French admiral

“ You can imagine that we, who had never seen a shot fired from the ship, were in a fine state of excitement. I suppose I must have winced as a round shot went through the mizzen-stay close to where I was in attendance on the Admiral, for he patted me on the shoulder and said to me, “How do you like that music?” he having on his own face his fighting smile of serene superiority. Indeed, he had not long since come up from his dinner, which was being served when we came into range of the French guns. ”

“ The moment Captain Berry had, on first beholding the position of the French fleet at anchor, fully comprehended the entire scope of his adored admiral's design for the attack, he exclaimed, in an extacy—"If we succeed, what will the world say?"—"There is no if in the case," coolly replied the admiral: "that we shall succeed, is certain; who may live to tell the story, is a very different question!" ”

“ But the French admiral was to turn and appear at Rochefort on the Bay of Biscay, increase his armament by the addition to it of six first-rate vessels with a number of frigates, and then, by a long detour, arrive in the Strait of (p. 332) Dover, as if doubling Cape Clear from the West. "Masters of the Channel for six hours, we are masters of the world," wrote the Emperor. This scheme was thwarted by the untimely death of the admiral. ”

“ The fame of this great admiral has depended less upon his conduct of campaigns than upon the renowned victories he won in the actual collision of fleet with fleet; and even then has been mutilated by the obstinacy with which, despite the perfectly evident facts, men have persisted in seeing in them nothing but dash,—heart, not head. ”

“ One observation occurred to me then, and I have thought of it ever since with redoubled conviction; this was, that the admiral, after the battle began, was no admiral at all: he could neither see nor be seen; he could take no advantage of the enemy's weak points or defend his own; his ship, the Victory, one of our finest three-deckers, was, in a manner, tied up alongside a French eighty-gun ship. ”

“ Leaving Admiral Penn to search for them, we at length steered for England. Just as we were passing through the Straits, a large ship was seen which approached us without any apparent hesitation, showing French colours. Getting nearer, she hove to, while a boat being lowered her captain came on board. He was received with the usual courtesy by the admiral in his cabin.
The Frenchman being seated, the admiral informed him that he must consider himself a prisoner, and requested him to deliver up his sword. ”

“ According to orders, no shot was to be fired without a signal from the admiral; and the memorable words of Nelson animated every heart: ‘No captain can do very wrong who places his ship alongside an enemy.’ The British, French, and Russian ships had enough to do. The Turkish and Egyptian fleets fought with desperation, but when the battle was over, the flag of old England was waving in the breeze of victory. I might speak of many more admirals, and of hundreds of naval 292officers who have signalized themselves for skill and intrepidity, but enough for the present. ”

“ In the beginning of the next April the admiral put to sea again with a fleet of forty-two men-of-war, besides small vessels, and forced the French into the harbour of Brest, where they fortified themselves, in order to wait the arrival of a squadron of six galleys from the Mediterranean. ”

“ Early in 1794, the French fitted out a powerful fleet, manned with the flower of their marine, and commanded by an officer of acknowledged bravery and long experience. On board the Admiral’s ship were two Commissioners, delegated by the National Convention to animate by their presence the operations of the armament, and inspire the seamen with a more than ordinary portion of hostility against the British nation ”

“ He was made vice-admiral of France on his return to Paris, where he was received with the greatest honors. He is called “one of the most dangerous enemies the English fleet has ever known, and, without exception, the most illustrious officer that has ever held command in the French navy.” ”

“ Regular drafts are made upon the seamen; and it is computed that in every period of nine years all the sailors of France serve in their turn in the navy. They are trained in all that belongs to naval duty: in the use of ships' guns, in the sailing of great ships, and in the evolutions of fleets. No matter how sudden the call, or from what direction the sailors are taken, no French fleet leaves or can leave port with a crew of green hands.
The training which is given to sailors actually in service is an equally important matter. The French Admiralty keeps no drones in its employ ”

“ So well satisfied were the Admiralty authorities with his services, as to order that he should be paid as rear-admiral during the time he had been employed on the French coast, as a reward for his good service. In 1696 he was promoted to the substantial rank of rear-admiral. After cruising service, directed to353 the protection of English and Dutch traders, he was appointed, in 1697, commander-in-chief of the king’s ships in the West Indies, with special orders to suppress the pirates. ”

“ On this he composed his thoughts and feelings, and replied, "It is very true, the place or manner is of no great importance to me; but I think living admirals should consult the dignity of the rank for their own sakes. I cannot plead a precedent; there is no precedent of an admiral, or a general officer in the army, being shot. ”

“ To be deserted by my fleet in the face of an enemy is a disgrace which, I believe, never before happened to a British admiral; nor could I have supposed it possible. My greatest comfort under God is that I have been supported by the officers, seamen, and marines of this ship; for which, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, I request you to accept my sincere thanks. I flatter myself much good may result from your example, by bringing those deluded people to a sense of their duty, which they owe, not only to their king and country, but to themselves. ”

“ It must strike, forcibly, every British seaman, how superior their conduct is, when in discipline and good order, to the riotous behaviour of lawless Frenchmen. The squadron may be assured, the admiral will not fail, with his dispatches, to represent their truly meritorious conduct, in the strongest terms, to the commander in chief. ”

“ The surer of himself an admiral is, the finer the tactical development of his fleet, the better his captains, the more reluctant must he necessarily be to enter into a mêlée with equal forces, in which all these advantages will be thrown away, chance reign supreme, and his fleet be placed on terms of equality with an assemblage of ships which have never before acted together. ”

“ The admiral was splendidly robed in a brilliant scarlet cloak over his rich and glittering armor, and held the royal standard in his own hand as he stood upright in his own boat, which led the way to the new shores, which his steadfastness had earned and his great mind foreseen. ”

“ But there is a grand old admiral living now—titled, high in office, before whom even his equals in rank bow, and who can make post-captains wait in his ante-chambers—who owes at least half his advancement and social position to the services of the link-men. ”

“ Though it is natural to suppose, that the time and attention of the admiral, and all the officers of his squadron, were very fully employed in repairing the damages sustained by their own ships, and in securing those of the enemy which their valour had subdued, yet the mind of that great and good man felt the strongest emotions of the most pious gratitude to the Supreme Being, for the signal success which, by the Divine favour, had crowned his endeavours in the cause of his country ”

“ Won't you tell me something about that?"
"Of course you mean a warship, not a merchantman. Well, the highest officer is, of course, the captain, although the vessel may be the flagship of a commodore or an admiral."
"And what of a commodore and an admiral? You see I'm awfully green, when it comes down to the navy. My younger brother Larry is the real sailor in our family."
"You'll get there, lad; anybody will who is in for learning as you are. An admiral is the highest officer in any navy, and he commands everything that floats, from battleship to despatch tug. Next to him is the vice-admiral. ”

“ So interested was every one in the new hero of the hour—the splendid British seaman who had no equal, but the Admiral, where tough fighting was to be done—that nobody noticed a second barge which pulled alongside shortly after the other, starting from the Castel dell’ Uovo, and which, as it proved, contained, besides Will and its crew, a lady and a lame old gentleman. ”

“ Led by the admiral, the Windhover—with the rest of the fleet—lowered her trawl, and went dipping slowly and quietly over the hills, towing her sunken net. The admiral of a fishing-fleet is a great man. ”

“ The old Admiral’s all right, but he’s got to have a good chief of staff to swing this fleet.”
With feverish energy he wielded pliers and solder-iron till after midnight. Then he put down his things and said, “Well, I’ve got to sleep on this thing if I can,” and turned in.
His sleep was restless and full of stress and worry. He dreamt that he saw a miniature admiral in a cocked hat, standing on the deck of a frigate of the olden days, brandishing his sword. The ship was no bigger than a toy, but the little admiral, puffing with pride, strutted up and down. He looked like Captain Brigham. ”

“ On the occasion of that gallant officer’s visit to England the Board of Admiralty invited him, as a wholly exceptional compliment, to accompany it on its annual official visit of inspection to her Majesty’s dockyards. On the way [51] from Chatham to Sheerness in the Admiralty yacht, the writer had a most instructive conversation with the admiral as to the results of his practical experience of naval warfare at the brilliant capture of New Orleans, and elsewhere, and one of those results was this: “Never allow your men to be deceived as to the ships in which you expect them to fight. ”

“ They said the admiral, for a foolish whim, intended to make himself a great lord at the hazard of their lives, and since they had done their duty in trying their fortune, and had gone farther from land and any succor than others had done, that they ought not to destroy themselves, nor proceed farther on the voyage, because if they did, they should have reason to repent, for their provisions would fall short and the sails of the ships would not last, which they knew were already so impaired that it would be difficult to retrace their course from where they were ”

“ The admiral says he must do the officers the justice to say that every man in the line did his duty, without giving the least umbrage for censure or reflection, and that he never observed the true English spirit so apparent and prevalent in our seamen as on this occasion. ”

“ Every telescope in the fleet (and there are myriads) is looking at the Admiral as he goes to the topmost and best vantage spot on board his flag ship to see the enemy, and sees him alone outlined against the sky—neither time nor room for a staff around him, and if there were they’d say, “It’s not the Admiral who is doing it,” and be demoralized accordingly—fatal to victory. In the fleet the Admiral’s got to be like Nelson—“the personal touch” so that “any silly ass can’t be an Admiral” ”

“ Let the admiral temporize for a month only, for all the nobles have sworn and said to Monseigneur that they will not wait any longer, that he must employ them within that time, and they will then do their duty. Let the admiral remember that it is dangerous to stem the fury of Frenchmen, the which, however, will suddenly ooze away; if they have not victory speedily, they will be constrained to make peace, and will offer it you on advantageous terms. ”

“ Just as in most recent naval campaigns conducted by other countries, it had been considered advisable for the leader in war to have come fresh from staff work at headquarters, so it had been felt in England that the admiral commanding the Fleet in action must be not only a sea-officer of high standing, but one with a more intimate knowledge of the general strategical position than it had been possible for an officer so long afloat to acquire. ”

“ CCLXI In the admiral is much great virtue found;
He strikes Carlun on his steel helm so brown,
Has broken it and rent, above his brow,
Through his thick hair the sword goes glancing round,
A great palm's breadth and more of flesh cuts out,
So that all bare the bone is, in that wound.
Charles tottereth, falls nearly to the ground;
God wills not he be slain or overpow'red. ”

“ And in the end, with general consent, the Royal Merchant was appointed admiral of the fleet, and the Toby vice-admiral, by whose orders the rest promised to be directed; and each ship vowed not to break from another whatsoever extremity should fall out, but to stand to it to the death, for the honour of their country and the frustrating of the hope of the ambitious and proud enemy. ”

“ Had the Crescent at once boarded the Réunion, which was in her power, and carried her sword in hand, as in the case of the Nymphe and Cléopâtre, it would have been perhaps better calculated to excite feelings of admiration in the general reader, who is not acquainted with naval affairs; but this mode of attack is one which, we must acquaint them, might readily be made by any officer moderately skilled in naval tactics. It is where the commander of a ship, by his presence of mind and skilful manœuvring, succeeds in the defeat and capture of an enemy, that the superiority is manifest ”