"SIR,
"In obedience to your orders, the Thunder bomb was placed, by the good management of Lieutenant Gomley, her present commander, assisted by Mr. Jackson, master of the Ville de Paris, who volunteered his able services, within two thousand five hundred yards of the walls of Cadiz; and the shells were thrown from her, with much precision, under the direction of Lieutenant Baynes of the Royal Artillery. But, unfortunately, it was soon found, that the large mortar was materially injured, from it's former services; I therefore judged it proper to order her to return, under the protection of the Goliah, Terpsichore, and Fox; which were kept under sail for that purpose, and for whose active services I feel much obliged.
"The Spaniards having sent out a great number of mortar and gun-boats, and armed launches, I directed a vigorous attack to be made on them; which was done with such gallantry, that they were drove and pursued close to the walls of Cadiz, and must have suffered considerable loss: and I have the pleasure to inform you, that two mortar-boats, and an armed launch, remain in our possession.
"I feel myself particularly indebted, for the successful termination of this contest, to the gallantry of Captains Freemantle and Miller, the former of whom accompanied me in my barge: and to my coxswain, John Sykes; who, in defending my person, is severely wounded, as was Captain Freemantle, slightly, in the attack: and my praises are, generally, due to every officer and man; some of whom I saw behave in the most noble manner, and I regret that it is not in my power to particularize them.
"I must also beg to be permitted to express my admiration of Don Miguel Tyrason, the commander of the Spanish gun-boats. In his barge, he laid my boat alongside, and his resistance was such as to honour a brave officer; eighteen of the twenty-six being killed, and himself and all the rest wounded.
"Not having a correct list of our killed and wounded, I can only state that, I believe, about six are killed, and twenty wounded.
"I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,
"Horatio Nelson."
The encounter so modestly described in the above letter, was one of the sharpest conflicts in which the heroic writer had ever been engaged. Sir Horatio fought, hand to hand, with the Spanish commandant; and, though the crew of his own barge consisted only of himself, Captain Freemantle, the coxswain, and ten bargemen, they killed or wounded the whole of the twenty-six men, with the commandant, who were in the Spanish armed launch. Never, indeed, had the rear-admiral been in a more perilous state. It was always his opinion, that he would probably have lost his life, if his brave and most faithful coxswain, John Sykes, whose name deserves to be coexistent with that of Nelson, had not wilfully interposed his own head to save him from the blow of a Spanish sabre, which this generous man plainly perceived must otherwise prove fatal to his beloved master; and, though the poor fellow thus readily received the diverted stroke, it inflicted on his skull a very dangerous wound, which was for some time thought to be incurable. Even before this unexampled proof of attachment, had that worthy and gallant man saved Sir Horatio, more than once during the conflict, from the dangerous blows of his numerous assailants; several of whom Sykes, as well as his master, had mortally wounded.
Sir John Jervis, in his letter to the Admiralty, on this occasion, dated the 5th of July 1797, gives the handsomest and the highest possible encomium to Rear-Admiral Nelson.
"The rear-admiral," says he, "who is always present in the most arduous enterprises, with the assistance of some other barges, boarded and carried two of the enemy's gun-boats, and a barge-launch belonging to some of their ships of war, with the commandant of the flotilla. Rear-Admiral Nelson's actions speak for themselves; any praise of mine would fall very short of his merit!"
A second and more effectual bombardment of the city of Cadiz, and the shipping in the harbour, under the direction of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, took place on the evening of the 5th of July. The bomb vessels, arranged by his instructions, suddenly opened a most tremendous discharge on the town, as well as on the fleet; which was vigorously kept up, till they had expended the whole of their allotted portion of shells: when, having greatly annoyed the enemy, and considerably diminished the force of the warlike preparations which had been collecting, they retired in good order, without themselves receiving the smallest injury.
Even these hostile attacks, however, do not appear to have extinguished civilities between the contending commanders, though they must certainly have diminished their satisfaction at receiving them.
Two or three days after, thirty Spanish prisoners having been taken in a ship from the Havannah, with the captain of a Spanish frigate which had been burnt there, and who was a passenger in the captured vessel, Rear-Admiral Nelson wrote a letter to Don Josef Mazerendo, dated on board the Theseus, July 8, 1797; in which he says, that he is directed, by Sir John Jervis, to acquaint his excellency that these thirty men are at liberty to return into Cadiz, whenever he may be pleased to send for them, on condition that they do not serve till regularly exchanged. Of the Spanish captain, taken as a passenger, he generously adds—"I know it to be my commander in chief's intention, that he should not be considered as a prisoner of war. The distresses occasioned by the known laws of war," liberally concludes this exalted man, "are miserable enough, without adding to them!"
The prisoners, accordingly, were immediately sent for; but there seems to have been a backwardness in the Spanish admiral's performance of the conditions proposed: and, on the 10th, Rear-Admiral Nelson resolutely demanded them again, that they might be immediately sent to England, if they were not received as prisoners of war; which, at length, was reluctantly agreed to.
It appears that, about this time, intelligence had been received, by the commander in chief, of a prodigiously rich ship, El Principe d'Asturias, belonging to the Philippine Company, and bound from Manilla to Cadiz, being then in the port of Santa Cruz, the capital of the island of Teneriffe; where the treasure was intended to be landed for security, as had previously been the case with several other rich cargoes. With a view of obtaining possession of these valuable treasures, an expedition against that place was determined on, under the conduct of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson.
He was accordingly detached, by Sir John Jervis, on the 15th of July, with three ships of the line, the Theseus, Culloden, and Zealous; the Terpsichore, Emerald, and Seahorse, frigates; and the Fox cutter. These were afterwards joined by the Leander of fifty guns. The general orders which Sir Horatio Nelson received were, to make a vigorous and spirited attack; but, on no account, personally to land with the forces, which were to be under the command of Captain Troubridge, unless his presence should be absolutely necessary. These particular injunctions were generally thought to have been most humanely given, by the commander in chief, for the sake of preserving the valuable life of the rear-admiral; which might, otherwise, from his known disregard of danger, be too much exposed: and some also ascribed them to the wish of giving Captain Troubridge a considerable share in the glory of that intended brilliant enterprise.
The plan of this expedition was contrived with all that masterly address and precision which ever marked the operations projected by the judicious and gallant rear-admiral; and, as the author is favoured with the opportunity of giving them in detail, the principles which they comprise may be adopted, perhaps, with deserved success, by other commanders, on many future occasions.
The first order issued by Rear-Admiral Nelson was addressed to Thomas Troubridge, Esq. captain of his majesty's ship Culloden, and commander of the forces ordered to be landed for taking Santa Cruz.
"Theseus, at Sea, July 20, 1797.