The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth Part 8

He contended, that although the enemy had made the most formidable preparations for an invasion, which would probably be attempted within a few weeks, the effective force of the navy, from line-of-battle ships down to hired armed vessels, was at that moment inferior, and less adequate to the exigency of the danger, than at any former period.

Notwithstanding it was so evidently necessary to oppose to the enemy's flotilla a force of a similar description, capable of acting in shallow water, the Admiralty had ordered only twenty-three gun-vessels to be built, of which five were to be completed in three, and the remainder in six months, though the necessity for them was immediate and urgent. He condemned the Admiralty for giving up the former approved plan of building line-of-battle ships by contract in private yards. Two-thirds of the navy, he said, had been thus built; for during a war all the strength of the King's yards was required for repairing ships, and building was necessarily suspended in them almost entirely. Through the last war, of twenty-nine line-of-battle ships, twenty-seven had been built in merchants' yards; while in the present only two had been contracted for, although fourteen or fifteen slips fit for building them were then unoccupied in the river. He contended, finally, that the Admiralty had been very remiss and unsuccessful in raising men for the navy. In the war of 1793 we began with 16,000 seamen and marines, and had 75,000 or 76,000 at the end of the year. In the present war we began with 50,000 men, and had raised them only to 86,000. Thus, in the former war there had been an increase of 60,000 men in the year; but in the present only of 36,000, though our mercantile marine was so much greater. Upon these arguments he founded motions for an account of all ships, from line-of-battle ships down to hired armed vessels inclusive, in commission on the 31st of December 1793, 30th of September 1801, and 31st of December 1803, specifying the service on which they were respectively employed; for a copy of the contracts made, and the orders given by the Admiralty in 1793, 1797, and 1803, with respect to the number of gun-vessels to be built; for a list of ships built in the King's yards for 1793 and 1801; but if it should be thought that any intelligence on this head might be a channel of improper information to the enemy, he would abstain from pressing it, for he was aware that there would still be grounds sufficiently strong to convince the House that it was the preferable plan to construct vessels in the merchants'

yards; and, finally, for a similar list of vessels built by contract in private yards.

Mr. Tierney, who led the defence for ministers, would agree only to the first and second motions; and he moved, as an amendment to the first, that it should include all other armed ships and vessels employed in the public service. He denied Mr. Pitt's a.s.sertions, and combated his arguments. It was an extraordinary proceeding, he said, that an inquiry should be proposed, having for its object the censure of the Admiralty, when every port of the enemy was sealed up, our commerce protected in every direction, and our trade prosperous in an unexampled degree. Our naval force was immense, and admirably calculated for a great variety of service. We had 1,530 vessels employed, of which 511 included the force from line-of-battle ships to hired armed vessels; and 624 were a flotilla completely equipped and ready for immediate service; besides 9 block-ships supplied by the Trinity-house, 19 ships furnished by the East India Company, and 373 lighters, and small craft, fitted in the King's yards. Of 100,000 seamen and marines voted by Parliament, 98,174 had been raised, besides 25,000 sea-fencibles; and this, although the volunteer force of the country was 450,000. He strongly condemned the practice of building ships in merchants' yards. He alluded to the _Ajax_, which had been thus built. She had cost 41,000_l_., and the bargain was thought a good one, yet in three years she required a further sum of 17,000_l._ to fit her for service.

Two parties in the House supported the motions; Admiral Berkeley, Mr.

Wilberforce, and others, because they agreed with Mr. Pitt in condemning the measures of the Admiralty; Mr. Fox and his friends, because they considered that an inquiry would redound most highly to the credit of Earl St. Vincent. They contended that ministers opposed it only to screen their notorious incapacity under the shelter of his great name.

On the other hand, Admiral Sir Charles Pole, Mr. Sheridan, Mr.

Addington, Captain Markham, and others, supported Mr. Tierney, and confirmed all his statements. Nothing, it was said, could afford a stronger proof how enormous were the abuses which Earl St. Vincent had corrected, than the argument of Mr. Pitt and his friends, that men-of-war could not be built in the King's yards, although 3,200 men were employed in them; and it was known that forty-five shipwrights could build a seventy-four in a year. Four hundred of the men discharged had been receiving six shillings a day for doing nothing. Blockmakers'

and coopers' work, for which 2,000_l._ had been paid, was proved upon a survey to be worth only 200_l._ As to the gun-boats alluded to, which were built by contract in the last war, they were so bad, that eighty-seven out of a hundred-and-twenty had been sold by public advertis.e.m.e.nt for almost nothing. The men-of-war launched from private yards had been the ruin of the navy. Three of them went to Portugal, and were found so defective that it was necessary to send them home, with a frigate for convoy. The arrangements for the naval defence of the country were most admirable and complete, and if there were any delay in building the twenty-three gun-vessels ordered by the Admiralty, it was because no dependence was placed upon that description of force. It would be folly to meet the enemy with the inferior weapons which necessity obliged him to employ, when we possessed a more powerful arm in our heavy men-of-war and frigates. The depth of water would allow these to act close to our very sh.o.r.es; and if the enemy's flotilla should venture out, Captain Markham, Sir Edward Pellew, Sir Thomas Troubridge, or any officer known in our naval records, would, with a single seventy-four, shoot through and sink a crowd of their contemptible craft.

Ministers obtained a majority of 201 against 130; a most triumphant result for Earl St. Vincent, considering the character of his accuser, and the grounds upon which Mr. Fox and his friends voted for the motions.

Sir Edward Pellew met the charges against the Admiralty with the plain and straightforward declarations of a seaman. Nothing could be more disinterested than his conduct upon this occasion; for there was little to hope from the grat.i.tude of a ministry just tottering to their overthrow, and everything to fear from the resentment of their successors. But he justly considered that upon a vital question, and at such a crisis, no personal or party feeling should intrude; and he felt himself called upon to support the Admiralty with more than a silent vote, because he quite approved their measures, which no man could better understand. He rose fifth in the debate, and spoke as follows:--

"SIR,--As I very seldom trouble the House, I hope I may be permitted to make a few observations on a subject of which, from the professional experience I have had, I may be presumed to have some knowledge. From the debate of this night, there is one piece of information I have acquired, that the French have got upwards of a thousand vessels in Boulogne. I am glad to find they are shut up there; we have one advantage in it--we know where they are. I wish we had any means of knowing when they intend to come out. I know this much, however, that they cannot all get out in one day, or in one night either; and when they do come out, I trust that our c.o.c.klesh.e.l.ls alone, as an honourable admiral has called a very manageable and very active part of our force, will be able to give a good account of them.

"Sir, I do not really see in the arrangement of our naval defence anything to excite the apprehensions of even the most timid among us. On the contrary, I see everything that may be expected from activity and perseverance to inspire us with confidence. I see a triple naval bulwark, composed of one fleet acting on the enemy's coast; of another, consisting of heavier ships, stationed in the Downs, and ready to act at a moment's notice; and a third, close to the beach, capable of destroying any part of the enemy's flotilla that should escape the vigilance of the other two branches of our defence.

"In respect to what has been said of building ships by contract, I must confess that I do not much admire that mode of keeping up our navy. I have seen some of them--I particularly allude to the _Ajax_ and _Achilles_--that I took for Frenchmen.

"As to these gun-boats, which have been so strongly recommended, this musquito fleet, they are the most contemptible force that can be employed. Gun-brigs, indeed, are of some use; but between a gun-brig and a gun-boat there is almost as much difference as between a line-of-battle ship and a frigate. I have lately seen half a dozen of them lying wrecked on the rocks.

"As to the probability of the enemy being able, in a narrow sea, to pa.s.s through our blockading and protecting squadrons, with all that secresy and dexterity, and by those hidden means that some worthy people expect, I really, from anything that I have seen in the course of my professional career, am not disposed to concur in it.

"I know, sir, and can a.s.sert with confidence, that our navy was never better found; that it was never better supplied; and that the men were never better fed and better clothed. Have we not all the enemy's ports blockaded from Toulon to Flushing? Are we not able to cope anywhere with any force the enemy dares to send out against us? And do we not even outnumber them at every one of the ports we have blockaded? It would smack a little of egotism, I fear, were I to speak of myself; but as a person lately having the command of six ships, I hope I may be allowed to state to the House how I have been supported in that command. Sir, during the time that I was stationed off Ferrol, I had ships pa.s.sing from the fleet to me every three weeks or a month; and so much was the French commander in that port deceived by these appearances, that he was persuaded, and I believe is to this very hour, that I had twelve ships under my command, and that I had two squadrons to relieve each other, one of six inside, and the other of six outside."

He was highly complimented by several who followed him in the debate, particularly by Mr. Addington, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Courtenay, as well as by other members out of the House. Twenty, who had come down intending to vote for Mr. Pitt's motions, were induced to support the Admiralty, confessedly by Sir Edward's statements. But it is, perhaps, the most decisive proof of the effect of his speech, that Mr. Pitt himself referred to it in a debate on the defence of the country six weeks after. At the same time he disavowed the gun-boats, and contended for "good stout gun-brigs," declaring that he had observed with much satisfaction the efforts which had lately been made to increase that description of force.

Mr. Addington resigned on the 12th of May, with Earl St. Vincent; Mr.

Yorke, the Home Secretary; and Lord Hobart, Secretary at War. They were succeeded by Mr. Pitt, and Lords Melville, Harrowby, and Camden.

On the 23rd of April, there was a naval promotion, in which some of the senior captains, including Sir Edward Pellew, were advanced to be Rear-Admirals of the White, pa.s.sing over the intermediate step. This favour was probably considered due to them, for they had served considerably beyond the time which had hitherto given an officer his flag, the former promotion having been a small one, and the interval much longer than usual.

Sir Edward received with his promotion the appointment to be commander-in-chief in India. He hoisted his flag in the _Culloden_, and gratified Captain Christopher Cole, the youngest brother of his deceased friend, and who had served with him as a midshipman in the _Winchelsea_, by naming him for his captain.

CHAPTER VIII.

SIR EDWARD'S COMMAND IN INDIA.

The arduous charge of a commander-in-chief requires more than great decision, and a judgment matured by experience. It claims also a mind naturally comprehensive, that it may be equal to great and complicated responsibilities. He has other, and not less important duties than to hara.s.s the enemy. He is to protect the commerce of his country; to make his influence so felt over every part of his station, that merit may be encouraged, and negligence effectually controlled; to provide in all respects for the efficiency of his fleet; and to act with the full powers of an amba.s.sador, whenever there is no accredited minister. In addition to these more obvious duties, occasions will continually arise which demand the utmost temper and discretion. If the secret history of the greatest, and most popular commanders were fully made known--what difficulties they encountered, and what anxieties they endured--not many would be found to envy them their distinctions.

The change in the ministry, which took place within three weeks after Sir Edward's promotion and appointment, subjected him, in its consequences, to many and great inconveniences; for the new Board of Admiralty manifested a decidedly hostile feeling. Such was the temper displayed, that he thought it necessary to caution his brother Israel to observe the utmost circ.u.mspection in all his conduct, and never even to sleep out of his ship. The evident desire to deprive him of his command left him very little expectation that he would be allowed to keep it, and in his first letter from India he observed, "Probably my successor is already on his way to supersede me." He was not far mistaken.

The most valuable, indeed the only valuable part of his command was that to the eastward of Ceylon, which included the two chief presidencies, and all the rich colonies of the enemy. It was resolved to deprive him of this, by creating it a separate station, leaving to him only the western seas. The more desirable portion was conferred upon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge, an officer whose reputation must endure as long as the name and services of Nelson are remembered; and whose unquestioned merit affords every cause to regret that he was innocently made the instrument of such a proceeding. He hoisted his flag in the _Blenheim_, an old three-decker which had been cut down to a seventy-four, and sailed from England in the spring of 1805, with a fleet of Indiamen under his convoy; and after beating off Rear-Admiral Linois, who attacked him with the _Marengo_ and _Belle Poule_, reached India in August.

When Sir Thomas went on board the _Culloden_, on his unwelcome, but not unexpected errand, Sir Edward inquired if he had brought his own letters of recall. Finding that the Admiralty had overlooked the essential step of sending them, he declared, that until they arrived he could not resign any part of his command. He was charged with it by the King, and was required by the regulations of the service to hold it until recalled by the same authority. Sir Thomas thought that a commission was cancelled by a posterior one, without a direct recall; but Sir Edward, who was equalled by very few in his knowledge of naval law, found it easy to convince him to the contrary, or at least to refute his arguments. He told Sir Thomas that if he remained in India, it must be under his own orders, for his commission comprehended all the station, and it was impossible for a junior to command in the presence of his superior officer. When Sir Thomas, indignant at the proposal, refused to act under the other's authority, Sir Edward brought the question very promptly to an issue, by writing, and handing to Sir Thomas, an order on service.

Both officers were naturally warm, and Sir Thomas, disappointed as well as irritated, and who was taken so entirely by surprise, had by this time quite lost his temper. Indeed, the altercation had gone so far, that nothing but a sense of their public responsibility prevented a more unpleasant meeting. Sir Edward had hitherto maintained his self-command; but as Sir Thomas continued warm, and he was conscious of the infirmity of his own temper, he went himself to the cabin-door, and calling for Captain Cole, desired him to remain as a witness of all that pa.s.sed. The two Admirals quickly came, not perhaps to a more friendly feeling, but at least to a better understanding. Sir Thomas could not but see that the other was acting in strict conformity to his duty, and he had the a.s.surance that the Admiralty would correct their oversight as soon as a reference could be made to them. Sir Edward must have felt it most painful thus to meet an officer whose character stood deservedly among the highest in the service; the trusted friend, and almost the other self of Nelson. Acting with the utmost disinterestedness, though he could only expect to be superseded, for a public board will seldom confess itself to have been in error, he did not hesitate, as soon as his own authority had been properly admitted, to give Sir Thomas a separate squadron in the best part of the station. It proved a most lucrative command, for in addition to its general advantages, some prizes of immense value were taken. On the 20th of July, 1806, the _Greyhound_ frigate and _Harrier_ sloop of war fell in with two large armed Indiamen, richly laden with spices, and protected by a frigate and a corvette. The British gallantly attacked them, and captured, with little loss, the frigate, and both the Indiamen. To add to the gratification of the Admiral, it was his son, Captain Troubridge, who commanded the _Harrier_.

Sir Edward, as far as he was himself concerned, had eventually little reason for regret. The position of true dignity, to be always ready to sacrifice to public duty personal feelings, and to surrender, when necessary, personal interests, but never to compromise any point of principle or character, is generally the course not less of prudence than of honour. He obtained on this occasion all he could desire, and more than he had hoped for, a candid inquiry. Before his letter reached England, there had been a change in the ministry, and Mr. Grey was at the head of the Admiralty. Nothing could be more honourable than all his conduct. It was at first believed that Sir Edward had committed an illegal and unprecedented act of resistance to that authority which, as an officer, he was bound implicitly to obey. Yet, believing that he had acted hastily, Mr. Grey himself went to the Duke of Northumberland, as Sir Edward's friend, to say, that the board would allow him to write a letter on service, recalling his ill-advised communication. The Duke sent to Sir Edward's brother, who was then in town, that he might write to India without delay; but Mr. Pellew at first thought the step unnecessary. His brother, he said, was not in the habit of acting without due consideration, and he did not think it would be found that he had done so now. But next day. Earl St. Vincent called upon the Duke, and insisted more strongly on the necessity for the step. Sir Edward's letter, he said, was not a question of this or the other administration, but an act of insubordination which no ministry could overlook: that his professional prospects would be entirely destroyed if the board took cognizance of it; and that extraordinary lenity was shown in allowing him to recall it. A letter was accordingly written; but before a ship sailed, Mr. Grey came a second time to the Duke, and told him he had found, upon inquiry, that Sir Edward was right. He did more; for he wrote to Sir Edward himself a very kind and handsome letter; and though opposed to him in political opinions, while Sir Thomas Troubridge was connected with his own friends, he recalled this officer, whom he appointed to the Cape, and continued to Sir Edward, as at first, the entire command in India.

Sir Thomas had with great reason a.s.sured himself of a different result.

He prepared immediately to cross the Indian Ocean to the Cape in the _Blenheim_, though she was utterly unseaworthy, and required constant pumping even in harbour. She had grounded on a shoal in the Straits of Malacca, and was obliged to throw her guns overboard, and cut away her masts, before she could be got off. Her back was broken, her frame shaken to pieces, and she hogged excessively. In fact, her head and stern fell so much, that she rose like a hill amidships, and a person at the door of the p.o.o.p-cabin could not see the sentry on the forecastle below his middle. Sir Edward Pellew entreated the Admiral to select any other ship on the station for his flag. The Captain of the _Blenheim_ formally reported her condition, but was told, that if he were afraid, he might go on sh.o.r.e, a taunt that compelled the unfortunate officer to sacrifice himself with the ship's company. The Admiral thought to force back the broken keel to its place by putting in a very heavy mainmast, and could not be convinced that he thus increased the danger. The distinguished officer who supplied these particulars went on board the _Blenheim_ the day she sailed, to take leave of the Captain, and found that he had just written a last farewell to his wife, from a conviction that the ship must inevitably founder. On the 12th of January, 1807, she sailed from Madras, in company with the _Java_ frigate, and the _Harrier_ sloop of war. On the 5th of February, the _Harrier_ parted company off the island of Rodrigues, in a very heavy gale, in which the unfortunate _Blenheim_ and _Java_ were seen to make repeated signals of distress. They were never again heard of!

The possibility that the ships might have run on sh.o.r.e induced Sir Edward to send the Admiral's son with the _Greyhound_ frigate in search of his lamented parent. Captain Troubridge explored the coasts with all the anxiety that filial affection could inspire, receiving every a.s.sistance from the French authorities at the isles of France and Bourbon; but he could discover no certain traces of the ships, and no doubt remained that they had both foundered.

Sir Edward had been in India but a very short time, when his friend and former opponent, Bergeret, was brought to him a prisoner. This gallant officer had employed himself through the peace in the merchant service, with the _Psyche_, formerly a small national frigate. When hostilities were renewed, he armed her with thirty-six guns, and sent her out in charge of another officer, Captain Trogoff, not choosing to command a privateer. In her first cruise, on the 11th of April, 1804, she attacked, and was beaten off by the _Wilhelmina_ store-ship, Captain Henry Lambert, and returning to the Isle of France, disabled, General Decaen, the governor, bought her into the national marine, and appointed Bergeret to command her. He cruised in the Bay of Bengal for a short time with much success, while his very liberal conduct obtained for him the highest respect of the British residents. Fortune was again unjust to him. On the 14th of February, 1805, the _San Fiorenzo_, commanded by Captain Lambert, late of the _Wilhelmina_, and which had been sent expressly in pursuit of him, fell in with the _Psyche_ off Vizagapatam, and after a chase of two days brought her to action. Bergeret defended his ship against a very superior force for three hours and a half, when the _San Fiorenzo_ hauled off to repair her rigging, leaving him with his ship entirely disabled, and more than half his crew killed and wounded. On the approach of the British frigate to renew the action, he surrendered.

Sir Edward was a warm admirer of the brave prisoner, whose character so much resembled his own, and who returned his friendship with equal warmth and sincerity. There is not often such a scene on board a man-of-war as occurred when the two officers first met on the quarter-deck of the _Culloden_. Both were deeply affected, and the struggle of their feelings, from meeting under such circ.u.mstances, drew tears from many who witnessed the interview.[11]

Sir Edward was not always so happy as to meet with enemies thus deserving of his sympathy. A French frigate, the _Piedmontaise_, was guilty of conduct which would have-disgraced a pirate. Cruising off the Cape, on the 17th of February, 1805, she fell in with the _Warren Hastings_, one of the China fleet which on a former voyage so gallantly bent off the squadron of Admiral Linois; and after a very long and severe action, in which the Indiaman was dismasted, and otherwise completely disabled, took her. Her brave defence appears to have excited the fury of the enemy, probably because her very crippled state increased the probability of recapture. Before taking possession of the prize, the frigate, by her own mismanagement, fell on board.

Immediately, the first lieutenant, with a party of ruffians, many of whom, like their leader, were intoxicated, rushed on the deck of the Indiaman with horrid imprecations and drawn daggers, accusing the prisoners of having run foul of the frigate intentionally. The lieutenant himself wounded Captain Larkins dangerously, and stabbed a young midshipman in several places; and the second officer, the surgeon, and a boatswain's mate, were wounded by his followers. Sir Edward did not become acquainted with these facts for two years, as Captain Larkins and his crew could not depose to them until they reached St. Helena, after they had been liberated from the Isle of France. The _Piedmontaise_ was then cruising in the Indian seas, and Sir Edward transmitted copies of the depositions to every ship on the station, with a general order, in which "the attention of the respective captains and commanders of H.M.'s squadron is especially called to the statement, in order that the ferocious conduct of the first lieutenant, and part of the crew of the _Piedmontaise_, may receive the general reprobation of H.M.'s service."

The _San Fiorenzo_ was again the fortunate frigate which stopped the career of the enemy. Commanded by Captain George Nicholas Hardinge, brother of Lord Hardinge, the present Commander-in-Chief--a young officer of great promise and distinguished courage--she fell in with the _Piedmontaise_ on the evening of the 6th of March, 1808; and after an exchange of broadsides that night, and a severe but still undecided engagement next morning, brought her to close action on the afternoon of the third day, and took her. The _San Fiorenzo_ commenced action with only 186 effective men; the _Piedmontaise_, a larger and heavier frigate, had more than 500, including 200 Lascars. Captain Hardinge was unfortunately killed on the third day. For some time before the enemy struck, the first lieutenant was seen exposing himself to the hottest of the fire; till, disappointed of the death he sought, and dreading to fall into the hands of the British, he discharged his pistols into his own body. It is said, that as he did not die immediately, he ordered some of his people to throw him overboard alive.

The French naval force in the Indian seas was at no time considerable, for whenever a cruiser was known to be committing depredations, her career was generally cut short by some of the squadron. It consisted chiefly of privateers, for which the Isle of France afforded a convenient rendezvous; and of which some were large enough to capture a regular Indiaman. The _Emiline_, taken after a two days' chase by the _Culloden_, had been a British sloop of war: and the _Bellone_, taken by the _Powerful_ and _Rattlesnake_, was added to the navy as a small-cla.s.s frigate, and actually maintained a running fight with the seventy-four.

The resemblance between ships of war and the larger Indiamen more than once deceived the enemy. The _Union_, a small privateer, mounting only eight guns, thus ventured to chase, and was taken by the _Culloden_; and the _Jena_, national corvette, was taken in the same manner by the _Modeste_ frigate. The _Jena_ was a remarkably fine and fast vessel, and, as the _Revenant_ privateer, had formerly cruised long and very successfully. She was commissioned as the _Victor_, to replace a sloop of war of that name, which in the preceding year had been the scene of one of the most extraordinary and tragical events on record.

The _Victor_, commanded by Captain George Bell, whose name has been already mentioned in connection with the _Nymphe_ and _Indefatigable_, had taken four brigs in Batavia Road, and was returning to Prince of Wales' Island. On the 15th of April 1807, off Cheribon, she met three Malay prows under Dutch colours, which, on its falling calm, she detained with the armed boats, and brought alongside. The crews of two of them, a hundred and twenty men, were taken on board the _Victor_, and placed under a guard, while the prows were being examined; but the people in the third being refractory, a carronade was fired into her, and some small arms, which they returned by throwing spears and firing pistols. A second gun was therefore fired, some sparks from which reached a quant.i.ty of powder which had been taken out of the prows, and blew up the after-part of the ship. The guard ran to extinguish the flames, leaving the prisoners, who instantly seized their arms, with the spears and knives which had been thrown on board, and attacked the crew with all the desperation of their character. The prows were immediately cut adrift, and the crew, under the direction of their officers, proceeded with admirable order and coolness, one part to extinguish the fire, and the rest to defend themselves against the murderous attack.

After half an hour's dreadful struggle for life, for the Malays would take no quarter, eighty of them lay dead on the deck, and the rest were driven overboard. The _Victor_ had her first lieutenant and five men killed, and her captain and twenty-five wounded; nine of whom died shortly after.

Holland, which in reality, though not yet in name, was now a French province, had a moderately strong squadron in India. Two frigates had been taken since Sir Edward's arrival, the _Maria Riggersbergen_, by the _Caroline_; and the _Pallas_, by the _Greyhound_ and _Harrier_. The first was the unfortunate ship which, under the name of the _Java_, shared the fate of the _Blenheim_; the other was the convoy of the spice ships. Two line-of-battle ships, the _Pluto_ and _Revolutie_ with a frigate and several corvettes and gun-boats, were at anchor in Batavia Road; and information had been received by the _Powerful_, 74, Captain Plamplin, that Rear-Admiral Willaumez, with six sail of the line, one of them commanded by Jerome Bonaparte, might be expected in the Indian seas. To destroy the ships already at Batavia, and to intercept the French squadron, Sir Edward sailed on the 22nd of October 1806, from Madras to Trincomalee. Here a fleet of Indiamen under his convoy was joined by other ships, and went on to Europe in charge of the _Woolwich_ and _Duncan_; while the Admiral, with the _Culloden_, _Powerful_, _Russell_, and _Belliqueux_ line-of-battle ships, and _Terpsich.o.r.e_ frigate, proceeded to the Straits of Sunda, where the _Albion_ and others were to join him. Lieutenant Owen, commanding the _Seaflower_ brig, was instructed to disguise her as one of the expected French squadron, and to hasten on before. On the 23rd of November, they were joined by the frigate _Sir Francis Drake_, Captain Pownoll Pellew; and on the same day they learnt that Willaumez had gone to America. On the 26th they arrived in the Straits of Sunda, where they found the _Seaflower_, which had already communicated with the Dutch authorities at Bantam as one of the expected French force, and information was sent accordingly to the Governor at Batavia. So completely were the enemy deceived by this step, that the squadron sailed along the coast of Java, and anch.o.r.ed on the 27th in Batavia Road, before its character was suspected.

As soon as it was known to be British, the _Phoenix_, 40-gun frigate; the _Aventure_ and _Zee-ploeg_, national corvettes; the _Patriot_, and another ship of 20 guns, and three brigs of 14, Company's cruisers; with more than twenty merchant vessels, ran themselves on sh.o.r.e under the extensive batteries of Batavia. Another corvette, the _William_, struck to the _Terpsich.o.r.e_ as she was entering the road; but the line-of-battle ships had sailed a few days before to Griessee, a fortified harbour on the Sourabaya river, at the eastern extremity of the island. The boats of the whole squadron, with five hundred picked men, commanded by the Admiral's second son, Captain Fleetwood Pellew, of the _Terpsich.o.r.e_, and covered by the fire from the frigates, were sent without delay to destroy the enemy's ships. The decision of Captain Pellew, which scarcely allowed them time to man their guns, made their fire almost harmless. He boarded the _Phoenix_, whose crew quitted her on his approach; turned her guns on the other armed vessels; burnt all the shipping except three merchant vessels, which were brought away; and in less than two hours returned with the boats, having effected the whole service with no greater loss than one man killed and four wounded.

One of the ships lay at the little island of Onroost, which is piled and jettied all around, and contained a small and compact repairing yard for merchant vessels of all nations. Two boats were sent to destroy her, with strict orders to injure nothing on sh.o.r.e; but unfortunately she drove alongside the jetty, and, to the great regret of the Admiral, the flames communicated to the buildings, and occasioned much damage. The squadron sailed on the 1st of December, the _Culloden_ and _Belliqueux_ to return to India, the others for their respective stations. Thus easily was completed an enterprise, as admirably planned as it was gallantly executed. General Daendels, when he became Captain-General of Java and the Moluccas, some time after, sent a message to Sir Edward, that he hoped he would not pay him a visit without an invitation.

In the following June, the Admiral sent Captain Fleetwood Pellew in the _Psyche_, with the _Caroline_ under his orders, to ascertain the condition of the Dutch line-of-battle ships at Griessee. Captain Pellew displayed on this occasion the same spirit which had marked his former service. The frigates reached their destination August 29th, and on the following day learned that the men-of-war were lying in the port dismantled, and very much out of repair. They now proceeded to Samarang, where the _Psyche_ arrived, and anch.o.r.ed off the port at midnight, the _Caroline_ having parted company in chase. At daylight she weighed, and stood into the road, where an armed schooner and a merchant brig were anch.o.r.ed near the batteries. These were brought out by the boats, under a heavy but ineffectual fire. Two large ships and a brig had been seen early in the morning at anchor outside, afterwards found to be the _Resolutie_, armed merchant vessel, of 700 tons, with a valuable cargo, and having the colours and staff of a Dutch European regiment on board; the _Scipio_, national corvette, of 24 guns and 150 men; and the _Ceres_, Company's brig of war. That he might be ready to take advantage of the sea-breeze, Captain Pellew destroyed the prizes, and before noon the _Psyche_ was clear of the harbour in chase, the enemy having weighed and stood to sea. The frigate gaining fast upon them, they all ran themselves on sh.o.r.e at half-past three, and opened their fire. The _Psyche_ anch.o.r.ed as near as the depth of water would allow, and presently compelled the merchant ship to surrender. At half-past four, just as the frigate was lowering her boats to board, the _Scipio_ struck: and the brig soon after fired a broadside, and hauled down her colours. They were all got off safely the same night, and Captain Pellew, after arranging with the Governor of Samarang for sending on sh.o.r.e the prisoners, who far outnumbered his own crew, returned to port with his prizes.

On the arrival of the _Psyche_, Sir Edward sailed from Madras, with the _Culloden_ and _Powerful_, seventy-fours; _Caroline_ and _Fox_, frigates; _Victor_, _Samarang_, _Seaflower_, and _Jaseur_, sloops of war; and _Wexford_, a large Indiaman, fitted as a troop-ship: with five companies of the 34th regiment, and a company of artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Lockhart. The squadron proceeded first to Prince of Wales' Island, where it embarked the Royals, and the 34th; and on the 20th of November sailed finally for its destination. On the morning of the 5th of December it arrived off Point Panka, the eastern extremity of Java; and Sir Edward sent a summons to M. Cowell, commander of the Gallo-Batavian force, to surrender the ships of war under his orders.

"The British," he wrote, "are the natural friends of the Dutch. We are impressed with correspondent sentiments. It is become our duty to prevent the Dutch ships of war from acting under the control of France in hostility to the British." He then proposed that the ships of war, and all vessels under French colours, be given up, promising in that case security for the inhabitants and garrison; and threatening, in the event of a refusal, those hostile operations which the naval and military forces were jointly prepared to accomplish. Captain Fleetwood Pellew, with a military officer, and the Admiral's secretary, delivered this proposal to the French commodore; but that officer, in violation of the flag of truce, detained them all as prisoners, and returned an answer of defiance.

The force a.s.sembled for the attack was such as might deter the enemy from attempting resistance, with a sufficient force of small vessels to be equal to the service, if the line-of-battle ships should be unable to get up. At the entrance of the river, about ten miles up the harbour, the _Culloden_ and _Powerful_, though they had been previously lightened, and trimmed to an even keel, to equalize their draught of water fore-and-aft, grounded on what was called the bar, and which proved to be a flat, several miles in extent. Part of their water was started, and their guns, shot, provisions, and whatever would materially lighten them, were removed into three coasting-vessels detained for that purpose; but still they remained fast. The rest of the squadron, except the troop-ship, which was also aground, crossed the bar, and pa.s.sing a stockade of large trees, anch.o.r.ed in deep water below the island of Madura. On the evening of the 6th, Sir Edward, seeing no probability of carrying up the large ships, determined to force the pa.s.sage, and attack the place without them, and accordingly shifted his flag to the _Caroline_. Fortunately, at nine o'clock that night the water began to rise; and by ten, the _Culloden_ was afloat and under sail. Following a boat with a light, which was directed by Mr. Gaze, the master, she pa.s.sed the stockade, and by eleven o'clock was anch.o.r.ed above the bar in deep water. Before daylight, the Admiral returned to her, and all the squadron, except the _Powerful_ and the troop-ship, which had not yet floated, weighed with the sea-breeze, and stood for the narrow pa.s.sage between Madura and Java. At half-past eleven, they were engaged with the batteries on the island; but they pa.s.sed them by half-past twelve, without having received material damage. At a little past four, the squadron anch.o.r.ed abreast of the Fort of Griessee, but no farther resistance was offered, except a few ineffectual shots fired from that fort at the _Culloden_; M. Cowell having previously determined to defend the place to the last against the frigates and sloops, but to surrender if the line-of-battle ships got up. The _Powerful_ joined next day. In coming up, she was struck from the batteries on Madura with hot shot, but her people extinguished the fire. The troops took possession of the fort, leaving the town in the hands of the civil authorities: and on the 9th, the Governor and Council of Somabaya, having thankfully acquiesced in the liberal terms dictated by Sir Edward, all hostilities ceased.

They had promptly released the gentlemen whom the commodore had so unjustifiably detained; and a deputation of three members of their own body accompanied them to the Admiral, to disavow the act of M. Cowell, and to treat for a capitulation.

Having burnt the _Pluto_, _Revolutie_, and _Kortenaar_, line-of-battle ships, and a large Indiaman, fitted as a frigate, and destroyed the military stores and batteries at Griessee and Madura, the squadron weighed on the 13th, and stood down the river in charge of the Dutch pilots. On the 15th, they crossed the bar, and two days after, having completed their provisions and water, left the coast. Not a man was lost in all the service. When Java was taken, in 1811, a squadron was sent to Sourabaya; but none of the large ships could get over the bar; and their officers would scarcely credit the fact that the _Culloden_ and _Powerful_ had reached Griessee.

The _Culloden_ arrived at Madras on the 10th of February, and found there the _Russell_ and _Duncan_, with troops embarked to attack Tranquebar. They sailed next day, and the place surrendered on being summoned.

But all these operations, complete as they were in their success, were of far less importance than the effectual protection which Sir Edward afforded to commerce. His position, with reference to this point, had been peculiarly fortunate: for the confidential intercourse which existed between him and his brothers, and the warm interest which they took in one another's pursuits, had induced him to give much attention to the commercial system of the country. Particularly, he had become familiar with the important subject of insurance and convoys, upon which his brother had been much in communication with the government. At an early period of his command in India, he submitted to the merchants and underwriters a proposal to establish a regular system of convoys; and invited them to suggest from their own local experience the regulations likely to be the most convenient and effectual. The merchants entered readily into his plans and the results were satisfactory. Some loss was, indeed, still experienced through a frequent practice of masters of vessels to sail without convoy, or to separate from it on the pa.s.sage.

The commanders of the enemy's cruisers generally treated their prisoners well, and released them at the earliest opportunity; so that sailing without protection became a mere commercial calculation between a higher premium of insurance, and the profits from an early arrival, for little personal inconvenience was to be apprehended from capture. To check this practice, the Bengal Government, in December, 1806, issued a proclamation, declaring that all masters of vessels who separated from their convoy without sufficient cause, should be removed from India; and in 1808, the Court of Directors ordered, that the master of every country ship should enter into a bond of 5,000 rupees, at the custom-house from which he cleared, as a penalty for any separation. Not that the danger was often great, for the vigilance of the squadron seldom allowed an enemy's cruiser a long career; but it sometimes happened, as was particularly the case while the force was a.s.sembled for the expedition to Sourabaya, that an enemy would unexpectedly show himself, and commit serious depredations.