The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Volume 2Harrison, James
History
The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Volume 2
Harrison, James
Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Biography; Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758-1805
In a letter written the preceding day to Earl Spencer, Lord Nelson says,
speaking of the affairs of Naples--"I think it very probable that, in
ten days, their Sicilian Majesties will be again in Naples. These happy
prospects have been brought about, first, by the war of the emperor;
secondly, by the wonderful loyalty of the lower order of the people;
and, lastly, I flatter myself, I may say, by the conduct of the English.
Captain Troubridge has given a portion of that spirit he possesses to
all who communicate with him. On the 25th, Macdonald left the town, for
Capua; with all the troops, except five hundred in the Castle of St.
Elmo. Orders have been given, by the Jacobin government, for the
batteries not to fire on the English ships. In short, the communication
with Naples is so open, that a general took a boat from the city, and
came on board Troubridge, to consult about surprising St. Elmo. The
civic guards have individually declared, that they assembled to keep
peace in the city, and not to fight. Many of the principal Jacobins have
fled, and Carraccioli has resigned his situation as head of the marine.
This man was fool enough to quit his master, when he thought his case
desperate; yet, in his heart, I believe, he is no Jacobin. The
fishermen, a few days ago, told him, publicly--"We believe you are
loyal, and sent by the king; but, much as we love you, if we find you
disloyal, you shall be among the first to fall. I am not, in person, in
these busy scenes; more calculated for me, than remaining here, giving
advice. But their majesties think the advice of my incompetent judgment
valuable, at this moment; therefore, I submit: and can only say, that I
give it as an honest man, one without hopes or fears; therefore, they
get at the truth, which their majesties have seldom heard."
The French, in evacuating Naples, in their retreat to Caserta and Capua,
robbed all the shops as they passed along: the Neapolitan republic,
however, continued organizing their troops, as yet disinclined to give
in; and the royalists remained inactive, probably waiting for the
departure of the French out of the kingdom before they ventured to
commence their operations. The band of brothers, in the mean time, who
had so nobly fought off the Nile, were fast gathering fresh laurels on
the Neapolitan coast; and inspiring, by their example, other naval
heroes of merited celebrity. To these brave men, Lord Nelson paid the
just and honoured tribute of applause which their conduct merited, in
the following very flattering epistle to Captain Troubridge.
Vanguard, Palermo,
8th May 1799.
"MY DEAR TROUBRIDGE,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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