Aboukir, Bay of, 266
Acre, 275
Acton, Sir John, 246, 251, 260
Addington, Henry (first Viscount Sidmouth), 45, 58, 202, 204, 290, 291
admirals, 122; analysis of intelligence and, 174–79; captains and, 146–47; managing correspondence of, 170–74; problems of expenditures for, 169–70; secretaries of, 171–74; transmission of intelligence and, 155–57
Admiralty, the, 10–11, 281; Battle of Copenhagen and, 201, 205, 206, 217; expenditures for intelligence and, 6, 8,168; first lords of, 1, 37, 38, 44–50, 291; first (or principal) secretary of, 37–38, 52–57, 292; formation of Hydrographic Department and, 128–29; intelligence role of, 35–59; Lloyd’s agents and, 31; Nelson’s need of frigates and, 99; semaphore telegraph system and, 69, 71–73
Admiralty Directors of Intelligence, 44
advice-boats, 245
Agamemnon, 155
Alabama, 191
Albemarle, 112
Alcmene, 241
Alert, 107
Alexandria, 56
Allen, Tom, 238
Andréossy, Antoine-François Comte, 16, 259
Anson, Lord, 128
Argo, 95
Argus, 119
Ariadne, 119
Armed Neutrality League, 197, 221
Armeéd’ Orient, French, 229, 260, 272
Atkinson, Thomas, 130
Atlantic Ocean, 124
Aubrey, Jack (fictional character): Battle of Pulo-Aur and, 191; on cannons and cannonades, 190; on poor British security, 17–18; on seafaring and navigation, 123, 125, 127, 129–30; security of codes and dispatches and, 81; solitary existence of, 147–48; tactical deceptions and, 109, 113, 115–16; use of private vessels for dispatches, 65
Audit Office, 4
Aurore, 92
Austria: Austrian; as specialists in mail manipulations/interceptions, 28–29; the Nile campaign, 227
Bacchante, 87
Baldwin, George, 257
Ball, Sir Alexander John, 65, 81, 95, 141, 240, 243, 254–55
Baltic Fleet, British, 36, 205
Baltic Sea, 124, 133, 196, 202
Bancroft, Edward, 14
Barfleur, 155
Barham, Lord. See Middleton, Sir Charles (Lord Barham)
Barnett, John, 53–54
Barrow, John, 75–76
Bathurst, Henry (third Earl Bathurst), 290, 291
Beaver, 154
Belle Poule, 191
Bellerophon, 241
Bellin’s Collection (atlas), 269
Bellona, 219
Belvidera, 68
Berry, Sir Edward, 37, 66, 238, 243, 254–55, 261, 267
Bickerton, Sir Richard, 58
Bismarck, 191
black chamber/black cabinet, origin of, 29
Blackwood, Henry, 77
Blake, William, 3–4
Bligh, William, 124–25, 129, 186
Board of Longitude, 124
Bolitho, Richard (fictional character), 66–67, 165
Bonaparte, Jerome, 51–52
Bonaparte, Joseph, 54
Bonaparte, Lucien, 47
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 126; Armed Neutrality League and, 197; Barnett-Fourès affair and, 53–54; benefits of semaphore signaling system and, 68; British agent Wright affair and, 55–56; failed assassination attempt on, 12; handwriting of, 142–43; as an information-secure ruler, 15–16; on Lord Cochrane, 106–7; navigational issues and, 125; Nile campaign and, 229–31, 238–40, 245–46, 248–49, 251–52, 254, 256, 258–59, 264, 267–68, 273–75
Bonne Citoyenne, 238
Boreas, 219
Bounty, 124
Bow Street Runners, 26
Boyle, Courtnay, 158
Boyle, Thomas, 32
Bradford, Ernle, 256
Bridport, Lord, 118
Brisbane, James, 215
Britannia, 139
British national intelligence effort, 1–34
British Secret Service Fund, 4–6
British War Office, 44
Bruce, John, 5
Brueys d’Aigalliers, François, Nile campaign and, 239, 240, 254, 256, 258, 261, 264, 268–70
Brune, 92
Brunswick, 191
Bryant, Sir Arthur, 284
Burges, Sir James Bland, 8, 14–15, 143
Bustamente, Don José, 33–34
C3 (command, control, and communications), 94
C3I (command, control, communications, and intelligence), 96
Cabinet, British, 287; origin of modern, 20
Cadoudal, General, 55
Campbell, Donald, 177
Campbell, John, 238
Camperdown, Battle of, 223
Canning, George, 2, 6, 8, 16, 291
Cape St. Vincent, Battle of, 45, 175–76, 223, 224
captain of the fleet, 145–46
captains and admirals, 122, 146–47; analysis of intelligence and, 174–79; problems of expenditures for, 169–70
Carcass, 13
Carmarthen, Marquess of, 4
Carnot, Comte, 46
cartel ships, 161
Casabianca, Commodore, 271
Cavendish, Georgiana (Duchess of Devonshire), 16
Cavendish-Bentinck, William Henry (third Duke of Portland), 202, 290, 291
Chambre Noir. See black chamber/black cabinet
Channel Fleet, British, 36, 47, 203, 237
Channel Island Squadron, British, 36
Chappe, Claude, 68
Charles of Hesse, 204
Charybdis, 251
Chasseur, 32
Chesapeake, 181–82
China Fleet, and Battle of Pulo-Aur, 186–93
Civil List, and secret service expenditures, 4
Civil War, American, 160
Cléopâtre, 80
clocks, navigational, 124–25
Clyde, 68–69
Cobban, Alfred, 2
Cochrane, Sir Alexander, 157, 169–70, 171, 180
Cochrane, Lord Thomas: on British strategic-level security, 17; capture of French code books and, 69; destruction of French signal stations and, 73; tactical deceptions of, 106–7, 109–10, 112, 113–15, 116
Cockburn, George, 157
coffee houses, London, 30
Colibri, 119
Collier, Sir George, 107–8
Collingwood, Baron Cuthbert, 70, 292; and destruction of French signal stations, 73; friendship between Nelson and, 242; illness and death of, 141–42; intelligence correspondence to, 47–48; intelligence report of, 69; lack of frigates and, 100; lack of staff support to, 139; managing correspondence of, 170–71; as Mediterranean Fleet commander in chief, 135, 142; Nelson’s correspondence to, 158; on slow communications, 132
colonies, interception of letters of, 22
come-up glasses, 77
commander, the, 121–22; as administrator, 138–49; as diplomat, 132–33, 135–38; as disciplinarian, 131; hydrography and, 128–30; as intelligence officer, 153–83; Nelson as Mediterranean Fleet commander in chief, 149–51; seafaring and navigation skills of, 123–27; solitary existence of, 146–49; as a strategist, 131–32
commerce raiders, 191
communications, naval: communications at sea, 73–76, 77–82, 262–63; cryptography and, 82–86; development of semaphore telegraph systems and, 68–69, 71–73; disadvantages of slow, 62–68, 132; operational security issues and, 157–58
Congress of Vienna, 1815, mail interceptions during, 29
Conquérant, 270
Constitution, 93, 107, 116, 159, 177
consulates, British embassies and, 244–45
continental writing paper, 28
Contingent Fund of Foreign Intercourse (U.S. Secret Service Fund), 8
convoy duty, use of frigates in, 95
Cooke, Edward, 117
Copenhagen, Battle of, 88, 195–221; Danish semaphore telegraph system and, 71, 73; deciphered letter concerning, 83; ships used during, 185–86; signals used before, 76
Corbett, Sir Julian, 91, 94, 96, 101
Cornwallis, Sir William, 47, 110
correspondence: administrative, 139–43, 170–74; foreign, 22, 23, 25; at sea, 263
Cotton, Sir Charles, 292
councils of war, 147, 148, 218, 254–56
counterdeception, 106
Crane, William M., 113
Croker, John Wilson, 32, 51, 52, 56–57, 160, 292
Cronenberg. See Kronberg Castle (Copenhagen)
cryptanalysis, 23
Cunningham, Andrew, 140
Curtis, Sir Roger, 237
Danish Fleet. See Copenhagen, Battle of
Danish foreign policy, Battle of Copenhagen and, 88
Danish semaphore telegraph system, 71, 73
Darby, Henry D’Esterre, 243, 254–55
Dauntless, 32
Davison, Alexander, 206
Deacon, Richard, 15
deception, tactical naval, 105–20; East India Company and, 189–90
Defence, 243
D’Enghien, Duc, 55
Denison, Henry, 119
Depot of Military Knowledge, 43
Despard, Edward Marcus, 26
diplomacy: in eighteenth century, 2; role of secret service activities in British, 3
diplomatic archives, 279–80
diplomatic correspondence, interception of, 22, 28–29
diplomats, British: the commander as diplomat, 132–33, 135–38; diplomatic information during Nile campaign, 244–45; eighteenth-century intelligence activities of, 10–12; intelligence sources and, 8–9
dispatches, making multiple/duplicate, 66, 263, 275
Dixon, Archibald, 45
documents, captured French, 273–74
Dommett, William, 157, 203, 217, 218
Donnelly, Ross, 101
double agents, 13
Downs, the, 45
Dreadnought, 167
Drummond, William, 83; Battle of Copenhagen and, 198, 201, 203, 204, 211
Dundas, Sir David, 162–63
Dundas, Henry (first Viscount Melville), 13, 111, 290, 291; Battle of Copenhagen and, 202; as first lord of the Admiralty, 50, 291; handling of secret service funds, 5–6, 168–69; letter on deciphering inaccuracies, 86; letter on French expedition against Egypt, 26; Nile campaign and, 265–66, 274, 276, 277; penmanship of, 143; as president of the East India Board, 249; Spanish treasure fleet seizure and, 33, 42
Dundas, Robert Saunders (second Viscount Melville), 50, 291
Duval, Thomas, 273–74
Earl Camden, 187
Earl of St. Vincent. See Jervis, Sir John (Earl of St. Vincent)
Earl of St. Vincent, 237
East India Board, 249
East India Company, British: Battle of Pulo-Aur and, 186–93; ships of the, 64–65, 109–10, 186
East Indies station, British, 36, 249; packet service between Britain and, 64
Eden, Morton, 17
Edward III, 3
electric telegraph, 69
Elephant, 76, 216, 218, 219, 220
Elliott, Hugh, 114
embassies and consulates, British, 244–45
encoding, 86
encryption and enciphering, 83–84, 202–3
English, Mr., 207
Enigma-machine cipher, 24
espials, 9
espionage activities, 10, 159–60; Austrian espionage and counterintelligence system, 28–29; officers dislike of, 106
espionage civile, 3
Este, Lambton, 172
Euryalus, 77
expenditures for intelligence, 168–70; for informants, 12–14; secret service funds and, 4–8
false information, planting of, 118–19
Farragut, David G., 192
first captain, 145
First Dutch War (1652–54), 73
first lords of the Admiralty, 1, 37, 44–50, 291
first (or principal) secretary of the Admiralty, 37–38, 52–57, 292
Fischer, Olfert, 218
fishermen, intelligence information from, 165–66
Fitzgerald, Edward, 24
flag captain, 145
flag lieutenant, 78
flag officers, British, 56, 57–58, 147
flag signaling, 73–76, 78–79; flying false colors, 112–13; flying internationally recognized flags, 113–14; tactical deceptions using, 110, 112
flogging, 131
foreign correspondence: categorization of, 23; interception of, 22, 25
Foreign Intelligence Committee (the Admiralty), 44
foreign languages, fluency in, 136–38, 206
Foreign Office, British: assignment of secretaries of, 172; bureaucratic disorganization of, 14–15; encryption and enciphering of, 84; expenditures for intelligence and, 7, 8, 168; secretary of state for, 1, 19, 20, 291; secret intelligence and, 1–2
foreign policy: Battle of Copenhagen and Danish, 88; Neapolitan, 249–50; value of postal intelligence on formulation of, 25
Foreign Secretary, role in British Post Office, 22–23, 24
Forester, C. S.: fictional characters of, 33, 55, 67, 73, 127, 146, 240; on frigates, 99; on Nelson, 223, 284, 285, 286; on Nelson’s writing style, 139; on poor communications, 86
forgery and detection, mail, 24, 28
Fourès-Barnett affair, Napoleon Bonaparte and, 53–54
Fox, 117
Fox, Charles James, 291
Fox, Henry Edward, 158
France: Admiralty’s focus on French naval bases, 43; British avoidance of using French post office, 28; British destruction of French signal stations, 73, 107; British frigates and the French fleet, 101–3, British interest in French navy and maritime affairs, 8; British secret service operations before the Revolution, 4, 18–19; captured French documents, 273–74; captured French signals, 80; disorganization of French intelligence operations, 16; escape of French prisoners of war from Britain to, 161; French Affaires Étrangeres office, 7; French defeat of Turks at Jaffa, 275; French expedition against Egypt, 26; French navy and Battle of Pulo-Aur, 186–93; French threat of cross-channel invasion, 45–46; high priority of intelligence against, 25; intelligence information from friendly French nationals, 165–66; invention of semaphore signal system and, 68, 69, 71; Nelson’s French language skill6s, 136–38; Nile campaign and, 223–78; and secrets du roi, 2
Francis I, 230
Franklin, Benjamin, 14
Frederick the Great, 21–22
French Directory, 228–29, 230, 248
French Revolution, 223, 281; British secret service activities during, 3; British secret service operations before, 4, 18–19; An Overview of the War of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic War, 1792–1815, 298–300; rise of the United Irishmen movement and, 26
Frere, John Hookham, 8, 11, 33, 54, 67, 81
funding intelligence operations. See expenditures for intelligence
Gage, William, 238
Généreux, 97
Genoese brig incident, 252–54
George II, 19
George III, 19, 27, 290; Battle of Copenhagen and, 202; on handwritten correspondence, 143; letter on authenticity of intercept, 24–25; reading of interceptions and, 23; relationship in Hanoverian line of, 25–26; Secret Service Fund and, 6
George IV, 290
Germany, communications-intelligence organizations in Nazi, 28
Gibraltar Gazette, 158
Glatton, 186
Glorious First of June, Battle of the, 181, 223
Goodall, Admiral, 276
government, British, key officials, 290–92
Graf Spee, 191
Grant, James L., 191
Graves, Thomas, 71, 102; Battle of Copenhagen and, 204, 216–17
Great Mutiny, 87
Gregory, Charles Marshall, 154–55
Grenville, Thomas, 291
Grey, Charles (Viscount Howick, second Earl Grey), 48–49, 291
Guerrier, 270
Gustavus (king of Sweden), 6
Hague, the, 10
Hall, Christopher, 1
Halloran, Rev. Laurence, 139
Hamilton, Edward, 148
Hamilton, Lady Emma: as code clerk, 82; Nelson’s correspondence to, 81–82, 102–3, 205, 215, 217; proposed use of Foreign Secret Service Fund as pension for, 12; role as Nelson’s translator and interpreter, 137; ruse used for intercepted mail, 28
Hamilton, Paul, 85
Hamilton, Sir William, 81, 82, 137; Nile campaign and, 244, 246, 249–51, 260, 263, 273–74
Hamilton and Nelson Papers, 82
Hammond, George, 8
Handel, Michael, 175
handwriting, 142–43
Hanover (German state of), support of British interceptions, 25–26
Hanoverian kings, sophisticated use of intercepts and intelligence by, 24
Hardy, Sir Thomas Masterman, 139, 241–43, 249, 251, 257
Harris, Sir James (Earl of Malmesbury), 10–11
health issues, 150–51, 245; Nelson’s health problems, 141, 143, 145, 285
Hawkesbury, Lord. See Jenkinson, Robert Banks (Baron Hawkesbury, second Earl of Liverpool)
Hector, 232
Herman, Felicia, 271
Hermione, 148
Hibbert, Christopher, 153
Hill, J. R., 61
Hobart, Robert (fourth Earl of Bucking-hamshire), 135, 290
Hoche, Louis Lazare, 87
Home Office, British: encryption and enciphering of, 83; expenditures for foreign secret service and, 5, 7, 8; secretary of state for, 1, 20, 291; secret intelligence and, 1–2
Hood, Sir Samuel (Captain Hood), 243, 269
Hood, Sir Samuel, Viscount (Admiral Hood), 112, 124, 283, 292; managing correspondence of, 170; signal proposals of, 74–75; on use of private signals, 78–79
Hope, George, 241
Hornblower. Horatio (fictional character), 285; capture of, 55; on a commander’s solitary existence, 146, 148; in fictional depiction of Vanguard dismasting, 240; intelligence information from Breton fishermen, 165–66; seamanship and navigation skills of, 127, 128; use of dispatch vessels and, 65
Hornblower and the Hotspur (Forester), 33, 67, 73
Hoste, William, 87
Hotspur, 67
Howard, Sir Michael, 105
Howe, Earl Richard, 36, 73, 74–75, 181
human intelligence, 159–68
Humphreys, Joshua, 93
Hyder Ali, 235
hydrography, 128–30
India, 248
intelligence effort, British national, 1–34
intelligence failures, bureaucratic disorganization and, 14–15
intelligence gatherings, 2; use of frigates for, 91, 96, 99, 100–103
intelligence officer, the commander as, 153–54, 179–83; analysis of intelligence, 174–79, 273, 286; expenditures for intelligence, 168–70; human intelligence, 159–68; managing correspondence, 170–74; transmission of intelligence, 154–158
intelligence officers, 121, 122
“intelligencers,” 9
“intelligences,” 9
intercepted mail: categorized as “Private and Most Secret” and “Most Secret and Confidential,” 23; complaints about, 21–22; copying of, 22; interceptions and, 23–25, 28–29; methodology of interception, 22; methods used for opening and closing, 28; proposed letter-interception program, 131; warrants for mail interception, 22
Ireland, rise of the United Irishmen movement, 25, 26
Irish and Channel Island Squadrons, British, 36
Jackson, Francis James, 274
James, William, 112
Jaubert, Monsieur, 267–68
Java, 159
Jean Barras, 181
Jean Bart, 181
Jefferson, Michael, 247
Jenkins, Ernest, 259
Jenkinson, Robert Banks (Baron Hawkesbury, second Earl of Liverpool), 2, 6, 18, 204, 290, 291
Jervis, Sir John (Earl of St, Vincent), 85, 283, 291; analysis of intelligence and, 175–76; Battle of Copenhagen and, 201, 204, 206–7, 209; on Captain Wright affair, 55; as first lord of the Admiralty, 45–48, 204, 291; former seaman status and first lord appointment of, 37; on frigates, 99; as harsh disciplinarian, 131; illness of, 141; intelligence awareness and activities of, 45–47, 48; intelligence information from neutrals and, 163, 165; interest in cryptography, 84; Nelson’s detachment to the Mediterranean Fleet and, 37; and Nelson on slow communications, 63; Nile campaign and, 225–28, 231–34, 236–39, 241–42, 244, 245, 249, 253, 261, 262–63, 274, 277; on packet ships, 63; on private signals, 79
John Bull, 80
Johnstone (smuggler), 13
Jones, John Paul, 121
Juno, 67
Keith, George Elphinstone, Viscount, 292; analysis of intelligence and, 176; Battle of Copenhagen and, 199–200; on cartel ships, 161; R, Dundas’s intelligence correspondence to, 50; on frigates, 100; on imperfection of the Admiralty’s telegraph system, 71; intelligence correspondence to, 32, 48–52, 56–57, 154–57, 162–63; possession of captured French signals, 80; private sources for intelligence information, 167; St. Vincent’s account of Captain Wright affair to, 55; telegraph system and, 75
Keith, Sir Robert, 10–11
Kempenfelt, Richard, 74
Kent, 130
Kent, Alexander, fictional characters of, 66–67, 148, 165
Keppell, Admiral, 44
Kimmel, H. E., 63
Knights of St, John, 251–52
Knyphausen, Baron, 21
Kortwright, Lieutenant, 80–81
Kronborg Castle (Copenhagen), 71, 73, 211
Langford, Frederick, 220
La Pierre, 239
Lawrence, lames, 181–82
League of Armed Neutrality. See Armed Neutrality League
Leander, 66, 97, 107–8, 237, 243
L’Echo (newspaper), 228
Lee, Robert E., 160
Le Legére, 273
Le Moniteur (newspaper), 228
Lemprière, Thomas, 163–64
letters of intelligence, 9
Liffey, 164
lighthouses, 124
line officers, 122
Linois, Charles Alexandre Léon Durand de, in Batde of Pulo-Aur, 186–93
Lion, 53
Liverpool, second Earl of. See Jenkinson, Robert Banks (Baron Hawkesbury, second Earl of Liverpool)
Lloyd, Edward, 30
Lloyd’s Coffee House, 30
Lloyd’s List, 31
Lloyd’s of London, role of maritime intelligence, 30–32
Lloyd’s News, 31
London Gazette, 280
Lords Commissioners (Board) of the Admiralty, 35; authority of, 36–38, 41–58
Louis XIV, 230
Louis XVI, 230
Madras, 151
Mahan, Alfred Thayer, 61, 282–83, 284
mail: surface and external, 62–63, See also intercepted mail; Post Office
Malcolm, Pulteney, 117
Malmesbury, Earl of. See Harris, Sir James (Earl of Malmesbury)
Malta, use of secret service funds for retaining island of, 6
Mamelukes, 229
Marengo, 191
maritime intelligence, 30–32
Marlborough, Duke of, 125
Maturin, Dr. Stephen (fictional character), 17, 54–55, 65, 123, 125
McCulloch, Thomas, 211
McKercher, B. J. C., 282
Mediterranean Fleet, British, 36; Collingwood as commander in chief of, 135, 141–42; commanders in chief of (list), 292; Cunningham as commander in chief of, 140; Nelson as commander in chief of, 41, 98–99, 135, 149–51, 167, 292; Nelson’s detachment to, 36–37; Nile campaign and, 223–78
Mediterranean Sea, 2, 124, 134
Medusa, 133
Melville, Viscount, See Dundas, Henry (first Viscount Melville)
messengers, communications by, 62
Metternich, Count Clemens, 2
Middleton, Sir Charles (Lord Barham), 35, 158; as first lord of the Admiralty, 37, 291; former seaman status and first lord appointment of, 37; intelligence issues and, 47–48; interest in signals of, 73–74, 75; reorganization of frigates and, 101
Midway, Battle of, 272
military intelligence, 43–44
Miller, Ralph Willett, 237, 243, 255
Minerve, 103
ministers. British, abroad, 16–17
Missiessy, Edouard Thomas de Burgues, Comte de, 101–2
Mobile Bay, Battle of, 192–93
Morris, Jan, 285–86
“Most Secret and Confidential,” foreign correspondence categorized as, 23
Muggeridge, Malcolm, 2
Murine, 66, 241, 243, 247, 253, 257
Naples, 12
Napoleonic Wars: British secret service activities during, 3; An Overview of the War of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic War, 1792–1815, 298–300; secret service expenditures during, 7
Narcissus, 101
Natividad, 263
Nautilus, 113
naval administration, British, 294
naval appointments and promotion, 127–28
naval intelligence, 32, 43, 53–56, 91; Battle of Copenhagen and, 195–221; Battle of the Nile and, 223–78; Battle of Pulo-Aur and, 185–93; commander as intelligence officer, 153–83
Naval Strategy of the War from the British Perspective, 295–97
Navy. See Royal Navy
Neilson, Keith, 282
Nelson, Horatio, 284–86; administrative responsibilities of, 138–41, 143, 145; analysis of intelligence and, 177–79, 273, 286; Battle of Copenhagen and, 88, 195, 200–208, 210, 213–21; becomes Sir Horatio Nelson, 224; career ladder of, 57–58, 147; as commander, 121, 124, 130, 132, 133, 135–41, 143–45, 149–51; commanding detachment to Mediterranean Fleet, 36–37; communication with the Admiralty, 57–58; on Despard plot, 26; diplomatic responsibilities of, 133, 135–36; on dispatch vessels, 65–66; displeasure with the Admiralty, 37, 41–42; duplicate dispatches, use of, 66, 275; false-color deception and, 112; fear of being caught off guard by the Spanish, 67; on flag signaling, 75–76, 77–79, 114; French language skills of, 136–38; on frigates, 91, 95, 96–99, 100, 101, 102–3; handwriting of, 142–43; health problems of, 141, 143, 145, 283; injuries of, 135, 142, 271; intelligence communication to Nepean, 57; as intelligence officer, 155, 157–58, 164, 166–68, 177–79, 181–82, 283; interest in Austrian espionage and counterintelligence system, 29; interest in cryptography, 83–84; interest in hydrography, 130; as junior flag officer, 57–58; as Mediterranean Fleet commander in chief, 41, 98–99, 135, 149–51, 167, 292; “Nelson checker” ship paint scheme, 237; news of Battle of Trafalgar and death of, 20; Nile campaign and, 224, 231–33, 235–50, 252–57, 259–67, 270–78; on poor security and secrecy, 17; proposed use of Foreign Secret Service Fund as pension for mistress of, 12; ruse used for intercepted mail, 28; seasickness of, 130, 141, 285; secretary of, 172; security of codes and dispatches and, 80–82; on ship disguise, 109; on slow communications, 63, 67, 132; on solitude, 148–49; Spanish treasure fleet seizure and, 33–34, 41–42, 133, 135, tauical deceptions of, 109, 112, 114, 117–18, 120; upon meeting Lord Castlereagh, 14; on wind conditions at sea, 124; writing of, 130, 138–41, 143, 145
Nelson, Lady: Nelson and, 285–86; Nelson’s letters to, 231, 232, 264
Nelson the Commander (Bennett), 68
Nepean, Sir Evan: as first secretary of the Admiralty, 50, 51–52, 57, 209, 292; handling of secret service funds, 4–6, 8; intelligence correspondence to, 175; on lack of frigates, 99; reading of interceptions, 24; use of informants and, 12–13
neutrals, intelligence information from, 163–66
Newcastle, 107
New Orleans, Battle of, 88–89
newspapers: Battle of the Nile in British, 275; intelligence from newspapers as source for commanders, 63; intelligence information on Battle of Copenhagen, 199–201, 203, 205, 209–10; Nile campaign in French, 228, 277
night and fog signaling, 76, 77
night glasses, 77
Nile, Battle of the, 53, 270–78; Nelson’s need of frigates after, 97; Nelson’s wound from, 135
Nile campaign, 223–70, 285; councils of war during, 147, 254–56; Nelson’s intelligence difficulties during, 182
North American station, British, 36
Northesk, Earl of, 139
North Sea Fleet, British, 36, 54
Northumberland, Duke of, 47
Oakes, Richard, 13
O’Brian, Patrick: fictional characters’ foreign language problems vs. skills, 137; fictional characters on poor British security and secrecy, 17–18; fictional characters on seafaring and navigation, 123, 125, 127; fictional characters’ use of tactical deceptions, 109, 113, 115–16; fictional characters using dispatch vessels, 65; fictionalization of Rev. Robertson incident, 54–55; fictionalized depictions of Spanish treasure fleet seizure, 33; solitary existence of fictional characters, 147–48
Ocean, 132
“Old Ironsides,” See Constitution
Operation Desert Storm, 270
organizational secrecy, 3
Owen, E. W. C., 68–69
packet ships, 63–64; intelligence duties for captains of, 21
Padover, Saul K., 15
Pakenham, Sir Edward, 89
Parker, Sir Hyde: Battle of Copenhagen and, 182, 200, 303–11, 213–18, 221
Parkinson, C. Northcote, 209, 286
Pasco, John, 139
Paulet, Lord Henry, 84
Pelham, Thomas (second Earl of Chichester), 291
Pellew, Sir Edward (Lord Exmouth), 66, 80, 92–93, 165, 292
penmanship, 142–43
Penrose, Sir Charles Vinicombe, 66, 292
Perceval, Spencer, 290
Peuple Souverain, 270
Phipps, Sir Henry (first Earl of Mulgrave), 37, 291
Pichegru, General, 55
Pitt, John (second Earl of Chatham), 37, 291
Pitt, William (the Younger), 2, 13, 49, 168, 290; analysis of intelligence and, 176; Battle of Copenhagen and, 202; British Post Office and administration of, 29–30; intelligence correspondence to Lord Barham, 48; Nile campaign and, 227, 272, 276; reading of interceptions, 23; resignation of, 204; Secret Service Fund and, 6
Plymouth telegraph, 69
Poisson, Jeanne Antoinette (Marquise de Pompadour), 29
Pole, William, 52
police, first formation of armed English, 26
political correspondence, interception of, 22
political intelligence, 2
political warrants for mail interception, 22
Pope, Dudley, 20
Popham, Sir Home, 62, 75, 77, 101
Post Captain (O’Brian), 33
Post Office Act of 1711, 21
Post Office, British: communications role of, 20; Decyphering Branch of, 19, 23, 29; intelligence role of, 19–30; limitations and weaknesses of postal intelligence, 25; Lloyd’s payment of gratuities to, 31; methods of mail interception, 22; packet ships of, 63–64; postal agents of, 21; Private Office of, 19, 29; role of processing/creating “finished” intelligence, 21; Secret Office of, 5, 19, 22–23, 24, 29, staff of, 20–21, 29; warrants for mail interception and, 22. See also intercepted mail
Pratt, John Jeffries (second Earl Camden), 290
prime ministers, 290
Primer of Speech for Fighting Ships (Kempenfelt), 74
Princess Royal, 232
prisoners of war, intelligence information from, 159–63
private messengers, use of, 28
“Private and Most Secret,” foreign correspondence categorized as, 23
private papers, 23
private signals, use of, 78–79, 112–13, 122, 209
private sources, intelligence information from, 166–68
Privy Council, Committee of Intelligence, 20
prize money, 95
Project for Signals, 74
propaganda, 5
Pulo-Aur, Battle of, 185–93
Pyramids, Battle of the, 267
Q flag,114
Q-ship strategem, 110
Racehorse, 13
Rebecca, 118
Redbridge, 82
Reindeer, 157
Report on Conjunct Expeditions (Bruce), 5
Revolutionary War, American, 3, 14, 112, 167, 283
Richardson, Henry, 67
Ricketts, F. W., 164–65
Robertson, Rev. James, 54–55
Rodger, N. A. M., 36
Rodney, George, 168
Romana, Pedro Caro y Sureda, Marquis de la, 54, 55
Roman Catholic church, Secret Service Fund and, 5–6
rotating-arm telegraph system, French design of, 69, 71
Rotterdam Agency, 10
Royal Danish Navy, 201
Royal Mail coaches, 20
Royal Navy, 32; admirals and captains of, (146–47; the Admiralty and, 35–36; captain of the fleet of, 145, 146; the commander of, 121–52; first captain of, 145; flag officers of, 56, 57–58, 147; fleet operational commands of, 36; Great Mutiny and, 87; intercept of Spanish treasure fleet and, 33–34, 41–42, 133, 135; Lords Commissioners passing of formal directions to the fleet, 42–43; lost ships of, 123–24; naval appointments and promotion within, 127–28; seafaring and navigation and, 123, 124–27; tactical naval deception and, 105–20
ruses de guerre, 106, 110, 119
Russian navy, 207
Ryder, Dudley (first Earl of Harrowby), 291
Ryder, Richard, 291
San Josef, 205
Saumarez, Sir James, Baron de: diplomatic responsibilities of, 133, 135, 138; Nile campaign and, 241, 243, 254–55, 256–57, 266; private signals and, 79; secretary of, 172
Sawyer, Sir Herbert, 67–68
Schomberg, Charles, 151
Scott, Rev. Alexander John, 137, 139, 172–74, 181, 206, 215
Scottish Episcopalian church, Secret Service Fund and, 5
“scouts,” 9
Scylla, 251
seafaring and navigation, 123, 124–27
sea lords, 37
second lords of the Admiralty, 37
secrecy: in intelligence, 2, 3; and poor British security, 16–18; secret intelligence, 280; secret interceptions distribution list, 293
secret agents, use of, 2
secretaries of state, British, 19–20, 290–91; warrants for mail interception, 22
Secret Intelligence Service, British, on necessity of good intelligence, 3
secret-intelligence system, origins in England, 3
secrets du roi, 2
secret service activities, role in British diplomacy and wartime strategy, 3–4
Secret Service Fund, U.S., establishment of, 8
secret service funds/expenditures, 4–8, 168–70; for informants, 12–14
semaphore telegraph systems, development of, 68–69, 71–73
Shannon, 181–82
Ship of the Line (Forester), 240
shipping industry, 30–32
shipping protection and convoy duty, use of frigates in, 95
ships: appearance, design, and disguising of, 108–9, 112–13, 115–17, 237; carrying dispatches, 63–66; cartel of, 161; charts and maps within, 206, 269–70; communications at sea, 73–76, 77–82; disciplinary actions aboard, 131; “Indiamen,” 185–86, 187, 191–42; lost by Royal Navy, 123–14; ships at sea and declarations of war, 66–67. See also frigates
shutter telegraph system, British design of mechanically operated, 69, 71
Sicilian treaty, use of secret service funds in approval of, 6
Signal Book for Ships of War (Howe), 74
signal books: captured, 80–82; Day and Night Signal-Books, 79
signals and information transmission, 61–89
signal systems: development of semaphore telegraph systems, 68–69, 71–73: flag signaling, 73–76, 78–79; security of, 79–82; telegraph systems on frigates and battleships, 101
Slade, Sir Thomas, 244
Smith, Sir William Sidney, 156, 162, 248, 275
smugglers, 13
social life, London, 30
Society of Shipowners, 31
Southhampton, 116
Spain: Admiralty’s focus on Spanish naval bases, 43; Royal Navy’s intercept of Spanish treasure fleet, 33–34, 41–42, 133, 135
Spanish Armada, 272
Spanish “key” cipher, 23
Spartan, 115
Spencer, George John (second Earl Spencer), 51; communication inaccuracies, 86; as first lord of the Admiralty, 49–50, 57–58, 291; intelligence correspondence to, 176; and intelligence information from neutrals, 163, 165; and lack of frigates, 96, 99; Nile campaign and, 225–27, 233–34, 238, 242, 247, 249, 263, 274–77; reading of interceptions, 23; on tactical deception, 118–19
spies, professional, intelligence information from, 9, 167–68
Spitfire, 56
staff officers, 122
staff support, administrative, 145–46
Stephens, Sir Philip, 13, 52–53, 136, 292
Stewart, James, 171
Stewart, Robert (Viscount Castlereagh), 145, 290, 291
Stralsund, 6
Stuary, John, 130
St. Vincent, Battle of Cape, 45, 175–76, 223, 224
St. Vincent, Cape of, 101
St, Vincent, Earl of. See Jervis, Sir John (Earl of St. Vincent)
Suez, 275
Suleiman the Magnificent, 252
Superb, 114
Surgeon’s Mate, The (O’Brian), 54–55
Surprise, 148
surveys, hydrographic, 129
Sweden, use of secret service funds for military base in, 6
Swedish Pomerania, 6
Swift, 84
Sybille, 117
Talbot, James, 198
Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de, 229
Tartarus, 119
Tecumseh, 193
Telegraphic Signals or Marine Vocabulary (Popham), 75
telegraph systems: development of semaphore, 68–69, 71–73; in frigates and battleships, 101
Termagant, 130
Terpsichore, 238
third lords of the Admiralty, 37
Thompson, James W., 15
Thompson, Thomas Boulden, 66, 243
Thugut, Baron Franz M., 15, 29
Times (London), 18; on the Admiralty, 36; on Battle of Copenhagen, 199–200, 203, 205, 209–10; on Danish semaphore telegraph system, 71
Torrington, Lord, 13–14
Tott, Baron de, 230
Totty, Thomas, 204
trade, British, Armed Neutrality League and, 197–98
Trafalgar, Battle of: comparison to Battle of the Nile, 272; Nelson and, 283, 284, 285; news posted at Lloyd’s of London about, 30; Royal Mail coaches and news of death of Nelson and, 20; signaling difficulties during, 76; signaling during evening before, 77–78
Transfer, 251
Treasury Board, 20
Treaty of Ghent, 88–89
Triton, 93
Troubridge, Sir Thomas, 81, 208; Nile campaign and, 237, 242, 243, 249, 251, 254–55, 263
Tsushima, Battle of, 272
United Irishmen movement, 25, 26
United States, 107
United States: American Civil War, 160; American Revolutionary War, 3, 14, 112, 167, 283; British and American forces during War of 1812, 119; poor security issues during War of 1812, 18; war with Tripoli, 135
U.S. Office of Naval intelligence, 44
U.S. Secret Service Fund, 8
Van Creveld, Martin, 153
Vanguard, 143, 149; in Nile campaign, 224, 232, 238, 240–41, 243, 247, 255, 266
Vansittart, Nicholas, 204, 211, 213
Victory, 100, 130, 133, 139, 143, 149, 172, 178
Villaret-Joycuse, Louis Thomas, Comte, 110, 112
Ville de Paris, 140
Villeneuve, Pierre Charles Jean Baptiste Sylvestre de, 42, 79, 101–2, 118, 165, 178, 284
von Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht, 69
Vorontsov, Russian ambassador, 18
War and the Colonies, secretary of state for, 1, 19, 290
Warner, Oliver, 231
War of 1812: American profiteering privateer during, 32; American tactical deceptions during, 107–8; Battle of New Orleans at the end of, 88–89; British and American forces during, 119; capture and destruction of signal materials, 80; Constitution in, 177; intelligence information during, 157; tactical deceptions during, 119; U.S. security during, 80;
War Office Intelligence Branch, 44
War of the Spanish Succession, 125
warrants for mail interception, 22
Warren, Sir John Borlase, 155–56
Washington, George: and establishment of Secret Service Fund, 8; on secret intelligence, 3
Wasp, 157
Waterloo, Battle of, 164–65
Wellesley, Richard Colley (second Earl of Mornington and Marquess Wellesley), 249, 291
Wellesley-Pole, William (third Earl of Mornington), 292
Wellington, Duke of (Sir Arthur Wellesley), 16, 35, 146, 249
Westcott, George Blagdon, 243, 255
West Indies, 286
West Indies station, British, 36, 141; packet service between Britain and, 64
whaling ships, 65
Whitehall (British government vs. intelligence headquarters), 9–10, 30, 35, 45, 58, 69, 228
Whitelocke, John, 62
Whitworth, Lord, 6
Willes, Rev. Edward, 23
Willes, Sir Francis, 23
wind conditions at sea, navigating, 123–27
Witch of Endor, 65
Wolseley, Sir Garnet, 185
Wright, John Wesley, 55–56
writing instruments, 142
Wyndham, William (Baron Grenville), 290, 291; Battle of Copenhagen and, 197, 202, 204; handling of secret service funds and, 8; Nile campaign and, 226, 248, 276
yellow or Q flag, 114
Yorke, Charles Philip, 291