Sails in the Hannibal—Visits St. Helena—Returns to England with the East India Fleet—Revisits St. Helena—Cruise off the Cape of Good Hope—Much alarmed—Take two Prizes—Ordered to India with Despatches—Violent Storm—Captured by the French—Treated with Inhumanity—Actions between the English and French Fleets—Attempts an Escape—Perilous Situation—Pursued—Retaken—Threatened with Death—Gagged—Kept in Irons—Landed at Cudalore—Given up to Hyder Ali.
In the year 1780, when a boy about 14 years of age, being a native of Devonshire, I sailed from Plymouth Sound in his Majesty’s ship Hannibal, of 50 guns, commanded by Alexander Christie, as convoy to the outward-bound East India fleet; and, on our arrival in a certain latitude, our orders were to separate; the fleet steering for their different destinations, and the Hannibal for St. Helena, at which port we were to wait, to convoy back the homeward-bound East India ships. In this island we lay about three months, during which period we were joined by his Majesty’s ship Prothée (formerly French) of 64 guns, which ship was also to accompany the homeward-bound fleet. After an anxious expectation of many weeks, their arrival was announced by signals from the hill, stating their number to be fourteen sail; comprising eleven Indiamen, and three sail of the line. This was a great satisfaction to us, as we well knew we should shortly proceed for England. The next morning they came to an anchor in St. Helena Bay, when we found them to be a very valuable fleet, under the command of Commodore Gardiner, of the Belleisle 64; the other two ships of the line were, the Asia of 64, and the Rippon of 60 guns. Some days elapsed in preparations for our return to England, such as watering, &c. &c. when our Commodore’s signal was hoisted for weighing, which duty was executed with cheerfulness and alacrity, and particularly so by the crews of the Belleisle, Asia, and Rippon, which had been in India a long time, and consequently they were very intent on seeing Old England once again.
Our voyage was pleasant, until we arrived in the chops of the channel, where our Commodore received intelligence that a very strong French fleet were cruising for the purpose of intercepting us. On obtaining this news, we bore away for the west of Ireland, and fortunately escaped them. Our fleet came to an anchor in Creak-haven, whence our commodore sent off his despatches for Government; and after lying here about ten days, we received orders to unmoor and steer for England, where we all safely arrived, after a very pleasant passage, without sustaining any damage. The Indiamen left the Downs for the Thames, and the men-of-war for their different ports, as per orders. Our ship steered for Portsmouth, from whence, after two months’ refitting, we were ordered to convoy the outward-bound fleet to the same latitude, and then proceed to St. Helena as before, there to wait the arrival of the homeward-bound fleet, in order to take them under our protection as soon as they arrived. We had a tolerable passage out, and left the Indiamen in the same latitude as on the previous voyage, shaping our course for the island, where we safely came to an anchor.
The fleets from India were not expected for some time; and after inspecting our rigging, taking in water, &c. our captain, to fill up the intermediate space, resolved to cruise off the Cape of Good Hope for a few weeks. We had not been but a very few hours in sight of the Table Land, before our man at the mast-head descried a fleet consisting of eight sail, apparently large ships, right in our wake; this was a cause of some little alarm, particularly as we had a large reef of rocks ahead, which we could not weather. We were assured of their being enemies, and supposed them to be ships of the line, standing towards us with all the sail they could crowd. We were close hauled, and, as I observed before, could not weather the reef of rocks ahead. What could be done, my good reader, in this crisis? Our captain consulted his officers, and the result was, to tack and stand toward them; in fact, we had no other alternative, for we were upon a lee-shore, and the extreme point of the rocks was bearing upon our weather bow.
Our crew were called aft, and informed of the situation of the ship; but it is a well-known truth, that whatever the danger may be, English seamen are always ready, yes, and proud, to run any risk, or face any kind of danger, for good officers; to say nothing of their innate courage, of which they have given proofs to the world. About we went, in order to run the gauntlet, as it is commonly phrased, for we were convinced to a man they were all ships of war. As we were now head to head, we neared each other very fast, and in the course of an hour or two, to our no small surprise, we perceived them tack, and stand from us; this was by no means an unpleasant sight, but the cause of a rapid transition in our view; for, prior to this, we were thinking that many (if we should have the good fortune ultimately to escape) must have fallen; but now, the prevailing idea was, prizes and prize-money. At this time our ship sailed remarkably well; consequently, we neared them fast, and soon made them out to be six stout merchantmen, under convoy of two frigates, which we were positive were no match for us, having as brave a crew as ever went to sea. The two frigates hove their main-top-sails to the mast, in order to receive us between them, which corresponded with our intentions. We were now within gunshot, with a large French ensign and pennant flying, and our lower deck ports close. Had we continued this a while, the two frigates must have been ours; but our captain ordered our lower-deck ports to be hauled up, the French ensign and pennant to be struck, and the English hoisted, which was done in an instant; but no sooner done, than the French frigate Bellona was under a press of sail. This frigate could, without much difficulty, have been taken by us; she had money to a very large amount on board, for the troops at the Mauritius; it was the same frigate that did so much mischief to our trade in the East Indies, afterwards; but profit and honour are often at variance. The other we captured, together with a valuable merchantman richly laden; they were all bound to the Mauritius, or Isle de France. This frigate struck immediately on the first shot being fired, but, to the disgrace of the French captain, he ordered his weather landyards to be cut away, when all her masts went overboard. She had nine chests of money, with other valuables, among which was a handle of a sword valued at £5000, designed as a present from the king of France to his black majesty Hyder Ali Cawn: these treasures we took on board our own ship.
With our two prizes we bore away, and arrived safely with them at St. Helena, where we learnt that a sanguinary affair had taken place at St. Jago, between Commodore Johnson and Count de Suffrein; each chief had the command of five sail of the line, but the latter had the advantage in point of heavy ships. Commodore Johnson, not looking for an attack from any quarter, did not, perhaps, take that precaution he otherwise would have taken; two or three of his best ships being inside of several of the Indiamen. In this situation, the French Admiral came upon him unexpectedly, and made a desperate effort to destroy the fleet. The effect of this affair was, the capture of one of our Indiamen, (which was afterwards recaptured,) and the dismasting of the French ship Hannibal of 80 guns. It was very strongly reported at the time, that if one of our captains had done his duty, she must have been taken. After this sharp and well-contested conflict on both sides, the French steered direct for the East Indies, and the commodore took another route. On leaving St. Jago, he directed his course to the Cape of Good Hope, where he gained intelligence of a valuable fleet of Dutch East Indiamen, homeward-bound, lying in Soldanah Bay: thither he repaired, and was not long in taking and destroying the whole. Shortly after this, he arrived at St. Helena with five valuable prizes; several of our ships had also arrived, and we only waited for one more, which was hourly expected, to weigh for England; but, to our no small surprise and mortification, we were very unexpectedly and precipitately ordered off to the East Indies with despatches to Admiral Hughes, and to reinforce his fleet.
The beginning of December, 1781, we got under weigh, and sailed, with as favourable a breeze as ever blew from the heavens for the space of a month, when we were overtaken by a gale, which nearly terminated our voyage and existence together: the heaviest sea I ever saw, struck us on our beam; the long-boat in the waist, and our barge on the booms, were stove to pieces; two feet of water at the same time were rolling on our lower deck, so that both officers and men were seized with consternation. But not to dwell on a subject, which many must have experienced whose business leads them to sea, I shall pass it by, observing, that Providence, whom both the winds and the seas obey, was better to us than our fears; the storm ceased, the waves subsided, and we proceeded on our voyage.
According to our calculations, we were within five days’ sail of Madras, when we discovered a large fleet of ships, which, by signal, we soon found to be enemies. We ran for it, they chasing us with their fleetest vessels; but by trimming, wetting our sails, and favoured by the approach of night, we fortunately got clear of them. This, however, was of short duration, for on the second morning, by supposed bad management, we found ourselves so enveloped as to preclude the possibility of an escape; particularly so, as Le Heros, the French admiral’s ship, about two leagues on our lee quarter, brought the breeze with her, while we lay becalmed; and when sufficiently near us, she opened her fire, and continued it until the shot of two more line-of-battle ships, one on our weather quarter, and the other on our bow, began to tell: resistance was now useless, and our captain very prudently struck his colours. The enemy instantly hoisted out his boats, boarded us, and separated our crew amongst his fleet. I do not know how far it was countenanced by their officers, but although taken in a man-of-war, many of us suffered by theft, which I presume was never tolerated by our officers to their ships of war.
About three months prior to this, the crews of the two prizes we took, which I before mentioned, amounted to more than our crew; and I can positively aver, they were treated with every indulgence: when on board our ship, I felt for their distressed situation, and every day gave one or another of them my allowance of wine, or what else I could spare of my provisions; but I am sorry to say, we met with very different treatment from them in return. If they are on a par with English seamen in point of personal courage, which I very much doubt, sure I am that they are not in point of humanity.
A circumstance, however, occurred, very much in my favour, which exempted me from the common lot of my fellow prisoners. A captain of the engineers, whose name was Byrus, particularly noticed me, and through his influence I had permission to sleep on the poop, which is no small privilege in that climate, while our seamen were every night counted down into the hold. We were on board their ships during two severe conflicts with our own fleet, commanded by Admiral Hughes. At those times we were all sent into the hold, but we should not have remained on deck, I presume, had we our choice. Many of us losing our clothes when taken, nothing remained to fill up the crevices of the cables on which our men slept; and I think, that stones would have been preferable to such a bed. From the commencement of each engagement, in some ships, the prisoners were not thought of till twenty-four hours after the termination of the affair; and all this time they were without water. In this situation were many, and the reader may easily judge of our condition; the hatches down, the natural heat of the climate, the darkness and contractedness of the place, together with the smoke of the lower-deck guns descending through the gratings in columns, nearly suffocated several; and such was their extreme thirst, that several made use of their own water! But in this case the remedy was worse than the disease, for instead of allaying thirst, it excited it more strongly.