Chapter XXVIII: Introduction (13)

When he was dying Captain Hardy came down, with tidings of the victory being certain. Dr. Beatty says, “Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy shook hands, and the Captain congratulated him, even in the arms of death, upon the brilliant victory, which he said was complete, although he did not know how many ships were captured; certainly fourteen or fifteen. Nelson said, ‘That is well, but I bargained for twenty,’ and then emphatically exclaimed, ‘Anchor, Hardy, anchor!’ ‘I suppose, my Lord, Admiral Collingwood will now take upon himself the direction of affairs.’ ‘Not while I live, I hope, Hardy!’ cried Nelson; ‘No, do you anchor, Hardy.’ Captain Hardy then said, ‘Shall _we_ make the signal, sir?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Nelson, ‘for if I live, I’ll anchor.’”

In about fifteen minutes Lord Nelson became speechless, and died at half-past four. His best and truest friends only regretted that he had not died instantly, on the quarter-deck, when he was wounded.

All nations have done justice to Nelson’s character, and a celebrated French writer says, he “ought to be held up as a model to Admirals, both for the extraordinary pains he took to know his Admirals and Captains, and by the spirit of the attacks which he resolved to undertake. He unfolded to them his general plan of operations, and the modifications with which the weather or the manœuvres of the enemy might force him to qualify his original determination.

“When once he had explained his system to the superior officers of his fleet, he confided to them the charge of acting according to circumstances, so as to lead, in the most favorable manner, to the consummation of the enterprise so planned. And Nelson, who was allowed to choose the companions of his glory, possessed the talent and the happiness to find men worthy of his instruction and confidence. They learned, in action, to supply what had escaped his forethought, and in success to surpass even his hopes.”

The immediate result of the Battle of Trafalgar was seventeen French and Spanish ships-of-the-line captured, and one French ship burnt. Four French ships effected their escape to the southward; and Admiral Gravina, with eleven French and Spanish ships-of-the-line, and the smaller vessels, anchored under Rota, in the course of the succeeding night.

At six P. M. Vice-Admiral Collingwood, now Commander-in-Chief, shifted his flag to the Euryalus frigate, and the latter, taking the Royal Sovereign in tow, stood off shore with her.

Most of the British ships were so damaged, either in spars or hull, that they were not in a condition to carry sail.

Of seventeen prizes, eight were wholly dismasted, the remainder partly so. Some were nearly in a sinking condition.

To add to their perilous condition, they were then in thirteen fathoms of water, with the shoals of Trafalgar only a few miles to leeward. Fortunately the wind, which was west-south-west, and dead on shore, was moderate; but there was a high swell, which was bad for wounded masts. At nine P. M. the Vice-Admiral made the signal to anchor, but few could do so, as many cables were cut by shot. At midnight the wind veered to south-south-west, and freshened, and signals were made to those under way to wear, with heads to the westward. Four of the dismasted prizes anchored off Cape Trafalgar, and the rest wore, and drifted seaward. Next morning Collingwood issued a general order of thanks to the fleet.

There was then a fresh southerly wind; but thirteen of the prizes, which had remained under way, were got hold of, and towed to the westward. But at five o’clock that afternoon it was found that the Redoutable was sinking, which she did, with many French prisoners and her prize crew on board. Some were saved on a raft, but many were lost. Other fearful casualties occurred during the rough weather of the succeeding night. The Fougueux was lost, with all on board but twenty-five; and the Algésiras was given up to the prisoners, who carried her into Cadiz. The Bucentaure was wrecked, but her crew was saved.

A heavy gale continued, and on the 23d the French Captain, Cosmao-Kerjulien, with five ships and five frigates, recaptured two of the prizes, which were drifting about. But in doing so one of his own ships, the Indomptable, a fine eighty-gun vessel, was wrecked, with all on board lost; and the Spanish ship St. Francis d’Assis was lost, with most of her crew. Other casualties occurred.

Altogether, of the ships captured by the British, at the end of the operations only four--one French and three Spanish 74’s--remained as trophies in the hands of the conquerors. Nor was one of them worth the pains and risk taken to preserve her. The Victory, towed by the Neptune, arrived at Gibraltar on the 28th of October, and on the 3d of November, having been partially refitted, she sailed for England--having Nelson’s body, preserved in spirits, on board. At Chatham the Admiralty yacht received the coffin, which was made of the main-mast of the French flag-ship Orient, which was burnt at the battle of the Nile--and which had been presented to Nelson by Captain Hallowell. This was placed in a leaden coffin; and his flag, which had been kept at half-mast on board the Victory, was struck for the last time.

His body, thus encoffined, lay in state at Greenwich Hospital; and on the 9th of January, 1806, was buried, with great pomp, in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Lord Nelson was engaged in action with an enemy over one hundred and twenty times, and besides being severely wounded elsewhere, lost his right eye and his right arm.

He had not long passed his forty-seventh birthday when he was killed.

His brother William was made an Earl, with £6000 per annum and £100,000 for the purchase of an estate; while £10,000 pounds were given to each of his sisters.

It was also decided that two ships should be built; one of one hundred and twenty guns, to be called the Nelson; and one of ninety-eight guns, to be called the Trafalgar. Collingwood was made a Baron, and voted £2000 per annum; and, of course, there were a very large number of minor promotions.

LORD EXMOUTH AT ALGIERS. A. D. 1816.

Viscount Exmouth (Sir Edward Pellew), a celebrated English Admiral, was born at Dover, in 1757. His family was Norman, but had been settled in Cornwall for many centuries. Entering the English navy at the age of thirteen, he soon distinguished himself for his daring, activity, intelligence, and all other qualities which go to make up a good officer.

His first war service was at the battle of Lake Champlain, in our own country, when he succeeded to the command of the schooner Carleton, and won a Lieutenant’s commission. The next year he served in Burgoyne’s unfortunate campaign, in command of a detachment of seamen, whose tremendous labor in the lakes and rivers was entirely thrown away by Burgoyne’s capture.

After this he was employed actively against the French, and was knighted for a very gallant action, when, in command of the Nymphe frigate, he captured the Cleopatra, a much heavier ship. In 1794, in command of the Arethusa frigate, he captured the French frigate Pomone; and in consequence was given the command of a division, when he again distinguished himself.

Always noted for deeds of daring, one of the most remarkable of these was his boarding the wrecked transport Sutton, shipwrecked on the coast of England. He took charge, and by his personal influence and great exertions, saved the lives of all on board.

In 1798, in command of the Impetueux, of the Channel fleet, he participated in several actions. He then entered Parliament, and was known as a strenuous supporter of the policy of William Pitt.

In 1804 he was made a Rear-Admiral, and appointed Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, when he succeeded in nearly clearing those seas of the French cruisers, which had done so much damage to English commerce.

He returned to England in 1809, and was immediately appointed to the Command in the North Sea. After this he served as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, and in 1814 was raised to the peerage.

The atrocities committed by the Algerines, and the barbarous massacre of the crews of more than three hundred small vessels, at Bona, on the 23d of May, 1816, induced the British Government to prepare an expedition to act against the forts and shipping of Algiers. This piratical city had often been attacked and bombarded before, notably by the celebrated French Admiral Duquesne, in the latter part of the 17th century; but it was reserved for Lord Exmouth and an English fleet to give it a final blow.

On the 28th of July, 1816, Lord Exmouth sailed from Plymouth Sound, in command of a fleet bound to Algiers. His flag-ship was the Queen Charlotte, of 100 guns, and Rear-Admiral Milne, his second in command, was in the Impregnable, 98. There were also three 74s, one 50, two 40s, two 36s, five brigs, and four bomb-vessels.

Upon reaching Gibraltar, on the 9th of August, Lord Exmouth was joined by the Minden, 74, and also received offers of co-operation from Vice-Admiral Baron Van de Cappellen, of the Dutch navy, which Exmouth very cordially received. The Dutch had four forty-gun ships, a thirty, and a sloop of eighteen guns.

On the 13th of August each captain received a plan of the fortifications they were to attack, and definite instructions, and the whole fleet, amounting to twenty-three sail, with five gun-boats, and a sloop, fitted as an explosion vessel, weighed anchor, and proceeded for their destination.

On the passage they were joined by a sloop-of-war, which had taken off the wife and children of the British Consul at Algiers. But the Consul himself had been most arbitrarily detained by the Dey, together with the Surgeon, three Midshipmen, and eighteen men belonging to the sloop-of-war. (Any one curious in regard to these remarkable transactions cannot do better than read the book upon Algiers, by Mr. Shaler, American Consul there at the time of the bombardment. Mr. Shaler, in his work, points out the true way to take Algiers, and his advice was afterwards followed by the French, when they took the place.)

The fortifications of Algiers were deemed almost impregnable, especially by the artillery of that time; upon the various batteries on the north side of the bay eighty pieces of cannon and eight heavy mortars were mounted; but the water was so shoal that a large ship could not come within their reach. Between the north wall of the city and the commencement of the mole (which was about 800 feet long, and which connected the town with the lighthouse) were about twenty guns; and a semi-circular battery, mounting two tiers of guns, about forty-four in all, stood on the northern projection of the mole.

To the southward of that, and nearly in a line with the pier, was the lighthouse battery, of three tiers, mounting forty-eight guns, next to which was the eastern battery, mounting sixty-six guns in three tiers, flanked by four other batteries, of two tiers, mounting altogether sixty guns, and on the mole-head were two long 68-pounders, described as being twenty feet in length. The total number of guns on the mole and pier was at least 220, composed of 32, 24, and 18-pounders.

The “fish-market” battery, about 300 yards west from the south mole-head, mounted fifteen guns, in three tiers. Between that and the southern extremity of the city were two batteries of five guns each. Beyond the city, in this direction, was a castle and three other batteries, mounting altogether about seventy guns. In the rear of the city, and on the heights, were several other batteries; so that the total number of guns mounted for the defence of this fastness of robbery, oppression, and cruelty, exceeded 1000.

On the 27th of August, at daybreak, the city of Algiers was in sight, but the ships were lying nearly becalmed. A boat in charge of a Lieutenant was despatched to the Dey, to demand compliance with the following conditions: the abolition of Christian slavery; the release of all Christian slaves; the repayment of the money recently exacted for the redemption of Neapolitan and Sardinian slaves; peace with the King of the Netherlands; and the immediate liberation of the English Consul and the officers and boats’ crews of the Prometheus.

The boat with the flag of truce was towed in shore, and was met, at 11 A. M., near the mole, by an Algerine boat, in which was the Captain of the Port, who promised a reply in two hours. In the meantime the sea breeze sprang up, and the whole fleet stood into the bay, and hove to, about a mile from the batteries. At 2 P. M., no answer having been received, the boat sent with the message made signal to that effect, and returned to her own ship.

Lord Exmouth at once demanded, by signal, if all the ships were ready, and being answered in the affirmative, the fleet bore up for the attack, in the order precisely laid down.

About half-past two in the afternoon the flag-ship, Queen Charlotte, anchored, with springs, about fifty yards from the mole-head; and while in the act of making a warp fast to an Algerine brig on shore at the mouth of the harbor, a shot was fired at the ship; and at the same moment two shots from the opposite end of the mole were fired at the Impregnable, and other ships, as they were advancing to take their stations.

Lord Exmouth, unwilling to sacrifice the mass of Algerine townspeople standing on the parapet of the mole, and gazing with astonishment at the strange ships, waved his hand to them to descend, and at once gave orders to commence firing, when the action became general, as soon as the guns would bear.

On the Queen Charlotte’s port bow lay the Leander, 50, occupying the place in line of a line-of-battle ship, with her starboard after guns bearing upon the mole, and her forward guns upon the “fish-market” battery.

Ahead of the Leander was the Severn, 40, her starboard broadside bearing full upon the “fish-market” battery. Close to the Severn was the Glasgow, 40, whose port guns bore upon the town batteries. On the port quarter of the Queen Charlotte was the Superb, 74, her starboard broadside bearing on the 60-gun battery next to the one on the mole-head. It was intended that the Impregnable, 98, and Albion, 74, should take their places close astern of the Superb, but the former, not being sufficiently up when the firing began, brought up considerably outside of her appointed station, and beyond the line of bearing within which the attacking force had been ordered to assemble. The Impregnable, in consequence, lay exposed, at the distance of five hundred yards, to the lighthouse battery of three tiers, as well as to the eastern battery of two tiers. The Minden pushed on and dropped her anchor in the space between the Impregnable and Superb, on the port quarter of the latter. The Albion brought up near the Impregnable, but weighed again, and, about three o’clock, anchored close astern of the Minden.

The end of her stream cable was then passed out of the gun-room port of the latter, by which the Albion was hove close to the stern of the Minden.

Thus the line-of-battle ships took their stations in a northerly direction from the mole-head; and the frigates from the “fish-market” battery, in a curved line to the southwest.

The Dutch Admiral intended to have placed his flag-ship, a frigate called the Melampus, in the centre of his squadron, and against the batteries to the southward of the city; but not being able to take this station, in consequence of the Diana being too far to the southward, he ran past that frigate, and anchored the Melampus with her jib-boom over the Glasgow’s taffrail.

The Diana and Dageraad anchored astern of the Melampus, and the other two Dutch frigates further out; the corvette remaining under way. The Hebrus, 36, being becalmed, anchored a little without the line, on the port quarter of the Queen Charlotte. The Granicus, 36, hove to, in order to allow the large ships to take their places; after which she steered for the Admiral’s flag, which alone could be seen over the clouds of smoke already formed, and anchored in a space scarcely exceeding her own length, between the Superb and Queen Charlotte.

The skill with which Captain Wise, her commander, took up this position elicited the admiration of all who witnessed it. The brigs of the fleet either anchored or kept under way, as most convenient. The bomb vessels anchored about two thousand yards from the Algerine batteries; except one, which took up an inside berth; and the gun-boats and mortar-boats placed themselves where they could most annoy the enemy.

The Leander was especially charged with the Algerine gun-boats and row-galleys, which she was not long in destroying by her fire; and at about four P. M. she ceased firing, that the barge of the Queen Charlotte might set fire to an Algerine frigate which was lying across the mole. This service was gallantly performed, and the frigate was soon in flames; the boat returning with the loss of only two men killed. Lord Exmouth particularly complimented those employed in this service. A young Midshipman, in command of a rocket-boat, followed the barge, but, owing to the slowness of his boat, was much exposed to a heavy fire from the batteries, and was wounded, with nine of his boat’s crew; while another Midshipman who was with him was killed.

About half-past four Rear Admiral Milne sent a message to Lord Exmouth, stating that the Impregnable had sustained a loss of one hundred and fifty in killed and wounded, and requesting that a frigate might be sent to divert some of the fire from that ship.

The Glasgow attempted to perform that service, but, it being perfectly calm, the frigate was unable, after an hour’s exertion, to reach the intended position, and was obliged to anchor just ahead of the Severn, with her stern towards that ship, and thus become exposed to a severe fire from the “fish market” and contiguous batteries. Somewhat later the Leander, having also suffered severely from these batteries, ran out a hawser to the Severn, and sprang her broadside round upon them.

The mortar and rocket-boats had by this time set all the vessels within the harbor on fire, and the flames soon reached the arsenal and storehouses on the mole. The city was also on fire in several places, from the shells thrown by the bomb-vessels. The sloop fitted for an explosion vessel was now run on shore, close under a semi-circular battery, to the northward of the lighthouse, and about nine at night this vessel, charged with about 150 barrels of powder, was exploded. The effect of it is not recorded, and was probably not much, as similar explosions have since failed to produce any great result.

The fleet continued a tremendous cannonade until ten P. M., when, the upper tiers of the batteries on the mole being nearly destroyed, and the lower tiers almost silenced, the Queen Charlotte cut her cables and stood off, with a light breeze from the land, directing the rest of the ships to follow her. The breeze was so light that the Superb and Impregnable, in standing off, suffered much from the raking fire of a fort at the upper angle of the city, which rises up the side of a hill, the walls coming to an angle at the top. When the Leander’s cable was slipped she was found to have sustained so much damage aloft that she was unmanageable, and fast drifting down on the mole, where the enemy’s ships were burning. Fortunately she got a hawser to the Severn, and was towed off. Had she taken the ground, she must have been destroyed, with the greater part of her crew.

Two or three times the hawser parted, but was as often reconveyed by the boats, under sharp musketry fire from the mole. At length the Severn got a good breeze, and the Leander was saved from her perilous situation.

Before two o’clock in the morning the whole fleet was beyond the reach of the enemy’s shot, being greatly assisted in taking up an anchorage by the blaze of the burning Algerine fleet, which illuminated the whole bay, and lighted up the terraced town, with its white houses rising one above the other to the fort, which dominated the whole.

As if to add to the grandeur and wildness of the scene, a storm of thunder and lightning came on, and lasted till daybreak.

At daybreak in the morning the bomb vessels were ordered to again take up their stations, in readiness to resume the bombardment of the city; while Lord Exmouth’s Flag-Lieutenant was despatched with a flag of truce, to repeat the demands made on the preceding day. The Algerine officer who came out to meet the flag of truce declared that an answer had been sent the day before, but that no boat could be found to receive it.

On the 29th the Captain of the Port came off, accompanied by the British Consul, who had been imprisoned by the Dey; and the same afternoon an English Captain landed, and had a conference with the Dey, at his palace; which resulted in the delivery to the British of more than twelve hundred Christian slaves, the restoration of nearly $400,000 for slaves redeemed by Naples and Sicily, peace between Algiers and the Netherlands, and $30,000 paid to the British Consul, as compensation for the loss of his property, which had been plundered. The Dey, moreover, made an apology for his detention.

The loss of the attacking party in this successful bombardment was one hundred and forty-one killed and seven hundred and forty-two wounded. The Dutch squadron, which was highly complimented by Lord Exmouth for gallant conduct, lost, of the above, thirteen killed and fifty-two wounded.

This bombardment broke the Algerine power completely, and put an end, almost altogether, to her piratical exploits.

Fourteen years afterwards the country was captured by France, and has ever since remained in the possession of that country.

NAVARINO, 1827.

In the summer of 1827, an English squadron, under Vice Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, acting in concert with a division of French ships, under Rear-Admiral De Rigny, and a Russian squadron, under Rear-Admiral Count Heiden, assembled in the Mediterranean.

The object this allied fleet had in view was the enforcement of a protocol, signed at St. Petersburg, on April 4th, 1826, for the protection of the inhabitants of the Morea from the cruelties practiced upon them by the Turks, under Ibrahim Pacha. Russia would probably have interfered alone, and England and France were, no doubt, fearful of the possible consequences of allowing Russia to do so, in the war then being carried on between the Greeks and their Turkish oppressors.

A further agreement between the three powers was come to in London, July 6th, 1827, and they insisted, in the first place, upon an armistice between Turkey and Greece. This was agreed to by the belligerents, but was violated by Turkey almost as soon as her assent was given. This conduct on the part of the Porte led directly to the short but very terrible naval battle of Navarino, on the 20th of October, in the same year.

On the 3d of September an Egyptian fleet, with troops, entered the harbor of Navarino, where they were closely watched by the combined squadrons. On the 19th, finding that the British squadron alone remained off the port, Ibrahim Pacha, wishing to send relief to Patras, ordered out a division of his fleet, but finding their movements watched, they returned to Navarino.

Rear-Admiral De Rigny having rejoined the blockading squadron, a conference took place on the 25th, in the tent of Ibrahim, who then agreed to suspend hostilities against the Greeks until an answer could be obtained from Constantinople, and that, in the meantime, his fleet should not quit the harbor. Upon the faith of this assurance, nearly all the Allied ships were withdrawn from before Navarino. Part of the squadron was sent to Malta, to refit; the British Admiral went to Zante, and the French to Milo, for provisions. The Dartmouth and Armide, frigates, alone remained off the port.

Scarcely had the English Admiral anchored at Zante when the Dartmouth hove in sight, with the signal flying that the Turks had put to sea; and the Armide, proceeding towards Milo, overtook the French Admiral before he reached that place. Sir Edward Codrington, having with him a frigate and two corvettes only, intercepted the Turkish squadron, consisting of seven frigates, nine corvettes, two brigs, and nineteen transports; which, on his firm remonstrance, all put back. A second division, of six Egyptian frigates and eight brigs, had likewise put to sea, but they also returned, and the whole re-entered Navarino on the 4th of October. By the 15th the different Allied squadrons were again assembled off Navarino; and Ibrahim, thus blocked up, continued his tyrannical proceedings inland. Various attempts were made to communicate with him, but without success; and a final conference was called, on the 18th of October, on board Codrington’s flag-ship, the Asia; at which it was decided to enter the harbor of Navarino, and from thence renew the negotiations. On the evening of the 19th Vice Admiral Codrington issued full instructions to the whole force, pointing out the position for anchoring each division, but concluding with the well known advice of Lord Nelson, “If a general action should take place, no Captain can be better placed than when his vessel is alongside one of the enemy.”

The harbor of Navarino was the scene, four hundred and twenty-five years before Christ, of a great naval battle between Athens and Sparta, in which the latter suffered an overwhelming defeat.

The harbor is about six miles in circumference. The mainland bends round three sides of it, almost in a horseshoe, and the island of Sphacteria, two miles in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth, stretches across from one headland to the other. The only available passage into Navarino is at the southern end of the island, and is about six hundred yards in width. On entering the passage there appears at the right a bold promontory dominated by a fort, originally built by the Venetians, and under the fort the small walled town of Navarino, near which Ibrahim’s army was encamped.

On the southern extremity of the island, almost opposite to the fortress on the promontory, another fort was placed. The first fortress was very formidable, mounting 125 guns, and, with that on the island, was well placed to defend the entrance of the harbor, as well as to command the anchorage within. At the northern end of the island was a third battery, which also commanded the harbor.

At about half-past one P. M., on the 20th of October, the signal was made by the Asia to prepare for action, and the combined fleet weighed anchor, and stood into the harbor. The British and French formed the weather or starboard column, and the Russians the lee line.

The following were the vessels composing the allied fleet; The Asia, of 80 guns, Vice-Admiral Codrington’s flag-ship; two 74s, the Genoa and Albion; four frigates of various force, from 50 to 28 guns; and one corvette, three brigs, and a cutter.

The French had two 80-gun ships, the Trident and Breslau; one 78, the Scipion; one 60, the Sirène, flag-ship; the Armide frigate, 46 guns, and two corvettes.

The Russian squadron consisted of the Azoff, 80; the Gargoute, Ezekiel, and Newsky, 76; three 46-gun frigates, and one 48.

The Turco-Egyptian fleet consisted of three ships-of-the-line, one razee, sixteen frigates, twenty-seven corvettes, and twenty-seven brigs, with six fire-ships. To these must be added the guns in the forts, on shore, in number about 200, and some armed transports, which brought the number of Turkish guns up to about 2000.

About 2 P. M. the Asia, leading, arrived at the mouth of the harbor, and passed unmolested within pistol-shot of the heavy battery on the starboard hand. The Turks and Egyptians were moored in the form of a crescent, the larger ones presenting their broadsides towards the centre, and the smaller ones inside, filling up the intervals. The Asia anchored close alongside a ship-of-the-line bearing the flag of the Capitan Bey, and on the port or inner quarter of a large double-banked frigate with the flag of Moharem Bey, Commander-in-chief of the Egyptian squadron. The Genoa followed within one hundred yards of her leader, and brought up abreast of a large frigate astern of the Admiral; the Albion, in turn, anchored astern of the Genoa. The Russian Admiral was to look out for four ships which were to windward, part of the Egyptian squadron, and those to leeward, in the bight of the crescent, were to mark the stations of the whole Russian squadron, the ships of their line closing with the English.

The French frigate Armide was to take her station alongside the outermost frigate on the left, in entering the harbor, and three English frigates next to her. The smaller English vessels were to watch the movements of the fire-ships.

Strict orders were given by Admiral Codrington that not a gun should be fired unless the Allied squadrons were first attacked by the Turks, and these orders were rigidly observed.

The entry of the Allied fleets was silently permitted by the Turks, who did not call to quarters, either with drum or trumpet, and an ominous silence was preserved throughout their line; so it was difficult to suppose that a most bloody battle was about to take place.

The Turkish fleet and batteries were prepared for action, however; and it so proved when the Dartmouth frigate, which had anchored close to the fire-ships, and whose Captain, perceiving certain movements on board of them which induced him to believe that the Turks were about to act on the offensive, sent a boat, under command of a lieutenant, to request that the fire-ships should quit the anchorage occupied by the Allies. Upon the boat’s proceeding alongside the fire-ship, a fire of musketry was opened upon her, and the lieutenant and several of the crew were killed. The fire was replied to from the boat, and the sharp report of small arms, echoing from the surrounding rocky eminences, seemed to awake the Turks from a torpor.

Just at this critical moment the French flag-ship, the Sirène, which was close alongside the Egyptian frigate Esnina, hailed, to say that she should not fire if the Esnina did not. The words had hardly passed the French Captain’s lips when the Egyptian fired her broadside slap into the Sirène. So quickly that it seemed an echo, the formidable broadside of the Sirène was heard in reply, delivered point blank into the Esnina. At the same moment the Turkish Admiral fired a shot, and upon this the whole Allied fleet in a position to do so opened fire upon the Turks.

The Asia, though abreast of the ship of the Capitan Bey, was nearer to that of Moharem Bey; and as the latter did not fire at the Asia, the English flag-ship did not fire at her. A messenger was sent to the Asia by Moharem Bey, to say that he did not intend to fire, and Admiral Codrington, still unwilling to believe a serious engagement possible, sent a boat with a Mr. Mitchell, who was acting as pilot and interpreter, to assure Moharem of his desire to avoid bloodshed.

But Mitchell was treacherously shot dead when descending the side of the Egyptian ship. Soon after the Egyptian opened fire, and as Admiral Codrington says, in his dispatch, “was consequently effectually destroyed by the Asia’s fire, sharing the same fate as his brother Admiral on the starboard side, and falling to leeward, a complete wreck.” The action then became general; and the ships were soon enveloped in dense clouds of powder smoke, only lighted by the rapid flashes of the guns; and very soon these lurid flashes became the only guides by which the gunners could sight their pieces. In this dreadful turmoil the drill, discipline and experience of the Europeans gave them the advantage. As their shot told more truly than those of the Turks, each broadside of the Allies tore through the hulls, swept the decks, and wrecked the masts and rigging of the Ottoman fleet.

The Turks, raging, furious and desperate, fought with blind and ill-directed courage. In working their guns they seemed only anxious to fire rapidly, without taking time to point their pieces. Less carried away by rage, and a little more skillful, they should have overwhelmed the Allies, for they had treble the number of guns. In the meantime the Allies kept up a close, cool and accurate fire, and the Turkish losses soon became frightful.

Two fire-ships were soon in flames, and a third blew up, while a fourth was sunk by shot. The forts opened upon the Allies, and that of Navarino, especially, committed much havoc; but almost as much among friends as foes.

The Russian ships did not reach their assigned positions until about three o’clock, when the fire was at its height. The Asia’s fire having disposed of her two opponents, that ship became exposed to a severe raking fire from the Turkish inner lines, by which her mizzen-mast was shot away, several guns disabled, and many of her crew killed and wounded. The Master of the Asia was killed in the early part of the action, while bringing both broadsides to bear upon the Turkish and Egyptian Admirals. Captain Bell, of the marines, was also killed, and Sir Edward Codrington was struck by a musket-ball, which knocked his watch out of his pocket, and battered it to pieces. The Genoa, next astern the English Admiral, suffered very severely, being engaged from first to last, and doing excellent service. As the Turks fired high, the carnage among the marines on the poops of the large vessels was so great that it was thought best to remove them to the quarter deck, and their loss was especially great in the Genoa. Commodore Bathurst, of that ship, was wounded three times; the last time mortally, by a grape-shot which passed through his body and lodged in the opposite bulwark. The French frigate Armide sustained for a long time, and without being disabled, the fire of five Egyptian frigates. The French line-of-battle ship Scipion was on fire no less than four times, from a fire-ship which lay in flames across her fore-foot. Each time the flames were extinguished; and that without any perceptible want of regularity in her fire. The English ship Albion, next astern of the Genoa, was exposed to the united fire of a cluster of ships, including one 74, and two 64-gun ships. About half an hour after the action commenced one of the Turkish ships fell foul of the Albion, and her crew made an attempt to board, but were repulsed with heavy loss. The Turkish ship was in turn boarded and taken. The English were in the act of releasing a number of Greek prisoners secured in the hold of this ship, when she was discovered to be on fire. The English, therefore, left her, having cut her cables, and the Turk, enveloped in flames, drifted clear of the Albion, and, shortly after, blew up, with a tremendous explosion.

The two remaining large Turkish ships again opened upon the Albion; but she returned the fire so vigorously that the largest of the two was soon in flames. The Albion was all the afternoon surrounded by blazing ships; but at dusk she got under way, and stood clear of them.

The ships of all three of the Allies seem to have behaved with equal gallantry; but the performance of the little cutter, the Hind, tender to the Asia, deserves especial mention. She was of one hundred and sixty tons, mounted eight light guns, and had a crew of thirty men. She had been to Zante, and only returned as the Allied squadrons were entering Navarino, and her gallant Commander determined, notwithstanding his trifling force, to have his share in the glories of the day. He accordingly entered with the rest, and, taking up a raking position astern of a large frigate, at only a few yards distance, opened upon her a sharp fire. The cutter was exposed to the fire of several small vessels, and in about three quarters of an hour they cut her cables, and she drifted away between a large corvette and a brig, which she engaged until the brig caught fire and blew up. The Hind then continued to fire into the corvette, until her remaining cable was cut, and she drifted clear of her adversary. Still drifting, in the hottest of the fire, the little Hind fouled a Turkish frigate; her main-boom entering one of the main-deck ports; and the Turks were about to board her. In this they were repeatedly repulsed; and at last the Turks manned a large boat, to try to carry her in that way. The Hind’s crew knocked this boat to pieces with her carronades, crammed to the muzzle with grape and canister; and the cutter soon after drifted clear of the frigate, just as a general cessation of fire took place.

Her loss, in all this fighting, only amounted to a Mate and three men killed, and a Midshipman and nine men wounded.

As we have said, the French ships behaved admirably, as did the Russians. In fact, the position of the contending ships was such that the mutual and perfect co-operation of each ship of the Allied squadron was absolutely necessary to bring about a favorable termination. Had the Russians or French not taken their full share in the day’s work, the British must have been annihilated.

The close and continued cannonade caused complete and dreadful destruction to the Turks. About forty of their vessels, of different rates, fell a prey to the flames, exploding their magazines in succession, as the fire reached them, and covering the waters of the bay with their fragments and the burned and mutilated bodies of their crews. By five P. M. the entire first line of the Turks was destroyed, and by seven there remained afloat, of all their formidable armament, only a few small vessels which had been furthest in shore. These were mostly abandoned by their crews, who had made their escape to the neighboring hills.

Sir Edward Codrington reported that, on the morning after the battle, “out of a fleet composed of eighty-one vessels, only one frigate and fifteen smaller vessels are in a state ever again to put to sea.”

The allied fleets lost 177 killed and 480 wounded. The Turks were estimated to have lost at least six thousand killed.

This action created a great sensation throughout Europe; not only because no great naval action had been fought for some years, but because the friends of Grecian independence saw in the battle the probable freedom of that oppressed State. But politicians were alarmed at what they feared would be the deplorable consequences of leaving Turkey disarmed, in the presence of ambitious and menacing Russia, as the battle had already, it was said, “turned the Black Sea into a Russian lake,” and that great opportunity for Greece was lost through the fears and vacillation of diplomatists.

(The Russians under Admiral Nachimoff Annihilating the Turkish Fleet, in the harbor of Sinope.)]

SINOPE, 1853.

Sinope is a very ancient town, situated mostly upon a peninsula, which juts out from the coast of Anatolia into the Black Sea.

It was once far-famed as the capital city of Mithridates, King of Pontus, as well as the birth place of Diogenes, of whom, perhaps, more people have heard, although he was not a King.

After frequent and honorable mention in very ancient history, we, later on, find it, when it fell into the all-conquering Romans’ power, the seat of the government of the celebrated Pliny, and the remains of the aqueduct then built by him are still to be traced in the neighborhood.

In 1470 Mohamet II included it in the Turkish Empire, of which it has ever since remained a part.

The modern town has about ten thousand people, and presents to the view of one arriving before it by sea the peculiar, shabby, picturesque and dilapidated appearance of most third-rate Turkish places, where red-tiled roofs overhang mouldy, moss-covered, wooden buildings. Here and there among the dull red of the roofs rises the bright and graceful minaret of a mosque; while in the background clumps of the funereal cypress show the spots where the faithful lie at rest. Portions of a ruinous, turreted wall are to be seen here and there; but there are no forts or other defences worthy of the name, although for years it had been a Turkish “military” port, where men-of-war were occasionally built or repaired.

Perhaps Sinope would never have been heard of in modern times, but for a naval action which created an unusual sensation throughout both the Christian and Moslem worlds, and which alienated from the Russians, at the very beginning of the Crimean War, the sympathy of many who would otherwise have been favorable to their designs.

The affair about to be narrated was an abuse of superior force, at a time when war was inevitable, but had not been proclaimed, between Russia and the Ottoman Porte.

On November 30th, 1853, a Turkish squadron, consisting of seven frigates, three corvettes, and two steamers, were driven, by stress of bad weather, into the anchorage of Sinope. In this, their own port of refuge, they were surprised by the arrival of the Russian Vice Admiral Nachimoff, with a fleet of two three-decked ships, four 74s, three frigates, one transport, and three steam-vessels.

Admiral Nachimoff at once summoned the Turkish squadron to surrender to him. But, in spite of the immense disproportion in force, the Turkish Admiral resolved to resist his demands to the last extremity, and to destroy his squadron rather than strike his flag. So about midday, in response to a formal summons, he opened fire upon the Russians. It seemed almost like an act of madness, to which he was goaded by the outrageousness of such a demand made upon him before war was declared; but we cannot help admiring his desperate courage and determination, even if it was that of despair; for he could have had no hope of success against such a force as the Russians had.

This remarkable action, thus begun, was maintained until a full hour after sunset; the termination of the bloody fight being lighted up by the flames of the town itself, which had been set on fire by the Russian shells.

At last the Ottoman squadron was blotted out of existence; and not till then did the reports of the guns cease, and silence fall upon the waters of the harbor.

Of the twelve Turkish vessels, eight were sunk outright, at their anchors, by shot. The Captain of the Mizamiéh, of sixty guns, fought his ship to the last, with terrible energy, and at last fired his own magazine, and blew the vessel, and most of those who had survived the action, to fragments.

The Captain of the Navik, of 52 guns, followed his example, and immediately blew up his vessel.

The Russian fleet, in spite of their superiority, suffered terribly from the desperate defence of the Turks. Several of their vessels, completely dismasted, were obliged to leave Sinope in tow of steamers; and none of them ever did any more service, for after being for a long time blockaded in Sebastopol, by the French and English fleets, they were sunk in that harbor by the Russians themselves.

Although so much of the town was injured by shot and fire, and at least one hundred and fifty of the inhabitants were killed or burned, strange to say, a fine fifty-gun steam-frigate, upon the stocks, escaped destruction. A visitor, soon after the battle, describes the scene as most heart-rending and depressing, and expresses wonder that more of the towns-people were not killed, as the fields, inland, were covered with fragments of the blown up ships, exploded shells, bolts, chains, spars and planks. An anchor weighing fifteen hundred pounds was blown inland more than a quarter of a mile.

LISSA, 1866.

Lissa is an island of the Adriatic, thirty-three miles southwest of Spalatro, in Dalmatia. In ancient times, four centuries before Christ, it was settled by Greeks from Lesbos, who named it Issa, from one of the names of their own island, in the Ægean.

During the first Punic war the Isseans, already expert seamen, helped the Roman Duilius with their beaked ships, and the Great Republic of antiquity in return assisted them in resisting aggression. They were again allies against Philip of Macedon.

In the year 966 the Venetians were in possession of the island, but the Ragusans, from the mainland, drove them out, only to return, and to establish firmly the reign of the Doges. The principal town was twice entirely destroyed, once by the Neapolitans, and once by the Turks, and the present city, which rises in an amphitheatrical form from the shores of the principal harbor, only dates from the year 1571. During the Napoleonic wars the island was occupied by the French, and near it, in 1810, an important naval action was fought, in which an English squadron defeated the French. The English then seized and kept possession of the island until the grand settlement and apportionment, after the peace of 1815, when it became the property of Austria. The fortifications erected by the British were only dismantled in 1870. The island is fertile, quite mountainous, and a conspicuous landmark in the navigation of the Adriatic.

In the course of the war between Austria and Italy, which terminated in the entire liberation of the latter country from the dominion of the hated “Tedeschi,” who had occupied Venice and the fairest parts of Lombardy for so many years, Italy suffered two great defeats. One was on land, at Custozza, where their army, though unsuccessful, came out with honor, after proofs of courage and conduct.

The navy of Italy, then comparatively small and untried, was anxious to redeem the Italian honor and arms, by meeting the Austrian fleet. Under the auspices of the navy a descent was therefore made upon the Austrian island of Lissa.

On the 18th of July, 1866, the island was attacked and taken by the fleet under Admiral Persano. But their success was short-lived, for the Austrians came down the next day, and inflicted the terrible defeat which, for the time, completely disorganized the Italian navy.

This fleet was composed of eleven armored vessels (including large and small, and the ram L’Affondatore), two frigates, one corvette and three gun-boats, each mounting two guns, five despatch vessels, and a few smaller craft, hardly fit to enter into action.

Among the Italian vessels was the large ironclad frigate Ré d’Italia, built during our civil war, for the Italian Government, by Webb, of New York. This fleet was commanded by Admiral Persano, and was in three divisions. The first, under the direct orders of Persano himself, consisted of eight armored vessels, and some other lighter steamers; the second division, under Vice-Admiral Albini, consisted of six screw frigates, unarmored; the third division, under Rear-Admiral Vacca, consisted of three ironclad vessels.

The Austrian fleet, which came down to seek the Italians, and to offer battle, as soon as the news of the capture of Lissa was received, consisted of twenty-two vessels. Seven of them were armored; one was a screw ship-of-the-line, called the Kaiser, of 90 guns; four screw frigates; four gun-boats; one corvette; and a few small craft.

In spite of the fact that the Austrian fleet would, undoubtedly, come to dispute their conquest, the Italians seem to have been taken rather by surprise, especially as Admiral Tegethoff approached rapidly, and engaged very promptly. The engagement, being under steam, commenced as soon as the guns of the opposing fleets would bear, and was, at first, carried on with great resolution on both sides. Very soon after the fight commenced the Ré d’Italia, one of the best ships of the Italian fleet, was rammed by two Austrian ships, also armored, and received fatal injuries, from which she soon sank, carrying down many of her crew.

She had been the flag-ship; but just before she went into action Admiral Persano had quitted her, and gone on board the iron-clad ram, the Affondatore, without notifying the commanding officers of the change, either by signal, or otherwise. The action was then really fought, on the part of the Italians, without a Commander; for they received no signals from the ship from which they had a right to look for them; and, as the Ré d’Italia was soon sunk, many thought that Admiral Persano had perished in her.

The Italian fleet was thus without united action; and their manœuvres were undecided and weak; while the Austrian fleet concentrated all its efforts under the strong impulse of a skillful and very zealous Commander, whose only thought seemed to be to win or perish. In spite of this the Italian ships were most bravely fought, and the victory was not either an easy or bloodless one.

Many have thought that, had there been a capable Commander, and unity of action, they would have probably gained the battle.

The Italian iron-clad Ré di Portogallo, a sister ship of the Ré d’Italia, especially distinguished herself by the audacity of her movements and the ability with which she was handled. She sank two Austrian vessels; having a long engagement with the Kaiser, sinking this huge ship by a broadside poured into her, at a distance of only a few yards. The Kaiser is said to have carried down with her twelve hundred men; several hundred of whom were Tyrolese sharp-shooters.

At half-past four in the afternoon the battle ceased; having lasted for six hours.

The Italians retired to Ancona, a safe and strongly fortified harbor on their coast, nearly opposite to Lissa. The Austrian fleet had received such damage and loss that they not only were unable to pursue the Italians, but were soon obliged to desert the waters of Lissa, and return to their naval port, Pola.

Although this was not a victory for the Austrians, in the sense of large captures, they were most distinctly the victors, in that the Italians deserted the field. That has always been the test of victory, both by land and by sea. Before the end of the battle the Italians lost a second iron-clad, the Palestro, which blew up, and all on board were lost. On the 6th of August, following, the Affondatore, which had been anchored outside of Ancona, on the lookout for the Austrian fleet, was swamped by the heavy sea caused by a sudden storm. She endeavored to take refuge inside the mole, but too late. All her crew were saved. The whole affair was a dreadful blow to the Italian navy, and to their cause; and was equally instrumental in advancing the _morale_ and reputation of the Austrian navy.

A good deal of light may be thrown upon this event by a slight account of the officer responsible for it

Admiral Count Charles Persano was born at Vercelli, in 1806. He entered the Sardinian navy, and rose rapidly to high rank; serving under Admiral Bruat, at the bombardment of Odessa, during the Crimean war; and, for the remainder of that struggle, having charge of the transportation and provisionment of the Sardinian troops which joined the Allies; a most responsible post.

In the year 1859, as a Rear-Admiral, he had command of the Adriatic squadron of observation, and of the blockade of Venice. The next year he commanded the fleet at Naples, when Garibaldi seized and turned over to him the Neapolitan fleet. Here he acted with great judgment, and to the satisfaction of all, in distributing the Neapolitan officers among the vessels of the national fleet, and in composing difficulties and overcoming obstacles incident to so sudden and great a change in government. The reputation of no one stood higher than that of Persano, for tact, ability, and firmness of purpose.

In September, 1860, upon the invasion of the Marches and Umbria, the Admiral was sent off Ancona, where he distinguished himself, first in the blockade, and then in forcing an entrance and taking possession of that fine port. General Lamoricière declared that he was discomfited not by the land force opposed to him, but by the work of the fleet; and it was with Persano that he held a parley, and to him he surrendered his sword. During this siege Persano gained great popularity, on account of his consideration for the sufferings of the inhabitants.

For these actions he was made a Vice-Admiral, and was elected a deputy, from the city of Spezia, to the first Italian Parliament, which was convened in 1861. When the Italian navy was constituted he became the Admiral; there being three Vice-Admirals and ten Rear-Admirals also appointed. Soon after he became a Senator, and Minister of Marine, under Ratazzi.

No man in Italy was more trusted and honored, and few could be said to have had a more successful career.