The Story of Nelson 26

The Story of Nelson 26

“About one P.M., few if any of the Enemy’s heavy Ships and Praams had

ceased to fire. The _Isis_ had greatly suffered by the superior weight

of the _Provestein’s_ fire; and if it had not been for the judicious

diversion of it by the _Desirée_, Captain Inman, who raked her, and

for other assistance from the _Polyphemus_, the _Isis_ would have been

destroyed. Both the _Isis_ and _Bellona_ had received serious injury by

the bursting of some of their guns. The _Monarch_ was also suffering

severely under the united fire of the _Holstein_ and _Zealand_; and

only two of our Bomb-vessels could get to their station on the Middle

Ground, and open their mortars on the Arsenal, directing their shells

over both Fleets. Our Squadron of Gun-brigs, impeded by currents,

could not, with the exception of one, although commanded by Captain

Rose in the _Jamaica_, weather the eastern end of the Middle Ground,

or come into Action. The Division of the Commander-in-chief acted

according to the preconcerted plan; but could only menace the entrance

of the Harbour. The _Elephant_ was warmly engaged by the _Dannebrog_,

and by two heavy Praams on her bow and quarter. Signals of distress

were on board the _Bellona_ and _Russell_, and of inability from the

_Agamemnon_. The contest, in general, although from the relaxed state

of the Enemy’s fire, it might not have given much room for apprehension

as to the result, had certainly, at one P.M., not declared itself in

favour of either side. About this juncture, and in this posture of

affairs, the signal was thrown out on board the _London_,[54] for the

Action to cease.

 

[Illustration: “I really do not see the signal”

 

Stephen Reid]

 

“Lord Nelson was at this time, as he had been during the whole Action,

walking the starboard side of the quarter-deck; sometimes much

animated, and at others heroically fine in his observations. A shot

through the mainmast knocked a few splinters about us. He observed to

me, with a smile, ‘It is warm work, and this day may be the last

to any of us at a moment’; and then stopping short at the gangway, he

used an __EXPRESSION__ never to be erased from my memory, and said with

emotion, ‘but mark you, I would not be elsewhere for thousands.’ When

the signal, No. 39, [to discontinue the engagement], was made, the

Signal Lieutenant reported it to him. He continued his walk, and did

not appear to take notice of it. The Lieutenant meeting his Lordship

at the next turn asked, ‘whether he should repeat it?’ Lord Nelson

answered, ‘No, acknowledge it.’ On the Officer returning to the poop,

his Lordship called after him, ‘Is No. 16 [for close action] still

hoisted?’ the Lieutenant answering in the affirmative, Lord Nelson

said, ‘Mind you keep it so.’ He now walked the deck considerably

agitated, which was always known by his moving the stump of his right

arm. After a turn or two, he said to me, in a quick manner, ‘Do you

know what’s shown on board of the Commander-in-chief, No. 39?’ On

asking him what that meant, he answered, ‘Why, to leave off Action.’

‘Leave off Action!’ he repeated, and then added, with a shrug, ‘Now,

---- me if I do.’ He also observed, I believe, to Captain Foley,

‘You know, Foley, I have only one eye--I have a right to be blind

sometimes’; and then with an archness peculiar to his character,

putting the glass to his blind eye, he exclaimed, ‘I really do not

see the signal.’[55] This remarkable signal was, therefore, only

acknowledged on board the _Elephant_, not repeated. Admiral Graves did

the latter, not being able to distinguish the _Elephant’s_ conduct:

either by a fortunate accident, or intentionally, No. 16 was not

displaced. The Squadron of Frigates obeyed the signal, and hauled

off. That brave Officer, Captain Riou, was killed by a raking shot,

when the _Amazon_ showed her stern to the Trekroner. He was sitting

on a gun, was encouraging his men, and had been wounded in the head

by a splinter. He had expressed himself grieved at being thus obliged

to retreat, and nobly observed, ‘What will Nelson think of us?’ His

Clerk was killed by his side; and by another shot, several of the

Marines, while hauling on the main-brace, shared the same fate. Riou

then exclaimed, ‘Come then, my boys, let us die all together!’ The

words were scarcely uttered, when the fatal shot severed him in two.

Thus, and in an instant, was the British service deprived of one of

its greatest ornaments, and society of a character of singular worth,

resembling the heroes of romance.

 

“The Action now continued with unabated vigour. About two P.M., the

greater part of the Danish Line had ceased to fire: some of the

lighter Ships were adrift, and the carnage on board of the Enemy,

who reinforced their crews from the Shore, was dreadful. The taking

possession of such Ships as had struck, was, however, attended with

difficulty; partly by reason of the batteries on Amak Island protecting

them, and partly because an irregular fire was made on our Boats, as

they approached, from the Ships themselves. The _Dannebrog_ acted

in this manner, and fired at our boat, although that Ship was not

only on fire and had struck, but the Commodore, Fischer, had removed

his Pendant, and had deserted her. A renewed attack on her by the

_Elephant_ and _Glatton_, for a quarter of an hour, not only completely

silenced and disabled the _Dannebrog_, but, by the use of grape,

nearly killed every man who was in the Praams, ahead and astern of

that unfortunate Ship. On our smoke clearing away, the _Dannebrog_

was found to be drifting in flames before the wind, spreading terror

throughout the Enemy’s Line. The usual lamentable scene then ensued;

and our Boats rowed in every direction, to save the crew, who were

throwing themselves from her at every port-hole; few, however, were

left unwounded in her after our last broadsides, or could be saved.

She drifted to leeward, and about half-past three blew up. The time

of half-past two, brings me to a most important part of Lord Nelson’s

conduct on this day, and about which so much discussion has arisen:

his sending a Flag of Truce on shore. To the best of my recollection,

the facts were as follow. After the _Dannebrog_ was adrift, and had

ceased to fire, the Action was found to be over, along the whole of

the Line astern of us; but not so with the Ships ahead and with the

Crown batteries. Whether from ignorance of the custom of war, or from

confusion on board the Prizes, our Boats were, as before mentioned,

repulsed from the Ships themselves, or fired at from Amak Island. Lord

Nelson naturally lost temper at this, and observed, ‘That he must

either send on shore, and stop this irregular proceeding, or send

in our Fire-ships and burn them.’ He accordingly retired into the

stern gallery, and wrote, with great dispatch, that well-known Letter

addressed to the Crown Prince,[56] with the address, ‘To the Brothers

of Englishmen, the brave Danes, &c.’:[57] and this Letter was conveyed

on shore through the contending Fleets by Captain Sir Frederick

Thesiger, who acted as his Lordship’s Aid-de-camp; and found the Prince

near the Sally-port, animating his people in a spirited manner.

 

“Whether we were actually firing at that time in the _Elephant_ or

not, I am unable to recollect; it could only have been partially, at

such of the farther Ships as had not struck. The three Ships ahead

of us were, however, engaged; and from the superiority of the force

opposed to them, it was by no means improbable that Lord Nelson’s

observing eye pointed out to him the expediency of a prudent conduct.

Whether this suggested to him the policy of a Flag of Truce or not, two

solid reasons were apparent, and were such as to justify the measure:

viz., the necessity of stopping the irregular fire from the Ships which

had surrendered--and the singular opportunity that was thus given, of

sounding the feelings of an Enemy, who had reluctantly entered into

the war, and who must feel the generosity of the first offer of amity

coming from a conquering foe. If there were a third reason for the

conduct of the noble Admiral, and some of his own Officers assert this,

it was unnecessary that it should have been expressed; it was certainly

not avowed, and will for ever remain a matter of conjecture.[58]

While the Boat was absent, the animated fire of the Ships ahead of

us, and the approach of two of the Commander-in-chief’s division,

the _Ramilies_ and _Defence_, caused the remainder of the Enemy’s

Line to the eastward of the Trekroner to strike: that formidable Work

continued its fire, but fortunately at too long a range to do serious

damage to any one except the _Monarch_, whose loss in men, this day,

exceeded that of any Line-of-Battle Ship during the war. From the

uninjured state of this Outwork, which had been manned at the close of

the Action with nearly 1500 men, it was deemed impracticable to carry

into execution the projected plan for storming it; the Boats for this

service had been on the starboard side of each Ship during the Action.

The firing from the Crown Battery and from our leading Ships did not

cease until past three o’clock, when the Danish Adjutant-General,

Lindholm, returning with a Flag of Truce, directed the fire of the

battery to be suspended. The signal for doing the same, on our part,

was then made from our Ship to those engaged. The Action closed after

five hours’ duration, four of which were warmly contested.

 

“The answer from the Prince Regent was to inquire more minutely into

the purport of the message. I should here observe, that previous to

the Boat’s getting on board, Lord Nelson had taken the opinion of his

valuable friends, Fremantle and Foley, the former of whom had been

sent for from the _Ganges_, as to the practicability of advancing with

the Ships which were least damaged, upon that part of the Danish Line

of Defence yet uninjured. Their opinions were averse from it; and,

on the other hand, decided in favour of removing our Fleet, whilst

the wind yet held fair, from their present intricate Channel. Lord

Nelson was now prepared how to act when Mr Lindholm came on board, and

the following answer was returned to the Crown Prince by Captain Sir

Frederick Thesiger: ‘Lord Nelson’s object in sending the Flag of Truce

was humanity’; etc.[59] His Lordship, having finished this letter,

referred the Adjutant-General to the Commander-in-chief, who was at

anchor at least four miles off, for a conference on the important

points which the latter portion of the message had alluded to; and to

this General Lindholm did not object, but proceeded to the _London_.

Lord Nelson wisely foresaw, that, exclusive of the valuable opportunity

that now offered itself for a renewal of Peace, time would be gained

by this long row out to sea, for our leading Ships, which were much

crippled, to clear the shoals, and whose course was under the immediate

fire of the Trekroner. The Adjutant-General was no sooner gone to the

_London_, and Captain Thesiger despatched on shore than the signal

was made for the _Glatton_, _Elephant_, _Ganges_, _Defiance_, and

_Monarch_, to weigh in succession. The intricacy of the Channel now

showed the great utility of what had been done; the _Monarch_, as

first Ship, immediately hit on a shoal, but was pushed over it by the

_Ganges_ taking her amid-ships. The _Glatton_ went clear, but the

_Defiance_ and _Elephant_ ran aground, leaving the Crown Battery at

a mile distance; and there they remained fixed, the former until ten

o’clock that night, and the latter until night, notwithstanding every

exertion which their fatigued crews could make to relieve them. Had

there been no cessation of hostilities, their situation would certainly

have been perilous; but it should be observed, on the other hand, that

measures would in that case have been adopted, and they were within our

power, for destroying this formidable Work.

 

“The _Elephant_ being aground, Lord Nelson followed the

Adjutant-General, about four o’clock, to the _London_, where that

negotiation first began, which terminated in an honourable Peace.

He was low in spirits at the surrounding scene of devastation, and

particularly felt for the blowing up of the _Dannebrog_. ‘Well!’ he

exclaimed, ‘I have fought contrary to orders, and I shall perhaps be

hanged: never mind, let them.’ Lindholm returned to Copenhagen the same

evening, when it was agreed that all Prizes should be surrendered, and

the suspension of hostilities continue for twenty-four hours; the whole

of the Danish wounded were to be received on shore. Lord Nelson then

repaired on board the _St George_, and the night was actively passed

by the Boats of the Division which had not been engaged, in getting

afloat the Ships that were ashore, and in bringing out the Prizes. The

_Desirée_ frigate, towards the close of the Action, going to the aid of the _Bellona_, became fast on the same shoal; but neither these Ships, nor the _Russell_, were in any danger from the Enemy’s batteries, as the world has frequently since been led to suppose.”