Volume 3 > Half-Volume 5

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appointed early in 1829 to the command of the
Galatea, a 42-gun frigate. Two trips to the West
Indies followed, and on the return of the Galatea
from her second trip in 1831 he found that a great
experiment, in which he was deeply interested, was
already contemplated by our government: it was the
application of the motive power of steam to ships of
war. Napier entered with his whole heart into the
idea, and hoped that he would be appointed to the
first man-of-war steamer that could be got ready.
But a different destination awaited him, for he was
sent to the coast of Portugal and to the Azores, in
which latter place he became acquainted with the
Duke of Terceira and other leaders of the constitu-
tional party; and this circumstance ultimately led to
his obtaining the command of the Portuguese con-
stitutional fleet, and the renown which he won at
St. Vincent.
The constitutionalists or Pedroites were at this
time so weak that they were blocked up in Oporto,
and their cause would have been hopeless but for the
sympathy of the British government. In this feeling
Napier heartily participated, and it is supposed that
from this cause he was commissioned to cruise upon
the coast of Portugal and the Azores. He had ex-
pressed to the Pedroites the impolicy of their pro-
ceedings in allowing themselves to be shut up and
blockaded in Oporto, and suggested the better plan
of making a bold dash upon Lisbon, and thus bring-
ing the question to a speedy issue. They caught his
own ardour with the advice he tendered, and were
willing to adopt it if he should be leader of the
enterprise. Thus matters stood in 1832, when the
Marquis Palmella arrived in London, to urge the
cause of the young queen, Donna Maria, upon the
British government; and finally, an offer was made
to Napier of the command of the constitutional fleet.
It was a tempting proposal, by which his attachment
to popular government, his ambition for an indepen-
dent command, and his love of daring enterprise and
adventure, would all be equally gratified. The only
bar to his acceptance of the offer was, that it would
displace his old friend Sartorius, who was at present
admiral of the Pedroite fleet; but Sartorius was
already sick of the charge, and willing to resign it.
The sole difficulty being thus removed, Napier closed
with the offer of the Pedroites, and became com-
mander of their navy. The very accession of his
name to the cause was a tower of strength, as
was manifested by the fact, that no sooner was his
appointment made known than a considerable sum
of money was contributed in London for the expe-
dition. All his preparations being completed, he
repaired to the scene of his new command accom-
panied by 137 seamen and four British officers; and
as the expedition was contrary to the foreign en-
listment act, all the four officers were obliged to
assume new names for the occasion, while Napier
chose for himself that of Carlos de Ponza. His fleet
of five steamers also carried two battalions of soldiers,
the one English and the other Belgian, who were
to reinforce the Pedroite garrison at Oporto.
On arriving in Portugal, nothing could appear
more hopeless than the cause which he had under-
taken to restore. The land forces were shut up in
Oporto, and closely blockaded by the Miguelites;
while the fleet was only half manned by sailors, ill-
clothed, ill-fed, and wholly disappointed. But such
was the inspiring influence of their new commander,
that they set sail to encounter an enemy of more than
twice their force. Knowing that with only 176 guns
they could not cope with a fleet that had 372, each
man trusted to his sword as the weapon with which
the battle was to be fought and won. In this condition
the two hostile fleets met off Cape St. Vincent on
the 5th of July, 1833. Napier had only two frigates,
two steamers, and four other small vessels, while his
opponents had two line-of-battle ships, two frigates,
three corvettes, two brigs, and a xebec. The Mig-
uelites commenced the battle with a tremendous
cannonade that seemed enough to annihilate their
opponents; but the latter, lying down in their quarters,
suffered little damage except in their rigging. At
length the fleets closed, and in the manoeuvres of his
ships Napier brought all that skill into play which
he had learned in his former naval engagements.
The result was the triumph of genius and experience
over mere brute force and numbers, and the victory
of Napier was so complete, that the enemy's two
sail of the line and two frigates were captured; only
the three corvettes and two brigs escaped, as he had
no one to go after them, his two steamers having
behaved like cowards, and done nothing. No naval
action, it is asserted, was ever fought with such a
disparity of feree in vessels, armament, and men; and
not the least remarkable feature in this deed was
that of Napier in his small frigate attacking, board-
ing, and carrying with the cutlass the Miguelite
admiral's line-of-battle ship. The Pedroite cause
was now completely in the ascendent, and the young
Princess Maria assured of the throne of Portugal,
while the victor was rewarded by promotion to the
rank of full admiral in the Portugese navy, and the
title of Viscount Cape St. Vincent.
After performing some campaigning against the
Miguelites by land, in which Napier turned his mili-
tary studies to good account, and several attempts
to reform the Portuguese navy, which were defeated
by the inertness and corruption of the government
officials, Napier, finding that his mission in that
country had ended, resigned his office at the close of
1834, and returned to England. During the follow-
ing year his time was chiefly spent in country pur-
suits and literary occupations, for the last of which,
like the rest of the Napiers, he had a strong predi-
lection. In 1836 he published his History of the War
of Succession in Portugal, his first attempt at author-
ship, and this was followed by several professional
papers on Impressment and the Manning of the Navy,
most of which were afterwards published in his work
called the State of the Navy. In 1837 he entered
into negotiation to succeed Colonel de Lacy Evans
as commander of the British Legion serving in
Spain, when De Lacy wished to resume his parlia-
mentary duties in England. It was objected that
Captain Napier having been a naval not a military
man, was not eligible for such a situation; but Napier
met this objection by stating that he had turned his
mind a good deal to land operations; that he had
been several months with the Duke of Wellington's
army, and been wounded in the battle of Busaco;
and that he had commanded 3000 men on land in
Portugal, and had taken several towns; but the
negotiation came to nothing. A favourite wish of
his had been a seat in parliament, that he might
advocate the interests of the navy, but his attempts
to obtain an election had failed. The last of these
was when he stood for the burgh of Greenwich in
1837, and was defeated; but this last rebuff only
made him more eager to return to his favourite pro-
fession, and stimulated his appeals to the admiralty
to that effect. His application, on which such im-
portant events depended, was successful; at the close
of 1838 he was appointed to the command of the
Powerful, a remarkably fine two-decker, carrying 84
guns, of which 78 were 32-pounders, and 6 68-
pounders, with a crew of 635 men, 60 boys, and 150
marines, exclusive of officers. On joining his ship