ADMIRAL SIR GEORGE ROOKE.*
IT is more than a little disappointing, when one opens this book, to find that Rooke's Journal has nothing to say about the capture of Gibraltar. To tell the truth, it is not a very exciting document. Nevertheless, it is very instructive for the short period which it covers, and Mr. Oscar Browning's explanatory introduction is admirably done. The volume contains the official Journal, kept by Rooke's secretary, Hugh Corry, detailing from day to day the events of two commissions entrusted to the Admiral.
The first of these was a very delicate piece of business, and that it was successfully carried through reflects no small credit on Rooke's skill in diplomacy,—a quality even more necessary to the naval commander than to the General. Owing to the uncertainty of maritime operations, his in- structions must be left somewhat vague, and in the old days of sailing vessels not much more could be done than to indicate a desired result, and leave to the Admiral's dis- cretion the best means of attaining it with the force at his disposal. In May, 1700, William III. wished to prevent war between Sweden and Denmark. Frederick IV. of Denmark had invaded the territory of Holstein, which was guaranteed to the Dake of Holstein- Gottorp in 1689 by the Treaty of Altona ; and of this arrangement England was the principal guarantor. Charles XII. of Sweden was in close alliance with Holstein, Swedish troops were defending the invaded territory, and he and Ferdinand, both young and both ambitious, were the real protagonists of a struggle which threatened to set the whole of Northern Europe in a blaze from Norway to Russia. But this did not suit the far-reaching schemes of William, who looked forward to the European war which must take place on the constantly expected death of the Spanish King. When that war came he hoped to range against Louis XIV. the Protestant Powers of the North ; but that would be impossible if they were busy cutting each other's throats. He therefore sent Rooke at the head of a fleet to act in conjunction with a Dutch squadron under Allemonde, and effect a junction with the Swedish fleet in the Sound. The Admiral was instructed to explain to the Danes that he was come upon a pacific mission in order 4' to restore peace and tranquillity in those parts," and to main- tain the Treaty of Altona. The difficulty of Rooke's position is obvious. Not merely had he to act in concert with the Dutch while not commanding them, but he had also to co-operate with the fleet of Charles XII., who was actually a belligerent, and yet maintain the attitude of a peacemaker. Further, be and the Dutch were at the north of the narrow and difficult waterway of the Sound, from which all marks of navigation had been removed ; the Swedes were at the south of it ; mid- way lay Copenhagen and the Danish fleet, which was stronger than any one of the three contingents, perhaps equal to two of them combined. Nevertheless Rooke, chiefly by a perfect willingness to run in as near the Danish fleet as possible, and risk hard knocks, mancenvred the junction, and the Danes withdrew into Copenhagen. All this time ponrparlers went on continuously, Rooke patiently explaining to the Danes that he was there to maintain the Treaty of Altona, and that he hoped sincerely to avoid the necessity of doing anything that might be offensive to his Excellency the Danish Admiral ; at the same time begging the Swedes on no account to attack till he could join them, and "have some share in the honour of bringing these people to reason." Ferdinand tried every shift of diplomacy to gain time; but Rooke persisted, and in the politest manner announced to the Danish Admiral his intention of bombarding Copenhagen. This was accordingly done, but with little effect; and it was determined to change tactics and try the effect of bringing over a Swedish force to make a descent on the country. All this time commerce was going on undis- turbed, the English representative was in Copenhagen, and Rooke sent an intimation of his sincerest regret on learning • The Journal of Sir George Rook.. Admiral of the Fleet, 17004702. Edited by Oscar Browning. Printed for the Navy Records Society. that the Queen had been disturbed by shells falling near her house, adding an offer to warn her in case it should be needful to recommence. The landing of five thousand Swedes near Elsinore was accomplished after a sharp combat at the water's edge ; Elsinore was occupied, and Charles XII. naturally did his best to force Rooke into open war. But the Admiral knew his business, and refused to go an inch beyond the letter of his instructions ; Ferdinand saw that submission was inevitable ; peace was signed ; and all that remained for Rooke to do was to see that the Swedes got back in safety. This ticklish operation, which involved asking the Danes to furnish the invaders with means of transport, was carried through without a hitch, and Rooke returned home in October, having deserved really well of his master. Perfect coolness and civility, an indis- position to threaten, but the steadiest resolve to keep his word to the letter, had shown him to be an excellent type of the English officer. The Dutch had been throughout hesitant and timid, the Swedes eager for war, and he had kept both up level with the mark by a singular exercise of tact and resolu- tion.
His next enterprise was far less well carried out. A council of war is an excellent drag upon the progress of events ; and Rooke's business in the Sound was to prevent things from happening, and establish peace by the strong hand, very much as the European Admirals enforced the other day a cessation of hostilities in Crete. Bnt when a positive advance has to be made—in short, when war has to be made—then a council of war is the worst thing in the world to make it. William III. died in March, 1702, but his policy was continued under his successor ; and when war was declared two months later upon France and Spain, an attempt was made to give effect to his favourite scheme of seizing Cadiz. To this end the allied fleets, English and Dutch, were sent thither, Rooke being the highest in rank, but not having a free hand. With the fleet went fourteen thousand troops under the Duke of Ormond, and to make confusion worse confounded, a representative of the Emperor Leopold, in the person of Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt, accompanied the expedition. Sir Charles Napier, in writing of his own experiences in America in 1813, where he held a joint com- mand with Admiral Sir G. Cockburn, makes some trenchant remarks upon the ill-success which invariably has attended combined naval and military operations, and the inevitable friction between the two services. The attempt upon Cadiz hilly illustrates what he observes. There seem to have been less than a thousand regular troops in Cadiz, bat the allies were ill-informed on this matter, and overrated the garrison. Owing to the nature of the place, several lines of attack were possible, all of which found advocates. In the one which was adopted it seems pretty clear that there was no hearty co-operation ; Rooke practically refused to let his ships run any risk, either from weather or cannon-shot ; and when the Duke of Ormond asked for the services of seamen on land, the flag officers very soon reported that the " subaltern officers and ships' companies begin to grow very sickly by their con- stant employment and fatigue in digging and other slavish services very unusual for seamen." The net result was that after a month's preliminary operations it was determined to raise the siege and sail home, in spite of vehement protests from the Prince of Hesse, who naturally had an enthusiasm, which the English and Dutch did not share, for establishing the Austrian interest in Spain. On September 19th the fleet weighed anchor, having achieved a discreditable failure. A squadron was detached to the West Indies, and nothing appeared to be done but to stand homewards. On October 6th, however, word came, through the Prince of Hesse, that the plate-fleet was in Vigo. Nothing could be a stronger con- trast to the inertness of the operations before Cadiz than the promptitude with which it was decided to sail at once to the attack. Fortune had favoured Rooke and his colleagues. The Spanish ships, returning under French convoy, bad been obliged to avoid Cadiz, their proper destination. The French begged them to put into a French port, but they were too proud to do this, and made for Vigo. Here they arrived on September 18th, in ample time to complete the unloading ; but the port of Cadiz had a right to certain dues on the silver, and the officials used their influence to prevent this departure from precedent. There was nothing for it but to haul up into the estuary of the river Redondella, whose mouth was defended by forts on each side. Across it a strong boom was thrown, and the eighteen French ships of war were drawn up inside it ; behind them lay the vessels laden deep with silver. On Sunday, October 11th, the fleet sailed past Vigo, and anchored " in a range up almost to the chain which the enemy had placed before their ships." It was resolved to attack with fifteen English and ten Dutch ships ; the army to be disembarked and attack the forts. On Monday morning the troops were landed and the fleet stood in for the boom ; but it fell calm, and they were forced to anchor under fire of the forts, which mustered nearly fifty guns. Towards noon the wind freshened, and the Admiral" ordered the Vice-Admiral " (Hopsonn) "to slip and push for it, which he immediately did, and by half an hour after one, with great success, broke the boom." Mr. Browning says that Hopsonn and Van der Goes, the Dutch commander, raced for the boom, but Hopsonn's ship, the Torbay,' was first, and broke it. The fight was a short but savage one ; it is graphically described in the Life of Captain Stephen Martin. Once the boom was broken, the attacking ships crowded in pell-mell, and the little creek was filled with men-of-war cannonading each other at pistol shot. In the thick of it a fireship blew up, and shattered a Spanish merchantman laden with snuff. Whether it was the powder or the snuff that caused the panic is not stated, but about a hundred of Hopsonn's men jumped overboard. Meanwhile, in the rear of the French vessels men went on working, as they had worked for a day, busily unlading the galleons—for the sight of the enemy's fleet had put an end to scruples about customs dues—and from the harbour long lines of mules streamed up country, harried and pillaged all along the road by brigands. In a few hours all was over. Every ship in the harbour was taken, sunk, or burnt, and enough plate went to the bottom to serve as a bait ready to the hand of company promoters ; but the capture amounted to a million, roughly speaking. Rooke sailed home triumphant, and received the thanks of Parlia- ment. After this tribute be could afford to face with a light heart the Committee of the House of Lords which inquired into the failure of the enterprise at Cadiz. He treated them, indeed, pretty cavalierly, but his remarks do not incline one to place him among the best of officers. Nevertheless he was destined to do his country a better turn than that day when he swept the Redondella estuary, and he is a fine figure among our seamen. Two or three incidents of Courts-Martial give one, however, an uncomfortable idea of the Navy at that period. One Captain assaulted another at Cadiz on the Admiral's quarter-deck ; two Captains are mentioned as having brought vexatious charges against their officers several Lieutenants were broke for sottish behaviour, and one for having accepted £6 from a collier in return for work done by sailors at the Lieutenant's order. The service, indeed, was not likely to be in a healthy condition while it included two classes of officers,—those who got their promotion by interest, and those who from lack of it saw young men put over their heads. Rooke himself was a Post-Captain at three and twenty. However, the last pages in this book show him advocating the claims of seniority and good service. His Flag-Captain had been passed over in favour of a junior man, and Rooke promptly wrote to Prince George of Denmark expressing a determination to retire from the service unless justice were done to the merits of Captain Wishart—and, it is not unfair to add, to the personal prestige of Admiral Sir George Rooke.
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