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Cornell University Library 
 DA 87.1.W86I58 
 
 Memoir of William Wolsele 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027919541 
 
MEMOIR 
 
NEW STUDIES IN LITERATURE. 
 By Prof. Edward Dowden, Large post 
 
 8vO, I2S. 
 
 MY REMINISCENCES. By Lord 
 Ronald Gower. New and Revised 
 Edition. Bound in Buckram. With 
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 FROM MATTER TO MIND. By 
 Marcus R. Dorm an, M.A., M.B. Large 
 post 8vo, 7s. 6d. 
 
 SONNETS AND OTHER VERSE. 
 By the Hon. Sir Henry Parkes. G.C.M.G. 
 x2mo, 2S. 6d. 
 
 London 
 Kegan Paul, Trench, TrUbner, & Co. LIP 
 
Prinied byLetnercier Pari; 
 
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A MEMOIR '''■O'i'.i.riv 
 
 'HI, I, I; V 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM WOLSELEY 
 
 ADMIRAL OF THE RED SQUADRON 
 
 BY HIS GRANDDAUGHTER 
 
 MARY C. INNES 
 
 LONDON 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ 
 
 PATERNOSTER HOUSE. CHARING CROSS ROAD 
 
 1895 
 
/\.%^ 
 
 P7 
 
 The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved 
 
 Printed hy Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. 
 At the Ballantyne Press 
 
THIS LITTLE WORK 
 
 is — in most Loving Memory of her — 
 
 Inscribed to my dear Mother. 
 
 Her affectionate wish to preserve a record of her 
 Father's services was the raison d'etre of the short 
 memoir written by her from his own dictation^ 
 and ift this m.ore complete account — if it had been 
 written during her lifetime — she would, I know, 
 have taken the greatest interest. 
 
A MEMOIR OF 
 ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Admiral William Wolseley, the subject of the 
 present memoir, was descended from one of the 
 most ancient of the Staffordshire families. His 
 ancestors are said to have been seated in that 
 county before the Conquest ; and it has been 
 stated by a learned genealogist of the present day, 
 that "the Wolseleys of Wolseley have held their 
 lands unbrokenly since Alfred the Great first wore 
 the crown of united England.'* 
 
 The surname is evidently of Saxon origin ; and 
 according to an old family tradition — borne out by 
 their Armorial Bearings^ — *' Wolf-slayer " was the 
 sobriquet given by his friends and neighbours to an 
 ancestor of the family renowned for his prowess in 
 slaying the wolves, with which the country was in 
 those days infested. The lands of this mighty hunter 
 became known by the name of ** Wol vesica " ; ^ 
 
 * The Arms of the family of Wolseley are — arg.^ a talbot, passant 
 gu. The Crest is — Out of a ducal coronet, or^ a wolfs head ppr. 
 2 Or, " the field of wolves." 
 
 A 
 
2 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 and some centuries later, when surnames were 
 generally adopted, his descendants, as was the case 
 with many other ancient Houses, took theirs from 
 the lands in their possession. 
 
 In 1066, the year in which William, Duke of 
 Normandy, conquered England, the family estate 
 was held by *' Siward, lord of Wolseley"; whose 
 descendant, 
 
 Robert Wolseley, living in the reign of Charles 
 I., was created a Baronet in 1628. Sir Robert 
 married Mary Wroughton, daughter of Sir George 
 Wroughton of Wilcot, County Wilts. And Admiral 
 Wolseley, in consequence of being descended from 
 that family, was entitled to trace — in a well-authen- 
 ticated line — descent from Lionel Plantagenet, Duke 
 of Clarence, third son of King Edward 1 11.^ Sir 
 Robert's son, 
 
 Sir Charles Wolseley, the second Baronet, was 
 M.P. for Staffordshire in the reigns of Charles I. 
 and II. He was on the side of the Parliament, 
 however, during the Civil Wars, and was one of 
 Oliver Cromwell's Privy Council of Sixteen, and is 
 said to have been a man of very superior talent. 
 He wrote a book on the ** Unreasonableness of 
 Atheism," which gained him very great credit with 
 *' The Protector," who, it is reported, suggested the 
 subject for him to write upon. Sir Charles married 
 
 1 Admiral Wolseley's descent from Edward III. is entered in 
 Foster's " Royal Lineage of our Noble and Gentle Families," (See 
 Descent of Sir Clement Wolseley, Bart.) 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 3 
 
 Anne Fiennes,^ daughter of Lord Saye and Sele ; 
 and their youngest son, 
 
 Captain Richard Wolseley, the Admiral's great- 
 grandfather, was in the service of William III. in 
 Ireland, where he acquired by purchase a portion 
 of the estate of Charles Butler, Earl of Arran. 
 He settled at Mount Arran, now Mount Wolseley, 
 County Carlow, and was M.P. for the Borough 
 of Carlow. Captain Wolseley married Frances, 
 daughter and heiress of John Burneston, Esq., and 
 had three surviving sons. The eldest, 
 
 William Wolseley, became the fifth Baronet of 
 the English branch, and succeeded to the family 
 estate in Staffordshire on the death of his uncle, 
 Sir Henry Wolseley. Sir William was ancestor of 
 the successive baronets of that line, and is now 
 represented by the present proprietor of Wolseley 
 Hall, Sir Charles Michael Wolseley, ninth Baronet. 
 Captain Richard Wolseley s second son, 
 
 Robert Wolseley, the Admiral's grandfather, 
 married a Miss Waring, daughter of a gentleman 
 settled in the County Kilkenny. According to Sir 
 Bernard Burke, Mrs. Wolseley's mother, Mrs. 
 Waring, was a lady of the family of Neville ; and 
 through her, he said. Admiral Wolseley was again 
 entitled to claim royal descent. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Robert Wolseley had a son, William Neville 
 
 ^ As this lady was descended from Agnes, sister of William of 
 Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, the Wolseleys and their descendants 
 are entitled to claim, as " Founder's kin," free education at Winchester 
 College, and at New College, Oxford. 
 
4 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Wolseley, who was the Admirars father. Captain 
 Richard Wolseley s third son, 
 
 Richard Wolseley, the Admiral's grand-uncle, was 
 left the estate of Mount Wolseley by his father. He 
 was M.P. for Carlow, and was created a Baronet in 
 1744. He was ancestor of the distinguished soldier, 
 Field-Marshal the Viscount Wolseley, and of all the 
 baronets of the Irish branch, and is now represented 
 by the present Sir Capel Charles Wolseley. 
 
 About the year 1750, Admiral Wolseley 's father, 
 William Neville Wolseley, who was then a captain 
 in the 47th, was serving with his regiment in 
 Nova Scotia; and he there made the acquaintance 
 of Miss Anne Cosby, the lady to whom he was 
 shortly afterwards married. Besides the subject of 
 the present memoir, who was Captain and Mrs. 
 Wolseley's second son, they had another son, Mr. 
 Robert Wolseley, who married his second cousin, 
 Miss Anne Winniett, granddaughter of Judge 
 Winniett. Captain and Mrs Wolseley had also 
 
 two daughters — Elizabeth, married to Lam- 
 
 phier, Esq., R.N., and Anne, who died at an early 
 age unmarried. 
 
 The ancient family of Cosby, from which Admiral 
 Wolseley was descended on his mother's side, was 
 said by Sir Bernard Burke to have been also of 
 Saxon origin, and is stated to have possessed the 
 lordship of Cosby, County Leicester, previously to 
 the Norman Conquest. 
 
 Francis Cosbie, the first member of his House 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY s 
 
 who settled in Ireland, came over in the time of 
 Queen Mary. He was an active defender of the 
 Pale, and was appointed by patent in 1558 General 
 of the Kerne, and in 1562 was granted the site of 
 the suppressed Abbey of Stradbally. His eldest son, 
 
 Alexander Cosbie of Stradbally Abbey, who also 
 obtained very extensive grants of lands in the 
 Queen's County, married Dorcas, daughter of 
 William Sydney of Otford, County Kent, Maid 
 of Honour to Queen Elizabeth. Mr. Cosbie's 
 second son, Richard, eventually succeeded to the 
 family property, and was direct ancestor of Mrs. 
 Wolseley's grandfather, Alexander Cosby, of Strad- 
 bally Hall, whose eldest son, 
 
 Dudley Cosby, succeeded to the property on the 
 death of his father in 1694, and was M.P. for Queen's 
 County, and also Lieutenant-Colonel of the county 
 militia. His son, Mr. Pole Cosby — first-cousin of 
 Mrs. Wolseley — succeeded him, and was father of — 
 
 Dudley Alexander Sydney Cosby of Stradbally 
 Hall, second cousin of Admiral Wolseley. Mr. 
 Cosby was minister plenipotentiary to the court of 
 Denmark, and was in 1768 created a Peer of 
 Ireland as Baron Sydney of Leix. In December 
 1773 Lord Sydney married Lady Isabella St. 
 Lawrence, daughter of the first Earl of Howth; 
 but as he died in the ensuing month, 17th January 
 1774, his peerage became extinct, and the property 
 was then inherited by his cousin. Admiral Phillips 
 Cosby, Mrs. Wolseley's brother. 
 
6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Mrs. Wolseley had many relations in America; 
 and some of them were, in the early part of the 
 eighteenth century, holding important government 
 appointments there. One of her uncles, Lieutenant- 
 General William Cosby, was Governor of New 
 York and the Jerseys. He was also Colonel of the 
 Royal Irish Regiment, and was equerry to the 
 Queen. He married Lady Grace Montagu, sister 
 of the Earl of Halifax, and left at his decease, in 
 1736, two sons and two daughters.^ 
 
 An aunt of Mrs. Wolseley — the General's sister 
 — Elizabeth Cosby, was married to Lieutenant- 
 General Richard Philipps, Governor of Nova Scotia. 
 This lady died before her husband, leaving a son, 
 who was ancestor of the present Sir James Philipps, 
 Bart., of Picton Castle, County Pembroke. General 
 Philipps died in 1750, aged ninety, and was buried 
 in Westminster Abbey. His brother-in-law. 
 
 Lieutenant - Colonel Alexander Cosby — Mrs. 
 Wolseley's father — was the fifth son of Mr. A. 
 Cosby of Stradbally Hall. He held the appoint- 
 ment of Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia till 
 his death, on the 26th December 1743. His 
 wife, Anne Winniett — Admiral Wolseley's maternal 
 grandmother, — was a daughter of Alexander 
 Winniett, Esq., of Annapolis Royal. ^ Besides 
 
 * General Cosb/s eldest daughter — Mrs. Wolseley's cousin-gennan 
 — Elizabeth, married Lord Augustus Fitzroy, and was mother of the 
 third Duke of Grafton, and of Lieutenant-General Charles Fitzroy, 
 created Baron Southampton in 1780. 
 
 2 Mrs. Cosby was a sister of Judge Winniett, of Annapolis Royal. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 7 
 
 their daughter Mrs. Wolseley, Colonel and Mrs. 
 Cosby had two others — Elizabeth, wife of Captain 
 Foye, and Mary, who married, first. Captain Charles 
 Cotterill, and, secondly, Captain John Buchanan, 
 R.N. They had also two sons ; the eldest, William, 
 a captain in the army, was killed and scalped by 
 the Indians in 1748. Their second son, 
 
 Philipps Cosby, who will be frequently men- 
 tioned in these pages, was in the navy. In 1774, 
 Captain Cosby — as he had then been for some 
 years — succeeded to the family property, Stradbally 
 Hall, on the death of his cousin, Lord Sydney. 
 But apparently being too fond of his profession to 
 exchange an active naval life for the somewhat less 
 exciting one of a country gentleman, he continued 
 to serve for many years afterwards, and commanded 
 the Centaur, of seventy-four guns, on the 27th July 
 1778, in an engagement with the French, in which 
 his nephew, William Wolseley, took part as junior 
 lieutenant of the Duke, ninety-eight guns. 
 
 In another engagement fought on the i6th 
 March 1781, between the British squadron under 
 Admiral Arbuthnot and the French fleet off the 
 coast of America, Captain Cosby led the van, in 
 the Robust, of seventy-four guns, the ship he then 
 commanded. And, according to the naval histo- 
 rian. Dr. Campbell, that vessel *' bore the brunt of 
 
 One of Mrs. Cosby's sisters married General Amherst. Her other 
 sisters were Mrs. Handfield and Mrs. Howe. A daughter of the Judge 
 — ^a first cousin of Mrs. Wolseley — married Lieutenant James Nunn, of 
 the 57th Regiment, in which he served all through the American war. 
 
8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the engagement ; " and the Doctor further adds 
 that '*the Robust had far more than her propor- 
 tion of killed and wounded, and by having at one 
 time three ships upon her, her masts, rigging, sails, 
 and boats were torn to pieces." 
 
 Captain Cosby was promoted to the rank of Vice- 
 Admiral, at some period between the years 1785 
 and 1789, when he had command of the fleet 
 in the Mediterranean ; and his nephew, William 
 Wolseley, during those years, was captain of his 
 uncle s flagship, the Trusty. 
 
 On the 19th September 1790, on Admiral Cosby's 
 appointment as Commander-in-Chief on the Irish 
 coast, it was unanimously voted by **the Mayor, 
 Sheriffs, and Common Council of the City of Corke," 
 that **the freedom at large thereof" was to be pre- 
 sented to him '*in a silver box, as public testi- 
 mony of the very high opinion they entertain of his 
 merit, and the great satisfaction they feel in the 
 appointment of so gallant and deserving an officer 
 to that station." 
 
 Of Admiral Cosby's further services it is not 
 necessary to say more at present, as they will be 
 mentioned in connection with those of his nephew. 
 Having held several other important appointments, 
 he retired from the navy, with the rank of Admiral 
 of the White — I think, about the year 1794 — and 
 settled at his family seat, Stradbally Hall. 
 
 He represented the Queen's County in the Irish 
 Parliament, known as " Grattan's Parliament," and 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 9 
 
 was apparently an M.P. in 1790, as his portrait 
 appears in a picture, painted by H. Barrand and 
 J. Hayter, of **The Irish House of Commons, a.d. 
 1790." 
 
 In 1792 Admiral Cosby married Elizabeth, 
 daughter of William Gunthorpe, Esq. ; but having 
 died childless in the beginning of 1 808, he was 
 succeeded by a distant relation, Mr. Thomas Cosby 
 of Vicarstown, ancestor of Colonel Cosby, J. P. and 
 D.L., the present proprietor of Stradbally Hall. 
 
 Having completed these preliminary notes, which 
 I am afraid may be considered rather tedious by the 
 general reader, it only remains to be said, before 
 beginning my account of Admiral Wolseley's life, 
 that these details concerning his ancestry and re- 
 lations have been given, as they may interest his 
 descendants, and others more distantly connected 
 with his family, who may perhaps have been 
 previously unacquainted with some of the facts 
 mentioned here. 
 
 Admiral Wolseley was born on the 1 5th of March 
 1756, at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. In a 
 memorandum written for his youngest son, Mr. 
 Cosby Wolseley, he says : — *' In the year 1746 the 
 French and Indians, being in possession of Nova 
 Scotia in part, were at war with us ; we had Halifax, 
 Annapolis, and some other places, but held by force 
 of our troops. I believe Lord Amherst commanded. 
 My father, whose name was William Neville 
 
lo A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Wolseley, was either a captain or lieutenant in the 
 47th Regiment, at or near that time at Annapolis, 
 where they had a fort." 
 
 The country was almost entirely wood, from 
 whence they were, Admiral Wolseley adds, ** con- 
 tinually annoyed by the French and Indians." 
 ** There was," he says, ** continued intercourse with 
 New York, where the Governor was Alexander 
 Cosby, with a large family. My mother was his 
 second daughter, and married my father some time 
 about the year 175 1, and lived at the fort of Anna- 
 polis Royal. I think (for I have no document) that 
 my brother Robert must have been born at Anna- 
 polis Royal about the year 1753, and I was born 
 on the 15th March 1756, at Annapolis Royal; my 
 sisters were also born there. 
 
 " The garrison was strong in troops ; and Colonel 
 Handfield's family, Major Williams, and Alexander 
 Howe were all our relations. After the death of 
 Governor Cosby, his widow came and settled at 
 Annapolis among her daughters — my mother, Mrs. 
 Foy, and Mrs. Cotterill. My uncle, Philipps Cosby, 
 went into the navy. As the success of our troops 
 gave confidence, the superior officers built the town 
 of Annapolis, and Mrs. Cosby became possessed of 
 many houses and much cleared land there." 
 
 In the year 1759 Nova Scotia was the scene of 
 very stirring events, as the great naval and military 
 operations were in progress which ended in 1760 in 
 the conquest of Canada. In the year 1759 Admiral 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY ii 
 
 Wolseley says : — ** General Wolfe and Admiral Sir 
 Charles Saunders, with a body of troops, came out 
 and took Louisbourg and Cape Breton. My father's 
 regiment, the 47th, or part of it, was ordered to 
 Halifax, where our family removed to. My father 
 was at an outside fort, called the Eastern Battery, 
 right opposite to the town of Halifax, at the other 
 side of the harbour. He got a grant of land there, 
 and built some out-offices. And I remember living 
 in the battery ! This property was lost by my father 
 (for debt), and he was obliged to sell out, and came 
 home in the Wasp sloop-of-war, leaving my mother 
 and four children to follow." And he adds : — " It 
 was in the year 1764 that we came home from 
 America. My mother went to Halifax to get 
 her passage home ; not finding a ship, she was 
 advised to go to St. John's, Newfoundland, where 
 Captain Charles Saxton, of the navy, was kind 
 enough to allow her and her children a passage 
 home in his ship, the Pearl frigate, and we arrived 
 safe at Portsmouth, from whence we went through 
 Bath to Bristol, to join my father in Ireland.^ 
 
 " A short time afterwards," he continues, " I was 
 put to school at the College of Kilkenny, under 
 Doctor Hewson. I think I was there about two 
 years ; " and he adds, " My grandmother and aunt 
 lived at Kilkenny. After this I was put on 
 
 ^ These and other details are taken partly from the memorandum 
 already referred to, and partly from a short memoir, written from 
 Admiral Wolseley's dictation by his daughter, Mrs. Innes. 
 
12 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 board the Goodwill cutter, in the year 1769, at 
 Passage, Waterford ; Lieutenant John Buchanan 
 commanding the cutter. Lieutenant John Buchanan 
 married my aunt." And he says, in the memo- 
 randum :— ** My brother, Robert Wolseley, first went 
 to sea with my uncle, but, disliking the navy, came 
 home ; and I was taken from school and went with 
 him. I did duty as midshipman rather more than 
 two years on board the Goodwill'^ 
 
 ** Sometime during that period I went in the 
 cutter's boat as an observer of the impressing of 
 seamen, on account of the Falkland Islands disturb- 
 ances." (England was preparing to go to war with 
 Spain about these islands.) " We boarded a bil- 
 lingder full of people, who had been employed in 
 the Newfoundland fisheries, and who were deter- 
 mined not to be pressed, and had previously risen 
 and confined the master and his mate. They beat 
 the men of the Goodwill cutter's boat, and threw 
 them, and me along with them, all overboard ; and 
 then ran the billingder on shore, right under Bally- 
 hack church, and from her got ashore, and all 
 escaped into the county of Wexford. No lives 
 were lost. I and some of the men swam very well. 
 The Goodwill was paid off at Sheerness, and I then 
 went to my uncle in London, Captain Philipps 
 Cosby, of the navy,^ who placed me at Mr. Wad- 
 dington's, in Downing Street, Westminster, who 
 kept a naval school." (Here, according to the 
 
 ^ Afterwards Admiral of the White. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 13 
 
 memorandum, Admiral Wolseley remained for a 
 year ; but, according to the memoir, only for seven 
 or eight months.) 
 
 The Portland, 50-gun ship, was then going to 
 be fitted out for the purpose of changing ships at 
 Jamaica, with the Commodore, Sir George Rodney 
 — afterwards Lord Rodney — whose ship, the Prin- 
 cess Ameliay of eighty guns, was an old vessel which 
 had a narrow escape of foundering on the voyage 
 home. Admiral Wolseley says: — "The Portland 
 on going out was commanded by Captain John 
 Barclay, and was principally manned by guardships. 
 One of the lieutenants was Waldegrave, afterwards 
 Lord Radstock ; George Bo wen, late admiral, was 
 another. I went out in the Portla7id as a midship- 
 man, and was placed under the famous Collingwood 
 — afterwards Lord Collingwood — who was then 
 mate ; and Lord Hugh Seymour Conway and Lord 
 Hervey were in the same mess. 
 
 ** We changed ships at Jamaica, and sailed from 
 thence for England in the Princess Amelia round 
 Cuba and through the Straits of Bahama ; and we 
 met a heavy gale of wind on entering the banks 
 of Newfoundland. The ship was very nearly lost 
 on this occasion, by broaching-to ; and the courses 
 blowing out of the bolt-ropes and springing a leak 
 in the forefoot, all hands were put to the pumps. 
 This accident of broaching-to was caused by a 
 blunderbuss falling out of the gun-room, jamming 
 the tiller and preventing the ship's steering. Most 
 
14 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 fortunately the next day was calm, and by very 
 great exertions the guns were got aft, and the ship 
 lightened forward as much as it was possible ; by 
 which means they got at the leak, and found a 
 plank started at the butt end. This was then 
 secured by being soldered and covered with lead, 
 so that no further accident happened, and we 
 arrived safe at Portsmouth, when the ship was 
 paid off." 
 
 In 1773 Mr. Wolseley went as midshipman on 
 board the Salisbury^ fifty guns, under Commodore 
 Sir Edward Hughes, and sailed for the East Indies. 
 The Seahorse, 20-gun ship (on board of which 
 were Lord Nelson and Sir Thomas Troubridge 
 as young midshipmen), sailed with them. They 
 touched at Madeira and the Cape of Good Hope, 
 arrived at Madras, and found Sir Robert Harland, 
 whom they were to relieve. Mr. Wolseley was 
 five years out in this vessel (the Salisbury), and 
 on his return to England, the first American war 
 and the French war having just commenced, he 
 was appointed a lieutenant, in the fleet com- 
 manded by Lord Keppel and Sir Hugh Palliser. 
 
 He says in the memoir written by Mrs. Innes, 
 from his own dictation : — '* There being great want 
 of young officers for a squadron of ten sail of the 
 line immediately wanted by Admiral Keppel (after- 
 wards Lord Keppel) to meet the French on equal 
 terms in the Channel, where they had come up 
 and driven him in, I was one of the sixteen who 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 15 
 
 were ordered up to London from the Salisbury 
 to pass our examination ; we were made lieutenants, 
 and immediately sent down to the line of battle- 
 ships fitting out. I was appointed youngest lieu- 
 tenant to the Duke, ninety-eight guns, and joined 
 her at Plymouth, and two days afterwards sailed 
 with Keppel's fleet of twenty-seven sail of the 
 line, and was in action in the following month with 
 the French fleet of thirty-two sail of the line, in the 
 battle that took place on the 27th July 1778." 
 
 The following account of the engagement is 
 taken from Dr. Campbell's ** Naval History of 
 Great Britain": — ''The French fleet," he says, 
 *' consisting of thirty-two ships of the line and a 
 number of frigates, was divided into three squad- 
 rons, under Count D'Orvilliers, commander-in-chief, 
 and the Duke De Chartres, a prince of the blood, 
 assisted by three other admirals. 
 
 "The British fleet was also divided into three 
 squadrons, commanded by Admiral Keppel ; the 
 vice-admirals, Sir Robert Harland and Sir Hugh 
 Palliser. The two fleets came within sight of each 
 other in the afternoon of the 23rd of July, in the 
 Bay of Biscay, about thirty-five leagues to the west- 
 ward of Brest. 
 
 " On the 24th the British admiral threw out 
 the signal to chase to windward, which was con- 
 tinued the two following days, in order to seize 
 the first opportunity of bringing the enemy to a 
 close engagement ; but this proved ineffectual, the 
 
1 6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 French cautiously avoiding coming to an action, 
 and in their manoeuvres showing great address and 
 nautical knowledge. 
 
 " About four o'clock in the morning of the 27th 
 July, the French were discovered to windward, 
 about five miles distance. Admiral Keppel, finding 
 some of his fleet too much scattered, made signals 
 to collect them together, still continuing to follow 
 the enemy. About ten o'clock a heavy dark squall 
 came on, which continued nearly an hour ; when 
 it cleared up, the two fleets, by a shift of wind, 
 had neared each other, but on different tacks. 
 About half-past eleven the signal was hove out for 
 a general engagement, at which time the ships as 
 they came up began firing. The French attacked 
 at some distance the hindmost of Sir Robert Har- 
 land's division,^ which led the van. Their fire was 
 warmly returned by almost every ship in the fleet, 
 as they ranged along the line ; and notwithstanding 
 it had been extended by the chase, they were soon 
 engaged, as the two fleets passed each other. The 
 cannonade was very heavy, and did considerable 
 execution on both sides. The enemy, as usual, 
 fired chiefly at the rigging, which crippled many 
 
 ^ Included in Sir Robert Harland's division was the Centaur^ 
 seventy-four guns, crew 600 men, commanded by Captain Cosby 
 (afterwards Admiral Cosby), uncle of Admiral Wolseley. The Duke^ 
 ninety-eight guns, crew 750 men (commanded by Captain Brereton), 
 in which Admiral Wolseley was serving as junior lieutenant, was also 
 in this division. In the division under Admiral Keppel was the 
 Vigilant^ sixty-four guns, crew 500, commanded by Captain Kings- 
 mill (afterwards Sir Robert Kingsmill). 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 17 
 
 of the British ships, while Admiral Keppel con- 
 tinued the old way of fighting, by firing principally 
 at the hulls of the enemy^s ships with good success. 
 
 *' The action, for the short space it lasted (about 
 three hours), was very warm. The loss on the side 
 of the British was 133 killed and 373 wounded. 
 The French concealed their loss as much as pos- 
 sible ; they acknowledged, however, 1 50 killed and 
 about 600 wounded. From the manner of engaging, 
 it is probable they lost more men than the British, 
 perhaps double the number. 
 
 "It was necessary to take a short time to repair 
 the damages, which being done, the commander-in- 
 chief made the signal to form the line of battle 
 ahead. The Red Division, commanded by Sir 
 Robert Harland, immediately obeyed; but the Blue 
 Division never came into the line during the rest 
 of the day, Sir Hugh Palliser alleging that his ship, 
 the Formidable, was so much disabled that he could 
 not obey the signal." 
 
 And Dr. Campbell remarks : — ** It is evident that 
 a fair opportunity was lost of striking a blow against 
 the maritime power of France which might have 
 been decisive. 
 
 "It appeared, by the evidence of witnesses upon 
 oath, in the subsequent trials of Keppel and Palliser, 
 that the French, on purpose to deceive, stationed, 
 soon after it was dark, three of their best sailing- 
 ships in a line, at considerable distances from each 
 other, with lights, in order to have the appearance 
 
 B 
 
i8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 of their whole fleet. This finesse had the intended 
 effect; their fleet stole away in the night, and 
 the three ships followed them at daylight in the 
 morning. 
 
 "The British fleet was nearly in a line of battle 
 all night, excepting the Formidable and some other 
 ships of Sir Hugh Palliser's division. The men 
 were on deck all night in every ship of the fleet, 
 quartered at their guns, ready to renew the action 
 in the morning; but the whole French fleet was 
 then out of sight, excepting the three ships already 
 mentioned, and they were also at too great a dis- 
 tance to be overtaken. 
 
 '*The commander, discovering that the French 
 had escaped, that many ships of his own fleet had 
 suffered greatly in their masts and rigging, and 
 that there was not the least prospect of overtaking 
 the enemy before they could reach Brest, had no 
 alternative but to bring the fleet home to be 
 repaired. He arrived off Plymouth on the 31st of 
 July. 
 
 *' Admiral Keppel put to sea again," continues 
 Dr. Campbell, " with the same number of ships and 
 commanders, on the 22 nd of August. The French 
 had left Brest some days before, but instead of 
 looking out for the British fleet, they bore away 
 for Cape Finisterre, leaving their trade at the 
 mercy of our fleet and privateers. Many of their 
 merchantmen accordingly fell into the hands of the 
 English. The British admiral continued cruising 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 19 
 
 in the bay till the 28th of October, when he re- 
 turned to Portsmouth, and the French got to Brest 
 a few days after." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley continues: — "In 1779 Sir 
 Edward Hughes was again appointed to the com- 
 mand in India. With his flag on board the Superb 
 and ten sail of the line and a large fleet of India- 
 men, I thought it a fine opportunity to forward 
 myself in my profession, and I applied to Sir 
 Edward Hughes to take me with him. He very 
 kindly said he could not take me into his own ship, 
 there being no vacancy, but that if I could get an 
 exchange into one of the ships going under his 
 command he would attend to me. I fortunately 
 met at this period a lieutenant who wanted to 
 exchange from the Worcester, sixty-four guns, into 
 the Duke, The exchange was effected immediately, 
 and I became second lieutenant of the Worcester, 
 George Talbot commander. 
 
 "Sir Edward Hughes sailed with ten sail of the 
 line, the Worcester included,^ and several Indiamen 
 with troops. We went to the island of Goree, on 
 the coast of Guinea, in the hands of the French. 
 Previous to getting into Goree, I was appointed to 
 command a flat boat for the purpose of landing 
 troops, as it was Sir Edward Hughes's intention to 
 storm the garrison ; the French, however, beat a 
 parley and surrendered garrison. We afterwards 
 
 ^ Admiral Wolseley says : — " Five sail of the line were as an escort, 
 and left him on going through Channel." 
 
 ^t;^^.;jKh. 
 
20 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 touched at the Cape of Good Hope, and proceeded 
 from thence to Madras. 
 
 " We then went with five sail of the line (includ- 
 ing the Worcester) to Bombay, and sent a small 
 frigate (the Coventry), commanded by Captain 
 Andrew Mitchell, who had the naval part under 
 his direction, and the boats of the squadron, 
 to Arnault (or Arnaut), a piratical state between 
 Surat and Bombay. I was a volunteer on this 
 occasion ; I also volunteered for the storming party. 
 The East India Company's general, whose name 
 was Goddard, commanded. We besieged the gar- 
 rison of Arnault, and reduced it to capitulate, just 
 as we were about to storm it. 
 
 ** From thence we proceeded to the Malabar 
 coast to attack Hyder Ally's squadron at Manga- 
 lore, consisting of one large frigate and two sloops, 
 which were hauled so close in that we boarded 
 them in the boats of the fleet. The enemy's 
 squadron was burnt and destroyed i8th of Decem- 
 ber 1 780 ; we lost a great number of officers and 
 men on this occasion. 
 
 ** Some time afterwards the war broke out with 
 Holland, and we went to attack Negapatam, which 
 was a Dutch settlement, October 21, 1781. It being 
 found necessary to have a naval battalion of 800 
 men, I was appointed to the battalion with 100 
 men from the Worcester \ and when landed I was 
 appointed adjutant to the naval battalion. On 
 this service I was employed two or three months. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 21 
 
 Sir Hector Munro, of the Company's service, was 
 the general commanding in chief. We besieged 
 Negapatam,^ and suffered two sorties from the 
 garrison, which we beat off It then surrendered, 
 and we embarked our men. 
 
 *' Previous to the attack of Negapatam by the 
 navy battalion, I commanded the barge of the 
 Worcester to the attack and taking of forty sail of 
 coasters, small vessels, out of Negapatam roads. 
 
 *'On the 2nd of January 1782, Vice-Admiral Sir 
 Edward Hughes sailed with the squadron from 
 Negapatam to carry into execution the design he 
 had formed for the reduction of the Dutch settle- 
 ment of Trincomali, in the island of Ceylon. Here 
 I was again landed in the navy battalion, and 
 with the troops was sent in with Major Giles to 
 summon Fort Ostenberg at Trincomali. In this 
 service 450 seamen and marines were employed, 
 out of which small force two lieutenants and twenty 
 men were killed and forty wounded. We stormed 
 the fort on the nth of January. My company 
 was the first storming party after the marines, and 
 I was severely wounded in the trenches. Fort 
 Ostenberg was carried, and 80,000 dollars and two 
 sail of Dutch Indiamen, &c., fell into our hands." 
 
 Neither in the little memoir nor in the memo- 
 
 ^ Dr. Campbell says in his " Naval History " that the Dutch settle- 
 ment of Negapatam surrendered in the month of November 1781. 
 He says the squadron lost on this occasion seventeen seamen killed 
 and twenty-seven wounded ; thirteen marines killed and twenty-nine 
 wounded. 
 
2 2 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 randum from which I have been quoting does 
 Admiral Wolseley mention that on this occasion 
 he volunteered to lead the sailors sent to the 
 attack of this fort, and that he went in the place 
 of a young officer who had been recently married, 
 and who was previously appointed by the captain 
 to take the command of the party sent from the 
 Worcester, This circumstance, so indicative of his 
 generosity and courage, was told to the Admiral's 
 daughters, many years after, by Captain Hayes, an 
 old friend and comrade of their father's, who had 
 also served as a lieutenant on board the Worcester 
 during the war in the East Indies. 
 
 As Admiral Wolseley gives no account of the 
 attack, I take the following from Dr. Campbell's 
 notice of it in his ** Naval History " : — ** Trincomali, 
 on the island of Ceylon, was taken by assault on 
 the nth of January 1782, together with two Dutch 
 ships, richly laden, which were in the harbour, 
 and several small vessels. The particulars of the 
 attack," continues Dr. Campbell, **we extract from 
 Sir Edward Hughes's official account of the capture 
 of the place: — 'The necessary disposition was made 
 for the attack to begin at daylight in the morning 
 of the I ith, and accordingly the storming party, 
 composed of 450 seamen and marines, and their 
 officers,^ with each flank covered by a party of 
 pioneers, and twenty seamen carrying the scaling- 
 
 * The number of seamen and marines mentioned by Admiral Wol- 
 seley were evidently those of the storming company only. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 23 
 
 ladders and armed with cutlasses, with a reserve 
 of three companies of seamen, three companies of 
 marines, two field-pieces to support it, and followed 
 by the Company's troops, advanced at daylight 
 towards the fort. The sergeant's party in front, 
 getting in at the embrasures, was immediately 
 followed by the whole of the storming party, who 
 soon drove the enemy from their works and pos- 
 sessed themselves of the fort; and all the ships and 
 vessels in the harbour immediately surrendered.'" 
 
 Sir Edward Hughes places the killed and 
 wounded in this assault at the number stated by 
 Admiral Wolseley, and among those who were 
 wounded, mentions ** Lieutenant Wolseley, who 
 commanded a company of seamen." 
 
 He makes the remark that "the enemy lost 
 but few men," and that, when they threw down 
 their arms, their forfeited lives were spared by 
 that disposition to mercy which ever distinguishes 
 Britons." 
 
 Captain Hayes told Admiral Wolseley 's daugnters 
 that the garrison of the fort was a large one, and 
 said that the fire from the walls was extremely hot. 
 While in the trench surrounding the castle, trying to 
 effect an entrance. Admiral Wolseley was severely 
 wounded in the chest. The shot was fired from the 
 castle walls, from a long, heavy gun called a gingal^ 
 a weapon said to have been very generally used in 
 the East in the defence of fortresses, and which 
 was usually loaded with very large-sized bullets and 
 
24 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 broken pieces of lead. Two unfortunate sailors of 
 Admiral Wolseley*s company, who were fighting at 
 each side of him, were killed immediately after he 
 was wounded, and fell partly across him as he 
 lay in the trench. In the hurry of collecting the 
 wounded, and getting them into the boats after the 
 fort was taken, Mr. Wolseley was not missed until 
 the party had returned to the Worcester; and it 
 was then thought that he must have been killed. 
 Mr. Hayes, who was greatly attached to Mr. 
 Wolseley, wanted to return at once to look for 
 him ; but the captain, thinking it useless, would 
 not hear of it, as it was then almost quite dark. 
 Mr. Hayes sat up all night, watching anxiously 
 for the dawn, and then went off in the first boat 
 with the party who were sent to bury their fallen 
 comrades. Mr. Wolseley had on this occasion a 
 most providential escape ; and the presence of his 
 friend. Captain Hayes, was the means of saving his 
 life. When he was found by the party searching 
 for him, Mr. Wolseley was quite unconscious, and 
 was still lying in the long grass at the bottom of 
 the trench, under the two sailors who were killed 
 just after he had received the wound. Excepting 
 Mr. Hayes, all the rest of the party were convinced 
 that Mr. Wolseley was dead, and only that that 
 officer was present, and prevented them, would have 
 buried him with the unfortunate men who had lost 
 their lives. But, fortunately for him, Mr. Hayes, 
 thinking that there were still some signs of life, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 25 
 
 insisted upon having him carried down to one of 
 the boats, and at once took him off to the Worcester^ 
 where the surgeon, who at first thought the case a 
 hopeless one, at last managed to revive him. 
 
 Admiral Wolseley does not mention this narrow 
 escape in the memoir, and merely continues : — 
 ** After I was wounded, I was removed, from being 
 second lieutenant of the Worcester^ to the Superb 
 (Sir Edward Hughes's flagship), as youngest lieu- 
 tenant, and was favourably mentioned in Sir E. 
 Hughes's despatches to the Admiralty. Having put 
 things in order in Trincomali, we sailed to Madras, 
 and there took in rice for the army under the great 
 Sir Eyre Coote, and went with it to Cuddalore, 
 where the troops were in distress for provisions, 
 being blocked up by Hyder Ally. 
 
 ** This supply enabled them to retreat, and from 
 the mastheads of the ships we saw the whole of 
 Hyder Ally's and Tippoo Sahib's army attack our 
 troops. The enemy's cavalry made some move- 
 ments on the occasion, which brought them very 
 near the sea-coast on a flat country, and the ships 
 fired on them, which drove them back in confusion. 
 Sir Eyre Coote made good his retreat to Madras, 
 where the fleet also went." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 "Hitherto the British fleet," writes Dr. Campbell, 
 ** had continued undisturbed masters of the Indian 
 seas ; but towards the end of the year 1781, a 
 French squadron of considerable force arrived from 
 Europe, under the command of M. de Suffrein, 
 one of the ablest officers that the French marine 
 has ever produced.^ The views of the French 
 Ministry in sending this squadron to India were 
 of a nature that struck at the very root of the 
 British dominions in Asia ; the squadron was in- 
 tended to co-operate with the native powers who 
 were at war with the English, and they carried with 
 them a large body of troops, the more effectually 
 to answer that end." 
 
 Five great naval battles took place between the 
 two fleets after the arrival of Admiral de Suffrein ; 
 and in four of these Admiral Wolseley took part, 
 as junior lieutenant, on board of Admiral Sir Edward 
 Hughes's flag-ship, the Superb y of seventy- four guns. 
 In almost all these engagements the numerical 
 superiority was on the side of the French. Colonel 
 
 * Elsewhere the Doctor remarks that Admiral de Suffrein was 
 " worthy of being the rival and opponent of Sir Edward Hughes " ; 
 and other writers call Suffrein " the French Nelson." 
 
 a6 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 27 
 
 Malleson, the author of a very interesting book 
 entitled "Final French Struggles in India," gives 
 the names of the different ships, both French and 
 English, and the number of guns in each vessel, 
 that took part in these battles. He mentions that 
 in the first action the English had " a total armament 
 of 590 guns, while that of the French amounted to 
 710 guns" ; and this difference of strength apparently 
 varied but little during the course of the war. 
 
 According to Captain Brenton, R.N., author of 
 a "Naval History of Great Britain from 1733 to 
 1836," besides their superiority in numbers, the 
 French ships were better constructed, better sailers, 
 and had larger crews than our own vessels. Writing 
 about the state of the navy at that period, he says : — 
 "At the close of the American war England had, 
 according to the statement of Viscount Keppel, 
 then First Lord of the Admiralty, one hundred sail 
 of the line fit for active service, with a great number 
 of frigates, sloops, and various smaller vessels ; and 
 to man them we had 150,000 seamen, including 
 25,000 marines. Ships of the line at that time com- 
 prised all from one hundred guns down to those of 
 sixty-four guns inclusive." And he adds: — "It may 
 be adduced as a singular proof of the prowess of 
 our seamen, that the ships of France and Spain 
 were generally superior to those of England, both 
 in size, weight of metal, and number of men, out- 
 sailing them in fleets, and often in single ships, 
 carrying their guns higher out of the water, and in 
 
28 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 all other respects better found in the material of 
 war, particularly in the article of gunpowder." 
 
 The British fleet having returned to Madras, 
 Admiral Wolseley says : — **Soon afterwards we heard 
 of the French admiral (Admiral Suffrein) coming 
 to attack the English with ten sail of the line and 
 a body of troops, conjointly with Hyder Ally, to 
 drive the English, if possible, out of the Carnatic. 
 The fleet under Sir Edward Hughes, being nine 
 sail of the line, got ready to receive Admiral Suf- 
 frein. He came in sight with his fleet, and was 
 to windward of the English fleet. After a close 
 survey of the latter, he bore up with the intention 
 of attacking Trincomali ; and as soon as we found 
 we could weather him, we weighed and gave him 
 chase. This happened late in the evening, and in 
 the night-time some of the English frigates en- 
 gaged with two ships armies en flUte^ which were 
 captured." 
 
 As Admiral Wolseley says very little about the 
 different battles fought at this time between the 
 French and English fleets, I take some extracts 
 concerning them from the accounts given by Dr. 
 Campbell and Colonel Malleson, as both these 
 authors mention some interesting details omitted 
 in the little memoir from which I have just been 
 quoting. 
 
 The following description of the arrival of 
 Admiral de Suffrein in Madras roads, and the 
 subsequent engagement between the two fleets, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 29 
 
 IS thus given by Dr. Campbell : — ** On the 15th of 
 
 February 1782 M. de Suffrein appeared in the 
 
 offing with eleven sail of the line. The English 
 
 admiral had only nine two-decked ships, one of 
 
 which carried but fifty guns ; he, however, prepared 
 
 for an engagement by placing his ships in the most 
 
 advantageous position, with springs on their cables, 
 
 so that they and the numerous shipping which lay 
 
 further in the road might be defended with the 
 
 greatest prospect of a successful issue to the contest. 
 
 M. de Suffrein, however, did not think proper to 
 
 attack them in this position, but stood out of the 
 
 bay to the southward ; he was immediately pursued 
 
 by Sir Edward Hughes, with the hope of being 
 
 able to cut off some of the numerous transports 
 
 which were under the protection of the enemy's 
 
 fleet. He succeeded in capturing several of them, 
 
 and the French admiral, apprehensive that more 
 
 would be taken, bore down with all the sail he 
 
 could carry. No action, however, took place on 
 
 the 1 6th, and the first meeting of the hostile 
 
 squadrons was on the 17th of February, when a 
 
 severe engagement ensued." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley says : — "We found by a change 
 of wind that we were to leeward of the French 
 fleet, who bore down and attacked. They were 
 eleven sail of line, and we were but nine. Admiral 
 Suffrein, with his two supporters, came down on 
 and attacked the Superb !' 
 
 Dr. Campbell continues : — *' About four o'clock in 
 
30 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the afternoon M. de Suffrein was enabled by a 
 favourable change of wind to bring his whole force 
 against the centre and rear of the British, which 
 were nearly becalmed, and at some distance from 
 their van ; thus five ships of our squadron were 
 exposed to the attack of the whole French fleet. 
 This unequal contest was maintained with great 
 spirit and vigour till about six o'clock, when a 
 favourable breeze reached the other part of the 
 British fleet, and enabled them to come up to the 
 assistance of the centre and the rear. The enemy, 
 now that the battle was put upon a more equal 
 footing, did not long continue it ; but, having 
 suffered very severely, he hauled his wind and 
 stood off to the north-east. M. de Suffrein, in this 
 engagement, had directed his principal attack against 
 two of the British fleet, the Superb and the Exeter ; 
 the latter at one time stood singly the fire of five 
 ships." 
 
 *'At seven o'clock, when it was dark," Colonel 
 Malleson remarks, ''the combat ceased as if by 
 mutual consent ; " and Admiral Wolseley men- 
 tions that " the engagement lasted until the sea- 
 breeze set in and both fleets were separated." He 
 continues : — '* In this action, which occurred in 
 Madras roads, the ships, especially the Superb 
 and the Exeter, commanded by Sir Richard King, 
 were so much injured that Sir E. Hughes deter- 
 mined to proceed to Trincomali, as the only proper 
 place to refit them, where he arrived on the 24th." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 31 
 
 Writing on the subject of the battle fought on 
 the 17th of February 1782, Dr. Campbell says: 
 — ** Indecisive as this engagement was, its conse- 
 quences were of the greatest importance to the 
 stability of the British empire in India. The 
 French had been for years preparing this arma- 
 ment at a vast expense, and had formed the most 
 flattering prospects of its success ; its arrival in 
 India was regarded by the enemies of the British 
 Government in that quarter as the final period of 
 our power on the coast of Coromandel. Upon its 
 assistance Hyder Ally had formed the strongest 
 hopes of our expulsion, and the French themselves 
 came in full confidence of a complete victory. We 
 can scarcely regard that as a drawn battle which 
 was the means of disappointing these mighty 
 expectations, and of defeating a project which 
 threatened our political existence in India. The 
 Governor-General and Council of Bengal, in their 
 letter of congratulation to Sir Edward Hughes on 
 this occasion, make use of the following forcible 
 expressions, which, when we consider their rank, 
 and the opportunities they had of judging of the 
 extent of the danger which threatened them, will 
 convey a strong idea of the value of our admiral's 
 service : — * We regard,' say they, ' your action 
 with the French fleet as the crisis of our fate in 
 the Carnatic, and in the result of it we see that pro- 
 vince relieved and preserved, and the permanency 
 fo the British power in India firmly established.'" 
 
32 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Admiral Wolseley continues :—** The necessary 
 repairs having been completed with the utmost 
 expedition, Sir Edward Hughes sailed for Trin- 
 comali on the 4th of March. On the 12th we 
 anchored with the squadron in Madras road, with- 
 out having seen or heard anything of the enemy. 
 Sir Edward Hughes, being very weakly manned, 
 applied for some Europeans from Madras, and the 
 98th Regiment, commanded by General Sir William 
 Meadowes, volunteered for the service. Colonel 
 Fullerton was the lieutenant-colonel. 
 
 " On the 30th, we being on our way back to 
 Trincomali with the reinforcement of troops and 
 a supply of military stores for the garrison, we 
 were joined by the Sultan, of seventy-four guns, 
 and the Magnanime, of sixty- four guns, from Eng- 
 land. These ships, having had a tedious and bad 
 passage, were extremely sickly, and the crews much 
 reduced by the scurvy." 
 
 Dr. Campbell remarks : — '* As Sir Edward had on 
 board the squadron a reinforcement of troops for 
 the garrison of Trincomali and a quantity of mili- 
 tary stores, he judged it most advantageous for the 
 public service, especially as he knew the enemy's 
 squadron was to the southward, not to return to 
 Madras to land the sick of the two ships, but to 
 proceed directly for Trincomali, 'without,' to use 
 his own words, 'either seeking or avoiding the 
 enemy.' On the 6th of April the squadron fell 
 in with a French ship, which they chased on shore 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 33 
 
 and burnt near Tranquebar, but the officers and 
 men escaped, and carried off with them despatches 
 for their commanders-in-chief by sea and land. 
 
 ''Sir Edward Hughes's principal object was to 
 protect a valuable convoy which was coming from 
 England, and part of which had put into Morebat 
 Bay some time before. M. de Suffrein was apprized 
 of the approach and the importance of this convoy, 
 and he determined to use his utmost endeavours to 
 intercept it before its union with the English fleet. 
 On the 8th of April the hostile fleets came in sight 
 of each other, and they continued in sight at nearly 
 the same distance asunder and in the same relative 
 position for three days, when Sir Edward Hughes, 
 being within fifteen leagues of Trincomali, stood 
 directly for that port. By changing his course, in 
 order to reach the place of his destination, he 
 unavoidably gave the enemy an opportunity of 
 gaining the wind of him ; of this M. de Suffrein 
 immediately took advantage, and on the morning 
 of the 1 2th they were in close pursuit of the British 
 squadron. 
 
 ** It was absolutely necessary now to prepare for 
 battle ; for the French ships, being much cleaner in 
 their hulls and better found in their rigging, were 
 gaining very fast on the rear. The British fleet 
 were placed under most disadvantageous circum- 
 stances, in every point of view, for battle ; close in 
 pursuit of them was a very superior enemy, coming 
 on with a favourable wind ; on every other side of 
 
34 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 them was a rocky and dangerous coast. They 
 had, however, no choice but to fight, and to fight in 
 that manner which the French admiral might think 
 would be most advantageous to himself. Although 
 everything was so very favourable to the enemy, 
 yet he still seemed very undetermined, either 
 whether he should engage or not, or at least 
 respecting the manner in which he would make 
 the attack ; for he continued making alterations in 
 his line and in the position of his fleet for nearly 
 three hours." 
 
 Colonel Malleson says, in his account of this 
 battle, that Sufifrein began the action about half- 
 past twelve o'clock. Dr. Campbell continues : — 
 "His plan, when determined upon, was rather of a 
 novel nature, and seemed to threaten, if carried into 
 full and successful execution, the complete destruc- 
 tion of the British squadron. He divided his own 
 fleet into two parts. One division, consisting of five 
 sail, bore down on the van of the British ; the other 
 division, consisting of seven ships of the line, himself 
 leading, directed their attack on the Superb, which 
 was in the centre of the British line, and upon the 
 Monmouth, which was ahead, and the Monarch, 
 which was astern of her. The Superb, however, 
 was the principal object against which the French 
 admiral's ship and his second, both seventy-fours, 
 poured a most dreadful cannonade, within pistol- 
 shot. In ten minutes' time the English ship had 
 returned the fire, in such a superior style that M. de 
 
ADMIEAL WOLSELEY 35 
 
 Suffrein shot ahead, and permitted some other 
 vessels of his squadron to occupy his position while 
 he proceeded to the attack of the Monmouth ; by 
 this manoeuvre the British centre was laid open to 
 several of the enemy's fleet, who bore down and 
 fired with great impetuosity. 
 
 **At three o'clock the Monmouth was so much 
 damaged that she was compelled to quit the line. 
 While the battle was thus going on, the British 
 fleet was gradually drawing nearer the shore ; Sir 
 Edward Hughes, therefore, being apprehensive that 
 they would either get entangled with it or drop 
 into shallow water, made the signal for them to 
 wear, still continuing to engage the enemy." And 
 the battle went on until, as Colonel Malleson states 
 in his account, *' suddenly, at six o clock, a tre- 
 mendous storm burst upon both fleets, enveloping 
 them in darkness, and forcing them close to a lee 
 shore, and to pay attention to their own safety." 
 Dr. Campbell says : — ** It was nearly dark when the 
 French frigate, La Fixe, of forty guns, by some 
 mistake, fell on board the Isis, and on perceiving 
 the force of that vessel, struck her flag to her ; the 
 darkness of the night, however, preventing the 
 latter from immediately taking possession of her 
 prize, she hoisted her colours again and made her 
 escape." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley says of this battle: — ** This was 
 a very severe action, and the loss in both fleets was 
 considerable. No captures, however, were made on 
 
36 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 either side ; although one of the French ships had 
 struck her colours, and as the English were too 
 weak to take possession before a change of wind, 
 consequently she escaped. 
 
 *' The Monmouth, Captain James Alms, was dis- 
 masted, and several other English ships were very- 
 much injured. The French admiral fell to leeward 
 of us, and his ship, the Hdros, was on fire ; it was, 
 however, at last extinguished. In the Superb we 
 had a disastrous explosion, which put one hundred 
 and fifty men hors-de-combat ; two lieutenants and 
 the master, with two of the military officers, were 
 killed on this occasion." 
 
 Dr. Campbell remarks that, in the battle fought on 
 the 1 2th of April, *'of the English fleet, the Superb 
 and Monmouth suffered most." And he adds : — *' As 
 soon as the Monmouth was fitted with jury-masts, so 
 as to be able to keep up with the rest of the fleet, 
 the British admiral weighed anchor, and proceeded 
 to Trincomali Bay ; the French repairing to Batacola, 
 a Dutch port in the island of Ceylon, about twenty 
 leagues to the south of the former place." 
 
 ** On the 23rd of June 1782," continues Admiral 
 Wolseley, ** Sir Edward Hughes, having refitted his 
 ships, and taken on board the recovered men, sailed 
 from Trincomali in quest of the French ; the next 
 day he anchored with the squadron in Negapatam 
 road. At this place we were informed that the enemy 
 were at anchor off Cuddalore, and that they had cap- 
 tured the Resolution and Ratkes, armed transports 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 37 
 
 laden with stores and ammunition, on their passage 
 to Trincomali. The afternoon of the 5th July the 
 enemy's squadron appeared off Negapatam, consist- 
 ing of eighteen sail." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley then briefly mentions that " on 
 the 6th of July 1782 an action took place between 
 the two fleets." And he adds : — '* In this action fell 
 Captain Dunbar Maclellan, of the Stiperb^ 
 
 Following my previous plan, I now turn to Dr. 
 Campbell's and Colonel Malleson's accounts for 
 some details of the battle. The first-mentioned 
 writer says that on the arrival of the fleet at Nega- 
 patam, Sir Edward heard that the French were at 
 Cuddalore, ** which place had surrendered to their 
 land forces." 
 
 '* On the 20th of June," writes Colonel Malleson, 
 ** the French fleet arrived at Cuddalore,^ and Suffrein, 
 intending to make a dash at Negapatam, embarked 
 on board his transports, besides siege materials, 
 1 200 men of the line, 400 levies of the islands, two 
 companies of artillery, and 800 sepoys. He was on 
 the point of sailing when intelligence reached him 
 that the English fleet, emerging from Trincomali, 
 had passed Cuddalore, and was bearing up northward 
 in the direction of the place which he had hoped to 
 surprise. 
 
 *' Disappointed, but still determined, Suffrein at 
 
 1 Colonel Malleson, who probably takes his account of these events 
 from some French writer, calls this place " Kandaldur ;" but as Admiral 
 Wolseley and Dr. Campbell both speak of it as " Cuddalore," I have 
 substituted the latter name in my extract. 
 
38 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 once set sail in pursuit of the enemy. Coming in 
 sight of Negapatam on the 5th July, he beheld the 
 English fleet lying at anchor in the roadstead. 
 Determined at all hazards to force on an action, 
 Suffrein signalled to clear decks and to be ready 
 to anchor. His own ship, the Heros, was leading, 
 when, at three o'clock, a sudden squall caused the 
 AJaXy which was following, the loss of her main and 
 mizzen topmasts. These, and other damages almost 
 as serious, forced her to drop out of line. The 
 squall, settling into a steady breeze, gave the 
 English admiral the advantage of the wind. He 
 accordingly weighed anchor and stood out to sea. 
 That night the two fleets anchored within two 
 cannon-shots of each other." According to Admiral 
 Wolseley, and Dr. Campbell also, the French fleet 
 consisted of eighteen vessels. Colonel Malleson 
 speaks of only sixteen, but the former number is 
 doubtless correctly given as the strength of the 
 enemy. Our own fleet consisted, according to 
 Colonel Malleson, of *' eleven line-of-battle ships 
 (carrying 746 guns) and one frigate." 
 
 On the morning of the 6th July, Colonel Mal- 
 leson says, *'the English admiral determined to 
 use his advantage of the wind and to force on an 
 engagement. At ten minutes past seven, then, he 
 formed his line ahead, and signalled to his captains 
 that each ship should bear down as directly as 
 possible upon her opponent and endeavour to bring 
 her to close action." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 39 
 
 Dr. Campbell says : — " Some time before the 
 British ships had reached the respective positions 
 which, by signal, they were directed to take, the 
 enemy had commenced firing ; in this respect follow- 
 ing their accustomed practice of endeavouring to 
 disable our vessels as they bore down from wind- 
 ward upon them. The British, however, did not 
 return the fire till they had nearly reached the posi- 
 tion they meant to occupy ; then they began a heavy 
 and well-directed cannonade. Soon after noon the 
 action was general from van to rear." Colonel 
 Malleson says : — ** The French commodore's ship, 
 the Hiros, seventy-four, and the English admiral's 
 ship, the Superby seventy-four, engaged in an almost 
 hand-to-hand encounter.'* 
 
 *' The fire of the British," continues Dr. Camp- 
 bell, **was so effectual that in a very short time one 
 vessel of the enemy was obliged to draw out of the 
 line, another had lost her mainmast, and all of them 
 were evidently much disabled, both in their hulls 
 and rigging. Everything seemed now to promise 
 that this battle would be more decisive than the 
 former ones, and that it would terminate in the 
 defeat of the French, when unfortunately, the wind, 
 which frequently in these latitudes changes at noon, 
 veered round ; many of the British ships in the van 
 and the rear were taken aback and thrown into con- 
 fusion, being obliged by the change of wind to draw 
 out of the line. Most of our ships, which were thus 
 thrown into confusion from this cause, had suffered 
 
40 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 considerably in their rigging, so that they could not 
 be easily and speedily manoeuvred in such a manner 
 as to regain their position ; those, however, which 
 had suffered comparatively little damage, and that 
 composed the British rear, soon came to the wind 
 and the larboard tack, and recommenced the action. 
 
 "As it was of the utmost importance to remedy 
 the confusion into which the British fleet had been 
 thrown by this unexpected change of wind, Sir 
 Edward Hughes hauled down the signal for the 
 line, and made the signal for the ships to wear, 
 with an intention of giving chase to the enemy, 
 who, profiting by the same circumstance which had 
 been so adverse to our squadron, had commenced 
 their flight. But at this time the British admiral 
 perceived that some of his own ships were so much 
 disabled that they could neither give chase nor 
 continue the fight if they could have come up 
 with the enemy; while the Eagle, another of his 
 squadron, having by the change of wind been 
 carried very near the enemy, was in danger of 
 being cut off by them ; he was, therefore, compelled 
 to abandon his design of giving chase, and at half- 
 past five o'clock anchored between Negapatam and 
 Najore. The French stood in shore, and when 
 they had neared it, collected their squadron in a 
 close body, in such a manner and position as to 
 be safe from the attack of the British. 
 
 ** Thus the fleets continued all that night, each em- 
 ployed in repairing the damages they had sustained. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 41 
 
 Sir Edward Hughes soon found that his vessels 
 had suffered so much in their masts and rigging 
 that the further pursuit of the enemy would be 
 impossible ; while the French fleet having, as usual, 
 suffered much more in their hulls than in their 
 masts and rigging, were enabled the next morning, 
 to the mortification of their opponents, to return to 
 Cuddalore road ; the disabled ships forming the 
 van, and those which had suffered comparatively 
 little, with the frigates, covering their retreat. 
 
 ** During this engagement, the SdverCy one of the 
 French squadron, had fallen on board the Sultan^ 
 at the time when the sudden change of wind took 
 place, and struck her colours as soon as she per- 
 ceived her situation. The captain of the Sultan was 
 prevented from taking possession of her by his 
 anxiety to obey the signal, just then thrown out, 
 of wearing and joining the admiral ; the Sdvere 
 took advantage of this circumstance, and, being 
 separated from the Sultan by the manoeuvre of 
 that vessel in the act of wearing, she hoisted her 
 colours again, or, as some maintain, even without 
 displaying any colours, she poured a broadside into 
 the British ship. In consequence of this strange 
 conduct. Sir Edward Hughes, after the engagement 
 was over, sent a flag of truce to M. de Suffrein, 
 demanding the Sdvere as a lawful prize. To this 
 demand the French admiral sent an evasive 
 answer ; denying, however, that the colours had 
 been actually struck, but maintaining that they had 
 
42 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 been shot away by accident. In this action, which, 
 like the preceding one, was obstinate, well fought, 
 but indecisive, the British had 77 killed and 233 
 wounded; the loss of the enemy was 178 killed 
 and 601 wounded." 
 
 In reference to the battle just described, Dr. 
 Campbell gives some extracts from Sir Edward 
 Hughes's official account. In it the admiral says : — 
 *' I am extremely happy to inform their lordships 
 that in this engagement his Majesty's squadron, 
 under my command, gained a decided superiority 
 over that of the enemy ; and had not the wind 
 shifted, and thrown his Majesty's squadron out of 
 the action, at the very time when some of the 
 enemy's ships had broken their line and were 
 running away, and others of them greatly disabled, 
 I have good reason to believe it would have ended 
 in the capture of several of their line - of - battle 
 ships." 
 
 "The British admiral," continues Dr. Campbell, 
 ** finding it impossible to pursue the enemy, after 
 the engagement, without a supply of spars and 
 cordage, and the ammunition of the squadron, as 
 well as its provisions, being nearly exhausted, was 
 obliged to proceed with his ships to Madras roads, 
 the only place where he could obtain a supply of the 
 necessaries which he wanted. Sir Edward arrived 
 at Madras on the 20th of July, and immediately 
 exerted himself, with his usual zeal and activity, 
 to put the squadron in a condition for service." 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY 43 
 
 Colonel Malleson states that while the fleet was 
 at Madras the admiral ** was joined by the Sceptre 
 and the San Carlos'' And he says : — *' The damages 
 which many of his ships had sustained were con- 
 siderable, and he was forced to make extraordinary 
 exertions to repair them. It had occurred to him 
 that the French commander might take advantage 
 of the state of his vessels, and the gain of a fort- 
 night's time, to make an attempt on Trincomali. 
 To guard as much as possible against such an 
 attempt, he despatched the Monmouth and the 
 Sceptre, with supplies of men and ammunition, to 
 that place." Colonel Malleson continues : — *' His 
 anxiety on the subject was soon roused, however, 
 to a greater extent than ever. 
 
 **When the French frigate Bellona had fought 
 an indecisive action with the Coventry off Batacola, 
 the combating vessels approached sufficiently near 
 to that place to enable the captain of the latter 
 ship to see the whole French fleet at anchor. He 
 at once crowded on sail, to carry the news quickly 
 to Madras. He reached Madras in the middle of 
 August, and gave the first intimation to Sir E. 
 Hughes of the dangerous proximity to Trincomali 
 of his enemy. Sir Edward used all the despatch 
 possible to hasten his departure for Ceylon. At 
 length he set out, but, delayed by contrary winds, 
 he arrived before Trincomali only to see the French 
 flag flying on all the forts and the French fleet at 
 anchor in the bay. Trincomali had capitulated on 
 
44 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the 31st August. It was occupied by the French 
 on the I St September. On the 2nd the fleet of Sir 
 Edward Hughes appeared in sight of the place." 
 
 Dr. Campbell states that *' M. de Suffrein had 
 been reinforced by the Illustrey a ship of seventy- 
 four guns ; the Si. Michael, of sixty-four ; and the 
 Elizabeth^ of fifty, a ship formerly belonging to the 
 East India Company, and his squadron had also 
 received a supply of necessaries by a convoy of 
 transports from Europe." And Colonel Malleson 
 mentions that ''the French ships carried in all 
 1038 guns, and the English ships only 976 guns." 
 
 On the morning of the 3rd September, according 
 to Colonel Malleson, Suffrein held a council of war 
 composed of the captains of his different vessels, 
 most of whom ''urged upon the commodore the 
 advisability of resting upon his laurels." Colonel 
 Malleson continues : — " Before giving a decisive 
 answer to his peace-pleading captains, Suffrein 
 determined to ascertain the number of the enemy's 
 vessels. He accordingly signalled to the frigate 
 Bellona to reconnoitre. The Bellona in a very 
 short space of time signalled back that there were 
 twelve English ships. This decided Suffrein, as he 
 had fourteen. 
 
 "The fact is," Colonel Malleson remarks, "that 
 Suffrein saw, though his captains could not or 
 would not see, that a grand opportunity, possibly 
 the last, now offered to strike a decisive blow for 
 dominion in Southern India. Could he but destroy. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 45 
 
 or effectually disable, the fleet of Sir Edward 
 Hughes, everything was still possible. Bussy was 
 on the point of arriving ; Haidar Ali still lived, 
 threatening the English possessions all round 
 Madras ; the attenuated English army, deprived of 
 its fleet, would be unable to keep the field ; and 
 there was nothing to prevent the victorious French 
 fleet from sailing with the monsoon wind to Madras 
 and crushing out the domination of the English in 
 the countries south of the river Krishna. There 
 was the one obstacle offered by the twelve ships of 
 Sir Edward Hughes ; and Suffrein had fourteen." 
 
 However, to return to the events of that memor- 
 able day, the 3rd of September 1782, Colonel 
 Malleson continues : — ** Decided by the signal from 
 the Bellona to fight, Suffrein weighed anchor and 
 stood out towards his enemy." *' Sir Edward 
 Hughes, on his part," writes Dr. Campbell, **was 
 equally ready and desirous of fighting ; but in order 
 that he might engage to more advantage, and if 
 possible render , the battle more decisive than the 
 former ones, he endeavoured to draw the enemy 
 after him as far as possible from Trincomali. 
 
 " M. de Suffrein at first followed with great 
 alacrity, his fleet consisting of fourteen sail of the 
 line, three frigates, and a fire-ship. When, how- 
 ever, he had made a considerable offing, he 
 appeared to waver in his resolution, at one time 
 seeming disposed to come to action, and at another 
 time bringing to, or edging down towards the shore 
 
46 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 again.'* This apparent irresolution was probably 
 caused by the conduct of some of the commanders 
 of Admiral Suffrein's vessels ; for, according to 
 Colonel Malleson, " as he (Suffrein) approached he 
 signalled to form line in prearranged order. This 
 signal, though repeated again and again, was so 
 badly executed by some of the malcontent captains 
 that it appeared to the English as if their enemy 
 was about, after all, to decline an engagement." 
 
 **At length, about noon," continues Dr. Campbell, 
 ** he manoeuvred in such a manner that there could 
 not remain any doubt that he had made up his 
 mind to engage ; he probably was led to this reso- 
 lution by observing that the Worcester, the rear 
 ship of the British squadron, had fallen considerably 
 behind. On her, therefore, two of the French fleet 
 fell with great fury ; but she fought with so much 
 bravery, and was manoeuvred at the same time 
 with so much skill, that the Monmouth^ which was 
 directly ahead of her, had time to bear down to 
 her assistance. While this was going on, five of 
 the enemy's ships, pushing on under a crowd of sail 
 and in a compact body, fell on the Exeter and 
 the his, the two headmost ships of the British 
 squadron. For some time these vessels fought 
 against this great superiority of force, till the 
 former, being much disabled, was compelled to 
 draw out of the line ; the enemy, upon this, tacked, 
 and fired upon the whole of our van, as they passed 
 them in succession." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 47 
 
 ** But the most desperate engagement was that 
 between the centres of the hostile fleets ; especially 
 between the Superb and Heros, the ships of the two 
 commanders." Colonel Malleson says: — "Whilst 
 this murderous hand-to-hand conflict was going on 
 in the centre, the two extremities continued pound- 
 ing at each other at long distances. In this the 
 French had somewhat the advantage;" although, 
 as he says, **the Consulante, a 40-gun frigate, which 
 had been brought into action, lost her captain ; the 
 Vengeur, having fired away all her ammunition, 
 withdrew from the line, and caught fire, with diffi- 
 culty extinguished ; and the remainder of the squad- 
 ron continued to fire without order, and at long 
 distances, notwithstanding that the signal for close 
 action was still flying on the commodore's ship. 
 
 *' At four o'clock in the afternoon, the fight having 
 then lasted one hour and a half, the situation of the 
 French commodore had become extremely critical. 
 The Ajax had been so riddled as to be able to 
 retire only with the greatest difficulty. The HeroSy 
 the Illustre^ and the Bi^illant had to bear unsup- 
 ported the weight of the concentrated fire of the 
 centre division of the English fleet. At four o'clock 
 the Artesien came to the commodore's rescue ; but 
 even then the odds were too great. About five 
 o'clock the mainmast, the fore-topmast, and the 
 mizzen-topmast of the Heros came down with a tre- 
 mendous crash. The hurrahs of the English first 
 showed Suffrein that they thought he had struck 
 
48 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 his flag. Not for long did they remain under this 
 delusion. Rushing on the poop, Suffrein cried with 
 a voice that sounded above the roar of the combat, 
 * Bring flags ; bring up all the white flags that 
 are below and cover my ship with them.' These 
 words," continues Colonel Malleson, ** inspired his 
 men with renewed energy. The contest continued 
 with greater fury than ever. The Burford, the 
 Sttltan, and the Superb had already felt, and now 
 felt again, its effects. Hope was beginning to rise 
 among the French when it was whispered to 
 Suffrein that he had already expended 1 800 rounds 
 of shot, and that his ammunition was exhausted. 
 Powder, however, remained, and with powder alone 
 he continued to fire, so as to delude the enemy." 
 
 The French were, however, as Dr. Campbell 
 remarks, *'a second time befriended and saved by 
 a sudden change of the wind." And ** suddenly, at 
 half-past five, the wind shifted from the south-west 
 to the east- south-east. This enabled the vanguard 
 of the French fleet to come to the aid of and to 
 cover its centre;" and "as soon as the wind 
 changed, Sir Edward Hughes had no alternative 
 but to throw out the signal for his ships to wear." 
 " But on resuming their position," writes Colonel 
 Malleson, "they had no longer the hardly pressed 
 ships of the French centre to encounter, but those 
 of the vanguard, which till then had only engaged 
 at a distance and were comparatively fresh. 
 
 "The battle then re-engaged. But now it was 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 49 
 
 the turn of the French. The Hero lost her main- 
 mast at twenty minutes past six, and her mizzen-mast 
 soon after. The main-topmast of the Worcester 
 was shot away about the same time. At last night 
 fell, and the engagement ceased." And it is stated 
 by Dr. Campbell that "about seven o'clock the 
 French steered away close to the wind, to the 
 southward, receiving a galling fire from the British 
 rear, which they passed ; " and he adds that it was 
 quite impossible for Sir Edward Hughes to attempt 
 to follow them, as **the Superb y Burford, Eagle, 
 and Monmouth were completely disabled, and the 
 rest of his fleet had suffered also in a greater or 
 less degree." 
 
 Colonel Malleson says in his account that " both 
 fleets remained all night near the scene of action. 
 The next morning that of the French entered the 
 harbour of Trincomali ; the English set sail for 
 Madras." And Dr. Campbell mentions that "in 
 entering Trincomali Bay, either from the disabled 
 state of the ship, from negligence and want of skill, 
 or from the confusion in which the French were, 
 the Orient, of seventy-four guns, ran on shore and 
 was lost. 
 
 ** The loss of the British," the Doctor remarks, 
 "was not nearly so great in this engagement as 
 might have been supposed ; there were only 5 1 
 killed and 283 wounded. On board of the French 
 fleet the killed amounted to 412, and the wounded 
 to 676 ; the Hdros, Admiral Suffrein s ship, lost 
 
 D 
 
so A MEMOIR OF 
 
 140 killed and 240 wounded, out of her crew of 
 1200 men. He was so much dissatisfied with the 
 conduct of some of his captains that six of them 
 were broke, and sent under arrest to the Mauritius." 
 This is borne out also by Colonel Malleson, who 
 makes the remark, ** That the majority of the 
 French qaptains behaved disgracefully was broadly 
 asserted by Suffrein ; " and he states that Suffrein, 
 writing to a friend on the 14th, after the battle, in 
 a letter which was some months later published in 
 the Gazette de France, alluding to the excellent 
 conduct of the captain of the Illustre^ M. de 
 Bruyeres de Chalabre, used this expression : '* No 
 one could have borne himself better than he did ; 
 if all had done like him, we should have been 
 masters of India for ever." 
 
 Colonel Malleson, evidently, fully agrees with 
 the French admiral in this, as he says : — " There 
 can scarcely be a doubt that if all had fought like 
 the captain of the Illustre he would have mastered 
 Southern India." However, be this as it may, the 
 great sea-fight off Trincomali resulted in another 
 drawn battle. But that it was a well-fought one 
 on the part of our brave sailors, both officers and 
 men, it is surely unnecessary to add. And, as Dr. 
 Campbell justly remarks, '* though in the course 
 of less than twelve months Sir Edward Hughes 
 was four times severely engaged with a force con- 
 siderably superior to his own in numbers, and com- 
 manded by an officer of as great skill and courage 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 51 
 
 as any whom his nation has ever produced, yet he 
 maintained the honour of the British character for 
 naval pre-eminence unsullied ; and if he gained no 
 decisive victories, or signalised himself by any ex- 
 tensive defeat of the enemy, the services which he 
 performed for his country were substantial rather 
 than splendid, and solid rather than brilliant." 
 
 And to these remarks of Dr. Campbell's it may 
 be added, that the importance of these four battles 
 to British interests, and to the maintenance of our 
 power in India, can scarcely be overrated ; and 
 that this was the opinion of the Governor-General 
 and Council of Bengal is shown by the extract taken 
 by Dr. Campbell from the letter addressed by them 
 to Sir Edward Hughes. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 In all these four battles fought in the year 1782, 
 which, under Providence, were the means of pre- 
 serving the Empire of India to the English, Admiral 
 Wolseley took his part as lieutenant on board Sir 
 Edward Hughes's flag-ship, the Superb; and this 
 vessel, as shown by the accounts given by Dr. 
 Campbell and Colonel Malleson, invariably bore 
 the full brunt of the attack, being generally singled 
 out and attacked by Suffrein himself. These four 
 engagements, the first on the 1 7th of February, the 
 second on the 12th of April, the third on the 6th 
 of July, and the fourth on the 3rd of September, 
 with the former battle fought against the French 
 by the English fleet under Lord Keppel and Sir 
 Hugh Palliser on the 17th July 1778, made five 
 general actions, in which Admiral Wolseley took 
 part during the time he was a lieutenant. 
 
 Of the last engagement, so fully described by 
 Colonel Malleson, Admiral Wolseley briefly says 
 in his memoir: — '* On the 3rd of September 1782, 
 Sir Edward Hughes being again near Trincomali, 
 another action took place between him and Suffrein. 
 Two of the French ships fell furiously on the 
 
 Worcester^ but she made so brave a resistance, 
 
 52 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 53 
 
 and being timely supported by the Monmouth, her 
 second ahead, the attack of the French failed en- 
 tirely on that side. Captains Watt of the Sultan^ 
 Wood of the Worcester, and Lumley of the his 
 lost their lives by this action." 
 
 He continues : — '* I was then made master and 
 commander of the Combustion, and acting-captain 
 of the Worcester on Captain Wood s being wounded. 
 I took the Worcester into Madras roads, and on 
 poor Captain Wood's dying at Madras I was made 
 post- captain into the Coventry , twenty- eight guns, 
 from the Combustion, 
 
 ** In a short time, the monsoon having set in, and 
 the French having gone for refuge from it to the 
 island of Andaman and the adjacent coast about 
 Achin Head, Sir Edward Hughes thought it neces- 
 sary, to avoid the monsoon, to go to Bombay, and 
 left the Coventry and a 32-gun frigate commanded 
 by Sir Erasmus Gore to cruise in the Bay of 
 Bengal for a short time, to look out for the arrival 
 of some of our Indiamen that were expected. I 
 went to Mirachapatam and Ganjam in the Coventry. 
 I was under weigh at night going into Ganjam roads, 
 with scarcely any wind or steerage way, when, on 
 the haze clearing off a little, I saw two ships which 
 we supposed to be the Indiamen, but they proved 
 to be the French fleet. Captain Gore, in the frigate, 
 was on the outside of the Coventry , with a little 
 wind. All my efforts to get the Coventry off were 
 ineffectual, and I was taken prisoner. 
 
54 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 *' Admiral Suffrein asked me to dinner, and put 
 me on board the Flamandy commanded by Captain 
 de Silver, as he spoke English ; and I was taken 
 into Trincomali, where I had leave from Admiral 
 Suffrein to remain some time, and was given my 
 choice of going either to the Mauritius or to Hyder 
 Ally. 
 
 ** I preferred going to the Mauritius, and soon 
 sailed in a transport to the Isle de France, from 
 whence, in a few days, I was, at my own request, 
 sent to the Isle de Bourbon, where a number of 
 officers, both of the King's and India Company's 
 troops, were prisoners of war. Amongst them were 
 a general officer of the Company's service and his 
 secretary, also three captains of Indiamen, Captain 
 Par of the navy, and many others. I remained 
 at the Isle de Bourbon, as happy as I could be 
 under such circumstances, for eight months. In 
 the year 1783 peace was declared, and we were 
 consequently all liberated." 
 
 Colonel Malleson says : — "The war was terminated 
 by the peace known in history as the Treaty of 
 Versailles, and the struggle ended in the triumph 
 of England. Had it been otherwise, Madras and 
 all southern India," he continues, *' would have 
 passed over to the French." And he adds, a few 
 pages farther on : — ** By the interval of nine years 
 which elapsed between the signature of the Treaty 
 of Versailles and the outbreak of the War of the 
 Revolution, the English profited to fix their domina- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 55 
 
 tion on a basis so substantial as to be proof against 
 further direct hostility on the part of their great 
 rival." 
 
 After his liberation Admiral Wolseley continues : 
 — ** Two captains of Indiamen, Captain Par and I, 
 went in a small French transport to the Cape of 
 Good Hope, and were going into False Bay when 
 a strong south-easter came on. We English knew 
 very well what would be the consequence, and we 
 wanted the Frenchmen to go on to St. Helena, 
 instead of stopping at the Cape. The south-easter 
 blew away almost all his sails, and from his not 
 having taken proper precautions, he got so far to 
 leeward that he was obliged to do as we wished, 
 not being able to get in to the Cape, as we had 
 foreseen. We had a passage of ten days before we 
 arrived at St. Helena. Here we met the Queetiy 
 East Indiaman, Captain Douglas, about to sail for 
 England, who very kindly took us all on board, 
 and after a passage of eight weeks we arrived at 
 Plymouth. On going up to London directly after- 
 wards to report our arrival, there was such a deep 
 fall of snow it was found necessary to have six 
 horses to draw the coach. Some time about that 
 period the court-martial came on respecting the loss 
 of the Coventry} 
 
 ** I then went to Ireland to see my mother and 
 other relations ; this was in 1783 ; and in 1785 I was 
 appointed captain of the Trusty, a new 50-gun ship, 
 
 * At this court-martial Captain Wolseley was honourably acquitted. 
 
56 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 and I fitted her out for Commodore Philipps Cosby 
 (my uncle), who was appointed to the command in 
 the Mediterranean. It was usual on occasions of 
 this kind, when a ship was ready to go out from 
 Spithead, to make the signal for assistance, each 
 ship then afloat sending their boat to be of any 
 service. Amongst the number of those boats was 
 the Hebes boat, with the Duke of Clarence (his late 
 Majesty William IV.) as midshipman attending. 
 He came up the gangway, pulled off his hat to me, 
 and asked if there were any orders ; I replied that 
 the boats were towing the ship, and that there were 
 no further commands. The Duke s boat laid hold 
 of the tow rope. Full twenty years after that I met 
 his Royal Highness at Bath, and he recalled the 
 whole circumstance to my recollection on the 
 occasion in a very flattering manner." 
 
 There was, however, rather an amusing incident 
 connected with Admiral Wolseley's first meeting 
 with the Duke of Clarence, which may have had 
 something to do with his Royal Highness's recol- 
 lection of it. When the towing rope was first 
 thrown to the crew of the boat commanded by the 
 Duke of Clarence it fell short and went into the 
 water, and Captain Wolseley, who was leaning over 
 the side of the ship watching the proceedings, on 
 seeing a young midshipman sitting quietly in the 
 stern of the boat and not making the slightest 
 attempt to assist the men in catching the rope, 
 called out to him, ** Hullo, you young monkey, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 57 
 
 why don't you lend a hand with that rope ? " To 
 which very unceremoniously expressed demand the 
 Duke instantly replied, ^* Ay, ay, sir ! " and forth- 
 with began to assist the men in hauling it in. 
 
 From 1785 till 1789 Admiral Wolseley was 
 captain of the Trtisty\ his uncle Commodore 
 Cosby's flag-ship, and he continues: — '*We sailed 
 in September to Gibraltar, then commanded by 
 General Elliot, afterwards Lord Heathfield. We 
 remained four years at the different ports in the 
 Mediterranean, and spent a pleasant time. At one 
 period we took the young Duke of Bedford from 
 Nice to Leghorn. I returned in command of the 
 Trusty, with Admiral Cosby's flag, to England, 
 and was paid off in 1789. 
 
 **In the year 1792, Admiral Cosby having the 
 command of Plymouth, I was appointed captain of 
 the Lowestoffe frigate, thirty-two guns. It was then 
 peace, but the revolutionary war broke out very 
 early in 1793, and I was sent twice into St. George's 
 Channel to protect the Irish convoys, and was 
 ordered by the Admiralty to get the Lowestoffe up 
 off the docks of Liverpool. From thence I sailed 
 with about 200 seamen, and collected 300 sail of the 
 convoy in the Irish Channel, with the intention of 
 going with them round the Land's End, but the 
 wind came on to blow very hard from the south- 
 west, and I was obliged to go into Milford Haven 
 for shelter of the convoy. In consequence of 
 having the typhus fever on board, I had the ship 
 
58 A MEMOIE OF 
 
 fumigated here. Sir John Gore, late admiral, was 
 my second lieutenant on board the Lowestoffe, 
 
 ** Three or four days afterwards I got out of 
 Milford Haven, and sailed round the Land's End, 
 with all the convoy safe. Having been so successful 
 in this business, the Admiralty sent me again upon 
 the same service to the Irish Channel, to convoy 
 the linen ships, &c., round, in which we also suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 ''Lord Hood was then going to the Mediterranean 
 with ten sail of the line. Admiral Cosby being 
 appointed third in command of these ships, the 
 Lowestoffe was taken as repeating frigate to the 
 third division ; and I sailed with the fleet from 
 Spithead. As soon as we were down Channel, 
 clear of the Lizard, Lord Hood made my signal 
 to go to the southward. This was intended as a 
 compliment. 
 
 ** Lord Hood took the fleet to Gibraltar. I kept 
 the Lowestoffe' c\os^ to the French coast in the bay, 
 until we began to get short of water. I retook on 
 this occasion an English merchantman, and sent 
 her into port. I then opened Bay orders, and sailed 
 to Gibraltar, where I joined Lord Hood and the 
 fleet. On this service I remained with Lord Hood 
 two or three years, and was at the taking of Toulon 
 and Corsica." 
 
 As Admiral Wolseley merely mentions that he 
 was present at Toulon, and gives no details of the 
 various engagements in Corsica in which he took 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 59 
 
 part, I therefore take some extracts concerning 
 these events from the interesting accounts given 
 by the well-known naval historians, Mr. James and 
 Captain Brenton. 
 
 The last -mentioned author says: — **The com- 
 mand of the British squadron in the Mediterranean, 
 on the peace establishment, was held by Vice- 
 Admiral Cosby, whose flag was in the Trusty, of 
 fifty guns ; he had under his orders a small squadron, 
 consisting of six frigates and three sloops of war. 
 
 ** This force was intended chiefly as a check 
 to the Barbary powers, and to guard against the 
 machinations of France and Spain in the south of 
 Europe. 
 
 ** It was not till the month of April 1793 that a 
 squadron could be got ready, on the war establish- 
 ment, to proceed to that part of the world." Rear- 
 Admiral Cell sailed in the beginning of the month, 
 with a fleet consisting of six vessels, besides his 
 flag-ship; and having arrived at Gibraltar, continues 
 Captain Brenton, he " was speedily reinforced by 
 six sail of the line and two frigates, which sailed in 
 the month of May, under the command of Vice- 
 Admiral Hotham ; and on the 22 nd of May, Lord 
 Viscount Hood, with the third division, sailed from 
 Spithead, to assume the chief command, and to 
 commence the most active operations against the 
 Republic of France. His lordship had his flag in 
 the Victory, and now counted twenty sail of the 
 line under his orders." 
 
6o A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Lord Hood, on his arrival in the Mediterranean, 
 took his station off Toulon, where, at that time, 
 both in the town itself and in the large fleet in the 
 harbour, were to be found many Royalists, strongly 
 opposed to the Republican Government. ** This 
 spirit of disaffection," writes Mr. James, ''existed 
 not only to a partial extent in the fleet, but very 
 generally throughout the whole of the southern 
 provinces ; and the inhabitants, for their alleged 
 disloyalty, were either feeling or momentarily 
 dreading the full weight of the Republican rage." 
 Such being the position of affairs, Mr. James states 
 that "on the 23rd of August two commissioners 
 came off to the Victory, Lord Hood's flag-ship, and 
 represented themselves to be charged with full 
 powers from the sections of the departments in 
 which Marseilles was situated to treat for peace, 
 expressly stating that the leading object of their 
 negotiation was to effect the re-establishment of 
 a monarchical government in France. They ex- 
 pected, they said, the immediate arrival of deputies, 
 similarly authorised, from the section of the depart- 
 ment of the Var, of which Toulon was the principal 
 town. 
 
 " Lord Hood pledged himself that if the standard 
 of royalty was hoisted, the ships in Toulon dis- 
 mantled, and the harbour and forts were placed 
 provisionally at his disposal, so as to admit of 
 egress and regress to the British fleet, the people 
 of Provence should have all the assistance and 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 6i 
 
 support which that fleet could afford ; that a peace 
 
 upon just, liberal, and honourable principles was 
 
 the sole object of the treaty ; and that on such 
 
 an event taking place the port of Toulon, its 
 
 batteries and shipping, with the stores of every 
 
 kind, as particularised in a schedule to be drawn 
 
 up, should be restored to France." (This treaty, 
 
 Captain Brenton states, was signed on board the 
 
 Victory on the 28th of August 1793.) ^^- James 
 
 continues: — *' A proclamation was addressed to the 
 
 inhabitants of the towns and provinces in the south 
 
 of France, and assurances given that the coalesced 
 
 powers (the English, the Spaniards, the Neapolitans, 
 
 and Sardinians) would willingly co-operate with the 
 
 well-disposed in putting down the odious faction 
 
 that governed the country. 
 
 ** The town of Toulon," he writes, " which occu- 
 pies the north side of the harbour, is fortified with 
 great art, both on the land and sea approaches, but, 
 being commanded by the heights with which it is 
 surrounded on all sides, must be dependent on them 
 for protection. A semicircular chain of mountains 
 on the north extends from the Hieres road on the 
 east to the pass of Oliol on the west ; this pass, 
 which is five miles from the town, might have bid 
 defiance to any force had it been guarded by British 
 troops." 
 
 *' Before Lord Hood with his fleet entered the 
 road of Toulon," writes Captain Brenton, *'it was 
 judged necessary that the forts commanding that 
 
62 A MEMOIK OF 
 
 anchorage should be put into possession of British 
 officers and men, which was accordingly effected 
 at midnight on the 27th, when 1700 marines and 
 seamen from the different ships were landed, under 
 the command of Captain the Honourable George 
 Keith Elphinstone, of the Robust ^ who received an 
 appointment from the admiral as governor of Fort 
 La Malgue, commanding, by its situation, both the 
 town and the inner and outer roads. The British 
 and Spanish fleets entered the great road at the 
 same time, the Spanish division under the command 
 of Admiral Gravina. The British fleet anchored 
 in the bay, and Rear- Admiral Goodall was appointed 
 governor of Toulon." 
 
 According to Mr. James, Lord Hood's force 
 when he entered the bay of Toulon consisted of 
 twenty-one sail of the line, besides frigates and 
 sloops. He gives a list of the larger vessels, with 
 the names of their commanders, and among them 
 appears the Windsor Castle, ninety -eight guns. 
 Vice- Admiral Cosby's flag-ship, commanded by 
 Captain Sir Thomas Byard, and the Agamemnon^ 
 commanded by England^s greatest naval hero, 
 Horatio Nelson, who at that time had only attained 
 the rank of captain. 
 
 No sooner had the English and their allies taken 
 possession of the forts on the heights surrounding 
 Toulon, and those at the entrance of the harbour, 
 than the Republicans, having, as Captain Brenton 
 remarks, ** resolved at once to regaii> possession of 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 63 
 
 the place, and to gratify their revenge by the de- 
 struction of the RoyaUsts, lost no time in con- 
 centrating their forces round this devoted town. 
 The armies of the Republic approached it from 
 the east, west, and north." And he adds:—*' It was 
 on this occasion that the celebrated Napoleon 
 Bonaparte first made himself conspicuous ; his 
 talents and courage were greatly instrumental in 
 the reduction of Toulon. A lieutenant-colonel of 
 artillery, he had the art and the audacity to com- 
 mand respect and obedience even from his superior 
 officers, who blindly submitted to be led by him. 
 And to him the Convention owed the surrender 
 of the place and the retreat of the British and their 
 allies." 
 
 *' During the time that Toulon remained in the 
 possession of the allied forces," Mr. James writes, "a 
 very formidable insurrection" [against the French] 
 ** existed in Corsica, and General Paoli, the leader 
 of the insurgent party, sought the aid of the Eng- 
 lish, assuring Lord Hood that even the appearance 
 of a few ships off the island would be of the most 
 essential service to the popular cause. Accordingly, 
 in the month of September, a squadron, composed 
 of the following line-of- battle ships and frigates, 
 sailed from Toulon for Villa-Franca : — Alcide (74 
 guns), Commodore Robert Linzee, Captain John 
 Woodley ; Courageux (74 guns). Captain John 
 Matthews ; Ardent (64 guns). Captain Robert 
 Manners Sutton. Frigates — Lowestoffe (32 guns), 
 
64 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Captain William Wolseley ; Nemesis (28 guns), 
 Captain Lord Emilius Beau clerk. 
 
 **On his arrival off Villa-Franca, Commodore 
 Linzee, in conformity to the orders he had received, 
 sent a letter on shore containing the account of the 
 restoration of monarchy at Toulon, as well as copies 
 of the proclamation that had been addressed by 
 Lord Hood to the inhabitants of the south of 
 France. To this communication no answer was 
 returned. The commodore then stood across to 
 the island of Corsica, and showed his force off Calvi 
 and San Fiorenzo, meeting from the respective 
 inhabitants no better reception than he had expe- 
 rienced at Villa-Franca, except that a few of the 
 mountaineers came down, and were supplied, at 
 their own request, with muskets and ammunition. 
 His offers did not persuade, nor his force intimidate, 
 the garrisons, although accompanied by an assur- 
 ance that the latter, if desirous, should be conveyed 
 to France. 
 
 "The orders of the British commodore, in the 
 event of a refusal on the part of the garrisons, were 
 to attempt their reduction by force ; or, should that 
 appear too hazardous, to invest the places with his 
 ships, and starve the inhabitants into a compliance. 
 To blockade three such ports as Calvi, San Fio- 
 renzo, and Bastia with three line-of-battle ships and 
 two frigates was impracticable ; but Commodore 
 Linzee, having been led to believe that the batteries 
 of San Fiorenzo could not, on account of the dis- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 65 
 
 tance, co-operate with the tower and redoubt of 
 Fornelli, situated about two miles in advance of 
 the town, thought he might make an advantageous 
 attack by sea on that formidable post 
 
 ** It being necessary, previous to an attack upon 
 Fornelli, to get possession of a tower that com- 
 manded the only secure anchorage in the Gulf of 
 San Fiorenzo, the Lowestoffe and Nemesis frigates 
 were detached upon that service. As soon as'* 
 [Captain Wolseley's vessel] "the Lowestoffe^ which, 
 in working up to Cape Martello, had got to wind- 
 ward of her consort, arrived within gunshot of the 
 tower, she opened a fire upon it ; then stood out, 
 and on tacking in again, repeated the fire.^ Just as 
 the third broadside was about to be bestowed, a 
 boat was seen to quit the shore and pull in the 
 direction of the town of San Fiorenzo. Captain 
 Wolseley immediately despatched two boats, with 
 Lieutenants John Gibbs and Francis Charles An- 
 nesley, and thirty men, to take possession of the 
 tower. 
 
 *' The British landed without opposition, and 
 although the ladder leading to the entrance, which 
 was by an opening about twenty feet up the wall 
 of the building, had been carried off by the fugitives, 
 the seamen, by means of some spars found on the 
 spot, managed to gain admission. Three long guns, 
 one 24 and two i8-pounders, were found mounted 
 
 ^ Probably these tactics were for the purpose of getting out of 
 range, and avoiding the return shots from the tower. 
 
 B 
 
66 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 on the top of this extraordinary tower (named 
 Martello, after its inventor, Monsieur Martel) ; but 
 before the garrison fled the powder had all been 
 thrown into the well. On observing the Lowestoffe' s 
 success, the Nemesis bore away to the commodore 
 with the intelligence, and the squadron soon after- 
 wards entered the bay and came to an anchor." 
 
 After possession had been taken of the tower, 
 Captain Wolseley went to inspect it, and was so 
 struck by the peculiar construction of the little 
 fortress that he took a plan of it, which was for- 
 warded to the British Government ; and soon after, 
 the " Martello " towers on our own coasts were 
 constructed. They do not appear, however, to have 
 had much resemblance to the one from which they 
 were supposed to have been copied, and which is 
 thus described by Captain Brenton: — *'This tower," 
 he writes, " was of an extraordinary and ingenious 
 construction, about fifty feet in diameter, by forty- . 
 five high, and of a circular form ; the walls were 
 twelve feet thick ; the parapet was lined with bass- 
 junk,^ a kind of cable made of grass, and the 
 interstices were filled up with wet sand." He thea 
 gives an account of the armament, and differs from 
 Mr. James as to the number of guns; but as the 
 latter took his information from the official Gazette^ 
 and also mentions the way in which Admiral Linzee 
 afterwards disposed of the three guns found in the 
 
 1 Mr. James states that it was lined with bass-junk " to the depth of 
 five feet" 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 67 
 
 tower, his statement is likely to have been more 
 correct than that of Captain Brenton, who merely 
 says that there was only one gun, from his own 
 recollection of a model he saw of the tower, '^with 
 the exact account of its furniture and equipment," 
 He mentions that ** there was a well of water" in 
 the fortress ; and Mr. James says that there was 
 also in it **a furnace for heating shot." 
 
 On the I St of October an unsuccessful attack was 
 made on Fornelli by Commodore Linzee with the 
 ships Ardent, A hide, and Courageux, but being 
 exposed to a raking fire both from the redoubt and 
 also from the town of San Fiorenzo, and as the 
 vessels were greatly damaged, and there were also 
 great losses among the crews, both in killed and 
 wounded, he had to discontinue the attack and 
 retire. The two frigates, the Lowestoffe and the 
 Nemesis, do not seem to have been engaged, as 
 they are not mentioned by Mr. James, and probably 
 they had previously been sent off on some other 
 service. Before he left the bay Commodore Linzee 
 gave up the tower of Martello to the Corsicans 
 under General Paoli. But on the 24th of the 
 month it was recaptured by the French under 
 Commodore Peree, who was in command of a 
 squadron consisting of four frigates and a brig- 
 corvette. 
 
 Mr. James says : — '* While the British fleet lay 
 at Toulon, Lord Hood occasionally sent small 
 detachments in quest of the remaining ships of 
 
68 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the Toulon fleet, still, according to information re- 
 ceived, cruising in the Mediterranean seas." And 
 he states that on the 22nd October, Captain Horatio 
 Nelson, while cruising in his ship, the Agamemnon, 
 off the coast of Sardinia, saw this squadron, and 
 attacked and chased, "with every stitch of canvas 
 set," one of the frigates, but it succeeded in joining 
 the other vessels and in getting away. The Aga- 
 memnony ** having her main-topsail cut to pieces, 
 main and mizzen masts and foreyard badly injured, 
 and a great quantity of rigging shot away," could 
 not follow; and "on the 24th," he continues, "the 
 Agamemnon anchored in Cagliari Bay to repair her 
 damages, and the French frigates proceeded to 
 Martello Bay. From this anchorage," he adds, 
 "they might probably have been compelled to 
 remove by the fire of the tower, which, as elsewhere 
 stated, had been captured in the preceding month 
 by the Lowestoffe, but Commodore Linzee had since 
 removed the guns into a tender which he chose to 
 fit out. The consequence was, that the Corsicans 
 left in charge had no alternative but to abandon 
 the tower, and a party from the French squadron 
 immediately landed and took possession of it." 
 
 In the meantime the position of the English and 
 their allies at Toulon had become very precarious. 
 During the time they occupied Toulon they were con- 
 stantly harassed by attacks of overwhelming forces 
 of the Republicans; and in the middle of December, 
 when their position became untenable, Captain Bren- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 69 
 
 ton says, " Lieutenant-General Dundas addressed 
 a letter to the Secretary of War, in which, after 
 detailing the noble exertions of his troops, and the 
 events which had brought himself and his com- 
 panions to that mortifying situation, he gave such an 
 account of the strength and resources of the enemy, 
 compared with his own, as leaves us astonished 
 at the magnanimity which could persevere under 
 such insurmountable difficulties. * From concurring 
 testimonies (says the General), the enemy's army 
 now amounted to between thirty and forty thousand 
 men ' ; and * for the complete defence of the town 
 and harbour, we have been long obliged to occupy 
 a circumference of at least fifteen miles by eight, 
 principal posts, with their several intermediate ones. 
 The greatest part of these were of a temporary nature, 
 such as our means allowed us to construct ; and of 
 our force, which never exceeded 12,000 men bearing 
 arms, composed of five different nations and lan- 
 guages, nearly 9000 were placed in or supporting 
 these posts, and about 3000 remained in the town.'" 
 
 **On the night of the 14th" (December 1793), 
 writes Mr. James, " in the midst of a storm, the 
 French marched from their encampments in three 
 columns, each column taking a route leading to a 
 different point of the line of posts, so that their 
 attacks might be simultaneous " ; and during the 
 next few days the besiegers continued to bombard 
 the works with considerable effect. 
 
 Napoleon Buonaparte himself was present in these 
 
70 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 attacks ; and a French author, quoted by Mr. 
 James, says of him, " Un jeune homme de vingt- 
 trois ans fut jug6 capable et digne du commande- 
 ment de Tartillerie ; on la lui confia.'* And he then 
 tells the following anecdote : — ** A Tattaque de fort 
 Pharon, un commissaire de la convention critique et 
 condamne la position d'une batterie. Buonaparte 
 lui dit avec fierte, ' Melez-vous de votre mdtier de 
 r6presentant ; laissez-moi faire le mien d'artilleur ; 
 cette batterie restera la, et je r^ponds du succes.' " 
 **The battery," writes Mr. James, " did fully succeed, 
 and Buonaparte received the applause of the generals 
 present, and shortly afterwards was himself made a 
 brigadier-general. 
 
 On the 1 7th the French succeeded in forcing all 
 the posts on the mountains of Pharon, and **thus," 
 writes Mr. James, ''was the line of defence broken 
 in upon its two most essential points, and the ships 
 in the harbour and the town itself were overawed 
 by the very cannon which had been mounted for 
 their protection. Most of the ships, indeed, were 
 compelled to unmoor and retire to a safer position. 
 
 "Things being thus situated, a council of war 
 was immediately held," and ** it was unanimously 
 resolved that Toulon should be evacuated as soon 
 as proper arrangements could be made for that 
 purpose." It was also decided that the French 
 ships of war "which were armed ^ should sail out 
 
 ^ These armed ships had Royalist officers and crews. The crews 
 of the others were Republicans. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 71 
 
 with the fleet, and that those which remained in the 
 harbour, together with the magazines and the arsenal, 
 should be destroyed.'* 
 
 Mr. James and Captain Brenton give most in- 
 teresting and graphic accounts of the events that 
 occurred on the afternoon of the 18th, when, as 
 the first-mentioned author says, "the important 
 service of destroying the ships and magazines was 
 entrusted, at his own particular request, to Captain 
 Sir Sidney Smith " (afterwards Admiral Sir Sidney 
 Smith). The commencement of the conflagration 
 of the shipping had been the signal for evacuating 
 the town ; and the whole of the troops embarked, 
 and were on board the fleet by daylight on the 
 morning of the 19th, ** without," writes Mr. James, 
 "the loss of a man," although the vessels were 
 repeatedly fired at as they were leaving the harbour ; 
 and in his description of the fortifications of Toulon, 
 previously given, he states that "at the mouth of 
 the basin are two jetties, and the outer sides of these 
 present two tremendous batteries, a fleur (Teau^ or 
 nearly even with the water's edge — the very worst 
 species of fort for a ship to encounter." 
 
 Captain Brenton mentions that the English took 
 away with them three French ships of the line, the 
 Commerce de Marseilles, of one hundred and twenty 
 guns ; the Pompde, of eighty ; and Puissant^ of 
 seventy- four ; and says that " on the first alarm " 
 these ships "were quickly filled with [Royalist] 
 emigrants of all ranks, ages, and sexes, flying from 
 
72 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 
 
 inevitable destruction"; and he adds that "the 
 officers and crews of the British ships of war ren- 
 dered every assistance in their power to these 
 unhappy fugitives," and that " the Princess Royal 
 had on board, at one time, nearly four thousand 
 people, and the Robust three thousand, besides their 
 own crews." These people were afterwards dis- 
 tributed into the different ships of the fleet ; and as 
 soon as circumstances would admit of that arrange- 
 ment, they were landed in Corsica, Italy, and else- 
 where, and many of them, doubtless, took refuge in 
 England. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 As Captain Brenton justly remarks, Lord Hood, in 
 engaging "to defend the inhabitants of Toulon and 
 Marseilles against the immense armies of the Re- 
 public, without having the means of doing so, or 
 knowing the number and strength of the forces he 
 had to encounter, had certainly taken upon himself 
 a greater degree of responsibility than he was 
 aware of. 
 
 ''After the night of the i8th of December he 
 retreated with his fleet to Hieres Bay, a fine anchor- 
 age about ten miles east of Toulon." He was 
 accompanied by the French admiral, Trogoffe, and 
 his three ships of the line bearing the white flag. 
 These vessels, the Commerce de Marseilles^ the 
 PompSe^ and the Puissant, previously mentioned, are 
 stated by Captain Brenton to have been taken into 
 the British service in the course of the following 
 year, but he says that ** all their officers and crews 
 were previously discharged." 
 
 ** Driven from the Continent," he writes, " the 
 two commanders-in-chief," Lord Hood and General 
 Dundas, "next considered where the forces under 
 their orders might be the most beneficially employed 
 for the advantage of the public service, when the 
 
 73 
 
74 A MEMOIR OP 
 
 island of Corsica, a colony of France, and not more 
 than eighty miles from the anchorage they now 
 occupied, appeared to them to afford the fairest 
 prospect of success. This romantic spot had, in 
 the year 1789, at the request of the Corsicans, 
 through General Paoli, been declared the eighty- 
 third department of France ; but in consequence 
 of the events of the Revolution, which was felt to 
 the utmost parts of the world where the French 
 had any influence, the Corsicans became restless, 
 revolted again from their new masters, and Paoli, 
 at their instigation, sent an invitation to Lord Hood 
 to come and take possession of the island." 
 
 Dr. Southey, in his ''Life of Nelson," gives a 
 short sketch of the previous history of Corsica, 
 and also of that of General Paoli ; and before 
 entering on the account of the warfare in Corsica, 
 I give a few extracts that may, perhaps, interest 
 the reader. 
 
 "About thirty years before this time," writes Dr. 
 Southey, "the heroic patriotism of the Corsicans, 
 and of their leader Paoli (father of the general), had 
 been the admiration of England. The history of 
 these brave people," he continues, "is but a melan- 
 choly tale. The Moors, the Pisans, the kings of 
 Aragon, and the Genoese successively attempted, 
 and each for a time effected, its conquest. The 
 yoke of the Genoese continued longest, and was 
 the heaviest. These petty tyrants ruled with an 
 iron rod ; and when at any time a patriot rose to 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY 75 
 
 resist their oppressions, if they failed to subdue him 
 by force, they resorted to assassination." 
 
 In the early part of the eighteenth century, the 
 Corsicans having risen against their oppressors, 
 Genoa called in the French to her assistance, 
 which, as Dr. Southey remarks, was readily given. 
 ** For such was their ascendency at Genoa," he 
 writes, **that in subduing Corsica for these allies, 
 they were, in fact, subduing it for themselves. 
 They entered into the contest, therefore, with their 
 usual vigour and their usual cruelty. It was in 
 vain that the Corsicans addressed a most affecting 
 memorial to the Court of Versailles ; that remorse- 
 less Government persisted in its flagitious project. 
 They poured in troops, dressed a part of them like 
 the people of the country, by which means they 
 deceived and destroyed many of the patriots ; cut 
 down the standing corn, the vines, and the olives ; 
 set fire to the villages, and hung all the most able 
 and active men who fell into their hands. A war 
 of this kind may be carried on with success against 
 a country so small and so thinly peopled as Corsica. 
 Having reduced the island to perfect servitude, 
 which they called peace, the French withdrew their 
 forces." 
 
 "General Paolis father was one of the patriots 
 who effected their escape from Corsica when the 
 French reduced it to obedience. He retired to 
 Naples, and brought up this his youngest son in 
 the Neapolitan service." Some years later, after a 
 
76 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 desultory warfare which had continued for two 
 years, **the Corsicans," writes Dr. Southey, "heard 
 of young Paoli's abilities, and solicited him to 
 come over to his native country and take the 
 command." When Paoli arrived "he formed a 
 democratical government, of which he was chosen 
 chief; he restored the authority of the laws, estab- 
 lished an university, and took such measures, both 
 for repressing abuses and moulding the rising gene- 
 ration, that, if France had not interfered, Corsica 
 might at this day have been as free and flourish- 
 ing and happy a commonwealth as any of the 
 Grecian states in the days of their prosperity. The 
 Genoese were at this time driven out of their for- 
 tified towns, and must in a short time have been 
 expelled. France was indebted some millions of 
 livres to Genoa ; it was not convenient to pay this 
 money ; so the French Minister proposed to the 
 Genoese that she should discharge the debt by 
 sending six battalions to serve in Corsica for four 
 years. 
 
 "The immediate object of the French," continues 
 Dr. Southey, "happened to be purely mercenary; 
 they wanted to clear off their debt to Genoa ; and 
 as the presence of their troops in the island effected 
 this, they aimed at doing the people no further 
 mischief. . . . But when the four years were ex- 
 pired, France purchased the sovereignty of Corsica 
 from the Genoese for forty millions of livres. 
 
 "A desperate and glorious resistance was made 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 77 
 
 by the Corsicans, but it was in vain " ; and, Dr. 
 Southey continues, **no power interposed in behalf 
 of these injured islanders, and the French poured 
 in as many troops as were required. They offered 
 to confirm Paoli in the supreme authority, on condi- 
 tion that he would hold it under their government." 
 He declined the offer with contempt, and **they 
 then set a price upon his head. During two cam- 
 paigns he kept them at bay ; but they overpowered 
 him at length. He was driven to the shore, and 
 having escaped on ship-board, took refuge in 
 England," where "he was welcomed," Dr. Southey 
 says, *'with the honours which he deserved; a 
 pension of £1200 per annum was immediately 
 granted him, and provision was liberally made for 
 his elder brother and his nephew. 
 
 "Above twenty years," continues Dr. Southey, 
 *' Paoli remained in England. But when the French 
 Revolution began, it seemed as if the restoration of 
 Corsica was at hand. The whole country, as if 
 animated by one spirit, rose and demanded liberty ; 
 and the National Assembly passed a decree recog- 
 nising the island as a department of France, and 
 therefore entitled to all the privileges of the new 
 French constitution. This satisfied the Corsicans, 
 and Paoli, in whom the ardour of youth was past, 
 seeing that his countrymen were contented, and 
 believing that they were about to enjoy a state of 
 freedom, naturally wished to return to his native 
 land. He resigned his pension in the year 1790, 
 
78 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 and appeared at the bar of the Assembly with 
 the Corsican deputies when they took the oath of 
 fidelity to France. But the course of events in 
 France soon dispelled those hopes of a new and 
 better order of things which Paoli, in common with 
 so many friends of humankind, had indulged ; and 
 perceiving, after the execution of the King, that a 
 civil war was about to ensue, of which no man could 
 foresee the issue, he prepared to break the con- 
 nection between Corsica and the French Republic. 
 The Convention, suspecting such a design, and 
 perhaps occasioning it by their suspicions, ordered 
 him to their bar. That way, he well knew, led to 
 the guillotine, and returning a respectful answer, 
 he pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for dis- 
 obeying the summons. 
 
 ** He then repaired to Corte, the capital of the 
 island, and was again invested with the authority 
 which he had held in the noonday of his fame. 
 The Convention, upon this, denounced him as a 
 rebel and set a price upon his head." Paoli now 
 opened the correspondence with Lord Hood which 
 led to Commodore Linzee's being sent to assist him. 
 But, as already related, Paoli was not ready at the 
 time to assist in an attack upon St. Fiorenzo, and 
 Commodore Linzee's attempt was not successful. 
 
 "After the evacuation of Toulon, Lord Hood," 
 writes Dr. Southey, ** despatched Lieutenant- 
 Colonel (afterwards Sir John) Moore and Major 
 Koehler to confer with Paoli upon a plan of opera- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 79 
 
 tions. Sir Gilbert Elliot accompanied them ; and 
 it was agreed upon, that in consideration of the 
 succours, both military and naval, which his 
 Britannic Majesty should afford for the purpose of 
 expelling the French, the island of Corsica should 
 be delivered into the immediate possession of his 
 Majesty, and bind itself to acquiesce in any settle- 
 ment he might approve of concerning its govern- 
 ment and its future relations with Great Britain." 
 
 A few months later **the sovereignty of the 
 island was vested in the King of England, to 
 whom," writes Captain Brenton, '*the people swore 
 allegiance ; and Sir Gilbert Elliot, afterwards Lord 
 Minto, was appointed Viceroy, the British consti- 
 tution proclaimed, and its laws declared to be those 
 of the new conquest. The deputies having met at 
 Cort6 in sufficient numbers to constitute a National 
 Assembly," he continues, "chose General Paoli as 
 their President, and formally declared, first, their 
 separation from France, and, secondly, their union 
 to the crown of Great Britain." 
 
 After this somewhat long digression, however, I 
 now return to my narrative of the events which led 
 to this result. As the reader will remember, an 
 account has already been given in the last chapter 
 of a previous expedition to Corsica in which 
 Captain Wolseley, in his vessel the Lowestoffe^ 
 served under the command of Commodore Linzee, 
 who had been sent by Lord Hood for the purpose 
 of making an attack upon St. Fiorenzo by sea; 
 
8o A MEMOIR OF 
 
 General Paoli having engaged to attack it by land 
 at the same time. This promise the general was 
 unable to perform, and, in consequence, Commodore 
 Linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent upon this 
 service, was repulsed with some loss. But after the 
 evacuation of Toulon, with a larger force at their 
 disposal, Lord Hood and General Dundas decided 
 upon going to the assistance of the loyal part of the 
 inhabitants of Corsica in an attempt to expel the 
 French from the island. 
 
 "Accordingly," writes Mr. James, "on the 24th 
 of January,^ at 4 p.m., the British fleet, amounting, 
 including transports, to sixty sail, got under way 
 from the Bay of Hieres, and proceeded towards 
 the Bay of St. Fiorenzo. On the next day, the 
 25th, a gale of wind came on, and dispersed and 
 endangered the fleet; the Victory, Lord Hood's 
 flag-ship, among other ships, having two main-top- 
 sails blown to rags, and the yard itself rendered 
 totally unserviceable. On the 29th the fleet, being 
 driven greatly to leeward, gained, but not without 
 difficulty, Porto Ferrajo, in the island of Elba. As 
 three-decked ships were not qualified to navigate 
 narrow seas and rocky coasts, particularly in the 
 winter season, the 74-gun ships, the Alcide (Captain 
 John Woodley), bearing the flag of Commodore 
 Linzee, the Egmont (Captain Archibald Dickson), 
 
 1 Captain Brenton says "February" ; but this is evidently a n\istake 
 as the dates mentioned by Mr. James coincide with those given by 
 Admiral Wolseley. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 8i. 
 
 and Fortitude (Captain William Young), accom- 
 panied by two frigates, the Lowestoffe " [Captain 
 William Wolseley] " and the yi?^;^^, and by several 
 transports with troops, were detached on the 5th 
 of February to a bay lying to the westward of 
 Martello, where they arrived in safety on the 7th. 
 On the same evening the troops, in number about 
 1400, commanded by Major-General Dundas, dis- 
 embarked, and immediately took possession of a 
 height which overlooked the tower of Martello, 
 the first of several strong positions necessary to be 
 reduced before the anchorage at the west side of 
 the Gulf of St. Fiorenzo could be made properly 
 secure, and which tower, it will be recollected, had 
 been recaptured from the Corsicans, in the October 
 of the preceding year, by a squadron of French 
 frigates." 
 
 "The tower," writes Mr. James, ** mounted one 
 6 and two i8-pounders. These guns had been 
 brought on shore from the French frigates, when 
 they retook it in October." The garrison, thirty- 
 three men in number, ''maintained their post until 
 it was no longer tenable " ; and Admiral Wolseley 
 says, in the memoir previously quoted: — " On the 
 9th of February," when the attack was made, "this 
 tower beat off, after two hours and a half cannon- 
 ading, the Fortitude, seventy-four guns (this ship 
 was twice set on fire), and the Juno, thirty-two 
 guns ; more than sixty men being killed and 
 wounded in the two ships." "The battering from 
 
8i A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the height on shore," Mr. James continues, '' had 
 been as unsuccessful as that from the ships, till 
 some additional pieces were mounted and hot shot 
 used, when one of the latter, falling among and 
 setting fire to the bass-junk with which, to the 
 depth of five feet, the immensely thick parapet was 
 lined, induced the garrison to call for quarter/'^ 
 
 **The next post to be attacked," writes Mr. 
 James (and in this service Captain Wolseley was 
 employed), '*was the Convention redoubt, mounted 
 with twenty-one pieces of heavy ordnance, and 
 considered as the key of St. Fiorenzo. By the 
 most surprising exertions of science and labour on 
 the part of the officers and men of the navy, several 
 i8-pounders and other pieces were placed on an 
 eminence of very difficult ascent, 700 feet above 
 the level of the sea. This rocky elevation, owing 
 to its perpendicularity near its summit, was deemed 
 inaccessible ; but the seamen, by means of blocks 
 and ropes, contrived to haul up the guns, each of 
 which weighed about forty -two hundredweight. 
 The path along which these dauntless fellows crept 
 would, in most places, admit but one person at a 
 time. On the right was a descent of many hundred 
 feet, and one false step would have led to eternity ; 
 on the left were stupendous overhanging rocks, 
 
 * On the evacuation of the island in the following year, the tower 
 was blown up. Lord St. Vincent says in a letter to the Viceroy of 
 Corsica (dated ^^ Victory y in Martello Bay, 27th October 1796"): — 
 "The Martello Tower was effectually demolished at eight o'clock 
 last night." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 83 
 
 which occasionally served as fixed points for the 
 tackle employed in raising the guns. From these 
 i8-pounders, so admirably posted, a cannonade was 
 unremittingly kept up during the whole of the i6th 
 and 17th. On the latter evening, when the fire of 
 the redoubt had become nearly overpowered, it was 
 determined to storm the works, a service which was 
 executed with vigour and crowned with success. 
 
 **A part only of the garrison were made pri- 
 soners ; the remainder retired to another stronghold 
 which was distant about 400 yards, and separated 
 by a deep ravine from the former. That post 
 the Republicans abandoned about midnight ; then 
 crossed over to the town of St. Fiorenzo, with their 
 two frigates, and left the British in quiet possession 
 of the tower and batteries of Fornelli." 
 
 In the account of the storming of Fornelli given 
 by Captain Brenton, that officer says : — " The 
 mountains which overlooked this post were deemed 
 by many to be inaccessible, and probably few but 
 Englishmen would have attempted to place guns in 
 such a situation." And he adds : — **In all conjoint 
 expeditions of the army and navy, the landing or 
 transporting of cannon is performed by the seamen, 
 after which the artillery officers mount the guns and 
 complete the batteries. This work was executed in 
 such a manner as to call forth the highest eulogiums 
 from General Dundas, the commander-in-chief of 
 the land forces. ** In four days," says the general, 
 " by the most surprising exertions of science and 
 
84 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 labour, they had placed four i8-pounders, a large 
 howitzer, and a lo-inch mortar, in battery, on a 
 ground elevated 700 feet above the level of the sea, 
 and where every difficulty of ascent and surface 
 opposed their undertaking." 
 
 It was mentioned in despatches that when *'the 
 heights of Fornelli were carried, Captain Wolseley 
 had particularly distinguished himself" ; and very 
 shortly afterwards he was commissioned to the 
 Imperieusey a prize frigate — a much larger and finer 
 ship than the Lowestoffe. 
 
 On the 1 8th, after the works of Fornelli had 
 been abandoned by the enemy, the squadron an- 
 chored in Martello Bay. The next day, the 19th, 
 two French frigates were taken ; and "on the same 
 evening," writes Mr. James, "St. Fiorenzo, with its 
 formidable batteries, mounting 25 pieces of cannon, 
 including two 12 -inch mortars, two 36 and seven 
 24-pounders, were taken possession of by the 
 British." 
 
 The French having retreated to Bastia, Lord 
 Hood submitted to General Dundas, who com- 
 manded the land forces, a plan for the reduction 
 of that place. But, as Mr. James writes, "having 
 failed to convince Major-General Dundas of the 
 practicability of reducing Bastia with the small 
 forces which had already effected so much. Lord 
 Hood sailed from St. Fiorenzo Bay on the evening 
 of the 23rd, to try what effect the appearance of 
 his fleet alone would produce. After cruising off 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 85 
 
 the port for a fortnight, and gaining every intelli- 
 gence necessary to facilitate his plans, the British 
 admiral, with a part of his squadron, sailed back 
 to St. Fiorenzo Bay, where he arrived on the 5th of 
 March. The major-general still declining to act 
 until the arrival of an expected reinforcement of 
 two thousand men from Gibraltar, Lord Hood took 
 on board that proportion of the land forces which 
 had originally been ordered to serve on board the 
 fleet as marines, and obtained, also, two officers 
 and thirty privates of artillery, with ordnance-stores 
 and intrenching tools. 
 
 "With this force, on the 2nd of April, Lord Hood 
 again set sail for, and on the 4th arrived at, the 
 anchorage before Bastia. On the same evening 
 the troops, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Vilettes, with the guns, mortars, and ordnance- 
 stores, and also a detachment of seamen commanded 
 by Captain Horatio Nelson of the Agamemnon, 
 were under the able superintendence of the latter, 
 disembarked at a spot a little to the northward of 
 the town. The total of the combined forces, when 
 landed, amounted to 1248 officers and men, exclusive 
 of the Corsicans, under General Paoli, in number 
 about the same ; and the number of French and 
 Corsican troops in garrison at Bastia was, as it 
 afterwards appeared, 3000." 
 
 *'Guns," writes Dr. Southey in his **Life of 
 Nelson," "were dragged by the sailors up heights 
 where it appeared almost impossible to convey 
 
86 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 thein— a work of the greatest difficulty, and which 
 Nelson said could never, in his opinion, have been 
 accomplished by any but British seamen. The 
 soldiers, though less dexterous in such service, 
 because not accustomed, like sailors, to habitual 
 dexterity, behaved with equal spirit. 'Their zeal/ 
 said Nelson, who had now acquired from them the 
 title of Brigadier, ' is almost unexampled. There is 
 not a man but considers himself as personally inter- 
 ested in the event, and deserted by the general. It 
 has, I am persuaded, made them equal to double 
 their numbers.' " 
 
 Before the siege began, General Dundas sent a 
 reconnoitring party from St. Fiorenzo to the heights 
 above Bastia ; and although he had five regiments 
 at St. Fiorenzo, he said in a letter to Lord Hood : 
 — ** After mature consideration, and a personal in- 
 spection for several days of all circumstances, local 
 as well as others, I consider the siege of Bastia, 
 with our present means and force, to be a most 
 visionary and rash attempt, such as no officer would 
 be justified in undertaking." ** Lord Hood," con- 
 tinues Dr. Southey, ** replied that nothing would be 
 more gratifying to his feelings than to have the 
 whole responsibility upon himself, and that he was 
 ready and willing to undertake the reduction of the 
 place at his own risk, with the force and means 
 already there. General d'Aubant, who succeeded 
 at this time to the command of the army, coincided 
 in opinion with his predecessor, and did not think 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 87 
 
 it right to furnish his lordship with a single soldier, 
 cannon, or any stores." In the meantime, as Dr. 
 South ey says, **the French had improved the 
 leisure which our military commander had allowed 
 them, and before Lord Hood commenced his 
 operations, he had the mortification of seeing that 
 the enemy were every day erecting new works, 
 strengthening old ones, and rendering the attempt 
 more difficult." 
 
 *'On the nth," writes Mr. James, ''the British 
 batteries, which had been erected on several com- 
 manding heights, being ready to be opened, Lord 
 Hood sent a written summons to the town, but 
 which the French general, Lacombe St. Michael, 
 would not even read." And, as related by Dr. 
 Southey, he replied in these terms to the English 
 general : — " I have hot shot for your ships, and 
 bayonets for your troops. When two-thirds of our 
 men are killed, I will then trust to the generosity 
 of the English." Mr. James continues : — ** At the 
 appointed signal, therefore, the batteries, consisting 
 of five 24-pounders, two 13 and two lo-inch mor- 
 tars, and two heavy carronades, commenced their 
 fire upon the enemy's works, and were promptly 
 answered by the numerous guns with which the 
 latter were crowned. 
 
 *'At length, on the 21st of May, after a siege 
 of thirty-seven and a negotiation of four days, the 
 town and citadel of Bastia, with the several posts 
 upon the neighbouring heights, surrendered ; " and 
 
88 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 immediately afterwards, according to Dr. Southeyr 
 "on the following morning, General d'Aubant 
 arrived with the whole army to take possession 
 of Bastia." 
 
 ** The event of this siege," continues the same 
 writer, **had justified the confidence of the sailors ; 
 but they themselves excused the opinion of the 
 generals when they saw what they had done. 
 "I am all astonishment," said Nelson, **when I 
 reflect upon what we have achieved ; looo regulars, 
 1500 National Guards, and a large party of Corsican 
 troops, 4000 in all, laying down their arms to 1 200 
 soldiers, marines, and seamen ! I always was of 
 opinion, have ever acted up to it, and never had 
 any reason to repent it, that one Englishman was 
 equal to three Frenchmen. Had this been an 
 English town, I am sure it would not have been 
 taken by them." 
 
 The reader will probably observe that there is 
 a slight discrepancy between the numbers of the 
 besiegers and besieged given by Mr. James and 
 by Lord Nelson. It is, however, certain that the 
 English were not nearly equal in strength to 
 the French, though, as Dr. Southey remarks, 
 "when it had been resolved to attack the place, 
 the enemy were supposed to be far inferior in 
 number " to what was afterwards ascertained ; 
 "and," he adds, "it was not till the whole had 
 been arranged and the siege publicly undertaken 
 that Nelson received certain information of the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 89 
 
 great superiority of the garrison. This intelligence 
 he kept secret, fearing lest, if so fair a pretext were 
 afforded, the attempt would be abandoned." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley's presence at the siege of 
 Bastia, in which the British navy so greatly 
 distinguished itself, is mentioned by Lord Nelson, 
 and also by General Paoli, in letters written to 
 him by these two celebrated men at a somewhat 
 later date. But apparently he was not present 
 when the garrison of Bastia capitulated, as Mr. 
 James says : — " The enemy had magazines of 
 provisions and stores on the island of Capraja, and 
 the recently captured frigate, Impdrieuse^ Captain 
 William Wolseley, was despatched thither, and 
 effectually prevented the Republicans from making 
 use of them." 
 
 " One of the cartel's ships, which afterwards 
 carried the garrison of Bastia to Toulon," writes 
 Dr. Southey, ** brought back intelligence that the 
 French were about to sail from that port — such 
 exertions had they made to repair the damage 
 done at the evacuation, and to fit out a fleet." 
 
 According to Mr. James, the French fleet, con- 
 sisting of seven sail of the line and four or five 
 frigates, put out to sea on the 5th of June. '' Lord 
 Hood, who, as already stated, then lay off Bastia, 
 departed, the moment he received the information, 
 with thirteen sail of the line and four frigates." 
 Mr. James then gives a list of the ships and 
 the names of their commanders. Included in this 
 
90 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 list appears the '* Windsor Castle^ Vice- Admiral 
 Philipps Cosby, Captain Sir Thomas Byard " ; 
 but, curiously enough, he omits the name of the 
 Agamemnon^ commanded by Nelson, who was 
 certainly with them at that time, as Dr. Southey 
 says, ** Lord Hood sailed in quest of the French 
 fleet, towards the islands of the Hieres. The 
 Agamemnon was with him " ; and then gives an 
 extract from a letter written by Nelson to his wife 
 on that occasion, expressing his hopes that they 
 might meet the French fleet. 
 
 Captain Wolseley s vessel, the Impirieuse, is not 
 named in the list either, and he himself gives 
 no details about his services at that period. But 
 after the fall of Bastia, as there could have been 
 no further occasion for keeping a watch on the 
 island of Capraja, he probably went on this expe- 
 dition with the rest of the fleet. It, however, 
 had no result, as the French fleet escaped ; and 
 Mr. James continues : — "On the loth the two fleets 
 gained sight of each other ; the British immediately 
 made all sail in chase. On the nth, at daylight, 
 the British and French admirals were between 
 three and four leagues apart. To avoid an action 
 with a force so superior, M. Martin pushed for 
 the anchorage in Gourjean Bay, which he reached 
 with his fleet about 2 p.m. But none of the British 
 ships were able to get near, except the 2 8 -gun 
 frigate, Dido^ Captain Towry, who received and 
 gallantly returned the fire of some of the rear 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 91 
 
 ships, as well as of two forts that guarded the 
 entrance of the anchorage.'* 
 
 *'The wind fell," writes Dr. Southey, **and pre- 
 vented Lord Hood from getting between them 
 and the shore, as he designed. Boats came out 
 from Antibes and other places to their assistance, 
 and towed them within the shoals in Gourjean 
 roads, where they were protected by batteries on 
 isles St. Honord and St. Marguerite, and on Cape 
 Garousse." 
 
 The change of wind having prevented Lord 
 Hood from attacking them, he left Admiral 
 Hotham with a squadron to watch them, and 
 proceeded to assist in the reduction of Calvi, 
 which was still in the possession of a Republican 
 garrison. The Imph^ieusey Captain Wolseley's ship, 
 was one of those employed in the siege ; and 
 the Agamemnon was at once ** despatched," writes 
 Dr. Southey, *'to co-operate with General Sir 
 Charles Stuart," who had arrived with the expected 
 reinforcement of troops from Gibraltar. Nelson's 
 ship, according to the account given by Mr. James, 
 ** carried the troops to Port Agra, a small cove 
 about three miles from Calvi." And he continues : 
 — **On the 19th of June the whole of the men 
 disembarked, and on the same evening encamped 
 in a strong position upon a neighbouring ridge. 
 Lord Hood, returning on that day to Martello 
 Bay, sent a detachment of the Victory s seamen, 
 with some ordnance and other stores, under the 
 
92 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 orders of Captains Hallowell and Serocold, to 
 Calvi. On the 27th he arrived himself before that 
 place in the Victory, and immediately landed seven 
 of his first deck guns, for the use of the batteries 
 constructed to act against the town and its powerful 
 defences." 
 
 "The siege of Calvi," writes Captain Brenton, 
 **was pressed with the greatest vigour, both by 
 land and sea." He adds: — *' Calvi lies in a deep 
 bay on the north-west side of the island ; it held 
 out for fifty-one days, and capitulated after a close 
 siege and a rigorous blockade by sea. The fort 
 of Mollinochesco," he continues, ** situated on a 
 steep rock, commanded the communication between 
 Calvi and the province of Ballagni, from which it 
 was considerably in advance. The bomb-proof 
 fort of Mozello, well mounted with heavy artillery, 
 guarded the approaches to Calvi, which was of it- 
 self both by nature and art a strongly fortified town. 
 Two frigates lay in the bay, and supported by their 
 fire the works of the enemy. These important 
 outposts were speedily reduced by batteries formed 
 on the heights, which, like those of Fiorenzo, had 
 hitherto been deemed inaccessible. The frigates 
 and all the vessels in the bay were compelled to 
 take refuge under the guns of the town. Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel (afterwards the gallant and ill-fated 
 Sir John) Moore, of the 51st Regiment, with 
 Major Brereton, of the 30th, proceeded with the 
 cool determination of British soldiers through a 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY 93 
 
 heavy fire into the breach of MoUinochesco with 
 fixed bayonets and unloaded arms. They quickly 
 dislodged the enemy from their stronghold, carry- 
 ing the trenches on the left with equal intrepidity. 
 Possessed of all his important outposts, and with 
 batteries advanced within six hundred yards of 
 the walls of the town, General Stuart offered the 
 commandant terms of capitulation, which were 
 haughtily rejected, and the siege was renewed for 
 nine days more, when a severe bombardment of 
 eighteen hours induced them to surrender." 
 
 ** But not," writes Mr. James, '' till the siege had 
 lasted fifty-one days could General Casa Bianca be 
 induced to capitulate. This he did on the loth of 
 August, upon terms highly flattering to the bravery 
 of the garrison of Calvi. The loss sustained by 
 the enemy," James adds, *'does not appear in the 
 published accounts." But that **on the part of the 
 British army amounted to one field-officer, two 
 lieutenants, and twenty privates killed, and three 
 captains, four lieutenants, and forty-six non-com- 
 missioned officers and privates wounded ; and on 
 the part of the British navy, to one captain (Walter 
 Serocold, by a grape-shot at the principal battery 
 while getting the last gun into its place), one mid- 
 shipman, and five seamen killed, and six seamen 
 wounded. Among the non-reported wounded was 
 Captain Nelson, who lost his eye in consequence of 
 a shot striking the battery near him, and driving some 
 particles of sand with considerable force into it. 
 
94 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Among the vessels found in the port of Calvi, 
 and delivered up to the British, were the French 
 frigates Melpomene and Mignonne, The latter 
 mounted thirty-two guns, and was small and of 
 little value. The Melpomene, on the contrary, was 
 a fine 40-gun frigate of 1014 tons, and was added 
 to the British navy as a cruising frigate. A con- 
 siderable quantity of naval stores also fell into the 
 hands of the British." 
 
 Dr. Southey mentions that "Nelson had less 
 responsibility at Calvi than at Bastia, and was 
 acting with a general after his own heart, who was 
 never sparing of himself, and slept every night in 
 the advanced battery. But the service was not less 
 hard," he adds, **than that of the former siege"; 
 and he remarks a little farther on that *'the climate 
 proved more destructive than the service, for this 
 was during the period of the 'lion sun,' as they 
 there call our season of the * dog days.* Of 2000 
 men above half were sick, and the rest like so many 
 phantoms." But he adds, " Nelson said to Lord 
 Hood, * We will fag ourselves to death before any 
 blame shall lie at our doors. And I trust it will 
 not be forgotten that twenty-five pieces of heavy 
 ordnance have been dragged to the different bat- 
 teries, mounted, and all but three fought by seamen, 
 except one artilleryman to point the guns." 
 
 '* By the fall of Calvi," as Captain Brenton remarks, 
 *' the last remains of the French were expelled from 
 Corsica." After the siege was ended, Admiral 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 95 
 
 Wolseley had the honour of being again mentioned 
 in despatches by Lord Hood, who, on this occasion, 
 spoke highly of " the meritorious conduct " and 
 ''steady perseverance'* of Captain Wolseley, whose 
 services during the warfare in Corsica were also 
 mentioned in the most complimentary manner in 
 a letter written to him by the celebrated Corsican 
 general, Pasquale Paoli. Captain Wolseley had, 
 apparently, given a friend a letter of introduction 
 to the general, who in reply wrote the following 
 letter : — 
 
 " OvERRACHE, isf of September 1794. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I have to-day the honour of 
 your letter of the 16 august, sent me by Mr. 
 Tudory/ The liberty which my countrimen now 
 enjoy out of any apprehension of being deprived 
 of it again by the French, shall be an everlasting 
 motive of gratitude and attachement to the generous 
 English Nation and King, who has taken them 
 under his protection, and sent to their assistance 
 souch a powerfull fleet and brave army. And I am 
 acquainted too that many obligations we owe to 
 your activity and zeal shown in the sieges of St. 
 Floreint, Bastia, and Calvi ; and pray, you will 
 receive my best acknolegement of them in the 
 name too of my countrimen. 
 
 " I have wrote in favour Mr. Tudory upon your 
 recommendation ; at my campe some gentlemen 
 
 * The name was, probably, Tudor ; — but I have left it as written 
 by General Paoli. 
 
96 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 tooke a share in the armament, and are souch, that 
 I am sure they wont permit any wrong to pass 
 against his interest. 
 
 " I hope Sir to have some other occasion to show 
 you the true esteem and regard with which I am, 
 Sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 '' Pasquale de Paoli." 
 
 " Captn. Wolseley of the 
 
 It seems a pity that the writer of this letter 
 should have found his confidence in the English 
 Government was misplaced. But only two years 
 after the letter was written it was determined by 
 the Cabinet to evacuate Corsica. The Viceroy, Sir 
 Gilbert Elliot, was much dissatisfied at this decision, 
 and, as Dr. Southey writes, he " believed that the 
 great body of the Corsicans were perfectly satisfied, 
 as they had good reason to be, with the British 
 Government, sensible of its advantages, and attached 
 to it. However this may have been," the Doctor 
 adds, "when they found that the English intended 
 to evacuate the island, they naturally and necessarily 
 sent to make their peace with the French." Paoli 
 again took refuge in England, and died in London 
 on the 5th of February 1807. He was buried in 
 St. Pancras Churchyard, whence his remains were 
 removed on the 31st of August 1889 for transfer- 
 ence to his native land, where they were received 
 with great honours by his countrymen, who still 
 hold his efforts in the service of Corsica in grateful 
 recollection. A writer in the SL James's Gazette 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 97 
 
 of that period stated that *'the committee who were 
 appointed to carry out the exhumation of the remains 
 of the famous Corsican general, Pasquale de Paoli 
 — the friend of Dn Johnson and of Goldsmith — were 
 M. Franceschini Pietri (secretary of the Empress 
 Eugdnie), and the grandnephew and sole surviving 
 relative of the illustrious patriot ; Count Benedetti 
 (the ex-ambassador to Berlin before the Franco- 
 German war) ; M. Ceccaldi, a Corsican deputy, and 
 various other prominent representatives of the little 
 Mediterranean island." And the writer added that 
 M. Pietri had given the house at Stretta-de-Moro- 
 salgia, in which Paoli was born, to the Department 
 of Corsica, and that **the general's ashes were 
 finally laid to rest by the side of those of his brother 
 Clement, who had also fought during his whole life 
 for the independence of his native isle." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 During the time the negotiations were first going 
 on between General Paoli and Lord Hood about 
 the conquest of Corsica from the French, and also 
 in the interval between the sieges of St. Fiorenzo 
 and of Bastia, Captain Wolseley was employed in 
 a small squadron under Nelson in cruising in the 
 Mediterranean, for the purpose of keeping out all 
 supplies from Corsica, and intercepting despatches 
 and cutting-out vessels from the bay — "a species 
 of warfare," remarks Dr. Southey, '* which depresses 
 the spirit of an enemy more than it injures them, 
 because of the sense of individual superiority which 
 it indicates in the assailants." 
 
 Captain Wolseley was at that time the only 
 officer who had the honour of sharing prize-money 
 with Lord Nelson ; and three letters written by 
 the latter on the subject of this money are still 
 preserved among the papers left by Admiral 
 Wolseley. On the back of the first of these letters 
 there is this memorandum in the Admiral's hand- 
 writing : — 
 
 **I commanded the Lowestoffe frigate of 32 
 
 guns — and afterwards the LImpdrieusc frigate of 
 
 98 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 99 
 
 40 guns. Nelson and I shared Prize-money ; he 
 commanded the Agamemnon of 64 guns." 
 
 Unfortunately, a little piece of the paper the 
 letter is written upon has been torn out, and a 
 few words are missing : — 
 
 ^^ March 6th^ 1794. 
 
 *' My dear Wolseley, — have sent you your 
 dagger. I have sent a Ragusa vessel to Leghorn 
 said to be very Rich hope she is, the account of the 
 money is just come out I take for granted we share 
 together write me if you wish it my offer at first 
 was in hopes to have an opportunity of refunding 
 what I had received, and if you like it the sharing 
 shall go on till one [word missing] one month's 
 notice. — Yours faithfully, Horatio Nelson. 
 
 "... I expect to be in action to-morrow if I 
 am not active we shall lose Bastia." 
 
 The following is a copy of the second of these 
 letters : — 
 
 "* Agamemnon,' Leghorn, Octr. 2Zth 1794. 
 
 *' My dear Wolseley, — You will see I have not 
 forgot my friends — but cash I have as yet touched 
 none for you except 140 Tuscan crowns — the moiety 
 of my little matter, which I will order Marsh and 
 Creed to pay you 36;^ sterling. I only wish it had 
 been more, at the Consuls I have left the acct. 
 
100 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 which debits you a trifle, the officers of the Lowes- 
 toffe took all the proportion for the flour except 
 yours, I have not finally settled that account. I 
 send you Pollards account to me of the Privateer, 
 you will not get half what you ought however its 
 something — he hopes to touch the cash before I 
 return and if he does I shall order him to remit it 
 to my agent for I know not who are yours, the 
 Condemnation is come out for the Swedish Brig 
 taken by Lowestoffe off Toulon if enough is got to 
 pay the expenses we shall be well off, the French 
 frigates begin to be bold in the Mediterranean and 
 have been cruizing off Gourjean Bay, in the absence 
 of our fleet, very near taken the Tarleton, several 
 of our vessels carried into Marseilles, out of which 
 port they have 12 Brig and Polacco privateers. I 
 shall be very glad to hear from you. — Believe me 
 your most faithful friend, 
 
 " Horatio Nelson. 
 
 '' I have lost 50 men by the Calvi fever." 
 
 Third Letter, 
 "'Agamemnon,* St. Fiorenza, Febry, ist 1795. 
 *' My dear Wolseley, — I wrote you a line some 
 time ago abt. your Corsican prize — and also directed 
 my agents to pay you I think 35^ sterling which I 
 hope they have done, Pollards Bill at that time 
 brought you a few Zechinis in debt but he had not 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY loi 
 
 then given you credit for a Leuto taken off Caprea/ 
 in the Consuls account there was a jumble about 
 flour taken in the boat off Corsica, both these will 
 be settled by the next time I go into Leghorn and 
 I will send you the account, I know not what other 
 vessels you share for and shall leave to you to pay 
 my half of your receipt to my Agents. St. Fiorenza 
 is not yet paid. You share of course for Bastia 
 and Calvi as you was never out of service at both 
 places. At Fiorenza I shall be a draw Back on you 
 they will not let me share I dare say. I have at 
 last got a letter telling me that Mr Tonnereau 
 Mercht. at Leghorn will pay me for the Powder 
 you landed at Calvi 1 68;^ Sterling as soon as I get 
 it will send the Bill home for the amount, the 
 Prince Royal is in last condemned and but I hear 
 a very small part, however be assured I will do 
 my best to serve you. We are doing nothing worse 
 than nothing last Cruize had 3 French Frigates 
 under our Bows but the Adl. would not let us chase 
 them and one a crippled ship and out of sight of 
 land. You will have heard of the extraordinary 
 event of the Berwick having rolled all her Masts 
 away in the Bay for which the Captn. and ist Lt. 
 are dismissed the Ship and Master reprimanded. I 
 have got old Agamemnon into tolerable order again 
 and had I 50 good Men could do anything, but 
 they are not to be had, I was in hopes lately of 
 
 1 The island of Capraia, Mr. James mentions, is distant about 
 thirty-six miles from Leghorn. 
 
102 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 soon seeing England but they are at present much 
 lessened and I fear will totally vanish, let me hear 
 from you and what you are after. And Believe me 
 ever your most sincere Friend, 
 
 ** Horatio Nelson. 
 
 *' I passed young Boger for a Lieut, the other 
 day and believe he stands some chance for a com- 
 
 mission." 
 
 These three letters seem to have been written in 
 great haste, and, as the reader will remark, there is 
 scarcely a full stop in any one of them, and but 
 few sentences are begun with a capital ; however^ I 
 thought it best to make no alteration, and they are 
 consequently copied exactly as they are written. 
 
 The accident to the Berwick^ alluded to by the 
 celebrated sailor in the last letter, is also men- 
 tioned by Captain Brent on. It appears that it 
 took place in Fiorenza Bay, which Captain Brenton 
 speaks of as "a bad anchorage, and much exposed 
 to the north-west winds, which send in a heavy sea." 
 And he continues: — " The Berwicky of seventy-four 
 guns, had her lower masts stripped without the 
 proper precaution for securing them, by which 
 neglect they rolled over the side. At no time 
 could a ship of the line so ill be spared, and the 
 admiral, conceiving that it had occurred from want 
 of seamanship, directed the captain, first lieutenant, 
 and master to be tried by a court-martial, when 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 103 
 
 they were all dismissed from the ship." This un- 
 fortunate accident led very soon afterwards to the 
 capture of the vessel by the French. And the 
 writer continues: — ** In the meantime the fleet pro- 
 ceeded to Leghorn roads. The Berwick was left 
 under the command of Captain Littlejohn, to rig 
 jury masts, and to follow as fast as possible ; and 
 having put to sea in pursuance of these orders, 
 with his ship as well equipped as circumstances 
 would admit, he fell in with the French fleet. A 
 running fight ensued, and every exertion was made 
 to save her ; but, after an ineffectual resistance, she 
 was forced to surrender, with the loss of her captain 
 and two or three of her men. " 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1794 Captain 
 Wolseley returned to England. He says, in the 
 little memoir from which I have so frequently 
 quoted: — '^ L' Imperieuse was appointed to the con- 
 voy then going home (under Admiral Cosby, in 
 the Windsor Castle), which we carried in safe ; and 
 then L' Imperieuse was paid off, and it was under- 
 stood that I was to be reappointed to a frigate, 
 under Lord Hood; but this appointment never took 
 place, and I went on half-pay." 
 
 In the beginning of the next year Captain 
 Wolseley wrote to Lord Hood for the purpose of 
 trying to get command of a vessel again, and the 
 following is his lordship's reply : — 
 
104 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 (( ( 
 
 Victory,' St. Helens, April 28, 1795. 
 
 " My dear Wolseley, — I have received your 
 obliging letter of the 21st, for which I thank you, 
 and have taken the liberty, which I have no right 
 to do, to ask Lord Spencer to reappoint you to 
 the Impdrieuse and send you to the Mediterranean, 
 And if I do not sail before I receive his answer 
 you shall know it. — I am, my dear Wolseley, most 
 faithfully your fri-end, Hood." 
 
 Two days later Lord Hood sent a few lines to 
 Captain Wolseley, with a copy he had taken of 
 Lord Spencer's reply : — 
 
 "* Victory,' St. Helens, April -^p^ I'jf^^. 
 
 ** My dear Wolseley, — Upon the receipt of your 
 last letter expressing a wish to be reappointed to 
 the Impdrieuse, I took the liberty of writing to Lord 
 Spencer in your favour, and underneath is his 
 lordship s answer verbatim, which is all I can at 
 present add, except that of being your faithful friend, 
 
 Hood. 
 
 " Copy. 
 
 *' My Lord, — Captain Wolseley has been some 
 time down upon my list for a ship, when I can 
 appoint him to one, consistently with my other 
 engagements and your Lordship's recommendation 
 of him will be a great additional inducement to 
 me to wish that I may soon be enabled to do so ; 
 with respect however to the frigate you mention 
 she is already destined to Captn. Forbes, late of 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 105 
 
 the Southampton, and I am consequently unable 
 in this instance to pay that attention I could have 
 wished to your Lordship's commands. — I have the 
 honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most 
 obedt. humble servant, Spencer. 
 
 "Admiralty, 29//^ April 1795." 
 
 During his visit to Ireland in 1795, Captain 
 Wolseley made the acquaintance of Miss Jane 
 Moore, the youngest daughter of Mr. John Moore, 
 of Clough House and Eglantine, in the county 
 Down, and soon became much attached to her, 
 as she was both very amiable and very beautiful. 
 Her family was a branch of the very ancient 
 Scottish house of Mure — or, as the name is some- 
 times spelt, Muir — of Rowallane. Her great- 
 grandfather, Colonel Muir, an officer in the army 
 of King William HL, having obtained a grant 
 of lands in Ulster, was the first of the family who 
 settled in Ireland. 
 
 Captain Wolseley's marriage with Miss Jane 
 Moore took place in the latter part of the year 
 1795 ; and as Mrs. Wolseley's father and mother 
 were then living at Clough House, he took a little 
 place in the neighbourhood, where he lived for a 
 few years while he was unemployed. During that 
 time he made several efforts to get employed on 
 active service again, but without success. His old 
 friend and commander. Lord Hood, was evidently 
 not in a position to assist him in this object. 
 
io6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Captain Brenton mentions that, after the surrender 
 of Calvi, Lord Hood returned to England in the 
 month of November, leaving the temporary com- 
 mand of the fleet with Vice- Admiral Hotham ; but 
 the latter shortly afterwards requested to be re- 
 lieved from a responsibility to which his health 
 was unequal, and it was arranged that Lord Hood 
 should resume the chief command. "His lord- 
 ship/* writes Captain Brenton, "hoisted his flag 
 on board the Victory at Spithead in the month 
 of May [1795], and was about to sail to his station, 
 when a correspondence ensued between the admiral 
 and the new Board of Admiralty on the necessity of 
 sending more ships to the Mediterranean. Lord 
 Spencer, who was First Lord of the Admiralty at 
 that time, thought that the force employed, if not 
 sufficient, was as great as could be spared under 
 the existing difficulties of the country, and the 
 urgent demands of other parts of the empire. 
 
 "The admiral, not deeming his professional 
 character safe with so small a force, expressed a 
 very decided opinion upon the subject, and received 
 permission to strike his flag, which he immediately 
 did, and was never afterwards actively employed ; 
 but as a reward for his long and meritorious ser- 
 vices, and as a mark of his Majesty's approbation, 
 he was appointed governor of Greenwich Hospital, 
 which situation he held till his death, in 18 16, at 
 the great age of ninety- four years." 
 
 In the year 1796, about fourteen months after 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 107 
 
 the date of Lord Hood's last letter to him, Captain 
 Wolseley was evidently again trying to get the 
 command of a ship, and in answer to an applica- 
 tion made to his lordship, received the following 
 letter : — 
 
 "Greenwich Hospital, August znd^ 1796. 
 
 "My dear Wolseley, — I have been favoured 
 with your letter of the 26th past and lose not a 
 post to tell you so, that you may not leave Ireland 
 with any hopes from me. 
 
 ** Nothing would give me greater pleasure than 
 to be able to assist your wishes in any respect 
 whatever, as I not only esteem you as an honor- 
 able man, but as a gallant meritorious officer. But 
 to be candid with you, I can be of no use to any 
 one, for Lord Spencer is not content with marking 
 me with indifference and inattention but carries 
 it to all who have any connection with me ; you 
 will therefore do well, in any application you may 
 make to his Lordship, not to make mention of my 
 name. I have neither seen or spoken to his Lord- 
 ship since my flag was struck, and look upon myself 
 as thrown upon the shelf for ever. It may be right 
 it should be so. But a consciousness of having 
 discharged my duty with zeal and industry, as a 
 faithfuU servant to the publick in the several situa- 
 tions in which I have had the honor to be placed, 
 will bear me up against the treatment I have, and 
 must ever think most undeservedly received, and 
 will not fail to cheer my declining years. With 
 
io8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 every good wish for your Health and success in 
 Life, I am most sincerely your faithfull humble 
 servant, Hood." 
 
 Apparently Lord Hood did not complain with- 
 out reason of the treatment he had met with from 
 the authorities at the Admiralty, for Captain Brenton 
 says : — *' As an ample justification of his demand, 
 the ships which were refused to his application were 
 granted to his successor, who, even with that aug- 
 mentation, found himself unable to cope with the 
 maritime power of France and Spain in the Medi- 
 terranean." 
 
 The warning given to Captain Wolseley by Lord 
 Hood not to mention his name in any application 
 for reappointment apparently came too late, as 
 he had himself recommended Captain Wolseley to 
 Lord Spencer s notice about a year before ; and 
 despicable as such a motive for leaving a distin- 
 guished officer unemployed must appear to any 
 generous-minded person, there can be no doubt 
 that the subsequent quarrel with Lord Hood was 
 the sole reason which prevented Lord Spencer from 
 carrying out the intentions expressed by him in his 
 letter of the 29th April 1795. Evidently this was 
 Captain Wolseley 's own opinion, for on the back 
 of one of Lord Hood's letters to him is the fol- 
 lowing memorandum in his handwriting : — '* These 
 letters show the reason why I could not get em- 
 ployed between 1795 and 1799." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 109 
 
 On the 3rd of October 1 796, Captain Wolseley s 
 eldest son, John Hood Wolseley, was born at 
 Clough. In a letter dated October 22nd, evidently 
 written in reply to a request of Captain Wolseley 's. 
 Lord Hood sends " all good wishes " to him and 
 Mrs. Wolseley, and says : — " If my name to your 
 new-born son can in any manner be gratifying to 
 you, you are welcome to it, and this mark of your 
 attention is as highly gratifying to me." He con- 
 tinues : — " I am sorry you have no better prospect 
 of active employment. A little time, however, may 
 produce many openings, for if we have not peace 
 with France, which I am not at all sanguine can be 
 brought about, a war with Spain must take place." 
 
 The position of affairs in the south of Europe 
 towards the end of the year 1796, when Lord 
 Hood's letter was written, is thus described by 
 Captain Brenton. " Corsica," he writes, ** was held 
 only by the power of the sword, and the French 
 were hourly on the alert to wrest it from us. The 
 armies or the influence of the Republic now covered 
 Italy from the Alps to Otranto, the King of Sar- 
 dinia trembled for his throne, Naples was at their 
 command, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany had 
 no alternative but submission. There was no port 
 in the Mediterranean which the English might 
 safely enter but Gibraltar. . . . The enemy had a 
 very large fleet at their disposal ; and the armies 
 of the Republic having entered Spain on the side 
 of Roussillon, her weak and corrupt Government 
 
no A MEMOIR OF 
 
 was induced to abandon the coalesced powers, and 
 at first secretly, and afterwards openly, to join itself 
 to the murderers of Louis the Sixteenth and his 
 unfortunate family. This disregard of her political 
 interests and engagements," he adds, '* was punished 
 in the sequel both by France and England." 
 
 Under the circumstances thus described, it is 
 not surprising that Lord Hood's prediction about 
 a war with Spain was destined to be very speedily 
 verified ; and in the following year, on the 14th 
 of February 1797, the great victory was gained 
 in the battle fought off Cape St. Vincent, where 
 Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a Spanish fleet 
 very much larger than his own, and thereby, as 
 Captain Brenton remarks, added 'Afresh laurels to 
 the maritime fame of Great Britain." 
 
 Evidently, from the passage quoted from Lord 
 Hoods letter, Captain Wolseley was then still 
 endeavouring to get appointed to the command 
 of a vessel again, but, as already mentioned, with- 
 out success ; and the beginning of the year 1 798, 
 in which the dreadful insurrection known as the 
 "Irish Rebellion of 1798" took place, found him 
 and Mrs. Wolseley still living at the little place 
 near Clough which he had taken after his mar- 
 riage. 
 
 The state of affairs in the northern counties in 
 the month of May 1798 is thus described by the 
 writer of a " History of the Town of Belfast," 
 published in 1823. "In May 1798," he writes. 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY ui 
 
 ** martial law was proclaimed in the principal streets 
 of this town, and four companies of yeomanry 
 which had been formed here commenced regular 
 duty, the activity of the Government and others 
 increasing with the more certain tokens of the 
 approaching insurrection. The brass field-pieces 
 which had belonged to the volunteers were de- 
 livered to General Nugent, except one which was 
 shortly after recovered from the rebels when they 
 were defeated at Antrim. Sentinels were placed at 
 the different outlets from the town, with rigid in- 
 junctions to permit no persons to pass except those 
 coming to and from market. A number of the 
 inhabitants were formed at the same time into a 
 supplementary corps of yeomanry. When the rebel- 
 lion broke out in the county of Down, many persons 
 fled hither for security from different parts of the 
 country ; but several of them, fearing greater danger 
 than the appearance of affairs really warranted, 
 sailed from this port for England or Scotland." 
 
 Although the writer just quoted makes somewhat 
 light of the dangers of the situation, an incident 
 mentioned by the Rev. James Gordon, author of 
 a ** History of the Rebellion," published in 1803, 
 proves that occasionally, at least, the rebels in the 
 north might be expected to act with as great cruelty 
 as those in the south. *' In their progress through the 
 country" — when on their way to Saintfield— he says, 
 ** they set fire to the house of a man named Mackie, . 
 who had been an informer of treasonable meetings. 
 
112 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Eleven persons perished in the flames amid cir- 
 cumstances of cruelty not inferior to those of the 
 burning at Scullabogue." And the following anec- 
 dote, told by Mrs. Wolseley many years afterwards 
 to her daughter, Mrs. Innes, shows that the dangers 
 to which people were exposed, who like herself 
 and her husband were at that time living in remote 
 country places, were both very real and very serious ; 
 and there cannot be the slightest doubt that, if 
 the insurrection in the northern counties had not 
 been very speedily put down, they would soon have 
 been the scene of similar atrocities to those per- 
 petrated by the rebels in Wexford and in other 
 parts of Ireland. When the rebellion first broke 
 out in Ulster, Captain Wolseley had in his service,- 
 as footman, a man who was probably a member of 
 some secret society, but who was evidently attached 
 to his employers, and grateful for kindness he had 
 met with. This man one day came to Captain 
 Wolseley and begged him most earnestly to make 
 his arrangements about things he might require for 
 a journey, and implored him to leave the country, 
 and to lose no time, but to start at once. He said 
 that it had come to his knowledge that Captain 
 Wolseley s life was in very great danger, and told 
 him that his name was included in a list of gentle- 
 men whom it was the intention of the rebels to 
 murder. He told Captain Wolseley that the night 
 when the crime was to be committed was not yet 
 fixed, but that, when it was, the plan was to break 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 113 
 
 into the house when the family were asleep ; and 
 he added that he must at once leave Captain 
 Wolseley's service; that, if he remained, he would 
 have to open the door to admit the murderers, and 
 lead them to Captain Wolseley's room. He insisted 
 on leaving at once, and said that, as it would cost 
 him his own life if it was known that he had given 
 Captain Wolseley this warning, he would have to 
 tell every one about the place that he had been 
 turned out of the house in disgrace ; and, to give 
 colouring to this story, he actually begged Captain 
 Wolseley to take a whip, and to chase him with it 
 down the short avenue which led up from the public 
 road! 
 
 Although nothing appears to have been said 
 about any danger to Mrs. Wolseley, it is most 
 probable that she would have shared her husband's 
 fate, if the wretches who thus deliberately planned 
 his murder had succeeded in carrying out their 
 wicked design. Her eldest brother, Captain Hugh 
 Moore, of the 5th Dragoons, had raised, among 
 the tenants on his father's estate, a company of 
 volunteers, known by the name of ** The Eglantine 
 Yeomanry," of which he was the commander. He 
 was also aide-de-camp to General Needham, who 
 was at that time engaged, with the forces under 
 his command, in putting down the insurrection in 
 Wexford. These facts were probably well known 
 to the country people living in the neighbourhood 
 of Clough House ; and in that case, judging 
 
 H 
 
114 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 from the accounts of what had taken place else- 
 where, it is scarcely likely that the assassins 
 would have spared the life of Captain Moore's 
 sister. 
 
 But, as a wise French saying runs, ^'Lhomme 
 propose^ mats Dieu dispose" \ and a few weeks later 
 the revolutionists, utterly defeated in the town of 
 Antrim, at Portaferry, Saintfield, and Ballynahinch, 
 were powerless to carry out the plans of their 
 ringleaders, who were then either prisoners or fugi- 
 tives from the country. 
 
 But for some time before affairs had arrived at 
 this point, the loyalists in every part of the north 
 were engaged in making preparations for defence, 
 in the event of a rising in Ulster. Captain 
 Wolseley, by his exertions, succeeded in raising a 
 company of a hundred volunteers, and commanded 
 It himself in an engagement of some importance 
 that took place near the town of Ballynahinch, and 
 which has been dignified by all historians of the 
 Rebellion of '98 by the title of *' the Battle of 
 Ballynahinch." 
 
 With bad news constantly arriving from other 
 parts of Ireland, and with disquieting rumours of 
 increasing disaffection in their own neighbourhood, 
 the last weeks before this engagement took place 
 must have been very anxious ones for people living 
 in isolated country places ; and Captain and Mrs. 
 Wolseley were very glad to accept an invitation 
 from the Dowager Lady Moira and her son, the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 115 
 
 Earl of Moira, who very kindly asked them to come 
 and stay with them until the country was more 
 settled/ 
 
 On arriving at Moira House, Captain and Mrs. 
 Wolseley found that hospitable mansion crowded 
 with guests from different parts of the county, and 
 among them were many friends of both, and also 
 some relations of Mrs. Wolseley s. Under other 
 circumstances the visit would have been a very 
 pleasant one, but probably few people staying with 
 Lord and Lady Moira at that time were able to 
 enjoy it ; for every one there must have been more 
 or less anxious about the fate of relations at a 
 distance, and perhaps afraid, too, that they might 
 find their own homes wrecked when they returned 
 to them, or that many things they valued might be 
 either carried off or destroyed by the rebels. These 
 latter, shortly before the battle of Ballynahinch, 
 assembled in great force near that town, which is 
 situated in a valley between a hill called the 
 Windmill Hill and the high ground in Montalto, 
 another demesne which then belonged to Lord 
 Moira.^ 
 
 ^ Francis Rawdon, second Earl of Moira, was in 18 16 created 
 Marquis of Hastings. He was Governor-General of India for some 
 years. The Marquis, in 1804., married Flora Muir Campbell, Countess 
 of Loudoun in her own right, whose mother was a descendant of the 
 last Sir William Muir of Rowallan, and was heiress of that estate, 
 which was in the possession of Mrs. Wolseley's ancestors as far back 
 as the thirteenth century. 
 
 2 Lord Moira had two places in the County Down — Moira House, 
 where he was living at the time of the Rebellion, and Montalto, 
 
ii6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 The party at Moira House were for some days 
 in a state of great anxiety, fearing that the rebels 
 would come over there to attack them. Mrs. 
 Wolseley and the other ladies were busily employed 
 in making cartridges and lint, while the gentlemen 
 were equally actively engaged in preparations for 
 the defence of the house. 
 
 The following extract from a history of Ireland, 
 published in the early part of this century, may be 
 interesting to the reader. **Saintfield," the author 
 says, "had become the principal rendezvous of the 
 insurgents of Down, whose force assembled there 
 on the nth of June amounted at least to seven 
 thousand men. Others have estimated their 
 numbers at from eight to ten thousand. They 
 proceeded to BalUnahinch, and established their 
 camp, as they called it, in the demesne of Lord 
 Moira, on a commanding eminence skirted with 
 thick wood.^ 
 
 " Requisitions were sent round to the gentry and 
 small farmers for provisions, which were carried to 
 them in considerable quantities. The son of one of 
 the former accompanied his father's servants to the 
 rebel camp, where he remained all night, and from 
 his relation, published long afterwards in the Belfast 
 Magazine, we have a curious account of the appear- 
 where the rebels estabhshed their camp. Montalto was afterwards 
 sold to Mr. Ker, and Moira was bought by an ancestor of Lord 
 Derramore. 
 
 1 The name of the town is variously spelt by different writers, and 
 sometimes as in the extract given above. 
 
ADMIKAL WOLSELEY 117 
 
 ance of the insurgents on this occasion. *When 
 we arrived,' he says, 'there were on the ground 
 a considerable number of women, chiefly servants, 
 or the daughters or wives of cottiers or small 
 farmers. They were almost all employed on the 
 same business as ourselves, though it is said that 
 two or three of them remained on the field during 
 the night, submitting to their share of the labours 
 or dangers and performing as valiant deeds as the 
 men. 
 
 " * Nothing could surpass the delicacy and kind- 
 ness with which these female visitors were received 
 and conducted through the camp. When those of 
 our party entered the field they were immediately 
 lightened of their burdens and escorted along with 
 them to a particular part of the ground, where the 
 provisions were placed under the care of persons 
 appointed to receive and distribute them, and two 
 or three young men offered their services to conduct 
 us through the field. Everything was explained 
 with minuteness ; pikes of different constructions 
 were pointed out and their uses explained ; the 
 cannon and ammunition were shown, and the tre- 
 mendous effects glanced at which they were calcu- 
 lated to produce. The leaders were also pointed 
 out, the more distinguished and the greater favour- 
 ites among them with pride and exultation. A 
 mixed and motley multitude met the eye, some 
 walking about, others stretched listlessly on the 
 green turf or along the field, a considerable 
 
ii8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 number sheltering themselves from the scorching 
 sun under the shade of the trees with which 
 the field was skirted, and many sleeping on the 
 grass. 
 
 " * They wore no uniform, yet they presented 
 a tolerably decent appearance, being dressed, no 
 doubt, in their Sunday clothes ; some better and 
 some worse, but none in the ragged costume that 
 is often to be seen in other parts of Ireland. The 
 only thing in which they all concurred was the 
 wearing of the green, almost every individual 
 having a knot of ribbons of that colour, sometimes 
 intermixed with yellow, in his hat. Most of them, 
 besides, had their hats and button-holes decorated 
 with laurel from the adjoining grounds. The 
 leaders in general wore green or yellow belts, and 
 some of them green coats ; and those under their 
 command bore decorations of various descriptions, 
 and of different degrees of taste and execution. 
 The most common of the decorations was the harp 
 entwined with shamrock or bays, but without the 
 crown ; the British lion and unicorn in a falling 
 attitude ; and many other symbolic representations, 
 with various corresponding inscriptions expressive 
 of the wishes and feelings of the people, such as 
 *' Liberty or death," ** Downfall to tyrants," '' Free- 
 dom to Ireland," and many others of a similar 
 character. 
 
 ** * In their arms there was as great a diversity as 
 in their dress. By far the majority of them had 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 119 
 
 pikes, which were truly formidable instruments in 
 close fight, but of no use in distant warfare. These 
 had generally wooden shafts seven feet long with 
 sharpened heads of steel of different forms, and 
 commonly ten or twelve inches long ; some of these 
 heads consisted simply of one longitudinal piece, 
 but others had another piece crossing this and 
 forming a sort of hook, which was thought likely 
 to be of use in cutting the bridles of their 
 opponents' horses. Others wore old swords, gene- 
 rally of the least efficient kind, and some had 
 merely pitchforks. Those of the higher class were 
 armed with guns. There were also seven or eight 
 pieces of small cannon mounted on common cars, 
 which, however, did not seem calculated to produce 
 much effect.' " 
 
 The rebel commander-in-chief was a man named 
 Henry Munro, a shopkeeper of Lisburn, and the 
 forces under him seem to have been collected from 
 all parts of the counties of Down and Antrim. Mr. 
 Maxwell, in his " History of the Irish Rebellion in 
 1798," says that after Munro had been unanimously 
 elected their commander **a large body of insur- 
 gents entered Bangor and compelled numbers to 
 join them. Proceeding to Saintfield, they joined the 
 body that held that town, and on the next morning, 
 Monday, iith of June, the whole proceeded to the 
 rebel camp at Ballynahinch, where the insurgent 
 headquarters were established." 
 
 On the morning of the 12th, General Nugent, 
 
120 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the general in command of the northern district, 
 marched from Saintfield. The force under him, 
 according to some accounts, consisted of about 1500 
 men ; or, as Mr. Maxwell says, the Royalists, after 
 they had been joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, 
 with the garrison of Downpatrick, "mustered pro- 
 bably 1600 men, with eight pieces of light artillery." 
 General Nugent's army consisted of the Monaghan 
 Militia regiment, part of the 22nd Dragoons, the 
 Hillsborough and other yeomanry corps, both horse 
 and foot ; and among the latter, who are not more 
 particularly specified, was included a company of a 
 hundred volunteers which were raised and com- 
 manded by Captain Wolseley. 
 
 The statement made by the author previously 
 quoted, of the strength of the insurgents encamped 
 at Montalto, shows that they far outnumbered the 
 small army opposed to them ; but the latter had the 
 advantage of being better armed, and of being led 
 by experienced officers. In his ** History of the 
 Irish Rebellion " Mr. Maxwell gives a very amusing 
 account of some circumstances which apparently 
 prevented Munro from getting a considerable 
 addition to his forces at Ballynahinch. The two 
 anecdotes, I think, may find a place here, especially 
 as the incident he mentions last occurred at In- 
 nishargy, the residence of Mr. Baillie, a cousin of 
 Mrs. Wolseley s. 
 
 " When Down caught the flame of rebellion," 
 writes Mr. Maxwell, *'a body of insurgents as- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 121 
 
 sembled in the barony of Ards, and moved on 
 Portaferry. Their object was, on taking that town, 
 to have crossed the ferry and proceeded, with what- 
 ever aid they could get in Lecale, to the attack of 
 Downpatrick. The plan showed some head ; for 
 the presumption was, that the garrison of Down- 
 patrick would either have marched — as was the 
 case — to co-operate with General Nugent at Bally- 
 nahinch, or that the rebel approach from the 
 Portaferry side would keep it still in Downpatrick. 
 In the former case, the town would be open to 
 them ; in the latter, General Nugent would have 
 been deprived of the assistance of the garrison. 
 The yeomanry of Portaferry, however, gave matters 
 a different turn. 
 
 '* When this body of rebels was on their way to 
 that place, they halted, about a mile from the town, 
 at a large and well-stored public-house. Here they 
 ordered out all the house contained, and eatables 
 and drinkables rapidly disappeared. I must give," 
 continues Mr. Maxwell, ** what followed in the 
 words of my informant, who was brother to the 
 man of the house, and one of the rebel 'airmy,' as 
 he called it : — ' My brither cam' out quite civil, and 
 *' Wha's to pay me, gentlemen ? " quoth he. '* Hoot, 
 man!" says ane, and ** Hoot, man!" says anither, 
 "your country will pay you." My brither gied a 
 look at me, and I at him, as they moved on ; and 
 from that time I thought I had been lang enoo' 
 in the airmy, so I slipped behind the dyke, and let 
 
122 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 them gang on without me. And weel it was I did 
 sae; for afore twa hours' time they were back again, 
 far faster than they went, and not all of them either. 
 But not ae word did my brither hear o' the reck'nin' 
 frae that hour to this. Aweel, sir, the King s men, 
 whether sodgers or sailors, always paid decently ; 
 so I'll e'en stick to them.' " 
 
 Mr. Maxwell continues : — " The discomfited in- 
 surgents then made their way to the residence of 
 Mr. Baillie of Innishargy, five or six miles along 
 the shore of the lough, from the scene of their 
 defeat. Here, as my informant, another of the 
 party, thus described their proceedings, * the airmy 
 lay down on the lawn, while the afiishers took pos- 
 session of the house, and having made themselves 
 free of the cellar, sat down in the parlour, enjoying 
 themselves wi' the best it afforded. With that, my- 
 sel' and ane or twa mair of us made up to the open 
 window, and *' Merry be yer hearts, gentlemen," 
 says we, " and what '11 ye ha'e the airmy to drink ? " 
 ** Hoot ! " says this ane and that ane, ** there's a 
 water-cart in the yard ; tak' it down to the river, 
 and fill enough for the people to drink." *' Hech, 
 sirs ! " says we, ** is that the way of it ? Gin we're 
 aye to be soles and ye tippers, in that fashion, we 
 may as weel serve King George as the likes o' ye ! " 
 An' in five minutes, sir, the hale airmy had melted 
 away like snaw aff a dyke.' " And Mr. Maxwell 
 adds : — " Now, these were lessons which neither 
 sabre nor bayonet could teach, and particularly to 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 123 
 
 cannie northerns. The consequence was, that these 
 men not only abandoned the standard of rebellion, 
 but numbers of them actually joined a yeomanry 
 corps." 
 
 I must now return to the rebels assembled at 
 Lord Moira's place, near Ballynahinch, taking my 
 account of their proceedings partly from Mr. Max- 
 well's " History of the Rebellion," and partly from 
 the "History of Ireland" previously mentioned. 
 " Munro," on his arrival at Ballynahinch, according 
 to the author of the latter work, " made his military 
 arrangements with considerable skill." He sent a 
 part of his force to take possession of the town, 
 which lies in a valley, having on the north the 
 Windmill Hill, and on the south the commanding 
 eminence of Montalto, forming, with its plantations, 
 a very strong position. With the rest of his fol- 
 lowers, Munro continued to occupy the heights 
 surrounding the town. On the 12th of June he 
 stationed a strong force at Creevy Rocks, near 
 Saintfield, to oppose the march of the troops under 
 General Nugent, and placed a party of his best 
 musketeers, under a leader named M'Cance, in 
 ambuscade, on an advantageous position at Wind- 
 mill Hill, about a quarter of a mile from the town of 
 Ballynahinch. The King's troops *' easily dispersed 
 the insurgents posted at Creevy Rocks, but they met 
 with more resistance at Windmill Hill. M'Cance," 
 the author continues, " who displayed the most 
 extraordinary courage and considerable military 
 
124 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 skill, kept the army in check for upwards of an 
 hour." But General Nugent, as Mr. Maxwell 
 writes, ** drove those who occupied the Mill Hill 
 from it, and hung up one of the leaders, who was 
 too late in escaping with his men to the opposite 
 height of Montalto." It was then late in the after- 
 noon, and Munro withdrew his men from the town, 
 and also all his outposts ; and General Nugent 
 occupied the Windmill Hill that night. 
 
 With the great superiority of numbers on 
 Munro's side, consisting of a force said to have 
 been "certainly not less than seven thousand men," 
 and that probably was nearer ten thousand, to op- 
 pose General Nugent's small army of 1500 or 1600 
 men, it seemed to Munro that defeat in the engage- 
 ment that was inevitable next day would be quite 
 an impossibility. And so certain was he of success 
 that, as Mr. Maxwell says, "late on the evening of 
 the 1 2th, in a hasty despatch from his bivouac on 
 Lord Moira's lawn, Munro declared *that victory was 
 certain, and the British army was within his grasp.' 
 This idle vaunt," continues Mr. Maxwell, "was 
 communicated to the station selected as the rallying 
 point for the central division, . . . and Munro's 
 rank folly," he adds, "annihilated the last chances 
 and the last hopes of the disaffected," as it effec- 
 tually prevented the party to whom the message 
 was sent from joining him at Ballynahinch. The 
 majority having decided, according to Mr. Maxwell, 
 that it was best "to wait the issue of the night, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 125 
 
 and then to press for the important post of Newry," 
 as the most " important advantages were to be 
 obtained by the capture of a garrison town, com- 
 manding from its local situation the key of the 
 province. . . . With the morrow," he adds, 
 **came the astounding intelligence of Munro's 
 defeat ! And in the general panic which succeeded 
 few were bold enough even to entertain the idea 
 of offering further resistance." 
 
 The chief incidents of the rebel campaign in 
 Ulster were the attacks upon Antrim, Portaferry, 
 and Saintfield, and the final and most important 
 engagement, the so-called ** Battle of Bally nahinch," 
 at which Captain Wolseley was present, and com- 
 manded the little corps of a hundred volunteers 
 which he had succeeded in raising ; and doubtless, 
 as the regular troops were so few in number, this 
 little company, with the advantage of being led by 
 an officer of Captain Wolseley's experience, gave 
 some valuable assistance, as General Nugent s very 
 small army was at first repulsed and nearly swept 
 away by the overpowering masses of the rebels, 
 who, by all accounts, fought with the greatest 
 courage. 
 
 The following particulars of the battle are given 
 by the author of the '** History of Ireland," pre- 
 viously quoted, and by the Rev. James Gordon. 
 " Early in the morning of the 13th of June," writes 
 the author first mentioned, **the rebel general 
 commenced the action by a discharge of eight 
 
126 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 small pieces of cannon, which was replied to by 
 the heavy artillery of the army ; but though this 
 cannonade continued for some time, it did no great 
 hurt on either side." This fact is fully explained by 
 Mr. Gordon, who says : — "The cannon of the insur- 
 gents were small and tied on the backs of cars, while 
 the shells thrown from the mortars of the Royal 
 army were furnished with too short fuses, so that 
 they burst in the air." 
 
 Mr. Gordon continues : — *' The Monaghan regi- 
 ment of militia, posted with two field-pieces at Lord 
 Moira's great gate, was attacked with such deter- 
 mined fury by the pikemen of the insurgents that 
 it fell back in great confusion on the Hillsborough 
 cavalry, who likewise fell back in equal disorder. 
 But the want of discipline of the insurgents caused 
 the loss of what their valour had gained." And 
 he adds : — " The disordered troops found means 
 to rally while the Argyleshire fencibles, entering 
 the demesne, were making an attack on another 
 side." 
 
 The fighting, apparently, was kept up with the 
 greatest determination both by the loyalist forces 
 and by the rebels for a considerable time. And 
 the author of the "History of Ireland" says: — 
 *' At length one division of the insurgents made 
 an attempt to penetrate into the town, while 
 Munro, at the head of the remainder of his force, 
 attacked the main body of the Kings troops. 
 Munros men charged with the utmost courage, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 127 
 
 drove their opponents back, and made their way 
 into the town, though exposed to a shower of 
 musketry and grape shot, which swept away whole 
 ranks of the insurgents. At the market square, 
 in the centre of the town, the struggle was for a 
 short time very obstinate, and the efforts of the 
 rebels were so great that General Nugent judged 
 it necessary to withdraw his troops from the town. 
 The sound of the bugle for the retreat is said to 
 have been mistaken by the rebels, who imagined 
 that it announced the arrival of new troops for 
 a renewal of the combat, and they were in conse- 
 quence seized with a sudden panic and fled in 
 confusion. 
 
 ** For a moment the town was evacuated by both 
 parties, and then the King's troops, rallying, charged 
 through it and pursued the insurgents, who were 
 flying up the hill of Ednavady. Munro attempted 
 to rally them at the top, where a stand was made 
 in some ancient entrenchments ; but the hill being 
 now almost surrounded by the King's troops, he 
 led off" the small force that still remained with 
 him, which is said not to have exceeded a hundred 
 and fifty men, through the only opening that 
 afforded him a retreat." 
 
 *'A general dispersion ensued," writes Mr. 
 Maxwell, "and the rebels were totally routed, 
 leaving four hundred men hors de combat ^ This, 
 of course, included both killed and wounded. 
 As the author of the History remarks, "the 
 
128 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 slaughter in this engagement appears to have been 
 much less than might have been expected. The 
 King's troops lost about forty, and the rebels are 
 said to have lost in the fight not more than a 
 hundred and fifty men. But," the writer adds, 
 *' their loss in the flight was much greater." This 
 statement, however, appears to be a great exag- 
 geration, and is not borne out by other writers, 
 or by Mr. Maxwell, who says : — '' Many were saved 
 from the nature of the country, which, being wooded 
 and uneven, was unfavourable to the action of the 
 cavalry ; others owed their escape to accidental 
 circumstances." 
 
 The rebel leader, Munro, attempted to escape 
 towards the mountains, but, writes Mr. Maxwell, 
 *'he was speedily detected by some Royalists, 
 concealed in a potato furrow under some loose 
 litter in an open field five or six miles distant 
 from the scene of his folly and defeat. On being 
 apprehended," the unfortunate man ** endeavoured," 
 Mr. Maxwell adds, " to bribe his captors and obtain 
 his liberty. But he was brought into Hillsborough, 
 and afterwards transmitted to Lisburn, tried by 
 court-martial on the next Friday, and paid the 
 penalty of his treason with his life." 
 
 The other writers state that **the main party 
 of the fugitives from Ballynahinch fled to the 
 mountains of Slieve-Croob, where they soon dis- 
 persed and returned to their homes." And thus 
 ended the revolt in the north, which Mr. Maxwell 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 129 
 
 speaks of as "a weak attempt at revolution "! but 
 which is certainly more accurately, though perhaps 
 somewhat more quaintly, described by Mr. Gordon 
 as a " very short and partial, but active and vigorous 
 insurrection." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 As soon as any fear of a further rising in the nor- 
 thern province appeared to be over, and the country 
 seemed a little more settled, the party that were 
 assembled at Moira House broke up, and Captain 
 and Mrs. Wolseley took leave of their kind friends, 
 Lord and Lady Moira, and returned to their little 
 place near C lough. 
 
 The remaining months of the memorable year 
 1798 passed away without bringing any change in 
 Captain Wolseley 's position. But in the early part 
 of 1799 he was appointed to the Terrible, seventy- 
 four guns, attached to the Channel fleet under Lord 
 Bridport. 
 
 ** In the first three months of the year," before 
 
 Captain Wolseley was appointed to the command 
 
 of that vessel, according to Mr. James, ''the British 
 
 force cruising off Brest consisted of a squadron 
 
 of eight or nine sail of the line, under the successive 
 
 command of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Thompson, 
 
 Bart, Vice- Admiral Sir Hugh Seymour, and Rear- 
 
 Admiral the Honourable George Berkeley. On 
 
 the 1 6th of April a French convoy was chased 
 
 by Admiral Berkeley's squadron, but effected their 
 
 escape into Brest." 
 
 130 
 
MEMOIE OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 131 
 
 On the 13th, Admiral Lord Brldport, in his flag- 
 ship the Royal George^ 100 guns, and with five or 
 six other ships — the Terrible among the number — 
 sailed from St. Helens, and on the 17th, early 
 in the morning, arrived off Ushant, and superseded 
 Rear- Admiral Berkeley in the command. Mr. 
 James gives a list of the ships at that time in the 
 Channel fleet, from which it appears that, besides 
 his flag-ship, already mentioned, Lord Bridport had 
 under his command four 98-gun ships, one 80 and 
 ten 74-gun ships, and included among the latter 
 he mentions " the Terrible, commanded by Captain 
 William Wolseley " ; and he adds, ** making in all 
 sixteen sail of the line, with three or four frigates, 
 of which the names are not given." 
 
 '*On the evening of the 25th of April," writes 
 Mr. James, **the French fleet sailed from Brest." 
 This fleet, he remarks, was one of the largest ever 
 sent to sea by the French ; the ships had enormous 
 crews, and many of them were employed as trans- 
 ports, with a very large military force on board. 
 The fleet consisted of one 120-gun ship, three 1 10- 
 gun ships, two 80-gun ships, and nineteen 74-gun 
 ships, making in all, he says, '* twenty-five ships 
 of the line, besides five frigates and five smaller 
 vessels." 
 
 ** It was about 9 a.m. on the 26th," he continues, 
 ** just as the last ten or eleven ships of this immense 
 fleet were rounding the Saintes, that the British 
 36-gun frigate, Nymphe, Captain Percy Fraser, dis- 
 
132 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 covered them. Making all sail to rejoin her fleet 
 with the intelligence, the Nymphe^ at noon — Ushant 
 being distant five leagues — lost sight of the French 
 ships, and at i p.m., with the signal for an enemy 
 flying, fell in with the Dragon^ who quickly repeated 
 the signal to Lord Bridport's fleet. The admiral 
 immediately made sail towards Brest, and found 
 that the French fleet had really eluded his vigi- 
 lance." Lord Bridport, thinking it was their in- 
 tention to attempt another invasion of Ireland, at 
 once set sail for Cape Clear, where he arrived on 
 the 30th, and where the reinforcements ordered to 
 join him augmented his fleet to twenty-six sail of 
 the line. 
 
 As all readers of the history of the Rebellion 
 of 1798 are, of course, aware, the rising in Ireland 
 in that year had scarcely been put down, when the 
 French Government, for the purpose of assisting the 
 rebels, sent over a force which landed at Killala, on 
 the coast of Mayo. But that a fresh invasion of 
 Ireland was contemplated in the year 1799 seems 
 to have been doubtful. At all events none took 
 place then, although, as Mr. James writes, "the 
 Paris journals persisted in declaring that Ireland 
 was the destination of the French armament." 
 And he says : — " Among the smaller vessels that 
 joined Lord Bridport was the hired armed lugger, 
 Black Joke, which, when twenty leagues west of 
 Ushant, had fallen in with and captured the French 
 chasse-marie^ Rebecca, of four swivels and seven 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 133 
 
 men, just out of Brest, having on board a capitaine 
 de fregate with despatches for Ireland." This, Mr. 
 James adds, '*was, of course, a ruse; and a suc- 
 cessful one it proved, as it fixed the British admiral 
 to the Irish coast." 
 
 Captain Brenton, in his " Life and Correspond- 
 ence of John, Earl of St. Vincent," commenting 
 on a letter written at that time by Lord St. Vincent 
 to Earl Spencer, in which the former mentions the 
 arrival of the French fleet in the Mediterranean 
 on the 5th May, says :— '' It would seem that Lord 
 Keith had nearly brought the enemy within sight 
 of his fleet, and had he done so a tremendous con- 
 flict would probably have anticipated the great day 
 of Trafalgar. Napoleon had united the two fleets 
 of France and Spain, by the sailing of the former 
 from Brest in the month of April. They picked 
 up the Spanish division at Cadiz, then pushed for 
 Carthagena, where they were equally successful in 
 getting out the ships from that port. The French 
 admiral seems then to have fulfilled the utmost 
 letter of his instructions, for Buonaparte apparently 
 had wisely forbidden him to fight. This was the 
 finest fleet the enemy ever had at sea, and they had 
 the good fortune to get safe back to Brest." 
 
 Captain Brenton adds: — "Had Napoleon ever 
 seriously thought of invasion, this was his time ; 
 but the fact is, he never seriously did intend it. 
 If he had, he had only to have kept his combined 
 fleet ready for sea, and made an indication of 
 
134 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 sailing, while the flotilla from Boulogne, Havre, 
 and the Helder had embarked the army.'' No 
 event of any consequence occurred during the rest 
 of the time Captain Wolseley served under Lord 
 Bridport ; and towards the end of the year Lord 
 St. Vincent was appointed to the command of the 
 Channel fleet — ** a situation," Captain Brenton re- 
 marks, "by no means enviable at that particular 
 period, the ships being now worn and in want of 
 repair ; the crews dissatisfied with the long con- 
 tinuance of the war and the dull monotony of the 
 blockade, unbroken, except very rarely, by any 
 accident of capture, still less of battle ; for the 
 enemy had got so wary since the destruction of 
 their fleet at the Nile that they never showed 
 themselves at sea, unless in such a force as we 
 have just related to have escaped into Brest." 
 
 In the spring of 1800 Lord Bridport had the 
 command of the Channel fleet until Lord St. Vin- 
 cent, who, on account of failing health, had been 
 on leave for a few months, returned to take it 
 again. And Captain Brenton says : — ** His lord- 
 ship hoisted his flag in his favourite ship, the 
 Ville de Paris, which, having been sent home and 
 properly repaired, was ready to receive him ; and 
 he took his station off Ushant, with the hope that 
 the combined fleets, which we have seen in the 
 preceding year escape into Brest, would come out 
 and try their strength with him. But in this he 
 was disappointed; and in the month of May the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 135 
 
 fleet was driven into Torbay by one of the most 
 tremendous hurricanes," Captain Brenton continues, 
 ** that I ever remember. It came on during the 
 night of the i6th and 17th, and blew with a 
 violence which was never witnessed by the oldest 
 seaman. The Ville de Paris scudded before it, 
 and I am told," he says, ** by those who were on 
 board of her, that her motion was awful. Lord 
 St. Vincent was seated in an arm-chair, lashed on 
 one side of the quarter-deck, and thence gave 
 his orders. The fleet, however, arrived without 
 much damage in Torbay, which, with the wind 
 in the position it then was (between west and 
 south-west), offered a most friendly and acceptable 
 shelter." 
 
 But the writer adds : — '' During the hurricane 
 two unfortunate sloops of war, the Trompeuse and 
 the Railleur, were turned bottom up, and all on 
 board perished. These vessels," he says, **were of 
 that vile French corvette class, with weak upper 
 works and flush decks, run up with slight materials, 
 made for sailing mostly in light winds, but never 
 calculated to meet the weather of our climate. 
 They were usually built at Bordeaux, Morlaix, or 
 St. Malo, on speculation ; and a desperate specu- 
 lation it was. They made, perhaps, two or three 
 captures of some value before they were taken by 
 our active cruisers, in which case the owners were 
 amply repaid. On the other hand, if they were 
 taken soon after they left their port, which was 
 
136 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 very frequently the case, the loss was divided by 
 insurance among so many shareholders as to be of 
 little importance." 
 
 The same author remarks that "the year 1800 
 was comparatively quiet within the circle of Lord St. 
 Vincent's command," and **in consequence," he says, 
 ''there were few incidents in it worth recording." 
 But another naval historian, Dr. Campbell, gives 
 the following slight sketch of the operations of the 
 navy in that year, and also some details of the 
 services performed by the division of the fleet 
 commanded by Lord St. Vincent, in which division, 
 it will be remembered, Captain Wolseley was then 
 serving. 
 
 '*As the British Ministry," Dr. Campbell writes, 
 "had formed a regular combination on the Con- 
 tinent against the power of France, they were 
 resolved to give the Royalists and their other allies 
 every assistance which our navy was capable of 
 affording. The Austrians being employed in the 
 siege of Genoa, a detachment of men-of-war was 
 ordered to assist them, and was of great use during 
 the operations of the siege. That the French might 
 not be able to send reinforcements to Genoa, 
 Toulon was blockaded. Alexandria, Cadiz, Flushing, 
 Malta, and Belleisle were also blockaded nearly at 
 the same time by British fleets or cruisers. The 
 whole coast of Europe, from Holland to the ex- 
 tremity of the Mediterranean, was thus held in 
 check by the navy of England, and terror was 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 137 
 
 inspired into our enemies by the names of St. 
 Vincent, Nelson, Smith, and Mitchell. Such is a 
 rapid and general sketch," Dr. Campbell adds, "of 
 the services of the British navy in the year 1800." 
 And he continues : — 
 
 **As the Royalists on the coast of Brittany had 
 again appeared in strength, and expressed a wish to 
 be assisted by the British, Lord St. Vincent, in the 
 month of June, despatched Sir Edward Pellew,^ 
 with a squadron of ships of war, having a consi- 
 derable body of troops on board, on this service. 
 Major-General Maitland had the command of the 
 land forces. Quiberon and the Bay of Morbihan 
 were the places where the Royalists were in the 
 greatest force, and where it was supposed a landing 
 and co-operation might be effected with the greatest 
 ease and success. But this enterprise was not 
 attended with any important or permanent success. 
 This was owing entirely to the circumstance of 
 the Royalists being much less formidable than they 
 had represented themselves to be. The forts on 
 the south-west end of Quiberon were silenced and 
 destroyed ; several vessels were cut out and cap- 
 tured ; but this is nearly the sum total of the result 
 of this expedition. 
 
 *'As so little could be done at Quiberon, Sir 
 Edward Pellew and General Maitland resolved to 
 make an attack on Belleisle. If this had been done 
 
 * Afterwards Viscount Exmouth, Vice- Admiral of England, 1831. 
 Died 1833. 
 
138 A MEMOIE OF 
 
 as soon as the plan was matured, it probably would 
 have succeeded ; but some delay took place from 
 unforeseen circumstances ; the enemy were alarmed 
 and prepared ; and on the morning of the 1 9th of 
 June, General Maitland received information that a 
 body of troops, amounting to 7000, were assembled 
 on the island. Nothing now could be done against 
 Belleisle ; the small island of Houatt was, indeed, 
 taken possession of for a short time, but this also 
 was abandoned, and the troops proceeded to the 
 Mediterranean, where, it was thought, they might 
 be more serviceably employed. 
 
 *' If we look at this attempt on the coast of 
 France," Dr. Campbell continues, ** solely with 
 reference to the assistance and support which it 
 might have given to the Royalists, we shall be 
 disposed to regard it as having utterly failed ; but 
 if it is viewed as a measure intended to distract the 
 attention of the enemy, it had no slight degree of 
 success. At the time, when the coasts of France 
 were kept in constant alarm, it was of the utmost 
 importance for the French Government to send all 
 the troops they could spare against their Continental 
 foes ; this, undoubtedly, they were prevented from 
 doing by our expedition, and so far the design was 
 good and the result beneficial." 
 
 Towards the end of the year the fleet were 
 again in Torbay; and, I believe, about that time 
 the place near Clough where Captain and Mrs. 
 Wolseley had been previously living was given 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 139 
 
 up, and Mrs. Wolseley came over to Torquay, 
 so as to be near her husband, whose ship, the 
 Terrible, was then stationed in the bay with the 
 rest of the Channel fleet. 
 
 In a letter to the Earl of St. Vincent, written on 
 board the Terrible, and dated December 4, 1800, 
 Captain Wolseley says : — " Not being able to sum- 
 mon sufficient assurance (tho' so long resident 
 in Ireland), to mention the subject of this letter to 
 your Lordship when I had the honour of seeing you 
 yesterday, I therefore take the liberty of troubling 
 you at present. Having heard in various ways 
 that a promotion will soon take place, I presume 
 some of the 2d rates may thereby be vacant ; and 
 tho' I have no claim on your Lordship, but that 
 of the honour of being under your command, I 
 have to request that your Lordship will be pleased 
 to intercede with Earl Spencer to appoint me to 
 one of the 2d rates ; should it not break in on 
 any of your arrangements." 
 
 In reply to this, Captain Wolseley received the 
 following very gratifying note from the Earl : — 
 
 " Tor Abbey, Dec. ^th, 1800." 
 
 '* Sir, — Your well established reputation and 
 excellent conduct since you have been under my 
 command, give you a just claim to every possible 
 attention and regard I can show ; and I will repre- 
 sent your wishes in the strongest manner to Lord 
 Spencer by this day's post ; and take the earliest 
 
140 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 opportunity to apprize you of the success of my 
 application, being with much esteem very sincerely 
 yours, ** St. Vincent. 
 
 " To Captain Wolseley, Terrible." 
 
 In consequence of Lord St. Vincents recom- 
 mendation, Captain Wolseley was nominated to the 
 SL George y ninety-eight guns. But in the following 
 year, 1801, Lord Nelson, when on the point of 
 sailing for Copenhagen, gave his own ship, the fine 
 three - decker, San Josef, 112 guns, to Captain 
 Wolseley, and removed his flag to the St. George^ 
 on account of its being a vessel of lighter draught 
 of water than the San Josef, to which, by exp7'ess 
 request of Lord Nelson, Captain Wolseley was then 
 duly appointed. 
 
 Lord Nelson, however, did not gain his fresh 
 laurels on board of the St, George, and Captain 
 Brenton gives the following account of his exchange 
 of that vessel for the Elephant, in which he fought 
 the famous battle of Copenhagen. " Nelson, it will 
 be remembered," writes Captain Brenton, ''was 
 appointed second in command in the Copenhagen 
 expedition in i8or, Sir Hyde Parker having the 
 command-in-chief Soon after the fleet came to an 
 anchor off the entrance of the sound, between the 
 castles of Cronenbourg and Helsinbourg, but out of 
 gun-shot from either the Swedes or the Danes, the 
 commander-in-chief received intelligence from the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 141 
 
 shore which induced him to pause, conceiving, from 
 the report, that the enemy was lying in eighteen 
 feet water, and that it would be impossible for our 
 ships of the line to approach within sufficient dis- 
 tance to attack them with any reasonable prospect 
 of success. It blew hard, and there was a good 
 deal of sea running, when Nelson received a mes- 
 sage from Sir Hyde signifying that, as he (the 
 admiral) perceived there was no chance of succeed- 
 ing in their attack on Copenhagen, he had decided 
 upon returning to England. 
 
 " Nelson determined to wait upon the admiral 
 immediately, and he desired Captain Hardy, of 
 the S^, George, on board which ship he then was, 
 to have a boat manned for him to go on board 
 the London, the commander-in-chiefs ship. The 
 captain expressed a doubt of his lordship's being 
 able, with the sea that was running, and his having 
 but one arm, to get into the boat. * But I am 
 determined I will go,' said Nelson. * Then,' said 
 Hardy, * I must put you into the boat as she lays 
 on the booms, and hoist you out in her.' This 
 was accordingly done, with every proper and 
 seaman-like precaution, and a boat's crew of the 
 very best seamen was chosen. Thus away went 
 Nelson, with the view to obtain the sanction of 
 his superior to make the attempt with the smallest 
 ships of the line, assisted by the frigates and all 
 the small vessels of the fleet. After much discus- 
 sion, the permission he so anxiously desired was 
 
J 42 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 granted, although Sir Hyde still seemed to think 
 the attempt would be useless or unsuccessful. 
 Nelson then shifted his flag to the Elephant, and 
 proceeded to the attack." And, as Captain Brenton 
 remarked before telling this anecdote of our great 
 naval hero, *' Nelson, when the enemy was in 
 sight, was never eclipsed. He never permitted 
 any one to stand between him and his glory; and 
 the battle of Copenhagen and its results are well 
 known." 
 
 The two naval historians, Mr. James and Captain 
 Brenton, both speak in the highest terms of the 
 Spanish first-rate, the San Josef , the splendid ship 
 to which, by particular request of Lord Nelson, 
 Captain Wolseley had recently been appointed. It 
 was one of the two ships of war captured by Nelson 
 from the Spaniards in the battle fought off Cape 
 St. Vincent on the 14th February 1797, and is 
 stated by Mr. James, who gives the dimensions of 
 both vessels, to have been superior in size to the 
 Ville de Paris^ previously the largest ship in the 
 British navy. 
 
 Another writer gives the following interesting 
 account of the capture of the San Nicolas, of eighty 
 guns, and the San Josef of one hundred and 
 twelve. '* After engaging the Spanish four-decker, 
 Santissima Trt7tidad" he writes, ** Commodore 
 Horatio Nelson directed the fire of his ship, the 
 Captain, against the San Nicolas, This ship ran 
 foul of and entangled herself with the San Josef 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 143 
 
 The Captain lost her fore-topmast, and Nelson, 
 fearing that she would drop astern, ran her into 
 the starboard quarter of the San Nicolas, 
 
 **A private of the 69th, a regiment then 
 acting as marines, broke in the windows of the 
 upper starboard-quarter gallery of the San Nicolas, 
 and was immediately followed by Nelson, whose 
 triumphant exclamation of * Westminster Abbey or 
 victory!' was received by a ringing British cheer 
 from the boarding party which was closely following 
 him. The ship was soon taken, and apparently, 
 from the circumstance of Nelson's having passed 
 over her to take possession of the San Josef, it 
 was afterwards, as he mentions in one of his letters, 
 styled in the fleet, * Nelson's patent bridge for 
 boarding first-rates ; ' a saying, he remarks, ' too 
 flattering for me to omit telling.' 
 
 ** On the surrender of the San Nicolas y Nelson 
 pushed forward and led the boarders over the 
 bulwarks of the San Josef, and he and his brave 
 followers quickly overcame the resistance offered 
 to them. At this moment a Spanish officer called 
 from the quarter-deck rail that the ship had sur- 
 rendered, and the swords of the admiral and other 
 officers were immediately afterwards given up to 
 Nelson. The incident is thus described in his own 
 words : — ' On the quarter-deck of a Spanish first- 
 rate, extravagant as the story may seem, did I 
 receive the swords of vanquished Spaniards, 
 which as I received I gave to William Fearney, 
 
144 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 one of my bargemen, who put them, with the 
 greatest sang froidy under his arm. I was sur- 
 rounded by Captain Berry, Lieutenant Pearson, 
 of the 69th Regiment, John Sykes, John Thomson, 
 Francis Cooke, all old Agamemnons, and several 
 other brave men, seamen and soldiers. Thus 
 fell these ships.* In a postscript he adds : — 
 * In boarding the San Nicolas I believe we 
 lost about seven killed and ten wounded, and 
 about twenty Spaniards lost their lives by a 
 foolish resistance. None were, I believe, lost in 
 boarding the San Josef' " 
 
 Captain Brenton, in his ** Life of the Earl 
 of St. Vincent," remarks that " in the art of 
 constructing ships of war the French were a 
 full century ahead of us." And he continues : — 
 "It is also well known that in almost every 
 instance when ships of war have been taken 
 from the enemy they have become favourites 
 in our service." He then gives, as proofs of 
 the truth of this assertion, a list of vessels taken 
 from the French, and adds at the end of the 
 long roll of names, " and finally, those ne plus 
 ultras of naval construction, San Josef (Spanish), 
 Tonnant, Malta, and Canopus (French), taken in 
 1797 and 1798." Of the first of these especially 
 highly praised vessels he says in his *' Naval 
 History": — "The San Josef of one hundred and 
 twelve guns, taken in the battle off Cape St. 
 Vincent, in 1797, was long admired in the British 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 145 
 
 navy, uniting all the superior qualities of a ship 
 of the line with the sailing of the fastest frigate ; 
 her lower deck ports were higher with all her 
 sea-stores in than was ever known in any other 
 ship of the line, and she could carry her guns 
 run-out when few British ships would have ven- 
 tured to open a port ; she stowed 600 tons of 
 water, and," he adds, ** we had nothing that could 
 be compared to her as a ship of war. 
 
 Mr. James gives the dimensions of the vessel, 
 which was a three-decker of 2457 tons, in his 
 *' Naval History,'' and says that "the crew of 
 the San Josef, including men and boys, at the 
 time she was captured, as far as could be ascer- 
 tained, consisted of nine hundred and seventeen.'* 
 And it may interest the reader to know that the 
 length of the first gun-deck of this " the largest 
 ship then in the British navy" is stated by 
 him to have been ** 194 feet 3 inches, and the 
 extreme width 54 feet 3 inches." 
 
 Apparently Lord St. Vincent considered the 
 San Josef a good model for the size of a first- 
 rate man-of-war, as he says in a letter written 
 by him to Rear-Admiral Markham in 1806: — ** I 
 hope you will never build a seventy-four larger 
 than the ImpMueux or Donegal, nor a first-rate 
 beyond the Ville de Paris and St. Joseph, 
 
 " 1 
 
 ^ The San Josef was broken up in 1849, by order of the Board 
 of Admiralty. It was for many years before that, when considered 
 unfit for further service at sea, stationed off Greenwich, and was 
 
 K 
 
146 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Captain Wolseley had the honour of command- 
 ing this celebrated ship from the beginning of 
 the year 1801 until the signature of the Peace of 
 Amiens. Until the end of the year 1801 he was 
 employed in cruising with the Channel fleet off 
 Ushant, under Admiral the Honourable William 
 Cornwallis, who, on the 2 1 st of February, had suc- 
 ceeded the Earl of St. Vincent as Commander-in- 
 Chief, in consequence of Lord St. Vincent having 
 been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
 On the 7th July in the same year Captain 
 Wolseley's eldest surviving daughter was born 
 at Torquay. A few months later, the Channel 
 fleet being again in the bay, the child was 
 christened at the old church, known, I believe, 
 as "Tor Church,'* and Admiral Lord St. Vincent 
 was her godfather.^ 
 
 A most gratifying proof of Captain Wolseley s 
 popularity with the sailors under his command 
 was given by them on that occasion. Having 
 requested leave to be present at the ceremony, 
 every one who could be spared from the ship 
 appeared at the church, which was crowded with 
 officers and seamen from the San Josef, On the 
 
 used as a convalescent hospital for sailors. Some interesting relics 
 of the old ship were to be seen in the great Naval Exhibition of 
 1891. 
 
 1 Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley had another daughter, who, I think, 
 was born previously, but she died at the age of seven. Mary Jervis 
 Wolseley, mentioned above, married Arthur Innes, J.P. and D.L., 
 of Dromantine, County Down. Mrs. Innes survived her husband, 
 and died at an advanced age in 1886. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 147 
 
 arrival of Captain and Mrs. Wolseley and some 
 friends they had invited, they formed a guard 
 of honour ready to receive them at the church 
 door — the sailors drawn up in lines on one side, 
 and the marines on the other ; and when the 
 men came out of church after the ceremony was 
 over, they formed a long procession, walking 
 in twos and twos after the carriages. They 
 escorted the christening party to Captain and 
 Mrs. Wolseley s villa, where they dispersed after 
 heartily cheering for the captain and his wife and 
 child. 
 
 Captain Wolseley's unvarying thoughtfulness and 
 consideration for those under his command seems 
 to have gained him many friends, and his kindness 
 is constantly very gratefully referred to in letters 
 written to him at different times by officers who 
 had formerly been midshipmen or lieutenants on 
 board the different vessels he commanded. As 
 one instance of his kindness, among many that 
 might be mentioned : — One of the young midship- 
 men on the San Josef, when the fleet was in at 
 Torbay, was extremely delicate ; and long after 
 that time, when the Admiral was quite an old 
 man, and this officer had himself been for many 
 years a post-captain, he came to see his old 
 commander, whose kindness to him, he said, he 
 should never forget ; and turning to Admiral 
 Wolseley's youngest daughter, who had never 
 heard her father speak of the circumstance, or 
 
148 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 even mention the officer's name, he told her 
 that when he was a little midshipman on board 
 the San Josef he had a very severe and danger- 
 ous illness, and that her father had him removed 
 from the ship to his house in Torquay, where he 
 said he was so well nursed, and Captain and Mrs. 
 Wolseley's kindness to him had been so great, that 
 he fully believed the care they had taken of him 
 had been the means of saving his life. 
 
 In the short memoir from which I have pre- 
 viously quoted. Admiral Wolseley mentions that 
 ** the fleet came into Torbay to await the signature 
 of the Peace of Amiens, when," he adds, " we were 
 paid off." This treaty was signed at Amiens early 
 in the year 1802 ; but, as Captain Brenton remarks, 
 " the preliminaries of peace were agreed on between 
 the two great belligerents, France and England, 
 late in the year 1801, although the definitive treaty 
 was not signed till the following year." 
 
 Commenting upon this treaty, or rather truce, 
 which lasted for little more than a year, he says : 
 — ** Buonaparte never intended more by the Peace 
 of Amiens than to get home his troops and ships, 
 dispersed in different parts of the world ; and having 
 gained these points, he insulted Lord Whitworth, 
 and seized our merchant - ships in the ports of 
 France, under the most frivolous pretences ; in 
 fact, he showed himself a man with whom an oath 
 or- a promise had no other meaning or object than 
 to answer his own temporary purposes." However, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 149 
 
 as Captain Brenton observes, ''the peace, short and 
 bad as it was, gave us many advantages which we 
 should not otherwise have enjoyed." 
 
 Shortly after the crew of the San Josef were paid 
 off, Captain Wolseley was appointed to the com- 
 mand of the Sea Fencibles on the River Shannon. 
 According to Dr. Campbell, this corps was first 
 raised in England in the year 1798. "Early in 
 this year," he says, *' Sir Home Popham proposed 
 a plan for the further protection and defence of 
 our coasts ; Sea Fencibles, composed of fishermen, 
 seamen employed in coasting-vessels, and all sea- 
 faring men engaged in the different harbours, 
 rivers, and creeks along the coast, were formed 
 into corps. These Fencibles were to be trained 
 to the use of the pike, and when they had an 
 opportunity, they were to be exercised with the 
 great guns. The whole coasts were divided into 
 districts, and over each district a post-captain and 
 a certain number of masters and commanders were 
 appointed. Protections were granted to all the Sea 
 Fencibles, which were to continue in force so long 
 as they regularly attended muster and exercise ; 
 besides this privilege, at each muster one shilling 
 was given to each man." Dr. Campbell then gives 
 a list of the English districts, the number of men 
 raised on those coasts which were supposed most 
 liable to invasion, &c. ; and adds : — " The Sea Fen- 
 cibles were afterwards extended to other parts of 
 the kingdom." And some pages further on he 
 
ISO A MEMOIR OF 
 
 says that "orders were given early in the year 
 1 80 1 for the construction of a great number of 
 gunboats ; these were stationed at the entrance 
 of the principal ports and rivers in the kingdom, 
 and the Sea Fencibles were instructed in their 
 management." 
 
 Captain Wolseley held the appointment of cap- 
 tain of the Sea Fencibles in the River Shannon 
 district till the year 1804. He was on the 23rd of 
 April in that year advanced to the rank of Rear- 
 Admiral, and was then placed in command of the 
 Sea Fencibles all over Ireland. 
 
 On the 14th of August 1805, Admiral Wolseley's 
 youngest son, Cosby William Wolseley, was born 
 in Dublin, where the Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley 
 were at that time living.^ Shortly after the birth 
 of his youngest son the Admiral gave up his ap- 
 pointment of commander of the Sea Fencibles in 
 Ireland; and in the end of the year 1805, as 
 he says in the little memoir from which I have 
 hitherto quoted, he retired on his half-pay. It is 
 a pity that so few details of his life and services 
 in the navy have been given in the memoir, which 
 ends abruptly at this point. The few further details 
 concerning the subsequent years of Admiral Wol- 
 seley's life which I have been able to collect are 
 taken chiefly from old letters and papers that have 
 fortunately been preserved. 
 
 1 Mr. Cosby Wolseley died, unmarried, on the nth of March 
 1868. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELE Y 1 5 1 
 
 On retiring from active service, Admiral Wolseley 
 left Ireland and went to Bath, being probably in- 
 duced to settle there by his uncle. Admiral Cosby, 
 who had bought a house in that town and was 
 then living there himself. Of the events of the 
 next few years of Admiral Wolseley's life I find 
 few records. Early in January 1808 Admiral 
 Cosby died rather suddenly at his house in Bath, 
 as appears from a letter to Admiral Wolseley 
 written by Mr. Thomas Cosby, who had then 
 succeeded, on his cousin's death, to the family 
 estate of Stradbally Hall. 
 
 In the same year, 1808, on the 3rd of December, 
 Admiral Wolseley s youngest daughter, Sydney 
 Anne Wolseley, was born at Bath.^ In 18 10 
 Rear-Admiral Wolseley was promoted to the rank 
 of Vice-Admiral "of the White Squadron of His 
 Majesty's Fleet," as stated in the commission, which 
 is dated the 31st of July 18 10. 
 
 Two years later, apparently, from the following 
 note written to him by the Earl of St. Vincent, 
 Admiral Wolseley was trying to get some naval 
 appointment or command ; and although he does 
 not seem to have succeeded in this, I give a copy 
 of Lord St. Vincent's note, as, like the one from 
 him previously quoted, it shows the high esti- 
 mation in which Admiral Wolseley was held by 
 
 * Miss Sydney Wolseley married John Madden of Hilton Park, 
 County Monaghan, J.P. and D.L., Colonel of the Monaghan Militia. 
 Mrs. Madden survived her husband, and died in 1870. 
 
152 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the celebrated man under whom he had formerly 
 served : — 
 
 "Dear Sir, — Nothing will give me, more real 
 satisfaction, than to bear Testimony, to your meri- 
 torious Conduct, when under my command, should 
 such proof be called for. 
 
 ** Heartily wishing you success, in your present 
 pursuit, with every other blessing, to Mrs. Wolseley, 
 you, and Family, believe me to be very sincerely 
 yours, St. Vincent. 
 
 "ROCHETTS, nth Feby. 1812." 
 
 Next in date among the old papers still pre- 
 served appears an intimation issued from the 
 ** Admiralty Office, 4th December 18 13," that a 
 Commission had been signed by the *' Lords Com- 
 missioners of the Admiralty," appointing Vice- 
 Admiral Wolseley (then of the White Squadron) 
 to the same rank in the Red Squadron, in con- 
 sequence of **His Royal Highness the Prince 
 Regent having been pleased, in the name and on 
 the behalf of His Majesty, to order a Promotion of 
 Flag Officers of His Majesty's Fleet." 
 
 On the back of the paper Admiral Wolseley 
 wrote a copy of his reply, addressed to " John 
 Barrow, Esqre.," and dated ** Teignmouth, Devon, 
 Deer. 8th, 18 13." The Admiral ended his note to 
 that gentleman by saying : — *' I beg you will be 
 pleased to acquaint their Lordships, that I am fully 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 153 
 
 sensible of the honour thus done me ; and that I 
 am ready to serve whenever they may think proper 
 to employ me." From which it is evident that 
 the old Admiral would willingly have gone to sea 
 again if an appointment had been offered to him 
 at that time. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 During the period of Admiral Wolseley's residence 
 
 in Bath he made frequent excursions to the seaside 
 
 with Mrs. Wolseley and his children. Usually the 
 
 summer was spent at some place on the coast of 
 
 Devonshire, and at other times they went to the 
 
 Continent for a few months. In the memorable 
 
 year 1815 Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley and their 
 
 two daughters were staying in Paris, just at the 
 
 time when the Emperor Napoleon made his escape 
 
 from the island of Elba. 
 
 The Emperor having landed at Cannes on the 
 
 I St of March, the news of this event soon arrived 
 
 at Paris, and, of course, caused a great commotion 
 
 among the English who were there at that time, 
 
 but more particularly among English officers, both 
 
 of the army and navy, who had at once to make 
 
 hasty preparations for leaving Paris, for if they 
 
 had remained they would most probably have been 
 
 made prisoners of war, which would have been far 
 
 from pleasant ! Mr. John Ashton, author of a very 
 
 interesting book entitled " Social England under 
 
 the Regency," gives the following account of the 
 
 sufferings of the English prisoners of war detained 
 
 in France in the year 181 1. Writing of events 
 
 154 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 155 
 
 that occurred in England in the month of January 
 in that year, he says : — *' The French prisoners 
 here were not treated too well, but the English 
 prisoners in France were treated worse. Lloyd's 
 was then the centre of benevolence, as the Man- 
 sion House now is, and the leading merchants and 
 bankers issued an advertisement in the Times of 
 January 7th, saying that their means of helping 
 these prisoners were exhausted ; and they thus 
 appealed for fresh funds : — 
 
 " ' The Committee beg to state that there are 
 upwards of 10,000 British prisoners in the different 
 prisons in France, for the most part in great dis- 
 tress, and that the subscription is intended for the 
 alleviation of their sufferings in some degree, by 
 assisting them with articles of clothing, bedding, 
 fuel, and such other necessaries as they stand in 
 most need of " 
 
 Mr. Ashton adds : — " Needless to say that the 
 appeal was nobly responded to." And he con- 
 tinues: — ** Scant courtesy seems to have been paid 
 to the prisoners on either side, almost degenerating 
 into pettiness ; for this month an order was issued 
 from Whitehall that no Frenchwomen should be 
 allowed to land in this country who might have 
 left France to see their husbands. The reason 
 assigned for this very peculiar proceeding was, that 
 the French Government would not permit Lady 
 Lavie and family to join her husband. Sir Thomas, 
 who was a prisoner at Verdun." 
 
156 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 At the time Napoleon escaped from Elba, Sir 
 Thomas Lavie was living in Paris ; and as he 
 was frequently a guest at the Tuileries, and had 
 many friends among the French royalist noblesse^ 
 Admiral Wolseley, who was acquainted with him, 
 wrote to ask his opinion on the state of affairs, 
 and whether he thought they might safely remain 
 in Paris. In reply, Sir Thomas wrote the follow- 
 ing little note, which he doubtless never imagined 
 would be handed down to posterity : — 
 
 ** My dear Sir, — The accounts are greatly 
 exaggerated, and I see no occasion for alarm. 
 Nevertheless would recommend you to have your 
 passport in your pocket, and should the army of 
 Elbe advance to Lyons, you had better shove your 
 boat off. 
 
 ** It has been publicly given out that the Duke 
 of Orleans has beaten the enemy and obliged him 
 to retire in confusion. — With best regards to you 
 and yours, I am, with a mutton chop on my fork, 
 ever yours, T. L." 
 
 Notwithstanding the comforting intelligence pub- 
 licly announced, rumours still continued afloat in 
 the town that, instead of retiring, Napoleon was 
 steadily continuing to advance, and that the regi- 
 ments sent to oppose him had joined him instead. 
 When the truth of these rumours was positively 
 confirmed the excitement in Paris became still more 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 157 
 
 intense. Day after day in every street were to 
 be seen carriages laden with luggage and crowded 
 with people leaving the city. 
 
 At that time, when there were no railways, 
 families who had not their own private carriages 
 on the Continent usually travelled in small diligences 
 hired for the journey. And the day before Admiral 
 Wolseley and his family left Paris was one of no 
 little anxiety for them all. The whole of the 
 afternoon had been spent by the Admiral, who 
 had been warned that there was no time to lose, 
 in going from place to place where these carriages 
 were to be hired, trying to engage one for their 
 journey ; but everywhere he went the proprietors 
 had always the same answer to give — either all 
 their carriages were already en route with refugees, 
 or the few they had left were engaged. Feeling 
 very tired, and much disheartened by his want of 
 success, the Admiral was returning to his lodgings 
 very late in the evening to get some dinner, when 
 he fortunately met a friend, who said he had heard 
 of another man who had a few carriages to let. 
 This friend said he, too, was going home to dinner, 
 and that immediately after it he would go to the 
 place he had heard of for the Admiral, and would 
 let him know the result that night. 
 
 A little after ten o'clock, to Admiral and Mrs. 
 Wolseley's great relief, a message came from their 
 friend to let them know he had been successful, 
 and that the carriage would be at their door at a 
 
iS8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 quarter to six in the morning, as the driver said 
 they must not be later than that in starting. Miss 
 Wolseley, who was then nearly fourteen years old, 
 and her little sister, a child of eight, had been 
 allowed to wait up for the expected message ; they 
 then went to their room with the intention of going 
 to bed at once, but the scene in the street was 
 so exciting that for a long time they could not 
 make up their minds to leave the window. 
 
 The apartments occupied by Admiral Wolseley 
 and his family were in a corner house, and con- 
 sequently faced two streets ; and during that night 
 regiment after regiment, marching on their way 
 to join Napoleon, with drums beating or bands 
 playing — now a regiment of infantry, now one of 
 cavalry, and occasionally a corps of artillery, with 
 their heavy guns — passed the house in quick suc- 
 cession. The streets were crowded with people, 
 who seemed to be in a wild state of excitement, 
 some shouting, ^'Vive le RoiT and others, ''Vive 
 I' EmpereurT as the troops passed; and many fights 
 took place between the two parties, giving the 
 gendarmes a great deal of trouble, trying to keep 
 the peace between them. 
 
 At last, when there was a longer interval than 
 usual, and no more troops were apparently coming, 
 the two little girls went to bed, and being tired, 
 soon fell asleep. But they were very shortly 
 awakened, and much startled, by their maid, an 
 Englishwoman, who rushed into their room, saying 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 159 
 
 that they would " all be murdered if they remained 
 in that dreadful place," and begging them to get 
 up and dress at once, so as to be ready to ** escape" 
 the moment the carriage came. The immediate 
 cause of her fearful state of alarm was, that a more 
 desperate battle than any that had yet taken place 
 was then going on between the Imperialists and 
 Royalists, just under the windows. The fight was 
 raging furiously when Miss Wolseley and her sister 
 looked out. The scene in the street and the 
 shouts and cries were dreadful ; and when the 
 gendarmes at last succeeded in dispersing the com- 
 batants, the two girls were too much excited to 
 think of going back to bed, and they therefore 
 took the maid's advice, and dressed as quickly as 
 they could. 
 
 Although the disturbance was ended and the 
 streets were almost deserted by the time the 
 carriage came, the little family party were no 
 doubt very glad to leave Paris, and probably felt 
 much more at their ease when the towers of 
 Notre Dame had vanished in the distance! 
 
 At Bruges, where Admiral Wolseley and his 
 family arrived about eleven o'clock at night, people 
 seemed to be in almost as excited a state as those 
 they had left in Paris. Late as the hour was 
 when they arrived, in every street their carriage 
 passed through, crowds of people were to be seen 
 walking about or standing in groups before the 
 doors, just as if it had been the middle of the 
 
i6o A MEMOIR OF 
 
 day. The Admiral had taken the precaution of 
 writing to engage rooms at the best hotel ; and 
 as all the party were tired after their long journey, 
 they went to bed as soon as they could do so. 
 
 The house, however, was crowded with refugees 
 from Paris, and the noise was so great, caused 
 by the constant running up and down stairs and 
 talking in the passages, that Miss Wolseley, tired 
 as she was, could not get to sleep for some time. 
 At last the inmates appeared to be getting more 
 quiet, and she was just dozing off, when she was 
 roused by the sound of a horse clattering, apparently 
 at full gallop, over the pavement into the court- 
 yard, after which the noise and commotion in the 
 hotel became worse than ever. A few minutes 
 later the landlady knocked at all their doors, and 
 begged them to get up at once ; she said she had 
 reserved her best apartments for the Admiral and 
 his family, but that she must now ask them to 
 give them up, as a courier had just arrived to 
 engage rooms for King Louis XVIII. of France. 
 She said that the man had told her that the King 
 had a large party of gentlemen with him, and that 
 there were three or four carriages full of people, 
 who would be there in about twenty minutes. 
 
 Finding that there was not even a garret un- 
 occupied in the house. Admiral Wolseley went out 
 to try to get rooms at some of the other hotels ; 
 and Mrs. Wolseley and her daughters got up and 
 dressed as quickly as they could. Before they 
 
ADMIEAL WOLSELEY i6i 
 
 had quite finished, the King and his party arrived, 
 and the landlady again came up to beg that they 
 would leave the rooms as soon as possible, so as 
 to allow them to be prepared for his Majesty. 
 Accordingly, the moment they were dressed they 
 went down to the hall, which they found crowded 
 with people, among whom were a number of 
 Belgian and French officers. One of the latter 
 came forward very politely to Mrs. Wolseley and 
 expressed his regret at the inconvenience they had 
 been put to in having to give up their rooms. He 
 afterwards asked Miss Wolseley if she would like 
 to see the King, and offering his arm, he took her 
 down a passage to an open door at which a crowd 
 of people were standing looking in. They instantly 
 made way for her, and she had a good opportunity 
 of seeing his Majesty, who was engaged in eating 
 his supper, and was sitting at the other side of a 
 long table, exactly facing the door at which she 
 and the officer were standing. 
 
 During the exile of the French royal family in 
 England, some members of the house of Bourbon 
 had paid a visit to Bath, but although Miss Wol- 
 seley had seen the King's brother, afterwards 
 Charles X., and the Duchesse d'Angouleme, the 
 princess of whom Napoleon had said that she 
 was **the only 7nan of the family," it so hap- 
 pened that she had never before seen Louis XVIII. 
 himself. 
 
 There were a number of gentlemen sitting at 
 
 L 
 
i62 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the table with the King, and the officer who was 
 with Miss Wolseley, and who had probably come 
 from Paris with the party, appeared to know them 
 all, and told her who every one was. There were 
 probably other people of note present, but she 
 only afterwards remembered the names of Field- 
 Marshals Mac Donald and Berthier. Both were 
 generals who had distinguished themselves in Na- 
 poleon's campaigns, and had been raised to the 
 peerage by the Emperor. Berthier, who had been 
 created Prince of Neuchatel and Wagram, had in 
 1810 acted as Napoleons proxy at the marriage of 
 Marie Louise at Vienna. Miss Wolseley thought 
 Marshal MacDonald a very handsome man, and 
 she looked at him with much interest, being aware 
 that he was descended from a Scotch gentleman 
 who had fought for Prince Charles Edward, " the 
 young Chevalier." 
 
 Shortly after she had returned to the hall, where 
 she had left her mother and sister, the Admiral 
 came in. He said no rooms were to be had in 
 any of the hotels, as they were all crowded. It 
 was then nearly three o'clock a.m., and at that 
 hour it would, of course, have been useless to 
 attempt to look for lodgings ; so he said he had 
 engaged a carriage, which would be there directly, 
 to take them on to Ghent. 
 
 They remained in that ancient city for some 
 time. King Louis arrived there a few days after 
 them, and Admiral Wolseley, having heard that 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 163 
 
 most of the English officers then in the town 
 were calling to pay their respects to his Majesty, 
 went one day to the hotel where the King was 
 staying. He was shown upstairs to a sitting- 
 room, where he found a number of gentlemen, 
 one of whom, Marshal MacDonald, came forward 
 and took his card to the King, and returning in a 
 few minutes, he conducted Admiral Wolseley into 
 the presence of his Majesty, who, I believe, received 
 him very graciously. 
 
 Being utterly ignorant, however, of what passed 
 during Admiral Wolseley s interview with King 
 Louis XVI IL, I can give no account of their 
 conversation. And by way of compensating the 
 reader for the loss of what might have been a 
 narrative of absorbing interest, I beg leave to offer 
 the following extract from a little book entitled 
 " Narrative of a Residence in Belgium during the 
 Campaign of 18 15," by ** An Englishwoman." 
 
 This lady, who, it appears, arrived at Ghent from 
 Bruges on the evening of Tuesday the 13th of 
 June, spent the following day in sight-seeing, and 
 probably considered it advisable not to miss such 
 a good opportunity of seeing King Louis XVI IL 
 of France, of whom, however, she does not give 
 a very flattering description. She says : — 
 
 " The city of Ghent seemed to be restored to 
 some traces of its ancient grandeur by the tem- 
 porary residence of the Bourbon princes and the 
 little expatriated Court of Louis XVI 1 1. I had 
 
i64 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 never been able to feel any extravagant degree of 
 attachment to this unfortunate royal family; their 
 restoration had not given me any enthusiastic joy, 
 nor their fall much sorrow ; and even the honour 
 of paying my devoirs to Louis le D6sir6, and ex- 
 changing some profound and reverential bows and 
 courtesies with His Most Catholic Majesty, failed 
 to inspire me with much interest or admiration for 
 this persecuted princely race. These bows, by the 
 way, cost the good old King considerable time and 
 labour, for he is extremely unwieldy and corpulent 
 and gouty, and he looks very lethargic and snuffy ; 
 and it is really a thousand pities that an exiled and 
 dethroned monarch should be so remarkably un- 
 interesting a personage." 
 
 From Ghent Admiral Wolseley and his family 
 went to Ostend, where they spent a few weeks; 
 and when they wished to leave that port, shortly 
 before the battle of Waterloo, they found it no 
 easy matter to do so, all the regular passenger- 
 packets having been engaged by the Government 
 for the transport of troops. After a delay of some 
 days, and being anxious to return home, they 
 engaged berths in a trading-ship bound for Dover. 
 A number of other people, both English and 
 foreign, took the same opportunity of crossing, 
 and the vessel, which was by no means a large 
 one, was crowded with passengers — there being 
 fifty-four in all. Among the number there was 
 an officer of the distinguished regiment known 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 165 
 
 as the " Black Bruns wickers," who was going to 
 London with despatches. 
 
 Just before the vessel left the quay at Ostend, 
 one of the passenger-packets, with the 42nd High- 
 landers on board, came in at the other side of 
 the ship, and in order to land, the whole regi- 
 ment crossed the deck, upon which Admiral 
 Wolseley and his family were standing. A 
 number of the soldiers, in their hurry to land, 
 jumped on board the ship from the packet in 
 which they had arrived. This regiment suffered 
 dreadfully at Waterloo, and many of those brave 
 men who that day, full of life and vigour, landed 
 at Ostend lost their lives very shortly afterwards 
 in that terrible battle. 
 
 After the ship had sailed from Ostend it passed, 
 at a distance, no less than fourteen transports 
 crowded with British troops making their way 
 into that port. The wind was blowing freshly 
 then, and Admiral Wolseley and his family had 
 a very rough passage ; and when they were a 
 little more than half-way across, a terrible^ storm 
 came on in the course of the night. The ship 
 was an old one, and, with a heavy cargo on 
 board, it was very low in the water, and was 
 for some hours in great danger of being lost. 
 In the middle of the night the captain went 
 down and roused Admiral Wolseley, who was 
 fast asleep in the cabin, and asked him to come 
 to his assistance. The Admiral at once went 
 
1 66 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 
 
 on deck, and as he considered that it would 
 be dangerous under the circumstances to try to 
 make Dover, the port for which they were bound, 
 he proposed that they should bring the vessel 
 in at Lowestoft instead. The captain agreed to 
 this, and gave up the command of the ship to 
 Admiral Wolseley, who, of course, was perfectly 
 acquainted with the navigation of every part of 
 the Channel. The Admiral remained on deck 
 for the rest of the night, and brought the vessel 
 in quite safely at Lowestoft early next day. 
 Many of the passengers were extremely grateful 
 to him for his exertions during the night, and 
 before going on shore thanked him most warmly 
 for having, as they said, ''saved their lives." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Within the short space of one month after 
 Admiral Wolseley returned to England, events 
 of the greatest importance had followed each 
 other in quick succession. The battle of Waterloo 
 had been fought and won by our gallant army, 
 and in less than a month after that glorious i8th 
 of June, when *'les grandes lignes rouges" had 
 stood their ground so bravely, as Messieurs 
 Erckmann and Chatrian describe them, **immo- 
 biles dans la fumde comme des murs," the 
 extraordinary man whose insatiable ambition had 
 caused so much bloodshed and misery in Europe 
 was virtually a prisoner on board the British man- 
 of-war Belleropkon, 
 
 The author of " Social England under the Re- 
 gency," a book from which I have already given 
 an extract, says: — "On the 15th of July 18 15 
 Napoleon and suite went on board the Seller o- 
 phon^' where, as the writer remarks, **he was 
 treated with every consideration by Captain 
 Maitland. He was still looked upon as Emperor, 
 and dined off his own gold plate, the dinner 
 
 being ordered by his own maitre cChStel, and 
 
 167 
 
i6S A MEMOIR OF 
 
 when he visited the Superb he was received with 
 all the honour awarded to royalty, with the excep- 
 tion of a salute being fired." 
 
 Among Admiral Wolseley's papers are two 
 very interesting letters written by his eldest son, 
 Mr. John Wolseley, in which a description is 
 given of the Emperor's visit to the last-men- 
 tioned ship. The young writer apparently entered 
 the navy in 1814, or shortly before that year, 
 as Lord St. Vincent says in a note to Admiral 
 Wolseley, written from his country place, Rochetts, 
 and dated ** 13th May 1814": — *' I heartily hope 
 Mrs. Wolseley, you, and the young folk enjoy 
 good health, and that the young sailor is going 
 on well." 
 
 In the following year, 181 5, when the Emperor 
 Napoleon, as one of the midshipmen on board the 
 Bellerophon writes, **in an evil hour, formed the 
 resolution of placing himself under the protec- 
 tion of the British flag," Mr. John Wolseley was 
 serving as a midshipman on board Admiral Sir 
 Henry Hotham's flag-ship, the Superb, And before 
 giving copies of his two letters, I now proceed to 
 take some passages, which I think will add to 
 their interest, from the ** Reminiscences of Na- 
 poleon," written by the young officer of the 
 Bellerophon previously referred to,^ who says : — 
 "After two interviews with the Duke of Rovigo, 
 
 ^ These " Reminiscences of Napoleon " are given in an auto- 
 biography published in 1838 " by a Midshipman of the Belkrophon^' 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 169 
 
 Las Casas, and Captain Maitland, it was finally- 
 agreed that the Emperor should come on board 
 the Bellerophon on the morning of the 15th of 
 July." 
 
 *' The evening of the 14th was calm and de- 
 lightful," the writer continues, **as we lay at 
 single anchor in Basque roads awaiting the great 
 event of the morrow. ... I had the middle 
 watch, and just as I was relieved, about half- 
 past four in the morning of the 15th — and a 
 lovely morning it was — we saw a man-of-war 
 brig get under weigh from Aix roads and stand 
 out towards us, bearing a flag of truce. The wind, 
 however, was blowing direct in her teeth, so 
 that she made little of it, and it became evident 
 that it would be several hours before she reached 
 us. While the other midshipmen of the watch 
 slipped off to their hammocks to have a snooze 
 before breakfast, I could not think of sleep, but 
 stood anxiously watching the short tacks of 
 U ^pervier, which now * carried Caesar and his 
 fortunes.' 
 
 ** About six in the morning the look-out man 
 at the mast-head announced a large ship of 
 war standing direct in for the roadstead, which 
 Captain Maitland suspecting to be the Superb, 
 bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, 
 he gave immediate orders to hoist out the barge, 
 and despatched her, under the command of the 
 first lieutenant, to the French brig, being appre- 
 
170 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 hensive that, if the admiral arrived before the 
 brig got out, Napoleon would deliver himself up 
 to the admiral instead of to us, and thus have 
 lost us so much honour. 
 
 *'As our barge approached the brig hove to, 
 and from the moment she came alongside we 
 watched every motion with deep anxiety. Like 
 all Napoleon's movements, he was not slow even 
 in this, his last free act. The barge had not 
 remained ten minutes alongside before we saw 
 the rigging of the brig crowded with men, persons 
 stepping down the side into the boat, and the 
 next moment she shoved off and gave way for 
 the ship, while the waving of the men's hats in 
 the rigging and the cheering which we heard 
 faintly in the distance left no doubt that the 
 expected guest was approaching. A general's 
 guard of marines was ordered aft on the quarter- 
 deck, and the boatswain stood, whistle in hand, 
 ready to do the honours of the side. The lieu- 
 tenants stood grouped first on the quarter-deck, 
 and we more humble middies behind them, while 
 the captain, evidently in much anxiety, kept 
 trudging backwards and forwards between the 
 gangway and his own cabin, sometimes peeping 
 out at one of the quarter-deck ports to see if the 
 barge was drawing near. 
 
 '* It is a sin," the writer continues, ** to mix up 
 any trifling story with so great an event ; but a 
 circumstance occurred so laughable of itself, ren- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 171 
 
 dered more so from the solemnity of the occasion, 
 that I cannot resist mentioning it. While in this 
 state of eager expectation, a young midshipman, 
 one of the Bruces of Kennet, I think, walked very 
 demurely up to Manning, the boatswain, who was 
 standing all importance at the gangway, and after 
 comically eyeing his squat figure and bronzed 
 countenance, Bruce gently laid hold of one of his 
 whiskers, to which the boatswain good naturedly 
 submitted, as the youngster was a great favourite 
 with him. 
 
 *** Manning,' says he, most sentimentally, *this 
 is the proudest day of your life ; you are this day 
 to do the honours of the side to the greatest man 
 the world ever produced, or ever will produce/ 
 
 ** Here the boatswain eyed him with proud 
 delight. 
 
 " * And along with the great Napoleon, the name 
 of Manning, the boatswain of the Bellerophon, will 
 go down to the latest posterity ; and, as a relic of 
 that great man, permit me, my dear Manning, to 
 preserve a lock of your hair.' 
 
 " Here he made an infernal tug at the boat- 
 swain's immense whisker, and fairly carried away 
 a part of it, making his way through the crowd 
 and down below with the speed of an arrow. The 
 infuriated boatswain, finding he had passed so 
 rapidly from the sublime to the ridiculous, through 
 the instrumentality of this imp of a youngster, could 
 vent his rage in no other way but by making his 
 
172 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 glazed hat spin full force after his tantaliser with " 
 [an oath which I take the liberty of omitting]. 
 ** The hat, however, fell far short of young Bruce, 
 and the noise and half burst of laughter the trick 
 occasioned drew the attention of the captain, who, 
 coming up, with a ' What, what's all this ? the poor 
 boatswain was glad to draw to his hat and resume 
 his position. 
 
 " The barge approached, and ranged alongside. 
 The first lieutenant came up the side, and to Mait- 
 land's eager and blunt question, ' Have you got 
 him.'^' he answered in the affirmative. After the 
 lieutenant came Savary, followed by Marshal Ber- 
 trand, who bowed and fell back a pace on the 
 gangway to await the ascent of their master. And 
 now came the little, great man himself, wrapped 
 up in his grey greatcoat buttoned to the chin, 
 three-cocked hat and Hussar boots, without any 
 sword, I suppose as emblematical of his changed 
 condition. Maitland received him with every mark 
 of respect, as far as look and deportment could 
 indicate, but he was not received with the respect 
 due to a crowned head. So far from that, the 
 captain, on Napoleon's addressing him, only re- 
 moved his hat, as to a general officer, and remained 
 covered while the Emperor spoke to him. His 
 expressions were brief, I believe only reiterating 
 what he had stated the day previous in his letter 
 to the Prince Regent, *that he placed himself 
 under the protection of the British nation, and 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 173 
 
 under that of the British commander as the repre- 
 sentative of his sovereign.* The captain again 
 moved his hat, and turned to conduct the Emperor 
 to the cabin. As he passed thfough the officers 
 assembled on the quarter-deck he repeatedly bowed 
 slightly to us and smiled. 
 
 "We were engaged during the forenoon of the 
 15th bringing on board the suite and luggage of 
 the Emperor from L' ^pervier brig. About ten 
 o'clock Napoleon appeared on deck, ... in the 
 dress now known to all the world ; but he had 
 exchanged his long boots for silk stockings, shoes, 
 and gold buckles. . . . The sun shone as bright on 
 the fallen Emperor as it did on the glorious morn- 
 ing of Austerlitz. The fine figure of Madame Ber- 
 trand,^ with her charming children, adorned our 
 quarter-deck. A great many officers in rich uni- 
 forms came off with Napoleon, who did not even- 
 tually follow him to St. Helena.^ These were all 
 grouped about this fine morning, making the deck 
 of the old ship (which was scrubbed and washed 
 to the bones) look as gay as a drawing-room on 
 a levie day. Maitland, quite in his element, kept 
 jogging about with his slight stoop and Scotch burr, 
 
 ^ The young midshipman invariably calls Madame Bertrand " Lady 
 Bertrand'^ in writing about her, and I have taken the liberty of 
 altering this. 
 
 2 In an article in the Times of July 25, 18 15, quoted by Mr. 
 Ashton, it is stated that " Buonaparte's suite, as it is called, consists 
 of upwards of forty persons, among whom are Bertrand, Savary, 
 L'Allemand," &c., &c. ; and the midshipman mentions also Las 
 Casas, Montholon, and Mesdames Bertrand and Montholon. 
 
174 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 sometimes acting the gallant to Madame Bertrand, 
 and then, all attention, listening to and answering 
 the many questions put to him by the Emperor. 
 He expressed a wish to go through the ship ; the 
 captain took the lead, the Emperor followed, and 
 his little cortege of marshals in full uniform brought 
 up the rear. ... He made the round of both decks, 
 complimented Maitland on the excellent order of 
 the ship — which was no flattery, for she was in 
 capital fighting condition — asked questions of any 
 of the men who came in his way, and a young 
 middy who, boy-like, had got before the Emperor, 
 and was gazing up in his face, he honoured with 
 a tap on the head and a pinch by the ear, and, 
 smiling, put him to a side, which the youngster 
 declared was the highest honour he had ever re- 
 ceived in his life, viz., to have his ears pinched 
 by the great Napoleon ! ! ! 
 
 *' Returning to the quarter-deck, he expressed a 
 wish to speak to the boatswain, to put some ques- 
 tions to him relative to his duty, there being a 
 considerable difference in the responsibility of that 
 officer in the French service, I understand, from 
 that on board our ships. The boatswain was sent 
 for, and upon Maitland telling him the Emperor 
 wished to speak with him, the boatswain shuffled 
 up to Napoleon, and pulling off his narrow-brimmed 
 glazed scraper, made a duck with his head, accom- 
 panied by a scrape of the right foot. *I hope,' says 
 he, *I see your honour well.* Napoleon, who did 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 175 
 
 not understand as much English, asked Captain 
 Maitland what he said, which I have no doubt 
 the captain translated faithfully, for he was blunt 
 enough in his own way. The Emperor smiled, and 
 proceeded to put his questions to the boatswain 
 through the medium of the captain ; and as Napoleon 
 seemed quite well pleased when he dismissed him, 
 I have no doubt the rough old fellow had answered 
 much to the purpose, for although he did not un- 
 derstand court manners, he perfectly understood his 
 duty. 
 
 *' About twelve the Superb entered the roadstead, 
 and the moment she came to an anchor Admiral 
 Hotham came on board, and was introduced to 
 the Emperor on the quarter-deck. Sir Henry 
 immediately uncovered, and remained so while he 
 was on board. This was the signal for that 
 which, I believe, every one of us desired. The 
 captain followed the example of the admiral, 
 and in future every one uncovered while the 
 Emperor was on deck, thus treating him with 
 the respect due to a crowned head." 
 
 The writer says Napoleon "was evidently 
 pleased with the deportment of Hotham and 
 Maitland, looked quite at ease, and as com- 
 pletely at home as if he had been going a 
 pleasure-trip on board of one of his own im- 
 perial yachts." He then adds : — '* The first day 
 passed away most delightfully ; the captain slung 
 his cot in the wardroom and relinquished his 
 
176 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 cabin to the Emperor, henceforth becoming only 
 his guest." Upon which proceeding he makes the 
 following somewhat amusing comment : — ** This 
 was noble and generous, and nothing further 
 need be mentioned of Maitland to show that he 
 had an excellent heart." 
 
 Although the Bellerophon was a ship of seventy- 
 four guns, it was very probably rather difficult 
 to find accommodation for so many people in 
 addition to the crew, but doubtless the honour of 
 taking the Emperor to England fully compen- 
 sated for any inconvenience they suffered. And 
 the next morning, the i6th of July, when Na- 
 poleon was going to pay his visit on board the 
 Superb, the midshipman says "so much alarmed 
 was the ship's company lest he might not be 
 allowed to return to the Bellerophon that they 
 came aft in a body to Captain Maitland to state 
 their intention of resisting by force any attempt 
 of Admiral Hotham to obtain the person of 
 Napoleon, and were only satisfied when Mait- 
 land assured them that no such thing was in- 
 tended." 
 
 The following account of what afterwards took 
 place on the morning of the i6th is given by the 
 same writer: — "The Emperor," he says, ** accom- 
 panied by Captain Maitland, went on board the 
 Superb to breakfast with Sir Henry Hotham, 
 according to the invitation of the previous day. 
 Before the Emperor left the ship the whole body 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 177 
 
 of our marines were drawn up on the quarter- 
 deck to receive him with all due honour as he 
 came out of the cabin. As he passed the 
 marines and returned their military salute of 
 arms, ever fond of warlike display, he suddenly 
 stopped, his eye brightened, and crossing the 
 deck, he minutely examined the arms and 
 accoutrements of the marines — and a fine body of 
 men they were — requested the captain of marines 
 (Marshall) to put the men through one or two 
 movements, and when they had performed these, 
 he pointed to him to bring them to the charge. 
 In our army the front rank only charges, but, 
 I believe, in the French the second rank keeps 
 poking over the shoulders of the first — as likely 
 to kill their own men as the enemy. Napoleon 
 put aside the bayonet of one of our front-rank 
 men, and taking hold of the musket of the 
 second-rank man, made a sign to him to point his 
 musket between the two front-rank men, asking 
 Captain Marshall at the same time if he did not 
 think that mode of charge preferable to ours. 
 To which the captain replied that it might be so, 
 but it was generally allowed that our mode of 
 charge had been very effectual. Here the Emperor 
 took a most conscious look at the captain of 
 marines, as much as to say, * I know that, to 
 my cost,' and, smiling, turned to Bertrand, to whom 
 he observed, * How much might be done with two 
 hundred thousand such fine fellows as these ! ' " 
 
 M 
 
178 A MEMOIE OF 
 
 In these extracts I have given the whole of 
 the midshipman's description of the Emperor 
 Napoleon's reception on board the Bellerophon^ 
 and the account of the principal incidents of 
 his first day in that vessel. And having brought 
 this little history to the morning of the i6th, 
 when he went to breakfast with Admiral Sir 
 Henry Hotham in the Superb y I may now give 
 a copy of the first of Mr. John Wolseley's 
 letters, in which will be found a description of 
 the visit 
 
 Before I copy the letter I should, however, 
 mention that Captain Grace, R.N.,^ the gentle- 
 man to whom it was written, was an old friend 
 of Admiral Wolseley, to whom he very kindly 
 sent that and another letter he had received from 
 Mr. John Wolseley, in which many little details 
 are given which are not noted by the midship- 
 man of the Bellerophon^ and these two interesting 
 letters therefore supply some missing links in his 
 narrative. 
 
 However, to return to the visit of "the little, 
 great man" on board of the Superb. The mid- 
 shipman of the Bellerophon says : — " The moment 
 our barge left the ship, the SuperUs yards were 
 manned with the pick of her ship's company, 
 dressed in their blue jackets and white duck 
 
 1 Captain Grace was in the year 1815 acting as private secretary 
 to the Marquis of Buckingham, afterwards first Duke of Buckingham, 
 who, / thinks was at that time First Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 179 
 
 trousers, and her complement of marines drawn 
 up on the quarter-deck to receive the wonderful 
 stranger." Of his visit the midshipman merely 
 remarks that "his reception by the admiral was 
 everything that he could wish, and he remained 
 nearly two hours on board the Superb'' And 
 Mr. John Wolseley writes the following account : — 
 
 "'H.M.S. Superb,' 
 Basque Roads, /«/j/ 20, 1815. 
 
 **My dear Captain Grace, — We have been 
 going on very quietly here, supplying the Royal- 
 ists with arms, without anything taking place to 
 interrupt the regular routine till Saturday last 
 when we came in here and found Buonaparte 
 on board the Bellerophon, As it will probably 
 interest you I shall tell all that happened on the 
 occasion. He had just left the French brig 
 that brought him from Isle D'Aix with his suite, 
 consisting of Savary, Duke of Rovigo, Counts 
 Bertrand, Las Casas, Montholon, etc. etc. 
 Mesdames Bertrand and Montholon had also 
 come with him. He immediately took possession 
 of Captain Maitland's cabin, got all his own 
 plate &c. into it, and sent to ask Captn. M. 
 to Breakfast with him. On Sunday he came 
 on board of us to a dejeuni at 10 o'clock; we 
 manned yards for him and received him with 
 every demonstration of respect and honour. He 
 then went round the ship and looked at every- 
 
i8o A MEMOIR OF 
 
 thing. Nothing appeared to escape him. We 
 were all presented to him by his own request. 
 He is very short and very fat, and was conse- 
 quently much tired with walking up and down 
 the ladders. There was nothing in the appear- 
 ance of this extraordinary man that I thought 
 particularly striking ; he was very like the prints 
 I had seen of him. His likeness is preserved 
 throughout in a Burlesque called Dr. Syntax's 
 life of Buonaparte which you may perhaps have 
 seen. The print of the Battle of Leipsic page 
 233 shows him flying on horseback as correctly 
 in shape and feature (allowing a little for the 
 exaggeration of caricatures) as it is possible to 
 be. He appeared extremely affable and asked 
 a great many questions ; once he enquired of 
 the Admiral if we were not rather disappointed 
 in the American war. It struck me he was in 
 full possession of that talent so much esteemed 
 by soldiers, called the military coup cCceil (I 
 believe), for a rapid glance at the objects 
 around him appeared to satisfy him fully as to 
 their condition and position. He was plain in 
 his dress, and did not seem depressed in spirits 
 by his misfortunes. It will no doubt be matter 
 of great exultation in England, when they find 
 the conqueror of the continent in their possession. 
 I am anxious to know what they mean to do 
 with him. His Captivity by the bye will put an 
 end to all your hopes of employment, as it has 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY i8i 
 
 to my hopes of promotion. I think I shall just 
 serve my time out to be ready for another war, 
 and leave the service. I sincerely hope however 
 that this peace may prove a lasting one (when 
 it comes). But my letter will be late if I do not 
 conclude so believe me to remain yours truly, 
 
 " J. H. WOLSELEY." 
 
 The midshipman of the Belleropkon, to whose 
 '* Reminiscences " I now return, says : — *' While our 
 barge was lying alongside the Superb, waiting for 
 the Emperor and Captain Maitland, a conversation 
 took place between some of the Superb' s men and 
 our boat's crew, in which the former insisted that 
 they, and not us, were to have the honour of carry- 
 ing Napoleon to England, while our men stood 
 stoutly out for their prerogative, as being the first 
 who received him on board. * No, no,* says one 
 of the Superb' s, * depend upon it the admiral will 
 take Boney home himself, and will not allow you 
 to have anything more to do with him.' * Will he ? ' 
 answers one of the Bellerophons, with an oath. 
 * Before we suffer that, my boy, we shall give you 
 ten rounds and secure first.' Ten rounds and 
 secure," the midshipman explains, **had become a 
 by-word in the ship, as for some weeks previous 
 to Napoleon's coming on board we had been kept 
 close at quarters exercising the guns, and to go 
 through the motions of ' ten rounds and secure ' 
 had been the common spell at quarters, so that 
 
i82 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 our man thought we would try the effect of our 
 ten rounds upon the Superb, sooner than quit 
 Boney." 
 
 However, all anxiety of the crew of the Bel- 
 lerophon upon that point was speedily at an end. 
 And the midshipman says : — " The Emperor re- 
 turned from the Stiperb about 2 p.m., when we 
 immediately weighed, and made all sail for Eng- 
 land." And he continues: — "I remarked little 
 more of him that day, but on the morning of the 
 17th he was early on the quarter-deck, putting 
 questions in broken English, almost unintelligible, 
 to all who crossed his path." 
 
 The midshipman says little about the voyage 
 to England, and apparently was only personally 
 addressed on two occasions by the Emperor ; and 
 as he does not seem to have thought of collecting 
 any anecdotes about him from others, as Mr. John 
 Wolseley did, he has consequently little that is 
 interesting to relate. 
 
 Of the first time Napoleon spoke to him he 
 remarks : — " The Emperor seemed to entertain an 
 idea that the Americans were bigger men than us, 
 for whenever he saw any very stout man he asked 
 him if he was an American." And he adds : — " I 
 happened to be blessed with a tolerable length of 
 limb, and as I was pacing the lee side of the 
 quarter-deck, along with a big raw-boned Irishman, 
 a brother-in-law of Captain Maitland s, Napoleon 
 stepped over to us, putting his usual question, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 183 
 
 * How long have you been in the service ? Of 
 what country?' And without allowing any time 
 for reply, he turned round and asked Maitland *if 
 we were not Americans ? ' " 
 
 The next time the Emperor addressed him was, 
 as he says, the *' morning we made Ushant." And 
 he continues : — " I had come on deck at four in 
 the morning to take the morning watch, and the 
 washing of the decks had just begun, when, to my 
 astonishment, I saw the Emperor come out of the 
 cabin at that early hour and make for the poop- 
 ladder. From the wetness of the decks, he was 
 in danger of falling at every step, and I im- 
 mediately stepped up to him, hat in hand, and 
 tendered him my arm, which he laid hold of at 
 once, smiling, and pointing to the poop, saying 
 in broken English, * The poop, the poop ' ; he 
 ascended the poop-ladder leaning on my arm, and 
 having gained the deck, he quitted his hold and 
 mounted upon a gun- slide, nodding and smiling 
 thanks for my attention, and pointing to the land, 
 he said, * Ushant, Cape Ushant ? ' I replied, * Yes, 
 sire,' and withdrew. He then took out a pocket- 
 glass, and applied it to his eye, looking eagerly 
 at the land. In this position he remained from 
 five in the morning to nearly midday, without 
 paying any attention to what was passing around 
 him, or speaking to one of his suite, who had 
 been standing behind him for several hours. No 
 wonder he thus gazed ; it was the last look at 
 
i84 A MEMOIE OF 
 
 the land of his glory, and I am convinced he felt 
 it such." 
 
 The same writer says: — "Amongst other plans 
 for killing the time, and lightening the tedium of a 
 sea-passage to the refugees, we bethought us of 
 getting up a play. This was managed by one of 
 the lieutenants of marines, a fellow of great taste, 
 and some one or two of the midshipmen who pre- 
 tended to skill in the Shakespearian art. What the 
 piece was I do not recollect, but when it was an- 
 nounced to the Emperor by Captain Maitland, 
 and the immortal honour of his imperial presence 
 begged for a few minutes, he laughed very heartily, 
 consented instantly, and turning to Madame Ber- 
 trand, told her that she must stand his interpreter. 
 The stage was fitted up between decks, more, I am 
 afraid, in ship-shape than theatrical style ; and, sure 
 enough. Napoleon and his whole suite attended. 
 He was much amused with those who took the 
 female parts ; . . . and after good-naturedly sitting 
 for nearly twenty minutes, he rose, smiled to the 
 actors, and retired. 
 
 **We had fine weather," the writer continues, 
 "during the few days we were at sea before we 
 made the English coast, and, seemingly regardless 
 of the future, the daily turn-out on the quarter-deck 
 was quite gay and reviving. We were always sure 
 of a sight of the Emperor and the chief part of his 
 suite immediately after dinner, when he generally 
 remained on deck for about half-an-hour. Madame 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 185 
 
 Bertrand, Captain Maitland, Bertrand, Savary, 
 L'Allemande, Las Casas, and his aide-de-camp, 
 Montholon, formed the principal figures of the 
 group ranged round the Emperor, while we young 
 gentlemen took up our station on the poop, to feast 
 our eyes with a sight of the great man. ... He 
 generally kept his gold snuff-box in his hand while 
 in conversation." And the writer adds : — ''Notwith- 
 standing that we have him invariably drawn and " 
 — as he rather oddly expresses it — ** busted with his 
 arms folded across his breast, I never saw him in 
 that attitude but once during the whole three weeks 
 we had him on board." 
 
 Of the conversations in which the great man 
 took part during these walks upon the deck, the 
 writer from whom I have been quoting could evi- 
 dently give no account. And Mr. John Wolseley 
 in his second letter gives many interesting particu- 
 lars, which he heard afterwards from the second 
 lieutenant of his own ship, who had been sent 
 home with despatches in the Bellerophoti by Sir 
 Henry Hotham. Mr. Wolseley s letter has unfor- 
 tunately been slightly torn, and, as the reader will 
 remark, I have tried to replace some missing 
 words : — 
 
 "5^//. 12, 18 1 5. 
 Norfolk Crescent, Bath. 
 
 ** My dear Captain Grace, — I have no farther 
 excuse to offer for delaying to answer your kind 
 letter, but the hurry and confusion of being paid 
 
1 86 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 off, and the anxiety I suffered whilst endeavouring 
 to obtain leave of absence, which as you will per- 
 ceive from the date of this, I have been so fortu- 
 nate as to procure. I remain at home for a month 
 at least, in which time I am in hopes that parental 
 care will again re-establish my health and render 
 me strong enough to get through the winter. I 
 had an attack of my breath complaint on the 
 coast of France, which has weakened me a good 
 deal, though it has now, thank God, entirely left 
 me. We were paid off on the 6th inst., and I am 
 re-entered again on Superb' s Books by the friendly 
 care of Sir H. Hotham who recommended me to 
 Captain Ekins. I am afraid your kindness has 
 made you over-rate my attempt at a description 
 of Buonaparte ; and I am afraid Lady Buckingham 
 will not find so much amusement in my account 
 as you seem to hope. However, believe me, it 
 gives me great pleasure to think that I have afforded 
 any gratification to yourself or friend. I have, 
 according to your wishes, endeavoured to collect 
 what anecdotes I could of this extraordinary man ; 
 but you most likely will not find much that you 
 do not already know. I am not aware of Sir 
 H. H. s. opinion about his going to St. Helena, 
 but I know he is very much vexed at the animad- 
 versions made upon his conduct. I rejoice that he 
 has a friend in the Highlands of [Scotland^] who 
 
 1 On the outside of the letter there is the following memorandum, 
 most probably written by Captain Grace : — "Reed. Sept. 28th, 181 5, 
 Keith Hall, Aberdeenshire." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 187 
 
 can so ably defend his [conduct?] if necessary. 
 I believe I told you Nap always makes use of 
 an opera glass, and has such insinuating manners, 
 and such an air that while looking at him you 
 cannot help feeling something of admiration and 
 respect which makes you forget his former crimes. 
 I can call it nothing but a species of fascination, 
 if I may be allowed the expression for a man. He 
 could not talk English, but soon found out such 
 of the foremast men in the Bellerophon that could 
 talk French, and talked to them about the actions 
 they had been in, and their country, &c., with so 
 much affability that they were completely charmed. 
 I think it appears to be his forte to act with the 
 greatest courtesy without ever overstepping the 
 dignity of an Emperor, so that everything he does 
 seems the condescension of a great man. He fre- 
 quently converses with Madame Bertrand (who is 
 a charming woman, as to her manners, I mean, 
 and through whom he circulates what he wishes 
 to be known) upon the subject of the Battle of 
 Waterloo, and says it was the hardest contested 
 one he ever fought. He pays high compliments 
 to our infantry, and to the Scotch Greys, though 
 he thinks his cavalry upon the whole superior to 
 ours. He acknowledges that if Lord Paget had 
 not been wounded, he would in two minutes have 
 had his hand upon him. He says had he had 
 English infantry he would have gained the day. 
 He wishes to make out that he had only 55,000 
 
1 88 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 men actually engaged, of which number he lost 
 25,000. If Grouch6 had occupied the ground he 
 ordered we were to have lost the Battle. He made 
 many observations to Captn. Maitland of the differ- 
 ence between the French and English ships, and 
 observed that he could not get such men ; he said 
 something to the same effect about the army, and 
 allows that Englishmen stand beating better than 
 Frenchmen. He allows that Lord Wellington is 
 equally as good a general as himself, and has more 
 prudence. This is interesting, because you may 
 recollect that story of some one telling him (at 
 Elba, I believe) that * Lord W. was the best in 
 the world ' ; — to which he replied, * We have never 
 met.* On the 19th July he related the cause 
 of his quarrel with Sir S. Smith. Sir S. Smith 
 issued a proclamation (he says) inviting his soldiers 
 to desert ; — he in return declared him mad^ and 
 interdicted all communication with him. Sir S. then 
 sent him a challenge, which he said he would accept* 
 when the Duke of Marlborough or some such great 
 men came out ; (meaning that Sir S. was not of 
 sufficient consequence). He compares himself to 
 Themistocles ; — he says, if Mr. Fox had lived, [he, 
 himself?] should not now have been where he is, 
 and that he should have had the order of the garter. 
 Speaking of the sea, he says, * it is a horrible ele- 
 ment, but there is no keeping you English off it ; 
 if it had not been for you, I should have been 
 Emperor of the earth.* He speaks highly of the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 189 
 
 Superb and the treatment he received in her ; he 
 asked who the purser was, and upon being told 
 he was *un commissaire/ he asked if he was not 
 a great rogue. He thought the Cusacoay which he 
 had seen off Elba, too fine to be a fighting ship — 
 but, added Madame Bertrand, 'you English have 
 so many ships for fighting, I suppose you can spare 
 something for show.' I believe you may rely on 
 the correctness of this statement, as I had it from 
 Mr. Fletcher our 2nd Lieut, who went in the 
 Bellerophon with the despatches. We are all very 
 well here, and my father and mother join with 
 me in best wishes and remembrances to you. I 
 hope you will be able to read this long scrawl, 
 the subject has betrayed me into prolixity. — Yours 
 truly, J. H. WoLSELEY.' 
 
 The great interest that is still, apparently, felt in 
 everything connected with the celebrated man, of 
 whom so good a description has been given by the 
 two young midshipmen, tempts me to take the 
 following extract from Mr. Ashton's ** Social Eng- 
 land under the Regency," in which will be found an 
 amusing account of the excitement there was in 
 England about him when the Bellerophon arrived. 
 
 **On the 1 6th of July," writes Mr. Ashton, "they 
 set sail for England, and at daybreak on the 24th 
 they were close to Dartmouth. Napoleon rose at 
 six, and went on the poop, surveying the coast, 
 which he much admired, exclaiming, 'What a 
 
190 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 beautiful country ! It very much resembles Porto 
 Ferrajo at Elba.' " On the same day they anchored 
 at Torbay, "and no sooner was it known," writes 
 Mr. Ashton, ** that Napoleon was on board the 
 Bellerophon than the bay was covered with vessels 
 and boats full of people. 
 
 " On July 26th orders came for the Bellerophon 
 to go to Plymouth, which being reached, two 
 frigates, the Liffey and Eurotas^ were anchored, one 
 at either side of her, and kept strict guard over her. 
 Visitors from London and all parts of England 
 came to get a glimpse of him, and the sea was 
 literally alive with boats of every description." Mr. 
 Ashton then gives some extracts from a contem- 
 porary pamphlet : — " Napoleon generally walked 
 the quarter-deck about eleven in the forenoon, and 
 about five in the afternoon. He ate but two meals 
 in the day, both alike ; meat of every description, 
 different wines, coffee, fruit, &c. Immediately after 
 each meal, he rose first, and the others followed ; 
 he then went on the quarter-deck, or in the after- 
 cabin to study. 
 
 *' Upwards of one thousand boats were from 
 morning to night round the Bellerophon, The 
 seamen of the Bellerophon adopted a curious mode 
 to give an account to the spectators in the boats of 
 the movements of Napoleon. They wrote in chalk 
 on a board, which they exhibited, a short account 
 of his different occupations : ' At breakfast ' ; * In 
 the cabin with Captain Maitland ' ; * Writing with 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 191 
 
 his officers ' ; * Going to dinner ' ; * Coming upon 
 deck' ; &c." 
 
 Mr. Ashton continues : — ** Las Casas says : * It 
 was known that he always appeared on deck towards 
 five o'clock. A short time before this hour all the 
 boats collected alongside of each other ; there were 
 thousands, and so closely were they connected that 
 the water could no longer be seen between them.' " 
 
 The midshipman of the Bellerophon, too, says : — 
 *' The sound was literally covered with boats ; the 
 weather was delightful ; the ladies looked as gay as 
 butterflies ; bands of music in several of the boats 
 played favourite French airs, to attract, if possible, 
 the Emperor^s attention, that they might get a sight 
 of him " ; and he remarks that Napoleon ''showed 
 no disinclination to gratify the eager spectators by 
 frequently appearing at the gangway, examining the 
 crowd with his pocket-glass," and often bowing and 
 smiling ** with evident satisfaction." 
 
 " During the few days we lay at Plymouth Sound," 
 the writer continues, " some very disagreeable cir- 
 cumstances, and even some accidents, occurred, in 
 consequence of a parcel of heavy boats from the 
 dockyard having been sent off to row guard round 
 the ship, to keep off the spectators. This duty was 
 performed with great rudeness, and when the rush 
 of boats took place, when Napoleon appeared at the 
 gangway, coming in violent contact with those heavy 
 dockyard boats, which kept rowing at full speed 
 round the ship, the screams of the ladies and the 
 
192 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 oaths of the men seemed to give Napoleon great 
 annoyance. 
 
 *' The signal for the Emperor's being on deck was 
 the officers uncovering. No sooner was this cere- 
 mony noticed than the rush from without took place, 
 and the screaming and swearing commenced, which 
 was very considerably heightened upon one occasion 
 by a plan of some of our wise-headed young gentle- 
 men. Being in want of amusement, they bethought 
 them of priming the fire-engine, which happened to 
 be standing on the poop, and after clapping a relay 
 of hands ready to ply it to advantage, we uncovered 
 and waited the approach of the boats. No sooner 
 were they within reach than off went the water- 
 spout, which fell 'alike on the just and the unjust,* 
 for both the dockyard men and the spectators who 
 came within its compass got a good ducking. This 
 prank created an infernal confusion, and our trick 
 having been twigged by the first lieutenant, the 
 chief actors in this notable exploit were ordered 
 up to the mast-head to enjoy their frolic for a few 
 hours, which evidently much gratified the unfortu- 
 nate sufferers from the effects of the operation." 
 
 According to an article in the Times of July 25, 
 181 5, quoted by Mr. Ashton, ** Napoleon at first 
 wanted to make conditions with Captain Maitland 
 as to his future treatment, but the British officer 
 very properly declared that he must refer him upon 
 this subject to his Government." The midshipman 
 says : — " As the time drew near when the resolu- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 193 
 
 tion of the Government might be expected, the 
 greatest anxiety began to manifest itself among 
 the refugees." At length the fatal news arrived ; 
 the determination of the Government was officially 
 communicated to Napoleon, and all was gloom 
 and misery; and the writer adds: — "From that 
 hour to the day of his leaving the ship, Napoleon 
 never again appeared on deck." 
 
 ** Maitland seemed to feel his situation a very 
 disagreeable one. He saw," remarks the writer, 
 ** that his own conduct was not approved of by the 
 narrow-minded Government.^ He received strict 
 orders only to treat Napoleon with the respect due 
 to a general officer, and in future he was simply to 
 be styled General Buonaparte. 
 
 " Maitland," he continues, " knowing how he 
 stood with *the powers that be,' was determined 
 not to commit himself by accepting of any present 
 of value from Napoleon, as he knew it would be 
 directly made a handle of to injure his character 
 as a British officer. He therefore, I believe, re- 
 fused to accept of a gold snuff-box tendered him by 
 the Emperor as a mark of his esteem." 
 
 Orders came on the 4th of August for the Bel- 
 lerophon ** to weigh and join the Northumberland^ 
 which was the ship in which Napoleon was to take 
 
 ^Apparently, from a passage in Mr. J. Wolseley's second letter, 
 some unpleasant comments were also made upon Sir Henry Hotham's 
 conduct ; and, from the midshipman's account, Captain Maitland 
 only followed Sir Henry's example in treating Napoleon as an 
 Emperor. 
 
 N 
 
194 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 his passage to St. Helena." The midshipman of 
 the Bellerophon says : — " We left Plymouth Sound 
 in company with the Tonnant, bearing the flag of 
 Admiral Lord Keith, and on the 6th we came to an 
 anchor off Barry-head, there to wait the arrival of 
 the Northumberland^ which was hourly expected. 
 She made her appearance in the course of the day, 
 and after due salutes from both admirals' ships, in 
 which noisy greeting we of course joined — for we 
 are very polite at sea, in our own thundering way 
 — she took up her station close by us. Towards 
 evening Lord Keith came on board of us, and had 
 a long personal interview with Napoleon in the 
 cabin, which, we may judge, was not of the plea- 
 santest nature, . . . and the 7 th was appointed for 
 Napoleon leaving the ship." 
 
 The writer remarks that the 7th ** was a dull, 
 cloudy, sunless day, and every countenance was 
 overcast with gloom " ; and adds : — ** We had not 
 seen the Emperor for a week." He continues: — 
 '* Lord Keith, Admiral Cockburn, and Captain 
 Ross came on board about eleven o'clock ; and it 
 was intimated to Napoleon that they were ready 
 to conduct him on board of the Northumberland, 
 A general's guard of marines was drawn up on the 
 quarter-deck to receive him as he came out of the 
 cabin ; while part of his suite, and we officers, were 
 ranged about, anxiously waiting the appearance of 
 the future exile of St. Helena. 
 
 ** Napoleon was long in attending to the intima- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 195 
 
 tion of the admirals ; and upon Cockburn's becoming 
 impatient, and remarking to old Lord Keith that 
 he should be put in mind, Keith replied, * No, no ; 
 much greater men than either you or I have waited 
 longer for him before now ; let him take his time, 
 let him take his time.' 
 
 ** At length Napoleon appeared, but oh, how 
 sadly changed from the time we had last seen him 
 upon deck ! Though quite plain, he was scrupu- 
 lously cleanly in his person and dress, but that 
 had been forgotten ; his clothes were ill put on, 
 his beard unshaved, and his countenance pale and 
 haggard. There was a want of firmness in his 
 gait, his brow was overcast, and his whole visage 
 bespoke the deepest melancholy ; and it needed but 
 a glance to convince the most careless observer that 
 Napoleon considered himself a doomed man. In 
 this trying hour, however, he lost not his courtesy 
 or presence of mind ; instinctively he raised his hat 
 to the guard of marines when they presented arms 
 as he passed ; slightly inclined his head, and even 
 smiled, to us officers as he passed through us ; re- 
 turned the salute of the admirals with calm dignity, 
 and walking up to Captain Maitland, addressed him 
 with great eagerness for nearly ten minutes. 
 
 " The purport of his speech to Captain Maitland 
 was thanking him, his officers, and ship's company 
 for the polite attention he had received while on 
 board of the Bellerophony which he should ever hold 
 in kind remembrance. Something more he would 
 
196 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 have said after the first pause, and a feeh'ng of 
 deep emotion laboured in his face and swelled his 
 breast ; he looked earnestly in Maitland's face for 
 a moment, as if about to renew his speech, but 
 utterance seemed denied, and slightly moving his 
 hat in salutation, he turned to Savary and L'Alle- 
 mand, who were not allowed to accompany him 
 to St. Helena, and spoke to them for a few 
 minutes." 
 
 The writer speaks also of the dead silence in the 
 ship during this scene, and says that, "had a pin 
 fallen from one of the tops on the deck, I am con- 
 vinced it would have been heard ; and to any one 
 who has known the general buzz of one of our 
 seventy-fours, even at the quietest hour, it is a 
 proof how deeply the attention of every man was 
 riveted. Before leaving the ship Napoleon turned 
 to us on the quarter-deck, once more waved his 
 hand in token of adieu, took hold of the man-ropes, 
 and walked down the side, taking his seat in the 
 Northumberland' s barge between Lord Keith and 
 Admiral Cockburn. 
 
 " On looking back to the ship, he saw every head 
 that could get stuck out of a port gazing after him ; 
 even the rough countenances of the men bespoke 
 a sympathy for his cruel fate, and, apparently con- 
 scious of their feelings, the exiled chief again lifted 
 his hat and inclined his head to the gazing ship's 
 company." 
 
 The Bellerophon, like the Superb^ was very shortly 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 197 
 
 afterwards paid off; and although the opinions of 
 the young midshipman of the first-mentioned vessel 
 seem to have been much influenced by the *^ fasci- 
 nation " which, according to Mr. John Wolseley, 
 was exercised by the Emperor Napoleon upon all 
 those who were about him, he makes the following 
 remark : — " Clear of the Emperor and his suite, 
 we felt as if let out of prison ourselves, for we had 
 been everything but prisoners from the moment of 
 our arrival in England." But he adds : — '* Some- 
 how or other the ship got coupled up with the name 
 of Napoleon, and to be friendly to that great name 
 and to belong to the Bellerophon was considered 
 one and the same thing." 
 
 I am afraid the reader may think this account 
 of the three weeks spent by Napoleon on board 
 the Bellerophon is somewhat out of place in a 
 memoir of Admiral Wolseley. But the extremely 
 graphical descriptions given by the midshipman, 
 when combined with the well -written letters of 
 Mr. Wolseley, form such a complete account of an 
 interesting period in the life of the Emperor that 
 I think it would have been a pity to have excluded 
 them from this chapter. I have. only to add that 
 I hope the reader is of the same opinion, and will 
 kindly consider the interest of the subject a suffi- 
 cient excuse for this very long digression. 
 
 With the prospect of a peace, likely to be per- 
 manent, there was in the latter part of 1815 a 
 general rush of English people to the Continent ; 
 
198 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 and Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley, shortly after these 
 events, went abroad for the winter, as appears from 
 the following note, written in a very shaky hand by 
 old Mrs. Ricketts, sister of Lord St. Vincent : — 
 
 "ROCHETTS, October 2Qth. 
 
 '* I cannot omit to thank you my dear Admiral, 
 for the very kind lines with which you favored me. 
 No mark of your remembrance is thrown away. 
 
 *' I cannot forbear to regret, with my young 
 people, the loss we are I fear to experience losing 
 your society for many months, which at my ad- 
 vanced age may never be retrieved. Whilst I 
 regret dear Mrs. Wolseley has been seriously ill, 
 it is a comfort you keep free from Gout. Health 
 and promotion I trust will be the meed of your 
 most promising Son ; one regrets the separation 
 from his kind friend Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, 
 whose attention was really Parental. Ld. St. Vin- 
 cent, who desires me to make his best regards, 
 was gratified by seeing he had called in Mortimer 
 Street 
 
 " The private and the public accounts from 
 France fluctuate ; one cannot divine how affairs 
 will be reduced to permanent orden 
 
 ** Your young friends unite in every good wish, 
 with, my dear Admiral, your affectionate old 
 friend, Mary Ricketts." 
 
 Admiral Wolseley and his family, I think, re- 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 199 
 
 turned to Ghent, and spent that winter and the 
 following spring there. The Admiral was, I 
 believe, also accompanied by his eldest son, Mr. 
 John Wolseley, who was at that time in rather 
 delicate health, the result of an attack of bronchitis, 
 brought on by a severe cold, in consequence of 
 which, I think, he did not rejoin his ship until the 
 end of the spring of 1 8 1 6, when his father and the 
 rest of the family returned to their home in Bath. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Next in date among the old letters appears some 
 interesting correspondence about the attack made 
 by the fleet upon Algiers on the afternoon of the 
 27th of August 1 8 16, in which the Admiral's eldest 
 son, Mr. John Wolseley, greatly distinguished 
 himself. He was at that time still serving as 
 midshipman on board the Superb^ seventy-four 
 guns, commanded by Captain Ekins ; and having 
 been most favourably mentioned in the despatches 
 written immediately after the battle by Lord 
 Exmouth, the commander-in-chief, he was at once 
 promoted to the rank of lieutenant. 
 
 However, before giving copies of two letters 
 that were doubtless very gratifying to Admiral 
 and Mrs. Wolseley, one written by Lord Exmouth 
 and the other by Captain Ekins, I take some 
 extracts with an interesting account of the siege 
 of Algiers from the Appendix to Dr. Campbell's 
 *' Naval History,'* in which that author says : — 
 
 "We conclude these volumes by the official 
 account of an exploit equal to any previously 
 committed to these pages in danger, skill, bravery, 
 and success. Lord Exmouth had arranged a 
 treaty with the Dey of Algiers previous to his 
 quitting the Mediterranean, but even before his 
 
 200 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 201 
 
 arrival in England accounts had been received 
 of a horrible massacre which took place at Bona. 
 Immediately his squadron was refitted and strength- 
 ened, and sailed for Algiers. During his stay at 
 Gibraltar he accepted the assistance of a Dutch 
 squadron under Admiral Van de Capellan, and 
 having made all his arrangements, on the 14th 
 of August the united squadrons put to sea." 
 Dr. Campbell then gives the names of all 
 the vessels, and from the list it appears the 
 English had altogether twenty-one ships, and 
 the Dutch only six. Lord Exmouth's flag-ship, 
 the Queen Charlotte, was a ship of no guns; 
 the Superb^ the Minden, and the Albion were 
 ships of seventy-four guns ; the rest, including 
 five gun-boats that joined the fleet at Gibraltar, 
 were all smaller vessels. And the Dutch had 
 four ships of forty-four guns, one of thirty, and 
 another of eighteen guns. Dr. Campbell then 
 gives a copy of Lord Exmouth's letter to the 
 First Lord of the Admiralty, written the day 
 after the battle, and as a most graphical account 
 of the engagement is given by his lordship, I 
 take a few passages from his despatch, which he 
 commences as follows : — 
 
 "'Queen Charlotte,' Algiers Bay, 
 Aug. 28, 1 8 16. 
 
 "Sir, — In all the vicissitudes of a long life 
 of public service, no circumstance has ever pro- 
 
202 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 duced on my mind such impressions of gratitude 
 and joy as the event of yesterday. To have 
 been one of the humble instruments, in the hands 
 of Divine Providence, for bringing to reason a 
 ferocious government, and destroying for ever the 
 insufferable and horrid system of Christian slavery, 
 can never cease to be a source of delight and 
 heartfelt comfort to every individual happy enough 
 to be employed in it. I may, I hope, be per- 
 mitted, under such impressions, to offer my sin- 
 cere congratulations to their lordships on the 
 complete success which attended the gallant 
 efforts of his Majesty's fleet in their attack upon 
 Algiers of yesterday, and the happy result pro- 
 duced from it on this day by the signature of 
 peace." 
 
 Lord Exmouth continues : — '* Would to God 
 that in the attainment of this object I had not 
 deeply to lament the severe loss of so many 
 gallant officers and men ; they have profusely 
 bled in a contest which has been marked by 
 proofs of such devoted heroism as would rouse 
 every noble feeling, did I dare indulge in relating 
 them. 
 
 *' Their lordships will already have been in- 
 formed, by his Majesty's sloop Jasper, of my pro- 
 ceedings up to the 14th instant, on which day I 
 broke ground from Gibraltar after a vexatious 
 detention, by a foul wind, of four days. 
 
 ** The fleet, complete in all its points, with the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 203 
 
 addition of five gun-boats fitted at Gibraltar, 
 departed in the highest spirits, and with the 
 most favourable prospect of reaching the port 
 of their destination in three days ; but an adverse 
 wind destroyed the expectation of an early 
 arrival, which was the more anxiously looked 
 for by myself, in consequence of hearing, the 
 day I sailed from Gibraltar, that a large army 
 had been assembled, and that very considerable 
 additional works were throwing up, not only on 
 both flanks of the city, but also immediately 
 about the entrance of the mole ; from this I 
 was apprehensive that my intention of making 
 that point my principal object of attack had 
 been discovered to the Dey by the same means 
 he had heard of the expedition. This intelligence 
 was, on the following night, greatly confirmed by 
 the captain of the Prometheus^ which I had de- 
 spatched to Algiers some time before, to endea- 
 vour to get away the consul. Captain Dashwood 
 had with difficulty succeeded in bringing away, 
 disguised in midshipman's uniform, the consul's 
 wife and daughter, leaving a boat to bring off 
 their infant child coming down in a basket with 
 the surgeon, who thought he had composed it, 
 but it unhappily cried in the gateway, and, in 
 consequence, the surgeon, three midshipmen, and, 
 in all, eighteen persons, were seized and confined 
 as slaves in the usual dungeons. The child 
 was sent off next morning by the Dey, and as a 
 
204 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 solitary instance of his humanity, it ought to be 
 recorded by me. 
 
 *' Captain Dash wood further confirmed, that 
 about forty thousand men had been brought down 
 from the interior, and all the janisaries called in 
 from distant garrisons, and that they were inde- 
 fatigably employed in their batteries, gun-boats, &c., 
 and everywhere strengthening the sea-defences. 
 
 ** The ships were all in port, and between 
 forty and fifty gun and mortar boats were ready, 
 with several more in forward repair. The Dey 
 had closely confined the consul, and refused 
 either to give him up or promise his personal 
 safety; nor would he hear a word respecting 
 the officers and men seized in the boats of the 
 Prometheus. 
 
 *' From the continuance of adverse winds and 
 calms, the land to the westward of Algiers was 
 not made before the 26th, and the next morning 
 at day-break the fleet was advanced in sight of 
 the city, though not so near as I had intended. 
 As the ships were becalmed, I embraced this 
 opportunity of despatching a boat under cover 
 of the Severn, with a flag of truce, and the 
 demands I had to make, in the name of his 
 Royal Highness the Prince Regent, on the Dey 
 of Algiers, directing the officer to wait two or 
 three hours for the Dey's answer, at which time, 
 if no reply was sent, he was to return to the 
 flag- ship ; he was met near the mole by the 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 205 
 
 captain of the port, who, on being told the 
 answer was expected in one hour, replied that it 
 was impossible ; the officer then said he would 
 wait two or three hours; he then observed two 
 hours was quite sufficient. 
 
 **The fleet at this time, by the springing up 
 of the sea-breeze, had reached the bay, and were 
 preparing the boats and flotilla for service until 
 near two o'clock, when, observing my officer was 
 returning with the signal flying that no answer 
 had been received for upwards of three hours, I 
 instantly made the signal to know if the ships were 
 all ready, which being answered in the affirmative, 
 the Queen Charlotte bore up, followed up by the 
 fleet, for their appointed stations ; the flag, lead- 
 ing in the prescribed order, was anchored in the 
 entrance of the mole, at about fifty yards distance. 
 At this moment not a gun had been fired, and I 
 began to expect a full compliance with the terms 
 which had been for so many hours in their 
 hands ; at this period of profound silence a shot 
 was fired at us from the mole, and two at the 
 ships to the northward then following; this was 
 promptly returned by the Queen Charlotte, who 
 was then lashing to the main-mast of a brig, fast 
 to the shore in the mouth of the mole, and which 
 we had steered for as the guide to our position. 
 
 ** Thus commenced a fire as animated and well 
 supported as, I believe, was ever witnessed, from 
 a quarter before three until nine, without inter- 
 
2o6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 mission, and which did not cease altogether until 
 half-past eleven. 
 
 **The ships immediately following me were 
 admirably and coolly taking their stations, with a 
 precision even beyond my most sanguine hope ; 
 and never did the British flag receive, on any occa- 
 sion, more zealous and honourable support. To 
 look farther on the line than immediately round 
 me was perfectly impossible, but so well grounded 
 was my confidence in the gallant officers I had 
 the honour to command, that my mind was left 
 perfectly free to attend to other objects, and I 
 knew them in their stations only by the destructive 
 effect of their fire upon the walls and batteries to 
 which they were opposed. 
 
 " I had about this time the satisfaction of seeing 
 Vice-Admiral Van Capellan's flag in the station I 
 had assigned to him, and soon after, at intervals, 
 the remainder of his frigates keeping up a well- 
 supported fire on the flanking batteries he had 
 offered to cover us from, as it had not been in my 
 power, for want of room, to bring him in the front 
 of the mole. 
 
 ** About sunset I received a message from Rear- 
 Admiral Milne, conveying to me the severe loss 
 the Impregnable was sustaining, having then one 
 hundred and fifty killed and wounded, and request- 
 ing I would, if possible, send him a frigate to divert 
 some of the fire he was under. 
 
 "The Glasgow, near me, immediately weighed, but 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 207 
 
 the wind had been driven away by the cannonade, 
 and she was obliged to anchor again, having ob- 
 tained rather a better position than before. 
 
 ** I had at this time sent orders to the explosion 
 vessel, under the charge of Lieutenant Fleming and 
 Mr. Parker, by Captain Reade, of the Engineers, 
 to bring her into the mole ; but the rear-admiral 
 having thought she would do him essential service 
 if exploded under the battery in his front, I sent 
 orders to this vessel to that effect, which were 
 executed. I desired also the rear-admiral might 
 be informed that, many of the enemy's ships being 
 now in flames, and certain of the destruction of the 
 whole, I considered I had executed the most im- 
 portant part of my instructions, and should make 
 every preparation for withdrawing the ships, and 
 desired he would do so as soon as possible with 
 his division. 
 
 ** There were awful moments during the conflict 
 which I cannot now attempt to describe, occasioned 
 by firing the ships so near us, and I had long re- 
 sisted the eager entreaties of several around me 
 to make the attempt upon the outer frigate, distant 
 about one hundred yards, which at length I gave 
 in to, and Major Gossett, by my side, who had 
 been eager to land his corps of miners, pressed me 
 most anxiously for permission to accompany Lieu- 
 tenant Richards in this ship's barge. The frigate 
 was instantly boarded, and in ten minutes in a 
 perfect blaze. A gallant young midshipman, in 
 
2o8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 rocket -boat No. 8, although forbidden, was led 
 by his ardent spirit to follow in support of the 
 barge, in which he was desperately wounded, his 
 brother officer killed, and nine of his crew. The 
 barge, by rowing more rapidly, had suffered less, 
 and lost but two. 
 
 **The enemy's batteries around my division were 
 about ten o'clock silenced, and in a state of perfect 
 ruin and dilapidation, and the fire of the ships was 
 reserved as much as possible, to save powder, and 
 reply to a few guns now and then bearing upon 
 us, although a fort on the upper angle of the city, 
 on which our guns could not be brought to bear, 
 continued to annoy the ships by shot and shells 
 during the whole time. 
 
 ** Providence at this interval gave to my anxious 
 wishes the usual land wind, common in this bay, 
 and my expectations were completed. We were 
 all hands employed warping and towing off, and 
 by the help of the light air the whole were under 
 sail, and came to anchor out of reach of shells 
 about two in the morning, after twelve hours' in- 
 cessant labour. 
 
 "The flotilla of mortar, gun, and rocket boats, 
 under the direction of their respective artillery 
 officers, shared, to the fullest extent of their power, 
 in the honours of this day, and performed good 
 service ; it was by their fire all the ships in the 
 port (with the exception of the outer frigate) were 
 in flames, which extended rapidly over the whole 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 209 
 
 arsenal, store-houses, and gun-boats, exhibiting a 
 spectacle of awful grandeur and interest no pen 
 can describe.'* 
 
 The rest of Lord Exmouth's despatch is taken 
 up by details of the way in which the service was 
 performed, and in commendation of the officers 
 and seamen employed in it. In the end of the 
 letter he says : — " I am happy to say Captains Ekins 
 and Coode are doing well, as also the whole of the 
 wounded." And he adds : — " By accounts from the 
 shore, I understand the enemy's loss in killed and 
 wounded is between six and seven thousand men." 
 The loss on the side of the English was 128 killed 
 and 600 wounded ; on that of the Dutch, 13 killed 
 and 52 wounded. 
 
 The result gained by this great victory was, 
 that on the 28th of August, the day on which Lord 
 Exmouth's despatch was written, the Dey signed 
 a treaty containing a declaration, **that in the event 
 of future wars with any European Power, not any 
 of the prisoners should be consigned to slavery, 
 but treated with all humanity as prisoners of war, 
 until regularly exchanged, according to European 
 practice." And no less than '*one thousand and 
 eighty-three Christian slaves " who were at Algiers 
 were released, and were shortly after forwarded 
 by Lord Exmouth "in British transports to their 
 respective countries." ^ 
 
 ^ Another writer places the number of those who were liberated 
 at 3000* 
 
 
 
210 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Perhaps the reader may consider this long ac- 
 count of the siege of Algiers rather out of place, 
 on the grounds that Admiral Wolseley was not 
 present. But I think Lord Exmouth's account is 
 so interesting that it would be a pity to have 
 omitted it. And as Mr. John Wolseley was serv- 
 ing on board of one of the vessels engaged, and 
 greatly distinguished himself on the occasion, his 
 father must necessarily have taken the deepest 
 interest in this event, and have been much gratified 
 by the letters he received concerning it. The first 
 of these letters is one from Lord Exmouth : — 
 
 "* Queen Charlotte/ at Sea, 
 ''zsthSept. 1816. 
 
 " My dear Admiral, — You will very readily be- 
 lieve that I was so fully occupied in the preparation 
 of my fleet that I had not five minutes to spare 
 to make any other arrangement for your son, 
 than leaving him where he then was on board 
 the Superb. The flag-ship was crowded even as 
 thick as three in a Bed. I should not have lost 
 sight of him had any opportunity offered to serve 
 him ; but the service ending in only one fight 
 when I expected half a dozen, left me no other 
 way of showing my respect for you, than that of 
 marking against his name in the list I have laid 
 before Melville how deserving he is of promotion. 
 Your own weight added to my Testimony will I 
 hope secure his Advancement. He is spoken very 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELE Y 2 1 1 
 
 highly of by Capt. Ekins and appears a remark- 
 able fine young man ; his being wounded will add 
 to his claim, altho' it was but very slight. Wishing 
 you every enjoyment your happy retirement affords, 
 and which I sigh for, believe me my dear Wolseley 
 ever your faithful Servant, Exmouth." 
 
 Letter No. 2. 
 
 ** Lord Melville presents his compliments to Vice 
 Admiral Wolseley and has the honor to acquaint 
 him that his Son Mr. J. H. Wolseley has been 
 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant by a Com- 
 mission dated the 1 3th of this month. 
 "Admiralty, 26//^ September 18 16." 
 
 The next letter is one written by Mr. John 
 Wolseley to Captain Grace, and which was after- 
 wards sent by the latter to Admiral Wolseley : — 
 
 " * Superb,' Plyh., Oct. 6, 18 16. 
 
 *' My dear Sir, — No doubt you think I am a 
 very pretty fellow for not keeping my promise to 
 write to you from Algiers, but really I had hardly 
 time to write a few lines to my father which I 
 am sorry to find he has never received. You can 
 conceive the state a ship must have been in after 
 an action of such long continuance and how im- 
 possible it must have been for me, rendered helpless 
 by a wound in the leg, to bustle about. It was with 
 
212 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 the greatest difficulty I procured one sheet of paper. 
 But I will now endeavour to tell you everything 
 which I think you could not collect from the public 
 dispatches ; though as a mid's sphere of observation 
 is rather limited you will excuse the Superb' s being 
 in a great measure the Burden of my song. Indeed 
 I had too much to do in her to take much notice 
 of the motions of other ships. Every body must 
 admire the cool manner in which Lord Ex. ran in, 
 and we may attribute our success entirely to our 
 going so very close. The faults on the part of the 
 Algerines were as follows — ist, being so sure of 
 destroying us all that they did not fire until we 
 had taken our stations. 2nd, not depressing their 
 guns sufficiently (perhaps they could not). 3rd, 
 firing landgridge, which did not penetrate our sides, 
 instead of round. And 4thly, not firing red hot 
 shot — had they done any one of these — I shudder 
 when I think of the probable consequences. Their 
 batteries were the finest I ever saw and a skill dis- 
 played in their positions that appears quite beyond 
 the knowledge of Musselman Engineers. Some 
 of the mole forts put me in mind of Blockhouse, 
 Portsmouth, but they were I think of better mate- 
 rials than the latter as the shot sank into them. 
 Their guns were all Brass, in excellent order as far 
 as we could judge — and of immense caliber in 
 some places. The sponges, etc., were all stuck up 
 over the parapet when we were going in. This 
 ship anchored with two anchors ahead and two 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 213 
 
 astern — two of the cables backed with chains. 
 We were about the same distance with the Adml. 
 from the works. I was wounded in the leg the 
 first broadside by a splinter from a shot that came 
 in on the Quarter Deck ; it, however, I am happy 
 to say was not so bad as to oblige me to leave 
 my quarters until a long time afterwards. To 
 give you some idea of the number of shot that 
 passed over us — one ensign was shot away, and 
 the second had 9 or 10 round shot through it 
 besides grape and musket Balls ; we counted above 
 80 holes in the foretopsail (clewed up). Only 2 or 
 3 of our small spars escaped unhurt, and only 4 
 ropes left uncut in the ship of any description, — 
 one of which, the Topmast spring stay alone pre- 
 vented our mainmast going over the stern. It had 
 9 shot through it; two of them either 68's or 42's. 
 Had not the breeze been very light, we must have 
 lost our sticks. Our Hull not materially damaged 
 though we have a good deal of chain shot, Lang- 
 ridge and glass sticking in our sides. If we had 
 come too further out we must have been sunk or 
 at least have suffered in the same manner as Im- 
 pregnable, as the shot that passed over us would 
 in that case have told on our hull. This ship fired 
 260 Barrels of Powder, and 81 Tons of shot; 
 though we slackened our fire much, latterly, to 
 save ammunition. We went out under the long 
 Topsail, Spritsail, and Main Topmast stay sail. 
 Queen Charlotte escaped being burnt almost by a 
 
214 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 miracle. Towards the conclusion the scene was 
 grand and awful beyond description. The enemy's 
 blazing frigates and our shells and rockets illumined 
 the whole Bay. The Algerines fought desperately. 
 When driven from their guns they fired musketry, 
 and attempted in the most daring way to extinguish 
 the fire in their ships. I understand in a boat 
 sunk by the Leander they went down waving their 
 sabres. We can none of us be too thankful for 
 our safety and success. Our shot were directed 
 because our cause was just. I believe I have now 
 told you everything worth mentioning, — at least 
 that I can recollect. My wound was of no great 
 consequence and is quite well ; it did not however 
 heal until we got into the cold weather. There 
 is little doubt of my being promoted, as Lord 
 Exmouth told me I was on his private list which 
 he will give to Lord Melville. I shall then go to 
 Bath where my father is. In all this long story 
 I have forgotten to thank you for your kind letter 
 of July 25th, which I received the day we sailed. 
 I am truly sorry you were not with us, but it 
 cannot be helped. I suppose this will find you in 
 Scotland — I trust in good health. The Euphrates 
 came into Gibraltar the day we sailed, but as she 
 was under Quarantine I could not see Charles 
 Freemantle. It was very provoking.^ 
 
 ** I must now conclude this, perhaps you will 
 
 ^ Afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Home Fremantle, G.C.B., who 
 was probably at that time serving as a midshipman in the Euphrates, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 215 
 
 think too long Epistle, with the assurance that I 
 remain yours sincerely, *' J. Wolseley. 
 
 ** Best Compts. to Capt. Leith. 
 
 " My father and mother are well, and would I 
 am sure join with me in best wishes for your 
 happiness, did they know I was writing to you." 
 
 The next letter is one written by Captain Ekins 
 to Admiral Wolseley : — 
 
 "'Superb,' Hamoaze, Odr. i^th 1816. 
 
 "My dear Sir, — I cannot sufficiently thank 
 you for your kind and most flattering congratula- 
 tions upon the success of our late expedition, and 
 it cannot but be grateful to our feelings, to see that 
 our exertions are so highly estimated by officers of 
 Rank and ability in our own profession, and who, 
 like yourself, are so well qualified to judge of the 
 degree of skill and risk necessary for so desperate 
 a service. 
 
 "It is with equal truth and pleasure, that I can 
 bear my testimony to your Son's steady and gallant 
 conduct in the action ; and to add a circumstance, 
 which his modesty may have tempted him to con- 
 ceal ; as honourable to himself, as proud and grati- 
 fying to his Parents ; it is, that he would not leave 
 his quarters until he was positively commanded by 
 mCy and then with evident reluctance, and he had 
 continued working at his guns some time after he 
 
 mi»iM> pp*'^'*' '_'' »^fu*w«uiukaMaiHBi^BMM 
 
2i6 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 received his wound, and it was communicated to me 
 by the Lieutt. at his quarters, when upon seeing a 
 good deal of blood upon his trousers, I immediately 
 ordered him down to the Surgeon. 
 
 " I am extremely happy to find the Admiralty (or 
 rather Ld. Melville) have rewarded his services with 
 promotion, and this is the more satisfactory to all 
 parties since it does not in the least interfere with 
 any other young man I have been called upon to 
 nominate from this ship, but which, from being con- 
 fined to one only of my own, I cannot but consider 
 is a very inadequate mark of their Lordships' appro- 
 bation of our services, and of which very limited 
 patronage, I cannot but feel greatly mortified and 
 disappointed. Your Son tells me he has this day 
 received his Commission, but that as his Pay List 
 will not be returned until Thursday, he will be 
 detained here a few days longer. Allow me to 
 offer you and Mrs. Wolseley my sincere and hearty 
 congratulations on this event, and with my best 
 regards remain, my dear Sir, your faithful obliged 
 and very Hble. Servant, Charles Ekins." 
 
 This letter, which must have been a very grati- 
 fying one to Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley, closes 
 the correspondence on the subject of the siege of 
 Algiers. 
 
 The end of the follpwing year, 1817, found 
 Admiral Wolseley and his family still living in 
 Bath ; and some members of the royal family at 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 217 
 
 that time honoured the town with a visit. Mr. 
 Ashton, in his '' Social England under the Re- 
 gency," says : — *' The health of Queen Charlotte was 
 beginning to fail, and her physicians recommended 
 her to go to Bath for the waters ; and she accord- 
 ingly repaired thither in November, accompanied 
 by the Duke of Clarence." 
 
 The evening the royal party arrived, there was 
 a gala performance at the theatre, at which the 
 Duke of Clarence was present. Admiral and Mrs. 
 Wolseley also went to the play, and took their 
 eldest daughter to it ; and the following morning, 
 the Admiral, having heard that the Queen was going 
 to make her first appearance at the Pump-Room, 
 and that all the beau monde of Bath were going to it, 
 took his daughter there also. They were walking 
 about the room talking to the different friends they 
 met, when the Duke of Clarence came up and 
 claimed acquaintance with him ; and it was doubtless 
 on that occasion that his Royal Highness reminded 
 Admiral Wolseley of their first meeting, when he, 
 the Duke, was doing duty as a midshipman on 
 board the Hebe, and was sent in command of a boat 
 from that vessel to assist in towing the Trusty out 
 of Spithead. 
 
 After he had been talking for some little time with 
 the Admiral and his daughter, the Duke asked the 
 latter if she had been presented to his ** mother"; 
 and upon her replying that she had not had that 
 honour, he said, "Then come with me and I 
 
2i8 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 will present you to her." The room was densely 
 crowded, and they had to walk to the far end of 
 it ; but two gentlemen carrying wands went before 
 them making way for them to pass, and the people 
 who were nearest stood back very respectfully. 
 
 Queen Charlotte, who was standing near the 
 pump with a glass of water in her hand, turned 
 round with a pleasant smile on her face when the 
 Duke spoke to her, and bowed very graciously to 
 Miss Wolseley; and her Majesty and the Princess 
 Elizabeth, to whom Miss Wolseley was also pre- 
 sented, talked with her in a very easy and affable 
 manner for some minutes. 
 
 Admiral Wolseley was rather surprised at the 
 Duke's recognition of him, as they had only met 
 once, and a great many years had passed since their 
 meeting. He spoke of this to a friend, who told 
 him that his Royal Highness had taken notice of 
 the little family party at the theatre the evening 
 before, and had sent one of his gentlemen-in-waiting 
 to him to find out who they were. 
 
 An incident that occurred during the Queen's 
 visit to Bath is related by Mr. Ashton, who pro- 
 bably took the account from some ancient local 
 paper. " The following anecdote of her sojourn,'* 
 he writes, '*is dated 'Bath, November 28th.' The 
 Queen wishing to ride through Prior Park, the 
 property of John Thomas, a very rich Quaker, a 
 footman was sent forward to the house to ask leave 
 for the gates to be opened, Mr. Thomas received 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 219 
 
 the Queen very respectfully at the park gate, and 
 addressed her as follows : * Charlotte, I hope thee 
 is very well. I am glad to see thee in my park ; 
 thou art very welcome at any time, and I shall feel 
 proud in opening my gates for thy pleasure. I hope 
 thou receives benefit from the Bath waters. I 
 wish thee well.* " This short speech, though rather 
 oddly expressed, was as much to the point as such 
 addresses usually are, and no doubt her Majesty 
 thought it more amusing than the generality of 
 them. 
 
 At the time she was staying in Bath there were 
 a great many naval officers living there, and it was 
 decided by them that they should join in giving a 
 dinner-party in honour of H.R.H. the Duke of 
 Clarence, who was then admiral of the fleet, and 
 who was, of course, to be the guest of the evening. 
 Vice- Admiral Wolseley was the senior officer then 
 living in Bath, and he was consequently elected 
 president on the great occasion. 
 
 Among the Admiral's papers there is a plan of 
 the dinner-table, with the names of all those who 
 were present, and the order in which they were 
 placed. From this list it appears that, with the 
 Duke of Clarence, who, of course, sat at the right 
 side of Admiral Wolseley, who presided at the head 
 of the table, there were two gentlemen-in-waiting 
 on his Royal Highness — Lieutenant-Colonel Miles 
 and Lieutenant - Colonel Cowper. And of the 
 Prince's loyal hosts there were fifty-two present, 
 
220 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 including the president and Vice- Admiral Sotheby, 
 who acted as vice-president and sat at the foot of 
 the table. The other flag-officers whose names 
 are given in the list were the following : — Vice- 
 Admirals Sir William Haywood, Sir D. Gould, 
 Mark Robinson, and Crawley ; Rear - Admirals 
 Sir William Hotham, Otway, Ballard, Taylor, 
 T. Wolley, Macknamara, and Dacres. Twenty- 
 two captains were present at the entertainment, 
 and all the other officers there were respectively 
 commanders and lieutenants in the navy.^ 
 
 At the back of the paper appears also a long 
 list of the toasts that were drunk on the festive 
 occasion, with the names of the airs played by 
 the band after each. The health of the poor old 
 King, it appears, and that of *' His Serene Highness 
 Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg," who had recently 
 lost his wife, the Princess Charlotte of Wales, were 
 drunk in silence.^ The company were all standing 
 while these toasts, and the healths of other members 
 of the royal family, the army, and that of the Duke 
 of Wellington, were being honoured. The air men- 
 tioned as having been played by the band after the 
 health of '' His Royal Highness the Prince Regent," 
 and also that of ''Her Majesty, our most gracious 
 Queen," was "God save the King." After the 
 
 1 Among the names of the captains appears that of John Maitland, 
 who was probably the officer in command of the Bellerophon to whom 
 Napoleon surrendered himself two years before. 
 
 2 Princess Charlotte of Wales, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, died on 
 the 7th November 1817. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 221 
 
 health of the ** illustrious guest, His Royal High- 
 ness, the Admiral of the Fleet," "Rule Britannia" 
 was played ; and the health of the Duke of Wel- 
 lington was appropriately followed by the air of 
 ** See the Conquering Hero Comes." 
 
 There is no memorandum of the date, but I 
 think this banquet took place very shortly after 
 the arrival of the royal party at Bath. The day 
 after it, Admiral Wolseley happened to meet the 
 Duke of Clarence, who was taking a walk. His 
 Royal Highness stopped to speak to him, and 
 asked the Admiral to join him ; and I believe, on 
 several other occasions afterwards, he had the 
 honour of accompanying the Prince in his walks 
 about the town and its neighbourhood. 
 
 When his Royal Highness was leaving Bath, he 
 advised the Admiral to send his youngest son, 
 Cosby Wolseley, to Sandhurst, and said that he 
 would get a commission for him himself. At that 
 time the Duke's very kind offer was not accepted 
 by Admiral Wolseley, as he was not then de- 
 cided upon, placing his son in the army ; and Mrs. 
 Wolseley, it appears, was most anxious that their 
 youngest boy, when old enough to do so, should 
 enter the Church and become a clergyman. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Among the letters preserved by Admiral Wolseley 
 are five, written to him by the Duke of Clarence. 
 Some of these letters, or rather notes, were 
 written many years after their meeting at Bath, 
 and they all more or less show the high estimation 
 in which Admiral Wolseley was held by the Duke. 
 Excepting, perhaps, for this, and from the cir- 
 cumstance that the writer was afterwards king of 
 England, there is no great interest in the letters 
 themselves. 
 
 The date of the first is not given. But from 
 what the Duke says in it about his "union," it 
 seems to have been written early in the year 1818, 
 shortly before the nth of June, on which day the 
 Duke was married to her Serene Highness Princess 
 Adelaide, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Saxe- 
 Meiningen. The following is a copy of the little 
 note, which was evidently written in reply to one 
 from Admiral Wolseley : — 
 
 " Brighton, Tuesday^ Noon, 
 
 *'Dear Sir, — Your kind letter of 25th instant 
 has just reached me. I return you my sincere 
 thanks for your obliging enquiries. I have not 
 
 3Z3 
 
MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 223 
 
 the smallest idea of giving up either the Union or 
 my life but of remaining for a very long time, dear 
 Sir, yours invariably William." 
 
 Next in date, in the package of old letters, comes 
 a note written to the Admiral, in which another 
 was enclosed, that can scarcely have failed to have 
 given pleasure to Mr. John Wolseley's father and 
 mother. Before giving copies, however, I think 
 I should say a few words about the gentleman who 
 had so kindly sent the other letter to them. The 
 Hon. Henry Blackwood, afterwards Vice-Admiral, 
 and created a baronet, was in 1785 placed as a mid- 
 shipman on board the Trusty, where he served for 
 four years under the command of Admiral Wolseley, 
 who was then captain of that vessel. Sir Henry 
 Blackwood's subsequent naval career was a most 
 distinguished one. On various occasions he ren- 
 dered very important services, and as captain of 
 the Euryalus, took part in the battle of Trafalgar, 
 and the despatches announcing that glorious victory 
 were brought home by him. 
 
 On the outside of his note, addressed to ** Vice- 
 Adml. Wolseley, 5 Norfolk Crescent, Bath," is the 
 date *' January 1819 " : — 
 
 " My dear Admiral, — As I feel that it must give 
 you and Mrs. W. great pleasure, I can't resist the 
 transmission of the annexed which you may keep 
 or burn as you please.— Always most truly yours, 
 ; . ' " Hy. Blackwood." 
 
224 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 The note enclosed was one from Admiral Sir 
 Henry Hotham, in whose flag-ship Mr. John Wol- 
 seley had formerly served for some years as a 
 midshipman : — 
 
 " Admiralty, /<««y. 15/A. 
 
 '* My dear Blackwood, — As Captains have the 
 privilege of naming their own Senior Lieutenants, 
 and as Mr. Gore has been removed from the Scout 
 unknown to Captain Ramsden, the Board think he 
 may be indulged with the choice of a Successor, 
 and I have written to ask him if there should be 
 any officer in the Mediterranean who he would 
 wish for, or any friend in England to apply for. 
 If he has none, I shall be glad to attend to your 
 recommendation of Lieut. King, and will note 
 him. 
 
 *' Young Wolseley is everything that you can 
 have heard of him, or think can be said of hinty 
 and I assure you there is not a finer, or more 
 amiable young man, in existence ; and if any 
 opportunity should offer for sending him to you 
 in India, with advantage to him, I will not 
 neglect, should it be his wish, and that of his 
 Father. 
 
 *' I believe the Rochfort is quite ready, and 
 may sail at any time; the Captain has his orders, 
 and the ship is only wind-bound. — Believe me, 
 Dear Blackwood, very faithfully yours, 
 
 " Henry Hotham." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 225 
 
 Sir Henry Black wood^s kindness in sending this 
 note to them was doubtless fully appreciated by 
 Admiral and Mrs. Wolseley. Like most of the 
 officers who had ever served under the Admiral, Sir 
 Henry Blackwood seems to have felt the warmest 
 affection for his old commander. Ample evidence 
 of this affection, both as regards Sir Henry himself 
 and that also of other officers, is to be found among 
 the letters preserved by Admiral Wolseley. 
 
 On the 1 2th of August 1819 Vice- Admiral 
 Wolseley was promoted to the rank of admiral, 
 and was placed on the list of officers of that 
 degree included in the Blue Squadron. 
 
 In the year 18 19 there seems to have been very 
 great depression in trade in England, and in conse- 
 quence there was much distress and discontent. 
 In many parts of the country very serious riots 
 took place, got up by people whose opinions were 
 apparently similar to those of the ** Chartists," of 
 somewhat later date. 
 
 Sir Charles Wolseley, the seventh baronet of the 
 elder branch of the family, who had succeeded to 
 the Staffordshire estate about two years before that 
 time, was apparently a man not gifted with very 
 much sense, and, to the great annoyance of Admiral 
 Wolseley and of his other relations, he made him- 
 self very conspicuous as a leader of these people. 
 
 A great many years after the period of which 
 
 I have just been writing, old Sir Richard Wolseley, 
 
 the fourth baronet of the Irish branch, told the 
 
 p 
 
226 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Admirars daughter, Mrs. Innes, that he had 
 spent part of the summer of 1819 in London, 
 and when on his way there, having had a rough 
 passage in crossing, he remained in Liverpool for 
 a night, and started for London next day. The 
 morning he left Liverpool he noticed that the 
 streets through which he passed were crowded 
 with people of the artisan and working class, who 
 were apparently all wending their way in one 
 direction. Having asked the postillion if any- 
 thing was going on in the town, he was told 
 that a great political meeting was then taking 
 place ; and a few minutes afterwards they entered 
 a square so crowded with people that it was 
 almost impossible to move even at a foot-pace, 
 and his carriage, an open phaeton, very shortly 
 came to a stand-still a few yards from a sort of 
 rough platform formed of casks set up on end 
 with planks laid across them ; and, to the great 
 astonishment and disgust of Sir Richard, who 
 had not at that time heard that Sir Charles had 
 joined the rebels, he discovered that the orator 
 who was standing on the top of this erection 
 addressing a most revolutionary speech to the 
 assembled mob was no other than his own cousin. 
 It was probably Sir Charles Wolseley's first 
 appearance in public as a supporter of the dis- 
 contented party, and the positive discovery made 
 by him 'that he had at least one most unsympa- 
 thetic listener among the audience seems to 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 227 
 
 have had an astonishing effect upon his nerves. 
 He did not at first see Sir Richard ; but when, 
 in the course of his speech, he chanced to look 
 towards the side of the square where he was, and 
 caught sight of his cousin sitting in his carriage 
 within a few yards of himself, to Sir Richard's 
 great amusement, he got very red, and was so con- 
 fused that he could scarcely continue his speech, 
 seemed to have completely lost the thread of 
 his discourse, and for some minutes did not suc- 
 ceed in regaining his composure. 
 
 Although the meeting involuntarily attended by 
 Sir Richard was perhaps the first at which Sir 
 Charles publicly came forward as an advocate of 
 the cause of the malcontents, it was certainly not 
 the last time he appeared in that capacity ; and in 
 the month of December, apparently, from a letter 
 written by the Duke of Clarence in reply to one 
 from Admiral Wolseley, some severe comments 
 were made by the Admiral upon Sir Charles's 
 conduct in joining them ; and he seems also at 
 the same time to have expressed his own regret 
 that a relation of his should continue to be so 
 misguided.^ The following is a copy of the 
 Duke's letter : — 
 
 "St. James's, Deer, ^th, 18 19. 
 
 **Dear Sir, — Yours of yesterday has just 
 reached me and I lament to find you have been 
 
 1 Sir Charles Wolseley was a second cousin of the Admiral. 
 
228 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 so much indisposed ; but trust you are fast recover- 
 ing ; everybody must lament the disturbed state of 
 the country and particularly those few individuals 
 who have relations foolish and wicked enough to 
 join the disaffected : the conduct of Sir Charles 
 Wolseley is inexplicable and I can easily conceive 
 it must give you great concern to be related to a 
 person who continues to mislead himself and others. 
 *' I am most heartily glad to have returned to 
 dear old England, and by care and attention have 
 very considerably restored my health. I wish your 
 son could have had the advantage of the Military 
 College ; but we must think in proper time of 
 placing him in the army. For the present adieu 
 and ever believe me, Dear Sir, yours sincerely, 
 
 "William." 
 
 In the end of 1820 Admiral Wolseley took his 
 family to Ghent for the winter, as it was thought 
 that the change of air might be of use to Mrs. 
 Wolseley, who had been for some time in very 
 delicate health. In the early part of 1821, I think, 
 they went to Brussels for a few weeks, but as Mrs, 
 Wolseley became much more seriously ill they re- 
 turned to Ghent; and, to the great grief of the 
 Admiral and her family, she died there in the 
 month of March. 
 
 After Mrs. Wolseley's death the Admiral re- 
 turned to England with his daughters ; and I 
 find no record of the remaining months of that 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 229 
 
 year, or any whatever of the following one, 1822. 
 Next among the old papers appears a copy of a 
 letter, evidently taken from one written by Admiral 
 Wolseley to the Duke of Clarence, At the head 
 of the copy — which, I think, is in the Admirals 
 handwriting — is the following : — 
 
 ^^ Letter sent by John dated 28 Feb. 1823, 
 To the Duke of Clarence, 
 
 *' Sir, — When at Bath your Royal Highness 
 did me the honour to profess an interest in the 
 welfare of my two sons the eldest of whom, (at 
 that time in the Superb at Algiers,) you expressed 
 a desire to see. I have long solicited employment 
 for him, and now send him to London to try if 
 his personal applications will be more successful 
 than my letters ; and recollecting your Royal High- 
 ness's kindness I venture to write these few lines 
 to recommend him to your notice. I have com- 
 manded him to pay his respects to you, feeling 
 confident, that if it should happen to be in your 
 Royal Highness's power to be of any service to 
 him, he will not prove unworthy of your attentions. 
 I hope to hear from my son a favourable account 
 of your Royal Highness's health, and that it has 
 not suffered during this severe winter, which has 
 borne hardly on my gouty floor timbers.^ With 
 
 ^ A nautical expression, used, I believe, for the planks which are 
 laid on the lowest part of the framework of a vessel, and which 
 are called by sailors the "floor timbers" of the ship. 
 
230 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 every wish for your health and happiness, permit 
 me to subscribe myself with the most profound 
 respect, Your Royal Highness's much obliged and 
 most obedt. Humble Servt., W. W." 
 
 Shortly after that Mr. John Wolseley again 
 went to sea, and having been appointed' one of 
 the lieutenants on board Admiral Sir George Eyre's 
 flag-ship, he was sent out to Rio Janeiro. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1823 Admiral 
 Wolseley took his daughters over to Ireland, to 
 pay visits to some of their mothers relations, 
 and a great part of their time was spent with 
 Mrs. M^^Gwire, a sister of Mrs. Wolseley. This 
 lady was living near the village of Rostrevor, at 
 a place that had been bought by her late hus- 
 band, who had formerly been a captain in the 
 navy. 
 
 Admiral Wolseley s youngest daughter had never 
 been in Ireland before ; and his eldest had not, I 
 believe, been in that country since she was quite 
 a little child, when her father gave up command 
 of the Sea Fencibles and had settled in Bath. 
 Their first experience of travelling in Ireland was 
 by no means a pleasant one. They came down 
 from Dublin in the mail-coach, and just as they 
 were descending a very steep hill about half a 
 mile from Newry an accident occurred. One of 
 the horses fell and the carriage - pole got broken. 
 It was quite late in the evening, almost dark, 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 231 
 
 and the rain was coming down in torrents ; but 
 notwithstanding this the passengers were obliged 
 to get out, and had to walk into Newry. 
 Miss Sydney Wolseley, the Admiral's youngest 
 daughter, unfortunately, had a very bad cold 
 at the time, and to save her from getting her 
 feet wet, her father took her up in his arms, and 
 carried her the whole way into the town, where 
 they passed the night, going on to Rostrevor 
 next day. 
 
 The Admiral, who, I believe, had never been 
 there before, took a great fancy to Rostrevor, and 
 was much struck by the beauty of the surrounding 
 scenery ; and thinking, also, that it would be an 
 advantage to his daughters to be settled near their 
 aunt, he, shortly after their visit to Mrs. M^^Gwire, 
 decided on giving up his house in Bath, and upon 
 coming over to live at Rostrevor. Accordingly, 
 in the month of March 1824, he bought a little 
 place in the village from his nephew, Mr. M^°Gwire, 
 who had some property there. The house was 
 entirely remodelled ; the offices were built and the 
 gardens were laid out by Admiral Wolseley, who 
 afterwards gave the little place the name of *' The 
 Anchorage" — a very appropriate one for the resi- 
 dence of a retired naval officer ! 
 
 Next among the old letters appears a copy of 
 the following letter written by Admiral Sir George 
 Eyre to Admiral Wolseley. Mr. John Wolseley, 
 apparently, was then on his way home, having 
 
 t^^n^iil^'SSl Tiii£ft¥::^tlsCil6:j!an ' 4Tr^li^c>l'Wr«K 
 
322 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 been obliged to return on account of his health 
 having failed, from the effects of the climate of 
 Rio Janeiro : — 
 
 "Wellesley, Rio Janeiro, 
 ^^ Augst. II, 1826. 
 
 "My dear Sir, — Your son will probably have 
 informed you before you receive this, of the ne- 
 cessity he has been under of leaving this Station, 
 and I cannot express how much I lament it ; but 
 the season of the year, when this ship will probably 
 arrive in England, would make the risks greater 
 than could be justified, and the Surgeon has been, 
 for some time past, decidedly of that opinion ; I 
 wish with all my heart, it had been in my power 
 to give him the rank he is so highly deserving of, 
 and to which he had so strong a claim, before he 
 left me, and it is not less on public grounds, than 
 his own account I feel the disappointment, for 
 with his highly cultivated mind, superior talents 
 and devotion to his profession, the greatest ad- 
 vantage to the service might be expected from 
 him. I sincerely hope that a few months will 
 restore him to good health, and that I may have 
 the satisfaction of congratulating you on his pro- 
 motion ; his loss will be deeply felt by us all, for 
 it is not possible for a young man to be more 
 beloved and respected than he is. I was very glad 
 to hear a pretty good account of yourself, and that 
 you were enabled to keep the enemy tolerably 
 under control. I am feeling the effects of this 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 233 
 
 enervating climate, and look for my successor with 
 anxious expectation. — I am, dear Sir, yours very 
 faithfully, Geo. Eyre." 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1827 H.R.H. the 
 Duke of Clarence was promoted to the rank of 
 Lord High Admiral of England, and the follow- 
 ing note was written by him in reply to Admiral 
 Wolseley*s congratulations upon that event : — 
 
 " London, April i^th^ 1827. 
 
 ** Dear Sir, — I have this day received yours of 
 22nd instant and thank you most sincerely for 
 your kind congratulations on my appointment to 
 this most arduous situation. 
 
 '* I trust my conduct will ensure me the con- 
 tinuance of your good opinion and I ever remain 
 yours most truly, William." 
 
 Mr. John Wolseley was apparently much dis- 
 appointed at not having got his promotion, and 
 in one of his letters written to his father, I think, 
 before he left Rio Janeiro, he remarked on the 
 hardship of having served for eleven years as a 
 lieutenant, while some other officers of the same 
 rank had been promoted, though they had not 
 served for nearly as long a time. After he 
 came over to Ireland he evidently got his father 
 to write to the Duke of Clarence on the 
 
234 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 subject, and the following very kind little note was 
 the Duke's reply to Admiral Wolseley : — 
 
 "Admiralty, May i2thy 1827. 
 
 ** Dear Sir, — I am to acknowledge yours of 
 9th instant and cannot make any promises. 
 However I feel disposed to bring forward with 
 propriety as soon as possible your son, having 
 the most sincere regard for your excellent self 
 God bless you, and ever believe me, yours most 
 truly, William." 
 
 The poor young officer whose claims the Duke 
 was disposed to bring forward, and who was 
 considered by Sir George Eyre, his late com- 
 mander, to be so deserving of promotion, did 
 not, however, live to get it. As previously 
 mentioned, he had to leave Rio Janeiro on ac- 
 count of the state of his health ; and after he 
 had been at home with his father for some 
 little time, he accepted an invitation from Sir 
 James and Lady Anderson, old friends of his 
 family, who had very kindly asked him to spend 
 some weeks with them at their place, Buttevant 
 Castle, in the County Cork. At first, I believe, 
 his health was improved by the change of air, 
 but at the time he intended to have returned 
 home he suddenly became dangerously ill, and 
 was quite unable to take the journey ; and after 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 235 
 
 lingering for a few days he died, at the early- 
 age of thirty, on the 14th of June 1827. 
 
 Added to Admiral Wolseley's great sorrow at 
 the death of his eldest son was also a feeling 
 of deep anxiety about the future prospects of 
 his other children. Neither of his daughters 
 were at that time married, and his only surviving 
 son was not then in any profession. In conse- 
 quence of this, some months after the death of 
 Mr. John Wolseley, he wrote the following letter 
 to the Duke of Clarence : — 
 
 " Sir, — Since the period I had the honour of 
 receiving your gracious answer to my application 
 for the promotion of my son, Lieut. J. H. 
 Wolseley, it has pleased God to remove him from 
 this world. He fell a sacrifice to the climate 
 of Rio Janeiro, where he served three years in 
 the flag-ship, under my friend Sir George Eyre, 
 and his untimely death has left me in a state 
 of the greatest anxiety, as my two daughters 
 may soon be left without competent protection. 
 And my immediate object in now addressing 
 your Royal Highness, is to state that my only 
 remaining son (Cosby Wm. Wolseley) named 
 after my uncle the late Admiral Cosby, has 
 now completed his course of studies in Dublin 
 College, is 2 1 years of age ; and was intended 
 for the Church. But his dislike to that pro- 
 fession makes me anxious to provide for him in 
 
236 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 some other line of life. Your Royal Highness 
 will excuse the partiality of a father, when I 
 say that there is hardly to be seen a finer young 
 man anywhere. Your Royal Highness was so 
 kind when I had the honour of seeing you last 
 at Bath, as to offer to get this son of mine a 
 commission in the army, if I placed him at 
 Sandhurst. But the strong repugnance of his 
 departed mother to have both her sons in mili- 
 tary professions prevented it. He is now un- 
 provided for, and just entering life. I should 
 end my days with satisfaction if I could see him 
 in a situation to afford his sisters that protection 
 they may soon stand in need of And it is 
 on his, and their behalf that I beg your Royal 
 Highness will have the goodness, to provide for 
 him in some way so that my wishes may be 
 realized. And with his abilities, education, and 
 attachment to your Royal Highness's interest, I 
 have no doubt you would find him useful in your 
 Household if there was a vacancy. I beg your 
 Royal Highness will forgive my troubling you 
 with this long letter, and hope for a favourable 
 answer to my anxious request for this my only 
 son. Relying on your Royal Highness's gracious 
 friendship and goodness of heart, I have the honour 
 to remain, your Royal Highness's much obliged 
 and faithful humble servant, 
 
 ** William Wolseley." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEr 237 
 
 The following is the Duke of Clarence's 
 answer : — 
 
 "Bushy House, Deer, ^th^ 1827. 
 *' Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of 30th instant 
 from Rostrevor I lament exceedingly the lament- 
 able loss of your son. I can and do enter most 
 fully into your natural and proper wishes respecting 
 your surviving son, and wish he had entered the 
 army, for then I might have served him. But 
 however elevated my present situation is, I must 
 not apply to Ministers, and really in my depart- 
 ment there is not anything with his fortune he 
 could accept. — Ever believe me, Dear Sir, yours 
 sincerely, William." 
 
 Although this reply appears rather an unsatis- 
 factory one, very shortly after the Admiral had 
 received it, in the beginning of 1828, Mr. Cosby 
 Wolseley was appointed ensign, or, as that rank 
 would now be styled, sub-lieutenant, in the 32nd 
 Regiment.* His commission was given to him by 
 the Duke of Clarence, and was sent with an inti- 
 mation that the gift was *'a mark of his Royal 
 Highness's regard and esteem for Mr. Wolseley's 
 father." The Duke's kindness was deeply felt, and 
 the regard of his Royal Highness was most warmly 
 reciprocated by Admiral Wolseley. 
 
 ^ Mr. Wolseley some years afterwards exchanged into the 8th 
 King's Regiment. He retired from the army in 1839 or in the 
 beginning of 1840. 
 
238 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 About two years later the Duke became King 
 of England, King George IV. having died on 
 the 26th of June 1830. The funeral, however, 
 did not take place till the 15th of July; and 
 Admiral Wolseley, by the new King's directions, 
 was one of the naval officers invited to be pre- 
 sent. He went over from Rostrevor to attend 
 the ceremony, and was one of the admirals 
 who were appointed to be *' Supporters of the 
 Canopy " that surmounted the King's coffin. 
 
 Evidently, before the Admiral received the 
 invitation, private intimation was given that it 
 would be sent to him ; and I find among the 
 papers concerning this event a printed notice, 
 dated "Earl Marshal's Office, Whitehall Yard, 
 7th July 1830," in which it is stated that, by the 
 King's commands, "the great Officers of State, 
 His Majesty's Ministers, and the Officers of the 
 Royal Household" were to appear in their "State 
 Uniforms " ; and that all officers of the army 
 and navy attending the ceremony were to 
 "appear in their respective full-dress uniforms, 
 pantaloons and boots, with the mourning directed 
 to be worn by them at Court, as notified in the 
 Gazette of the 28th of June last." Next among 
 the mementos of King George's funeral appears 
 the following formal invitation, on paper with 
 broad black edges : — 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 239 
 
 " Earl Marshal's Office, Whitehall Yard, 
 
 \2,th July 1830. 
 
 . '^The Earl Marshal has it in Command to re- 
 quest the attendance of Admiral Wolseley to 
 assist at the Interment of His late Most Sacred 
 Majesty of blessed Memory in the Royal Chapel 
 of St. George at Windsor on Thursday Evening 
 the 15th Instant at seven o'clock." 
 
 The Earl Marshal's regulations for the cere- 
 mony are somewhat in the style of a programme. 
 They were printed on both sides of three half- 
 sheets of paper, surrounded by broad black 
 borders ; and the three sheets are stitched to- 
 gether. From this document it appears that, 
 unlike the state funerals of the present day, no 
 princesses of the royal family appeared in the 
 procession, or were apparently present in the 
 chapel ; and it seems rather strange that none 
 of the bands of the regiments attended, and the 
 cortege was preceded merely by their fifes and 
 drums. 
 
 Obviously to prevent people who were unin- 
 vited from presenting themselves at Windsor 
 Castle or at the chapel, *' tickets of admission" 
 were issued from the Earl Marshal's office ; and 
 Admiral Wolseley's ticket has been preserved 
 among the other mementos of King George's 
 funeral. 
 
 Seven o'clock was the hour mentioned in the 
 
240 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 invitation ; and probably those who were to 
 assist at the ceremony were required to assemble 
 at Windsor Castle at that time, although it is 
 evident that the procession was not to leave 
 until nine o'clock. 
 
 The Earl Marshal's directions for the funeral give 
 a very fair idea of the style in which the ceremony 
 was performed, and therefore I take some extracts 
 from them. At the top of the first page, printed in 
 large letters, is the word ** Ceremonial," and imme- 
 diately underneath is the following paragraph : — 
 
 '*On Thursday Evening the 15th Instant, at 
 nine o'clock, the Procession (having been pre- 
 viously formed in St. George's Hall) will move 
 through the State Apartment, and the Royal 
 Remains be conveyed to Saint George's Chapel 
 in the following order : — 
 
 ** Trumpets and Kettle-Drums, and Drums and 
 Fifes of the Foot Guards. 
 
 " Drums and Fifes of the Royal Household. 
 
 ** Trumpets and Kettle-Drums of the Royal 
 Household. 
 
 ** Knight Marshal's Men, two and two, with 
 black staves." 
 
 Then were to follow the Knight Marshal's 
 officers, the Knight Marshal himself, and the 
 ** Poor Knights of Windsor,^ the officers of ''His 
 late Majesty's Household," the "Lords of the Admi- 
 ralty, attended by their Secretaries" ; and after them, 
 
 1 Now called the " Military Knights of Windsor." 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 241 
 
 all the great dignitaries of the Church and the Bar, 
 Privy Councillors, and eldest sons of peers, &c. 
 
 After them the *' Banners of Brunswick, 
 Hanover, Ireland, Scotland, St. George, and the 
 Union Banner" were to be borne by peers; 
 and immediately after was to come "The Royal 
 Standard," followed by *' Blanc Coursier King 
 of Arms," bearing the Royal Crown of Hanover 
 on a purple velvet cushion ; and at each side of 
 him, as his " Supporters," a gentleman usher. 
 After them was to come ** Clarencieux King of 
 Arms," bearing the Imperial Crown of the United 
 Kingdom, in the same manner ; with his two sup- 
 porters, followed by more dignitaries of the late 
 King's household, who were immediately to precede 
 *'The Royal Body, — Covered with a Purple Velvet 
 Pall, adorned with Ten Escocheons of the Imperial 
 Arms, under a Canopy of Purple Velvet." 
 
 At the right side were to be, as *' Supporters 
 of the Pall, three Dukes, assisted by the eldest 
 sons of Dukes " ; and beyond them, at their right, 
 were to be, as ''Supporters of the Canopy, Five 
 Peers, assisted by Eight Generals in the Army." 
 
 At the left side were to be, as *' Supporters of the 
 Pall, Three Dukes, assisted by two eldest sons of 
 Dukes" ; and beyond them, on their left, as *' Sup- 
 porters of the Canopy, Five Peers, assisted by Eight 
 Admirals in the Royal Navy." 
 
 "Garter Principal King of Arms, bearing his 
 Sceptre," with a gentleman usher at each side, 
 
 Q 
 
242 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 was to follow. And the Marquis of Winchester 
 bearing "the Cap of Maintenance/* and the Duke 
 of Wellington bearing *'the Sword of State," were 
 then immediately to precede 
 
 "The Chief Mourner, the King's Most Excel- 
 lent Majesty, in a long Purple Cloak, with the Star 
 of the Order of the Garter embroidered thereon, 
 wearing the Collars of the Garter, the Bath, the 
 Thistle, St. Patrick, and of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelphic Order ; attended by His Royal Highness 
 Prince George of Cumberland." 
 
 His "Train Bearers" were to be two Dukes; 
 and at each side, but apparently a little behind the 
 King, was to be a Duke as " Supporter"; and follow- 
 ing the train-bearers were to come " Sixteen Peers, 
 Assistants to the Chief Mourner." Next to them 
 were to come " The Princes of the Blood Royal " — 
 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex," and with him 
 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland." Behind 
 them " H.R.H. the Prince Leopold of Saxe- 
 Coburg," with "H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester." 
 Each prince was to wear " a long black cloak with 
 the Star of the Order of the Garter embroidered 
 thereon," and was also to wear the Collars of all 
 the different Orders possessed by him ; and "His 
 Train " was to be " borne by two Gentlemen of His 
 Royal Highnesses Household." 
 
 After them the procession was to be ended by 
 " a Royal Guard of Honour . . . from the King's 
 Company, the Coldstream and 3rd Regiments of 
 
 (( 
 
 <( 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 243 
 
 Guards " ; and following them ** the Gentlemen Pen- 
 sioners, with their axes reversed ; and the Yeomen 
 of the Guard, with their partizans reversed." 
 
 At the end of the programme it is stated that **the 
 Procession was to be flanked by the Grenadiers of 
 Foot Guards, every fourth Man bearing a Flam- 
 beau." Upon the arrival of the procession at St. 
 George's Chapel, the trumpets and drums and the 
 Knight Marshal's men and officers were to *'file 
 off without the door." 
 
 **At the entrance of the Chapel the Royal 
 Body " was to be " received by the Dean and 
 Prebendaries, attended by the Choirs of Windsor 
 and the Chapel Royal," &c.; *'and the ** Procession " 
 was to **move down the South Aisle and up the 
 Nave, into the Choir, where the Royal Body" 
 was to be ** placed on a platform under a canopy 
 of purple velvet, thereon escocheons of the Royal 
 Arms, and surmounted by an Imperial Crown." 
 
 " His Majesty, the Chief Mourner," was to ** sit on 
 a Chair of State," at the head of the Royal Body ; 
 and their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Cumber- 
 land, Sussex, Gloucester, Prince George of Cumber- 
 land, and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg were to 
 be seated near his Majesty the Chief Mourner." 
 
 ** The Lord Chamberlain of His Majesty's House- 
 hold" was to take his place at the feet, and the 
 ** Supporters of the Pall and of the Canopy " were 
 to ** arrange themselves on each side of the Royal 
 Body.' 
 
244 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 "The Peers bearing the Banners" were to be 
 ''arranged at each side near the Altar" ; and "the 
 Knights of the Garter present" were to occupy 
 their respective Stalls, with the exception of the 
 Supporters to the Chief Mourner," who were to be 
 at each side of him. 
 
 "The part of the Service before the interment 
 and the Anthem being performed, the Royal Body " 
 was to be "deposited in the vault, and the Service 
 being concluded, Sir George Nayler, Principal King 
 of Arms " was to " pronounce near the grave the 
 Styles of His late Most Sacred Majesty, of blessed 
 memory." 
 
 These regulations for the ceremony were dated, 
 ^'Earl Marshals Office, Whitehall- Yard, 12th July, 
 1830." Probably a copy was sent to every one 
 who was to assist at the interment of King George 
 IV., and doubtless the whole of the "Ceremonial" 
 arranged by " Norfolk Earl Marshal " was duly 
 carried out upon the evening of the 1 5th. 
 
 Towards the end of 1834 Mr. and Mrs. Innes 
 took a villa near Southampton for the winter 
 months, and Admiral Wolseley and his youngest 
 daughter paid them a long visit there, and before 
 returning to Rostrevor, went to Portsmouth for a 
 few days. A friend of the Admiral was captain 
 of the guardship stationed there, and they spent 
 an afternoon on board. It was the first time Miss 
 Wolseley had ever been in a man-of-war, and after 
 having spent so much of his life at sea, and having 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 245 
 
 been in command of so many himself, it was, I 
 believe, the last time the old Admiral was ever on 
 board of one. 
 
 On the loth of January 1837 he was appointed 
 Admiral of the Red, in consequence, as it appears 
 from a letter addressed to him by an official at the 
 Admiralty, of ** His Majesty having been pleased to 
 order a Promotion of Flag Officers of His Fleet." 
 It was, probably, the last promotion of flag officers 
 that took place during the short reign of William 
 IV., as the King's death occurred a few months 
 later, on the 20th of the following June. Admiral 
 Wolseley was at that time staying on a visit at 
 Hilton Park, with his youngest daughter, Mrs. 
 Madden, and her husband, Colonel Madden. In 
 consequence of the King s invariable kindness to 
 him, the Admiral was greatly attached to his 
 Majesty ; and a lady who was also a guest in the 
 house, and who was then a child of seven years of 
 age, still remembers how much grieved and affected 
 the Admiral appeared to be on the morning on 
 which the newspaper arrived in which an account 
 was given of the death of King William IV. 
 
 Of the remaining years of Admiral Wolseley's 
 life there is not much to be written. He con- 
 tinued to live at The Anchorage, his little place 
 at Rostrevor ; and after his eldest daughter, Mrs. 
 Innes, became a widow, much of his time, 
 especially during the summer months, was spent 
 at Dromantine. 
 
246 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 Towards the end of 1839 the Admiral went 
 to Caen, with his daughter and her children ; and 
 it was during the winter they spent there that 
 the greater part of the little memoir from which 
 I have so often quoted was written by Mrs. Innes 
 from her father's dictation. It was, however, pro- 
 bably put away on the arrival of some friends 
 who had been invited to spend some weeks with 
 them, as it was apparently not finished till the 
 summer, a part of which was spent by Admiral 
 Wolseley and Mrs. Innes in Paris. 
 
 They left Caen about the end of April or 
 beginning of May 1 840. Admiral Wolseley was at 
 that time entering upon his eighty-fifth year, and it 
 was during this, his last visit to Paris that the fine 
 portrait at Dromantine, which was considered an 
 extremely good likeness of the Admiral, was painted 
 by Jules Laur, a young artist who had shortly 
 before exhibited a picture in the Salon, which, I 
 believe, was thought by good judges to have been 
 one of the best that appeared there that year.^ 
 
 To allow this portrait, which was painted for 
 his daughter, Mrs. Innes, to be finished. Admiral 
 Wolseley was detained in Paris, I think, until the 
 middle of July. He then returned to Ireland with 
 his son, Mr. Cosby Wolseley, who had at that time 
 retired from the army. 
 
 1 M. Laur died, I believe, about three years after he took the 
 likeness of the Admiral. If he had lived he would probably have 
 been a celebrated painter. 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 247 
 
 The winter of 1841 and spring of 1842 were 
 spent by Admiral Wolseley in London. His son, 
 Mr. Cosby Wolseley, was with him, and Mrs. Innes 
 afterwards joined her father and brother there. 
 During the early part of the winter the Admiral 
 was in good health, and used to drive in an open 
 carriage in the park, with his daughter and her 
 children, every day when the weather permitted. 
 But about the middle of April the old wound, 
 received so many years previously, when he so 
 generously took the place of another officer at 
 the storming of Fort Ostenberg, and which had 
 since occasionally given trouble, again opened^ 
 and could not be got to heal. 
 
 The surgeons in attendance were of opinion 
 that something still remained in the wound that 
 should have been extracted, and it was conse- 
 quently decided that an operation was to be per- 
 formed. A jagged piece of lead about the size of 
 a large pea, and some substance, thought by them 
 to have been a piece of the cloth of the coat the 
 Admiral was wearing at the time he received the 
 wound, were taken from it. 
 
 Both the surgeons present afterwards expressed 
 to Mr. Cosby Wolseley the greatest admiration 
 of the great courage and endurance shown by 
 the old Admiral during the operation, which must 
 have been an extremely painful one, and in those 
 days neither chloroform nor ether were ever used. 
 
 At first their patient appeared to be doing well ; 
 
248 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 but at his age such an operation, especially when 
 performed without any opiate, must have been 
 a very serious trial to the constitution, and after a 
 few weeks it became evident that the wound was 
 not likely to heal, and that he was fast losing 
 strength. The surgeons talked of performing 
 another operation, on the supposition that in the 
 former one they had not been successful in re- 
 moving all that was in the wound. But in conse- 
 quence of the very weak state of the poor old 
 Admiral, they were afraid to undertake it. He 
 continued to lose strength from day to day, and 
 having about three months before that time com- 
 pleted his eighty -sixth year, he died, apparently 
 without pain, on the 7th of June 1842. 
 
 Admiral Wolseley was a man of strong religious 
 principles, and during the last years of his life, 
 when, from his great age, he was no longer able 
 to go to church, his daughter, Mrs. Innes, 
 generally read the Morning Service to him every 
 Sunday. And among the early recollections of 
 the writer, with every little detail distinctly im- 
 pressed upon her mind, is one of the venerable 
 old man as he sat slightly bending forward in his 
 arm-chair, one Sunday morning during their stay in 
 Paris, with his clasped hands resting on his knees, 
 while he reverently repeated in a low voice the 
 prayers and responses that her mother was engaged 
 in reading to him. 
 
 At the time of his death Admiral Wolseley was 
 
ADMIRAL WOLSELEY 249 
 
 at the head of the list of admirals of the Red 
 Squadron, and was consequently the third senior 
 officer in the navy, the Lord High Admiral of 
 England and the Admiral of the Fleet being the 
 only two officers above him. 
 
 It only remains to be said that the slight records 
 still left of Admiral Wolseley's life show that he 
 held a high place in the estimation of the dis- 
 tinguished commanders under whom he had the 
 honour of serving, and that, evidently, that position 
 was gained by his steady good conduct and strict 
 performance of duty. He was also apparently, 
 in consequence of the kindness and amiability of 
 his disposition, equally successful in winning the 
 affection and esteem of those who served in the 
 different vessels under his command. And although 
 his services to his country were not such as to 
 entitle his name to a place on the long roll of 
 British heroes who have gained immortal fame, 
 and whose splendid deeds are historical, the 
 records of Admiral Wolseley's life prove that he 
 shared with conspicuous courage in the dangers 
 of many a well-fought battle, and that he invariably 
 distinguished himself whenever the opportunity 
 offered. 
 
 Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. 
 Edinburgh and London 
 
 R 
 
"l 
 
 1