Naval battles of the world : $b Great and decisive contests on the sea ... with an account of the Japan-China war and the recent battle of the Yalu; the growth, power, and management of our new Navy.Shippen, Edward
History
Naval battles of the world : $b Great and decisive contests on the sea ... with an account of the Japan-China war and the recent battle of the Yalu; the growth, power, and management of our new Navy.
Shippen, Edward
Naval battles; Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895; United States. Navy
On the morning of the 14th of August, after an incredible deal of labor
in refitting the ships, the prizes, rigged with jury-masts and weakly
manned, proceeded to the westward, except the Heureux, the Mercure
and the Guerrier, which were in too bad a state to be refitted, and
which were burned. A fleet was left, under Captain Hood, to cruise off
Alexandria. Nelson, himself, in the Vanguard, with two other ships,
went to Naples, which he had better never have seen, for events there
occurred which have always more or less tarnished his fame.
The English public had all summer been reproaching Rear-Admiral Sir
Horatio Nelson for his _tardiness_ in finding the French fleet, and the
news of his great action (owing to the capture of the Leander, which
had been sent with the news) did not reach England until the 2d of
October, and then the English people thought they could not do enough
to make amends for their complaints against the brightest ornament of
their favorite service. On October 6th Nelson was made a peer, with the
title of Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, in the County
of Norfolk. Thanks of Parliament, of course, followed, and a pension of
£2000 per annum, to him and his two next heirs male, was granted by the
Parliament of England, and £1000 from that of Ireland. Gold medals were
presented to Lord Nelson and his captains, and the first lieutenants of
all the ships were promoted to commanders. In regard to the Culloden,
which ran on shore, and, of course, was not engaged, Nelson wrote:
“I sincerely hope it is not intended to exclude the first lieutenant
of the Culloden; for heaven’s sake, for my sake, if it be so, get it
altered.”
Strictly speaking, only the captains _engaged_ were to have medals, but
the King himself expressly authorized Lord Spencer to present one to
Captain Trowbridge, of the Culloden. Nelson wrote to Earl St. Vincent
concerning this officer: “The eminent services of our friend deserve
the very highest rewards. I have experienced the ability and activity
of his mind and body. It was Trowbridge who equipped the squadron so
soon at Syracuse; it was Trowbridge who exerted himself for me after
the action; it was Trowbridge who saved the Culloden, when none that I
know in the service would have attempted it; it is Trowbridge whom I
have left as myself at Naples; he is, as a friend and as an officer, a
_non-pareil_.”
The East India Company presented Lord Nelson with £10,000, and
Liverpool, London and many other cities voted him rewards. The Sultan
presented him with a diamond aigrette and robe of honor; and instituted
a new Order, that of the Crescent, and made Nelson the first knight
companion of it, while many other foreign powers presented tokens of
respect for his talents and bravery. The finest of the French prizes
which the captors succeeded in getting home was the Franklin. Her name
was changed to Canopus, the ancient name of Aboukir.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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