with one of the most splendid _fêtes_ ever beheld at Naples. But,
notwithstanding the splendour with which he was encircled, and the
flattering honours with which all ranks welcomed him, Nelson was fully
sensible of the depravity, as well as weakness, of those by whom he was
surrounded. "What precious moments," said he, "the courts of Naples and
Vienna are losing! Three months would liberate Italy! but this court is
so enervated, that the happy moment will be lost. I am very unwell; and
their miserable conduct is not likely to cool my irritable temper. It is
a country of fiddlers and poets, libertines and scoundrels."
He saved the court from the inevitable consequences of misrule for a
time, drove the French out of Rome, laid siege to Malta, and worked
miracles of energy and skill in many ways, but he left Italy with the
feeling that there was no pleasure in life.
Nelson was welcomed in England with every mark of popular honour. At
Yarmouth, where he landed, every ship in the harbour hoisted her
colours. The mayor and corporation waited upon him with the freedom of
the town, and accompanied him in procession to church, with all the
naval officers on shore and the principal inhabitants. Bonfires and
illuminations concluded the day; and, on the morrow, the volunteer
cavalry drew up and saluted him as he departed, and followed the
carriage to the borders of the county. At Ipswich the people came out to
meet him, drew him a mile into the town and three miles out. In London,
he was feasted by the city, drawn by the populace from Ludgate Hill to
Guildhall, and received the thanks of the common council for his great
victory and a golden hilted sword studded with diamonds. Nelson had
every earthly blessing except domestic happiness; he had forfeited that
for ever.
THE BOMBARDMENT OF COPENHAGEN.
BY ROBERT SOUTHEY.
In the year 1801, Nelson, who had been made vice-admiral of the blue,
was sent to the Baltic, as second in command under Sir Hyde Parker, by
Earl St. Vincent, now first lord of the Admiralty. The three northern
courts had formed a confederacy for making England resign her naval
rights. Of these courts Russia was guided by the passions of its
emperor, Paul, a man not without fits of generosity and some natural
goodness, but subject to the wildest humours of caprice and crazed by
the possession of greater power than can ever be safely, or perhaps
innocently, possessed by weak humanity. Denmark was French at heart;
ready to co-operate in all the views of France, to recognise all her
usurpations, and obey all her injunctions. Sweden, under a king whose
principles were right and whose feelings were generous, but who had a
taint of hereditary insanity, acted in acquiescence with the dictates of
two powers whom it feared to offend. The Danish navy, at this time,
consisted of twenty-three ships of the line with about thirty-one
frigates and smaller vessels, exclusive of guardships. The Swedes had
eighteen ships of the line, fourteen frigates and sloops, seventy-four
galleys and smaller vessels, besides gun-boats, and this force was in a
far better state of equipment than the Danish. The Russians had
eighty-two sail of the line and forty frigates. Of these there were
forty-seven sail of the line at Cronstadt, Revel, Petersburg, and
Archangel; but the Russian fleet was ill-manned, ill-officered, and
ill-equipped. Such a combination under the influence of France would
soon have become formidable; and never did the British cabinet display
more decision than in instantly preparing to crush it.
The British fleet sailed on March 12th and Mr. Vansittart sailed in it;
the government still hoping to obtain its ends by negotiation. Mr.
Vansittart left the fleet at the Scaw and preceded it in a frigate with
a flag of truce. Precious time was lost by this delay which was to be
purchased by the dearest blood of Britain and Denmark; according to the
Danes themselves, the intelligence that a British fleet was seen off the
Sound produced a much more general alarm in Copenhagen than its actual
arrival in the roads; for their means of defence were, at that time, in
such a state that they could hardly hope to resist, still less to repel,
an enemy. On the 21st, Nelson had a long conference with Sir Hyde; and
the next day addressed a letter to him worthy of himself and of the
occasion. Mr. Vansittart's report had then been received. It represented
the Danish government as in the highest degree hostile, and their state
of preparation as exceeding what our cabinet had supposed possible; for
Denmark had profited with all activity, by the leisure which had so
impoliticly been given her. "The more I have reflected," said Nelson to
his commander, "the more I am confirmed in opinion that not a moment
should be lost in attacking the enemy. They will every day and every
hour be stronger; we shall never be so good a match for them as we are
at this moment. The only consideration is how to get at them with the
least risk to our ships."
Of the two courses open to them, that of proceeding past Cronenburg, and
taking the deepest and straightest channel along the middle grounds and
attacking the Danish line of floating batteries, or that of attempting
the passage of the Belt, Sir Hyde Parker preferred the latter, Nelson
and Captain Domett the former, though as Nelson put it, "Let it be by
the Sound, by the Belt, or anyhow, only lose not an hour!" when it was
finally decided to take the passage of the Sound.
The next day was wasted in despatching a flag of truce to the Governor
of Cronenburg Castle, to ask whether he had received orders to fire at
the British fleet, as the admiral must consider the first gun to be a
declaration of war on the part of Denmark. A soldier-like and becoming
answer was returned to this formality. The governor said that the
British minister had not been sent away from Copenhagen but had obtained
a passport at his own demand. He himself, as a soldier, could not meddle
with politics: but he was not at liberty to suffer a fleet--of which the
intention was not yet known--to approach the guns of the castle which he
had the honour to command, and he requested, if the British admiral
should think proper to make any proposals to the King of Denmark, that
he might be apprised of it before the fleet approached nearer. During
this intercourse a Dane, who came on board the commander's ship, having
occasion to express his business in writing found the pen blunt, and,
holding it up, sarcastically said, "If your guns are not better pointed
than your pens you will make little impression on Copenhagen!"
Nelson, who was now appointed to lead the van, shifted his flag to the
_Elephant_, Captain Foley--a lighter ship than the _St. George_, and,
therefore, fitter for the expected operations. The two following days
were calm. Orders had been given to pass the Sound as soon as the wind
would permit; and on the afternoon of the 29th the ships were cleared
for action with an alacrity characteristic of British seamen. At
daybreak on the 30th it blew a top-sail breeze from north-west. The
signal was made and the fleet moved on in order of battle; Nelson's
division in the van, Sir Hyde's in the centre, and Admiral Graves' in
the rear.
The whole force consisted of fifty-one sail of various descriptions, of
which sixteen were of the line. The greater part of the bomb and gun
vessels took their stations off Cronenburg Castle, to cover the fleet;
while others on the larboard were ready to engage the Swedish shore. The
Danes, having improved every moment which ill-timed negotiation and
baffling weather gave them, had lined their shore with batteries; and as
soon as the _Monarch_, which was the leading ship, came abreast of them
a fire was opened from about a hundred pieces of cannon and mortars. Our
light vessels immediately in return opened their fire upon the castle.
The enemy's shot fell near enough to splash the water on board our
ships; not relying upon any forbearance of the Swedes they meant to have
kept the mid channel, but when they perceived that not a shot was fired
from Helsinburg and that no batteries were to be seen on the Swedish
shore, they inclined to that side, so as completely to get out of reach
of the Danish guns. The uninterrupted blaze which was kept up from them
till the fleet had passed served only to exhilarate our sailors and
afford them matter for jest, as the shot fell in showers a full cable's
length short of its destined aim.
About mid-day the whole fleet anchored between the island of Huen and
Copenhagen. Sir Hyde, with Nelson, Admiral Graves, some of the senior
captains, and the commanding officers of the artillery and the troops,
then proceeded in a lugger to reconnoitre the enemy's means of defence;
a formidable line of ships, radeaux, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships, and
gun-boats, flanked and supported by extensive batteries, and occupying,
from one extreme point to the other, an extent of nearly four miles.
A council of war was held in the afternoon. Nelson offered his services
for the attack, requiring ten sail of the line and the whole of the
smaller craft. Sir Hyde gave him two more line-of-battle ships than he
asked for and left everything to his judgment.
The enemy's force was not the only, nor the greatest, obstacle with
which the British fleet had to contend: there was another to be overcome
before they could come in contact with it. The channel was little known
and extremely intricate; all the buoys had been removed; and the Danes
considered this difficulty as almost insuperable, thinking the channel
impracticable for so large a fleet. Nelson himself saw the soundings
made and the buoys laid down, boating it upon this exhausting service,
day and night, till it was effected. When this was done, he thanked God
for having enabled him to get through this difficult part of his duty.
"It had worn him down," he said, "and was infinitely more grievous to
him than any resistance which he could experience from the enemy."
On the morning of April 1st the whole fleet removed to an anchorage
within two leagues of the town and off the north-west end of the Middle
Ground: a shoal lying exactly before the town, at about three-quarters
of a mile distance, and extending along its whole sea front. The King's
Channel, where there is deep water, is between this shoal and the town;
and here the Danes had arranged their line of defence, as near the shore
as possible: nineteen ships and floating batteries, flanked, at the end
nearest the town, by the Crown Batteries, which were two artificial
islands at the mouth of the harbour--most formidable works; the larger
one having, by the Danish account, sixty-six guns; but, as Nelson
believed, eighty-eight. The fleet having anchored, Nelson, with Riou in
the _Amazon_, made his last examination of the ground; and about one
o'clock, returning to his own ship, threw out the signal to weigh. It
was received with a shout throughout the whole division; they weighed
with a light and favourable wind. The narrow channel between the island
of Saltholm and the Middle Ground had been accurately buoyed; the small
craft pointed out the course distinctly; Riou led the way: the whole
division coasted along the outer edge of the shoal, doubled its further
extremity, and anchored there off Draco Point, just as the darkness
closed--the headmost of the enemy's line not being more than two miles
distant. The signal to prepare for action had been made early in the
evening; and, as his own anchor dropped, Nelson called out, "I will
fight them the moment I have a fair wind." It had been agreed that Sir
Hyde, with the remaining ships, should weigh on the following morning,
at the same time as Nelson, to menace the Crown Batteries on his side
and the four ships of the line which lay at the entrance of the arsenal,
and to cover our own disabled ships as they came out of action.
The Danes, meantime, had not been idle: no sooner did the guns of
Cronenburg make it known to the whole city that all negotiation was at
an end, that the British fleet was passing the Sound, and that the
dispute between the two crowns must now be decided by arms, than a
spirit displayed itself most honourable to the Danish character. All
ranks offered themselves to the service of their country; the university
furnished a corps of twelve hundred youths, the flower of Denmark. It
was one of those emergencies in which little drilling or discipline is
necessary to render courage available: they had nothing to learn but how
to manage the guns, and were employed day and night in practising them.
When the movements of Nelson's squadron were perceived, it was known
when and where the attack was to be expected, and the line of defence
was manned indiscriminately by soldiers, sailors, and citizens.
This was an awful night for Copenhagen--far more so than for the British
fleet, where the men were accustomed to battle and victory, and had none
of those objects before their eyes which render death terrible. Nelson
sat down to table with a large party of his officers; he was, as he was
ever wont to be when on the eve of action, in high spirits, and drank to
a leading wind and to the success of the morrow. After supper they
returned to their respective ships, except Riou, who remained to arrange
the order of battle with Nelson and Foley, and to draw up instructions:
Hardy, meantime, went in a small boat to examine the channel between
them and the enemy, approaching so near, that he sounded round their
leading ship with a pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should
discover him. The incessant fatigue of body as well as mind which Nelson
had undergone during the last three days had so exhausted him that he
was earnestly urged to go to his cot; and his old servant, Allen, using
that kind of authority which long and affectionate services entitled and
enabled him to assume on such occasions, insisted upon his complying.
The cot was placed on the floor and he continued to dictate from it.
About eleven Hardy returned and reported the practicability of the
channel and the depth of water up to the enemy's line. About one the
orders were completed; and half a dozen clerks in the foremost cabin
proceeded to transcribe them, Nelson frequently calling out to them from
his cot to hasten their work, for the wind was becoming fair. Instead of
attempting to get a few hours of sleep he was constantly receiving
reports on this important point. At daybreak it was announced as
becoming perfectly fair. The clerks finished their work about six.
Nelson, who was already up, breakfasted, and made signal for all
captains.
Between eight and nine the pilots and masters were ordered on board the
admiral's ship. The pilots were mostly men who had been mates in Baltic
traders, and their hesitation about the bearing of the east end of the
shoal and the exact line of deep water gave ominous warning of how
little their knowledge was to be trusted. The signal for action had been
made, the wind was fair--not a moment to be lost. Nelson urged them to
be steady, to be resolute, and to decide; but they wanted the only
ground for steadiness and decision in such cases, and Nelson had reason
for regret that he had not trusted to Hardy's single report.
Captain Murray, in the _Edgar_, led the way; the _Agamemnon_ was next in
order; but, on the first attempt to leave her anchorage she could not
weather the edge of the shoal, and Nelson had the grief to see his old
ship, in which he had performed so many years' gallant services,
immovably aground at a moment when her help was so greatly required.
Signal was then made for the _Polyphemus_; and this change in the order
of sailing was executed with the utmost promptitude; yet so much delay
had thus been unavoidably occasioned, that the _Edgar_ was for some time
unsupported, and the _Polyphemus_, whose place should have been at the
end of the enemy's line where their strength was the greatest, could get
no further than the beginning, owing to the difficulty of the channel;
there she occupied indeed an efficient station, but one where her
presence was less required. The _Isis_ followed, with better fortune,
and took her own berth. The _Bellona_, Sir T. Thompson, kept too close
on the starboard shoal, and grounded abreast of the outer ship of the
enemy; this was the more vexatious, inasmuch as the wind was fair, the
room ample, and three ships had led the way. The _Russell_, following
the _Bellona_, grounded in like manner; both were within reach of shot,
but their absence from their intended stations was severely felt. Each
ship had been ordered to pass her leader on the starboard side, because
the water was supposed to shoal on the larboard shore. Nelson, who came
next after these two ships, thought they had kept too far on the
starboard direction, and made signal for them to close with the enemy,
not knowing that they were aground; but when he perceived that they did
not obey the signal, he ordered the _Elephant's_ helm to starboard, and
went within these ships, thus quitting the appointed order of sailing
and guiding those which were to follow. The greater part of the fleet
were probably, by this act of promptitude on his part, saved from going
on shore. Each ship, as she arrived nearly opposite to her appointed
station, let her anchor go by the stern and presented her broadside to
the Danes. The distance between each was about half a cable. The action
was fought at the distance of nearly a cable's length from the enemy.
At five minutes after ten the action began. The first half of our fleet
was engaged in about half an hour; and by half-past eleven the battle
became general. The plan of the attack had been complete, but seldom has
any plan been more disconcerted by untoward accidents. Of twelve ships
of the line, one was entirely useless, and two others in a situation
where they could not render half the service which was required of them.
Of the squadron of gun-brigs only one could get into action: the rest
were prevented, by baffling currents, from weathering the eastern end of
the shoal, and only two of the bomb-vessels could reach their station on
the Middle Ground, and open their mortars on the arsenal, firing over
both fleets.
Nelson's agitation had been extreme when he saw himself, before the
action began, deprived of a fourth part of his ships of the line; but
no sooner was he in battle, where his squadron was received with the
fire of more than a thousand guns, than, as if that artillery, like
music, had driven away all care and painful thoughts, his countenance
brightened; and, as a bystander describes him, his conversation became
joyous, animated, elevated, and delightful. The commander-in-chief,
meantime, near enough to the scene of action to know the unfavourable
accidents which had so materially weakened Nelson, and yet too distant
to know the real state of the contending parties, suffered the most
dreadful anxiety. To get to his assistance was impossible; both wind and
current were against him. Fear for the event, in such circumstances,
would naturally preponderate in the bravest mind; and at one o'clock,
perceiving that after three hours' endurance the enemy's fire was
unslackened, he began to despair of success. "I will make the signal of
recall," said he to his captain, "for Nelson's sake. If he is in a
condition to continue the action successfully he will disregard it; if
he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame can be
imputed to him." Under a mistaken judgment, therefore, but with this
disinterested and generous feeling he made the signal for retreat.
Nelson was at this time, in all the excitement of action, pacing the
quarter-deck. A shot through the main mast knocked the splinters about;
and he observed to one of his officers with a smile, "It is warm work,
and this day may be the last to any of us at a moment;" and then
stopping short at the gangway, added with emotion--"But mark you! I
would not be elsewhere for thousands." About this time the signal
lieutenant called out, that No. 39 (the signal for discontinuing the
action) was thrown out by the commander-in-chief. He continued to walk
the deck and appeared to take no notice of it. The signal officer met
him at the next turn, and asked him if he should repeat it, "No," he
replied, "acknowledge it." Presently he called after him to know if the
signal for close action was still hoisted; and being answered in the
affirmative, said, "Mind you keep it so." He now paced the deck, moving
the stump of his lost arm in a manner which always indicated great
emotion. "Do you know," said he to Mr. Ferguson, "what is shown on board
the commander-in-chief? No. 39!" Mr. Ferguson asked what that
meant,--"Why, to leave off action!" Then, shrugging up his shoulders, he
repeated the words--"Leave off action? Now, hang me if I do! You know,
Foley," turning to the captain, "I have only one eye--I have a right to
be blind sometimes;" and then, putting the glass to his blind eye, in
that mood of mind which sports with bitterness, he exclaimed, "I really
do not see the signal! Keep mine for closer battle flying! That's the
way I answer such signals! Nail mine to the mast!" Admiral Graves, who
was so situated that he could not discern what was done on board the
_Elephant_, disobeyed Sir Hyde's signal in like manner: whether by
fortunate mistake, or by a like brave intention, has not been made
known. The other ships of the line, looking only to Nelson, continued
the action. The signal, however, saved Riou's little squadron but did
not save its heroic leader. This squadron, which was nearest the
commander-in-chief, obeyed, and hauled off. "What will Nelson think of
us!" was Riou's mournful exclamation when he unwillingly drew off. He
had been wounded in the head by a splinter, and was sitting on a gun
encouraging his men, when, just as the _Amazon_ showed her stern to the
_Trekroner_ battery, his clerk was killed by his side, and another shot
swept away several marines who were hauling in the main-brace. "Come,
then, my boys!" cried Riou, "let us die all together!" The words had
scarcely been uttered before a raking shot cut him in two. Except it had
been Nelson himself, the British navy could not have suffered a severer
loss.
The action continued along the line with unabated vigour on our side and
with the most determined resolution on the part of the Danes. They
fought to great advantage because most of the vessels in their line of
defence were without masts: the few which had any standing had their
top-masts struck, and the hulls could only be seen at intervals.
The _Bellona_ lost seventy-five men; the _Iris_, one hundred and ten;
the _Monarch_, two hundred and ten. She was, more than any other
line-of-battle ship, exposed to the great battery, and supporting, at
the same time, the united fire of the _Holstein_ and the _Zealand_, her
loss this day exceeded that of any single ship during the whole war.
Amid the tremendous carnage in this vessel some of the men displayed a
singular instance of coolness: the pork and peas happened to be in the
kettle; a shot knocked its contents about; they picked up the pieces,
and ate and fought at the same time.
The prince-royal had taken his station upon one of the batteries, from
whence he beheld the action and issued his orders. Denmark had never
been engaged in so arduous a contest, and never did the Danes more nobly
display their national courage. A youth of seventeen, by name Villemoes,
particularly distinguished himself on this memorable day. He had
volunteered to take the command of a floating battery, which was a raft
consisting merely of a number of beams nailed together, with a flooring
to support the guns: it was square, with a breastwork full of
port-holes, and without masts--carrying twenty-four guns and one hundred
and twenty men. With this he got under the stern of the _Elephant_,
below the reach of the stern-chasers; and, under a heavy fire of small
arms from the marines, fought his raft till the truce was announced,
with such skill, as well as courage, as to excite Nelson's warmest
admiration.