IN THE BALTIC.
In 1854 the war (commonly called the Crimean war) broke out, and I was
appointed first lieutenant of H.M.S.---- for service in the Baltic.
I shall never forget the excitement among us all when, after so many
years of inactivity, we were called upon to defend the honour of our
country. Unfortunately for old England the Baltic fleet was put under
the command of Sir C. N----, 'fighting old Charley' as he was called,
though it was not long before we discovered that there was not much
fight left in him. It might well be said by those generously inclined
towards him, in the words of the old song, that the
'Bullets and the gout
Had so knocked his hull about,
That he'd never more be fit for sea.'
A finer fleet never sailed or steamed from Spithead than that destined
for the Baltic in 1854. The signal from its commander, 'Lads, war is
declared! Sharpen your cutlasses and the day's your own,' sent a thrill
of joy through every breast. After following the melting ice up the
Baltic Sea to within almost reach of the guns of Cronstadt, we waited
till the ice had disappeared, and then went in as we thought for the
attack.
The ship to which I belonged being a steamer, and drawing much less
water than the line-of-battle ships, led the way. A grander sight could
not be conceived than that of twenty splendid line-of-battle ships,
formed in two lines, steaming straight up to the frowning batteries of
Cronstadt. On our approaching the batteries a shot was fired, and fell
alongside the ship I was in, which, as I said, was leading for the
purpose of sounding, when, to our astonishment and disgust, the signal
was made from the flag-ship to the fleet 'Stop!' and immediately
afterwards to 'anchor.'
It is not for me to say the reason 'why.' All that I can vouch for is
that, in the general opinion of competent judges, had we gone on we
could have taken or destroyed Cronstadt, instead of which--what was
done? They sent to England for special boats to be made ready for the
next summer, when the attack would be made on Cronstadt.
We remained a few days at anchor off that place, when some half of the
fleet were detached to the Aland Islands, where an insignificant fort
called Bomarsund was to be attacked--not by the English and French
fleets, who were fit to do any mortal thing, but by an army fetched from
France. When the army came, the poor little fort attacked by the fleet
on the seaside, and on the shore by the soldiers, after firing a few
shots surrendered. During the attack I was appointed acting commander of
H.M.S.----, and was mentioned honourably in despatches.
Many promotions were made for the taking of Bomarsund, but I fancy I had
as usual given my opinion too freely, as I was left out in the cold. I
shall never forget old Charley's answer to me when I applied for my
promotion, it was so worthy of him. He said, 'Don't ye come crying to
me, Sir; you are a lord's son: I'll have nothing to do wi' ye.'
Immediately after the capture of Bomarsund, the admiral detached a small
squadron under Captain S---- to reconnoitre the Russian port of Abo. Of
that squadron the vessel of which I was commander formed one. We left
with sealed orders, which were not to be opened until we arrived at, or
near to, our destination.
On sighting the enemy's port we perceived that every preparation was
being made to give us a warm reception. A council of war was held on
board the senior officer's ship, at which council the sealed orders were
opened, when to our disgust it was found within that we were ordered
'not to fight, merely to reconnoitre.'
Sickening humiliation! There were the Russian gunboats inside the bar of
the harbour of Abo, firing at us with all their might. The forts on the
heights, such as they were, very insignificant temporary batteries of
field-pieces, had commenced to get the range of the ships; but as we
were not to fight, we took a sulky shot or two at the enemy and retired.
To this day I cannot understand the policy that actuated this weak,
vacillating conduct on the part of our chief. But some idea may be given
of his fighting notions by the following occurrence, of which I was a
witness.
One morning despatches arrived from England. A signal was made from the
flag-ship for commanding officers to repair on board that vessel. On our
arrival there, we were asked to sit down to breakfast. Our chief, who
was opening his letters, suddenly threw a despatch over the table to
S----, the admiral of the fleet, saying, 'What would ye do, mun, if ye
received a letter like this?' S----, after reading the letter said, 'If
I received a letter like that, I'd attack Revel or Sveaborg if I lost
half my fleet.' Our chief's answer I shall never forget. It was: 'I
haven't got nerve to do it, and I'm d----d well sure C---- hasn't.'
There are many living besides myself who can vouch for the accuracy of
this statement.
I shall say no more of the doings of the English fleet in the Baltic
during that year. Suffice it, that if ever open mutiny was
displayed--not by the crews of the ships, but by many of the captains,
men who attained the highest rank in their profession--it was during the
cruise in the Baltic in 1854: and no wonder.
Many gallant deeds were performed by single ships, but the fleet did
absolutely nothing, except help to capture Bomarsund. I returned to
England disgusted and disheartened. The next year the commander-in-chief
was changed; I was appointed to his ship, and we went again to the
Baltic, taking with us all the necessary appurtenances for bombarding
forts and attacking the enemy's coast.
As soon as the melting of the ice permitted we arrived off Cronstadt,
and found that the Russians had not been asleep during our absence for
the winter months; for they had defended the approaches to that place
to such an extent, that an attack was considered (and on this occasion
there was no difference of opinion) most unadvisable. So we fell back on
Sveaborg, which place was bombarded by the combined fleets, I venture to
think most successfully, and I believe, had we had a force to land, we
could have taken possession of that large and important fortress.
Our losses during the operation were small on board the squadron of
mortar-boats which I had the good luck to command--some fifty-eight men
_hors de combat_.
In this service I received my promotion to the rank of commander, and
returned to England.
Peace was made between Russia and England, previous to which, however, I
was appointed to a vessel in the Mediterranean which formed part of the
fleet off Sebastopol. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see much
active service there.
While serving as a commander in the Mediterranean, I was principally
under the command of Sir Wm. M----, a man whose reputation as being the
smartest officer in the navy, I must venture to say, I think was greatly
exaggerated, though he was doubtless what is called a 'smart officer.'
His idea was to rule with a rod of iron, and never to encourage anyone
by praising zealous and active service. He used to say, 'I am here to
find fault with, not to praise, officers under my command.' So many a
fine fellow's zeal was damped by knowing that no encouragement would
follow in the way of appreciation from his chief, however much he might
have merited it.
I cannot refrain from recounting a very amusing incident that occurred
in connection with my command of H.M.S. _F---- _. I may mention that,
differing as I did most materially with the system of discipline
followed by the commander-in-chief, I was no favourite of his.
One day, however, I was somewhat surprised at being ordered to prepare
for the official inspection of my ship, and by no less a person than Sir
W. M----himself. I must mention that one of the crotchets of the chief
was that vessels such as mine--namely, a gunboat of the first
class--could be floated off the shore, in case of their stranding, by
water-casks being lashed round them. So orders were given that all
vessels of that class were to lumber their decks with water-casks. I did
so, according to orders; but, not having the least confidence in the
manner in which the commander-in-chief proposed to employ them, I
utilised them, as will be seen presently, for an entirely different
purpose.
The day of my ship's inspection was evidently not one of my lucky days.
To begin with, a horrid little monkey belonging to the crew--amusing
himself running about in the hammock-nettings near to the gangway over
which the great man had to pass--seeing something he thought unusual,
made a rush as the commander-in-chief was stepping on board, stooped
down, and deliberately took the cocked hat off his head, dropped it into
the sea, then started up the rigging chattering with delight at the
mischief he had done. The cocked hat was at once recovered, wiped dry,
and placed in its proper place. The admiral, always stern as a matter of
principle, looked, after this incident, sterner than usual, hardly
recognised me except by a formal bow, then proceeded to muster the
officers and crew. This over, he commenced to walk round the deck. I
remarked with pleasure his countenance change when he saw how neatly his
pet water-casks were painted and lashed to the inner gunnel of the ship.
He said quite graciously, 'I am glad to see, Captain Hobart, that you
pay such attention to my orders.' I began to think I was mistaken in my
idea of the man; but, alas! for my exuberance of spirits and
satisfaction. While the admiral was closely examining one of his pet
casks, his face came almost in contact with the opening of the barrel,
when, to his and my horror, a pretty little spaniel put out his head and
licked the great man on the nose.
I shall never forget the admiral's countenance; he turned blue with
anger, drew himself up, ordered his boat to be manned, and walked over
the side not saying a word to anyone.
The facts which led to this untoward occurrence were that, seeing the
necessity of having my decks crowded with what I considered useless
lumber, in the form of water-casks, I had utilised them by making them
into dog-kennels. The admiral hated dogs, hated sport of all kind, and,
after what occurred, I fancy hated me. Well, I didn't love him; I never
saw him again.
The very next day I was ordered to the coast of Syria: just what I
wanted, i.e., to be out of the commander-in-chief's way, and to have
some good shooting.