The first incident in his naval career is an illustration of this. He was on board the flag-ship commanded by Admiral Sir John Narborough in one of the most hotly contested battles fought between the English and the Dutch. The masts of the flag-ship were shot away early in the engagement. The admiral saw that his case was hopeless, however bravely his men might fight, unless the English reserve, which lay some distance off to the right, could be brought round to his aid. The thing wanted was to get a message conveyed to the captain of the reserve. Signalling was out of the question, of course; the message must be carried to the ships somehow. Yet he saw plainly that in such a hurricane of shot and shell, and with so many of the enemy’s vessels close at hand, no boat could hope to reach the English ships. But a man might swim to them! Acting on this thought, Sir John wrote an order and called aloud for volunteers to swim with it, under the fire of the enemy, to the neighboring ships. Among the able-bodied sailors who presented themselves for the terrible duty young Cloudesley stood forth. Looking at him with admiration mingled with something like pity, the admiral exclaimed, “Why, what can you do, my fearless lad?” “I can swim, sir,” said young Cloudesley, and added in the spirit of a patriot and a hero, “If I be shot, I can be easier spared than any one else.” After a moment’s hesitation on the part of the tender-hearted admiral, the paper was handed to the boy, who placed it between his teeth and plunged into the water. Cheered by his comrades, he swam on through a perfect hail of shot, bearing, as it seemed, a charmed life, until at length the smoke of battle concealed him from their view. The gallant Sir John and his brave crew held on in the most determined manner until it seemed that no hope was left that the brave lad had reached the friendly vessels in safety and delivered the message. They were beginning to think of him and of themselves as lost, when a sudden and terrific roar of cannon on their right announced that the English vessels were bearing down on the Dutch. In a few hours the enemy was flying in all directions. The cabin-boy was not forgotten when the honors and rewards of victory came to crown the events of that terrible day, for all agreed that he had done a deed that deserved well of his country. When the sun was setting on the sad scene of wreck and ruin, the courageous yet modest youth came and stood once more on the deck of the flag-ship. As soon as the old admiral saw him he spoke to him a few words of generous appreciation and sincere thanks, finishing with the significant remark, “I shall live to see you have a flag-ship of your own.” The prediction came true, as we shall presently see.
Not very long afterward Cloudesley Shovel was made lieutenant of His Majesty’s navy. The first opportunity he had of distinguishing himself in this capacity was on an expedition sent out by the British to punish the corsairs of Tripoli. These lawless and daring rogues had long infested the Mediterranean, doing immense mischief to commerce and committing sad depredations all along the coast, wherever they found it possible to land with safety. No vessel or port, from the Levant to the Straits of Gibraltar, was safe from their attack. Sir John Narborough was therefore commissioned to bring them to terms or effectually punish them. Arriving before Tripoli, their headquarters, in the spring of 1674, he found the enemy in great strength under the shelter of their formidable forts, and decided, first of all, according to his instructions, to try the effect of negotiations. Lieutenant Shovel, then only twenty-four years of age, a tall thin young man, with little on his face to indicate that he had come to manhood, was sent with a message for the Dey of Tripoli, asking for satisfaction for the past and security for the future. This message was delivered in a spirit becoming a British sailor acting on behalf of the interests of his country; but the Dey, a haughty and imperious man, refused to treat with such a youth, and one, too, who held so subordinate a position, and after treating him with insolence, sent him back to his admiral with an indefinite answer. The wily ex-cobbler, however, had kept his eyes open while on land, and on returning to Sir John, gave him so good an account of the character of the fortifications and the disposition of the pirate fleet, that he was sent back to the Dey with a second message, and instructed to make further observations. He was treated on his second visit with even greater insolence, but took all quietly, not caring how much he was detained by the Dey’s abuse, so long as he could look round him and obtain a good view of the enemy’s strength and position. Coming back once more to his vessel, he explained the whole situation, and described a plan of attack which he felt confident would be successful in destroying the vessels lying at anchor in the bay. The admiral was so much pleased with his lieutenant’s smartness, and so satisfied that his plan was practicable if conducted with skill and courage, that he decided to intrust the execution of it to “his boy Shovel.” On the night of the 4th of March the young lieutenant took command of all the boats of the fleet, which had been filled with combustible material, rowed quietly into the harbor under cover of the darkness, made straight for the guard-ship, which he set on fire and thoroughly disabled, thus preventing it from giving orders to the other ships, and, before the enemy could prepare for action, fired and blew up his vessels one after another, and then leaving them in a state of the utmost confusion and distress, brought all his boats back to the British fleet without the loss of a single man. It was a brave exploit, cleverly conceived and brilliantly executed. As a wholesome castigation of these impudent pirates it was of the utmost value; and more than this, it crippled their power for mischief for a long time to come.
The generous Sir John Narborough fully appreciated the courage and skill of his youthful subordinate, and gave him the most honorable mention in the official letters sent to the authorities at home. He was at once promoted to the rank of captain. This office he held for eleven years, until the death of Charles II. in 1685. During the three years of James II.’s reign, Captain Shovel is said to have been in every naval engagement that occurred. He had therefore ample opportunity of distinguishing himself and obtaining still further promotion. Soon after the accession of William III., Captain Shovel was conspicuous by his daring and clever manœuvring at the battle of Bantry Bay. He was then in command of the ship “Edgar,” and the favorable notices he had received from Admiral Hobart brought his gallantry before the attention of his monarch, who conferred upon the brave captain the honor of knighthood. Captain, now Sir Cloudesley Shovel, was held in high esteem by King William III., who intrusted him with the difficult and responsible duty of conveying the troops to Ireland in 1690, on the occasion of the Irish rebellion which terminated in the bloody battle of the Boyne. This duty was discharged with so much ability that the King decided to promote Sir Cloudesley to the rank of “rear-admiral of the blue.” In conferring this reward upon the gallant commander, the grateful monarch marked his sense of the value of the service rendered by delivering the commission with his own hands. Before the year came to a close Sir Cloudesley added one more item to the long list of his services by giving timely assistance to General Kirke at the siege of Waterford. This town was held by the adherents of James II., and had long defied all attempts of General Kirke to take it. The chief strength of the town lay in Duncannon Castle, on which an attack was made by Sir Cloudesley’s ships and men. A surrender was speedily negotiated, and the influential town of Waterford fell into the hands of the English. Two years after this the King declared him “rear-admiral of the red,” giving him at the same time the command of the squadron which was to convey the King to Holland.
Soon after his return from Holland he was ordered to join the fleet then under the command of Admiral Russell, and bore a very important part in the brilliant naval victory known as the battle of La Hogue. His last services during the reign of William III. were rendered in connection with the bombardment of Dunkirk, which he undertook at the King’s express command. The author of the “Lives of British Admirals,”[1] referring to the esteem in which Sir Cloudesley Shovel was held by his king and country at the close of this reign, says, “He was always consulted by His Majesty whenever maritime affairs were under consideration.”
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