Sir Cloudesley Shovel. — Chapter XVII. The Shoemaker Who Rose to Be Rear-Admiral of England
Cloudesley Shovel was born at or near Cley, a small town on the north coast of Norfolk, about the year 1650. At that time Cley, which is about ten miles west from Cromer, had a good harbour, and a considerable shipping trade; but the harbour has been since silted up, and the rising generation of the place in this age are not brought so directly into contact with ships and maritime affairs as young Shovel, who was named Cloudesley in homage to a rich relative from whom the family had great expectations, which were not realised.
The boy was sent to learn the art and craft of shoe-making and mending, which did not accord with his inclination, and, from which he ran away,—and, offering his services to Sir John Narborough, was accepted by that famous seaman, and served as his cabin-boy. Sir John had himself commenced his naval career as cabin-boy to Sir Christopher Myngs, and probably took kindly to the runaway youngster, from that fellow-feeling which makes one wondrous kind. The lad showed great affection and respect to Sir John, who had him thoroughly instructed in navigation and other branches of useful knowledge. He proved an apt and diligent pupil, and became in due time an able and thoroughly capable seaman.
Sir John Narborough was the ever-ready and generous patron of merit, and had sufficient influence to obtain for his apprentice a lieutenant’s commission. Shovel served in this rank at the close of the second Dutch war.
The pirates of Algiers and Tripoli greatly harassed the traders of our own and other countries with the Levant, and a squadron was sent out in 1675, under the command of Sir John Narborough, to chastise their insolence, and, if possible, put an end to their predacious practices. Sir John found the corsairs in great force, and ready to give him a warm reception. The Algerines and the Tripolines combined in their defence, had their war ships in position, protected by the guns of the fort. Sir John had been instructed to try negotiation in preference to force, and, in view of the strength of the confederates, thought it might be well to at least attempt to obtain treaty promises of amendment by diplomacy, although he had little hope of a satisfactory result from this method. He despatched Lieutenant Shovel to the Dey of Tripoli as his representative. The Dey, despising the youthful ambassador, treated his message with contempt, which Shovel duly reported to his commander. He was sent back with a second message, and was received with even greater discourtesy than on the first occasion. He bore all patiently, however; appearing to be quite cool and unobservant, at the same time noting the number and disposition of the pirate ships. Returning to Sir John, he duly reported the insolent reception he had received, and added to the report a strong recommendation that a night attack should be made upon the enemy, with the object of burning their ships, stating his readiness to conduct the expedition. His recommendation was adopted, and at midnight on the 4th March, Lieutenant Shovel at the head of the boats of the English fleet, well manned, and well supplied with inflammable materials, put off, with muffled oars, from their own ships, and, stealthily approaching the pirates, boarded and set them on fire,—leaving them a blaze to light them back to their own vessels. This brilliant service Shovel accomplished without suffering the loss of a single man on the English side. The corsairs destroyed included the White Eagle of fifty guns, the Mirror of thirty-six guns, the Sancta Clara of twenty-four guns, and another ship of twenty guns, besides smaller vessels. The Tripolines were struck with amazement by this successful action, and sued for peace. When an attempt to treat was made, however, they refused to accede to the proposed terms, so far as regarded making good the losses that had been sustained by the English. Sir John cannonaded the town, but produced little effect. He drew off to a place about twenty leagues distant, where he destroyed a vast magazine of timber, stored for shipbuilding, but still failed to reduce the pirates, and sailed to Malta, whence, after staying a short time, he returned suddenly, and renewed his attack with so much spirit and success that the enemy were glad to conclude a peace on the terms that Sir John had proposed. Shortly after this, a number of the corsairs’ ships that had been at sea plying their nefarious vocation, returned to port. They repudiated his treaty and deposed the Dey for having made it, and continued the perpetration of their lawless practices. Again Sir John returned, this time with a force of eight frigates, which arriving before Tripoli, commenced a vigorous cannonade, and so battered the place as to make the inhabitants eagerly sue for peace. Peace was, for the time, concluded, and the authors of the late disturbances were brought to punishment. Lieutenant Shovel took a leading part in these actions.
In 1676, Shovel, whose conduct was warmly reported upon and commended by Sir John Narborough, was given the command of the Sapphire, and not long after of a larger ship, the James Galley, in which he continued till the death of Charles II.
Captain Shovel was not a pronounced politician, but such leaning as he had was in the opposite direction to the Jacobite side. King James thought it to his interest, doubtless, to conciliate and employ such an able commander, and appointed him to the command of the Dover, which he held when the Revolution took place in 1688. He closed heartily with the new Government, to which he rendered active and successful service, that brought him rapid promotion. He was in the first naval action in this reign, the battle of Bantry Bay, in 1689, in which he commanded the Edgar. In this action his valour and activity were so conspicuous as to lead the king to confer upon him the honour of knighthood. During the winter of 1689 he was employed in cruising on the coast of Ireland, to prevent the enemy from landing recruits. Here he received advice that several ships of war, French and Irish, were in Dublin Bay, where, at low water, they lay on the sands. Sir Cloudesley immediately stood for the bay, in which he noticed an English ship of good size, a French man-of-war, and several other ships filled with soldiers. These forces were not sufficient to deter Sir Cloudesley, who determined to destroy the ships, in sight of King James’s capital and of a powerful garrison. He left the flag-ship, and went on board the Monmouth yacht. At a little more than half-flood, with the Monmouth, two hoys belonging to men-of-war, a ketch, and the pinnaces, he passed over the bar with dashing bravery. The Irish fleet cut their cables, and sailed as close in shore as the sands would permit, and fired a few shots at the threatening force, calling also for assistance from the Dublin garrison. Sir Cloudesley, despite the fire of the ships, and the shower of bullets from King James’s militia, pressed forward, and as soon as he was near enough, signalled the fire-ship to advance. The soldiers deserted the largest ship, and those on board the others ran them aground. Sir Cloudesley ordered the boarding of the largest ship, the Pelican, of twenty guns, and directed her load to be lightened, which was done, and the ship was towed away, to the confusion of the witnesses ashore. The Pelican was the largest man-of-war then in King James’s possession. It had been taken by the Scots the previous year from the French, on the occasion of their having conducted forces to the assistance of the Highlanders, then in rebellion. In turning out of the bay, the wind, which had veered, drove one of the hoys aground. At the lowest ebb the hoy was upon dry ground; thousands of people crowded the strand, King James and his guards amongst them. Cloudesley’s crews remained in their boats, ready for any encounter. The Irish battalions discharged a volley or two, which were warmly returned. As soon as the rising tide permitted, the English left the bay with their prize, very much to the chagrin of King James and his adherents.
In June 1690, Sir Cloudesley was appointed to convey King William and his army to Ireland. In this service he had command of five men-of-war, six yachts, and a large number of transport vessels. Unfavourable weather was encountered, but the landing of the whole force at Carrickfergus, on the 14th June, was successfully accomplished. The king was so highly pleased with the skill and dexterity displayed by Sir Cloudesley in this difficult transport service, as to promote him to be rear-admiral of the blue, and he delivered the commission with his own hands.
On the 10th July the king received information that the enemy intended to send a fleet of frigates into St. George’s Channel to burn the transport ships, and Shovel was ordered to cruise off Scilly, or in such other station as he should think best for frustrating this design, and to send scouts east and west to gain intelligence respecting the movements of the French fleet. Nothing remarkable came of this cruise. The remainder of 1690 was spent by Sir Cloudesley chiefly in cruising, till he was appointed to join Sir George Rooke’s squadron, which escorted the king to Holland in January 1691. All the services of Sir Cloudesley were not alike brilliant, but all were well intended, and his courage and sincerity were never questioned. His promotion by the king, in the spring of 1692, to be rear-admiral of the red, gave general satisfaction. On his return from Holland in that year, Sir Cloudesley joined Admiral Russel with the grand fleet, and had a great share in the danger, and a deserved share in the glory attaching to the famous naval battle off La Hogue.
The combined fleet sailed from Spithead on the 18th May 1692. Admiral Russel, in the red squadron, had his flag on board the Britannia of 100 guns; his vice and rear admirals were Sir Ralph Delaval in the Royal Sovereign and Sir Cloudesley Shovel in the London, each of 100 guns. The blue squadron was commanded by Sir John Ashby in the Victory of 100 guns; his vice-admiral was Sir George Rooke in the Windsor Castle of 90 guns, and his rear-admiral, Richard Carter, in the Albemarle of 90 guns. The English fleet comprised 63 ships carrying 4504 guns and 27,725 men, to which was united a Dutch fleet of 36 ships under Admiral Allemonde, carrying 2494 guns and 12,950 men. Total, 99 ships, 6998 guns, 40,675 men. The French fleet consisted of 63 ships of war, of which 55 carried from 104 to 60 guns each, and 8 from 58 to 50 guns each. In addition the French had 7 smaller vessels, 26 ships armée en flute, and 14 others; in all, 110 vessels. The design of the French was the restoration of James to the English throne.
On the 18th May the fleet sailed from Spithead, the most powerful, probably, that had ever assembled in the reign of the wooden walls of England. On the morning of the 19th the French fleet was sighted to the westward. At 8 A.M. the line of battle was formed, the Dutch in the van, Admiral Russel in the centre, and Sir John Ashby in the rear. At 11.30 the French flag-ship, the Soleil Royal of 104 guns, opened fire upon the English admiral’s flag-ship, the Britannia. The light air of wind having died away, the rear division was prevented from closing with the enemy; the red division bore accordingly the brunt of the battle. The Soleil Royal was so shattered as to have to cease firing, and was towed out of the action. About noon a dense fog came on, and the firing consequently ceased. The fog continued till the evening, and the weather being calm, the ships drifted with the tide, and got considerably mixed, friends and foes, so as to make firing dangerous as touching unintentional billets for the bullets. The rear of the English fleet became partially engaged from about 7 till 9.30 P.M. After the day’s action the allied fleet stood to the north-west, and on the following day proceeded in chase of the enemy. The ships that escaped capture or destruction took refuge in the harbour of La Hogue, which gave the name to the glorious action. Sixteen French sail of the line were captured or destroyed by the English. In the action on the 19th, and the subsequent pursuit of the defeated enemy, Sir Cloudesley’s activity and valour were conspicuous; his ship fought in superb style, and he was entitled to the principal share of such credit as attached to burning the French ships of war.
The next notable action in which Sir Cloudesley took part was one of the few that have detracted from England’s glory and renown as “mistress of the seas.” In the battle of Beachy Head the glory was appropriated by the Dutch; if shame attached to any party in the contest it was to the English; but for mismanagement or failure Sir Cloudesley was in no degree responsible. He was responsible for the handling and fighting of the ships under his command, but had to take the orders of his admiral for the plan of action. In June 1690 the French fleet, under the Count de Tourville, embracing seventy-eight men-of-war, chiefly of large size, and carrying an aggregate of four thousand seven hundred guns, with twenty-two fire-ships, sailed from Brest, with the intention of creating a diversion in favour of King James, and, with this view, made a descent upon the coast of Sussex. Intelligence having reached Spithead of the enemy’s approach, the British fleet, under the Earl of Torrington, put to sea on the 21st June, and soon came in sight of the French. The English were joined by a Dutch squadron of twenty-two large ships, under Vice-Admiral Evertsen. On the 30th, at daylight, Admiral Torrington signalled to bear up in line abreast; and the Dutch in the van bore down with their characteristic bravery, and did not bring to until closely engaged with the French van at about 9 A.M. The blue squadron, following the example of their allies, gallantly attacked the rear of the French; but the centre, under the command of Lord Torrington, hung back, and did not close with the enemy. The French, taking advantage of the backwardness of the red division, kept their wind, and, passing through the wide opening in the line, completely cut off the Dutch squadron, that still, however, kept up the fight with dogged bravery. The fight lasted throughout the day, and at 5 P.M. the allied fleets anchored, but at 9 weighed anchor, and retreated eastward. One English ship, and three of the Dutch ships, were destroyed or sunk. The Earl of Torrington was tried by court-martial for his conduct of this action, and acquitted.
In September 1694, Sir Cloudesley sailed with a frigate squadron for an attack on Dunkirk. Commodore Benbow was in command of the smaller ships of the squadron, and had with him a Mr. Meesters, and a number of infernal machines invented by him; he had also a number of Dutch pilots. On the 12th September, the fleet, consisting of thirteen English and Dutch men-of-war ships, two mortar vessels, and seventeen machines, and small craft, arrived before Dunkirk, and on the 13th commenced the attack with the boats, and two of the machines, which were to be directed by the engineer, assisted by the pilots. The first machine took fire before it had reached near enough to damage the enemy, and the second machine was caught by piles the French had driven to obstruct the approach. Sir Cloudesley found Dunkirk too strong for the appliances at present at his command. He sailed for Calais, which he shelled, and destroyed a large number of houses. He was interrupted in this occupation by a gale of wind, and returned with his fleet to the Downs.
In 1703, Sir Cloudesley was sent on special service to Vigo, to look after and bring home the spoil of the French and Spanish fleets that fell to Sir George Rooke in the previous year. In this action, seven French ships, with 334 guns and 2030 men, were burnt and otherwise destroyed, and ten ships were taken by the English and Dutch, the total loss of the French being seventeen ships, carrying 960 guns and 5832 men, and, in addition, some Spanish galleys. Sir Cloudesley, left in charge of the prizes, succeeded in rescuing a large portion of the treasure from the sunken galleons, and recovered the Dartmouth, a fifty-gun ship, that had been captured in the previous war. He also took out of some of the French ships, which were lying aground severely damaged, fifty brass guns, and a larger number of guns from the shore defence. Before leaving the port (Vigo), he completed the destruction of every ship he could not tow away.
In 1704, Sir Cloudesley served under Sir George Rooke in the Mediterranean, and in 1705 was promoted to be Rear-Admiral of England, and shortly afterwards made Commander-in-chief of the British fleets. In 1705 he co-operated with the Earl of Peterborough in taking Barcelona.
Sir Cloudesley, having determined to open the passage of the bar, where the French were strongly entrenched, directed Sir John Norris, with four English and one Dutch ship, to sail into the river. They advanced to within musket-shot of the enemy’s works. He opened a well-directed fire, and the cavalry, with the greater portion of the infantry, taken by surprise, and quite unprepared for the sudden attack, quitted the camp. Sir Cloudesley, noticing this, ordered Sir John to land with the sailors and marines, and attack the French in flank. This service was effectively performed, and the French fled in confusion from the entrenchments, clearing the way for the Duke of Savoy, our ally, who passed up the river without meeting with any resistance.
On the 17th July 1707 an attempt was made upon Toulon by the combined English and Dutch forces, assisted by the fleet under the command of Sir Cloudesley Shovel. A hundred guns were landed from the ships for the batteries, with seamen to serve them; Sir Thomas Dilkes also bombarded the town from the fleet; but the attack did not prevail, and the attacking forces withdrew, not without having inflicted heavy damage and loss upon the French; eight of their largest ships were burnt; several magazines, and more than a hundred houses, were destroyed. Sir Cloudesley was greatly annoyed and disappointed by the partial failure of this expedition, and departed for England upon his last and fatal voyage. He left a squadron to blockade Toulon, under the command of Sir Thomas Dilkes.
The fleet had got so near home as the Scilly Isles, when, in the night of 22nd October 1707, Sir Cloudesley’s ship, the Association, and two others, struck the rocks known as “The Bishop and his Clerks.” Not a soul of the eight hundred on board with Sir Cloudesley was saved. The catastrophe was seen from on board the St. George. The Association went down in less than five minutes after striking the rock. Sir George Byng, in the St. Anne, had a very narrow escape. With Sir Cloudesley, on board the flag-ship, were his two stepsons, sons of Lady Shovel and Sir John Narborough, his brother James, Mr. Trelawney, eldest son of the Bishop of Winchester, and other persons of distinction. Sir Cloudesley’s body was cast ashore, and recovered next day. His remains were deposited, with the honourable and solemn ceremony due to his worth, in Westminster Abbey.