Chapter X

.

[150] For a striking incident of St. Vincent's energy in suppressing mutiny, see note at end of this chapter.

[151] April 19, 1797. Napoleon's Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 655.

[152] Napoleon's Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 346.

[153] Martin, Hist. de France depuis 1789, vol. ii. p. 479.

[154] Corr. de Nap., vol. ii. p. 590.

[155] See page 235.

[156] Corr. de Nap., vol. ii. p. 622.

[157] Ibid., vol. iii. p. 21.

[158] Ibid., vol. iii. p. 73.

[159] Ibid., p. 89.

[160] Corr. de Nap., May 26, 1797, vol. ii. pp. 86, 87.

[161] Ibid., Sept. 13, 1797, vol. ii. p. 392.

[162] Ibid., Aug. 16, 1797, vol. ii. p. 311.

[163] Bonaparte to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Corr., vol. iii. p. 392.

[164] Corr. de Nap., vol. iii. p. 313.

[165] "Upon reaching Venice, Commodore, you will call, in company with the commanding general and the Minister of France, on the provisional government. You will tell them that the conformity of principles existing between the French and Venetian republics, and the protection granted by us to them, exact the prompt equipment of their navy, in order to concert with us, to maintain the mastery of the Adriatic and the islands; that for this purpose I have sent troops to Corfu, to preserve it to the Venetian Republic; and that henceforth it is necessary to work actively to put their navy in good condition.

"You will get possession of everything under this pretext; having continually on your tongue the unity of the two republics, and using always the name of the Venetian Navy.... It is my intention to seize for the (French) Republic all the Venetian ships, and all the stores possible for Toulon." To Commodore Perrée, June 13, 1797.—_Napoleon's Correspondence_, vol. iii. p. 155. See also instructions to Admiral Brueys, ibid., p. 291.

[166] Corr. de Nap., vol. iii. pp. 519, 520.

[167] Corr. de Nap., vol. iii. p. 597.

[168] Ibid., vol. iii. p. 609 (Dec. 14, 1797).

[169] Ibid., p. 644 (Feb. 23, 1798).

[170] Corr. de Nap., vol. iii. p. 643.

[171] Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Maritimes (4th ed.), vol. i. p. 350.

[172] So moderate a man as Collingwood wrote (Jan. 26, 1798): "The question is not merely who shall be conqueror, ... but whether we shall be any longer a people,—whether Britain is still to be enrolled in the list of European nations."—_Collingwood's Memoirs._

[173] See Correspondence of Brueys with Bonaparte; Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Maritimes (Appendix, 4th ed.).

[174] "There are fitting out at Brest but ten ships-of-the-line, which have no crews, and are still far from being in condition to keep the sea.... The expedition against England would appear not to be possible before next year." (Corr. de Nap., vol. iii. p. 644, Feb. 23, 1798.) The British Channel fleet at this time numbered forty-seven of the line, exclusive of sixteen in the North Sea.

[175] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 35.

[176] Marmont attributes the approach to Candia to a wish to give the shelter of the island to the numerous coasters in the convoy. (Mémoires du Duc de Raguse, vol. i. p. 362.)

[177] Bonaparte in his preparations laid special stress on having enough small vessels. "It is indispensable to have with the squadron the greatest attainable number of corvettes and despatch vessels. Send orders to all the ports for all such to join the fleet."—_Corr. de Nap._, vol. iv. pp. 79, 80.

[178] This statement is based on the plate in the "Commentaires de Napoléon," vol. ii. p. 190. There are evident inaccuracies in the British positions there given (_e.g._, for June 22, and in the approach to Alexandria); but that of the 25th seems probable. James states that on the night of June 22 the tracks of the two fleets crossed, but at a sufficient interval of time to prevent a meeting,—the more so as a constant haze prevailed. (Nav. Hist., vol. ii. p. 177.)

[179] Narrative in Naval Chronicle, vol. i. p. 48.

[180] Corr. de Nap., vol. iv. pp. 275-277.

[181] In a chart of the old port of Alexandria, made in 1802 by Major Bryce of the Royal Engineers, attached to Abercromby's expedition, it is said that not less than five fathoms will be found throughout the middle passage. The directions add that heavy ships cannot get out unless with good weather for warping. This was Brueys's great objection to entering, and it was well taken; but the alternative of destruction was worse.

[182] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 128.

[183] See Coast Map, Alexandria to Rosetta, and Plan of the Battle of the Nile.

[184] Chevalier, Mar. Fran, sous la République, p. 365.

[185] A spring is a rope taken from the stern of a ship at anchor and fastened either to the riding cable or to an anchor suitably placed, so as to turn the broadside in the direction wished. Owing to the boats being away to get water when Nelson appeared, to the failure of many of them to return, and to the rapidity with which the attack was made, these precautions were not carried out.

[186] Mahan's "Influence of Sea-Power upon History," pp. 469-478. Plates XVIII. and XIX.

[187] Letter of DeGrasse to Kerguelen, Jan. 8, 1783. Hood "ranged his vessels in very close order (_très-serrés_), and it was impossible to pass between the land and them, as I wished."—_Kerguelen's Guerre Maritime de 1778_, p. 259.

[188] Letter of Brueys to Bonaparte, July 13, 1798; La Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. p. 367. This is a somewhat singular example of following a rule, the principle of which is not grasped. The rear of a column of sailing ships under way was the weaker end, because less easily helped by the van; but in a column of ships at anchor, head to wind, the weather ships were incomparably more exposed, the lee having a very hard pull to get up to them.

[189] Narrative of Sir Edward Berry. See Naval Chronicle, vol. i. p. 52.

[190] James, ii. p. 177. The Vanguard's Journal, quoted by Sir Harris Nicolas, Nelson's Disp. vol. iii. p. 49, says 4 P. M.

[191] The ships-of-the-line needed nearly five fathoms in smooth water, more if there was much sea.

[192] James's Naval History, vol. ii. p. 184 (ed. 1878). In the main, the author has followed James in the details of this and other battles, though not without careful comparison with other sources of information accessible to him.

[193] Until after the middle of this century there were in the British navy three flags of the same general design, but with red, white, and blue grounds. Admirals were divided into three classes, of the Red, the White, and the Blue; and, according to their classification, ships under their immediate command showed the corresponding ensign. Nelson being at this time a rear-admiral of the Blue, his ships would usually carry the blue flag, almost invisible at night.

At the present day all British naval vessels wear the white flag, and merchant ships the red.

[194] The first attack of the thirteen British ships (counting among them the "Leander," fifty,) was confined to the eight head ships of the French line, down to and including the "Tonnant." As these were one by one crushed, the British dropped down and engaged those in the rear,—but with a vigor necessarily diminished by the injuries they had themselves received, not to speak of the physical fatigue induced by the labor and excitement of the previous hours. Nevertheless the "Mercure," when she hauled down her flag, had lost one hundred and five killed and one hundred and forty-eight wounded, and had but six guns that could be used. The loss of the "Heureux" is not stated, but she had nine feet of water in her hold. (Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous la Rép., pp. 376, 377.)

[195] Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. pp. 228-230; Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous la République, pp 386-388. A letter from Villeneuve, justifying his inaction, is to be found in the former work, p. 231, and in Troude, Batailles Navales, vol. iii. p. 121.

[196] Corr. de Nap., vol. iv. p. 520.

[197] The two that escaped were captured by Lord Nelson's squadron before July, 1800, when he resigned the Mediterranean command.

[198] Chevalier, p. 381.

[199] Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 10.

[200] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 84.

[201] For this discussion see Nelson's Dispatches and Letters, vol. iii. pp. 62-65; also App. p. 474.

[202] Ross's Life of Saumarez, vol. i. p. 228.

[203] Nelson's Disp., vol. iii.; Appendix, p. 474. Letter of Admiral Browne.

[204] The American novelist and naval historian, Fenimore Cooper, in the preface to the "Two Admirals," has attributed the whole tactical combination to the captains, on the authority of Captain Ball of the "Alexander," speaking to the late Commodore Morris of the United States Navy, who in turn was Cooper's informant. This constitutes a perfectly respectable oral tradition, coming through intelligent men of unquestioned integrity; but when opposed to the contemporary written statement of Captain Berry, Nelson's flag-captain, who had the fullest opportunity of knowing the facts, it becomes impossible to doubt that somewhere in the chain of witnesses there has been a misunderstanding. That Captain Foley conceived on the moment the plan he executed is perfectly credible; but that the whole body of captains were inspired to carry out, as by mutual consent, a combination of which there had been no previous mention, is a marvel of which Berry's account of Nelson's constant discussions and explanations with his officers effectually disposes. (See Narrative of an Officer of Rank, etc. Naval Chronicle, vol. i. p. 52.)

[205] Marine Fran. sous la République, p. 381.

[206] Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. ii p. 350.

[207] "Good gunners would assuredly have modified the issue of these sinister dramas, for they would have crushed the English fleet at the first act." (Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Mar., vol. ii. p. 225, 1st ed.). "If Nelson had led in upon an American fleet, as he did upon the French at the Nile, he would have seen reason to repent the boldness of the experiment." (Cooper, preface to "The Two Admirals.")

[208] Annual Register, 1798; State Papers, pp. 267-272.

[209] Martin, Histoire de France depuis 1789, vol. iii. p. 6.

[210] Martin, Hist. de France depuis 1789, vol. iii. p. 9.

[211] Ibid., p. 11.

[212] Martin, Hist. de France depuis 1789, vol. iii. p. 16.

[213] Martin, Hist. de France depuis 1789, vol. iii. p. 24.

[214] See _post_,