The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-30 00:00:00

NAN4ll''''
" CHARLES NAPIER."
TREATMENT OF THE YANKEES UP
• Our" , THE POTOM ‘C, 1814. •
In e • Mediterranean,
now lies in America ; but a minute ago it was
e' sto elediterrancan, for a sailor's life is subject to strew:o
wee,i,s,l.4nd strauger anes.
linealhe latidnnap,. who. seeu.-ely
hate himself in his "fine and purple,' little imag nes
hite 'hie:mutations of climate alone, the fleshy fiatne of
je,ted'A. lie forms a eo.nposite part of the " Service " is seb-
Niel, To-day his orders, yerchauce, bar him emong the
crttl Idyl erborea, and the snow scenes ot the retie ;
eiere'em"rrow he may be scorched by the brassy skies that
of .r toe Carribeee and Martinico : next day the fresh-blowing
aftNerit rrithcan
may
fan him, and her blue delight ; but
I, short sojenriiine he is borne away to the re elder akies f
I,+;lrtegal,
_r
o hurries' next to the untried tracks of the New
thatt° fight on Transatlantic shores. One would suppose
a, axing run the course of al these, tho csseoui sem
941de
eon no loeger boue, but haeo atta:nod to the induracy
Or t
tailed ehe
inane expeditious up the. bays and rivers of the
hrilli!t
'ates (hiring the last war of 1814, none equalled
.in
This °f eetecut;on that up the l'otomac to Alexandria.
th •
vias intru tea Cietain James A. Gorden, of
• taint ic",'-,rse, 46, taking with hi n the Eu,yalus, 423_ Cap-
reel. (ter; Devastation Etna, and Meteor bemlee Erebus
atei'' ip, and a small tender o: despatch-beat ;an I was
thelie ,i
a )lned by the Fairy brig of 18 guns, Capt. Baker.
17th, at 9. lere. a.m., the squadron ot ureter
-PTO .
from the anchorhage at the entrance of the Potogmac, and,
_eiut the aid of pilots, began aeeending the intrica'e channel
me river leading to the capital of the United
.States. On
mids4sth, while 'passing the fiats of Maryland point, a squall
"atk the
mid 0, eeuluadron ; the Seahorse hod her mizen-mast sprung,
'e nryalus, just as she had dewed up her sails to be in
to receive it had her bows rit en,l the head of her fore-
enest ba.dla s, •
erre" he -ening:and the head of all three topmasts fairly
e on. Such, however, was the state of discipline on
bear the ship, that in twelve hours the Eurjalus had refitted
Ofers'll, and was again under weigh, ascending the river.
ter haring, on their sail up the Potomae, captured Fort
ane'shington, the Americans, recovered a little from their panic,
" took strong measures to oppose 'the return of the seuadron
of the Potornae. Commodore Rogers, with a chosen body
lie:eamen from. the Guerriere at Pid'aelelphla ; Captains
f
rY, Porter, and other distinguished officers ; a party o
tletieters and men ire= the Coestellation at Norfolk ; the men
Zbad beloaged to Commodore Barney's &tle, regular
n°Ple riflemen, artillerists, and militi.s, all flecked to. the
II:" of the Potomac, to punish " the base incendiarui. ,
e fire-vessi Is and five row-boats were directed in. eer,nn
afe,Cernmodore Rogers himself against our shipe..,_ ,ehrile, in
eV'e uf the execution which a prize gun-'-,cat, and a bOat
Amer' to the Euryalus with a howl.ze,, am,
hem eric to impede the
in their progress at their
.rarks, they nevertheless,
ahrsm,,
,a battery of eleven guns, with a furnace for heating
~;harassed -our vessels iii:aeeeveateeeely. Two of our ves-
__ grounded and, beer:de' most desperately situated, on ace
iriteillita of thieir exposse to the fire. This continued, together
a tliineePreraeri!edy annoyance from the firing of the Yankees,
the Rind—Y-w..ooded creek, till the sth instant, at noon, when
heel, I :oiling fair, and, every suitable a. rangement having
ket..e .-‘des the Seahorse and Euryalus anchore I within muse
4te 'ant Of the batteries, while the whole of the prizes and
11,4114)s which had grounded, passed betwece the frigates
nre e Bh°ol. At three p.m., having completely silenced the
Tot ef_ the American battery, the Seahorse and the Euryalus
pesiire 11ir cables? and the whole equadron proceeded to the next
bustle" taken up by 'the Yankee troops, who had here two
of %li' mounting from fourteen to eighteen guns, on
.a range
Lei s about a mile in extent, and close under which the
wrack
were obliged to pass.' It was not intended to make the
tleaek that evening ; but the Erebus grounding within ranee
Calla l batteries, the frigates and other vessels were neeessarly
into action. On this occasion the fire of the Fairy pro •
isle the most decisive effect, as well as that of the Erebus,
with Devastation, Etna, and Meteor peppered away
peir shells with great precision. By 8, r. at, the Yan-
sk„,nad got enough of it, and their ba!teries were completely
to_etis..llderOn the 6th, at daylight, the 13titi:h squadron saw
weigh,' and the 'Yankees, having a belly-full, sow
oth the no further use in opposing their progress. On the
• ' no
and the Euryalus sailed out of the Potomac,
Ltd tan,. a_
,o anchor in safety at the spot whence they
.had
"." twenty-three days before. The loss in this daring
eadter att"did not exceed on board all the vessels seven killed
tboli,,Y-five wounded, including Captains Napier and Bar-
how,
4,44ar limits will not allow us to give from the despatch of Sir
-,,Gordon more than the one extract which follows :
Captain Napier I owe more than I have words to ex-
ror,--' The Euryalus lost her bowsprit, the head of her fore-
%Cu, and the heads of all her topmasts, in a tornado which
~i.,encountered on the 25th, just as her sails were clewed up,
setae twelve
we were passing the flats of Marylaed Point ;
.and yet,
twelve hours' work on her refittal, she was again under
'IZII, and advancing up the river."
NAPIER IN LITERATT.ratn„
ls,aPier remained on half-pay tult,Thia appointment to the Ga-
-14:: at Portsmouth, on which Station he was three years, and
Ca me
s'me b}' petition, on amt.:fit of his wounds (for the Gallant
'ut ja /came), an out-pensioner of Greenwich Hospital to the
fro- °f 80/. per anr-din. Let it not, however, be supposed
zlotnaf this that the Gda'os Officer is poor, far from it. He fights
doie:e,„seebread, fed for the deep-seated desire in his heart of
too '.O" his country. In this view he cannot be extolled
the bl-1.1---his whole being seems consumed and flaming with
.-allowed devotedness of a lofty, we had almost said, suh-
skiZPatriotism. It is this great feeling which actuates his
clarione being and energizes his every action, and which, like a
that evithi'n his solul, plaYs for ever a spirit-stirring blast,
44, urges him to valour and achievement.
re„, roubled, hoe ever, by his wounds, he sought now a short
ind~but though the state of his body demanded quietude and
in :,ig,ence, his mind, prone to movement, and comfortless but
Per*—", engaged itself in enlightening the world with his ex-
peti-nee upon matters of naval expenditure and economy. The
Jou'ePlaced the sword of Mars, and in the United Service
H are several proofs of his literary talents, particularly
,
f ','e.lournal of 1832, Vol. 1, wherein are an excellent series
ver Observations on the Construction and Qualities of the,
"n and Castor, and on Naval Architecture in general.
N'mhZse were two vessels whose comparative merits ouch en-
:ved naval attention at the time, the one being built by the
of tLY board, and the other by Captain Symonds. In the course
'l
etn.l,' article, Commodore Napier shows that he had himself
0 ed well the theory and practice of ship-building, for he
delis remarks—. Four years ago I sent to the Admiralty a Teo-
Vrk,l3,f a ship—it is now in the United Service Museum. She
-•rl2 feet long, and the same breadth as the Nelsen." This
upon is throughout valuable for many suggestions thrown out,
is a Points in question. In the same years Journal, Vol. 11.,
p. 4Paper entitled, " Remarks on Ste- m" Vessels," and also at
sam" e talented Remarks on the State of,pen. the Navy," all from the
The NAPIER AT 7r.,ORTSMOUTH. -1832. ,
leis.e Persevering Knits of our hero not allowing him any
1551 f re' we now f.nd him, in December, 1832,_ proposing hien-
Inctisena„ didate to represent Portsmouth in Parliament.
"erns- --1" be said of the staunch addresses delivered from the
and forums of antiquity, but for genuine manliness of
~iciukt, strong laconism of expression, and blunt,
unt,hearty, un -
tietteet :,1; and uivarnished avowal of his own deeds, there is no
nett °ratory, from plain Phocion's harangues to bold Coh-
Vre4rebunciations, that, being put into parallelism with It,
tract "t lose by the juxta-position. It is an eccentric, ex-
41i4at?t, but superlative piece of honesty ; each paragraph
its'like rocky water from a pure and potent fountain-head .
truthfulness'roo,ol is as perfect as an unflawed chrysolite, though
able ,43 a dirt-encrusted diamond : it is the speech of a vent-
Or4,,•l,4l,ercules--not Hercules in the effeminate attire of
• trola"4les but Hercules slovenly and tough as when he had
est4leed the Stymphalides and brained the Nemean lion. We
-deire+slw this document so important a portion of the Commo-
otnistic?" mind that to omit it would be equal to an artist's
too:in of s. feature in his portrait ; and as it furnishes
veid and succinct recapitulation of all the even.s of his
aftor_sich we have hitherto recounted, it will serve as a bold
s'arieero,sraPhnny to the life which we have writ of him with
T• It was thus that be spo'ae to the burgesses : _
Nye "le course of y canvass (said the Gallant Officer) 1
Nem-. "een asked who ? I will tell you. lam Captain Charles
tour in flieexx,who twenty-21m ears ago commanded the Itecruit brig
Indieee'and who had the honour of being twen.y.
'"g°frOor," nande.--"the guns of three French line of battle ships
fle 'eeptio„ ftritisli squadron, the nearest of which,. with the
tolif thaettHanof.vk b ig was from five to six miles astern
the'. I kept flying double-shotted
nealvad42clees into them, One of these ships (the Hautpoult)
sts.,zi ^as captured by the Pompey and Castor, the ether two
12ed by superior sailing. Sir 'Alexander Cochrane, my
the Chief, romoted me on the spot into her. At
were of lartinique, the Xolus, Cleopatra. and Recruit
kid
thorere.d to beat, up in the night between Pigeon Island
feari,, main, and anchor close to Fort Edward , the enemy,
r00,,7 an attack, burnt their shipping. At daylight in the
this, ii% it appeared to me that Fort Edward was abandoned ;
siofe ,ovvever, was doubted. I offered to ascertain the fact,
Ids,„7.lth five men I landed in open day, scaled the walls, and
Was -4 the Union Jack on the ramparts. Fortunately I
undiscovered from Fort Bourbon, which stood about
hundred Ported yards off, and commanded it. On this being
14114110 d to Sir Alexander Cochrane, a regiment was
en4,11,n,_ the night. Fort Edward was taken
innsposseion
w,' and Lae mortal's turned against the enemy. lam pos-
duct :of a letter from Sir A. Cochrane, saying that my eon-
tieee ofel the means of saving many lives and shortening the
Martinique.' I had once the misfortune of receiving
trmett7nirenuks,elinickying from a French corvette ; the first shot she
thigh, and a plumper carried away my main-
nished lbe enemy escaped, but the British fiag was not tar-
I was On my return to England, fn command of the Jason,
itio. turned out of her by a Tory Admiralty, because I had
earei"erst ; but as I could not kad an idle life, I served a.
agraienarovryoiungnded.
with the army in Portugal as a volunteer, when
h°ll,our At the battle of Busaco, I had the
et°llel Na • off the field my gallant friend and relative,
cle, Pier, now near me, who was shot through the face.
,was not the only field where he shed his blood : at Co." ne was left for dead, hut, thank God ! he escaped with
the •vrranck• On my return to England; I was appointed, to
inhabit Mea, in the Mediterranean ; and if I 6ould bring the
tell • ants of the Neapolitan coast into this roomy they would
apps)°u, that froth Naples to the Faro Point there. was_ no.t.a
where I -
toe upwards did not leave my mark, and brought off with
‘Psels
of a hundred sail of gun-boats, and merchant-
ui ieu.se I had the honour of running the Thames and
tar, 1 into the small mole of Psnza; which was
frotrillg,Y •
defended; and before they could recover
fiat', then' surtrise
I was t I captured the island without the loss of a
fortu „ en removed to the Euryalus, and had the good
chketT,t°, 'au in with two French frigates and a schooner. I
Coreeeulem in the night close in 'o Calvi; in the island of
as bli-s's passing close under the stern of one, ialumpering her
rite ;.I,„and though we were going eight knots, I tried to
s'aru of her
athwart re h consort, who was a little outside, standing
she succeeded awse th ight was dark, the land close, and
eas, wkere sh
crossing but I drove her ashore on the
übli
ged to anchor e was totally wrecked,
me,and her consort was
tot off • or close by her. The Euryalus wore round and
s_•
almost brushing the shore as she passed. The ships
'6lguns
afterwards aseertahied to be armee en flute, mounting 22
..;3 each, , and the schooner 14 From the Mediterranean I
„, ordered to Amer' • • *
• •IT‘tion bete lea , and if my Gallant Friend Sir James
. 7.". e ae. would have told you how I did my duty on