The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1809-07-29 00:00:00

■ • 1. tit .1,t.• . al a n 4 'tier- I'tr ,alc ~ Vl'l'( rind 011%* ill.l e are mk t iag ; want wing toe rit im4 lii itt- illi• Joni blit, twit 6,11 e Av. I.oe, the me- fell der. vs— u,.l the ti,e as 117 I. u I out. or' br IN rr i'Sh MRS lASO twO hree Bar- . COURT MARTIAL. TRIAL OF ADMIRAL LORD GAMBIER. SECOND DAY. Lord CocuttAut's k.. 1 emulation medalled. Q. When did your Lo,iiship first discover that in the inner [toad of ,l• s, there was anchorage sof deiently capacious to contain six sail of the hoe, tb ride without range of shot or shell ?—,A. I nave been in possession of the Fri.nclt charts, iii who I Wave not found a defect in any matt rnii :mint, for a period of y cam ; and those charts I have at all timer drawn any couelusioas, with relive' to the depth of the MAWS', or other circumetance. winch relate to itavigatiou upon that part of the enemy's coast ; and m, them, is this case, as in all others, I place my dependence. i went iu—in my nay 1 foul'd them correct, and 1 k...... the chart, that, when in pursuitof the Calcutta, l eats to hod a hank; w' found it, and anchored upon it ; sod this 1 did, k owing what I eta about. 1 have se.:l toot I I., J itil the soundings correct, upon toe track, close t•• ate &yea; in fact, I Intl coulliknce in the ,lact, by *web it loth Ion,;, als• efinrige might, if any object ern:: in view, be te.kru. Q. In the chart that your Lordship cousulteii uu this occasion, are tile souailings so marked nu it, as to afford a s t inee sufficient for six sail of the line. toot within ran e of shot or shell That con viction was upon ,ily mood ; but by referring to the chart, which is es.Ae thy time same as others whicii hav e hero on me tilliise:nloll. Oil W11 . 44:11 I.IIOIIC 1104111& in:pi are ininited, the Court eau decide the Q. %Viten you found, by experience, upon going into Aix Hint I-, by t lir 1101111t1:11gS that you ten nil, that the sounds -1 chart yen made use of welt. cor r.:lly laud rin su ; and it from thence you threw a t o i •In•ton that there :•-ds dare anchorage ill( SIX Will of it. line; did you make ally cotninunication of t eat imbasetdat fact to the Comittautier-ini-Chief?—. ThaCominander-in-Chiel has the same charts below as 1 . was in possession of, upon which, as 1 have nrearly stated, I term my conclusions with et : L it e:A to the anchorage above alluded to. He had l're,,e't pilots on boa:110m whose reports front I•re ~u> ape: war: I knew the Commander-in-Chief to i .ly above all other authority ; on reconnoitring the 11,-et the first day, I went so near as to induce the caeiny to open it tire from almost his while line ; 1 reported to the Commander-in-Chief the moons .• stair of the isle d'Ais, it having the inner Mathi'. tioua blown up and destroyed, whirh I not only :a...art:lin-LI from the deck with perfect preciei n :o t'.e isle towards its, but also a. to the rite side, ft4).11 the maintops of the skip. .1 . 1:-; - were oai lil gush moulded upon safe, tyro whish I hod formerly been, to the twit of my revid la-tiuit, about fifty. lia snaking these observations to his Lordship, for his iisforreation, he stated his perfect retie...es upon the opinion of the pilot% and assured me thee tole &Ail( was exceedingly strong. anti that it had these tier of guns mounted towards the shily.iig. I then observed to his Lordship, that the tacos:est:suers alitch I bail relas eil fen within my own observation. witch did not alter his Lordship's opitrion. I 'intimd also the little confidence that was to he placed on these prluts s and sof to his Lordship, as well as t i t Sir Harry Neale, that I never had a pilot who (Moot 4irld a shoal, ,earticuliirly a .h pilot, wherever there was s g ; and his on the day of my leaving Waal, still continued in the same Ili:Mimi with respect to Isle Witt:, notwith standing my assurance then, when I had had full t..ne to make my observations upon every part of It. And as the whoole of the frigates, with the exception of the Pallas, had been withirawn, and it was est ra.eiitly with the knowledge of every one of there officers, that those frigates might hove continued where the laiperiesue and Pallas then were, I held their beiag placed in that sitnatiou, a nutter for sus Lordship's decision; I conceived maternity, that as even there were not ordered hick Agaiii, that his Lordship did not require any imormation of which lie was not possessed. Q. Can ships of the Gee arrive at that anchorage et all times of the lidr?—A. fly following the track which I judged lust to take iii the Imperieuse, that being furthest off from the lire of the enemy. I do believe, as I hose already stated, that ships of the hue may patio in at say time of the tide. I sat upon the netting. atteaduiou the leiil, dariog the time we were writhe in ; it was then li.gh water. and luLiug remarked that the rise and talt of the tide was stated in the charts to be about 10 feet. the inspirssion non my mind was, that I should not, with a ship ce the line, hesitate to go iu ; the impression aim upon my nhind WO', that at the dead of ebb, (which there wos nu ncessimi to use) it would not be proper to csrry one of our three. deckers; we passed very dose to the Boyart, and I thiuk 1 could Nave t:i-owis a* penny piece on shore. -.- - Q. All the information pour Lordship has of the ri-e and falling of tine water, was obtained from the charts oily, 1411 , 1 without any soundings of your own I—A. l have resnatked, in cruising before oil that coast, the rise and fall, about Sable D'Olonor, which is not far distant, to be abut ten or 12 feet, at the litg!ii st tide. I frequently land ed on the beach, a loch confirmed my observation ; mod I thought afterwards, when the French ships lay agromai, that the :binders had dried aliont ten feet, and think it must hart! been the deed of low water, about eight o'clock, on the 13th, or a little afterwards. Q. You hare said, my Lord, that Airs of the hue 'night hare brought•to, with their heads to the north-east, near the Loyart Shoal, and might have engaged the two French sinus that rem:toted at anchor, without claimer of shot or shell ; would they have been 'miner to those ships than they would hare beau to the Isle of Aix I shoostil Dot hare thought of bringing any ship's broad•ide to ail enemy, when at a distance so great as from tlw LL d'Austo the lloyart, bat should have mo tioned ow the seine course thet ships *mild do in g wini 3 4 pie e , the inner sichora L re, until the en ray's a" hot to tell, and then I should hare brought tl to broadside of the shine to twit iw the inausscr I) afore described, tiering their beads towards the Ortheard awl eastward; or. i' their shot did in at tell at if!. so as materially to injure, I should p rulasbly hate proceeded to bring the larboard g hang LO bear, lay passing gym) the epilogue side, to I pals d'Aia s until I had placed my ship in such Si. Sisliti On , as s o t only to ceiptare or destroy those, as wail as those whieh were lying, as in Chart, No. as Q. YOU said that after M time they might put thew helms up, and run under the stern of the ships at auchoe, and engage there bull, those ships and the shops that were op shore. tVes that annuatiou io which any of our ships were, at that time pieced ? A. l have said Mod is, provided I found it wore expetheist) that I would have dune an, provident the autl several of the oilier ships yawed the isverieusg. about 3 o'clock, on the lith of April, and placed themselves, or , other passed the po sition above alluded tr. stud went on towards the Lid of the shoal, which in tie case stated in the question would not have been necessioy. Q. Your Lordship having stated, that if two or three sail of the hue, iu coining in, bad borrowed close upon the Boyart, and then laid their untin or fore top-sails back, and aster a period they then lira bore round up, to have gone under the lee of the enemy's, two line of battle ships then a-Moat ; was there space enough for either our, too, er three sail me the line to have taken up no anchorage with es en part of their broadoties to hear oil those two Slll,ll, I without taking the ground ?----A. I did not cousitler the tide ander the lee at a went esaenti.,l the hearing up ; there was sufficient room. 1 c..i. speak with positive certainty. fur tar, its the impe rious, when working out from the position which we occupied, as sheen in chart Nu. 3 ; we hselred repenteilly and traversed all the space between the shoal of the Boyart, tool the buoys of the enemy's ships where tiler nut:haired: ,sent /should not pave stood so far towards these buoys, lied it not been that the eoetuy brefurit tittle incliiied to disturb us, which I not ouiy attributed to the rui tttt tie elate of their works, hut vont:lusted thcrefrum, that they were without powder and (Mier issilitary stores. 1 should not hats euctien, however, any distant sta tion, but should probably have brought up slang side of them, and on th it side itireetly opposite to Isle Witte. The three-decker, mid other ships oil shore, winch appeared to have their insists locked togeeter, could it ire g.reti too di4torintoce in such si pO•sitIOAI; mot three three might have been de stroyed or tilled with water by our 74, had she been seat to attack the it, or elms a frigate or two, while the ties, French line of battle ship. were occupied at their anchors, as above supposed, had they penicverrd, contrary to *net afterwurds was the case in that sitoation. Q. Wert the Revenge and Valiant recalled by signal frotu Aix Road understood that hive fights were sheen. to indicate an order for tar Asps to weigh. 1 did not myself are any sig n I to, ileit purpose, but the above lights referred to; and Ide not know by whom the sig nal was mide, hut l have since understood, by Admiral Stopford, who had hoisted bus flag nu board the Theseus. I 'should also add, that when I arrived at the outerenchorage, I mentioned to Lord Gambier, that vtl there could be nojealousy with respect to would Admiral Stopford, it be a matter essential to the service, to send the Admiral in with the frigates and other vessels, whichever his Lordship thought best. as Its zest for the service would accomplish what I considereed yet more creditable thou any thing that had been dour. I apologieed for thy freedom I had used with his Lordship, and stated I took that liberty as a friend, for it would be int- I possible, things remaining as they were, to pre vent a noise being made about it in &team!. I said, my Lord, you desired me before to speak candidly to you, and I leave used that freedom ; 1 is no wish or desire but for the service of my country. To which hie Lordship replied, that if I threw blame, it would appear like errogasitly claiming all the merit to myself. I assured leis Lordship. that I had no such intention ; and men tioned to him, at the same time, that it was not Illy desire to carry the dispeitchrs, or to go to London with Sir Harry Neale on the occasion. fits Lord ship iimuediately after delivered to me an order, directme the above, *lieu I weighed. I had the an. titifactiou to have. It reported to me. that the signed had been isdale to Attuairal Stopford, which I con eluded to tie for the purpose of going in with the vessels. Admiral STOSroan called and sworn. Q. H:svitig heard the orders received by Lord Gambier from the Admiralty. do you think there was any delay or deficiency on the part of' the Commander-iii-Chief, in executing the service en trusted to his Lordship's care?-4. Under all t h e circuinstauces of the case, viewed in every paint of which I am capable, sod giving to the Com mander-in-Chief the free use euil exercise of that discretion, which every Commaiider-iii-Chief must possess in the execution of the measures for *kith Ins alone is repoosible, I do not think there was any delay or deficiency, on the part of the Com inaader-m-Chief, in executing the service entrusted to his Lordship's care. Q. WAS the fleet in Basque Roads unmoored, pre vious to the going in of the frigates I—A. The st ips were unmoored the first part of the day on the I ith. Q. Do you know why they were unmoored ? A. In the conversation I had with the Commander in-Chief at the time of narnooring, on board the Caledonia, I understood it was fur the purpose of be ing ready to take advantage of any lavostrahle cii ctimstatice in which we could act ; I must also add, there were some conversations that had no practical effect, becatise they were not carried into execution, respecting the making a show of getting smiler weigh, in order to deceive the enemy, for the p ir pose of preventing the enemy's boats coming out to interrept the tire-ships. Q. Was the fleet moored again in tho course of the: due ?—A. Tne signal wee mode, and every ship moored except the Circle, near shoat sunset on that day ; the reawm the Caesar was not moored, was, on account of her having the launches and boats of the fleet 'ringing by her; I veered two CM. WV] fo. her Kreuter .ecurity, considering the fresh ness of the breeze ; smother reason why the Cams was not moored, The was lying at one extremity of the hue. and could have sheered where no other ship was, and without getting foul. Q. DJ you know what induced the Commander in-Chief to order the ships to be MOM" ligillw—or if you sin not know his rearm', did you see ails sul nrieut cause for its hieing done ? A. The Coto- ' inauder-iii-Chief did eat, at that tint. commisoi is.te to me his moons fur uitsoriug the :het • but non, the close order in which Amite part Of the fleet was originally moors*. and considering so I P" - the strength of the tide. 1 think there might have been some risk of the chip* , Interest to each other getting foul, had they remained at single anchor. Q. [lie morning alter the tire-ships were sent in agsiiist the enemy is fleet, some sigmas, and tele graphic signals, were made from the rusperieuse to roe Cooonandeoin-Chief; do you recollect what they were I—A. I must negro:tint the Court that I nowt siwak to the signals from, recollectiou. and out f the sigual-log, as the Signal-Liesteliant vim sent in one of the tire-ships and had nut re turned ; but I can speak to those that were offici ally reported to me by the Captain of the Cesar, with a baler:till:. degree of eertainti; the tiro signal reirorted to me to hove been mane by the Imperi- ISISI, W.II, us well Ur I can recollect, "Roses anise enemy's ships ram dur, the fleet can de struy dim." _ Q. Did you gee, or was it at spy time of that day ofli..ially reported to yon, that the I:nperieuse hail iiiforiiiid the Commander-,n-Chief, by telegraph, that two mil of the line ,would ha suflioient to de 'troy the enemy?—A. Nu such signal was ever re ported to me to have been made, nor any such mon rouriication to have been delivered to tbe Cum ineurler-iii-Chief. Q. Way ally official information given to you of the Cominsioler-ia-Chief having recalled the bnpr rice'e oir the morning of the 12th ?—A. so such official communication was made to me. Q. The Reme.rge, Valiant, and Carer, am stated to have t.teri 'wilt oat. the nod of Air, did they .40 in i— a. Toes went in indifferent tint, of the day, the Ca , var Amur hours after the Valiant and Revenge. Q. Were they recalled by signal, or in any other way. by the Commander-iii-Chief ? A. They were recalled by no orders from the Commander-in- Chief ; but past of them, the Carer, Theseus, arid Valiant, came out by my order. I ordered also the Revenge out, hut I um not sure whether Captain Kerr received the order. Q. What was your reason for calling those ships from the service on which they were ordered, with out directions from the Colainender-iii-Chiefl— The imminent sod evident danger to which the ships were exposed by long continuance in that ser vice in that anchorage; also the certainty that they could not he employed with effect in forviardieg the destructiou of the eiseray's ships. Q. Did you cousider the dauger to which they would be exposed, by remaining there, to be occa sioned by the enemy's batteries, or the badness of the roads, or both ?-4. From both. The pre ceding evening, when the Cesar was goiug in, the ship gut on shore, cud remained there three hoots, ;tattoo rouge of the shot or the enemy's batteries ; and this, contrary to the exoectatiou of the pilot, who told or there %vs- suffieieut outer; the Va liant and Theseus had atno been aground. Q. On what shoal was the Cesar aground ? A. It roust either have been a coutirmation of the Boyart Shoal, or a detached bank ill the line of the Boyert Shoal. At the tout we got on shore, it was dark. and the enemy did nut perceive oar situa tion; and therefore only owe slots, from the loot ten', went over the chip, after o e were agrorind; but if it had been day-light, I should have despaired of getting the ship off. Q. Did you know that within the Road of Aix there was an auchorage outfit Milt tot:outwit six sail of the line, peifectly out of the reach of shot or shell from any of the enemy's batteries ?—A. Pre vious to our frigates going lo„ I certainly did not, although some pilots were of opinion there was. and others there was not; cud respectiug the number of [ ships that place is Male to contain, I have under stood that it will not contain more than four sail of the line, iii five fathoms, without the rauge of shot or shell ; but I must add, that, had I known toat, before I went in with the Cesar, I should have ex pected little good from any of the ships going there, as it was completely out of the reach of annoyance to any of the enemy's ship., on shore. Q. One of the reasiiii• you have given for with drawing the rhipr from the road of Aix was, that they could not be employed in the further destruc tion of the enemy's ships. Were you, before it was dark, in a Situation from which you could so see the enemy's ships. is to feel quite satisfied the ships of the line could do them no more mischief ? A. Before I went iii, and iu g.iing iff; I observed the enemy's shoes, oho had lint struck, lied got rio near the batten. a of Isle il'Aix, being in a putt of the ancliorege with which we were very ill acquainted, except from seeing a French ship wrecked on the Pella*, that I was of opinion, both with respect to the navigation, and exposure of the English *hens to the batteries, they could not be employed without iiiiiniiirotly risking their safety. Q. You have commanded a squadron a con siderable time in Bisque Roads, have you ever as certained how ntrauli the water rises at awing tides ? —A. We generally estimate it from 18 to al feet, according to the set of the wand, the N.W. making higher tole. Q. When the laperieuw made the signal in the morning that the enemy's ships were on chore, and the fleet might destroy them, would you, with the experience you have hi n t as a flag-o ffi cer, have . , thought it peU.leot or prover to lend to the fleet to destroy thew. ?—.k. In my opinion, the dislodg ment from the anchorage of the enemy's ships, by ' areoiliips, removed but a small part of the obstacle that ever existed in my mind ; mod in those of the other officers alio had preceded me in the MUM alaudo, towards the British fleet going in to attack them, the difficulties of the navigation, and our imperfect knordedge of it, with the wind right in, would, I think, have made me unworthy of com mand. Q. When the Inperieuse made the sigunl; that half the fleet were sufficient to destroy the enemy, would you have led ii, half fleet 1.-- A. With the wind as it than was, cud with the broadsides of the three Alpo still commanding the proewge. I think I should have been so crippled in going in, and in enildivuuring to work out, to apess sage of tittle sines thou a mile and half in breadth, that 'think. I should ion have risked the ship.. had ;hey beers :toiler my COurinentt. Q. The louperituse made the signal of distress, d waned immediate itaistaoce- , —were any . ships mediately sent to towa r d her? A. 1 will not ' arm' to my Bun the frigatimorderial in try Lord i it •ritbitr were ordered ia bef ore or a fter th a t 44. ; but there were several mein& wider weigh in siege, peaty ie. I. do. net racertlett any Arai' ~ beast made by the Commander-in-CIO? r,vitiie diAriy, in consivielice of that ti;iial of. Mt lei perieesi. The Court adjourned at four o'clock, until t.- !arrow morning at nine. .....- , TIMID DAY ..-Flill.bit. .. • Lord COCHRAN E called in 4nd epes(i4ned by the euert. Q. Are the eliaits pr e10c. , 1 iii Coint li,y toot buitsliiti, Na. 2 ...t i 3, itop.eil ~r (Air., hoas the chart, No. I, which roar Luail l hip pro Iti , '.irin Court ?—A. It MA.: Jolt were uumi.•.' .nth a !wh inl from the chart, Nu. 1, and afierii.,r.l....-,aidiesl over with i• pen ; they were taken by .i(kersuis wlirp I .mpliy •,1 hit that purpose ; and I poet is ale 1,,,%iti0n. ~f rise fleets es near us it War "liisisible ; and the fli nisi' fleet is marked as it uppesee from the Imperiesse, when off the Home. About loaf past eleven, oil the morning of the lith, die fri gates, which then appeared hear the Iniperiee..e, ti ,, le to the Bo) art, lisd weighLd with the /Nor /tit tire in the snoridiig, and were at that boor wit • • • the fleet. Q. There being no sate dpors these two charts; by what scale or rule did tour Lordship place the figures of the ships as represented Intro %—A. Hy the scale of the chart m which they are copies, whieh is of the seine sis,„md now before tbe Court, marked No. I. The distance of the brigs rotn the Imperienve, I inewsured by the flight of shot, and I believe it to lw Heady e‘urect ; the distillive of the Celeittra, Varsoeie and Arprilon, wire a't• certained by the point blunt range ; our shot did not roach the Tonnere, which the enemy kindled themselves; and the 3-decker was towiudstlie North East, a little farther off; she hoeing beet. wavped over by Hawsers, and got i,.to that situatton lye the furce of sail and other mean,. She pled a numb,: of boats a-head of her. Admiral STOPFORD called in again. Count —44. NVhen the signal was made by lice fra.. perieure. on the no o n .. i.. g of tilt I'M), that the ene my's ships were on shore, **about tiling t:iolleill con sequence of it ?—A. Soon after dat e heneriestse made signal, the Counnander-M-Cloef wive oilers to un moor ; hut I cannot speak to die exact time La tiAeifil the two signals; efterwardy the signal ems made to weigh; and the fleet; in eistamwitoomes. moved nearer to the Isle d' Aix; the Comnsossieesin.A..iiivf informed Me, for the parpose of being Mositicuation himself better for observing the ' of the enemy, and with the intention . is alt!. the Beet, if the wind had shitted so tar so tho.E.set ward, as to allow the fleet to come nut spin : for which event, the Commander-m.4_ hie( repealed the greatest now:tenet sod anxiety. • Q. At what tune was it the Commander...in. Chief informed you of his reasons for genie in i'-:-- A. It was sometime between the haur,..t eight ai.d ten—lisiiig then uu board the Caledonia. Q. Datlits fleet anchor again?—A. The Ree't anchored rather more than there miles funs 1.-i.e d'Aix, finding thete was no change in the whist. Q. At the time the Beet again ntirlioreal, would it have been prudent or proper to have avnt half of it in to destroy the enemy ? A. For reasons I yeated. day stated, in my evidence, in answer to that ques tion, I think ttutt the Conmsander-in-Chief desired the Etna bomb and the smaller vessels to proceed in and boalliard the enemy's "Mips nii shore, giving directions also to the Captai w ~1 the raftartt. Res veva, and Bellows, and some oilier -hips, which I do not recollect, to tidy/none towards the Bolan Shoal, in order to support the bomb-reset. 1,). Did the ships and vereis su ordered to ad. vomit., proceed without ant horiog with the fli•et ? A. The Etna and smaller vessels immediate:t• pro. ceeded, without anchoring, to bomb:ollie mince; the line-of-battle ships slid not proceed till stabie pliantly ordered by si;cial; they then anchored. Q. %'ou have said ihreetious were given to some oilier ships to proceed ; were those difectoma bf biggul ?—.i. No; by the Commiitider-m-Chiel, on board the Caledonia, and in my hearing. Q. Were the same directions given to all of them, or was there any distinction wade between' the di. reetiuns given to the Ilne-of-bittl* ships, aryl re those of the smaller vessels I—A. As they tiere di.. rections that could only be ex,ec c pted atceuelimg is the skill of the pilots, who were sometimes ex tremely ignorant,• the orders were spiced disrtie tionarily to the larger steps to go in as rat' In they thought safe, or as far as they coyld contident!y rely on their pilots. Q. At the time of your hearing those or.!:es given, did you understand it to be the intention of the-Coraniauder-in-Chief that every ship of every 1 description so ordered should go is, as soon nod as far as the discretion of the Captain would admit 1 A. From the general signal then made ter slips to prepare for battle, with sprier on their cables, and to bend a sheet cable through their stern-ports; also, from the conversation I had with the Com inaiider-in-Chief, and wiluessing his impatience and disappointment, froth circumstances not al lowing awn to gu in with the fleet : it was iny fug conviction that such were the Coin mander-in-Chief . intentions, that ships should go in as far as they could, and as soon os they could. Q. Do you kuon from the Captains of those ships of the line their misons fur not goihg ininn.= diately in ?—A. Ido not recollect ever to have beard those masons distinctly stated. Q. What were the voisels that slid accompany the Erna, when 'she Went rti I—A. Chiefly gun. brigs and meet of war brigs. Q. WItI year he so good to add, wero.there any frigntes I—A. Afterwards every frigate *tit in, in consequence of the signals from tile Contimandee. iii-Chisf. Q. 110 w !trio after the brig-sloops, the gun brigs, and the Etna were its, wt.s tt that the frigstts went in I—A. 1 do not think it could exceed half an hour. a.. --N . Q. At what time did the line-of-battle shim, 0 . ,.. in, and which were t!..0..c line-of-battle ships 1---.. t . Ido not think it was ore than half an litmOdk e M : the hie:sits, that the Vallissn'imd 160tisirt writ in., Q. When the fleet broag..t. op 4 tbe . .dWance • you ineritioned from the fide D'Aix, whet was the .tat; Oren wriether ?—A. Fine weather, and a . fresh breeze from the MhT.Wi wigs • flied tide. Q. At the time the tee-Aire emelt in, ou the eeobi:i of the MN what oils therefore of die webs • Ibtit...A. 3qualty, with sstiesel.P.W. WOOS . -