Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez Volume II Part 7

information, a copy of the articles agreed upon with his Excellency Don Juan Miguel de Nines y Felia, the Spanish Captain-general; and I have the satisfaction to observe that the utmost good order and harmony has prevailed between the forces of our respective nations.

I have the further satisfaction to inform their lords.h.i.+ps that, during the arduous service of embarking the numerous stores from Minorca, in which the seamen of the s.h.i.+ps of war and transports have borne a considerable share, there has not been the smallest cause of complaint of any irregularity whatever having been committed.

Enclosed is a return of troop-s.h.i.+ps and transports destined for Ireland, which embarked the last division of troops.

Major-general Clephane takes his pa.s.sage to England on board the Pomone. I have to express my acknowledgments to that officer for the alacrity with which the embarkation of the various stores from the different ports of the island has been effected.

I am, sir, Your most obedient humble servant, JAMES SAUMAREZ.

To Evan Nepean, Esq.

By the Right Honourable Lord Keith, K.B. Admiral of the Blue, and Commander-in-chief.

Whereas I have obtained permission from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to return to England, and have been authorised by their lords.h.i.+ps to leave such directions for the governance of the station till their further commands are ascertained as I shall judge fit and proper for the execution of the Board; you are hereby required and directed, after my departure, to regulate the service in this bay, and pay attention to the instructions that follow, viz.--You will, on all proper and necessary occasions, communicate with his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, governor of this garrison, and in particular yield all the accommodation of which s.h.i.+ps pa.s.sing from Minorca or Elba can admit for the reception of parties of the 5th regiment of foot, which are ordered to return to Britain from hence.

When the Acasta returns from Malta, she is not to be detained, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having expressly directed her return; and, as she will be able to accommodate a considerable number of men, I recommend that she receive part of the 5th regiment; and also; the Diane and Carriere, if they arrive here, and that you forthwith direct them to proceed.

Captain Dundas, of the Solebay, has my orders to repair to Lisbon to receive for Britain part of the troops who are there; and the accompanying order, addressed to Captain Hope, directs him to proceed with the Leda on the same; service. Captain Beanes, of the Determinee, and Captain Provost, of the Bonne Citoyenne, are instructed to proceed to Britain forthwith.

You will order the Milbrook to Lisbon with the letters from hence by the next Levant wind, and from thence to Spithead. The Pigmy will return to you with the first English mail that arrives in the Tagus.

You will inform yourself, from the officers of the yard, of the quant.i.ty and species of stores that they may be desirous of sending home; and direct them to be embarked in his Majesty's s.h.i.+ps and transports that are returning, in such proportions as can be conveniently received.

You will allow no s.h.i.+ps to sail for Great Britain with more than six weeks' provision on board, till the agent victuallers shall be provided with a sufficient supply for the s.h.i.+ps that remain here.

All transports, victuallers, and other vessels arriving here on the public account, are to be cleared with the greatest despatch; and, if any unnecessary delay appears on the master's part, you will cause protest to be made, and acquaint the transport board thereof.

As it is probable that Rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton may send down troop-s.h.i.+ps to this place for the removal of the 5th regiment of foot, and as some part of the regiment is already embarked, and more of them may be forwarded by other opportunities, of which you may be able to avail yourself; it is my direction that such troop-s.h.i.+ps, when they arrive, as they are not wanted for the conveyance of the 5th regiment, may be either returned to Malta or sent to Lisbon for the embarkation of troops under the command of Lieutenant-general Fraser, as existing circ.u.mstances may recommend as the most needful to be done. You will take care that no s.h.i.+ps pa.s.s without having as many men as they can receive; and you will have the means of completing them by separate embarkations of the regiment above-mentioned, observing that the destination is the same; and, for your better guidance in this particular, I enclose herewith a state of the troop-s.h.i.+ps, with the freights and the destinations appointed for them.

Till special orders are received from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the s.h.i.+ps and vessels, as per list enclosed, are to remain upon the service of the station; and if any of them arrive with contrary instructions from Rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, or Sir James Saumarez, before that was known, you are to retain them here accordingly.

You will open all public despatches which may be addressed to me, and carry them, as far as depends upon you, into effect at this place. Such as are addressed to Rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton you will forward to him at Malta. Maintain a correspondence with him, as the officer charged with the chief command on the station, by all convenient opportunities, and follow such orders and directions as you may receive from him.

Given on board the Foudroyant, Gibraltar, 15th June, 1802, KEITH.

Sir Jas. Saumarez, Bart, and K.B.

Rear-admiral of the Blue; and, in his absence, To John Aylmes, Esq. Captain of H.M.S. Dragon.

List of s.h.i.+ps to remain on the station till further orders:

Kent, Hector, Diana, Greyhound, Camelion, Dragon, Anson, Narcissus, Victorieuse, Weazle, Superb, Medusa, Thames, Cynthia, Delight, Triumph, Active, Maidstone, Port Mahon, Vincego.

N.B. Such others as may arrive here with troops may be sent to the destinations of the regiments.

Keith.

No duty on which Sir James was ever employed was executed with more address, or more completely to the general satisfaction. The honour of the British flag was maintained in a manner which could not be questioned, being borne away mounted on a cannon, on which it was embarked without the necessity of striking it, when the keys of the fortress were delivered to the Spanish commander-in-chief, while the Spanish standard was hoisted at the flag-staff. The greatest decorum was preserved on both sides.

The Caesar left Mahon on the 17th June, with the last division of the troops, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th, when Sir James found that Lord Keith had already sailed, leaving orders for him to follow to England with the last division, which consisted of three sail of the line and six troop-s.h.i.+ps.

After exchanging complimentary letters with his Excellency the Captain-general and Governor of Andalusia, Sir James took leave of his Royal Highness the Governor of Gibraltar. He sailed on the 30th of June, anch.o.r.ed at Spithead on the 23rd of July 1802, and reported in the usual manner the arrival of the Caesar to the Admiralty.

CHAPTER V.

1803.

Commencement of Hostilities with France.--Sir James hoists his Flag at Sheerness.--Proceeds to Guernsey.--Flag in the Grampus.--Anecdote of Captain Caulfield.--Sir James visits Jersey, &c.--Diomede arrives as Flag-s.h.i.+p.--The Admiral examines the Defence of the Island.--Loss of La Minerve.--Attack and Bombardment of Granville.--Cerberus gets aground.--Narrow Escape from a Shot.--Public and Private Letters.--Blockade of the Coast.--Loss of the Shannon and Grappler.--Conclusion of 1803.

Hostilities with France were about to be resumed early in the year 1803, and Sir James was called into active service. On the 11th of March he hoisted his flag at Sheerness, on board the Zealand, in order to expedite the preparations that were going on in the Medway. Soon after this, the Zealand went to the Nore. She was at that time commanded by Captain, afterwards Admiral, William Mitch.e.l.l, an officer who had risen to the rank of Rear-admiral by his good conduct, after having been flogged through the fleet for desertion.

The great preparations now making at St. Maloes rendered it probable that the intention of Bonaparte was to attack the Channel Islands; Sir James was therefore appointed to the command at Guernsey, and, proceeding from the Nore in the Kite brig, he fell in with the Grampus, which was destined, _pro tempore_, for his flag. Both s.h.i.+ps arrived at St. Pierre's roads on the 19th of May. Here the Admiral's squadron consisted of six frigates, and six brigs and cutters, which were chiefly employed in blockading the adjacent coast, and in preventing the concentration of the enemy's force at St. Maloes and Granville, the two princ.i.p.al places whence it appeared an attack would be made.

The Grampus was commanded by Captain Thomas Gordon Caulfield, who had notions of discipline peculiar to himself, with which Sir James, who lived on sh.o.r.e with his family, did not interfere. The following anecdote will serve to show that these deviations from the laws and customs of the navy are seldom attended with success.

It was Captain Caulfield's positive instructions that no boatswain's mate, or other petty officer, should carry a cane, the usual emblem of their authority; and that he would not punish any man unless convicted by the testimony of two witnesses, while the man himself might bring others to contradict the a.s.sertion of the officer making the complaint: in short, that the single testimony of an officer could not be taken without a majority of evidence in its support. The s.h.i.+p had just been manned by impressed seamen, and her complement was completed from the prisons: it may therefore be supposed, that these regulations were not calculated to bring the s.h.i.+p speedily into a state of discipline. It must be remembered that the captain had not the power of administering an oath, and, when a complaint was made, men were soon found who would come forward, and prove, according to this system, that the accusation was groundless; and thus the culprit always escaped. The s.h.i.+p accordingly fell into a complete state of insubordination.

On one occasion a man was brought up on the quarter-deck in a state of intoxication, when the captain, as if he could not believe his own eyes, thought it necessary to call two of the officers as witnesses.

The man was put into confinement; and next morning, at eight, he was brought up to be punished at the gangway. The offender being tied up, and the article of war under which he had fallen being read, the captain took the opportunity of a.s.suring his a.s.sembled crew, that when _legally_ convicted they were sure of punishment; but that no man should be struck.

At this moment the sentinel on the forecastle called out that "a prize was driving towards the s.h.i.+p." The danger of collision was the more imminent, inasmuch as a heavy gale was blowing at the time. The master, who sprang forward, called aloud, "Veer away the small bower-cable, or she will be on board of us!" The pause which had been made in the captain's speech was broken by orders from him to veer away the cable _quickly_. "Down, my lads, veer away!" was repeated by every officer; but the men, not aware of the fatal consequence, and knowing that they could not, after what the captain said, be _started_, moved very leisurely to perform the duty, which, to save the s.h.i.+p, it was absolutely necessary should be done with the utmost alacrity. Meanwhile, Captain Caulfield, looking over the back of the culprit, and viewing the supineness of the men, who were totally regardless of his repeated injunctions to veer the cable _quickly_, began to be indignant; and when the master repeated, "If you do not veer away at once, we shall lose the bowsprit and all the masts," he called to the officers in the waist "to start the rascals down to the cable:" but, as it may be supposed, their unarmed endeavours would not have been successful, had he not, as the crisis approached, jumped down himself among the men, and, with the end of the thickest rope he could find, become the transgressor of his own laws, of the absurdity of which he was now so fully convinced, that he acknowledged he was wrong, and completely reversed his system.

No s.h.i.+p ever had a more narrow escape of being wrecked; the prize drifted so close to the Grampus as to carry away her spritsail yard, and, drifting on the rocks, about three cables' length astern, was totally lost, and every man perished, among whom were a mids.h.i.+pman and four of the Grampus's crew. Had the prize, which was a large Dutch s.h.i.+p, came athwart-hawse of the Grampus, both, instead of one, would have been wrecked. No alternative was therefore left to Captain Caulfield but the rope's end, which he employed in violation of his own rules of discipline.

Sir James was extremely averse to innovations of this kind, and he took occasion to point out the propriety of officers being supported in the execution of their duty, and the danger of interfering with the excellent laws enacted for the government of the navy.

In the Grampus, Sir James visited the island of Jersey, and, after cruising to examine the coast of France adjacent to the islands, he returned to Guernsey; soon after which, the Grampus, being a new s.h.i.+p, was selected to convoy the East India fleet, and was relieved by the Diomede of fifty guns, Captain Thomas Larcom, on board which s.h.i.+p the flag was s.h.i.+fted, on the 19th of June, 1803.

As the summer advanced, the preparations of the enemy became more formidable, and the island was minutely examined by Sir James. The following anecdote may serve to prove how much officers may be mistaken as to the natural defences of a sea-coast.

Some differences of opinion having arisen respecting the possibility of the enemy landing on the south side of Guernsey, where the land is high, it was proposed to put the question to the test by actual experiment. Sir James, and the Governor (Sir John Doyle), accordingly proceeded to the spot with the boats of the squadron. On arriving at the alleged inaccessible position, Sir James proposed that the seamen should be landed, and ordered to ascend what appeared to be a precipice; when, to the astonishment of the General, the whole body of men mounted to the top with apparent ease: it was consequently found advisable to fortify that, as well as other points which had been before deemed unnecessary.

About this time (3rd of July) the Minerve, Captain Brenton, one of Sir James's squadron, stationed off Cherbourgh, got aground in a fog, from a mistake of the pilot, and, after a gallant resistance, was taken by the enemy. The account of this unfortunate circ.u.mstance is so fully detailed in Captain E.P. Brenton's work, that it need only be mentioned here as having given great concern to the Admiral, who had the highest regard for his former companion in arms.

A considerable flotilla of armed vessels, destined for the invasion either of the Channel Islands or of England, had a.s.sembled at Granville; and Sir James, having s.h.i.+fted his flag from the Diomede to the Cerberus of thirty-two guns, Captain W. Selby, sailed with a small squadron, consisting of the Charwell, eighteen, Captain Phil.

Dumaresq; the Kite, eighteen, Captain Philip Pipon; the Terror and Sulphur bombs, Captains McLeod and Hardinge; Esling, Lieutenant Archbold; and Carteret, Lieutenant Burgess.

On the 14th September, the frigate having anch.o.r.ed as near as the tide would admit, and the other s.h.i.+ps taking their stations, the bombardment began on the harbour of Granville, and lasted from eleven till five in the afternoon. On the 15th another attack of the same kind was made with more effect, as will be seen by the following official letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, dated

Cerberus, off Granville, 15th Sept. 1803.

I beg you will be pleased to inform my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that, having been joined by the Terror bomb on the 8th instant, and the Sulphur on the 12th, I embarked on board the Cerberus, and sailed from Guernsey roads the following morning, with the Charwell and Carteret cutters in company.

It blowing a strong breeze from the eastward, it was not until Tuesday evening I was enabled to get off Granville; when, having had an opportunity to reconnoitre the enemy's gun-vessels and other craft within the pier, and the different batteries by which they were protected, I anch.o.r.ed the Cerberus as near the sh.o.r.e as the tide would admit, having only sixteen feet at low-water. At eleven, the Terror came up, but, having grounded, it was not until two o'clock that Captain Hardinge was able to place his s.h.i.+p in the position a.s.signed; this he now did in a most judicious manner, and opened a brisk fire from his two mortars; which was returned from the mortar and gun-batteries on the heights near the town, and also from some guns on the pier, and the gun-vessels placed in the entrance.