Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez Volume II Part 15

Carlscrona, 7th June 1809.

SIR,

I felicitate myself very much on being so happy as to have occasion of renewing with your excellency the acquaintance I was favoured with the last year. Your excellency's flattering letter of the 4th instant gave me a very agreeable remembrance of it; and I may give my hearty acknowledgments therefore, as also for the news your excellency was pleased to annex.

The post arrived a short time ago from Stockholm, and did not contain any thing of importance, but that matters stand well.

The German mail has not come, and, in general, the news was so contradictory that n.o.body knew what to believe.

All our forces on the southern coast being in the necessity to be drawn up to the northern parts of the country for repelling the attack of the Russians, the coasts on this side will be without sufficient defence. It is only in your excellency I may fix my confidence, convinced as I am by the good intelligence that subsists between both nations, and his Britannic Majesty's benevolence towards Sweden, your excellency will not omit to protect, as far as possible, the trade from Gothenburg and through the Baltic, and prevent all hostile enterprises.

I should wish to have some of such gun-brigs as your excellency can allow, and other small vessels, to send up to the Finnish Gulf, where they would be of no little service.

I include myself in your excellency's friends.h.i.+p, which I shall be very proud to possess; and wish no better than that your excellency, with all your brave officers and men, with their usual success, may frustrate the enemy's projects against us.

It is with these sincere sentiments,

I have the honour to remain, &c.

JOHAN AF PUKe.

At Carlscrona Sir James received intelligence of the fate of the unfortunate Major Schill, who had taken possession of Stralsund; but whose corps of 6,000, as well as himself, were surprised by a large body of Danish and Dutch troops and cut to pieces. These accounts, and a demand for bomb vessels to a.s.sist the Swedish flotilla, were sent to the Admiralty.

In consequence of a solicitation from Baron Stedinck, the Swedish Minister of Marine expressed the high satisfaction of the Duke Regent at the arrangement Sir James had made, not only for the protection of the coasts of Sweden on the south, east, and west, but for his undertaking to proceed up the Gulf of Finland, to prevent the sailing of the Russian fleet, with his own powerful squadron.

On the 6th of June, the Duke of Sudermania was elected King by the States, and took the t.i.tle of Charles XIII, on which occasion due notice was given to the Admiral both by Mr. Foster and the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Baron Engestrom. At this time everything seemed to go well on the Continent, and the period of the new King's accession to the throne was thought a proper epoch to sue for peace with Russia. This, however, was not done without the knowledge of Mr.

Foster, to whom a.s.surances were given that the alliance with England should not be broken; and in this the King subsequently showed great firmness. An officer was sent to demand pa.s.sports for Baron Stedinck, who was to be the negotiator, and who actually proceeded to the Gulf of Finland. But the Emperor of Russia, acting under the influence or fear of Buonaparte, made the shutting of their ports against the English a preliminary concession before he would either grant a pa.s.sport to the negotiator, or a cessation of hostilities. The attempt, which was indeed intended to gain time until the war between Austria and France was decided, totally failed, and nothing was left but to prosecute the war.

An attack on land, which had been meditated, was abandoned; and the plan now was to cut off a division of the Russian army, which had advanced to Urneo, in West Bothnia, for which extraordinary exertions were made. In the meantime the Russians, amounting to 11,000, with 84 gun-boats, had, in dread of the approach of the Admiral's fleet, fortified themselves strongly in land, which could not safely be approached by s.h.i.+ps of the line.

Prince William of Orange, who had brought the intelligence from Colberg of the fate of Major Schill, and been hospitably received on board the Victory, wrote the following letter, which Sir James received off Carlscrona:

MONSIEUR,--Arrive a Gothenburg, je m'empresse de remercier votre excellence de toutes ses bontes pour nous, et des facilites qu'elle nous a procurees pour continuer notre voyage.

Je prends la liberte de joindre ici une lettre a M. Schroeder qui en renferme une autre a ma mere a Berlin; priant votre excellence de la faire parvenir a Colberg si elle en a occasion, je lui en aurai une grande obligation. Je suis avec une parfaite consideration,

De votre excellence, le tres devoue Serviteur, GUILLAUME, PRINCE D'ORANGE.

Gothenburg, 6 Mai 1809.

Monsieur le Vice-amiral Saumarez.

The Victory left Carlscrona on the 20th June, having ten sail of the line in company, and proceeded to the Gulf of Finland, in order to blockade the Russian fleet at Cronstadt. Sir James chose a position at the small island of Nargue, near Revel, as the most convenient place: on pa.s.sing Landsort, at the entrance of Stockholm, he sent the Rose with letters, and to receive any which Mr. Foster might have for him.

The coronation of the new King was to take place on the 29th June. It was the intention of his Majesty to invite Sir James to a.s.sist at that ceremony, had he anch.o.r.ed at Dalero, the anchorage for s.h.i.+ps of the line near the entrance of the river of Stockholm; but the Admiral had proceeded without anchoring, and on that day was off Hang Udd.

On arriving at Nargue Island, which had a Russian governor, but no fortification, Sir James found a large quant.i.ty of wood prepared for transportation to Revel, which was very acceptable to the fleet; but the water was not plentiful. The inhabitants of this island, who are fishermen and speak the Swedish language, are inoffensive people; and the Admiral, on his arrival, signified that it was not his intention to molest them.

A correspondence was established between Mr. Foster and Sir James by means of small vessels; and he was informed from time to time of the progress of the negotiation with Russia, which was now going on, but which, as we have already stated, entirely failed. It was proposed that Baron Platen, one of the most talented men in Sweden, should proceed to the Victory to confer with Sir James, and decide on some plan of co-operation against the common enemy. Having received this proposal from Mr. Foster, Sir James sent the Rose to convey the Baron to the Victory.

Captain Mansell, of the Rose, was the bearer of the following letter:

Victory, off Nargue Island, 11th July 1809.

SIR,

By the Mary cutter, which arrived yesterday, I received your letters of the 2nd and 4th inst. marked _private_ and _confidential_; and I return you thanks for the important communication you have been pleased to make to me of the rejection by Russia of the proposed armistice with Sweden, and of the intended plan of the latter to transport a force to Wasa to co-operate with General Wrede, and endeavour to force the Russian troops in West Bothnia to capitulate, which I sincerely hope will be attended with the desired success.

I have not seen Baron Platen yet; but, should he put in execution his intention of running to the squadron, I shall readily attend to any proposal he makes to me respecting a small part of the force under my orders being stationed off the land Haf, although the services in the Gulf of Finland occupy all the forces I can muster.

I remember to have had the honour of making the Baron's acquaintance, who appeared to me to be a clever and well-informed man. Be pleased to convey to him the information that, should he honour me with a visit, Captain Mansell has my directions to receive him on board, and that I shall be happy to concert with him any measures he may suggest for the defence of Sweden.

You will be happy to hear of the success that has attended a detachment of this fleet under the command of Captain Martin, of the Implacable, in an attack on the Russian flotilla, by the boats of that s.h.i.+p, the Bellerophon, Melpomene, and Prometheus, under the orders of Lieutenant Hawkey, who succeeded in boarding and carrying off six gun-boats, besides one sunk, and a convoy of vessels, fourteen in number, which were also captured, laden with stores and provisions for the Russian troops. It is with concern I have now to state the loss of Lieutenant Hawkey, who conducted that attack; and Lieutenant Stirling of the Prometheus, Mr. Mountenay, a mids.h.i.+pman, besides ten men killed and thirty-seven wounded.

The Implacable and Melpomene had, previously to this, nearly captured a large Russian frigate off Hogland; but she escaped to Aspo, and, with four other s.h.i.+ps of war, proceeded between the rocks to Frederickshamn. On the following day they captured nine vessels laden with naval stores belonging to the Emperor, which they fell in with in Narva Bay.

I anch.o.r.ed here last Sunday in expectation of procuring a supply of wood and water; of the former I found an abundance, which had been ready prepared for the Emperor's troops at Revel, but was disappointed in being able to obtain but a small supply of water.

I am in anxious expectation of receiving favourable accounts from the armies. If Napoleon can but be defeated, the cause of Sweden will be materially benefited, and the Emperor of Russia kept within proper bounds.

I am, &c.

JAMES SAUMAREZ.

One of the first acts of his Swedish Majesty after his coronation was to put into execution the intention of the former sovereign, by conferring on Sir James the Grand Cross of the honourable military order of the Sword for his past meritorious service. This was communicated to him in the handsomest manner; but the honour could not of course be accepted without the permission of his own sovereign, which, on application, was most graciously accorded.

The news of the triumph of the British squadron over the Russian flotilla occasioned great rejoicing in Sweden, and inspired the nation with new spirit and courage: congratulations were sent from all quarters. Baron Platen sailed in the Rose from Dalero on the 20th, and came on board the Victory on the morning of the 23rd under a salute of seven guns.

In a letter to Mr. Foster, Sir James says:

"Since the attack upon the gun-boats, not a vessel has been seen upon the coast; and I hope effectually to prevent any supplies getting to the Russian troops in Finland excepting over land, which must tend to r.e.t.a.r.d all their operations exceedingly.

"I have had this day (23rd July) a great deal of conversation with Baron Platen upon the actual state of affairs, and I feel perfectly disposed to give every a.s.sistance which the too limited means (owing to the various services required for my whole force) will admit. He informs me that the service is not likely to be of any continuance.

"I have ordered the Tribune, with the Rose and a gun-brig, to cruise in land Haf. The Tribune is a frigate of the largest cla.s.s, which I can ill spare at present. Captain Reynolds will be directed to communicate with you, and I request you will furnish him with all such information as he may occasionally profit from.

"Baron Platen has brought me the decorations of Commander of the Grand Cross of the order of the Sword, a mark of distinction I by no means considered my services to have merited; and I feel sensibly this instance of attention from the King of Sweden. The choice fixed upon for successor to the throne is likely to lead to important events, as it is probable the Prince of Holstein will have influence enough in Norway to attach that country to Sweden, which would make up for the loss of Finland."

CHAPTER X.

1809.

Blockade of the Russian fleet.--Swedes' expedition, under Admiral Puke and General Wachtmeister, sails,--is unsuccessful.--Private correspondence with Mr.

Foster.--Armistice and Peace with Russia.--Peace with Denmark.--Proceedings of the Fleet.--State of affairs in Sweden.--Fleet returns to Carlscrona, and subsequently to England.

The part of the campaign which depended on Sir James Saumarez, namely, the blockade of the Russian fleet, which consisted of thirteen sail of the line,--the protection of the coast of Sweden and of the trade of both nations,--was completely successful. Not so, however, the efforts of the Swedes: they indeed fought most bravely; and, if any fault could be found with their general, it was that he was too courageous.

The force of the Russians was too great for their Swedish opponents; and every attempt made by the latter was in vain, notwithstanding Baron Platen's wishes were acceded to. Admiral Puke, on receiving his appointment, left Carlscrona in a s.h.i.+p of the line, and, arriving off Dalero, wrote the following letter to Sir James:

His Majesty's s.h.i.+p Adolf Frederick, off Dalero, 2d Aug. 1809.