by John Marshall

“ When at sea, and after the men had been exercised at quarters, the captain visited every gun, and saw that it was ready and in order; after which inspection not a rope-yarn or chip was to be seen at or near any of the guns. With respect to nerve or presence of mind in real danger, no man possessed more; as an extraordinary instance of which I may state the following:
“When cruising off the coast of South America, I was ordered by Captain Otway (it being my watch on deck) to reconnoitre Laguria, and to stand well in for that purpose. ”

“ The enemy’s guns on shore were soon silenced by the Trent, and her boats sent under cover of the Sparrow to attack the vessels. On their approach each of the privateers hoisted the bloody (red) flag, as an indication that no quarter would be given, notwithstanding which they resolutely pushed on, and after a smart action carried the whole without losing a man, whilst the enemy had no less than 50 killed and wounded.
Captain Otway continued to command the Trent on the Jamaica station till Sept. 1800, when he sailed for England with the flag of Sir Hyde Parker. ”

“ On the 20th April, 1815, the Earl of Egremont, when addressing the House of Lords on the subject of a recent court martial, described Rear-Admiral Otway (the president) as “an officer honorable in his profession, and beloved in society; of whom it is impossible for any man who knows him to speak but in the highest terms of esteem, affection, and respect.”
In the beginning of 1826, Rear-Admiral Otway was offered the chief command in the East Indies, which he declined, but shortly afterwards accepted the appointment of commander-in-chief on the South American station. ”

“ At this critical moment two French vessels, under English colours, arrived at Labaye, with a considerable reinforcement of troops from St. Lucia. The General commanding the British forces in Grenada immediately decided upon re-embarking, and communicated his intentions to Captain Otway; who, however, seeing that the carrying of such a measure into effect would be attended with the total loss of the island, refused to comply, saying “that he had landed the troops there at a great risk [2] , by the General’s desire, and that they must now fight it out, as he would not embark a man.” ”

“ The boat had on board a large hawser; but Captain Otway would not wait to have it discharged; and in that dangerous vehicle passed through the enemy’s fire to the Elephant. Had a shot struck her, she must have sunk like a stone; but Captain Otway fortunately reached his destination in safety. Before he got on board, the signal to leave off action was made: it was, however, disregarded by Nelson; and as Captain Otway had verbal authority from Sir Hyde Parker that the battle should continue if he saw there was a probability of success, the action was continued till the enemy submitted ”

“ The slaves had all revolted and joined the French part of the inhabitants, whilst the flames of rebellion were fanned by the machinations of the blood-thirsty Victor Hugues, whose forces carried death and destruction throughout that unhappy colony. ”

“ Thus far successful in his object, and his situation being such as, in the event of a discovery, would not have been a very pleasant one. Captain Otway gladly embraced the offer of a reference to the commodore. He accordingly proceeded to his ship in one of the Danish boats and accompanied by a Danish officer, having ordered the Eling’s boat, containing the pendant, to return to the schooner. Finding on his arrival that the commodore spoke English very fluently, Captain Otway immediately entered on the object of his visit, and demanded that the ship should be given up. ”

“ Captain Otway’s health had now become so much impaired through the fatigues of long and indefatigable service, as to compel him to retire for a time from the active duties of his profession. He accordingly obtained permission to exchange into the Cumberland, of 74 guns, the command of which ship he resigned on his arrival in England at the latter end of 1811. From that period he remained on shore until May 1813, when he was again appointed to the Ajax, and in her joined the Channel fleet. ”

“ The arrival of a flag of truce was reported to the commodore, whilst himself and Captain Otway were taking some refreshment (the latter not having had any since the preceding day) , and Captain Otway was informed that the officer in the boat wished to speak to him. On going upon deck he was equally pleased and surprised to find that the officer was Lord Nelson; he was immediately invited on board, when the chiefs recognized each other, having both commanded frigates in the West Indies at the same time. ”

“ Fortunately his intimacy with Sir Hyde Parker greatly facilitated this desirable object; and it was equally fortunate that Sir Hyde was not a man to persevere in an error when pointed out. The interview almost instantly took place, and the admiral as soon became convinced that he was not taking the shortest route to victory, which was speedily acknowledged by the captain of the fleet, the late Sir William Domett. The fleet was again brought to, and Captain Otway was sent to apprise Lord Nelson of the reason. ”

“ On the 31st March, 1811, Captain Otway being off Elba, in company with the Unite frigate, fell in with a squadron of French frigates; and after a most arduous chace captured la Dromedaire, a new ship of 800 tons, but mounting only 20 guns, with a complement of 150 men, having on board a cargo consisting of 15,000 shot and shells of different sizes, and 90 tons of gunpowder, intended as a present from Buonaparte to the Bey of Tunis. Her companions, the Emily and Adrian, of 40 guns each, were enabled from their proximity to the shore to effect their escape into Porto Ferrajo. ”

“ Captain Otway subsequently commanded the Edgar, of 74 guns, in which ship, after serving for some time with the Channel fleet, he was sent with several others to the West Indies, from whence he returned to England after the signing of the definitive treaty of peace between England and the French republic. ”

“ During the six years that he had served in the West Indies, he is supposed to have captured and destroyed about two hundred of the enemy’s privateers and merchantmen, mounting on the whole 1000 guns. Nothing can mark the character of this officer more strongly than the following anecdote, of the authenticity of which we are well assured:– A party of seamen belonging to the Trent were on shore at Portsmouth returning stores, when the Master-Attendant of the Dock-yard asked them how they liked their Captain ”

“ On the 20th July, 1810, the Ajax, in company with the Warspite and Conqueror, 74’s, Euryalus frigate, and Sheerwater brig, forming the in-shore squadron off Toulon, had an affair with a French three-decker, five other line-of-battle ships, and four frigates, which reflects the highest credit on all concerned. The enemy came out of port for the purpose of liberating a frigate in Bandol ”

“ This proposal, however, Mr. Otway with singular modesty declined, saying, in the presence of the Secretary, “that he was on the happiest terms possible with his mess-mates, and that being placed so suddenly over the heads of several old officers might probably create jealousies, and prove detrimental to the service.” ”

“ Vincent during their distresses, where I had sent him for their protection; and he has obtained my approbation of his gallant and spirited conduct there in more instances than one, particularly when there was a necessity for forcing a strong post the enemy possessed, and the land force was not sufficient; he landed with his men, and led the way to the attack, when the opposition was so great that the private men of the troops could not be induced by their officers to advance. ”

“ On the 25th of the following month, Captain Otway fell in with, and after a spirited night action of 35 minutes, during which the enemy made two attempts to board the Thorn, captured le Courier National, a French corvette, of 18 guns and 119 men, of whom 7 were killed and 20 wounded. The Thorn was sickly at the time, and had only 80 hands, including officers and boys, on board; of these, her commander and 5 others were wounded, but not a man was as slain. ”

“ This service was performed with the loss of only one man killed on the part of the British. About 20 of the enemy were put to the sword in the battery.
A few weeks after this affair, as Captain Otway was again reconnoitring on the south side of Porto Rico, accompanied by the Sparrow cutter, he discovered l’Alexandre and le Revenge, two French privateers, each mounting 18 guns, a Spanish brig of 10 guns, and some coasting vessels, at anchor under a small battery within the Dead Man’s Chest. ”

“ When he got alongside, he found it to be his old acquaintance Muller, whom he had known in the West Indies He invited himself on board, and acted with so much ability and politeness towards his friend and the officers assembled, that he not only explained and gained the point in dispute about the Zealand, but left the ship as much admired by his enemies, as he had long been by those who were his intimate friends in his own fleet.’ This account is followed by Mr. ”