Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez Volume II Part 3

To Rear-admiral Sir James Saumarez, Bart.

&c. &c. &c.

The enclosures mentioned in the above letters being the usual official order for Sir James to put himself under command of Vice-admiral Charles Morice Pole, need not be inserted; nor the consequent order from that officer to Sir James. The squadron was now augmented by four sail of the line; namely, the St. George, 98 (flag-s.h.i.+p), Captain Nichols; Dreadnought, 98, Captain Vashon; Russell, 74, Captain c.u.ming; and Powerful, 74, Sir Francis Laforey: and on the 10th of September the St. Antoine, Audacious, Zealous, and Bellona joined; which, with the Caesar, Superb, Venerable, Spencer, and Pompee, made twelve sail of the line.

The subjoined extract of a letter which Sir James wrote to his brother Richard, is sufficiently expressive of his feelings:

2nd September 1801.

Nothing can be more strongly penned than the letters, both public and private, which I have received. If I had destroyed thirty sail of line-of-battle s.h.i.+ps, they could not have been in a higher strain of praise and admiration. But is it not surprising they should cease there? Not a syllable is said of the first lieutenant, or anything intended for myself. Your letter seemed to make certain of it, and you fully expect that a peerage will be conferred on me at the meeting of Parliament, with the grant of a suitable pension. I cannot but feel surprised that Phil. Dumaresq should have been detained so long in London, and not be charged with the smallest hint on the subject, which almost makes me fear my services will be disregarded in the same manner I experienced after the Nile.

I declare to you that on no service wherein I have been engaged have I found any situation equally arduous as that of Algeziras, nor have known any in the naval history of my country. Its consequences have been equal to the most complete victory; for, with seven sail, of which my squadron was composed, we have frustrated two important expeditions, the naval force of which consisted of sixteen sail of the line.

I have been encouraged to expect this mark of distinction by all on this station, and I cannot express my feelings should it not be conferred. I shall, however, follow my sister's advice of "patience and humility" in either instance, and I trust to my resignation should the injustice be done to me.

With regard to Mr. Pipon, he cannot do better than follow Captain Martin in a line-of-battle s.h.i.+p as first lieutenant; it will not prevent my exertions to serve him: but judge of the injustice to those officers who have shared in this and several other battles with me, to place a stranger over their heads.

The Caesar will, I hope, in a short time, be ordered to England; and I have written to be permitted to proceed in her, which I trust will be complied with.

Is it not hard I should have been deprived of Lady Saumarez's letters? It is, however, a consolation to know that she was in good health so late as the 14th, by a letter to Captain Dumaresq.

The loss of Lady Saumarez's letters, which had been sent unfortunately to Plymouth, where the squadron which sailed from Portsmouth did not touch, as was expected, added greatly to Sir James's disappointment; as did also the information that Mr. Lamburn, who had been appointed to the Calpe, was to return to the Caesar, being superseded by Captain Dumaresq; and that _none_ of the appointments of the warrant-officers to the St. Antoine were confirmed. It was, from these facts, sufficiently evident that Sir James, in his honourable desire to benefit those under his command, particularly Captains Hood and Keats, had materially injured his own interest by permitting these officers to make their own reports of the action at which he was present commanding, and taking part. By thus omitting to give himself and his own s.h.i.+p the full share of credit due to both, he actually threw his officers and himself so completely into the back-ground, that people were led to believe the Caesar and the Admiral had little or nothing to do with the battle. It is to this, and not to any disinclination of Earl St. Vincent to reward Sir James, that his services were on this occasion unrewarded,--the success being, by these doc.u.ments, attributed entirely to the Superb and Venerable; in contemplation of which, the heavy responsibility, the ardent zeal, the determined resolution Sir James had evinced, and, above all, the important advantages gained to the nation by that victory which his bravery and perseverance had obtained, were entirely overlooked. We may justly ask, were the merits of the first lieutenant of the Superb, which, in conjunction with the Caesar, made an easy capture of the San Antonio, and with a trifling loss,[2] greater than those of the first lieutenant of the flag-s.h.i.+p, which was engaged far more severely at Algeziras, who exerted himself most zealously in refitting the s.h.i.+p, besides a.s.sisting in the capture of the French s.h.i.+p? Yet the promotion was only given to the first lieutenants of the Venerable and Superb, although the former s.h.i.+p would probably have been taken had it not been for the Caesar, and the latter was not in the action of Algeziras at all! These circ.u.mstances, and the fact that his appointments to the St. Antoine were not confirmed, seem to have given Sir James more concern than even the total neglect of his own meritorious services.

[2] It was reported that the San Antonio had struck before the Caesar came up, but this cannot be true; because, when the Caesar came up, both s.h.i.+ps were still before the wind, firing at each other, and the Caesar had her cross-jack-yard shot away.

Taking into account every circ.u.mstance regarding the actions of the 6th and 12th July,--the severity of the former, the intermediate exertions, the professional skill, the daring and the tact displayed in the latter, and the complete discomfiture of the enemy's well-arranged plans for the destruction of our commerce at Lisbon and the subsequent relief of their army in Egypt,--this victory was equal to, if not greater in importance than, either the battles of St.

Vincent or the Nile, for the former of which Jervis was created an earl, and Nelson a baron for the latter, immediately on the arrival of the news in England. Yet after a lapse of several months, after praises had been heaped upon Sir James, after the thanks of both houses of parliament had been voted to him for the fifth time, after his eminent services had been acknowledged by every large corporation, and generally throughout the kingdom--after the highest encomiums had been p.r.o.nounced on him by Earl St. Vincent and Lord Nelson,--instead of a peerage, which he as richly deserved as either of the other two, he was decorated only with the red riband.

We shall close this subject for the present by giving an extract from a letter Sir James wrote to his friend Sir Thomas Troubridge, after his correspondence with the Admiralty on the subject of his being superseded had ended, and subsequently to his correspondence with the Navy Board on his having commissioned the St. Antoine to employ the crew of the Hannibal, which had been exchanged.

Caesar, 7th October 1801.

I leave it to you to decide whether I had not just cause for additional disappointment to find no notice taken of the services of the squadron by the promotion of any of the officers; and what I must feel at this moment to find Mr.

Lamburn sent back, and the lieutenants of the Superb and Venerable alone promoted. I cannot but view it as a great injustice done me, and I am sorry to say it mortifies me more than I can express.

With regard to the St. Antoine, allow me to bring to your recollection under what circ.u.mstances she was commissioned. At that time I was ignorant of any part of our force having been withdrawn from the Baltic, or that any s.h.i.+ps could be spared from the North Sea or the Channel fleet, and consequently could not expect but that a very small, if any, reinforcement could be ordered to join me; and to have left an efficient s.h.i.+p, which, with the Hannibal's s.h.i.+p's company, could be brought forward for service in so short a time, I should have deemed myself very reprehensible, All the appointments were made in the most fair and impartial manner; and I solemnly declare that the sole view to the good of his Majesty's service was what actuated the whole of my proceedings, which I am certain Hood will also declare. I am truly grieved at the manner the warrant-officers I appointed to that s.h.i.+p are ordered to be superseded, and I shall feel it as long as I live.

Believe me, my good friend, my heart is incapable of harbouring so heinous a vice as ingrat.i.tude, and I shudder at the thought of being taxed with it: but when I consider the treatment I have received on this occasion, I feel it difficult to support myself; and what adds to my distress is, to find by your private note of the 19th that I am likely to remain longer in this country. Let me a.s.sure you that I shall ever retain a grateful sense of the many and uniform proofs of your friends.h.i.+p for me, which I can truly say are not misplaced; there being no one among your numerous friends who can have a more true regard and sincere esteem for you than myself.

J.S.

Sir James continued with the squadron under Sir Charles Pole, employed on the blockade of Cadiz, until the 14th November 1801, when he went in the Caesar, in company with several other s.h.i.+ps to Gibraltar.

The following letter from General O'Hara gave Sir James the first news of the capitulation of Cairo, and the death of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, on the 21st of August

Gibraltar, 30th August 1801.

If you have seen either the Hebe or Mendovia, you are acquainted with the success in Egypt; and, if you have not, the enclosed Gibraltar Chronicle will inform you of all those particulars: and when we consider the great disparity of numbers between English and French, particularly detailed in the Chronicle, we must conclude ourselves greatly indebted to good fortune for having got well through that very arduous enterprise.

As the French troops, who capitulated, are nearly double the number of our people employed on that service, I cannot help having apprehensions till they are fairly embarked, and we are quit of them; for it is impossible to trust that scoundrel race if they can reap any advantage by breaking their faith. I am sorry to find, from several reports, that our great men don't draw together very well; I mean the chiefs of our army. It should seem we have more reasons than one to lament the loss of Sir Ralph Abercrombie,--the cause of clas.h.i.+ng parties between Scotch and Irish, which is too commonly the case in our service; and I am afraid something of that sort now and then arises in the navy. I send you, likewise, our Chronicle of last Friday, because you will there see the honours that have been paid to the French officers for the action at Algeziras, as well as the one of the 13th. You will there perceive that the French Formidable was attacked by four English s.h.i.+ps of war! It is quite wonderful what improbable lies those rascals do propagate.

Sir James found at Gibraltar H.M.S. Renown, Sir John Borlase Warren, whose flag he saluted.

CHAPTER III.

1801.

Preliminaries of peace.--Sir James created a Knight of the Bath.--Remarks on that Order.--Ceremony of invest.i.ture.--Action of the Pasley and Rosario.--Sir James receives the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.--Speeches of Earl St. Vincent, Lord Nelson, and Mr. Pitt.--The freedom of the city of London,--and a sword.--Address from Guernsey and Jersey.--Silver vases.--Inscriptions thereon.

The fleet, with the exception of a small squadron off Cadiz, had returned to Gibraltar on the news that preliminaries of peace were signed. This was the consequence of the surrender of Alexandria to his Majesty's arms, and the final expulsion of the French from Egypt; on which account general rejoicings had taken place. But that which most strongly excited feelings of joy and exultation in the garrison and inhabitants of Gibraltar was, the information that his Majesty had been graciously pleased to honour Sir James Saumarez with the red riband and star of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath,--a distinction which, at this time, was very limited, and conferred only on those who had highly distinguished themselves in battle. There was then only one cla.s.s, designated by the letters K.B.; but, in 1815, the order was, under certain regulations, extended to three cla.s.ses. The former Knights of the Bath (K.B.) were made Grand-Crosses, (G.C.B.); the second, Commanders of the Bath, (K.C.B.); and the third, Companions of the Bath, (C.B.); by which the value of the original order has been much depreciated. The honour of knighthood, however, of whatever description, depends greatly on the brilliancy of the deed which it is intended to commemorate; and, certainly, on no occasion has it been destined to perpetuate the memory of a victory more splendid or more important than that achieved by Sir James. As the ceremony, both on account of the peculiar circ.u.mstances under which it took place, and the intense interest which Sir James's late actions had created, was of the most imposing nature, we shall give the reader the fullest account of it which we have been able to collect.

Gibraltar, 16th November 1801.

The following is the purport of garrison orders issued this day.

The Governor having been honoured with a commission from his Majesty, empowering him to invest Rear-admiral Sir James Saumarez, Bart. with the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, the royal standard will be hoisted, at gun-firing to-morrow morning, on the flagstaffs at Waterport and Europa. None of the working parties are to be employed. The whole of the troops off guard in the garrison will be formed on the Great Parade, under arms, with their colours, and two deep, exactly at twelve o'clock. The troops will march by their right to the Convent, when they will line the streets from thence to the South Port, and from the Barrier to the Grand Parade. They will be formed in the street precisely at a quarter before one o'clock, and at one o'clock the procession will move from the Convent in the following order,--viz.

ORDER OF PROCESSION.

Ensign Bruce, town-adjutant.

Music,--5th regiment.

One hundred seamen, with warrant-officers.

A captain and two subalterns of the royal artillery, with four field-pieces drawn by artillery soldiers.

Town-major and garrison quarter-master.

Judge-advocate and chaplain.

Mr. Ross, ord. store-keeper; and Mr. Pownall, N. officer; Mr. Sweetland, commissary; and Mr. Cutforth, agent victualler.

Dr. Pym and Dr. Weir.

Rev. Mr. Frome and the chaplain of the Caesar.

First division of Officers of the squadron, youngest first.

First division of Captains in the royal navy, and Field-officers--youngest first.

Major Bellew and Major Geraghty.

Lieut.-colonel Leyborne and Lieutenant-colonel Ba.s.set.

Lieutenant-colonel Ballingal and Captain Oliver.

Sir Francis Laforey, Bart. and Sir Thomas Williams.

Captain Taylor and Captain Vashon.

Music,--Banffs.h.i.+re band.

Mr. Raleigh.

The Commissioner's secretary, bearing a crimson velvet cus.h.i.+on, with the commission.

The Governor's aides-de-camp.

The Governor as the King's commissioner.

The secretary to Sir James Saumarez, bearing on a velvet cus.h.i.+on the insignia of the Order of the Bath.

Captain Linzee and Captain Brenton, esquires.

SIR JAMES SAUMAREZ, BART. the knight elect, supported by Major-generals Stewart and Barnett.

B. major and aides-de-camp to the Major-generals.

Second division of Captains in the royal navy, and Field-officers,--eldest first.