NAPIER, ROBERT. 



NAPIER, ROBERT. 



420 



lieutenant-governor of the island of Guernsey, and in 1848 was created 

 a knight-commander of the Order of the Bath. In 1845 Major-General 

 Napier published ' The Conquest of Sciude,' 8vo, in 2 parts. He became 

 lieutenant-general November 11, 1851 ; and colonel of the 22nd regi- 

 ment of foot September 19, 1853. In 1851 he published his ' History 

 of General Sir Charles Napier's Administration of Scinde, and Campaign 

 in the Cutchee Hills, with Mai s a d Illustrations,' Svo ; and in 1855 

 ' English Battles and Sieges in the Peninsula,' crown 8vo, extracted 

 from his ' War in the Peninsula.' He has also published two pamphlets : 

 'Six Letters in Vindication of the British Army, exposing the Calumnies 

 of the Liverpool Reform Association,' Svo, 1848 ; and ' Comments upon 

 a Mtn.orandum of the Duke of Wellington, and other Documents, 

 censuring Lieut.-Gen. Sir Cbarles James Napier ; with a Defence of 

 Sir C. Napier's Government of Scinde, by Captain Rathbone, late 

 (.'oil* ctor in Scinde,' Svo, 2nd edit., 1854. He has recently announced 

 (January, 1857) ' The Life and Opinions of the late Sir Charles Napier, 

 by Sir William Napier." Sir William Napier married in 1S12 the 

 second daughter of the late HOD. General H. E. Fox, uncle to the third 

 Lord Holland. 



Sir William Napier's ' History of the War in the Peninsula," has 

 parsed through several editions, and is now a standard work. Cfall 

 the wars in which Great Britain has been engaged that war of six 

 years was the most important, difficult, and expensive, and Sir William 

 Naj JIT'S HL-tory is worthy of the transactions it records and the skill 

 and heroism it celebrates. Perhaps no military history of equal 

 excellence has ever been written. It cost the author sixteen years of 

 continuous labour. He was himself a witness of sereral of the series 

 of operations, and was engaged in many of the battles. His wide 

 acquaintance with military men enabled him to consult many dis- 

 tinguished officers, English and French, and be was especially supplied 

 with materials and documents by the Duke of Wellington and 

 Marshal Soult. The ordinary sources of information were embarrass- 

 ing from their abundance. One mass of materials deserves especial 

 mention. When Joseph Bonaparte fled from Vittoria he left behind 

 him a very large collection of letters, which however were without 

 order, in three languages, many almost illegible, and the most import- 

 ant in cipher, of which there was no key. It was the correspondence 

 of Joseph Bonaparte while nominally king of Spain. Sir William 

 Napier was in a state of perplexity, and almcst in despair of being 

 able to make any use of these valuable materials, when bis wife under- 

 took to arrange the letters according to dates and subjects, to make 

 a table of reference, and to translate and epitomise the contents of 

 each. Many of the most important documents were entirely in 

 cipher; of some letters about one-half was in cipher, and other* bad 

 a few words so written interspersed. All these documents and letters 

 Lady Napier arranged, and with a rare sagacity and patience she 

 deciphered the secret writing. The entire correspondence was then 

 made available for the historian's | urpos-. She also made out all Sir 

 William Napier's rough interlined manuscripts, which were almost 

 illegible to himself, and wrote out the whole work fair for the printers 

 it may be said three times, so frequent were the changes made. Sir 

 William Napier mentions these facts in tho preface to the edition of 

 1851, and in paying this tribute to Lady Napier, observes that this 

 amount of labour was accomplished without her having for a moment 

 neglected the care and education of a large family. The military 

 history thus laboriously constructed, is doubtless destined to descend 

 to a late potteiity. The historian is skilled in the science and 

 practice of war, is well informed in the politics of the time, and has 

 written the work honestly and in good faith, from excellent mate- 

 rials, and in a tone of lofty and severe morality. The narrative is 

 exceedingly interesting. The leading events ure distinctly traced and 

 connected, and tho leading characters briefly but vividly sketched. 

 The site* of the battles tire clearly described, and the arrangements, 

 manoeuvres, and evulutions, made intelligible even to non-military 

 readers. The descriptions of the combats, battles, and sieges, are 

 in the highest degree forcible and animated, fix the attention, and 

 excite the feelings. The style is original, clear, and vigorous, and 

 though somewhat laboured and declamatory, has a peculiar charm 

 from its seeming to be obviously the outpouring of his own carefully 

 coHi cted thoughts and well considered convictions. Sir William 

 Napier's account of his brother's 'Administration of Scinde,' though 

 somewhat diffuse, and too much mixed up with controversial matter, 

 defensive and accusatory, is full of information and iutere.it. The 

 account of the ' Campaign in the Cutchee Hills ' (a stupendous mass 

 of lofty rocks, moie than one hundred miles in length and eighty 

 in width, intersected by difficult ravines, and then the stronghold of 

 skilful and daring- robbers) resembles a narrative of eastern romance, 

 so wild is the scenery and so wonderful are the details. 



* NAPIElt, 110IJEKT, of the firm of Robert Napier and Son, ship- 

 builders and mechanical engineers of Glasgow to whom the growing 

 success which has attended steam-navigation during the last twenty 

 years is largely owing was born at Dumbarton, in Scotland, on the 

 18th of June 1791. His father, a blacksmith by trade, had a proper 

 regard for the value of a good education, and sent his son to the 

 grammar school of the town, where there were then masters of more 

 than ordinary ability, and where young Napier acquired besides the 

 usual branches of an English education, the Latin and French lan- 

 guages, the element* of Ureek, mathematics and landscape drawing. 



About the end of this time a gentleman named Trail, connected with 

 Me.-srs. Dixons' works, who had many varied accomplishments, formed 

 an acquaintance with Mr. Napier, sen., and from him Mr. R. Napier 

 learnt architectural and mechanical drawing, and to him he believes he 

 was indebted for his taste for mechanical pursuits and works of art. He 

 had an ardent desire to become a good practical mechanic, and when 

 he was about the age of fourteen, urged his father to allow him to leave 

 school and begin to work. His father wished Lira to go to college, but 

 eventually the son prevailed, and was apprenticed in the trade of a 

 blacksmith to his parent. Here his spare time was chiefly occupied 

 in making small tools, and drawing instruments, and in making and 

 repairing guns and gun-locks. He remained with bis father some 

 jears alter hia regular apprenticeship ; and about the eame time, 

 executed the smith's work for the extensive calico printing works of 

 Messrs. Stirling, where he had the opportunity of seeing a great variety 

 of ingenious machinery, and of coming in contact with the best mill- 

 wrights of that period, millwrights in fact then being the only 

 practical engineers. About the end of the year 1 811, Mr. Napier being 

 desirous to get experience in new fields, left Dumbarton for Edinburgh, 

 with the sum of 51., and a certificate of character from the parish 

 minister. In Edinburgh he could get no employment for a fortnight, 

 aud then, although au expert workman, at the wages of only 10. 6rf. 

 per week : he supported himself however on this for about nine 

 months, though prices made living excessively dear. At the end of 

 the time he got employed in works in which Mr. Stevenson the con- 

 .-tructor of the Bell Rock lighthouse was a partner,, and where he had 

 greater advantages of every kind. At this time so little was the 

 manufacture of steam boilers understood in Edinburgh, that on Mr. 

 Napier's employers happening to have one to make, their men were 

 completely toiled. The manager applied to Mr. Napier to get a new 

 hand ; but this was riot to be done ; so Mr. Napier was induced to try 

 himself, but as it proved, without sufficient knowledge, for the 

 caulking of the joints being omitted, the boiler which had appeared 

 perfect, 1. aked after it was fixed in its place, so much that the fire 

 was extinguished. At this Mr. Napier was mortified : he left Edinburgh, 

 again joined his father, and afterwards went to Glasgow, where he was 

 lor a short time with Mr. W. Lang, whose principal articles of manu- 

 facture were jacks and machinery for calender works. 



In May 1815 Mr. Napier, having received from bis father the sum 

 of 50i, purchased with 451. of it, the tools and goodwill of a small 

 blacksmith's business in the Gallowgate of Glasgow, and thus started 

 with 51. of clear capital. He began with two apprentices, he 

 has now the control of works in which 3000 people are frequently 

 employed. 



It was in 1823 that Mr. Napier made his first marine-engine, which 

 was worked for many years in a vessel ou the Clyde, and was then 

 put into a new vessel, and is believed to be still at work on one of the 

 Mersey ferries. This commenced a course in which both the magni- 

 tude and the success of the works executed have been remarkable 

 although not purchased without difficulty and trouble, and strict 

 attention to business. Mr. Napier himself attributes his success less 

 to merit as au inventor, than to his efforts in all cases to execute the 

 work best for the purpose ; money, bis friends say, never having been 

 his idol Thus he justly feels that there is cause for satisfaction in the 

 fact that, although he has had many heavy contracts, not an accident 

 of any importance has happened to machinery or vessels constructed 

 by him, or the firm of Robert Napier and Sons ; to which reference 

 properly made here we may add one to the proverbial immunity 

 from danger of the Cunard steamers, as suggestive of a right line of 

 inquiry into the calamities in other coses. In 1827, in a steam-boat 

 race on the Clyde, the fastest boats were two which had been provided 

 for a Glasgow company by Mr. Napier. In 1830 Mr. Napier, in con- 

 junction with the City of Glasgow Steam-Packet Company, established 

 a line of vessels which were many years unequalled, till superseded 

 by railways. In 1834 he supplied the Dundee and London Shipping 

 Company with the Dundee and Perth steam-ships, and in 1S36 the 

 East India Company with the Berenice, for the Bombay and Suez 

 voyages. In 1839 he furnished the machinery for the British Queen. 

 He subscribed lOOi. towards the trial voyage of the Syrius, the first 

 steam-vessel to cross the Atlantic, at least at the regular commence- 

 ment of the Atlantic steam-navigation, which had been spoken of as 

 an impossibility. In the same year he built the Fire-King, after the 

 moil el of Mr. Ashton Smith, and the vessel proved to be the fastest 

 steamer then afloat. 



In 1840 the Hon. Samuel Cunard aud his partners were supplied by 

 Mr. Napier with their first four steamers. Since that time he has con- 

 structed the machinery for nine other Atlantic steamers; and in 1856 

 he built and supplied with machinery, for the same- company, the 

 Persia of 3u'00 tons, and 900 horse-power, the first iron vessel belonging 

 to the Cunard company ; and believed to be at present the fastest and 

 strongest steamer afloat. 



In 1853, it should have been said, Messrs. Robert Napier and Sons 

 fitted up the machinery on board the first-rate ship of war, tho Duke 

 of Wellington, at that timo the largest ship of war. 



Mr. Napier is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and of 

 the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. At tho Paria Exposition 

 of 1853, the International Jury awarded him the great gold medal 

 of honour, and the Emperor Napoleon III. conferred ou him the 



