His

1805. asks, “Ne sera-t-il donc pas possible de trouver
Aug.

dans la marine un homme entreprenant, qui voit
de sang froid, et comme il faut voir, soit dans le
combat, soit dans les différentes combinaisons des
escadres ?»*

The french emperor's sentiments will be found against fully developed in the following set of charges which Willec, he is represented to have drawn up with his own

hand: “ First; he (Villeneuve) did not disembark at
Martinique and Guadeloupe the 67th regiment and
the troops that admiral Magon had on board. Se-
condly ; be placed these colonies in jeopardy by
sending back to them, by four frigates, 1200 men
only of the pick of the garrisons. Thirdly; he con-
ducted himself ill in the battle of the 23d of July,
in not reengaging a disabled fleet which had two
ships in tow. Fourthly; that, having arrived at
Ferrol, he left the sea to admiral Calder, while he
waited to be joined by five sail of the line, and did
not cruise off Ferrol until that squadron arrived.
Fifthly; he (Villeneuve) was informed that the fleet
saw some enemy's ships having the Didon frigate
in tow, but he did not chase those ships and oblige
them to cast off the frigate. Sixthly; he departed
from Ferrol the 14th of August,t and, instead of
going to Brest, proceeded to Cadiz, thereby violat-
ing his positive instructions. Seventhly and finally;
he knew that the squadron of M. Allemand was to
go to Vigo for orders, and yet he sailed from Ferrol
without giving that officer any new orders, having,
on the contrary, sent him (by the Didon, it is pro-
bable) instructions quite opposite, and such as endan-
gered the squadron, which received orders to repair

to Brest, while Villeneuve himself steered for Caant ad- diz.”I In these charges two important facts dis

close themselves: one, that M. Villeneuve, in spite

Import

mission

* Précis des Evénemens, tome xii. p.

253. + As to this and other dates see p. 25.

# This extract is of too important a character not to be given in the original, it will therefore be found in the Appendix at No. 5.

niards.

of all the nonsense published in the Moniteur, did 1805. not, on the 23d of July, attempt to bring to action Sept. sir Robert Calder's fleet; the other, that something unexpected, and which, by a fair inference, was the false intelligence received through the danish ship from the Dragon 74, caused the franco-spanish fleet to run from an english ship of the line and two disabled frigates, and subsequently to change its destination from Brest to Cadiz.

A part of Napoléon's vexation with M. Villeneuve arose, no doubt, from the dissatisfaction with Dissa. which the Spaniards viewed the loss of their two tion of ships. This was augmented by the apparent un- Spara willingness of the french admiral, even though he had under him so powerful a fleet, to sail out, in the face of 11 english sail of the line cruising off Cadiz, and enable the Carthagena squadron to form a junction with admiral Gravina. In a letter of September 17, Napoléon complains of M. Villeneuve for this, and directs his minister of marine to order out the latter, with the french ships alone, (“mon escadre," not “ les escadres franco-espagnols,” or “ la flotte combinée,") upon a new expedition. M. ExpeVilleneuve is to proceed off Naples, and disembark, dition at some point on the coast, all the troops on board ed for the french ships, in order that they may join the army portion under general Saint-Cyr. He is then to capture the ofcomenglish ship of the line (Excellent 74) and russian feet. frigate cruising in the bay of Naples; to do all possible injury to the English; to intercept an expedition (sir James Craig's) which Napoléon supposes to be destined for Malta, and then to enter Toulon; where M. Villeneuve was to find every thing necessary for repairing and revictualling his ships. Part of the plan, if not previously accomplished, was to call at Genoa for the new 74 Génois ; and then, with the Borée (launched at Toulon, June 26) and Annibal 74s, Same there would be a fleet of 21 sail of the line in Toulon. The emperor's brother Jérôme, who had been Buonaappointed to the 40-gun frigate Pomone, was also, parte.

for Jérôme

Ap

1805. with the assistance of the Borée, and of the Annibal,
Sept.

if the latter could be made serviceable, to do all pos .
sible mischief to the British in the Mediterranean.

But the most extraordinary part of this letter is
Napoléon's apparent persuasion, that the excessive
pusillanimitys of M. Villeneuve would prevent him

from undertaking the expedition. He therefore ment of directs, that vice-admiral Rosily be despatched to adomi ir supersede M. Villeneuve in the command; and who to su- is to carry out orders to the latter to return immebede M. diately to France, to render an account of his conVille- duct. “ J'estime donc," says Napoléon, “ qu'il faut

faire deux choses : 1°. Envoyer un courrier extra-
ordinaire à l'amiral Villeneuve, pour lui prescrire de
faire cette manoeuvre; 2°. Comme son excessive
pusillanimité l'empêchera de l'entreprendre, vous en-
verrez, pour le remplacer, l'amiral Rosilly, qui sera
porteur de lettres qui enjoindront à l'amiral Ville-
neuve de se rendre en France pour rendre compte
de sa conduite."*

Harsh and very unmerited was this treatment of treat. M. Villeneuve. The main point in the french admatter of miral's instructions had always been, to avoid an

engagement, and to bring his fleet fresh and entire
into the English Channel. Doubtless M. Villeneuve
had, from the first, been much retarded in his pro-
ceedings by the natural supineness of his spanish
friends; and who, now that they knew the object of
all this voyaging to and fro, must have felt less
inclined than ever to cooperate with the french

admiral.
Aug. On the 22d of August vice-admiral Collingwood
tion of was reinforced by four sail of the line under rear-
vice admiral sir Richard Bickerton; but who subsequently

shifted his flag from the Queen 98 to the Décade

frigate, and proceeded to England for the recovery lingwood of his health. On the 30th sir Robert Calder, last Robeit from off Ferrol, where he had learnt that the comCalder. bined fleet, nine days previous, had made sail for

* Précis des Evénemens, tome xii. p.261.

Harsh

Junc

admirals Col

T

Cadiz, joined with 18 line-of-battle ships.* Some of 1805.
these were occasionally detached to Gibraltar for sept.
water and provisions; and with the remainder vice-
admiral Collingwood continued to cruise before Ca-
diz, until the evening of the 28th of September, when
vice-admiral lord Nelson arrived, to take the chief
command of the Mediterranean fleet. His lordship
had sailed from Portsmouth, in his old ship the Vic-
tory, on the morning of the 15th, accompanied by the
Euryalus frigate. On the 18th, when the two ships Arrival
were off Plymouth, the Ajax and Thunderer joined. Nelson
On the 26th lord Nelson despatched the Euryalus off Ca-
ahead, to acquaint vice-admiral lord Collingwood
with his approach, and to direct that, on his assuming
the command, no salute should be fired nor colours
hoisted, in order that the enemy might be unapprized
of the arrival of a reinforcement.

The force now under lord Nelson consisted of A-
27 sail of the line : 22 of which cruised about 15 mount
miles off Cadiz, while the remaining five, under rear-force.
admiral Louis in the Canopus, were stationed close
off the harbour, to watch the motions of the com-
bined fleet. Considering that, if he kept the main
body of his fleet out of sight of land, the french ad-
miral, being ignorant of the exact amount of the bri-
tish force, might feel disposed to put to sea, lord
Nelson retired to a station from 16 to 18 leagues
west of Cadiz. The force close off the harbour was
now reduced to two frigates, the Euryalus and Hydra;
and it may here be remarked that lord Nelson was
continually complaining, as he had done in the preced-
ing war, of the few frigates attached to his command.
Beyond these two frigates, at convenient intervals
for distinguishing signals, were three or four sail of
the line, the easternmost of which could communi-
cate directly with the westernmost ship of the main
body. The new station taken by the feet possessed
the additional advantage, that, in case the usual

of his

1

Oct.

diz,

R.-ad.

1805, strong westerly gales should prevail, the danger was

lessened of being forced into the Mediterranean; in
which event the franco-spanish fleet, on the first
change of wind, might easily effect its escape.

On the 1st of October the Euryalus frigate, cap-
tain the honourable Henry Blackwood, reconnoitred
the port of Cadiz, and plainly discovered, at anchor
in the outer harbour, and apparently ready for sea,

18 french and 16 spanish sail of the line, four friCom- gates, and two brigs. On the 2d lord Nelson debined tached rear-admiral Louis, with the Canopus, Queen, in Ca- Spencer, Tigre, and Zealous, of the line, to Gibral

tar, for provisions and water. On the same day a
swedish ship from Cadiz, bound to Alicant, informed
the Euryalus, that the combined fleet had reembarked
the troops on the 30th of September, and intended

to put to sea the first easterly wind. This intelliLouis gence, meeting the rear-admiral on his way to the editch-eastward, induced him, on the 3d, to return with his Gibral- squadron to the fleet'; but lord Nelson, conceiving

the whole to be a stratagem to draw him nearer to
Cadiz for the purpose of obtaining a more accurate
knowledge of his force, ordered the rear-admiral to
proceed in the execution of his orders.

On the 4th, twice in the course of the day, seve-
ral spanish gun-boats, taking advantage of the calm

state of the weather, pulled out from Cadiz and Attack attacked the Euryalus and Hydra; but, after the by spa- exchange of a few ineffectual shot, the former re

tired to the harbour's mouth. On the 7th the Deboats fiance joined from England, and on the Sth the LeEurya, viathan from Gibraltar. On the same day, with the lus and aid of a fine south-east wind and clear weather, the Hydra.

Euryalus was again enabled to count 34 sail of the
line in Cadiz harbour. The proximity of the Eury-
alus to the entrance of the harbour may be judged
by the frigate's bearings at the time she tacked to
stand out. They were, Rota point north half-west,
San-Sebastian south half-west distant two miles and
a quarter.

tar.

nish gun