the story of Nelson 20

the story of Nelson 20

The main conditions were that the forts Nuovo and Uovo should be

delivered up with their effects; that the troops should keep possession

of the places until the ships which were to be provided for those who

wished to proceed to Toulon were ready to sail; that the garrisons

should march out with the honours of war; that “Persons and Property,

both movable and immovable, of every individual of the two Garrisons,

shall be respected and guaranteed,” a clause applicable also to

prisoners which the allies had made during the blockade of the forts;

and that “All the other hostages and State prisoners, confined in the

two Forts, shall be set at liberty, immediately after the present

Capitulation is signed.” Nelson at once ordered Foote to haul down

the flag of truce flying from the _Seahorse_. Sufficient of his story

has been told to show that the Admiral had little or no pity for

rebels. So far back as the 6th June, he had written to Foote that the

intelligence sent to him by that officer of the hanging of thirteen

Jacobins “gave us great pleasure,” and he also expressed the hope

that three priests who had been condemned would “dangle on the tree

best adapted to their weight of sins.” Without further ado he sent a

declaration to “the Rebellious Subjects” in the two forts that “They

must surrender themselves to His Majesty’s Royal mercy,” and addressed

a summons to the Commanding Officer of the French at the Castle of St

Elmo, that he must either accede to the terms made by Ruffo and the

Russian Commander, or “take the consequences, as I shall not agree

to any other.” A paper signed by Nelson and explained to Ruffo, but

rejected by him, announced that “the British Admiral proposes to the

Cardinal to send, in their joint names, to the French and Rebels,

that the arrival of the British fleet has completely destroyed the

compact, as would that of the French if they had had the power (which,

thank God, they have not) to come to Naples.... That as to Rebels and

Traitors, no power on earth has a right to stand between their gracious

King and them: they must instantly throw themselves on the clemency of

their Sovereign, for no other terms will be allowed them; nor will the

French be allowed even to name them in any capitulation. If these terms

are not complied with, in the time ... viz., two hours for the French,

and instant submission on the part of the Rebels--such very favourable

conditions will never be again offered.”

 

Nelson knew the man with whom he was dealing, and as the following

characteristic letter to Rear-Admiral Duckworth shows, he was quite

prepared for any eventuality. With insurgents on land and the

possibility of a French fleet at sea in the near vicinity, it was

incumbent on the British Admiral not to run unnecessary risks:--

 

“As you will believe, the Cardinal and myself have begun our career by

a complete difference of opinion. He will send the Rebels to Toulon,--I

say they shall not go. He thinks one house in Naples more to be prized

than his Sovereign’s honour. Troubridge and Ball are gone to the

Cardinal, for him to read my declaration to the French and Rebels, whom

he persists in calling patriots--what a prostitution of the word! I

shall send Foote to get the Gun-boats from Procida. I wish the Fleet

not to be more than two-thirds of a cable from each other. I shall send

you a sketch of the anchorage, in forty fathom water. The _Foudroyant_

to be the Van-ship. If the French fleet should favour us with a visit,

I can easily take my station in the centre.”

 

The Cardinal positively refused to entertain Nelson’s opinions, but

after some hesitation decided to discuss affairs with him on the

_Foudroyant_. The interview, which was stormy on both sides and

somewhat protracted, owing to the necessity of employing Lord and Lady

Hamilton as interpreters, took place on the afternoon of the 25th. Both

of them held steadfastly to his own point of view. Nelson therefore

wrote that “in his opinion” the Treaty with the rebels “cannot be

carried into execution, without the approbation of his Sicilian

Majesty.”

 

Uovo and Nuovo were taken possession of by British seamen under

Troubridge on the evening of the 26th inst., and on the following day,

Nelson communicated the fact to the Admiralty, adding: “This morning I

am going to send a detachment under Captain Troubridge, to cut down the

dangerous Tree of Anarchy, and to burn it before the King’s palace. The

moment I can find the City a little quieted, guns shall be got against

St Elmo, when, I am sure, the French will be glad to surrender.... In

my present position, I have not the smallest alarm should the Enemy

favour us with a visit, inferior as my force is to oppose them.” The

castle capitulated on the 12th July 1799, to Nelson’s “brave friend”

Troubridge, whose “great character,” “ability and resources” were duly

detailed to Lord Keith, while the Admiral told Earl Spencer that,

“On land the captain of the _Culloden_ is a first-rate general!”

Troubridge’s reward was a baronetcy, to which no one ever had a clearer

title.

 

Was Nelson justified in cancelling the agreement entered into by Ruffo

and his allies and the enemy? The question has been discussed with

great vehemence and at prodigious length. Mahan’s opinion is that “his

conduct throughout was open and consistent.” He is convinced that the

Admiral acted up to his firm belief “that he not only had a right to

suspend the Capitulation, because, though signed, it had not been

executed, but that it was his bounden duty so to do; having both legal

power and adequate force to prevent its execution.” Nelson “regarded

himself as, and for the time being actually was, the representative of

the King of the Two Sicilies, as well as the admiral of the British

fleet. As representative, he was charged with the interests and honour

of the Sovereign and had authority over all Neapolitan officials;

as admiral, he wielded power to enforce obedience, if refused.

Considering the terms of the Capitulation to be contrary to the

interests and the honour of the Kingdom, he was under an obligation to

prevent their going into effect, until the King’s decision, becoming

known, should supersede his own discretion.”

 

Laughton, whose biography of Nelson is much shorter than Mahan’s, and

is therefore not so comprehensive, dismisses the matter by saying,

“it is perfectly well established as the usage of civilised war that

terms granted by a military officer are conditional on the approval

of his superiors, unless he has distinct authority to negotiate, or

the capitulation has been effected wholly or in part. In the present

instance Cardinal Ruffo had not only no authority to negotiate, but

he had express orders from the King not to do so.” By the fourth

Article of the “Instructions to the troops of his Majesty, ordered to

repair to the Bay of Naples,” dated Palermo, June 10th, 1799, “All the

military and political operations shall be agreed upon by the Prince

Royal and Admiral Lord Nelson. The opinion of this latter always to

have a preponderance, on account of the respect due to his experience,

as well as to the forces under his command, which will determine the

operations; and also because we are so deeply indebted to him for the

zeal and attachment of which he has given so many proofs.” By the tenth

Article, “The acts of clemency concerning the noted offenders, and

the pardoning of the same, are reserved for the King, excepting those

stipulated in the articles of capitulation.”

 

[Illustration: The Execution of Caracciolo

 

Stephen Reid]

 

About seventy Jacobins were executed for their misdeeds, but Nelson

was only concerned in the death of one of them. Commodore Francesco

Caracciolo, the commander of the Republican Navy, had previously

accompanied the Sicilian Court to Palermo, but when an edict was issued

by the French that the property of all absentees would be confiscated,

he had obtained King Ferdinand’s permission to return. Marshal

Macdonald, then Commander-in-chief of the French Army of Naples, refers

to the matter in his “Recollections.” “I had resolved,” he writes,

“to induce Admiral Caracciolo to take service in the new fleet; he

equipped a flotilla which secured respect for the port and coasts of

Naples, frequently threatened by attempts of the English, who occupied

the islands and were stationed in the roads.”[42] When Caracciolo’s

position on sea became untenable, he sought a safer asylum in one of

the forts, whence he eventually fled to the mountains disguised as a

peasant. Here he was discovered and captured. The refugee was brought

on board the _Foudroyant_ on the morning of the 29th June. Nelson at

once instructed Count Thurn, Commander of the Sicilian frigate _La

Minerva_, who had been in action with Caracciolo, to assemble five of

the senior officers under his command to inquire if the prisoner were

guilty of rebellion against his lawful Sovereign, and having fired at

his Sicilian Majesty’s colours on board _La Minerva_. The trial duly

took place; the sentence was death. This was to be carried out “by

hanging him at the fore yard-arm of His Sicilian Majesty’s Frigate _La

Minerva_, under your command, at five o’clock this evening; and to

cause him to hang there until sunset, when you will have his body cut

down, and thrown into the sea.” Such were Nelson’s instructions, which

were obeyed. Parsons, who had charge of Caracciolo, describes him as “a

short, thick-set man, of apparent strength, but haggard with misery and

want; his clothing in wretched condition, but his countenance denoting

stern resolution to endure that misery like a man.” The sympathetic

narrator persists in calling him “veteran” and “old man.” The Commodore

was only forty-seven years of age, although his wan appearance may have

made him look considerably older. “At two o’clock in the afternoon,”

Parsons adds, “the veteran, with a firm step, walked into Lord Nelson’s

barge, and with a party of thirty of our seamen, under one of our

lieutenants, was taken to his [Count Thurn’s] flagship, the gun fired,

and the brave old man launched into eternity at the expiration of

the two hours from the time the sentence had passed. The seamen of our

fleet, who clustered on the rigging like bees, consoled themselves that

it was only an Italian prince, and the admiral of Naples, that was

hanging--a person of very light estimation compared with the lowest

man in a British ship. His Majesty of Naples, the Prime Minister, Sir

John Acton, and many of the foreign ambassadors, joined and took up

their quarters in the _Foudroyant_ two days after the execution; and

my Lord Nelson removed to the first lieutenant’s cabin as his sleeping

apartment, giving his cabin to the king’s use, and the larboard side of

the maindeck for his cooks, who condescended to officiate as ours; and

never did midshipmen fare so sumptuously as during the king’s long stay

on board the _Foudroyant_. The day was passed in administering justice

(Italian fashion) to the wretches who fell into the grasp of Cardinal

Ruffo’s lambs, enlivened by the bombardment of St Elmo, which we were

battering in breach. At noon, dinner was served to the royal party and

their guests on the quarter-deck; Lady Hamilton’s graceful form bending

over her harp, and her heavenly music gave a gusto to the dessert. As

the sun went down, the opera singers, in a large, decked galley, came

alongside, and all that could delight the ear or please the eye was

there to fascinate and charm.”

 

There is more than a suspicion of irony in the above passage. It is

useful because one can readily believe that it was the point of view