Prince Francesco Caracciolo (18 January 1752 – 30 June 1799) was a Neapolitan

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 admiral and revolutionist.

Early life and British service

Caracciolo

Caracciolo

Caracciolo is the surname of a famous noble family of southern Italy.Its members include:*Battistello Caracciolo, Italian painter*Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo, Spanish viceroy of Peru*Francesco Caracciolo, Neapolitan admiral and revolutionist...

 was born in Naples to a noble family. He entered the navy and learned his seamanship under Rodney

George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney

George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...

. He fought with distinction in the British service in the American War of Independence, against the Barbary pirates, and against the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 at Genoa

Naval Battle of Genoa (1795)

The Naval Battle of Genoa was fought on 14 March 1795 off the coast of Genoa, a port city in north-western Italy, between French warships under Rear-Admiral Pierre Martin and British and Neapolitan warships under Vice Admiral William Hotham...

 under Lord Hotham

William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham

Admiral William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the son of Sir Beaumont Hotham , a lineal descendant of Sir John Hotham....

. The Bourbons placed the greatest confidence in his skill.

To Sicily and back

When on the approach of the French to Naples, King Ferdinand IV and Queen Mary Caroline fled to Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 on board Horatio Nelson's ship, (December 1798), Caracciolo escorted them on the frigate Sannita. He was the only prominent Neapolitan trusted by the king, but the admiral's loyalty was shaken by Ferdinand's flight. On reaching Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, Caracciolo asked permission to return to Naples to look after his own private affairs (January 1799). This was granted, but when he arrived at Naples he found all the aristocracy and educated middle classes infatuated with the French revolutionary ideas

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, and he himself was received with great enthusiasm.

Republican service and capture

He seems at first to have intended to live a retired life; but, finding that he must either join the Republican party or escape to Procida

Procida

Procida is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. The island is between Cape Miseno and the island of Ischia. With its tiny satellite island of Vivara, it is a comune of the province of Naples, in the region of Campania. The population is about ten...

, then in the hands of the English, in which case even his intimates would regard him as a traitor and his property would have been confiscated, he was induced to adhere to the new order of things and took command of the republic's naval forces. Once at sea, he fought actively against the British and Neapolitan squadrons and prevented the landing of some Royalist bands. A few days later, all the French troops in Naples, except 500 men, were recalled to the north of Italy.

Caracciolo then attacked Admiral Thurn, who from the Minerva commanded the Royalist fleet, and did some damage to that vessel. But the British fleet on the one hand and Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo

Fabrizio Ruffo

Fabrizio Ruffo was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-republican Sanfedismo movement .-Biography:...

's army on the other made resistance impossible. The Republicans and the 500 French had retired to the castles, and Caracciolo landed and tried to escape in disguise. He was betrayed and arrested by a Royalist officer, who on 29 June brought him in chains on board Nelson's flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, .

Trial and execution

It is doubtful whether Caracciolo should have been included in the capitulation concluded with the Republicans in the castles, as that document promised life and liberty to those who surrendered before the blockade

Blockade

A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

 of the forts, whereas he was arrested afterwards, but as the whole capitulation was violated, the point is immaterial. Moreover, the admiral's fate was decided even before his capture, because on 27 June, the British minister, Sir William Hamilton

William Hamilton (diplomat)

Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...

, had communicated to Nelson, Queen Mary Caroline's wish that Caracciolo should be hanged. As soon as he was brought on board, Nelson ordered Thurn to summon a court martial composed of Caracciolo's former officers, Thurn himself being a personal enemy of the accused. The court was held on board the Foudroyant, which was British territory—a most indefensible proceeding.

Caracciolo was charged with high treason

High treason

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...

; he had asked to be judged by British officers, which was refused, nor was he allowed to summon witnesses in his defence. He was condemned to death by three votes to two, and as soon as the sentence was communicated to Nelson, the latter ordered that he should be hanged at the yard-arm of the Minerva the next morning, and his body thrown into the sea at sundown. Even the customary twenty-four hours respite for confession was denied him, and his request to be shot instead of hanged refused. The sentence was duly carried out on 30 June 1799.

The local port of St. Lucia nevertheless took care of Caracciolo's remains, giving him a proper funeral and burial at church of Santa Maria della Catena. His epitaph reads, Francesco Caracciolo, Admiral of the Republic of Naples, who fell victim of the hatred and the lack of mercy of his enemies. He was hanged at the mast on 29 June 1799. The people of Santa Lucia took it upon themselves to honour him with a Christian burial. The City Council of Naples, 1881.

Evaluation of execution

Caracciolo was technically a traitor to the king whose uniform he had worn, but there was no necessity for Nelson to make himself the executor of the revenge of Ferdinand and Mary Caroline. His greatest offence, as Captain Mahan

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide...

 remarks (Life of Nelson, i. 440), was committed against his own country by sacrificing his inalienable character as the representative of the king of Great Britain to his secondary and artificial character as delegate of the king of Naples. The only explanation of Nelson's conduct is to be found in his infatuation for Lady Hamilton

Emma, Lady Hamilton

Emma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...

, whose low ambition made her use her influence over him in the interest of Queen Mary Caroline's malignant spite. This explanation of events is dramatized in the British drama I Remember Nelson.