Part 13

Since Faulknor's _Undaunted_, five British men-of-war have borne the name, and in every instance with distinction. Three of them may be referred to here. One _Undaunted_--the _Undaunted_ of the Napoleonic war--crowned a career of exceptional brilliancy--a career that is one continuous record of daring exploits, which indeed won for her captain the _sobriquet_, taken from the name of his ship, of 'Undaunted Ussher'--by carrying Napoleon a prisoner of war to Elba. This same ship was later the last man-of-war to fly the flag of a Lord High Admiral of England at sea.[66] Another, in more recent times, as flagship on the East Indies station, had the honour of escorting his present Majesty King Edward, then Prince of Wales, through the Indian Ocean on his historic visit to India. Yet another _Undaunted_, our present cruiser of the name, was Lord Charles Beresford's first ship as a captain of the Royal Navy--with the Mediterranean fleet under Sir George Tryon,--and proved herself during a memorable commission _nulli secundus_ for smartness and efficiency, in the spirit of her well-remembered duty call:--

'Undaunteds,' be ready! 'Undaunteds,' be steady! 'Undaunteds,' stand by for a job!

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 60: Captain George Grey, flag-captain in the _Boyne_ to Sir John Jervis.]

[Footnote 61: In his 'public letter' Sir John Jervis throws all the blame on M. de Tourelles' 'want of precision,' and Captain Brown's name appears at the head of those to whom the admiral declares himself 'greatly indebted' (James's _Naval History_, i. p. 244). On the other hand, Captain Brenton (_Naval History_, vol. i. p. 183) says: 'I once heard a lady ask Lord St. Vincent why he did not bring Captain Brown to a court-martial. I think his Lordship replied, "I thought it best to let him go home quietly." Captain Brown should have demanded a court-martial on himself.']

[Footnote 62: _Naval Chronicle_, vol. xvi. pp. 31-32.]

[Footnote 63: _Naval Chronicle_, vol. xvi. p. 33.]

[Footnote 64: Public Record Office. Admiralty documents: Captains' Logs, _Zebra_.]

[Footnote 65: _London Gazette_, April 21, 1794. Articles of Capitulation of Fort Bourbon, No. 3. 'The 37th regiment, formerly Marshal Turenne's, shall keep their colours and arms. Answer: Refused; being contrary to all customs of war. The officers may keep their swords.']

[Footnote 66: H.R.H. The Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., in 1827.]

IV

'BILLY BLUE': A BALLAD OF THE FLEET

ONE OF THE _ROYAL SOVEREIGN'S_ DAYS

Slowly they mov'd, and wedged in firm array, The close compacted squadron won its way.

Homer, _Iliad_ (Pope's version).

Could common prudence have allowed me to let loose their valour on the enemy, I hardly know what might not have been accomplished by such men.--Admiral Cornwallis, _June 17, 1795_. (From the official despatch.)

Fighting days abound in the story of the _Royal Sovereign_. There is hardly a more famous name in the annals of the Royal Navy, and its record goes back to a hundred years before the Spanish Armada.

Our first _Sovereign_ was one of the consorts of the _Great Harry_ in Henry the Eighth's Navy, and fought the French in battle side by side with that 'greate shipp.'

The second was Charles the First's _Sovereign of the Seas_, built out of the ship-money tax which began the quarrel with Parliament that in the end brought the King's head to the block. 'Her building,' says Evelyn, 'cost his Ma'tie the affections of his subjects, who quarrell'd with him for a trifle, refusing to contribute either to their own safety or to his glory.'[67] The ship did brilliant service with Blake and Monk against Tromp and Ruyter, and won from the Dutch the _sobriquet_ of the 'Golden Devil,' in allusion to her gorgeous ornamentation and the death-dealing broadsides from her heavy guns. As the _Royal Sovereign_, the name bestowed on her by Charles the Second at the Restoration, in place of the original form, the ship added laurels to her fame. She was in the thick of the fray in the 'Four Days' Fight' of 1666--the 'Four Days' Fight' was what the courtiers of Whitehall called the battle, the ruder 'tarpaulins' who fought the guns called it the 'Four Days' Bloody Blunder';--in the 'St. James's Day Fight' of the same year; at Solebay; and in all the other fleet battles of the Second and Third Dutch Wars. Among the men of note who flew their flags on board the _Royal Sovereign_ in battle were James, Duke of York (afterwards King James the Second), and Prince Rupert. This same man-of-war, too, in William the Third's time, was one of the flagships at La Hogue, where she had 'a very hott dispute' with one of the French flagships. She was also flagship of the admiral in command at the burning of the famous _Soleil Royal_ and two other French first-rates in Cherbourg Bay. A sleepy old bo'sun's mate, one January night, four years after La Hogue, left a lighted candle-end in his cabin in the _Royal Sovereign_, and then went on deck to keep his watch, forgetting all about it. So the quondam _Sovereign of the Seas_ came to her end. In accordance with the sentence of the court-martial[68] on the wretched man, he was rowed up the Medway past the fleet lying there with a halter round his neck, and was then publicly flogged on his bare back, after which he was landed at Chatham dockyard with every mark of degradation, and taken off to be imprisoned in the Marshalsea for life.

The third _Royal Sovereign_, partly built, in accordance with an Admiralty order, out of as much of the timbers of the old ship as could be saved--'such part of the remains of the said ship as shall be serviceable'[69]--was launched in the presence of the great Duke of Marlborough, who presided on the occasion. It was in the cabin of this _Royal Sovereign_ that Admiral Rooke planned his swoop on the Vigo galleons, and the ship also served as flagship to Sir Clowdisley Shovell.[70] She lasted long enough to be flagship at Portsmouth during the Seven Years' War, and it was on board her, one stormy March morning, that Admiral Boscawen signed the order for the firing party that shot Admiral Byng.

The fourth _Royal Sovereign_ fought as a flagship with Lord Howe on the 'Glorious First of June,' and was Collingwood's ship at Trafalgar. 'See how that noble fellow Collingwood takes his ship into action!' exclaimed Nelson, as he saw the _Royal Sovereign_ open fire and break the line. Nor did any other ship in all the British fleet make a more brilliant fight of it that day than the _Royal Sovereign_ and her 'Tars of the Tyne,' as Collingwood himself called the sturdy Northumbrian lads who formed nine-tenths of his flagship's crew.

Our fifth _Royal Sovereign_ was an ironclad of the 'sixties, and the sixth is the present battleship of the name, now in the Home Fleet, which was named and launched with much _eclat_ by Queen Victoria at Portsmouth on the 26th of February 1891, and served for many years as flagship of the Channel Fleet.

Such in brief outline are some of the leading events in the story of the _Royal Sovereign_.

The historic event here related in ballad form belongs to the story of the _Royal Sovereign_ of the great war with the French Revolution, the fourth ship of the name. 'Cornwallis's Retreat' was the name that our ancestors had for it. It took place on the 17th of June 1795, and the _Royal Sovereign_ was the British flagship on the occasion. The event, no doubt, is unknown to most of us. Nine out of ten people probably never heard of it. It is one of the forgotten episodes of our annals. Nothing is said of it in our general histories. One finds it alluded to in naval books, but little mention is made of it outside that class of literature. Even that famous naval dining club, the 'Royal Naval Club of 1765 and 1785,' which meets regularly at intervals throughout the year to commemorate notable events in the annals of the Sea Service--La Hogue, Rodney's battle, the 'Glorious First of June,' the battle of Cape St. Vincent, Camperdown, and so on--does not celebrate the 17th of June, the anniversary day of 'Cornwallis's Retreat.' Yet, surely, it is deserving of the honour? As a display of cool valour in the face of tremendous odds, of down-right heroism and unflinching endurance, crowned in the end with complete success, this feat of Admiral the Honourable William Cornwallis's distinguished career deserves, there is no gainsaying, to be reckoned among the finest exploits in our history.[71]

It may partly be, of course, because of the term 'retreat' that the event of the 17th of June 1795 has nowadays been forgotten by the Navy and the nation. Englishmen do not like retreats. Everybody knows the story of how Napoleon once told a captured British drummer boy to prove his identity by beating the British Army 'retreat,' and how the little lad scornfully flung down his drum, and looking Bonaparte in the face replied, 'There is no such drum-beat in the British Army. We don't do it!'[72] To our forefathers of a hundred years ago, however, 'Cornwallis's Retreat,' as they themselves called it, was a source of infinite pride and gratification. They did not hesitate to compare it, and not unreasonably, with that famous tale of history, Xenophon's _Retreat of the Ten Thousand_.

Here is the story, told in plain unconventional ballad form, as it were by one present on the occasion. The details are historical, and the words attributed to the admiral are his own, as reported at the time. 'Billy Blue,' it should be added, was a favourite nickname for Cornwallis in the Navy, although whether it had come into vogue as early as the date of the incident is another thing.

BILLY BLUE

A BALLAD OF THE FLEET

It was just at break o' day, We were cruising in the Bay, With Blue Billy in the _Sov'ren_ in the van, When the French fleet bound for Brest, From Belleisle came heading West-- 'Twas so, my lads, the saucy game began. Billy Blue-- Here's to you, Billy Blue, here's to you!

Washing decks was hardly done, When we heard the warning gun, And we saw 'em, black and clear against the sky; Twelve big ships of the line,-- And with frigates, twenty-nine, On the easterly horizon drawing nigh. Billy Blue, etc.

We'd the _Triumph_ and the _Mars_, And the _Sov'ren_--pride of tars, _Billy Ruff'n_, and the _Brunswick_, known to fame; With the _Pallas_, and the _Phaeton_, Frigates that the flag did wait on-- Seven ships to uphold Old England's name. Billy Blue, etc.

From the _Phaeton_ frigate first, In a flash the numbers burst, As the signal bunting 'broke' and fluttered free; But we cheer'd from ship to ship, And we set the guns to strip, For to fight 'em we could trust old Blue Billee! Billy Blue, etc.

He was shavin', so they say, When he heard the news that day, And his skipper came his wishes for to larn; But he only said, 'All right, Let 'em bark, for we can bite, For all they're like to try on us, I don't care a darn!' Billy Blue, etc.

'No, I don't care a rap For any Frenchy chap, When they come they'll get the dressing they deserve; I've the best four in the fleet, That the Frenchmen well could meet, With the "Fightin' _Billy Ruff'n_" in reserve.'[73] Billy Blue, etc.

'As she broke the line with Howe, So she's game to do it now, And repeat her "First o' June" here in these seas; With their name for dauntless pluck, And the _Billy Ruff'n's_ luck, I will fight as many Frenchmen as you please!' Billy Blue, etc.

But it wasn't merely bluff, For he saw the job was tough, And the signal promptly flew to 'Go about': With the slowest ship in front, And his own to bear the brunt,-- So we headed back for England, guns run out. Billy Blue, etc.

To the _Sov'ren's_ lads he told Like some hero chief of old, As he bade 'em from the quarter-deck 'Good luck'; 'To no foe upon the sea. You may take it, men, from me, Is the ensign of the _Sov'ren_ to be struck!' Billy Blue, etc.

'Let the odds be what they will, We must go on fighting still, For the honour of the _Sov'ren's_ old renown; And when, men, all is done, As we fire our last gun, With our colours flying still, we'll go down!'[74] Billy Blue, etc.

Soon we heard the _Branle-bas_ What cheers up the Frenchy tar, And their 'Vives' for 'La Nation!' and 'La Patrie!' 'Tis the way, as you should know, With the maritime Crappo, When he's got to do his fightin' on the sea. Billy Blue, etc.

Then they came on, looking slaughter, Like to blow us from the water, As they near'd to port and starboard and astarn; But we put in double shot, And we paid 'em back so hot, That they looked at one another with consarn. Billy Blue, etc.

'Just a broadside or two--_Certainement_, For the honour of their flag--_cela s'entend_, But it's more than very fine, seven ships to twenty-nine!-- Most decidedly 'no go,' Not at all _comme il faut_, And a bit of British insolence for punishment condign!' Billy Blue, etc.

'Just a broadside, if they like, Then forthwith their colours strike Having rendered to their flag the homage due: It's sheer madness to pretend, They can fight us to the end-- There's no other course the _Rosbifs_ can pursue!' Billy Blue, etc.

Next the _Triumph_ they attacked, And the _Mars_ got badly whacked, 'Twas the _Sov'ren_ with her broadsides beat 'em back: Her three tiers all aflame, Sweeping round the flagship came, Leaving death and Frenchmen's wreckage in her track. Billy Blue, etc.

And they didn't let us rest, For they did their level best, Fighting on and off from eight till after five; Till at length they seemed to see, That it wasn't going to be, That they shouldn't take us dead, nor yet alive. Billy Blue, etc.

How it ended, is a story, Not at all to France's glory, Of a little game the _Phaeton's_ men did play; Making Mossoo go in fear, That the Channel Fleet was near, And think perhaps he'd better run away. Billy Blue, etc.

For Blue Billy sent the _Phaeton_, When the pass looked like a strait one, To cruise out in the offing,--just in sight: 'At a fitting time,' said he 'You will signal down to me, That Lord Bridport will be with us before night.' Billy Blue, etc.

'You will fire guns, you know, And to'gallant sheets let go, As the custom is, reporting fleets at sea; With a signal that they're 'friends'-- Which I think will serve our ends, To humbug those chaps astarn with Monsieur V.'[75] Billy Blue, etc.

The Frenchmen cried 'Morblo!' And they shuffled to and fro, Till they judg'd they'd haul their wind and go about; To Belleisle back all the way, At anchor there to stay, Till they learnt the coast was clear to venture out. Billy Blue, etc.

Yet no Channel Fleet was near, To excuse the Frenchmen's fear, For Lord Bridport was still cruising leagues afar,[76] And a well-worn _ruse de guerre_ Was a hardy game to dare, With French frigates--seventeen--the plot to mar. Billy Blue, etc.

It so happened, for the rest, Just to point the _Phaeton's_ jest, By the merest chance--it wasn't meant at all-- Distant coasters passing by, Chanced to fleck the evening sky, And still faster to impel the flying Gaul. Billy Blue, etc.

Here's to Stopford of the _Phaeton_, And Flag-Captain Whitby bold, To Fitzgerald of the _Brunswick_, tried and true, Gallant Gower of the _Triumph_, Gallant Cotton of the _Mars_, Lord Cranstoun--_Billy Ruff'n_--here's to you! Billy Blue, etc.

Aye, Blue Billy:--here's to him, with three times three, To the honour of his name upon the sea! 'He upheld Old England's credit,' said the country in its pride: 'Cornwallis's Retreat,' Greek Xenophon's great feat, In its spirit we may claim to set beside. Billy Blue, etc.

E'en our foes, the _Parley Voos_, At this feat of Billy Blue's Professed to be astounded--'_Etonnes_':-- '_Hors de ligne_' 'twas, so to speak, '_Une affaire trop heroique_,' '_Le Determine_,' they call him to this day. Billy Blue-- Here's to you, Billy Blue, here's to you!

For the magnificent display made by one and all on the occasion, Admiral Cornwallis and the captains of his squadron were thanked by both Houses of Parliament, while every ordinary seaman on board the ships was specially rated 'A.B.'[77] Of his men, indeed, Cornwallis himself said in his official despatch, 'Could common prudence have allowed me to let loose their valour on the enemy, I hardly know what might not have been accomplished by such men.' The last survivor of Cornwallis's squadron, one of the midshipmen of the flagship _Royal Sovereign_, died in the year 1869.

'Billy Blue'[78] himself lived to command the Channel Fleet in the great war with Napoleon, and, in conjunction with Nelson at the head of the Mediterranean Fleet, to save England from invasion in 1805, when the Grand Army stood on the heights above Boulogne every day expecting an opportunity to cross over, 'battling,' in the words of Captain Mahan, 'the wild gales of the Bay of Biscay in that tremendous and sustained vigilance concerning which Collingwood wrote that "Admirals need be made of iron."' A man-of-war of 74 guns, a model of which is one of the treasures of the Royal United Service Institution at Whitehall, was in 1813 named the _Cornwallis_ in honour of Admiral Cornwallis, and that ship's immediate successor is our fine modern battleship the _Cornwallis_ of to-day.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 67: _Evelyn's Diary_, July 16, 1641.]

[Footnote 68: The court-martial was held at Chatham on January 27, 1696, and comprised two admirals and seventeen captains. The minutes of the evidence and the sentence are in the Public Record Office. (_Admiralty (Secretary's Dept.) In-Letters_, 5256.)]

[Footnote 69: Public Record Office, _Admiralty Out-Letters_: Order of October 29, 1697.]

[Footnote 70: Sir Cloudesley Shovel is the popular form of the name. It is here given as the admiral himself spelled it.]

[Footnote 71: The Naval Medal was granted for Cornwallis's Retreat with a clasp inscribed '17 June 1795.' The _Gazette_ notification records the service that the medal was granted for thus: 'Brilliant repulse of a fleet four times superior in force.']

[Footnote 72: Compare the curious definition of the term 'Retreat' in Falconer's _Naval Dictionary_ (2nd edition, 1789). 'Retreat:--The order or disposition in which a fleet of French men-of-war decline engagement, or fly from a pursuing enemy. (Note) The reader who wishes to be expert in this manoeuvre will find it copiously described by several ingenious French writers ... who have given accurate instructions deduced from experience for putting in practice when occasion requires. As it is not properly a term of the British marine, a more circumstantial account of it might be considered foreign to our plan.']

[Footnote 73: 'The _Bellerophon_,' wrote Cornwallis to the Admiralty, 'I was glad to keep in some measure in reserve.... I considered that ship as a treasure in store, having heard of her former achievements and observing the spirit manifested by all on board.' Quite unaccountably, as it so happened, the _Bellerophon_, the fastest 74 in the service, sailed very badly that day. According to one of her men, the reason was this: 'it warn't in the natur' of her to run from an enemy.']

[Footnote 74: Admiral Cornwallis's actual words were, 'Remember, men, the _Sovereign's_ flag and ensign are never to be struck to an enemy. She goes down with them flying.']

[Footnote 75: 'Monsieur V.' was the familiar term for the French admiral then in command of the Brest Fleet--Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse. The words of the last line are the actual words Cornwallis used.]

[Footnote 76: Severe comment was made at the time on Lord Bridport for so disposing his fleet as to leave Cornwallis's squadron isolated and in such a situation of extreme peril.]

[Footnote 77: 'Landmen' or 'Landsmen,' 'Ordinary Seamen,' and 'Able Seamen' or 'A.B.s' were the three classes or ratings into which men before the mast were divided, usually according to ability and length of service. 'A.B.' was the highest rating, entitling those of the rate to increased pay, and affording opportunities for promotion.]

[Footnote 78: It should have been mentioned earlier that he was the same officer who so ably commanded the _Canada_ in Rodney's fleet on the 12th of April 1782, and took a leading part in bringing about the surrender of De Grasse, as has been described.]

V

THE 'FIGHTING' _TEMERAIRE_

WHERE, HOW, AND WHEN SHE MADE HER NAME

Heard ye the thunder of battle Low in the south and afar? Saw ye the flush of the death-cloud, Crimson o'er Trafalgar? Such another day never England will look on again, When the battle fought was the hottest, And the hero of heroes was slain.

Francis Turner Palgrave.

In England's song for ever She's the _Fighting Temeraire_.

Henry Newbolt.

Trafalgar was her day. It was at Trafalgar that the _Temeraire_ made her mark and won undying fame.

First of all--

She came to Nelson's aid, The battle's brunt to bear, And nobly sought to lead the van, The Brave Old _Temeraire_.