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OUTBREAK ON THE SANDWICH 107
must have been made slowly and with much inconvenience.
If the letters from Spithead were written directly
after the Admirals' visit to the Queen Charlotte (21
April), there was an interval of three weeks between the
dispatch of the letters and the beginning of the Nore
mutiny.
It happened, however, that the time of the outbreak
was well chosen. On 12 May Vice-Admiral Buckner
and several of the captains had gone early in the morning
to attend a court-martial on board the Inflexible, and
their ships were in charge of lieutenants. 1
The Sandwich,
Buckner's flagship, was left in command of second
Lieutenant Justice. 2 Nothing unusual happened at
breakfast time; but at half-past nine, when all hands
were turned on deck to clear hawse, they crowded forward
and gave three cheers—a proceeding which was by that
time recognized as the regular signal for mutiny. The
disorder spread to other ships ; and when the captains
returned from the hurriedly adjourned court-martial,
several of them saw the ominous ropes hanging from the
yard-arms, and knew by that sign that their authority
was already taken from them.
Buckner went straight back to Sheerness; but Mosse,
his captain, returned to the Sandwich. His reception
on the ship is vividly described in a report to Buckner :
As you will naturally expect to hear from me, knowing a
boat is sent into the harbour from the ship, I shall just
describe to you the state I found the Sandwich in. The
people all quiet, but had taken the command of the ship,
planted sentinels with cutlasses both on the decks and gangways,
were in possession of the keys of the magazine, store
rooms, etc. On my reaching the quarter-deck, I desired the
boatswain to call all hands aft, in order to address them or
hear their grievances, if they had any; but a cry of " No,
No " prevailed generally forward. I then went forward to
the fore-hatchway and found the principals were thereabouts,
1. Cunningham, pp. 1, 3.
2. Evidence of Lieutenant Justice at Parker's court-martial (A.S.I.
5486).