Chapter 9

IN THE BALTIC.

In 1854 the war (commonly called the Crimean war) broke out, and I was appointed first lieutenant of H.M.S.---- for service in the Baltic.

I shall never forget the excitement among us all when, after so many years of inactivity, we were called upon to defend the honour of our country. Unfortunately for old England the Baltic fleet was put under the command of Sir C. N----, 'fighting old Charley' as he was called, though it was not long before we discovered that there was not much fight left in him. It might well be said by those generously inclined towards him, in the words of the old song, that the

'Bullets and the gout Had so knocked his hull about, That he'd never more be fit for sea.'

A finer fleet never sailed or steamed from Spithead than that destined for the Baltic in 1854. The signal from its commander, 'Lads, war is declared! Sharpen your cutlasses and the day's your own,' sent a thrill of joy through every breast. After following the melting ice up the Baltic Sea to within almost reach of the guns of Cronstadt, we waited till the ice had disappeared, and then went in as we thought for the attack.

The ship to which I belonged being a steamer, and drawing much less water than the line-of-battle ships, led the way. A grander sight could not be conceived than that of twenty splendid line-of-battle ships, formed in two lines, steaming straight up to the frowning batteries of Cronstadt. On our approaching the batteries a shot was fired, and fell alongside the ship I was in, which, as I said, was leading for the purpose of sounding, when, to our astonishment and disgust, the signal was made from the flag-ship to the fleet 'Stop!' and immediately afterwards to 'anchor.'

It is not for me to say the reason 'why.' All that I can vouch for is that, in the general opinion of competent judges, had we gone on we could have taken or destroyed Cronstadt, instead of which--what was done? They sent to England for special boats to be made ready for the next summer, when the attack would be made on Cronstadt.

We remained a few days at anchor off that place, when some half of the fleet were detached to the Aland Islands, where an insignificant fort called Bomarsund was to be attacked--not by the English and French fleets, who were fit to do any mortal thing, but by an army fetched from France. When the army came, the poor little fort attacked by the fleet on the seaside, and on the shore by the soldiers, after firing a few shots surrendered. During the attack I was appointed acting commander of H.M.S.----, and was mentioned honourably in despatches.

Many promotions were made for the taking of Bomarsund, but I fancy I had as usual given my opinion too freely, as I was left out in the cold. I shall never forget old Charley's answer to me when I applied for my promotion, it was so worthy of him. He said, 'Don't ye come crying to me, Sir; you are a lord's son: I'll have nothing to do wi' ye.'

Immediately after the capture of Bomarsund, the admiral detached a small squadron under Captain S---- to reconnoitre the Russian port of Abo. Of that squadron the vessel of which I was commander formed one. We left with sealed orders, which were not to be opened until we arrived at, or near to, our destination.

On sighting the enemy's port we perceived that every preparation was being made to give us a warm reception. A council of war was held on board the senior officer's ship, at which council the sealed orders were opened, when to our disgust it was found within that we were ordered 'not to fight, merely to reconnoitre.'

Sickening humiliation! There were the Russian gunboats inside the bar of the harbour of Abo, firing at us with all their might. The forts on the heights, such as they were, very insignificant temporary batteries of field-pieces, had commenced to get the range of the ships; but as we were not to fight, we took a sulky shot or two at the enemy and retired.

To this day I cannot understand the policy that actuated this weak, vacillating conduct on the part of our chief. But some idea may be given of his fighting notions by the following occurrence, of which I was a witness.

One morning despatches arrived from England. A signal was made from the flag-ship for commanding officers to repair on board that vessel. On our arrival there, we were asked to sit down to breakfast. Our chief, who was opening his letters, suddenly threw a despatch over the table to S----, the admiral of the fleet, saying, 'What would ye do, mun, if ye received a letter like this?' S----, after reading the letter said, 'If I received a letter like that, I'd attack Revel or Sveaborg if I lost half my fleet.' Our chief's answer I shall never forget. It was: 'I haven't got nerve to do it, and I'm d----d well sure C---- hasn't.' There are many living besides myself who can vouch for the accuracy of this statement.

I shall say no more of the doings of the English fleet in the Baltic during that year. Suffice it, that if ever open mutiny was displayed--not by the crews of the ships, but by many of the captains, men who attained the highest rank in their profession--it was during the cruise in the Baltic in 1854: and no wonder.

Many gallant deeds were performed by single ships, but the fleet did absolutely nothing, except help to capture Bomarsund. I returned to England disgusted and disheartened. The next year the commander-in-chief was changed; I was appointed to his ship, and we went again to the Baltic, taking with us all the necessary appurtenances for bombarding forts and attacking the enemy's coast.

As soon as the melting of the ice permitted we arrived off Cronstadt, and found that the Russians had not been asleep during our absence for the winter months; for they had defended the approaches to that place to such an extent, that an attack was considered (and on this occasion there was no difference of opinion) most unadvisable. So we fell back on Sveaborg, which place was bombarded by the combined fleets, I venture to think most successfully, and I believe, had we had a force to land, we could have taken possession of that large and important fortress.

Our losses during the operation were small on board the squadron of mortar-boats which I had the good luck to command--some fifty-eight men _hors de combat_.

In this service I received my promotion to the rank of commander, and returned to England.

Peace was made between Russia and England, previous to which, however, I was appointed to a vessel in the Mediterranean which formed part of the fleet off Sebastopol. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see much active service there.

While serving as a commander in the Mediterranean, I was principally under the command of Sir Wm. M----, a man whose reputation as being the smartest officer in the navy, I must venture to say, I think was greatly exaggerated, though he was doubtless what is called a 'smart officer.'

His idea was to rule with a rod of iron, and never to encourage anyone by praising zealous and active service. He used to say, 'I am here to find fault with, not to praise, officers under my command.' So many a fine fellow's zeal was damped by knowing that no encouragement would follow in the way of appreciation from his chief, however much he might have merited it.

I cannot refrain from recounting a very amusing incident that occurred in connection with my command of H.M.S. _F---- _. I may mention that, differing as I did most materially with the system of discipline followed by the commander-in-chief, I was no favourite of his.

One day, however, I was somewhat surprised at being ordered to prepare for the official inspection of my ship, and by no less a person than Sir W. M----himself. I must mention that one of the crotchets of the chief was that vessels such as mine--namely, a gunboat of the first class--could be floated off the shore, in case of their stranding, by water-casks being lashed round them. So orders were given that all vessels of that class were to lumber their decks with water-casks. I did so, according to orders; but, not having the least confidence in the manner in which the commander-in-chief proposed to employ them, I utilised them, as will be seen presently, for an entirely different purpose.

The day of my ship's inspection was evidently not one of my lucky days. To begin with, a horrid little monkey belonging to the crew--amusing himself running about in the hammock-nettings near to the gangway over which the great man had to pass--seeing something he thought unusual, made a rush as the commander-in-chief was stepping on board, stooped down, and deliberately took the cocked hat off his head, dropped it into the sea, then started up the rigging chattering with delight at the mischief he had done. The cocked hat was at once recovered, wiped dry, and placed in its proper place. The admiral, always stern as a matter of principle, looked, after this incident, sterner than usual, hardly recognised me except by a formal bow, then proceeded to muster the officers and crew. This over, he commenced to walk round the deck. I remarked with pleasure his countenance change when he saw how neatly his pet water-casks were painted and lashed to the inner gunnel of the ship. He said quite graciously, 'I am glad to see, Captain Hobart, that you pay such attention to my orders.' I began to think I was mistaken in my idea of the man; but, alas! for my exuberance of spirits and satisfaction. While the admiral was closely examining one of his pet casks, his face came almost in contact with the opening of the barrel, when, to his and my horror, a pretty little spaniel put out his head and licked the great man on the nose.

I shall never forget the admiral's countenance; he turned blue with anger, drew himself up, ordered his boat to be manned, and walked over the side not saying a word to anyone.

The facts which led to this untoward occurrence were that, seeing the necessity of having my decks crowded with what I considered useless lumber, in the form of water-casks, I had utilised them by making them into dog-kennels. The admiral hated dogs, hated sport of all kind, and, after what occurred, I fancy hated me. Well, I didn't love him; I never saw him again.

The very next day I was ordered to the coast of Syria: just what I wanted, i.e., to be out of the commander-in-chief's way, and to have some good shooting.