TO COMMISSIONER OTWAY, MALTA. [Autograph, in the possession of Rear-Admiral Inglefield, C.B.] My dear Sir, Victory, January 18th, 1805. I am much obliged by your favour of January 3rd, and as the Camel will come direct to the Fleet, she will be by far the most eligible conveyance you can have; and I hope to reap another great advantage from your coming in that Ship, that she will be much sooner unloaded, and reloaded, with the stores wanted for the Fleet, by your presence. We want an entire floating Arsenal. When we get you to the Fleet, easy modes will be found to carry you to Gibraltar. As all our Sloops will soon be wore out, if the Small Craft cannot get men at Malta, I am afraid the Eastern part of the station will be very badly off for the necessary protection; but if the Admiralty will not give me Sloops, and Small Craft cannot get men at Malta, I have no means of furnishing the means of protection. I send you a copy of Captain Malcolm's last letter to me. You will see that Mr. Taylor has not been correct in saying he had not given Mr. James any orders; it was enough between man and man, where words were to be relied upon more than the official forms. I can again repeat that Mr. Bunce would be a most valuable acquisition to any Yard; and should you find it proper to suspend Mr. Stocker, upon your application I will send Mr. Bunce, for whose abilities and good conduct I would pledge my head. The Excellent is gone to relieve the Renown, who is going direct to England. My staying or going seems at present very uncertain. With every good wish, I am ever, my dear Sir, your much obliged, NELSON AND Bronte. DIARY. [From Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. ii. p. 393. “January 20th, [i. e., 19th.] P.M. Seahorse and Active rejoined. At 4:30, weighed and made sail out of Agincourt Sound, through the Biche Channel. At 6-20, passed through the Biche Channel, Squadron following."-Victory's Log.] January 19th, 1805. Hard gales N.W. At three, P.M. the Active and Seahorse arrived at Madalena, with information that the French Fleet 8 put to sea from Toulon yesterday. These Frigates were close to them at ten o'clock last night, and saw one of them until two o'clock this morning. Unmoored and weighed. At twenty-eight minutes past four, made the general signal for each Ship to carry a light, and repeat signals during the night, made by the Admiral. Ran through the Passage between Biche and Sardinia at six o'clock. At thirty-five minutes past six, burnt a blue light, and at forty-five minutes past, another. At seven the whole Fleet was clear of the Passage. Sent Seahorse round the Southern end of Sardinia, to St. Peters, to look out for them, but to prevent the Enemy, as much as possible, from seeing her; and the moment Captain Boyle discovered them, From their position when last seen, and the course they were steering, S. or S. b W., they could only be bound round the Southern end of Sardinia. At nine, P.M. bore away along that Island with the following Ships-Victory, Donegal, Superb, Canopus, Spencer, Tigre, Royal Sovereign, Leviathan, Belleisle, Conqueror, Swiftsure, and Active Frigate. During the night it was squally, unsettled to return to me. • Monsieur Thiers says, that the Fleet in Toulon, which had been increased from eight to eleven Ships of the Line, had required the whole month of December to get ready for sea; that General Lauriston, Napoleon's Aide-de-Camp, had been appointed to form a corps of 6000 picked men, with 50 cannon, and a battering train, and to embark the whole in the Toulon Fleet; that that Fleet, on its way, was to detach a division to St. Helena, to take possession of the Island, then to proceed to Surinam, retake the Dutch colonies, and then to join the Squadron under Admiral Missiessy, which, on its part, would have relieved the French West India Islands, and ravaged the English Colonies, and that both Squadrons, after having decoyed the English towards America, and liberated Ganteaume with the Brest Squadron, were to return to Europe. Monsieur Thiers then says, that Ganteaume had waited during the whole winter, until Missiessy and Villeneuve, running out of Toulon, should draw off the English; that Missiessy sailed from Rochfort on the 11th of January, and, without being seen by the English, proceeded to the West Indies, with five Ships of the Line and four Frigates. After some very severe remarks on Admiral Villeneuve, Monsieur Thiers thus speaks of the sailing of the Squadron under Villeneuve's command from Toulon:-" Urged by Napoleon, by the Minister Decrès, and by General Lauriston, he got ready to weigh anchor towards the end of December. A head wind [un vent debout] detained him in Toulon Roads, from the end of December to the 18th of January. On the 18th, the wind having changed, he set sail, and by steering a wrong course, succeeded in evading the Enemy. [En faisant fausse route, à se soustraire à l'ennemi.] But in the course of the night a heavy tempest arose, and the inexperience of the crews, and the bad quality of the materials, exposed many of our Vessels [plusieurs de nos bâtiments] to serious accidents. The Squadron was dispersed. In the morning, Villeneuve found himself separated, with four Ships of the Line and one Frigate. Some had carried away their topmasts, others had sprung leaks, or had received damage not easily repaired at sea. weather. At forty-eight minutes past eight, burnt a blue light; at half-past ten, down topgallant yards, and struck topgallant masts. At midnight, moderate breezes and clear. At two, [A.M. 20th January] burnt a blue light, and at four burnt another, and made more sail. At thirty-five minutes past seven, Active made the signal for a Sail; and immediately afterwards, that the strange Sail was a Vessel of War, which proved to be the Seahorse. At fifty minutes past seven, made the signal that Spencer and Leviathan were to be a Detached Squadron; delivered the Honourable Captain Stopford a letter to that effect, directing him to keep on my weather-beam with them, being fast-sailing Ships, to act as occasion might require. At fifty-five minutes past eight, made Active's signal to close nearer the Admiral, and at twenty minutes past nine, made Swiftsure's to do the same. At twenty-five minutes past nine, made the general signal to 'Prepare for Battle.' At twentyfive minutes past eleven, made the same signal, to established Order of Sailing in two columns,' and Form the the signal Besides these misadventures, two English Frigates were watching us, and the Admiral was afraid of the Enemy coming up with him [rejoint] at the moment when he had but five Sail [vaisseaux] to oppose to him. He therefore determined to put back to Toulon, although he was already seventy leagues distant from it; and notwithstanding the entreaties of General Lauriston, who, reckoning four thousand and some hundreds of men on board the Vessels which still remained together, demanded to be taken to his destination, Villeneuve returned to Toulon on the 27th [sic, but truly the 21st, i. e. " 1er pluviòse, an xiii.," the date of Admiral Villeneuve's dispatch, announcing his return], and succeeded in assembling his whole Squadron there."-History of the Consulate and the Empire, translated by Campbell, vol. v. pp. 157, 158; collated with the original edition. Upon this statement it is to be observed, that the presence of our Squadron, rather than "un vent debout," seems to have detained Admiral Villeneuve until after the 18th of January, because, in the early part of the month, the wind was northerly; and as, on the 9th or 10th, Lord Nelson quitted his station for Sardinia, Villeneuve, even if he was not aware of the fact, must have known that the English Squadron had not been seen in the vicinity of Toulon for upwards of a week, thus affording a presumption that they had, as usual, either gone off Cape St. Sebastian, or to Sardinia for water and refreshments. As on the 18th, the English Squadron was at anchor at Madalena, it is difficult to understand how Admiral Villeneuve, by "faisant fausse route, à se soustraire à l'ennemi;" inasmuch as by steering South or S. b E., instead of a course to take him out of the Mediterranean, he did, in fact, approach Nelson's Squadron unnecessarily; and this is, no doubt, one reason for believing that he was not aware of its being at Madalena, but supposed it was off Cape St. Sebastian. It is, however, obvious that if the French really sailed with the intention of passing the Straits, their proceedings completely deceived Lord Nelson, but whose usual sagacity, nevertheless displayed itself in supposing that they were forced back to Toulon, in a crippled condition, by the gale of the 19th. to Keep in close Order.' Spencer and Leviathan separated from this Order, to be the readier to push at any detached Ships of the Enemy. [Noon, Mount Santo bore N.W., distance six leagues.-Victory's Log.] All night very hard gales from S.S.W. to S. W., which continued throughout the next day; during great part of the time we were under storm staysails. TO CAPTAIN THOMAS, H.M. SHIP ÆTNA. [Autograph, in the possession of Rear-Admiral Thomas. Sir, Victory, January 19th, 1805. The French Fleet put to sea yesterday, and were seen last night at twelve o'clock, steering South, or S. b W., then supposed in the latitude of Ajaccio, going ten or eleven miles per hour. They are therefore, from this account, bound round the South end of Sardinia. It is therefore my intention to proceed to the Southward, and endeavour to intercept them. If you do not hear of us in a few days, you must take the Transports to Malta, and then endeavour to join me, wherever you may hear I may be. I am, Sir, &c. NELSON AND BRONTE. TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN ACTON, BART., PALERMO. [From a Copy, in the Elliot Papers.] My dear Sir John, Victory, January 22nd, 1805. The French Fleet sailed from Toulon on Friday last, the 18th. Our Frigates saw part of them all day, and were chased by some of the Ships. At ten o'clock the same night, they were in the French Fleet, then nearly in the latitude of Ajaccio, steering South, or S. b W., the direct course for the Island of Toro, South end of Sardinia, it blowing a strong gale at N.W., and a heavy sea. The French were then, by Captain Moubray's account, carrying a heavy press of sail. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 19th, Captain Moubray made his report to me at Madalena, and at six the whole Fleet was at sca, with a fresh breeze at W.N.W., steering to the Southward along the Sardinian shore, intending to push for the South end of Sardinia, where I could have little fear but that I should meet them; for, from all I have heard from the Captains of the Frigates, the Enemy must be bound round the South end of Sardinia, but whether to Cagliari, Sicily, the Morea, or Egypt, I am most completely in ignorance. I believe they have six or seven thousand Troops on board. On the 20th, we were taken with a heavy gale at S.S.W., which has arrested our progress. It is now (eight o'clock on the morning of the 22nd) at W. b S., and we are sixteen leagues East from Cape Carbonara, blowing fresh, with a heavy sea, so that I stand no chance of closing with Sardinia to day. I have sent a Frigate to both Cagliari and the Island of St. Pierres, to try and get information; and although I have only one Frigate with me, I send her to your Excellency, that you may be put upon your guard, in case the Enemy are bound to Sicily; and I beg that you will send likewise to Naples, in case their passing the South end of Sardinia should be a feint in order to deceive me. But I rather think they believe I am off Cape St. Sebastians, where I am often forced to take shelter. If the French have had similar winds to us, it was impossible they could be round Toro before the morning of the 20th; and since that time, till this morning, they have had no winds which would allow them to weather Maritimo, if they are destined for either Egypt or the Morea. It is almost impossible they can have passed us and gone to Naples; and I am at this moment in the best possible position for intercepting them, should that be their destination. I must be guided in all my future movements by information which I may receive; therefore I can only assure your Excellency of my ardent desire to fall in with them, and that no exertion of mine shall be wanting to annihilate them. I ever, with the highest respect, your Excellency's most obedient and faithful servant, NELSON AND Bronte. TO SIR ALEXANDER JOHN BALL, BART., MALTA. My dear Ball, I send you a copy of my letter to Sir John Acton, which tells all I know, and I send you a copy of Captain Moubray's |