Duckworth had meantime rejoined Collingwood in the Mediterranean, and on the misunderstanding with the Ottoman Porte in 1807 was sent with a squadron of seven ships of the line and smaller vessels to dictate conditions under the walls of Constantinople. His orders, written at a distance, and in ignorance of the real state of things, proved perplexing. He was instructed to provide for the ambassador's safety, but the ambassador was already at Tenedos when he arrived there. He was instructed to anchor under the walls of Constantinople; but it was found that the Turks, with the assistance of French engineers, had so strengthened and added to the fortifications of the Dardanelles as to make the passage one of very great difficulty. His orders, however, seemed imperative, and he determined to proceed as soon as a leading wind rendered it possible. On 19 Feb. 1807, with a fine southerly breeze he ran through the strait, sustaining the fire of the batteries, silencing the castles of Sestos and Abydos, and destroying a squadron of Turkish frigates at anchor inside of them. On the evening of the 20th the ships anchored about eight miles from Constantinople, a head wind and lee current not permitting them to approach nearer. The Turks, advised by the French, quite understood that the squadron was, for the time, powerless. The negotiation which Duckworth opened proved inoperative; the Turks would concede nothing, and devoted themselves to still further strengthening the batteries in the Dardanelles. After a few days, understanding the peril of his situation, Duckworth decided that a timely retreat could alone save him; and accordingly, on 3 March, he again ran through the strait, receiving as he passed a heavy fire from the forts and castles, some of which mounted guns of an extreme size, throwing stone shot of twenty-six inches in diameter [see Capel, Sir Thomas Bladen]. Duckworth had many enemies, and they did not lose the opportunity of criticising his conduct in a very hostile spirit. He had not obtained a treaty, and he had not approached within eight miles of Constantinople. James, who throughout writes of Duckworth in a spirit of bitter antagonism, pronounces him to have been wanting in ‘ability and firmness’ (iv. 230), though he admits also that he was much hampered by his instructions, and by ‘a tissue of contingencies and nicely drawn distinctions … by a string of ifs and buts, puzzling to the understanding and misleading to the judgment.’ This perhaps errs on the other side; for, though the instructions were no doubt puzzling and contradictory, the chief difficulty arose out of their ordering a line of action which local circumstances rendered impossible. Had Duckworth been able to anchor his ships abreast of Constantinople, within two hundred yards of the city walls, his demands would have carried the expected weight; at the distance of eight miles they were simply laughed at. It has been said commonly enough that Duckworth ought to have demanded a court-martial on his conduct; it would almost seem that he did meditate doing so, and took Collingwood's opinion on the matter. At any rate, Collingwood, writing to the Duke of Northumberland a few months later, said: ‘I have much uneasiness on Sir John Duckworth's account, who is an able and zealous officer: that all was not performed that was expected is only to be attributed to difficulties which could not be surmounted; and if they baffled his skill, I do not know where to look for the officer to whom they would have yielded’ (Ralfe, ii. 299).
During 1808–9 Duckworth continued actively employed in the Channel and on the coast of France; on one occasion, in 1808, chasing an imaginary French squadron round the North Atlantic, to Lisbon, Madeira, the West Indies, and the Chesapeake. From 1810 to 1813 he was governor and commander-in-chief at Newfoundland, where he is said to have earned the good opinion of the inhabitants both in his naval and his civil capacity. On his return to England he was created a baronet, 2 Nov. 1813; he had become admiral on 31 July 1810, and from 1812 to death he was M.P. for Romsey. In Jan. 1817 he was appointed commander-in-chief at Plymouth, but died within a few months, on 31 Aug. He was twice married: first, to Anne, daughter of Mr. John Wallis of Trenton in Cornwall, by whom he had one son, slain at Albuera, and a daughter, who married Rear-admiral Sir Richard King; and secondly, to Susannah Catherine, daughter of Dr. William Buller, bishop of Exeter, by whom he had two sons. Of all the men who have attained distinction in the English navy, there is none whose character has been more discussed and more confusedly described. We are told that he was brave among the brave, but shy if not timid in action; daring and skilful in his conceptions, but wanting in that spirit and vigour which should actuate an English naval officer; frank and liberal in his disposition, but mean, selfish, and sensual; one of the most distinguished and worthy characters in the profession, but incapable of giving vent to one generous sentiment. The contradictions are excessive; and though, at this
