"You and I have known, sir."
"At sea, I think."
"We have, sir."
"You have done well by water."
"And you by land."
Antony and Cleopatra.
The reader will understand that I offer to his view a shifting panorama.
As soon as the Dawn had got about a mile and a half from the English
frigates, a distance that was a little increased by the advance of the
last towards their enemies, we again backed our top-sails, for I had an
ungovernable desire to be a spectator of what was to follow. This feeling
was common to all four of us, it being next to impossible to get either
Neb, or Diogenes, to pull a rope, for gazing at the frigates. As for
steering, it would have been out of the question, I really believe, as no
one among us could keep his eyes long enough from the combatants to look
after our own ship.
Some persons may think it was foolish not to make the most of our time in
endeavouring to get as far as possible from the Speedy. Perhaps it was;
but, two miles distant, there was really less to apprehend than might at
first appear. It was not probable the English would abandon the French
vessels as long as they could stick by them, or, until they were captured;
and I was not so completely ignorant of my trade as to imagine that
vessels like those of la Grande Nation, which were in sight, were to be
taken without doing their adversaries a good deal of harm. Then, the
prizes themselves would require looking after, and there were many other
chances of our now going scot-free, while there was really very small
ground of danger. But, putting aside all these considerations, curiosity
and interest were so active in us all, as to render it almost morally
impossible we should quit the place until the battle was decided. I am not
absolutely certain the Dawn _would_ have moved, had we been disposed to
make her. With these brief explanations, then, we will turn our attention
exclusively to the frigates.
By the time we had got the Dawn just where we wished her to be, the
combatants were drawing quite near to each other. The Speedy had carried
sail so long, as to be a little to windward of her consort's wake, though
half a cable's-length astern of her. The French were in still closer
order, and they would soon be far enough advanced to bring the leading
ship on each side, under fire. I supposed the opposing vessels would pass
about a cable's-length apart. All four were under their top-sails, jibs,
and spankers, with the courses in the brails. The Black Prince and the
Speedy had their top-gallant-sails clewed up, while la Désirée and le Cerf
had theirs still sheeted home, with the yards on the caps. All four
vessels had sent down royal-yards. This was fighting sail, and everything
indicated that Monsieur Menneval intended to make a day of it.
The first gun was fired, on this occasion, from the Désirée, the leading
French ship. It was directed at the Black Prince, and the shot probably
told, as Sir Hotham Ward immediately kept away, evidently with a desire to
escape being raked. The French did the same to keep square with their
adversaries, and the four vessels now ran on parallel lines, though going
different ways, and a short cable's-length asunder. La Désirée followed up
her single gun with each division as it would bear, until her whole
broadside was delivered. The Black Prince stood it all without answering,
though I could see that she was suffering considerably, more especially
aloft. At length Sir Hotham Ward was heard in the affair. He let fly his
whole broadside, almost simultaneously; and a spiteful, threatening roar
it was. The smoke now began to hide his ship, though la Désirée, by moving
towards us, kept ahead of her own sulphurous canopy.
The Speedy soon opened on the French Commodore; then, by the roar astern,
I knew Le Cerf was at work in the smoke. All four ships shivered their
top-sails, to pass more slowly; and there was a minute during which, as it
appeared to me, all four actually stopped under the fiery cloud they had
raised, in order to do each other all the harm they could. The Frenchmen,
however, soon issued from behind the curtain, and the cessation in the
firing announced that the ships had parted. I could not see much of the
English, at first, on account of the smoke; but their antagonists came out
of the fray, short as it had been, with torn sails, crippled yards, and Le
Cerf had her mizen top-mast actually hanging over to leeward. Just as I
got a view of this calamity, I caught a glimpse of the Black Prince,
close-hauled, luffing up athwart the wake of her enemies, and manifestly
menacing to get the wind. The Speedy followed with the accuracy of
clock-work, having rather closed with her leader, instead of falling
farther behind. Presently, the Black Prince tacked; but, in so doing, down
came her main-top-gallant-mast, bringing with it the yard and the sail, as
a matter of course. This was a sign that Mr. Menneval had not been
firing a salute.
The French stood on, after this first rude essay with their enemies, for
several minutes, during which time we could see their people actively, but
irregularly, employed, in clearing away the wrecks, stoppering rigging,
and otherwise repairing damages. Le Cerf, in particular, was much troubled
with the top-mast that was dangling over her lee-quarter; and her people
made desperate and tolerably well-directed efforts to get rid of it. This
they effected; and about ten minutes after the firing had ceased, the
French ships put their helms up, and went off to the northward, dead
before the wind, as if inviting their enemies to come on and fight it out
fairly in that manner, if they felt disposed to pursue the affair
any farther.
It was time something of this sort was done, for the delay had brought all
four of the vessels so far to the westward, as to leave them within a mile
of the Dawn; and I saw the necessity of again getting out of the way. We
filled and stood off, as fast as possible. It was time something of the
sort was done, in another sense, also. When M. Menneval bore up, his
antagonists were closing fast on his weather-quarter, and unless he meant
to fight to leeward, it was incumbent on him to get out of the way, in
his turn.
Sir Hotham Ward, however, was too skilful a seaman to neglect the
advantage Mons. Menneval had given him. The instant the French kept away,
he did the same; but instead of falling broad off before the wind, he
luffed again in time, not having touched a brace, and crossed the wakes of
his enemies, giving a most effective broadside into the cabin-windows of
Le Cerf. To my surprise, La Desiree held on her course, until the Speedy
had repeated the dose. The English then wore short round, and were
seemingly on the point of going over the same thing, when Mons. Menneval,
finding this a losing game, hauled up, firing as his guns bore, and Le
Cerf did the same, with her head the other way, destroying everything like
concert in their movements. The English closed, and, in a minute, all four
of the ships were enveloped in a common cloud of white smoke. All we could
now see, were the masts, from the trucks down, sometimes as low as the
tops, but oftener not lower than the top-sail-yards. The reports of the
guns were quite rapid for a quarter of an hour, after which they became
much less frequent, though a hundred pieces of ordnance were still at work
behind that cloudy screen.
Several shot flew in our direction; and two actually passed between our
masts. Notwithstanding, so keen was the interest we continued to feel,
that the top-sail was again backed, and there we lay, lookers-on, as
indifferent to the risks we ran, as if we had been ashore. Minute passed
after minute, until a considerable period had been consumed; yet neither
of the combatants became fairly visible to us. Occasionally a part of a
hull pushed itself out of the smoke, or the wind blew the latter aside;
but at no time was the curtain sufficiently drawn, to enable us to tell to
which nation the vessel thus seen belonged. The masts had disappeared,--
not one remaining above the smoke, which had greatly enlarged its
circle, however.
In this manner passed an hour. It was one of the most intensely
interesting of my whole life; and to me it seemed a day, so eager was I to
ascertain some result. I had been several times in action, as the reader
knows; but, then, the minutes flew: whereas, now, this combat appeared
drawn out to an interminable length. I have said, an hour thus passed
before we could even guess at the probable result. At the end of that
time, the firing entirely ceased. It had been growing slacker and slacker
for the last half-hour, but it now stopped altogether. The smoke which
appeared to be packed on the ocean, began to rise and disperse; and,
little by little, the veil rose from before that scene of strife.
The vessel first seen by us was our old acquaintance, the Speedy. All
three of her top-masts were gone; the fore, just below the cross-trees;
and the two others near the lower caps. Her main-yard had lost one
yard-arm, and her lower rigging and sides were covered with wreck. She had
her fore-sail, mizen, and fore-stay-sail, and spanker set, which was
nearly all the canvass she could show.
Our eyes had barely time to examine the Speedy, ere the dark hull of Le
Cerf made its appearance. This ship had been very roughly
treated,--nothing standing on board her, twenty feet from the deck, but
her foremast: and the head of that was gone, nearly down to the top. The
sea all around her was covered with wreck; and no less than three of her
boats were out, picking up men who were adrift on the spars. She lay about
a cable's-length from the Speedy, and appeared to be desirous of being
still farther off, as she had no sooner got her boats up, than she dropped
her fore-sail, and stood off dead before it.
It was in watching the movements of Le Cerf, that we first got a glimpse
of La Désirée. This ship reappeared almost in a line with her consort;
and, like her, steering off before the wind. Their common object seemed to
be, to get within close supporting distance of each other, and to increase
the space between them and their enemies. Both these vessels had the
tri-colored flag flying at the stumps of their masts. As respects the
last, however, La Désirée was a little better off than her consort--having
her foremast and main-mast standing entire;--though her mizen-mast was
gone, close to the deck. What was a very bad affair for her, her fore-yard
had been shot away in the slings, the two inner ends lying on the
forecastle, while the yard-arms were loosely sustained by the lifts. This
ship kept off under her main-sail and fore-stay-sail.
The Black Prince was the last to get clear of the smoke. She had
everything in its place, from her top-mast cross-trees, down. The three
top-gallant-masts were gone, and the wrecks were already cleared; but all
the top-sail-yards were on the caps, and her rigging, spars and tops, were
alive with men; as, indeed, were those of the Speedy. This was the secret
of the cessation in the action;--the two English frigates having turned
their hands up to secure their spars, while the Frenchmen, by running off
dead before the wind, were in positions not to bring a broadside gun to
bear; and the cabin-chasers of a frigate were seldom of much use in that
day, on account of the rake of the stern. It always appeared to me, that
the Spaniards built the best ships in this respect,--the English and
Americans, in particular, seeming never to calculate the chances of
running away. I do not say this, in reference to the Spanish ships,
however, under any idea that the Spanish nation wants courage,--for a
falser notion cannot exist,--but, merely to state their superiority in one
point of naval architecture, at the very moment when, having built a fine
ship, they did not know how to make use of her.
The first ten minutes after the four combatants were clear of the smoke,
were actively employed in repairing damages, on the part of the French
confusedly, and I make no doubt clamorously; on that of the English with
great readiness and a perfect understanding of their business.
Notwithstanding this was the general character of the exertions of the
respective parties, there were exceptions to the rule. On board le Cerf,
for instance, I observed a gang of men at work clearing the ship from the
wreck of the main-mast, who proceeded with a degree of coolness, vigour
and method, which showed what materials were thrown away in that service,
for want of a good system; and chiefly, as I shall always think, because
the officers did not understand the immense importance of preserving
silence on board a crowded vessel. The native taciturnity of the English,
increased by the social discipline of that well-ordered--perhaps
over-ordered--nation, has won them as many battles on the ocean, as the
native loquacity of their enemies--increased possibly during the reign of
_les citoyens_ by political exaggeration--has lost. It is lucky for us,
that the American character inclines to silence and thoughtfulness, in
grave emergencies: we are noisy, garrulous, and sputtering, only in
our politics.
Perceiving that the storm was likely to pass to leeward, we remained
stationary a little time, to watch the closing scene. I was surprised at
the manner in which the Black Prince held aloof after the Speedy had bore
up and was running down in the track of her enemies, sheering first upon
one quarter of le Cerf, and then on the other, pouring in a close and
evidently a destructive fire. At length Sir Hotham Ward bore up, and went
off before the wind also, moving three feet to the Speedy's two, in
consequence of being able to carry all three of her top-sails. It would
seem that Monsieur Menneval was not satisfied with the manner in which his
consort was treated; for, instead of waiting to be assailed in the same
way, he put his helm to port and came by the wind, delivering a broadside
as his ship luffed, that soon explained the reason of the Black Prince's
delay. That ship had been getting up preventers to save her masts, and
something important must have been cut by this discharge from la Desiree,
as her main-mast went immediately after she received the fire, dragging
down with it her mizen-top-mast. The English ship showed stuff, however,
under circumstances so critical. Everything on the foremast still drew,
and she continued on, heading direct for her enemy, nor did she attempt to
luff until within two hundred yards of her, when she came by the wind
slowly and heavily; a manoeuvre that was materially aided by the
fore-top-mast's following the spars aft, just as her helm must have been
put to-port. Le Cerf finding the battle was again to be stationary, also
came by the wind, and then all four of the ships went at it again, as
ardently as if the affair had just commenced.
It would not be easy to relate all the incidents of this second combat.
For two hours the four ships lay within a cable's-length of each other,
keeping up as animated a contest as circumstances would allow. I was
particularly struck with the noble behaviour of the Black Prince, which
ship was compelled to fire through the wreck of her masts notwithstanding
which, she manifestly got the best of the cannonading, as against Tier
particular antagonist, la Desiree. I cannot say that either of the four
vessels failed of her duty, though, I think, as a whole, Sir Hotham Ward
showed the most game; probably from the fact that he had the most need of
it. Encumbered by so much wreck, of which it was impossible to get rid,
while exposed to so heavy a fire, the Black Prince, however, was finally
dropped by her adversary, la Desiree drawing gradually ahead, until
neither of those two vessels could bring a gun to bear. The English now
turned to, to clear away wreck again, while the Frenchman bent a new
fore-course, and a new spanker; those that had been standing being
reduced to rags.
The Speedy and Cerf had not been idle the while. The French vessel played
her part manfully, nor was there much to choose between them, when the
latter wore round, and followed her consort, exchanging a fire with the
Black Prince in passing her.
Had not the real superiority of the English over the French on the ocean,
now come in play, this combat would have been a drawn battle, though
accompanied by the usual characteristics of such struggles, at the close
of the last and the beginning of the present century; or the latter
considering an escape ti sort of victory. But both parties were reduced to
the necessity of repairing damages, and this was the work to prove true
nautical skill. Any man may load and fire a gun, but it needs a trained
seaman to meet the professional emergencies of warfare. A clodhopper might
knock a mast out of a vessel, but a sailor must replace it. From the
beginning of this affair, all of us in the Dawn had been struck with the
order, regularity and despatch with which the Black Prince and Speedy had
made and shortened sail, and the quickness and resource with which they
had done all that seamanship required in securing wounded spars and torn
sails; while, there had been no end to Marble's sneers and comments on the
bungling confusion of the French. This difference now became doubly
apparent, when there was no smoke nor any cannonading to divert the
attention of the respective crews. In half an hour the Black Prince was
clear of the wreck, and she had bent several new sails, while the
difficulties on board her antagonist appeared just then to be at their
height. This same difference existed between the two other vessels,
though, on the whole, le Cerf got out of her distress sooner and more
skilfully than her consort. As to the Speedy, I must do my old
acquaintance, Lord Harry Dermond, the justice to say, that he both fought
his ship, and repaired his damages, in a highly seaman-like manner. I'll
answer for it, the Hon. Lieut. Powlett had not much to do with either. He
had much better been in his mother's drawing-room, that day, and permitted
a more fitting man to fill his place. Sennit was then on his way to
Barbadoes, however, nor do I believe your master of a press-gang ever does
much before an enemy.
Fully two hours passed, during which the combatants were busy in repairing
damages. At the end of this time, La Desirée and le Cerf had drawn more
than a mile to the eastward of the English ships; the latter following
them, as soon as clear of their wrecks, but under diminished sail. The
Black Prince had actually got up three spare top-masts, in the interval,
and was now ready to set their sails. The Speedy was less active, or less
skilful, though she, too, had not been idle. Then the English drove fast
towards their enemies. Mons. Menneval bore up in good season, this time,
edging away, and opening the fire of both ships on his adversaries, when
they were about half a mile distant. The effect of this early movement was
soon apparent, it being a great mistake to reserve a ship's fire, as
against an enemy that approaches nearly bows on. M'Donough owed his
victory in Plattsburg Bay, to having improved so favourable a chance; and
the French were beaten at the Nile, because they did not; though Nelson
probably would have overcome them, under any circumstances; the energy
imparted by one of his character, more than counterbalancing any little
advantage in tactics.
On the present occasion, we could see the fire of the French taking effect
on the Black Prince's spars, as soon as they opened her batteries. As the
mattter was subsequently explained in the official account, that ship's
lower masts were badly wounded before she sent up the new top-masts, and,
receiving some further injuries, stick began to come down after stick,
until nothing was left of all her hamper, but three stumps of lower masts,
the highest less than twenty feet above the deck. Sir Hotham Ward was now
in the worst plight he had been, in that day, his ship being unable to
advance a foot, her drift excepted, until everything was cut away. To the
landsman it may appear a small job to cut ropes with axes, and thus
liberate a vessel from the encumbrance and danger of falling spars; but
the seaman knows it is often a most delicate and laborious piece of duty.
The ocean is never quiet; and a vessel that is not steadied by the
pressure of her sails, frequently rolls in a way to render it no slight
task even to maintain one's footing on her decks; frigates and ships of
the line frequently proving more inconvenient than smaller vessels, under
such circumstances.
There was one fortunate occurrence to the British, connected with this
disaster. The French had been so thoroughly bent on dismasting the Black
Prince, that they paid little attention to the Speedy; that ship actually
passing a short distance to windward of her consort, unnoticed and
unharmed. As the French were going to leeward the whole time, it enabled
the Speedy to get out of the range of their guns, before she bore up. As
soon as this was effected, she followed her enemies, under twice as much
canvass as they carried themselves. Of course, in less than half an hour,
she was enabled to close with le Cerf, coming up on one of her quarters,
and opening a heavy fire close aboard her. All this time, the Black Prince
remained like a log upon the water, trying to get clear of her wreck, the
combat driving slowly away from her to leeward. Her men worked like ants,
and we actually heard the cheers they raised, as the hull of their ship
forged itself clear of the maze of masts, yards, sails, and rigging, in
which it had been so long enveloped. This was no sooner done, than she let
fall a sail from her sprit-sail-yard, one bent for the occasion, and a
top-gallant-sail was set to a light spar that had been rigged against the
stump of the main-mast; the stick that rose highest from her deck.
As the battle, like a gust in the heavens, was passing to leeward, Marble
and I determined to fill, and follow the combatants down, the course being
precisely that we wished to steer. With a view, however, to keep out of
the range of shot, we hauled the Dawn up to the eastward, first, intending
to keep her away in the wake of the Black Prince. Of course we were in no
hurry, it now being in our power to go six feet to that ship's one.
In executing our purpose, we passed close to the wreck of the English
frigate's spars. There they were rolling about on the troubled water, and
we actually saw the body of a man caught in some of the rigging, as the
sea occasionally tossed it to the surface. The poor fellow had probably
gone over with the mast and been drowned before assistance could be
rendered. With an enemy escaping, man-of-war's-men are not very particular
about picking up the bodies of their dead.
I did not venture to run the Dawn directly down in the Englishman's wake,
but we kept her off and on, rather, taking good care not to go within a
mile of her. All this time the Speedy was playing upon the Cerf's quarter.
The latter ship becoming too crippled to luff, while Mons. Menneval was
travelling off to leeward, unmolested, having obtained an advantage in the
way of speed, that he was unwilling to put in any jeopardy, by coming
again under fire. This officer did not want for spirit, but the French had
got to be so accustomed to defeat, in their naval encounters with the
English, that, like several other nations on the land, they Had begun to
look upon victory as hopeless. The Cerf was very nobly fought.
Notwithstanding the disadvantages under which she laboured, that ship held
out until the Black Prince had actually given her a close broadside on her
larboard quarter; the Speedy being kept the whole time on her starboard,
with great skill, pouring in a nearly unresisted fire. The Cerf struck
only as she found that the battle was to be two to one, and under so many
other disadvantages, in the bargain.
This closed the affair, so far as the fighting was concerned. La Desiree
standing on unmolested, though, as I afterwards learned, she was picked up
next morning by a homeward-bound English two-decker, hauling down her
colours without any resistance.
The reader may feel some curiosity to know how we fell on board the Dawn,
during the five hours that elapsed between the firing of the first and the
last guns, on this occasion; what was said among us, and how we proceeded
as soon as the victory was decided. The last he will learn, in the
regular course of the narrative; as for the first, it is soon told. It was
not easy to find four men who were more impartial, as between the
combatants, than those in the Dawn. My early preferences had certainly
been in favour of England, as was very generally the case among all the
better-educated Americans of my period, at least as low down as the war of
1812. But going beyond the scene of internal political discussion, and
substituting observation for the eulogies and sophisms of the newspapers,
had wrought divers changes in my opinion. England was then no more to me
than any other nation; I was not of the French school of politics,
however, and kept myself as much aloof from one of these foreign schools
of political logicians as from the other. I may be said to have been born
a Federalist; but this change of sentiment had prevented my ever giving a
Federal vote since attaining my majority.
Marble had entertained a strong dislike for England, ever since the
Revolution. But, at the same time, he had inherited the vulgar contempt of
his class for Frenchmen; and I must own that he had a fierce pleasure in
seeing the combatants destroy each other. Had we been near enough to
witness the personal suffering inflicted by the terrible wounds of a naval
combat, I make no doubt his feelings would have been different; but, as
things were, he only saw French and English ships tearing each other to
pieces. During the height of the affair, he observed to me:--"If this
Monsieur Gallois, and his bloody lugger, could only be brought into the
scrape, Miles, my mind would be contented. I should glory in seeing the
corvette and the Polisson scratching out each other's eyes, like two
fish-women, whose dictionaries have given out."
Neb and Diogenes regarded the whole thing very much as I suppose the
Caesars used to look upon the arena, when the gladiators were the most
blood-thirsty. The negroes would laugh, cry "golly!" or shake their heads
with delight, when half-a-dozen guns went off together; receiving the
reports as a sort of evidence that crashing work was going on, on board
the vessels. But I overheard a dialogue between these two children of
Africa, that may best explain their feelings:
"Which you t'ink whip, Neb?" Diogenes asked, with a grin that showed
every ivory tooth in his head.
"I t'ink 'em bot' get it smartly," answered my fellow. "You see how a
Speedy make quick work, eh?"
"I wish 'em go a _leetle_ nearer, Neb.--Some shot nebber hit, at all."
"Dat always so, cook, in battle. Dere! dat a smasher for John Bull!"
"He won't want to press more men just now. Eh! Neb?"
"Now you see Johnny Crepaud catch it! Woss! Dat cracks 'e cabin winders!"
"What dat to us, Neb? S'pose he eat one anoder, don't hurt us!"
Here the two spectators broke out into a loud fit of laughter, clapping
their hands, and swinging their bodies about, as if the whole thing were
capital fun. Diogenes was so much delighted when all the Black Prince's
spars went, that he actually began to dance; Neb regarding his antics with
a sort of good-natured sympathy. There is no question that man, at the
bottom, has a good deal of the wild beast in him, and that he can be
brought to look upon any spectacle, however fierce and sanguinary, as a
source of interest and entertainment. If a criminal is to be executed, we
always find thousands, of both sexes and all ages, assembling to witness a
fellow-creature's agony; and, though these curious personages often have
sentimental qualms during the revolting spectacle itself, they never turn
away their eyes, until satisfied with all that there is to be seen of the
terrible, or the revolting.
A word must be added concerning an acquaintance-Monsieur Gallois. Just as
the Black Prince's masts went, I saw him, a long way to windward,
stretching in towards the coast, and carrying sail as hard as his lugger
would bear. The corvette was still close at his heels; and Marble soon
after drew my attention towards him, to observe the smoke that was rising
above the sloop-of-war. The distance was so great, and the guns so light,
that we heard no reports; but the smoke continued to rise until both
vessels went out of sight, in the south-western board. I subsequently
learned that the lugger escaped, after all. She was very hard pressed,
and would have been captured, had not the English ship carried away her
main-top-gallant-mast, in her eagerness to get alongside. To that
accident, alone, did M. Gallois owe his escape. I trust he and M. le Gros
had a happy meeting.