The salutes from the batteries being returned, the ceremonies ended and other festivities commenced.
Sir Charles Morice Pole being informed by the governor of Cadiz that the preliminary treaties of peace had been acceded to by Spain, and that hostilities had ceased between the two nations, proceeded to England on the 11th of November, leaving the chief command to Sir James Saumarez; who, pursuant to orders, proceeded to Gibraltar Bay with the following ships, Cæsar, Dreadnought, Spencer, Vanguard, Defence, Bellona, Zealous, Warrior, Trial, Powerful, and St. George; which, besides the four ships belonging to the squadron of Sir John Warren, were present on this occasion. This formidable squadron having been replenished with provisions, remained at Gibraltar for further orders.
On the 27th of November, Lieutenant Wooldridge, of the hired armed brig Pasley, arrived with her prize the Spanish privateer Rosario, which he captured, after a gallant action, on the 30th October, in which the former had four killed and six wounded, while the latter had twenty-one killed and thirteen wounded, in a crew of ninety-four men,—forty more than the Pasley. Lieutenant Wooldridge, who so gallantly concluded the hostilities on this station, was, at the recommendation of Sir James, promoted to the rank of commander.
The next arrival from England brought the gratifying intelligence that the thanks of both Houses of Parliament had been unanimously voted to Sir James, and the captains, officers, and crews of his squadron. The following account is rendered more interesting by the part taken on this occasion by his late Majesty, then Duke of Clarence, Earl St. Vincent, and Viscount Nelson, in the House of Lords, and by Mr. Pitt in the House of Commons.
30th October 1801.—House of Lords.
The First Lord of the Admiralty (Earl St. Vincent) rose to move the thanks of the House to Admiral Sir James Saumarez for his gallant and spirited conduct in his late actions with the united fleets of France and Spain, in which he had destroyed two Spanish men-of-war and taken a ship belonging to France. His lordship, with much feeling, stated the particulars of the engagement in the Bay of Algeziras, in which, notwithstanding the loss of one of his Majesty's ships, owing to a matter which Sir James could not prevent, that meritorious officer displayed the most dauntless courage and energy: that in the first engagement the fleet of Sir James was much crippled and disabled; but that, nevertheless, he made such wonderful exertions to repair his damages, that he was soon afterwards enabled to pursue the French and Spanish fleets, and to engage them with the most decisive success, although greatly his superiors in numbers and weight of metal. The gallant achievement, he declared, surpassed everything he had met with in his reading or service; and when the news of it arrived, the whole Board, at which he had the honour to preside, were struck with astonishment to find that Sir James Saumarez, in so very short a time after the affair of the Bay of Algeziras, had been able, with a few ships only, and one of them disabled, especially his own, to come up with the enemy, and, with unparalleled bravery, to attack them, and obtain a victory highly honourable to himself, and essentially conducive to the national glory.
His lordship said, the merit of the brave Admiral spoke so strongly for itself, that it would be unnecessary for him to take up more of their lordships' time respecting it. He should also move the thanks of the House to the captains who served under Sir James; but he could not forbear to give his highest applause to the captains whose conduct was so gallant and successful on that day. There was no invidious distinction in this. Every captain on that service, he was persuaded, would have done his duty in the same signal manner had he been fortunate enough to get into action. But it was not less his duty to notice the conduct of these gallant officers, on whom the fortune of the day fell, and who contributed to make the event so glorious by their conduct. Lord St. Vincent then formally moved the thanks of the House to Rear-admiral Sir James Saumarez.
Lord Viscount Nelson immediately rose to support the character and conduct of Sir James Saumarez, on which his noble friend had just expressed himself in such handsome terms. He said he was under particular obligations to that gallant officer, who had been second in command under him in one of his most important and successful engagements; that in the action in Algeziras Bay he was persuaded Sir James would have achieved his object, and carried the enemy's ships into Gibraltar, but for the failure of the wind; an accident which the Admiral could not prevent, and which enabled the enemy to haul their ships so close within the shore as to defeat his purpose. Nothing dismayed or dispirited, however, with the unfortunate event of that attempt, Sir James made wonderful exertions to put his few ships into a condition to sail after a fleet of the enemy and to attack them, though their fleet consisted of ten ships, and Sir James had but five, and his own ship greatly disabled. The glorious result their lordships well knew. But he was not surprised at the matchless intrepidity and skill of his gallant friend when he considered the professional school in which he had been bred, viz. the late Lord Howe, Lord Hood, Lord Bridport, and his noble friend the noble earl who sat next him. (Earl St. Vincent, feeling the full force of the compliment, made the noble and gallant lord a very low bow.) From such masters he could not but have learned everything that was courageous, spirited, and magnanimous. His lordship added some further panegyrics; and, after apologising to the House for having intruded on the time of their lordships, concluded by saying it was with the greatest satisfaction he voted for the thanks of the House to that meritorious officer.
Earl St. Vincent next moved the thanks of the House be given to Captains Hood and Keats, and such of the officers as principally distinguished themselves in the two engagements in the Bay of Algeziras and off Gibraltar. The Duke of Clarence rose, and said he should have given his testimony in an ample manner, both of the gallant officer Sir James Saumarez, and the captains who had the good fortune to be in the action, if the noble lord at the head of the Admiralty and the hero of the Nile had not been present to do them greater justice than his praise could afford. He could not, however, give a silent assent to the motion. He rose now, as a professional man, to express his entire concurrence with every syllable that had fallen from his two noble friends in commendation of the gallant Sir James Saumarez, and to declare the satisfaction he felt in the thanks of the House being voted, to those brave officers Captain Hood and Captain Keats, for their distinguished conduct in the two engagements. They were both as deserving officers as any in his Majesty's service; but he could speak more particularly to the merit of Captain Keats, having served under him for four years and a half during a former war as midshipman in the same watch. He was persuaded, whenever the country should be engaged in another war, Captain Keats would eminently distinguish himself.
The motion was agreed to, nemine dissentiente; as were likewise two other motions, made of course in applause of the men serving in the fleet of Sir James Saumarez, and to request that gallant Admiral to communicate the sense the House entertained of the other officers, seamen, and marines.