Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-03-29

however, made up to him as successful
cruizer in the great amount of his prize money.
He died one Of Englands wealthiest admirals.
As to Lord Rodney, he became rear admi-
raj at 40, and fought what is called his great
battle, the 18th Of April, 1882, at the age Of g.
How was that battle fought-was it as com.
plete q victory as it would have been If he had
been some ten or twelve years younger? 1t is
the opinion of the best writer's Of his time, that
il was not SO. Of the great feet under COM
mand of De Grass, only eight vessels were cap
tured, and remained as trophies in his hands;
and blythe by, two of them were not captured
on the 18th, but subsequently,, by Capt. Good
all, in the :. Inona Passage. The remainder
of De Grass's feet escaped, transports and all.
good authority, he says, Lord Rodney showed
o great deficiency in energy and decision dur
ing, and after the battle" It is also well
known that Lord Hood, his second in COM
mand, was displeased ut the result of the &C
ton, and urged Lord Rodney to renew it,
which he did not do, and thus lost the advan-
tages Of his victory. This was excused on the
ground of his age and an attack of govt.
Lord Howe was commodore OF q squadron at
80, and rear admiral at AS He. as I Vinde1''
asserts, fought his great battle on the is! Of
June, 1893, at 6s; his seconds in command,
Lord Graves, was of the same age, and Admi-
raj Alexander Hood 80. What does tho best
naval authority say about this battle" why,
that it was incomplete, as the advantages of it
were lost by want of energy and decision
caused by the great age Of all the principle
commanders after fighting three days. Lord
Howe only took six ships Of the line, and al
escape q six or eight of which did SO under
their spritsails, and still worse, the whole ex-
pected French American CONVOY consisting
of 100 vessels, the interception of which was
the main object of the English admiralty, ar
rived safely in the French ports. The fact is,
that men of the time of life of his Lordship,
are not equal to three days fatigue of body
and mi nd necessary to such an occasion, and
it cannot be doubted, had he been between
feet, if not the whole, would have been cap
tured. -.
Lord Duncan was promoted t. Rear Ad-
miral at so, and, as s'Vindex' says, fought the
Camperdown action at 66. agree with "Vin-
dex" that che certainly was no common man, I"
and am willing to acknowledge if he had
been forty he could not have borne down on
an enemy's feet on a lee shore with more
nerve, decision, and success.
Admiral Jervis became Rear Admiral at
43 and attacked the Spanish feet of very SUI
perior force off Cape st. Vincent at SO, which
action gave him his title. 1t is all as "Vin.
dex' says, but he forgets to mention, that it
was the youthful Nelson who bore the brunt
OF the action and won the victory by disobey-
ing signals and orders, and at his peril fought
the main portion of the battle on his own hook
Lord Collingwood l agree with 'Vindex, y
was very remarkable man; but it must be
remembe red that all his great deeds he per-
formed between the ages of Is and SO, the age
ne died. But does not Vindex" know, through
his Lordshlp's own cOrrespondence, that he &C
knowledged that he was much broken in mind
and body sometime before he retired from his
command, and does he not also know through
cotemporary writer's, it was the opinion of
many of his officers that he was pretty effectu-
ally done up long time before that event hap
pened, proving the fact that when a mans
body begins to shake, the mind soon follows
and he is always the last to find it cut
Lord Nelson is the last of Vindexs long list
of exceptions. Why he is included among his
" old heroes" [ am at loss to conjecture
unless he thinks his brilliant career should
have belonged, by his course of reasoning, to
an Older man. Now, as he chooses Nelson as
one of his examples, let US see what the old
gentleman did. His Lordship was made q
post-captan at q, fought the battle of the
Nile at 80, Copenhagen at Al, and Trafalgar
at Al. Many men of his age would have done
the same, but 1 doubt if Lord Nelson himself
between 60 and 20 would have attempted either
the Nile or Copenhagen, and, most certainly
at that time of life he would not have fought
the battle Of Trafalgar in the way he did
He made his attack in the same way Duncan
did at his Camperdown fight, and won the day
capturing twenty three all out of thirty-three
and had he fought the action distance from
the land, not one of the enemy would have
returned to tell the story He died at AZ, lat
which age, had he been in our navy at this
time, he would not have left his crysilite
state Of lieutenant,) leaving a brilliant ex-
ample to follow, but which example will never
be followed by one man in a hundred, unless
he has youth. rs Nelson had, on his side
marvel he left out of his list of old admirals
Lord Hotham and his bungling action in the
Mediterranean, and Sir Robert Calders and
his ridiculous one.
In conclusion of Vindexs article, he saws
1t requires this age of progress to discove,
that years unified an officer to command. y
Ny answer to this remark is, that the present
age of youth, energy, research, and. invention
have discovered many other things besides
what he complains of, which have improved
the we'll being and happiness of the whole hu.
man family-diScOveries unknown to and dis
regarded as unworthy the attention of the old
men of the past gen Grafton. NV,
Washington, March 26, 1854