Chapter XII: The American War

The number of Packets stationed at Falmouth was not as large as to enable My Lords, or their Secretary, Mr. Freeling, to contemplate the ravages of the American Privateers without dismay. The mere fact that so many Packets were either in the hands of the enemy or undergoing repairs which must necessarily be lengthy, was enough to create much embarrassment in the present, while the outlook for the immediate future was gloomy and depressing. The difficulties were exasperated by the total loss of the “Hinchinbrooke” in a hurricane in the West Indies, while, as if to show that Fortune had turned her back on the Post-Office, the news of this disaster was quickly followed by the report that the “Lady Emily” had been wrecked on a reef of rocks near Bermuda.

Even these misfortunes did not exhaust the run of ill-luck. A violent outbreak of plague occurred at Malta. Every Packet arriving from the Mediterranean must perform quarantine at Sandgate Creek on the Kentish coast, and the delay and inconvenience thus caused proved a well-nigh intolerable addition to the perplexities of the administrators at Lombard Street.

The West India merchants, moreover, who had held their peace of recent years, as well they might, seeing with what courage and devotion their interests were guarded, were once more complaining of the loss of mails, and demanded that every Packet should have twenty guns and sixty men. My Lords, however, in the gallantry of their officers and men, were fortified with arguments which they had not possessed in former discussions with these critics. Twenty guns, they pointed out, would not have saved the “Duke of Montrose” from Commodore Rogers, and though Captain Cock in the “Townshend” had achieved so much with his scanty armament that it was difficult to say what he might not have done with an increased force, yet My Lords claimed, not unjustly, that such a case was too far removed from ordinary experience to serve as the basis of an argument.

Yet the prayer of the merchants was not altogether set aside; and when in July the brig “Morgiana” was tendered for service as a temporary Packet, Mr. Freeling noted that, being of 260 tons, considerably larger than any other vessel on the station, she ought to carry forty men and sixteen guns, and expressed the hope that this larger armament would restore some confidence in the city. The sequel is now to be related. It is curious to notice how some malignant influence mocked at all these efforts to arm the Packets more heavily, and rendered them all in turn equally vain.

For some unexplained reason the “Morgiana” was not provided on her first voyage with the sixteen guns which Mr. Freeling had declared to be proper to her size; but was armed with eight 9–pounders, which were perhaps all that could be procured in the short space of time available for fitting her out. She received, however, the complement of men which the Secretary had indicated; and thus equipped, she sailed from Falmouth at the end of August, bound for Surinam, under the command of Captain James Cunninghame, who had been Lord St. Vincent’s sailing master in the action of February 14th, 1797. Early in the morning of September 26th, the “Morgiana” being then off the coast of Surinam, a large hermaphrodite brig hove in sight, which, on perceiving the “Morgiana,” at once crowded all sail in chase. The wind was very light, and at seven o’clock it was observed that the stranger vessel had got out her sweeps, and was gaining fast on the Packet.

About 10 A.M. the sea breeze made partially, and the Privateer, receiving it first, was enabled to decrease the distance between the two vessels so materially as to render it shortly obvious that there would be no escape by sailing. At half-past twelve Captain Cunninghame gave orders to pipe to dinner, conceiving that by the time his crew had dined, the enemy would be within range of shot. What followed should be told in his own vivid words:—

“In this interval I cautiously inspected every article of
preparation we had made, and confess that I felt a great
satisfaction, and no small share of confidence at the arrangements.
At 1.30 P.M. the hands were turned up, and, calling them aft, I
addressed them to the following effect: ‘That they had witnessed my
endeavours to elude engaging an enemy who to all appearance was much
superior to ourselves, but that the chances of action, if supported
with steadiness and courage, might not only give us an opportunity
to beat him off, but also to capture; that they were aware that,
besides my holding a commission to command the Packet, I had passed
the great proportion of my life as an officer in His Majesty’s Naval
Service; that I had been frequently engaged with the enemy,
consequently a battle was no new thing to me; and that, independent
of our characters as Englishmen, we were bound by our duty to the
service now employed on to defend the mails with all possible
obstinacy; that it was my own determination not to give the ship
away till I was no longer able to defend her, and hinted that should
any of them feel unwilling to support me in my resolution, they had
my full liberty to go below, and that I would endeavour to fight the
ship with the braver part of the crew who would remain to second
me.’

“With much pleasure I have to acknowledge that one sentiment of
determination pervaded all; all were unanimously anxious to engage,
and showed a disposition to cheer, which I checked. At 2 P.M., the
enemy being within range of shot, I took in the studding sails,
ordered the jolly boat to be cut adrift, and opened a fire on him
from our stern guns, which evidently disconcerted him, the first
shot having carried away some of his standing rigging. He then
yawed, and gave us his whole broadside, which did no other injury
than a shot or two through the topgallant sails. We continued to
play the stern guns on him, and he to give us an occasional charge
from his foremost guns, when he could get them to bear without
losing ground; but finding himself exposed to a raking fire, which
he stood well, he endeavoured to gain our starboard quarter, and his
superior sailing soon placed him in a situation in which our after
guns could be used with effect. Anxious to profit by this event, and
with the hope that our broadside would deter him from closing with
us altogether, we gave him the fire from our starboard guns, then
bore up till the stern guns could again act; but after five or six
discharges from them I had the mortification to see that the
ringbolts had drawn out from both sides the stern, and these guns,
which had as yet been our principal defence, rendered of no more use
in that point. The disposition of the enemy was now evidently
directed to boarding us on the larboard quarter, and he accordingly
ranged up with that intent; but our fire was too heavy to be
despised. He therefore gave up the idea of boarding, and, manning
his guns, returned our broadsides with vigour.

“The action was now something hot, and was supported by both sides
with an equal degree of spirit for about an hour and twenty minutes,
both vessels running before the wind, within pistol distance of each
other, and at times not more than a few fathoms apart.

“The tops of the Privateer were filled with men armed with
blunderbusses and muskets who gave us great annoyance, and his fire
of grape was sharp and galling, wounding several of our men. In this
part of the action I found that a grape-shot had grazed my left leg,
and stuck in the opposite side of the ship. It was not, however, of
very serious consequence, and, tying it up with a handkerchief, I
was enabled to resume my station. A short time after a musket ball
struck my left wrist, which made but a slight wound, and at the same
instant I saw the sailmaker, who was stationed at the wheel, fall,
he having received a mortal wound from a charge of grape.

“In consequence of the helm being left the ship took a sheer, by
which the sides of the two vessels came into contact, and the enemy,
exasperated at finding himself so long disappointed of his prize by
such a handful of men, and with a hope of ending the contest, took
this opportunity of heaving his boarders into us. I ran to the
wheel, and put the helm apart, which caused us to separate, and his
people, many of whom had established themselves in the main rigging,
with some on the poop, now thought of nothing but securing a
retreat, which we endeavoured to cut off. We pressed them
warmly—some gained their vessel, others jumped overboard to escape
our pikes; and one man, who had reached the top of our boarding
netting, with whom I had been personally engaged, now begged for
quarter, which of course I granted. In this conflict I received a
severe cutlass wound on the head from the man alluded to above, who
in a state of desperation from his pistol aim having missed, hove
his cutlass at me with an extraordinary violence which levelled me
with the deck, from which position I prepared to fire at him when he
sued for mercy and obtained it.

“Our firing again commenced, but finding the strength of the enemy
much too powerful for us, and with some apprehension of defeat
should he still attempt to carry us by boarding, I took the first
opportunity of tearing up my private signal sheet, and hove it
overboard together with my instructions, and gave the master fresh
injunctions respecting the destruction of the mail in case of
necessity.

“Our sails and rigging being now rendered nearly useless, and the
ship unmanageable, the enemy was enabled to pursue his resolve to
carry us by heaving the bulk of his crew on board, and accordingly
closed with us on the larboard bow, which I found it impossible to
prevent. With an anxious desire to make every practicable
resistance, I was in the act of running forward to the threatened
part of the ship when I was struck by a musket ball in the upper
part of the right thigh, by which the bone was shattered, and which
brought me once more to the deck. In this state, with a third part
of my crew either killed or wounded, and those my best men, I
consequently gave up all hope of further success in a contest so
very unequally maintained; and waving to the master to sink the
mail, felt a secret relief when I saw that object accomplished. At
the same time one of the people asked me if he should haul down the
ensign, to which I reluctantly assented. The crew of the Privateer
had gained complete possession of the forecastle and fore-rigging,
and the remainder of the ‘Morgiana’s’ men fled for shelter. Further
resistance was now out of the question, for more than seventy men
had gained a footing in the Packet, the two vessels lying
yard-locked with each other. I was much weakened with the loss of
blood, which was flowing fast from four wounds, but had strength to
intimate to the first that approached me that ‘we had struck,’ but
this did not appear to satisfy the fury of a few, who rushed at me
with uplifted cutlasses, evidently to despatch me altogether, had it
not been for the man to whom I had given quarter. He advanced to
check their rage, begging them to spare my life for having given him
his when I could easily have taken it, and to his timely
interference I am certainly indebted for my existence.... I was now
carried below to have my wounds staunched and examined, when I felt
extreme grief to see so many in the same state. I requested the
surgeon to give me his candid opinion of my thigh, when I was
informed that he feared the wound would be of mortal consequence. I
then asked to be put into my cot, and carried to the upper cabin,
which was done, and from thence I exultingly surveyed the shattered
state of both vessels. Scarce a sail was left to the yards, every
standing or running rope either wounded or carried away, the sides
and spars studded with shot, and everything a wreck; and I learned
from the prize master that His Majesty’s Packet, armed with eight
9–lb. carronades, and manned with only thirty-nine persons
altogether, which had only been one month in commission, had been
thus contending for two hours with an enemy carrying sixteen long
carriage guns (chiefly 12–pounders), a powerful train of small arms,
and a crew of one hundred and thirty-six picked seamen....

“The captain of the Privateer confessed that we had fought him
bravely, nay, desperately, and added (though with no idea of
complimenting me) that I had fought him too long with so weak a
crew.”

The Privateer was the “Saratoga” of New York, Captain Thomas Adderton. That gentleman, in his letter to the owners (published in a New York paper of October 23rd, 1813), assigned to the “Morgiana” eighteen guns, presuming perhaps on the fact that, as was probably the case, she was pierced for that number of cannon. He did not, however, attempt to conceal the desperate character of the resistance which he encountered. “The ‘Saratoga,’” says the letter, “as well as her prize were made almost wrecks—stays, shrouds, etc., almost all cut away, and more than a hundred shot-holes in our mainsail, many in our masts, spars, hull, etc.... They fought desperately, and even beyond what prudence would dictate.” From other sources it appears that eighteen were killed or wounded on the Privateer.

The “Morgiana” was conveyed to Newport, Rhode Island, where Captain Cunninghame was landed on October 19th. From a letter written by him in the following March it appears that his wounds still confined him to bed, and that his recovery was even then uncertain. He did, however, eventually recover; and was not without friends who could alleviate his sufferings; for he states that he received much kindness from a Mr. Baring, nephew of Sir Francis Baring, as well as from other persons in Newport.

In August, 1814, he was able to appear before a Court of Inquiry held at Falmouth to investigate the circumstances connected with the loss of the “Morgiana.” The court found, “That the conduct of Captain Cunninghame on this occasion was that of a most brave and experienced officer, ... and do therefore most strongly recommend him to their Lordships as highly deserving of their attention.” This recommendation was not neglected; though indeed Captain Cunninghame would have obtained a permanent appointment in the Falmouth Service even if the approval of the Court of Inquiry had been less strongly expressed. Mr. Freeling needed no prompting when it was a question of rewarding bravery, or of securing gallant officers for the service of the Department.

The “Morgiana” had three men killed and nine wounded; a heavy loss out of a crew of thirty-nine men. That loss was, however, exceeded in the next action, which indeed presents a heavier list of casualties than any other recounted in these pages. The fighting was not perhaps more desperate; but it would be an ungracious task to measure against each other the conduct of the crews of the “Townshend,” the “Morgiana,” and the “Montagu.”

This action, fought by the “Montagu” in company with the “Lady Mary Pelham,” was one attended with circumstances which roused an extraordinary degree of heated feeling not only in Falmouth, but far beyond; and which involved the Post-Office in a controversy more troublesome and difficult than any other arising out of the Packet Service within the period dealt with in this work.

The “Lady Mary Pelham” Packet was under orders to sail for Brazil, when her commander, Captain Stevens, received the news of his promotion to the Holyhead station. He was naturally anxious to take up his new appointment as soon as possible; and as the voyage on which his ship was ordered would occupy five months, he cast about for some person who would be willing to act as his substitute. The proper person to select would have been the master, Mr. Carter, an excellent officer, who served as acting first lieutenant of the “Thunderer” at Trafalgar, and had been present in nearly every important engagement of the war. A better choice could not have been made; but Mr. Carter had only recently entered the Packet Service, and Captain Stevens, seized with an unaccountable scruple, declined to entrust his property to an officer of whom he knew so little, save by repute.

It was the practice of the Post-Office to defer as much as possible to the wishes of the commanders on the rare occasions when it was necessary to choose a substitute, and Mr. Saverland, the agent, felt that he could not urge that Mr. Carter should be appointed in opposition to the captain’s wish, especially as the latter had selected a person whom he preferred. This person, to whom the command of a Packet on an Atlantic voyage in time of war was to be entrusted, was not even a trained seaman. He was a retired lawyer, living at Falmouth, who occupied his leisure a good deal in yachting.

Mr. Saverland demurred to this proposal. It was, however, six o’clock in the evening when the interview took place, and the “Lady Mary Pelham” was to sail on the following morning. There was not time to make any other arrangements; and Mr. Saverland, recollecting that at least the master of the vessel was a brave and experienced officer, gave way and signed the appointment—a piece of complaisance which he long regretted.

The “Lady Mary Pelham” thus sailed from Falmouth on October 13th under the command of a retired lawyer, whose knowledge of the sea had been entirely gained upon a yacht. Six days later the “Montagu” sailed from Falmouth upon the same voyage, commanded by Captain John Arthur Norway, R.N.

Of the crew of the “Montagu,” the reader has already heard. Their gallant conduct, earlier in the year, under Captain Hartney had gained them reputation. Their present commander was making his first voyage in the service of the Post-Office; and it will not be irrelevant to state very briefly what his career had been.

Captain Norway entered the navy as midshipman in 1785. In January, 1793, when Captain Edward Pellew (afterwards Sir Edward, and finally Lord Exmouth) was appointed to the “Nymphe” frigate, Norway joined as mate, and was promoted to lieutenant for gallantry in the well known action with the “Cléopatre” frigate, in which he was wounded. He served with Pellew in all his actions until the year 1799, and was second lieutenant of the “Indefatigable” on that January night in 1797, when, in company with the “Amazon,” she fell in with the “Droits de l’Homme,” the last remnant of Hoche’s scattered expedition, labouring homeward full of troops. The circumstances of the action which ensued will hardly be forgotten by any one who has read the story in James’ work; and for his conduct in that most memorable fight, Norway was appointed first lieutenant of his own ship. In this capacity he served until 1798, when he was invalided home, but was shortly afterwards appointed to command a cutter on the Irish station. And when war broke out afresh he obtained a command at Portsmouth. He had been made commander in 1802, and in 1806, in consequence of broken health, was placed on half-pay. On recovering he found his applications for employment disregarded, in common with those of many other good officers who lacked interest; and after having spent several years fruitlessly in importuning the Admiralty he resolved to enter the Packet Service, which he accordingly did, with the advantage of testimonials of the highest kind.

The “Montagu” made a better passage than the “Pelham,” and at 1.30 P.M. on November 1st she landed her mails at Funchal. Captain Norway did not anchor, but stood off and on, waiting for the mails to be brought on board. Early in the evening he saw the “Lady Mary Pelham” to windward, and made the night signal, but received no answer. Shortly before 2 A.M. a strange schooner hove in sight. The crew were called to quarters; and at 5 A.M. the schooner ran down alongside the “Montagu,” poured in her broadside, received one in return, and sheered off without much damage on either side.

The officers of the “Lady Mary Pelham” lying-to under the land heard the firing, which appeared to them to be coming off shore, but at daybreak they sighted the “Montagu,” whereupon Mr. Carter, the master, boarded her, and learned what had occurred. The schooner, which was evidently a Privateer, lay to all day in sight of the land, obviously waiting for the Packets, and it was apparent to everyone that there was going to be a fight.

Both Packets received their mails between 7 and 8 in the evening, and set sail in company without delay. Nothing was seen of the schooner during the night, but on the following morning, November 2nd, she appeared in chase, though at some distance. The crew of the “Montagu” exercised their great guns, and both Packets were cleared for action.

The wind was moderate, blowing from the east or north-east; and at 2 P.M. the Privateer was coming up fast astern under studding sails. Captain Norway, having ordered the “Lady Mary Pelham” to take up a position ahead of the “Montagu” on the starboard bow, and within hail, hoisted his colours, and the crew of both Packets gave three cheers.

At 2.50 P.M. the “Montagu” opened fire with her stern chaser (a long 9–pounder), to which the Privateer replied with her bow guns. This cannonade caused little damage on either side; and the enemy, continuing to come up quickly with the “Montagu,” was upon her starboard quarter shortly after 3 o’clock.

A close engagement ensued within half pistol shot distance, which was vigorously supported on both sides. It had lasted only a short time when the jib-boom of the Privateer ran into the “Montagu’s” main rigging, and a party of twenty boarders came swarming out along it, dropping from it on the deck of the Packet. A desperate struggle followed, and the schooner, having brought an 18–pounder swivel to bear, sent repeated charges of grape and chain-shot among the Cornishmen. A great number of the latter were hit. Captain Norway was wounded severely in the leg, but refused to go below, though the enemy were by this time retreating, and the Packetsmen drove them back upon the main-boom, along which they had come. At this moment by some wrench of the vessels the main-boom was unshipped, and ten of the retreating Americans fell into the sea. The rest were either killed or piked overboard. None of them regained their own ship.

The affair lasted only a few minutes. Just before it ended a chain-shot struck Captain Norway in the body, cutting him almost in two. The surgeon, Mr. Ure, who saw the captain stagger, ran up to catch him, but as he held his commander in his arms his own head was shattered by a round shot, and the two men fell to the deck together. Two seamen were killed in this sharp encounter, and four wounded, so that the force of the “Montagu” was now reduced to twenty-four men and boys, while the Americans were still nearly a hundred.

When the captain fell the command devolved on Mr. Watkins, the master. The Privateer probably perceived that her true tactics were to remain at close quarters with one of her antagonists, in which her great superiority in men gave her an enormous advantage, and at all hazards to avoid placing herself in a position in which both could manœuvre round her. Up to this moment, moreover, the “Lady Mary Pelham” had taken no part in the fight. Had she, too, closed with the Privateer the case of the Americans would have been desperate; and they, well knowing this, resolved to make a final effort to carry the “Montagu” before her consort had plucked up courage to assist.

Accordingly, the Privateer sheered over on the larboard quarter of the “Montagu,” and prepared to board in overwhelming numbers. The musketry fire from her tops was very galling, and to this the “Montagu” could make hardly any effectual reply, having scarcely more men left than were needed to work the guns. Those few were dropping fast. Mr. Watkin’s left hand was shattered by a ball, and almost immediately afterwards he was shot through the body, and carried below incapable of giving any further orders. The mate and the carpenter were both severely wounded, and the gunner, Mr. Hensell, was called up from below to take the command, and do what he could with the ship. The colours were shot away, but were immediately re-hoisted. The pendant remained flying throughout the action.

When the gunner came on deck, seeing nearly half the crew killed or disabled, and the Americans preparing to board in great numbers, he judged it prudent to sink the mail. This was scarcely done before the enemy were upon them once more, and the handful of men remaining were summoned to repulse them. There was a second desperate scuffle. Four only of the enemy set foot on the deck of the “Montagu.” One was killed as he reached it. Another was recognized as a Packetsman who had deserted at New York, and for such as he there was no quarter. The other two, of whom one was the first lieutenant of the Privateer, were made prisoners and sent below.

In this second fight the cook was mortally wounded, and the total number of casualties brought up to eighteen—a heavy loss out of a complement of thirty-two.

It is now necessary to turn to the “Lady Mary Pelham,” which vessel had, it will be remembered, been ordered by Captain Norway to take up her station ahead of the “Montagu,” on the starboard bow. From this position an easy manœuvre would have laid her also alongside the Privateer.

At this crisis, however, the incompetence of her lawyer commander began to exhibit itself. His orders betrayed so absolute an ignorance of the management of a ship in action that after some precious minutes had been wasted Mr. Carter and Mr. Pocock, the master and the mate, jointly represented to him the propriety of deputing to the former the conduct of the fight. They understood that he had done so; but at the moment when the seamanship of Mr. Carter was about to repair the follies of the commander, the helm was suddenly shifted, and the “Lady Mary Pelham” sheered away from the fight.

Mr. Carter attributed this alteration of the ship’s course to cowardice on the part of the steersman; and knowing only one punishment for such an action in presence of the enemy, he ran towards him, drawing a pistol as he did so, when the man cried out, “Don’t kill me, sir, it was the captain’s order.” The proper position of the Packet could not be regained until all the fighting which has been described had occurred. The “Lady Mary Pelham” then, however, intervened, and maintained a cannonade for some time. She was not engaged close alongside; she sustained very slight damages; her captain received a ball through his thigh, and one seaman was slightly hurt. There were no other casualties.

The Privateer sheered off soon after four o’clock. She was evidently much damaged; and both the Packets chased her, but she outsailed them.

The official papers from which the foregoing account is taken are very bulky. They contain many positive declarations of irreconcilable facts, with accusations and insinuations, which, as Mr. Freeling said in deprecating their publication, would inevitably lead to one or more duels if they should become known. The present writer has desired to record only those facts which are not open to dispute, and he believes that the story as told above is demonstrably true.

The lawyer, whom an unkind destiny had placed temporarily in a position for which he was utterly unfit, made many charges against most of the persons concerned in this affair. His conduct was emphatically condemned by his own officers, and needs no further comment.

Of Captain Norway, Mr. Freeling, who was certainly better qualified than any other person to form an impartial opinion, wrote in the following terms to the Postmaster General on receiving news of the action: “Your Lordship’s Service, distinguished as it is, cannot boast a more gallant officer, a better seaman, or a more honourable man.” Two years later, when the commander of the “Lady Mary Pelham” thought fit to have his case brought up in Parliament, and a member speaking in his interest had used some words depreciating Captain Norway’s seamanship, Mr. Freeling observed: “The reputation of Captain Norway stands too high to be assailed by anything which the partizans of Mr. —— can say. In conduct and in character he was alike irreproachable.” About the same time a merchant who had been in the Canary Islands at the time when the Privateer put in there to refit after the action, and had availed himself of opportunities of hearing the story from the American officers, wrote to Mr. Freeling a letter which is still extant, and which remarkably confirms the account of the affair which has just been given.

The Privateer was the “Globe” of Baltimore, Captain Moon. The total loss was not ascertained, but it was known that out of thirty-nine men engaged in the two boarding assaults on the “Montagu” not one had escaped. The crew of the “Montagu” had, therefore, disposed of considerably more than man for man of their number.