'It is of the utmost importance that the Emperor leaves the soil of France as soon as possible,' one letter began. 'The interests of the State and the safety of his person make this absolutely necessary.' He was advised that he must leave within the next twenty-four hours, either on one of the frigates or on a smaller vessel, or if contrary winds prevented him sailing on either of these, he should consider going on board an English ship.
Napoleon could no longer delay a decision, but what were his options? If he and his party set sail on the frigates he risked a sea battle, the death or wounding of the men, women and children in his retinue, and ignominious capture by the British. If he remained in the vicinity of Rochefort he was likely to become a prisoner of the Bourbons or, worse still, the Prussians or the Austrians. Or he could surrender himself to the British and ask for political asylum in England. The latter choice seemed to him preferable. He therefore decided that General Savary and Count Las Cases must be despatched to the Bellerophon in order to find out from her captain how the British authorities were likely to respond to such a gesture.
At first light on the morning of 10 July the two envoys embarked on the schooner Mouche, flying a white flag of truce, and headed for the British warship which was sailing on her usual station off the seaward end of the Ile d'Oléron. It was a fresh summer morning with a light breeze and a few scattered clouds in an otherwise clear sky. As the schooner drew closer, the Bellerophon hove to and lowered a boat. With a lieutenant in the stern giving directions the sailors rowed across the intervening water and intercepted the French vessel as she rounded up into the wind with her sails flapping. General Savary and Count Las Cases were helped down into the boat and just before 8 am they came alongside the massive, battle-scarred sides of the veteran ship. They were greeted at the companionway by Captain Maitland. The meeting of the three men marked the opening move in a political drama which would decide the fate of Napoleon and throw the spotlight of history on the Bellerophon and her captain.
Captain Maitland was in many ways ideally suited for the part he found himself having to play. He came from the Scottish aristocracy and was a natural diplomat with a courteous and charming manner and a keen intelligence. He was also a highly experienced naval officer who had led an action-packed life. As the son of a distinguished naval captain who had served under Admiral Rodney and commanded the royal yacht, he entered the navy at an early age. He was present at the Battle of the Glorious First of June as a midshipman on the frigate Southampton and would have been in a good position to observe the heroic performance of the Bellerophon during the four-day action. As a junior lieutenant he had been court-martialled and honourably discharged for wrecking an 18-gun brig at the entrance of the River Tagus. Chosen by the formidable Lord St Vincent to be his flag lieutenant, he had been sent to investigate the Spanish fleet off Gibraltar in a small, armed cutter. He had fought off one Spanish warship, but been forced to surrender to another. The Spanish admiral had been so impressed by his bravery that he returned him to the British fleet without requesting an exchange of prisoners. In 1800 he commanded the armed launches during the landing of Abercromby's army in Egypt and earned the praise of Sir Sydney Smith for his conduct. Later, as commander of the frigate Loire and then the frigate Emerald, he captured or destroyed no fewer than seventeen enemy vessels on the southern coast of Spain. For his daring raid on the vessels in Muros Harbour in 1805 he received the thanks of the City of London, was presented with a sword by Lloyd's Patriotic Fund and was given the freedom of the City of Cork.
After two years in command of a 74-gun ship in the West Indies and then in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he returned to Britain and was preparing to take a convoy of transport ships across the Atlantic when news reached England that Napoleon had escaped from Elba. Maitland was recalled from convoy duty and appointed to command the Bellerophon which was then lying in the Nore. On a fine spring day in April 1815 he read his commission to the assembled crew and a month later was on his way to the Bay of Biscay in the squadron commanded by Sir Henry Hotham. Maitland was now thirty-seven years old, a tall, lean man with a slight stoop, a shock of unruly hair and a distinctive Scottish accent. His pleasant, relaxed manner as a commander was in contrast to his alarmingly efficient first lieutenant Andrew Mott. This led Midshipman Home to speculate that Maitland cleverly contrived to get a tartar appointed to this post, 'so that between the captain's good nature and the lieutenant's severity, which he occasionally checked and tempered when he thought the lieutenant was likely to exceed bounds, the ship was kept in capital discipline.'
When General Savary and Count Las Cases stepped on board the Bellerophon on 10 July Captain Maitland took them to the great cabin in the stern. This had been the seagoing home, office, war room and retreat for no fewer than fourteen commanders of the ship over the past twenty-nine years. It was furnished simply but elegantly with fine mahogany furniture in the Regency style and every surface was as clean and polished and scrubbed as the decks and gear throughout the rest of the ship. The sweeping curve of the stern windows provided a panoramic view across the glistening water towards the green slopes of the nearer islands and the distant masts of the sailing vessels anchored in the roadstead. After the preliminary courtesies had been exchanged General Savary handed Maitland the following letter which, although signed by General Bertrand, had been dictated by Napoleon and was addressed to the admiral commanding the British ships before the port of Rochefort:
Sir,
The Emperor Napoleon having abdicated the throne of France, and chosen the United States of America as a retreat, is, with his suite, at present embarked on board the two frigates which are in this port, for the purpose of proceeding to his destination. He expects a passport from the British Government, which has been promised to him, and which induces me to send the present flag of truce, to demand of you, Sir, if you have any knowledge of the above-mentioned passport, or if you think it is the intention of the British Government to throw any impediment in the way of our voyage to the United States. I shall feel much obliged by your giving me any information you may possess on the subject.
I have directed the bearers of the letter to present you my thanks, and to apologise for any trouble it may cause.