Every Man Will Do His Duty (40 page)

ON OCTOBER
30, 1808, the
Caesar
got under way, and we joined the Channel fleet off Ushant, now under the command of Lord Gambier, consisting of:
Caledonia
(Lord Gambier, Capt. William Bedford), 120 guns;
Royal George,
100;
St. George,
98;
Dreadnought,
98;
Temeraire,
98;
Caesar
(Capt. Charles Richardson), 80;
Achilles
(Sir Richard King), 74;
Triumph,
74;
Dragon,
74.

NOVEMBER 15TH.
—A strong gale of wind came on from the westward, which caused us all to bear up for Torbay, and while lying there our crew got afflicted with ophthalmia; it began at the right eye and went out at the left, and continued near a week and then left us.

27TH.
—The wind having come to the north-east we got under way with fleet and got off Ushant again, but next day shifted to the westward, blew a storm, and drove us back to Torbay again.

DECEMBER 8.—
The wind got to the north-east again; got under way and got off Ushant, but the wind increasing and continuing for several days drove the fleet a long way to the westward.

On the 22nd our signal was made to proceed to Rochefort and relieve the
Gibraltar.
It blew so hard that we bore away and scudded under our foresail. Next day, in setting the close-reefed maintopsail, it still blowing hard, rain and hail, it blew to pieces; sounded frequently in eighty fathoms. A grampus has been following the ship these last twenty-four hours.

DECEMBER
25.—Saw Sables d’Olonne lighthouse on the French coast, and, in working up along the shore towards Rochefort, the next day at noon we saw eight sail of the enemy’s merchant vessels coming down along the shore before the wind, and we put our ships about to cut them off; and now followed a specimen of our captain’s abilities.

As we stood in, with the weather moderate, we fired a great many shot, which caused six of them to bring to; but the other two ran on shore among the breakers and soon went to pieces. We now lowered down the quarter and stern boats to take possession of the remaining six, but in the hurry and confusion the captain hurried them away without any arms or ammunition to defend themselves. As the ship was near the land, we wore her round with her head to the offing and maintopsail aback; as she increased her distance gradually, which a ship will do although her maintopsail be aback, the enemy perceived it, and one of them being armed with about fifty soldiers on board took her station so as to prevent our boats from boarding the others. What was to be done? Our people had no arms or ammunition, so they adopted the wisest plan, and that was to return to the ship for some. The enemy, seeing this, bore away before the wind, and off they ran, and before our boats had reached the ship they had run so far to leeward that any idea of following them was given up, and they made their escape like birds getting free from the fowler.

I never in all my life saw such confusion as was in our ship at the time: the captain was driving the people about from one place to another; one of my crew, named Andrew Gilman, in firing one of the guns, was so flurried that he did not observe a samson post
¹
up behind him; the gun recoiled and killed him against it.

During the time of wearing the ship a boat had been hoisted up off the booms to be got out, but was left hanging in the stay tackles and cut a fine caper during the time, swinging about from one side to the other, until some of the people lowered her down of their own accord: had Sir Richard Strachan been in the ship at the time he certainly would have gone mad. And thus ended as lubberly a piece of business as ever was heard of, and to have six merchantmen almost under the muzzle of our guns and then let them all escape, beats everything!

Next day we ran into Basque Roads, but our ships were not there; saw the French squadron lying at the Ile d’Aix; as usual they fired a great many guns, but whether they were exercising their crews, or for some victory by land, we could not tell. So we sailed out again, and met the
Aigle
frigate, who informed us that our squadron was cruising forty miles to the northwest of this place.

On the first day of this important year [1809] we joined them, consisting of the
Defiance
(Captain Hotham senior officer), with the
Donegal
and
Gibraltar,
and soon after ran into Basque Roads and there came to anchor; the
Gibraltar
shared out her provisions among us and then sailed for England. The French ships continue to fire many guns, and we suppose they are exercising their people to fire well.

JANUARY
7.—This morning we saw a square-rigged vessel at sea and coming in before the wind right toward us. The
Donegal
lay inside, the
Defiance
in the centre, and ours the outside ship, and we made sure of taking a prize. Our captain (I suppose to make up for his late bad conduct) ordered me to get three of the main-deck guns shotted and pointed as far ahead as possible, and then go into the magazine and be ready to supply him with powder, all which was readily done, as if something extraordinary was to be performed; but he soon made as great a blunder as before, for before the vessel got within gunshot he began to fire, and the captain of the vessel, judging from this that we were enemies, altered his course and ran her on shore near the town of St. Marie’s.

The boats of the squadron, manned and armed, immediately went after her; but by the time they got near, the beach was covered with troops and they had to return without performing anything. Thus we lost another prize; and she must have been of some value, as we heard afterwards that she was a West-Indiaman. Well might the
Defiance’s
people ask ours, when alongside in a boat soon afterwards, if we were friends to the French!

19TH.
—Foggy weather. Observed a chasse-maree near to us; hoisted French colours and decoyed her alongside, to the utter surprise of the poor
Frenchmen. Thus we got a prize at last, though of little value. In the evening saw a brig coming in, and the boats of our squadron went in pursuit of her. She ran on shore, and our people boarded, but could not get her off. Several shot were fired at them from the shore, but no harm done.

22ND
.—Strong wind at south, and rain. Saw another French brig coming in, who, on discovering us, made off. In the afternoon another came in, and in passing fired three shot at her, and brought her to. She hoisted cartel colours, and proved to be the
Elizabeth
of London, with a hundred and forty of Junot’s soldiers on board from Lisbon. Let her go to proceed to Rochefort, according to the Articles of Capitulation. They reported to us that the English had obtained a great victory in Spain.
²

2
7TH.—
Got under way with the squadron, stood out to sea, then rounded Baleines Lighthouse and came to anchor in the Breton Passage in
16½
fathoms. Next morning got under way and stood out to sea, where we met the
Indefatigable
frigate with dispatches, and were informed that Rear-Admiral Stopford was coming out to take the command, and would hoist his flag on board the
Caesar.
This news pleased us much, as we wanted a commander of such gallant abilities and knowledge.

29TH AND 30TH.—
Met a convoy of victuallers, but the weather was so stormy these two days that we could get nothing out of them.

FEBRUARY
2.—Ran into Basque Roads, and there came to anchor. Five of the victuallers came in, and we got two of them alongside and cleared them of 119 tons of water. Then arrived more victuallers, and next day the
Naiad
frigate drove a brig on shore near St. Marie’s laden with brandy; but the surf soon destroyed her, and our boats chased a sloop on shore laden with prunes near the Breton batteries.

The enemy’s squadron fired a great many guns to-day, and had their shops dressed with colours—the English ensign undermost, and the Union downwards. What daring fellows!

15TH.—
This morning we saw two men hung at the yardarm of two of the enemy’s line-of-battle ships.

The
Calcutta,
formerly a British 50-gun ship, had the English ensign hung Union downwards under her bowsprit, we supposed to insult us; yet
they durst not venture to meet us, although they were superior in force. However, we paid them well for their audaciousness soon after. In the evening Rear-Admiral Stopford arrived in the
Amethyst
frigate.

Next morning the rear-admiral came on board and hoisted his flag on board the
Caesar,
bringing with him two lieutenants, a captain of marines, a chaplain, a secretary and his clerk, two master’s mates, nine midshipmen, his coxswain and a band, and two live bullocks, which were very acceptable, as we have not tasted fresh beef this long time.

19TH.
—Being Sabbath day, a church was rigged out and divine service performed on board the
Caesar
for the first time since I had belonged to her. The Rev. Mr. Jones, the chaplain, preached an excellent sermon. The ship’s crew were very devout and attentive. The rear-admiral was on his knees at prayer time; but it was funny enough to see our captain, how fidgety he was: he neither sat nor stood, and was as unsteady as a weathercock. Some of our nobs thought that a man could not be a good seaman without swearing, but the admiral let them know the contrary. In the afternoon we saw some chasse-marées stealing along shore, and sent the boats of the squadron after them; they captured two, one laden with rye and the other with Sardinian, a fish like dried herrings. The whole was shared out to the squadron and the vessels broken up for firewood, as their condemnation in England would have cost more than they were worth.

21ST.
—The wind having come from the east, we got under way, and anchored outside of Baleines Lighthouse for fear the Brest fleet should slip out and come this way, and which they actually did, as will be seen presently. Among some prisoners taken a young man named Bordo (son of our French pilot of that name) was brought on board, and great was their joy in meeting each other again; but it did not last long, for in the evening they got drunk and fighting with each other, and the cause was that the father had married an Englishwoman. We had two more French pilots on board (both of them emigrants), one named Le Cam and the other Cameron, and although they had emigrated together they could never agree, and had separate messes. Cameron messed with me at first, but finding him a two-faced fellow I turned him off.

23RD.
—Arrived the
Emerald
frigate from England with five live bullocks for the squadron, and exercised great guns and small arms at ten in the evening. Observed the
Amazon,
which was looking out in the north-west direction, letting off rockets, so we got the squadron under way to get near her; on meeting they told us they had seen nine sail of large ships coming
along shore from the eastward, and steering for Basque Roads; we ordered her astern to inform the
Defiance
and
Donegal
of it, and to tell them to join us with all speed, and then prepared our ship for battle.

We had previously heard of a French squadron of frigates full of stores and ready to slip out of L’Orient for the West Indies, but they were blockaded by four sail of the line under Commodore Beresford; however, we thought they might have stolen out, and were coming this way to join the Rochefort squadron—we therefore crowded all sail to cut them off, and at midnight got sight of them.

It then fortunately for us fell a calm, which made us uneasy lest they should escape; but at dawn a breeze sprang up, and we steered right for them. But judge of our surprise as the daylight appeared to find they were the Brest fleet, eight sail of the line, and one of them a three-decker of 120 guns, and two of them flagships, with two frigates accompanying them! They were going to Basque Roads thinking to catch us there, but thanks to Heaven they were too late, as we were on different tacks. We continued our course and fetched into their wake, then put about and followed them; if they had begun to chase us we must have been obliged to run, for what could our three sail of the line do against such a force? But strange to say they never seemed to interrupt us; perhaps they thought we were not the ships that had been in Basque Roads this winter and were hastening along to catch them.

We made a signal to the
Naiad,
one of our frigates, to proceed with all haste to our Channel fleet and inform Lord Gambier of the French fleet being here; but before she got hull down she made the signal that another squadron of the enemy was in sight, and coming toward us, which made some on board think we were now caught at last. However, although we had the Brest fleet, the Rochefort squadron, and the others moving down on us, thus being nearly surrounded by them, yet we kept up our spirits, being determined to fight to the last rather than be taken.

As our admiral knew we could not cope with the Brest fleet, we altered our course to meet those that were coming, and as we drew near found them to be three large French frigates followed by the
Amelia
English frigate and
Dotterel
brig. We got so near that I thought it impossible for them to escape our clutches, and they, seeing their danger, ran in under the batteries of Sables d’Olonne, and there let go their anchors and prepared for battle.

As the wind was now blowing towards the land rear-admiral Stopford thought it very improper to come to anchor on a lee shore to fight, but made the signal to prepare to do it with springs on the cables; but the
Defiance,
mistaking the signal, ran in and came to anchor. As she swung round
the frigates and batteries cut her severely, so that she was soon obliged to cut her cable and come out again.

Her fore-topsail yard was shot away, her sails and rigging much cut up, and two men killed and twenty-five wounded; however, all the time she was in she behaved gallantly. Hundreds of French people were seen standing on the quays looking at us as we went in, but as soon as we opened our fire they dispersed in an instant. We and the
Donegal
kept under way and as close in shore as the water would admit, and in passing on each tack fired at the frigates, and soon sent them to the bottom; we had not a man hurt, thank God, but were hit by shot from them several times; one went into the bowsprit and another through the jibboom. The
Donegal
had one killed and six wounded.