The War for All the Oceans

by Roy Adkins

  The Dutch finally surrendered on the 10th, and Walters was one of the naval officers who occupied the town: ‘The evening of this day, march’d on to Cape Town, took possession of it, halted in the parade square, a Royal salute was fired by our Artillery, and returned Commodore Popham’s Ship, the Diadem, the Squadron having all anchor’d in the Bay . . . The Dutch Colours was haul’d down and the English Union hoisted in their stead. The Cape of Good Hope once more an English Colony.’33 The recapture of the Cape did not just help to protect Britain’s trade with India and China, important though that was, but it also provided another check on Napoleon’s ambition to expand his empire eastwards. As a result of safeguarding British trade and denying trade opportunities to the enemy, Britain’s wealth was bound to grow while that of France dwindled.

  It took some time for news of Cape Town being in British hands to reach all the French naval forces, and on 4 March the French frigate Volontaire was spotted sailing into the bay, as Lieutenant Fernyhough related:We took a French frigate, of forty-eight guns, under the following circumstances. She ran into Table Bay, being deceived by the Dutch ensign flying on the flag-staff of the forts and ships, which was on our parts a ruse de guerre. When she came alongside of us, we hauled down the Dutch colours and hoisted the English ensign, opened our ports, showed our broadside, and ordered her to strike. She lowered her colours, and I was directed by Sir Home Popham to take possession of her, with a party of marines. As soon as I got on board, I saw a number of English officers and soldiers, belonging to the 2nd or Queen’s, and the 54th regiments of foot. The joy they expressed on our appearance I am unable to describe. One of the officers came and shook me by the hand, and burst into tears, he was so overjoyed: the poor soldiers were in such a state of feeling, that they appeared ready to jump overboard. Poor fellows! they had been prisoners between seven and eight weeks, and during the greatest part of that time had been confined below. A number of them had died for want of air. We now began to bring upon deck the poor sufferers who were confined below. Some of them were so ill, from their long restraint from liberty, that they expired as soon as they were exposed to the air.34

  The soldiers told Fernyhough that they had been taken prisoner on their way home to England from the garrison of Gibraltar - after capturing troop transports in the Bay of Biscay, the Volontaire had been detached from Willaumez’s squadron, which was still at liberty after escaping from Brest the previous December, and had sailed to the Cape.

  In late January Rear-Admiral Linois learned from an American vessel that the Cape was in British hands, though the news was embellished with warnings that they were waiting for him there, and at St Helena and Mauritius (Île de France to the French). Short of supplies, he decided to risk heading back to France without orders. News of his capture in March reached Plymouth just a few days before Princess Caroline’s visit to the Caesar with all the prostitutes on board, and The Times triumphantly declared:The John-Bull cutter arrived at Plymouth on Friday night, with dispatches from Admiral Sir J. BORLASE WARREN. She had brought the important intelligence of the capture of the Marengo; commanded by Admiral LINOIS, and the Belle Poule frigate . . . It must be highly gratifying to every English mind that victory is a never-failing attendant on the British flag, in every sea, and on every coast. We see on this occasion, as we have observed on all others of a similar nature, that intrepid conduct, active spirit, and steady resolution, which do so much honour to the naval character, and produce such continual addition to the glory of our country. 35

  The overblown language of the newspaper report obscured the fact that it was bad luck on the part of Linois to have been caught. The squadron led by Vice-Admiral John Borlase Warren was actually searching for Willaumez. On 12 March, in the area of sea between St Helena and the Canary Islands, Linois thought he had spotted a convoy, and Louis Garneray on board the Belle Poule witnessed what happened: ‘We noticed three vessels sailing towards us before the wind on the opposite tack. The biggest of these vessels made signals, which the others repeated, and two of them soon disappeared from sight thanks to the darkness. Our captain, Mr Bruillac, warned Admiral Linois that the biggest we had just seen and which was now pursuing us, probably belonged to an English squadron . . . Admiral Linois took this advice badly and maintained that this ship was, on the contrary, only protecting a merchant convoy.’36

  Linois soon realised his mistake, but before he could veer away, Warren’s squadron turned to attack. The British maintained their pursuit overnight and the next day caught up with the French ships. Midshipman William Bowyer from the Ramillies wrote to his parents, describing the action once the two French ships had been spotted:It was the middle watch, I was on duty. At 4 o’clock all hands were called: we waited with impatience until daylight appeared, then we saw from the masthead the London engaging a French line-of-battle ship and a frigate; the signal was instantly made for a general chase; our little ship being a prime sailer, came up first to the combatants, when the French frigate made sail, and endeavoured to get away from her companion, but the Amazon frigate, of 36 guns, who had all the time stuck close to her, followed her, and as she passed the enemies’ line-of-battle ship, poured a broadside into her, as an English salute on such occasions: in a short time she came up with the French frigate, which after a sharp engagement at last struck to the Amazon; she proves to be the Belle Poule, of 40 guns . . . By this time we were coming very near to the London and her opponent; we beat to quarters, and double shotted our guns, and as we were about passing the London, who had most nobly sustained a severe conflict, she bore up a little and fired another broadside into the enemy; then cheered us as we passed; we returned the compliment, and immediately got between the French ship and them.37

  Before the Ramillies fired, the Marengo surrendered because, Midshipman Bowyer reported, of the terrible damage sustained, ‘the last broadside from the London having made such havock amongst her men, as having killed or wounded above twenty by that fire alone . . . The ship taken was the Marengo, Admiral Linois, from the East Indies, who was then on board, and severely wounded in the leg, and his first Captain having lost his right arm. The total number of the killed and wounded on board the enemy I believe to be about 150: I am sorry to say a number are dangerously so, and dying fast.’38

  Both French ships were captured, and Bowyer told his parents that he was one of the crew ordered to take the prize ship Marengo back to England, but in his next letter to them, written at Spithead in mid-May, he recounted how they nearly came to grief on the journey home:Nothing particular happened until the 23d [of April], when it began to blow one of the heaviest gales of wind (for the time it lasted) that seamen ever experienced, which, with the crippled state of our ship, rendered our situation still more dangerous . . . About nine o’clock in the morning the atmosphere appeared thick and black, and clouds hanging very heavy over our heads; we saw the threatening storm approaching by degrees . . . at seven our mizen-top-mast was blown away close to the mizen-cap . . . we soon cut the rigging away, and overboard it went; then all hands were called, as the ship was making three feet water per hour: we kept constantly pumping, until the moment arrived, when, with a tremendous crash, the once high, lofty, and towering main-mast, with the mizen, fell . . . nothing now appeared before our eyes but the tottering foremast; which in a few minutes fell down also.39

  Over three hundred men were aboard the captured vessel, but only five men lost their lives, and by rigging a jury mast42, the Marengo eventually reached Spithead, along with the Belle Poule. The survivors of both crews, including Louis Garneray, were imprisoned in England and would not be released for another eight years.

  In early June 1806 Vice-Admiral Warren’s squadron left Spithead to return to the hunt for Willaumez’s elusive ships. Two weeks earlier Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan’s squadron had left Plymouth, also in pursuit of the French admiral - they had been on the point of departure when Princess Caroline had paid a visit to Strachan’s flagship, the Caesar. Willaumez had for se
veral months been raiding the convoys of merchant vessels in the South Atlantic and West Indies. He was now heading for the coast of Newfoundland, but on 18 August encountered a vicious hurricane that dispersed and damaged his entire squadron.

  A fortnight later two of Willaumez’s crippled battleships, the Éole and Patriote, made their way into the safety of Chesapeake Bay, on America’s eastern seaboard, while a frigate, the Valeureuse, made it to the Delaware river estuary further north. Strachan’s squadron was also scattered by a storm, but in mid-September his battleships Belleisle and Bellona and thefrigate Melampus caught up with another damaged French battleship, the Impétueux, which was also limping towards Chesapeake Bay. Spotting the British ships, the Impétueux deliberately ran ashore, and the Melampus rescued the French prisoners and set fire to the ship - technically a breach of neutrality as this was carried out in American waters. The British ships now began the tedious process of laying in wait for the French ships, which would trigger a series of events culminating in the attack on the American frigate Chesapeake the following year and nearly lead to war between Britain and America.

  While the captured ships of Linois were being taken to England, Sir Home Popham was preparing to leave the Cape of Good Hope. He had received information that the Spanish colonies on the Río de la Plata (River Plate) in South America were ripe for liberation, with the additional prospect of rich pickings since Buenos Aires was a repository for treasure that was periodically shipped to Spain. Although an expedition to these colonies had been discussed on previous occasions, and Popham had been involved in the discussions, he had no specific orders from the Admiralty. Nevertheless, he managed to persuade General Baird to loan him some troops under the command of General Beresford, and on 20 April 1806 he set out for South America, sending a message to the Admiralty once he was at sea, informing them of his intentions. The fleet sailed to St Helena to pick up water and supplies, and Popham persuaded the governor there to provide him with reinforcements. From St Helena the fleet moved on to the mouth of the River Plate in early June, and Marine Lieutenant Fernyhough recorded their subsequent progress:We made sail up the river, but were frequently obliged to anchor, on account of foul winds, and the strong tides, which were continually running against us. The mouth of the river is upwards of 150 miles wide; and in approaching Buenos Ayres, the navigation became extremely difficult, and dangerous to strangers . . . We arrived off Buenos Ayres on the 25th, near Quilmes, about fifteen miles from the city. Here General Beresford deemed it prudent to land. We now observed that the Spaniards were collecting in great numbers at a small village, called Reduction, situated upon an eminence, a short distance from the beach, and upon our appearance, commenced firing alarm guns. About four o’clock p.m. we began to disembark the troops, which we accomplished by midnight, without any material accident, though we had a heavy surf to wade through.40

  The massive estuary of the River Plate was flanked by Montevideo on the northern shore and Buenos Aires on the south, so the Raisonable and another battleship were stationed off Montevideo to cut communication while Buenos Aires was attacked. With his ship separated from the main force, it was nearly a month before Walters had any news of the assault:On the 9th [ July] came down from Buenos Ayres the Willington, transport with a supply of water, vegetables, &c., with the following account of the progress of our friends. They did not effect their landing til the 26th June, from having continual fogs with heavy rains, together with the Narcissus having got aground on the upper part of Oyster Bank, greatly retarded their progress. On the 29th they had an Action with the Spaniards. Tho’ four times the number of ours they soon gave way in all directions, and the English advanced towards the City of Buenos Ayres. When General Beresford arrived before that City with his little force, a Flag of Truce was sent into the Citadel to summons it to surrender at discretion. When the Spanish troops march’d out and those of the English march’d in and took possession of the City, Citadel, Forts, &c., treasure to a great amount was found.41

  Although most private property was respected, the Spanish treasury was ransacked and warehouses were stripped of valuable merchandise. The viceroy of the colony had escaped with a large amount of treasure, but the British soon found out, as Walters related: ‘The General [Beresford] from good information was made acquainted that, the same day that he landed the English Force . . . the Viceroy went off with immense treasure, ten or twelve waggon loads . . . immediately he had got things a little arranged, detach’d a force in quest of them, and was fortunate enough to come up with and take a part of it. It was determined that the dollars should be immediately embarked on board His Majesty’s Ship Narcissus, and for her to proceed for England.’42

  The expedition began to run into serious resistance. In August an attack was mounted on Montevideo, but after initial success Beresford’s forces were overwhelmed, and on the 12th he was forced to surrender to the Spanish. Popham then tried to blockade Montevideo, but numerous shoals prevented him moving in sufficiently close to be effective, so he shifted his ships along the coast and landed Brigadier-General Backhouse, who, at the end of October, took the town of Maldonada with a small force of troops bolstered by seamen and marines. According to Walters,

  Chart of the mouth of the River Plate showing Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Maldonado

  the intention in taking Maldonado was that our Force being too small to land against Monte Video, and the Commodore and the Colonels being of opinion that reinforcement shortly would arrive, induced them to take this place for the purpose of getting fresh beef, &c., for the troops and crews, of which we stood greatly in want of. This country being so well stock’d with oxen (upwards of five hundred in herds) and this place being situated about a half mile from the place where the boats land, from the town, we had only to send on shore a few men arm’d with muskets and drive as many as was wanted for present use down towards the place where we used to kill them and take off the beef.43

  It was probably the arrival of the Narcissus in Britain that saved Popham’s career. The Admiralty had unsuccessfully tried to stop his expedition as soon as they realised his precise intentions, but the amount of treasure and merchandise seized was valued at several million Spanish silver dollars, and when a large part of this was landed at Portsmouth the expedition was hailed as a triumph. Having been committed to action by Popham, the British government decided that it was better to carry it through than give up, so they sent out Rear-Admiral Stirling to take control. He arrived off Montevideo on 3 December, and Walters wrote in his journal, ‘Arrived the Sampson, Rear Admiral Stirling, two India ships and some victuallers, who took command of the Squadron, &c., in the River Plate. The Commodore [Popham] haul’d down the broad pendant, and resigned the command. The Admiral would not allow him even a transport to take him home. Sir Home, Captain Wm. King, the First Lieut. and Secretary and other followers43 obliged to take a passage in the Rolla [an American ship not part of Popham’s expedition].’44

  By now the British had lost control of Buenos Aires, and so with the newly arrived troop reinforcements it was decided to abandon Maldonado and make an assault on Montevideo. This city fell on 3 February 1807, but it took nearly five months to mount a further campaign against Buenos Aires. This proved to be a catastrophe, and after the loss of over 2500 British troops, prisoners were exchanged under a flag of truce, including General Beresford and his men. The British ships evacuated all their remaining forces to England and the Cape of Good Hope, leaving the Spanish in control once more. Popham wascourt-martialled at Portsmouth, and the verdict was that ‘the conduct of the Captain Sir Home Popham, in the withdrawing the whole of the naval force under his command from the Cape of Good Hope, and the proceeding with it to the Rio de la Plata, was highly censurable; but in consideration of circumstances did adjudge him to be ONLY SEVERELY REPRIMANDED’.45 This was a very lenient verdict, but Popham had influential friends, and the tragic disaster barely made a dent in his career.

  To the Admiralty and the Government the f
iasco of Popham’s unauthorised adventure was an unfortunate distraction from a more immediate problem. Part of the reason that the attempt on the Spanish colonies was not abandoned earlier was that Britain needed fresh markets for its exports, which South America could provide. Because the British Navy now dominated the seas around western Europe, it could blockade the ports and control the flow of imports and exports. Napoleon could not challenge this with a physical blockade so he devised what became known as the Continental System in order to destroy Britain’s economy. From November 1806 the ports of western Europe were closed to British ships in an attempt to prevent the export of supplies to Britain and the import of British goods. Even neutral vessels were not allowed to enter ports if they had previously been at a British one, and if strictly enforced it could have brought Britain to the point of negotiating with Napoleon before the country became bankrupt.

  In reality, the Continental System was not strictly enforced because it was soon realised that it hurt France and its allies as well as Britain, and also affected neutral countries. Even Napoleon and members of his entourage circumvented the system when it suited them, and numerous methods were devised to evade the blockades and embargoes. Barely a year after the system was put in place, the Calcutta Gazette was reporting that indigo dye from India was selling at a high price, since it had ‘found its way into the very countries occupied by the armies of our most inveterate enemy. France herself is our best customer, since all the French soldiers are clothed in blue, and all the French are soldiers . . . we cannot but be highly gratified by the consideration that, whilst Bonaparte is straining all his nerves and exerting all his arts to destroy the proud independence of England, he is effectually a dependent upon her maritime sovereignty.’46