
I- *=

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 21
After receiving his wound, as he was being carried down the ladder from the middle
deck, says Dr. Beatty, in his "Narrative," his lordship observed that the tiller-ropes
were not yet replaced, and desired one of the midshipmen stationed there to go up on
the quarter-deck and remind Captain Hardy of that circumstance, and request that new
ones should be immediately rove. Having delivered this order, he took his handker
chief from his pocket and covered his face with it, that he might be conveyed to the
cock-pit at this crisis unnoticed by the crew. An examination of the wound soon
showed that it was mortal, and Lord Nelson himself appears, from the first, to have
entertained a similar opinion. His sufferings from pain and thirst were manifestly
great. He frequently called for drink, and to be fanned with paper, making use of
the words : " Fan, fan," " drink, drink." It was about 2.35, or over an hour after
Lord Nelson had received his wound, that Captain Hardy found leisure from his anxious
duties on deck, to comply with the frequently repeated request of the Admiral, to visit
him in the cock-pit.
" They shook hands affectionately," says the surgeon, " and Lord Nelson asked :
• Well, Hardy, how goes the battle ? How goes the day with us ?
" ' Very well, my lord ! ' replied Captain Hardy, ' we have got twelve or fourteen
of the enemy's ships in our possession ; but five of their van have tacked, and show an
intention of bearing down on the Victory. I have therefore called two or three of our
fresh ships around us, and have no doubt of giving them a drubbing.'
" ' I hope,' said his lordship, ' none of our ships have struck, Hardy.'
" ' No, my lord,' replied Hardy, ' there is no fear of that.'
" Lord Nelson then said, 'lama dead man, Hardy. I am going fast, it will be all
over with me soon.'
" Captain Hardy returned to the deck after a few minutes, and soon after, the
Victory opened her port guns upon Eear-Admiral Dumanoir's squadron passing to
windward. The concussion of the firing so affected Lord Nelson, that he called out :
' Oh, Victory, Victory, how you distract my poor brain ! ' adding, after a pause, ' How
dear is life to all men ! ' Soon the Victory ceased her fire, and after an interval of
about fifty minutes from the conclusion of his former visit, Captain Hardy descended
a second time to the cock-pit. Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy shook hands
again, and while the captain retained his lordship's hand, he congratulated him, even
in the arms of death, on his brilliant victory ; which, he said, was complete, though
he did not know how many of the enemy were captured, as it was impossible to
VOL. III. e

22 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
perceive every ship distinctly. He was certain, however, of fourteen or fifteen having
surrendered. " His lordship answered, ' That is well, but I bargained for twenty,' and then em
phatically exclaimed, ' anchor, Hardy, anchor ! '
" ' I suppose, my lord,' said the captain of the Victory, ' Admiral Collingwood will
now take upon himself the direction of affairs ? '
" ' Not while I live, I hope, Hardy,' cried the dying admiral, and at the same moment,
endeavoured ineffectually to raise himself from the bed. 'No,' added he, 'do you
anchor, Hardy.'
" Captain Hardy then said, ' Shall we make the signal, sir ? '
" 'Yes,' answered his lordship, 'for if I live, I'll anchor.' In about a quarter of
an hour after Captain Hardy had quitted the cock-pit, Lord Nelson became speechless,
and expired without a struggle or a groan at 4.30 p.m."
Lord Nelson's last articulate words were, "I have done my duty. Thank God for
it." What nobler expression — and well justified by his life's history — could come from
the lips of a dying man ! Thus the hero passed away, with the Victory's guns thunder
ing a requiem above his head, and the cheers of his men ringing in his ears, as ship after
ship struck her colours, and the greatest naval battle recorded in history, not even
excepting Salamis, Actium, or Lepanto, was consummated.
Nelson was one of those great spirits to whom the world concedes an undisputed
pre-eminence. As Shakespeare stands at the head of poets, and Napoleon of soldiers,
so the immortal Nelson remains peerless among sailors. And no voice has yet been
raised to deny him the pride of place in his profession which, in the case of the poet,
some may claim for Dante or Homer, and in that of the soldier, for Alexander or
Hannibal, Csesar or Wellington. The professional skill and dauntless gallantry that
brought him into prominence at St. Vincent, found a grander field for display at the
Nile and Copenhagen, and culminated in the last great victory, which left him
nothing more to win in his profession. With the Navies of France and Spain
annihilated in the remarkable battle which crowned his life, his work was done, and
his triumphant death at the moment of victory, was a fitting termination to an
unrivalled career.
As soon as Lord Nelson had breathed his last, Captain Hardy sent Lieutenant
Hills, in the only remaining boat, to the Royal Sovereign, to report to Admiral
Collingwood^ and shortly afterwards, accompanied by Captain Blackwood, of the

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 23
Euryalus, who had arrived on board, proceeded in the frigate's boat to the Royal
Sovereign, where he acquainted Collingwood with Nelson's dying order that the fleet
and prizes, having regard to the danger of a lee-shore in the gale he apprehended, should
be brought to an anchor. But the new Commander-in-chief exclaimed, " Why it is
the last thing I should have thought of," and refused to entertain the proposal.
The result proved the correctness of Lord Nelson's judgment.
The aggregate British loss at Trafalgar was 449 killed and 1,241 wounded, a
total of 1,690, of which no less than 1,452 fell to the share of 14 out of the 27 ships
engaged. The Colossus came first with a loss of 200, then the Victory, with 159, of whom
the list of killed, 57, was the heaviest in the fleet. The Bellerophon came third with
only nine less than the flagship ; then the Royal Sovereign, with 141, followed by the
Belleisle, with 126, and the Temeraire, with 123, of whom 47 were killed, the same
number as in Admiral Collingwood's flagship, these two coming after the Victory in the
number of slain.
The aggregate loss of the allied fleet cannot be correctly indicated beyond the
details already given.
At six in the evening of the eventful 21st October, Admiral Collingwood shifted
his flag into the Euryalus, which took the Royal Sovereign in tow, Cape Trafalgar
being at this time distant eight miles to the south-eastward. Many of the British ships
had lost one or more masts, and few were in a condition to carry sail, while of the
17 prizes, eight were wholly dismasted, and some were in a sinking state. To add to
the danger of the situation, night was coming on, the wind began to rise, the shoals
of Trafalgar were but a few miles distant, and the ships were in 13 fathoms of water, on
a lee-shore. The wind freshened during the night, and during the following day, but
through the skill and activity of the British seamen, the 13 prizes that remained
under way, four of which were dismasted, having anchored off Cape Trafalgar, were
towed to the rendezvous.
The Redoutable, being in a sinking state, the Swiftsure, which was towing her,
about 5 p.m. brought off part of the prize crew and 150 Frenchmen in her boats.
Later in the evening she cut adrift the prize, whoEQ stern was under water, and about
daybreak on the morning of the 23rd, again sent her boats, which rescued 50 people,
making in all 170 saved, including 70 out of the 222 wounded, but the remainder of
the men, some hundreds in number, with 18 of the prize crew, went down in the ill-
fated ship. The Fougueux drifted on to the rocks and was wrecked with the loss
E 2

24 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of all on board, except about 25 persons, among the drowned being 30 men of the
Temeraire, her prize crew.
The Algesiras, which surrendered to the Tonnant, had a prize crew of two officers and
48 men, and owing to the loss of all her masts, her position soon became critical after
she parted with the 80-gun ship. The French crew, numbering 600, were secured
below the hatches by gratings, but the handful of British seamen were only
sufficient to guard the prisoners, and no steps could be taken to jury-rig the prize.
Throughout the following day the Algesiras drifted on to the rocks at Cape Trafalgar,
and in the evening, Lieutenant Bennett felt constrained to release his prisoners to save
the ship. They no sooner came on deck than they put the prize crew in confinement,
and having rigged up some spars, took the ship into Cadiz, whence the prize crew were
returned to Admiral Collingwood by the Governor. The Bucentaure, having on board
a party of men from the Conqueror, drifted towards the shore, and on the following day
was wrecked, but all, or the greater portion of those on board her, were saved by the
boats of a French frigate, only, however, to meet a watery grave within forty-eight
hours. On the 23rd, a squadron, consisting of the Pluton, Indomptable, Neptune, Rayo, and
San Francisco de Asis, with five frigates and two brigs, put to sea, from Cadiz, with the
object of recovering some of the prizes that had been cut adrift by the British ships, and
the frigates succeeded in recapturing and taking into port the Santa Anna and Neptuno.
But disaster overtook the combined squadron. On the following day the Indompt
able, 80, was wrecked on the north-west point of the Bay of Cadiz, and of 1,100 or
1,200 souls on board, including nearly 500, the survivors of the crew of the Bucentaure,
only 100 are stated to have been saved. The San Francisco, which had anchored, parted
her cables at the height of the gale, and went ashore, but the greater portion of her
crew were saved. The Rayo, of 100 guns, anchored off San Lucar, and rolled her masts
overboard. Here she was discovered by the Leviathan, which took possession of her,
and standing on, in company with the Donegal, 74, Captain Pulteney Malcolm, from
Gibraltar, boarded the Monarca. Captain Bayntun, finding the Spanish seventy -four in
a sinking state, removed nearly the whole of her men, and all the English prize crew,
and it was well he did so as she went ashore during the gale of the ensuing night.
The Rayo also drove ashore, and of the prize crew of 107 officers and men, put on
board by the Donegal, 25 were drowned, and the remainder were made prisoners by the
Spaniards.

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 25
The continuance of the heavy weather determined Admiral Collingwood to destroy
some of his prizes, and accordingly, the Santissima Trinidada was scuttled and sunk,
when 28 of the wounded perished. The Aigle drifted into Cadiz Bay on the night of the
25th, and went ashore, but by great exertions, the few remaining prizes, together with
the British fleet, of which the Royal Sovereign and Mars had lost their fore-masts in the
gale, were anchored to the westward of San Lucar. Here the Intrepide and San
Augustin were burnt and the Argonauta sunk, but the Berwick drove ashore and struck on
the shoals, when about 200 men perished in her.
If proof were wanting of the seamanlike prevision of Lord Nelson in directing the
fleet to anchor at the close of the action, it was afforded by the circumstance that the
Defence, which, together with her prize, the San Ildefonso, anchored the same
evening, rode out the gale in safety, and two other prizes, the Neptune and Bahama,
were also preserved by the same means. The fourth and only remaining prize
that was saved, the San Juan Nepomucino, not having suffered so much aloft in
the engagement, weathered the storm. Thus, of the nineteen ships captured,
including the Rayo, the Achille was burnt by accident, fourteen were recaptured,
lost, or destroyed, and four only were saved as trophies of the great victory. The
loss of life, both during the engagement, which fell chiefly on the fourteen ships
most hotly engaged, and after the battle by theivreck of the prizes, was almost unex
ampled, and the latter exceeded that after Eodney's victory over the Count de Grasse
on the 12th April, 1782, when 3,500 perished and one or two prizes only were
brought in safety to England. The victory was in every way most honourable
to the British Navy, as the allied fleet was more numerous, thirty-three to twenty-
seven British, and the aggregate rated number of guns, 2,626 to 2,148, was fully
one-sixth in excess.
On the 30th October, Admiral Collingwood was joined by the Canopus, 80, Queen, 98,
and the 74-gun ships, Spencer and Tigre, which Lord Nelson had detached to Gibraltar,
under Admiral Louis, for water, and to escort a convoy up the Mediterranean. The
Victory, towed by the Neptune, arrived on the 28th at Gibraltar, where she found the
Belleisle, and after a partial refit, the renowned flagship, carrying the body of her late
Admiral, preserved in spirits, sailed for England, and cast anchor at Spithead on the
4th of the following month. The body, placed in a coffin made from a fragment of
the Orient, which blew up at the Nile, was conveyed round to Greenwich, and lay in
state for three days in the Painted Hall in the Eoyal Naval Hospital. On the 9th

26 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
January, 1806, the interment took place in St. Paul's with every accessory of pomp,
and amid demonstrations of mourning by the entire nation.
" Let the bell be toU'd,
And a deeper knell in the heart be knoll'd,
And the sound of the sorrowing anthem roll'd
Thro' the dome of the golden cross."
The Prince of Wales, all the Eing's sons, the Ministers, and a crowd of naval
officers stood around the coffin as it was lowered to its resting-place under the dome of
the national Cathedral, but the most interesting feature of the ceremony was the
presence in the procession of the sailors of the Victory, whose grief found vent in tears.
It is related that, as the coffin disappeared, they, with one accord, tore his flag, the
Enion Jack of the Victory, to pieces, each one retaining a fragment as a memorial
of his beloved commander.
An earldom was conferred on the hero's heir, his brother. Collingwood was made
a peer with a pension of £2,000 a year. Eear- Admiral the Earl of Northesk, who,
with Collingwood, lies beside his chief in St. Paul's, was made a Enight of the Bath,
and Captain Hardy was created a baronet. The first lieutenant of the Victory,
and of the Bellerophon and Mars — whose captains had been killed in the action, when
these officers assumed command — and also the lieutenants in temporary command of
the Ajax and Thunderer, were promoted to the rank of post-captain, and the second,
third, fourth, and flag-lieutenants of the Victory, the first and second lieutenants
of the Royal Sovereign and of the Britannia, and one from every other ship, were
promoted to the rank of commander.
This was the last great naval battle of the war. Napoleon henceforth gave up all
idea of wresting the sovereignty of the seas from this country, and relinquished at the
same time his scheme for the invasion of England. Not even could he secure the " six
hours' " command of the Channel, which he considered sufficient to ensure the success
of his favourite project. The brave seamen, who guarded our native seas, held too
strict watch and ward to permit any further attempt to be made on the security of
their country, and Nelson did not die in vain, for in his last great fight he shattered
beyond recovery the naval power of France and Spain.
Some account of Nelson's famous flagship in his last great fight will fitly conclude
our account of Trafalgar. Since the days of Elizabeth, and before the defeat of the
Spanish Armada, in 1588, says Lieutenant Wharton, of the Navy, in his " History of

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 27
the Victory J' the British Navy has had on its list a ship of that name. The immediate
predecessor of the existing Victory was a noble three-decker of 110 guns, which, as
described in a preceding chapter, was lost in a terrible gale off the Casketts, near
Alderney, in 1744, when Admiral Sir John Balchen and over 1,000 men perished, as is
chronicled in the marble cenotaph in the north transept of Westminster Abbey. The
present Victory was launched on May 7th, 1765, at Chatham Dockyard, and was built
from the designs of Sir Thomas Slade, then Surveyor of the Navy. Her extreme
length is 226^ feet; her beam, 52; and tonnage, 2,162. Her armament in 1778
was:— Lower deck  30 long 32-pounders
Middle „  30 „ 24
Main „ . . . . 32 „ 12 „
Upper „ 12 „ 12 „
Total 104 guns.
Some changes were subsequently made in her armament. In 1793, four 32-
pounder carronades were substituted for an equal number of twelves on the upper
deck, and six 18-pounder carronades were added on the poop, making her total
number of guns 110. These latter were, however, removed, and in 1803 two 68-
pounder carronades were placed on the forecastle instead of two 32-pounders. Thus the
weight of her broadside at Trafalgar, from 52 guns, was 1,160 pounds, not half that
of some of the modern turret-ships.
The Victory was first commissioned on March 15th, 1778, when war with France
became imminent, by Captain Sir J. Lindsey ; and, on May 16th, Admiral the Hon.
Augustus Eeppel, commanding the Channel fleet, hoisted his flag on board her at
Portsmouth. Admiral Eeppel sailed from St. Helen's on June 8th, with twenty-one
sail-of-the-line and six frigates and sloops, having Sir Eobert Harland and Sir Hugh
Palliser as his vice-admirals. The Victory returned to St. Helen's after her first
cruise on June 27th, but Admiral Eeppel proceeded to sea on July 19th, with
thirty sail-of-the-line, to encounter Count D'Orvilliers, who was cruising off Brest
with thirty-two ships and twelve frigates. A partial action ensued on July 27th,
when the enemy succeeded in effecting their escape into Brest. Our ships suffered
much in their rigging, at which the French seamen chiefly aimed, and the
Victory had at one time six ships of the enemy firing on her, and was much cut up
in hull and aloft. Out of the total of 113 killed and 373 wounded, the Victory
had 11 and 24 respectively, being the greatest loss sustained by any single ship,

28 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
with the exception of the Formidable. Admiral Eeppel returned to port, and again
proceeding to sea on August 23rd, anchored at Portsmouth two months later.
On June 16th, in the following year (1779), Sir Charles Hardy hoisted his flag on
board the Victory, and proceeded to sea with thirty-seven sail, but was forced to return
to Spithead as he encountered off Scilly the combined French and Spanish fleets,
numbering no less than sixty-seven sail-of-the-line, and thirty frigates. But the enemy
effected nothing, and Sir Charles Hardy cruised in the Channel till the end of the year.
On his death in May, 1780, Admiral Geary hoisted his flag on board the Victory,
and sailed early in June for Brest with twenty-nine ships-of-the-line, but owing to
the sick-list of the fleet having swelled to 2,500 men, he returned to Spithead in
August. The Victory flew in succession the flags of Eear- Admiral Drake, third in command
of the Channel fleet, and of Vice- Admiral Parker, and carried the broad pennant of
Commodore Elliot, but saw no service until Eear- Admiral Eempenfeldt hoisted his flag
as fourth in command of the fleet. In December that gallant officer, while detached
with twelve sail and five frigates, intercepted a convoy of French ships carrying troops
and stores for Count de Grasse, in the West Indies, and though they were protected
by a superior fleet of nineteen sail-of-the-line, he cut off a division of fifteen transports,
sunk four frigates, and beat off every attempt of the enemy to recapture his prizes,
which he brought into Plymouth. Eempenfeldt shifted his flag in March from the
Victory to the Royal George, and on the 29th the gallant admiral and 900 of his men
met the tragic fate immortalised in Cowper's noble lines. At that time the Victory lay
close to the Royal George, at Spithead, and her boats picked up many of the survivors.
Lord Howe, on being appointed to the command of the Channel fleet, selected the
Victory as his flagship, and sailed on September 11th, 1781, with thirty-six sail-of-the-line
and a large convoy of transports, laden with troops and every kind of stores and
supplies for the relief of Gibraltar, which was stoutly held by General Elliott
against 40,000 men, with a powerful train of artillery, assisted by forty-eight French
and Spanish sail-of-the-line and ten floating batteries, carrying 154 of the heaviest
ordnance known. The relief achieved, the Victory returned to Portsmouth, where she
arrived on November 10th, and on the signature of peace with France in the following
-January, the three-decker was paid off on February 27th, after having been nearly five
years in commission.
War being expected with Spain, the Victory was commissioned in June, 1790, and

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 29
carried the flag of Lord Howe, until he transferred it to the Queen Charlotte, when
Lord Hood succeeded him, but she was paid off in the following year. Lord Hood
again selected the Victory as his flagship, in May, 1793, soon after the war broke out
with France, which was destined to add the most glorious chapter to the naval annals
of this country. Lord Hood sailed for the Mediterranean with six two deckers and five
frigates, and effecting a junction with Admiral Hotham's division, proceeded to Cadiz
and Gibraltar, and thence to Toulon, which was surrendered by the French monarchical
party, who were in dread of the Ked Eepublicans, whose sanguinary acts during the
Eeign of Terror form so terrible a page in the history of the French Eevolution. Toulon
was occupied by a combined force of British and Spanish troops under the terms of a
convention, but the city was soon invested by a powerful army of 40,000 National
troops. The seamen from the fleet worked the batteries with indefatigable courage,
but the city became untenable, and was abandoned. During these operations the
Victory's men served in the batteries on shore with conspicuous gallantry, and suffered
considerably. In January, 1794, the Victory was nearly lost in a heavy gale, while proceeding to
Corsica to assist the Eoyalists in that island, and the fleet and transports accompanying
her were scattered. She participated in the bombardment of Bastia, by the seamen of
the fleet, acting as a naval brigade, a success due chiefly to the extraordinary energy
and skill of Captain Horatio Nelson, then commanding the Agamemnon, to whom Lord
Hood confided the arrangements. When the refusal of the British Generals Dundas
and D'Aubant to afford military assistance, is taken into consideration, the result
achieved by a handful of seamen may be regarded as almost unparalleled. Well might
Nelson write: — "When I reflect on what we have achieved, I am all astonishment.
I always was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never have had any reason to
repent it, that one Englishman is equal to three Frenchmen."
The Victory's men were also engaged at the siege of Calvi, when Nelson was again
to the fore, assisted this time by some troops, under General Stuart. The Victory
landed seven of her 32-pounders, which were worked in battery by her crew, several
of whom were killed and wounded before the town surrendered, after a siege of
fifty-one days. In November, Lord Hood proceeded to England in the Victory, and
after she had been thoroughly refitted, his lordship, whose health had been much
impaired, rehoisted his flag in April, but only to haul it down a few days later, when
she sailed for the Mediterranean as a "private ship," that is, without an admiral's flag.
VOL. III. F

30 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Eear- Admiral Man hoisted his flag on board the Victory on the 8th July, and during
the pursuit of the French fleet off Hyeres, her excellent sailing qualities brought her into
contact with their rear, while the Britannia, Admiral Hotham's flagship, and most
of the fleet, were miles astern. On this occasion, assisted by the Culloden and Cumber
land, she captured the Alcide, 74, which blew up with nearly all hands, her own loss
being only five killed and 16 wounded. In October, 1795, Admiral Man shifted to the
Windsor Castle, and Yice-Admiral Linzee hoisted his flag on board the Victory. Two
months later, the new Commander-in-chief, Sir John Jervis, selected her as his flagship,
and cruised about between Minorca and Toulon with thirteen sail-of-the-line, watching
the French fleet, which would not venture out to sea.
The naval strength of the two powers was changed when, in 1796, Spain joined
France against us, and Sir John Jervis found that he had only fifteen sail to cope
against the united fleets, amounting to thirty- eight ships-of-the-line. Corsica was
evacuated in November, and then Admiral Jervis proceeded to Lisbon. On the 14th
February, 1797, the Victory carried his flag at the memorable battle off Cape St.
Vincent, which gave him his title. On the 28th March, Lord St. Vincent shifted his
flag from the Victory to the Ville-de-Paris, a new three-decker which had arrived with
the other ships to reinforce the Mediterranean fleet, and on the following day, the
Victory sailed, in company with the Admiral, for Cadiz, where Nelson was blockading
the Spanish fleet. Here some of her crew participated in the night attacks and
bombardment with boats and mortar-vessels, undertaken at Nelson's suggestion,
and under his orders. On the approach of winter the fleet returned to Lisbon,
and the Victory was sent home with the prizes captured on the 17th February, and
was paid off at Chatham on the 26th November, after a long and eventful commission
of five years.
For two years the gallant old three-decker was employed as a prison hospital
ship, but her well-known sailing qualities induced the Admiralty to refit her for sea,
and on the declaration of war with France, on the 29th April, 1803, Nelson selected
her as his flagship on the Mediterranean station. She was commissioned by Captain
Sutton, and, on the 16th May, arrived at Spithead, where his lordship awaited her.
She sailed on the 20th, and two clays later was off Brest, where Nelson expected to
meet Admiral Cornwallis. After waiting for the latter one day, Nelson, who was
chafing at the delay, struck his flag on board the Victory, and, proceeding on board the
Amphion, frigate, continued his course for the Mediterranean. The Victory, having

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 31
communicated with Admiral Cornwallis, followed Lord Nelson, and, capturing on her
way the Ambuscade, formerly an English frigate, anchored at Gibraltar on the
12th June. On the 9th of July she was at Malta, and on the 30th, joined the
squadron of five ships off Cape Sicie, where Nelson once more shifted his flag into
her, bringing with him Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy, who exchanged with
Captain Sutton.
For eighteen months nothing of importance occurred in the history of the Victory,
she being employed, in conjunction with a squadron, averaging nine sail-of-the-line, in
watching the French fleet of eleven ships in Toulon. The three-decker carried
the great Admiral's flag at his crowning victory. The news brought by Captain Black
wood, of the Euryalus, frigate, on the 2nd September, of the arrival at Cadiz of Admiral
Villeneuve, on the 21st August, induced Lord Nelson to offer his services to the
Admiralty, and at 8 a.m., on the 15th September, the Victory, accompanied by the
Euryalus, sailed from Portsmouth to the southward. On the 28th she arrived off
Cadiz, and on the 21st October took place the great battle in which she played so
prominent a part, and had 159 officers and men killed and wounded, including the
immortal Admiral, who had so long hoisted his flag on board her.
The Victory managed to weather the gale which broke out on the night of the 22nd
October, but on the 25th her sails were split, and her position became critical ; she
was, however, ultimately taken in tow by the Neptune, and arrived at Gibraltar.
Having been refitted, she sailed on the 3rd November, accompanied by the Belleisle,
and after a stormy passage, cast anchor at Spithead on the 4th December. From
thence she proceeded to Sheerness,* and Lord Nelson's flag, which had been flying
half-mast high ever since his death, was now lowered, and the Victory went into
Chatham, where she was paid off on the 16th January, 1806, and thoroughly refitted.
In 1808, when a fleet of eleven sail was fitted out to assist Sweden against the
designs of Eussia, Sir James Saumarez hoisted his flag on board the Victory, and she
sailed for the Baltic in March of that year. Sir Samuel Hood, with three ships, en
gaged a Eussian squadron, and chased them into Eogerswick, and on arriving at this
port, the Victory, in company with the Goliath, silenced a battery, but was unable to
prosecute her success, owing to a gale of wind, which drove the British squadron to sea.
* During the passage, Mr. Devis, the painter of the well-known picture of the " Death of Nelson," which is now
on board the Victory, took portraits of all the personages depicted, and sketched the spot where Nelson died, so that
the picture may be regarded as a faithful memorial of that event.
p 2

32 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
On the approach of winter, Sir James Saumarez proceeded to England, and struck his
flag on the 9th December. The Victory at once proceeded to Corunna, and assisted in
bringing home the army of Sir John Moore.
In April of the following year, Sir James Saumarez rehoisted his flag on board her,
and in that year, and again in 1810, resumed command in the Baltic. Cronstadt
was blockaded, but the fighting was entirely confined to the gunboats and ships' boats
of the squadron, as the Eussians, according to the tactics they followed in 1854-5,
would not venture out of port.
Early in 1811, the Victory was employed in assisting to carry a reinforcement
of 6,500 men to Sir Arthur Wellesley, then blockaded at Torres Vedras by Massena,
after which she again proceeded to the Baltic, where she was employed as Sir James'
Saumarez's flagship between the months of April and November, in the years 1811 and
1812. Though the boats and smaller vessels of the squadron were actively employed
at Hango Head, in the Gulf of Finland, and at other places, the Victory was not
engaged. She was paid off in November, 1812, and since that date the historical old
three-decker has not left her moorings at Portsmouth.
From the year 1825 to 1869, the Victory was the flagship of the Commander-in-
chief at Portsmouth, but as, sometimes, as many as 1,500 seamen were berthed in the
guard-ship, the admiral's flag was finally struck in that year, and hoisted on board the
Duke of Wellington, which has more accommodation.
Though she is now kept only as a show ship, under the charge of a boatswain and
a few men, on every succeeding anniversary of the day of her chief glory, the noble old
ship is decorated with a wreath of laurel at each mast-head. On the Trafalgar day of
1844, Her Majesty, observing the wreaths, visited the ship, and viewed the spot where
Nelson fell, and the cockpit in which he died. Very many thousands of his countrymen
have made a pilgrimage to this shrine, dedicated to the memory of the man whose chief
thought was his country's weal, and his only incentive, " duty." From this retrospect
of the services of the Victory, it will be seen that she was the favourite flagship of
our most famous admirals, from Admiral Eeppel in 1778, to Sir James Saumarez in
1812, a selection mostly due to her excellent sailing qualities.

CHAPTEE II.
Sir Eichard Strachan's Victory over Dumanoir's Squadron — Gallant Defence of the Arrow and Acheron— Capture of
the Psyche by the San Fiorenzo — Loss of the Cleopatra and hsr Eecapture — Lieutenants Yeo at Muros, and Pigot
at St. Mary's Eiver — Capture of the Marengo and Belle Poule — Loss of the Blanche and Calcutta — Capture of the
Didon by the Phmnix— Sir John Duckworth's Victory off San Domingo — Capture of the IrnpHueux and Fate of
Admiral Willaumez's Squadron — Sir Sydney Smith at Naples — Services of the Boats of the Pique and Renommle —
Exploits of Lord Cochrane — Loss of the Indiaman Warren Hastings — The Blanche and Guerriere — Services of the
Navy on the Coast of Cuba — Capture of French Frigates by Sir Samuel Hood's Squadron — Surrender of Cape
Town — The Expedition to the La Plata — Capture of Copenhagen — Admiral Duckworth in the Dardanelles
— The Abortive Expedition to Egypt — Captain Brisbane at Curagoa — Capture of the Lynx by the Boats of the
Galatea — Eepulse of the Boats of the Spartan— The Weasel off Corfu — The Windsor Castle Packet and the French
Privateers.
A FEW days after the battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Eosilly arrived at Cadiz to super
sede Yilleneuve in the command, but he found only four disabled ships, besides
the Hero, 74, in which he hoisted his flag. Four other ships, the Formidable, 80, and
the seventy-fours Mont Blanc, Scipion and Duguay - Trouin, under the command of Eear-
admiral Dumanoir, stood for Eochefort, when, on the 2nd November, in the latitude of
Cape Finisterre, they fell in with the Phoenix, 32, Captain Baker. This officer commenced
firing guns to attract the attention of a squadron, under Sir Eichard Strachan, cruising
here to intercept the Eochefort squadron of five sail, under Admiral Allemand,
which, since its escape in July, had been committing great depredations on British com
merce. The following were the ships in question, excluding the Bellona, 74, which
parted company and took no part in the succeeding action.
80 Ccesar  Captain Sir Eichard Strachan.
/ Hero  „ Hon. Alan Gardner.
74 1 Namur  „ Lawrence Halsted.
( Courageux .... „ Eichard Lee.
36 Santa Margarita „ William Eathbone.
32 ^lolus  „ Lord William Fitzroy.
38 Be'volutionnaire ... „ Hon. Henry Hotham.
An animated chase ensued, but the Phoenix and Santa Margarita so harassed the
enemy that, at noon of the 4th, Dumanoir, finding an action unavoidable, hauled
up and awaited his persistent enemy. The Ccesar began the engagement by opening
fire on the Formidable, and the Hero and Courageux attacked the Mont Blanc, the Namur

34 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
being stil ten miles astern. A running action now ensued, and the Duguay-Trouin,
in the van, received a destructive fire from the Ccesar and Hero. The latter about two,
again came up and engaged the Scipion, whose main-topmast she shot away, when
the French seventy-four dropped to leeward, where she was engaged by the Courageux and
the frigates Phoenix and Revolutionnaire. The Hero, pushing on, engaged the Formidable
until the Namur came up, when she made sail after the Mont Blanc. At three o'clock the
French flagship, being much shattered, and the Ccesar, which had repaired damages,
having taken up a position to attack her, hauled down her colours, when the Namur took
possession. A few minutes later the Scipion also surrendered. The Duguay-Trouin
and Mont Blanc made sail to escape, but were overhauled by the Ccesar and Hero, and,
after twenty minutes' close action, the former surrendered to the Hero, which had played
the most prominent part in the action.
The British loss was 24 killed and 111 wounded, of which Admiral Strachan's flag
ship had four killed and 25 wounded, and the Hero, a marine officer and nine men killed,
and three officers and 48 men wounded. Both these ships received considerable damage
in their hulls, while the Ccesar lost her main-topgallant-mast, and the Hero, her fore-top
sail-yard. The French loss, which was very heavy, was placed at 730. The Formidable
had 200 killed and wounded, including the admiral among the latter ; the Scipion the
same number, her captain being wounded ; the Mont Blanc had 180 casualties and the
Duguay-Trouin 150, including her captain wounded. All the squadron were so greatly
shattered aloft by the deadly and accurate British fire that, soon after the conclusion of
the action, the only masts left standing were the foremasts of the Formidable and Mont
Blanc. Thus it happened that, out of the eighteen French sail-of-the-line present at
Trafalgar, only five, now blockaded in Spanish ports, were left.
The fate that befell the unfortunate Villeneuve was wrapt in mystery. On
obtaining his release on parole, he returned to France, to meet the wrath of an
incensed Emperor, and was found stabbed to death in his bed, but whether by his
own hand or other agency was never cleared up. The four captured ships were added
to the British Navy, when the Formidable was renamed the Brave, and the Duguay-
Trouin, the Implacable, but the latter and the Scipion were the only ships that went
to sea. Sir Eichard Strachan was invested with the ribbon of the Bath, the first
lieutenants of the squadron were promoted, and all the officers and crew received the
thanks of Parliament.
During the year 1805, in which all other naval events are overshadowed by the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 35
great victory at Trafalgar, some frigate actions and others occurred which merit brief
chronicle. The sloop-of-war, Arrotv, of 28 guns and 125 men, and the Acheron, bomb-
ship, of eight guns, beside her two bombs, and a crew of 67 all told, when convoying
thirty-four sail of merchantmen from Malta, encountered, and were engaged by, tho
frigates Hortense, of 48 guns and 350 men, and Incorruptible of 42 guns, and 640 men,
including troops. The British ships did their utmost to protect their convoy, of whom
thirty-one escaped, but after a long and spirited, action, continued on the following day,
were compelled to strike, the Arrow having had 40 casualties, including 13 killed, and
the Acheron 11. In proof of the determined resistance they made, the Arrow sank at the
termination of the action, and the Acheron was so shattered that her captors burnt her.
A spirited action was fought, with a more favourable result, off Barbados, between
the British 16-gun brig Curieux, Commander Bettesworth, and the privateer Dame
Ernouf, of the same force, in which the latter was compelled to haul down her colours,
after losing 30 killed and 40 wounded out of 120 men, more than one-half her crew,
and the brig five and four respectively, among the former being an officer, and the
latter included the captain, who received a musket-ball in the head.
A furious action at short range was fought in the East Indies between the San Fiorenzo,
Captain Henry Lambert, mounting 42 guns, and the Psyche, carrying 36 guns. The fight
lasted from eight in the evening to midnight, when the Psyche surrendered, having Esther
second captain, with her lieutenants, and no less than 54 men killed and 70 wounded, out
of 240 forming her crew. The San Fiorenzo, which was of slightly superior force, with
a complement of 253 men, had 12 killed and 36 wounded, so that the engagement was
of a specially sanguinary character, and Captain Bergeret, the same officer who had
engaged the Wilhelmina, is entitled to the highest honour for his stubborn defence of
his ship. The advantage as regards force was on the side of the enemy during the duel, fought
in the West Indies, between the Cleopatra, 38, Sir Eichard Laurie, and the Ville-de-
Milan, 46. The two ships kept up a running fire under a strong wind and heavy sea
for some hours, and the Cleopatra was getting the best of the fight, when an unlucky
shot jammed her wheel, so that she became unmanageable. The French frigate there
upon bore up, and striking her about the quarter-deck, attempted to board. But her
men were repulsed, when they brought so heavy a musketry fire to bear upon her decks
that they cleared them, and soon after five, the action having lasted nearly three hours,
the captain of the Cleopatra, which was greatly shattered in her hull and rigging,

36 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
hauled down her colours. Out of only 200 men, mustered at their quarters, the British
frigate had 20 killed, and her three lieutenants, master, marine officer, one midshipman
and boatswain, and 30 seamen and marines, wounded, two mortally. The loss of the
Ville-de- Milan, which had 350 men on board, was not ascertained, but her commander,
Captain Eenaud, was killed, and the second captain was severely wounded.
But the officers and crew of the French frigate did not long enjoy their prize, as,
a few days later, the 50 -gun frigate, Leander, Captain Talbot, hove in sight, and the
Cleopatra and her captor, after a show of resistance and an attempt to escape, were fain to
surrender in succession, their crippled condition, under jury-masts, rendering resistance
and flight alike impossible. The prize was taken into the service under the name of
Milan, and the command bestowed on Sir Eobert Laurie, while his first lieutenant,
Mr. Balfour, was promoted.
Worthy of mention was the action between the sloop Reindeer, of 18 guns and
121 men, Commander Coghlan, and the General Ernouf (formerly the British sloop
Lily), having 20 guns and a crew of 160 men, if only for the tragic fate that befel her.
After an action within pistol-shot range the privateer blew up, when only 55 men were
picked up, floating on fragments of wreck. Captain Coghlan was the same gallant
officer who, some years before, had performed an almost unexampled feat of successful
daring in cutting out the 10-gun cutter Viper, having a crew of 87 men, at the head of
only 21 British officers and seamen. It has been said that on this occasion the French
captain hailed the Reindeer in English, demanding that she should strike, when Coghlan
replied " that he would strike, and d  d hard tco."
Lieutenant Oliver, of the Bacchante, landed with a party of about 35 men on the
coast of Cuba, near Havannah, and in the most gallant manner, in open day, escaladed
and carried a tower garrisoned by 30 Spanish soldiers, on which were mounted three
long 24-pounders. A tender of the Hercules also performed good service off Saint-
Domingo, and, forcing on shore, set on fire, after a spirited action, a Spanish schooner
of seven guns and 96 men.
Many other brilliant affairs took place at this time in the West Indies, in which
Spanish vessels were cut out ; and on the coast of Spain, off Muros, Lieutenant Yeo,
of the 38-gun frigate Loire, Captain Lewis Maitland, greatly distinguished himself
by an act of conspicuous daring. While the frigate engaged a fort, mounting 12
long 18-pounders, he landed with 50 officers and men, and finding an outer gate
open, dashed into the works, and after a severe hand-to-hand conflict, during which the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 37
lieutenant killed the governor, the garrison, consisting of 22 Spanish soldiers and
about 100 of the crew of the French privateer Confiance, at anchor in the harbour, fled
in confusion, when the British colours were hoisted on the fort, which was blown up.
This was an achievement of which too much cannot be said in praise, but the gallant
Yeo, with the modesty that generally characterises the brave, made no mention in his
report to Captain Maitland of an act of individual prowess. The privateer, mounting 24
guns, and another smaller one were taken quiet possession of, and the Confiance, on being
brought to England, was commissioned by Lieutenant Yeo, with the rank of commander.
Lieutenant Pigot did good service on the coast of Florida, with the boats of his
ship, the Cambrian, capturing a Spanish privateer schooner of 14 guns and 60 men,
after a short resistance, and the frigate also took a French privateer, mounting 10 guns
and a crew of 90 men, in charge of which Mr. Pigot was placed. This officer
proceeded two miles up the St. Mary's Eiver, and, in the teeth of a hot fire,
recaptured an English merchant-ship, having a prize crew of 50 men, and took a
privateer of six guns and 70 men. In this service Lieutenant Pigot received three
musket-balls, and lost two men killed and 13 wounded, including two officers. For
his gallantry Mr. Pigot was deservedly promoted.
An unfortunate occurrence took place in the loss of the Blanche, Captain Mudge,
to a French squadron between Jamaica and Barbados. The British frigate, carrying
44 guns and a crew of only 215 men, was overhauled by the Topaze, of the same force
but having 340 men on board, two 20-gun corvettes, and a 16-gun brig, and after
an engagement lasting two hours, Captain Mudge struck his colours. The Blanche
lost eight killed and 15 wounded, and was stated by her captain to have become "a
perfect wreck" at the close of the action, when she had eight feet of water in her
hold, and it is certain a few hours later she went down. But Commander Baudin did
not reach France, whither he was bound, in safety with his prisoners, who were
distributed among the ships of the squadron. About 200 leagues from Eochefort the
Camilla, 20, Commander Taylor, discovered the brig Faune, which was captured and
taken to England, together with 22 of the Blanche's crew she had on board. The
Goliath, 74, Captain Barton, in company with the Raisonable, 64, Captain Josias Eowley,
on the following day, the 15th August, sighted the Topaze and two corvettes, which
separated, and one succeeded in effecting her escape, but the Torche was captured,
having on board 52 of the crew of the British frigate. The Raisonable chased the Topaze,
and exchanged some shots with her, but she succeeded in making her escape to Lisbon.
vol. in. a

38 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Here Captain Mudge was released, and on his return to England, was tried by a
court-martial and honourably acquitted of all blame.
On the 16th July, 1805, the Eochefort squadron, consisting of five sail-of-the-line,
one of 120 guns, and three frigates, under Eear- Admiral Allemand, put to sea, with the
object of intercepting the Illustrious, 74, which was convoying a fleet of 200 merchant
men from the West Indies. Two days later she captured the Ranger, 18, Commander
Coote, and fell in with the Calcutta, 56, Captain Woodriff, having in charge a few
ships bound from the East Indies to Europe. The Calcutta, which had been success
fully engaged earlier in the day with the Armide, a French 40-gun frigate, one of the
Eochefort squadron, finding herself near the Magnanime, 74, endeavoured to disable her
as the only chance of escape. But the superior fire of the French seventy-four com
pletely unrigged her, and on the approach of the other ships, Captain Woodriff hauled
down his colours. The Calcutta, which was formerly an Indiaman, carried a crew of
343 men and boys, of whom six were killed and six wounded. By her meritorious
defence she enabled the Illustrious and her convoy to effect their escape.
In the East Indies, Admiral Linois, with the Marengo, 80, after his brush with the
Centurion, in Yizagapatam Eoads, accompanied by the Belle Poule, 40, had a partial
engagement with the Blenheim, 74, flagship of Sir Thomas Troubridge, who had been
sent to supersede Sir Edward Pellew in the command to the eastward of Ceylon, and
had at this time a convoy in company. The gallant Troubridge succeeded in beating
off the enemy, when Admiral Linois steered for Simon's Bay, quitting which on the
10th November, he cruised with his squadron (now reduced to the Marengo and
Belle Poule, the Atalante having been lost) along the African coast near Cape Lopez and
Prince's Island, whence he made sail for St. Helena. From this island he steered for
France, and in March, 1806, just three years after quitting Brest for his memorable
cruise in the East Indies, was unlucky enough, when near this haven of safety, to
encounter the squadron of Sir John Borlase Warren, consisting of the Foudroyant, 80,
flagship, the London, 98, Sir Harry Neale, and the 38-gun frigate Amazon, Captain
William Parker. The London quickly overhauled and got alongside the Marengo, which,
however, managed to shake off her formidable antagonist and made sail to escape. Tho
London a second time overtook Admiral Linois's flagship, which, after a running fight of
a few hours, struck her colours, having experienced a loss in the action, out of a crew
of 740, of two officers and 61 men killed, and 82 wounded, including the admiral and
his son, and the captain (all severely). The loss of the London was one midshipman

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 39
and nine men killed, and 22 wounded, including two officers. The broadside weight of
metal of these two ships was not so unequal as to deprive the British three-decker
of credit, being 958 and 907 pounds respectively. About the same time the Belle
Poule surrendered to the Amazon, having lost six killed and 24 wounded.
In the Philippine Islands the British frigate Phaeton and brig Harrier engaged the
Semillante, the only remaining one of Admiral Linois's ships now in the East Indies,
which lay under the protection of a battery near Manilla, and the brig suffered
considerably in her rigging, while the Semillante lost, it was said, 13 killed and 36
wounded. An action, displaying some of the best qualities of British seamen at this time —
good gunnery, discipline, and smart seamanship — took place near Cape Finisterre on
the 10th August, between the Phoenix, Captain Baker, of 42 guns and 245 men, and
the French frigate Didon, carrying 46 guns and having a crew of 330. The Didon,
confident of success from her superior strength, began the action at 8.45, and after much
manoeuvring and broadside firing and mutual raking, the two ships came in contact.
The crew of the Didon attempted to board, but were beaten back, and Captain Baker,
with much difficulty and at some sacrifice of life, owing to the fire of the French
marines, directed into his stern windows, at length succeeded in transporting a main-
deck gun and placing it in the cabin window next the quarter. By the first discharge
no less than 24 of the crew of the Didon were placed hors de combat, as its fire swept
the ship's deck from the starboard bow to the port quarter. Meanwhile the enemy's
musketry fire was kept under by the marines of the Phoenix, stationed on the gangway.
At length the two ships parted, and, after engaging in a heavy cannonade with their
yard-arms touching, separated to repair damages. The sails of both the combatants
hung in ribbons, and the Phoenix had lost her main- topsail-yard and gaff, while the
Didon' s main-topmast had been shot away, and as she lay repairing, her foremast went
over the side. About noon the British frigate, having finished refitting, made sail
and took up a position on her adversary's weather bow, when the latter struck her
colours. She had lost 27 killed, including her second captain, and 44 severely
wounded, while her successful antagonist had 12 killed, including the second lieutenant
and a master's mate, and 28 wounded, among whom were a marine officer and two
midshipmen.* The prize, whose mainmast had followed the foremast, was towed into
* One of these youngsters was in the act of sucking an orange, when a musket-ball, after passing through the
head of a seaman, perforated both cheeks, without injuring a tooth.
a 2

40 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Plymouth, but on the way twice narrowly escaped recapture from a French fleet.
The action reflected great distinction on the officers and crew of the British frigate,
but for some reason, Captain Baker only received the distinction of the Bath ten years
later, when that Order was enlarged after the peace.
Before the close of the year 1805, the Cyane (late a British ship), of 26 guns and
190 men, was recaptured, after a gallant resistance, by the 36-gun frigate Princess
Charlotte, Captain Tobin, to which, having been disguised as a merchantman, she had
given chase; and the Libre, of 40 guns and 280 men, was taken by the British frigates
Loire and Egyptienne, after a spirited resistance, in which she lost 20 men and all three
masts. For the year 1806 Parliament voted 120,000 seamen and marines. In January,
in consequence of the receipt of intelligence that eleven sail-of-the-line and four frigates
had escaped from Brest, two British squadrons put to sea, one of seven ships, under
Yice- Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, and the other of six, under Sir Eichard
Strachan, who was ordered to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope to reinforce an
expedition sent to effect the reduction of that important Dutch settlement. In the
preceding December the Arethusa, 38, Captain Charles Brisbane, sighted two French
squadrons, the French fleet having been broken up the better to prey on British
commerce in the West Indies and elsewhere, and soon after fell in with a squadron of
six sail-of-the-line and two frigates, commanded by Vice- Admiral Sir John Duckworth,
who had been to Teneriffe and as far south as the Cape de Verde Islands in quest
of Admiral Allemand's squadron of five sail, which had captured the Calcutta. Duck
worth descried Admiral Willaumez's squadron of six line-of-battle ships and two
frigates, and gave chase, which, however, he discontinued at the end of thirty hours,
when the Superb, flagship, commanded by Captain Goodwin Eeats, whose brilliant
services we have often described, was almost in a position to bring the enemy's rear
most ships to action. The British admiral detached the Powerful, 74, to reinforce Sir
Edward Pellew in the East Indies, and, steering for the West Indies, on the 12 th
January, anchored at Barbados.
Acting on intelligence, on the 1st February, Admiral Duckworth set sail for the
city of Saint Domingo, accompanied by the Northumberland, 74, flagship of Eear-
Admiral Hon. Alexander Cochrane, and the Atlas, Captain Pym, of the same force, and
found at anchor a French squadron of five sail-of-the-line and one frigate, part of
the Brest fleet, under Eear-admiral Leissegues. The latter slipped his cables and stood

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 41
out to sea, when a running engagement ensued. The Spencer, Captain Hon. Eobert
Stopford, succeeded in bringing the Alexandre, 80, to close action, while the remaining
ships continued their course. The Alexandre received the fire of the Canopus, 80,
Eear- Admiral Louis, and the Donegal, 74, Captain Pulteney Malcolm, as they crossed
her bows, when all her masts went by the board, and she hauled down her flag.
Meantime the Northumberland and Superb engaged the three-decker Imperial, flagship,
and the Donegal, having received the submission of the Canopus, turned her attention to
the Brave, 74. The Atlas attacked the Jupiter of the same force, until Captain Malcolm,
again disengaged, ran her on board, receiving her bowsprit over his port quarter, where
it was secured by a hawser. Thereupon the Jupiter surrendered, and the Donegal,
sending on board a prize crew, took her in tow, while the Acasta, frigate, took
possession of the Brave. The Atlas, after engaging the Jupiter, proceeded to aid the
admiral in the attack on the Imperial and Diomede, 74, alongside of which she dropped
and closely engaged until the Spencer came to her assistance. The great three-decker
was chiefly engaged with the Northumberland, which lost her mainmast, aided by the
fire of the Superb, and at a later period of the Canopus, but she managed to escape from
her foes, but only to run ashore when her only remaining mast went by the board. The
Superb now joined the Atlas in engaging the Diomede, which soon after ran aground,
when all her masts went over the side.
Thus, within two hours, the five ships composing the French squadron were all
captured or driven ashore, but the frigate and a corvette escaped. The Imperial was
considered the finest man-of-war afloat, and carried at this time 130 guns with no
less than 1,200 men, while the aggregate strength of the French crews was placed at
4,260. The British loss was 74 killed, of which the Northumberland contributed 21,
including one midshipman, the Spencer, 18, and the Donegal, 12, of whom one was a
midshipman. The wounded numbered 246, the Northumberland coming first with 79,
including eight officers, the Superb having 56, including eight officers, the Spencer, 50,
among whom were her captain and three officers, and the Donegal, 33, of whom four
were officers.
The French losses, on the other hand, were severe, and according to a letter from Sir
John Duckworth, the Alexandre had 300 casualties, the Brave, 260, and the Jupiter,
200. The losses of the Imperial and Diomede were not stated by the British admiral,
but by French accounts the three-decker had 500 killed and wounded, including among
the severely wounded the first and second captains. The Diomede was said to have had 250

42 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of her men hors de combat. The crews of these ships, with the exception of about 150
from the Diomede, managed to effect their escape to the shore, and the British
frigates succeeded in setting on fire and destroying both ships as they lay on the rocks.
The Alexandre was dismasted and was so riddled with shot as to be only kept afloat with
difficulty. The victory off Saint Domingo was creditable to the British crews engaged, though
obtained by a slightly superior force. Of the seven ships of the former, the Agamemnon,
Nelson's old ship, now commanded by his friend, Sir Edward Berry, was a small
sixty-four, while the five ships of the enemy included a man-of-war that was equal in
strength to any two of those opposed to her. The thanks of Parliament was voted to
the victors, and the usual promotions took place, while Admiral Cochrane, who had so
gallantly closed with the three-decker, received the Bath, and Admiral Louis was
created a baronet.
Meanwhile Admiral Willaumez, one of whose ships, the Veteran, was commanded
by Prince Jerome Buonaparte, arrived with his squadron off Cape Town, which he
found in the hands of the English, when he stood for the South American coast, and
thence made his way to the West Indies, where his chief anxiety appeared to be to
avoid an engagement with Sir Alexander Cochrane's squadron, while himself preying
on British commerce. Off the Bahamas Prince Jerome quitted the quadrons without
leave and sailed for France, which he reached in safety, having on the way captured
six merchantmen, and been chased by a British squadron, which he, or rather the
capable officer in charge of him and his ship, managed to elude. Prince Jerome as a
naval officer was a failure, not less conspicuous than he later proved himself to be as
Eing of Westphalia, and when commanding the division at Waterloo which attacked
Hougoumont. Willaumez now stood for the coast of Newfoundland, but was over
taken by a violent gale, when all his ships were dismasted and scattered, and his
flagship, the Foudroyant, 80, steered for Havannah, off which he engaged and drove
off the British 44-gun frigate Anson, Captain Lydiard. The Foudroyant was refitted
at this Spanish port, and Admiral Willaumez, setting sail, succeeded in reaching Brest
in safety. Sir Eichard Strachan, who had been sent in pursuit of him, returned to
Plymouth, but again set sail for the West Indies in search of the French admiral, and
on the 14th September, the seventy-fours Belleisle and Bellona, and the frigate Melampus,
sighted the dismasted 74-gun ship ImpStueux, off Cape Henry, on the coast of the
United States, which ran herself on shore, and hauled down her colours. She was

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 43
taken possession of by the frigate, and, after her crew were removed, was burnt. Two
others of the disabled French ships, the Patriote and Eole, reached Annapolis, whence
the former managed to effect her escape to France, but the Eole was broken up, as
was also the Valeureuse, frigate. The Cassard, 74, stood for Eochefort, which she
reached in safety, and thus, including the Veteran, Foudroyant, and Patriote, four
ships of this squadron returned to France, and three failed to do so.
During the summer of 1806 all the five ships-of-the-line at Cadiz, under Admiral
Eosilly, were ready for sea, with six Spanish ships, which were blockaded by Lord
Collingwood, but some French frigates succeeded in escaping from that port, though an
18 -gun brig, accompanying them, was chased and captured by the 38-gun frigate Hydra,
Captain Mundy, without their firing a shot in aid, so anxious were they to evade the
British squadron. Lord St. Vincent had succeeded to the command of the Channel
Fleet, superseding Admiral Cornwallis, and the Mediterranean was clear of the French
flag, though its European shores were overrun by Napoleon's armies, and, in January,
Eing Ferdinand of Naples, for the second time, was forced to take refuge on board
a British ship-of-war, and was conveyed in the Excellent, 74, to Palermo. Before the
end of March General Massena was in possession of the whole kingdom of Naples
except Gaeta, the defence of which was assisted by a British squadron, under that
able and indefatigable officer, Sir Sydney Smith, who landed and succeeded in
capturing the island of Capri, off Naples.
It was owing to Sir Sydney's persuasion that General Stuart, commanding the
British troops in Sicily, was induced to invade Calabria, on the 1st July, with 4,800
men, at the head of whom, two days later, he totally defeated General Eegnier at the
battle of Maida, one of the most complete and brilliant victories gained up to that
time by British arms. The result to the French was the loss of all the forts along the
coast, and their evacuation of Calabria, but the success was ephemeral, and after the
fall of Gaeta, the whole of that province was recovered, with the exception of Scylla,
which was held by a British garrison, and with the town of Messina, on the opposite
side of Faro, gave them the command of the Straits.
Numerous were the acts of gallantry of British officers and men wherever they
met the enemy, among them the cutting out of the Raposa, of 12 guns and 75
men, off Campeachy, by the boats of the Franchise, frigate, under the command of
Lieutenant Fleming ; and of three luggers in the port of Avillas by the boats of the
armed brig, Colpoys, under Lieutenant Usher.

44 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The Pique, 36, Captain Eoss, performed some good service in the West Indies, but
not without sustaining considerable loss. She sighted and brought to action two
French brigs, and fell foul of one of them, when she threw a party of four officers and
25 men on board, and stood towards her consort. But the crew, taking up a sheltered
position, opened so heavy a fire on the boarders that they killed an officer and eight
men, and wounded three officers and 11 others. Thereupon the Pique sent a boat's
crew on board, who speedily carried the vessel, and standing on, she overhauled the
second brig, which surrendered. Both these prizes were commissioned as British
cruisers. The frigate's boats also cut out two armed Spanish vessels, and drove ashore
a French privateer. Off the coast of Spain the Renommee, Sir Thomas Livingstone,
engaged and brought off a 12-gun brig, lying under the protection of some batteries,
and, under the name of Spider, she was taken into the Navy, and proved of much
service. The boats of the frigate and of the 18-gun brig Nautilus, under the command
of Lieutenant Sir William Parker, boarded and cut out a schooner, which was protected
by a battery and the fire of 100 soldiers on the beach. The same officer, whose
name is so prominent in the annals of the British Navy, brought out of a port in
Majorca, several armed native craft.
Lord Cochrane, now in command of the Pallas, lying off the Gironde river, sent
his boats, under the command of Lieutenant Hansell, to cut out two French brigs,
which lay under some batteries, twenty miles above the point to which the frigate
could reach. In spite of every obstacle the boats of the Pallas succeeded in capturing,
after a stout resistance, one of the brigs, named the Tapageuse, of 14 guns and 95 men,
but the other lay too high up the Gironde to be attacked. While his boats were
absent Lord Cochrane chased and drove on shore two French 20-gun corvettes and a
brig of 16 guns. A few weeks later, his lordship landed detachments of seamen,
who destroyed the signal stations on the coast. Lord Cochrane reconnoitred the
French squadron of five sail-of-the-line and five frigates, which lay in Aix roads,
and, on one occasion, engaged the 44-gun frigate Minerve and three brigs, which stood
out to drive off the Pallas. Nothing daunted, his lordship, by skilful manoeuvring,
got between the Minerve and the shore batteries, and after engaging her at close
quarters, ran her on board. But in the collision, the Pallas carried away her fore-
topmast, jib-boom, and fore and main-topsail yards, and was so shattered aloft that
her antagonist succeeded in making her escape. In this her commander had not much
to congratulate himself, as the Minerve was nearly double the size of the Pallas, and

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 45
carried six more guns and over 100 more men. The daring displayed by Lord
Cochrane was only less remarkable than on the occasion of his capture of the Gamo,
when in command of the Speedy.
With almost equal temerity Captain Prowse, commanding the Sirius, 36, attacked,
off Civita Vecchia, a French flotilla, consisting of the corvette Berg ere, of 19 guns and
189 men, three brigs, one carrying 18 guns and the others 12, and several smaller
vessels. The Sirius closely engaged the squadron, having an aggregate of 97 guns, and
at the end of two hours, the Bergere hailed to say she had surrendered. The remainder
of the vessels succeeded in making their escape, some being disabled.
One of the most praiseworthy events of this long and sanguinary war, was the defence
made by the East India Company's trading-ship Warren Hastings, carrying 36 guns and
138 men and boys, against the French frigate Piemontaise, of 46 guns and a crew
385 in number. The enemy overhauled the Indiaraan, which was homeward bound,
and commenced the action at 10.30 within musket-shot range. Five times the
Piemontaise hauled off, only to renew the attack, until the merchantman was reduced
to the condition of a wreck ; but still the gallant commander, Captain Larkins, and her
crew, who could only set a main-topsail on their ship, continued the unequal conflict
until the mizen-mast fell on board, disabling the guns on the main-deck, and the lower-
deck caught fire. As further resistance could only occasion useless slaughter, Captain
Larkins hauled down his colours at 4.50, having lost an officer and six men killed and
13 wounded, including four officers. The victors disgraced themselves by treating
their prisoners with great inhumanity, and five officers, including the captain, were
wounded in cold blood.
The boats of the Minerve, Captain George Collier, performed good service on the
Spanish and Portuguese coasts, and twelve boats from a British squadron, cruising off
Eochefort, cut out a 16-gun brig, lying in Verdon Eoads, at the entrance of the river
Gironde. The boats were under the command of Lieutenant Sibley, of the Centaur, 74,
Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, who was severely wounded by sabre and pike when in
the act of boarding the brig, which had a crew of 86 men. She was captured after
a severe struggle, in which the British loss was a lieutenant, a master's mate, and seven
men killed, and four lieutenants, a master's mate, and 34 men wounded. The brig was
brought out in triumph, but a boat belonging to the Revenge, containing a midshipman
and 19 seamen and marines, was sunk by a large shot from the battery, when the crew
succeeded in gaining the shore, where they were made prisoners.
vol. III. h

46 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
During the year 1806 a ship was added by capture to the British Navy, which was
destined to be lost to it, a few years later, in a memorable action during our brief anci
not very glorious war with the United States of America. This was the Guerriere, of
50 guns and 317 men, which was captured about midnight on the 19th July, after
an action of three-quarters of an hour, by the Blanche, Captain Lavie, carrying 46 guns
and having a crew of 265 hands. There was nothing of special interest in the action,
and the Blanche suffered only a trifling loss in men and materiel, while the French
frigate lost 20 killed and 30 wounded, and her masts, rigging, and hull were much
shattered, owing to the excellent gunnery of the Blanche's crew, a quality it had been
well their successors had displayed a few years later. Captain Lavie was knighted for
this success, and his first lieutenant received promotion.
In the East Indies, the Greyhound, 32, Commander Elphinstone, and 18-gun brig
Harrier, Commander Troubridge — son of the famous officer, the friend of Nelson and
Jervis, who soon after, together with his ship, met with a tragic fate at sea — engaged a
3 6 -gun Dutch frigate, with two large armed merchantmen and a 14-gun brig, cruising
in the Java sea. After a well-contested action the ships struck their colours, the brig
alone escaping. The frigate had eight killed and 33 wounded, including her captain
(mortally), two lieutenants, and five other officers.
In February, four French frigates, which had succeeded in putting out to sea from
Eochefort, shaped their course for the West African coast, thence steering for the West
Indies. Here they were sighted and chased by the Mars, 74, Captain Eobert Oliver,
which succeeded in compelling the Rhin, of 40 guns, to haul down her colours, her
consorts having abandoned her to her fate with a pusillanimity not often found among
French naval officers.
The "saucy Arethusa" of the song, formerly commanded by Sir Edward Pellew,
and now by the equally active Captain Charles Brisbane, in conjunction with the
Anson, 44, Captain Lydiard, chased the Spanish 34-gun frigate Pomona, under the
protection of some batteries about six miles from Havannah, and coming to an
anchor, one abreast of some Spanish gunboats, and the other alongside the Pomona,
engaged the enemy. The gunboats were soon all destroyed or driven ashore, and the
frigate surrendered, having lost her captain and 20 men killed, and two lieutenants and
30 wounded out of her complement of 347. The fort at this place fired red-hot shot from
her eleven 36-pounders, which set the Arethusa on fire, and the British frigate sustained
a loss of 34 killed and wounded, including, among the latter, Captain Brisbane, one

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 47
lieutenant, and a marine officer. The prize was purchased into the Navy under the name
of the Cuba. Off the Cuban coast also, the Bacchante, 20, Commander Dacres, and the
18-gun slocp, Stork, Commander Le Geyt, with the schooners Superieure, Flying Fish,
and Pike, rendered good service in cutting out the enemy's armed vessels and privateers.
Commander Eushworth, of the Superieure, was especially successful with the three
schooners, and landing with 53 men about two miles from Batabano, a port on the
island, defeated a small Spanish force, captured a fort mounting six 18-pounders,
and took possession of six vessels lying in the harbour.
Near St. Malo, the Constance, 22, Captain Burrowes, with the 16-gun brig Sheldrake,
Commander Thicknesse, and gunboat Strenuous, Lieutenant Nugent, succeeded in
capturing the armed storeship Salamandre, of 26 guns and 80 men, but during the action
the Constance got aground under a heavy battery, and had to be abandoned, after losing
her captain and seven men killed, and her first lieutenant, boatswain, and 14 others
wounded, exclusive of 38 taken prisoners. Not being able to bring the corvette off
the enemy set her on fire.
While cruising off Eochefort, in September, with six ships-of-the-line, Sir Samuel
Hood sighted five French frigates which had escaped from that port, bound for the West
Indies. The commodore gave chase and his flagship, the Centaur, 74, came up with the
frigates Gloire and Armide, when the latter, after a spirited resistance, struck her
colours. Soon after, the Minerve surrendered to the Monarch, 74, Captain Lee, and the
Indefatigable to the 74- gun ship Mars, Captain Lukin, which also overtook the
Gloire, and compelled her to haul down her flag. The Centaur and Monarch had
nine killed and 29 wounded, among the latter being Sir Samuel Hood, whose arm
was shattered, necessitating amputation. Of the captured frigates, three of which
suffered severely in hull and rigging as also in loss of men, the Gloire mounted 46
guns, and the three others, 44, and they each carried, inclusive of troops, about 650
men, besides valuable stores of arms and ammunition. They were all added to the
Navy, but the Minerve was rechristened the Alceste, and the Indefatigable, the
Immortalite. Disaster quickly followed disaster, to the French flag, since the day of Trafalgar.
After the losses sustained in the action with the squadrons of Sir Eichard Strachan and
Sir John Duckworth, and Admiral Willaumez's unfortunate cruise to the West Indies,
there was the capture of the four fine frigates off Eochefort, and now the frigate
Presidenle, 44, was taken. She formed one of a squadron from Lorient, despatched to
h 2

48 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
prey on British commerce on the West African coast and in the West Indies, and was
returning to Europe when chased by a British squadron, to which she hauled down her
colours. The Dutch Navy also lost, off the coast of Java, a 36-gun frigate, which, under
the name of Java, was a few months later lost, with all hands, when on her way to the
Cape of Good Hope. The British 36-gun frigate, Caroline, Captain Eainier, engaged her
in the most gallant manner, although she was in company with a corvette of 14 guns,
and a brig and an armed ship. The action lasted half an hour, but it was most disastrous
to the Dutch frigate, which had 50 killed and wounded out of her crew of 270.
In the following year the Psyche, 36, Commander Pellew, son of the gallant admiral
commanding on the India station, captured, near Samarang, where they had run them
selves ashore, an armed merchantman, a corvette of 24 guns and 150 men, and a brig
of 12 guns and 70 men; and by his persevering efforts all three prizes were got
afloat. For this spirited service Captain Pellew was knighted. Admiral Sir Edward
Pellew now arrived from Malacca with the seventy-fours Culloden and Powerful,
frigates Caroline and Fox, and four sloops, to effect the capture or destruction of two
68-gun Dutch ships that had escaped from Batavia, and taken refuge at Grassie, on
the river Sourabaya, at the eastern extremity of Java. This service he effected without
firing a shot, and the ships were burnt.
Early in the year 1806 England acquired the important Dutch possession of Cape
Town and Colony. Some eight years before, the settlement had been captured, only to
be surrendered at the peace, but the British Government, resolving to retake this
valuable station on the route to India, despatched Commodore Sir Home Popham,
with a squadron of three 64-gun ships, one of 50 guns and two frigates, to dispossess
the Dutch. Forming part of the expedition was a fleet of transports and Indiamen,
having on board 5,000 troops, under Sir David Baird and General Beresford,
which were disembarked at Saldanha Bay. On the 6th January, after some severe
fighting, the Dutch Governor of Cape Town capitulated, and the Colony came under
the British flag. Accompanying the troops was a detachment of seamen and marines,
under Captain Byng of the Belliqueux, who rendered good service.
A few weeks after this capture, the French 40-gun frigate Volontaire, forming one
of Admiral Willaumez's squadron, which he had detached to the Cape, unaware of the
Colony having changed hands, anchored in Table Bay, and was captured. She had
on board 217 men of the 2nd and 54th Eegiments, whom she had taken out of a trans-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 49
port she had captured, and these prisoners, to their great joy, found themselves
unexpectedly released. The prize was added to the Navy under her own name.
Sir Home Popham, with the concurrence of Sir David Baird, took upon himself
to undertake an expedition to Buenos Ayres and Monte Yideo. Embarking the
71st Eegiment and some artillery, under the command of General Beresford, they
sailed from Table Bay, and being reinforced at St. Helena, on the 25th June a
body of 1,630 men, including a detachment of seamen, was landed about 12 miles
from Buenos Ayres, which, after a skirmish, was surrendered on the 2nd July. But
the inhabitants rose upon the invaders, and General Beresford, after losing 165 men,
killed and wounded, was compelled to surrender. Sir Home Popham now blockaded
the port until the arrival of reinforcements, when he took possession of Maldonado,
but the Admiralty disapproved of his unauthorised action, and he was tried by court-
martial at Portsmouth in March, 1807, and " severely reprimanded."
Eear- Admiral Stirling arrived to supersede Commodore Popham, and the troops, now
reinforced and commanded by Sir Samuel Achmuty, stormed the town of Monte Yideo,
assisted by a detachment of about 300 seamen and marines landed from the fleet,
and some 600 more who were engaged in transporting guns and stores to the front.
In the operations the army had 192 killed and 421 wounded, and the Naval Brigade
three and 24 respectively. General Whitelocke, who had arrived with 5,000 men,
now assumed command of the soldiers, and Eear- Admiral Murray of the squadron,
when the former undertook the capture of Buenos Ayres, the failure to effect which,
and the surrender of 2,500 troops, forms one of the most discreditable chapters in
our military history. In this fiasco the Navy had no share.
The year 1807 is chiefly memorable in naval annals for our expedition against
Copenhagen, in which the Army carried off the honours, and the forcing of the
Dardanelles by Sir John Duckworth's squadron. On the 26th July, Admiral Gambier,
(who commanded the Defence, under Lord Howe, in his great victory) having his
flag in the Prince of Wales, 98, sailed from Yarmouth roads, with sixteen line-of-
battle-ships, and being joined by several others, the fleet ultimately numbered no fewer
than twenty-five sail-of-the-line and forty frigates, exclusive of 377 transports,
having on board 27,000 troops, under Lord Cathcart and Sir Arthur Wellesley,
afterwards the great Duke of Wellington. A demand made for the surrender
of the Danish fleet was rejected, and the first shot was fired on the 14th August,
when, without a declaration of war, the Comus, of 32 guns, attacked and captured,

CO HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
after forty- five minutes' action, the frigate Frederickscoam, of like force, with the
loss of 12 killed and 20 wounded. Two days later a portion of the troops was
disembarked at Wedbeck, midway between Eisinore and Copenhagen, where Admiral
Gambler arrived on the 17th with sixteen sail, and a state of war now ensued, the
Danish king having issued a proclamation, laying an embargo on all British ships. On
the 23rd and following days an engagement took place between three of our sloops,
five bomb-vessels, and seven gun-brigs, with ten launches fitted as mortar-boats, and
the Danish gunboats, assisted by the great Trekronen pile-battery, mounting 68 guns,
besides mortars, which, with the citadel, a pile-battery in advance of it, and the arsenal
battery, the whole mounting 174 guns and 25 mortars, formed the city's sea defences.
On the morning of the 2nd September the British batteries on shore opened fire,
and the bomb-vessels began the bombardment, which continued for twenty-four hours.
Again it recommenced on the following evening and during the night of the 3rd, 4th,
and 5th, by which time the city was set on fire in several places. At length the
governor requested an armistice, and, on the 7th September, terms of capitulation were
arranged, — the British commissioners being Sir Arthur Wellesley, Sir Home Popham
and Colonel Murray, — by which the fleet was surrendered to the British commanders,
Lord Cathcart and Admiral Gambier, who were also placed in temporary possession of
the citadel.
Thus, with a loss of only 56 killed, 179 wounded, and 25 missing, the capital of
Denmark was gained and the enemy brought to submission. In nine days the fourteen
sail-of-the-line in the harbour were fitted out by British seamen and towed into the roads,
and a few weeks later the remaining three, with ten frigates, fourteen sloops and brigs
and five gunboats, were removed, and the naval arsenal cleared of all stores, which filled
no less than ninety-two transports. By the 20th October the embarkation of the British
army was completed, and, on the following day, the fleet sailed from Copenhagen with
the prizes and transports in three divisions. The enterprise was not one for which much
glory could be said to accrue to the victors, who were in overwhelming strength, and
the chief sufferers were the inoffensive inhabitants, 305 of whose dwellings were wholly
destroyed, while the loss of life among them, inclusive of the combatants, was stated to
be 2,000. Nevertheless, the Services received the thanks of Parliament, and Admiral
Gambier was created a peer, Lord Cathcart received an English peerage, and the two
senior military officers and the second in command of the fleet, Vice- Admiral Stanhope,
were made baronets.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 51
The most arduous task, that of preventing reinforcements crossing the Little Belt,
from Holstein into the island of Zealand, was performed by Commodore Eeats, with
his usual thoroughness and success. One of the immediate consequences of the state
of war that arose between Denmark and this ^ country, was the acquisition of the
island of Heligoland, off the mouth of the Elbe, which capitulated* on the 4th September
to Eear- Admiral Macnamara, who had under his orders the Russell, 74, and the 32-gun
frigate, Quebec, Lord Falkland.
The second important naval undertaking of 1807, was that against the Dardanelles
by Sir Thomas Duckworth, an officer who had commanded the Orion, 74, on the
"glorious first of June," and inflicted the defeat on the French squadron off St.
Domingo. The Dardanelles is a channel 36 miles long, and little more than three-
quarters of a mile broad at its narrowest part, where are the castles of Sestos and
Abydos, which form the chief protection to the passage leading to Constantinople.
Sir Thomas Louis had reconnoitred this channel in December of the previous year, with
three ships-of-the-line and some frigates, on board of which, in the following January,
embarked the Eussian and British Ambassadors and all the British merchants from the
capital. Admiral Duckworth, having his flag in the Royal George, 100, arrived off
Tenedos on the 10th February, when he had under his command eight sail-of-the-line,
two frigates, and two bomb-vessels, and without loss of time, on the following day he
weighed anchor and stood for the Dardanelles, but the wind being adverse, brought to
an anchor again. Here, on the 15th, a great disaster befell the squadron in the total
destruction by fire of the Ajax, 74, Captain Hon. Henry Blackwood, when she blew up,
and 250 souls perished.
The wind changing, the squadron weighed on the 19th, and stood through the
channel, receiving an ineffective fire from the castles, which was returned, when the loss
experienced was six killed and 51 wounded. Sir Sydney Smith, having his flag in
the Pomp'ee, with the Thunderer and Standard, and the two frigates, engaged a redoubt
armed with heavy guns and the Turkish squadron lying a little above Abydos, and
speedily silenced their fire, when all the ships, consisting of one of 64 guns, a frigate
of 40 guns, two of 36, and one of 32, with four corvettes, ran on shore on the Asiatic
side of the channel, where they were destroyed by the boats from Admiral Smith's
ships. Sir John Duckworth, instead of anchoring off the capital, influenced, doubtless
* As is well known, Heligoland was made over to the German Emperor in 1890,

52 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
by the ambassador who was on board, brought to eight miles from the city whence, on
the 21st, he sent a demand to the Sublime Porte for the surrender of the Turkish fleet,
but he failed to carry out his threat, that, in the case of non-compliance, he would lay
the city in ashes. The Turkish Government, urged on by General Sebastiani,
Napoleon's ambassador, then all-powerful at the Porte, brought into play all the
resources of procrastination and dissimulation, always at the disposal of Orientals, and,
on the 1st March, the admiral swallowed all his brave professions and weighed anchor
on his return to Tenedos. The castle of Abydos was passed early on the 3rd, and
before noon the British squadron was out of reach of molestation, having completed its
inglorious mission. The defences had been improved since they passed up, and most
of the ships were hulled by stone-shot, weighing 800 pounds, the total loss being 29
killed and 138 wounded. Among the former was Captain Eent, of the marines on board
the Canopus, and Lieutenant Belli, of the Royal George. One stone-shot lodged in the
mainmast of the Royal George> and another from Sestos entered the lower deck of the
Standard, where it killed four seamen, and caused an explosion, badly wounding a
lieutenant and 46 others.
During the month of March an expedition, even more ill-starred, so far as the
military result was concerned, was despatched to Egypt, for which the Navy supplied
the Tigre, 74, Captain Hallowell ; the Apollo, 36, Captain Fellowes ; and the 16-gun
brig Wizard, Commander Palmer. The troops, 5,000 men, were landed at Aboukir,
and on the 21st March the city of Alexandria was surrendered. But this was almost
the last success, and the troops, being overpowered by numbers, after losing about
1,000 of their number, were re-embarked in the transports.
Coerced by Napoleon, the Prince Eegent of Portugal issued a proclamation on the
20th October, shutting his ports against British ships, upon which Sir Sydney Smith was
despatched, with nine sail-of-the-line, to the Tagus. Here he enforced a rigid blockade,
and demanded either the surrender of the fleet, or that the Eoyal Family should retreat
to Brazil. The Eegent acoepted the latter alternative, and the members of the House
of Braganza, with about 18,000 inhabitants, set sail from Lisbon in the Portuguese fleet,
consisting of eight ships-of-the-line, and eight other vessels, with twenty armed
merchantmen. Escorted by the British fleet, the armament steered for Brazil, and, on
the 6th December, Sir Sydney Smith returned with five sail, leaving Commodore
Moore, with the remaining three, to see them in safety to Eio. On the 30th November,
the day after their departure, Junot entered Lisbon at the head of the French Army,

w Cw^fii' V^'

CAPTAIN

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 53
and Admiral Smith, who was reinforced with five sail from England, kept watch off the
Tagus, where a Eussian squadron of nine ships had taken shelter, that Power having
declared war against England on the 2nd December preceding. In consequence of the
French occupation of Portugal, Eear- Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, with four sail-of-the-
line and four frigates, having on board some troops, under General Beresford,
appeared off Funchal, in the Madeiras, which surrendered without resistance.
One of the most gallant feats of the war was the capture of the Dutch settlement
of Curacoa, by that intrepid officer, Commodore Charles Brisbane, with four frigates,
the Arethusa, carrying his broad pennant, and the Latona, Anson, and Fisgard. Sail
ing from Jamaica on the 24th December, at daybreak on the 1st January, 1807, he
made his appearance off the port with his boats in tow, and, anchoring in position for
engaging the heavy forts and two Dutch ships, wrote a summons to the governor,
on the capstan of his ship, whose jib-boom was over the wall of the town, to surrender
the place, and giving him "five minutes " to accede to his demand. No notice being
taken of this peremptory procedure, at 6.15 the British squadron opened fire, and
after a few broadsides, the commodore, at the head of a portion of his crew, boarded
and captured the Dutch frigate, a party from the Anson, Captain Lydiard, securing the
second ship. This effected, they pulled for the shore and carried the fort of
Amsterdam, with equal sailor-like promptitude, and the citadel, some minor forts and
the town were all seized. There still remained Fort Eepublique, situated on a high
hill, but at the sight of 300 English bluejackets and marines marching up in their rear,
the commandant hauled down his flag, and thus was acquired the whole island of
Curacoa. Altogether this exploit is one of the most remarkable recorded in history,
and its success is almost inexplicable except on the ground of its suddenness and
daring. Commodore Brisbane received the honour of knighthood, and the first lieu
tenants of the Arethusa and Anson were promoted.
During the year 1807 a gallant feat was achieved by the boats of the Galatea, 38,
off Caraccas. Captain Sayer sighted the French brig- of- war Lynx, of 14 guns and 161
men and boys, and as she made off with her sweeps, the wind being light, he resolved
to attempt to capture her by boarding. She was at this time hull down, but six boats,
with seamen and marines, under command of Lieutenant Coombe, pushed off at 2 p.m.,
and after a pull of seven hours, under a burning sun, about nine o'clock, five boats,
with five officers and 65 men, had arrived within pistol-shot of the enemy. Every
preparation being made, the crews, with a hearty cheer, dashed for the brig, and a
VOL. III. I

54 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
desperate struggle ensued. The British seamen were repulsed by a heavy fire of
musketry and from the guns trained aft, but a second time they made the attempt
to board, when they succeeded in gaining the deck. In five minutes they had carried
all before them, and the survivors were either driven below or had taken refuge
aloft. In achieving this brilliant success, equalled by few and scarcely excelled by
any in our naval annals, the British experienced the loss of Lieutenant Waller and
eight men killed, and Lieutenant Coombe (severely in the thigh of the leg he had pre
viously lost), two masters' mates and 19 men wounded. The Lynx had a lieutenant and
13 men killed, and her captain, first lieutenant (both severely), four other officers and
14 men wounded. The prize was purchased into the service as the Heureux, there
being one of her name in the Navy, and Lieutenant Coombe commissioned her.
This heroic officer, however, did not long survive his good fortune as, in the
following year, he was killed while engaged in cutting out a vessel from a
harbour in the island of Guadaloupe. With the daring that distinguished him, Com
mander Coombe had boarded, and carried, with only his barge, manned by 19 men, a
two-gun schooner, having a crew, 39 all told, but the prize and a brig, captured by Lieu
tenant Lawrence, grounded, when a heavy fire was brought to bear on them from the
shore. A 24-pound shot struck the gallant officer, who fell, exclaiming, " I die con
tented. I die for my country." Lieutenant Lawrence was also wounded, but succeeded
in bringing out the captured vessels.
An attack on the fort of Samana, in the island of St. Domingo, the haunt of
privateers, was made by the 32 -gun frigate Mediator, Captain Wise, formerly an
Indiaman, the Bacchante, 20, Captain Dacres, and a schooner of 12 guns, captured
shortly before by these two ships. With this object the Mediator was disguised as a
merchantman, and the prize hoisted French colours, when the three vessels, without
exciting suspicion, managed to anchor close to the fort, which, after a cannonade of four
hours, was carried, the British loss being two killed and 16 wounded. Lieutenant Watts,
of the Comus, 20, with three boats, succeeded in cutting out an armed felucca, which lay
under the protection of a fort in the Grand Canary island, though he was severely
wounded in several places, for which act of gallantry he was promoted.
But not equally successful was Captain Jahleel Brenton, of the Spartan, 38, when
off Nice, in his attempt to carry by boarding a polacre ship. Seeing her becalmed,
and taking her for an unarmed merchantman, he despatched his boats with 70 men,
under the two senior lieutenants, Weir and Williams, to secure her. But the ship was

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 55
fully prepared to receive them, having her boarding nettings up, and all hands ready to
offer resistance. The result was a sanguinary repulse, in which both the lieutenants
and 26 men were killed or mortally wounded, the remainder, with the exception of
seven, being also wounded.
Scarcely more fortunate was the 18-gun brig Curieux, Commander Sherriff, having
a crew of 100 men, in her action with the French privateer Revanche (formerly a
Liverpool merchant ship), of 25 guns and 200 men. After a close action of an hour,
in which the brig became unmanageable, owing to her braces and tiller ropes being
shot away, the Revanche ran into her, and her crew made an attempt to board, but
were driven back. Captain Sherriff being killed, Lieutenant Muir assumed command,
and soon after, the ships separated, and the Revanche made sail and escaped. The
Curieux lost, besides her commander, seven killed and 14 wounded.
Some record should be made of the spirited manner in which Lieutenant Drury, of
the Hydra, 38, with 50 seamen and marines, cut out, under a heavy fire, three polacres
which lay in the harbour of Begur, on the coast of Catalonia. The party first landed
and captured a battery, manned by French soldiers, and mounting four 24-pounders,
and then boarded the vessels and brought them out, for which act of gallantry
Lieutenant Drury was promoted.
Captain Clavell, of the brig Weasel, of 18 guns and 120 men, was enabled to
render an important service to his country at this time. After the treaty of Tilsit,
the Eussians surrendered Corfu to the French, who sent a detachment to take
possession. But the Weasel, when cruising off the island, encountered three vessels,
on which she fired, when they ran upon the rocks, and three others in the offing
she captured, on board of which were found 250 French soldiers. Destroying one of
these, she set sail for Malta with the two remaining, and brought them to
Valetta. A gallant exploit was performed in the West Indies by the packet Windsor Castle,
Commander Eogers, of eight guns and 28 men and boys, in capturing a French
privateer, mounting seven guns of larger calibre, and having a crew of 92 men, after
an action, the desperate nature of which was attested by the losses on both sides.
Having defeated an attempt of the enemy to board, Captain Eogers in turn sprang
on the privateer's deck and forced her to surrender. His own loss Was three killed
and 10 severely wounded, and that of the enemy, 21 and 33 respectively. Few equally
intrepid actions were recorded in this war, and none more meritorious.
i2

CHAPTEE III.
The Naval Situation in Europe in 1808— Capture of the Eussian seventy-four Sewolod— Action between the San
Fiorenzo and Piemontaise— Services of the Navy on the Coasts of Norway and Denmark— Death of Captain
Conway Shipley— Some Cutting-out Expeditions and Boat Actions— The Seahorse and Turkish Frigate—
The Semillante and Terpsichore— Fighting in Danish Waters— The Amethyst with the Thtis and Niemen—
Destruction of French Ships in Aix Eoads by Lord Cochrane— The Expedition to the Scheldt— Frigate A ctions
in 1809— The Spartan with a Squadron off Naples— Boat Actions in the Adriatic, and with Danish and
Eussian Gunboats— Loss of the Junon— Capture of French Colonies— Death of Lord Collingwood— Frigate
Actions in 1810— Eepulse at Palermo— Loss of three Indiamen— Captain Willoughby at Jacleot — Capture
of Reunion and Isle de la Passe — Loss of Four Frigates off Grand Port, in Mauritius — Loss of the Africaine
and Ceylon, and Eecovery of the latter — Capture of Mauritius and Amboyna — Captain Cole at Banda-Neira
—Actions with the Boulogne Flotilla and on the Coast of Holland— Defeat of the Danish Expedition to Anhalt —
Loss of the St. George, Defence, and Hero — Captain Hoste's Victory off Lissa— Action between Single Ships in
1811 — Capture, of the Pomone — Action off Madagascar — Capture of Java — Frigate Actionin 1812-14 — Capture of
the Rivoli and French Frigates — Conclusion of the War.
"VfOTWITHSTANDING the losses experienced by the French fleet at Trafalgar,
' and, since that great battle, in the numerous disasters they had suffered, so great
were the exertions of the French Emperor that, early in 1808, his fleet consisted of
upwards of eighty ships-of-the-line. For the service of the year the House of
Commons voted supplies exceeding 18 millions, including pay and maintenance for
98,600 seamen and 31,400 marines, which numbers were increased, in 1809, by
the addition of 15,000 seamen. Profiting by the temporary absence of Sir Eichard
Strachan's blockading squadron, Admiral Allemand escaped, with five sail-of-the-line,
from Eochefort, and arrived at Toulon, whence, on the 7th February, Admiral
Ganteaume sailed, with ten battleships and three frigates, for Corfu, and having
succeeded in eluding Lord Collingwood, who went in search of him, cruised along
the coast of Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia, and cast anchor in Toulon Eoads on the
10 th April.
Lord Collingwood now sailed for Gibraltar and Cadiz, to assist the Spanish patriots,
who had thrown off the yoke of Napoleon's brother, Joseph, and one of his first
efforts was to compel the surrender of Admiral Eosilly's squadron of five sail-of-the-
line and a corvette, which had been long shut up in Cadiz by the British fleet;
The latter, hitherto so persistent and implacable an enemy, was now welcomed
in all the ports of the Peninsula as a deliverer, and the British officers and

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 57
seamen exerted their energies to drive the French oat of the seaports of Spain.
Portugal soon followed the example of her neighbour, and then commenced the great
war in the Peninsula, which, begun at Eoleia and Yimiero, was only ended at Yittoria
and the battle of the Pyrenees by the immortal military genius this country was so
fortunate as to possess in this crisis of European affairs. In landing the British
troops, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, and in the subsequent operations, Admiral Sir
Charles Cotton was of great service, and, by one of the terms of the convention of
Cintra, which was due to his insistance, the Eussian squadron, of nine sail-of-the-line
and one frigate, lying in the Tagus, was made over to the British Admiral, and
their crews conveyed to Eussia.
The conclusion of the treaty of Tilsit, between the Czar Alexander and the
Emperor Napoleon, had been followed by a declaration of war, and as this involved
Eussian hostility towards Sweden, Sir James Saumarez, with his flag in the Victory,
and having as his rear-admirals Sir Samuel Hood and Sir Eichard Eeats, sailed for
the Baltic, with eight seventy-fours, two 64-gun ships, and five frigates. Sir Samuel
Hood, having his flag in the Centaur, 74, with the Implacable, of the same force,
commanded by Captain Byam Martin, was in company with the Swedish fleet of
ten sail and five frigates, when he sighted and gave chase to a Eussian squadron of
nine sail and eight frigates. The British ships outsailed their consorts, and the
Implacable succeeded in overhauling and bringing to action the Sewolod, 74, which
she compelled to strike, after a brisk action of less than half an hour. But the
Eussian admiral bore up to her assistance, and the Implacable was obliged to sheer
off. A Eussian frigate took the Sewolod in tow, but was compelled by the two
British ships to cast her off, when the Centaur ran her on board, and raked her
with terrible effect, as the bows of the Eussian seventy-four swept along her star
board side. The Sewolod 's bowsprit was now lashed to the Centaur's mizen-rigging,
and at length, after a gallant defence, and the Implacable having ranged up to within
300 yards, she struck her colours. During this double duel the Implacable had six
killed and 25 wounded, the Centaur three and 27, including among the latter her
first lieutenant, and the Sewolod lost no less than 48 killed and 80 wounded in the
first action, and had 180 casualties in the second. The prize having taken the ground,
and all efforts to bring her off being unsuccessful, she was set on fire and destroyed.
Eear-Admiral Eeats, a most capable officer, also rendered distinguished service
at this time by the measures he adopted to ensure the neutrality of the Danish town

58 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
and forts at Nyborg, in the island of Funen, while he effected the embarkation of
6,000 Spanish troops stationed here, and 4,000 in Jutland, who were desirous of
quitting the service of Napoleon, and returning to their native land.
The most remarkable frigate action during the year 1808, was that between the San
Fiorenzo, Captain Hardinge, of 40 guns and 186 men, and the Piemontaise, carrying
46 guns and a crew of 366, besides 200 Lascars to work the sails. This was the
same ship that nearly two years before had captured, after a desperate and protracted
resistance, the Indiaman Warren Hastings, but her officers and crew found more than
their match when engaged with a man-of-war of inferior strength. At the time she
was sighted by the British frigate, the Piemontaise was engaged in the congenial task
of chasing, off the coast of Ceylon, some Indiamen, but now she abandoned her
anticipated prey and made sail to escape. Shortly before midnight on the 6th March
the San Fiorenzo brought her to action, but within ten minutes she made sail to escape.
On the following morning she was overhauled by her persistent adversary, who again
brought her to action. At the end of two hours the Piemontaise discontinued firing and
again sought to escape, leaving the British frigate so much cut up aloft as to be in no
condition to give chase.
The San Fiorenzo, having repaired damages, made sail in pursuit, but lost sight of
the enemy, though at daybreak on the morning of the 8th March, she was once more
seen about four leagues distant. The San Fiorenzo gave chase, and, owing to her
superior sailing qualities, was able to force her unwilling opponent to accept the
gage of battle. At 4 p.m. the frigates, passing on opposite tacks, opened fire at a
range of eighty yards. By the second broadside the gallant Captain Hardinge, who has
before been mentioned in these pages, was killed, when the command devolved upon
Lieutenant Dawson, who continued the action for an hour and fifty minutes, when the
Piemontaise — having her rigging and sails cut to pieces, and her three masts and
bowsprit badly wounded, with a great proportion of her crew hors de combat — hauled
down her colours.
The total British loss during the three days was 13 killed and 25 wounded,
including one lieutenant severely. The victory was, however, dearly purchased by
the death of her captain, a truly chivalrous and heroic officer, who, though young in
years, had given promise of great professional distinction. The Piemontaise had
48 killed and 112 wounded, including some of the Lascars, who were of no account
as fighting men. Soon after the action the three masts of the prize went over

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 59
the side, and in this helpless state she was towed to Colombo, where the remains of
Captain Hardinge received interment.
Good service was rendered on the coast of Spain by the Emerald, under her first
lieutenant, Bertram, in capturing and destroying a French schooner of eight guns and
70 men, but the duty was not performed without considerable loss, the Emerald having
nine men killed and 15 wounded, including four officers, of whom one was Lieutenant
Bertram. The Childers, Commander Dillon, carrying 14 twelve-pounder carronades and
65 men, gallantly engaged, off the Norwegian coast, and beat off the Danish 20-gun
brig Lougen, with a crew of 160 men, but a few months later the latter succeeded
in capturing, after a prolonged resistance, the Seagull, Commander Cathcart, a brig of
16 guns and 94 men. In effecting this the Lougen was materially assisted by six
Danish gunboats, each armed with two long 24-pounders, which, taking up a raking
position on each quarter, were enabled, owing to a calm, to use their guns with great
effect. The Seagull, when she hauled down her flag, had five feet of water in her hold,
and sank soon after. Her loss was a lieutenant, master, and six men killed, and her
captain (severely), first lieutenant (dangerously), and 18 men wounded. Both Com
manders Dillon and Cathcart received promotion to post-rank for the gallantry they had
displayed, though in the case of the latter officer it was without avail.
In these waters also, the British 64-gun ships Stately, Captain Eobert Parker, and
Nassau, Captain Campbell, chased, and forced to strike, a Danish seventy- four, but she
grounded at the close of the action, and as the breeze was freshening, and they could
not get her afloat, she was set on fire and destroyed. The loss of the two British ships
was only five killed and 45 wounded, and that of the enemy 55 killed and 88
wounded, out of a complement of 576. Excellent service was also performed by five
boats of the Daphne and Tartarus, under the command of Lieutenant Elliott, and by
the boats of the Falcon, commanded by Mr. Ellerton, master, in cutting out and
destroying numerous Danish craft, lying under the protection of batteries.
The 32-gun frigate Tartar, Captain Bettesworth, attempted an attack on the town
and batteries of Bergen, in Holland, but, owing to the wind having fallen light,
she became exposed to a heavy fire from some gunboats and shore guns, without at first
being able to return it, during which her gallant commander and a promising young
midshipman were killed. The Dutch frigate Guelderland, the object of the Tartar's
search, was, a few days later, sighted by the 38-gun frigate Virginie, Captain Brace,
which brought her to action one dark night, and at the end of an hour and a half,

60 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
having shot away her masts, forced her to haul down her colours, with the loss of 25
killed and 50 wounded.
In another quarter, on the Spanish coast, near Cadiz, the Alceste, 38, Captain
Maxwell, Mercury, 28, Captain Gordon, and 18-gun brig Grasshopper, Commander
Searle, stood in shore and attacked about twenty gunboats, convoying some vessels
and a train of artillery on the shore, and the brig especially displayed daring in standing
close in and engaging some batteries. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Stewart, of the A Iceste,
made a dash for the convoy with the boats of the two frigates, and brought out seven
tartans from under the muzzles of the guns. A few weeks later, the gallant com
mander of the Grasshopper, who was accompanied by the 14-gun brig Rapid,
Lieutenant Baugh, chased two Spanish vessels, convoyed by four gunboats, which
took refuge under a battery near Faro, in Portugal. These enterprising officers
engaged and silenced the fort, captured two of the gunboats, drove the others ashore,
and took the vessels, whose cargoes were valued at £60,000.
Not equally fortunate was the attack made by Captain Conway Shipley — with eight
boats from his own ship, the Nymphe, 36, and 18-gun sloop, Blossom, containing about
150 officers and men — on the large brig Garrota, of 20 guns and a French crew of 150
men, lying within pistol-shot of the guns of Belem Castle on the Tagus. It was about
2.30 in the morning that, with a strong ebb tide against them, the Nymphe' s gig, with
Captain Shipley on board, was the first to get alongside the brig, which was fully pre
pared to give them a warm reception. This daring officer, springing into the fore-rigging,
was in the act of cutting away the boarding netting, when he received a musket-ball in
the forehead, and fell dead into the water. By some mischance, the boats boarding on
this, the port, side, fell foul of each other, and were swept astern by the tide, running
seven knots an hour, owing to the freshets ; and as the boats of Captain Pigott's division
could not make headway, the enterprise was abandoned.
The next affair we have to chronicle was distinctly discreditable to the British crew
concerned. The 18-gun brig, Carnation, Commander Gregory, having brought to action
in the West Indies the Palinurc, of 16 guns, fell on board her, but owing to Commander
Gregory and most of his officers being killed, no attempt was made to carry her by
boarding. Encouraged by this lack of enterprise, the French took the offensive, and
soon the Carnation became the prize of the Palinure, having lost, besides her captain,
the master, purser, and eight men killed, and 30 wounded (15 mortally), including
both her lieutenants (severely). A portion of the crew, though called upon by the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 61
boatswain, now in command, refused to support him, and were subsequently tried by
court-martial at Martinique, when 32 seamen and marines were convicted of cowardice,
and sentenced to fourteen years' transportation to Botany Bay, and a sergeant of marines
Was hanged at the yard-arm. It was seldom, indeed, in the annals of our Navy that so
disgraceful a charge was brought home to British seamen, and the punishment was exem
plary. The Palinure was captured a few weeks later by the 32-gun frigate Circe, Cap
tain Pigot, after a gallant resistance, in which, out of her surviving crew of 79 men,
she lost seven killed and eight wounded.
About the same time the French 14-gun brig, Pilade, was captured by the Pompee,
74. Both these cruisers had, before these events, been engaged by the British 18-gun
sloop Goree, and 12-gun brig Superieure, but without result, though the enemy lost
on that occasion eight killed and 21 wounded. Excellent service was performed by
the 16-gun brig Wizard, Commander Ferris, in engaging the Requin, of the same force,
and chasing her for 88 hours, during which the vessels covered a distance of 369 miles,
until the French brig took refuge under Port Goletta, in Tunis. The Bacchante and
Griffin rendered good service, and also the 36-gun frigate Unite, in the Gulf of Yenice,
where she captured an Italian 16-gun corvette and two brigs, which lost heavily, and
drove a third ashore. The two taken were added to the Navy. Captain Hoste, of
the Amphion, 32, also displayed marked enterprise in attacking the French store-
ship Baleine, armed with 26 guns, as she lay at anchor in the Bay of Eosas, under the
protection of some batteries which kept up a hot fire on the frigate. Again, the boats
of the 22 -gun ship Porcupine cut out two large polacres on the coast near Civita
Yecchia, and drove a third ashore. These services were not effected without some loss,
and Lieutenant Price, in command of the boats, received promotion, and Lieutenant
Smith was favourably mentioned.
A more extended notice is due to the gallantry with which Captain Stewart, of the
Seahorse, of 42 guns and 251 men, engaged the Turkish frigate Badere Zaffer, carrying
52 guns and 543 men, which was accompanied by the AliFezan, of 26 guns and 230 men.
The former sought to board the British frigate, which Captain Stewart prevented by the
smart handling of his ship. The small Turkish frigate, now interposing, came in for a
share of Captain Stewart's attention, and a broadside, poured in at close range, played
havoc on her decks, when she made off from the scene of conflict, and the Seahorse
was left alone to deal with her more formidable adversary. Again the Turkish crew
attempted to board the British frigate, which, shooting ahead, brushed against her jib-
VOL. III. K

62 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
boom and bowsprit, and poured a tremendous discharge of grape from her stern- chase
guns, which cleared her forecastle, crowded with the boarding party. Thus the action
went on all night, until the guns of the Badere Zaffer were reduced to silence. But
her captain, made no sign of submission, and with daylight Captain Stewart ranged up
under her stern and poured in a broadside. Finally the Moslem commander was
compelled to haul down his colours from the stump of the mizen-mast, and the ship
was boarded and taken possession of. The decks presented a dreadful scene of carnage,
no less than 170 of her crew having been killed, and 200 wounded, while her mizen-
mast and fore and main-topmasts had been shot away and she was much shattered.
The Seahorse, on the other hand, had only experienced a loss of 15 men, of whom five
were slain. In January of the following year (1809), peace was restored between
England and Turkey.
Some notice must now be directed to the East Indies, where the Semillante, the
remaining one of Admiral Linois' squadron when he returned to France two years before,
was blockaded in Mauritius, by the British frigate Pitt, 36 (afterwards called the
Salsette), Captain Bathurst, (who fell at Navarino nearly twenty years later), and the
Terpsichore, 38. Early in 1806 the latter parted company, and steered for Ceylon,
and the Semillante, accompanied by the Bellone, privateer, put to sea. They were
chased by the Pitt, but eluded her, and after a cruise, in which they made prizes of some
merchantmen, Captain Motard regained Port Louis in safety. After completing repairs
the Semillante again set sail, accompanied by the Bellone and another privateer, the
Henrietta — both of which were soon afterwards captured by English cruisers— and
took eight merchant-ships, with cargoes valued at a million and a quarter sterling.
During the following year (1807) the Semillante was scarcely less fortunate, having
captured three richly-laden vessels on the way to China, and, as before, succeeded in
taking them in safety to Mauritius. In March, 1808, when cruising off Ceylon, she,
however, "caught a Tartar" in the Terpsichore, Captain Montagu, which was disguised
as a merchantman. The British frigate permitted her to approach within one hundred
yards, and then opened fire upon her, which, however, was not very effective, as, owing
to her age and weakness, she had left at Madras most of her upper-deck guns, so that at
this time she only mounted 26 twelve-pounders and two six-pounders. The Semillante
evaded every attempt of her antagonist to close, and at length she made sail, having
reduced her to a condition of helplessness, her rigging and sails being cut to pieces, and
all her masts badly wounded. But the persevering officers and men of the Terpsichore

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 63
so smartly repaired damages that a day or two later they again sighted the enemy.
After five days' chase, the action was renewed, but the crew of the Semillante, by
throwing overboard some of her guns, and otherwise lightening her, managed to
distance their pursuer.
During the fighting, but chiefly owing to an explosion caused by some combustibles
thrown by the enemy when at close quarters, the Terpsichore lost, out of 180 men, one
lieutenant and 20 men killed and 22 wounded. The loss of the Semillante, which
mounted 40 guns and had a crew of 300 men, is not known, but Captain Motard, a
most enterprising officer so far as preying on an enemy's commerce was concerned,
was severely wounded. Having repaired damages, she embarked a cargo valued at
seven millions of francs, and with the good fortune she had always experienced, in
February, 1809, managed to enter a French port in safety.
The French naval commanders at Mauritius were not equally chary of engaging a
foe when the odds were much in their favour, as was proved when the Canonniere
(formerly a British frigate), of 48 guns and 526 men, including 70 soldiers from the
garrison, stood out of Port Louis harbour to engage the Laurel, a small vessel not half
her tonnage, carrying 30 light guns and a crew of 144 men. Though Commander
Woollcombe accepted the challenge, the disparity was too great for him to hope for
success, and the Laurel struck her flag when she was in a helpless condition from the
enemy's superior fire. On the 12th April, 1810, this ship, renamed the Esperance,
while on her way home from Mauritius with a valuable cargo of colonial produce, was
encountered off the French coast by the 32-gun frigate Unicorn, Captain Eerr, when
she struck her colours, and was restored to the Navy list.
Not less gallant and unsuccessful than the resistance offered by the Laurel, was that
of the French corvette Jena, of 18 guns and 150 men, which was engaged off the
Sandheads by the 36-gun frigate Modeste, Captain Hon. George Elliot, and for an
hour sustained the superior fire of her conqueror. The Jena was purchased into the
Navy as the Victor, but she was subsequently retaken. The Canonniere, armed with
14 guns, and laden with a cargo valued at £150,000, sailed from Mauritius for Europe
towards the end of 1809, and on the following 3rd February, when close to Belleisle,
on the coast of France, was sighted by the Valiant, 74, Captain Bligh. After a seven
hours' chase the Valiant overhauled the ship, now renamed the Confiance, when she
hauled down her colours.
In Europe some loss was occasioned by the Danish gunboats, which, since the sur-
k 2

64 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
render of the ships-of-the-line in the previous year, represented their navy.
Some of these craft would surround British convoys, in Danish waters, during
calm weather, when the small men-of-war escorting them were almost helpless.
On one occasion, the Tickler, gun-brig, was captured after a stubborn resistance,
during which, out of 50 men, she had 14 killed and 22 wounded, and the gun-brig
Tigress was taken by sixteen gun- vessels, and the Turbulent by another flotilla. The
\8-gun brig Cruiser, Lieutenant Wells, however, beat off twenty armed boats and
gun-vessels, for which that officer received promotion, and a fortnight later, the Africa,
64, Captain Barrett, with the greatest difficulty succeeded in repulsing a flotilla
of twenty-five large gun and mortar boats, and seven armed launches, the whole
carrying 80 heavy guns and 1,600 men. The engagement lasted from three till
nearly seven, when darkness put an end to the conflict, but it is allowed that
had there been two hours' more calm and daylight, the Africa must have either
surrendered or been sunk. As it was, she had nine men killed, and the captain, five
officers, and 47 men wounded.
There were few more brilliant actions in the war than those in which Captain
Michael Seymour, commanding the Amethyst, of 42 guns and 261 men, captured the
French frigates Thetis and Niemen, of superior force. It was on the 10th November,
1808, that the Thetis was sighted near Lorient, when all sail was made in chase. The
action commenced at 9.15 in the evening, and the two ships engaged in close con
flict, broadside to broadside. In attempting to cross her opponent's bows, in order
to rake her, the Thetis fell on board, but the ships soon separated, and, shortly
after, the Amethyst succeeded in raking the enemy. An hour and a quarter after the
commencement of the action, both ships lost their mizenmasts, and about eleven, the
Thetis, having suffered terribly from her opponent's fire, endeavoured to board, but
was received with such deadly broadsides that she gave up the attempt. Locked
in a close embrace, the action was continued until about twenty minutes past mid
night, when the enemy's fire, having been completely silenced, the men of the Amethyst
boarded and took possession. Soon after this event both the remaining masts of the
prize went over the side, and on the arrival of the Triumph, 74, and Shannon, 38,
Captain Broke, the latter took her in tow. At the close of the action the British
frigate was so pierced by shot-holes that she had three and a half feet of water in her
hold, and her loss was a marine officer and 18 seamen and marines killed, and five
officers (one mortally) and 44 men wounded. The Thetis was much shattered in her

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 65
hull, besides losing all her masts, and out of a crew of 436, had her captain and no
fewer than 134 men killed, and 102 wounded.
The high state of discipline to which Captain Seymour — a famous name in our naval
annals — had brought his crew, and their skill in gunnery, received on the 12th April
in the following year a further illustration. On that day the Amethyst engaged the
Niemen, of 46 guns and 339 men. The chase lasted all day, and about half an hour
before midnight, having arrived sufficiently close to the French frigate, Captain Seymour
opened fire with his bow-chasers. Gradually the two frigates neared each other,
and about 1.45 a.m. the Amethyst ranged close alongside, and, exchanging broadsides,
passed ahead, bore up, and raked the Niemen, then bracing sharp up on her lee bow.
An hour after, the two ships fell on board each other, but, shaking herself clear, the
Amethyst got on her adversary's weather beam. The Niemen lost her mizenmast and
maintopmast, when she ceased firing, as did also the British frigate, and soon after
wards, the latter carried away her mizen and main masts, and the Niemen' s mainmast
also went by the board.
Unfortunately at this time the British frigate Arethusa came up, and the Niemen,
after receiving a few rounds from the new arrival, struck her flag to her, but she was
fairly the prize of the Amethyst. At the time of the action the latter had a crew
of only 222 men and boys, of whom she lost eight killed, and two marine officers, the
boatswain, and 34 men wounded. The Niemen, which was much cut up in her hull,
lost 47 killed and 73 wounded, and her remaining mast went over the side on the day
following her capture. Both the Thetis and Niemen were purchased into the Navy,
the former under the name of Brune, and Captain Seymour received a baronetcy, while
his first lieutenants in both actions were promoted.
During the year 1808, Lord Cochrane, then in command of the ImpSrieuse, rendered
admirable service on the coast of Catalonia in harassing the French ; and his repulse of
an assault made by them on Fort Trinidad, one of the defences of Eosas, in the north
east corner of Spain, was a very brilliant exploit. A detachment of seamen and marines
from the 74-gun ships Excellent and Fame, who temporarily garrisoned the citadel of
Eosas, also served with credit and repulsed the enemy. In the West Indies the small
islands of Marie Galante and De'sirade, lying close to Guadaloupe, were captured by
a small squadron under Captain Selby, of the Cerberus. On the other hand, the boats
of the Wanderer, 18, and two British schooners, suffered a disastrous repulse when
attempting, with an insufficient force, to storm the fort on the island of St. Martin,

66 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
when Lieutenant Spearing was killed, together with six men, and 30 others were
wounded. In July, 1809, Commodore Beresford, with the Ccesar, 80, the 74-gun ships Defiance
and Donegal, and the Amelia, 38, engaged three 40 -gun frigates, which had taken shelter
under the batteries at Sable d'Olonne, and forced them to cut their cables and run ashore,
where they were wrecked, having lost in the action 24 killed and 51 wounded.
A French squadron of nine line-of-battle ships and four frigates, lying in the roads of
Isle d'Aix, was blockaded by Admiral Stopford with eight ships, until the arrival of
Lord Gambier, who assumed command, having under his orders eleven sail, besides
frigates and small vessels. It was determined to make an attempt, from hisanchorage in
Basque Eoads, to destroy the enemy's squadron by fireships, and Lord Cochrane, still in
command of the 38-gun frigate Imperieuse, was selected to undertake the hazardous duty.
His lordship joined the British commander-in-chief on the 3rd April, and immediately
eight transports, of the thirty then in company, and the Mediator, storeship, were fitted
as fireships, and three explosion vessels were also prepared under his immediate
inspection. A week after his arrival twelve fireships arrived from the Downs, and these,
together with the Etna, bomb-vessel, were placed under Lord Cochrane's orders, and also
a squadron of six frigates and twelve smaller vessels. The British fleet of eleven sail-
of-the-line lay some eight or nine miles distant from the French squadron, ready to
co-operate if necessary, though the assistance they actually afforded was nil.
Admiral Allemand anchored his ships in two lines, about 250 yards apart, the van
ship distant about 640 yards from the southern extremity of Isle d'Aix, where were
some batteries, while further protection was afforded by a formidable boom, half a mile
in length — composed of cables, 31^ inches in diameter, secured by anchors, weighing
five and a half tons, and flanked by buoys — which was thrown across the channel
leading from Basque to Aix Eoads.
On the night of the 11th April, at 8.30, the Mediator and the other fireships
cut their cables and made sail, and two out of the three explosion vessels, one * con
ducted by Lord Cochrane in person, assisted by Lieutenant Bissell and four seamen,
proceeded towards the roads of Isle d'Aix. These two vessels were ignited within less
than three-quarters of a mile of the French line, and several fireships were ignited
and abandoned prematurely, but others were admirably conducted, especially the Mediator.
* This vessel carried 1,500 barrels of gunpowder, with between 300 and 400 shells and thousands of hand
grenades.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 67
This ship, the largest and heaviest of the number, broke the boom, and Captain
Wooldridge was so determined to do his duty effectually that he was severely scorched,
and all nearly perished by the explosion. Five or six other fireships were properly
employed, being towed to the attack by boats, the crews of which displayed great daring.
The frigates lying nearest within the boom immediately cut their cables, and, .making
sail, fell back within the enemy's line, which had opened fire upon the fireships. The
Regulus, 74, and Ocean, 120, which were the first ships grappled by these craft, cut
their cables, and though the former escaped with slight damage, the three-decker ran
aground, and was again assailed by a fireship, when the flames spread to her, notwith
standing every effort of the crew.
At this time, says the writer of a letter on board Admiral Allemand's flagship,
quoted by James, the line-of-battle ships, Tonnerre and Patriote, fell on board her. At
length they succeeded in booming off the fireship, and on another coming towards
them, they opened fire, cutting away her mainmast and compelling her to sheer off.
The Ocean lost about 50 men, and the Cassard had five killed and 15 mortally
wounded by a shot from one of the fireships. The latter, and all the French
fleet, except the Foudroyant, cut their cables, and by midnight, when the scene was of
surpassing grandeur, the sky being reddened by the flames, and the darkness lit by
the discharges of the guns, the whole of the remaining thirteen ships were aground.
When daylight broke, the Ocean was seen lying in the mud: About 500 yards from
her lay the Varsovie, 80, and Aquilon, 74, on a rocky bed, and close by them, the 74-gun
ships Regulus and Jemappes. The Tonnerre, 74, had thrown her guns overboard, and cut
away her mainmast to get afloat, but was bilged, and the Patriote, Tourville and Calcutta
(a captured Indiaman) lay in the mud, and the four frigates were also ashore. The
French ships, therefore, though not actually lost, were helpless, and could have been
destroyed had Lord Cochrane's proposals to Lord Gambier been adopted. That enter
prising officer communicated to the Commander-in-chief their condition, and signalled to
the Caledonia, flagship, " Eleven on shore, only two afloat," and again, "Half the fleet
can destroy the enemy." But Lord Gambier lost precious time, and then weighed, only to
re-anchor again before noon, about six miles from the grounded ships. He then sent
the Etna, bomb, covered by three gun-brigs, to bombard the enemy's fleet, when the
Foudroyant and Cassard, the only ships still afloat, cut their cables, and made sail
for the Charente, but both took the ground on the shoal at its entrance. Aided by the
flood tide, one of them succeeded, by dint of great exertions, and throwing overboard

68 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
quantities of guns and stores, in getting afloat, and Lord Cochrane, despairing of receiving
assistance from his chief, without orders got under weigh in the Imperieuse, and made sail
towards the Calcutta, Varsovie and Aquilon, which were striving to join their consorts.
In order to force the admiral to co-operate, he hoisted the signal, " The ship is in distress
and requires to be assisted immediately," and, standing on, at two o'clock, anchored on
the starboard quarter of the Calcutta, and opened fire on her, and also occasionally on
the Varsovie and Aquilon.
Lord Gambier thereupon despatched the frigates Pallas, Indefatigable, Aigle,
Emerald and Unicorn, to his assistance, and later, the seventy-fours, Valiant and Revenge.
Before these ships came up, the Calcutta ceased firing, and the crew abandoned her,
when the two French seventy-fours, after sustaining for some time the fire of the British
ships, to which they were only able to reply from their stern- chase guns, hauled down
their colours. Soon after, the Calcutta blew up, as did also the Tonnerre, which had
been set on fire by her crew on quitting her. The only English ships to suffer were the
Imperieuse, which had three killed, and two officers and nine wounded, besides being
a good deal cut up, and the Revenge, which had 18 casualties, chiefly from the fire of the
batteries on Isle d'Aix. The greatest sufferer of the enemy's ships was the Varsovie,
which lost 100 men, and the captain of the Aquilon was killed by a round-shot, while
sitting in the boat beside Lord Cochrane, from one of the Tonnerre' s guns which acci
dentally went off.
In order to destroy the Ocean and four other ships-of-the-line which were lying
aground at the entrance of the Charente, three transports were hastily converted into
frigates, and Admiral Stopford, in the Ccesar, with these in company, stood towards
them. But the Ccesar grounded, and as the wind was unfavourable, about two in the
morning of the 13th, Admiral Stopford made sail to return, and nothing was done
beyond setting fire to the Aquilon and Varsovie, both of which were destroyed. Lord
Cochrane remained with the Pallas, Captain George Seymour, when the admiral, with
the ships-of-the-line, made sail from Little Basque Eoads, and despatched the Etna and
the gun-brigs to attack the four ships aground, which they did, the Beagle especially
displaying gallantry in the manner she brought her fire to bear on the Ocean, which could
only reply from her stern-chasers ; but on the tide falling, they all returned to their
anchorage, which the Imperieuse and Pallas were unable to leave in order to assist them,
owing to the velocity of the tide and the direction of the wind. Lord Cochrane remained
where he was, in the hope of having an opportunity to attempt the destruction of the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 69
grounded ships, but in compliance with orders from Lord Gambier, his lordship, on the
afternoon of the 14th, rejoined the British fleet in Basque Eoads, and, on the following
day, sailed for England. As for the French ships aground, the Ocean, on the 16th,
managed, by throwing overboard all her guns, and also the Cassard, to get up the
Charente. The Indienne, 40-gun frigate, being immovable, was blown up by her
commander, and, ultimately, the Foudroyant, 80, and seventy-fours, Tourville and Regulus,
were got afloat and joined their consorts at Eochefort.
Lord Cochrane received the Order of the Bath for the great services he had rendered,
but he intimated to Lord Mulgrave, the First Lord of the Admiralty, that he should
oppose from his place in Parliament any vote of thanks to Lord Gambier, whereupon
the latter applied for a court-martial. This was given him, with the result that the
court not only acquitted him of the charge of " neglect or delay in taking effective
measures to destroy the enemy's ships on shore," but added that his conduct " was
marked by zeal, judgment, ability, and an anxious attention to the welfare of his
Majesty's service." This verdict was not supported by public opinion, or by the
majority of the naval profession, and it would seem that Lord Gambier displayed
anything but zeal or enterprise in the destruction of the French ships aground.*
Cochrane alone was entitled to credit for the results obtained by the insufficient means
placed at his disposal, and the destruction of three French ships-of-the-line and the
Calcutta, armed en flute, by the gallant captain of the Imperieuse, was a very brilliant
exploit, while the conduct of Commander Wooldridge, in the Mediator, displayed
coolness and courage of a high order. The vote of thanks to Lord Gambier was
carried in the House of Commons by 161 votes to 39, and without a division.
The captains of some of the French ships were tried by court-martial, with the
following results : — The commanding officer of the Tonnerre was acquitted, of the
Tourville, sentenced to two years' imprisonment and to be cashiered, of the Indienne to
three months' confinement, and the captain of the Calcutta was condemned to death,
and suffered execution on board the Ocean.
* What the opinion of Napoleon was may be gathered from O'Meara's " Napoleon in Exile," when the ex-emperor
said : — " Lord Cochrane could not only have destroyed them, but he might and would have taken them out had
your admiral supported hirn as he ought to have done. For in consequence of the signal made by Allemand
to the ships to do the best in their power to save themselves, they became panic-struck and cut their cables. The
terror of the brulots (fireships) was so great that they actually threw their powder overboard, so that they could have
offered very little resistance. The French admiral was an imbecile, but yours was just as bad. I assure you that,
if Cochrane had been supported, he would have taken every one of the ships. They ought not to have been alarmed
by your brulot', but fear deprived them of their senses, and they no longer knew how to act in their own defence.''
VOL. III. L

70 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
In May the British Government despatched an expedition to Walcheren, which
came to an unfortunate termination, owing to the fever which decimated the army.
The naval portion consisted of thirty-seven sail-of-the-line, with over two hundred other
vessels of war, and four hundred transports. The primary object was the destruction
of the enemy's ships in the Scheldt, consisting of ten seventy-fours ready for sea, besides
those building at Antwerp, and also of the dockyards and arsenals there and at Flush
ing, which had been ceded by Louis, Eing of Holland, to his brother the French
emperor. The operations that ensued were conducted almost entirely by the army, but a
squadron of seven seventy-fours, under Sir Eichard Strachan, and several bomb-vessels
and gunboats, assisted by their fire in reducing the defences of Flushing, which sur
rendered on the 15th August, and was the only success attained in this unfortunate
campaign. A brigade of seamen from the fleet also served in the shore batteries at the
bombardment of Flushing. The conduct of operations was not remarkable for
either audacity or celerity, as may be gathered from the famous epigram descriptive
of the action of the military and naval commanders,
" The Earl of Chatham, with his sword drawn, stood waiting for Sir Eichard Strachan ;
Sir Eichard, longing to be at 'em, stood waiting for the Earl of Chatham."
The year 1809 was almost uneventful as regards any important successes achieved
by the Navy, but in the Mediterranean, where Lord Collingwood continued to hold the
command, Eear- Admiral Martin, when chasing some ships and transports, despatched
from Toulon to throw supplies into Barcelona, drove ashore the Robuste, 80, flagship of
Eear- Admiral Baudin, and the Lion, 74, which were abandoned by their crews and set on
fire and destroyed. To effect the capture of eleven transports and armed vessels, which
had taken shelter under the batteries in the Bay of Eosas, Lord Collingwood sent Captain
Hallowell with the seventy-fours, Tigre and Cumberland, the frigates Volontaire, Apollo,
and Topaze, and the brigs Philomel, Scout, and Tuscan. Under the orders of Lieutenant
Tailour, of the Tigre, the boats pushed off and, with cheers, boarded and, notwithstanding
a heavy fire, succeeded in capturing the whole of the eleven vessels, which were either
brought off or burnt at their moorings. The British loss in effecting this gallantly
executed service, was 15 killed, including one lieutenant and a master's mate, and 55
wounded, among whom were the gallant Tailour, who received his well-earned promotion,
four lieutenants and three midshipmen. The islands of Zante, Cephalonia, and Ithaca,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 71
of the Ionian group, surrendered without opposition to a combined British military and
naval force, Corfu having previously been wrested from the French.
As in previous years, some gallant services were rendered by ships and boats in
action with the enemy. The brig Onyx, of 10 guns and 75 men, captured, after a
spirited action, the Dutch brig Manly, of 12 guns and 94 men, and the prize, which
formerly belonged to the British Navy, was restored to the service, while both Com
mander Gill and Lieutenant Garrett, first of the Onyx, received promotion. Near the
Texel, the Aimable, 32, Lord George Stuart, took the French corvette Iris, of 24 guns
and 140 men, after a brief running fight, and she also was purchased into the service
under the name of Rainbow. The 38-gun frigate Loire captured the Helen, of 20 guns and
160 men, after a close action of twenty minutes ; and in the West Indies, the Cleopatra,
32, Captain Pechell, Jason, 38, Captain Maude, and Hazard, 18, Commander Cameron,
after a chase, drove the Topaze, 40, to take shelter under a battery in Guadaloupe. Here
she was closely attacked by the Jason and Cleopatra, the Hazard engaging the battery,
and was compelled to haul down her colours, having sustained a loss of 12 killed and 14
wounded, out of a complement, including 100 soldiers, of about 430 men. She also was
added to the Navy, under the name of Alcmene. The French frigate Junon, 46, when
chased by the Latona, 38, and brig Superieure, carrying then only four guns, found
herself confronted by the Horatio, 46, Captain Scott, which brought her to action.
Eunning alongside of the enemy, the two frigates became closely engaged, but the
Junon — having disabled her adversary aloft by her fire, by which also the captain
and first lieutenant were seriously wounded, when the command devolved on Lieutenant
Hon. G. Douglas — managed to shake off her adversary. But the Latona now came up,
and the 18-gun sloop Driver, when, finding escape impossible , and her masts having
gone over the side, the French frigate hauled down her colours. The Horatio, out of
270 hands, had one midshipman and six men killed, and besides her captain and first
lieutenant, the wounded included two other officers and 28 men wounded. The Junon
had 130 casualties, out of a crew numbering 323, including her gallant commander,
mortally wounded, and was added to the Navy list under her own name.
On the other hand, the service suffered a loss in the Proserpine, 32, Captain Otter,
which, cruising near Toulon, was captured by the 40-gun frigates Penelope and Pauline.
One frigate took up her station on the Proserpine's port, and the other on the starboard
quarter, and in half an hour their fire had reduced her to the condition of a wreck, so
that she had no option but to strike. Captain Otter remained a prisoner in France until
l2

72 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
the conclusion of the war in 1814, and on his release was tried by court-martial for the
loss of his ship, and honourably acquitted. But this ill fortune was more than counter
balanced by the capture of the D Haupoult, by a British squadron, after a long chase
off Martinique. The French seventy-four was in company with two others, which, with
three frigates, had managed to make their escape from Lorient, and when her consorts
eluded pursuit, was persistently chased by the Pompee, 74, Captain Fahie, with which
were the 18-gun brigs Recruit and Hazard. These latter she managed to shake off, but
the frigates Latona and Castor took up the pursuit, and the latter, engaging her, gave
time to the Pompee to come up, and eventually the French seventy-four, now a complete
wreck, hauled down her colours, after a running fight lasting fifty-five hours. The Pompee
lost her boatswain and eight men killed, and three officers, including her captain
and first lieutenant, and 27 wounded, and the Castor had seven casualties. The
D Haupoult, out of her complement of 680, had between 80 and 90 killed and wounded.
During the chase, Commander Charles Napier, of the Recruit, who earned great dis
tinction in the war and afterwards, specially distinguished himself by the pertinacity
with which he hung about the seventy-four, giving and receiving her fire at close
quarters ; and, in reward for his gallantry, Sir Alexander Cochrane, who had his flag on
the Neptune, 98, one of the chasing squadron, appointed him to the command of the
prize, which he commissioned under the name of the Abercromby.
At the same time the Felicite, of 14 guns and 174 men, when escaping from
Guadaloupe, was overhauled by the Latona, and struck her flag ; and her consort, the
Furieuse, mounting 20 guns, and having a crew of 200 men, was brought to action,
a few weeks later, by the sloop-of-war Bonne- Ciloyenne, of 20 guns and 127 men,
Commander Mounsey. The former was in the act of taking possession of a prize she
had made when sighted by the British sloop, which, after a chase lasting all night,
succeeded in getting alongside, and commenced the action at pistol-shot range. The
battle was furiously contested for nearly seven hours, both ships being greatly crippled
aloft, but at length, when the Bonne- Ciloyenne, having expended nearly all her powder,
had taken up a position athwart her hawse, with the intention of boarding, the Furieuse
hauled down her colours. The British ship, whose main and mizen masts went over
the side after the action, had only six casualties, but her antagonist, which had five
feet of water in her hold, and was dismasted, had 35 killed and 57 wounded, the
greater portion dangerously, including her captain, two lieutenants, and three mid
shipmen. She was navigated with difficulty to Halifax, and was bought into the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 73
Navy, and commissioned by Captain Mounsey, who was posted for his gallantry, and
his first lieutenant was also promoted.
Good service was rendered in the Gulf of Venice, off Pesaro, by Captain Jahleel
Brenton, with his ship, the Spartan, and the Amphion and Mercury, and by the boats
of the Scout, under Lieutenant Battersby, in capturing the fort of Carri, between
Marseilles and the Ehone, for which he was promoted. Not less gallant was Captain
Griffiths, of the Topaze, 36, in engaging two French frigates off Paxo, near Corfu, which
left him the honours of the action, and of Captain Staines, of the corvette Cyane, of
32 guns and 175 men, who, in company with the 18-gun brig Espoir, and some British
and Sicilian gunboats, was attacked off Naples by the French ships, Ceres, Fama, and
a flotilla of gun-vessels. The wind falling light, the Cyane, notwithstanding her inferi
ority, manned her sweeps and stood towards the Ceres, carrying 42 guns and 350 men,
which she engaged at half pistol-shot range. But ultimately she was compelled to haul
off, being reduced to the condition of a wreck aloft, and having forty-five shots through
her side. In this action she had two men killed and 20 wounded, among whom were
her captain (who lost his arm out of the socket), both her lieutenants and one midship
man. The Cyane was brought out of action by her master and sailed for England to
be refitted. In May of the following year, when Captain Brenton was cruising off Naples in the
Spartan, Murat, the usurping king, embarked 400 troops on board the French frigate,
Ceres, and corvette, Fama, of 28 guns and 220 men, and sent them out, with seven
8-gun brigs and seven gunboats, each mounting a long 18-pounder, with the object
of boarding and bringing into port the British frigate. This was a formidable squadron
for a single ship, carrying 46 guns and 258 men, but then the latter were British seamen,
and their commander one of the most enterprising officers in the Navy. When within
pistol-shot range the Spartan poured in a treble-shotted broadside, causing terrible
carnage among the troops on her antagonist's deck, drawn up in readiness to board.
She also engaged in succession the Fama and brig. At one time the Spartan was in a
condition of much danger, as the breeze had fallen, and she was surrounded by the
enemy's ships and gunboats, but the wind again freshened, and the frigate was so
well handled by her gallant commander, who was severely wounded, that she cut off
her opponents. With the exception of the brig, which struck her colours, they steered
for Naples, but in so crippled a state from her fire that they had to be towed back
by the gunboats. In the action the Spartan had an officer and nine men killed,

74 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
and her captain, first lieutenant (who was promoted) and 20 men wounded. The
French acknowledged to a loss of 30 killed, including the second captain of the Ceres,
and 90 wounded, exclusive of the loss experienced by the brig. To return to the events
of the year 1809.
The boats of the Amphion under Lieutenant Phillott, with 70 men, stormed a battery
between Yenice and Trieste, in the most gallant manner, and turned the guns on some
gunboats, which were taken and burnt, for which exploit Mr. Phillott received promo
tion. The boats of her consort, the Mercury, under Lieutenant Pell, did equally well,
cutting out a gunboat from the port of Euvigno, and the gallant officer in command,
who had previously lost a leg in his country's service, was wounded in two places. The
3 8-gun frigate, Melpomene, Captain Warren, one dark night was attacked by twenty
Danish gunboats in the Great Belt, and had a difficult task in beating off his numerous
opponents, each of which carried a long 18- or 24-pounder. Her loss on this occasion
was five killed and 29 wounded, and she was so much shattered that, on her return to
England, she was not again commissioned for sea.
Our ships in the Baltic were also frequently engaged with the Eussian gunboats
and batteries. The boats of the Bellerophon carried a fort off Hango, mounting four
2 4- pounders, and an attack by the boats of a squadron on a flotilla of eight Eussian gun
boats was conducted with conspicuous success. Seventeen boats from the 74-gun ships,
Bellerophon and Implacable, the Melpomene, and Prometheus, 18, carrying 270 officers
and men, under command of Lieutenant Hawkey, first of the Implacable, proceeded on
this duty, and, regardless of the fire of the enemy, who were ready to receive the attack,
these gallant British seamen, without firing a shot, boarded and captured the whole
flotilla with the exception of one, which succeeded in escaping. Twelve merchant-
vessels, under their protection, laden with supplies for the Eussian army, also fell into
their hands, and one armed ship, which was burnt, the others being brought out. In
this brilliant exploit Lieutenant Hawkey was killed, with the words, "Hurrah! push
on ! England for ever ! " on his lips, and Commander Martin declared, not without
warrant, that his death was a calamity to his country. The loss incurred was two
lieutentants, one midshipman, a second master, and 13 seamen and marines killed, and
37 wounded. The Eussians had 63 killed, and of 127 prisoners, 51 were wounded,
exclusive of others who escaped ashore, while many were drowned.
Not less sanguinary and hardly-contested was the resistance of four Eussian gun
boats in the Gulf of Finland to an attack made on them by seventeen boats of the British

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 75
squadron, under Commander Forrest, of the 32-gun frigate Cerberus. The attack com
menced at 10.30 in the evening, and was successful, three of the gunboats, each mount
ing two long 18-pounders, and having an aggregate of 137 men, and an armed brig, with
a crew of 23, being brought off. The British loss was a lieutenant, marine officer, and
midshipman, with six men killed, and Captain Forrest, one lieutenant, three mid
shipmen and 46 wounded. The enemy acknowledged to a loss of 28 killed and 59
wounded. Commander Forrest was promoted for his gallantry on this occasion.
Very gallant, but unhappily unsuccessful, was the resistance offered by the British
frigate Junon, 46, Captain Shortland, to two French ships of equal force, and two
armed vessels mounting each 20 guns, and laden with troops and military stores
for Guadaloupe. The frigates stationed themselves on either side of the Junon,
while the armed transports took up a position ahead and astern, and the soldiers on
board kept up a destructive musketry fire. Captain Shortland was dangerously
wounded, and died after much suffering; and the Junon, having made a gallant
resistance of forty-five minutes, during which time the action had been conducted
yard-arm to yard-arm, hauled down her colours. She was so much shattered, both in
her hull and aloft, that her captors set fire to her, and out of 224 all told, she had 20
officers and men killed and 40 wounded. The two frigates had 21 killed and 18
wounded. The two armed transports separated from the frigates, and being chased by
the Blonde, 38-gun frigate, and some other ships, took refuge under some batteries in
a cove in the island of Guadaloupe, where they anchored broadside to the sea. Here
they were attacked by the British squadron, and captured, and the batteries were
stormed or silenced, but not without considerable loss, Commander Cameron, of the
Hazard, and the first lieutenant of the Blonde, together with seven men, being killed,
and 22 wounded.
Four French frigates, Venus, Manche, Caroline, and Bellone, succeeding in escaping
from the blockaded French ports, reached the Indian seas, where, with Mauritius as a base
of operations, they committed serious depredations on British commerce. The Caroline,
of 46 guns and 330 men, encountered in the Bay of Bengal three Indiamen, homeward
bound with rich cargoes, and, after an obstinate resistance, two of them, the Streatliam
and Europe, having most of their guns dismounted and being greatly shattered, were
compelled to surrender, but the Lord Keith managed to escape. During the year, Com
mander Willoughby, of the 18-gun sloop Otter, an officer of distinguished enterprise
and gallantry, cut out a lugger from under the protection of some batteries in Mauritius,

76 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
and an important service was rendered by the capture of St. Paul, in Isle Bourbon,
where the Caroline had taken shelter. To effect this, 368 troops from the British garri
son of the adjacent island of Eodriguez, under Colonel Eeating, with 236 seamen and
marines from the squadron, under Commodore Eowley, of the Raisonable, 64, led by
Commander Nesbit Willoughby, were Ian led about seven miles from St. Paul, and in a
few hours succeeded in capturing the batteries, while the ships, standing in, compelled
the Caroline and her two prizes to cut their cables and drift ashore, whence they were
hove off without having sustained damage. The total British loss was only 15 killed
and 58 wounded. For his gallantry Commander Willoughby received post rank, and
was appointed to the Nereide, Captain Corbett being given the command of the Caroline,
renamed the Bourbonaise.
The French frigates, Venus and Manche, and the 14-gun corvette Creole, under
Commodore Hamelin, also committed depredations on British commerce in the Bay of
Bengal and to the eastward. They succeeded in capturing the brig Orient, and later
the Hon. Company's Indiamen Charlton, United Kingdom, and Windham, the last of
which made a determined and prolonged resistance. Captain Stewart and his crew were
taken on board the Venus, which, on the way to Port Louis, lost all three topmasts in a
hurricane, and when on the point of foundering, with seven feet of water in the hold,
Commodore Hamelin requested Captain Stewart to save the ship. This that skilful
officer actually succeeded in doing when all hope had been abandoned by her French
officers and crew, who had retired below to await their fate. The Windham was re
captured by the 36-gun frigate Magicienne, and Captain Stewart, who was sent to the
Cape, again assumed command of his ship. The fourth French frigate, the Bellone,
captured the 18-gun sloop Victor, Commander Stopford, and a few weeks later, she took
the Portuguese frigate Minerve, the crew of which behaved with great cowardice.
In the course of the year 1809, a squadron of fourteen ships and vessels, from
Goree, effected the capture of Senegal, and in the West Indies, an expedition on a
large scale was despatched against Martinique. Sir Alexander Cochrane, with six sail-
of-the-line, six frigates, and fourteen smaller ships, having in charge a fleet of transports,
conveying 10,000 troops, under General Beckwith, arrived off the island, and
on the 30th January, the soldiers were disembarked. The French troops being in
greatly inferior force, the capital, Fort Eoyal, and the other fortified ports were easily
reduced during the following month, and the whole island passed under the British
flag. The Governor-General, Admiral Yillaret-Joyeuse, Lord Howe's opponent on the

ran

A BOARDING PARTY.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY 77
" glorious First of June," was tried by court-martial in Paris for not making a more
effective resistance, and, with some of his officers, was stripped of his rank and honours.
In the French settlement of Cayenne, Captain Yeo, of the 20-gun ship Confiance, acting
in conjunction with about 500 Portuguese troops from Brazil, was equally successful.
In the operations Captain Yeo, on this side of the Globe, like Captain Willoughby on
the other, displayed the signal gallantry for which he had acquired a high character in
the Navy, and both these officers were subsequently knighted.
Throughout the whole of 1810, owing to the vigilance of the British blockading
squadron, few French ships were able to quit their ports. During the year Sweden
entered into an alliance against England, but Sir James Saumarez effectually prevented
either her navy or that of Eussia from committing any mischief. England experienced
a great loss by the death, on the 7th March, of Lord Collingwood, commanding the
Mediterranean fleet, who was on his way home for the benefit of his health. Lord
Collingwood was one of the best officers in the Navy, in this golden age of its greatness,
and in every walk of life, both public and private, his worth was equally marked, and
his character noble. He actually served afloat forty-four out of the fifty years his name
appeared on the Navy List, and was rarely able to spend the briefest time on shore with
his wife and family, for whom he entertained an intense affection. The true nobility
of his character is apparent in the letters published, twenty years after his death, in
his memoirs, written by his son-in-law, Mr. Newnham Collingwood. Brave as a lion in
action, and the idol of all ranks of the service he adorned by his professional talents, he
was modest to a fault, temperate in his habits, and was never heard to make use of an
oath, a rare virtue at a time when swearing was common in all stations of life, from the
throne to the cottage. Truly, take him for all in all, perhaps Collingwood was the
noblest character the Navy has produced.
A British squadron and some troops, under General Oswald, took the island of
Santa Maura, in the Ionian group, so that only Corfu remained in the possession of the
French. The Navy had six killed, and 32 wounded, including Captains Eyre and
Stephens, of the Magnificent and Imogene, and three other officers; and the troops lost
16 and 87 respectively. As in previous years, numberless were the gallant
deeds performed in 1810, by British officers and seamen, in all parts of the globe,
cutting out the enemy's vessels from under the protection of coast batteries, or
capturing them at sea, but the exigencies of space prevent our affording them even the
barest mention. Suffice it to say that, though owing to the French Marine having well-
VOL. III. M

78 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
nigh disappeared from the sea, frigate actions were not so frequent or important as in
earlier years of the war, yet the daring spirit that has always animated the Navy
had in no way diminished, though its scope had become lessened by the very success
that rewarded its efforts.
In the Gulf of Trieste the boats of the Amphion and Cerberus, commanded by
Lieutenant Slaughter, second of the former, proceeded to bring out several vessels
which the frigates had chased into the harbour of Grox. At dawn of day the party
landed to the right of the town, and encountered a body of French troops, whom
they drove back, capturing an officer and 39 men of the 81st Megiment. Entering
the town, they took possession of the boats, twenty-five in number, and a detachment
of men from the Active, just then landed, compelled another body of 24 French
regular soldiers to lay down their arms. In effecting this seoice, the British expe
rienced a loss of 10 killed, eight by the bayonet, showing the hand-to-hand nature
of the conflict, and eight wounded. The boats of the Thames and Pilot also brought off
a convoy of transport vessels with supplies for Murat's army, which ran ashore at
Amanthea to prevent their being taken. A young officer, Midshipman Marshall, after
wards the author of the " Eoyal Naval Biography," a well-known and valuable work,
greatly distinguished himself, when in command of two boats, in boarding, off the
Spanish coast, a privateer of four guns and 59 men. His commanding officer, Lieu
tenant Davis, having been killed, this young officer, with only 26 seamen and marines,
sprang on board the privateer, and carried her after a sharp encounter, his own loss
being four killed and six wounded.
On one occasion a British force met with a repulse with serious loss. The boats of
the seventy-fours Kent and Ajax, of the frigate Cambrian, and of the sloops Sparrow-
hawk and Minstrel, landed a party of 350 seamen and 250 marines, under Captain Fane
of the Cambrian, in order to capture a convoy lying in the mole of Palamos, under the
protection of some batteries. But they encountered severe opposition, and, retiring
through the town instead of to the beach, where the ships would have covered their
embarkation, they were subjected to a heavy fire from the walls and houses, when two
officers and 31 men were killed, 15 officers and 74 men wounded, and two officers and
84 seamen and marines taken prisoners.
In the Indian seas during the year 1810, British commerce suffered heavily from
the depredations of French privateers and ships-of-war, rendezvousing at Mauritius. On
the 31st July three outward Indiamen, Ceylon, Windham, and Astell, were overhauled

HER MAJESTY S NA VY. 79
in the Mozambique Channel by the French frigates Bellone and Minerve, and corvette
Victor, formerly the Jena, captured in October, 1808, but recaptured from us. The
Indiamen, mounting 26 guns, made a gallant and protracted resistance against superior
force, but ultimately the Ceylon and Windham were compelled to strike their flags, though
the Astell effected her escape. The Ceylon had six killed and 21 wounded, among the
latter being her captain and chief officer, and the lieutenant-colonel commanding a
detachment of the 24th Eegirnent on board the ship. The Windham also had six killed
and 18 wounded, including three of her officers, and the Astell lost eight killed and 37
wounded, among whom was her captain. The French aggregate loss was 22 killed
and 38 wounded. The resistance made was most honourable to all concerned, and the
East India Company suitably rewarded the officers and ships' companies.
Meantime a British naval force had arrived off Mauritius from the Cape, consisting
of the 36-gun frigates Iphigenia, Captain Lambert, Magicienne, Captain Lucius Curtis,
and Nereide, Captain Willoughby, and sloop-of-war Otter. Captain Willoughby, whose
name has already been mentioned as an officer of great enterprise and gallantry, desired
to cut out a large merchant-ship he discerned off Jacolet, on the island, and proceeded
with his boats, carrying 50 men, to effect the capture. Landing he took a battery and
spiked the guns, and then swimming and wading across a stream, stormed a battery
on a hill. He now got possession of the ship, but, finding she was an American, released
her, and returned to the Nereide. Soon after this event Commodore Eowley arrived
to take command of the squadron, with the 38-gun frigates Boadicea and Sirius.
The first enterprise they undertook was the capture of the island of Bourbon, in
which some troops under Colonel Eeating participated, the total loss being 22 killed
and drowned, and 73 wounded, chiefly among the soldiers. They next attacked the
Isle de la Passe, about four miles off Grand Port, in Mauritius, which was gallantly
captured by 71 officers and men of the Sirius and Iphigenia, under the command of
Lieutenant Norman. While scaling the works that brave young officer was shot through
the heart, but Lieutenants Chad and Watling, who commanded detachments, and
were acting independently, stormed the works, with the loss of seven killed and 18
wounded. Captain Willoughby landed with a strong party near Grand Port, and made a
march of 22 miles along the enemy's territory, beating off their attacks, and captured
a fort. This officer displayed equal daring in action and consideration towards the
inhabitants he encountered. While thus engaged, a French squadron — the Bellone,
m 2

80 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Victor, and Minerve, with their prizes, the Windham and Ceylon, appeared off Isle
de la Passe, and were inveigled there by Captain Willoughby, who had secured the
French private signals. When the Victor arrived within pistol-shot of the Nereide,
Captain Willoughby, who commanded both that ship and the island, opened fire with
good effect on the enemy's vessels which, on discovering their mistake, stood away
and anchored at Grand Port. Captain Pym, of the Sirius, who had recaptured the
Indiaman, Windham, with the Iphigenia and Magicienne, arrived off Isle de la Passe to
the assistance of Captain Willoughby, and the squadron at 5 p.m. attacked the enemy's
ships in Grand Port. Enfortunately the Sirius and Magicienne grounded, but the
Nereide gallantly engaged the Bellone, of much superior force, when the French
commodore was wounded, and Captain Willoughby was also severely wounded by a
splinter, which knocked out his left eye. The Nereide, owing to her cable being cut
away, swung stern on to the Bellone, which kept up so destructive a fire that nearly
all her crew and the soldiers on board were killed or disabled, among the latter being
the first lieutenant (mortally), the second lieutenant (dangerously), and one marine and
three military officers. As nearly all her quarter-deck and many of her main-deck guns
were disabled, and the ship was almost reduced to the condition of a wreck, Captain
Willoughby surrendered shortly before midnight.
Of 281 of all ranks on board at the time of the action, including 69 officers and
men of the 33rd and 69 th Eegiments and Madras Artillery, she had four officers and 88
men killed, and her captain, six officers and 130 wounded, so that it cannot be said that
she was not defended to the last extremity. The Iphigenia had five killed and 13
wounded, including her first lieutenant, and the Magicienne, eight and 20 respectively.
The French ships had 37 killed, including a lieutenant of the Bellone, and one of the
Victor, and 112 wounded. As the Magicienne could not be got off, she was set on fire,
and blew up with her colours flying ; and on the following day, every effort to float
the Sirius having failed, she also was destroyed, to prevent her falling into the hands of
the enemy, who had erected on shore a fresh battery, from which they commenced
cannonading her.
Meantime the Iphigenia, under the command of Captain Lambert, an officer of
great enterprise and skill, had worked herself out of a position of much difficulty and
danger, when she sighted a French squadron from Port Louis, coming to attack her,
consisting of the frigates Venus, Astree, and Manche. Commodore Hamelin demanded
her surrender and that of the Isle de la Passe, and as the Governor of Grand Port

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 81
threatened that the Bellone would also attack her, Captain Lambert reluctantly
yielded to superior force. Thus by this disastrous affair the British Navy lost four
frigates, and the French gained a temporary ascendency in these waters.
On the 11th September, 1810, a fortnight after these events, the Africaine, 48,
Captain Corbett, arrived from England, off Mauritius, on her way to Madras, and in
trying to cut out an armed schooner, which had run ashore, her boats had two men
killed and 16 wounded. The Africaine then bore up for Bourbon (now known as
Ee" union), which was at that time in our possession, and off the island sighted the
frigates Iphigenia and Astree.
Soon after, the 38-gun frigate Boadicea, Commodore Eowley, with the 16-gun sloop
Otter, Commander Tomkinson, and gun-brig Staunch, Lieutenant Street, proceeded in
chase of the French frigates, but the Africaine first ranged up within musket-shot of the
Astree, which she brought to action shortly after two in the morning. The second
broadside mortally wounded Captain Corbett, when the command devolved on Lieu
tenant Tullidge, who, acting under the last instructions of his dying commander,
brought the French frigate to close action. The Astree ranged ahead, but the Africaine,
making sail, closed with the Iphigenia, when a sudden fall of wind left her exposed
within half pistol-shot of these ships, one of which, being on her starboard bow, raked
her with terrible effect. Lieutenant Tullidge gallantly continued the action, though
severely wounded in four places, with his second in command, Lieutenant Forder,
mortally wounded, and the master killed by a round-shot. At length— the Boadicea
being becalmed some miles astern, and the ship reduced to the condition of a wreck,
with her masts in such a condition that, together with the bowsprit, they all went over
the side an hour or two later, and her guns nearly all either disabled, or their crews
decimated by the enemy's fire — at five the colours of the Africaine were hauled down.
Of 295 seamen, marines, and soldiers on board her when she commenced the action,
she had lost two officers (exclusive of the captain) and 47 men killed, and eight
officers and 106 wounded. The Astree, with 44 guns and 360 men, had only three
casualties, and the Iphigenia, carrying 42 guns and 258 hands, had nine killed and
33 wounded. A breeze soon after sprang up, and the Boadicea, with the Otter and Staunch, came
up with the French frigates, Avhich abandoned their prize, and made sail, the Astree
towing the Iphigenia. Eowley took the Africaine in tow, and made his way to the bay
of St. Paul, where she left the dismasted fricate. Lieutenant Tullidge was acquitted of

82 HER MAJESTY S NAVY.
all blame by the verdict of a court-martial for the loss of his ship, and received
promotion. The next action fought in these waters took place on the 17th September, when the
Ceylon, Captain Charles Gordon (formerly an Indiaman), of 40 guns and 295 men,
including 100 soldiers of the 69th and 86th Eegiments, with Major-general Aber-
crombie and his staff, whom she had taken on board at Madras, engaged the Venus,
a heavy frigate, carrying 44 guns and 380 men, and the corvette Victor of 16 guns
and 120 men.
The action with the Venus began soon after midnight, and notwithstanding the
disparity of force, Captain Gordon made a gallant and protracted resistance. By three
o'clock the Ceylon had lost all her topmasts, and was much cut up aloft, but she
continued for a further hour and a half, when the Victor, having taken up a position
athwart her bows, she showed a light as a signal that she had surrendered. In the
action she had lost 10 killed, and Captain Gordon, four officers, and 28 soldiers and
seamen wounded. The Venus also lost her topmasts and mizenmast, but her casualties
were unknown. Commodore Eowley, lying at St. Paul's, discovered the French ships
with the prize about three leagues in the offing, and, accompanied by the Otter and
Staunch, got under way and proceeded in chase. The Victor now cast off the Ceylon,
which again hoisted the British flag, and the Boadicea, soon after four in the afternoon,
got alongside the Venus, and after an action lasting only ten minutes, during which she
lost nine killed and 15 wounded, the French frigate struck her colours. The Victor
got away, and Commodore Eowley returned to St. Paul's Bay with his prize, which
was renamed the Nereide, in commemoration of the gallantry displayed at Grand Port
by Captain Willoughby's ship.
The British and Indian Governments had determined to undertake the conquest of
Mauritius, which had so long afforded a rendezvous to French cruisers in the Indian
seas, whence they preyed on English commerce, and on the 29th November, 1810, a
fleet, consisting of the Illustrious, 74, twelve frigates, four sloops, besides small vessels,
with about fifty transports, conveying some 10,000 troops, arrived from India and the
Cape at Grande Baie, about 12 miles from Port Louis, the capital. The same day
the troops were landed, and after a slight resistance, all opposition on the part of the
French was overcome, and on the 3rd December, the island passed under the dominion
of England, and has ever since remained an integral part of our Colonial Empire. In
these operations the British loss was 28 killed, 94 wounded, and 45 missing. In Port

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 83
Louis harbour were found the frigates Bellone, Minerve, Manche, AstrSe, and Iphigenia,
the corvette Victor, two brigs, and the late English Indiamen Charlton, Ceylon, and
United Kingdom, and twenty-four French merchantmen. The Iphigenia was restored
to her position on the Navy list, and the Bellone and AstrSe were purchased into the
service under the names Junon and Pomone.
In February of this year, in the East Indies, the Dutch settlement of Amboyna, in
the Moluccas,* was attacked by a squadron under the command of Captain Tucker,
consisting of his ship, the 38-gun frigate Dover, the Cormvallis, 44, Captain Montagu,
and Samarang, 16, Commander Spencer. A detachment of 400 seamen and soldiers was
landed, under the command of Major Court, of the Hon. Company's service, and assisted
by the fire of the ships, the enemy's works were captured after some sharp fighting, and
the whole island surrendered. Celebes and other islands also submitted, but Captain
Cole, of the Caroline, 36, had a heavy task in capturing the strongly-fortified settlement
of Banda Neira, in the island of Banda. In company with him was the 38-gun frigate
Piemontaise, Captain Foote, and the 18-gun brig Barracouta, Commander Kenah, the
frigates having on board about 100 officers and men of the Madras European Eegiment,
which had done such good service at Amboyna. The town of Banda Neira was
defended with several batteries, mounting in all 138 guns, and had a garrison of 700
regular troops and about 800 militia ; but, nothing daunted, Captain Cole, on arriving
off the port, embarked in his boats 140 seamen and marines and 40 soldiers, and
landing at daylight on the 9th July, amid a storm of wind and rain, advanced and took
the first battery. Proceeding thence, with Captain Eenah and Lieutenant Carew, he
attacked the castle of Belgica. Favoured by the storm and darkness, the gallant
fellows planted their scaling-ladders and carried the formidable fortress with a rush,
a feat of arms that ranks with Captain Brisbane's brilliant exploit at Curacoa. Fort
Nassau now surrendered, and the Union Jack was soon hoisted on the whole of the
Banda Islands. In the West Indies, also, a combined naval and military expedition
effected the capture of Guadaloupe, but the Army are entitled to most of the credit here,
as the sister service was scarcely engaged. The Dutch islands were also captured, thus
completing the reduction of the colonies of those powers in the West Indies.
In the year 1811, the French Government, notwithstanding their losses at Trafalgar,
by great exertions had succeeded in collecting a fleet of fifteen sail-of-the-line at
* The Molucca Islands, as well as the Banda group, had been captured in 1796 by Admiral Rainier's squadron,
but were surrendered at the peace.

84 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Flushing, and sixteen at Toulon. Besides these there were between twelve and fifteen
ships under construction at Antwerp and Flushing, and a large number at Lorient,
Eochefort, and Toulon; and eleven sail lay ready for sea in these ports, and seven
in the Texel. Blockading the Scheldt and Texel were British squadrons, that in
the Mediterranean, during the latter half of the year, being under Sir Edward Pellew,
on his return from his command in the East Indies; but though he had only twelve
ships under his command, his French rival made no attempt to meet him in battle
on the open sea.
Some skirmishes took place between single ships off Toulon, and in the Channel the
Boulogne flotilla again showed some signs of vitality. The 16-gun brig Hawke, Com
mander Bourchier, performed excellent service near Barfleur, where her boats, under
Lieutenant Price, cut out a brig mounting 10 guns, together with three transports.
The Hotspur, 36, Captain Percy, succeeded in sinking one brig and driving on shore
two others, but herself taking the ground, suffered severely from the fire of a battery
and some field-guns. The 10-gun brigs Rinaldo, Commander Anderson, and Redpole,
Commander Macdonald, also engaged near Boulogne a "prame," or ship-rigged gun-
vessel, carrying 12 long 24-pounders, and a brig. On the 20th September, in the
presence of the Emperor Napoleon, a division of prames, under Admiral Baste, stood
out of Boulogne and engaged the 38-gun frigate Naiad, Captain Carteret, but after a
warm cannonade, returned to port without having silenced the British frigate. On the
following day seven prames and ten brigs stood out again, and an engagement took
place between them and the Naiad, Redpole, Rinaldo, and 18-gun brig Castilian.
Captain Carteret engaged Bear-admiral Baste, and on one of the prames coming to the
latter's assistance, boarded and captured her after an obstinate resistance, the French
loss being between 30 and 40. The three British brigs participated in the action,
in which the Redpole lost her first lieutenant, but the enemy succeeded in regaining
the protection of their batteries, and altogether the French Emperor could not have
been very well pleased with the results of the action.
In the previous month, ten boats of the Quebec, and brigs Raven, Exertion,
Redbreast, and some armed cutters, with 117 officers and men, under the command of
Lieutenant Blyth, first of the Quebec, attempted to cut out four gun-boats lying at
anchor off the island of Nordeney, on the Dutch coast. Lieutenant Blyth carried by
boarding the nearest brig, but as he was turning the fire of her guns on the others,
an explosion of loose powder took place, by which 19 officers and men were killed or

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 85
wounded, Lieutenant Blyth being blown into the sea, though he regained the deck.
Nevertheless, the three remaining gun-boats were secured, the British loss in the attack
being two killed and nine wounded, including four officers, one mortally. Lieutenant
Blyth, who had been wounded, received promotion for his persevering gallantry.
Captain Maurice, who had defended the Diamond Eock some six years before,
earned much distinction by the distinguished gallantry with which, while in command
of the small island of Anholt, in the Cattegat, he repulsed the attack of over 1,500
Danish troops, and a flotilla of twelve gun-boats. His garrison consisted of 380
marines, and he succeeded in bringing about the surrender of 520 officers and men,
with the loss of 32 killed and wounded. On this occasion the Tartar, 32, Captain
Baker, and 16-gun brig Sheldrake, Commander Stewart, chased the flotilla, which
was seeking to return to Jutland and Sweden, and the former captured two gun-boats,
and the brig a third, carrying 64 men, and a large 6-gun lugger, having on board an
officer and 60 men.
The year 1811 closed with the loss of three ships of the British fleet in the
Baltic, with a great sacrifice of life. The St. George, 98, Captain Guion, bearing
the flag of Eear-admiral Eeynolds, was convoying a fleet of one hundred and twenty
merchantmen, bound for England, when, on the 15th of November, while lying at anchor
off the island of Zealand, she encountered a violent tempest, in which about thirty mer
chantmen were lost, and the St. George was driven ashore, but got off. Proceeding to
Wingo Sound, under jury-masts, she sailed again from thence on 17th December, with
the fleet under her convoy, accompanied by the Defence, 74, Captain Atkins, and
Cressy, Captain Pater. Again she encountered a severe gale, which increased almost to
a hurricane, and the St. George and Defence on the 24th, after five days' battling with the
storm, were driven on the coast of Jutland, when the whole of their crews perished,
with the exception of six from the flagship and twelve from the seventy-four. On the
following day, the Hero, 74, Captain Newman, was lost off the Texel sands with
all hands, except 12 men who were washed ashore. By these accumulated misfortunes
the Navy sustained the loss of 2,000 gallant officers and men, and the catastrophe was
the severest that had befallen the country since the foundering, a century before, of
Sir Cloudesley Shovel's flagship and her consorts, off the Scilly Isles.
The most important naval action of the year was that between a squadron of British
frigates and another of French and Venetians, off Lissa, in the Adriatic. On the 13th
March, Commodore Dubourdieu arrived off the port, with three 40-gun French frigates,
N

86 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
the Favourite, Danae, and Flora, and the Venetian ships Corona, 40, Bellona and
Carolina, of 32 guns, the brig Mercure, and four smaller vessels. Here they fell in with
Captain Hoste's squadron, consisting of his ship, the Amphion, 32, Active, 38, Captain
James Alexander Gordon, and Cerberus, 32, Captain Whitby (which had been engaged
with the enemy in the Gulf of Trieste, in the previous year, as already related), together
with the 22-gun ship Volage, Captain Phipps Hornby. The Franco -Venetian squadron
bore down to the attack, on the following morning, in two divisions, when the British
ships, notwithstanding the disparity of force, stood towards the enemy. At the last
moment, before entering into action, Captain Hoste hoisted the signal, " Eemember
Nelson," which, as may be imagined, was received by the crews of the squadron under
his command with loud hurrahs, and acted as the inspiring principle in the battle on
which they had entered.
The first ship to open fire, at 9 a.m., was the Amphion, leading the line, with the
Active, Volage, and Cerberus in close order astern. The Favourite, on receiving the
British fire, bore up with the object of boarding the Amphion, but a well-directed
discharge from a howitzer loaded with 750 musket-balls, directed on the enemy's
crowded forecastle, committed fearful havoc, among those slain being the French com
modore. The Danae, Corona, and Carolina, forming the lee division, engaged the Volage
and Cerberus, but a fortunate turn was given to the fighting by the Favourite,
when putting her helm up in order to wear and get to leeward of the English, running
aground, an object for which Captain Hoste had been manoeuvring. The British
squadron by this time had wore ship, and was standing off the shore, and soon the
Flora and Bellona had taken up a position on either quarter of the Amphion, on which
ship they opened a heavy fire. The Danae at the same time was engaged with the
little Volage, which bravely resisted until the carronades with which she was armed,
one after the other, carried away their breechings and capsized, and she had only the
six-pouaders on her forecastle to continue the action. The other van-ship, the Cerberus,
also found more than her match in the Corona, assisted at long range by the Carolina,
but on the approach of the Active, these ships made all sail. Meanwhile the Amphion
was closely engaged with her two adversaries, and taking up a position on the starboard
bow of the Flora, compelled her to strike her colours. Captain Hoste then bore up to
close the Venetian ship Bellona, which was raking him from the stern, and coming up on
the starboard tack, poured a couple of broadsides into his adversary's weather-bow, when,
soon after noon, the action having lasted three hours, the Bellona surrendered.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 87
Captain Hoste threw out a signal for a general chase, but the only ship that was in
a condition to obey the order was the Active, which made sail after the Corona, which
she overhauled and brought to action shortly before two. At the end of half an hour
the Venetian frigate struck her flag, but the Danae and Carolina managed to escape
and found safety under the guns of some batteries, as did also the Flora, contrary to the
rules of war, she having surrendered.
The Amphion in this action, so honourable to the ships engaged, lost out of her
crew of 251 men and boys, two midshipmen, the boatswain and 12 men killed, and
Captain Hoste, seven officers and 38 men wounded. The Active, which suffered least,
had four killed and 24 wounded out of her complement of 300 all told. The Cerberus,
which had on board only 160 men, lost her purser, one midshipman and 11 men killed,
and 41 wounded, including one lieutenant. The Volage, described as having her port
side " completely riddled," had one midshipman and 12 men killed, and an officer and
three seamen and marines wounded. The total British loss out of 880 men was,
therefore, 45 killed and 145 wounded. That of the enemy was not accurately ascer
tained, but the Favourite was known to have lost the commodore, captain, first lieu
tenant, and other officers, and her casualties were said to number quite 200. The Corona,
which was even more shattered, also sustained a loss of 200 killed and wounded; and
the Bellona had 70 killed, and about the same number badly wounded. The hulls of
this ship and the Flora — which also suffered heavily, among the severely wounded
being her captain — were much shattered by shot, and bore unmistakable evidence of
the accurate gunnery practice of the British seamen.
The crew of the Favourite blew up their ship, and the Corona, when in tow of the
Active, caught fire and nearly experienced the same fate. In helping to extinguish the
flames, five seamen of the Active were drowned, and one of her officers and three of
the crew of the Cerberus were severely burnt. In every respect the victory was most
honourable to British arms, as our men had opposed to them a force in guns fully
one-third and in men nearly two-thirds greater than their own. The Corona, which
as well as the Favourite, Danae, and Flora, was larger than the Active, the biggest
ship in the British squadron, was added to the Navy under the name of the Dcedalus,
and the Bellona became a troopship, and was called the Dover. All the four captains
received gold medals, and the first lieutenants were promoted.
Off the coast of Istria the 38-gun frigates Belle Poule and Alceste landed a strong
body of men and attacked a battery, under which an 18-gun brig-of-war with supplies
N 2

88 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
for the French frigates Flore and Danae, had taken shelter, and not only silenced the
enemy's works but sunk the brig. In the Bay of Sagone, in the island of Corsica, the
Pomone, 38, Unite, 36, and Scout, 18, attacked two armed store-ships as they lay at
anchor, and after a smart action with a strong battery protecting them, set fire to both
the ships which blew up. Off the same island the 16-gun brig Alacrity, with a
crew of 100 men and boys, was captured after a protracted resistance by the French brig
Abeille, of about the same force. It should be stated, however, in extenuation of the
defeat, that Commander Palmer had sent away a portion of his crew in a prize, that his
only lieutenant was killed, and all the other officers wounded. But his conduct on going
below with only a slight wound in the head was as indefensible as it was rare, and it
was fortunate for this officer that he died of lockjaw, and thus escaped trial for the loss
of his ship.
Excellent service was performed during the year, on the coast of Italy, by the boats
of the frigates Active, Thames, Captain Charles Napier, Unite, Captain Chamberlayne,
Imperieuse, 38, Captain Duncan, and Cephalus, 18, Commander Clifford. On one occasion
Lieutenant Travers, first of the Imperieuse, assisted by Lieutenant Pipon, of the
Marines, particularly distinguished himself. Before the close of the year the 38-gun
frigates Active and Alceste, the latter commanded by Captain Murray Maxwell, chased,
not far from Lissa, the French 40-gun frigates Pauline and Pomone and the storeship
Persanne, of 26 guns. A lucky shot from the Pauline carried away the main-topmast of
the Alceste, on which her crew raised a cheer of " Yive l'Empereur ! " Meanwhile
Captain Gordon, in the Active, brought the Pomone to close action. Soon after, the
Alceste and Pauline became closely engaged, but the latter, bearing the French commo
dore's broad pennant, soon made sail and escaped, leaving the Pomone to her fate. On
the Alceste coming up, the latter, having lost her main and mizen masts, struck her flag.
The Alceste, of 218 men, had one midshipman and six men killed, and a lieutenant and
12 wounded. The Active lost a midshipman and seven killed and 26 wounded, including
her gallant captain, whose leg was carried off by a cannon-shot, and Dashwood, the
first lieutenant, lost his arm. The ship was brought out of action by Lieutenant Haye,
who was also wounded. The Pomone suffered greatly by the accuracy of her opponent's
fire. Besides losing her main and mizen masts during the action, her foremast went over
the side shortly after, and her hull was so shattered that she had five feet of water in
the hold. Fifty of her crew, out of 332, were killed or wounded, including her com
mander, who was struck in the mouth by a grapeshot. The Pauline escaped to Ancona,

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 89
though in a damaged condition, but the Persanne was overhauled by the Unite and struck
her colours. The first and second lieutenants of the Active, and Lieutenant Wilson, first
of the Alceste, were promoted, according to custom.
In Eastern waters two important events took place — an action off the island of
Madagascar and the capture of the island of Java. The French Government despatched
from Brest three 40-gun frigates, RenommSe, Clorinde, and Nereide, under Commodore
Eoquebert, with munitions of war for Mauritius, but on their arrival off Isle de
la Passe, on the 7th May, learnt for the first time of the loss of the important
colony which was known to them as the Isle of France. The same morning the Phoebe,
44, and Galatea, 42, Captains Hillyar and Losack, and the 18-gun brig Racehorse, Com
mander de Eippe, hove in sight, when the French ships steered for Madagascar, where
they surprised the settlement of Tamatave, taken from the French in the preceding
February. On the following day, the 20th May, the same British ships, reinforced by
the Aslrcea, Captain Schomberg, sighted the French squadron, and brought them to
action. While manoeuvring, the breeze fell to a dead calm, and the Renommee and
Clorinde secured a raking position on the quarter of the Galatea, which was greatly
shattered by their fire, to which she could only reply by her stern guns. At length the
seamen got sweeps out, and brought the ship's broadside to bear upon her two antagonists,
but at 8 p.m. ceased firing and joined the commodore's ship, Astrosa, with nearly four
feet of water in her hold and her fore and mizen topmasts over the side. Meanwhile
the Phoebe closed the Nereide and raked her with telling effect until her consorts came to
her assistance, and about 8.25, in company with the Astrcea and Racehorse, she bore
up to renew the engagement, which the French commodore appeared equally willing
to continue. The two commodores were now closely engaged, but at the end of about
twenty-five minutes, the Renommee hauled down her colours, having made a gallant
resistance. The French acknowledged to a loss, out of 470 seamen and soldiers, of 93 killed and
wounded, among the former being Commodore Eoquebert, and among the latter, Colonel
Barrois, commanding the troops, and the Renommee' s first lieutenant. The NerSide also lost
her captain and 24 men killed, and 32 wounded. The British official account places the
casualties of the former frigate at 145, and of the Nereide at 130. The Clorinde succeeded
in making her escape, and, steering for France, reached Brest in safety, but her captain
was tried by court-martial for deserting his commodore, dismissed the service, and im
prisoned for five years. The squadrons were well matched, their broadside weight of

9E HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
metal being almost identical, and the brig Racehorse rendered little or no assistance,
while the French frigates were of considerably greater tonnage, and carried larger crews.
The Astrcea had lost in the action, out of 271 men and boys, two killed and 16
wounded, including her first lieutenant ; the Phoebe had seven killed and 24 wounded,
and Esther fore-topmast; and the Galatea, which was greatly shattered, had 16 killed,
including a marine officer, and 46 wounded, among whom were her captain and three
other officers.
Commodore Schomberg, with the Phoebe and Astrcea, made his way to Tamatave,
where the Nereide was found at anchor, and the officer in command, on being sum
moned, surrendered the ship and port. The two captured frigates were added to the
Navy, the Renommee under the name of the Java, and the Nereide under that of the
Madagascar, and the first lieutenants of the Astrcea and Phoebe were promoted.
During the year 1811 the Dutch settlements in the island of Java passed under
the British flag. A powerful fleet of four sail-of-the-line, fourteen frigates and seven
sloops, under the command of Eear-admiral Hon. Eobert Stopford, with a squadron of
ships of the Indian Navy, under Commodore Hayes, acted in conjunction with the
land forces, numbering some 12,000 men, under command of Sir Samuel Achmuty.
The operations were mostly of a military character, but a naval brigade of seamen and
marines was engaged on shore and assisted at the storm of the great entrenched camp
of Cornells, about nine miles from the city of Batavia, where the Dutch lost 1,000 slain
and 5,000 taken prisoners. The island of Java, notwithstanding the great sacrifices
made in its acquisition, was surrendered to Holland at the termination of hostilities.
In the latter part of the preceding year, Captain Farquahar, commanding the Desiree,
36, with a squadron of gun-boats, co-operated with a Eussian force in an attack on the
batteries defending Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the Elbe, then in possession of the
French, and, in December, assisted the Crown Prince of Sweden's army at the reduc
tion of Gluckstadt, which finally surrendered.
In January, 1812, the French 40-gun frigates Arienne and Andromaque, and the
16-gun brig Mamelouck, sailed from Nantes on a cruise, and committed great depre
dations on British commerce. The Northumberland, 74, Captain Hon. Henry Hotham,
was detached to capture them on their return to Lorient, and sighted the frigates off
Isle Groix, close to that port, on the 19th May, when she engaged them as they
lay grounded, and also a battery on shore. In this affair she lost five killed and 28
wounded, including a lieutenant, but she succeeded in riddling the French ships as they

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 91
lay with their copper exposed to view. During the night both the frigates blew up, and
on the following day, the brig also was destroyed by an explosion, so that the service
entrusted to Captain Hotham, which was effected within sight of a French two-decker
in the harbour of Lorient, was successfully executed.
The British squadron in Danish waters was frequently engaged with the enemy,
mostly to the advantage of the former. It would be impossible to detail, within tho
limits at our disposal, the whole of these actions and others with French ships-of-war and
privateers, for particulars of which we would refer the enquirer to the pages of the
accurate and painstaking James.
In the Adriatic, near Venice, the 74-gun ship Victorious, Captain Talbot, brought
to action the French ship-of-the-line Rivoli, of like force. A furious engagement
ensued, when the Victorious reduced her adversary to such a condition that only two
quarter-deck guns could return her fire. Before the Rivoli hauled down her colours, her
mizenmast was shot away, and her other masts went over the side soon after the termina
tion of the action, in which she had lost, out of 810 on board, no less than 400 killed and
wounded, including the greater number of her officers. The ships were well matched
as to size, weight of metal, both of which were slightly to the advantage of the Rivoli ;
while as regards crew the British seventy-four commenced the action with only 506
men, out of which she lost 27 killed, including a marine officer, and 99 wounded, among
them Captain Talbot and five officers, one mortally. On the same occasion the 18-gun
brig Weasel, Commander Andrew, engaged for forty minutes the French 16-gun brig
Mercure, which blew up, and chased, though ineffectually, two other brigs. Before
the Rivoli struck, the Weasel poured into her a couple of broadsides, which, however,
conduced but little to her surrender. The Rivoli, quite a new ship, was added to the
Navy, and Captain Talbot was knighted ; and Mr. Peake, his first lieutenant, and Com
mander Andrew both received promotion.
The Adriatic was the scene of many meritorious attacks by boats on the forts and
batteries on the Italian coast, then under the rule of Murat. Also, on the northern
coast near Trieste, and among the islands in the Adriatic, the occasions were frequent
in which British seaman displayed their daring in action with the enemy. A spirited
affair took place at Languelia, where the boats of the seventy-fours, America and
Leviathan, and of the 18-gun brig Eclair, brought out sixteen settees, while the marines
carried the battery adjoining the town. In this affair the British loss was 16 killed
and drowned (a shot having sunk a boat), and 20 wounded.

92 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Captain Sir James Yeo — who had so often performed acts of distinguished valour,
and afterwards added to his reputation on the Canadian lakes — when in command of
the Southampton, of 38 guns, fought a sanguinary action with the Amethyste, carrying
44 guns and 700 men of different nations, in the service of one of the parties struggling
for mastery in the island of St. Domingo. Sir James Yeo sent a demand to Captain
Gaspard that he should accompany him to Jamaica, for the British Commander-in-chief
to determine as to the validity of his papers, and on receiving a refusal, opened fire.
The action, which took place on the 3rd February, 1812, had not continued for more
than half an hour, before the superiority of the British fire became manifest,
and the Amethyste' s main and mizen masts went over the side, while her hull was
riddled with shot. Captain Gaspard made repeated attempts to board, which were
frustrated by the manoeuvres of the British frigate, and ultimately hauled down
his flag when his three masts and bowsprit had been shot away. The loss of the
Southampton was only nominal, and that of her antagonist no less than 105 killed
and 120 wounded.
An action worthy special mention was that between the Amelia, Captain the Hon.
Paul Irby, of 48 guns and 349 men and boys, and the Arethuse, of 44 guns and a
complement of 340, a sister ship of the Renommee, afterwards called the Java, which
was captured by the Americans. The Arethuse, with the frigate Rubis, sailed from
Mauritius on a cruise in November, 1812, and was brought to action on the evening
of the 7th February succeeding. Soon after the engagement commenced, the two frigates
fell on board each other, and kept up a close and deadly fire both from great guns and
small arms. Once the ships separated, but only again to be locked alongside, with the
muzzles of the guns actually touching. The crews snatched the sponges out of each
other's hands through the portEoles, and cut at one another with their cutlasses. So
deadly was the fire from the Arethuse' s decks and tops that the quarter-deck of the
British frigate was cleared, and the third lieutenant, as senior officer uninjured, took
command of her. At length, the breeze having died away, the ships parted, and about
11.20, three hours and a half after the action commenced, enlirely ceased firing. The
battle may be regarded as drawn, one of the few in which a British frigate of greater
force than her French antagonist was unsuccessful in bringing about her surrender.
The Amelia lost no less than 51 killed and mortally wounded, including four lieutenants
— one an officer, late commander of the gun-brig Daring — a marine officer, a midshipman,
and purser ; and 90 wounded, among whom were Captain Irby and 10 other officers.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 93
The Arethuse had 31 killed, among them 11 officers, and 74 wounded, including
nearly the whole of those remaining. Captains Irby and Bouvet, who, each in their
own service, were regarded as among its best officers, are equally entitled to great credit
for the obstinate valour with which they carried on this sanguinary duel, but it should
be admitted, in extenuation of the failure of the Amelia's crew to capture the enemy,
that a large portion of them were in a debilitated state from sickness, and the number
included about 40 boys.
In February, 1814, near Toulon, the British fleet, under Sir Edward Pellew, nearly
succeeded in cutting off a French squadron of six ships, when endeavouring to re-enter
the roads. The leading ships, the Boyne, Captain Boulton, 98, a sister ship of the
Victory, was closely engaged with the Romulus, 74, which, however, managed to make
good her escape, and the Boyne suffered also from the fire of the shore batteries. Her
loss was 42 killed and wounded, but the Romulus had 70 casualties. During the months
of March and April, all the French possessions and islands in the Adriatic surrendered
to the allies, and Spezzia and Genoa to a small squadron under Sir Josias Eowley.
In Januray, 1814, the Venerable, 74, flagship of Admiral Durham, captured the 40-gun
frigates, Iphigenie and Alcmene. The latter, finding herself overhauled, and expecting
the assistance of her consort, ran on board the seventy-four, with the object of boarding,
but paid dearly for this act of temerity, and was boarded in turn, and captured, after
a gallant resistance, during which she had 32 killed and 50 wounded, including
Captain Yilleneuve. The Iphigenie, which was chased by the Cyane between the 16th
and 20th January, also struck to the seventy-four. Both frigates were added to
the Navy.
Off the Cape de Verde Islands, on the 23rd January, the British 36-gun frigates,
Creole, Captain Mackenzie, and Astrcea, Captain Eveleigh, fought a desperate and pro
tracted action with the French 40-gun frigates Etoile and Sultane, which had sailed from
Nantes in the preceding October. The Creole engaged the Sultane, but at the end of
two hours nearly all her running rigging was shot away, and her masts badly wounded,
and she abandoned the contest and steered for the island of St. Jago. The Astrcea, after
exchanging a couple of broadsides with the Sultane, closely engaged the Etoile, but was
so terribly cut up, both in her hull and rigging, that after receiving a raking broadside
from the Sultane, now free to engage her, she stood away and joined her consort at
St. Jago. During the action the Astrcea had her mizzenmast and the whole of her braces
shot away, and out of a complement of 284 men and boys, lost her commander and eight
vol. m. o

94 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
men killed, and 37 wounded. The Creole had an officer and nine seamen and marines
killed, and 28 wounded. The French frigates suffered no less both in men and materiel.
The rival ships were equally matched, and fought with a like determination a drawn
battle honourable to both sides.
The Etoile was sighted and chased on the 27th March, near Alderney, by the
Hebrus, 36, Captain Palmer, and after a running fight, maintained with obstinate
courage for two hours and a quarter, struck her colours. Her hull was much shattered,
and she had four feet of water in her hold, while she had lost, out of 327 men on
board, 40 killed and 73 wounded. The victory was very creditable to the Hebrus,
which had a midshipman and 12 men killed, and 25 wounded, out of her complement
of 284. At the same time the Hannibal, 74, which was in company with the Hebrus,
overtook the Sultane, which hauled down her colours. Both these frigates were added
to the Navy, the Etoile being re-named the Topaze, and the first lieutenant of the
Hebrus, Mr. Jackson, received promotion. Shortly before this the 40-gun frigate
Ceres was chased by the British frigates Niger and Tagus, and, after a running fight,
surrendered to the latter, the Niger being in close company. The Ceres also was
added to the Navy. Her consort, the Clorinde, mounting 44 guns, with a crew of
344 men, gallantly engaged the Eurotas, Captain Phillimore, of 46 guns and 329 men,
having a considerable superiority in weight of metal, the respective broadsides being :
— Eurotas, 601 pounds, Clorinde, 463. At 5 p.m. on the 25th February, the Eurotas
commenced the action by passing under the stern of the Clorinde, and raking her, she
ranged up on the quarter of the French frigate. A furious action now ensued, the
Eurotas losing her mizzenmast at the end of twenty minutes, and the Clorinde her
fore-topmast. The Eurotas tried to lay her adversary on board, but, failing in this,
raked her, and getting alongside, continued closely engaged. At 6.20 the British
frigate lost her mainmast, and the Clorinde her mizzenmast, and shortly before seven the
former had her foremast shot away, and the latter her mainmast. Thus their position
was nearly equalised, but the Clm'inde had the means of carrying sail on her foremast,
and, setting her foresail and fore-staysail, stood out of gunshot.
Nothing daunted, by their helpless, dismasted condition, the gallant crew of the
Eurotas, by working all night, rigged jurymasts, and at daylight made sail in chase
of the enemy, which was still engaged in clearing away the wreck. But they were
robbed of the anticipated fruits of their exertions, as, about noon, the British ships
Dryad, 36, and Achates, 16, hove in sight, and the Clorinde,, seeing the hopelessness

HER MAJESTY S NAVY. 95
of resistance, surrendered to the latter, the Eurotas being then only four or five miles
off to windward. Out of her complement, the Eurotas had 21 killed, including
three midshipmen, and 39 wounded, among them being her commander (very severely),
and two other officers. The Clorinde lost 20 killed and 40 wounded. She was added
to the Navy, and received the name of Aurora, there being already another captured
French frigate of the name in the service. Lieutenant Eobert Smith, who fought the
Eurotas after Captain Phillimore was incapacitated, was promoted to the rank of
commander. The 56-gun frigate Majestic, Captain John Hayes, which was on the look-out for
the American frigate President, carrying 52 guns, sighted two French 40-gun frigates,
the Atalante and Terpsichore, and gave chase. With rare pusillanimity for a. French
naval officer, the commodore abandoned his consort, and the Terpsichore, after a
running fight of nearly two hours, struck her colours to the Majestic, then within
musket- shot range.
After Wellington's invasion of France, when Marshal Beresford advanced on
Bordeaux, a squadron, under Admiral Penrose, assisted him in the Gironde, by
taking some batteries, and causing the French to destroy the Regulus, 74, and other
ships. The entry of the allies into Paris on the 31st March, 1814, and the signature of
the treaty of peace by which Louis XVIII. returned to the throne of his ancestors,
put an end to further hostilities. Thus ended this long and exhausting war, which,
with only a brief cessation in 1802, had desolated Europe since 1792. True, it broke
out again in the following year, when Napoleon, quitting Elba, landed in France,
and astonished the world by his last desperate struggle for power, but the "Hundred
Days " was not distinguished by any naval operations, and only two incidents took place,
the capture of the French 40-gun frigate, Melpomene, by the Rivoli, Captain Dickson,
after a running fight, and the action between the 16-gun brig Pilot and the corvette
Leglre, 22, which escaped, though with the loss of 22 killed and 79 wounded, out of a
crew of 170 men. On the 15th July, Napoleon, finding he had no hope of eluding
the British cruisers watching the coasts of France, surrendered himself to Captain
Frederick Maitland, of the Bellerophon, 74, then lying in the Basque Eoads. The fallen
Emperor was conveyed to Plymouth, and on the. 8th August, sailed in the Northumber
land, 74, bearing the flag of Eear- Admiral Sir George Cockburn, to St. Helena, where
he was landed on the 16th October. o 2

96 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The negotiations for peace, suspended by the Waterloo campaign, were now
resumed, and peace was finally signed on the 20th November, by the eighth article of
which France received back all the conquests made by England during the long war,
with the exception of St. Lucia and Tobago, in the West Indies, and the island of
Mauritius and the Seychelles group, in the Eastern seas.

CHAPTEE IV.
The War with the United States — The President and Little Belt — President and Belvidera — The Guerriere and Constitution
— The Frolic and Wasp — The Macedonian and United States — The Java and Constitution — The Peacock and
Hornet — Capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon — Loss of the Dominica and Boxer — Capture of the Argus —
Boat Attacks in Chesapeake Bay — The Fighting on the Canadian Lakes in 1813 — Capture of the Essex — The
Epervier and Peacock— Loss of the Reindeer and Avon — The Expedition to Washington — Captain Gordon at
Alexandria — The Attack on Baltimore — The Fighting on the Canadian Lakes in 1814 — The Operations near
Mobile and on Lake Borgne — Capture of the President — Loss of the Cyane, Levant, Penguin and Nautilus.
TN 1812 this country became embroiled in a war with the United States. We will not
seek to apportion the blame for this unfortunate calamity, which resulted in serious
losses of ships and men to this country, and also in much sanguinary fighting ashore.
The war arose, ostensibly at least, from our exercising rights we claimed to search
American ships-of-war for deserters. The United States Navy department had been
making preparations for the inevitable conflict, and on the 21st June, 1812, within
three days of the. declaration of war by the Government of Washington, Commodore
Eodgers put to sea with a squadron of three frigates and two sloops. The former, though
rated as frigates, were in fact " line-of-battle ships in disguise," as they carried 56
heavy guns, those on the main-deck being 24-pounders, and the rest 18-pounders and
42-pounder carronades.
In May of the preceding year, war nearly resulted from a collision which took
place between the British sloop, Little Belt, Captain Bingham, of 20 guns and 121 men,
and the President, one of these so-called 44-gun frigates, commanded by Commodore
Eodgers. Both sides denied that they fired first, but at the end of half an hour the
Little Belt ceased firing, having lost 11 killed and 21 wounded. Explanations were
offered by the American Government, which were accepted by the English Ministry,
but the event only deepened the ill-feeling between the two countries, which found
vent in war in the following year.
Commodore Eodgers put to sea with the President and United States, the latter, of
the same force, commanded by Commodore Decatur, the Congress, 50, Captain Smith,
18-gun sloop Hornet, Captain Lawrence, and the 16-gun brig Argus, Captain Sinclair.
The squadron sighted and chased the Belvidera, 42, Captain Byron, and the President, on

98 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
approaching him, opened fire, and a running action commenced, which lasted two hours,
the British frigate returning the fire of her adversary from her quarter-deck and cabin
stern-chase carronades. The President continued to gain until Captain Byron cut away
his anchors, threw overboard most of his boats and started his water, and by the evening
she had left her pursuers — for the Congress also opened fire on her — far astern, and
succeeded in reaching Halifax. The Belvidera, out of 230 men, had two killed and 22
wounded; and the President had six casualties by her enemy's fire, but by the
bursting of one of her guns, 16 were killed and wounded, including among the former
two midshipmen, and among the latter Commodore Eodgers.
The next action was between the Constitution, Captain Hull, of 56 guns and 460 men,
and the Guerriere, of 48 guns and 244 men, the broadside weight of metal being 517
and 768 pounds respectively, a disproportion so great that success could scarcely have
been anticipated by the gallant Captain Dacres, commanding the British frigate. The
Constitution had been chased by a small squadron, but had managed to escape, and,
a few days later, fell in with the Guerriere, which was on her way to Halifax
to refit. It was 4.50 p.m. when the engagement commenced by the Guerriere firing
a broadside, but it was nearly three-quarters of an hour before the ships came to
close action. It soon became apparent that the fire of the American frigate was
superior to that of her adversary, not only in weight of metal but in accuracy. At six
o'clock the Guerriere' s mainmast was shot away by the board, and, falling over the
counter, brought the ship up in the wind. Putting her helm up, the Constitution took
up a position on the port bow of the British frigate, and a destructive fire was kept up
both from great guns and small arms, to which a reply could only be made from her
bow guns. The ships now fell foul of each other, and after a hot interchange of
musketry fire — by which Captain Dacres and the master were severely wounded,
and on the other side, the first lieutenant, the master and a marine officer were
placed hors de combat — the ships broke away from each other, and the Guerriere was
enabled to bring some guns to bear on her formidable antagonist. But matters
only went from bad to worse, as the foremast went over the side and was quickly
followed by the mizzenmast, so that the British frigate lay like a helpless log in the
trough of the sea, rolling her main-deck guns under water. The Constitution ranged
ahead to repair damages, which gave the British seamen a little time to clear away the
wreck ; but they could set no sail, and when the Constitution, having rove new braces,
took up her station on their starboard quarter, the alternatives were either to surrender

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 99
or be blown out of the water without power of resistance. Captain Dacres, who had
refused to leave the deck, recognising the futility of resistance, fired a gun to leeward,
and hauled down the Union Jack from the stump of the mizzenmast.
Of 244 men and 19 boysat quarters, the Guerrierelost 15 killed, including her second
lieutenant, and 63 wounded, among whom were, besides her captain, her first lieutenant,
master, two master's mates, and one midshipman. The Constitution had a lieutenant of
marines and six men killed, and seven wounded, including the officers already named.
That Captain Dacres had fought his ship to the last extremity was proved by the fact
that, on the following day, she was found to be in a sinking condition, and was accord
ingly abandoned and blown up by her captors. Captain Hull and his brave men were
entitled to credit for capturing a ship quite one-third less in strength, but it should be
borne in mind that a considerable proportion of the crew of the Constitution, as of the
other so-called Yankee frigates that beat our smaller ships, hailed from these islands
and were deserters from the British flag.* Captain Dacres was tried by a court-
martial, which honourably acquitted him of all blame, and agreed that " the surrender
of the Guerriere was proper in order to preserve the lives of her valuable remaining
crew." The next encounter was between the 18-gun brig Frolic, Commander Whinyates,
with a crew of 92 men and 18 boys, and the Wasp, Captain Jones, of like force, with
135 men, but, as in the case of the Guerriere, the Frolic was on her return to port to
refit, having been five years in the West Indies, with the additional drawback of
a sickly crew. The brig had carried away her mainyard and sprung her topmasts,
besides receiving other damages, in a gale of wind, and was engaged repairing them
when the Wasp, only five days out of port, hove in sight. The ships quickly engaged,
the sea being so rough that the muzzles of their guns were frequently under water.
Within a few minutes the Frolic shot away the Wasp's main-topmast, but the latter
directed her aim at her adversary's hull with great effect, and by a lucky shot, carried
away her gaff-head braces, thus making her boom-mainsail useless. As her mainyard had
not been replaced, and she had consequently no square-sails set, the British brig at once
became powerless to manoeuvre. The Wasp soon took up a position on her port bow,
* " It appeared in evidence on the court-martial," says Captain Brenton, " that there were many Englishmen on
board the Constitution, and these were leading men, or. captains of guns. The officers of the Guerriere knew some of
them personally, and one man in particular, who had been captain of the forecastle in the Eurydice, a British frigate
then recently come from England. Another was in the Achille at Trafalgar, and the third lieutenant of the Constitu
tion, whose name was Eeed, was an Irishman. It was said, and we have no reason to doubt the fact, that there
were 200 British seamen on board the Constitution when she began the action.''

100 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
and raked her without possibility of reply or cessation. Broadside after broadside was
thus poured in, and then Captain Jones ran aboard of his defenceless antagonist, and
sweeping her decks with musketry, boarded, and hauled down her colours, which had
been lashed to the main rigging. At this time there remained on deck Captain Whin-
yates and his second lieutenant, both severely wounded, and about 17 men. The loss
of the Frolic was 15 killed and 47 wounded, including, besides her commander, two
lieutenants, one mortally, and her master, also mortally wounded, the casualties being
more than half her entire crew of men and boys. She was also greatly shattered
in her hull, and both her masts went over the side a few minutes after her surrender.
The Wasp had eight killed and about the same number wounded, out of her crew
of 135 full-grown men. The Frolic, however, did not long remain an American trophy,
as the Poictiers, 74, Captain Beresford, hove in sight, and captured both ships.
The next action was between the American frigate United States, Commodore
Decatur, of 55 guns and 474 men, and the Macedonian, Captain Carden, carrying 48
guns, and having a crew of only 254 men, not taking into account the boys in either ship.
The relative broadside weight of metal was 864 and 528 pounds, and the tonnage 1,533
and 1,081, so that, as in the case of the Guerriere and Constitution, the disparity of force
in favour of the American ship was one-third. About 9.20 the Macedonian, which was
the better sailer of the two, took up a position on her adversary's port quarter, and
exchanged a broadside with her, by which the British frigate lost her mizzen-topmast.
A running fight now ensued, and the United States, by her diagonal fire, soon dismounted
every carronade on the Macedonian's quarter-deck and forecastle, and inflicted great loss
on her crew. The two ships now came to close action, and the superiority of the enemy's
fire quickly made itself manifest. Soon after eleven the Macedonian's mizzenmast was shot
away, falling over her starboard or engaged quarter, and was followed by her fore and
main topmasts and mainyard ; her rigging and running gear was also cut to pieces, her
boats destroyed, many guns on the main-deck were disabled, and her hull pierced by
over 100 shot. Owing to the absence of sail to steady her, the British frigate rolled her
main-deck guns under water, but the indomitable spirit of British seamen animated every
breast, and when, as a last resort, Captain Carden put his helm a-weather, with the object
of boarding, "every man," says the gallant Lieutenant Hope, who was twice severely
wounded, "was on deck, several who had lost an arm, and the universal cry was, ' Let
us conquer or die.' " But a shot carried away the ship's fore-brace, and she flew up
into the wind. The United States, having refilled her cartridges, took up a position

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HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 101
across the British frigate's stern, and, having no means of making further resistance,
she struck her colours soon after noon.
The Macedonian lost, in this unequal conflict, 36 killed, including her boatswain
and a master's mate, and two lieutenants, three other officers, and 63 men wounded.
The United States had only five killed and seven wounded, including a lieutenant mor
tally, and so excellent were her fittings that, says an officer, " not an accident occurred
nor was a rope-yarn of our gun-tackle strained." As in the case of the President, a large
proportion of her crew were British seamen, and on Captain Carden observing the words,
"Victory " and "Nelson," painted over her gun-ports, he asked Commodore Decatur
the reason, when that officer replied, " The men belonging to these guns served many
years with Lord Nelson, and in the Victory. The crew of the gun named ' Nelson '
were bargemen to that great chief." The Macedonian was a new ship, having only been
built in 1810, and was purchased into the American Navy, under her own name.*
Captain Carden and his officers and men were acquitted of all blame by a court-martial,
which complimented them on their distinguished gallantry "with an enemy of very
superior force."
The last action fought this year was on the 29th December, when the Constitution,
now commanded by Captain Bainbridge, encountered the Java, Captain Lambert (late
the French Renommee), of 46 guns and 300 men and boys, including a great many
landsmen and others, recruited by press-gangs and from prisons, besides 86 super
numeraries. Among her passengers were General Hislop and staff, who were proceeding
to Bombay. On sighting the Constitution, the Java bore up to meet her antagonist, and at 2.10
the action began by a broadside from the American frigate, to which the Java replied
with good effect. The Constitution preferred to play at long bowls, and manoeuvred with
that object for some time, but, at length, finding the Java's shot very effective, Com
modore Bainbridge " determined," as he says, " to close with the enemy, notwithstanding
his raking." She accordingly luffed up, and on arriving abreast of the Java, closely
engaged her. Again the Constitution wore, followed by the British frigate, and a second
time they came up abreast of each other, when the superior fire of the Yankee frigate told
heavily, and in ten minutes' time the rigging of her antagonist was cut to pieces. As a
last resort, Captain Lambert determined to board, but on bearing up with that object,
* The writer of this work may mention that, in 1854, he saw this frigate in the Canton river, bearing the
American flag.
VOL. III. p

102 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY-
his foremast went over the side, and the ship soon lay at the mercy of the Constitution,
which, wearing across the Java's bows, raked her with terrible effect, and carried away
her main-topmast, which, as well as the wreck of the foremast, masked all her starboard
guns. Again running round the Java, she luffed up and raked her on the starboard
quarter, and, wearing round on the port tack, resumed her position and plied her with
deadly effect. At this time, 3.30, the gallant Captain Lambert fell mortally wounded,
when the command devolved on Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads, who continued on deck
though severely wounded. Within half an hour the ship's mizzenmast was shot away,
and the Java remained in an almost defenceless state, exposed to a furious discharge of
musketry, besides repeated broadsides, to which she could make but a feeble and inter
mittent response.
The Constitution, at 4.25, ranged ahead to repair damages, when the crew of her
sorely- stricken antagonist, mistakinglier purpose, cheered her and called to her to come
back. Their jubilations were premature, for the American frigate, at ten minutes past
four, having repaired her slight damages, and replenished her cartridges, wore and stood
for the hulk, as she now was, the Java's mainmast having gone over the side, so that
she had not a stick standing, the bowsprit having also been shot away. The gallant
crew, notwithstanding their hopeless condition, had reloaded their guns, and tried to
make sail on the stump of the foremast, but upon the Constitution taking up a position
close athwart her bows, the hopelessness of further resistance became apparent, and at
5.45 the colours were lowered, and the Java became the prize of the Yankee frigate.
Of her total crew, including supernumeraries, of 354 men and 23 boys, the Java lost
three masters' mates, two midshipmen, and 17 hands killed and 102 wounded, including
her captain (mortally), first lieutenant, master, a marine officer, four midshipmen and
the boatswain. The frigate was so shattered by shot that she could not float, and was
set on fire and destroyed. A court-martial convened to try the survivors very
properly relieved them from all blame in the action with a ship of so much greater
force, and Admiral Graham Moore, the president, complimented Lieutenant Chads on
his gallantry when returning him his sword.
In the first action fought in the year 1813, between English and American ships-
of-war, the superiority in strength, as in previous contests, was with the latter.
On the 24th February, when cruising off Demerara, the brig Peacock, Commander
Peake, of 18 guns and 110 men, sighted the Yankee sloop, Hornet, Commander Lawrence,
of 20 guns and 162 men. The first shot was fired at 5.25, when the ships passed each

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 103
other on opposite tacks, at half pistol-shot range, and after receiving her second broad
side, the Hornet closed on her adversary's starboard quarter, and poured in so heavy a fire
that, in twenty-five minutes from commencing the action, the Peacock struck her colours.
By the accurate fire of the Hornet, her hull and spars were much shattered, the main
mast went over the side, and she had six feet of water in her hold. All efforts to savo'
her were unavailing, and she went down in a few minutes at her anchorage, carrying
with her nine of her own seamen, and three of the prize crew, the remainder just
managing to escape by jumping into a boat on her deck.
Out of 110 men and 12 boys, the Peacock lost her young commander, a most gallant
officer, and four men killed, and her master, a midshipman and. 31 wounded. The
Hornet, as in the case of the Constitution, escaped with slight loss, proving that the
gunnery of the British seamen was as ineffective as that of the enemy was efficient.
Then came a welcome break in the monotonous and painful record of defeat, and
we have the pleasure of describing a victory, one of the most honourable and brilliant
achieved by any ship in the British Navy in its long and glorious history. The very
name of the Shannon, and of her gallant captain, Philip Bowes Vere Broke, will bring a
glow of pride to the heart of every patriotic Englishman as showing that, where the
national aptitude for gunnery was encouraged by diligent practice, the British sailor
was as capable as ever of giving a good account of an enemy, no matter of what
nationality. Since the 14th September, 1806, when Captain Broke joined the Shannon,
he had systematically framed his men in the use, not only of the great guns, but of
small arms, as well as of the cutlass and boarding pike, and when in August, 1811, he
sailed for the American coast, there was good reason to believe that the prophecy of an
enthusiastic admirer, which appeared in the Naval Chronicle, eight months before the
action was fought, would prove true.
" And as the war they did provoke,
We'll pay them with our cannon ;
The first to do it will be Broke,
In the gallant ship, the Shannon."
The Shannon, accompanied by the Tenedos, Captain Hyde Parker, sailed from Halifax
on the 21st March, 1813, and reconnoitred Boston harbour, where they saw the President
and Congress ready for sea, which, however, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the
British frigates on the 1st May, and escaped. The Constitution and Chesapeake
were also there, and as the latter — now under the command of Captain Lawrence, late
p 2

104 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
commanding the Hornet in her successful encounter with the Peacock — would be ready
for sea in a week or two, Captain Broke sent away the Tenedos on the 25th May, with
orders not to rejoin him before the 14th June, by which time he hoped to have completed
the task he had set himself of capturing one or other of the Yankee frigates then refitting
in Boston harbour. Captain Broke had sent in several verbal messages, challenging the
captains of the Constitution and Chesapeake to a duel, and early in the morning of the 1st
June, addressed a communication to Captain Lawrence, formally inviting him to single
combat,* and stood in close to Boston lighthouse, with colours flying, and lay to.
Soon after noon Captain Broke went to the masthead to reconnoitre, and observed
the Chesapeake fire a gun and get under weigh, and presently she came down gallantly
with a fair wind, accompanied by numerous pleasure-boats, and a schooner in which were
Commodores Hull and Bainbridge and several other naval officers. The two frigates,
fit representatives of the nations unhappily at war, were not unequally matched, and
what disparity of force existed, was decidedly in favour of the Yankee champion. The
Shannon had 50 guns,t throwing a broadside of 538 pounds, with a crew of 306 men
(excluding boys), and the Chesapeake carried a similar number of guns, of which the
broadside weight of metal was 590 pounds, with a picked crew of 376 men. As regards
tonnage, the British frigate was 1,066 tons, and the American, 1,135.
The two ships stood out to sea, and at 5.10, Boston lighthouse being then distant
about 18 miles, the Shannon, flying the Union Jack at the fore and a blue ensign at the
mizzen-peak, lay to, and awaited her adversary, which, with three flags flying, stood
straight for her starboard quarter. Captain Broke had ordered William Mindham, captain
* The letter begins : — " As the Chesapeake appears now ready for sea, I request you will do me the favour to
meet the Shannon with her, ship to ship, to try the fortune of our respective flags." The Shannon's force he thus
described, " The Shannon mounts 24 guns upon her broadside and one light boat-gun, 18-pounders upon her main
deck, and 32-pound carronades on her quarter-deck and forecastle, and is manned with a complement of 300 men
and boys (a large proportion of the latter), besides 30 seamen, boys, and passengers, who were taken out of re
captured vessels lately." After fixing the place of meeting, and providing against all interruption, Captain Broke
concludes thus :— " I entreat you, sir, not to imagine that I am urged by mere personal vanity to the wish of meeting
the Chesapeake, or that I depend only upon your personal ambition for your acceding to this invitation. We have
both nobler motives. You will feel it as a compliment if I say, that the result of our meeting may be the most grate
ful service I can render to my country, and I doubt not that you, equally confident of success, will feel convinced
that it is only by repeated triumphs in even combats that your little navy can now hope to console your country for
the loss of that trade it can no longer protect. Favour me with a speedy reply. We are short of provisions and
water, and cannot stay long here."
t One of these guns was a 12-pounder boat carronade, and another a brass long 6-pounder, both mounted on the
quarter. In addition there were two 12-pounder carronades on the quarter-deck stern ports, used as stern-chasers
The guns were loaded alternately with two round-shot and 150 musket balls, and one round and one double-headed
shot.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 105
of the fourteenth, or aftermost, main-deck gun, to fire when it bore on the Chesapeake's
second main-deck port from forward. At 5.50 this was done, and the other guns were
discharged in succession, the Chesapeake replying as fast as she could bring her guns to
bear. Owing to her jib-sheet being shot away six minutes after the action commenced,
the American frigate came up to the wind, which was very light at the time, thus ex
posing her stern and quarter to the Shannon's fire, and full use the British gunners made of
their advantage. Four minutes later the Shannon's jib-stay was shot away, and she went
off the wind, when the Chesapeake fell on board her with her quarter touching the British
frigate's starboard main-chains. She forged slightly ahead, but was stopped by the
Shannon's anchor hooking her quarter-port. On observing this, Captain Broke ran forward,
and, observing the Chesapeake's men leaving their guns on the quarter-deck, he called
away the main-deck boarders, and ordered the two ships to be lashed together. This
was accomplished with devoted gallantry by the boatswain, Stevens, a veteran who had
fought under Eodney in his action of the 12th April, 1782, who, while engaged outside
the ship's bulwarks, had his left arm hacked off by repeated cutlass blows, and was
mortally wounded by musket-balls. So also was the midshipman on the forecastle,
Mr. Samwell. Captain Broke, with all the forecastle men he could muster, some 20 in
number, at exactly two minutes past six, stepped from his ship's rail, just abaft the
fore- channels, on the muzzle of the Chesapeake's aftermost carronade, and bounding
over the bulwark, stood on her quarter-deck, where he was quickly followed by his
gallant forecastle men. Some American seamen, between 20 and 30, clustered on the
gangways, were quickly driven forward, where they laid down their arms or fled over
the bows.
Meanwhile Lieutenant Watt, first of the Shannon, boarded with a division, and
Lieutenant Falkiner quickly followed with another party and rushed forward, and while
some kept down the men who were ascending from below, others directed their fire
against the small-arm men in the main and mizzen tops of the Chesapeake. These,
however, were dealt with in a more effective fashion, and one that makes this action
unique in more ways than one. Mr. William Smith, midshipman of the Shannon's
foretop, running along the fore- yard, which was braced up to the American's main-
yard, now nearly squared, quickly boarded her top and killed or drove below the
topmen. Mr. Cosnahan, midshipman of the maintop, meanwhile, by his accurate fire,
caused the cessation of that from the Chesapeake's mizzen-top.
Captain Broke, having given orders to a sentry to keep guard over the American

106 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
who had submitted on the forecastle, was moving aft when the marine called out to him.
Turning round he found himself confronted with three of the enemy, who, finding them
selves in superior force, had armed themselves afresh to renew the conflict. Captain
Broke parried the pike of one and wounded him in the face, but at the same moment,
received a blow from the butt end of a musket, which laid bare his skull, while the
third man followed up the attack by cutting him down with his cutlass. But the last
was in the next minute himself cut down by Mindham, the gun captain. This act of
treachery, by which one of his men was killed and a few were wounded, met with
severe punishment, as all concerned in the attack were killed, and it was with the utmost
difficulty Captain Broke could save from the fury of his men a young midshipman, who
had just then slid down by a rope from the Chesapeake's foretop, and claimed Ms protec
tion. Now the British colours were hoisted over those of the Yankee frigate, but in
the hurry, at first our ensign was below instead of above the " stars and stripes," on
which the crew of the Shannon reopened their fire, and a grape-shot killed the gallant
Lieutenant Watt, who had before been wounded, and four or five of his shipmates.
The Americans below began to fire, upon which they were summoned either to sur
render or suffer the consequences, on which they called out, " We surrender." Thus
was finished this celebrated action, just 15 minutes after the first shot was fired, and
four after Captain Broke boarded at the head of his score of gallant followers.
Of several shot that had struck the Shannon, only five passed through her, the greater
number remaining lodged in her side ; her bowsprit and mizzenmast were badly injured,
and her standing rigging on the starboard side was almost cut to pieces. Of her crew
of 306 men (including eight recaptured seamen and 22 Irish labourers taken two days
before) and 24 boys, the British frigate lost her first lieutenant, purser, captain's clerk,
20 men and one boy, killed, and 59 wounded, including Mr. Samwell, midshipman, and
Mr. Stevens, boatswain (both mortally).* According to the American official account,
* The late Commander Eaymond, a midshipman of the Shannon, who boarded with the fourth division, and was
wounded, made some corrections upon his copy of The Naval History of the United States. Eeferring to some de
preciatory remarks in the American account of the action, he stigmatises as " false " the insinuation that the Chesapeake's
crew was disorganised and made up with mercenaries. He says, " This is false : she had 440 as good men as ever
went on board and not a boy among them, all Americans." Again, he denies that the Americans came up from below
without arms. " They were all armed, but they fled from their quarters on perceiving we were on deck." He also
corrects the American estimate of losses. We had, he says, 25 (not 23) killed and 56 wounded, the Chesapeake 84
(not 48) killed and 116 (not 98) wounded. James says that, three days after the action, 115 of the crew of the American
frigate reported themselves as wounded to the surgeon of the Shannon, who wrote estimating their total loss at between
160 and 170 killed and wounded. The American court-martial attributed the loss of the Chesapeake to the following
causes : — " The almost unexampled early fall of Captain Lawrence and all the principal officers, the bugleman's desertion

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 107
the Chesapeake, out of a crew acknowledged to number 381 men and five boys, lost 47
killed, among whom were the fourth lieutenant, her master, a marine officer, and three
midshipmen, and 99 wounded, including her captain and first lieutenant (both mortally),
her second and third lieutenants, chaplain, five midshipmen, and boatswain (mortally).
The Chesapeake suffered severely below and aloft. All her three lower masts were badly
wounded, and her rigging was much cut up. Three guns were disabled and one dis
mounted, and her hull, especially the port quarter, was a good deal damaged.
Lieutenant Provo Wallis,* second of the Shannon, took the ship out of action, and
Lieutenant Fulkiner, next in seniority, assumed command of the Chesapeake, which arrived
at Halifax in company with her captor on the 6th of June. It was a Sunday, and as
the Shannon with her prize passed along the wharf of the town, the people cheered her
vociferously. Captain Lawrence had died of his wounds two days before, and Lieutenant
Ludlow expired a few days after, and both officers were buried with military honours
at Halifax. Captain Broke, who was in a state of much suffering from his wounds.
was removed to the house of a naval friend. He received a baronetcy for the service
he had rendered to his country, the importance of which it is almost impossible to
exaggerate. Both Lieutenants Wallis and Falkiner were promoted, and Messieurs
Smith and Cosnahan received lieutenancies. The Chesapeake was added to the Navy
under her own name.
Though a defeat, few more gallant actions were fought than that between the British
schooner Dominica, of 5 guns and 66 men and boys, and the Franco- American priva
teer Decatur, of seven guns and 120 men. The Decatur, after several unsuccessful
attempts, ran on board her adversary, when a desperate hand-to-hand conflict ensued on
the schooner's deck. The young officer in command, Lieutenant Barrette, though wounded
by two musket-balls, refused to surrender, and was killed fighting, with two midshipmen
and 13 men and boys, and 47 were wounded, including every other officer, except the
surgeon and one midshipman. Thus the little schooner became a prize to the privateer.
from his quarters, and inability to sound his horn, for the Court are of opinion if the horn had been sounded when first
ordered, the men being then at their quarters, the boarders would have promptly repaired to the spar-deck, probably
have prevented the enemy from boarding, certainly have repelled them, and might have returned the boarding with
success ; and the failure of the boarders on both decks to rally on the spar-deck after the enemy had boarded, which
might have been done successfully, it is believed, from the cautious manner in which the enemy came on board."
So far from being " cautious," it was a most daring act of Captain Broke to board a ship of superior force with only
20 men. * Admiral of the Fleet Sir Provo Wallis, G.C.B., who, in April, 1891, attained his hundredth year, died on
the 13th February following.

108 HER MAJESTY 'S NAVY.
The 14-gun brig Boxer, Commander Blyth, having 66 men and boys on board, was also
captured by the Enterprise, of 16 guns and 120 men, after a smart action, carried on at
half pistol-shot range. The Boxer had her commander and three men killed, and 17
wounded, and the Enterprise also lost her captain, and had 13 other casualties. Both
these gallant officers were buried at Portland, whither the Enterprise took her prize.
This success was,_ however, counterbalanced by a loss the Americans sustained in
the capture of the Argus by the Pelican, Commander Maples. Both were brigs, but the
former, though she had 21 more men, was slightly inferior to the British brig in weight
of metal, the broadsides being respectively 228 and 262 pounds. The Pelican proceeded
to sea from Cork to engage the Argus, which had been committing depredations on
British commerce in St. George's Channel, and she soon encountered and engaged the
latter. In the action the Argus lost her captain, and the Pelican, which early established
her superiority of fire, having cut up her antagonist's rigging, and repeatedly raked her,
ran the American brig on board, and captured her, but not without the loss of a gallant
officer, Mr. Young, who led the boarding party. Her loss was slight, only one man
being killed and five wounded, but the Argus, out of 122 men and three boys, had six
seamen killed and 18 wounded, including her commander and two midshipmen (mortally),
and her first lieutenant (severely).
Some boat attacks occurred in Chesapeake Bay, in which severe fighting took place.
The Lottery, schooner, was cut out by the boats of the British frigates Belvidera
and Statira, and the boats of the 74-gun ships San Domingo and Marlborough,
numbering 105 officers and men, which also, in the most gallant manner, boarded and
carried with slight loss four privateer schooners, having an aggregate of 31 guns and
22 men. Bear- Admiral George Cockburn did some good service at the head of
Chesapeake Bay, in which his first lieutenant, Mr. (afterwards Sir) George Westphal,
who was wounded at Trafalgar when a midshipman of the Victory, distinguished him
self. An attack on Craney Island, near Norfolk, ended in a disastrous repulse, with
considerable loss of life among the 500 soldiers and 200 seamen embarked in the boats
with which the attempt was made. But shortly after, some 2,000 men, under General
Beckwith, were landed, and captured the town of Hampton, about 18 miles from
Norfolk, with trifling loss. In Delaware Bay, also, the British frigate Junon and sloop
Martin beat off a flotilla of eight gunboats and two block-ships.
Severe fighting took place during the war on Lake Ontario, where the British had a
20-gun ship, the Royal George, a brig of 14 guns and a few smaller vessels, all manned

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY 109
by Canadians and commanded by a provincial officer named Earle. The Americans at
Sacketts' Harbour appeared before Eingston, the principal British port, with a squadron,
and gained command of the lake, as they did also of Lake Erie, where they took
Detroit. But a different state of affairs arose when Sir James Yeo, of the British Navy,
an officer of great experience and enterprise, arrived with about 500 officers and
seamen from England to regain command of the Lakes. Captain Yeo, on arriving at
Eingston, fitted out and put to sea with a brig and a schooner and some gun-boats,
and appeared before Sacketts' Harbour; but the attack failed, owing to the conduct
of his colleague in command of the troops, Sir George Prevost, an officer who displayed
equal pusillanimity and incompetence. In the following June, Sir James Yeo, when
acting alone, compelled the Americans to abandon their fortified camp, and inflicted
other losses on them. Commodore Chauncey, commanding the American squadron, got
ready for sea the General Pike, superior in weight of metal to the whole British squadron,
but nevertheless Sir James Yeo did not hesitate to meet him, and captured two schooners
without losing a man. Other desultory operations ensued, to the advantage of neither
side. In May, 1813, Captain Barclay assumed command of the Erie flotilla, consisting of
six vessels, carrying 63 guns, but the crews were notoriously inefficient, only some 50
British seamen being among them. In September he sailed from Amherstburgh with
his squadron, to risk an engagement with the enemy, whose aggregate broadside weight
of metal was 928 pounds to his 459. Commodore Perry had almost an equal superiority
in men, and the result was that the British squadron suffered a disastrous defeat.
Captain Barclay, commanding the Detroit, was severely wounded, his first lieutenant,
Garland, was killed, and eight out of the 10 British seamen were hors de combat when
the ship's flag was struck. The Queen Charlotte was also compelled to surrender, after
losing her captain and having her first lieutenant severely wounded, and soon after the
Niagara struck. The British loss was three officers and 38 men killed, and nine officers
and 85 wounded, out of 345 engaged. Commodore Perry acknowledged to losing 27
killed and 96 wounded, out of 580 men, and one of the brigs, the Lawrence, actually struck
to the Detroit, but rehoisted her flag. Captain Barclay was tried by court-martial for
the loss of the Erie flotilla, but was honourably acquitted of all blame, the court being
of opinion that the defeat was due to "the very defective means" he possessed of equipping
the flotilla, the very great superiority of the enemy, and "the unfortunate early fall of
the superior officers in the action." In Lake Champlain there was some slight fighting,
VOL. III. Q

110 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY..
in which two American sloops were captured, and some British troops and seamen
destroyed all the public buildings and stores at the port of Plattsburg.
The American frigate Essex, 46, Captain Porter, committed great depredations on
British commerce in the Pacific, capturing twelve whaling ships, and in company with
one of the prizes, named the Essex Junior, continued her cruise, until at Valparaiso, in
March, 1814, she was brought to action by the Phoebe, 44, Captain Hillyar, and Cherub,
26, Commander Tucker, when making an attempt to escape. Captain Porter made a
gallant resistance against superior force, and out of 260 men, the remainder of his crew
being absent in prizes, lost 24 killed and 45 wounded, though he reported his loss
greatly in excess of that number. The loss of the two British ships was only five
killed and 10 wounded, and their damages were trifling. Nearly all the twelve prizes,
including the Essex Junior, were recaptured by British cruisers while making their way
to the United States, and the Essex was added to the Navy.
The fine 22 -gun ship Frolic surrendered to the British 32-gun frigate Orpheus
without firing a shot, and the brig Epervier, of 18 guns, also captured without opposition
the American privateer brig Alfred, of 16 guns and 108 men, though it is right to add
that the frigate Junon was in sight ten miles to leeward. A different result attended
the duel between the Epervier and the ship-of-war Peacock, of 22 guns and 135 men.
The Epervier was in a notoriously ineffective state, and Commander Wales had repre
sented to the authorities at Halifax that her crew were disaffected, but without success.
Commander Wales did not avoid an action, though he must have entered into it with
distrust. The enemy's broadside of bar-shot speedily cut his rigging to pieces, while
his own carronades capsized and carried away their breeching-bolts. As a last resort,
the gallant captain of the British brig called upon his men to follow him in an attempt to
board the Peacock, but this they declined, and after the engagement had lasted an hour
he struck his colours, the brig then having nearly five feet of water in the hold. Out
of 101 men and 16 boys, she had eight killed and mortally wounded, and 15 wounded,
including the first lieutenant, Mr. Hackett.
A like fate befell her sister ship, the Reindeer, of 18 guns and 98 men, in her
engagement with the Wasp, mounting 22 guns and having 173 men, also a sister ship
of the Peacock.
Notwithstanding the disparity of force, the respective broadside weight in pounds
being 539 and 385, Commander Manners eagerly engaged, and a close and furious
action ensued. Disabled by the heavy fire, the Reindeer fell bow-on to the port quarter

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. Ill
of the Wasp, and the gallant Manners, though twice severely wounded, and bleeding
profusely, called out to his men, " Follow me, my boys; we must board." He was in
the act of showing his men the way when two balls fired from the Wasp's maintop
penetrated his skull, and came out under his chin. Convulsively clasping his forehead
with one hand and his sword with the other, the hero fell dead, ejaculating, " Oh, God ! "
Soon after this the Reindeer's fire almost entirely ceased, when the Americans boarded
the brig, of which they received possession from the captain's clerk, the senior surviving
officer on deck. Out of 98 men and 20 boys, she had her commander, purser, and 23
hands killed, and 42 wounded, including her only lieutenant, and three other officers.
The Wasp's crew did not escape scot-free, losing two midshipmen and nine seamen
killed and 15 wounded. The Reindeer was almost cut to pieces below and aloft, and
that she was not surrendered until every hope of successful resistance had passed, was
proved by her captors having to set fire to and destroy her, as she could not float.
After refitting at Lorient, the Wasp again put to sea and encountered the 18-gun
brig Avon, Commander Hon. A. Arbuthnot. The action commenced at 9.30 p.m., but so
effective was the fire of the American ship-of-war that the Avon was rendered helpless
by the loss of her mainmast by the board, when the boom mainsail covered the guns,
many of which had upset from the usual defects in their fittings. Shortly before
eleven Commander Arbuthnot surrendered, but as Captain Blakeley was about to take
possession of his prize, the 18-gun brig Castilian hove in sight, and he made sail to
escape. The Castilian took on board the crew of the Avon, which was in a sinking state,
and indeed, she foundered just as the last boat pushed off from her side. Out of her
crew of 104 men and 13 boys, the Avon lost her first lieutenant and nine men killed
and 32 wounded, including her commander, second lieutenant and one midshipman.
The brave officers and men of the Wasp were not destined to receive the plaudits of
their countrymen, as she never reached an American port, and is supposed to have foun
dered off Madeira.
Bear-Admiral Cockburn conducted attacks in Chesapeake Bay against Commodore
Barney, an enterprising Irish officer in the service of the States. In August, 1814, a
squadron arrived from the Gironde with a portion of Wellington's army, no longer
required in France in consequence of the peace by which Napoleon was banished to
Elba. Admiral Cockburn suggested to General Eoss the possibility of an attack on
Washington, and the whole expedition proceeded up the Patuxent, by Bladensburg,
while Captain Alexander Gordon, of the 38-gun frigate Seahorse, co-operated with a
q 2

112 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
squadron up the Potomac, the direct route by water to the capital, and Sir Peter
Parker in his ship, the Menelaus, created a diversion up Chesapeake Bay.
The advance up the Patuxent was begun by a successful attack by the boats of the fleet
on Commodore Barney's flotilla, which secured the right flank of the army. General
Eoss made a rapid advance of 40 miles in three days, and encamped at the town of
Upper Marlborough, 16 miles from Washington. Thence the British army advanced
on Bladensburg, 12 miles from their camp, and on the 24th August was fought the
action which received its name from that place, when General Eoss, with 4,000 men,
defeated General Winder, who had under his command, according to the American
account, 7,000 soldiers and 600 seamen, with 23 guns. The American army, in the
presence of President Madison, was driven from its position on the heights, leaving
10 guns on the field, and retreated on Washington. The British loss was 65 killed
and 191 wounded, including a few casualties in the Naval Brigade, who were accom
panied by Eear- Admiral Cockburn. During that and the following day, the capital,
President's house, and other public buildings were set on fire, a proceeding which reflects
little credit on those responsible. The bridge over the Potomac was destroyed, with
an immense quantity of military stores and arms, but private property was respected
and the citizens were unmolested. The same night the British army evacuated Wash
ington, and re-embarked on board the fleet.
Meantime, Captain Gordon, with the Seahorse, Euryalus, 36, Captain Charles Napier,
three bomb-vessels and a rocket-ship, ascended the intricate channel of the Potomac,
leading to the capital, no less than five days being consumed in warping his squadron
a distance of 50 miles, to Fort Washington, about 14 miles below the city. He shelled
the works on the 27 th August, and on the following morning they were evacuated by
the garrison. As a result of this success the town of Alexandria capitulated. On
the 31st, Captain Gordon received Admiral Cockburn's orders to retire, and the same
day he sailed with twenty- one prizes, and, the winds being contrary, had to resort to
warping his ships down the channel, and met with a determined resistance by Commodore
Eodgers, who had under his command detachments of seamen from the new 44-gun frigate
Guerriere and the Constellation, as well as from Commodore Barney's flotilla. Fireships
were ineffectually employed and the batteries erected on the river bank were silenced,
and on the 9th September, twenty -three days after leaving the anchorage, the squadron
was once more there in safety. The enterprise so gallantly executed only cost the British
ships one lieutenant and six men killed and 35 wounded, including Captains Napier
and Bartholomew, of the rocket-ship.

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 113
Sir Peter Parker Ed not escape equally well in the service on which he was detached
up Chesapeake Bay. Landing with 130 seamen and marines, he fell into an ambush
and was slain, together with a midshipman and 12 men, 27 men being also wounded.
Failure again marked the attack on Baltimore by a body of 3,270 men, including 600
seamen, and the frigates and sloops, under the naval Commander-in-Chief, Vice- Admiral
Sir Alexander Cochrane, which proceeded up the Patapsco. During the advance
General Eoss was mortally wounded and died the same day, when the command of the
troops devolved on Colonel Brooke, of the 44th Eegiment. The American army was
drawn up five miles from the city, and was driven from its positions at the bayonet's
point. The British loss was 46 killed and 300 wounded, the Navy losing an officer and
six men in the former category and 45 in the latter. Arrangements were now made
for storming the entrenchments, where General Strieker had taken up a position with a
strong force, and during the night of the 13th a division of nine boats, detached up the
Ferry branch of the Patapsco, under Captain Napier, acting in co-operation, opened a
heavy fire. But further operations were abandoned the same night, as, owing to the
entrance to the harbour of Baltimore being obstructed by a barrier of sunken vessels,
the large ships could not co-operate in the attack on the city and entrenched camp, and
heavy rains began to fall. Before daylight the British troops commenced to retreat,
and the frigate and smaller vessels rejoined the squadron at anchor off North Point.
Boat expeditions were successfully executed up the Connecticut Eiver by Captain
Coote, of the 14-gun sloop Borer, having under his orders six boats, with 136 men, when
twenty-seven vessels were destroyed; and by Lieutenant Garland, of the Superb, 74, who
also destroyed a large number at Wareham. An expedition with the same object up
the Penobscot was conducted by Captain Barrie, of the 74-ship Dragon, in which a body
of troops assisted, and the Adams, corvette, of 20 guns, was destroyed, and the enemy
were defeated.
The fighting on the Canadian Lakes was of a most desperate character during the
year 1814. In May Sir James Yeo proceeded from Eingston with, a squadron of seven
vessels and eleven gun-boats, together with 1,080 troops, under General Drummond,
against Oswego, situated on the river of the same name near its confluence with Lake
Ontario. The operations were successful, and Oswego was taken, with the loss of 18
killed and 64 wounded. But an attempt to cut out some boats, waiting at Sandy Creek
to reach Sackett's Harbour, resulted in a sanguinary repulse. On this occasion Captains
Popham and Spilsbury, with 180 seamen and marines, were overpowered and made
prisoners by a large body of militia and Indians, after losing 18 killed and 50 wounded.

114 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
After the defeat of Captain Barclay's squadron in the preceEng year, Lake Erie
remained under the control of the American flotilla. Lieutenant Worsley had, how
ever, a success on Lake Huron, where he cut out the schooners Tigress and Scor
pion, and Captain Dobbs, of the Charwell, with 75 men from his ship and the Netley,
carried by boarding the two American schooners, Somers and Ohio. Both these
exploits were worthy of the reputation of the noble service to which these gallant
officers belonged.
Sir George Prevost, who had before displayed great incapacity, though in superior
force, again met with a disastrous repulse at Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain. Acting in
co-operation was a Captain Downie, formerly first lieutenant of the Seahorse, an officer of
signal bravery, who was induced, at the urgent solicitation of the general, to attack the
superior American squadron with his ships, the Confiance, of 26 guns, and the brig Linnet,
16, cutters Chubb, of 10 guns, and Finch of six, with 10 gunboats, carrying between
them 13 guns and 224 men and boys, of whom only 30 were British seamen. His
aggregate was 38 broadside guns and 537 men, and that of the Americans 52 guns and 950
men, almost entirely drawn from the regular ships-of-war then laid up in port. The
result might have been foreseen, and after a desperate resistance, in which Captain
Downie was killed, the Confiance, which had begun the action in a state of unpreparedness,
her guns having only just been mounted, was forced to strike her colours. The Linnet
also surrendered, having for ten minutes withstood the united fire of the American
squaEon, as did also the two cutters, and the gunboats alone effected their escape. The
Confiance lost 41 killed and about 60 wounded. The Linnet had two officers and eight
men killed and 14 wounded, including a midshipman, and the Chubb had six killed and
16 wounded. The American flagship, Saratoga, which was at one time on the point
of surrendering, had 28 killed and 29 wounded, and the total American loss was
52 and 58 respectively.
Not less sanguinary was the repulse inflicted by the American privateer, General
Armstrong, of seven guns and 90 men, on the boats of the Plantagenet, 74, and 38-gun
frigate Rota. These ships discovered the privateer at anchor in Fayal roads, and Captain
Lloyd despatched four boats from the seventy-four and three from the Rota, containing
180 seamen and marines, to cut her out. But they were received with so deadly a fire
that two boats were sunk, and the first and second lieutenants of the Rota, a midshipman
and 31 men were killed, and 86 were wounded, including five officers.
The Navy was not engaged in the Esastrous attack on New Orleans on the 8th

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 115
January, 1815, when the British army was repulsed by the Americans, under General
Jackson, and the commander-in-chief, Sir Edward Pakenham, was slain, and nearly
2,000 were killed, wounded, and made prisoners. But they suffered in the fighting off the
coast of Florida, near Mobile, in the preceding September. The 20-gun ships Hermes and
Carron and the 18-gun sloops Sophie and Childers, made an attack on Fort Bowyer, about
six miles to the eastward of Mobile Point, but unfortunately the Hermes was carried by
the current until she grounded with her head to the fort, which swept her decks with
so destructive a fire, to which she could make no return, that the ship had to be aban
doned after losing 25 killed and 24 wounded. The Sophie, the only other vessel effec
tively engaged, had 22 casualties.
Shortly before the failure at New Orleans, Admiral Cochrane made an attack on five
gunboats and two other vessels, mounting an aggregate of 39 guns, and having on board
204 men, which had taken post in the bayou Catalan, at the head of Lake Borgue.
On the night of the 12th December, forty-two armed launches, carrying 980 seamen and
marines, under the orders of Captain Lockyer, proceeded to carry out the enterprise. The
boats had a long pull before them of some forty miles from the anchorage at Cat Island
against a strong current, and on attacking met with a desperate resistance, every prepa
ration having been made to give our men a warm reception. Captain Lockyer succeeded
in capturing the American commodore's ship, and turning her guns on the other gun
boats, they were all boarded and secured; but the success was not achieved without heavy
loss, mostly occasioned by the fire opened on the boats while pulling against the stream.
Three midshipmen and 14 men were killed and 77 wounded, including Captain Lockyer,
four lieutenants (one mortally), a marine officer, three master's mates, and seven midship
men (one mortally). Commanders Lockyer, Montresor, and Eoberts were posted for their
gallantry, and some of the lieutenants and midshipmen were promoted. In January some
boats ascended the St. Mary's Eiver, in Florida, and captured an Indiaman, made prize
by a privateer and a gunboat ; but towards the end of February, when eleven boats, with
186 men, ascended the river a distance of 120 miles, they met with a repulse and
returned to Cumberland Island, where Admiral Cockburn had established his headquarters,
with a loss of four killed and 25 wounded.
On the 25th of the month the admiral received intimation of the conclusion of peace
between England and the United States, signed at Ghent, in Belgium, on the 24th
December preceEng, and ratified by the President at Washington on the 18th Febru
ary. But before this event, the boats of the Endymion, under Lieutenant Hawkins, sus-

116 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
tained a sanguinary repulse in an attack made during a calm on a privateer brig,
carrying 18 guns and 120 men, which she encountered off Nantucket. The launch
was captured, and Lieutenant Hawkins, one midshipman and 26 men were killed, and
two officers and 35 men wounded. The British frigate had her revenge shortly after,
when she brought to action the President, Commodore Decatur, of 58 guns and 465
men. The latter escaped from New York, wEere she was blockaded by a British squad
ron, consisting of the Majestic, 74, and the frigates Endymion, Tenedos, and Pomone. She
was chased and brought to action by the Endymion, carrying 48 guns and 319 men, but
making sail, managed to get away until the Pomone engaged her, when she surrendered
to this ship and the Tenedos, which came up. The Endymion, which lost eleven killed
and 14 wounded, was much cut up aloft, but quickly repaired her damages and was in
a condition to renew the action. The skilful gunnery of her well-trained crew, under
Captain Henry Hope, was displayed in the shattered condition of the President's hull
and her heavy loss, three lieutenants and 32 men being killed, and her commander, three
officers and 66 men wounded. Captain Hayes was amply justified in his assertion that
"When the effect produced by the well-directed fire of the Endymion is witnessed, it cannot
be doubted that Captain Hope would have succeeded either in capturing or sinking her
had none of the squadron been in sight." While on their way to Bermuda, the two
ships encountered a violent gale, in which the Endymion carried away her bowsprit and
fore and mainmasts, and the President all three masts, and they were only saved from
foundering by throwing overboard the greater portion of their guns.
After the declaration of peace, but before it was generally known, the British
schooner St. Lawrence, of 13 guns and 51 men and boys, was captured after a desperate
resistance by the privateer brig Chasseur, of 14 guns and a crew of 115 men. The schooner
in this action lost six killed and 18 wounded out of her small complement. The 44-gun
frigate Constitution, Captain Stewart,* when about sixty leagues off Madeira, engaged
the British ships Cyane, 22, Captain Falcon, and Levant, 20, Captain Hon. George
Douglas. But the conflict between the long 24 -pounders of the American frigate and
the carronades of these small ships was too unequal to admit of successful resistance
and both were constrained to haul down their colours after a creditable display of gal
lantry. The Cyane was almost unrigged, and out of 145 men and 26 boys, had 12 killed
and 29 wounded, and the Levant, which had also greatly suffered, lost 22, of whom six
were killed. Shortly after, the Levant was recaptured by a British squadron in the har-
* Captain Stewart was grandfather, on the mother's side, of Mr. Charles Stewart Parnell, the late Irish leader.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 11 V
hour of Porto Praya, in the Cape deYerde Islands, and the Constitution escaped capture
on the same occasion by the signal made by Sir George Collier, of the Leander, 50, being
misunderstood, or, as James says, by the blundering of the British commodore.
A few days after the President escaped from New York, the Peacock and Hornet
also succeeded in getting to sea from thes same port, and on the 23rd March, three
days after hearing of the conclusion of peace, Captain Biddle, commanding the Hornet,
then off Tristan d'Acunha Island, fell in with the brig Penguin, Captain Dickinson,
of 16 carronades and two small 6-pounders and a crew of 105 men and 17 boys. Captain
Dickinson had served at Lissa, as first lieutenant of the Cerberus, and though his enemy
had 20 guns, two of them long 18-pounders, and 165 men, and had captured the Peacock,
of the same force as his brig, he did not hesitate to engage her. The action raged within
pistol-shot range, and soon the Penguin had her rigging cut to pieces by the bar-shot
of her antagonist. As a last resort, Captain Dickinson bore up with the intention of
boarding, but fell mortally wounded. Lieutenant McDonald, who succeeded to the
command, resolved on the same desperate expedient, but when he ran the enemy on
board, the lift of the sea carried away his bowsprit and foremast, which fell on the
foremost and waist guns, disabling them, and as he could not bring a fresh broadside
to bear, he hailed to say that the Penguin had surrendered. In this action the brig lost,
besides her commander, the boatswain and eight men killed and mortally wounded, and
four officers (very severely) and 24 men wounded. The Hornet was chased, on the 28th
April, by the Cornwallis, 74, and only escaped capture by throwing overboard her guns,
anchors, and spare spars, and had to return home in consequence.
The last event of this war, which on the whole was disastrous, and save for the
gallantry of our men, not altogether creditable to the British Navy, was the capture, on
the 30th June, in the Straits of Sunda, of the 14-gun brig Nautilus, a cruiser belonging
to the East India Company, by the Yankee sloop Peacock, of like force with the Hornet.
Captain Warrington, when he hailed Lieutenant Boyce, commanding the Nautilus, to
surrender, was informed that peace had been proclaimed between the two nations, but
nevertheless peremptorily ordered that officer to "haul down his colours instantly."
Lieutenant Boyce, imbued with a proper sense of his country's honour, refused to do so,
on which Captain Warrington, in a cowardly spirit seldom found among men of his
cloth, fired into the little brig, which he could almost have hoisted inboard. In the
short action that ensued, Lieutenant Boyce was wounded by a grape-shot, which entered
near the hip and passed out under the backbone, and by a round shot which shattered
VOL. III. «

118 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
his right leg at the knee. Six men were killed, and the first lieutenant (mortally)
and seven men wounded, when the gallant young commander, who had vindicated the
honour of his flag, ordered the colours to be hauled down.* The Nautilus was
subsequently surrendered to the East India Company, with an apology by the American
Government. On the conclusion of the general peace in 1815, our Naval forces were reduced to the
level at which they stood in 1793, when war with the French Eepublic was first declared, j-
that is, to 33,000 seamen and marines. The highest number voted by Parliament was
in 1812, when it stood at 145,000 ; next year it was 5,000 less, but in the latter
half of 1814 the number was further reduced to 90,000. Now the country entered
upon a period of protracted European peace, which, with the exception of the expeditions
to Algiers and Acre, was unbroken, so far as the Navy was concerned, until the Eussian
War, forty years after the events we have been describing.
* Lieutenant Boyce, whose leg was amputated close to the thigh, survived his grievous wounds to the age of
ninety, and was well known to the author of this work. He possessed the rare accomplishment for a naval officer
of being an excellent classical scholar, and to the day of his death always carried a well-thumbed copy of Horace in
his pocket. t From May, 1803, when war was a second time declared, to July, 1815, the French Navy had lost twenty-six
ships-of-the-line taken by our fleet, and nine destroyed, and fifty-five frigates taken and destroyed. The Spaniards
had lost ten ships-of-the-line and six frigates captured, besides one of each class destroyed. From the Danes we took
eighteen of the former and nine of the latter, and three Dutch ships-of-the-line were destroyed and five frigates
taken.

CHAPTEE V.
Biographical Notices of some distinguished Admirals and Captains of the Eevolutionary War — Captain John Harvey
— His Gallantry and Death in the Action between the Brunswick and Vengeur — Captain Eobert Faulknor — His
glorious Death on board the Blanche — Captain Eichard Bowen — His Career and Death at Teneriffe — Some
Account of Sir Andrew Douglas — A brief Notice of Earl Howe — Also of Lord Graves and of Lord Duncan ; of
Captain Hood, who fell when in Command of the Mars ; and of Captains John Cooke and George Duff, who were
slain at Trafalgar.
QOME details of the life and services of famous officers* during the most glorious
^ period of our Naval History, will be of interest to our readers, and indeed no record
would be complete without particulars by which these heroes are presented " in their
habit, as they lived."
Among the most gallant and meritorious of these, although they did not live to
attain the rank of admiral, having perished in their country's service, were Captains
John Harvey, Eobert Faulknor, and Eichard Bowen. The first named of these officers
was born in 1740, in the county of Eent, and went to sea at the age of fifteen, with the
famous Captain (afterwards Sir Piercy) Brett, in the Falmouth, of 50 guns. When only
seventeen years of age he displayed high professional knowledge. The pilot, mistaking
the North Foreland light for that on the coast of Suffolk, was actually steering for the
Goodwin Sands, when the young officer pointed out his mistake. The pilot persisted,
and had not Captain Brett coincided with Mr. Harvey, the ship would have been lost,
as it was blowing " great guns " at the time.
When commanding the Panther, Captain Harvey served under the orders of Admiral
Eodney at the relief of Gibraltar, early in 1780, and in the month of June he was in
chief naval command at the Eock. On the night of the 6th the Spaniards made a
determmed and well- concerted effort to destroy the British ships in the Bay and off
the new mole. Several fireships, with a large number of boats, were sent in with this
object, while the Spanish ships lay at the entrance of the bay to intercept any that
attempted to escape. Captain Harvey got the boats of the squadron out and towed the
fireships ashore, though three of them, all in flames, were linked together with chains.
* A more detailed account of the biography of the officers named on the following pages, will be found in the
concluding volumes of Campbell's great work, " Naval History of Great Britain."
E 2

120 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The Panther was in great danger, as some of these instruments of destruction were in
such close proximity as to melt the pitch on her sides.
After her return to England, the Panther accompanied Sir Samuel Hood to reinforce
Sir George Eodney in the West Indies, and was present at the capture of St. Eustatia,
and with two other ships went in pursuit of a richly laden Dutch convoy, that had
sailed only twenty -four hours before. The convoy was overtaken and captured, together
with a 60-gun ship. In Lord Howe's relief of Gibraltar, in 1782, Captain Harvey
commanded the Sampson, 64. Lord Howe discovered the merits of our hero, and
offered him the command of his flagship, the Victory, but the peace, signed in the
following year, prevented his joining that ship. On the outbreak of the Eevolutionary
War, his lordship, mindful of the gallant officer, appointed him to the command of the
Brunswick, of 74 guns and 650 men. Lord Howe's secretary wrote to Captain Harvey on
this occasion : — " As his lordship has an idea occasion might arise wherein it might be
more convenient for him to shift his flag into a two-decked ship, in that case he would
prefer the Brunswick, and therefore wishes to have a captain in her with whom he is
acquainted, and has authorized me to ask you whether it would be agreeable to you to
be appointed to her, in case he can get it done."
In the partial action on the 29th May, 1794, the Brunswick being to leeward of the
line, Captain Harvey found it impossible to take his proper station next the Queen
Charlotte, but resolving, as he said, "to have a berth somewhere," he hailed the captain
of the Culloden to shorten sail, and pushed in between her and the Montague, about the
seventh ship from the rear, and in that station received the fire of the French line as the
fleet passed each other. Perceiving his friend, Captain Bazeley, of the Alfred, hard
pressed by an 80-gun ship, Captain Harvey bore down to his assistance, and obliged the
Frenchman to sheer off.
But the most striking event in his life, as well as his glorious death, took place on
the ever-memorable First of June. The Brunswick had kept close to the Queen Charlotte
all night, and when the signal was made for each ship to bear down and engage her
opponent, he put up the helm of his ship at the same time as the flagship, and both
ran down together for the centre of the enemy's line. In obedience to signal the fleet
made more sail, which brought the Brunswick slightly ahead of the Queen Charlotte,
thus covering her from the fire of the enemy's centre and rear. In consequence she
suffered severely, and before firing a shot, her cock-pit was full of wounded.
When Lord Howe, rounding under the stern of the French flagship, Montagne,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 121
raked the Jacobin ahead with his starboard guns, Captain Harvey, being unable to carry
out his intention to pass between the latter and the Patriote, bore up for an opening
between her and the Vengeur, the fourth ship from the Montagne. This he effected,
and soon the two were locked in the deadly embrace of battle, the starboard anchor
of the Brunswick hooking on the fore-chains of the French seventy -four. So closely were
they grappled that the Brunswick's seamen, unable to haul up eight of her starboard
ports from the third abaft, blew them away, and thus furiously engaged, the combatants
went off before the wind. Captain Harvey displayed the true spirit of a British seaman,
and when it was suggested to him that they should cut the ship clear of the Frenchman,
he replied, " We have got her now, and we will keep her." But a fresh danger menaced
the Brunswick. The Achille was seen bearing down on her port quarter, with her
rigging and decks full of men ready to board. Captain Harvey immediately turned
over the crews of the five after starboard guns on the lower deck to the port side, and
when the enemy came within musket-shot range, the guns were loaded with a double-
headed shot in addition to the ordinary projectile, and were fired with fatal effect.
Quickly reloading, five or six broadsides were poured into the seventy-four, the forward
starboard guns being still engaged with the Vengeur. The effect was soon visible, and
first the foremast and then the other masts went over the side, thus disabling her second
antagonist. Now the tables were turned, and the Ramillies, commanded by Captain
Henry Harvey, brother of the Brunswick's captain, was seen standing to her aid. The
crew of the Ramillies made signals to the Brunswick to cut the Vengeur adrift, that they
might fire into her, and when this was done, they gave the shattered Frenchman a
couple of telling broadsides, and then stood on towards a disengaged foe.
The Brunswick had now taken up a position athwart the hawse of the Vengeur, and
shot away her fore and main-masts, which dragged overboard the mizen-mast, thus
leaving her a helpless hulk. Her rudder had been split and her sternpost and counter so
shattered that the water poured into the ship, whose gallant crew having done all that
honour demanded, displayed a Union Jack in token of surrender. The Brunswick could
afford no relief to the sinking ship as all her boats had been shot away, and when the
Vengeur went down she carried with her to a watery grave some 600 men. The
Brunswick was also in evil plight. All her lower masts, bowsprit, and spars were shot
through, and her mizen and foretop gallant-masts were gone, wEile her running and
standing rigging were shot away, and her sails cut to pieces. The hull was also greatly
damaged, and 23 guns were dismounted. She had been three times on fire, and her loss

122 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
consisted of 47 killed, and Captain Harvey and 117 officers and men wounded, mostly
severely from the langridge shot and grape with which the Vengeur' s guns were
charged. As she could take no further effective part in the action, the Brunswick bore up for
port, and favoured by fine weather, succeeded in making Spithead in eleven days.
On arriving here the gallant captain of the Brunswick was conveyed on shore.
Captain Harvey had been wounded early in the action by a musket ball, which
carried away part of his right hand, but he concealed the injury from his men and bound
the wound up with a handkerchief. Some time after this he received a violent contusion
in the groin, and though struck to the deck almost lifeless, he brought his strong will
to his aid and continued to fight his ship. Shortly after repulsing the attack of the
Achille, Captain Harvey was struck by a double-headed shot, which splintered his right
elbow. Still he remained on deck until the loss of blood made him faint, and he could
do no more. But he refused the assistance of anyone to take him below, and with a self-
abnegation almost unparalleled, said, " I will not permit a man to leave his quarters on
my account. I have still my legs to carry me below." As he quitted the scene of
carnage and destruction, he called out, as well as his failing strength would allow,
"Persevere, my lads, in your duty, and remember my last words, the colours of the
Brunswick shall never be struck." When he reached the cockpit he evinced a fortitude
that only the most heroic souls possess. His sympathies were aroused for the poor,
writhing wretches around him, and it was of the sufferings of his brave men that he
spoke, though his own were great indeed. That evening his arm was amputated above
the elbow, and he lingered in great pain till the 30th June, the noblest victim of that
memorable victory inscribed in our annals as " The Glorious First of June."
The remains of Captain Harvey were interred at Eastry, in Eent, where the following
inscription was placed to his memory: — "In a vault near this place are deposited the
remains of Captain John Harvey, late commander of his Majesty's ship Brunswick, who,
after gloriously supporting the honour of the British Navy on the memorable 1st of
June, 1794, under Earl Howe, died at Portsmouth, on the 30th of the same month, in
consequence of the wounds he received in the engagement, aged 53." The inscription
goes on to record that the House of Commons, to perpetuate his most gallant conduct on
the day of the victory, unanimously voted a monument to his memory in Westminster
Abbey. Captain Harvey's untimely death only prevented his being mentioned in the flag
promotions which took place on that occasion.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 123
A man in every way of the same stamp was Captain Eobert Faulknor. For genera
tions his family had been distinguished in the annals of their country. His great
grandfather saw much service in the latter part of the seventeenth and early in the
eighteenth century, and died lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital in 1724. His
grandfather also served with distinction in the Victory, Royal Sovereign, and Britannia,
under many celebrated admirals, and was captain of the Victory when she carried the
flag of the ill-fated Admiral Sir John Balchen on her last cruise. With him and nigh
1,000 officers and men, he perished when the three-decker, considered the finest ship
in the world, was lost on the ridge of rocks called the Caskets, off Alderney, on the
night of the 4th October, 1744.
Captain Faulknor's father was even more celebrated than his ancestors, and gained
a name for valour equal to that of his son, though he did not meet the same tragic
end. When only fifteen years of age, young Eobert Faulknor served under Admiral
Yernon's command at the capture of Carthagena, in 1741, and received a serious wound
from the effects of which he never recovered. He also served under Admiral Byng, in
his unfortunate action off Minorca, and in 1761, when in command of the Bellona, of
74 guns and 558 men, fought one of the most stubbornly-contested actions of the war
with the Courageux of like force, and carrying 700 men.
Captain Faulknor sailed from Lisbon in company with the Brilliant, 36, Captain
Logie, and, on the 14th August, sighted three sail, which proved to be the Courageux
and 36-gun frigates Malicieuse and Ermine. " These," says Commodore Johnstone,
who commanded at Lisbon, in a letter to Lord Howe, giving a quaint account of the
engagement, " were returning full of wealth and full of pride from a successful
voyage round the French West India Islands, in which they had made many prizes,
having now eight ransomers on board. The seventy -four was commanded by Monsieur
Lambert, who was esteemed the best officer in France, and had been entrusted with
discretionary power, under promise of what he was to perform. The glory of this scheme
departed on the issue of the battle. The French ships (intending for Yigo) bore
down to make the British distinctly, which the close of the evening left them uncertain,
but rather inclined to believe both of the line-of-battle. The French fled, the British
pursued during a serene night, a pleasing gale, and every circumstance that could
keep the imagination employed. The beams of Aurora discovered the force of the
Brilliant. The French commodore immediately shortened sail, and made the signal for
the frigates to attack her. At six the combat began between those three, when Mons.

124 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Lambert, like a fair gamester, hauled for the Bellona, so that their bows pointed to. each
other. At the distance of two cables' lengths the enemy began to fire. Captain Faulknor
received his second broadside before he permitted a gun to be discharged ; this enabled
him to lock the yards when he gave orders to begin. The execution (as I have it from
the French) was incredible. They received two broadsides in that situation, when the
Bellona backed astern, in order to run on the other side. In performing this, her
mizen-mast went away, and fell directly over the stern, several were bruised, some killed,
and all the men on the top got in at the gun ramparts. The driver boom broke the fall ;
this rather served to assist Captain Faulknor's scheme of wearing quickly under the
Courageux' s stern, and ranging on the other side. It was performed to a miracle, every
gun told on the quarter as they passed, till the Bellona was placed on the Courageux' s
bow, whose jib-boom was entangled in the other's fore shrouds. Here the guns were
as quickly traversed, and as keenly plied. Taken in all directions, beat and buffeted
on every quarter, her captain killed, her mizen-mast gone, her main-mast wagging, her
tiller rope cut, her quarters laid open, 240 of her crew carnaged, 130 wounded,
courage submitted to superior powers; the main- mast fell with the flag. The action
lasted fifty-five minutes. The prize was conducted into Lisbon, under the eyes of the
king and court, as well as those of every nation in Europe.
"The opposite shores were covered from St. Julien's to the town with thousands of
people. What is strange the Bellona had only a few shots which pierced her hull, though
shattered and torn in the sails and rigging. She lost but five men and 20 wounded,
mostly by musket balls, and the tumbling of her masts. It is natural to inquire into
the reason of this disproportion, and it is imputed with truth to superior management ;
for the ship was more shattered than the Formidable. She appears to have been appointed
in every respect superior to any of the French captures which have fallen under my
notice — -short guns, smooth cylinders, good powder, and grape well prepared, clear of
cabins and other obstructions, the officers regarded as the best in France, the captain
confident in his strength and daily wishing for an opportunity to redeem the credit of
his country ; but the fact is he was fairly outworked. I can only compare the conduct
of the Bellona to a dexterous gladiator, who not only plants his own blows with
surety, but guards against the strokes of his antagonist. Fortune had little to say in
the action, because it appeared that everything that happened was told and foreseen.
Each design was carried into execution, no confusion, no balk, no powder blown up, no
cannon fired in vain. The people, it is true, had been twice in action, all the officers

!KrTjtJ«m >^

2nd CLASS PETTY OFFICER.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 125
were of a superior class. The first lieutenant, Mr. Male, is not to be equalled for
modesty or merit, nor can the master be compared with any of his corps,
" Captain Faulknor's speech* in the note below to the people will explain what I mean
by saying everything was foreseen. Every action corresponded with the speech, which
is the circumstance I admire the most. It appears wonderful to some that so many
men should be killed in so short a space. But on viewing the ship, that reason is
called to account how any could escape. The force of a man-of-war when well applied
was never more evident. Your lordship will easily conceive this who knows the slaughter
committed in the Hero about the same time.
" There is an anecdote of Faulknor which I think not unworthy of being related even
to your lordship. It is true, and it is natural, and I think favours more of presence
of mind than some I have met with in noted histories : —
" When the Bellona' s mizen-mast went away, a fellow, looking afraid, cried out, ' Oh,
Lord ! we have lost our mizen-mast.' Faulknor immediately replied, ' What has a two-
decked ship to do with a mizen-mast in time of action ? See and knock away his mizen-
mast.' Not to interrupt the thread of the principal action, I seemed to have forgot poor
Logie in the Brilliant. We left him engaged with two. He never perfectly closed
with either, but pursued his excellent plan of employing both, to prevent any from in
terfering with the gladiators, who were fitted. He succeeded, and they left him. They
are since got into Vigo. The circumstance which amazes foreigners most in this affair,
is the pursuing a superior force with so much money on board. It shows so much
despite, so much confidence, and the issue appears so complete a proof that even the French,
on this occasion, yield with the tongue what they lost with the sword. When the second
captain came on board he told Faulknor he had got a rich prize. 'By Jove,' says Bob,
' I gave you a chance for a better. There is £100,000 in the hold you might have
divided without agency.' The man stood amazed, as he declared himself. During the
* " Gentlemen — I have been bred a seaman from my youth, and consequently am no orator, but I promise to carry
you all near enough, and then you may speak for yourselves. Nevertheless, I think it necessary to acquaint you
with the plan I propose to pursue in taking the ship, that you may be the better prepared to execute my orders with
quickness and facility. French men-of-war have been taken with their guns lashed on the opposite side. They know
little of this business, put them to management, and they run into confusion ; for this reason I propose to run you close
on the enemy's larboard quarter, when we will exchange two broadsides and then back astern and range upon the
other quarter ; and so tell your guns as you pass. I recommend at all times to point chiefly at the quarters, with your
guns slanting fore and aft ; this is the principal part of a ship. If you kill the officers, break the rudder, and snap the
braces, she is yours of course, but for this reason I desire you may only fire one round shot, and grape above, and two
round shot only below : take care and send them home with exactness. This is a rich ship, they will render you in
return their weight in gold."
vol. in. s

126 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
action Captain Faulknor was induced from the heat to throw off his coat ; nor would he
listen to his officers, who fearing it might prove a mark to the enemy, earnestly requested
him to put it on ; but he peremptorily refused — ' Never mind such thoughts, I must take
my chance for that.' " The ships steered for Lisbon, where the French commodore died
of wounds he had received in the neck. The first lieutenant of the Bellona was promoted,
and the Courageux was added to the Navy, in which she saw much service until her loss
on the coast off Gibraltar in 1797.
Our hero had also two uncles in the Navy ; one, named Samuel, repeatedly dis
tinguished himself, and a second, Admiral Jonathan Faulknor, was second captain of
the Victory, Keppel's flagship, in his indecisive action with the French fleet, and
received the encomiums of his superiors.
Young Eobert Faulknor, who lost his father in 1769, when only seven years of age,
entered the Navy in 1771, on board the Isis, 50, Captain the Hon. W. H. Cornwallis,
and was engaged on the coast of America against the revolted colonies. He accom
panied Captain Cornwallis into the Bristol, and a passage in a letter addressed by
that officer to the boy's mother, will show the estimation in which he held his " dear
little friend," as he called him. " He has behaved extremely well in all things, and
bids fair to be as great a credit to the service as his father was." The same year the
young midshipman followed hi3 patron into the Ruby, Medea, and Lion, 64, in which
he sailed for the West Indies.
In December, 1780, Mr. Faulknor received a lieutenant's commission, and served in
the Princess Royal, 98, flagship of Admiral Eowley, who spoke of him as "a young
man of great merit." In April, 1782, Lieutenant Faulknor was appointed to the
Britannia, 98, Yice-Admiral Barrington's flagship, which sailed with a squadron to
intercept a French convoy bound for the East Indies. The Pegase, 74, and L' Actionnaire,
64, with twelve merchantmen, were taken, and the Britannia participated in Lord
Howe's relief of Gibraltar. He served much afloat during the peace, and on the
2nd April, 1791, was promoted to the rank of commander, and commissioned the
Pluto, fireship, of 14 guns, and in June, 1793, soon after the outbreak of war with
France, was transferred to the Zebra , 16, which formed one of the fleet sent under
command of Sir John Jervis to the West Indies. Here Commander Faulknor made a
great reputation for daring and professional skill.
At the attack on Martinique, his small ship, with the Asia, 64, Captain Brown,
was ordered to run in close and cover the boats of the fleet, under the command of

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 127
Commodore Thompson, supported by Captains Eiou and Nugent; a detachment from
the army advancing at the same time along the side of the hill, under Fort Bourbon,
towards the bridge over the canal, at the back of Fort Eoyal. Sir John Jervis says
in his despatches: — "This combination succeeded in every part except the entrance
of the Asia, which failed for the want of precision of the French officer who had
undertaken to pilot the Asia. Captain Faulknor observing that ship baffled in her
attempts, and the Zebra having been under a shower of grape-shot for a great length
of time (which he, his officers, and ship's company, stood with a firmness not to be
described), he determined to undertake the service alone, and he executed it with
matchless intrepidity and conduct. Eunning the Zebra close to the wall of the fort,
and leaping overboard at the head of his ship's company, he assailed and took this
important post before the boats could get on shore ; although they rowed with all the
force and animation which characterize English seamen in the face of an enemy. No
language of mine can express the merit of Captain Faulknor on this occasion ; but as
every officer and man in the army and squadron bears testimony to it, this incompar
able action cannot fail of being recorded in the page of history." Sir Charles Grey
also highly commended Captain Faulknor. "The Navy acquitted themselves with
their usual gallantry (particularly Captain Faulknor, whose conduct justly gained him
the admiration of the whole army), carrying the fort by escalade about 12 o'clock of the
20th hist., under the able conduct of Commodore Thompson, whose judicious disposition
of the guns and flat boats, assisted by that spirited and active officer Captain Eogers,
contributed materially to our success."
The following extracts from some of his letters to his mother, whom he. addresses as
" Honoured Madam," according to the quaint custom of the time, cannot fail to be of
interest. The first is dated from Martinique harbour, March 25th, 1794, on board
the Undaunted, the Bienvenue's prize, into which he had been posted by Sir John
Jervis : — " On the 20th of this month I was made post-captain into the Undaunted,
a French frigate of 28 guns, captured in Fort Eoyal harbour, the magazine and
arsenal of all the French West India Islands. The whole island has surrendered to
the British arms. The Zebra has been employed during the whole siege, and I
have served alternately on board and on shore. At the storming of Fort Eoyal
a circumstance so fortunate happened to myself that I cannot help relating it : — I had
a ship's cartouche box, which is made of thick wood, buckled round my body, with
pistol cartridges in it for the pistol I carried at my side. As the Zebra came close to the
s 2

128 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
fort a grape-shot struck, or rather grazed my right-hand knuckles and shattered the
cartouche in the centre of my body ; had it not miraculously been there I must have been
killed on the spot. Thanks to Almighty God for His kind preservation of me in the day
of battle ! This important island being secured, the fleet and army will next proceed to
St. Lucia, and then to Guadaloupe, where we expect to find but little resistance. The
admiral told me to-day, I was immediately to go into the Rose; a removal which will be
very pleasant to me, as she is an excellent English frigate, quite manned, and in good order.
She becomes vacant by Captain Salisbury being appointed Commissioner of the dock
yard at Martinique. Adieu, my dearest mother ! may this find you well and happy,
sincerely prays your most affectionate and dutiful son."
" Postscript.— The admiral has appointed me to the Rose, paying me such compliments
that it is impossible for me to relate them. The sword and colours of Fort Eoyal were
delivered to me by the Governor of the fort, and I take some credit to myself that
after the Zebra had stood an heavy fire, and when we had the power to retaliate, for
we were mounted upon the walls, I would not allow a man to be hurt, on their being
panic-struck and calling for mercy. It would take a volume to relate the events which
have happened to me since I left England. The Zebra, when she came out of action,
was cheered by the admiral's ship, and the admiral himself publicly embraced me on the
quarter-deck, and directed the band to play ' See the Conquering Hero comes ! ' Such
compliments are without example in the Navy : I never could have deserved them."
Captain Faulknor's next letter was dated from on board the Blanche, Barrington
Bay, St. Lucia, April 4th :— " Since my last of the 25th March, from Martinique, the
fleet and troops have proceeded to this island, and found it an easy capture, after sus
taining the fire from the different batteries, and intending to storm the strong fort of
Morne Fortunee, in which I was to have commanded a party of my own seamen of the
Rose, which ship I had till the island was taken, when the admiral was good enough
to remove me to a frigate of 32 guns, the Blanche, where I mean to stop, not wishing
to have a larger ship. The Rose was the first ship into Barrington Bay, so named by
Sir John Jervis, it being the famous place where that good admiral made so gallant a
defence in the late war. I think he will receive pleasure to hear of this event, and
had I a moment's time I should not fail to write to him. We next proceed to Gua
daloupe, where we shall probably meet with some opposition." In the subsequent
conquest of this island Captain Faulknor continued to distinguish himself, and at the
storming of the principal fort, which was attended with a good deal of loss, he commanded

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 129
a detachment of seamen. In a subsequent letter from Halifax, Captain Faulknor gives
the following account of his sucoess : — " After a pleasant passage of eleven days, I arrived
safe at the port on the 16th instant, with his Eoyal Highness Prince Edward.* I was
ordered to take my old ship the Zebra under my command, and to cruise after the two
ships are refitted, along the whole coast of America until the end of October. A large
force of one hundred and fifty ships have sailed from America to France, guarded by
three sail-of-the-line and six frigates. One frigate and a sloop are left in the Chesa
peake to block up the Dwdalus, a British frigate which has been kept in port these
last five months, by superior force. The Blanche, I trust, will be ready for sea in a few
days, and I mean without a moment's delay to proceed to her relief. The public papers
and the different letters I have written will inform you of the singular success of our
arms in the West Indies. The exertions in the different operations were a continual
competition, and each officer and man in the army and navy was zealous to excel the
other ; the sailors became good soldiers. Among others, it fell to my lot to serve
alternately on board and on shore, but chiefly the latter, and although I had but a small
share in the business, yet the escapes I have had have been great. I commanded a
detachment of seamen at the storming of the strong fort of Fleur d'Ep^e, at Guadaloupe,
and which was thought impracticable to be taken by assault. The grenadiers, light
infantry, and seamen were sent on this service. The side of the mountain which the
seamen had to get up, was almost perpendicular, and defended by nature and art. All
difficulties were overcome, but by the time we got upon the ramparts we were so blown
and our strength so exhausted, that the strongest amongst us were unmanned.
" I was attacked by two Frenchmen, one of whom made a thrust at me with his
bayonet, which went through my coat without wounding me ; and the other made a
blow at me, which I parried, and he eluded mine in return, but immediately sprang
upon me, clasping his arms round my neck, and fixing his teeth in the breast of my
shirt, wrenched the sword from my hand, and tripped me up, falling with great
violence to the ground, with this French officer upon me. In this situation two of
my seamen flew to my relief and saved my life, and at the moment when the man
upon me had his hand lifted up to stab me. An escape so providential, and an
event so critical, call for my warmest thanks to the Almighty. The conquest of
this fort determined the fate of Guadaloupe : the troops who had intended before to
make a vigorous opposition, now ran before us, and we had little to o afterwards
* Afterwards Duke of Kent, father of Her Majesty the Queen.

130 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
but to march through the island, a march of great severity in a climate so unhealthy.
Thus ended the conquest of the French West Indies before the rainy season had set
in, which alone might have frustrated all our hopes."
In a letter, dated December 31, 1794, Captain Faulknor informs Admiral Cald
well that he had chased an armed schooner on shore, laden with gunpowder, near
Fort Louis, Guadaloupe, which he afterwards got off and sent to St. John's, Antigua.
He also, the day before, chased a national corvette into the bay of Deseada, where
she was moored close under a battery, on which he anchored, engaged and silenced the
battery, and brought the schooner out. The Blanche suffered slightly in her hull,
masts, and rigging, and a midshipman and one man were killed and five wounded.
The enemy, both in the battery and on board the schooner, suffered considerably.
Within a few days of this our hero ended his glorious career in the desperate
engagement which took place off Point a Petre, between the Blanche, which had two
master's mates and 12 men away in prizes, and the Pique, frigate, of 38 guns, besides
a number of brass swivels on her gunwale. In this engagement, fought on the 5th
January, 1795, Captain Faulknor was shot through the heart from the bowsprit of
the Pique, having previously lashed it to the capstan with his own hands.
Mr. Watkins, first lieutenant, gallantly fought the ship after Captain Faulknor was
killed. Some further account of the action is given in an abstract from an official letter
from Yice-Admiral Caldwell to Mr. Stephens, dated off Martinique, 11th January, 1795.
"For the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, I enclose two copies
of letters received from Lieutenant Watkins, of the Blanche, with minutes of Mr.
Milne,* her second lieutenant, who came to me express, giving an account of their
taking the French frigate La Pique, of 38 guns and 360 men, after an action of five
hours, as brilliant and decided as ever happened ; nor can too much praise and commen
dation be given to all the officers and ship's company. Their lordships will see by the
minutes the judicious manner in which the Blanche laid the enemy on board, and twice
lashed her bowsprit to the Blanche's capstan ; and when the former's main and mizen-
masts fell, she payed off before the wind and towed the enemy, when the stern-posts, not
being large enough, they blew the upper transom beam away to admit the gun to run
out, and fired into her bows for three hours, the marines under Lieutenant Eichardson
keeping up so well-directed and constant a fire, that not a man could appear upon her
* This officer was promoted to the rank of post-captain, and commanded the- Pique, when she was lost on the
coast of France, after an action with the Seine, frigate. Her crew were saved, and Captain Milne was appointed to the
Seine in 1798.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 131
forecastle until she struck, when the second lieutenant and ten men swam on board, and
took possession of her. Captain Faulknor was unfortunately killed after two hours'
action, by which his Majesty has lost an officer as truly meritorious as the Navy of
England ever had."
The death of Captain Faulknor made a considerable impression on the public mind,
and the gallantry he displayed was long the theme of praise by his countrymen. On
the 6th May, an interlude, called " The Death of Captain Faulknor," was performed at
Covent Garden Theatre. It was also selected by an eminent artist as a subject well
adapted to his genius, and the treatment was worthy of this glorious event. But the
sense which the nation at large entertained of the heroism of Captain Faulknor is best
shown by the speeches in the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 4th, when a public
monument was voted to his memory. This was executed by Eossi and placed in St.
Paul's, with the following inscription : " This monument was voted by his country to
Captain Eobert Faulknor, commander of his Majesty's ship Blanche, whose ancestors had,
without cessation, served with glory in the British Navy for nearly two centuries, and
who himself fell on the 5th January, 1795, when engaging La Pique, of superior force,
which was afterwards captured by the Blanche}'
A third post-captain in the Navy, not less distinguished and gallant than either
Harvey or Faulknor, and we could give him no higher praise, was Captain Eichard
Bowen, of whom Nelson wrote at the time of his glorious death, " A more enterprising,
able, and gallant officer does not grace his Majesty's Naval service."
Eichard Bowen was born in Devonshire, the county of Drake, and so many other
naval worthies, in the year 1761, and went to sea when thirteen years of age with his
father, who commanded a trading ship. In 1778, when serving in the West Indies
with his elder brother, the master of a merchantman, he volunteered to serve under
Captain Calder, then commanding the Emerald frigate. On her return to England
in the following year, young Bowen served in the Lightning fireship, under Captain
Calder, who, on his promotion, recommended him to the notice of Captain Jervis (after
wards Earl St. Yincent), with whom he served in the Foudroyant. Captain Jervis
quickly appreciated the merits of the young officer, who commanded one of the ship's
boats when it was employed with others towing the Perseverance, of Admiral Darby's
squadron, to attack the Lively (formerly of the British Navy), of 26 guns and 205 men,
which was captured.
In April of the following year, 1782, the Foudroyant, one of the Channel squadron,

132 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
under the command of Admiral Barrington, chased two ships-of-the-line, and about one
o'clock on the morning of the 21st April, brought the sternmost to close action. In
less than an hour Captain Jervis, by superior seamanship and gunnery, effected the
capture of the ship, the Pegase, of 74 guns and 750 men. The enemy on this occasion
suffered considerably, losing 80 men, among the wounded being the commander. During
the action Bowen again attracted the notice of Captain Jervis, who promoted him to
be junior acting lieutenant of his ship. While the Foudroyant was refitting, Bowen, whose
spirit eagerly sought the excitement of active service, went afloat as third lieutenant in
the Artois, frigate, of which his elder brother was the master. The conclusion of peace
robbed him of further chance of earning distinction, and he served for some years chiefly
in the West Indies, but without having his acting rank confirmed, though his patron,
Sir John Jervis, used his utmost endeavours on his behalf.
Not until 1790 did Bowen receive his promotion to the rank of lieutenant, and
in March of the following year we find him appointed to the charge of the
Atlantic, and two other transports, which were sent with supplies to the newly founded
colony of New South Wales. Thence he sailed past New Caledonia, and by way of
Malacca, to Calcutta, where he arrived in January, 1792, and having procured a further
supply of provisions, returned to Port Jackson on the 19 th June. Lieutenant Bowen,
taking on board Governor Phillips, sailed for England, on the way touching for the
second time at Norfolk Island, and arrived at Spithead on the 10th May, 1793, having
completed the voyage round the world.
War having been declared with France, Bowen embarked with Sir John Jervis as
fourth lieutenant of the Boyne, 98, carrying his flag. He proceeded to the West Indies,
and rivalled in glory the officer whose exploits in the Zebra we have already detailed.
Admiral Jervis placed him in command of the guard boats at the siege of Fort Eoyal,
in Martinique, and entrusted to him the duty of boarding the Bienvenue, a French
frigate, which lay in the careening ground, under the walls of Fort Eoyal. Having made
his arrangements, Lieutenant Bowen, on the 17th February, led the attack in the Boyne' s
barge, and before the enemy could bring a gun to bear, he boarded her under a heavy
fire from the fort, and carried the ship, killing or driving overboard all except 20 of
the crew, who became his prisoners, but as the wind blew straight into the harbour, he
could not bring the Bienvenue off. " The success of this gallant action," wrote Captain
Faulknor, " determined the general and me to attempt the fort and town of Fort Eoyal
by assault."

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 133
On the 20th March, when this officer was appointed to the command of the Bienvenue,
Lieutenant Bowen succeeded him in the Zebra, with the rank of commander, and was
employed at the reduction of St. Lucia, Guadaloupe, and other islands.
In the following April Commander Bowen received post rank, and was appointed
first to the Veteran, and then to the 32-gun frigate Terpsichore. In this ship he effected
the release of the Dcedalus, which was blockaded in the Chesapeake by two large French
frigates, which, however, declined to engage the English ships on equal terms. Thence
he returned to Guadaloupe, which the French succeeded in recovering, and he was of
great service at the evacuation of Fort Matilda, in bringing off the garrison, when he
received a sword wound in the face, which necessitated his return to England. Bear-
Admiral Thompson and Sir John Yaughan, commanding the forces in the West India
Islands, bore testimony to the services rendered by Captain Bowen, and the latter officer
states, on the authority of General Prescott, commanding the troops at Fort Matilda, that
when the fort became untenable, " by his able disposition of the boats everything was
managed with the most perfect order and regularity."
Sir John Jervis was appointed to the command of the Mediterranean fleet in December,
1795, when Captain Bowen joined him in the Terpsichore, and was appointed to the
command of a squadron of small vessels employed to protect the trade of Gibraltar and
the supplies for the garrison. In introducing him to General O'Hara, commanding the
troops at the fortress, the admiral described the captain of the Terpsichore as possessing
" the most inexhaustible spirit of enterprise and skilful seamanship that can be comprised
in any human character."
In October, 1796, when Admiral Man's squadron was chased into Gibraltar by a
Spanish fleet, Captain Bowen was despatched to give information to Sir John Jervis?
and when off Carthagena, on the 13th of the month, he sighted a Spanish frigate of
superior force, which proved to be the Mahonesa, carrying 34 guns and a crew of 275
men. Though his ship's company was considerably reduced by sickness, and the Spanish
fleet was known to be cruising in the neighbourhood, Captain Bowen determined to
engage the enemy. He says in his official letter to the commander-in-chief : "On
the morning of the 13th instant at day-light, we discovered a frigate to windward
standing towards us. About eight I could perceive her making preparation for battle,
and was then apparently in chase of us. Our situation altogether was such as to prevent
me being over-desirous of engaging her ; out of our small complement of men we had
20 in the hospital, and we had more than that number still on board on our sick and
VOL. III. I

134 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
convalescent lists, all of whom were either dangerously ill or extremely weak. We
were scarcely out of sight of the spot where we knew the Spanish fleet had been
cruising only two days before, and in fact we had stood on to look for them, with a
view of ascertaining their movements ; a small Spanish vessel which we conjectured to
be a sort of tender was passing us, steering towards Carthagena, so that I' could hardly
flatter myself with being able to bring the frigate off, in the event of a victory, or of
even escaping myself if disabled. On the other hand, it appeared that nothing but a
flight and superior sailing could enable me to avoid an action, and to do that from a frigate
apparently not much superior to us except in point of bulk, would have been committing
the character of one of his Majesty's ships more than I could bring myself to resolve
on. I therefore continued standing on without any alteration of course. Having with
infinite satisfaction and comfort to myself, commanded the Terpsichore' s crew for two
years and a half, through a pretty considerable variety of services, I well knew the
veteran stuff I still had left in health to depend upon for upholding the character of
British seamen, and I felt my mind at ease as to the termination of any action with the
frigate in sight only. At half-past nine she came within hail, and hauled her wind on
our weather beam, and as I conceived she only waited to place herself to advantage, and
to point her guns with exactness, and being myself unwilling to lose the position we
were well in, I ordered one gun to be fired as a trier of her intention. It was so
instantaneously returned and followed up by her whole broadside, that I am confident
they must have done it at the sight of our flash ; the action of course went on, and we
soon discovered that her people would not or could not resist our fire. At the end of
about an hour and forty minutes, during which time we had twice wore, and employed
about twenty of the last minutes in chase, she surrendered. At this period she appeared
almost entirely disabled, and we had drawn close up alongside with every gun well
charged and well pointed. It was, nevertheless, with considerable difficulty that I
prevailed on the Spanish commander to decline the receiving of such a broadside by
submitting ; and from everything I have since heard, the personal conduct, courage, and
zeal of that officer, whose name is Don Thomas Ayalde, was such during the action,
notwithstanding the event of it, as reflects on him the greatest honour, and irresistibly
impressed on my mind the highest admiration of his character. After (from the effects
of our fire) his booms had tumbled down, and rendered his waist guns unserviceable,
all the standing rigging of his lower masts shot away, and I believe every running rope
cut through, and a great number of his people killed and wounded, he still persevered,

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 135
though he could rally but few of his men to defend his ship, almost longer than defence
was justifiable. Had there been the smallest motion in the sea every mast must have
inevitably gone by the board.
" Our loss (which will appear by enclosed list) has been much less than could have
been expected ; but our masts, sails, and rigging were found to be pretty much cut up.
The spirited exertion of every man, officer, and boy belonging to the ship I command,
as well in the action as in securing the two disabled ships and bringing them off instantly
from a critical situation, by taking the prize in tow, and by their incessant labour ever
since, will, I trust, when their small number is considered, place them in a light superior
to any praise I could bestow. I am unwilling to speak of the particular conduct of any
of the officers, but the talents displayed by the first lieutenant, Devonshire, who was
but just out of the sick list, during the action, added to the uncommon fatigue in taking
charge of the prize, and the very able manner he conducted and prepared to defend her,
entitle him to this distinction, and prove him highly deserving of the recommendation
you gave him with his appointment in the West Indies ; and although I had rather
any other person should observe the conduct of a brother of mine in action, and speak of
it afterwards, yet I feel it my duty, as captain of the ship, to state that I thought Mr.
Bowen's (the second lieutenant's) conduct was particularly animating to the ship's
company, and useful from the number of guns he saw well pointed in the course of
the action, and from the absence of the first lieutenant on board the prize, the
labouring oar of this ship has fallen upon him, and in my mind, the task we have had
since the action has been infinitely more arduous than that of the action itself."
Lloyd's committee voted Captain Bowen a piece of plate of the value of one hundred
guineas, and the Admiralty promoted Lieutenant Devonshire. Having refitted his ship
Captain Bowen sailed on a cruise and captured several small prizes, and a fine ship from
Monte Video, which he took at the mouth of Cadiz harbour. Soon again he had an
opportunity of displaying his gallantry and skill.
On the night of the 13th December, in this year, he chased and brought to action
the French frigate Vestale, of 36 guns and 270 men. The action was fought yard-arm
to yard-arm, and was obstinately contested for two hours, when the enemy surrendered,
having lost her captain and 40 men killed, and her second captain and about 50
wounded. Within a few minutes after the conclusion of the action, the masts and
bowsprit of the Vestale went over the side. The Terpsichore had only four killed and
19 wounded, including Lieutenant George Bowen, the captain's younger brother, who
t 2

136 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
received his well-earned promotion, and midshipman Fane. There being no lieutenant
besides Mr. Bowen on board the Terpsichore, the master was sent with a few men
as a prize crew to the Vestale, which, however, was forced to "bring to" close to the
rocks and shoals between Cape Trafalgar and Cadiz. On the following day Captain
Bowen was under the necessity of abandoning the prize, which during the night the
French carried into Cadiz harbour, to the great mortification of her captors. Sir John
Jervis wrote a consolatory letter to Captain Bowen, in which he said: — "I lament
exceedingly that you and your brave crew were deprived of the substantial reward
of your exertions ; but you cannot fail to receive the tribute due to you from the
Government and country at large. I was very much agitated with the danger you
apprehended your brother was in when you wrote; I have, however, derived great
consolation from the report of Captain Mansfield, that he was much recovered, and
able to walk down to the Mole, before he sailed. The account you gave of Francis
Fane is very grateful to my feelings, and I have sent your postscript to Lady
Elizabeth, as the greatest treat I could give to a fond mother and an high-minded
woman. I hope when the upper works of the Terpsichore are thoroughly repaired and
well caulked, you will not find her so crazy as you apprehend." Captain Bowen was
not present at the glorious victory achieved by his patron, Sir John Jervis, over the
Spanish fleet on the 14th February, 1797, but on hearing of it, got under weigh for
Gibraltar, to join the commander-in-chief. When returning to his station he fell in
with the Santissima Trinidada, carrying 138 guns, which had only her foremast standing,
and had the temerity to attack the huge four -decker.
Eegarding the effects of his fire Sir John Jervis wrote to him on the 2nd April : —
"The gallant attack you made deserved success; but it is not given to mortals to
command it. An American gentleman, who called upon me at Lisbon, saw the second
captain of the Trinidada, who was badly wounded by the Terpsichore, and told my
informant that he had nine killed on the spot, and wounded a great number, several
?f whom he had reason to believe had since died of their wounds, and they described
your fire, as infernal."
In June the admiral detached Captain Bowen to look into Teneriffe, in the
Canaries, and at midnight on the 18th, he cut out from under the batteries of Santa
Cruz a ship from Manilla. He was also engaged, under Nelson, in the first bombard
ment of Cadiz, and was entrusted by that officer with the conduct of the second bom
bardment, on the 5th July. The enemy's gun-boats on this occasion did not venture

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 137
out from under the walls, and, says Nelson, "No opportunity was offered to Bowen
to make a dash." Lord St. Yincent had long meditated an attack on Teneriffe, and
when it took place, " Terpsichore Bowen," as the commander-in-chief called our hero
in his letters to Eear- Admiral Nelson, had the glorious but hazardous duty assigned
him of leading the attack.
We have already given a detailed account of this disastrous enterprise, and will
only add that Captain Bowen landed at the Molehead with 40 or 50 of his men, and
stormed the battery, and was proceeding towards the town when he was met with a
shower of grape from some field-pieces and was slain, together with his first lieutenant and
many of his brave men. " The body of Captain Bowen," says Campbell, " covered
with wounds, was discovered in the morning under those of his first lieutenant and his
whole boat's crew, who had been his faithful companions in many hazardous and successful
enterprises, and sealed their attachment to their lamented leader by participating in his
glorious fate. His body was committed to the deep with the honours of war on
the 27th July."
It is not too much to say that the Navy has produced no finer seaman that the cap
tain of the Terpsichore, the " little devil," as the Spaniards called the ship. His devotion to
duty, his dashing gallantry and professional skill were unsurpassed, and gave promise
of the highest distinction, while his many amiable qualities endeared him to his
crew. Notwithstanding that both St. Yincent and Nelson urged Lord Spencer,
then First Lord of the Admiralty, to erect a national memorial in St. Paul's to the
memory of Captain Bowen, nothing was done, on the plea that there was no precedent
for thus honouring an officer who had fallen in an unsuccessful enterprise, and the only
monument in the land was put up by his father in the church at Ilfracombe, his native
place. Sir Andrew Snape Douglas was a famous officer in his day, and commanded Lord
Howe's flagship, the Queen Charlotte, in his great victory on the 1st June. He was
born in 1761, went to sea when only ten years of age, in the Arethusa, commanded
by his uncle, afterwards Sir Andrew Hammond, after whom he was named. He
rendered important services during the American War of Independence. At the siege
of Charlestown, in 1780, he commanded the Sandwich, floating battery, and after the
surrender, though only in his nineteenth year, was made post-captain and commissioned
the Providence, an American 32-gun frigate, an extraordinary instance of rapid promo
tion. The same year his uncle, then commanding the Roebuck, Admiral Arbuthnot's

138 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
flagship, left for England, when this young officer succeeded to the command, and cap
tured the Confederacy, 36, the Protector, 28, and several privateers. In July, 1781,
when the Roebuck was ordered home, Captain Douglas was appointed to the Chatham,
54, and continued on active service on the American coast till the conclusion of the war.
During a great portion of the time he was commodore of a squadron of frigates, and
took and destroyed fifty sail belonging to the enemy, including several privateers, and
the French 36-gun frigate, Magicienne.
In August, 1786, Captain Douglas was appointed to the command of the South
ampton, 32, and served in the Mediterranean and in attendance on King George III. at
Weymouth. His Majesty often embarked on board the frigate, and knighted her gallant
commander. Captain Douglas commanded successively the seventy-four's, Goliath and
Alcide, under Lords Howe and Hood, and in 1793, on the outbreak of war with France,
was appointed to the Phaeton, 38, and was very successful in cruising for the protection
of British commerce. On the 14th April, he captured the French galleon, St. Jago,
which greatly enriched the officers and men of the Phaeton. He says, in a letter to his
uncle : " Yesterday our squadron gave chase to two sail in the north-west. I came up
with a large Spanish galleon with French colours, dropped a boat on board of her as I
passed, leaving her to be taken possession of by Molloy, and stood in chase of the headmost,
which I took two hours afterwards, a French privateer, coppered, the General Dumou-
rier, of 22 guns, six-pounders, and 196 men, having on board 680 cases of silver, and
each case containing 3,000 dollars. The galleon is from Lima, and had been taken by
the French eleven days before. The two prizes are of immense value, exceeding Com
modore Anson's. We have had a meeting in the admiral's cabin, and we consider our
selves fully entitled to all and everything found on board the General Dumourier, but
we imagine we shall only receive the salvage of the galleon. I think it is one-half. The
admiral sends the Edgar in with the prize. If this money had got to France, how it
would have operated in their favour ! The money in the privateer weighs fifty-five
tons. We had it all put into the Edgar."
In the same year Captain Douglas captured the Prompte, 28, and a privateer, and
was afterwards attached to the Channel fleet under the command of Lord Howe, who
placed the whole of his frigates under his orders. On the 8th April, 1794, his lordship
nominated him captain of his flagship, the Queen Charlotte, which he commanded in the
memorable victory of the 1st June. During the battle a piece of grape-shot struck Sir
Andrew Douglas above the right eye. Though suffering greatly from the wound, which

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 139
eventually deprived him of his life, the gallant captain of the Queen Charlotte soon
returned on deck, and resumed his duties, holding the tourniquet, which was applied to
his head, in one hand. Lord Howe, who entertained the highest opinion of his flag-cap
tain, always spoke with admiration of his devotion to duty on this occasion.
Sir Andrew also commanded the Queen Charlotte when she formed one of Lord Brid-
port's fleet in the action with the French on the 23rd June, 1795, off Lorient. He
never left the deck during the previous night, and by taking advantage of any flaw of
wind and trimming his ship's sails incessantly, had the satisfaction of being nearest the
enemy's rear when day broke. He received the fire of five or six of their ships, and
standing on, closely engaged the Formidable, which struck her colours after a gallant
resistance. The Queen Charlotte, which had suffered considerably aloft, dropped astern to
repair damages, and received the submission of the Alexandre (late the British Alexander)
which had been brought to action by the Irresistible. These two ships and the Tigre,
which surrendered to superior force, represented the results of this victory. Sir Andrew
Douglas had never ceased to suffer from the effects of the wound received in Lord Howe's
victory, and was compelled to resign the command of the Queen Charlotte, and after
much suffering, he expired at his uncle's villa at Fulham on the 4th June, 1797.
The career of Earl Howe, scarcely less than that of Lord Nelson, his great successor
at a later period, is a brief epitome of the Naval history of this country during a memor
able epoch. The second son of Viscount Howe, he was born in 1725, and was educated
at Eton, which he left at the age of fourteen, to serve in the Severn, 50, Captain Hon.
Edward Legge, in Commodore Anson's famous voyage of circumnavigation. But the
Severn got no farther than the coast of Patagonia, and being greatly injured by the con
tinual storms she met, returned to England. In February, 1743, he served in the
Burford, Captain Lushington, under Sir Charles Knowles, in the attack made on La
Guayra, in South America. The Burford suffered severely in the action and lost her
captain, one of whose legs was carried away at the thigh by a chain- shot. Young Howe
was greatly attached to his commander, and when relating the circumstances of his death
before a court-martial, was so greatly affected as to burst into tears. Captain Lushing
ton continued giving his orders until the faintness from loss of blood necessitated his
removal to the cockpit. The first lieutenant sent the young officer down for orders,
when the dying commander directed him to return and request him to use his own
judgment. Soon after Mr. Howe was promoted to a lieutenantcv on board of a sloop-of-war, and

140 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
had an opportunity of displaying his intrepidity. A French privateer had captured an
English merchantman under the guns of the Dutch settlement of St. Eustatia, and as
the governor refused to interfere, Mr. Howe requested and received permission to cut
her out. Though his captain tried to dissuade him from so rash an adventure, as he
conceived it, the young officer persisted, and succeeded in recovering the ship, which he
restored to the owners. In 1745, he served under Admiral Vernon in the Downs, and
in the following year was promoted and appointed to the command of the Baltimore,
sloop-of-war, which served on the coast of Scotland during the rising. Here he gave
a signal proof of his gallantry. The Baltimore, in company with another ship, fell
in with two French frigates of superior force, when Commander Howe ran between
them and brought one to close action. A desperate engagement ensued, in the course
of which our hero was severely "Wounded by a musket ball in the head. He was insen
sible for some time, but at length showed signs of returning consciousness. On the
wound being dressed he returned to the deck and was reoeived with shouts of joy by
his crew, who continued the action till the enemy sheered off. For his gallantry he
was posted and appointed to the Triton, frigate, but afterwards exchanged into the
Ripon, and sailed for the Guinea coast, and then steered for Jamaica, where he joined
Admiral Knowles. By him he was appointed to his flagship, the Cornwall, 80, and on
the conclusion of peace, in 1748, returned in her to England.
In March, 1750, Captain Howe commissioned the Gloire, 44, and took command
of the squadron on the west coast of Africa, and on his return home, commanded the
Dunkirk, 60, on the outbreak of war with France in 1755. He accompanied Admiral
Boscawen's fleet to America, and overtook and engaged the Alcide, which, though of
superior force, he compelled to surrender in half an hour. This was the first blow
struck in a war which had such disastrous results for France. On board the Alcide
were 900 men, including soldiers, who, together with the garrison of Louisburg, were
made prisoners.
In 1758 Captain Howe succeeded to the peerage on the death of his brother, and a
few years later was appointed to the Board of Admiralty. In 1770, on attaining flag-
rank, he was appointed to the command in the Mediterranean, and in 1775 was elected
member for Dartmouth. On the rupture with our colonies, Lord Howe was nominated
to the command in North America, and hoisted his flag in the Eagle, 64. Every
enterprise in which the fleet under his command participated was uniformly successful,
and New York, Ehode Island, and Philadelphia fell to the arms of England, but the

HER MAJESTY1 S NAVY. 141
same cannot be said of the military operations, and after his return to England, our fleet
temporarily lost command of the sea, and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at York Town
put a disastrous termination to the war.
In the spring of 1782 Lord Howe received an English peerage, and in the following
October effected the relief of Gibraltar. It has been well said of this enterprise - —
" That foreign nations acknowledge its glory, and every future age will confirm it. Not
only the hopes, but the fears of his country accompanied Lord Howe. The former
rested upon his consummate abilities and approved bravery, while the latter could not but
look to the many obstacles he had to subdue, and the superior advantage of the fleet that
was to oppose him. Nevertheless he fulfilled the grand objects of the expedition, the
garrison of Gibraltar was effectually relieved, the hostile fleet baffled and dared in vain
to battle, and the different squadrons detached to their important destinations, while the
ardent and certain hopes of his country's foes were disappointed." On Lord Howe's
return, the Corporation of London ordered Copley to paint a picture of the siege and
relief of the great fortress, to perpetuate the gallantry of the army under General Elliot
(now Lord Heathfield), and of the fleet under the command of Lord Howe.
In January, 1783, his lordship was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, but finally
retired in July 1788. Two years later he hoisted his flag on board the Victory, until the
Queen Charlotte was ready, and on the outbreak of the Eevolutionary War, at the especial
request of the King, undertook the command of the fleet to which was entrusted the task
of safeguarding his country's shores.
While cruising off Ushant Howe learned, on the 19th May, 1794, that the French
fleet, under the command of Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, had quitted Brest. There is no
need to repeat the story of the action of the 29th May and the glorious and decisive
victory of the first of June, when the armament that formed the hope of France on the
sea was defeated and seven ships-of-the-line were captured. Portsmouth presented a scene
of anxious and proud expectancy on the 13th June, when the British fleet was seen with
its prizes in the offing. The artillery on shore fired a salute when the Queen Charlotte
anchored, and again as the victorious admiral landed at the Sally Port, where he was
received with acclamations by the populace, a military band playing " See the conquering
Hero comes." King George and his consort, after whom the flagship was named,
arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th, and, on the following day, paid a visit to Lord
Howe on board the Queen Charlotte at Spithead. The King held a levee of the officers
of the fleet, and presented the admiral with a magnificent sword, valued at 3,000 guineas,
vol. in. u

142 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
and a gold chain to which the medal presented for the victory was suspended. His
Lordship received the freedom of the City of London in a gold box, and the Houses of
Parliament voted their thanks to him and the officers and men of his fleet.
Lord Howe resigned the command of the Channel fleet in May, 1795, and before his
death, on the 5th August, 1799, in his seventy-third year, rendered his country yet one
more service by bringing the mutinous crews at Spithead to a sense of their duty.
When the venerable seaman, whose silver hair told of a life passed among them, came
down from London, at the earnest entreaty of the Ministry, to mediate between them
and the mutineers, he was received with expressions of devotion by the crews, who
knowing they could trust him, hearkened to his appeal. A grateful country erected a
monument to Lord Howe in St. Paul's Cathedral, where were hung the colours he had
taken from the enemy.
Lord Howe's second in command on the 1st of June, was Admiral (afterwards
Lord) Graves. This officer went to sea at an early age, and served in the Norfolk, 80,
under his father, at the unsuccessful attack on Carthagena, and again was present on
board the Romney, 50, in the indecisive action in the Mediterranean, between Admiral
Matthews and the combined French and Spanish fleets in February, 1744. More
fortunate, he participated in Lord Anson's victory over the French squadron, under
Admiral Jonquiere, and the even more memorable action between Lord Hawke and
L'Etendeur. On the latter occasion his ship, the Monmouth, commanded by Captain
Harrison, took a conspicuous part and suffered to a proportionate extent.
That he was a very capable officer was proved by the confidence placed in him by
Lord Anson, who appointed him to the command of the Hazard, sloop, in which he
reconnoitred the French fleet, then supposed to be on its way to America, and so complete
and detailed was the information he brought back to his patron, that he was made post
captain as a mark of his approval.
Between 1755 and 1761, when he was appointed Governor of Newfoundland, Captain
Graves held command of several ships, and acquired great credit for his skill and
judgment in the operations that ended in the capture of St. John's, which had been taken
by a French squadron and some troops under De Tiernay. Captain Graves was one of
those useful officers for the possession of which the Navy has always been distinguished,
who could be counted upon to perform missions outside the strict routine of his pro
fession. He also served in Parliament as member of a Cornish borough. During the
war with America and France, Captain Graves commanded the Monmouth, 64, and

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 143
Conqueror, 74, and on the 19th March, 1779, was raised to flag rank and returned to
England. In the ensuing summer he sailed for America in the London, 98, with five
other ships-of-the-line and a frigate, to reinforce Admiral Arbuthnot, and when the enemy
put to sea from Ehode Island, on the 8th March, 1780, he gave chase and a slight
encounter took place, which ended indecisively, owing to the disinclination to engage of
the French admiral, his old antagonist, De Tiernay. Soon after Admiral Arbuthnot re
signed to him the chief command, and his position became critical, owing to the superiority
of the French fleet, now reinforced by the squadron of De Grasse from the West Indies.
Sir Samuel Hood had indeed arrived at Sandy Hook on the 28th August from the
West Indies with fourteen sail-of-the-line, but still the preponderance was greatly in
favour of the French.
With Hood's squadron and his own, consisting of five ships-of-the-line and one
of 50 guns, Admiral Graves, three days later, proceeded to sea, hoping to encounter the
squadron of ten sail from Ehode Island, now under De Barras, before he had effected a
junction with De Grasse. On arriving off Cape Henry, it was discovered that the
combined fleet numbered twenty-four sail, five more than the British squadron, but
the commanders did not hesitate to engage. The action that ensued was chiefly between
the van of the rival fleets, which were abreast of each other, but De Grasse kept
continually edging away, and the rest of his fleet was considerably to leeward of his
van and centre, while seven in the rear did not fire a shot. The action ceased at sunset,
and though Admiral Graves was under the necessity of destroying one of his ships, which
had sustained much damage and was in other respects unseaworthy, De Grasse took no
opportunity during the five succeeding days of accepting the gage of battle.
On the declaration of war with France, in 1793, Admiral Graves was appointed
second in command under Lord Howe in the Channel fleet, and took part in the Royal
Sovereign in the battle of the 1st of June. The admiral carried his ship into the thick
of the fight, and conduced greatly to the success achieved, while the Royal Sovereign
lost her fore and mizen-top-gallant masts and had 14 killed and 44 wounded, among the
latter being the gallant admiral, who was severely wounded in the right arm. As has been
mentioned, he received an Irish peerage for his services, and survived till 1801, when
he expired in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Lord Graves cannot be considered a
seaman of the first rank, but he was a most useful and meritorious officer.
A more renowned admiral was Lord Duncan, the victor of Camperdown. He was
born in 1731, and went to sea at the age of fifteen on board the Shoreham, frigate, com-
v 2

144 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY
manded by Captain Shuldham. Mr. Duncan next sailed under Commodore Keppel in
the Centurion, and though so young, attracted the attention and friendship of that
great man, on whose recommendation he was promoted to a lieutenancy and appointed
to the Norwich, which formed one of the squadron despatched, in 1755, to America
under the command of Commodore Keppel. A vacancy occurring in the Centurion, Mr.
Duncan was removed into the ship by the commodore, who again took him with him
into the Torbay, 74.
At the attack on the French settlement of Goree, Mr. Duncan was wounded, and on
his return to England, was promoted to the rank of commander, on the 21st September,
1759, and in February, 1761, to that of post-captain, with the command of the Valiant,
74. When Admiral Keppel was appointed to command the expedition against Belleisle,
he hoisted his flag in the Valiant, and on the successful completion of that duty, pro
ceeded in the same ship in command of a division of the fleet, destined under Sir George
Pocock to undertake the reduction of Havanna. Captain Duncan commanded the
boats engaged in the disembarkation of the army, and was actively employed during the
siege. On the surrender of the city he was sent to take possession of the Spanish ships,
consisting of five 70 -gun ships, and four of 60 guns, but as the Spanish commander-in-
chief showed hesitation in giving them up, Captain Duncan put an end to the
controversy by setting fire to the ships.
In 1778, on the outbreak of hostilities with France, Captain Duncan was first
appointed to the command of the Suffolk, 74, and then to the Monarch, of the same force,
and served under Sir Charles Hardy in the Channel fleet. The latter ship participated
in the relief of Gibraltar by Sir George Eodney in 1780, and her captain displayed his
dash by being among the foremost ships that engaged De Langara off Cape St. Yincent.
Finding himself alongside a Spanish ship of equal force, while two others lay within
musket-shot to leeward, he engaged all three, and after a brief but well-contested
fight, compelled the San Augustin, 74, to strike her colours. The Monarch was too
much damaged to enable her to take possession of his prize, and Captain Duncan left
the task to another ship coming up astern. She was accordingly taken in tow, but
owing to the heavy weather that ensued, was cast off, when the Spanish crew regained
possession of her, and she was navigated to Cadiz.
An anecdote is told of the gallant captain of the Monarch, that, as he was pushing
on ahead, under all sail, without support, he was hailed by one of the British captains,
and replied that he " wished to be among them." Captain Duncan returned to England,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 145
and early in 1782 was appointed to the Blenheim, 90, in which he served in the Channel
fleet, under Lord Howe, and took part in the final relief of Gibraltar, when he led the
port division of the centre, and earned the commendation of the commander-in-chief.
On his return home Captain Duncan was transferred to the Foudroyant, 80, which had
been throughout the war commanded by a kindred spirit, Sir John Jervis, the victor
in the next war at St. Yincent.
Our hero was promoted to flag rank on the 14th September 1789, but though he
often solicited employment, his application and merits remained alike unheeded until
February 1795, when he was appointed to the North Sea command. Admiral Duncan
first hoisted his flag in the Prince George, 98, but as she was thought too large for
the shallow waters of the Dutch coast, he shifted into the Venerable, 74. This important
command Admiral Duncan held for five years, during which he was enabled to render
his country most important services. Notwithstanding the tempestuous seas and
inclement weather, during the winter he kept afloat watching the Dutch fleet in
the Texel, until at length his assiduity received its reward by his glorious victory off
Camperdown. Not a month passed during that long period that the admiral did not
show his flag off the shoals and sands of the " United Provinces," and he commanded
in a high degree not only the confidence of his men, but of the crew of a Eussian
squadron placed under his command by the Empress Catherine, who rewarded him with
the Order of Alexander Newski, which only came second in distinction to the Order of
St. Andrew. A memorable instance of his popularity among the men under his com
mand, and of the indomitable courage and high sense of duty that distinguished this
fine seaman, was displayed at the time of the mutiny of the British fleet. As soon as
he became aware that the evil spirit of disaffection had spread among the crews of his
squadron, he visited every ship, and for a time shamed the men into abandoning an
attitude of hostility. But while lying in Yarmouth Eoads, awaiting the signal to put
to sea, the crew of the Montague, 74, and Nassau, 64, refused to weigh anchor, and the
admiral was compelled to proceed off the Texel with the Venerable and Adamant alone.
In order to make up by stratagem for his weakness, the knowledge of which to the
enemy would have had fatal results, Admiral Duncan made a variety of signals as if
communicating with ships in the offing, thus effectually duping Admiral de Winter, as
he afterwards confessed, into the belief that the channel of the Helder was blockaded
by the whole squadron.
At this time the men of the Venerable displayed symptoms of mutiny, which were

146 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
disclosed by some of the gunner's crew. The admiral ordered all hands to be turned up
on deck, and addressed them in firm and reproachful terms, when six men, charged
with being the ringleaders in the revolt, were brought before him. The time was
critical, as too strong measures might be not less fatal than weakness. " My lads,"
he said, "I am not in the smallest degree apprehensive of any violent measure you
may have in contemplation ; and though I assure you I would much rather acquire
your love than incur your fear, I will, with my own hand, put to death the first man
who shall presume to display the slightest symptom of rebellious conduct." Turning
round immediately to one of the mutineers; "Do you, sir," said he, "want to take
the command of the ship out of my hands?" "Yes, sir," replied the fellow, with
the greatest assurance. The admiral immediately raised his arm, with an intent to
plunge his sword into the mutineer's breast, but was prevented by the chaplain and
secretary, who seized his hand, from executing this summary act of justice. The blow
being averted, the admiral called to the ship's company with some agitation : " Let
those who will stand by me and my officers, pass over immediately to the starboard
side of the ship, that we may see who are our friends and who are our opponents."
In an instant the whole crew, excepting the six fomenters of the disturbance, ran over
with one accord. The culprits were immediately seized, put in irons, and committed
to the gun-room, from whence they were afterwards liberated, one by one, after having
shown contrition, an act of clemency which endeared the admiral still more to his
men. From this painful episode we will turn to the great victory which has immortalised
the name of Duncan. The enemy's fleet, consisting of fifteen sail-of-the-line, six
frigates and five sloops, had long been in a state of readiness for war, and Duncan,
who lay at the mouth of the Texel, in company with the Adamant, both ships being
anchored with springs on their cables, awaited with calmness their advance upon him,
when at length he was joined by the Sans Pareil, 84, and Russell, 74, and soon after
wards other ships arrived from England.
The Venerable kept the sea for a period of eighteen weeks and three days without
going into port, notwithstanding the heavy weather which drove the ships, one after
the other, back to our coasts to re-fit or re-victual, and the admiral, who had despatched
orders to Yarmouth to purchase the necessities of which he was in need, bore up
thither in company with his fleet. De Winter, meanwhile, put to sea, urged by the
representations of his own Government, and desirous as a brave officer to measure

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 147
swords with his opponent. The gallant admiral was well aware of the superiority of
the British ships to those under his command, but he consoled himself with the
reflection that he could, if he thought proper so to do, return to port without fight
ing the English, while his action would calm the minds of his countrymen. But
Admiral Duncan, who had spared no personal effort, was too quick for him, and
within four days had re-fitted and re-victualled his own ship, and in four more the
whole of his fleet was ready to sail again, and actually put to sea. He had his reward,
for at nine on the morning of the 11th October, the headmost of his ships signalled
the enemy, and after a pursuit of three hours, succeeded in getting between them'
and the land, thus cutting off their return. We have already given an account of
the memorable action that ensued, which raised the successful admiral to the pinnacle
of fame as one of England's most skilful and gallant seamen. As after Trafalgar,
a gale came on the day succeeding the action, and three of the captured ships were
lost, but Admiral Duncan arrived at the Nore on the 17th with the remainder.
The hull of the Venerable had been so much shattered by shot, and she had become
so leaky, that it was found useless to re-fit her for further service, and she was dis
mantled. The admiral (now Baron Camperdown and Yiscount Duncan) hoisted his flag on the
Kent, a new seventy -four, and as soon as the ships under his command were re-fitted,
returned again to his station off the coast of Holland. So effective was the blockade he
instituted that no vessels could escape to sea without almost the certainty of capture.
Lord Duncan retained the North Sea command until the beginning of the year 1801,
when he retired from active service, and three years later he expired, in the seventy-
third year of his age. He is described as a man of tall and athletic frame, and one who
personally knew him said, with the partiality, perhaps, of an admiring friend, that
"it would be difficult to find in modern history another man in whom, with so much
meekness, modesty, and unaffected dignity of mind, were united so much genuine spirit,
so much of the skill and fire of professional genius, such vigorous and active wisdom, such
alacrity and ability for great achievements, with such entire indifference for their success
except so far as they might contribute to the good of his country."
Captain Alexander Hood came of a good fighting stock. His uncles were those famous
seamen Lords Hood and Bridport, better known in their time as Sir Samuel and Sir Alex
ander Hood. Young Hood first shipped in the Endeavour, with the great circumnavigator
Captain Cook, between the years 1772-75. In the early part of the American War he

148 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
served under Lord Howe, and on the 14th March 1780, when just twenty-two years
of age, was appointed to command the Ranger, cutter. He remained for some time
in active employment on the American station, and thence was ordered to join Sir George
Eodney in the West Indies. The Ranger was now rated as a sloop-of-war under the
name of Pigmy, and Lieutenant Hood was raised to the rank of commander on the 17th
May 1781, and on the 26th July following, was appointed post-captain on board the
Barfleur, 98, flagship of his uncle, Sir Samuel Hood, commanding a division of Eodney's
fleet. The latter admiral now sailed for England, leaving in command Sir Samuel, who
in August steered for the coast of America to oppose the combined French fleet under
De Grasse and Barras, who had concerted the attack on Lord Cornwallis, in conjunction
with Washington's army, which ended so fatally for British interests at Yorktown on
the 19th October.
The fleet returned to the West Indies in December, and early in June 1782, Admiral
Hood sailed with twenty ships to relieve St. Kitts, besieged by an army of 8,000
men, the operations of which were covered by De Grasse with thirty-three ships. After
participating in these events, Captain Hood was appointed, on the 4th February, to the
command of the Champion, frigate, which was employed by Sir George Eodney, who had
returned from England, and resumed command of the fleet, in watching with other
frigates the movements of De Grasse's fleet in Port Eoyal harbour, nearly within sight
of St. Lucia, where the British commander-in-chief lay with his'fleet.
After Eodney's great victory of the 12th April, the Champion formed part of the
division which was detached under Sir Samuel Hood to pursue the flying enemy. On the
19th the British ships came up with a part of them as they were endeavouring to escape
through the Mona Passage, and captured the 64-gun ships Caton and Jason, the Aimable,
32, and the Ceres of 18 guns (formerly a British ship) which struck to the Champion.
Captain Hood was now appointed to the command of the Aimable, in which he sailed
for England on the ratification of peace, and the frigate was paid off on the 29th
July 1783.
Captain Hood passed seven years in quiet retirement until 1790, when he was
appointed to the Hebe, and in July 1794, to the Audacious, 74. After serving in her a year
he was compelled by the state of his health to resign the command, but on this being
re-established, in January 1797, he commissioned the Ville de Paris, and in the follow
ing month, the Mars, which formed one of the Channel fleet. He had not been long
in command when the opportunity for distinction for which Captain Hood had long

AT THE BREECHLOADING GUN.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 149
yearned, was given to him. Unhappily for his country, he fell towards the close of the
action, at the age of forty, universally esteemed, and regretted for his amiable qualities
no less than for his personal gallantry and professional attainments.
Lieutenant Butterfield, who succeeded to the command, wrote to Lord Bridport,
briefly announcing the capture of the Hercule, of 74 guns and 700 men, which had just
left Lorient on her first cruise, with the object of joining the Brest fleet. He says: —
"The ship chased by H.M. ship Mars yesterday, per signal, endeavoured to escape
thraugh the Passage du Eaz, but the tide proving contrary, and the wind easterly,
obliged her to anchor at the mouth of that passage, which afforded Captain Hood the
opportunity of attacking her by laying her so close alongside as to unhinge some of
the lower deek ports, continuing a very bloody action for an hour and a half, when
she surrendered. I lament being under the necessity of informing your lordship that
his Majesty has, on this occasion, lost that truly brave man Captain Hood, who was
wounded in the thigh late in the conflict, and expired just as the enemy had struck
her colours. I cannot sufficiently commend the bravery and good conduct of the
surviving officers and men, who merit my warmest thanks. Lieutenants Argles and
Ford are the only officers wounded ; Captain Hood and Captain White of the marines
are killed. Lieutenant Argles, though badly wounded, never quitted the deck."
The success achieved on the 22nd April, 1797, was one of the most brilliant our
Navy has won, as Captain Hood was denied the advantage of superior seamanship from
the fact of the Hercule being anchored, and that on her own coast, and in a difficult
and dangerous passage. Moreover, the engagement was fought after darkness had set
in, and was decided by the superior gunnery and tenacity of the British crew. The
ships fought at such close quarters that the lower-deck guns were actually fired within
board, and the sides of both the combatants were much burnt and blackened. After
receiving the wound from a musket ball, of which he expired, Captain Hood was
carried below, and on recovering consciousness, expressed regret at being removed
from his quarter-deck. The Mars, besides her captain and the commanding marine
•officer, had one midshipman and 28 men killed, and 60 officers and men wounded.
The Hercule had no less than 250 casualties, and was carried into Plymouth, when
she was added to the Navy and commissioned by Lieutenant Butterfield with the rank
of commander. Lord Bridport, in transmitting to the Secretary of the Admiralty Lieutenant
Butterfield's letter, adds the following tribute to the memory of his gallant nephew : — ¦
VOL. III. x

150 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
" No praise of mine can add one ray of brilliancy to the distinguished valour of Captain
Alexander Hood, who carried his ship nobly into battle, and who died of the wounds
he received in supporting the just cause of his country. It is impossible for me not
to sincerely lament his loss, as he was an honour to the service, and universally
beloved. He has fallen gloriously, as well as all who are so handsomely spoken of by
Lieutenant Butterfield."
A brief notice is due to the memory of two gallant officers who died in command
at the battle of Trafalgar. Captain John Cooke first saw service under Lord Howe, on
board the Eagle, 64, during the American War of Independence. At the attack on
Ehode Island young Cooke specially distinguished himself, and was one of the first to
enter the fort. He attracted the notice of his lordship, who on one occasion observing his
activity, clapped him on the back, exclaiming, " Young man, you will become a lieutenant
before you are of sufficient age." And soon after his return to England he had
his wish gratified, and was appointed to the Worcester, and accompanied Sir Edward
Hughes to the East Indies. Lieutenant Cooke witnessed some of the hardest-fought
actions that ever took place at sea, for Sir Edward Hughes found in de Suffren an
adversary his equal both in skill and determination. In the last but one of the five
actions that took place for the naval supremacy of the East, the captain of the Worcester
was killed, and she had altogether 106 casualties. His health became affected by the
climate, and he was sent to England invalided, and thus lost his promotion for some
years, as Sir Edward Hughes, who had a high opinion of the young officer, had his name
next on his list for a commission.
On the restoration of his health Mr. Cooke proceeded to the West Indies as first
lieutenant of Lord Gardner's flagship, the Europa. But again a hard fortune robbed him
of the promotion he might reasonably have anticipated. At the end of about three years
he had a fall, the consequences of which were so serious that the surgeons sent
him home. On his recovery he was appointed by Lord Bridport third lieutenant
of his flagship, the London, 98, and on the outbreak of the French Eevolutionary War
his lordship again 'selected him, this time to be first lieutenant of his ship, the Royal
Sovereign. At length before the close of the century he was made a commander, and
appointed to the Incendiary fireship. Good luck now attended him, as owing to an
accident which incapacitated the captain of the Monarch, he was temporarily appointed
to command her, with the rank of captain, and through the interest of his staunch friend
Lord Bridport, the appointment wao confirmed. The Monarch sailed for Newfoundland

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 151
as flagship of Sir James Wallace, but when she returned the same year to England, he
was transferred to the command of the Nymphe, frigate, and proceeded to join the Channel
fleet. In company with the San Fiorenzo, Captain Sir Henry Neale, she engaged and
captured two French frigates then, returning from landing troops on the Welsh coast.
He was next appointed to the Amethyst, but at the conclusion of the treaty of Amiens
lost his command. The peace that ensued was short-lived, and we find him in command
of the Bellerophon, 74, in which, in October 1805, he joined the blockading squadron off
Cadiz. It had ever been Captain Cooke's dearest wish to serve under Lord Nelson, and to
be in a general engagement under his command, he used to say, would be the greatest
honour that could befall him. Now, at length, this desire of his heart was gratified,
and by a singular fatality they were both destined to fall at the same moment, and almost
in the same manner. His letters home at this time expressed the general wish that they
might encounter the enemy, and the equally general expectation that if they were so
fortunate, the French and Spanish fleets would receive, to use his words, " their final
blow." Captain Cooke was often summoned on board the Victory to attend Lord Nelson
during the three weeks immediately preceding the action. The Bellerophon formed one
of the lee division, under the command of Lord Collingwood, which first got into action
with the enemy.
After Lord Nelson made his last memorable signal, Captain Cooke went below and
visited the guns' crews at their quarters on each deck, exhorting them to act up to
the commander-in-chief's expectations, and on his return to the deck, cheers rang
through the ship for their captain, and the men wrote in chalk on their guns,
" Bellerophon : death or glory." "Captain Cooke," says Campbell, "had appointed
his orders to be given by the sound of a bugle horn ; but, unfortunately, just as the
Bellerophon was bearing down, an unfortunate accident happened, which afterwards
materially affected her. In the bustle of preparation, one of the midshipmen inad
vertently trod upon a rope, which, communicating with the lock of a gun, let it off.
The enemy immediately took this for a signal, and conceived that she was the flag
ship, a circumstance which, in a great measure, accounts for the Bellerophon' s being
attacked by so many of the enemy's ships. In attempting to range alongside the
Monarca, 74, which had been engaged by the Tonnant, the ship immediately ahead of
her in the line, the Bellerophon fouled the Aigle, 74, and thus had an adversary on both
sides. The Montanez, Swiftsure and Bahama also attacked her, and about one o'clock
x 2

152 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
her main and mizen-topmasts fell over the side, causing her sails to catch fire from the
discharge of her guns. The Monarca struck her colours to the Bellerophon, which
continued closely engaged with the Aigle. The latter's mainmast and the foremast of
the Bellerophon came into contact, and the former being a lofty ship, her men stationed
aloft fired into the British 74 to great advantage.
The seamen on the poop of the Bellerophon fell so fast, that Captain Cooke called
them down on the quarter-deck. The master's leg was taken off and another man
was wounded as he was speaking to them, till, at last, only his first lieutenant and a
midshipman were left on deck. The former officer, noticing that Captain Cooke was
wearing his epaulets, observed that he was marked out by the men in the tops. His
reply was, " It is now too late to take them off; I see my situation, but I will die
like a man." His last orders to the lieutenant commanding were to go down and
direct the quoins to be taken out of the guns to raise them, in order to force the decks
of the Aigle. This had the desired effect, for she disengaged herself immediately, and
went off, receiving under her counter three broadsides from the Bellerophon.
It was during the lieutenant's absence that Captain Cooke fell. He had discharged
his pistols very frequently at the enemy, who often attempted to board, and had
killed a French officer on his own quarter-deck. He was in the act of re-loading his
pistols, when he received two musket balls in the breast. He immediately fell, and on
the quartermaster going up, and asking him if he should take him down below, his
answer was, "No, let me lie quietly one minute; tell Lieutenant Cumby never to
strike," and so died Captain John Cooke, in the 43rd year of his age. The ship's
company of the Bellerophon nobly followed their captain's example, and of their number
27 were killed and 127 wounded, exclusive of officers.
Captain George Duff, of the Mars, the same ship that Captain Hood commanded
at the time of his glorious death, who also fell at Trafalgar, was from early youth the
friend of Captain Cooke. He had a marked predilection for the sea, and when only nine,
finding his father averse from indulging his propensity, he ran away and concealed
himself on board a small merchant vessel, then lying in the harbour of his native
town of Banff. The master sent him back to his father, who finding it vain to thwart
the boy's inclination, agreed to his going into the Navy, and directed his tutor to
educate him in the branches of mathematics most useful in the profession. According
to the custom of those days, he was rated on the books of a ship-of-war, and in
.1777, when thirteen years of age, joined his great-uncle, Commodore (afterwards

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 153
Admiral) Eobert Duff, then flying his broad pennant on board the Panther, 64, at
Gibraltar. Young Duff was fortunate in seeing a great deal of active service, and before he was
sixteen years of age had been present in thirteen engagements in the West Indies,
Mediterranean, and on the coast of America. As a reward for his services he was at
that early age promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was present, says Campbell,
at the taking of the Spanish Admiral Langara and his squadron of five sail-of-the-
line, off Cadiz, in the beginning of 1780, and went from thence with Sir George
Eodney's fleet to the West Indies. Mr. Duff was probably at that time a lieutenant
in the Montagu, of 74 guns, for in October that year he served in her when she was
blown out of St. Lucia in the great hurricane, totally dismasted, thrown upon her
beam-ends, and in the greatest danger of being lost. Upon that occasion his exertions
were said to have been very conspicuous, and by the falling of one of the masts he
unfortunately received a contusion on his right leg, which was healed with difficulty,
and was often troublesome to him during the rest of his life, particularly in tropical
climates. The Montagu, having weathered the hurricane, was rigged with jury-masts,
and got back with great difficulty to St. Lucia. She was there re-fitted, and Lieutenant
Duff continued to serve in her in the various encounters which our fleet had with the
French, till the glorious 12th April, 1782, when the Count de Grasse, their Commander-
in-Chief, in the Ville-de- Paris, of 110 guns, the largest ship in the world, and four
other ships of the line, were taken and brought to Jamaica by our victorious fleet.
In 1790 Lieutenant Duff was promoted to the rank of commander, and three years
later, on the declaration of war with France, to that of captain. In this capacity he
served in the Duke, 90, carrying the broad pennant of Commodore Murray, and was
present at the attack on Martinique. At the close of the action, after silencing the
battery to which she had been opposed, the ship was struck by lightning, her main
mast shivered to pieces, and her hull so damaged that it was necessary to send her
home to be repaired. The further attack on Martinique having been deferred, the com
modore returned to England in the Duke. He reported in the highest terms of Captain
Duff, who was immediately appointed to the command of the Ambuscade frigate, of 32
guns, and two years afterwards, to the Glenmore, of 38 guns. In these ships he served
in the North Sea and upon the coast of Ireland until 1801, when, upon a general
promotion in the Navy, he was appointed to the Vengeance, of 74 guns, belonging
to the Channel fleet. This ship, after being detached to the Baltic, to reinforce the

154 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
fleet that attacked Copenhagen, joined the squadron under Eear- Admiral "Campbell,
which, after cruising for some time off Eochefort, was sent to Bantry Bay for the pro
tection of that part of Ireland. Upon this station these ships continued until the
signature of the preliminaries of peace, when they were ordered to Jamaica, to watch the
movements of the armament sent from France to attempt the recovery of the French
part of the island of St. Domingo from the natives.
When the ringleaders of the mutiny, which arose in the squadron while it lay in
Bantry Bay, sounded the crew of the Vengeance, they found them so attached to their
captain that they could not be induced to join. That ship, there is reason to believe, was
the only one in which no mutinous spirit broke out ; and upon the squadron coming
to Portsmouth, previous to their sailing for the West Indies, her crew were indulged
with leave to come on shore by turns, while all the others were confined to their ships.
Not long after this event, Captain Duff was appointed to the command of the
Mars, of 74 guns, and immediately proceeded to join her off Ferrol. He cruised
off that port, and successively off Eochefort and Brest, as one of the Channel fleet,
until in May of the following year he was detached to Cadiz, under Vice- Admiral
Collingwood, whose small squadron of four ships-of-the-line, afterwards increased to
eight, continued to keep their station off that port, unawed by the arrival of the com
bined fleet. When Lord Nelson returned from England to resume the command off
Cadiz, he made a disposition of his fleet into two divisions, one of which was to be led
by himself, and the other by Yice-Admiral Collingwood.
Eear- Admiral Louis having been detached to the Mediterranean with five sail-of-
the-line, Captain Duff had the honour, upon his departure, though there were senior
captains in the fleet, to be appointed to command the advance or inshore squadron of
four sail-of-the-line, by the recommendation, it is said, of Lord Collingwood, who
selected the Mars as second to himself in his division. The squadron commanded by
Captain Duff was stationed midway between the frigates, which cruised close to the
harbour of Cadiz, and the fleet, which kept out of sight of the port. From the time the
enemy's ships began to come out on the 19th October, he was constantly employed re
peating signals from the frigates to the fleet. On the following day he followed, and
kept sight of the enemy, and continued making signals with colours by day and blue
lights at night, until the memorable morning of the 21st, when, it being certain that
the enemy's fleet could not escape, the signal was made for his squadron to return and
take their places in the order of battle. The signal was then hoisted for the Mars to lead

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 155
the lee (or Lord Collingwood' s) division of the fleet, and to break the enemy's line.
Captain Duff, says Campbell, knowing that his ship sailed ill, ordered every stitch of
canvas to be set, and while bearing down upon the enemy, went through his ship to see
that everything was in readiness for action. He spoke to his officers and men, and
among other directions for their conduct, strictly enjoined them not to waste their fire,
as he would take care to lay them close enough to the enemy.
The Mars, notwithstanding every exertion, was passed by the Royal Sovereign,
bearing Collingwood's flag, then the Belleisle shot ahead, and they were both in action a
few minutes before the Mars, each ship breaking through a different part of the enemy's
line. The wind, which had been light, then became more uncertain, and prevented
the rest of the ships from closing immediately with the enemy ; so that the few who
were first engaged were surrounded, and had for some time to maintain the unequal
conflict. The Pluton and Fougueux were on either side of the Mars, and the Santa Anna,
of 112 guns, flagship of Admiral Alava, on her bow, and the San Juan was also within
range of shot. The ship on her starboard quarter, the Fougueux, was soon disabled, and
it was thought she had struck, but her colours had only been shot away. The captain
of marines on the poop, seeing that the Fougueux, in dropping to leeward, was getting in a
position which would enable her to rake the Mars, came down to the quarter-deck to
inform Captain Duff. The want of wind rendered it impossible to alter the position
of the Mars, nor could it with safety be attempted in regard to the enemy's other ships .
Captain Duff, therefore, said to the captain of marines, " Do you think our guns would
bear on her?" He answered, "I think not, but I cannot see for smoke." "Then,"
replied the Captain, " we must point our guns at the ships on which they can bear. I
shall go and look; but the men below may see better, as there will be less smoke."
Captain Duff went to the end of the quarter-deck to look over the side ; and then told
Mr. Arbuthnot to go below and order the guns to be pointed more aft, meaning against
the Fougueux. He had scarcely turned round with these orders, when the Fougueux
raked the Mars. A cannon shot killed Captain Duff, striking him on the breast, and
carried off his head ; his body fell in the gangway, where it was covered with a spare
Union Jack, until after the action. Two seamen immediately behind him were
killed by the same shot. About the same time that the gallant Duff fell in the Mars,
Captain Cooke, the companion of his youth, was killed in the Bellerophon, and their
commander-in-chief, the illustrious Nelson, was mortally wounded on board the Victory.
~ The Mars continued engaged during the whole of the action, frequently with fresh

156 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ships, but suffered from none so severely as she had done from the Fougueux, which
(with her captain on board mortally wounded) continued to drift to leeward, until she
was engaged by others of our ships, and finally captured by the Temeraire.
On board . the Mars, besides Captain Duff, there were killed in the action, Mr.
Alexander Duff, acting lieutenant, Messrs. Corbyn and Morgan, midshipmen, and 25
seamen and marines. The wounded amounted to 16 officers, 5 petty officers, and 60
seamen and marines ; in all 98 killed and wounded. Among the latter was the gallant
captain of marines, Norman, who afterwards died of his wounds.
Captain Duff was a man of noble presence, strong and well made, above six feet in
height, and had a manly, benevolent countenance. During thirty years' service he had
been less than five years unemployed. When the battle had ceased, and it was generally
known in the Mars that their gallant captain was killed, there was scarcely a dry eye
among the crew. Each one felt that he had lost his friend and benefactor, and all ex
claimed : "We shall never again have such a commander." These three great seamen,
Hood, Cooke, and Duff, who died at the post of duty, were only a sample of those
who adorned the annals of the British Navy in the most palmy days of her history, and
the names of dozens have been mentioned in these pages who deserved not less well
of their country, but not being equally fortunate in the manner of their death, their
names are not handed down to posterity surrounded with the same halo of glory.

CHAPTEE VI.
A Brief Notice of Lord Nelson's Career — Also of some of the most celebrated Commanders of the British Navy
during the War with France : Sir Thomas Troubridge — Captains Hardinge and Lydiard — Lord Gardner— Lord
Collingwood — Lord Bridport — Lord Hood — Sir Samuel Hood — Lord Keith — Sir Sydney Smith — Earl Howe —
Lord Duncan — Earl St. Vincent — Sir John Louis — Sir John Duckworth — Sir Charles Cotton — Some of Nelson's
most famous Captains and other Officers.
TT7E will begin this chapter with a brief biographical notice of the most famous
seaman in our Navy, or that of any other maritime power. It does not
claim to be considered anything more than a resume of facts of a personal nature,
derived from the pages of Campbell's History, the Naval Chronicle, and Southey's
Memoir. Nelson's life has been adequately treated in this famous biography, and we
have already given detailed accounts of the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen, and
Trafalgar, as well as of the actions in which he took a minor part, including St.
Vincent, and the only failure of his life, that at Teneriffe.
Horatio Nelson was born on the 29th September 1758, at Burnham Thorpe, in the
county of Norfolk, not far from which, at a small village called Cock Thorpe, was the
birthplace of three naval heroes of an earlier age, Sir Christopher Myngs, Sir Cloudesley
Shovel, and Sir John Narborough. The hero, like many other distinguished naval
officers, including Sir Francis Drake, and Lords Hood and Bridport, was the son of a
clergyman. His father was the Eeverend Edmund Nelson, rector of Burnham Thorpe,
and he was related to the noble families of Walpole, Cholmondeley and Townsend
through his mother, one of the Sucklings, who had resided for three centuries at
Woodton in Norfolk.
Young Nelson received his early education at Norwich High School, and at North
Walsham, whence at the age of twelve he went to sea on board the Raisonable, 64,
commanded by his uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling. The boy was left to find his own
way by coach to the Medway, where the ship lay, and being of an affectionate nature,
and weakly in health, suffered both in mind and body in this his initiation into life.
At the end of the journey he was put down with the other passengers, and had to
seek for his ship as best he could. After wandering about in the cold he was observed
by an officer who happened to know his uncle, who took him home and gave him some
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158 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
refreshment, and then saw him to the ship, where he remained unnoticed by any one
till his uncle came on board. The Raisonable, which had been commissioned on an
apprehended rupture with Spain, was paid off, when his uncle sent him to sea in a ship
trading to the West Indies, under the care of Mr. John Eathbone, who had formerly
served with Captain Suckling in the Dreadnought.
On his return from the voyage in July 1772, young Nelson was received by his
uncle in the Triumph, then lying at Chatham. He had imbibed a distaste for the Eoyal
service, and it was with some difficulty he could reconcile himself to his altered lot.
There was much nepotism in the service in those days, and Nelson had a saying, " Aft
the most honour, but forward the better man," in this respect entertaining much the
same opinion as was held by Benbow, who served his apprenticeship to the sea in the
mercantile marine. Nelson early exhibited his nautical proficiency, and having, in the
Triumph's decked long-boat, acquired a knowledge of the river from Chatham to the
Tower of London, and also down the Swan Channel to the North Foreland, became a skilled
pilot for these waters. In July 1773 he accompanied the Hon. Captain Phipps, afterwards
Lord Mulgrave, on a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole. Two vessels were
fitted out, the Racehorse and Carcase, bomb-ketches, and Nelson sailed with Captain
Lutwidge in the latter, with the rating of coxswain. On this expedition occurred the
famous incident of the pursuit of a polar bear by Nelson, who was armed with a musket.
The lock of the weapon being injured it could not go off, but nothing daunted, the boy
pursued the bear with the intention of attacking it with the butt end. On Captain
Lutwidge demanding what could be his motive for this rash act, the young hero replied
with perfect simplicity, " I wished, sir, to get the skin for my father." The ships
penetrated as far as 81° 36' North kit., and visited Spitzbergen, and returned to England
in October 1773.
Hearing that a squadron was about to sail for the East Indies, he succeeded in
getting himself appointed to the Seahorse, 20, commanded by Captain Farmer, who six
years later met his death in the Quebec when, in the course of an action with a French
frigate of superior force, she blew up. In the Seahorse Nelson visited a great part of the
East Indies, from Bengal to Bussorah in the Persian Gulf. But he suffered much in
health, and was sent home by Sir Edward Hughes in the Dolphin, 20, Captain Pigot, to
whose attention it was mainly due that his valuable life was preserved. Long after he
wrote of this time of depression : "I felt impressed with an idea that I should never
rise in my profession. My mind was staggered with a view of the difficulties which I had

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 159
to surmount and the little interest I possessed. I could discover no means of reaching
the object of my ambition. After a long and gloomy reverse, in which I almost wished
myself overboard, a sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and hope
presented my king and country as patrons. Well then, I exclaimed, I will be a
hero, and confiding in Providence I will brave every danger." From that moment a
"radiant orb," according to his own description, was suspended before his mind's eye,
which urged him onward to renown.
The Dolphin was paid off at Woolwich on the 24th September 1776, and only two
days afterwards Nelson received an order from Sir James Douglas, then commanding at
Portsmouth, to act as lieutenant of the Worcester, 64, Captain Mark Eobinson, who
two years later was engaged in Keppel's action, and on the 5th September 1781,
commanded the Shrewsbury, in Admiral Graves' engagement with the French fleet off
the Chesapeake, when she had 14 killed and 52 wounded, including her captain, who
lost his leg. The Worcester was at sea with convoys until April 1777, and so great was
the reputation Nelson, though only nineteen, had already earned, that Captain Eobinson
was heard to declare that he felt as easy in his mind during the night when Nelson
was the officer of the watch as if the oldest lieutenant on board had charge of the
ship. On the 10 th April Nelson passed his examination for a lieutenancy, and on the
following day was appointed second lieutenant of the Lowestoft, 32, Captain Locker,
which sailed for Jamaica. At his request he was given the command of a schooner,
tender to the frigate, and speedily became an experienced pilot of the passages
through ths Keys, which are islands dotting the northern coast of Cuba, all of which
he explored. An incident indicative of his high courage is recorded of him while
serving in the Lowestoft. The ship had captured an American privateer, and the
first lieutenant had endeavoured in vain to board her, owing to the heavy sea that was
running. Captain Locker exclaimed, "Have I then no officer who can board the
prize ! " The master immediately ran to the gangway, on which Nelson stopped him,
with the exclamation, " It is my turn now. If I come back it will be yours."
In 1778 Sir Peter Parker appointed Nelson third lieutenant of his flagship, the
Bristol, and by rotation he became second lieutenant. On the 8th December in that
year he was made a commander and placed in charge of the brig Badger, in which
he protected the Mosquito shore and coast of Honduras from the depredations of
American privateers. This he did so effectually as to elicit the grateful thanks of
y 2

160 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
the settlers. He was also instrumental in saving the lives of the crew of the Glasgow
frigate when she caught fire off Jamaica. Nelson received post rank on the 11th
June, 1779, when in his twenty-first year, and was appointed to the command of the
Hinchinbroke. When D'Estaing, who had arrived at Cuba from Martinique, was
expected to attack Jamaica, Nelson was entrusted with the command of the batteries
at Port Eoyal, the most important place in the island. In January 1780 he commanded
the naval portion of an expedition, having Major Poison as his coadjutor, for the
reduction of Fort Juan, in the St. John Eiver, in Nicaragua. Quitting his ship, he
superintended the transport of the troops in boats, 100 miles up a difficult river, and after
storming an outpost of the enemy situated on an island, constructed batteries for the
attack on Fort Juan. To his natural quickness of perception, skill, and ready resource
may be ascribed the reduction of this fort, which mounted 20 guns and one mortar.
But his health, always feeble, gave way under the strain, and on his arrival at Jamaica,
to assume command of the Janus, 44, to which he had been appointed, Sir Peter
Parker persuaded him to live on shore at his house. But he got gradually worse, and
was compelled to return to England in the Lion, Captain Hon. W. Cornwallis, to whose
care he owed the preservation of his life.
In August 1781 we find him appointed to the command of the Albemarle, 20,
which was employed in the North Sea throughout the winter, and in the following
April, he sailed with a convoy for Quebec, where he became acquainted with a
gentleman, Mr. Davidson, who saved him from an imprudent marriage in which he
displayed the weak point of his strong but impulsive nature. Nelson, we are told,
was about to quit the station, and had taken leave of his friends, and gone down
the river to rejoin his ship. Nevertheless, on the following morning, as Mr.
Davidson was walking on the beach, he saw him coming back in his boat. "He
could not," he said, "leave Quebec without offering himself and his fortune to the
woman he loved." Davidson told him his utter ruin, situated as he was, must inevitably
follow. " Then let it follow," was his reply ; " for I am resolved to do it." His
friend, however, was equally resolute that he should not; and, after some dispute,
Nelson, with no very good grace, suffered himself to be led back to the boat. Shortly
after this he became acquainted with Prince William, afterwards William IY., then
serving as midshipman in the Barfleur, under Lord Hood. " I had the watch on
deck," says his Eoyal Highness, "when Captain Nelson came in his barge alongside,
wrho appeared to be the merest boy of a captain I ever beheld ; and his dress was

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 161
worthy of attention. He had on a full-laced uniform, his rank unpowdered hair was
tied in a stiff Hessian tail of an extraordinary length ; the old-fashioned flaps of his
waistcoat added to the general quaintness of his figure, and produced an appearance
which particularly attracted my notice ; for I had never seen anything like it before,
nor could I imagine who he was, nor what he came about. There was something
irresistibly pleasing in his address and conversation, and an enthusiasm, when speaking
on professional subjects, which showed that he was no common being." Lord Hood,
who had been intimately acquainted with Captain Suckling, took the Albemarle with
him to the West Indies, and treated Nelson with kindness. "He treats me," says
Nelson, "as if I were his son, nor is my situation with Prince William less flattering.
Lord Hood was so kind as to tell him, that, if he wished to ask questions relative
to naval tactics, I could give him as much information as any officer in the
fleet." On one occasion, when cruising off Boston, the Albemarle was chased by three
French ships-of-the-line and a frigate, and as they were overhauling him fast, Nelson,
trusting to his experience in pilotage, ran his ship among the shoals off St. George's
Bank, on which the enemy abandoned the chase, except the frigate, when the young
eaptain laid his main-topsail to the mast, and awaited his adversary, though of very
superior force, but she declined the challenge. In November 1782, Captain Nelson
joined the fleet under Sir Samuel Hood and accompanied him to the West Indies, and
soon after the declaration of peace, sailed for Portsmouth, when the Albemarle was
paid off on the 31st July 1783.
During the autumn of this year Nelson went on a visit to France, whence he
returned in the spring of the following year, when he commissioned the Boreas, 28,
and sailed for the West Indies. While here Nelson learned that a French frigate was
about to make a survey of the islands in the possession of this country, and following
her to St. Eustatia, was invited by the Dutch governor to meet her officers at dinner.
With great tact Nelson informed the French captain that he understood it was his
intention to honour our settlements with a visit, and proposed to escort him in his
Majesty's ship, and though the Frenchman protested that he was doing him too much
honour and sought to evade the compliment, Nelson insisted on accompanying the
frigate, and never lost sight of her until her commander, despairing of shaking off his
polite friend, gave up the attempt. Nelson enforced the maritime laws that bore upon
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162 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
there, as tending to diminish the trade ; but conscious that he was performing his duty
he refused to be moved by popular clamour, and an Act of Parliament afterwards
confirmed his views of the matter. On one occasion, when Nelson addressed Sir Henry
Shirley, Governor of the Leeward Islands, on the question, that official replied that
old generals were not accustomed to take advice from young gentlemen, on which
Nelson replied, " Sir, I am as old as the Prime Minister of England,* and I think
myself as capable of commanding one of his Majesty's ships as the Minister is of
guiding the State.'' Eesolved to do his duty, he ordered all American vessels to quit
the islands in eight-and-forty hours, declaring that if they refused, or presumed to
land their cargoes, he would seize them. The Americans resisted these orders, and the
planters were, to a man, against him. The governor and presidents of the islands
gave him no support ; and the admiral, Sir Eichard Hughes, desirous of obliging the
planters, advised him to be guided by the wishes of the presidents of the council, and
after a while, issued an order requiring the officer's under his command to abstain from
hindering the Americans from having free ingress and egress if the governor chose to
allow them. General Shirley and others sent him letters little different from orders in
their style. "These persons," says he, "I soon trimmed up and silenced. Sir Eichard
Hughes was a more delicate business. I must either disobey orders or disobey Acts of
Parliament. I determined upon the former, trusting to the uprightness of my inten
tions, and believing that my country would not allow me to be ruined by protecting
her commerce." Accordingly he wrote to the admiral, and, in respectful language,
told him he should decline to obey his orders till he had an opportunity of seeing
and talking to him. Sir Eichard's first feeling was that of anger, and he was about to
supersede Nelson, but, having mentioned the business to his captain, the latter told
him he believed all the squadron thought he had issued illegal orders, and, therefore,
did not know how far they were bound to obey them. Luckily, though the admiral
wanted vigour of mind to do what was right, he was not obstinate in wrong, and he
afterwards thanked Lord Nelson for having shown him his error.
At Nevis, says Campbell, the Boreas found four American vessels deeply laden,
with the island colours flying, on which they were ordered to hoist their proper flag,
and leave it in eight-and-forty hours. At first they denied their country and refused
to obey, but upon being examined before the Admiralty Court Judge, they confessed that
* The great William Pitt, to whom Nebon alluded, was born on the 20th May, 1759, a year after our hero, and
was Chancellor of the Exchequer when twenty-three, and Prime Minister before completing his twenty-fourth year.

HER MAJESTY S NAVY. 163
they were Americans and that their vessels and cargoes were wholly American property.
Upon this Nelson seized them. The governor, the custom-house, and the planters, were
all against him ; the admiral, though his flag was then in the roads, stood neutral, and
subscriptions were raised to carry on the law-suits against him. Summonses were taken
out against Nelson, and damages laid to the> enormous amount of £40,000. The
marshal was called upon to arrest him, and the merchants promised to indemnify him for
so doing, but the judge did his duty, and threatened to send him to prison if he
attempted to violate the protection of the court. The president of Nevis, Mr. Herbert,
behaved with singular generosity on this occasion. Though no man had suffered more by
the measures which Nelson thought it his duty to pursue, he offered to become his bail
for £10,000 if he chose to suffer the arrest. His lawyer proved an able as well as an
honest man ; and the law was so plain, the case so clear, and Nelson maintained his cause
so well, that the four ships with their cargoes Avere condemned. During this affair he
sent a memorial to the king, in consequence of which orders were given to defend him
at the expense of the Crown, and upon the representation which he made at the same
time to the Secretary of State, the Eegister Act was framed. The Treasury upon this
occasion transmitted thanks to Sir Eichard Hughes and the officers under him, for their
activity and zeal in protecting the commerce of Great Britain. "I feel much hurt,"
said Nelson, " that after the loss of health and fortune, another should be thanked for
what I did, and against his orders. I either deserved to be sent out of the service, or
at least to have had some notice taken of what I had done. They have thought it
worthy of notice, and yet have neglected me."
On the 11th March, 1787, Captain Nelson married Frances Herbert Nesbit, widow of
Doctor Nesbit, of the island of Nevis, and niece of Mr Herbert, president of that island,
the bride being given away by the Duke of Clarence. Some part of his stay in the
West Indies was employed in detecting public frauds, but the peculators were too
powerful, and they succeeded not only in suspending inquiry, but in raising prejudices
against Nelson at the Board of Admiralty, which prevailed for many years. He returned
to England three months after his marriage, and the Boreas was kept till the end of
November at the Nore, as a receiving ship. This unworthy treatment excited in
Nelson the strongest indignation. During the whole four months he seldom or never
quitted the ship. When orders were received to prepare the Boreas for being paid off,
he expressed his joy to the senior officer of the Medway, " It will release me for ever
from an ungrateful service, as it is my firm and unalterable determination never again to

164 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
set my foot on board a king's ship. Immediately after my arrival in town I shall wait
on the First Lord of the Admiralty and resign my commission." This officer, finding it
in vain to reason with him against this resolution in his present state of feeling, used his
influence with the First Lord of the Admiralty to save Nelson from taking a step so
injurious to himself, little foreseeing how deeply the welfare and honour of England
depended upon his decision. This friendly representation produced a letter from Lord
Howe, intimating a wish to see him on his arrival in town, and so pleased was he
with his conversation, and convinced by his explanations of the propriety of his
conduct, that he presented him to the King, whose gracious reception removed his
resentment. The affair of the American captains was not yet over. Nelson had retired to his
father's parsonage, where he amused himself with rural occupations and sports. It
was his great ambition at this time to possess a pony, and while he was gone to purchase
one at a neighbouring fair, two men entered the parsonage and inquired for him ; they
then asked for Mrs. Nelson, and presented her with a notification on the part of
the American captains, who now laid their damages at £20,000. On Nelson's
return in high glee with his pony, the paper was presented to him. His indignation
and astonishment may well be imagined. " This affront," he exclaimed, " I did not
deserve, but I will be trifled with no longer. I will write immediately to the Treasury,
and if Government will not support me, I am resolved to leave the country." Accordingly
he informed the Treasury, that if a satisfactory answer was not sent by return of post
he should take refuge in France. The answer was that Captain Nelson was a very
good officer, and need be under no apprehension, for he would assuredly be supported.
On the outbreak of war with France early in 1793, Nelson was appointed to the
Agamemnon, 64, and joined Lord Hood in the Mediterranean. He always took a keen
interest in the welfare of his midshipmen, and the following instructions he gave them
indicates his views of their duties in the great war upon which they had entered :—
"There are three things, young gentlemen, which you are constantly to bear in- mind :
first, you must always implicitly obey orders without attempting to form any opinion
of your own respecting their propriety ; secondly, you must consider every man your
enemy who speaks ill of your king ; and thirdly, you must hate a Frenchman as you do
the devil."
During his career in the Agamemnon, if batteries were to be attacked, if ships were to
be cut out of harbours, if the hazardous landing of troops was to be effected, or difficult

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 165
passages to be explored, Horatio Nelson was ever foremost with his gallant crew,
many of whom had been actually reared in the neighbourhood of Burnham Thorpe.
It was well observed in the Mediterranean at this time, that before Captain Nelson
quitted his old ship he had not only fairly worn her out,* but had also exhausted
himself and ship's company. At Toulon, and at Bastia and Calvi, Lord Hood bore ample
testimony to the skill and exertions of Nelson, who during the siege of Bastia, not
only superintended the disembarkation of troops and stores, but after St. Fiorenzo had
surrendered, and General Dundas and his successor, General d'Aubert, had declined to
furnish soldiers, undertook the reduction of that place. Lord Hood obtained only a few
artillerymen, and ordering on board those troops who, having embarked as marines, were
borne on the ships' books as part of their respective complements, began the siege with
1,183 soldiers, artillerymen and marines, and 250 sailors. " We are but few," wrote
Nelson, " but of the right sort, our general at St. Fiorenzo not giving us one of the
five regiments he has there lying idle." They were landed on April 4th, under Colonel
Yilette and Nelson, who had the title of brigadier, and the sailors dragged the guns up
the heights, which he said would never have been accomplished by any but British
seamen. The soldiers behaved with the same spirit. "Their zeal," said Nelson, "is,
I believe, almost unexampled. There is not a man but considers himself personally in
terested in the event, and deserted by the general, it has, I am persuaded, made them
equal to double their numbers." The siege continued nearly seven weeks, and on the
19 th May, when a treaty of capitulation was begun, the troops made their first appearance
on the hills, and on the following morning, General d'Aubert arrived with the whole
army to take Bastia. "I am all astonishment," says Nelson, " when I reflect on what
we have achieved; 1,000 regulars, 1,500 national guards, and a large body of Corsican
troops laying down their arms to 1,000 soldiers and marines, and 200 seaman. I always
was of opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never have had any reason to repent it,
that one Englishman was equal to three Frenchmen. Had this been an English town, I
am sure it would not have been taken."
The enemy were supposed to be far inferior in number when it was resolved to attack
the place, and it was not till afterwards that Nelson received certain information of their
great superiority. "My own honour," said he to Mrs. Nelson, "Lord Hood's honour,
* When the Agamemnon came into dock to be re-fitted at the beginning of October 1796, there was not a mast,
yard, sail, nor any part of the rigging but was obliged to be removed, the whole being so cut to pieces with shot, while
her hull had long been kept together by cables served round.
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166 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
and the honour of the country, must all have been sacrificed had I mentioned what I
knew. Therefore you will believe what must have been my feelings during the whole
siege, when I had often proposals made to me to write to Lord Hood to raise it." And
yet Nelson received no reward. The siege of Calvi was carried on by General Stuart,
and Nelson had less responsibility here than at Bastia, but the service was not less hard.
" We will fag ourselves to death," said he to Lord Hood, " before any blame shall be at
our doors. I trust it will not be forgotten that twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have
been dragged to different batteries and mounted, and all but three fought by seamen.
During the four months he was thus employed on shore, the climate proved more destruc
tive than the war. Nelson described himself as the reed among the oaks, bowing before
the storm when they were laid low. " All the prevailing disorders have attacked me,
but I have not strength for them to fasten upon. One plan I pursue, never to employ
a doctor. Nature does all for me, and Providence protects me."
His services before Calvi were, by a strange omission, altogether overlooked, and
his name did not appear in the list of wounded, though he had lost an eye. " One
hundred and ten days," said he, "I have been actually engaged at sea and on shore
against the enemy ; three actions against ships, two against Bastia in my own ship, four
boat actions, and two villages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not
know that any one has done more ; I have had the comfort to be always applauded by
my commanders-in-chief, but never to be rewarded, and what is more mortifying, for
service in which I have been wounded others have been praised, who, at the time, were
actually in bed, far from the scene of action. They have not done me justice, but
never mind, I'll have a gazette of my own " ; and he kept his word.
Nelson bore a brilliant part in Admiral Hotham's action in the Mediterranean. Dur
ing the first day, when there was no ship-of-the-line within several miles to support
him, he engaged the Ca Ira, of 84 guns, which, having carried away her main and fore
top-masts, was taken in tow by a frigate. This ship he engaged for two hours and a
half, when 110 of her men were killed and wounded, and on the following day came up
with her again in tow of the Centaur, 74, when a partial action ensued, till the French
judged it more prudent to abandon both ships than risk the loss of more. Nelson
was afterwards appointed by Admiral Hotham to co-operate with the Austrian general,
at Vado Bay, on the coast of Genoa, where he continued till November, when
Hotham was superseded by Sir John Jervis, who in May 1796, appointed Nelson to the
Captain, 74, with the rank of commodore.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 167
From April to October he was constantly employed in the blockade of Leghorn,
the taking of Porto Ferrajo, with the island of Capri, and lastly in the evacuation
of Bastia, whence,* having conveyed the troops in safety to Porto Ferrajo, he joined
the admiral at Fiorenzo Bay, and proceeded with him to Gibraltar. In December
1796, Commodore Nelson hoisted his broad pennant on board the Minerva frigate,
Captain George Cockburn, and was despatched with that ship, and the Blanche,
to Porto Ferrajo, to bring the naval stores left there to Gibraltar. On the passage
thither, in the night of the 19th December, the commodore fell in with two superior
Spanish frigates, and attacking the ship which carried the poop-light, he directed
the Blanche to engage the other. At 12.40 p.m. Nelson brought his ship to
close action, which continued without intermission until half-past one, when the
Sabina* of 40 guns and 286 men, commanded by Captain Don Jacobo Stuart, struck
to the Minerva. Captain Preston, in the Blanche, silenced the ship he had engaged,
but could not take possession, owing to three more ships heaving in sight. Commodore
Nelson, in his letter to Sir John Jervis, characteristically assumes no credit to himself,
but gives the whole to Captain Cockburn, his officers, and crew. "You are, sir, so
thoroughly acquamted with the merits of Captain Cockburn, that it is needless for me
to express them ; but the discipline of the Minerva does the highest credit to her captain
and lieutenants, and I wish fully to express the sense I have of their judgment and
gallantry. Lieutenant Culverhouse, the first lieutenant, is an old officer of very dis
tinguished merit; Lieutenants Hardy, Gage, and Noble deserve every praise which
gallantry and zeal justly entitle them to, as does every other officer and man in the
ship. You will observe, sir, I am sure with regret, among the wounded, Lieutenant
James Noble, who quitted the Captain to serve with me, and whose merits, and repeated
wounds received in fighting the enemies of our country, entitle him to every reward a
grateful nation can bestow."
Nelson arrived at Gibraltar a few days after the Spanish fleet had passed through
the straits from Carthagena, and impatient to join Sir John Jervis, remained only a
single day at Gibraltar. On the 11th February he was chased by two Spanish line-of-
battle ships, and fell in with their whole fleet off the mouth of the Straits, but fortunately
effected his escape, and joining the admiral off Cape St. Vincent on the 13th February,
shifted his pennant to his former ship, the Captain, 74, Captain Miller in command.
* The Sabina had 55 men killed and wounded, and lost her mizen-mast, and the Minerva had 7 men killed and 34
wounded, while all her masts and rigging were much cut by shot.
z2

168 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
We will not repeat the wonderful record of the manner in which Commodore Nelson
boarded and captured in succession two Spanish ships-of-the-line,* each of far greater
force than his own ship, but will pass on to the later events in his career.
« Colonel Drinkwater, military secretary to Sir Gilbert Elliot, Governor of Corsica, who was on board the Lively
repeating frigate, commanded by Lord GarUes, gives an interesting account of Nelson's achievements on this
memorable day. " When Sir John Jervis, on the 14th February, had accomplished his bold intention of breaking the
enemy's line, the Spanish admiral, who had been separated to windward with his main body, consisting of eighteen
ships-of-the-line, from nine ships that were cut off to leeward, appeared to make a movement as with a view to join
the latter. This design was completely frustrated by the timely opposition of Commodore Nelson, whose station in
the rear of the British line afforded him an opportunity of observing this manoeuvre ; his ship, the Captain, had no
sooner passed the rear of the enemy's ships that were to windward, than he ordered her to wear and stood on the other
tack towards the enemy. In executing this bold and decisive manoeuvre, the commodore reached the sixth ship from
the enemy's rear, which bore the Spanish admiral's flag, the Santissima Trinidada, of 138 guns, a ship of four decks,
reported to be the largest in the world. Notwithstanding the inequality of force, the commodore instantly engaged this
colossal opponent, and for a considerable time had to contend not only with her, but with her seconds ahead and
astern, each of three decks. While he maintained this unequal combat, which was viewed with admiration, mixed
with anxiety, his friends were flying to his support. The enemy's attention was soon directed to the Culloden, Captain
Troubridge, and in a short time after by the Blenheim of 90 guns, Captain Frederick, who opportunely came to
his assistance. The intrepid conduct of the commodore staggered the Spanish admiral, who already appeared to
waver in pursuing his intention of joining the ships cut off by the British fleet, when the Culloden's timely arrival
and Captain Troubridge's spirited support of the commodore together with the approach of the Blenheim, followed by
Eear- Admiral Parker, with the Prince George, Orion, Irresistible and Diadem not far distant, determined the Spanish
admiral to change his designs altogether, and to throw out the signal for his main body to haul their wind, and make
sail on the larboard tack. Not a moment was lost in improving the advantage now apparently in favour of the
British squadron. As the ships of Rear-Admiral Parker's division approached the enemy's ships in support of the
Captain and her gallant seconds the Blenheim and Culloden, the cannonade became more animated and impressive. In this
manner did commodore Nelson engage a Spanish three-decker, until he had nearly expended all the ammunition in his
ship, which had suffered the loss of her fore-top-mast, and received such considerable damage in her sails and rigging
that she was almost hors de combat. At this critical period the Spanish three-decker, having lost her mizen-mast,
fell on board a Spanish two-decker, of 84 guns, that was her second ; this latter ship consequently now became the
commodore's opponent, and a most vigorous fire was kept up for some time by both ships within pistol-shot. The
commodore, from a sudden impulse, instantly resolved on a bold and decisive manoeuvre, and the boarders were
summoned and orders given to lay his ship on board the enemy. Ralph Willett Miller, the commodore's captain, so
judiciously directed the course of his ship that he laid her aboard the starboard quarter of the Spanish 84, her sprit-
sail-yard passing over the. 'enemy's poop, and hooking in her mizen-shrouds, when the word to board being given, the
officers and seamen destined for this perilous duty, headed by Lieutenant Berry, together with the detachment of the
69th regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Pearson, then doing duty as marines on board the Captain, passed with
rapidity on board the enemy's ship, and in a short time the San Nicholas was in the possession of her intrepid
assailants. The commodore's ardour would not permit him to remain an inactive spectator of this scene, and he
thought his presence might animate his brave companions, and contribute to the success of this bold enterprise ; he
therefore accompanied the party in this attack, passing from the fore-chains of his own ship into the enemy's quarter
gallery, and thence through the cabin to the quarter-deck, whore he arrived in time to receive the sword of the dying
commander, who had been mortally wounded by the boarders. He had not been long employed in taking the
necessary measures to secure the hard-earned conquest, when he found himself engaged in a more arduous task.
The stern of the three-decker, his former opponent, was placed directly amidships of the weather beam of the prize
San Nicholas, and from her poop and galleries the enemy sorely annoyed with musketry the British who had boarded
the latter. The commodore was not long in resolving as to the conduct to be adopted upon this momentous
occasion. Directing, therefore, an additional number of men to be sent from the Captain on board the San Nicholas,
the undaunted commander, who no danger ever appalled, himself headed the assailants in the new attack, exclaiming;
" Westminster Abbey, or glorious victory." Success in a few minutes, and with little loss, crowned the enterprise.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 169
In 1797, Sir Horatio Nelson, as he now was, hoisted his flag as rear-admiral of the
blue, and was directed to bring away the garrison of Porto Ferrajo. On the 27th
May he shifted his flag from the Captain to the Theseus, and was appointed to the
command of the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. In the attack on the Spanish
gunboats, July 3rd, 1797, he was in the barge, with only its usual complement of 10
men and the coxswain, accompanied by Captain Fremantle, when the commander of
the Spanish gunboats, Don Miguel Tyrason, having 26 men, including two officers,
made a desperate effort to capture Nelson. The conflict was long and doubtful, and his
faithful coxswain, John Sykes, was wounded in defending the admiral, and saved his
life by parrying blows that were aimed at him, and mortally wounded his assailants.
Eighteen of the Spaniards were killed, and the commandant and the rest wounded, when
the rear-admiral, with his gallant sailors, succeeded in carrying the barge. During
the night of the 5th July, Sir Horatio Nelson directed a second bombardment of Cadiz,
and on the 15 th July was detached with a small squadron to make an attack on the
town of Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe. We have given particulars of this dis
astrous enterprise, in which Nelson lost his right arm by a cannon shot, and no less
than 246 officers and men were killed, drowned, and wounded.
The admiral, whose life was only saved by Lieutenant Nisbet, his step-son, received
his wound as the detachment was landing, in the act of pressing on with the usual
ardour of British seamen. The shock caused him to fall into the boat, when Lieutenant
Nisbet applied his neckerchief as a tourniquet to the shattered arm, and conveyed
him to the Theseus, commanded by his friend Captain Miller. The same night at ten
o'clock the admiral's arm was amputated on board the Theseus, and he immediately after
began his official letter, and finished it by eleven. The next day he wrote to Lady
Nelson; and in narrating the foregoing transactions, said, " I know it will add much to
Such indeed was the panic occasioned, that the British no sooner appeared oh the quarter-deck of their new opponent
than the commandant advanced, and asking for the British commanding officer, dropped on one knee and presenti d
his sword, apologizing at the same time for the Spanish admiral not appearing, as he was dangerously wounded.
For a moment Commodore Nelson could scarcely persuade himself of this second instance of good fortune ; he
therefore ordered the Spanish commandant who had the rank of a brigadier, to assemble the officers on the quarter
deck, and direct means to be taken instantly for communicating to the crew the surrender of the ship. All the
officers immediately appeared, and the commodore had the surrender of the San Josef duly confirmed by each of them
delivering their sword. The coxswain of the commodore's barge had attended close by his side throughout this perilous
attempt. To him the commodore gave in charge the swords of the Spanish officers as he received them, and the
undaunted tar, as they were delivered to him, tucked these honourable trophies under his arm, with all the coolness
imaginable. It was at this moment also that a British sailor who had long fought under the commodore, came up in
the fulness of his heart, and excusing the liberty he was taking, asked to shake him by the hand to congratulate him
upon seeing him safe on the quarter-deck of a Spanish three-decker.

170 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY-
your pleasure, in finding that your son Josiah, under God's providence, was instrumental
in saving my life." During the painful operation of amputating the arm, there was
some blunder in taking up the arteries, owing to which he suffered great and constant
pain, and was obliged to come to England for advice. It was the 13th December before
the surgeons pronounced him fit for service. On Sir Horatio Nelson's first appearance
at court his sovereign received him in the most gracious manner, and on expressing
his sorrow for the loss he had sustained and his impaired state of health, Nelson replied :
" May it please your Majesty, I can never think that a loss which the performance of
my duty has occasioned, and so long as I have a foot to stand on I will combat for my
king and country."
The ship that was intended for Sir Horatio's flag not being ready, the Vanguard
was commissioned, and on the 1st April 1798, he sailed with a convoy from
Spithead, but the wind veering to the westward, was forced to return to St. Helens.
On the 9th he again sailed for Lisbon, and on the 29th April joined Earl St. Yincent
off Cadiz. On the following day Nelson was detached with the Vanguard, Orion,
and Alexander, 74's, the Emerald and Terpsichore frigates, and La Bonne Citoyenne sloop-
of-war, and was afterwards joined by Captain Troubridge, of the Culloden, with ten sail-
of-the4ine. On the 1st August he gained his memorable victory of the Nile. The
severe wound which Nelson received was supposed to have proceeded from a piece
of iron, part of a langridge shot, and the skin of his forehead, being cut at right
angles, hung down over his face. Captain Berry, who happened to be near, caught the
admiral in his arms. It was Sir Horatio's first idea, and that of every one, that he was
shot through the head. On being carried into the cockpit, where several of his gallant
crew were stretched, with their shattered limbs and mangled wounds, the surgeon, with
great anxiety, immediately came to attend on. the admiral. " No," replied the hero, " I
will take my turn with my brave fellows ! " The agony of his wounds increasing, he
became convinced that it was mortal ; he sent for his chaplain, and begged of him to
remember him to Lady Nelson, and having signed a commission appointing his friend
Hardy, commander of the Mutine brig, to the rank of post-captain in the Vanguard, took
an affectionate leave of Captain Louis, of the Minotaur, who had come on board by his
desire, and then composedly resigned himself to death. When the surgeon examined
the wound, it appeared that it was not mortal, and as soon as the painful opera
tion of dressing was over, Nelson wrote the celebrated official letter that appeared in the
Gazette. He came on deck just in time to behold the destruction of the Orient. The

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 171
victorious admiral was created Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, with
a pension of £2,000 for his own life and those of his two immediate successors. When
this was moved in the House of Commons, General Walpole expressed an opinion that
a higher degree of rank ought to be conferred. Mr. Pitt replied that he thought it
needless to enter into that question. "Admiral Nelson's fame would be co-equal with
the British name, and it would be remembered that he had obtained the greatest naval
victory on record, when no man would think of asking whether he had been created
a baron, a viscount, or an earl."
The Nile was the most skilful, as regards conception and execution, and the most
complete, victory, perhaps, ever achieved on the sea, and its consequences were as far-
reaching as those of Lord Howe's battle of the 1st June. It was far more meritorious
than Sir John Jervis' s victory on St. Valentine's Day, and yet that officer was created an
earl and Nelson only received the dignity of a baron, the foolish reason advanced being
that he was not commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. Though Nelson throughout his
life was only inspired by a sense of duty, he keenly felt the unworthy treatment to which
he had been subjected on this and former occasions, and openly expressed his indignation.
We have neither room nor inclination to follow him through the only indefensible
act of his life, which Campbell attributes to his attachment for Lady Hamilton. We
refer to his giving his consent to the execution of the Eepublicans, after a treaty had
been entered into with them by Captain Foote and the allied commanders. "No
thing," says this injured officer, " can be more evident than the fact that a solemn
capitulation had been agreed upon, formally signed by the chief commander of the forces
of the King of Naples, by the Eussian commander, and by myself, all duly authorized
to sign any capitulation in the absence of superior powers. This was not a treaty of
peace subject to ratification, it was not a truce liable to be broken, it was a serious agree
ment for surrender upon terms which involved the lives and properties of men, which
might have chosen to forfeit those lives and properties, had they not relied principally
upon the faith of a British officer. Parts of this agreement were performed, and actual
advantage was afterwards taken of those parts of the capitulation that had thus been
executed, to seize the unhappy men who, having been thus deceived by a sacred pledge,
were sacrificed in a cruel and despotic manner."
In the autumn of 1800, Nelson left the Mediterranean,* and returned to England
by way of Vienna and Hamburg, accompanied by Sir William and Lady Hamilton.
* The following presents were received by Lord Nelson for his services in the Mediterranean between October
1st, 1798, and October 1st, 1799, besides a peerage and a pension of ,£2,000 a year from the British Parliament, and one

172 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
He arrived in England in November, and in the January following received orders
to embark again. The Addington Administration was just formed, and Nelson was
sent to the Baltic, under Sir Hyde Parker, by the Earl St. Vincent.* The capture of
Copenhagen was a more difficult undertaking than the destruction of the French fleet at
Aboukir, and displayed Nelson's unequalled genius for war and dauntless spirit. The
Danes were prepared for defence. Upwards of 100 pieces of cannon were mounted upon
the Crown batteries at the entrance of the harbour, and no less than 25 two-deckers,
frigates, and floating batteries were moored across its mouth. The soundings were
made under Nelson's own eye, and he was day and night in the boat, till his health had
nearly sunk under the unremitting fatigue. The action was fought on the 2nd April.
Nelson was given twelve ships-of-the-line with all the frigates and small craft, but three
of the squadron grounded and were unable to take up their assigned stations. Of all
the engagements in which Nelson had borne a part, this, he said, was the most terrible.
It began at ten in the morning, and at one victory had not declared itself on either side.
A shot through the mainmast knocked a few splinters about the admiral. " It is warm
work," he observed, " and this day may be the last to any of us at any moment."
"But mark you," said he, stopping short in his walk, "I would not be elsewhere
for thousands." Just at this time Sir Hyde made a signal for the action to cease, and
we have described elsewhere the characteristic manner in which the great admiral
received it. His peace proposals were accepted in the course of the evening, and a
suspension agreed on for four-and-twenty hours, during which it was resolved that he
should negotiate in person with the Crown Prince. Accordingly, on the morning
of the 4th he landed, when a strong guard protected him from the people, within
of £1,000 from the Irish Parliament, as Lords St. Vincent and Duncan had received for their victories : — From the
East India Company, £10,000 ; from the Turkish Company, a piece of plate of great value ; from Alexander David
son, Esq., a gold medal; from the City of London, a sword of great value ; from the Sultan of Turkey, a diamond
aigrette, valued at £2,000, and a rich pelisse, valued at £1,000. The Sultan's mother presented him with a rose set with
diamonds, of the value of £1,000. The Czar wrote him an autograph letter, and gave him a box, set with diamonds,
valued at £2,500. From King Ferdinand, of the Two Sicilies, came a sword richly mounted with diamonds, with
£5,000. And his Majesty also conferred on the admiral, who had saved the island of Sicily from being overrun by
Napoleon's troops, the dukedom of Bronte, with an estate, supposed to be of the annual value of £3,000. The
King of Sardinia presented a box set with diamonds, value £1,200 ; the people of Zantegave a gold-headed sword and
cane, and the city of Palermo a gold box and chain.
* When the fleet sailed, it was sufficiently known that its destination was Copenhagen. Some Danish sailors,
who were on board the Amazon frigate, went to Captain Riou and requested that he would get them exchanged into
a ship bound on some other service ; "they had no wish," they said, "to quit the British Navy, but they entreated
that they might not be led to fight against their own country." There was not in our whole Navy a man
who had a higher and more chivalrous sense of honour and duty than Riou. The tears came into his eyes while the
men were addressing him, and he ordered his boat, and did not return to the Amazon till he had procured their
exchange. The " good and gallant " Riou, as Nelson caUed him, fell at Copenhagen.

>UfTjiNVfcW^ U<)i

H.M.S. SPEEDWELL

TORPKDO (UTNISOAT.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 173
whose sight the battle had been fought, and who were exasperated by witnessing the
landing of the wounded on the preceding day. Some difficulty occurred in adjusting
the duration of the armistice. He required sixteen weeks, bluntly giving, like a
seaman, the true reason, that he might have time to act against the Eussian fleet
and return. This not being acceded to, a hint was thrown out by one of the Danish
commissioners of the renewal of hostilities. " Eenew hostilities ! " said he to one of
his friends — for he understood French enough to comprehend what was said, though
not to answer it in the same language — " tell him we are ready at a moment, ready
to bombard this very night."
Fourteen weeks were at length agreed to. The death of the Czar Paul intervened, and
the Northern Confederacy was broken up. For this signal service, in which Nelson
appeared not less conspicuous as a statesman than as an admiral, he was raised to the
rank of a viscount. When England was alarmed by preparations at Boulogne, Nelson
took command of a squadron in the Channel. His attack upon the flotilla failed,
because the divisions did not all arrive in time, and the enemy's vessels were moored
to the shore and to each other by chains. On the rupture that succeeded the peace
of Amiens, Nelson was appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. We must
pass to the concluding scene, the consummation of his labours and of his glory.
After having watched the Toulon fleet for nearly two years, ready at any time to give
them battle with an inferior force, he missed them, and they formed a junction with the
Spaniards, and ran for the West Indies. With ten ships and three frigates he pursued 18
sail-of-the-line and six frigates, with 12,000 troops on board. " There is just a Frenchman
apiece," he used to say to his captains, "leaving me for the Spaniards. When I haul
down my colours, I expect you to do the same, but not till then." On his return to
Europe Nelson made over his squadron to Admiral Cornwallis, lest the enemy should
sail for Brest to liberate their fleet, and place him between two fires, and then he
returned to England.
Nelson had not been at Merton a month, when Captain Blackwood, on his way to the
Admiralty with despatches, called at five in the morning and found him already dressed.
Upon seeing him, he exclaimed, "I am sure you bring me news of the French and
Spanish fleets ! I think I shall yet have to beat them ! " It was as he supposed. They
had liberated the squadron from Ferrol, and being now thirty-four sail-of-the-line, got
safely into Cadiz. "Depend on it, Blackwood," he repeatedly said, "I shall give M.
Villeneuve a drubbing ! " but when Blackwood had left him, he wanted resolution to
VOL. III. a a

174 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
declare his wishes to his sister, and endeavoured to drive away the thought. He had
done enough — " Let the man trudge it who has lost his budget," said he. As he
was pacing one of the walks in his garden, which he used to call the quarter-deck, Lady
Hamilton came up to him, and told him she saw he was uneasy. He smiled, and said
" No, he was as happy as possible ; he was surrounded by his family, his health was
better since he came home, and he would not give sixpence to call the king his uncle."
But the old spirit revived in him, and he could not be inactive while there was a chance
of completing the discomfiture of the allied fleet.
Pitt accepted his services as willingly as they were offered, and Lord Barham, giving
him the Navy List, bade him choose his own officers. He reached Portsmouth only
twenty -five days after he had left it, and though the wind was against him, and blew
strong, nevertheless such was his impatience to be upon the scene of action, that he
worked down Channel, and, after a rough passage, arrived off Cadiz on his birthday,
September 29th ; the same day the French Admiral, Villeneuve, received orders to put
to sea the first opportunity. From this time to the 21st October, when the battle of
Trafalgar was fought, Nelson never came in sight of land, as he feared that if the enemy
knew his force they would not venture out, notwithstanding their superiority. This was
the case ; for the Council of War Villeneuve called, on hearing that Nelson had taken
the command, expressed their determination not to leave Cadiz unless they had reason
to believe themselves one-third stronger than the British fleet. Many circumstances
tended to deceive them into such an opinion, and in an unhappy hour for them, they sailed
from Cadiz. On the 19th the signal was made that they were at sea. On the afternoon
of the next day it was signified that they seemed determined to go to the westward,
"and that," said Nelson in his journal, "they will not do if it be in the power of
Nelson and Bronte* to prevent them."
The British fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail-of-the-line, the enemy's of thirty-
three, and their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers.
4,000 troops were on board, and the best riflemen who could be selected were dispersed
through the fleet. Nelson never went into a battle without a full sense of its danger,
and always seemed rather to have prepared his mind for death than to have banished
the thought of it. On the morning of the 21st he wrote a prayer in his journal, followed
by a last testament, in which he bequeathed Lady Hamilton and his adopted daughter
to the nation. " These," said he, " are the only favours I ask of my king and country
at this moment, when I am going to fight their battle." He had put on the coat which

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 175
he always wore in action, with the insignia of all his Orders. " In honour I have gained
them," he said, " and in honour I will die with them." We have nothing to add to the
detailed account given in the preceding pages of the battle of Trafalgar and the last
moments of Lord Nelson.
The death of Nelson was felt in England as something more than a national calamity.
Men started at the intelligence, and turned pale, as if they had heard of the loss of a
dear friend.
The victory of Trafalgar was indeed celebrated with the usual forms of rejoicing,
but they were joyless, for such was the glory of the British Navy, in great measure
through Nelson's genius, that they scarcely seemed to receive any addition from this
last triumph. The most signal victory that ever was achieved upon the seas, and the
destruction of the allied fleet, hardly appeared to add to the strength and security of
England, which felt as strong and secure while Nelson was living to guard the land as
when he had removed all danger.
About noon on the 4th December the Victory hove in sight at Portsmouth, and at
two o'clock she came to anchor at St. Helens, with the great seaman's flag flying at half-
mast, when the port-admiral made the signal for the ships at Spithead and in the
harbour to lower their flags and pennants to half-mast. Having received the necessary
repairs at Portsmouth, the Victory, with the body on board, got under weigh for the
Nore on the 10th of the month. On the passage the remains of Lord Nelson were
taken from the cask of spirits in which they had been immersed for preservation, and
deposited in a plain elm coffin,* which was placed in the after cabin of the main-deck
* On the outer coffin was the following inscription : —
Depositum
The Most Noble Lord, Horatio Nelson,
Viscount and Baron Nelson of the Nile,
and of
Burnham Thorpe, in the County of Norfolk,
Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Hillborough, in the said County ;
Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath ;
and
Vice- Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet ;
Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Ships and Vessels in the
Mediterranean. Also
Duke of Bronte, in Sicily ;
Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St. Ferdinand,
And of Merit ;
Member of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent ;
and
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of St. Joachim.
Born September 29th, 1758.
aa2

176 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
under a canopy of colours. With the exception of a little discolourment in the left
ancle, neither the features nor body had undergone a change of appearance. In this
state the last tribute of respect was paid to his memory by a number of visitors, who
daily went off for that purpose, during the stay of the Victory in the Downs and at
Greenwich Hospital, where he lay in state. Nelson's funeral under the dome of St.
Paul's Cathedral was a splendid spectacle, all the King's sons and the Ministers being
present, together with representatives of all classes, and the seamen of the Victory. It
is recorded that as the coffin was about to be lowered, these gallant fellows, who had
made no effort to conceal their grief, with one accord seized his flag and tore it into
shreds, each retaining a portion as a memento.
Thus, after a series of transcendent and heroic services, Lord Nelson fell gloriously
at the moment he achieved a brilliant and decisive victory over the combined fleets
of France and Spain, on the 21st October 1805. Without the advantages afforded
in this country to the possessors of aristocratic connections, Nelson by his unaided
genius alone made his way from the press of self-reliant men to the front rank,
and by his pre-eminence gradually outdistanced all competitors. Such a galaxy of
naval talent the world has not yet seen ; but in a race where the stern ordeal of war
weeded out the incompetent and mediocre, he asserted his supremacy over his compeers.
So modestly did he bear himself as honours and rewards were showered on his head,
that his success evoked no word of complaint from his rivals, and at length, when his
last great victory and triumphant death crowned an unparalleled career, the admirals and
captains of the British Navy echoed the sentiments of the nation, that England could
not hope to look on his like again. Southey has eloquently said in his biography,
doubtless one of the noblest pieces of literary work in the language : — " Yet he cannot be
said to have fallen prematurely whose work was done ; nor ought he to be lamented who
died so full of honour and at the height of human fame. The most triumphant death is
that of the martyr; the most awful that of the martyred patriot; the most splendid
that of the hero in the hour of victory ; and if the chariots and horses of fire had been
vouchsafed for Nelson's translation, he could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze
of glory." The passage is worthy the mighty seaman and great patriot whose services
the book describes.
Some account of the naval career of Sir Thomas Troubridge will well follow that of
his friend Lord Nelson, with whom he was ever a great favourite. Young Troubridge
went to sea first in 1773, proceeding in the Seahorse, 20, commanded by Captain Farmer,

HER MAJESTY'S NA VF. 177
to the East Indies, among his brother midshipmen being an officer who became Admiral
Sir Charles Pole, and the great Nelson, who thus had the best opportunity of
forming the opinion he ever after entertained of his shipmate's professional acquire
ments. In the East Troubridge remained for ten years, but little is known of his services,
as he was naturally reticent of talking about himself. It is said that he was engaged as
lieutenant in the action fought, on the 10th August 1778, off the Coromandel coast,
between Sir Edward Vernon and Admiral Tranjolly, and in some, if not all, the
subsequent desperate and sanguinary battles between Sir Edward Hughes and de
Suffren. On the 1st January 1783, Troubridge, having passed through the intermediate
rank of commander, was promoted to captain, and posted to the Active, a 32-gun
frigate. In the following year Captain Troubridge returned to England with Sir
Edward Hughes, as flag-captain of the Sultan, but in 1790 he returned to India in
command of the Phoenix, 32. In the autumn of the following year Captain Troubridge
was employed by Commodore Cornwallis with a squadron on the Malabar coast, to
examine ships that were expected to arrive from France with ammunition and warlike
stores for the army of Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, with whom we were engaged in
our long and desperate struggle for supremacy. After bringing to and searching several
French merchantmen, he discovered the frigate Resolue, having two ships in company,
and commanded her to lie to while he examined her. With this peremptory order the
French captain declined to comply, and first resisted an attempt to board his ship, and
then fired a broadside into the Phoenix, to which she replied. An action lasting twenty-
five minutes ensued, when the Resolue hauled down her colours, having sustained
a loss of 25 killed and 40 wounded, that of the Phoenix being six and 11
respectively. Troubridge returned to England soon after this action, and in 1793, on the
outbreak of war with France, was appointed to the command of the Castor, a 32-
gun frigate. In May of the following year, while convoying fourteen trading ships
from the Channel Islands to Newfoundland, he was captured close to his destination
by a French squadron, together with all his convoy, but was fortunate enough, before
the close of the month, to regain his freedom, as the Castor was overhauled and
retaken by the Carysfort, 26-gun frigate, Captain Laforey. In the action, which
lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, the enemy had 10 killed and nine wounded, and the
Carysfort had only 17 casualties in all. Troubridge now received command of the

178 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
Culloden, 74, a ship he immortalised by his exploits almost as much as his old shipmate of
the Seahorse did the Agamemnon and Captain, which he commanded during these event
ful years. In the Culloden he served under Howe in February 1795, and cruised off
Brest, blockading the French fleet until May, when he sailed for the Mediterranean,
and participated in Admiral Hotham's indecisive action of the 13th July, in which
Nelson took so prominent a part in the Agamemnon. Again in Sir John Jervis's ever-
memorable victory over the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Yincent on St. Valentine's Day
of 1797, the gallant commander of the Culloden led the fleet into action, and took a
prominent part, one only second in glory to that of Nelson in the Captain. The
commander-in-chief said in a private letter to the First Lord of the Admiralty, written
two days after the battle : " Captain Troubridge, in the Culloden, led through the enemy
in a masterly style." The brunt of the fighting, and the chief loss, fell on the Captain,
Excellent, Blenheim, and Culloden, which lost 10 killed and 47 wounded.
Captain Troubridge accompanied Nelson in his unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz, in
the island of Teneriffe, and to him was entrusted the command* of the seamen and
marines who were to be landed. We have given a detailed account of the expedition,
which resulted in a sanguinary repulse for the British seamen and marines, for which,
however, they were in no way to blame. The ill-success was not attributable either to
the plan or its execution, but chiefly to the overwhelming superiority of the enemy,
and in a lesser degree to the darkness of the night and the heavy surf beating in
shore which filled some of the boats with water and rendered useless much of the
ammunition in the men's pouches. That Captain Troubridge was enabled to bring back
any of his landing party was due to the adroitness, audacity and fertility of resource
for which he was remarkable even among his brother officers of the British Navy.
* The following is the letter addressed by Admiral Nelson to the captain of the Culloden, giving him his
instructions : — " I desire you to take under your command the number of seamen and marines named in the margin,
who will be landed under Captains Hood, Miller, Fremantle, Bowen, and Waller, and the marines under Captain
Thomas Oldfield, and a detachment of the royal artillery under Lieutenant Baynes, all of whom are now embarked on
board his Majesty's frigates Seahorse, Terpsichore, and Emerald. With this detachment you will proceed as near to the town
of Santa Cruz as possible without endangering your being perceived, when you will embark as many men as the boats will
carry, and force your landing on the north-east part of the bay of Santa Cruz, near a large battery. The moment jovl
are on shore, I recommend you first to attack the battery, which, when carried, and your post secured, you will either
proceed by storm against the town and mole-head battery, or send in my letter as you judge most proper, containing
a summons of which I send you a copy, and the terms are either to be accepted or rejected in the time specified,
unless you see good cause for prolonging it, as no alteration will be made in them, and you will pursue such other
methods as you judge most proper for speedily effecting my orders, which are, to possess yourself of all cargoes and
treasures which may be landed on the island of Teneriffe. Having the firmest confidence in the ability, bravery, and
zeal of yourself, and of all placed under your command, I have only heartily to wish you success, and to assure you
that I am vour most obedient and faithful servant.' '

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 179
The following is his official letter to Sir Horatio Nelson of the events of the night
of the 24th July, written on the following morning :—" From the darkness of the night
I did not immediately hit the mole, the spot appointed to land at, but pushed on shore
under the enemy's battery, close to the southward of the citadel. Captain Waller
landed at the same time, and two or three other boats. The surf was so high many put
back ; the boats were full of water in an instant, and stove against the rocks, and most
of the ammunition in the men's pouches was wet. As soon as I had collected a few
men, I immediately advanced with Captain Waller to the square, the place of rendez
vous, in hopes of meeting you and the remainder of your people ; and I waited about
an hour, during which time I sent a sergeant, with two gentlemen of the town, to summon
the citadel. I fear the sergeant was shot on his way, as I heard nothing of him after
wards. The ladders being all lost in the surf, or not to be found, no immediate attempt
could be made on the citadel ; I therefore marched to join Captains Hood and Miller,
who, I had intelligence, had made good their landing with a body of men to the south
west of the place. I then endeavoured to procure some account of you and the rest
of the officers without success. By daybreak we had collected about 80 marines,
80 pikemen, and 180 small-arm seamen; these I found were all that remained alive
that had made good their landing. With this force, having procured some ammunition
from the Spanish prisoners we had made, we were marching to try what could be done
with the citadel without ladders, when we found the whole of the streets commanded
by field pieces, and upwards of 8,000 Spaniards and 100 Frenchmen under arms,
approaching by every avenue. As the boats were all stove, and I saw no possibility of
getting more men on shore, the ammunition wet, and no provisions, I sent Captain Hood
with a flag of truce to the governor, to declare that I was prepared to burn the town,
which I should immediately put in force, if he approached one inch farther."
Nelson, in his letter to Earl St. Yincent, expressed his " admiration of the firmness
with which Captain Troubridge and his brave associates supported the honour of the
British flag."
In May of 1798, Lord St. Yincent, being reinforced by a squadron from England
under Sir Eoger Curtis, detached from off Cadiz Captain Troubridge with ten 74's
and a 50-gun ship to join Nelson, who had been sent on a cruise with three sail-of-the-
line and three smaller vessels. Troubridge joined Sir Horatio on the 8th June, but
some weeks were passed in an unsuccessful attempt to find the French fleet, which had
sailed from Toulon, with Napoleon on board, for Egypt. It was not till the 1st August

180 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
that the enemy's fleet was discovered in Aboukir Bay, and the same evening took
place the battle of the Nile. To the great mortification of Captain Troubridge, the
Culloden took the ground on a shoal, as she was standing in towards the French fleet,
and thus failed to participate in the action, notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions
of the gallant captain, officers, and crew to get her off, which they succeeded in doing
on the following morning.*
Nelson, with that nobleness of nature which distinguished him, felt great commisera
tion for his early friend in not being able to take part in the action of the 1st August,
and in Clarke and McArthur's Life of the hero he is represented as having addressed
him in these terms : — " Let us, my dear Troubridge, rather rejoice that the ship that
got on shore was commanded by an officer whose character is so thoroughly established
in the service as your own." Captain Troubridge received the thanks of the Houses of
Parliament, in common with the other commanding officers, but as he was not actually
engaged there was some demur to granting him the gold medal presented by the King,
and also to promoting the first lieutenant of the Culloden, a reward received by those of
the other ships, in accordance with the practice after a great general engagement. On
this point Nelson wrote privately to Lord St. Yincent : — " I received yesterday a private
letter from Lord Spencer, of October 7th, declaring that the first lieutenants of all the
ships engaged should be promoted. I sincerely hope this is not intended to exclude the
first lieutenant of the Culloden ; for Heaven's sake, for my sake, if it be so, get it altered.
Our dear friend Troubridge has endured enough ; his sufferings were, in every respect,
more than those of any of us ; he deserves every reward which a grateful country can
bestow on the most meritorious sea officer of his standing in the service. I have felt his
worth every hour of my command, and had before written to you, my dear lord, on this
* Troubridge says in a letter to Lord St. Vincent, written on the 16th August : " Your lordship will have learned
by Sir Horatio Nelson's letters, and Captain Beny, of the misfortune that befell the Culloden, just as I got within gun
shot of the enemy. As we had no knowledge of the place, and the soundings continued regular as we stood in,
I did not conceive the smallest danger, the man at the lead calling out eleven fathoms when she struck. The only
consolation I have to support me in this cruel case is, that I had just time to make the signal to the Siciftsure and
Alexander, which saved them, or they must inevitably have been lost, as they would have been further on the reef
from their hauling considerably within me. Every exertion in my power was used to save his Majesty's ship ; but
it was long doubtful whether I should be able to keep her afloat after I got her off, as the rudder was gone, and she was
making seven feet of water an hour. However, by great labour on the third day we got a new rudder made and hung.
and with thrummed sails reduced the leak considerably. The false keel is gone, and probably part of the main, as she
struck very hard for nine hours with a heavy swell. I shall use every exertion to patch the poor Culloden up again,
and I flatter myself I can still fight a good battle in her, if opportunity offers. I am now fagging hard at the leak,
and the first harbour we make I must and will patch the old ship up and make her last as long as your lordship has
the command. Two pumps going I shall not mind, we are fully equal to that. I endeavour, and believe succeed, in
making my men believe that the leak is nothing, for they dance every evening as usual."

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 181
subject ; therefore I place Troubridge in your hands." Lord St. Yincent's good offices
were successful, as appears from the following passage in a letter from Lord Spencer : —
" The exception of the first lieutenant of the Culloden was necessary, on account of that
ship not having got into action from the circumstance of being aground. I am, however,
so fully convinced of the merit both of Captain Troubridge and his officers on all occa
sions, that I beg you would be so good as to give the first vacancy of commander that
arises to the first lieutenant of the Culloden."
Captain Troubridge, in the Culloden, with the Alexander and La Bonne Ciloyenne,
arrived at Naples, on his return from Alexandria, about the middle of September, and
in four or five days he was joined by Admiral Nelson in the Vanguard. Captain
Troubridge was afterwards employed in the blockade of Alexandria till the 5th March,
1799, when he left Sir Sydney Smith in command, and returned to Lord Nelson at
Palermo. Lord Nelson now appointed Troubridge to the command of a small squadron,
with the object of blockading Naples and obtaining possession of the islands of Ischia
and Capri in the bay, which he succeeded in doing.
In consequence of information received by Lord Nelson as to the French fleet, his
lordship, who was then at Palermo, sent for Troubridge to join him, and put to sea,
but returned to his anchorage without falling in with the enemy. In a letter written
to Lord St. Yincent on his return, Nelson said of the subject of this notice: — " I have
our dear Troubridge for my assistant, and in everything we are brothers. Hood and
Hallowell are as active and good as ever ; not that I mean to say that any are otherwise,
but you know these are men of resources." On the evacuation of Naples by the French
in June, 1799, Nelson proceeded thither from Palermo, and landed a strong detachment
of seamen and marines, under the command of Captain Troubridge, to dispossess the
French of the castle of St. Elmo. The siege lasted between the 3rd and 12th July
when the fort surrendered to Troubridge, of whom his lordship wrote to the Admiralty
in the following terms :— " Although the abilities and resources of my brave friend
Troubridge are well known to all the world, yet even he had difficulties to struggle
with in every way, which the state of the capital will easily bring to your idea, that
has raised his great character even higher than it was before." Before the close of
September, articles of capitulation having been entered into with the French general,
Captain Troubridge took possession of Civita Vecchia and other posts while Captain
(afterwards Sir Thomas) Louis, of the Minotaur, occupied Eome.
For his services on this and former occasions Troubridge received a baronetcy, and
VOL. III. B B

182 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
on his return to England, in 1800, was nominated flag-captain of the Channel fleet,
under Lord St. Yincent, and a few months later, one of the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, an office he held till May, 1804. In April, 1805, Troubridge, who had
attained the rank of rear-admiral twelve months before, sailed in the Blenheim, 74, to
assume command of the squadron in the East Indies, to the eastward of Ceylon, and
early in the following year he was transferred to the command at the Cape of Good
Hope. But the gallant officer, who, since the death of his early friend, had no superior
in the British Navy, never reached his destination. The last seen of the Blenheim,
and the Java frigate, sailing in company, was on the 1st March, when the Harrier
sloop, commanded by a son of the admiral, lost sight of the two ships in a heavy gale
off Mauritius. " The night," wrote an officer on board, " was dreadful beyond descrip
tion ; it blew a perfect hurricane, with a tremendous sea. The Blenheim was in a A'ery
decayed state, and was particularly bad in her hull. The Java was badly manned, and
extremely crank. The principal hope is, that they have got into some harbour in the
island of Madagascar."
In concluding the notice of Sir Thomas Troubridge, we will give Lord Nelson's
opinion of his friend, as derived from his letters to Lord St. Yincent. On the 15th June
1798 he says: — " Troubridge possesses my full confidence, and has been my honoured
acquaintance of twenty-five years' standing." Again on the 10th August, a few days
after the battle of the Nile, in a moment of depression, he thus writes : — "Although I
keep on, yet I feel I must soon leave my situation in the Mediterranean to Troubridge,
than whom we both know no person is more equal to the task. I should have sunk
under the fatigue of re-fitting the squadron but for him, Ball, Hood, and Hallowell ; not
but that all have done well, but these are my supporters." In the following month he
wrote from Naples : — " Dear Troubridge, whom we went to visit yesterday, is better
than I expected ; the active business and the scolding he is obliged to be continually at
does him good. I am not surprised you wish him near you, but I trust you will not take
him from me. I well know he is my superior, and I so often want his advice and
assistance." One of the most heroic officers of that heroic age of our naval history w- as Captain
George Nicholas Hardinge, who fell in 1808, at the early age of twenty-seven, about
the same time that his relative, the late Field-Marshal Lord Hardinge, began to earn
distinction under Sir Arthur Wellesley and Sir John Moore in the Peninsula. He
was born on the 11th April, 1781, and adopted the sea as his profession at the age of

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 183
twelve, being encouraged in this step by Sir John Borlase Warren, who saw him
accidentally at Eton, and was so struck by his personal beauty and vivacious manner
and address, that he assured him "he was better fitted for a naval hero than for a
lawyer," for which profession he was presumably intended. At that early age young
Hardinge was entered as a midshipman on board the Meleager, Captain Tyler, an officer
of high character, who made it his constant duty to supervise the training and promote
the welfare of the youngsters under his command. He was engaged in the operations in
the Mediterranean under Lord Hood in the early years of the Eevolutionary War, and a
letter he wrote descriptive of the services performed by the Navy at Corsica, was
shown to Mr. Pitt, who declared that " it was a, most extraordinary performance at so
youthful an age."
Captain Tyler was appointed to the command of the 40-gun frigate Minerve, captured
from the French, which had been weighed by his exertions after having been sunk, and
took the young midshipman with him to the ship, which was re-named the San Fiorenzo,
after the port in Corsica where she was taken. Again, on Captain Tyler removing to
the Diadem, of 64 guns, Hardinge accompanied his patron, and was engaged in the
action, fought by Sir William Hotham, which has been described, when the Ca Ira, 80,
and Centaur, 74, were captured, and the partial success of which aroused Nelson's
anger. In the spring of 1798, before he had attained his eighteenth year, Hardinge returned
to England, but after only remaining on shore a month or two, went to sea again in
the Aigle frigate, under his old captain, and accompanied by a former shipmate in the
San Fiorenzo, of whom Captain Tyler wrote, after the action in the Mediterranean,
"My two boys behaved like veterans."
Off the coast of Africa the frigate was wrecked, and our hero had a narrow escape of
his life. Lord St. Yincent, the commander-in-chief, who displayed kindness to him at
this time, placed him on board the Theseus, Captain Miller, one of Nelson's favourite
officers, who commanded the Captain at the battle of St. Vincent, and the Theseus
at the Nile. He served under Miller at the siege of Acre, and was present when
the fearful explosion took place on board the Theseus, by which Captain Miller and
30 officers and men were killed on the spot, nine who jumped overboard were drowned,
and 47, including six officers, were injured. Young Hardinge had a narrow escape from
death on that occasion. During the siege of Acre our hero had command of a gunboat,
and received the commendation of Sir Sydney Smith for his conduct. For a short time h©
bb2

184 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
was on board the Tigre, Commodore Smith's ship, and received promotion to the rank of
lieutenant when he returned to England. Lieutenant Hardinge was now appointed to
the Foudroyant, commanded by Sir Edward Berry, captain of the Vanguard at the battle
of the Nile. In the Foudroyant he was present at the action, fought on the 1st April
1800, with the Guillaume Tell, 80, the last of the fleet that Nelson destroyed in Aboukir
Bay. The Guillaume Tell was engaged by the Foudroyant, Lion, Alexander, and Pene
lope, and after a gallant resistance, struck her flag, having lost 200 men. In this action
the Foudroyant had eight killed and 64 wounded, including the captain.
In the following year he was serving on board the Santa Teresa, and when Lord St.
Yincent became First Lord of the Admiralty, received promotion in May, 1802, to
the rank of commander. In March, 1803, we find him appointed to the command of
the Terror, bomb, being then in his twenty-second year. In this vessel he assisted at the
ineffectual bombardment of some of the French Channel ports, and served under Captain
Owen and Sir James Saumarez, who both entertained the highest opinion of his profes
sional attainments. When the Terror became of no further use for active service, Com
mander Hardinge was appointed to the sloop-of-war Scorpion, and joined Admiral
Thornborough off the Texel. Here he captured, on the 31st March, 1804, the Dutch
16-gun brig Atalante, under circumstances which have been mentioned in a previous
chapter, and equally displayed his bravery and generosity of character.*
* He thus describes the event in a private letter to a friend : — " I am on my way to the Nore, after six day» of
severe but unrepented fatigue, and have 60 Dutch prisoners on board. We are accompanied by the Atalante, a Dutch
war-brig, of 16 guns, prize to us. I was ordered on the 28th to reconnoitre at Vlie, and perceived a couple of the
enemy's brigs at anchor in the roads ; despairing to reach them with my ship, on account of the shoals that surrounded
the entrance, I determined upon a dash at the outermost one in the boats, if a good opportunity could be found or
made. It came unsolicited, March 31. Preparing to embark, we accidentally were joined by the Bearer sloop, who
offered us her boats to act in concert with ours ; we accepted the reinforcement, under an impression that it would
spare the lives on both sides, and would shorten the contest. At half-past nine in the evening we began the enter
prise. Captain Pelly, an intelligent and spirited officer, did me the honour to serve under me, as a volunteer, in one
of his boats. We had near 60 men, including officers, headed by your humble servant, in the foremost boat. As we
rowed with flood tide, we arrived alongside the enemy at half-past eleven. I had the good fortune, or, as by some it
has been considered, the honour, to be the first man who boarded her. She was prepared for us with boarding nettings
up, and with all the other customary implements of defence. But the noise and alarm so intimidated her crew,
that many of them ran below in a panic, leaving us the painful task of combating those whom we respected the
most. The decks were slippery, in consequence of rain, so that grappling with my first opponent, a mate of the
watch, I fell, but recovering my position, fought him on equal terms, and killed him. I then engaged the captain,
as brave a man as any service ever boasted, who had almost killed one of my seamen. To my shame be it spoken, he
disarmed me, and was on the point of killing me, when Mr. Williams, the master, came up, rescued me at the peril
of his own life, and enabled me to recover my sword. At this time, all the men were come from the boats, and were
in possession of the deck. Two were going to fall upon the captain at once ; I ran up, held them back, and then
abjured him to accept quarter. With inflexible heroism, he disdained the gift, kept us at bay, and compelled us to kill
him. He fell, covered with honourable wounds. The vessel was ours, and we secured the hatches, which, headed by
a lieutenant, who had received a desperate wound, they attempted repeatedly to force. Thus far, we had been

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 185
For this spirited action Hardinge was promoted to the rank of captain, and in the
following August was appointed to the command of the Proselyte, of 20 guns, formerly a
Newcastle collier. He was ordered on convoy duty to the West Indies; but his
friends, dreading for him the climate and the command of such an unseaworthy ship,
secured an exchange for him to the Valorous, which, however, was almost as wretched a
craft as the collier, and from her he was appointed to the command of the Salsette, a
36-gun frigate, then being constructed at Bombay. Captain Hardinge proceeded to
India, but found on arrival there that the Salsette was far from completion, when Sir
Edward Pellew, the commander-in-chief, appointed him to the San Fiorenzo, the ship in
which he had served in 1794 in the Mediterranean, under Captain Tyler. It was his
ill-fortune to be appointed to a succession of rotten ships, and in October, 1807, we
find him writing of her, after she had been patched up, that she was "barely effective,
but not eligible, and rather less safe than sound." He had long pined to bring to
action the French frigate Piemontaise, which had been committing great depredations on
British commerce ; and at length, early in March, 1808, he had his wish gratified,
but met an untimely and heroic end. The San Fiorenzo, which sailed from Point de
Galle, in Ceylon, on the 4th March, two days later passed three Indiamen, and soon
after sighted a man-of-war, which proved to be the long looked-for frigate.
Captain Hardinge made the private signal, which was not answered, and at five
showed his colours, of which the stranger took no notice. At 11.40 p.m. he ranged
alongside of him on the port tack, and received his broadside. After engaging ten
fortunate, but we had another enemy to fight in the elements ; a sudden gale had shifted against us, impeded all
the efforts we could make, but as we had made the capture, we determined, at all events, to sustain it, or to perish.
We made the Dutch below surrender, put forty of them into their own irons, and stationed our men to their guns,
brought the powder up, and made all the necessary arrangements to attack the other brig. But as the day broke, and
without abatement of the wind, she was off at such a distance, and in such a position, that we had no chance to reach
her. In this extremity of peril we remained eight-and-forty hours. Two of the boats had broken adrift from us, and
two had swamped alongside ; the wind shifted again, and we made a push to extricate ourselves, but found the naviga
tion so difficult that it required the intense labour of three days to accomplish it. We carried the point at last, and
were commended by the admiral for our perseverance. You will see in the Gazette my letter to him. I aimed at
modesty, but am a little afraid that, in pursuit of that object, I may have left material facts a little too indefinite, if
not obscure. The Atalante' s captain and four others are killed ; eleven are wounded, and so dreadfully, that our surgeon
thinks every one of them will die. To the end of my experience I shall regret the captain ; he was a perfect hero ; and
if his crew had been like him, critical, indeed, would have been our peril. The Atalante is much larger than my vessel,
and she mounted 16 long 12-pounders ; we had not a single brig that is equal to that calibre. Her intended complement
was 200 men, but she had only, as it happened, 76 on board. In two days after the captain's death, he was buried
with all the naval honours in my power to bestow upon him. During the ceremony of his interment, the English
colours disappeared, and the Dutch were hoisted in their place. All the Dutch prisoners were liberated ; one of them
delivered an eloge upon the hero they had lost, and we fired three volleys over him, as he descended into
the deep."

186 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
minutes within a cable's length, the enemy made sail ahead out of the range of the
Fiorenzo's shot. The British frigate made all sail after him, gradually approaching
him till daylight, when, finding he could not avoid an action, the enemy wore, as did
the Fiorenzo, and at twenty-five minutes past six, recommenced the engagement at a
distance of half a mile, gradually closing to a quarter of a mile. The fire was constant
and well directed on both sides, though that of the Piemontaise slackened towards
the latter part of the action. At 8.15 the enemy made all sail. The Fiorenzo's main-
topsail yard being shot through, the main-royal mast, both main-topmast stays, and
most of the standing and running rigging and sails, cut to pieces, and cartridges
fired away, she ceased firing, and employed all hands in repairing the damages and
fitting her again for action. They kept sight of the enemy during the night, and
at nine a.m. on the 8th, being perfectly prepared for action, bore down under a
press of sail, for the Frenchman, who did not endeavour to avoid the San Fiorenzo until
she hauled athwart his stern, to gain the weather-gage and bring him to close fight,
when the Piemontaise hauled up also and made all sail. On perceiving the San Fiorenzo
coming up fast with him and that a battle was unavoidable, he tacked ; and at three p.m.
they passed each other on opposite tacks, and commenced action within a quarter of a
cable's length. When the enemy was abaft the Fiorenzo's beam, he wore, and after an
hour and twenty minutes close action, struck his colours.
The Piemontaise mounted 50 guns, long 18-pounders, on her main-deck, and 36-
pound carronades on her quarter-deck, and had 530 Frenchmen on board and about 200
Lascars. In the action she lost 48 men killed and 120 wounded. The Fiorenzo had 48
killed and 25 wounded, among the former being the gallant Captain Hardinge, her
commander, who was struck by a grape-shot in the second broadside in the last
action, and Lieutenant Massy was badly wounded just before the enemy struck. Moreau,
the second captain of the Piemontaise, was severely wounded, and either threw himself
or caused himself to be thrown overboard. The French frigate had her rigging cut
to pieces, and her masts and bowsprit so wounded that they went by the board during
the night. Lieutenant Dawson succeeded Captain Hardinge, and brought the San
Fiorenzo and Piemontaise, her prize, into Colombo on the 12th March. The death
of Captain Hardinge was sincerely regretted by all who knew him. In Lieutenant-
General Maitland's " general orders " on the following day, he speaks of "the action
as second to none in the splendid annals of British valour," and says, "he feels it his
duty, as representing his sovereign in this island (Ceylon), to direct that the flag at the

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 187
flag-staff of this fort be hoisted half-mast high, and that minute guns be fired agreeably
to the number of years Captain Hardinge had so honourably lived, when most unfortu
nately for his friends and for his country his career was cut off."
Captain Charles Lydiard was an officer formed to attain the highest position in the
Navy, but was lost to his country prematurely, though not, like Captain Hardinge, at the
hands of the enemy. He saw considerable service in several ships, including the Captain,
74, in the Mediterranean until July 1795, when he was appointed first lieutenant
of the Southampton, 32, under his old friend, Captain Shields, and later, under Captain
Macnamara, who appreciated the remarkable gallantry and professional attainments
of his executive officer. The Southampton blockaded in the port of Genoa the French
frigates Vestale and Brun, with several gunboats, which at the end of fifteen days
ventured out, when they were attacked by the small British frigate. The Vestale
struck her colours, but at the moment of hoisting out the boats to take possession, the
foremast of the Southampton went over the side, when the Vestale re-hoisted her colours
and succeeded in making her escape.
On the next occasion these gallant officers were engaged with the enemy, they suc
ceeded in securing their prize. On the evening of the 9th July 1796, Sir John Jervis,
the commander-in-chief, noticing a French cruiser working up Hyeres Bay, near Toulon,
selected the Southampton to engage her, and Captain Macnamara's account of the manner
in which he effected this duty, and of the gallantry of Lieutenant Lydiard is better than
any I can give : — " In obedience to the orders I received from you on the Victory's
quarter-deck last evening, I pushed through the Grand Pass, and hauled up under
the batteries to the north-east with an easy sail, in hopes I should be taken for
a French or neutral frigate, which I have great reason to believe succeeded, as I got
within pistol-shot of the enemy's ship before I was discovered, and cautioned the cap
tain, through a speaking trumpet, not to make a fruitless resistance, when he immediately
snapped his pistol at me and fired his broadside. At this period, being very near
the heavy battery of Fort Breganton, I laid him instantly on board, and Lieutenant
Lydiard, at the head of the boarders, with an intrepidity no words can describe, entered
and carried her in about ten minutes, although he met with a spirited resistance from
the captain (who fell) and 100 men under arms to receive him. In this short conflict,
the behaviour of all the officers and ship's company of the Southampton had my full ap
probation, and I do not mean to take from their merit by stating to you that the con
duct of Lieutenant Lydiard was above all praise. Making sail on the two ships,

188 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
I found some difficulty in getting from under the battery, which kept up a heavy fire,
and was not able to return through the Grand Pass before half-past one o'clock this
morning, with L' Utile, corvette of 24 guns, French 6-pounders, commanded by Citoyen
Francois Yiza, and 130 men, 25 of whom were killed and wounded."
For his gallantry on this occasion, Lieutenant Lydiard was promoted and appointed
to the command of the prize, which he commanded till September of the following year,
when she was paid off. In May 1798, he received the command of the Fury, bomb, and
then of the Kate, sloop-of-war, which he vacated on promotion to the rank of post-captain.
In December 1805, after nearly five years on half-pay, he was appointed to the Anson,
44, in which he performed many gallant actions, until her loss two years later. Captain
Lydiard brought the crew to a pitch of perfection which made her second to none in the
service, not even excluding the Arethusa, commanded by Captain Brisbane, the Nymphe,
Captain Pellew, or the other frigates which made themselves a name for smartness under
the command of the best officers that any navy can boast. In company with the Arethusa,
on the 14th August 1806, he captured, off Havannah, the French frigate Pomona, of 38
guns and 347 men, destroyed twelve gunboats and silenced a battery, mounting 16
guns, close to which they took up a position. The Pomona struck her colours after
a twenty -five minutes' action, having lost her captain and 200 men ; three gunboats
were blown up, six were sunk, and three driven ashore.
On the 15th September following, Captain Lydiard fell in with the French 80-gun
ship Foudroyant in a dismasted state off Havannah, and standing in engaged her, but at
the end of half an hour, finding her fire too much for him, he was compelled to sheer off.
For his intrepid conduct on this occasion, Captain Lydiard received the thanks of the
admiral on the quarter-deck of his flagship at Port Eoyal. In company with the Are
thusa, Latona, and Fisgard, Captain Lydiard was engaged in the capture of the island of
Curacoa, and the manner in which the captains of these frigates laid them on board
the strong fortress, as though it was an enemy's ship, forms one of the most brilliant
episodes in the history of the British Navy.
Fort Amsterdam, as the chief work was called, mounted 66 guns, and there were also
a 36-gun frigate, a corvette of 22 guns, and two schooners, with some batteries on the
heights, and Fort Bepublique, enfilading the harbour, the entrance to which was
only fifty yards wide. The ships stood in together, and while the Dutch frigate was
carried by Captain Brisbane, Captain Lydiard boarded the corvette from the port bow
of the Anson, while her starboard guns kept up a fire on the batteries on shore. Upon

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 189
securing the Surinam, as the corvette was named, Captain Lydiard landed with his men
at the same time as the commodore, and these two noble seamen were the first upon the
walls of Fort Amsterdam. By seven o'clock all the enemy's works in the town were in
their possession, and three hours later the British flag was flying at Fort Bepublique.
The execution of this enterprise was said with truth to be " perfectly in union with every
thing glorious in the past, and an example of everything glorious in the future." Cap
tain Lydiard sailed for Jamaica with the prisoners and the captured colours, and pro
ceeded to England with them, where he arrived on the 21st February 1807. He was
greeted with popular demonstrations of applause, and introduced to the King, from whom
he received, together with the other captains, a gold medal, in honour of the achieve
ment, while Captain Brisbane was also knighted. The Anson soon after returned from
the West Indies, when Captain Lydiard rejoined her, and she was stationed for service
in the Channel.
But the frigate, which had originally been a 64-gun ship, and still carried the
masts and spars of that class, was not sufficiently seaworthy to battle against the stormy
weather she now experienced, and before the close of the year was lost, together with
her gallant captain and the greater part of the crew.*
An officer who had a long and distinguished career in the Navy, for which he received
high honours, was Lord Gardner. He first went to sea in 1755, at the age of 13, on
board the Medway, Captain Dennis (one of Lord Anson's lieutenants in the Centurion
in his voyage round the world), and was present at the capture of the Duke of
* The following account of the catastrophe is from one of the survivors : — " On the 27th December, 1807, when
cruising off the Black Eocks in the Channel, Captain Lydiard, apprehending the approach of a gale, at nine o'clock shaped
his course for Falmouth. Soon after land was seen about two miles distant, but as from the extreme thickness of the
weather they could not ascertain what part, Captain Lydiard ordered the ship to be wore to the S.E., not thinking it safe
to stand in any nearer under such circumstances of weather. Soon after one o'clock the master wished him to run in
again and make the land which was supposed to be the Lizard, when he asked if it could be done without risk.
The master replied in the affirmative, when the ship was wore, and they made all sail. Soon after three o'clock, as the
captain was going to dinner, he looked out of the quarter gallery, from whence he saw the breakers close to us, and
the land a long distance ahead. The ship was brought to an anchor and rode very well until four o'clock next
morning, when the cable parted. The other anchor was immediately let go, and the lower yards and topmasts
immediately struck. At daybreak the other cable parted, and as they were so close to the land that they had no
alternative but to go on shore, Captain Lydiard desired the master to turn the ship into the best situation for saving
the lives of the people. Fortunately a fine beach presented itself upon which the ship was run. Shortly afterwards
she struck, and the mainmast went overboard. Captain Lydiard and Sullivan (a volunteer on board the Anson), with the
first lieutenant, were resolved to remain by the ship as long as possible. Many people were killed on board, and
the first lieutenant and a number of others washed overboard. It was the captain's great wish to save the lives of
the ship's company, and he was employed in directing them the whole of the time. He had placed himself by the
wheel, holding by the spokes, where he was exposed to the violence of the sea, which broke tremendously over him,
and from continuing in this situation too long, waiting to see the people out of the ship, he became so weak that upon
attempting to leave the ship himself he was washed away and drowned."
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190 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Aquitaine. Under tne same captain he served in the Dorsetshire, 70, when she took the
Raisonable of 60 guns, and in the general engagement off Belleisle between Lord Hawke
and Admiral Conflans. On the 7th March, 1760, after five years' service, Mr. Gardner
was raised to the rank of lieutenant, and was appointed to the Bellona, 74, of which
Captain Dennis received the command, the only commander under whom he had yet
served. Not many months after joining her, Captain Faulknor was appointed to the
command of the Bellona, and captured the French 74-gun ship Courageux, after one of the
most severe actions recorded in the annals of the British Navy, of which we have given
an account elsewhere.
On the 12th April, 1762, our hero received his commission as commander, and
was appointed to the Raven fireship. Four years later he was raised to post-rank,
and shortly after received the command of the Preston, 50, flagship of Eear- Admiral
Perry, commanding on the Jamaica station. In this ship and the Levant Captain
Gardner served till the end of 1771, when he returned to England. After remaining on
shore unemployed for four years, he was appointed to the Maidstone, 28, and sailed for the
West Indies. When the war with our American colonies broke out, he was sent to
that coast, and on the 3rd November, 1778, engaged the French armed merchantship Lion,
carrying 40 guns and 216 men. On the first day he hauled off to repair damages, and
on the following morning again attacked her and compelled her to strike her colours.
Soon after this event Captain Gardner was promoted to the command of the Sultan, 74, and
took part in Admiral Byron's indecisive action with Count D'Estaing, off Grenada, on the
6th July, 1779. The Sultan took a prominent part in the engagement, and lost 16 killed
and 39 wounded, being a greater loss than was incurred by any other ships. Shortly
after this Captain Gardner sailed for England, and was not again employed till the end
of 1781, when he commissioned the Duke, 98, and sailed to join Sir George Eodney
in the West Indies. In that great seaman's battle with Count de Grasse, on the 12th
April, 1782, the Duke was second to the Formidable flagship, and was the first ship to
pass through the enemy's line. During one period of the action, the Duke, in company
with the Namur and the flagship, sustained the fire of eleven of the enemy's ships, and
experienced a loss of 13 killed and 60 wounded. On the conclusion of peace
in the following spring, Captain Gardner returned to England, when the Duke was
paid off.
Three years later we find him acting commander-in-chief on the Jamaica station,
with the rank of commodore, and in January, 1790, when he was elected member

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 191
of Parliament, he was appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty, an office he held till
May, 1795.
On the outbreak of war with France, Gardner was raised to the rank of rear-admiral,
and on the 6th March, 1793, sailed for the West Indies, where he assumed the command.
In the autumn he returned to England, and was attached to the Channel fleet, under
the command of Lord Howe, having his flag in the Queen, 98. Admiral Gardner had
the good fortune to participate in the great victory achieved by Lord Howe over the
French fleet on the 1st June, 1794. The Queen took a prominent part in the action
of the 29th May, and suffered proportionately. Her loss that day was 21 killed,
including the master, and 25 wounded, among whom were Captain Hutt, who lost a
leg, and died of the wound on the 2nd July. At one time the Queen was almost
unmanageable, owing to the damages she had received aloft, and being far in the rear
with the Royal George, the enemy attempted to cut her off, on perceiving which Lord
Howe wore to her assistance and both vans were again engaged. In the decisive action on
the 1st June, the Queen again suffered considerably when running down to close, and
engaged first the Northumberland and then the Jemappes, whose fore and mainmasts she
shot away. The Queen also lost her mainmast, and during the day her losses were 14
killed, and three officers and 37 men wounded.
Admiral Gardner received several flattering marks of the King's favour. He was
promoted to the rank of vice-admiral and was created a baronet, and received the
thanks of Parliament. Sir Alan Gardner was second in command of the British fleet in
the action off Lorient, on the 23rd of June, 1795, between Lord Bridport and Admiral
Yillaret- Joyeuse, but was not prominently engaged. This was the last occasion in which
he was in action with the enemy, and his record, which includes ten engagements, was
assuredly an honourable and distinguished one. On the 23rd December, 1800, Sir
Alan Gardner received an Irish peerage, an honour he did not live many years to enjoy,
as he expired on the 1st January, 1809.
Lord Collingwood's name is one of the most honoured in our Navy. An adequate
memoir has been written of this fine specimen of a naval officer and English gentle
man, by a relative, wdth selections from his correspondence, which exhibit him as one of
the most amiable as well as gallant of men, and equally beloved by his seamen in the
busy and exciting scenes of war as by his family in the quiet of home-life. Cuthbert
Collingwood entered the navy in the year 1761, on board the Shannon frigate, com
manded by his uncle, Captain Braithwaite. He served with him for many years, but
cc2

192 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
his life was not particularly eventful, until he was made fourth lieutenant of the
Somerset, in 1775, on the day of the battle of Bunker's Hill, where he commanded a
party of seamen. Next year his ship, the Hornet, was sent to the West Indies, where
Collingwood was much thrown with Nelson, who, though his junior in point of service,
was then second lieutenant of the Lowestoft. These celebrated men had been on terms of
friendship before, and now renewed the intimacy, which ripened into a warm friendship
und mutual admiration. In 1780, he participated in the expedition to Nicaragua, and
he succeeded to the command of the Hinchinbrooke, when Captain Nelson was appointed
to the charge of the naval brigade on shore. Like Nelson he suffered greatly in
health during the expedition, and it is stated that, during four months, he buried 180
out of 200 men, forming the complement of his ship. In December, Collingwood was
appointed to the command of the Pelican, 24, but on the 1st of August in the following
year, she was wrecked in a hurricane, on the barren islets known as Morant Keys.
Here he and his ship's company remained for ten days, with little food or water, until
a boat reached Jamaica, and the Diamond frigate came to their assistance. His next
command was the Surprise, 64, till she was paid off in 1783, when he commissioned the
Mediator, and sailed for the West Indies, where he met his friend, Nelson, then in
command of the Boreas. At the end of 1786, the ship returned to England, and Col
lingwood, after twenty-five years' service, lived in retirement, which was only broken for
a few weeks when, in the apprehended rupture with Spain, he was appointed to the
command of the Mermaid, 32. But the war cloud blew over, though in 1793, on
the outbreak of hostilities with France, we find him gazetted to the Prince, 98, Eear-
Admiral Bowyer's flagship. Collingwood accompanied this officer to the Barfleur, 98,
and was present at Lord Howe's great victory on the 1st June, 1794, in which the
Barfleur took a prominent part. Admiral Bowyer lost his leg in the action, and as he
ceased to fly his flag, Collingwood was appointed successively to the 74-gun ships
Hector and Excellent, which latter he commanded at Sir John Jervis's memorable engage
ment off Cape St. Yincent. We have mentioned the valuable assistance he afforded
the Captain, commanded by his friend Nelson, when he passed between that ship and
the San Nicolas, 80, allowing the harassed crew an opportunity of replenishing their
shot lockers. Collingwood then engaged the Santissima Trinidada, four-decker, and the
Excellent stood fourth on the list of ships which suffered most in the action. So fully
did Nelson appreciate the skill and gallantry of his friend that when, in the following
year, he was sent to reinforce his squadron, after his victory at the Nile, his lordship

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 193
exclaimed, " See, here comes the Excellent, which is as good as two added to our number,"
In January, 1799, his ship was paid off, and on the 14th February, the second anniver
sary of the battle of St. Vincent, Collingwood was promoted to the rank of rear-
admiral. He now hoisted his flag in the Triumph, on the Channel Station, and then on
board the Barfleur.
From May 1802 till the following March, Admiral Collingwood was unemployed,
but on the rupture of the peace of Amiens, he was again afloat in blockading the
enemy's fleet at Brest, under Admiral Cornwallis. In May, 1805, he was detached
with some ships to blockade the ports on the coast of Spain. At one time he was left
with only four ships-of-the-line off Cadiz, where lay a large French and Spanish fleet,
and in this service displayed those qualities of unwearied patience, address, and re
source, that marked him out specially among the admirals of his time. With two ships
close in-shore, to watch the motions of the enemy, he made signals to his two
other ships, which repeated them to others that had no existence, and quite succeeded in
deceiving the enemy as to the strength of the blockading squadron. In September,
Lord Nelson arrived and assumed charge of the fleet, with Collingwood for his second-
in-command, and at the battle of Trafalgar it fell to the subject of this brief notice,
who had his flag flying on board the Royal Sovereign, to lead the lee column into action
and break the enemy's centre, which he did in a style that drew from his friend,
the commander-in-chief, a warm tribute of admiration. "Look," said Nelson, " at that
noble fellow, Collingwood ; see how he carries his ship into action." A kindred spirit
animated these great seamen, and it is recorded that Collingwood, when enjoying the
honour he knew his friend wished to share, exclaimed to his flag-captain, "Eotherham,
what would Nelson give to be here ! "
It had been Collingwood's lot to succeed Nelson as lieutenant ; again in the ship
to which he was promoted as commander ; a third time in the Hinchinbrooke ; and
now he was his successor as commander-in-chief of the fleet after death had finally
removed him from the scene. But there was no vainglory or self-seeking about the
man, and he only deplored the loss of one he had known throughout his professional
life, and wrote to the Admiralty : — " I have not only to lament, in common with the
British Navy and the British nation, the fall of the Commander-in-Chief, the loss of a
hero whose name will be immortal, and his memory ever dear to his country, but my
heart is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many
years' intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired

194 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ideas superior to the common race of men, I was bound by the strongest ties of affection,
a grief to which even the glorious occasion on which he fell does not bring that con
solation which perhaps it ought."
In the battle the Royal Sovereign lost her main and mizen masts, and the fore-mast
was so much injured by shot that it went over the side during the subsequent severe
weather. Collingwood shifted his flag into the Euryalus, commanded by Captain Black
wood, Nelson's friend, and carried out the expressed hope of his late chief that
" humanity after victory might be the predominant feature in the British fleet," by
proposing to the Governor of Cadiz that all the wounded prisoners should be landed for
treatment in the hospitals of that city, a suggestion which was gratefully adopted. The
Spaniards, not to be outdone in generosity, offered the use of these institutions for the
wounded British seamen.
Collingwood was raised to the peerage, with a pension of £2,000 a year, which,
however, he did not live many years to enjoy. Though in failing health, he continued
to serve in command of the Mediterranean fleet until the spring of 1810, when he
expired on board his ship, the Ville-de- Paris, on the 7th March, the day after she sailed
from Minorca for England. His body was brought home in the Nereus frigate, and,
as with Lord Nelson, lay in state for some days in the Painted Chamber at Greenwich,
and was interred in St. Paul's, where it lies beside his beloved friend and chief.
Lord Collingwood never heeded fatigue or exposure to all weathers in the execu
tion of his duty, and was generally on deck day and night in times of emergency.
During the last five years of his life he had scarcely been on shore, and in January,
1805, he wrote to a friend: — " Since the year 1793 I have been only one year at home.
To my children I am scarcely known, yet while I have health and strength to do it, I
will serve, and if successfully, as I have ever done faithfully, my children will not
want friends." In this confidence he was not disappointed, as on his death his widow
became entitled to a pension of £1,000 a year, and each of his daughters to pensions of
half the amount, voted by the liberality of Parliament.
Lord Bridport was the younger of two brothers who both gained peerages and
a high position in the naval service of their country. Alexander Hood first dis
tinguished himself in May, 1756, while commanding the Antelope, 50, when he engaged
and drove ashore the Aquilon, of 48 guns and 450 men. This took place in Hyeres
Bay, and on the following day he took a privateer of 16 guns. In the ensuing year
Captain Hood was appointed to the command of the Minerva, 32, which he retained till

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 195
the close of 1761. In January of this year he captured a privateer carrying 14 guns
and 122 men, and retook the Warwick, formerly a British 60-gun ship, but now
carrying 34, with a crew of 221 men, and 75 soldiers she was conveying to Pondi-
cherry. He describes the action in the following terms : — " At twenty minutes after
ten, with a fresh gale easterly, and a great sea, I began a close engagement with her„
At eleven her main and fore-top-mast went away, and soon after she came on board
us on the starboard bow, and then fell alongside, but the sea soon parted us, and
the enemy fell astern. About a quarter after eleven, the Minerva's bowsprit went
away, and the foremast soon followed it. These were very unfortunate accidents,
and I almost despaired of being able to attack the enemy again ; however, I cut the
wreck away as soon as possible, and about one o'clock cleared the ship of it. I then
wore the ship, and stood for the enemy, who was then about three leagues to leeward
of me. At four o'clock I came quite close up to the enemy, and renewed the attack.
About a quarter before five she struck, when possession was taken of the Warwick,
which sailed from Eochefort on the 20 th January, and was bound to the Isle of France
and Bourbon with provisions, ammunition, and stores. The enemy had 14 killed and
32 wounded. Our numbers are the boatswain and 13 killed and the gunner and 33
wounded. The former died on the 27th, together with two seamen. I have given my
thanks to the officers and crew of his Majesty's ship for their firm and spirited
behaviour, and have great pleasure in acquainting your lordships with it. At nine
o'clock the main- mast of the Minerva went away, and at eleven the mizen-mast
followed it."
Captain Hood was promoted the same year to the Africa, 64, but the conclusion of
peace in 1763 denied him the chance of courting further distinction. He held various
commands until the outbreak of war with France in 1778, and was engaged in the in
decisive battle fought on the 27th July, off Ushant, between Admiral Keppel and
Count D'Orvilliers. In September, 1780, he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral,
and two years later, hoisted his flag in the Queen, and commanded a division of ships
at the relief of Gibraltar by Lord Howe. We find that Admiral Hood entered Parlia
ment in 1784, was appointed a Knight of the Bath four years later, and on the declara
tion of war with France in 1793, served under Lord Howe in the Channel fleet. At the
great victory of the 1st of June, Sir Alexander Hood had his flag on board the Royal
George, 100. In the preliminary action of the 29th May she was hotly engaged, and
had 15 killed and 23 wounded, and in the main battle, passing through the enemy's

196 HER MAJESTY' 'S NAVY.
line, between the Sanspareil, 80, and the Republicaine, 100, the Royal George engaged
both ships, and shot away the fore and mizen mast of the former, which lost 300 men.
On the second day, Admiral Hood's flag-ship had a midshipman and four men killed,
and a lieutenant, master, two midshipmen, and 44 seamen and marines wounded.
She was assisted by the Glory, which suffered severely in the action with the two
ships, but they inflicted greater loss on the enemy, and the Republicaine, bearing the flag
of Admiral Bouvet, was compelled to retreat, and shortly afterwards her main and
mizen masts went over the side. The Royal George also lost her fore-mast and maintop-
mast. For his share in this memorable engagement, Admiral Hood received an Irish
peerage as Baron Bridport.
On the 22nd June in the following year (1795) Lord Bridport, when cruising in
command of the Channel fleet, with seventeen sail-of-the-line and five frigates, sighted
and gave chase to a French fleet of twelve line-of-battle-ships and eleven frigates.
Early next morning six of his ships closed with the enemy, when three of their fleet
were taken. The admiral was not able to come into action until the success had been
achieved, when he fired a broadside into the Peuple, a three-decker, but the combatants
were so close in with the land that Lord Bridport was compelled to throw out the
signal for discontinuing the chase, and Yillaret-Joyeuse, Lord Howe's old opponent on
the 1st June, was enabled to bring to in safety close to the Port of Lorient. In the
year following this considerable success, Lord Bridport received an English peerage
as a reward for his services, which he enjoyed until his death in 1814.
His elder brother, Samuel, Lord Hood, was not less distinguished. The first engage
ment in which he was engaged after attaining the rank of lieutenant, was in 1746, when
his ship, the Winchelsea, 20, captured a French frigate of superior force. In this action
Lieutenant Hood received a severe wound. He accompanied Admiral Watson in the
Princess Louisa to Louisburg, in 1748, and eight years later, when commanding the
Grafton, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Holmes, participated in an action off
the same port with a French squadron. But he established his fame as an enterprising
and gallant officer in an action near Brest with a French frigate of the same force.
Captain Hood drove the enemy on shore, where she was totally destroyed, her loss in
the engagement being 30 killed and 25 wounded, while the Antelope had only three
and 13 respectively.
Not less spirited and successful was the action he fought on the 21st February,
1759, when in command of the Vestal, 32, with the Bellona, carrying 32 guns and

i/J. C^ri{tuo»- J>/>Ur»j.

SIGNALLING.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 197
220 men. The action continued at close quarters for four hours, when the Bellona struck
her colours, with only the fore-mast left standing and that without yard or topmast.
On taking possession, oyer. 30. dead were found on her decks, besides 12 the French
acknowledged. ,they had thrown overboard., and there were 42 wounded. The Vestal
had only, lost five killed and 22 wounded, but all her top-masts were shot away, and
her shrouds and rigging were cut, to pieces. The prize was jury-rigged and brought
to Spithead in safety, and was purchased into the Navy under the name of the
Repulse. Many years after Captain Hood was created a baronet, and in 1780, after
forty years' service, was advanced to flag rank, When the French Government threw in
their lot with the Americans, Sir Samuel Hood was of great assistance to Sir George
Eodney through the protracted operations that ensued, and in the action of the 9 th
April, 1782 — three days before the decisive victory that great admiral gained over Count
de Grasse, in the West Indies— Admiral Hood chased the enemy with the van division
of the fleet, the rear and centre being still becalmed under the lee of the land. The
French commander-in-chief, observing his isolated position, bore down before the wind
to attack him, when Hood hove to, and with the broadsides of his eight ships directed
to the enemy, engaged fifteen of. them with such vigour that when the British centre
caught the sea-breeze, the French admiral tacked and relinquished the action. In the
great battle of the 12th April, the Barfleur, flying his flag, also took a prominent part
when she was enabled, to close. With the Canada, 74, Captain Hon. W. Cornwallis, she
engaged de Grasse's flag-ship, the Ville de Paris, the finest ship afloat, and it is said that
her first broadside killed 60 men. The French Admiral struck his flag to Sir Samuel
Hood, who, a week afterwards, when despatched in pursuit, brought in the 64-gun
ships Jason and Caton, thus bringing the total captured up to seven, besides two smaller
vessels. For his distinguished conduct Admiral Hood was created an Irish peer, and
later received an English viscount's coronet, and also the freedom of the City of London.
Lord Hood commanded the fleet which occupied Toulon, but was compelled
eventually to evacuate the place, and also took Corsica, when he had under his com
mand the immortal Nelson, whose genius he fully recognised. This eminent admiral
died in 1816, two. years after his equally distinguished brother.
His relative, Sfr Samuel Hood, who added to the distinction gained by the two
preceding owners of that name, went to sea, in 1776, as midshipman of Lord Brid-
port's ship, the Courageux, and accompanied him to the Robust, in which he participated
in the engagement between Admiral Keppel and Count D'Orvilliers. In 1779, he
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198 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
joined the Lively sloop, and was present at the capture of a French privateer in
the English Channel.
When Lord Hood hoisted his flag in the Barfleur, he took his young relative with
him, and Lieutenant Hood was present in the action with Count de Grasse off Martinique
on the 29th April, 1781, in the engagements off the Chesapeake on the 5th September
following, and at St. Kitts on the 25th and 26th January, 1782. Five days after this
last affair he was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed to the Renard
sloop, and in Lord Eodney's great victory of the 12th April, and the partial action three
days before, Captain Hood was present in the Barfleur, Lord Hood's flagship, as also
at the capture of the French squadron in the Mona Passage.
In 1790, Captain Hood was appointed to the command of the Juno frigate, in which
he served in the West Indies, and, on his return to Europe, commanded her when she
formed a portion of the squadron engaged at Corsica under Commodore Linzee.
Captain Hood was also employed under Nelson at the attack on Bastia, and during the
siege of Calvi he served in the frigate Aigle, in which he remained until the year 1796,
engaged with a small squadron protecting the trade in the Levant and blockading
some of the enemy's frigates at Smyrna. In April of this year Captain Hood
was appointed to the Zealous, 74, and participated in Nelson's disastrous attack on
Teneriffe. At the battle of the Nile also he was prominently engaged, and first
discovered the French fleet, which he was ordered by Nelson to reconnoitre as they lay
in Aboukir Bay. About six in the evening the Admiral hailed Captain Hood to ask
him " what he thought of attacking the enemy that night ? " to which he replied, " We
have now eleven fathoms water, and, if the admiral will give me leave, I will lead in,
making known my soundings by signal, and bring the van ship of the enemy to action."
Late as it was, Nelson decided to attack, and said, "Go on, and I wish you success."
During this conversation, the Goliath, Captain Foley, passed, and took the lead, which
she kept ; but, not bringing up alongside the first ship, went on to engage the second.
On this, Captain Hood exclaimed to his officers — " Thank God ! my friend Foley has left
me the van ship." He soon after took such a position on the bow of the Guerrier, the
ship in question, as to shoot away all her masts, and effected her capture in twelve
mmutes from the time that the Zealous commenced her fire. Afterwards the Zealous
engaged the four ships which escaped until recalled by signal.
Captain Hood continued to serve for some time on the station, blockading the port of
Alexandria, and destroyed thirty of the enemy's transports. For his services he received

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 199
from the Sultan a snuff-box set with diamonds, and a sword from the Corporation of
London. In February, 1799, he joined Lord Nelson at Palermo, assisted in driving
the French out of the kingdom of Naples, and was employed at the reduction of that
city, for which the King of the Two Sicilies presented him with a snuff-box enriched
with diamonds.
In 1800 the Zealous was paid off, when Captain Hood commissioned the Courageux,
74, and in the following January the Venerable, of like force, in which he was present at
Sir James Saumarez' unsuccessful attack on a French squadron, moored under the pro
tection of the batteries at Algeciras, and in the subsequent victory achieved . by the
same admiral over a superior French and Spanish squadron, in which, says Captain
Hood, in his Memoir, the Venerable had 30 killed and 100 wounded, her previous
loss at Algeciras being eight and 25 respectively. The British seventy-four engaged
the Formidable, 80, Admiral Linois' flaghip, which shot away her masts, when she struck
on a reef about twelve miles from Cadiz, but was brought off and reached Gibraltar,
where she was fitted for sea in a few days by her energetic commander. A few months
later the Venerable returned to England and was paid off, and her captain was appointed,
in October 1802, to a civil post in the island of Trinidad, and then Commodore on the
station. On the outbreak of hostilities he assisted at the reduction of the islands
of Tobago and St. Lucia, and all the Dutch possessions in the West Indies. Captain
Hood received the Bath for these services, and on his return to England in 1806, was
appointed to the Centaur, and placed by Earl St. Yincent in command of a squadron of
seven sail-of-the-line and some frigates off the port of Eochefort. On the 25th September
Sir Samuel Hood encountered a French squadron, consisting of five frigates and two
corvettes, with troops on board, and captured all but one of the former. In the action
the Commodore lost his right arm. He was also engaged in the Baltic in action with the
Eussian 74, Sewolod, which struck her colours to the Centaur, which was the last impor
tant service rendered by this distinguished officer.
Lord Keith, known in his earlier service as Captain Elphinstone, was son of a Scotch
peer of that name. He was engaged on the American coast during the War of Inde
pendence, and in 1781, when in command of the Warwick, 50, took a Dutch frigate of the
same force. At the operation before Toulon in 1793, he commanded the Robust, and
was in charge of the batteries on shore. In the following year, being then a rear-admiral,
he served in command of a division of the Channel fleet, and in 1795 sailed to the
Cape of Good Hope, the reduction of which he effected in conjunction with some troops.
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200 HER MAJESTY 'S NAVY.
He also caused the surrender of a squadron of Dutch ships in Saldanha Bay, and for his
services was created a peer. In 1798, he proceeded to the Mediterranean, and in the
following year succeeded to the command of the fleet in that sea, with his flag on board
the Queen Charlotte, of 110 guns. This noble three-decker was burnt by accident off
Leghorn on the 17th March, 1800. Lord Keith was on shore at the time, and used
every exertion to reach his ship, which was seen to be in flames from the mole of the
port. A few boats from the shore assisted in taking off a portion of the crew, but the
service was attended with great danger as her guns kept discharging, and some of the
boats were swamped by the numbers that dropped into them from the bowsprit and
quarter galleries. After little more than an hour the Queen Charlotte blew up, when
most of those not consumed by the fire were drowned. In this great catastrophe there
perished Captain Todd, commanding the three-decker, with 32 officers and 640 men.
Lord Keith transferred his flag to the Minotaur, 74, Captain Louis, and was engaged
blockading Genoa, then besieged by an Austrian army, until its capitulation. In Sir
Ealph Abercromby's expedition to Egypt, Lord Keith acted in command of the fleet,
and was present at the capture of Alexandria. This was the last important service
rendered by the admiral, who, though he achieved no great victory, could show a record of
excellent and honourable service. In 1814, on the conclusion of peace, Lord Keith was
advanced to the dignity of viscount, and died nine years after at the age of seventy-six.
One of the most celebrated officers of the Navy in its palmiest days, was Sir William
Sydney Smith. He was born in 1764, and entered the service at the age of thirteen,
on board the Sandwich. Three years later he was promoted to a lieutenancy on board
the Alcide, 74, and after two years was advanced to the rank of commander, and
appointed to the Fury, 18-gun sloop, on the Jamaica station. Finally in 1783, when
only nineteen years of age, we find him made a post-captain, and appointed to1 the 28-
gun frigate Nemesis. In this rapid promotion he was even more fortunate than. Lord
Nelson, who was posted and received the command of the Hinchinbrooke frigate before
attaining the age of twenty-one. On the conclusion of peace, Captain Smith was out
of employment for nearly five years, when, tired of inaction, he obtained leave to enter
the service of the King of Sweden. Here he greatly distinguished himself in the
war with Eussia, and on his return to England was knighted. On the conclusion of
peace between the northern powers, Sir Sydney Smith served in the Turkish Navy,
but on the outbreak of the Eevolutionary War he left Smyrna, and offered his sword
to Lord Hood at Toulon. This. was gladly accepted, and Sir Sydney rendered great

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 201
services at the conclusion of the siege, when he burnt the arsenal, dockyard, and store
houses, with ten ships of the French fleet. In the following year (1794) Sir Sydney
commanded the Diamond, 38, and by his activity and dash, rendered his name a terror
on the French sea-board. He was one of that unsurpassed band of frigate captains,
which included the two Pellews, Cochrane, William Parker, Lydiard, and the two
Brisbanes, who made the English name as famous at sea as Drake and his compeers
had three centuries before.
But at length his daring carried him too far in the pursuit of the duties of his pro
fession, and on the 18th April, 1796, under circumstances which have already been
detailed, a French privateer lugger he had captured was retaken by a force of over
whelming strength, and he was made a prisoner, with 19 of the Diamond's crew. Sir
Sydney Smith was confined in the Temple prison in Paris, but managed, after two
years' detention, to escape and make his Avay to England. In June, 1798, he was
appointed to the command of the Tigre, 80, and sailed for the Mediterranean, and
rendered important services on the Egyptian and Syrian coasts, after Nelson had effected
the destruction of the French fleet at the Nile. At Constantinople Commodore Smith
was well received by the Turkish authorities, to whom he was familiar. In March,
1799, on hearing from the Turkish Governor of Syria of Buonaparte's incursion
into that province and his approach to Acre, he proceeded there and undertook to
assist in its defence. He arrived there two days before the French army, and to
his aid and indomitable energy — assisted by the equally gallant Captain Miller, of
the Theseus, who lost his life by an explosion on board his ship — he succeeded in
beating off the greatest soldier of the age. By this achievement Sir Sydney Smith
rendered a service scarcely inferior, to that of Nelson at the Nile, for his repulse of Buona
parte before Acre put an end to all his projects for the founding of a great eastern empire
and the invasion of India, to which so rude a shock had been administered on the pre
ceding 1st of August. Sir Sydney Smith was not present at any of the great battles
which have made this period of our naval chronicles so glorious ; but had he rendered
no other service than this, his name would go down in history as one of our greatest
sea-captains. It is only necessary to very briefly advert to the career and great achievements of
Lords Howe, St. Vincent, and Duncan, as each of them is celebrated as the hero of a great
victory, which has been fully described in the preceding pages, as well as the chief in
cidents in their lives. Lord Howe, at the time of the outbreak of war with France, was

202 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
the most distinguished naval officer in the service of this country, and no long time
elapsed before he enhanced his reputation by his great victory on the 1st of June. He
was born in 1725, and at the age of fourteen, left Eton to enter the navy. As a mid
shipman he served in the Severn, which formed one of Anson's squadron, and sailed for
the Pacific. When only twenty years of age he obtained the command of the Baltimore
sloop, and was made post-captain for defeating two French ships bearing supplies to the
Pretender in Scotland. He captured the Alcide in 1755, and served under Lord Hawke
in his victory off Belleisle. In. the war with America Howe commanded the fleet,
and took part as well in the operations in the West Indies, where D'Estaing was in
command of a powerful fleet. In 1782 Lord Howe effected the relief of Gibraltar,
displaying on that occasion his consummate skill in the management of a fleet
in the face of a superior force. In the following year he was appointed First Lord
of the Admiralty, and ten years later, on the declaration of war, assumed command
of the Channel fleet. Then took place his great victory over Yillaret-Joyeuse, for which
he received, among other honours, the Order of the Garter. Lord Howe continued in
chief command of the British fleet while his health permitted, and in 1797 was
enabled to render a great service to his country by conciliating the mutinous seamen of
the fleet at Spithead. Two years later the veteran entered into his rest, beloved by all
ranks in the Navy, and respected and trusted by his countrymen.
Lord Duncan, the hero of Camperdown, was born in 1731, and gained promotion in
all the ranks of the Navy up to that of admiral by his devotion to duty, his professional
skill, and the services he rendered. He was present under Pocock at the capture of
Havannah, and had command of a ship -of -the -line under Sir George Eodney in his vic
tory of the 12th April, 1782, and at the relief of Gibraltar by Howe in that year.
But he had a rare field for the display of his undaunted and untiring resolution
during his command of the squadron in the North Sea. For two years Admiral Duncan
watched the Dutch fleet in the Texel, which he tried to induce by all the arts at his com
mand to put to sea to engage him. When by the mutiny of the crews under his
command, he was rendered powerless to act against them had they accepted his challenge,
he displayed resource in deceiving the enemy as to his true position, and he was ulti
mately rewarded for all his patience by Admiral Winter leaving the protection of his
harbours and batteries, and venturing out to give him battle. The result was the
glorious victory of Camperdown on the 11th June, 1797, which was of a complete and
crushing character, though sanguinary to both combatants. Lord Duncan only survived

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 203
for seven, years to enjoy the peerage and pension of £3,000 he was awarded for his
great success, but his name will survive in our annals as one of the most celebrated of
naval heroes.
Earl St. Vincent was in no way inferior to the others in this trio of great com
manders, ennobled for the services they rendered their country in a critical period of her
history. The first war service he saw was in 1759, when a lieutenant on board the
Namur, 90, carrying the flag of Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, in the joint military and
naval expedition against Quebec. The same year he received double promotion to the
rank of commander and captain, and on the loth October, was appointed to the command
of the Gosport, 44, and served in her throughout the war in the Channel and the North
American stations. The Gosport was put out of commission in 1763, and six years
later we find Captain Jervis appointed to the Alarm, 32, in which he served in the
Mediterranean. In 1775, two years after surrendering the command of the Alarm, he
hoisted his pennant on the Foudroyant, 80, and on the commencement of hostilities with
France in 1778, joined the Channel fleet, with which he participated in Admiral
Keppel's engagement off Ushant.
In April, 1782, Captain Jervis engaged and captured the Pegase, of 74 guns and
700 men, for which he received the riband of the Bath, and he was with Lord Howe
at the relief of Gibraltar. In January of the following year, on his appointment
to the command of a small squadron, Sir John Jervis hoisted his broad pennant on
board the Salisbury, 50, but the conclusion of peace robbed him of the chance
of earning fresh distinction. In 1787 Sir John Jervis was promoted to the rank
of rear-admiral, and on the outbreak of war with France, six years afterwards, hoisted
his flag in the Boyne, 98, and assumed command of the expedition despatched to the
West Indies to reduce the French possessions, which he succeeded in effecting. Not
long after Admiral Jervis was appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean,
whither he sailed with his flag in the Victory. The French fleet remained close in
Toulon, and Sir John Jervis repaired to Lisbon, when the Spanish Court threw in its
lot with the French Directory. On the 14th February, 1797, took place the great
achievement of his naval career, the defeat of the Spanish fleet. With only fifteen sail-
of-the-line, he did not scruple to attack twenty-seven, but his fleet was drawn up in two
compact lines, while that of the Spanish admiral was very scattered, his line being
irregular and ill-formed. Carrying a press of sail, with a portion of his fleet he cut off
nine of their ships from the rest, which were so far to leeward that it was not till the

204 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
close of the day they were enabled to rejoin the van. When the conflict ceased at four
o'clock, Sir John Jervis was rewarded for his intrepidity by the capture of two ships of
112 guns, one of 84, and a 74, two of which had surrendered to Commodore Nelson.
Admiral de Cordova, having his flag in the great four-decker, Santissima Trinidada,
which was much shattered, effected his retreat with the remainder of the van
division, on being joined by the ships which had been cut off at the beginning of the
action. Throughout the day Sir John Jervis exhibited the highest seamanlike skill,
and it was only by a fresh exhibition of this talent — for which British officers were as
much indebted for their victories as the gallantry and good gunnery of their crews
¦ — that the British admiral, covering his prizes and disabled ships, was enabled to
carry off the fruits of victory. Earl St. Yincent, as he now was, long commanded
the Mediterranean fleet, but could never again bring the French or Spanish fleets to
action. It was greatly owing to the constant training in gunnery he enforced among
the crews of the ships under his command, that the British Navy owed this and
subsequent victories, and it was only when, rendered careless by success, this continuous
practice was relaxed, with a consequent diminution of skill, that the crews of our
frigates found more than their match in some encounters with American ships, who had
cultivated this art, so essential to success in naval warfare. Lord St. Yincent survived
to attain the great age of eighty-eight, and died in 1823, full of years and honours.
Space forbids us to give, as we could have wished, brief biographical notices of
admirals who rendered services only less important than those described in the preceding
pages, or of captains as distinguished as Captains Lydiard and Hardinge, but who did not
acquire that claim of special recognition which is conceded to those who die in the service
of their country. Among such may be named Admiral the Hon. William Cornwallis,
who was distinguished by the courage with which, in 1780, when in command of
two ships-of-the-line and three frigates, he beat off the attack of La Mothe Picquet,
who commanded a squadron of double that strength, and again in Lord Eodney's
action of the 12th April, 1782, when in the Canada, 74, he attacked the Ville-de-
Paris, of 110 guns, flagship of the Comte de Grasse. Still more is he renowned,
strange as it may sound, for his masterly retreat with only five sail-of-the-line and
one frigate before a French fleet of thirteen ships and fourteen frigates. He showed a
determined face to the enemy, and brought off his squadron without loss, for which
he received the thanks of Parliament.
Sir Thomas Louis was one of the most capable officers of the Navy, and was thought

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 205
highly of by Admirals Eodney, Jervis, and Nelson, under whom he commanded
the Minotaur, 74, at the Nile and on the coast of Italy. In March, 1805, his lordship
applied for the services of Bear-Admiral Louis, who accompanied him in the Canopus, 80
(the prize, Franklin, taken at the Nile), in his pursuit of the French fleet to the West
Indies, but was not so fortunate as to be present at Trafalgar. A few days before the
battle he was detached with five sail to Tetuan, to which circumstance is attributable
the resolution of Villeneuve to venture out of Cadiz and hazard the chances of a naval
engagement. Admiral Louis was present in Sir John Duckworth's action with the
French off St. Domingo, on the 6th Feburary, 1806, for which he received a baronetcy.
He also served under that officer in the unfortunate attempt to force the Dardanelles,
and on the 17th May, 1807, expired on board his flagship before Alexandria.
Another flag-officer of eminence who died in this year was Sir Hyde Parker. He
served in four ships under the command of his father — for the family had been repre
sented in the Navy for a century and a half — and saw a great deal of service in the
East Indies, and was engaged at the reduction of Manilla. He also displayed great
gallantry and address in the operations against our rebellious colonists in America, and
was knighted. On the shipwreck of the Phoenix, 44, Sir Hyde Parker was appointed
to the Latona, 38, and again served under his father, Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker, who
subsequently perished at sea on board the Cato, with all hands, while on his way to
assume the command in the East Indies. With Admiral Parker he was present in the
indecisive action with a superior Dutch squadron, and in April, 1794, became a rear-
admiral. Sir Hyde Parker served under Lords Hood and Hotham in the Mediterranean,
and held a command at Jamaica ; and when, in 1800, it was determined to coerce
Denmark, Admiral Parker was appointed to be commander-in-chief of the fleet.
But the honour of the bombardment and surrender of Copenhagen was won by his
second-in-command, Lord Nelson, and after his return to England Sir Hyde Parker
was not again actively employed.
Sir John Duckworth was also a useful officer, but not possessed of pre-eminent
talent. He commanded the Orion, 74, in Lord Howe's great victory, and served in the
Mediterranean under Lords Bridport, St. Vincent, and Keith, until promoted to flag-rank
in the last year of the century. At a later period he was appointed to the command at
Jamaica, and gained the really brilliant victory at St. Domingo ; but he failed to bring
the Porte to terms, when, after forcing the Dardanelles, he arrived before Constantinople.
Sir Charles Cotton, one of the most famous admirals of his day, made his first trial
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206 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of the sea in an East Indiaman, and in 1772, when in his twentieth year, entered the
Navy. He served Avith credit on the American coast, and within seven years of entering
the royal service, was promoted to the rank of post-captain, a result, in a measure, due
to his being a protege of the Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1781
Captain Cotton was appointed to the command of the Alarm, the first copper-bottomed
frigate in the service, which in Eodney's action of the 9th and 12th April, 1782,
was one of the repeating ships. He was also present at Lord Howe's victory, when he
commanded the Majestic, 74, which was stationed second astern of the Royal George,
flagship of Lord Bridport. On the 28th November, 1794, Sir Charles Cotton was
appointed to the Mars, 74, one of the five ships comprising Admiral Cornwallis' s
squadron in his masterly retreat alluded to above. " The Mars and Triumph," wrote
the Admiral, " being the sternmost ships, were, of course, more exposed to the enemy's
fire, and I cannot too much commend the spirited conduct of Sir Charles Cotton and Sir
Erasmus Gower, the captains of these ships."
Captain Cotton was promoted to rear-admiral in February, 1797, and two years
later hoisted his flag in the Prince, as third in command of the Channel Fleet, under
Lord Bridport. Later in the year he joined Lord St. Vincent in the Mediterranean,
under whom and Lord Keith he served to the satisfaction of both those commanders.
In the following year he was second in command in the Channel, and we find him
appointed to the fleet off Lisbon, where he superseded Sir Sydney Smith. Sir
Charles commanded on the coast of Portugal before Sir Arthur Wellesley opened his
brief but successful campaign against Marshal Junot, who led the French army
which had overrun the Portuguese kingdom at the time of the departure of the royal
family for Brazil, escorted by a British squadron. The admiral issued a proclamation
to the Portuguese on the 10 th June, urging them to throw off the French yoke and
follow the example of Spain in resisting the invader. He had great difficulties to
encounter in obtaining supplies of food and water, but remained off the Tagus and
assisted in the disembarkation of the British army, when its great commander
gained the victories of Eoleia and Vimiero. When Sir Arthur Wellesley's successors,
Generals Burrard and Dairy mple, assumed command, and concluded the convention of
Cintra, by which the British army was deprived of the fruits of its victories, it was
owing to the firmness of Sir Charles Cotton in resisting the first Article, on his
own responsibility, that the Eussian squadron then lying in the Tagus was not ranged
under the flag of the enemy. This was the last service he was enabled to render

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 207
his country, and on the 23rd February, 1812, Sir Charles Cotton expired suddenly, in
his fifty-eighth year, when residing at his home near Plymouth.
There is no need to particularize the services of the great Lord Cochrane, afterwards
Earl of Dundonald, as they can be found in his well-known " Autobiography of a
Seaman," and we have already given them in detail ; and the exigencies of space
prevent our doing more than name his relatives, Sir Thomas and Sir Alexander
Cochrane, both officers of great renown. A Memoir has been published of Sir Edward
Pellew, afterwards Lord Exmouth, who captured the Cleopatra, after a long and
sanguinary action, and throughout the war, maintained the high reputation he then
acquired as a frigate captain, ending his career by the victory he gained at Algiers.
The " Life " has also been written, by Admiral Phillimore, of Sir William Parker,
captain of the Amazon, one of Nelson's personal friends and favourite officers, who sailed
with him in that frigate. Sir William Parker attained the highest rank in the Navy,
and commanded the British fleet in the China War of 1840-42. Another famous
officer was Sir Edward Berry, first lieutenant of the Agamemnon, who accompanied
Nelson as a volunteer in the Captain, which carried his broad pennant at the battle of
St. Vincent, and was captain of the Vanguard, the great Admiral's flagship at the
Nile. Berry was a passenger on board the Leander, 50, Captain Thompson, when
she long but unsuccessfully defended herself against the Genereux, 80, while on her
passage to England with Nelson's despatches. For their gallantry both these officers
were knighted, and received the freedom of the City of London. Sir Edward Berry
returned to the Mediterranean as captain of the Foudroyant, 80, Lord Nelson's flagship,
and after his lordship left her in Sicily, was present at the capture of the Guillaume
Tell, 80, by a British squadron, and at Sir John Duckworth's victory off St. Domingo,
where he commanded his and Nelson's old ship, the Agamemnon, which not long after
was wrecked in European waters.
Other famous captains, who served under the victor of Trafalgar, and were honoured
by his personal friendship, were Sir Alexander Ball, captain of the Alexander at the
Nile, and first governor of Malta ; Sir Benjamin Hallowell, captain of the Swiftsure at
the same battle, and Captain Miller, who commanded the Captain at St. Vincent and
the Theseus at the Nile, whose career was cut short in a terrible manner when the
explosion took place on board his ship off Acre. Then there was Foley, captain of the
Goliath, on the 1st August, 1798, and of the Elephant, which bore Nelson's flag at
Copenhagen; Fremantle, who commanded the Seahorse at Teneriffe, where he was
EE 2

208 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
wounded, and was present with his chief in the hand-to-hand conflict between Nelson's
barge and that of the Spanish commodore, and commanded the Ganges at Copenhagen ;
and most celebrated of all, Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy, into whose arms the
great admiral fell when he received his mortal wound, and whom he loved so deeply,
that, when dying, he said to him, " Kiss me, Hardy."
These were some only of the officers which their master moulded into congenial
form, and whose proudest boast it was to be his disciples. The names of not less
distinguished seamen are too numerous to do more than specify the chiefest among
them. These were Sir Eobert Calder, flag-captain to Jervis at St. Vincent, who
received rather hard treatment after his action with a French squadron on the 22nd
July, for the great victory of Trafalgar, a few months later, had set up a standard of
success such as few admirals could hope to attain; Sir Eichard Strachan, who gave
a better account of the enemy on the 4th November following that great day; Sir
Eoger Curtis, Lord Howe's flag-captain on the 1st June ; Sir James (afterwards Lord)
Saumarez, an officer of the highest distinction, Nelson's second in command at the Nile,
who, after his repulse by Admiral Linois at Algeciras, on the 7th July, 1801, took a
handsome revenge on the enemy a few days later; and Sir Eichard Goodwin Keats,
captain of the Superb, the true hero of that memorable encounter, who also commanded
her when she carried Sir John Duckworth's flag, and was altogether one of the best
officers of his day. Also should be mentioned Sir John Borlase Warren, who long
commanded a squadron of frigates, and, in 1798, defeated a French fleet off the
coast of Ireland, and took the Hoche, 80, and four frigates; Admiral Owen, who, when
captain of the Immortalite, was equally energetic and successful in counteracting the
efforts of Napoleon's invasion flotilla to cross the Channel ; Sir Edward Hamilton, the
hero of the recapture of the Hermione ; Sir Nesbit Willoughby, a seaman of the same
grand fighting stock, who had the distinction of having been, perhaps, more often, and
certainly more desperately, wounded than any officer in the service, but survived all the
sanguinary fighting in the East and West Indies to receive the honour of knighthood in
his old age ; and finally, Sir James Lucas Yeo, who has a long record of vessels
cut out and boarded, forts stormed, as at El Muros, on the coast of Spain, and Avho
effected the conquest of French Guiana.

CHAPTER VII.
Lord Exmouth's Victory at Algiers — Details of the Action — Some particulars of the Queen Charlotte, Canopus, and
Implacable— The Battle of Navarino — Defeat and Destruction of the Turkish Fleet — Anecdotes of the Battle —
The Syrian War — Capture of Sidon — Bombardment of Acre.
rpHE British Government having resolved to punish the Dey of Algiers, whose
atrocities had aroused the indignation of Europe, Admiral Lord Exmouth, so well
known in these pages as Sir Edward Fleetwood Pellew, sailed on the 28th July, 1816,
from Plymouth Sound with the following ships : —
( Admiral Lord Exmouth, G.C.B. ( Minden Captain William Paterson.
100. Queen Charlotte \ . ^ _ 74 < . ,. . T t. n j
I Captain James Brisbane, C.B. (Albion „ JohnCoode.
50 Leander „ Edward Chetham, C.B.
( Bear- Admiral David Milne. ( Severn „ Aylmer.
( Captain Edward Bruce, C.B. ( Glasgow „ Anthony Maitland.
( Granicus ,, William Wise.
74. Superb Captain Charles Ekins. I Hebrus „ Edward Palmer, C.B.
Also four bomb-vessels, and five brigs.
At Gibraltar Lord Exmouth found a Dutch squadron, and the officer commanding,
Vice- Admiral Van de Cappellen, having solicited permission to assist in the praise
worthy task of bringing the Dey to his senses, Lord Exmouth accepted his services.
The fleet, strengthened by four Dutch 40-gun frigates and two smaller vessels, carrying
respectively 30 and 18 guns, five British gun-boats, and an explosion vessel, arrived
in sight of Algiers on the 27th August.
Upon the various batteries on the north side of the city, including a battery over
the north gate, were mounted, says James, about 80 pieces of cannon and six or eight
mortars ; but the shoalness of the water would scarcely admit the approach of a heavy
ship within reach of them. Between the north wall of the city and the commencement
of the pier, which is about 250 yards in length, and connects the town with the
lighthouse, were about 20 guns ; at the north mole-head stood a semicircular battery
of two tiers of guns, about 44 in all; and to the southward, and nearly in line with
the pier, was the Lighthouse Battery, of three tiers of guns, 48 in all. Then came a
battery, also of three tiers, called the Eastern Battery, mounting 66 guns. This
was flanked by four other batteries, of two tiers each, mounting altogether 60 guns ;

210 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
and on the mole-head were two long 68-pounders, the other guns being 32, 24,
and 18-pounders. Then there was the Fishmarket Battery of 15 guns in three tiers,
and between that and the southern extremity of the city were two batteries of four
and five guns each. Beyond the city, in this direction, were a castle and three other
batteries, mounting between them 60 or 70 guns.
Thus the defences of Algiers were of a formidable character, and the Dey, having
received notice of the intended attack, had brought in from the country about 40,000
men to serve the guns and defend the city to the last extremity. In addition there
were four 44-gun frigates, five corvettes, mounting between 24 and 30 guns, and over
30 mortar boats. In all it was said over 1,000 guns could be brought into play on the
Sea and land faces of the fortifications.
Before noon on the 27th August, Lord Exmouth sent a demand for the abolition
of Christian slavery and the release of all European slaves, as well as of the British
consul, and two boats' crews of the Prometheus, detained by the Dey, and receiving no
reply, the fleet bore up for the attack in the order already prescribed. At 2.35 the
Queen Charlotte anchored with springs, about 50 yards from the mole-head. Ahead
of her, rather on the port bow, lay the Leander, with her after guns on the starboard
side bearing upon the mole and her foremost ones upon the Fishmarket Battery. Ahead
of the Leander lay the Severn, with the whole of her starboard guns bearing on the
Fishmarket Battery, and close to the Severn was the Glasgow, with her port guns
bearing on the town batteries.
Astern of the Queen Charlotte was the Superb, with her starboard broadside bearing
upon the heavy battery next to that on the mole-head. Not being sufficiently
advanced when the firing commenced to take up her proper station astern of the Superb,
the Impregnable was obliged to bring to considerably outside of the line of bearing
within which the attacking force had been ordered to assemble, and thus lay exposed
at the distance of about 400 yards, as well to the Lighthouse Battery of three tiers,
towards which she soon sprang her starboard broadside, as to the Eastern Battery.
Observing the open space between the Impregnable and her second ahead, the
Superb, the Minden stood on and took up a position about her own length astern of
the latter. The Albion, following, brought up within her own length of the Minden,
which passed her stream-cable out of the gun-room port to the Albion's bow, and
hove the two ships together. In this way the eight heaviest ships of the fleet took
their stations : the Queen Charlotte, Superb, Minden, Albion, Impregnable, from the mole-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 211
head in a north-easterly direction, and the Leander, Severn, and Glasgow from the Fish
market Battery in a curved direction to the south-west.
The station assigned to the Dutch squadron was against the batteries to the south
ward of the city, and the Dutch admiral anchored his flagship, the Melampus, with her
jib-boom over the taffrail of the Glasgow. Two Dutch frigates anchored successively
astern, and the remaining Dutch frigate further out, while the corvettes kept under
way. The Hebrus got becalmed by the heavy cannonade, and was obliged to anchor
a little without the line, on the Queen Charlotte's port quarter, but Captain Wise anchored
his frigate, the Granicus, in a space scarcely exceeding her own length, between the
Queen Charlotte and Superb, and bore a prominent part in the battle.
The sloops Heron, Britomart, Prometheus, and Cordelia remained under way, and
the Mutine anchored on the port bow of the Impregnable. The four bomb-vessels
took post at a range of about 2,000 yards from the enemy's works, as did also
the battering flotilla, commanded by Captain Frederick Thomas Michell, consisting
of thirty-five gunboats, mortar-boats, launches with carronades, rocket-boats, barges,
and yawls.
Scarcely had the flagship anchored than a gun was fired at her, to which she replied
by opening fire from her starboard batteries, all the ships of the British line following
motions as their guns were brought to bear. So terrible were the broadsides of the
three-decker, that at the third discharge she had demolished the south end of the
mole, when she sprang her broadside until it bore upon the batteries over the town
gate leading into the mole.
The Leander, also, by her accurate and rapid fire, destroyed the Algerine gunboats
and row-galleys, whereby their intention to board the British frigates was frustrated.
The admiral, having determined to set on fire the enemy's frigate moored across the
mole, about one hundred and fifty yards from her, signalled the Leander to cease firing
and sent his barge, under the command of Lieutenant Eichards — who was accompanied
by Major Fosset and Lieutenant Wolrige of the marines, and Midshipman Henry McClin-
tock — to accomplish the duty. Lord Exmouth also sent a rocket-boat, commanded
by Midshipman Symes, who, his lordship says, " although forbidden, was led by his
ardent spirit to follow in support of the barge." The boat being flat-bottomed, could
not keep up with the barge, and became exposed to a heavy fire that wounded Mr.
Symes and killed another young officer and nine of the crew. Meanwhile Lieu
tenant Eichards had succeeded in boarding and setting fire to the Algerine frigate, and

212 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
returned to the flagship with the loss of only two men killed. Soon after four the burn
ing ship drifted out to the Queen Charlotte, which had to shift her berth to let her
pass. Shortly after this, Admiral Milne sent word to the commander-in-chief that the
Impregnable had lost 150 men killed and wounded, and requested that a frigate
might be sent to divert the enemy's fire. The Glasgow thereupon went to his assistance,
and became exposed to a severe raking fire from the Fishmarket and other batteries,
which dismounted two guns and did other serious injuries. The Leander also suffered
so severely from their fire that at 7 p.m. she brought her broadside to bear upon them by
running a hawser out to the Severn. About this time all the ships and vessels within the
harbour had been set on fire by the mortar boats and flotilla, and the flames communi
cated to the arsenal and storehouses on the mole, and the city also was set on fire by
the shells from the bomb vessels.
About 9 p.m. the explosion vessel was run ashore close under the semicircular
battery near the lighthouse, and her one hundred and forty-three barrels of powder
were exploded, which added to the horrors of the scene of destruction. The fire of the
fleet was continued with unabated vigour until about 10 p.m. when the upper tier of
the batteries on the mole being in a state of dilapidation, the fire from the lower tiers
nearly silenced, and the ammunition of the attacking ships reduced to a very small
quantity, the Queen Charlotte cut her cables and springs, find stood out before a light air
which had fortunately just sprung up from the land. The remaining British ships did
the same, but owing to their disabled state they made very slow progress, and the
Leander, Superb, and Impregnable suffered much in consequence from the raking fire of
a fort at the upper angle of the city. Before 2 a.m. on the 28th, the allied fleet was
anchored out of reach of shot or shells. At this time a terrific storm of thunder, light
ning and rain broke over the city, which, with the arsenal and storehouses, was
blazing fiercely.
The British loss in achieving this memorable success was 128 killed, including 15
officers, and 690 wounded, among whom were 57 officers, two mortally. The Dutch
sustained a loss of 1 3 killed and 52 wounded. The greatest sufferer was the Impreg
nable, which had 50 slain and 160 wounded ; next came the Leander, with 17 and 118 re
spectively; the Queen Charlotte, eight and. 131; Superb, eight and 84; the Gr aniens, 16
and 40 ; and the Glasgow, 10 and 37. The expenditure of powder and round shot was
prodigious, each of the five ships-of-the-line and Leander using between 20,000

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 213
and 30,000 pounds of powder, and between 3,680 round shot on the part of the
Leander, and 6,730 by the Impregnable.
At daylight Lord Exmouth sent a note to the Dey repeating his demand, to which
that potentate, now thoroughly humbled, expressed his adhesion, and as a principal
result, 1,200 Christian slaves were given up.
For this memorable feat of arms Lord Exmouth was created a viscount, Admiral
Milne received the ribbon of the Bath, and the captains of the ships-of-the-line and
frigates the C.B. All the first lieutenants were promoted, and also Lieutenant Fleming,
commanding the explosion vessel.
Some details of the Queen Charlotte, one of the historic ships in the Navy, will
be of interest here. Up to the close of the last year (1891) the Queen Charlotte, Lord
Exmouth' s flagship at the attack on Algiers, was retained on the active list of the Navy
under the name of the Excellent, in succession to the 74-gun ship of that name which
carried Collingwood's pennant at the battle of St. Vincent. As she possesses much
interest therefore to the present generation, to whom she is so well known, some
particulars of her dimensions should be placed on record in this work.
The Queen Charlotte was laid down at Deptford in 1803, and launched in 1810.
She was 190 feet in length on the gun-deck, 52 feet 4 inches beam, and measured
2,289 tons. Her displacement was 3,994 tons, so that this first-rate was about the same
size as our modern second-class cruisers of the Severn class, and little more than one-
fourth that of our newest first-rates. The ship was, in dimensions and form, a repro
duction of the earlier and still more famous Queen Charlotte, laid down in 1780,
launched in 1789, and burnt off Leghorn in 1800. Thus in the Excellent we have a
facsimile (except for later alterations in her head and stern) of Lord Howe's flagship
on June 1st, 1794.
Among other famous ships in existence at the present time are the still older
Canopus, one of Nelson's prizes at the battle of the Nile, and among the six which
reached Blymouth in safety. In the French navy this 80-gun ship was known as the
Franklin, and she had a narrow escape of being destroyed when the Orient blew up, as
she caught fire in several places from the burning wreck falling on board her. During
the battle the Franklin was first engaged by the Leander, and subsequently sustained
the attack of the 74's, Defiance and Swiftsure, and she only surrendered when her main
and mizen masts had been shot away, and more than half her crew had fallen. The
Canopus took part in Duckworth's memorable engagement with a French squadron in the
VOL. III. F F

214 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
West Indies, on which occasion she bore the flag of Eear- Admiral Louis, and took a
prominent part in the action, losing eight officers and men killed, and 22 wounded. So
admirable were her lines considered by naval architects that the Canopus was long the
model on which our finest two-deckers were built. This ship, with the Implacable, has
been laid up in ordinary at Devonport up to the year 1892.
The Implacable took part in the battle of Trafalgar, where she was known as the
Duguay-Trouin, 74. She formed part of Bear-Admiral Dumanoir's squadron, which
escaped, only to be brought to action and captured by Sir Eichard Strachan on the 2nd
November following the great battle. The Duguay-Trouin, to call her by her name at
this time, was reduced to the condition of a wreck, and lost 150 men killed and
wounded. With the Scipion, also captured in this action, she was the only one of the
four prizes that went to sea.
There is also in existence at this time (January, 1892) the Foudroyant, 74, built in
1798. This ship bears the same name as a French prize, which was long commanded
by Captain Jervis (afterwards Earl St. Yincent), and was present in Keppel's action
with Count d'Orvilliers on the 27th August, 1779, when the Victory bore the flag of
the commander-in-chief. In 1780, the Foudroyant, under the same officer, engaged
and captured the Pegase, of 74 guns and 750 men. Not less famous than the victor of
St. Vincent was the captain who succeeded him in command of the Foudroyant
• — Captain Duncan, the hero of Camperdown, who commanded her till he attained
flag-rank in September, 1789. The new Foudroyant was Nelson's flag-ship at Naples
in 1799, on his return from attaining his great victory of the Nile, when he
shifted into her from the Vanguard. The following is a list of the ships over seventy
years of age still in existence: — Victory, 1765; Foudroyant, 1798; Eagle, Hibernia,
1804; Implacable (ex-Duguay-Trouin), 1805; Leonidas, 1807; Conquestador, Excellent
(ex.- Queen Charlotte), 1810; Forte (ex.- Pembroke), 1812; Cornwall (ex- Wellesley), 1813;
Cornwallis, Briton, 1814 ; St. Vincent, 1815 ; Trincomalee, Myrtle (ex-Malabar), 1819 ;
Pitt (ex- Camperdown), 1820; and Ganges, 1821.
For an interval of eleven years the Navy did not fire a shot in Europe, but in 1827
took place what was called "the untoward affair" of Navarino. But looking at the
results of that achievement, all lovers of Greece, and indeed of humanity, must consider
that it was a very desirable event, and never did our sailors perform a nobler service
than when they destroyed the naval power of Turkey at that memorable action, and
freed the Greeks from a hateful and barbarous thraldom.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.

215

Ibrahim Pasha, commanding the fleet as well as the land forces of the Sultan, broke
the terms of an armistice he had agreed to with Sir Edward Codrington, the British
admiral, who prevented him from relieving Batras and effecting a junction between
his land and sea forces. Ibrahim then made sail for Navarino, where he landed
his troops, and committed the greatest atrocities on the unhappy people of the Morea.
He was followed by the British fleet, which, on the 13th October, was joined by the
Eussian squadron, and, on the following day, arrived off Navarino, where the squadrons
of England, France, and Eussia were united under Codrington's command. The combined
fleet consisted of the following ships : —

84 Asia
t, . | Genoa
' Albion
50 Glasgow
48 Cambrian

Scipion

74 i Tridente
Breslau

60 Sirene
44 Armide

( Vice- Admiral Sir Edward Codrington
' Captain Edward Curzon
Commodore Walter Bathurst
Captain John A. Ommanney
„ Hon. James Ashley Maude
„ Gawen Wm. Hamilton, C.B.
French.
Captain Milius
„ Maurice
„ De la Bretonniere
Rear-Admiral H. de Bigny
Captain Hugon

English. 42 Dartmouth
28 Talbot
18 Rose
( Musquito

10 | Brisk
\ Philomel

Captain Thomas Fellowes, C.B.
„ Hon. Frederick Spencer
Commander Lewis Davies
„ George Bohun Martin
„ Hon. William Anson
„ Viscount Ingestre

74

Azof Gargonte
Ezekiel
^ Alexander Newsky
50 Constantine
/ Provesky
48 | Elena
\ Castor

Russian.
Rear- Admiral Count de Heyden

The Ottoman and Egyptian fleets, according to the statement made by the Capitan
Bey's secretary, numbered 65 sail. Of these two were Turkish 84-gun ships, one 76-
gun ship, fifteen 48-gun frigates, eighteen corvettes, and four brigs. The Egyptian
squadron consisted of two 64-gun ships, eight corvettes, eight brigs, and five
fire-vessels. Admiral Codrington, however, in his general order to the fleet, placed
the total strength of the enemy at eighty-one ships of war. The comparative force in
guns has been placed at 1,324 on the part of the allies, and 2,240 of the Ottoman fleet.
Like a gallant seaman, the British admiral, who had commanded the Blake at the
bombardment of Flushing and the Orion at Trafalgar, proposed to take to himself the
post of greatest danger. In his instructions to the allied commanders, he ordered the
French admiral to "place his squadron across" the Egyptian ships, and then pro
ceeded : — " The vessel coming after them appears to be the vessel of the line bearing
ff 2

216 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
the admiral's flag at the main-mast. I propose placing the Asia athwart it, and the
Genoa and Albion astern and near the Asia. I desire that his Excellency Count
Heyden will have the goodness to cast anchor at the stern of the English vessels.
The Eussian frigates will then be able to occupy the Turkish vessels near and at the
stern of the Eussian vessels of the line. The English frigates will form a line
before those of the Turk, which may happen to be in the west part of the port, athwart
the English vessels of the line ; and the French frigates will form themselves in the
same manner in order to occupy the Turkish frigates who may be alongside the French
line-of-battle ships. If there should be time before hostilities are commenced with the
Turkish fleet, the vessels are to be moored with a spring on each cable ; not a single
cannon-shot shall be fired by the combined fleet until the signal has been given, but if
they be fired upon by a Turkish vessel, the latter may be fired upon in order that it
may be immediately destroyed. The corvettes and brigs are placed under the command
of the captain of the Dartmouth, in order to keep the fire-ships in check, and continue
them in such a position that they can by no means disturb the combined fleet. In case
a general engagement should take place, in the midst of the confusion which is cal
culated to arise in such a case, every one should remember these words of Lord
Nelson, ' No captain can be better placed than when his vessel is alongside one of the
enemy.' "
Though the harbour of Navarino is six miles in circumference, the entrance is only
about six hundred yards in width, owing to the island of Sphacteria, which stretches
across its mouth. On the right-hand side of this passage stood a fortress, mounting
125 guns, and on the extremity of the island, almost opposite to it, was another
battery, while a third, at the northern end of the island, also commanded the
harbour. On the 20th October, the weather being fine, the combined squadrons stood towards
Navarino. The Turko-Egyptian fleet, says Sir Edward Codrington in his despatch,
were at anchor, moored in the form of a crescent, with springs on their cables, the
larger ones presenting their broadsides towards the centre, the smaller ones in suc
cession within them, filling in the intervals. The English and French squadrons
formed the weather or starboard line, and the Eussian division the lee line.
Sir Edward Codrington led in with the Asia, and anchored close alongside a
ship-of-the-line, when she was moored with thirty fathoms on each cable. The Genoa
came next, and the Albion followed. The Asia's opponent was the flagship of the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 217
Capitan Bey, the Genoa anchored close to another ship-of-the-line, and the Albion
alongside a double-banked frigate. The four ships to windward, part of the Egyptian
squadron, were allotted to Bear-Admiral de Eigny, and those to leeward, in the
bight of the crescent, were to mark the stations of the Eussian squadron, the ships-
of-the-line crossing those of the English line, and being followed up by their own
frigates. The French frigate Armide was directed to place herself alongside the outer
most frigate on the port hand entering the harbour, and the Cambrian, Glasgow, and
Talbot next to her, and abreast of the Asia, Genoa, and Albion. The Dartmouth, with
the Musquito, Rose, Brisk, and Philomel, was to look after six fire-vessels at the entrance
of the harbour.
The Turkish admiral did not witness this anchorage of the allied fleet without alarm,
and his ships were ready for all eventualities, the guns being loaded to their muzzles,
and the crews ready at their quarters. On the fleet entering, the commandant of a fort
sent a boat with a message that " as Ibrahim Basha had given no orders or permission
for the allied fleet to enter, it was requested that they would again put to sea." To
this demand Sir Edward Codrington made a reply befitting a British admiral, " that he
was not come to receive orders, but to give them, and that if any shot were fired at the
allied ships, he would destroy the Turkish fleet."
All as yet remained peaceful, though the air was charged with electricity, when
suddenly musketry fire was heard in the direction of the Dartmouth. This arose
from the Turks firing on the boat sent, under the direction of Lieutenant Smyth, to
one of the fire-ships from the Dartmouth, to request that they would remove a little
further from the allied fleet. The Turks, apprehensive that force would be used, fired
upon the Dartmouth's boat, when Lieutenant Fitzroy and several of the crew were killed.
The Dartmouth immediately opened a defensive fire to cover the boat ; the Sirene, Admiral
de Bigny's ship, joined in the affray with musketry only ; one of the Egyptian ships
fired a shot, which was the first round shot discharged, and struck the Sirene, " which,
of course," as the vice-admiral states in his letter, " brought on a return," and thus very
shortly afterwards the battle became general.
The Asia, although placed alongside the Capitan Bey's ship, was even nearer to
Moharem Bey's, the Egyptian commodore, and since his ship did not fire at the Asia,
although the action was begun to windward, neither did the Asia fire at her. Moharem
Bey indeed sent a message that he would not fire at all, and therefore no hostility took
place between Moharem Bey and the English admiral for some time after the Asia had

218 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
returned the fire of the Capitan Bey. In the meantime, however, the pilot who went
to interpret to Moharem Bey the admiral's desire to avoid bloodshed, was killed by
his people in the boat alongside, and his ship soon afterwards fired into the Asia, and
brought upon herself the terrible broadsides of the starboard guns of the British
flagship. The action now became general, and was well maintained by the Turks, but
at the end of four hours, the Ottoman fleet had been nearly destroyed. Each ship, as
she became disabled, was deserted by the crew, after having been set on fire, and the
frequent explosions rendered the situation of the allied fleet dangerous in the extreme.
Captain Fellowes cleared away the fireships, and saved the French admiral's ship, the
Sirene, from being burnt. "The Cambrian, Glasgow and Talbot," says the admiral,
"following the fine example of Captain Hugon, of the Armide, who was opposed to
the leading frigate of that line, effectually destroyed their opponents and also silenced
the batteries."
During the action between the Capitan Bey's ship and the Asia, the latter's stern
became exposed to a raking fire from a frigate, from which she sustained considerable
damage. About three o'clock her opponent's cable .was cut by a shot or slipped, and she
dropped to leeward, when the flagship engaged Moharem Bey's ship and his second ahead.
The former was silenced and disabled, and the latter, catching fire, burnt to the water's
edge and blew up. So rapid was the Asia's fire, that Admiral de Eigny compared the
noise of her shot against her adversary's side " to the united efforts of all the caulkers of
England and France." Sir Edward Codrington, speaking of the crushing effect of his
guns, says that the Egyptian flagship was " effectually destroyed by the Asia's fire,
sharing the same fate as his brother admiral on the starboard side, and falling to leeward
a complete wreck." The inner ships of the enemy's line were now enabled to rake the
Asia, which suffered severely in consequence. Her mizen-mast was shot away, several
guns were disabled, and her crew began to fall fast, the admiral himself being struck by
a musket-ball, which knocked his watch out of his pocket. During the action Sir
Edward Codrington set a bright example of coolness and courage. " He stood the
whole time," writes one who was present, " on the poop constantly shouting to encourage
the brave fellows around him, and waving in the air a white hat he wore. It was
astonishing how he escaped death in the exposed position he had assumed."
The French and Eussian squadrons displayed not less resolution than our ships.
The boats of the Dartmouth and Rose towed away a fireship which threatened the de
struction of the Scipion, and the Sirene, whose fire set in flames a ship she was engaging,

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 219
was saved from a like fate by the Dartmouth, to which a sailor swam with a rope.
The action came to an end about five o'clock, when the greater portion of the Turko-
Egyptian fleet was in flames, and the scene of devastation that met the eye testified to
the terrible nature of the allied fire and the devotion of the Mussulman crews, who rather
than any of their ships should fall into the hands of the Christians, set fire to some that
were efficient.
The British loss in the action at Navarino, was 75 killed, including Commodore
Bathurst, of the Genoa, the master and officer commanding the marines on board the
Asia, and 13 other officers ; and 197 wounded, among whom were Commander Campbell
of the Albion, and 27 other officers.
Commodore Walter Bathurst was wounded early in the action by a splinter,
which knocked off his hat and slightly tore his face. Shortly afterwards a shot took
off the skirts of his coat, and at length a grape shot, entering his side, passed through
his body and lodged on the opposite side of the ship. Commodore Bathurst survived
for eleven hours in great suffering. About midnight, shortly before he expired, the
dying seaman was visited by the admiral, who said, " Well, Wattie, if you die, you
die gloriously."
" I know I shall die, and that soon," was the reply ; " but, Codrington," he added,
" I hope you will remember my officers."
The admiral promised to attend to this request, and very soon the veteran seaman
passed away. As Sir William Napier, the historian of the " Peninsula War," says in
his panegyric of Sir John Moore : "If glory be a distinction for such a man, death
is not a leveller."
Commodore Bathurst, who died at the age of sixty-eight years, was buried with
the pomp of a military funeral at Plymouth, amid universal demonstrations of
respect. The Genoa suffered most in the starboard quarter from the oblique elevated fire of
the Turkish ships, their shot generally striking below the water-ways of the main-deck,
and cutting through the upper deck. To this 'circumstance the great loss of life among
the marines on the poop is attributed, ten men having been killed at that point before
a shot was fired by the Genoa. The few marines left with their gallant officer,
Lieutenant Miller, were at length ordered down to the quarter-deck.
The Genoa was struck by a stone shot, weighing about 102 pounds, which entered
the lower deck, five feet above the water, leaving a gap that puzzled the carpenters

220 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of the squadron to patch up. It killed four men, and afterwards split in pieces on
the deck. The Albion was also exposed to the fire of a cluster of ships, and after
repulsing an attempt to board by a 64-gun ship, a party of the seamen boarded in
turn, and captured the latter. The prize was, however, soon relinquished, as she was
discovered to be on fire, and she presently blew up. After engaging others of the
enemy's ships, the Albion, towards dusk, stood out to clear herself from the blazing
mass. The Dartmouth and Rose were chiefly instrumental in destroying four of the
fire-ships. The three line-of-battle ships were the chief sufferers, the Asia being first, with 19
killed and 57 wounded ; then the Genoa, with 26 and 33 respectively, and the Albion,
10 and 50. These three ships and the Talbot, which was closely engaged with a 64-
gun ship, were sent to England after repairing their defects at Malta.
The French squadron had 43 killed and 133 wounded, and the Eussians 59 slain and
139 wounded. The enemy had sixty ships destroyed, including one sail-of-the-line,
three double-banked frigates, nine other frigates, and twenty-two corvettes. Their killed
alone were estimated at 3,000.
Honours were profusely distributed for Navarino, more liberally indeed than for
some greater engagements. Sir Edward Codrington received the Grand Cross of the Bath,
and the captains, the Companionship of that Order. All the commanders serving at
Navarino were promoted to captains, and the first lieutenants and senior mates also
received promotion. The allied powers honoured Codrington, Nicholas sending him the
Cross of St. George, and the King of France that of St. Louis. The former also wrote
him the following handsome letter of acknowledgment : — " St. Petersburg, November 8th, 1827.
" Vice- Admiral Codrington, — You have achieved a victory for which civilised Europe ought to be doubly grateful to
you. The memorable battle of Navarino, and the bold manoeuvres which preceded it, evince to the world not only the
extent of the zeal of three great powers in favour of a cause the noble character of which is still more heightened by their
own disinterestedness, but also prove what can be effected by firmness, though opposed to numbers, and what a well-
directed valour can accomplish against blind courage, with whatever force that courage may be supported. Your
name from this time forward belongs to posterity. By praise I should but weaken the glory which surrounds it.
But I must offer to you a brilliant mark of the gratitude and esteem which you have inspired in Russia. With this
view I send to you herewith the Military Order of St. George. The Russian Navy is proud of having obtained your
commendation at Navarino, and on my part I feel the most lively pleasure in thus assuring you of the sentiments of
consideration which I entertain towards you. (Signed) ' ' Nicholas. ' '
Some anecdotes of the officers and men engaged in this famous battle, gathered from
the Naval and Military Magazine of that day, will doubtless be of interest.

K f

LIEUTENANT AND SIGNAL BOY.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 221
Sir Edward Codrington offered, as we have said, a conspicuous example of gallantry
to the fleet, and it was the marvel of all that he escaped with his life. It is related
of this officer, who commanded the Orion at Trafalgar, that on the morning of
that memorable day, as the Defence, 74, which had been one of the look-out squadron,
was taking her place in the line of battle, and her commander, Captain (afterwards Sir
George). Hope, exchanged the usual compliments, the latter, pointing to the enemy's
fleet, observed, "They should be with them after dinner time."
" Yes," replied Captain Codrington, " and I have some tough mutton ready for
them," a joke which tickled the fancies of the gallant tars who were as light-hearted at
their quarters as if they were proceeding on " liberty " ashore.
When Commodore Bathurst was laid in bed after his mortal wounds had been dressed,
his leg being in an uneasy position, he called the surgeon and requested him in a tone of
apology to move the limb, saying, " I'm a little fidgety just now, but I hope you will ex
cuse it." On Captain Moore of the Marines being brought down wounded, the Commo
dore, recognising his voice, exclaimed, " Ah, Moore, is that you?"
" Yes," said Captain Moore, " I'm wounded."
"Ah," replied the dying officer, " fortune de guerre."
Captain Moore soon followed his lamented chief, and was buried near Mount Etna, in
Sicily. Mr. Frederick Grey, one of the midshipmen of the Genoa, had his arm nearly severed
from his body by a shot, and it was found necessary to take it off at the socket. On
reaching the cock-pit he called out to the surgeon, " Bear a hand here, my hearty; make
haste, will you ? The fun is not half over yet, and I must have another touch at the
fellows." He was not, however, suffered to go on deck again. His brother, Mr. Herbert
Grey, midshipman, was struck in the left leg by a piece of langridge,* but escaped
amputation. This young officer was in immediate attendance on Commodore Bathurst,
and assisted in carrying him below when he received his mortal wound.
A seaman, having his leg shattered by a cannon-ball, underwent amputation with
the greatest indifference. When the limb was taken off, it was thrown overboard,
upon which Jack, after an objurgatory reflection on the eyes of his officious friend,
called out jocularly, " I'll complain of you to the captain ; although you were ordered
to throw my leg overboard, you had no right to throw my shoe with it." A marine of
* Langridge is a kind of shot consisting of various fragments of iron bound together, and has been long disused in
the Navy.
VOL. III. G Qt

222 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
the name of Hill, who was stationed on the poop of the Genoa, had both his arms shot
off, when he turned to Commander Dickson, who stood near him, and said, with the
utmost coolness, "I hope that you'll allow, sir, that I have done my duty." After the
fatigue of the action, one of the officers lay down to rest himself on a chest on which the
poor mutilated fellow was sitting. Presently he was aroused by hearing some one near
him singing, and recognising the voice, exclaimed with surprise, " What, Hill, is that
you singing ? " " Yes, sir," answered Hill, " I'm trying what I can do at ballad sing
ing now I have lost my arms." The poor fellow, who was only twenty-one, died of his
wounds in hospital.
Another marine in the same ship had one of his arms shot off in the heat of the action.
He coolly took up the severed limb and laid it on the shelf-piece over him, saying,
" There's an example for you all."
Here is a comic anecdote. After the action, an Irishman, named Phelan, who was
the cook's mate of the Genoa, was observed to skip about with the most ludicrous mani
festations of joy. On being questioned, he shouted out, "Oh, by the powers, I'm so glad
the villains haven't spoilt the coppers ; never a shot has touched them."
There were several women on board the ships, as was the custom in the Navy in
those days, and they were eminently useful in tending to the wounded. During the
action, two Greeks, who were chained to a gun in one of the vessels which blew up,
escaped and swam to the Genoa. Immediately on getting on board they set to work at
the guns, and behaved with great gallantry. Four boats were sunk alongside the Genoa,
and two on the booms were very much damaged.
The two Turkish line-of-battle ships which had been engaged by the Asia and. Genoa,
presented after the battle the most deplorable spectacle. It is said that each of them
had on board about 800 men, and very few escaped being killed or wounded. The
Albion was at one time ordered to destroy these ships, but the order was countermanded.
Their state baffles description— beams severed, decks fallen in, and generally so riven
with the iron hail that not a space could anywhere be seen free from shot-holes. The
Turkish admiral, on going on board the Asia after the battle, remarked, with Oriental
impassiveness, " My head will pay for this."
The scene when hostilities ceased was described as awful and impressive. At twenty
minutes after six in the evening, the enemy on all sides were completely beaten,
and, with the exception of two line-of-battle ships, one frigate and a few small
vessels were either on shore, sunk, burnt, or burning. Night threw her mantle

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 223
over the dreadful scene, and served as a pall to hundreds of dead or dying victims.
The wind had totally sunk and left a perfect calm, and not a sound was heard save
that of a few random shots fired at intervals from the guns in the forts, and which
added to rather than diminished the solemnity of the scene. The harbour, which had
but a few hours before presented the most animated picture imaginable, was shrouded
in darkness and filled with desolation, which was rendered occasionally visible by
the momentary bursts of light from the burning vessels.
The smaller vessels of the British squadron distinguished themselves not less than
the ships of the line ; this was more particularly the case with the corvette Rose, the
brig Philomel, and the cutter Hind, Lieutenant Eobb. An officer says in his letter,
" The Dartmouth fired first, and, I believe, the little Philomel next, who very soon blew
up her fire-ship, and then sunk a twelve-gun brig; she then opened her fire on a
frigate and two corvettes, and it really was a miracle she was not blown out of the
water, but the Turks fired very high. A Eussian frigate, which was standing in,
seeing the perilous condition of the gallant little Philomel, ran in between her and her
powerful opponents, and silenced them. It is supposed the Turks lost at least 10,000
men. They chained their men to their guns and, and as their wounded became useless,
threw them overboard. Not less gallant was the behaviour of the Rose corvette. Her
commanding officer, Commander Lewis Davies, engaged and silenced two Turkish cor
vettes, thereby relieving the French frigate Armide, which was exposed to the concentrated
fire of five of the enemy's ships. Captain Davies was in the chains of a fire-ship at
the moment she blew up, and was hurled into his own boat without receiving any con
siderable injury. His behaviour excited the admiration of everyone in the allied
squadron, and Admiral De Eigny honourably mentioned him in his despatches.
Lieutenant Eobb, of the Hind, also excited universal commendation by the distin
guished gallantry with which he fought his little craft. The Hind was a cutter of
one hundred and sixty tons, mounting 10 six-pounder carronades, and manned with a
crew of 30 men ; she was the tender of the flag-ship, and had been entrusted by the
admiral to the command of Lieutenant John Eobb, who had entered the service in 1812,
and had distinguished himself at the bombardment of Algiers, by Lord Exmouth, in
1816. The Hind had been sent with despatches to Zante, and only arrived off Navarino
as the allied squadrons were entering the port. Lieutenant Eobb immediately cleared
for action, got springs on her cables, and followed into the harbour. With the greatest
coolness and gallantry he anchored his little craft with her broadside bearing on the
gg2

224 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
stern of a Turkish frigate, within forty yards, and opened a steady raking fire from
his foremost guns. Not a shot was thrown away, and the havoc he wrought was con
siderable on his great antagonist, which was unable to return his fire. The Hind did
not, however, escape without injury, for she was exposed to the fire of a corvette on one
bow, a brig on the other, and a frigate some distance on the quarter ; in about three-
quarters of an hour her cable was shot away, and until she dropped her second anchor,
she drifted between the corvette and brig, and for half an hour kept up a fire from both
broadsides upon her opponents, until the Turkish brig blew up. The action was then
continued with the corvette for about a quarter of an hour, when the cutter's last cable
was shot away. As he could no longer maintain his position, nor get a gun to bear
effectually on the enemy, and finding his men suffering much from the fire which
he could not return, Lieutenant Eobb sent his crew below, only remaining on deck
himself to observe and seize upon the first opportunity which should present itself of
using his guns again with effect. After drifting about in the hottest part of the action
for a considerable time, the Hind at length ran her bow into one of the main-deck ports
of a large Turkish frigate ; the men were instantly called, and notwithstanding the
disparity of numbers, they succeeded in repulsing, with loss, the repeated attempts made
by the enemy to board. The Turks, not meeting with success, tried another method-;
to the number of about sixty they crowded into a large boat astern, with the intention
of boarding, while their companions engaged the attention of the handful of Britons, who
were numerically too weak to be divided into two parties. But Lieutenant Eobb was
equal to the occasion. With the utmost coolness and presence of mind, he loaded some
of his guns with grape and canister to the muzzle, and as they bore on the advancing
boat fired two of them. The aim was true, and the boat with its occupants disappeared ;
almost at this instant his heroic exertions were rewarded with success, for the cutter
drifted clear of the frigate. Of her small crew of 30 she had half killed and wounded ;
among the former was her mate, and among the latter a midshipman. Three guns
were split and dismounted, twenty -three shots had passed through her hull, and her spars,
sails, and riggings were cut to pieces. It is related of the assistant surgeon that he was
dressing a wound, when, hearing Lieutenant Eobb's call for the men to repel boarders,
he immediately threw down his instruments, and seizing a pike, helped to drive off the
enemy. This being done he went below and resumed his surgical operations.
Sir Edward Codrington issued a general order to the fleet, dated 24th October in
which, after thanking all engaged for their " gallant and steady conduct in the battle of

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 225
the 20th," he observes that there is no instance of the fleet of any one country showing
more complete union of spirit and of action than was exhibited by the squadrons of
the three allied powers, and attributes the glorious result to the bright example
of the French and Eussian admirals, and the cordial co-operation and assistance afforded
to each by the several squadrons. " Such union of spirit and of purpose," he adds, " such
coolness and bravery under fire, and such consequent precision in the use of their guns,
ensured a victory over the well-prepared arrangements of greatly superior numbers. Out
of a fleet composed of eighty-one men-of-war, there remained only one frigate and fifteen
smaller vessels in a state ever to again put to sea." The victory was complete and
glorious, and, as the admiral said, consolation must have been afforded to the friends
and relatives of those who died by the thought that they fell " in the service of their
country, and in the cause of suffering humanity." The battle of Navarino put an end
to the Turkish dominion in Greece. Ibrahim Pasha withdrew his troops from the Morea,
and Capo d'Istrea was elected by the Greeks their first President.
Thirteen years later, in July, 1840, England, in alliance with Austria, Eussia, and
Prussia, concluded a treaty with Turkey, by which they agreed to curb the pretensions
of Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, who claimed the whole of Syria, as well as the
virtual independence of his own province. Sir Eobert Stopford, commanding the
Mediterranean fleet, arrived before Beyrout on the 9th September, 1840, and was joined
by a Turkish squadron, under Captain Baldwin Walker, and two Austrian ships-of-war,
commanded by the Archduke Charles Frederick. The admiral opened fire on the Egyptian
army drawn up between the town and the sea, and drove them back, and dismantled the
fortifications ; but an attack made by Captain Martin, with the frigate Carysfort, the 18-
gun sloop Dido, and the steamer Cyclops, Commander Austin, on the town of Djebail,
was not equally successful. An attempt made by 200 marines to storm the castle was
defeated with the loss of 23 men, but the enemy evacuated the place on the following
day, when Captain Martin took possession of the town and fort. Another small squadron,
consisting of the Castor and Pique, under the orders of Captain Collier, captured the
strong town of Kaiffa, on the 17th September, and a week later, the ancient Tyre was
taken after a brief bombardment.
On the same day Commodore Napier, with a battalion of marines and some Turkish
troops, arrived before the important town of Sidon. Anchoring the Thunderer, 84, with
the two Austrian frigates, in front of the town, with the brig Wasp and Stromboli
steamer on one side, and the steamers Cyclops, Gorgon, and Hydra on the other, he

226 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
opened fire on the enemy's works, which made a vigorous reply. The principal defences
of Sidon were two castles, the larger of which was connected with the town by a narrow
causeway, and the neighbouring quarter was loopholed and commanded by entrenchments.
But the fire of the ships caused the enemy to evacuate these defences, when the Turkish
battalion was landed by Captain Austin before one castle, and a mixed force of British
and Austrian seamen and marines took possession of the other. Commodore Napier
himself took command of a third detachment, and advancing on some barracks and
works, took them by assault, compelling the surrender of over a thousand men.
Dispirited by these vigorous measures, the Egyptian governor surrendered the town,
together with vast stores and military supplies. This great success was achieved with
the loss of only four killed and 32 wounded, and had important consequences in
paralyzing Ibrahim Pasha's subsequent movements.
Under orders from Sir Eobert Stopford, who still lay before Beyrout with the greater
part of his fleet, Commodore Napier marched along the hills to the rear of the town
with his Turkish troops, and on the 9th October, the Egyptian army evacuated Beyrout,
leaving their tents, stores, and 26 field-pieces, while 2,000 men surrendered with
their arms. Mehemet Ali's generals, quitting northern Syria, now concentrated their
forces at Acre for the defence of the southern portion of that province.
The British admiral, who had a capable military adviser in Sir Charles Smith, of the
Eoyal Engineers, resolved to attack this stronghold, and embarking 5,000 Turkish
troops, arrived before Acre on the 2nd November with the following ships : —
/ Admiral Hon. Sir Robert 80 Bellerophon Captain Austen.
104 Princess Charlotte < Stopford, G.C.B.
I Captain Arthur Fanshawe 76 BwM*« " Waldegra™
(Powerful Commodore Charles Napier, C.B. 72 \ " _
84 < , „ , . t, , , ( Benbow „ Houston Stewart.
( Thunderer Captain Berkeley
Also the frigates Castor, Captain Collier, and Carysfort, Captain Martin; the steamers
Phoenix, Vesuvius, and Stromboli ; two Austrian frigates, and a Turkish 74, bearing
the flag of Captain Walker, and a corvette. On arriving before Acre, the British
admiral found lying there the frigates Pique, Captain Boxer, and Talbot, Captain Henry
Codrington, who was wounded when serving as a midshipman in his father's flagship at
Navarino, and the brigs Wasp and Hazard.
Acre was stronger than when, some forty years before, it had defied the utmost power
of Napoleon to capture it, and its walls were now mounted with 147 guns, manned by
5,000 disciplined troops. The fortress presented to the sea a west and a south face of

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 227
defence, and as the former was, apparently, the more powerful, the admiral entrusted to
Commodore Napier the task of reducing it with the Princess Charlotte (from whence he
shifted his flag to the Phoenix), Powerful, Bellerophon, Thunderer, and Pique ; while
the southern face was to be attacked by the Edinburgh, Benbow, three frigates, and the
sloops, led by Captain Collier in the Castor.
Commodore Napier, in the Powerful, failed to conform to his instructions, and
dropped his anchor at a spot where her fire was not considered by the admiral to be
wholly effective, whereupon Sir Eobert Stopford signalled the Thunderer to pass ahead
of the Powerful; this, however, she was unable to do, being unable to extricate herself from
her position between the Princess Charlotte and the Bellerophon, and the Revenge moved
up and took the assigned position, engaging a great earthwork at the projecting angle
of the enemy's defences, between the west and south faces. The division on the southern
side brought up in its proper berth, led by Captain Stewart in the Benbow, and at
247 p.m. exactly, the fleet opened fire.
It soon became apparent that the Egyptian gunners could make no head against
the terrific cannonade brought to bear upon them, but they continued to serve their
guns wdth unabated vigour, though with ineffectual aim, until about four o'clock, when
the principal magazine, containing, it is said, some thousands of barrels of powder,
exploded, laying a great portion of the town in ruins, and killing two entire regiments,
drawn up on the ramparts in the expectation of an assault.
The enemy's fire was only partially resumed after this catastrophe, which had
damped the ardour of the gunners, and at dusk it ceased on both sides.
At daybreak news was received that the Egyptians were deserting, and Sir Charles
Smith landed with the Turkish troops and took possession of the town, which presented
an appalling scene of desolation, though the walls had not been breached, and any
attempt to scale them would have involved great slaughter.
The allied loss was small, that in the British squadron being 12 killed and 32 wounded,
and in the Austrian and Turkish ships six and 19 respectively. In their rigging and
hulls they were little injured, the chief sufferer being the Castor, Captain Collier, which
had taken a post between the Edinburgh and Benbow, the most exposed position in the line.
To account for this immunity from severe loss, it was said that the Egyptian gunners,
mistaking the buoys, laid down by the masters of the Pique and Talbot to mark the
shoals, as denoting the positions the ships of the fleet would take up, levelled their guns
for these marks, and then wedged them into the embrasures.

228 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The capture of Acre virtually concluded the war, for though Ibrahim Pasha con
centrated his army at Baalbec, it was considered by his father, Mehemet Ali, and by
everyone in the East, that the power which, in a few hours, could capture a stronghold
that had taken Ibrahim ten months to reduce with 40,000 men, was irresistible.
Sir Eobert Stopford withdrew with his fleet to Marmorice, and Commodore Napier,
whom he sent to Alexandria, negotiated a convention with Mehemet Ali, by which he
conceded his hereditary claim to Egypt. In doing this the commodore exceeded his
instructions, but Lord Palmerston, then Foreign Minister, overlooked his indiscretion,
and the treaty was ratified, with the exception of a guarantee by the four allied powers
to Mehemet Ali and his heirs of the Viceroyalty of Egypt. One important condition,
the restitution of the Turkish ships that deserted to him, was carried into effect
at Alexandria, and on the 11th January, 1841, Captain Baldwin Walker received
possession of them on behalf of the Sultan.
The British commander-in-chief and the fleet were voted the thanks of Parliament
for their brilliant success at Acre, Commodore Napier and Captain Walker received the
ribbon of the Bath, and all the captains the C.B. Ten commanders, twenty-three
lieutenants, and fifty mates, were also promoted ; but, as usual, the marine officers were
passed over in the distribution of rewards.

CHAPTEE VIII.
Expeditions against the Pirates of the Persian Gulf in 1809 and 1819 — Capture of Ras-ul-Khymah — Expedition
against the Beni-Boo- Ali Arabs— The first Burmese War — Operations on the Irrawaddy — The first Chinese War —
Capture of Chusanand the Bogue Forts — The Navy on the Seaboard of China and on the Yang-tse-Kiang— Captain
Harry Keppel and the Pirates of Borneo — The second Burmese War — Capture of Rangoon — Other Operations of
the War — Forcing of the Parana River in South America — Actions with Slavers — The Persian and New Zealand
Wars — A Brief Survey of Arctic Exploration — Sir Edward Parry's Voyages towards the North Pole — Sir James
Ross's Discoveries in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions — Sir John Franklin — Expeditions in Search of the Great
Explorer — McClure and the North- West Passage — Collinson's Voyage in the Enterprise— McClintock discovers
traces of the Franklin Expedition.
"TWEE since the year 1797 the maritime tribes of the Persian Gulf had given trouble
to the Indian Government, and the Joasmis, who had embraced the religion of
Abd-ul-Wahab, the great Mussulman reformer and founder of Wahabeeism, turned
pirates and levied blackmail on the commerce of the Persian Gulf. This maritime
tribe occupied that part of the Arabian coast extending from about 150 miles from a
point near Cape Mussendom to Abu Thubee. The towns on this coast, which was
generally designated by navigators ' the Pirate Coast,' are all built at the entrance
of a Khor, or salt-water inlet, and the maritime robbers, established here from a very
remote period, defied the efforts to subdue them of the Portuguese (who for two
centuries claimed the whole coast of Oman until expelled by the Arabs) and even
carried their depredations to the shores of India and the Eed Sea. Their chief towns
in the early years of the present century were Sharjah or Shargah, the residence
of Sultan Sugger, the noted Joasmi chief, and Eas-ul-Khymah, formerly called Julfa,
a large town built on a sandy peninsula, or spit, projecting into the sea, and enclosing
a deep narrow bay protected by a bar, over which, even at spring tides, there is
scarcely eleven feet of water.
These piratical tribes, though they preyed on native commerce, respected the ships-
of-war of the Indian Navy, the commanders of which were enjoined by the Bombay
Government to forbear from attacking them unless first fired upon. Emboldened by
impunity, a squadron of dhows engaged the Hon. Company's 14-gun brig Viper as
she lay off Bushire, when a desperate action ensued. It was about eight o'clock in
the morning, and the crew of the Company's cruiser were at breakfast on the upper deck,
VOL. in. H H

230 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
when suddenly two of the dhows, which were passing under the Viper's stern, opened
fire with round shot upon the little craft. The officers who were below rushed up, and
Lieutenant Carruthers, the senior, called the men to quarters, and none too soon, for
the dhows, crammed full of men, bore down on the little man-of-war, intending to
capture her by boarding. The crew of the Viper cut the cable and made sail on
the ship, while the guns were cast loose and soon opened a well-directed fire on their
treacherous assailants. The superior seamanship of the Englishmen told in their favour,
and, by dint of smart manoeuvring, Lieutenant Carruthers succeeded, not only in
preventing the enemy from carrying into execution their intention to board, when
their numerical superiority must have given them the victory, but beat the dhows off,
and ended the conflict by chasing them out to sea. Unfortunately the gallant young
officer was killed towards the latter part of the action. He had been previously
wounded by a musket-ball in the loins, but refused to leave the deck, and soon after
was shot through the forehead. Mr. Salter, the senior midshipman, who took command
on the death of his superior, fought the ship with determined bravery, and the great
loss she incurred, thirty-two out of a total of sixty -five, testified to the severity of
the action.
Notwithstanding the glaring nature of this outrage, no hostilities were ordered
by the Bombay Government, but the Joasmis had received so severe a lesson that
many years elapsed before a second attempt was made to attack a British vessel of
war. The Company's Eesident at Bushire wrote to the Joasmi Chief demanding
explanations as to the treacherous attack on the Viper, but his remonstrances were met
on the part of Sheikh Sugger by professions of regard for the English, and the
contention that the cruiser had fired first upon the dhows.
In 1805 the Joasmis captured two English merchant brigs, and put to death a
portion of the crew. These vessels were then armed with guns, and sent to cruise in
the Persian Gulf. At first the Bombay Government left these marauders unpunished,
and they had the temerity to attack the Hon. Company's cruiser Mornington, of 22 guns.
Though the assailants numbered forty dhows the Mornington, manoeuvring under sail,
beat them off with great loss. " The Governor of that period," says the traveller,
J. S. Buckingham, " from ignorance of the character of these people, could never be
persuaded that they were the aggressors, and constantly upbraided the officers with
having, in some way, provoked the attacks of which they complained, continuing still
to insist on the observance of the orders, in not firing on these vessels until they had

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 231
been first fired at by them." But at length the Company's ships were directed to operate
against the Joasmis in conjunction with the government of the Imaum of Muscat, an
old and faithful ally. The combined forces accordingly proceeded, in the year 1806,
to the island of Kishm, where they blockaded the Joasmi fleet, which was reduced to
such distress that they sued for peace. Captain David Seton, the British political
agent, agreed to grant them a truce until the pleasure of his government should be
known, and a treaty was concluded at Bundar Abbas, during the year 1806, by
which they agreed to give up the brigs, and to "respect the flag and property of
the Hon. East India Company and their subjects," and "to assist and protect" any
English vessels touching on their coasts. Captain Seton represented to his government
that "the whole bulk of the Joasmis were desirous of returning to their former
mercantile pursuits," but the event proved he had suffered himself to be cajoled.
Piracy was bred in the bone among these restless, truculent Arabs, and the fleets
of large and heavily armed dhows, moored in the harbours of Shargah and Eas-ul-
Elhymah, were not destined for the peaceful pursuit of pearl-fishing on the Bahrein
Coast, but for deeds of rapine and blood.
For a brief period the Joasmis continued true to the provisions of the treaty of
1806, so far as regarded the British ships cruising in the Gulf; but it is probable that
this temporary abstention from acts of piracy on the British flag was induced only by a
fear of the consequences, as we find that during the year 1807, owing to the exigencies
of European politics, there was a powerful fleet of ships-of-war in the Bersian Gulf,
whither, in order to assist in bringing Turkey to her senses through her Asiatic
possessions, a squadron had been despatched from Bombay, consisting of H.M.S. Fox,
Captain Hon. A. Cochrane, and eight of the Company's cruisers. The additional
cruisers remained in the Persian Gulf for a year, and hence there was a brief
cessation of piracy on the part of the Joasmis. In the month of April, 1808, after
the return of the squadron to Bombay, Joasmi dhows from Earns, Shargah, and other
places on the coast, made their appearance on the coast to the northward of
Bombay, and Captain Seton reported that the acts of piracy " can only be considered
as a general one at the instigation of the Wahabees."
While off the Guzerat coast, in command of the schooner Lively, Lieutenant
Macdonald fought a gallant action with four piratical dhows, each larger and carrying
more men than his own little craft. During the year 1808, the pirates captured twenty
native vessels, which so elated them that they despatched a fleet of fifty sail towards
h h2

232 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Cutch and Scinde, and attacked the Hon. Company's cruiser Fury, of six guns, com
manded by Lieutenant Gowan, when carrying despatches from Bussorah to Bombay.
"The attack," says Buckingham, '"was made by several dhows in company, and during
a calm ; but the resistance made was determined and effectual, and the dhows were
made to sheer off with the loss of a great number of men. On the arrival of the Fury
at Bombay, the commander waited on the governor in the usual way ; but on reporting
the affair of the battle, instead of being applauded for his spirited resistance, and his
preservation of the despatches under his charge, he received a severe reprimand from
the governor himself in person, for disobeying the orders given, and daring to molest
the innocent and unoffending Arabs of these seas."
During the latter part of 1808, they attacked the merchant ship Minerva, while on
her voyage from Bombay to Bussorah. The ship was taken to Eas-ul-Khymah, where
twenty guns were mounted on her, and she was sent to cruise in the Gulf. On the
20th October, only a few weeks after this, they mastered the Hon. Company's cruiser
Sylph, a small schooner of only 78 tons, and mounting eight guns, the commander's
hands being tied by the instructions of his government until it was too late to offer
any effectual resistance. The Sylph formed one of a squadron carrying the mission,
under Sir Harford Jones, to the Court of the Shah of Bersia, and, on being separated
from the rest of the ships, a fleet of dhows was seen bearing down on her. Lieutenant
Graham, her commander, was alive to the peril of his position, but he could take
no steps to keep them at bay, as they had committed no hostile act ; and he had per
emptory orders, any infringement of which would involve dismissal, on no account
to fire on the Arab craft, until they first opened fire upon him. These orders placed
a small cruiser absolutely at their mercy, for the Joasmis did not care to engage in a
gunnery duel with British seamen, even with long odds in their favour ; their tactics
consisted in running on board an enemy, and throwing some hundreds of desperate men,
armed to the teeth, on the deck of a vessel, thus bearing down all resistance. Thus it
happened that the decks of the Sylph were boarded by a host of desperadoes. Lieu
tenant Graham fell, covered with wounds,* down the fore hatchway, where one or two of
the crew, who had been hurled below, dragged him into a store-room, of which they
barricaded the door from within by a crowbar. His chief officer, Acting-Lieutenant
Denton, who had served as a midshipman on board the Colossus, at Trafalgar, only
* Lieutenant Graham, who subsequently held a shore appointment at Bombay, survived for haK a century the
terrible wounds he received on this occasion on the head and shoulders.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 233
survived the wound he had received on that great day to be butchered by these
murderous pirates; and, in a few minutes, almost the entire crew had perished
fighting desperately.
The Joasmis now made sail on the schooner, and were bearing her off in triumph
to their own ports, when an unexpected event snatched the prize from their hands.
This was the appearance of His Majesty's 36-gun frigate Nereide, Commodore Corbet,
forming part of the squadron, which hove in sight, and, perceiving the Sylph in
company with the dhows, divined what had occurred, and made sail in pursuit. On
nearing the prize, the Joasmis quitted her and took to their dhows, to which the
commodore gave chase, but without success, as owing to their superior sailing, they
were enabled to effect their escape.
Only three days after this affair, the Joasmi pirates attempted to capture the Hon.
Company's brig Nautilus, 14 guns, in a similar manner, but met with a warm reception
at the hands of the commander, Lieutenant Bennett. " The Nautilus," says Buckingham,
" was proceeding up the Gulf with despatches, and in passing the island of Anjar, on the
south side of Kishm, near the Bersian shore, was attacked by a squadron, consisting
of a baghalah, a dhow, and two trankies ; the two former mounting great guns, the
others having oars as well as sails, and all being full of armed men. The attack was
made in the most skilful and regular manner, the two larger vessels bearing down on
the starboard bow, and the smaller ones on the quarter. As Lieutenant Bennett had
received the same positive orders as his brother officers, not to commence an attack until
fired on, he reserved his guns until they were so close to him that their dancing and
brandishing of spears, the attitude with which they menace death, could be distinctly
seen, and their songs and war shouts heard. The bow gun was then fired across their
hawse as a signal for them to desist, and the British colours were displayed. This being
disregarded, it was followed by a second shot, which had no more effect. A moment's
consultation was then held by the officers, when it was thought a want of regard for their
own safety to use further forbearance, and a broadside was instantly discharged among
them all." An action now commenced between the Nautilus and the two largest of the boats
mounting cannon, and continued for nearly an hour, the " trankies " lying on their oars
during the contest to await its result, and seize the first favourable opportunity to board.
As the superiority on the part of the cruiser became more decidedly apparent, these latter,
however, fled, and were soon followed by the others, the whole of whom the Nautilus
pursued, and fired on during the chase as long as her guns would tell. Among the

234 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
killed in this action was the boatswain, and the wounded included Lieutenant Thomas
Tanner,* who survived to a great age, and in the year 1859 was elected Mayor of
Exeter, his native town.
These repeated aggressions of the Joasmi, coupled with an insolent demand from the
chief of Eas-ul-Ehymah, whose harbour was the principal resort of the larger craft, for
the payment of tribute by the Bombay Government, in order that their merchant ships
might be permitted to traverse the waters of the Gulf unmolested, at length opened the
eyes of the Governor of Bombay and Court of Directors to the fatal impolicy, and
indeed absurdity, of the instructions enjoined upon their naval officers. The public
voice called for the punishment of the piratical horde which had heaped insults and
injuries on the English name, and when the blood-red Joasmi flag was seen flaunting
itself on the coasts of Cutch and Scinde, and twenty craft were captured in Indian
waters, the authorities awoke to a sense of shame, and considered it high time to make
a hostile move if British trade was not to be driven out of the Persian Gulf. These
counsels were quickened by the aggressions of the Wahabees, who had established a
preponderance throughout Oman, so that the Imaum was virtually dependent upon
them, while, in another direction, their armies appeared before the walls of Bussorah,
and their fleet of twenty-two vessels attacked and defeated that of the Governor of
Bushire at FJior Hassan, where they captured six ships. According to a well-authenti
cated calculation, the Joasmi fleet consisted of sixty-three large vessels and eight
hundred and thirteen of smaller size, and this truly formidable armada was manned by
19,000 men. This force was increasing, and, in the month following the capture of the
Minerva, a fleet of seventy sail, with crews averaging between 80 and 200 men, was
cruising about the Gulf and threatening Bushire. The Bombay Government, having
determined to relieve the Imaum \ from the power of the Wahabees, and, at the same
* Lieutenant Tanner entered the Royal Navy on board the Fisgard frigate, under command of Captain
(afterwards admiral of the fleet) Byam Martin, and assisted in blockading the combined French and Spanish fleets
in the port of Brest. He was also employed against the enemy on the coasts of France and Spain, and in cutting out
from under the batteries at Corunna, the 20-gun ship Neptune, a gunboat, and some merchantmen. After the peace
of Amiens, in 1802, Mr. Tanner entered the Indian Navy, and served under Commodore Hayes and other officers,
on the coast of India, and among the eastern islands of Borneo and the Moluccas, before proceeding to the Persian
Gulf. t The first treaty on record entered into by the Imaum of Muscat with the Indian Government was, according to
the Rev. J. P. Badger, that dated the 12th August, 1798. Its object was to secure his alliance against the sus
pected designs of the French and the commercial rivalry of the Dutch factory and garrison at Gomboon or Bunda
Abbas. The second, which is dated 18th January, 1800, and signed on the part of the Company by Sir John Malcolm,
Envoy to Persia, provides for the reception of a British Political Resident at Muscat. In these documents Seyyid
Sultan is styled " Imaum."

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 235
time, to suppress the Joasmi pirates, organised an expedition which proceeded to the
Gulf in 1809. The naval portion, under command of Commodore John Wainwright,
consisted of Her Majesty's 36-gun frigates Chiffonne and Caroline, and the Company's
cruisers Mornington, 22 guns, Ternate, 16 guns, 14 gun-brigs Aurora, Mercury, Nautilus,
Prince of Wales, 10-gun brigs Vestal and Ariel, Fury, 8, and Stromboli, bomb-ketch.
The troops, embarked on board four transports, consisted of His Majesty's 65th
Eegiment, flank companies of His Majesty's 47th Eegiment, a detachment of the
Bombay Artillery, and about 1,000 Sepoys, the whole under the command of Colonel
Lionel Smith, of the 65th Eegiment. The fleet sailed from Bombay in September,
and it had not quitted the harbour twenty-four hours before an accident occurred
involving loss of life. The Stromboli bomb-ketch was in tow astern of the Mornington,
when suddenly her bottom fell out, and she foundered, carrying with her Lieutenants
Taylor, of the Indian Navy, and Sealy, of the Bombay Artillery, and the greater
portion of her crew. The despatch of this vessel, laden with a heavy cargo of ordnance
and shot and shell on such a mission was due to the most culpable carelessness. It
appears that a long period anterior to this she had been condemned as unfit for service
and for three years lay moored as a floating battery off the entrance of Tannah Eiver,
as is called the strait which separates the island of Salsette from the mainland. From
thence she had been removed to Bombay harbour, and moored off a sunken rock, whence
she was taken on the strength of the squadron, and fitted out to carry the heaviest
and least buoyant cargo that a ship can be freighted with.
On arriving at Muscat the Imaum, on whose behalf the expedition had been, in
a great measure, undertaken, regarded the project of an attack on Eas-ul-Khymah with
so small a force as ill-advised, but the British officers were sanguine of success. The
ships arrived off that town on the afternoon of the 11th November, but, in consequence
of the shallowness of the water, the frigates were not able to approach within four miles;
the Company's cruisers, however, owing to their small draught, anchored nearer, and
with the ships' boats attacked the enemy's works on the following day. The troops were
landed in the early morning of the 13th, and after prolonged fighting gained the centre
of the town at two in the afternoon. By four o'clock the boats of the squadron had
set fire to upwards of fifty vessels, twenty of them being large war dhows,* the guns
of some of which were loaded. Many of the houses had depots of gunpowder, the
explosion of which, with the general conflagration in the town and harbour, added
* See Commodore Wainwright' s despatch of the 14th November, 1809.

236 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
to the scene of desolation and misery presented by Eas-ul-Khymah. No looting
was permitted, and the town with its contents was set on fire, and the flames
quickly reduced all to ashes. The British loss was trifling, considering the resistance
encountered, while some hundred of the Joasmis were slain. The punishment thus meted
out was condign, but the effects were in a great measure neutralised by Colonel Smith
hastily re-embarking the troops on the morning of the 14th, on receipt of a report
that a large body of Arabs was nearing the place from the interior. This hurried
exit reassured the Joasmis, who assembled on the shore, defiantly displaying their
colours, brandishing their swords and spears, and discharging their muskets. From
Eas-ul-Kliymah the expedition proceeded to Linjah, a flourishing port of the Joasmis on
the Persian coast, near the island of Kishm, and probably containing at that time nearly
10,000 inhabitants. On the 17th November Linjah was occupied without resistance, and
burned to the ground, and the vessels, amounting to twenty, some of them being large
war dhows, were destroyed. The squadron arrived at noon of the 26th off the town of
Luft, a Joasmi port on the north side of the island of Frishm. The channel being narrow
and difficult of approach, the Ternate, Nautilus, and Fury were warped into their
stations, and the troops, preceded by the gunboats, were landed under Colonel Smith
about two o'clock on the following day, and advanced towards the fortress, which is
described as having walls fourteen feet thick, pierced with loop-holes, and only one
entrance through a small gate cased with iron bars and bolts. It was intended to have
blown the gate open with an howitzer, but the men were picked off so rapidly from the
loop-holes above that a general retreat took place, the howitzer was abandoned even
before it had been fired, and the troops sought shelter by lying down behind the ridges
of sand and little hillocks ; the night favoured their retreat to the beach, whence they
re-embarked without molestation. Meantime, says Commodore Wainwright, in his
despatch of the 7th December, "the gunboats and the Fury, which being of light
draught, had been towed within musket shot of the fort, kept up a ruinous fire, which
very much shattered the strong fort by sunset." With the dawn of morning all eyes
were directed to the fortress, when a man was seen waving the Union Jack on the summit
of its walls. It was an officer of the Indian Navy, Lieutenant Hall, who had commanded
the Stromboli bomb-vessel at the time of her sinking, but had saved himself by swimming,
and now commanded the Fury, the vessel nearest the shore. "During the night,"
says Buckingham, "he had gone ashore alone, taking an Union Jack in his hand, and
advanced singly to the castle-gate. The fortress had already been abandoned by the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 237
greater number of the inhabitants, but some few still remained there. These, however,
fled at the approach of an individual, either from deeming all further resistance unavail
ing, or from supposing, probably, that no one would come singly, but as a herald to
others immediately following for his support. Be this as it may, the castle was entirely
abandoned, and our flag was planted on its walls by this daring officer, to the surprise
and admiration of the whole force." The town and fortifications, together with eleven
dhows, were taken possession of, and the latter were burnt. As Luft had been taken
by the Joasmis from the Imaum of Muscat, it was delivered over to his Highness. In
this affair the squadron had 27 killed and wounded, including three officers.
The squadron visited several other ports on the coast near Eas-ul-Khymah, and all
the vessels were destroyed. Thence, in company with a large body of troops, under the
command of the Imaum of Muscat, the expedition sailed to attack Shinas, a considerable
town, with a strong fort, on the Batnah coast. The Wahabee general was summoned
to surrender, but on his refusing to do so, the ships cannonaded the castle, and the
British and native troops were landed. A strong battery was completed on the 2nd
January, 1810. Throughout the night the squadron continued their fire, and some 4,000
shot and shell were discharged, until the walls of the fortress were reduced to ruins,
and a breach was effected. Twice Colonel Lionel Smith summoned the brave governor,
but at length, when the troops were on the point of advancing to storm, and above 1,000
men had fallen in its defence, the place was surrendered. The British troops now returned
to Bombay, but the squadron continued cruising for some time in the Bersian Gulf.
Notwithstanding the severe chastisement they had received, the maritime Arabs
of the Birate Coast were too much addicted to their nefarious calling to return to a
peaceful and regular mode of earning a livelihood. They rebuilt their towns and
constructed a fleet of war dhows, and recommenced their depredations on commerce on
a larger scale than before. At first they confined themselves to preying on native
ships, but in 1815, they captured off Muscat a vessel sailing from Bombay under
British colours, and put the greater portion of the crew to death. In this year, also, a
Joasmi fleet of twenty-five sail attacked the Imaum while cruising with some of his ships,
and his Highness narrowly escaped capture. Upon this Seyyid Said wrote to the Bombay
Government, imploring their aid, and early in the following year a British squadron
blockaded Eas-ul-Khymah for four months, but this had no effect. They soon appeared
off the coast of India, and captured a Government armed vessel, after a desperate
resistance, in which nearly all the crew were slain, and, emboldened by impunity,
VOL. III. I I

238 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
attempted to cut off a large native craft laden with treasure, towing astern of the Hon.
Company's 14-gun cruiser, Aurora. But they " caught a tartar " on this occasion, for
the Aurora, casting the vessel adrift, wore round and engaged the squadron, consisting
of fifteen sail, with such effect that she sunk three of them, when the remainder
made sail and escaped. The Joasmis attacked ships of all nations, among them being an
American, and a French sail bound from Mauritius to Bussorah. Many others flying
English colours were taken, and the crews murdered, so that native vessels were com
pelled to sail under convoy of ships-of-war. During the year 1816, they took four
Surat ships, on which H.M.S. Challenger and three of the Company's cruisers proceeded
to Eas-ul-Khymah, with the British political agent in the Persian Gulf, to demand
satisfaction. But none was afforded, when the ships cannonaded the defences of the
town, though with small effect, and received a return fire. So matters continued, the
Joasmis gaining confidence and cruising off the Indian and Arabian coasts, thus creating
a terror in all these waters.
On the 21st December, 1818, the Hon. Company's 18-gun brig Antelope, Lieutenant
Tanner in command, fought a spirited action with eight Joasmi war-dhows, which
attempted to board her from different quarters. It was only by smart seamanship that
the Antelope was enabled to keep the enemy at bay. The latter carried an aggregate of
29 guns and 1,070 men, of whom it was afterwards ascertained that 117 were slain,
mostly while trying to grapple the cruiser at close quarters. About this time H.M.S,
Eden, with the Company's cruisers, Psyche and Thetis, encountered eight Joasmi sail
off the island of Kishm, when they succeeded in sinking two of them.
At length the patience of the long-suffering Government of Bombay was worn out,
and in 1819, an expedition was despatched to punish the piratical tribes. It consisted
of a force of over 3,000 soldiers, of whom 1,649 were Europeans, under the command
of General Sir William Grant Kier, and the following Eoyal ships-of-war, one of
which was in the Bersian Gulf: — Liverpool, 50 guns, Commodore F. A. Collier, C.B.,
who arrived on the 25th September from Mauritius to assume naval command
of the expedition ; Eden, 26 guns, Captain Loch ; and Curlew, 18 guns, Captain
Walpole — which arrived at Bombay only a few days before from the Persian Gulf,
having been attacked on her way down by fifteen Joasmi boats. The Hon. Company's
ships were: — the 16-gun brigs Teignmouth, Captain Hall (senior officer), and Benares,
Commander Arthur; the 14-gun brigs Aurora, Commander Mallard, and Nautilus,
Lieutenant Faithful ; and 10-gun brigs Ariel, Lieutenant Greenway, and Vestal, Lieu-

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 239
tenant Watson. Besides these cruisers, which actually participated in the ensuing
operations, the Hon. Company's ships Ternate, 16 guns, Mercury, 14 guns, and Psyche,
10 guns, were engaged cruising about the Gulf, and, during the month of November,
the former was sent to Bushire to bring Mr. Bruce to Eas-ul-Khymah to confer with
the general, who was invested with supreme political authority. On the 3rd November,
Sir W. Grant Kier having embarked on board the Liverpool, the first division of trans
ports sailed under convoy of the Liverpool, Curlew, and Aurora. The remaining part of the
expedition followed a few days later for the Persian Gulf. It was about time that active
steps should be taken to extirpate the audacious horde of pirates, for by accounts pub
lished in the Bombay Gazette of October 27th, it appears that the Joasmi fleet,
cruising off the coasts of Kattywar and Cutch, consisted " of 64 vessels, having on board
a crew of 7,000 men," and the Bombay Courier, of October 23rd, mentions that thirty -five
sail of Joasmi had proceeded on a cruise off the coasts of Mekran and Scinde.
The fleet proceeded to the rendezvous at Kishm, while the Liverpool sailed to
Muscat, which she reached on the 13th November, and on the 17th the military and
naval chiefs had an interview with the Imaum, who promised to co-operate with 4,000
men and three vessels of war. As it was desirable that Eas-ul-Khymah should be
blockaded, the Commodore ordered the Benares to accompany the Liverpool to assist in
the operation, and on the same day the two ships arrived off the place. The military
commander, accompanied by his staff and the commanding engineer, reconnoitred the
town during the 26th and 27th November ; and on the arrival of the fleet with the
transports on the 2nd December, immediate arrangements were made for disembarking
the troops. On the following day this was done under cover of the gun-boats and
armed launches of the squadron with celerity and good order, considering the great
distance the ships were obliged to anchor from the town, and the lack of a sufficiency of
means for transporting so large a force with all the guns, supplies, and stores necessary
for a regular siege. In order to create a diversion while this was in progress, the
Aurora and Nautilus brought up near the mouth of the creek and opened a heavy fire in
that direction, and to assist in the siege operations, a body of 500 seamen was landed
from His Majesty's and the Hon. Company's ships.
The following condensed narrative of the operations before Eas-ul-Khymah is from an
officer of the Eoyal Army who was present : — " The batteries of the town bore directly on
the entrance of the port — the harbour was full of shipping — the mainland on the opposite
coast appeared picturesque and verdant with innumerable date trees, and the mountains
n2

240 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of Arabia reared their dim, hazy outline in the background. The place of our encamp
ment and soil of the tongue of land was parched, sandy, and herbless. 2,000 of the
Imaum's troops joined us; they had forced the passes in the hills, deemed impregnable,
and brought in some prisoners. Parties of seamen were landed to assist in the erection
of the batteries. Smart skirmishing took place during the 4th, and the gun-boats
particularly distmguished themselves by their activity. The first line of trenches having
been made by means of sand-bags, an advanced battery opened on the place at a distance
of three hundred yards. A mortar battery on the right was served very effectively.
Early in the siege Major Molesworth, of the 47th Eegiment, was killed by a round shot.
The ships-of-war having approached nearer the town, in conjunction with our batteries,
opened a vigorous fire on the morning of the 5th. Shells were thrown with evident effect,
the gun-boats contributing, as before, their powerful assistance. The duties of the seamen
in the trenches were severe and unremitting. While the soldiers were relieved every four
hours, the sailors remained frequently twenty-four hours without any rest or respite.
"The firing from the ships and batteries still continued on the 6th; that of the
Arabs was very faint, and they evidently did not possess much ammunition. The firing
had terminated for the day, the men had been relieved, silence reigned in the batteries,
the night was very dark, and the picket, as usual, on the alert. About one, a dark
object, like a large black dog, was seen creeping along on all fours, several similar objects
following. The advanced pickets were cut down ; all was hurry, shout, and bustle.
The trenches were filled with a large party of Arabs, engaged in a close contest with our
men, who were speared and stabbed in a twinkling. Already the Arabs had succeeded
in dragging away a howitzer in triumph. The alarm spread like wildfire through the
trenches. A party of the 65th Foot, under Major Warren, instantly advanced in double-
quick time, attacked the assailants, drove them out of the trenches, and re-captured the
howitzer. A desperate conflict ensued ; the Arabs fought like furies, but they were
soon bayonetted. They had divested themselves of their upper garments to facilitate their
onset ; and, if we mistake not, their bodies were anointed with oil. It being found that
our 12 and 18-pounders produced but a slight impression on the walls and towers, it was
resolved that 24-pounders should be erected as a breaching battery. Two were accord
ingly landed with considerable exertion from the Liverpool, and had to be dragged a long
way through heavy, deep sand. The battery was erected nearer the town, and a party of
seamen and marines, under the command of Lieutenant Mills, was landed to work the
guns. The 24-pounders opened on the 8th with marked effect, and the walls and towers

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 241
appeared to crumble under the force of the shot. The cannonade was recommenced at an
early hour the next morning, and when the breach was reported practicable, the neces
sary arrangements were made to assault the works. But the enemy did not wait to be
attacked, but evacuated the town." Hassan Bin Eahma, chief of Eas-ul-Khymah, sur
rendered with nearly one thousand followers, his loss in action being estimated at the
same figure by the British general. About eighty vessels, varying in size from two
hundred and fifty to forty tons, were captured.
The only other service of importance was the siege of the hill fort of Zayah, situated
at the head of a creek about two miles from the coast. In this a detachment of sailors
took part, and worked two 24-pounders, which were placed in battery with other guns.
The fort was breached, when the garrison surrendered. The British loss was only four
killed and 16 wounded. Major Warren of the 65th, commanding on this occasion, paid
a tribute to the zeal of the officers and men of the Naval detachment, which enabled
them to " overcome the difficulties attending the landing of the supplies and stores,
particularly the guns, which, after being brought up a narrow, intricate, and shallow
creek, a distance of upwards of three miles, had to be dragged through a muddy swamp,
and afterwards over a considerable space of rocky and intersected ground, before they
could be placed in the batteries." The commander of the expedition in his field orders
to the army, dated Eas-ul-Khymah, 25th December, 1819, says of the services of the
sister service : — " The Major-general feels at a loss to express in adequate terms his
obligations to the Navy, but the value of their services will be estimated when he declares
that the enterprise must have failed without their assistance." The column, after destroy
ing the fortifications, returned to the camp before Eas-ul-Khymah on the 26th December.
The squadron now visited all the Joasmi ports on the coast, destroying their dhows
and blowing up the forts, but on the 8th January, 1820, the chiefs came to terms,
and a treaty of peace was signed, by which they agreed to abandon piracy for ever,
a promise, notwithstanding occasional isolated outbursts, they have loyally carried out.
Scarcely was this matter settled than trouble arose with the Beni-Boo-Ali tribe of
Arabs, whose habitat is near Eas-ul-Had. A detachment of native infantry, sent from
the Persian Gulf, was overpowered by the Arabs, who adopted the tactics the Soudanese
put in practice in 1884-85, and fell upon the troops, sword in hand, breaking their
ranks. No less than 270 men were slain, together with six out of the eight British
officers engaged, and had it not been for the entrenched camp * to which the remnant
fled, all would have been slaughtered. On the 11th January, 1821, an expedition,

242 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
consisting of 4,676 soldiers, and four of the Hon. Company's cruisers, sailed for
Sohar, where the troops were disembarked. Accompanied by a detachment of seamen,
the army marched for the interior, and after repulsing a night attack, in which
17 officers and men were killed and 26 wounded, they inflicted a crushing defeat on
the brave Arabs, who again tried with desperate bravery to break through the
ranks. Of less than 1,000 warriors engaged, 500 were left on the field, and
236 were made prisoners, of whom 96 were wounded. The right brigade, on which
the main attack was made, lost 29 killed and 173 wounded, but the success
was decisive. The settlement was destroyed, even the date groves being cut down
and the water courses turned away; and then the expedition returned to Bombay,
having turned a smiling oasis into a desert. Two years afterwards, Mr. Mountstuart
Elphinstone, the great and humane Governor of Bombay, sent back to their country
the remainder of the Beni-Boo-Ali tribe, who had little cause to bless the British,
as the demand made in the first instance for the surrender of their arms was un
justifiable and such as a proud race like the Arabs would never concede.
The British Navy was frequently engaged in the Eastern seas in assisting to
extend the limits of the Empire. Though the army, from the nature of things, had
the chief part in conquering our great Indian dependency beyond the boundary of
Hindostan, the Navy afforded valuable aid.* The forts of Mocha, in 1817 and 1821,
were attacked and reduced by a combined squadron of Eoyal and Indian ships, and
the important fortress of Aden, " the Gibraltar of the East," was captured by them after
a sharp action, in 1840, the same year that Kurrachee surrendered, almost without resist
ance. More important from a military point of view were the operations against Burmah
in 1824-26, the first of three wars we waged with that country. The result of the first
was the acquisition of the provinces of Assam, Arracan, and Tenasserim, of the second,
the conquest of Begu, and of the third, the annexation of the whole of Upper Burmah,
so that the great kingdom of Alompra, extending to the confines of China and Siam,
has been added to the vast Empire ruled by the Queen of England and Empress of India.
The naval portion of the expedition to Burmah, in 1824, consisted of the Liffey,
Commodore Grant, and the sloops Slaney, Lame, and Sophie, Commanders Mitchell,
Marryat (the famous novelist), and Ey ves. There were, in addition, four cruisers of the
Indian Navy, under Captain Hardy of the Hastings, eighteen brigs and schooners, and
* A detailed account of the operations against the maritime tribes in the Persian Gulf, at Mocha, Aden, and
elsewhere in the East, may be found in the author's " History of the Indian Navy" (2 vols., Bentley & Son).

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 243
other small craft, each armed with two carronades and four swivels, and twenty row-
boats, lugger-rigged, each carrying an 1 8-pound er, about forty sail of transports, and
finally the Diana, steam-vessel, the first used for war purposes propelled by this
newly applied agency.
Bangoon was captured on the 11th May by the squadron, led by the Liffey, only a
few rounds being exchanged between her and a 14-gun battery. The enemy were then
driven out of Kemmendine, three miles above Eangoon, and some stockades higher up the
Irrawaddy were also taken. The Burmese were constant in their attacks on the position
at Eangoon, which were repulsed with loss. But the ships-of-war were in great danger
from the fire-rafts sent down the river. In order to minimize the danger, Kemmendine
was permanently occupied, when some severe fighting ensued. The enemy made strenuous
efforts to retake the stockades, but the zeal of the officers and seamen rendered abortive
all their attempts.
Commodore Grant was compelled from severe sickness to leave Eangoon a few weeks
after his arrival, and died in July, when Marryat assumed temporary command,
but he also suffered much, as did the crews of the ships, to such an extent that they were
almost non-effective. On the 15th September, Captain Henry Ducie Chads, the same gallant
officer who had taken the Java out of action after the death of Captain Lambert, arrived
at Eangoon from Madras in the Arachne, 18, and took command of the squadron as senior
naval officer. At the capture of Kemmerut and Cheduba Island, and in the operations
at Syriam and at Dalla, on the opposite side of the river to Eangoon, the sailors of both
Eoyal and Indian Navies performed good service. Gun-boats also took part in the capture
of Tavoy and Mergui in Tenasserim, and at Dalla, the Kitty, gun-boat, under the com
mand of Mr. Crawford, of the Hon. Company's service, repulsed with great gallantry an
attack of the enemy until the boats of the Lame came to her assistance. The Navy par
ticipated in the attack on Tantabain and on the city of Martaban, under Colonel God
win, of the 41st Eegiment, who afterwards commanded in the Burmese war of 1852-3 ;
and in all the numerous attacks on Eangoon and Kemmendine by the enemy, under the
energetic Bundoola, they materially assisted their brethren on shore and were also
engaged in towing clear the numerous fire-rafts launched upstream.* The attacks of
the enemy recommenced on the 13th December, and Lieutenant Kellett was sent up the
* A full account of the part taken by the Navy in the operations in Burmah will be found in the pages of the
historian, Marshall, but though arduous and most praiseworthy, they were not of a sufficiently important character to
demand a detailed description.

244 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Lyne branch of the Eangoon river, where he took thirty of the enemy's war-boats and
destroyed many more. During this expedition, excellent service was rendered by Lieu
tenants Goldfinch, of the Sophie, and Collinson, commanding the Hon. Company's cruiser
Prince of Wales. After his great defeat on the 18th December, Bundoola returned to
Donabew and made no further offensive movement, and on the 13th February, 1825,
Sir Archibald Campbell began his adventurous march on the capital, distant some 600
miles, which was made by the river, as the army was destitute of carriage. The troops
were organised in two divisions, one under his own command — with a column detached
to Bassein, under Colonel Godwin, with the Lame and Company's cruiser Mercury
acting in co-operation — and the second, under General Willoughby Cotton, numbering 800
Europeans, 250 Sepoys, and 108 artillerymen, embarked in the flotilla, of which Captain
Alexander, of the Alligator, now senior naval officer, assumed command. This flotilla
consisted of two mortar-boats, six gun- vessels, thirty armed row-boats, about sixty launches,
flats and canoes, and all the boats of the men-of-war remaining at Eangoon, together
with the Diana and Satellite. General Cotton and Captain Alexander, after capturing
the stockade at Panlang, were repulsed on the 7th March at Donabew, when the Com
mander-in-chief returned to their aid, and the place was captured on the 2nd April, the
flotilla acting in co-operation by cannonading the stockade. The death of Bundoola, who
had been killed on the previous night by a shell, quite disheartened his followers. Prome
was taken possession of without resistance on the 25th April, and here the combined
force remained during the monsoon until the following September. A chain of posts was
formed between Eangoon and Prome by the gun-boats, placed at equal distances, by
which means, says Marshall, " provisions were forwarded to form a depot at that station
for the ensuing campaign." The Burmese professed themselves anxious to negotiate for
terms of peace. Accordingly Sir Archibald Campbell and Commodore Sir James
Brisbane, who had arrived from Eangoon, held a conference with a minister of high
rank, but the Court of Ava would not consent to surrender territory, and on the
15th November hostilities were resumed. At this time the Navy sustained a loss
in the death of Captain Alexander, and soon after Captain Dawson, of the Arachne,
died of disease.
On the 1st December the British army took the offensive, and while Commodore
Brisbane cannonaded the enemy's centre on the heights of Napadee, the General made an
attack in the direction of Simbike. The Burmese were driven from their positions on
that and the following day with slaughter. Pushing up the river, on the 17th, the

LANDING ORDER.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 245
expedition arrived before Meaday, which was reconnoitred by Captain Chads, and
evacuated by the enemy after a slight resistance. The army, continuing its march on
Melloun, carried the place by assault with the loss of only nine killed and 35 wounded.
The fall of this stronghold even failed to convince the King of Ava of the fruitlessness of
resistance, but on the 9th February the defeat of his choicest troops at Pagahm Mew
opened his eyes, and at length, with the small English army within 45 miles of his
capital, he consented to conclude a humiliating peace, which involved the cession of
territory and the payment of twenty-five lacs of rupees, or over a quarter of a million
sterling. Sir James Brisbane had, before this, been compelled by sickness to retire to
the coast, and he died on the 19th December following. The Navy received the thanks
of the Houses of Parliament for their services, and Captains Chads, Marryat, and By ves
were awarded the C.B., while every lieutenant and passed midshipman employed in the
expedition was promoted.
The same year that witnessed the fall of Acre (1840), saw us embarked in the first of
our wars with the Empire of China. Ever since the abrogation of the East India Com
pany's Charter in 1833, by which the trade of China was thrown open to all merchants,
and the mission of Lord Napier to Canton in the following year to regulate the trade,
there had been constant friction with the officials of the Celestial Empire in the southern
capital. These treated Lord Napier with insolence, and even fired on the British frigates
Imogene, Captain Blackland, and Andromache, Captain Chads, from the batteries on the
islands of Chuenpee and Tycocktoo. As their guns did no injury the squadron continued
its course to Whampoa, without firing a shot, but the Bogue forts and the Tiger
battery in the Bocca Tigris opened a more destructive fire, to which the frigates replied
with effect. This lesson brought the authorities at Canton to their senses, and they
acceded to our demands, including the opening of trade. Lord Napier died a few days
after this success, and his successor, Captain Elliott, was too credulous and pliant to
receive the respect of the arrogant mandarins. Bresuming on the supposed weakness of
the British squadron, consisting in November, 1839, of only the Volage, 28, Captain
Smith, and Hyacinth, 18, Commander Warren, a Chinese flotilla of war-junks and fire
ships moved down to Lankeet, a few miles below Chuenpee, where they lay to attack
them. Captain Smith at once took the offensive, and speedily routed the flotilla, sink
ing one junk and blowing up three others. In the following June Sir Gordon Bremer
in the Wellesley, 74, arrived in the Canton river, and leaving a few ships to blockade that
port, sailed for the Chusan group of islands, with a squadron of four sailing ships and
VOL. III. K K

246 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
the Atalanta and Queen, steam-sloops of the Indian Navy, with four transports, having
on board some troops.
The Chinese authorities were so confident in the ability of their fortifications and
fleet of war-junks to repel the British squadron, that they would listen to no terms,
and on the 5th July the troops were landed and advanced against the town, on
the chief island of the group, while the ships opened a heavy cannonade. The Chinese
soldiers soon abandoned their works, and the town and whole island were surrendered.
A few days before, the island of Amoy, between Chusan and the mainland, submitted
to Captain Bourchier, of the Blonde, 44, after the loss of much time in negotiations for
peace, for which the Chinese had no real desire. Sir Gordon Bremer, in January, 1841,
attacked the forts at Chuenpee and Tycocktoo, which were silenced by the fire of the
fleet, and then stormed by the troops and a brigade of seamen. This so intimidated
the Chinese that the Bogue Forts struck their colours, without firing a shot, and
Keshen, a high mandarin sent from Bekin, signed a preliminary treaty, restoring
the trade, agreeing to the payment of an indemnity, and ceding the island of Hong
Kong. The last stipulation was carried into effect, but the treaty was a mere blind,
and when the armed steamer Nemesis proceeded up the river she was fired upon by
the Bogue Forts, which had been strengthened to bar the passage of the fleet.
The British commodore thereupon sailed with a powerful squadron, and on the
25th of February attacked these formidable batteries, mounting 172 guns, which were
situated on the island of Anunghoy, and 167 on the island of North Wantung. A
battery was constructed on the South Wantung and opened fire on the enemy, while Sir
Henry Senhouse, with the Blenheim, Melville, Queen, and four rocket-boats, attacked
Anunghoy, and the commodore, North Wantung. Having silenced the batteries by
the fire of the ships, the soldiers and marines were landed and stormed the works
with a loss to the Chinese of 2,500 prisoners and 500 killed, that of the British being
almost nominal. Following up this success, a battery and a fleet of forty war-junks,
off Whampoa, were attacked and captured by Captain Herbert, with the frigates
and smaller vessels. Sir Gordon Bremer prosecuted his operations with vigour and
success, and sent up a channel, about two miles above Canton, Captains Scott and
Herbert, with the steamers Nemesis and Madagascar, the Modeste and some armed boats.
The passage was forced, the Chinese were shelled and driven out of five forts, and nine
war-junks were boarded by the boats and destroyed, when both officers, who had pro
ceeded by different passages, rejoined the commodore with small loss.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 247
Sir Hugh Gough had now arrived with reinforcements of troops and assumed com
mand. As it was resolved to occupy Canton, in order to bring the Emperor of
China to his senses, in May, the fleet, with the transports, having on board 2,000
soldiers, approached the city, and while Captain Herbert directed the operations on
the river, the troops and naval brigade were landed and stormed the forts, and forced
their way to the gates, when the garrison sued for peace. Canton was ransomed by
the payment of six millions of dollars, and the fleet returned to the mouth of the
river. But still the Central Government at Bekin remained obstinate. On the 9th
August, 1841, the Hon. Company's steamer Sesostris, 68 days from England* (an un
heard-of passage in those days) arrived at Hong Kong, with Sir Henry Pottinger, who
assumed control of political affairs, and a new Commander-in-Chief in Eear- Admiral
Sir William Parker, one of Nelson's favourite frigate captains, who commanded the
Amazon when she took the Belle Poule.
The first operation undertaken by Admiral Parker was an attack on Amoy, the
fortifications of which had been greatly strengthened since its first capture. He sailed
with the seventy-fours Blenheim and Wellesley, two 44-gun frigates, the Hon. Com
pany's steam-sloops Phlegethon and Nemesis, and steam-frigates Queen and Sesostris, and
six smaller vessels, having on board 2,000 soldiers. On the arrival of the expedition
before the city on the 25th August, the action was commenced by the Queen and SesostiHs,
which opened fire with their heavy guns, while the other ships, anchoring by the stern,
took up their appointed stations. At the end of an hour the Chinese fire slackened, and
Sir Hugh Gough landed at the head of his troops, who carried the works. The admiral
also sent ashore a strong party of seamen and marines, who captured the batteries
on the sea-face. Meanwhile the defences on the island of Kalungsoo, on the western
side of the harbour, were attacked by the frigates under Captain Bourchier, and on their
fire being silenced, marines and troops were landed and took possession of the island.
The next step was the re-occupation of the Chusan group of islands. The fleet, with
some troops, arrived before the town of Chusan on the 1st of October, but only the
Nemesis, Queen and Modeste could take up a position sufficiently near the enemy's bat
teries to attack and silence them. The troops and a naval brigade, under Captain
Herbert, were landed and the British flag soon floated over Chusan. The expedition
then proceeded to attack the town of Chinhae, on the mainland. The Sesostris, Com
mander Ormsby, towed the line-of-battle ships to their respective berths, and their
* See " Life oi Admiral Sir William Parker," by Admiral Phillimore.
k k2

248 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
fire speedily silenced the great fort and the sea defences, when the troops and seamen
were landed, captured the fort, and descending, drove the Chinese gunners from their
batteries, and scaled the walls of the city * Ningpo, fifteen miles higher up the river,
was surrendered without resistance. In all these operations the steamers were chiefly
engaged, and great praise was due to Commander (the late Admiral Sir Eichard)
Collinson for piloting the ships up these hitherto unknown Chinese rivers.
Emboldened by the inactivity of the military and naval commanders, the enemy
marched against Chinhae and Ningpo, and sent fire-rafts to destroy the ships, but
their troops were routed with great slaughter, and the fire-ships were towed to the bank
where they exploded or burnt without doing any damage. Taking the offensive again,
Sir Hugh Gough, with 850 troops and 400 seamen, under Captain Bourchier, marched
inland, and after some sharp fighting, inflicted a severe defeat on the enemy. The
Chinese, however, displayed considerable enterprise, and again tried to destroy the
squadron at Chusan with fire-ships, but the attempt ended in failure. It was now
resolved to ascend the great Yang-tse-Kiang and attack Nankin, with the object of
bringing the Imperial Government to terms. First Chapoo, situated on the same
great bay as Chinhae, was taken, after the usual combined attack by the troops and
seamen, and then the fleet sailed for the entrance of the mighty river forming one of
the chief arteries of the Celestial Empire. The long line of batteries at the mouth was
first cannonaded and silenced by the ships, when the seamen and troops were landed,
and took possession of the works and also of Shanghai, now the great emporium
of European trade in China. The expedition, consisting of seventy-three men-of-war
and transports, with a strong body of troops, sailed from Woosung on the 6th of
July, and on the 21st the great city of Chin-Kiang-foo was taken by assault by the
troops, assisted by a naval brigade. The task of ascending 170 miles up an un
known river was one of great difficulty, but it was successfully surmounted. The
admiral says that, "it is with renewed pleasure that he again reports the zeal and
gallantry evinced by every officer and man of the Eoyal and Indian Navy and the Eoyal
Marines under his command, which has been equally manifested in bringing the fleet
up this river, as in subsequent operations on shore." The expedition thence proceeded
to Nankin, but it was a relief to all when a repetition of the sanguinary scenes at Chin-
Kiang-foo was averted by the submission of the Emperor of China and his advisers,
* A full report of the operations is found in " Sir William Parker's Life," in a letter he addressed to Lord
Auckland, Governor-General of India, dated 11th of October, 1841.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 249
who had at length taken to heart the lessons of a long and sad experience. Com
missioners from Pekin arrived to sue for peace, and a treaty was signed on the 29th
August on board the flag-ship Cornwallis, by which twenty-one millions of dollars were
to be paid towards the expenses of the war, and the ports of Canton, Ningpo, Amoy,
Shanghai and Foochow were opened to British trade.
Though the Chinese Government was reduced to reason, much trouble was caused
in the East, on the seaboard of that empire, as well as in the Malay Archipelago, in
Borneo and its neighbouring waters, by the pirates, who had carried on depredations
unchecked from time immemorial. In 1843, our countryman, the late Sir James
Brooke, was recognised by the Sultan of Borneo as Eajah of Sarawak, on the west
coast of the island, and to assist him in extirpating piracy, Sir William Parker, on
the conclusion of the war, sent Captain Henry Keppel in the Dido. This officer
was a worthy coadjutor of Eajah Brooke, and their names are now famous as " house
hold words " throughout further Asia for the enterprise they displayed, and the success
which rewarded their exertions.
In June, 1843, 80 men from the Dido, with about 300 native auxiliaries, under
Eajah Brooke, ascended the Eiver Sarebas, and by simple audacity our sailors carried
all before them, and the pirates agreed to the terms dictated by the two British
commanders. Eeturning down the same river, the expedition beat up the Dyak
pirates in their other strongholds.
Captain Keppel now proceeded to China, but in the following year returned with
the Hon. Company's steamer Phlegethon, and an attack was made on the Sikarran
pirates, a more numerous and powerful tribe than those of Sarebas. Proceeding up
the Batang Lupan river, with the boats of the Dido and Phlegethon, on the 7th August,
the expedition arrived off their chief town, and the sailors, landing as before,
regardless of numbers, captured the stockades. Thence Captain Keppel pulled up the
streams Undop and Sikarran, and beat the pirates in detail. But not without loss, as
at the former, Lieutenant Wade, first of the Dido, was killed, and at the attack on
Karangan, on the Sikarran river, where the enemy mustered in overwhelming force,
they cut off a party of 30 men of our allies, all of whom, with an English volunteer,
were slain, fighting desperately.
In the year 1845, Sir Thomas Cochrane, now Commander-in-Chief in India, sent
Captain Talbot, with twenty-seven boats, containing 350 seamen and marines, to attack
the pirates up the Songibasar river, in the northern part of the island, near Labuan. The

250 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
expedition was completely successful, and the pirates were defeated with great loss, all
their fortifications and vessels being destroyed. In achieving this success, Captain
Talbot's loss was 21 killed and wounded. In the following year Sir Thomas Cochrane
in person conducted an expedition, numbering 600 seamen and marines, against
the Sultan of Brune. On the way up the river, they found, at a place called Bulo
Bungore, five batteries, which were stormed in succession. On arriving at Brune,
the Phlegethon opened fire on a battery of 10 heavy guns, with such effect that
the enemy deserted the works.
Every year active operations were undertaken against the pirates infesting these seas,
and the Encounter, Rattler, and Bittern, under Captains O'CaEaghan, Fellowes, and
Vansittart, who fell at the attack on the Peiho forts, rendered good service in assisting to
destroy these pests of the sea. Lieutenant Wildman, in the gunboat Staunch, gained his
promotion for an act of signal gallantry on the China coast in 1858, and the same year
Commander Cresswell, in the Surprise, near Hong Kong, either destroyed or captured
a flotilla of twenty-six pirate vessels after a spirited action, and Captain Vansittart,
with the Magicienne, Inflexible, and gun-boats Plover and Algerine, had great success in
rooting out piracy along the seaboard to the westward of that port.
In 1852 broke out the second of our Burmese wars, which resulted in the
annexation of Begu. The Indian Government despatched an army of 5,760 men,
under the command of General Godwin, an officer who had served with distinction
in the war twenty-six years before, and a fleet of Eoyal and Indian Navy ships
acted in conjunction. The former, under Eear-Admiral Austen, consisted of the
Fox, 40, Rattler, Serpent, Hermes, and Salamander, and the latter of a fine squadron
of steam-frigates of the Indian Navy, under Commodore Lynch, and some armed
steamships of the Bengal Marine. Martaban was taken on the 5th April after a
brief bombardment, but the Burmese offered a determined resistance at Eangoon,
where the Hon. Company's steam-frigates, Feroze, Moozuffer, and Sesostris — which had
taken part in the China War in 1842 — as well as the Fox and Rattler, silenced the
guns and captured the stockades. This was on the 11th and 12th April, and on the
following day the Feroze, Moozuffer, H.M. brig Serpent, and the Phlegethon steamship,
engaged the stockade at Kemmendine, after which a party from the ships landed and
burnt it.
The chief military achievement was the storming on the 14th April of the great
Shoe Dagon Pagoda, a vast temple, strongly fortified and defended by several thousand

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 251
men. A detachment of seamen assisted on shore, and the fall of what was practically
the citadel of Eangoon put an end to all further resistance. The ships co-operated in
the attack by their shell fire, and Commander Campbell, of the Sesostris, fired red-hot
shot from his 68-pounders, and blew up the magazine in a stockade, as detailed in a
letter to the Times of the 1st June, 1852. Admiral Austen now surrendered the
command to Commodore Lambert, and returned to Calcutta.
General Godwin, embarking with 800 men in the Moozuffer and Sesostris, and the
steamships Pluto and Tenasserim, accompanied by Commodore Lambert, sailed to make
an attack on Bassein, an important town held by about 6,000 Burmese troops. On the
20th May the ships opened fire on the works, consisting, says the commodore, " of a
very extensive fort, a long line of stockades, and a strong work round the Pagoda,"
and on the opposite, or right bank, of the Bassein river was a large and strong
stockade. These works were silenced by the fire of the steam frigates, under
Commander Campbell, I.N., and while the troops stormed the enemy's works, a
strong detachment of seamen took the stockade on the right bank. Commodore
Lambert thanked Commanders Campbell and Hewett "for the skill and ability with
which they brought their ships up a river imperfectly surveyed for more than 60
miles ; " and to the officers and men he expressed his thanks "for their steady, gallant,
and cheerful conduct." Fifty-four guns, besides 32 jingalls, were captured at Bassein,
and the Governor- General issued a special notification of thanks to the troops and
seamen engaged.
Some fighting took place at Martaban, which was held by our troops, but the enemy
were driven off with great loss, to which the fire of the Feroze contributed. In June,
an expedition, consisting of troops and ships' boats, under Commander Tarleton, of the
Fox, proceeded to Pegu, which was captured, and in July the same officer embarked in
the Hon. Company's steamship Medusa, Lieutenant Fraser, with three other steamers
and some boats from the Fox, and made his way up the river to Prome, where 28
guns were captured. In this affair, Acting-Lieutenant Hunter, I.N., of the Medusa,
lost an arm, and Commander Tarleton spoke in high terms of the zeal and attention
shown by all in their duties. Tarleton received promotion for his services, and Com
mander Shadwell was appointed to the command of the Irrawaddy flotilla.
On the arrival of large military reinforcements, General Godwin and Commodore
Lambert proceeded up the river to Prome with a strong combined force, including the
Sesostris and Medusa, with the steam-vessels and nine boats from the ships. This impor-

252 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
tant Burmese town was taken, after some fighting, in which the gallant commander
of the Sesostris received special commendation from the commodore. This ship and the
Medusa remained to assist in the defence of Prome, and were engaged in repelling the
repeated attempts made by the enemy to retake the place. The Winchester now arrived
at Eangoon, and Captain Loch, C.B., in conjunction with Sir John Cheape, commanding
at Prome, undertook active operations against the enemy, with the boats of his ship and
of the two steam-frigates, among those engaged at this time under his orders being
Commander Beauchamp Seymour, since so well known as Lord Alcester.
In March, Pegu, which had been evacuated, was re-occupied by us, but the enemy
made great efforts to retake the town, and in the operations which ensued, the boats
of the Fox, Sphinx, and Moozuffer, under Commander Shadwell, suffered a loss of over
30 killed and wounded. General Godwin proceeded to relieve the place, attacked on all
sides by the Burmese, and was assisted by Captain Tarleton with the boats of the
squadron, and a strong detachment of seamen and marines serving on shore. The
fighting round Pegu at this time was very severe, and the Navy received great com
mendation from the General for the assistance afforded on the river with the convoy,
and in transporting the field -pieces " a distance of eight or nine miles through a difficult
country under an ardent sun."
In May, 1853, General Steel set out for Tonghoo from Martaban, which received
sufficient protection throughout these months from the guns of the Feroze. Her first
Lieutenant, Hellard, afforded the General material assistance by forcing his way up the
Sittang with three boats from his ship, which escorted a convoy of craft laden with pro
visions for the military force. The Governor- General specially thanked this officer for
the important service rendered on this occasion.
Myatoon, the notorious Burmese dacoit (or patriot, as his countrymen regarded
him), made himself very obnoxious by burning Donabew and other villages, and by his
active hostility against the British. In December, 1852, Commodore Hewett, of the
Moozuffer, with the boats of his ship and of the Fox, surprised 3,000 of Myatoon's men, and
killed a large number of them, but a second attack, made in the following January,
by the boats of the Fox, Moozuffer, and Zenobia, under Commander Lambert of the
flagship, was not equally successful, and the boats were forced to retire with the loss
of 12 men, including Lieutenant Michison, of the Zenobia, who lost a leg. Myatoon
now took up a strong position at Donabew, and, on the 4th February, Captain Loch
proceeded to dislodge him with 225 seamen and marines from the Fox, Sphinx, and

HER MAJESTY S NAVY. 253
Winchester, 300 Sepoys of the 67th Bengal N.I., under Major Minchin, and two
three-pounders from the Phlegethon. Captain Loch was an officer of dash and enterprise,
but he was out of his element in jungle warfare. The first intimation he had of
the position of the enemy was a heavy and destructive fire, and in a vain but gallant
effort to get at close quarters with the unseen foe, he was killed, as well as Lieutenant
Kennedy, first of the Fox, and Captain Price, of the 67th, and 80 men were placed
hors de combat. The column retreated, leaving behind the two field-pieces, and the
disaster necessitated the dispatch of a second expedition under the command of Sir
John Cheape. This was completely successful, after some severe fighting in which
Lord Wolseley, then a subaltern in the 80 th Eegiment, first brought himself into notice
by heading two storming parties in one day. Acting in co-operation with the main
column was Commander Eennie, I.N., of the Zenobia, with 80 seamen. This officer,
who had served in the China War as First Lieutenant of the Sesostris, and had done
good service in the preceding January near Bassein, engaged and routed with
much loss 800 Burmese regular soldiers. The dispersion of Myatoon's followers was
the last important service of the Burmese War, but the army of occupation and
the Indian Navy ships and flotilla had much harassing work dealing with dacoits
and reducing the newly acquired province of Pegu to subjection. The Burmese,
though of little account in regular warfare, are adepts at dacoiting on a large
scale, as we have found to our cost in the recent conquest and annexation of Upper
Burmah. In another quarter of the globe, a few years before, the prowess of our seamen
received a conspicuous illustration. Eosas, the dictator of Buenos Ayres, closed the
Parana river to commerce, and a British and French squadron, the former under
Captain Hotham, undertook to free the navigation. Shortly before Garibaldi, who
afterwards attained a world-wide reputation, under protection of the British
admiral, had made his way up the Uruguay river as far as Paysandu, but the
freeing of the Parana river was known to be a far more difficult task, as Eosas had
established strong batteries at Obligado, about 100 miles from its entrance. In
November, 1845, this was attempted by the combined English and French squadrons,
the former consisting of the steamers Gorgon, Firebrand, and Fulton, and sailing vessels
Philomel, Comus, and Dolphin, with the tender Fairy. Captain Hotham commanded, and
the squadron was piloted by Commander Sulivan, in the surveying vessel Philomel, who
later did such conspicuous service in the same capacity in the Baltic, during the
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254 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Eussian War. This officer examined the batteries on the right bank of the river,
here about 800 yards wide, which were found to mount 22 heavy guns. There was
also a barrier of twenty-four boats, moored across the stream, with gun-boats to
protect them, and eight field-pieces were posted in the rear of the batteries. The
sailing vessels of both squadrons commenced the attack, the steamers being held in
reserve, and gallantly they engaged the batteries for two hours, the Philomel and
Dolphin being conspicuous on the English side, and the San Martin on the French.
At length Captain Hope, of the Firebrand — the same officer who displayed such
heroism at the attack on the Peiho forts — dashed forward, and under a hot fire,
severed the iron chains holding together the barrier, when the three steamers
passed through and engaged the batteries, while below, the English Comus and a
French gun-boat continued the action at close range. The enemy's fire being almost
silenced, at 5 o'clock Captains Hotham and Sulivan landed at the head of 300 seamen
and marines, and stormed the upper fort, while Commander Hope drove the enemy
out of the wood. The other batteries were also carried, the British loss being 33 killed
and wounded and that of the French rather more.
Pushing up the river Parana to Corrientes, 800 miles from its mouth, Captain
Hotham negotiated with the chiefs, but Eosas was exasperated with his defeat, and on
the return of the allied squadron, they found their way barred by strong batteries at San
Lorenzo. A smart action took place on the 4th June, but the fire of the Gorgon,
Firebrand, Fulton, and the French Gassendi enabled the convoy of twenty sail they were
escorting, to run the gauntlet with slight loss. This concluded the operations in this
quarter of the globe, which, as regards their success and daring, reflected great credit on
all the officers and men engaged.
A chapter, and a long and honourable one, might be written on the services of
the British Navy in the suppression of slavery, a duty distasteful to officers and men
from the nature of the climate on the West Coast of Africa, and the small opportunities
afforded for earning distinction. Occasionally the slavers showed fight, as in 1830,
when the Primrose, 16, Commander Broughton, engaged the Veloz Passagera, of 20 guns
and a crew of 150 desperadoes of all nations, bound from the Guinecj coast to Havannah.
The slaver resisted the demand to search her, and an action was fought at pistol-shot
range, which was terminated by Captain Broughton running alongside the ship, and
boarding her at the head of his men. A severe hand-to-hand combat ensued, but the
slaver was captured, with the loss of 46 of her crew killed, the cruiser losing

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. . 255
three killed and 12 wounded, including her gallant commander. On this occasion
550 slaves were released.
Not long after, an equally meritorious capture was made by the Black Joke, Lieutenant
Eamsay, mounting a pivot 68-pounder and a carronade, with a crew of 44 men and boys.
Her opponent was a notorious slaver, carrying five 18-pounders and 77 men. The
Marinerito, as she was called, was brought to action off the old Calabar river, after a
long chase and pull at the sweeps, during which the slaver kept up a running fire,
when Lieutenant Eamsay ran alongside and brought matters to a crisis by boarding at
the head of his brave fellows. Owing to the shock when the ships came into collision, the
Black Joke rebounded, leaving the gallant officer on the slaver's deck with only 10 men
at his back, but the cruiser was speedily pulled alongside again, and almost every man of
her crew jumped on board the Marinerito, which was carried after a severe struggle,
in which Eamsay was wounded, together with eight of his men, the slaver losing 15
killed alone. Her living cargo of nearly 500 slaves was landed at Fernando Bo,
and the gallant lieutenant received well-earned promotion.
But to make the steps for the extirpation of the slave trade really effective it was
necessary to destroy the barracoons, or fortified slave depots ashore. The first to adopt
this step was Commander the Hon. J. Denman, at that time senior naval officer
on the West Coast of Africa. With this view he made treaties with the native chiefs
on the Guinea coast, and destroyed their depots, a precedent that was followed by his
successors. In January, 1851, the squadron made an attempt on Lagos, then held by
one Kosoko, who had expelled the legitimate ruler, and some severe fighting took place,
in which a midshipman and many men were killed when attempting to land in face of a
heavy fire from the stockade. Captain Lyster was more successful, and stormed a
battery, and on the following day Kosoko fled and Lagos was taken possession of and
ultimately became a British colony. In effecting this service, our loss was 17 killed and
over 70 wounded, including Captain Lyster and Commander Hillyer. Since that period
small expeditions have constantly proceeded up the rivers and creeks of the Bight of
Benin and West Coast generally, to keep the peace or punish aggression among the
" kings," as the petty chiefs delight to call themselves. On the Zanzibar coast of Africa,
the cruisers of the Indian Navy, until the abolition of that service in 1863, and the ships-
of-war of the British Navy, both before and since, have been engaged in noble and
self-denying efforts to eradicate this great evil, against which our common humanity
cries out. l l 2

256 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
In another quarter of the globe, during the war with Bersia in 1856-57, important
services were rendered by our seamen in bringing the enemy to terms. In this case the
Indian Navy were engaged without any aid from their royal brethren, and there
fore we will only briefly mention two of the most striking events of the war in
which they had the chief part. After occupying the island of Kharrack in the
Persian Gulf, and disembarking the army at Hallilah Bay, near Bushire, the Indian
Navy squadron bombarded Bushire, which surrendered on the 10th December. Sir
James Outram, on his arrival to assume command of the expedition, advanced from
Bushire as far as Boorazgoon, 46 miles into the interior, and on his return march fought
an action at Kooshaub, where he totally defeated a superior Bersian force. With 5,000
men the gallant general then sailed up the Shatt-ul- Arab, as the river is called into which
flow the waters of the classic Tigris and Euphrates, and the Indian Navy squadron
engaged the earthworks at Mohamrah, near the confluence of these rivers. The de
fences were of very great strength, being 20 feet thick and 18 feet hign, with casemated
embrasures, mounted with heavy guns, and were held by a Persian army of 13,000 men,
with 30 guns. The attack by the Indian Navy squadron of four steam-frigates, one
steam-sloop and two sailing sloops-of-war, under Commodore Young, -vas made on the
26th March, 1857, first at a range of 800 yards and then of 300. Afte* +he fire had con
tinued for more than an hour, the Feroze, Commander Eennie, flying the commodore's
broad pennant, and Assaye, Commander Adams, took up a position within 60 yards of
the great north fort, while the other ships lay in line astern. At the end of three hours
the north fort blew up, and gradually the enemy's fire slackened. At 1 o'clock, the works
being silenced, the steam transports moved up and landed the troops a mile above the
earthworks, and while Lieutenant Clarkson, first of the Assaye, landed and took pos
session of the north fort, General Havelock, advancing through the date groves, entered
the entrenched camp, whence the enemy fled, leaving behind 16 guns and an enormous
quantity of ammunition and stores. As that great soldier, who was soon to earn death
less renown in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, remarked in a letter to his wife :
— " The gentlemen in blue had it all to themselves, and left us naught to do." The
loss in the squadron was only 10 killed and 30 wounded, a result attributable to
the enemy's guns being elevated for a much greater range than that at which
the forts actually engaged, and to the wise prevision of Commander Eennie in
placmg round the ships' hulls trusses of pressed hay, which, at the termination
of the action, were found to be full of bullets. The same officer conducted a

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 257
successful expedition up the river Karoon to the town of Ahwaz, situated about 100
miles up that stream. The naval portion consisted of three armed steamers, with three
gun-boats and some ships' boats, and the military, of 300 men from the 64th Eegiment
and 78th Highlanders under Captain Hunt. On arriving near Ahwaz the troops were
landed, and advancing under cover of the fire of the flotilla, captured the town, from which
a Persian force of 7,000 men, with six guns, precipitately retreated. The conclusion of
peace at Paris, on the 4th March, brought this admirably conducted war to a conclusion,
and fortunate indeed it was so, for within a few months our Indian Empire was engaged
in a desperate struggle with the mutinous Indian army, and every available European
soldier was required in Bengal, where the 64th and 78th Eegiments, under Generals
Outram and Havelock, specially distinguished themselves.
The last of the "little wars " we shall refer to here before detailing the share taken
by the Navy in the great struggle with Eussia, was that in New Zealand. Here little
glory could be acquired, while there was much hard fighting, as the enemy displayed
considerable ingenuity in the construction of their "pahs," or stockades, and con
spicuous valour in defending them. There was fighting in 1845-6, before Kawiti's pah,
in which detachments of seamen from H.M.S. North Star, Racehorse, and Osprey,
and from the Hon. Company's sloop-of-war Elphinstone, numbering 35 officers and 360
men, co-operated with 720 troops drawn from the 58th and 99th Eegiments, the whole
under Colonel Despard. With much labour the guns and stores were transported
inland, and after a bombardment of 24 hours, on the night of the 10th May, 1846, the
enemy abandoned the works, described by Colonel Despard as "the strongest fortress
which the New Zealanders had ever erected." The British loss in this affair was 12
killed and 30 wounded.
In 1860 broke out the first Taranaki war, which gave rise to some heavy fighting,
with considerable loss to us. In the attack on the Eangiriri pah, 200 seamen and
1,100 soldiers were engaged, and four attempts to assault before a breach had been
made were repulsed, with the loss of 35 killed and 85 wounded. The next day the
Maori defenders, numbering 183, surrendered. At the attack on Orakau, our troops
again suffered severely, and the enemy managed to effect their escape. But the most
disastrous affair was the " Gate pah," on the 28th February, 1864, when 300 men, half
seamen from the Esk and Harrier, and the remainder soldiers of the 43rd Eegiment, after
entering the works, were seized with panic, and fled. In this lamentable business the
British loss was 27 killed, including nine officers, among whom were Colonel Booth,

258 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
commanding the 43rd, and Commander Hay, of the Esk, and 66 wounded. Again
the enemy escaped during the night through the British lines, but in the action of
"Te Eanga," on the 21st June, they were defeated by Colonel Greer, and after
hostilities had languished for some time, their chiefs were constrained to sue for terms.
Doubtless the tactics adopted by the commanders were not suitable against a wily and
brave foe, who might easily have been shelled out of their stockades, which, moreover,
were assaulted before they had been breached.
At the commencement of the long peace in 1815, the attention of the Navy was
turned to the more peaceful pursuits of marine surveying and exploration. The
southern and eastern seas had been explored during the previous century by Cook and
other great navigators, and early in the present century, Flinders examined the coasts
of Australia. Attention was now directed to survey in greater detail the shores, not
only of our colonies, but of foreign states.
One portion of the waters of the globe remained unexplored, and to this our
Naval officers, now that war no longer offered its more exciting incidents, turned
their eager attention. The Arctic and Antarctic seas afforded fresh fields for the
display of that generous ardour which has made our Navy pre-eminent, and men
like Franklin — who had served under Nelson at Copenhagen in 1801, and during
the two succeeding years assisted Flinders in his explorations — entered with spirit
and success on the great task of solving the problem of the North- West Passage,
that will-o'-the-wisp which has brought honour and glory to few and lured many
seamen to their end.
In 1818 Captains John Eoss and Buchan started to reach the "North Bole,"
but effected nothing, though among those engaged under Eoss were two famous
officers, Lieutenant Edward Parry, second in command, and Midshipman James Eoss,
a relation of his. In the following year Parry was in command of an expedition to
discover the North- West Passage, and between 1819-26, he made three voyages to the
Polar regions. In the first — conducted with the Hecla and Griper — Parry found that
Lancaster Sound was a strait and not a bay, as was hitherto supposed. He named it
Prince Eegent's Inlet, and penetrated to 110° W. Long., thus gaining the bounty of
£5,000 promised by Act of Parliament. The headland he called Bounty Cape, and the
island he named after Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty. Near this spot he
wintered, and with the assistance of Captain Sabine, E.A. (afterwards President of
the Eoyal Society), and others of his officers, he made valuable astronomical and meteoro-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 259
logical observations. The long wintry nights were made amusing to the men by
theatrical performances, and a magazine was published for their edification.
In August, 1820, the work of exploration commenced, and Captain Parry named
Banks' Land after the President of the Eoyal Society, and he discovered a new strait
on the south side of Lancaster Sound, communicating with Prince Eegent's Inlet, which
he called Admiralty Inlet. More than thirty years afterwards, Captains Collinson and
McClure, working from the Behring's Straits end, actually reached a point within a few
miles of the spot attained by Barry in 1820, and which that great explorer beheld
from Melville Island.
On his return to England, Parry again sailed with the Hecla and Fury, accompanied
by James Eoss and a young officer of the name of Crozier, who was destined to become
a martyr to his enthusiasm for Arctic exploration. Nothing was discovered in this
voyage, and in May, 1824, he proceeded for the third time with the same ships to prosecute
the attempt to complete the North- West Passage. But again failure resulted, and the
Fury was so greatly injured by the pressure of the ice that she had to be abandoned.
In 1827, Parry made an effort to reach the North Pole, adopting the route by
Spitzbergen, whence he made a journey by boats and sledges. Again James Eoss and
Crozier were his companions, and they reached 82° 45' N. Lat., the most northerly point
yet attained. So great was the drift of the ice that they lost ground, and after thirty-
five days' hard work, retraced their steps to Spitzbergen.
In 1829, a civilian named Felix Booth and James Eoss explored the land named after
the former, and two years later, Eoss, while absent from the ship on an overland
journey, discovered what was considered to be the Magnetic Pole, though it has since
been ascertained that " the true centre of magnetic intensity is a movable point within
the frigid zone." Eoss was unable to extricate his ship, and indeed his crew were
only saved from starvation by reaching Barrow's Straits in August, 1832, where
they discovered the stores abandoned by the Fury. In July of the following year
they embarked in their boats, and made their way to open water, and returned to
England in a whaler. Early in the same year, the Terror was despatched to the assist
ance of the long-lost voyagers, under the late Sir John Back, who, on hearing of their
safety, continued his investigations in the Arctic regions until the autumn of 1835.
Attention was now directed to the Antarctic seas, and in 1839, Captain James Eoss
and Commander Crozier sailed in the Erebus and Terror, but it was not until New
Year's Day, 1841, that the ships actually crossed the Antarctic Circle, and ten days later

260 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
they reached 71° 15', the highest latitude attained by Captain Cook. They coasted
along an inhospitable shore, and sighted a range of mountains, to the highest peak of
which Eoss gave the name of Mount Sabine, and further southwards they came upon a
still loftier mountain, which was named after the Erebus, and an extinct volcano he
called Mount Terror, while the whole continent was designated Victoria Land. Pushing
on, he penetrated to 78° South Lat., nearly four degrees further than had been reached
by a whaling captain, named Weddell, in 1823.
Eoss now proceeded to Tasmania, Sydney, and New Zealand, and in 1842 again
crossed the Antarctic Circle at a point forty degrees more to the eastward, and thence
proceeded to the Falkland Islands. Having examined Tierra del Fuego, he made a
third visit in 1843 to the Southern Polar seas, and finally returned to England,
where he was hailed as an explorer second to none, with the exception of Cook, Parry,
and Franklin. This last is perhaps the greatest navigator of the nineteenth century,
and his sad fate has added to his name an element of romantic interest such as only
enshrines the memory of the great Cook.
In 1821, while Parry was striving to discover the North- West Passage, Captain
Franklin was engaged exploring by land the northern coast of America, eastward from
the Coppermine Eiver. It was not until July in that year, after an absence of two
years from England, that he arrived at the mouth of the Coppermine, and embarking
in canoes, got as far as the cape he named Point Turnagain, whence he was compelled
to return to the Hudson's Bay Company's settlement before the advent of winter.
Franklin on another occasion penetrated to 149° W. Long., but some years were yet to
elapse before he undertook the crowning exploit of his life. Meantime, he was appointed
Governor of Tasmania, and in that capacity rendered assistance and advice to his brother
officers, James Eoss and Crozier, when they twice put in at Hobart Town, during their
great expedition to the Antarctic seas.
In 1845, soon after his return from Tasmania, the Government, acceding to the
pressing request of the Eoyal and other learned societies, resolved to despatch an
expedition to the Polar Seas, in order to establish the existence of a water communication
between the mouth of the Great Fish Eiver and Barrow's Strait or Melville Sound, which
had been traversed by Barry in his first voyage, and was the sole link required to com
plete the discovery of the problem known as the North- West Bassage. Captain
Markham, EN., writes in his "Life of Sir John Franklin": — "The post of leader of the
expedition of 1845 Sir John Franklin claimed as his special right, as being the senior

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 261
Arctic officer alive in a position to assume it. No service, he said, is nearer to my heart
than the completion of the survey of the north coast of America, and the accomplishment
of a North- West Passage. Lord Haddington, the First Lord of the Admiralty, on being
informed that Sir John was desirous of being appointed to the command, at once sent
for him, and gladdened his heart by complying with his wishes, but intimated that
perhaps his age might be a bar to his being selected, as he was informed that he was
sixty years of age. 'No, my lord,' was Franklin's ready and earnest response, 'You
have been misinformed — I am only fifty-nine.' " Franklin was accordingly appointed to
the command. He was in every respect well fitted to be the leader of the expedi
tion which achieved the honour of accompHshing the task, described by old Purchas
some two hundred and fifty years before, as "that thing yet undone whereby a notable
mind might be made from us."
With Captain Crozier as his second-in-command, an officer of experience in Arctic
exploration inferior to few, Sir John Franklin sailed from the Thames in May, 1845,
with the Erebus and Terror. The last seen of the expedition, save by the wandering
Eskimo, was on the 26th July, when some whalers sighted the ships near Lancaster
Sound. When no news was heard of them for two years, Sir John Eoss volunteered
to go in search, but as the expedition was victualled for three years, the Government
declined the offer, though, indeed, their fate was decided by the autumn of that year.
In 1848, however, the Admiralty yielded to the public anxiety, and despatched two
relief expeditions, one under Captain Kellett, in the Herald, by Behring's Straits, and
the second, by the Baffin's Bay route, under the veteran Sir John Eoss, who had under
his command the Enterprise and Investigator. Both these expeditions failed of their
purpose, and in January, 1850, Captains Collinson and McClure recommissioned the
Enterprise and Investigator. The ships parted company, and Captain McClure, not
finding his senior officer at Cape Lisburne, the last rendezvous, proceeded alone on a
voyage pregnant with memorable results. On the 14th August the Investigator had
passed Eeturn Eeef, Franklin's farthest on his second expedition, and by the 5th Sep
tember she reached Cape Parry. Beyond this was sighted land which Captain McClure
named after Sir Francis Baring, First Lord of the Admiralty, under the impression that
he was its discoverer, though Parry had named the northern district of the same island
Banks' Land. On the following day he saw land which he named after Prince Albert,
and eagerly pushing on along the channel between the two, on the 11th reached a
point which Parry, on his first voyage in 1821, had sighted from Melville Island. The
VOL. III. u M

262 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ship was now wedged in by the ice close to an island which her captain named after
the Princess Eoyal, and the channel in which it lay, running along the southern shore
of Banks' Island, he called Prince of Wales's Strait. McClure started in October with
a sledge party along the coast towards the point on Melville Sound attained by Parry,
and on the 26th sighted the eastern entrance of the strait in which his ship lay and
thus achieved the North- West Passage, and made his name for ever famous. But
the great enterprise had been accomplished two years before by Sir John Franklin's
companions, the survivors of the crews of the Erebus and Terror, while seeking to escape
from the starvation which ultimately overtook them.
In the summer of 1851 Captain McClure made an attempt to pass the short inter
vening space of 30 miles between him and Melville Sound, but was compelled to
winter in a bay he called Mercy. In the following spring he crossed in a sledge to
Melville Island, and visited Parry's winter quarters, but the ice bound him in, and he
passed a second winter in Mercy Bay. As starvation threatened the destruction of his
crew, in April, 1853, he made preparations to send a portion overland, while with 30
men he remained by the ship in the hope of forcing his way through the ice.
His long absence from England had excited apprehensions as to his safety, and
in the spring of 1852 an expedition was despatched to his rescue, under Sir Edward
Belcher in the Assistance. The other ships were the Pioneer, Commander Eichards,
the Resolute, Captain Kellett, and the Intrepid, Commander McClintock. The two
latter reached Melville Island, where one of the search parties, under Lieutenant
Mecham, discovered a record McClure had cut on the sandstone. In the following
spring Lieutenant Pirn, of the Resolute, was despatched to Banks' Island, and there
discovered the Investigator just in time to save the crew. The ships were now abandoned,
and Captain Kellett and Commander McClintock proposed to navigate the Resolute
and Intrepid to England, when Sir Edward Belcher, who had had no previous
experience of Arctic exploration, issued orders that all the four ships were to be
abandoned in the ice. Kellett and McClintock vainly protested, but Belcher was
peremptory, and the crews were divided between the North Star, Phoenix and Talbot,
which had arrived from England. The Resolute, indeed, drifted out of the ice into
Baffin's Bay in the course of the summer, and was picked up by a Yankee whaler, and
eventually the American Government restored her to the Queen.
Captain Collinson, in the Enterprise, also made discoveries of great importance, though
they were thrown into the shade by the achievement of his subordinate officer, McClure

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 263
who was knighted, and with his men feted with great honour on his return to England.
Collinson passed the winter of 1851 off Prince Albert Land, and one of his sledging
parties, crossing the channel, reached Melville Island, where the Investigator then was
wintering, without seeing her. He found that Prince Albert Land, Wollaston Land,
and Victoria Land were all portions of one island, and discovered traces of Franklin's
ships. Indeed, in the spring of 1853 he reached a point within 40 miles of the spot
where the Erebus and Terror had been abandoned five years before. The Enterfmse
returned by the Behring Sea, and in May, 1855, anchored at Portsmouth after an
absence of over five years. Before this, however, intelligence of Franklin's party was
learned by Dr. Eae, an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, from the Eskimos, who
reported that a party of 40 men had been seen some years before travelling with
sledges over the ice, and that their dead bodies were afterwards found beyond the
Great Fish Eiver. As the Government were satisfied that Sir John Franklin and his
party were beyond human aid, the gallant officer's widow herself, with the assistance
of friends, purchased and equipped the steam yacht Fox, in command of which Com
mander McClintock sailed from Aberdeen in July, 1857.
For eight months the little Fox drifted about in the pack ice, and in August in the
following year her progress was arrested by the ice in Peel Sound. Descending
Eegent's Inlet, she wintered at the western outlet of Bellot Strait, so called after a
gallant French naval officer serving in one of our expeditions, who lost his life there,
about 100 miles from the spot where the Eskimos asserted they had seen the relics of
the Franklin expedition. Early in the spring of 1859 McClintock despatched sledging
parties, one of which, under his own command, discovered, near Cape Herschell, on King
William's Island, the skeleton of a member of the missing crews,
More important was the find of Lieutenant Hobson, who had directed his course
towards Cape Felix, on the north-eastern extremity of the same island. Tents, blankets,
clothes, and a boat's flag rewarded his search, and, proceeding, he found, a few miles
further on, at Point Victory, a cairn, manifestly erected by Franklin's men, in which
a tin case had been deposited, containing a paper with the brief but piteous narrative,
written at intervals of nearly a year apart, the last being dated the very day before the
survivors started on their sad journey to the Great Fish Eiver. It told that in the
first year of his voyage Franklin had conducted his ships successfully up Wellington
Channel, penetrating as far as the seventy-seventh degree of latitude, to the north
of Bathurst Island, returning through the narrow strait which separates it from
m m 2

264 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Cornwallis Island, and wintering at Beechey Island. The next year he worked down
Peel Channel, and was hemmed in by the ice a few miles to the north-west of the cape
where this record was found. In the following spring he sent out travelling parties,
and when those who penned the first portion of this record left the ships on May 24th,
1847, all was still well.
In less than three weeks from that time a different tale had to be told. On the 11th
June Franklin died. In the course of the next ten months twenty-three more shared
his fate, and during the whole of that summer and winter the ice held the ships in its
unyielding grasp. Crozier still survived, but when spring returned, as their provisions
were almost exhausted, he resolved to abandon the ships, and on the 26th April, 1848,
he started with 104 men for the Great Fish Eiver. From that day the only record
was that supplied by the Eskimos, which related to a portion only of the crews ,
Crozier and his gallant comrades reached the mouth of the Great Fish Eiver during the
year, and as the line of coast from the west bank of that stream to Behring's sea had
been already traced, these British seamen, in their last despairing efforts to save their
lives, had actually completed the discovery of the North- West Passage, thus anticipating
McClure' s great feat by two years.
The enthusiasm for Arctic discovery flagged somewhat after these events, but the
work of exploring the Polar area was slowly but surely carried on by all the nautical
powers, America and Austria, with England, taking the lead. The most important and
successful expedition undertaken by this country was that under the leadership of
Captain George Nares. A sledging party, under Commander Markham, reached a point
considerably nearer the Pole than had before been attained, and the observations of
the expedition in these high latitudes were of an extended and valuable character.

CHAPTEE IX.
The War with Eussia — Expedition to the Black Sea — Bombardment of Odessa — Siege of Sebastopol — The Expedition
to Kertch and Yenikale — Commander Lyons, of the Miranda — Expedition to Kinburn — Operations in the
Baltic — Capture of the Forts of Bomarsund— Commander Lyons at Kola — The Failure at Petropaulovski — The
Baltic Fleet in 1855 — Bombardment of Sweaborg — The Indian Mutiny — Services of the Shannon Brigade at the
Relief and Siege of Lucknow — The Indian Navy Detachments serving on Shore.
f\l$ the causes of the war with Eussia, the first struggle with a European power in
^ which we have been involved since the Napoleonic period, we will not dilate, as
being foreign to the purpose and scope of this work.
Soon after the destruction of the Turkish squadron at Sinope, when all the ships,
with the exception of one small steamer, were sunk, and over 3,000 men were
slaughtered, the allied French and British fleets entered the Black Sea, and on the
28th March, 1854, this country declared war against Eussia. On the 17th April,
the combined fleets sailed for Odessa. The British contingent consisted of ten sail-of-
the-line, eleven frigates — two of which, as well as the Agamemnon and Sanspareil, ships-
of-the-line, were auxiliary screws — four paddle steam-frigates, and nine paddle steam-
sloops. Admiral Dundas was in command, with his flag in the Britannia, 120, and
Sir Edmund Lyons, in the Agamemnon, 90, was second in command, and before the
close of the year, became commander-in-chief, a position he filled with great honour to
his country. The French fleet, commanded by Admiral Hamelin, who hoisted his flag on board
the Ville de Paris, 120, consisted of fifteen ships-of-the-line and twenty-one frigates
and smaller vessels.
On arriving before Odessa the allied admirals demanded the surrender of the Eussian
fleet, as a punishment for having fired on the Furious when under a flag of truce,
but as no answer was received, on the 22nd April the steamships Terrible, Tiger,
Retribution, and Furious, under Captain Jones, and three belonging to our allies,
stood in and opened fire on the enemy's works. The squadron moved in a circle,
delivering their fire each time on passing the works. The frigate, Arethusa, Captain
Mends, also stood in and engaged the mole, the fort at the extremity of which she
blew up. The batteries gradually ceased to reply, when Captain Jones stood closer

266 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
in, and sunk or set on fire the ships-of-war behind the mole, and soon the arsenal and
storehouses, as well as the docks and batteries, were in flames. Admiral Dundas left
a few vessels to cruise off the coast, but the Tiger unfortunately ran ashore about
four miles from Odessa, where she was attacked by a field battery and some Eussian
infantry. Captain Giffard was mortally wounded, and ultimately was compelled to
haul down his colours, and set the ship on fire.
Admiral Dundas arrived on the 28th April before Sebastopol, the defences of
which Sir Edmund Lyons and Captain Mends reconnoitred, and ascertained that the
enemy consisted of eleven ships-of-the-line, four frigates and some smaller vessels, which
made no attempt throughout the ensuing siege to break the blockade that was rigidly
enforced. In the course of the summer Captain Hyde Parker, with the Firebrand and
Fury, destroyed the batteries at the Sulina mouth of the Danube.
When, after the abandonment of the siege of Silistria by the Eussian army, and
their retreat across the Danube, the English Government resolved to dispatch the
British army to the Crimea, the conduct of the transport of the troops from Varna to
its shores was committed to Sir Edmund Lyons, who had great experience of the
Black Sea, having formerly surveyed its waters.
The army of 26,000 men, with 54 guns, and the stores, was landed without loss,
at Old Fort, near Eupatoria, between the 14th and midnight of the 18th September,
and two days later was fought the battle of the Alma. The Eussian commander at
Sebastopol, Prince Menschikoff, scuttled and sunk most of his ships, and as the British
fleet had no enemy to contend with afloat, a naval brigade of 1,000 men, with 50
guns, was landed from the fleet, and under command of Captain Lushington, rendered
valuable assistance to the army.
On the 16th October took place the first bombardment of Sebastopol, in which the
allied fleet took part, the French attacking the southern side where the besieging army
lay, and the British fleet engaging the defences on the north side of the harbour, includ
ing Fort Constantine, mounting over 100 heavy guns, the Telegraph battery, of 17
guns, which, being on a hill, brought a plunging fire to bear upon our ships, and the Star
Fort. Sir Edmund Lyons commanded the inshore squadron, consisting of the Agamemnon,
London, Albion, and Sanspareil, to whom was entrusted the task of engaging Fort Con
stantine, within 750 yards of which the flagship brought up in five fathoms of water.
The admiral was not unworthy to fly his flag in a ship whose name is immortalized in our

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 267
history by the daring deeds of Nelson and his crew in 1794-96 ; and in Captain Mends
of the Arethusa, he had one of the best officers in the Navy. The squadron opened
fire about two o'clock, and a lucky shell from the flagship caused the explosion of a maga
zine, but soon the Eussian gunners got the range of our ships, which suffered severely.
The Albion, Sanspareil, and London were compelled to haul off, and the Agamemnon
sustained alone the enemy's concentrated fire until the two former returned, and the
admiral signalled the Queen, Rodney, Bellerophon, and Arethusa to come to his assistance.
The Queen was set on fire by a shell, and the Rodney grounded, though she was towed
off by the Spitfire, all the time continuing her fire, and at length, towards evening, the
squadron retired, having effected nothing of importance, though among the slain was
Admiral Nachimoff, the officer who had so wantonly destroyed the Turkish ships at
Sinope. The British loss was 44 killed and 262 wounded, the chief sufferer being the
Albion. This ship and the Arethusa had been so much injured by the Eussian fire that
they were sent to Malta for repairs.
On shore the Naval Brigade did excellent service throughout the siege, especially
with the 8 -inch guns landed from the Terrible and Retribution, and on the 26 th October
a young mate, Mr. Hewett (afterwards Admiral Sir William Hewett), performed an act
of gallantry for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. A body of Eussians made
a sortie and advanced within three hundred yards of a Lancaster gun under his com
mand, which he was ordered to spike, and fall back, but the young sailor refused
to do so until he had received instructions from Captain Lushington, and when the
Eussian column retreated, he brought his gun to bear on them with good effect. At
the battle of Inkerman, on the 5th November, Lieutenant Hewett (as he now was)
again distinguished himself, and Captain (afterwards Sir William) Peel, of the Diamond,
frigate, who was serving ashore with the Naval Brigade, was engaged with the Guards
in the desperate conflict at the Sandbag battery.
A terrible storm broke over the fleet on the 14th November, when the ships-of-war
escaped with trifling damage ; but it was otherwise with the transports, which were riding
at anchor outside Balaclava Bay. No less than forty vessels foundered or went to pieces
on the rocks, including the Prince, transport, which had only arrived from England a few
days before with ammunition and stores, and in all some 400 seamen were drowned. The
French and Turkish fleets each lost a ship-of-the-line in this memorable storm, besides
some smaller vessels, and the loss of stores, urgently needed by the army, aggravated
their miserable condition during the winter, which had now set in with Arctic rigour.

268 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
On the 17th February, 1855, Captain Hastings, with the Curacoa, Furious, Valorous,
and Viper, and a French steamer, assisted Omar Pasha in repelling the attack of General
Liprandi. Bringing his squadron close in shore he supported the Turkish right
flank by the fire of his guns. No more attacks were made on the sea-forts, but
some of the ships steamed in at night, and assisted the besiegers by their fire.
In May, a combined military and naval expedition, drawn from the British and
French services, consisting of nine sail-of-the-line and forty-seven frigates and smaller
vessels, with 16,000 troops, sailed to attack Kertch, at the eastern extremity of the
Crimea, which the Eussians abandoned at their approach. Yenikale also fell into the
hands of the allies, who, after taking what stores could be embarked, destroyed the re
mainder. Commander Lyons, of the Miranda, steamed into the sea of Azof, with thirteen
English and four French gunboats, and burnt or sunk no less than two hundred and
fifty vessels laden with stores. In the operations at Genitchesk, Lieutenants McKenzie
and Buckley, of the Miranda, and Lieutenant Burgoyne, of the Wrangler, performed
excellent service, and the boats were engaged with a detachment of Eussian troops and a
battery. Thence Commander Lyons proceeded to Taganrog, and, aided by the launches
of the fleet and some light gunboats, engaged the batteries, while the boats of the
squadron, under Commander Coles and Lieutenants McKenzie and Buckley, destroyed
the magazine, though the place was defended by 3,000 troops. Mariopol, at the
entrance of the Gulf of Azof, was subjected to the same treatment, and also Gheisk,
on the other side. Though the military results of the expedition to Kertch and the
Sea of Azof were small, the Eussian army was greatly crippled by the loss of the vast
accumulation of stores and ammunition. Unhappily Commander Lyons did not survive
to receive the promotion he had so well earned. On rejoining the fleet before
Sebastopol, while engaged with the smaller vessels in making night attacks on the
outer defences, he was wounded in the leg by a shell, and died within a week in the
hospital at Therapia, to which he had been removed.
Commander Sherard Osborn, of the Vesuvius, an officer of equal energy and
gallantry, succeeded to the command of the Sea of Azof squadron, and continued the
task of harassing the Eussian commanders, and destroying their magazines on the
shore of that inland sea. In this service he was assisted by a host of gallant young
officers, including, besides those already mentioned, Lieutenants Lambert of the
Curlew, Commerell of the Weser, Hewett of the Beagle, Hudson of the Jasper, and
Day of the Recruit. On the institution of the Victoria Cross, in the following year,

H.M.S. BLENHEIM.
1st class cruiseb.

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 269
Hewett, Commerell, Burgoyne and other officers were among its first recipients. On
the two nights preceding the attack of the 18th June on the Eedan and other defences
of Sebastopol, a portion of the fleet co-operated together with their launches fitted as
rocket-boats, and the Naval Brigade, under Captain Peel, assisted at the assault. The
two ladder-parties, of 60 men each, were led by Captain Peel, who was severely
wounded, and 14 men were killed and 47 wounded, including all the officers except
three. A young midshipman was present on that occasion and was severely wounded,
named Evelyn Wood, who lived to become one of the greatest ornaments of the
sister service. In the following July, Captain Lushington, on attaining flag-rank, was
succeeded by Captain Hon, Henry Keppel, who remained in command of the Naval
Brigade till the close of the siege, including the final bombardment on the 7th Sep
tember, the day preceding the last memorable but unsuccessful assault of the Eedan.
In the autumn, a combined military and naval expedition was planned by the allied
commanders for an attack on the Eussian ports at the mouth of the Dnieper and Bog.
The British contingent consisted of six sail-of-the-line, nine steam frigates, and
twenty-four smaller vessels, with 4,000 troops, which sailed, together with our allies,
for Odessa. On the 14th October the expedition arrived before Kinburn, forty miles
to the eastward of Odessa, where was a strong casemated fort, mounting nearly 70
guns, with two earthworks armed with 10 guns each. The waters here were shallow
and difficult, but Captain Spratt, of the Spitfire, had surveyed them, and on the 17th the
attack was commenced by the English mortar-boats supported by three French floating
batteries. Later in the day the line-of-battle ships, headed by the Royal Albert, 130,
flagship of Sir Edmund Lyons, now Commander-in-Chief, attacked the forts on the
southern side at a range of 1,200 yards, while the opposite face was engaged by the
steam frigates, led by Sir Houston Stewart and Admiral Pellion. So irresistible was the
fire that, in ten minutes, the Governor surrendered Kinburn to the allied commanders,
and the fort of Oczakow, on the other side of the bay, was blown up to prevent
its falling into their hands. Sir Edmund Lyons, leaving a French garrison in
Kinburn, sailed with a small squadron for Kazatch Bay, where he arrived on the
2nd November, and thus were concluded, so far as the Black Sea was concerned, the
naval operations of the Eussian war.
On the outbreak of hostilities, a powerful fleet was fitted out to attack the enemy in
the Baltic, and was placed in command of Sir Charles Napier, a veteran officer who had
repeatedly distinguished himself during the great Napoleonic struggle, and was second
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270 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
in command under Admiral Stopford at Acre. But the gallant officer, though eager to
crown his early achievements by one greater than all, and confident in his unimpaired
ability to do so, had not taken sufficient account of the inroads that age makes on the
strongest nerve and the most iron frame, and though Lord Howe won his proudest
triumph when sixty-nine, a year older than Sir Charles Napier now was, his was an ex
ceptional case, and experience, especially that of the Crimean War, has shown the
unwisdom of entrusting officers over threescore with the conduct of warlike operations.
The admiral sailed in March, 1854, with a fleet consisting of nineteen ships-of-the-
line, the greater portion having auxiliary screws, and twenty frigates and steam-ships.
Expectation ran high as to the outcome of the expedition to the Baltic, but the people
of England were grievously disappointed. As regards the ships themselves the fleet was
magnificent, but the personnel was not equally good, for the complement of some of the
crews was made up by landsmen, who had never before set foot on board ship. How
ever, with such first-rate officers as Chads, Michael Seymour, Elliott, Keppel, Hope,
Warden, Hall, Key, Yelverton, and a host of others, the raw material was rapidly
worked up into the British man-o'-war's-man. The fleet arrived at Hango Head, where
it lay inactive for a few weeks, during which an attack was made on some forts, but the
ships were recalled by signal without effecting anything. Some small squadrons cruised
about, inflicting damage on Eussian commerce, and Captain Yelverton, with the Arro
gant, 46, and the Hecla, steamer, of 6 guns, Commander Hall, engaged and silenced
some batteries at Ekness, in a narrow creek, eight miles from the sea.
On being joined by nine French ships-of-the-line under Admirals Dechasnes and
Penaud, Sir Charles Napier sailed for Cronstadt ; but Captain Sulivan, of the Lightning,
who reconnoitred the defences, found them too strong to be attacked save by mortars, of
which the fleet had none. He reported the presence of eighteen sail-of-the-line
in the port, but as they could not be induced to venture out, though only confronted by
an equal number of allied ships, the combined fleet retired to Baro Sound.
Meanwhile Captain Key, with the Amphion and Conflict, blockaded the Gulf of Eiga,
and some desultory operations with boats were undertaken at Uleaborg, at the top of the
Gulf of Bothnia, where thirty-four Eussian trading ships were destroyed, and on the
Finnish coast, where the boats of the Odin and Vulture met with a repulse.
Acting on the information supplied by the indefatigable Captain Sulivan, Sir Charles
Napier resolved on making an attack on Bomarsund ; and the French Emperor having,
at the request of our Government, dispatched General Baraguay d'Hilliers with 9,000

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. Til
men to aid him, early in August the plan was put into execution. The French troops
were landed on the south-west side of the principal fort, and the British detachment,
consisting of 700 seamen and marines, and a party of sappers, under Brigadier-General
Harry Jones, were disembarked near one to the northward. Batteries were erected and
both forts were reduced, the squadron, meanwhile, pouring a heavy fire on the prin
cipal fort, which capitulated on the morning of the 16th August, and finally the
battery on Presto Island was silenced, and thus the whole of the works fell into the
hands of the allied commanders. This success concluded the operations for that year, as
Sir Charles Napier declined to adopt the plans of General Jones for an attack on Swea-
borg, after Cronstadt the most important Eussian fortress in the Baltic, and returned
with his fleet to England, where disappointment was loudly expressed at the small
results of the naval campaign.
During the summer, however, Commander Lyons, of the Miranda, who afterwards
died of wounds received before Sebastopol, performed excellent service in the White
Sea, at the northern extremity of Eussia. With his ship and the Brisk he silenced some
guns on an island, and then with the gallantry and enterprise for which he was dis
tinguished, proceeded up a narrow river a distance of 30 miles, and attacked Kola, the
capital of Eussian Lapland. With the Miranda alone he engaged the battery, set the
town and storehouses on fire, and returned without loss to the mouth of the river. The
success of the enterprise showed what could be effected with small means by a resolute
seaman, and the failure of another at the other extremity of the Eussian Empire also
demonstrated that adequate means would not ensure success, if wielded by an incom
petent or timid officer. At Petropaulovski, the principal seaport of Kamtschatka, lay
two Eussian ships, the Aurora, 44, partially disarmed, and the 20-gun corvette Dwina,
whose capture or destruction Captain Sir Frederick Nicolson undertook with a squadron
consisting of the President, 50, Pique, 40, and Virago, steamship of 6 guns, a force
which, in combination with three French ships, respectively of 60, 22, and 12 guns,
was amply sufficient for the purpose if judiciously and boldly handled. The enemy's
ships lay moored behind the point of a sandbank, and the entrance to the harbour was
protected by some batteries, mounting about 22 guns. On the 31st August the British
frigates President and Pique, and the 60-gunship Forte, carrying the French Admiral's
flag, engaged the batteries, but at so long a range that the fire had no effect. The
Virago, on the other hand, attacked and disabled a three-gun battery, and landing a
party, spiked the guns, after which she stood in to engage the enemy's ships.
N N 2

272 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY
" Presently," says a writer, " having received a heavy shot between wind and water,
she signalled for assistance, but instead of getting it, Sir F. Nicolson went on board
and ordered her out to tow off the French admiral, who had asked for such aid, and at
the close of the day the frigates hauled off, contented with having expended a great
quantity of ammunition, and with having done but little more." Three days passed
away, when the allied commanders attacked two batteries of seven and five guns, and
having silenced them, landed a party of 700 seamen and marines, under Captain
Burridge, of the President, and La Grandiere, of the Eurydice, to capture a fort on high
ground in the rear commanding the town. Hardly, however, had they landed than
they were suddenly attacked by a body of Eussian troops, and were compelled to
retreat. In this ill-considered enterprise the British loss was 26 killed and a large
number wounded and prisoners, and our allies suffered equally.
In March and April, 1855, a powerful fleet for the second time sailed for the Baltic,
under the command of Eear- Admiral Hon. E. Dundas, with Eear- Admiral Michael Sey
mour as second in command. The fleet consisted of twenty sail-of-the-line, five frigates,
nine sloops-of-war, and thirteen smaller vessels, besides a flotilla of gun-boats. The
Eussians made a treacherous attack at Hango Head on a boat of the Cossack, which
was landing prisoners, when four of her crew were killed, and the remainder, some of
whom were wounded, were made prisoners. In retaliation for this outrage the British
admiral dispatched a squadron, under Captain Yelverton, of the Magicienne, along
the coast of Finland, which destroyed several fortified posts and routed bodies of Eussian
troops. Squadrons, under Admiral Seymour and Captain Warden, of the Ajax, also
attacked other points. Meantime the preparations were matured for the bombardment
of Sweaborg, on the plan suggested by Captain Sulivan in the preceding year, with
the exception that mortar boats instead of mortar-batteries on the islets were employed.
Sixteen of these vessels, and an equal number of gun-boats, specially prepared in Eng
land for the purpose, aided by five French mortar-rafts, were employed in the attack on
the defences of this fortress, which consisted of five fortified islands ; while the adjacent
mainland, on which stood Helsingfors, the capital of Finland, bristled with earthworks
armed with heavy guns. The channels were either blocked with sunk ships, or sown
with submarine mines, and the three principal islands presented an almost unbroken line
of batteries. The mortar-boats, which were moored 3,900 yards from the enemy's bat
teries, opened fire under the direction of Captain Wemyss of the Marine Artillery, send
ing 30 shells an hour from each piece of ordnance, and so accurately had they been laid

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 273
that speedily the public buildings, arsenal, and store-houses were set in flames. Within
the mortar-boats, the gun-boats, under the command of Commodore Belham, man
oeuvred in a circle, firing their heavy guns as they were brought to bear on the enemy's
works. Outside of all, the allied admirals took post with six ships-of-the-line and most
of the sailing and steam frigates. Within three hours of opening fire the government
buildings on the principal island of Vargon were well alight, and loud explosions,
greeted with cheers by the seamen, showed the accuracy of the fire. Meanwhile Cap
tains Yelverton and Wellesley engaged the subsidiary batteries with some of the ships,
thus diverting the attention of the garrisons. The attack was discontinued at nightfall,
the rocket-boats of the fleet taking their place, but at 5.30 on the following morning was
resumed, one division of English mortar-boats and three out of the five French vessels
being moored 400 yards nearer in order to attack the arsenal and works on East Svarto.
So admirably were the mortar* laid that by evening the whole of these works and the
magazines in rear of Vargon were in flames, and at nightfall the rocket-boats again took
up the conflict, thus giving no opportunity to the enemy to extinguish the conflagra
tion. By daybreak on the 11th August the whole of the public buildings, except the
batteries on the sea front, which had not been attacked, were destroyed, and the allied
admirals, who had succeeded beyond expectation, withdrew to their anchorage at
Nargen. While their loss had been merely nominal, the Eussians had suffered severely,
though the exact amount was never known. This was the last event of the war
in the Baltic, and early in December the whole fleet returned to England.
In May, 1857, after only a brief respite from the exhausting struggle with Eussia,
this country was involved in a desperate conflict for the retention of our Eastern Empire.
The Sepoys of the Bengal army rose in rebellion, and the utmost efforts of our small
European force were exerted to maintain our hold of India until reinforcements could
arrive from England. In this anxious crisis the Navy afforded a welcome acces
sion of strength. Sir Michael Seymour, commanding the fleet in China, where we were
engaged in hostilities, dispatched to Calcutta the Sanspareil, 74, Captain Key, the
Shannon, 50, Captain Peel, and the Pearl, 21, Captain Sotheby. On the arrival of the
squadron in the Hooghly, Captain Key landed his marines at Fort William, while Peel
formed his crew into a naval brigade, and on the 13th August proceeded up the river
in a steamer, with 408 seamen and marines. They remained in garrison at Allahabad,
where they were joined a month later by Lieutenant Vaughan with a detachment of 120
seamen, recruited from the merchant ships in port. In October, Captain Peel, with

274 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
a portion of the brigade, was engaged in action with a body of mutineers, in which
Colonel Powell of the 53rd was killed, when he assumed command of the force, and totally
routed the enemy. The seamen acted as gunners throughout the operations, their artil
lery consisting of the following ship-guns: — six 55-cwt. 8 -inch guns (commonly called
68-pounders), two 8-inch howitzers, eight 24-pounders, two ships' field-pieces, and
eight rocket tubes. For the first time in the history of war heavy ordnance were
worked as field-pieces, and the dexterity and ease with which the sailors of the Shannon
handled their 24 and 68-pounders during the ensuing operations called forth expres
sions of surprise and admiration from Sir Colin Campbell. In a letter to Sir Michael
Seymour, dated Camp Oonao, 23rd February, 1858, Captain Peel says : " It is the most
formidable field artillery the world has seen, for it is a truth and not a jest that in battle
we are with the skirmishers." After the action near Allahabad the Shannon naval brigade
participated in the second relief of Lucknow in November, 1857, and battered the
Dilkhoosha, the Martiniere, and the Shah Nujeef. The commander-in-chief, in his official
report, says, "Captain Peel brought up his heavy guns with extraordinary gallantry
within a few yards of the Shah Nujeef, to batter the massive stone walls. It was an
action almost unexampled in war, and Captain Peel behaved very much as if he had been
laying the Shannon alongside an enemy's frigate." On this occasion the brigade lost 17
killed and wounded. When Sir Colin Campbell recrossed the Ganges he was compelled
on the 6th December to fight a severe action for the relief of Cawnpore, which the rebels
had beleaguered after defeating General Windham, and he says of the Shannon brigade :
" I must here draw attention to the manner in which the heavy 24-pounders were
impelled and managed by Captain Peel and his gallant sailors. Through the extraordi
nary energy and goodwill with which the latter worked, their guns have been constantly
in advance throughout the late operations, from the relief of Lucknow till now, as if they
were light field-pieces, and the service rendered by them in clearing our front has been
incalculable. On this occasion there was the sight of 24-pounders advancing with
the first line of skirmishers." The brigade was engaged at Kalla Nuddee on the 2nd
January, 1858, and at the attack on Futtyghur, but little of importance was done until
the siege of Cawnpore in March, when the brigade, mustering 430 officers and men,
performed excellent service. Captain Peel, unhappily, when recovering from a wound,
was attacked by small-pox, of which he expired on the 27th April, universally
regretted as an officer of rare promise and an ornament to the British Navy.
The Pearl brigade, under Captain Sotheby, first numbering 155 officers and men, and

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 275
afterwards raised to 250 of all ranks, also played a distinguished part in the suppression
of the revolt in the Gorruckpoor district, under Brigadier Eowcroft, and during the
fifteen months it was embodied, was ten times engaged with the enemy. Captain
Sotheby received the C.B. for his services, and, as in the case of the Shannon, all the
officers were promoted.
Some months before these brigades were landed from their ships, four steam frigates
of the Indian Navy* arrived at Calcutta, and the confidence inspired by their presence, in
the critical days between May and August, will be remembered by all who were at the
Presidency capital in those exciting times. A strong detachment of seamen from the
Punjaub, under Commander Foulerton, with some European troops, accomplished the
seizure and removal of the King of Oude, who lived at Garden Beach with regal pomp,
surrounded by thousands of armed retainers, and brigades were landed from these four
steam frigates and other ships of the Indian Navy, the whole being placed under the
command of Captain Campbell, who had done such good service in Burmah, and whose
experience was of the greatest service to the supreme Government, while his tact
enabled him to conduct with success the delicate relations with the military and civil
authorities at the capital.
Not only were seamen from the Hon. Company's ships drafted ashore, but a large
body of men was recruited from the merchant ships lying in port, and drilled into
shape as efficient gunners and light infantry. No less than 60 Indian Navy officers and
1,800 European seamen, with 42 field-pieces, were engaged in the suppression of the
Mutiny, and performed excellent service in the field and in overawing or disarming
the mutineers. At Dacca 90 officers and men, under Lieutenant Lewis, first of the
Punjaub, attacked in their barracks the 13th Bengal N.I. and a detachment of native
artillery with two field -pieces, and after a smart action, in which they lost 19 killed
and wounded, routed and dispersed the rebels with heavy loss. On this occasion Mid
shipman Mayo gained the V.C. for charging the guns loaded with grape. Equally
meritorious service was rendered by Lieutenants Lewis and Davies in Assam, during
which one- third of the seamen were placed hors de combat, and the latter officer was severely
* A detachment of seamen from the ships-of-war of the Indian Navy took part in the siege of Mooltan, under
the command ofOaptain Powell. They constructed two batteries, armed them with ships' guns, and worked them
throughout the siege. Sir Herbert Edwardes speaks highly of the services of the Indian Naval brigade, and particu
larly eulogizes the senior lieutenant, Mr. Christopher, an officer as eminent for his scientific attainments as for his
amiability of character and high courage. Lieutenant Christopher died of wounds received at the assault of Mooltan.
Naval brigades, landed from the ships of the Indian Navy, had participated in military operations long before
the time of Give at Surat and elsewhere. (See the author's " History of the Indian Navy.")

276 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
wounded by a poisoned arrow, from the effects of which he never recovered. Lieutenant
Carew, first of the Auckland, in command of over 100 officers and men, with two nine-
pounders and two 5^-inch mortars, participated in the operations against Koer Singh, in
the Jugdeespore district, Lieutenant Duval, of the Coromandel, was enabled to do excellent
service in the Gya district, with his brigade of 200 men and six field-pieces, as did also
Lieutenants Barron and Burnes, and Lieutenant Windus, who was engaged in arduous
field operations against the Coles in Chota Nagpore, in the height of the rainy season.
Lieutenant Batt, who was in command of the Zenobia, proceeded up country in July,
1857, with 100 men and four field-pieces, and with the 90th Eegiment disarmed the
disaffected Sepoy regiments at Berhampore. Proceeding up the Ganges from Allahabad
in a river steamer, Lieutenant Batt engaged the enemy for six hours, and shelled them
out of their positions. When in command at Buxar, this officer took the field with two
guns, the only artillery with the detachment under Major Carr, and his excellent
practice assisted materially in defeating a strong force of rebels. The Indian Navy also
manned four screw gun-boats which patrolled the river, cleared the banks of rebels,
carried supplies, and kept open the communications.
On the west coast of India the cruisers of the Indian Navy landed brigades at Surat,
Eutnagherry, and Bombay itself, where they took part in disarming rebellious Sepoys,
holding the dockyards and other public buildings, or otherwise assisting the civil power.
Before the final suppression of the great revolt which convulsed all India, a squadron
of ships of the Indian Navy was engaged in reducing to subjection the disaffected in
habitants of the island of Beyt, and a strong detachment of seamen was landed from
the ships to assist at the siege of Dwarka, where there was some severe fighting.

CHAPTEE X.
The China War of 1856-60— Action at Fatshan Creek— The Operations off the Peiho— Kepulse of Admiral Hope
before the Taku Forts— The Abyssinian and Ashantee Expeditions— The Naval Brigade in South Africa— The
defence of Ekowe — The War in Egypt— The Seizure of the Suez Canal- -The Bombardment of Alexandria —
The Naval Brigade at Suakin — The Nile Expedition— Conclusion.
TN 1856 hostilities broke out in China in consequence of the seizure of the Arrow by
the authorities at Canton. As the Commander-in-chief, Sir Michael Seymour,
could obtain no redress, on the 23rd October he seized the Barrier forts and pushed on
to the city. But Yeh, the Imperial commissioner, remained obstinate, and even attacked
the outposts of the force landed to protect the English factories, when the Admiral opened
fire on the defences of the city, which he entered, though it was too extensive to be
conquered or held. Yeh being still intractable, he attacked the fleet of war-junks
which lay under the protection of the fort, which was silenced and all the junks were
burnt or sunk. Sir Michael now made himself master of the Bogue forts, which mounted
upwards of 200 guns, and thus gained command of the entire river. Much desultory
fighting ensued, always with the same result, the defeat of the enemy, but the admiral,
in order to terminate this state of affairs, which was ruinous to trade, appealed to the
Governor- General of India for 5,000 troops, and to the Home Government for a division
of gunboats. In May, 1857, on the arrival of the latter, Commodore Elliot attacked the
fleet of war-junks, stationed in Escape Creek, when he succeeded in sinking and
destroying the whole.
But these operations were only subsidiary to the main attack by the Admiral on the
great fleet of eighty junks of the largest size, manned by 6,000 men, which was sta
tioned off Fatshan Creek, their main station and arsenal. The attack was completely
successful, and the whole flotilla, with the exception of three, was taken and set on fire.
The city of Fatshan was spared, but the blow struck was complete, aud was attained
with the loss of 13 killed, including two officers, and 40 wounded. The greater
part of the loss was incurred by the division of gunboats under the gallant Commodore
Keppel, while attacking twenty junks moored in compact order.
The outbreak of the great Mutiny in India caused a lull in the operations, as the
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278 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
troops which had been sent out to China, and some of the ships, were diverted thither.
However, at the end of September, 1857, Lord Elgin, who had gone to Calcutta, returned
to China, and soon after the remainder of the gunboats arrived from England, and some
Sepoys from India, as well as a French squadron. A demand was made for the surrender
of Canton, but as Yeh treated the allies with sovereign contempt, on the 25th December
a heavy fire was brought to bear on the defences, both on the river face as well as the
heights and outer forts, from mortars and rockets, and the long 32-pounders of the
gunboats. Besides the marines and 1,500 sailors, a detachment of 800 troops, with a
French naval brigade, was landed by the allied commanders, and the city was taken,
though the resistance was continued for some days. The British loss was 130 killed
and wounded, of whom one-half belonged to the Naval Brigade, which mourned the loss of
the gallant Captain Bate, of the Actceon. The success was made complete by the capture,
by Captain Key, of the Sanspareil, of the redoubtable Yeh himself, whose arrogance was
the cause of the war. The tyrant, who had bathed in blood the province he had long
misgoverned, was sent a prisoner to Calcutta.
Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, the British and French ministers, sent the conditions of
peace they intended to exact to the Emperor at Pekin, but no answer being returned,
in April, 1858, they anchored off the Peiho, and the allied admirals made a demand
for the surrender of the Taku forts, guarding the entrance to that river. Sir Michael
Seymour shifted his flag to the gunboat Slaney, where he was joined by his French
colleague and, on the 20th May, the British squadron, assisted by four French gunboats,
attacked the earthworks and batteries extending for nearly a mile on both banks of the
river, which were silenced in a little over an hour. Strong parties of seamen and marines
were now landed, and the whole line of defences changed hands, with a loss to the
British of 21 killed and wounded, that of the French being 67, including 50 by the
explosion of a magazine. This defeat quickly brought the Chinese Emperor to his senses,
and peace was signed at Tientsin, about 40 miles up the Peiho. Sir Michael Seymour
now proceeded to England, and was succeeded by Sir James Hope, who had distmguished
himself so greatly on the Parana.
On his arrival in the Peiho on the 18th June, 1859, Admiral Hope reconnoitred
the defences, and found that they been greatly strengthened since his predecessor had
effected their capture, and that the two great forts on the left bank, whose fire raked
the ships attacking the batteries lower down on the opposite bank, had more guns
mounted on them, and that to prevent any attempt to storm these latter, mounting

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 279
over 50 heavy guns, they had cut two ditches, in rear of the last of which were
sharp-pointed stakes, and that a boom had been thrown across the river with the object
of delaying the advance of the gunboats while under fire. The British admiral only
received evasive answers to his demands for the removal of the boom in order that he
might take the allied ambassadors to Tientsin, to exchange the ratifications of peace
at Pekin, as agreed upon, and on the 24th June took his gunboats within the bar and
made preparations to land 700 marines to storm the forts after they had been breached.
During the night Captain Willes blew open the boom and examined an inner raft, when
he was fired upon and forced to retire. On the following morning the Nimrod, Cormorant,
and nine gunboats took up their positions, the right division under Captain Shadwell in
the Banter er, and the left under Captain Vansittart in the Forester, while Admiral Hope,
in order to direct the operations in person, shifted his flag into the Plover. About two
o'clock the Opossum advanced to pull up the iron stakes in front of the boom, which
was found to have been repaired during the night, and this gave the signal to the
batteries on both banks to open fire. The admiral, flying the signal to engage, advanced
to the boom, the Opossum, Lee, and Haughty being astern, and soon all the gunboats
were engaged except the Starling, which, with the Banter er, had run aground, the former
in such a position that she could take no part in the action. So severe was the cross-fire
to which the squadron was exposed, that Lieutenant Easen, commanding the Plover, was
killed, and of her crew of 40, nine only remained uninjured. The Admiral, who was
severely wounded in the thigh, sent her downstream to procure more men, and shifted
his flag into the Opossum, directing the flag-captain, Willes, to take her close under the
forts. He was again wounded, and as the ship became unmanageable, owing to her
screw fouling, and drifted down the river, the brave old admiral left her and proceeded
to the Cormorant, where, lying on her deck, he directed the battle with all the spirit of a
Blake or Benbow. At length the loss of blood prevented him from taking any further
part in the operations, and he surrendered the command to Captain Shadwell.
Meantime the Opossum and Plover had resumed their positions in the line of battle,
but the Kestrel was in a sinking state, the Lee was so disabled that her commander had
to run her aground to save her from a like fate, and the Haughty was in little better
plight. Owing also to the fall of the tide the gunboats were several feet below the level
of the forts, which rendered their fire less effective. But the Chinese guns on both
banks were nearly silenced, and Captains Shadwell and Willes, with the sanction of
the Admiral, resolved to land and attempt to storm the works, which, all previous experi-
Q 0 2

280 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ence had shown, the Chinese were little likely to defend. Accordingly, soon after seven,
these officers, with Colonel Lemon, of the Marines, landed on the right bank with all the
available men, who advanced through the soft mud in a gallant attempt to reach the
batteries, exposed the whole time to a heavy gun and musketry fire. All the three
senior officers were shot down, and the command devolved upon Commander
Commerell. At the head of the leading division he crossed the first ditch, which
was dry, but the second was full, and here he found himself with only 50 followers,
about 150 men having reached the first ditch. As a further attempt to advance could
only end in failure, the party, with the reserve under Captain Willes, retired to the boats
and were embarked in safety.
In this unfortunate affair the loss had been 80 killed and 350 wounded, many of
whom died, including Captain Vansittart, one of the most gallant and distinguished
officers in the Navy. The Cormorant, Lee, and Plover were all aground, and no efforts
could get them afloat, but the Starling was rescued, and owing to an unusually high tide
the next morning the Kestrel and Haughty were saved. In the following week Admiral
Hope withdrew his fleet to an anchorage near Ningpoo, and awaited, with unabated reso
lution, the time when he could retrieve the disaster. Throughout the action he had
been accompanied by Captain Tricault, of the French ship Duchayla, who, with a detach
ment of his men, took part in the assault, and a noteworthy incident was the sympathy
and assistance afforded by Flag-officer Tatnall, of the American Navy, command
ing the Toeywan. This officer not only went on board the Cormorant, through the
thickest of the fight, to visit the wounded admiral, when his boat was sunk alongside
by a cannon-shot, and his coxswain was killed, but he assisted in embarking a detach
ment of our seamen, and gave expression to the noble sentiment, that " blood was thicker
than water."
The British and French Governments resolved to punish the perfidy of the Chinese,
and in the following year, an army of 13,000 Europeans and Sepoys was despatched
from India under Sir Hope Grant, exclusive of 5,000 detained at Hong Kong, and of
0,700 French troops, under General Montauban. A large fleet was concentrated,
including a squadron of the Indian navy, and on the 31st July, 18G0, a landing was
effected without opposition at Pehtang, in the Gulf of Pechili. As the history
of the operations that ensued rather concerns the Army than the sister service, it will
suffice to say that the formidable Taku works and batteries were surrendered after the
great fort on the north bank had been breached and stormed by the troops under the

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 281
command of Sir Eobert (afterwards Field-Marshal Lord) Napier. This experienced
and skilful officer had foreseen that this result would follow, and it was on his advice
that Sir Hope Grant determined to make the attack on this side, and not on the
south bank, as his colleague, General Montauban, desired. The gunboats and rocket-
boats of the allied fleets assisted by shelling the forts, but the glory and loss of
the achievement fell to the soldiers. The Chinese army was defeated on the 18th and
21st September, and finally, on the 13th October, when the allied batteries were on the
point of opening fire on Pekin, the city was surrendered, and the treaty of Tientsin was
ratified within the walls of the capital of the Chinese Empire.
Nearly two years after these events, during the Taeping rebellion, a brigade of
British and French seamen and marines assisted Colonel Ward in defeating the rebels
near Woosung, and on another occasion Sir James Hope received a severe wound in
the leg when rallying a party of Ward's men who had fallen into confusion. In May
the rebels at Ningpo fired on the allied ships, when the admiral silenced the batteries,
and, landing with some men, gained possession of the town, which he gave over to the
Imperial troops. Other places were captured, at one of which Admiral Protet,
commanding the French fleet, was slain.
In our subsequent "little wars," as in all since the peace of 1815, the British
Navy played a part subordinate to the Army. In the expedition to Abyssinia they
earned the commendation of Sir Eobert Napier for the cheerful manner in which officers
and men. under Admiral Leopold Heath, performed their arduous duties of disembark
ing the Army,* and keeping up the supplies, and a rocket battery, under Commander
Fellowes, took part in the defeat of King Theodore's troops at Arogie.
In 1873, the state of affairs on the West Coast of Africa, where the Ashantees had
invaded the Fantee Brotectorate, and dominated the country to the walls of Cape Coast
Castle, led the British Government to undertake an expedition to drive them back, and
restore our influence and prestige in those regions. Before the arrival of Sir Garnet
Wolseley, in October of that year, the only troops at Cape Coast, besides 200 Houssas,
employed as native police, were 100 marines, under Colonel Festing, who landed on the
9th June, and kept the Ashantees in check at Elmina until the arrival of the British
troops. Commodore Commerell, Y.G., assumed command of the squadron on the station
* There were 235 sailing-ships and 94 steamers employed in the Abyssinian expedition, which conveyed to
Annesley Bay, near Massowah, 42,699 persons, of whom 14,683 were soldiers ; also 36,094 transport animals,
including 44 elephants.

282 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
on the 5th July, and on the following day, the Himalaya arrived with the 2nd West
India Eegiment. Owing to the sickness that prevailed, the greater portion of the
Marines returned in that ship to England. Commodore Commerell took immediate
steps to meet an apprehended attack by the Ashantees on Discove and Secondee, at
the mouth of the Prah. With the boats of the Rattlesnake and Argus he made a
reconnoissance up that river, when he was fired upon by the natives concealed in
the bush. Four men were killed and 16 wounded, among the latter being the
Commodore, and Commander Luxmoore, of the Argus. The ships then shelled and
destroyed the town of Chamah. Commodore Commerell's wound was so severe as to
disqualify him for further service, and on the 22nd August he sailed from the West
Coast for the Cape of Good Hope, when Captain Fremantle succeeded to the command
until the arrival of Sir William Hewett. Captain Fremantle continued hostile
operations with the Barracouta and Argus, which shelled and destroyed some villages
near the mouth of the Prah, but a landing party suffered some loss. Other ships
engaged on the coast were the Druid, Captain Blake, and the gunboats Decoy, Merlin,
and Bittern.
Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Cape Coast Castle on the 2nd October, and assumed
the political and military command, and among the officers most prominent under his
orders was Commander Glover, E.N., who was appointed Commissioner to the friendly
native tribes in the district east of the Gold Coast. Commander Glover raised a mixed
force of Houssas and friendly natives, and, advancing from the mouth of the Volta, caused
a diversion by acting in the rear of the Ashantee army, when the British troops advanced
on Coomassie. Sir Garnet Wolseley resolved to strike a blow with the assistance of Captain Fre
mantle, and on the 13th October sailed in the Barracouta, on board which were
embarked 150 Marines and 50 sailors, with one 7-pounder and a rocket-trough,
accompanied by the Decoy, conveying the West India Eegiment and some Houssas.
Disembarking at Elmina, the column, with some troops under Sir Garnet and Colonel
Evelyn Wood, encountered the enemy in the bush, and inflicted on them a severe defeat.
Among the wounded on our side were Captain Fremantle, Colonel McNeill, chief of
the staff, and Captain Eedvers Buller. The Ashantees were panic-struck at the energy
and celerity displayed by Sir Garnet Wolseley, and retreated precipitately across the
Brah, thus evacuating the Fantee Protectorate. Before the close of the year, two
regiments of British infantry arrived from England, but ere this there was some

HER MAJESTY^ NAVY. 283
desultory fighting, and a small force, under Lieutenant Wells, E.N., did good service at
Abrakrampa, The enemy pressed hardly on tnis post, and on the 6th November, a
detachment of 22 officers and 300 men, drawn from the ships, under command of
Captain Fremantle, and accompanied by Sir Garnet, made a forced march to relievo
that post. This was done, but at the cost of great suffering, as the heat was so
excessive that only 140 men were in a condition to complete the march from Assaybo,
20 miles from Cape Coast.
On the 27th December, the Naval Brigade of 250 officers and men, under the
command of Captain Blake, accompanied by Sir William Hewett and Captain Hunt-
Grubbe, marched for Prahsu. Here Captain Blake was compelled to return to the coast,
owing to sickness, but the gallant officer did not survive to embark for England.
Commander Luxmoore now assumed the command. After crossing the Prah and
advancing into Ashantee, the sailors were engaged in the reconnoissance at Borborassie,
and at the action, on the 31st January, of Amoaful, which decided the fate of the
campaign. On this occasion the brigade was divided into two wings, the right under
Captain Hunt-Grubbe, and the left under Commander Luxmoore, who was placed under
the orders of Colonel Evelyn Wood, himself an old sailor, who had served with
distinction before Sebastopol. The fire of the enemy was so heavy, that Colonel Wood
directed the detachment of seamen to lie down, after cutting a clearing, when they
engaged in a musketry duel with the Ashantees. At this time, and in the subsequent
advance, which ended in the utter rout of the enemy, the sailors had six officers and
23 men wounded from slugs, but none of their number were killed. At the attack on
Becqua, under Colonel Macleod, on the following day, the Naval Brigade were again
engaged, and the place was burnt.
Sir Garnet Wolseley now made a rapid march on Coomassie, giving the enemy
no time to rally, and throughout the advance the sailors brought up the rear. The
whole force was constantly engaged, and nothing could stay the magnificent dash
with which the 42nd Highlanders, with bagpipes playing, carried all before them
until the capital was entered. Sir Garnet Wolseley left Coomassie on the 6 th
February, but King Koffee refused at the time to treat for terms, though on
hearing of the advance of Commander Glover from the Volta, he sent envoys to
sue for peace. The Naval Brigade was now disbanded, and returned to their ships.
Though but few had fallen in action, a large number had been wounded, and no less
than 95 per cent., practically the whole of the 250 engaged, suffered from sickness, and

284 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
39 per cent, were actually invalided to England. Throughout the trying operations,
their conduct in the field had been such as to gain from Sir Garnet Wolseley the expres
sion of opinion that " all have fought with the dashing courage for which seamen and
Marines are so celebrated."
Not many years elapsed before a Naval Brigade was again employed, and indeed it
had become the recognised thing for a detachment of seamen to serve on shore with
their brethren of the Army. In 1877, the country was engaged in one of the numerous
South African wars which we have waged during the present century, and in December
of that year, 300 seamen and Marines, with seven guns, were landed at East London,
from H.M.S. Active, to take part in what is known in South African history as the
Transkei Campaign. A portion of the brigade, under Captain Wright, E.N., was
attached to Colonel Glyn's column, which was engaged scouring the country towards
the Quora, and the Marines formed part of another column operating beyond that river.
In the skirmishing on the 13th and 29th January, 1878, the seamen performed good
service, and at the action at Quintana Mountain, on the 7th February, they were again
of material assistance. Their services being no longer required in this quarter, they
embarked at East London on the 16th March, after three months' fighting and hard
marching. While a portion of the Naval Brigade rejoined the Active at Simon's Bay, a detach
ment under Captain Wright proceeded to reinforce the troops under Lord Chelmsford,
who had succeeded Sir Arthur Cunningham, and they were engaged in the action with
the Gaikas at the Peri bush, where the rocket-battery was of special service. This
detachment also now rejoined the Active. Before the close of the year 1878, the
British army in those regions was involved in a life-and- death struggle with the Zulus,
the most warlike tribe in South Africa, who possessed a military organization that
rendered them no contemptible foe for the best-disciplined European troops. Not only
were they bold fighters, but their powers of mobilization and hard marching were
remarkable, and they numbered not less than 40,000 warriors, whose prowess was
acknowledged by the heterogeneous races of Europeans and natives inhabiting the
southern portion of the African continent.
On the 19th November a detachment of seamen and Marines was landed from
H.M.S. Active at Durban, and marched to guard the important ford, or " drift," in
the lower Tugela, until Lord Chelmsford had matured his plans for the invasion of
Zululand. The brigade consisted of 172 men, with a Gatling and two other guns,

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 285
and two rocket-tubes, under the command of Captain Campbell, among the officers
being Lieutenants Craigie and Hamilton, who had done good service in the Transkei
Campaign. The sailors garrisoned an earthwork, to which was given the name of Fort
Pearson, after the officer commanding the column, and at this place, distant 104 miles
from Keshwayo's capital of Ulundi, took place the meeting between the Indunas, or
chiefs, of the Zulu monarch, and the Commissioners appointed by Sir Bartle Frere,
the British High Commissioner for South Africa, whose policy it was either to bring
about a disarmament or precipitate a war. Keshwayo conceded most of the demands in
Sir Bartle's ultimatum, but he could not be brought to disarm his savage warriors,
who entertained an overweening idea of their ability to meet British soldiers on the
battle-field. On the 4th January Colonel Pearson arrived with 800 bayonets of the 3rd Foot
(the "Buffs "), and the Naval Brigade was reinforced by 40 men from the Tenedos.
Six days later, the time given in the ultimatum having expired, a state of war existed
between the Zulu King and the British army. The column, under the command of
Colonel Pearson, was conveyed in five days across the Tugela by the sailors, and on
the morning of the 18th January, 1879, commenced its march into Zululand. The
total strength of the column, which was organised in two divisions, was 2,055 Euro
peans — including the Naval Brigade, the "Buffs," and 99th Eegiment, some Eoyal
Artillery and Engineers, with Volunteer Horse — and 2,342 native troops. On the 22nd
took place the action of Inyezane, at which only a portion of the force, including the
Naval Brigade, was present. The Zulus were in great force, their numbers being
variously estimated between 5,000 and 8,000, and held the ground stubbornly, but the
sailors and Eoyal Artillery did considerable execution with their guns and rocket-tubes,
and then the former, led by Captain Campbell and Lieutenant Hamilton, with a
company of the Buffs, under the personal command of Colonel Pearson, who had his
horse shot under him, advanced upon the enemy, who, after three hours' fighting, retired
in good order, leaving 300 dead on the field. The British loss was only two officers
and seven men killed, and 15 wounded.
At noon on the following day, a place called Ekowe was reached, and here was
received the astonishing news of the destruction of a portion of the column under the
immediate command of Lord Chelmsford, which took place on the same day as the
successful action at Inyezane. There was only one sailor, a signalman of the
Active, present at that massacre, and he was seen, says Colonel Parr, in his interesting
vol. in. p p

286 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
sketch of the war, " with his back against a wagon- wheel, keeping the Zulus at bay
with his cutlass, but a Zulu crept behind him, and stabbed him through the spokes."
The first rumour of the disaster was received at Ekowe on the 26th January, and two
days later arrived a letter from Lord Chelmsford, informing Colonel Pearson that he
might "expect the whole Zulu army" to attack him, requesting him to take steps for the
safety of his column, and directing him to retire to the Tugela if he was not in sufficient
strength to hold Ekowe. But Colonel Pearson resolved to remain in Zululand, although
his was the only one of the three columns that did so, and by the aid of Captain Wynne,
the able Engineer officer attached to his force, he was soon enabled to place the position
in a state of defence impregnable to any force unprovided with artillery. A portion of
the column was sent back, and with 1,400 Europeans, including the Naval Brigade, and
460 natives, Fort Ekowe was held without being attacked until the 3rd April, when
Lord Chelmsford, having crossed the Tugela and defeated the Zulus in the action at
Gingilhovo, arrived at the post and found the garrison in good condition and heart, save
for some sickness which had carried off 28 officers and men. A Naval Brigade, drawn
from H.M.S. Shah, Tenedos, and Boadicea, under the command of Captain Brackenbury,
was present at Gingilhovo, and their battery of two guns, two Gatlings, and two rocket-
tubes, materially assisted in driving back the Zulus, when they made a desperate
attempt to capture the British laager. Lord Chelmsford recrossed the Tugela, leaving
a detachment of seamen to hold a post on the Inyezane, and others to occupy Forts
Pearson and Tenedos, until he had completed his arrangements for the final defeat of the
Zulus. When all was ready, the Naval Brigade, under the command of Captain Campbell,
numbered 41 officers and 812 men, of whom 535 formed part of the First, or Coast,
Division, commanded by General Crealock. But for reasons into which we will not
enter here, this division, though encamped at Fort Durnford, within seventy miles of
Ulundi, took no part in the decisive engagement of the war, which was won by the
divisions of Generals Evelyn Wood and Newdigate. On the 7th July, three days after
the action at Ulundi, Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at the camp, and on the 21st he
inspected the Naval Brigade, of whom he said, in a General Order, that their "conduct
had been admirable, and their bearing in action in every way worthy of the service
to which they belonged." On the same day they embarked at Fort Durnford, and
at Durban rejoined the Shah, which sailed for Simon's Bay. The last occasion on which
our sailors were engaged in South Africa is not one that can arouse any feelings of pride,
but we must not deviate from our practice of recording defeats as well as victories. We

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 287
refer to the disaster at Majuba Hill, at which a party of seamen were present and
suffered severely, among the slain being their gallant leader, Commander Eomilly, of the
Boadicea. In 1882 took place the bombardment of Alexandria, one of the most successful of
this class of services rendered by the British Navy. Though it cannot compare in
military importance with the attacks on Copenhagen or Algiers, yet its political results
have been very considerable, and from the former point of view, it is of interest as being
the first occasion on which an ironclad fleet attacked fortifications constructed on the
latest and most improved method of modern war, and mounted with the heaviest
ordnance then in use.
On the 11th June took place the massacre at Alexandria of the Europeans, but
nothing was done to restore order by the Egyptian Government, which indeed was
powerless, or by the Porte, the suzerain Power. The British and French fleets arrived
off Alexandria, but no steps were taken to avenge the massacre until the 11th July,
when Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour made his famous attack on the defences of the
city, and his colleague, Admiral Conrad, acting under instructions from the French
Government, quitted the port, and steered for Port Said, thus resigning to England the
task of coercing the Egyptian insurgents, and tacitly surrendering the Dual Control, on
which the French nation had hitherto set so much store. The English commander, a man
of tried experience and remarkable for his professional attainments, eagerly hailed
the opportunity of acting without having to consult an ally. The Egyptians,
under the orders of Arabi Pasha, who was in rebellion against the Khedive Tewfik,
continued working on the fortifications, strengthening the ramparts and mounting fresh
guns, which bore on the British fleet. Sir Beauchamp Seymour addressed a remon
strance to Eagheb Pasha, President of the Khedive's Government, pointing out that
these preparations menaced the safety of his ships, but though promises were made
he failed to obtain a discontinuance of the works, which the search lights of the
fleet showed were mostly carried out at night. As it became evident that each day
added to the strength of the means of attack, on the 10th July, the fugitives having
by that time embarked, Sir Beauchamp Seymour addressed a formal demand for the
surrender to him, within twelve hours, of the batteries on the isthmus of Eas-el-Teen.
The Egyptian authorities, however, paid no heed to this ultimatum, and at seven a.m.
on the 11th July Sir Beauchamp Seymour opened fire on the enemy's forts and
batteries. t> P 2

288 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
The following were the ships and gunboats of his fleet. The crews of all had been
trained, by the experienced officers who commanded them, to a pitch of excellence as
regards gunnery that promised well for any trial of strength, but that they had no
contemptible foe to deal with soon became apparent.
Battle-ships —
Sultan  Captain W. J. Hunt-Grubbe, A.D.C., C.B.
Superb  „ T. le H. Ward
Alexandra  ,, E. Hotham
Invincible (flagship)  „ B. H. More Molyneux
Monarch  » H. Fairfax, C.B.
Penelope  „ St. George d'Arcy Irvine
Inflexible  ., J. A. Fisher
Temeraire  ., H. F. Nicholson

Gunboats-

Beacon

Condor
Bittern Cygnet .
Decoy .
Helicon (despatch-boat)

Commander G. W. Hand
„ Lord Charles Beresford
„ T. S. Brand
Lieutenant CD. Byder
„ A. H. Boldero
„ W. L. Morrison

The plan of operations embraced two attacks, one by Captain Hunt-Grubbe,
second-in-command, with the Sultan, Superb, and Alexandra, on the northern face of the
batteries of Eas-el-Teen, supported by an enfilading fire from the 80-ton gun in the
aftermost turret of the Inflexible. The other attack was by the Invincible, bearing
the admiral's flag, Monarch and Penelope, from inside the reef, aided by the fire
of the Inflexible's foremost turret, and the Temeraire, which took up a position close
to the fairway buoy of the principal entrance (called the Boghaz Pass) leading into
Alexandria harbour. The Helicon and Condor, the latter commanded by Lord
Charles Beresford, were detailed for duty as repeating ships, and the gunboats Beacon,
Bittern, Cygnet, and Decoy were directed to assist the heavy ships by their fire as
required. It was seven o'clock when Sir Beauchamp Seymour signalled from the Invincible
to the Alexandra to fire a shell into the newly-armed earthworks, termed the "Hospital
Battery," and followed this by a general signal to the fleet, " Attack the enemy's
batteries." The action soon became general between the ships and the whole of the
forts, mounting 59 guns, commanding the entrance to the harbour of Alexandria.

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 289
A steady fire, says the admiral in his despatch, was maintained on all sides until
10.30 a.m., when the Sultan, Superb, and Alexandra,* which had been hitherto under
weigh, anchored off the Lighthouse Fort, and by their well-directed fire, assisted by that
of the Inflexible, which weighed and joined them at 12.30 p.m., succeeded in silencing
most of the guns in the forts on Eas-el-Teen, though some heavy ordnance in Fort Ada,
mounting 25 guns, kept up a desultory fire. About 1.30, a shell from the Superb,
whose practice excited admiration, blew up the magazine, and caused the immediate
retreat of the remaining garrison. These ships then directed their attention to Fort
Pharos, commanding the entrance to the New Port, mounting 45 guns, which were
silenced with the assistance of the Temeraire, who joined them at 2.30, when a shot from
the Inflexible dismounted one of the heavy guns. The Hospital Battery was well fought,
and although silenced for a time by a shell from the Inflexible, it was not until 5 p.m.
that the artillerymen were compelled to retire from their guns. The Invincible,
supported by the Penelope, both ships being at anchor, and assisted by the Monarch,
under weigh inside the reefs, as well as by the Inflexible and Temeraire, succeeded,
after an engagement of some hours, in silencing and partially destroying the batteries
and lines of Meks, on the seashore. Fort Marsa-el-Kanat, still farther to the west than
Meks, was destroyed by the explosion of the magazine, after an hour's action with the
Monarch. Early in the day, when the firing had become general, Lord Charles Beresford, of
the Condor, stationed as repeating ship, performed a gallant action. Seeing the accuracy
with which two 10-inch rifled guns in Fort Marabout were playing upon the ships
engaged off Fort Meks, he steamed up to within range, and, by excellent practice, soon
drew off the enemy's fire. The admiral sent to his assistance the Beacon, Bittern,
Cygnet, and Decoy, the Cygnet having been engaged with the Eas-el-Teen batteries
during the early part of the day. About two p.m., seeing that the artillerymen in Meks
had abandoned their guns, the admiral, under cover of the fire of the gunboats, landed
a party of volunteers, under Lieutenant E. Bradford, of the Invincible, accompanied by
Lieutenant Eichard Poore, of that ship, Lieutenant the Hon. Hedworth Lambton (Flag-
Lieutenant), Major Tulloch, Welsh Eegiment, and Mr. Hardy, midshipman, who reached
* Early in the action, an act of great heroism was performed on board the Alexandra. A 10-inch spherical
shell passed through the ship's side and lodged in the main deck, when Mr. Harding, gunner, hearing the shout,
" There is a live shell just above the hatchway," rushed up the ladder from below, and observing that the fuse was
burning, took some water from a tub standing near, and threw it over the projectile, which he then picked up and
put in the tub. Had the shell burst, it would probably have destroyed many lives. For this act of devoted
bravery, Mr. Harding received the Victoria Cross, and never was it better earned.

290 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
the shore through the surf, and having destroyed with charges of gun-cotton two 10-inch
muzzle-loading rifled guns, and spiked six smooth-bore guns in the water battery at
Meks, re-embarked without a casualty beyond the loss of one of their boats on the
rocks, due to the heavy surf.
The action was over at 5.30 p.m., when the ships anchored for the night. The
victory was complete ; but, says the admiral, the force opposed to us would have been
more formidable had every gun mounted on the line of forts been brought into action.
In the Eas-el-Teen batteries, few of the large smooth-bores, and fewer of the French
36-pounders, mounted in the time of Mehemet Ali, were manned, the Egyptians pre
ferring to use the English 10-inch, and smaller muzzle-loading rifled ordnance.
These guns, which were identical with those then in use in the British Navy, were
abundantly supplied with projectiles of the latest description, and their sighting was
excellent. The same may be said of the guns in the Meks lines, excepting that in them
the 36-pounders were more used, and that one, if not two, 15-inch smooth-bores
were brought into action, in addition to the 10 -inch and smaller guns fired. Fort
Marabout employed two 10-inch guns at long range, shell after shell of which came
up towards the in-shore squadron in excellent line, falling from ten to thirty yards
short, but not one shell from the guns in the southern batteries burst on board the fleet.
As might have been anticipated, Sir Beauchamp Seymour handled his ships with
great skill, and was ably seconded by Captain Hunt-Grubbe (the same officer who
had done such good service in the Ashantee War), who commanded the outside
squadron, operating against the Eas-el-Teen batteries, which bore the brunt of the
action. All the captains and commanders of gunboats maintained the reputation of
their noble service. The ships that sustained the greatest damage were the Sultan,
Superb, and Alexandra, and the upper works of the Invincible, Inflexible, and Penelope
were also a good deal knocked about, but the Temeraire and Monarch suffered no
damage. The losses sustained by the fleet were surprisingly small, Lieutenant Jackson
and Mr. Shannon, carpenter, both of the Inflexible, and four seamen being killed, and 27
wounded, including Lieutenant Davies, of the Penelope, and Mr. Lumsden, midshipman
of the Invincible. It is due to the Egyptian artillerymen to say that they stood
to their guns under a crushing fire, and amid the masses of falling masonry, with a
devotion that elicited the encomiums of the British admiral and all Observers.
On the morning of the 12th July, the Inflexible and Temeraire engaged Fort Pharos,
which hoisted a flag of truce after a few shots were fired, as did also the Meks Barracks

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 291
Battery in reply to a similar appeal. On the following day, the admiral steamed into
the harbour with the Invincible, Penelope, and Monarch, and landed a party of seamen
and Marines, under Captain Fairfax, to take possession of Eas-el-Teen, but owing to
the absence of a sufficiently strong landing-party to occupy the town, the retiring
Egyptian army set fire to it, almost destroying the European quarter, containing some
buildings that would have adorned any city, which those will admit who remember
the beauty of the great square called after Mehemet Ali. During the afternoon of the
13th, the Khedive, Tewfik Pasha, who had been practically a prisoner of Arabi, arrived
from Eamleh, and took up his residence at Eas-el-Teen palace, under the protection of
700 Marines, and in the evening the admiral landed all the Marines from the off-shore
squadron, with some Gatling guns, and cleared the streets of the Arabs, who were
burning and pillaging.* During the whole of the 14th, as many men from the fleet as
could be spared were landed, under command of Captain Fisher, and by evening the
most important positions were occupied. On the 17th, the Channel Squadron, consisting
of the Northumberland, Agincourt, and despatch- vessel Salamis, arrived ; also the Tamar,
from England, with soldiers and Marines. Major-General Sir Archibald Alison, than
whom there are few more experienced officers in the Army, now took command of the
troops, consisting of the 1st Stafford Eegiment, the King's Eoyal Eifles, and a batta
lion of Marines, and the greater portion of the seamen rejoined their ships. Mention
should be made of the services of a detachment of sailors, under Lord Charles Beresford,
detailed for police duty during the days immediately succeeding the burning of the
city, when the streets were crowded with incendiaries and thieves.
The strength of the force in Alexandria was 3,755, including seamen and Marines,
who had with them seven 9-pounders, two 7 -pounders, six Gatlings, and four rocket-
tubes. In the event of attack, the admiral had arranged to land 1,200 more men, while
the line of approach on the side of Aboukir was completely covered by the guns of
the fleet. Sir Archibald Alison took the offensive, and sent a force at daylight on
the 24th to seize the position in the direction of Eamleh. Accompanying this column
were four guns, manned by the sailors. The original intention had been to protect the
right flank by floating rafts, or flat-bottomed boats, but the shallowness of the water
and the rapid fall of Lake Mariotis, made this impossible. To meet the difficulty,
* The bombardment was a costly affair, not only to the Egyptian exchequer, which ultimately had to pay an
indemnity of a million for the firing of the city of Alexandria, but to the English taxpayer. Every shot from the
80-ton guns cost ,£25 10s. ; from the 25-ton guns, £7 ; from the 18-ton guns, £A 4s. ; and so on in proportion for the
projectiles from the smaller ordnance.

292 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
Captain Fisher, commanding the Inflexible, with sailor- like resource, devised an armoured
train, consisting of two trucks fitted with iron-plating and sand-bags as protecting cover,
and mounted with a Nordenfeldt and two Gatling guns. A 9 -pounder was also placed
on one of the trucks, with a crane, by means of which it could be quickly taken out ;
and the crews were formed of 200 seamen, with small-arms, in other trucks, also pro
tected by sand-bags and boiler plating.
This novel engine of war was soon brought into use. In order to repair the railway-
line, which had been destroyed by the enemy, a small force was despatched by Sir
Archibald Alison, including the armoured train, and the line was completed. Arabi's
outposts showed fight, and fired some shots over the train. The position at Eamleh was
now connected with Alexandria by a second line of railway. The armoured train was
further improved by Captain Fisher, who placed one or two empty wagons in front
of it, and a 40-pounder upon a truck, protected by an iron mantlet. At the same time
the engine was placed in the middle of the train, and was protected by sand-bags
and railway iron.
Meanwhile, on the 16th July, the Khedive Tewfik, who had placed himself under
the protection of British bayonets, issued an order dismissing Arabi Pasha from
his post of Minister of War, and from that time forward action was taken by us
in the Egyptian imbroglio in the name of the Khedive. On the 27th July, the House
of Commons passed a credit, by 275 votes to 19, of £2,300,000, and two days later the
French Chambers, by a majority of 216 to 75, refused any money for the expedition,
thus leaving on this country the onus of establishing order in Egypt. Three days before
this, orders were sent to Sir Beauchamp Seymour and Sir Archibald Alison, warning
them to be ready in case of necessity to seize Port Said or Ismailia, and on the 27th, the
day of the adoption of the vote of credit, H.M.S. Orion passed into the Canal toward
Ismailia, in accordance with the authority obtained from the Khedive, and on the 30th
July, Sir William Hewett, commanding on the East India station, arrived off Suez,
and Admiral Hoskins, at Port Said, with some ships, ready, when the time arrived for
action, to seize the Canal from both ends. On the last day of July all the French
ships-of-war still remaining at Alexandria withdrew, with the exception of one gunboat.
Almost daily reconnoissances were carried out at Alexandria by Sir Archibald
Alison, and in one of them, Midshipman de Chair, who had been sent with despatches,
was captured by the enemy, and taken to Cairo, where it was given out that the prisoner
was Sir Beauchamp Seymour.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 293
In order to keep up the belief that tho attack on the Egyptian army was to be
from Alexandria, General Alison, on the 5th August, undertook a reconnoissance in
force with two columns, each consisting of 1,000 troops. The left column advanced
along the bank of the Canal, and the right along the railway. The most interesting
incident of the action was the good service done by the 40-pounder from the armoured
train, which, with four guns dragged by the sailors, was the only ordnance employed.
The enemy only yielded their successive positions as the artillery fire became too much
for them, or as their flanks were turned. On the arrival of reinforcements, they
appeared resolved to fight, but the object of keeping Arabi alarmed, and encouraging
the belief that the attack on his army was to be from Alexandria, had been attained by
the British general, who retired to his positions.
A portion of Arabi's reserves had been called out on the 27th July, and between
the 30th of that month, when the Orient sailed from England with a battalion of the
Scots Guards, and the 11th August, the various transports, conveying the troops of the
expeditionary force, cleared from the ports of this country. Sir Garnet Wolseley sailed
on the 2nd August in the Calabria for the seat of war. It had been his intention to
proceed overland, via Brindisi, but when returning from a visit to Osborne to wait on
the Queen, he caught a chill which resulted in an attack of erysipelas, and under medical
advice, he took the sea route as the best means of restoring him to health. On the
10th August, Sir Garnet touched at Gibraltar, and despatched a telegram to Sir John
Adye, his Chief of the Staff and second-in-command, who had arrived that day at
Alexandria, requesting him to have all ready for the movement on the Suez Canal,
immediately on his arrival.
Long before quitting England, and, indeed, early in July, Sir Garnet Wolseley
had decided to make the line of advance on Cairo, the objective of the expedition,
by Ismailia, lying midway in the Canal, and distant only 75 miles from the capital,
Alexandria being 120. This course was dictated by necessity, as during the months of
August, September, and October, the period of " high Nile," the whole delta is laid
under water by the irrigation works, while the desert between Ismailia and Cairo afforded
fair marching ground for infantry and cavalry, though difficult for artillery and wheeled
transport because of the sandy patches interspersed through its entire route. Further,
an advance from Ismailia would cover and protect the Canal, where also the troops
from India could more easily concentrate. Accordingly, on the 2nd August, Admiral
Hewett landed some Marines, and occupied Suez without resistance.
VOL. in. Q Q

294 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The task entrusted to the British Navy of seizing the Canal, and disembarking a
large army with all its stores, was both complex and arduous, which will be apparent
by a consideration of the difficulties involved in the navigation of the Canal, and
by the fact that M. de Lesseps had taken up a hostile attitude to the expedition,
and commanded the services of the Canal pilots. The narrowness of the channel, and the
character of the banks, made it impossible for a large ship to pass down rapidly, and any
attempt to do so caused a wash upon the banks, and a consequent backwater. Then
special steering-gear is required in ships using this route, and the services of experienced
officers. At this time, only one small pier existed at Ismailia, and ships did not anchor
in Lake Timsah nearer than half a mile from the shore, so that every man and horse
and gun, as well as all the stores, had to be transhipped from the transports into
barges and small boats before being landed. The organization was placed in the
hands of Captain Fisher, under the orders of Admiral Hoskins.
On the night of the 15th August, Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Alexandria, and
on the following day, the whole of the arrangements for seizing the Canal, and for
the movement of the Army on Ismailia, was worked out between the General and
Sir Beauchamp Seymour, and the same evening, Admiral Hoskins left, in the Iris, for
Port Said, to communicate the plan of operations to Sir William Hewett, at Suez, and
to make arrangements with him for the effective military occupation of the Canal
throughout its entire length on the morning of Sunday, the 20th August, for which he
had a mandate from the Khedive, dated the 1st of the month. Admiral Hoskins reached
Port Said at ten a.m. on the 17th August, and on the following morning, Captain
Fitzroy, who was at Ismailia with his ship, the Orion, together with the Carysfort and
Coquette, watching over the security of the Canal, arrived at Port Said, and received
from the admiral instructions for seizing Ismailia before daybreak on the 20th August.
Captain Fairfax, of H.M.S. Monarch, was ordered to occupy Port Said, at the same
time, and Commander Edwards, of H.M. gunboat Ready, started at eight in the evening
of the 19th August, to take possession of all barges and dredges along the line to
Ismailia, the property of the Canal Company, to seize the telegraph- station at Kantara,
in order to command the communications between Port Said and Ismailia, and to require
all vessels in the Canal bound for Port Said to move into the " gares," points where the
Canal is widened to admit of ships passing each other. The Ready and the Dee
embarked three companies of Marines to assist in carrying out the undertaking, and
100 seamen were sent in the Nyanza, to reinforce the squadron at Ismailia.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 295
At the Suez end, Admiral Hewett was directed to permit no ship to enter the
Canal on the 19th, to drive the enemy out of Shalouf on the following morning, and
attempt the capture of Serapeum. In this way the whole of the maritime waterway
was to be occupied and cleared from Port Said to Suez, so as to be ready, soon after
daybreak on the 20th, for the passage of the expedition from Alexandria. The whole
of the arrangements were successfully carried into execution just as directed, and the
result speaks well for the sagacity of the heads that planned the scheme, and the bold
ness and spirit with which it was put into execution. All the various craft on the
Canal were taken possession of, an officer and 15 men being detailed to each. The
whole of the passing ships were detained in the " gares," with the exception of the
French ship Melbourne, which, as carrying the mails, was permitted to proceed as an act
of international courtesy, and two English steamers which followed in her wake. Thus
by dawn of the 20th August the Canal was clear.
Captain Fairfax was equally successful in his forcible occupation of Port Said. At
sunset on the previous evening, in order to distract attention, the Falcon had been sent
to anchor off the coast midway between the port and Fort Gemil, off which, during the
night, the Northumberland brought to. Before the attacking parties left the ships,
Colonel Tulloch landed with six Marines, and surprised the sentries. This done, the
seamen of the Monarch, under Commander Hammill, passed ashore by an ingeniously-
constructed floating bridge, formed of a lighter, planked over, and the ship's launch.
Lieutenant Cook, of the Iris, also landed with a party of men from that ship, and,
meeting the detachment from the Monarch, the united party formed a chain of sentries
stretching across the neck of land between Lake Menzaleh and the sea, thus effectually
cutting off all retreat from the town, and preventing all communication between it and
the neighbouring country. Meantime, a company of Marines from the Iris, with a
Gatling, under Captain Coffin, moved upon the barracks, while another company from
the Monarch, with a Gatling, under Captain Eden, marched to effect a junction on the
other side of the barracks. Thus surrounded, the soldiers laid down their arms without
resistance, and the Khedive's governor, who had been expelled by the rebels, was
reinstated in his office. Kantara was occupied without resistance, and by four in the
morning the town of Ismailia was also seized. An hour before, 565 officers and men,
from the Orion, Northumberland, and Coquette, and the Nyanza, troopship, with two
Gatlings and a 7-pounder gun, under Captain Stephenson, were landed, and before they
were discovered, surrounded the lock guard, who fired off their rifles, wounding an
qq2

296 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
officer, Commander Kane. The guard over the governor's house laid down their arms,
but there was some skirmishing at a small village outside the town, occupied by the
enemy, who were, however, dislodged by the seamen and Marines, advancing under a
covering fire from the ships. At the telegraph-office, it was ascertained, from the
messages there, that the enemy, who had about 2,000 men at Nefisha, intended to
reinforce that station, with the object of attacking Ismailia and the British ships.
Accordingly, the Orion and Carysfort shelled the railway-station at Nefisha, and though
the distance was about 4,000 yards, a train was struck by a shell, and the enemy's camp
so much exposed that it was abandoned.
An amusing instance now took place of the uses to which a telegraph can be
put against an unsuspecting enemy. Messages addressed to the manager were
received from the War Office at Cairo, which, like the whole military resources of
Egypt, was worked in the interests of Arabi, and a reply was sent in the name of the
traffic manager, to the effect that 5,000 English troops had landed, and any attempt to
relieve Ismailia would now be too late. The War Minister thereupon acknowledged the
message, and added that he had informed all concerned.
Meanwhile at Suez, Admiral Hewett had taken equally energetic measures, and with
not less success. It was of the first importance to seize Shalouf, not only because it
gave possession of the maritime canal between Suez and the Bitter Lakes, but as
there was a lock there of the fresh-water canal, by which its waters could be emptied
into the Suez Canal. Admiral Hewett therefore sent a detachment of the Seaforth
Highlanders, with seamen and Marines from the gunboats Seagull and Mosquito, who
seized the lock and closed the gates, which had already been opened. The enemy showed
in some force on the further bank of the fresh-water canal, and opened fire, but
Lieutenant Lang, of the Highlanders, gallantly swam across under fire, and brought over
a boat, by means of which the troops and seamen crossed the canal, and with the assis
tance of a well-directed fire of small-arms, and of a Gatling and 7-pounder from the tops
of the Seagull and Mosquito, speedily drove back and dispersed the Egyptians. Thus
it came about that the whole of the Suez Canal from sea to sea passed into the posses
sion of the British commander, in spite of the vehement protestations of M. Lesseps,
and became available for the unrestricted transport of troops to the new seat of active
hostilities designed by Sir Garnet Wolseley. The plan had been carried out without
a hitch, and was of so novel a character, that we have deemed the details of sufficient
interest to merit description.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 297
Meantime, it had been given out at Alexandria, so that it might come to the ears of
Arabi, that the fleet would proceed to the bombardment of Aboukir, and that the
whole of the forces at Alexandria would take part in the subsequent operations. Sir
Edward Hamley, commanding the Second Division, was not let into the secret, and he
and his brigadiers, Sir Archibald Alison and Sir Evelyn Wood, worked out the arrange
ments for advancing from Alexandria on Arabi's works in the neighbourhood, while the
rest of the army was to co-operate from Aboukir Bay, and on communicating his pro
posals to the Commander-in-chief, Sir Garnet gave them his full approval. On the same
day, the 18th August, the brigade of Guards and the cavalry and artillery which had
been landed, were re-embarked, as well as four locomotives and 80 railway- carriages,
and in the evening, the whole fleet anchored outside the outer harbour of Alexandria.
At noon of the following day, the ships, consisting of eight ironclads and 17 transports,
each of the former having charge of two of the latter, together with the despatch-boats,
Salamis and Helicon, having on board respectively the military and naval commanders-
in-chief, weighed anchor, and, forming in five lines, stood to the eastward. At four p.m.
the same day, the fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, and there they remained until night
fall, when the small craft stood close in shore and opened fire, while the remainder of
the expedition, with the transports, steamed full power towards Port Said, which was
reached soon after sunrise on the 20th August, by which time the Suez Canal through
out its length was in possession of the British Navy.
General Gerald Graham, commanding one of the two brigades of the First (General
Willis's) Division, proceeded in the Falcon, with a wing of the West Kent, to reinforce
Ismailia, which was reached at ten that night. The same day, several of the transports,
with troops, had reached Kantara, and the remainder had anchored in the Canal. Sir
Garnet Wolseley himself arrived at Ismailia at nine on the following morning, and
immediately sent forward General Graham with the West Kent and a naval Gatling
gun to occupy Nefisha. Serapeum, in advance of Shalouf, was seized by the
Seaforth Highlanders on this day, and thus the main line of railway and fresh-water
canal between Suez and Ismailia was in the hands of the British commander, and com
munications by land had been secured with the Indian Contingent, a portion of which
had arrived at Suez. The rest of the operations, from the ^action at Magfar to the
battle of Tel-el- Kebir and occupation of Cairo, are of a military character, though a
strong detachment of seamen and Marines was also engaged.
The prescient character of Sir Garnet Wolseley in the conduct of this, as in all his

298 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
other campaigns, is manifest in the fact that before leaving England he had expressed
his opinion that the decisive battle of the war would take place at the earthworks of
Tel-el-Kebir, and in a private letter, written just before he left Alexandria, he said : —
" I shall want every available man I can get for my fight near Tel-el-Kebir, if Arabi
will only in kindness stay to fight me there."
In the action of the advanced guard, on the 24th August, at which Sir Garnet was
present, a party of seamen from H.M.S. Orion, with two Gatling guns, under Lieutenant
King-Harman, was engaged, with two guns of the Horse Artillery. One machine-gun
was placed in the line, and a shelter pit was made for it, while the second Gatling
took post on the left flank of the York and Lancaster Eegiment, between the fresh
water canal and railway. The enemy were in greatly superior force, and the position
was an anxious one, for had the small artillery force fallen back, owing either to the
extreme heat of the day, or the explosion of an ammunition waggon from one of the
shells, " there could be little doubt," says Colonel Maurice, the official historian of the
war, to whose account we are indebted, " the enemy would have acquired a confidence
which would have induced him to try his greatly superior numbers in a close attack,
which we had barely sufficient numbers to meet." The four remaining guns of the
battery of Horse Artillery arrived later in the day, and on the arrival of the Guards'
Brigade and some cavalry the enemy withdrew into camp. Sir Garnet Wolseley returned
to Ismailia for the night, and early on the morning of the 25th August, advanced with
the First Division, when the enemy abandoned the camp at Mahsama, with seven Krupp
guns, stores, ammunition, and 75 rail way- waggons. A battalion of Eoyal Marines,
under Colonel Jones, and a second of Eoyal Marine Artillery, under Colonel Tuson,
both of which added to the reputation of their corps, took part in the operations
ending with the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, on the 13th September, and the capture of
Cairo. A naval brigade of 210 seamen, with six Gatlings, under Captain Fitzroy, was
attached to the Indian Contingent, and marched along the line of railway, on the
northern bank of the Canal, the main body of the infantry advancing on the southern
side, connection between them being maintained by pontoons, under charge of the Eoyal
Engineers. The Gatlings gave effective support to the Seaforth Highlanders, who,
with the Native Infantry, captured the entrenchments on the southern bank, and of the
58 guns taken in the battle, General Macpherson's force was credited with eight Krupp
field-guns, and four 7-pounder rifled bronze guns.
The services of one of our naval officers were of such importance as to merit special

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 299
notice. Lieutenant Eawson was employed on shore as naval aide-de-camp to Sir Garnet
Wolseley, and was present in the memorable march on Tel el- Kebir. The night of
the 12th September was more than usually dark, and it was some time before the troops
could be placed in the positions assigned to them. About eleven p.m., when this was done,
Sir Garnet rode on the ground, and went round the whole of the bivouac. As the
sole means of direction depended on the stars, he instructed Lieutenant Eawson to guide
the Highland Brigade, "as a man well accustomed to steer his way by the stars, and
familiar with the desert from having accompanied the Commander-in-chief in his many
journeyings to and from Ismailia by night."
The army marched off at 1.30 a.m. on the 13th September, the right company of
the Cameron Highlanders, guided by Lieutenant Eawson, being the company of direc
tion. So well did he perform his task, that the Highlanders, leading the Second Division,
arrived at the enemy's entrenchments before the First Division, although it was supposed
that the latter would strike the line of works first, as it trended forward towards its left.
Absolute silence prevailed, and " sight or sound at 100 yards from any column there
was none, save of the desert and the stars." After marching for about an hour and
three-quarters, the Highland Brigade halted and laid down for twenty minutes in order
to refresh the men, but some confusion was caused by the flanks continuing to advance
until the brigade stood in a crescent-shaped formation. However, with the assistance
of Lieutenant Eawson, Sir Archibald Alison drew back the other battalions and com
panies, and the brigade resumed its march in perfect order, and about five minutes to
five, the Highlanders, being quite 600 or 700 yards in advance of the leading brigade
(General Graham's) of the First Division, charged the entrenchments, and after a long
and severe struggle, made good their footing within it.
The gallant Eawson, who was among the first to top the crest of the entrenchments,
received a wound, from which he expired before receiving the news of his promotion to
the rank of commander. Sir Garnet Wolseley rode back from the field of battle on the
same afternoon to express to his dying subaltern his appreciation of his gallantry and
devotion. " Did I not lead them straight ? " was the eager question of the dying officer,
who, though in articulo mortis, smiled gratefully, when his chief, pressing his hand,
expressed his satisfaction with his conduct, and said he hoped he might survive to enjoy
the hardly-earned promotion to the rank of commander, which a cruel fate, however,
denied him.
Sir Garnet Wolseley says of this officer, who had earned his thanks by his gal-

300 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
lantry at Ashantee :— " Of my aides-de-camp, I have to regret the loss of Lieutenant
Eawson, E.N., who was mortally wounded at Tel-el-Kebir. During the many journeys
I made by night, I found him of great use in directing our line of march correctly,
through his knowledge of the stars. On the 13th inst., I selected him to conduct the
Highland Brigade during the night to the portion of the enemy's works where I ex
plained to him I wished them to storm. This duty he performed with the utmost cool
ness and success, but lost his life in its execution. No man more gallant fell on that
occasion." Throughout the succeeding operations near Suakin, in the Eastern Soudan, and in
the campaign on the Nile for the relief of General Gordon, the Navy took an important,
if a subordinate, part, and added a fresh page to the glorious records of the service.
Sir William Hewett, commanding the fleet on the East India Station, was Governor of
Suakin, and on the 24th February, 1884, accompanied Sir Gerald Graham to Trinkitat,
where the troops were disembarked for the march to relieve Tokar. Here the mal
contents had taken post under the irrepressible Osman Digna, who was so often
reported as killed, but again and again turned up to engage his combined British and
Egyptian enemies, and harass " the friendlies," who suffered greatly by their adhesion
to the cause of England. A naval brigade accompanied the army under Commander
Ernest Eolfe, who had served ashore in the Ashantee Campaign, and was an officer of
great promise, and much experience of native warfare. The brigade numbered 150
seamen, with six machine-guns, and accompanying the expedition was a battalion of
Eoyal Marines, light infantry and artillery, nearly 400 strong, commanded by Colonel
Tuson. A hotly-contested battle took place on the 29th February at El Teb, the scene
of Valentine Baker's rout, when his ill- disciplined gendarmerie were slaughtered by the
warlike Arabs of the desert. The Naval Brigade, with their machine-guns, were
stationed in the angles in the front of the advancing square, and the Eoyal Artillery
with their guns on the rear face, and when the hand-to-hand fighting took place, the
seamen and their officers greatly distinguished themselves by their cool intrepidity.
One of the latter, Captain Wilson, of the Hecla, a volunteer, gained the Victoria Cross.
He was attached to the right half battery of machine-guns, and when the troops charged
a work armed with two Krupp guns, the enemy attacked the corner of the square,
where the seamen were dragging forward a Gardner gun, in order to bring it into
action. Captain Wilson sprang to the front and engaged the Arabs until he was
assisted by some men of the York and Lancaster Eegiment. In the action, Lieutenant

SHIP'S COOK

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 301
Eoyds, of the Carysfort, who had been engaged at Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, was
slain, together with three seamen, but the services rendered by the detachment received
the approval of Sir Gerald Graham, who wrote : — " The general officer thanks the Naval
Brigade for their cheerful endurance during the severe work of dragging the guns over
difficult country, when suffering from heat and scarcity of water ; and for their ready
gallantry and steadiness under fire while serving the guns. The Naval Brigade con
tributed materially to the success of the action, and the general officer commanding
cannot too highly express his thanks for their services." The expedition returned to
Suakin, but on the 11th March again took the field to disperse the Arabs, who were
beleaguering Sinkat, where some Egyptian troops still held out.
The Naval Brigade had arduous work in dragging the machine-guns through the
scrub and sand, and at Tamai the column came into collision with the Arabs. Undaunted
by their experiences at El Teb, they threw themselves recklessly on the British square,
under command of General Davis, to which was attached the Naval Brigade and Marine
battalion, numbering 14 officers and 464 men. The seamen, with the machine-
guns, were posted inside the square, formed by the Second Brigade, but owing to the
rapidity of the advance, which was made at the double, the formation was broken, and
the enemy charged from a nullah in which they were secreted, on the right corner of
the square, formed by the York and Lancaster Eegiment, where there was a gap. The
brigade fell back in confusion, and the Arabs captured the guns, by which, says the
general, the men " stood to the last." It was at this time, when bravely defending
their charges, that Lieutenants Almack, Houston Stewart, and Montresor, with seven
seamen, were killed, Lieutenant Conybeare and seven others being wounded.
The brigade quickly rallied, and the steady advance of the First Brigade, under Sir
Eedvers Buller, whose volleys swept all before them, completed the discomfiture of the
Arabs, when the guns were retaken. After occupying the camp and village of Tamai,
on the same day, the column returned to Suakin, and a body of 200 seamen, landed from
the squadron, afforded valuable assistance in carrying the wounded. The campaign was
concluded by an unopposed advance on Tamanieb, when the troops returned to Cairo or
England, with the exception of a small garrison for Suakin, including a battalion of
Marines. In the autumn of 1885 took place the expedition, under Lord Wolseley, for the
relief of General Gordon at Khartoum. In the arduous task of transporting men and
stores along the reaches of the Nile to Korti, the Navy rendered valuable assistance,
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302 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
under Commander Hammill, of the Monarch, and received the thanks of his lordship for
its co-operation, and also had part in the advance from Korti to Metemmeh, on the
Nile, under the command of Sir Herbert Stewart. Small in numbers, but excellent in
discipline and valour, the Naval Brigade was commanded by Lord Charles Beresford,
who had already earned a reputation for gallantry when in command of the Condor at
Alexandria. On the 5th January, 1885, a portion of the Brigade, consisting of four
officers and 51 seamen, arrived at Korti, under Lieutenant Bigott, and shortly after, the
remainder followed, consisting of six officers and 50 seamen, under the command
of Lieutenant Van Koughnet, including some men of the Naval Engineer Department,
to assist on board the steamers.
On the 8th January, the column of 100 officers and 1,500 men, of whom a portion
were mounted on camels, marched from Korti under command of Sir Herbert Stewart,
and Gakdul Wells was reached four days later without any opposition being encountered.
The column marched after a halt of two days, and on the 16th, the scouts first had
touch of the enemy, and from this point till the Nile was reached the fighting was of a
desperate character, and the Naval detachment of 55 officers and men suffered its full
share in the loss sustained and the honour achieved.
On the night of the 16th, when the small British force was encamped in a zareba,
or breastwork of prickly camel-thorn bushes, about four miles from the wells of Abu
Klea, the Arabs commenced to annoy them by a distant rifle fire, but no organized
attack was made. At six on the following morning, after breakfast, the column was
formed up outside the zareba, about 800 yards from which the enemy appeared in
dense masses, and showed every disposition to try conclusions at close quarters. The
artillery, with a half battery of 7-pounders, and 40 seamen with the Gardner gun, took
up a position on the right front, the remainder of the Naval Brigade remaining in the
zareba. For some time the British column remained drawn up in expectation of an attack,
but as the enemy showed a disinclination to take the offensive, shortly after nine a.m.
General Stewart ordered the greater portion of the troops to take up a fresh position in
front of the zareba, in which a detachment with the transport camels still remained.
Accompanying the column was the main portion of the Naval Brigade, with the Gardner
gun, under the command of Lord Charles Beresford. The troops advanced in square
formation a distance of about two miles, the enemy meanwhile keeping up a hot fire,
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HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 303
in the high grass, which was about 400 yards distant. Still none of the Arabs showed
themselves, but when the square halted abreast of the flags, suddenly they were seen to
spring up, to the number of about 6,000, and advance rapidly upon the British position.
Accompanying them was a body of some 40 horsemen, all carrying flags. To meet the
attack, Beresford brought the Gardner gun from its position on the rear face of the
square to the centre of the left flank, on which the enemy were advancing with speed.
His lordship succeeded in getting off 40 rounds, or five turns of the lever, when, per
ceiving that the elevation was too great, he gave the order to cease firing until the gun
was brought to bear on the foe. Again he fired 30 rounds, when the gun jammed, the
Arabs being then about 200 yards distant from its muzzle. In a moment the enemy
were upon them, and a hand-to-hand melee ensued, in which Lord Charles Beresford was
knocked down, and some of his men were killed and wounded.*
The Arabs now diverged to their right, and bore down on the rear face of the
square. Lord Charles Beresford, as soon as he was relieved from the pressure, and
regained his legs, used his best endeavours to clear the jam in the Gardner gun, and
succeeding in doing so, opened fire on the enemy, but was not able to effect much,
as by that time they were under cover beyond range. In the brief struggle, the
detachment had suffered severely, two officers and six men being killed, and seven
wounded, out of 40 engaged. The officers were Commander Alfred Pigott and Lieutenant
Eudolf de Lisle, both described as "most excellent." The enemy lost heavily, quite 800
dead being visible in the grass, and one of their leaders, who was mounted, was killed
inside the square.
The column halted while attention was given to the wounded, and about 2.30 con
tinued the march to Abu Klea Wells, the Naval Brigade having a difficult task in
dragging the Gardner gun over the rough ground, owing to their diminished numbers.
Abu Klea was reached about five the same afternoon, and the column having constructed
a zareba, bivouacked on the night of the 17th, without provisions or blankets. The
* His lordship says in his despatch : — " The captain of the gun (Rhodes, chief boatswain's mate) and myself
unscrewed the plate to clear the barrel, or take the lock of the jammed barrel out, when the enemy were upon us.
Rhodes was killed with a spear. Walter Miller, armourer, I also saw killed with a spear at the same moment on my
left. I was knocked down in the rear of the gun, but uninjured, except a small spear scratch on the left hand.
The crowd and crush of the enemy was very great at this point, and, as I struggled up, I was carried against
the face of the square, which was literally pushed back by sheer weight of numbers, about twelve paces from the
position of the gun. The crush was so great that at the moment few on either side were killed, but fortunately
this flank of the square had been forced up a very steep little mound, which enabled the rear rank to open a tremen
dous fire over the heads of the front rank men : this relieved the pressure, and enabled the front rank to bayonet or
shoot those of the enemy nearest them."
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304 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
night was very cold, and the sufferings of the wounded were greatly aggravated by the
low temperature. On the following morning, the detachment and camels joined the
column at Abu Klea from the zareba in rear, and at two o'clock the same afternoon, the
whole force continued the march for the Nile, with the determination of reaching it
without a halt. All that day and through the night the troops moved on, and at half-
past six on the morning of the 19th, the river was seen in front. It was a welcome
sight, but the British soldiers and sailors had a hard day's fighting before them, and
some were destined even now to be deprived of the anticipated pleasure of quenching
their thirst in the waters of the Nile.
A halt was made for the purposes of rest and breakfast, when the enemy made
their appearance on one of the neighbouring hills. While they were engaged in
the construction of a zareba, the Arabs opened fire, and our men began to fall fast.
Among those wounded was Sir Herbert Stewart, who received a bullet-wound in the
groin, from the effects of which he eventually succumbed. Sub-Lieutenant Munro, E.N.,
was also severely wounded. The Gardner gun was taken to a point about ten yards
outside the square, and opened fire, but it could not have been very effective, as the
enemy's sharpshooters, on whom it was directed, were under cover or concealed in
the grass.
At length, about ten a.m., the zareba was completed, and the troops formed
outside, to the number of 1,000 men, to continue the march for Metemmeh, on the Nile,
while to Lord Charles Beresford was entrusted the command of the position, in which
all the camels, over 2,000 in number, and the wounded, were left under the protection
of 300 men, composed of details from various regiments and departments, with the Naval
Brigade. Upon the square moving off for the river, the enemy appeared inclined to repeat the
tactics of Abu Klea, but they met an equally warm reception. A fort had been con
structed outside the zareba, on which two 7-pounders, under Captain Norton, E.A., and
the Gardner gun had been mounted, and as the square, being still within range, was
attacked by the Arabs, these pieces of ordnance opened fire on them with great accuracy
and fatal effect. At length the column reached the Nile, but long before they reached
the river, the enemy, disheartened by their want of success, desisted from making any
further attack.
The position of the detachment left in the zareba, under Lord Charles Beresford,
through that day and night, was a critical one, and when, on the following morning, the

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 305
column returned to escort the camels and wounded men to the spot on the banks of the
Nile selected for the temporary encampment, a sense of relief pervaded all hearts. At
four o'clock the same afternoon the united column marched for the river, which they
reached without experiencing opposition.
Instead of pushing on to the rescue of General Gordon without further loss of time
than was absolutely necessary, Sir Charles Wilson undertook a useless reconnoissance
towards Metemmeh, to which he took with him the Gardner gun, under charge of Mr.
Webber, boatswain, every other naval officer being killed, wounded, or required for
other duties.
In the interval the naval engineer with the column had effected what repairs were
necessary to the engines of the four steamers Gordon had sent from Khartoum, and at
three p.m. on the 22nd January, Lord Charles Beresford reported to Sir Charles Wilson
that they were ready for service. But instead of despatching them immediately to effect
the object of all the expenditure of treasure and blood involved since the despatch
of the expedition from England, the officer in command detached Lord Charles
Beresford to Shendy with two steamers — the Bordein and Tull-Hoiveiya — on board of
which were their native crews and some of Gordon's black troops. After throwing a few
shells into that place Beresford returned to Metemmeh, and it was not until seven o'clock
on the morning of the 24th January that Sir Charles Wilson left for Khartoum with
these two steamers, conveying a detachment of about 20 men of the Sussex Eegiment
and the Soudani troops, some 280 in all.
Lord Charles Beresford, who remained in camp with the Naval Brigade, employed
the leisure at his disposal in again visiting Shendy, in the Sofia steamer, on board of
which were embarked some British seamen and a Gardner gun. The enemy were
engaged, and replied to the ship's fire, but were easily dispersed. The fourth
steamer, Tewfikea, was utilised to bring food for the camels from an island in the river
opposite the camp, garrisoned by some of Gordon's Egyptian troops, and to receive Sir
Herbert Stewart, whose condition had become serious. Between the 25th and 30th
January, Lord Charles Beresford daily patrolled the stream, and brought off such supplies
of vegetables and sheep as he could raid from the adjacent villages. These excursions
were conducted with comparative impunity from loss, owing to the precautions his
lordship had taken in fitting bullet-proof screens on the bulwarks.
On the 31st January, the Second Division of the Naval Brigade, consisting of
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306 HER MAfESTY'S NA VY.
the anxiety with which the column were awaiting news from Khartoum was
intensified by the intelligence that the city had fallen, that Gordon was slain, and
that the two steamers had been wrecked. Lieutenant Stuart- Wortley, who brought
this startling intelligence, had arrived in a boat from Sir Charles Wilson's party, which
was encamped on an island about 30 miles up stream, with an urgent request from that
officer, addressed to Lord Charles Beresford, to proceed to his assistance. Immediately
his lordship selected a crew for the Sofia from the Naval Brigade, and taking with him
20 picked shots from the Mounted Infantry, and mounting in the steamer the two
Gardners, now at his disposal, sailed on the 2nd February for the rescue of the ship
wrecked party. At seven on the following morning he came abreast of a strong
earthwork, about a quarter of a mile from the island where they were encamped, which
opened on them from some heavy guns, and also kept up a continuous fusillade. Owing
to the depth of water, the Sofia had to pass within 80 yards of the fort, but by
directing the fire from his Gardners and the ship's howitzer into the embrasures, he
was enabled to pass by without accident. He had increased his distance to 200
yards, when the enemy sent a shot into the boiler, which rendered the machinery power
less. Lord Charles headed the steamer at once for the opposite bank, and when she had
lost her way, dropped his anchor. The Arabs now redoubled their fire, when his lordship
mounted one of the Gardners on the after part, and directed a hot fire from it and from
the 7-pounder, as well as from the rifles, on the embrasures of the battery, facing up
stream. About eleven o'clock, when the boiler had cooled, Mr. Benbow, the chief
engineer, began its repair, a job which took ten hours to accomplish. " Too much
credit," says Lord Charles, "cannot be given to this officer, as he had to shape the
plate, bore the holes in plate and boiler, and run down the screws and nuts, almost
entirely with his own hands, the artificers and every one in the stoke-hole having
been scalded severely by the explosion when the shot entered the boilers. The plate
was 16 inches by 14, so that some idea can be formed of the work entailed upon him."
Lord Charles Beresford, having communicated with Sir Charles Wilson, arranged to
march down the right bank of the river, while his sick and wounded were removed in
a nuggah, or large native boat. On the vessel making its appearance, the enemy opened
fire from the earthwork, but with little effect, owing to the darkness. After it had
passed, they took their guns out of the fort, and fired several rounds on the steamer,
but not receiving any return, came to the conclusion apparently that it was deserted,
which was what Lord Charles Beresford desired, and ceased firing for the night.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 307
The repair of the boiler having been completed at nine in the evening, early on the
following morning, the 4th February, fires were lit, and at 5.30, within a few minutes
of daylight, steam was up, and all ready for a start. On perceiving the ruse that had
been successfully practised, the enemy began yelling, and opened fire on the steamer,
but it was then too late to stop her progress, and she steamed up stream, and pro
ceeded a distance of three-quarters of a mile to one of the reaches of the river, where
there was room to turn, when she steamed past the fort at a good speed, and opened
fire with her guns and rifles. But all difficulties and dangers were not yet surmounted,
for it was discovered that the nuggah had grounded on a rock within range of the
fort. His lordship sent Sub -Lieutenant Keppel to assist in getting her afloat, and when
this was done, while exposed to a heavy fire, Beresford embarked the military party
from the shore, and the steamer proceeded to camp, where she arrived at 5.45 the
same evening, without further incident.
The successful termination of the undertaking was due to the skilful management
and coolness of Lord Charles Beresford, who, however, gave the credit to others. He
says in his despatch : — "I consider that we owe our safety in the steamer, as well as the
safety of Sir Charles Wilson and his party, who undoubtedly would have been killed
if the steamer had been destroyed, to the untiring energy of Sub-Lieutenant Keppel
and Mr. Webber, boatswain (who worked the howitzer), to Lieutenant Bower, who com
manded the picked shots of the Mounted Infantry, and Mr. Ingram, of the Yeomanry,
who is attached by order to the Naval Brigade, and who attended to the working of
the Gardner, after Lieutenant Van Koughnet was wounded at the moment the fort
bore on our beam. Surgeon May, E.N., was also very attentive to the wounded.
Testimony must be borne to the splendid discipline maintained by the men, one and
all, during a tremendous fire which lasted thirteen hours." The steamer was patched
up for temporary service, but she leaked badly, owing to the concussion of the gun in
the action of the 3rd February, there not being sufficient room for its recoil.
Sir Eedvers Buller now arrived from Korti to assume command of the column,
which set cut on its return march at daybreak on the 14th February. On the previous
day, Lord Charles Beresford spiked the guns on board the two remaining steamers,
Sofia and Tewfikea, and threw them overboard, together with the ammunition, and also
removed the eccentric bands from the engines of both vessels. The column halted at
Abu Klea Weils from noon on the following day till the 23rd February, and had a
skirmish with the enemy, but on the evening of that day the march was resumed for

308 HER MAJESTY 'S NAVY.
Gakdul. This place was reached on the 26 th, and two days later the Naval Brigade
left with a portion of the force for Korti, which they entered without molestation. The
return march of 200 miles from Metemmeh was made without a man falling out.
On their arrival, Lord Wolseley inspected the Naval Brigade, and made an address
expressive of his thanks and recognition of their good conduct. He highly com
plimented Lord Charles Beresford, and presented his own cigarette-case to Mr. Benbow,
the engineer who patched the boiler, and thus enabled the steamer to return, and saved
the lives of all the party. The expedition marched for Cairo without any further
incident, and the Naval Brigade was broken up and the men returned to their
ships. Meantime, a detachment of seamen participated in the operations in the neighbour
hood of Suakin, having for its object to assist Lord Wolseley by opening up the
Berber-Suakin route. In the occupation of Hasheen a battalion of Eoyal Marines
did excellent service, and in the surprise at Tofrek, when the Arabs nearly overpowered
Sir John McNeill's brigade, heavy loss was sustained by the detachment of seamen drawn
from the ships in port — Carysfort, Condor, Dolphin, Coquette, and Sphinx. The Naval
Brigade was divided into two portions, each having two Gardner guns, stationed in
two redoubts, constructed at the apex of the zareba, and therefore exposed more
than any other point to attack. The redoubts were unfinished at the time of the
onset of the Arabs, who carried the northern one by a rush, the weight of numbers
overbearing all attempts to make a stand. Lieutenant Seymour, of the Dolphin, in
command at this point, was killed, together with six seamen, and many were wounded.
The other redoubt, where Lieutenant Paget commanded, escaped attack, and the fire
that officer brought to bear on the front of the Arab masses, largely contributed to
drive them off. Over 1,000 dead bodies lay close to the works, and our own men
Buffered severely, about 400 being slain, while the loss of 600 camels, besides other
baggage animals, seriously crippled the force. But the Arabs had received a severe
lesson, and when, in April, 1885, Sir Gerald Graham advanced and burnt Tamai,
Osman Digna could not bring his followers to offer any opposition, although they
made desultory attacks on convoys. The Naval Brigade now rejoined their ships, and
thus terminated the last service ashore or afloat which our sailors have been called on
to render to their country. A special word of praise is due to the Eoyal Marines,
who garrisoned Suakin at a time when Osman Digna was in great strength in
the neighbourhood, and the alarms and attacks were constant and harassing. The

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 309
seamen from the ships already named, as well as from H.M. ships Briton, Tyne,
Woodlark, Myrmidon, and Albacore, were constantly landed to assist in the defence of
the town and outlying forts and redoubts, while in all the expeditions, especially the
last, the Navy Transport Department, under Captains Fellowes and Morrison, had an
arduous duty to perform in providing for a force of 12,000 men in the field. Among
the officers who specially distinguished themselves in superintending the working of the
land mines, which were used to defend the causeway communicating with the town
and the flank of the position, were Lieutenants Kirby, of the Briton, Talbot, of the
Carysfort, and Seymour, of the Dolphin, who afterwards fell. Lieutenant Smythies,
of the Albacore, also rendered good service in protecting the south side of the town,
and the gunboat was frequently under fire from the enemy, sheltered in quarries near
the harbour. Finally, a word of praise is due to Commodore Molyneux, the officer
commanding the Bed Sea Division of the Mediterranean fleet, whose " tact, intelligence,
and judgment, in dealing with an infinite variety of circumstances," was commended by
Lord John Hay, the commander-in-chief.
And now our survey of the matchless services rendered by the British Navy is
completed. Who can tell the nationality of the enemy with whom our sailors will
next have to contend on their own native element ? These shore expeditions, in which
they have been so much engaged since the war with Eussia, are but as interludes
or by-plays in the great historic drama of the deeds of our Navy. It is on
their own element that their glory has been achieved in the past, and it is from their
deeds afloat that a due estimate of their efficiency can be formed.
Enigmatical are the conditions of warfare, or even the weapons that will be employed
at sea with most deadly effect. It may be the torpedo, as many think, or the ram, as in
the action between the Italian and Austrian fleets, and on a memorable occasion in
America during the great War of Secession. It may be that the powers of offence,
as represented by the gun, will triumph over the armour-plate. Each have their
advocates in the race of competition, and only a battle between the fleets of the great
European maritime powers can solve the question. New explosives, hitherto undreamt
of, may revolutionize warfare on the sea, and the navy that possesses the most deadly
agent of destruction may carry all before it. All we can do is to use our best
endeavours to be foremost in the race of invention and manufacture, and to deny no
expenditure that may be necessary to make England the Mistress of the Seas, as in
the past. Even a man of pacific views, like Cobden, who was denounced in his time as
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310 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
one of the "Manchester School," or the "Peace at any Price" party, was alive to
this necessity, and expressed an opinion that England should build two ships for
every one constructed by France. In the present day, with the development of naval
strength on the part of Italy and Eussia, not to speak of Germany, the youngest
aspirant for nautical honours, whose ships are little likely to be employed against
this country, it behoves us to increase our comparative strength as regards the
European states which may be found in combination against us. "Si vis pacem para
bellum " is a very old, and a not less wise, dictum, and we should act upon it if we
would preserve our ancient dominion of the sea, as well as our colonies, our trade, nay,
our very existence !
We cannot do better than conclude this history of the British Navy by the warning
addressed to the Government by England's great and patriotic poet, Lord Tennyson, at
a time when the attention of his countrymen was directed to the inadequacy of the
Navy for the due fulfilment of its multifarious needs. It should act as a spur to
Ministers and people in the event of their neglecting hereafter to maintain our fleet in
the position of supremacy demanded by the necessities of this great nation.
You — you — if you have fail'd to understand —
The Fleet of England is her all in all —
On you will come the curse of all the land,
If that Old England fall,
Which Nelson left so great —
This isle, the mightiest naval power on earth,
This one small isle, the lord of every sea —
Poor England, what would all these votes be worth,
And what avail thine ancient fame of " Free,"
Wert thou a fallen State ?
You — you — who had the ordering of her Fleet,
If you have only compass'd her disgrace,
When all men starve, the wild mob's million feet
Will kick you from your place —
But then — too late, too late.

CHAPTEE XI.
(SUPPLEMENTARY.)
The Materiel of the British Navy in 1892 — England's Responsibilities and the Condition of the Fleet— The
Transition from Wooden Ships to Ironclads — British Ships-of-war of the Past and Present — The Guns of our
Day — The Naval Defence Act of 1889, and the New Programme of Shipbuilding — The Royal Sovereign —
Some other Battle Ships — Our Cruisers — Our Torpedo Flotilla — Comparison of British with Foreign Navies —
The Personnel of the Navy — Our Reserves.
\TOT among the least sagacious remarks of the great Francis Bacon was the following,
in which he dealt with the necessity of maintaining the command of the sea : " He
that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the
war as he will. Whereas those that be strongest by land are nevertheless many times
in great straits. Surely, at this day, with us of Europe, the vantage of strength at sea
(which is one of the principal dowries of this Kingdom of Great Britain) is great, both
because most of the kingdoms of Europe are not only inland, but girt with the sea most
part of their compass, and because the wealth of both Indies seems, in great part, but
an accessory to the command of the seas."
The British Navy, as now constituted, is a highly complex machine, with manifold
duties to perform, the due execution of which demands a variety in the type of its
constituent parts such as was never dreamt of in past times by the Boards of Admiralty
and great sea captains who guarded our native seas, and kept the island free from the
invader's foot. For coast defence, for cruising purposes, for the protection of India and
our colonies, for convoy to our merchantmen, and, finally, to fight general engagements
and blockade the enemy in their ports — for all these objects and needs a multiform
and diverse machine is demanded by the exigencies of modern war, and woe be to the
country if in one detail alone she is unable to meet her requirements. Thus any inability
to protect our colonies would result in their secession, while impotence on the high seas,
either to keep clear the great ocean highways, or meet in battle any power, or com
bination of powers, would result in the loss of our freedom, and in any case would so
raise the price of bread and other necessaries of life, that popular riots, if not revolution,
would threaten the existence of society, if not cause its disintegration. For these
reasons it behoves the people of the three kingdoms to keep their navy in such a state
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312 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
of efficiency as to defy half the world in arms, as we did at the time of Napoleon, when,
although the Northern Powers, as well as France and Spain, were banded against us, we
drove their combined fleets from the seas, and seized or blockaded the ships in their ports.
A survey of our comparative strength at the present time, will attest the fact
that England is insufficiently powerful at sea to undertake hostilities on this gigantic
scale, and whereas in those days most of our colonies had no existence, or were too poor
to invite attack, they now embrace a great portion of the most fertile regions of the
globe, and are the wonder and envy of all nations. England has an unequalled prestige
at sea, but in this, as in all instances recorded in history, lies the danger, as tending to
breed over-confidence. What has been in the past, it is thought, will be in the future, so
long as the spirit of the country suffers no deterioration. But this is a fatal mistake.
High spirit, unaccompanied by preparedness, will not ensure success in war, either
on shore or afloat, and it behoves us therefore to keep ahead of other nations in
numerical superiority, as well as in professional skill.
Apparently our officers and seamen are equal, and we hope superior, at the present
day, in training and experience to those of any other nation, but we should not allow
this belief, the soundness of which can only be tested by actual hostilities, to induce
us to relax in our endeavours to make the Navy stronger in ships and men, as it was
in the time of the Eevolutionary war in 1793, than any possible combination of powers.
As also the conditions of success may be entirely altered by the intrusion of some
new element, or invention, of which we have no idea at present, it becomes our duty to
give ceaseless attention to the problems of naval science, as they become modified or
entirely changed by the introduction of new motive powers for propelling ships and
projectiles, improvements in the form or nature of either, or altogether novel agencies
and weapons for maritime warfare.
On the sea our commerce is our most assailable point, and it is certain that France,
or any other naval power with which we might be at war, would use every endeavour
to cripple us by fast cruisers, or the employment of swift armed mercantile steam
ships. The unlimited rights of belligerents have been advocated by most Continental
writers, and it is certain that they would be enforced by the employment of torpedo
boats. The knowledge of this would in all probability result in the transfer, on the
declaration of war, of a large portion of our carrying trade to other powers, and the
experience of the United States shows that when commerce is diverted, it is slow to
return to its old channels. As regards the ruthless characteristics of such a war, it

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 313
has been insisted by Continental writers of weight, including Admiral Aubc, late
French Minister of Marine, that not only should merchant ships be tracked and
destroyed by torpedo boats, but that seaports should be burnt, even though unarmed,
the coasts harried by fire and sword, and every means put in practice to bring
hostilities to a speedy close by striking terror into the population, and causing ruin
to the community. These being the accepted principles of a large section of writers
and men of action, who might have it in their power to enforce their views, a sense
of self-preservation requires that the nation should possess a force of powerful and
swift cruisers, as well as torpedo-catchers, to clear the seas. The country which has the
command of the sea is enabled to select its point of attack, and suddenly assail places
accessible to a fleet, which is an incalculable advantage. It is one we have ever
enjoyed in all our wars, and has been a main cause of their success. This superiority
enabled us to capture Belleisle in the middle of the last century, and land an
army in Egypt, which resulted in the expulsion of the French in 1801. By this power
we were placed in a position to wrest from France her settlements in India and Canada,
and from Holland and Spain their colonial possessions. Again, in our war with Eussia,
the command of the sea enabled us to land in the Crimea, and supply with stores
a comparatively small army, to combat which drained the resources of the Eussian
Empire, and compelled the Czar to negotiate a humiliating peace.
Very different is the man-of-war of the present day from that of tlurty years
ago. In 1862 the wooden line-of-battle ship Victoria* of which we give an illustration,
was considered the ne plus ultra of naval ship-building science, and justly so as
regards beauty of appearance and strength to resist the action of the elements and
the guns of the period, of which the 95-cwt. 68-pounder, or 8-inch gun, was still the
heaviest afloat. But between the wooden three-decker of that time and the Royal
Sovereign f of 1892, there is a wider difference in construction than between the Duke
of Wellington, now in Portsmouth harbour, and the Sovereign of the Seas of Drake's day.
In 1810, when the British Navy possessed no less than two hundred and forty-
eight ships-of-the-line fit for sea, and two hundred and ninety frigates, the largest
vessel was only 205 feet in length on the main-deck, and the proportion between
the length and beam of battle-ships had undergone but little change in two hundred
years. Thus in the Sovereign of the Seas it was 3.46 to 1, and in the Caledonia, the
largest ship in commission in 1810, the proportion was 3.82 to 1. As any one can
* See illustration, Vol. II., page 286. t See illustration, Vol. III., page 332.

314 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
see, the old Victory* of 1765 is not very different in construction from the Duke of
Wellington of ninety years later, though Seppings had introduced a more efficient system
of framing the hull, and Symonds gave loftier decks and more roomy batteries. Fifty
years ago we had paddle steamships, which took part in the attack on Acre, but it was
not until just before the time of the Crimean war that the screw system displaced the
side- wheel as a means of propulsion. Up to that time our ships-of-war retained their
beauty of outline, and carried the sails which had inspired poets.t After the invention of
the auxiliary screw came the introduction of armour, then the ram, iron instead of
wood, steel in place of iron, the turret, the barbette, and, lastly, the torpedo. Thus
between the ship-of-war now and thirty years back there is little in common, except
that both are armed with guns and propelled by steam.
It is an undeniable fact that to the United States Monitor is due the change in the
construction of ships-of-war which has revolutionized the navies of the world. That
strange innovation upon the wooden vessels of the past, which was due to the genius of
Ericsson, startled the world by her performances in the great internecine struggle
in America some thirty years ago.J
The first ironclad of the British Navy was the Warrior, 380, feet in length, the
same as the Royal Sovereign of 1892, a ship of great beauty in her lines, and provided
with masts and sails, but with her ends unprotected by armour, and having only
a central battery. She was succeeded by a long series of full-rigged ironclads, though
gradually sails were discontinued. The Black Prince, her sister ship, and the reduced
Warriors, Defence and Resistance, had unarmoured ends, but the Minotaur and Agin-
* See illustration, Vol. III., page 20.
t Mr. Ruskin, writing in 1856, when such ships as the Marlborough — now employed in Portsmouth to berth
engineer apprentices — were considered the triumph of the naval architect, describes in eloquent terms the impressions
produced on his mind by a line-of-battle ship, which was only an improved Victory, with the auxiliary screw as an
additional means of propulsion. He says in his " Harbours of England" : — " One thing this century will in after
ages be considered to have done in a superb manner, and one thing only. Take it all in all, a ship-of-the line is the
most honourable thing that man, as a gregarious animal, has ever produced. By himself, unhelped, he can do better
things than ships-of-the-line ; he can make poems and pictures, and other such concentrations ot what is best in him.
But as a being living in flocks, and hammering out with alternate strokes and mutual agreement what is necessary
for him in those flocks, to produce the ship-of-the-line is his first work. Into that he has put as much of his
human patience, common sense, forethought, experimental philosophy, self-control, habits of order and obedience,
thoroughly- wrought handiwork, defiance of brute elements, careless courage, careful patriotism, and calm expectation
of the judgment of God, as can well be put into a space of 300 feet long by 80 broad, and I am thankful to have
lived in an age when I could see this thing so clone."
t The ship in our navy which nearest approaches the type of the Monitor is the Glatton, designed by Sir Edward
Reed ; but in her case, as in all his turret-ships, the base of the turret and the hatchways over the machinery were
protected with an armoured breastwork standing high above the deck, whereas in the American Monitor the turret
rested upon the deck, which was near the surface of the sea.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 815
court, both of the same size as the Warrior, were protected from stem to stern. The
Achilles, smaller than these ships, was also furnished with a complete belt at the water-
line, but the Hector and Valiant resembled the Defence class, and had their ends
unarmoured at the water-line. The Northumberland resembled the Minotaur, but had
the armour reduced above the water at both ends, though she carried a protected bow
breastwork, in which were placed two heavy guns firing ahead. With this excep
tion all the early ironclads were without any other protected guns than those on
the broadside.
Sir Edward Eeed designed the succeeding ships, all with hulls of iron, or iron and
steel combined, and all rigged. These were the Bellerophon, Hercules, Sultan, Penelope,
Invincible, Iron Duke, Vanguard, Swiftsure, and Triumph, together with the Enter
prise, Research, Favourite, Pallas, Lord Warden, Lord Clyde, and Repulse. All these
ships were protected by armour throughout the entire length along the water-line, but
in most of them the armour above the belt was limited to the central battery. In
several of them a fire ahead and astern, within about 20 degrees, was obtained by
means of ports cut through the transverse armoured bulkheads. In others these bulk
heads were turned inwards towards the battery near the sides of the ship in order to
facilitate the working of the guns when firing approximately ahead and astern. In
the Sultan an upper-deck armoured battery was adopted, and in the five ships of the
Invincible class, a direct head-and-stern fire was obtained from a somewhat similar
structure, which projected a few feet beyond the side of the ship. The rigged ships
of later design present a greater variety in the disposition of their guns and armour.
The Alexandra, launched in 1875, which was of 9,492 tons and 8,615 horse-power, and
carried 12 guns (two of 11-inch 25 ton, and ten of 18 tons), had a thickness of armour
in the central part of the ship varying between 12 and 6 inches. This ship bore
the flag successively of two of our most distinguished living naval officers, Admirals
Sir Geoffrey Hornby and Sir Beauchamp Seymour, now Lord Alcester. The Alexandra
presented a development of the combined broadside and fore-and-aft fire of the central
battery ships which preceded her. Besides the broadside battery on the main-deck,
she could bring a cross-fire on the same deck, and a direct bow-and-stern fire on the
upper deck from within the armour, as in the Invincible class, and all these guns were
available for broadside fire ; but the upper-deck battery did not project beyond the main-
deck, as in that class the forward and after parts of the ship above the main-deck
were greatly contracted in breadth in order to allow the guns to fire clear fore and aft.

316 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The Temeraire may be taken as an example of another class of ship constructed
after Sir E. Eeed's tenancy of the post of chief- constructor had ceased. She had a dis
placement of 8,540 tons, with 7,700 horse-power, and was constructed to carry four
11 -inch and four 10-inch guns. Two of these guns were mounted above the upper
deck, in armoured turrets, within which they were made to revolve and rise and fall
on Colonel Moncrieff's disappearing principle, by hydraulic machinery, which was also
employed to load and supply them with ammunition. Her thickness of armour above
the water-line in the central battery varied between 11 and 8 inches, and her cost,
including the charge for guns and engines, was £472,000, or £44,000 less than the
Alexandra. The Nelson, and her sister-ship, the Northampton, are types of a smaller
class than either the preceding. Their displacement is 7,320 tons, and they have only
a partial armour-belt, not all of their guns being enclosed within armour protection.
Even less protection than this was given to the Shannon, which has a displace
ment of 5,439 tons, and was built to carry nine guns — two 10-inch of 18 tons, and
seven 9-inch of 12 tons. The Shannon had a thickness of armour-plating above water on
the central part varying between 9 and 7 inches. Competent naval critics were
opposed to the construction of such practically unarmoured ironclads.
A more formidable ship than any of these was the Inflexible, which was long the
most powerful vessel in the British Navy. The Inflexible, which, as well as the
Alexandra and Temeraire, participated in the bombardment of Alexandria, was of 11,500
tons displacement, and carried four guns only, but they were 16 -inch, and weighed
80 tons; and her thickness of armour in the central part varied between 24 and 16
inches. Her length was 320 feet, 60 less than the Warrior and Royal Sovereign, the
first and last launched of our ironclad fleet.
Of an altogether different class were the turret-ships, among the earliest of which
were the Prince Albert, Scorpion, Wyvern, and Royal Sovereign (a former one of that
name), which embodied the views of Captain Cowper Coles, who was lost in the Bay
of Biscay on board the Captain, a turret-ship of his own design, which foundered owing
to her freeboard being insufficient to enable her, when under canvas in a moderate
gale, to resist the pressure of the wind. The Hotspur and Rupert had 11-inch armour
extending from stem to stern, and dipping clown forward to strengthen the ram, for
which these ships were specially designed. They carried one 25-ton gun, which was
mounted in a revolving turret. We have referred to the Glatton, the nearest approach
to the type of the American Monitor. The first sea-goinp1 turret-ship was the Monarch,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 317
constructed to carry Captain Coles's revolving turrets, which was in every way a success.
Designed purely for coast defence were four other turret-ships, Cyclops, Gorgon, Hecate,
and. Hydra, but they were comparatively small, and were hastily ordered in 1870, at the
time of the scare consequent on the outbreak of war between France and Germany.
The same sort of ill-regulated expenditure occurred in 1878, when the country
appeared likely to be involved in the Turko-Eussian War. A sum of two millions was
voted by the House of Commons, and four ships built for other states in our ports were
purchased for the Navy. These were the Neptune, Superb, Orion, and Belleisle. The
Neptune, constructed for the Brazilian Government, was 9,170 tons displacement, and
carried six guns— four of 12i-inch and 38 tons, and two of 9-inch and 12 tons— with a
thickness of armour varying between 13 and 8 inches. The Superb was of the same
size, and the other two ironclads were each of 4,380 tons. Though differing widely
in many respects, the Thunderer, Devastation, and Dreadnought, which, when launched,
were regarded as the most formidable ships-of-war afloat, all owe their origin to the
Ericsson turret, and the Times declared that the " American Monitors were certainly the
progenitors of our Devastation type." The Dreadnought had a displacement of 10,886
tons, and carried four 12|-inch guns, with a thickness of armour varying between
14 and 10 inches. She has been in every respect a success, both for her serviceable
qualities as a sea-boat and a ship-of-war, and all the admirals who have hoisted their
flags in her have expressed satisfaction with the ship.
Up to the year 1889, when the Naval Defence Act was passed, involving a
large special expenditure for shipbuilding purposes, the condition of the British
Navy, relatively to that of other great powers, had been in a declining state,
and in 1888 it was described by a very high authority as "deplorable," a result
due to the attempts made by successive Governments to keep the naval expen
diture within the fixed annual amount, although it was admitted that the cost of
building ships was increasing, as also were the naval requirements of the Empire.
While other countries were increasing the tonnage of their battle- ships, which, as
in the past, must form the backbone of the Navy, the Admiralty, during the decade
elapsing between the date of the launching of the Devastation and of the Inflexible,
had constructed no single ship of which the displacement exceeded 10,000 tons.
Further, a system was initiated of reducing the armour on ships, so that they would
have been incapable of engaging an enemy wholly armoured from end to end, like the
French Admiral Duperrd. It was sought to make up for this, in the case of the
VOL. III. I t

318 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Inflexible, by making the armour of her citadel of excessive thickness, though this
would in no way have compensated in action for a reduction elsewhere, but in some
more recent ships the thickness was only 18 inches to 22 in the French ships.
Before the passing of the Naval Defence Act, it may be said that the only three
totally unarmoured ships of the large cruiser class were the Inconstant, Shah, and
Raleigh. Two others, the Imperieuse and Warspite, having a displacement of 8,400
tons, had 140 feet armoured of their total length of 315 feet. All five ships were
constructed with great coal capacity, in order to cruise in distant seas for the protection
of British commerce, and the two last have been flagships on the Channel and Pacific
stations. Equally devoid of armour with the three cruisers named above, were
the Scio and Mercury, built for great speed, and the corvettes, Active, Bacchante,
Boadicea, Euryalus, Rover, and Volage, all over 3,000 tons displacement, and having a
speed in excess of fourteen knots. There were also thirty-six smaller and slower
corvettes, nearly half of which were built of wood, and about an equal number of sloops
of even less speed and tonnage, in addition to the gunboats and gun-vessels.
Of ships which, though not armoured, have thick-plated decks to protect tho
engines, there were, in 1889, eight of 3,500 tons, built and under construction, namely,
the Amphion, Arethusa, Leander, Phaeton, Mersey, Severn, Forth, and Thames.* Battle
ships not wholly armoured were the Ajax, Agamemnon, Colossus,^ and Edinburgh ; and
there were the six first-class ships of the Admiral class, Anson, Collingivood, Camperdoivn,
Rodney, % Howe, and Benbow, all of 10,400 tons displacement. The Inflexible also had
her ends unarmoured, but unlike some of those named above, it was claimed for her
that even were these ends destroyed, her stability could not be impaired. Sir Edward
Eeed declared that in the Admiral class is found a dangerous combination, from which
the Inflexible and Agamemnon and other like ships are exempt — " the combination of
* The Thames and Severn, like their sister-ships, Mersey and Forth, had a complete protective deck, the horizontal
portion of which extended one foot above, and the inclined portion three inches below, the water-line. The principal guns
were two of 8-inch calibre, mounted on central pivots forward and abaft a covered deck, which contained ten 6-inch
guns. The secondary battery was ten 1-inch Nordenfeldts and two Gardner machine-guns, and the ships were
fitted with six above-water torpedo-tubes in the broadside. A development of this class were the partially-
armoured cruisers Orlando and her sister-ships, which had a displacement of 5,000 tons. Their length was 300
feet, with 10-inch armour, and they carried two ] 8-ton guns, one well forward, and the second right aft, as well as five
6-inch guns in each broadside, the foremost and aftermost of which were placed on projecting sponsons, so that
they were enabled to fire right ahead and astern. These cruisers were followed by others, named the Im.mortalite and
Aurora, of 600 tons more displacement, given to enable them to carry a 5i-foot water-line belt, 10 inches in
thickness, extending for 190 feet amidships, and they had an armoured deck from 2 to 3 inches thick, and a conning
tower of iron 13 inches in thickness.
t Sae illustration, Vol. II., page 176. J See illustration, Vol. II., page 224.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 319
long, unarmoured ends, comprising about 45 per cent, of the water-line area, with so
shallow a belt of armour that, when the unarmoured ends are injured and filled by the
sea (as they would be in action), there would remain so little armour left above water
that a very slight inclination of the ship would put it all below water." He declared
that there was great danger of these ships capsizing in action when injured by shot.
During the year 1888, twenty-five ships were completed and added to the First
Class Eeserve, including, besides some of those already named, the partially armoured
cruisers Orlando, Narcissus, Australia, Galatea, and Undaunted* six torpedo -cruisers
of the Archer class, and one of the Scout class, three torpedo-gunboats of the Rattlesnake
class, and three composite gunboats and sloops of the Buzzard and Rattler class.
The battle-ships Victoria t and Sanspareil, of the same tonnage as those of the Admiral
class, and carrying two 110-ton guns, besides a secondary battery, with 18 inches
of armour, were constructed by Messrs. Armstrong. The armour belt in these ships
extended over about one-half their length, which was 340 feet, and to a height of
2J feet above the water. Before and abaft the belt, under-water armoured decks
extended to the bows and stern respectively, as in the Admiral class.
The Admiralty proceeded to the construction of ships even larger than the Victoria
and Sanspareil, which received the name of Trafalgar and Nile, and had a displacement of
11,940 tons. Their design is a departure from the central citadel type, and they
carry revolving turrets on the fore-and-aft line amidships, with an intermediate broad
side battery mounted on a superstructure. A water-belt line 230 feet in length rises
in the waist for a distance of 193 feet, and both belt and citadel are covered by a three-
inch steel deck, which is carried forward and aft to strengthen the ram and protect
the steering-gear. The armour is 18 inches thick in the turret, and 20 inches as a
maximum at the water-line, and to support the backing there is an inner skin two
inches thick. The armament consists of four 13^-inch 67-ton breech-loading rifled
guns, distributed in pairs in the turrets, and eight 5 -inch guns in the broadside
battery on a covered deck, protected by three inches of vertical armour, besides some
machine-guns. But, notwithstanding these additions, a general feeling of alarm at the condition of
the Navy found vent in 1889, and the Admiralty, which at one time spoke in such
vaunting terms of the superiority of the service over any possible combination of Euro
pean powers, yielded to the clamour, which was only too well founded, and in the end
* See illustration, Vol. II,, page 112. t See illustration, Vok II., page 318.
US

320

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.

a large measure, termed the "Naval Defence Act" was passed through the House of
Commons, involving an expenditure, distributed over a term of years, of twenty-
one and a half millions. The Act authorized the construction and equipment, between
the years 1889 and 1894, often battle-ships, nine first class protected cruisers, twenty-
nine second class and four third class protected cruisers, and eighteen first class
torpedo gunboats, of the Sharpshooter class, two-thirds of the contracts for shipbuilding
being given to private firms.* These numbers were in addition to the ships then
in progress, which included, besides the first class battle-ships Trafalgar and
Nile, the Camperdoimi, the last laid down of the Admiral class, and the following
protected cruisers— first class, Blake and Blenheim,^ of 9,000 tons, and no less than
20,000 horse-power; second class, Melpomene, Magicienne,^ and Marathon, of 2,950 tons
displacement, and 9,000 horse-power; the five cruisers for Australia, of 2,575 tons
displacement, and 7,500 horse-power, and the six third class cruisers Barham, Bellona,
Barrosa, Blanche, Blonde, and Barracouta, the two first of 1,830 tons and 6,000
horse-power, and the others of 1,580 tons and 3,000 horse-power. Also the torpedo
depot-ship, Vulcan, of 6,620 tons displacement and 12,000 horse-power; the sloops,
Beagle and Basilisk, of 1,170 tons and 2,000 horse-power ; seven torpedo gunboats of
735 tons and 4,500 horse-power; and two of the same class for Australia.
The change carried through in the past ten years of substituting breech
loaders for muzzle-loading guns, was of prime importance in developing the
fighting powers of our Navy. It was curious and not very edifying to regard the
tenacity with which the Ordnance Department clung to the exploded system of
loading by the muzzle. It had been made manifest to the world many years before that

The following table gives the number and character of the ships to be built under the Naval Defence Act.

class of snir.

Displacement Tonnage.

Indicnted
Horse Power.

Number
to be built.

Battle Ships, 1st Class ...

14,150

13,000

8

„ „ 2nd Class ...

9,000

10,000

2

Cruisers, 1st Class 

7,350

12,000

9

„ 2nd Class

3,400

9,000

29'

„ 3rd Class

2,575

7,500

4

Torpedo Gunboats 

735

4,500

18

Total 

70

See illustration, Vol, III., page 268.

;f See illustration, Vol. I., page 192.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 321
the adoption of the breech-loading rifle had given the Austrians into the hands of
Prussia in the Schleswig-Holstein campaign ; but when Woolwich yielded to the demand
of tho nation that our troops should be armed with the breech-loader, it offered a
resolute resistance to the adoption of the system in the field-batteries of the Eoyal Artil
lery ; and yet again a determined stand was made against breech-loading ordnance
in our guns of position, and on board our ships-of-war. But they had to give way
when it was seen that all the nations of Europe had discarded the old method, and
that in the event of war, disaster would be certain to ensue were our seamen to be
exposed to fire while loading the heavy guns that were universally adopted in the
navies of the world. Our breech-loading ordnance now range in calibre from
16-25-inch (110 tons), forming the armament of the Victoria* Sanspareil, and Benbow,
and 13"5-inch (67 tons), carried by the Trafalgar, Nile, Royal Sovereign^ and oiner ships,
to the small quick-firing guns forming the secondary battery of our battle-ships.t
Though considerably smaller than the 80-ton gun of the Inflexible, the 67-ton gun has
a greater penetrative power, which is mostly due to the improvements in manufacture
and the powder employed.
It would seem, however, that we are distanced by the gunmakers on the Continent
in weight of gun and projectile, and also in velocity and penetrative power. The
French have had afloat for some years 7 5 -ton guns, with a calibre of 16^ inches, and
now possess, we believe, one of 124 tons, having a calibre of 18 inches, which fires a
projectile weighing 2,405 pounds, or over a ton. The Italians have long had a 106-ton
gun, and the Germans one of 120 tons, designed by the famous Erupp, of Essen,
which fires a projectile 500 pounds heavier than the Armstrong 110-ton gun, and
develops an energy greater by 10,000 foot-tons.
Lord Brassey has given his views on the cardinal point of armament in a lecture
delivered on the 18th March, 1891, before the Institution of Naval Architects, on
" The Future Policy of Warship Building." In the armaments of our battle-ships, he
thought the ponderous pieces which had of late been mounted on board ship should be
excluded. The objections to monster guns were the limited endurance, difficulty of
manufacture, excessive cost, slowness of fire, length, and hence liability to be struck,
and possibly disabled, and dependence on hydraulic loading gear, perfect in its working
* See illustration, Vol. II., page 318. + See illustration, Vol. III., page 332.
% The 110-ton gun carries an armour-piercing projectile of 1,800 pounds, capable at 1,000 yards of penetrating
nearly 27J inches of steel, with a bursting charge of 180 pounds in the common shell. The 67-ton gun propels a
projectile weighing 1,250 pounds with a charge of 54 pounds,

322 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
under peace conditions, but too susceptible of injury for the practical purposes of war,
and requiring armour for its protection. The naval advisers recently consulted by
the Admiralty considered that the heaviest gun for battle-ships should not exceed
50 tons, while Admiral Scott placed the limit of weight at 30 tons. Lord Brassey
stood by the principle that no gun too ponderous to be worked by manual power
should be mounted on board ship, and to this thesis our present naval advisers appear
to give their adhesion. He considered that a 2 9 -ton gun was relatively cheap, durable,
and easy of manufacture, while its power of penetration was equal to 21 inches of
armour at 1,000 yards, which was sufficient for all practical purposes. The number
of heavy guns which could be carried must depend on the displacement, and a
battle-ship should be able to carry at least four 29-ton guns, exclusive of the quick-
firing armament. With reference to the outcry against our heavy breech-loading guns,
which have been compared unfavourably with the ordnance of other powers, Lord
Brassey asserts that in all the essentials that constitute an effective gun — accuracy
and rapidity of fire, handiness, penetration, and durability, our guns are equal to any
in existence in foreign navies. This opinion is endorsed by all naval officers who
have actually handled them at sea. Every gun, after it has passed proof, is tried
afloat with full service charges to test the mountings upon which it is placed; and
once in every quarter, while the ship is in commission, the guns are again tested.
The earlier ironclads had the old broadside system, which was followed by the belt
and battery type, as it was called, where the heavy guns, now reduced in numbers,
were carried amidships in a box battery, and had a fore-and-aft fire by means of
recessed ports. In 1869 the breastwork monitor was adopted, a type of ship having a low
freeboard — that is, the height above the sea of the upper-deck — which was plated from
stem to stern along the water-line, and had amidships an armoured breastwork, or
citadel, carrying at each end a revolving turret. A prejudice was created against
turret-ships as unsafe when the Captain foundered with between 400 and 500 men,
and when this type was modified, the complete water-line belt and the central citadel
were retained, which were the essential features of Sir Edward Eeed's type of fighting-
ship. The Inflexible, among other ships, had her engines and the bases of two turrets
protected by this box-shaped citadel, from the extremities of which an armoured
deck extended fore and aft below the water-line, while above this deck an armoured
superstructure completed the freeboard.
The Italian Admiralty, in 1872, adopted Sir Edward Heed's principle of an elevated

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 323
battery, and the result was the construction of the Duilio and Dandolo, though these
ships lacked high speed and coal-carrying power. In 1878 the Italia was constructed,
in which protection was afforded, not by vertical or side armour, but by an armoured
deck, which extends six feet below the water-line at the sides, while fore and aft it
dips so as to strengthen the ram and cover the steering gear.
To cope with this formidable fighting ship the " Admiral " class of ships was designed
by our Admiralty, in which the main battery is mounted in two barbettes, or armoured
parapets built high out of the water near the extremities of the vessel, while in the centre
are carried the armour-piercing and rapid-firing guns. The engines and barbette com
munications are protected by a water-line belt of thick armour, which covers nearly half
of the ship's entire length, at the upper edge of which is an armoured deck, and at its
ends bulk-heads, erected athwart-ships. Before and abaft the belt and beneath the
water-line is a similar iron deck, with the usual water-tight compartments. The
Trafalgar and Nile, and the Royal Sovereign* and her sister ships, which are the latest
development of the " Admiral " class, will receive a more detailed description when we
speak of the results of the Naval Defence Act.
The relative value of long guns and defensive armour can only be decided by the
experience acquired in actual war. Both these main factors in the problem of attack
and defence have advocates. The French generally, it may be said, incline towards the
claim of the guns to superiority, and many writers and practical men of eminence in
England hold the same view, but on the other hand, equally great authorities entertain
the view that the days of heavily-armoured ships are not yet ended. All alike concede the
importance of rams and torpedoes, and a high French authority, Gabriel Charmes, has
laid down the dictum that a "squadron attacked at night by torpedo boats is a squadron
lost." Equally regarding the thickness of armour are the authorities divided, but Lord
Brassey, after a review of all the circumstances, has expressed an opinion that to meet
the conditions of warfare, 12 inches of armour-plating in wake of machinery, boilers,
magazines, and on the turrets and conning towers, would suffice ; and as, since the intro
duction of quick-firing guns, it is no longer possible for crews to stand in the open
without some protection, the batteries should be protected by five inches of steel or
compound plating, as side armour. But, added Lord Brassey, no practicable thickness
of armour is impenetrable, and captains of ships and guns must under all circumstances
be exposed. In the Huascar's conning towers three commanders were slain in half an
* See illustration, Vol. III., page 332.

324 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
hour. On the necessity of high speed alone is there any agreement. This is a cardinal
point both in battle-ships and ocean cruisers, without which efficiency in other respects
can avail little in the day of trial. Up to 1875, the highest speed attained under the
most favourable circumstances by the battle-ship was fourteen knots, while some fast
cruisers could steam fifteen and sixteen knots. But their coal-carrying capacity was
limited, whereas now fighting ships are constructed that can steam thousands of miles at
sea, at a speed of twenty knots, without re-coaling. So exacting have our censors in
naval matters recently become, that the inability of the Blake, sister ship of the Blenheim,
to steam more than 19| knots with natural draught, or half a knot less than the prom
ised speed, brought down on the Admiralty the unsparing censure of some critics.
The speed of torpedo vessels has been increased to an even greater ratio within
recent years. Thus, in their infancy, in 1873, the fastest were constructed to steam 14
knots, but now a speed of over 20 is easily attained, and their size has also greatly
increased. A first-class torpedo boat, lately constructed for the Government of Victoria,
is stated to have attained a speed of 22 knots while fully equipped with all her
weights. The Gleaner, one of eighteen steel torpedo gunboats of the Grasshopper type,
ordered to be constructed under the Naval Defence Act, attained an average speed of
18 knots throughout her steam trial, and with forced draught 20 knots.
In our earliest ironclads, including the Warrior, wrought iron was employed, but
this was replaced in later ships by a compound metal faced with steel for the
purpose of breaking up the projectiles on impact. This is the description of
vertical protection hitherto used in our ships, though the practice in the French and
other Continental navies has been to employ only steel armour. Eecently English
manufacturers have turned their attention to this point, and success has been attained
at a trial of all-steel armour manufactured by Messrs. Charles Cammell and Company,
of the Cyclops Works, in Sheffield, the firm who contracted for the whole of the
armour of the new battle-ship Royal Sovereign. The Wilson compound plates, with a
thick backing of iron to prevent cracking or breaking up under impact, will
probably give place to Cammell's all-steel plates, which, in December, 1891, were tested
with eminent success on board the Nettle at Portsmouth.
It is a comforting consideration to the much-enduring British taxpayer that
the relative strength of England and France has changed to the advantage of
this country within the last few years. Sir Spencer Eobinson, formerly Controller
of the Navy, declared in 1887 that "the number of armoured ships of the two

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.

325

countries may be stated as fifty-five for England and fifty- one for France." But since
that day England has awakened to a sense of her insecurity, and the responsibilities
entailed upon her by her world-wide commerce and possessions.
Some critics have decried the necessity of building large and expensive battle-ships,
as the torpedo, say they, and the other conditions of modern war, point to the greater
utility of smaller and handier ships. The policy adopted in Italy of constructing once
in two years or so a battle-ship of exceptional size, was vindicated on the ground that
as Italy was unable to vie with others in the amount of tonnage constructed, it was
necessary to secure the utmost development of power in a limited number of ships.
The wisdom of this policy is at least doubtful, though since ships have been constructed
with the swiftness and handiness of the Royal Sovereign, the argument against size has lost
half its force, and it is now mostly a question of money. Few will disagree with
Eear- Admiral Ince, of the TJnited States Navy, who declared that now, as in the past,
"the battle-ship is the very foundation of a navy." Further it may be assumed
that, given other conditions of equality, a heavy battle-ship is superior to a light one.
As to the necessity of keeping up our fleet of battle-ships, the same authority
observed : " Supposing Great Britain had no battle-ships, how long could she hold
Gibraltar and Malta, control the Suez Canal, and maintain her Indian Empire by the
eastern route ? How long could she hold the line from London to Halifax, Esquimalt,
and India by the western route? How long could she prevent Germany from
establishing a military port on the Scheldt? How long could she hold the great
strategic points at Jamaica, Barbados, and St. Lucia, which dominate the West Indies,
the Spanish Main, and the Panama Canal ? . . . Without battle ships the whole
British Empire would crumble to pieces."
A competent writer in a daily journal gives as follows the number of battle
ships that will be possessed in 1894 by the six great powers of Europe.*

1st Class.
No. Tonnage.

2nd Class.
No. Tonnage.

3rd Class.
No. Tonnage.

Great Britain 

30. 333,950

16. 108,720

0. 55,660

France ... 

14. 148,063

15. 108,225

4. 29,280

Italy 

11. 139,694

2. 12,248

9. 34,801

Russia 

9. 81,907

1. 5,860

5. 19,380

Germany 

4. 40,000

9. 50,140

2. 11,280

Austria 

1. 6,790

7. 39,860

3. 10,500

* This table excludes armoured cruisers, and classifies each new vessel as if she formed part of the British Navy.
It may be taken that, as a rule, the first class ships are of above 14 knots speed, carry modern breech-loading guns gf

VOL. III.

u u

326

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.

No comparison of tne battle-ship strength of the six fleets would be complete without
a table showing the number and size of the heavy guns — namely those of 4-inch calibre
and upwards — which each will possess. These, by the year 1894, according to the
same authority, will be as follows : —

Over
13 inches.

12 inches to
13 inches.

10 inches to
12 inches.

7 inches to
10 inches.

5 inches to
7 inches.

4 inches to
5 inches.

Total.

Great Britain ...

66

40

54

188

160

81

589

Trance ...

57

6

64

32

249

16

424

Italy 

44

16

20

87

ill

278

Russia 

36

10

34

62

34

176

Germany 

16
48
57
54
175
Austria... 
5
14
68
6
6
99
Great Britain, it will be seen, would therefore possess 160 guns of 10 -inch and
upwards against 127 of France, and 429 of smaller calibres against France's 297 ; but
some of our guns of between 7-inch and 13-inch calibre are muzzle-loaders, while all
the guns of France, whatever may be their faults in other respects, are breech-loaders.
As the battle-ships of the powers will fight the general engagements, so the cruisers
will be employed in scouting, protecting convoys, and harassing an enemy's communica
tions. Wherefore, as the former class should have, as their chief characteristic, offensive
and defensive power, the cruisers should first of all possess extreme mobility. In the
next table is shown, from the same authority, the number of cruisers, of the three classes
into which the Navy List divides our own vessels of this type, the six Great Powers
will possess by the year 1894. Our cruisers, it should be explained, are classified in
the Navy List, not according to their speed, but according to their size and armament.*
Great Britain
FranceItaly
Russia Germany
Austria
1st Class.
No. Tonnage.
23. 12.
162,250 65,584
8. 53,239
1. 5,200
3. 11,800
2nd Class.
No, Tonnage.
48. 16. 7.
9. 0.2.
178,540 64,83023,68029,40024,640 6,760
3rd Class.
No. Tonnage.
54.55. 14.
14. 19.12.
114,545 64,835
30,27429,65040,120 21,620
8-inch calibre or over, and have at least twelve inches of armour on some part of them. The speed of the second class
ships averages about 12 knots, the minimum calibre of their heaviest guns is eight inches, and the minimum thick
ness of their armour is about seven inches. The third class includes all the remainder of the battle-ships that cannot
be considered obsolete. In battle-ships England's.strength in 1894 will thus be, relatively to France, as 52 to 33, and she
will be considerably stronger than any two powers taken together, or than Italy, Russia, Germany and Austria combined.
* The first class is composed of cruisers armoured, or of upwards of 7,000 tons displacement ; the second clsss of
vessels of from 3)000 to 7;000 tons, and the third of vessels of between 3,000 and 1^300 tons. Each country has>
HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 327
An examination of the relative value of the cruiser fleets of the six European
Great Powers from the point of speed shows that out of one hundred and sixty-six
cruisers having a nominal extreme speed of 16 knots and over, Great Britain possesses,
or will possess by 1894, ninety-three as compared with seventy-three possessed by the
remaining five Powers, and that, in fact, the majority of the cruisers owned by the
other powers are slow craft, while the majority of ours are fast. It may be accepted,
moreover, that most of the slow cruisers are old and comparatively valueless, while
nearly all the fast ones are modern and armed with the newest weapons, besides having
a relatively wider radius of action. The writer quoted arrives at the conclusion that
practically the cruiser-force of Great Britain is a little superior to those of the five
remaining Powers combined ; but, lest it should be supposed that we may have more
cruisers than we need, it may be well to add that the duties which, in time of war,
would be imposed upon our cruisers are greater than those of all the other Powers
together. For example, Great Britain and her colonies have to protect twelve thou
sand merchant vessels, while France, Italy, Eussia, Germany, and Austria combined own
only six thousand six hundred. Again, we are an island power, and all our external food
supply must come to us by water, the routes across which we must therefore guard at
the peril of national starvation. Finally, our empire rests on every sea, and it is incum
bent upon us to preserve free communication at all times with even the most distant
part of our possessions. In these respects we differ from any of the other nations, and,
far from having too large a cruising fleet, we have, in fact, too small a one. This
will be conceded when it is understood that we possess, roughly speaking, 455,000 tons
of cruisers to insure nearly 11,000,000 tons of merchant shipping, while France
has about 195,000 tons of cruisers to insure 985,000 tons of merchant shipping. If we
had cruisers in proportion to France, we should have not 455,000, but over 2,000,000
tons of them, or, say, six hundred and fifty ships instead of one hundred and twenty-five.
The coast defence vessels built and building by the six Powers may be sum
marised as follows: — Britain, ten having a displacement of 30,670 tons; France,
fifteen and 46,000 respectively ; Eussia, seventeen and 32,577 ; and Germany, sixteen
besides, a number of sloops and gun-vessels, but these are craft which could be increased at very short notice, and
need not here be taken into consideration. The cruiser fleet proper may be thus divided : Great Britain, one hundred
and twenty-five ships, of which twelve are armoured on the sides, averaging 3,642 tons ; France, sixty-three shipsj
of which twelve have side armour, averaging 3,099 tons ; Italy, twenty-one ships, of which none have side armour,
having an average displacement of 2,960 tons ; Russia, thirty-one ships, of which eight are armoured on the sides
averaging 3,622. tons ; Germany, twenty-six ships, of which one has side armour, averaging 2,690 tons ; and
Austria, seventeen ships, of which three are armoured on the sides, having an average of 2,363 tons,
UU2

328 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
ships and 27,382 tons. Italy and Austria have no ships of this category. The relative
smallness of the British coast defence force — which includes four vessels which are
practically useless — may be attributed to the fact that our naval policy has always been
to take the offensive, and seek the enemy on the seas and blockade him in his ports.
Whether such a policy can in future be carried out as successfully as it was in the old
wars, is a problem affected by the introduction of the torpedo, and it is one which can
only be decided by the rough experience of war.
A large class of naval officers, with reason as we think, claims for the power that
has a predominating number of swift torpedo-boats and torpedo gun-vessels, or
" catchers," a good prospect of success in the next naval war. It is contended that if
our large ships are allowed to go into action in the vicinity of ports without an
accompanying flotilla capable of warding off the attack of torpedo-boats, we may
have bitter cause to regret our short-sightedness. The question arises which description
of these craft is most needed; whether it is the torpedo-boats of 100 tons or upwards,
or the torpedo gun-vessels of from 575 to 1,000 tons displacement. The former have
the advantage of speed in ordinary weather, as their engine-power already reaches
18 horses per ton of weight driven, while in the fastest of the torpedo-catchers
it does not exceed 4| horse-power. The speed of the latter has been hitherto below
nineteen knots, while the speed of the first-class torpedo-boats is two knots in excess.
As regards cost, four of the former can be produced for one of the latter, and though
they cannot keep the sea, they have made ocean voyages in safety. According to
the Eeport of the French Budget Commission, the torpedo flotillas of England and
France, exclusive of boats of less than 25 tons displacement, and of " catchers," are at
the present time as follows:' — Over 100 tons, England, 8; France, 21. Under 100
tons, England, 76; France, 163. Total, England, 84; France, 184.
A great change will probably soon be made in the relative strength of the torpedo-boat
flotillas of the two Powers, which stands now as follows :

Great Britain.

France.

Seagoing  

2

25

First Class, built and ordered 

94

62

*Second Class, built 

73

86

Third Class, Luilt 

—

41

* Our second-class boats are craft none of which exceed about 16 tons displacement and 66 feet in length. They
are, therefore, entirely inferior to the French second class boats, which have a minimum displacement of 54 tons, and

HER MAJESTY'S NA VY. 329
Our inferiority in torpedo-boats of the seagoing class is partially compensated by
our superiority in torpedo gun-vessels, a type of the first importance in a navy which
must be prepared to act offensively. Of torpedo gun- vessels with 19 to 20 knots speed,
and ranging from 575 tons to 1,070 tons displacement, we have 31 vessels. Adding to
this class the Polyphemus, of 2,640 tons, our aggregate tonnage for the British Navy is
27,110 tons. The French have 14 vessels ranging in displacement from 320 to 925
tons, and in speed from 18 to 21± knots. The aggregate tonnage of the French torpedo
gun- vessels is 6,210 tons. Our superiority is conspicuous, but it is not sufficient to
justify any relaxation of effort in building.
As Lord Brassey observes, it is obvious that a blockading fleet required to keep the
sea for a lengthened period, must be supported by torpedo vessels of a large and powerful
class, while a torpedo-boat flotilla, acting on the defensive, and operating off the entrance
to a port only when a dark night or hazy weather affords an opportunity for a sortie, may
consist of comparatively small and inexpensive vessels. The manoeuvres of the year
1892 have forcibly demonstrated that the torpedo is a deadly weapon even under the
least favourable conditions, whereas a prolonged blockade in winter would expose the fleet
outside to hazards which it is impossible to contemplate without misgivings, and which
could only be averted by closing the entrance to the blockaded ports with a swarm of
torpedo gun-vessels. For these reasons Lord Brassey proposes that for purposes of
training and practice a small squadron of torpedo-boats should be always in commission,
and the estuary of the Thames would be an admirable cruising-ground, while Sheerness
dockyard could be readily adapted for building, fitting, and repairing the flotilla.
As a result of the Naval Defence Act, in 1889 no less than forty-nine vessels
were commenced, of which twenty-five, with a displacement of 131,760 tons, were laid
down in the royal dockyards, and twenty-four, with a displacement of 138,050, in the
private dockyards of the kingdom. Of the above, the Blake, built at Chatham, and
her sister-ship, the Blenheim,* constructed by the Thames Ironworks Company, are the
most powerful cruisers ever built for the British Navy. The chief considerations
Mr. White, of the Admiralty, had in view when designing them, were seaworthiness,
speed, and coal capacity to enable them to keep the sea for a lengthened period. Of
the battle-ships since laid down, Lord Brassey is of opinion that in the second class
a minimum length of 108 feet, and even to the French third-class boats, which have a minimum displacement of 34
tons, and a minimum length of 88 feet. The only French boats comparable with our second-class boats are the tor-
pilleurs-vedettes, which are of 12 tons displacement and 59 feet in length.
* See illustration, Vol. III., page 268.

330 HER MAJESTY'S NA VY.
barbette battle-ships Barfleur and Centurion, of 9,000 tons, and armed with four 10-inch
and ten 4-7-inch guns, besides a subsidiary armament, with a promised speed of eighteen
knots — we have "a design which gives to the nation as good value for cost as under
existing conditions it seems practicable to secure ; and a further advantage offered by
ships of their size is that the country could afford to construct a larger number for the
same expenditure." But, apparently, this has not been the opinion of the late Board
of Admiralty, to judge by their policy in respect of the battle-ships laid down under the
Act of 1889, all of which, with these two exceptions, exceed 14,000 tons. Before
this, however, as a result of the outcry against the ships of the Admiral type,
of one of which, the Rodney,* we gave an illustration, the Trafalgar and Nile were
constructed, with longer and higher armoured protection at the water-line, greater
freeboard (combined with increased defence at the extremities against the fire of
machine and quick-firing guns), and guns in a turret for their main armament, with
larger displacement and augmented engine-power. But the Nile and Trafalgar yield
the palm in size and fighting-power to the class represented by the Royal Sovereign,
launched by Her Majesty the Queen on the 26th February, 1891, at Portsmouth
Dockyard, together with the Royal Arthur, a first class cruiser. The Royal Sovereign
is the earliest ready of the first class battle-ships built under the provisions of the
Naval Defence Act of 1889, the others being the Empress of India, at Pembroke; the
Hood and Repulse, at Chatham ; and the contract-built ships, Royal Oak, at Birkenhead ;
Ramillies on the Clyde ; and Revenge and Resolution on the Tyne. All these ships
are of the same build, displacement, and armour, with their guns in barbettes, except
the Hood, which carries them in turrets.
The Royal Arthur, laid down as the Centaur, but whose name was changed in
compliment to Her Majesty and the Duke of Connaught, was the earliest launched
of nine first class protected cruisers of the type known as " the improved Mersey "
— the others being the Endymion, built at Hull ; the Edgar, constructed at Devon-
port ; the Hawke, at Chatham ; and the St. George, Grafton, Crescent, Gibraltar,
and Theseus in private yards.
Many of the twenty-nine second class cruisers, which were ordered under the Naval
Defence Act, have been launched, and are being completed for sea with a rapidity
unknown till recent years. Such of these cruisers as have been tested have attained
a speed of 20 knots, and cost about £186,000. They carry two inches of armour plate,
* See illustration, Vol. II., page 224.

HER MAJESTY' S NAVY. 331
which extends three feet under water, and are built of steel, with plated decks.
Their total length between perpendiculars is 300 feet, and their extreme breadth
43 feet. The displacement of these cruisers when fully equipped is 3,400 tons,
and the indicated horse-power 9,200. The coal capacity is 400 tons, but storage
is provided for 235 more, and their armament consists of two 6-inch breech-loading
guns, one to be placed on the forecastle and the other on the poop, and on the broad
side six 4-7-inch guns, and nine 3-pounders, all quick-firing guns. They will also be
fitted with four torpedo tubes, and will have a complement of 253 officers and men.
The keel of the latest of our second-class cruisers was laid down at Portsmouth in
January, 1892. This ship, called the Fox, is one of eight of a new type, or " improved
Apollo," with 960 tons more displacement. She will carry a powerful armament
of quick-firing guns, and be fitted with all the improvements known to ship-building
science, and lighted throughout with electricity. The length of the Fox, which will
be completed in about two years' time, is 320 feet, extreme breadth 49 feet, and
her displacement 4,360 tons, with a mean draught of 19 feet.
The hull will be constructed entirely of steel, with a protective deck running
right fore and aft, and affording cover to the magazines, shell-rooms, steam-steering
gear, boilers and engines, the cylinders of the latter being further defended against
shell fire by an armoured combing carried to the height of the main-deck. Her bottom
will be sheathed with teak and coppered, for the purpose of enabling her to continue
on service for a lengthened period without requiring to be docked. The stern-post,
rudder frame, and ram-shaped stern will be formed of strong phosphor-bronze castings.
Two engine-rooms will be provided, one on each side of the middle line, separated
by a water-tight bulkhead. The engines will be of the triple- expansion type, designed
to develop 9,000 and 7,000 indicated horse-power, with and without forced draught
respectively. The maximum speed of the Fox will be 19.5 knots under forced draught,
and 18-25 under natural draught, and her armament will consist of two 6-inch guns,
eight 4-7-inch guns, four 6-pounder guns, and one 3-pounder, carried on the upper
deck, four 6-pounders on the main-deck, four Nordenfeldt guns on the shelter-
deck, and one 9-pounder gun. She will carry Whitehead torpedoes, and four
tubes will be fitted, of which two, on the broadside, will be on the main-deck, one
direct ahead through the stem, and one through the stern-post.
The Navy estimates for the year 1892-93 mount up to £14,240,200, of which the
Eoyal Marines absorb £1,070>217, and the Coastguard £452,569> the latter being thus

332 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
maintained at a cost of £117 per head per annum, while each marine costs the country
£80.* This total of fourteen millions is independent of the expenditure to be covered
by the money voted in the Naval Defence Act of 1889.
The number of ships to be built and equipped under this Act by contract with
private firms is thirty-two, and comprises four first class battle-ships, five first class
cruisers, seventeen second-class cruisers, and six torpedo gunboats. The ships to be
built in the royal dockyards, under the same statute, number thirty-eight, which will all
be completed by April, 1894. They consist of four first class and two second class
battle-ships, four first class, twelve second class, and four third class cruisers, and twelve
torpedo gunboats.
All the first class battle-ships building in the royal dockyards under the Act of
1889, were floated early in 1892. Besides the Royal Sovereign, the Renown (re-named the
Empress of India) was launched at Pembroke on May 7th, 1891, the Hood was floated
at Chatham on the 30th July, and the Repulse at Pembroke in February of the
following year. The first of the four contract-built first class battle-ships to take
the water was the Ramillies, at Thomson's yard on the Clyde, and the second was the
Resolution, from Palmer's yard at Jarrow-on-Tyne.
There is also a further source of strength to the Empire provided by the agree
ment arrived at, in 1887, between the representatives of the Australian Colonies and the
mother country, by which a squadron of five cruisers was to be provided for the exclu
sive protection of commerce in Australian waters. By this agreement, which was
embodied in the Imperial Defence Act of 1888, the Home Government were to provide
the funds for the construction and armament of these ships, as well as their officers and
crews. In return the Colonies agreed to vote an annual subsidy for a period of twelve
years for the protection thus afforded. A further annual payment has been made for
some thirty years by the Indian Government, which refunds in full all the disbursements
of the Admiralty for the naval protection afforded to India.
The Royal Sovereign and the other dockyard-built ships were constructed with greater
rapidity than those contracted for by private firms. She was on the stocks only about
seventeen months, and although she was the last to be begun, she was the first of them
to be launched, and was completed for sea and commissioned within thirty-two months of
the time her keel was laid. The Empress of India was twenty-two months in construction
* See Navy returns No. 237, from which these figures are derived, though by the estimates they appear at about
alf the amount above stated.

H.M.S. ROYAL SOVEREIGN.
1st class, battleship

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 333

even m com-

and the Repulse, thirty-four months. This was a great advance in rapidity
parison with the Trafalgar, which was launched in April, 1890, having been in the
shed four years and two months, and with the Victoria* a yet smaller ship, which the
Elswick Company delivered within three years of the date the contract was signed.
Some detailed account is required of the Royal Sovereign, a fit successor to the long line
of battle-ships bearing the name, extending from the time of Elizabeth, and including
the Sovereign of the Seas, and the ship which bore Collingwood's flag at Trafalgar.
The Royal Sovereign^ is a steel, twin-screwed, double-barbette battle-ship, of 14,150
tons displacement, and 380 feet long by 75 broad. She is thus 35 feet longer
than the Trafalgar, and is equal in length to the Warrior, the first of our ironclads.
She carries vertical triple-expansion engines, which develop 9,000 horse-power with
natural draught, and drive the ship at a speed of 16 knots, and with forced draught
work up to 13,000 horse-power, and give a speed of 17| knots. The vessel
carries 900 tons of coal, which will enable her to steam 5,000 knots at 10 miles an hour,
without refilling her bunkers ; but in case of necessity she will be able to stow about
400 tons more, and so obtain a radius of action of over 7,000 knots. In addition,
the chief weights to be carried are the armament, 1,190 tons, and the armour, 4,530 tons.
At each end of the ship is a section, 65 feet long, which is entirely without vertical
armour, the only protection there being afforded by a two and a half inch steel deck.
The whole middle section of the ship is furnished with a water-line belt of a maximum
thickness of 18 inches, 250 feet long, and extending five feet six inches below and three
feet above the line of immersion. The ends of the belt are joined by transverse
armoured bulkheads, which rest upon the armoured deck. At each end of the armoured
enclosure, which is thus formed, there rises to above the level of the upper deck a
barbette composed of 17-inch armour. On the top of the armoured belt rests a three-
inch steel deck, and above this, to a height of some feet, the outer walls of the ship are
composed of four-inch steel upon a one-inch steel skin. Again, above this there is
armour in the shape of steel shields to the larger broadside guns. Finally, there are
two armoured conning towers. The subdivision into water-tight compartments is very
complete, and the whole framework of the hull is exceptionally strong. Just abaft the
forward barbette, and immediately before the after one rise substantial masts, provided
with tops, and nearly midway between them are the two funnels, which are placed
abreast of one another. The ship carries twenty-one boats, including two 5 6 -feet torpedo
boats, all stowed amidships.
* See illustration, Vol. II., page 318. t See illustration, Vol. III., page 332.
VOL III. X X

334 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Each barbette is, in effect, a separate and very strong pear-shaped two-storeyed
redoubt. In the upper storey is the turntable, carrying the guns ; in the lower are
the turning engines, and the whole structure is thickly armoured all the way down
to five feet six inches below the water-line; thus there is obviously little danger of a
hostile shell putting the heavy guns out of action by exploding beneath them, and so
either disabling the guns themselves or destroying the ammunition hoists. The tops
of the barbettes project but two feet nine inches above the upper deck, and consequently
the axes of the guns are only about four feet six inches above that deck, an arrange
ment which, for general cruising purposes, has the great advantage of permitting
the vessel to have a comparatively high freeboard. The freeboard of the battle-ships
of the Admiral class is only 10 feet 3 inches, being so low that, when the vessels
attempt to steam against a moderate sea, their forecastles are almost under water,
and their forward barbette guns can scarcely be fought. But the freeboard of the
Royal Sovereign and her sister ships is 18 feet aft, and slightly more forward, while
the heavy guns are 25 feet above the water instead of 20 feet as in the improved
"Admirals." The chief armament of the Royal Sovereign, and the other battle-ships of her class,
consists of four 13-5-inch 67-ton guns, disposed two in each barbette. These have arcs
of training of about 200 degrees, and all four guns can be simultaneously discharged on
either broadside. The secondary armament consists of the following quick-firing guns: —
ten 6-inch, carried in the box battery, between the barbettes, two on each broadside, on
the main deck in sponsons, and three on each broadside on the upper deck ; sixteen
2-14-inch 6-pounders, twelve of which are on the main, and four on the upper deck;
ten 1-85-inch 3-pounders on the upper deck and superstructure, and in the tops ;
eight machine-guns, and two 9-pounder fieldpieces. She also carries five above-water
and two submerged 18-inch torpedo-tubes. The total actual cost for ship, engines,
hydraulic gear, gun-mountings, and torpedo-fittings, was £770,000. This is exclusive
of the guns, which cost £75,000, and the ammunition, which will come to probably
twice as much, so that the ship, when complete for sea, represents nearly a million of money.
A writer in the Times gives the following comparison between the Royal Sovereign
and the largest and most powerful battle-ships, built or under construction, of the
chief maritime powers, except Eussia, of which all that is known with certainty is
that her heaviest ships are of about 11,000 tons displacement. The representative French
class contains the sister-ships Lazare, Camot, and Charles Martel; German, the sister-

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY

335

ships Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm, Weissenburg, and Brandenburg ; American, Indiana,
Massachusetts, and Oregon; and Italian, Sardegna, Lepanto, Sicilia, and Re Umberto.

British.

French.

German.

American.

Italian.

Length, in feet 

380

3937

376-2

348

400

Beam, in feet 

75

71-1

63-9

69-3

72-6

Tons 

14,150

11,900

10,000

10,201

14,800

Maximum horse-power 

13,000

13,275

15,000

9,000

13,300

Maximum speed, in knots

17-5

17-5

18

15

18

Thickest armour, in inches

18

17-7

16

17

14-2

Coal capacity, in tons 

900

...

400

1,200

Torpedo tubes 

7

6

7

7

5

/

4 13'5in.

2 12in.

6 llin.

4 13in.

4 13-5in.

10 6in. Q.F.

2 10-6in.

16 3-4in. Q.F.

8 8in.

8 6in.

Guns  <

16 6-pdr. Q.F.

8 5-5in. Q.F.

...

4 6in.

16 4'7in. Q.F.

103-pdr.Q.F.
26 small
20 Q.F.
...
V
8 machine.
Q.F. & mach.
The Royal Sovereign is the fastest battle-ship actually afloat, except the Lepanto and
her sister-ships, which are 20 feet longer, and have a displacement of 650 more tons, with
a speed of 16-77 knots with 9,700 horse-power, and 18 knots with 13,300 horse-power.
The first-class cruisers are scarcely less formidable than the battle-ships, while
their greater speed and handiness make them most useful adjuncts of our Navy.
Among those completed are the Blenheim* of which an illustration is given, and her
sister- ship, the Blake, with a displacement of 9,000 tons, each of which cost the country
£434,000. These cruisers were designed to steam 22 knots under forced draught of
20,000 horse-power, and 20 under natural draught of 13,000 horse-power. The Blen
heim was stated in her trials to have exceeded the estimated speed under both con
ditions, but the boilers leaked. The same occurred at the trials of the Vulcan, torpedo-
ship, and the Blake, built at Chatham, which failed in point of speed to realise the
promise of her designers. On the other hand, the Edgar, first-class cruiser, built at
Devonport, which was designed for 12,000 horse-power, gave 480 in excess, and attained
a speed of nearly 22 knots, or two more than was anticipated. The ship also cost
£60,000 less than the Blake and Blenheim, though this is accounted for by her tonnage
being 7,350 instead of 9,000. * See illustration, Vol. III., page 268.
xx 2
336 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
The nine first class protected cruisers, authorised under the Act already mentioned,
consist of six unsheathed ships, the Edgar, Gibraltar, Hawke, Endymion, Grafton, and
Theseus, of 7,350 tons, and three sheathed and coppered, the Royal Arthur (late Centaur),
Crescent, and St. George, each of 350 tons more displacement, owing to these additions
to the weights. In other respects these cruisers are alike, and the following description
will do for all.
They are 360 feet in length and 60 feet in breadth, and when ready for sea draw
rather over 24 feet of water. The coal capacity is 850 tons, and the radius of action
10,000 miles. The armament consists of one 9-2-inch 22-ton gun, mounted on the poop,
and the following quick-firing guns: — twelve 6-inch 5^-ton, two mounted on the
forecastle, and five on each broadside, six being on the upper, and four, in sponsons,
on the main deck ; 12 6-pounders and three 3-pounders, 8 machine-guns, and two
fieldpieces, besides four 14-inch torpedo ejectors.
The protective deck of steel has a maximum thickness of five inches and a minimum
thickness of two inches. As the engines rise somewhat above the steel deck, the
upper parts are protected by 5-inch inclined plates, backed with teak. The conning
tower is of 12-inch plates, with armoured communication tubes seven inches in
thickness. The larger guns are protected by steel shields, and, in addition to twenty-
seven water-tight compartments under the machinery space, the double bottom is
extended nearly throughout the length of the ship.
In regard to the future policy of shipbuilding, the late Admiralty decided before
leaving office to construct three battle-ships. There will be some modifications in
these ships, with special reference to recent foreign shipbuilding policy, and the latest
developments of armament, armour, and propelling machinery. It has been decided
that the introduction of quick-firing guns of large calibre, and the use of high explo
sives, necessitate changes in the character and distribution of the protective hull
armour, and the increase of protection to guns' crews. It has also been determined that
further steps must be taken in the direction followed in the Royal Sovereign and Centurion
class, so as to give even greater relative power and prominence to the secondary arma
ment of quick-firing guns. The new battle-ships are described by the late First Lord
as "of large displacement, of high freeboard and speed, large coal capacity, and carrying
as a main armament four guns of large calibre, and as a subsidiary armament a large number
of well-protected quick-firing 110-pounder guns."
With regard to the ten new torpedo gunboats, which are to be built by contract,

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 337
the Admiralty propose that half should be of larger size than any preceding vessels
of this kind. They will have the following dimensions :— length, 250 feet ; breadth,
30 feet 6 inches ; displacement, 1,070 tons ; horse-power, with natural draught, 2,500,
and with forced draught, 3,500 : mean speed on natural draught, 17 to 17| knots, and
on forced draught, 19 knots. The armament will include two 4-7-inch quick-firing guns,
four 6-pounders, and five 18 -inch torpedo-tubes.
The battle-ships, cruisers, and smaller vessels selected by our artist for illustration,
are diverse enough to display to the eye of the non-professional reader the special
characteristics of the numerous types forming the British Fleet of our day. The Royal
Sovereign* is the most important and interesting of these, and scarcely inferior is the
Victoria^ first class battle-ship, the " counterfeit presentment " of which may be compared
with that of her namesake, one of the last of the wooden three-deckers built before the
Warrior initiated the new order of shipbuilding. The Colossus-\ is also of the same class,
and represents a type of not wholly armoured ships, of which the Ajax, Edinburgh, and
Agamemnon are examples. The Rodney^ is a sample of the " Admiral " class, having
armoured ends and carrying 67-ton guns in place of the 110-ton guns forming the
armament of the Victoria. The Hero\ is a type of the older second class battle-ship,
which has given place to the Barfleur and Centurion class, declared by competent critics
to be on the whole the best description of fighting ship we possess. The Blenheim* like
her sister ship, the Blake, is perhaps the noblest and fastest cruiser afloat, having
a tonnage equal to the Barfleur, and a horse-power double hers. The Undaunted^ is
a cruiser of the Orlando type, having a displacement of 5,000 tons, and is partially
armoured. The Magicienne^ is one of the protected second class cruisers, under
construction before the passing of the Naval Defence Act. The Latona^ belongs to
another type of cruiser, and the Calliope^, is one of the older third class cruisers, and
earned a world-wide fame by the seamanlike skill with which Captain Kane rescued her
from the fate that overtook the war-ships of other nations in Samoa on the 16th March,
1889. The Mohawk^, is a sister-ship of the ill-fated Serpent, which was lost on the north
west coast of Spain, and the Nymphe\ is a specimen of the modern sloop-of-war, and
bears a name rendered famous by Captain Edward Bellew who, while in command
of her predecessor, captured the French Cleopatre. The Bramble^ and Thrush* are
examples of our gunboats, and the latter carried the pennant of H.B.H. the Duke
of York in his first command on the North American station. Finally, the Speedwell*
* See illustration, Vol. Ill, t See illustration, Vol. II, % See illustration, Vol, I,

338 HER MAJESTY' S NAVY.
is one of those torpedo-catchers which will doubtless play so important a part in future
wars, and of which it were well, as of the more powerful class of torpedo-boats, we
had a larger number to meet the enemy on the high seas and off his coast.
A continuous system of reconstructing and re-boilering is hardly less important than
the constant prosecution of ship-building. The life of every ironclad as an effective
fighting machine of the first order, in these days of constant improvement, is compara
tively short, and it is false economy to put off necessary repairs. The relative number
of ships of our own Navy and that of other powers on foreign stations is striking, and
this necessitates greater wear in our ships which are constantly in motion. France,
which, next to us, has the largest navy and the greatest colonial possessions of any
European power, in December, 1891 (excluding the Mediterranean station), had only
thirteen ships on foreign stations as against forty-seven of our Navy. The difference in
numbers, great as it is, does not accurately convey a full sense of the disproportion
between the foreign duties of the two navies, for the English ships, on the average, are
larger and of more modern type. This work of reconstruction, so far from decreasing,
must increase with the expansion of our Colonies. Four years ago the annual coal bill
of the British Navy was £274,000, but now it is estimated at £530,000, and although
a certain proportion of this increase is attributable to more auxiliary machinery and the
electric light, the bulk is due to the greater activity of our ships on foreign stations.
In future years larger sums must be allocated to the heads of reconstruction, re-engi
neering, re-boilering, and large repairs, if readiness for service is to be the condition
of the ships in reserve.* Eecently the Nelson has superseded the wooden line-of-battle-
ship Duke of Wellington as flagship at Bortsmouth, and the more modern Swiftsure has
taken the place of the Black Prince at Blymouth, while the Alexandra has succeeded
the Northumberland as flagship of the coastguard squadron.
The placing of orders for the guns simultaneously with the commencement of the
* The official summary of the work proposed to be done during 1892-93 is as follows : —
Under construction— Ten vessels will be completed. Twenty will be advanced sufficiently to be completed in
1893-94. Two ironclads will be commenced in the dockyards, and one by contract. Ten first-class torpedo gunboats
will be commenced by contract.
Under reconstruction — Five ironclads of the older type are to be finished, and two more to be advanced suffi
ciently to be finished in 1893-94.
This is independent of the contract-built ships of the Naval Defence Act, nine of which will be completed after
delivery this year, and fifteen are to be materially advanced.
Very recently (October, 1892), the Admiralty have decided on the construction of 14 torpedo-boats, 10 of which
are to measure 140 feet by 14 J- feet, with a guaranteed speed of 23 knots, and 4 are to measure 180 feet in length by
18J feet in breadth, and are expected to attain a speed of 27 knots, or a little over 31 statute miles.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.

339

building of the ships has reversed the old order of things, and, so far from ships being
useless for want of guns, the guns await the ships on which they are to be mounted.
In 1891, 396 heavy guns* were completed, as against 240 in the preceding year, and
the number of guns ready for ships on December 31, 1891, was 1,623. As the great
powers have adopted smokeless powder for war purposes, our Navy will be supplied
with cordite, the new explosive, which is now manufactured on an extensive scale at
Waltham Abbey.
The following is a retrospect of the work of the six years between 1886 and 1892 :—

Ordnance : —
Breech-loading guns (afloat and in reserve) 
Light quick-firing guna (afloat and in reserve) 
Torpedoes (afloat and in reserve) 
Ships:— In Commission —
At home — Excluding coast defence ships, gunboats, and torpedo-boats
Displacement tonnage 
Abroad — Total of all classes 
Displacement tonnage 
Complements — 
In Reserve (ready for Commission) —
Excluding coast defence ships, gunboats, and torpedo boats —
Fleet Reserve —
Division A 
Division B . . . 
Old 1st Class Steam Reserve
Displacement tonnage ...
Ships of 15 knots speed and upwards (afloat and building), all classes
except torpedo-boats 
Personnel : —
Establishments of officers and men (active list)
Numbers of Royal Naval Reserve (officers and men)

1886.

499 33
820

15
110,000 96
205,800 18,100

10
25,700 57
61,400 18,300

1892.

1,868
1,715
2,874

21
154,500 110
307,000 23,350

11 2
82,200 140
74,00023,500

* The following are the heavy ordnance in use in our Navy : —
16-25-inch, of 110 tons ; 13-5-inch, of 67 tons ; 10-inch, of 29 tons ; 9'2-inch, of 22 tons ; 8-inch, of 14 tons ;
6-inch, of 5| tons.

340 her majesty's navy.
During the past two years there has been a gradual increase in the personnel of the
Navy. The vote for 1891-92 was for a total force of 71,000, and for 1892-3 for
74,000, including 14,000 marines. But this number will require augmentation by at
least 2,000 men. Of the total strength the Blue-jackets, who, with the Marines, form the
actual fighting strength of the Navy, number little more than 20,000. England, during
the first decade of the present century, with a population of 11,000,000, mustered
85,000 seamen in her fleet, besides 35,000 marines, and this at a time when her Colonial
Empire, with the exception of Canada and Cape Colony, had no existence, and her
commerce was not one tithe what it now is. This vital consideration " should give us
pause," for vain is all our wealth, useless even our ships, without seamen to fight them.
It has been the custom until recently to regard the Channel fleet as a training
squadron, composed of old and, in some instances, quite ineffective ironclads; but a
change has been introduced, and this part of our naval defences, which for centuries
had always been regarded as the most important, and was kept in the highest state of
efficiency, is now composed of four first class battle-ships and two belted cruisers, all of
modern type. In addition, there are nine ironclads in commission in connection with
the coastguard system, which can be made ready for use in forty-eight hours. The
ships of the First Class Steam Eeserve in the home ports, and the coast defence vessels,
with gun- vessels and torpedo-boats, can be prepared for sea, as has been proved by
actual mobilization, in five days, and some in less time. Again, the Mediterranean
Fleet, always kept in a state of the highest efficiency, has been raised to a strength of
ten battle-ships and two armour-plated cruisers. From this resume it will be seen that,
while much remains to be done to maintain the ancient supremacy of our Navy,
important steps in advance have been taken during the past few years. The strength
of a navy, as of a nation, depends upon its reserve power, and the value of that
reserve, in a great measure, on its readiness for active service.
In addition to the new vessels constructed under the Naval Defence Act and the
annual shipbuilding vote, the old armoured ships have been renovated, and the depot-
hulks at the naval ports have been replaced, as we have already observed — at Sheerness,
Portsmouth, Plymouth, Queenstown, and Pembroke — by such sea-going ironclads as
the Northampton, Nelson, Siviftsure, Alexandra, and Triumph, which form a considerable
accession to the reserves ready for immediate service. An equally satisfactory change
has recently been made with regard to the ships in reserve at the dockyards. These
are now all placed conveniently together in the basins, ready coaled, with armaments

%f,ftm -J

iv-tf1<mf-

ROYAL NAVAL ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS.

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 341
on board, stores set apart, and skeleton crews told off to keep them in order. A
similar policy of preparedness has been pursued with reference to obtaining on the
shortest notice the very large extra quantity of coals and sea stores which would
be required on the outbreak of war.
Then there is the new force of mercantile armed cruisers, whose value it would be
difficult to overestimate, for the initiation of which the credit is due to Mr. Ismay,
the Liverpool shipowner. There are now retained thirteen merchant steamers, of an
aggregate displacement of 100,000 tons and 150,000 indicated horse-power. Such a
tonnage built for the Navy would cost over £6,000,000, and the payment made by the
country to secure the call for their services is only £60,000 per annum, which
includes, free of charge, fifteen other large and fine steamers, and of the entire number,
seventeen are commanded by officers of the Naval Eeserve.
During 1891 the country lost the services of the Eoyal Naval Artillery Volunteers,
which had been given the option of disbandment or being handed over to the War
Office. Although it seemed an ungracious act, still it was, we think, the wisest
course to adopt, as there seemed no prospect of increasing their numbers. There
were, however, more important reasons for the adoption of this step, as it is clear that
an addition of 2,000 really efficient seaman-gunners would be of no slight value to the
defensive power of the country ; but these men were in no sense sailors, and could not
have been drafted for service in the fleet.
From Parliamentary Eeturns it appears that the Eoyal Naval Artillery Yolunteers,
which, at the time of their abolition, numbered 1,947 of all ranks, were recruited
from no fewer than "254 different professions and trades," and moreover, it is shown
that the class most fully represented was that of the clerk, of whom there were
439, while of the whole number, those connected, however remotely, with the sea,
numbered only 150.
The Eoyal Naval Artillery Yolunteers were first called into existence in 1873, when
Mr. Goschen was First Lord of the Admiralty. At first they were no expense to the
nation, but in the year following their enrolment, £1,000 was voted with a strength
of 1,000 members, and this was gradually increased until 1891, when £6,685 was
voted for less than 2,000 efficients, exclusive of the value of stores and ammunition
supplied, the cost of maintenance and repairs of the Frolic, in the Thames, and
other vessels, and the incidental expenses incurred by the use of gunboats.
The chief difficulty is now, as it has ever been in the past, the manning of the
VOL. III. Y Y

342 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Navy. During the great war, the pressgang was called into requisition to make up
the complement of ships under orders to sail — a mode of recruiting which would,
doubtless, in the event of war, be replaced by conscription among the seafaring
classes. It is patent that this deficiency of seamen, not to speak of stokers as well,
will have to be faced when the country is involved in war with a great maritime
power, and some way found, either by this method or higher pay, to raise the number
of seamen requisite to man the vast fleet we are constructing with such rapidity under
the Naval Defence Act. Ships without sailors, or rather seamen-gunners, are no more
use than an army with skeleton battalions such as we now possess, and if we are unable
to find crews for the ships commissioned in peace time, with diminished crews, how
shall we hope to man all the battle-ships and cruisers passed into the Eeserve ?
Without doubt those seamen we have are quite equal in physique to the gallant
race that gained our victories under Howe and Nelson, and in intelligence they are
vastly superior, while their training leaves nothing to be desired. Our officers, too,
are not inferior in knowledge of their duties, among which seamanship no longer holds
a place, to their predecessors, but of both officers and men the numbers are deficient. Some
three hundred lieutenants are still needed, notwithstanding an augmentation to com
plete the number necessary for torpedo-vessels and other duties, and our reserve of
seamen is notoriously and admittedly insufficient, and " dangerously small " (as the late
Admiral of the Fleet, Sir A. Eyder, said) "in comparison with that of France." Other
distinguished officers, Admirals Phillimore, De Horsey, and Lord Alcester, have written
and expressed themselves to the same effect, but the country appears indifferent. Our
mercantile marine has ceased to be a chief source of supply of seamen, for it is mostly
manned by Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Lascars. Thus, although tlie personnel
of the Navy has been greatly increased within the last few years, it is still below our
requirements. The authorised strength of the Naval Eeserve is 20,700, divided into first and
second class, in almost equal numbers, and lately recruiting has been so rapid that
the total enrolled exceeds that number. Of these, the 10,000 second class, or fishermen,
are always at hand, and of the 10,000 of the first class, or seamen, about 7,000 are
also immediately available, being engaged on short and home voyages. Estimates have
been made of the further possible increase of the service, and without undue pressure
doubtless 10,000 men in the two classes could be obtained, which would raise the total
strength to 30,000 men out of the 80,000 British seamen and 70,000 fishermen who

HER MAJESTY'S NAVY. 343
form the supply. It is a disquieting fact, however, that whereas in fifteen years the
merchant tonnage has increased by 1,750,000, the number of British seamen has
diminished by 20,000, while the foreigners in our ships have increased by 6,000.
The officers of the Eoyal Naval Eeserve, drawn from the mercantile marine, number
135 lieutenants, 250 sub -lieutenants, 200 midshipmen, and 100 engineers and assistant-
engineers. Of these, a certain portion, which it may be hoped will be increased in
succeeding years, have had a year's naval training. By being thus brought into actual
contact with their naval brethren on board ships-of-war, and experiencing the conditions
of naval life and discipline, those officers of the Eeserve who have taken advantage of
these facilities have really increased their value in the event of war.
With regard to firemen and stokers, the number in the Eeserve does not increase,
and additional inducements will have to be held out to them to join, as a ship-of-war of
our day is as much a mechanical as a fighting machine.
An excellent system of annual mobilisation of the fleet has been adopted within
the last decade, and with satisfactory results, not only in giving valuable practice to
officers and men and the Intelligence Department, but as showing the weak points
in our harness. We have said that the reserve of 20,000 men is totally insufficient to
man all our ships, built and building, under the Naval Defence Act, which are passed
into the Eeserve, and to provide for the drain of war. But it is different in France,
where the conscription prevails. There the navy, with fewer ships, has a personnel
of far greater strength. The recent augmentation in officers has been great, as the
following numbers will show. There will be 3 vice-admirals, instead of 1 as hitherto ;
11 rear-admirals, an increase of 5; 56 captains, instead of 42 ; 106 commanders, instead
of 71 ; 519 lieutenants, in place of 408 ; and 329 enseignes de vaisseau, instead of 277.
The total number of equipages (officers and men), which was, in 1891, 36,623,
was raised in 1892 to 40,620, of whom 34,879 are regularly afloat, 2,058 in
reserve, and 3,688 ashore. The number of ships in commission was also increased as
follows : — Ironclads of all types, thirty-one instead of eighteen ; cruisers, twenty-eight
instead of twenty ; and torpedo cruisers, fifteen in place of five, exclusive of
sea-going torpedo-boats. The Mediterranean Fleet was increased from twenty-
six to fifty ships ; and the Channel Fleet, or Escadre du Mid, from eight to eighteen.
The French troupes de la marine — who are supposed to be the same as our
Eoyal Marines, but only garrison the military ports and the colonies, and do not
serve afloat — number (infantry and artillery) 25,500, of whom some 15,000 serve in
y y 2

344 HER MAJESTY'S NAVY.
the French ports, and 10,000 in the colonies. The inscrits, or reserve of French
seamen, are no less than 114,552, a number which contrasts favourably with our meagre
Naval Eeserves of all classes. The newly organised French Eeserve, which corresponds
with Division A of the British Fleet Eeserve, consists of ships manned by three-fifths of
their effective complements. The vessels are anchored in the roads of the various ports,
and are kept filled up with ammunition, torpedoes, coal, and stores. Once every three
months they proceed to sea to execute their quarterly firing ; and it is ordered that no
repairs shall be undertaken that would prevent the ships from sailing within 24 hours.
The vessels in this class at Toulon alone include nine ironclads, four cruisers, one
torpedo cruiser, one torpedo gun-vessel, and four torpedo-boats, besides thirty-nine
equally ready torpedo-boats, which belong to a special reserve. In addition, there is in
commission at Toulon, the Mediterranean squadron, consisting of nine ironclads, four
cruisers, two torpedo cruisers, three torpedo gun-vessels, and five torpedo-boats, a number
likely to be increased in all the ports since the recent development of this branch of the
French war marine, on which that nation places such reliance. Thus it is the present
policy of France to keep as many vessels of all classes as possible in readiness for
immediate service.
It therefore behoves our rulers and people not to delude themselves with the
fallacy that, having built many more ships than the country with which in the past we
have mostly waged our wars, we have fulfilled our duty and may rest on our oars. Not
only may new inventions and novel developments revolutionise war on the sea, as we
have actually seen happen within the last thirty years, but all this array of ships
which fills our dockyards, is of small account if we cannot procure a sufficient supply
of competent British seamen to man them.

INDEX.

Abyssinia, expedition to, iii. 2S1
A chille, capture and services of the, ii.
105, 113 ; iii. 9
A chilles, her services, i. 256, 294
Acre, defence of, by Sir Sydney Smith,
ii. 260-
Acre, attack on, by the British fleet, iii.
225 — 228
Active, services of the, ii. 331; iii. 78,
86, 88, 177, 284
Aden, capture of, iii. 242
CEolus, services of the, i. 258, 309 ; iii. 33
Africa (Spanish), capture of the, i. 203
„ services of the, ii. 184, 349 ; iii. i7f
64. 195
Africa, service on the coast of, iii. 255,
281
Africaine, loss, capture and recapture
of the, ii. 309; iii. 81
Agamemnon, services of the, under Nel
son, ii. 81, 90, 145, 149, 164 — 166
Agamemnon, services of the, under Berry
and others, ii. 287, 289, 344, 349
Agamemnon, services of the, in the Rus
sian war, iii. 17
Ajax, services and loss of the, ii. 299,
344,348; iii. 17. 5L 78
Alceste (late Minerve), her capture and
services, iii. 47, 60, 87, 88
Alcester, Lord, iii. 252, 287 — 292
Alcide, two captured and one lost, i.
318; ii. 148; iii. 140
Alcmene, services of the, ii. 269, 270, 276,
286, 28g
Alexander, lost and recaptured, ii. 135,
140 ; iii. 139
Alexander, services of the, ii. 231, 237,
240, 248
Alexandria, bombardment of, iii. 287 —
292
Algiers, bombardment of, iii. 209 — 213
Alicant, reduced by Sir John Leake, i. 87
Amazon, services of the, ii. 169, 187, 188,
288, 291 ; iii. 38
Amboyna, capture of, iii. 83
Amelia and the Arethuse, iii. 92
Amethyst captures the Thetis and
Niemen, iii. 64, 65
Amphion, services and loss of the, ii.
184, 319, 342 ; iii. 73, 74, 78, 86, 270
Andromache, services of the, ii. 216, 281,
308 ; iii. 245
VOL. III.

Anson, Lord, circumnavigates the globe,
i. 173—178
Anson, Lord, his victory off Finisterre,
i. 198
Anson, Lord, his career, i. 320 — 322
Anson, services and loss of the, ii. 219,
226, 229, 234; iii. 46, 53, 188
Apollo, services and loss of the, i. 317 ;
ii. 8, 337 ; iii. 52, 70
Arctic exploration, iii. 258 — 264
Ardent (French), capture of the, i. 197
„ loss and recapture of the, ii. 14,
4L 44
Ardent, services and loss of the, ii. 7,
85, 121, 213, 215, 286, 289
Arethusa, services of the, ii. 124, 129,
183, 218
Arethusa (French), capture of the, ii. 257
Argo captures the Santa Teresa, ii. 268
Ariadne, services of the, ii. 329
Armada, description of the Spanish, i. 13
„ its defeat and dispersion, i. 14
— 20
Ashantee, the expedition to, iii. 281
Ashby, Sir John, his services, i. 57, 67
Astrcea, services of the, ii. 154; iii. 89,
93
Ayscough, Sir George, his services, i. 28,
30, 42, 45. 54

B.
Baker, Admiral, his services, i. 159
Balchen, Sir John, his services and death,
i. 63, 185, 266
Ball, Sir Alexander, his services, ii.
232, 248 ; iii. 207
Baltic, operations in the, iii. 270
Banda Islands, surrender of the, iii. 83
Bantry Bay, action off, i. 57
Barcelona, events at, i. 62, 85, 87
Barfleur, services of the, i.72, 141, 182;
ii. 39, 109, 139, 200, 344; iii. 192, 193,
197, 198
Barlow, Captain, his services in the
Phcebe, ii. 187, 219, 279, 309
Barnett, Commodore, in the East Indies,
i. 187, 189
Barrington, Admiral, his career, i. 256 ;
ii. 15
Bart, Jean, his career, i. 63, 72
Bathurst, Commodore, his services and
death ; iii. 63, 215, 219
Z Z

Beauclerk, Lord Aubrey, death of, i. ir.\
Beaufort, Sir Francis, gallantry of, .i.
283
Belleisle, services of the, ii. 335, 349 ; iii.
6, 23, 42
Belleisle (French), capture of the, i. 2;3
„ (French), late Formidable, cap
ture of the, ii. 140
Belleisle, reduction of, i. 294
Belle Poule, her capture and servicer,
iii. 38, 87
Bellerophon, services of the, ii. 100,
107, 237, 239 ; iii. 8, 23, 74, 151, 226
Bellerophon, Napoleon surrenders on
board the, iii. 95
Bellona takes the Courageux, and other
services, i. 298 ; ii. 286, 289 ; iii. 42, 123,
190
Bellone (French), captured by the Vestal,
iii. 197
Bellone, capture of another ; ii. 227, 285;
iii. 83
Benbow, Admiral, his services and
death, i. 62, 64, 73—75, 124 — 128
Berkeley, Lord, his services, i. 62, 97,
138, 149
Berkeley, Sir William, his death, i. 54
Berry, Sir John, anecdote of, i. 134
Berry, Sir Edward, his services, ii. 205,
243. 277. 349; "i. 17. 2°7
Beresford, Lord Charles, his services,
iii. 289, 302—308
Berwick, services of the, i. 182, 328
,, lost and recaptured, ii. 143
Bickerton, Sir Richard, joins Admiral
Hughes, ii. 50, 75, 231
Blackwood, Sir Henry, his services, ii.
276, 347. 349! "i- 51
Blanche, Captain Faulknor, takes the
Pique, ii. 151; iii. 130
Blanche, her services and loss, ii. 181,
322, 340 ; iii. 37, 46, 128
Blake, Admiral Robert, his career, i. 27
—40
Blake, his action with the Dutch off
Dover, i. 29
Blake enters Calais Harbour, i. 30
„ engages Van Tromp in the
Channel, i. 31
Blake, his battle off Cape La Hogue, i. 33
,, his victory at Tunis, i. 36
,, at Malaga and Cadiz, i. 37
„ his victory at Teneriffe, i. 38
,, his death, i. 39

346

INDEX.

Blenheim, services and loss of the, ii. 37,
200, 323, 336 ; iii. 38, 182, 246
Blonde, services of the, iii. 75, 246
Bodley, Commodore, his action off Elba,
i- 3i
Boreas, services of the, i. 246, 251, 252 ;
iii. 161
Borneo, the pirates of, iii. 249
Boscawen, Admiral, services of, i. 168,
194, 244, 253
Boscawen, sketch of his career, i. 314 —
320
Bourne, Admiral, serves under Blake,
i. 29, 30
Bowen, Captain Richard, his services
and death, ii. 131, 134, 179, 211; iii.
131— 137
Boyne, services and loss of the, i. 171 ;
ii. 15, 130—133, 158 ; iii. 93, 132
Brenton, Sir Jahleel, his services, ii.
269, 302, 320 ; iii. 54, 73
Brett, Sir Piercy, his career, ii. 64, 188
Bridport, Lord, his services, ii. 37, 96,
115, 139, 256, 273; iii. 194—196
Brisbane, Sir Charles, iii. 40, 46, 53
Brisbane, Sir James, ii. 288 ; iii. 209,
244
Britannia, services of the, i. 261 ; ii. 81,
144, 202, 349 ; iii. 18, 126
Broderick, Admiral, his career, i. 216,
24L339'
Broke, Captain P., of the Shannon, takes
the Chesapeake, iii. 103 — 107
Brunswick, action with the Vengeur,
ii. no; iii. 120
Buckingham captures the Florissant,
i- 238, 333
Bunker's Hill, battle of, iii. 192
Buonaparte, Prince Jerome, as a sailor,
iii. 42
Buonaparte (see also " Napoleon").
Burmah, our wars in, iii. 242 — 245, 250
—253
Bushire, capture of, iii. 256
Byng, Sir George, his services off Malaga,
Alicant and Toulon, i. 82, 87, 90
Byng, Sir George, his victory off Cape
Passaro, i. 139 — 147
Byng, Sir George, his career, i. 151 — 155
Byng, Admiral, his indecisive action and
death, i. 206 — 212
Byron, Admiral, his career, i. 174, 251,
311 ; ii. 7, 15, 65—68

Cadiz, expeditions to, i. 12. 24, 25, 26
,, Lord Nelson at, ii. 209
Ccesar, services of the, ii. 106, 231, 302,
305, 347 ; iii- 33. 66
Calcutta, recapture of, i. 222
Calder, Sir Robert, his career, ii. 202,
297. 344
Calvi, Nelson at, ii. 123; iii. 165
Camperdown, battle of, ii. 213 — 216
Canada, abortive attempt on, i. 107
Canadian Lakes, actions on, iii. 108,
113. "4

Canopus (late Franklin), her capture and
services, ii. 240; iii. 25, 41, 52, 205,
213
Cape of Good Hope, capture of, ii. 159 ;
iii. 40, 48
Cape Breton Island, capture of, i. 187,
204, 318
Captain, services of the, i. 141 ; ii. 85, 145,
165, 166, 200, 203, 278 ; iii, 166 — 169
Caraccas, attack on, repulsed, i. 180
Caroline, services of the, iii. 48, 83
Carraccioli, Prince, execution of, ii. 258
Carthagena, in Spain and West Indies,
Blake and Vernon at, i. n, 167
Casse, Admiral Du, his action with Ben
bow, and other services, i. 73 — 75, 105,
109
Cato, loss of the, ii. 69
Centaur, career of the, i. 3ig ; ii. 44, 335,
340; iii. 45,47, 57, 166, 199
Centurion, services of the, i. 173 — 178,
199 ; ii. 8, 161, 184, 324, 326
Cerbere, cutting out of the, ii. 282
Cerberus, services of the, ii. 270; iii. 65,
78,86
Ceres, services of the, ii. 183
Ceylon, operations in, ii. 48 — 52, 162
Cherbourg, expedition to, i. 243
Chesapeake (American), captured by the
Shannon, iii. 103 — 107
Chesapeake Bay, fighting in, iii. 108,
in
Chevrette, the cutting out of the, ii. 314
China, our wars with, iii. 245 — 249, 277
—281
Churchill, Admiral, career of, i. 129
Cinque Ports, their ships defeat the
French, i. 5
Cleopatra, her seryices and loss, ii. 308 ;
"iii- 35. 71
Cleopatre (French), her capture, ii. 87
Clue, Admiral de la, his defeat by Bos
cawen, i. 319
Cockburn, Sir George, ii. 165, 181, 298 ;
iii. 95, 108, in, 115, 167
Cochrane, Lord, his career, ii. 310 ; iii.
44, 65, 66 — 69
Cochrane, Sir Alexander, ii. 155, 298,
301, 333. 343 I iii- 40, 76, 113, 115
Codrington, Sir Edward, at Trafalgar
and Navarino, ii. 349 ; iii. 17, 215 — 225
Coghlan, Lieutenant, his gallantry, ii.
282; iii. 36
Cole, Captain, services of, ii. 187; iii.
83
Collingwood, Lord, his career, i. 257 ; ii.
204, 347 ; iii. ^, 23, 56, 70, 77, 191 — 194
Colossus, services of the, ii. 139, 200,
206, 248, 349; iii. 8, 23
Conflans, Admiral de, career of, i. 198,
254, 33i
Constitution (American) captures the
Guerriere, iii. 98, 101, 116
Cook, Captain James, his discoveries,
i. 312
Cooke, Captain John (of the Sibylle), his
services and death, ii. 216, 251, 264
Cooke, Captain John (of the Belle
rophon), his services and death iii. 8,
150—152

Copenhagen, Sir George Rooke at, i.
64
Copenhagen, Nelson's attack on, ii. 287 ;
iii. 172
Copenhagen, its capture in 1807, iii.
49
Cornish, Admiral, his career, i. 283,
304
Cornwall, services of the, i. 203, 304 ; ii.
8, 22
Cornwallis, Admiral, his services, ii. 21,
41, 94, 120, 137, 318, 327, 343, 346; iii.
160, 177, 204
Corsica, conquered and abandoned, ii. 84,
121, 166; iii. 165, 198
Cotton, Sir Charles, his career, iii.
205
Courageux, her capture, services, and
loss, i. 298 ; ii. 85, 146, 147, 278 ; iii.
33. 123. 197
Crescent, services of the, i. 257 ; ii. go,
128, 161, 272
Culloden, services of the, i. 319; ii. 120,
148, 167, 200, 201, 211, 237, 248 ; iii. 48,
178— 181
Cumberland, services of the, i. 218 — 226,
232, 262, 282, 322; ii. 148; iii. 70
Curacoa, capture of; iii. 53, 188

D'Ache, Count, his actions with Pocock
and Stevens, i. 231 — 235, 281 — 287
Dcedalus, services of the, ii. 266 ; iii. 86,
129, 133
Dance, Commodore, his action with a
French squadron, ii. 325
Danae, mutiny of the, ii. 279
Darby, Admiral, relieves Gibraltar, ii.
34
Dardanelles, Duckworth forces the, iii.
51
Dart, Captain Campbell, gallant deed of
the, ii. 281 ; iii. 286, 289
Deane, Admiral, death of, i. 34
Defence, services of the, ii. 109, 147, 237,
239, 280, 288, 349 ; iii. 19
Defence, her loss, iii. 85
Defiance, services of the, ii. 66, 73 171,
199, 205, 286, 289, 344, 349 ; iii. ig, 66,
Delaval, Sir Ralph, at La Hogue, i. 59
128
Demerara, capture of, ii. 182, 323
Denmark, her fleet defeated by Ethel-
red, i. 4
Denmark lays an embargo on the
Armada, i. 14
Denmark coerced by Rooke, i. 64
,, war with, ii. 287 ; iii. 64, 85
Devonshire, destruction of the, i. 93
„ services of the, i. 200, 272,
275, 328
Diamond, services of the, i. 164, 189 ; ii,
129, 136,155, 168, 169, 223, 315
Diamond Rock, loss of the, ii. 333
Dido, services of the, ii. 156 ; iii. 249
Dilkes, Sir Thomas, his career, i. 77, 82,
91, 92, 131 — 132

INDEX.

347

Dominica, capture of, i. 294
Donabew, repulse at, iii. 252
Donegal (late Hoche), services of the, iii.
24, 41, 66
Doris, services of the, ii. 188
Dorsetshire, services of the, i. 142, 241
Douglas, Sir Andrew, his career, iii. 137
—139
Douglas, Sir James, his services, i. 252,
294
Drake, Sir Francis, his expedition to
Darien, i. 10
Drake, Sir Francis, circumnavigates the
globe, i. 11
Drake, Sir Francis, his expedition to
Corba, i. n
Drake, Sir Francis, destroys shipping at
Cadiz, i. 12
Drake, Sir Francis, his death and char
acter, i. 21 — 22
Dreadnought, services of the, i. 238,
337 ; iii. 18
Droits de V Homme, loss of the, ii. 188
Duckworth, Sir Thomas, his services, ii.
249, 257, 340 ; iii. 40, 51, 205
Duff, Captain, his services and death, ii.
349; iii. 152—156
Duguay-Trouin, Admiral, his career, i.
93. 94. 97. 98. 102
Duguay-Trouin (or Implacable), capture
and services of the, ii. 320; iii. 18,
34
Dumanoir, Admiral, services of, ii. 302 ;
iii. 18, 33
Duncan, Lord, his victory at Camper
down, ii. 213 — 216
Duncan, Lord, his career, iii. 143—
H7
Dursley, Lord, defeats Duguay-Trouin,
i. 98, 102 (see also Berkeley)
Dutch fleet assists England against the
Armada, i. 14
Dutch, our wars with the, i. 28 — 56 ; ii. 26,
159, 182, 213 — 216, 263, 273, 323

Eagle, loss of the, i. 92
„ services of the, i. 158, 199, 200 ;
i. 7, 50, 51 ; iii. 140, 150
Edgar, destruction of the, 107
,, services of the, i. 287; ii. 286,
289
Edward I., his fleet defeats the French,
i. 6
Edward III., his victory at Sluys, i. 7
Edwards, Commodore, his loss of a
squadron, i. 93
Egypt, expedition to, ii. 299 ; iii. 52, 287
—300
Elphinstone, Sir George (see Keith)
Elliott, Commodore, defeats Thurot, i.
258
Emerald, services of the, ii. 231, 249,
280; iii. 59, 68
Endymion captures the President, iii.
116

Epervier captured by the Peacock, iii.
no
Erie, Lake, fighting on, iii. 109
Essex, her services, i. 142, 294
Essex (American) captured by the
Phoebe, iii. no
Euryalus, services of the, ii. 347, 349 ;
iii. 112
Eurydice, services of the, ii. 128, 223
Excellent, services of the, ii. 200 ; iii. 65,
192
Exeter, services of the, i. 185, 197 ; ii. 47,
5i
Exmouth, Lord, his career, ii. 87, 129,
136, 187, 188, 254, 273 ; iii. 48, 93
Exmouth, Lord, his bombardment of
Algiers, iii. 209 — 213

Fairborne, Admiral, services of, i. 72, 76,
88, 96, 132, 133
Farmer, Captain, of the Quebec, death
of, ii. 17
Fatshan Creek, the action at, iii. 277
Faulknor, Captain, his career and cap
ture of the Courageux, i. 298 ; iii. 123 —
126
Faulknor, Captain (his son), his career
and capture of the Pique, ii. 86, 131,
151— 154; iii. 126— 131
Fisgard (late Resistance), her capture and
services, ii. 217, 229, 280, 315 : iii. 53
Flora captures Nymphe and Castor, ii.
25, 33
Flora, her services, ii. 124, 253
Flushing, bombardment of, iii. 70
Foley, Captain Thomas, his career, ii.
200, 236, 248, 286 ; iii. 207
Forbin, Admiral de, his career, i. 93
Foreland, the North, Blake's victory off,
i. 30
Formidable (French), capture of, i. 255 ;
ii. 140; iii. 34
Formidable, her services, ii. 11, 39
Forrest, Commodore, his services, i. 238,
336
Forte, capture of the, ii. 264
Foudroyant, capture and services of the,
i. 240 ; iii. 37, 131, 132, 203
Foudroyant, services of the new, ii. 226,
228, 257, 258, 276, 300 ; iii. 38, 184, 207,
214
Fougueux, captured by Hawke and Nel
son, i. 201 ; iii. 6, 7, 18
Fox, Commodore, his services, i. 199,
201
Franklin (afterwards Canopus), capture
of the, ii. 240
Franklin, Sir John, his career and fate,
iii. 260 — 264
Fremantle, Captain, services of, ii. 210,
287, 349; iii. 16, 207
Frobisher, Admiral, engaged with the
Armada, i. 16
Frolic captured by the Wasp, iii. gg
Frolic (American), her capture, iii. no

G.
Galatea, services of the, ii. 130, 168, 175,
33g ; iii. 53, 89
Galissonniere, Admiral De, engages
Byng, i. 207
Gambier, Lord, his career, ii. 96, 109;
ii. 49, 66
Gardiner, Captain, death of, i. 240
Gardner, Lord, his services, ii. 93, 96,
101, 114, 139; iii. i8g — igi
Genereux, her career and capture, ii. 24 1.
243. 276
Genoa, surrender of, ii. 275
Gheria, capture of, i. 217 — 219
Gibraltar, capture of, i. 77 — 79, 114
,, relief of, by Sir John Leake, i. 84
„ „ by Sir John Jennings, i. 151
,, ,, by Lord Rodney, ii. 18
„ ,, by Admiral Darby, ii. 34
,, ,, by Lord Howe, ii. 37; iii.
141
Glatton, services of the, ii. 173, 286,
289
Gloire, capture of the, i. 275 ; ii. 154
Gloucester, services of the, i. 174
Gordon, Captain James, services of, iii.
60, 86, 88
Gordon, Captain Alexander, services, iii.
in
Goree, surrender of, i. 242 -
Grafton, services of the, i. 141, 213, 273
282 — 288, 325; ii. 24, 77; iii. 196
Grafton, capture of the, i. 193
Grasse, Admiral De, his defeat by Howe,
ii- 39
Graves, Lord, his services, ii. 30, 96, 108
Graves, Admiral Thomas, his services,
ii: 286, 290 ; iii. 142
Grenville, Sir Richard, his death, i. 23
GrifHn, Admiral, in the East Indies, i.
193
Guadaloupe, events in, i. 247; ii. 132 —
134; iii. 65, I2g
Guerriire, her capture and loss, ii. 320 ;
iii. 46, g8
Guichen, Admiral de, defeated by Rod
ney, ii. 21
Guillaume Tell (renamed Malta), her
career and capture, ii. 241, 276, 344

H.

Haddock, Admiral, his career, i. 141, 163,
178, 179
Hamilton, Sir Charles, his services,
ii. 231, 254
Hamilton, Sir Edward, services of, ii,
270, 310
Hannibal, loss and services of the, ii. 155,
302, 304 ; iii. 94
Hardinge, Captain, his services and
death, ii. 337 ; iii. 58, 182—187
Hardy, Sir Thomas, his services, i. 109,
137
Hardy, Sir Charles, his services, i, 185;
ii. 60

348

INDEX.

Hardy, Sir Thomas Masterman, his ca
reer, ii. 181, 232, 257, 287, 319
Harfleur.the fleet relieves, i. 7
Harland, Admiral, his career, i. 200 ; ii.
11
Harvey, Captain John, of the Brunswick,
his career and death, ii. no; iii. 119 —
122
Harvey, Captain Eliab, of the Temeraire,
ii. 129, 131 ; iii. 1, 11
Havannah, reduction of, i. 302
Hawke, Admiral Lord, his services, i.
182, 209, 215, 241
Hawke, Admiral Lord, his victory over
Conflans, i. 254
Hawke, Admiral Lord, his career, i. 327
—332
Hawkins, Admiral, engaged with the
Armada, i. 14 — 20
Hawkins, Admiral, death of, i. 21
Hebe, services of the, ii. 183, 329 ; iii.
148
Hector, services of the, ii. 187, igg, 2g8 ;
iii. 192
Hector (French), captured and lost, ii.
41, 44
Heligoland, acquisition of, iii. 51
Henry III., his fleet defeats the French,
i-5
Henry V. at Harfleur, i. 7
,, VII. builds the Great Harry, i. 8
Herbert, Admiral (Lord Torrington), his
services, i. 57, 64 — 67
Hercule, her capture by the Mars, and
services, ii. 221, 340 ; iii. 149
Hercules, services of the, i. 257
Hermione, career and loss of the, ii. 135,
ig9, 220
Hermione, recapture of the, ii. 270 — 272
Hero, services and loss of the, ii. 51 ; iii.
85
Hewett, Sir William, his services, iii.
267, 282
Hoche, capture of the (renamed the
Donegal), ii. 227
Hogue, Cape La, battle of, i. 59
Holland, our wars with, i. 28 — 56 ; ii. 213
—216, 263, 273, 323
Holmes, Sir Robert, takes Cape Coast
Castle and New York, i. 41
Holmes, Sir Robert, his services, i. 47
Holmes, Admiral, his services, i. 213,
249, 251, 294
Hood, Lord, his services, i. 256, 296; ii.
29 — 43,81 — 85; iii. 161, 196— ig8
Hood, Sir Alexander (see Bridport)
Hood, Sir Samuel, his services, ii. 211,
238, 246, 302, 323, 340 ; iii. 45, 47, 53,
57. 197—199
Hood, Captain Alexander, his glorious
death, ii. 221 ; iii. 147 — 150
Hope, Sir James, his services, iii. 254,
278
Hopson, Admiral, at Vigo, i. 71
Hornby, Captain Phipps, services of, iii.
86
Hornet (American) captures the Peacock
and Penguin, iii. 102
Hoste, Commodore, his victory at Lissa,
iii. 86

Hotham, Lord, his career, i. 256, 309 ; ii.
37, 81, 124, 142, 144, 150
Howard, Sir Edward, death of, i. 9
Howard of Effingham, Earl, his services,
i. 14 — 20, 22
Howe, Lord, his early career, i. 205, 215,
242 ; ii. 3, 7—9
Howe, Lord, relieves Gibraltar, ii. 37;
iii. 141
Howe, Lord, his great victory off Ushant,
ii. 96 — 118
Howe, Lord, further services of, ii. 137 ;
iii. 201 — 202
Howe, Lord, his career, iii. 139
Hughes, Sir Edward, his battles in the
East Indies, ii. 47 — 51
Hughes, Sir Edward, his career, ii. 71 —
Hydra, services of the, ii. 223, 224 ; iii.
55

I.
Immortality capture and services of the,
ii. 22g, 328 ; iii. 47
Imperieuse, her services under Lord
Cochrane, iii. 65, 66, 88
Implacable (late Duguay-Trouin), her
capture and services, ii. 320 ; iii. 57,
74. 214
Impregnable, ii. 96, 109, no; iii. 210, 212
Indian Mutiny, services of the Navy in
the, iii. 273 — 276
Invasion of England, French plans and
attempts for the, ii. 222, 327, 343
Invincible (French), capture of the, i. 275
,, services of the, ii. 101, log ;
iii. 288
Ionian Islands, surrender of the, iii. 70,
77
Iphigenia, services of the,, ii. 91, 183 ; iii.
79. 83
Ireland, French expedition to, ii. 186,
225, 231
Isis, services of the, i. 297 ; ii. 7, 9, 49.
286, 289

Jamaica, capture of, by Penn, i. 36
James, Sir William, at Gheria, i. 217
Jason, services of the, iii. 71
Java, reduction of the island of, iii. 89
Java (late Renommee), capture and loss
of the, iii. 89, 99, 101
Jaux (Dutch ship), capture and loss of
the, iii. 48
Jennings, Sir John, his services at Ali-
cantand elsewhere, i. 87, 101, 109, 151
Jennings, Sir John, his career, 155 — 158
Jervis, Sir John (see St. Vincent, Earl)
John, King, his fleet defeats the French,
i- 5
Johnstone, Commodore, repulses De
Suffren, ii. 31
Jones, Paul, captures the Serapis, ii. 16
Jonquiere, Admiral De, his defeat by
Anson, i. igg, 315

Jordan, Sir Joseph, his services against
the Dutch, i. 49
Jumper, Sir William, his services at
Gibraltar and elsewhere, i. 160 — 161
Junon, capture and loss of the, iii. 71, 75
Jupiter, services of the, ii. 267

K.
Keats, Sir G., his services, ii. 130, 175,
226, 302, 306 ; iii. 40, 51, 57
Keith, Lord, his services, ii. 82, 159, 256,
275, 300, 307 ; iii. igg, 208
Kellett, Captain, in the Arctic Regions,
iii. 261
Kempenfeldt, Admiral, his services and
death, i. 305 ; ii. 33, 61 — 64
Kent, her services, i. 103, 141, 155, igg,
201, 218 — 226, 2g8 ; iii. 78, 147
Keppel, Lord, his services, i. 242, 295,
303, 308 ; ii. 10, 52, 53—57
Keppel, Sir Harry, his career, iii. 249,
269, 277
Killigrew, Captain, his death, i. 63
Kishm, operations at the island of, iii.
236
Knevit, Sir Thomas, death of, i. 8
Knowles, Sir Charles, his services, i. 164,
168, 169, 180, 201 — 203, 216, 341

Laforey, Admiral, his services, ii. 93, 182,
223, 349 ; iii. 18, 177
Latona, services of the, iii. 71, 72
Lawson, Sir John, his services under
Blake and later, i. 33, 34, 35, 41, 42
Lawson, Sir John, his death, i. 43
Leake, Sir Andrew, his career and death,
i. 81, 130 — 131
Leake, Sir John, relieves Gibraltar and
Barcelona, i. 84, 87, 95
Leake, Sir John, reduces Alicant, Ma
jorca, Sardinia, and Minorca, i. 87,
88, 95, g6
Leake, Sir John, memoir of, i. 121 —
124
Leander, services of the, ii. 210, 241 ; iii.
36. "7
Leander, her capture, ii. 243 ; iii. 210,
211
Lestock, Admiral, his career, i. 167, 168,
I7g, 182 — 184, ig6
L'Etendeur, Admiral, defeated by
Hawke, i. 200
Leviathan, services of the, ii. 107, 184,
24g, 280; iii. 17, 23, gi
Levison, Sir Richard, destroys the
Spanish galleons, i. 25
Linois, Admiral, his services, ii. 302, 306,
323 ; iii. 25, 38
Lion, her services, i. 104, 188, 199; ii. 64,
276 ; iii. 160
Lissa, Hoste's victory at, iii. 85
Loire, capture and services of the, ii, 2291
279, 320 ; iii. 36, 71

INDEX.

349

London, services of the, ii. 139, 278, 286 ;
iii. 38, 143, 266
Lorient, failure of expedition to, i. 196
Louis, Sir Thomas, his services, ii. 232,
259. 329; iii. 41 1 200. 204
Louisburg, capture of, i. 244, 318
Lowestoft, battle off, i. 42
Lowestoft, services of the, ii. 85, 156 ; iii.
159
Lutine, loss of the, with other ships, ii.
264
Luttrell, Captain, gallantry of, ii. 46
Lydiard, Captain, his career and death,
iii. 46, 53, 187—189
Lyons, Lord, services of, iii. 265, 269

M.
McClintock, Captain, in the Arctic Seas,
iii. 262
McClure, Captain, in the Arctic Seas,
iii. 261
Macedonian, captured by the United
States, iii. 100
Macnamara, Captain, services of, ii. 157,
173, 270; iii. 187
Madagascar, action off, iii. 89
Madagascar (late Nereide), capture of
the, iii. 8g, go
Madras, loss and recovery of, i. igi, 196
Magicienne, services of the, ii. 220 ; iii.
76, 79, 272
Majestic, services of the, ii. 237, 239
Majorca, capture of, i. 88
Malabar Coast, French losses on the,
i. 290
Malacca, capture of, ii. 163
Malaga, Blake at, i. 37
„ Rooke's action off, i. 79 — 82,
115— 117
Malcolm, Captain Pulteney, his services,
ii. 252 ; iii. 24, 41
Malta, its capture and loss by the French,
ii. 232, 248, 276, 278
Malta (late Guillaume Telt). her capture
and services, ii. 241, 276, 344
Manilla, capture of, i. 304 ; iii. 205
Marengo, her career and capture, ii. 224 ;
iii. 38
Marlborough, services and loss of the,
i. 182, 265, 303 ; ii. 40, 108, 274, 320 ;
iii. 108
Mars, services of the, ii. 138, 221, 349;
iii. 7, 46, 47, 148, 150, 154 — 156, 206
Martin, Sir Thomas Byam, his services,
ii. 171, 229, 276, 280; iii. 57
Martinique, the fighting at, i. 300 ; ii,
93. 131
Matthews, Admiral, his career, i. 178,
180—184
Mauritius, events at and capture of,
iii. 79 — 82
Maxwell, Lieutenant Keith, cuts out
the Chevrette, ii. 314
Melampe and Melampus, their services,
i. 256; ii. 124, 155, 226, 250
Melpomene, services of the, ii. 231, 253,
307, 328 ; iii. 74

Mercury, services of the, iii. 60, 73, 74
Miller, Captain, his services and death,
ii. 205, 2ii, 260, 262
Milne, Sir David, his services, ii. 253,
284; iii. 209, 210, 212
Minerva and Minerve, services of the,
i. 296; ii. 94, 156, 167, 181, 200, 298,
299 ; iii. 45, 167, 195
Minorca, events at, i. 96, 208, 311 ; ii. 52,
249
Minotaur, services and loss of the, ii.
237. 239, 248, 259, 275, 281, 349 ; iii. 18,
200
Mitchell, Sir David, career of, i. 129 — 130
Mocha, reduction of the forts of, iii. 242
Mohamrah, action at, iii. 256
Moluccas, capture of the, ii. 163 ; iii. 83
Monarch, services of the, ii. 47, 51, isg,
214, 286, 289; iii. 47, 114, 288
Monk, Admiral, his battles with the
Dutch, i. 31, 44
monmouth, services of the, i. 159, igg,
240; ii. 47, 51; iii. 142
Monson, Sir William, destroys some
Spanish galleons, i. 26
Moore, Sir John, his career, ii. 57 — 59
Muscat, the Imaum of, as an ally, iii.
235—241
Myflgs, Sir Christopher, his death, i. 55
Mutiny in the Fleet, ii. 188— ig8

N.
Nagle, Sir Edward, his services, ii. 129,
168
Naiad, services of the, ii. 270 ; iii. 84
Namur, services and loss of the, i. 182,
196. 253. 3i5.3'7;ii- 39. 200; iii. 33, 190
Napier, Sir Charles, iii. 88, 1 12, 225 — 228,
269
Naples, Nelson and Trowbridge at, ii.
257; iii. 171, 181, 199
Napoleon the First at Boulogne, iii. 84
„ „ his plans for the in
vasion of England, ii. 222
Napoleon the First surrenders to Captain
Maitland, iii. 95
Narborough, Sir John, his services, i. 53
Navarino, battle of, iii. 214 — 225
Navy, present condition of the, iii, 311 —
344
Neale, Sir Harry, his services, ii. 216,
268 ; iii. 38
Nelson, Lord, in the Agamemnon, ii. 81, 90
,, ,, at Corsica, ii. 122
,, ,, in Hotham's action, ii. 145
,, „ in the Mediterranean, ii,
165, 166, 167, 182, 198, 231, 257
Nelson, Lord, takes the Sabina, ii. 181
,, ,, at St. Vincent, ii, 203 — 205;
iii. 168
Nelson, Lord, boat action at Cadiz, ii.
209
Nelson, Lord, atTeneriffe, ii. 210
„ „ at the Nile, ii. 234 — 247 ;
iii. 170
Nelson, Lord, at Copenhagen, ii, 287 —
294 ; iii. 172

Nelson, Lord, in the Channel, ii. 296
„ „ in the Mediterranean, ii.
3'9. 330
Nelson, Lord, in the West Indies, ii. 332
—335
Nelson, Lord, in England, ii. 347
,, ,, at Trafalgar, ii. 349; iii.
5,21, 26
Nelson, Lord, a sketch of his career,
iii. 157 — 176
Neptune, services of the, ii. 349; iii. 16
Neriide, capture and services of the, ii.
219. 279, 340 ; iii. 79
Newcastle, services and loss of the, i. 282,
288, 323
New Orleans, the repulse at, iii. 115
New York captured by Sir Robert
Holmes, i. 41
New Zealand, the war in, iii. 257
Nicaragua, Nelson and Collingwood at,
iii. 160, 192
Nile, battle of the, ii. 234, 247 ; iii. 198
Nile, expedition to the, iii. 302 — 308
Norfolk, services of the, i. 167, 182, 284,
288, 305 ; iii. 142
Norris, Sir John, career of, i. 103, 137,
138, 147,148,149,162,179, 181, 260 —
263
Northumberland, loss of the, i. 186
Northumberland, recapture of the, ii. 105
,, services of the, i. 276,
333 ; iii- 40, 90, 95. 295
North-West Passage, attempts to dis
cover the, iii. 258 — 264
Norway, her fleet defeated by Harold,
i. 4
Norwich, services of the, i. 164, 166, 180
Nottingham, services of the, i. 199, 201,
213. 34i
Nova Scotia, capture of, i. 105
Nymphe captured by the Flora, ii. 25
„ takes the Cleopatre, ii. 87
,, her services, ii. 124, 216; iii. 60,
151

Ogle, Sir Challoner, his services, i. 149
166, 167, 180
Onslow, Sir Richard, ii. 213
Ontario, Lake, fighting on, iii. 108, 1 13
Orestes, services of the, ii. 223
Orient, destruction of the, ii. 240, 242
Orion, services of the, ii. i3g, 200, 231,
237; iii. 17, 205, 294, 296
Orpheus, services of the, ii. 163
Ostend, capture of, i. 88
Owen, Commodore, his services, ii. 328

P.
Pallas, services of the, i. 258 ; iii. 44, 68
Palliser, Sir Hugh, and Lord Keppel,
ii. 12
Parana, the forcing of the river, iii. 253
Parker, Sir Hyde, his services and death,
i. 305 i «• 26, 68

350

INDEX.

Parker, Sir Hyde (his son), his services,
ii. 37, 81, 144, 150, 286; iii. 205
Parker, Sir Peter, his services, ii. 2, 4,
24; iii- 159
Parker, Sir Peter, death of, iii. 113
,, Sir William, his services, iii. 38,
207, 247
Parker, Richard, the mutineer, ii. 188
Parry, Sir Edward, iii. 258
Passaro, Cape, Byng's victory off, i. 139
— 146
Peacock captured by the Hornet, iii. 102
,, (American) her captures, iii.
no, 117
Peiho Forts, the repulse at the, iii. 278—
280
Pelican, Drake in the, i. 11
,, takes the Argus, iii. 108
,, loss of the, iii. 192
Pellew, Sir Edward (see Exmouth)
,, Sir Israel, ii. 88, 184, 308, 349
Pembroke, services and loss of the, i. 104,
187, 196
Penelope, services of the, ii. 135, 276,
328 ; iii. 288
Penguin, captured by the Hornet, iii.
117
Penn, Admiral, his services, i. 30, 33, 36,
42
Persian Gulf, operations in, iii. 229 — 241,
256
Petropaulovski, repulse at, iii. 271
Peyton, Commodore, his failure, i. 190
Phaeton, services of the, ii. 138, 176 ; iii.
39, 138
Philippine Islands, expedition to, i. 304
Phcebe, services of the, ii. 187, 219, 279,
3°9. 332; iii. 89, no
Phoenix, services and loss of the, i. 31,
152 ; ii. 8, 24, 94, 171, 298 ; iii. 33, 39,
177, 205, 226
Phcenix (Spanish) captured by Rodney,
ii. 18
Pique, captured by the Blanche, ii. 151—
154 ; iii. 130
Pique (late Pallas), her services, ii. 279,
340 ; iii. 44, 225, 271
Plassey, our sailors at, i. 229
Pocock, Sir George, his services in
India, i. 218—235, 280—284
Pocock, Sir George, takes Havannah, i.
302
Pocock, Sir George, his career, i. 322
—327
Pointis, Admiral de, defeated by Sir
John Leake, i. 73
Polyphemus, services of the, ii. 188, 286,
289
Pondicherry, sieges and capture of, i.
194—195, 286 — 289,317; ii. 95
Popham, Sir Home, his services, ii, 223,
301 ; iii. 49, 50
Portobello, Vernon's capture of, i. 163 —
166
Portugal, expedition to, Iii. 52, 57, 206
President (U. S. ship), actions and loss
of the, iii. g6, 116
Prince George, loss of the, i. 340 ; ii. 200,
206
Proserpine, loss of the, ii, 264 ; iii. 71

Psyche, capture and services of the, iii.
35.48

Q-
Quebec, capture of, i. 247, 347
Quebec, loss of the, ii. 17
Queen, services of the, ii. 101, 114, 139,
332 ; iii. 25, 191, igs, 267
Queen Charlotte, services and loss of the,
ii. 101, 103, I3g, 274 ; iii. 139, 200, 213

Rainier, Admiral, services of, ii. 161, 184,
324
Raisonable, services of the, ii. 8, 344 ; iii.
37. 76, 157
Raisonable (French), capture and loss of
the, i. 241, 300
Raleigh, Sir Walter, at Cadiz, i. 25
Ramillies, services and loss of the, i. 207 ;
ii. 24, 290, 293
Rangoon, capture of, iii. 243, 250
Ras-ul-Khymah, the pirates of, i. 22g —
241
Rawson, Commander, death of, iii. 2g9
Redoutable, capture of the, i. 254, 319;
iii. 5, 11— 15, 23
Regent, loss of the, i. 8
Reindeer, services and loss of the, iii. 36,
no
Renown, services of the, ii. 278, 380
Repulse, services and loss of the, ii. 274,
344
Resistance, services and loss of the, ii.
163, 184
Resolution, loss of four ships of that
name, i. 45, 89, 104, 255, 312
Revenge, Drake's flagship, i. 16
,, her capture under Sir Richard
Grenville, i. 23
Revenge at Trafalgar, ii. 34g ; iii. ig
,, her services elsewhere, iii. 68,
226
Reynolds, Admiral, his services and
death, ii. 187, 188
Richard I., his fleet, i. 4
Rivoli, her capture and services, iii. gi ,
95
Robust, services of the, ii. 226, 330 ; iii.
197, igg
Rochefort, failure at, i. 215 — 217
Rochelle, expedition to, i. 27
Rodney, Lord, his services, i. 200, 259,
300
Rodney, Lord, relieves Gibraltar, ii. 18
., ,, engages De Guichen, ii. 21
,, ,, defeats De Grasse, ii. 39
, ,, his career, ii. 75, 79
Rome occupied by the Navy, ii. 259 ; iii.
181
Romney, services and loss of the, i, 89,
92 ; ii. 301 ; iii. 142
Rooke, Sir George, at the battle of La
Hogue, i. 59, 6g
Rooke, Sir George, at the Baltic, i, 64

Rooke, Sir George, fails at Cadiz and
succeeds at Vigo Bay, i. 71
Rooke, Sir George, captures Gibraltar,
i- 77
Rooke, Sir George, his victory at Malaga,
i. 7g — 82
Rooke, Sir George, his career, i. in — 117
Rosas, operations at, iii. 65, 70
Ross, Sir James Lockhart, his career,
ii. 69
Ross, Sir John, his services, iii. 258, 261
,, Sir James, his services, iii. 258,
259
Rodney, Admiral, his services, i. 179, 182,
188 ; ii. 15, 22
Rowley, Admiral, his services, i, 179,
182, 188 ; ii. 15, 22
Rowley, Commodore, Josias, ii. 344 ; iii.
37. 76, 79. 81, 82, 93
Royal George, services and loss of the, ii.
33. 7°. 77. 96, 101, 115, I3g; iii. 51, 195
Royal Oak, services of the, i. g3, 94
Royal Sovereign (see also Sovereign),
services of the, i. 67 ; ii. 108, 137, 332,
344; iii. 2, 6, 23, 143, 193
Royal Sovereign, description of the new,
iii. 332
Russell, Admiral, defeats the French off
Cape La Hogue, i. 59
Russell, Admiral, relieves Barcelona, i.
62
Russell, Admiral, his career, i. 67 — 70,
102, 136
Russia coerced by Sir John Norris, i.
138, 148
Russia coerced by Sir Charles Wager, i.
150
Russia coerced by Lord Nelson, ii. 286,
295
Russia allied with us, iii. 90, 215 — 220
,, war with, iii. 265 — 273
Ruyter, Admiral De, his battles with
Blake and Monk, i. 30, 44, 46
Ryddel, Captain, beats off a French
squadron, i, 98

St. Domingo, events at, ii. 135, 323 ; iii.
54.40
St. George, her services and loss, i. 40,
52, 156,241; ii. 81, 144, 286, 294; iii.
85
St. Malo, expedition to, i. 243
St. Paul, Count, death of, i. 85
St. Vincent, Earl, his services, ii. 37,
130, 150, 257 ; iii. 43, 203
St. Vincent, the battle off Cape, ii. 200 —
208 ; iii. 168
Salisbury, services of the, i. 105, 153,
218, 232, 282
Sandwich, the Earl of, his services and
death, i. 41, 48
San Fiorenzo (formerly Minerve), her
services, ii. 216, 268; iii. 35, 58, 185 —
187
San Josef, her capture by Nelson, ii.
205

INDEX.

351

San Nicolas, her capture by Nelson,
ii. 204
Sanspareil (French) sunk, i. 69
,, „ capture of the, ii. 115
,, ,, servicesof the, ii. i3g;
iii. 265, 273, 278
Santiago, Admiral Vernon's failure at,
i. 170
Santissima Trinidada, her career, cap
ture, and loss, ii. 37, 203, 207; iii. 3,
16, 25
Sardinia, island of, surrenders to Sir
John Leake, i. 95
Saumarez, Captain, killed in action, i.
201, 341
Saumarez, Admiral Lord, his services,
i. go, 128, 231, 246, 302 ; iii. 77
Saunders, Sir Charles, his services, i.
247. 313. 346-34S
Seahorse, servicesof the, i. 305; iii. 61,
in, 158, 176
Sebastopol, attack on, iii. 266
Seine captures the Vengeance, ii. 284
Senegal, reduction of, i. 242 ;i iii. 76
Seymour, Captain Michael, captures the
Thetis and Niemen, iii. 64; 65
Seymour, Captain George, his services,
iii. 68
Seymour, Sir Michael, his services, iii.
272, 273, 277
Shannon, loss of the, ii. 323
,, captures the Chesapeake, iii.
103—107
Shannon, her services in India, iii. 273
Shortland, Captain, his services and
death, ii. 254 ; iii. 75
Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, his services, i. 54,
57, sg, 67, 72, 76, 80, 85, go, 117 — 120
Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, his loss off the
Scilly Isles, i. g2, 121
Shrewsbury, services and loss of the, i.
156, 167; ii. 2g8
Sibylle, her capture and services, ii. 129,
251, 264,308
Sidon, capture of, iii. 225
Sluys, British victory at, i. 7
Smith, Sir Sydney, his career, ii. 129,
136, 155. 168, i6g, 259, 2gg, 327; iii.
43, 51, 52, 200—201
Solebay, battle with the Dutch off, i. 47
Soudan, operations in the Eastern, iii.
300, 308
Southampton, servicesof the, ii. 157, 173,
200; iii. 92, 187
Sovereign of the Seas, our first three-
decker, i. 26
Spartan, services of the, iii. 54, 73
Spartiate, her capture and services, ii.
237, 242, 333 ; iii. 18
Spragge, Admiral, his services and death,
i. 46, 50, 51—52
Stevens, Admiral, in India, i. 231 — 235,
284
Stopford, Sir Robert, his services, ii. 138,
176; iii. 41, 66, 90, 225 — 228
Strachan, Sir Richard, his services, ii.
94, 124, 155. 223; iii. 33, 42. 56, 7°
Suakin, operations near, iii. 300, 308
Suckling, Captain, his services, i. 238;
ii. 59 — 60; iii. 157

Suez Canal, seizure of the, iii. 294 — 266
Suffolk, her services, i. 103, 180; ii. 161,
184; iii. 144
Suffren, Admiral De, his career, ii, 31,
46—51
Sultan, services of the, ii. 15, 47, 51 ; iii,
177, igo, 288
Sunderland, services and loss of the, i,
187, 282, 288
Superb, services of the, i. 141, 187, 274;
ii- 47. 5i. 3°2, 306, 335; iii. 40, 41, 210,
212, 288
Surat, capture of, i. 236
Surinam, surrender of, ii. 273
Sweaborg, bombardment of, iii. 272
Sweden, war with, i. 137, 138, 147, 154 ;
ii. 286, 2g5; iii. 77
Swiftsure, services and loss of the, i.
294; ii. 127, 183, 237, 240, 249, 280,
349 ; iii. 19

Temlraire (French), capture of, i. 254,
319
Temtraire, services of the, i. 294 ; iii.
1, 10, 15, 23, 288
Teneriffe, Blake and Nelson at, i. 38 ;
ii. 210; iii. 169
Terpsichore, services of the, i. 309 ; ii. 134,
179, 210, 231; iii. 62, 133 — 137
Terpsichore (French), capture of the, iii.
95
Thames lost and recaptured, ii, 90, 171,
257. 3°6
Thames, services of the, iii. 78, 88
Theseus, services of the, ii. 210, 236, 260,
340 ; iii. 169
Thetis, services of the, ii. 155
,, (French), capture of the, i. 152;
iii. 64
Thunderer, her services and loss, i. 298;,
ii. 24, 141, 349 ; iii. 19, 51, 225, 226
Thurot, his defeat and death, i. 254,
257
Tiger, services of the, i. 53, 220 — 226,
282 — 286, 325 ; iii. 265
Tigre, capture and services of the, ii. 140,
259, 262 ; iii. 25, 52, 70
Toilet, Captain, defeats Duguay-Trouin,
i- 97
Tonnant, her capture and services, ii.
241, 242, 34g ; iii. 7
Toulon, Sir Cloudesley Shovel at, i. go
„ Hood at, ii. 81—85
Trafalgar, battle of, ii. 34g; iii. 1 — 25
Tribune, wreck of the, ii. 2ig
Trinidad, surrender of, ii. 219
Tripoli, the British fleet at, i. 53
Triumph, flagship of Frobisher and
Blake, i. 16, 31, 33, 35.
Triumph, her services under Hood, Dun
can, and Calder, ii. 29, 60, 213, 215,
344
Triumph, her other services, iii. 158,
193
Troubridge, Sir Thomas, his services,
ii. 97, 167,201, 211, 237,257,259; iii. 38

Troubridge, Sir Thomas, a sketch of
his career, iii. 176 — 182
Tunis, Blake at, i. 36
Tyler, Captain, his services, ii. 349 ; iii.
7. 183
Tyrrel, Admiral, his services, i. 238, 333—
336

u.

United States, war with the, iii. 97 —
117
United States (American) takes the
Macedonian, iii. g7, 100

V.
Valiant, services of the, i. 294 ; iii. 63, 68
144
Vanguard, services under Blake, i. 32
,, in the West Indies, ii. 133
,, Nelson's flagship at the Nile,
ii. 231, 239, 248; iii. 170
Vanguard, her services, ii. 320
Van Tromp, his career and death, i. 2g,
3°. 33, 34, 35
Venerable, services of the, ii. 213, 302 ; iii.
g2, 145—147, igg
Vengeance, services of the, i. 2g6; ii.
133
Vengeur, her action with the Brunswick,
ii. no
Vernon, Admiral, takes Portobello, i. 163,
166
Vernon, Admiral, fails at Carthagena
and Santiago, i. 167 — 172
Vernon, Admiral, his career, i. 268, 272
Victorious, Captain Talbot, captures the
Rivoli, iii. 91
Victory, Hawkins' flagship against the
Armada, i. 16
Victory serves under Blake, i. 31
,, commanded by Sir John Jen
nings, i. 155
Victory, loss of the, under Sir John Bal-
chen, i. 185, 266
Victory, Lord Keppel's flagship, ii. 10
,, Sir Charles Hardy's flagship,
ii. 61
Victory, Lord Hood's flagship, ii. 81, 121
,, Admiral Man's flagship, ii. 147
,, Sir John Jervis's flagship at St.
Vincent, ii. 200
Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at Tra
falgar, ii. 319; iii. 1
Victory, Sir James Saumarez's flagship,
iii- 57
Victory, a brief history of the, iii. 26 —
32
Vigo, expeditions to, i. 71, 147
Villaret-Joyeuse, Admiral, his career,
ii. 91, 136 ; iii. 76
Villeneuve, Admiral, his career, ii. 167,
330, 333. 343. 346, 349
Volage, capture and services of the, i. 250
iii. 86

352

INDEX.

W.
Wager, Sir Charles, his services, i. 98,
99. '36, 138, 149. 150. 162, 263
Wager, loss of the, i. 174
Walcheren, expedition to, iii. 70, 75, 76
Wallis, Sir Provo, iii. 107
Walton, Sir George, his services, i. 142,
150
Warren, Admiral Sir Peter, his services,
i. 187, 199, 273
Warren, Sir J. Borlase, his services,
ii. 124, 129, 136, I3g, 141, 168, 226, 278
Warrior, description of the, iii. 314
,, services of the, ii. 344
Warspite, services of the, i. 3ig
Warwick, loss and recapture of the,
i. 213, 272
Wasp (American) takes the Frolic, Rein-
deer, and Avon, iii. 99, no, in

Washington, capture of, iii. in
Watson, Admiral, his career, i. 200,
217—230, 275—279
West, Admiral, his services, i. 207 — 212,
272
Westcott, Captain G. B., his services and
death at the Nile, ii. 96, 109, 239
West Indies, French losses in the, i. 301
„ „ hurricane in the, ii. 23
,, ,, events in the, ii. 93, 130 —
135. 182, 323 ; iii. 65, 76, 96, 127,
161 — 163
Weymouth, her services, i. 160, 282, 288,
323
Whitaker, Sir Edward, his services, i. 78,
95, 100, 101, 159
Williams, Sir Thomas, his services,
ii. 25, 188
Willoughby, Sir Nisbet, his services,
ii. 323, 340 ; iii, 79, 80

Wishart, Sir James, his career, i. 158
Worcester, services of the, i. 146, 164,
171 ; ii. 4g j iii, 150, 159

Yarmouth, services of the, i. 161, igg,
200 — 201, 233, 282 ; ii. 65
Yeo, Sir James, his services, iii. 77, 92,
109, 113
York, H.R.H. the Duke of, his battles
with the Dutch, i. 42 — 47

Zulu War, iii. 284—286

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It is scarcely possible, nowadays, for any person, whatever his position in life, to dispense
with an Encyclopaedia. The professional man, the teacher, the merchant, the manufacturer,
the tradesman, the clerk, the working-man, each requires a book which will give information
on the multifarious subjects that are continually arising in the course of reading the daily
paper or in ordinary literature ; and since even the best informed may be said to be familiar
with only an extremely limited range of subjects, a work of such wide scope and comprehen
sive character must be invaluable to all alike, in shedding light upon the many hard problems
in every branch of human knowledge.
To many, however, the chief obstacle to the possession of an Encyclopaedia has been the
great cost of such works ; and, although all classes of literature are now readily accessible in
the form of cheap re-issues, no attempt has hitherto been made to offer to the public a high-
class work of general information at a low price, so as to bring it within the reach of all classes,
however moderate their means. The present work claims to supply this need.
The articles in the various departments have been contributed by writers familiar with the
results of learned research, scientific investigation, and literary culture. Subscribers to
"THE ILLUSTRATED GLOBE ENCYCLOPAEDIA" may therefore feel satisfied that
they will be possessors of a work that will give them accurate information upon every
imaginable subject ; and should they wish to follow up the subject more fully, particulars
are given as to the best authorities for this purpose.
Subjects treated in the articles include —

Literature.Logic. Mathematics. Mechanics.Medicine.Metaphysics. Meteorology.Music & Painting.
And the Common Objects and Institutions of everyday life.

Agriculture.

Ethnology.

Antiquities.

Finance.

Architecture.

Geography

Astronomy.

Geology.

Biography.

History.

Botany.

Industries.

Chemistry.

Language.

Engineering.

Law.

Natural History.
Natural Philosophy.
Navigation.Philosophy. Politics. Statistics. Theology.
Trade.

CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION.
The Illustrated Globe Encyclopaedia of Universal Knowledge is published in Six Volumes of 600 pp. each,
handsomely bound in cloth, red edges, at 12 s. 6d. each.
The whole work contains about 3,620 pages of Letterpress, and 72 full-page Plates.
The size of the Work is Demy Quarto. The issue is sold, to Subscribers only.

LONDON: T. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD.

SUPPLIED TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.
In Two Vols., Quarto, at z\s. each; or in Four Divisions, cloth gilt, gilt edges, at \qs. 6d. each ;
or in Fifteen Farts at 2s. each.
HER MAJESTY'S ARMY.
A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT
OF THE
VARIOUS REGIMENTS NOW COMPRISING THE QUEEN'S BRITISH REGULAR
AND VOLUNTEER FORCES, FROM THEIR FIRST ESTABLISHMENT
TO THE PRESENT DATE.
Br WALTER RICHARDS.
3llu6trateo witb a Series of Coloured plates
FROM PICTURES PAINTED SPECIALLY FOR THIS WORK BY WELL-KNOWN
MILITARY ARTISTS.

AT the present time, when the country's warlike capacities are being discussed by news
papers, politicians, and the military profession, an account at once popular and authentic
of the forces which go to make up our "Second Line of Defence," cannot but prove of interest.
Beyond the fact that the Army is roughly divided into Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry, that
the three branches are divided into regiments, and that some of these regiments have
magnificent and picturesque uniforms, it is doubtful whether the general public knows much
about the Army of which it is so proud.
In issuing the present work, the Publishers believe it will supply a long-felt want of a
Regimental History at once authentic and popular, and which to service men and civilians will
be valuable as an interesting and reliable work of reference.
Each regiment has its individuality, its history, its traditions, its legends ; and it is the
consciousness of this inheritance that has often turned impending defeat into brilliant victory,
and made the — "Facing fearful odds"
the usual conditions under which British troops fight — and conquer. These histories, legends,
and traditions will form an attractive feature in this work on " Her Majesty's Army."
A considerable portion of the work will be devoted to the Auxiliary Forces of the Crown.
An account of the origin and progress of the Volunteer movement, with the history of each of
the regiments which compose our Citizen Army, will be given, and some of the more important
of the suggestions which the present movement of public opinion has called forth will be
recorded. The coloured plates with which the work is illustrated will delineate the uniforms and
general appearance of the officers and men of the regular and auxiliary forces of the present
time, and the name of the artist is a sufficient guarantee that these illustrations will not be of
the conventional kind painfully familiar to all, but will be of intrinsic merit, not only as works
of art, but as absolutely faithful representations of the subjects they portray.
It is difficult to single out any class as the one to which such a work as " Her Majesty's
Army " most forcibly appeals. To all who personally or through relatives are more directly
interested its usefulness is obvious. To the student of politics who sees at work giant forces—
as yet but dimly visible — of whose force and tendency none can be certain, this history of
what strong leaders of men have done by means of organized forces in troublous days of old
will be invaluable. To all who are proud of their country and its history, and who believe
that in the records of the past can be read the promise of the future, it is impossible to mention
any work that will appeal with greater force than " Her Majesty's Army."

CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION.
The Work is complete in Fifteen Parts at 2s. each ; or in Five Divisions at 6s. each ; or in Four Divisions
at ios. 6d. each ; or in Two Vols, at 2ls. each.
Each Part contains Forty-eight Pages of Letterpress, and Two Coloured Illustrations. Each 6s. Division
contains One Hundred and Forty-four Pages, and Six Coloured Illustrations. Each ios, 6d. Division, One
Hundred and Seventy-six Pages, and Eight Coloured Illustrations. Each Volume, Three Hundred and Sixty
Pages and Fifteen Coloured Illustrations.
The size of the Work is Demy 4to. The issue is sold to Subscribers only.
NO ORDER WILL BE RECEIVED FOR LESS THAN THE ENTIRE SET.

LONDON : J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD.

SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO HER MAJESTY'S ARMY.
In 8 Parts, Quarto, at 2s. each; or in 2 Divisions, cloth, gilt edges, at ios. 6d. each ; or in
one Volume, cloth gilt, gilt edges, at 2\s.
HER MAJESTY'S ARMY:
Indian and Colonial Forces.
A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT
OF THE
VARIOUS REGIMENTS NOW COMPRISING THE QUEEN'S FORCES IN
INDIA AND THE COLONIES.
By WALTER RICHARDS.
EHugtrateH ftntf) a &mt$ of ©oloureU ^Iate$
FROM PICTURES PAINTED FOR THIS WORK BY CAPTAIN H. BUNNETT.

THE phrasqs " Greater Britain," " Imperial Federation," and their synonyms come glibly to men's tongues,
especially now, when throughout the length and breadth of Her Majesty's Empire is there a movement — here
strong, here tentative — towards the consolidation of the Defensive Forces of the vast possession. The truism, for
example, that Her Majesty, the '' Defender of the Faith," is a mighty Mohammedan potentate, is familiar from having
been made a verbal shuttlecock of sectarian politics, but other claims might with equal right be adduced : myriads who
erst acknowledged the tyrannical sway of the Lords of Delhi, now devote their allegiance to the Empress of India ;
Cypriote, Boer, the fierce Maori, the warlike Zulu, are amongst the feudatories of the Queen of Great Britain. And
in far climes — in " that isle of continent," beneath "the loyal pines of Canada " and the burning sun of Africa, have
sons of Britain seized and held territories, which could contain our island a dozen times. Over all floats the Flag of
England, and everywhere around that flag have been, and still are, grouped stalwart defenders, sprung from the soil
of the daughter nations or tributary realms. Some of these defenders have annals gloriously familiar to all — the
forces of Australia, of Canada, of Cape Town, the splendid Indian regiments, the highly-trained local corps which
have from time to time proved their value and efficiency in many a distant province of the realm — these have each and
all their history, which must needs be of most genuine interest.
It is proposed to give an account of these " Indian and Colonial Forces of Her Majesty's Army." As the
biography of a statesman throws clearer light on the political history of his time, as the life of a great warrior brings
into more defined relief the conduct of his campaigns and the methods of his victories — so, it is believed, will the
annals of the local Forces of Her Majesty's dominions awaken redoubled interest and pride in our heritage — the most
magnificent and far-stretching empire the world has ever known.
The .work, which will be illustrated by an artist exceptionally well qualified for the task, will be completed
in eight parts, and will, it is believed, be unique in the chronicles of the time. The question of Imperial Federation
is becoming daily more urgent ; a knowledge of the military history, in its individual and personal aspect, of the
various colonies and dependencies, must of necessity be of incalculable value to a correct appreciation of the principles
involved. 
CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION.
The Work will be completed in Eight Parts at 2s. each. ; or in Two Paper Divisions at 6s. each, and One at 4s. ;
or in Two Divisions, cloth gilt, gilt edges, at ios. 6d. each ; or in One Volume, cloth gilt, gilt edges, at 21s.
Each Part will contain Forty-eight Pages of Letterpress, and Two Coloured Illustrations. Each 6s. Division will
contain One Hundred and Forty-four Pages, and Six Coloured Illustrations. The volume, Three Hundred and Sixty
Pages, and Sixteen Coloured Illustrations.
The size of the Work is Demy 4to.
The issue is sold to Subscribers only.
£f- NO ORDER WILL BE RECEIVED FOR LESS THAN THE ENTIRE SET.

LONDON : J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD.

SOLD TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.
DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF FRUITERERS.
In Six Divisions, cloth, gilt edges, at 10s. 6d. each ; or in Three Volumes at 21s. each.
THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE.
By JOHN WEIGHT, F.R.H.S.
WITH COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS BY MISS MAY RIVERS.

A PRACTICAL work, containing all the requisite details for the successful cultivation of the various kinds of fruit
-£¦*• that are grown in this country, both under glass and in the open air, has become a necessity of the times.
The Fruit Grower's Guide will be serviceable to all persons who have an interest in the production of Fruit ;
including, amongst others, proprietors of estates, farmers, and gardeners, to whom sound knowledge on the subject is
essential ; amateurs of various grades and with differing means ; owners or occupiers of suburban and country gardens
large and small ; tradesmen who have land, allotment holders, &c. ; in fact, to all growers of fruit either for home use
or commercial purposes.
The work will be embellished with forty-three Coloured Plates and three Vignettes, in which upwards of one
hundred of the choicest and most useful varieties of fruit will be faithfully and artistically portrayed by Miss May
Rivers. These will embrace selections of apples, apricots, cherries, currants, grapes, figs, gooseberries, oranges,
melons, nuts, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, strawberries, &c.
The work will further contain about two hundred diagram Illustrations by Mr. Worthington G. Smith and
Mr. George Shatler, representing : (a) The structure of roots, leaves, flowers, and fruit ; (b) The draining of land
and formation of borders ; (c) Plans of fruit gardens and orchards ; (d) Methods of raising trees by cuttings, layers,
budding, and grafting ; (e) Planting, protecting, and supporting trees ; (/ ) Pruning, summer and winter, root and
branch ; (g) Training and shaping trees ; (h) Plans of various glass structures, showing approved methods of heating
and ventilation ; (i) Fruit rooms and stores ; (j) Thinning, preserving, and packing fruit ; (h) The insect and fungoid
enemies of trees and fruit ; and all other essential details for enabling the important subject of fruit culture and
distribution to be understood even by the inexperienced.
Particulars will be given on the Soil — its preparation and improvement ; Manures— their uses and application,
including surface dressings, liquid manure, and mulching ; climatic conditions in respect of frost, dew, light, tempera
tures, ventilating, syringing, &c. ; sites and shelter for gardens and orchards, with instructions for their formation ; also
the renovation of old gardens and orchards, descriptive particulars of planting, shaping, and training from the maiden to
the fruiting tree ; protecting buds, blossom, and fruit, also its thinning, gathering, and storing ; selections of fruits for
various soils and districts, with the forcing of all kinds of fruit, so as to maintain an unbroken succession for home
use, or for meeting the ever-growing demands of the great centres of population.
The descriptive routine operations will be founded on experience, based on scientific principles, and therefore will
guide safely and to a successful issue all who are favourably circumstanced for growing fruit, and who carry out the
instructions intelligently.
Every care has been taken by the Publishers to make the Fruit Grower's Guide the most comprehensive and
complete practical work on the subject that has hitherto been published.

CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION.
The Work will be completed in Six Divisions, cloth, gilt edges, at 10s. 6d. each ; or in Three Volumes at 21s. each.
Each Division will contain One Hundred and Seventy-six pages of Letterpress and about Eight Coloured Illustrations. Each
Volume, Three Hundred and Sixty pages and Fifteen Coloured Illustrations.
The size of the Work is Demy 4to. The issue is confined to Subscribers, and supplied by the Publishers' Agents ordy.

LONDON: J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD.