On the way down the river from Quebec,
the fleet appears to have found the passage very difficult,
the dangers of the Channel being aggravated by the
strength of the current and bad weather. The Captain,
Vesuvius, and Royal William were aground for some
time, but were ultimately got off again without much
damage; and the Terrible, which was drifting and in
great danger, was only brought up by means of an anchor
constructed for the occasion by lashing one of the
quarter-deck guns to two small anchors. When
her large anchors were hauled up they were found to
be broken; and so great was the loss of these articles
that Lord Colville was obliged to press the Admiralty
for a fresh supply to be sent out immediately, as
he found it impossible to replace those lost in the
Traverse either at Boston or any other place in America.
Relief of Quebec.
Colville’s squadron arrived
in Halifax on 27th October, Cook’s thirty-first
birthday, and as soon as the winter was over, and the
ships were cleaned and fitted for sea as well as the
limited appliances would permit, it left for the St.
Lawrence, sailing on 22nd April 1760, but was “so
retarded by frozen fogs, seas of compacted ice, and
contrary winds,” that it did not arrive off
the Île de Bic before 16th May.
Here they were met by a sloop with the news that Quebec
was in urgent need of help. General Murray, hearing
of the approach of General de Levis, with a French
force, had left the shelter of the forts, and notwithstanding
he was greatly outnumbered, had offered battle in
the open. He had at first chosen a strong position,
but hearing from spies that the French were busy cleaning
their arms after being caught in a heavy storm the
night before, he advanced upon them, and owing to
the sudden attack and the superiority of his artillery,
at first gained a considerable advantage, but afterwards
the weight of numbers told, and the British were forced
to retire to the town with sadly reduced numbers,
and Quebec was again besieged. On receipt of
this news Colville pushed on with his squadron, and
the arrival of the Vanguard and Diamond on the 17th,
followed by the Northumberland and the remainder on
the next day, caused the French to retire.
During the next four months the fleet
passed an uneventful time in the Canadian waters,
the flagship being moored in the Basin, and then on
the 12th September they received the acceptable news
that Montreal and the rest of the province of New
France had surrendered to General Amherst, and on
10th October the squadron again returned to Halifax
to winter quarters.
On 19th January 1761, Lord Colville
records in his Journal that he had “directed
the storekeeper to pay the Master of the Northumberland,
fifty pounds in consideration of his indefatigable
industry in making himself master of the pilotage
of the River St. Lawrence.” This is the
first official recognition that has been found of
the fact that Cook had gone beyond the ordinary duties
incumbent on every Master in His Majesty’s Service,
namely: “To observe all coasts, shoals,
and rocks, taking careful notes of the same.”
There is no record in any of the official documents
that Cook was specially engaged in surveying the river,
but it is very evident from this entry that he must
have done the work during the four months that his
ship was moored in the Basin of Quebec. That is
to say, his promotion to the Northumberland was previous
to, and not a consequence of his survey of the river,
and that it was on account of his fitness for the
work, and not because it had been done, as is constantly
asserted, that he had been selected.
The north American pilot.
Admiral Saunders had issued orders
the previous year, that the general instructions of
the Admiralty as to taking observations, soundings,
and bearings were to be carefully carried out, and
the information obtained was, as opportunity offered,
to be forwarded to him “so that all existing
charts may be corrected and improved.” This
information, in the ordinary course, would be handed
to Mr. Bissett, the Master of the flagship, for comparison
and compilation, and he, knowing Cook’s fitness
for the work, may have asked for his assistance and
thus introduced him to the notice of Saunders, noted
for his quick eye for merit, who, seeing his aptitude,
selected him for the completion of the task. Saunders,
after his return to England, wrote to the Secretary
of the Admiralty, on 22nd April 1760, saying that
he had, ready for publication, a Draught of the River
St. Lawrence with its harbours, bays, and islands,
and asked for their Lordships’ directions thereon.
With their Lordships’ approval it was published,
and may be found at the end of The North American Pilot,
London, 1775, together with other maps, some of which
are Cook’s work. At the commencement of
the book is a letter from Cook to the compiler of the
volume, congratulating him on the collection, and referring
to the fact that some of the charts contain his work,
but he does not lay claim to any special ones.
On Saunders’ chart there is a long note which
concludes:
“The distances between Isle
Coudre and Isle of Orleans, the Pillar Rocks
and Shoals in the south channel were accurately determined
by triangles. The other parts of this chart were
taken from the best French Draughts of this River.”
It is doubtful if this triangulation
could have been carried out by Cook during his passage
up and then down the river, the only time he had in
1759, but if it were, it argues much greater knowledge
of nautical surveying than he is generally supposed
to have had at the time.
During the winters that the Northumberland
stayed in Halifax Harbour, Cook employed his spare
time in improving his knowledge of all subjects that
were likely to be of service to him in his profession.
He read Euclid for the first time, and entered upon
a study of higher mathematics, especially devoting
himself to astronomy. King in his sketch of Cook’s
life, says, on the authority of the man himself, that
these studies were carried on “without any other
assistance than what a few books and his own industry
afforded him.”
At the opening of the season, Lord
Colville dispersed his squadron to those stations
where their services appeared most necessary, and remained
with his ship at Halifax, as it was considered inadvisable
to leave such an important naval post open to attack
from the French or the Spaniards. He had been
advised by despatches, dated 26th December 1761, that
war had been declared with the latter nation.
During this period of waiting the words “nothing
remarkable” are in constant use in Captain Adams’s
(the second Captain of the Northumberland) Journal.
Cook utilised this time to make a thorough survey
of Halifax Harbour, the notes of which are now in
the United Service Museum, Whitehall.
At length the period of inaction was
ended. Captain Charles Douglas, H.M.S. Syren,
who was cruising off Cape Race, received information
that a squadron of four French ships of the line,
having some 1500 picked troops on board, had made
a descent on Newfoundland, and had captured St. John’s,
the capital, which had been most shamefully neglected,
and its garrison reduced to 63 men. The Grammont,
22-gun sloop, was unfortunately in harbour at the
time, and was also taken. Douglas at once pressed
two English merchant vessels into the service, and
putting a petty officer in command of one, the William,
and his Master in the other, the Bonetta, despatched
them to cruise in search of Captain Graves, the reappointed
Governor of Newfoundland, who was daily expected from
England. The Bonetta soon fell in with the Antelope,
Graves’s ship, and she immediately joined Douglas,
and then proceeded to strengthen the Isle of Boys
as far as time would allow. Then going to Placentia,
a place of as much importance as St. John’s,
and more capable of defence, they set about making
preparations to beat off any attack, leaving a garrison
of 99 men and as many marines as could be spared.
Graves then despatched Douglas with the remainder
of the Syren’s marines to take possession of
Ferryland, and sent the ship herself off with letters
to Lord Colville, but the William having missed the
Antelope, made her way to Halifax with the news of
what had occurred.
Recapture of st. John’s.
Colville at once sent word to General
Amherst, Commander-in-Chief in America, asking him
to forward any troops he could spare, and started,
accompanied by the Gosport, and an armed colonial vessel,
the King George, 20 guns, to cruise off the Newfoundland
coast in order to prevent the arrival of French reinforcements
or supplies. He met Graves at Placentia on 14th
August, and landed all the marines he could, and then
continued his cruise. Amherst collected every
available man from New York, Halifax, and Louisberg,
and putting them under the command of his brother,
Colonel William Amherst, ordered him to use every despatch
and join Lord Colville without delay. This the
Colonel succeeded in doing on 12th September off Cape
Spear, and the next day they landed at Torbay, some
three leagues north of St. John’s. They
drove in the French outposts and took possession of
a small harbour named Quidi Vidi, which had been
blocked at the entrance by the French. Clearing
away the obstructions they landed their stores and
some artillery, and advancing on St. John’s,
compelled its surrender on the 17th. Notwithstanding
that, as Captain Graves reported, “the French
had put St. John’s in a better state of defence
than ever we had it in.”
On the 16th a strong gale blew the
English ship some distance off the coast, and was
followed by a thick fog, during which the French squadron
managed to tow out of the harbour, but were in such
a hurry to get away that they did not stop to pick
up their boats and immediately made sail, being so
far out of reach in the morning, that though some of
them were seen by the British, it was not realised
that they could be the French escaping from a squadron
inferior in strength. Lord Colville, writing to
the Admiralty, says:
“At six next morning it being
calm with a great swell, we saw from the masthead,
but could not bring them down no lower than halfway
to topmast shrouds, four sail bearing South-South-East,
distance 7 leagues. We lost sight about seven,
though very clear, and sometime after a small breeze
springing up from the South-West quarter, I stood towards
Torbay in order to cover the shallops that might be
going from thence to Kitty Vitty. In the afternoon
I received a note from Colonel Amherst, acquainting
me that the French fleet got out last night.
Thus after being blocked up in St. John’s Harbour
for three weeks by a squadron of equal number, but
smaller ships with fewer guns and men, M. de Ternay
made his escape in the night by a shameful flight.
I beg leave to observe that not a man in the squadron
imagined the four sail, when we saw them, were the
enemy; and the pilots were of opinion that they must
have had the wind much stronger than with us to overcome
the easterly swell in the harbour’s mouth.
I sent the King George as far as Trepassy, to bring
me intelligence if the enemy should steer towards
Placentia; and I directed Captain Douglas of the Syren
to get the transports moved from Torbay, a very unsafe
road, to the Bay of Bulls.”
As soon as information was received
in England that an expedition had been sent from France,
the Admiralty despatched a squadron under Captain
Pallisser in pursuit, and as it arrived in St. John’s
only four days after M. de Ternay left, they must
have been very close to a meeting.
Cook meets cook.
Whilst the movements leading up to
the recapture of St. John’s were being carried
on, communication between Colville and Amherst was
kept up by the boats of the fleet under the charge
of the third lieutenant of H.M.S. Gosport, Mr.
James Cook, formerly Master of H.M.S. Mercury,
who performed this duty to the complete satisfaction
of Lord Colville as signified in his despatches to
the Admiralty. It is certain, therefore, that
the two namesakes must have come face to face here,
and most probably previously in Halifax Harbour.
Entering St. John’s Harbour
on 19th September, the flagship remained till 7th
October, during which time Cook was very busily employed
in assisting to place the island in a better state
of defence. In a despatch of Lord Colville’s,
dated “Spithead, 25th October 1762,” he
says:
“I have mentioned in another
letter, that the fortifications on the Island of Carbonera
were entirely destroyed by the enemy. Colonel
Amherst sent thither Mr. Desbarres, an engineer, who
surveyed the island and drew a plan for fortifying
it with new works: when these are finished the
Enterprise’s six guns will be ready to mount
on them. But I believe nothing will be undertaken
this year, as the season is so far advanced, and no
kind of materials on the spot for building barracks
or sheds for covering the men, should any be sent
there. Mr. Cook, Master of the Northumberland,
accompanied Mr. Desbarres. He has made a draught
of Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera, both of
which are in a great measure commanded by the Island,
which lies off a point of land between them.
Hitherto we have had a very imperfect knowledge of
these places, but Mr. Cook, who was particularly careful
in sounding them, has discovered that ships of any
size may lie in safety both in Harbour Grace and the
Bay of Carbonera.”
Mr. Desbarres’s design for the
fortification of Carbonera, drawn by John Chamberlain,
dated 7th April 1763, is to be found in the British
Museum; he was afterwards Governor of Cape Breton.
On the return of the Northumberland
to Spithead, where she arrived on 24th October, her
Master, James Cook, was discharged, the Muster Roll
merely noting “superseded” on 11th November,
and the pay sheet records the deductions from his
wages as: “Chest, 2 pounds 1 shilling 0
pence; Hospital, 1 pound 0 shillings 6 pence.
Threepence in the pound, 3 pounds 14 shillings 9 pence,”
leaving a balance due of 291 pounds 19 shillings 3
pence. He also received from Lord Colville for
the Secretary to the Admiralty the following letter
which shows the estimation he was held in by his immediate
superiors, and would doubtless be of weight when the
appointment of a man to execute greater undertakings
came under the consideration of their Lordships.
London, 30th December 1762.
Sir,
Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland,
acquaints me that he has laid before their Lordships
all his draughts and observations relating to the
River St. Lawrence, part of the coast of Nova Scotia,
and of Newfoundland.
On this occasion I beg to inform their
Lordships that from my experience of Mr. Cook’s
genius and capacity, I think him well qualified for
the work he has performed and for greater undertakings
of the same kind. These draughts being made under
my own eye, I can venture to say they may be the means
of directing many in the right way, but cannot mislead
any.
I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Colville.
Marriage.
Before the close of the year Cook
took upon himself further responsibilities as set
forth in the following extract from the register of
St. Margaret’s Church, Barking, Essex:
“James Cook of ye Parish of
St. Paul, Shadwell, in ye County of Middlesex, Bachelor,
and Elizabeth Batts, of ye parish of Barking in ye
County of Essex, Spinster, were married in this Church
by ye Archbishop of Canterbury’s Licence, this
21st day of December, one thousand seven hundred and
sixty-two, by George Downing, Vicar of Little Wakering,
Essex.”
Besant, who obtained his information
from Mrs. Cook’s second cousin, the late Canon
Bennett, who as a boy knew her well, speaks most highly
of her mental qualities and personal appearance, and
says the union appears to have been a very happy one.
It covered a period of about sixteen years; but taking
into consideration the times he was away on duty, sometimes
for long periods, Cook’s home life in reality
only extended to a little more than four years, and
Mrs. Cook must often have been months, sometimes years,
without even hearing of the existence of her husband.
Her family were fairly well-to-do; her grandfather,
Mr. Charles Smith, was a currier in Bermondsey; her
cousin, also Charles Smith, was a clockmaker of repute
in Bunhill Row. Her mother, Mary Smith, married
first John Batts of Wapping, and secondly, John Blackburn
of Shadwell. Miss Batts is described as of Barking
in the Marriage Register, so may perhaps have been
living with relations there, and may have met Cook
when on a visit to her mother in Shadwell, where he
was residing. The engagement must have been very
short, for from the time of his joining the Navy in
1755 to his return from Newfoundland in 1762, his leave
on shore had been very limited, and, with the exception
perhaps of a day or two between leaving the Eagle
and joining the Solebay, and again when leaving the
latter ship for the Pembroke, none of his time was
spent in London. There is a story that he was
godfather to his wife, and at her baptism vowed to
marry her, but as at that time, 1741, Cook was assisting
his father on Airy Holme Farm, the tale is too absurd,
but has for all that been repeatedly published.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Cook lived for a time in Shadwell, and then removed
to Mile End Old Town, where Cook purchased a house,
which was their home till after his death. This
house, which he left to his wife, has been identified
as Number 88 Mile End Road, and a tablet has been
placed on the front to mark the fact.