Lieutenant Cumby who had taken command of the Bellerophon at Trafalgar when his captain was killed, never rose to the exalted rank of admiral but played an active role as a naval captain during the remainder of the war against France. He spent several years in the West Indies and was then given command of the Hyperion, a 32-gun frigate. When Napoleon surrendered to Captain Maitland off La Rochelle, Cumby was keeping watch on the French coast off Lorient, less than 150 miles away. On the declaration of peace in 1815 Cumby went on half pay on the grounds of ill-health and returned to the family home in the village of Heighington, County Durham. Like so many sailors he had seen very little of his wife and children while serving at sea, and tragically his wife died a few months before peace was declared. For a while the three children were looked after by their grandparents and their nurse, but in October 1815 Cumby joined them with his black servant John Peters and his dog. With his prize money he was able to buy a farm with 116 acres to add to the family estate. He married again, became a local magistrate and played a leading part in the life of the community.
On Trafalgar Day every year he organised a festival in the village with a bonfire and entertainment for the local children. It was an opportunity for a reunion with his former shipmates. On 21 October 1829, for instance, his guests included three of the midshipmen who had served on the Bellerophon at Trafalgar - the cousins Robert and Hugh Patton (both now naval captains) and the explorer John Franklin who had just returned from an expedition to north-west Canada. Also present was Alexander Scott, the former chaplain of the Victory who had been at Nelson's side during the last hours of his life. Scott, a nervous, scholarly man who had worshipped Nelson, had been deeply affected by his death and in recalling him later he admitted, 'I become stupid with grief for what I have lost.' In 1816 Scott became vicar of Catterick which was only a few miles from Heighington and so he was a regular guest at Cumby's reunions.
Portraits and personal relics of several of the Bellerophon's captains remain in the hands of their descendants or have found their way to various museums. They include the sword, dirk and pistol of Captain John Cooke, the huge silver-gilt trophy presented to Admiral Pasley by Lloyds of London, the couch from Captain Maitland's cabin and the skull of the goat which supplied the milk for Napoleon's breakfast. These are tangible reminders of events which took place some 200 years ago, but it is the log-books which provide the truest picture of the life of the Bellerophon. Every day for the twenty-five years that the ship was on active service, the entries record her position, the days and nights of fresh breezes and cloudy weather, the sudden squalls with lightning and rain, the exercising of the guns, the floggings, the occasional drownings, the weeks spent at anchor in foreign ports, the sightings of strange ships, the signals exchanged with other British warships, and then, after months away from England, the beating up the Channel towards a home port.
As for the Bellerophon herself, only a few fragments survive. Captain Maitland bought part of her figurehead and some of her stern ornaments from the ship-breakers and deposited them in the naval collections at Portsmouth. The helmeted head can be seen today in the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth. It is all that remains of the full figure of the heroic warrior which once confronted and survived the bombardment of enemy guns in the Atlantic on that distant first of June, in the darkness of the Egyptian night off the mouth of the Nile, and in the glare of the midday sun off the shoals of Cape Trafalgar.
SUPPLEMENT
APPENDIX 1: PROGRESS BOOKS FOR H.M. SHIPS
The Bellerophon's progress in and out of the royal dockyards from 1786 to 1801 with the costs in pounds, shillings and pence.
From 'Progress Books for H.M. Ships' (PRO:ADM. 180/6)
APPENDIX 2: 'BONEY WAS A WARRIOR'
Boney was a warrior,
Way-aye-yah!
A warrior, a terrier,
Johnny Franswor!
Boney beat the Prussians,
The Osstrians and the Rooshians.
He beat the Prussians squarely,
He whacked the English nearly.
We licked him in Trafalgar's bay,
Carried his main topm'st away,
'Twas on the plains of Waterloo,
He met the boy who put him through.
He met the Duke of Wellington,
That day his downfall had begun.
Boney went a-cruisin'
Aboard the Billy Ruffian.
Boney went to Saint Helen',
An' he never came back agen.
They sent him into exile,
He died on Saint Helena's isle.
Boney broke his heart an' died,
In Corsica he wisht he styed.
He wuz a rorty general,
A rorty, snorty general.
Anonymous
APPENDIX 3
GLOSSARY
aft, after Situated at the back or stern part of a ship or vessel.
barge A large ten- or twelve-oared boat carried by a warship and used by admirals and senior captains. Also refers to a certain type of cargo-carrying merchant vessel (such as a Thames barge).
block A pulley containing one, two or more sheaves, used to increase the power applied to ropes.
block and tackle An arrangement of pulleys and ropes used to raise heavy loads, and to increase the purchase on ropes used for the running rigging. boatswain/bosun The warrant officer in charge of sails, rigging, anchors and associated gear.
bowsprit A heavy spar pointing forward from the stem or front of the vessel.
brace A rope used to control the horizontal movement of a square-sailed yard.
brig A two-masted vessel, fully square-rigged on both masts, with a fore-and-aft sail on the lower part of the mainmast.
brigantine A two-masted vessel having a fully square-rigged foremast and a fore-and-aft rigged mainmast with square sails on the main topmast.
broadside The simultaneous firing of all the guns on one side of a ship.
bulkhead A vertical partition inside a ship.
bumboat A small boat used to bring out and sell fruit, vegetables and other produce to the sailors on ships anchored some distance from the shore.
cable A measure of distance, in Britain equal to 100 fathoms (200 yards). Also refers to any large rope such as the rope used for anchoring a ship.
caulk To seal the gaps between the planks with oakum and pitch.