The aftermath of the wreck of the French frigate Medusa in 1816 is widely regarded as one
of the most horrible events in maritime history. Abandoned on an overloaded
raft by officers and crew who took to the boats when the vessel grounded off the
coast of modern Mauritania, only fifteen persons survived out of a total of
147. In the thirteen days the raft drifted, 132 died through thirst and
starvation, fighting and suicide. Cannibalism also occurred. Though the ship’s boats had reached safety no systematic
search was made for the raft and it was only discovered, accidentally, by the British
ship Argus. A major scandal at the time,
the raft became the subject of an unforgettable painting by Théodore Géricault
(1791-1824).
"The Raft of the Medusa" - today in the Louvre, Paris |
The breakdown in responsibility and discipline that led to this
appalling disaster can be contrasted with the happy outcome of what could have
been a similar tragedy when a Royal Navy frigate, HMS Alceste, was wrecked the following year. The value of
professionalism and discipline has seldom been so dramatically illustrated.
HMS Alceste was built in 1804, as the Minerve, for the French Navy – generally
similar in fact to the Medusa. Two years
later she was captured by the Royal Navy and taken into service as HMS Alceste, under command of Captain
(afterwards Sir) Murray Maxwell, (1775 –1831). He was to be her captain for much
of her Royal Navy career until her final loss. In 1811, in company with HMS Active, Maxwell and the Alceste captured the French frigate Pomome. Maxwell was to be congratulated
on this in strange and unforeseeable circumstances six years later. The Alceste provided sterling service
through the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars and in the War of 1812.
The capture of the French frigate Pomone by HMS Alceste and HMS Active Painting by Pierre Julien Gilbert (1783-1860) |
In 1816 Alceste was assigned to carrying William Pitt Amherst, the first Lord Amherst, on a
diplomatic mission to China, the objective being to establish formal relations
between Britain and the Chinese Empire. Amherst was landed at Canton (Guangzhou)
and travelled overland to Pekin (Beijing). In his absence Captain Maxwell and the
Alceste undertook extensive survey
work in uncharted waters off the coasts of China, Korea, and Okinawa. This work
is so well thought of, even today, that Maxwell has been honoured by a South
Korean postage stamp.
Sir Murray Maxwell - the only Royal Navy officer honoured by a Korean stamp? |
On her return
to China Alceste required repairs to ready
her for the long voyage home. This necessitated mooring in calm water in the Pearl
River, close to Canton. A request to do so was refused by the Chinese
authorities, who threatened to have the gun-batteries guarding the river open
on the Alceste should she proceed. Captain
Maxwell responded in the robust manner to be expected of the Royal Navy of his
day – he bombarded and subdued the shore defences and some seventeen war-junks
supporting them. He then moored, commenced his repairs and awaited Amherst’s
return.
In the event Amherst’s mission proved to be a total failure,
doomed as it was by mutual incomprehension. Self-sufficient for millennia,
China officials had little or no understanding of the outside world and regarded
all other nations as inferior. Amherst was informed that he could only be
admitted to the Emperor's presence if he were to kowtow – which meant kneeling
and bowing so low as to touch the forehead on the ground. As representative
of a proud nation that had opposed the might of France and her allies for over
twenty years, and which had the previous year seen off the Emperor Napoleon,
Amherst had no intention of abasing himself or his country. Faced with an impasse,
he had no option to head home. He rejoined the Alceste and she set out for England, he and his entourage, plus the
frigates crew, adding up to 257 on board.
HMS Alceste attacking the Chinese batteries and junks. Note Chinese rockets As depicted by Alceste's surgeon, John MacLeod, in his account of her final voyage |
Disaster struck in the Java Sea – an area largely uncharted
at the time. Despite continuous soundings the Alceste ran on to a hidden reef on 18 February 1817, the damage so
severe that the flooding was too much for the pumps to handle. Abandonment was
now essential, the nearest island, Pulau Liat, being close enough for crew and passengers
to be transferred safely to shore. In an uncanny resemblance to the Medusa wreck, a raft was used in the
evacuation in addition to the ship’s boats. On this occasion however order and
discipline prevailed. Provisions and fresh water were at a premium however and it
was decided that the boats would head for Batavia (now Djakarta), the Dutch
administrative centre in Java, 200 miles to the south, to organise a rescue. Amheurst
joined them.
Captain Maxwell had remained on the island and now organised
a return to the wreck to recover whatever supplies remained as there were still
some 200 mouths to feed. The attempt was interrupted by the arrival of Malay
pirates and the salvage party, which had been unarmed, had to beat a hasty
retreat. The pirates looted the wreck and burned it thereafter. Fearing further
pirate attack, Maxwell supervised construction of a stockade – called
appropriately “Camp Maxwell” – and readied it for defence. Another salvage
party managed to recover some flour and wine from the Alceste’s burned-out hulk
but the supplies-situation remained critical.
Boats setting out from the island to salvage what remains on the burning hulk Engraving from one of Surgeon Macleod's illustrations |
The anticipated pirate attack came on 26 February. A sortie
led by Alceste’s second lieutenant led to an initial repulse – with several
pirates killed – but further pirate reinforcements arrived thereafter. They made
no attempt to land, contenting themselves with firing swivel guns towards the stockade.
Yet more pirates arrived and on 1 March an assault, which promised to be
overwhelming, seemed imminent. It was at this critical juncture that a ship was
seen approaching. Her appearance, and a brief attack by Alceste's marines, broke the pirates’ resolve and they fled. The
vessel turned out to be an East-Indiaman, the Ternate, which Amherst had encountered in Batavia. It was to here
she returned the castaways – not a single life had been lost – and Amheurst
chartered another ship, the Caesar,
to take them back to Britain.
The Caesar put in to St. Helena on her voyage home and both
Amherst and Maxwell had an audience with the ex-Emperor Napoleon, now in his
second year of exile there. Napoleon complimented Maxwell on his achievement and
hoped that he would be exonerated (as he was to be) in the inevitable court
martial for her loss. He also referred admiringly – and sportingly – to Maxwell’s
capture of the French Pomone in 1811.
It was to Amherst, when discussing his failed mission, that Napoleon made his
celebrated remark “China is a sleeping
giant. Let her sleep. For when she wakes, she will shake the world" –
a prophesy which was to come to pass in our own day.
Camp Maxwell - the passengers and crew of HMS Alceste cheer their rescuers An engraving from one of Surgeon MacLeod's illustrations |
Maxwell was rightly hailed as a hero, was knighted in 1818. He
was however seriously injured by a paving stone thrown from a mob opposing him
when he stood for Parliament that same year. He returned to naval service and
held a number of responsible positions but he never recovered from the paving-stone injury. He died at 56 – too young.
Amherst was to serve as Governor-General of India from 1823 to 1828.
And now, when we admire Géricault’s “Raft of the Medusa” we should remember the Alceste also. She and her gallant crew deserve it.
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