Admiral Benbow

“ The inhabitants of Barbadoes and Jamaica were excessively alarmed by the approach of a hostile fleet, which the English had no force capable of resisting.
Notwithstanding most of his ships being short of their complements of men, Admiral Benbow concluded it to be his best course under the circumstances to put to sea and cruise between Jamaica and Hispaniola. He sailed with this intention on the 8th May 1702, and was joined about this time by Rear-Admiral Whetstone. In cruising on the coast of St. Domingo, he received news of the French fleet having gone to Carthagena and Porto Bello. ”

“ Benbow's eye, and in hardly less degree at being on the same ship as Joe Punchard, who had returned to his duty as the admiral's servant.
It was nigh two months before the vice admiral hoisted his flag and set sail. In the interim he had despatched Rear Admiral Whetstone to intercept Monsieur du Casse, who, as he was informed, was expected at Port Louis, at the west end of Hispaniola, with four men-of-war, to destroy our trade for negroes. ”

“ Rank and routine were powerful in those days, as now; but when a time of peril comes, the best man is wanted, and Benbow was promoted out of turn, by royal command, to the rank of Vice-Admiral, and went after the fleet of Admiral Ducasse to the West Indies. In the little church of Saint Andrew’s, Kingston, Jamaica, his body lies, and the memorial stone speaks of him as “a true pattern of English courage, who lost his life in defence of queen and country.”
Like his illustrious French contemporary Jean Bart, John Benbow was of humble origin. He entered the merchant service when a boy. ”

“ He had performed many services in the West Indies to the merchants by capturing privateers and protecting their settlements from the attacks of the enemy.
Admiral Benbow’s ship was the “Breda,” of seventy guns, and her youngest lieutenant having died of fever, Jack Deane, greatly to his satisfaction, found himself appointed to that ship. Early in July, the admiral sailed from Jamaica, with seven sail of men-of-war, in the hope of joining Admiral Whitstone, who had been sent from England with a reinforcement to endeavour to intercept the French squadron which had sailed under Monsieur Du Casse. ”

“ In those days the climate of the West Indies was as dangerous to Europeans as at the present, and ships seldom remained long on the station without losing many of their officers and men. The honest old Admiral Benbow was still alive, although rapidly sinking from the effects of his wounds and his annoyance at the conduct of his officers in the action with the French. Hearing of Jack’s conduct, he appointed him second lieutenant of the “Ruby,” in the place of an officer who had died. ”

“ There laid old Benbow, both his legs shot off, in a basket, and the blessed spy-glass at his eye to that same hour: a picter, ma’am, of naval daring: when a round shot come, and took and knocked a bucketful of shivers right into my poor daylights. ‘Damme,’ says the Admiral, ‘is that old Pew, my old Pew?’ he says.—‘It’s old Pew, sir,’ says the first lootenant, ‘worse luck,’ he says.—‘Then damme,’ says Admiral Benbow, ‘if that’s how they serve a lion-’arted seaman, damme if I care to live,’ he says ”

“ For—you would have thought men would have been ashamed of themselves—no soul would consent to return with us to the Admiral Benbow. The more we told of our troubles, the more—man, woman, and child—they clung to the shelter of their houses. The name of Captain Flint, though it was strange to me, was well enough known to some there, and carried a great weight of terror. some of the men who had been to field-work on the far side of the Admiral Benbow remembered, besides, to have seen several strangers on the road, and, taking them to be smugglers, to have bolted away ”

“ His own ship lies in the offing there, towards the point; it draws too much water to come into our harbor. And there is another prize out there too: a big vessel, filled, so they say, with a valuable cargo. Oh! without doubt Monsieur Duguay-Trouin is a hero, and the English tremble at his name."
"And why has he honored your little town with a visit?" I asked.
"Why, Monsieur le Capitaine, it is because the English admiral Benbow appeared off St. Malo this morning with four great ships, and so Monsieur Duguay-Trouin could not carry his prize there, and indeed had to make all sail to escape." ”

“ In common with every officer in the fleet I hoped that the French would take the sea, so that we might have the pleasure of thrashing them. But in this we were disappointed: I suppose they were deterred by the knowledge that the channel was swarming with our ships; for, besides Admiral Benbow off Dunkirk, there was Sir George Rooke in The Downs, and Sir Cloudesley with six and forty vessels at Spithead. ”

“ Each soon began to suspect the other of attempting to defraud, and the passions of disappointed gamblers were added to the professional rivalry of men who in that generation were rarely honest enough to subordinate their passions to the general good of “the king’s service.” The fierce feuds of sailor and soldier flamed up in these expeditions, but the case of Admiral Benbow shows that a British admiral of that generation could not always rely on loyal and honest support even from his subordinates. ”

“ Benbow, leaving the Germoon for the service of the governor of Jamaica, set sail for New England, our squadron being increased by three other king's ships which happened to be then in Port Royal harbor. When we had made Havana, the admiral, thinking the Falmouth too weak to be trusted in the dangerous seas about the New England coast, ordered Captain Vincent to return in her to England, and we sailed into Portsmouth harbor towards the end of August, two years, all but three months, since our departure. ”

“ Benbow ordered the captain to pursue the enemy, who was then about three miles distant, and to leeward, having the disabled ship in tow, and steering northeast, the wind being sou'-sou'west. We made all the sail we could, the battle signal always flying at the fore; and the enemy, taking encouragement from the behavior of some of our captains, now showed the first signs of waiting for us. Whereupon the admiral ordered Captain Fogg to send to the other captains and bid them keep their line and behave themselves like men. ”

“ But on the day before the court martial was to meet Mr. Benbow sent for me, and ordered me to cruise along the north shore in search of the pirate vessel. He did not give me a ship of war for this purpose, thinking that this would only serve to warn the buccaneers, who no doubt had spies in the principal ports. But the brig in which we had brought Mistress Lucy being still in the harbor, the admiral instructed me to fit her out as a trader, and send her to sea with a dummy captain and a skeleton crew, and then to join her secretly with some thirty picked men from the queen's ships. ”

“ Benbow now rearranged his line, putting the Breda at the head, and placing the misbehaving ships, the Defiance and Windsor, immediately behind her, in the hope of shaming their captains into some sense of honour. But example is wasted on men resolved to misbehave. [93] For four days the admiral followed the French, but his captains, with the exception of the officer commanding the Ruby, Captain George Walton, took every opportunity to fall behind. On the fifth day of the pursuit, and the sixth since he had got touch of the enemy, Benbow had his ships together, and renewed the action. ”

“ We kept up the duel of firing for near an hour, and then I heard a great cry go up that the admiral was wounded, and by and by Joe comes to me with tears streaming down his cheeks, and says that the admiral's right leg was shattered to pieces by a chain shot, and he was carried below. But while he was still talking to me we heard a great shout and there was Mr. Benbow being hoisted in his cradle on to the quarterdeck, and crying out "Good cheer, my hearties! The Frenchmen have given me a knock, but we've got 'em now and by God! we'll beat 'em!" ”

“ Many thousand pilgrims visit it annually. It is a seat of Hindu learning; there is also a government college. The river is spanned here by a magnificent railway bridge. There is a large trade in country produce, English goods, jewellery, and gems; while its brass-work, “Benares ware,” is famous.
Benbow, John, admiral, born at Shrewsbury; distinguished himself in an action with a Barbary pirate; rose rapidly to the highest post in the navy; distinguished himself well in an engagement with a French fleet in the W. Indies ”

“ He had won no great victories, done nothing to dazzle the eyes of men; but I make bold to say that, in the long roll of England's worthies no name will ever shine more brilliantly to a seaman's eyes than that of honest John Benbow.
Rear Admiral Whetstone, to whom the command of the West Indian squadron fell, was pleased to compliment me on my dealings with the buccaneers, and appointed me first lieutenant of the British frigate on which the officers under sentence of the court martial were to be conveyed to England. ”

“ I shall pass over the three years I belonged to the Malta garrison, during which time I went a cruise to Candia and Greece. The late Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Houston Stewart, was then captain of the Benbow, in which I went as guest of the present Admiral Sir John Hay, then a mate. A more delightful time no man ever had, for the Benbow was celebrated for its hospitality, and all the officers were kindness itself. ”

“ He appeared to be in the prime of manhood, and exhibited a tall yet well-knit figure, and a fine bold handsome countenance.
“John Benbow, at your service,” answered the Captain. “May I ask your name?”
“I am Jean Bart, in the service of the King of France. I am pretty well known in these seas.”
“That indeed you are; a better seaman does not sail out of Dunkerque,” answered Benbow. “I have often heard of you and your doings, and from the number of prizes you have taken, I judge that you can afford to let one go without any loss to your reputation or purse. ”

“ She at last stood round the northern side of Jamaica, and the next day fell in with an English merchantman, the master of which reported that he had been chased by several strange sail; but, his vessel being a fast one, by setting all the canvas he could carry, he had made his escape. He reported that they were far from small craft; two or three were good-sized frigates, and the rest were of a considerable burden.
“So much the better,” said Captain Benbow. “It will induce them to attack us; we must do our best to send them to the bottom one after the other.” ”

“ Still, as long as her masts and sails remained uninjured, Captain Benbow resolved to try and keep to sea; a shift of wind might enable him to gain either the Downs or the Thames. The cool intrepid way in which Captain Benbow managed his ship excited Roger’s admiration, while the crew, accustomed to confide in his skill, executed his orders with prompt obedience. When morning at length broke, dark clouds covered the sky, while leaden seas, capped with foam, rolled up around them, but no land was in sight to leeward, which showed that they had not struggled in vain ”

“ Thus a good many escaped who would have tended to swell the victims of the Bloody Assize, of which the Captain, to his great indignation, heard when sending occasionally on shore. The Ruby, having remained the time she had been directed on the west coast, returned to Portsmouth, where she waited for orders. Seldom in those days could a ship’s company be allowed on shore without the risk of losing a number of men, but so completely had Benbow ingratiated himself with his crew, that when their leave was up they all returned on board. ”

“ I think I never saw a man in such a passion of anger as Mr. Benbow was then. He mingled hot reproaches of the erring captains with words of cheer to our gunners, and though we were the target for three of the enemy's ships, he bade Captain Fogg keep us in touch with them and swore that he would fight the whole squadron single-handed.
'Twas four o'clock before the action became general, so sluggish were our vessels in coming into line, and the firing continued till nightfall, by which time we on the Breda had suffered severely. ”

“ See, the wind has fallen completely; it has become a dead calm.”
While he was speaking, a boat was seen to put off from the stranger, and as she approached, it was observed that she was full of armed men. Captain Benbow, on this, ordered the guns to be loaded and run out, and directed his men, while the Dutch Captain, going on board his ship, followed his example. In a short time the stranger was alongside. Captain Benbow stood at the gangway. ”

“ At length a man was seen to spring aft with a white flag, which he waved above his head, and then threw down on the deck as a token of surrender. The Ruby standing close to her, Captain Benbow ordered her to heave-to, and then, doing the same, lowered three boats with armed crews, sending Roger in command of one, Kemp of another, and Bates of a third. ”

“ Captain Benbow considered that he should be most likely to meet with the piratical fleet by sailing to the westward. Accordingly, the Ruby and Pearl stood in that direction, and, having a fair breeze, in a short time got round the western point, and entered the Channel between Jamaica and Cuba. They had a long cruise, however, without sighting the pirates, or falling in with any vessel which had escaped from them. ”