Naming of the hood.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 10

Naming of the hood.

♦ „ . « r "' FAMOUS ADMIRAL'S MEMORY. -/■ : "■'.'•/'/■'/';//-:'/- '■•'/ ; ----//;.-..-■:/;-" HERO OF 18TH CENTURY. i-/;".:- ::V/;)/ ';/" ; EXPONENT OF " NELSON * TOUCH?" OPERATIONS- OFF ST. KITTS. -/ r By her, name, the • great battle cruiser that/ heads the . Special Service Squadron •honours the memory of 'Sir Samuel- (afterwards Lord Hood, who valiantly helped to defend England during the half-century before Trafalgar/" ; Nelson,,, indeed, was one of Hood's captains, and while one would hesitate ; to suggest that the peerless admiral drew inspiration from Hood or any / other commander of an earlier day, /.there ' is no question that Hood's methods were of the same order as those Nelson employeda ' combination of seamanship, skill, abounding 'confidence and sheer audacity. >- It is on record that Nelson /had 7 enthusiastic .'admiration for Hood, who. came* from a Somerset vicarage., _' .. ; England - was in desperate plight when Hood, having attracted attention by his capture of French privateers, reached high rank as second in command to Admiral Rodney on the North American station. France, Spain and Holland were allied against/her;- and the Frenchaided colonists • of. America were in rebellion, and achieving considerable success. England's naval strength , was so seriously divided that actually • she was on the defensive, and of the admirals of the time only Hood, and possibly Howe, displayed that . bold initiative, known afterwards as "the Nelson touch," which was so sorely needed to meet such a situation. Energy and . Audacity. Writing of Hood's operations at the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies, Mahan, the naval . historian, iaya: "Regarded as a single operation, thisv was brilliant throughout, but when considered with reference to the general situation inEngland at the time, a much higher esimate must be formed of the admiral's qualities. St. Kitts itself might not be worth the risk, but it was of the first importance that energy and audacity should be ' carried into ; the conduct of England's naval war, that some great success should light upon her flag. . . . Had this man been first instead of second in command at Chesapeake, Cornwallis might have been saved." .Mahan alludes to British procrastination / that enabled the united French fleet on the American coast to establish itself in a strongly fortified anchorage ■ in Chesapeake Bay,, and the absence of any attempt being made to 'dislodge it. • The story of Hood at St. Kitts (or St. Christopher Island) is a thrilling one. In November, 1781, the capitulation of Yorktown having been completed and the French apparently none too anxious to give aid to. the colonists for carrying the war further/ south, on the ground that the termination of the war would enable England to increase her efforts against France, • De Grasse's fleet sailed from Chesapeake, and. taking on board 6000 troops at' Martinique, set sail on an , expedition . against Barbadoes. Frustrated by ' the trade winds, De Grasse proceeded . against St. Kitts. lii January, 1782, the fleet anchored off the town of Basse Terre and the small English garrison was beleaguered in the fort of Brimstone Hill, 10 miles north. , Hood's Plan of Action. " Hood had followed De' Grasse, he, in the continued - absence of Rodney, being : in r command of the station. / He had 22 ships ; to . the French 29, but the'; latter were, so superior, class for class that their advantage was about 50 per cent. —that is, if'no allowance is made for the high qualities of Hood, his captains and hi men. The French fleet was anchored in disorder, three or four deep, not expecting attack. Another point was that all eastern ships were so placed that vessels approaching from the south could reach them w : th the usual wind. Hood had intended to -appear at early daylight in order of and ready for battle, and fall upon the eastern ships, ' filing by them' with ■ his whole fleet, thus concentrating the fire of all upon a few of the enemy. / Then turning away so as to escape the guns of the others he proposed first wearing and then tacking tc keep' his fleet circling in a long procession past that part \ of the enemy s ships chosen for attack. The plan was audacious, but undeniably sound in principle, says Mahan. Owing to the/ action of a lieutenant in hoving.to a frigate at the head -0? the fleet during, the night, a s'hip-of-the-line collided with her and several hours, were lost in' repairing the; damage. . Thus , the French were warned of Hood's approach, and although not ' (inspecting his intention to attack, De Grassa feared"he.might pass - down to leeward and disturb 1 the siege of Brimstone Hill. - ' / * Enemy's Anchorage Secured. - At 1 p.m. on January 24, the . English fleet rounded south of the island and De Grasse got under way and stood to the southward. Hood ,' manoeuvred, leading De Grasse to believe he was retreating. He was well to windward of his opponent and maintained his advantage through the night. After daybreak/ Hood made further manoeuvres that got the French admiral more to leeward. *' Then, with a touch of that' audacity which made the fame of Nelson, Hood decided to seize the anchorage out of which his adversary had allowed himself to be lured. This, however, placed him between the besiegers of Brimstone Hill and their fleet ? or if the fleet anchored beneath the hill, the English fleet would be between. it and its .base in Martinique, ready to intercept supplies.■;/;■ : /;'/ ,j.; .; At '2 p.m. thft British fleet dropped anchor, and 20 minutes . later the outwitted, French opened fire from their van against .the rear ships. f. There . was ,-too wide a gap between the fourth and ' fifth ships from the rear, and the French flagship pushed for it, but ■ was foiled by the Canada, which threw * all sails aback and dropped down in front of the huge enemy. The English van, ; which/ had escaped attack, was rapidly anchoring in its appointed position. ; Hood, - in the centre,proudly reliant upon the skill and conduct of his captains, made signal for the ships ahead to carry a press of sail and gain their positions, 'regardless of the danger to the threatened rear. The latter, closely pressed and outnumbered, stood on •. unswervingly, shortened sail, and •: came to anchor, one, by one in a line ahead, under the roar of the guns of;, their baffled enemies, who filed by, delivered their- fire, and bore off again . to' the " southward/ leaving their % former ' berths to their weaker but'cleverer antagonists. ; ■ ■/ The anchorage thus brilliantly taken by ;Hood was used by him with much more skill. . The line made almost / a v-right-angle, and ran so close. to the shore that another vessel could not have passed the end ship, nor, with the prevailing wind and the . existence of a shoal, : . even have reached her. . Hood's -Barfleur was,the ship that/formed the apex of the ,; angle. All preparations were made against attempts to ' dislodge" the English - ships, which . had, .springs .out,/ enabling., them .to be hauled •round, so that their /broadsides could be trained over a wide area. / . ' ' : Two Fruitless : Attacks. De Grasse made his ■ attack: next day, in single line, but such a method against a line of 20, carefully arranged, was faulty in the extreme. The French 'steered; for •Hood's easternflank,vand the -van; ship; received the concentrated fire of four ships, using their springs, and limped away-from the fray.. Ship after ship went by without -result. A similarly ; fruitless attack .was made r the next day.'/ For two "weeks' the British fleet refrained on the anchorage. Then the tiny garrison on Brimstone. Hill ; • was/overcome, - giving possession /of ;:the'island y to ; ; the French troops. Hood -.v. h ad sat 'frith his head / in the lion's mouth. He was comparatively weak, but he hoped ' that Rodney would arrive with." support. r" ' :^/;Un/"/. h P-PMrMMPPPP' r PP'P

■ 'I".Z —•'■iiii '" "■ -■ 17m Tr'miiii) Hi—wnatw* "Hi" * Warn (&€v ; tii&si (eil'it&S':; Frtitck &€6t 'anchored, and the following night Hood's vessels, without fioisf? or 1 signal, : jailed away.- . " ■:* ■■." ' v '•• *"• v On January 25 Rodney joined : Hood at Sfca, ; Lucia and took command of - the combined fleet, comprising %37 ships %ox the : line. ■* De Grass© was at ; Fort Royal. Soon after . the Battle ,of the Saints ; off | Dominica took place, but owing to the absence of i .wind it was not decisive, although De Grasso had to surrender his flagship tar Hood's Barfleur and four ; other Vessels were taken ;in the' pursuit. " Hood's > was one of the . two squadrons that broke through . the French line, in this battle. •— Hood's Later Career. Hood received "a peerage and daring the peace entered the House of Commons. On the outbreak of the revolutionary war, he became ' commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. : He occupied Toulon at the invitation of the French ; Royalists and in co-operation with the Spaniards; Napoleon recovered the town and - Hood occupied Corsica. ' During this operation the French succeeded in sending a fleet to sea and Hood promptly sailed to attack it in the Golfe Juan, his plans having possibly been the model for Nelson at the Battle of the Nile, but unfavourable wind prevented him from engaging the enemy. Soon' afterwards he was recalled to England as a result of K a quarrel with the Government of which the times were so ;■ prolific. : He died ' at the age of 92 years.- ,'r ;■/ Cousin of the Admiral. There was ; another • Admiral Samuel Hood, cousin of Lord Hood, who worthily upheld the traditions of f the name and whose memory the battle-cruiser may also he intended to revive. He fought under ; his cousin in * the West Indies" and seryed with Nelson -in several battles. Becoming commodore of the Leeward Station he practically drove the French out of the West Indies, in which operations he lost an arm. In 1807 he brought the operations against Madeira to a successful inclusion and then: took the Centaur to aid Sweden against, Russia, greatly distinguishing himself. H# died in 1814 at the age of 52. . ' An elder brother, Captain Alexander Hood, died in 1708 as the sword of the captain of the French ship Hercule was being placed in his hand. Hood's ship Mars /ought V duel with the Hercule of similar strength and the French captain was compelled to strike his flag. Both captains were mortally wounded in the fight. Hood With Captain Cook. Special interest attaches to the memory of this last-named Hood, as far as this Dominion is concerned. He links the illustrious family with New Zealand, for, as a ' midshipman, 14 years ■of age, he accompanied Captain Cook on his second great voyage of discovery which was commenced in July!, 1772, and extended over three years. During that memorable voyage :■ Cook's vessels, the Resolution, of* 462 tons, and the Adventure, of 330 tons, carrying between them 193 men, touched at New Zealand in. March, 1773, and once again later. It is inter esting at this time to record that Captain Cook's tiny ship, on this cruise in search for a vast • Antarctic continent, covered about 60,000 miles, which is a considerably greater distance , than . will be covered by any of the vessels of the Special Service Squadron. The point of peculiar interest, however, is that young Alexander Hood, a member of a great family of sailors, whose name is borna r, by; the greatest warship of the world, set foot on the shores of New Zealand 150 years ago. „ Boy though he was, he helped to chart the coasts which the great Hood has havigated. V' ,