"MY DEAR TROUBRIDGE,
I desire you will express, to Captain Hood, the true sense I have of his conduct, not only at Salerno, but on all other occasions; and, that I never expect any but the most useful services, where he commands: and I beg you will say the same for me, to Captains Louis, Hallowell, Foote, and Oswald; not forgetting Captain Harward, and Commodore Mitchell, as far as they have been concerned. As to yourself, your conduct is so all of a piece, that I can only say, what is true, that the last services seem to eclipse the former ones. You have an arduous task in your present command; and no officer in his majesty's service could, I am convinced, perform it with more judgment and advantage for his majesty's service, than yourself: and I beg that you will ever believe me, your faithful, affectionate, and obliged friend,
"Nelson."
This day, the Neapolitan ship Lion, Captain Dixon, arrived from Egypt; and brought information that three or four French frigates, and as many corvettes, had escaped from Alexandria. Sir Sidney Smith left that place on the 7th of March, and these ships got away between the 5th and 18th of April. Captain Dixon finding these ships gone, came away; without hearing more of Sir Sidney, than that he had arrived at St. Jean D'Acre.
At this momentous period, when the king's restoration to his Neapolitan dominions was daily to be expected; when the fall of Malta was judged scarcely possible to be long delayed; and Lord Nelson was anxiously looking forward to a temporary cessation of his toils, and a speedy return to his native country; intelligence suddenly arrived, that the French fleet from Brest, having escaped Lord Keith's vigilance, had been seen off Oporto, and was expected to effect a junction with that of Spain at Cadiz. On the 12th of May, at six o'clock in the evening, this information was brought to Palermo, by L'Espoir brig; which, at midnight, such was his lordship's dispatch, sailed for Procida, Minorca, and Gibraltar, with letters for Captain Troubridge, Captain Ball, Admiral Duckworth, and the Earl of St. Vincent. To Captain Troubridge his lordship writes, that he must immediately send the Minotaur, Swiftsure, and St. Sebastian, with either the Culloden or Zealous; and either himself, or Captain Hood, remain with the Seahorse, La Minerve, &c. at Procida, and get the Lion from Leghorn, in exchange for one of the small craft—To Admiral Duckworth, that he is sending him eight, nine, or ten, sail of the line, with all expedition, that they may be ready to form a junction with their great and excellent commander in chief; for which purpose his lordship ventures to offer an opinion, that it will be better for the ships to remain under sail off Port Mahon, than in the harbour: and adds best wishes for success, as he is not permitted to come—And, to the earl of St. Vincent, that these several ships will be ready to obey the earl's orders off Mahon; and that, hoping the Russians are off Malta, he has requested some of that admiral's ships may be sent to Minorca.
"In short," his lordship concludes this last letter, "you may depend on my exertions, and I am only sorry that I cannot move to your help; but, this island appears to hang on my stay. Nothing could console the queen, this night, but my promise not to leave them, unless the battle was to be fought off Sardinia. May God Almighty bless and prosper you, is the fervent prayer of your obliged and affectionate
"Nelson."
His lordship also wrote to Captain Ball, desiring him, if the Russian squadron were before Malta, to proceed with all the line of battle ships, and the Thalia frigate, off Port Mahon, under the orders of Admiral Duckworth; laying his lordship's letter before Vice-Admiral Uschakoff, as well as the Ottoman admiral, should he be there, and procuring such ships as they could both spare for Minorca: but, if they were not with him, to send the Audacious and Goliath to Mahon.
At nine o'clock in the evening of the 13th, the lieutenant of the Petterel arrived, by land, at Palermo. The sloop not being able to get up, owing to strong east winds, Captain Austin very properly sent the lieutenant on shore. He brought intelligence, that the French fleet had actually passed the Straits Mouth: and this news induced his lordship to alter his intended plan of sending such ships as he could collect off Mahon; instead of which, he now resolved to rendezvous with the whole of them off the Island of Maritimo. Of this change he instantly sent to apprize the commander in chief, as well as Admiral Duckworth; trusting that the latter would send his squadron there, which might enable him to look the enemy in the face. He hoped, indeed, that if the Russians and Turks were off Malta, he should get a force, of different nations, equal to the enemy; when it was his determination, that not a moment should be lost in bringing them to battle.
Though the French fleet consisted of nineteen sail of the line, and that of the Spaniards with which it was about to form a junction no less than twenty-five, his lordship determined to sail, with all possible expedition, for Maritimo.
On the 17th, the Culloden, Minotaur, Swiftsure, and St. Sebastian, arrived off Palermo; but it blew so hard, from the east south-east, that the ships were obliged to strike yards and top-masts. This gale continued till the 20th, when his lordship put to sea; and, on the 24th, in the morning, arrived off Maritimo.
In a letter of this day's date, to the Earl of St. Vincent, his lordship observes that, not having been yet joined by Captain Ball or Admiral Duckworth, he has only to remain on the north side of Maritimo, to keep covering Palermo, which shall be protected to the last, and to wait the earl's orders for regulating his future proceedings. "Your lordship," he adds, "may depend, that the squadron under my command shall never fall into the hands of the enemy; and, before one is destroyed, I have little doubt but the enemy will have their wings so completely clipped, that they may be easily overtaken." Yet, at this period, it is to be observed, his lordship had only five British ships of the line, with three Portuguese, La Minerve Neapolitan frigate, L'Entreprennante cutter, and the Incendiary fireship. In a postscript, his lordship concludes—"No doubt, by this time, the Austrians are at Leghorn; and, if this event had not happened, we should have been in Naples."
Lord Nelson remained at sea till the latter end of May; when, having on the 28th been informed, off Trappano, by the Earl of St. Vincent, that he might, from the then state of the French and Spanish fleets, act as he thought best, in the situation of affairs; his lordship determined on returning to Palermo, for the purpose of completing the provisions of his squadron to six months, with as much wine as they could stow, that they might be in momentary readiness to act as circumstances should require. In the mean time, by continuing on the coast of Sicily, to cover the blockade of Naples, he was certain of preserving the former from any attack; to which it would not only be more exposed, were the ships withdrawn, but the spirits of the people receive such a damp that they would make little or no resistance.
On the 30th, Lord Nelson arrived at Palermo; and, having learned that the Bey of Tunis had stopped several vessels with his lordship's passports, he immediately wrote a very spirited letter to Mr. Magra, the consul, and another to the bey, which he dispatched in the Earl of St. Vincent cutter on the 4th of June. In these letters, however, he again offers his services, as the mediator of a truce, or peace, with his Sicilian Majesty, as well as with the Portuguese; and observes, that the Marquis De Niza is ready to send a ship for this latter purpose. His lordship assures the Bey of Tunis, that he has granted no passports to any vessel which his highness, and every good man, will not highly approve of; and, that those who would, or dare, counsel his highness to prevent food from being given to those who are fighting in the cause of God against those vile infidels the French, are no better than Frenchmen. "I will," says his lordship to the consul, "have my passports respected, given only to serve the cause in which his highness ought to be as much interested as I am. This you will state clearly and forcibly to the bey—that, as I will do no wrong; so, I will suffer none: this is the firm determination of a British admiral."
In a letter written to the Earl of St. Vincent on the following day, June 5, his lordship says, after noticing the conduct of the Bey of Tunis, "I hope to bring this gentleman to reason." He adds—"My time has been so taken up, that I have not been able to pay that attention to the Barbary States I could have wished, but I know these people must be talked to with honesty and firmness."
His lordship had, indeed, just received, from Tripoli, a tolerable good proof of the efficacy of his mode of dealing with the Barbary States, in the success of Commodore Campbell, of which his lordship thus writes to the earl—"We are better friends with the Bashaw of Tripoli than ever. Commodore Campbell, whom I selected for that purpose, in the first place, because he was fit for the business; and, secondly, to mark that, although I could censure when wrong, yet that I have no resentment for the past; having done, on that occasion, what I thought right. The commodore has, on this occasion, conducted himself with proper spirit and judgment; and he has, by it, made a very advantageous peace for Portugal."
So completely did Commodore Campbell act up to the spirit of Lord Nelson's orders, that the bashaw actually delivered to him all the French who were at Tripoli, nearly forty in number. These, his lordship sent in the Susannah cartel, carrying French prisoners to Genoa, which sailed on the 6th of June; honourably stating, that they were not to be considered as prisoners of war, having been sent from Tripoli, in Barbary, for political reasons.
On the 7th of June, in consequence of his lordship's recent information of being promoted to be Rear-Admiral of the Red, he quitted the Vanguard; and, on the 8th, hoisted it on board the Foudroyant.
While Lord Nelson was engaged in provisioning his squadron, without losing sight of the blockade of Naples; and anxiously expecting to hear that the Earl of St. Vincent had fallen in with the French fleet, and obtained another brilliant victory; he had the mortification to be again suddenly impeded in the prosecution of his plan for replacing their Sicilian Majesties on the throne of their Neapolitan dominions, by a letter from Lord Keith, dated the 6th of June, who appears to have been alarmed for the supposed fate of Minorca.
At the receipt of this letter, the 13th of June, Lord Nelson was actually on his way to Naples, with troops, &c. in order to finish matters in that kingdom: but, considering the force of the French fleet on the coast of Italy, then said to be twenty-two sail of the line, four of them first-rates; and that, probably, the ships at Toulon would have joined them by the time he was reading the letter; the force with his lordship being only sixteen sail of the line, not one of which was of three decks; three being Portuguese, and one of the English a sixty-four very short of men; his lordship considered himself as having had no choice left, but to return to Palermo, and land the troops, ammunition, &c. which he accordingly did. He then proceeded off Maritimo, hoping to be joined by such reinforcements from Captain Ball, &c, as might enable him to seek the enemy's fleet; when, his lordship said, there should not be a moment lost in bringing them to battle:
"for," concludes he, in his answer to Lord Keith, dated the 16th of June, on board the Foudroyant, at sea, "I consider the best defence for his Sicilian Majesty's dominions is, to place myself alongside the French. That I may be very soon enabled to have that honour, is the fervent prayer of your lordship's most obedient servant,
Nelson."
Though Lord Nelson felt that he had no force fit to face the enemy, and was resolved never to get out of their way—"I cannot think myself justified," said his lordship, writing to the Earl of St. Vincent, this same day, "in exposing the world—I may almost say—to be plundered by these miscreants. I trust, your lordship will not think me wrong, in the painful determination I conceived myself forced to make; for agonized, indeed, was the mind of your lordship's faithful and affectionate servant."
The fact seems to be, that Lord Nelson had not the smallest apprehensions of any serious designs on Minorca; and greatly feared that, if he should entirely quit the protection of Sicily and Naples, they would both soon be irrecoverably lost. It was, therefore, with extreme reluctance, that he proceeded on the present business; and having, next day, the 17th, been joined off Malta by the Alexander and Goliath, his force was now fifteen sail of two-decked English ships, and three Portuguese, with a fireship and cutter.
On the 20th, the Swallow Portuguese corvette brought dispatches of the 17th, from the Earl of St. Vincent; acquainting Lord Nelson of the near approach of the squadron under Sir Alan Gardiner, and that Lord Keith was going in search of the French fleet. Having now, therefore, no hope of any sufficient reinforcement to enable him to do the same, his lordship determined once more to offer himself for the service of Naples, which he seems to have imagined the French intended to visit; and, indeed, information to that effect had repeatedly arrived, by different ships, as well British as foreign. Accordingly, having parted for Palermo, he arrived off that port on the 21st; but, the ship being becalmed, he was under the necessity of proceeding some leagues in his barge. Having reached Palermo early in the morning of this day, he waited on Sir William Hamilton; and requested that, the instant they had breakfasted, the carriage might be ready to take himself, with Sir William and Lady Hamilton, to the king and queen. Nothing could possibly have been more opportune than this unpremeditated visit; for his lordship now learned, that General Acton had actually written to him, by the desire of their majesties, though he had not yet received the letter most earnestly intreating his return, for the purpose of going into the Bay of Naples, and there completing the business which had been so auspiciously commenced under his judicious arrangements. Such, indeed, was the then critical state of affairs at Naples, that it required both the ablest heads, and the best hearts, to seize the favourable moment, already beginning to flit away, for effectually restoring loyalty and order in that devoted country. During the absence of Lord Nelson and Captain Troubridge, from Sicily and Naples, Cardinal Ruffo, with his army of twenty thousand Calabrese and other loyalists, aided by some hundred Russian troops, had defeated the Neapolitan republicans, after the evacuation of Naples by the French under General Macdonald, who succeeded to Championet; and, in consequence, was actually in possession of all the capital, except the castles of St. Elmo, Ovo, and Nuovo, the two latter of which were momentarily expected to fall. In this state of things, with many doubts respecting the firmness rather than the fidelity of the cardinal, and much apprehension with regard to the pernicious effects of the imposing plausibility of several chiefs of the numerous parties into which the distracted country was unhappily divided, every precaution was considered necessary to be adopted that human sagacity could contrive, and all the fortitude judged requisite to be preserved that the most magnanimous bosom could exercise. Their Sicilian Majesties well knew, that they had now before them a man, devoted to their just interests, who possessed, in the supremest degree, these rare and most estimable qualities. They intreated him, therefore, to undertake the arduous task, which could not be securely committed to any other hands than his own. His lordship was sensible of the importance of the charge, and overwhelmed with generous sentiments for the noble confidence expressed by the royal sufferers in his abilities to render them those essential services which their peculiar situation demanded. Difficulty could never deter the mind of Lord Nelson from any attempt; for, where there is no difficulty, heroism is without an object. His lordship had, therefore, not a moment to pause, with respect to his ready acquiescence in the will of their majesties; but, from his very imperfect knowledge of the Italian language, he expressed his apprehensions that he might be subject to fatal deceptions, if he should trust to the fidelity of any interpreter among a people so generally corruptible. He did not, however, state the objection, without proposing a remedy. If, his lordship said, Sir William and Lady Hamilton would accompany him into the Bay of Naples, that he might have the assistance of their able heads, and excellent hearts, to consult, correspond, and interpret, on all occasions, he should not have the smallest doubt of complete success in the business. Sir William, and his lady, were accordingly requested, by the king and queen, to afford their requisite aid on the occasion: to which they agreed, without a moment's hesitation; and, in less than three hours from the time of his first landing, such was the dispatch thought necessary, that her ladyship, having packed up a few articles of the first necessity, proceeded in the barge, with Sir William and his lordship, on board the Foudroyant, which instantly sailed for the Bay of Naples.
Lord Nelson, it may be supposed, had received very full powers from their Sicilian Majesties; with the advice of their equally brave, wise, and skilful privy-counsellor, General Sir John Acton: but, such was the delicacy of his lordship in the exercise of his almost limitless authority, that no single instance can be with truth adduced, where he ever interfered with the criminal jurisprudence of the country; except, indeed, on the side of mercy, to which his excellent heart, it is well known, constantly inclined.
On the 24th, they arrived in the Bay of Naples; where Lord Nelson saw a flag of truce flying on board the Seahorse, Captain Foote, and also on the Castles of Ovo and Nuovo. Having, on the passage, received information, that an infamous armistice was entered into with the rebels of those castles, to which Captain Foote had put his name, his lordship instantly made the signal to annul the truce; being determined, as he said, never to give his approbation to any terms, with rebels, but unconditional submission. The fleet was now anchored in close line of battle, north-west by north, and south-east by south, from the mole head, one mile and a half distant; flanked by twenty-two gun and mortar boats, which he had recalled from Procida.
His lordship sent, instantly, Captains Troubridge and Ball to the Cardinal Vicar-General Ruffo; to represent to his eminence, the opinion which he entertained of the infamous truce entered into with the rebels. They were also charged with two papers to his eminence, expressive of these sentiments; one of which was intended for their perusal, previously to the agreed surrender. The cardinal, however, declared that he would send no papers; and that, if his lordship pleased, he might break the armistice, for he was himself tired of his situation. Captain Troubridge then asked this plain question—"If Lord Nelson breaks the armistice, will your eminence assist him in the attack of the castles?" His answer was decisive—"I will neither assist him with men nor guns."
After much talking, to very little purpose, his eminence expressed a wish to see his lordship on board, that he might converse with him respecting this situation of affairs; and they, accordingly, accompanied him thither. Sir William Hamilton interpreted between Lord Nelson and Cardinal Ruffo, till he was almost exhausted with fatigue. The dispute lasted about two hours, and frequently ran very high; the cardinal, however, proved more than a match for Sir William and his lordship together in volubility, though far from equal to either in true eloquence. The venerable Sir William, at length, vexed and wearied, calmly seated himself; and requested his lady, though less loquacious than the generality of her sex, to assist their honourable friend, who continued pacing the cabin with the most determined perseverance, in conducting this war of words. The pleasingly persuasive voice of her ladyship, delivering the manly sentiments of his lordship, made no impression on the cardinal. He would not submit to reason, nor his lordship to any thing else: so that the lady was in a fair way of becoming soon as desirous to desist as Sir William had been before her, and for the same reason too, if Lord Nelson had not suddenly put an end to the argument, by observing that, since he found an admiral was no match for a cardinal in talking, he would try the effect of writing. He wrote, therefore, the following opinion, which he immediately delivered to Cardinal Ruffo—
"Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, who arrived in the Bay of Naples on the 24th of June, with the British fleet, found a treaty entered into with the rebels; which, he is of opinion, ought not to be carried into execution, without the approbation of his Sicilian Majesty—the Earl of St. Vincent—Lord Keith."
Thus terminated the interview: the cardinal retired in disgust; and the rebels, after having notice of his lordship's resolve, persisted in coming out of the castles, which were immediately occupied by the marines of the squadron.
Much has been said, by weak persons, respecting the justice of thus annulling a truce which had been actually signed before his lordship's arrival. They know little of this great and honourable man, the glory of human nature, as well as of his country, who can for a moment conceive that any part of Lord Nelson's character, public or private, need shrink from the severest scrutiny to which the actions of terrestrial beings may with justice be subjected. He was, it is maintained, among the best, as well as the bravest, among the most just, as well as the most judicious, of mankind. With regard to the right which his lordship possessed of putting an end to the armistice, notwithstanding the capitulation had been signed, while the castles remained unsurrendered, a few plain words will be allowed sufficient, by the sober part of mankind, for whom they can, indeed, scarcely be necessary, to set the question at rest for ever. Had the French fleet arrived, instead of the British, would the capitulation have been at all regarded by those who had agreed to surrender these castles? Would they have delivered them up to the then overpowered besiegers? On the contrary, would they not have instantly directed the guns of these very fortresses against the persons to whom they had just signed their submission? These questions are so obvious, that they scarcely need any reply, since there cannot possibly be two opinions on the subject. If there exists, in such derogations, any departure from strictly moral justice, which admits of much doubt, it must be ascribed to the rigorous necessities inseparable from a state of war, and not to any want of rectitude in the breasts of those honourable men on whom devolves the severe task of dictating the operations of that dreadful but unavoidable chastiser of the human race. The besieged, by the laws of war, would have had a right to avail themselves, as is suggested, in the case of such an arrival of the French fleet; and, unquestionably, that of the British, which actually occurred, was alike entitled to alter the effect of the unexecuted capitulation.
It appears, however, that Lord Nelson, though he would not sanction an armistice which he considered as dishonouring the sovereign for whom he was acting, had not the smallest desire to interfere with the disposal of the rebels whom he was so anxious to secure. It was not for their punishment, but for the security of those whom he feared they might contaminate by their principles, that he resolved to keep them in safe custody till the farther pleasure of his Sicilian Majesty should be known; and, in this, even Cardinal Ruffo, it seems, at length, reluctantly acquiesced.
On the morning of the 27th, having embarked all the principal rebels in the several ships of the British squadron, and the rest in polacres anchored under their care, his lordship ordered Captain Troubridge to land with a detachment of troops, for the purpose of cutting down "the infamous Tree of Anarchy," which was immediately burnt before the king's palace. His Sicilian Majesty's flag was now every where flying in Naples, except on the Castle of St. Elmo. This fortress still remaining in the hands of the French, Captains Troubridge and Ball, who had now, in some degree, conciliated the cardinal, taking with them thirteen hundred men from the ships, five hundred Russian troops, and a considerable body of royalists, proceeded to invest it.
As there could be little doubt that this place, though exceedingly strong, must in a few days yield to the vigorous operations of the brave and skilful officers by whom it was besieged, which would complete the repossession of the Neapolitan capital, Lord Nelson wrote to General Acton; requesting that his Sicilian Majesty would come into the Bay of Naples, as well as the general, to sanction and direct, by his royal presence, and their united councils, the requisite measures for completing the important business now in so fair a train for being happily concluded.
At the surrender of the castles, Carraccioli had effected his escape; but he was soon apprehended by the royalists, who were clamorous for his execution; and, on the 29th, after a fair trial, by a board of naval officers of his Sicilian Majesty, for rebellion against his lawful sovereign, and firing at his Sicilian Majesty's frigate La Minerve, he was hanged at the fore-yard-arm of that ship.
Lord Nelson greatly lamented the fate of this unhappy man, though he could not deny the justice of his sentence; and he would, undoubtedly, have recommended him as an object of mercy to his Sicilian Majesty, had he not well known that such an interference, in the then temper of the people, must have rendered himself an object of their suspicion; and thus have operated against the king's interest, without finally preserving the culprit from the worst effects of their fury. When it is considered that, a very few months before, Carraccioli had received, at Palermo, the supreme command of the small remains of his Sicilian Majesty's fleet; that, on his departure for Messina, he had been earnestely and most pathetically conjured by the queen, while taking leave of her majesty, to do every thing in his power for the promotion of the welfare of her little family; that he had, soon after, under pretence of assisting the royalists in Calabria, abandoned his sovereign, and actually joined the republicans with the force committed to his charge; he cannot be well regarded as an object entitled to any very extraordinary degree of commiseration.
On the 3d of July, Lord Nelson had the high gratification of receiving official notice of the liberal grant of ten thousand pounds, which had been unanimously voted to his lordship by the Honourable East India Company, for his services at the battle off the Nile; and his considerate regard to their interests, demonstrated by his judicious conduct immediately after that glorious event. To the letter from Sir Stephen Lushington, Bart. Chairman of the Court of Directors, which conveyed this agreeable information, his lordship instantly wrote the following answer.
"Foudroyant, Naples Bay, 3d July 1799.