Trieste, Venice, Fiume, Patras, Zante, &c., to Valetta Harbour, and to render every assistance to our commerce. Juno-Cruizing off Cape St. Sebastian, for the purpose of communicating occasionally with Barcelona, and of obtaining intelligence of the intentions of Spain: also to inform any of the Ships ordered to that Rendezvous, where I may be found with the Squadron. Agincou 19th April, 1804-Ordered to proceed to Gibraltar, in company with the Argo, to receive her lower-deck guns on board, and to escort that Ship, and the Convoy which may be under her protection, twenty or twenty-five leagues to the Westward of Cadiz. After having so done, to return to Gibraltar, and take such Trade as are bound up the Mediterranean to Valetta Harbour, where Captain Briggs will be joined by the Thisbe, and proceed from thence, with our Levant Ships, &c., to Gibraltar and England. Kent-26th April, Ordered to proceed to Naples for the purpose of relieving the Gibraltar, and to remain there till the arrival of the Renown, in July next, (to execute my secret order, in the possession of our Minister at that Court, should the political circumstances of that Country render it necessary,) when I shall order her to England, most probably attended by a Transport-her hull being in so bad a state as makes it unsafe to trust her, even at this season of the year, as mentioned in my letter of the 28th May. Superb-16th May, Ordered to proceed to Malta, for the purpose of partially repairing her defects—afterwards to procure from Sir Alexander Ball, a person perfectly acquainted with the Lingua Franca, spoke at Algiers, to which place he is to proceed with the utmost dispatch, and endeavour to accomplish the object of his mission to the Dey. Captain Keats is directed to take a Cutter, or Vessel of War, with him from Malta, and to return her from Algiers to Valetta Harbour, with an account of the result to Sir Alexander Ball, and to join me in the Superb without loss of time. Niger-19th May, Ordered to Malta, to get carronades from the Madras in lieu of her nine-pounders, and to be otherwise completed as a 28-gun Frigate, agreeably to the Admiralty establishment. Having so done, to join me without loss of time. VOL. VI. Gibraltar-28th May, Ordered to Gibraltar to repair her masts and rigging only, agreeably to their Lordships' directions; but from the excessive bad state of her hull, I have directed Commissioner Otway, if she cannot be made an efficient Ship for a winter's cruize in these seas, not to enter upon her repairs, but to signify the same officially by letter to Captain Ryves, who I have ordered, in such case, to return and join me immediately, for the purpose of proceeding to Malta as a Convoy to our Trade from the Archipelago and Levant bound to Gibraltar and England. Termagant-1st June 1804, Ordered to Naples with my public dispatches for his Excellency Mr. Elliot, and to return and join me with his answer without delay. Narcissus-11th June, Ordered to the Madalena Islands to repair her bowsprit, and complete her wood and water; afterwards to join me with all dispatch. Excellent-19th June, Ordered to take the Chatham Victualler, with empty water-casks from the Fleet, and proceed to Porto Conte, in the Island of Sardinia, for the purpose of filling them, and completing her own wood and water, with the utmost dispatch; and afterwards to join me without delay, bringing as many live bullocks for the Fleet as the Excellent can conveniently stow. Phoebe 19th June, Ordered to the Bay of Rosas, with the Thetis Transport, for the above purpose, and to join me immediately after. Acheron Bomb-19th June, Ordered to Naples with my public dispatches for his Majesty's Minister, and to join me immediately after. Ætna Bomb-19th June, Ordered to proceed to Malta, with two empty Victuallers, and to bring a Transport, loaded with bread, back to the Fleet. Madras-Prison-ship pro tempore at Malta. Spider Brig, and Renard Schooner-Ordered to protect the Trade at Malta, and to proceed with dispatches to wherever Sir Alexander Ball may require. L'Hirondelle-Ordered to be purchased into his Majesty's Service at Malta, and to be considered as attached to that Island, under the immediate directions of Sir Alexander Ball, as above. NELSON AND BRONTE. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD MELVILLE, FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. [From Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. ii. p. 373.] My dear Lord, 21st June, 1804. In case Earl St. Vincent and Sir Thomas Troubridge should not send you my letters to them, respecting the conduct of Soldiers embarked to serve in his Majesty's Ships, I think it of great consequence to the Naval Service, you should be informed of my sentiments upon that subject. It requires not the gift of prescience to assert, if Soldiers embarked in Ships of War are not, as heretofore, left subject to the Act of Parliament for the government of his Majesty's Ships, Vessels, and Forces by Sea, whereon, as our forefathers said, 'the safety, wealth, and prosperity of the Kingdom chiefly depend,' that the Navy, which we have all heretofore looked up to, will be ruined. The absolute power must remain; there cannot be two Commanders in one Ship, nor two sets of laws to regulate the conduct of those embarked in the same bottom. I will not, my Lord, take up your time in debating, whether it would be better for the Navy to be subject to the same Articles of War as the Army; but we may take a lesson from the epitaph, 'I was well; I would be better, and here I am:' my opinion is, Let well alone.' I am, &c., NELSON AND Bronte. TO LORD HAWKESBURY. [From Clarke and M‘Arthur, vol. ii. p. 374.] 22nd June, 1804. His Majesty was supported by the Russian Minister, and your Lordship's words were quoted to me: the consequence will be the loss of Sardinia-either France or England must have it. The loss to us will be great indeed. I do not think that the Fleet can then be kept at sea. From Sardinia we get water and fresh provisions; the loss of it would cut us off from Naples except by a circuitous route, for all the purposes of getting refreshments, even were Naples able to supply us, I have hitherto watched Sardinia; but at this moment, when from the bad condition of many of the Ships under my command, I can barely keep a sufficient force at sea to attend to the French Fleet, I have not Ships to send to Madalena: not less, my Lord, than ten Frigates, and as many good Sloops, would enable me to do what I wish, and what, of course, I think absolutely necessary. But I am aware of the great want of them in England, and that other services must be starved to take care of home. If I were at your Lordship's elbow, I think I could say so much upon the subject of Sardinia, that attempts would be made to obtain it; for this I hold as clear, that the King of Sardinia cannot keep it, and, if he could, that it is of no use to him; that if France gets it, she commands the Mediterranean; and that by us it would be kept at a much smaller expense than Malta: from its position, it is worth fifty Maltas. Should the War continue, the blockade of Marseilles is a measure absolutely essential, and the points necessary for us to occupy are to be considered, and I think I could satisfy your Lordship of the probability of holding those positions: nothing could distress France so much, and make her wish for Peace with us at present. Not less than forty Sail a week go into Marseilles..... I will not trouble your Lordship with a longer letter on the various objects well worthy of consideration within the Mediterranean, and which the experience of eleven years has made me turn my thoughts to. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD MELVILLE. [From Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. ii. p. 374.] 22nd June, 1804. It is to redeem the solemn pledge I have made, never to omit, upon any change of Adminstration, stating the just claim which I consider the Battle of Copenhagen has to the reward of Medals, such as have been given for other great Naval victories: I therefore inclose for your Lordship's perusal a statement of facts, and the letters which passed between me and Earl St. Vincent upon that occasion; and when your Lordship has leisure time, I request your perusal of them..... I am aware, my Lord, that his Majesty has the most undisputed right to bestow Medals, or to withhold them, as he pleases. No man admits it more fully than myself; but, my Lord, I turn back to the 1st of June 1794; from that moment I have ever considered, that his Majesty, by implication, pronounced these words to his Fleet, holding forth the Medal-This, my Fleet, is the great reward which I will bestow for great and important Victories like the present!' Considering this as a solemn pledge, his Majesty gave it as the reward for the Battles of St. Vincent, of Camperdown, and the Nile: then comes the most difficult achievement, the hardest-fought battle, the most glorious result that ever graced the Naval Annals of our Country: the Medal is withheld, for what reason Lord St. Vincent best knows. Could it be said that the Danes were not brave? the contrary has always been shown. Was our force so superior that there was no merit in gaining the Victory? If guns made the superiority, the Danes were very superior. If it be said, 'Ay, but your Ships were superior:' to that I can answer, that the force placed by the Danes for the preservation of their Arsenal, their Fleet, and the City of Copenhagen, was such, and of that description of Vessels, which they thought inexpugnable by any force that could be brought against it. I have no more to say, but beg to refer your Lordship to the papers sent herewith; and I hope, in the name of those brave Commanders who were under my orders on the glorious 2nd of April 1801, for your recommendation to his Majesty, that he may be pleased to bestow that mark of honour on the Battle of Copenhagen, which his goodness has given to the Battles of St. Vincent, the 1st of June, of Camperdown, and the Nile. I am, &c., Vide vol. iv. p. 526. NELSON AND BRONTE." 9 Lord Melville's answer to this letter is printed in vol. iv. p. 327, |