Eleonora's Memoir:
Admiral Nelson—the new self-appointed commander of the Mediterranean Sea—completed Cardinal Ruffo's work with the help of the British fleet at the head of his warship, the Foudroyant. This detail is important: Nelson returned to Naples from Palermo with Lord and Lady Hamilton aboard his vessel. They were overseeing conditions in the city for the safe return of the king and queen.
I was with the republican government in Sant'Elmo's fort—the same place where we had greeted the French—when we surrendered. With Ruffo's approval, both sides signed an armistice, or capitulation, with various foreign powers witnessing the event. But the terms of the agreement, regrettably, failed to be enforced. Otherwise I would not be here in this filthy cell, possibly facing death.
Poor Admiral Francesco Caracciolo, the distinguished naval officer who joined the republicans and commanded our fleet! Admiral Nelson—his orders promulgated from the Foudroyant—had him hanged from the yard-arm of the Minerva, the ship he once proudly commanded.