THE RUSSIAN WAR.--LORD DUNDONALD'S PROPOSALS TO EMPLOY HIS SECRET
PLANS AGAINST CRONSTADT, SEBASTOPOL, AND OTHER STRONGHOLDS.--HIS
CORRESPONDENCE THEREUPON WITH SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND LORD
PALMERSTON.--THEIR REJECTION.--LORD DUNDONALD'S APPOINTMENT AS
REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.--PRINCE ALBERT'S INVITATION TO HIM
TO BECOME AN ELDER BROTHER OF THE TRINITY HOUSE.--HIS CORRESPONDENCE
WITH LORD PALMERSTON RESPECTING THE RESTITUTION OF HIS HALF-PAY.--HIS
LAST WORK.--HIS DEATH AND BURIAL.--CONCLUSION.
[1851-1860.]
When in June, 1851, he returned to England and surrendered his office
as Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indian squadron,
the Earl of Dundonald was in his seventy-sixth year. That he was still
young and vigorous in mind is sufficiently shown by the illustrations
of his inventive genius and philanthropic earnestness that have been
given in the last chapter. The most striking proof of this, however,
so far as he was allowed to prove it, has yet to be given.
Very soon after his return he sought to impress upon Sir James Graham,
then First Lord of the Admiralty, under the Earl of Aberdeen's
administration, the value of his secret war-plans, and before long a
special reason for advocating their adoption arose. Their efficacy had
been frequently acknowledged by the highest authorities, but as
England was at peace, nothing more than an acknowledgment was made.
The outbreak of our war with Russia induced Lord Dundonald to bring
them forward again in 1853. At first Sir James Graham declined to
entertain the subject. The Government believed that Russia would be
easily and promptly defeated by the ordinary means of warfare, and
therefore contented itself with them. In this decision Lord Dundonald
acquiesced perforce; but, on its appearing that the fight would be
harder than had been anticipated, he again claimed a hearing for his
proposals, believing that by their acceptance he could not only bring
his own career as a British seaman to a glorious termination, but
also--a yet dearer object to him--by so doing render inestimable
service to his country.
In this spirit he wrote again to Sir James Graham on the 22nd of July,
1854. "Important aggressive enterprises," he said, "being now
suspended by Russia, whose armies, on the defensive, may indefinitely
prolong the war, and thereby expose our country to perilous
consequences, resulting from protracted naval co-operation, I am
desirous, through you, respectfully to offer for the consideration of
her Majesty's Cabinet Ministers a simple yet effective plan of
operations, showing that the maritime defences of Cronstadt, however
strong against ordinary means of attack, may be captured, and their
red-hot shot and incendiary missiles, prepared for the destruction of
our ships, turned on those they protect; a result of paramount
importance, now that the forces in the Black Sea have been diverted
from the judiciously-contemplated attack on Sebastopol, compared to
the success of which any secondary enterprise in the Baltic would
prove of very small importance to the successful result of the war.
Permit me, therefore, in the event of my plans being approved,
unreservedly to offer my services, without command or authority,
except over the very limited means of attack, the success whereof
cannot fail in its consequences to free and ensure, perhaps for ever,
all minor states from Russian dominion. Personal acquaintance with
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier and Rear-Admiral Chads warrants my
conviction that no feeling of rivalry could exist, save in the zealous
performance of the service."
Sir James Graham's reply was complimentary. "You offer for the
consideration of her Majesty's Government," he wrote on the 26th of
July, "a plan of operations by which the maritime defences of
Cronstadt may, in your opinion, be captured; and in the most handsome
manner you declare your readiness to direct and superintend the
execution of your plan, if it should be adopted. When the great
interests at stake are considered, and when the fatal effects of a
possible failure are duly regarded, it is apparent that the merits of
your plan and the chances of success must be fully investigated and
weighed by competent authority. The Cabinet, unaided, can form no
judgment in this matter, and the tender of your services is most
properly made by you dependent on the previous approval of your plan.
The question is a naval one, into which professional considerations
must enter largely. Naval officers, therefore, of experience and high
character are the judges to whom, in the first instance, this question
ought to be submitted. Let me therefore ask you, before I take any
further step, whether you are willing, in strict confidence, to lay
your whole plan before Sir Bryan Martin, Sir William Parker, and
Admiral Berkeley, who, from his place at this Board, is my first naval
adviser? If you do not object to this measure, or to any of the naval
officers whom I have named, I should be disposed to add Sir John
Burgoyne, the head of the Engineers, on whose judgment I place great
reliance. I am sure that you will not regard this mode of treating
your proposal as inconsistent with the respect which I sincerely
entertain for your high professional character, resting on past
services of no ordinary merit, which I have never failed to recognise.
But my duty on this occasion prescribes caution and deliberate care;
and you will do justice to the motives by which this answer to your
request is guided."
To this suggestion Lord Dundonald readily acceded, and his secret
war-plans were once more referred to a committee of investigation.
Nothing, however, was gained by this step. "I have received," wrote
Sir James Graham on the 15th of August, "the report of the committee
of officers to whom, with your consent, the plan for the attack on
Cronstadt was submitted. On the whole, after careful consideration,
they have come to the unanimous conclusion that it is inexpedient to
try experiments in present circumstances. They do full justice to your
lordship, and they expressly state that, if such an enterprise were to
be undertaken, it could not be confided to fitter or abler hands than
yours; for your professional career has been distinguished by
remarkable instances of skill and courage, in all of which you have
been the foremost to lead the way, and by your personal heroism you
have gained an honourable celebrity in the naval history of this
country."
That letter was disappointing to Lord Dundonald; but, as the value of
his plans was not disputed, he hoped that he might yet be allowed to
put them in execution. "Be pleased," he said in his reply to Sir James
Graham, "to accept the sincere assurance of the high estimation in
which I hold the kind and favourable expression of your sentiments
towards me. It is indeed gratifying to perceive that the experienced
admirals to whom you referred the professional consideration of my
secret plan have not expressed any doubt of its practicability."
The report of the admirals, however, had as unfavourable an effect as
could have resulted had they declared openly against the project. Week
followed week without any successful issue to the efforts of the
Baltic fleet; and added to Lord Dundonald's chagrin at not being
permitted to achieve the desired success, was his distress at finding
unmerited blame thrown by the Government, and by nearly all classes of
the public, upon a brave and skilful seaman, for not doing what, with
the means at his disposal, it was impossible for him to do. Admiral
Sir Charles Napier had failed, through no fault of his own, in the
project for attacking Cronstadt, a fortress of almost unrivalled
strength, and, by reason of the shallow water surrounding it,
unapproachable by the heavy line-of-battle ships and frigates which
constituted all his force; and during the months of his necessary
inactivity, and after his return to England, Lord Dundonald was almost
his only defender. "In justice to Admiral Napier, against whom 'the
indignant dissatisfaction of the nation' is said to be directed," he
wrote in a letter to the "Morning Post," on the 21st of September,
"permit me to say that success could not have attended the operations
of ships against stone batteries firing red-hot shot, however easily
unresisting walls may be leisurely demolished. There is but one means
to place these parties on an equal footing, and that I confidentially
laid before the Government."
"The unreasoning portion of the public," he wrote to Sir James Graham
on the 11th of November, "have made an outcry against old admirals, as
if it were essential that they should be able to clear their way with
a broadsword. But, my dear Sir James, were it necessary--which it is
not--that I should place myself in an arm-chair on the poop, with each
leg on a cushion, I will undertake to subdue every insular
fortification at Cronstadt within four hours from the commencement of
the attack." And Sebastopol, he urged, could be as easily captured, if
he were only allowed to put his plans in operation. But it was not
allowed. "Nothing new can be attempted at the present moment,"
answered Sir James Graham. "Winter will put an end to all active
operations in the Baltic; and I still venture to hope that at
Sebastopol our arms will be triumphant."
Lord Dundonald, though pained, not so much on his own account as in
the interests of the nation, at the way in which his offers were
treated, persevered in making them. It was now too late in the season
to effect anything in the Baltic; but the siege of Sebastopol was
being carried on without any immediate prospect of success; and he
yearned, with all the ardour that he had displayed half a century
before, for an opportunity of rendering success both certain and
immediate.
To this end he wrote again to Sir James Graham, and also for the first
time to the Earl of Aberdeen, on the 30th of December. "The
pertinacious resistance made at Sebastopol, and the possibility of
events that may still further disappoint expectation," he said to Sir
James, "have induced me to address Lord Aberdeen, saying that 'if it
is the opinion of the Cabinet, or of those whom they consult on
military affairs, that, failing the early capture of Sebastopol, the
British army may be in danger, I offer to the discernment of the
Cabinet my still secret plans of attack,' whereby the garrisons would
be expelled from the forts or annihilated, in defiance of numerical
force, and possession obtained, at least during sufficient time to
enable the chief defences to be blown up and the harbour fleet to be
destroyed. If you will so far favour me, I should be gratified by
having an opportunity of demonstrating to your strong mind, free from
professional bias, the fact that combustible ships may be not only
placed on a parity with stone forts fitted to fire red-hot shot, but
secured from injury more effectually than if incased in iron."
Sir James Graham's answer was, like its forerunners, complimentary,
but nothing more. "I can never cease," he wrote, "to do justice to
your patriotic desire to serve your country, which is evinced by your
desire to encounter, in your own person, the dangers attendant on your
experiment, and not to transfer the hazard of the enterprise to
others." But to the enterprise itself he would give no sanction. "Your
plans," he said, "by my desire were submitted to the consideration of
most competent naval and military officers, whose impartial judgment
cannot be impugned, and, on the whole, they did not recommend the
trial of the experiment which you are anxious to make. Neither Lord
Aberdeen nor I can venture to place our individual opinions in
opposition to a recorded judgment of the highest authority on a
question which is purely professional. I see no advantage, therefore,
in renewing the discussion with you at the present moment."
Had the "impartial judgment" by which Sir James Graham held himself
bound been adverse to the principle of Lord Dundonald's plans, or
declared them to be anything more than "inexpedient in present
circumstances," more weight might have been attached to it; although
even then he could have pointed to the opposite verdict, given in
1847, by other judges quite as impartial and competent, who, while
objecting to part of them on the score of their deadly efficacy, had
officially announced their belief in the applicability of another
part--the part of which Lord Dundonald now proposed to make most
use--and recommended its adoption "when the opportunity of employing
it may occur."
He therefore refused to be thwarted in his efforts to render to his
country the great service that he considered to be in his power, and
Sir Charles Napier's removal from the command of the Baltic fleet, in
January, 1855, gave him an opportunity of offering to use that power
under conditions that would relieve the Admiralty of all direct
responsibility in the event of his failure. "I am much gratified," he
said in another letter to Sir James Graham, "to learn that her most
gracious Majesty has been pleased to reserve the high dignity of
Admiral of the Fleet as a reward for services. Under this impression,
permit me to solicit the favour of being allowed to contend for that
distinction, not by reference again to opinions, which may prove
fallacious, but by actual experimental proof of the safety and
facility of assailing fortifications by my secret plans. By them, the
damage and loss of life sustained by the allied squadron in their late
attack on the fortifications of Sebastopol might have been partly if
not wholly averted, and probably a tenfold destruction inflicted on
the enemy. If this is admitted--and I do not think it can be
disputed--I hope you will allow me to demonstrate the general
applicability of these simple, comparatively costless, and in my
opinion infallible means of annihilating the power of all kinds of
batteries that can be approached to windward within half a mile. These
plans have been entertained and pondered over by me during forty
years, and now again I offer to explain, to test, and to put them in
execution."
Sir James Graham's answer was very terse. "I have had the honour," he
wrote on the 23rd of January, "of receiving your lordship's letter, in
which you tender your services to take command of the Baltic Fleet. I
consider the tender highly honourable to you; but I cannot give any
other assurance."
No other assurance would have been of any avail. The Earl of
Aberdeen's Cabinet, having lost the confidence of the country, was
dissolved almost immediately after that letter was written, to be
replaced by an Administration in which Lord Palmerston was Premier,
and Sir Charles Wood First Lord of the Admiralty.
To Lord Palmerston the Earl of Dundonald wrote on the 13th of
February. "The high position of our country being at stake on the
result of the war," he said, "and our long-established naval renown
pledged on the successful conduct of affairs in the Baltic, I
addressed my kind friend Lord Lansdowne, who has been long conversant
with the objects which, by his advice, I now offer to your lordship's
notice as First Minister of the Crown, conjointly, if you judge
proper, with that of the Cabinet over which you preside." He then
briefly described the principle of his secret plan, adding, "I
respectfully offer to execute this plan, and answer for its success,
against Cronstadt, and against all minor strongholds in the Baltic."
Four weeks elapsed before that letter was answered. In the meanwhile
Lord Dundonald, beginning to despair of a satisfactory hearing from
any Minister of State, unless he was induced thereto by a popular
demand, addressed a petition to the House of Commons, urging the
importance of his plans, and praying for "a searching inquiry, to
ascertain whether the aforesaid secret plans are capable speedily,
certainly, and cheaply to surmount obstacles which our gallant,
persevering, and costly armies and fleets have failed to accomplish."
His reasons for so doing he explained in a letter addressed to the
"Times" on the 10th of March.
"Peace," he there said, "being desirable not only for the interests of
our country, but for those of the world at large, and the negotiations
now pending being doubtless injuriously influenced by the obstinate
resistance of Sebastopol (which could be overcome in a day), and by
the impossibility of successfully attacking Cronstadt by naval means
(which might be as speedily reduced), I have drawn up a petition to
Parliament in order that secrecy and silence on my part, and
deficiency of information on that of the public, may no longer prove
injurious to the success of our arms. Hostilities having proceeded so
far, assuredly it is more expedient to reduce a restless nation to a
third- or fourth-rate power, than be ourselves reduced. Let not my
motive be mistaken. I have no wish to command a fleet of 100-gun
ships, or to attack first-rate fortresses by incased batteries or
steam gunboats. That which I desire is, first, secretly to demonstrate
to competent persons the efficiency of my plans, and then to obtain
authority, during eight or ten days of fine weather, to put them in
execution. The means I contemplate are simple, cheap, and safe. They
would spare thousands of lives, millions of money, great havoc and
uncertainty of results. Their consequences might, and probably would,
effect the emancipation of Poland, and give freedom to the usurped
territories of Sweden. Those who judge unfavourably of all aged naval
commanders assuredly do not reflect that the useful employment of the
energies of thousands and tens of thousands of men can best be
developed and directed by a mind instructed by long observation
matured by reflection;--an advantage to which physical power, that
could clear its way by a broadsword, can bear no comparison. My
unsupported opinion in regard to a naval enterprise in 1809 proved to
be correct. Every other undertaking in the British service, and as
Commander-in-Chief in Chili, Peru, Brazil, and Greece, was successful,
and so would the protracted and unaccomplished undertaking, so
injurious to the result of negotiation, have succeeded, had I
possessed sufficient influence to be patiently listened to."
The petition aroused much interest among the public, but was unheeded
by the House of Commons, and therefore produced very slight effect on
the Ministry. "My published petition," wrote Lord Dundonald to
Viscount Palmerston on the 17th of March, "has brought me numerous
letters, and, amongst others, a communication, I believe from high
authority, that if I do know any means whereby to spare the slaughter
that must take place on storming Sebastopol, I ought to make it known.
I wish I could impart to your lordship what I feel under the present
circumstances, and how anxiously I desire that a speedy decision may
succeed the lingering delays that I have so long endured."
A few days after that, chiefly through the assistance of his friend
Lord Brougham, Lord Dundonald obtained an interview with Lord
Palmerston, at which he further detailed his plans, and urged that
they should be promptly employed in hastening a conclusion of the war
with Russia. To Lord Palmerston he also wrote again on the 31st of
March. "It has occurred to me," he said, "that the supposed inhumanity
of my plans may have caused the use of the word 'inexpedient' in the
report of the commission appointed in July last by the Admiralty, and
may even now influence the decision of the Cabinet. Perhaps another
view may have been taken of the consequences of divulging my plans, as
regards the security of this kingdom." To these possible objections he
urged that no conduct that brought to a speedy termination a war which
might otherwise last for years, and be attended by terrible bloodshed
in numerous battles, could be called inhuman; and that the most
powerful means of averting invasion, and, indeed, all future war,
would be the introduction of a method of fighting which, rendering all
vigorous defence impossible, would frighten every nation from running
the risks of warfare at all.
Those arguments appear to have had some weight; but, after further
correspondence, Lord Palmerston's Government, like all the other
Governments to which they had been offered, refused to put the plans
in execution. Further evidence in their favour was obtained from some
eminent scientific men; and it was put beyond dispute that, though
they might not have such deadly efficacy as Lord Dundonald
anticipated--on which point the critics spoke with hesitation--they
could not fail, if properly applied, in producing very important
results. But it was all in vain. All that Lord Palmerston would agree
to was to have the experiment tried on a small scale at Sebastopol,
and by two Engineer officers who were to be instructed in their work
by Lord Dundonald. Lord Dundonald consented to the trial, if it was
conducted by his son, Captain the Honourable Arthur Cochrane, R.N. But
this was not agreed to, and the whole project fell to the ground.
At that result Lord Dundonald was hardly more disappointed than was a
large section of the English public. Friends and strangers, soldiers,
sailors, newspaper writers, and merchants, wrote to him from London,
Edinburgh, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast, and all other parts of the
kingdom, urging that, if the enterprise was not undertaken by
Government, it should be executed by means of a private subscription.
"I am perfectly convinced," wrote one, "that you can do all the injury
to the Russian fortifications that you say you can do. If miserable
jealousy at the Admiralty refuses you the means, take them from those
who, like myself, are very proud to be your countrymen. I am not a
rich man, but I shall gladly subscribe one hundred pounds to any
scheme that you will propose and carry out yourself." "If your
lordship will appeal to the country," wrote another, "in less than a
week you will receive subscriptions to any amount. You will then be
independent of Government routine, and the public will, without
further delay, have an opportunity of testing the value of your
invention, towards which the eyes of all Europe are anxiously turned
at the present juncture."
Those suggestions, and the evidence afforded by them of a widespread
sympathy in his efforts to render a last great service to his country,
afforded real satisfaction to Lord Dundonald; but their adoption was
quite impossible. As a British officer, he could not for a moment
think of entering upon a warlike project independently of the State.
Therefore he left the work on which his heart was set undone, and
soon--though by no means so soon as he could have made it--the Russian
war was brought to a conclusion.
Whatever may have been the cause of the rejection of his offer to
hasten that conclusion by means of his secret war-plans, the Earl of
Dundonald experienced no lack of personal courtesy during the period
of the correspondence, or throughout the brief remainder of his life.
His closing years were cheered by many acts by which was nearly
completed the tardy reparation for former injuries which was begun
with his reinstatement in the navy by King William IV., and in which
the most gratifying circumstance of all was the restoration of his
honours as a Knight of the Bath by her gracious Majesty Queen
Victoria.
"The death of Sir Byam Martin, and the promotion of Sir William Gage
to the office of Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom," wrote Sir James
Graham on the 23rd of October, 1854, "vacate the appointment of
Rear-Admiral. It is an honorary distinction; and your standing in the
naval service and your gallant achievements entitle you to this
reward. I have taken her Majesty's pleasure, and the Queen has
graciously approved my recommendation. I propose, therefore, with your
lordship's permission, that you shall be gazetted Rear-Admiral of the
United Kingdom." "I accept the proposed honour with gratitude to her
Majesty and with thanks to you," answered Lord Dundonald, on the 24th.
"Permit me, however, to express a hope that such distinction shall not
preclude my further service to the Crown and country, which long and
matured consideration on professional subjects assures me I could now
perform even more effectually than at an earlier period."
A month later he was honoured by a compliment from one who, kind and
gracious in all his acts, had never failed in showing towards him
special grace and kindness. "My dear lord," wrote Prince Albert on the
26th of November, "a vacancy has occurred in the list of Honorary
Brethren of the Trinity House, by the lamented death of Sir Byam
Martin. It has always been customary in that corporation to have the
Royal Navy represented amongst the Elder Brethren by one of its most
distinguished officers. I therefore write to inquire whether it would
be agreeable to you to be elected a member of that body; as I should,
in that case, have much pleasure in proposing, as Master of the
Corporation, your name for the election of the Elder Brethren. Believe
me always, my dear lord, yours truly,--Albert."
"May it please your Royal Highness," Lord Dundonald wrote in reply, on
the 27th, "to accept my dutiful and most grateful thanks for the
honour your Royal Highness is pleased to confer. I assure your Royal
Highness that I shall ever look forward with anxiety to prove my
devotion and gratitude to her most gracious Majesty, for signal acts
of justice and favour, and to your Royal Highness for this
highly-appreciated mark of your consideration."
A token of the estimation in which Lord Dundonald was at length held
by all classes of his countrymen may here be recorded. After frequent
refusal, on the ground of his age and love of privacy, he consented,
in May, 1856, to seek admission to the United Service Club. Its
members, thereupon, at once resolved, at the proposal of Vice-Admiral
Sir George F. Seymour, which was seconded by Lieutenant-General Sir
C. F. Smith, "to invite that highly-distinguished officer, Admiral the
Earl of Dundonald, to become an honorary member of the Club, until the
time of his lordship's ballot takes place."
In spite of compliments like these, however, it was his earnest desire
that, before his life was ended, every shadow which had darkened it
might be cleared away, and that he might not pass into the grave
without the assurance that he was formally, and in every respect,
acquitted of the unjust charges brought against him nearly half a
century before. While one single consequence of those charges remained
in force, he considered that he was not so acquitted, and with this
object he laboured to the last.
"I venture to remind your lordship," he wrote to Lord Palmerston, on
the 26th of May, "that the undeviating rectitude of my conduct through
a long life has already induced the Crown, in the exercise of its
justice, to restore my rank and honours. There yet remains, my dear
lord, a gracious and important act to perform, namely, to order my
banner to be replaced in King Henry VII.'s Chapel, and to direct the
repayment of the fine inflicted by the Court of King's Bench, and the
restoration of my half-pay suspended during my removal from the naval
service. Unless these be done, I shall descend to my grave with the
consciousness, not only that justice has not fully been done to me,
but under the painful conviction that its omission will be construed
to the injury of my character in the estimation of posterity.
Independently of the justice of this claim on its own merits, I
venture to express a hope that your lordship will admit that, during
my temporary absence from the naval service, my exertions tended
materially to promote the interests of our country by opening to
commerce the ports of the Pacific and those of all the northern
provinces of Brazil."
The appeal was unsuccessful. The part of it having reference to the
replacement of Lord Dundonald's banner in Westminster Abbey was
considered by Lord Palmerston to be a question with which it was not
in his province to deal. "With regard to the fine," he said, "I am
afraid that there are no funds out of which it could be repaid, and I
should doubt there being any precedent for such a proceeding; and I
find, on inquiry, that pay or half-pay has not been granted to any
naval officer for any period during which he may have been out of the
service." That reply induced Lord Dundonald to write again to Lord
Palmerston on the 7th of June. "I submit," he then said, "that, the
fine being imposed for an alleged offence of which I was wholly
innocent, it ought to be repaid, even if there be no special fund
appropriated to such a purpose. The peculiarity of my case may account
for there being no precedent for such a proceeding, if none there be.
The same peculiarity may distinguish my case from that of all other
naval officers to whom no pay or half-pay has been allowed for any
period during which they may have been out of the service. I may have
been the only naval officer unjustly expelled, and assuredly I have
been the only one so expelled after manifesting, by various acts, a
truly patriotic zeal for the honour and interest of our country. No
other naval officer, after such acts, was ever expelled the service
and otherwise punished on mere conjectural evidence, since
demonstrated to have been utterly groundless. I submit that instances
have occurred of military officers recovering pay or half-pay after
unjust expulsion, as in the case of Sir Robert Wilson; and I am not
aware of the existence of any cause for a distinction in this respect
between the two services. I feel the deepest gratitude and
satisfaction that my life has been spared to a period when I may
reasonably hope that the portion of justice yet due to me for the
erroneous verdict and its injurious consequences will not be withheld.
Of that justice, the first instalment, namely, the restoration of my
naval rank, was granted by his late Majesty King William, and the
second by her present most gracious Majesty, who, on the
representation of my noble friend the Marquess of Lansdowne, was
pleased to reinstate me in the Order of the Bath. For the third and
conclusive portion of justice still remaining due to me, I cannot
desist from looking to your lordship."
It is not necessary to detail the later correspondence that ensued
upon this subject. Lord Dundonald found that the final reparation
which he sought was not, then at any rate, to be conceded to him by
the Government; and therefore he resolved to employ his last remaining
powers in seeking from his countrymen that thorough justice which he
rightly considered would result from an honest review of the incidents
of his life.
During 1858, and in the beginning of 1859, he was engaged in the
preparation of his "Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili,
Peru, and Brazil from Spanish and Portuguese Domination."[24] That
work was immediately followed by his "Autobiography of a Seaman," of
which the first volume was completed in December, 1859, the second in
September, 1860; bringing down the story to the date from which it has
been continued in the present work.[25]
[24] The following letter, dated "Buckingham Palace, March 4, 1859,"
gave pleasure to Lord Dundonald:--"My Lord,--I have received the
commands of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort to return you his
best thanks for the copy of your 'Narrative,' which you have been good
enough to send to his Royal Highness, and upon which his Royal
Highness will place a high value. I am directed further to say that it
would add materially to that value if you would have the kindness to
write in the first page of the accompanying volume that it was
presented by your lordship to the Prince. I have the honour to be, my
lord, your most obedient humble servant,--C. B. Phipps."
[25] Almost the last letter written by Lord Dundonald was this to Lord
Brougham:--"My dear Lord Brougham,--I have the pleasure to forward you
the second volume of my 'Autobiography,' in which you will find that
use has been made of the kind expressions towards myself contained in
your works. Of the injustice done to me I need not tell you, who are
so well acquainted with the subject. If the accompanying volume
succeeds in impressing on the public mind the sentiments so
unflinchingly set forth in your works, it will have answered its
purpose; and that it will do so I see no reason to doubt, now that the
subject can be canvassed apart from political rancour. I am, my dear
Lord Brougham, ever faithfully yours,--Dundonald." Lord Brougham's
answer was dated from Paris, on the 31st of October, the very day of
his friend's death. "I have just received your very kind letter, and I
daresay the volume will very speedily reach me.... One thing I fear
you do not come down late enough to relate. I mean the impression made
upon all present when I took you to the Tuileries; and when the name
of Cochrane, so well known to them (and which I cannot bring myself to
change for your present title), was no sooner heard than there was a
general start and shudder. I remember saying, as we drove away, that
it ought to satisfy you as to your disappointment at Basque Roads; and
you answered that you would rather have had the ships."
That his mind was full of vigour to the last is best proved by that
autobiography. But the body was worn out. After two years of great
physical suffering, passed in the house of his eldest son at Queen's
Gate, Kensington, he died on the 31st of October, 1860, eighty-five
years old.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, where in his last moments he had
expressed a desire to rest, in company with other great servants of
the nation. A public funeral was not granted to him; but his son was
permitted to conduct that funeral in a way worthy of his great
reputation, and agreeable to the wishes of all classes of his
countrymen. Through the personal intervention of her most gracious
Majesty and the Prince Consort, moreover, who counteracted the efforts
of subordinates, his insignia of the Order of the Bath, which had been
ignominiously spurned from King Henry the Seventh's chapel,
one-and-fifty years before, were restored to their place on the 13th
of November. Thus his last and most cherished wish was fulfilled, and
another precious boon was added to the many favours for which his
family can never cease to be grateful to their Sovereign and her noble
husband.
The burial was on the 14th of November. The pall-bearers were Admiral
Sir George Seymour, the Brazilian Minister, Admiral Grenfell--who
five-and-thirty years before had been associated with Lord Dundonald
in securing the independence of Brazil--Captain Goldsmith, Captain
Schomberg, Captain Hay, and Captain Nolloth. Among the mourners was
Lord Brougham, who had come from Paris to render this last honour to
one who had been his friend through fifty years. Standing over the
grave, and looking round upon the assemblage, he exclaimed, "No
Cabinet minister here! no officer of State to grace this great man's
funeral!" But the funeral was graced by the reverent homage of
hundreds gathered within the Abbey walls, and of the thousands who,
though absent, acknowledged that England had lost one of her bravest
warriors and most unselfish patriots, one whose warfare had been
marked by acts of daring rarely equalled, and whose patriotism had
brought upon him sufferings such as few in modern times have had to
endure. The solemn anthem chanted over his grave, "His body is buried
in peace, but his memory shall live for ever," echoed far and wide,
and awakened in every breast keen sentiments of sympathy for what he
had borne and of pride in what he had done.
Ashes to Ashes! Lay the hero down
Within the grey old Abbey's glorious shade.
In our Walhalla ne'er was worthier laid
Since martyr first won palm, or victor crown.
'Tis well the State he served no farthing pays
To grace with pomp and honour all too late
His grave, whom, living, Statesmen dogged with hate,
Denying justice, and withholding praise.
Let England hide her face above his tomb,
As much for shame as sorrow. Let her think
Upon the bitter cup he had to drink--
Heroic soul, branded with felon's doom.
A Sea-King, whose fit place had been by Blake,
Or our own Nelson, had he been but free
To follow glory's quest upon the sea,
Leading the conquered navies in his wake--
A Captain, whom it had been ours to cheer
From conquest on to conquest, had our land
But set its wisest, worthiest in command,
Not such as hated all the good revere.
We let them cage the Lion while the fire
In his high heart burnt clear and unsubdued;
We let them stir that frank and forward mood
From greatness to the self-consuming ire,
The fret and chafe that wait on service scorned,
Justice denied, and truth to silence driven;
From men we left him to appeal to Heaven,
'Gainst fraud set high, and evidence suborned--
We left him, with bound arms, to mark the sword
Given to weak hands; left him, with working brain,
To see rogues traffic, and fools rashly reign,
Where Strength should have been guide, and Honour lord--
Left him to cry aloud, without support,
Against the creeping things that eat away
Our wooden walls, and boast as they betray,
The base supporters of a baser Court,
The crawling worms that in corruption breed,
And on corruption batten, till at last
Mistaken honour the proud victim cast
Out to their spite, to writhe, and pant, and bleed
Under their stings and slime; and bleed he did
For years, till hope into heart-sickness grew,
And he sought other seas and service new,
And his bright sword in alien laurels hid--
Nor even so found gratitude, but came
Back to his England, bankrupt, save of praise,
To eat his heart, through weary wishful days,
And shape his strength to bearing of his shame,
Till, slow but sure, drew on a better time,
And Statesmen owned the check of public will;
And, at the last, light pierced the shadow chill
That fouled his honour with the taint of crime.
And then they gave him back the knightly spurs
Which he had never forfeited--the rank
From which he ne'er by ill-deserving sank,
More than the Lion sinks for yelp of curs.
Justice had lingered on its road too long:
The Lion was grown old; the time gone by,
When for his aid we vainly raised a cry,
To save our flag from shame, our decks from wrong.
The infamy is _theirs_, whose evil deed
Is past undoing; yet not guiltless we,
Who, penniless, that brave old man could see,
Restored to honour, but denied its meed.
A Belisarius, old and sad and poor,
To _our_ shame, not to _his_--so he lived on,
Till man's allotted fourscore years were gone,
And scarcely then had leave to 'stablish sure
Proofs of _his_ innocence, and _their_ shame,
That had so wronged him; and, this done, came death,
To seal the assurance of his dying breath,
And wipe the last faint tarnish from his name.
At last his fame stands fair, and full of years
He seeks that judgment which his wrongers all
Have sought before him--and above his pall
His flag, replaced at length, waves with his peers.
He did not live to see it, but he knew
His country with one voice had set it high;
And knowing this he was content to die,
And leave to gracious Heaven what might ensue.
Ashes to ashes! Lay the hero down,
No nobler heart e'er knew the bitter lot
To be misjudged, maligned, accused, forgot--
Twine martyr's palm among his victor's crown.[26]
[26] These lines, by Mr. Tom Taylor, were published in "Punch."
"Victor and Martyr." Those are the words fittest to be inscribed on
the monument that will be set up in the hearts of Englishmen in honour
of the Earl of Dundonald. Entering life with great powers of mind and
great physical endowments for his only fortune, he made his name
famous, and won immortal honour to himself by daring and successful
enterprises in the naval service of his country, which none have
surpassed at an age so young as his, and which few have rivalled
during a long life-time spent in war. But he sought to follow up those
triumphs of his prowess on the sea by peaceful victories at home over
private jealousy, official intrigue, and political wrong-doing, and
thereby he brought on himself opposition which, boldly resented,
caused the unjust forfeiture of the rewards that were his due, and
weighed him down with a terrible load of disappointed hope and
undeserved reproach. Seeking relief from these grievous sufferings,
and opportunity of further work in a profession very dear to him and
in generous aid of nations striving to throw off the tyranny to which
they had long been subjected, he entered the service of three foreign
states in succession. But in helping others he only brought fresh
trouble on himself. He rescued Chili and Peru from Spanish thraldom,
only to find that the people whom he had freed therefrom were
themselves enthralled by passions which even he could do nothing to
overcome, and which drove him from their shores, barely thanked and
quite unrecompensed. He fought the battles of the young empire of
Brazil against Portugal, doubled her territories, and more than
doubled her opportunities of future development, only to be cruelly
spurned by the faction then in power, and denied the fulfilment of
national pledges which a later generation has but tardily and slightly
regarded. Harder yet was his treatment by the Greeks, who, having
asked him to lead them in their contest with their Turkish masters,
refused to follow his leadership, gave him no assistance in his plans
for fighting on their behalf, and, in return for the services which,
in spite of all the difficulties in his way, he was able to render
them, offered him little but insult. Thus more than half his life was
wasted--wasted as far as he himself was concerned, though the gain to
others from every one of his achievements was great indeed. Returning
then to peaceful work in England, he chiefly spent the years remaining
to him in efforts to win back the justice of which he had been
deprived, and in efforts, yet more zealous, to benefit his country by
exercise of the inventive talents in which he was almost as eminent as
in warlike powers. But those talents were slighted, though from them
has, in part, resulted an entire and wholly beneficial revolution in
the science and practice of naval warfare. And, though many of his
personal wrongs were redressed, he was allowed to die without the
complete wiping out of the stain that had been put upon his honour.
Of this long course of suffering, it must be admitted, he was himself
in some measure the cause. Endowed, as few others have been endowed,
with the highest mental qualities, he lacked other qualities necessary
to worldly advancement and the prosperous enjoyment of life. Truth and
justice he made the guiding principles of all his actions; but he knew
nothing of expediency, and was no adept in the arts of prudence.
Unrivalled strategy was displayed by him in all his warlike
enterprises; but against the strategy of his fellow-workers he was
utterly defenceless. He made enemies where a cautious man might have
made friends, and he allowed those enemies to assail him, and to
inflict upon him injuries almost irreparable, with weapons and by
onslaughts which a cautious man would easily have warded off. Judged
by the harshest rules of worldly wisdom, however, it must be
acknowledged that these faults brought upon him far heavier punishment
than he merited. And perhaps it will be deemed by posterity that they
were faults very nearly akin to virtues.
The same want of prudence caused trouble to him in other respects. It
led him, in furtherance of the inventions and other projects by which
he sought to benefit the world, into expenses by which his scanty
sources of income were very heavily taxed. It also sometimes made him
the victim of others. Guileless himself, he was not proof against the
guile of many with whom he came in contact. Every kind word sounded in
his ear, every kind act appeared in his eye, as if it proceeded from a
heart as full of kindness as his own, and he often lavished sympathy
and gratitude on unworthy objects. But shall we blame him for this?
Kindness, indeed, was as much a characteristic of him as valour. While
the world was full of the fame of his warlike achievements, all who
came within the circle of his acquaintance marvelled to find a man so
simple, so tender, so generous, and so courteous. When he was bowed
down by sorrows that nearly crushed him, he sought comfort in zealous
efforts for alleviating the sufferings of others.
Fortunate circumstances would have placed him in a station of
universal honour, which he could have occupied to the admiration of
all on-lookers. But the circumstances of his life were unfortunate;
and therefore he had to endure such hardship as falls to the lot of
few. The harsh judgment by which he suffered has already been
reversed. It will be atoned for when his worth is properly
acknowledged by his fellow-men.
APPENDIX.
(Page 161.)
CAPTAIN ABNEY HASTINGS'S LETTERS TO LORD COCHRANE
So much had to be said in the body of this volume in evidence of the
insurmountable difficulties raised by the Greeks themselves to Lord
Cochrane's efforts to aid them as efficiently as he desired, that
there seemed no room, without wearying the reader, for there citing
more than two or three of the letters addressed to him by Captain
Abney Hastings. They have, therefore, been reserved for quotation
here. Their publication is desirable for two reasons. In the first
place, they show how Captain Hastings, whom all the historians of the
Greek Revolution join in praising, was harassed, and his work rendered
almost useless, by causes which Lord Cochrane, in a much more
difficult position, was blamed for not overcoming. In the second
place, they will serve as a contribution to the biography of a
high-minded and valiant man, a sharer in Lord Cochrane's zealous
efforts on behalf of Greece, and in the misfortunes incident thereto,
of whose memorable career the world knows little.
I.
_Karteria_, Hydra, March 26th, 1827.
MY LORD,
The usual contrarieties of the machine prevented my following you
yesterday according to your desire. Observing you went to Poros, I
thought I should act in conformity with your wishes by coming here to
take in coals, and avoid all possible delay. I have got on board
enough for about four days more. I have expected you all day, and not
seeing you I have taken upon myself to depart for the service you
destined me for; although I am not quite certain I know the exact
station. I shall go off Grabousa and endeavour to find Captain St.
George. I leave a letter here for the primates, requesting them to
load a small vessel with coals for my return, which I wish to take in
on the opposite side. This measure, far from occasioning delay, would
be advantageous in that respect as well as having less close
connection with the Hydriots, whose presence always has the effect of
setting a bad example to the Greeks I have on board. I should feel
obliged to your lordship to insist on this measure. Perhaps it would
be advantageous for your lordship to decide upon the port you intend
to occupy immediately, and send there all the coals and other stores
wanted for your naval force. Since you object to an island in the
Great Archipelago, I am of opinion, with Colonel Gordon, that Ambalaki
is the best suited for your station. If all the coals were there, much
delay would be saved to the steam-vessels. One of the causes our
engine went so badly was that some fire-bars being burnt the fire fell
through, and we could not keep up the steam; another was, I had taken
up the paddles (which previously had two-feet dip) six inches; the
engine consequently went faster, but the pumps would not supply
sufficient water. I have lowered them again. Pray leave your further
orders for me here, as I shall touch for coals as aforesaid on my
return.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
II.
_Karteria_, Poros, April 9th, 1827
MY LORD,
I have the honour to transmit you an account of the _Karteria_
steam-vessel up to March 16th, by which you will perceive that with
the 500l. credit I have on Messrs. Baif at Zante, I still have a
credit of 363 dollars in my favour. Not accustomed to keep such
accounts, there may be errors, but if any they are certainly against
myself, as I may have omitted charging expenses; whereas, I have never
charged but what has really been expended, nor have I ever charged
anything for myself, directly or indirectly. Wages will become due
again the 16th of this month, for which I shall require about 800
dollars. Having but a few days' salt meat on board, I beg your
lordship to cause an order to be written, enabling me to receive such
quantity as you may deem requisite.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
III.
_Karteria_, Scopulo, April 19th, N.S., 1827.
MY LORD,
Northerly winds prevented my passing Cape Doro until the 15th. Having
spoken a vessel from Skyro, I learnt that an Austrian merchant vessel
loaded with corn and ammunition for Negropont was laying at that
island under convoy of an Austrian vessel of war, and that the
corvette of Tombasi was there watching the merchant vessel. I touched
at Skyro the night of the 15th, and found that the Austrian was gone,
supposed for Syra, followed by an Hydriot schooner of Konduriottes,
who is supposed to have made some arrangement with the Austrian to
deliver the cargo to him. The Greek corvette had sailed, as I was
told, for this. I arrived here the night of the 16th, and found that
the brig and schooner were zealously employed on the service they had
been sent upon. Having steamed more than I had at first intended, I
was in want of fuel, and set them at work here to obtain me wood,
which they have done with more alacrity than I expected during Easter
holidays. The engine of course required repairs. I sent off the
schooner to inform the vessels of the blockade, when I should join
them, and appointing a rendezvous. I sail immediately, and hope to
take or destroy the vessels at Tricheri and Volo tomorrow. I send this
by the primates of this island, who carry a letter to your lordship
offering their services. They have been apparently much oppressed in
all these islands by the heroes of the earth, and are anxious to
obtain protection from the naval force. This island is fertile, and
could (and could be made to) pay well for protection. The others have
claims equally strong for protection. St. George, De Skyro, Scopulo,
Skatho, &c., &c., have more than 2,000 Liapis quartered upon them at
this moment. If Athens is relieved, these worthies might be turned
into Negropont with much effect. I am told the Turkish transports are
still at Tricheri and Volo, not doubting to clear the Gulf of Greeks
_‡ force d'argent_--however, I hope to be with them to-morrow.
I suspect fuel could be obtained cheaper here than at Megara; and I
see no reason for incurring the expense of transport of wood to Poros
for construction of gunboats when a great majority of the Greek
vessels are constructed here. The wood does not grow here. It is
brought from Agora on the main. The deputies--_tout bÍtes comme ils
sont_--can inform your lordship of these things.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
P.S.--Having taken the coals out from between the boilers and side of
the ship, I am anxious to fill this space with wool, as a protection
against shot. The coals stowed there are an inconvenience for many
reasons, and something is necessary to replace them as a protection
for the boilers. If your lordship would be good enough to order
Tombasi to procure me wool for that purpose, I think you would be
ultimately satisfied of its utility.
IV.
_Karteria_, off Tricheri, Monday,
April 23rd, N.S., 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to inform you that in pursuance of your orders, I
carried the squadron under my command, consisting of corvette
_Themistocles_, brig _Aris_, schooner _Aspasia_, and schooner
_Panayia_, before the port of Volo, the evening of the 20th. I found
eight vessels at anchor in the port; immediately I directed the
_Themistocles_ and _Aris_ to anchor off a battery at the point, and
cannonade it whilst I entered the harbour with boats and schooners. At
4.30 P.M. they anchored with much gallantry, and soon silenced the
musket-shot from the battery. At the same moment I entered the harbour
with the boats and schooners, and we shortly took possession of seven
brigs: they were all on shore, and most without sails bent. However,
by 9 P.M. we succeeded in getting out five prizes, three loaded with
provisions and ammunition, two light; and this most fortunately
without the loss of a man killed or wounded, although we lay at anchor
in the harbour four hours and a half, exposed to the fire of the
Castle of Volo. The ship has received no material injury, although
several shot struck her. We set fire to two prizes we could not
succeed in getting out; one light brig remains, but we shot away her
foremast and did her such damage in her hull as will (I hope) prevent
her putting to sea again. Last night I entered Tricheri with the boats
of _Themistocles_, _Aris_, and _Aspasia_, to endeavour to carry out a
brig of war, Turkish, of sixteen guns and two mortars, but found her
protected too advantageously by batteries and musketry. I send the
prizes to your lordship under the convoy of the _Aspasia_, and shall
remain here a few days to endeavour to destroy the Turkish brig of
war, and shall then return to join your lordship. I beg leave to
assure your lordship before I conclude that in these affairs I have
met with the most cordial support from the captains of the vessels
under my orders, and that their conduct, as well as that of all the
officers and men of the squadron, has been highly meritorious.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. Hastings.
P.S.--As the schooner _Panayia_ will participate in the prizes, I have
ordered her to remain on the blockade, although not sent by your
lordship.
V.
_Karteria_, at Sea, April 24th, 1827.
MY LORD,
An hour after I had the honour of sending you my last letter,
detailing the affair of Volo, I stood into Tricheri with the vessels
under my command, viz., _Themistocles_, _Aris_, _Panayia_.
The Turks in this place had one brig-of-war which (erroneously in my
last I rated at sixteen guns) mounted but fourteen long 24-pounders
and two mortars; she was made fast in a small bight, with a plank on
shore and high rocks on each side of her, behind which were posted a
strong corps of Albanian troops; she was likewise protected by a
battery close under her bow and five other batteries in other parts.
Four small schooners lay quite hauled up on the beach. To attempt to
carry away vessels so posted and defended by men who wanted neither
alacrity nor resolution would have been exposing the lives of the
crews in a very unwarrantable manner. I therefore resolved to burn the
brig, which we effected in less than an hour. I did not make any
attempt upon the schooners, which I considered too inconsiderable to
justify a loss in capturing them. In this affair the captains,
officers, and crews conducted themselves all much to my satisfaction.
Inclosed I have the honour to transmit to you a return of the killed
and wounded in this affair, which, I am happy to say, is trifling. I
have left the rest of the squadron to maintain the blockade.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
A return of the killed and wounded on board of the Greek
squadron, at Tricheri, April 23rd./11th.
_Karteria_, killed . . . one seaman, Ralph Hall.
_Aris_, killed . . . . . one seaman.
" wounded . . . . . . two seamen.
_Panayia_, wounded . . . one seaman.
Total . . . . . . . two killed and three wounded.
F. A. HASTINGS.
VI.
_Karteria_, at Sea, April 26th, N.S., 1827.
MY LORD,
Passing by Kumi, I observed several vessels at anchor there, and a
great number of large kyekes, &c., hauled up on the beach. I stood in,
and overhauled them, and found, as I suspected, that a most scandalous
and extensive commerce in grain is carrying on to that place with the
Turks, chiefly in Greek vessels. A brig under Russian colours was
chiefly discharged; a Psarian schooner was nearly full, and the
magazines on shore were full. I set about loading the grain from the
magazines, but was unable to take off more than one-third of what was
in them; and I have good reason for supposing that other magazines
equally stored are to be found in the town, about an hour's distance.
Here there were only a dozen Turks, who fled at our approach. In the
evening no less than nine small vessels were seen standing in to Kumi.
I weighed and boarded six of them; three being entirely empty, I
allowed to pass; two I detained and have brought with me.
The want of men, of time, &c., has prevented my putting a finishing
hand to this infamous traffic; but I have no doubt your lordship will
see the propriety of sending a vessel of war without delay to destroy
these depÙts. It is idle to talk of blockading the Gulf of Negropont
whilst such an extensive commerce is carrying on at other points of
the island.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
VII.
_Karteria_, Poros, April 28th, 1827.
MY LORD,
Captain St. George going to join you, I take the opportunity of
informing you, besides what my other letters contain, that my
information from Kumi imports that Negropont contains two months'
provisions for the army of Kutayi and fortress, and that all their
hopes are in the Turkish fleet, expected daily. It seems to me of the
first importance that the Greek fleet should be ready to encounter the
Turks; and the Gulf is a place particularly favourable to the smaller,
lighter, and more skilful party. Might I suggest, my lord, the
propriety of sending a couple of light vessels upon whom you could
depend to cruise off the Dardanelles, and give information in time?
The corvette, brig, and schooner off Tricheri requested me to
represent their want of provisions, and the necessity they have of
paying their crew regularly; many I suspect have already quitted them:
with Greek sailors no arrears of pay can exist--hitherto they have
been accustomed to receive their wages in advance; if they can be made
to go to sea without that advance it is a great point gained; to omit
fulfilling the engagement would be to ruin all confidence and oblige
the sailors to return to their ancient demands.
With respect to Kumi, I beg leave to urge the necessity of sending a
vessel (perhaps better Captain St. George than a Greek, who probably
would not dare do his duty there, was he so disposed) to destroy the
infamous traffic existing there. May I beg of your lordship to order
here the Marine Tribunal from Napoli to adjudge the prizes taken; also
to issue a public order respecting the distribution of prize-money, by
which I may be guided in my payments? You will observe that in my
letter respecting the affair of Tricheri I mention simply having burnt
the brig-of-war without saying how. That letter being a despatch for
publication, I thought it as well not to proclaim to the enemy the use
we made of red-hot shot. It was by those I burnt the brig, and could
quite as easily burn by the same means the largest ship ever built.
Might I suggest the advantage that would result from using the same
projectile from almost every ship? each vessel might as well as me
have a furnace in her hold for the feeding of two of her guns--the
effect would be tremendous. If the fleet was ready before the Turks
came out, a slight excursion to Salonica might be attended with profit
and advantage. I shall require a little time to repair damages. I have
lost my larboard cat-head, my jib-boom, second topmast, main-gaff,
bowsprit shot through, and the engine requires various repairs--the
steam waste-pipe is completely gone, and I must get another made. I
hope and trust your lordship has still the intention of forming a
national fleet and a dockyard; without this your difficulties will be
multiplied beyond measure. I merely mention this because I hear
intrigues are on foot to prevent such measures. I, a stranger, who
belong to no party, and who neither fear nor love the Hydriots and
Spetziots, will tell you the truth on these points. Although your
orders prescribed for me to remain a fortnight on the blockade of the
Gulf of Negropont, I was forced to return--wanting ammunition, fuel,
provisions, and various repairs. I shall use my endeavours to be ready
for sea as speedily as possible. Before I conclude, give me leave to
congratulate your lordship upon your brilliant success at the PirÊus.
I have no doubt it is but a prelude to more important successes.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
VIII.
_Karteria_, Poros, April 30th, 1827.
MY LORD,
May I beg leave to present to you my very particular friend, Mr.
Nicolo Kalergy? You will find him a young man of good education,
talent, and, what is of still greater value, of great probity. I have
known him many years, and esteemed him equally long. By his private
fortune he is independent, and has consequently always refused to
meddle in the intrigues he regrets so much to see cause the
misfortunes of his country. So much for introduction. Mr. Nicolo
Kalergy has been good enough to wait upon you to receive your orders
respecting the prizes I have lately captured. These vessels contain
grain chiefly, and therefore would in that state be of no use to you.
Your commissaries must turn it into biscuit before it is sent to the
Piraeus. The Government has sent for the Admiralty Court from Napoli
to sit here upon the judgment of vessels detained. As to the sale, I
am of opinion that to appease the jealousy of the seamen a public sale
should be held, and your commissaries purchase it if they please. They
will thus always obtain it cheaper than they could buy it at Syra, and
thus nobody can complain. I am anxious to receive from your lordship
an order respecting the distribution of prize-money, and this, I
think, should be public. Hitherto the Government has received fifteen
per cent. upon all prizes. Of course your lordship will arrange as you
think proper upon this subject; but if any part of a prize goes to the
public purse, it is only but just it should aid in the payment of the
wages of seamen. I am now paying a month's wages out of my own pocket,
which I hope and trust your lordship will reimburse me, as I cannot
continue this system. Anything can be done in Greece by prompt
payments; with arrears nothing is to be done. My friend has much and
various information respecting every part of Greece, and can furnish
you with much useful matter. I do not doubt but you will shortly
appreciate his merit.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
P.S.--May I beg of you, my lord, to furnish me with a commission of
lieutenant for Mr. Darby, the only officer doing duty as a sailor on
board--in truth, he is no sailor, and does not pretend, but he is
brave, diligent, and a gentleman, and has served with me for about
four months?
IX.
_Karteria_, Poros, April 30th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I had the honour to receive your orders of the 28th inst. Your
lordship will have observed, by the letters I had the honour of
transmitting to you, that the condition of this vessel is such as to
render it impossible for her to put to sea immediately. Dr. Gosse last
night was occupied sending you off 68-pounders, and I am happy to hear
this morning that the monastery has fallen without them. I must again
repeat how indispensable it is that this fleet should be in readiness
to encounter the Turks, who cannot now delay long their departure.
It is with deep regret I see the extreme discontent existing on board
the _Sauveur_ brig, which seems to me to be greatly augmented, if not
entirely owing to the Greeks being paid in advance and the English
being in arrears of wages. In this country, my lord, I must repeat,
nothing can be done without regular payments. By paying out of my own
funds, when others could not be obtained, I have established the
confidence of the Greeks and English in this vessel, as far as money
is concerned; but I cannot continue to pay out of my own pocket. If
funds are not forthcoming for the wages of this vessel, I must beg
leave to resign. Whilst I am on board my people will always consider
me personally responsible for their wages; and I must again remark I
have suffered already much too severely in my private fortune to admit
of my making further sacrifices. Besides wages for the crew, I have
various expenses here to repair damage sustained by the vessel.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
P.S.--It seems to me necessary to relieve the vessels at Volo, or they
will quit their station. Greek sailors on board their own ships will
not remain more than a month at sea.
X.
_Karteria_, Poros, May 6th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I do myself the honour of enclosing for your perusal two different
extracts from public papers sent me lately from Zante. I am now ready
for sea, excepting powder, of which I have only two quarter-casks of
very vile French stuff, received from Captain St. George. Mr. Hesketh,
amongst the other prizes made at Napoli, has brought some flannel
cartridges for our guns filled, and forty casks of powder. Would your
lordship have the goodness to cause an order to be sent me to receive
this powder? There is still a great quantity of the stores sent out
from England missing. I have the bills of lading, and can give copies
to Mr. Hesketh, if you think proper to send to Hydra, Spetzas, and
Napoli again to collect them. I suspect the Hydriots have now in their
possession about one hundred and sixty carbines such as I have on
board.
It appears strange to everybody here that all the Commissary
Department should be absent. I am informed provisions are wanted, and
yet nobody comes to buy the prize provisions. As every Greek is by
nature a thief, things disappear daily; and if they remain much
longer, nothing will be forthcoming. Already my Greeks have petitioned
me about the prizes; and everybody acquainted with Greek sailors must
be aware they will not go to sea again until they have been paid their
prize-money. Till now there never was no example of a ship quitting
her prize until sold and the proceeds distributed. I am sorry to be
obliged to remind your lordship again that on my arrival here I paid
my crew one month's wages, due the 16th of last month, and in ten days
more another month's wages are due, and pay I must, for, as I have
frequently remarked to your lordship, no arrears can exist in this
country. The wages also is not the only expense. I was obliged to
purchase about one hundred tons of firewood at Scopulo. Fresh meat in
harbour runs away with great sums; and when the engine works, it
consumes about half a dollar a day of oil. Besides all this, I have
been obliged to hire three carpenters for ten days to repair damages
done in late expedition. I had a fluke shot off a bower anchor at
Tricheri, and ought to have another one. I must get a new main-sail
made here. It is disagreeable to me to torment your lordship with all
these statements, but you must be aware that a vessel like this cannot
be sailed without great expense. There are here a number of seamen
from the brig who want to enter with me. I have as yet refused to
receive them; but, if you thought proper to give me an order, I should
then be justified in so doing.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XI.
_Karteria_, Spetzas, May 30th, 1827.
MY LORD,
Having lost my two masts in a squall off Cape Malea, and having
business at Poros requiring my presence, I have thought it the most
expeditious way to go myself to purchase other masts at Hydra, and
settle my affairs at Poros. I therefore do myself the honour to
transmit to your lordship a report of my proceedings after you left me
near Stamphane. At sunset I lighted the fires, and, as soon as steam
was up, steered for the passage between Zante and the Morea. The wind
freshening much in a contrary direction, I found myself about ten
miles to the southward of Zante in the morning. About three A.M. we
perceived a large vessel standing towards us from the Morea, and we
went to quarters for her. I thought at first she might be the
_Hellas_; but on approaching she stood back to the mainland, which
made me conclude that it was a stranger; the wind increasing, I could
not remain head to wind, and made sail under the lee of Zante. In the
forenoon I saw a large ship under the land far off steering to the
south, which I concluded was a Turkish or neutral ship of war. The
wind abating, I steamed up round the eastern point of Zante, and not
finding the _Hellas_ on the other side of the island, I stood towards
Cephalonia, opening out the two Turkish frigates laying at Clarenza.
In the evening I saw a large ship very far astern coming northward,
and supposed she was the _Hellas_ and the same I had seen in the
forenoon under the land. At sunset I altered course and steered for
Clarenza, and in the first watch we saw a good deal of firing in that
direction. The wind and sea augmenting, I was unable to keep the ship
head to sea, and therefore bore up for the _rendezvous_ of Oxia. Not
finding the _Hellas_ at this station, the wind augmenting, the
starboard wheel being out of repair, and threatening to come to pieces
if not looked to, the water requiring to be drawn off the boilers,
&c., all these things made it necessary for me to search a port. I
looked inside Oxia, but found it unsafe, and therefore bore up for the
Port of Petala, where I put things to rights as well as I could; but
found on examination we had but three days and a half's coals, little
water, and only a few days' bread. Under these circumstances, I felt
myself called upon to return whilst the means were still left me of
hoping to accomplish it. Having obtained an offing west of Cephalonia,
I took off the paddles and sailed, which gave us an opportunity of
again repairing the wheels--again in an unsound condition--and saved
our fuel. The wind and sea calming, I got up my steam; and there being
every appearance of calm weather, I stood within five or six miles of
Modon, hoping to meet the two frigates we saw off there when we passed
northward. However, we saw nothing but a brig inside the harbour,
sailing close along the land. Late on the evening of the 28th, when
rounding Cape St. Angelo, a squall from the high land carried away our
fore and second masts, and left us in a very unenviable situation,
considering we had but a few hours' coals on board. However, a breeze
favouring us all night, we arrived here at ten A.M., 29th May. Upon
the foremast we lost one man--Jani Patinioti.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XII.
_Karteria_, Spetzas, June 7th, N.S., 1827.
MY LORD,
I had the honour of sending you a report of my proceedings since I
left you, and hoped to have found you here on my return from Poros,
that I might receive your further orders. I returned last night,
having been subjected to more delay and vexation than can be imagined
or expressed, respecting the prizes taken at Volo. I could only
procure one mast at Poros, sold me by Tombasi--others there were both
at Hydra and Poros, but the proprietors would not part with them; I
have therefore been obliged to purchase one here, considerably too
large and expensive, but there is no remedy. I hope to be ready for
sea in three days, but fear I shall have some embarrassment about
money matters. The purchase of masts, of salt provisions, sails, &c.,
besides the pay due to crew, puts me to considerable straits,
particularly as I had lent all the ready money I possessed to Kalergy
to redeem his brother; however, I shall do my utmost to get to sea,
and I am anxious to know how, when, and where, I can have the honour
of rejoining your lordship. A fireship that departs to-day will
deliver you this letter, and your lordship may perhaps think it worth
while to send a vessel here with orders for my further guidance. May I
beg of you also to add a private signal by which I may know all Greek
vessels at a tolerable distance by day--also a night private signal?
The British squadron is assembled at Smyrna, awaiting the admiral. The
camp at Phalerum is broken up, and General Church is returned to
Egina. The puppet of Government is occupied voting for the nomination
of ministers, if possible more incapable than themselves; they talk of
going to Napoli--Griva and Fotomana propose this. The former as usual
seized upon an American ship; and Dr. Howe, charged with the
distribution of the cargo, applied to Captain Patterson of the
_Constitution_, who is now at Napoli guarding it. I am sorry to add
that Mr. Lee received a letter from England announcing that the
_Enterprise_ having sailed, her boilers burst opposite Plymouth, and
she was towed into that port by a brig-of-war.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XIII.
_Karteria_, Spetzas, June 9th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I had the honour to receive your order of the 7th, enjoining me to
repair to your lordship without delay, if ready for sea. A variety of
circumstances (unavoidable in a country deprived of even the shadow of
organization) has prevented my being yet ready to sail. I received my
foremast on board to-day, but the majority and best of my crew has
left me. I must look for others, and intend to weigh to-night and go
to Poros, where I was tormented by hundreds to take them. Here I can
get men--but shall confine myself to half-a-dozen, as I find it
necessary to mix my crew. In going to Poros I shall not delay
anything, since I shall be occupied getting up my masts and rigging
there, making sails, &c., &c., _en route_, and I can water more easily
at Poros than here. I have informed the captain of the brig that
brought this, that if I am ready to sail before any further orders of
yours arrive, I shall repair to Cerigotto, and there await
instructions from you; if I am not at Cerigotto I shall be found here.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XIV.
_Karteria_, Syra, August 1st, 1827.
MY LORD,
In hopes of seeing your lordship here I have waited two days, since
which, although not finished, all the work of our machinery can be
done on board. There are two things which retain me, namely, money, of
which I require about seven hundred dollars, and the fire-bars, which
they continually civilly refuse me--acting the true Greek or in other
words, the dog in the manger. If your lordship remains long absent, I
shall be sadly puzzled how to act. Without new fire-bars we cannot
steam again. The local authorities here are so afraid of the Hydriots
and Spetziots that they dare not take any steps against them. To leave
this without the fire-bars is useless. If I can obtain these bars, and
your lordship does not arrive, I will pay myself the necessary sums to
get the vessel out of this port, hoping you will reimburse me--but to
go without the bars is only going to return again. What I can do to
forward the service I will readily perform, and anxious enough I am to
get away from this place.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XV.
_Karteria_, Poros, August 19th, 1827,
MY LORD,
On my arrival here I wrote to Hydra to request the local authorities
there to send me the necessary coals, since you do not wish the last
cargo to be used. I have received no answer, and upon inquiring
yesterday from persons arrived from Hydra, I find they are not taking
any measures to forward them to me. My officer wrote me under date of
the 15th from Napoli that he hoped to be able to cast the bars there,
in which case I shall have to wait for the coals from Hydra. The
impertinence of these shopkeepers has at length attained a pitch that
is scarcely endurable--it is to be hoped your lordship will make them
send the coals--[The remainder is lost.]
XVI.
_Karteria_, Poros, August 20th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I am delighted to find you have an expedition in progress. This vessel
shall be ready to accompany your lordship, whether I can get the bars
cast at Napoli or not. The ones we now have can be made to answer for
twenty-four hours. I shall write to Napoli to order the engineers to
be here by the 23rd, whether they succeed in casting the bars or not.
The coals I wrote for from Hydra are Government coals; and it is well
they should be used the first, as I have been informed they are
greatly diminishing without our consumption. I should like to complete
as speedily as possible, and there is no time to spare between this
and the 24th for shipping 100 tons of coal from Hydra.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XVII.
_Karteria_, Poros, August 22nd, 1827.
MY LORD,
I am making a sail according to your lordship's plan, to becalm the
hull of the ship, but want sailcloth for completing it. I understand
M. Koering has some in store; would your lordship be kind enough to
allow me to take a hundred piques? I have a good deal of very bad
French powder on board, and even of Turkish, I suspect, put into
French barrels, which I received from Methana--could your lordship
permit me to exchange it against English powder? It is of very great
importance that our cartridge powder should be good.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XVIII.
_Karteria_, Gulf of Lepanto, Sept. 27th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to transmit you a report of my proceedings from the
day I left you till this moment. Captain Thomas, of the _Sauveur_,
joined me the 21st, and proposed with much gallantry to go into the
Gulf in the daytime. The wind being usually out at night I consented
with some difficulty, in consequence of the little dependence I can
place on my engine, which might render it impossible for me to follow
him immediately. The _Sauveur_, with gunboat _Bavaroise_ in tow, and
accompanied by two schooners (you had left to keep the blockade at
Missolonghi, but who, contrary to my knowledge, thus disobeyed your
orders), passed into the Gulf the evening of the 21st in most gallant
style, in despite of the enemy's very formidable batteries and one
brig of war and two schooners at the Morea Castles, and several
vessels at Lepanto. I attempted to steam in that night, but the engine
failed me within two miles of the Castles. The next day, the wind
being strong in, I attempted to sail in, but when within gunshot of
the Castles the wind failed me, and it was not until the evening of
the 23rd that I could get passed, towing after me the _Philhellene_
gunboat, of whose commander I have always had particular occasion to
be satisfied. All our damage amounted to a few ropes cut. On
communicating with the Morea, the 24th, I was informed that the enemy
had nine vessels at Salona, and there were three Austrians there, that
Captain Thomas had attacked them the 23rd, but in consequence of
unfavorable weather he had not made any impression, and that he
retired to Loutraki. I immediately despatched a mistico to desire
Captain Thomas to join me with all the vessels he could collect; but
not seeing him on the 26th, and fearing that the Turks might
strengthen themselves during a delay, I stood in on the 26th with the
gunboat _Philhellene_; but we no sooner approached than the wind came
so strong out that we could not keep the ship head to wind, and found
it necessary to retire. The Turks have at Salona a very fine Algerine
schooner brig, of fourteen guns, brig of sixteen guns, bearing an
admiral's flag, three smaller schooners, two armed transport brigs,
and two large boats with guns, and they have a battery on shore. There
are also three Austrians. While under their fire one of my engineers
was slightly wounded. I am now waiting for the arrival of Captain
Thomas, for whom I have sent again, and preparing for a final trial.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XIX.
_Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 7th, 1827.
MY LORD,
Captain Thomas arrived here after our affair at Salona with the
prizes, and sent off immediately to Poros for provisions and
ammunition. I could not (notwithstanding your orders for him to remain
only seven days in the Gulf) allow him to depart in the state he then
was--having only five days' provisions, and four cartridges a gun. He
received some powder and provisions yesterday, and in consequence of
your order of the 27th, which he received yesterday, departs
immediately. If the length of time Captain Thomas has remained in the
Gulf is contrary to your intentions, I am alone responsible; he was
always anxious to depart. My crew is in a very discontented state, in
consequence of the month being expired without their receiving their
wages. Twelve have left me, and if I do not get money I fear the whole
crew will follow their example. I have sent an officer to Poros for
provisions, ammunition, and money, if possible. I understand the
English are about to prevent any offensive operations of General
Church, and if not, he would never be able to undertake any, situated
as he is for money and provisions. This seems to render my remaining
here any longer of no use. As soon as I can get any money and
provisions and arrange about the prizes I will quit the Gulf; but as I
have no orders from you where to go, I shall return to Poros unless
you contrive to send me some directions in the interim.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XX.
_Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 8th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to receive your letter of the 3rd, and am happy to
hear that the _Enterprise_ is arrived. I have also received one
thousand dollars with the stores, &c., which are very acceptable. I
despatched the _Sauveur_ yesterday, according to your order of the
27th ult. I still retain the gunboats, which are very useful. I wish
further orders from your lordship to know whether we are to remain in
the Gulf, and if you wish us to go out. There is yet at the Castles a
brig and three or four Turkish schooners. I do not exactly know their
position. I intend to run down there one of these days and see what
can be done with them; if close under the walls of the Castles, which
are very strong, we could burn them some dark night if you would send
me a dozen rockets. I would go with a small boat close to them and do
their business. Mr. Hane announces to me that your lordship proposes
coming up to Corinth, in which case I will do myself the honour of
waiting upon you, and receiving your further orders. I have despatched
a gunboat to General Church to inform him of your intention, and to
bring him here if he wishes to confer with your lordship.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXI.
_Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 14th, 1827.
MY LORD,
Mr. Hane writes me that the Turkish fleet is off Patras. From time to
time I have received vague accounts of vessels off there, but nothing
certain. I shall fortify myself either here or at the port on the
other side, under the village of Pera Xora--I think the latter. I want
fuzes for shells. A box was sent (I suppose in mistake for fuzes), but
it contained blue lights. Pray give an officer an order to send me at
least five hundred fuzes. In my last to your lordship I mentioned of
what service rockets would be to us as means of attack on the enemy's
vessels at the Castles; they will be of no less service as weapons of
defence. Pray, my lord, let me have as large a quantity as possible. I
understood you were coming to Corinth, which has detained me here, or
I would by this have been at the other end of the Gulf to gain
information, and see after the brig, for I fear Thomas is not too
prudent. I have just been informed that much cannonading was heard in
the quarter of Lepanto the day before yesterday. I hope no misfortune
has befallen him. I have the two gunboats and one mistico out to bring
me information, and I can receive nothing. Pray let me have the
rockets.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXII.
_Karteria_, Port Strava, Gulf of Lepanto,
Oct. 17th, 1827.
MY LORD,
Not having received any orders from your lordship, I am still in the
Gulf. In consequence of an order from your lordship to Captain Thomas,
I despatched the _Sauveur_ on the 7th inst., and sent the gunboat
_Philhellene_ with her with letters to General Church, and orders to
wait and bring me information how the _Sauveur_ got past the Castles;
for I was a good deal anxious on her account, and should have gone
myself to give her any assistance in case of need, but that I
understood you intended coming over to Corinth. Mr. Hane bringing me
letters for General Church, I despatched the other gunboat,
_Bavaroise_, with these, and also some for the _Sauveur_, in case she
was still in the Gulf. Mr. Darby, the commander of the _Bavaroise_,
had directions to bring General Church if he was anxious to
communicate personally with your lordship. Day after day I awaited
anxiously an answer, till at length the mistico I had sent three days
ago to General Church, to learn something of the fleet outside, which
Mr. Hane wrote me for certain was Turkish, returned yesterday evening,
informing me that the _Sauveur_ and two gunboats had gone out on
Wednesday. General Church writes me that he positively intends passing
into Roumelia, and wants my aid; but I am now quite alone (except the
mistico, with whom I know not what to do). He continually applies to
me for provisions, and will soon probably for money. What am I to do
about him? Although wishing to aid General Church and the service in
all I can, I must acknowledge I have no confidence in his intended
movement, more particularly as he tells me he has no provisions, and
wants me to seize by force what I find in boats. All I could get by
this discreditable way of raising provisions would not certainly feed
one hundred men for three days, and therefore could not aid General
Church, and would be a gratuitous vexation of these miserable
peasantry. If General Church had money and provisions, much is to be
done in Roumelia, but without these nothing can be achieved anywhere.
As soon as I have got the prizes back to Loutraki, and formed
batteries, I will go and visit General Church, and learn more
particulars. But I am very anxious for some orders from your lordship,
having received nothing but the official letter of thanks since I left
you. I write in haste, and beg your lordship to let me have an answer
as soon as possible.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. Hastings.
XXIII.
_Karteria_, Loutraki, Oct. 27th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I am ready to do all and anything for the good of the service, but I
fear General Church has no means. I had him on board for two days,
making reconnaissances round the Gulf, and from what I can gather, the
money said to be at Corfu is a chimera. I suspect he has not a
shilling anywhere, and cannot stir. He talks, it is true, of
expeditions, and I have always assured him of my readiness to aid him,
but we cannot be consuming months after months in the hopes of his
receiving supplies. I must limit the period of his embarkation, and if
he cannot then act, I think I shall be justified in quitting him. I
shall try, however, to destroy the other vessels in the Gulf first. We
are in great want of fire-bars. I am laying in a stock of wood, but we
have not yet been able to succeed perfectly with it. I have taken out
the bars and filled the ash-pits; this we find does better than with
any bars in, but we cannot as yet keep up steam with it. I hope,
however, ultimately to succeed--in fact our coals are nearly finished.
To show you how General Church goes on--his gunboat has only advanced
twenty feet from the beach, and yet he will not send away that
swindler Allen, who commands her. I told him I would not meddle with
her until he dismissed that man, and things remain thus. General
Church, while on board, received letters announcing the unlooked-for
destruction of the Turkish fleet; still I have not entirely credited
it, and I am in anxious expectation of some decisive information about
it. I am obliged to your lordship for the fuzes, and hoped to have had
also some rockets. We are beginning to get short again of provisions,
viz., biscuit. The loaded prize is condemned, with a ridiculous clause
for me to pay the crew. They say nothing of the other vessels. I send
Captain Hane to Egina, to hasten the condemnation of the light vessels
and counteract the intrigues which I have no doubt Tombasi has
recommenced. I shall also endeavour by him to have more biscuit; we
have now but for a fortnight.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. Hastings.
XXIV.
_Karteria_, Loutraki, Nov. 8th, 1827.
MY LORD,
The General Church has at length put himself in motion. Some
provisions and money have arrived on the other side for him (I mean at
Calamachi), and I hope to sail with it to join him to-night. I
fortunately received a fortnight's provisions yesterday, when I had
only one day's biscuit on board. After destroying, or ascertaining
that I cannot destroy, the vessels at Lepanto, I will go outside the
Gulf and blockade Missolonghi, Patras, and the Gulf, hoping the
General will blockade them by land. I fear much, however, for
provisions; I will endeavour to get some from the Ionian Islands; but
money and everything else is scarce with me,--but I hear your lordship
is in the same predicament, and therefore I cannot complain. May I beg
of your lordship to grant a commission of naval lieutenant to M.
Falanga, who has served on board this vessel from 29th March, 1827,
and is a most deserving officer? he is the only sailor officer I have,
and was always the only one of any use in that capacity. He behaved
extremely well both at Volo, Tricheri, and Salona, at which latter
place he was wounded in the neck with a musket-ball, while setting
fire to one of the abandoned vessels. I may really say he is the only
Greek I ever saw who seems to conceive what an officer ought to be.
Although he would be a great loss to me, and I should be sorry to part
with him but for his own advantage, I can strongly recommend him for
promotion in the command of a vessel, since (as I hear) your lordship
is in such dreadful want of officers to command. I am sure he would
give you the highest satisfaction.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. Hastings.
XXV.
_Karteria_, Nov. 17th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to announce to you that, after much delay and
disappointment--usual in Greece--I am about to proceed to Lepanto
to-morrow, and endeavour to destroy the Turkish vessels there. I then
go outside, to pass General Church over into Roumelia, and afterwards
blockade Missolonghi, Patras, and Lepanto. The want of the gunboats
here is much felt by me at this moment, as, in going out, I must leave
the Gulf to the Turks; who, even should I be fortunate enough to
destroy the enemy's vessels at Lepanto, will always have here armed
boats enough to command the Gulf.
I must also beg of your lordship to consider us in money matters. I am
now seven thousand pounds out of pocket by Greek affairs, and I am
daily now expending my own money for the public service. Our prizes
are serving for transports for the army, and I must either shortly
abandon this important position or be paid.
It is most likely that if all the important points I have mentioned
could be blockaded, the Turks would be soon reduced, from the blockade
being so much more easily maintained than elsewhere. Without money,
you must be aware I cannot maintain this vessel; and all to be
expected from General Church, you must be aware, is plenty of
promises. The General is already overwhelmed with expectants, and if
he had millions would not be able to command a farthing. I will do all
I can; but I must repeat, it is not quite fair I should end a beggar
after all the labour, vexation, and disappointment I have experienced
for so many years.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXVI.
_Karteria_, off Cape Papas, Nov. 20th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to inform you I passed the Castles on the 18th, with
the three prizes and mistico in company. I lost two men killed and one
wounded in passing; the other vessels passed without suffering any
damage. It had been my intention to attack the Turkish squadron at
Lepanto, but the wind was so strong on the land, that I felt I could
not effect my object; and, anxious to profit by the same wind to go
out and aid the operations of the army outside, and blockade the
fortresses, I passed through without waiting a more favourable moment
of attack. At Patras I found a schooner, whose suspicious conduct--in
abstaining for a long time from hoisting any colours, and, when she
afterwards showed Austrian, persisting in drawing closer under the
Turkish battery--induced me to fire and bring her out. After waiting a
little, and finding no attention paid to my warning, I fired again,
and sunk her. I hear she was Austrian.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXVII.
_Karteria_, Petala, Dec. 2nd, 1827.
MY LORD,
I had the honour to write to you from Cape Papas, informing you that I
had come out of the Gulf of Lepanto, and was waiting to embark the
troops of General Church. I now beg leave to acquaint you that I
arrived at Dragomestre the day before yesterday with the three prizes,
which have been serving as transports to General Church's army for six
weeks. We brought over six hundred soldiers, artillery, horses, &c.;
and I am now returning to Cape Papas to embark a second division. I
heard of the gunboat _Helvetia_, M. Fabricius, being at Kataculo, and I
sent immediately to order him to join me, which he did, and is now at
Cape Papas. While at Kataculo, the gunboat was attacked by a Turkish
brig of twenty-four guns. M. Fabricius defended himself with much
spirit, and obliged the brig to retire. I have since heard that the
same brig is now off Previsa. If the service here will permit my
absence, I think of going to look after her. The Gulf of Lepanto is
now left entirely in the hands of the Turks, and I wish to send the
gunboat in to assist the expedition against Salona, but the crew
having been so long about here, suffering much hardship and without
pay, are very dissatisfied. I have given the boat a new mast, anchor,
cable, provisions, ammunition, &c., and I will even advance them a
little money, if they will go into the Gulf. I should hope, however,
that your lordship will reimburse me for these expenses, extra of my
own vessel. As you may imagine, I am almost entirely without coals,
and cannot get a sufficient quantity of the pitch-pine to burn; the
other pine will not answer, and therefore I am reduced to sails.
General Church had ordered round here a Psariot brig he had at
Kenkness, and I wrote to M. Koering to request him to put coals on
board of her, which, I understand, M. Koering refused. From the manner
in which I have been frequently treated, one would imagine that this
vessel was not a Greek but an enemy's vessel. I trust your lordship
will remedy this, and put me on a fair footing with the other Greek
national vessels. I wish your lordship could also contrive to let me
have some money, to cover the expenses of this vessel, which, for
three months that we have been absent from Poros, cannot be supposed
trifling. As I conceive it important, under existing circumstances, to
keep the blockade of Patras, Missolonghi, and the Gulf, I will remain
as long as my destitute situation will permit me. Since I have been
here I do not think any vessels have entered the Gulf.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXVIII.
_Karteria_, Dragomestre, Dec. 8th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to inform you that I have passed over the army of
General Church to this port, amounting to about twelve hundred men,
with six pieces of artillery, and about sixty horses, mules, &c. The
General has been joined by Maori and some other captains, which may
have increased his force to two thousand men. He is in hourly
expectation of being joined by Zouga, and even Varnachioti is expected
to come over. The Monastery of Ligovitza, on the road from Arta to
Lepanto and Missolonghi, is said to have been possessed by the troops
of the General. This post is of importance. The troops have all
marched from Patras to Navarino, and nothing remains but some
Albanians and the inhabitants. Lepanto is thinly peopled; all have
little provisions as well as Missolonghi. From what I know of Lepanto
and the Castles, I am confident that, if your lordship was to attack
it with the squadron you command, and General Church was to make even
a demonstration of attack by land, it must fall in forty-eight hours'
time. Lepanto lies on the face of a hill open to the sea; every shot
and shell and rocket must tell somewhere, and they would readily
capitulate. We must not take the Monastery of the Piraeus as an
example. At Lepanto the Turks have their families--this particular
always operates upon them; but whether it did or not, the place would
be taken, and I am not one who overrates the capabilities of the
Greeks. I fear, however, that General Church has other projects, and
such as, according to my opinion, are very unlikely to succeed. So
much so that, if your lordship does not arrive or send me orders, I
shall return to the Archipelago, rather than lend myself to measures
which appear to me worse than useless. I must again beg of your
lordship not to forget us in the way of money, provisions, ammunition,
coals, &c. We are now more than three months absent from Poros.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXIX.
_Karteria_, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 27th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have now been twelve days before Vasiladhi, and since our arrival I
have every reason to believe they have neither received provisions nor
water. The weather has usually been so bad, that I have only been able
to bombard it twice, and the gunboat having few shot, I have exchanged
her 32 for one of our 68's, with shells; since which I have not been
able to batter it, owing to the weather. I am satisfied they are now
at their last shifts in the fort; and if I could remain before it a
week longer, and bombard it for a couple of days, I doubt not it would
fall into our hands. I regret of all things not having the
flat-bottomed gunboat here; with her we would have had the fort before
this. General Church was to have attacked Anatolico, and might have
taken it, in the first instance, with little or no resistance; but he
delayed till too late, and then came without an ounce of provisions,
and returned the day after to Dragomestre. This man is such an
insufferable quack, that I cannot act any longer with him; he affects
to command the navy as well as the army; and although I have given him
one or two rather rough lessons, he, the other day, captured with a
boat of his a spy of mine, on his way to me, and carried him off
without mentioning a word of it to me. The man merely came here the
other day, supposing Vasiladhi about to surrender, that he might say
he took it. God knows there is no merit due, unless to the boats
blockading inside. I have received letters to-day from the Gulf, and I
find the expedition at Trisonia is in alarm of being blockaded by the
Turkish vessels at Lepanto. The loss of the gunboats from the Gulf is
almost irreparable. If your lordship could send them round here with a
brig, it would be of infinite service. I am so in want of ammunition,
provisions, fuel, &c., that I hardly know what to do, but if possible I
will re-enter the Gulf to assist them there. I wrote by Mr. Finlay,
announcing to your lordship that if the whole squadron was to come
round here, I am satisfied that Missolonghi, Patras, Lepanto, and the
Castles might be taken. They are much straitened for provisions at
all, but particularly at Missolonghi and Lepanto, and the Castles
could be taken by force. Patras is now provisioned daily by one of
Church's generals, Neneka, from Zante, _vi‚_ Clarenza. Dr. Gosse
informs me how much you are in want of money. I trust, however, if you
obtain any, I shall not be forgotten. I have only received six hundred
dollars from General Church, and my expenses have been enormous, for
fuel, provisions, &c.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
XXX.
_Karteria_, off Vasiladhi, Dec. 29th, 1827.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to inform you that, after having transported the
troops of General Church from Cape Papas to Dragomestre, I undertook
the blockade of Vasiladhi, for which purpose I put in requisition the
small craft after-mentioned, and employed them to intercept all
communication with Vasiladhi. This flotilla I placed under the orders
of my first lieutenant, M. Falanga; and on the night of the 16th they
entered, and commenced the blockade, which has been so strictly
observed up to this day, that nothing had entered Vasiladhi. One boat,
with a letter and fresh provisions, was captured by our flotilla. I
anchored, the gunboat _Helvetia_ in company, outside Vasiladhi. Your
lordship is aware that the _Helvetia_ was armed with a long
32-pounder, which, in my opinion, is very inferior in every point of
view to a 68, but indisputably so for cannonading a fort only to be
reduced by shells. For this reason I changed her 32-pounder long gun
for a 68-pounder cannonade. On the 22nd I bombarded Vasiladhi alone
(the gunboat having been detached), with little effect, the weather
being unfavourable; nor could I recommence until to-day, when,
considering the distance we were off (about one and three-quarter
mile), and the diminutive size of the object fired at, better practice
has rarely been displayed: four shells out of seven from this ship and
gunboat exploded in, and one blew up, their magazine. I immediately
ordered an assault, in which all the boats took part. The Turks,
intimidated by the explosion, and by our attitude of attack, called
for quarter, which I granted them, although they had previously
forfeited their lives by firing on a flag of truce I sent to them with
terms of capitulation. I embarked the prisoners on board this ship,
and from thence conveyed them in safety to near Missolonghi. They were
thirty in number; and one Greek badly wounded I have retained on board
to be treated by our surgeon. The original number was from forty to
fifty, the deficit having been killed off by our previous cannonading
and by the explosion. I am happy, my lord, to testify to the exemplary
conduct of the Greeks during the whole of this service; they have
borne the fatigues and privations of a winter's blockade in open boats
with extraordinary patience, and the forbearance they displayed
towards the Turks rendered any interference of mine in their favour
superfluous. Of my officers, Lieutenant Falanga and Captain Hane,
M.A., I have only to repeat the often-told tale of their meritorious
conduct. To M. Fabricius, commanding the gunboat _Helvetia_, I feel
much indebted for his zeal and activity, and I am happy to have so
deserving an officer under my orders. The fort of Vasiladhi mounts
twelve guns, three of which are of that remarkably useful piece of
ordnance, the Turkish licorne. I have offered to deliver the Fort of
Vasiladhi to General Church upon his remunerating for their services
those employed in taking it.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
List of small vessels employed in taking Vasiladhi.
A mistico, Galaxidhiote, Captain Urgaki; the same sent with me into
the Gulf of Lepanto, and who has served with me ever since.
A mistico, Galaxidhiote.
A bonÈe.
An armed row-boat.
Two of my prize launches, armed each with a 9-pounder.
A bratsiera.
Five monoxolies, or canoes, for the shallows.
XXXI.
_Karteria_, Dragomestre, Jan. 7th, 1828.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to acquaint you that General Church arrived before
Vasiladhi on the 2nd inst.; and I resigned to him that fort on the
third, requesting him to refund the expenses of taking it; these
consist of five dollars per man bounty, besides the provisions of the
flotilla employed in the blockade. The General has promised to repay
this, although not without expressing some surprise at the demand; yet
the guns he receives in the fort would pay the whole sum.
On the same day I received an official letter from General Church,
requesting me to inform him what co-operation he might expect from the
navy in a projected attack of his on Anatolico. According to the wish
of General Church, I agreed to send all the boats at my disposal that
night, to attempt to capture an island named Poros, commanding the
entrance into the Lake of Anatolico, where the Turks had a post, and
we heard he was filling up the passage, and about to place guns on
another island, which would render him entirely master of the
entrance. I soon discovered that what General Church calls the
cooperation of the navy is in reality the navy executing the service,
and the army looking on at its leisure, ready to take possession if
success attended the arms of the former. I had understood that I was
to be supported by two rocket-boats of General Church, and by the
launch of the Psarian brig, carrying a carronade to throw grenades;
but these did not appear. A dozen policaries arrived from General
Church, and were embarked in the expedition. At half-past three A.M.
of the 4th inst. I arrived with five boats out of nine (the rest
having unaccountably kept behind) at a narrow part of the passage of
the lake, across which the Turks had built a wall, and stationed a
gunboat behind it. The Turkish boat was soon put to flight; the
sailors jumping into the water soon cleared away a passage for the
boats, and the five of our boats rowed upon Poros, the Turks keeping
up a brisk fire of musketry from that island, and of cannon from
Anatolico. We were now within pistol-shot of Poros, when I found, to
my surprise, a fort on it--which I had been assured there was not, or
I would not have attempted the attack, knowing that in our warfare
their holds are not to be thus taken. Seeing no reasonable hope of
succeeding, I ordered a retreat; and having repassed by the way we
entered, found General Church's detachment lying flat in the bottom of
their boats out of gun-shot. To say that my officers, Captain Hane,
M.A., and Lieutenant Falanga, also M. Fabricius, commanding the
gunboat _Helvetia_, accompanied me, is to commend them for their
accustomed zeal and gallantry. I cannot conclude without mentioning
the name of Chrysanto, who, after having aided at Vasiladhi, was with
me here in his own boat, and displayed much courage. He had one man
wounded, the only loss we sustained. Perceiving that Anatolico was not
to be taken by us; that General Church's troops were (without
provisions) somewhere in a marsh, where our boats could not get to
embark them, and that they might have marched on the mainland close to
Anatolico; being without provisions in this ship, and seeing no
possibility of rendering any service by remaining longer before
Vasiladhi, I returned to this port to provide for our immediate wants,
and in the hopes of meeting Dr. Gosse, and procuring from him some
funds for the maintenance of my crew, which I think your lordship will
see the necessity of providing me with, as I have not received more
than two thousand dollars during five months, and I have latterly been
maintaining this ship in provisions and fuel, besides furnishing money
and provisions to the gunboat and flotilla inside Vasiladhi.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
F. A. HASTINGS.
* * * * *
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND
CHARING CROSS.
Transcriber's note:
The following typographical errors were corrected:
* Chapter VII, page 25: "intrusted" changed to "entrusted"
* Appendix, letter IX, page 380: "vessel," changed to "vessel."