This did not explain Lord Ponsonby’s speech, and to this day it is a mystery. Now the flag was either sent or not; if sent, the person has managed to conceal it, and if it was not sent, then some one has bamboozled the Ambassador or the Ambassador bamboozled the Sultan. Here I shall let it rest, and carry the reader at once to St. Jean D’Acre, a place well known in ancient and modern history.
CHAPTER XVI.
Former Sieges of Acre—Arrival of the Allied Squadron—Proposed mode of Attack—Objections—Survey of the North Channel—The Squadron under weigh—The Author attacks from the North—Conduct of the different Divisions—Explosion of the Grand Magazine—Close of the Action—Evacuation of the Town—Fate of the Sick and Wounded.
When Bonaparte sat himself down before Acre, in 1799, the fortress was not strong enough to resist a regular siege; his heavy guns had been captured by Sir Sydney Smith’s cruisers, and field artillery was not sufficient to open a practicable breach in the walls; there is, however, no doubt but it must have fallen had it not been for the bravery and exertions of Sir Sydney Smith, and the gallant officers and crews of the Tigre and Theseus, who obliged Bonaparte to raise the siege after having been before it two months. Had Bonaparte succeeded in capturing Acre the Grand Prince of Lebanon would have immediately declared for him, and it is difficult to say what then would have stopped his enterprising career.
In November, 1831, Ibrahim Pacha anchored off Jaffa with an Egyptian squadron, and invested Acre in December; he must have been much favoured by the weather to have ventured on such a dangerous coast at that season of the year. Had a gale of wind set in, not a ship would have escaped; but fortune seems to have favoured all his undertakings up to the time the Allies landed in D’Jounie Bay. The Egyptian squadron attacked the south face of the works, and left their mark behind, which was still visible when the British squadron anchored; but little real damage was done to the fortress by their fire. The siege lasted six months; in that time 20,000 shells and 200,000 shots are said to have been thrown into the town, which ultimately surrendered for want of water.
After Acre fell into the possession of Mehemet Ali, he considered it of so much importance that vast numbers of labourers were employed to make it a fortress of the first order towards the land side, but when the squadron arrived before it, there still remained much to be done. It has two fronts to the sea, one to the westward, the other to the south.
The allied squadron anchored, on the afternoon of the 2nd of November, at some distance from the fortress towards Mount Carmel. The Revenge, Pique, and Talbot, had been off the port some time, and had made a tolerable accurate survey of the coast, and buoyed some shoals which were not known: and here I may remark that, though a British squadron had been there in 1799, the Admiralty had not been able to furnish us with anything like a correct plan of the fortifications and the soundings. The Consuls in the different parts of the world ought to be instructed to procure information, and if a little more attention were paid by the Foreign Office to these appointments no place where the British Consular flag waves would be unknown to the Government; these situations are generally filled up without the smallest regard to the capacity or fitness of the gentlemen who hold them, to which may be traced many of the disasters that have frequently befallen our expeditions, and more particularly our last to Egypt, from whence we were driven with great loss by Mehemet Ali.
After dinner I went on board the Princess Charlotte, where I met several officers of the squadron. I found the following plan of attack had been settled by Captain Boxer, of the Pique, to which the Admiral had acceded. We had before Acre four steamers, the Gorgon, Stromboli, Phœnix, and Vesuvius; they had been throwing shells into the town the day before. There were also seven line-of-battle ships, the Princess Charlotte, bearing the Admiral’s flag; the Powerful, bearing my broad blue pennant; the Bellerophon, Captain Austin; the Revenge, Captain Waldegrave; Thunderer, Captain Berkeley; Edinburgh, Captain Henderson; Benbow, Captain Stewart; and the Castor, Captain Collier; Pique, Captain Boxer; Carysfort, Captain Martin; Talbot, Captain Codrington; Wasp, Captain Maunsell; and Hazard, Captain Elliot.
Captain Boxer had observed that at daylight it was generally calm, the sea breeze not setting in till twelve o’clock, or thereabouts; he therefore proposed that three steamers should take the Princess Charlotte, Powerful, and Bellerophon in tow; the fourth the Admiral reserved for himself. These three ships were to anchor on the west face of the fortress of Acre; the steamers were then to return for the other line-of-battle ships, the smallest of which, the Benbow and Edinburgh, were to be placed on the south. This novel mode of attack certainly did not appear to me good, as I felt confident that it would require at least two hours after the three first ships were placed before the other three could be brought into action, and about as much more before the fourth, the Turkish line-of-battle ship, and the frigates and small craft could be in their stations, and that probably we should be beaten in detail. I ventured to express my doubts on the subject, but Captain Boxer assured me that he knew the place perfectly well, and as everything was settled with the Admiral, there was no necessity for my attempting to change anything, as he knew as much about battery work as I did. After making some further observations, in disapproval of the plan, I pointed out the propriety of the smaller ships leading, to enable the line-of-battle ships to place themselves sufficiently close without the danger of grounding, which is the common mode of attack, and more particularly necessary in a place very imperfectly known, and at that advanced season of the year. My opinion was, however, overruled, and I took my leave. Preparations were made during the night to anchor the ships by the stern, some with bowers, others with the sheet, or stream, according to the judgment of the several captains. I preferred the sheet anchor, and gave directions accordingly. At daylight next morning the steamers proceeded to their different ships to be lashed alongside; and after the most mature reflection, which in no way changed my opinion, I went on board the Princess Charlotte, I think with Captain Henderson, of the Vesuvius; there I also found Captain Henderson, of the Gorgon. I told the Admiral that I thought it my duty to say that I felt satisfied, if the present plan was persevered in, we should be defeated. I appealed to Captain Henderson, of the Gorgon, an experienced steam officer, to know whether, even allowing everything to go right, (which could not be expected,) he would be able, after having placed one ship, to return and place another in less than two hours, to which he replied, “he could not.” I also pointed out to the Admiral that, as the sea-breeze generally set in from the northward, we ought to wait till it was steady; and the ships destined to attack the west face should come in from the northward, where fewer guns would bear upon them, and where there was no spit running out to interrupt their progress as there was on the south point. The Admiral, I was glad to find, came into my views, and the steam-boat plan was abandoned.