FORTUNATUS WRIGHT
Surely the fairies must have been busy with suggestions at the birth and
naming of this fighting seaman--great seaman and determined fighter, and
withal a smack of romantic heroism about him, which is suggested at once
by his Christian name--Fortunatus. No man with such a name, one is
disposed to assume, could be an ordinary and commonplace sort of person,
muddling along in the well-worn grooves of every-day life. This, of
course, would be an absurd assumption; men have been named after all
kinds of heroes, naval and military, statesmen, masters of the pen, and
so on, and have fallen very far short--to put it mildly--of the
aspirations of their fond and admiring parents.
Wright's father was a master-mariner of Liverpool, of whom we are told
that he had upon one occasion defended his ship most gallantly for
several hours against two vessels of superior force--an exploit which is
recorded upon his tombstone in St. Peter's churchyard, Liverpool, and
from which we gather that he was either a privateer commander, or that
his vessel, an ordinary trader, was armed for the purpose of defence.
We do not know, however, why he named his son Fortunatus--we can only
fall back upon the fairies; but a supplementary inscription upon the
tombstone tells us that "Fortunatus Wright, his son, was always
victorious, and humane to the vanquished. He was a constant terror to
the enemies of his king and country"; and that is a very good sort of
epitaph; moreover--unlike many such effusions, recording amiable or
heroic characteristics of the dead which few had been able to recognise
in the living--it is a true one. If not always victorious--and a
probably true story, presently to be narrated, appears to point to one
instance, at least, in which he and his antagonist parted
indecisively--he was, at any rate, never beaten; and his conduct and
character obtained for him, from a brave seaman and fighter of his own
stamp, who sailed under him, the epithet, "that great hero, Fortunatus
Wright"; the actual words, by the way, are "that great but unfortunate
hero," and herein is an allusion, no doubt, to some very ungenerous
treatment meted out to Wright by foreign authorities, and also to his
unknown, and probably tragic, fate.
We have but little information concerning his early manhood; there is
not, indeed, any evidence to hand of even the approximate date of his
birth. Smollett, in his "History of England," alludes to Wright's
exploits, and describes him as "a stranger to a sea-life," until he took
to privateering in the Mediterranean; but it is not easy to see upon
what grounds the historian bases such an assumption. Fortunatus Wright
was, as we have seen, the son of a sea-captain of no ordinary stamp, and
the probability is that he would be brought up in his father's
calling--a probability which becomes, practically, a certainty when we
reflect that, immediately upon assuming the position of privateer
commander, he displayed a consummate skill in seamanship, combined with
remarkable tactical powers in sea-fighting, which elicited the
enthusiastic admiration of his subordinates; and these qualifications
are not acquired on land.
No; Fortunatus Wright was undoubtedly trained as a seaman, and very
possibly a privateersman; but it appears that, somewhere about the year
1741, having previously retired from the sea, and settled in Liverpool
as a shipowner, he realised his business, and went to reside abroad; and
in 1742 we come across news of him in Italy.
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Horace Mann, at that time British Resident at the
Court of Florence, in a letter to his friend Horace Walpole--with whom
he kept up an enormous correspondence--relates how he had had complaints
concerning the violent conduct of Mr. Wright at Lucca. It appears that
our friend, travelling in that part of Italy, with introductions to some
of the nobility, presented himself one day at the gates of Lucca, never
doubting but that, as a respectable and peaceably disposed person, he
would immediately be admitted. He had not reckoned, however, with the
particular form of "red tape" which prevailed there. He had upon him a
pair of pistols; and, upon being informed that the surrender of these
weapons was the condition of being permitted to pass the gates, his
English choler immediately rose against what appeared to him to be a
tyrannical and unnecessary proceeding; and his natural instinct
being--as it always is in fighting men of his stamp--rather to beat down
and override opposition than to yield to it, disregarding the serious
odds against him--twenty soldiers and a corporal _versus_ Fortunatus
Wright--he presented one of the offending pistols at the guard, and
clearly indicated that the first man who endeavoured to arrest him would
do so at the cost of his life. This was very awkward; no one cared to be
the first victim of the "mad Englishman," who was evidently a man of his
word, and how it might have ended nobody knows, had there not appeared
upon the scene a superior officer--a colonel--with thirty more soldiers.
Mr. Wright was thereupon persuaded that the odds were too heavy even for
a "mad Englishman," and was escorted to his hotel by this imposing
bodyguard, being there made a prisoner while representations were made
to the English Ambassador.
Fortunately, one of the Luccese noblemen to whom he had an introduction
intervened, undertaking that no harm should result; and on the morning
of the fourth day, at the early hour of four, the irate Englishman was
informed that since he had been so daring as to endeavour to enter the
town by force of arms, it was therefore ordered that he should forthwith
leave the State, and never presume to enter it again without leave from
the Republic; and that post-horses, with a guard to see him over the
border, were waiting at the door.
"He answered a great deal," says Sir Horace Mann, "not much to the
purpose"; and so was seen safely out of Lucca, with his pistols in his
pocket, we may presume, swearing at the unreasonableness of Italians and
their laws. He continued, however, to reside in Italy, and was living at
Leghorn when, in 1744, war was declared with France; and then there came
to Fortunatus Wright the imperative call to return to a seafaring life.
The war had not been long in progress before the English merchants in
Leghorn began to suffer immense annoyance and loss from the depredations
of the French privateers which swarmed upon the coast of Italy. Their
trade was stifled, their ships compelled to remain in port, or almost
inevitably captured if they ventured out; apparently there were not
men-of-war available for escort, and the situation became unbearable.
When men have come to the conclusion that things are past bearing they
look about for some drastic remedy, and in this instance Mr. Wright was
the remedy; Mr. Wright, living quietly in Leghorn, with his wife and
family, but with his sea-lore available at the back of his mind, and,
for all we know, the love of the salt water tugging at his
heart-strings--sailors are made that way. Why not fit out a privateer,
and place Mr. Wright in command? The suggestion may, indeed, have come
from him in the first instance; at any rate, no time was lost. There was
a vessel available, to wit the _Fame_, a staunch brigantine. We have no
precise details of her tonnage and force, but she was undoubtedly an
efficient craft for the purpose, and Wright speedily demonstrated that
he was an entirely fit and proper person to be placed in charge.
Carefully studying the winds of the Mediterranean, and the probable
track of the enemy's privateers and merchant vessels, he had his plan of
action matured by the time the ship was ready; and this is how it is set
forth by William Hutchinson, one of his officers, writing thirty years
later:
"Cruising the war before last, in the employ of that great but
unfortunate hero, Fortunatus Wright, in the Mediterranean Sea, where the
wind blows generally either easterly or westerly--that is, either up or
down the Straits--it was planned, with either of these winds that blew,
to steer up or down the channels the common course, large or before the
wind in the daytime without any sail set, that the enemy's trading ships
astern, crowding sail with this fair wind, might come up in sight, or we
come in sight of those ships ahead that might be turning to windward;
and at sunset, if nothing appeared to the officer at the masthead, we
continued to run five or six leagues, so far as could then be seen,
before we laid the ship to for the night, to prevent the ships astern
coming up and passing out of sight before the morning, or our passing
those ships that might be turning to windward; and if nothing appeared
to an officer at the masthead at sunrise, we bore away and steered as
before. And when the wind blew across the channel, that ships could sail
their course either up or down, then to keep the ship in a fair way; in
the daytime to steer the common course, under the courses and lower
staysails, and in the night under topsails with the courses in the
brails, with all things as ready as possible for action, and to take or
leave what we might fall in with."
Before many months had elapsed the soundness of these tactics, and the
sagacity with which Wright determined what to take and what to leave,
were very conspicuous.
In the months of November and December, 1746, the _Fame_ had to her
credit no fewer than eighteen prizes, one of which was a privateer, of
200 tons, with 20 guns and 150 men, fitted out by the French factories
on the coast of Caramania, with the express object of putting a stop to
the inconveniently successful cruising of Fortunatus Wright, who,
however, turned the tables upon her, sending her as a prize into
Messina. The Frenchmen, to avoid being taken prisoners, had run her on
shore and decamped; but the English captain was not going to be deprived
of the prize-money which he and his men had justly earned, so they set
to work and got the vessel afloat again, in order that she might be
produced and duly condemned as "good prize."
Wright's success, both in fighting and in the pursuit of traders,
infuriated the French, and particularly the Knights of St. John, in
Malta, where there was very hot antagonism between the two
factions--the French and Spaniards on one side, and the Austrians and
English on the other.
When Wright kept on sending in his prizes the Austrians would "chaff"
the French. "Here's another of your ships coming in, under the care of
Captain Wright," we can imagine them saying. Some duels were fought by
angry officers, and eventually the French sent urgent representations to
Marseilles, and a vessel was fitted out and manned with the express
object of humiliating the English by capturing the _Fame_ and putting a
stop to Wright's victorious career.
In due course the privateer put in an appearance at Malta. She was of
considerably superior force to the _Fame_, the captain was a man of
repute as a seaman and fighter, and was entertained by the French, who
patted him on the back and sent him forth to conquer.
But it is never safe to pat a man on the back for prospective triumphs.
As the days passed excitement and expectation became intense; the points
of vantage, whence a good view of incoming vessels could be obtained,
were thronged with anxious spectators of both factions; and we may
suppose that there was a considerable amount of mutual banter, not in
the best of good-humour.
At length two vessels were sighted; as they approached it was seen that
one was towing the other. Then the French privateer was recognised, and
it was noticed that the other vessel, in tow, was very much knocked
about. While conjecture was ripening into triumphant conviction up went
the colours--French colours! That decided the question--the career of
the obnoxious Wright--"ce cher Wright," sarcastically--was at an end,
and the enthusiastic Frenchmen shook hands and embraced, and waved hats
and handkerchiefs to the victor.
There was one delightful characteristic of "ce cher Wright," however,
which they had failed to realise--he was possessed of a very keen sense
of humour. In spite of the shattered condition of the staunch little
_Fame_, she had come off victorious, and Wright had very naturally
placed her in tow of the larger vessel, which he himself was navigating,
her crew his prisoners of war; and seeing the crowded ramparts from
afar, this agreeable but unsuspected little trait of his had displayed
itself in the hoisting of French colours.
Then, when the cheering and embracing was at its climax, as the vessels
rounded the fort, the English colours sailed up to the peak, with the
French below!
And then--well, then we may imagine that there was the making of some
more duels!
Fortunatus Wright was no mere filibustering swashbuckler, like so many
other privateer commanders who, as we have seen, brought their calling
into sad disrepute; nor was he a man to be intimidated by his crew into
committing any unlawful act for the sake of plunder; but he was very
tenacious of his rights, and on more than one occasion came to serious
loggerheads with high authorities; very much, eventually, to his cost.
In December 1746, while reports were going home of his numerous
captures, he overhauled and seized a French vessel, on a voyage from
Marseilles to Naples, having on board the servants and all the luggage
and belongings of the Prince of Campo Florida. The French skipper
produced a pass, from no less a person than King George II. of England,
by which these persons and goods should be exempt from molestation by
English cruisers; but there was a flaw in this document, for the name of
the ship was not entered upon it. "All very well," said Wright, "but how
am I to know that King George intended this ship to go free? She is not
named on the safe-conduct"; and into Leghorn she went as a prize,
prince's servants, baggage, and all, to the horror of the British
Consul, and to the great disgust of the Prince of Campo Florida; nor
would Wright listen to the remonstrances of the Consul, maintaining that
he was technically justified in his action; and there was undoubtedly
some ground for this contention. However, the British Minister persuaded
him to refer the matter to the Admiral commanding on the station, by
whose adverse decision Wright loyally abided, and the vessel was
released accordingly.
It was a much more serious affair when, in 1747, he fell out with the
Turkey Company--officially known as "The Company of English Merchants
trading to the Levant Sea"--a very wealthy and powerful organisation,
jealous of its rights, and somewhat perturbed, moreover, at this
particular period, by the falling off in its returns; so that it was
exceedingly annoying to find Turkish goods being seized by Captain
Wright on board French ships.
There were two vessels in question, and the English Consul at Leghorn
received orders from home to investigate the business. With his previous
experience of the privateer captain's stiffness and command of technical
knowledge of prize law, the Consul, we may be sure, did not anticipate
an easy acquiescence in any suggestions he might make; and, in fact,
Wright's reply was a very decided refusal to admit that he was in fault.
He said that both ships had a French pass, hailed from Marseilles, and
hoisted French colours; and one of them offered a stout resistance
before she struck. "For these reasons I brought them to Leghorn, and
have had them legally condemned in the Admiralty Court, by virtue of
which sentence I have disposed of them and distributed the money."
Quite an unassailable position, one would imagine; but the irate
Governors of the Turkey Company were able to procure, by some means or
other, an order from the English Government that Turkish cargoes in
French vessels were to be exempt from capture. Upon this order being
communicated to the privateer captains and Admiralty Courts in the
Mediterranean, it was expected that Wright would refund the prize-money;
but he, very properly, as it appears, refused to admit that such an
order could be retrospective--he had the money, and meant to keep it;
and then there was trouble. Orders were sent from England to have him
arrested and sent home; the Italian authorities obligingly caught him
and locked him up, refusing, with singular and gratuitous crookedness,
to yield him up to consular jurisdiction--and there he remained in
prison at Leghorn for six months, when he was at length handed over to
the Consul. Wright had, however, had enough of prison, and, upon giving
bail to answer the action in the High Court of Admiralty, he was set at
liberty.
The action appears to have dragged on for two or three years, without
result--at any rate, Captain Wright never refunded the money, and one
cannot help feeling gratified at his success. He wrote, in June 1749, a
long letter to the Consul in vindication of his right, which concludes
as follows: "They attacked me at law; to that law I must appeal; if I
have acted contrary to it, to it I must be responsible; for I do not
apprehend I am so to any agent of the Grand Signior, to the Grand
Signior himself, or to any other Power, seeing I am an Englishman and
acted under a commission from my prince"; surely a most logical, and
certainly a most dignified attitude.
Peace restored, Wright engaged in commerce, in partnership, apparently,
with William Hutchinson. They fitted out as a trader an old 20-gun
vessel--the _Lowestoft_--which made several voyages to the West
Indies--Wright continuing to reside at Leghorn.