Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 by William O. S. Gilly

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Three waggon-loads of the dead were next morning taken to a place near
the hospital, and there buried. About one hundred bodies, shockingly
mangled, were buried in one pit on the beach. The remains of all the
officers (with the exception of Captain Edwards) were found, and were
interred the following Sunday with military honours.

The reader may be interested by being informed of a few of the
providential escapes which were experienced by Lieutenant Jones (now
Rear-Admiral Jones), one of the few survivors of the catastrophe above
described. This officer had been midshipman of the Providence,
discovery-ship, commanded by Captain William Broughton, which vessel,
after many dangerous vicissitudes, was finally wrecked among the
Japanese islands. Mr. Jones having faced all the dangers consequent on
such a trying position, with difficulty escaped a watery grave, by
taking refuge, with the rest of the officers and crew, on board the
tender which accompanied this ill-fated ship. This great addition to
her small complement, and her want of accommodation, produced a
virulent disease amongst the crew, from which Sir. Jones did not
escape. On arrival at Macao, Mr. Jones was ordered a passage, with his
surviving shipmates and crew of the Providence, to England, in the
Swift, sloop of war, selected to convoy a large fleet of Indiamen. The
evening before their departure, it was found that the accommodation in
the Swift was not sufficient for the supernumeraries, and,
consequently, Mr. Jones and Lord George Stuart (also a midshipman of
the Providence) were, by order of Captain Broughton, distributed among
the merchant ships, the former to the Carnatic, the latter to the
Duke of Buccleugh. The Swift and her convoy sailed on the morrow. They
had not proceeded far, before a succession of violent typhoons
overtook them, which scattered and disabled the Indiamen, most of
which were obliged to return to India; but the Swift foundered: she
was seen for a short time struggling with the elements, and making
signals of distress--a moment more, and she disappeared for ever.'

Mr. Jones, arriving at the Cape of Good Hope, was detained by Rear
Admiral Pringle, and employed to communicate with his flag-ship, the
Tremendous, then in a state of mutiny, the mutineers having put her
officers ashore. His courage on this occasion was much lauded, as it
was believed by all, and expected by himself, that he would have been
thrown overboard. Harmony was at length restored on board the
Tremendous, and six of the mutineers were executed. As a reward for
his services, Mr. Jones was appointed acting lieutenant of the
Sceptre: his preservation, and the part he acted on that occasion,
have already been described.

When lieutenant of the Ajax, attached to the fleet under Sir J.
Borlase Warren, lying in Vigo Bay, he was sent with a boat's crew to
the assistance of the Tartarus, sloop of war, which ship was then
driving to leeward in a gale on a rocky shore. So inevitable appeared
her destruction, that the officers and crew had abandoned her, after
letting go an anchor, to retard her expected crash against the rocks.
At this critical moment, whilst held by only one strand of the cable,
Lieutenant Jones's boat (although nearly swamped by the frequent
shipping of seas) neared the ship; and this officer, watching an
opportunity, sprung on board with his intrepid crew, and, by almost
superhuman exertions, succeeded in hauling her ahead. She had just
reached the point of safety, when her officers and crew, who
witnessed her more favourable position, brought about by Lieutenant
Jones's courage and perseverance, returned on board, and Lieutenant
Jones and his gallant followers rejoined their ship amidst the cheers
of the fleet. For this service Lieutenant Jones was sent for by the
commander-in-chief, and thanked by him on the quarter-deck of his
flag-ship.

As lieutenant of the Naiad, this officer had the misfortune to be
involved in a serious quarrel with his superior officer (Lieutenant
Dean), and on that person using very abusive, and unofficer-like
language, Lieutenant Jones struck him. A court martial being held,
Lieutenant Jones was sentenced to be hanged; but, in consideration of
the very provoking language used by Lieutenant Dean, and Lieutenant
Jones's previous irreproachable conduct, his Majesty George the Third
was graciously pleased to pardon him, and restore him to his former
position in the Navy, while Lieutenant Dean was dismissed the service.

THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE.

One of the greatest calamities that ever befel a ship belonging to the
British Navy was the destruction of the Queen Charlotte of 100 guns,
launched in 1790. She was the sister-ship to the Royal George, and was
destined to a no less tragical fate. Her first cruise was with the
fleet fitted out against Spain; Lord Howe, the commander-in-chief,
being on board of her; and she carried his flag on the 1st of June.

She was afterwards sent to the Mediterranean, under the command of
Captain James Todd, and bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith.
Before entering upon our narrative, we may be permitted to apologize
for any inaccuracy, or lack of incident, that may be apparent in the
following account, by stating that the official reports of the
disaster are so vague and imperfect, that it is almost impossible to
give the details of it as fully as we could wish; and so many years
have elapsed since the event, that we cannot obtain information from
private sources.

On the 16th of March, 1800, Lord Keith, with Lieutenant Stewart, and
four other persons, having landed at Leghorn, directed Captain Todd to
proceed in the Queen Charlotte to reconnoitre the Island of Cabrera,
about thirty miles from Leghorn, then in possession of the French, and
which it was his lordship's intention to attack.

At four o'clock on the morning of the 17th, the men who were washing
the decks stowed some hay close aft to the admiral's cabin, near a
match-tub, in which it was usual to keep a match burning, for the
purpose of firing signals. At six o'clock, when the men were in the
act of removing the hay, a portion of it was discovered to have
ignited. Not a moment was lost in giving the alarm, and those at hand
used every means in their power to extinguish the slumbering element;
but the fire had been smouldering for some time before it was
discovered. The water thrown upon it from the buckets was useless--the
flames bursting forth with such violence that they baffled the most
strenuous efforts to overcome them. Such was the posture of affairs
when the captain, officers, and men, alarmed by the cry of fire,
rushed from all parts of the ship to the scene of conflagration. It
would be no easy task to describe the feelings of a number of human
beings thus suddenly and awfully awakened to the perils of their
situation. For the moment, no doubt, fear predominated over every
other feeling, and a degree of confusion ensued. Nor can this be
regarded with astonishment, when we remember that of all the dangers
to which a sailor is familiarized in his hazardous profession, none is
so fraught with horror as a fire at sea.

The battle has no terror for him: he rushes to the conflict excited by
the cheers of his comrades and the hopes of victory--

Though fore and aft the blood-stained deck,
Should lifeless trunks appear,
Or should the vessel float a wreck,
The sailor knows no fear.

He glories in the stormy sea, and in 'the wild wind's roar:' they fill
him with a fierce delight, while with steady hand and steadfast heart
he obeys the voice of his commander; he trusts to his good ship, and
'laughs at the storm and the battle.'

But how differently does he feel, when roused from his deep slumber by
the cry of fire. He rushes upon deck, but half awake, to meet an enemy
far more terrible than any he has yet encountered. He finds himself
enveloped in a suffocating smoke--here and there gleams a lurid
flame--the fire becomes gradually more vivid: it rises higher and
higher; grows brighter and brighter. In vain he looks for
help,--beneath, nothing meets his eye but the boundless waste of
waters, that can avail so little to quench those flames; above, the
pathless fields of air, that serve but to increase their fury. The
insidious enemy quietly but surely creeps onward, and the sailor knows
but too well, that if not speedily arrested, the flames must reach the
powder magazine, and then a few smouldering fragments strewed upon the
waters will alone remain of the gallant ship and her living freight.

Such was the hideous form in which death presented itself to the minds
of the crew of the Queen Charlotte, who now anxiously turned their
eyes to their captain and officers, in the hope that, as on former
occasions, their example and assistance might enable them to avert the
threatened danger. Nor was their confidence misplaced.

Captain Todd and his first lieutenant (Mr. Bainbridge) stood upon the
quarter-deck, displaying a calmness and self-possession of which the
effects were soon felt throughout the vessel, and restored order among
the ship's company.

They went among the people, calming their fears, and encouraging them
to increased exertion, neither of them seeming for a moment to think
of his own safety in comparison with that of his companions in danger.

All that man could do in such a case was done; but human foresight and
presence of mind were of no avail against the irresistible power of
that relentless enemy.

The flames darted up the mainmast, reached the boats upon the boom,
and now wrapped in wreathing fires the whole of the quarter-deck,
from whence all had been driven save the captain and first lieutenant,
who still nobly kept their posts.

Amongst those who more particularly distinguished themselves on this
occasion (where all did their duty) was Lieutenant the Hon. G.H.L.
Dundas. This officer was roused from his sleep by the sentinel
announcing to him that the ship was on fire. Springing from his cot,
he hastily put on some clothes and attempted to ascend the after
hatchway, but was driven back by the smoke. He then went to the main
hatchway, and had almost reached the top of the ladder, when he was so
overpowered, that he fell exhausted upon the middle deck.

When he had in some degree recovered, he rushed to the fore hatchway
and thence to the forecastle, where he found the first lieutenant,
some petty officers, and the greater part of the ship's company. These
were endeavouring to haul up the mainsail which was in flames. The
carpenter, seeing Lieutenant Dundas, suggested that he might direct
some of the men to sluice the lower decks, and secure the hatchways,
to prevent the fire reaching that part of the ship.

Mr. Dundas collected about seventy men, who volunteered to accompany
him, and descended to the lower decks. The ports were opened, the
cocks turned, and water thrown upon the decks. All the hammocks were
cleared away, and as many people as could be spared were employed in
heaving water upon the burning wood, rigging, and spars, which kept
falling down the hatchways. The gratings were fastened down and
covered over with wet blankets and hammocks. In this way the lower
deck was kept free from fire for some time, until at length it broke
out in both of the transom cabins, and burnt forward with great
rapidity. Mr. Dundas and his party did not leave that part of ship,
till several of the middle guns came through the deck.

At nine o'clock, finding it impossible to remain longer below, he got
out of one of the starboard lower deck ports, and reached the
forecastle, followed by most of the officers and men who had been with
him. On the forecastle, about 250 men were drawing water, and throwing
it upon the fire as far aft as possible.

For nearly four hours every exertion was made to subdue the flames.
Officers and men behaved with heroic courage and self-possession; but
in spite of their almost superhuman efforts, the flames rolled on, and
the destruction of the ship became inevitable.

With fruitless toil the crew oppose the flame,
No art can now the spreading mischief tame.

And many of that gallant company verified the poet's description:
almost maddened by the intense heat, they sprung overboard and
perished.

Some, when the flames could be no more withstood,
By wild despair directed, 'midst the flood,
Themselves in haste from the tall vessel threw,
And from a dry to liquid ruin flew.
Sad choice of death, when those who shun the fire,
Must to as fierce an element retire.

Lieut. Archibald Duff, who had been alarmed by the firing of guns,
attempted to get out of the ward-room door, but was driven back by the
smoke. He at last succeeded in scrambling out of the quarter gallery,
and reached the poop, from whence he jumped into the sea, and was
picked up by the launch, when in the act of casting off the tow-rope.
He had hardly left the ship when the mizenmast fell over the side, by
which great numbers were thrown into the water, and left struggling in
the waves; for, as the launch had only one oar, and neither sail nor
mast, she drifted much faster than the men could swim, and many, whom
those on board her would gladly have saved, perished within a few feet
of the boat.

At length a ray of hope dawned upon the anxious survivors: vessels and
boats were seen coming towards them from Leghorn; and as they neared
the ship, every heart beat quicker, and every hand was nerved with
increased strength. But the boats' crews, alarmed by the explosion of
the guns, which were most of them shotted, refused to approach nearer,
and hove to. Seeing their hesitation, the crew of the Queen Charlotte
gave them three cheers to encourage them. The English cheers seemed to
have the desired effect, for again the boats pulled towards the
hapless vessel; but it was afterwards discovered that this renewed
activity was entirely owing to the persuasions of Lieut. Stewart and
other English officers who were in the boats.

Lord Keith, who was watching with intense anxiety the destruction of
his noble ship, used every possible effort to induce the Tuscans to
put to sea; but his entreaties, backed as they were by the commands of
the governor and other authorities, had no influence save with a few
only, and even these, when they did venture to the rescue, were with
great difficulty prevailed upon to approach the vessel. A boat from an
American ship presented a striking contrast. She was manned by three
men only, who, in their generous ardour to save the lives of their
fellow-creatures, came alongside too incautiously, so that the
wretched sufferers from the burning deck leaped into the boat in such
numbers that she capsized, and every one of them perished. The fire
had now advanced so rapidly that it was impossible to bear the heat on
the forecastle, and most of the people got on to the bowsprit and
jib-boom. The latter, however, gave way under the pressure, and
numbers were precipitated into the water and drowned.

The boats, headed by Lieutenant Stewart, approached about ten o'clock,
and the people continued dropping into them from the ship for some
time. Captain Todd and Mr. Bainbridge continued to the last to give
orders for the safety of those who remained alive.

Lieutenant Duff gives the following account of the closing scene:--

'Lieutenant Stewart's ardour in the cause of humanity was only
equalled by his judgment in affording relief. When he reached the
Queen Charlotte, he dropped his tartane under the bows, where almost
all the remaining crew had taken refuge. Little more than an hour had
elapsed, after this assistance was given, before the ship blew up. All
that had been left unburnt immediately sunk down by the stern, but
when the ponderous contents of the hold had been washed away, she for
an instant recovered her buoyancy, and was suddenly seen to emerge
almost her whole length from the deep, and then, turning over, she
floated on the surface, with her burnished copper glistening in the
sun.'

Such was the fate of the Queen Charlotte, which, excepting the Ville
de Paris, was the largest ship in the British navy.

With the gallant vessel perished six hundred and seventy-three of her
men and officers; amongst whom were Captain Todd and Lieutenant
Bainbridge. These two officers, with heroic self-devotion, remained to
share the fate of their ship, occupied to the last in endeavouring to
save the lives of the men.

Before Captain Todd fell a victim to the flames, he had the presence
of mind to write the particulars of the melancholy event, and to give
copies of his account to several of the sailors, charging them to
deliver it to the admiral if they should be so fortunate as to
escape.[5]

The following daring exploit is related of Lieutenant Bainbridge in
James's _Naval History_. We transcribe it as affording a striking
example of the union of undaunted courage with endurance in the
character of a British sailor.

"On the evening of the 21st of December, the British hired 10 gun
cutter, Lady Nelson, while off Carbareta Point, was surrounded and
engaged by two or three French privateers, and some gun vessels, in
sight of the 100 gun ship, Queen Charlotte, and the 36 gun frigate
Emerald, lying in Gibraltar Bay. Vice-Admiral Lord Keith, whose flag
was flying on board the former ship, immediately ordered the boats of
the two to row towards the combatants, in the hope that it might
encourage the Lady Nelson to resist, until she could approach near
enough to be covered by the guns of the ships. Before the boats could
get up, however, the Lady Nelson had been captured, and was in tow by
two of the privateers.

"Notwithstanding this, Lieutenant Bainbridge, in the Queen Charlotte's
barge, with sixteen men, ran alongside, and boarded with the greatest
impetuosity; and after a sharp conflict, carried the Lady Nelson,
taking as prisoners seven French officers and twenty-seven men.--six
or seven others having been killed or knocked overboard in the
scuffle. Lieutenant Bainbridge was severely wounded in the head by the
stroke of a sabre, and slightly in other places."

We have seen how, a few months afterwards, this brave officer
patiently anticipated death in a more terrible form on board the Queen
Charlotte.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] _Naval Chronicle_, vol. iii. p. 302.

THE INVINCIBLE.

The Invincible, of 74 guns, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Totty,
and commanded by Captain Rennie, sailed from Yarmouth on the morning
of the 16th of March, 1801, to join the fleet of Admiral Sir Hyde
Parker in the Baltic.

The master and the pilot were both considered very skilful mariners of
those seas, and their orders were to navigate the ship into the North
Sea, and to put her in the way of joining the fleet to the northward,
as soon as she had cleared all the shoals.

About half-past two o'clock, P.M., of the same day, the Invincible,
going at the rate of nine knots an hour, struck violently upon a
sand-bank, and before the sails could be furled, she was fast aground
in little more than three fathoms water.

The pilot and master assured Captain Rennie that there was no danger,
and that the ship must have struck upon a lately formed knowl. In
order to lighten her as much as possible, the yards and topmasts were
struck, and some of the provisions thrown overboard, and then strong
hopes were entertained that she would float off the bank with the next
tide.

During this time she lay tolerably quiet, and the water gained but
little upon the pumps. Every means was used to draw the attention of
vessels passing near--guns were fired, and signals hoisted; but they
remained unanswered until about five o'clock, P.M., when a cutter was
observed scudding towards Yarmouth Roads, as if to inform Admiral
Dickson of the situation of the Invincible. As the ship remained easy,
neither the officers nor men suspected that the danger was imminent,
and they performed their duty with the same regularity as if the ship
were proceeding under ordinary circumstances.

All went on well until about half-past five, P.M., when the wind
freshened, and the vessel began to beat the ground with such violence,
that it was thought necessary to cut away the masts. The ship at this
time dropped from three and a half into seventeen fathoms. She was
then brought to with her bower anchor, and there appeared every
probability of her getting safely off till about nine o'clock, when
the flood-tide was making; she then lost her rudder, became
unmanageable, and was driven back upon the rock.

Fortunately a fishing-smack had come near the Invincible a short time
before, and Admiral Totty learnt from her master that the ship had
struck upon Hammond's knowl; whereupon the admiral requested that the
smack might be anchored as near as possible, so as to be ready in case
of emergency.

In the meantime, the ship continued to strike with increasing
violence, and the water gained considerably upon the pumps. At ten
o'clock, the wind rose, and again the ship swung off into deep water,
and the only prospect of saving her was by pumping and baling till
daylight. Both officers and men laboured incessantly at the pumps, but
all to no purpose, for unfortunately the Invincible was an old ship
(built in the year 1766), and the water gained fast upon them in spite
of all their efforts. Admiral Totty, seeing there was no hope of
saving the ship, ordered Captain Rennie to send all the boys, and the
least able of the crew and passengers, on board the smack, and to make
arrangements for the rest of the crew to leave the ship at daybreak,
or sooner, if possible.

A boat was lowered, into which the admiral and his secretary
immediately descended, with as many others as she would carry, and
they reached the smack in safety. Two other boats were also lowered
and filled with people, but they were less fortunate than the
admiral's, for before they reached the smack, the tide being to
windward and against them, they were carried out to sea, and all on
board would inevitably have perished, if they had not been picked up
by a collier, which conveyed them in safety to Yarmouth.

The fishing-smack, with the admiral on board, remained at anchor
during the night, without being able to afford the slightest
assistance to the crew of the Invincible. At daybreak, as soon as the
tide permitted, the cable of the smack was cut, and she stretched
under the stern of the ship, endeavouring by all possible means to get
alongside of her, but before that could be accomplished, the ill-fated
vessel began to sink. About sixty men jumped into the launch, but they
had only just time to clear the poop, when the gallant ship went down
with four hundred men.

And first one universal shriek there rush'd,
Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash
Of echoing thunder, and then all was hush'd,
Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash
Of billows: but at intervals there gushed,
Accompanied with a convulsive splash,
A solitary shriek, the bubbling cry
Of some strong swimmer in his agony.
LORD BYRON.

'The horror of the scene,' writes Admiral Totty, 'and the screams of
the unhappy sufferers, at the moment the ship went down, exceed all
power of description. Numbers who were struggling with the waves
attempted to lay hold of the launch, but the boat was already
overladen, and, for the safety of those who were in her, the drowning
wretches were beaten off, and, soon exhausted, they perished in the
waves.'

Captain Rennie remained in his ship till she sank. He then attempted
to swim to the launch, and by great exertion got within reach of her
oars, when, too much exhausted to make any further effort, he was seen
to raise his hands as if in supplication to Heaven, then putting them
before his face, sank into his watery grave. All the other
commissioned officers, with the exception of Lieutenants Robert Tucker
and Charles Quart, perished.

Captain Rennie had distinguished himself, when a lieutenant, at the
Helder; and Admiral Mitchell had mentioned him in such high terms of
commendation in his public despatches, that he was made a
post-captain. After remaining for some time unemployed, he was
appointed to the Invincible, and proud of his first command, full of
life and hope, he had just put to sea when this melancholy catastrophe
closed a career that held out such bright prospects for the future.

We must not be supposed to have more feeling for an officer than for
the men before the mast. If we dwell with peculiar sorrow upon the
loss of a brave commander, like Captain Rennie, it is not that we are
indifferent to the fate of the four hundred gallant men who perished
with him; but there is something in human nature that compels even the
most generous spirit to speak more of the loss of a man in a
responsible station than others; and one reason for this may be, that
our hopes under God, for the safety of our fleets and our armies, rest
on our brave and efficient commanders.

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