Vice-admiral

“ The vice-admirals carry theirs at the fore-top-gallant-mast head, and the rear-admiral carries his at the mizen-top-gallant-mast head.”
“Oh, oh, that is it! Then we know at last what is the meaning of ‘the red flag at the fore.’”
“Yes, that must be now pretty plain to you. The marines are a very efficient part of the British force; they are not to be out-done either in courage or patriotism. For some time in my younger days I belonged to them, and it was then that I picked up what knowledge of nautical tactics I possess. ”

“ At sight of the said fleet the vice-admiral or he that commands in the second place, and the rear-admiral or he that commands in the third place, are to make what sail they can to come up with the admiral on each wing, as also each ship according to her quality, giving a competent distance from each other if there be sea-room enough. ”

“ Admirals to rank with generals, vice-admirals with lieutenant-generals, rear-admirals with major-generals, commodores with brigadier-generals, captains of ships of 40 guns and upward with colonels, captains of ships of 20 to 40 guns with lieutenant-colonels, captains of ships of 10 to 20 guns with majors, lieutenants with captains, and officers of marines with officers holding similar commissions in the land service. Notwithstanding this act, no rank higher than that of captain was created by law until 1862, though the title of admiral (q.v.) ”

“ For this service the Vice-Admiral prepared a gunboat, and armed the launches of the fleet with heavy carronades, landed two battalions of seamen, about 1000 strong, in addition to 800 soldiers and marines, and sent ships frequently round the bay, to prevent suspicion of an attack, when any favourable opportunity might offer. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ A week or two later the Vice-Admiral evolved a scheme for alleviating the monotony of our lives, and requested the C.-in-C.'s permission to send each division of his squadron over to the northern shore of the anchorage for three day's complete rest from routine and in order to provide [83] officers and men with a chance of getting ashore. ”

“ Our officer was next appointed to the Courageux, 74, and continued in that ship during the remainder of the war. His promotion to the rank of Rear-Admiral took place Nov. 9, 1805; he became a Vice-Admiral, July 31, 1810 ”

“ In 1683 he was chef d’escadre—rear admiral—with Duquesne in operations against the Barbary pirates, and he continued on that service with D’Estrées. By 1689 he had been promoted lieutenant-general des armees navales, and was named vice-admiral du Levant or of the East. ”

“ Si donnons en mandement par ces dites présentes, à nôtre Admiral au Vice Admiral que prins et reçue du dit Jacques Quartier le serment pour ce on est accoutumé, icelui mettent et instituent on fassent mettre et instituer de par nous en possession et saisine du dit état de Capitaine Générale et Maître Pilote ”

“ On Monday, the 26th of November, the General commanded all the pinnaces with the boats to use all diligence to embark the army into such ships as every man belonged. The Lieutenant-General in like sort commanded Captain Goring and Lieutenant Tucker, with one hundred shot, to make a stand in the marketplace until our forces were wholly embarked; the Vice-Admiral making stay with his pinnace and certain boats in the harbour, to bring the said last company abroad the ships. ”

“ On 2 April 1866 he obtained, in course of seniority, the rank of rear-admiral in the English navy. He then retired from the Turkish service, and resided principally in England. He became a vice-admiral on 6 April 1873, and died in London, unmarried, on 3 Nov. ”

“ On 22 Nov. 1862 he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, and from 1866 to 1869, with his flag in the Narcissus, was commander-in-chief on the east coast of South America. He became vice-admiral on 17 March 1869, and admiral, on the retired list, on 20 July 1875. ”

“ This broke up the game, when one of the officers observed: ‘Doctor, you have lost the odd trick; but never mind, the fellow you are going to attend has got nothing by honours.’
OFFICERS’ NAMES [Robert] Roddam, Vice-Admiral, Port Admiral.
Dead [1808] . An admiral. Had his flag on board the old Conquistador, 60, in the American war, as port admiral at the Nore, at the time Mr. Fegan [post, p. 214] was sent onboard.— [D.N.B.]
Hon. Samuel Barrington, Admiral of the blue.
Dead [1800] . A great officer. See his masterly manœuvre in the West Indies.— [D.N.B.]
[John] Elliot, Vice-Admiral. ”

“ The knowledge thus acquired, and the training to which he must needs have been subjected, would have fitted him in time to become an officer of the navy, such as a lieutenant or a captain, and, it may be, even an admiral."
"And what is an admiral?" inquired Willie.
"An admiral," replied Uncle Juvinell, "is the highest officer of the navy; he is to the armies of the sea what a general is to the armies of the land, and commands a squadron, or fleet, which, you must know, is a large number of armed ships, moving and acting in concert together." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ XIX. If there should be a captain so lost to all sense of honour and the great duty he owes his country as not to exert himself to the utmost to get into action with the enemy, or to take or destroy them when engaged, the commander of the squadron or division to which he belongs, or the nearest flag officer, is to suspend him from the command, and is to appoint some other officer to command the ship till the admiral's pleasure shall be known. ”

“ He is like the owl, and sleeps only in the daylight. At other times he watches; he is going the rounds now, and will be with us in a few minutes. It will need a craftier leader than Anjou to take Saint Jean d'Angely by surprise! Ah, here is the commandant!"
A veteran soldier, with white moustaches, white hair, and grizzled beard! A strongly-built man of middle height, with resolute, determined face, and an air that betokened long years of command.
"A despatch from the Admiral, monsieur," I said, saluting and handing him the packet. ”

“ Not a ship more than the service requires shall be kept on any particular station; and that number must be left to my judgment, as an admiral commanding the squadron detached by the commander in chief to the extent of the Black Sea. I shall, of course, keep up a proper communication with the Turkish and Russian admirals, which net captain of a man of war under my orders must, interfere in. ”

“ The side boys offer the man ropes as the official steps on the gangway and the captain receives him as he steps on the quarterdeck. As the two walk aft the marine officer, in quick, sharp tones, commands, "Present arms," and the whole marine guard, drawn up in line on the port side of the quarterdeck, bring their rifles up in salute, while the bugle sounds a flourish and the drum a roll, two for an admiral, three for an ambassador and four for the President. The marines on a ship are collectively called the guard ”

“ 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 ”

“ All these peculiarities have filled the ranks of the Navy and of the Cavalry, and all these peculiarities are suited by the aeroplanes and the Land Ships. Our Commanders, like their men, prefer to be the attackers, and like a war of movement. Almost the whole creed of Nelson, our most popular fighting-hero, was expressed in his assertion that the first and last duty of an Admiral was to find out the enemy’s fleet and to attack it, and in his famous signal, “Engage the enemy more closely.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ All Officers without exception should be unceasingly occupied in considering the various solutions of these problems, as who can tell who will be in command after the first five minutes of a close engagement, whether in an individual ship or in command of the whole Fleet! Otherwise we may have a stampede like that of riderless horses! The Captain or Admiral is hors de combat, and the next Officer, and, perhaps, the next, and the next don’t know what to do when moments mean victory or defeat!
“The man who hesitates is lost!” and so it will be with the Fleet if decision is wanting! ”

“ During the whole of this campaign the only staff I had to help me to direct sailing and fighting operations, and above all to supply a naval force numbering seventeen sail, not reckoning my disembarkation craft, with food, coal, and munitions of war, was one first lieutenant, who acted as chief of the staff, aide-de-camp, &c., one second class cadet to go messages and keep the look out, and the purser of my own ship, the Suffren.
It is true all these were first-rate men. The two officers have both become admirals—one is Admiral Touchard and the other Admiral Pierre. ”

“ Upon the high poops, where floated the standard of either nation, gathered round each chief the little knot of officers through whom commands were issued and reports received, the nerves along which thrilled the impulses of the great organism, from its head, the admiral, through every member to the dark lowest decks, nearly awash, where, as farthest from the captain's own oversight, the senior lieutenants controlled the action of the ships' heaviest batteries. ”

“ One of these Admirals I will call a Salt Horse, a man who has seen service during half a century but who has not specialised in a technical branch such as gunnery, or navigation, or torpedoes. A Salt Horse is an all-round sailor. The other Admiral I will call a Maker, and regard him as a highly competent technical officer in the design and construction of ships of war, of their guns, and of their armour. The Captain, a younger man, I will call a Gunner, one who has specialised in naval gunnery in all its branches, and one who knows the old methods and those which now are new and secret. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The signal for a general engagement is usually displayed when the opposite fleets are sufficiently within the range of point-blank shot, so that they may level the artillery with certainty of execution, which is near enough for a line of battle. The action is begun and carried on throughout the fleet, in the manner we have already described between single ships, at which time the admiral carries little sail, observing, however, to regulate his own motions by those of the enemy. ”

“ Perhaps the most weary of all situations, to a naval officer, is, when placed in command of a squadron, watching an enemy's fleet, particularly on such a station as that of Brest; and there my noble friend was severely tried, first, as a captain with a squadron under his orders, and afterwards as a flag officer. The rapidity of the tides, as well as their irregularity, and the constant heavy gales from the westward, render the service a most anxious one ”

“ The captain, of course, has to command his ship like other captains, but the secretary, who is a staff-paymaster or paymaster told off for this special duty, is the admiral's right-hand man as regards the tremendous amount of paper work connected with the command of a fleet or squadron. The flag-lieutenant is the admiral's personal aide-de-camp and so is specially to the fore, both in the big man's inspections of ships and naval establishments and in social duties and functions. ”

“ It is impossible to say too much of the energy, the activity, Or the judicious management, evinced by the Rear-Admiral on all occasions; while animated by his example, every individual under his command, whether of the men of war, or of the transport ships, have seemed to vie with each other in forwarding the public service to the utmost, and in endeavouring by every obliging considerate attention, to convenience the situation of individual officers and men, whenever the circumstances of the moment have put it in their power to afford their disinterested and truly hospitable assistance. ”