The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism (Vol. 1-4). Frederick Whymper
in effect, Lord High Admiral, and committed any number of excesses, even firing on those ships which had not followed the movement. Officers were flogged, and on board the flag-ship, the vessel on which Parker remained, many were half-drowned, as the following account, derived from an unimpeachable source,128 will show. Their hammocks were fastened to their backs, with an 18-pounder bar-shot as a weight; their hands were tied together, likewise their feet. They were then made fast to a tackle suspended from a yard-arm, and hauled up almost to the block; at the word of command they were dropped suddenly in the sea, where they were allowed to remain a minute. They were again hoisted up, and the process repeated, until about every sign of life had fled. The unfortunate victims were then hoisted up by the heels; this was considerately done to get rid of the water from their stomachs. They were then put to bed in their wet hammocks.
ADMIRAL DUNCAN ADDRESSING HIS CREW.
On June 6th the mutinous fleet was joined by the Agamemnon, Leopard, Ardent, and Iris men-of-war, and the Ranger sloop, which vessels basely deserted from a squadron under Admiral Duncan, sent to blockade the Texel. Shortly after, a number of vessels of the line arrived at the mouth of the Thames, and still further augmented the ranks of the mutineers. By this means eleven vessels were added to the list. Duncan, gallant old salt as he was, when he found himself deserted by the greater part of his fleet, called his own ship’s crew (the Venerable, 74) together, and addressed them in the following speech:—
“My lads—I once more call you together with a sorrowful heart, from what I have lately seen of the dissatisfaction of the fleets: I call it dissatisfaction, for the crews have no grievances. To be deserted by my fleet, in the face of an enemy, is a disgrace which, I believe, never before happened to a British admiral, nor could I have supposed it possible. My greatest comfort under God is, that I have been supported by the officers, seamen, and marines of this ship; for which, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, I request you to accept my sincere thanks. I flatter myself much good may result from your example, by bringing these deluded people to a sense of their duty, which they owe, not only to their king and country, but to themselves.
“The British Navy has ever been the support of that liberty which has been handed down to us by our ancestors, and which I think we shall maintain to the latest posterity; and that can only be done by unanimity and obedience. This ship’s company, and others who have distinguished themselves by their loyalty and good order, deserve to be, and doubtless will be, the favourites of a grateful country. They will also have, from their inward feelings, a comfort which will be lasting, and not like the bloating and false confidence of those who have swerved from their duty.
“It has often been my pride with you to look into the Texel, and see a foe which dreaded coming out to meet us; my pride is now humbled indeed! my feelings are not easily expressed! Our cup has overflowed and made us wanton. The all-wise Providence has given us this check as a warning, and I hope we shall improve by it. On Him then let us trust, where our only security may be found. I find there are many good men amongst us; for my own part, I have had full confidence of all in this ship, and once more beg to express my approbation of your conduct.
“May God, who has thus far conducted you, continue so to do; and may the British Navy, the glory and support of our country, be restored to its wonted splendour, and be not only the bulwark of Britain, but the terror of the world.
“But this can only be effected by a strict adherence to our duty and obedience; and let us pray that the Almighty God may keep us in the right way of thinking.
“God bless you all!”
At an address so unassuming and patriotic, the whole ship’s crew were dissolved in tears, and one and all declared, with every expression of warmth they could use, their determination to stay by the admiral in life or death. Their example was followed by all the other ships left in the squadron, and the brave and excellent old admiral, notwithstanding the defection of so many of his ships, repaired to his station, off the coast of Holland, to watch the movements of the Dutch fleet. Here he employed a device to hide the sparseness of his fleet by employing one of his frigates, comparatively close in shore, to make signals constantly to himself and to the other vessels in the offing, many of them imaginary, and give the enemy the impression that a large squadron was outside. He had resolved, however, not to refuse battle, if the Dutch fleet should have the courage to come out and offer it.
But to return to the mutineers. The accession of the new vessels so elated Parker that he gave way to the wildest fits of extravagance. He talked of taking the whole fleet to sea, and selling it to our enemies. He tried to stop the navigation of the Thames, declaring that he would force his way up to London, and bombard the city if the Government did not accede to his terms. The alarm at these proceedings became general in the metropolis, and the funds fell lower than ever known before or since in the financial history of our country. An order was given to take up the buoys marking the channel of the Thames, while the forts were heavily armed and garrisoned, so that should Parker attempt his vainglorious threat, the fleet might be destroyed. The Government now acted with more promptness and decision than they had previously displayed. Lord Spencer, Lord Arden, and Admiral Young hastened to Sheerness, and held a board, at which Parker and the other delegates attended, but the conduct of the mutineers was so audacious that these Lords of the Admiralty returned to town without the slightest success. The principal article of conflict on the part of the seamen’s delegates was the unequal distribution of prize-money, for the omission of which matter in the recent demands, they greatly upbraided their fellow-seamen at Portsmouth. Bills were immediately passed in Parliament inflicting the heaviest penalties on those who aided or encouraged the mutineers in any way, or even held intercourse with them, which speedily had the effect of damping their ardour, and by the end of the first week in June the fire which Parker had fanned into a serious conflagration, began to die out. The fleets at Portsmouth and Plymouth disowned all fellowship with them, and the example of one or two ships, such as the Clyde, which from the first had resisted Parker’s influence, commenced to be of effect. The ringleader himself, seeing that his influence was waning, and knowing the perilous position in which he had placed himself, tried to re-open negotiations with the Admiralty, but his demands were too ridiculous to be considered; whereupon he hung Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas in effigy at the yard-arm of the Sandwich. It is a curious fact, showing that the crews were simply egged on by the ringleaders, and that there was plenty of loyalty at bottom, that on June 4th, the king’s birthday, the whole fleet insisted on firing a royal salute, displaying the colours as usual, and hauling down the red flag during the ceremony. Mr. Parker, however, insisted that it should fly on the flag-ship.
On June 10th two of the ships, the Leopard and Repulse, hauled down the flag of mutiny, and sailed into the Thames; their example was soon followed by others. Parker and his cause were lost.
On the evening of June 14th this miserable affair was at an end. The crew of the Sandwich, Parker’s own ship, brought that vessel under the guns of the fort at Sheerness, and handed him as a prisoner to the authorities. Sixteen days afterwards he was hanged. His wife presented a petition to the queen in favour of her wretched husband, and is stated to have offered a thousand guineas if his life could be spared. But he, of all men who were ever hanged, deserved his fate, for he had placed the very kingdom itself in peril. Other executions took place, but very few, considering the heinousness of the crime committed. Still, the Government knew that the men had been in the larger proportion of cases more sinned against than sinning; and when later, Duncan’s victory over the Dutch fleet provided an occasion, an amnesty was published, and many who had been confined in prison, some of them under sentence of death, were released. En passant, it may be remarked that three marines were shot at Plymouth on July 6th of the same year, for endeavouring to excite a mutiny in the corps, while another was sentenced to receive a thousand lashes.
The mutinous spirit evinced at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and the Nore spread, even to foreign stations. Had it not been for Duncan’s manly and sensible appeal to his crew, where there were some disaffected spirits, our naval supremacy might have been seriously compromised as regards the Dutch. On board the Mediterranean Fleet, then lying off the coast of Portugal, the mutineers had for a time their own way. The admiral commanding,