One of the greatest calamities that ever befel a ship belonging to the
British Navy was the destruction of the Queen Charlotte of 100 guns,
launched in 1790. She was the sister-ship to the Royal George, and was
destined to a no less tragical fate. Her first cruise was with the
fleet fitted out against Spain; Lord Howe, the commander-in-chief,
being on board of her; and she carried his flag on the 1st of June.
She was afterwards sent to the Mediterranean, under the command of
Captain James Todd, and bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith.
Before entering upon our narrative, we may be permitted to apologize
for any inaccuracy, or lack of incident, that may be apparent in the
following account, by stating that the official reports of the
disaster are so vague and imperfect, that it is almost impossible to
give the details of it as fully as we could wish; and so many years
have elapsed since the event, that we cannot obtain information from
private sources.
On the 16th of March, 1800, Lord Keith, with Lieutenant Stewart, and
four other persons, having landed at Leghorn, directed Captain Todd to
proceed in the Queen Charlotte to reconnoitre the Island of Cabrera,
about thirty miles from Leghorn, then in possession of the French, and
which it was his lordship's intention to attack.
At four o'clock on the morning of the 17th, the men who were washing
the decks stowed some hay close aft to the admiral's cabin, near a
match-tub, in which it was usual to keep a match burning, for the
purpose of firing signals. At six o'clock, when the men were in the
act of removing the hay, a portion of it was discovered to have
ignited. Not a moment was lost in giving the alarm, and those at hand
used every means in their power to extinguish the slumbering element;
but the fire had been smouldering for some time before it was
discovered. The water thrown upon it from the buckets was useless--the
flames bursting forth with such violence that they baffled the most
strenuous efforts to overcome them. Such was the posture of affairs
when the captain, officers, and men, alarmed by the cry of fire,
rushed from all parts of the ship to the scene of conflagration. It
would be no easy task to describe the feelings of a number of human
beings thus suddenly and awfully awakened to the perils of their
situation. For the moment, no doubt, fear predominated over every
other feeling, and a degree of confusion ensued. Nor can this be
regarded with astonishment, when we remember that of all the dangers
to which a sailor is familiarized in his hazardous profession, none is
so fraught with horror as a fire at sea.
The battle has no terror for him: he rushes to the conflict excited by
the cheers of his comrades and the hopes of victory--
Though fore and aft the blood-stained deck,
Should lifeless trunks appear,
Or should the vessel float a wreck,
The sailor knows no fear.
He glories in the stormy sea, and in 'the wild wind's roar:' they fill
him with a fierce delight, while with steady hand and steadfast heart
he obeys the voice of his commander; he trusts to his good ship, and
'laughs at the storm and the battle.'
But how differently does he feel, when roused from his deep slumber by
the cry of fire. He rushes upon deck, but half awake, to meet an enemy
far more terrible than any he has yet encountered. He finds himself
enveloped in a suffocating smoke--here and there gleams a lurid
flame--the fire becomes gradually more vivid: it rises higher and
higher; grows brighter and brighter. In vain he looks for
help,--beneath, nothing meets his eye but the boundless waste of
waters, that can avail so little to quench those flames; above, the
pathless fields of air, that serve but to increase their fury. The
insidious enemy quietly but surely creeps onward, and the sailor knows
but too well, that if not speedily arrested, the flames must reach the
powder magazine, and then a few smouldering fragments strewed upon the
waters will alone remain of the gallant ship and her living freight.
Such was the hideous form in which death presented itself to the minds
of the crew of the Queen Charlotte, who now anxiously turned their
eyes to their captain and officers, in the hope that, as on former
occasions, their example and assistance might enable them to avert the
threatened danger. Nor was their confidence misplaced.
Captain Todd and his first lieutenant (Mr. Bainbridge) stood upon the
quarter-deck, displaying a calmness and self-possession of which the
effects were soon felt throughout the vessel, and restored order among
the ship's company.
They went among the people, calming their fears, and encouraging them
to increased exertion, neither of them seeming for a moment to think
of his own safety in comparison with that of his companions in danger.
All that man could do in such a case was done; but human foresight and
presence of mind were of no avail against the irresistible power of
that relentless enemy.
The flames darted up the mainmast, reached the boats upon the boom,
and now wrapped in wreathing fires the whole of the quarter-deck,
from whence all had been driven save the captain and first lieutenant,
who still nobly kept their posts.
Amongst those who more particularly distinguished themselves on this
occasion (where all did their duty) was Lieutenant the Hon. G.H.L.
Dundas. This officer was roused from his sleep by the sentinel
announcing to him that the ship was on fire. Springing from his cot,
he hastily put on some clothes and attempted to ascend the after
hatchway, but was driven back by the smoke. He then went to the main
hatchway, and had almost reached the top of the ladder, when he was so
overpowered, that he fell exhausted upon the middle deck.
When he had in some degree recovered, he rushed to the fore hatchway
and thence to the forecastle, where he found the first lieutenant,
some petty officers, and the greater part of the ship's company. These
were endeavouring to haul up the mainsail which was in flames. The
carpenter, seeing Lieutenant Dundas, suggested that he might direct
some of the men to sluice the lower decks, and secure the hatchways,
to prevent the fire reaching that part of the ship.
Mr. Dundas collected about seventy men, who volunteered to accompany
him, and descended to the lower decks. The ports were opened, the
cocks turned, and water thrown upon the decks. All the hammocks were
cleared away, and as many people as could be spared were employed in
heaving water upon the burning wood, rigging, and spars, which kept
falling down the hatchways. The gratings were fastened down and
covered over with wet blankets and hammocks. In this way the lower
deck was kept free from fire for some time, until at length it broke
out in both of the transom cabins, and burnt forward with great
rapidity. Mr. Dundas and his party did not leave that part of ship,
till several of the middle guns came through the deck.
At nine o'clock, finding it impossible to remain longer below, he got
out of one of the starboard lower deck ports, and reached the
forecastle, followed by most of the officers and men who had been with
him. On the forecastle, about 250 men were drawing water, and throwing
it upon the fire as far aft as possible.
For nearly four hours every exertion was made to subdue the flames.
Officers and men behaved with heroic courage and self-possession; but
in spite of their almost superhuman efforts, the flames rolled on, and
the destruction of the ship became inevitable.
With fruitless toil the crew oppose the flame,
No art can now the spreading mischief tame.
And many of that gallant company verified the poet's description:
almost maddened by the intense heat, they sprung overboard and
perished.
Some, when the flames could be no more withstood,
By wild despair directed, 'midst the flood,
Themselves in haste from the tall vessel threw,
And from a dry to liquid ruin flew.
Sad choice of death, when those who shun the fire,
Must to as fierce an element retire.
Lieut. Archibald Duff, who had been alarmed by the firing of guns,
attempted to get out of the ward-room door, but was driven back by the
smoke. He at last succeeded in scrambling out of the quarter gallery,
and reached the poop, from whence he jumped into the sea, and was
picked up by the launch, when in the act of casting off the tow-rope.
He had hardly left the ship when the mizenmast fell over the side, by
which great numbers were thrown into the water, and left struggling in
the waves; for, as the launch had only one oar, and neither sail nor
mast, she drifted much faster than the men could swim, and many, whom
those on board her would gladly have saved, perished within a few feet
of the boat.
At length a ray of hope dawned upon the anxious survivors: vessels and
boats were seen coming towards them from Leghorn; and as they neared
the ship, every heart beat quicker, and every hand was nerved with
increased strength. But the boats' crews, alarmed by the explosion of
the guns, which were most of them shotted, refused to approach nearer,
and hove to. Seeing their hesitation, the crew of the Queen Charlotte
gave them three cheers to encourage them. The English cheers seemed to
have the desired effect, for again the boats pulled towards the
hapless vessel; but it was afterwards discovered that this renewed
activity was entirely owing to the persuasions of Lieut. Stewart and
other English officers who were in the boats.
Lord Keith, who was watching with intense anxiety the destruction of
his noble ship, used every possible effort to induce the Tuscans to
put to sea; but his entreaties, backed as they were by the commands of
the governor and other authorities, had no influence save with a few
only, and even these, when they did venture to the rescue, were with
great difficulty prevailed upon to approach the vessel. A boat from an
American ship presented a striking contrast. She was manned by three
men only, who, in their generous ardour to save the lives of their
fellow-creatures, came alongside too incautiously, so that the
wretched sufferers from the burning deck leaped into the boat in such
numbers that she capsized, and every one of them perished. The fire
had now advanced so rapidly that it was impossible to bear the heat on
the forecastle, and most of the people got on to the bowsprit and
jib-boom. The latter, however, gave way under the pressure, and
numbers were precipitated into the water and drowned.
The boats, headed by Lieutenant Stewart, approached about ten o'clock,
and the people continued dropping into them from the ship for some
time. Captain Todd and Mr. Bainbridge continued to the last to give
orders for the safety of those who remained alive.