Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice-Admiral R.N. A Memoir

naval career. He must have been quite a small boy when Sir Joseph presented him to Lord Nelson, and the family tradition is that

What little is known of young Yorke's career at Portsmouth points to diligence and capacity, for he gained the gold medal in his second year after little more than eighteen months at the college, a distinction which ensured his immediate entry into the service. On May 15, 1815, he was appointed midshipman on board the

their amusements was provided by races round the mess table of the weevils knocked out of the biscuit which was a part of their daily fare. Young Yorke, however, accepted this life and its hardships with all cheerfulness; and the spirit with which he ent

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to quit her at all. Perhaps you may think I am comfortable in her through idleness and not having much duty put upon me; but I am one of the three Mids in the ship and the duty is heavy, there being only one Mid in each watch, and he has the duty of Mate of the watch, there being none; but I like my messmates, and we have a capital berth. Captain Baines is also a kind friend to me in every way; whatever may be said of him is nothing to me, his advice and friendship to me is good and kind; he keeps me in practice

o see the place, it is a most extraordinary thing. It is dreadfully hot, the reflection of the sun being so great; from thence we sailed the following day and are now off Celebrina in a dead calm. I think I shall see much of the Mediterranean in this ship, for she will be always kept cruising and likely to stay out some time. Yesterday we cleared for action for a large brig that was bearing down upon us, but to our great disappointment, it proved to be an English brig from Santa Maria to London with

alms and light breezes, just now a breeze has sprung up which is likel

ghtfully. Last night I was at the Opera, and it is exactly the same as our own in England, it is much larger and a most magnificent theatre. The houses are mostly of marble and beautifully orname

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uthful imagination. As will appear further on in this memoir, he visited it again some thirty-five years later in very different circumstances, and that Genoa exists to-da

a little less than a year, during which he had a serious attack of scarlet fever followed by rheumatism, which left him very weak, and raised a question as to whether he should be invalided home. He was, however, exceedingly popular with his superiors, who were most kind and attentive to

val Powers, England in particular, had long been waiting an opportunity to settle a long-standing account in the Mediterranean with a set of potentates established on the north coast of Africa, who had for years availed themselves of the dissensions between the Great Powers to carry on a system of piracy and rapine of the most insolent and atrocious character. During the naval wars which had lasted with short intervals for half a century, the fleets of England, France, Spa

corsairs. The ruffianly Deys made little attempt to conceal the piratical nature of their proceedings, and became a perfect scourge not only to the mariners of all nations in the Mediterranean, but also to the unfortunate inhabitants of its shores. They ravaged the islands and coastline of the mainland wherever there was plunder to be ga

ot. Keppel demanded an interview with the Dey, and went ashore to the palace without a guard, and stated his business in very plain terms. The Dey wondered at the presumption of King George in sending a beardless boy as his ambassador. 'The King my master,' replied Keppel, with a glance at the Dey's hairy countenance, 'does not measure wisdom by the length of the beard, or he would have sent a he-goat to confer with your Highness.' The Dey raged at this bold repartee, and began to speak of bowstrings and the ministers of death. 'Kill me, if you will,' replied Keppel, pointing

long a hunting-ground for the Barbary pirates, should be henceforth treated as British territory; that the British Government should be accepted as arbitrator between the Barbary Powers and Naples and Sardinia, who had a long list of claims and grievances against them; and that the Barbary Powers should enter into a definite undertaking to abolish all slavery of Christians within their dominions, and to treat all prisoners of war, of w

ertaking to abolish Christian slavery. The Dey, after many evasions, at length repeated his refusal on the ground that he was a subject or vassal of the Sultan, and could not consent to

he Admiral, who had sailed for England, was at once directed by the British Government to complete the work which he had initiated, and to exact the most ample satisfaction and security for the future. He was offered any force that might be necessary, and surprised the naval authorities by his opinion, which was the result of observation upon the spot, that five line-of-battle ships, with frigates, bomb vessels and gun brigs, would be sufficient for a successful attack on the formidable defences of Algiers. In less than two months Lord Exmouth commissioned, fitted, manned

orke wrote home a letter to his father which shows the spirit

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EAR F

am quite well. We have a great deal to do, shall be at Gibraltar to-morrow if the wind holds. We clear for action there, a

all our fire is to be on the mole head. Us, the Leander, Superb and Impregnable are to be lashed together and as near the walls as possible. Minden engages a battery

earest Uranie and

of Clanricarde, his

r af

YO

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men. The captain of the corvette reported that the Dey refused altogether to give up that official, or to be responsible for his safety, and also that there were 40,000 troops in the town, in addition to the Janissaries who had been summoned from distant garrisons. The Algerine fleet, he said, consisted of between forty and fifty gun and mortar vessel

ed his flagship just half a cable's length from the mole head at the entrance of the harbour, so that her starboard broadside flanked all the batteries from the mole-head to the lighthouse. The mole itself was covered

rom the Eastern Battery; a second and a third opened in quick succession. One of the shots struck the Superb. At the first flash Lord Exmout

, for which purpose they had thirty-seven galleys fully manned waiting inside the mole. To the surprise of the enemy, however, the British admiral had given orders for the sails to be clewed from the deck, instead of sending men aloft for the purpose, and the British ships were thus able to open fire the moment they came to an anchor. The result of this smart seamanship was an instant disast

otte, which had ruined the fortifications there before the engagement became general, and then crumbled and brought down the Lighthouse Tower a

ng the mole were thre

and three time

inst us; eight sequins were to be given to every man who would endeavour to extinguish the fire. At length a horde of Arabs

tte, and a few guns from the latter vessel sent thirty-three out of thirty-seven to the bottom. Then followed the destruction of the Algerine

y, pulled in her to the Queen Charlotte, climbed her side and made his way to the quarter-deck, where, saluting Lord Exmouth, he said, 'Sir, I am short of ammunition.' 'Well, my lad,' replied the admiral, 'I cannot help you, but if you choose to go below, and fetch what you want yourself, you are very welcome.' Charles Yorke, wishing for nothing better, again saluted and withdrew. He then descended into the flagship's magazine, and single-handed brought up 1368 lbs. of ammunition, which he lowered

st thirteen and fifty-two respectively. The Leander had every spar injured and her rigging cut to pieces, and when her cables were at last shot away, was unable to set a single sail, and so was drifting helplessly ashore, when a fortunate change of w

amounting to no less than 382,000 dollars, and undertook, 'in the presence of Almighty God,' to release all Christian slaves in his dominions, to abandon the enslavement of Christians for the future, and to treat all prisoners of war with humanity until regularly exchanged, according to European practice in like cases. About 1200 slaves, the

ain Brisbane, who, when the young midshipman came to leave the Queen Ch

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man on board H.M.S. Queen Charlotte from the 11th day of July to the 16th October 1816, during which time he behaved with diligence

) JAMES

pta

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s recorded on a tablet, next to a similar one to Lord Exmouth, in the Eng

on, and that in later years he purchased from Sir William Beechy's studio a portrait of Lord Exmouth on his quarter-

October 17 of the same year, 1816, to the Leander, commanded by Sir David Milne, who had been second in command