Read CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND of The Life of Captain James Cook, free online book, by Arthur Kitson, on ReadCentral.com.

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.