Extract of a Letter from Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, K.C.B., addressed to Captain Maitland of H.M.S. Bellerophon, dated Quiberon Bay, July 6, 1815.
"It is impossible to tell which information respecting Buonaparte"s flight may be correct; but, in the uncertainty, it is right to attach a certain degree of credit to all: that which I now act on, is received this morning, from the chief of the Royalists, between the Loire and the Vilaine.
"Although the force of the Bellerophon would be sufficient for the ships at Isle d"Aix, if they were to give you an opportunity of bringing them to action together, you cannot stop them both, if the frigates separate; I am, therefore, now anxious you should have a frigate with you: therefore if any of them should be with you, keep her for the time I have specified; but if you have no frigate, and this should be brought to you by a twenty-gun ship, keep her with you for the same time; she will do to keep sight of a French frigate, although she could not stop her.
"If this is delivered to you by Lord John Hay of the Opossum, do not detain him, as her force would be of no use to you, and I want him _particularly_, to examine vessels which sail from the Loire."
Extract of an Order from Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, K.C.B.; addressed to Captain Maitland of H.M.S. Bellerophon, dated Superb, Quiberon Bay, 6th July, 1815.
"Having this morning received information that it is believed Napoleon Buonaparte has taken his road from Paris for Rochefort, to embark from thence for the United States of America, I have to direct you will use your best endeavours to prevent him from making his escape in either of the frigates at Isle d"Aix; for which purpose you are, notwithstanding former orders, to keep any frigate which may be with you, at the time you receive this letter, in company with the ship you command, for the s.p.a.ce of ten days, to enable you to intercept them in case they should put to sea together: but if you should have no frigate with you at the above time, you will keep the ship delivering this, (which will probably be the Slaney or Cyrus,) in company with the Bellerophon, ten days, and then allow her to proceed in execution of the orders her Captain has received from me."
The Slaney brought the letter and order, parts of which are extracted above, and having no frigate in company, I detained her as part of the force under my command, though she was, on the 8th, sent down to the Mamusson pa.s.sage, with orders for Captain Green of the Daphne, and did not return until the evening of the 11th.
On the 8th of July, I was joined by a cha.s.se-maree bringing a letter from Sir Henry Hotham, part of which is as follows:--
Extract of a Letter from Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, K.C.B., addressed to Captain Maitland, of H.M.S. Bellerophon, dated Superb, Quiberon Bay, July 7, 1815.
"Having sent every ship and vessel out from this bay, to endeavour to intercept Buonaparte, I am obliged to send the cha.s.se-maree, which has been employed in my communications with the Royalists, with this letter, to acquaint you that the Ferret brought me information last evening, after the Opossum had left me, from Lord Keith, that Government received, on the night of the 30th, an application from the rulers of France, for a pa.s.sport and safe conduct for Buonaparte to America, which had been answered in the negative, and, therefore, directing an increase of vigilance to intercept him: but it remains quite uncertain where he will embark; and, although it would appear by the measures adopted at home, that it is expected he will sail from one of the northern ports, I am of opinion he will go from one of the southern places, and I think the information I sent you yesterday by the Opossum is very likely to be correct; namely, that he had taken the road to Rochefort; and that he will probably embark in the frigates at Isle d"Aix; for which reason I am very anxious you should have force enough to stop them both, as the Bellerophon could only take one, if they separated, and that might not be the one he would be on board of. I have no frigate to send you; if one should join me in time, I will send her to you, and I hope you will have _two_ twenty-gun ships with you. I imagine, from what you said in your letter by your barge, that you would not have kept the Endymion with you, especially as the Myrmidon would have rejoined you, by the arrangements I sent down by the Phoebe for Sir John Sinclair to take her place off the Mamusson; therefore, I trust that my last order to Captain Hope will not have deprived you of his a.s.sistance, but hope it may have put him in a better situation than before. The Liffey is seventy or eighty miles west from Bourdeaux, and the Pactolus, after landing some person in the Gironde, goes off Cape Finisterre, where the Swiftsure is also gone; and many ships are looking out in the Channel and about the lat.i.tude of Ushant.
"Buonaparte is certainly not yet gone; I presume he would naturally await the answer from our Government, which only left London on the 1st; my own opinion is, that he will either go with a force that will afford him some kind of security, or in a merchant vessel to avoid suspicion.
"The orders from the Admiralty, received last evening, are, that the ships which are looking out for him, should remain on that service _till further orders, or till they know he is taken_, and not regard the time of ten days or a fortnight, which they first named: therefore you will govern yourself by that, and keep any ship you have with you till one of those events occurs, without attending to the ten days I specified in my letter to you by the Opossum yesterday, and make the same known to any ship you may communicate with. The information you sent me, which had been transmitted to you from Bourdeaux, is now proved to have been erroneous, by our knowing that Buonaparte was at Paris as late as the 30th of June, and that paper must have been written on the 29th, as you received it on the 30th. The Erida.n.u.s will not rejoin you; she has been stationed, by Lord Keith, off Brest.
"Let me know by the return of the cha.s.se-maree, particularly, what ships you have with you, and where the other ships are, as far as you know, and what position you keep in. If you had ships enough to guard Basque Roads, and the Channel between Isle d"Oleron and the long sand (where a frigate may pa.s.s), you would be sure of keeping them in, by anchoring; but that would afford you little chance of taking Buonaparte, which is the thing to be desired; therefore I think you would be better off the light-house, where I dare say you keep yourself; and on that particular subject I do not think it necessary to give you any instructions, as I depend on your using the best means that can be adopted to intercept the fugitive; on whose captivity the repose of Europe appears to depend. If he should be taken, he is to be brought to me in this bay, as I have orders for his disposal; he is to be removed from the ship in which he may be found, to one of his Majesty"s ships."
Nothing of consequence occurred on the 9th; but on the 10th of July, at daylight, the officer of the watch informed me that a small schooner was standing out from the French squadron towards the ship: upon which I ordered everything to be ready for making sail in chace, supposing she might be sent for the purpose of reconnoitring. On approaching, she hoisted a flag of truce, and joined us at seven A.M.
She proved to be the Mouche, tender to the ships of war at Isle d"Aix, and had on board, General Savary Duc de Rovigo, and Count Las Cases, chamberlain to Buonaparte, charged with a letter from Count Bertrand (Grand Marechal de Palais) addressed to the Admiral commanding the British Cruisers before the port of Rochefort.
Soon after the Mouche arrived, I was joined by the Falmouth, bringing me a letter and secret orders from Sir Henry Hotham, some extracts from which I shall insert for the better understanding what follows, previous to entering into what pa.s.sed with Buonaparte"s attendants.
Extract of a Letter from Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, K.C.B., addressed to Captain Maitland, of H.M.S. Bellerophon; not dated, but must have been written on the 8th of July, 1815.
"I sent a cha.s.se-maree to you yesterday with a letter, and you will now receive by the Falmouth, officially, the orders which I therein made you acquainted with.
"I send you four late and very interesting French papers, by which you will see all that has been done and said on the subject of providing for Buonaparte"s escape from France: you will see that the Minister of the Marine had been directed to prepare ships of war for that purpose; that they were placed at Buonaparte"s disposal; and that two frigates in particular had been provided for him: also that it was announced to the two Chambers, that he left Paris at four o"clock on the 29th; likewise that it was believed in Paris, he had taken the road by Orleans to Rochefort; and I have no doubt that the two frigates at Isle d"Aix are intended for him, and I hope you will think so too, and I am sure you will use your utmost endeavours to intercept him. I am sorry I have not a frigate to send you; I have literally none but the Endymion under my orders. Captain Paterson is off Brest, by Lord Keith"s order; and the Phoebe is also ordered to that station, when the Hebrus arrives off the Gironde.
"The attention at home appears to be paid chiefly to the ports in the Channel, but I have received no additional means whatever to guard those of the Bay. I have long been expecting a frigate from the Irish station, but none has yet appeared; and I have written to Lord Keith for two frigates; but they cannot join me in time, I fear."
Extract of an Order from Rear-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, K.C.B., addressed to Captain Maitland, of H.M.S. Bellerophon, dated H.M.S.
Superb, Quiberon Bay, 8th July, 1815.
"The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having every reason to believe that Napoleon Buonaparte meditates his escape, with his family, from France to America, you are hereby required and directed, in pursuance of orders from their Lordships, signified to me by Admiral the Right Honourable Viscount Keith, to keep the most vigilant look-out for the purpose of intercepting him; and to make the strictest search of any vessel you may fall in with; and if you should be so fortunate as to intercept him, you are to transfer him and his family to the ship you command, and there keeping him in careful custody, return to the nearest port in England (going into Torbay in preference to Plymouth) with all possible expedition; and on your arrival you are not to permit any communication whatever with the sh.o.r.e, except as herein after directed; and you will be held responsible for keeping the whole transaction a profound secret, until you receive their Lordships" further orders.
"In case you should arrive at a port where there is a flag-officer, you are to send to acquaint him with the circ.u.mstances, strictly charging the officer sent on sh.o.r.e with your letter, not to divulge its contents: and if there should be no flag-officer at the port where you arrive, you are to send one letter express to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and another to Admiral Lord Keith, with strict injunctions of secrecy to each officer who may be the bearer of them."
Messrs Savary and Las Cases, who came on board, from the Schooner above mentioned, at seven o"clock on the 10th of July, presented the following letter to me:--
"Le 9 Juillet, 1815.
"Monsieur l"Amiral,
"L"Empereur Napoleon ayant abdique le pouvoir, et choisi les etats Unis d"Amerique pour s"y refugier, s"est embarque sur les deux fregates qui sont dans cette rade, pour se rendre a sa destination. Il attend le sauf conduit du Gouvernement Anglais, qu"on lui a annonce, et qui me porte a expedier le present parlementaire, pour vous demander, Mons. l"Amiral, si vous avez connoissance du dit sauf conduit; ou si vous pensez qu"il soit dans l"intention du Gouvernement Anglais de se mettre de l"empechement a notre voyage aux etats Unis.
Je vous serai extremement oblige de me donner la-dessus les renseignemens que vous pouvez avoir.
"Je charge les porteurs de la presente lettre de vous faire agreer mes remercimens et mes excuses, pour la peine qu"elle a pu vous donner.
"J"ai l"honneur d"etre, Monsieur l"Amiral, de Votre Excellence, &c. &c.
Le Grand Marechal Cte. BERTRAND."
"a Monsieur l"Amiral commandant les Croisieres avant Rochefort."
TRANSLATION.
"SIR,
"The Emperor Napoleon having abdicated the throne of France, and chosen the United States of America as a retreat, is, with his suite, at present embarked on board the two frigates which are in this port, for the purpose of proceeding to his destination. He expects a pa.s.sport from the British Government, which has been promised to him, and which induces me to send the present flag of truce, to demand of you, Sir, if you have any knowledge of the above-mentioned pa.s.sport, or if you think it is the intention of the British Government to throw any impediment in the way of our voyage to the United States. I shall feel much obliged by your giving me any information you may possess on the subject.
"I have directed the bearers of this letter to present to you my thanks, and to apologise for the trouble it may cause.
"I have the honour to be, Your Excellency"s most obedient, &c. &c.
Grand Marshal Count BERTRAND."
"To the Admiral commanding the Squadron before Rochefort."
The bearers of the letter had instructions to demand of me, whether I would prevent Buonaparte from proceeding in a neutral vessel, provided I could not permit the frigates to pa.s.s with him on board. Having received, in my orders, the strictest injunctions to secrecy, and feeling that the force on the coast, at my disposal, was insufficient to guard the different ports and pa.s.sages from which an escape might be effected, particularly should the plan be adopted of putting to sea in a small vessel; I wrote the following reply to the above communication; hoping, by that means, to induce Napoleon to remain for the Admiral"s answer, which would give time for the arrival of reinforcements.
"H.M.S. Bellerophon, off Rochefort, July 10th, 1815.
"SIR,
"I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday"s date, addressed to the Admiral commanding the English cruisers before Rochefort, acquainting me that the Emperor, having abdicated the throne of France, and chosen the United States of America as an asylum, is now embarked on board the frigates, to proceed for that destination, and awaits a pa.s.sport from the English Government; and requesting to know if I have any knowledge of such pa.s.sport; or if I think it is the intention of the English Government to prevent the Emperor"s voyage.
"In reply, I have to acquaint you, that I cannot say what the intentions of my Government may be; but, the two countries being at present in a state of war, it is impossible for me to permit any ship of war to put to sea from the port of Rochefort.
"As to the proposal made by the Duc de Rovigo and Count Las Cases, of allowing the Emperor to proceed in a merchant vessel; it is out of my power,--without the sanction of my commanding officer, Sir Henry Hotham, who is at present in Quiberon Bay, and to whom I have forwarded your despatch,--to allow any vessel, under whatever flag she may be, to pa.s.s with a personage of such consequence.