Part 8

To return from this digression. After quitting Palermo, and when passing the Straits of Messina, Lord Keith placed me as prize-master in command of the _Généreux_, 74—shortly before captured by Lord Nelson’s squadron—with orders to carry her to Port Mahon. A crew was hastily made up of sick and invalided men drafted from the ships of the fleet, and with these we proceeded on our voyage, but only to find ourselves in imminent danger from a gale of wind. The rigging not having been properly set up, the masts swayed with every roll of the ship to such a degree that it became dangerous to go aloft; the shrouds alternately straining almost to breaking, or hanging in festoons, as the masts jerked from side to side with the roll of the vessel. It was only by going aloft myself together with my brother Archibald, whom Lord Keith had permitted to accompany me, that the men could be induced to furl the mainsail. Fortunately the weather moderated, or the safety of the ship might have been compromised; but by dint of hard work, as far as the ill-health of the crew would allow, we managed, before reaching Mahon, to put the _Généreux_ into tolerable order.

It has been stated that Lord Keith permitted my brother to accompany me in the _Généreux_. By this unexpected incident both he and myself were, in all probability, saved from a fate which soon afterwards befel most of our gallant shipmates. On our quitting the _Queen Charlotte_, Lord Keith steered for Leghorn, where he landed, and ordered Captain Todd to reconnoitre the island of Cabrera, then in possession of the French. Whilst on his way, some hay, hastily embarked and placed under the half-deck, became ignited, and the flame communicating with the mainsail set the ship on fire aloft and below. All exertions to save her proved in vain, and though some of the officers and crew escaped, more than three-fourths miserably perished, including Captain Todd, his first lieutenant, Bainbridge, three other lieutenants, the captain of marines, surgeon, more than twenty master’s mates and petty officers, and upwards of 600 marines and seamen.

On our return from England to Gibraltar I had been associated with poor Bainbridge in an affair which—except as a tribute to his memory—would not have been worth mentioning. On the evening of the 21st of September, 1799, we observed from the _Queen Charlotte_, lying in Gibraltar Bay, the 10-gun cutter _Lady Nelson_, chased by some gun-vessels and privateers, all of which simultaneously commenced an attack upon her. Lord Keith instantly ordered out boats, Bainbridge taking command of the barge, whilst another of the boats was put under my orders. Lord Keith’s intention was, by this prompt aid, to induce the _Lady Nelson_ to make a running fight of it, so as to get within range of the garrison guns; but before the boats could come up she had been captured; Lieutenant Bainbridge, though with sixteen men only, dashed at her, boarded, and retook her, killing several and taking prisoners seven French officers and twenty-seven men; but not without himself receiving a severe sabre cut on the head and several other wounds.

The boat under my command was the cutter with thirteen men. Seeing two privateers which had chiefly been engaged in the attack on the _Lady Nelson_ running for Algesiras, we made at the nearest, and came up with her at dark. On laying the cutter alongside, I jumped on board, but the boat’s crew did not follow, this being the only time I ever saw British seamen betray symptoms of hesitation. Regaining the cutter, I upbraided them with the shamefulness of their conduct, for the privateer’s crew had run below, the helmsman alone being at his post. Their excuse was that there were indications of the privateer’s men having there fortified themselves. No reasoning could prevail on them to board. If this boat’s crew perished in the _Queen Charlotte_, their fate is not nationally to be regretted.

On the destruction of the _Queen Charlotte_ Lord Keith hoisted his flag in the _Audacious_. His lordship was so well satisfied with my conduct of the _Généreux_ as to write home to the Admiralty recommending my promotion, at the same time appointing me to the command of the _Speedy_, then lying at Port Mahon.

The vessel originally intended for me by Lord Keith was the _Bonne Citoyenne_, a fine corvette of eighteen guns; but the brother of his lordship’s secretary happening at the time to arrive from Gibraltar, where he had been superseded in the command of the sheer hulk, that functionary managed to place his brother in one of the finest sloops then in the service, leaving to me the least efficient craft on the station.

CHAP. V.

CRUISE OF THE _SPEEDY_.

MY APPOINTMENT TO THE SPEEDY.—MY FIRST PRIZE.—CAPITULATION OF GENOA.—MORE CAPTURES.—JOIN LORD KEITH AT LEGHORN.—CRUISE ON THE SPANISH COAST.—NEARLY CAUGHT BY A SPANISH FRIGATE.—HOW SHE WAS EVADED.—OUR CRUISE RENEWED.—WE PROCEED TO MALTA.—FOOLISH FRACAS IN A BALL-ROOM.—A DUEL.—CAPTURE OF A FRENCH STORE-SHIP.—CHASED BY ANOTHER SPANISH FRIGATE.—CRUISE OFF BARCELONA.—AN ATTEMPT TO ENTRAP US.—ATTACK ON THE EL GAMO FRIGATE.—CARRIED BY BOARDING.—TRIFLING LOSS OF THE SPEEDY.—A DEVICE PRACTISED DURING THE ACTION.—WE PROCEED WITH OUR PRIZE TO MAHON.—POSTPONEMENT OF MY POST RANK.—OFFICIAL DESPATCH.

The _Speedy_ was little more than a burlesque on a vessel of war, even sixty years ago. She was about the size of an average coasting brig, her burden being 158 tons. She was crowded, rather than manned, with a crew of eighty-four men and six officers, myself included. Her armament consisted of fourteen 4-_pounders_! a species of gun little larger than a blunderbuss, and formerly known in the service under the name of “miñion,” an appellation which it certainly merited.

Being dissatisfied with her armament, I applied for and obtained a couple of 12-pounders, intending them as bow and stern chasers, but was compelled to return them to the ordnance wharf, there not being room on deck to work them; besides which, the timbers of the little craft were found on trial to be too weak to withstand the concussion of anything heavier than the guns with which she was previously armed.

With her rig I was more fortunate. Having carried away her mainyard, it became necessary to apply for another to the senior officer, who, examining the list of spare spars, ordered the _foretopgallant-yard_ of the _Généreux_ to be hauled out _as a mainyard for the Speedy_!

The spar was accordingly sent on board and rigged, but even this appearing too large for the vessel, an order was issued to cut off the yard-arms and thus reduce it to its proper dimensions. This order was neutralised by getting down and planing the yard-arms as though they had been cut, an evasion which, with some alteration in the rigging, passed undetected on its being again swayed up; and thus a greater spread of canvas was secured. The fact of the foretopgallant-yard of a second-rate ship being considered too large for the mainyard of my “man-of-war” will give a tolerable idea of her insignificance.

Despite her unformidable character, and the personal discomfort to which all on board were subjected, I was very proud of my little vessel, caring nothing for her want of accommodation, though in this respect her cabin merits passing notice. It had not so much as room for a chair, the floor being entirely occupied by a small table surrounded with lockers, answering the double purpose of storechests and seats. The difficulty was to get seated, the ceiling being only five feet high, so that the object could only be accomplished by rolling on the locker, a movement sometimes attended with unpleasant failure. The most singular discomfort, however, was that my only practicable mode of shaving consisted in removing the skylight and putting my head through to make a toilet-table of the quarter-deck.

In the following enumeration of the various cruises in which the _Speedy_ was engaged, the boarding and searching innumerable neutral vessels will be passed over, and the narrative will be strictly confined—as in most cases throughout this work—to log extracts, where captures were made, or other occurrences took place worthy of record.

“_May_ 10.—Sailed from Cagliari, from which port we had been ordered to convoy fourteen sail of merchantmen to Leghorn. At 9 A.M. observed a strange sail take possession of a Danish brig under our escort. At 11:30 A.M. rescued the brig, and captured the assailant. This prize—my first piece of luck—was the _Intrépide_, French privateer of six guns and forty-eight men.

“_May_ 14.—Saw five armed boats pulling towards us from Monte Cristo. Out sweeps to protect convoy. At 4 P.M. the boats boarded and took possession of the two sternmost ships. A light breeze springing up, made all sail towards the captured vessels, ordering the remainder of the convoy to make the best of their way to Longona. The breeze freshening we came up with and recaptured the vessels with the prize crews on board, but during the operation the armed boats escaped.

“_May_ 21.—At anchor in Leghorn Roads. Convoy all safe. 25.—Off Genoa. Joined Lord Keith’s squadron of five sail of the line, four frigates and a brig.

“26, 27, 28.—Ordered by his lordship to cruise in the offing, to intercept supplies destined for the French army under Massena, then in possession of Genoa.

“29.—At Genoa some of the gun-boats bombarded the town for two hours.

“30.—All the gun-boats bombarded the town. A partial bombardment had been going on for an hour a day, during the past fortnight, Lord Keith humanely refraining from continued bombardment, out of consideration for the inhabitants, who were in a state of absolute famine.”

This was one of the _crises_ of the war. The French, about a month previous, had defeated the Austrians with great slaughter in an attempt, on the part of the latter, to retake Genoa; but the Austrians, being in possession of Savona, were nevertheless able to intercept provisions on the land side, whilst the vigilance of Lord Keith rendered it impossible to obtain supplies by sea.

It having come to Lord Keith’s knowledge that the French in Genoa had consumed their last horses and dogs, whilst the Genoese themselves were perishing by famine, and on the eve of revolt against the usurping force—in order to save the carnage which would ensue, his lordship caused it to be intimated to Massena that a defence so heroic would command honourable terms of capitulation. Massena was said to have replied that if the word “capitulation” were mentioned his army should perish with the city; but, as he could no longer defend himself, he had no objection to “treat.” Lord Keith, therefore, proposed a treaty, viz. that the army might return to France, but that Massena himself must remain a prisoner in his hands. To this the French general demurred; but Lord Keith insisting—with the complimentary observation to Massena that “he was worth 20,000 men”—the latter reluctantly gave in, and on the 4th of June 1800 a definite treaty to the above effect was agreed upon, and ratified on the 5th, when the Austrians took possession of the city, and Lord Keith of the harbour, the squadron anchoring within the mole.

This affair being ended, his lordship ordered the _Speedy_ to cruise off the Spanish coast, and on the 14th of June we parted company with the squadron.

“_June_ 16.—Captured a tartan off Elba. Sent her to Leghorn, in the charge of an officer and four men.

“22.—Off Bastia. Chased a French privateer with a prize in tow. The Frenchman abandoned the prize, a Sardinian vessel laden with oil and wool, and we took possession. Made all sail in chase of the privateer; but on our commencing to fire, she ran under the fort of Caprea, where we did not think proper to pursue her. Took prize in tow, and on the following day left her at Leghorn, where we found Lord Nelson, and several ships at anchor.

“25.—Quitted Leghorn, and on the 26th were again off Bastia, in chase of a ship which ran for that place, and anchored under a fort three miles to the southward. Made at and brought her away. Proved to be the Spanish letter of marque _Assuncion_, of ten guns and thirty-three men, bound from Tunis to Barcelona. On taking possession, five gun-boats left Bastia in chase of us; took the prize in tow, and kept up a running fight with the gun-boats till after midnight, when they left us.

“29.—Cast off the prize in chase of a French privateer off Sardinia. On commencing our fire she set all sail and ran off. Returned and took the prize in tow; and the 4th of July anchored with her in Port Mahon.

“_July_ 9—Off Cape Sebastian. Gave chase to two Spanish ships standing along shore. They anchored under the protection of the forts. Saw another vessel lying just within range of the forts;—out boats and cut her out, the forts firing on the boats without inflicting damage.

“19.—Off Caprea. Several French privateers in sight. Chased, and on the following morning captured one, the _Constitution_, of one gun and nineteen men. Whilst we were securing the privateer, a prize which she had taken made sail in the direction of Gorgona and escaped.

“27.—Off Planosa, in chase of a privateer. On the following morning saw three others lying in a small creek. On making preparations to cut them out, a military force made its appearance, and commenced a heavy fire of musketry, to which it would have answered no purpose to reply. Fired several broadsides at one of the privateers, and sunk her.

“31.—Off Porto Ferraio in chase of a French privateer, with a prize in tow. The Frenchman abandoned his prize, of which we took possession, and whilst so doing the privateer got away.

“_August_ 3.—Anchored with our prizes in Leghorn Roads, where we found Lord Keith in the _Minotaur_.”

Lord Keith received me very kindly, and directed the _Speedy_ to run down the Spanish coast, pointing out the importance of harassing the enemy there as much as possible, but cautioning me against engaging anything beyond our capacity. During our stay at Leghorn, his lordship frequently invited me ashore to participate in the gaieties of the place.

Having filled up with provisions and water, we sailed on the 16th of August, and on the 21st captured a French privateer bound from Corsica to Toulon. Shortly afterwards we fell in with H.M.S. ships _Mutine_ and _Salamine_, which, to suit their convenience, gave into our charge a number of French prisoners, with whom and our prize we consequently returned to Leghorn.

On the 14th of September we again put to sea, the interval being occupied by a thorough overhaul of the sloop. On the 22nd, when off Caprea, fell in with a Neapolitan vessel having a French prize crew on board. Recaptured the vessel, and took the crew prisoners.

On the 5th of October, the _Speedy_ anchored in Port Mahon, where information was received that the Spaniards had several armed vessels on the look-out for us, should we again appear on their coast. I therefore applied to the authorities to exchange our 4-pounders for 6-pounders, but the latter being too large for the _Speedy’s_ ports, we were again compelled to forego the change as impracticable.

“_October 12._—Sailed from Port Mahon, cruising for some time off Cape Sebastian, Villa Nova, Oropesa, and Barcelona; occasionally visiting the enemy’s coast for water, of which the _Speedy_ carried only ten tons. Nothing material occurred till November 18th, when we narrowly escaped being swamped in a gale of wind, the sea breaking over our quarter, and clearing our deck, spars, &c., otherwise inflicting such damage as to compel our return to Port Mahon, where we were detained till the 12th of December.

“_December 15._—Off Majorca. Several strange vessels being in sight, singled out the largest and made sail in chase; shortly after which a French bombard bore up, hoisting the national colours. We now cleared for action, altering our course to meet her, when she bore up between Dragon Island and the Main. Commenced firing at the bombard, which returned our fire; but shortly afterwards getting closer in shore she drove on the rocks. Three other vessels being in the passage, we left her, and captured one of them, the _La Liza_ of ten guns and thirty-three men, bound from Alicant to Marseilles. Took nineteen of our prisoners on board the _Speedy_. As it was evident that the bombard would become a wreck, we paid no further attention to her, but made all sail after the others.

“_December 18._—Suspecting the passage between Dragon Island and the Main to be a lurking-place for privateers, we ran in again, but found nothing. Seeing a number of troops lining the beach, we opened fire and dispersed them, afterwards engaging a tower, which fired upon us. The prisoners we had taken proving an incumbrance, we put them on shore.

“_December 19._—Stood off and on the harbour of Palamos, where we saw several vessels at anchor. Hoisted Danish colours, and made the signal for a pilot. Our real character being evidently known, none came off, and we did not think it prudent to venture in.”

It has been said that the _Speedy_ had become the marked object of the Spanish naval authorities. Not that there was much danger of being caught, for they confined their search to the coast only, and that in the daytime, when we were usually away in the offing; it being our practice to keep out of sight during the day, and run in before dawn on the next morning.

On the 21st, however, when off Plane Island, we were very near “catching a Tartar.” Seeing a large ship in shore, having all the appearance of a well-laden merchantman, we forthwith gave chase. On nearing her she raised her ports, which had been closed to deceive us, the act discovering a heavy broadside, a clear demonstration that we had fallen into the jaws of a formidable Spanish frigate, now crowded with men, who had before remained concealed below.

That the frigate was in search of us there could be no doubt, from the deception practised. To have encountered her with our insignificant armament would have been exceedingly imprudent, whilst escape was out of the question, for she would have outsailed us, and could have run us down by her mere weight. There was, therefore, nothing left, but to try the effect of a _ruse_, prepared beforehand for such an emergency. After receiving at Mahon information that unusual measures were about to be taken by the Spaniards for our capture, I had the _Speedy_ painted in imitation of the Danish brig _Clomer_; the appearance of this vessel being well known on the Spanish coast. We also shipped a Danish quartermaster, taking the further precaution of providing him with the uniform of an officer of that nation.

On discovering the real character of our neighbour, the _Speedy_ hoisted Danish colours, and spoke her. At first this failed to satisfy the Spaniard, who sent a boat to board us. It was now time to bring the Danish quartermaster into play in his officer’s uniform; and to add force to his explanations, we ran the quarantine flag up to the fore, calculating on the Spanish horror of the plague, then prevalent along the Barbary coast.

On the boat coming within hail,—for the yellow flag effectually repressed the enemy’s desire to board us—our mock officer informed the Spaniards that we were two days from Algiers, where at the time the plague was violently raging. This was enough. The boat returned to the frigate, which, wishing us a good voyage, filled, and made sail, whilst we did the same.

I have noted this circumstance more minutely than it merits, because it has been misrepresented. By some of my officers blame was cast on me for not attacking the frigate after she had been put off her guard by our false colours, as her hands—being then employed at their ordinary avocations in the rigging and elsewhere—presented a prominent mark for our shot. There is no doubt but that we might have poured in a murderous fire before the crew could have recovered from their confusion, and perhaps have taken her, but feeling averse to so cruel a destruction of human life, I chose to refrain from an attack, which might not, even with that advantage in our favour, have been successful.

It has been stated by some naval writers that this frigate was the _Gamo_, which we subsequently captured. To the best of my knowledge this is an error.

“_December_ 24.—Off Carthagena. At daylight fell in with a convoy in charge of two Spanish privateers, which came up and fired at us; but being to windward we ran for the convoy, and singling out two, captured the nearest, laden with wine. The other ran in shore under the fort of Port Genoese, where we left her.

“25.—Stood for Cape St. Martin, in hope of intercepting the privateers. At 8 A.M. saw a privateer and one of the convoy under Cape Lanar. Made sail in chase. They parted company; when, on our singling out the nearest privateer, she took refuge under a battery, on which we left off pursuit.

“30.—Off Cape Oropesa. Seeing some vessels in shore, out boats in chase. At noon they returned pursued by two Spanish gun-boats, which kept up a smart fire on them. Made sail to intercept the gun-boats, on which they ran in under the batteries.

“_January_ 10, 1801.—Anchored in Port Mahon, and having refitted, sailed again on the 12th.

“16.—Off Barcelona. Just before daylight chased two vessels standing towards that port. Seeing themselves pursued, they made for the battery at the entrance. Bore up and set steering sails in chase. The wind falling calm, one of the chase drifted in shore, and took the ground under Castel De Ferro. On commencing our fire, the crew abandoned her, and we sent boats with anchors and hawsers to warp her off, in which they succeeded. She proved to be the Genoese ship _Ns. Señora de Gratia_, of ten guns.

“22.—Before daylight, stood in again for Barcelona. Saw several sail close in with the land. Out boats and boarded one, which turned out a Dane. Cruising off the port till 3 A.M., we saw two strange vessels coming from the westward. Made sail to cut them off. At 6 P.M. one of them hoisted Spanish colours and the other French. At 9 P.M. came up with them, when after an engagement of half an hour both struck. The Spaniard was the _Ecce Homo_ of eight guns and nineteen men, the Frenchman _L’Amitié_ of one gun and thirty-one men. Took all the prisoners on board the _Speedy_.

“23.—Still off Barcelona. Having sent most of our crew to man the prizes, the number of prisoners on board the _Speedy_ became dangerous; we therefore put twenty-five of the Frenchmen into one of their own launches, and told them to make the best of their way to Barcelona. As the prizes were a good deal cut up about the rigging, repaired their damages and made sail for Port Mahon, where we arrived on the 24th, with our convoy in company.

“28.—Quitted Port Mahon for Malta, not being able to procure at Minorca various things of which we stood in need; and on the 1st of February, came to an anchor at Valetta, where we obtained anchors and sweeps.”

An absurd affair took place during our short stay at Malta, which would not have been worthy of notice, had it not been made the subject of comment.