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Nelson and His Navy - The Surgeon

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Amongst the wide range of duties that came within the scope of a Surgeon were the treatment of fractures, hernias (the most common of minor ailments among sailors) "Plymouth Argyles", toothache and scurvy - to name but a few.

Cordials prepared from limes ( when available-other citruses such as lemons where not ) were extremely effective in the treatment of scurvy. That's why British tars were probably not too concerned with the taunt of "Limey" from the Jonathons - at least they had their teeth and hair!

There were also other "recreational" ailments acquired on shore, for which the Surgeon could issue his little "blue pill" with varying degrees of efficacy.

Enlightened Surgeons would take on such advanced techniques as trephining of the skull in the case of depressed fractures. It is quite easy to imagine the nature of sailors' injuries - crushing, strains, falls, blows from falling objects - sea-sickness! the list is endless.

It was known for sailors to be rendered senseless by the continual banging of their heads on low deck-beams, There was, of course, nothing to be done for these poor fellows.

A great killer, of course, was infection . This could be post-operative, from a bullet or simply caused by a splinter or cut. Vinegar was used copiously as a disinfectant, salt put into wounds.

Battle injuries were on an almost unimaginable scale of trauma, and the knife and amputation saws, bullet probes and restraints were always on hand. Injuries from the battle included lacerations, compound fractures, blast injury, concussion, gunshot and severe burns. Many men would have died as a result of blood-loss and shock - conditions well understood today.

There was little or no anaesthesia or pain relief, and in battle, mortally wounded men were often discreetly slipped overboard by their mates to save them from unnecessary suffering at the hands of the hard-pressed surgeon and his loblolly boy. Surgeons did not, on the whole, enjoy the full confidence of ordinary sailors, although, in the main, surgeons did the best that they could within their medical experience and the accepted best practice of the times.

It should be remembered, however, that given the number of ships in the Royal Navy, it was really quite rare, or certainly not guaranteed, for a crew to see significant action, so the idea that the Orlop deck was always awash with gore is not a true reflection of the reality. Rather, there were cases of mundane illnesses and injuries mixed with a few acute cases from time to time.

It is frequently thought that the surgeon tucked himself away in the orlop at the first smell of slowmatch and busied himself ready for his gruesome task. Maybe this was normally true but there are plenty of instances when this was not the case. An example of this is Cochrane's surgeon who was left alone on the SPEEDY to steer while everyone else, including Cochrane, boarded the EL GAMO. However the incident which caught my imagination concerns the surgeon of the SURPRISE, one Mr John M'Mullen. The SURPRISE, a 28 gun frigate had been sent by Sir Hyde Parker in October 1799 to re-capture the HERMIONE which had been handed over to the Spanish in 1797 by a mutinous crew. True, they had much to be mutinous about for the captain, Pigot, was a brutal flogger and a sadist. It was however the murder of Pigot and nine other officers by the mutineers which turned opinion totally against them and the navy had a very long memory where mutiny was concerned. Eventually the SURPRISE under Captain Edward Hamilton found her (renamed SANTA CECILIA) in the Gulf of Venezuela at a harbour named Puerto Cabella protected by two gun batteries in the surrounding hills. Hamilton prepared to cut her out and the HERMIONE's bloody history ensured all the crew wanted to join the expedition. All the ship's boats were employed and one of them was commanded by M'Mullen who was to take his sixteen men and board over the larboard side, sending four men aloft to loosen the foretops'l. However the convoy was spotted and all hell broke loose on the night of the attack. M'Mullen's men from the gig boarded over the larboard bow and M'Mullen having sent his topmen away led the rest along the larboard gangway for a rendezvous with Hamilton on the quarterdeck. Before he could be checked M'Mullen led his men in a wild dash for the starboard gangway where the Gunner was being pressed hard by Spaniards. A desperate fight occurred and it took some time before M'Mullen had defeated the opposition and had therefore cleared the upper deck of Spaniards. In all this Hamilton had been wounded and ordered his men together. He had fifty five men against the Spanish three hundred and sixty five, all of whom were below decks and firing up through the hatches at anyone who showed their face. He ordered his Marines under Lieutenant de la Tour du Pin and the sailors to fire together down a hatch and then leap down to the lower deck. This they did and by so doing cut the Spanish force in two. Sixty Spaniards were forced back towards the Captain's cabin while the rest were forced forward. By now the other boats had cut HERMIONE's anchor cable and were trying to tow her out. The Spanish batteries were firing grape and roundshot and succeeded in cutting the mainstay and wounding Hamilton for the fourth time. Eventually the ship was got under way and many Spaniards jumped from the gun-ports to avoid capture.

Within an hour it was all over and the remaining Spanish surrendered. The red ensign was run up over the red and gold Spanish flag.

The butcher's bill was, at least for the British not too bad, twelve wounded and no-one killed while the Spanish had one hundred and nineteen killed and ninety-seven wounded. They also had one hundred and thirty-four prisoners.

Hamilton was knighted for his gallant action while the officers of the SURPRISE bought M'Mullen a presentation sword in honour of his night's work. He was also entitled to about £670 as his share of the prize money paid out when the HERMIONE was bought back into the King's service for £16,095.15s9^d. The name was also changed to the RETALIATION. Sir Edward Hamilton was later dismissed the service for seizing a gunner to the shrouds. As a warrant officer a gunner could not be treated thus and should be court-martialled. Hamilton was later re-instated.

Incidentally M'Mullen's fictional (I think) son, now a lieutenant in the Navy appears as the commander of the cutter ECLAIR which stops Aubrey's SURPRISE near Norfolk Island in O'Brian's 'Clarissa Oakes'. In this it is made clear that Aubrey's vessel is the same one that cut out the HERMIONE. Aubrey was not on board her although he had been a 'middie' in her before the adventure and had been turned before the mast for smuggling a woman on board.