LORD EXMOUTH'S RETIREMENT AND DEATH.
Lord Exmouth's services were acknowledged as became such a victory. He
was advanced to the dignity of a Viscount, and received an honourable
augmentation of his arms. In the centre of the shield a triumphal crown
was placed by the civic wreath; below was a lion rampant, and above them
a ship, lying at the Mole-head of Algiers, and surmounted with the star
of victory. The former supporters were exchanged for a lion on the one
side, and a Christian slave, holding aloft the cross, and dropping his
broken fetters, on the other. The name "Algiers" was given for an
additional motto. The kings of Holland, Spain, and Sardinia, conferred
upon him orders of knighthood. The Pope sent him a valuable cameo. The
city of London voted him its freedom, and a sword, ornamented with
diamonds, which was presented by the Lord Mayor at a banquet,
appropriately given by the Ironmongers' Company, as trustees of a
considerable estate left for ransoming Christian slaves in Barbary by
Mr. Betton, a member of the company, who had himself endured the
miseries of slavery. He received the freedom of the city of Oxford, and
the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University. A society for
promoting the liberation of Christian slaves, lately formed at Paris,
chiefly by the exertions of Sir Sidney Smith, caused a medal to be
struck to commemorate the victory. It presents a well-executed profile
of the Admiral, with a suitable inscription on the reverse.
In general, every disposition was shown in France to do justice to Lord
Exmouth's merit on this occasion. Yet it was to be expected that the
feelings so natural under the circumstances of their recent defeat, and
the present occupation of their territory, would lead many to detract
from the honours of the nation which had so severely humbled them. Some
illiberal reflections which appeared in the French journals, prompted
the following lines by the late Lord Grenville:--
"These hands toil-worn, these limbs by fetters galled,
These bodies, scarred by many a servile blow,
These spirits, wasted by disease and woe,
These Christian souls, by miscreant rage enthralled,
What band of heroes now recalls to life?--
Gives us again to hail our native shores,
And to each fond, despairing heart, restores
The long-lost parent, the long-widowed wife?
O Britain! still to lawless power a foe,
'Gainst faithless pirate armed, or blood-stained Gaul!
Vain is the taunt which mocks thy lavish cost,
Thy thankless toil, thy blood poured out for all,
Thy laurels, gained in fight, in treaty lost--
HEAVEN STILL SHALL BLESS THE HAND WHICH LAYS THE OPPRESSOR LOW!"
A medal, most appropriate in the devices, and of the most exquisite
workmanship, was executed by command of his late Majesty George IV.,
then Prince Regent. The medals are of gold. Only four were struck, one
of which was presented to Lord Exmouth, and remains in the possession of
his eldest surviving son. The officers of the squadron presented to
their commander a magnificent piece of plate, of 1,400 guineas value,
representing the Mole of Algiers, with its fortifications. The
subscription exceeded the cost; and the surplus was paid to the Naval
Charitable Society, of which Lord Exmouth was a vice-president.[14]
His venerable and excellent friend, Admiral Schank, under whose command
he had fought his first action, went to Teignmouth to receive him, when
he came home from this, the last of his triumphs. The day of his return
was made a general festival, and the inhabitants went out to meet him
with all the arrangement and display which could manifest admiration and
attachment.
The promotion which followed the victory was to have been on the usual
scale, but Lord Exmouth succeeded in obtaining some extension of it; for
he considered it inadequate to the merits of the junior officers, who
had enjoyed unusual opportunities for distinguishing themselves. The
flotilla of armed boats, which had behaved most gallantly, and afforded
essential service, was commanded chiefly by mates and midshipmen, and he
pressed their claims upon the Admiralty with much perseverance. He
urged that commissions should be given to all who had passed their
examinations; and submitted a list of the officers whom he thought
entitled to promotion, drawn up in such a form as to be readily examined
and referred to, and in which their respective services and claims were
enforced in a manner which marked at once his discrimination of their
merits, and the warm interest he took in their welfare.
The victory was prominently noticed in the royal speech, and on the 3rd
of February received the thanks of Parliament. The First Lord of the
Admiralty, who introduced the motion to the House of Lords, expatiated
at length on the circumstances which enhanced the merit of the
commander:--"When the expedition against Algiers was determined on, it
became necessary to collect men from different guard-ships, and to call
for the services of volunteers for this particular enterprise. He
mentioned this circumstance, because those who knew the value which
naval officers attach to a crew long accustomed to act together, would
be the better enabled to appreciate the skill and exertions of Lord
Exmouth, and the difficulties he had to contend with, in rendering
crews, collected as he had stated, efficient for his purpose. To that
object Lord Exmouth devoted his daily, his hourly attention, and
accomplished it in a manner which reflected the highest credit on his
judgment and ability. He then proceeded with his squadron on the
appointed service. He proposed certain terms to the Dey of Algiers,
according to his instructions, and no satisfactory reply being given,
the ships took their positions. It was due to Lord Exmouth here to state
a circumstance not generally known. An opinion had prevailed in many
quarters that accident and the elements had been very favourable to Lord
Exmouth in the execution of the enterprise: but the fact was, that when
Government had determined on the undertaking, many persons, and among
them several naval officers, were of opinion that the defences were so
strong that the attack could not succeed. Not so Lord Exmouth, though he
was perfectly aware of the difficulties with which he had to contend. He
had himself formed the plan of his operations, and gave it as his
opinion that the object might be accomplished, not from any idle
confidence, but founded on the reasons which he stated and the plan
which he had formed. He had in this plan settled the position which
every ship was to take, and when the despatches came, he (Lord Melville)
had noticed that the positions actually taken were exactly those which
had been before settled. The whole scheme of attack was before prepared
by him, and exactly followed; and the whole transaction reflected the
highest credit upon Lord Exmouth as a naval officer, as well as upon his
perseverance and gallantry." After describing the battle and its result,
and descanting upon the enthusiasm which animated every officer and man,
and the gallantry they displayed, Lord Melville alluded to the
co-operation and effectual assistance afforded by the Dutch squadron, to
which also he moved the thanks of the House. "The flag of the
Netherlands had long been distinguished in Europe, and the officers and
seamen had acquired a high renown for skill and valour. In this
enterprise that flag had again appeared, and a noble emulation prevailed
between the two squadrons as to which of them should most strenuously
exert itself to accomplish the common object."
Similar motions were brought forward in the House of Commons by Lord
Castlereagh, who dwelt on the splendid character of the transaction,
upon which, he said, there could be but one opinion either in that House
or throughout Europe. Alluding to the very conflicting opinions which
had prevailed on the subject of attacking Algiers, he eulogized the
great ability and judgment of Lord Exmouth, whose perfect accuracy had
been so fully proved by the result. "He should not attempt," he said,
"to add any thing more to an action so glorious both as to the
principles upon which it was undertaken, and the mode of carrying it
into execution, but only observe that he intended to extend the thanks
to the officers and seamen of their brave ally, the King of the
Netherlands, whose co-operation had been so beneficial. He was sure the
House would feel a peculiar gratification in seeing the navy of Holland
united with ours for the general liberties of mankind, and be anxious to
mark their sense of the services performed by the Dutch Admiral, his
brave officers, and sailors."
"So great were Lord Exmouth's professional abilities," said Mr. Law, who
seconded the motion, "that whatever he undertook he was sure to succeed
in. From the commencement of that series of great operations which arose
out of the revolutionary war, success had uniformly marked his long
career. With respect to the late brilliant enterprise, too much could
not be said of it; and it was gratifying to know that the feelings of
the House and the country were the same."
"No one," said Lord Cochrane, "was better acquainted than himself with
the power possessed by batteries over a fleet; and he would say that the
conduct of Lord Exmouth and the fleet deserved all the praise which that
House could bestow. The attack was nobly achieved, in a way that a
British fleet always performed such services; and the vote had his most
cordial concurrence, for he never knew, or had heard, of anything more
gallant than the manner in which Lord Exmouth had laid his ships
alongside the Algerine batteries."
Lord Exmouth had now gained everything he could hope for. He was still
in the full vigour of life, with the prospect of many years of health.
His children had all been spared to him; and he was accustomed to dwell
on their conduct with a father's pride and satisfaction. With a
liberality not often displayed, he gave them their full portions as they
successively left him; and he had the gratification of entrusting to
each of his sons one of the many honourable tributes to his worth and
services which he had received from different public bodies. His eldest
son, who had served many years under his orders, was living near
Teignmouth, at the family mansion of Canonteign. He represented
Launceston in Parliament, and when he first entered the House had
exerted himself, though without success, to obtain for seamen serving on
foreign stations the privilege, since granted, of receiving part of
their pay abroad. He had been much impressed with the evils of the
former system, which his liberality had obviated for his own crews. Lord
Exmouth maintained a most unreserved intercourse with him, and often
expressed a confidence in the strongest terms, that he would do honour
to the rank he was to inherit: hopes never to be realized, for he
survived his father only a few months.
It is a memorable illustration of a truth, which all admit, but none
entirely feel, till their own experience has taught them the vanity of
worldly success, that when the attainment of every object had left him
without a wish ungratified, Lord Exmouth would sometimes confess that he
had been happier amidst his early difficulties. Indeed, his natural
character, and all his habits, were very unfavourable to repose. The
command at Plymouth was given him in 1817, on the death of Sir John
Duckworth; but this, though it prevented a too abrupt transition to
complete retirement, was a life of inactivity, when contrasted with his
general pursuits for almost fifty years.
While he held this command he was required to attend in his place in the
House of Lords on the trial of the Queen, one of the most lamentable
events in modern English history. He had received her then Royal
Highness on board his flag-ship in the Mediterranean with all the
attentions due to her exalted rank, and his principal officers were
assembled to pay their respects to her. But when he was desired to
furnish a royal standard, which, it was said, the vessel was entitled to
carry, though a foreigner, he replied that the standard of England
could be carried only by a British man of war. He shared the temporary
unpopularity of the noblemen who supported the bill, and the mob at
Plymouth and its neighbourhood expressed their feelings towards him with
much violence; but this, as far as he was concerned, gave him no
disquiet. He had not then to learn how little this kind of hostility is
to be regarded, when it is provoked by the faithful discharge of duty.
When the storm was at the highest he wrote the following letter:--
"Admiralty House, Plymouth Dock, Nov. 20, 1820.
"MY DEAR BROTHER,--I am much obliged by your kind letter, and wish
I could give you in return anything good, or worth detailing. The
fact is, the people are mad, and the world is mad; and where it
will end, the Lord only knows; but as sure as we live, the days of
trouble are very fast approaching, when there will be much
contention and much bloodshed, and changes out of all measure and
human calculation. You and I have no choice. Loyalty is all our
duty, and we shall, no doubt, stick to it. As for myself, you may
well think me D.D.,[15] for I am burnt, and kicked, and torn in
pieces for many nights; but here I am, quite whole, sound, and
merry, in spite of them all, poor fools! In a fortnight they will
fain know how to make amends. They have a particular dislike to me,
and I am glad of it. We shall live to see it changed."
With the command at Plymouth, Lord Exmouth's public life may be
considered to have ended; for though he shrunk from no duty which his
rank and character imposed upon him, he would not submit to become a
political partizan. This decision, so happy for his peace, was the
result of his habitual judgment and feeling. In a letter before alluded
to, which he wrote for his eldest son before he went to Algiers, he
observed, that though not rich, he would be independent, and enjoined
him never to entangle himself with party politics. While none more
firmly supported the great principles upon which the security and
welfare of the country rest, he chose always to keep the high position
of an independent British nobleman. The splendid rewards which his
services had obtained for him, he received, not as from any particular
administration, but from his country; and he felt himself entitled to
assert the same independence in the House of Lords, which he had always
displayed as a commander. Thus, by a conduct equally prudent and
honourable, he secured, through periods of great political excitement,
an exemption almost singular, for a man in his position, from the
attacks of party.
At the same time, his best services were always at the command of the
Government, who frequently availed themselves of his judgment and
experience. Few important questions occurred in connection with his own
profession, upon which he was not consulted. Most of these were
necessarily confidential; but the following may with propriety be
noticed. In 1818, when the extreme difficulties of the country demanded
the utmost possible retrenchment, it was proposed, among other measures
of economy, to destroy Pendennis Castle. Two commissioners, sent to
survey and report upon this step, were instructed to communicate first
with Lord Exmouth. His opinion decided the preservation of this noble
fortress; which is at once so important from its position, and so
interesting for its heroic defence, when, in the great rebellion, it
obtained the honourable distinction of being the last stronghold of
loyalty.
On the question of concessions to the Roman Catholics in 1829, his
opinions and conduct were most decided. His eldest son resigned his seat
for a borough, which he held unconditionally, under the influence of the
Duke of Northumberland, as soon as that nobleman declared his intention
to support the claims. The ground of Lord Exmouth's opposition to the
measure has been already given in his words.
That moral elevation, not always associated with powerful talent and
splendid success, which forms the most admirable part of Lord Exmouth's
character, was derived from religion. Young as he was when he first
entered the service, and though such principles and feelings could not
be supposed then to be very strongly fixed, yet he was guarded in his
conduct, and always prompt to check any irreverent allusion to serious
subjects. His youth was passed in camps and ships, at a time when a
coarse and profane conduct too much prevailed, now happily almost
unknown; but he was never deterred by a false shame from setting a
proper example. On board his first frigate, the _Winchelsea_, the duties
of the Sundays were regularly observed. He always dressed in full
uniform on that day, and, having no chaplain, read the morning service
to his crew, whenever the weather permitted them to be assembled.
Advancing in his brilliant career, the same feelings were more and more
strikingly displayed. It was his practice to have a special and general
service of thanksgiving after every signal deliverance, or success. Too
often is it found, that with the accession of worldly honours, the man
becomes more forgetful of the good Providence from which he received
them. From this evil, Lord Exmouth was most happily kept; and additional
distinctions only confirmed the unaffected simplicity and benevolence of
his character. When he was fitting out his fleet for Algiers, amidst all
the anxiety of hurried preparations, he took care that every ship should
be properly supplied with the sacred volume. For this purpose, he
obtained from the Naval and Military Bible Society, of which he was a
Vice President, every copy which could be procured at so short a notice.
Finally, after this, the last and greatest of his services, a battle of
almost unexampled severity and duration, and fought less for his country
than for the world, his gratitude to the Giver of victory was expressed
in a manner the most edifying and delightful.
With such principles, he might well have hoped for happiness when he
retired from public life. Religion alone can fill and satisfy the most
active and capacious mind; but that its power may be felt to calm,
strengthen, and support, under whatever circumstances of endurance, or
of action, it must govern the character always, and be the supreme
controlling principle. For this, the position of a naval officer is not
favourable. War has much, in addition to the miseries and evils it
directly creates, which only necessity can excuse; and there is too
little leisure for reflection amidst the anxiety of early struggles, the
full career of success, or the pressure of exciting and important
duties.
But when external responsibilities had ceased to divert his attention
from himself, his religious principles acquired new strength and exerted
a more powerful influence. They guided him to peace; they added dignity
to his character: and blessed his declining years with a serenity, at
once the best evidence of their truth, and the happiest illustration of
their power.
The quiet of domestic life offers little to be recorded; and except when
public or private claims might call him for a short time from home, Lord
Exmouth passed the remainder of his life at Teignmouth. He had nobly
done his duty; and now enjoyed in honourable repose all that the
gratitude of his country and the affection of his family could bestow.
Though he knew himself liable to an attack which might be almost
suddenly fatal, he dwelt on the prospect without alarm, for he rested
upon that faith whose privilege it is to rise above present suffering,
and to regard death itself as the gate of immortal life.
No man was more free from selfish feeling. His honours and success were
valued for the sake of his family. His services and life were for his
country. He had a truly English heart, and served her with entire
devotedness. Nothing, indeed, could be a finer commentary than his own
career upon her free and equal institutions, which, by the force of
those qualities they so powerfully tend to create, had enabled him to
rise from the condition of an unfriended orphan, to the dignity of the
British peerage. Most painful, therefore, were his feelings, when revolt
and anarchy in neighbouring countries were held up to be admired and
imitated at home, until a praiseworthy desire of improvement had become
a rage for destructive innovation. In a letter written at this time,
Nov. 12th, 1831, after alluding to his own declining strength, he thus
proceeds:--"I am fast approaching that end which we must all come to. My
own term I feel is expiring, and happy is the man who does not live to
see the destruction of his country, which discontent has brought to the
verge of ruin. Hitherto thrice happy England, how art thou torn to
pieces by thine own children! Strangers, who a year ago looked up to you
as a happy exception in the world, with admiration, at this moment know
thee not! Fire, riot, and bloodshed, are roving through the land, and
God in his displeasure visits us also with pestilence; and, in fact, in
one short year, we seem almost to have reached the climax of misery. One
cannot sit down to put one's thoughts to paper, without feeling
oppressed by public events, and with vain thought of how and when will
the evils terminate. _That_ must be left to God's mercy, for I believe
man is at this moment unequal to the task."
He then passes to another subject. It was a trait in his character,
that, through all his success, he never forgot his early friends.
"When I sat down, I intended to commence by letting you know that I have
heard from ---- of the last week's illness and decease of our early, and
I believe almost our oldest friend, ----. He states, that he died, by
God's mercy, free from pain; that his suffering was not much, and he
bore it patiently, with a calm mind, keeping his senses to the last few
hours. That you had paid your old friend a last visit, from which, he
says, he appeared to be quite revivified; that his eyes sparkled with
inward joy, and that he had asked kindly after me; that he went off at
last in a kind of sleep, without a struggle, and had felt all the
comfort which could be given him by a sincere old friend. I was very
glad to hear that you had given him the comfort of taking leave of him,
for I readily believe he ever felt for you unabated friendship, and for
myself also. I think we must have known him above three-score years. I
am sure you will derive pleasure from having shown him that your
friendship could only end by his death."
In the last week of December, 1831, after an extraordinary exemption
from such trials in his own family, he lost his youngest daughter.
Little more than two months elapsed, when on the 2nd of March the
warning was repeated in the almost sudden death of a grandchild,
daughter of his eldest son. He communicated this event with the
reflection--"We have long been mercifully spared. Death has at length
entered our family, and it behoves us all to be watchful."[16]
In the spring of this year he was made Vice-Admiral of England, and was
honoured at the same time with a very flattering letter from his
Sovereign. This he immediately enclosed to his elder brother, to whom he
knew it would give pleasure. Of the appointment itself, he remarked, "I
shall have it only for one year." He held it but for a few months.
In May, Sir Israel Pellew was on his death-bed; and Lord Exmouth, though
he now travelled with much difficulty and pain, could not refuse himself
the melancholy satisfaction of a parting visit to one with whom he had
been so closely and affectionately united. Their brother came up from
Falmouth on the same errand, and on this painful occasion they all met
for the last time. He then returned to his home, which he never left
again.
He cherished a very strong attachment to the Church; and for more than
thirty years had been a member of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, which he joined when the claims of the society were so little
appreciated, that only principle could have prompted the step. It might
therefore be expected that he would feel deep anxiety when the safety of
that Church was threatened. But upon this subject his mind was firm; and
in one of the last letters he ever wrote, dated August 28th, he declares
his confidence in the most emphatic language. After some personal
observations to the friend he was addressing, one of his old officers,
he alludes to the cholera, then raging in his neighbourhood; "which," he
says, "I am much inclined to consider an infliction of Providence, to
show his power to the discontented of the world, who have long been
striving against the government of man, and are commencing their attacks
on our Church. But they will fail! God will never suffer his Church to
fall; and the world will see that his mighty arm is not shortened, nor
his power diminished. I put my trust in Him, and not in man; and I bless
Him, that He has enabled me to see the difference between improvement
and destruction."
Not many days after, he suffered a most violent attack of the illness he
had long anticipated. The immediate danger was soon averted; but the
extent of the disease left not the smallest hope of recovery. He
lingered until the 23rd of January, calmly waiting the event which his
gradually increasing weakness convinced him was inevitable. Sustained by
the principle which had guided him so long, his death-bed became the
scene of his best and noblest triumph. "Every hour of his life is a
sermon," said an officer who was often with him; "I have seen him great
in battle, but never so great as on his death-bed." Full of hope and
peace, he advanced with the confidence of a Christian to his last
conflict, and when nature was at length exhausted, he closed a life of
brilliant and important service, with a death more happy, and not less
glorious, than if he had fallen in the hour of victory.
Lord Exmouth was buried at Christow, the parish in which are the family
mansion and estate of Canonteign. The flag under which he fought at
Algiers was used for a pall, and a young oak, to bear his name, was
planted near the grave; a suitable memorial for a British seaman.
Two noble line-of-battle ships, the _Algiers_ and the _Exmouth_, of
91-guns each, and fitted with screw propellers, of which one is just now
commissioned and the other just launched, preserve in the navy the
memory of his name and victory, and may yet be commanded by officers
trained by his care, and formed by his example.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] The plate bore the following most flattering inscription:--
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
EDWARD, VISCOUNT AND BARON EXMOUTH,
And a Baronet,
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath,
Of the Royal and distinguished Order of Charles the Third of Spain,
Of the Royal Sicilian Order of St. Ferdinand, and of Merit,
Knight of the Royal Sardinian Supreme Order of the Annunciation.
Knt. Gd. Cross of the Royal Sardinian Order of St. Lazarus & St. Maurice,
and of the Royal Military Order of William of the Netherlands,
This Tribute of Admiration and Esteem
Is most respectfully presented by
THE REAR-ADMIRAL, CAPTAINS, AND COMMANDERS,
Who had the honour to serve under him
_At the memorable VICTORY gained at ALGIERS_
On the 27th of August, 1816,
Where, by the Judgment, Valour, & Decision of their distinguished Chief,
Aided by his brilliant Example,
THE GREAT CAUSE OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
Was bravely Fought, and
_NOBLY ACCOMPLISHED_.
[15] "Discharged, dead." The mark by which a man is reported dead on the
ship's books.
[16] It is a remarkable fact, that after the death of his daughter,
seven members of the family died within three years.
THE END.