The following accounts will, I think, also tend to prove that the
British Navy is not kept up for mere pomp and parade, or for
supporting in idleness any class of the community; but that whenever
hard blows have been exchanged, it has given and taken a fair share
of them--that it has been ever actively employed in protecting
British Colonies and British Commerce in all parts of the world--that
through its means disputes have been settled, which could in no other
way have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and might have
plunged the nation in war--that it has ever been found engaged on the
side of justice and humanity--that not only has it, on numberless
occasions, preserved the lives and property of British subjects, but
also the existence of thousands of human beings of all nations and
creeds, and of every degree of civilization, who would, without its
aid, have been doomed to destruction--that, by its exertions, British
trade to China, South America, and many other parts of the world, has
been immeasurably increased--that with much suffering and sacrifice
of life it has, in the most pestiferous of climates, greatly
decreased, and in some places suppressed, the nefarious
slave-trade--that for the benefit of science and navigation, it has
explored the most distant regions, penetrating to the icy poles as
well as up the rivers of Africa--that it has surveyed a wide extent
of coast, visited constantly by merchantmen, though, to their great
peril, often before imperfectly known--that it has made the British
name loved and respected in all lands--and that without a single
exception, under circumstances the most difficult and trials the most
appalling, it has ever been found willing and ready nobly to do its
duty.
Feeling sensibly the importance of a work of a character like the
present, I can scarcely do it adequate justice; and this arises from
no want of zeal on my part, but from the difficulty of collecting
from Naval men full accounts of the gallant deeds they have
performed, their modesty often preventing them from giving their
narratives with the desirable completeness. For this reason I have
probably never heard of many brave acts performed by seamen; and it
will therefore be my pride, when accounts of them reach me, to
chronicle them in another edition of this book.
I have for years past proposed to write this work, and opinions have
often been expressed that I should not find matter sufficient to fill
a volume if I confined myself to the events of Queen Victoria's
reign; I, on the contrary, was sure that if I attempted to embrace a
period before it, I should, from want of space, be unable to do
adequate justice to a large portion of them.
The list of the various exploits I have chronicled will show that I
did not form my opinion without sufficient grounds;[1] I have
therefore described only those events which have occurred since Her
Majesty came to the throne. I have chronicled deeds of daring
performed by British seamen, as well by those in the Merchant Service
as in the Royal Navy. I have mentioned all acts of gallantry which
have come to my knowledge. I consider the jumping overboard in a
raging sea, in a hot tide-way, or in a place where sharks are known
to abound, to be as noble an act as engaging in a fight with any
enemy of superior force: I deem those hardy men who have braved the
piercing cold and unknown dangers of the Polar Sea in search of their
missing countrymen, Sir John Franklin and his brave companions, as
much deserving of all the praise I can bestow as the conquerors of
Acre or the captors of Canton.
True bravery may be discovered and discipline may be conspicuous in
the darkest night during the horrors of the storm--on the sinking
wreck--on the barren sands of a desert island--on the unmanageable
raft, amid sickness and famine, with a lowering and uncertain future
ahead; or they may shine with lustre among a crew ice-bound for long
years, with hope deferred, on the snow-clad shores of the Polar Sea.
Accounts have often before been published of the courage and
discipline displayed by British seamen in the hour of trial and
danger, of bloody battles fought, of victories gained; but the
gallant actors have in many instances passed from the world, or
already belong to another generation. They form the brave OLD BLOCK
of which it is the pride of the present race of British seamen to
acknowledge themselves the worthy CHIPS: therefore I call my book--
"CHIPS OF THE OLD BLOCK."
My satisfaction will be great indeed to find that it is read and
approved of by all ranks of the naval service, especially if it tends
to encourage that brave and noble spirit in the rising generation
which has ever been the support and protection of our beloved country
in times of trial and danger. Those times may return; and sure I am
that Britain may rely that the same spirit will be found to burn as
brightly as of yore in the bosom of her ocean sons, and will again,
with Heaven's aid, restore her to a state of peace and prosperity.
But it is time to begin the work. I shall commence with an account
of some of the principal naval occurrences which have taken place
since the year 1837, when Her Majesty ascended the throne.
The first event worthy of mention is the capture of Aden, at the
mouth of the Red Sea, in January 1839; that, accordingly, though of
much less interest and importance than many others, must stand first
on my list. I propose to describe the causes which led to the
occurrences I narrate; the scenery of the coasts, and character of
the people engaged; and to give, when possible, sketches of the
services of the officers employed, and any anecdotes of them and of
their men which I can collect. Indeed, my aim is to make the book
interesting and instructive to all classes of readers, as well as to
tell them of the gallant deeds of our brave countrymen, many of whom,
unable to speak for themselves, are engaged at this present moment,
at the risk of life and health, in far-distant regions, in advocating
the cause of humanity, and in supporting the honour and interest of
Great Britain.
Before I conclude my Preface, I must beg my readers, especially the
younger ones, to watch, as they proceed with the narrative, the
career of those whose names are mentioned. Many who appear as
distinguishing themselves as midshipmen, mates, or young lieutenants,
on the coast of Syria and in China, will be found rising, by their
gallantry and talents, to the higher ranks of the profession, still
continuing in the same noble course in which they commenced--some of
them as leaders in expeditions and exploits, which, increasing the
glory of their country, must make them honoured and admired while
Great Britain has a history in which their deeds can be chronicled.
It would be invidious to particularize individuals; and it is with
much regret that I feel that, from the very nature of the work, I
have been unable to render equal justice to all. I fully believe
that very many gallant actions have not even been mentioned. My aim,
it must be remembered, has been not so much to chronicle all the
noble deeds achieved during the reign of our Gracious Sovereign, as
to prove, by as many examples as I could collect, that her Navy has
not been idle or useless during her reign, and that her officers and
seamen are as bold and brave--as loyal and true--as were those of
yore--that, as I before have said, her "BLUE JACKETS are true CHIPS
OF THE OLD BLOCK."
[1] I am much indebted to the kindness of Mr. Barrow for allowing me
to look over the Naval Records in the Admiralty; and, in case any
doubt should arise as to the originality of the design of my work, he
will, I am sure, gladly bear witness that my visits there for the
object of collecting materials preceded by several months the
appearance of a littler book written by one of the clerks in his
office, and bearing the very title which I then mentioned it was my
intention to prefix to mine as a second title. I am bound, in
justice to myself, to mention the circumstance; though as the events
related were of past times, and often before written, I have no
reason to complain of any injury inflicted on me.