Chapter XVII

.

[215] Annual Register, 1798; State Papers, p. 237.

[216] Ibid. Martin, Hist. de France, vol. iii. p. 23.

[217] Corr. de Nap., vol. iv. pp. 226, 233.

[218] Annual Register, 1798; State Papers, p. 276.

[219] Martin, Hist. de France, vol. iii. p. 27.

[220] Ibid. pp. 24, 25.

[221] Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. p. 229 (1st ed.).

[222] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 105.

[223] This division consisted of the "Vanguard," flag-ship, which had not had proper lower masts since she was dismasted immediately after entering the Mediterranean (p. 256); the "Culloden," that had beaten heavily on Aboukir reef for seven hours during the battle; and the "Alexander," both masts and hull in very bad order.

[224] Corr. de Nap., vol. iv. p. 660.

[225] Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 160.

[226] Ibid., p. 204.

[227] Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. iii. pp. 19, 20.

[228] Of all obstacles that can cover the frontiers of an empire, a desert like that of Suez is indisputably the greatest. It is easy to understand that a fort at El Arish, which would prevent an enemy from using the wells and encamping under the palm-trees, would be very valuable.—_Commentaires de Napoléon_, vol. iii. p. 16.

[229] For a graphic account of the anxieties of the French officers in Toulon, illustrated by letters, see Jurien de la Gravière's Guerres Maritimes (4th edition), pp. 352-362. (Appendix.)

[230] Corr. de Nap., vol. v. p. 276.

[231] Ibid., vol. iv., Letter to Directory, Sept. 8, 1798 (postscript).

[232] Corr. de Nap., vol. v. pp. 385, 391, 392. It is interesting to note that by this mail Bonaparte seems first to have heard the word "conscript," applied to the system of which he later made such an insatiable use (p. 387).

[233] Instructions pour le citoyen Beauchamp, Corr. de Nap., vol. v. pp. 260-263.

[234] Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. iii. p. 24.

[235] The roadstead of Aboukir is not safe in winter. It can protect a squadron during the summer. (Commentaires de Nap., vol. ii. p. 235.) In Abercromby's expedition, 1801, "all the pilots accustomed to the Egyptian coast declared that till after the equinox it would be madness to attempt a landing." (Sir R. Wilson's History of British Expedition to Egypt, 2d edition, p. 6.) The fleet then lay in Aboukir Bay from March 2 to March 8, before landing could be made.

[236] Corr. de Nap., vol. v. p. 402, where the reasons for the Syrian expedition are given categorically, and can probably be depended upon as truthful.

[237] Barrow's Life of Sir Sidney Smith, vol. i. p. 244.

[238] The opinion of a French officer may be worth quoting. "Although every one knows what he is, I will nevertheless say a word about Sir Sidney Smith. He has something at once of the knight and of the charlatan. A man of intelligence, yet bordering upon insanity, with the ability of a leader, he has thought to honor his career by often running absurd risks, without any useful end, but only to be talked about. Every one ridicules him, and justly; for in the long run he is wearisome, though very original." (Mémoires du Duc de Raguse (Marmont), vol. ii. p. 30.)

[239] The melodramatic painting of Sir Sidney Smith in the breach at Acre represents graphically the popular impression of his character. See frontispiece to Barrow's Life of Sir Sidney Smith.

[240] Smith escaped from Paris on the 25th of April; Bonaparte left Paris May 2; Nelson sailed from Cadiz on his great mission May 2,—a very singular triple coincidence.

[241] Brenton's Life of Lord St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 6; Barrow's Life of Sir Sidney Smith, vol. i. p. 236.

[242] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 216. The Admiralty, upon remonstrance, emphatically denied any such purpose. (Ibid., p. 335.)

[243] For Nelson's attitude until he received orders (Feb. 1, 1799) from St. Vincent to take Smith under his orders, see Dispatches, vol. iii. pp. 223, 224.

[244] Nels. Disp., vol. iii. pp. 204, 205.

[245] Mémoires de Bourrienne, vol. ii. pp. 243-245.

[246] "The siege of Acre lasted sixty-two days. There were two periods. The first from March 19 to April 25, thirty-six days, during which the artillery of the besiegers consisted of two carronades, 32 and 24 pound, taken from British boats, and thirty-six field guns. The second period was from April 25 to May 21, twenty-six days." (Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. iii., p. 63.) "During the latter period the park was increased by two 24-, and four 18-pounders." (Ibid, p. 82.)

[247] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 351.

[248] Corr. de Nap., June 26, 1799, vol. v. p. 617.

[249] Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. iii. pp. 81, 82. It is only fair to say that an attempt was made by Perrée a few weeks later to land ammunition back of Mt. Carmel, when he was discovered and chased off. (Barrow's Life of Sir Sidney Smith, vol. i. p. 300.) Napoleon may have confused the two circumstances. His own correspondence (vol. v., pp. 517, 518) contradicts the landing near Acre. The guns were put on shore at Jaffa and thence dragged to Acre.

[250] Schomberg's Naval Chronology. Appendix No. 374.

[251] Ibid. Appendix No. 376.

[252] See map of Brest in next chapter.

[253] Naval Chronicle, vol. i. p. 537.

[254] Ibid., p. 539.

[255] Ibid., vol. ii. p. 81. Osler's Life of Lord Exmouth, p. 191.

[256] Brenton's Life of St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 17.

[257] "Admiral Bruix, being able to rely more on the devotion of his captains than upon their exactitude and precision in manœuvring, took pains before sailing to lay down the duties of a captain under all circumstances; carefully refraining, however, from making a special application of these lessons to any one individual, that their self-love might not be wounded. This wise precaution did not prevent new mistakes, whose consequences would have been much aggravated had we been obliged, by meeting the enemy, to manœuvre either to avoid or compel action." (Journal of Captain Moras, special aide-de-camp to Admiral Bruix. La Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. p. 373. Appendix, 4th edition.)

The gunnery, apparently, was equally bad. "I will cite only one fact to give an idea of the effects of our artillery. When Admiral Bruix was bringing to Brest the French and Spanish fleets, at least nine hundred guns were fired in very fine weather at an Algerian corsair without doing any harm. I do not believe that ever, in a combat of that kind, was so much useless firing done." (Article by "an officer of marine artillery;" Moniteur, 3 Fructidor, An 8 [Aug. 20, 1800].)

[258] Two months later Lord Keith, having succeeded St. Vincent in the command, wrote to Nelson: "If Minorca is left without ships it will fall." (Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 415, note.)

[259] Bruix did not have over a thousand troops with him, the pressure on the land frontiers by the Second Coalition demanding all the force that could be raised to resist it; but the fleet carried twenty-four thousand seamen or artillerists, a force capable by itself of accomplishing much. The reputation of the admiral caused both officers and men to flock to his flag.

[260] "Port Mahon is a very narrow harbor, from which you cannot get out without great difficulty." (Collingwood's letters, August 18, 1799.) "Ships had better be under sail off Port Mahon than in the harbor." (Nelson's Dispatches, May 12, 1799.)

[261] Brenton's St. Vincent, vol. i. p. 493.

[262] "I had the happiness to command a band of brothers." (Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 230) The best of his Nile captains were, for the most part, still with him.

[263] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. pp. 366, 374.

[264] See ante, p. 306.

[265] Jurien de la Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. p. 288 (4th edition); also James, Naval History, vol. ii. p. 264 (edition 1847). Other authorities say the 8th. The reconcilement seems to be that Bruix did not take his fleet to Genoa, but only a detachment; the main body anchoring in Vado Bay. He would thus leave Genoa the 6th, Vado the 8th.

[266] "We avoided the enemy by skirting very close, and under cover of foggy weather, the coasts of Piedmont and Provence." (Journal of Captain Moras, special aid to Bruix. La Gravière, Guerres Maritimes, vol. i. p. 376. Appendix, 4th edition.)

[267] "In our passage before Toulon we learned the vexatious accidents which had happened to the Spanish fleet, and went to rejoin them at Cartagena." (Ibid. Also James, Nav. Hist., vol. ii. p. 264.)

[268] The British fleet was sighted off St. Tropez (Troude, vol. iii. p. 158); and fired upon by coast batteries near Antibes on June 6th. (James, Nav. Hist. vol. ii. p. 262).

[269] Nelson's Dispatches, vol. iii. p. 379, note. This east wind seems to have been overlooked in the criticisms of Keith's conduct.

[270] Cape delle Melle bore, on the 8th, N. N. E., distant ninety miles. James, Nav. Hist., vol. ii. p. 262.

[271] Lord Keith's biographer (Allardyce) says he determined "to take Minorca on his way to Rosas" (p. 165); which was certainly a liberal construction, though not beyond the discretion of an officer in Keith's position. To take Minorca on his way to Rosas, from his position on the 8th, was to go two hundred miles to the former and one hundred and fifty more to Rosas, when the latter at the moment was not two hundred distant. He was a few miles nearer Rosas than Minorca, when he took the decision which finally wrecked the cruise.

[272] Brenton's Life of St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 24.

[273] It was during this time that Perrée's squadron was captured. See ante, p. 301.

[274] Mutineers belonging to the "Impétueux," one of the division, were tried by court martial in Port Mahon, June 19 and 20. (Osler's Life of Lord Exmouth, p. 192. Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 415, note.)

[275] James, Nav. Hist., vol. ii. p. 265 (edition 1847). Nels. Disp., vol. iii p. 415 note.

[276] Brenton's Life of St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 25.

[277] Histoire de la Révolution, vol. x. p. 392, note.

[278] Nels. Disp., July 4, 1803, vol. v. p. 116.

[279] Mar. Fran, sous la Rép. p. 415.

[280] Ten or twelve British, four or five Portuguese; the former exceptionally well-ordered ships. (Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 365.)

[281] Nels. Disp., vol. vii. p. 16.

[282] To this must be added that, from conditions of wind and weather, Malta was very far from Toulon, much farther than Toulon from Malta. Of this Nelson complained often and bitterly in the later war, when commander-in-chief off Toulon. Malta was valuable, he said (Disp., vol. v. p. 107), as a most important outwork to India and for influence in the Levant; valueless against Toulon.

[283] This is plain from his letter of June 6 to Nelson. (Ante, p. 313.) Keith's failure is usually attributed to St. Vincent's dispatches, received June 8; whereas the letter shows that he had decided to return to Minorca two days before receiving them.

[284] Nels. Disp., vol. iii. pp. 408 and 414, with notes.

[285] Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 380.

[286] Keith to Nelson, July 12, 1799; Nels. Disp., vol. iii. p. 419, note.

[287] The larger number is the estimate in Napoleon's Commentaries, which ordinarily exaggerate the enemy's forces. (Vol. iii. p. 107.)

[288] Corr. de Nap., vol. v. p. 710.

[289] Commentaires de Napoléon, vol. iii. p. 89.

[290] Corr. de Nap., vol. v. p. 56.

[291] Ibid., p. 403 (Feb. 10, 1799).

[292] See ante, p. 291.

[293] Mém. de Bourrienne, vol. ii. p. 238.

[294] Ibid., p. 305.

[295] Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous le Consulat, etc., p. 16.

[296] Nels. Disp. vol iv. p. 219, note.

[297] Naval Chronicle, vol. iii. p. 149.

[298] Napoleon's Commentaries give Sept. 26, 1799, as the date of this letter,—only a month after Bonaparte sailed. (Vol. iii. p. 183.)

[299] Nels. Disp. vol. iii. p. 296.

[300] June 28, 1799. Corr. de Nap. vol. v. p. 622.

[301] At the same time he made requisitions for clothing for double the number of men actually in Egypt, notifying the officers concerned that he did so to deceive Europe as to the strength of the army. Corr. de Nap. vol. v. p. 721. This has a significant bearing on the charges, made by him against Kleber, of exaggerating his weakness.

[302] Annual Register, 1800; State Papers, p. 225. It may be added the commissioners first met on board Smith's ship.

[303] For the convention of El Arish, see Annual Register, 1800, State Papers, p. 217.

[304] Allardyce's Life of Lord Keith, pp. 226, 227.

[305] "At the theatre last night I had a conversation with General Kilmaine [commanding the division intended to send into Ireland]. He told me ... the arsenals at Brest are empty; and what stores they have in other ports they cannot convey thither, from the superiority of the naval force of the enemy, which kept everything blocked up." (Wolf Tone's Journal, June 16, 1798.) In 1801 "the port of Brest lacked provisions. The difficulty of getting the convoys into it decided the First Consul to break up the fleet there and send part to Rochefort.... The Spanish admiral (who had come there with Bruix in 1799) was invited to escort the division. To equip the necessary ships, this officer had to give them equipments taken from the others of his squadron, and could obtain provisions only for seventeen days. Baffled by the winds and by the constant presence of the enemy, the ships did not sail." A combined expedition against the Cape of Good Hope failed for the same reason. "The blockade of the Dutch ports was no less rigorous than that of the coast of France." "At Brest, they lived from day to day. Villaret Joyeuse was ordered to go out with ten French and ten Spanish ships to support the entry of convoys. He did not go, and received another mission." (Troude, Batailles Navales, vol. iii. p. 222.)

[306] Nelson's Disp., vol. v. pp 300, 306, 411, 498.

[307] See ante, p. 212.

[308] There is between Ushant and the reefs a narrow passage, practicable for ships-of-the-line, which was surveyed under Lord St. Vincent; but it could only be used with pilots, and was rather a convenience than an important feature.

[309] In the English Channel and the neighboring western coasts of Europe, winds from S.W. to N.W. prevail during three fourths of the days of the year, and are often exceedingly violent.

[310] See "Twelve letters to the Rt. Hon. Spencer Perceval," by Capt. James Manderson, 1812; in which it is also said that Mr. Pitt was towards the end of his life much impressed with the advantages of Falmouth's position. To this opinion is probably due the following statement in a magazine of the day, during Pitt's short second administration: "It is now (Feb. 1805) determined that the Channel fleet shall in future rendezvous at Falmouth, and moorings are immediately to be laid down for fifteen sail-of-the-line." (Nav. Chron., vol. xiii. p. 328.) Lord Exmouth seems to have shared this opinion. (Life, p. 140.) While Falmouth was by position admirably suited for a rendezvous, ships running for refuge to Torbay would have the wind three points more free, an advantage seamen will appreciate.

[311] With the wind to the southward of south-east we know full well that no ship-of-the-line can get out of Brest.—_Letter of St. Vincent_; Tucker's Life, vol. ii. p. 119.

[312] Tucker's Life of Earl St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 14.

[313] See ante, p. 220.

[314] See ante, pp. 202, 214.

[315] Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous la Rép., p. 265.

[316] Rousselin's "Vie de Hoche," quoted by Troude, Bat. Nav., vol. iii. p. 6.

[317] Before Rochefort.

[318] See map of Brest, p. 343.

[319] In performing this audacious service Pellew was somewhat favored by the fact that his ship was a French prize, easily mistaken for one of the expedition. He kept close, often within half gun-shot of the leading ship.

[320] The greater part of the "Séduisant's" crew was saved.

[321] "Fog so thick we cannot see a ship's length. Has been foggy all day." (Wolfe Tone's Journal, Dec. 18.) "The state of the weather was such that it was impossible for Admiral Colpoys to keep his own fleet under observation, and the air so hazy that fog guns had continually to be fired." (Parliamentary Hist. xxxiii, p. 12. March 3, 1797.)

[322] Wolfe Tone's Journal, Dec. 21, 1796.

[323] James Nav. Hist. vol. ii. p. 7. Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous la Rép. p. 281.

[324] Bouvet was broken without trial by the Directory on the 15th of February, 1797, and was not restored to the navy until 1801, under the Consulate. Captain Chevalier's judgment is that "he despaired too soon of the success of the expedition, ... and forgot that he should have been inspired only by the great interests entrusted by accident to his hands." (Mar. Fran. sous la Rép., pp. 309, 311.)

[325] Chevalier. James makes the number captured to be seven.

[326] See ante, p 306.

[327] See post, Chap. XVI.

[328] Parliamentary History, vol. xxxiii. pp. 113, 116. Wolfe Tone states that there were on board the ships of the expedition 41,160 muskets. (Journal, Dec. 22, 1796.)

[329] Dundas's Speech, Mar. 3, 1797, Parl. Hist. vol. xxxiii. p. 12.

[330] Ibid., vol. xxxiii. 13.

[331] Ibid., vol. xxxiii. pp. 109, 111.

[332] Speech of Lord Albemarle, ibid., p. 109.

[333] Speech of Earl Spencer, First Lord of Admiralty, ibid., p. 111.

[334] Dundas, Parl. Hist. vol. xxxiii. p. 13.

[335] James's Nav. Hist., vol. ii. p. 21.

[336] Of fifteen ships four were of ninety-eight guns or over. (Schomberg's Nav. Chronology, vol. iv. p. 525.)

[337] James, vol. ii. p. 20.

[338] James's Nav. Hist., vol. ii. pp. 20, 22.

[339] Earl Spencer's Speech, Parl. Hist., vol. xxxiii. p. 115.

[340] Tucker's Life of Earl St. Vincent, vol. ii. pp. 10 and 70; the latter reference being to a letter from St. Vincent to the First Lord of the Admiralty. The incident occurred on board Bridport's flag ship, the "Royal George."

[341] Tucker's Life of Earl St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 58.

[342] Ibid., vol. ii. p. 13.

[343] Ibid., p. 114.

[344] Ibid., p. 24.

[345] Tucker's St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 114.

[346] Ibid., p. 80.

[347] Ibid., p. 78.

[348] See Nelson's letter to Earl St. Vincent, Feb. 1, 1800. (Nelson's Dispatches.)

[349] Tucker, vol. ii. p. 121. Modern ships, so much more complex, are much more liable to derangement than those of St. Vincent; and, unless such pains as his are taken to make them self-sufficing, their officers and the dockyards will make a heavier drain on the force of the fleet than in his day. Perhaps in no point will provident administration more affect the efficiency of the fleet than in this.

[350] Tucker's St. Vincent, vol. ii. pp. 13, 88.

[351] Tucker's St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 14.

[352] Ibid., p. 14.

[353] Ibid., p. 115.

[354] See Troude, Batailles Navales, 1800, 1801, vol. iii. pp. 190, 222, 223. "We had at Brest (in 1800) neither provisions nor material. The Franco-Spanish fleet there was of consideration only from its numbers." (Chevalier, Mar. Fran. sous le Consulat, p. 10.)

[355] Tucker's St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 136.

[356] Naval Chronicle, vol. iv. p. 520.

[357] See _post_, Chap. XIII.

[358] Tucker's St. Vincent, vol. ii. p. 105.

[359] Parliamentary History, vol. xxxiii. pp. 111-116.

[360] Batailles Navales, vol. iii. pp. 187-190, 222, 223.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. | | Other corrections are noted below. I | | | Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. | | | | Word combinations that appeared with and without hyphens were | | changed to the predominant form if it could be determined. | | | | Italicized words are surrounded by underline characters, _like | | this_. | | | | Mid-paragraph illustrations have been moved between paragraphs | | and some illustrations have been moved closer to the text that | | references them. The paginations in the List of Illustrations | | have been adjusted accordingly. | | | | Footnotes were moved to the end of the book and numbered in one | | continuous sequence. | | | | Other corrections: | | p. 278: "which did away the provincial independence" changed to | | "which did away with the provincial independence." | | | | p. 365: "the impotent conclusion" changed to "the important | | conclusion." | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+