Introduction
Edward Pellew (1757-1833), 1st Viscount Exmouth, served in the Royal Navy for fifty years, rising to the rank of Admiral and playing a leading role in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for several acts of courage, such as the occasion when he rescued some five hundred passengers from a wreck off Plymouth Hoe during a violent storm.
ON January 26th, 1796, a troopship named the Dutton was misled by an errant buoy, uprooted by stormy seas, into running aground under Plymouth Hoe.* As rain lashed down and the waters heaved in the gale, her rudder was torn off, and some five hundred frightened passengers — among them women and children, many already sickly after seven weeks at sea — felt her lurch ominously. At the second roll her masts broke and crashed into the surf. Panic spread, and disastrously some of the fighting men set about drowning their fears in rum.
That same afternoon Sir Edward and Lady Pellew were expected at the home of Dr Hawker, Vicar of Charles Church.* As their carriage splashed through the wind and rain, they passed crowds streaming towards the Hoe, and Sir Edward (who as Commodore of the Western Frigate Squadron took a keen professional interest) demanded to know what was afoot. Moments later, Lady Pellew heard the door slam. Her husband was gone.
Arriving at the beach, Sir Edward was disagreeably surprised to find that the senior officers of the Dutton had escaped ashore, and flatly refused to return even when he sank to offering them money. “Then I will go myself!” he roared.
* The Hoe is a large south-facing public space overlooking Plymouth Sound, with views towards the English Channel. ‘Hoe’ is an Old English word for high ground, and refers to the cliffs above which the open land lies. Visit the website of Plymouth Waterfront for more. Perched on the Hoe is the Royal Citadel, a large seventeenth-century fortress which is open to the public. More information from English Heritage.
* Robert Hawker (1753-1827). He and Edward Pellew had served together as surgeons to the marines.
Précis
In 1796, the Dutton came home to Plymouth after seven weeks at sea carrying five hundred passengers, civilian and military, only to run aground beneath the Hoe in a storm. Her officers, who were already ashore, refused to help evacuate her; but Captain Edward Pellew, paying a social call nearby, saw the ship’s distress and took the responsibility upon himself. (60 / 60 words)
In 1796, the Dutton came home to Plymouth after seven weeks at sea carrying five hundred passengers, civilian and military, only to run aground beneath the Hoe in a storm. Her officers, who were already ashore, refused to help evacuate her; but Captain Edward Pellew, paying a social call nearby, saw the ship’s distress and took the responsibility upon himself.
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