Yarmouth roads, under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, an officer of no mean abilities, but unqualified for such a situation from age and bodily infirmity. Sir Hyde was the favourite of a party; but the King, the Earl of St. Vincent, and the nation, looked to Nelson for the success of the campaign. It was on this occasion that the genius and courage of our immortal hero shone with peculiar splendour. On the 14th of January an embargo was laid on all Russian, Swedish, and Danish ships in the ports of the United Kingdom; and on the 12th of March, 1801, Sir Hyde Parker sailed from Yarmouth roads, in the London, of 98 guns, and a fleet consisting of 17 sail of the line, several frigates, gun-brigs, and firevessels. A train of heavy artillery, with two companies of the rifle corps, were embarked in the fleet, with the 49th regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Brook: the whole of the land forces were under the command of Colonel Stewart. Nelson had his flag in the St. George, of 98 guns. admiral Totty had his flag in the Invincible, of 74 guns, but that ship was lost before she reached her destination; having sailed alone from Yarmouth after the fleet, the same afternoon, blowing strong from the south-west, with a flood tide, she ran on a sand-bank, called the Ridge, off Cromer, where she soon after sank, with Captain Rennie, and above 400 of her crew: the remainder, about 200, were picked up by colliers and fishing-vessels; the admiral was saved in one of the boats of the Invincible. Rear-admiral Thomas Graves had his flag in the Defiance, of 74 guns. As soon as the British fleet entered the Cattegat, the commander-in-chief addressed a letter to the governor of the castle of Cronenberg, which stands on the point of the island of Zealand, approaching nearest to the Swedish coast, from which it is distant something less than three English miles. The purport of the letter was to know whether his excellency had received orders to fire on the British fleet on passing the castle. The officer replied, with great spirit and propriety, that he certainly should not permit a fleet, whose destination and object were not known to him, to pass by the post he commanded without using his utmost endeavours to prevent it. To this Sir Hyde Parker again replied that he considered the governor's message a declaration of war, and that in conformity with his instructions he should commence hostilities. This correspondence, and the bad weather which intervened, detained the fleet three days at its anchorage, outside of the narrows or pass into the Baltic; but on the 30th the admiral weighed, and the British fleet, led by the Monarch, of 74 guns, commanded by the gallant and lamented Captain Mosse, passed triumphantly through, under a heavy but ineffectual fire from the castle of Cronenberg, while that of Helsingfors, on the Swedish shore, was perfectly silent: perhaps the officer on that side saw that to fire would only be a useless expenditure of ammunition, since the shot from either side could not meet each other; shells might have been more annoying, but none of those fired by the Danes took effect. The admiral, having now passed the batteries, conducted his fleet to an anchorage, about five miles from the island of Huin, when himself, Lord Nelson, and Admiral Graves, went in a small vessel to reconnoitre the strength and position of the enemy's fleet and defences before. the city of Copenhagen. Having gained all the local knowledge which circumstances would permit, it was decided to make the attack from the southward, and Nelson volunteered to conduct it; for which purpose he shifted his flag from the St. George, of 98 guns, to the Elephant, of 74, carrying a lighter draught of water, and therefore better adapted for the service. The approaches to Copenhagen are shoal and intricate, and Nelson had been at great pains in sounding and buoying off the channel, in which he was well assisted by Captains Edward Riou and Charles Brisbane. This work being finished, he proceeded with the ships placed under his immediate orders to Draco Point, whence he issued his instructions to his captains, and made his arrangements for the attack. Each ship and vessel had a particular duty assigned: the gun-boats were so placed as to rake the enemy's hulks, and the bombs were to throw their shells into the town; a flat-bottomed boat, well manned and armed, was stationed on the off side of each ship, to act as occasion might require; another detachment of boats from the ships not in action was ordered to keep as near the Elephant as possible, but not within the line of fire. Four of the ships' launches, with anchors and cables in them, were in readiness to act, and render assistance to ships getting on shore. The command of the frigates and sloops was intrusted to Riou, of the Amazon, whom I have before mentioned in terms of admiration. His glorious career was now drawing to a termination worthy of his former name. The strength of the Danish line of defence and batteries was such as might have been pronounced by the best judges capable of resisting any naval force that could be brought to act against them. They had six sail of the line, and 11 floating batteries, mounting on one side from 26 24-pounders to 18 18-pounders; one bomb ship, and many gun-vessels : these were supported by the forts on the island of Amac and the two Crown batteries, which deserve particular attention; they consisted of artificial islands raised on the mud banks near the arsenal, with innumerable piles filled in with earth, and mounting 80 pieces of heavy cannon, nearly flush with the water; and, as I have before observed, the most destructive and dangerous for shipping: the hulks had no masts, and consequently were freed from the encumbrance and great annoyance of sails and rigging falling on their decks. It was in presence of this tremendous force, in an intricate channel, with a light breeze of wind, and within a proper fighting distance, that the hero of the Nile had to take up his position, bring his ships to anchor, furl his sails, put springs to his cables, and at the same moment receive the well-directed fire of an enemy who fancied himself in comparative security. The Crown Prince and the citizens of Copenhagen were spectators of the scene, while a strong division of the British fleet in the offing beheld with envy the daring feats of their brethren in arms. Sir Hyde Parker supposed, after a more deliberate view of the enemy's force, that Nelson would be overmatched, and recalled him from action; but the latter refused to acknowledge the signal, taking upon himself in this awful moment the additional responsibility, in case of failure, of having acted in direct disobedience of orders. Thus success justifies an action which defeat would stamp with unmerited disgrace and infamy. Nelson was here consistent with his own maxim, "when in doubt, fight." On the morning of the 2d of April Nelson made the signal to prepare for battle. The day was very fine, but the wind light. The line of battle was led by one of the best and bravest officers in the fleet of Nelson; this was Captain George Murray, in the Edgar, of 74 guns. The ships, as in the battle of the Nile, anchored by the stern. On their way into action, the Russel and the Bellona, of 74 guns, took the ground, and in such a position as to render their assistance nearly ineffectual to the fleet, lying at the same time exposed to the fire of the Crown batteries; the Agamemnon, of 64 guns, also took the ground, but was entirely out of gun-shot. A little before 10 o'clock in the morning of the 2d of April the action began. The Danes had the honour and safety of their Prince, their capital city, their wives and families, at stake. The whole Fopulation of Copenhagen, and perhaps of the island of Zealand, on which it stands, were witnesses to the heart-rending scene, the fruits of a mistaken policy on the part of their Government. Denmark, of all the European powers, is certainly 1 |