TO MRS. NELSON. [From Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i. p. 135.] My dear Fanny, October 12th, 1793. I received a letter from Mr. Suckling yesterday, and was indeed truly sorry to hear you were not perfectly well. Why should you alarm yourself? I am well, your son is well, and we are as comfortable in every respect as the nature of our service will admit. Lord Hood is now quite as he used to be: he is so good an Officer, that every body must respect him. All the Foreigners at Toulon absolutely worship him; were any accident to happen to him, I am sure no person in our Fleet could supply his place. Every day at Toulon has hitherto afforded some brilliant Action on shore, in which the Sea-Officers have made a conspicuous figure: Elphinstone in particular, who is a good Officer and gallant man. I have only been a spectator; but had we remained, I should certainly have desired to be landed. Some of our Ships have been pegged pretty handsomely; yet such is the force of habit, that we seem to feel no danger. The other day we sat at a Court-Martial on board Admiral Hotham, when Princess Royal, a French 74, our friend, three Frigates, and four Mortar-boats, were firing at a battery for four hours, the shot and shells going over us; which, extraordinary as it may seem, made no difference. The Ardent, Captain Robert Manners Sutton, brother to the Bishop, was much cut up, after behaving with the greatest gallantry and good conduct: near thirty of his men were either killed, or are since dead of the wounds. Indeed, wherever our Ships or Sea-Officers have had an opportunity, they have all behaved well. God bless you. HORATIO NELSON. Third son of Lord George Manners, younger son of John, 3rd Duke of Rutland, brother of Charles, then Bishop of Norwich, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, and uncle of the present Viscount Canterbury. This gallant officer, who was born in 1754, perished with all his crew, in August, 1794, when the Ardent was lost off Corsica, it being supposed that she was accidentally blown up. TO ADMIRAL LORD HOOD. [Copy, in the Admiralty. On the 22nd of October, off Sardinia, the Agamemnon fell in with a French Squadron, consisting of three large Frigates, a Corvette, and a Brig, under the command of Commodore Perrée, and after an action of nearly four hours with one of the Frigates, the Enemy were so severely handled as to decline a renewal of the engagement, and the Agamemnon was so much cut up as to be unable to pursue them. The particulars of the affair are related in the following Letters. Captain Nelson's official Letter was not published in the Gazette.] Agamemnon, October 22nd, 1793. At noon, Cagliari, W.S.W., 14 or 15 Leagues. My Lord, Inclosed I send you an extract of our log, and hope you will think the attempt to take one of those fine Frigates was laudable; and that circumstanced as I was, everything was done which ought to have been done. Had not the wind failed us, she must have surrendered or sunk, (which from the appearance of her hull she was near doing,) for we were just getting alongside when a light air headed us right off. The Nemesis most unluckily parted from me a few days ago. Inclosed is an account of our deficiency of men. Every Officer and the Ship's company in general conducted themselves entirely to my satisfaction. I shall be happy if my conduct meets with your Lordship's approbation; being, with the highest respect, Your most faithful, humble Servant, HORATIO NELSON. N.B. A very few hours at anchor will repair all our damages, when the Ship will in many respects be fitter for service than ever. [Inclosure.] At two A. M. saw five Sail standing across us to the N. West by the wind. At half past two they tacked by signal of rockets, then about three miles on our weather bow: at four got within hail of a Frigate, but was careful not to fire into her, thinking she might be a Neapolitan or Sardinian Frigate with a Convoy. On receiving no answer and 7 Nemesis, of 28 guns, Captain, now Admiral, Lord Amelius Beauclerk, G.C.B. the Ship making sail, fired a shot ahead of her, when she set all her sails, and steering two points from the wind, we after her with every sail set, keeping her two points on the bow, to prevent her from getting before the wind. The other Ships on our weather quarter steering after us. The Chase made many signals till daylight, when she hoisted National colours, and began firing stern-chasers, and by yawing, which her superiority in sailing enabled her to do, gave us many broadsides. We could only at times bring any guns to bear upon her, and then only a few of the foremost ones. At seven, took the Ships on our weather quarter to be one of the Line, two Frigates, and an armed Brig, but whilst the breeze continued fresh, the Chase and ourselves left them fast. At nine o'clock we run into almost a calm, the Ships on our quarter bearing N. W. by W., coming fast up with us; the Chase hauled up to join them, being in a shattered condition, and making signals to her consorts, who steered to join her when they brought to, hoisted out their boats, and sent to her. The Enemy were four Frigates, two of them carrying 28 eighteen pounders on their main-decks. The Enemy from this time till noon had the option of bringing us to action whenever they pleased; but we having our main top-mast shot to pieces, main-mast, mizen-mast, and fore-yard badly wounded, could not haul our wind till noon, repairing our rigging, masts, and yards, steering for Cagliari. Found we had one man killed, and six wounded. People employed knotting and splicing the rigging. At noon, Cape Rosse, N. W., distance six or seven leagues. Latitude observed 39° 34' N. MEMORANDUM RELATING TO THE ACTION WITH THE FRENCH SQUADRON, ON THE 22ND OCTOBER 1793. [Autograph, in the Nelson Papers.] At seven o'clock sent for all the Officers to give me their opinion what the Ship on our Weather quarter was; they all agreed she was a Ship of the Line, of which opinion I was also. At nine run into a calm, our head paid round to the Southward, the Frigates to the N. E. In about a quarter of an hour afterwards the breeze came again from the Northward: sent for the Officers to give me their opinions what the Ship on the quarter was; they all agreed she was a Line of Battle Ship, of which opinion was myself. Question.- "Do you think we can, by hauling our wind to the N. E., after the Frigate, close with her before she joins her consorts ?" Answer." No; it is impossible." Question." From what you see of the state of our Ship, is she fit to go into Action with such a superior force which is against us, without some small refit and refreshments for our people?" Answer." She certainly is not." 8 My Orders. Mr. Wilson, wear the Ship, and lay her head to the Westward, (the Enemy bore N. W. by W. three miles,) let some of the best men be employed refitting the rigging, and the carpenters getting crows and capstern bars to prevent our wounded spars from coming down, and to get the wine for the people, and some bread, for it might be half-an-hour before we were again in Action. H. N. TO MAURICE NELSON, ESQ. [From Clarke and M'Arthur, vol. i. p. 136. The Agamemnon arrived at Cag. liari on the 24th of October, and accompanied Commodore Linzee in the Alcide to Tunis, on the mission described in Nelson's letter to Captain Locker in p. 338, where she remained from the 1st to the 16th of November, on which day she left Tunis Bay, and cruized off Cape Zibib until the 26th. She then returned to Tunis; and on the 30th of that month, sailed for Corsica.] Tunis, 8th Nov. 1793. On the 22nd of October, off the Island of Sardinia, having only 345 men at quarters, the others being landed at Toulon and in prizes, we fell in with, and chased the following French Men-of-War from Tunis: Melpomene, 44 guns, nine and eighteen pounders, 400 men; La Minerve, 44 guns, nine and eighteen pounders, 400 men; La Fortunée, 44 guns, twelve and thirty-six pounders, 500 men; Le Fouchet,? 24 • Master of the Agamemnon, 9 James, in his "Naval History," (vol. i. p. 106,) states that La Melpomene guns, nine pounders, 220 men: Brig, 14 guns, nine pounders, 100 men. The Agamemnon, after a firing of near four hours, so disabled the Melpomene she (as supposed) being apparently in a sinking state, that the other Ships declined bringing the Agamemnon again to Action, and, as it appeared, to take care of their companion; since they had the option to renew the engagement for three hours after the Melpomene hauled from us. The Agamemnon was so cut to pieces, as to be unable to haul the wind towards them. I am, &c., HORATIO NELSON. TO WILLIAM LOCKER, ESQ., LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, GREENWICH HOSPITAL. [Autograph, in the Locker Papers.] My dear Friend, December 1st, 1793. Your letter, of August 8th, I got two days past in Tunis1 carried 40, and the two other Frigates 38 guns each; that the Corvette was Le Mignonne, of 28 guns, and not Le Fouchet; and that the Brig was Le Hasard. Mr. Hoste, writing to his father, on the 27th of November, says: "We understood on our joining Commodore Linzee, that our destination was for Tunis, to take out the Duquesne, a French 80 gun Ship, and four Frigates, then lying there waiting to Convoy a Fleet of Merchantmen to Marseilles, for which service the Commodore in the Alcide 74, was appointed by Lord Hood, under whose command were the Berwick and Illustrious, 74 guns each, ourselves, Lowestoffe, and Nemesis, Frigates. "When we got to Tunis we found only the Duquesne and Merchantmen; the four Frigates were gone, which the Agamemnon had nearly been too sensible of, as those were the very Frigates we met in our voyage to Cagliari, which, had they acted as they ought to have done, could have prevented our joining the Commodore. On our arrival at Tunis, we expected the Bey would have given us leave to take out the Duquesne and Merchantmen, but we found he would not allow the neutrality of the Port to be broken, however superior we were in those seas; nor would the Duquesne give herself up to the French King, notwithstanding all our negotiations to that purpose. In consequence, the Commodore dispatched the Nemesis to Toulon for further orders. On her arrival from thence we found we were not to attempt anything. She has brought orders for Captain Nelson to take under his command the Lowestoffe on a cruize, but where to, or on what service, remains a secret. In the first part of my Letter I told you that we left Toulon in company with the Nemesis. Sailing VOL. I. Ꮓ |