After his Recall (1778) as British Commander in America
After his Recall (1778) as British Commander in America
By
Thomas Lewis O’Beirne (1748 - 1823)
Researched and edited by Seán O’Beirne
The
anchors laid out on the larboard side of the ships in the line, were designed as
springs to heave their broadsides up, to oppose any force that might attempt to
come up the channel.
The Vigilant, Phoenix and Preston were ad vanced to command the
bar, to annoy the French fleet in passing it, and to endeavour to throw them
into confusion, after which they were to drop into the rear of the fleet.
The four galleys were ranged across the nar row part of the
channel, abreast the Hook [Sandy
Hook, New Jersey, at the entrance to New York harbor]; from which situation, in case of an attack, they could row in
upon the shoal, and cannonade at such distance as should be most convenient for
the purpose of annoying the enemy; their situation on the shoal would
effectually prevent their being cut off.
The St. Albans and frigates were designed for a moving and
occasional force, and lay within the line.
The
design of the following Narrative, is to do justice to a great and good man, by
the best mode of justification that can be offered in his favour; a plain state
of facts, an impar tial account of his actions, submitted to public view. The
writer acknowledges that he has not the honour of being in Lord Howe’s
secrets, or of being even distantly connected with him: yet the facts he relates
will bear the strictest scrutiny, in point of truth; and his observations on
those facts, shall be such as he form ed on the spot; as arose from his own
feelings at the time, or were suggested to him by officers of the first
character, both in the navy and army. If he assign the reasons and motives of
any of his Lordship’s operations, or advert to the instructions and
intelligence communicated to him from home, he does it from subsequent
information, and chiefly from his Lordship’s pub lic letters.
He
shall endeavour as much as possible to avoid a technical style; for he wishes to
be understood by every class of readers, at the same time he does think it
necessary to apologize to the public for obtruding on them the rough unpolished
language of a seaman, little versed in the elegancies of composition, and
unambitious of the praise of a brilliant diction, or the smooth flow of
well-rounded periods. He shall often have occasion to advert to our present
disgraceful situation; and some times to look forward to those additional
miseries which infallibly await our perseverance in the destructive measures
hitherto pursued, by a weak, ignorant Ministry: and while he points out to his
oppressed country men the destroying sword hanging over their heads and
suspended but by a single hair, he cannot think that any among them will be so
egregiously trifling, as to spend the time in examining its point, or
determining whether it glit ters or not.
His
chief apology should be to the noble Lord, whose actions he attempts to relate.
It will prove no very acceptable service, he fears, to his lordship, to be
brought thus forward; or that a stranger should attempt what his own connec
tions seem, by their silence, to think unnecessary. But he owns he has not
philosophy enough to stifle his indignation, when he sees his gallant Commander,
whom he has learned to revere for every great and good quality that can adorn
the man or the officer, at the mercy of a set of men, whose interest it is to
undermine his character, and misrepresent his conduct. He thinks the public have
a right to be informed of the impor tant services Lord Howe has rendered to
his country; and of the ungrateful return he has met with at the hands, not of
his country, but of some of the servants of the crown.
The
narrative is confined to that period, in which the writer had the honour to
serve under his lordship. His conduct in America, previous to that time, when
thoroughly investigated, will prove to have been of a piece with the whole tenor
of his life; will redown [redound]
to
his own honour, and the disappointment and confusion of his enemies.
A
CANDID AND IMPARTIAL NARRATIVE.
In
consequence of the advices from England, with which the Porcupine arrived in the
De laware, in the beginning of May, [1778]
Lord
Howe began immediately to collect his scattered force. To the surprize of those
who were ignorant of his motives, he called in his cruizers from the Chesapeak,
and the other parts of the coast, and ordered the large ships from Rhode Island
and New York to assemble at the mouth of the De laware. The transports and
victuallers were cleared from the wharves of Philadelphia with as much
expedition as the moving of the army would admit; and on the 18th of June,
[1778
]
Sir H. [Henry]
Clinton having completed the evacuation of Philadelphia, and entered the Jerseys
on his route to New York, the whole fleet assembled below Reedy Island. The
large ships, as well those which had been ordered from Newport, as those which
were stationed in the harbour of New York, were very imprudently detained by
Rear Admiral Gambier, from the idea of the Vice Admiral being on the point of
sailing for that port.
On leaving the Delaware, which calms and contrary winds rendered
impracticable till the 28th of June, Lord Howe divided the fleet into different
squadrons, each squadron under the im mediate inspection of particular
Captains, and or dering Captain Hammond to remain about the Capes, with some
light cruizers, proceeded in the Eagle to New York, attended by the Tri dent,
carrying the Commissioners, and the Maidstone frigate.
The fleet was particularly fortunate in its passage. The Eagle
anchored at the Hook [Sandy
Hook, NJ], the day (June 29) after she had cleared Cape Henlopen, and we all joined her the
following evening. By equal good fortune, Sir H. Clinton gained the Heights of
Neversink the succeeding morning, after a long and fatiguing march. Washington [General
George Washington (1723 - 1799) Commander-in-Chief of the American Army, later
first President of the U.S.] had, for several days, hung on his rear, and harrassed him by
small parties, till by endeavouring, on the 28th, to cut off the baggage of the
English army, he brought on a sharp action at Freehold, wherein our rear guard
repulsed two large detachments under La Fayette [Marquis
de Lafayette (1757 - 1834)] and Lee [Charles
(1731 - 1782)], and beat them back to the main body of the rebel army, pursuing
them for four miles with much slaughter. The chief loss sustained by the
British, was the death of Col. Monkton, one of the bravest officers in the army,
and of the best beloved.
June 29. The morning of
the day on which Lord Howe arrived at the Hook, he was met at sea by the
Grantham packet, express from Eng land. She brought advice that the Toulon [France] squadron had sailed for America on the 15th of April [1778]; and informed his Lordship, that she had been chased by them, in a
southern latitude, at no great distance from the coast. Her dispatches, bearing
date the 2d of May, mentioned a strong reinforcement to be sent immediately
under Vice Admiral Byron [John,
“Mad Jack” (1723 - 1786)] for Halifax.
The utmost expedition was now requisite to take off the troops,
that, with the transports and victuallers, they might be placed in safety, and
the fleet got in readiness for sea, to act as circumstances should require, and
with a view to the destination of the squadron under Admiral By ron. The enemy
did not dare to pass the heights of Middleton. The sick and wounded were there
fore embarked without molestation, and the ar tillery and baggage taken off,
while a bridge of boats was throwing over the channel that separates Sandy-Hook
from the main. This work was intrusted to Captain Duncan [Henry], and executed with the usual zeal and promptitude of that vi
gilant and industrious officer. On the 5th of
July the whole army passed into the island, and from thence were carried
in flat boats on board the fleet, without the loss of a man. Lord Howe attended
in person, as usual; and by his presence animated the zeal, and quickened the
industry, of officers and men.
This important service was scarce performed, and Commodore Hotham,
with the men of war that lay off the town of New-York, arrived at the Hook, (July
7) when a lieutenant from Captain Gardiner, whom the vice Admiral had
dispatched to the southward on the first of July, returned in a letter of marque,
acquainting his Lordship, that the Toulon squadron was seen by the Maidstone, on
the coast of Virginia, the 5th of the month. That, by their course, they seemed
at first to be bound for the Chesapeak; but that on attending their motions to
the mor ning of the 8th, Captain Gardiner had left them at anchor in the
Delaware. This account was confirmed the same evening, by the arrival of the
Roebuck, and some of our small cruizers; and while the vice-admiral was
employed, in consequence, in
collecting his small force, and preparing for every emergency, the captain of
the Zebra ar rived (July
11) on board the Eagle, bringing intelligence, that a fleet of 12 sail
two-decked ships, and three frigates, appeared the evening be fore, under
French colours, holding their course for New-York. At 12 o’clock the same day,
a signal was made, from one of our frigates with out the bar, that they had
hove in fight; and in the afternoon they were observed to come to an chor off
Shrewsbury inlet, about four miles from Sandy- Hook.
It is not in the power of words to do justice to the spirit that
blazed forth throughout the navy and army on this occasion. Six sail of
sixty-four gun ships, three of fifty, two of forty, with some frigates and
sloops, for the most part wretchedly manned, were all the force Lord Howe had to
oppose to twelve sail of two-deck ships and three frigates. Of these one carried
90 guns, one 80, six were of 74 guns,
three of 64, one of 50; the least of
the frigates mounted 36. Their complement in men was above eleven thousand. Yet
the spirit of Britons, roused by the superior genius of one man, and influenced
to second his exertions to a height of emulation scarcely paral leled in
history, set them at defiance.
In
Language Worthy of an old Roman
A
thousand volunteers from the transports presented themselves to man the fleet.
Scarce could the agents detain sufficient hands for the watch of their
respective ships. Many, whose names were omitted in the lists given in to the
adjutant of the fleet, were found concealed in the boats which carried their
more fortunate companions on board the several men of war. The army, idolatrous
of the admiral’s character, were equally forward and impatient to signalize
their zeal, in a line of service, new, and, independent of the spirit that
animated them, unpleasant and disgusting to men unaccustomed to a sea-life. The
grenadiers and light-infantry scarcely recruited from the fa tigues of a
toilsome and dangerous march; many of the officers with their wounds still
green, were obliged to cast lots, to determine the companies which, with the
general’s approbation, were accepted to serve as marines—The masters and
mates of the merchantmen and traders in the harbour, solicited employment with
equal earnestness and spirit. Several of them took their stations at the guns
with the common sailors: others obtained permission to put out to sea in their
small swift-sailing shallops, to alarm such ships as might be bound for the
port, and to look out for Byron’s fleet, if fortunately it should reach the
coast. One, in particular, his name was Duncan, with a spirit of disinterested
bravery, and in language worthy of an old Roman, wrote for leave to convert his
ship, the whole hopes of his fortune, into a fire-vessel, to be conducted by
himself; rejecting every mention of reward.
In
this struggle of magnanimity, it was observed, with rapture, that the spirit
which had raised the British nation above the rest of Europe for so many ages
past, was not extinct; that it only wanted to be awakened, and properly di
rected, to blaze out with as bright a lustre as ever distinguished the most
fortunate and brilliant of our days. From the commanders and officers those
sallies of heroism were naturally expected; their education, the seeds planted
in their minds from their earliest infancy, and cherished by the spirit of their
profession, it was natural to expect would produce such sentiments as fit and
prepare the mind for these sudden and trying e mergencies. But in the common
men it was the spontaneous growth of the soil we saw exuberantly breaking forth;
and as long as this flourished there could be no reason to despair of the health
and vigour of the country.
Such
were the sentiments, such the reflections throughout the fleet and army; and all
gloried in them, as reflecting honour on their country. But what must have been
the feelings of that man, who shared the glory with his country; and who,
notwithstanding the unaffected modesty of his character, must have been
conscious that all his zeal and emulation, in both corps, was as much personal
to himself, as he boasted it to be national?
D’Estaing
Maneuvers
Encouraged by such earnests of determined bravery in the men, and
assured of the merit and skill of his seconds and officers, he lost not a mo
ment in forming his disposition. The Eagle and Trident, the Isis, Roebuck,
Phoenix, and Pearl, which had moved up to Staten Island to take in water, with
the Ardent, from which Gambier had been ordered to shift his flag, fell down
from the watering place on the first intimation of the approach of the French. A
contrary wind preventing them from joining the detachment of the squadron that
had been left at the Hook, with all the expedition the danger seemed to require,
the vice admiral quitted the Eagle, and throwing himself into his barge,
hastened to the ships below. But D’Estaing
Encouraged by such earnests of determined bravery in the men, and
assured of the merit and skill of his seconds and officers, he lost not a mo
ment in forming his disposition. The Eagle and Trident, the Isis, Roebuck,
Phoenix, and Pearl, which had moved up to Staten Island to take in water, with
the Ardent, from which Gambier had been ordered to shift his flag, fell down
from the watering place on the first intimation of the approach of the French. A
contrary wind preventing them from joining the detachment of the squadron that
had been left at the Hook, with all the expedition the danger seemed to require,
the vice admiral quitted the Eagle, and throwing himself into his barge,
hastened to the ships below. But D’Estaing Encouraged by such earnests of determined bravery in the men, and
assured of the merit and skill of his seconds and officers, he lost not a mo
ment in forming his disposition. The Eagle and Trident, the Isis, Roebuck,
Phoenix, and Pearl, which had moved up to Staten Island to take in water, with
the Ardent, from which Gambier had been ordered to shift his flag, fell down
from the watering place on the first intimation of the approach of the French. A
contrary wind preventing them from joining the detachment of the squadron that
had been left at the Hook, with all the expedition the danger seemed to require,
the vice admiral quitted the Eagle, and throwing himself into his barge,
hastened to the ships below. But D’Estaing Encouraged by such earnests of determined bravery in the men, and
assured of the merit and skill of his seconds and officers, he lost not a mo
ment in forming his disposition. The Eagle and Trident, the Isis, Roebuck,
Phoenix, and Pearl, which had moved up to Staten Island to take in water, with
the Ardent, from which Gambier had been ordered to shift his flag, fell down
from the watering place on the first intimation of the approach of the French. A
contrary wind preventing them from joining the detachment of the squadron that
had been left at the Hook, with all the expedition the danger seemed to require,
the vice admiral quitted the Eagle, and throwing himself into his barge,
hastened to the ships below. But D’Estaing [Compte/Count
(1729 - 1794)], instead of crossing the bar immediately, in the hope of surprising
our fleet, which it was natural to suppose he came prepared to attempt,
anchored, as is mentioned before, at the distance of four miles from the Hook.
In
the mean time, we had the daily mortifica tion to see several of our traders
fall into the ene my’s hands. The Stanley armed brig, com manded by a
gallant young man, son to Sir Charles Whitworth, with five prizes, anchored in
the midst of their fleet, during the night, thinking them to be British, and was
boarded before he could discover the mistake. Several tenders, however, and
advice-boats, escaped over the flats, and prevented the Hope, with a convoy from
Halifax, from adding to our losses and indignation.
From the time the French squadron first anchored off Shrewsbury,
boats and small vessels were seen constantly passing to and from the shore, for
supplies of water and provisions. On the 21st of July this intercourse was
observed to cease; and it was, in consequence, supposed that some movement was
in agitation. The succeeding day proved our conjectures to be well-found ed.
The wind blew fresh at north-east, and by eight o’clock D’Estaing, with all
his squadron, appeared under way. He kept working to wind ward, as if to gain
a proper position for crossing the bar by the time the tide should serve. The
wind could not be more favourable for such a design; it blew from the exact
point by which he could attack us to the greatest advantage. The spring tides
were at the highest, and raised that afternoon thirty feet on the bar. We
consequently expected the hottest day that had ever been fought between the two
nations. On our side all was at stake. Had the men of war been defeated, the
fleet of transports and victuallers must have been destroyed, and the army, of
course, have fallen with us; yet, under Heaven, we had not the least doubt of
success. D’Estaing, however, had not spirit equal to the risk; at three
o’clock we saw him bear off to the southward, and in a few hours he was out of
sight.
Boiling
with Indignation—We Sought Reinforcements
On
reading this account, the public must have felt some portion, at least, of the
rage and indig nation that were mingled with this spirit of heroism in our
brave fellows, while they reflected on their situation. They could not but
consider themselves as forgotten, abandoned, marked out as sacrifices to the
dastardly councils or interested designs of the first lord of the admiralty. If
the sailing of La Mothe Picquet had not been a sufficient indication of the
hostile designs of the French, and of their views on America, yet was it known
for certain that the Toulon squadron had sailed for that country in the middle
of April. The accounts were communicated to administration the latter end of
that month; yet the 29th of July had not brought a single ship to re inforce
our fleet, or enable us to meet the enemy.
Had the French squadron arrived a few
days sooner, or had the evacuation of Philadelphia been deferred a few days
later
On
reading this account, the public must have felt some portion, at least, of the
rage and indig nation that were mingled with this spirit of heroism in our
brave fellows, while they reflected on their situation. They could not but
consider themselves as forgotten, abandoned, marked out as sacrifices to the
dastardly councils or interested designs of the first lord of the admiralty. If
the sailing of La Mothe Picquet had not been a sufficient indication of the
hostile designs of the French, and of their views on America, yet was it known
for certain that the Toulon squadron had sailed for that country in the middle
of April. The accounts were communicated to administration the latter end of
that month; yet the 29th of July had not brought a single ship to re inforce
our fleet, or enable us to meet the enemy.
Had the French squadron arrived a few
days sooner, or had the evacuation of Philadelphia been deferred a few days
later (and the inauspicious appearance of the new commissioners had well nigh
effected it) the whole force of Great Britain on that side the Atlantic must
have been annihilated. D’Estaing would have surprised Lord Howe in the
Delaware, with two ships of 64 guns, one of 50, two of 40, and a few frigates,
encumbered with a fleet of transports, victuallers, and private traders, laden,
for the most part, with the refugees from Philadelphia, their families, and the
wrecks of their fortunes. All the conduct of this skillful commander must, in
that crisis, have been ineffectual; all his cou rage could have done, or the
bravery of his of ficers, would have been to sell their lives at the dearest
price; and add, to the other miseries of their country, the loss of some of the
most gallant men she hath ever produced. General Clinton would have reached the
sea-side, in the vain expectation of meeting his transports. His army fatigued;
the whole rebel force in his rear; no provisions, no prospect of procuring them;
no possibility of a retreat; an enemy’s squadron perhaps riding in triumph,
where he expected to find a faithful associate, in whose disinterested zeal he
had learned to place the most boundless confidence, and the surest hopes of a
retreat, after he had acted his own part; such would have been the inevitable
situation of this saving physician; he would have met, as the rebels
prognosticated to him, the fate of Burgoyne, without meriting his disgrace.
[Ed: General
John Burgoyne’s British Army was defeated by the Americans led by General
Horatio Gates at the Battle of Saratoga, NY in October 1777.]
At the same time, we heard it was boasted at home, that the nation
had forty sail of the line ready to put to sea on the most sudden emergen cy.
From the immense sums that had been granted for the navy supplies and the length
of time administration had had to guard against the designs of our natural, and
at all times perfidious enemy, the boast gained credit; but our astonishment and
indignation were only the more encreased. Could the first lord of the admiralty
talk the nation into a belief that all this force was requisite for our home
defence, while, with the same breath, he represented the French navy so much
inferior to the British? Could he make them believe, that, from forty sail of
the line,
perfectly equipped, not the smallest reinforcement could be detached, at
the only time when such a step could prove effentially serviceable, to the
relief of thirty thousand British subjects, and a respectable part of the navy,
exposed to almost certain ruin? Succours were indeed promised; but almost three
months had elapsed, and we still looked for them in vain. Boiling with
indignation and the thirst of revenge, in vain we cast our eyes each hour
towards the sea, in the anxious hope of seeing the British colours advancing to
our relief. Little did we imagine that they were kept idly waving in the harbour
of Portsmouth, for the entertainment of fops and holiday dames!—-Providence
alone interfered in our deliverance; nor can we desire a more encouraging proof
that Heaven has not yet utterly abandoned this nation, than these transactions
exhibit.
Invectives
Pointed and Virulent by a “Gentleman”
The French fleet had a tedious passage. After arriving on the
coast, twenty-four hours were thrown away in chasing the Mermaid, and they
afterwards remained forty-eight hours at anchor in the Delaware. Lord Howe (for
this depended on his own vigilance and activity) had the earliest intelligence
of their approach; was instantly informed of all their movements. He had time to
place the fleet of transports in safety; to see the army equally secure; to
concentre his forces, and form such dispositions, as, in the end, effectually
disappointed the sanguine hopes of the rebels, and their faithless allies, and
defeated the chief object of this boasted, and admirably concerted expedition.
We experienced, no doubt, the worst of insults and mortifications. A British
fleet blocked up by a squadron of French men! and in our own harbour! Vessels,
bear ing English colours, daily captured in our fight! To have gone out to
their assistance, even had it been practicable, would have been the extreme of
madness, since to have been able to defend ourselves where we lay, would, in the
opinion of the most gallant officers in the fleet, have been the utmost that
human valour could accomplish. Yet a gentleman, who at the time obtruded himself
into the society of those officers, who, in their company, was the loudest in
bewailing our de plorable situation, and the desperate card Lord Howe was
forced to play—whose invectives against the first Lord of the Admiralty [Lord
Sandwich], as evi dently designing, by a delay of succours, to destroy or
disgrace the Vice Admiral, were the most pointed and virulent. This gentleman
now hesitates not to assert, that Lord Howe enjoyed a superiority over the
French Commander, and should be accountable to the public for not hav ing
availed himself of this superiority. I write not from the information of the
shameless Editor of the Morning Post. That he hath hazarded this assertion to
men in power, I know from the most respectable authority. Yet this man was once
a sea officer! The lists of both fleets lie be fore the public; let them
answer this very expe rienced captain.
Nor can that gentleman be offended if his assertions on this
subject be esteemed, by the writer of this narrative, so rash and ignorant as to
deserve no other refutation than what must
occur to the meanest 
capacity—to those who are the least conversant in
navy matters. The same lists shall stand in opposition even to higher authority;
to the authority of the great Lord who so worthily presides over the navy
department. For he too, from his place in parliament, when called upon
officially to quiet the fears of the people, blushed not to have recourse to
misinformation and falsehoods—Dared to impose upon the nation in a point
wherein her most essential and dearest interests were at stake, and solemnly
declared the British Vice Admiral in America, to be at the head of a fleet equal
to his defence against all the attempts of the Toulon squadron, independent of
any succours from home. His heart, at the time, gave him the lie. He well knew
that had the British Vice Admiral in America been able, in consequence of the
advice received in May, to collect his fleet, scattered from Halifax to the Gulf
of Florida, for the purpose of distressing the rebel trade, yet he could only
have had the Raisonable of 64, the Centurion of 50,
and the Rainbow of 44 guns in addition to his force at New York, when
D’Estaing, who had failed in April, should first arrive on the coast. But per
haps I wrong the noble Lord; he no doubt meant honestly. As a landsman he might
have supposed, that the equality or inequality of fleets consisted only in the
comparative number of ships, however disproportioned they might be in num ber
of guns, weight of metal, or respective com plements of men. As a landsman,
his Lordship might not have known, that in the summer season, from the
prevalency of the south-west winds, the voyage from Halifax to New-York, is
nearly as precarious as it can be from Portsmouth; or that, as Halifax is the
only harbour where the large men of war could repair whatever essential damages
they might have sustained in their winter and spring cruizes, it was more than
pro bable some of them should be then confined at that port. The candid public
will, no doubt, admit this fair and satisfactory apology. The virtuous and
untainted character his Lordship enjoys in private life, must remove every
suspicion of treachery in his of official conduct. A man so good, a patriot so
incorruptible, could never hazard the glory and safety of his country, and the
blood of her citizens, from a selfish pique; in the narrow view of disgracing a
man, whose fame he is said to envy, whose character and principles may hold him
in awe. Ignorance in the business of his department, is his Lordship’s
misfortune, not his fault; and it would be unfair to assign any other cause why
he should retain our fleet in port for the parade of a naval review, at a time,
when from every information the Ministry had received, the fate of England might
have been decided in America, and thousands of British subjects butchered, or
reduced to thrall dom.—But more of this hereafter.
Tremble
for Their Safety
The same day the Dispatch returned from Halifax. As the Admiralty
had given Lord Howe to understand, that Byron’s squadron was destined for that
port (why they should have been destined for that port, was not within the
powers of common sense to guess) his Lordship had ordered this sloop thither on
the first certain knowledge he had that the French fleet were advanced to the
Delaware. Her dispatches brought no mention of Byron; but they made some amends,
by informing the Admiral, that the Raisonable and Centurion were on their way to
New-York, and in two or three days they both joined us in safety. The Raisonable
so narrowly escaped the French fleet, that she saw them the evening of the 27th
steering for Rhode Island. Had those ships ap peared a few days sooner, either
they must have been prevented from forming a junction with our squadron, and
forced again to sea, or we should have had the mortification to see them
increase the triumph of our enemy.
The same would also have been the fate of the Cornwall, a 74 gun
ship of Byron’s squadron that crossed the Bar on the 30th. With indig nation
it was known by her report, that the re inforcement had not sailed from
Plymouth before the ninth of June, that even then they were kept beating through
the Channel for three days in a thick fog, without having received their final
orders, so that had they been then separated, not a captain in the squadron
would have known his destination; that the Cornwall had parted from them the 3rd
of July in a gale of wind, and that from the miserable condition in which
they had at first put to sea, from the state of their masts and rigging, and the
diseases amongst their crews, there was more reason to tremble for their safety
than to look for their arrival.
Rhode
Island
The
fortunate junction of so many detached ships and their arriving at so happy a
moment, counterbalanced, in some degree, this alarming intelligence. It was now
known for certain that the French fleet had sailed for Rhode Island; and what
ever
little prospect of success, our force, even after the late addition, could open
to us, yet the post was of such importance, and the fate of so large a portion
of the British army as formed the garrison, of such infinite consequence to the
ge neral cause, that it was imagined the Admiral would not lose a moment in
making some attempt for their relief. The accounts received by his lordship,
subsequent to the report of the Raisonable, as appears from the public letters,
favoured such an attempt. These accounts intimated, that on the morning of the
29th, the French fleet had appeared off Newport harbour.
That two of their frigates had entered the Seconnet passage the same day.
That the next morning two line of battle ships had run up the Naraganset
passage, and anchored off the north end of Conanicut [Conanicut
Island, RI],
and that the remainder of the squadron were at anchor without Brenton’s Ledge,
about five miles from the town. In this divided situation, some opportunity
might offer, of which advantage could be taken, for the relief of the garrison,
and the preparations for sea were hastened with this view. The twenty-third
regiment, under the command of Lieut. Col. Balfour, came down volunteers to
serve on board the fleet, relieving the grenadiers and light infantry, whom Sir
H. Clinton had withdrawn to be re-embodied. Two additional fireships,
constructed by the Vice-Admiral’s orders, joined him at the same time, and all
things were in readiness for sea by the first of August. But the signal to weigh
had scarce been made, when the wind veered round to the southward, and not
returning fair, so as to correspond with the time of high-water on the bar, till
the morning of the 6th, we could not make Rhode Island before the evening of the
9th, when we anchored between Point Judith and the light-house. From the report
of the frigates sent on a-head, the French fleet were at anchor within the
harbour. By this means the communication with Brenton’s Neck was open, and the
Vice-Admiral had an opportunity of receiving immediate intelligence, both from
Sir R. [Robert]
Pigot and Captain Brisbane. They informed him that D’Estaing, after having
remained at anchor off Brenton’s Ledge from the 29th of July, had, the
afternoon before we arrived, entered the harbour under an easy sail, cannonading
the town and batteries as he passed, and receiving their fire without any
material effect on either side, and anchored above the town, between Goat Island
and Conanicut [Island].
That the two line of battle ships still kept their stations in the Naraganset
and the frigates in the Seconnet. That the Wednesday before we appear ed, it
had been found necessary to destroy the Orpheus, Lark, Juno, and Cerberus
frigates; that several merchantmen had been sunk in the channel, to prevent the
enemy from approaching near enough to attack the batteries to advantage, and
that on D’Estaing’s entering the harbour, the Flora and Falcon had also been
sunk; that the men belonging to the several ships were all on shore, and
encamped by themselves, to be disposed of at the General’s pleasure.
From Sir R. Pigot he learned that the rebel army, with which the
Toulon squadron was to co-operate, was assembled on the Connecticut shore, all
round the island. Small parties of them had taken possession of Conanicut, from
whence he had previously withdrawn his troops, as he had also from all the
out-ports on the northern extremity of Rhode Island. Craft of all kinds were
ready to transport the enemy to what ever part they should mark out for the
descent. Sir Robert had caused several additional works to be thrown up on the
heights adjacent to Newport, to which he meant to confine his defence, and was
himself posted, with his chief strength on Tommeney Hill, a very high eminence,
that commands the principal approaches to the town.
The
Next Morning Totally Altered the Scene
Night
came on. The Apollo was ordered to stand between the two fleets, within view of
our lights, and by private signals to intimate the ene my’s situation, as
long as she could keep them in sight. By these means we found ourselves at the
dawn of the next day, in the same relative position, though at somewhat a
greater distance than the preceding evening. The wind still hung to the
eastward, blowing fresh. The weather was extremely thick and hazy; no prospect
of a change appeared. The Vice Admiral therefore ordered the frigates which had
the charge of the fireships to be informed, that should the enemy continue to
preserve the weather gage, he should await their approach with the squadron
formed in a line of battle ahead from the wind to the star-board. At the same
time the fleet beheld him, with infinite satisfaction, take a decisive step that
strongly marks his character, and shews him to be above the little fears and
apprehensions of those, who, to avoid the whispers of the igno rant, act
against their own judgment. It has ever been acknowledged, that any station in
the line is the most improper a commander-in-chief can choose in the time of
action. As soon as the ship, in which he is embarked, engages, his abilities can
be of no more consequence or service than those of any other captain in his
fleet. But to break through established customs, and be the first to try the
experiment, where malice might throw a sneer at his personal bravery, required a
man who possessed other qualities of mind than are merely requisite to form the
seaman. Lord Howe was convinced of the utility of the measure, and this alone
determined him to pursue it. In his situation indeed the expediency
was particularly obvious. Engaged with such unequal force, the chief hope
of success was placed in the skill and abilities of the commander-in-chief, in
his taking advantage of every fortuitous occurrence, and drawing every scruple
of his little force into its proper point. He therefore shifted his flag on
board the Apollo frigate, leaving the Eagle in the centre, and moved to a
convenient distance to take a view of the whole line. As he gained by this a
nearer observation of the French fleet, his lordship, perceiving, as we
supposed, that D’Estaing had placed his largest ships in his van, thought
proper to strengthen the rear of the British to receive their attack, and made a
signal for the Cornwall to move from the centre and change stations with the
Centurion. About four o’clock the French Admiral altered his bearing, and new
formed his line to engage to leeward. Lord Howe crossed through the interstices
of our line with the frigates and fire vessels, and in a few minutes after made
a signal for the ships to shorten sail, and close to the centre. In this
movement he was obeyed to the admiration of the oldest officer, as indeed he had
been in the several manoeuvres he had put in practice either to gain the wind,
or preparatory to the intended attack. We now expected every instant to hear our
rear en gaged with the French van; but in a short time they again altered
their course, and bearing away to the southward, were soon, from the state of
the weather, entirely out of sight.
Storm
Damage at Sea—Battle Continues
The same evening, and about the same hour, Commodore Hotham, in the
Preston of 50 guns, also crossed the
Tonnant, their 80 gun ship, with only her mainmast standing. He engaged her with
the greatest advantage till night forced him to draw off, in the same design
that Dawson had formed, and with the same certainty of success. But he was
disappointed by a similar unfortu nate intervention of part of the French
squadron.
The same evening, and about the same hour, Commodore Hotham, in the
Preston of 50 guns, also crossed the
Tonnant, their 80 gun ship, with only her mainmast standing. He engaged her with
the greatest advantage till night forced him to draw off, in the same design
that Dawson had formed, and with the same certainty of success. But he was
disappointed by a similar unfortu nate intervention of part of the French
squadron.
Brilliant
Action by Raynor
A
third action, as brilliant as any on record in the history of the English navy,
was fought the same day between the Isis of 50 guns, commanded by Captain John
Raynor, and the Caesar of 74, with
a flag at her mizen-mast, in complete order. Raynor, returning to the
rendezvous, first discovered her force about three in the afternoon, and
endeavoured to escape her; but she proved the fastest sailor. In a short time
they were close on board each other, and engaged for an hour and half within
pistol shot. The skill and address, of the British Captain, his intrepidity and
resolution during so unequal a contest, seconded by the ardour and bravery of
his men and officers, who all placed the utmost confidence in his abilities, at
length forced the Frenchman to put before the wind, and fly with all her sails.
The Isis was incapable of pursuing him, having suffered greatly in her masts and
rigging, at which the enemy pointed all his guns. Raynor directed his to better
purpose. Bougainville lost his arm, the first
lieutenant his leg, and they ac knowledged seventy men killed and
wounded. In the Isis 14 were wounded and one man of the 23rd killed in the tops.
The modesty and reserve that strike us in Raynor’s public account of this
glorious action, add new lustre to his gallantry; recommend him the more
forcibly to the public, and are characteristic of the true hero. The Duke of
Ancaster, tho’ arrived from England only the day before we sailed, obtained
leave to serve on board the lsis, and was greatly distinguished during the
action.
Repairs
and Sailing Through Hellgate
On the fleet being re-assembled, the attention of the Vice Admiral
was instantly directed to the speedy repair of the disabled ships. The Isis,
with the Apollo and fireships, were sent up to New York, and such stores ordered
down as were requisite for the supply of the ships that could be repaired
at the Hook. The Experi ment was dispatched [August
18] to explore the state of affairs at Newport, and the condition of
the garrison, and the Ariel and Galatea sent to cruize, the one to the
southward; the other to the northward. The same day the Monmouth, one of
Byron’s ill-fated squadron, with
her main-mast sprung, and her men wasted with
disease, joined the fleet.
The essential repairs requisite for so many ships, unavoidably
employed several days, during which the Vice Admiral received information that
the French squadron had returned to Rhode Island. The Experiment
Stanhope’s
Narrow Escape
The morning after Lord Howe had received this intelligence, and
while he was waiting for the tide to begin crossing the Bar, the disabled ships,
except the Isis and the Apollo, being then nearly compleated, Lieutenant
Stanhope arrived from Rhode Island, from whence he made his escape in a
whale-boat, the Friday before, at the utmost risque of his life.* His information was,
that he had left the French fleet at anchor off the harbour’s mouth; that, as
the wind had since then continued at east, it was not probable they could be got
in; that the rebels, in number more than twenty thousand, were advanced within
fifteen hundred yards of our works; that Sir R. Pigot was under no apprehensions
from any of their attempts in front; but that should the French fleet come in,
he ordered him to say, it would make an alarming change. Troops might be landed
at Brenton’s Neck, according to the original plan agreed upon between the
rebels and the French, and advance upon his rear, and in that case he could not
answer for the consequences.
*
He had passed unperceived through the body of the
French fleet, and coasting along the outward shore of Long Island met with so
heavy a sea, as exposed his boat to be swamped at each instant.
Back
to Newport and Boston Bay
On
this information Lord Howe immediately crossed the Bar, and being joined in the
night by the Experiment and fireships from New York, and a number of volunteers
for the Monmouth, sailed the next morning for Newport. A rein forcement from
Clinton’s army was at the same time to be sent through the Sound for the
relief of the garrison. Lord Howe was to favour their approach by drawing off
the French fleet, and endeavouring to bring them to action; but being met at sea
by the Galatea with dispatches from General Pigot, by which it appeared that
D’Estaing had, on the night, between the Friday
and Saturday, sailed from his anchorage off Point Ju dith, and steered
in a course for Boston, he de tached the Nautilus, Sphynx and Vigilant to
Rhode Island, and stood on with his squadron in quest of the enemy. As it was
not probable that they would attempt to navigate their large ships in their
disabled state through the South Channel, within George’s Bank, the Vice Ad
miral was in hopes, that by following that course, he might intercept them in
their approach to Boston Bay. These hopes were confirmed by the Captain of the
privateer-brig Resistance, taken by our fleet on the 28th. He had been sent from
Boston the preceding Monday, to look out for the French squadron and pilot them
into Boston. But as he had sailed down the channel, and seen nothing of them, he
supposed they had steered round the Bank.
The morning of the 30th brought us into Boston Bay. The fleet
continued under sail, while the Roebuck and Experiment were sent forward to look
into the harbour, and by private signals to intimate to the Admiral, whether the
French squadron were arrived or not; or if ar rived, where anchored. Between
four and five we had the mortification to learn, by a signal from the
Experiment, that they were lying in Nantasket Road.
The next day the Vice Admiral, meaning to take advantage of a
leading wind to view their position, was prevented by the St. Alban’s run
ning on shore near the point of Cape Cod. He effected his purpose, however, on
the 1st of Sep tember, when finding them so strongly posted, under cover of
the strong works constructed on the islands which command the Nantasket Road and
Channel, that no attempt could be made up on them with the least prospect of
success, he lost not a moment in returning to the assistance of Newport. But he
had already effectually re lieved that important garrison; Sullivan, [General
John Sullivan (1740
- 1795), American general, later Congressman and US District Judge.] on the
retreat of his allies, and the account of the British fleet being sailed in
pursuit of them, thought proper to retire from before the place, charging his
ill success to the failure of promise on the part of D’Estaing.
Thus, by a happy mixture of prudent and bold measures, by a series
of manoeuvres, which the naval tactick was scarcely thought capable of
exhibiting; by an indefatigable zeal, and an ar dent attention to take
advantage of every occurrence; by the unconquerable and persevering spirit with
which his example inspired every officer and
seaman under his command, Lord Howe, having, with forces so unequal, defeated
all the great designs of the enemy, protected
the army and the fleet of
transports at New-York, raised the siege at Rhode-Island, and driven the French
squadron into the port of Boston, whence their shattered condition would not
suffer them to ven ture far a length of time, returned to New-York, and to the
infinite regret both of navy and army, resigned the command into the hands of
Rear Admiral Gambier.*
*The
sending out such a successor to Lord Howe, at so critical a juncture, was the
bitterest of many insults passed by the first Lord of the Admiralty on the navy
officers serving in America. Gambier succeeded to a command which required the
abilities of a Howe, and being placed at the head of the gallant men who were
formed under that great commander, was as degrading to them, as it might have
been fatal to the nation. Let it not be answered, as I remember the great Lord
once urged in his own defence, on an occasion somewhat similar, that it was
never designed he should serve as commander in chief, and that Byron was on the
coast. I speak of a measure adopted previous to the for tuitous departure of
Mr. Byron for America, and the man had too much vanity to conceal the unexpected
honour that was intended him from his first arrival.
The
British Empire in America—That Phantom is Vanished
From
this impartial detail of facts, the public shall judge between the infamous
hints and aspersions thrown out by the abettors of a Sandwich [Earl of
Sandwich] and the conduct of Lord Howe. They will judge how much the nation is
indebted to that good man and brave officer, whose character they have heard so
insidiously undermined. They will blush at the cruel and unjust treatment with
which his services are repaid, and will turn their indignation against the tools
of a vicious man, who by ignorance and treachery, had well nigh sacrificed—I
will not say the British empire in America—that phantom is vanished—but the
lives of thirty thousand brave fellows who had so long fought and bled for their
country.
These brave fellows have indeed themselves borne ample testimony to
the Character of Lord Howe. However unjust the clash of interests or views of
ambition have rendered some individuals in the army in other instances, in
speaking of this brother they have but one voice; and from the general to the
common men, all hung down their dejected heads, when they saw the preserver of
the British name in America sail from the coast. No shameless hireling could
there misrepresent facts of which they had themselves been witnesses, by false
and delusive accounts, the neglect or treachery, no matter to them whether
treachery or neglect, of the timid and dilatory measures pursued in the
management of the navy at home, from the fatal effects of which his Lordship
effectually rescued them. They owned themselves indebted to him for their safety
and preservation, and with the same breath paid him their just tribute of praise
for the signal triumph they saw him obtain over the enemies of their country. I
repeat the words—the signal triumph they saw him obtain over the enemies of
their country. If the plain narrative l have given to my readers, has not
warranted me in their opi nion to use such expressions, I am confident that a
few reflections will make the public adopt the same language.
The
US Congress Were Much Better Informed
For this purpose it will be requisite to observe to them, that
Congress were much better informed of the real state of our navy in America, at
the beginning of this year, than the Lord at the head of the Admiralty
acknowledged himself to have been. Its numbers and situation they represented to
their new allies much more accurately than it suited his lordship’s views and
purposes to own to the English nation. They knew that the chief object of our
armaments in the American seas, was the interruption of their trade, and the
destruction of the small vessels they
had been able to fit out. That for this service five sail of sixty-four gun
ships, five fifties, with a certain number of frigates and sloops, were deemed
amply sufficient, and were alone employed. That even this small force was
constantly dispersed along the whole extent of the coast,
as it must have been to answer its intent. That therefore an armament in
force, planned with secrecy, and conducted with vigour and expedition, might
warrant hopes of the most brilliant and decisive success. They might attack the
British ships in detail, and defeat them piece-meal. The men of war being once
destroyed, the transports and
victuallers must fall of course. Cut off from
every supply of provision, every means of retreat, the whole British army must
fall an easy prey. The contest must be decided by a single blow, before the
design could be suspected at home, or at least before any succours could be sent
out to pre vent the execution. Such were the just and well-grounded
representations urged by the American agents [See
Franklin, et al., below] to the French ministry; and D’Estaing’s expedition was planned
in consequence. A force, equal to the design, was in immediate readiness. Such
secrecy was observed, with re gard to its destination, that the fleet had
reached the longitude of the western islands, before the French Admiral, by a
formal declaration of war, on board the several ships of his squadron, opened
the secret to his officers, and animated his men, by the prospect of the certain
and easy conquest he set before them.
Nation
Misled by State Quacks and Dastardly Ministers
While
our enemies were thus employed in vigorously pushing forward to the execution of
the schemes they had so wisely planned for our destruction, the first Lord of
the Admiralty thought his business done, if he could succeed in deceiving the
nation. The friends of the constitution, and they who had the glory of their
country at heart, were the only enemies he seemed to dread. Provided he could
repel their attacks on his disgraceful administration, he was willing to trust
the national safety and honour to chance. Hackneyed
in the arts of deceit and misrepresentation, and encouraged by the
slavish obsequiousness of a large majority of the constitutional guardians of
our liberty, he made the grossest appeal to the credulity of the people, whose
indignation he yet dreaded. With this view they were daily amused with pompous
accounts of the flourishing state of
our naval ar maments; of the number of ships, ready manned and fitted, that
could be sent out when occasion required. The preparations of the French were
represented as trifling and insignificant, and
assurances given that on our side the utmost care was taken to rise
occasionally beyond them, and still to maintain our usual superiority. Majesty
itself was brought forward to favour the deceit, after having been first
deceived, and every me retricious
artifice of pomp and shew put in practice to cover our weakness. Under the hands
of our state quacks, the nation assumed the false and transient flush of a
consumptive patient, while she languished interiorly, and her whole frame was
menaced with speedy dissoIution. In vain did her friends represent her real
situation, solicit, threaten, attempt every expedient to rescue her from the
unskillful hands that had first destroyed her constitution, and would now
flatter her to her ruin. In vain Lord Chatham
Peace to his ashes!
Cunning
and Sagacious American Agents at Versailles
The mention of his name has deluded me from my subject. I meant to
observe, that the most accurate and authentic accounts daily received of the
forward prepara tions in the French ports; the sailing of the squadron under
La Mothe Piquet, and the object of its equipment, known beyond a doubt; the
declaration of war, for as such every man of common sense considered, from the
first, the rescript delivered with such insolence by the French Ambassador in
the name of his master; the exultation and triumph of the American agents, [Benjamin
Franklin (1706 - 1790) assisted by Arthur Lee and Silas Deane] who, notwithstanding their native sagacity and cunning, could not
conceal their joy at the full success of their negociations with the cabinet of
Versailles; the arrival of one of these agents at Toulon, and the preparations
made for his reception, and the reception of Mr. Girard, on board the Languedoc,
the stale subject of every public conversation; the large quantities of
merchandize for the American markets, with which our Ministers
were well informed the fleet at Toulon was loaded; the fullness of all
these concurring circumstances, so clearly expressive of the designs of the
French, was slighted and disregarded. At least what precautions were taken in
consequence, but such as are to be found in the fine plausible speeches of the
Ministry in both houses, or as were con fined to the idle, ineffectual visits
of the first Lord of the Admiralty, to the several dock yards? Was not the
important pass of the Me diterranean still left open and defenceless? Was a
single ship sent to reinforce our commander there, or to put him in a condition
even to observe the enemy, and inform Ministry of their motions? Were not the
first accounts of the de parture of the Toulon squadron, and the course they
held, communicated to one of our residents by a foreign power, and by him
transmitted home by land?
Tame
and Dastardly Conduct by Our Ministers
In the latter end of April, when this impor tant intelligence was
authenticated beyond a doubt, what part did our great and decisive Ministers
take? They fought their battles with opposition, but suffered the enemy to
proceed in triumph. The first was their great object. To succeed in it, they did
not blush to magnify to their Sovereign and to the people, the prepa rations,
which the day before, they affected to despise. The French fleet at Brest, was
then declared to be in such force, that not a ship could be spared from our home
defence. (See
Lord North’s speech.) [Lord North, Frederick,
(1732 - 1792) British Prime Minister]. The destination of
the Toulon squadron was not certainly known—their sailing in the direction
they held might be a feint—if a squadron should be detached from our fleet in
pursuit of them, they might perhaps, return to form a junction with
D’Orviliers, and give a decisive superiority over Admiral Keppel [Augustus
(1725 - 1786)]—though seen at a short distance from the western islands, yet
they might have proceeded so far only to cover their design the more
effectually—like Bayes’s army, they might remain concealed, hanging in the
clouds, we may suppose, till the intelligence of such a detach ment having
sailed from our fleet should reach them—they
might then have tacked about, and, joined with the armament at Brest,
pour such a resistless force on our coast, as must have swept all before it.
Immense
Sums Voted—Yet Must Sweep the Prisons for Men
The
fact is, our Ministry had the earliest and fullest intelligence of the time the
Toulon squadron sailed, of its destination, and the inevitable danger with which
our forces in America were threatened, should D’Estaing succeed. But it is
equally certain that, notwithstanding the immense sums that had been voted for
the navy supplies for there three years past, the fleet was then so weak,
shattered and out of repair, as not to afford a detachment adequate to the
emergency. Almost two months were requisite to glean the old stores, that had
lain rotting for years, in the different dock-yards, to strip the ships at
Portsmouth of their rigging, and splice and knot cordage, that had been long
condemned as unserviceable, to patch up masts and yards from the wrecks and
remnants of a fleet, once the terror of the world; to sweep the prisons for men,
infected with diseases, and unaccustomed to a sea-life. When, by all these
wretched shifts and contrivances, a squadron of thirteen sail had been at
length, we cannot say fitted out, but sent to sea, what were the consequences?
They could not stand against a summer gale—Scattered and dispersed at the
mercy of the winds and waves for almost three months, the wretched remains of
Mr. Byron’s fleet arrived at New-York, mostly dismasted and unrigged, and
their companies so sickly, from the gaol infections brought by them on board,
that in a seventy-four gun ship, only eighty men were capable of doing duty. The
Vice Admiral himself, in a disabled ship, escaped with difficulty from the
French fleet: he thought it a happiness to gain the port of Halifax, where he
found part of his squadron in the same wretched condition with the ship in which
he was himself embarked. Tho’ it must be obvious to the most ignorant and
abject retainer of the Ministry, that no expectations could, from the first, be
formed of a squadron thus equipped; though they have been told repeatedly, that
there is not an officer, serving in the squadron, who will not declare, upon his
honour, that had the ships been in any tolerable condition, with respect either
to men or furniture, they would not have even felt the force of the gale, by
which they were so miserably shattered; yet have the abettors of the junto, with
their usual effrontery, caught at this happy circumstance. They have expatiated
on the subject with all the triumph of integrity, and a consciousness of having
discharged their duty. They cannot, they say, contend with winds and
waves—accidents may defeat the best designs—had this gale not separated the
fleet, it would, in the common course of sailing, have gained the coast of Ame
rica in sufficient time to defeat all the schemes of the Toulon squadron. To the
facts which I have already related, that evidently refute this assertion, I
shall add one observation—The Cornwall was not kept back by this gale; half of
the way she made alone, unretarded by the disproportionate sailing of a
squadron; yet she arrived not at the Hook till the 30th, and D’Estaing had
been on the coast from the 5th.
Insulted
and Threatened by Every Nation Around Us
After
all, I may be told by the ministerial runners, that I have obtruded on the
public a subject too trifling and inconsiderable to deserve their attention. The
fate of our navy and ar my in America, which appeared of such consequence to
those engaged in their defence on the spot, was far from being a principal
object with our wise and prudent rulers. Their chief at tention was employed
in guarding the seat of the empire; and the operations in the Channel of England
engrossed all their thoughts, and dried up all their resources. Here then, we
may suppose, all is victory and triumph! Here are no disgraces to weep over—no
murmurs, discontent, or complaint—no cause of complaining. At home it would
seem administration are under no necessity of having recourse to false
representations—of seeking unjust pretexts to injure the reputation of the
most experienced and distinguished officers of the navy, or to shift the public
indignation from one of their own shameless junto, to a brave man, who preserved
the nation from still greater infamy and disgrace. The just and for giving
Sandwich discovers no jealousy, it would seem, of the gallant Admiral, who
joined the prudence of a statesman to the skill of a com mander in chief, who
dared to undeceive the public by his prudent conduct, and at the risque of a
temporary imputation on his own character, rather than by their destruction;
who, on discovering how false and impudent the assertions of that shameless
Minister had been, and the great superiority of the Brest fleet, re turned to
port, if possible, to gain a reinforce ment, rather than risque the existence
of the British nation, in a contest, the most unequal and desperate.
Surely
there is a point of tameness and passive forbearance, below which it is
impossible that a nation should fall! And either our ministers have depressed us
to that point, or the ge nius of Britain has deserted her for ever, and her
ancient spirit hath been so efffectually broken and subjugated, as never to be
roused again. Insulted and threatened by every nation around us; engaged in open
hostilities with France; on the eve of a war with Spain; Portugal, the child of
our charity, deserted to our enemies; Holland adding insolence to ingratitude,
and ca villing for pretexts to share the spoils of her ancient defender and
faithful ally; the empire itself dismembered, and those provinces from which we
derived wealth and power and consequence, torn from us for ever, and their
inhabi tants driven into the most relentless, inveterate enmity; the great
sources of our treasure per haps at this instant cutoff; and thousands of the
people reduced to beggary, by the loss of our West-lndia islands. Such is the
prospect from abroad. At home, we are divided in our counsels: the betrayers of
their country, who, in the course of a few years, have tumbled the nation from
the height of glory, wealth, and power to which she had been raised in the last
reign, and overwhelmed her in disgrace, beggary, and ruin, still triumph in
their designs; are employed, cherished, supported in their obstinate adherence
to the same measures, which experience has proved to be pregnant with ruin and
destruction; while the friends of the constitution, who have uniformly opposed
those fatal measures, are slighted, set aside, and branded with the oppro
brious imputation of faction, and disappointed party malevolence; officers are
pitted against officers in private broils [brawls], and the utmost pain taken by
the Ministers to foment their jealousies, and add fuel to their animosities;
some among themselves who had once gained the esteem and confidence of their
corps, whose abilities were rated high, and whose character was respected, have
not been ashamed to prostitute their name to this vile business, and, for the
smiles of a wicked great man, to sell themselves to endless contempt and scorn.
The most gallant of our commanders, in both lines of service, who had long
flourished in the opinion and favour of their king and country, we see insulted,
injured, their reputation whispered away, and loaded with the disgrace and
infamy which legions of angels could not have prevented from attending the
ignorant, weak, indecisive plans imposed on them from the cabinet, and which
their duty to their king reduced them to the necessity
of attempting to execute.
May
the Public Detestation be Directed Against the Real Authors of Our Disgrace
In
the mean time, the nation bleeds, from the fatal consequences of this mixture of
folly and injustice. While the Ministers are diffident of those gallant and
high-spirited men whom they are conscious they have barely injured; and while
they, on their side, are incensed at the perfidy of administration, and shocked
at the prospect of serving under a set of men, from whose councils nothing but
disgrace and defeat can follow, our fleet remains without a commander; a strong
squadron of the enemy are now, and for weeks past have been, cruizing in the
Channel; and there is not a flag officer, of the least
name, whom Lord Sandwich can ask to accept, or who, if asked, would
accept, the command of an arma ment prepared to oppose them.
The people vainly flattered themselves that the meeting of
parliament would have brought them some relief and rescued the nation from this
ignominious, desperate state. They looked up to the hereditary counsellors of
the throne, and guardians of our liberty; they looked up to the country
gentlemen, whose interests are so deeply at stake, and whose independence, they
hoped, was proof against venality and corrup tion; they looked up to their
gracious and be loved Sovereign; they were in hopes that he would have been at
length undeceived; that our repeated losses and disappointments, which must have
wrung his paternal heart, would, at least, have rendered him diffident of the
men from whose counsels they had proceeded, and have made him pay some attention
to the numerous and respectable part of both houses of parliament, who uniformly
protested against them, and counselled better things. Disappointed in their
hopes from a quarter whence their duty, their confidence, their affection, made
them form the greatest expectations, the moderate part of the nation tremble at
the probable consequences; they fear lest the patience of the people should be
tired down, and they forced to speak a language that must be understood. Our
history affords but too many alarming instances of the violent extremes to which
the spirit of the nation may be transported under such provocations.
Amidst all our afflictions, may we of the present age never
experience that extreme of misery! May our gracious King continue to be
respected, honoured, beloved, as his virtues deserve! May the public detestation
be directed against the real authors of our disgrace, and confined to the only
sacrifices, which can be made with justice, to an insulted, oppressed, and
indignant people.
FINIS
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Tulskone@optonline.net
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