Chapter 31

Here Lord Exmouth's career closes. Just forty years had elapsed since as a youth he had fought the _Carleton_ on Lake Champlain, and he was yet to live sixteen in honored retreat; bearing, however, the burden of those whose occupation is withdrawn at an age too advanced to form new interests. Though in vigorous health and with ample fortune, "he would sometimes confess," says his biographer, "that he was happier amid his early difficulties." The idea of retirement, indeed, does not readily associate itself with the impression of prodigious vitality, which from first to last is produced by the record of his varied activities. In this respect, as in others, the contrast is marked between him and Saumarez, the two who more particularly illustrate the complementary sides of the brilliant group of naval leaders, in the second rank of distinction, which clustered around the great names of Nelson, Howe, and Jervis. In the old age of Saumarez, the even, ordered tenor of his active military life is reflected in the peaceful, satisfied enjoyment of repose and home happiness, of the fruits of labors past, which Collingwood, probably without good reason, fancied to be characteristic of his own temperament. Lord Exmouth, compelled to be a passive spectator, saw with consequent increased apprehension the internal political troubles of Great Britain in his later days. Though not a party man, he was strongly conservative, so that the agitations of the Reform era concealed from him the advantages towards which it was tending, and filled him with forebodings for the future of his country.

Like his distinguished contemporary, Admiral Saumarez, and like many others of those lion-hearted, masculine men who had passed their lives amid the storms of the elements and of battle,--and like our own Farragut,--Lord Exmouth was a deeply religious man. Strong as was his self-reliance in war and tempest, he rested upon the Almighty with the dependence of a child upon its father. His noble brother, Sir Israel Pellew, who had followed Nelson into the fire at Trafalgar, departed with the words, "I know in Whom I have believed;" and of the admiral himself, an officer who was often with him during the closing scene said, "I have seen him great in battle, but never so great as on his deathbed."

Lord Exmouth died on January 23, 1833. He was at the time Vice-Admiral of England, that distinguished honorary rank having been conferred upon him but a few months before his death.

* * * * *

Of the last four admirals whose careers have been here sketched, Howe alone inherited fortune and high social rank; but he also fought his way far beyond the modest position bequeathed to him by his brother. Eminent all, though in varying manner and degree, each illustrated a distinct type in the same noble profession. All were admirable officers, but they differed greatly in original endowments and consequent development. It was intuitive with St. Vincent to take wide and far-sighted views, and to embody them in sustained, relentless action. Endued by nature with invincible energy and determination, he moved spontaneously and easily along his difficult path. He approached, although he did not attain genius. In Howe is seen rather the result of conscientious painstaking acting upon excellent abilities, but struggling always against a native heaviness and a temper constitutionally both indolent and indulgent; a temper to which indeed he does not yield, over which he triumphs, but which nevertheless imposes itself upon his general course with all the force inseparable from hereditary disposition. A man of talent, he educates himself to acquirements which in his rival have the character of perception; and only under the spur of emergency does he rise to the height of greatness. Both were great general officers, a claim which can scarcely be advanced for Saumarez and Exmouth, able, brilliant, and devoted as they were. Saumarez was the steadfast, skilful, accomplished master of his profession, but one whose aptitudes and tastes placed him in the great organization of the fleet, as a principal subordinate rather than as head. Exmouth was the typical, innate seaman, intensely active, whose instincts are those of the partisan warrior, and who shines most in the freedom of detached service. All bore a conspicuous part in the greatest war of modern times, with honor such that their names will be remembered as long as naval history endures.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] Fleetwood Hugo Pellew, in "Our Naval Heroes."

[16] This _Queen Charlotte_ was the successor of the ship which carried Howe's flag on the First of June, and which had been destroyed by fire off Leghorn in 1800.

Index

Aboukir Bay, 405.

Age, standard of, a factor in efficiency, 70.

_Albany_, sloop, 327, 328.

Alexandria, 403; 404; battle off, 405-408; 410.

Algeciras, allied fleet anchored at, 289; French ships anchor off, 415; Saumarez starts for, 415; Saumarez finds French ships moored at, 415; _Hannibal_ re-anchors at, 419; crowded with eager sight-seers, 419; renewed battle off, 420.

Algiers, battle of, 428; policy of, 462,463; Nelson denounces, 463; refuses demand of Lord Exmouth in regard to treatment of captives, 464; Italian coral fishermen slaughtered on coast of, 464; Lord Exmouth demands release of Christian slaves in, 464; its system of defences, 465; navy of, in port, 466; Capt. Warde examines defences in port of, 466; Lord Exmouth sails against, 468; battle at bay of, 470-473.

Algiers, Dey of, 463; consults the Porte, 464; makes submission to Exmouth, 473; delivers up Christian slaves, 473, 474.

_Alligator_, ship, 266.

Altavela, 244.

_Amazon_, ship, 456; fight of, with _Droits de l'Homme_, 456, 457; wreck of, 458, 459.

Amiens, Peace of, 460.

Anglo-Dutch war, marks period of transition in naval warfare, 12.

Anglo-Saxon predominance, beginning of the struggle for, 100; approaching its crisis, 100.

ANSON, Lord, takes command of Channel fleet, 122; presents Rodney at court, 153; succeeded by Earl of Sandwich, 154; 385.

Antigua, 163; 228; 245.

_Apollo_, frigate, 442; engages Stanislas, 442; 443.

ARBUTHNOT, Admiral, ordered to send ships to West Indies, 210; his force added to Rodney's, 211; regards himself injured, 212.

_Ardent_, ship, 242.

ARNOLD, Benedict, 433; 436; 437; bravery of, in battle, 439; retires toward Crown Point, 439; Cooper's praise of, 440; 441; 442.

Articles of War, modified, 95.

Audierne Bay, 458.

Austria, peace signed with, 413; 454.

Baltic league, fostered by Napoleon, 413; shattered by Nelson, 413; Saumarez disturbs, 422, 423.

Baltic Sea, affairs in, 421.

Barbados, injuries at, by hurricane, 217; British fleet arrives at, 228; Rodney returns to, 230; Rodney unwilling to fight French, off, 230; Rodney reaches, 233; 245; Saumarez reaches, 394.

_Barfleur_, ship, 240; 242; 311.

BARRINGTON, declines command of Channel fleet, 182; refuses command of a fleet, 286; denounces ministry, 286; 287; second to Howe, 289; 297.

BART, Jean, French privateer, 451.

Basque Roads, its character as a harbor, 112; 141.

_Bedford_, ship, 240.

_Berwick_, ship, 79, 81.

BIRON, Maréchal, makes money advance to Rodney, 179.

Black Rocks, reef, 411.

_Blenheim_, ship, 351; 365.

_Blonde_, ship, Burgoyne embarks on, 431.

Bombay, 461.

BOMPART, Commodore, leaves America, 134; his arrival, 135.

BONAPARTE, _see Napoleon_.

BOSCAWEN, Admiral, fleet under, collecting at Portsmouth, 103; sails to intercept French squadron, 103, 104; loses two ships, 104; before Toulon, 126; attacks French frigates near Toulon, 133; his failure, 133; returns to Gibraltar, 133; criticism of, 133; surprised while repairing, 134; his rapid movements, 134; goes in pursuit of De la Clue, 134; destroys five French ships, 134; succeeds Hawke temporarily, 143.

Boston, loss of, 284.

Brest, Hawke's efficient blockade of, 122; movements of French navy at, 126; De la Clue sails for, 133; Conflans's ships escape to, 141; Rodney operates against, 158; Jervis closes port of, 375, 392; blockade of, 411; bay of, 411; Pellew stationed off, 454; French expedition against Ireland sails from, 455.

Brimstone Hill, 234; 394.

_Bristol_, ship, 384; 385; 386; 387.

British Empire, non-existent in 1748, 99.

British Ministry, apprehensive over schooner _Hawke_ incident, 172; cautions Rodney, 172; learns that Spain is concentrating vessels at Cadiz, 414.

BRUEYS, at Battle of Nile, 416.

_Brunswick_, ship, 314; 315.

_Burford_, ship, 262.

BURGOYNE, 276; 284; 431; 434; leads renewed invasion, 442.

BURRISH, Capt. George, off Toulon, 30; his address to his lieutenants, 32; decision of court in case of, 35; cashiered, 37.

BYNG, Admiral, his incompetency at Minorca, 5, 20; finding of courtmartial of, 17; one of the judges of Mathews, 24; his punishment, 25; his situation at Minorca reviewed, 47-63; author's criticism of, 64; discussion of trial of, 64; article under which he was convicted and executed, 96, 97; his sailing for Minorca, 104; arrival off Port Mahon, 104; engages French fleet, 105; retires to Gibraltar, 105; news of retreat of, reaches England, 105; superseded by Hawke, 105; sent home, 105; inquiry concerning in House of Commons, 105; defended by Pitt, 105; his execution a political exigency, 180.

BYRON, given North American command, 176; 284; relieves Howe and goes to West Indies, 183; 284; his failure and return to England, 183.

Cabrita Point, 419.

Cadiz, French ships escape to, 134; 336; 347; Spaniards running for, 352; Spanish gunboats leave, 361; blockade at, 362; Saumarez blockades, 400; French and Spanish navies concentrated at, 414; Saumarez ordered to blockade, 414; Saumarez arrives off, 415; Saumarez prevents entrance of French ship to, 415; object of concentration at, frustrated by Saumarez, 421.

Cadiz, Bay of, 369.

_Cæsar_, ship, Saumarez appointed to command, 410; injured at Algeciras, 418; refitted, 418; hauls out from Gibraltar mole, 419; sails for Algeciras, 419; appears off Europa Point, 419.

CAMPBELL, Captain, aids in suppressing mutiny on board ship _Marlborough_, 365.

Cape Horn, 260.

Cape Passaro, Battle of, 69.

Cape St. Vincent, _see St. Vincent, Cape_.

Cap François, 231; 236; 244; 246.

_Captain_, ship, 351.

Cardinals, The, rocks, 137, 139.

CARKETT, Captain, 200; his disobedience of Rodney's orders, 200, 201.

CARLETON, General, 433; 434.

_Carleton_, schooner, 437; Pellew left in command of, 438; obliged to withdraw, 438; 439; 475.

Cartagena, harbor of, schooner _Hawke_ taken to, 171; governor of, Rodney demands schooner _Hawke_ from, 171.

_César_, ship, 240.

Champlain, Lake, 433; 436; battle on, 436, 437; 442; 475.

CHANDOS, Duke of, 148.

Channel Fleet, Keppel appointed to command of, 176; 183; 271; 281; 286; 287; Howe takes command of, 299; Howe remains in nominal command of, 318; Howe formally retires from command of, 319; Jervis attached to, 331; rumor concerning command of, 337; lack of discipline in, 367; 374; 375; St. Vincent again called to command of, 380; _Tisiphone_ attached to, 392; 394; St. Vincent takes command of, 411; 451; 454.

Channel Islands, Saumarez commander-in-chief at, 421.

Charente, river, French vessels flee up, 117.

Charleston, British fleet arrives off, 386.

Cherbourg, Saumarez present at beginning of work on breakwater at, 398; frigate _Réunion_ quits, 399.

CHEVALIER, Captain, tribute of, to Admiral Howe, 296.

_Cléopâtre_, ship, fight of, with _Nymphe_, 448, 449.

CLINTON, Sir Henry, his evacuation of New York, 277; at Cape May, 278; reaches Navesink, 279; 280.

CODRINGTON, Lieutenant, 311; 316.

COLLINGWOOD, 311; criticises movement of Admiral Mann, 348; at battle off Cape St. Vincent, 355; 410; off Brest, 412; Pellew succeeds, 460.

CONFLANS, opposed by Hawke, 126; sails, 135; his fleet breaks apart and flees, 141; his flag-ship destroyed, 141; 273.

COOK, James, master of fleet at Quebec, 326, 327.

COOPER, naval historian, his opinion of Arnold, 440.

Copenhagen, 413; 446.

Cornwall, 429.

_Cornwall_, ship, 202.

CORNWALLIS, Lord, his fate in America, settled, 232; his surrender, 233; surrender of, change of ministry consequent upon, 251; offers commission to Saumarez, 385; meeting of, with Saumarez, subsequently, 385.

Corsica, 333; 337; in revolt against Britain, 346; evacuated by British, 347.

_Courageux_, ship, wrecked on Barbary coast, 350; 352.

_Crescent_, frigate, Saumarez appointed to command, 399; action of, with French frigate _Réunion_, 399, 400.

Crown Point, 433; 439; Pellew lands at, 441.

_Culloden_, ship, 353, 354.

CUMBERLAND, Richard, his remark concerning Rodney, 178.

CUMBY, Lieutenant, parody by, upon Admiral Jervis, 373; pretended revenge of Admiral upon, 374.

Curaçao, 246.

CURTIS, Fleet Captain, 311.

CURTIS, Sir Roger, 250.

Czar of Russia, 421.

DACRES, Lieutenant, wounded, 437, 438.

Declaration of Independence, 275.

DE COURT, Admiral, his comments on engagement off Toulon, 44; 81.

_Defence_, ship, 342; 363.

DE GRASSE, Count, fleet under, sails for Martinique, 221, 222; sights Hood's division, 222; gives Hood battle, 222; moves to support his detachment at Tobago, 229; sails for Hayti, 231; protects convoy from Martinique to Cap François, 236; is followed by Rodney, 236; separates ships of war from convoy, 237; fails to use his opportunity, 237; condition of ships of, 238; flag-ship of, collides with _Zélé_, 238; battle with Rodney, 238-242; disaster to squadron of, 292; transports sail to carry stores to, 392; off St. Christopher, 394; Saumarez engages flag-ship of, 396.

DE GUICHEN, sails from Martinique, 197; his battle with Rodney, 200-206; asks to be relieved, 206; his fleet returns to Europe, 214; 239.

DE LA CLUE, Admiral, sails for Brest, 133; near Gibraltar, 133; is seen by British frigate, 134; pursued by Boscawen, 134; fire-ships destroyed by Boscawen, 134.

DE RUYTER, pronounced greatest naval seaman in era of Charles II., 12, 13.

D'ESTAING, Count, Howe's campaign against, 268, 269; leaves Toulon for America, 277; his arrival delayed, 279; strength of squadron of, 279; arrives, 279; sails southward, 280; enters harbor of Newport, 281; again puts to sea, 281; fleet of, scattered, 282; appears again off Rhode Island, 282; retires to Boston, 282; runs batteries at Seakonnet channel, 388; is lured out of bay, 388; abandons coast, 388.

Devonshire, 429.

_Devonshire_, ship, 90, 91.

Dey, of Algiers, _see Algiers, Dey of_.

Dominica, 237.

_Dorsetshire_, frigate, 41, 46, 137.

DOUGLAS, Sir Charles, his criticism of Rodney's encounter with De Grasse, 247; 433; 437; on battle of Lake Champlain, 439; commands Pellew, 440.

DOUGLAS, Sir James, 165.

DRAKE, Rear Admiral, sent by Rodney against De Grasse, 229; forced to retire before superior force, 230.

_Droits de l'Homme_, ship, fight of, with _Indefatigable_ and _Amazon_, 456, 457; wreck of, 458.

Dungeness, anecdote of Nelson off, 446, 447.

DUPLEIX, recalled from India by French government, 101.

_Dutton_, ship, driven ashore at Plymouth, 452; her troops, passengers, and crew saved through action of Admiral Pellew, 452-454.

_Eagle_, ship, 90, 153.

East Indies, 403.

East India, station, Pellew assigned to, 460.

Egypt, 403; 404; 413.

ELLIS, Lieutenant, 343.

ELLISON, Captain, Earl St. Vincent's rebuke to, 363, 364.

ELPHINSTONE, Captain, 165.

Erie, Lake, 436.

_Essex_, ship, 112.

Europa Point, 419.

EXMOUTH, Lord, _see Pellew_.

Falkland Islands, incident at, brings Great Britain and Spain on verge of rupture, 172.

Falmouth, 456.

FAULKNER, Captain, 342, 343.

FEARNEY, William, bargeman, receives surrendered Spanish swords from Nelson, 356.

Ferrol, Spanish port of, Pellew watches, 460.

Fighting Instructions, of 1740 and 1756, compared with those of 1665; Rooke's tactics adopted in, 16.

Finisterre, Cape, 291.

Finland, gulf of, Russian fleet takes refuge in, 425.

First Consul, Napoleon as, 413.

_Flamborough_, frigate, 78.

FLIGHT, Colonel, Admiral Jervis plays joke upon, 370.

_Formidable_, flag-ship of Rodney, 239.

Fort Moultrie, _see Moultrie Fort_.

Fort Royal, 235.

_Foudroyant_, ship, 330; 331.

Four Days Battle, British meet severe check in, 11; attributed to strategic errors, 12; Penn's criticism of, 12.

Fox, Captain, criticised for conduct in battle off La Rochelle, 93; court-martialled, 93; retired as a rear-admiral, 93.

Fox, Charles J., supported in Parliament by Admiral Jervis, 332.

France, abandons Egypt, 101; sends fleet and force against Minorca, 104; declares war against Great Britain, 105; captures British supply vessel off Gibraltar, 106; sends squadron to convoy troops to Cape Breton, 1758, 116; ships of, flee up river Charente, 117; vessels of, make their escape, 117; determines to invade England, 124; preparations of, for invasion of England, 124, 125; war between Great Britain and, imminent, 176; declares war against Great Britain, 185; expedition of, against Ireland, sails from Brest, 455; failure of expedition of, against Ireland, 456.

François, Cap, 231; 236; 244; 246.

FRANKLIN, Benjamin, on French occupation of Canada, 102; receives note from Admiral Howe, 275; bitter reply of, 275; Howe's comment on, 275.

_Franklin_, ship, 406.

FREDERICK the Great, 260.

Free ports, Great Britain institutes, in West Indies, 169; effect of, 169; Rodney's report concerning, 169; 170.

French Navy, _see Navy, French_.

French, the, their part in development of tactical science, 13; seamen mobbed in Boston, 282; land in Egypt, 404.

Galley fighting, its superiority in effectiveness to that in sailing vessels, 7; its decline, 8; its traditions linger, 8.

GARDNER, Lord, 265.

GEARY, Francis, Hawke's advice to, 146.

GEORGE I., King of England, stands sponsor for infant Rodney, 148.

GEORGE II., King of England, takes knowledge of Hawke, 84.

GEORGE III., King of England, conversation of, with Earl St. Vincent, 287.

Gibraltar, Rooke's capture of, 16; Byng retires to, 105; Hawke reaches, 105; Boscawen returns to, 133; De la Clue near, 133; 187; joy at, over Rodney's victory off Cape St. Vincent, 193, 194; 269; Howe's relief of, 288-295; Jervis at relief of, 331; 346; 348; three ships wrecked at, 350; Saumarez convoys prizes to, 409; 410; Saumarez withdraws from Algeciras to, 416; Exmouth joins Dutch fleet at, 468.

_Gibraltar_, ship, injured on a reef, 350.

_Glorieux_, ship, 239.

Great Britain, declares war against France, 105; institutes free ports in Jamaica, 169; effect of this movement, 169; foreign policy of, enfeebled, 172; on verge of rupture with Spain over Falkland Islands incident, 172; war between France and, imminent, 176; pensions daughters of Maréchal Biron, 180; declares war against Holland, 217; Napoleon seeks to exclude commerce of, 413.

Great Britain, Navy of, _see Navy of Great Britain_.

Greenwich Hospital, Palliser appointed to governorship of, 182.

Grenada, captured by British, 159.

Gros Ilet Bay, 235.

Guadaloupe, 237; 238; 243; 245.

Guernsey, Island, James Saumarez born on, 383; later years of Saumarez at, 427.

HALLOWELL, Captain, 352; eccentric response of, to Jervis, 353.

_Hannibal_, ship, loss of, at Algeciras, 416; 418; re-anchors at Algeciras, 419.

Havana, Rodney at fall of, 166; loss of, embitters Spain, 171.

Havre, Rodney operates against, 158.