The events of the siege had justified the confidence of the sailors; but they themselves excused the opinion of the generals, when they saw what they had done. "I am all astonishment," said Nelson, "when I reflect upon what we have achieved: one thousand regulars, fifteen hundred national guards, and a large party of Corsican troops, four thousand in all, laying down their arms to twelve hundred soldiers, marines, and seamen! I always was of opinion, have ever acted up to it and never had any reason to repent it, that one Englishman was equal to three Frenchmen. Had this been an English town, I am sure it would not have been taken by them."
The Agamemnon was now despatched to co-operate at the siege of Calvi with General Sir Charles Stuart. Nelson had less responsibility here than at Bastia, and was acting with a man after his own heart, who was never sparing of himself, and slept every night in the advanced battery. But the service was not less hard than that of the former siege. "We will fag ourselves to death," said he to Lord Hood, "before any blame shall lie at our doors. I trust it will not be forgotten that twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have been dragged to the different batteries, mounted, and all but three fought by seamen, except one artilleryman to point the guns." The climate proved more destructive than the service; for this was during the period of the "lion sun," as they there call our season of the "dog days." Of two thousand men above half were sick, and the rest like so many phantoms. Nelson described himself as the reed among the oaks, bowing before the storm when they were laid low by it. "All the prevailing disorders have attacked me," said he, "but I have not strength enough for them to fasten on." The loss from the enemy was not great; but Nelson received a serious injury: a shot struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and small gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke of it slightly at the time: writing the same day to Lord Hood, he only said that he got a little hurt that morning, not much; and the next day, he said, he should be able to attend his duty in the evening. In fact, he suffered it to confine him only one day; but the sight was lost.
After the fall of Calvi, his services were, by a strange omission, altogether overlooked and his name was not even mentioned in the list of wounded. Nelson felt himself neglected. "One hundred and ten days," said he, "I have been actually engaged, at sea and on shore, against the enemy; three actions against ships, two against Bastia in my ship, four boat actions, and two villages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not know that any one has done more. I have had the comfort to be always applauded by my commander-in-chief, but never to be rewarded; and, what is more mortifying, for services in which I have been wounded others have been praised, who, at the same time, were actually in bed, far from the scene of action. They have not done me justice. But, never mind. I'll have a Gazette of my own." How amply was this prediction realised!
As the result of this expedition, Corsica was annexed to the British Crown with the consent of the majority of the people, and received a constitution as free as our own. Some, however, favoured French occupation, and soon after France taking advantage of the discontent, sought the reconquest of the island. Corsica was now loudly threatened. The French had a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, and they sent it out with express orders to seek the English and engage them. Accordingly, the Toulon fleet, consisting of seventeen ships of the line, and five smaller vessels, put to sea. Admiral Hotham, who had succeeded Lord Hood, received this information at Leghorn, and sailed immediately in search of them. He had with him fourteen sail of the line and one Neapolitan seventy-four; but his ships were only half manned, containing but seven thousand six hundred and fifty men, whereas the enemy had sixteen thousand nine hundred. He soon came in sight of them: a general action was expected; but after manœuvring for a day in sight of the English fleet, they allowed themselves to be chased. Nelson followed the Ça Ira for several hours, inflicting and receiving considerable damage, the result of which was that seven of the Agamemnon men were hurt, while the Ça Ira lost one hundred and ten, and was so cut up that she could not get a top mast aloft during the following night.
The next morning the French fleet was observed about five miles off the Ça Ira, and the Censeur which had her in tow being about three and a half miles distant. All sail was made to cut these ships off, and a partial engagement of the two fleets ensued. The Agamemnon was again engaged with her yesterday's antagonist; but she had to fight on both sides the ship at the same time. The Ça Ira and the Censeur fought most gallantly: the first lost nearly three hundred men, in addition to her former loss; the last, three hundred and fifty. Both at last struck, and Lieutenant Andrews, of the Agamemnon, hoisted English colours on board them both. As soon as these vessels had struck, Nelson went to Admiral Hotham, and proposed that the two prizes should be left with the Illustrious and Courageux, which had been crippled in the action, and with four frigates, and that the rest of the fleet should pursue the enemy and follow up the advantage to the utmost. But his reply was—"We must be contented: we have done very well." "Now," said Nelson, "had we taken ten sail, and allowed the eleventh to escape, when it had been possible to have got at her, I could never have called it well done. Goodall backed me: I got him to write to the admiral; but it would not do. We should have had such a day as, I believe, the annals of England never produced."
Nelson's next expedition was to Genoa to co-operate with the Austrian and Sardinian forces; but his allies were unworthy of him and by their irresolution and delay continued to frustrate his best laid schemes. In an engagement between the Austrians and the French, General de Vins, the Austrian general, gave up the command in the middle of the battle, pleading ill-health. "From that moment," says Nelson, "not a soldier stayed at his post: it was the devil take the hindmost. Many thousands ran away who had never seen the enemy; some of them thirty miles from the advanced posts. Had I not—though, I own, against my inclination—been kept at Genoa, from eight to ten thousand men would have been taken prisoners, and, amongst the number, General de Vins himself; but, by this means, the pass of the Bocchetta was kept open. The purser of the ship, who was at Vado, ran with the Austrians eighteen miles without stopping: the men without arms, officers without soldiers, women without assistance. The oldest officer, say they, never heard of so complete a defeat, and certainly without any reason. Thus has ended my campaign."
The defeat of General de Vins gave the enemy possession of the Genoese coast from Savona to Voltri; and it deprived the Austrians of their direct communication with the English fleet. The Agamemnon, therefore, could no longer be useful on this station, and so Nelson sailed for Leghorn to refit. When his ship went into dock, there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any part of the rigging but what stood in need of repair, having been cut to pieces with shot. The hull was so damaged that it had for some time been secured by cables, which were served or thrapped round it.