The French post tried hard. It sent the letters to one port after another, and each time they arrived just too late.
When word came that the ship had been captured, the post office forwarded the letters to England. There, they were handed to the Admiralty in London.
“It's agonising how close they got,” Morieux said.
He believes British officials opened two of them, looking for anything of military value. They decided it was just “family stuff,” and put the letters into storage.