Frigate Commander (50 page)
At this time, flag officers in command of the station to which a frigate was attached received one of the captain’s three-eighth shares of prize money.
Second son of Baron Wodehouse. Interestingly, Wodehouse was given command of a frigate on several occasions, but never for very long. It is possible that he was deemed not quite suitable for this type of command.
Unfortunately, this was almost the only reference Moore made in his journal to his frigate’s gun drill. Notwithstanding this, the evidence from the ship’s logs indicates that the crew was exercised at both great guns and small arms on a regular basis. The logs also record that the great guns were fired at floating casks on several occasions. Regrettably, the evidence from the logs is not reliable enough for us to be able to estimate the frequency of these drills. In the
Syren
, the drills may have taken place on average twice a month. If this was to be confirmed, Moore’s record for training his crews would be a good one.
See James,
Naval History
, Vol II, pp.273 – 275; also Wareham,
The Star Captains
, p. 205.
See James,
Naval History
, Vol II, pp.363 – 364.
Again, Moore was right. Smith organized the defence of Acre and held up Napoleon’s advance for more than two months. See Laird Clowes,
The Royal Navy
, Vol IV, pp.400 – 404.
According to Moore, Bridport’s frigates were now deployed as follows: Captain George Duff in the frigate
Glenmore
was off Cape Clear, with the frigates
Phoebe
and
Cerberus
. Captain Francis Fayerman, who had replaced Lancelot Skynner (who was drowned when the frigate
Mutine
was wrecked in 1799) in the
Beaulieu
after the mutiny, was cruising between the Skelligs and Loop Head. Captain Robert Stopford in the frigate
Phaeton
, together with the frigates
Clyde
and
Stag
, was off Tory Island to the north. Each of the squadrons was accompanied by a cutter which could speed back to Bridport at Bantry Bay if the French should appear.
Yet again Moore does not name him. Whoever it was, however, owned land in Ireland, but lived most of the time in England.
Eldest son of Viscount Torrington.
He was correct; the expedition was intended to lead to the reinstatement of the Dutch monarchy by a combined Anglo-Russian naval and army attack against the Walcheren.
John Moore was wounded during the expedition.
T. Mathias,
The Pursuits of Literature: A Satirical Poem in Four Dialogues, with Notes
, 1798.
L. Flammenburg,
The Necromancer: Or The Tale of the Black Forest,
published in London in translation in 1794.
J-H. B. de Saint Pierre (1737 – 1814),
The Studies of Nature
, 1784.
This action took place on 28 February 1799. See James,
Naval History
, Vol II, pp.365 – 371.
The losses were actually greater than this, and John Moore was wounded firstly in the hand, and then a few days later he received a bad head wound.
No relation.
See James,
Naval History
, Vol II, pp.405 – 411.
The fact that Garlies seems to have been an educated officer may have been one of the reasons why Moore found his company agreeable. Garlies, like Moore, kept a collection of books in his cabin and had lent Moore a copy of Sir William Eton’s
Survey of the Turkish Empire
.
John Hamilton Moore’s
The Practical Navigator and Seaman’s New Daily Assistant
. First published in 1763, this book was widely used and imitated.
George Dundas (2).
This action took place on 20 August 1800. See James, Vol III, pp.23 – 26.
The
Hermione
had become infamous after her crew mutinied, killing most of the ship’s officers, including the extraordinarily brutal Captain Pigot, on 22 September 1797. She was subsequently recaptured by HMS
Surprise
, commanded by Captain Edward Hamilton, and renamed HMS
Retribution
.
Philip Cosby Handfield, Third Lieutenant of the
Melampus
.
The Dutch inhabitants of the Island had decided to surrender to Watkins in the belief that surrender to the British was preferable to possible attack from hostile French forces in possession of part of the Island. See James,
Naval History
, Vol III, p.39.
Brother of the more famous Captain Sir Edward Pellew.
In November 1800, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Denmark formed the second coalition of Armed Neutrality – intended to prevent British warships stopping and searching their merchantmen. To a significant degree, this second coalition had been sparked off by an incident in which a frigate squadron under the command of Captain Thomas Baker of the
Nemesis
engaged a Danish frigate. The Danish captain refused to permit Baker to inspect two merchantmen he was escorting, and when Baker persisted, the
Nemesis
was fired upon. After a short but heated action, the Danish ships were seized, and a diplomatic row erupted. See Laird Clowes, Vol IV, p.426 et seq.
First published in 1800, the four volume set cost £1 – 11s – 6d. By 1803, it was in its fourth edition.
The ship wrecked may well have been the schooner
Charlotte
.
Moore himself served in the
Edgar
(74) as a Midshipman, so it may be that Downie was known to him from this time.
This arrangement was also followed by the Gun Room officers of the two frigates though, interestingly, the respective pursers and marine officers decided not to join in.
The Isla de la Juventud.
Hayes was a superb seaman and later won the sobriquet ‘Magnificent’ Hayes, after saving the 74-gun HMS
Magnificent
from almost inevitable shipwreck on a lee shore.
This was true. The
Apollo
had learned about the wreck from a fishing boat from Vera Cruz.
Ann Radcliffe,
Mysteries of Udolpho
, published in 1794.
This attack took place on 16 August, achieved little and cost the Royal Navy forty-four killed and 126 wounded. See Laird Clowes, Vol IV, pp.444 – 445; also James, Vol III, pp.65 – 67.
Norbury Park was just a few miles north of the Denisons’ estate at Denbies. Locke had purchased it in 1774, and he had the house built there. Curiously, adjacent to Norbury was Camilla-Lacey, where Mrs D’Arblay wrote
Camilla
.
Pitt resigned as Prime Minister in February 1801 after the King refused to support Catholic emancipation.
The Newfoundland dog seems to have been highly popular with frigate captains. Hardly surprising, as the Newfoundland is as happy in the water as on land, and was said to be used for carrying lines from vessels to shore, and supporting men in the water. In addition to Macnamara, Captain David Milne had a Newfoundland on board his frigate, which on one occasion helped him to swim across to take possession of a captured French frigate. Graham Moore had a Newfoundland called ‘Neptune’. The Newfoundland may also have been rather fashionable, because Lord Byron had a Newfoundland called ‘Boatswain’.
Those attending were Lord Hood, Lord Nelson, Lord Hotham, Admiral Hyde Parker, Captain Thomas Byam Martin, Captain George Towry, Captain Charles Lydiard, Captain Waller, Lord Minto and General Churchill. See Marshall,
Royal Naval Biography
, Vol I, p.690.
Magnanime
and
Anson
.
Moore to Creevey. Plymouth.
Indefatigable
. 7 Aug, 1803. Quoted in J. Gore,
Creevey,
London, 1948, p.12.
Moore to Creevey. Cawsand Bay. 16 Sept, 1803. Ibid., p.12
.
See Marshall, Vol II, p.310.
Moore to Creevey. Plymouth Dock. 1 February, 1804
.
Gore, Creevey, p.16.
A copy of the
Moniteur
subsequently reported that seventy seamen from the
Magnificent
had been captured.
Son of the Comptroller of the Navy.
A coincidence!
An interesting and revealing aside!
Quoted in B. Brownrigg,
Life and Letters of Sir John Moore.
Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville and First Lord of the Admiralty, was charged with corruption but eventually acquitted of many of the accusations against him.
Whilst we can only guess at the nature of this ailment, some form of rupture or haemorrhoid is suggested.
On 6 February he wrote to Creevey: ‘They are not what you might expect from the companions of Nelson’, adding tongue in cheek, ‘but they will do with some whipping and spurring’. Ed. Maxwell,
The Creevey Papers,
1923, p.78.
Quoted in D.C. Taylor,
Cobham Houses and their Occupants
, Cobham, 1999, p.8.
Moore family papers, British Library, ADD57321.; Graham to John Moore, 17 November 1808.
Moore to Creevey. 19 Sept, 1809. Quoted in J. Gore,
Creevey
, p.58.
Who happened to be the Director of Greenwich Hospital.
John followed his father into the navy, and reached the rank of captain, but died at the age of forty-four at Brook Farm, after a long illness.
The Hon. Henry Curzon, with whom Moore had served in HMS
Adamant
. Moore’s generosity in not opposing Curzon’s promotion had ensured their lifelong friendship. Curzon died in 1846.
Byam Martin was nine years younger than Moore and died in 1854.
Moore to Byam Martin, 2 October 1842.
Letters & Papers of Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Thos. Byam Martin
. Ed. R. V. Hamilton. 1901. Vol 3. pp. 1 & 3.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Cambridge University Library
Journal of Admiral Sir Graham Moore, Add 9303, 1 – 37
British Library
Moore Family Papers, Add 57321
Letters of Colonel John Moore, Add 57320
National Maritime Museum
Lieutenants’ Logs:
HMS
Melampus
, ADM/L/M/144
HMS
Syren
, ADM/L/S/624
Public Record Office
Captains’ Log Books
HMS
Syren
, ADM51/1123
HMS
Syren
, ADM51/1147
HMS
Melampus
, ADM51/1233
HMS
Melampus
, ADM51/1267
HMS
Melampus
, ADM51/1338
HMS
Melampus
, ADM51/1399
HMS
Melampus
, ADM51/4474
HMS
Indefatigable
, ADM51/1472
Ships’ Muster Books
HMS
Syren
, ADM36/11477
HMS
Melampus
, ADM36/11602
HMS
Melampus
, ADM36/14600
HMS
Indefatigable
, ADM36/16760
Secondary Sources
Brownrigg, B.,
The Life and Letters of Sir John Moore
, Oxford, 1923
Duffy, M.,
Soldiers, Sugar and Seapower
, Oxford, 1987
Farington, Joseph,
The Diary of
, ed. Various, New Haven & London, 1982, 16 Vols.
Gore, J.,
Creevey
, London, 1948
Griffiths, Capt. A.,
Observations on Some Points of Seamanship with Practical Hints on Naval Economy
, Portsmouth, 1828
Hamilton, Sir Richard V., (ed.)
Letters and Papers of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin
, GCB, NRS, London, 1898
Hepper, D.J.,
Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650 – 1859
, Rotherfield, 1994
James, William,
A Naval History of Great Britain
, London, 1902
Laird Clowes, William,
The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900
, London, 1997
Lavery, B. ed.,
Shipboard Life and Organisation 1781 – 1815
, Navy Records Society. 1998.
Lyon, D.,
The Sailing Navy List
Marshall, John,
Royal Naval Biography
, London, 1823 – 30, 12 Vols.
Maxwell, The Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert,
The Creevey Papers
, London, 1923,
The Naval Chronicle
Parkinson, R.,
Moore of Corunna
, Abingdon, 1976
Ralfe, J.,
Naval Biography, 1828, III, 206