Chapter 17

1801.

Despatches arrive from England.--Sir James superseded by Sir Charles Morice Pole.--Remarks and correspondence on the subject.--The St. George and four sail of the line arrive.--Blockade of Cadiz.--Sir James continues as second in command.--His appointments not confirmed.--Injustice of his treatment.--Letters from various persons.--The Caesar arrives at Gibraltar.

Since the signal defeat of the French and Spanish combined squadrons on the 12th of July, Sir James had passed seven most anxious weeks without having received any communication from England.[1] His sufferings on that account, and his impatience for letters, as well from his family as from the Admiralty, were, according to his own admission, more intolerable than he had ever experienced.

[1] The letters, which have already appeared, were received on the 31st of August.

The enemy's force at Cadiz being now so inferior, even to the squadron he at first commanded, he was enabled to send the Audacious and Bellona to refit at Gibraltar; while he detached the Warrior and the Phoebe to cruise off Lisbon, and other smaller vessels in different directions. He never doubted that he should be continued in the chief command; and his hopes of the pleasing intelligence had been raised to the highest pitch, when the long-expected despatches arrived. His surprise and mortification, therefore, may be imagined, when, on opening the very first letter from the Admiralty, he found himself superseded by a senior officer, on a plea which had no just foundation, namely, _the increase of the enemy's force at Cadiz_! whereas, on the contrary, that force had not only been decreased by the loss of two of its largest ships, but _all_ the rest had been so materially damaged in the late actions as to be rendered for the present unserviceable.

As might be expected, Sir James felt so indignant at this, to say the least of it, ill-timed arrangement, that he considered it a duty he owed to his character to express his feelings strongly in a respectful answer to this communication, both to the Board, and to Earl St. Vincent; which produced an explanation, in which it appeared that the Admiralty, having determined to make Cadiz a separate command from that of the Mediterranean, it became necessary to employ two flag-officers. Sir James being the last on the list, none could be found junior; and they were, therefore, under the necessity of appointing a senior officer.

As it could not be disputed that the Admiralty had a right to make the dispositions for which they alone were responsible, the correspondence in which Sir James's services were acknowledged, and wherein regret was expressed by their lordships at the necessity they had been under of appointing a senior officer, ended in a satisfactory manner; and Sir James was contented to remain as second in command under Vice-admiral Pole, who arrived on the 31st August, in the St. George, to assume the chief command of the squadron.

Two of the letters which Sir James received on this occasion have been given in the preceding chapter, in order to show the reception which the intelligence of his victory met with in England. The following are copies of the official letters alluded to, and also of some private letters, which express his feelings on the occasion.

Admiralty, 2nd August 1801.

SIR,

I received, yesterday, by Captain Ferris, and immediately communicated to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, your letters of the 5th, 6th, 9th, and 10th instant, acquainting me, for their lordships' information, that, having received intelligence of three French line-of-battle ships and a frigate having anchored off Algeziras, you had proceeded through the Straits, with the squadron under your orders, for the purpose of attacking them, which you had accordingly done on the morning of the 6th; but that the Hannibal having unfortunately taken the ground, and all the endeavours you had exerted with the Caesar and Audacious having proved ineffectual, you had been compelled to withdraw from the attack, and to leave the Hannibal in possession of the enemy; transmitting, at the same time, a list of the killed and wounded, with a copy of a letter you had received from Captain Ferris, giving an account of his proceedings: and, in answer thereto, I have received their lordships' commands to acquaint you that, although your endeavours to destroy the enemy's ships, above-mentioned, were unsuccessful, they cannot too much applaud the spirit and activity with which the attack was conducted; and that, however they may regret the loss of the Hannibal to his Majesty, their lordships have the satisfaction of knowing that you, and all the officers and men employed under your command, have faithfully and zealously discharged your duty, and although by unfortunate circumstances a ship has been lost, as well as the lives of many gallant officers and men, the national character has in no degree suffered from the disaster.

Their lordships have the fullest confidence that every exertion will be made for repairing the damage which the ships now with you have sustained; and have commanded me to inform you that you may rely on their taking measures immediately for reinforcing you, and for sending such supplies of stores as the squadron may be likely to require.

I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, EVAN NEPEAN.

To Sir James Saumarez, Bart.

Admiralty Office, 4th August 1801.

SIR,

After I had closed my despatch of the 2nd instant, Lieutenant Dumaresq arrived, and delivered to me your letters of the 13th and 14th of last month: the former, giving information that the three French ships of the line and, a frigate, at Algeziras, having been joined by five Spanish and one French sail of the line, with other smaller vessels, had sailed on the morning of the 12th with his Majesty's late ship Hannibal, for Cadiz; that, by the great exertions of the officers and men of the squadron, you had been able to proceed to sea at the same time, with all the ships under your orders, except the Pompee, in pursuit of the enemy; and that, after a partial action, two Spanish ships of a hundred and twelve guns had been blown up, and one French ship of seventy-four guns had been taken by his Majesty's ship Superb: the latter transmitting a letter which you had received from Captain Keats, of the last-mentioned ship, containing an account of his proceedings on that occasion.

I lost no time in laying your said despatches before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; and I have received their lordships' commands to express to you their highest approbation of the gallantry and good conduct which were displayed by you, and the captains, officers, and men under your orders, in engaging and defeating so superior a force of the enemy; and to desire that you will signify to them, particularly to Captains Hood and Keats, in the strongest terms, the sense their lordships are pleased to entertain of their meritorious services on this important occasion.

Their lordships have commanded me further to inform you that, in consequence of the favourable mention you have made of the services of the Honourable Captain Dundas and Lieutenant Dumaresq, they have been pleased to promote the former to the rank of post-captain, and the latter to command the Calpe.

I am, sir, your obedient humble servant, EVAN NEPEAN.

To Rear-admiral Sir James Saumarez, Bart. &c. &c. &c.

Admiralty Office, 14th August 1801.

SIR,

My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having judged it necessary, from the present circumstances of the war, and preparations now making by the enemy in Cadiz, to augment the squadron serving on the coasts of Portugal and Spain bordering on the Atlantic, and to place the ships and vessels on that station under the command of Vice-admiral Pole, I have received their commands to acquaint you of this arrangement, and to enclose their orders to you, to put yourself, and the ships with you, under the Vice-admiral's command.

So many objections occur to the allowing a force of the extent necessary to be so employed, with only one flag-officer, that their lordships have felt themselves reduced to the necessity, from your standing on the list, of sending a senior officer to you; which, on considering the proofs you have given of your zeal and ability, and the advantage which the public has so recently derived from your very distinguished services, they would, if possible, have avoided.

I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, Evan Nepean.

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-ship), Captain Nichols; Dreadnought, 98, Captain Vashon; Russell, 74, Captain Cuming; 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 ships, 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 ship 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 ship 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 documents, 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-ship, which was engaged far more severely at Algeziras, who exerted himself most zealously in refitting the ship, besides assisting in the capture of the French ship? Yet the promotion was only given to the first lieutenants of the Venerable and Superb, although the former ship 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 circumstances, 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 ships were still before the wind, firing at each other, and the Caesar had her cross-jack-yard shot away.

Taking into account every circumstance 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 pronounced 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 circumstances she was commissioned. At that time I was ignorant of any part of our force having been withdrawn from the Baltic, or that any ships 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 ship, which, with the Hannibal's ship'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 ship 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 ingratitude, 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 assure you that I shall ever retain a grateful sense of the many and uniform proofs of your friendship 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 ships 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 clashing 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 ships 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.