CORSICA WON AND LOST.
With the capture of Calvi French resistance in Corsica came to an
end, and the island became a British possession, the Corsicans, some
two months earlier, having declared their allegiance to the King of
England. Sir Charles Stuart at once began the distribution of his
troops in garrisons about the island, and the 51st sailed from Calvi
on the 19th August, going round to Bastia, of which place they were
to form the garrison. Writing from Bastia on the 11th September, Sam
Rice gives some account of events:--
"I have the pleasure of telling you that we have quitted our canvas
houses, and have taken up our quarters in this garrison, which is
by no means an unpleasant one. How long we shall continue here is
very uncertain at present, as there are other places in the island
which must be garrisoned. Our regiment will very probably go to
Ajaccio, which is, by all accounts, one of the pleasantest and most
healthy places in the whole island. General Stuart, Colonel Moore,
and some others of the great men set out, about a week ago, to
take a tour of the island, for the purpose, I suppose, of finding
out what places it will be necessary to garrison. The French, I
hear, are making great preparations at Toulon, to endeavour to
retake the island. I hope they will make the attempt, when we will
give them a warm reception.
"In the letter which I wrote to you after the surrender of Calvi, I
think I mentioned the extreme sickness of our army. It was nothing
then to what it is now. You will be astonished when I tell you
that the 51st Regiment was almost 500 strong at the commencement
of the siege of Calvi, but now, I am sorry to say, we have not a
hundred fit for duty. The rest of the regiments are in the same
way. The 12th Light Dragoons, who have had no fatigue, suffer alike
from this shocking and unwholesome climate. The Corsicans say
that, after this month is over, the climate will be very healthy
until July. It is to be hoped so, else I am certain that in the
course of three months we shall not have an English soldier in the
island, if they continue to die as they have done for this some
time past. The officers have suffered just as much as the men. I
am the only officer of the regiment who has not been sick, and how
I have weathered it so long is to me astonishing. In the conquest
of this island we have suffered little by the sword, but sickness
has played the devil. This is a subject too shocking to dwell upon,
though we are so habituated to hear of deaths, that the death of a
man is scarcely more noticed than that of a fly.
"I forgot to tell you that we left Calvi the 19th August--my
birthday--and embarked on board transports for this place, which is
not above a day's sail with a good wind, but we unfortunately were
kept nearly a week at sea. I believe I never gave you an account of
Bastia; indeed I don't know whether I can, further than that it is
a large and populous place, and resembles very much the generality
of French towns. We are very much crowded here with French refugees
who came from Toulon, so much so that the officers cannot get
lodgings, which I think a great hardship after having been so
long in the field. I have been employed since I have been here in
recruiting my kit, which was rather the worse for campaigning. My
bedding and cot I had the misfortune to lose the first week I was
in Corsica, which was, I think, the greatest misfortune that could
happen to a man, except the loss of his head. My softest bed for
many months was the ground, with one blanket (which I purchased)
to cover me. It was not really cold, so it did not much signify.
You used to tell me what a lazy life a soldier's was. I don't
know how it is, but I have not yet found it so, without you call
lying in one's clothes for three or four months together, mounting
out-pickets, and all such pleasant amusements being lazy. I assure
you that the little service I have seen here has done me a great
deal of good, and has shown me that there are more rough things
than smooth in life.
"We are going to be very gay here. An Italian Opera is shortly
to open, which is to be patronised by the Governor, and is much
approved of by the garrison. A coffee-house for English papers is
also to be established, which I think a much better thing than the
former. In fact, you do not know how grand we are going to be.
"The _Moselle_ frigate, which, as I told you, went into Toulon
with all our baggage and was captured, fell into our possession
again coming out of Calvi, but the 'Sans culottes' took care that
we should have none of our things with her. I shall come in for
some prize-money for Calvi. Two fine frigates were taken with the
town--_La Melpomonie_ and _La Mignonne_, which, it is to be hoped,
will fetch some cash."
This letter and the following one give some idea of the life of a
subaltern in a marching regiment on foreign service in 1794, and for
that reason are not without interest. They deal little with politics,
because such matters did not concern a junior lieutenant in the army
who had sufficient to occupy his time in looking after the welfare
of his men, and in performing the ordinary routine duties of his
regiment and of the garrison. And it may be taken as certain that a
subaltern in Moore's regiment did not have much idle time.
"BASTIA, _October 21, 1794_.
"Since my last, Sir Gilbert Elliott has been appointed Viceroy
of the extensive kingdom of Corsica, on account of which the
municipality gave a Ball to the officers of the garrison and
inhabitants. It was 'perfect liberty and equality,' for I believe
such a mixture of people never was seen at any assembly whatever.
The supper induced a great many of the poor Toulon emigrants, of
whom there are numbers here, to go. Without exaggerating, they
eat more voraciously and in a more unchristianlike manner than
any pack of hounds I ever saw. It was certainly the most beastly
sight I ever beheld, though at the same time the most laughable.
Some pulling fowls into pieces with their hands; others legs and
shoulders of mutton, and many pocketing. In short, it was the most
complete scramble that I ever saw, or, I believe, ever was seen.
Colonel Hely, of the 11th, gave the garrison a Ball last week,
which was done in a very genteel manner. General Stuart gives one
to-night, which, I daresay, will excel them all in brilliancy. He
is a very gentlemanlike, pleasant man.
"Sir Gilbert Elliott went yesterday to Corte, where he is going to
stay a few months, and then returns to Bastia. Corte is distant
about five-and-forty miles from here, and is the place where the
Corsican parliament is held. There is an excellent road all the
way to it, which was made at considerable expense by the French.
I cannot give you any account of the country, as I have seen so
little of it. Those who have been round the island, and in the
internal parts, do not speak very favourably of it. I am sorry
I cannot tell you our troops get much better, though it is to
be hoped that they soon will, as the weather begins to get cold
and consequently more favourable to their complaints, which are
chiefly the fever and ague. We continue daily to bury a great
number of men, and I am afraid we shall for this some time to come.
It is a shocking sight to go round the different hospitals, which
are crowded with patients. It is a duty which we have frequently to
do, and which, you may conceive, is not a very pleasant one, though
at the same time very necessary.
"Poor Tourle of our regiment has been extremely ill ever since we
left Calvi, and has just gone, with another captain of ours, to the
internal parts of the country for the recovery of their healths.
Most of the officers who have had this complaint have gone over
to Italy, which is no doubt the best place, the climate being so
favourable. We cannot muster above a hundred and fifty men fit for
duty now, and I am afraid it will be some time before we can call
ourselves a regiment again. The 12th Regiment of Light Dragoons
embarked here for England the other day, and sailed with Lord Hood,
who is also going home. The French fleet still continues to be
blocked up by us. What will be the event of the blockade is not in
my power to tell. Some pretend to say that the French left Toulon
through policy. It no doubt keeps that port open. I can scarcely
imagine that that was their intention, but leave it to more able
politicians than myself to judge. By the last accounts from the
Continent, we heard that a general action was daily expected. What
will be the result of it we are anxious to hear. Our loss in the
West Indies, I see by the papers, has been very considerable both
by the sword and by sickness. The French appear to still keep a
very strong post in Guadaloupe, and before it is taken much blood
will be shed, I imagine."
This letter contains two items of public interest--viz., that Sir
Gilbert Elliott had been appointed Viceroy of Corsica, and that
Admiral Lord Hood had sailed for England. To the subaltern Sir
Gilbert's appointment and Lord Hood's departure meant little; to
his colonel, who was behind the scenes, they meant a good deal;
and to General Stuart they meant still more. It was the beginning
of the end, and the end was the loss of Corsica to Great Britain.
The veteran Admiral, who had already passed his seventieth year,
resigned, ostensibly because England refused to send him the
reinforcements for which he asked,[23] but in reality because he
had had a "personal quarrel with Lord Spencer, then the head of
the Admiralty."[24] Accustomed to carry all before him, and to win
victory after victory, he became the idol of the people, and in the
eyes of the navy he remained for many years the very essence of a
fighting sailor who could do no wrong. His vanity was flattered, and,
as he advanced in years, he began to consider himself infallible,
refusing to listen to any advice which did not fall in with his own
views. We have seen how he treated General Dundas and his successor
General Stuart, and, although it is evident that he was well
acquainted with Moore's worth, his pride forbade him to acknowledge
that any soldier could help him. With Sir Gilbert Elliott, as a pure
civilian, his relations had always been different. Each knew that the
other's good word would carry weight in England, and each showed an
equal contempt for the opinions of soldiers. Sir Gilbert had lived
on board the _Victory_ with the Admiral for some months prior to his
appointment as Viceroy, and had acquired the greatest admiration for
the gallant sailor, who doubtless impressed upon the future Viceroy
the importance of forming judgments for himself and not listening to
the suggestions of the military commanders.
With the departure of Lord Hood, the navy ceased to be interested in
Corsican affairs, so all cause for rivalry between the two services
came to an end. A new rivalry, however, at once arose. Sir Gilbert,
as Viceroy, became an autocrat, and although the exact terms of his
commission had not yet been made known to him, he took a leaf out
of Lord Hood's book, and informed General Stuart that he considered
himself Commander-in-Chief. The General, however, was not the man to
quietly accept a subordinate position in the force with which he had
completed the conquest of Corsica, and he politely gave Sir Gilbert
to understand that he intended to retain the command of the troops
until the Viceroy should receive the King's commission authorising
him to assume the functions of Commander-in-Chief, when he would be
prepared to hand over the command. Sir Gilbert was content to bide
his time, but friction, of course, was inevitable, since, without
a complete understanding between the heads of the civil and the
military departments, it was impossible to establish any proper
form of government in a newly acquired British possession. Moore's
position is a little difficult to understand, as at that time he
held no appointment other than that of Lieut.-Colonel commanding
the 51st Regiment, although he had been recommended for the post of
Adjutant-General, in place of Sir J. St Clair, who was going home.
Yet all along Moore was General Stuart's right-hand man, and to all
intents and purposes acted as his chief staff officer. Consequently,
he upheld his General in everything that he did, and resolved to
stand or fall with him. And the fall eventually came, though not for
some months.
In the meantime the troops were moved about and garrisons established
at various places, while three battalions of Corsicans were raised
for home defence. The 51st continued to garrison Bastia until the
end of the year, and from that place Sam Rice, on the 28th December
(1794) wrote to his father as follows:--
"I am sorry to tell you that, since my last, we have had the
misfortune to lose poor Captain Tourle,[25] who died a martyr to
the complaint of this climate. He was the handsomest and most
healthy man I ever saw. No regiment, I believe, ever lost so worthy
a fellow, both as an officer and man; nor was any one ever more
regretted. He was buried with all military pomp, attended by the
two generals and all the officers of the garrison. We have still
two or three officers ill, but not dangerously so. The nature of
the climate is such that, if once attacked, a person is subject to
relapses. What is very singular is that the inhabitants throughout
the country are subject to the same complaint, which carries off
numbers of them. There was a report the other day that the French
fleet was off Ajaccio, but it was unfounded. Admiral Hotham's fleet
is at Leghorn, and is daily expected at St Fiorenzo. We expect
to march in a few days for Corte, to take up our quarters there.
It is by all accounts a wretched place, but we are all happy at
the thoughts of anything for a change. There are three Corsican
battalions raised here. If they are to be drilled as our soldiers
are, to stand the charge, which I suppose they are, I do not know
how they will behave, as their manner of fighting is what we call
bush-fighting--that is, to take a steady aim upon any one from
behind a bush or tree,--in short, from any place from which the
man can fire without being seen.[26] I see that there is a talk of
peace. I am afraid that, if we make peace, we must resign the West
India Islands and perhaps the famous island of Corsica, which will
be a great loss to Government.
"If I have made many blunders in this letter, I ascribe it all to
a pretty Corse, who has been chatting to me all the time from the
opposite window."
In the first week of January 1795, Sir Gilbert Elliott received
despatches from home, giving him supreme command of the army in
Corsica. Thereupon General Stuart resigned, and at the same time
General Trigge was appointed by the Viceroy to command the troops,
and Colonel Moore was put in orders as Adjutant-General, though,
before taking up the appointment, he took the 51st to Corte and
settled the regiment in its new quarters. Grave fears of a French
descent on Corsica soon began to be entertained, and the defence
of the island against a strong invading force gave the military
authorities cause for apprehension. The British fleet in the
neighbouring waters was still, however, of sufficient strength to
give a measure of confidence to the sister service on shore, and
if there were jealousies when the army and the navy were employed
together, they were forgotten by the soldiers when they heard of the
sailors' victories at sea. At any rate, so much may be gained from
the following letter, written by Sam Rice from Corte on the 28th
March 1795:--
"What has been passing in this part of the world for this last
month is certainly worth relating, but how to do it I am certainly
much at a loss. I will begin with Admiral Hotham's engagement
with the French fleet, but of course all I know of the business
is from hearsay. I can give you no days or dates, for when the
French fleet came out and when ours attacked I know not, except
that it all happened. A few days ago the French fleet appeared off
Cape Corso, which did not a little alarm us, particularly as our
fleet was not then in the Bay of St Fiorenzo. We concluded, of
course, that a descent was intended, which was really the case.
However, the Viceroy immediately sent an express in an open boat
to Admiral Hotham, who was then with the fleet at Leghorn, and the
next morning our fleet was in sight. The French still kept in the
same place, drawn up in _ligne de bataille_, and seemed resolved
to meet us--like true Republicans, to conquer or perish in the
attempt. Our fleet, coming up, soon made a change in the business,
for the French set off as fast as possible, and we after them
with a favourable wind. As the French ran, the fight could not be
general, and, I believe, would not have taken place at all had not
the _Inconstant_ frigate--a remarkably fast sailer--borne down upon
the French and engaged a 74, whereupon the French Admiral ordered
two other 74's to her relief. By that time the _Illustrious_ and
_Courageux_--two of our 74's--came up and engaged the _Ça Ira_ and
_Censeur_, and I believe as desperate an action as ever was fought
ensued. The French ships at last were obliged to strike, but not
before having seven hundred men killed on board one of their ships
alone. The _Courageux_ lost all her masts, and the other was
considerably damaged. Those, I believe, were the only ships which
came into action; the rest made the best of their way to Toulon,
it is supposed, excepting the _Sans Culottes_, a first rate, who
was obliged to put into Genoa, with the loss of her masts, carried
away in a gale of wind which came on soon after the engagement.
The intention of the French fleet in coming out of Toulon was to
proceed immediately to Corsica, to enter the Bay of St Fiorenzo,
to land ten thousand troops, cut out of the harbour four sail of
the line (which they had been informed Admiral Hotham had left
behind), and then set off with them. The scheme was excellent, but,
fortunately for us, it did not succeed, for it would have given
them a complete superiority by sea, and probably we all should
have been made prisoners of war, as it would have been impossible,
I should think, for us to have defended ourselves with so small a
force of British as we have in the island. The French having troops
on board accounts for the number of men who were killed on the _Ça
Ira_.
"Since I began my letter an express is arrived from Bastia with the
news that, after the dispersion of the French fleet, five sail of
the line fell into the hands of the Spanish fleet, which was coming
from Carthagena to our assistance. This news is generally supposed
to be authentic, which I hope may be the case. I forgot to mention
to you before that the _Berwick_, a 74 of ours, who, I think I
told you in my last, had rolled her masts overboard in a gale of
wind, was going from St Fiorenzo to Leghorn to be repaired, when,
unfortunately, she fell in with the French fleet off Cape Corso,
and was taken. She, notwithstanding, made a very gallant action, in
which her captain was killed. Our fleet is now in Porto Spezia, not
far, I believe, from Genoa."
The details of the fight described above are substantially correct,
though the engagement was carried on for two days, and the bulk
of the fighting was done by the _Agamemnon_ (Captain Nelson).
Undoubtedly, by this action Admiral Hotham saved Corsica for the
time being, but his victory was not as complete as it might have
been, or would have been, if Nelson had been in command of the fleet.
The latter recognised the necessity for staking everything on the
destruction of the French fleet there and then, and endeavoured in
vain to persuade the Admiral to pursue and prevent the enemy from
reaching Toulon. Hotham's contentment at the result of the engagement
bore fatal fruit, for the French ships which escaped to Toulon soon
refitted, and having been joined on the 4th April by some ten others
from Brest, formed a very powerful fleet, and became a serious menace
to the small British garrison of Corsica, at the best of times not
strong enough to resist invasion, and now much reduced by sickness.
About this time the 51st lost another officer, and Rice inveighs
against the climate again:--
"I am sorry to tell you," he writes, "that we have had the
misfortune to lose Captain Alcock[27] of our regiment, who departed
this life, like poor Tourle, a martyr to the complaint of this
cursed climate. He had been but a short time ill at Bastia, from
whence he went to Leghorn for the recovery of his health, but on
his first landing was seized with a violent fever, which carried
him off in the course of a few days, in spite of the faculty. You
may recollect my mentioning both him and his brother--the latter
who was so civil to me on coming from England, and the former on
my joining the regiment. Thus (in Alcock and Tourle) we have lost
two of the worthiest, gentlemanlike, and handsomest men that ever
any regiment possessed--the one captain of grenadiers, the other of
light infantry. They were both great friends of Colonel Moore's,
and, in short, of all the officers.
"We still continue to be very sickly in our regiment, having
above one hundred privates sick in the hospital, and an equal
proportion of officers, for of the latter we have here five sick
in the hospital, one in Italy, two gone home for the recovery of
their healths, two dead, and several others who have had a lucky
escape from death. What great acquisition this island can be to the
Crown of Great Britain I leave to abler politicians than myself to
determine. It certainly has a tolerable bay for our shipping, and
that is all. It has been a fine burying-ground for the British
this last year, and if we continue during this next year to bury
in the same proportion, I am afraid that the air will become more
pestilential than it naturally is. In the time of the Romans this
place was well known for its insalubrity, and the banishment of a
criminal to Corsica was thought sufficient punishment. We expect
Colonel Moore here daily, who is coming for change of air, he
having been likewise ill."
Soon after this it appears to have gradually dawned on even the
regimental officers that the defences of the island were not in too
satisfactory a condition. Moore, who was indefatigable in touring
the country, knew that the coast-line was open everywhere, and that
the towns were defenceless. The Viceroy, generally optimistic,
at times suffered from panic, and went so far as to consult the
military authorities on the state of the defences and how they could
be improved. He had his own views, however, on the subject, and as
they differed entirely from those of the Adjutant-General, little,
if any, improvement took place. Moreover, intrigue was at work among
the Corsicans, many of whom already doubted if British rule was any
better than French. How much the "man in the street," otherwise the
regimental subaltern, knew of what was going on is shown by the
following letter from Sam Rice:--
"BASTIA, _May 2, 1795_.
"I marched here about a fortnight ago with a detachment to assist
in doing duty in this garrison. How long I shall stay here
I cannot say. The number of French prisoners that we have in
different parts of the island makes the duty hard, as they must, of
course, be guarded. I went yesterday with a party to fetch above a
hundred of them from near Fiorenzo, and brought them here the same
day. They behave themselves very well at present, but should the
French fleet appear off the coast I don't know what they may do.
"A report prevails here that the French have received a
reinforcement from Brest of six sail of the line. If such is the
case I think we shall not long remain in the island. The French
have a great party here, who would immediately join them in the
event of a descent, and those who are now of our party would, I
daresay, be better paid by the French, and so abandon us--such is
the character of the Corsicans. If we may believe the French, they
will not come here; they say that they are a nation too polished to
ever think of so barbarous a country as Corsica. Barbarous as it
is, I daresay they would be glad to chase us from it; not that it
would be of any value to them, but, as long as we are here, they
will be ever jealous, and indeed, in my opinion, very naturally so.
We have orders to hold ourselves in readiness to take the field.
Provisions and ammunition are constantly going to the interior of
the country, in case of a retreat. Do not be surprised if my next
is from some camp among the mountains. I send this by Captain St
George, who takes home the Viceroy's despatches."
From this letter it would seem that the existence of two political
parties among the Corsicans was a matter of common knowledge, and it
would seem also to have been generally known that one party favoured
the French and the other the English. How the strings were pulled was
probably only known to a very few Englishmen; possibly only to the
Viceroy and Moore. Yet the puppets, placed upon the stage, played
gaily to the audience for a while, then snapped their strings and
played without them. From the beginning the Viceroy's methods had
been distasteful to the people, and their beloved Paoli, the Corsican
patriot, endeavoured to hint as much to Sir Gilbert, who, however,
took the hint as unwarrantable interference. From that time the
Viceroy became distrustful of Paoli, and set up, in opposition to
him, one Pozzo di Borgo, a man versed in intrigue, of few scruples,
and hated by the Corsicans, who, though they continued to be loyal to
the British Government, distrusted the influence which Pozzo had over
the Viceroy. Had Sir Gilbert kept in with Paoli, and governed through
him, all might have gone well. Instead, as Sir J. F. Maurice[28]
puts it, he attempted to apply the British Constitution to a people
to whom it was unsuited, and, in doing so, he used as his instrument
a worthless man, who had not the confidence of the people. Now,
Moore was a personal friend of Paoli, and the Viceroy knew it, and
he suspected Moore of intriguing against him, though, had he been
a judge of character, he would have known that Moore was always
too straightforward and outspoken to be capable of intrigue. Yet,
believing that Moore was disloyal, he took the step which any man so
placed would take. Not being an Oriental potentate, he did not have
his enemy quietly poisoned off, but he wrote home and asked for his
removal, and Moore was, in September 1795, ordered to quit the island
within forty-eight hours. On the 4th October Moore visited the 51st
at Corte and shook the dust of Corsica from off his feet. After his
departure the plot thickened, and in the early months of 1796 matters
began to assume an uncomfortable attitude; disaffection among the
people grew rife; and Paoli, in despair, went to England. From bad,
things then went rapidly to worse, and the following letter from Sam
Rice shows how, by the middle of the year, Corsican affairs were
already approaching a crisis.
"BASTIA, _June 27, 1796_.
"Our correspondence, I am afraid, will, every day now, become more
uncertain and of course less frequent, owing to the French having
overrun so great a part of Italy, and the rapid progress which
they are still making. Our last news from Leghorn was that the
Republicans were within a very few hours' march of that place; if
so, the communication by that part of Italy will be entirely at an
end. An officer from this garrison, who is going to England, and
who will be the bearer of this, in order to be certain of avoiding
the French, sets out this evening for Civita Vecchia, a seaport
near Rome, and from thence will cross the Roman territories to
some place on the Adriatic coast, whence he will take a vessel for
Venice.[29]
"I have the pleasure to tell you that the Regiment left Corte
the beginning of this month. After what I have told you of that
place in former letters, you may imagine that none of us regretted
leaving it and its polite and agreeable people. Since my last,
things in Corsica have been in a very disagreeable situation. The
cause of the discontent of the Corsicans was first owing to the
taxes, which they thought too oppressive. That discontent was not
then by any means general, only some few villages refusing to pay
by force of arms, but they were soon compelled by a party of our
garrison from Corte. The last and most serious revolt happened
about twenty miles from Corte, at a place called Bagnano. The
Viceroy determined to put an end to such hostile acts, and came in
person to Corte to give energy to the business. He was attended by
a numerous suite of the most respectable people of the island, and
also by a number of British and foreign troops. The troops from
Bastia were joined by our grenadier company and light infantry
company, to which latter I have the honour of belonging. When
everything was ready for the campaign we marched for the revolted
country, our army consisting of near five thousand men--British,
foreigners, and natives. The first impediment we met with was a
fort, on a very commanding situation, built in the time of the
French. The Corsicans, who were in possession of it, refusing
to submit at discretion, the troops were immediately ordered to
surround it. Our two companies marched directly up to the fort and
kept a very hot fire of musketry on it for some time, but, finding
it impossible to scale the walls, we were obliged to retire, with
the loss of our too brave captain of grenadiers, four privates
killed and five wounded. It is since said that poor Shawe,[30] who
was the person that fell, had no such orders as he was attempting
to carry out. Whether he had or not it is now impossible to say.
When anything fails the blame is generally cast on the sufferer.
"No sooner had this unfortunate business happened than the news
came from Corte that the town and foundry of that place were
surrounded by natives, and that they were determined to cut off
the Viceroy and the army, upon which we were immediately ordered
to retreat on Corte. This rebel army was now so formidable near
Corte, and so determined, that their chief sent word to the Viceroy
that if he would not redress their grievances he should be under
the necessity of doing it himself by force of arms, or something
to that purpose. The Viceroy, wishing to spare blood, granted them
nearly, I believe, what they wanted, which was the dismissal of his
Corsican minister and some other men who had become odious to the
people. The short and long of the business is that the people, not
approving of the Viceroy's choice of his ministers and people about
him, took the opportunity I before mentioned of forcing him to act
in a different manner. What was first thought to be the revolt of a
few villages has ended in that of nearly the whole country. Things
are at present pretty quiet, but there is still a very considerable
republican party in the island, and it is said that the French
have landed a great many arms here, and have sent over officers to
incite the people against us.
"I have the pleasure to tell you that I am now oldest lieutenant.
If a vacancy should happen I would not wish to purchase, as it is
very probable, if I have good luck, that I shall get on without,
particularly as the war is not yet at an end."
Little did Rice think when he despatched this letter that within
four months he and his regiment, together with the remainder of the
British troops, the Viceroy and his staff of civilian officials,
would be driven from Corsica. Yet during these four months events
happened swiftly, and a combination of circumstances--many quite
unforeseen--overwhelmed the Viceroy. He himself for a long while
had been extremely unpopular with the people, who were for the most
part in open rebellion. Napoleon Buonaparte was carrying all before
him on the Continent, and the accounts of his many victories filled
with admiration the minds not only of the French "emigrants," but
also of the Corsicans themselves, who gloried in the knowledge that
the conqueror was a Corsican. Then Spain, previously leagued with
the other powers against the French Republic, basely deserted and
went over to the enemy. As soon as this was known in England, the
British Government, fearing the worst, and aware that the British
fleet in the Mediterranean was not equal to the combined Spanish and
French fleets, decided forthwith to withdraw all the troops from
the Mediterranean, and sent instructions to Sir Gilbert Elliott to
evacuate Corsica.
But before this, the Viceroy, on hearing of the capture of Leghorn
by Napoleon, had despatched Nelson to occupy the Isle of Elba, where
he established a small force as a safeguard to Corsica, and he now
proposed to withdraw altogether from the latter island, and assemble
the troops at Porto Ferrajo, in Elba, preliminary to carrying out
his orders to remove the troops from the Mediterranean. Nelson,
on the 14th October, brought the British fleet to Bastia, for the
purpose of conveying the troops to Elba, and he arrived only in the
nick of time, for he found the garrison hard-pressed, the French
"emigrants" and the Corsicans having surrounded the citadel, to
which the garrison had withdrawn, and demanded its surrender. Bastia
itself was also in the hands of rioters, who had seized British
property and threatened to make a prisoner of the Viceroy. Nelson
at once rose to the occasion, and checked the riot by training his
guns on the town, at the same time sending a message on shore to say
that he was prepared to bombard the place and utterly destroy it.
The embarkation of the troops then commenced, but took some time,
and on the 18th, when the evacuation was nearing completion, news
came that the French had landed near Cape Corso and were marching
on Bastia. The guns were hastily spiked, but only just in time, for
the last boat-load of soldiers had barely left the shore, on the
20th, before the French advanced guard marched into the citadel of
Bastia. The dignified withdrawal suggested by the British Government
resolved itself, therefore, into a somewhat undignified flight, and,
but for the timely arrival of Nelson's fleet, worse things might have
happened--possibly an ignominious surrender.
The embarkation of all the troops without the loss of a single man,
albeit that a gale of wind was blowing at the time, was a very fine
performance; and the excitement was increased by the knowledge that
the Spanish fleet was bearing down upon Corsica, and could not be
distant more than twelve leagues. Yet Nelson took the fleet safely to
Elba, and there disembarked the troops.
Thus was Corsica lost to Great Britain. "It was impolitic," says
Southey,[31] "to annex this island to the British dominions, but,
having done so, it was disgraceful thus to abandon it. The disgrace
would have been spared, and every advantage which could have been
derived from the possession of the island secured, if the people had
at first been left to form a government for themselves, and protected
by us in the enjoyment of their independence." As things turned out,
it is doubtful if any good resulted from the occupation of Corsica,
beyond that, for a period, it may have been useful to the British
fleet in the Mediterranean, although it provided no facilities for
refitting or repairing damaged ships. Of the evils produced by the
conquest and possession of the island, enough perhaps has been said.
For a time, at any rate, the reputations of Hood, Dundas,[32] Stuart,
and Moore were sullied; the Corsicans suffered oppression, hardships,
and punishment for rebellion; Paoli, the Corsican patriot, retired to
England, and died there in exile;[33] England's fair name was dragged
in the dust, and many of England's soldiers found graves in the
island. Only two men came off with flying colours: the ex-Viceroy,
Sir Gilbert Elliott, was raised to the peerage, and Nelson added
glory to his name.