The turn of the century was a time of great import in the
history of England and, indeed, the world. Twenty years
of war with the French overshadowed almost all other
events, great and small. But the summer of 1815 brought
an end at last to that bloody conflict, as the fortunes of
Napoleon Bonaparte were dashed forever on the
battlefield of Waterloo. Little more than a month later
the fallen Emperor of the French surrendered to an
obscure English sea captain, was brought aboard one of
our ships of the line and carried to England. He did not
know then, nor did we, that it was to the remote Atlantic
isle of St. Helena that he was to be sent, never to return.
It has, even now, been forgotten just how uncertain
the whole matter was, as Bonaparte waited aboard
H.M.S. Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound. The Cabinet
debated long into the nights, and every kind of
speculation was heard on the streets and in the clubs and
coffeehouses of London. Newspapers printed the wildest
rumours, and folk rushed to the Devon coast hoping for a
glimpse of the infamous general. All the while esteemed
jurists debated the very legality of holding the man.
Then, on the evening of August 4, the Bellerophon
unexpectedly weighed anchor and sailed out into
the Channel, taking Napoleon Bonaparte into exile.
How close the fallen emperor came to never leaving
Plymouth Sound is a story known only to a few.