Nelson & His World

Discussion on the life and times of Admiral Lord Nelson
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 Post subject: Sir William Sidney Smith
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:33 am 
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Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:28 pm
Posts: 145
I think my other favourite, Sir Sidney Smith deserves his own site and more attention/appreciation from us. I read on his Internet biographies that he did have a short relationship with Princess Caroline of Whales. Nelson did not really like SSS. Most of the disliking seemed to have been from Nelson's side, I never read anywhere what SSS thoughts/feelings were about Nelson.

Sidney Smith was undoubtedly a very remarkable man.

In the book The terror before Trafalgar written by Tom Pocock it is said:

Not all Nelson’s public appearances were so successful. In June 1802 there had been the subscription diner at the London Tavern in the City to raise money for a naval orphanage, at which there had been another guest of honour, his former bete noir captain Sir Sidney Smith. Rising to address the 200 diners, Nelson spoke briefly, “thanking them for their attention to these brave men, who had died in the service of their Country”, as the Naval Chronicle reported: the orphanage was “an institution that could not fail, for it must be grateful to the Deity, who would bless and prosper so charitable an undertaking”
At this point, however, he was upstaged by the officer who had ridden up Whitehall to the Admiralty in Turkish robes and turban. The report continued that Sir Sidney Smith had spoken of the orphans’ dead fathers, saying that “unfortunately for him, too many were in the list of his dearest friends. (Here SSS feelings were too great for utterance -his head sunk- the big tear rolled down the hero’s cheek). A solemn silence prevailed for several minutes and soft sympathy filled many a manly bosom, until Sir Sidney was roused by the thunder of applause which followed. “He finally sat down to more applause, the choir sang “Rule Britannia” and the national anthem, and a choirboy recited a poem beginning.

Ah! Not in vain, their gallant blood they shed,
Since British bounty shrinks not from the dead……

Nelson put a brave face on it, congratulating Smith and inviting him to visit him at Merton.


In the Nicolas edition of the Dispatches and letters of Lord Nelson, volume 3 is this letter Nelson wrote about SSS to St. Vincent

Private
Palermo, March 8th, 1799

My dear lord,
The arrival of the Bonne Citoyenne enables me to send the Ministers letters from Constantinople; but, in truth, I am at a loss to guess when Sir Sidney Smith writes to me as a Minister or Captain in the Navy; as the latter, they are highly indecent to write to an officer of my Rank. You will agree with me, that the manner of saying the same thing makes it proper or otherwise; but Sir Sidney’s dictatorial way of writing is what I never before met with. I shall, my Lord, keep a sufficient force in the Levant for the service required of us, but not a ship for Captain Smith’s parade and nonsense -Commodore Smith- I beg his pardon, for he wears a broad pendant- has he any orders for this presumption over the heads of so many good and gallant Officers with me?
Whenever Sir Sidney Smith went on board the Tigre in state, as he calls it, the Royal Standard was hoisted at the mast-head, and twenty-one guns fired. The Turks, however, who love solid sense and not frippery, see into the Knight’s, and wonder that some of Sir Sidney’s superiors were not sent to Constantinople; but I have done with the Knight.


There are also parts of letters from SSS to Nelson in the Nicolas edition present, the ones Nelson felt so much offended with/about.

Three letters from SSS to Lord Nelson , dated on the 24th of January and the 6th and 18th of February are in the Nelson papers, an though from his strong feeling against Sir Sidney’s appointment, they may not have pleased him, as they are written in an independent and decided tone, neither of them deserves to be called “impertinent”. The letter partially alluded to, seems to have been that of the 6th of February, wherein Sir Sidney communicated the result of his conference with the Reis Effendi respecting the number of ships which were to be placed under Sir Sidney’s orders in the Levant. “It is easy” Sir Sidney said, “to answer the Reis Effendi’s remark on the small number of Line of Battleships destined for that service; but I found it impossible not to admit that a proportionate number of Frigates having been promised, the promise ought to be preformed, and it was agreed that the number should not be less than those which your Lordship supposed to be that of the enemy in Alexandria, whereas captain Hood’s list reported them to be eight, (in addition to the two Flutes)” …. “I find it difficult to limit the number to those. However, on the faith of your statement, I insisted that it would be sufficient; I suppose you reckon on the Junon, La Muiron, and La Carriere, which were stated to be fitting for a run to France, being already sailed from Alexandria, by your fixing the number so much lower than Captain Hood. Be this as it may, I trust to your Lordship’s enabling me to keep faith with the Turks, and thereby show ourselves to be more correct and liberal than those (the Russians) you allude to so justly in your dispatches to my brother”.

By the way it seems Sir Sidney Smith did visit Nelson in Merton, although I don’t know whether they had dinner together or not.

Sylvia


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