The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-01
WRECK OF FoUDRoYANT.
All That is Left of Nelson's Famous
Flagship.

Nestled on the coast of the Irish sea,
some IS miles from Liverpool, lies Black.
lpool, the seaside resort of Lancashire and
Yorkshire. On calm day, when the tide
runs far out and low, a dark and sombre
line of wreck is sometimes visible in the
sands near Blackpool pier. To the mi
tiated that dark line is won't to awaken
memories of the days when the wooden
walls of England were famous and her
mightiest battle fought upon the sea, and
to conjure up the figure of the greatest
of all her great naval commanders,
Horatio Viscount Nelson. For that rem
nant of water-soaked and weather-beaten
oak is all that is left of the once gallant
SO-gun ship Foudroyant, Nelson's flagship
Immediately preceding the Victory in
whose cockpit a musket bullet from the
snuffed out his great life
The keel of her majesty's ship Fou-
ldroyant was first laid at Plymouth in 1888,
and she was there launched in 1888. Pro-
ceeding to Naples where Lord Nelson
| then had his headquarters, she at once
| became his flagship, and her deck wit
Of Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton which
lwasAater to ripen into an Illicit love that
VIII forever cast its shadow over his
memory; 1t is Lady Hamilton whom
my king and country, that they will give
her an ample provision to maintain her
rank in life" trusting faith in the
gratitude of his country that the future
was to prove not well grounded
On this same deck Cardinal Reiffo and
Sir William and Lady Hamilton discussed
whom Lady Hamilton pleaded the mercy
which Nelson denied and later court
martial, sitting on board the Foudroyant,
sent Caracioli to hang from the yard arm
q La Minerva ctr sif,5
OF 1888. the Foudroyant's decks were con-
sl.dered the seat Of government of the
king Of Naples, and there for several
weeks the king held his court.
The Foudroyant recalls memories of
other illustrious names besides Nelson's,
for many famous captains, including Sir
Hardy commanded her, and heroic Sir
Ralph Abercromby died ON her decks
Her day Of usefulness ended, and she
went out of commission, and, after she
had been lying for many years in a navy
yard, in 1892 the admiralty sold her to a
German firm of ship breakers This
repurchased her and rented her for the
sea at great expense. In 1896, when she
was again ready for sea service, Queen
Victoria visited her, and she was after
ware. brought around the coast to Black
pool and there anchored. On June 16
1897 hurricane caused her to break her
moorings and drive ashore a total wreck
Her vicissitudeS were not, however, fin
ally over, for the wrecking firm that
bought her, in trying to blow her apart,
killed an onlool1er at the first trial. This
so discouraged them that they abandoned
the attempt and turned her over to
others, who were more successful in
breaking her up. They built good ships
in the last century, as the oak in the
hull of the Foudroyant bore testimony.
Three fest in thickness and of hard
ness that would turn the edge of the
finest TOOLS the work of splitting up her
hun was giants task. but it was finally
accomplished. Now that all is left of this
good ship that played so important
part in the. close of the eighteenth and
beginning of the nineteenth Centuries is
pile of weather-beaten and strangely
shaped pieces of wood in carefully
locked yard at Blackpool and some FORTY
tons of copper at Birmingham mint cop
per that carries SO goodly a proportion
Of silver that, though the current price is
500. the mint would gladly, pay $500 a ton
utmost corners of the earth in the shape
Of walking sticks, medals AMI other Gu
rios, and all that will be left of the Foud-
royant will be her name In history and
stray pieces of wood and metal scat
tered far and near over the face of the
earth.-New York Tribune