'-•It \ t m UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 3 1822 00662 6444 A ==^^ t" A ^^^^ o r ^^^^ CO -. UTH - J ' 8 ION 8 ^ f 8 IBR/ 11 3 ■ -< 7 ^= r-, i TY OP 4>4 »IC*0 \0 l^-fio I|||"lliiriHffil9S,Pf)t,"^0RNIA, SAN D 3 1822 00662 6444 p\ tn-i CI A3 ^ DA 87.1 C7 A3 1928 V .1 / (LuT'h \::>^rt Co 1 1 1 n^^o^^ Co/ll n^M^M^' /■/ SELECTION FROM THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF VICE-ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD : INTERSPERSED WITH MEMOIRS OF HIS LIFE. By G. L. NEWNHAM COLLINGWOOD, ESQ. F.R.S. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: JAMES RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY. M.DCCC.XXVIII. TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CLARENCE, LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF GREAT BRITAIN, Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. SIR, The permission which Your Royal Highness has been graciously plea- sed to give me, to insert in this Volume Your Royal Highness's Letters to Lord CoLLiNGwooD, deuiauds from me the most public acknowledgment of my gratitude : and as there is no one to whom a Work containing the Memoirs of an eminent Naval Officer can be so properly dedicated as to Your Royal Highness, I venture to VI DEDICATION. inscribe it to Your Royal Highness, and respectfully to solicit for it your countenance and protection. Your Royal Highness was pleased to distinguish Lord Collingwood by your friendship, although he never had the ho- nour of being personally presented to you : but many of his friends remember how he used to repeat what he had heard from Lord Nelson and Captain Wilfred Col- lingwood, that no Ship in the English Navy was ever conducted in a more able and Officer-like manner than that which Your Royal Highness commanded ; and how often he expressed his concern that more frequent opportunities had not been afforded for the display of Your Royal HiGiiNEss's activity and talent. No one, therefore, can doubt the cordiality with wliicli Ivurd Collingwood, if his life had been spared to the present time, would have partaken in tlic satisfaction and pride with wliich every member and lover of the British DEDICATION. V Navy now behold Your RoVai. Highness placed at the head of that noble Profession, through all the gradations of which Your Royal Highness has passed with honour, and to the promotion of whose interest and glory you are so truly devoted. I have the honour to be, with profound respect, SIR, Your Royal Highness's Most obliged And obedient humble Servant, G. L. NEWNHAM COLLINGWOOD. Moor-House, Hawkhurst, December 5, 1827. CONTENTS THE FIRST VOLUME. LETTER PAGE 1. To the Editor of a Naval Publication, containing the Narrative of Lord CoUingvvood's earlier Service . . 8 1785. 2. From Captain Nelson 12 1786. 3. From the Same to Captain Locker 13 1787. 4. From the Same, on the Death of Captain Wilfred Collingwood Ig 5. To Mr. Lane, on the Duties of a young Officer 18 1792. 6. To Captain Nelson 22 1794. 7. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Action of the 1st of June 25 8. From Rear-Admiral Sir George Bowyer, to Admiral Roddam, on Captain Collingwood's Conduct .... 32 CONTENTS. LETTER PAGE 1795. 9. From Captain Nelson 33 1796. 10. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 35 1 1 . From Captain Nelson 37 12. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 38 13. To the Same 42 14. To the Same 44 1797. 15. To Mrs. Collingwood, on the Victory off Cape St. Vincent 46 16. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Same 50 1 7. From Commodore Nelson 55 18. To Commodore Nelson 56 19. From Captain Dacres 57 20. From the Honourable Admiral Waldegrave 58 21. To J. E. Blackett, Esq ib. 21.* To the Same 59 22. From Earl Spencer, transmitting the two Medals for the 1st of June and 14th of February 62 23. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Mutiny at the Nore. . ib. Lord Collingwood's Opinions and Practice with respect to Discipline and Corporal Punishment . . Q5 24. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 81 1798. • 25. To the Same 83 26. To the Same 87 27. To the Same 89 28. To the Same 92 29. To Sir H. Nelson, on the Victory of the Nile 96 30. To Captain Ball 98 31. To .1. E. Blackett, E.^i 101 CONTENTS. xi LETTER ' PAGE 1799. 32. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 101 Captain Collingwood raised to the Rank of Rear- Admiral 103 33. To the Same 104 34. To the Same 1 05 35. To the Same, on Education of Boys for the Sea Service ib. " 1800. 36. To the Same 107 37. To the Same 108 38. To the Same 1 09 39. To the Same 110 1801. 40. To the Same Ill 41. To the Same 112 42. From Lord Nelson 114 43. To J. E. Blackett, Esq ib. 44. To the Same 115 45. To the Same 117 46. To the Same, on receiving the News of the Peace of Amiens, and on Education of Boys for Sea . . ib. 47. To the Same 121 1802. 48. To the Same 122 Admiral CoUingwood's Occupations during the Peace of Amiens ib. 1803. 49. To J. E. Blackett, Esq., on the Command of the In-shore Squadron, off Brest 124 50. To the Same 127 xii CONTENTS. LETTEU PAGE 51. To J. E. Blackctt, Es(i 128 1804. 52. To the Same 129 53. To the Same 130 54. To the Same 131 55. To the Same 132 1805. 56. To the Same 134 57. From Lord Nelson 13G 58. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 137 On Napoleon's Project for the Invasion of England. 138 59. From Lord Nelson 142 60. From the Same 143 61. To Lord Nelson 145 62. P'rom Lord Nelson 146 63. To J. E. Blackett, Esq ,.. 147 64. To Mrs. Collingwood 148 Admiral Collingwood, with three Sail of the Line, blockades the Combined Fleet of thirty-six, in Cadiz 149 65. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 150 66. From Lord Nelson 153 67. From the Same ib. 68. From the Same 1 54 69. To Lord Nelson 155 70. From Lord Nelson ib. 7 1 . From the Same 157 72. From the Same 158 73. From the Same ib. 74. From the Same „ 159 75. From the Same ib. 76. Admiral CoUingwood's Despatch on the Battle of Trafalgar 160 CONTENTS. xiii lETTER PAGE Admiral CoUingwood's Personal Conduct in the Battle 167 Plan of the Battle 174 General Orders 177, 179 77. To W. Marsden, Esq ib. 78. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 182 79. To W. Marsden, Esq 188 80. From the Marquis de la Solana 192 8 1 . From the Same 200 82. From the Same 201 83. To Admiral Alava ,., ib. 84. From Admiral Alava 202 85. To the Marquis de la Solana 205 86. From the Marquis de la Solana 206 87. To Lord Barham 207 88. To the Same 209 89. From Col. Taylor, Private Secretary to His Majesty George III., to W. Marsden, Esq 212 90. From H. R. H. the Duke of Clarence 213 Admiral Collingwood's Elevation to the Peerage . 214 91. To Lady CoUingwood 215 92. To Lord Barham 217 93. To H. R. H. the Duke of Clarence 219 94. To Lord Radstock 222 95. To Lady CoUingwood 223 96. From Colonel Taylor, to W. Marsden, Esq 224 97. To Lady Colhngwood 225 1806. 98. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 228 99. To the Hon. Capt. Blackwood 231 State of Europe at the time when Lord CoUingwood succeeded to the Chief Command in the Mediter- ranean 232—241 100. From the Queen of Naples 241 101. To General Sir James Craig, K.B 242 xiv CONTENTS. LETTER PAGE 102. To Lord Barham 244 103. From the Dey of Algiers 246 104. To Lord Barham 247 105. To Lady Collingwood 248 106. From the King of Naples 249 107. From Sir John Acton 251 108. To the Queen of Naples 253 109. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq 254 1 10. From the King of Naples 256 111. To Lady Collingwood 258 11-2. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 259 113. To tJie King of Naples 261 1 14. To Lord Radstock 263 115. To the Dey of Algiers 265 1 16. To Lady Collingwood 268 117. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq 270 118. To Lord Barham 271 1 19. To Lady Collingwood 274 120. To the Right Honourable C. Grey 276 121. To Lady Collingwood 278 122. From the French Admiral Rossily 281 123. To Lord Barham 282 124. From the Emperor of Morocco to the King 285 125. To the Right Honourable Charles Grey 287 126. From Lord Nelson to Lord Strangford 289 1 27. To Lord Robert Fitzgerald 292 128. To Lady Collingwood 295 129. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 297 1 30. To the King of Naples 300 131. To Sir John Acton 301 132. To the Right Honourable C. Arbuthnot 304 1 33. To Lady Collingwood 305 134. To the Right Honourable William Windham 308 1 35. From the King of Naples 310 1 36. To Lord ILulstock 311 J 37. From Sir John Acton 313 CONTENTS. XV LETTER p,VGE 138. To Lady CoUingwood, on the Education of their Children 314 139. To Lord Howick 318 140. To Lord Radstock 320 141. To the Right Honourable W. Windham 322 1 42. To His Excellency Hugh Elliott, Esq 323 143. To Lady CoUingwood 325 144. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 327 145. To Lord Howick 329 146. To Rear- Admiral Sir W. Sidney Smith 331 147. To Lord Radstock 335 148. To Lady CoUingwood 337 149. To Lord Howick 339 150. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 34I 151. To Lord Howick 343 152. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 344 153. To Lady CoUingwood 345 154. To Sir W. Sidney Smith 348 155. To Lord Radstock 35O 156. To J. E. Blackett, Esq 353 State of Turkey and Sir John Duckworth's Expe- dition to Constantinople 353 4s 4h^ 1 L L L... l. 'L.. Ly- 4k.... >-4^: CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF LORD COLLINGWOOD. Few persons are unacquainted with the part which Lord CoUingwood bore in some of the most memorable naval triumphs of the last war ; and among the members of his own profession, his almost unrivalled skill as a seaman, and his general talents for command, will long be remembered with admiration : but as he was a man of retired habits, and passed the greater part of his life at sea, the Public at large have not had sufficient means of appreciating the high qualities and attainments by which he was distinguished. It has, therefore, been deemed advisable to collect into the present volume some of his private Letters, and such parts of his public correspondence as have now become matters of history. VOL. I. B 2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OV In the later years of the war, the glorious victories of the Army under their illustrious Commander, and the reduced state of the fleets of France, contributed to withdraw the public attention from the Navy: but it is still the favourite service of every English- man ; and we must ever regard it with delight and pride, not only as it is our invincible safeguard in war, but as it is the nurse of a class of men, who, whether as officers or seamen, display their habitual contempt of danger, and their manly, frank, and generous spirit in a manner the most marked and cha- racteristic. It cannot, therefore, be unin- teresting to have the opportunity of observing their conduct and sentiments, as well in the moments of victory, as in those more trying scenes of privation and fatigue to which, in the late war, they were exposed, to a degree till then unknown. For a long period of our naval history, the large ships only kept the sea during the summer months, and returned into port at the commencement of the autumnal gales ; and even as late as the middle of the last war, one of the most gallant and distinguished of the officers who are left to us, having been absent from ))oit, as he told the Editor, for LORD COLLINGWOOD. three months, was considered to have put the health and perseverance of his crew to a severe and unusual trial. But the length and hardship of Lord Collingwood's service are without any parallel. Of fifty years, during which he continued in the Navy, about forty-four were passed in active em- ployment abroad : and in the eventful times, from 1793 till his death in 1810, he was only for one year in England, and for the remainder was principally engaged in tedious blockades, rarely visiting a port ; and on one occasion actually kept the sea for the almost incredible space of twenty-two months, without once dropping his anchor. It was during this period that the majority of the Letters were written ; and they display so much devotion to his Country, so high a tone of feeling on all occasions, and such proofs of the freshness and purity of his do- mestic affections, and of the tenderness with which his mind was perpetually turning to- wards that home which he was not destined to revisit, that (although they were only intended for the eyes of those to whom they were addressed, and do not appear to have been even read over for the correction of the clerical and other accidental inaccuracies 4 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF whicli occur in hasty composition) the Editor has resolved to hiy them before the Public, in the confident belief that few occasions will ever be found of presenting to the Navy, and the world at large, a more perfect example of an English Sailor. Lord Collingwood's Family is of con- siderable distinction and antiquity in the county of Northumberland, having given to it knights and sheriffs during the last three centuries. It was connected by many honour- able alliances; of which it is sufficient to mention the marriage, in 1627, of his great- great-grandfather, Ralph Collingwood, of East Ditchburne, with the niece of Anthony, Earl of Kent, the seventh in descent from Joan Plantagenet, the fair Maid of Kent, who was grand-daughter to King Edward the First, and wife, first to the Black Prince, and after- wards to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent.* * It is somewhat curious, and may throw a little doubt on the completer pedigrees of some families less dis- tinguished than that of the Earls of Kent, that no record appears to iiave been made of the names of the sister, mother, or grandmother of Earl Anthony, although his great-grandmother was a daughter of an Earl of Pem- broke, the next of an Earl of Northumberland, the next of tin- Duke of Exeter, tlie next of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and tlic next the fair Maid of Kent. LORD COLLING WOOD. 5 His ancestors are said to have early dis- tinguished themselves in the border wars, and at different times suffered greatly from the indulgence of their martial spirit. In 1585, one of them, Sir Cutlibert CoUingwood, was, together with the lord warden, and other knights and nobles, taken prisoner by the Scots, and is thus celebrated by a Scottish bard : — " But if ye wald a souldier search Among them a' were ta'en that night, What name sae wordie to put in verse. As CoUingwood, that courteous knight?" His great-grandfather, Cuthbert CoUing- wood, of East Ditchburne, taking up arms for This descent, however, is proved by the following copy of an extract from the register of the parish of Eglingham, Northumberland, in which East Ditchburne is situated, transmitted to Mr. Forster, a relation of the CoUingwood Family, by the Vicar, in a letter now in the Editor's possession : — " June 8th, 1686. Buried Mrs. Dorothy CoUingwood, " widow ; mother of Mr. Cuthbert CoUingwood, of Ditch- •' burne. Her mother was one of the sisters of the Rev. " and Right Hon. Anthony Grey, Clerk, Rector of Bur- " bage, and Earle of Kent. " A true copy." (Witness) " CHARLES STODDART, Vicar." " Eglingham, March 12, 173i" O COIlRESl*()NDENCK AND MEMOIR OF Charles the First, lost large estates in the county of Durham, from the confiscation of the prevailing party ; and in later times, the head of the Family, Mr. George Collingwood, of Eslington, led by the same attachment to the House of Stuart, and by the per- suasion of the relations of his wife, a daughter of Lord Montague, engaged in the rebellion of 1715, and, being taken prisoner, was put to death, and his lands were forfeited to the crown. " Your account of Ralph of Ditchburne," says Lord Collingwood in a letter to Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King at Arms, when writing on the subject of his Peerage, "is, I believe, " quite correct. That Ralph, I am led to " think, was a collateral branch of the family " of Eslington ; for I have heard from the ^' Forsters, who knew more of the Family " than any body, that when Eslington was " forfeited to the crown, my grandfather was " much blamed in the county for not en- " deavouring to get the estate transferred to " him, which it was thought, on a proper " a])plication to the King, would have been " done, as he was loyal, and the next male in " succession to it." From these and other circumstances, by which the principal re- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 7 maining possessions of the Family had passed to a younger branch, Lord Collingwood's father found himself reduced to a very mo- derate fortune, with which he settled at Newcastle on Tyne ; and marrying Milcah, daughter and co-heir of Reginald Dobson, of Barwess, in the county of Westmoreland, Esquire, had by her three sons and three daughters. Cuthbert, the eldest son, was born on the 26th September, 1750, and was sent to a school in Newcastle, kept by the Rev. Hugh Moises ; where he found, among other boys natives of the town, the two distinguished brothers, the present Lord Chancellor and Lord Stowell, one of whom still speaks of remembering Cuthbert Collingwood as a pretty and gentle boy. He was placed in the Navy when he was only eleven years old, under the care of Captain, afterwards Ad- miral Brathwaite, who was the son of his mo- ther's sister. He used to tell, as an instance of his youth and simplicity when he first went to sea, that as he was sitting crying for his separation from home, the first Lieutenant observed him ; and pitying the tender years of the poor child, spoke to him in terms of much encouragement and kindness, which. 8 COllKESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF as Lord Collingwood said, so won upon his lieart, that, taking this officer to his hox, he offered him in gratitude a large piece of plum- cake which his mother had given him. Of his earlier service few records remain beyond the modest narrative which he com- municated to the Editor of a naval publi- cation, when the Victory of Trafalgar had rendered him the object of public attention. SIR, Queen, at Sea, January 7, 1806. Although I have every desire to comply with your wishes, I find great difficulty in writing any thing about myself, that can be either very interesting or enter- taining to the public. My life has indeed been a continued service at sea, but unmarked by any of those extraordinary events, or bril- liant scenes, which hold men up to particular attention, and distinguish them from the number of officers who are zealous and anxious for the public good. I went into the Navy at a very early ])eriod of my life, in the year 1761, in the Shannon, under the protection and care of a kind friend and relation, the late Admiral Brathwaite ; to whose regard for me, and to tlie interest which he took in whatever LORD COIJJNCiWOOI). 9 related to my improvement in nautical knowledge, I owe great obligations. I served with him for many years, and afterwards with my friend Admiral Roddam. In 1774 I went to Boston with Admiral Graves, and in 1775 was made a Lieutenant by him, on the day that the battle was fought at Bunker's Hill, where I was with a party of seamen supplying the army with what was necessary to them. In 1776 I went to Jamaica as Lieutenant of the Hornet sloop ; and soon after, the LowestofFe, of which Lord Nelson was Lieutenant, came to the same station. We had been long before in habits of great friendship ; and it happened here, that as Admiral Sir P. Parker, the Commander-in- Chief, was the friend of both, whenever Lord Nelson got a step in rank, I succeeded him : first in the LowestofFe, then in the Badger, into which ship I was made Commander in 1779, and afterwards in the Hinchinbroke, a 28-gun frigate, which made us both Post Captains. The Hinchinbroke was, in the spring of 1780, employed on an expedition to the Spanish main, where it was proposed to pass into the South Sea, by a navigation of boats along the river San Juan, and the lakes Nicaragua and Leon. The plan was 10 CCmilESrONDENCE AND MKMOIll OF formed Avithout a sufficient knowledge of tlie country, which presented difficulties not to be surmounted by human skill or per- severance. It was dangerous to proceed on the river, from the rapidity of the current, and the numerous falls over rocks which intercepted the navigation ; the climate too was deadly, and no constitution could resist its effects. At San Juan I joined the Hinchin- broke, and succeeded Lord Nelson, who was promoted to a larger ship ; but he had re- ceived the infection of the climate before he went from the port, and had a fever, from which he could not recover until he quitted his ship and went to England. My constitu- tion resisted many attacks, and I survived most of my ship's company, having buried in four months 180 of the SOO who com- posed it. Mine was not a singular case, for every ship that was long there suffered in the same degree. The transports' men all died, and some of the ships, having none left to take care of them, sunk in the harbour : but transport-ships were not wanted, for the troops whom they had l)rought, were no more ; they had fallen, not by the hand of an enemy, but from the contagion of the climate. From this scene 1 was relieved in August 1780, and in LORD COLLINGWOOD. 11 the December following was appointed to the command of the Pelican, a small frigate of 34 guns. In August in the following year there was a severe hurricane, in which she was wrecked, being cast on the rocks of the Morant Keys in the middle of a most tremendous night. The next day, with great difficulty, the ship's company got on shore, on rafts made of the small and broken yards ; and upon those sandy islands, with little food, we remained ten days, until a boat went to Jamaica, and the Diamond frigate came and took us off. The next ship I commanded was the Sampson, of 64 guns ; and when at the peace of 1783 she was paid off, I was appointed to the Mediator, and went to the West Indies, where, with Lord Nelson, who then com- manded the Boreas on the same station, 1 remained until the latter end of 1786. During this period, he and his brother, Captain Wilfred Collingwood, who com- manded the Rattler, co-operated actively with Captain Nelson in carrying into exe- cution the provisions of the navigation laws, which had been violated by the citizens of the United States, who, notwithstanding their 12 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF separation from this Country, continued to trade to the ^Vest Indian colonies, although by law that privilege was exclusively confined to British subjects. These officers accord- ingly seized all the vessels which they found engaged in this illicit traffic, in spite of the vigorous opposition of the English planters, who were interested in its continuance; and for the part which Captain Nelson took on this occasion, he was afterwards much har- rassed by arrests and suits at law. As it is interesting to preserve the earlier records of the friendship which so long and so honour- ably subsisted between Lord Collingwood and him, some of his letters on this subject are inserted here. Boreas, English Harbour, Sept. 28, 1785. MY DEAR COLL. Although I am really half dead, yet 1 will not suffer Latona to sail without answering my good friend's letter, w^ere it only to shew, that whatever civil prosecutions may be carried on against officers in the exe- cution of their duty, ministers will afford them the ])rotection they stand in need of: it is a great consolation to officers who mean to serve their Country faithfully. Wilfred LORD COLLINGWOOD. 13 left me a letter to send to Barbadoes, which he had better have kept, as I find he is gone there. I have had letters from Mr. Suckling, who belongs to the Custom House. He is a person who has been in that office since a boy, and is consulted in all doubtful cases relative to the Board. His letter is as follows : — I am sorry the conduct of some people where you are stationed should compel you to exer- cise that authority which the legislative power has so wisely reposed with the Navy for the protection of navigation. I have spoken to our solicitor in regard to your proceedings : he is clearly of opinion you are warranted in your seizure of the ships ; and he says you need not apprehend but that you will be effectually supported, and the business taken up very seriously, as soon as the Irish matters are settled. — By this account, we know the mind thej^ are of at home. I can't write more. Bless you. My head is so bad. Farewell. HORATIO NELSON. In a letter to Captain Locker, dated March, 1786, he says, — What an amiable good man Collingwood is ; he is a valuable member of society. You accuse me too justly 14 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF of not writing, but really for the last year I have been plagued to death. Had it not been for CoUino-wood this station would have been the most disagreeable I ever saw. It was near the hurricane months when I arrived in this country, consequently nothing could be done until they were over in November, when the squadron arrived at Barbadoes, and the ships Avere to be sent to the different islands, with only orders to examine the an- chorages, and whether there was wood and water. This did not appear to me the intent of placing men-of-war on this station in peaceable times ; therefore I asked Colling- wood to go with me to the Admiral, for his sentiments and mine were exactly similar. I then asked him (Sir Richard Hughes), if we were not to attend to the commerce of our Country, and to take care that the British trade was kept in those channels which the navigation laws pointed out. He answered, he had no orders, nor had the Admiralty sent him any Acts of Parliament. I told him it was very odd, as every Captain of a man-of-war was furnished with the sta- tutes of the Admiralty, in which was the Navigation Act, whicli was directed to Ad- mirals, ('aptains, &rc., to see it carried into LORD COLLINGWOOU. 15 execution. He said he had never seen the book ; but having produced and read the laws to him, he seemed convinced that men- of-war were sent abroad for some other pur- pose than to be made a show of. He then gave orders to all the squadron to see the Navigation Act carried into execution. In December, to my astonishment, an order came from the Admiral, telling us he had received good advice, and requiring us not to hinder the Americans from coming in and having free egress and regress, if the Governor chose to allow them ; and a copy was enclosed of the orders he had sent to the Governors and Presidents of the islands. General Shirley and others began by sending letters, not far different from orders, that they should admit them in such and such situations, and telling me the Admiral had left it to them. Mr. I soon trimmed up, and silenced. Sir Richard Hughes' was a more delicate business. I must either dis- obey my orders, or disobey Acts of Parliament; and I determined on the former, trusting to the uprightness of my intention, and that my Country would not allow me to be ruined by protecting her commerce 16 rOKRESrOXDEXCE AND MEMOUl OF Captain Wilfred Collingwood was the principal director in this affair, whicli, as his hrother was used to say, he understood much better than any of them. lie was early lost to the service, and the account of his death was thus communicated by Captain Nelson: — Boreas, Nevis, Mai/ 3, 1787. MY DEAR COLLINGWOOD, To be the messenger of bad news is my misfortune, but still it is a tribute which friends owe each other. I have lost my friend, — you an affectionate brother ; too great a zeal in serving his Country hast- ened his end. The greatest consolation the survivor can receive, is a thorough knowledge of a life spent with honour to himself, and of service to his Country. If the tribute of tears be valuable, my friend had it. The esteem he stood in with His Royal Highness* was great. His letter to me on his death is the strongest testimony of it. I send you an extract from it. ' Col- ' lingwood, poor fellow, is no more. I have * cried for him ; and most sincerely do I * The Duke of Clarence. l,OUl) CH)l,IJi\C.WO()D. 17 * condole with you on Lis loss. In him His * Majesty has lost a faithful servant, and the ' service a most excellent officer.' — A testi- mony of regard so honourable is more to be coveted than any thing this world could have affiarded, and must be a balm to his surviving friends. The Rattler had been refitting at English Harbour, and, when I arrived there in the middle of April, Wilfred was a little complaining, but I did not think at first any thing dangerous was to be apprehended. But in a few days I perceived he was in a rapid decline. Dr. Young told me to send him to sea, as the only chance. He sailed on the Tuesday for Grenada, where I was in hopes, could he have reached Mr. Hume's, some fortunate circumstance might turn out ; but it pleased God to order it otherwise. On Friday the 21st April, at ten at night, he left this life without a groan or struggle. The ship put into St. Vincent's, where he was interred with all military honours ; the regiment, president, and council, attending him to the grave. I mention this circum- stance, to shew the respect for his character. It is a credit to the people of St. Vincent's, which I did not think they would have de- served. Adieu, my good friend, and be VOL. I. c 18 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF assured I am, with the truest regard, your aiFectionate friend, HORATIO NELSON. It is not the intention of the Editor to make many observations upon the Letters of Lord Collingwood, for he is satisfied that they can require no commentary of his ; but he cannot refrain from caUing the attention of such younger officers of the Navy as may read these pages, to the following Letter, that they may see how early he adopted, and how strongly he recommended to others, those high and honourable rules of conduct by which, without fortune or interest, he ultimately won his way to the highest rank and honours of his profession. DEAR LANE, London, Nov. 1, 1787. It gives me great pleasure to find by your letter that your situation is agreeable to you, and I hope it will always be so. You may depend on it, that it is more in your own power than in any one else's to promote both your comfort and ad- vancement. A strict and unwearied atten- tion to your duty, and a complaisant and respectful behaviour, not only to your su- LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 19 periors, but to every body, will ensure you their regard, and the reward will surely come, and I hope soon, in the shape of pre- ferment : but if it should not, I am sure you have too much good sense to let disappoint- ment sour you. Guard carefully against letting discontent appear in you ; it is sorrow to your friends, a triumph to your competitors, and cannot be productive of any good. Con- duct yourself so as to deserve the best that can come to you ; and the consciousness of your own proper behaviour will keep you in spirits, if it should not come. Let it be your ambition to be foremost on all duty. Do not be a nice observer of turns, but for ever pre- sent yourself ready for every thing, and if your officers are not very inattentive men, they will not allow the others to impose more duty on you than they should : but I never knew one who was exact not to do more than his share of duty, who would not neglect that, when he could do so without fear of punishment. I need not say more to you on the subject of sobriety, than to re- commend to you the continuance of it as exactly as when you were with me. Every day affords you instances of the evils arising from drunkenness. Were a man as wise as 20 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF Solomon, and as brave as Achilles, he would still be unworthy of trust if he addicted himself to grog. He may make a drudge, but a respectable officer he can never be ; for the doubt must always remain, that the capacity which God has given him will be abused by intemperance. Young men are generally introduced to this vice by the com- pany they keep : but do you carefully guard against ever submitting yourself to be the companion of low, vulgar, and dissipated men ; and hold it as a maxim, that you had better be alone than in mean company. Let your companions be such as yourself, or superior ; for the worth of a man will always be ruled by that of his company. You do not find pigeons associate with hawks, or lambs with bears ; and it is as unnatural for a good man to be the companion of black- guards. Read — let me charge you to read. Study books that treat of your profession, and of history. Study Faulkner's Dictionary, and borrow, if you can, books which describe the West Indies, and compare what you find there with your own observation. Thus employed, you will always be in good com- pany. Nature has sown in man the seeds of knowledge ; but they must be cultivated, to IX)KD COLLING WOOD. 21 produce fruit. Wisdom does not come by instinct, but will be found when diligently sought for ; seek her, she will be a friend that will never fail you. You see I am writing to you as one very much interested for your welfare ; receive it as a proof that I shall always have pleasure in hearing of your success. Give my best respects to Captain Brown. I am infinitely obliged to him for the favour he did me in taking you ; and I hope you are shewing your gratitude to him by your best exertions. Remember, Lane, before you are five and twenty, you must establish a character that will serve you all your life. I hear Bennet, my dear boy Bennet, is with you at Jamaica : if he is, remember me kindly to him ; cultivate his friendship, for he is a sensible and an ho- nourable young man. I wish you good health ; and be assured of the regard of, my dear Lane, your sincere friend. From 1786 to 1790, continues Lord Col- lingwood, in the narrative from which an extract has already been made, I was in Northumberland, making my acquaintance with my own family, to whom I had hitherto been, as it were, a stranger. In 1790, an 22 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF armament was prepared against Spain, and I was appointed to the command of the Mermaid, and went to the West Indies with Admiral Cornish ; but affairs with Spain and Russia were accommodated, and, as I saw no prospect of my having any employment at sea, I went into the North, and was married. The lady of his choice was Miss Sarah Blackett, daughter and co-heir of John Erasmus Blackett, Esq., of Newcastle (a younger brother of Sir Edward Blackett, Bart., of Newby Park, Yorkshire, and Matfen in Northumberland), and of his wife Sarah, daughter and co-heir of Robert Roddam, of Hethpoole, in Northumberland, Esq. To this excellent woman he continued for life most affectionately attached ; and by her had two daughters, Sarah, born in May, 1792 ; and Mary Patience, in 1793. During this time occurs the following letter to Captain Nelson. TO CAPTAIN NELSON. Morpeth, Nov. 14, 1792. MY DEAR FRIEND, I am much obliged to you for your letter, which I received last month ; it LORD COIJJNOWOOD. 23 was particularly welcome to me, as it brought information of your and Mrs. Nelson's good health. You must not be displeased that I was so long without writing to you. I was very anxiously engaged a great part of the time, and perhaps sometimes a little lazy ; but my regard for you, my dear Nelson, my respect and veneration for your character, I hope and believe will never be lessened. God knows when we may meet again, unless some chance should draw" us to the sea-shore. I hope, however, to have long the happiness of hearing of your welfare. There are great commotions in our neighbourhood at present. The seamen at Shields have embarked them- selves, to the number of 1200 or 1400, with a view to compel the owners of the coal-ships to advance their wages ; and, as is generally the case when they consider themselves the strongest party, their demand has been ex- orbitant. Application was made to Govern- ment for such assistance as the remedy of this evil might require. They have sent the Drake and Martin sloops to join the Race- horse, which was here before, and some troops of dragoons, whose presence, I hope, will dispose the Johnnies to peace, without their having occasion to act. But the times are 24 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF turbulent ; and the enthusiasm for liberty is raffino; even to madness. The success of the French people in establishing their republic has set the same principle, which lurked in every state of Europe, afloat ; and those who secreted it in their bosoms have now the boldness to avow a plan for adopting it in the government of this Country, and to recruit volunteers for carrying their purpose into execution. In this neighbourhood we seem to be pacific. Misery will undoubtedly be the consequence of any commotion or at- tempt to disturb our present most excellent Constitution. My wife joins me in best regards to you and Mrs. Nelson ; and pray, when you have leisure, let me hear from you. God bless you, and believe me, my dear Nelson, affectionately and faithfully yours. I now thought, (to continue the extract from his narrative,) that I was settling myself in great comfort ; but I was mistaken ; for in eighteen months the French war broke out, and in 1793 I was appointed Captain of the Prince, Rear-admiral Bowyer's flag- ship, and served with him until he was wounded in the action of the 1st of June, in the BarHeur. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 25 TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Barjieur, at Sea, June 5, 1794. MY DEAR SIR, When the Admiral's despatches came away, I was unable, from fatigue and hurry, to write more than a few lines to my wife, to tell her that I was well ; but as no doubt you will be desirous to know the par- ticulars of our success, I will first give you the outlines of our cruise previously to the 1st of June, and then all the satisfaction I can as to the proceedings of that day. It is a narration full of incident, and I feel myself very unequal to describe a battle unlike any thing that perhaps ever happened before, for we had three days' hard fighting before we were crowned with victory, by the total defeat and flight of a fleet superior to our own, and sent out for the express purpose of destroying us. Well, then, after seeing the convoys down the Channel as far as the Lizard, and detaching Rear-admiral Mon- tague, with six sail of the line, for their further protection, we stretched across the Channel to Brest, and sent in two frigates, covered by two ships of the line, to see what force was there ; when they found the French 26 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF fleet at anchor, and counted twenty-four sail of large ships. Unsettled weather, and the wind hanging to the north-eastward, set us to the southward, so that it was fourteen days before we got off Brest again, and then found that the enemy's fleet was gone. How the Admiral got his intelligence I do not know, but he did get a very exact account of their route ; for we immediately made all the sail we could for 1 50 leaoues to the west- ward, retaking about fifteen English mer- chant vessels, some Dutch, and a few French cruisers, in our way ; all of which were im- mediately burnt, as it was impossible, under the circumstances in which we were, to spare a man, or to be encumbered with prizes. In that situation, we cruised for a few days, like disappointed people looking for what they could not find, until the morning of little Sarah's birth-day, between eight and nine o'clock, when the French fleet of twenty-five sail of the line, was discovered to windward. We chased them, and they bore down within about five miles of us. Admiral Paisley commanded the advanced squadron of four sail, viz. Belleroplion, Russel, Marlborough, and Thunderer. They were much nearer ; and about three o'ch>ck they began to ex- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 27 change fire with the enemy's rear, which increased as they advanced, and continued very hot until nine at night, when the detached ships joined the fleet. On the 29th, the French fleet was to windward about three miles, and, as it shewed no disposition to come down, we tacked about six in the morning, in hopes our van would bring their rear to close action ; but they only fetched within a long shot, which the French kept up pretty smartly. About eight, they wore, which again brouglit them in a line parallel to us, and their van continued a sharp cannonade on ours for two hours or more ; when the Admiral, finding there was no chance of bringing them to close action but by a dash, made a signal for the van to tack, and the rest in succession to follow them ; and we then led in amongst them in a very fine style. Admiral Gardner led the fleet, and suffered a good deal, but we cut up their rear effectually. They skilfully enough covered their disabled ships, and made an assault on our's (the Queen and Invincible) ; but Admiral Graves, in the Royal Sovereign, and ourselves, stood between them, and had very smart work, for an hour and a half, with one of their first-rates, and 28 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF two 74-gun ships, when they all bore away. On the 30th, we first saw them far to lee- ward, but it was foggy and bad weather, so thick that we could scarce see the length of the ship until the 31st, in the afternoon, when it cleared, and we observed the enemy to leeward forming their line. We bore down to them, and formed ours, which took us all the evening. The night was spent in watching and preparation for the succeeding day; and many a blessing did I send forth to my Sarah, lest I should never bless her more. At dawn, we made our approach on the enemy, then drew up, dressed our ranks, and it was about eight when the Admiral made the signal for each ship to engage her opponent, and bring her to close action, and then down we went under a crowd of sail, and in a manner that would have animated the coldest heart, and struck terror into the most intrepid enemy. The ship we were to engage was two a-head of the French Admiral, so that we had to go through his fire and that of two ships next him, and received all their broadsides two or three times before we fired a gun. It was then near ten o'clock. I ob- served to the Admiral, tliat about that time our wives were going to church, but that I LORD COLIJNGWOOD. 29 thought the peal we should ring about the Frenchmen's ears would outdo their parish bells. Lord Howe began his fire sometime before we did; and he is not in the habit of firing soon. We got very near indeed, and then began such a fire as would have done you good to have heard. During the whole action the most exact order was preserved, and no accident happened but what was in- evitable, and the consequence of the enemy's shot. In ten minutes the Admiral was wounded ; I caught him in my arms before he fell : the First Lieutenant was slightly wounded by the same shot, and I thought I was in a fair way of being left on deck by myself; but the Lieutenant got his head dressed, and came up again. Soon after, they called from the forecastle that the Frenchman was sinking; at which the men started up and gave three cheers. I saw the French ship dismasted, and on her broadside, but in an instant she was clouded with smoke, and I do not know whether she sunk or not. All the ships in our neighbourhood were dismasted, and are taken, except the French Admiral, who was driven out of the line by Lord Howe, and saved himself by flight. At about twenty minutes past twelve^ 30 CORRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF the fire slackened, the French fled, and left us seven of their fine ships — Sans Pareil, 84; Juste, 84 ; L'Achille, 74 ; Northumherland, 74 ; L'Amerique, 80 ; and Le Vengeur, 74, wliicli last sunk the same evening ; so that you see we have had as complete a victory as could he won. Our condition did not admit of a further pursuit ; indeed, to take pos- session of what we had got required exertion. Two of our ships were totally dismasted, and many of us very much crippled. We left off in admirable good plight, having sustained less loss than could be expected, considering the fire we had so long on us. We had nine men killed, and twenty-two with severe wounds, a few others slightly hurt; our masts, 8lc. all in their places, though much wounded. W^ have not obtained this victory without losses that must long be lamented. Admiral Bowyer and Admiral Paisley have each lost a leg ; Admiral Graves is severely wounded in the arm, and as he is seventy years of age, or nearly, it is hard to say what will be the consequence. Captain Montague was killed; and Captain Hutt, of the Queen, lost his leg. Several Lieutenants are killed and wounded : and this, altogether, has been the severest action that has been fought in our LORD COLLING WOOD. 31 time, or perhaps ever. It did not last very severely much more than two hours, when ten of the enemy's ships were dismasted, and two of ours. They were superior to us in ships, men, and guns, sent out for the express purpose of destroying us. Four of their ships were provided with furnaces for red- hot shot, one of which stuck in the Royal Sovereign, but I have not heard that they did any mischief in any part of the fleet by them. We understand their orders were to give no quarter ; and, indeed, they fought as if they expected none. June 13. We are just arrived at Spithead. A thousand blessings on you all. I am ever, my dear Sir, Your truly affectionate Son. - In a more minute account of this action, which is in the Editor's possession. Captain Collingwood says : " Observing the ship op- " posed to us in the enemy's line to be much " crippled in her masts and rigging, and the " Invincible having been severely engaged, " we made the signal to change places with " her, that she might take the crippled ship, " and we might have a fresh one. The " Invincible stuck as close to us in going S2 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF " down, and during the whole action, as if " she had been lashed to us, sometimes having " her jib-boom over our taffrail." In the capricious distribution of rewards which followed on that day, Captain Col- lingwood found, with extreme mortification and concern, that his services were passed over by Lord Howe without notice, though the Rear-admiral with whom he sailed was mentioned with well-merited praise ; and it was not till 1797 that he received one of the medals which were given on occasion of the victory of the 1st of June. This act of injustice created much surprise in the fleet, and particularly in Captain Packenham of the Invincible, who used to say, " If Colling- " wood has not deserved a medal, neitlier " have I ; for we were together the whole " day." That his gallantry, however, was justly appreciated by those who had the best opportunities of observing it, is manifested by the following letter from Sir George Bowyer to Admiral Koddam. Coices, October 11, 1794. MY DEAR SIR, I write you this letter, that I may not lose the satisfaction I always feel LORD COLIJNGWOOD. 33 in doing justice to the merit of a friend of yours, which I hardly do, in saying that I do not know a more brave, capable, or a better officer, in all respects, than Captain CoUing- wood. 1 think him a very fine character ; and I told Lord Chatham, when he was at Portsmouth, that if ever he had to look for a first Captain to a Commander-in-chief, I hoped he would remember that I pledged myself he would not find a better than our friend Collingwood. Yours, &c. GEORGE BOWYER. From the Barfleur, Captain Collingwood removed into the Hector, and afterwards into the Excellent, in which he went to the Medi- terranean. FROM CAPTAIN NELSON. Vado Bay, Aiignst 31, 1795. MY DEAR COLL. I cannot allow a ship to leave me without a line for my old friend, whom I shall rejoice to see ; but I am afraid the Admiral will not give me that pleasure at present. You are so old a Mediterranean vol.. I. D 34 CORllESPONDKNCK AND MEMOIR Ol' man, that I can tell you nothing new about the country. ]\Iy command here is so far pleasant as it relieves me from the inactivity of our fleet, which is great indeed, as you will soon see. From the event of Spain making peace with France, more may be looked for, perhaps a war with that country : if so, their fleet (if no better than when our allies) will soon be done for. Reports here say, they mean to protect Genoese and other vessels from search by , our cruisers in the Gulf of Genoa. If so, the matter will soon be brought to an issue ; for I have given positive directions to search such vessels, de- nying the right of the Spaniards to dictate to us what ships we shall or shall not search. The Genoese are going to carry a convoy with provisions to their towns on the Riviera of Genoa, in possession of the French army. However cruel it may apj)ear to deprive poor innocent people of provisions, yet policy will not allow them to be sent : for if the in- habitants have ])lenty, so will the enemy, and therefore I have directed them to be brought into Vado. So far have I gone ; and trust I have acted, and shall act, so as to merit approbation. Our Admiral has no political LOUD COLLING WOO I). 35 courage, and is alarmed at the mention of any strong measure ; but, in other respects, he is as good a man as can possibly be. Believe me ever, my dear CoUingwood, Your affectionate Friend, HORATIO NELSON. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excellent — Ajaccio, Corsica, March 14//?, 1796. I wrote to Sarah a few days before we left Leghorn, when we sailed to Toulon, and counted the French fleet, seven- teen sail of the line, most of them apparently ready for sea ; but we understand that they are internally very unfit, and want both men and provisions. On the night of the 27th of February, in a squall, when it was very dark and rainy, the Princess Royal ran on board of us. I was on deck, and luckily saw her coming right on us time enough to sheer off a little, or she would probably have cut us down to the water's edge : as it was, she carried away the bowsprit and foremast, and left us a complete wreck. It was fortunate that we got clear so soon ; for there was sea enough to thump our sides in. We had scarce cleared ourselves of the wreck of our masts, before a hard gale of wind came on at 36 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEINIOIR OF S.E., setting us into the Gulf of Lyons on a lee shore. The fleet kept company with us as long as it was safe for them to do so, and then left a frigate to attend us. After many attempts to get her head round, we at last accomplished it, and the following day (1st March) got up jury masts, and made for this port ; but had another violent gale, in which we were in imminent danger of losing all the masts that remained. We got in on the 3d ; and since that time, my cares and anxiety to get ready have really been very painful to m.e. I have been forty-eight hours on deck, and scarce sat in that time to eat. I am not much the fatter for it, nor a bit the worse, thanks to a good hard constitution. I have now replaced my lost masts, and hope to be again ready for sea in about a week. This part of Corsica is still more barbarous than San Fiorenzo : the least offence offered to one of the inhabitants is resented by a stab, or a shot from behind a wall. Yesterday one of them stabbed another in the public square, and walked away, wiping his dagger, while no one attempted to stop him, or seemed to think it a violent measure, con- cluding, I suppose, that he had a good reason I.OllD COLIJNGWOOD. 37 for what he did. Some bad carpenters were discharged from the yard on Saturday, be- cause they were not wanted, and on Sunday morning they took a shot at Commissioner Coffin, as he walked in his garden, but missed him. FROM CAPTAIN NELSON. Captain — Leghoni Roads, Aug. 1, 1796. MY DEAR COLL. The Viceroy tells me you are at Fiorenzo ; therefore I take my chance of this finding you. My date makes me think I am almost at Leghorn ; soon I hope to be there in reality. Except 1700 poor devils, all are gone to join the army. Sometimes I hope, at others despair of getting these starved Leghornese to cut the throats of this French crew. What an idea for a Christian ! I hope there is a great latitiMe for us in the next world. — This blockade is complete, and we lie very snug in the North Road, as smooth as in a harbour. I have this moment received information that the post from Naples, which arrived to-day, has brought accounts that the truce with Naples finishes, and hostilities commence to-morrow. Pray God it may be so ! With a most sincere 38 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF wish for driving the French to the devil, your good health, an honourable peace, us safe at home again, I conclude by assuring you, my dear Collingwood, of my unalterable friendship and regard, and that I am, in the fullest meaning of the words. Yours most truly, HORATIO NELSON. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excelloit, ujf Tou/u/i, Mai/ 11, 1796. We have been cruising here this month past, and unless events should make it necessary to change our system, shall probably be here a great part of the summer. It is but dull work, lying off the enemy's port : they cannot move a ship without our seeing them, which must be very mortifying to them ; but we have the mortification also to see their merchant-vessels going along shore, and cannot molest them. It is not a service on which we shall get fat ; and often do I wish we had some of those bad potatoes which old Scott and William used to throw over the wall of the garden, for we feel the want of vegetables more than any thing. The accounts I receive of my dear girls LORD COLIJNGWOOD. 39 give ine infinite pleasure. How happy I shall be to see them again ! but God knows when the blessed day will come in which we shall be again restored to the comforts of domestic life ; for here, so far from any prospect of peace, the plot seems to thicken, as if the most serious part of the war were but beginning. The successes of the French army against the Austrians have been quite miraculous. — Marshal Beaulieu is reckoned a good officer, and has the experience of seventy-two years, without their infirmities ; yet the Austrians have failed every where, and are now totally driven out of the Riviera of Genoa. His army is now at Valenza on the Po, where he has a bridge by which. to retire into the Milanese. The French pos- sess all the towns in the neighbourhood of Genoa ; and, in short, almost every impedi- ment to their marching into the Southern States of Italy is removed. The Sardinians are worn out, and sue for peace, the prelimi- naries of which are settled. Thus drop off our allies. The Neapolitans, I think, will very soon follow the same plan : their three ships, which were attached to our fleet, have for some time left us, and I have little ex- pectation of their returning to us. If the 40 COllRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF French inarch on into the South of Italy, what can tlie Neapolitans do but make peace before they come ? The Spaniards are making great preparations for war ; per- haps they made their own peace with a con- dition that they should declare against us whenever the state of France required it, and the Republic demanded their aid. If so, it was a disgraceful condition, shewing what is the true value of political alliances, and how long solemn treaties retain their solemnity. If these events, which are pro- bable, mature, I do not know how we shall carry on the war single-handed in this coun- try ; not because the force opposed to us wi].l be very much increased, but because ^H our supplies will be precarious. We have hitherto had free access to all the Italian ports, and the supplies from them have con- duced very much to the health and strength of our fleet : it will be another affair, if we are cut off from the flesli kettles of Leghorn. Corsica produces nothing but wild hogs, and we have made them dear. If we are obliged to abandon it, none will lament the loss except those who have good appointments there. It is maintained at an immense ex- pense, and it is ridiculous that it should be ; LORD COI.LINGWOOD. 41 for I think neither the people nor the coun- try capable of being im])roved, nor does all the money that is lavished there give us any influence. Paoli, in England, could stir the whole country to revolt and rebellion, by expressing his M^ish that it should be so on a quarter of a sheet of paper. He was bred in the Jesuits' College, at Naples, and is an artful man, whose whole life has been a con- tinued scene of intrigue : he does not profess arms, and I heard at Ajaccio, from some Corsicans, that he was never in a field of ♦battle. — So much for my politics. Whatever happens, we shall make the best of it ; for we have now activity in the fleet, and seem to act upon a settled plan. Formerly all the good or ill that happened was by chance, and there seemed no forethought to secure the one, or prevent the other. I am very thankful to you, my dear Sir, for all your kindness to me, to Sarah, and my darling girls. They do not know the want of a father's care while your protection is over them ; and I hope they will live to tell you of their gratitude when they can reason on your goodness themselves. The tumultuous associations and clubs in England, and the license they have taken 42 CORRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF in their acts and publications, afflict me. Some attach themselves to violent parties from an unhappy disposition, delighting in whatever is turbulent, some from fashion, and very many from folly, being entirely in- capable of judging of the propriety of the measures v^^hich they censure. TO THE SAME. Excellent, still off Toulon, September 25, 1796. The kindness of Sir Edward and Lady Blackett to my children is such a proof of their love and regard for my dear Sarah, and, I hope, of their esteem for me, that I never think of it but with a satisfac- tion that goes to my heart. In this long cruise, now twenty-four weeks before Tou- lon, we want something to comfort us, and to make us amends for brown shirts and scanty dinners. AVhile Leghorn and Genoa were open to us, we were well and plenti- fully supplied, but the French have now shut those ports against us ; and though our Admiral is an excellent provider, and spares no pains on that head, I am afraid it will not be possil)le to get the supplies which are essentially necessary to the Iiealtli of the fleet. The moment there is a failure in LORD COI.LINdWOOD. 43 that, we cannot stay here; for the French are equal to us in ships. Miserable Corsica produces nothing but rebels and officers: viceroys, secretaries of state, and governors, we have in plenty, and the military establish- ment, till lately, was excessive even to a farce. In return for all this, we get wood and water. The favourable reports which have been made of this island are shameful falsehoods, and shew how blind people are to the truth, when it interferes with their inter- ests, or checks their vanity. I am told the French party wear the tri- coloured cockade, and there is no power in the English Government to prevent it. All our naval stores are embarked in ships, because the people are so hostile to us that they can no longer be left with safety on shore. The sums of money which have been squandered amongst them are immense : the embassy to Algiers and ransom of some Cor- sicans cost about 60,000/., and the rebellion about the taxes, 70 or 80,000/. more. I heartily wish that the time of our leaving it were come. They are collecting all the Austrian deserters and prisoners at Genoa to add to their army ; but we stop the ships that carry them, take them out as subjects of 44 CORllESPONDKNCK AND ME310I11 OF our ally the Emperor, and make sailors of them : so that, in my ship's company, I have some of all the States in Germany, — Aus- trians, Poles, Croats, and Hungarians — a motley tribe ! We are remarkably healthy ; and the ships were never more fit for service, as the French and Spaniards will experience, if they venture out. Sir John Jervis is inde- fatigable in keeping this station, and while we keep it, the Mediterranean is a sea only for our friends : yet I fear our friends will have nothing to do here soon ; and if the war goes on, I have no doubt that the French will assault the coasts of England, and we shall be wanted nearer home. I have heard of 's dishonest trick. Poor fool ! not to know how much respect is due to a virtuous man, though poor, and how much contempt to a wealthy knave. TO THE SAME. Excellent, Gibraltar, December 5, 179G. Our situation has been rather critical ; — the forces of France and Spain are very superior to ours, and after the evacu- ation of Corsica, we were left without a port, except Porto Ferraio, which was, of all places in the world, the most dangerous for us to I.ORI) COI.LINGWOOD. 45 be in. Few as we were, I think we could have managed them at sea well enough ; but had they ever blocked us up in Porto Ferraio, our ruin, as it appears to me, would have been inevitable. But Sir John Jervis has excellent judgment at this game, and I never had an apprehension that he would offer them a check-mate, which such a move would have been if they had skill to take it. For a fortnight after the island was com- pletely in the possession of the French, we waited in St. Fiorenzo Bay, with the utmost impatience, for Admiral Mann, whose junc- tion at one time seemed to be absolutely necessary to our safety. We wore our eyes in looking westward from the mountain-tops, but we looked in vain. The Spanish fleet, nearly double our numbers, were cruising almost in view, and our reconnoitring frigates sometimes got amongst them, while we ex- pected them hourly to be joined by the French, who had already possession of the harbour in which we lay. But no Mann appeared ; and as the enemy began to annoy us from the shore, we sailed on the 2d of November. We arrived here on the 1st instant, and judge of our surprise to find that Admiral Mann and his squadron had 46 CORRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF gone off to England. He is well known to be as brave a man as any in the world, and no one has more anxiety to do what is right. I am confident he always means the best ; but the thing is incomprehensible, and God knows by what arguments he will justify it. The elements befriended us, for two or three gales of wind sickened and dispersed the Spaniards, and we had a long passage down here quite unmolested. We hear a great deal of a promotion in the Navy, but I con- fess I have no anxiety about being an Admiral till the war is over. It would be impossible for me to get employed, and I should be very sorry to be idle at such a time as this. TO MRS. COLLINGWOOD. Excellent, oj' Lagos, Fchrnan/ 17, 1797. MY DEAREST SARAH, I am sure you will be glad to hear from me after such a day as we have had on the 14th (Valentine's day). It was indeed a glorious one, and it seldom falls to the lot of any man to share in such a triumph. First, my love, I am as well as I ever was in my life, and have now pretty well got the better of my fatigue. Now LOUD COLIJNCJWOOJ). 47 for history. We were cruising at sea, off Cape St. Vincent, with fifteen sail of the line, when the Admiral first received in- formation that the Spanish fleet, twenty- eight sail of the line, were come down the Mediterranean ; and a day or two afterwards that twenty-seven sail were in our neigh- bourhood, one being left at Gibraltar with ten or twelve frigates, making in all thirty- eight or forty sail. We were fifteen, and four frigates. He determined to attack them. On the night of the 13th, the weather being fine, but thick and hazy, we heard their signal-guns, which announced their vi- cinity, and soon after day-light we saw them very much scattered, while we were a com- pact little body. We flew to them as a hawk to his prey, passed through them in the disordered state in which they were, separated them into two distinct parts, and then tacked upon their largest division. The Culloden and Captain, Commodore Nelson's ship, were the first that brought them to close action. I by chance became the Admiral's leader (for the circumstances were such as would admit of no regular order), and had the good fortune to get very early into action. The first ship we engaged 48 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE was the San Salvador del Mondo, of 112 guns, a first rate ; we were not farther from her when we began than the length of our garden. Her colours soon came down, and her fire ceased. I hailed, and asked if they surrendered ; and when by signs made by a man who stood by the colours, I understood that they had, I left her to be taken posses- sion of by somebody behind, and made sail for the next, but was very much surprised on looking back to find her colours up again, and her battle recommenced. We very soon came up with the next, the San Isidro, 74, so close alongside, that a man might jump from one ship to the other. Our fire carried all before it ; and in ten minutes she hauled down her colours ; but I had been deceived once, and obliged this fellow to hoist English colours before I left him, and made a signal for somebody behind to board him, when the Admiral ordered the Lively frigate to take charge of him. Then making all sail, passing between our line and the enemy, we came up with the San Nicholas, of 80 guns, which happened at the time to be abreast of the San Josef, of 1 1 2 guns ; we did not touch sides, but you could not put a bodkin be- tween us, so that our shot passed through LORD COLLINGWOOD. 49 both ships, and, in attempting to extricate themselves, they got on board each other. My good friend, the Commodore, had been long engaged with those ships, and I came happily to his relief, for he was dreadfully mauled. Having engaged them until their fire ceased on me, though their colours were not down, I went on to the Santissima Tri- nidada, the Spanish Admiral Cordova's ship, of 132 guns, on four complete decks — such a ship as I never saw before. By this time, our masts, sails, and rigging, were so much shot, that we could not get so near her as I would have been ; but near enough to receive much injury from her, both in my men and ship. We were engaged an hour with this ship, and trimmed her well ; she was a complete wreck. Several others of our ships came up, and engaged her at the same time ; but evening approaching, and the fresh Spaniards coming down upon us, the Admiral made the signal to withdraw, carrying off the four ships that had surrendered to our fleet. The ships longest and most engaged were, Culloden, Captain Troubridge ; Captain, Commodore Nelson ; the Blenheim, Captain Frederick ; and Prince George, Rear-admiral W. Parker and Captain Irwin. I had eleven VOL. I. E 50 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF men killed, and many wounded : — every body did well. I am persuaded there will be no complaints of this little fleet ; and when the disparity of force is considered, the taking two first-rates, with two flag-officers, is a new thing. I have got a Spanish double- headed shot fired from the Santissima Tri- nidada, which I intend as a present to your father, to put amongst his curiosities : it weighs 50 lbs. These are no jokes, when they fly about one's head. God bless you ! my dearest love ; may you ever be happy ! TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excellent, Lagos, Feb. 22, 1797. I wrote to Sarah the day after the action with the Spaniards, but I am afraid I gave her but an imperfect account of it. It is a very difficult thing for those en- gaged in such a scene to give the detail of the whole, because all the powers they have are occupied in their own part of it. As to myself, I did my duty to the utmost of my ability, as I have ever done : that is acknow- ledged now, and there is the only real dif- ference between this and the former action. Take it altogether, it is perhaps the most brilliant action upon record ; and I cannot LORD COIXINGWOOD. 51 help feeling an almost spiteful satisfaction that Lord Howe is outdone. His 1st of June (grand as it was) bears no proportion, in any respect, to this. There, the number of ships was nearly equal ; here, the enemy were nearly double — 28 guns more would have made them double our force : there, they had only two 3-deckers, and we had eight or nine ; here, the enemy had six 3-deckers, and one (the Santissima Trinidada) of 4 decks, while we had only two first-rates, and four 90-gun ships, and of our fifteen ships, one was a little 64, the Diadem. I am sure you will admire the fortitude and magnanimity of Sir John Jervis, in determining to attack so superior a force ; but should not we be grateful to him, who had such confidence in his fleet, that he thought no force too great for them. Though the different ships were very differently circumstanced, and bore unequal shares in the action, all have the merit of having done their utmost. After I had driven the San Nicholas on board the Josef, and left them, on their fire ceasing, to be taken possession of by somebody be- hind, they fell on board my good friend the Commodore ; and as they had not surren- dered, he, in his own active person, at the 52 COllllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF head of his ship's company, boarded them, and drove the Spaniards from deck to deck at the point of their swords. They at last both surrendered; and the Commodore, on the quarter-deck of a Spanish first-rate, San Josef, received the submission and the svv^ords of the officers of the two ships, while one of his sailors bundled them up with as much composure as he would have made a faggot, though twenty-two sail of their line were still within gun-shot. We have had the Spanish fleet off here to look at us since we came in ; but I dare say they would rather see us at a distance than near. Santissima Trinidada is still at sea, pestered by some of our frigates. God knows what will become of her ! She would fall easily ; but we cannot separate in quest of her. One of the great pleasures 1 have received from this glorious event is, that I expect it will enable me to provide handsomely for those who serve me well. Give my love to my wife, and blessing to my children. What a day it will be to me when I meet them again ! The Spaniards always carry their patron saint to sea with them, and I have given St. Isidro a birth in my cabin : it was the least I could do for him, after he had consigned his charge to me. LORD COT.IJNGWOOD. 53 It is a good picture, as you will see when he goes to Morpeth On the occasion of this great victory, Captain Collingwood had the happiness to find himself rewarded by the praises and admiration of the whole fleet. " The correct " conduct of every officer and man in the " squadron, on the 14th inst.," says Lord St. Vincent, when writing privately to Lord Spencer, " made it improper to distinguisli " one more than another in my public letter ; " because I am confident, that had those who " were least in action been in the situation " of the fortunate few, their behaviour would " not have been less meritorious. Yet to " your Lordship it becomes me to state, that " Captain Trowbridge, in the Culloden, led " the squadron through the enemy in a mas- " terly style, and was gallantly supported by " the Blenheim, Prince George, Orion, Irre- " sistible, and Colossus. Commodore Nelson, " who was in the rear, on the starboard tack, " took the lead on the larboard, and con- " tributed very much to the fortune of the *' day, as did Captain Collingwood." The account which Nelson gave of the conduct of his friend, in a narrative which he 54 CORRESPONl^ENCF. AND MEMOIR OF sent to the Duke of Clarence, is highly animated and characteristic: — " The Salvador del Mundo and San Isidro "dropped astern, and were fired into in a " masterly style by the Excellent, who com- " pelled the San Isidro to hoist English " colours, and I thought the large ship Sal- " vador del Mundo had also struck ; but " Captain Collingwood disdaining the parade " of taking possession of beaten enemies, " most gallantly pushed up, with every sail " set, to save his old friend and messmate, " who was to all appearance in a critical " situation, the Captain being actually fired " upon by three first-rates and the San '* Nicholas, the seventy-four within about " pistol-shot distance of the San Nicholas. " The Blenheim being a-head, and the Cul- " loden crippled and astern, the Excellent " ranged up, and hauling up her mainsail " just astern, passed within ten feet of " the San Nicholas, giving her a most awful " and tremendous fire. The San Nicholas " luffing up, the San Josef fell aboard of her, " and the Excellent passed on to the San- " tissima Trinidada." This immense ship, with which Nelson had been much engaged during the course LOUD COIJJNGWOOD. 55 of his wonderful achievements on that day, would, according to the opinion of many in the fleet, have been compelled to surrender, if another English vessel had not, in the confusion of the fight, been placed in such a position as to fire over the Excellent, and impede her attack. The following letters passed between the two friends on the succeeding day, and that of Nelson speaks strongly the same language as his narrative. Irresistible, Fehruari^ \5th, 1797. MY DEAREST FRIEND, "A friend in need, is a friend indeed," was never more truly verified than by your most noble and gallant conduct yesterday in sparing the Captain from further loss ; and I beg, both as a public officer and a friend, you will accept my most sincere thanks. I have not failed, by letter to the Admiral, to represent the eminent services of the Excellent. Tell me how you are ; what are your disasters. I cannot tell you much of the Captain's, except by note of Captain Miller, at two this morning, about sixty killed and wounded. 56 CORRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF We shall meet at Lagos ; but I could not come near you without assuring you how sensible I am of your assistance in nearly a critical situation. Believe me as ever Your most affectionate HORATIO NELSON. ^ TO COMMODORE NELSON. Excelle?it, February \bth, 1797. MY DEAR GOOD FRIEND, First let me congratulate you on the success of yesterday, — on the brilliancy it attached to the British Navy, and the humility it must cause to its enemies, — and then let me congratulate my dear Commodore on the distinguished part which he ever takes when the honour and interests of his Country are at stake. It added very much to the satisfaction which I felt in thumping the Spaniards, that I released you a little. The highest rewards are due to you and Culloden : you formed the plan of attack, — we were only accessories to the Don's ruin ; for, had they got on the other tack, they would have been sooner joined, and the business would have been less complete. We have come LORD COI-IJNGWOOD. 57 off pretty well considering: eleven killed, and fourteen wounded. You saw the 4-decker going off this morning to Cadiz, — she should have come to Lagos to make the thing better, but we could not brace our yards up to get nearer. — I beg my compliments to Captain Martin : I think he was at Jamaica when we were. I am ever, my dear friend. Affectionately yours, C. COLLINGWOOD. Among the encomiums that were bestowed upon him from all quarters, the following- letters from two other valued friends are too flattering to be omitted : — Barfteiir, February 15///. MY DEAR SIR, I have just time to request you will accept of my congratulations upon the immortal honour gained by the Excellent yesterday. The Admiral joins very sincerely in my ideas. God bless you, and may we all imitate you. Yours ever sincerely, J. W. DACRES. 58 CORllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE HON. ADMIRAL WALDEGRAVE. Barfleur, February \Sth. MY DEAR COLLINGWOOD, Although Dacres has in great degree expressed all I feel on the suhject, yet I cannot resist the satisfaction of telling you myself, that nothing, in my opinion, could exceed the spirit and true officership which you so happily displayed yesterday. Both the Admiral and Nelson join with me in this opinion ; and nothing but ignorance can think otherwise. God bless you, my good friend ; and may England long possess such men as yourself; — it is saying every thing for her glory. Truly yours, WILLIAM WALDEGRAVE. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excellent, off Cadiz, April \8tli, 1797. We are not contented with having beat the Spaniards at sea, but have now blocked uj) their port, and are parading under the walls of Cadiz, as we did last year before Toulon. We have nineteen sail of the line, for Admiral Nelson is gone, with LORD COIJJNOWOOD. 59 three ships, on some detached service. The Spaniards have thirty-two sail of great ships ready, or nearly so, — enough to devour us, if they knew but how to carve. We heard that their seamen were offered double pay if they would exert themselves against us, which they decline, as a hopeless undertaking, and have refused to come to sea : but I think they must come, or Spain is lost as a mari- time power. TO THE SAME. Excellent, off Cadiz, May 22d, 1797. I should have written to my dear Sarah on this her birthday; but as I wrote to her very lately, and have not yet thanked you for your kind letter, I shall send my congratulations and blessing to her, on this occasion, through you. Tell her, then, how sincerely, how constantly, I pray to Heaven that she may see many happy returns of this day, — that she may long live a source of joy to her husband, a blessing to her family, and an example of worth and goodness to all her sex. With the affection of such a wife, and the esteem and regard of her good and respectable family, I feel that I have nothing to ask to increase my happiness, but 60 CORRESPONDENCE AND IVFEMOIR OF to see my country composed in peace. That will indeed be a happy day ; and the events that have occurred at Portsmouth make the necessity of it very pressing. They have given the greatest uneasiness to my mind, particularly as I think I can discover that the advance of pay, and other advantages which have been conceded to the Navy, are not received as acts of favour, but as rights extorted from Government ; and instead of reposing in thankfulness for these benefits, they seem to be occupied, having felt their power, in considering what next may be de- manded. The times are convulsed and full of danger : peace alone can restore us to harmony. Heaven grant it ! Here we are, lying at anchor before the port of Cadiz. The Spaniards shew no dis- position to come out, and we allow no ships to go in. They have a great fleet of about thirty sail of the line, which seem to be completely equipped ; but the fishermen who come on board to sell their fish say, they are in daily expectation of peace. I have had a most delightful letter from Dr. Carlyle. How it gladdens my heart to find that every body seems so pleased with us. A fight is well worth the pains that gives LORD COLLING WOOD. 61 such general satisfaction, and is the cause of so many civil things being said to us. We have almost daily correspondence with the Spaniards by letter, and ours is a curious situation : the Spanish officers, who come with the flag of truce, dine with the Com- mander of the advanced squadron ; and they invited the Spanish ladies to a ball, but they did not come. I am sorry to see in the news- papers some reflections on Captain Berkeley, of the Emerald. I do not believe the Tri- nidada was ever in so bad a condition as to submit to frigates, though she might have been taken by a line-of-battle ship. It is blaming him on a subject merely conjectural. His losing sight of her was the consequence of bad weather, and I think he is very un- fairly censured. You will be glad to hear that the King ordered the medal of the 1st of June to be sent to me, with that for February, in spite of Lord Howe When Lord St. Vincent informed Captain CoUingwood that he was to receive one of the medals which were distributed on this occa- sion, he told the Admiral, with great feeling and firmness, that he could not consent to receive a medal, while that for the 1st of June 62 CORRESPONDENCE AND 3IEMOIR OF was withheld. " I feel," said he, " that I " was then improperly passed over ; and to " receive such a distinction now, would be to " acknowledge the propriety of that injus- " tice." — " That is precisely the answer which " I expected from you, Captain Collingwood," was Lord St. Vincent's reply. The two medals were afterwards — and, as Captain Collingwood seems to have thought, by desire of the King — transmitted to him at the same time by Lord Spencer, the then first Lord of the Admiralty, with a civil apology for the former omission. " I congratulate " you most sincerely," said his Lordship, " on having had the good fortune to bear " so conspicuous a part on two such glorious " occasions, and have troubled you with this " letter, only to say, that the former medal " would have been transmitted to you some " months ago, if a proper conveyance had " been found for it." TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excellent, ojj' Cadiz, Jiuie 27, 1797. I had the pleasure to receive your letter, and am quite happy to hear that Sarah, our children, and all your family, are well. This is the only thing like comfort LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 63 that can reach us here : for it is a dreary life we lead, pent up in a ship for such a length of time. God help us ! — there is nothing to gratify the mind but the hope that we may render essential service to our Coun- try, and the consciousness that we mean it. The state of the fleet in England, and indeed of the Country generally, gives me the most lively sorrow. The seamen, I am persuaded, would never have revolted from good order : but consider, with such a fleet as we have now, how large a proportion of the crews of the ships are miscreants of every description, and capable of every crime ; and when these predominate, what evils may we not dread from the demoniac councils and influence of such a mass of mischief! The best chance that we have here of escaping the anarchy that prevails in England is, that we have been longer established in order. No symptom of irregularity has yet made its appearance, and I hope that blessed peace will still stand between us and civil discord. You will easily imagine that, feeling deeply for the interests of our Country, and the honour of my Profession, I am very much out of spirits. The conduct and behaviour of Mr. has added very much to my 64 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF vexation. A few days since, upon the most trivial occasion, he broke out into such a fit of frenzy and rage, and behaved to nie in so contemptuous and extraordinary a manner, that I desired the First Lieutenant to order him off the deck. The day following, he wrote a letter, not excusing his conduct, but rather justifying it, and requesting to be discharged into any other ship. But when, after taking a day to cool a little, I gave him to understand, that having calmly considered the nature of his offence, and the necessity, under the present circumstances of the fleet, of giving a prompt check to the first instance of disobedience that tended to mutiny, I felt that the justice I owed to the public service outweighed the regard I had ever had for his interests and his family, and that I only hesitated about bringing him to trial by a Court Martial from the apprehension of the fatal consequences that miglit follow, he began to think very differently of the affair, was exceedingly dejected, hoped something might be done short of a Court Martial, as he knew what would be the probable event of that, and, if I would allow him, would quit the service for ever. 1 told him that I would consider further ; and very much LOHD COIJJNGWOOD. 65 distressed and mortified 1 am at his conduct He was not, I believe, sober at the time; but that will not do to plead in excuse for such violence. I know how sorry you will be on this occasion - - not more than I am ; but he shall never do duty in my ship again. I hope those villains at the Nore are re- duced and punished before this : a terrible example ought to be made of them. We lie here at anchor off the town, apparently as much at our ease as at Spithead — ay, indeed much more so than they at Spithead have lately been. We have twenty-one sail of the line : the Spaniards say they have thirty completely ready ; but they have no dis- position to come out, and still hope for peace. The French urge them on : for, whe- ther we ruin the Spaniards, or are ruined by them, it is equally advantageous to France ; and now, I believe the Spanish Court see matters in this light. Our fleet is remark- ably healthy, and we get supplies, not indeed very regularly, of bullocks from Barbary; and boats come from Portugal with cabbages, which they sell for eighteen - pence each. Whatever else we get is pretty much at the same rate, while our prizes amount to very little. The Admiral offered me the Namur VOL. I. , F 66 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the other day, when she was vacant ; but I did not choose the trouble of moving, and a few shillings more pay was not a considera.- tion ; for I know and am known here, which, in these ticklish times, 1 hold to be of much consequence. Bless my dear Sarah and my precious children. I look anxiously forward to the day when we shall meet in comfort. God send it soon ; for these are eventful days. It was during this time, so full of peril to the Navy and to England, that Lord St. Vin- cent repressed in the Mediterranean fleet the spirit of mutiny which had unhappily pre- vailed at the Nore. No officer regarded with greater admiration the conduct of that dis- tinguished Commander than did Captain Col- lingwood, or co-operated with more zeal and effect in the prompt and decisive measures which were then pursued ; and of this the Admiral was so convinced, that it was his frequent practice to draft the most ungo- vernable spirits into the Excellent. " Send " them to Collingwood," he used to say, " and he will bring them to order." Not- withstanding this, while capital punishments were frequently taking place in other ships* Captain Collingwood, by the kind but firm conduct which he adopted towards his crew, LORD COIJJNGWOOD. G? was enabled to maintain discipline, not only without being driven to the dreadful neces- sity of bringing men to trial for their lives, but almost without the infliction of any cor- poral punishment whatsoever. On one oc- casion, a seaman was sent from the Romulus, who had pointed one of the forecastle guns, shotted to the muzzle, at the quarter-deck, and, standing by it with a match, declared that he would fire at the officers, unless he received a promise that no punishment should be inflicted upon him. On his arrival on board the Excellent, Captain Collingwood, in the presence of many of the sailors, said to him, with great sternness of manner, " I know " your character well, but beware how you " attempt to excite insubordination in this " ship ; for I have such confidence in my " men, that I am certain I shall hear in an " hour of every thing you are doing. If you " behave well in future, I will treat you like " the rest, nor notice here what happened in " another ship ; but if you endeavour to " excite mutiny, mark me well, I will in- " stantly head you up in a cask, and throw " you into the sea." Under the treatment which he met with in the Excellent, this man became a good and obedient sailor, 68 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF and never afterwards gave any cause of complaint. The question respecting corporal punish- ment in the Navy, and the degree to which it can be properly controlled, has often been the subject of discussion, and practically there is great difference in different ships i for many officers are enabled to resort to it very rarely, and only in offences of the gravest nature ; w^hile others, of kind and humane dispositions, still feel themselves compelled to act upon the painful conviction that no great relaxation can be made without danger in its frequency and severity. It cannot therefore be uninteresting to record the sentiments and conduct of Lord Colling- wood in this respect during a length of service that was unexampled, and with a crew ever foremost in times of danger, and cheerfully sustaining a duration of hardship and fatigue which has no parallel in the English Navy: and although the result of one such series of experiments may not be decisive, yet it cannot fail to have its weight in the consideration of the most important question that can occupy the attention of a naval officer, how best he may secure the obedience and happiness of his men. His LORD COLLINGWOOD. 69 view of this subject cannot be better given than in his own words to a First Lord of the Admiralty, to whom he had written in favour of an officer, for whose zeal and talents he had the highest regard ; and who, as he was told in reply, was then charged with great severity to his men. " I recom- " mended," says he, " Captain , because " I considered him a diligent, attentive, and " skilful officer ; but the conduct which is " imputed to him has always met my de- " cided reprobation, as being big with the " most dangerous consequences, and sub- " versive of all real discipline." When the offence was of such a nature that the ne- cessity of corporal punishment was manifest. Captain Collingwood was present, as is cus- tomary, but suffering from his wounded feelings greater pain probably than the culprit himself; and on these occasions he was for many hours afterwards melancholy -and silent, sometimes not speaking a word -again for the remainder of the day. Before the late excellent regulations of the Admiralty had directed that a registry and report should be made of all punish- ments on board ship, Captain Collingwood was accustomed, from an early period, to 70 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF keep, in his own hand-writing, an account of those which he inflicted ; and to this he appears to have often referred as matter of comparison and meditation. Of this account, the following is an example : — Tune— 1793. Men's Names. Punishment. Crime, and Remarks. May 21... June 1 . . . 20... Aug. 3... Ditto.. Ditto... 6... 18... Ditto... Ditto... 2G... Sept. 12... James P 7 lashes < 9 12 1 6 { 6 ^ C s 9 { 10 { 8 ) 7 i 11 12 For beating Stephen Shore, a poor silly boy. For stealing half-a-guinea. For absenting himself from duty. For quitting his post while sentinel. For fighting and riotous be- haviour. For stealing a bag of clothes and money. For sleeping on his post when sentinel. For drunkenness, fighting, and riotous behaviour. For mutinously propagating malicious rejwrts of Ser- geant 0., tending to ex- cite discontent among the men. For disobedience of orders, in bringing liquor into the ship, and contemptu- ous behaviour. John W., marine. ... Daniel G Martin H., a soldier Hubert Q John P William S., soldier... Thomas Robert ■ ■ Timothy C, soldier . Joseph A As his experience in command and his knowledge of the dispositions of men in- creased, his abhorrence of corporal punish- ment grew daily stronger ; and, in the latter part of his life, more than a year has often passed away without his having resorted to it even once. " I wish I were the Captain, " for your sakes," cried Lieutenant Clavcll LORD COLLINGWOOD. 71 one day to some men who were doing some part of their duty ill : when shortly after, a person touched him on the shoulder, and turning round, he saw the Admiral, who had overheard him. " And pray, Clavell, what " would you have done if you had been " Captain ?" " I would have flogged them " well. Sir." " No you would not, Clavell ; " no you would not," he replied ; " I know " you better." He used to tell the ship's company that he was determined that the youngest Midshipman should be obeyed as implicitly as himself, and that he would punish with great severity any instance to the contrary. When a Midshipman made a complaint, he would order the man for punishment the next day ; and, in the in- terval, calling the boy down to him, would say, " In all probability the fault was yours ; " but whether it were or not, I am sure it " would go to your heart to see a man old " enough to be your father disgraced and " punished on your account; and it will, " therefore, give me a good opinion of your " disposition, if, when he is brought out, you " ask for his pardon." When this recom- mendation, acting as it did like an order, was complied with, and the lad interceded 72 COIIIIESPONDENCE AND MEMOIK OF for the prisoner, Captain Collingwood would make great apparent difficulty in yielding; but at length would say, " This young gen- " tleman has pleaded so humanely for you, " that in the hope that you will feel a due " gratitude to him for his benevolence, I will " for this time overlook your offence." The punishments which he substituted for the lash were of many kinds, such as watering the grog, and other modes now happily general in the Navy. Among the rest was one which the men particularly dreaded. It was the ordering any offender to be excluded from his mess, and be em- ployed in every sort of extra duty ; so that he was every moment liable to be called upon deck for the meanest service, amid the laughter and jeers of the men and boys. Such an effect had this upon the sailors, that they have often declared that they would much prefer having three dozen lashes : and, to avoid the recurrence of this punishment, the worst characters never failed to become attentive and orderly. How he sought to amuse and occupy the attention of the men appears in some of these letters. When they were sick, even while he was an Admiral, he visited them daily, arid supplied them from LORD COr.LlNGWOOD. 73 his own table : and when they were con- valescent, they were put into the charge of the Lieutenant of the morning watch, and daily brought up to the Admiral for exa- mination by him. The result of this con- duct w^as, that the sailors considered him and called him their father ; and frequently, when he changed his ship, many of the men were seen in tears for his departure. But with all this there was no man who less courted, or to speak more truly, who held in more entire contempt, what is ordinarily styled popularity. He was never known to unbend with the men ; while, at the same time, he never used any coarse or violent language to them himself, or permitted it in others. " If you do not know a man's " name," he used to say to the officers, " call " him sailor, and not you-sir, and such other " appellations ; they are offensive and im- " proper." With regard to expressions it may be added, that, after the occurrences at the Nore, he had the most decided objection to the use of the word mutiny. When com- plaints were made of conduct which was designated as mutinous, he would exclaim, " Mutiny, Sir ! mutiny in my ship ! If it " can have arrived at that, it must be my 74 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF " fault and the fault of every one of the " officers. It is a charge of the gravest " nature, and it shall be most gravely in- " quired into." With this view of his feeling on this subject, the officer was ge- nerally induced to consider and represent the affiiir more lightly, or sometimes to pass it over altogether. His conduct to his officers was of a similar kind. His perfect knowledge of all matters of seamanship, and his quick and correct eye, enabled him in an instant to discover any thing that was out of order in his ship ; and his reproofs on these occasions, though always short, and conveyed in the language of a gentleman, were deeply felt: so that to many officers, and particularly to the young and careless, he was an object of dread, and was considered by all as a strict disciplinarian. " I have given you. Sir, a " commission," said Lord St. Vincent to Lieutenant Clavell, who was then a perfect stranger to Captain Collingwood, but who never left him till he was made by him a Post Captain, " into the Excellent ; but " remember that you are going to a man " who will take it away from you to-morrow " if you behave ill." He treated the Mid- LORD COLLINGVVOOD. 75 shipmen with parental care, examining them himself once a week, and declaring that nothing would give him greater pain than that any young man in his ship should be unable to pass : and when off duty, he did every thing in his power to make his officers at ease, and to promote their welfare. With those to whom he became attached, from observing their attention to their duty, which w^as ever the road to his regard, his friend- ship and confidence were affectionate and unbounded. To his own superiors he main- tained the same conduct, demanding and receiving from them that respect to which, by his character and station, he was entitled. On one occasion, the Excellent was directed to weigh when off Cadiz, and to close with the Admiral's ship, and in running down the signal was made five or six times for altering the course, first on one side and then on the other, and at length for a Lieutenant. Cap- tain Collingwood, who had been observing this in silence, ordered his boat to be manned, as he would go too. On his arrival on board, he desired the Lieutenant, when the order was copied, to bring it to him ; and he read it while he was walking the quarter-deck with Lord St. Vincent and Sir 76 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF Robert Calder. It was merely an order for the Excellent to receive on board two bags of onions for the use of the sick ; and on seeing it he exclaimed, " Bless me ! is this " the service, my Lord — is this the service, " Sir Robert ? Has the Excellent's signal " been made five or six times for two bags " of onions ? Man my boat, Sir, and let us " go on board again !" And though re- peatedly pressed by Lord St. Vincent to stay dinner, he refused, and retired. When he was in command as an Ad- miral, he made it a point of duty never to give any of those vexatious and harrassing orders of which he had himself at times occasion to complain ; and although he was ever solicitous that merit should be noticed and rewarded, he abstained as much as pos- sible from interference and complaint. If he had occasion to remark upon any thing, it was always done with great calm- ness, and frequently with considerable point. When he was once particularly anxious to complete his bread, and to sail immediately, Jie inquired of the Captain, an officer for whom he had a higli esteem, if all the boats were gone ashore. " I have sent tliem all," was the reply, " except my barge." " Oh! LORD COLIJNGWOOD. 77 " of course," said the Admiral, " a Captain's " barge must never be employed for- such " purposes ; but I hope they make every " possible use of mine." There was one thing, however, which, as he ever practised it to a remarkable degree himself, so he exacted it with great rigour from others, and that was the utmost economy in the use of the naval stores. " I am really at a loss to know," he observes, in writing to Sir James Saumarez, " whether the enemy will make a push in " the dark nights, or have adopted a policy " slower in its operation, but more certain * " and mean to stay in port till our ships are " worn at sea, and the expense of keeping " them there has brought the finances of " the Country to poverty and exhaustion. " This is a condition to be as carefully " guarded against as a present invasion, for " the latter will be the certain consequences " of the former, if ever we are unhappily " reduced to it. Strongly impressed with " this belief, my thoughts are ever bent on " economising, and doing all in my power to " lessen the expense of sailing the ships. " The difference I observe in them is im- " mense : some men, who have the foresight 78 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF " to discern what our first difficulty will be, " support and provide their ships by en- " chantment, one scarce knows how ; while " others, less provident, would exhaust a " dock-yard, and still be in want. I do not " think those gentlemen should go to sea ; " they certainly do not regard or feel for the " future necessities of their Country." When instances of this inattention oc- curred, his disapprobation at times broke forth in terms of great severity. " That " officer," he said on one occasion, " should " never sail without a store-ship in company. " He knows as much seamanship as the " King's Attorney General : I would not " trust him with a boat in a trout stream." With reference to the subject of corporal punishment, it may be observed, that in Lord Nelson's ship it was almost equally rare ; and how well the men, under both these Com- manders, conducted themselves in the time of trial, it is unnecessary to remark ; but that a contrary conduct was often productive of different and most unhappy effects, ap- pears in various parts of Lord CoUingwood's correspondence with the Admiralty. He stated, more than once, that some of the younger Captains (although he admits that LORD COIJ.INGWOOD. 79 there were many honourable exceptions), endeavouring to conceal, by great severity, their own unskilfulness and want of atten- tion, beat the men into a state of insubor- dination ; and that such vessels increased the number, but diminished the strength, of his fleet. " We have had lately," he says, in writing to a friend, " two Courts Martial, in " which such conduct was proved, as leaves " it doubtful whether it was founded on " cruelty or folly. The only defence which " was urged, was the plea of youth and inex- " perience ; and yet it is to such youth and " inexperience that the honour and dearest " interests of our Country are intrusted." — On one occasion, while his fleet was much inferior in number to that of the enemy, he thus speaks to the then First Lord of the Admiralty, respecting one of the line-of- battle ships ; — " I once intimated that it would be very " agreeable to me if the were ordered " to England from the fleet. I have di- " rected inquiries into the causes of the " complaints which are made on all sides, " without yet knowing where to fix the " source of them ; whether in the want of a 80 CORRESPONDENCE AND IMEMOIR OF " proper government, or in the perverseness " of those who are to be governed. But in " her present state I expect no good service " from her ; and her example may be per- " nicious. It is for this reason that I am " anxious she shoukl be removed to Eng- " land ; for, even without a ship in her " stead, I shall consider the squadron as " much strengthened by her being with- " drawn from it." Some alterations were made in conse- quence of this communication : that they had been much needed, will appear from the following extract of another letter to the same person, written a few months after- wards : — " It is known to you how much trouble " I had with the , from the dissatis- " faction in the ship's company. I am very " glad to find that there are now no symp- " toms of it remaining. Every thing appear^ " to be quiet ; but in ])reparing for battle " last week, several of the guns in the after " part of the ship were found to be spiked, " which had probal)ly been done when that " contentious spirit existed." LORD COLLINGWOOD. 81 The Editor has inserted these details respecting Lord Collingwood's habits of com- mand, in the belief that there are no persons, whatever may be their rank in the Navy, to whom his practice and example can be un- interesting or uninstructive ; and the state- ments have been thrown together in their present form, rather than according to the respective dates of the letters from which they are extracted, in order to spare, as much as possible, any officer from the pain of sup- posing that these observations were originally applied to himself. TO THE SAME. Excellent, off Cadiz, August 3\si, 1797. We are lying here blockading this port, as we have done all the summer, very eflPectually, and thereby totally ruin the Spanish trade ; but our active and offensive operations have not been so successful. We began a bombardment with one poor ill- fitted bomb ; but they made great prepara- tions for retaliating upon Gibraltar, which was as open to their insult as Cadiz to ours, and we desisted. Then my friend Nelson, whose spirit is equal to all undertakings, and whose resources are fitted to all occasions, VOL. I. G 82 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF was sent with three sail of the line and some other ships to TenerifFe, to surprise and cap- ture it. After a series of adventures, tragic and comic, that belong to romance, they were obliged to abandon their enterprise. Nelson was shot in the right arm when landing, and was obliged to be carried on board. He himself hailed the ship, and desired the Surgeon would get his instruments ready to dis-arm him ; and in half an hour after it was off he gave all the orders necessary for carrying on their operations, as if nothing had happened to him. In three weeks after,, when he joined us, he went on board the Admiral, and I think exerted himself to a degree of great imprudence. Captain Bowen was killed, and his First Lieutenant, Thorpe, for whom I was very sorry : he was a fine young man, and promised to be an excellent officer. Captain Troubridge, who commanded on shore, after many adventures in the night, was obliged to retire to a convent, where he collected the remains of his forces, without ammunition, except what they took from the prisoners they made ; and from this convent they demanded the surrender of the citadel, and threatened tlie town with ruin. In the presence of the priests they were employed I,ORD COLLINGWOOD. 83 in preparing torches, fire-balls, and all the necessary apparatus for conflagration ; and they in terror fled to the Governor, to en- treat him to grant to those mad Englishmen any terms by which they might get rid of them. He being a worthy, sensible man, full of admiration even at the extravagance of the English seamen, and dreading perhaps the effects of their despair, made proposi- tions to them of so much kindness, that they were not to be rejected. The Spaniards found boats to embark them all in their ships again ; and before they parted, gave to every man a loaf and pint of wine, for our boats were all dashed to pieces in landing, and the provisions lost in the sea. Captains Troubridge and Hood afterwards dined with the Governor, and they parted good friends ; but we lost in killed and wounded above 250 men. We are at present waiting impatiently the result of Lord Malmesbury's negotiation, and very glad most of us will be if he is successful. TO THE SAME. Excellent, off Cadiz, January 26th, 1798. We continue to cruise here unmolested by the Spaniards; and as their. 84 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF trade seems to be entirely suspended, we have no means of annoying them effectually. We have lately had only six sail of the line here, and have shewn them our force ; but they are not to be provoked to quit their port, where they are busily employed in pre- paring their share of the storm which is intended to carry desolation and ruin to our country. It is a foolish part for Spain to take ; but she is no longer an independent nation. The hearts of the people are well disposed towards England ; but their Govern- ment is imbecile, and their Court subject to the imperious control of France. The force preparing here is very great, and I hope we shall have such an augmentation as will enable us to meet them. There are in this port more than thirty sail of the line, most of them complete for sea, in which a great quantity of army stores, field artillery, mor- tars, and shells, have been lately embarked. An extraordinary number of soldiers are on board, and great care is taken to discipline them ; many more troops are in the neigh- bourhood, ready for embarkation : and to those ships are to be added the Carthagena and Toulon squadrons, with the Venetian ships, which by all accounts will amount to LORD COLI-INGWOOD. 85 twenty-six sail ; so that their whole force to proceed from hence will prohably exceed fifty sail of the line. We heard some time since that three Commissioners were arrived here from France, which we now understand to be for the purpose of urging the equip- ment of the Spaniards, and preparing sup- plies for their own ships, which they expect soon down the Mediterranean. They have killed this winter 42,000 hogs, as sea victual- ling for their fleet, and are making the utmost exertions in every department. Such is the rancorous hatred of the French towards us, that I do not think they would on any terms make peace, until they have tried this experiment on our Country ; and never was a country assailed by so formidable a force. Yet, let England be true to herself, — unani- mous in her opposition to this host of foes, — and 1 have no doubt of a happy issue. We at sea, I am well assured, will do our part ; and would that the contest were to be de- cided there : but this the enemy will avoid by every possible means, for their dependence is on being landed before our fleet can pre- vent them ; and considering how near the coasts are, the thing is practicable. In short, there never was a time that required so 86 correspondencp: and memoir of much the unanimity of a nation. The ques- tion is not merely, who shall be conqueror, with the acquisition of some island or colony ceded by a treaty, and then the business concludes ; but whether we shall any longer be a people, — whether Britain is still to be enrolled among the list of European nations, — whether the name of Englishman is to continue an appellation of honour, convey- ing the idea of every quality which makes human nature respectable, or a term of re- proach and infamy, the designation of beggars and of slaves. Men of property must come forward both with purse and sword; for the contest must decide whether they shall have any thing, even a country, which they can call their own. My wits are ever at work to keep my people employed, both for health's sake, and to save them from mischief. We have lately been making musical instruments, and have now a very good band. Every moonlight night the sailors dance ; and there seems as much mirth and festivity as if we were in Wapping itself. One night the rats destroyed the bagpipes we had made, by eating up the bellows ; but they suffer for it, for in revenge we have made traps of all constructions, and I.OllD COLIJNGWOOD. 87 have declared a war of extermination a-gainst them. My appointment as Commodore was only during the absence of the established number of Admirals ; and now Sir John Orde and Admiral Frederick make the number up again, I shall strike my broad pendant and return to my private station. TO THE SAME. Excellent, May-day, q^ Cadiz, 1798. Sir Horatio Nelson arrived here yesterday, and I had the pleasure of receiving, what is the greatest pleasure I can have here, your and Sarah's kind letters. The Spaniards are very strong within the harbour, and we lie without it, ready to give them battle whenever they are disposed. What adds very much to their strength is the great number of gun-boats, carrying heavy cannon, which make the approach to their harbour in light winds a serious thing : they row a great many oars, and in calms are almost as active as our barges. My friend Ball was, the other day, set in by the current very close, when they made a very vigorous attack upon him with near seventy of those boats and above one hundred small ones : he was annoyed very much until a breeze brought 88 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF him off. He lost two or three men, and had five or six badly wounded. These boats are such small objects, that they often escape without loss or injury, and more effectually preserve their town and port from insult than all their gallant fleet within. We have intelligence that the French at Toulon and Marseilles are equipping a very great armament, which, as they give out, is intended against Naples and Sicily ; but the Americans, from whom this account was re- ceived, say the general opinion is that this force is intended for England. If those people should attempt to pass the Straits, we shall certainly make a fine uproar amongst them ; but then the Spaniards will be at large to act where they please : in short, we seem to be the target for all the nations of Europe to shoot their malice at. It will be a happy day that gives us peace ; but it does not seem to be in prospect yet. Nothing but the utmost exertion, both of personal and pecu- niary aid, can repel the enemy, who I am confident will make the experiment of inva- sion ; and if they should get footing, what would be the amount of any man's property ! The Flag-officers and Captains have made a subscription amounting to 5000 pounds, which LORD COLLINGWOOD. 89 was very well, considering how few of us are men of fortune. I confess the subscriptions of ships' companies at home give me no satis- faction : there is much danger in accustoming great bodies of men, whose service should be merely personal, to deliberate on any subject, but particularly to canvass the propriety of any political measure. It has always been a maxim with me to engage and occupy my men, and to take such care for them that they should have nothing to think of for themselves beyond the current business of the day. I am sorry so active an officer as Colo- nel should not be employed : what should I suffer if, in this convulsion of nations, this general call of Englishmen to the standard of their Country, I should be without occu- pation ? — a miserable creature ! While it is England, let me keep my place in the front of the battle. I never saw my friend Nelson look so well ; he is really grown fat, and not the worse for losing an arm. Excellent, June \lih, off Cadiz, 1798. Our situation here is more dull than it was last summer, for then some little Spaniard did fall in our way and afforded 90 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF something to talk of; now the whole is a blank, and one day so like another, that we want incidents to mark the time withal. The arrival of a mail from England is a grand epocha. We have not heard from Admiral Nelson since he left us, but he is in a field for the exercise of his great ta- lents ; and I hope his good fortune will not forsake him on this occasion. The Admiral has received advice that the armament, which the French have been so long preparing at Toulon and Marseilles, has sailed on an ex- pedition, which is confidently asserted to be to Egypt : it consists of several sail of the line, — how many is not known, — and a great number of transports, containing many thou- sand troops, besides entire families, men, women, and children ; in short, a complete colony, to take possession and people a coun- try at a stroke. It is, I believe, the execu- tion of a plan which has been long in con- templation in France, for the opening a trade from India by the Red Sea, and supplying Europe with the produce of the East without that long circuitous voyage round the Cape of Good Hope. Whatever it is, I hope Sir H. Nelson will dispose of their army and fleet in a way to be no longer troublesome to LOllB COLLING WOOD. 91 Europe. The Spaniards are well disposed to peace, and the interest of their country requires it ; but God knows whether their French friends will allow that to be a reason for no longer upholding their tyranny : no- thing, however, is more certain than that the continuance of the war is ruinous to Spain. His Catholic Majesty has invited the Pope (good old man) to take an asylum in his dominions, which invitation the Holy Father has accepted ; and application has been made by the Spanish Monarch to Lord St. Vincent for safe passports for the ships employed in conducting his Holiness from Italy to some port in Spain. This the Admiral immediately granted, at the same time offering every aid on the part of the British fleet that might be necessary in the accomplishment of this beneficent mission. The aids you will sup- pose were declined ; but the correspondence between the Admiral and Don Josef Massa- redo was equally creditable to both nations. I believe the Spaniards have a very great respect for us ; in all the intercourses of the common people with our sailors there is much more of kindness than with the wolves about Portsmouth. I have a great pleasure in saying I think there is little doubt of my 92 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEINIOIR OF coming to England this year: for since Sir Roger Curtis arrived, we have more ships here than come to our share ; and as soon as the movements of the French are clearly ascertained, there will doubtless be a reduc- tion here ; and from the state of my ship, I think I shall be amongst the first to come home. Indeed, the Admiral told me he had written to the Admiralty to say that it was proper the Excellent should go to England before the winter. I think so too. I hope my dear Sarah and her little family are well. How I do long to see them ! We have had a great many courts martial lately ; and with every detachment which arrives, we get some ungovernable spirits, whom we are under the grievous necessity of punishing with death. TO THE SAME. July 22, 1798. Young appears to me to be a very good, mild-tempered boy, and I will leave nothing undone which is in my power to promote his knowledge and inte- rests. He is studying geometry with me, and I keep him close to his books. It is a pity, as he was intended for the sea service, that he has not been taught navigation ; but I LORD COIXINGWOOD. 93 will at least prepare him for a better master. I was truly sorry to hear of the death of good Mrs. , and my regard for her shall be transferred to this boy. When you heard that Sir Roger Curtis was come out to us, you would conclude that it was to relieve the old set. He brought eight sail with him ; but this w as to enable the Commander-in-chief to detach a strons: force into the Mediterranean with Nelson. He has now fourteen sail of 2-decked ships, with which I hope, before this, he has com- pletely defeated the armada of the French and their Egyptian scheme. He sailed from near Naples, where he got pilots to carry him through the Straits of Messina two days before the French were to leave Malta, in which case he must very soon have come up with them. The French ships were lum- bered with all kinds of things, and crowded with all sorts of people, professors of every science and art, from astronomers down to washerwomen. In the Orient, the Admiral's ship, in which Buonaparte is embarked, they have, it is said, 2000 persons ; and all the French accounts rest their chief hope of success in 94 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the confidence that the English had no fleet in the Mediterranean. This appointment of Admiral Nelson to a service where so much honour was to be acquired, has given great offence to the senior Admirals of the fleet. Sir William Parker, who is a very excellent officer, and as gallant a man as any in the Navy, and Sir John Orde, who on all occasions of service has acquitted himself with great honour, are both feeling much hurt at a junior of the same fleet having so marked a preference given him, and have written to Lord Spencer, complaining of this neglect of them. The fleet is, in consequence, in a most unpleasant state; and now all that intercourse of friend- ship, which was the only thing like comfort which was left us, is forbidden : for the Ad- mirals and Captains are desired not to enter- tain, even at dinner, any who do not belong to their ships. They all complain that they are appointed to many unworthy services, and I have my share with the rest: but I place myself beyond the reach of such mat- ters ; for I do them with all the exactness in my power, as if they were things of the utmost importance, though I do not conceal LORD COLIJNGWOOD. 95 what I think of them. In short, I do as every body does — wish myself at home very much. The accounts from Ireland give me great uneasiness : one of the mutineers who lately suffered death in the Princess Royal was a member of a seditious society in England, and communicated to his confessor the united Irishmen's oath. Nothing could be drawn up in stronger terms. This man had been employed in several missions from the society in England to the united Irish, and was thought a proper person to disseminate their principles in the fleet, and for that purpose alone he entered Though Lord Collingwood was ever eager to bear testimony to the merit of all who were connected with him in service, there are very few instances in his correspondence in which he censures the conduct of others ; and the Editor would have omitted some passages in the preceding letter, if it had not been for the publication of one of Lord St. Vincent's letters, in which he says, " I pride " myself in maintaining strict discipline, " when surrounded by factious spirits in the " lower orders, and discontents among the 9G LOIUIESPONDEXCE AND MEMOIR OF " higher classes." That distinguished Com- mander was doubtless convinced that those times demanded from him an unusual se- verity of discipline; yet, in justice to the higher classes in that fleet, it may surely be said, that the circumstances detailed in the above letter, furnished some ground for the discontent which prevailed. TO SIR H. NELSON. ON THE VICTORY OF THE NILE. Off Cadiz, 1798. I cannot, my dear friend, ex- press how great my joy is for the complete and glorious victory you have obtained over the French, — the most decisive, and in its consequences perhaps the most important to Europe that was ever won ; and my heart overflows with thankfulness to the Divine Providence for his protection of you through the great dangers which are ever attendant on services of such eminence. So total an overthrow of their fleet, and the consequent deploral)le situation of the army they have in Africa, will, I hope, teach those tyrants in the Directory a lesson of humility, and dis- pose them to peace and justice, that they may restore to tliose states which they have LORD COLLINGWOOD. 97 ruined all that can now be saved from the wreck of a subverted government and plun- dered people. I lament most sincerely the death of Captain Westcott ; he was a good officer, and a worthy man ; but if it were a part of our condition to choose a day on which to die, where could we have found one so memorable, so eminently distinguished among great days ? I have been here miser- able enough all the summer ; but I hope to go to England very soon. The Barfleur, Northumberland, and some other ships, are expected to relieve the old ones. — Say to Lady Nelson, when you write to her, how much I congratulate her on the safety, honours, and services of her husband. Good God ! what must be her feelings ! how great her gratitude to Heaven for such mercies ! — Pray give my hearty congratulations to all my friends in your fleet. I am glad to understand my worthy Ball and Darby are recovering. That success may ever attend you, is the constant prayer of your faithful and affectionate friend. VOL. I. H 98 COllllESPONDENCE AND IMEMOIIl OF TO CAPTAIN BALL. Excellent, sii/l oj' Cadiz, October 28, 1798. MY DEAR BALL, I cannot express to you how great my joy was when the news arrived of the complete and unparalleled victory which you obtained over the French, or what were my emotions of thankfulness that the life of my worthy and much respected friend was preserved through such a day of danger, to his family and his Country. I congratulate you, my dear friend, on your success. Oh, my dear Ball, how I have lamented that I was not one of you ! Many a victory has been won, and I hope many are yet to come, but there never has been, nor will be perhaps again, one in which the fruits have been so completely gathered, the blow so nobly fol- lowed up, and the consequences so fairly brought to account. I have been almost broken-hearted all the summer. ]My ship was in as perfect order for any service as those which were sent ; in zeal I will yield to none ; and my friendship — my love for your admirable Admiral gave me a particular in- terest in serving with him. I saw them pre- paring to leave us, and to leave me, with LORD COLLING WOOD. 99 pain ; but our good Chief found employment for me, and to occupy my mind sent me to cruise off St. Luccars, to intercept — the market-boats, the poor cabbage carriers. Oh ! humiliation. But for the consciousness that I did not deserve degradation from any hand, and that my good estimation would not be depreciated in the minds of honourable men by the caprice of power, I should have died with indignation. I am tired of it ; and you will believe I am glad that to-morrow I de- part for England. The Barfleur and Nor- thumberland, Dacres and Martin, joined us to-day. I have seen the account of the action and plans which you sent to Sir William Parker. I admire Blanquet's in- genuousness ; but I believe the French nation will never know the truth of his story. Something must be fabricated to veil the extent of their loss and of their disgrace. I was alarmed for you when I heard you were wounded ; but as you do not mention it yourself,, I hope you have received no material injury, and are now quite well. It was God's great mercy that you were not blown to atoms by the vast explosion I'Orient must have made. — I have heard with great pleasure that your squadron has presented 100 CORRESPONDENCE AND [MEMOIR OF Sir H. Nelson with a sword : it is the honours to which he led you reflected hack upon himself, — the finest testimony of his merits for having led you to a field in which you all so nobly displayed your own. The ex- pectation of the people of England was raised to the highest pitch ; the event has exceeded all expectation. Every day do I lament that I was not a partaker with you. You will have heard how suddenly Sir John Orde left the fleet. What was the subject of difference I never could understand, or even that there was any. It gave me much uneasiness that there should be an appearance of disagree- ment among men of high rank at such a time, when our very existence seems to depend upon harmony and united efforts. Your squadron has shewn eminently the good effects of them. Remember me most kindly to Sir H. Nelson, to whom I wrote not long since ; to Foley, Troubridge, and all my friends. Tell them how truly I congratulate them. With every good wish for you, I am ever, my dear Ball, Your faithful and affectionate friend. LOUD COLLING WOOD. 101 TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Excellent, Spithead, Dec. 9, 1798. I am waiting here very anxiously for the Admiralty to determine what is to be done with my ship. The report of her defects is before the Navy Board, and they say here that she will require three months' repair ; so that it is not improbable she will be paid off entirely. This, however, I do not wish, for I prefer her to the large new ships. I have hardly time even to get through my current business for courts martial, at which I have been confined ever since I was released from quarantine. To-morrow we begin again. I am very impatient to see my beloved family, and hope that I shall be allowed to rem.ain in quiet enjoyment of you all for a few months ; and in fact I shall be good for nothing till I have been in the North. TO THE SAME. Portsmouth, January 8, 1799. We never know, till it is too late, whether we are going too fast or too 102 COllRESPONDEXCK AND ME3[()lli OF slow ; but I am now repenting that I did not persuade my dear Sarah to come to me as soon as I knew I was not to go from this port ; but tlie length of the journey, the inclemency of the weather, and the little prospect of my staying here half this time, made me think it an unnecessary fatigue for her. I am now quite sick at heart with disappointment and vexation ; and though I hope every day for relief, yet I find it impossible to say when I shall be clear. I have this moment received orders to discharge a good many of my men, whicli is in consequence of my letter to Lord Spencer, telling him that I had urgent and indispensable business, which made it par- ticularly inconvenient to go to sea at present in the Atlas, as he had proposed to me ; and that I should have long since requested leave of absence, but that as my ship was ordered to be paid off, I did not choose to leave her until her men were disposed of. We shall now, I think, go on discharging them every day until they are all gone, and then I shall be at large, which is the only cure for my lieart-ache. — Last night I went to Lady Parker's twelfth-night, where all the gen- LORD COIJJNGWOOD. 103 tlemen's children of the town were at dance and revelry ; but I thought of my own, and was so completely out of spirits that I left them in the middle of it. My wife shall know all my movements, even the very hour in which I shall be able to come to you. I hope they will not hurry me to sea again, for my spirit requires some respite from the anxieties which a ship occasions. Bless my precious girls for me, and their beloved mother Captain Collingwood was now permitted to return to his family, but his interval of repose was short ; for in a few weeks he was raised to the rank of Rear- Admiral, and, hoisting his flag in the Triumph, proceeded immediately to the Channel fleet. From that station he was despatched under Sir Charles Cotton, who carried a reinforcement of twelve sail of the line to Lord Keith, and joined him in June, in the Mediterranean, where the Brest fleet, and the principal part of the naval force of France and Spain, were then collected. 104 COllKESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF TO THE SAME. Triumph, ojf Mahon, Jiilij 11, 1799. I am as well as can be ; but not in very lofty spirits. Lord St. Vincent's health is much impaired, and he is unable to go to sea ; so that he lives on shore at Gibraltar, sending orders for the conduct of the fleet. In the mean time, the French go where they please, and we take care of Minorca. They are now with the Spaniards at Carthagena ; and if you hear of their arrival at Brest, you must not be surprised Many instances will appear in these letters of Lord CoUingwood's sagacity and foresight, but in none of them was his prediction more speedily fulfilled than on this occasion ; for, on the 21st of July, the French and Spanish fleets, amounting to forty ships of the line, sailed for Brest, and were followed by Lord Keith on the 30th, who, on the 14th of August, on his arrival off* that harbour, discovered that they had entered it on the ])rcccding day. I.OUl) C()LI-IN(;W()()D. 105 Triumph, Tor hay, August 18, 1799. You will have heard from my dear Sarah, to whom I wrote the iGth, the day of our arrival, that I am well, and that is the best news I have to tell you ; for we have made a most unfortunate voyage of it. In all reasonable expectation, the French fleet ought not to have escaped us ; and I had always hopes of our coming up with them, until we sailed into Port Mahon, which is a very narrow harbour, from which you cannot get out without great difficulty. There we remained, until the enemy had got so far the start, that it was not possible to come up with them. We arrived at Brest the day after them, and finding them snug, came here ; — at all which there has been great lamentation in the fleet. Triumph, Torhay, November 1799, We are lying here, with a great fleet, quite ready ; but are, I think, in high luck to be in port this very stormy weather, as it has blown a gale of wind ever since we came in. We should have been ruined if we had kept the sea, and there is no fear of the enemy getting out while the storm 106 CORRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF continues. Our miscarriage in Holland will give us a great deal to do with our ships, and would that peace or war depended on our success. Good sometimes arises from evil ; and if the men whom the enemy will now get, should enable their fleet to come to sea, we must exert ourselves, and God be with us ! I have no fears for the issue of the con- flict, happen when it will. From the present appearance of things, there seems little chance of my being in any port this winter, except this wild bay. I will order Mr. 's son to be received here with a great deal of pleasure, and do every thing in my power for him. Has he been taught navigation ? If his father intended him for the sea, he should have been put to a mathematical school when twelve years old. Boys make very little pro- gress in a ship, without being well practised in navigation ; and fifteen is too old to begin, for very few take well to the sea at that age. If, however, Mr. is determined, he should lose no further time, but have his son taught trigonometry perfectly before he begins navigation. If the boy has any taste for drawing, it will ])e a great advantage to him, and should be encouraged. T.OIID COLLINGWOOD. 107 TO THE SAME. Barjieur, Torbay, Mm/ 23, 1800. Would to God that this war were happily concluded ! It is anguish enough to me to be thus for ever separated from my family ; but that my Sarah should, in my absence, be suffering from illness, is complete misery. Pray, my dear sir, have the goodness to write a line or two very often, to tell me how she does. I am quite pleased at the account you give me of my girls. If it were peace, I do not think there would be a happier set of creatures in Northumberland than we should be. You do not mention the hard gale of wind we had on Saturday the 17th, so that I suppose it did not reach you. I have not seen so great a sea for these twenty years. This ship bore it as well as any, but I believe we are all much strained. The Admiral had not yesterday heard any thing of the Elephant and Warrior, and I fear some lamentable thing has happened to them to keep them out so long ; but Foley and Tyler, their Captains, are very clever men, and will manage as well as possible. I have not been on shore since we came in. 108 COllllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIll OF 'Neptune, off Brest, August 15, 1800. I do assure you, when I reflect on my long absence from all that can make me happy, it is very painful to me, and what day is there that 1 do not lament the con- tinuance of this war? We are wandering before this port, with no prospect of change for the better. Nothing good can happen to us short of peace. Every officer and man in the fleet is impatient for release from a situation which daily becomes more irksome to all. I see disgust growing round me very fast. Instead of softening the rigours of a service which must, from its nature, be attended with many anxieties, painful watchings, and deprivation of every thing like comfort, a contrary system is pursued, which has not extended to me ; but I see its effects on others, and deplore them. What I feel as a great misfortune, is, that there is no exercise of the military part of the duty, no practice of those movements, by a facility in which one fleet is made superior to another. Whoever comes here ignorant in these points, must remain so ; for he will find other employment, about blankets, and pig-sties, and tumbling provisions out of one LORD COLLINGWOOD. 109 ship into another. How the times are changed ! Once, when officers met, the first question was, — What news of the French ? is there any prospect of their coming to sea ? Now there is no solicitude on that subject, and the hope of peace alone engages the attention of every body. TO THE SAME. BarfleuTy Toihay, October 4, 1800. It is a great comfort to me, banished as I am from all that is dear to me, to learn that my beloved Sarah and her girls are well. Would to Heaven it were peace ! that I might come, and for the rest of my life be blessed in their affection. Indeed, this unremitting hard service is a great sacrifice, giving up all that is pleasurable to the soul, or soothing to the mind, and engaging in a constant contest with the elements, or with tempers and dispositions as boisterous and untractable. Great allowance should be made for us when we come on shore; for being long in the habits of absolute com- mand, we grow impatient of contradiction, and are unfitted for the gentle intercourse of quiet life. I am really in great hopes 110 CORRESPONDENCE AND :\rK:\IOIR OF that it will not be long before the experiment will be made upon me, for I think we shall soon have peace ; and I assure you that I will endeavour to conduct myself with as much moderation as possible. I have come to another resolution, which is, when this war is happily terminated, to think no more of ships, but pass the rest of my days in the bosom of my family, where I think my pro- spects of happiness are equal to any man's. TO THE SAME. Barjleur, Plymouth Dock, Decemher 27, 1800. I intend that you shall receive this on the 1st of January, your birth-day ; and I pray God that you may live to receive my congratulations on the same occasion for many years to come ; that you may find in your family all the blessings w^hich your paternal care of them has so justly merited, and filial piety can bestow ; that you may long see your own good heart reflected in the kind and benevolent manners of your daughters ; and that in due time my precious children may join their efforts in administer- ing to your comfort. May you, my dear sir, be very happy ; and when better times come, LOUD COIJJXGWOOl). Ill may we all be glad together, and talk over this my long separation from all that is happiness, as a bondage and a peril that are past. I am here conducting the fitting out of our fleet, which is, I assure you, a laborious office, but that I do not mind ; and have now been near a month in port. What a month it would have been had my wife been with me ! It grieves me ten times more than if I had been at sea. TO THE SAME. Barjieur, Cuwsand Baij, January 18, 1801. I have been a long time here, and do not know when I shall remove. It has been a melancholy, forlorn time to me; and I have not been quite well. There is a dreadful languor that I cannot shake off; but when Sarah comes, when I see her, I shall then be well. I do not write to her because I think it likely they are now on their journey southward. Shall we ever have peace? I confess I do not expect to see it. All Europe has combined to reduce the power and annihilate the glory of England; but the stand we will make will be that of the 112 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF lion at the mouth of his cave. I do not wish to live to see the honour of our Country faded, or its interests injured ; nor do I think it probable that I shall. The Danes and Swedes have joined the coalition, and we now seize them all. You have been made happy this winter in the visit of your daughter. How glad should I have been could I have joined you ; but it will not be long ; two years more will, I think, exhaust me completely, and then I shall be fit only to be nursed. God knows how little claim I have on any body to take that trouble. My daughters can never be to me what yours have been, whose affections have been nurtured by daily acts of kindness. They may be told that it is a duty to regard me, but it is not reasonable to expect that they should have the same feeling for a person of whom they have only heard ; but if they are good and virtuous, as 1 hope and believe they will be, I may share at least in their kindness with the rest of the world. Barjieur, Cmvsand Baj/, J/innan/ 25, 1801. Nothing could give me more pleasure than the letter I received on Thurs- day from my dearest Sarah, telling me she LORD COLLING WOOD. 113 was to set off on the Tuesday following. I am delighted at the thought of seeing her so soon, and it has cured me of all my complaints ; indeed I believe the cause of them was vexation and sorrow at being, as it were, entirely lost to my family. She will soon be a good sailor, for she must come to my ship, as I cannot, under our present circumstances, be on shore. You will be surprised to hear that I have only dined twice out of my ship, once with the Admiral and once with the Commissioner, since I came in, which is near seven weeks. We are at present lying completely ready, and, on the least motion made by the enemy, should sail ; so you may conceive what an anxious time I have of it. Lord Nelson is here ; and I think he will probably come and live with me when the weather will allow him ; but he does not get in and out of ships well with one arm. He gave me an account of his reception at Court, which was not very flattering, after having been the admiration of that of Naples. His Majesty merely asked him if he had re- covered his health ; and then, without wait- ing for an answer, turned to General , and talked to him near half an hour in great VOL. I. I 114 COllRESPONDENCE AM) MEMOIR OF good humour. It could uot be about his successes. FROM LORD NELSON. Cawsaud Baj/, Tuesday. MY DEAR FRIEND. I truly feel for you, and as much for dear Mrs. Collingwood. How sorry I am. For Heaven's sake, do not think I had the gift of foresight ; but some- thing told me so it would be. Can't you contrive and stay to night : it will be a comfort if only to see your family one hour. Therefore, had you not better stay on shore and wait for her. Ever, my dear Colling- wood, believe me, your affectionate and faithful friend, NELSON AND BRONTE. If they would have manned me and sent me off, it would have been real pleasure to me. How cross are the fates ! TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Barjieur, Tor bay, Feb. 6, 180L Sarah will have told you how and when we met ; it was a joy to me that I cannot describe, and repaid me, short as our interview was, for a world of woe which I LOUD COIXINGWOOD. 115 was suffering on her account. I had been reckoning on the possibility of her arrival that Tuesday, when about two o'clock I re- ceived an express to go to sea immediately with all the ships that were ready, and had we not then been engaged at a court martial, I might have got out that day ; but this business delayed me till near night, and I determined to wait on shore until eight o'clock for the chance of their arrival. I went to dine with Lord Nelson ; and while we were at dinner their arrival was an- nounced to me. I flew to the inn where I had desired my wife to come, and found her and little Sarah as well after their journey as if it had lasted only for the day. No greater happiness is human nature capable of than was mine that evening ; but at dawn we parted, and I went to sea. Lord St. Vincent has, however, been so good as to promise that I shall go to Plymouth when- ever I can be spared from the fleet. Barfleur, off Ushant, March 6, 1801. You will have heard from Sarah what a meeting we had, how short our inter- view, and how suddenly we pajted. It is grief to me to think of it now ; it almost 116 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF broke my heart then. After such a journey, to see me but for a few hours, with scarce time for her to relate the incidents of her journey, and no time for me to tell her half that my heart felt at such a proof of her affection ; but I am thankful that I did see her and my sweet child. It was a blessing to me, and composed my mind, which was before very much agitated. 1 have little chance of seeing her again, unless a storm should drive us into port, for the French fleet is in a state of preparation, which makes it necessary for us to watch them narrowly. This cruise is the most tiresome of all I ever experienced ; for, independently of the reasons which I now have for desiring to be in port, no regard is paid to letters coming or going, which was always an object of the first consideration with Lord Bridport, Lord St. Vincent, and Sir Allan Gardner. I do not know that one of the many letters I have written since my sailing is gone, and I have not heard from any one these three weeks. Of public matters we know nothing, for we do not even get a newspaper. We are immured within the sides of our ships, and have no knowledge of the world or its ways. LORD COLLINCiWOOl). 117 Barfleur, off' Brest, April 20, 1801. I can still talk to you of nothing but the delight I experienced in the little I have had of the company of my be- loved wife and of my little Sarah. What comfort is promised to me in the affections of that child, if it should please God that we ever again return to the quiet domestic cares of peace ! I had written thus far when the account reached me of the action at Copen- hagen, with the destruction of the Danish fleet, the death of that poor distracted Paul, and its consequences. This success has almost turned my head with joy. Now I hope we shall have peace. God Almighty has prospered our arms ; and I trust that it is the justice of our cause, and the con- fidence with which we repose in him, that have brought these blessings on us. I should be much obliged to you if you would send Scott a guinea for me, for these hard times must pinch the poor old man, and he will miss my wife, who was very kind to him. Barfleur, off Brest, October 16, 1 SO 1 . I cannot tell you how much joy the news of the peace gave me. The 118 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF hope of returning to my family, and living in quiet and comfort among those I love, fills my heart with gladness. The tidings came to us at the happiest time. I was to take leave of my wife after breakfast, and we were both sad enough, when William came running in with one of his important faces on, and attempted to give his information in a speech ; but, after two or three efforts, w^hich were a confused huddle of inarticulate sounds, he managed to bring out, Peace ! Peace ! which had just as good an effect as the finest oration he could have made on the subject. As I was obliged to sail, we parted in two hours after, but it was only to meet again very soon. I joined the fleet on the 13th, which w^as going on in the usual style, blockading Brest as closely as ever ; and I think it probable we shall continue at sea till the fleet is to be dismantled, to prevent as much as possible the confusion which a multitude makes, all anxious for their discharge. We shall thus drop off gradually ; and I hope by Christmas to have the pleasure of embracing you all. The moment the French in Brest heard the preliminaries were signed, they sent out a flag of truce with the information to Ad- T,ORD COLIJNCWOOD. 119 miral Cornwallis, and their congratulations on the approaching amity of the two coun- tries. The English officer who was sent in with a return of the compliment was treated with the greatest hospitality and kindness, both by the French and Spanish. They feasted him all the time he staid there, and carried him to the plays and places of enter- tainment. I hope now we have seen the end of the last war that will be in our days, and that I shall be able to turn my mind to peaceful occupations. I must endeavour to find some employment, which, having at least the shew of business, may keep my mind engaged, and prevent that languor to which, from constitution, I am more subject than most people, but which never intrudes upon my full occupation. At present we know nothing of what is going on in Eng- land, for, though despatches are arriving and going from the Admiral daily, the fleet in general have no communication with those vessels, not even to the receiving or sending a letter, — so that I cannot tell when this will come to you. A letter to Sarah, which I wrote when I arrived here, is still by me. This suspension of correspondence is, per- haps, very proper at this time, preserving 120 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF things here in the same state until they are prepared for speedily disbanding vis on our arrival in port. I wish you would have the goodness to ask Mr. how he proposes his son should proceed. I would recommend his taking him home, and putting him to a good ma- thematical school, perfecting him, under his own eye, in navigation, astronomy, mechanics, and fortification. He knows now enough of ships to make the application of what he learns easy to him ; and when his head is well stocked, he will be able to find em- ployment and amusement without having recourse to company, which is as often bad as good. He has sense and spirit enough to make a good officer and an honourable man ; but he must make his studies a business, to which he must be entirely devoted : draw- ing is the best kind of recreation. If he be sent immediately to sea, he may become a good sailor, but not qualified to fill the higher offices of his profession, or to make his way to them. How glad will my heart be to see you all at my own home ! I look on the day to be at hand when I shall be very, very happy indeed. LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 121 Barfieur, Bear Haven, December 18, 1801. Little has occurred since I wrote, beside the addition to our number of ships ; the Glory, Achille, and Orion having joined us. It is with no hearty welcome, as you may believe, that we see ships still coming from England ; but, indeed, I have now no hope of removing from hence until the definitive treaty be concluded, and peace firmly established. The Ministry want to send some ships abroad, to keep a force superior to that which the French may find necessary for the reduction of St. Domingo ; but I fear there may be some opposition by the seamen, who will have great reluctance in going abroad until the ships are re- manned by volunteers. We have experi- enced so much on that subject, that I have no doubt proper measures will be taken to prevent dissatisfaction. Perhaps you may receive this letter about your birth-day : accept my congratulations on that occasion, and my hearty prayer that you may, in health and happiness, live to see many returns of it, and ever with them see peace blessing mankind. I look forward to enjoying great comfort amid my family for 122 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the rest of my life ; and hope that our schemes of quiet and domestic happiness will never again be interrupted by wars or seditions. Spithead^Februajy 1, 1802. I am waiting for an easterly wind and better weather than we have lately had, to carry me to Torbay, whither I have been ordered some time ; and sincerely do I wish the treaty would come and conclude all our voyages Shortly after the date of this letter, Admiral Collingwood was enabled to return to his family at Morpeth, in Northumber- land, and remained with them till the con- clusion of the peace of Amiens. During this short period of happiness and rest he was occupied in superintending the education of his daughters, and in continuing those habits of study which had long been familiar to him. His reading was extensive, particu- larly in history ; and it was his constant practice to exercise himself in composition, by making abstracts from the books which he read : and some of his abridgments, with the observations by which he illustrated LORD COLLINGWOOD. 123 them, are written with singular conciseness and power. " I know not," said one of the most eminent English Diplomatists, with whom he had afterwards very frequent com- munications, " I know not where Lord Col- " lingwood got his style, but he writes better " than any of us." His amusements were found in the intercourse with his family, in drawing, planting, and the cultivation of his garden, which was on the bank of the beau- tiful river Wansbeck. This was his favourite employment ; and on one occasion, a brother Admiral, who had sought him through the garden in vain, at last discovered him with his gardener, old Scott, to whom he was much attached, in the bottom of a deep trench, which they were busily occupied in digging. While, in cheerfulness and tranquillity, he was thus fully realising those hopes of happiness which he had so long entertained, hostilities with France recommenced ; and in the spring of 1803 he was once more called away from his home, to which he never returned again. The exact date of his departure from the North does not appear; but in the narrative of his life, from which several extracts have already been made, he 124 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF observes, " Since 1793 I have been only one " year at home. To my own children I am " scarcely known ; but while I have health " and strength to serve my Country, I con- " sider that health and strength to be its " due ; and if I serve it successfully, as I " have ever done faithfully, my children will " not want for friends." In the early part of May he was sent, in the Venerable, to the squadron off Brest, under Admiral Cornwallis, who said, " Here " comes Collingwood, the last to leave and " the first to rejoin me." TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Venerable, off Brest, August 9, 1803. I am lying off the entrance of Brest Harbour, to watch the motions of the French fleet. Our information respecting them is very vague, but we know they have four or five and twenty great ships, which makes it necessary to be alert, and keep our eyes open at all times. I therefore bid adieu to snug beds and comfortable naps at night, never lying down but in my clothes. Sarah's account of our improved house pleases me very much : I hope she will make it as comfortable as possible, and enjoy peace LORD COLLINGWOOD. 125 and happiness there, whatever may happen in the world abroad. It will cost a good deal of money, but I have provided for it, as I reckon the comforts of my wife among my chief luxuries ; it is, indeed, the only one which my present situation will allow me to gratify. — We hear no news here, and cannot be in more complete seclusion from the world, with only one object in view, — that of preventing the French from doing harm. The Admiral sends all the ships to me, and cruises off Ushant by himself; but with a westerly wind, it is impossible with one squadron to prevent ships getting into Brest Harbour ; for it has two entrances, very distant from each other, — one to the south of the Saints, but which, off Ushant, where we are, is entirely out of view. I take the utmost pains to prevent all access, and an anxious time I have of it, what with tides and rocks, which have more of danger in them than a battle once a week. I have not heard yet what ship I am to have ; and indeed, as I am at sea already, neither the Admiralty nor myself seem to care much about it, except that I should be glad that those gentlemen who have desired to serve with me should not be disappointed. 126 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF I have this moment received orders to send the Venerable in to replenish, and shall go myself on board the Minotaur till she returns, for I do not expect to go into port until the conclusion of the war During this time he frequently passed the whole night on the quarter-deck, — a practice which, in circumstances of difficulty, he continued till the latest years of his life. When, on these occasions, he has told his friend Lieutenant Clavell, who had gained his entire confidence, that they must not leave the deck for the night, and that officer has endeavoured to persuade him that there was no occasion for it, as a good look out was kept, and represented that he was almost exhausted with fatigue ; the Admiral would reply, " I fear you are. You have need of " rest; so go to bed, Clavell, and I will " watch by myself" Very frequently have they slept together on a gun, from which Admiral Collingwood would rise from time to time, to sweep the horizon with his night- glass, lest the enemy should escape in the dark. LOUD COIJJNGWOOD. 127 TO THE SAME. Venerable, off Ushant, October 10, 1803. By my letter to Sarah you would hear that I am very well, and in ffreat ease and comfort since I left the squadron in shore. It was a station of great anxiety, and required so constant a care and look out, that I have been often a week without having my clothes off, and was sometimes upon deck the whole night. I was there longer than was intended, for want of a proper successor, and saw all my squadron relieved more than once. I had a letter the other day from Sir R. Calder, off Ferrol, where the French have five great ships fitting, stores and provisions being sent to them from France, and they are helped out in what is wanting by the Spaniards ; but we certainly shall not allow them to give this friendly aid to the enemy, while they will not permit us to take a little sand off the beach to scour the decks. Is this being in amity with us ? — I think that Buonaparte's experiment of the invasion will soon be made, and hope that it will not be held too lightly ; for in that consists the only danger. They should not merely be 128 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF repulsed, but with such exemplary vengeance as will deter them from any future attempt to subjugate our Country, and will give an example to all other nations how they also may preserve their independence. In the meantime, I do not know that this firing and bombing upon their coast is of any essential benefit, or whether it may not rather do harm, by accustoming them to a great fire with little injury. I have been eighteen weeks at sea, and have not a sick man in my ship ; but now that the cold weather is beginning, I fear we shall feel the want of warm clothing. I am sure I shall ; for when I sailed, I had not time to make a coat, and have only two, one of which is very old ; but I did not suspect I should have been so long without the means of getting one. TO THE SAME. Voierable, Cawsand Bay, December IG, 1803. I rejoice at the recovery of good Sir Edward, wliich indeed, considering his time of life, is marvellous ; but a temperate habit, and a placid, gentle disposition, are fine anodynes, — they assuage pain and soften misfortune, and leave Nature free to LORD COLLINGWOOD. 129 work her wonders. Now for my miseries, of which I have a good store just now. I came in from sea with orders from the Admiral to refresh my ship's company, and, poor crea- tures, they have been almost worked to death ever since. We began by discovering slight defects in the ship ; and the farther we went in the examination, the more important they appeared, until at last she was discovered to be so completely rotten as to be unfit for sea. We have been sailing for the last six months with only a sheet of copper between us and eternity. I have written to Lord St. Vincent to ask him for a sounder ship ; but it deranges me exceedingly to be thus for ever changing. TO THE SAME. Culloden, off Ushant, February 28, 1804. I received Sarah's letter yester- day, giving me an account of the death of your excellent brother. Sir Edward, and I most sincerely condole with you and uncle Harry on the loss of one of the kindest and most benevolent of men. We ought indeed to be thankful to God Almighty for having released him from a state of pain from which there was no prospect of recovery here ; yet VOL. i. K 130 COKllESPONDENCE AND IMEMOIK OF this, and the death of our good aunt Carlyle, make nie very sad : for I see those that loved us going off, and leaving a blank in our friendships that can never again be filled. Poor Dr. Carlyle ! I pity him very much : his home is desolate indeed, and he is at a time of life when domestic comforts are the only ones which are suited to his age. I was miserable when I first came into this ship ; but things are now much mended, and in an orderly state. It has been a laborious job for poor Clavell ; but he has done it well. TO THE SAME. CuUoden, of Ushant, July 20, 1804. Admiral Cornwallis left us the day before yesterday, and is gone to Spit- head — I rather think not to return again. I dare say he is heartily tired of this cruis- ing, as every body must be of such a life. Nothing but a sense of its being necessary for the safety of the Country, could make us support such a deprivation of every thing which is pleasurable. I have had a good share of it ; and wlienever we are blessed with peace, I shall go ashore with extreme satisfaction, never to embark again. My LORD COLLINGWOOD. 131 chief anxiety now is to see my daughters well and virtuously educated, and I shall never think any thing too good for them if they are wise and good-tempered. Tell them, with my blessing, that I am much obliged to them for weeding my oaks. I have got a nurseryman here from Wrighton. It is a great pity that they should press such a man because when he was young he went to sea for a short time. They have broken up his good business at home, distressed his family, and sent him here, where he is of little or no service. I grieve for him, poor man ! TO THE SAME. August 28, 1804. We are going on here in our usual way, and nothing in nature can be more dull ; but the French are preparing a great force to do something, and then we must put all the exertion of two or three years into one day's business. It seems odd, when you consider, that I have not seen a green leaf on a tree since I left Mrs. Hughes's, at Portsmouth, in June 1803, except indeed those of my own creation, in the drawing which I sent you some time ago, and which 132 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF I hope you received. The want of exercise makes me very languid and low in spirits; but I hope we shall come into port this winter, and not be torn to tatters as we were last year. I wish Admiral Cornwallis were here again. A good deal has been said about his having it in contemplation to leave the fleet, and that Lord Duncan is coming to the command ; but, in my opinion, there is no officer on the list who has the skill of Lord Gardner, and it seems to me very strange that he is not appointed to any situ- ation of importance. TO THE SAME. Dreadnought, off Rochefort-, November 4, 1804. I wrote to Sarah last week ; and as I shall send the Warrior in to refit, whenever the gale abates so far that I can have communication with her, I take this opportunity to thank you for your letter. It gave me great pleasure to hear that you were not only well in health, but amused and happy in the society of all my darlings. I pray God long to give you the enjoyment of those blessings ! I am really almost worn out with inces- sant fatigue and anxiety of mind. I am here LORD COIJJNGVVOOT). 133 watching the French squadron in Rochefort, but feel that it is not practicable to prevent their sailing, if it be their intention ; and yet, if they should get past me, I should be exceedingly mortified. At this moment, and for two days past, it has blown a hard gale of easterly wind, and we are driven thirty leagues from the port. The only thing that can prevent their sailing is the apprehension that they may run amongst us, as they cannot exactly know where we are, to avoid us. The ship which I am now in is a very fine strong ship, but has been ill fitted out ; for it was a part of Lord St. Vin- cent's economy to employ convicts to fit out the ships, instead of the men and officers who were to sail in them. The consequence is, that they are wanting in every kind of arrangement that skilful men would have made, and most of them have been obliged to be docked since their equipment, at a very great expense. We have made a dash at the Spaniards, which was certainly neces- sary to bring them to explanation of the kind of masked hostility which they were carrying on ; but I still hope it will not be the cause of war, although it may give a 134 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF check to the liberal supplies which they have furnished to France. Of peace with France, I see no prospect : nothing less than a revolution in that coun- try can rescue Europe from the tyranny of a military despot ; but God knows whether even that would be more than changing one tyrant for another. The army in that coun- try is every thing — the people nothing, but as they are necessary to the support of that army, which is a complete subversion of order, and the most melancholy state to which so- ciety can be reduced. This dilatory war they carry on with us looks like design to continue it for a term of years ; and there is no power in Europe now of consequence enough to say that the peace of mankind shall no longer be disturbed. Russia cannot ; Prussia will not ; Austria dare not. All the rest must do as they are ordered. TO THE SAME. Dreadnought , off Ushant, February 4, 1805. In the middle of last month we put into Torbay, where we were a week ; but the being in Torbay is no great relief, for no person or boat goes on shore. We visit LOT^B COIJ.TNGWOOD. 135 our friends and neighbours in the fleet, but have no communication with the rest of the world, without they come on board, and take the chance of a cruise. The sailing of the enemy's squadron from Rochefort, and evad- ing Sir Thomas Graves, seems to intimate that something is soon to be undertaken by them. It is not yet well ascertained where that squadron is ; but by the route in which they were seen, Brest seemed to be their des- tination, and if they are arrived there, it will be a proof how little practicable it is to block up a port in winter. To sail from one blockaded port, and enter another where the whole fleet is, without being seen, does not come within the comprehension of the city politicians. Their idea is, that we are like sentinels standing at a door, who must see, and may intercept all who attempt to go into it. But so long as the ships are at sea they are content, little considering that every one of the blasts which we endure lessens the security of the Country. The last cruise disabled five large ships, and two more lately ; several of them must be docked. If the country gentlemen do not make it a point to plant oaks wherever they will grow, the time will not be very distant when, 136 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF to keep our Navy, we must depend entirely on captures from the enemy. You will be surprised to hear that most of the knees which were used in the Hibernia w^ere taken from the Spanish ships captured on the 14th February, and what they could not furnish was supplied by iron. I wish every body thought on this subject as I do ; they would not walk through their farms without a pocket-full of acorns to drop in the hedge- sides, and then let them take their chance. FROM LORD NELSON. MY DEAR FRIEND, Victorij, March 13, 1805. Many, many thanks for your kind remembrance of me, and for your friendly good wishes, which, from my heart, I can say are reciprocal. I am certainly near going to England ; for my constitution is much shook, and nothing has kept me here so long but the expectation of getting at the French fleet. I am told the Roche- fort squadron sailed the same day as that from Toulon. Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea, and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port ; but I.OIU) COLLING WOOD. 137 he now finds, I fancy, if emperors hear truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year. However, thank God, the Toulon fleet is got in order again, and I hear the troops embarked; and I hope they will come to sea in fine weather. The moment the battle is over I shall cut ; and I must do the same, if I think, after some weeks, they do not intend to come out for the sum- mer. We have had a very dull war, but I agree with you that it must change for a more active one. I beg, my dear Colling- wood, that you will present my most respect- ful compliments to Mrs. Collingwood ; and believe me for ever and as ever, your most sincere and truly attached friend, NELSON AND BRONTE. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Dreadnought, April 9, 1805. Lord Gardner joined us a week ago, to command the fleet in the absence of Admiral Cornwallis. I saw him yesterday for an hour or two, and was sorry to find him altered for the worse, old and out of spirits ; yet, I think, if he were established he would recover again, and be as active as ever, for there is no officer a more perfect 138 CORllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF master of the discipline of the fleet than he is. The French ships are perfectly ready for sea, and ten days since came out of Brest to Bertheaume road. We stood with our fleet, seventeen sail of us, close up to their twenty-one, but they did not shew any dis- position to come from under their batteries. My Captain has been laid up with the gout almost ever since we came out, so that I am forced to fag ; and without Clavell I should be very ill off. I am delighted with your account of my children's improvement, for it is a subject of the greatest anxiety to me. Above all things, keep novels out of their reach. They are the corrupters of tender minds ; they exercise the imagination instead of the judgment; make them all desire to become the Julias and Cecilias of romance ; and turn their heads before they are enabled to distinguish truth from fictions devised merely for entertain- ment. When they have passed their cli- macteric it will be time enough to begin novels Napoleon was now preparing to carry into execution that mighty project for the invasion of England, on which such diver- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 139 sity of opinion prevailed among the people of this Country : some regarding it as an empty menace, while others (among whom was Admiral Collingwood) were convinced that for the completion of these plans he would strain all the resources of his empire, and that on their success were centered the highest hopes of his ambition and revenge. Since the publication, however, by Count Dumas, of Napoleon's correspondence with M. Decres, his Minister of Marine, all doubt upon this question has been removed ; and amid the various disclosures which have been made respecting this extraordinary man, there is nothing more remarkable than the picture which is presented in that book of the un- wearied attention with which, from the rup- ture of the peace of Amiens, till the final destruction of his hopes by the victory of Trafalgar, he was brooding over this project, arranging the successive departures of his squadrons, and endeavouring to transfer to the uncertain combinations of naval war a portion of that regularity and science by which he had traced the march of his armies. It was never his purpose to hazard the vast army and flotilla which he had collected at Boulogne, unless he should have been pre- 140 CORUESPONDF.NCK AND MEMOIR OF viously enabled to draw the English squa- drons from the Channel, and to appear there himself with an overpowering force of line- of-battle ships. " Que nous soyons," he ob- served in one of his despatches, " maitres du " Detroit six heures, et nous serons maitres " du monde." To effect this object, the fleets of France and Spain were to put to sea when- ever they could escape unnoticed ; and he endeavoured, by inserting false news into the "journals, by marching troops towards points which were not intended to be attacked, by menacing Egypt and India, and by the prac- tice of every species of deception, to delude the English squadrons into a distant and unavailing pursuit. Expeditions were to be sent against St. Helena ! Goree, and Surinam ; they were to present themselves before every roadstead, and to spread alarm at once through Asia, Africa, and America. " Je " desire que vous fassiez mettre dans les " journaux que de grandes nouvelles sont " arrivees des Indes ; qu'on sait seulement " que les affaires des Anglais vont fort mal.'* — " Je menacerai I'Egypte de tant de ma- " nieres, et si evidemment, qu'ils craindront " un grand coup ; ils croiront que mes " escadres vont aux Indes Orientales." — LORD COIJJNGWOOD. 14^ " L'Egypte leur donnera alors une alarme " epouvantable. J'ai une armee prete a Ta- " rente, et j'y ai un million de rations de " biscuit."* Lord Nelson defeated this plan, not less by the judgment and promptitude with which he twice followed Admiral Villeneuve across the Atlantic, than by his genius and heroism in the battle of Trafalgar ; but the false in- formation which had been thrown in his way had not been without its effect. His passage down to Egypt, while the French fleet was escaping through the Straits of Gibraltar, is well known ; and that at times he was medi- tating to sail to the East Indies, appears from some passages in his letters. On the 19th of April, when writing to Lord Melville, he says, " I shall pursue the enemy to the " East or West Indies, if I know that to have " been their destination." And again, after his return to Gibraltar, " I shall be in Tetuan " on the ^2d; and twenty-four hours will " then complete us for an East India voyage." This passage occurs in one of the following letters to Admiral Collingwood, who, on the sailing of the enemy's fleet from Toulon, had * Precis des Evenemens Militaircs, torn. xi. 142 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF been appointed to a squadron with orders to go in pursuit of the enemy ; or in the event of receiving information that they were fol- lowed by Lord Nelson, to make such a dis- position as should appear best. Admiral Collingwood arrived off Cape Finisterre, May 27, and fell in with Sir R. Bickerton, which induced him to take a station off Cadiz, to prevent any progress of the Spa- niards ; and on the day of his arrival there he detached two of his fastest sailing ships, the Ramilies and Illustrious, to Barbadoes, in hopes of their joining Lord Nelson * FROM LORD NELSON. Victory, Gibraltar, July 18, 1805. MY DEAR COLLINGWOOD, I am, as you may suppose, miserable at not having fallen in with the enemy's fleet ; but for false information the battle would have been fought where Rod- ney fought his, on June the 6th. I must now only hope that the enemy have not tricked me, and gone to Jamaica ; but if the account, of which I send you a copy, is correct, it is more than probable they are either gone * Clarke imd Maciirthur, tol. ii. p. 416. LORD COIXINGWOOD. 143 to the northward, or, if bound to the Medi- terranean, are not yet arrived. The Spa- niards, or the greatest part of them, I take for granted are gone to the Havannah, and, I suppose, have taken fourteen sail of Antigua sugar-loaded ships with them. The moment the fleet is watered and has got some refresh- ments, of which we are in great want, I shall come out and make you a visit, — not, my dear friend, to take your command from you, (for I may probably add mine to you,) but to consult how we can best serve our Coun- try by detaching a part of this large force. God bless you, my dear friend, and believe me ever most affectionately yours, NELSON AND BRONTE. FROM THE SAME. Victory, Gibraltar, July 20, 1805. The Martin sloop arrived this morning ; and, as Captain Savage says that the Pickle schooner left the fleet before him for Gibraltar, I fear some accident has hap- pened to her. I shall be in Tetuan on the 22d ; and twenty- four hours will then complete us for an East India voyage ; and I shall see you as soon as possible 144 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF In the mean time, in pursuance of the scheme of Napoleon, the combined fleets, after spreading alarm through the West Indies, were returning towards Ferrol. " Mon " intention est," he says, " si Villeneuve a " sous ses commandemens au moins 20 vais- " seaux qu'il vienne au Ferrol, ou il trouvera " certainement 15 vaisseaux Frangais et Es- " pagnols, et avec ces 35 vaisseaux qu'il se " presente devant Brest, ou, sans entrer, il " sera joint par I'Amiral Gantheaume et avec " les 56 vaisseaux, que lui formera cette jonc- " tion, qu'il entre dans le canal." The inva- sion of Ireland formed a part of this plan. A squadron was to land 18,000 men to the north of the Bay of Loughswilly ; then pass- ing round Scotland, to appear off Boulogne, or go to the Texel, where they would find seven Dutch sail of the line and 27,000 men, which they were to take back to Ireland. " Une des deux questions," he observes, " doit reussir ; et alors que jaie trente ou " quarante mille hommes en Irlande, soit " que je sois en Angleterre ou en Irlande, " le gain de la guerre sera pour nous." — " Si votre presence," as he writes to Ad- miral Villeneuve, " nous rende maitres de la LORD COLLINGWOOD. 145 " mer pendant trois jours devant Boulogne, " nous avons toute faculte de faire notre " expedition, composee de 160,000 hommes, " embarques sur deux mille batimens." " Mon opinion est," says Napoleon more than once, " que Collingwood est parti, et " est alle aux Grandes Indes :" but that the Admiral, on the contrary, had penetrated into the real secret of these plans, will be seen from the following letter, which might almost seem to have been a transcript from Napoleon's despatch to his Minister of Marine. TO LORD NELSON. July 21, 1805. We approached, my dear Lord, with caution, not knowing whether we were to expect you or the Frenchmen first. I have always had an idea that Ireland alone was the object they have in view, and still believe that to be their ultimate destination. They will now liberate the Ferrol squadron from Calder, make the round of the bay, and, taking the Rochefort people with them, appear off Ushant, perhaps with thirty-four sail, there to be joined by twenty more. This appears a probable plan ; for unless it VOL. I. L 146 COllRESPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF be to bring their powerful fleets and armies to some great point of service — some rash attempt at conquest — they have only been subjecting them to chance of loss, v^^hich I do not believe the Corsican would do without the hope of an adequate reward. The French Government never aim at little things while great objects are in view. I have considered the invasion of Ireland as the real mark and butt of all their operations. Their flight to the West Indies was to take off the naval force, which proved the great impediment to their undertaking. This summer is big with events : we may all perhaps have an active share in them ; and I sincerely wish your Lordship strength of body to go through it, and to all others your strength of mind. FROM LORD NELSON. Victory, July 25, 1805. MY DEAR COLLINGWOOD, We are in a fresh levanter, you have a westerly wind, — therefore I must forego tlie pleasure of taking you by the hand until October next, when, if I am well enough, I shall (if the Admiralty please) resume the command. I am very far from well, l)ut I am anxious that not a moment LORD COLLINGWOOD. 147 of the services of this fleet should be lost. I feel disappointed, my dear friend, at not seeing you, so does Admiral Murray, and many, I am sure, in this fleet. May God bless you, and send you alongside of the Santissima Trinidada, and let me see you in perfect health ; and ever believe me, my dear Collingwood, Your most faithful And affectionate friend, NELSON AND BRONTE. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Dreadnought, off Cadiz, August 9, 1805. 1 have just time to tell you that I am as well as can be, and in great expectation that we shall have a rattling day of it very soon. The Spaniards are com- pletely ready here; they have 4000 troops embarked : at Carthagena they have many more, and a strong squadron. Whenever they come. Sir R. Bickerton is to join me with his ships, and then there will be two to one ; but we must beat them, or — never come home ; and yet I intend it fully. A dull superiority creates languor ; it is a state like this that rouses the spirits, and makes us feel as if the welfare of all England 148 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF depended on us alone. You shall not be disappointed. TO MRS. COLLINGWOOD. Dreadnought, off Cadiz, August 21, 1805. I have very little time to write to you, but must tell you what a squeeze we had like to have got yesterday. While we were cruising off the town, down came the combined fleet of thirty-six sail of men of war : we were only three poor things, with a frigate and a bomb, and drew off towards the Straits, not very ambitious, as you may suppose, to try our strength against such odds. They followed us as we retired, with sixteen large ships ; but on our approaching the Straits they left us, and joined their friends in Cadiz, where they are fitting and replenishing their provisions. We, in our turn, followed them back, and to-day have been looking into Cadiz, where their fleet is now as thick as a wood. I hope I shall have somebody come to me soon, and in the mean time I must take the best care of myself I can. This is a comfortless station, on which it is difficult to procure refreshment, except the grapes which the Portuguese bring us. But this being for ever at sea wears me down ; LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 149 and if I had not Clavell with me I should be ten times worse, for he is the person in whom my confidence is principally placed. Pray tell me all you can think about our family, and about the beauties of your do- main, — the oaks, the woodlands, and the verdant meads The skill with which Admiral Colling- wood conducted his small squadron in the presence of this overpowering force, was the subject of much admiration at the time. Although the Dreadnought was a very heavy sailer, he kept just out of gun-shot, on the edge of the current, saying, " I am deter- " mined they shall not drive me through " the Straits, unless they follow me." When the pursuers, perceiving his object, tacked, the English ships tacked after them. This occurred more than once ; till at length the enemy made all sail for Cadiz, and Admiral Collingwood following them, arrived off the harbour before half of them had got in, and with his three vessels resumed the blockade. In order to conceal the inferiority of his force, he stationed one of his ships in the offing, which from time to time made signals as if to a fleet in the distance : but after- 150 CORllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF wards, when he was reinforced, he established a strict blockade of the small ports lying between Cape St. Mary's and Algeziras, — a measure to which he attributed the ultimate sailing of the combined fleets. Napoleon, as appears in Count Dumas's work, had caused great quantities of biscuit and other stores to be collected at Brest, Rochefort, and Ferrol ; but as he had never contemplated his fleet being turned to the southward and entering Cadiz, which was the very important result of Sir Robert Calder's action, he had made no provision at that port for the supply of so large a force. Neutral vessels were accordingly employed in transporting the necessary stores from Nantes to the smaller ports in the neigh- bourhood of Cadiz ; and the stoppage of these supplies, by the extension of the blockade, left the combined fleets in a state of privation, which at last compelled them to put to sea. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Dreadnought, off Cadiz, September 21, 1805. As a ship will return to England in a few days, I will not lose the opportunity of writing to you, though I have little hope LORD COLLINGWOOD. 151 of an answer, for I never hear from England. Even the Admiralty seem to have abandoned me to my own devices ; but I am going on very well, and with God's blessing I hope to continue so. The combined fleet in Cadiz is perfectly complete, I believe, now ; for the last of the ships that wanted repair came into the bay yesterday. They have thirty- four sail of the line, and I have enough whenever they choose to try their skill. It would be a happy day that would relieve me from this perpetual cruising, which is really wearing me to a lath. The great difficulty I have, is to keep up the health of the men ; and it is a subject that requires an unre- mitted attention, of which we seldom find any person disposed to take the trouble. We get good beef from the Moors ; but to bring it requires a number of ships, which I can ill spare. Two hundred bullocks do not serve us a week, and a transport laden with wine about a month. How we are to keep up our water I do not know. How happy should I be, could I but hear from home, and know how my dear girls are going on ! Bounce is my only pet now, and he is indeed a good fellow : he sleeps by the 15^ CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF side of my cot, whenever I lie in one, until near the time of tacking, and then marches off, to be out of tlie hearing of the guns, for lie is not reconciled to them yet. I am fully determined, if I can get home and manage it properly, to go on shore next spring for the rest of my life ; for I am very weary. There is no end to my business : I am at work from morning till even ; but I dare say Lord Nelson will be out next month. He told me he should ; and then what will become of me I do not know. I should wish to go home ; but I must go or stay as the exigencies of the times require. This, with all its labour, is a most unpro- fitable station ; but that is not a consideration of much moment to me. What I look to as the first and great object, is to defeat the projects of this combined fleet, of whom I can get little information ; but I watch them narrowly, and if they come out will fight them merrily ; for on their discomfiture de- pends the safety of England, and it shall not fail in my hands if I can help it. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 153 FROM LORD NELSON. Admiralty , September 7, 1805. MY DEAR COLL, I shall be witn you in a very few days, and I hope you will remain second in command. You will change the Dread- nought for Royal Sovereign, which I hope you will like. FROM THE SAME. Victory, September 25, 1805. I send forward the Euryalus to announce my approach, and to request that if you are in sight of Cadiz, that not only no salute may take place, hut also that no colours may be hoisted : for it is as well not to proclaim to the enemy every ship which may join the fleet. If Euryalus joins before I am in sight, I wish you would make something look out for us towards Cape St. Mary's, which I shall make, if the wind is to the northward of west. I would not have any salute, even if you are out of sight of land. 154 COllRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE SAME. Vidonj, October 6, 1805. I send you Blackwood's letters, and some for the Admiralty, for you to read. How I long for the frigates ! You have done right: twenty-six sail of the line were not to be left to chance : and if you had, for want of such precaution, been forced to quit the vicinity of Cadiz, England would not have forgiven you. I send you a key to the box : keep it. I shall send you despatches, &c. occasionally, to read, and it will save the trouble of packets. Put your letter in it, and send it back with my letters when read. Telegraph upon all occasions without ceremony. We are one, and I hope ever shall be. Eurydice has captured a very fine pri- vateer, of two 24-pounders, and taken some craft ; but in doing it the Eurydice got on shore, and was got off principally by the exertion of our friend Captain Thomas. LORD COLLING WOOD. 155 TO LORD NELSON. October 6, 1805. We shall have these fellows out at last, my dear Lord. I firmly believe they have discovered that they cannot be subsisted in Cadiz : their supply from France is com- pletely cut off. And now, my Lord, I will give you my ideas. If the enemy are to sail with an easterly wind, they are not bound to the Mediterranean ; and your Lordship may depend on it, the Carthagena squadron is intended to join them. If they effect that, and with a strong easterly wind they may, they will present themselves to us with forty sail. Should Louis, by any good fortune, fall in with the Carthagena squadron, I am sure he would turn them to leeward ; for they would expect the whole fleet was after them. Whenever the Carthagena people were ex- pected they opened the light-house. FROM LORD NELSON. October 9, 1805. I send you Captain Blackwood's letter; and as I hope Weazle has joined, he will have five frigates and a brig. They surely cannot escape us. • I wish we could get 156 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF a fine day. I send you my plan of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very uncertain position the enemy may be found in : but, my dear friend, it is to place you perfectly at ease respecting my inten- tions, and to give full scope to your judg- ment for carrying them into effect. We can, my dear Coll, have no little jealousies : we have only one great object in view, — that of annihilating our enemies, and getting a glorious peace for our Country. No man has more confidence in another than I have in you ; and no man will render your services more justice than your very old friend, NELSON AND BRONTE. The generous and noble spirit which Lord Nelson displayed towards all who were connected with him in service, and which is so finely manifested in the preceding letter, was fully appreciated by Admiral Colling- wood. The intended plan of attack had also his most cordial concurrence ; for it was an observation which he had long been in the habit of repeating, that with a great number of ships to act in one line was a positive dis- advantage, botli in loss of time and application of power. LORD COI-LINGWOOI). 157 When leaving the Dreadnought for the Royal Sovereign, he expressed his hope that it would not be long before he should have an opportunity of shewing Lord Nelson that his confidence had not been misplaced. " I " have had a little distress," he added, " about two Lieutenants being senior to my " First Lieutenant, Clavell, who is indeed " my right arm, and the spirit that puts " every thing in motion ; but I hope your " Lordship will appoint them to this ship, " and then I will take my Signal Lieutenant " also, whose name is Brice Gilliland."* FROM LORD NELSON. Victory, October 10, 1805. You will receive the commis- sions and order as you desired. I think we are near enough : for if the weather is fine, and we are in sight, they never will move ; and should it turn bad, we may be forced into the Mediterranean, and thus leave them at liberty to go to the westward, although at present I am sure the Mediterranean is their destination. * Clarke and Macarthur. 158 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE SAME. Victory, October 10, 1805. The enemy's fleet are all but out of the harbour : perhaps this night, with the northerly wind, they may come forth. The Admiralty could not do less than call your conduct judicious. Every body in England admired your adroitness in not being forced unnecessarily into the Straits. FROM THE SAME. Victory, October 13. The Rochefort squadron has been seen in lat. 41^ 43', near Oporto, with several prizes with them. If they cannot get to Vigo, I should not be surprised if they put for the Mediterranean, or try to get into Cadiz, unless they go to Lisbon. Upon look- ing at the chart I see they can get into Vigo. The Oporto convoy is, I fear, taken, and Agamemnon and I'Aimable had a narrow escape To this letter is the following note by Admiral Collingwood : — " A look-out brig reconnoitred the squa- " dron, while the Rochefort ships were at no LORD COIXINGWOOD. 159 " great distance without : they wished to get " into Cadiz, but would not venture to pass " the fleet." FROM THE SAME. Victors/, October 14, 1805. Perhaps, as the weather is fine, and the business of the transports nearly closed, you will come on board this forenoon, that I may tell you all I know, and all my intentions. I am glad Sir Robert Calder is gone ; and from my heart I hope he will get home safe, and end his inquiry well. I endeavoured to give him all the caution in my power respecting the cry against him. FROM THE SAME. Victory, October 19. It was the Rochefort squadron that took the Calcutta. Yesterday, by the Guernsey-man, we had the French officer on board. He belonged to the Magnani- mous, and says that they should have taken the Agamemnon in the night, but they fancied the Oporto and Lisbon convoy were ships of war. The first-rate sails faster than any of them ; five sail of the line, three frigates, and two brigs. Sir Richard has five 160 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF sail ; but I think he will have enough on his hands, and from my soul I wish him well over it. What a beautiful day ! Will you be tempted out of your ship ? If you will, hoist the Assent and Victory's pendants. I had a letter from Sir James Saumarez yesterday, of October 1st. He sent me some papers : I take it very kind of him. Ever, my dear Coll, Yours most faithfully, NELSON AND BRONTE. This is the last letter which that great man ever wrote ; and annexed to it is this note of Admiral Collingwood's : — " Before the answer to this letter had " got to the Victory, the signal was made " that the enemy's fleet was coming out of " Cadiz, and we chased immediately." TO W. MARSDEN, ESQ. Euryalus, off Cape Trafalgar, October 22, 1805. The ever-to-be-lamented death of Vice-admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, who, in the late conflict with the enemy, fell in the hour of victory, leaves me the duty of LORD COIJ.INGWOf)!:). 1()1 informing my Lords Commissioners of tlie Admiralty, that on the 19th instant it was communicated to the Commander-in-chief, from the ships watching the motions of the enemy in Cadiz, that the combined fleet had put to sea. As they sailed with light winds westerly, his Lordship concluded their desti- nation was the Mediterranean, and immedi- ately made all sail for the Straits' entrance, with the British squadron, consisting of twenty- seven ships, three of them sixty- fours, where his Lordship was informed by Captain Blackwood, (whose vigilance in watching and giving notice of the enemy's movements has been highly meritorious), that they had not yet passed the Straits. On Monday, the 21st instant, at daylight, when Cape Trafalgar bore E. by S. about seven leagues, the enemy was discovered six or seven miles to the eastward, the wind about west, and very light. The Com- mander-in-chief immediately made the signal for the fleet to bear up in two columns, as they are formed in order of sailing ; a mode of attack his Lordship had previously di- rected, to avoid the inconvenience and delay in forming a line of battle in the usual manner. The enemy's line consisted of VOL. I. M 162 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF thirty-three ships (of which eighteen were French, and fifteen Spanish, commanded in chief hy Admiral Villeneuve, the Spaniards under the direction of Gravina), wore with their heads to the northward, and formed their line of battle with great closeness and correctness. But as the mode of attack was unusual, so the structure of their line was new : it formed a crescent convexing to leeward ; so that in leading down to their centre, I had both their van and rear abaft the beam before the fire opened. Every alternate ship was about a cable's length to windward of her second ahead and astern, forming a kind of double line, and appeared, when on their beam, to leave a very little interval between them, and this without crowding their ships. Admiral Villeneuve was in the Bucentaure in the centre, and the Prince of Asturias bore Gravina's flag in the rear ; but the French and Spanish ships were mixed, without any apparent regard to order of national squadron. As the mode of our attack had been previously determined on, and communicated to the Flag-officers and Captains, few signals were necessary, and none were made, except to direct close order as the lines bore down. LORD COLLING WOOD. 163 The Commander-in-chief, in the Victory, led the weather column, and the Royal Sove- reign, which bore my flag, the lee. The action began at twelve o'clock, by the leading ships of the columns breaking through the enemy's line ; the Commander- in-chief about the tenth ship from the van ; the second in command about the twelfth from the rear, leaving the van of the enemy unoccupied ; the succeeding ships breaking through in all parts, astern of their leaders, and engaging the enemy at the muzzles of their guns. The conflict was severe : the enemy's ships were fought with a gallantry highly honourable to their officers ; but the attack on them was irresistible, and it pleased the Almighty Disposer of all events to grant his Majesty's arms a complete and glorious victory. About three p. m. many of the enemy's ships, having struck their colours, their line gave way ; Admiral Gravina, with ten ships joining their frigates to leeward, stood towards Cadiz. The five headmost ships in their van tacked, and standing to the southward, to windward of the British line, were engaged, and the sternmost of them taken ; the others went off, leaving to his Majesty's squadron nineteen ships of the 164 CORRESPONDENCE AND IMEMOIR OF line (of which two are first-rates, the San- tissima Trinidada, and the Santa Anna), with three flag-officers, viz. Admiral Villeneuve, the Commander-in-chief; Don Ignacio Maria d'Alava, Vice-admiral; and Rear-admiral Don Baltazar Hidalgo Cisneros. After such a victory it may appear un- necessary to enter into encomiums on the particular parts taken by the several com- manders ; the conclusion says more on the subject than I have language to express. The spirit which animated all was the same : when all exert themselves zealously in their Country's service, all deserve that their high merits should stand recorded ; and never was high merit more conspicuous than in the battle I have described. The Achille, a French seventy-four, after having surrendered, by some mismanagement of the Frenchmen, took fire and blew up : two hundred of her men were saved by the tenders. A circumstance occurred during the action, which so strongly marks the invincible spirit of British seamen, when engaging the enemies of their Country, that I cannot resist the pleasure I have in making- it known to their Lordships. The Temeraire was boarded, by accident or design, ])y a LORD COLLINGAVOOD. 165 French* ship on one side and a Spaniard on the other ; the contest was vigorous ; but in the end, the combined ensigns were torn from the poops, and the British hoisted in their places. Such a battle could not be fought without our sustaining a great loss of men. I have not only to lament, in common with the British Navy and the British Nation, in the fall of the Commander-in-chief, the loss of a hero, whose name will be immortal, and his memory ever dear to his Country ; but my heart is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many years of intimacy, and a perfect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the common race of men, I was bound by the strongest ties of affection, — a grief, to which even the glorious occasion in which he fell does not bring the con- solation which, perhaps, it ought. His Lord- ship received a musket-ball in his left breast, about the middle of the action, and sent an officer to me immediately with his last fare- well, and soon after expired. I have also to * Subsequent int'omuitioii lias proved this statement wanted confirmation. 166 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF lament the loss of those excellent officers, Captain Duff, of the Mars, and Cooke, of the Bellerophon : I have yet heard of none others. I fear the numbers that have fallen will be found very great when the returns come to me ; but it has blown a gale of wind ever since the action, and I have not yet had it in my power to collect any reports from the ships. The Royal Sovereign having lost her masts, except the tottering foremast, I called the Euryalus to me while the action conti- nued, which ship, lying within hail, made my signals, — a service Captain Blackwood per- formed with very great attention. After the action I shifted my flag to her, that I might the more easily communicate my orders to, and collect the ships, and towed the Royal Sovereign out to seaward. The whole fleet were now in a very perilous situation ; many dismasted, all shattered, in thirteen fathom water, off the shoals of Trafalgar ; and when I made the signal to prepare to anchor, few of the ships had an anchor to let go, their cables being shot. But the same good Pro- vidence which aided us through such a day, preserved us in the night, by the wind shifting a few points and drifting the ships LOUD COLLING WOOD. 16? off the land, except four of the captured dismasted ships, which are now at anchor off Trafalgar, and I hope will ride safe until the gales are over. Having thus detailed the proceedings of the fleet on this occasion, I beg to congra- tulate their Lordships on a victory, which, I hope, will add a ray to the glory of his Ma- jesty's crown, and be attended with public benefit to our Country. I am, &c. In this letter, Admiral Collingwood has, with singular modesty, been silent respecting his own achievements ; but his personal con- duct on that memorable day well deserves to be recorded. It has been said, that no man is a hero in the eyes of his valet-de-chambre ; but that this is not universally true, is proved by the account which was given to the Editor by Mr. Smith, Admiral Collingwood's valued servant. " I entered the Admiral's cabin," he observed, " about daylight, and found him " already up and dressing. He asked if I " had seen the French fleet ; and on my " replying that I had not, he told me to " look out at them, adding that, in a very " short time, we should see a great deal 168 COllRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIIl OF " more of them. I then observed a crowd " of ships to leeward ; but I could not help " looking with still greater interest at the " Admiral, who, during all this time, was " shaving himself with a composure that " quite astonished me." Admiral Colling- wood dressed himself that morning with peculiar care ; and soon after, meeting Lieu- tenant Clavell, advised him to pull off his boots. " You had better," he said, " put on " silk stockings, as I have done : for if one " should get a shot in the leg, they would " be so much more manageable for the sur- " geon." He then proceeded to visit the decks, encouraged the men to the discharge of their duty, and addressing the officers, said to them, " Now, gentlemen, let us do " something to-day which the world may " talk of hereafter." He had changed his flag about ten days before the action, from the Dreadnought; the crew of which had been so constantly practised in the exercise of the great guns, under his daily superintendence, that few ships' companies could equal them in ra- pidity and precision of firing. He was ac- customed to tell them, that if they could fire three well-directed broadsides in five I>011D COLLINGWOOD. 169 minutes, no vessel could resist them ; and, from constant practice, they were enabled to do so in three minutes and a half. But though he left a crew which had thus been disciplined under his own eye, there was an advantage in the change ; for the Royal Sovereign, into which he went, had lately returned from England, and as her copper was quite clean, she much outsailed the other ships of the lee division. Lord Nelson had made the Royal Sovereign's signal to pass through the enemy's line at the twelfth ship from the rear ; but Admiral Colling- wood observing her to be a two-decked ship, and that the second astern of her was a first- rate, deviated so far from the order as to proceed to the attack of this last, which car- ried Admiral Alava's flag. While they were running down, the well-known telegraphic signal was made of, " England expects every " man to do his duty." When the Admiral observed it first, he said that he wished Nelson would make no more signals, for they all understood what they were to do : but when the purport of it was communi- cated to him, he expressed great delight and admiration, and made it known to the 170 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF officers and ship's company. Lord Nelson had been requested by Captain Blackwood (who was anxious for the preservation of so invaluable a life) to allow some other vessels to take the lead, and at last gave permission that the Temeraire should go a-head of him ; but resolving to defeat the order which he had given, he crowded more sail on the Victory, and maintained his place. The Royal Sovereign was far in advance when Lieutenant Clavell observed that the Victory was setting her studding sails, and with that spirit of honourable emulation which pre- vailed between the squadrons, and parti- cularly between these two ships, he pointed it out to Admiral Collingwood, and requested his permission to do the same. " The ships " of our line," replied the Admiral, " are not " yet sufficiently up for us to do so now; " but you may be getting ready." The studding sail and royal halliards were ac- cordingly manned, and in about ten minutes the Admiral, observing Lieutenant Clavell's eyes fixed upon him with a look of expecta- tion, gave him a nod; on which that officer went to Captain Rotheram and told him that the Admiral desired him to make all LORD COLLING WOOD. 171 sail. The order was then given to rig out and hoist away, and in one instant the ship was under a crowd of sail, and went rapidly ahead. The Admiral then directed the officers to see that all the men lay down on the decks, and were kept quiet. At this time the Fougueux, the ship astern of the Santa Anna, had closed up, with the in- tention of preventing the Royal Sovereign from going through the line ; and when Admiral Collingwood observed it, he desired Captain Rotheram to steer immediately for the Frenchman and carry away his bowsprit. To avoid this, the Fougueux backed her main top-sail, and- suffered the Royal Sove- reign to pass, at the same time beginning her fire ; when the Admiral ordered a gun to be occasionally fired at her, to cover his ship with smoke. The nearest of the English ships was now distant about a mile from the Royal Sovereign ; and it was at this time, while she was pressing alone into the midst of the combined fleets, that Lord Nelson said to Captain Blackwood, " See how that noble " fellow, Collingwood, takes his ship into " action. How I envy him !" On the other 172 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF hand, Admiral CoUingwood, well knowing his commander and friend, observed, " What " would Nelson give to be here !" and it was then, too, that Admiral Villeneuve, struck with the daring manner in which the leading ships of the English squadrons came down, despaired of the issue of the contest. In passing the Santa Anna, the Royal Sovereign gave her a broadside and a half into her stern, tearing it down, and killing and wounding 400 of her men ; then, with her helm hard a-starboard, she ranged up along- side so closely that the lower yards of the two vessels were locked together. The Spanish Admiral, having seen that it was the intention of the Royal Sovereign to engage to leeward, had collected all his strength on the starboard ; and such was the weight of the Santa Anna's metal, that her first broadside made the Sovereign heel two streaks out of the water. Her stud- ding-sails and halliards were now shot away ; and as a top-gallant studding-sail was hang- ing over the gangway hammocks, Admiral CoUingwood called out to Lieutenant Clavell to come and help him to take it in, ob- serving that they should want it again some I.ORD COLLING WOOD. 173 other day. These two officers accordingly rolled it carefully up and placed it in the boat.* In about a quarter of an hour, and before any other English ship had been enabled to take a part in the action, Captain Rotheram, whose bravery on this occasion was remark- able even among the instances of courage which the day displayed, came up to the Admiral, and shaking him by the hand, said, " I congratulate you. Sir : she is slackening " her fire, and must soon strike." It was, indeed, expected on board the Royal Sove- reign, that they would have had the grati- fication of capturing the Spanish Admiral in the midst of a fleet of thirty-three sail, before the arrival of another English ship ; but the Santa Anna, though exposed to a tremendous loss from the unremitting fire of * Of his economy, at all times, of the shijD's stores^ a former instance was often mentioned in the Navy as having occurred at the battle of St. Vincent. The Ex- cellent shortly before the action had bent a new fore-top- sail: and when she was closely engaged with the St. Isidro, Captain Collingwood called out to his Boatswain, a very gallant man, who was shortly afterwards killed, " Bless me ! Mr. Peffers, how came we to forget to bend " our old top-sail ? They will quite ruin that new one. '* It will never be worth a farthing again." 174 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the Sovereign, and unable to do more than to return a gun at intervals, maintained the conflict in the most determined manner, relying on the assistance of the neigh- bouring ships, which now crowded round the English vessel, hoping, doubtless, to destroy her before she could be supported by her friends. The Fougueux placed herself on the Sovereign's lee quarter, and another two- decked French ship across her bow; while two Spanish ships were also on her bow : a number probably greater than could fire at a single ship without injuring each other. The Admiral now directed Captain Val- lack, of the Marines, an officer of the greatest gallantry, to take his men from off the poop, that they might not be unnecessarily ex- posed ; but he remained there himself much longer. At length, descending to the quarter-deck, he visited the men, enjoining them not to fire a shot in waste, looking himself along the guns to see that they were properly pointed, and commending the sailors, particularly a black man, who was afterwards killed, but who, while he stood beside him, fired ten times directly into the port-hole of the Santa Anna. The Fougueux at one time got so much on the quarter LORD COLLING WOOD. 175 of the Sovereign, that she ahnost touched, when the English quarter-deck carronades were brought to bear upon her, and after receiving several double -shotted guns di- rectly into her forecastle, she dropped a little astern. Being there out of the Royal Sovereign's reach, she kept up a destructive, raking fire, till the Tonnant arrived and took her. During such an action, it is impossible that the actual time of any particular occur- rence can be satisfactorily ascertained ; and a very distinguished officer told the Editor, that from the manner in which his mind was occupied, it seemed to him as if the battle had only lasted half an hour. There is, accordingly, great diversity of opinion as to the exact period during which the Royal Sovereign was engaged alone. Admiral Col- lingwood considered it to be twenty minutes, while others believe that it considerably ex- ceeded that time. In the mean while the English ships were pressing forward with their utmost speed in support of their leader, but doubtful at times of his fate, and re- joicing when, on the slackening of the Santa Anna's fire, they discerned his flag still flying above the smoke. One of his most gallant 176 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF followers and friends, the Captain of the Tonnant, has often expressed the astonish- ment with which he regarded the Royal Sovereign as she opened her fire, which, as he declared, so arrested his attention, that he felt for a few moments as if he himself had nothing to do but to look on and admire. The Santa Anna struck at half-past two o'clock, about the time when the news of Lord Nelson's wound was communicated to Admiral Collingwood ; but the Royal Sove- reign had been so much injured in her masts and yards by the ships that lay on her bow and quarter, that she was unable to alter her position. Admiral Collingwood accordingly called the Euryalus to take her in tow, and make the necessary signals. He despatched Captain Blackwood to convey the Spanish Admiral on board the Euryalus, but he was stated to be at the point of death, and Captain Blackwood returned with the Spanish Captain. That officer had already been to the Royal Sovereign to deliver his sword, and on en- tering had asked one of the English sailors the name of the ship. When he was told that it was the Royal Sovereign, he replied, in broken English, while patting one of the guns with his hand, " I think she should be LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 177 called " the Royal Devil." Tlie action was still general, when Captain Blackwood, to whom Admiral Collingwood had communi- cated the intelligence of Lord Nelson's wound, and who was anxious to fulfil his promise of revisiting his friend, proceeded to the Victory. On his arrival, he saw the boat alongside which had carried the new^s to Admiral Collingwood, and on inquiry was told that Lord Nelson was still alive ; but on hastening below, he found that the hero had just expired. GENERAL ORDER. Euryalus, October 22, 1805. The ever-to-be-lamented deatli of Lord Viscount Nelson, Duke of Bronte, the Commander-in-chief, who fell in the action of the 21st, in the arms of Victory, covered with glory, — whose memory will be ever dear to the British Navy and the British Nation, whose zeal for the honour of his King and for the interest of his Country, will be ever held up as a shining example for a British seaman, — leaves to me a duty to return my thanks to the Right Honourable Rear-Admiral, the Captains, Officers, Seamen, and Detachments of Royal Marines, serving VOL. I. N 178 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF on board His Majesty's squadron, now under my command, for their conduct on that day. But where can I find language to express my sentiments of the valour and skill which were displayed by the Officers, the Seamen, and Marines, in the battle with the enemy, where every individual appeared a hero on whom the glory of his Country depended. The attack was irresistible, and the issue of it adds to the page of naval annals a brilliant instance of what Britons can do, when their King and their Country need their service. To the Right Honourable Rear-Admiral the Earl of Northesk, to the Captains, Officers, and Seamen, and to the Officers, non-commis- sioned Officers, and Privates of the Royal Marines, I beg to give my sincere and hearty thanks for their highly meritorious conduct, both in the action, and in their zeal and ac- tivity in bringing the captured ships out from the perilous situation in which they were, after their surrender, among the shoals of Trafalgar, in boisterous weather. And I desire that the respective Captains will be pleased to communicate to the Officers, Sea- men, and Royal Marines, this public testi- mony of my high approbation of their con- duct, and my thanks for it. LORD (.Ol.LINCiWCXJl). 179 GENERAL ORDER. The Almighty God, whose arm is strength, having of his great mercy heen pleased to crown the exertions of His Majes- ty's fleet with success, in giving them a com- plete victory over their enemies on the 21st of this month ; and that all praise and thanks- giving may be offered up to the Throne of Grace, for the great benefit to our Country and to mankind, I have thought proper that a day should be appointed of general humilia- tion before God, and thanksgiving for his merciful goodness, imploring forgiveness of sins, a continuation of his divine mercy, and his constant aid to us in defence of our Country's liberties and laws, without which the utmost efforts of man are nought. I direct, therefore, that be appointed for this holy purpose. Given on board the Euryalus, off Cape TraJ'a/ga7\ October 22, 1805. TO W. MARSDEN, ESQ. Euryalus, off Cadiz, Oct. 24, 1805. In my letter of the 22d I de- tailed to you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the pro- 180 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF ceedings of His Majesty's squadron on the day of the action and that preceding it ; since which I have had a continued series of mis- fortunes ; but they are of a kind that human prudence could not possibly provide against, or my skill prevent. On the 22d, in the morning, a strong southerly wind blew, with squally weather, which, however, did not prevent the activity of the officers and seamen of- such ships as were manageable from getting hold of many of the prizes (thirteen or fourteen), and tow- ing them off to the westward, where I ordered them to rendezvous round the Royal Sove- reign, in tow by the Neptune. But on the 23d the gale increased, and the sea ran so high that many of them broke the tow-rope, and drifted far to leeward before they were got hold of again ; and some of them, taking advantage of the dark and boisterous night, got before the wind, and have perhaps drifted upon the shore and sunk. On the afternoon of that day, the remnant of the combined fleet, ten sail of ships, which had not been much engaged, stood up to leeward of my shattered and straggling charge, as if mean- ing to attack them, which obliged me to collect a force out of the least injured ships, LORD COLLINGWOOD. 181 and form to leeward for their defence. All this retarded the progress of the hulks ; and the had weather continuing determined me to destroy all the leewardmost that could he cleared of the men, considering that keeping possession of the ships was a matter of little consequence, compared with the chance of their falling again into the hands of the enemy ; but even this was an arduous task in the high sea which was running. I hope, however, it has been accomplished to a con- siderable extent. I intrusted it to skilful officers, who would spare no pains to execute what was possible. The Captains of the Prince and Neptune cleared the Trinidad, and sunk her. Captains Hope, Bayntun, and Malcolm, who joined the fleet this morning, from Gibraltar, had the charge of destroying four others. The Redoutable sunk astern of the Swiftsure, while in tow. The Santa Anna I have no doubt is sunk, as her side is almost entirely beat in ; and such is the shattered condition of the whole of them, that, unless the weather moderates, I doubt whether I shall be able to carry a ship of them into port. I hope their Lordships will approve of what I (having only in consideration the de- 182 CORRESPONDENCE AND IMEMOIR OF struction of the enemy's fleet) have thought a measure of absolute necessity. I have taken Admiral Villeneuve into this ship. Whenever the temper of the weather will permit, and I can spare a frigate (for there were only four in the action with the fleet, Euryalus, Sirius, Phoebe, and Naiad ; the Melpomene joined the 22d, and the Eu- rydice and Scout the 23d), I shall collect the other Flag Officers, and send them to Eng- land with their flags, (if they do not go to the bottom,) to be laid at His Majesty's feet. There were four thousand troops em- barked, under the command of General Con- tamin, who was taken with Admiral Ville- neuve in the Bucentaure. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Queeif, November 2, 1805. I wrote to my dear Sarah a few lines when I sent my first despatches to the Admiralty, which account I hope will satisfy the good people of England, for there never was such a combat since England had a fleet. In three hours the combined forces were annihilated, upon their own shores, at the entrance of their port, amongst their own IX)RD COLTJNGWOOD. 183 rocks. It has been a very difficult thing to collect an account of our success, but by the best I have, twenty sail of the line surren- dered to us ; out of which, three, in the furious gale we had afterward, being driven to the entrance of the harbour of Cadiz, received assistance and got in. These were the Santa Anna, the Algeziras, and Neptune (the last since sunk and lost) ; the Santa Anna's side was battered in. The three we have sent to Gibraltar, are the San Ildefonso, San Juan Nepomuceno, and Swiftsure ; four- teen others we have burnt, sunk, and run on shore, but the Bahama I have yet hope of saving; she is gone to Gibraltar. Those ships which effected their escape into Cadiz are quite wrecks ; some have lost their masts since they got in, and they have not a spar or a store to refit them. We took four Admirals, — Villeneuve, the Commander-in- chief, Vice-Admiral D'Alava, Rear-Admiral Cisneros, Spanish, and the French Admiral, Magon, who was killed, — besides a great number of brigadiers (commanders). D'Alava, wounded, was driven into Cadiz in the Santa Anna ; Gravina, who was not taken, has lost his arm (amputated, I have heard, but not from him). Of men, their loss is many thou- 184 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF sands, for I reckon, in the captured ships, we took twenty thousand prisoners, including the troops. This was a victory to be proud of; but in the loss of my excellent friend. Lord Nelson, and a number of brave men, we paid dear for it. When my dear friend received his wound, he immediately sent an officer to me to tell me of it, and give his love to me. Though the officer was directed to say the wound was not dangerous, I read in his countenance what I had to fear ; and before the action was over, Captain Hardy came to inform me of his death. I cannot tell you how deeply I was affected ; my friendship for him was unlike any thing that I have left in the Navy, — a brotherhood of more than thirty years. In this affair he did nothing without my counsel, we made our line of battle together, and concerted the mode of attack, which was put in execution in the most admirable style. I shall grow very tired of the sea soon ; my health has suffered so much from the anxious state I have been in, and the fatigue I have undergone, that I shall be unfit for service. The severe gales which immediately followed the day of vic- tory ruined our prospect of prizes. Our own infirm ships could scarce keep off the shore; LORD COIJJNGWOOD. 185 the prizes were left to their fate, and as they were driven very near the port, I ordered them to be destroyed, by burning and sink- ing, that there might be no risk of their falling again into the hands of the enemy. There has been a great destruction of them, indeed I hardly know what, but not less than fifteen or sixteen, the total ruin of the combined fleet. To alleviate the miseries of the wounded as much as in my power, I sent a flag to the Marquis Solana, to offer him his wounded. Nothing can exceed the grati- tude expressed by him for this act of hu- manity ; all this part of Spain is in an uproar of praise and thankfulness to the English. Solana sent me a present of a cask of wine, and we have a free intercourse with the shore. Judge of the footing we are on, when I tell you he offered me his hospitals, and pledged the Spanish honour for the care and cure of our wounded men. Our officers and men who were wrecked in some of the prize ships were most kindly treated : all the coun- try was on the beach to receive them ; the priests and women distributing wine, and bread, and fruit amongst them. The soldiers turned out of their barracks to make lodging for them ; whilst their allies, the French, were 186 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF left to shift for themselves, with a guard over them to prevent their doing mischief. After the battle, I shifted my flag to the Euryalus frigate, that I might the better distribute my orders ; and when the ships were destroyed, and the squadron in safety, I came here, my own ship being totally disabled. She lost her last mast in the gale. All the northern boys, and Graydon, are alive ; Kennicott has a dan- gerous wound in his shoulder ; Thompson wounded in the arm, and, just at the con- clusion of the action, his leg was broke by a splinter; little Charles is unhurt, but we have lost a good many youngsters. For myself, I am in a forlorn state ; my servants are killed ; my luggage, what is left, is on board the Sovereign ; and Clavell is wounded. I have appointed Sir Peter Parker's grandson, and Captain Thomas, my old Lieutenant, Post- Captains ; Clavell and the First Lieutenant of the Victory are made Commanders ; but I hope the Admiralty will do more for them, for in the history of our Navy there is no instance of a victory so complete and so great. The ships that escaped into Cadiz are wrecks ; and they have neither stores nor inclination to refit them. I shall now go, as soon as I get a sufficient squadron equipped, and see LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 187 what I can do with the Carthagenians ; if I can get at them the naval war will be finished in this country. Prize-money I shall get little or none for this business, for though the loss of the enemy may be esti- mated at near four millions, it is most of it gone to the bottom. Don Argemoso, who was formerly Captain of the Isidro, com- manded the Monarca, one of our captures; he sent to inform me he was in the Levia- than, and I immediately ordered, for our old acquaintance sake, his liberty on parole. All the Spaniards speak of us in terms of adora- tion ; and Villeneuve, whom I had in the frigate with me, acknowledges that they can- not contend with us at sea. I do not know what will be thought of it in England, but the eifect here is highly advantageous to the British name. Kind remembrances to all my friends. I dare say your neighbour, Mr. , will be delighted with the his- tory of the battle. If he had been in it, it would have animated him more than all his daughter's chemistry ; it would have new strung his nerves, and made him young again. God bless you, my dear Sir, may you ever be happy ! It is very long since I heard from home. 188 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF I have ordered all the boys to be dis- charged into this sliip : another such fight will season them pretty well. We had forty- seven killed, ninety-four wounded. TO WM. MARSDEN, ESQ. Omccu, off Cape Trafalgar, Nov. 4, 1803. On the 28th ult. I informed you of the proceedings of the squadron to that time. The weather continuing very bad, the wind blowing from the S.W., the squa- dron not in a situation of safety, and seeing little prospect of getting the captured ships off the land, and great risk of some of them getting into port, I determined no longer to delay the destroying them, and getting the squadron out of the deep bay. The extraordinary exertion of Captain Capel, however, saved the French Swiftsure ; and his ship, the Phoebe, together with the Donegal, Captain Malcolm, afterward brought out the Bahama. Indeed, nothing can ex- ceed the perseverance of all the officers em- ployed in the service. Captain Hope rigged and succeeded in bringing out the Ildefonso ; all of which will, I hope, have arrived safe at Gibraltar. For the rest. Sir, I enclose you a list of all the enemy's fleet which were in LORD COLLINGWOOD. 189 action, and how they are disposed of, which I believe is perfectly correct. I informed you, in my letter of the 28th, that the remnant of the enemy's fleet came out a second time, to endeavour, in the bad weather, to cut off some of the hulks, when the Rayo was dismasted, and fell into our hands ; she afterward parted her cable, went on shore, and was wrecked. The Indompt- able, one of the same squadron, was also driven on shore, wrecked, and her crew perished. The Santa Anna and Algeziras being driven near the shore, off Cadiz, received such assistance as has enabled them to get in ; but the ruin of their fleet is as complete as could be expected under the circumstances of fighting them close to their own shore : had the battle been in the ocean, still fewer would have escaped. Twenty sail of the line are taken or destroyed, and of those which got in, not more than three are in a repair- able state for a length of time. Rear-Admiral Louis, in the Canopus, who had been detached with the Queen, Spencer, and Tigre, to complete the water, &c. of these ships, and to see the convoy in safety a 190 CORRESPONDENCE AND :\rE:vr()Tri or certain distance up the Mediterranean, joined me on the 30th. In clearing the captured ships of prison- ers, I found so many wounded men, that, to alleviate human misery as much as was in my power, I sent to the Marquis de Solana, Governor-General of Andalusia, to offer him the wounded to the care of their country, on receipts being given ; a proposal which was received with the greatest thankfulness, not only by the Governor, but by the whole country, which resounds with expressions of gratitude. Two French frigates were sent out to receive them, with a proper officer to give receipts ; bringing with them all the English who had been wrecked in several of the ships, and an offer from the Marquis de Solana of the use of their hospitals for our wounded, pledging the honour of Spain for their being carefully attended. I have ordered most of the Spanish pri- soners to be released ; the officers on parole, the men for receipts given, and on condition that they do not serve in war, by sea or land, until exchanged. By my correspondence with the Marquis, I found that Vice- Admiral D'Alava was not LORD COLLING WOOD, 191 dead, but dangerously wounded ; and I wrote to him a letter, claiming him as a prisoner of war ; a copy of which I enclose, together with a state of the Flag-officers of the com- bined fleet.* * It was thought at the time by some persons, and has been asserted in a late publication/!" that more of the prizes would have been saved, if the wish expressed by Lord Nelson, in his last moments, for anchoring the fleet had been complied with. On such a question, it would be presumption in the Editor, who is a landsman, to affect to give any opinion of his own ; but he will venture to repeat the observation that was made to him on this subject by a distinguished Admiral. " No one," said he, " can regard with higher admiration than I do " the great qualities of Lord Nelson (and who can suf- " ficiently extol them ?) but on a question of mere sea- " manship, it is no injustice to his fame to say that he " was inferior to Lord Collingwood, who was considered " by all the Navy to be a seaman of very uncommon " experience and knowledge; and when we remember, " that at the time when the order to anchor was given, " Lord Nelson had been lying for several hours wounded *' below, without any opportunity of knowing the state " of the fleet, it is impossible to put the judgment of " the two men at that moment in competition." In confirmation of this remark, it may be observed, that the very ship in which the hero was then ending his glorious career, and in which the order was given, was itself incapable of being anchored. In a report of t James's Naval History, vol. iv. 192 rOKRF.SPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA, CAPTAIN-GENERAL OF ANDALUSIA. iTi'anslatiori.l Cadiz, October 28, 1805. MOST EXCELLENT SIR, Your Excellency's letter of yesterday's date, which was brought to me the Victory's defects, signed by Captain Sir Thomas Hardy and Mi'. Bunco, the carpenter, and now in pos- session of the Editor, it is stated that, beside much other injury, " the starboard cat-head was shot away, the star- " board bower and spare anchors broke, and the stock " of the sheet anchor damaged by shot." Without detailing the injuries which all the other ships had sustained, it may be observed, that in the work in question it is stated of one of them, the Algeziras, " that of her anchors, the two at the bow w^ere all that " remained ; one of them was broken in the shank, and " the stock of the other shot away." The writer of that book asserts, that the order for anchoring (which was given about 9 p.m., and with which, according to Admiral CoUingwood's letter of October 22, few of the vessels could (Comply, from their cables being shot) was given four hours too late. On whose authority this assertion is made, or what injury happened to the fleet in the course of those four hours, does not appear; and, on the contrary, the writer states, that about midnight the wind veered toS.S.W., and, taking immediate advantage of this favour- able change, the Vice-Admiral was enabled to draw off the land. It was not till the 22d that the wind began LORD COLLING WOOD. 193 to-day under a flag of truce, convinces me that you are not less distinguished for your humanity than for your valour in battle. The mode which your Excellency proposes for alleviating the lot of the unhappy per- sons who are wounded on board the captured ships, is so honourable to your generous feel- to blow with great violence on the shore ; and such, at last, was the fury of the gale, that the Royal Sove- reign, a first-rate, was struck by a sea which stove in the starboard quarter gallery, and washed Lieutenant Clavell, who was lying wounded and insensible, out of his cot into the ward-room, where he would probably have been drowned, if he had not been rescued at the moment by Captain Vallack, of the marines. With respect to anchoring on a lee shore in a gale of wind, the Editor is informed, by naval officers of much experience and skill, that where the water shoals rapidly, as in the Bay of Cadiz, this is a thing to which no sailor would resort but in the very last extremity, and when every other expedient had been tried in vain. A fresh ship may ride out a gale in safety, or if she should drive from her anchor, may, when her masts and rigging are complete, be enabled to crawl off the shore. If, how- ever, she should fail in this, no resource would be left but to cut away the masts ; and when close to a hostile port, this would be to disable and offer her as a prey to the enemy. But to anchor a disabled ship would be, if her anchor parted, to ensure her destruction. Such a vessel could only be saved by being towed from off the shore by fresh ships, by the skill of her officers taking advan- VOL. I. O 194 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF ings, that I have resolved, on my part, with the assent of General Gravina, that to-morrow, (if the weather permit,) when the frigates of the combined fleet go out to receive them, they shall convey to your Excellency, at the same time, the English officers and other persons who have been made prisoners in tage of every little change of wind, and the unremitting labour of her crew, which is never so well and so quickly called into activity in an anchored ship. Mr. James ob- serves with well-merited praise upon the judicious conduct of Captain Bayntun, of the Leviathan, who, he says, obtained the Commander-in-chief's permission to anchor some of the prizes : but from the following report of that able officer to Captain Hope, of the Defence, it will be seen how much reason there was for rejoicing that the rest of the ships, instead of being ancliored on a lee shore, had then, by the skill of the Admiral, and the unremitting exertions of every man in the fleet, been got into an open sea. FROM CAPTAIN BAYNTUN, H. M. S. LEVIATHAN, TO CAPTAIN HOPE, H. M. S. DEFENCE. Sunday night, October 27, 1805. At sun-down, the Scout brought me your order of the 24th instant, as well as a letter of this day. The first considers the Leviathan as an active ship, and fit for any service. I wish she were ; but I am sorry to state, her defects are such, that the sooner she is removed from the consequences of a lee shore the better. Besides LORD COLLINGWOOD. 195 those ships which were recovered after the action, and have re-entered this port. In sending them, I entreat your Excellency to deign to fulfil the agreement for an exchange of prisoners, which I had adjusted with Vice- Admiral Orde and with Lord Nelson, whose death has overwhelmed me with sorrow. In eight shot between wind and water, with masts wounded, &c. &c. I took up this anchorage to stop one of the prizes from going on shore, which she seemed incHned to do ; and although we have been riding very hard, and have car- ried away the tiller and loosened the upper pintles of the rudder, yet I have preferred this to keeping the ship under weigh in our crippled state, with a main-yard doubtful even for spreading the top-sail. Sec. &c. I should not enter into this detail if the enemy were expected at sea, but merely to shew that Leviathan in the action had some employment, though very inferior to many, and has not escaped injury. Since I came here on Thursday forenoon, I have found it necessary to take on me the command of the vessels which anchored, and have endeavoured to forward, in spite of the weather, the signal of the Commander-in- chief — namely, to withdraw men from prizes, and de- stroy ; but such has been the vast rolling sea, and the ships not being near each other, that much less has been done than I most ardently have wished, and many boats have been lost. Ajax I ordered to cut and close with the Argonaute, to take out the remaining men previous to her being 196 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF consequence of this agreement, I am em- boldened to request your Excellency's per- mission that not only the wounded may return to this place, but also the other Spanish and French prisoners, particularly Admiral Cisneros and the other Com- manders, who will not fail to add the duties destroyed : she has lost her rudder. Astern, bearing E.N.E. is the Orion, which I ordered to anchor near the St. Augustine: (she was captured by the Leviathan, boarded, and while on board taken in tow, but cast off by signal two days after) : she has, while at anchor in this heavy sea, lost her rudder. When I ran down to this place after the Monarca, another ship was at anchor, a 3-decker, with Spanish colours up. As soon as Monarca anchored, I did the same by her; and Donegal went to the 3-decker, which I learned was the Rayo. Donegal put above eighty of her own people on board, to take care of her. On Friday she drove a great way from the Donegal, but brought up again ; but this morning I fancy she parted, 8cc. I sent off the Entreprenante to look after her, but there is little hope of the ship being saved. Thursday night, or Friday morning, the Monarca parted, and at daylight was seen drifting into the bight : I fear she is lost, with every one on board. This day at noon another prize ship, that two days ago drifted from the neighbourhood of the Eurydice, parted or cut, and soon after, the Donegal cut her cable and went after her. They were together in the afternoon, and the prize again brought to an anchor. You see. Sir, there is very little hope of any prize from this quarter being saved, nor has LOUD COLLING WOOD. 197 of their gratitude to their testimony of your valour. This would be to me the most valued favour that I could receive from your Ex- cellency ; and I assure you, with respect to those Englishmen who are not immediately sent back to your squadron, that they only there been any idea of it, except as to the Rayo. The Argonaute and St. Augustin, having lost their rudders, shall be scuttled the instant we get all the men out ; but hitherto that has been a very difficult undertaking, more so at anchor than it would have been under weigh. If you think it proper and useful, I have no objection to your transmitting this rough account to the Commander- in-chief : perhaps he may gain some information of our present situation, I am, 8cc. From this statement alone, there would be good reason to conclude, that if the English ships had anchored, in- stead of being all preserved, as was fortunately the case, they would most of them have perished upon the shoals of Trafalgar. The Editor has, perhaps, remarked at too much length upon this assertion of Mr. James, which is at least in- offensive, but there are some observations in that book of which the same cannot be said. That author com- ments upon those parts of Admiral Collingwood's letter in which he states that Lord Nelson sent an officer to him immediately after his wound, and that he called Captain Blackwood to make his signals. It is difficult to say pre- cisely what the writer of those comments intends to in- 198 COIlllESrONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF remain, till, by the care and assistance which I have ordered to be given to them, they shall recover from the injuries which they suffered by their shipwreck after the action. Your Excellency may be persuaded, that during their continuance in Spain they will experience nothing but the loyalty and li- berality which characterise my nation. I can even add, that if your Excellency should need any assistance for your own wounded men, I shall deem it a pleasure and a duty to furnish it, and even to effect their cure upon land, if your Excellency will in- sinuate; but if he wishes, by any forced construction of these passages, to surmise that Admiral Colhngwood ever harboured the thought of covertly representing himself as having acted as Commander-in-chief, when he did not, and of thereby despoiling his departed friend of any portion of the glory which was his due, the unworthy suspicion is repelled by every word that Admiral Colling- vvood ever wrote or spoke, and by the uniform tenor of his life. The real facts have already been given by the Editor, from the highest authority ; but it may be added, that when the hero of that day had led his fleet into action, the time for signaling was gone, and that little, if any thing, remained for the Commander-in-chief, but to fight his individual ship, as he did, with a bravery and skill which is beyond all praise, and which, after his lamented full, was shewn in as eminent a degree by his gallant Captain, Sir Thomas Hardy. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 199 trust them to me. Your Excellency, than whom no one is a better judge of the manner in which my countrymen know how to com- bat, will readily believe that the Spanish honour is worthy of this generous confidence. I repeat to your Excellency the senti- ments of the high consideration with which I have the honour of subscribing myself your most attentive servant. Most excellent Sir, I kiss your Excellency's hand, THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. I thank your Excellency for the informa- tion which you have been pleased to give me respecting the Seiiores Villeneuve and Cisneros ; and so generous an enemy as your Excellency will be pleased to hear that the Generals Gravina, Alava, and Escafio, are recovering, as their wounds do not appear to be dangerous, I have just seen General Alava, who has requested me (until his recovery shall enable him to do so himself) to testify to your Excellency, in his name, his deepest grati- tude for the generosity and goodness with which you were pleased to treat him ; for which he will ever feel himself under the 200 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF greatest obligations, as well as for the atten- tion and regard which he received from the other officers of your squadron. FROM THE SAME. 'November 1, 1805. My Adjutant has informed me, that in order to facilitate the delivery of the wounded with the least inconvenience and suffering to them, it was your Excellency's intention that all the ships of your squadron in which they were embarked should alter- nately approach this port ; and that, on our side, vessels should be sent out to receive them. Nothing can be more humane or more easily executed than this proposition ; but as I thought that I had not of myself sufficient power to consent to it, I have had a conference with Admirals Rossily and Gravina ; and as they see no objection, I have the honour to tell your Excellency that you may command it to be executed at your pleasure. I wish it were possible for me to express to your Excellency all the gratitude I feel for the kindness and generosity which you continue to display towards the individuals of my nation ; and I beg you to be persuaded LORD COLLING WOOD. 201 that the British subjects shall experience the same from me, as long as they remain in our territories. FROM THE SAME. Cadiz, March. It is too true that Admiral Gravina died on the 9th instant, from the effects of his wound. His loss has been very afflicting to me ; for he had all the qualities of a true officer and a good friend. The feeling expressions with which your Excel- lency mentions him are very flattering to me ; and I value them the more from the generous character of your Excellency, who knows so well how to discover real merit, and to appreciate it accordingly. TO ADMIRAL ALAVA. SIR, Euryalns, off Cadiz, Oct. 30, 1805. It is with great pleasure I have heard that the wound which you received in the action is in a hopeful way of recovery, and that your Country may still have the benefit of your services. But, Sir, you sur- rendered yourself to me, and it was in con- sideration only of the state of your wound that you were not removed into my ship. I 202 COllRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF could not disturb the repose of a man sup- posed to be in his last moments ; but your sword, the emblem of your service, was de- livered to me by your Captain, and I expect that you consider yourself a prisoner of war, until you shall be regularly exchanged by cartel. FROM ADMIRAL ALAVA. Cadiz, December 23, 1805. MOST EXCELLENT SIR, The moment I find myself able to subscribe my name, I hasten to fulfil the duties of gratitude, by returning to your Excellency my warmest thanks for your great kindness and care of me, which will ever be deeply engraven on my heart. I have, at the same time, the greatest satis- faction in acknowledging the generosity and politeness with which Lieutenant Maker and a marine officer of the Thunderer behaved to me on board the Santa Anna, and I have the honour of recommending those officers to your Excellency. I should wish here to conclude my letter ; but I feel it necessary to reply to the subject of which your Excellency treats in yours of the 30th October. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 203 After I fell senseless in the action of the 21st of October, I have no farther recollection of what passed : neither did I know before that my sword had been delivered to your Excellency by the officer who remained in command of the Santa Anna till the end of the combat. In consequence, however, of your Excellency's assertion, the moment I found myself capable of resuming the sub- ject, I inquired of that officer, Don Francisco Riguelme, and was informed that the sword presented by him on board the Royal Sove- reign was his own ; and that with regard to me, he had only requested of your Excellency that I might not be moved, in consideration of the few hours for which I was then ex- pected to survive. In confirmation of this, I must add, that the sabre which I used in the battle, and the swords which I generally wear, are still in my possession. This officer believes that it was owing to his imperfectly expressing himself in the English language, that your Excellency was led to think that it was my sword which he surrendered to you. What I have said will be a satisfactory reply to your Excellency, who grounds on your possession of this emblem of my services, 204 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF my incapacity to exert them during the con- tinuance of the war without a previous ex- change. If, however, that had been true which I have proved to be a mistake, it is manifest that I could only share the fate of the vessel in which my person was embarked, under circumstances in which it was so pro- bable that we might be recaptured by a superior force from the combined fleet, which, in fact, did happen. The same thing might have happened to the Royal Sovereign, whi- ther it was proposed to remove me, since she was then dismasted, and unmanageable as the Santa Anna ; and there can be no reason why I should run a risk in two dif- ferent vessels. It is extremely painful to me that on the first occasion which is presented to me of having the honour of communicating with your Excellency, and when before the receipt of your valued letter, I had anxiously longed for the means of declaring to you the extent of my gratitude, I should be forced to dissent from your opinion. I could wish that this were on a subject which depended on my own free will, in order that I might evince to you the devotion that I have, and shall for ever entertain for your Excellency, to whose ser- LOllD COLLING WOOD. 205 vice in all other matters I shall be anxious to dedicate myself. I am, most excellent Sir, Your most obedient And affectionate servant, IGN. M. DE ALAVA. Although Admiral CoUingwood was not satisfied with the reasons which were given in the preceding letter, he continued, during the war with Spain, in the frequent inter- change of civilities with Admiral Alava and the Marquis de la Solana. Out of the many letters that passed between them, two are in- serted below, as proofs of the courteous man- ner in which hostilities were then conducted, and which contributed greatly to the power- ful influence which, at the commencement of their revolution. Lord CoUingwood exer- cised over the people of Spain. TO THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. Off Cadiz, November, 1805. MY LORD MARQUIS, I beg your Lordship will accept my very best thanks for your kind present of a cask of most excellent wine. As a token of your esteem it is peculiarly grateful to 206 COURESPONDENCE AND INIEIMOIR OF me. I wish I had any thing half so good to send your Excellency : but, perhaps, an English cheese may be a rarity at Cadiz ; and I accordingly take the liberty of begging your Lordship's acceptance of one, and of a cask of porter. I have the honour to be, With the highest esteem, &c. FROM THE MARQUIS DE LA SOLANA. Cadiz, August, 1806. My Aide-de-camp, who has been to your Excellency with a flag of truce, tells me that you wish to have some of the fruit which is in season at this place ; and as I feel the highest satisfaction and delight in doing any thing that can be agreeable to your Excellency, I send, by a fishing-boat, sixty melons, and some baskets of grapes, of figs, and of pomegranates. As this supply may be repeated whenever a boat approaches your fleet, I have not sent a large quantity ; for I hope that your Ex- cellency will have the goodness to tell me what fruits are most to your liking, that I may have the pleasure of sending them. I beg your Excellency to present some of the LORD COIJ.INGWOOD. 207 melons to Captain Thomas, who, as I hear from my Aide-de-camp, is fond of them. I long for the opportunity of personally presenting myself to your Excellency; and in the mean while I have the honour to re- peat, that I am, with the most distinguished consideration, your affectionate servant. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, Gibraltar Bay, November 15, 1805. I beg to express my earnest hope that your Lordship will take into con- sideration the peculiar circumstances of the late action, in which as much gallantry was displayed by the fleet, and a powerful arma- ment of the enemy ruined, in as short a time as in any action; but what distinguished it from all others is, that the usual reward to the Captains, arising from the sale of prizes, is almost all lost by the wreck and destruc- tion of the ships. What Government may please to do in this respect for the fleet, I cannot say, but none was ever more worthy of its regard. To the officers, among whom are many young men who are qualified for Lieu- tenants, the most grateful reward would be promotion ; and if your Lordship would 208 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF enable me to dispense it to them, by com- missioning the four ships, and appointing the officers serving in this fleet, I should feel exceedingly gratified in having it in my power to reward so much merit as is now before me. I have mentioned this subject in the full confidence that your Lordship feels the same disposition towards them with myself: and in doing it, I have only performed a duty which I owe to them. I enclose to your Lordship a letter which was sent to me from the Victory. Captain Adair, I understand, was an officer of highly estimable character; and in submitting the case of his family to the consideration and protection of your Lordship, I feel assured that I place it where due regard will be paid to their misfortunes. On the 8th November, shortly after the arrival at the Admiralty of the intelligence of this victory. Lord Barham, the then First Lord, informed Admiral Collingwood that he had sent him a commission of the same extent as Lord Nelson ; and then he ob- serves, " on the subject of promotion, I will " endeavour to comply witli your request. LORD COLLINGWOOD. S09 " though in one instance not regular ; and " in order to prevent disappointment to in- " dividuals, I must beg that you will strictly " conform to the rules laid down by the " Admiralty, by which they leave deaths " and court-martial vacancies to the Com- " manding Officer, and reserve all others to " themselves. I am the more particular on " these subjects, because the neglect of them " has created much disappointment to indi- " viduals, as well as to their friends here. " I shall trouble you, through my Secretary, " with a list of such persons as I wish to fill " the Admiralty vacancies." TO THE SAME. Queen, off Carthagena, December A, 1805. I assure your Lordship, that in all the appointments I have made I in- tended to be as regular as circumstances would permit. After the action, several of the ships were short of Lieutenants, when the duty was hard upon them. The Sove- reign had only six besides my Flag-Lieu- tenant, the First Lieutenant being dan- gerously wounded ; and the ship needing all the assistance that could be given her, to supply those vacancies I gave acting orders VOL. I. V 210 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF to young men who were recommended for their activity, and among them to a Mr. Dickenson, whom I found in .the Dread- nought, and removed with me into the Sovereign, because he had more knowledge of his profession than is usual, and seemed to be the spirit of the ship when any thing was to be done. The Victory's Midshipmen are most of them on board the Queen, and they are persons for whom I feel peculiar interest, because they were the Victory's. Among the many various and important duties of the high office with which I am at present intrusted, I know that I must some- times need your Lordship's indulgence ; but as far as indefatigable industry and the exercise of my best abilities will direct me, they shall not be wanting. I think I have anticipated what your Lordship seems most anxious about. The blockade of Cadiz has never been remitted for one moment ; for, considering how precarious an anchorage Gibraltar Bay is at this season, I kept the sea after the action with the least injured ships, until many of the crippled ones had sailed for England, where I judged it best to send all tliose which wanted material repairs. When the Bay was cleared of ten LORD COLLINC.WOOl). 211 of them, I proceeded to Gibraltar, to forward the departure of the rest. I had considered the uncertain station of the Rochefort squadron, and directed that not fewer than six should sail together ; but my letter to Admiral Knight on this subject did not arrive at Gibraltar before the Victory, Bel- leisle, and Bellerophon, had sailed. I had another view in keeping the sea at that time (which had a little of pride in it), and that was to shew the enemy, that it was not a battle nor a storm which could remove a British squadron from the station which they were directed to hold, and I have heard that our keeping the sea after what had passed was a matter of the greatest astonish- ment to them While the English nation lamented most deeply the fall of Lord Nelson, they were unanimous in their commendations of his successor. Of these testimonies of their ap- probation, the highest and most valued was conveyed in the following letter from Co- lonel Taylor, the Private Secretary to the King, to Mr. Marsden, and of which a copy was transmitted to Admiral Collingwood, by the command of the Lords of the Admiralty. 212 CORRESPONDKNCE AND MEMOIR OF Windsor, November 7, 1805. His Majesty has commanded me to express, in the strongest terms, his feelings of approbation of every part of the conduct of his gallant fleet, whose glorious and meritorious exertions are made yet more conspicuous, if possible, by the details of the opposition and difficulties which it had to encounter, both during and subsequent to the glorious action, and by the intrepidity and skill with which they were overcome. Every tribute of praise appears to His Majesty due to Lord Nelson, whose loss he can never sufficiently regret ; but His Ma- jesty considers it very fortunate that the command, under circumstances so critical, should have devolved upon an officer of such consummate valour, judgment, and skill, as Admiral Collingwood has proved himself to be, every part of whose conduct he con- siders deserving his entire approbation and admiration. The feeling manner in which he has described the events of that great day and those subsequent, and the modesty with which lie speaks of himself, whilst he does justice, in terms so elegant and so ample, to the meritorious exertions of the gallant LORD COLLING WOOD. 213 officers and men under his command, have also proved extremely satisfactory to the King. FROM H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. Si. James's, November 9, 1805. DEAR SIR, As a brother Admiral, and as a sincere well-wisher to my King and Coun- try, permit me to congratulate you on the most important victory gained on the 21st October by your gallant self, and the brave Officers, Seamen, and Royal Marines, under your command, and formerly under my la- mented and invaluable friend Lord Nelson. The Country laments the hero, and you and I feel the loss of our departed friend. Five- and-twenty years have I lived on the most intimate terms with Nelson, and must ever, both publicly and privately, regret his loss. Earl St. Vincent and Lord Nelson, both, in the hour of victory, accepted from me a sword, and I hope you will now confer on me the same pleasure. I have accordingly sent a sword, with which I trust you will accept my sincere wishes for your future welfare. I must request you will let me J214 coruespondf:nce and :memoiii of have the details of the death of our departed friend ; and I ever remain, dear Sir, Yours unalterably, WILLIAM. Admiral Collingwood was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Collingwood, of Caldburne and Hethpoole, in the county of Northumberland, and received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. An honour- able augmentation was made to his arms, by the introduction in chief of one of the lions of England, navally crow^ned, and sur- mounted by the word Trafalgar ; and an additional crest* was granted to him, repre- senting the stern of the Royal Sovereign. He received the thanks and freedom of the principal cities of Great Britain ; and a pension was granted by Parliament of 2000/. per annum for his own life, and, in the event of his death, of 1000/. per annum to * The old crest of Collingwood, being a stag under a tree, is an heraldic emblem of the name. Anciently, all beasts and birds were familiarly called by some Christian name, of which many are still preserved, as Robin-Red- breast, Tom-Tit, &c. In this way the stag was called Colin, and with a tree represented Colin-wood. LORD COLI.INGWOOD. 215 Lady Collingwoocl, and of 500/. per annum to each of his two daugliters. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Quec/i, off Carthagena, December 6, 1805. It would be hard if I could not find one hour to write a letter to my dearest Sarah, to congratulate her on the hio:h rank to which she has been advanced by my success. Blessed may you be, my dearest love, and may you long live the happy wife of your happy husband ! I do not know how you bear your honours, but I have so much business on my hands, from dawn till midnight, that I have hardly time to think of mine, except it be in gratitude to my King, who has so graciously conferred them upon me. But there are so many things of which I might justly be a little proud, — for extreme pride is folly, — that I must share my gratification with you. The first is the letter from Colonel Taylor, His Majesty's Private Secretary, to the Ad- miralty, to be communicated to me. I en- close you a copy of it. It is considered the highest compliment the King can pay ; and, as the King's personal compliment, I value it above every thing. I am told, that when ^16 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF mv letter was carried to him he could not read it for tears, joy and gratitude to Heaven for our success so entirely overcame him. I have such congratulations, both in prose and verse, as would turn the head of one a little more vain than I am. The adding a red flag at the main to the Navy on this occasion is a proud thing : but I will tell you what I feel nearest to my heart, after the honour which His Majesty has done me, and that is, the praise of every ofBcer of the fleet. And though, perhaps, there will be some in England who will ask, What have they done with their prizes ? I can only say, if they are not satisfied, they are hard to please, when, of the combined fleet, which has so long held the nation in dread, there only remains one ship which can go to sea in many months, and only nine in being ! If I can get hold of the Rochefort squadron, of which I am in great hope, the naval war of our enemy is over, till they build another fleet. I received intel- ligence last week of their having taken a station, I suppose for the winter months, where they may interrupt our outward- bound ships to the East and West Indies. I immediately detached Sir John Duck- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 217 worth, with a sufficient squadron of fast- sailing ships, to look for them ; and as they would not, so soon after our battle, expect to be annoyed from hence, I am in great ex- pectation that he will come on them by surprise, and have no doubt as to what the conclusion will be. As Sir Richard Strachan said, " I shall be delighted." What does Ad- miral Roddam say of our fight ? It would have done his heart good to have seen it. There is a thing which has made a consi- derable impression upon me. A week before the war, at Morpeth, I dreamed distinctly many of the circumstances of our late battle off the enemy's port, and I believe I told you of it at the time : but I never dreamed that I was to be a peer of the realm. How are my darlings ? I hope they will take pains to make themselves wise and good, and fit for the station to which they are raised. I am here with six sail. The Spaniards in the harbour have eight, but shew no disposition to come out. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, off Carthagena, December 6. I have received your Lord- ship's letter of the 16th ult., congratulating 218 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF me on the honour which His Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer upon me in advancing me to the Peerage ; and I cannot sufficiently express the gratitude which I feel to my King for this distin- guished mark of his royal approbation of my conduct. All the ability which God has given me is devoted to his service ; and whenever any good fortune shall place me in a situation to render benefit to his king- doms, I trust I shall support the honour of that high station to which His Majesty has been graciously pleased to exalt me. My family, my Lord, has for several ages been of considerable distinction in the North ; but as it is now raised to a higher degree of eminence by the favour of my King, your Lordship will easily conceive that I feel a degree of ambition to continue its elevation to posterity, that future Col- li ngwoods may manifest in future ages their fidelity to their Country. I have not a son ; but if the honours which have been con- ferred on me could be continued in the heirs of my daughters, I should be made very happy. I hope your Lordship will pardon my having mentioned this subject ; but as the state of my family is probably LORD COLLING WOOD. 219 little known to His Majesty, I have taken the liberty of putting your Lordship so far in possession of the fact, and of my ardent desire on this subject This appears to have been the only thing of any kind that Lord Collingwood ever asked, for himself or any member of his family, during the whole course of his naval employment : but although he was led by Lord Barham to believe that this request would be granted, and repeated it during the succeeding Administration, it was not deemed expedient to comply with it. TO H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CLARENCE. Queen, off Cart ha genu, Decemhei- 12, 1805. I cannot express how great my gratitude is to your Royal Highness, for the high honour which you have done me by your letter, congratulating me on the success of His Majesty's fleet against his enemies. This instance of condescension, and mark of your Royal Highness's kindness to one of the most humble, but one of the most faithful of His Majesty's servants, is deeply engraved in my heart. I shall ever consider 220 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF it as a great happiness to have merited your Royal Highness's approbation, of which the sword which you have presented to me is a testimony so highly honourable to me ; for which I beg your Royal Highness will accept my best thanks, and the assurance that, whenever His Majesty's service de- mands it, I will endeavour to use it in support of our Country's honour, and to the advancement of His Majesty's glory. The loss which your Royal Highness and myself have sustained in the death of Lord Nelson can only be estimated by those who had the happiness of sharing his friendship. He had all the qualities that adorn the human heart, and a head which, by its quickness of perception and depth of pene- tration, qualified him for the highest offices of his profession. But why am I making these observations to your Royal Highness, who knew him ? Because I cannot speak of him but to do him honour. Your Royal Highness desires to know the particular circumstances of his death. I have seen Captain Hardy but for a few minutes since, and understood from him, that at the time the Victory was very closely engaged in rather a crowd of ships, and that LORD COLLING WOOD. 221 Lord Nelson was commending some ship that was conducted much to his satisfaction, when a musket-ball struck him on the left breast. Captain Hardy took hold of him to support him, when he smiled, and said, " Hardy, I believe they have done it at last." He was carried below ; and when the ship was disengaged from the crowd, he sent an officer to inform me that he was wounded. I asked the officer if his wound was dan- gerous. He hesitated ; then said he hoped it was not ; but I saw the fate of my friend in his eye ; for his look told what his tongue could not utter. About an hour after, when the action was over. Captain Hardy brought me the melancholy account of his death. He inquired frequently how the battle went, and expressed joy when the enemy were striking ; in his last moments shewing an anxiety for the glory of his Country, though regardless of what related to his own person. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Royal Highness's Most obedient and most humble Servant. 222 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF TO LORD RADSTOCK. Queen, off Carthagena, December 12, 1805. Most sincerely do I thank you for all your kindness to me, and particularly for your congratulations on our victory, in which we gained and lost so much. His Majesty has indeed been very gracious to me, and I feel a gratitude to him which I cannot well express ; but you, my Lord, can conceive the sort of delight that a man feels in arriving at the summit of his ambition, and mine has ever been the approbation of my Sovereign and my Country. A letter which His Majesty ordered to be written by Colonel Taylor is so highly honourable to me, and so expressive of His Majesty's ap- probation of my service, that nothing can be more gratifying to me. His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence has not been less gracious to me ; and, indeed, all persons, known or unknown to me, are doing me honour. I confess I feel a considerable degree of pride in having deserved their praise ; and I hope it is the only kind of pride that will ever trouble me. I am here with six ships, watching the Spanish squadron, eight beauties. The Real Carlos LORD COLLINGWOOD. 223 and Rayna Louisa are Spanish perfections, like the Santa Anna, and she towered over the Royal Sovereign like a castle. No ship fired a shot at her but ourselves, and you have no conception how completely she was ruined. Oh! had Nelson lived! how com- plete had been my happiness — how perfect my joy ! Now, whatever I have felt like pleasure has been so mixed with the bitter- ness of woe, that I cannot exult in our success as it would be pardonable to do. Admiral Villeneuve is a well-bred man, and, I believe, a very good officer: he has nothing in his manners of the offensive vapouring and boasting which we, perhaps too often, attribute to Frenchmen. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, off Carihagena, December 16, 1805. I write merely to say that I am well, and as busy as any creature can be. How I shall ever get through all the letters which are written to me I know not. I labour from dawn till midnight, till I can hardly see ; and as my hearing fails me too, you will have but a mass of infirmities in your poor Lord whenever he returns to you. I suppose I must not be seen to work in my 224 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF garden now ; but tell old Scott that he need not be unhappy on that account. Though we shall never again be able to plant the Nelson potatoes, we will have them of some other sort, and right noble cabbages to boot, in great perfection. You see I am styled of Hethpoole and Caldburne. Was that by your direction ? I should prefer it to any other title if it was ; and I rejoice, my love, that we are an instance that there are other and better sources of nobility than wealth. Extract of a Letter from Colonel Taylor, Private Secretary to His Majesty, to William 3Iarsden, Esq. Windsor, November 20, 1805. " Every event subsequent to the glo- " rious action, has, in His Majesty's opinion, " distinguished, in an additional degree, the " meritorious, able, and most zealous con- " duct and exertions of Lord Collingwood " and his brave officers and men ; and the " result of the whole has proved as decisive " and important to the interests of the " Country as it has been honourable to its " gallant defenders." LORD COLLING WOOD. ^5 TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, ojf Carthagena, December 20, 1805. I have another charming extract of a letter written to the Admiralty, by His Majesty's command, in which he says, that the more the proceedings of the fleet under my command are detailed, the more reason he has to approve of my conduct. It makes me quite happy that the King should seem so pleased with me. Many of the Captains here have expressed a desire that I would give them a general notice whenever I go to court ; and if they are within 500 miles they will come up to attend me. Now all this is very pleasing ; but, alas ! my love, until we have peace I shall never be happy : and yet, how we are to make it out in peace, I know not, with high rank and no fortune.'^ At all events, we can do as we did before. It is true I have the chief command, but there are neither French nor Spaniards on the sea, and our cruisers find nothing but * At this time Lord Collingwood's income, including his full pay, barely amounted to £1100 per annum, as appears from several of his letters respecting the income tax, to which he was peculiarly solicitous that the most correct return should be made. VOL. I. Q 226 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF neutrals, who carry on all the trade of the enemy. Our prizes you see are lost : but was there ever so complete a break-up of an enemy's fleet ? If we have not saved them to ourselves, we have at least put them out of the power of doing further mischief. Vil- leneuve's ship had a great deal of money in her; but it all went to the bottom. I am afraid the fees for this patent will be large, and pinch me, but never mind ; let others solicit pensions, I am an Englishman, and will never ask for money as a favour. How do my darlings go on ? I wish you would make them write to me by turns, and give me the whole history of their proceedings. Oh ! how I shall rejoice, when I come home, to find them as much improved in know- ledge as I have advanced them in station in the world : but take care they do not give themselves foolish airs. Their excellence should be in knowledge, in virtue, and bene- volence to all ; but most to those who are humble, and require their aid. This is true nobility, and is now become an incumbent duty on them. 1 am out of all patience with Bounce. The consequential airs he gives himself since he became a Right Honourable dog are insufferable. He considers it be- LOUD c()ij,iNc;wo()D. 227 neatli his dignity to play with commoners' dogs, and truly thinks that he does them grace when he condescends to lift up his leg against them. This, I think, is carrying the insolence of rank to the extreme ; but he is a dog that does it. 25th December. This is Christmas-day ; a merry and cheerful one, I hope, to all my darlings. May God bless us, and grant that we may pass the next together. Every body is very good to me ; but His Ma- jesty's letters are my pride, it is there I feel the object of my life attained. The editors of the Naval Chronicle have written to me for the history of my life and progress, for which they are pleased to say, the world is very impatient. Now this rather embarrasses me, for I never could bear the trumpeter of his own praise. So, to get rid of it as well as I can, I have employed to write a history for me. For my birth and parentage he has selected two or three chapters of Bam- fylde Moore Carew : for my service in the West Indies, and on the Spanish main, he has good assistance in the History of the Buccaneers ; and for my shipwreck he has copied a great deal out of Robinson Crusoe : all which, with a few anecdotes from the Lives of the Admirals, a little distorted, will 228 CORRKSPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OE make, I am inclined to think, a very respect- able piece of biography. I have just heard that the Brest fleet is at sea, and coming this way. If they do, I have force enough to beat them all ; and it would be a lucky hour. I am now going down the Mediter- ranean to meet them, if they should be coming tliis way, which I think is not im- probable, on the supposition that we are weak. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Queen, oj) Malaga, January 1, 1806. Many happy returns of this day to you in health and the enjoyment of every comfort. Happy should I be could I be of your party to-day, which I am sure will be a cheerful one ; but when I am to look for that blessing I cannot tell. It was once full in the contemplation of my mind, con- sidering that I am now far advanced in years, to have retired from sea service when my three years were up, in May next ; but I am afraid that is now quite out of the question ; and as long as I have health I must go on. As soon as I had got a few sliips put in order I went up to Carthagena, where the Spaniards have a squadron of fine ships, but they shew I.bllD COLLINGWOOD. 229 no disposition to come out. Indeed there seems no service for them ; they are not enough to undertake any expedition, and their trade is so covered by the neutral flag that it requires no other protection. The property of the enemy is thus secured while we are buffeting the seas without ceasing, and with difficulty protect our own. What is the worst part of it is, that these invaders of our rights are, for the most part, ensured by English underwriters. It is a most ne- farious practice, which has put me out of conceit with mercantile patriotism. They may give me fine vases and high praises, but they must shew the same regard for their Country which I feel before they can gain my esteem. I have only been on shore once since I left England, and do not know when I shall go again. I am unceasingly writing, and the day is not long enough for me to get through my business. I hope my children are every day acquiring some knowledge, and wish them to write a French letter every day to me or their mother. I shall read them all when I come home. If there were an oppor- tunity I should like them to be taught Spanish, which is the most elegant language 230 COllllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF ill Europe, and very easy. I hardly know how we sliall be able to support the dignity to which His Majesty has been pleased to raise me. Let others plead for pensions ; I can be rich without money, by endeavouring to be superior to every thing poor. I would have my services to my Country unstained by any interested motive ; and old Scott and I can go on in our cabbage garden without much greater expense than formerly. But I have had a great destruction of my furniture and stock ; I have hardly a chair that has not a shot in it, and many have lost both legs and arms, without hope of pension. My wine broke in moving, and my pigs were slain in battle ; and these are heavy losses where they cannot be replaced There had been much difficulty in ascer- taining the precise number of the enemy's ships which had struck their colours on the Slst October. Lord Collingwood had origin- ally stated them to be twenty ; but Captain Blackwood, who had been sent into Cadiz with a flag of truce, had found there the French shij) Argonaute, which had been included in that number. As Mr. Pitt was properly solicitous that the fact should be LORD COLLING WOOD. 531 stated with the strictest accuracy in the London Gazette, it was thought right that the mistake should be rectified on Captain Blackwood's authority. TO THE HON. CAPTAIN BLACKWOOD. DEAR SIR, Queen, off Cadiz. I have just received the favour of your letter of the 11th December, by Captain Fellows, and am exceedingly obliged to you for your kind congratulations. What- ever I could say of you, of your services, and the benefit I received from them, was well deserved, for in the critical situation of our affairs, and anxious time I had when I was in the Euryalus, I received from you an aid which is not often to be obtained ; and I con- sider it a part, a material part of my good fortune that I embarked in your ship. Should you come to this country you may believe how glad I shall be to see you. I am much obliged to you for your intention to give my wife notice of your destination ; and if you bring me a letter from her you will make me happy. The mode of correcting the error in the returns made of the enemy's ships was the best that could be devised. You know that I wished to be as correct as possible. 232 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF and that any deviation from the real fact must have proceeded from imperfect informa- tion. I am exceedingly anxious at present to know what is become of the French squa- drons ; every report speaks of them as ex- pected here ; and I think, from the present circumstances of the war, they will attempt to get into the Mediterranean. I hope they will come in force enough not to run away ; for the ships I have are many of them but miserable sailers : if they are bold and wait for us, I doubt not we shall give their Navy the coup de grace. I hope you found Mrs. Blackwood and your family well: happy I am sure they would be to see you. I am, dear Sir, with great regard, Your faithful humble servant. As a new era in Lord Collin gwood's life was now commencing, and he became en- gaged in many important political transac- tions, it may not be inexpedient to advert shortly to the state of the different European powers about this period. For the purpose of rescuing the Continent from the domina- tion of France, England and Russia, in April 1805, entered into a treaty, of which the LORD COLLINGWOOD. 233 principal provisions were ten years afterwards carried into execution ; but its commence- ment was marked with an uninterrupted series of misfortune and discomfiture. Aus- tria, which had been too hastily precipitated into war, was subdued at Austerlitz ; while Prussia, which at first had seen without regret her ancient rival attacked, became indignant at the violation of her territories in Fran- conia by the French columns, and engaged in a policy the most treacherous and contra- dictory. A convention was signed at Potsdam, on the 3d November, 1 805, between Frederick William and the Emperor Alexander, by which the Court of Berlin engaged to make common cause with the other members of the coalition ; almost at the moment when Count Haugwitz was concluding at Vienna a treaty by which Napoleon and the King of Prussia, after guaranteeing the possession of their other territories, stipulated that the latter should cede Anspach, Neuchatel, and Cleves, and indemnify himself by the seizure of the territories of his ally, the Elector of Hanover. On the 4tli of January, 1 806, about ten days after Count Haugwitz's return to Berlin with the treaty of Vienna, Prussia voluntarily engaged to ensure the safety of 234 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the British troops in Hanover, by the aid of the Russian army, which had been intrusted to her expressly for the preservation of the Country, and, if necessary, by her whole force : but in a few weeks she annexed the whole Electorate to her dominions, as a state transferred to her by Napoleon by right of conquest, and excluded the English flag from its ports. This act of perfidy and aggression was speedily answered on the part of England by a declaration of war. In the summer of 1806, during the negociations for a peace with France, Napoleon offered to the English Government the restoration of Hanover, without deeming it necessary to require the consent of Prussia ; — an affront that occa- sioned the war which for a time annihilated the Prussian power on the plains of Jena, and which was terminated by the peace of Tilsit, when Alexander in his turn was in- demnified at the expense of his allies, the Kings of Prussia and Sweden. Great Britain, on her part, attacked Denmark, bombarded her capital, and seized her fleet, which led to a war with Russia. From these circumstances, with the single exception of Sweden, wliose King, as the re- ward for his fidelity, lost Finland, and ulti- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 235 mately his crown, all the northern states were successively closed against England, and her political communications with the powers of Europe was confined to the countries border- ing on the Mediterranean : and so rigorously was the system of exclusion maintained, that on many occasions the readiest mode of in- tercourse with the north of Europe was through Constantinople. It was natural that much of the management of those political relations, which still subsisted with the south, should devolve upon the Commander-in- chief of the naval forces in the Mediter- ranean ; and great as are the acquirements and knowledge of many officers in the Navy, it must still be considered as a very fortunate circumstance that there was found in pos- session of this important command a person of so much sagacity and moderation as Lord Collingwood. The state which principally engaged the attention of the English Government was Naples. Their Sicilian Majesties had been endeavouring, for the last two years, to save their kingdoms by apparent submission to Napoleon, while they were secretly soliciting the protection of Great Britain, Russia, and Austria ; and to preserve thejn from the 236 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF vengeance of France, in tlie event of their projects being discovered, Lord Nelson had stationed the Excellent off Naples, and deli- vered to the Court a sealed order for their conveyance on board that vessel to Sicily, whenever such a measure should become necessary. In the mean time the Russian Minister insisted upon the signature of a secret treaty between the King of Naples and the Em- peror of Russia, by which the former bound himself to receive into his dominions the troops of the allies, whenever it should be thought proper to bring them either into Sicily or into the kingdom of Naples. A few days afterwards a messenger arrived from the Marquis de Gallo at Paris with a treaty which that Embassador had concluded, by which Naples engaged to repulse by force, and by the employment of all her means, any attempt that should be made on her neu- trality ; and stipulated that she would not permit any body of troops belonging to any belligerent power, to land upon her territory, or confide the command of her armies and places to any subject of Russia, Austria, or Eno-land. As the French General threat- ened, in case of delay, to march upon the I.OTiD COI.LTNGWOOD. 237 capital, Ferdinand ratified the convention with France ; and at the same time delivered a secret counter declaration to the Russian Minister, by which he re-established the va- lidity of the treaty with Russia, and annulled that which had been signed by his Embas- sador, as having been imposed upon him by force. When, in execution of their part of the convention, the French troops had evacuated the Neapolitan territory, the King expressed his earnest desire that the English and Rus- sian forces should without delay disembark at Naples for the purpose of joining his army, and making a diversion in favour of the Aus- trians in the north of Italy. To the honour of the English Minister it should be observed, that, in this rapid succession of signing and countersigning of treaties, he carefully avoid- ed putting his name to any public document whatever, declaring that, although a consi- derable degree of convenience might be ob- tained for the allies by these diplomatic manoeuvres, there was in them a sacrifice of good faith, which he could reconcile neither to his private feelings as a man, nor to his conceptions of sound policy as a minister. The English accordingly appeared only as 238 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the auxiliaries of Russia ; and so ill was the Court of Naples prepared for the war which they had thus provoked, that there was not, in all their magazines, a sufficient supply of gunpowder for 6000 men, until it was fur- nished to them from the English ships. But every hope of a successful resistance was soon abandoned. The Emperor Alexander de- spatched an Aide-de-camp from the field of Austerlitz with orders for his army to re- embark and return to Corfu ; when General Craig also withdrew his troops to the island of Sicily. After the departure of the allied forces, affairs at Naples proceeded as they had begun. Napoleon, in a bulletin, dated Schoenbrun, the 26th December, announced the march of General St. Cyr upon Naples, " for the pur- " pose of punishing the perfidy of the Queen, " and compelling that criminal woman to " descend from her throne :" and when, after the peace of Presburg, he had become satis- fied of the entire submission of Austria, he issued a proclamation, in which it was de- clared that the dynasty of Naples had ceased to reign ; and afterwards bestowed the throne upon his l)rother Joseph, — an usurpation to which Russia in a short time acceded, by LORD COIJJNGWOOD. 2S9 the 17th article of the treaty of Tilsit. Fer- dinand despatched the Cardinal Ruffo to Rome, in order to obtain, if possible, an ar- mistice of forty days, through the mediation of the Pope and the interference of Cardinal Fesch, and to offer his abdication in favour of his son, the hereditary Prince : but the Cardinal joined the party of the invaders, and celebrated a solemn mass during the rejoicings which took place on Joseph Buon- aparte's entry into the capital. The Duke de San Theodoro, who was despatched for the same purpose, solicited a place in the household of the new King; and the Mar- quis de Gallo, the late Neapolitan Embas- sador at Paris, who had also been charged with a similar mission, became his Minister for foreign affairs. In like manner, the Queen, who had taken shelter under the English army in Sicily, was found, within a few months, engaged in a series of plots with France against her allies and protectors. The Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon pursued a conduct as vacillating, and ultimately as fatal. When Prussia was preparing for war, the Queen, and her fa- vourite, Godoy, who governed Spain in the name of Charles IV., conceived that the mo- 240 COKRKSPONDENCF. AND MEMOIR OF ment was arrived for shaking off the yoke of France, and were putting their army in mo- tion, when they received intelligence of the battle of Jena. They endeavoured to deceive the French Government, by the assertion that their preparations had been directed against the Emperor of Morocco ; and Napoleon, who was not more their superior in force than in treachery and dissimulation, which are the ordinary weapons of the weak, con- cealed his resentment, deluded Godoy, by the promise of a kingdom in the north of Portugal, into the admission of French troops into Spain ; and by encouraging the mis- government of the Spanish Court, prepared the intrigues of Aranguez, and ultimately that revolution which had so powerful an effect upon the condition of Europe. Russia had, at this time, considerable power, and still more extensive projects in the Mediterranean. She maintained a nu- merous fleet in those seas ; possessed Cattaro and the Ionian Islands; had already exer- cised a species of sovereignty over the Greeks by the patents of protection which she granted to them, and by her levies of men in Albania and Greece, a privilege which had been re- cognised in the Treaty with England ; was LORD COLLINGWOOD. 241 the protector of Naples, and viewed with great jealousy the exclusive occupation of Sicily by the English troops. The Pope had constantly refused to declare war against England, for which Napoleon despoiled him of several of his provinces, and ultimately of Rome, declaring that Charlemagne, his glorious predecessor, had not endowed the Church with territory for the benefit of the enemies of his holy religion. The Ottoman Porte was friendly till England commenced hostilities ; and so also were the piratical States of Barbary, in spite of the incessant intrigues of France : and of these latter powers, Lord Collingwood frequently ex- pressed his opinion, that in the questions which occasionally arose between the English cruisers and them, they were uniformly in the right, and that they adhered to the strict letter of their treaties with a fidelity which he did not discover in the Governments of more civilised countries. FROM THE QUEEN OF NAPLES. Le 1 de Janvier, 1806. Quoique je n'ai pas le plaisir, milord, de vous connaitre, la derniere glo- rieuse bataille, votre amitie pour I'immortel, VOL. I. R 242 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF et a moi toujours cher et regrette Lord Nelson, et le commandement de la Mediter- ranee a vos soins confie, sont autant de motifs a me faire souhaiter de faire votre connaissance, au moins pour le moment par ecrit. Les assurances qu'en votre nom le Chevalier Eliot nous a donnees, m'ont bien touche : nous sommes dans ce moment dans une situation tres, tres penible et critique. Je compte que vous serez pour nous ce que a ete le respectable Milord Nelson, notre ami, protecteur, et defenseur. Le Roi et toute ma cliere famille ont mes sentimens, et esperent tout en votre brave nation, et votre active co-operation. Contez aussi sur ma sincere estime et eternelle reconnaissance, avec laquelle je suis, et serai toujours, Votre affection ee CHARLOTTE. TO GENERAL SIR JAMES CRAIG, K. B. Queen, off Cadiz, January 4, 1806. I perfectly comprehend the de- licate situation in which the politics of the Court of Naples have placed you by the breach of the Treaty with France ; which Treaty I believe to have been deception on both sides — agreed to on the part of Naples LORD COLI.INGWOOD. 24S from their inability to resist the dangers with which they were threatened, and not meant by the French to be adhered to longer than was necessary to their general plan of subjugating Italy. Yet I fear that Naples has been precipitate in drawing down a certain attack before they were in a condition to resist it. If the French be successful in Germany, they will be able to employ such an army against Naples, as, I fear, no collection of force which can be made there will be able to repel. If the French should fail, Naples would have been secure in her neutrality, and the troops now on her frontier might have been actively em- ployed in another quarter. Sicily, I hope, is well secured against any sudden assault. There is great reason for believing that the fleet which was beaten off Trafalgar was destined for that island. A considerable field equipage was embarked ; 4000 troops were in the ships : a like number was expected to embark at Carthagena, and 12,000 were on the march to Toulon for the same purpose, but were remanded on the action taking place. I was with the squadron, off Carthagena, when the accounts were brought to me that 244 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the enemy's fleet had sailed from Brest, and immediately proceeded to this station, to be in the way to intercept them, should their destination be Cadiz or the Mediterranean. They have been cruising in the bay for some time, in detached squadrons of five or six sail : their object doubtless was the disabled ships from Gibraltar ; but they have all had the good fortune to arrive in England. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, at Sea, January 26, 1806. I have every reason to believe that it is still the intention of the enemy to carry the war into the Mediterranean, which I trust I shall be able to prevent ; and can assure your Lordship, that I will make the best use of the force I have, and hope to defeat their purpose, whatever it may be. Yet I think that since I despatched Sir John Duckworth my squadron is weakened much below what is necessary for the probable service, and I am looking impatiently for something from England. I was obliged, with great reluctance, to send four of the ships to Tetuan for water ; for the supply of any thing by transports is tedious beyond measure. The armed defence-ships, I am LORD COLLINGWOOD. 245 afraid, will be of little use : the fleet has only been supplied with fifty bullocks by them yet, and they arrived dying with famine from the length of passage. Perhaps in the summer they may be more useful ; but in the Gut those ships are not de- fensible with carronades, and the vessel which convoys them could bring the bul- locks in half the time. In calm weather, the gun -boats unrig them with their long 24 -pounders before they ever come within reach of carronades ; and those ships, having the appearance of merchantmen, invite at- tack. It is activity only, and not block-ships, which can give security to the trade in Gibraltar Bay. I have given directions to the agent for transports at Gibraltar, that no prisoner taken in a gun-boat shall be ex- changed, but sent to England; for the capture of them was a mere ceremony. Exchanged the next day, on the third they might make their appearance in their former occupation, and perhaps in the same gun- boat in a month, or as soon as the forms of the Court of Admiralty allowed her to be sold. 246 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE DEY OF ALGIERS. Thanks to God alone ! To the Admiral of the English Fleet, Peace be to you, &c. Our King has informed us of the amicable way in which you treat our people, and we are informed of the truth of it, and that you deal friendly with the Moors. We shall serve you in any thing that may be possible with the greatest plea- sure. We were informed that the Spanish and French fleet had defeated the British fleet ; but now w^e are informed to a certainty that the English fleet has defeated that of France and Spain. Thanks be to God for the day on which we have received this happy news ! as there is no doubt it has given us great joy. Before this time another Basha had the command ; but now he is dead, and I have the command; and every thing that you may be in want of will be attended to, please God. The Consul of your Nation residing here treats us in a very bad way, and we wish that he may behave and speak with us in a LORD COLLINGWOOD. 247 better manner, and we will act with him accordingly, as we always did. It is customary, when a new Basha is appointed, to send some person to con- gratulate him. MOHAMED, BASHA OF ALGIERS. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, at Sea, February/ 0, 1806. I must observe that our affairs in the Mediterranean are now in such a state, that a cordial and friendly intercourse with the African Powers is absolutely and indispensably necessary. We may want sup- plies, which are no where else to be ob- tained, and hence the necessity of having a Minister who is qualified to conciliate, and convince them, that as a French army could annihilate them as independent States in a month, a British fleet in the Mediterranean can alone protect them. Upon this station, I feel how much we are dependant on the friendship of the Emperor of Morocco : the fleet could not exist here without the supplies which are liberally granted. Except Tetuan, there is not a place where water could be obtained : for the tanks at Gibraltar though convenient 248 CORKESPONDKNCE AND MEMOIR OF occasionally, are quite incompetent to the general supply of the fleet. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, at Sea, February 17, 1806. The brig is arrived from New- castle, and has brought me your welcome letter, and my heart is exceedingly relieved by the news of your being well. It is now three months since I had a letter of any kind from England, and a miserable time I have had of it. The uncertainty as to where these fleets and squadrons are, and the dread that they should slip by me, and get into the Mediterranean, wear me down. Would it were peace, that I might enjoy some respite from cares that overpower me. I have written you many letters, with very little information to give you of any thing: for I know no more of the world you are living in than if I were an inhabitant of the moon. How sorry I am for poor Miss . I am sure you will spare no pains for her; and do not lose sight of her when she goes to Edinburgh. Tell her that she must not want any advice or any comfort : but I need not say this to you, my beloved, who are kindness itself I am much obliged to the LORD COLLINGWOOD. 249 corporation of Newcastle for every mark which they give of their esteem and ap- probation of my service : but where shall we find a place in our small house for all those vases and epergnes? A kind letter from them would have gratified me as much, and have been less trouble to them. MY DARLINGS, LITTLE SARAH AND MARY, I was delighted with your last letters, my blessings, and desire you to write to me very often, and tell me all the news of the city of Newcastle and town of Mor- peth. I hope we shall have many happy days, and many a good laugh together yet. Be kind to old Scott; and when you see him weeding my oaks, give the old man a shilling. May God Almighty bless you ! FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. Palerme, le IS Fevrier, 1806. MILORD COLLINGWOOD, La position affreuse ou se trouve en ces momens ma famille et mes deux royaumes me force a recourir a votre assistance efficace, ainsy que je Pay deja fait aupres des troupes Angloises, qui viennent 250 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF de quitter le royaume de Naples a la retraite des Russes. Les mesures tentees pour un accommodement avec les Francois ont toutes ete infructueuses : ils sont entre le 10 de ce mois dans le royaume de Naples, que Joseph Bonaparte pretend, a la tete d'une puissante armee, de conquerir pour luy. Mes troupes se sont repliees vers la Calabre avec mes fils a leur tete, et tacheront, soutenues par I'af- fection des peuples, de resister au torrent, que nous invade, tandis que je suis venu en Sicile, ou s'est retiree la Reine et ma famille, pour en assurer et animer la defense. Mon espoir entier est dans la brave et loyale nation Britannique. Les troupes qui de- barquent a Messine, forment I'article es- sentiel de notre securite : je conserveray ce royaume par leur moyen, qui donnera I'exemple aux efforts que la Sicile me pro- curera pour notre defense, ainsy que pour recouvrer Naples, si quelque circonstance heureuse peut arreter sur le Continent les demarches ambitieuses qui le devorent. Mais nos mesures, Milord, seront inefficaces, si vous n'y concourez par une escadre qui protege cette Isle, et soutienne nos ope- rations puissamment. Je viens vous la de- mander avec instance, ainsy que de vouloir LOED COLLINGWOOD. 251 bien faire parvenir au plutot en Angleterre les depeches, que j'y adresse pour implorer les secours que mon horrible situation, et celle de mes sujets, requerent en ces mo- mens. Je vous prie, Milord, de vouloir bien hater I'arrivce dans ces parages d'une puissante division de vaisseaux de guerre, dont j'ay autrefois eprouve I'heureux appuy, qui m' a assure la Sicile, et fait reprendre possession des royaumes de Naples. Je devray derechef le soutien et recouvrement de ma couronne a la valeur Britannique, lequelle a sauve, et j'espere sauvera encore, ma famille des malheurs qui la menacent. Veuillez, Milord, accourir a mon secours par les moyens et choix de forces que vous jugerez pouvoir assurer mon existence, et encourager mes efforts. Sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous ait en sa sainte et digne garde. FERDINAND. FROM SIR JOHN ACTON, MINISTER OF STATE TO THE KING OF NAPLES. Palermo, 23d February, 1806. I take the liberty to introduce myself to your Lordship, and present His Sicilian Majesty's letter, with his fervent 252 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF hopes in your assistance, in which His Ma- jesty confides entirely for the security of his threatened family, and of the remaining of his dominion. I am not to repeat to your Lordship what His Majesty most likely ex- presses of his losses and dreadful situation. I shall only mention that we keep still the two Calabrias, where an army of 17,000 men, with the two Princes, are situated, with the resolution of an energetic defence. We do what is possible to put Sicily in a state of opposing a proper resistance to attacks by sea, but we have a long coast. The main point of defence from landing is Messina, where General Craig has taken the best posts, in case Calabria should fall ; but the island cannot be defended without a naval force. His Sicilian Majesty and family trust entirely^ my Lord, in your efficacious as- sistance. The choice of the proper means and persons to effectuate the salvation of this kingdom is in your Lordship's deter- mination. I am sure they shall correspond adequately to the wishes of their Majesties and of this nation, which was saved once before by the brave English naval forces in this part, and by the same gallant means recovered the kingdom of Naples. We do LORD COLLINGWOOD. 253 all and entirely confide and rely in your Lordship's efficacious assistance. I have the honour to be, with the highest and due consideration, Your Lordship's most obedient and humble servant. TO THE QUEEN OF THE TWO SICILIES. Queen, off the Streights, February 23, 1806. MADAM, I am impressed vi^ith the greatest gratitude for the high honour which your Majesty has done me by the letter you have written to me. I beg your Majesty to consider me as an officer devoted to the service of his Country. The Allies of my Sovereign and the Patrons of my friend Lord Nelson, whose noble cha- racter obtained for him the regard of your Majesty, will be ever dear to me : and if my humble service shall aid in giving tran- quillity to your kingdoms, and happiness to your Majesty, the pleasure I shall receive from it will be amongst the blessings of my life. I have the honour to be, your Majesty's most faithful and devoted servant. 254 COmiESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF TO HIS EXCELLENCY HUGH ELLIOTT, ESQ. Queen, off Cadiz, February 23, 1 806. The critical state to which the kingdom of Naples is reduced by the mis- fortunes which have befallen the armies of the Allies in Germany requires the utmost vigilance. Our troops having retired, there is nothing left for Naples but by negociation, to endeavour to deprecate the vengeance of Buonaparte ; though I think it is scarce to be expected that his mercy will be less ruinous than his wrath. I ever felt in my mind the impolicy and danger of receiving the British and Russians into that kingdom, for the reasons which I mentioned to you in a former letter. They were certain to draw upon it the most rigorous treatment if the French were victorious : if the French were unsuccessful in Germany, it is not probable that Naples would have received annoyance from them. I must now inform you. Sir, how I am circumstanced here. I have with me sixteen sail of the line, several of them heavy sailing ships, and which having also material defects in their masts from the action, ought to have LORD COLLINGWOOD. 25S gone home, if they could have been spared ; but I delayed sending them, from the in- formation I received from Cadiz, which is, that the enemy's squadrons, amounting to more than twenty sail, are expected to arrive at Cadiz soon, and provision is said to have been made for them there ; but their ul- timate destination undoubtedly is the Me- diterranean. This armament will be made up of the ships now cruising in the ocean, of which fourteen or fifteen sailed from Brest, the Rochefort squadron, which went into port the latter end of December and was to sail again as soon as possible, and three ships at Vigo now repaired. These vessels, it is said, are to rendezvous at TenerifFe, or near it ; and having joined, are to proceed hither. My opinion is, that their object is Sicily : there are two or three ships in Cadiz which may be in a state to join them, and eight at Carthagena. Should this armament pass into the Me- diterranean without being encountered, the difficulty of subduing them would daily in- crease, as they would be strengthened in their course by the accession of the Cartha- genians ; and the points from which supplies could be drawn for this fleet would be more ^56 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF remote. The Spaniards at Carthagena will not probably undertake any enterprise unless joined by the French. With this view of the probable plan of the enemy, I do not think I can render essential service to the affairs of their Si- cilian Majesties more effectually than by keeping the Mediterranean shut from the entrance of a French squadron. From the jealousy which the Russians have expressed with regard to the defence of Sicily, no hope or expectation can be formed of co-operation from them ; and while they entertain such sentiments, they are undoubt- edly better at Corfu. FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. Palermo, 1° de Mars, 1806. MILORD COLLINGWOOD, Je vous addressay il y a peu de jours mes vives instances pour etre secouru dans la fatale position oil je me trouve. J'apprends que vous rappellez le bon et in- telligent Capitaine Sotheron, et que vous voulez bien laisser a ma disposition le vais- seau que vous envoyez remplacer I'Excel- lent. Je vous remercie de cette attention, qui m'est infiniment sensible, autant que LOUD COLLINGWOOD. , 257 necessaire. Mais dans mes circonstances. Milord, j'ay besoin de votre assistance ener- gique : j'en implore de nouveau les effets. Le royaume de Naples n'est pas entierement conquis par les Fran9ois, puisque j'y possede encore les Calabres, ou mes fils et le reste de mon armee se defendent. La Sicile peut etre attaquee par des coups de main sur ses nombreuses cotes. De Marseilles, Genes, Livourne, comme de Naples, on peut faire des expeditions contre ce royaume ; ainsi que couper par un debarquement au sud de la Calabre mes fils, et leurs defenseurs. Vous jugerez de I'importance pour ma defense et la surete de la Sicile d'une co-operation maritime des braves Angiois, qui autrefois sauverent ce royaume, et m'aiderent a re- conquerir Naples. Veuillez m'aider au plutot, et m'envoyer une division respectable, qui rassure, encourage, et sauve mes sujets des fleaux qui les avoisinent. Le Capitaine Sotheron peut vous donner, Milord, les details de tout ce qui s'est passe a Naples, ainsi que des efforts que j 'employe icy pour une vigoureuse defense : elle sera efficace, si je suis aide et secouru. Je ne puis que vous prier. Milord, mais avec instance, que ce puisse etre le Capitaine Sotheron qui con- VOL. I. s 258 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF duise et dirige les secours que vous voudrez bien m'envoyer. II a toute ma confiance, et est parfaitement au fait de tout ce qui concerne ma position. Vous voyez mon etat, celuy de ma famille, et ce qui nous menace encore : veuillez repondre a mon attente, mes esperances, et a mon enticre confiance. Sur ce je prie Dieu, Milord Collingwood, qu'il vous ait en sa sainte et digne garde. FERDINAND. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, at Sea, March 1, 1806. I have but a moment to write to you, my love, for I am so constantly em- ployed, that, though I am a free burgess of many a city and town, my dinner-time is really a plague from its interrupting me. I was happy to hear that every body had been so attentive to you ; and indeed to me all the people of England have been kind beyond example. I have received congra- tulatory letters and freedoms from the prin- cipal cities of England — London, the City, the Goldsmiths' and Drapers' Companies, Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Cork ; Portsmouth, and Southampton, I had before ; and letters from numbers of the nobility, to wliom I LORD COLLINGWOOD. 259 was little known. But the Admiralty have abandoned me ; I never hear from them, but am labouring for every thing that is to promote the interest of my Country. I am anxious about my children, now their governess is gone. I beseech you, dearest Sarah, I beseech you keep them constantly employed ; make them read to you, not trifles, but history, in the manner we used to do in the winter evenings : blessed even- ings indeed ! The human mind will improve itself if it be kept in action ; but grows dull and torpid when left to slumber. I believe even stupidity itself may be cultivated. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Queen, at Sea, March Q, 1806. I have a most arduous time of it, and affairs are growing so critical all around me, that I scarce know which to take up first. The business of the fleet ap- pears trifling and easy when compared with the many important things I have to settle. I have received a most piteous letter from the King of Naples, whose Country is invaded by the French, and himself and Court ob- liged to retire to Sicily ; and I have made such arrangements on his coast as I hope 260 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF will give him perfect security where he is: but, for Naples, he must wait until events on the Continent are more favourable. When will that be ? I never hear from England : the Admiralty seem to have so much busi- ness in other quarters, that they cannot attend to me : if they would send me a few more ships I should not care, but I am very much pinched for force to spread over the extensive seas which I have to range. Your rejoicings at our battle and my good fortune made me, as you will believe, very happy. Every body seems to rejoice in it more than the Ministers. They were very tardy in proposing the vote of thanks to the fleet, and nothing can have been more neglectful than the Admiralty have been. I have not made an officer, except in the death vacan- cies ; nor, indeed, have they written a letter to me these three months, except one short one, desiring me to account for all my pri- soners. They ought to be content, for I defy any person to devote himself more to the service than I do, for I spare neither body nor mind. I suppose I shall have great de- mands on me for patents and fees, but we must pay for being great. I get no prize money. Since I left England I have re- LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 261 ceived only £lS3, which has not quite paid for my wine ; but I do not care about being rich, if we can but keep a good fire in winter. How I long to have a peep into my own house, and a walk in my own garden ! It is the pleasing object of all my hopes. If I could get another good blow at the French- men, I would certainly come home and com- pose my perturbed spirits. TO THE KING OF THE TWO SICILIES. Queeu, off Cadiz, March 6, 1806. SIRE, I have this moment received the honour of your Majesty's letter, and most sincerely do I lament the unhappy cir- cumstances which have befallen the kingdom of Naples, and have made it necessary for your Majesty to retire to Palermo. Consi- dering the precarious and dangerous state of your Majesty's dominions, I have already sent reinforcements of ships to the coast of Sicily, — some of which, I hope, have arrived before this time, — and now send two ships of the line, which, together, will form such a squadron as will be superior to any force that the enemy can collect. They are some 262 COIUIESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF of the best ships of my fleet, and commanded by gallant and experienced officers, on whose zeal and intrepidity your Majesty may firmly rely. Most gladly would I repair with my whole force to the coasts of your Majesty's dominions for their protection, were I not well assured that the station which I hold here, by preventing the French squadrons from getting into the Mediterranean, will more effectually answer that purpose than any other position I could take. The French have, at present, several squadrons cruising in the ocean ; and from all the information I receive of them, I have every reason to believe that their ultimate destination is the Mediterranean. Should they pass the Straits, your Majesty will per- ceive with what difficulty they would then be prevented from carrying on their opera- tions in Italy. I must, if possible, meet them here ; and will, in the mean time, put such a force on the coast of Sicily as will give perfect security to that island, and annoy- ance to the French on the Italian shore. I beg to give your Majesty every as- surance of my zeal and fidelity, in so using the British Naval force, as will best pre- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 263 serve your Majesty's kingdoms ; for I am, in all truth, Your Majesty's most faithful And devoted servant. TO LORD RADSTOCK. Queen, March 10, 1806. I have had, and have at pre- sent, great anxiety upon the subject of pro- motion ; for since the actions there has been none here, except the deaths which I filled up to enable the ships to go to sea, and the First Lieutenants are pining. Lord Barham wrote to me betw^een four and five months since, that he had given such directions on this subject as he doubted not would be satisfactory, but I have heard nothing of it since. I have a plan for Mr. Waldegrave. Captain Mundy gives the highest character of him, and says that, in all respects he is worthy of command, and that his intelligence in every part of his duty is superior to that of most young men. This is the consequence of an unremitted application. I am here off Cadiz exceedingly anxious to know what is become of the French squadrons, which I have every reason to expect here. All the information I have got of them is, that they 264 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF are to assemble at a certain point (near Teneriffe, it was said), and come here in sufficient force to make their way into the Mediterranean, and that Sicily is their object. I have been obliged to make such detach- ments for the defence of that island as have left me rather weak, but I shall do the best with them I can, and hope every thing. Some of my ships are horribly bad ones ; Britannia, and Dreadnought, though two of the finest ships in the Navy, are very foul, and having been fitted at the beginning of the war, and their holds stowed by convicts, they have hardly ever been serviceable ships. It is a very odd practice that of giving vessels which are fitting, either to inexperienced boys, or to old creatures who have almost forgot what a ship is. It is a business which ought to be performed by the most skilful and ex- perienced officers, for both their service and their healthiness very much depend on the first fitting. I never hear from England. The last accounts I had of my family were of the 19th November; but by the News- paper I find a pension is proposed for me, a thing I never should have asked, for though I am not rich, I am not ambitious of being so. I would much rather they had given LORD COLLING WOOD. 265 my title with remainder to the heirs of my daughter, who will have fortune enough for their station without pension ; but I suppose it is the common appendage to titles so acquired. I see the names of some very indifferent young men in the promotion, who never go to sea without meeting some mis- chief, for want of common knowledge and care. Every three brigs that come here, com- manded by three boys, require a dock-yard. The ships of the line never have any thing for artificers to do. I have sent some home, because they could not be maintained in this country, and their service amounted to no- thing. Better to give them pensions, and let them stay on shore. Queen, March 21, 1806. To His Highness the most renowned Mo- HAMED, Pacha of Algiers, the Admiral of His Britannic Majesty's Fleet wishes health, peace, and the blessing of God. Your letter, most renowned Pacha, which expressed your satisfaction in our conduct towards the subjects of the regency, gave me pleasure. All nations who obey the laws of God, and whose hearts are QG6 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF disposed to justice, live in friendship with the English ; and while the regency of Algiers is governed by those rules, its sub- jects will be considered as our friends, and we shall always meet them with gladness, and treat the^m with hospitality and kind- ness. I thank you for your rejoicing in our success against our enemies, the French and Spanish. We have defeated them and destroyed their fleet. Thank God for it ! They are the enemies of all men, for, not contented with their own country, they would carry their arms into all nations, and overturn all governments. The English fleet alone keeps them within bounds, or their ambition and love of dominion over all na- tions might take them to Algiers, as before it carried them to Egypt. I am sorry that any misunderstanding should have caused a suspicion in His Ma- jesty's Consul that you were not kindly dis- posed towards British subjects. As I am not fully informed of the matters which made him doubt the friendship of your Highness, I cannot say any thing about it at present ; but I can confidently assure you of the friendly disposition of His Majesty towards your Highness, and trust that the same senti- LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 26? ments on your part will insure to the English that conduct from you which is due to a sin- cere friendship. For my own part, when I consider how much it is the interest of Algiers at this time to be in perfect amity with England, I cannot persuade myself that you would weaken it by any act of yours. Your Highness cannot shut your eyes to the constant encroachments of an ambitious power, which, setting justice and the happi- ness of mankind at defiance, would possess itself of ail countries, — a power whose ob- ject is to govern the wiiole Mediterranean. Establishments in Africa are necessary to the attainment of that purpose ; and what pre- vents it but the British Navy ? When your Highness revolves this sub- ject in your wise mind, you will perceive that the interest of the regency requires that sin- cere friendship with England to which you profess to be so much disposed. Trust, most renowned Pacha, that in all things in my power you will find me de- sirous to be your friend. 268 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Qneeji, of Cadiz, March 21, 1806. I have at present no prospect of sending a letter, but I begin this because I love to write to you ; and I know that were it only to tell you that I am well, it would be gladly received. If some of those French who are flying about do not come hither soon, I shall get horribly tired of sauntering here, with the thousand causes of care and anxiety in other quarters. I have many in search of their squadrons, and shall ever hope, — for could we but once meet them again, I doubt not that we should make as complete a business as the last was. At least, you may depend upon it, your husband will leave nothing in his power undone to make you a countess : not that I am ambitious of rank, but I am to be thought a leader in my country's glory, and to contribute to its se- curity in peace. I wish some parts of Heth- poole could be selected for plantations of larch, oak, and beech, where the ground could be best spared. Even the sides of a bleak hill would grow larch and fir. You will say that I have now mounted my hobby ; but I consider it as enriching and fertilising LORD COLLING WOOD. 2G9 that which would otherwise be barren. It is drawing soil from the very air. I cannot, at this distance, advise you on the education of our darlings, except that it should not stop for a moment. They are just at that period of their lives when knowledge should be acquired ; and great regard should be had to the selection of the books which they read, not throwing away their precious time on novels and nonsense, most of which might be more fitly used in singing a capon for table, than in preparing a young lady for the world. How glad I should be just now to have half an hour's conversation w^ith you on these important subjects ! I have, indeed, a great deal to say to you. Here are several officers with me very much in distress that they cannot get home ; but what can I do ? The Admiralty will not say a word to me about the prizes, the promotion of officers, or any subject. I never did, nor ever will I do, any thing but what I think conducive to the public good. I am not ambitious of power or wealth more than I have, nor have I con- nexions of any kind to sway me from the strict line of my duty to the Country. I have neither sons nor cousins to promote by any of those tricks which I have ever held .^70 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF in contempt ; so that when I err, it will be from my head, and not my heart. It is not every body that is so indulgent as you are in their judgment of my poor head, but there is no one by whose judgment I can be so much flattered. I have not heard from Lloyd's Coffee House about the seamen ; all that happened in October seems to be an old story, and I must get something ready for a summer rejoicing — something airy. TO HIS EXCELLENCY H. ELLIOTT, &c. Sec. &c. PALERMO. Queen, of Cadiz, March 27, 1806. I am at present extremely anxious to know what is the result of the negotiation in which the Cardinal Ruffo was engaged when his Sicilian Majesty left Naples; be- cause, as the councils of that Court have not been very determined of late, it is impossible to reckon upon what sacrifices they might be induced to make, in hope of rescuing the wreck of their dominions from further de- predation. But they can only be saved from total ruin by not having it in their power to make them ; and as it is the intention of LORD COLLING WOOD. 271 His Majesty that the French should not, in any event, be suffered to possess themselves of Sicily, or any part of it, (which I conclude has been communicated to your Excellency), the orders which I have given to Sir Sidney Smith have this resolution for their object. With this in view, and with the possibility of a change taking place in the councils of the Court of Naples, it would be very de- sirable to be as soon as possible put in pos- session of a post, such as would conveniently provide for the safety of the transports and ships of war. I am not well acquainted with the ports of Augusta or Syracuse ; but one of them, I think, is quite necessary to us. I have directed Admiral Sir Sidney Smith to communicate with you. Sir, on this subject, and to submit it to your consideration, and to General Sir J. Craig's, how far such a pro- position may be made to the Court of Sicily. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, March 28, 1806. On the subject of the appoint- ments, I hope your Lordship will excuse my expressing my great disappointment that the only officer for whom I was particularly anxious, or whom I recommended to your 272 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF Lordship to be promoted, has been passed over unnoticed ; and I can now say, what will scarcely be credited and what I am willing to believe your Lordship is not aware of, that I am the only Commander in that fleet who has not had, by the courtesy of the Admiralty, an opportunity to advance one officer of any description. The misfor- tune I had in losing two friends, in Captains Duff and Cooke, made it necessary that I should fill their places, which I did, as justice demanded, by promoting the First Lieute- nants of the Victory and Royal Sovereign. My First Lieutenant stands where I placed him, in the AVeazle, covered with his wounds, while some of those serving in private ships are Post Captains. Lieutenant Landless, the only person I reconmiended to your Lord- ship, is an old ana a valuable officer ; he has followed me from ship to ship all the war. A complaint which he had in his eyes pre- vented his going into the Sovereign when I removed a few days before the action ; but I did hope that my earnest recommendation to your Lordship might have gained him favour. My other Lieutenant, who removed with me into the Sovereign, was, happily for him, killed in the action, and thereby saved LORD COLLINGWOOD. 273 from the mortification to which, otherwise, he would probably have been subjected. The junior Lieutenants who came out in the Sove- reign were gentlemen totally unknown to me ; and as I do not know their names, I cannot tell whether they are advanced or not. The commissions e nt out to me for Midshipmen of that ship I have returned to the Admiralty, as she is in England. I cannot help thinking that there must have been something in my conduct of which your Lordship did not approve, and that you have marked your disapprobation by thus denying to my dependants and friends what was given so liberally to other ships of the fleet : for I have heard that the Defence and the Defiance had each of them two Lieute- nants promoted on the recommendation of their Captains. If there was any thing in- correct in me, of which your Lordship dis- approved, I am truly sorry for it ; but I am not conscious of what nature it can be, for my days and nights have been devoted to the service. VOL. I. 274 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, at Sea, March 29, 1806. I have at last received your letters, and truly glad I am to hear that you are all well. The Pompee, Sir Sidney Smith, brought me all the papers, letters, and orders which have been accumulating at Portsmouth for four months past; and this neglect of sending them has caused such a mass of confusion, that I shall never get all made square again. The only thing I had to ask was, that Landless might be included in the promotion, and I wrote pressingly to Lord Barham on the subject; but it is not done. And now I may say, that they have not made one officer for me, for I made Clavell into a death vacancy, with which the Admiralty had nothing to do. All the young men are applying to go home, having lost their promotion by staying here ; and I am suffering as much mortification as pos- sible. I am, besides, perplexed with having such a compound of various affairs to settle, am up sometimes half the night to make arrangements, and have not stirred from my desk these ten days, scarcely to see the sun. You inform me of letters of congratulation LORD COLLINGWOOD. 275 from Newcastle, the Trinity House, and other hodies : but I am sorry to say I have not received one of them, and beg it may be made known ; for there is nothing I fear so much as the appearance of tardiness in acknowledging the great kindness of my friends. If they sent them to the Ad- miralty, I suppose they are there still. While fleets of small vessels were thumping each other to pieces at Plymouth, not one wsLS allowed to bring us letters. I have written to Lloyd's about Mr. Chalmers' fa- mily. He left a mother and several sisters, whose chief dependence was on what this worthy man and valuable officer saved for them from his pay. He stood close to me when he received his death. A great shot almost divided his body : he laid his head upon my shoulder, and told me he was slain. I supported him till two men carried him off. He could say nothing to me, but to bless me ; but as they carried him down, he wished he could but live to read the account of the action in a newspaper. He lay in the cockpit, among the wounded, until the Santa Anna struck ; and joining in the cheer which they gave her, expired with it on his lips. 27() courespondp:nck and MEisroiii of Did I not tell you how my leg was hurt ? It was by a splinter — a pretty severe blow. I had a good many thumps, one way or the other: one in the back, which I think was the wind of a great shot, for I never saw any thing that did it. You know nearly all were killed or wounded on the quarter-deck and poop but myself, my Captain, and Secretary, Mr. Cosway, who was of more use to me than any officer, after Clavell. The first inquiry of the Spaniards was about my wound, and exceedingly surprised they were when I made light of it ; for when the Captain of the Santa Anna was brought on board, it was bleeding and swelled, and tied up with a handkerchief. Since you have informed me that my despatches are admired, I am exceedingly ambitious of giving you a second edition, with improve- ments. TO THE RIGHT HON. C. GREY. Queen, off Cadiz, April 1, 1806. I have received the honour of your letters of the 17th and 23d March, and beg to offer you my sincere and hearty con- gratulations on the success of the squadron under command of Sir John Duckworth. It LORD COLIJNGWOOI). 277 is a victory worthy the zeal and perseverance of the distinguished officer who achieved it. I have ordered Sir Sidney Smith to take the direction of the squadron employed in the protection of Sicily ; and with the naval force in that quarter, I consider that Island to be in a state of perfect security. Beside the written instructions which I gave to Sir Sidney Smith, I had much conversation with him on the service which would probably be required in Sicily, in which I endeavoured to impress on him the inefficacy of that mode of war which is carried on by ex- plosion-vessels and sky-rockets. I know no instance of a favourable result from them. They serve merely to exasperate, to harass our own people, and, by reducing the com- panies of the ships, to render them unfit for real service when it is wanted. As a general mode of warfare they are unworthy of the English, for their operations chiefly affect laborious individuals who know no- thing of war but its miseries. Besides, it is worthy consideration, that the Spaniards are no where so vulnerable as we are at Gib- raltar. If they should be goaded to retalia- tion, with very little activity on their part, Gibraltar Bay would not be a safe place to 278 C'OllllESPONDENCE AND MEMOIll OF lie in for one night. The order I gave not to release or exchange prisoners who were taken in gun-boats appears to have had the best effect, as I understand they seldom appear now in the Straits or Bay of Gib- raltar. Indeed, the hostility of the Spaniards altogether seems to have relaxed very much of late. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Queen, April 5, 180(5. I have received your letter of the IGth March, informing me of the death of our friend at Chirton. Every thing makes me nervous ; and constant labour and vexation weary me exceedingly : but I am rejoiced that you are well, and preparing for your journey to London, w^here I am very desirous you should be presented as soon as possible. I wish that in these journeys the education of our children may not stop ; but that, even on the road, they may study the geography of that part of England through which they travel, and keep a regular journal, not of what they eat and drink, but of the nature of the country, its appearance, its produce, and some gay description of the manners of the inhabitants. I hope you will LORD COLLINGWOOD. 279 take your time in town, and shew my girls every thing curious. I am sure you will visit the tomb of my dear friend. Alas ! the day that he had a tomb ! You must have been delighted at the squadron, which I had despatched under Sir John Duckworth, coming up with the Frenchmen at last. The Admiralty sent a vessel out to me directly with Sir John's reports, and I had a very kind letter of congratulation from Mr. Grey. I need not tell you, my dear, to be very kind to Mr. Collingwood's dog; for I am sure you will, and so will I when ever I come home Mr. Edward Collingwood, of Dissington and Chirton, whose death is mentioned in the preceding letter, was a cousin of Lord Collingwood, and devised the latter estate to him and to his heirs male. This bequest gave occasion to another act of courtesy on the part of the Marquis de la Solana, who despatched a flag of truce with a letter, dated Cadiz, 30th May, 1806, in which he expresses his hope that the news which had arrived at that port of a relation of Lord Collingwood having left him a rich inhe- ritance was true. " This act of justice and 280 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF " generosity," he observes, " is the effect of " the enthusiasm which your Excellency's " character inspired in the deceased, and " does honour to his memory. Permit me, " while sympathising with your Excellency " in the feelings which the loss of a good " friend must have excited, to rejoice at " your increase of fortune, which I am sure " your Excellency will use with the same " greatness of soul which distinguishes all " the rest of your actions." As no agreement for the exchange of prisoners of war had been made between England and France, Lord Collingwood, when he liberated on their parole the Spaniards who had been taken at Trafalgar, had been compelled to refuse the same in- dulgence to the French. Admiral Rossily applied for permission to transport to France, in a neutral vessel, a number of the wounded Frenchmen who were unfit for service, to which Lord Collingwood consented, provided that some English prisoners, who had been taken in the French prizes, should be re- stored. As this condition was not adhered to by the French, the passports were for a time witliheld, which gave occasion to the following letter, on which is indorsed, in LORD COLLINGWUOD. 281 Lord Collingwood's hand-writing, " Admiral " Rossily's apology, with some light French " stuff." MILORD, Cadiz, Avril 6, 1806\ Monsieur le Marquis de la So- lana m'a fait passer le passeport que vous avez accorde pour les blesses et invalides que je renvoye a leurs families sur le biiti- ment Ottoman I'Achille. II m'a communi- que la lettre de votre Seigneurie ; et je pense comme vous. Milord, qu'il faut en guerre civilisee une reciprocite d'indulgence, et je puis vous assurer qu'il n'a pas dependu de moi que les 10 prisonniers a Cadiz n'aient ete rendus en echange cles 10 que vous aviez envoye par la fregate. Je n'en €us connaissance que par oui' dire, et trop tard : j'en donnai aussitot I'ordre, et j'ai ete bien mortifie d'apprendre que par un mal entendu il n'ait pas ete mis a I'execution. Je priai alors Monsieur le Marquis de la Solana de les faire passer a Gibraltar. Je n'ai point du tout ete surpris. Milord, que des motifs d'humanite I'ayent emporte dans votre esprit sur le ressentirnent auquel vous pensiez qu'on avait donne lieu ; je n'en attendais pas moins de la liberalite de votre 282 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF caractere ; rhumanite s'allie toujours avee la vraie valeur. Je suis, avee la plus haute consideration de votre Seigneurie, Milord, votre tres hum- ble et tres obeissant serviteur, L'AMIRAL ROSSILY. TO LORD BARHAM. Queen, off the Straits, April 15, 1806. I can easily conceive how much your Lordship was pressed for the promotion of officers when you were about to leave the Admiralty ; but it would have been a very great favour could your Lordship have included Lieutenant Landless, on whose behalf I wrote to you. He was the only one besides Clavell whom I knew, and he had been following me from ship to ship for some years, in hope I might some day be able to advance him. I thank your Lordship for what you say on the subject of the application I formerly made to you, which I understand to refer to the descent of my title to the heirs of my daughters. Of such settlement I confess I am very desirous. It would give me that kind of gratification which people feel in having their name continued ; and I believe 1,011D COLLING WOOD. S83 your Lordship will allow that I have a sort of claim to be indulged, when I tell you, that but for my constant service at sea since the year 1793, I should probably ere now have had half-a-dozen sons to succeed me. I left my family then, and have seen little of them since. I am much obliged to Lord Castlereagh for his care in having my pension continued to my wife, which I am sure he did in kind- ness to me ; but if my title be continued in the heirs of my daughters, I would much rather the pension remained, as originally settled in Parliament, to the two next in succession. His Lordship had been misin- formed on the state of my circumstances and the provision made for my family, and sup- posed the continuance of my pension to be necessary to their support : v/hile the fact is, however the pension might be settled, my family would remain perfectly well provided for, not merely out of distress, which his Lordship was made to believe might be the case, but possessing that sort of affluence which is suited to their situation and con- dition in the world. So that, in truth, I had no anxiety about the pension at all ; but am not less obliged to Lord Castlereagh 284 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF for the interest which his Lordship so kindly took, in what he thought was necessary to the state of my circumstances. Your Lord- ship knows I have made no effort to ohtain money as the reward of service. The ap- probation of His Majesty, expressed in the letter written to the Admiralty by Colonel Taylor, would have amply rewarded me ; and I feel a gratification in that letter, and the dignity to which His Majesty has raised me, which no pension could give. But I esteem the pension also, as it is the ex- pression of approbation of me from the Par- liament, which, with His Majesty's, is the highest honour that can be conferred on a faithful subject. It is time that I should ask your Lord- ship's pardon for saying so much on the subject of myself, but I would rescue myself in your Lordship's opinion from the sus- picion that I had any hand in this money business. The only thing I had an anxiety about was the continuation of my honours, which your Lordship is so good as to say has been attended to by His Majesty's late Ministers ; and for that I am infinitely obliged. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 285 THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO THE KING OF ENGLAND. In the name of God, A7nen. He is the first, our Father, and all our faith is reposed in him. From the Sey^vant of God, whose sole confidence is in him, the Head of his Natio7i, Suliman, offspring of the late Fmpterors, Mahomet, Ahdallah, and Ismael, Sheinffs from the generation of the faithful, the Emperor of Great Africa, in the Jiame of God and by his order, the Lord of his Kingdom, Em- peror of Morocco, Fez, Supjhelat, Draah, Suez, S^'c. S^c. To His Majesty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King George the Third, Defender of the Faith, Sfc. Sfc, the worthiest and best of Kings, command- ing Great Britaiyi, Ireland, Sfc. Sfc. Sfc, the Glory of his Country, Duke of Brutiswick, Sfc. Sfc. May the Lord grant him long life, and happiness throughout his days. We had the honour to receive your Majesty's letter, which was read before 286 CORRESrONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF US, and were happy to be assured of your friendship, which we had before learned from your favours and attention to our wishes concerning our agents and subjects; for which please to accept our warmest and most sincere thanks. Your Majesty may rely on it, that we shall do every thing in our power to assist your subjects in our dominions, and also your troops and vessels which may touch at our ports. We pray to the Almighty never to dissolve the friend- ship which has subsisted between our an- cestors for so many years, but that it may be increased to the end of our generations : and we are always ready at your Majesty's com- mand to do any thing that may contribute to your happiness or that of your subjects. Before we had written this, our express orders were, that all British ships that might touch at any of our ports should be supplied with a double allowance of provisions, and all that they might stand in need of; and we are ever ready, as we before said, to attend to your commands. We conclude with our most fervent prayers for your Majesty's health, peace, and happiness. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 287 TO THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES GREY. Queen, of Cadiz, April 19, 180G. I am sorry to inform you that I have great apprehensions of the friendship of the Emperor of Morocco being withdrawn from us : but all my communications from Gibraltar are so imperfect, that I cannot yet tell to what I am to attribute it. Some time since, the gun-boats which were in- tended for the defence of Gibraltar Bay were frequently sent to sea on cruises, where they committed irregularities, were exposed in a service for which they were not cal- culated, and left Gibraltar Bay without the vessels intended for its defence. One of them was found watching a Portuguese vessel in Tetuan River, which was after- wards seized by the Martin at sea, on the ground that the Emperor did not allow his subjects to trade. In this Portuguese vessel were some officers of the Emperor's navy, whom he had ordered to Malaga to examine the state of a ship which he had there. The Portuguese vessel was either retaken, or some accident happened to her ; and the officers were not to be found when resti- tution was demanded by the Moorish Go- 288 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEIMOIR OF vernor of the Province. Though I had for- bidden these boats to be sent on cruises, I found the practice has been continued ; and last month the Seahorse fell in with one of them, having a signal of distress flying, their water and provisions expended, and without the power to regain a port where they could be supplied. I am afraid some new offence has been given to the Moors, or they are now about to retaliate for the insult shewn to the Emperor's officers. A letter which has been transmitted to me by Admiral Knight from Captain Rutherford, of the Swiftsure, informs him that the officer of that ship, employed on the watering service at Tetuan, has been seized by the Moors, and conveyed into the country. The Vice- Admiral gives no further information ; but, judging from the general kindness which the Moors have shewn to the ships which went there for supplies, I much suspect that some irregular proceeding on our part has caused this hostility in them. I shall send immediately to get some explanation on so extraordinary a proceeding ; and, in the mean time, must repeat to you, Sir, what I ])efore pressed upon Lord Barliam, that our affairs with tlie Bar])ary States, whicli are LORD COLLING WOOD. 289 now become very important, should only be intrusted to persons who are sufficiently dexterous to conform to manners so perfectly different from those of Europeans The Court of Portugal, in the fruitless hope of propitiating by submission the Government of France, had endeavoured to exclude the English vessels from its ports. This conduct had been pursued in the former year, and had given occasion to the following letter from Lord Nelson to Lord Strangford, at Lisbon. Victor ij, October 3, 1805. I have the honour to inform you that I have taken the command of His Majesty's fleet in the Mediterranean station ; and I am very sorry that I must begin my correspondence by a complaint against the conduct of the Portuguese Government at Lagos. They say, at least by their conduct, that by their secret treaty with Spain they are to throw every obstacle in the way of our remaining in their ports or on their coasts, by refusing us water and refresh- ments ; but in such a manner as is disgraceful to the Portuguese Government which offers, VOL. I. u 290 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF or tlie British Government which allows. Great Britain can have nothing to do with their infamous or degrading treaties : she looks to her treaty being fulfilled in the most liberal manner. I shall state my complaint of the circum- stances which generally happen at Lagos. A ship of war goes there for water and re- freshments, which, by treaty, she has a right to : from her communication she seems placed under the direction of the Consul of one of our enemies, and very improper lan- guage is held by our enemies to the British officers and seamen, and inducements held out to them to desert. The enemy's Consul then directs that only so many cabbages, or bullocks, or sheep, shall go on board, and, at his will and pleasure, so much water : and it has been carried so far, that a Captain, whose ship was complete with water, giving his proper water to wash the linen, on send- ing ashore for more, was threatened by the Portuguese sentry, to be fired upon if they presumed to attempt to take a drop. To this degradation no nation can submit. Now, what I demand is, that our officers and men, whilst in the neutral port, shall be under the protection of tlie neutral flag, and LORD COLLINGWOOD. 291 not be permitted to be insulted by the in- terference, either secret or open, of our enemies ; and that every ship which goes into Lagos, or other ports, shall have such refreshments as are reasonable. And as to water, I never before heard that any limited quantity was allowed, much less that if a dirty shirt was washed, any French or Spanish Consul should be allowed to say, " You English shall either wear a dirty shirt, " or go without water to drink," and that a sentinel of a neutral power should presume to threaten to fire, if an ally presumed to take water. I shall send a ship or ships to take in water at Lagos. They shall wash, or let it run overboard, if they please ; and I rely that the Portuguese Government will direct that our enemies shall not insult our people, much less dictate to the Portuguese Governor for his treatment of us. However degraded the Portuguese may allow themselves to become, it is hardly fair that they should expect us to be insulted by our enemies on their neutral ground : for if, by words or any other mode of warfare, they do permit it, I shall cer- tainly retaliate. I should get warm, was I to go any farther ; therefore, I shall leave 292 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the business in much better hands — those of your Lordship; only repeating, that all we want is, that when our ships go to Lagos we may not be allowed to be insulted by our enemies, (unless we have permission to retaliate) ; that we shall take either one ton, or one thousand tons of water, as we please, and be allowed the free use of the markets, as by friendship we had a most unquestion- able right to expect ; and that the Portu- guese Governor may be called to a most severe account for his conduct, in allowing a sentinel to threaten to fire on an English boat going for water, or any other purpose, to the shore of friendly powers. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. NELSON AND BRONTE. TO LORD ROBERT FITZGERALD. Queen, of Cadiz, April 26, 1806. I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 17th, enclosing a note which had been written to you by the Portuguese Government, than which nothing can surprise me more. It is a complaint made where they confess that no offence has been given. I have long been fully sensible of the I.ORB COI.UNGWOOl). 293 jealousy entertained by the French of our ships being supplied with refreshments from Portugal ; and anxiously desirous that a nation between which and Great Britain so long and so faithful a friendship has sub- sisted, should not be subjected, on that ac- count, to disagreeable discussions with our enemy, I have forborne to send ships to their ports. Those that have been at Lagos of late were merely there by chance, for the purpose of refreshing their crews. It is re- ported to me, that they have been supplied ; but not in that free and liberal manner to which, by treaty, the subjects of His Majesty have a right, and which is due to the friend- ship and affection which have been so long established between the two Countries. In- stead of the free use of the market, where they might furnish themselves with fruits and fresh provisions, they have been limited to a portion insufficient for half the crew ; and even the number of casks of water which they were to have, has been deter- mined. If, by the other means of being supplied to which the Minister of Portugal alludes, is meant that of taking such supply secretly by night, I did give strict orders that no 294 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF such illicit correspondence should be held. What is due to neutrality we have a right to receive in the face of day. If Portugal be unhappily in such a situation that she must veil her friendship, and look sternly on those whom she was wont to welcome with open arms, her misfortune is to be deplored ; but I never will allow the dignity of the British flag to be questioned by the ships engaging in an intercourse which will not bear to be looked upon by the whole world. That our thus declining supplies, because the mode of furnishing them was considered as derogatory to the dignity of the British name, should be considered as an infringement of the most strict neutrality, is what I do not com- prehend ; and I should suspect that there must have been some misapprehension by the officer at Lagos, and that he has stated his own mistaken ideas instead of the fact. The same motive of not giving to our enemies any cause of complaint against those whom I have considered our friends, deter- mined me not to avail myself of the right of sending squadrons into their ports, nor was ever such a measure in my contemplation. LORD COIJJNGWOOI). 295 TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, April 27, 1806. Lord Northesk is going home with the prizes. 1 hope they will have a good passage and arrive safe, though they are but miserable affairs, knocked almost to pieces. You see, by the date of my letter, that I have got into my new ship ; and she is, I think, without exception, the finest-look- ing one I ever saw ; but, like all new ships, she wants every thing to be done to her, to fit her for war. The ships are now put into very indifferent hands, at a time when all the exertion of the most skilful is wanted. I have been so taken up with the cares of my duty, that I had no time to attend to the little matters that relate to myself per- sonally. Smith, my man, provides us our dinner : but now I find, that with my losses, and movings, and breakings, I have scarce a knife or fork left, and, indeed, am very ill off for every thing. My sister wrote to me on the necessity of my going home, to direct my private concerns in the North ; but they seem so insignificant to the duty I have to do here, that I cannot even think of them. I have not heard enough about them to he 296 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF able to give any direction on the subject, but I dare say my brother will take care that every thing proper is done. It is a great mistake people wishing to send their sons to me. When I was Captain of a frigate I took good care of them ; now I cannot, and have not time to know any thing about them. I shall miss Admiral Grindal very much, for he has been a com- panion for my evenings ; and when he is gone I shall have only Bounce to talk to. I hope you told my darling how delighted I was with her French letter : she must con- verse when she has an opportunity, and re- member not to admire any thing French but the language. I wish I could collect something in the fleet to amuse you, but we are all very grave. The only subject that gives a gleam of cheerfulness is the hope that the fleet in Cadiz may venture out again ; they will soon be strong enough. I have only been ten days in port since I left England. It would weary any thing. Would that we had peace, that I might laugh again, and see you all merry around me. I am not pleased at what occurred in Parliament about my pension, or that my family should have been represented as one LOTID COIXINGWOOD. 297 whose existence depended on a gift of money; and I have told Lord Castlereagh my mind upon this subject. Though I do not consider poverty to be criminal, yet nobody likes to be held up as an object of compas- sion. Poor as we are, we are independent. To possess riches is not the object of my ambition, but to deserve them : but I was in hope I should have got another medal ; of that indeed I was ambitious. The report that medals are not to be given, is a great disappointment to the fleet: but perhaps it is right. Sometimes they were obtained too easily, and seemed to put all upon a footing, when the degrees of merit were very unequal. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Ocean, May 1, 1806. I am much obliged to you for the information you give me about Chirton, and I wish that the very letter of the will of m)^ deceased friend should be observed. Whatever establishments may be found there for the comfort of the poor, or the education and improvement of their children, I would have continued and increased. I want to make no great accession of wealth from it, nor will I have any body put to the smallest 298 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF inconvenience for me. I shall never live there ; nor, were it as many thousands as it is hundreds, would I quit my present si- tuation to regulate it. I hope the butler and servants are provided for. Smith, the man I have now, is a gentleman in manners and education ; and he will, I dare say, see me out as my own servant. I was exceedingly displeased at some of the language held in the House of Commons on the settlement of the pension upon my daughters; and have written to Lord Barham and Lord Castle- reagh to assure them that such representa- tions were not made with my concurrence. The pension was most honourable to me, as it flowed voluntarily from his Majesty's bounty, and as a testimony of his approba- tion ; but if I had a favour to ask, money would be the last thing I would beg from an impoverished country. I am not a Jew, whose God is gold ; nor a Swiss, whose ser- vices are to be counted against so much money. I have motives for my conduct which I would not give in exchange for a hundred pensions. Mine is a very anxious time just now, between their Sicilian Majesties, the Em- peror of Morocco and the Dey of Algiers, LORD COI>LINGWOOD. 299 and I have sad trouble to keep the Consuls from mischief. I have a letter from a kins- man of mine (for I have several new kindred lately), who derives our descent from Lan- caster (Talebois), who came with William the Conqueror, and tells me of many great people to whom we are allied, and that I am of much more noble ancestry than I was at all aware of. I do not know much of what we were formerly, but I can tell him that if I can get hold of the Frenchmen again, I will be a Viscount or nothing. Yet should I be very glad to be amongst you ; but I see no prospect of that until we have peace. Do you think we shall ever have it in our days ? I do not know when it will be con- venient for me to accomplish what I pur- posed about Hethpoole ; for the bankers write to me that they have only ^1500 in their hands, and it will take most of it to pay for my patent and fees of my peerage. Yet my expenses have been few since I left England ; but I am, indeed, destitute of every thing, not having been enabled to re- place my wrecks of last winter. My soup is served in a tin pan, and I have borrowed a pewter tea-pot for my breakfast ; but I hope that I shall soon get some things from Ply- 300 CORRESPONT)ENCF. AND MEMOIR OF mouth, as I have sent for them long, and that they will last me all the war. TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE TWO SICILIES. ILB.M. Ship Ocean, off the Straits, May 4, 1806. SIRE, I have only now received the honour of the letter which your Majesty was pleased to write to me, and most truly lament that the circumstances of the war have been such as to expose your Majesty's kingdoms to so great peril ; but in the wisdom of your Majesty's councils, the attachment of the brave Sicilians to their Monarch, and the powerful aid which is given by the British forces by sea and land, I hope your Majesty will find a defence against any attack of the enemy. The moment that I was informed that the armies of your Majesty's allies had retired from Naples, I hastened to increase the naval force upon the coast of Sicily, with some of the best ships in the British fleet, commanded by Rear- Admiral Sir S. Smith, an officer of the most distinguished ability, in whose perseverance and gallantry your LORD COLLING WOOD. 301 Majesty may place entire confidence. Be- sides those succours wliich I have sent di- rectly to Sicily, there is a detachment of the British fleet gone up the coasts of Mar- seilles, Toulon, and Genoa, which I hope will have the good fortune to meet the enemy, should they be approaching Sicily from those quarters, and destroy them. I beg to assure your Majesty that the happiness of your royal family, and the se- curity of your dominions, are always near my heart, and the means of best accomplish- ing these objects my constant study. I am ever your Majesty's Most faithful and humble servant. TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN ACTON. Ocean, off the Straits, Mai/ 4, 1806. I have to acknowledge the re- ceipt of your Excellency's letter of the 23d February, accompanied by one which His Majesty did me the honour to write to me on the subject of the defence of Sicily. It is a subject, Sir, which has long en- gaged my most serious attention ; and on my part I have left nothing undone for the 302 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF security of the dominions of His Sicilian Ma- jesty against the destruction with which they are menaced by our common enemy. I can- not doubt the perfect protection which Sicily will derive from the formidable naval force which I have sent to her coasts, and the British army in her garrisons, commanded, as they are, by officers, vigilant, skilful, and determined : but, although these are power- ful aids, much is required to be done by the country itself The population must be animated to its defence, not merely by the example of the British troops, but by the nobility and gentry engaging in the service of their Sovereign, and bearing the fatigues of war in common with the people, to whom an interest should be given in the preserva- tion of the state, by ameliorating their con- dition by every possible means. Self-interest is a powerful stimulus, which pervades all human nature. Make those by whom the work must be performed at last, and who alone can give security and permanence to what is done, more happy ; give them a more perfect security for their property than they can hope for by any change, and their hearts will engage in the service, and Sicily be se- cure against the efforts of the enemy. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 303 There is another circumstance, Sir, which I beg leave to state to you. From the best information I have, I am led to believe that the ports of Syracuse and Augusta are not only the most vulnerable points in the island, but they are ports which it is highly import- ant to have in the best state of security, for the reception of the squadron and transports which may be employed on the coast of Sicily in the winter, and from which sup- plies of wood, water, and other necessaries, may be drawn. Their garrisons, therefore, should be put in the most perfect state of defence against an assault, which may be expected there rather than at Messina, where there is a body of fine troops to oppose them. The lively interest I feel for the safety of Sicily, and the happiness of its Sovereign, has led me to these suggestions on the subject of its defence, which I hope will be taken in good part by His Majesty, and considered as proceeding from my zeal for his service and my ardent desire to give security to his kingdom and happiness to his people. 304 COmiESrONDENCE AND MEMOIK OF TO THE RIGHT HON. C. ARBUTHNOT, EMBASSADOR AT CONSTANTINOPLE. Ocean, off Cadiz, Mai/ 5, 1806. I have received the honour of your Excellency's letter of the 7th February last only by the last ship which came from Malta, with its enclosure, and take the earliest opportunity of replying to it, and giving you my best thanks for your kind congratulations on the important events which happened in October last, in the fleet under the command of my late lamented friend. These, with the subsequent successes of the fleet, are cir- cumstances which I hope will be attended wdth the greatest benefit to the affairs of our country, and have a favourable influence on those which are more immediately under your Excellency's direction. I am perfectly sensible of the good policy of manifesting the readiness and ability of our fleet to act wherever the course of events should require their service ; but under the present circumstances, and with the number of ships I have, it is not possible for me to send such a squadron to the Dardanelles as I would gladly do were my situation here less critical. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 305 The defence of Sicily, and the annoyance of the enemy on the coasts of France and Italy, being of the first importance, I have been obliged to appoint for that service a very large portion of my fleet. The French have as yet no naval force of great consideration in the Mediterranean ; but from all the intelligence I can get, it is an object so necessary to their operations, that they will run every risk to obtain it. To prevent them, I must keep a force with me equal to the destruction of whatever may attempt it. The Spaniards in my neighbourhood, both at Cadiz and Cartha- gena, are in such a state as to require the utmost vigilance, and the fleet I have with me is not more than equal to this service. Whenever I have ships, I will endeavour to preserve as frequent a communication with Constantinople as possible, and leave you as little without a ship of war as the service will permit. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, Mai/ 22, 1806. Though no day passes in which you have not my blessing and my prayers for your happiness, this day, which gave to VOL. I. X 306 CORIIESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the world so excellent a pattern of worth and goodness, will always be celebrated by me as a happy one ; and I hope you will live many years to receive my congratu- lations, in health and as much comfort as may be in a state of warfare. I am cruising here, very anxious for something good to turn up. Some attempt of the French to get into the Mediterranean I think will be the first : my squadron is weak, but I will make the best of them. I have no Admiral with me now, but they certainly will send somebody here ; and without some more line-of-battle ships I may be soon in distress. I am in very good health, considering that I have scarce put my foot on shore these three years ; but my body grows weak and my limbs lady-like. Blay 28. — As there was no opportunity for me to send my letter to England, I can hit two birds at once, in wishing my dear little Sarah many happy returns of this day, and that in every one she may have im- proved in goodness since the last. I cannot tell you how much pleasure her French letter gave me : I strictly enjoin her to write every day some translation of English into French, and the language will soon become LORD COLLINGWOOD. 30? familiar to her. It is the only thing French she need possess, for there is little else from that country which I should wish her to love or imitate. General Fox has sent me from Gibraltar Bonaparte's plan of operations for last sum- mer. In every part it corresponds with what my idea of it was, — to unite all his fleets, mislead ours to the West Indies, push into the Channel, where he was to join the army, and proceed to England. My having blockaded them is stated as the reason why the plan was changed ; and then their defeat put a complete end to what was intended to be adopted in exchange for it. Every pros- pect in Sicily is bad in the extreme. I shall never have any good prospect till I can get my darlings about me, and then perhaps I shall be almost blind and not able to see them. Pray do not talk about the wound in my leg, or people may think that I am vapouring about my dangers. We are to have the medals for the last action, and I do not despair of getting another soon : I am the only officer in the service with three. How can I bless you as I love you ? — Not in 308 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF words, — they have not the power, and I must refer you to your own heart. TO THE RIGHT HON. W. WINDHAM. Ocean, of Cadiz, June 2, 1806. As the Consul had left Al- giers, I judged it necessary to discover what were the sentiments of the Dey towards the British from another quarter, and sent Cap- tain Ogle, an officer of whose temper and penetration I had a good opinion, and whose spirit I knew would suffer nothing derogatory to the dignity of his nation. In the letter which I wrote to the Dey I took the opportunity of awakening the sus- picions of the Regency, of drawing their attention to the progress which the French have made towards them, and introducing to their minds a subject (if it were not there before), which, however distant it may be, I have no doubt is in the contemplation and part of the plan of the French ruler ; that is, to subjugate by degrees the African States, and possess the country on both sides the Mediterranean. This the Dey could not better prevent than by a firm attachment to England. The many advantages which we LORD COLLINGWOOD. 309 may derive from a friendship with tlie Bar- bary powers can only be preserved to us by having a resident of temperate and con- ciliating manners, one who will not make enemies by engaging in the party disputes of a country where revolutions are so fre- quent, that the probability is that in six months his adversaries will be in power. The French have been for some time past paying great court to the Emperor of Morocco, sending people to Ash Ash, the Governor of Tetuan, to propose contracts for cattle, horses, &c., but more, I apprehend, to gain their esteem by the gentleness of their demeanour, to inform themselves of the ca- pacity and disposition of the people with whom they have to treat, and to view the country. They were received with civility, but with that kind of reserve which in- dicates a suspicion of the danger which might arise from an intimate connexion. With such disposition in the Moors, a Con- sul at Tangier is much wanted, who could maintain our interests and counteract those efforts of the enemy.* * Mr. Windham requested Lord CoUingvvood to nominate proper persons to the vacant consulships ; a power which Lord Collingwood was desirous ofdechning. 310 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF FROM THE KING OF NAPLES. Palerme, 6 Juin, 1806. MILORD COLLINGWOOD, J'ay re9U la lettre du 4 de May que vous avez voulu m'adresser. J'y vois, avec sensibilite et consolation, que vous prenez part aux mallieurs qui m'affligent, et que vous avez bien pense, et a temps, de prevenir d'autres calamites, en secourant la Sicile, et me munissant d'une defense navale, dont j'ay le plus grand et serieux besoin, pendant qu'un corps de troupes Britan- niques garnit les postes les plus exposes de ce royaume. Je confie vivement, pour moy et ma famille, dans les soins energiques de mes allies, et j'espere infiniment de I'effi- cacite que met a nous proteger le Contre- Amiral Chevalier Smith, que vous avez charge de prcsider icy a ce qui concerne la surete de la Sicile, ainsy qu'aux co-ope- rations que pourront me procurer le re- couvrement du royaume de Naples, auquel tendent tous mes souhaits, soins, et tons mes voeux. Recevez, Milord, mes remercimens pour Tappuy que vous ctendez sur les cotes de Provence et de Genes, afin de surveiller ainsy de ce cote a ma defense. Je suis LORD COIJJNCWOOl). 311 vivement sensible a tout ce que vous operez, et voulez bien exprimer sur la protection que je regarde comme si utile et indis- pensable de la part des forces navales Bri- tanniques. Veuillez continuer, comme je ne puis en douter, a me seconder ainsy, et re- cevoir toutes les vives assurances de ma re- connoissance pour vos soins. Je prie sur ce Dieu, qu'il vous ait en sa sainte et digne garde. Votre afFectionne FERDINAND. TO LORD RADSTOCK. Ocean, June 8, 1806. I am much obliged to you for your very kind and long letter of the 5th of May. Captain appears to me to be as heavy a youth as I have seen. He has already got beyond the bounds of his abi- lity ; yet his father, I dare say, thinks him qualified to conduct a fleet. But if some regard be not paid to the ability of those commanders, their ships had better be in Porchester Lake. I have sent several home, because they vi^ere not only of no use, but were constant plagues. Your son will set them a very good example ; I am sure he 312 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF will of diligence. I keep him very strictly at his duty, and he is very active. We shall, perhaps, have something to do here before long, for the Spaniards are preparing a very fine squadron at Cadiz ; ten appear to be quite ready. The more of them the better. I only hope I shall have a force, not merely to fight them, but to extirpate them from the face of the waters. I am much obliged to you, my dear Lord, for your kind in- tention of making my wishes known about the succession of my title : it certainly would be very gratifying to me, as I have not a son, to be remembered through my daughters. At the same time, I would not appear to set a higher value on my services than His Majesty has estimated them at, or to look for a reward beyond what had flowed from his gracious regard of them. I did long since write to Lord Barham on the subject, and have no doubt that, but for Mr. Pitt's illness, it would have been done. Lord Barham did not explain himself much in reply to me; but in a letter I received from his Lordship, after the change of Mi- nistry, he said that my request had been attended to by His Majesty's Ministers. LORD COLLINGWOOD. 313 FROM SIR JOHN ACTON.* Palermo, June 13, 1806. I have been honoured with your Lordship's favour of the 4th of last month. I should have answered sooner, but the Endymion frigate, which was to sail for Gibraltar, having been detained, I profit of the excellent and the good Captain So- theron, to whose attention, experience, and zeal, we owe so much, to present your Lordship with His Majesty's letter here enclosed. I am exceedingly obliged to you, my Lord, for the kind and excellent advices which you are so good to direct to me on our defence, and the best means to insure it, by the dispositions well adapted of our Nobility for presenting example and means to the people for the defence of this island. You are, I am sure, my Lord, apprised with the particular constitution of this island. Many abuses, but of most ancient establish- ments, have kept this kingdom in a situ- ation which required amendments. Circum- * Sir John Acton wrote in English, being an English- man, though long resident abroad. 314 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF stances particular to King Charles, father of this Sovereign, have deferred applications to this important matter. Sixteen years since the French Revolution, and among all the intended measures for seduction in every country, have obliged the Government to suspend any innovation in these critical times, which would have caused pretences for disgust. Every thing, however, must be employed to animate the Sicilians of all de- scriptions to their defence. We are going to open the Parliament, which meets every four years, and shall endeavour to promote every measure which may answer to your Lordship's good and wise purposes. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, June 16, 1806. This day, my love, is the an- niversary of our marriage, and I wish you many happy returns of it. If ever we have peace, I hope to spend my latter days amid my family, which is the only sort of hap- piness I can enjoy. After this life of labour, to retire to peace and quietness is all I look for in the world. Should we decide to change the place of our dwelling, our route would of course be to the southward of LORD COLLING WOOD. 315 Morpeth: but then I should be for ever regretting those beautiful views, which are no where to be exceeded; and even the rattling of that old waggon that used to pass our door at 6 o'clock in a winter's mornins; had its charms. The fact is, whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth, where, out of the fuss and parade of the world, surrounded by those I loved most dearly and who loved me, I enjoyed as much happiness as my nature is capable of. Many things that I see in the world give me a distaste to the finery of it. The great knaves are not like those poor unfortunates, who, driven perhaps to distress from ac- cidents which they could not prevent, or at least not educated in principles of honour and honesty, are hanged for some little thievery ; while a knave of education and high breeding, who brandishes his honour in the eyes of the world, would rob a state to its ruin. For the first, I feel pity and compassion ; for the latter, abhorrence and contempt : they are the tenfold vicious. Have you read — but what I am more interested about, is your sister with you, and is she well and happy ? Tell her — God 316 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF bless her ! — I wish I were with you, that we might have a good laugh. God bless me ! I have scarcely laughed these three years. I am here, with a very reduced force, leaving been obliged to make detach- ments to all quarters. This leaves me weak, while the Spaniards and French within are daily gaining strength. They have patched and pieced until they have now a very con- siderable fleet. Whether they will venture out I do not know : if they come, I have no doubt we shall do an excellent deed, and then I will bring them to England myself. How do the dear girls go on ? I would have them taught geometry, which is of all sciences in the world the most entertaining : it expands the mind more to the knowledge of all things in nature, and better teaches to distinguish between truths and such things as have the appearance of being truths, yet are not, than any other. Their education, and the proper cultivation of the sense which God has given them, are the objects on which my happiness most depends. To inspire them with a love of every thing that is honourable and virtuous, though in rags, and with contempt for vanity in embroidery, is the way to make them the darlings of my LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 317 heart. They should not only read, but it requires a careful selection of books ; nor should they ever have access to two at the same time : but when a subject is begun, it should be finished before any thing else is undertaken. How would it enlarge their minds, if they could acquire a sufficient knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to give them an idea of the beauty and won- ders of the creation ! I am persuaded that the generality of people, and particularly fine ladies, only adore God because they are told it is proper and the fashion to go to church ; but I would have my girls gain such knowledge of the works of the creation, that they may have a fixed idea of the nature of that Being who could be the author of such a world. Whenever they have that, nothing on this side the moon will give them much uneasiness of mind. I do not mean that they should be Stoics, or want the common feelings for the sufferings that flesh is heir to; but they would then have a source of consolation for the worst that could happen. Tell me how do the trees which I planted thrive? Is there shade under the 318 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF ^ three oaks for a comfortable summer seat? Do the poplars grow at the walk, and does the wall of the terrace stand firm? My bankers tell me that all my money in their hands is exhausted by fees on the peerage, and that I am in their debt, which is a new epoch in my life, for it is the first time I was ever in debt since I was a Midshipman. Here I get nothing; but then my expenses are nothing, and I do not want it, parti- cularly now that I have got my knives, forks, teapot, and the things you were so kind as to send me. TO LORD HOWICK. Ocean, of Cadiz, July 3, 1806. I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter to me of the 9th ultimo. In the communications which your Lordship has made in that letter I have much to thank you for. In the first place, I beg to offer your Lordship my acknow- ledgments for what you say on the subject of the descent of my title, in which I was much interested. Lord Spencer's reply to my letter is the same in substance as your Lordship's. Perhaps on some future occa- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 319 sion, to which I look forward witli hope and expectation, the request may not be improper. With respect to Sicily, I thought the best means of giving their Lordships a thorough knowledge of the state of affairs there was to send to the Admiralty the original papers which were of importance. Your Lordship, without doubt, is well in- formed of the politics of that country. The King and his Minister, Sir John Acton, con- sider the defence of Sicily as the great object of their care ; while the Queen's party (in which I understand certain French are supposed to have considerable influence) still entertain hopes of recovering Naples, either by arms or negociations. Gaeta is held by the Prince of Hesse, where the French just keep a force sufficient to make it a drain to carry off the resources of Si- cily. They receive at Palermo frequent information of the loyalty of the Calabrians, and the resistance they make to the French establishing themselves amongst them. Yet when they were armed and embodied they made none. By the Chevalier Rossi's letters to Mr. Elliot, they have reason to apprehend an 320 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF assault upon Sardinia ; and I dare say the enemy takes pains to propagate stories to confirm this opinion ; but I suspect them all to be deception, by which if they could divide our force, in defending Sardinia or supporting the insurgents in Calabria, there would be so much the less to resist them where I believe they will alone make a serious attack. With this impression on my mind, I shall caution Sir S. Smith against too great extension of the line- of- battle ships. Sir S. Smith has taken possession of Capri, in the Bay of Naples, a post which I dare say may be very useful in the summer months ; but 2000 inhabitants, as well as the garrison, must be victualled, I apprehend from Sicily, in the winter. TO LORD RADSTOCK. Ocean, Juhj 5, 1806. I have received the letter which your Lordship has written to me, enclosing the note of your amiable sister, and give you both my best thanks for your kind intention to me. I confess I was a little afraid of appearing to press upon His Majesty's favour more than I ought to do: but I am fully LORD COIJJNGWOOD. 321 sensible of your goodness, my dear Lord, in endeavouring to procure for me what you know I was anxious to obtain. I had written to Lords Spencer and Howick on the subject, and received from them both kind and satis- factory letters : indeed, I was satisfied with myself the moment I had stated my wishes ; and if they were not complied with, I dare say they ought not to have been. Now I must look for the means of calling His Majesty's attention to me, and with God's blessing I will before the year is out : I am in the field for it, and hope for every thing. I have the pleasure to tell you that Captain Waldegrave is very w^ell ; he is upon my advanced post just now, for I can trust any thing to his zeal. Did he tell you what a lecture I gave him ? I thought it proper to do so, though I was very much pleased with him. He fell in with a gun- boat convoy and knocked them all to pieces, killed a great many men, and destroyed se- veral boats ; but in doing it he got ashore, and was very near losing his ship. In the lecture I gave him I wished to impress on his mind that he should never risk beyond the value of the object ; and meant by it to temper his zeal with a little discretion. VOL. T. Y 322 CORRESPONDENCE AND JfEMOIR OF The Spaniards are getting on here in a most astonishing way ; they have ten sail ready to come out. But will they come ? It will be a happy day. Sicily gives me many an anxious hour ; but General Fox and Sir John Moore are gone up, so that they have all the advantages of ability and military skill. In a letter I had from Sir John Acton he informed me that their Parlia- ment was to assemble, and he hoped for great good from their resolutions. The two regiments that are gone up lately will do them much more. TO THE RIGHT HON. W. WINDHAM. Uceon, of Cadiz, July 10, 1806. The Unite joined the squadron to-day, having returned from her mission to Algiers and Constantinople. Captain Ogle informs me that the Dey expressed himself highly gratified in the mark of friendship which had been shewn him in taking his Embassador to the Porte, gave him every assurance of his sincere friendship to the English, and liberated, at Captain Ogle's request, six Sicilians, who were all of that nation who were in captivity. The Dey was particularly anxious to know how he was to I-ORD COLLINGWOOU. 323 conduct himself towards the English pri- vateers which came there, and whether to allow them to sell their prizes. Those Mediterranean privateers are manned with the ruffians of all its coasts, and, although a great annoyance to the enemy, commit de- predations which are sometimes very irre- gular. If they were allowed to sell their captures in Barbary, it would be without condemnation or inquiry into the property, and would give a latitude to their violence which would be highly improper. I shall request, therefore, that he will deal kindly and hospitably by them, providing for their wants, and allowing them to depart with their captures and prisoners. I have, how- ever, a doubt on my mind, whether, by the law of nations, prisoners carried into a neutral port can properly be detained. TO HIS EXCELLENCY HUGH ELLIOTT, ESQ. Ocean, off Cadiz, July 20, 1806. The armament which the French is preparing in every part of the Adriatic is very great, and might lead us to suspect that more is intended than the attack of Sicily. That assemblage of force at Capraia, 324 COKRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF whatever veil they may throw over its desti- nation, by menacing Sardinia with such studied publicity, is doubtless intended for the same service, and will be put in motion at the same time. I doubt Sardinia being the object of it, not from any tenderness of the French Ruler towards that Monarch, but that there are other objects of far greater consequence. But I do not think it improbable that while they are alarming Sardinia and threatening Sicily, their real destination may be Egypt ; and if they can engage our ships in the defence of Gaeta, and draw their attention to armaments, per- haps more in show than substance, on the west coast of Italy, they may hope from the Adriatic to escape unmolested to Alexandria. I doubt the policy of retaining possession of Capri, or how that island, without a port, or any shelter for ships, is to prevent the coasting carriage ; and a question will arise before long. How are the inhabitants to be victualled in the winter ? The hope which the Queen and the Prince still fondly entertain of regaining (in the present state of Europe) possession of the kingdom of Naples, appears to me to be the vainest dream that ever entered the LOUD COLLINGWOOD. 325 imagination of a woman. When they pos- sessed it, with all the resources of the country at their command, with the (pro- fessed, at least,) loyalty of an armed people, and the army of the allies at their head, it was abandoned as untenable : and now that the Country is disarmed, every person sup- posed to be yet attached to their Prince removed from it, and the enemy possessing every place of strength, on what foundation can the hope of success be built ? Let her beware of counsels which I suspect are of French origin, and of the people from whom they come. Whatever can diffuse the li- mited force and scanty resources of Sicily, or distract her councils, is favourable to the enemy, and may be suspected to come from them. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, ojf Cadiz, September 13, 1806. When I have told you I am upon my old station, and pretty well in health, I have nothing left in the way of news. I was in great expectation that the French squadron from the West Indies would come this way ; but I despair of them now. Those in Cadiz are strong enough to 326 COllRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF come out if they like ; but the hope they have of peace makes them defer their ex- peditions for the present. Lord St. Vincent is at Lisbon, from whom I often receive very kind and friendly letters. He is endea- vouring to inspire a decayed Government with vigour, and to give strength to a nerveless arm. I am told the Queen of Naples expects to be re-seated on her throne, and has engaged to shew her grati- tude to , by creating him a Sicilian Duke, and giving him an estate. If they offer me a Dukedom, I tell you beforehand how I will shew them what my estimation of it is. I shall reply, after returning my thanks for the intended honour, that I am the servant of my Sovereign alone, and can receive no rewards from a foreign Prince. If, in obeying the commands of the King, I render benefit to his allies, the acknow- ledgment of it must be highly gratifying to me ; but that is all the reward I can accept from any Prince but my own. They have not revenue to defend their Country, and are perpetually craving to me for money ; instead of which I give them good advice, and shew them how to enrich their Country, and make their people happy. If they had LORD COLLlNGWOOl). 327 ability to govern a state, they would not be in the wretched condition they are : but if Mount ^tna were made of gold, they would still be poor ; for they have not discretion to manage their finances. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Oceau, off Cadiz, Septemher 25, 1806. Nothing woi'th notice has hap- pened since 1 wrote, and this sameness of scene wearies me exceedingly. It is the dullest life that can be conceived, and no- thing but the utmost patience can endure it. Now, as we are not all patient, a great many anxious eyes and longing looks are cast towards England. The hope of peace raised our spirits a little ; but it did not last long : and I despair of seeing it, unless it should please God to take Buonaparte from the world : for it is his personal am- bition and rooted enmity to England that prolong the war. My last letter from my wife informed me of her return to Morpeth, after having shewn my girls a good deal of the world. I expect a great deal of pleasure some day in reading little Sarah's journal. Nothing more improves the mind and ex- ercises the judgment, than for young persons 328 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF to keep a diary, not only to note events, but to add their comments on them ; and I expect such a one from Sarah, which will be more valuable to me than all the books in Chirton library. I have written a long letter to Admiral Roddam, informing him of the state of the fleets here, which I think will make his mouth water to have a touch at the Dons. They are getting so strong, that I have little doubt of their coming out, and a blessed day it will be : but they must not run too fast ; for many of my ships are bad sailers, nor can my feeble limbs carry me about for two or three days and nights as they used to do. I dare say I have more of the decrepitude of age than the Admiral would have had but for his accident. You will have seen the accounts of General Stuart's action, which was a most gallant thing, and proved the superiority of British troops ; but as we could not keep an army there, I am afraid the sufferings of the Ca- labrians will be increased by our having made them take a part against their enemy which they were not in a condition to maintain. I had a letter from Garter King at Arms, desiring me to apply for an ho- nourable augmentation of arms ; and I have LORD COLLINGWOOD. 329 answered, that although it would be very flattering to me, 1 am afraid that in applying for it I shall appear to assume too much, and to set too high a value, in my own mind, on those services which, in fact, I never considered but as a mere duty. If the making such application can be con- strued as urging that which was never in- tended for me, I must decline it ; but if it be a matter of course, and the ordinary way in which such things are obtained, I shall value it much. I am thinking what we are to do for the next battle, which I am not without hope will be ere long. TO LORD HOWICK. Ocean, of Cadiz, October I, 1806. The enemy's squadron in Cadiz have moved down within these few days to the outward part of the harbour ; and as they appear to be completely ready, I think it. probable they will make a push to sea some dark night, for I have no doubt they will endeavour to get squadrons out to Africa, the West Indies, and the Ocean, as they did last year, for the annoyance and destruction of the trade. Your Lordship 330 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF may depend upon it that I will keep the most strict look-out for them. The despatches from Sicily, which ar- rived by the Thunderer, will give your Lordship a perfect view of the state of affairs there. Whatever establishments the French had in Calabria have been destroyed, and they have been driven from the country by the Massi : but I am afraid this irregular body, without order or discipline, will not be able to maintain those advantages by the desultory warfare they carry on. The best mode of keeping the French in a state of impotence in that country, is by a strict guard upon the coast, which I have directed, to prevent their navigation as much as pos- sible. By what I hear of the intrigues of the Court of Sicily, as much danger to that island is to be feared from the wavering and irresolute councils of the Ministry at Pa- lermo as from the enemy. The Queen's party I understand now prevails, many of whom are French ; and Sir John Acton, who was considered as the Minister who pre- served the King from being led away by the caprices of tlie Queen and her adherents, and advised him for the true interests of his LORD COLLING WOOD. 331 Country, is dismissed from the Ministry ; while Monsieur St. Clair, a Frenchman, in the ostensible character of preceptor to the Prince, is the Queen's adviser, and the respectability of the Government is daily lessened. TO REAR-ADMIRAL SIR W. SIDNEY SMITH. Ocean, off" Cadiz, October 7, 1806. I am very glad to find, by your detail of proceedings on the coast of Ca- labria, that all or nearly all the places of strength and defence on the coast are dis- mantled and destroyed, which will make the hold which the French may again get of the country less secure, and any disembarkation of troops by us less difficult. This destruc- tion of the coast defences is indeed an im- portant service, well executed, in which Captain Hoste has acted with his usual promptitude and zeal. The fall of Gaeta did not surprise me. I considered it as a thing of course to happen upon any reverse of fortune : its defence, in fact, depended solely upon the preservation of the Prince of Hesse, and its surrender was the natural consequence of 332 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the anarchy which took place on his being wounded. All subordination appears then to have ceased ; and it is not easy to dis- cover with whom the command rested, until the Sicilians determined that question by delivering up the place to the enemy. What I most lament is, that the English officers of the fleet were placed in a situ- ation where they could have no authority over the Neapolitan garrison, and were unavoidably made witnesses of the disgrace of its surrender. Independently of the point of honour in defending it, I do not think the place was of sufficient value to balance the expense. It took the ships from services of more im2:)ortance, exhausted Sicily of every kind of store for war, and reduced our naval strength by landing the guns and men ; so that altogether, if it could be held only by such means, perhaps there was profit in its fall. You mention that the King of the Sicilies has vested certain powers in you. No officer is better qualified than you are to judge of the great importance, in all services of co-operation, of maintaining the best and most friendly correspondence with all parties, which can only be done by each LORD COLLINGWOOD. 333 strictly observing the true and legitimate line of his own duty. The Embassador of our King is instructed how he is to treat with the Court, and to settle with the Go- vernment what measures shall be pursued. When the plans of operation are to be exe- cuted, the Naval and Military Commanders are then to decide upon the manner of performing their respective branches of that service. This I conceive to be the proper course to be pursued, and every deviation from it will necessarily produce uneasiness somewhere, which is detrimental to the service. It is with great concern I hear His Majesty has dismissed Sir John Acton from his councils, a Minister whom I have always understood to be firmly attached to His Majesty's interests, and who had pre- served him from the factions with which France had endeavoured to embroil the Court. He appears to possess more ability and knowledge of the true interests of Sicily than any statesman in it ; for he knew that Sicily, unable in the conflict of nations to stand alone, could nowhere so firmly depend for succour as on England. Having given you my sentiments on what relates to Sicily, I shall now turn to 334 CORKESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the fleet, the situation of which I consider as extremely delicate. The Spaniards at Carthagena have dismantled two ships, that the crews may be added to the six which remain. Though I could easily believe that Court would gladly refrain from taking an active part against Sicily, yet that must not be depended on ; for so entirely is Spain under the domination of Buonaparte, that if they are ordered to join the four French ships at Toulon, they must go. At Cadiz, twelve sail of the line, with some troops embarked in them, four frigates, and two bomb-vessels, are perfectly ready to put to sea. When Athenien leaves me, I shall have nine ships and two frigates to meet them with. What their destination is I have no information of; it may be the Me- diterranean, where, if they can join the ten ships now there, they would be very formi- dable. There are also six ships of Vil- laumez' squadron yet at sea, and when they were last seen, on the 26th September, off the Western Islands, were steering to the S.E. : there is every reason to believe their destination is to this quarter. In this state of the enemy, you will see the necessity of having the squadron under your orders in LORD COI-LINGWOOD. 335 the best possible condition for service, and not too much extended to distant points, except where the look-out is to be kept. TO LORD RADSTOCK. Ocean, off Cadh, October 18, 1806. I have kept your son near me that I might keep him always on the alert, and now I find he is become necessary to me ; for when I want a business done with expedition, or a point watched with a par- ticular care, he is the first that comes to my recollection. With this opinion of him, you will believe that, independently of my regard and esteem for you, I feel a sincere desire on his own account to do him a service. I have a most anxious time of it at present ; but my whole life has been a life of care. I hardly know what it is that the world calls pleasures ; and when I have done with my sea aifairs, the only idea 1 have of delight on shore is in the enjoy- ment of a few friends in the bosom of my family, where I can see my daughters. In them is the source of my future happiness, and I believe a source that will not fail me : but all this is to be when I come on shore. In the mean time I must keep the spirit of 336 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF the war up as well as I can. I have lately had but a scanty force, much less than was intended for me ; but so many squadrons have been wanted, that no doubt the diffi- culty in finding ships for them all has been great. I have ten ships in all employed here, and cannot keep them up at this season without two being absent for vic- tualling ; so that I have eight left, to keep at bay twelve of the enemy. I am sorry for the removal of Lord Howick from the Admiralty to be Secretary of State ; because I had made (as it were) my acquaintance with him. My correspondence with his Lordship was free and confidential ; and I believe he was assured that such as my abilities are, they are exerted for the public service ; that I have no ambition — no in- terest — but what is connected with it. The present First Lord cannot know any thing of me : but I hope he will give me a few more ships ; for I have long thought we are trusting rather too much to the inactivity of the Spaniards. That Carthagena squadron might give us a great deal of trouble, if they were to make a spirited dash ; but they were once very near tricked into a scrape, and have been very shy since. I have not LOUD COLIJiVGWOOD. 337 heard lately from Sicily. The last account was so far satisfactory, that the defence of the island was the principal object in the officers commanding ; and Quixoting amongst the poor Calabrians was given up, I say the poor Calabrians, because I think a loyal people have been led to certain danger and ruin, by being made to take arms, when there was no army or means to give them perma- nent support. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, October 25, 180G. I rejoiced to hear that you and all my family were well. I could have been very, very happy indeed to have been with you ; but when is that blessed day to come ? I received a letter from , to thank me for the presents I had sent, and I must thank you most heartily for having anticipated me in that which I would gladly have done myself if I had been there. Oh! my Sarah, how I admire in you that kindness of heart and generosity that delights to give pleasure to those you love ! You will, you do under- stand me, that if ever I mention the word economy, it is that you should always be enabled to do a kind and handsome thing VOL. I. z 338 CORHESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF when the occasion arises ; and none know how to do so better than you. I shall never have length of life enough to tell you how I love in you those virtues that are every day my admiration. With respect to that matter in which we are jointly interested, I cannot but wonder at 's unreasonableness in requiring 600/. per annum for that which we have hitherto been content to let for 80/. : but they will outwit themselves ; for I would not, for all the collieries in Northumberland, be a party to such an extortion. A fair in- crease of rent is allowable ; but this demand is beyond all bounds. I have written enough about money ; and, between ourselves, Sarah, I believe there is more plague in it than comfort, and that the limits of our Morpeth garden and the lawn would have afforded us as much happiness as we shall ever have. I have lived long enough in the world to know that human happiness has nothing to do with exteriors : then let us cultivate it in our minds. The Parliamentary grant is, I own, lessened in my estimation, when it is only shared by those who laboured, in com- mon with those who did nothing. The honour of the thing is lost, and it only be- comes a mere matter of money. But they LORD CULLINGWOOD. 3'39 have used us shabbily about that whole business ; for the p.oor seamen who fought a battle that set all England in an uproar, and all the poets and painters at w^ork, have not at this moment received one sixpence of prize money. I mean those who are here ; for I do not know what they have done for them in England, as I never hear any thing about it. TO LORD HOWICK. Ocean, November 4, 1806. I felt very averse to leaving this station while there was any appearance of the enemy coming out of Cadiz ; but as your Lordship is of opinion they will not stir, I shall leave Sir John Duckworth here to watch them, and myself proceed to Sicily, where, if any hostility should appear on the part of the Turks, I shall be more conve- niently stationed. The letter I received lately from Mr. Arbuthnot stated the affairs of Constantinople to be in a very critical situation ; such, he thought, as indicated an inclination in the Divan to form an alliance with France ; and as he expressed an opinion that the appearance of a squadron in the Dardanelles at this juncture would probably 340 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF be attended with the most beneficial effects, I lost no time in despatching Sir Thomas Louis with three sail of the line, a frigate, and sloop, — that should the Porte determine unfavourably to the British interest, a force may be there to give protection to our trade and merchants in that country. The Russians are in the greatest degree inactive ; they have, indeed, had a squadron at sea, but with little effect in giving an- noyance to the enemy. They have no desire to accommodate us in any thing, and lately refused to let a few prisoners be landed in any of the islands, or allow a vessel which had sprung a leak, and was unfit to pro- ceed to Malta, to be hove down there. But these things, I hope, arise merely from the temper of individuals, and not from the dis- position of the Court. 1 shall endeavour, by a contrary proceeding, to conciliate them ; and whenever they come into a British port, shew them every attention and give them every aid in my power. In the spring, I wTote a civil letter to Admiral Siniavin, ex- pressing my desire that a friendly corre- spondence might be maintained ; but he took no notice of my letter to him. I have, how- ever, written to him again, informing him of \ LORD COLLI NGWOOD. 341 the squadron expected from the Baltic, and of the orders I had received to shew them every friendly regard, if they put into any of our ports, and how happy I shall be in being any way useful to them. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Ocecni, November 7, 1806. It gave me great pleasure to find by your last letters that you were so youthful and strong as to take walks, which, I believe, are past my ability. I shall never be able to contend in the field with you again. We are going on here in our usual way, watching an enemy who, I begin to suspect, has no intention of coming out ; and I am almost worn out with impatience and the constant being at sea. I have devoted my- self faithfully to my Country's service ; but it cannot last much longer, for I grow weak and feeble, and shall soon only be fit to be nursed and live in quiet retirement ; for, having been so long out of the world, I be- lieve I shall be found totally unfit to live in it. But I do not care ; I trust my dear Sarah and my daughters will be kind to me, and I shall look no farther for comfort. I have for some time past desired to send a gift to the 342 CORRESPONDENCE AND ME^IOIR OF charitable institutions at Newcastle, in token of my respect for my countrymen ; but a letter from my bankers, informing me that the stream was dry, prevented my doing it be- fore ; but now I transmit 1 00/., of which I wish to subscribe 20/. for the monument of my worthy master, Mr. Moises, and to pre- sent the remaining 80/. to the Fever, Lying-in Hospitals, Dispensary, and Infirmary. I am very sorry Lord Howick has left the Admi- ralty, because I appeared to have gained his confidence, and he was on all occasions par- ticularly attentive to me. Of the First Lord who has succeeded him I know nothing : in- deed I have always avoided having any con- nexion with the intrigues of statesmen. The letter of my orders is my guide ; and when I cannot have orders I exercise my best judg- ment, and have hitherto been successful. This fine new ship is built and secured in a way that will not succeed ; a gale of wind which we lately had, broke all her bolts, and has done her much harm ; but, as I never go into port, I have sent for materials to repair her here. I am weak in force ; but whenever I get a reinforcement, I have it in contem- j)lation to seek the enemy, for I cannot come at him here, shut up in Cadiz. They seem TX)RD COLLINGWOOD. 343 to have taken up their winter quarters. has been behaving very ill. He has been twice in confinement, and was to have been tried by a court martial, but I begged him off; and he has written me a very penitent letter, promising amendment. The fact is, that these boys are made Lieutenants too soon, and before their heads can bear their good fortune. It seems so easy to them, that they do not set that value on their si- tuation which they ought. I stand between them and danger as much as I can, but they have still, unfortunately, the power to ruin themselves. TO LORD HOWICK. Ocean, off Cadiz, November 26, 1806. I have received the honour of your Lordship's letter of the 1 6th ultimo, and cannot sufficiently thank your Lordship for the kind interest you are pleased to take in my welfare, or express the high gratification I feel that my conduct and communications to your Lordship, while presiding at the Admiralty, have been such as met your ap- probation. If they satisfied your Lordship that I take a warm and lively interest in whatever relates to my duty, and that my 344 COKKESPONDKNCE AND MEMOIR OF constant study is to do that which will best promote His Majesty's service, I am, and ought to be, perfectly content. It sometimes happens, that circumstances are so con- nected with general politics, that for persons bred as we are, seamen and not statesmen, great allowances must be made by His Ma- jesty's Ministers. It was your Lordship's free and friendly communications, which, making the subject familiar, gave me confidence in the execution, and I hope I shall receive the like advantages from Mr. Grenville. I am much obliged to your Lordship for the kind offer of service personally to me. If it should be my good fortune, by any future success, to obtain the regard and at- tention of His Majesty, your Lordship is already possessed of w^hat would be most gra- tifying to me, by the letter which I took the liberty of writing to your Lordship in the spring. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Ocean, off Cadiz, December 9, 1806. I am very much obliged to you for the trouble you have been so good as to take about Chirton and the colliery. I have but little information on the subject, and am IXnW COLLINGWOOD. 345 so far removed that I cannot give particular directions ; but, as a general principle, I wish, that in the changes which the working this colliery may make, as few of the people who are established in the houses belono-ine: to me, and are of respectable character, should be removed as possible. Let them have the offer of such public houses as are, or may be, vacant ; but I do not think it would be common justice to turn out those already established ; nor would I consent to it for any increase of rent, however great. I have little to tell you from here ; the enemy's squadron are quite ready for sea, but in the upper part of the harbour, out of the way of storms ; while we contrive to watch them, that they may not go out with- out an encounter. A battle is really nothing to the fatigue and anxiety of such a life as we lead. It is now nearly thirteen months since I let go an anchor, and, for what I see, it may be as much longer. They are increasing their navy daily, while ours is wearing out. The scarcity of timber for our ships is daily increasing, and I am afraid my oaks wdll not be of sufficient growth for the supply of this war. I have written a letter 346 COIUIESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF to old Scott to inquire about my trees and garden. We shall hear no more, I trust, of our sending great armies and expeditions to dis- tant colonies, at a time when all our powers should be concentrated at home. It is not as it was in former wars, when France was to be subdued in her colonies. Her ruler acts on very different principles : his force is collected ; he sends no armies to succour or defend colonies ; his object is to strike at the heart and not at the extremities ; and he would, I dare say, see with great satisfaction half the troops in England employed, even successfully, in conquering Mexico itself. TO LADY COLLINGWOOD. Ocean, off Cadiz, December 20, 1806. You need not be uneasy about my small force here, but cherish the hope and expectation that I may have a happy meeting with the enemy. They must be kept down as much as possible at sea, and I trust in God to give us a fair opportunity to do it. I have lately had a most anxious time about the Turks. The accounts I re- ceived from the Embassador stated war with LORD COLLING WOOD. 347 them to be inevitable, and I despatched that instant a squadron under Sir T. Louis, to present himself before the Seraglio. A squa- dron of English men of war must have a fine effect in a Seraglio ! But, before they had got up, Mr. Arbuthnot informed him that he had composed all differences ; but he pro- ceeded on, according to my order, of which I am very glad. I^andless has taken an ex- ceedingly good prize, a boat from La Vera Cruz, very small, but laden with cochineal, indigo, &c., which will give him more prize money than I have got since I came out, except for Trafalgar. I suppose when the spring opens you will be moving to Chirton ; and I hope you will not have a steam-engine in front, to lull you with its noise, instead of those delightful blackbirds whose morning and evening song made my heart gay. I will do what I can for 's friend, but I have very little in my power. The vacancies which happen are in no proportion to the applications for them. I have not made a Captain, except Landless, since this time twelvemonth, nor has a Lieutenant been removed from my ship, except one who, see- ing very little prospect of succeeding here, applied to go home, and try his fortune 348 COKUESrOXDENCE AND MEMOIR OF elsewhere. It is very agreeable to me to hear that you are taking care of my oaks, and transplanting them to Hethpoole. If ever I get back I will plant a good deal there in patches ; but before that can happen you and I shall be in the churchyard, planted under some old yew tree. This is my second Christmas at sea, with- out having been even at anchor ; and, unless it shall please God to take the Corsican out of this world, I see no prospect of a change. A ship sailed yesterday from Cadiz for Lima with British goods, having a passport from the King. The Captain came to me to shew his pass, and request a convoy to see him clear of the French privateers, which he un- derstood were looking out for him. What an odd war this is ! A Spanish ship coming to the English fleet to seek protection from the depredations of their great ally ! TO SIR SIDNEY SMITH. Ocean, December 22, 1806. The Court at Palermo are san- guine in their hope of immediately recover- ing the kingdom of Naples ; but as to de- pending for support on the army of the Sicilians, they probably have not more con- LORD COLLINGWOOD. 349 fidence in it than I have. I do not mean to question the bravery or loyalty of the men, but their general discipline and training to war have not yet fitted them to meet the French. They might carry on for a length of time a predatory and sanguinary war, which would irritate parties and depopulate the country ; but, as in those enterprises no permanent security could be given to the King's friends, they would be continually left to the resentment of the enemy, and daily diminished in number. Until a mili- tary force can be spared from the defence of Sicily, equal in power to take possession of Naples, and to maintain a permanent esta- blishment, any desultory war carried on in districts is injurious to the King's cause, and throws to a greater distance the object which is so much desired. I have no doubt that at the Court there is a great deal of intrigue. The King, im- patient to be restored to his throne of Naples, will always find courtly people about him to flatter him with the early accomplishment of his desire, without wasting a thought on the means ; while others will advise what best suits their individual interests. To these he will be too apt to listen eagerly ; but, 350 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF as English officers, we have little to do with their councils. His Sicilian Majesty's Minis- ters will make his proposals to our Embas- sador ; and when the political questions of state are arranged, the sea and land Com- manders will consult together as to the policy and practicability of the warlike measures which are proposed, always keeping in view their distinct duties and original orders. TO LORD RADSTOCK. Ocean, off Cadiz, December 29, 1806. I have to thank your Lordship for two most kind letters of October, in which the expressions of regard and esteem for me are most grateful to my heart. There is nothing I more desire than the friendship of honest and honourable men ; and to ob- tain it, I can conscientiously say that the study and rule of my life has been, in the first place, to do justice to all men, in all cases, and, when occasion and opportunity offered, to oblige by acts of kindness, and to assist those who appeared to be worthy of regard. But we who know in what a trickish world we live, know too that this sort of conduct will not do for the great po- pular roar of applause. I could never humble LORD COLLINGWOOD. 351 myself to court it, and am content to proceed in the direct course which my judgment points out to me without it. No personal consideration has ever interfered with my duty ; and I consider the present temper of the times to require that every private sa- crifice should be made for the public service. I, therefore, have not, nor ever had, the smallest intention of abandoning my situa- tion while I am thought capable of con- ducting the duty of it. I had heard from all quarters that I was going home, except from the Admiralty : there I had every reason to believe my proceedings met with full approbation. Lord Howick, on leaving that office, wrote to me a letter, which was very flattering to me, inviting me to continue my correspondence in matters relating to the political state of affairs here. Your son is as promising an officer as any in the service ; the labours of his duty have made him skil- ful, and he has no tricks or vices to set against his good qualities. He is young, but he has as much knowledge as half the vete- rans ; and, above all, he never expects the service to bend to his convenience, which has been the reason why he has fagged more than any Commander here. Whatever is 352 CORRESPONDENCK AND IVIEMOIR OF wanted, he is ready : his employments have not been very profitable to him, but he has established his character as an officer, which is of more importance to him than any thing else. I apprehend the Spanish Court has no desire to engage in any maritime expedition : they consider themselves at the mercy of the tyrant, and wait patiently the event of things, without rousing the wrath which they cannot appease. The French officers have no intercourse with the Spaniards at Cadiz, ex- cept such as the service and the mere forms of distant civility require. I can tell you little of our affiiirs in Sicily : perhaps I think worse of that Court than they deserve ; but I confess I have no great opinion either of their wisdom or good faith. The King is a cipher. General Acton, when Minister, main- tained the connexion with England, and, as I understand, had much more ability than any who can be found to succeed him. The intrigues of the Queen, and the Frenchmen by whom she is surrounded, turned him out. Happily they have little power left to do mischief; but it is impossible to say what sacrifice they would not make to obtain the forbearance of Buonaparte. I'he French T,OT?D COLLING WOOD. S5^t people about her, I have heard, correspond regularly with France. Some time since they were very importunate to be supported by our army in an invasion of Naples, the King expressing his deep concern lest the morals of his people should be corrupted by communication with the French. God bless him, honest King ! He might have begun his correction nearer home. TO J. E. BLACKETT, ESQ. Ocean, Januari/ 1, 1807. I cannot begin this new year so much to my satisfaction as by offering my congratulations to you on your birth-day, and my best wishes that you may enjoy health to see many happy returns of it. I hope you are with my beloved family en- joying yourselves in great comfort ; and long may you live uninvaded by the sounds of war. What a blessed day it will be to me when we shall all meet together to celebrate the new year, to talk of the privations we have suffered in times past, and have only to look forward to blessings for the future. I have lived now so long in a ship, always engaged in serious employments, that I shall be unfit for any thing but the quiet society VOL. I. A A 354 rOURKSPONDENCK AND MEMOIR OF of my family : it is to them that I look for happiness, if ever I am relieved from this anxious and boisterous life, and in them I hope for every thing. Tell the children that Bounce is very well and very fat, yet he seems not to be content, and sighs so pite- ously these long evenings, that I am obliged to sing him to sleep, and have sent them the song. Sigh no more, Bouncey, sigh no more. Dogs were deceivers never ; Though ne'er you put one toot on shore. True to your master ever. Then sioh not so, but let us oo Where dinner's daily ready. Converting all the sounds of woe To heigh phiddy diddy ! It is impossible that at this distance I can direct and manage the education of my daughters ; but it costs me many an anxious hour. The ornamental part of education, though necessary, is secondary, and I wish to see their minds enlarged by a true know- ledge of good and evil, that they may be able to enjoy the one, if it be happily their lot, and submit contentedly to any fortune rather than descend to the other. How do you feel since you were block- LOUD COIXINGWOOl). 355 aded ? Nothing certainly can be more pre- sumptuous than that decree of Buonaparte's, or more unjust than the seizure of property in neutral countries. — I shall have great pleasure in being sponsor to Sir William Blackett's child ; and if it be a son, and he will make him a sailor, I desire my little Sarah will begin to teach him his compass, that he may know how to steer his course in the world, which very few people do The Ottoman Porte, full of resentment for the invasion of Egypt, had been the last of the European Powers to conclude peace with France, and long persisted in refusing to acknowledge Napoleon's assumption of the imperial dignity : but the ambitious pro- jects of Russia, the manner in which she appropriated to herself the Septinsular Re- public, of which the Russian and Turkish forces had jointly taken possession, and the influence which she was creating among the Greeks, to whom she gave patents of pro- tection, induced the Divan to seek again the friendship of their ancient ally ; and on the rupture between France and Russia, the French party once more predominated at Constantinople. At the instance of General 3.56 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OV Sebastiani, the Embassador of France, the Turks not only refused to renew the treaty of alliance of 1799, between Great Britain and Turkey, but threatened to prohibit Russian ships of war from passing the Bosphorus. The questions also res}3ecting Moldavia and Wallachia were again revived ; but the Emperor Alexander, unwilling to wait the slow progress of the negociation which had been commenced, ordered his troops to occupy Moldavia ; and in De- cember 1806 they defeated the Turkish army at Groda, after a sanguinary battle, and entered Bucharest. Mr. Arbuthnot had, in the autumn of 1806, communicated the state of affairs to Lord Collingwood, who immediately despatched Sir Thomas Louis with a squadron of three sail of the line. He proceeded to Constantinople in the Ca- nopus, leaving the Thunderer and Standard off the Dardanelles ; and the first appear- ance of this force excited so much appre- hension in the Turkish Government, that the English Minister had brought the ne- gociations to a favourable conclusion by the restoration of the Hospodars of Wallachia and Moldavia, when the news of the de- struction of the Prussian army at Jena LOKD COLLINGAVOOD. 357 arrived, and with it a return of all the former difficulties. On Mr. Grenville's appointment to the situation of First Lord of the Admiralty, he stated to Lord Collingwood, that " the de- " taching of the squadron under Sir Thomas " Louis had in a great measure anticipated " the wishes of the King's Government, and " that the promptitude and judgment with " which that step had been taken could not " but be highly satisfactory to His Majesty." It was, however, still considered advisable to increase the English force at Constantinople to at least five ships of the line ; and Mr. Grenville directed that the command of this squadron should be given to Sir John Duck- worth, assigning as his reason the proba- bility that Lord Collingwood's attention " would be very much occupied by the force " of the enemy at Cadiz and Carthagena, " since the evident interest which they must " have in the endeavour to get out some " force to Spanish America, (then assailed " by the expedition under Sir H. Popham), " made it probable that they would run " very considerable risk rather than abandon " that pressing object." Lord Collingwood, although he considered the positive nomi- 358 CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMOIR OF nation of a junior officer to this service as unusual, and had been for a time uncertain whether he would not proceed himself in command of this expedition, determined to contribute by all the means in his power to its success, and increased by two additional ships the force appointed by the Admiralty. " The circumstance," says Mr. Grenville, in a letter dated March 2, 1807, " of your " having augmented the force destined for " Constantinojile to eight sail, will un- " doubtedly render that measure more prac- " ticable ; and if you are still strong enough " to watch Cadiz, and to keep as close an " eye upon Toulon as I particularly recom- " mended in my last letter, affording at the " same time the necessary protection to Si- " cily, and the projected detachments from " thence, much will undoubtedly have been " done with the force in the Mediter- " ranean." Again, on the 11th May, 1807, that Gentleman, on quitting the Admiralty, observes : " I cannot deny myself the plea- " sure of acknowledging how much I have " felt myself indebted to you for the at- " tention and confidence with which you " have been so good as to communicate with " me while I was at the Admiralty. Had I LORD COLLINGWOOD. 359 " remained there, I should have thought it " my particular duty to have expressed to " you the entire satisfaction which I had " felt in the orders and arrangements made " by you for the service of the Dardanelles, " and for that of Alexandria ; to both of " which you had supplied all that could " contribute to their success." Lord Collingwood despatched Sir John Duckworth with the following instructions, having been directed in Mr. Grenville's letter " to leave much to the discretion of " that able officer." Jannarij 13, 1807. Should Mr. Arbuthnot inform you that it is his opinion that hostilities should commence, having previously taken all possible precautions for the safety of that Minister and the persons attached to his mission, and having disposed the squadron under your orders in such stations as may compel compliance, you are to demand the surrender of the Turkish fleet, together with a supply of naval stores from the arsenal sufficient for its complete equipment, which demand you are to accompany with a menace of immediate destruction to the town. 360 CORRKSPONDEXCE AND ME:\rOIR OF At this crisis, should any negociation on the subject be pro})osed by the Turkish Go- vernment, as such proposal will probably be to gain time for preparing their resistance, or securing their ships, I would recommend that no negociation should be continued for more than half an hour ; and in the event of an absolute refusal, you are either to can- nonade the town, or attack the fleet, wher- ever it may be. The force which is appointed for this service is greater than was originally in- tended, as it was expected that the Russians from Corfu would be ready to co-operate with you : but as its success depends upon the promptitude with which it is executed, I have judged it proper (that no delay may arise from their squadron not joining) to increase your force by two ships. I have, however, written to Admiral Siniavin, to request him to detach four ships, with orders to put themselves under your com- mand ; and that you may be possessed of all the force that can be applied to the important service, and your immediate di- rection, you are hereby authorised to call from the coast of Sicily whatever can be spared, as well as the despatch-vessels at I>ORD COLLINGWOOD. 361 Malta : but as little more naval force is at Sicily than is absolutely necessary for its defence, and for the convoy which may be wanted for the troops, a strict regard must be had that that island be not left in a weak state of defence The English Government had deter- mined, in the event of a war with Turkey, to occupy Alexandria, in order to prevent the cession of Egypt to France, which was supposed to be a principal object of the intrigues of General Sebastiani. To this service Lord Collingwood appointed Captain Hallowell, of H. M. S. Tigre, and directed him to prepare a number of transport ships, capable of receiving 7000 troops, with their stores and baggage ; so that they might sail within twelve hours after the order for their embarkation. " Your experience on that " coast," he observes, " and extensive know- " ledge of the country and its inhabitants, " will facilitate the critical operations to be " carried on there. 1 have observed to you " that great secrecy is necessary in the pre- " paration of the convoy which is intended " for the troops, that no clue may be given " to discover their destination. This ne- VOL. I. B B 362 CORRESPONDENCE, &C. cessity will be obvious to you when I inform you that I have reason to suspect that an improper correspondence is main- tained with France by persons in the confidence of the Sicilian Court, and that your measures in preparation will be communicated to the enemy. This cor- respondence is said to be carried on in small boats to Marseilles, which you are to direct the ships cruising to endeavour to intercept." END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LONDON: J. MOVES, took's court, chascerv lavb. AA lliii iiilliliiiiiiliililiiiiiillliiili 000 888 371 2 CENTRAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY University of California, San Diego DATE DUE CI 39 UCSD Libr.