Lucas, captain of the Redoutable, the ship whence Nelson received his death-shot, was at Tiverton. His heroic defence, his fight against the Téméraire and the Victory at the same time, resulting in a loss out of 645 men of 300 killed and 222 wounded, are among the immortal deeds of that famous day. Only 169 of his men were made prisoners, and of these only 35 came to England; the rest, being wounded, went down with the ship.
Villeneuve said when he wrote to congratulate Lucas upon being honoured by Bonaparte:
‘Si tous les capitaines de vaisseaux s’étaient conduits comme vous, à Trafalgar, la victoire n’eût pas été un instant indécisive, certainement personne ne le sait aussi bien que moi.’
His conduct was so much appreciated in England, that at a supper given him by Lady Warren his sword was returned to him.
Rear-Admiral Dumanoir of the Formidable was also at Tiverton. Although he fought at Trafalgar, he was not captured there, as it was thought in many quarters he should have been or have died with his ship. From Tiverton he wrote, with permission, under date of January 2, 1806, to The Times, replying to some rather severe remarks which had been made in that paper concerning his behaviour at Trafalgar, tantamount to saying that during the greater part of the battle he had remained a mere passive spectator. It is not necessary to relate the facts, which are fully given by James, the naval historian.
In 1809 he had special leave to go on parole to France to defend himself, but the Transport Office refused to allow three captains and two adjutants to go with him, because of the continual refusal of the French Government to release British prisoners. At first he was not allowed to take even his secretary, a non-combatant, but later this was permitted. The Court Martial in France acquitted him, and in 1811 he was made a vice-admiral and Governor of Danzig, and behaved with great credit during the siege of that city by the Allies in 1814. In connexion with this, it is interesting to note that the only British naval flag trophy at the Invalides in Paris was captured by Dumanoir at Danzig.
It is not out of place here to note that Cartigny, the last French survivor of Trafalgar, who died at Hyères in 1892, aged 101, had a considerable experience of war-prisoner life, for, besides having been on a Plymouth hulk, he was at Dartmoor and at Stapleton. He attended the Prince Imperial’s funeral at Chislehurst in 1879.
Marienier, a black general, captured at San Domingo, was, with his four wives, brought to Portsmouth. The story is that, being entitled to parole by his rank, when the Agent presented him the usual form for signature, he said: ‘Je ne connais pas le mystère de la plume; c’est par ceci (touching the hilt of his sword) que je suis parvenu au grade que je tiens. Voilà mon aide-de-camp; il sait écrire, et il signera pour moi.’
Tallien, Revolutionist writer, prominent Jacobin, agent of the Terror in Bordeaux, and largely responsible for the downfall of Robespierre, was captured on his way home from Egypt, whither he had gone with Bonaparte’s expedition. As he was a non-combatant he was only a prisoner a short time, and went to London, where he was lionized by the Whig party. He married Madame de Fontenai, whose salon in Paris was the most brilliant of the Directory period, and where Bonaparte first met Madame de Beauharnais.
In 1809 François, nephew of the great actor Talma, was taken prisoner. He was nobody in particular, but his case is interesting inasmuch as his release on January 1, 1812, was largely brought about by the interest of Talma’s great friend, John Kemble.