Henry Raikes

DISAPPOINTMENT OF PROMOTION.—APPLIES TO LORD ST. VINCENT, AND THROUGH HIM APPOINTED CAPTAIN TO THE CÆSAR, UNDER SIR JAMES SAUMAREZ.—BATTLE AT ALGESIRAS.—EXERTIONS OF CAPTAIN BRENTON IN REFITTING THE CÆSAR, AND SUBSEQUENT VICTORY.—TEMPTING OFFER OF GOING TO ENGLAND WITH DISPATCHES DECLINED.—DEFINITIVE TREATY OF PEACE SIGNED.—SQUADRON AT GIBRALTAR.

On the 14th of June Captain Brenton being superseded by Captain Dixon, left Genoa in the Culloden for Minorca, on his way to join his ship at Gibraltar, and from Mahon proceeded to Gibraltar in the Mondovi. On his arrival at Gibraltar he had the mortification to find the Souverein had been paid off, in consequence of an altercation between Lord Wm. Stuart and the Commissioner; and he received orders to return to England on half pay. The disappointment was the more severe, as Captain Brenton had been assured by Lord Keith, that the Souverein was to be considered as a stepping stone to Post rank; and that every vacancy in a Post ship was to be filled up from her, consequently that the last made Post Captain would always have that appointment. He was also well aware of the difficulty which existed in England of getting employed from half pay; that it was only those that were in the stream that were carried along with it; whilst many officers, who had gained their promotion by a succession of gallant achievements, were passing their days in helpless indolence. They had got into the eddy, and had the mortification of seeing those whom they had left far behind, bringing up the breeze, and passing by them.

This was particularly the case with the greater part of the first lieutenants of line of battle-ships, promoted after general actions. They had received the rank of Commander with the delight so natural to the attainment of such a step: but wanting interest to obtain a command, they were soon forgotten; and many had to regret that they had gained their promotion.

Captain Brenton embarked in the Anson from Gibraltar, in July; and in crossing the Bay of Biscay they fell in with the Louisa, armed brig, on her way to join Earl St. Vincent, who had now the command of the channel fleet, and was cruizing off Brest, with his flag in the Royal George. Captain Brenton availed himself of this opportunity of seeing his kind-hearted and noble chief again, to whom he was so truly indebted for relieving him from a situation, in which he felt himself disgraced; and for bringing him on, step by step, to that situation in his profession, from which he could only rise farther by seniority. He accordingly left the Anson, and in a few days after came in sight of the fleet. He was received by Earl St. Vincent with the warmest regard, who not only sincerely congratulated him upon his promotion, of which indeed he had himself been the cause, but thanked him in the most flattering terms for the conduct which had led to it. He then said, “I will now give you a letter to Lord Spencer, requesting him to give you a ship, and should he not do so immediately, I desire you to join me in Torbay without loss of time. I shall be there in the course of a week, when I shall expect to see you, unless you receive an appointment.” He then wrote to Lord Spencer in the strongest terms, recommending Captain Brenton for immediate employment; adverting to the circumstance of his having gained both his Commander’s and his Post commission in action with the enemy.

Captain Brenton arrived the following day at Plymouth, and proceeded to London, where he delivered his letter to Lord Spencer. His lordship holding out no hopes of immediate employment, Captain Brenton set out for Portsmouth, with the intention of proceeding to Torbay by the first ship going thither. He accordingly went on board the Prince of Wales, Sir Robert Calder’s flag ship; and soon found himself on board the Ville de Paris, with his noble patron. His situation here was of an extraordinary description, and not without some degree of unpleasantness. The officers were, many of them, those who had been his messmates in the same ship, previously to his being made a commander out of her into the Speedy. They considered, and justly, that he had already had his share of promotion; and were apprehensive that his coming back to serve as a volunteer, might interfere with some vacancy to which they might be looking. This was a feeling very naturally to be expected, and for which every allowance should be made; whilst even as regarded the captain of the fleet, and the captain of the ship, he did not feel quite certain that they might approve a nondescript officer, although in their conduct they shewed only the kindest attention.

With these feelings upon his mind, Captain Brenton walking the deck one morning with the Admiral, said to him, “My lord, I do not like this kind of life; I have no business of my own to do.” His lordship answered, “I have been thinking you would not—and it has struck me that I might give you the Joseph cutter, commanded by Lieutenant Lapenotiere; that you might visit the in-shore squadron; and so give you an introduction to Sir James Saumarez, the commodore. You might there amuse yourself by making observations on the French coast; and when tired of your excursion, you may rejoin me either here or off Ushant, or in Torbay as it may be; as I mean to bear up for that place, with the first westerly gale.”

Captain Brenton was delighted with the plan, and joyfully accepted it. It was not only agreeable in every point of view at the time, but in the end it led to the most beneficial results, as regarded his professional life, by leading to his appointment as the flag captain of that great and good man, the late Lord de Saumarez. He was received with the utmost kindness by Sir James; and having passed some days in the squadron, landing occasionally upon the islands off Brest; he returned to the Ville de Paris, just as a gale of wind was springing up, and on the following day the fleet anchored in Torbay.

Lord St. Vincent always resided while on shore at Torr Abbey, and having introduced Captain Brenton to Mr. Carey, the hospitable master of the mansion, he became one of the family for some weeks. A great naval promotion being at this time expected, Lord St. Vincent made it a particular request, that Sir James Saumarez should be included in it, and have his flag flying in the CÆsar, as one of the junior admirals in the channel fleet. He at the same time wrote to Sir James, informing him of his having made this application; and requesting, in the event of its being successful, that he would have Captain Brenton appointed as his captain. This Sir James most kindly and readily granted; and on the 1st January, 1800, Captain Brenton received his commission for the CÆsar, and joined her at Spithead a few days after.

In February they proceeded to Torbay, and from thence Sir James resumed his station off Brest. This was a most arduous service in winter time, when the gales from the westward came on so suddenly, and with so much violence, that it was scarcely possible to clear the land. The Black Rocks however lost much of their terrors upon Sir James Saumarez resorting to the anchorage in Douanenez bay, which he did in the preceding November; convinced that the enemy would not dare to attack him there, from the apprehension that the British fleet might come over from the opposite coast, either during or after the attack; in which case the whole of their attacking force, with whatever ships they might have captured, would fall into our hands. It is true it required much nerve to run for the Cul de Sac in a heavy gale, with mortar batteries crossing each other from the Bec du Rez, and the Bec du Chevre; and with a shoal in the centre of the entrance. The master of the CÆsar however was a very skilful man, and an excellent pilot. He unhesitatingly took the charge, and anchored the squadron in the eastern part of the bay, just without the range of the shells from the batteries, and with only one point of the compass open to the sea. Upon the last occasion the squadron consisted of six sail of the line, and a frigate. The gale lasted three days, and upon its subsiding, Sir James left his anchorage, and resumed his station off the Black Rocks, having his ships and crews refreshed by the repose he had procured them, instead of being crippled and exhausted by being continually exposed to a heavy sea.

In the month of April a cutter joined the fleet, bringing a weekly newspaper of extraordinary importance, in which was included Lord Nelson’s destruction of the Danish block ships at Copenhagen, and the landing of the British army in Egypt, with the subsequent victories. The Admiral directed that it should be read to the ship’s company, who were accordingly assembled for the purpose, and gave three hearty cheers on hearing the news.

In the latter end of May Sir James was ordered into Plymouth, to take the command of a squadron about to assemble there for a particular service; to the great joy of every officer and man on board the CÆsar, who were heartily tired of the blockade of Brest; and who were elated with the hope, of at length seeing more active service. The squadron assembled in Cawsand bay, consisting of the CÆsar and PompÉe of eighty guns, with the Hannibal, Audacious, and Spencer of seventy-four guns each. They sailed from Plymouth on the 15th of June, and reached Lisbon four days afterwards; and having sent in despatches to the British ambassador, continued their course for Cadiz, where they arrived in the latter end of June. On the 5th of July the first battle of Algesiras took place, as detailed in the following official letter.

The manner in which the interval between this action and that which succeeded it within a week’s distance, was passed, must be described by the subject of this Memoir himself. He says, “On the CÆsar anchoring at Gibraltar after this disastrous affair, the Admiral sent me on shore, to communicate with the Governor, (General O’Hara), who expressed much regret at the fate of the day, but was truly sensible of the efforts that had been made to ensure success.

“Before my return on board, the Admiral had retired to his cot, and in a state of mind which may be easily conceived by those to whom his character was known; so sensitive, and at the same time so devoted, to his country. He felt most keenly the apprehension that the important service, for which he had been despatched from England, might be frustrated by the unfortunate, and totally unexpected termination of the attack. On the following morning, he sent me with a flag of truce to the French Admiral at Algesiras, who on my boat coming within range of his guns, threw a shot over us. I immediately laid upon my oars, as a boat with a corresponding flag of truce was seen pulling towards me. On coming within hail, the French officer demanded what was the object of my mission; but I declined delivering it to any but Admiral Linois himself. I was then requested to wait until the officer could obtain further orders. He soon returned with directions for the CÆsar’s boat to follow to the Formidable, the French flag ship. Here I was received by a guard, forming a double line from the gangway to the cabin door; and when in the cabin, I was enclosed in a circle of officers, in the centre of which stood the Admiral. I then delivered my message from the British Admiral; which was, that an exchange of prisoners might immediately take place, which M. Linois declined; on the ground of requiring authority for such a measure from the Minister of marine, at Paris. I then requested that the officers of the Hannibal should be sent over on parole, which was acceded to, and I withdrew; the French Admiral conducting me to the gangway, in the same manner as I had entered the ship; begging that I would request the Admiral, that on any further communication he might have to make to him, it should not be by an officer of rank, but by a ‘petit midshipman.’ It was evident that M. Linois was unwilling that the crippled state of his ship should be too minutely observed; and hence the arrangement of the guard and officers, which effectually screened the internal state of the ship from observation; but I was amply indemnified by seeing the outward damages, which could not be concealed.

“On my return the CÆsar had warped into the Mole, and was proceeding to strike the masts. Both mainmast and foremast had been severely wounded, the former so much so, as to be unfit for service; and the foremast required extensive fishing. All the wounded were sent to the hospital; and the killed in the squadron sent on shore for burial. The funeral of the officers—the masters of the CÆsar and PompÉe, and a midshipman of the latter, who were buried with the honours of war, formed a most imposing and affecting spectacle, from the great number of troops drawn out upon the occasion, and from the whole population of the rock being spectators.”

On the 9th day of July, three days after the battle of Algesiras, the Superb, and Thames, were seen under a crowd of sail, steering through the straits of Gibraltar; and soon after the Spanish squadron of six sail of the line, was observed in pursuit of them. The British ships anchored in Gibraltar bay, and the enemy hauled their wind for Algesiras, where they anchored with the French squadron, evidently with a view of conveying them round to Cadiz. Sir James Saumarez convinced that such was the intention, at once decided upon attacking them with four ships, as it was considered utterly impossible for either the PompÉe or CÆsar to be in readiness. He sent for Captain Brenton into his cabin, and informing him of the resolution he had come to, directed that his flag should forthwith be shifted into the Audacious, and that the crews of the CÆsar and PompÉe should be distributed amongst the other ships. Captain Brenton acknowledged the expediency of the flag being shifted, and the probability that the CÆsar would not be refitted in time to receive it again, before the enemy left Algesiras; but requested the Admiral to permit him to make the effort, by keeping his people on board, until the enemy were seen to be getting under sail, to which Sir James consented.

Captain Brenton turning the hands up, informed the crew of the Admiral’s intention, and called upon them to use every exertion to put their ship in a state to bear their Admiral’s flag again into battle, should the enemy give them an opportunity. An universal cry was heard of all hands, “All night and all day.” This however Captain Brenton would not permit; but he employed the whole ship’s company, from four in the morning until eight in the evening; of the remaining eight hours, each watch was alternately allowed four of repose. He alone slept not, for his active mind, and ardent disposition, were wound up to the highest pitch of excitement; and he has been heard himself to describe, the overwhelming sense of sleep and weariness, by which he was overcome, when these exertions were happily terminated.

By the most strenuous efforts of every individual concerned, on the morning of the 12th the new mainmast had been got in and rigged, and the other damages in some measure repaired. We extract a few more particulars from Captain Brenton’s note, “A great, though not a visible progress,” he says, “was soon made; indeed the latter circumstance was avoided as much as possible, in order to prevent the enemy supposing that any attack was intended. The following day was an arduous one, and on Saturday the 11th, so much appeared yet to be done, that the Admiral, who had never been very sanguine in the hope of having the CÆsar ready, again urged me to send the people away, lest they should suffer so much from fatigue, that they might become unfit for the exertions, they would be called upon to make, in the action about to take place. He added, “you now have done all in your power; you must make up your mind to the disappointment.” I replied, “you are now going on shore to dine at the Governor’s; excuse my attending you, and if, when you return on board in the evening, the ship is not ready, I promise to have the people all ready for distribution, when you give the orders.” To this the Admiral consented, and went on shore. It became now necessary rather to shew progress, than to conceal it; the top gallant yards were accordingly got up, and the yards crossed, and sails bent, before the different parts of the rigging were in the order necessary for getting under weigh. The Admiral on his return was delighted at what he saw, and relinquished all idea of removing into the Audacious.”

The enemy at the same time were in movement in Algesiras bay. By two o’clock p.m. the CÆsar warped out of the Mole, and was at the same time employed in bending sails, setting up rigging, filling powder, receiving stores of every description from boats alongside, and preparing for battle; the band on the poop playing, “Cheer up my lads,” which was answered by a regimental band on the Mole, with “Britons, strike home.” The animation of this scene cannot be described, but the recollection of it must have continued vivid in the breast of the chief mover of these heroic exertions. The scene no doubt was peculiar, and the impressions left by it can be more easily conceived than described, when the two squadrons, occupying their respective sides of a small bay, separated from each other by a distance of only four miles, were mutually engaged in preparations for combat. Thousands of spectators, occupied the surrounding hills and shores; the sea was covered with the numerous boats employed by the ships of war. And the general excitement which every where reigned, can only be imagined; as well as the feelings of Captain Brenton, when he made the signal of being ready for service, and again received the flag of his respected and gallant Admiral.

It was almost one of the latest efforts of Captain Brenton’s pencil to recall the triumphant moment of the CÆsar warping out of the Mole, under the circumstances which have been described. He has often expressed the powerful excitement, which even the recollection of this period occasioned; and he never could give the narrative, even to the latest period of his life, without the most thrilling sensation. The particulars of the action will be found in the following official dispatch, and the results which followed these exertions must be given in the language of the letter in which Sir James Saumarez communicated his victory.

The following circumstances not being mentioned in the official dispatch are taken from Captain Brenton’s notes. “At eight o’clock the Venerable made the signal for being on a shoal, and her foremast was seen to go over her side. Sir James ordered me to proceed to her in my gig; and to give directions to Captain Hood, not to run any risk of losing his men, but to abandon the ship, and burn her if necessary; as the whole remaining ships of the enemy were approaching from the westward, whilst the Superb, Spencer, and Audacious were still at a considerable distance to the southward. The Thames frigate was at the same time ordered to close with the Venerable, to be in readiness to receive her men. As I approached, her mizen mast fell, and she was still striking hard upon the shoal, completely dismasted. On reaching the quarter deck, I found Captain Hood sitting upon a gun, surrounded by his little midshipmen, who were looking earnestly at the gallant Captain, with a view of ascertaining how he would act in the extremity in which he was placed. Having heard my message, he said, ‘I hope the Venerable is not so far gone yet, but we may save her; but tell the Admiral to let the Thames stay by me, and I will take care she does not get into the enemy’s hands.’ The Venerable was got off by the great exertions of Captain Hood.”

Captain Brenton again speaks for himself, he says, “The Admiral informed me that it was his intention to commit the dispatches of this glorious victory to my charge, to be conveyed to England, and directed me to prepare for my immediate departure; but I was impressed with a very strong expectation, that the struggle was not yet over, but that Gantheaume might be hourly expected through the straits, and consequently that another action might ensue. I therefore resisted the temptation, which this most flattering mission held out to me, and requested that I might be permitted to remain in charge of my ship. The Admiral in consequence sent home his flag lieutenant with the account of the action, and the squadron proceeded to Gibraltar to repair their damages, and to be again in readiness for an action which few doubted would take place.” The whole merit, and self denial, and patriotism of this decision, can only be made evident when the fact is stated, that the object of Captain Brenton’s early and constant affections, was at this precise time expected in England with her brother. It is a singular circumstance that the first news Miss Stewart heard upon her arrival in England related to the battles of Algesiras.

Captain Brenton’s memoirs referring to this period, continues to be full of interesting details. “The rock of Gibraltar had as picturesque an appearance on the return of the little squadron, as it shewed on the day of their departure. Every battery, or pinnacle of rock, which overhung the bay, was crowded with spectators, all cheering and waving hats and handkerchiefs. The acclamations mingled with a royal salute from the batteries (congratulatory to majesty) re-echoed over the bay, and the Admiral’s landing was most triumphant. He was received, as was most justly his due, in the most distinguished, I may add, the most affectionate manner. All who had witnessed his gallantry and devoted conduct in the preceding week, and felt for his misfortune, now sincerely rejoiced in the change. They considered that defeat had never existed; but that the action began on the 6th, and had been kept up, with inexhaustible energy through the week, terminating on the 13th with complete success. The ships were soon refitted, as none but the Venerable had received much damage.

“On visiting the hospital on my tour of duty a few days after the battle, I observed a poor fellow, belonging to the Audacious, who had lost both his arms, above the elbow. He was quite cheerful, and evidently rapidly recovering. I asked what were his wishes for the future; whether to be sent to Greenwich Hospital, or to have a pension for life, in the place of his nativity. He replied, ‘I hope, your honour, it is not so bad with me yet; I know the cook of the ——; he has lost both his arms; but there is not a handier fellow in the fleet.’

“On the day on which the CÆsar left the Mole, as I have mentioned, for the purpose of attacking the combined squadron, and while lying to, off Europa point; a small boat was seen, with two men in white dresses, pulling off to the ship; and on coming alongside they proved to be two of the CÆsar’s crew, who had been wounded at Algesiras, and sent to the hospital. Having applied to the surgeon for permission to return on board; and being refused on account of their wounds being still under cure, they actually ran away in their hospital garb, and finding a boat on the beach, took possession, and pulled off to join their Commander.”

When a ship’s company was actuated by such a spirit, it was hardly possible to doubt of the success that would attend them; but it may be well to bear in mind, that the spirit which secured this victory was formed previous to the crisis in which it was needed, and the hour of action in which it was exhibited; and that attachment to the individuals by whom they were led, and confidence in their commanders, added this extraordinary character of vigor to the natural energy and courage of the men.

Officers who would wish to have around them, in the day of action, or in the hour of great exertions, a crew like that of the CÆsar, must be known among their people as Sir James De Saumarez and Captain Brenton were; must secure affection by shewing it, and by kindness and attention must win the hearts of those who are to be the means of their success, or the instruments of their preservation.

In the latter end of August Sir James Saumarez resumed the blockade of Cadiz, but was soon after superseded in his command by Vice Admiral Sir Charles Pole, to whom he became second in command. Thus he remained until the news arrived of the definitive treaty of peace having been signed; when Sir Charles returned to England; and the squadron again under Sir James Saumarez took up their anchorage for the winter at Gibraltar. They had frequent intercourse with the Spaniards at this time, and Captain Brenton took an early opportunity of enquiring after his gallant antagonist, Captain Suadeville, who commanded the gun boats in their attack upon the Speedy, in November, 1799, which, if his conduct had been as faithfully supported by others as it shewed enterprize on his part, might have been attended with other results. The Governor sent for him, and a cordial meeting was the consequence.