 Chapter 7 of the Life of Thomas Lord Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Volume 1, by Henry Richard Fox-Born. Having accepted in May 1817 the offer conveyed to him by the Chilean government through Don Jose Alvarez, Lord Cochrane's departure from England was delayed for more than a year. This was chiefly on account of the war steamer, the Rising Star, which it was arranged to build and equip in London under his superintendents. But the work proceeded so slowly in consequence of the difficulty experienced by Alvarez in raising the requisite funds that at last Lord Cochrane, being urgently needed in South America, where the Spaniards were steadily gaining ground, was requested to leave the superintendents of the Rising Star in other hands and across the Atlantic without her. Accompanied by Lady Cochrane and his two children, he went first from Rye to Belon, and there, on the 15th August 1818, embarked in the Rose, a merchantman which had formerly been a war sloop. The long void was uninteresting until Cape Horn was reached. There, and in passing along the rugged coastline of Tierra del Fuego, Lord Cochrane was struck by its wild scenery. He watched the lazy penguins that crowded on the rocks amid evergreens that showed brightly amid the imposing mass of snow, and caught with hooks the lazier sea-pigeons that skimmed the heavy waves and hovered round the bulwarks, and got entangled among the rigging of the Rose. He shot several of the huge albatrosses that floated fearlessly over the deck, but was not successful in his efforts to catch the fish that were seen coming to the surface of the troubled sea. The sea was made so boisterous by rain and snow and such a stiff wind blew from the west that for two or three days the Rose could not double the cape. She was forced to tack towards the south until a favourable gale set in, which carried her safely to Valparaiso. Valparaiso was reached on the 28th of November after ten weeks passed on shipward. There, and at Santiago the seat of government, to which he proceeded, as soon as the congratulations of his new friends would allow him, Lord Cochrane was hardly welcomed. So profuse and prolonged were the entertainments in his favour, splendid dinners at which zealous patriots tended their heavy compliments, being followed by yet more splendid balls at which handsome women showed their gratitude in smiles, and eagerly sought the honour of being led by him through the dancers, which were their chief delight, that he had to remind his guests that he had come to Chile not to feast, but to fight. There was prompt need of fighting. The Spaniards had a strong land force pressing up from the south and threatening to invest Santiago. Their formidable fleet swept the seas, and was being organised for an attack on Valparaiso. Admiral Blanco and Colada had just returned from a cruise in which he had succeeded in capturing, until Cuano Bay, a fine Spanish 50-gun frigate, the Maria Isabel, but his fleet was ill-ordered and poorly equipped, quite unable, without thorough reorganisation, to withstand the superior force of the enemy. An instance of the bad state of affairs was induced by Lord Cochrane's arrival, and seemed likely to cause serious trouble to him and worse misfortune to his Chilean employers. One of the Republican vessels was the Hecate, a sloop of 18 guns which had been sold out of the British Navy, and bought as a speculation by Captain's Guise and Sprye. Having first offered her in vain to the Buenos Aires government, they had bought her onto Chile, and there contrived to sell her with advantage and, to be themselves, taken into the Chilean service. They and another volunteer, Captain Wooster, a North American, liking the ascendancy over Admiral Blanco, which their experience had won them, formed a cabal with the object of securing Admiral Blanco's continuance in the Chief Command, or its equal division between him and Lord Cochrane. Nothing but the Chilean Admiral's disinterested patriotism prevented a serious rupture. He steadily withstood all temptations to his vanity and avowed his determination to accept no greater honour, if there could be a greater, than that of serving her second in command under the brave Englishman who'd come to fight for the independence of Chile. Thus, though some troubles afterwards sprang from the dissatisfactions of Guise, Sprye, and Wooster, the mischief schemed by them was prevented at starting. A few days after his arrival, Lord Cochrane received his commission as Vice Admiral of Chile, Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the Republic. His flag was hoisted on the 22nd of December on board the Maria Isabel, now rechristened the O'Higgins, and fitted out as the Principalship in the small Chilean fleet. The other vessels of the fleet were the San Martin, formerly an Indiuman in the English service of 56 guns, the Laotaro, also an old Indiuman of 44 guns, the Galvarino, as the Hecate of Captain's Guise and Sprye was now styled of 18 guns, the Chacobucco of 20 guns, the Aracanao of 16 guns, and a sloop of 14 guns named the Poiradon. The Spanish fleet, which these seven ships had to withstand, comprised 14 vessels and 27 gunboats. Of the former three were Frigates, the Esmeralda of 44 guns, the Vengaza of 42 guns, and the Sebastiana of 28 guns, four were Briggs, the Maipu of 18 guns, the Pesuela of 22 guns, and the Potrilla of 18 guns, and another, whose name is not recorded, also of 18 guns. There was a Schooner name unknown, which carried one large gun and 20 culverines. The rest were armed merchantmen. The resolution of 36 guns, the Cleopatra of 28 guns, the Lafocca of 20 guns, the Guami of 18 guns, the Fernando of 26 guns, and the San Antonio of 18 guns. Only ten out of the fourteen, however, were ready for sea, and before the whole naval force could be got ready for service, it had been partly broken up by Lord Cochrane. There was delay also in getting the Chilean fleet under sale. After waiting at Valparuso, as long as he deemed prudent, Lord Cochrane left the three smaller vessels to complete their equipment under Admiral Blanco's direction, and passed out of port on the 16th of January with the O'Higgins, the San Martin, the Lord Tarot, and the Chacobucco. He had hardly started before a mutiny broke out on board the last name Vessel, which compelled him to halt at Coquimbo long enough to try and punish the mutineers. Resuming the voyage, he proceeded along the Chilean and Peruvian coast, as far northward as Calico Bay, where he cruised about for some days awaiting an opportunity of attacking the Spanish shipping they collected in considerable force. While thus waiting, he employed his leisure in observations great and small, of the sort and in the way characteristic of him all through life. One of his rough notes reads thus, quote, cormorants resort in enormous flights coming in the morning from the northward to Calo Bay, and proceeding along the shore to the southward, diving in regular succession, one after another on the fish, which driven at the same time from below by shoals of porpoises, seemed to have no chance but to be devoured under the water, or scooped up in the large bags pendant from the enormous bills of the cormorants. Predigious seals, we read in another note, inhabit the rocks whose grave faces and grey beards look more like their human countenance than the faces of most other animals. They are very unwieldy in their movements when on shore, but most expert in the water. There is a small kind of duck in the bay, which from the clearness of the water can be seen flying with its wings under water, in chase of small fry which it speedily overtakes from its prodigious speed, end quote. From note taking of that sort, Lord Cochrane turned to more serious business. The batteries of Calo and San Lorenzo, a little island in the bay, which helped to form the port, mounted 160 guns, and more than twice as many, were at the command of the vessels they're lying to. Direct attack of a force, so very much superior to that of the Chilean fleet, seemed out of the question. Therefore Lord Cochrane bethought him of a sub-diffuge, learning that two North American warships were expected at Calo, he determined to personate them with the O'Higgins and the Lautaro, and so enter the port under alien colors. It was then Carnival time, and on the 21st of February, deeming that the Spaniards were more likely to be off their guard, he proposed, quote, to make a faint of sending a boat ashore with the Spatches, and in the meantime suddenly to dash at the frigates and cut them out, end quote. Unfortunately a dense fog set in, which lasted until the 28th, and made it impossible for him to affect his purpose before the Carnival was over, but the Sikh will be told in his own words, quote. On the 28th, hearing heavy firing, and imagining that one of the ships was engaged with the enemy, I stood with the flagship into the bay. The other ships imagining the same thing also steered in the direction of the firing, when the fog clearing for a moment we discovered each other, as well as a strange sail near us. This proved to be a Spanish gunboat with a lieutenant and 20 men who on being made prisoners informed us that the firing was a salute in honor of the Viceroy, who had that morning been on a visit of inspection to the batteries and shipping, and was then on board the Brigivore Pazuela, which we saw crowding sail in the direction of the batteries. The fog again coming on suggested to me the possibility of a direct attack. Accordingly, still maintaining her disguise under American colors, the O'Higgins and Lautaro stood toward the batteries, narrowly escaping, going ashore in the fog. The Viceroy, having no doubt witnessed the capture of the gunboat had, however, provided for our reception, the garrison being at their guns and the crews of the ships of war at their quarters. Notwithstanding the great odds, I determined to persist in an attack, as our withdrawing without firing a shot should produce an effect upon the minds of the Spaniards, the reverse of that intended. I had sufficient experience in war to know that moral effect, even if the result of a degree of temerity, will not unfrequently supply the place of superior force. The wind-falling light I did not venture on laying the flagship and the Lautaro alongside the Spanish frigates, as I at first intended, but anchored with springs on our cables abreast of the shipping, which was arranged in a half moon of two lines, the rear rank being judiciously disposed, so as to cover the intervals of the ships in the front line. A dead calm succeeded, and we were for two hours exposed to a heavy fire from the batteries, in addition to that from the two frigates, the Briggs, Pesuela and Maipú, and seven or eight gunboats. Nevertheless, the northern angle of one of the principal forts was silenced by our fire. As soon as a breeze sprang up, we weighed anchor, standing to and fro, in front of the batteries, and returning their fire, until Captain Gays, who commanded the Lautaro, being severely wounded, that ship sheared off and never again came within range. As, from want of wind or doubt of the result, neither the San Martin, nor the Chabuco, had ever got within fire, the flagship was thus left alone, and I was reluctantly compelled to relinquish the attack. I withdrew to the island of San Lorenzo, about three miles distant from the forts, the Spaniards, though nearly quadruple-owned numbers exclusive of their gunboats, not venturing to followers. The action having been commenced in a fog, the Spaniards imagined that all the Chilean vessels were engaged. They were not a little surprised, as it again cleared, to find that their own frigate, the quantum Maria Isabella, was almost their only opponent. So much were they dispirited by this discovery, that as soon as possible after the close of the contest their ships of war were dismantled, the top masts and spas being formed into a double boom across the anchorage, so as to prevent approach. The Spaniards were also previously unaware of my being in command of the Chilean squadron. Unbecoming acquainted with this fact, they bestowed upon me the not very complimentary title of El Diablo, by which I was afterwards known amongst them." Two hundred and forty years before, almost to a day, Sir Francis Drake, whom of all English seamen Lord Copperon most resembled in chivalrous daring, and in chivalrous hatred of oppression, had secretly led his little golden hind into the harbour of Calau, and there to spoil the Spanish fleet of seventeen vessels, for which, and for his other brave achievements, he won the nickname of El Dracón. Drake the Dragon and Cochrane the Devil were kinsmen in noble hatred and noble punishment of Spanish wrongdoing. Retiring to San Lorenzo after the fight in Calau Bay on the 28th of February, Lord Cochrane occupied the island and from it blockaded Calau for five weeks. On the island he found 37 Chilean soldiers whom the Spaniards had made prisoners eight years before. The unhappy men, he said, had ever since been forced to work in chains under the supervision of the military guard, now prisoners in turn, their sleeping place during the whole of this period being a filthy shed in which they were every night chained by one leg to an iron bar. Yet worse, as he was informed by the poor fellows whom he freed from their misery, was the condition of some Chilean officers and seamen imprisoned in Lima and so cruelly chained that their fetters had worn bare their ankles to the bone. He accordingly, under a flag of truce, sent to the Spanish viceroy Don Joaquim de la Pazuela, offering to exchange for these Chilean prisoners a larger number of Spaniards captured by himself and others. This proposal was bluntly refused by the viceroy who took occasion in his letter to avow his surprise that a British nobleman should come to fight for a rebel community unacknowledged by all the powers of the globe. Lord Cochrane replied that, quote, a British nobleman was a free man and therefore had a right to assist any country which was endeavouring to re-establish the rights of aggrieved humanity. I have, he added, adopted the cause of Chile with the same freedom of judgment that I previously exercised when refusing the offer of an admiral's rank in Spain made to me not long ago by the Spanish ambassador in London, end quote, except in blockading Calo and repairing his ships little was done by Lord Cochrane during his stay at San Lorenzo. On the 1st of March he went into the harbour again and opened a destructive fire upon the Spanish gunboats but as they soon sought shelter under the batteries which the O'Higgins and the Latouro were not strong enough to oppose, the demonstration did not last long. Unsuccessful also was an attempt made upon the batteries with the aid of an explosion vessel on the 22nd of March. The explosion vessel, when just within musket range, was struck by a round shot and found it, thus spoiling the intended enterprise but other plans fare better. At the beginning of April Lord Cochrane left San Lorenzo and proceeded to a few leagues north of Calo. Its inhabitants were for the most part in sympathy with the Republican cause and the Spanish garrison flared at almost the first gunshot, leaving a large quantity of government property and specky in the hands of the assailants. Much other treasure, which proved very serviceable to the impoverished Chilean exchequer, was captured by the little fleet during a two-month cruise about the coast of Peru both north and south of Calo. Everywhere too the Spanish cause was weakened and the natives were encouraged to share in the great work of South American rebellion against a tyranny of three centuries duration. Quote, it was my object, said Lord Cochrane, to make friends of the Peruvian people by adopting towards them a conciliatory course and by strict care that none but Spanish property should be taken. Confidence was thus inspired and the universal dissatisfaction with Spanish rules speedily became changed into an earnest desire to be freed from it. End quote. Having cruised around the Peruvian coast during April and May Lord Cochrane returned to Valpariso on the 16th of June. But the objects of the first expedition, he said, had been accomplished, namely to reconnoiter with a view to future operations when the squadron should be rendered efficient, but more especially to ascertain the inclinations of the Peruvians, a point of the first importance to Chile, as being obliged to be constantly on the alert for her own newly acquired liberties so long as the Spaniards were in undisturbed possession of Peru. To the accomplishment of these objects had been super-added the restriction of the Spanish naval force to the shelter of the forts, the defeat of their military forces wherever encountered, and the capture of no inconsiderable amount of treasure. End quote. That was work enough to be done by four small ships, ill-maned and ill-provisioned, during a five months absence from Valpariso, and the Chileans were not ungrateful. Their gratitude, however, was not strong enough to make them zealous cooperators in his schemes for their benefit. Lord Cochrane was eager to start upon another expedition in which he hoped for yet greater success, but for this were needed preparations, which the poverty and mismanagement of the Chilean government made almost impossible. He asked for a thousand troops with which to facilitate a second attack on Kallau. This force, certainly not a large one, was promised, but when he was about to embark only ninety soldiers were ready, and even then a private subscription had to be raised for giving them decent clothing instead of the rags in which they appeared. For the assault on Kallau also, an ample supply of rockets was required. An engineer named Goldsack had gone from England to construct them, and that there might be no stinting in the work Lord Cochrane offered to surrender all his share of prize money. The offer was refused, but to save money their manufacturer was a scientist and Spanish prisoners who showed their patriotism in making them so badly that when tried they were found utterly worthless. There were other instances of false economy whereby Lord Cochrane's intended services to his Chilean employers were seriously hindered. The vessels were refitted, however, and a new one, an American-built corvette named the independencia of twenty-eight guns, was added to the number. After nearly three months' stay at Valparaiso, Higan set sail on the 12th of September, 1819. Admiral Blanco was his second in command and his squadron consisted of the Ohiggins, the San Martin, the Latoro, the independencia, the Galvarino, the Aracano, and the Poiradon, mounting 220 guns in all. There were also two old vessels to be used as fire ships. The fleet entered Kallau roads on the 29th of September. On this occasion there was no sub-diffuge. On the 30th Lord Cochrane dispatched a boat to Kallau with a flag of truce and a challenge to the viceroy to send out his ships, nearly twice as strong as those of Chilean guns and men, for a fair fight in the open sea. The challenge was bluntly rejected and an attack on the batteries and the ships in harbour was then planned. On the 1st of October the smaller vessels reconoided the bay and there was some fighting in which the Aracano was damaged. Throughout the night of the 2nd, a formidable attack was attempted in which the main reliance was placed in the gold sack rockets. But in consequence of the treacherous handling of the Spanish soldiers who had filled them, they proved worse than useless, doing nearly as much injury to the men who fired them as to the enemy. Only one gunboat was sunk by the shells from a raft commanded by Major Miller who also did some damage to the forts in shipping. On the night of the 4th Lord Cochrane amused himself while a fire ship was being prepared by causing a burning tire barrel to be drifted with the tide towards the enemy's shipping. It was, in the darkness, supposed to be a much more formidable antagonist and volleys of Spanish shot were spent upon it. On the following evening, a fire ship was dispatched, but this also was a failure. A sudden calm prevented her progress. She was riddled through and through by the enemy's guns and rapidly gaining water in consequence had be fired so much too soon that she exploded before getting near enough to work any serious mischief among the Spanish shipping. By these misfortunes, Lord Cochrane was altogether disheartened. The rockets on which he had chiefly relied, who proved worthless, and one fire ship having been wasted, he did not care to risk the loss of the other. He found two that the Spaniards, profiting by the warning which he had previously given, had so strengthened their booms that it was quite impossible, with the small force at his command, to get at them or to reach the port. His store of provisions also was nearly exhausted, and the first supply promised from Chile had not arrived. He therefore, reluctantly, for the time, abandoned his project of taking Calau. He continued to watch the port for a few weeks, however, hoping for some chance opportunity of injuring it, and in the interval sent 350 soldiers and marines under Lieutenant Colonel Charles and Major Miller in the La Torre, the Galvarino and the remaining fire ship commanded by Captain Geese to attack Piscot and procure from it and the neighbourhood the requisite provisions. This was satisfactorily done, but the sickness of many of his men caused his further detention at Santa, with the he had gone from Calau. On the 12th of November, the sick was sent to Valpariso in the charge of the San Martin, the Independencia, and the Aracano, with the remaining ships, the O'Higgins, the La Torre, Galvarino and the Puerradon. Lord Cochrane proceeded to the mouth of the river Guayaquil. There on the 28th of the month he captured two large Spanish vessels, one of 20 and the other of 16 guns, laden with timber, and took possession of the village of Puna. At Guayaquil, there was another delay of a fortnight owing to a mutiny attempted by Captains Geese and Spry, whose treacherous disposition has already been mentioned. Not till the middle of December was he able to escape from the troubles brought upon him by others and returned to work worthy of his great name and character. Then however, sending one of his ships with the prizes, to Valpariso and leaving two others to watch the Peruvian coast, he started with only his flagship upon an Enterprise's brilliant in conception and execution as any in his whole eventful history. Quote, The Chilean people, he said, expected impossibilities and I had for some time been revolving in my mind a plan to achieve one which should gratify them and allay my own wounded feelings. I had now only one ship so that there were no other inclinations to consult and I felt quite sure of Major Miller's concurrence where there was any fighting to be done. My design was, with the flagship alone to capture, by coup de main, the numerous forts and garrison of Valdivia, a fortress previously deemed impregnable and thus to counteract the disappointment which would ensue in Chile from our want of success at Calau. The Enterprise was a desperate one, nevertheless I was not about to do anything desperate. Having resolved that unless I was fully satisfied as to its practicability I would not attempt it. Rashness though often imputed to me forms no part of my composition. There is a rashness without calculation of consequences but with that calculation well founded it is no longer rashness and thus now that I was unfettered by people who did not second by operations as they ought to have done I made up my mind to take Valdivia if the attempt came within the scope of my calculation. End quote. Valdivia was the stronghold and centre of Spanish attack upon Chile from the south just as were Lima and Calau on the north. To reach it Lord Cochrane had to sell northwards along the coast of Peru and Chile to some distance below Vapurisa. This he did without loss of time to work out an excellent strategy which will be best understood from his own report of it. Quote. The first step, he said, clearly was to reconnoit Valdivia. The flagship arrived on the 18th of January 1820 under Spanish colours and made a signal for a pilot who, as the Spaniards mistook the O'Higgins for a ship of their own, promptly came off together with a complimentary retinue of an officer and four soldiers, all of whom were made prisoners as soon as they came on board. The pilot was ordered to take us into the channels leading to the forts. Whilst the officer and his men, knowing there was little chance of finding their way on shore again, thought it most conducive to their interests to supply all the information demanded, the result being increased confidence on my part as to the possibility of a successful attack. Among other information obtained was the expected arrival of the Spanish big Potrillo with money on board for the payment of the garrison. As we were busily employing ourselves in inspecting the channels, the officer commanding the garrison began to suspect that our object might not altogether be Pacific, a suspicion which was confirmed by the detention of his officer. Suddenly a heavy fire was opened upon us from the various forts to which we did not reply, but our reconnaissance being now complete withdrew beyond its reach. Two days we were occupied in reconnoitering. On the third day, the Potrillo, Hovins sight and she being also deceived by our Spanish colours was captured without a shot, $20,000 and some important dispatchers being found on board. That first business having been satisfactorily achieved, Lord Cochran proceeded to Concepcion there to ask and obtain from its Chilean governor, General Freir, a force of 250 soldiers under Major Bucheff, a French volunteer. In Talca, Hano Bay, moreover, he found a Chilean schooner, the Montezuma and a Brazilian brig, the Intrepido. He attached the former to his service and accepted the volunteer aid of the latter. With this augmented but still insignificant force, very defective in some important respects, he returned to Valdivia. Quote, The flagship, he said, had only two naval officers on board, one of these being under arrest for disobedience of orders whilst the other was incapable of performing the duty of the tenant. So I had to act as admiral captain and the tenant taking my turn in the watch or rather being constantly on watch as the only available officer was so incompetent. We sailed from Talca, Hano on the 25th of January, the narrative proceeds. When I communicated my intentions to the military officers who displayed great eagerness in the cause, alone questioning their success from motives of prudence, I'm explaining to them that if unexpected projects are energetically put in execution, they almost invariably succeed in spite of odds, they willingly entered into my plans. On the night of the 29th we were off the island of Queer Aquina in a dead calm. From excessive fatigue in the execution of subordinate duties I had laid down to rest leaving the ship in the charge of the lieutenant who took advantage of my absence to retire also, surrendering the watch to the care of a midshipman who fell asleep. Knowing her dangerous position I had left strict orders that I was to be called the mom debris spraying up but these orders were neglected. A sudden wind took the ship unawares and the midshipman in attempting to bring her round ran her upon the sharp edge of a rock where she laid beating suspended as it were upon her keel and had the swell increased she must inevitably have gone to pieces. We were 40 miles from the mainland the brig and schooner being both out of sight the first impulse both of officers and crew was to abandon the ship but as we had 600 men on board whilst not more than 150 could have entered the boats this would have been but a scramble for life pointing out to the men that those who escaped could only reach the coast of Aracau where they would meet nothing but torture and inevitable death at the hands of the Indians I with some difficulty got them to adopt the alternative of attempting to save the ship the first sounding gave five feet of water in the hold and the pumps were entirely out of order our carpenter who was one only by name was incompetent to repair them but having myself some skill in carpentry I took off my coat and by midnight got them into working order the water in the meanwhile gaining on us though the whole crew were engaged in bailing out with buckets to our great delight the leap did not increase upon which I got out the stream anchor and commenced heaving off the ship the officers clamoured first to ascertain the extent of the leak but this I expressly forbade as calculated to damp the energy of the men whilst as we now gained on the leak there was no doubt the ship would swim as far as Valdivia which was the chief point to be regarded the capture of the fortress being my object after which the ship might be repaired at Leisure as there was no lack of physical force on board she was at length floated but the powder magazine having been underwater the ammunition of every kind except a little upon the deck and in the cartouche boxes of the troops was rendered unserviceable though about this I cared little as it involved the necessity of using the bayonet in our anticipated attack and to facing this weapon the Spaniards had in every case evinced a rooted aversion the Higgins thus bravely saved from wreck were soon joined by the Intrepido and the Montezuma and these vessels being now most fit for action as many men as possible were transferred to them and the O'Higgins was ordered to stand out to sea only to be made use of in case of need the Montezuma became the flagship with her and her escort Lord Cochrane sailed into Valdivia harbour on the 2nd of February quote the fortifications of Valdivia he said are placed on both sides of the channel three quarters of a mile in width and command the entrance anchorage and river leading to the town crossing their fire in all directions so effectually that with proper caution on the part of the garrison no ship could enter without suffering severely while she would be equally exposed at anchor the principal forts on the western shore are placed in the following order El Ingles, San Carlos, Amargos, Churro Cumeo, Alto and Corral Castle those on the eastern side are Nubella directly opposite Amargos and Piojo whilst on the island of Manzanera is a strong fort mounted with guns of large caliber commanding the whole range of the entrance channel these forts and a few others 15 in all would render the place in the hands of skilful garrison almost impregnable the shores of which they stand being inaccessible by reason of the surf with the exception of a small landing place at Fort Ingles it was to this landing place that we first directed our attention anchoring the brig and schooner off the guns of Fort Ingles on the afternoon of February the 3rd amidst a swell which rendered immediate disembarkation impracticable the troops were carefully kept below and to avert suspicion of the Spaniards we had trumped up a story of our having just arrived from Cadiz and being in want of a pilot they told us to send a boat for one to this we replied that our boats had been washed away in the passage run Cape Horn not being quite satisfied they began to assemble troops at the landing places firing alarm guns and rapidly bringing up the garrisons of the two western forts to Fort Ingles but not molesting us unfortunately for the credit of the story about the loss of the boats which were at the time carefully concealed under the lee of the vessels one drifted a stone so that our object became apparent and the guns of Fort Ingles under which we lay forthwith opened upon us the first shots passing through the sides of the intrepido and killing two men so it became necessary to land in spite of the swell we had only two launchers and a gig I directed the operation in the gig whilst Major Miller with 44 Marines pushed off in the first launch under the fire of the party that had the landing place onto which they soon leapt driving the Spaniards before them at the point of the bayonet the second launch then pushed off from the intrepido while the other was returning and in this way in less than an hour 300 men had made good their footing on shore the most difficult task the capture of the forts was to come the only way in which the first Fort Ingles could be approached was by a precipitous path along which men could only pass in single file the fort itself being inaccessible except by a ladder which the enemy after being routed by Major Miller had drawn up as soon as it was dark a picked party under the guidance of one of the Spanish prisoners silently advanced to the attack this party having taken up its position the main body moved forward cheering and firing in the air to intimate to the Spaniards that their chief reliance was on the bayonet the enemy meanwhile kept up an incessant fire of artillery and musketry in the direction of the shouts but without effect as no aim could be taken in the dark whilst the Patriots were thus noisily advancing Galant young officer Ensign Vidal got under the inland flank of the fort and with a few men contrived to tear up some palisades by which a bridge was made across the ditch in that way he and his small party entered and formed noiselessly under cover of some branches of trees while the garrison numbering about 800 soldiers were directing their whole attention in the opposite direction a volley from Vidal's party convinced the Spaniards that they had been taken in flank without waiting to ascertain the number of those who had outflanked them they instantly took flight filling with a like panic a column of 300 men drawn up behind the fort the Chileans who were now well up bayoneted them by dozens as they attempted to gain the forts and when the forts were open to receive them the Patriots entered at the same time and thus drove them from fort to fort into the castle of Corral together with 200 more who had abandoned some guns advantageously placed on a height at Fort Chora Comeo the Corral was stormed with equal rapidity a number of the enemy escaping in votes to Valdivia others plunging into the forest upwards of a hundred fell into our hands and on the following morning the like number were found to have been bayoneted our loss were seven men killed and nineteen wounded on the fifth the Intrepido and Montezuma which had been left near Fort Inglés entered the harbour being fired at in their passage by Fort Nibla on the eastern shore on their coming to an anchor at the Corral 200 men were again embarked to attack Fort Nibla Cabanero and Piojo Yeohiggans also appeared in sight off the mouth of the harbour the Spaniards thereupon summarily abandoned the forts on the eastern side no doubt judging that as the western forts had been captured without the aid of the frigate they had now that she had arrived no chance of successfully defending them on the sixth the troops were again embarked to pursue the flying garrison up the river when we received a flag of truce informing us that the enemy had abandoned the town after plundering the private houses and magazines and with the governor Colonel Montoya had fled in the direction of Cillo the bounty which fell into our hands exclusive of the value of the forts in public buildings was considerable Valdivia being the chief military depot in the southern side of the continent amongst the military stores were upwards of 50 tons of gunpowder 10,000 cannon shot 170,000 musket cartridges a large quantity of small arms 128 guns of which 53 were brass and the remainder iron the ship Delores afterwards sold at Valpariso for $20,000 with public stores sold for the like value and plate of which General Sanchez had previously stripped the churches of Concepcion valued at $16,000 those prices compensated over and over again for the loss of the intrepido which grounded in the channel and the injuries done to the O'Higgins on her way to Valdivia but the value of Lord Cochrane's capture of this stronghold was not to be counted in money by its daring conception and easy completion the Spaniards beside losing their great southern starting point for attacks on Chile and the other states that were fighting for their freedom lost heart to a great extent in their whole South American warfare they saw that their insurgent colonists had now found a champion too bold too cautious too honest and too prosperous for them any longer to hope that they could succeed in their efforts to win back the dependencies which were shaking off the thralldom of three centuries End of Chapter 7 Recording by Timothy Ferguson Gold Coast, Australia Chapter 8 of The Life of Thomas Lord Cochrane 10th Earl of Dundon, old volume 1 by Henry Richard Fox born this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Timothy Ferguson Chapter 8 Lord Cochrane returned to Valpariso on the 27th of February 1820 by General O'Higgins the supreme director and by the populace he was enthusiastically received but Zantino, the master of marine and other members of the government jealous of the fresh renown which he had won by his conquest of Valdivia showed their jealousy in various offensive ways in anticipation of his failure they had prepared an elaborate charge of insubordination in that he had not come back direct from Carlo now that he had triumphed they sought at first to have him reprimanded for attempting so hazardous an exploit and afterwards to rob him of his due on the ground that his achievement was insignificant and valueless when they were compelled by the voice of the people to declare publicly that the capture of Valdivia was the happy result of an admirably arranged plan and of the most daring execution end quote they refused to reward either to him or to his comrades any other recompense than was contained in the verbal complement and on his refusing to give up his prizes until the semen had been paid there are rears of wages he was threatened with prosecution for detention of the national property the threat was impotent as the people of Chile would not for a moment have permitted such an indignity to their champion but so irritating were this and other attempted persecutions to Lord Cochran that on the 14th of May he tended to the supreme director his resignation of service under the Chilean government that proposal was of course rejected but with the rejection came a promise of better treatment the semen were paid in July and the Valdivian prize money was nominally awarded Lord Cochran's share amounted to $67,000 and to this was added a grant of land at Rio Clara but the money was never paid and the estate was forcibly seized a few years afterwards other annoyances which need not here be detailed were offered to Lord Cochran and thus six months were wasted by Zentino and his associates in the Chilean senate quote the senate said Lord Cochran was an anomaly in state government it consisted of five members whose functions were to remain only during the first struggles of the country for independence but this body had now assumed a permanent right to dictatorial control whilst there was no appeal from their arbitrary conduct except to themselves they aggregated the title of most excellent whilst the supreme director was simply his excellency his position though nominally the head of the executive being really that of a mouthpiece to the senate which assuming all power deprived the executive government of its legitimate influence so that no armament could be equipped no public work undertaken no troops raised and no taxes levied except by the consent of this irresponsible body for such a clique the plain simple good sense of the supreme director was no match he was led to believe that a crooked policy was a necessary evil of government and as such a policy was adverse to his own nature he was more easily induced to surrender its administration to others who were free from his conscientious principles end quote those sentences explain the treatment to which now and afterwards Lord Cochran was subjected he was allowed however to do further excellent service to the nation which had already begun to reward him with nothing but ingratitude as soon as the Chilean government could turn from its spiteful exercise to its proper duty of consolidating the independence of the insurgents from Spanish dominion it was resolved to dispatch a stronger force as could be raised for another and more formidable expedition to Peru whereby at the same time the Peruvians should be freed from tyranny by which they were still oppressed and the Chileans should be rid of the constant danger that they incurred from the presence of a Spanish army in Lima Calo and other garrisons ready to bear down upon them again and again as it had often done before in 1819 Lord Cochran had vainly asked for a suitable land force with which to aid his attack upon Calo it was now resolved to organize a liberating army after the fashion of that with which Bolivar had notably scoured the northern districts of South America and to place it under the direction of General San Martín in cooperation with whom Lord Cochran was to pursue his work as chief admiral of the fleet San Martín had fought worthily in La Planta and had earned the gratitude of the Chileans by winning back their freedom in conjunction with O'Higgins in 1817 Vanity and ambition however had since unhinged him and he now proved himself a champion of liberty very inferior both in prowess and honesty to Bolivar his army numbering 4,200 men was collected by the 21st of August and on that day it was embarked at Valpariso in the whole of the Chilean squadron Lord Cochran proposed to go once to Chilca the nearest point both to Lima and to Calo San Martín however decided upon Pisco as a safer landing place and there the troops were deposited on the 8th of September for 50 days they were detained there and the fleet was forced to share their idleness capturing only a few passing merchantmen on the 28th of October they were re-embarked and Lord Cochran again urged a vigorous attack on the capital and its port again he was thwarted by San Martín who requested to be landed at Ancon considerably to the north of Calo and as unsuitable a halting place as was the southerly town of Pisco Lord Cochran had to comply but he bethought him of a plan for achieving a great work in spite of San Martín sending the main body of the fleet to Ancon with the troops on the 20th he retained the O'Higgins the Independencia and the Lotoro with the professed object of merely blockading Calo at a safe distance quote the fact was he said that annoyed in common with the whole expedition at this irresolution on the part of General San Martín I determined that the means of Chile furnished with great difficulty should not be wholly wasted without some attempt at accomplishing the object of the expedition I accordingly formed a plan of attack with the three ships which I'd kept back though being apprehensive that my design would be opposed by General San Martín I had not even mentioned to him my intentions this design was to cut out the Esmeralda frigate from under the fortifications and also to get possession of another ship on board of which we had learned that a million of dollars was embarked in quote the plan was certainly bold one the Esmeralda of 44 guns was the finest Spanish ship in the Pacific Ocean now especially well armed and manned in readiness for any work that had to be done she was lying in Calo Harbour protected by 300 pieces of artillery on shore and by a strong boom with chain moorings by 27 gunboats and several armed block ships these considerations however only induced Lord Cochran to proceed cautiously upon his enterprise three days were spent in preparations the purpose of which was known only to himself and his chief officers on the afternoon of the 5th of November he issued this proclamation quote Marines and Seaman this night we shall give the enemy a mortal blow tomorrow you will present yourself proudly before Calo and all your comrades will envy your good fortune one hour of courage and resolution is all that is required for you to triumph remember that you have conquered in Valdivia and have no fear of those who have hitherto fled from you the value of all the vessels captured in Calo will be yours and the same reward will be distributed amongst you as has been offered by the Spaniards in Lima to those who should capture any Chilean squadron the moment of glory is approaching I hope that the Chileans will fight as they have been accustomed to do and that the English will act as they have ever done at home and abroad in quote a request was made for volunteers in the whole body of Seaman and Mariners on board the three ships offered to follow Lord Cochran wherever he might lead this was more than he wanted quote 160 Seaman and 80 Marines said Lord Cochran his own narrative of the sequel will best describe it were placed after dark in 14 boats alongside the flagship each man armed with cutlass and pistol being for distinctions safe dressed in whites with a blue band on the left arm the Spaniards are expected would be off their guard and consider themselves safe from attack for that night since by way of ruse the other ships had been sent out of the bay under the charge of Captain Foster as though in the pursuit of some vessels in the offing at 10 o'clock or was in readiness the boats being formed in two divisions the first commanded by flag Captain Crosby and the second by Captain Greese my boat leading the strictest silence and exclusive use of cutlasses were enjoined so that as the oars were muffled and the night was dark the enemy had not the least suspicion of the impending attack it was just upon midnight when we neared the small opening left in the boom our plan being well knife frustrated by the vigilance of a guard boat upon which my launch had unluckily stumbled the challenge was given upon which in an undertone I threatened the occupants of the boat with instant death if they made the least alarm no reply was made to the threat and in a few minutes our gallant fellows were alongside the frigate in line boarding at several points simultaneously the Spaniards were completely taken by surprise the whole with the exception of the sentries being asleep at their quarters and great was the havoc made amongst them by the Chilean cutlasses whilst they were recovering themselves retreating to the folksil they there made a gallant stand and it was not until the third charge that the position was carried the fight was for a short time renewed on the quarter deck where the Spanish marines fell to a man the rest of the enemy leaping overboard and into the hold to escape slaughter on boarding the ship by the main chains I was knocked back by the sentries musket and falling on the thulpin of the boat it entered my back near the spine inflicting a severe injury which caused me many years of subsequent suffering immediately regaining my footing I reassented the side and when on deck was shot through the thigh but binding a handkerchief tightly around the wound I managed though with great difficulty to direct the contest to its close the whole affair from beginning to end occupied only a quarter of an hour our loss being eleven killed and thirty wounded whilst that of the Spaniards was a hundred and sixty many of whom fell under the cutlasses of the Chileans before they could stand to their arms greater bravery I never saw displayed than by our Gallant Fellows before boarding the duties of all had been appointed and a party was told off to take possession of the tops we had not been on deck a minute when I hailed the foretop and was instantly answered by our own men and equally prompt answer being returned from the frigates main top no British Manowars crew could have excelled this minute attention to orders the uproar speedily alarmed the garrison who hastening to their guns opened fire on their own frigate thus paying us the compliment of having taken it though even in this case their own men must still have been on board so that firing on them was a wanton proceeding several Spaniards were killed or wounded by the shot of the fortress amongst the wounded was Captain Coyg the commander of the Esmeralda who after he was made prisoner received a severe contusion by shot from his own party the fire from the fortress was however neutralized by a success for the expedient there were two foreign ships were present during the contest the United States frigate Macedonian and the British frigate Hyperion and these as had previously been agreed upon with the Spanish authorities in case of a night attack hoisted peculiar lights as signals to prevent being fired upon this contingency being provided for by us as soon as the fortress commenced fire on the Esmeralda we also ran up similar lights so that the garrison did not know which vessel to fire at the Hyperion and Macedonian were several times struck while the Esmeralda was comparatively untouched upon this the neutral vessels cut their cables and moved away contrary to my orders Captain Gruz then cut the Esmeralda's cables also so that there was nothing to be done but to lose her top sails and follow the fortress there upon ceased its fire I had distinctly ordered that the cables of the Esmeralda were not to be cut but that after taking her the force was to capture the May Pew a Brig of War previously taken from Chile and then to attack and cut adrift every ship near there being plenty of time before us I had no doubt that when the Esmeralda was taken the Spanish would desert the other ships as fast as their boats would permit them so that the hull might have been either captured or burnt to this end all my previous plans had been arranged but on my being placed horde combat by my wounds Captain Gruz on whom the command of the prize devolved chose to interpose his own judgment and content himself with the Esmeralda alone the reason assigned being that the English had broken into her spirit room and were getting drunk whilst the Chileans were disorganized by plundering it was a great mistake if we could capture the Esmeralda with her picked and well appointed crew there would have been little or no difficulty in cutting the other ships adrift in succession it would only have been the route of Valdivia over again chasing the enemy without us from ship to ship instead of from fort to fort end quote Lord Cochran's exploit however though less complete than he had intended was as successful in its issue as it was brilliant in its achievement this loss of the Esmeralda wrote Captain Basil Hall then commanding a British warship in South American waters was a death blow to the Spanish naval force in that quarter of the world for although there were still two Spanish frigates in some smaller vessels in the pacific they never afterwards ventured to show themselves but left Lord Cochran undisputed master of the coast end quote the speedy liberation of Peru was its direct consequence although that good work was seriously impaired by the continued and increasing this conduct of General San Martin inducing troubles of which Lord Cochran received his full share in the first burst of his enthusiasm at the intelligence of Lord Cochran's action San Martin was generous for once quote the importance of the service you have rendered to my country my lord he wrote on the 10th of November by the capture of the frigate Esmeralda in the brilliant manner in which you conducted the gallant officers and seamen under your orders to accomplish that noble enterprise have augmented the gratitude due to your former services by the government as well as that of all interested in the public welfare and in your fame all those who participated in the risks and glory of the deed also deserve well of their countrymen and I had the satisfaction to be the medium of transmitting the sentiments of admiration which such transcendent success has excited in the chiefs of the army under my command end quote new quote begins it is impossible for me to eulogize in proper language he also wrote to the Chilean administration the daring enterprise of the fifth of November by which Lord Cochran has decided the superiority of our naval forces augmented the splendor and power of Chile and secured the success of this campaign end quote a few days later however San Martin wrote in very different terms quote before the general in chief left the vice admiral of the squadron he said in a bulletin to the army they agreed on the execution of a memorable project sufficient to astonish intrepidity itself and to make the history of the liberating expedition of Peru eternal this glory he added was reserved for the liberating army whose efforts have snatched the victims of tyranny from its hands end quote thus impudently did he irrigate to himself a share at any rate in the initiation of a project which Lord Cochran knowing that he would oppose it had purposely kept secret from him and assign the whole merit of its completion to the army which his vacillation and incompetence were holding in unwelcome in activity Lord Cochran was too much accustomed to personal injustice however to be very greatly troubled by that fresh indignity it was a far heavier trouble to him that his first triumph was not allowed to be supplemented by prompt completion of the work on which and not on any personal grandisement his heart was set the establishment of Peruvian as well as Chilean freedom San Martin having done nothing hitherto but allow his army to waste its strength and squander its resources first at Pisco and afterwards at Ancon now fixed Juancha as another loitering place though Lord Cochran had to convey it before he was permitted to resume the blockade of Calo this blockade lasted though not all the while under his personal direction for eight months quote several attempts were now made said Lord Cochran with reference to the first few weeks of the blockade to entice the remaining Spanish naval force from their shelter under the batteries by placing the Esmeralda apparently within reach and the flagship herself in situations of some danger one day I carried her through an intricate strait called the Boc Cuaron in which nothing beyond a 50 ton schooner was ever seen the Spaniards expecting every moment to see the ship strike manned their gunboats ready to attack as soon as she was aground of which there was little danger for we had found and buoyed off with small bits of wood invisible to the enemy a channel through which a vessel could pass without much difficulty at another time the Esmeralda being in a more than unusually tempting position the Spanish gunboats ventured out in the hope of recapturing her and for an hour maintained a smart fire but on seeing their higgins maneuvering to cut them off they precipitately retreated end quote in ways like those the Spaniards were locked in and harassed in Calo Bay good results came in the steady weakening of the Spanish cause on the 3rd of December 650 soldiers deserted to the Chilean army on the 8th they were followed by 40 officers and after that hardly a day passed without some important defections to the Patriot force unfortunately however there was weakness also among the Patriots San Martín idle himself determined to profit by the advantages direct and indirect which Lord Cochrane's prowess had secured and was securing it began to be no secret as soon as Peru was freed from the Spanish Shoke he proposed to subject it to a military despotism of his own this being resented by Lord Cochrane who on other grounds could have little sympathy or respect for his associate coolness arose between the leaders Lord Cochrane anxious to do some important work if only a few troops might be allowed to cooperate with his sailors was forced to share some of San Martín's inactivity in March 1821 he offered if 2000 soldiers were assigned to him to capture Lima and when this offer was rejected he declared himself willing to undertake the work with half the number of men with difficulty he at last obtained a force of 600 and by them and the fleet nearly all the subsequent fighting in Peru was done Lord Cochrane did not venture upon a direct assault on the capital with so small an army but he used it vigorously from point to point on the coast between Calo and Arica and thus compelled the capitulation of Lima on the 6th of July again as here to four he was thanked in the first moment of triumph to be slighted at leisure Lord Cochrane on entering the city was welcomed as the great deliverer of Peru the medals distributed on the 28th of July the day on which Peru's independence was proclaimed testified that honor was due to General San Martín and his liberating army that however was only part of a policy long before devised quote it is now became evident to me said Lord Cochrane that the army had been kept inert for the purpose of preserving it entire to further the ambitious views of the general and that with the whole force now in Lima the inhabitants were completely at the mercy of their pretended liberator but in reality they're conqueror in quote with that policy however much he reprobated it Lord Cochrane wisely judged that it was not for him to quarrel quote as the existence of this self constituted authority he said was no less at variance with the institutions of the Chilean Republic than with its solemn promises to the Peruvians I hoisted my flag on board the O'Higgins determined to adhere solely to the interests of Chile but not interfering in any way with General San Martín's proceedings till they interfered with me in my capacity as commander-in-chief of the Chilean Navy in quote he was not therefore in Lima on the 3rd of August when San Martín issued a proclamation declaring himself protector of Peru and appointing three of his creatures as ministers of state of the way in which he became acquainted of this violent and lullous measure a precise description has been given by an eyewitness Mr. W. B. Stevenson quote on the following morning, the 4th of August, he says Lord Cochrane, uninformed of the change which had taken place in the title of San Martín visited the palace and began to beg the general-in-chief to propose some means for the payment of the seaman who had served the time and fulfilled their contract to this San Martín offered that he would never pay the Chilean squadron unless it was sold to Peru and then the payment should be considered part of the purchase money Lord Cochrane replied that by such a transaction the squadron of Chile would be transferred to Peru by merely paying what was due to the officers and crews for services down to that state San Martín near his brows and turning to his ministers Garcia and Montaguido ordered them to retire to which his lordship objected stating that as he was not master of the Spanish language he wished them to remain as interpreters as being fearful that some expression not rightly understood might be considered offensive San Martín now turned round to the admiral and said Are you aware, my lord, that I am protector of Peru? No, said his lordship I ordered my secretaries to inform you of it returned San Martín That is now unnecessary for you have personally informed me, said his lordship I hope that the friendship which has existed between General San Martín and myself will continue to exist between the protector of Peru and myself San Martín then rubbing his hand said I have only to say that I am protector of Peru The manner in which this last sentence was expressed roused the admiral who advancing said Then it becomes me a senior officer of Chile and consequently representative of the nation to request the fulfillment of all promises made to Chile and the squadron but first and principally the squadron San Martín returned Chile, Chile I will never pay a single real to Chile As to the squadron you may take it where you please and go where you choose A couple of schooners are quite enough for me On hearing this, Garcia left the room and Montagueiro walked to the balcony San Martín paced the room for a short time and turning to his lordship said Forget my lord, what is past The admiral replied, I will when I can and immediately left the palace In quote, readers note, new quote begins One thing has been omitted in the preceding narrative says lord Cochrane General San Martín, following me to the staircase had the temerity to propose to me to follow his example namely to break faith with the Chilean government to which we had both sworn to abandon the squadron to his interests and to accept the higher grade of first admiral of Peru I need scarcely say that our proposition so dishonorable was declined when, in a tone of irritation he declared that he would neither give the seam in their arrears of pay nor the gratuity he had promised End quote Lord Cochrane lost no time in returning to his flagship in Calo Roads thence however on the 7th of August he wrote a letter to San Martín couched in terms as temperate and persuasive as he could bring himself to use quote My dear general, he there said I address you for the last time under your late designation being aware that the liberty I may take as a friend might not be deemed decorous to you under the title of protector For I shall not, with a gentleman of your understanding take into account as a motive for abstaining to speak the truth any chance of your resentment Nay, where I certain that such would be the effect of this letter I would nevertheless perform such an act of friendship in repayment of the support you gave me at the time when the basest plots were laid for my dismissal from the Chilean service permit me to give you the experience of 11 years during which I sat in the first senate in the world and to say what I anticipate on the one hand and what I fear on the other nay what I foresee You have it in your power to be the Napoleon of South America but you have also the power to choose your course and if the first steps are false the eminence on which you stand will as though from the brink of a precipice make your fall the more heavy and the more certain the real strength of government is public opinion what would the world say were the protector of Peru as his first act to cancel the bonds of St. Martin even though gratitude may be a private and not a public virtue what would they say were the protector to refuse to pay the expense of that expedition which placed him in his present elevated situation what would they say were promulgated to the world that he intended not even to remunerate those employed in the navy which had contributed to his success much more to the same effect Lord Cochrane wrote urging honesty upon St. Martin as the only path by which he could win for himself a permanent success and making a special claim upon his honesty in the interests of the seamen and naval officers to whom neither paying nor prize money had been given since their departure from Chile nearly a year before it was all in vain St. Martin wrote on the 9th of August a letter making professions of virtue and acknowledging much personal indebtedness to Lord Cochrane and the fleet but evading the whole question at issue I am disposed he said to recompense valour displayed in the cause of the country but you know my lord that the wages of the crews do not come under these circumstances and that I never having engaged to pay the amount am not obliged to do so that debt is due from Chile whose government engaged the seamen in quote Lord Cochrane knew that Chile would decline to pay for work that if intended to be done in its interests had been perverted from that intention and his crews also knowing it became reasonably mutinous after much further correspondence in which St. Martin suggested as his only remedy that Lord Cochrane should accept the dishonorable proposal made to him and becoming himself first Admiral of Peru should induce the fleet to join in the same rebellion against Chile to which the army had been brought by its general and in which captain's geese and spry always evil minded had already joined Lord Cochrane adopted a bold but altogether justifiable manoeuvre a large quantity of treasure seized from the Spaniards having been deposited by St. Martin at Ancon he sailed with her in the middle of September and quietly took possession of it so much as lawful owners could be found for was given up with the residue amounting to two hundred and eighty five thousand dollars Lord Cochrane paid off the years a rears to every officer a man in his employ taking nothing for himself but reserving the small surplus for the pressing exigencies and a re-equipment of the squadron it is unnecessary to detail the angry correspondence that arose out of that rough act of justice before the money was distributed churchers offers to restore it and enter into rebellious league with St. Martin were made to Lord Cochrane and with these were alternated mock virtuous complaints and bombastic threats both bribes and threats were treated by him with equal contempt quote after a lapse of nearly 40 years anxious consideration he wrote in 1858 I cannot reproach myself with having done anything wrong in the seizure of the money of the protectoral government General St. Martin and myself had been in our respective departments deputed to liberate Peru from Spain and to give to the Peruvians the same free institutions which Chile herself enjoyed the first part of our object had been fully affected by the achievements and vigilance of the squadron the second part was frustrated by General St. Martin aggregating to himself despotic power which set at naught the wishes and voice of the people as my fortune in common with his own was only to be secured by acquiescing in the wrong he had done to Chile by casting off his allegiance to her and by upholding him in the still greater wrong he was inflicting on Peru I did not choose to sacrifice myself esteem and professional character by lending myself as an instrument to purposes so unworthy I did all in my power to warn General St. Martin of the consequences of ambition so ill directed but the warning was neglected if not despised Chile trusted him to defray the expenses of the squadron when its objects as laid down by the supreme director should be accomplished but in place of fulfilling the obligation he permitted the squadron to starve its crews to go in rags and the ships to be in perpetual danger for want of the proper equipment which Chile could not afford to give them when they sailed from Valpariso the pretense for this neglect was want of means though at the same time money to a vast amount were sent away from the capital Ancon seeing that no intention existed on the part of the protectors government to do justice to the Chilean squadron whilst every effort was made to excite discontent among the officers and men with the purpose of procuring their transfer to Peru I seized the public money satisfied the men and saved the navy to the Chilean Republic which afterwards warmly thanked me for what I had done despite the obliquely cast upon me by the protectors government there was nothing wrong in the course I pursued if only for the reason that if the Chilean squadron was to be preserved it was impossible for me to have done otherwise years of reflection have only produced the conviction that were I again placed in similar circumstances I should adopt precisely the same course in spite of his treachery to the Chilean government General San Martin professed to retain his functions as commander-in-chief of the Chilean liberating expedition to Peru and accordingly when he found it useless to make further efforts by bribes or threats to seduce Lord Cochrane from his allegiance he ordered him to return at once to Valpariso this order Lord Cochrane refused to obey seeing that the work entrusted to him the entire destruction of the Spanish squadron in the Pacific had not yet been completed he determined to complete that work first going to Gayaquil to repair and refit his ships which San Martin would not allow him to do in any Peruvian port he was thus employed during six weeks following the 18th of October 1821 on his departure a complimentary address from the townsmen afforded him an opportunity of offering some good advice on a matter in which his long and intelligent political experience showed him that they were especially at fault the inhabitants of Gayaquil like many other young communities sought to increase their revenues and strengthen their independence by violent restrictions upon foreign commerce and arbitrary support of native monopolists Lord Cochrane eloquently propounded to them the doctrine of free trade quote let your public press he said declare the consequences of monopoly and affix your names to the defense of your enlightened system let it show if your province contains 80,000 inhabitants and if 80 of those are privileged merchants according to the old system that 999 persons out of a thousand must suffer because their cotton coffee tobacco timber and other products must come into the hands of the monopolist as the only purchaser of what they have to sell and as the only seller of what they must necessarily buy the effect being that he will buy at the lowest possible rate and sell at the dearest so that not only are the 999 injured but the lands will remain waste the manufacturers without workmen and the people will be lazy and poor for want of a stimulus it being a law of nature that no man will labor solely for the gain of another tell the monopolist that the true method of acquiring general riches political power and even his own private advantages to sell these countries produce as high and foreign goods as low as possible and that public competition alone can accomplish this let foreign merchants who bring capital and those who practice any art or handicraft be permitted to settle freely thus competition will be formed from which all must reap advantage then will land and fix property increase in value the magazines instead of being receptacles of filth and crime will be full of the richest foreign and domestic productions and all will be energy and activity because the reward will be in proportion to the labor your river will be filled with ships and the monopolist degraded and shamed you will bless the day in which omnipotence permitted to be rent asunder the veil of obscurity under which the despotism of Spain the abominable tyranny of the inquisition and the want of liberty of the press so long hid the truth from your side let your customs duties be moderate in order to promote the greatest possible consumption of foreign and domestic goods then smuggling will cease and the returns to the treasury increase let every man do as he pleases as regards his own property views and interests because each individual will watch over his own with more zeal than senate's ministers or kings by your enlarged views set an example to the new world and thus as Gaia quill is from its situation the central republic it will become the center of the agriculture commerce and riches of the pacific end quote Lord Cochran left Gaia quill on the 3rd of December and cruised northwards in search of the Pruiba and Venganza the only two remaining Spanish frigates which had made their escape from Calo and gone in the direction of Mexico he sailed along the Colombian and Mexican coasts as far as Acapulco where he called on the 29th of January 1822 without finding the objects of his search he then learned on the 2nd of February from an incoming merchantman that the frigates had eluded him and were now somewhere to the southwards upon that he had once retraced his course and in spite of the storm which nearly wrecked his two best ships one of them the captured Esmeralda now rechristened the Valdivia was at Gaia quill again on the 13th of March there as he expected from information received on the passage he found the Venganza both the frigates had been compelled by wanted provisions to run the risk of halting at Gaia quill whether also an envoy from San Martín had arrived instructed to tempt the Gaia quillians into friendship with Peru and jealousy of Chile on the appearance of the Spanish frigates he had persuaded their captains as the only means of averting the certain ruin that Lord Cochran was planning for them quietly to surrender to the Peruvian government in this way Chile was cheated of its prizes although Lord Cochran's main object the entire overthrow of the Spanish worshipping in the Pacific was accomplished without further use of powder and shot the Prueba had been sent to Calo and the Venganza was now being refitted in Gaia quill Lord Cochran had now done all that it was possible for him to do in fulfillment of the naval mission on which he had quitted Chile a year and a half before proceeding southward he anchored in Calo roads from the 25th of April to the 10th of May San Martín's government fearing punishment for their misdeeds prepared to defend Calo Lord Cochran however wrote to say that he had no intention of making war upon the Peruvians that all he asked was adequate payment for the services rendered to them by his officers and seamen in the same letter he denounced the new treachery that had been shown with reference to the Venganza and Prueba the answer to that letter was a visit from San Martín's chief minister who begged Lord Cochran to recall it and impudently repeated the old office of service under the Peruvian government adding that San Martín had written a private letter to the same effect quote tell the protector from me said Lord Cochran that if after the conduct he has pursued he sent me a private letter it would most certainly have been returned unanswered you may also tell him that it is not my wish to injure him that I neither fear him nor hate him but that I disapprove of his conduct end quote Lord Cochran's brief stay off Calo sufficed to convince him that though the people of Peru were being for the time subjected to a tyranny almost equal to that practiced by Spain no one was likely to be long in fear of San Martín as his treacheries and his vices were already bringing upon him well-deserved disgrace and punishment to that purport Lord Cochran wrote to O'Higgins on the 2nd of May quote as the attached and sincere friend of your Excellency he said I hope you will take into a serious consideration the propriety of at once fixing the Chilean government on a base not to be shaken by the former the present tyranny in Peru of which there are not only indications but the result is inevitable unless indeed the mischievous councils of vain and mercenary men can suffice to prop up a fabric of the most barbarous political architecture serving as a screen from whence to dart their weapons against the heart of liberty thank god my hands are free from the stain of laboring in any such work and having finished all you gave me to do I may now rest till you shall command my further endeavors for the honor and security of my adopted land end quote end of chapter 8 chapter 9 of the life of Thomas Lord Cochran 10th Earl of Dunn Donald volume 1 by Henry Richard Fox born this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Timothy Ferguson 1822 to 1823 Lord Cochran returned to Valpariso on the 3rd of June 1822 having been absent more than 20 months an enthusiastic welcome awaited him medals were struck in his honor and in various ephemeral ways the public gratitude was expressed it was however only ephemeral there was no substantial recognition of his great services his men were left unpaid and he himself was subject to further indignities of the sort already described it is not necessary here to give any detailed account of them or to enter into a particular rehearsal of his efforts during the next six months to continue his beneficial services to Chile he had done the great service for which he had been invited to South America in the course of about three years he had scoured the Pacific of the Spanish ships which had offered an obstacle to serious for the Patriots to overcome by any force or wisdom of their own he had made it possible for them to assert their independence from a foreign yoke and if their patriotism had been genuine enough to work out internal reforms by which the sometime colonies of Spain in South America might have been able to vie in greatness with the sometime colonies of England in the northern continent the benefits which he conferred especially upon Chile were shared by all the liberated communities along the whole pacific coastline up to Mexico but all were like ungrateful except in fitful words and in sentiments that prompted to no action shortly after his return to Chile Lord Cochrane went to live upon the estates that had been conferred upon him soon however he was forced to go back to Valpariso there to look after the interests of the officers and crews who had served him and Chile during the previous fighting time his earnest arguments on their behalf were not heeded the poor fellows were left to starve and be perished by the cold of a South American winter against which the pitiful rags in which they were clothed afforded no protection and before long fresh incidents arose which made it impossible for him to persevere in fighting their battle general San Martin having run his course of Petitorini in Peru was soon forced to resign his protectorate and seek safety in Chile he reached Valpariso on the 12th of October and then Lord Cochrane who had long before seen good reason for suspecting it was convinced that Zenteno and many other influential men in Chile were in league with him he claimed that San Martin should have been tried by court martial for his treason known to all the world instead of that San Martin was loaded with honors and fresh indignities were heaped upon his chief accuser this monstrous action of the ministers led to a revolution which if Lord Cochrane had stayed to the end might have proved much to his advantage but the revolution headed by General Friere an honest man had for its object the overthrow of O'Higgins also an honest man though too weak to withstand the influences brought to bear upon him by the bad men by whom he was surrounded Lord Cochrane refused Friere's offers to join in opposition to O'Higgins always as far as his small powers permitted his good friend he preferred to abandon Chile or rather allow it to abandon one who were done for it so much and had received so little in return the difficulties he said in a dignified letter addressed to General O'Higgins still nominally the supreme director in which he virtually resigned his appointment as vice admiral of the republic the difficulties which I have experienced in accomplishing the naval enterprises successfully achieved during the period of my command as admiral of Chile have not been mastered without responsibility such as I would scarcely again undertake not because I would hesitate to make any personal sacrifice in a cause of so much interest but because even those favorable results have led to the total alienation of the sympathies of the emeritus officers whose cooperation was indispensable in consequence of the conduct of the government that which has made most impression on their minds has been not the privations they have suffered nor the withholding of their pay and other dues but the absence of any public acknowledgement by the government of the honors and distinctions promised for their fidelity and constancy to Chile especially at a time when no temptation was withheld that could induce them to abandon the cause of Chile for the service of the protector of Peru ever since that time though there was no want of means or knowledge of facts on the part of the Chilean government it has submitted itself to the influence of the agents of an individual whose power having ceased in Peru has been again resumed in Chile the effect of this on me is so keen that I cannot trust myself in words to express my personal feelings whatever I have recommended or asked for the good of the naval service has been scouted or denied though acquiescence would have placed Chile in the first rank of maritime states in this quarter of the globe my requisitions and suggestions were founded on the practice of the first naval service in the world that of England they have however met with no consideration as though their object had been directed to my own personal benefit until now I have never eaten the bread of idleness I cannot reconcile to my mind a state of inactivity which might even now impose upon the Chilean republic an annual pension for past services especially as an admiral of Peru is actually in command of a portion of the Chilean squadron whilst other vessels are sent to sea without the orders under which they act being communicated to me and a dispatch through the instrumentality of the governor of Valparizzo open bracket Zenito close bracket I mentioned these circumstances incidentally as having confirmed me in the resolution to withdraw myself from Chile for a time asking nothing for myself during my absence whilst as regards the sums owing to me I forebear to press for their payment till the government shall be more freed from its difficulties I have complied with all that my public duty demanded and if I have not been able to accomplish more the deficiency has arisen from circumstances beyond my control at any rate having the world still before me I hope to prove that it is not owing to me I have received proposals from Mexico from Brazil and from a European state but have not as yet accepted any of those offers nevertheless the habits of my life do not permit me to refuse my services to those laboring under oppression as Chile was before the annihilation of the Spanish force in the Pacific in this I am prepared to justify whatever course I may pursue in thus taking leave of Chile I do so with sentiments of deep regret that I have not suffered to be more useful to the cause of liberty and that I am compelled to separate myself from individuals with whom I had hoped to live for a long period without violating such sentiments of honour as were they broken would render me odious to myself and despicable in their eyes read his note letter ends that letter sufficiently explains the reasons which induced Lord Cochran to resign his Chilean command he had as he said received invitations to enter the service of Brazil of Mexico and of Greece the Mexican offer he declined at once as acceptance of it would involve little of the active work in fighting which if for a good cause was always attractive to him assistance of the Greeks who a year and a half before had begun to throw off their long servitude to Turkey and who were now fighting desperately for their freedom was an enterprise on which he would have gladly embarked but the invitation from Brazil was more pressing and he therefore conditionally accepted it the war in the Pacific he said on the 28th of November in answer to two letters written on behalf of the newly elected emperor of Brazil having been happily terminated by the total destruction of the Spanish naval force I am of course free for the crusade of liberty in any other quarter of the globe I confess however that I am not here to direct my attention to the Brazils considering that the struggle for the liberties of Greece the most oppressed of modern states afforded the fairest opportunity for enterprise and exertion I have today tended my ultimate resignation to the government of Chile and am not at this moment aware that any material delay will be necessary previous to my setting off by way of Cape Horn for Rio de Janeiro it being in the meantime understood that I hold myself free to decline as well as entitled to accept the offer which has through you been made to me by his imperial majesty I only mention this from a desire to preserve the consistency of character should the government which I by no means anticipate differ so widely in its nature from those which I have been in the habit of supporting as to render the proposed situation repugnant to my principles and so just they expose me to suspicion and render me unworthy the confidence of his majesty and the nation written out letter ends in accordance with the terms of that letter Lord Cochrane wrote as we have seen to the supreme director of Chile not completely resigning his employment but proposing to absent himself for an indefinite period his proposal was once accepted by the Chilean government to whom his honesty and popularity with the people made him particularly obnoxious he thereupon made prompt arrangements for his departure he quitted Valpariso on the 18th of January 1823 in a vessel chartered for his own use and that of several European officers and seamen who like him were tired of Chilean ingratitude and who begged to be employed under him wherever he might serve of the subsequent occurrences in the western states for which he had done so much and tried to do so much more than was permitted it is enough to say that Peru sadly abused by San Martin and almost one back to Spain was rescued by the valour and wisdom of Bolivar and that Chile destined to much future trouble through the bad action of its false patriots was temporarily benefited by the successful revolution which placed general Freire in the supreme directorship Lord Cochrane had not been absent three months before a new minister of marine wrote to inform him of Freire's accession and to solicit his return from this however he excused himself on the grounds that he had now entered into engagements with Brazil which he was bound to fulfill and that his past treatment by the Chilean government discouraged him from renewal of relations which had been so full of annoyance to him on my quitting Chile he said in his reply there was no looking to the past without regret nor to the future without despair for I had learned by experience what were the views and motives which guided the councils of the state believe me that nothing but a thorough conviction that it was impracticable to render the good people of Chile any further service under existing circumstances or to live in tranquility under such a system could have induced me to remove myself from a country which I had vainly hoped would have afforded me that tranquil asylum which after the anxieties I had suffered I felt needful to my repose my inclinations too were decidedly in favour of a residence in Chile from a feeling of the congeniality which subsisted between my own habits and the manners and customs of the people those few only accepted who were corrupted by contiguity with the court or debased in their minds and practices by that species of Spanish colonial education which inculcates duplicity as the chief qualification of statesmen in all their dealings both with individuals and the public I now speak more particularly of the persons lately in power accepting however the supreme director whom I believe to have been the dupe of their deceit point out to me one engagement that has been honourably fulfilled one military enterprise of which the professed object has not been perverted or one solemn pledge that has not been forfeited look at my representations on the necessities in the navy and see how they were relieved look at my memorial proposing to establish a nursery for seaman by encouraging the coasting trade and compare its principles with the code of rodriguez who annihilated both you will see in this as in all other cases that whatever I recommended in regard to the promotion of the good of the marine was set at naught or opposed by measures directly the reverse look to the orders which I received and see whether I had more liberty of action than a schoolboy in the execution of his task so that which I suffered from anxiety of mine whilst in the Chilean service I will never again endure for any consideration to organize new crews to navigate ship's destitute of sales cordage provisions and stores to secure them in port without anchors and cables except so far as I could supply these essentials by accidental means with difficulties sufficiently harassing but to live amongst officers and men discontented and mutinous on account of arrears of pay and other numerous privations to be compelled to incur the responsibility of seizing by force from Peru funds for their payment in order to prevent worse consequences to Chile and then to be exposed to the reproach of one party for such seizure and the suspicions of another that the sums were not duly applied are all circumstances so disagreeable and so disgusting that until I have certain proof that present ministers are disposed to act in another manner I cannot possibly consent to renew my services where under such circumstances they would be wholly unavailing to the true interests of the people read his note letter ends writing thus to the minister of marine Lord Cochran wrote also at the same time to general Friere who as has been said asked him to join his revolutionary movement quote it would give me great pleasure my respected friend to learn that the change which has been affected in the government of Chile proves alike conducive to your happiness and to the interests of the state for my own part like yourself I have suffered so long and so much that I could not bear the neglect and double dealing of those in power any longer but adopted other means of freeing myself from an unpleasant situation not being under those imperious obligations which as a native Chilean rendered it incumbent on you to rescue your country from the mischiefs with which it was assailed I could not accept your offer my heart was with you in the measures you adopted for their removal and my hand was only restrained by conviction that my interference as a foreigner in the internal affairs of the state would not only have been improper in itself but would have tended to shake that confidence in my undeviating rectitude which it was my ambition that the people of Chile should ever justly entertain permit me to add my opinion that whoever may possess the supreme authority in Chile until after the present generation educated as it has been under the Spanish colonial yoke shall have passed away will have to contend with so much error and so many prejudices as to be disappointed in his utmost endeavors to pursue steadily the course best calculated to promote the freedom and happiness of the people I admire the middle and low classes of Chile but I have ever found the senate the ministers and the convention actuated by the narrowest policy which led them to adopt the worst measures it is my earnest wish that you may find better men to cooperate with you if so you may be fortunate and may succeed in what you have most at heart the promotion of your country's good we do not let her in for the real welfare of Chile Lord Cochran was always eager but in the treatment which he himself had experienced he had strong proof both during his four years active service under the republic and in all aftertimes of the difficulties in the way of its advancement not only was he subjected to the contumny and neglect of which he complained in the letters just quoted from he was also multered to a very large extent in the scanty recompense for his services to which he was legally entitled and indirectly injured to a yet larger extent I was compelled to quit Chile he wrote at a later date without any of the emoluments due to my position as commander-in-chief of the navy or any share of the sums belonging to myself and the officers and seamen which sums on the faith of repayment had at my solicitation been appropriated to the repairs and maintenance of the squadron generally but more especially at Gayaquil and Acapulco when in pursuit of the Pruba and the Venganza neither was any compensation made for the value of stores captured and collected by the squadron whereby its efficiency was chiefly maintained during the whole period of the Peruvian blockade the supreme director of Chile recognizing the justice of payment being made by the Peruvians for at least the value of the Esmeralda the capture of which inflicted the death blow on Spanish power sent me a bill on the Peruvian government for 120 000 which was dishonored and has never since been paid by any succeeding government even the 40 000 stipulated by the authorities at Gayaquil as the penalty for giving up the Venganza was never liquidated no compensation for the severe wounds received during the capture of the Esmeralda was either offered or received shortly after my departure for Brazil the government forcibly and indefensibly resumed the estate at Leoclara which had been awarded to me and my family in perpetuity as a remuneration for the capture of Valdivia and my bailiff who had been left upon it for its management and direction was summarily ejected unhappily this ingratitude for services rendered was the least misfortune which my devotedness to Chile brought upon me on my return to England in 1825 after the termination of my services in Brazil I found myself involved in litigation on account of the seizure of neutral vessels by authority of the then unacknowledged government of Chile these litigations cost me directly upwards of 14 000 pounds and indirectly more than double that amount thus in place of receiving anything for my efforts in the cause of Chilean and Peruvian independence I was the loser of upwards of 25 000 pounds this being more than double the whole amount I had received as pay Boston command of the Chilean squadron readers note letter ends end of chapter nine recording by Timothy Ferguson Gold Coast Australia chapter 10 of the life of Thomas Lord Cochran 10th Earl of Dundonald volume one by Henry Richard Fox born this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Timothy Ferguson 1823 in 1808 King John VI the Portugal driven by Bonaparte from his European dominions took refuge in his great colonial possession of Brazil and the result of this emigration was considerable enlargement of the liberties of the Brazilians thereby the immense Portuguese colony in South America was prevented from following in the revolutionary steps of the numerous Spanish provinces adjoining it in Brazil however during the ensuing years party faction produced nearly as much turmoil as attended the struggle for independence in Chile and the other Spanish colonies those Brazilians who were still intimately connected with the inhabitants of the mother country rallied under Portuguese leaders and did their utmost to maintain the Portuguese supremacy over the colony quite as many on the other hand were eager to take advantage of the new state of things as a means of consolidating the freedom of Brazil plots and counter plots broils and insurrections lasted almost without intermission until late in 21 when King John returned to Portugal leaving his son Don Pedro as lieutenant and regent to cope with yet greater difficulties the courts of Portugal unable to get back their king desired also to bring back Brazil to all its former servitude so great was the opposition thus provoked that the native or true Brazilian party induced Don Pedro to throw off allegiance to his father in October 1822 the independence of the colony was publicly declared and on the 1st of December Don Pedro assumed the title of Emperor of Brazil only the southern part of Brazil however acknowledged his authority the northern provinces including Bahia Marin and Para were ruled by the Portuguese faction and held by Portuguese troops a formidable fleet more over swept the seas and the independent provinces were threatened with speedy subjection to the sway of Portugal that was the state of affairs in the young empire of Brazil during the months in which Lord Cochrane having destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Pacific was being subjected to the worst ingratitude of his Chilean employers Don Pedro and his advisors hearing of this loss no time in inviting him to enter the service of the Brazilian nation equal rank and position to those held by him under Chile were offered to him Abandonez-vous my lord wrote the official who conveyed the emperor's message on the 4th of November 1822 à la reconnaissance brésilien à la munificence du prince à la property sans tâche de l'actuel gouvernement on vous ferra justice on a rebessera de un c'est la pointe le horde considération rang grande caractère est advantageous qui vous sont doux et yet stronger terms a second letter was written soon afterwards venez me lord la honneur vous invite la glorie vous appelle venez donneur à nos armes nevels cet aura mavalier est discipline incomparable de poisson albion lord Cochrane as we have seen accepted this invitation not however without some misgivings which in the end were fully justified having quitted Valpariso on the 18th of January 1823 he arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 13th of March he had not been there a week before he discovered that while all classes were anxious to secure his aid the emperor Pedro I stood almost alone in the desire to treat him honorably and in a way worthy of his character and reputation vague promises were made to him but when a statement of his position was asked for in writing very different terms were employed he was only to have the rank of a subordinate admiral with pay of less amount than the Chilean pension that he had resigned his employment was to be temporary and informal subjecting him to the chance of dismissal at any moment when however resenting these tricories he announced the intention of proceeding at once to europe and accepting the greek service offered to him a different tone was adopted under the emperor's signature he was appointed on the 21st of March first admiral of the nation an imperial navy with emoluments equal to those he had received from Chile he did not then know though he was soon to learn it by hard experience how strong even at the imperial court was the influence of the portuguese party and by what meanness and trickery it sought to maintain and augment that influence quote were the portuguese party was really to blame he afterward said was in this that seemed disorder everywhere more or less prevalent they strained every nerve to increase it hoping to paralyze 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 to obtain as their reward the revival of old trade monopolies which 12 years before had been thrown open enabling the english traders whom they courtially 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 whether the squadron was destined the irreparable injury of their own cause which the imperial troops had been unable to affect had i at the time been aware of the influence and latent power of the portuguese party in the empire nothing would have induced me to accept the command of the brazilian navy for to contend with faction is more dangerous than to engage in enemy and a contest of intrigue is far into my nature and inclination end quote having entered the brazilian service however lord cochran applied himself to his work with characteristic energy and success he hoisted his flag on board the pedro premiero on the 21st of march and put to sea on the 3rd of april his squadron consisted of the pedro premiero a fine and well appointed ship rated rather too highly for 74 guns commanded by captain crossby of the peranga a fine frigate entrusted to captain jellet of the maria degloria a showy but comparatively worthless clipper mounting 32 small guns under captain bow repair of the liberal under captain gaso he was accompanied by two old vessels the guarani and the real to be used as fire ships two other ships of war the nether rowey assigned to captain taylor and the carolina were left behind to complete their equipment and the first of these joined the squadron on its way to bayia which being the nearest of the disaffected provinces was the first to be subdued the coast of bayia was reached on the 1st of may and lord cochran was arranging to blockade its capital and port on the 4th when the portuguese fleet came out of the harbour it comprised the don jeo of 74 guns the constitutio of 50 the parola of 44 the princess a real of 28 the regeneratio the des de ferverio the sand gold tier the princip de brazil and the restio of 26 each and the calypso and the activa of 22 the audaz of 20 and the cancer cow of eight being one liner battleship five frigates five corvettes a brig and a schooner lord cochran did not venture with his small and as the aton tried force to attack the whole squadron but he proceeded to cut off the four rimos ships this he did with the pedro premirio but to his disgust the other vessels heedless of his orders failed to follow him quote had the rest of the brazilian squadron he said 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 no efforts were made to second my operations in quote the pedro premirio after fighting alone for some time and during the time even doing that little mischief by reason of the clumsy way in which her guns were handled had to be withdrawn at that failure lord cochran was reasonably chugrined worse than the fact the portuguese had escaped uninjured for this once was the knowledge that he could not hope thoroughly to punish them without first affecting great reform in the materials at his disposal on the fifth of may he wrote to the government to complain of the miserable condition of the ships and crews provided for him by the brazilian government quote from the defective sailing and manning of the squadron he said it seems to me that the pedro premirio is the only one that can assail an enemy ship of war or act in the face of a superior force so as not to compromise the interests of the empire and the character of the officers commanding even this ship in common with the rest is so ill equipped as to be much less efficient than she otherwise would be 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 from being blown off whilst working the guns the guns without locks the bed of the mortar which i received on board this ship was crushed on the first fire being entirely rotten the fuses for the shells are formed of such wretched composition that it will not take fire with the discharge of the mortar even the powder is so bad that six pounds will not throw out shells more than a thousand yards the marines understand neither 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 while those operations are being performed by semen i warned the minister of marine that every native of portugal put on board the squadron with the exception of officers of known character would prove prejudicial to the expedition and yesterday we had clear proof of the fact the portuguese station in the magazine actually withheld the powder while the ship was in the midst of the enemy and i have since learned that they did so from feelings of attachment to their own countrymen i enclosed two letters one from the officer commanding the real whose crew were on the point of carrying that vessel into the enemy squadron for the purpose of delivering her up i have also reason to believe that the conduct of the liberal yesterday in not bearing down upon the enemy and not complying with the signal which i had made to break the line was owing to her being manned by portuguese the maria de gloria also has a great number of portuguese which is the more to be regretted as otherwise her superior sailing with the zeal and activity of her captain would render her an effective vessel to disclose to you the truth it appears to me that one half of the squadron is necessary to watch over the other half assuredly this is a system which ought to be put an end to without delay other indignant complaints of that sort which need not here be repeated were reasonably made by lord cochran the bad equipment of his squadron both in men and material had hindered him at starting from achieving a brilliant success over the enemy and though his subsequent achievements were of unsurpassed brilliance he was to the end seriously hindered by the willful and accidental mismanagement of his employers lord cochran lost no time however in correcting by his own prudent action the evil effects of this mismanagement not choosing to run the risk of a second failure and believing that two good ships would be more serviceable than any number of bad ones he took his squadron to the morrow sent paulo where he transferred all the best men and most serviceable fittings to the flagship and the maria de gloria there he left the other vessels to be improved as far as possible directing the instruction should be given in seamanship to all the incompetent men who showed any promise of being made efficient and that several small prizes which he had taken on the way from Rio de Janeiro should be turned into fire ships for future use with the two refitted ships he then went back to bejaya to watch its whole coast and blockade the port the wisdom of this course was at once apparent several minor captures were made the supplies of bejaya were cut off and the enemy squadron was locked in the harbour for three weeks lord cochran went to the morrow sent paulo on the 26th leaving the maria de gloria to overlook the port and the port's fleet ventured out for a few days it did not show fight however and was driven back by the flagship which returned on the 2nd of june quote on the 11th of june said lord cochran information was received that the enemy was seriously thinking of evacuating the port before the fire ships were completed i therefore ordered the maria de gloria to water and revictual for three months so as to be in readiness for anything which might occur as in case the room approved correct our operations might take a different turn to those previously intended the perango was also ordered to have everything in readiness for weighing immediately on the flagship appearing off the morrow and making signals to that effect the whole squadron was at the same time ordered to revictual and to place its surplus articles in a large shed constructed of trees and branches felled in the neighbourhood of the morrow whilst the other ships with us engaged i determined to increase the panic of the enemy with the flagship alone the position of their fleet was about nine miles up the bay under shelter of fortifications so that an attack by day would have been more perilous than prudent nevertheless it appeared practicable to pay them a hostile visit on the first dark night when if we were unable to affect any serious mischief it would at least be possible to ascertain their exact position and to judge what could be accomplished when the fire ships were brought to bear upon them accordingly the narrative proceeds having during the day carefully taken bearings at the mouth of the river on the night of the 12th of june i decided on making the attempt which might possibly result in the destruction of part of the enemy's fleet in consequence of the confused manner in which the ships anchored as soon as it became dark we proceeded up the river but unfortunately when we were within hail of the utmost ship the wind failed and the tide soon after turning our plan of attack was rendered abortive determined however to complete the reconnaissance we threaded our way amongst the outermost vessels in spite of the darkness the presence of a strange ship under sail was discovered and some beat to quarters hailing to know what ship it was the reply an English vessel satisfied them however and so our investigation was not molested the chief object thus accomplished we succeeded in dropping out with the ebb tide now rapidly running and we're enabled to study our course stone foremost with the stream anchor a drag whereby we reached our former position end quote that exploit was more daring than Lord Cochrane's modest description would imply and though the bold hope that it might be possible for a single invading ship to conquer the whole portuguese squadron in its moorings was not realized the effect was all that could be desired the portuguese admiral and his chief officers were at a ball in bayar while lord Cochrane was quietly sailing around and amongst their squadron and the report of this achievement was brought to them in the midst of their festivities what exclaimed the admiral lord Cochrane's line of battleship in the very midst of our fleet impossible no large ship could have come up in the dark when it was known that thing had really been done and that the construction of five ships at the morris and polo was being rapidly proceeded with the portuguese authorities both naval and military considered that it would be no longer safe to remain in bayar harbour they were seriously inconvenienced more over by the success with which lord Cochrane had blockaded the port and all its approaches quote the means of subsistence fail us and we cannot secure the entrance of any provisions said the commander in chief in the proclamation intimating that the so-called defenders of the province were thinking of abandoning the post they did this after a fortnight's consideration on the 2nd of july the whole squadron of 13 war vessels and about 70 merchantmen and transports filled with a larger body of troops evacuated the port that was a movement with which lord Cochrane was well pleased he had been in doubt as to the prudence of leading his small fleet into a desperate action in the harbour by which the inexperience of his crews might ruin everything and which might have to be followed by fighting on land but now that the portuguese both soldiers and sailors were in the open sea he could give them chase without much risk as in the event of their turning around upon him with more valour than he gave them credit for the worst that could happen would be his forced abandonment of the pursuit the valour was not shown no sooner were the portuguese out of port with their south set for maranjom where they hoped to join other ships and troops and so augment their strength then lord Cochrane proceeded to follow them and dog their progress his scheme was a bold one but as successful as it was bold attended first by the maria de gloria alone and afterwards by the carolina the near the rowy and a small merchant brig the colonel allen in which he placed a few guns he pursued and harassed the cumbers crowd of portuguese warships troop ships and trading vessels about 18 all through 14 days the chase indeed was practically conducted by his flagship the pedro premiere alone the other vessels were ordered to look out for any of the enemy's fleet that lagged behind or were born away from the main body of the fugitives either to the right hand or to the left of these there were plenty and none were allowed to escape the pursuers had easy work in price taking quote i have the honor to inform you wrote lord Cochrane in a concise dispatch to the brazilian minister of marine on the 7th of july that half the enemy's army their colors cannon ammunition stores and baggage have been taken we are still in pursuit and shall endeavor to intercept the remainder of the troops and shall then look after the ships of war which would have been my first object but that in pursuing this course the military would have escaped two occasions further hostilities against the brazilian empire in quote most of his prizes and prisoners look Cochrane sent into Pernambuco the port then nearest to him and he dispatched two officers to albalia for brazil with his flagship he continued his pursuit of the enemy losing them once during a fog and then when he found them being prevented from doing all the mischief which he had hoped as a calm enabled them to keep close together and present a front too formidable for attack by a single assailant the portuguese however continued their flight as soon as the wind permitted lord Cochrane did not trouble them much during the day but each night he swept down on them like a hawk upon its prey and harassed them with wonderful effect they were chased past Fernando island past the equator and more than halfway to Cape Verde then on the 16th of july lord Cochrane after a parting broadside left them to make their way in peace to lisbon there to tell how by one daring vessel 13 ships of war had been ignominiously driven home accompanied by only 13 out of the 70 vessels that had placed themselves under their protection lord Cochrane would have continued the pursuit still farther had not some of the troopships contrived to escape and as he was anxious that these should not get into shelter at maranjum or if there should not have time to recover their spirits he deemed it best to hasten nither he reached maranjum before them and thus found it possible to carry through an excellent expedient which he had devised on the way maranjum the wealthiest province of the old brazilian colony was best guarded by the portuguese and now served as the center and stronghold of resistance to the authority of the new emperor lord Cochrane's plan had been for its object nothing less than the annexation of the whole province single-handedly and without a blow with this intent he entered the river maranjum which served as a harbour to the port of the same name on the 26th of july with portuguese colours flying from the mast of the pedro premiero the authorities deceived thereby a promptly sent a messenger with dispatchers and congratulations on the safe arrival of what was supposed to be a valuable reinforcement from portugal the messenger was soon undeceived but lord Cochrane at once made him the agent of a much more elaborate and altogether justifiable deception announcing to him that the swift sailing of the pedro premiero had brought her first to marjum but that she was being followed by a formidable squadron intended for the invasion of the province he sent him back with letters to the same effect addressed to the portuguese commandant and to the local junta of marjum quote the naval and military forces under my command he wrote to the former leave me no room to doubt the success of the enterprise in which i'm about to engage in order to free the province of marjum from foreign domination and to allow the people free choice of government of the flight of the portuguese naval and military forces from bazaar you are aware i have now to inform you of the capture of two-thirds of the transports and troops with all their stores and ammunition i am anxious not to let loose the imperial troops of bazaar upon marjum exasperated as they are at the injuries and cruelties exercise towards themselves in their countrymen as well as by the plunder of the people and churches of bazaar it is for you to decide whether the inhabitants of these countries shall be further exasperated by resistance which appears to me unavailing and are like prejudicial to the best interests of portugal and brazil end quote new quote begins and the forces of his imperial majesty he said to the haunter having freed the city and province of bazaar from the enemies of independence i now hasten in conformity with the will of his majesty that the beautiful province of marjum should be free also to offer the oppressed inhabitants whatever aid and protection they need against a foreign yoke desiring to accomplish their liberation and to hail them as a brethren and friends should there however be any who from self-interested motives oppose themselves to the deliverance of their country let such be assured that the naval and military forces which have driven the portuguese from the south are again ready to draw the sword in a like just cause and the result cannot be long doubtful in quote those mingled promises and threats took prompt effect on the following day the 27th of july after a conditional offer of capitulation had been rejected the members of the hunter the bishop of marjum and other leading persons went on board the pedro premiero to tender their submission to the emperor of brazil the city and forts were surrendered without reserve and in less than 24 hours from lord cochran's first appearance in the river the flag of portugal was replaced by that in brazil a great province had been added to the dominions of pedro the first without bloodshed and with no more expenditure of ammunition than was needed for the volleys discharged in honor of the triumph the liberation of marjum was publicly celebrated on the 28th of july and on the following day the portuguese troops embarked for europe special concessions being made to them by lord cochran who deemed it well that they should be out of the way before the device by which he had outwitted them was made known no resentment was to be expected from the civilians as even those most hearty in the adherence to the portuguese faction in brazil would not dare to offer direct opposition to the sentiments of the majority but lord cochran wisely said himself to conciliate all quote to the inhabitants of the city he said i was careful to accord complete liberty claiming in return that perfect order should be preserved and property of all kinds respected the delight of the people was unbounded at being freed from a terrible system of inaction and imprisonment which when i entered the river was being carried on with unrelenting vigor by the portuguese authorities towards all suspected of a leaning to the imperial government instead of retaliating as would have been gratifying to those so recently laboring under oppression i directed o's to the constitution to be administered not to brazilians only but to all portuguese who chose to remain and conform to the new order of things a privilege of which many influential persons of that nation availed themselves in quote with the capture of maranjama alone however lord cochran was not satisfied without a day's delay he dispatched a portuguese brig which he had seized in the river and christened by its name under captain grenfell to follow at para the only important province of brazil still under the portuguese yoke the same course which he had just adopted with such wonderful success he himself found it necessary to remain at maranjama for more than two months where he had to curb with a strong hand the passions of the liberated inhabitants it used their liberty in lawless ways and to retaliate upon the portuguese still resident among them for the hardships which they had hitherto endured on the 20th september having heard that captain grenfell had entirely succeeded in his designs on para he started for Rio de Janeiro and there he arrived on the 9th of november quote i immediately forwarded to the minister of marine he said a recapitulation of all transactions since my departures seven months before namely the evacuation of bahia by the portuguese in consequence of our nocturnal visit connected with the dread of my reputed skill in the use of fire ships arising from the affair of basque roads the pursuit of their fleet beyond the equator and the dispersion of its convoy the capture and disabling of the transports filled with troops intended to main portuguese domination of maranjama and para the device adopted to obtain the surrender to the pedro premiero alone of the enemy's naval and military forces at maranjama the capitulation of para with the ships of war to my summons sent by captain grenfell the deliverance of the brazilian patriots whom the portuguese had imprisoned the declaration of independence by the intermediate provinces this liberated and their union with the empire the appointment of provisional governments the embarkation and departure of every portuguese soldier from brazil and the enthusiasm with which all my measures though unauthorized and therefore extra official had been received by the people of the northern provinces who thus relieved from the dread of further oppression had everywhere acknowledged and proclaimed his majesty as constitutional emperor in quote lord cochran services had indeed been many of them unauthorized and therefore extra official he had been sent out merely to recover bahia but besides doing that he had gained for brazil other territories more than half as large as europe for this however nothing but gratitude could be shown and that gratitude was for a time at any rate unalloyed on the very day of the pedro premiero's return the emperor went on board to office thanks in person further thanks were voted by the legislature and tended by all classes of the people quote taking into consideration the great services which your excellency has just rendered to the nation wrote the emperor on the 25th of november and desiring to give your excellency a public testimonial of gratitude for those high and extraordinary services on behalf of the generous brazilian people who will ever preserve a lively remembrance of such illustrious acts i deem it right to confer upon your excellency the title of marquis of manor john end quote the decoration of the imperial order of the cruciero was also bestowed upon lord cochran and on the 19th of december he was made a privy counselor of brazil the highest honor which it was in the emperor's power to grant on the same day he also received from the emperor a charter confirming his rank and emoluments his first admiral of brazil quote seeing how advantageous it would be for the interests of the empire to avail itself of the skill of so valuable an officer in quote and in recognition of quote the valour intelligence and activity by which he had distinguished himself in the different services with which he had been entrusted end quote end of chapter 10 recording by timothy fergerson gold coast australia