Henry Raikes

ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND, AND APPLICATION TO THE ADMIRALTY.—KINDNESS OF THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY, MR. GRENVILLE.—COURT MARTIAL, ACQUITTAL, AND APPOINTMENT TO THE SPARTAN.—SAILS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.—ESCAPE FROM CAPTURE.—BOAT ACTION WITH ITS UNFORTUNATE RESULT, AND COURT OF ENQUIRY ORDERED BY LORD COLLINGWOOD.

“The day after our arrival at Dartmouth, as my beloved Isabella required repose, after the fatigue and anxiety she had so long been exposed to, I left her at Upton, near Brixham, with our kind and hospitable friend, Mrs. Cutler;[12] and proceeded to London, in order to make my appearance at the Admiralty as soon as possible. Mr. Thomas Grenville, then first Lord, received me in the most cordial manner, and asked me under existing circumstances how the Admiralty could best shew their sympathy for my misfortunes, and their approbation of my conduct. I replied that I was not aware of any thing their Lordships could do, until my court martial for the loss of the Minerve, should have taken place. Mr. Grenville replied, this had also been his apprehension, but he was at a loss to know how the court martial could be held, since the officers being all prisoners in France, no adequate witnesses could be found. I observed, that I knew many of the seamen and marines had made their escape, and might probably be found serving in some of His Majesty’s ships. A doubt still remained, whether the evidence of these men without that of any officer, would be deemed sufficient. Mr. Grenville however placed me in the hands of the clerk of the Record office, desiring I should have access to any documents I might wish to examine. After travelling through many folios, I discovered the case of Captain Craycroft, who in the preceding war had been captured by the French, and whose witnesses upon his court martial were, the surgeon and a midshipman. I immediately communicated this, by a message, to Mr. Grenville. His answer was, ‘Good, try again:’ and soon after, the case of Captain Brey, of the Hound, on whose trial a midshipman and a boatswain’s mate only appeared, was deemed conclusive by Mr. Grenville. An order was immediately issued by the Admiralty to all the commanders in chief on the home stations for an enquiry to be made in the ships under their respective commands, for any men who had been captured in the Minerve, and might have made their escape from France; and that in the event of any such being found, they should be immediately sent to the flag ship, at Portsmouth, and their names be reported to the Admiralty. In the course of a few days, six were reported, two boatswain’s mates, and four seamen, and marines.” The order was immediately issued for the court martial on Captain Brenton, to be held on board the Gladiator, in Portsmouth Harbour; and it is hardly necessary to add, that the sentence of the court was the honourable acquittal of the Captain of the Minerve.

Immediately after the conclusion of the court martial, Captain Brenton having obtained a copy of the sentence, proceeded forthwith to London, and waited upon Mr. Grenville, who most kindly said, “We have been quite prepared for the nature of the sentence, and I have been only waiting to receive it officially, before I should attend to rather an extraordinary request, made by a brother officer of yours, who has begged that he may be permitted to resign the command of a fine frigate, just built and fitted out, and full manned. I can now grant his request, and make you the offer of becoming his successor.” Captain Brenton’s joy may be imagined at this most gratifying instance of the First Lord’s approbation. He certainly did look forward to employment, at no very distant period; but the utmost he could expect was to have a frigate to fit out. Here was one of a superior description, all ready for immediate service. He lost no time in taking command, having joined her on the 10th February; the Spartan being then under orders to sail the moment the wind would permit, with the East India convoy.

In his private journal he says, “I left my beloved Isabella only five days before your birth, my dear Charles. I should most gladly have waited till that anxious period was over; but my ship was under sailing orders, and I left your mother under the care of the merciful Providence of Him, who never deserted her while on earth, and to whom we may now humbly and firmly hope she has gone. I had soon the happiness of knowing she was well, and thankful for this additional blessing bestowed upon us, I sailed to the Mediterranean, without one legitimate subject of anxiety; on the contrary, nothing but happiness in the retrospect, and the most cheerful prospects before me.” He adds; “A few days after I joined the Spartan, my convoy was transferred to the charge of another Captain; and the Commissioner’s yacht came alongside my ship with £700,000 in cash; and orders for me to take it immediately to Malta. Here was another act of kindness on the part of Mr. Grenville. He found in this commission an opportunity of indemnifying me for my losses and expenses in France, of which he immediately availed himself. For some time all payments to the Captains of ships of war for carrying cash had been discontinued, but it was thought proper to resume it at this period; and the Admiralty recommended to the Treasurer, this as a fit occasion. The sum of half per cent. was in consequence allowed for the future, and this gave me £1100.”

Contrary winds detained Captain Brenton at Spithead till the 2nd of March, when he sailed with a strong N.E. wind, in company with Sir Thomas Lavie, in the Blanche. The latter, being under orders to cruize on the coast of France, kept close in with the French shore, and was unfortunately wrecked the same night in the bight of Abervrach. Sir Thomas was a member of Captain Brenton’s court martial, and little thought at that time, how soon it would be his turn to succeed him as a prisoner in France. The Spartan necessarily keeping the channel course, was not exposed to this danger. She was off Lisbon on the 7th day, having orders to call off that place, but having carried away her main yard in a heavy squall, off the bar, bore up for Lisbon, sending the Lively, Captain Mackinlay, who was cruising off the coast of Portugal, to communicate with the British Minister. The Spartan had under convoy one transport laden with arms and ammunition for Sicily; the master of which, notwithstanding the most positive orders not to part company with the Spartan, bore up in the night, whilst they were laying to, waiting for daylight, off the mouth of the Tagus, and on the following night ran on shore off San Lucar, near Cadiz, although having a fair wind for Gibraltar, which was the place of rendezvous, in case of parting company by accident. The ship was soon taken possession of by the Spaniards; but before they could get even a small portion of her cargo out of her, she was boarded by the boats of the Malta, commanded by Captain Buller, and burnt. The Spartan arrived in two days after at Gibraltar, and having got a new main yard, and taken on board a small additional sum of money for Malta, proceeded to Messina, where she arrived about the middle of March. From thence she proceeded to Malta to deliver the money destined for that place, but did not go into the harbour, remaining off only a few hours, and then made sail for Palermo. At the very moment of her departure an awful event occurred at Malta. A corps, which had been raised in the Morea, and generally called the Spartan corps (the coincidence was much remarked upon as very singular) mutinied; and having got possession of the Fort Ricasoli, determined upon resistance, until such time as what they called their grievances were redressed. These were that they should be allowed to retain the lower part of their Greek dress, instead of wearing the tight trowsers so abhorrent to a Greek. They had no objection to the jacket, but they could not endure the labour of cleaning their arms, or pipe-claying their belts, &c. A Greek will be as active as any one while on actual duty, but when that is over, he considers the time his own, and is more disposed to pass it sleeping in the sun than in any other manner. These men, having seized the Fort Ricasoli, were not only determined to defend themselves, but became the assailants, and turning the mortars of the fortress towards La Valette, began throwing shells into it. Providentially having no knowledge themselves of this branch of warfare, they were obliged to compel some artillery officers whom they had made prisoners in the fortress to direct the bombardment; and these officers under the pretence of intimidation, gladly availed themselves of the opportunity of throwing the shells over the city into the quarantine harbour, which from the knowledge of the scale of the fortifications they were enabled to do with great accuracy. The shells consequently fell harmless. When the mutineers saw that such measures were taken by the General, as must insure the reduction of the fortress in a few hours, they came to the desperate resolution of drawing lots who should blow up the magazine, and who should stand at the entrance, to convey the last signal of the explosion, both of whom must necessarily perish. Those who drew the lots took their stations accordingly, and the remainder of the Greeks having taken such measures as they deemed best to enable them to get over the wall; the signal was given, and a most tremendous explosion took place, doing considerable damage to the dockyard, and parts adjacent. In the confusion occasioned by this unexpected event, nearly the whole of the mutineers succeeded in getting out of the fortress, and dispersed themselves over the island, in the hope of being able to procure boats and to escape; but precautions had been too effectually taken to allow of this; every point was guarded, and in the course of a few hours every man was taken. A court martial was instantly assembled, and a great number were condemned to death; many were executed, and the remainder sent back to the Morea. It is much to be lamented that the national feelings of these people had been so unnecessarily outraged. They maintained to the last that they enlisted under the express condition, that their costume should not be interfered with, and that they should not be obliged to clean and polish accoutrements. When however the usual manoeuvres of a recruiting serjeant are taken into consideration, it is not improbable that even greater exemptions than these might have been promised; but a Greek is not a man to be tampered with any more than a Malay.

The Spartan found a squadron lying at Palermo, consisting of the Windsor Castle, and four other ships of the line, which had been sent there at the request of the king of Sicily, and were under the command of Captain, afterwards Rear Admiral Boyle. A gale of wind of most extraordinary violence came on, whilst the Spartan was with them. The wind was from the southward, and therefore directly off the land, from which the squadron were not a mile distant. In consequence of this, the sea had no space to get up in; but notwithstanding that a dense spray was lifted up from the water, called by seamen, “a spoon drift,” which lay along the surface as even as though it were a sheet of snow. Whilst walking the deck Captain Brenton was surprised by a sharp sound like a mast going, and looking forward, saw the jib fly up the stay like lightning, and immediately shiver to atoms. By some accident the down haul had not been made fast in the forecastle, and the wind getting into the head of the jib, carried it up like lightning. No other damage however was done, although the Eagle was for some time in danger, having been close under Monte Pelegrino. The gale was of short duration, and in a few hours was succeeded by fine weather.

On the 16th of April the Spartan sailed for Toulon, where she was ordered to watch the motions of the French fleet; and the wind being from the westward Captain Brenton ran along the coast of Italy. When just between the east coast of Corsica and the Italian shore, he fell in with an American ship, the Urania, Hector Coffin, master, and Greene of Rhode Island supercargo. Captain Brenton, on sending a boat to examine this neutral ship, gave particular directions to the lieutenant charged with this duty, to pay every possible attention to the feelings of the people, and to avoid giving offence to the master or crew. The search took place, and as there was some deviation from the regulations laid down for the conduct of Neutrals by his Majesty’s orders in council, Captain Brenton sent for the master on board the Spartan, requesting he would bring his log book with him. On his coming on board Captain Brenton explained to him the necessity of this measure; with which the master and supercargo expressed themselves perfectly satisfied, as well as with the kindness and delicacy with which they had been treated by the visiting officer. It was at this time nearly calm, so that no detention took place; and when the breeze sprang up, the American voluntarily steered for some time the same course with the Spartan. This was on the 27th of April.

On the 8th of May the Spartan again fell in with the same ship, between Sardinia and the Island of Ponza; and her being so near the spot where she had been eleven days before having excited surprise, she was again examined; and on looking over her log book to ascertain the cause of her having made so little progress, being hardly forty leagues from where she had been first seen, Captain Brenton was surprised to find a detail of her having been boarded, on the 27th of April, by the Spartan, worked up to the most rancorous pitch of exaggeration; stating that on that day they were boarded by the English frigate Spartan, had been forced out of their course, that the master was dragged on board with his papers, and that the hatches were broken open, &c. On Captain Brenton remonstrating with the master and supercargo, upon the unmanliness of inserting such falsehoods in the ship’s book, for no other purpose than that of exciting enmity between the two countries, whose mutual interests led them to the cultivation of peace; and reminding them of the declaration they had both made in the cabin of the Spartan on the day alluded to, as to the kindness and civility with which they had been treated by the lieutenant of that ship, who had boarded them; they both appeared overwhelmed with confusion, acknowledged the justice of Captain Brenton’s observation, laid the blame upon the mate, whom they charged with having inserted the offensive passage without their knowledge, and promised that it should not be made public in America. It is not likely that a Neutral trading amongst belligerents should pay so little attention to a document of such vital importance as the log; and that neither master nor supercargo should inspect it. This affair was the subject of an official communication from Captain Brenton to his senior officer, and of another to the Secretary of Lloyd’s Coffee house.

On the 23rd of April the Spartan captured a small French xebec, on the coast of Italy. The year had not expired since the conversation which has been related took place between Captain Brenton and Dr. Grey, at Tours. Dr. Grey had been appointed surgeon of the Spartan, at Captain Brenton’s request, and he received in consequence the promised Encyclopedia. Captain Brenton says, “Shortly after this I was again preserved from captivity by a merciful Providence, which rescued us from the enemy’s squadron, when every hope of success seemed to have left us.” The particulars of this escape are contained in the following letter.

On the return of the French squadron to Toulon the Captain of one of the frigates was broke for his conduct; but it is not known whether this was the Captain of the Pomone, who lost the opportunity of bringing the British frigate to close action, or the Commander of the Incorruptible for not joining in the attack upon her.

After this narrow escape, the Spartan proceeded off Toulon in pursuance of her orders. Captain Brenton’s object was to have reconnoitred that port, in order to ascertain correctly the enemy’s force, ready for sea, or under equipment; but he was chased off by a French line of battle ship. He returned the next day, and made out that there were only four ships of war in the outer road, two of which were of the line, with several fitting in the inner road. He considered it of importance that the senior officer at Palermo should be informed of the state of the enemy’s squadron in Toulon; and therefore availing himself of a strong westerly wind bore up for that place, running through the straits of Bonifacio, where he fell in with the Sirius. Captain Prouse proceeded to Palermo with the information, and the Spartan directed her course to Ponza, with an account of the French squadron being at sea; in order to put the garrison on that island, and the island of Capri, on their guard. Captain Brenton says, “The Spartan now proceeded on her return to Toulon; but on the following day met with a disaster, which, in my estimation, far exceeded in severity any that had ever befallen me, in the whole course of my professional career. When off Nice, in the morning of the 14th of May, we gave chase to a polacre ship, which we continued with light and variable winds until near sunset, when it became perfectly calm; the chase being still at the distance of six or seven miles, but the weather so clear that she was distinctly made out to be a merchant vessel. The officers entreated me to send the boats, which I was unwilling to do, in consequence of a recent order from the Commander in chief, not to send any boats where they could not be protected by their ship; an order that was clearly pointed as an injurious practice, which had crept in amongst the cruisers, of sending away boats to a considerable distance, to conceal themselves on points of the coast, in order to capture the trading vessels, whilst their own ships were out of sight of the land. Upon this occasion the distance of the chase was not an hour’s pulling; and I determined to send such a force as I considered would put all resistance out of the question, and ensure the return of the boats early in the morning. I accordingly ordered out the barge, launch, and two other boats under the command of first and second lieutenants, and manned by volunteers, consequently by the best men in the ship. A light breeze having sprung up before the boats came up with the polacre, she had availed herself of it, to get close in with the land near Nice; and upon approaching they discovered that she had a tier of guns. I had given the most positive orders to the first lieutenant not to attack her, should she prove a vessel of force; but this gallant young man, considering she could not be viewed in this light, when the number of his men and boats was calculated, at once decided upon making a dash, and ordering the second lieutenant with one boat to board on the larboard side, he, with the others, immediately pulled up on the starboard, and commenced the attack. They were received with the utmost coolness by the enemy, who poured such a destructive fire into the boats, that crowded as they were, it produced a most disastrous effect, and prevented them effectually from boarding. Both the lieutenants fell at the first fire, covered with wounds; the second, with his midshipman and many of the boat’s crew, were killed upon the spot, as were many in the first lieutenant’s division, and indeed each boat was filled with killed and wounded. The survivors made a gallant but ineffectual attempt to board; but they were too much reduced in number to succeed; and the boats on both sides letting go their hold, the polacre passed on a-head with a light breeze, keeping up a continued fire of musketry while within reach.

“From the very heavy fire which was opened upon the boats on their getting alongside, and laying their oars in, for the purpose of boarding; a fire, which had been judiciously reserved for that critical moment; it was concluded that assistance must have been sent to them from the coast, as it was scarcely possible that the crew of a merchant vessel could have composed such an effective volley. The vessel was some months after captured by Lord Cochrane, in the Imperieuse. The people denied having received any assistance on this occasion; and we are therefore bound to give them full credit for their most gallant defence.

“All eyes from the Spartan were of course directed to the quarter in which the boats were chasing; and it was not until one minute past ten that a slight scintillation of firing was observed, without any report. This soon after ceased, and not a doubt existed in the mind of any one on board the Spartan, that the attack had been successful. We had now got the breeze, and were steering for the scene of action, every one expecting to see the polacre approaching with the boats accompanying her, but a most melancholy disappointment awaited us. The oars of a boat were at length heard. When within reach of the boat she was hailed; and the answer told the melancholy tale of their defeat, and that the boats were all on their return filled with the dead and dying. The following was the sad list of sufferers:—Killed, one lieutenant, two midshipmen, twenty-four seamen: wounded, one lieutenant (mortally), and thirty-seven seamen; scarcely ten men out of about seventy being untouched. The dead were laid side by side on the main deck, in order to be prepared for burial, being sewed up in hammocks. The wounded were carried into my cabin, the only part of the ship where there was sufficient space for their accommodation in dressing their wounds; and while this was doing, which took up the greater part of the night, the lower deck was prepared for their reception; all the hammocks, mess tables, and chests being removed for the purpose; a measure which became absolutely necessary in that warm climate, lest the air below, infected by the numbers wounded, should have generated disease amongst the healthy part of the ship’s company. The number of these was so much diminished by this fatal event, that there was little difficulty in finding accommodation for them under the half deck and forecastle; so that the whole extent of the Spartan’s ’tween decks became a most convenient and well ventilated hospital. On the following morning the dead were brought up for burial, and arranged along the starboard waste hammocks, with a man to each, for the purpose of launching the body overboard at the proper time; the bodies of the second lieutenant and his midshipman were in coffins at the gangway. I could with difficulty get through the mournful service, and at the words ‘commit their bodies to the deep,’ when the whole were launched into the ocean, an universal sensation was experienced by the ship’s company. The effect may be imagined, but it cannot be described. Four and twenty active young men in the prime of life, in all the energy of the seaman’s character, buoyant with spirits and health only a few hours before, now gone to their awful account. This was indeed an awakening scene, and undoubtedly left a deep, although perhaps but a transitory impression on all who witnessed it.”

To keep the sea under such circumstances was out of the question. Captain Brenton, however, did not quit his station until he had made another effort to get off Toulon, where he hoped to have fallen in with the British squadron under Captain Rowley, and also that he might carry the latest intelligence of the state of the enemy’s ships in that part. But on the 17th the Spartan was again chased off from Cape Sicie by a French ship of the line, and two frigates, but as she considerably out-sailed them, they hauled their wind in for the land; and Captain Brenton made the best of his way for Malta, where he arrived on the 24th, having providentially very fine weather, smooth water, and light breezes, so that the wounded were under as favourable circumstances as possible. They were enabled to keep the scuttles on the lower deck constantly open; and the value of this ventilation may be estimated when it is stated, that such were the effluvia coming from the lower deck in consequence of the wounds, that it was found most unpleasant to all who were looking over the gangway.

“The severe fatigue and anxiety experienced by Dr. Grey, the surgeon, upon this occasion, had such an effect upon his health, that he was under the necessity of leaving the Spartan, and retiring from the navy.”

There are two circumstances connected with this melancholy catastrophe, which are too interesting to be passed over in silence. One relates to the midshipman who was killed in the boat, with the Second Lieutenant, (Mr. Williams.) He was the son of Admiral Christie, and had been placed under the particular care of Captain Brenton. On the 23rd of April, when the boats were sent in, to cut out a vessel, young Christie requested he might be of the party, to which Captain Brenton readily assented, as it was his practice to give every youngster, however young, an opportunity of shewing what he was made of, (according to the professional phrase); and having done this, he seldom allowed them to be exposed in the boats again, until they had attained the age of sixteen, when they took their turn with the others. Christie conducted himself upon this occasion like a fine gallant boy, and gave great promise of future distinction. On his coming on board the Captain expressed himself well satisfied with his conduct, and said, “Now Christie, as you have established your character, do not ask me again to let you go on any more boat expeditions, until you are more than sixteen; for I shall certainly refuse you.” Notwithstanding this warning, when the boats were preparing to go after the polacre, Christie came up, and begged he might be of the party; but was decidedly refused. It appeared afterwards that the Second Lieutenant, (Mr. Williams) an officer of great merit, and for whom Captain Brenton entertained the highest regard, thoughtlessly suggested to the poor boy that he should run forward, and get into the boat unseen by the Captain, under the bows; promising to receive him into his own boat, and accordingly he did so. The consequence was, that the Lieutenant and his young friend both fell together at the first fire from the polacre. Captain Brenton suffered great affliction upon this occasion, but thoughtless and inexcusable as poor Williams’s conduct was, it never weakened his regard for his memory; attributing it to the motive by which he was undoubtedly influenced, a warm admiration for the display of gallantry in one so young, and the feeling that this very gallantry would be the boy’s apology for disobedience.

The other circumstance is of a very romantic description, and is given in Captain Brenton’s own words. “The coxswain of the barge, reported among the killed and wounded, was a very fine active young man, and had been indulged with the permission to bring his wife on board the ship. She was very young at this period, and the attachment between the couple was very remarkable, as well as the respect they obtained from all on board from the correctness of their conduct, which was in every respect exemplary. On the boats returning, and the report of Bodie’s death, (for such was his name,) his poor little wife was frantic with grief, and flew from one part of the ship to another, with the most agonizing shrieks. When the dead were placed on the main deck, she flew to them, uncovering their faces, and calling out for her husband. She then ran up, and took her seat on the coxswain’s box, in the barge, which had now been hoisted in, calling for her husband; and from thence to the Captain on the quarter deck, imploring him to let her see the body. Calling for some of the people who were in the barge, upon whom the greatest dependence could be placed, I desired to know how Bodie had been killed; when one of them said, ‘Sir, we were boarding the vessel together on the starboard side, and were getting into the main chains, when I was wounded and fell into the boat, and Bodie at the same time was killed, and fell between the boat and the ship.’” The wife was present at this detail, and at length seemed convinced of her dreadful loss. The greatest attention was paid to her by all on board, to alleviate as much as possible her sufferings; and on the arrival of the Spartan at Malta she was received, by Captain Brenton’s recommendation, into the protection of a very respectable family. Her situation excited the most lively interest at Malta; a subscription amounting to £80, was made for her; and she soon after sailed for England in a Transport, with a letter to Mrs. Brenton at Bath, by whom she was received, and remained with her for some time, previous to her departure for Ireland, where her mother was living. Captain Brenton also gave her a recommendation to the Committee of the Patriotic fund, which obtained for her £50.

“The Spartan having landed her wounded, and refitted, proceeded to Messina, in the hopes of procuring a few men from the Trade and Transports there. She then continued her course for Toulon; and on approaching the Hieres Islands, in the middle of June, we boarded a merchant vessel from Genoa, from which we received the following intelligence. “A polacre, it was said, had arrived there some weeks previous, which had been attacked by the boats of an English frigate, and had succeeded in beating them off. When the firing had ceased, the cries of a man were heard under the stern, and an English sailor was found hanging on by the rudder chains, and wounded. On taking him on board he proved to be the coxswain of the frigate’s barge; he stated that he had been severely wounded in endeavouring to board the polacre, and had fallen between the ship and the boat, but as he passed a-stern he had caught hold of the rudder chains, and hung on until the action was over. The story added, that on the vessel’s arrival at Genoa, the man was sent to the hospital; and on his wound being cured, had been marched into France.” No doubt now existed as to the correctness of this statement, and I immediately wrote to Verdun, requesting my friends would make enquiries as to the depÔt to which Bodie was sent; and on ascertaining his safety, that information might be immediately sent to Mrs. Brenton, at Bath, in order to her communicating the joyful news to the supposed widow. In a very few weeks a letter reached Mrs. Brenton from the Rev. L. C. Lee, at Verdun, informing her that Bodie had reached that depÔt, and was no sooner known to have been Captain Brenton’s coxswain, than the greatest interest was manifest in his behalf, and permission was procured for him to remain there, where every care would be taken of him, and that he had quite recovered from his wounds. These joyful tidings were soon in the hands of Mrs. Bodie, at Cork, whose happiness may be easily imagined.”

On the 18th of June the Spartan resumed her station off Toulon, and found the enemy’s force considerably increased since that port was last reconnoitred; when four sail of the line were ready for sea, but this force was now rapidly augmenting. The Spartan was for some time the only ship employed in watching the movements of this squadron, and was frequently chased off the land by them; but as the French were uncertain as to the position of the British Squadron, and concluded they were cruizing out of sight of the coast, they seldom ran farther than six or eight leagues from Cape Sicie.

On the commander in chief, Lord Collingwood, having received Captain Brenton’s account of the disastrous attack upon the polacre, he gave directions for a court of enquiry to be held upon Captain Brenton for this affair, consisting of Captains Boyle, Rowley, and Fayerman; he directed them also to enquire into the circumstances attending the loss of the Transport, which came out of England under convoy of the Spartan, and which as has been stated, parted company with, that ship off Lisbon, and ran on shore near San Lucar, where she was taken possession of by the Spaniards, but burnt by the boats of the Malta. The following are the reports made by the Courts of Enquiry—“Present,

• CAPTAIN CHARLES BOYLES,
• ” FRANCIS FAYERMAN,
• ” CHARLES ROWLEY.

“The Court, pursuant to an order from Edward Thornborough, Esq., Vice Admiral of the Blue, &c. dated the 6th day of October, 1807, repaired on board H.M.S. Spartan, and there made a strict enquiry into the unfortunate result of an attack made by the boats of the said ship on a Polacre ship, on the night of the 14th of May, and the Court is of opinion that the Commander in chief’s order of the 16th of June, 1806, on the subject of sending armed boats from the ships, has not been deviated from in this instance; as far as their judgment is capable of forming an opinion, from the narrative received from Captain Jahleel Brenton, and corroborated by the examination of the officers that were called before them; who had heard the orders given to the officer commanding the detached boats, and who assert that the chase appeared to be a merchant vessel, quite becalmed, about five or six miles distant, and not near any fort.

• Signed, C. BOYLES,
• ” F. FAYERMAN,
• ” C. ROWLEY.”

Then follows the enquiry respecting the Transport—

“At a Court of enquiry held on board H.M.S. Spartan, in Palermo Bay, Wednesday, 7th of October, 1807,—Present,

• CAPTAIN C. BOYLES,
• ” F. FAYERMAN,
• ” C. ROWLEY.

“The Court, pursuant to an order from Edward Thornborough, Esq., Vice Admiral of the Blue, &c. dated 6th October, 1807, being in pursuance of an order from the Right Honourable Cuthbert Lord Collingwood, dated 29th of May last, repaired on board H.M.S. Spartan, and calling before the Court the commander and officers of the said ship, made a strict enquiry and investigation into the cause and circumstances of the Mary, Ordnance Transport Ship, parting company with the Spartan, when the Captain was charged with her safety, and taking into consideration the great value, and still greater importance of the vessel’s cargo. The Court is of opinion, from the examination and strict enquiry made of Captain Jahleel Brenton, the master, master’s mate, the boatswain and gunner, the only officers called, two of the Lieutenants being dead, and the other Lieutenant at the time in his bed, where he had been for some time; that every thing was done on the part of Captain Jahleel Brenton to insure the safety of the Mary Ordnance Transport; and the circumstance of the said Transport separating from the Spartan, was caused by the carelessness, negligence, and bad conduct of the Master of the Mary, Ordnance Transport Ship.

• Signed, C. BOYLES,
• ” F. FAYERMAN,
• ” C. ROWLEY.”

This affair being thus settled the Spartan resumed her station off Toulon, and soon after the fleet, under the Commander in chief, Lord Collingwood, arrived off that port. On Captain Brenton’s going on board the Ocean, his lordship received him very coolly, and said, “Sir, I am not at all satisfied with the report of the Captains who composed the Court of Enquiry into your conduct.” Captain Brenton replied, “and I, my Lord, am not satisfied with the nature of the tribunal, before which it took place, as I should have preferred a court martial; and I have to request you will be pleased to order one to assemble now for the purpose of trying me.” His Lordship replied, “No Sir, that is discretional with me, and enough has already been said upon the subject of both; but,” continued he, “I have another cause of complaint to bring against you. How came you, while senior officer at Malta, to permit a French Colonel, a prisoner of war, to return to France on his parole:” adding, “they did not treat you so when you were a prisoner.” Captain Brenton could not help being amused with the gravity of the charge, and the commentary upon it. He explained that the Colonel in question was taken by His Majesty’s sloop the Weazle, on his passage from the coast of Italy for Corfu in a small trabacolo; that the colonel’s wife, then on the point of being confined, and two very young children were with him; that on the Weazle firing to bring the vessel to, the lady was so much alarmed, that she was taken in labour, and after giving birth to an infant, died: that the three children were with the colonel at Malta, and that on a strong recommendation from Sir Alexander Ball, the civil commissioner, he, Captain Brenton, had taken upon himself to allow the colonel to go to Naples on parole, on condition that having placed his children in safety, he should return, unless exchanged. “Such were my reasons,” added Captain Brenton, “and in acting as I did, I thought I was only doing, what I am convinced your Lordship would have done, had you been there.” This could not draw from his Lordship any sign of approbation, although it was perfectly true; for his Lordship, with all his dryness of manner, and roughness of exterior, had a kind and feeling heart, and was a warm and sincere friend. His prejudices, it is true, were strong, and not easily subdued. He was notwithstanding accessible to conviction, and ready to acknowledge the efforts of those officers, whom he knew to have the good of the service at heart, however he might differ with them on some points.

As the editor feels that he has undertaken a narrative of trials and struggles, which, generally speaking, pass unobserved and unnoticed by the world, he does not deem it irrelevant to call the attention of his readers to the peculiar trials which were included in the first periods of this service in the mediterranean. Of Lord Collingwood it is hardly possible to say too much, whether he be considered as an officer or as a man; and the very circumstance, that differing as he did so widely from Lord Nelson in qualities and character, he succeeded in securing to so high a degree the regard and confidence of that distinguished commander, proves what the opinion must have been which Lord Nelson formed of his talents and courage. But the character of Lord Collingwood as an admiral was just that which must have led him to pass a severe judgment on this unfortunate affair with the Polacre. His courage was that of a firm well disciplined mind, which had been accustomed to view danger with indifference, when it came in the way of duty, but which saw no necessity to go out and brave it, when there was no adequate cause. His professional life had been chiefly passed in ships of the line, as forming parts of great fleets, and engaged in great movements; and he had therefore less sympathy with that spirit of adventurous daring, which suited the commander of a cruising frigate; and he was disposed to look with jealousy, if not disapprobation, at the risks which were continually run for the sake of captures of very little intrinsic value. At this period also, age had added something of severity to his judgment, and he was not likely to admit any extenuation of an error, which had cost the lives of so many valuable men, and which seemed to have been incurred by acting in opposition to an express order of his own.

The former disaster in Captain Brenton’s naval career might also have existed some prejudice against him in the mind of the Admiral. The unfortunate are seldom regarded as wholly clear of blame. The loss of the Minerve had been justified by the sentence of a Court Martial; but an old and cautious commander might have suspected that the commander of the frigate had been rash and indiscreet, if not absolutely in fault; and might have thought that this unhappy attack on the Polacre was part of the same conduct, another act of a daring, but inconsiderate and injudicious officer.

The Captain of the Spartan had therefore to support a prejudice existing against the Captain of the Minerve, and had much to bear and much to do, before he overcame the impression which this untoward attack had made on Lord Collingwood’s mind. That he did succeed in removing it; that he did succeed in satisfying his Admiral’s judgment, and did conciliate his good will and approbation, may be an encouragement to others, who under similar circumstances, think all is lost because a single error has been committed; and give up and cease to strive to please, because they feel that they have to work against a strong and perhaps unreasonable prejudice in a Commander.

The private memoranda afford no information as to the struggles which this afflicting circumstance must have occasioned; but the reader has already seen and known enough of the mind and feelings of the subject of this memoir, to doubt what must have been his resource. We cannot doubt, that the defeat he had sustained, and the sad and sorrowful tokens of it in the loss of his gallant people, sent him in tears and humiliation to the throne of grace; that he there mourned deeply and sincerely over the rashness of the attempt, and his own imprudence in permitting it; that he considered himself as guilty in some degree of the deaths of those, whom he had allowed to expose themselves; and that many and earnest were his supplications for mercy and forgiveness.

But it may also be certain that this humiliation before God—this severity of self-enquiry and self-condemnation, prepared him in a peculiar manner for the trial, he was to meet from men. The Admiral, naturally, reasonably offended at this, which seemed a wanton waste of life, found him so humbled, that his resentment was disarmed. The censure that he might have felt himself bound to pass, on the point of discipline, was, he saw, anticipated. He could not strike one who was down. He could not reprove one whose self-reproof was manifest. He was obliged to feel for the man, whose own feelings had been so acute; and he saw that it was unnecessary for the interests of the service, to say anything where so much had been already done within. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth;” and many are the causes of offence in every service, which would come to nothing, if they were not raised into importance by the pride of those who endeavour to defend their error, instead of acknowledging and condemning it themselves.

We shall have occasion to remark a similar trial in the following Chapter, where an accident occurred, which appeared to arise from want of care in the management of the ship; and which for a moment again put the character of the Captain of the Spartan in jeopardy with an Admiral of such correctness as Lord Collingwood. The affair in that case was capable of explanation, and the circumstances under which it happened, exonerated the Commander of the ship from blame; but those, whose daily lives are not exposed to such contingencies as belong to active service, will do well to remember how trifling are the causes which may lead to consequences so serious, and in this way learn to feel for those whose forgetfulness or momentary inattention may be visited with such severity.