Personal Narrative of Events, From 1799 to 1815

by William Stanhope Lovell

In the fort at this time was a gallant young officer of artillery, Lieutenant Fead, with a few of his men, one or two of whom refusing, like good soldiers, to quit their post without orders from their own officer, the mutineers killed them, making Lieutenant Fead prisoner, obliging him to point the guns and mortars towards the town of La Valette.

Fort Recazzoli is a strong isolated fortress on the left hand side of Malta harbour as you come in from the sea, and in which was a large magazine of gunpowder. The mutineers held out several days, and threatened to fire upon the town of La Valette if their terms were not immediately agreed to. One day indeed they did fire a few shells, but Lieutenant Fead purposely gave the mortars so much elevation, that the shells dropped quite clear of the town. Things had remained in this state for two or three days, with all the garrison at Malta and the seamen and marines of the few ships in harbour on the alert, boats rowing guard, the batteries manned, and a cordon of troops drawn round the fort; when, on the afternoon of the second day a grand tiraillade was heard within it, the Germans and Swiss, with the few artillerymen who had taken no part in the mutiny, and had been disarmed by the others, watching an opportunity, made a rush, destroyed the guard at the drawbridge, let it down, and sallied forth out of the fortress, bringing with them one or two wounded officers and forty-five of the principal malcontents; the remainder hauled up the drawbridge and held out for several days, again demanding terms, and threatening to blow up the magazine if they were not complied with.

The mutineers being now reduced to a few, early in the morning, we stormed the place with scaling ladders, when part of the 44th Regiment and some sailors got possession of most of the fort; but the mutineers had not been idle, they had built up a kind of high breast-work of large loose stones before the magazine, within which they retreated, and kept up a brisk fire of musketry—a ball from which grazed my hat and stuck in the wall near me. They used occasionally, from behind this breast-work, to demand a parley and terms, always ending with the threat of blowing up the magazine, with themselves, in which were several hundred barrels of gunpowder. General Valette, who commanded the garrison, very properly refused to listen to any but an unconditional surrender—things having gone too far.

We stationed our men under the bomb proofs, it being the general opinion of the engineer officers that when the magazine did blow up the greatest explosion would be towards the sea, where the wall of the magazine was weakest, and that under the bomb proof the men would be comparatively safe; and as these desperate fellows had declared, that if when St. John’s clock should strike the hour of nine in the evening, their terms, free pardon and safe conduct back to their own country, were not complied with, they would set fire to the train and blow themselves and the fortress up, we awaited the event with much anxiety. A strong suspicion existing that they had undermined the garrison, and had made a passage out for themselves at the back of it, I was sent to row guard to intercept any attempt they might make to escape by water. At about nine, off went the train, and a most awful explosion took place; the whole sea wall was blown to atoms, and the shock like that of an earthquake was felt far and near, some fish in the harbour made a spring out of the water, which showed they also were sensible of the vibration. Three of the 44th Regiment who were posted sentinels were killed by the falling stones, and a few more were hurt. I immediately pulled on shore and had communication with the fort, and then went and made my report to the senior naval officer. These desperate wretches, at first, were considered to have perished, but, about a week afterwards they were brought in, nearly starved to death, having been unable to make their escape from the island. They were immediately tried by a court martial and hanged.

To return to those forty-five mutineers dragged out of the fortress by the sortie. They were also brought before a military tribunal; fifteen of them were condemned to be hanged, and most of the remainder to be shot. The execution was most terribly mismanaged: it presented, indeed, a shocking spectacle. But I will say no more upon the subject, further than to the last moment these poor wretches continued to vent their abuse on the English, and the men sentenced to be hanged endeavoured to keep up the spirits of those that were about to be shot—even when the ropes were round their necks they called to them, saying, “What are you crying for? It is we that ought to bewail our fate of being hanged like dogs instead of being shot like men.”

I recollect seeing a Catholic priest very busy on the scaffold, wishing to persuade the criminals to kiss the crucifix before they were launched into eternity, but they kicked him off, and spat in his face, telling him he was no better than themselves.

In November we sailed on a cruise off Corfu, and from thence up the Adriatic, where we spent a very stormy winter, blockading Venice, anchoring occasionally at Trieste, and under Cape Salvatore, the islands of Lissa, Sansego, and various other places. The N.E. winds in winter blow most furiously from the Istrian and Dalmatian mountains, and, if caught by these winds on the Italian coast, a ship is placed in a most critical situation; a heavy, short sea rises with the wind, and you are obliged to carry a press of canvas to prevent being driven on a lee shore.

A Russian squadron of seven sail of the line, besides frigates and transports, with troops on board, arrived from Naples early in the spring of 1807, and anchored off Trieste, the Emperor of Russia having withdrawn his alliance from us, professing neutrality, in consequence of the great success of the French army under Napoleon in Austria, &c. The Russian admiral, Greig, very politely sent to Captain Pat. Campbell, of the Unité, the senior officer in the Adriatic, to say that he intended to send a ship of the line with the transports to land the troops they had on board at Venice, we being off the port blockading it, in company with the Unité. Captain P. Campbell replied that two British frigates would never suffer one Russian seventy-four, with her convoy, to break the blockade, and therefore requested, if that was the admiral’s intention, he would take his whole force, which would prevent any collision between us.

Admiral Greig very properly did so, and saw his convoy enter safely the port of Venice.

During the nine months we cruised in this sea we took and destroyed a great many of the enemy’s small vessels; but our prize concerns were unfortunately entrusted to agents, who became insolvent, and our hard-earned money was in consequence lost. I shall in the sequel suggest a plan for the management of prize-money, in the event of our again being engaged in war, it having fallen to my lot to lose every penny by the breaking of four agents in different parts of the world, into whose hands we entrusted the management of our prize affairs.