Read Ebook: Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili Peru and Brazil from Spanish and Portuguese Domination Volume 2 by Dundonald Thomas Cochrane Earl Of

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This pretended commission was accompanied by the following order to take command of the squadron:--

Palace of Rio de Janeiro, March 19, 1823.

LUIZ DA CUNHA MOREIEA.

The Minister of Marine affected to be surprised at my want of confidence in the Government, but I explained that this was not the case. "It was quite possible that a Congress might at any time be convened which would be less liberally inclined than the present ministry, and that acceptance of an appointment so loosely made might afford the admirals placed over me, not only a control over my movements, but an easy and convenient mode of getting rid of me after I had done their work; and this without any imputation of injustice on their proceedings. The fact, indeed, of a Cortes being about to assemble, and the possibility of their interfering with me, was sufficient to fix my determination to have nothing to do with the command, under any circumstances, save those set forth in the tender made to me by command of His Majesty."

To this the Minister replied, that, "if I could be thus dismissed, the Government must likewise fall--because to suppose that a popular assembly could dictate to His Majesty in such a case was to suppose the Government no longer in existence."

I then frankly told the Minister, that "my experience as a naval officer--founded upon many years' practical observation, had taught me that, in engagements of this nature, it was necessary to be clear and explicit in every arrangement. I did not mean to insinuate anything disrespectful to the ministers of His Brazilian Majesty, but knowing that a Senate was about to assemble, and having reason to believe that a majority of the members might differ from the ministerial views, and might--when the work was done--take a fancy to see the squadron commanded by one of their own countrymen--a step which would leave me no alternative but to quit the service--it was much better for all parties to put our mutual engagements on a firm basis."

The Minister continued to argue the point, but finding argument of no avail in altering my determination, he insinuated--though not stating as much in positive terms--that he had no prospect of any arrangement being effected regarding my rank other than that which had been tendered.

Determined to be no longer trifled with--on the following morning I waited on the Prime Minister, Bonifacio de Andrada, whom I found in high dudgeon at what he termed the unreasonableness of my demands; stating, moreover, that the Consul at Buenos Ayres had exceeded his authority by writing me a bombastic letter, though but a few days before, Andrada not only expressed his entire concurrence in its contents, but stated that the letter had been written through his influence with the Emperor!

To this I replied that, "be that as it might, it was absurd to suppose that I should have given up my position in Chili for anything less in Brazil, and that all that had been offered by the Consul, or desired by me, was simply an equivalent to my Chilian command, with adequate reimbursement of any losses I might sustain by quitting Chili so abruptly, before the settlement of my affairs with that country. This offer had been made on behalf of His Imperial Majesty, under the express authority of the Prime Minister himself, as set forth in the Consul's letters, and for this I held the Government responsible. But, at the same time, I informed the Prime Minister that if he were disinclined to fulfil his own voluntary obligations, I would at once free him from them by declining the proffered command, and therefore begged of him to take back his commission, about which I would hold no further parley."

It was further acknowledged that, by accepting the Brazilian command, I had risked an admitted reward for services rendered to Chili and Peru, to the extent of more than sixty thousand dollars--and it was agreed that this amount should be repaid to me in the event of those countries not fulfilling their obligations--provided equivalent services were rendered to Brazil. For more than thirty years Chili has withheld that amount, but the Brazilian Government has never fulfilled this portion of its engagements.

Notwithstanding the praiseworthy exertions of the administration to place their navy in a creditable position as regarded the ships, the want of seamen was severely felt, and little had been done beyond shipping a number of Portuguese sailors, whose fidelity to the Imperial cause was doubtful.

In the hope of getting a more reliable class of men for the flagship, I authorised Captain Crosbie to offer from my own purse, eight dollars per man, in addition to the bounty given by the Government, and by this means procured some English and North American seamen, who, together with the men who accompanied me from Chili, sufficed to form a tolerable nucleus for a future crew; as to the rest--though far short of the ship's complement--it had never before fallen to my lot to command a crew so inefficient.

On the 26th of March, the following commission from His Imperial Majesty was presented to me:--

IMPERADOR,

The valour, intelligence, activity, and other qualities of Lord Cochrane as an admiral, being well-known by the performance of various services in which he has been engaged, and seeing how advantageous it would be for the Empire to avail itself of the known qualities of an Officer so gifted, I deem it proper to confer on him a patent as "First Admiral of the National and Imperial Navy," with an annual salary of eleven contos and five hundred and twenty milreis, whether at sea or on shore; and further in table money, when embarked, five contos, seven hundred and twenty milreis, which is the same pay and table money as he received in Chili. To which favour, no admiral of the Imperial Navy shall claim succession, neither to the post of "First Admiral," which I have thought fit to create solely for this occasion, from the motives aforesaid, and from particular consideration of the merits of the said Lord Cochrane. The supreme Military Council will so understand, and shall execute the necessary despatches.

Given at the Palace of Rio de Janeiro, March 21st, 1823.

Second year of the Independence of the Empire.

IMPERADOR. LUIZ DA CUNHA MOREIEA,

Secretary of State,

March 26th, 1823.

LEONARDO ANTONIO BASTO.

On the 29th of March, a proclamation was issued by the Imperial Government declaring Bahia in a state of blockade, the Portuguese having there assembled a combined naval and military force superior to that of Brazil, and, under ordinary circumstances, fully competent to maintain itself; as well as to put down, or at least paralyse, any movement in favour of independence.

The following orders were then communicated to me, and were of the usual kind, viz. "to capture or destroy all enemy's ships and property, whereever found:"--

His Imperial Majesty, through the Secretary of State for the Marine, commands that the First Admiral, Lord Cochrane, Commander-in-Chief of the Squadron, shall, to-morrow morning, proceed from this port with such vessels as he shall judge proper to the port of Bahia, to institute a rigorous blockade, destroying or capturing whatever Portuguese force he may fall in with--doing all possible damage to the enemies of this Empire, it being left to the discretion of the said Admiral to act as he shall deem advantageous, in order to save that city from the thraldom to which it is reduced by the enemies of the cause of Brazil; for this purpose consulting with Gen. Labatu, commanding the Army, in order to the general good of the service, and glory of the national and Imperial arms.

Palace of Rio Janeiro, March 30, 1823.

LUIZ DA CUNHA MOREIRA.

To the Brazilian party and the mass of the people generally, the approaching departure of the squadron was a matter for congratulation, but to the Portuguese faction it presented a cause for fear, as tending to destroy their hopes of re-establishing the authority of the mother country. Their influence, as has before been said, was as great, if not greater, than that of the patriots, and being more systematic, it had been effectually employed to increase the disaffection which existed in the Northern provinces to the--as yet--but partially established authority of his Imperial Majesty.

Where the Portuguese party was really to blame, consisted in this,--that seeing disorder everywhere more or less prevalent, they strained every nerve to increase it, hoping thereby to paralyse further attempts at independence, by exposing whole provinces to the evils of anarchy and confusion. Their loyalty also partook more of self-interest than of attachment to the supremacy of Portugal, for the commercial classes, which formed the real strength of the Portuguese faction, hoped, by preserving the authority of the mother country in her distant provinces, thereby to obtain as their reward the revival of old trade monopolies, which twelve years before had been thrown open, enabling the English traders--whom they cordially hated--to supersede them in their own markets. Being a citizen of the rival nation, their aversion to me personally was undisguised; the more so perhaps, that they believed me capable of achieving at Bahia--whither the squadron was destined--that irreparable injury to their own cause, which the Imperial troops had been unable to effect. Had I, at the time, been aware of the influence and latent power of the Portuguese party in the empire, not all the so-called concessions made by De Andrada would have induced me to accept the command of the Brazilian navy; for to contend with faction is more dangerous than to engage an enemy, and a contest of intrigue was alike foreign to my nature and inclination.

Regularly to attack a more numerous and better trained squadron with our small force, manned by undisciplined and--as had been ascertained on the Voyage--disaffected crews, was out of the question. On board the flagship there were only a hundred and sixty English and American seamen, the remainder consisting of the vagabondage of the capital, with a hundred and thirty black marines, just emancipated from slavery. Nevertheless, observing an opening in the enemy's line, which would enable us to cut off their four rearmost ships, I made signals accordingly, and with the flagship alone gave the practical example of breaking the line, firing into their frigates as we passed. The Portuguese Admiral promptly sent vessels to the aid of the four cut off, when, hauling our wind on the larboard tack, we avoided singly a collision with the whole squadron, but endeavoured to draw the enemy's ships assisting into a position where they might be separately attacked to advantage.

Had the rest of the Brazilian squadron come down in obedience to signals, the ships cut off might have been taken or dismantled, as, with the flagship I could have kept the others at bay, and no doubt have crippled all in a position to render them assistance. To my astonishment the signals were disregarded, and--for reasons which will presently be adduced--no efforts were made to second my operations.

Extremely annoyed at this failure, arising from non-fulfilment of orders, and finding, from experience on the voyage, that we had been hurried to sea, without consideration as to the materials of which the squadron was composed, a rigid inquiry was instituted, which gave me such cogent reasons for losing all confidence in it, that on the day following I considered it expedient to address the following letter to the Prime Minister, Andrada, pointing out that if prompt steps were not taken to add to our strength, by providing more efficient crews, the result might be to compromise the interests of the empire, no less than the character of the officers commanding.

May 5, 1823. MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SIR,

This letter, you will observe, is not intended to meet the public eye, but merely to put the Government in possession of facts necessary for its information.

Our cartridges are all unfit for service, and I have been obliged to cut up every flag and ensign that could be spared, to render them serviceable, so as to prevent the men's arms being blown off whilst working the guns, and also to prevent the constant necessity of sponging, &c. which, from the time it consumes, diminishes the effective force of the ships fully one half.

The guns are without locks--which they ought to have had in order to their being efficient.

The sails of this ship are all rotten--the light and baffling airs on our way hither, having beaten one set to pieces, and the others are hourly giving way to the slightest breeze of wind.

The bed of the mortar which I received on board this ship was crushed on the first fire--being entirety rotten; the fuzes for the shells are formed of such wretched composition that it will not take fire with the discharge of the mortar, and are consequently unfit for use on board a ship where it is extremely dangerous to kindle the fuze otherwise than by the explosion; even the powder with which this ship is supplied is so bad, that six pounds will not throw our shells more than a thousand yards, instead of double that distance.

The marines neither understand gun exercise, the use of small arms, nor the sword, and yet have so high an opinion of themselves that they will not assist to wash the decks, or even to clean out their own berths, but sit and look on whilst these operations are being performed by seamen; being thus useless as marines, they are a hinderance to the seamen, who ought to be learning their duty in the tops, instead of being converted into sweepers and scavengers. I have not yet interfered in this injurious practice, because I think that reforms of the ancient practice of the service, ought to form the subject of instruction from the Government --and also, because at this moment, any alterations of mine might create dissatisfactions and dissensions even more prejudicial to the service in which we are engaged, than the evils in question.

With respect to the seamen, I would observe, that, in order to create an effective marine, young active lads of from fourteen to twenty should be selected. Almost the whole of those who constitute the crews of these vessels--with the exception of the foreign seamen, are not only totally unpractised in naval profession, but are too old to learn.

A greater evil is, that this ship is one hundred and twenty seamen short of her complement and three hundred short of what I should consider an efficient crew, whilst the bad quality and ignorance of the landsmen, makes the task of managing her in action no easy matter, the incessant bawling going on rendering the voices of the officers inaudible. Had this ship yesterday been manned and equipped as she ought to have been, and free from the disadvantages stated, there is no doubt whatever in my mind, but, that singly, we could have dismantled half the ships of the enemy.

You will perceive by my public despatch addressed to the Minister of Marine, that although we passed through the enemy's line, and, I may add, actually brushed the nearest vessel, which we cut off--yet nothing really useful was effected, notwithstanding that the vessel we touched ought to have been sunk, and those separated to have been dismantled or destroyed. I am quite vexed at the result--which was such, however, as might have been expected from the bad manning of the squadron.

I have the honour, &c.

COCHRANE.

Ill. Exmo. Senor JOS? BONIFACIO D'ANDRADE Y SILVA, Ministro e Secretario d'Estado.

A rigorous blockade was nevertheless established, in spite of our deficiencies or the efforts made to raise or evade it--though the enemy were bold in reliance upon their numbers, and none the less so, perhaps, from considering our recent failure a defeat. They did not, however, venture to attack us, nor were we yet in a condition to meddle further with them.

In order to protect the ships and men thus engaged, I directed a body of marines to be landed, for the purpose of making a show by forming and manning batteries to repel any attack, though, had such been made, neither the batteries nor their defenders would have been of much service.

On the 21st, I considered it expedient to address the following private letter to the Minister of Marine:--

Off Bahia, N.W. 12 miles, May 21, 1833.

Most Illustrious Sir,

Should the enemy's squadron return to port before I can obtain a favourable opportunity of assailing them at sea, I shall endeavour to attack them at their anchorage, and the Government may be assured that no exertion shall be wanting on my part, or on that of the officers now in this ship, to effect their destruction.

I may fairly ascribe the prepared state of the enemy, and the great force in which they appeared on the 4th, and still exhibit--to the information carried by the British ship of war Tartar, which was permitted to sail from Rio so early after our departure for Bahia, and thus served them as effectually as though she had been expressly hired for the purpose.

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