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Bodleian Library, MS Eng. Lett. c. 25. Previously published: Charles Cuthbert Southey (ed.), Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, 6 vols (London, 1849–1850), IV, pp. 29–31 [in part].
These letters were edited with the assistance of Carol Bolton, Tim Fulford and Ian Packer
For permission to publish the text of MSS in their possession, the editor wishes to thank the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University; Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations; the Bodleian Library Oxford University; the British Library; Boston Public Library; the Syndics of Cambridge University Library; the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge; Haverford College, Connecticut; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; the Hornby Library, Liverpool Libraries and Information Services; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the John Rylands Library, Manchester; the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas; Luton Museum (Bedfordshire County Council); Massachusetts Historical Society; McGill University Library; the National Library of Scotland; the Newberry Library, Chicago; the New York Public Library (Pforzheimer Collections); the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; the Public Record Offices of Bedford, Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds) and Northumberland, the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne; the Trustees of the William Salt Library, Stafford, the Wisbech and Fenland Museum; the University of Virginia Library.
A research grant from the British Academy made much of the archival work possible, as did support from the English Department of Nottingham Trent University.
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The half bills are safely arrived.
Tom is made quite unhappy by these repeated victories of the Americans, & for
my own part I regard them with the deepest & gloomiest forebodings.from
<in> America,in what man how it is that our ships are so soon not merely demolished,
–not merely disabled. Wordsworth & I agreed in suspecting some
improvement in gunnery, (FultonNautilus, the first workable submarine.readi discovered something) – before I saw the same supposition thrown out in the Times.Macedonian, defeated and dismasted by USS United States on 25 October 1812. It could be
connected to the inadequacy and inaccuracy of the ship’s long-range fire, when compared with that of its opponent.an opini a belief in the navy which I heard
from Ponsonby,Nereide
and in spring 1810 he was given command of the Africaine, part of the fleet at the Cape of Good Hope station.
The Africaine was captured by the French off Mauritius in October 1810. Corbet was killed in the action, along
with 35 of his shipmates. It was widely, but falsely, rumoured that the Africaine’s crew had refused to fight,
preferring death to victory under their captain.he turning to C. he said to him in a low voice, – here comes one of those men who will one day blow up the British navy.
I do not know that the Capt of the Macedonian was a tyrant.United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur (1779–1820), had dismasted and
captured HMS Macedonian, captained by John Surnam Carden (1771–1858). This followed the capture of HMS Mandarin on 11 October 1812. Although the United States was a large ship, Carden was
heavily criticised for the loss of the Macedonian and never held an active command again. He remained in the
navy and continued to rise through the ranks, reaching full Admiral before his death.Peacock which was sunk in action
against USS Hornet off the mouth of the Demerara River, Guyana on 24 February 1813. Peake died in the action.
His wife was Mary Wordsworth (1780–1853), a second cousin of William Wordsworth.new improvement
in the manufactory of powder – or in the manner of loading, – &c – . But as a general fact, & of tremendous application, I
verily believe that the sailors prefer the Enemys service to that our own. – It is in vain to treat the matter lightly, – or
seek to conceal from ourselves the extent of the evil. – Our naval superiority is destroyed!
____
My chief business in town will be to make arrangements for supplying the huge deficit which the termination of my
labours in the Registercurrent present account the <my Spanish> materials, & still more the insight which I
have acquired in the course of four years employme into the history of the war in the peninsula, & – to
recast that portion of the Register, <carry in the it on> & bring it forth in a suitable form.xxx the document which I doubt not he
would very readily fa supply; & I should have occasion for all the assistance from the public <foreign>
office which my friends could procur obtain. To the Marquis I have
means of access thro Mr Littleton, & probably also, thro Giffa via
Gifford thro Canning.
– It may be of use if you make known my wishes in that quarter.
Travelling I doubt not, – or rather change of place of air & of the whole moral atmosphere, will be beneficial to
me. I meant to halt one day at Leeds, where I can get letters to a Cicerone,& i thence if Sir G Beaumont should be in the country – I shall make my way to him at Coleorton. – I
am now going for a week to Lloyds with the two Ediths,a xxxx
condemnation to Killbrat.
Your old landlord has sustained a heavy loss in his son poor Daniel,