The Surrender of Napoleon Part 2

The blockade was raised early in 1829; and during the following months Maitland visited nearly every point of interest on the Greek coast and in the Greek islands, as well as Sicily, the coast of Asia Minor, and Constantinople. Like most Englishmen who have served in the Levant, he developed a considerable respect for the Turk, and a quite unbounded contempt for the Greek. After the armistice negotiations in Crete he writes: "I found the conduct of the Turkish chiefs throughout manly, straightforward, and sincere, while that of their opponents was very much the reverse;" and in another place he writes of the Greeks that "a more perfidious, ferocious, and cruel race does not exist."

Needless to say he did not think much of "our pretty Greek Committee."

In the summer of 1830 the _Wellesley_ returned to England. Maitland attained his flag on July 22, 1830. At the reconstruction of the Order of the Bath in 1815 he had been made a C.B.; on November 17, 1830, he was advanced to be a K.C.B. In 1835 he received the Greek Order of the Redeemer.

During his South American and Mediterranean cruises Maitland kept a very full and interesting private journal. It reveals him to us as a man of immense mental activity and power of observation, hard humorous common-sense, and an almost Pepysian interest in all the doings of mankind. Politics, archaeology, cricket, theatricals, scandal, the terms of a treaty, the _menu_ of a good dinner, the armament of a foreign frigate, the toilette of a pretty woman,--everything interests him, and is observed, remembered, and noted in his diary. A few extracts have been given; within the limits of this sketch they cannot be multiplied. His account of the slave-market at Constantinople may serve as a specimen of his power of picturesque description.

_October 12, 1829._--... We then crossed the harbour, and went to the slave-market. It is held in a small square, with some houses in the middle, and on two sides of the square are small rooms, where the slaves for sale are kept until their turn comes to be put up.

Adjoining the doors of these rooms or cells are raised platforms of wood on which a number of black women and girls were sitting; and I saw a few white ones inside. Outside these platforms are others, where the purchasers or those intending to purchase slaves were placed; and between the two platforms there is a pa.s.sage three or four feet wide.

At another corner of the market there were some black men and boys, chained by the legs to prevent their escaping, and among them we saw a very good-looking respectably dressed young man, also in chains. We were told he was a Georgian, but could not discover his history, though it is probable that his master had died, and that he was sold in consequence. He was smoking a pipe, and looked very disconsolate. A little after nine o'clock, the chief of the market arrived, and the sale began. Two or three black girls were first put up. A crier went round the square, followed by the slave for sale, pa.s.sing through the pa.s.sage before mentioned. When any person bids, the crier goes on, calling the sum bid, until some one bids higher, and continues calling till no more is bid, when the slave becomes the property of the highest bidder. There were three or four criers, with each a slave following them, going round the bazaar at the same time. At last a very pretty-looking white girl about sixteen years of age was put up for sale. Several bids had been made before I discovered her; and when I came up to the place where she was standing, Lambrino, the admiral's interpreter, asked the crier what sum was bid for her. He answered 1200 piastres; upon which the girl turned round in a rage, and said to Lambrino, "You dog-faced fellow, what is that to you?" and the interpreter being a little man, with high shoulders and a face very much shaped like a dog's, the girl's remark excited a general laugh.

The crier, however, was by no means pleased at the young lady for making such a display of her temper, as it was likely to hurt her sale, and he therefore reprimanded her. They then pa.s.sed on along the pa.s.sage and came to one of the divans, where a man about forty was sitting smoking his pipe. He stopped the crier, and took the girl by the hand, felt all up her arm to the shoulder, then drew her a little nearer and opened her waistcoat, which exposed a beautiful white bosom, and the effect seemed electric, for he immediately bid 1300 piastres, and after pulling down the lower part of her veil so as to show the whole of her face, and looking at her teeth, he allowed the crier to proceed. The girl had been angry at Lambrino, and seemed a good deal distressed when the Turk was examining and handling her. I saw a blush of either modesty or indignation cross her countenance; but the instant the additional piastres were bid (whether from gratified vanity or what other cause I cannot say, for these poor creatures are very proud of bringing a high price) a smile of satisfaction beamed over her face, and she marched off in apparent good humour. I had seen enough of this horrid scene, and was tired of seeing a fellow-creature paraded about and handled like a horse, therefore was rejoiced when the admiral proposed we should leave it.

Before we went away, a fellow, apparently an Armenian, came up and said he had a handsome young Greek girl for sale if we would like to see her. As, however, none of us under any circ.u.mstances could have purchased her, we declined his offer....

A characteristic feature of Maitland's diary is his constant reference to his wife. He had married, in 1804, Catherine, second daughter of Daniel Connor of Ballybricken, County Cork. They had only one child, who died in infancy. Maitland loved his wife with lifelong devotion; wherever the service called him, her picture hung in his cabin, and he carried her image in his heart. Every letter she wrote to him is noted in his journal; and it is full of references to her in words of devoted attachment. Thus on the voyage home from South America in 1820 he writes: "Crossed the equator at eleven o'clock at night, and we are once more, Heaven be praised, in the northern hemisphere, which contains all I love and delight in in this world, and every mile we go draws us nearer to the sole mistress and possessor of my heart.... A more affectionate, kind, attached wife no man on earth is blessed with than myself." He was bitterly disappointed when from Lisbon he was ordered to the Mediterranean. As the ship pa.s.sed Gibraltar he wrote: "This was the day I had settled in my own mind that I was to arrive at Portsmouth, and there meet the dearest and best of wives.... I had expected this day to be the happiest of human beings, and now the event that would make me so appears as distant as ever." When he was at Naples, Mrs Maitland appears to have fallen under religious influences of the kind which often embitter family relations; and it is pathetic to read the expression of her husband's grief and anxiety lest the love which was the chief joy of his life should be estranged.

"I fear much," he writes, "I shall have to regret the longest day I have to live, having left her in Scotland, instead of taking her abroad with me, as she was in a nest of fanatical foolish women who have the madness to believe they are inspired from above." Happily the cloud soon pa.s.sed, and he notes the receipt of "one of her own dear affectionate kind letters, such as she used formerly to write." A little later comes the joyful entry: "Bore up and made sail, with a fine strong Levant wind, which cleared us of the Gut of Gibraltar by noon; and I can now look forward with confidence to meeting my beloved Kate in about two weeks' time."

From 1832 to 1837 Maitland was Admiral Superintendent of the dockyard at Portsmouth. In July 1837 he was appointed commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China. He hoisted his flag on his own old ship the _Wellesley_, now commanded by Captain Thomas Maitland, afterwards Earl of Lauderdale, and sailed for Bombay on the 11th of October. Lady Maitland accompanied him to the East.

When the advance from Bombay towards Afghanistan was made in 1838, it was decided that a naval force should proceed along the coast to co-operate with the troops. In January 1839, Maitland, in the _Wellesley_, joined the squadron in the Indus, and was requested by Sir John Keane, the military commander-in-chief, to "proceed to Kurrachee and take it." He arrived with his squadron before Kurrachee the 1st of February, and sent a flag of truce, summoning the fort of Manora, which formed the chief defence of the town. The Baluchi garrison refused all terms, and fired on the boats of the squadron, which were engaged in landing troops. The _Wellesley_ accordingly opened fire, and soon reduced the fort to ruins and brought the commandant to terms. The British flag was hoisted on the fort by Lieutenant Jenkins of the _Wellesley_. The town also surrendered, and was occupied by the 40th Regiment and the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry.

The British Government thus easily obtained possession of the chief port of the Punjab.

After the capture of Kurrachee, Maitland returned to Bombay, and thence proceeded to Bushire, where difficulties had arisen with the Persian authorities. At an interview with the Governor, the Admiral demanded permission for himself and his officers to land and communicate freely with the British Resident. The Governor agreed to this, but refused to allow the Admiral to embark from the landing-place opposite the Residency. Next morning, March 25, all the boats of the squadron, manned and armed, proceeded to the sh.o.r.e to protect the embarkation of the Admiral and other officers. The following account by an eyewitness of what then took place is given in Low's _History of the Indian Navy_:--

"The Persians had a.s.sembled to the number of several hundreds, and the Governor, with his body-guard, was determined to prevent, if possible, the property being shipped before the Residency. The first boat which approached the sh.o.r.e was fired upon, and one Persian had his musket presented at Captain Maitland. He was just on the eve of firing, when fortunately the Admiral and two Indian naval officers in a moment wrenched it from his hands, and kept possession of the piece, which they found loaded with a heavy charge. You may imagine how strongly inclined the marines must have been to fire. The benevolent spirit of the Admiral, however, would not allow it till the throwing of stones, and continued firing from the Persians, called forth two volleys, which caused the Persians to evacuate the breastwork. One was killed and two wounded; their fire upon us, fortunately, did not injure any one, but the Commodore and several other officers were struck with stones. After this the Residency was put in a state of defence, Captain Hennell (the Political Agent), had all the property conveyed as quickly as possible on board the _Wellesley_, _Elphinstone_, _Clive_, and _Emily_, and finally abandoned the Residency on the morning of the 28th, when surrounded by four or five hundred armed Persians, composed of Bushirees and Tungustanees, with Baukr Khan at their head.... And on the morning of the 29th the _Wellesley_ and the other vessels reached Kharrack, bringing along with them the whole Residency establishment."

On May 9, 1839, the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India wrote to Maitland: "The Right Hon. the Governor-General highly applauds the cordial and able a.s.sistance offered by the officers and crews of H.M.'s and the Hon. Company's ships, in the removal on board the ships of the Resident and his suite from the Residency at Bushire,--an operation which, but for their aid, might have been attended with difficulty and danger." Maitland was bitterly attacked by the Anglo-Indian press for his forbearance on this occasion, which it was said had lowered British prestige in the eyes of the Persians.

It is possible that our relations with Persia might have been improved by the slaughter of the Bushire mob by the _Wellesley's_ marines, but apparently the Admiral thought otherwise.

The Bushire incident was followed by a cruise round the Persian Gulf, in the course of which the Admiral had various interviews with the local chiefs, and impressed upon them the necessity of keeping the peace and respecting British interests.

It was his last service. He died at sea, off Bombay, on November 30, 1839. A letter from the late Admiral Philip Somerville,[2] then a lieutenant on board the _Wellesley_, describes the closing scenes.

[Footnote 2: Admiral Somerville married Mary Stuart, eldest daughter of David Maitland Makgill Crichton of Rankeilour, and grand-niece of Sir Frederick. I am indebted for the use of this letter to the courtesy of his son, Mr D. M. M.

Crichton Somerville.]

"On our arrival at Bombay, Nov. 3," he writes, "the tents had not been pitched more than a week or so, and the one fitted by the Government for the Admiral was so very large that, after our arrival, he had to remain for some days on board ship ere it was ready. You may fancy the state the ground was in after five months' heavy rain,--the chill and damp scarcely possible to describe,--evaporation of course following the excessive heat of the day. A week had scarcely pa.s.sed ere he felt its effects, but he could say nothing. On the 15th November I dined with him on sh.o.r.e. He seemed then tolerably well. On Sunday, 17th, he visited the ship, and returned to his tent. On the 18th he dined with her Majesty's 6th Regiment, and complained a little that day. The 21st, he was out to see our sailors and marines exercising. The complaint from that time made rapid progress.

Sat.u.r.day, 23rd, Lady Maitland went to a large party, but returned to the Admiral very early. Sunday 24th and Monday 25th he was dangerously ill; 26th and 27th, rather easier. Preparations were made for going to sea. On the 28th, the poor old fellow was brought off and hoisted on board in a palankeen. I saw him for a moment. Poor Sir Frederick lay with his head thrown back, his mouth a little open, his cheeks sunk, and his whole frame totally changed. He was conveyed to his cabin. We immediately got under way. All gloom, and solemn silence prevailed. I daresay some at least were in deep thought, some thinking of his former prosperity, others of the money he had made; perhaps some thought of the happy and honourable day on which Bonaparte surrendered. After lingering until Sat.u.r.day the 30th, at 11.45 he expired. One can scarcely conceive the sensation caused by the mournful event. The countenances of all evinced deep sorrow for their chief, a man who was looked up to by all who knew him, and greatly beloved by those under his command....

"On Monday morning, preparations having been made the previous day, the troops of the garrison and boats from the ships began to a.s.semble.

The ship was painted black all over, and her yards topped in mourning.

The body was conveyed in his own boat, the barge, the other boats following in order with their colours half-mast, presenting a very imposing sight. On leaving the ship, minute-guns began; and on the corpse reaching the sh.o.r.e, it was received with a guard of honour, and the fort commenced firing minute-guns as we formed in procession. The troops had their arms reversed, and the same people who received the Admiral that day fortnight at the dinner given by the 6th Regiment formed part of the parade that sorrowful moment. They lined the road through which we pa.s.sed, and reached to the church. Here the body was received in the usual way, and all the respectable attendants followed it into the cathedral. The lesson was read by the officiating Archdeacon, and on coming to the grave in the aisle of the church, the Bishop read the service in a very affecting and solemn manner. After the ceremony we returned to our respective ships."

A monument to Sir Frederick's memory was erected in Bombay Cathedral by the officers of his command. "Among names," writes Lieutenant Low in his _History_, "which will ever be held in affection by the officers whose record of service is now 'as a tale that is told,' that of Maitland, the gallant and chivalrous seaman, to whom the mighty Napoleon surrendered his sword on the quarter-deck of the _Bellerophon_, will ever be prominent; and this record of his worth and n.o.bility of character, and that other memorial on the walls of the Cathedral Church of St Thomas, will testify to the grateful remembrance in which his memory is held by the officers of the Indian Navy."

NARRATIVE

On Wednesday the 24th of May, 1815, I sailed from Cawsand Bay, in command of His Majesty's ship Bellerophon, and under the orders of Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, whose flag was hoisted in the Superb. I received sealed instructions, part of which were to be opened on getting to sea, and part only to be examined in the event of my being separated from the Admiral. Those which I opened contained directions to detain, and send into port, all armed vessels belonging to the Government of France.

On Sunday the 28th of May, we joined His Majesty's ships Astrea and Telegraph, stationed off Isle Dieu, on a secret service; and the following day, three transports, under charge of the Helicon, arrived from England, having on board arms and ammunition, to supply the Royalists in La Vendee, for whose support and a.s.sistance I now found the squadron, of which the Bellerophon formed one, was destined.

On Tuesday the 30th of May, I received orders from Sir Henry Hotham, to take the Erida.n.u.s under my command, and proceed off Rochefort, for the purpose of preventing a corvette from putting to sea, which, according to information received by the British Government, was to carry proposals from Buonaparte to the West India Colonies, to declare in his favour. I had likewise orders to reconnoitre the Roadstead of Rochefort, and report to the Admiral the number and state of the ships of war lying there. Accordingly, on the 31st of May, I ran into Basque Roads, and found at anchor, under Isle d'Aix, two large frigates, a ship corvette, and a large brig, all ready for sea, which I afterwards ascertained to be the Meduse, Saale, Balladiere, and epervier. Nothing occurred worth mentioning until the 9th of June, when the Vesuve French corvette came in from the northward, and got into Rochefort, notwithstanding every effort to prevent her; the ships under my orders having been driven to the southward, during the night, by a strong northerly wind, accompanied by a southerly current. She was from Guadaloupe, and immediately on pa.s.sing the Cha.s.seron light-house, hoisted the tri-coloured flag.

On the 18th of June, I detained and sent to Sir Henry Hotham, the aeneas French store-ship, commanded by a lieutenant of the navy, with a crew of fifty men, loaded with ship-timber for the a.r.s.enal of Rochefort; but he, being of opinion that she did not come within the intention of the order, liberated her.

On the 21st of June, I detained and sent to the Admiral, under charge of the Erida.n.u.s, the Marianne French transport, from Martinique, having on board 220 of the 9th regiment of light infantry, coming to France to join the army under Buonaparte. The Erida.n.u.s was sent to England with her, and did not return to me, being employed on other service.

On the 27th of June, the Cephalus joined us, bringing with her the declaration of war against France; after which we were employed several days, taking and destroying cha.s.se-marees, and other small coasting vessels.

On the 28th of June, I received intelligence, from one of the vessels captured, of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo; and on the 30th, a boat came off from Bourdeaux, bringing the following letter, without date or subscription, written on very thin paper in English, and concealed within a quill. I give the contents verbatim.

Copy of a Letter received by Captain Maitland, of H.M.S. Bellerophon, off Rochefort, on the 30th of June, 1815, without date or subscription.

"With great degree of certainty, being informed that Buonaparte might have come last night through this city from Paris, with the new Mayor of Bourdeaux, with a view to flight, by the mouth of this river, or La Teste, the author of the last note sent by Mr ---- hastily drops these few lines, to give the British Admiral advice of such intention, that he may instantly take the necessary steps, in order to seize the man.

His ideas will certainly have brought him to think it natural, that the British stations will be less upon their guard in this quarter than any where else. The writer benefits by this opportunity to inform the Admiral that, since the last note, some alteration has taken place with regard to the troops spread in these two Divisions; in lieu of 800 to 1000 in this city, there are now 5000, which is supposed owing to the intention of compressing the minds of this populace in this decisive instant.

"It is supposed the British Admiral is already informed of the Grand Army being totally defeated and destroyed, the abdication of Buonaparte, &c. and the arrival of the allies near the Capital.

"An attempt should be made on this Coast, with no less than 8000 men altogether. Immediate steps are wanted to put a stop to the supposed flight.

"Should the attempt be made on the Coast from La Teste to Bourdeaux, an immediate diversion should be made on this side; the success is beyond any doubt.

"A sharp eye must be kept on all American vessels, and particularly on the Susquehannah, of Philadelphia, Captain Caleb Cushing; General Bertand and another goes with him. The two entrances of Bourdeaux and La Teste must be kept close; a line or two is expected, on the return of the bearer from the Admiral, or Chief Officer on the Station. As this is writing, the news is spread generally, that the Duc de Berri and Lord Wellington are in Paris."

The note alluded to had been received, and forwarded unopened, to the Admiral in Quiberon Bay.

Though my attention was called so strongly to Bourdeaux, or la Teste d'Arca.s.son, as the parts of the coast from whence Buonaparte would probably attempt to escape, it was my decided opinion that Rochefort was much more likely to be the port where the trial would be made. I therefore sent the Myrmidon off Bourdeaux, the Cephalus to Arca.s.son, and remained with only the Bellerophon, off Rochefort. From this period, until my return to England, the ship was never, by day or night, more than three miles from the land. Considering it of much importance to communicate the intelligence contained in the letter from Bourdeaux, to my commanding officer, with as little delay as possible; as I had no vessel left with me, after detaching the two ships under my orders, I sent the Bellerophon's barge, under the charge of a lieutenant, with directions to endeavour to join some one of the cruisers stationed off Isle Dieu. I gave him an order, addressed to the Captain of any of His Majesty's ships he might fall in with, to proceed without loss of time, to join the Admiral in Quiberon Bay, with the despatch accompanying it. This boat was fortunate enough to fall in with His Majesty's ship Cyrus, Captain Carrol; who, in consequence, after hoisting in the barge, proceeded to Quiberon Bay.

As the coasting-vessels were not worth sending into port for condemnation, (and considering the circ.u.mstances under which the ship I commanded was placed, I should not have felt justified in weakening her complement, even for a prize of value,) I was in the habit of using such captures, as marks for the men to practice firing at. The Cephalus had a cha.s.se-maree in tow for that purpose, when the letter, inserted above, was received; and I detached her so shortly afterwards, that Captain Furneaux had no opportunity of destroying her, but was obliged to cast her off. After he had left me some time, I observed the vessel drifting to sea, and determined to run down and sink her. While approaching her in this view. I was sweeping the horizon with my gla.s.s, when I discovered, at a considerable distance, a small white speck on the water, which had the appearance of a child's boat with paper sails; but I could plainly perceive something that had motion in it; and, after firing on and destroying the cha.s.se-maree, I stood towards the object which had engaged my attention, and found it to be a small punt, about eight feet long, flat-bottomed, and shaped more like a butcher's tray than a boat. In it were a young man about eighteen years of age, and a boy about twelve, who had got into the punt to amuse themselves, and, happening to lose one of their oars, were drifted to sea. They had been thirty-six hours without refreshment of any kind, and with only one oar and a bit of board, which they had formed into something like another; they were quite exhausted with fatigue, and their hands very much blistered. When we picked them up, there was a strong breeze blowing off the land, so that there cannot be a doubt, had not Providence sent us to their a.s.sistance, they must have perished. I kept the boys on board two or three days, for the purpose of recruiting their strength, and then landed them with the punt, close to their village, to the great joy and wonder of their parents and countrymen.

On the first of July, we spoke a ship from Rochefort, the master of which gave information, that the frigates in Aix Roads had taken in their powder, and were in all respects ready to put to sea; also, that several gentlemen in plain clothes, and some ladies, supposed to form part of Buonaparte's suite, had arrived at Isle d'Aix: in short, upon the whole, that there was little doubt of its being his intention to effect his escape, if possible, from that place, in the frigates. On receiving this information, I anch.o.r.ed the Bellerophon as close to the French squadron as the batteries would permit, kept guard-boats rowing all night, and prepared my ship's company for the description of action in which I thought it was probable they would be engaged. I trained one hundred of the stoutest men, selecting them from the different stations in the ship; it being my intention, after firing into and silencing one frigate, to run the Bellerophon alongside of her, throw that party in, and then, leaving her in charge of the first lieutenant, to have proceeded in chase of the other.

His Majesty's ship Phoebe joined us this evening, and brought with her the Bellerophon's barge. Captain Hillyar having orders to take a station off Bourdeaux, I recalled the Myrmidon from that service.

On the 7th of July, I received a letter from Sir Henry Hotham, together with fresh orders, from which the following are extracts:--