Life and Correspondence of John, Earl of St Vincent, G.C.B. Vol. I

Admiral of the Fleet &C. &C. & C.

Captain Edward Pelham Brenton R.N.

• Publisher: Wagram Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781908902306
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Napoleonic Wars
• Index: History

Earl St. Vincent was not only an excellent administrator, a fine sailor and undaunted defender of the Royal Navy. He was also eclipsed in the tomes of history by his more famous protégé, Lord Nelson. Sir John Jervis had served for many years with distinction before Nelson's birth; defending Jamaica from privateers and pirates, distinguishing himself during the Seven Years war and War of American Independence. This two-volume biography by Captain Brenton, a contemporary (albeit junior) of both naval heroes, goes some way to fixing the void in the record of Earl St Vincent.
The biography includes much of the original documentation and letters of the period when the invasion of the British isles was a real possibility as the French and Spanish turned from enemies to allies and joined their naval might together. At that time Sir John Jervis was in command of squadrons in the Channel, as he had been beforehand in the Mediterrean, enforcing a blockade that strangled the commerce of Spain and France. During those times that ships escaped port, Jervis and his subordinates hunted them without mercy, the most striking example being the battle of St. Vincent. Although outnumbered by his Spanish opponents, Sir John led fifteen of his ships on. The following anecdote is told of the initial contact before the battle:
"There are eight sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty five sail of the line, Sir John"
"Very well, sir"
"There are twenty seven sail of the line, Sir John"
"Enough, sir, no more of that; the die is cast, and if there are fifty sail I will go through them"
His entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that — "His importance lies in his being the organizer of victories; the creator of well-equipped, highly efficient fleets; and in training a school of officers as professional, energetic, and devoted to the service as himself."
An excellent and detailed read.
Author — Captain Edward Pelham Brenton R.N. (1770-1844)

LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE EARL ST. VINCENT.

CHAPTER I.

Preliminary Observations — Origin of these Memoirs — Genealogy of Earl St. Vincent — Early Life — Education — Removed to Greenwich School — Is diverted from the Law by the advice of his Father’s Coachman — Determines to go to sea — Runs away from School and conceal? Himself on shipboard — Distress of his Mother and Sisters — He obtains the consent of his Parents, and is introduced to Lady Burlington — By her to Commodore Townshend — Joins the Gloucester, and sails for Jamaica — His bill Protested — His Resolution — He is Promoted to the Rank of Lieutenant — Serves at Quebec with General Wolfe and Sir Charles Saunders, and is made Commander — He obtains Post rank — Is appointed to the Alarm, the first coppered frigate — She is nearly lost at Marseilles — Is appointed to the Foudroyant — Is in Lord Keppel’s Action — Observations on that affair.

As the present work owes its origin to my intimate personal acquaintance with the noble and distinguished individual who is the subject of it, I think it well at the outset to make a brief allusion to the circumstances which afforded me the honour and advantage of that acquaintance, and which ultimately led to the commencement and completion of the present undertaking.

The connection of my family with the Earl of St. Vincent was owing to one of those fortuitous circumstances which are so frequent in the naval service. My brother, the present Rear-Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, had been appointed first lieutenant of the Alliance store-ship, bound to the Mediterranean with supplies for the fleet on that station but. Just before she sailed, he received a private letter informing him that he was appointed first lieutenant of the Diamond, a very fine frigate, at that time commanded by his friend Sir Sidney Smith.

Delighted with this piece of good fortune, my brother immediately made it known to his captain, the late worthy and gallant Vice-Admiral Cumming; but that officer told him, that, situated as he then was, on the eve of sailing with so important a charge, he could not allow him to quit the ship until his successor had joined. That successor, fortunately, as it turned out, did not join, and the ship proceeded to Gibraltar, and thence to Corsica. At the latter place, my brother, through the kindness of his captain, represented his situation to Sir John Jervis, who sent for him, inquired into his private history, and then said to him, “I have appointed you first lieutenant of the Gibraltar, of eighty guns. Go to Calder, and he will tell you more about it.”

After the Gibraltar had received so much damage on the Pearl Rock in 1796, (her escape from which danger was altogether miraculous — see Naval History) she was ordered to England. Sir John Jervis removed my brother into the Barfleur, and, after the glorious termination of the battle of the 14th February, took him into the Ville de Paris. He then inquired if he had any brothers; — “for,” said he, “I will do the best I can for the sons of officers.” On being informed that my youngest brother was in the Romney, with his godfather, Sir James Wallace, on the Newfoundland station, he sent for him, and as soon as he had served his time, made him a lieutenant in the Peterell sloop of war.{1} The admiral then inquired for me, and, being informed that I was with Vice-Admiral the Honourable William Waldegrave, he said he could not do better for me at that time. As soon, however, as the Vice-Admiral was succeeded on the Newfoundland station by Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Pole, Lord St. Vincent, who had, in the meantime, come to the head of the Admiralty, wrote to him, and asked him to promote me. Sir Charles never had a vacancy as long as I was with him but I was instantly removed from sixth to be first lieutenant of the Agincourt, his flag ship. In the following year, I was removed to go out in the Theseus to the East Indies, with my friend Admiral Waldegrave, afterwards Lord Radstock. But this arrangement was not effected, his lordship never having hoisted his flag again and the Theseus was sent out to the West Indies, with the squadron under the orders of the late Admiral Sir George Campbell.

On our arrival at Jamaica, I was appointed commander of the Lark sloop of war. This was the act of Lord St. Vincent, who, being First Lord of the Admiralty, had included me in the promotion of the 29th of April, 1802.

His kindness followed me to the day of his death being, as he said, “the son of an officer, and having had a brother killed in the service.”

On my return home in the Lark, in August, 1802, I paid off my ship at Woolwich, and waited on his lordship at the Admiralty. He received me very kindly and, in the following year, on the renewal of the war, he gave me the command of the Merlin sloop of war. I saw no more of Lord St. Vincent until I returned from the coast of North America in the Spartan, in 1813, when he invited me to Rochetts. My eldest sister had long been staying there on a visit to Lady St. Vincent, and indeed the whole of my family at different times experienced the greatest attentions from him. During this visit, his Lordship frequently led me to converse with him on many subjects connected with the naval service, and, by the depth of his observations, soon convinced me that he had a master mind.

Deeply sensible of the advantages I thus enjoyed, in my free intercourse with this great man, I availed myself of every occasion to obtain his opinions and sentiments, on the events of the war in which he had borne so conspicuous a share, both as a commander-in-chief and as a cabinet minister.

I soon afterwards told his lordship that I committed to paper whatever he said to me on historical subjects. His answer was, “You are perfectly right, sir, I wish you to do it.” Encouraged by this kindness, I asked if his lordship would have any objection to furnish me with a history of his early life, as far back as he could remember.

“That I will, with great pleasure,” said he. It was the fulfilment of this promise which occasioned the undertaking of this work. It also led to the publication of the Naval History for, finding that I was fond of inquiry, he gave my eldest sister and myself access to his muniment room when I was in town, he desired she would write to me, and tell me to procure a large blank book, and to come down and copy his letters, public and private, while he was first lord of the Admiralty and commander-in-chief in the Channel and Mediterranean.

I lost not a moment in procuring a letter book, which I sent to my sister, with a request that, before she made one extract, she would ask Lord St. Vincent to write in it with his own hand that I had his permission to undertake the work.

“Madam,” said the Earl, “your brother has acted with judgment in making this request, and I have great satisfaction in complying with it.”

His Lordship then took the book, and wrote in it as follows

“Captain Edward Brenton has permission to make extracts or copies of such letters or orders standing in my letter and order books while commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean and Channel fleets, as he may conceive useful to him.

“Dated at Rochetts, the 16th day of May, 1817.

“St. Vincent.{2} “

When I subsequently accompanied Lord St. Vincent to the south of France, I asked him whether he would approve of my writing his life, if I should survive him. He replied, “I am very much obliged to you, but Tucker is to do it.” From that moment I gave up all thoughts of the present undertaking, and only published such letters in the Naval History as I deemed pertinent to the subject in hand nor did I contemplate ever doing more, until I found that, if I did not, the public would probably be deprived altogether of an authentic biography of my distinguished friend.

About seven years after the death of the Earl, I received a letter from Viscount St. Vincent, requesting me to lend him my papers, for the purpose of getting the life of his uncle written. To this request I immediately assented, and forwarded to the Viscount every letter I had ever copied, together with all my papers, private memorandum books, and even the papers relative to the Chancery suit. I also made, at the same time, an unconditional offer of the use of the plate engraved by Turner, from the picture of the Earl by Carbonnier.

After this statement, I shall scarcely be accused of selfish motives in refusing to part with the documents in question in the first instance. In fact, though I refused to part with the letters when they were attempted to be wrested from me by force, I gave them up without hesitation to a gentlemanly request, and a promise that they should be returned when applied to the purpose for which I had intended them.

The lapse of another seven years took place no life of the Earl appeared and — Tucker was dead. In the meantime I had heard that Lord Brougham was entrusted with the work, and I therefore wrote to his lordship, requesting to know if he had any intention of proceeding with it; adding that if he had no intention of doing so, I should certainly take the work in hand myself. His lordship’s answer was kind and candid. He admitted that it had been his intention to write the life of the Earl; but that circumstances had hitherto prevented it; that he had not wholly relinquished the idea of writing the work, but begged he might not prevent my doing it; and he concluded by expressing a wish that I should not hurry it — as I had mentioned my intention of bringing it out in six months from the date of my letter.

About the same time, I wrote to the Viscount St. Vincent, requesting to have my papers returned to me; which his lordship did, with as little delay as possible. Having thus regained possession of the most material documents connected with my purpose, I prepared in good earnest to go to work but before I actually commenced the life, I addressed a second letter to Lord Brougham, which I myself left at his house in Berkeley Square. In that letter I distinctly stated, that if his lordship would say he had any intention of writing the life of the Earl of St. Vincent, I would wholly abandon my intention of doing so.

To this last letter I never received any answer. Having thus, as I considered, done all which delicacy and honour required of me, I undertook to write the life of the Earl of St. Vincent, under the firm conviction that, in default of my doing so, his character and actions, and the influence which they exercised on the condition and history of his profession and his country, would remain unrecorded.

I will only add here, that, in fulfilling my task, I have avoided as much as possible trenching on private matters, or wounding personal feeling. But, where the parties have been long dead, I have considered the subject matter as national property, and where the character of the Earl of St. Vincent has been implicated, either by direct charges or by insinuation, I have vindicated the one, and rebutted the other, to the best of my ability and means.

I now venture before the public and my own profession, as the biographer and historian of one of our greatest admirals and statesmen and, if I make no pretensions to high literary rank, I at least may lay claim to that professional, local, and personal knowledge which in this instance I may hope will supply its place. I shall, at all events, conclude this part of my subject with a motto which Mr. Boswell found on the Palazzo Tolomei at Sienna{3}

“Quod potui feci — faciant meliora potentes.”

Perhaps the most brief and succinct form in which I can lay before the reader the information he will desire to receive, as to the extraction and family connections of Earl St. Vincent, will be that of a dry genealogical notice, which I offer accordingly as follows, chiefly from Debrett’s Peerage: —

John Jervis, son and heir of John Jervis, Esq., of Chalkyll, in the county of Stafford, married Mary, only daughter and heir of John Swynfen, Esq., of Swynfen in the same county, and had a large family, of which the fifth son,

Swynfen Jervis, Esq., of Meaford, barrister-at-law, was born in November, 1700, and married, 1727, to Elizabeth, daughter of George Parker, Esq., of Park Hall, in the county of Stafford, and sister to the Right Honourable Sir Thomas Parker, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by whom he had issue —

1st. William, Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber, who married Jane, youngest daughter of Thomas Hatsell, Esq.

2nd. John, the hero of the following memoir.

3rd. Elizabeth, married to the Rev. Mr. Batwell.

4th. Mary, married to Wm. Henry Ricketts, Esq., bencher of Grays Inn, of Longwood, Hants., by whom she had issue —

1st. William Henry, a captain in the Royal Navy, drowned off Ushant by the upsetting of his boat, January 26th, 1805. This officer married the Lady Elizabeth Jane Lambert, daughter of the Earl of Cavan, by whom he had two daughters, Martha Honora Georgina, who married, first, June 25th, 1822, Osborne Markham, Esq. Son of the Archbishop of York, by whom she had one daughter, now living; he died in 1827. Secondly, July 2nd, 1834, Lieut..-General Sir William Cockburn, Bart., who died March 19th, 1835.

2nd. Henrietta Elizabeth Mary, who married November 27th, 1817, Captain Edmund Palmer, of the Royal Navy, C. B., since dead, leaving a large family of children.

Lady Elizabeth Ricketts married, secondly, the Rev. Richard Brickenden, and died in 1830

2nd. Edward Jervis Ricketts, the present Viscount St. Vincent.

3rd. Mary Ricketts, who married, in 1788, Captain William Carneggie, R. N., afterwards Earl of Northesk, a Vice-Admiral, ...