Chapter XII (2)

The St. George had topmasts as lower masts, and top-gallant masts as topmasts. Her temporary rudder was well fitted and secured. The Cressy, which had towed her from the Belt, was ordered to take her again in tow. Everything was prepared for the departure of the whole, but the wind and weather continued unfavourable, and Sir James again repeated his wish that the St. George should remain instead of the Ardent, into which Sir George Hope had hoisted his flag, having orders to remain in Wingo Sound until the Pyramus, Captain Dashwood, and Ranger, Captain Acklom, should arrive with the last convoy, which Captain Dashwood subsequently succeeded in bringing safely through the Sound, much to his credit, at that late season of the year.

On the 18th of December the wind came from the N.E. when the whole fleet weighed and made sail. The first squadron consisted of the Victory, Vigo, Dreadnought, Orion, Mercury, and Snipe; the second comprised the St. George in tow of the Cressy, the Defence, and Bellete, and the third the convoy under the Hero and the Grasshopper; but the wind coming too far to the northward to enable the convoy to weather the Scaw, the signal was made from the Victory for it to return into port. At sunset on the 19th the St. George was seen well to windward of that dangerous headland; but it appeared that she, with her division, bore up during the night, when the wind came to the westward of north, as will be seen by the following account of the proceedings of H.M.S. Cressy, given officially to Sir James by Captain Pater.

Narrative of the circumstances relating to the St. George since
parting company with the Victory, on the 19th December 1811.

On the night of the 19th December, lost sight of the Victory,
Dreadnought, Vigo, and Orion. On the 20th at half past eight
A.M. signal from the St. George to wear; at ten A.M. the St.
George cast off the tow rope; moderate breezes and hazy
weather; hauled up to the S.E. to get soundings on the Jutland
shore, in order to round the Scaw the better. During the night
fresh breezes and hazy weather; a strong current from the S.W.
setting to the N.E. swept the squadron close to Saloe beacon, on
the Swedish coast. On the morning of the 21st light airs and
hazy, a strong current setting about north at the rate of three
miles per hour: very great difficulty in keeping the ships from
falling on the rocks, they not being further than three miles
off, with a heavy swell right on, and no wind to command the
ships, or stem the current. Telegraph from the St. George to
the Cressy about half past eleven, A.M. "What shall we do this
night?" Cressy's answer, "In a few minutes I will give my
opinion." At three quarters past eleven, A.M., telegraph from
Cressy to St. George, "Anchor in Saloe if possible." About noon
got a Swedish pilot from Saloe, brought by the Bellete. At one
P.M. a strong breeze sprung up from N.N.E. and N.E. St. George,
Cressy, Defence, and Bellete made sail (close-reefed the
topsails, reefed courses, top-gallant masts struck) to the
westward, and continued our course all night through the
Sleeve. St. George steered and sailed very well about five
knots per hour. At ten A.M. on the 22nd, saw the land on the
lee beam, distance eight leagues; made the same known to the
St. George. At half-past eleven made the signal to the St.
George for the Holmes, bearing S.S.W. distance six or seven
leagues. At four P.M. Bovenbergen bore south about seven
leagues; stood to the westward all night; moderate weather,
wind about N. or N. by W. On the 23rd, at nine A.M., Cressy to
the St. George by signal, "Shall I take you in tow?" answered
with the negative flag: observed one of her rudder guys gone,
and the people repairing it. Wind had shifted to N.W. by W. the
squadron wore about seven hours thirty minutes A.M. and stood
to the N.E., with a view to open the Sleeve, the weather
appearing to indicate a gale of wind from that quarter. At ten
A.M. strong gales and squally with rain; St. George
close-reefed courses and topsails, then stood to the N.E. At
half-past eleven P.M. very strong gales split our foresail; St.
George took in topsails and courses. At one P.M. strong gales;
St. George set her foresail. At half-past two P.M. strong and
heavy squalls of wind and rain from the N.W. with a heavy sea;
observed the St. George to labour very much and roll very deep.
St. George shortened all sail except the mizen-staysail and
try-sail; St. George drifting to leeward so much as to oblige
us to bear up three or four times in a watch, each time one
mile, or three quarters at least, in order to keep to leeward
of her; the land of Bovenbergen on her lee bow about three
points, the Holmes right a head of her. The wind had at four
P.M. shifted to the N.N.W.; the land on her lee beam, nine
leagues, was that part of Jutland a few miles to the southward
of Bovenbergen. At eight o'clock the Horn Reef, bearing S.S.W.
distance forty miles; at this time a tremendous heavy sea was
setting on the shore in the direction of E.S.E. At six lost
sight of the Bellete; the last sight we had of the Defence she
was standing with her head in shore, E.N.E. under storm
mizen-stay-sail and try-sail. At nine P.M. the gale still
increasing; St. George, as before, drifting about N.E. or N.E.
by E. with storm mizen-stay-sail and try-sail only, appearing
from some cause to be unable to wear, as she never attempted
it, although it was the most safe and profitable tack to be
upon, there being no possibility of getting off on the larboard
tack, but on the contrary must inevitably go on shore; this I
particularly remarked with great anxiety and concern from three
o'clock that afternoon, and was constantly in expectation of
his wearing, and carrying what sail he could on the starboard
tack, in order, if possible, to clear the Horn Reef: although
the clearing of the reef might be doubtful, it was the only
chance left, and would at least have given him a longer drift;
but from his not doing so, I am of opinion _his masts had
complained and were unable to carry any more sail_, as well as
the rudder, which certainly wanted securing. At ten P.M. as no
steps were taken by the St. George to wear, and finding from
our soundings and reckoning we were only nine leagues from the
land on our lee beam, that we could not possibly clear the land
on the larboard tack, and having drifted so far to the
eastward, it became a doubt whether we should be able to clear
the Horn Reef, and that there was no time to lose, on which to
resolve either to cut away all our masts and try to hold on by
our anchors, after having run into shoal water, which we have
reason to believe was nearer than our reckoning gave us. Had we
taken such a step our success would have been very doubtful,
although we might previously have cut away our masts, and made
the ship a complete wreck for that purpose, as we had only two
bower anchors and two cables on each, (the bower cables in each
being half worn,) no spare anchor to trust to, the sheet anchor
being broken in the shank, and only an old worn-out bower cable
(kept to be surveyed) which was bent to it. The Defence, I
believe, was differently situated in this respect; but that is
a mere conjecture. Thus the situation of the Cressy was very
alarming, which had most sensibly struck every individual on
board; the officers particularly, who had been so strongly
impressed with our perilous situation for some time before,
lamenting and verbally stating to me their opinion of our
inability and impossibility of being able to render any service
to the St. George, even in any way whatever, risk the Cressy as
much as I would. I desired them all to consult and let me know
their opinion in writing, which they did in the accompanying
hasty scrawl: No. 1, delivered about ten o'clock, and No. 2,
about quarter before eleven. Their sentiments and opinion being
the same as my own on the subject, namely, that we could not be
of any service to the St. George or to any person on board,
whatever might be her fate under the existing circumstances,
and that our destruction was certain if we lost any time in
getting on the other tack,--I then (after having ordered every
thing to be ready to cut away our masts) embraced the
alternative to wear and carry sail to save the ship, which I
did at half-past ten P.M. and passed close to the St. George
with our reefed fore-sail only, in order to induce him to wear,
and give him the opportunity of signifying his wish for me to
remain with him, if he did not approve of what we did, which he
might have done by four lights, in a diamond signal No. 30, or
by firing three guns, also night signal No. 30, "Keep your wind
on the larboard tack." Heavy and severe as the gale was, there
was considerable light, as we had a moon; although not seen,
yet it enlightened the atmosphere so as to enable us to see
every mast, sail, or any object that was above her hammocks: we
were so close in passing, that we could in moderate weather, at
such a distance, have conversed with great ease; and were about
a quarter of an hour in passing her; so that his not making any
signal, and his still keeping the St. George's head on the same
tack, I considered I had his approbation to use every endeavour
to clear the land and save the ship from being wrecked on the
lee shore.

The remainder of Captain Pater's narrative need not be given, as it relates only to the proceedings in his own ship, and his arrival in the Downs on the 30th December; neither need we give the opinions alluded to, as they are a repetition of that of the Captain, and signed by the five lieutenants, the master, the pilot, and the purser. The first account of the wreck of the St. George and Defence was received by a flag of truce, sent by the Danish General Tellequist from Randers, that on the night between the 23rd and 24th of December, a few miles to the southward of the Holmes, the fatal catastrophe took place. The Danish commander-in-chief, after expressing much sympathy and feeling on the sad disaster, informs Captain Maurice that the bodies of Captain Atkins and other officers had been found and interred with military honours, but they had not then discovered the body of the Admiral. It appeared from the account of the survivors, eighteen in number, (twelve belonging to the St. George and six to the Defence,) that the St. George struck about one o'clock on the morning of the 24th, and soon afterwards the Defence, a short distance to the northward of her. The anchors in both ships were immediately let go, and the masts cut away; the St. George came for a short time head to wind. About four she parted in the middle; the sea making a fair breach over the ships, many of the crew were washed overboard, while others were killed or frozen to death where they had tied themselves to the weather-railing, among whom were the Admiral and his young and gallant friend Captain Guion. It is related that one tremendous sea struck the Defence with such inconceivable force that it lifted the spare anchor out of its berth, threw it upon end, and in its fall it killed about thirty men! The fury of the waves had swept all before them; two of the men were saved in a little Norway yawl belonging to the Author, which his lamented friend Captain Guion had offered to take home for him, and which was the only boat that reached the shore; some were saved on the poop of the St. George when torn from her about five o'clock.

Captain Atkins and Mr. Royston, Secretary to the Admiral, were both picked up by the Danes ere life was quite extinct, but all the kindness and humane endeavours of that hospitable people failed in keeping up animation. It was affirmed by the survivors of the Defence, that on the Cressy wearing, the master went to Captain Atkins, and reported that the St. George must inevitably be wrecked, and that destruction would also attend the Defence if she did not follow the Cressy! To this Captain Atkins said, "Has the Defence's signal been made to part company?" and being answered in the negative, he replied, "Then I will not leave him." Such heroic sentiments, however worthy of the gallant Captain, cannot be justified when it was impossible to render assistance, and the sacrifice not only of his own men, but the valuable lives of seven hundred others, must have been the well-known consequence.

Captain Pater's conduct became the subject of a court-martial, by which he was honourably acquitted. Could he by staying longer with his Admiral have rendered him any relief he never would have quitted him, nor did he do so until it became his bounden duty to preserve his own ship and the gallant crew he commanded.

From the testimony of the survivors of the St. George, who arrived on board the Victory in April 1812, we learnt that the St. George lost all her jury-masts and rudder before midnight, that she was many hours in nine fathoms water, and that the anchors were not let go until she struck the ground. We do not mean to argue on the probability, if she had anchored, that she would have brought up or rode out the gale, but after masts and rudder were gone, surely there was a chance. We mention it to call the attention of those who may be at some future period in a similar situation, and as a circumstance which appears by the following extract of a letter to have struck Sir James, who had often successfully depended on his anchors under trying occasions.

After a minute perusal of Captain Pater's narrative, I cannot
but express my serious apprehension for the safety of the St.
George upon so dangerous a coast and under such perilous
circumstances; at the same time there still exists a hope that
she may have been brought up at her anchors, and weathered the
severity of the gale, of which I fervently pray their lordships
may soon receive information.

We have dwelt longer on the mournful subject than we intended to do, in consequence of opinions having been entertained that Sir James had not consulted Admiral Reynolds and Captain Guion on the subject of the return of the St. George from Gothenburg, and that therefore some blame might be attached to him as commander-in-chief. Now, we are not only able from personal knowledge to contradict these reports, but to assure our readers that the opinions of these experienced and gallant officers were actually taken, and likewise those of Captains Pater and Atkins, immediately on the arrival of the ship at Gothenburg. The fleet having been detained at Wingo Sound by storms and westerly winds until the 18th, Admiral Reynolds repeatedly entreated Sir James to permit the ship to cross the North Sea, and in a conversation the Author had with Captain Guion, there was in his opinion not the smallest doubt of her capability of performing the voyage. So well did she sail that she beat many of the ships of the convoy that sailed at the same time, and on the morning of the 19th she was still in sight of the squadron. The loss of the Hero and her convoy, on the Hawk Sands off the Texel, took place on the same disastrous night, and with no less fatal consequences.

It appears from letters received from Sir George Hope, that this convoy returned to Wingo Sound in obedience to signals from the Victory, but sailed on the 21st with the same breeze, which induced the St. George to leave Saloe. She succeeded in getting out of the Sleeve, and having a fair N.W. gale, unfortunately shaped her course too far to the eastward. Captain Newman and all the crew, excepting about forty men, perished.

The account of this event, having been published by Capt. Brenton and other naval historians, need not be further dwelt on. The loss of the three ships and convoy, as well as that of the Saldanha, in which not less than five thousand men perished, was made a question in the House of Commons, when Mr. Yorke, first Lord of the Admiralty, touched on the mournful subject with so much feeling that it drew forth an elegant and well-merited expression from Mr. Whitbread, who observed, that "the calamities were the effect of misfortune alone, and that it was a consolation to reflect that no blame could be imputed to any one."

Although Sir James was conscious that such was really the case, it need scarcely be added that his mind was deeply affected when the melancholy news arrived, nor could he for many months conceal his affliction.

The last convoy under Captain Dashwood of the Pyramus, arrived safely. Instead of passing through the Belt as intended, he availed himself of a strong S.S.W. wind, and boldly pushed through the Malmoe Channel, led by the Ranger, Captain Acklom, who so much distinguished himself on this occasion as to gain his promotion to the rank of post-captain as a reward for his services.

This convoy consisted of one hundred and twenty sail, leaving only twelve vessels at Carlshamn, which were a part of the St. George's convoy that could not obtain anchors and cables. They were off Falsterbo on the 20th of December, when the wind, which had been northerly, shifted to the S.W.; on the 23rd they reached Elsineur Roads, and on the 28th Gothenburg, whence they sailed in company with Rear-admiral Hope in the Ardent, who had thus finished the service of the Baltic for the season.

Colonel Dornberg, who had been employed on the Continent confidentially, had ascertained that Prussia would be forced to join France against Russia, therefore the Government transports with arms intended for their assistance were sent back, and formed part of the Hero's unfortunate convoy.

The Victory, after parting with the St. George, was detained by baffling winds and thick weather. Fortunately on the 21st good altitudes of the sun were obtained for the chronometers, and thereby the situation of the fleet was determined before the storm began on the 22nd: at noon it blew a strong gale from N.W. (by compass); Leostoff bore N. 31, W. 203 miles, the Texel S. 136 miles; but an allowance of two points was made for what was called _indraft_, and the course steered was S.W. by W. On the 23rd the storm increased with inconceivable violence: the Victory was scudding under close-reefed main-top-sail. At noon the signal was made for longitude, when it appeared that the reckoning of the whole fleet was much to the westward of the Victory, particularly the Vigo, no less than eighty-four miles; but none of the ships had observations for the chronometers, and therefore the commander-in-chief determined on running by the reckoning of his own ship; and had he not done so, the whole fleet would have shared the fate of the Hero in the same spot! At ten P.M. soundings were struck on the broad fourteen, which cleared up all doubts on the subject; on the next day the gale moderated, the fleet passed the Gallopere light and anchored to stop tide; on Christmas-day passed down Channel, and in the evening anchored in St. Helen's.

I may here observe with propriety, that I have since found the deviation from the true course, which by pilots and masters of ships had been attributed to _indraft_, &c. was occasioned entirely by the _deviation_ of the magnetic needle when steering to the S.W. the point on which the attraction found in almost every ship was, by a series of experiments, established to be, from one to two points; (see Ross's voyage 1818;) while it is notorious that if the ship was standing N.E. the opposite point, it had been always found that not only no allowance for _indraft_ was necessary, but that the error in the reckoning was on the opposite way; and we therefore conclude that many ships have been lost for want of making the necessary allowance for the _deviation_ of the compass in steering across the North Sea, in a storm from N.W.

A correspondence was carried on with the Captains of this squadron without leading to any satisfactory reason for the extraordinary errors in the reckonings of each ship, and it is mentioned here to warn those who may be in a similar situation, and to induce them to obtain the errors of their compasses, for which plain rules have been given, if they are not provided with Professor Barlow's apparatus.

On the arrival of the Victory at Spithead, Sir James applied for leave of absence, and arriving in town received the unqualified approbation of Ministers, and of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, for his wise and firm conduct on this critical situation of affairs in the Baltic, and for the important service he had rendered the country in maintaining peace, and in supporting the dignity of the Crown and the best interests of the community.