“… On Friday we had one of the prettiest sporting days I ever remember. A frigate came out of Toulon with a convoy, and we gave chase to her. She ran between the Hieres Islands, round Cape Taillet, and into the gulf of Grimaud, where she anchored under the citadel of St. Tropez, and escaped. We however cut off two of her convoy, and were very near getting hold of a man of war brig, but the breezes failed us. I landed all my prisoners with their property, charmed as they said, ‘De l’honnêteté de M. le Commandant de la frégate, et qu’ils ne manqueroient pas d’en faire une mention honourable au préfet maritime de l’arrondissement.’ I told them they might thank M. Decrés for it, for his attention to me, and I hope he will hear of it, as I shall never forget his kindness.”
War no doubt is a great evil, but when war is carried on in this spirit it loses something of its sufferings, and much of its horrors; and one may be forgiven for dwelling with pleasure on those gleams of light which kindness of heart and liberality cast across the dark and melancholy period of those protracted hostilities.
CHAPTER X.
ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND, AND APPLICATION TO THE ADMIRALTY.—KINDNESS OF THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY, MR. GRENVILLE.—COURT MARTIAL, ACQUITTAL, AND APPOINTMENT TO THE SPARTAN.—SAILS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.—ESCAPE FROM CAPTURE.—BOAT ACTION WITH ITS UNFORTUNATE RESULT, AND COURT OF ENQUIRY ORDERED BY LORD COLLINGWOOD.
“The day after our arrival at Dartmouth, as my beloved Isabella required repose, after the fatigue and anxiety she had so long been exposed to, I left her at Upton, near Brixham, with our kind and hospitable friend, Mrs. Cutler;[12] and proceeded to London, in order to make my appearance at the Admiralty as soon as possible. Mr. Thomas Grenville, then first Lord, received me in the most cordial manner, and asked me under existing circumstances how the Admiralty could best shew their sympathy for my misfortunes, and their approbation of my conduct. I replied that I was not aware of any thing their Lordships could do, until my court martial for the loss of the Minerve, should have taken place. Mr. Grenville replied, this had also been his apprehension, but he was at a loss to know how the court martial could be held, since the officers being all prisoners in France, no adequate witnesses could be found. I observed, that I knew many of the seamen and marines had made their escape, and might probably be found serving in some of His Majesty’s ships. A doubt still remained, whether the evidence of these men without that of any officer, would be deemed sufficient. Mr. Grenville however placed me in the hands of the clerk of the Record office, desiring I should have access to any documents I might wish to examine. After travelling through many folios, I discovered the case of Captain Craycroft, who in the preceding war had been captured by the French, and whose witnesses upon his court martial were, the surgeon and a midshipman. I immediately communicated this, by a message, to Mr. Grenville. His answer was, ‘Good, try again:’ and soon after, the case of Captain Brey, of the Hound, on whose trial a midshipman and a boatswain’s mate only appeared, was deemed conclusive by Mr. Grenville. An order was immediately issued by the Admiralty to all the commanders in chief on the home stations for an enquiry to be made in the ships under their respective commands, for any men who had been captured in the Minerve, and might have made their escape from France; and that in the event of any such being found, they should be immediately sent to the flag ship, at Portsmouth, and their names be reported to the Admiralty. In the course of a few days, six were reported, two boatswain’s mates, and four seamen, and marines.” The order was immediately issued for the court martial on Captain Brenton, to be held on board the Gladiator, in Portsmouth Harbour; and it is hardly necessary to add, that the sentence of the court was the honourable acquittal of the Captain of the Minerve.
Immediately after the conclusion of the court martial, Captain Brenton having obtained a copy of the sentence, proceeded forthwith to London, and waited upon Mr. Grenville, who most kindly said, “We have been quite prepared for the nature of the sentence, and I have been only waiting to receive it officially, before I should attend to rather an extraordinary request, made by a brother officer of yours, who has begged that he may be permitted to resign the command of a fine frigate, just built and fitted out, and full manned. I can now grant his request, and make you the offer of becoming his successor.” Captain Brenton’s joy may be imagined at this most gratifying instance of the First Lord’s approbation. He certainly did look forward to employment, at no very distant period; but the utmost he could expect was to have a frigate to fit out. Here was one of a superior description, all ready for immediate service. He lost no time in taking command, having joined her on the 10th February; the Spartan being then under orders to sail the moment the wind would permit, with the East India convoy.
In his private journal he says, “I left my beloved Isabella only five days before your birth, my dear Charles. I should most gladly have waited till that anxious period was over; but my ship was under sailing orders, and I left your mother under the care of the merciful Providence of Him, who never deserted her while on earth, and to whom we may now humbly and firmly hope she has gone. I had soon the happiness of knowing she was well, and thankful for this additional blessing bestowed upon us, I sailed to the Mediterranean, without one legitimate subject of anxiety; on the contrary, nothing but happiness in the retrospect, and the most cheerful prospects before me.” He adds; “A few days after I joined the Spartan, my convoy was transferred to the charge of another Captain; and the Commissioner’s yacht came alongside my ship with £700,000 in cash; and orders for me to take it immediately to Malta. Here was another act of kindness on the part of Mr. Grenville. He found in this commission an opportunity of indemnifying me for my losses and expenses in France, of which he immediately availed himself. For some time all payments to the Captains of ships of war for carrying cash had been discontinued, but it was thought proper to resume it at this period; and the Admiralty recommended to the Treasurer, this as a fit occasion. The sum of half per cent. was in consequence allowed for the future, and this gave me £1100.”
Contrary winds detained Captain Brenton at Spithead till the 2nd of March, when he sailed with a strong N.E. wind, in company with Sir Thomas Lavie, in the Blanche. The latter, being under orders to cruize on the coast of France, kept close in with the French shore, and was unfortunately wrecked the same night in the bight of Abervrach. Sir Thomas was a member of Captain Brenton’s court martial, and little thought at that time, how soon it would be his turn to succeed him as a prisoner in France. The Spartan necessarily keeping the channel course, was not exposed to this danger. She was off Lisbon on the 7th day, having orders to call off that place, but having carried away her main yard in a heavy squall, off the bar, bore up for Lisbon, sending the Lively, Captain Mackinlay, who was cruising off the coast of Portugal, to communicate with the British Minister. The Spartan had under convoy one transport laden with arms and ammunition for Sicily; the master of which, notwithstanding the most positive orders not to part company with the Spartan, bore up in the night, whilst they were laying to, waiting for daylight, off the mouth of the Tagus, and on the following night ran on shore off San Lucar, near Cadiz, although having a fair wind for Gibraltar, which was the place of rendezvous, in case of parting company by accident. The ship was soon taken possession of by the Spaniards; but before they could get even a small portion of her cargo out of her, she was boarded by the boats of the Malta, commanded by Captain Buller, and burnt. The Spartan arrived in two days after at Gibraltar, and having got a new main yard, and taken on board a small additional sum of money for Malta, proceeded to Messina, where she arrived about the middle of March. From thence she proceeded to Malta to deliver the money destined for that place, but did not go into the harbour, remaining off only a few hours, and then made sail for Palermo. At the very moment of her departure an awful event occurred at Malta. A corps, which had been raised in the Morea, and generally called the Spartan corps (the coincidence was much remarked upon as very singular) mutinied; and having got possession of the Fort Ricasoli, determined upon resistance, until such time as what they called their grievances were redressed. These were that they should be allowed to retain the lower part of their Greek dress, instead of wearing the tight trowsers so abhorrent to a Greek. They had no objection to the jacket, but they could not endure the labour of cleaning their arms, or pipe-claying their belts, &c. A Greek will be as active as any one while on actual duty, but when that is over, he considers the time his own, and is more disposed to pass it sleeping in the sun than in any other manner. These men, having seized the Fort Ricasoli, were not only determined to defend themselves, but became the assailants, and turning the mortars of the fortress towards La Valette, began throwing shells into it. Providentially having no knowledge themselves of this branch of warfare, they were obliged to compel some artillery officers whom they had made prisoners in the fortress to direct the bombardment; and these officers under the pretence of intimidation, gladly availed themselves of the opportunity of throwing the shells over the city into the quarantine harbour, which from the knowledge of the scale of the fortifications they were enabled to do with great accuracy. The shells consequently fell harmless. When the mutineers saw that such measures were taken by the General, as must insure the reduction of the fortress in a few hours, they came to the desperate resolution of drawing lots who should blow up the magazine, and who should stand at the entrance, to convey the last signal of the explosion, both of whom must necessarily perish. Those who drew the lots took their stations accordingly, and the remainder of the Greeks having taken such measures as they deemed best to enable them to get over the wall; the signal was given, and a most tremendous explosion took place, doing considerable damage to the dockyard, and parts adjacent. In the confusion occasioned by this unexpected event, nearly the whole of the mutineers succeeded in getting out of the fortress, and dispersed themselves over the island, in the hope of being able to procure boats and to escape; but precautions had been too effectually taken to allow of this; every point was guarded, and in the course of a few hours every man was taken. A court martial was instantly assembled, and a great number were condemned to death; many were executed, and the remainder sent back to the Morea. It is much to be lamented that the national feelings of these people had been so unnecessarily outraged. They maintained to the last that they enlisted under the express condition, that their costume should not be interfered with, and that they should not be obliged to clean and polish accoutrements. When however the usual manœuvres of a recruiting serjeant are taken into consideration, it is not improbable that even greater exemptions than these might have been promised; but a Greek is not a man to be tampered with any more than a Malay.