Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

42

SURRENDER OF THE FRENCH. CH. XXXVII.

the French General, on the appearance of the English troops, offered to surrender upon terms. But he was peremptorily required to surrender at discretion; and in obedience to this summons early the next morning, the Frenchman laid down his arms. Such was the inglorious and somewhat ridiculous close of an invasion which lasted little more than twenty-four hours. Had Tate risked an action, it is hardly possible that the handful of militia opposed to him could have maintained their ground. But the alarm had spread; regular troops would soon have assembled in overwhelming numbers, and the small body of foreigners must, in their turn, have yielded to superior numbers, and to discipline equal to their own. According to his own statement to Lord Cawdor, Tate was determined to surrender by various reasons. He was disappointed at the want of co-operation from the country people which he had been led to expect, from the representations made to the Directory by Price of Bristol, and other persons among the dissenting interest, of the disaffected state of the population in the west of England: he was harassed by the jealousy and intrigues of Le Brun, his second in command; and by the mutinous state of his troops, already demoralised by plunder, and enraged at the desertion of the ships. These were the reasons which the French brigadier assigned for declining a conflict which, whatever might have been its immediate result, could only have caused a useless effusion of blood. Another reason has been mentioned for the hasty capitulation of the French. It is said they were frightened by an army of Welsh women in red cloaks and round hats, whom they mistook for soldiers; a tale which would have been unworthy of notice, had it not passed into popular belief. It is possible that among the crowd of peasantry which assembled in the rear of Lord Cawdor's column, the country-women in their national

1796

NAVAL ARMAMENT OF SPAIN.

43

costume might have gathered on the distant heights; but the soldiers of Hoche, and the brave Bretons who had fought at Quiberon and followed Charette, were not so easily alarmed; even if such an absurd mistake could for, a moment have been made, a fieldglass would at once have betrayed the real character of Lord Cawdor's imaginary reserve. To complete the failure of this expedition, the frigates which conveyed it to the Welsh coast were captured on their return to Brest.*

A few days before Tate and his little band of adventurers sailed from Brest, the great Spanish fleet of twenty-seven sail of the line and ten frigates, under Don Joseph de Cordova, put to sea.

The

‹ Santissima Trinidada,' mounting four decks and one hundred and thirty-six guns, the largest ship of war that had ever been built, and six other ships of the first rate, formed part of this mighty armada. When the Spaniard sailed from the port of Carthagena, a British squadron of nine sail, under Sir John Jervis, was cruising in the Mediterranean. But before he came in sight of the enemy, Jervis was reinforced by five sail of the line under Parker, and, what was of hardly less importance, was joined by Commodore Nelson, with his ship, bringing exact information as to the strength and position of the enemy. The

* A letter appeared in the Times newspaper of December 19, 1859, signed Edward Tate, and dated from Leicester Square, professing to vindicate the memory of the writer's relative from imputation on account of this prompt surrender.

The letter

was fictitious; it was from the pen of a distinguished correspondent of the journal. In addition to the ordinary sources of information, I have, by the kindness of the Hon. George Denman, been enabled to refer

to an authentic account of this transaction, in the 'Journal of a Nobleman,' privately printed by Mr. Brettel, of Rupert Street. The journalist was the late Duke of Rutland, who derived his information from Lord Cawdor, when on a visit at Stackpole Court, shortly after the invasion. The present Earl Cawdor has also kindly furnished me with some facts, and referred me to a letter which the late Earl addressed to the Times in December, 1859.

44

DEFEAT OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT.

CH. XXXVII.

object of the Spaniard was to effect a junction with the French and Dutch fleets at Brest and the Texel, in which event the British Channel would have been swept by seventy sail of the line. To intercept this formidable movement was a service of such urgent importance, that notwithstanding the enemy outnumbered him by twelve ships and twelve hundred guns, Jervis, with Nelson at his side, determined to fight. Accordingly, during the night of the 13th of February, the British fleet was prepared for action, and at daybreak the next morning, the long line of the Spanish fleet was seen off Cape St. Vincent. Before they could form in close order, Jervis bore down upon them, and, by a feat of consummate seamanship, succeeded in separating one-third of the Spanish ships, and excluding them from any share in the action which ensued. The conflict raged from half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon until five in the afternoon, when four of the Spanish ships struck; but the nine ships, which had been cut off in the morning, having by this time regained the line, Cordova was in a condition to continue or resume the engagement had he thought fit. But the Spanish Commander, unwilling to risk further loss, retired into the port of Cadiz.

Loss of the

The English loss was three hundred; that of the Spanish six hundred and three. Nelson English. bore the most conspicuous part in this brilliant affair. At one time, his ship, the 'Captain,' a seventy-four, was engaged with the Santissima Trinidada,' and five other ships of the line. Trowbridge, Collingwood, and Frederick, gallantly supported him; but the 'Captain' was battered to a wreck. Nelson finished the day by boarding the 'San Josef,' of one hundred and twelve guns, and receiving the sword of the captain on his own quarter-deck.

This exploit, so honourable to British seamanship and valour, was welcomed with the pride and exul

1796.

MUTINY OF THE FLEET.

Peerage and

Jervis.

45

tation which England never fails to bestow on the achievements of her favourite service. Admiral Jervis was raised to the peerage, pension of with the rank of Earl, and the proud title of St. Vincent. A pension of three thousand pounds a year was also conferred upon him. Nelson was rewarded with the Order of the Bath. The thanks of both Houses, and of the principal cities in the kingdom, were given to Earl St. Vincent, and the fleet under his command. A liberal provision was also made, by subscription, for the widows and orphans of the brave seamen who fell in the performance of their duty.

complaint.

Hardly had the rejoicing for the victory of St. Vincent begun to subside, when the country Anonymous was imperilled by an event far more alarm- letters of ing than any danger which was to be apprehended from the foreign enemy, or from domestic treason. Early in March, Lord Howe, who commanded the Channel fleet, received several anonymous communications, drawn up in the form of petitions, praying for redress of grievances, and purporting to come from the seamen of the fleet. These papers, being all couched in the same terms, the Board of Admiralty agreed with Lord Howe, and the principal officers of the fleet, that they were the work of some mischievous individual, and unworthy of notice. But it soon transpired, that a conspiracy had been formed among the crews at Spithead, to place the officers under restraint, and to take possession of the ships. No sooner was the intelligence communicated to the Admiralty than an order was sent, by telegraph, to put to sea. Accordingly, Lord Bridport, who commanded in the absence of Earl Howe, made the signal to weigh anchor. This signal, it had been agreed, should be the signal for the commencement of the mutiny. Three cheers were given by the crew of the 'Queen Charlotte,' the flag-ship, and

46

DEMANDS OF THE MUTINEERS. CH. XXXVII.

instead of mustering at the capstan, they ran up the shrouds. Their example was instantly followed by every ship in the fleet, and not an anchor was lifted. The commands and remonstrances of the officers were wholly disregarded; all authority was at an end. The next day, delegates from every ship in the fleet took possession of the cabin of the flag-ship; the obnoxious officers were sent on shore, and ropes were run out at the fore-yard-arm by way of intimidation. The first act of the delegates was to draw up a petition to the House of Commons. They desired the repeal of the Act of Charles the Second, which fixed their wages on a scale that had undergone a depreciation of thirty per cent. from the original standard. They complained that Lord Howe had disregarded their representations, and they pointed out some particulars wherein the army and militia seemed to have advantages in respect of pensions and allowances. This petition was signed by two men from each of the ships at Spithead. A petition, entering more fully into their grievances, was, at the same time, addressed, by the same parties, to the Board of Admiralty. In this paper, they demanded a re-adjustment of wages, in conformity with the present value of money; that their provisions should be of better quality and full weight; that they should be supplied with fresh bread and vegetables when in port; that the sick should be better cared for, and that the necessaries provided for them should not be misappropriated; that they should be allowed more liberty to go on shore; that when a man was disabled from duty by wounds received in action, his pay should not be stopped. And they concluded by limiting their grievances to these heads, that their countrymen might be convinced they asked nothing which might not be granted without detriment to the nation, or injury to the service.

These demands must be considered, in the main,

« AnteriorContinuar »