Privateers and Privateering Part 14

He was then commanding the _St. Jacques des Victoires_, and had in company his old ship the _Sanspareil_, commanded by his cousin, Jacques Boscher, and the _Leonore_, of 16 guns. Being joined, after sighting this fleet, under the care of two 50-gun and one 30-gun ship, by two large St. Malo privateers, Du Guay Trouin reckoned that he was strong enough to attack--with five ships to three, though the _Leonore_ did not count for much in such an action. However, he despatched her to seize some of the convoy, told his cousin in the _Sanspareil_ to tackle one of the 50-gun ships while he went for the other, and the two St. Malo men took care of the frigate in the middle. By the action of the Dutchmen Du Guay Trouin and his cousin exchanged antagonists; the ship destined for Boscher fell foul of the _St. Jacques_, and Trouin, with his customary prompt.i.tude and impetuosity, immediately launched half his crew on board and carried her. The Dutch commodore's ship, the _Delft_, proved a very hard nut to crack. The _Sanspareil_ was repulsed with great loss, her p.o.o.p on fire, cartridges exploding promiscuously, and nearly a hundred men blown up, shot dead, or wounded. She sheered off, and Du Guay Trouin ran alongside the _Delft_, to be received with even greater warmth. Her captain, an heroic man, fought like a demon, and the _St. Jacques_ also was forced to haul off to breathe the men, who were getting somewhat disheartened, and repair considerable damages. Meanwhile, the larger of the St. Malo vessels, the _Faluere_, was directed to keep the redoubtable Dutchman amused, but she soon had enough of it, losing her captain, and running to leeward.

Du Guay Trouin was not going to give in, however. He rallied his men, and, summoning the _Faluere_ to his aid, he went for the _Delft_ once more--as he says, "with head down." He got her--but it cost him more than half his crew, and every one of the Dutch officers was killed or wounded. The commodore, Baron de Wa.s.senaer, fell on his quarter-deck with four deadly wounds, his sword still grasped in his hand, and was made prisoner.

Then they had an awful night, for it came on to blow hard, on a lee sh.o.r.e; all the ships were frightfully battered and leaking, masts and rigging cut to pieces, and the already exhausted crews had to turn to at the pumps for dear life. On board the _St. Jacques_ the Dutch prisoners were set to work to lighten the ship by throwing overboard all her upper-deck guns, spars, shot--everything movable, to keep her afloat.

Day broke at length, the wind abated, and, with the a.s.sistance of boats from the sh.o.r.e, the ship was brought in: a sorry wreck, indeed, but the fruits of her labour soon came to hand--three Dutch men-of-war and twelve ships of the convoy. The _Sanspareil_ arrived twenty-four hours later, having barely survived the Dutchman's furious onslaught.

For this service Du Guay Trouin received a commission as commander in the Navy, and was again presented to the king.

As a regular naval officer, he no longer remains within the scope of these pages; but there is one incident which should not be omitted, even though it be somewhat to the discredit of the English.

In the year 1704 Du Guay Trouin was in command of the _Jason_, 54 guns, in company with the _Auguste_, of equal force, when they fell in, at night, with the English ship _Chatham_, an old antagonist, which had before escaped them. At daybreak they were on either side of her, blazing away, the English vessel making every effort to escape, while maintaining creditably her part in the fighting, and the three of them ran into the English fleet. Then things became serious for the two French ships: some of the fastest sailers in the fleet were sent after them. The _Auguste_ was a poor sailer, so they agreed to separate. But the English had force enough to pursue them both, and the _Auguste_ was soon disposed of. The _Jason_ held on, and presently was tackled by the _Worcester_, of 50 guns, which was considerably knocked about, and dropped astern. Other ships came up, however, and, supported by their presence, the _Worcester_ again attacked indecisively. With the dusk, the wind dropped altogether, and there was the _Jason_, surrounded by foes in the darkness, only waiting for daylight to eat her up.

Naturally, her captain did not find it easy to sleep; and it was characteristic of him that he still planned in his mind some desperate measure. He told his officers that he intended to go straight for the English flagship; that he himself would take the helm and run aboard her, and that he thus hoped to perform a brilliant feat of arms, by carrying this ship, before they succ.u.mbed to superior force--and in any case, his flag was not coming down unless the enemy could get there to haul it down themselves.

With this heroic resolve in contemplation, he paced the deck. There was not a breath of wind. The ship rolled a little uneasily, the timbers creaking and blocks rattling aloft, while the few sails that were set slatted against the masts and rigging occasionally in that irritating fashion with which all seamen are familiar. At various distances round him were the enemy's vessels, few of them probably out of gunshot, and some very near.

About an hour before daybreak Du Guay Trouin noticed a dark line above the horizon ahead of his ship; he watched it carefully, and felt convinced that a breeze was coming from that quarter. Calling the crew quietly on deck, he made sail, braced the yards up, and with one or two of the huge oars or "sweeps" provided in those days, he got the ship's head round so as to catch the breeze in a favourable manner in case it should come. And it did come: at first a breath, which barely gave the ship steerage-way; then a little stronger--she steals ahead, two knots, three knots; the Englishmen are all taken aback, with their topsails lowered, their yards braced anyhow. Before they can make and trim sail the _Jason_ is clear of the ruck of them, a good gunshot clear! The _Worcester_ was once more the only one to tackle her, and was soon shaken off--by noon she was fast dropping astern; and, says Du Guay Trouin, "I looked on myself as though risen from the dead."

Well he might do, too. And what were all those Englishmen thinking about, each ship with an officer in charge of the deck? One would imagine that they could see a breeze coming as well as a Frenchman could. But Du Guay Trouin had one essential element of success about him--- _he never threw away a chance._

He died in 1736. France may well be proud of him. Think of a lad of one-and-twenty, pressed by half a dozen ships among the Scilly Islands, conceiving that plan of boarding and capturing the _Adventure_! That incident alone is sufficient to mark him as excelling by many degrees the average--nay, the more than average--fighting seaman.

CHAPTER XV

JACQUES Ca.s.sARD

Among the less well-known French privateersmen is Jacques Ca.s.sard, a native of Nantes, where there stands to this day a commemorative statue of him.

He was born in 1672, and so was a contemporary of Du Guay Trouin. The son of a seafarer, young Jacques was predestined to a similar life, but there is very little known of his early doings. He appears to have commenced as a privateer at the early age of fourteen, and he must evidently have established, during the following ten years, a reputation for skill and daring, for when he was five-and-twenty he was selected to command the bomb-ship in an expedition against Carthagena, under De Pointis, in 1697.

The sluggish and unseaworthy vessel which Ca.s.sard commanded parted company from the squadron while crossing the Atlantic, but in due course he arrived at St. Domingo, the rendezvous, where was a.s.sembled a formidable squadron, with 5,000 troops, and a contingent of 1,200 filibustering ruffians under Du Ca.s.se, Governor of St. Domingo.

The first a.s.sault by the ships on the forts at Carthagena was met with such a furious fire that De Pointis was glad to haul off for a time; Ca.s.sard, however, backed up by Du Ca.s.se, was so insistent in urging an immediate renewal of the attack that they carried the day. Ca.s.sard distinguished himself throughout; he took his little bomb-vessel close under the strongest fort and bombarded it mercilessly. When the Spaniards' fire began to slacken he and Du Ca.s.se led the a.s.sault on the battered defences, and, after a desperate conflict, carried the first fort. Ca.s.sard, prompt and resourceful, turned the guns upon an adjacent work, and by the evening the Spaniards, driven to the citadel, displayed the flag of surrender.

It was after the defenders had marched out, followed by numbers of the townspeople, however, that Ca.s.sard performed the most valuable service.

A scene of horror ensued: the regulars and filibusters, mad with drink and l.u.s.t, scoured the town, ransacked churches and houses, and perpetrated shocking outrages. Their officers lost all control, and were even shot down by the mad rioters when they attempted to remonstrate.

Then Ca.s.sard, having obtained permission to take the matter in hand, picked out a band of about three hundred Bretons from among the crews of the war-ships, and landed with them. He did not mince matters. He was well aware that the only course to pursue, with any hope of success, was to meet savagery with savagery, and the plunderers soon found themselves confronted with the alternative of submission or death. They fought it out in forty-eight hours, Ca.s.sard guarding the gates strongly, and searching systematically every quarter of the town. With his own hand he is said to have shot down a score of looters; and when it was over he had to arrange for the burial of three hundred and seventy unhappy women, who had been ill-treated and murdered, often in the very churches.

De Pointis, on their return, strongly recommended Ca.s.sard for a commission in the Navy, but prejudice was too strong against his cla.s.s, and it was not until nearly three years later, after some successful privateering, that he was summoned to the royal presence. "I have need,"

said the king, "of all the brave men I can find for my Navy, and as you, they say, are the bravest of the brave, I have appointed you a lieutenant in my fleet, and have given instructions that a sum of 2,000 be handed over to you, to enable you to support your position in a proper manner."

This was all very well; but his newly earned honours sat heavily upon him, and the jealousy of the naval aristocrats made things unpleasant; so it was in the capacity of commander of a private ship of war that he gained further laurels.

This was the _St. William_, fitted out by merchants of St. Malo in 1705, a small vessel, mounting only eight guns of insignificant power and manned by sixty-eight harum-scarum fellows picked up on the quays at St.

Malo.

After a fruitless cruise he returned to refit, and then made a successful raid upon small traders off the south coast of Ireland, thereby gaining a little prize-money to encourage his crew. After a visit to Brest, he was returning to the coast of Ireland when he came across a Dutchman of greatly superior force, with which he had an heroic encounter.

The Dutchman fired the usual "summoning" gun, to which Ca.s.sard paid no heed. A shot across his bows followed, but he held on his course. The Dutchman cleared for action, crowding sail and rapidly overhauling the _St. William_. It looked like a foregone conclusion that she should succ.u.mb to this formidable adversary, carrying fourteen 9-pounders.

Ca.s.sard, however, had his own ideas as to the conduct of the engagement.

As the enemy rapidly came up, pounding him with his bow-guns, the Frenchman suddenly shortened sail, squared his mainyard, and threw his ship aboard the other. A discharge of grape and chain-shot from the _St.

William's_ 3-pounders was instantly followed by a rush of sixty desperate men, headed by their captain.

A most b.l.o.o.d.y encounter ensued. Dutchmen are not easily beaten, and the deck had to be gained step by step. It is said that Ca.s.sard had told off one of his leading men to endeavour, the moment he gained a footing on board, to run in one of the Dutchman's guns and point it along the deck; and while the remainder were at grips with the enemy, this man and half a dozen others contrived to effect this, loaded the gun with langrage--which means any odd bit of metal you can sc.r.a.pe up--and watched for a chance. Then they shouted, "Stand clear of the gun!" The French suddenly parted to either side of the deck, and the shower of iron peppered the astonished Dutchmen. This was twice accomplished, the Frenchmen each time rushing forward in the smoke; and then the Dutch captain, wounded and bleeding, proffered his sword to Ca.s.sard. It was a good device, if the story be true; but not as easy of accomplishment as it is made to appear in the accounts of the action.

It is said that the Dutch loss, out of a crew of 113, was 37 killed and 51 wounded. Ca.s.sard had 16 killed and 23 wounded.

Some three or four years of success followed, during which Ca.s.sard adopted the illegal, but tempting device of ransoming his prizes and taking the captains as hostages for payment--a practice for which, like Jean Bart, he was brought to book, without very much practical result.

However, he made a great deal of money, and in the year 1709[12] he was appealed to by some merchants of Ma.r.s.eilles to convoy from Bizerta, on the north coast of Tunis, a fleet of grain-ships--an urgent business, as France was in very great need of grain. He was induced to put his hand in his pocket and fit out at his own expense two men-of-war--the _eclatant_ and _Serieux_--lent by the Government, the latter of which he commanded himself, and made sail for Bizerta, where he found the grain-ships safe enough. The difficulty was, to get them safely to Ma.r.s.eilles, the English fleet being on the alert. With this end in view he had recourse to a ruse, which is not very clearly set forth in the accounts; but in the end he enticed a frigate out of Malta and led her away from his convoy, which he had left in charge of the _eclatant_, though it involved a desperate running action with a vessel of superior force, in which he nearly came to grief.

Arriving at length at Ma.r.s.eilles, he found that the grain-ships had turned up safely, which was really a great triumph; but the wily merchants were too cunning for the simple seaman. There was, it appears, a clause in the agreement to the effect that Ca.s.sard should bring in the convoy--it is easy to imagine how such a doc.u.ment would be worded--and, because he had not personally conducted the ships into port, the merchants refused to pay him the stipulated sum for his services! He appealed, but the merchants had too many friends at court; so he found himself some 10,000 out of pocket in the long run, as a reward for averting a famine by his skill and courage.

He was destined, however, to repeat the exploit. In June 1709 a huge fleet of eighty-four merchant vessels, under convoy of six men-of-war, was despatched to Smyrna to bring back grain. The squadron consisted of the _Temeraire_, 60, _Toulouse_, 60, _Stendard_, 50, _Fleuron_, 50, _Hirondelle_, 36, and _Vestale_, 36, under the command of M. de Feuquieres. Reaching Smyrna in safety, they sailed in October on the return voyage, with their precious freight; but De Feuquieres, learning that a strong English squadron was watching for him in the Gulf of Genoa, put into Syracuse, in Sicily; and sent the _Toulouse_ to Ma.r.s.eilles for additional force.

The people of Ma.r.s.eilles shamelessly appealed to Ca.s.sard, whom they had treated so scurvily; he refused at first to have anything to do with it.

However, he was eventually placed in command of a little squadron, consisting of the _Parfait_, 70, with his flag; the _Toulouse_, Captain De Lambert; _Serieux_, 60, Captain De l'Aigle; and _Phoenix_, 56, Captain Du Haies.

With a fair wind, on November 8th he sailed for Syracuse, according to Mr. Norman, arriving there on the evening of the following day--a feat which may be safely put down as practically impossible, the distance being over 650 nautical miles, or knots. However, there is no doubt that Ca.s.sard arrived off Syracuse one day, and found only two English men-of-war watching for the grain fleet, instead of a strong squadron, as he expected. With these he resolved to deal at once, and bore down upon them.

The two English ships were the _Pembroke_, 64, Captain Edward Rumsey--not _Rumfry_, as Mr. Norman calls him, probably from some French doc.u.ment--and the _Falcon_, 36, Captain Charles Constable, the remainder of the squadron having gone to Mahon, in Corsica, to refit. The _Pembroke_ had apparently had her turn there and returned to her station a few days previously, the _Falcon_ joining her.

When Ca.s.sard's squadron hove in sight and Captain Rumsey, having failed to receive from them the acknowledgment of the private signal, realised that he was in for a serious business, he signalled the _Falcon_ to shorten sail, and, running up alongside her, he asked Captain Constable what he made of the strangers, to which the latter replied that one of them was a very big ship, but he could not make much of the others.

"Shall we fight them?" shouted Rumsey through his speaking-trumpet.

"Just as you please, sir!" bawled Constable. "That's no answer,"

rejoined Rumsey. "With all my heart," said Constable, and they cleared for action--none too soon, for the French ships, bringing up a stronger breeze with them, were already almost within gunshot.

Ca.s.sard had signalled Feuquieres to weigh and convoy the grain-ships out while he engaged the two English ships. Rumsey, realising that he was imperatively called upon to prevent, or at least to r.e.t.a.r.d their escape, had probably made up his mind before he spoke to Constable. Leaving only two ships there was a blunder, and he really had no choice about fighting, for he could not well have escaped.

The action which ensued was one of the most stubborn sea-fights on record. Ca.s.sard attacked with three ships, the _Parfait_ ranging alongside the _Falcon_, while the _Serieux_ and _Phoenix_ tackled the _Pembroke_. If the Frenchmen expected an easy conquest of the _Falcon_ by the huge 70-gun ship they were very much in error. With her crew of 740 men the _Parfait_ was run alongside, and her bowsprit lashed to the fore-rigging of the _Falcon_. Instantly Constable turned the tables on the foe, rushing on board at the head of one hundred men. They were repulsed, with heavy losses on both sides, and before Ca.s.sard could return the compliment the two ships fell apart. The _Falcon's_ flight was soon stayed by the heavy fire of the French ship, which brought down spars and cut rigging extensively, and once more Ca.s.sard laid her on board. His first attack was repelled by the indomitable Constable and his men; but the price was too heavy: something like 120 men had been killed or desperately wounded already, and Constable, taking counsel with his officers, was forced to the conclusion that it was useless to sacrifice more lives, and so hauled down his colours; he had been badly wounded in the shoulder, but kept his place on deck. According to Captain Schomberg, in his "Naval Chronology," there were only sixteen men of the _Falcon's_ crew able to stand at their quarters when she surrendered.

Meanwhile, the _Pembroke_ and the other two ships were hammering each other at close range, and much damage resulted on both sides. After an hour and a half of fighting Captain Rumsey, who had behaved splendidly, was killed, and Barkley, the first lieutenant, came on deck and took his place. For two hours after the captain's death the unequal conflict was maintained: Ca.s.sard came down and joined the fray after the _Falcon_ was captured, and had a tremendous cannonade with the _Pembroke_, yardarm to yardarm, while the _Serieux_ pounded her on the other quarter. It could not last; the English ship's mizzen-mast went crashing by the board, her maintopmast followed, her rigging was nearly all cut away, her mainmast wounded and tottering, her decks lumbered with wreckage, which also rendered the ship almost unmanageable, and the crew falling by tens--to hold out longer would be worse than useless, so Barkley and his brother officers agreed, and the colours had to come down.

The losses on both sides afforded ample testimony to the splendid courage of the Englishmen and the gallant pertinacity of the French. Six months later Constable and the surviving officers of the _Pembroke_ were tried by court-martial, were judged to have done their duty, and honourably acquitted.

It now remains to clear up some chronological discrepancies. According to Mr. Norman, this engagement took place on November 10th, 1710, and Ca.s.sard entered Toulon with his prizes on the 15th. Where he obtained these dates does not appear; but, as a matter of fact, the court-martial took place on June 21st, 1710, and the sworn testimony of the officers of both ships places the engagement on December 29th, 1709; Captain Rumsey wrote from Mahon on December 10th, reporting to the admiral--Sir Edward Whittaker--that his ship had been careened, and was nearly ready for sea. These official reports being unimpeachable, it appears probable that the first affair with the grain-ships took place in 1708, as has already been hinted.[13]

However, this does not affect the actual facts with regard to the engagement, which was so creditable to both sides.

Promoted to the rank of commander, Ca.s.sard was appointed to command the military works in progress at Toulon; but he was not happy in this post, and, after trying in vain to obtain rest.i.tution of the money he had lost on the first grain venture, he took command of a squadron, consisting of nine vessels, men-of-war, but fitted out by private enterprise in St. Malo and Nantes.