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 Plate III .
 
 LIVES 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 BRITISH ADMIRALS: 
 
 CONTAINING A HEW AND ACCURATE 
 
 NAVAL HISTORY, 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS. 
 
 BY DR. J. CAMPBELL. 
 
 WITH A CONTINUATION DOWN TO THE YEAR 1779, 
 
 INCLUDING THE 
 
 NAVAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE LATE WAR, AND AN 
 ACCOUNT OF THE RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE 
 SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. 
 
 WRITTEN UNDER THE INSPECTION OF 
 
 DOCTOR BERKENHOUT. 
 
 THI \VHOLI ILLUSTRATID WITH CORRECT MAPS ; AND 
 FRONTISPIECES ENGRAVED FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS. 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR G. G, J. AND J. ROBINSON, 
 PATER NOSTER Row. 
 
 M.DCC.L xxxv.
 
 O F 
 
 VOLUME THIRD. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 L hiftsry of Great Britain, frcm the acceflion of 
 her majejly queen Anne, to the Union of the two king- 
 doms t 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Naval hijiory of Great Britain, from the Union of the two 
 kingdoms, to the end of the reign of her majejly queen 
 Anne j 3 ^ 
 
 Memoirs of Vice-admiral Benbevo 331 
 
 Sir Ralph Dela-val) knight 
 
 Sir Cloiide/ley Shovel r , knight 
 
 5/r George Rooke, knight 
 
 George Churchill, Efq; 
 
 Sir David Mitchell^ knight 423 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Naval hi/lory of Great Britain, from the accefflon of king 
 George I. to the tune of his demife 433 
 
 LIVES 
 
 2f- )6
 
 LIVES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ADMIRALS: 
 
 INCLUDING A NEW AND ACCURATE 
 
 NAVAL HISTORY. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Containing the Naval Hiflory of GREAT BRITAIN, 
 from the acceffion of her majefty queen Anne, to 
 the union ot the two kingdoms. 
 
 W'E are now come down to that reign, under which the 
 nation was extremely happy at home, and her repu- 
 tation carried to the greateft height abroad. A reign 
 that will always be remembered with honour, and make a 
 fhining figure in our hiftories, as long as hiftories fliall laft : a 
 reign, in the beginning of which all party animofities were bu- 
 ried in oblivion, and the Tories feemed as fenfible of the necef- 
 fity of a war, as the Whigs, and as ready to carry it on; 
 which was the true reafon why it was profecuted for fo many 
 years with fuch vigour and fuccefs as had never attended our 
 arms fince the glorious days of queen Elifabeth; and which 
 ought therefore to convince us, that we are never to hope a 
 thorough domeftic iettlement, with an effectual fupport of our 
 juft claims to refpeft and freedom of commerce abroad, until 
 VOL. III. A there
 
 1 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 there is a new and undnTembled coalition of parties, founded 
 not in private views, but arifing from public fpirit, and all men 
 are taught to think that he is a public enemy, who avows any 
 other or narrower interefl than that of his country. 
 
 Queen Anne acceded to the throne on the eighth of March, 
 1701-2, ia the flower of her age, if we confider her dignity, 
 being then about thirty-eight 3 . She had (hewn a very juft 
 moderation in her conduft from the time of the Revolution, 
 and knew how to temper her relation to the ftate, with that 
 which (he bore to her family ; of which (he gave a remarkable 
 inftance in the latter part of her life, by procuring the ifland of 
 Sicily for her coufin the duke of Savoy. 
 
 She opened her reign by a very wife and well-confidered 
 fpeech to her privy-council, in which (he declared, how fenfible 
 {he was of the unfpeakable lofs the nation had fuftained by the 
 death of the late king, and the burden it brought upon her- 
 fclf, which nothing, (he faid, could encourage her to undergo, 
 but the great concern fhe had for the prefervation of the reli- 
 gion, laws, and liberty of her country : and that no pains 
 Ihould be wanting on her part, to defend and fupport them, and 
 to maintain the Proteftant fucceflion. She exprefled plainly her 
 opinion for carrying on the preparations aga'mft France, and 
 fupporting the allies ^ and, faid, {he would countenance thofe 
 who concurred with her in maintaining the prefent constitution 
 and eftablifliment b . 
 
 In purfuance of this declaration, the queen wrote to the 
 ftates-general to allure them, that fiie would follow exactly the 
 
 a Burned* hiftory of hi* own time*, vol. ii. p. 309. Oldmix in's hi ft. of the 
 .Vuarts, vol. ii. p. 173. Boyer's life of queen Anne. Conduft of Sarah, durhefs 
 d>wagerof M.rlb>r<;Uj>h, p. in. 
 
 t> It is very remarkable, that the conduct of the queen n the beginning of 
 bcr teign was Aich, as g t ve the higheft faiisfaflion to all parties; fi.r ftie ?vo'<!nl- 
 rlie error of Nero, by not cither fcrcwing up the fli'n.g&of government too hiyh, 
 <r letting them run t -o low. It had been happy for hrr, and for her fuhjcfls, if 
 fhe bad ftcadily pwfucd this conduft through the conrfe of her r t ij;n, inAead 
 u f putting Jierfclf i.ito the hands of one pa.-ty (lift, and then of another; tatlj 
 which had v.ry ill contVquc'nccs, with refpefl to hrr majefty's quiet, and to 
 the good of her fubjtftf. This ufhaion I thought necefl^ry here, becaufc, by 
 inferting it, I (hall avjid being oWned to f.-y foiKetliirg lite it, on fevcral otl.tr 
 i 
 
 ft efls
 
 OF QJJEE-N ANNE, 3 
 
 ftrps of her predecefibr, in the fteady maintenance of the com- 
 mon caufe againft the common enemy : and as a farther proof 
 of her fincerity, fhe appointed the earl of Marlborougb, whom 
 the late king had fent ambafTador and plenipotentiary to the 
 ftates, captain-general of her forces, and gave him a blue rib- 
 band . iShe likewife declared Sir George Rooke vice-admiral 
 of England, and George Churchill, Efq; admiral of the b!ue d , 
 in the room of Matthew Aylmer, lifq; afterwards lord Aylmer, 
 whom we have mentioned already, and of whom we (hall have 
 cccafion to fpeak very honourably hereafter. Thefe fteps were 
 fumcient to demonftrate the reality of the queen's intentions j 
 and therefore we have all the realbn in the world to believe, 
 that her majelty had a very good delign in placing her confort, 
 George prince of Denmark , at the head of the admiralty ; 
 though to do this it was found requifite to remove the earl of 
 Pembroke, then lord high- admiral, who was actually preparing 
 to go to fea. It is true, a large peniion was offered him ; bu: 
 his lord ill ip anf-.vered, with great generofiry and public fpinV, 
 that however convenient it might be for his private intereft, ye: 
 the accepting fuch a peniion was inconfiftent with his princi- 
 ples^ and therefore, i;nce he could not have the honour of 
 ferving his country in PERSON, he would endeavour to do it by 
 
 15 EXAMPLE 8 . 
 
 The 
 
 * BirrneL's liifl.iry of his own times, vo!. ii. p. 313. Ledtar<Vs life of John, 
 *tike uf Mariboroogh, vol. i. p. 94. London Gazette, N. 3791. d Lon- 
 
 don Gazette, N. 3810. e Boyer'i life of qnccn .Anne. Complete 
 
 fii'K of Europe for the year 1701, p. 154. London Gaz. N. 3811. f Uur- 
 nci's hid. ' f his own times, vol. ii. p. 31 3. 
 
 8 The acvarcement of the earl of Pembroke to th'S eminent dignity of 
 loixi high admiral of England, was n. t owing at dll to court favcur, but mere, 
 ry as I have hinted before, to the expediency c-f living that board afjde, and 
 1 vdping tSe pou-er of it in a Tingle hand. There were few of our nobility who- 
 could have been competitors for luch an office, and n me with juftke who could 
 he preferred to the earl of Pembroke. He had much prudence, which temper- 
 ed great vivacity in his confutation, and ztal for the fcivice of his country, 
 h was very obftrvaWc in fell his actions, though he did not make fo much 
 fhcw of it, as others might do in words. He had a ftcar'.inefs of mind, not to 
 be fhaken by power or titles, and a virtue io heroic, as not cither the vices 
 of thefe, or of worfe times could conupt. He (hewed, on ibis occafion, his 
 loyalty as well as fpirit ; for though he rcfufcd a pcnfion, yet, through the 
 cctirfc cf hir rcijr, he ftrvtd the qnren with the Urne d:earfa{i>cf and fide- 
 
 A i I; I
 
 4 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 The new lord high-admiral had a council appointed him by 
 his commifTion, viz. Sir George Rooke, Sir David Mitchell, 
 George Churchill, Efq; and Richard Hill, Efq; who were to 
 ailift him with their advice, and alfo in the execution of his of- 
 fke b . How far all this was legal, has been, and, I believe, 
 ever will remain, very doubtful -, but at that time no body que- 
 ftioned it, and therefore we fhall proceed to fhew what was 
 done under it, obferving, as near as may be, the order of time 
 in which events fell out, and that method in relating them, 
 ivhich is moft likely to fet them in a proper point of light '. 
 
 The firft expedition in the new reign, was that of Sir John 
 Munclen, rear-admiral of the red, which was intended for in- 
 tercepting a fquadron of French flrips, that were to fail from 
 the Groyne, in order to carry the new vice-roy of Mexico to 
 the Spanifli "Weft Indies. This defign was concerted by the 
 carl of Pembroke; and Sir John was made choice of, on ac- 
 count of the proofs he had given of both courage and conduct, 
 as well as zeal and diligence, in the fervice. He failed on the 
 twelfth of May, 1702, with eight (hips of the third rate, the 
 Salifbury, a fourth rate, and two frigates ; when he was at fea, 
 he communicated his orders to his captains, which hitherto had 
 
 lity, as if he had retained his port; and therefore, in 1708, when prince George 
 of Denmark died, her majefty reflored him to it. A full proof of her re- 
 moving him at this time, from no other motive than that of making way for 
 her confort, who had been fevcral times mentioned for that high pod in ihc 
 late reign. 
 
 h Burnet's hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 313. Oldmixon, vol. ii. 
 .London Gazette, N. 3811. 
 
 i It is not eafy to find a reafon why, fince the illegality of this commiffion 
 was fo quickly fu/puctcd, it fhould afterwards lie fo long aileep, ar.d then 
 vivcd again, as fnon as complaints were made to parliament of the conduct of 
 the navy. Thofe who advifcJ this commiffion, and thofe who drew it, were 
 Certainly very rr.cch to bjamc; and fince this is a charge of a hi^h nature, and 
 againft great men, I think myftlf obliged to explain it particularly. As king 
 William's creating a lord high-admir:l, was a benefit to the public, fo queen 
 .Annt's cominiflum was an injury to it. For by appointing prince Ge< rge of 
 Denmark a council, ihe cfUbliflied agiin that evil which king William 
 away ; and whereas, the powers of the lords comrr.injoners of the admiralty 
 were fettled by an exprcfs act of parliament, here was a new hoard cftabliined, 
 veiled i:h like powers; but thofe unknown to the hw, which coiil 1 take notice 
 only of the lord high-admiral, nci j that this c,i'.::Ci! of hi, was ap- 
 
 p''.' - .\"jn. 
 
 been
 
 o F QJJ EENANNE. 5 
 
 been abfolutely fecret. On the fixteenth he found himfelf on 
 the coaft of Galicia ; whereupon he fent the Salifbury and Dol- 
 phin to gain intelligence, in which they failed. He then fent 
 them a fecond time, and they brought oft* a Spanifh boat and a 
 French bark, with feveral prifoners, who aflerted, that there 
 were thirteen French fhips of war, bound from RochelJe to 
 the Groyne; and therefore Sir John iffued the necelTary orders 
 for keeping his fquadron between them and the ihore, that he 
 might be the better able to intercept them. Thefe orders were 
 ifTued on the twenty-feventh, and the very next day he difco- 
 vered fourteen fail between cape Prior and cape Ortugal, clofe 
 under the fliore, to whom he inftantly gave chace ; but they 
 outfailed him very much, and got into the Groyne before he 
 could poflibly come up with them. Thefe dates are fettled 
 from the minutes of the court-martial, which will be hereafter 
 mentioned. 
 
 Upon this he called a council of war, wherein it was con- 
 cluded, that (fince the accounts they had received from* their 
 prifoners agreed perfectly well, and feemed to make it clear, 
 that there were no lefs than feventeen of the enemy's fhips of 
 war in the harbour, which was ftrongly fortified, and had a 
 narrow and dangerous entrance), it was therefore moft expe- 
 dient for them to follow the latter part of their inftrucTions, by 
 which they were directed, in cafe they could do nothing on the 
 coaft of Spain, to repair into the Soundings, there to protect 
 the trade, and to give notice of their return to the board of 
 admiralty immediately. This Sir John accordingly did, about 
 the middle of June ; but then the fquadron being much diftref- 
 fed for provifions, it was found neceifary, on the twentieth of 
 that month, to repair into port k . 
 
 The 
 
 k Burchet's naval hiflory, p. 613. where he obferves, that after chacing thefe 
 fourteen fail into the Groyne, Sir John Munden called a council of war, in which 
 his captains took into confideration ; 
 
 " I. The intelligence from a perfon who belonged to a French merchant* 
 '' fhip, from Rochelle, and fome Spaniards taken from the fhorc; the former 
 " affirming, that when he came from Rochelle, he left there twelve fhips of 
 " war in the road, ready to fail to the Groyne with rhe fit ft fair wind ; that one 
 " of them had ftvcaty guns, one fifty, aud all the re.T fixryj and that the
 
 6 NAVAL II I S T O 11 Y 
 
 The mifcarriage of this defign made a very great noife : jt was 
 difcovered that only eight of the twelve (hips that had been 
 chaced into the Groyne, were men of war, and that the reft 
 were only tranfports : it was alfo faid, that Sir John Munden 
 had called off the Saliftmry, when fhe was actually engaged 
 xvith a French man of war, and that he had difcharged the 
 prifoners he had taken very precipitately. To quafh thefe re- 
 ports, and to explain the whole affair to the world, (which, is, 
 to be fure, the bed method in nil fuch cafes), the high-admiral 
 prince George iffued his commiffion for a court-martial, for the 
 trial of Sir John Munden, at which feveral perfons of diltino 
 tion, for their own fatisfaciion, were preient. 
 
 This court fat on board hermajefty'sfhipthe Queen at Spithead, 
 on the thirteenth of July, 1 702, where were preient Sir Cloudei- 
 Jey Shovel, admiral of the white, preiident, and the captains fol- 
 lowing, viz. Cole, Myngs, Leake, Greenhiil, Turviil, Swanton, 
 Good, Mayne, Kerr, Clarke, \Vard, Cooper, Bridges, Maynard, 
 Crow, Littleton, and Hollyman, who being all Iworn, and 
 having examined the feveral articles exhibited againft rear-admi- 
 ral Munden, gave their opinion, that he had fully cleared him- 
 felf from the whole matter contained in them ; and, as far as it 
 appeared to the court, had complied with his inftructions, and 
 behaved himfelf with great zeal and diligence in the fervice. 
 But, notwithftanding this acquittal, it was thought neceilary l to 
 
 lay 
 
 " Faulcon (a fourth fate taken from us tie lad year) was g'nng thither before 
 " them. 
 
 " II. That the Spaniards are v-rry pnfuive the duke of Albuqiifrqut. was at (he 
 " Groyne with two thoufand foltiiers, and thai there were alna.lx in ih.it p"", 
 " three French fhips of war of fifty guns each, and twelve more exptct'il irr^m 
 " Rochtlle; ar.d fince both thefe accounts 10 well agreed, and it <<> 
 " there were feventeen lliips of war in (lie port, that the place was I'o (ij-i-n^ly 
 ' fonifinJ, and the pafTige thereinto very dimcult, it was unanimously dctcr- 
 " mined, that thty could not he attempted theie with any probability of fuci-ef's ; 
 " and thst, by remaining in tf c Ilitiun, they coulJ not have any profpecl of 
 " .doing fervice : fo that it was judged pioper to repair into the Soundings f^r 
 " protefting the trade." 
 
 ' In the London Gazette, N. 383?, we find the following article : " \Vind- 
 
 " for, Anguft pth. The queen having required the proceeding?, upon the trial of 
 
 " Sir John Munden, rear admiral of the red fquadron, to he laid before her, 
 
 i hiving confiJered all the circurr.fhnccs relating to the expedition to Co. 
 
 " runna; her imjcfly finding that Sir John Munden has not done his dutr p-.:r-
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 7 
 
 lay him afide, that the ftriftnefs and impartiality of the new 
 adminiftration might the better appear m . 
 
 Bifliop Burnet indeed charges Sir John Munden roundly with 
 ftupidity and cowardice, and blames Sir George Rooke dill 
 more, for having recommended fuch a man n . But Mr. Old- 
 mixon, who was of the fame party with the bifhop, is pleafed 
 to fuggeft, that it was not fo much for any fault he had com- 
 mitted, but becaufe he was not in Sir George Rooke's good 
 grace?, that Sir John Munden was difruuTed . For my own 
 
 " fuant to his inftniHon c , does not think fit to continue h : m in her fervice, and 
 " has therefore declared her pleafure, that his nya! highncfs the lord high ad- 
 " miral of England, fhould immediately difcharge him from his poft and com- 
 " mand in the royal navy, and his royal highncfs has accordingly given tru nc- 
 " ceflary orders for it." See Sir John Munden's juftification of himfclf in a 
 letter to a worthy friend, dated Auguft pih, 1701, in the appendix to the firrt 
 vol. of the annals of queen Anne, p. $. 
 
 m Complete hiftory of Europe for 1701, p. 175. 
 
 This is fo harfh a charge, that I find myfelf obliged to fupport it, by citing 
 the bifhop's own words, which arc thefe : 
 
 " Advice was fent over fr >m Holland, of a fleet that had failed from France, 
 " and was ordered to call in at the Groyne. Munden was recommended Ly 
 " Rooke, to be fent againft this flret , but though he carne up to them, with a 
 " fuperior force, yet he behaved himfclf fo iil, and fo imfucccfsi'nlly, that a 
 " council of war was ordered to fit on him. They, indeed, acquitted him ; 
 " fome excufmg themftlvcs, by faying, that if they had condemned him, the 
 ' pnnifhmcnt was death ; whereas, they thought his errors fi >wed fr.jin a want 
 " of fenfe, fo that it would have been hard to condemn him for a defect of 
 " that, which nature had not given him. Thofe whj recommended him to t!>e 
 " employment, feemed to be more in fault." B;it Mr. fecretary B'.)rchct, whu 
 was better acquainted with all the proceedings 0:1 this affair, than the bilbo,) 
 could poffibly be, delivers his judgment in thefe words: " This was a veiy 
 " unlucky accident ; yet the fame misfortune might have happened to any 
 " other good ufficer as well as Sir John Munden, who (10 do nim joftice) had, 
 " duriiig his long fervice in the fleet, behaved himfelf with zfal, cui!rac, and 
 " fidelity; and though himfelf and all the captaiiis in l)i> fqiudron, did unaci- 
 " moufly conclude, that at leafl twelve of the fourteen ihips which tliey chaced 
 " into the Groyne were men of war, their number agreeing exiclly with tne 
 " intelligence from feveral perfons taken from the Ihore ; yet, even in th.'t 
 *' cafe, it is real'onable to think, that he would have given a very <> 
 " of this aff.iir, coulJ he poffibly have come up with them.' 1 K^vai hi'.iurj , 
 p. 613. 
 
 Oldmixnn's hiflnry of England, vol. ii. p. 180. It is very remarkable, 
 that though thefe two writers flatly cor.tra.iicl one another 5 yet they agree in 
 having eich a flrokc at Sir George Rooke j but as iljcir poiibn> arc oppofite, ib 
 thi;y very happily piovc aatl.l.tes to each other. 
 
 part,
 
 8 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 part, I am inclined to believe what the prefident and council of 
 war declared upon their oaths, that this officer did his duty as 
 far as he poflibly could, and it would be a very great fatisfac- 
 tion to me, if I could account as well for every m if carriage that 
 I (hall be obliged to relate in the courfe of this work P. 
 
 On the fourth of May I 702, her majefty declared war againfr 
 France and Spain q ; and I mention it, becaufe this declaration 
 was thought necefiary before the grand fleet failed ; the defign 
 of which, .as far as I am able to judge, has been hitherto very 
 imperfectly accounted for. The great view of king Will-am, 
 (for it was by him the Cadiz expedition had been concerted), 
 was to prevent the French from getting poiTellion of the Spanith 
 Weft Indies ; or at leaft to prevent their keeping them long, if 
 they did. With this view he refolved to fend a grand fleet, un- 
 der the command of the then high-admiral the earl of Pem- 
 broke, with a body of land forces under the command of the 
 duke of Ormond, on board, to make themfelves matters of 
 Cadiz. ]5y this means, and by the help of a fquadron he had 
 fent into the Weft Indies, and which was to have been follow- 
 ed by another, as foon as Cadiz was taken, he hoped this might 
 be effected ; and he knew very well, if this could be once done, 
 an end would be put to all the French defigns, and they muft 
 be obliged to terminate the matter, to the fatUfadtion, at leaft, 
 of the maritime powers r . 
 
 The fcheme was undoubtedly very well laid, and the fecret 
 furprifingly well kept ; for though the preparing of fo great an 
 armament could not be hid, yet the intent of it was fo effectu- 
 ally concealed, that not only France and Spain, but Portugal 
 too, that crown being then in alliance with France and Spain, 
 had equal caufe to be alarmed ; which had confequences very 
 favourable to the grand alliance in all thofe countries, as will 
 hereafter fully appear. In fome cafes, delay does as much as 
 difpatch in others. All the maritime provinces in the Spanifli 
 
 P Mercure hiftoriqne et politiqne pour 1'anne 1701, vol. ii. p. Z0 i, 134. The 
 truth fccms to be, his acquittal was an aft of juftice, the removing him a ftroke 
 of policy. At the beginning of the former war king William rewarded a wdl- 
 timed temerity. At the opening of this queen Anne pij.tidied an ill-timed <?. 
 1 London Gazette, N. 3807. Complete hirtory of Europe f,r 
 1701, p. i?7. r The more this fcheme is cunfidcrol, and the better it is 
 
 U4,Ucrftood, the more it will be admired. 
 
 and
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. Q 
 
 fend French dominions were alarmed, the Italian fhtes were in- 
 timidated; in fhort, it every where emboldened thofe who were 
 inclined to the high allies to declare, and on the other hand 
 heightened the fears of thofe who, but for them, would have 
 cfpoufed the intereft of king Philip. 
 
 After the queen's acceflion, Sir George Rooke (as we ob- 
 ferved) was declared admiral of this fleet, vice admiral, and 
 lieutenant of the admiralty of England, and lieutenant of the 
 ileets and feas of this kingdom : the duke of Ormond remained, 
 as before, general of the land-forces, and the Dutch having 
 joined the fleet with their fquadron, which had alfo its quota of 
 troops on board, the admiral hoifted the union flag on board 
 the Pioyal Sovereign on the thirtieth of May, 1702; and on 
 the firft of June, his royal highnefs the prince of Denmark dined 
 on board the admiral, and took a view of the fleet and army, 
 which was foon in a condition to fail*. Befides Sir George 
 Rooke, there were the following flags, viz. vice-admiral Hop- 
 Ion, who carried a red flag at the fore-top-maft-head of the 
 Prince George ; rear-admiral Fairbourne, who carried the 
 white at the mizen-top-maft-head of the St. George; and rear- 
 admiral Graydon, who carried the blue flag in the fame man- 
 ner in the Triumph. There were five Dutch flags, viz. two 
 lieutenant-admirals, two vice-admirals, and a rear. The ftrength 
 of this fleet confided in thirty Englifh, and twenty Dutch fhips of 
 the line, exclufive of fmall vefTels and tenders, which made in 
 all about 1 60 fail. As to the troops, the Englifh confided of 
 9663 , including officers, and the Dutch of 4 1 3 8, in all 1 3 80 1 r . 
 
 On 
 
 s Burner's hiftory ofhis own times, vol. ii. p. 313, 330. Oldrr.ixon'i hiflory of 
 the Smarts, v >l. ii. p. i8p. Kurchet's naval hiftory, book v. chip. x. London 
 Gazette, K. 3815, 38*0. See alio an impartial ace lint of all :he material 
 tranfaflion*, of the grand fliet and land fores*, from their firft fett:ng out from 
 Spithead, Jine ip;h, till his qrace the duke of Ormond's arrival, at Deal, No- 
 vember 7th, 1701, in which is inc'iiiled a p .^r.i.u'ar re ! itirn cf the expedition 
 ai Caili/., and the glorious v,<fK)ry at Vlgo, by an tUuer that was preiem in 
 th^fe aifHons, London, i^oj 4to. 
 
 c Tout this was a very j"ea' force, and that the public had resfon to frame 
 /anguine expcflati'ns to them .'tivcs, as t, its fuccefy, ail the world muft allovr : 
 but, on the othrr hand, our expeditions ought never to prejudice us fo far, at 
 ro refolve not to be fatistied with a jufl account of their dif-sppointment. Bilhop 
 Burnet f.;ys, that Sir George R'> ke fpofcc coldly cf the expedition before lie 
 failed; and this he telis us Jo prove that Sir George intended to do the encmr 
 no hurt. But the mifcliief liet here, that Sir George fu r pechd they ftioold do 
 
 Vot. III. U no
 
 io N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 On the nineteenth of June, the fleet weighed from Spitheacf, 
 and came to an anchor at St. Helen's. On the twenty-fecond, 
 the two rear-admirals, Fairbourne and Graydon, were detach- 
 ed with a fquadronof thirty Englifh and Dutch (hips, witlvin- 
 ftruclions firlr. to look into the Groyne, and in cafe there were 
 any French (hips there, to block them up ; but if not, to cruize 
 ten or twelve leagues N. W. off Cape Finifterre, till they fhould 
 be joined by the fleet". 
 
 On the tenth of Auguft the fleet reached the rock of Lifbon, 
 where the next day they held a council of war. On the twelfth 
 they came before Cadiz, and anchored at the diftance of two 
 leagues from the city, Sir Thomas Smith, quarter- mafter-gene- 
 ral, having viewed and founded the fhore on the backfide of 
 the ifle of Leon, in which Cadiz ftands, and reported, that 
 there were very convenient bays to make a defcent : the duke 
 of Ormond vehemently infifted in a council of war, upon land- 
 ing in that ifle, in order to make a iudden and vigorous attack 
 upon the town, where the conilernation was fo great, that in 
 all probability the enterprize would have fucceeded j but feveral 
 of the council, efpecially the fea- officers, oppofing the duke's 
 motion, it was refolved, that the army fhould firft take the 
 fort of St. Catharine, and Port St. Mary, to facilitate thereby a 
 nearer approach to Cadiz w . 
 
 The next day the duke of Ormond fent a trumpet with a let- 
 ter to don Scipio de Brancacio, the governor, whom the duke- 
 had known in the Spanifh fervice, in the laft confederate war : 
 but in anfwer to the letter, inviting him to fubmit to the houfe 
 of Auftria, Brancacio declared, he would acquit himfelf ho- 
 nourably of the truft that was repofed in him by the king *. On 
 
 the 
 
 ho great good, hecaufe this expedition was of a doubtful nature : for on the one 
 hand they were e> joined to Ipeak to the Spaniards as friends, and at the fame 
 time were ordered to aft againft them as foes. 
 
 u Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 619. The complete hiftory of Europe for 
 1701, p. I'p. London Gazette, N. 3811. 
 
 w Oldmuon'i hiftory of the Stuarts, val. ii. p. 290. Annals of queen Anne, 
 vol. i. p. 79. London Gazette, N. 5841, ^843. 
 
 * The reader will b: better fatisrkd as M this matter, if he conftil's the col- 
 Icflions of Lamberti, torn. ii. p. zjr. When the duke of Ormond fumrm.ned 
 fort St. C.tharine, he declared, that if the governor did net accept his terms, 
 he fhould be banged, and n;>ne of his fuldiui receive quarter. To this the go- 
 vernor
 
 o F QJJ EENANNE. if. 
 
 the fifteenth of Auguft, the duke of Ormond landed his forces 
 in the bay of Bulls, above a mile on the left of St. Catharine's 
 fort, the cannon of which fired on his men all the while, buf 
 with little execution y . The firft that landed were twelve hun- 
 dred grenadiers, led by brigadier Pallant, and the earl of Don- 
 negall ; they were obliged to wade to the fhore, and were all 
 very wet when they reached it. In the mean time captain Jum- 
 per in the Lenox, and fome Englifh and Dutch light frigates* 
 kept firing on the horfe that appeared near the coafr, and they 
 were foon after repulfed by the Englifh foot z . 
 
 The duke of Ormond, as foon as the troops were landed, fent 
 to fumcnon fort St. Catharine ; but the governor replied, he had 
 cannon mounted, with powder and ball lufficient to receive him. 
 On the fixteenth the whole army marched to a camp marked 
 out for them near La Rotta, a town within a league of the 
 place, wliere they landed, from which moft of the inhabitants 
 were fled ; but ftrit orders being giv-en againft plundering, ma- 
 ny of them returned ; and, had the Spaniards given due atten- 
 tion to the duke's declaration, published at his firft coming on 
 the Spanifb coait, they needed not to have been in any confter- 
 nation. 
 
 The duke of Ormond "having left a garrifon of three hundred 
 Enen in La Rotta, marched on the twentieth of Auguft towards 
 Port St. Mary's. Some fquadrons of Spanifh horfe, about fix 
 hundred in number, fired upon the duke's advanced guards, and 
 killed lieutenant- colonel Gore's horfe, amongft the dragoons, 
 
 vernor anfwened with great fpirit and iuftice, " That if he mufl be hanged, it was 
 * all one to him, whether by the duke of Ormond, or the governor of Cadiz j 
 " and therefore he defircd leave to Tend to him f >r his orders, which was rc- 
 ' tincd." Tr<ele quick proceedings, inftead f drawing the Spaniards to declare 
 for the houfe of Auftria, rendered them averfe to ic. At leair, this was Sir 
 George Rooke'i fcntirnent, who Jid all he could to frrve the common caufe 
 without provoking the people of that country, whom his inftrudions directed him 
 to pr-'tfft. 
 
 y The complete hiftory of Europe for 1701, p. 311, 313. Rurnet, vol. ii. 
 London G>zette, N. 3845. 
 
 z Mcrcute hiftorique et poliiiqur, ponr 1'anne 1701, vol. ii. p. 433. The 
 prince of Htfle d'Armftadt was ihc princip-1 mover of this expedition. He per- 
 liiatled the miniftets st Vienna, London, and the Hague, having firft perfuaded 
 hjmlclf, the Spaniards in general were zealous for the houfe of Auftria. The 
 oufrc^ucnces by no means made this good, as the duke and admiral found. 
 
 B 3 but
 
 ji NAVAL II I S T O R Y 
 
 but retired on the approach of the Englifh grenadiers, of whorri 
 n detachment under colonel Pierce, of the guards, were fent to 
 take fort St. Catharine; which they did, and made a hundred 
 and twenty Spaniards prifoners of war *. The duke entered; 
 Port St. Mary's, attended by mod of the general officers, viz. 
 Sir Henry Bellafis, lieutenant-general; the earl of Port more, 
 Sir Charles O'Hara, and baron Spaar, majors general ; colonel 
 Seymour, colonel Lloyd, colonel Matthews, colonel Hamilton, 
 nnd colonel Pallant, now brigadiers-general : and notwith- 
 ilanding the ftrict orders the duke had iiHied cgainft plunder, 
 there was a very great bailing in the execution of them, for 
 which Sir Henry Bellalls and Sir Charles O'Hara were put un- 
 der arreft b . When they came to England, Bellafis was dif- 
 mified the fervice ; and though O'Hara efcaped public cenfure, 
 he did not private. 
 
 Mr. Methuen, her mrjefty's envoy in Portugal, in a letter to. 
 the duke of Ormond, dated Auguil the firft, gave this whole- 
 lome advice concerning the conduct of the army : that the point 
 of greateflr importance, was, to infinuate to the Spaniards, and 
 fhew by their proceedings, that they came not as enemies to 
 Spain, but only to free them from France, and give them aflif- 
 tmce toeflablifli themfelves under the government of the houfe 
 of Auftria. It being found too difficult to approach Cadiz 
 while the Spaniards were in pofleflion of Matagorda fort, over 
 againft the Puntal, it was ordered to be attacked, and a battery 
 of four pieces of cannon creeled againft it ; but upon every fir- 
 ing, the guns funk into the fands, and after a fruitlefs attempt, 
 the defign was given over, and the troops ordered to imbark, 
 -.vhich was done accordingly, with intention to make the beft of 
 their way home c . The Spaniards did indeed endeavour to di- 
 fturb them in their retreat, but with very little fuccefs ; a de- 
 tachment of Englifh and Dutch troops, under the command of 
 colonel Fox, having quickly rcpulfed them, with the lofs of a 
 few of their hcric, who were the nioft forward in the attack, 
 
 J Burner's hiftory of Us own times v,l. il. p. r> T - OUmixcn's hiflcry of the 
 
 vol. ii. p. 190. Bu-c'nei's naval hiflery, p. 610, 6ir. 
 l> Boycr's lif'c ofqu.'en Anre, p. 30. London Gazette, M. 3847. 
 c BuJthet't nival bift r;, r. 6ii, 613 The to^iplr; hiftc-v of Europe for 
 1701, p. 349. L-ndor. Gsttttc, N. jS^s, 3858. 
 
 which
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 13 
 
 which difcouraged the reft fo, that few or none of our people 
 were loft in getting aboard their fhips d . 
 
 In moft of our hiftorians, the Cadiz expedition is treated as 
 not much to the reputation of the nation in general, and of Sir 
 George Rooke in particular. As to the diforders at St. Mary's 1 , 
 of which we (hall hear much more in another place, they did 
 not at all affet Sir George Rooke, who had nothing to do 
 with them, nor was ever charged with them. That he did not 
 purfue with great eagernefs the burning the {hips, or deftroying 
 the place, has indeed been imputed to him as an act of bad con- 
 duel-. Bifhop Burnet charges him with it flatly, ami fay?, that, 
 before he went out, he had in a manner determined not to do 
 the enemy much hurt e . I believe this prelate fpoke as he 
 thought ; but as to Sir George, I am thoroughly perfuaded that 
 v.-hen he went out, and while he was out, he intended nothing 
 more or lefs, than to obey his inftruclions. 
 
 As to the fpirit of theie, we may eafily guefs at it from the 
 paflage in Mr. Methuen's letter, before cited, which very fully 
 lliews, that this expedition was originally concerted on a fuppo- 
 fition, that the Spaniards had a natural affection for the houfe 
 of Auilria, and would join with us in their favour again ft the 
 French. But in this it feems we were miftaken -, and yet it was 
 not thought proper to make thisconcluiion too haitily, efpeciaily 
 after what paiTed at Port Sr. Mary's, which, confulenng the 
 difpofition of the nation, might be prefumed to have provoked 
 the Spaniards to a degree not to be appeafed by all the fine 
 words we gave them in our manifesto f. A candid reader will 
 therefore eaiily difcern the true reafon of Sir George's conduh 
 He thought it madnefs to expofe the lives of the queen's fubjedtb, 
 
 d Tlie truth of the matter was, that the confederates found Cidiz in a much 
 bstter fiuiation than they expecled, themfelves worfc received than they heped, 
 and the general officers fo much divided in their opinions, that a retreat wa 
 thought more advifable than any other meafnre in a council of war. If Sir 
 George Rooke, befj;e he put to fca, forefaw any of the difficulties they then nu't 
 with, few people at this time of day, I believe, think filch a forelinht a difcretJit 
 to him, either as a ftatefman or an admiral. As to his own condu<ft, he was Cal- 
 led to an account for it before the houfe of lords, and, as we fi.all fee elfcwhere, 
 defended it fo well, that n:> imputation could be fixed upon him. 
 
 e Hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 330. 
 
 f The complete hiflory of Europe for ijoa, p. 316. 
 
 TV here
 
 M N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 where they might be fpartd to better advantage ; and therefore 
 was not over fond of burning towns, and cutting throats, to con- 
 vince the Spaniards of our hearty affection for them ; which, 
 however, was the language of our declarations and his inftruc- 
 tions B. Mr. Oldmixon therefore concludes, after a candid re- 
 lation of fa&s, very juftly, and like a man of honour, that how- 
 ever the nation's expectations might be clifappointed in the Ca- 
 diz expedition, yet there was nothing blameable in the conduct, 
 either of the duke of Ormond or Sir George Rooke h . Foreign 
 writers do the fame juitice to our commanders, and even fuch 
 of thofe authors as are vidbly in the French intereft; fo that if 
 ire decide according to evidence, it is impoflible for us to join in 
 that clamour, which difcontented people raifed upon this occa- 
 fion'. 
 
 While the admiral was intent on bringing the fleet and forces 
 fafoly home, providence put it in his power to do his country a 
 more fignal and effectual fervice, than even the taking of Cadiz 
 would have been. Captain Hardy, who commanded her majef- 
 ty's fliip the Pembroke, was fent to water in Lagos bay, where 
 
 3 This the fnbflance of Sir George Revoke's deferce before the houfe of lords, 
 vho inquired into this affair, and addrcfT-d the queen, that the duke of Ormond 
 and Sir Grorge Rooke mi<;ht lay the uhole tranfacliort before them, which was 
 done in the beginning of the next year, and what I have offered in the text, Uon- 
 Jy ro av >id repetitions. A more diitinft account of the inquiry will aflerw^rds 
 be found in the memoirs of Sir George Rooke. 
 
 I' Hiftory of England, voL ii. p. 192. The reider will obferve, that I lay 
 hold of every opportunity of doing jnfticc to our hiflorians, and therefore, I hope 
 vill believe, that whenever I differ with them, it is purely out of refpccl to 
 truth. 
 
 i The French hittorians fay, that the prince of HefTc Dirmfhdt, whom the 
 emperor had appointed general and commander in chief of fuch- Spaniards as 
 flsould roanifcft their fidelity to the houfe of Auftria, did little or no fervice by 
 the ri'jlenf merr. -trials which he publilhed, filled with perfonal repro-.<he* and 
 warm threats againft fch af adhered to king Philip. At firft, howe\'er, it i 
 admitted, that the Spaniards did not (hew any great zeal for their new prince; 
 hut after they were pr.vokcd by the barbarities committed at the port of Sr. Mary, 
 they loft all paticn e, and fought wirh 1'tich bittemels and indignation, as is 
 fcarce to be expreJcd. The f^mc hiOorians fay, that the duite ot Ormond, 
 and hi> 1 ,x-- -, wr,cri they attacked Matngordii fort, were expoftd to a prodigi. 
 OIH fire from the phce, while they were able to form no better battery than two 
 field pieces, and t-po fmall mortars, the ground being fo fwampy, as not to hear 
 heavy artillery. Hirtoire militsiie, lure. ;.i. p. j;z. Li^jieres, lum. iii. p. ioj. 
 Larrey, tom. iii. p. 544.
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 15 
 
 he underftood from his converfation with the French confuJ, 
 who induftrioufly fought it in order to boaft of their good for- 
 tune, that they had lately received great new?, though he would 
 not tell him what it was k . Soon after arrived an express from 
 Liibon, with letters for the prince of HefTe and Mr. Mcthuen -, 
 which, when he was informed they were no longer on board 
 the fleet, he refuled to deliver, and ac'tuaiiy carried them back. 
 to Lilbon. In difcourle, however, he told captain Hardy, thnt 
 the galleons, under the convoy of a French iquadron, put into 
 Vigo the fixteenth of September. Captain Hardy made what 
 hafte he could with this news to the fleet, with which, how- 
 ever, he did not meet until the third of October, and even then 
 the wind blew fo hard, that he found it impoflible tofpeak with 
 the admiral till the llxth, when he informed him of what he 
 had heard '. 
 
 Upon this Sir George called a council of war immediately, 
 compofed of theEnglifh and Dutch flag-officers, by whom it was 
 refblved to fail, as expeditioufly as poffible, to the port of Vigo, 
 and attack the enemy. In order to this, Ibtne fmall veffris were 
 detached to make a difcovery of the enemj's force, which was 
 done effectually by the Kent's boat ; and the captain underftood 
 that Monf. Chateau-Renault's fqnadron of French men of war, 
 and the Spanifh galleons, were all in that harbour j but the 
 wind blowing a ftorm, drove the fleet to the northwards as far 
 as Cape Finifterre, and it came not before the place till the 
 eleventh of October m . The paflage into the harbour was not 
 
 fc Captain Hardy, on his arrival in England, .was prefcnteu to the qneen, who 
 was pleafed to confer the honour of knighthood oa him, in conf.deration of his 
 good feivice, in gaining and giving to admiril Rooke the intellitcitcc, which was 
 the occafi in of the great fuccefs a: Vigo, London Gazette, N. 3858. 
 
 ' Memoirs pour 1'hiOoire d'Efpagne, par le marquis de St. Pr.ilipp?, vol. I. 
 p. iSj. This had behaviour had a ter.illi effect, for i; g.vs the Spaniards an 
 idea, that they were to havs to do with an impious, d.-unksn, and dci:auched peo- 
 ple, without morals, and without discipline. 
 
 m After reading th.s account, it mart furprize any man to hear, that b ; flicp 
 Burnct charges the admire! with want r.f diligence, neglect of cufy, and a irfl'.xi: 
 to this fervice ; when nothing can be plainer, t^an trut he afled ti.r.-.ugh<>iit ihe 
 whole of this hafcicfs, :! ih^t, if he had been In- 
 
 clined to do ctherwife, he had ii-e "-i.cft oj> t crttuiitks that c> uid p.lllbly havt ot- 
 'fered, for avoiding or delaying, the attack. 
 
 above
 
 }<5 NAVAL H J S T O R \* 
 
 above three quarters of a mile over, \vith a battery of eight brafsj 
 and twelve iron guns on die north fide, and on the fouth 
 was a platform of twenty brafs gur.s, and twenty iron guns, 
 as alfo a ftone fort, with a breaft-work and deep trench before 
 it, ten guns mounted, and five hundred men in it. There was, 
 from one fide of the harbour to the other, a ftrong boom com- 
 pofed of fhips-yards and top-mafts, fattened together with three- 
 inch-rope, very thick, and underneath with haufers and ca- 
 bles. The top-chain at each end was moored to a feventy- 
 gun (hip, the one was called the Hope, which had been taken 
 from the Englilh, and the other was the Bourbone n . Within 
 the boom were moored five fhips, of between fixty and feventy 
 guns each, with their broadfides fronting the entrance of the 
 paflage, fo as that they might fire at any {hip that came near the 
 boom, forts, and platform . 
 
 The admirals removed the flags from the great fhips into 
 third rates, the firft and fecond rates being all too big to go in. 
 Sir George Rooke went out of the Royal Sovereign into the 
 Sorr.erfet ; admiral Hopfon out of the Prince George into the 
 Torbay ; admiral Fairbourne out of the St. George into the Ef- 
 fex ; and admiral Graydon out of the Triumph, into the Nor- 
 thumberland. A detachment of fifteen Englifh, and ten Dutch 
 men of war, with all their fire-fhips, frigates, and bomb-vef- 
 fcls, were ordered to go upon the fervice p . 
 
 The 
 
 u Quincv hiftr>ire mili'iire de Loui TV. torn. iii. p. -17. Marquis de Santj- 
 Crnz refactions rr.ilitaire* et po!itiques, torn. viii. p. 93, 94. Memoires pour 
 fervir a l'hiflore d'F.fpagnc, par le marquis de Sr. Philippe, vol. i. p. 101 109. 
 
 The French writers are very copious in their defcription of the mcafures ta- 
 ken by the French admiral for the defence of the fK-et ; and indeed it mud he al- 
 lowed (hat the difpofition was as good as the piace would admit. The cotnt oe 
 Chateau-Renault was a very gallant and experienced officer; ard if, as iheic \vri- 
 rers fay, his reputation was heightened hy this accident, then it phis-.l)- proves^ 
 that onr officers afted as well as men could be expected to aft. Hiftoire mi!i airf, 
 torn. iii. p. 717. Rapin Thoyras continue, torn. xi. p. 487. Memoires hifto- 
 riques, et chronologiqnes. 
 
 P It is perfectly clear from hi; manner of making this attack, that Sir Gt^fc 
 Rooke had the honour of his country as much at heart as any rran cmi!d have , 
 r-d it is very ftrange, that among fo many obfervations, no r-oo'y fh u!d take 
 no ice of the great prudence (hewn in the forming this difpnfiiion, and ;he coo- 
 raee and ahcr-iy of 'he admirals in qttrting the large fiiip?, that they might 
 hivea (hire in (he danger, as well as in the repa'ation of this -flior. IF i: 
 
 miffi
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 47 
 
 The duke of Ormond, to facilitate this attack, landed on 
 the fouth-fide of the river, at the diftance of about fix miles 
 from Vigo, two thoufand five hundred men; then lord Shan- 
 non at the head of five hundred men, attacked a ftone fort at 
 the entrance of the harbour, and having made himfelf matter of 
 a platform of forty pieces of cannon, the French governor, 
 Monf. Sozel, ordered the gates of the place to be thrown open, 
 with a refolution to have forced his way through the Englifh 
 troops. But though there was great bravery, yet there was but 
 very little judgment in this action ; for his order was no fooner 
 obeyed, than the grenadiers enrered the place fword in hand, 
 and forced the garrifon, confifting of French and Spaniards, in 
 number about three hundred and fifty, to furrender prifoners 
 of war q . This was a conqueft of the laft importance, and ob- 
 tained much fooner than the enemy expected, who might other- 
 wife have prevented it, fince they had in the neighbourhood a 
 body of at leaft ten thoufand men, under the command of the 
 prince of Brabancjon. It was likewife of prodigious confequence 
 in refpedt to the fleet, fince our (hips would have been exceffive- 
 ly galled by the fire from that platform and fort r . 
 
 As foon, therefore, as our flag was feen flying from the 
 place, the (hips advanced, and vice-admiral Hopfon in the Tor- 
 bay, crowding all the fail he could, ran directly againft the 
 boom, broke it, and then the Kent, with the reft of the fqua- 
 dron, Englifli and Dutch, entered the harbour. The enemy 
 made a prodigious fire upon them, both from their {hips and 
 batteries on fliore, till the latter was poflefled by our grenadiers, 
 
 mifcarried, we (hoiild have had reficcYionj enough on the admiral's mifbkes in 
 thismauer; and, tnethinks, it is a little hard to pafs in filcnce this extraordi- 
 nary mark of his conduft, and leave it to be commended as it is by the Dutch 
 hiftorians only ; as if they alone knew how to value merit, and we were con- 
 cerned only tc l.tlcn and iraclure it. 
 
 1 The duke of Ormond, though lame of the gout, marched all the way- 
 through bad roads, at the head of the troops. Lord vifcount Shannon who 
 commanded the attack, difHngmihcd himfelf exceedingly, and all the officers 
 and forces in general, behaved with the utmoft fpiiit and intrepidity. 
 
 r The French writers fay, that at the firft appearance of the duke of Or- 
 mond's grenadiers, the Spsni!)) militia, threw down their arms, and fled ; and 
 they likewife admit, that they lorccd their way on the opening the^gate, as is 
 aliened in our accounts. 
 
 VOL. Ill, C who
 
 j8 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 who feeing the execution done by their guns on the fleet, be- 
 haved with incredible refblution. In the mean time, one of 
 the enemy's fire-fhrps had laid the Torbay on board, and had 
 certainly burnt her, but th;it luckily the fire-fhip had a great 
 quantity of fnuff on board, which extinguiflied the flames when 
 the came to blow up -, yet the vice-admiral did not abfolutely 
 efcape. Her fore-top-maft was fhot by the board, mo ft of the 
 fails burnt or fcorched, the fore-yard eonfumed to a coal, the 
 larboard fhrowds, fore and aft, burnt at the dead eyes, feveral 
 ports blown off the hinges, her larboard-fide intirely fcorched, 
 one hundred and fifteen men killed and drowned ; of whom 
 about fixty jumped overboard, as foon as they were grappled 
 by the five-fhip. The vice-admiral, when he found her in this 
 condition, went on board the Monmouth, and hoifted his flag 
 there*. 
 
 In the mean time captain William Bokenham, in the AfTo- 
 eiation, a (hip of ninety guns, lay with her broadfide to the 
 battery, on the left of the harbour, which was foon difabled ; 
 and captain Francis Wyvill, in the Barfleur, a fliip of the fame 
 force, was fent to batter the fort on the other fide, which was 
 a very dangerous and troublefome fervice, fince the enemy's 
 fhot pierced the fhip through and through, and for fome time 
 lie durft not fire a gun, bccatife our troops were between him 
 and the fort ; but they foon drove the enemy from their poft, 
 and- then the ftruggle was between the French firing, and our 
 men endeavouring to fave their fhips and the galleons. In this 
 Jifpute the AfTociation had her main-maft fhot, two men killed, 
 the Kent had her fore-matt fhot, and the boatfwain wounded ; 
 the Barfleur had her main-mad fhot, two men killed, and two 
 wounded ; the Mary had her bowfprit fliot '. Of the troops 
 there were only two lieutenants and thirty men killed, and four 
 fuperior officers wounded ; a very inconfiderable lofs, ccnficlcr- 
 
 1 Btirchel's naval hill, p. 617, Complete hifr. of Europe for 1701, p. 388. 
 Olclmixon's hift. of the Stunt?, vol. ii. p. 191. 
 
 1 It is very apparent from this account, chat the sfti^n was extremely warir, 
 and that all who were concerned in it, did their duty j and if we coiifidtr h-nv 
 many attempts of the fame kind failed in the former reign, and with how 
 iinall a lofs this great aflion was atchieved, we fiiali be fatiifiecl that all cur ad- 
 mirals deferred the highcfl commendations..
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 19 
 
 ing that the enemy had fifteen French men of war, two fri- 
 gates, and a fire-fhip, burnt, funk, or taken ; as were alfo fe- 
 venteen galleons. As for the particulars of the enemy's loft, 
 and of what we gained by this great viclory, they are account- 
 ed for at the bottom of the page u . 
 
 This event gave a great deal of trouble to the Paris gazetteer : 
 when he firft fpoke of this misfortune he affirmed, that all the 
 plate was carried on fhore, and fecured, and that we had five 
 men of war funk in the attack. Afterwards he retracted the 
 firft part of the tale, and owned that a little filver was taken ; 
 but then he added, that nine of our Hups were wrecked in their 
 return, and all their men loft ; which fliews how great an im- 
 preflion this lofs made on thofe who had the direction of this 
 
 u Fr.nch fh ; ps taken, biwnr, and 
 
 run alhore. 
 
 
 L*EfpeTince, 
 
 Ships burnt. 
 
 No. of guns. 
 
 L'AiTuw, 
 
 Le Fort, 
 
 7* 
 
 
 L'Enfhme, 
 
 64 
 
 
 Lc Prudent, 
 
 6Z 
 
 
 Le S- lide, 
 
 s<> 
 
 Taktn by the Dutch. 
 
 La Danphine, - 
 
 46 
 
 Le B nnbon, 
 
 L'E iterprenanf, 
 
 az 
 
 Le Superbe, 
 
 La Choquante, 
 
 8 
 
 La Sircnne, 
 
 
 
 
 Le Modere, 
 
 
 3J4 
 
 Le Voluntaire, - . 
 
 Le Favor!, a fire-fhip, 
 
 
 Le Triton, 
 
 No. of guns. 
 7 
 66 
 
 a8 4 
 
 60 
 
 4 
 42 
 
 Eight aivicc-boats, 
 
 Taken by the Englilfl, and broc^ht 
 
 home. 
 
 Le Prompt, - 76 
 
 Le Firme, - 7* 
 
 Total, (hips, 
 
 34* 
 
 gans, 
 
 Six ga'leon* were taken by fhe Er.glifh, and five by the Dutch, who funk f x. 
 A? to the wealth on board the galleons, we never had any exaft account of it. 
 It is certain, that the Spanifli and French (hips had been twenty-five days in 
 Vigo harbour, before the confederates arrived there, in which time, they dc-i 
 harked the bed part of the piate and rich goods, and fent them up the coun- 
 try. The gslleons had on hoard when they arrived, twenty millions of pieces 
 of eight, brfides merchandize, which was thought of equal value. Of the 
 filver, fourteen millions were fated, of the goods about five. Four millions 
 of plate were deflnyed, with ten millions of merchandize ; and about two 
 millions in filver, and five in goods, were brought away hy the Eng'ifh. and 
 Dutch. 
 
 gazette,
 
 ao NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 gazette. Father Daniel gives a pretty fair account of this mat* 
 ter, and a late French hiftorian very candidly owns, that by 
 this blow the naval power of France was fo deeply wounded, 
 35 that (he never recovered it during the war w . 
 
 There were certain circumftances attending this fuccefs of 
 outs at Vigo, which heightened its luftre not a little. Our 
 ftatefmen had all along kept their eyes upon the galleons, and 
 had actually fitted out a fquadron on purpofe to intercept them, 
 under the command of Sir Cloudefley Shovel. Orders likewife 
 had been Tent to Sir George Rooke, by the earl of Notting- 
 ham, which never reached him ; and after all their precautions, 
 ftir Cloudefley Shovel's fquadron would fcarce have been ftrong 
 enough to have undertaken fo dangerous an enterprize. Yet 
 bifhop Burnet, not at all dazzled with the brightnefs of this ex- 
 ploit, tells us, that Sir George Piooke performed this fervice 
 very unwillingly, and did not make the ufe of it he might have 
 done ; in which, no doubt, he was impofed on, fince the fadr, 
 upon which he grounds it, is certainly falfe x . 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel arrived on the fixteenth of October, 
 as the troops were imbarking, and the admiral left him at Vigo, 
 with orders to fee the French men of war, and the galleons 
 ihat we had taken, and that were in a condition to be brought 
 to England, carefully rigged, and properly fupplied with men. 
 He was likewife directed to burn fuch as could not be brought 
 home, and to take the beft care he could to prevent embezzle- 
 ments; and having appointed a ftrong fquadron for this fer- 
 vice, the admiral, with the reft of the fleet, and one of the 
 Sp.inifh galleons, failed home, and arrived in the Downs, on 
 the feventh of November, 1702, from whence the great fhips. 
 
 w See the complete hiflory of Europe, for the year 1702, p. 391, 
 
 c If Sir George Rooke had been fo negligent IK the bilhop makes him, we 
 
 lurt certainly never heard of the Spaaifh fleet at Vigo at ill ; for though she 
 
 btftiop fays, that the admiral fen: to none of the ports, (whereas ixprcfles 
 
 were lent to them alt from Lifbrm), yet the matter of facl is clearly this, that 
 
 Sir George fcnt caprain Hardy to Lagos hay, and there he met ui h the only 
 
 txprcfs thjt wjs lent from Lifbon ; fo that here we have a drupe, not only 
 
 w-thout proof, hut dircftly in the iee;b of p-oof. Burchcf* njv-1 hirt. p. 6 19 . 
 
 gurnet's hiOory of his own times, v. 1. ii. p. 5? i. OUmixon's hiHory of the 
 
 , v I. ii. p. pr, z$a. Ar.nsls of queen Anne, vof. i. p. 134, 135. 
 
 were.
 
 OF QjJ E E N ANNE. 21 
 
 Were, about the middle of the month, fent round to Cha- 
 tham y. 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, in the fpace of a week, put the French 
 men of war, and other prizes, into the beft condition poflible \ 
 took out all the lading from a galleon, which was made prize 
 by the Mary, and brought along with him the Dartmouth, 
 which had been taken from us in the laft war, and was now 
 made prize by captain Wyvill ; but as there was another fhip 
 of that name in the navy, this prize was called the Vigo. He 
 alfo took out of the French (hips that were run on more, fifty 
 brafs guns, and brought off fixty more from the forts and bat- 
 teries ; after which, on the twenty-fourth of October, he fet 
 fire to the fliips he could not bring away. The next day he 
 left Vigo, but it proving calm, he anchored in the channel 
 between that port and Bayonne, where he fent feveral prifon- 
 ers on fhore with a flag of truce, and had ours returned in 
 their (lead z . 
 
 On the twenty-feventh of October, he was again under fail, 
 intending to have pniTed through the north channel ; but the 
 wind taking him fhort, he was obliged to pafs through that 
 which lies to the fouth, where the galleon, which was the 
 Monmouth's prize, ftruck upon a rock, and foundered ; but 
 there being feveral frigates on each fide of her, all her men 
 were faved except two. He was the very fame day joined by 
 the Dragon, a fifty-gun fhip, commanded by captain Holyman, 
 which had been attacked by a French man of war of much 
 greater force, and the captain and twenty-five men killed ; but 
 his lieutenant fought her bravely, and at laft brought her fafe 
 into the lleet. In their paflage they had extreme bad weather, 
 and though the NafTau had the good fortune to make a very 
 rich prize, which was coming from Morlaix, yet that veflel 
 foundered the next morning, and the weather was then fo bad, 
 that the fquadron feparated, every fhip fhifting for itfelf ; though 
 
 T Columns roflrat3, p. 275. Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 32. London 
 Gsztttc, N. 386?. 
 
 z This f^uadron failed from Spithead, the 2Qlh of September, 1702. S> 
 Grorge Rooke sniveJ in ihe Downs. November 7th; and Sir Cioudtfl^-y failed 
 the ajth of October, from Vigo, and arrived on the tenth of November, oJF 
 the Ills of Wight. See the Lond. Gaz. N. 3861. 
 
 all
 
 2* NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 all had the good luck to get fafe to England, but in a very fliat- 
 tered condition 1 . 
 
 AVc have now attended the grand fleet throughout the whole 
 expedition, and arc next to mention what was performed by 
 fcveral detachments made for particular fervices. Among thefe 
 the fquadron commanded by captain John Leake, claims the 
 firft notice. On the twenty-fourth of June, 1702, he received 
 instructions from his royal highnefs, to proceed to Newfound- 
 land, with a fmall fquadron, in order to protect the trade, an- 
 noy the enemy, and bring the homeward-bound fhips under his 
 convoy. He failed in purfuance of thefe inductions, and ar- 
 rived in Plymouth Sound, on the twenty-fecond of July, where 
 having gained the beft intelligence he could, as to the flate of 
 our own affairs, and of thofe of the enemy, he fo effectually 
 purfued the defign on which he came thither, that by the end 
 of October he found hiinfelf ready to proceed with the home- 
 ward-bound fhips for England, having taken twenty-nine fail of 
 the enemy, and burnt two. Of thefe, three were laden with, 
 fait, twenty-five with fifh, and one from Martinico with fugar 
 and molaffes, eight of which fell into the hands of the Exeter, 
 nine were taken by the Medway, four by the Montague, as 
 many by the Litchfield, three by the Charles-galley, and one 
 by the Referve. Befides which, he burnt and deftroyed all the 
 fifhing-boats and ftages, cjV. at TrepafTy, St. Mary's, Colonet, 
 great and little St. Lawrence's, and the ifland of St. Peter's at 
 the entrance of Fortune-bay, being all very confiderable efta- 
 blifhments of the French in Newfoundland, and of the great- 
 eft importance for carrying on their fifhery there, and breed- 
 ing their feamen. At the latter of thefe places, there was a 
 fmall fort of fix guns, which he totally demolilhed : after all 
 which extraordinary fuccefs, he failed home fafely, though the 
 weather was bad, and arrived with the fquadron under his 
 command at Portfmouth, on the tenth of November in the 
 fame year b . 
 
 In this, as in the former war, nothing gave us or the Dutch 
 more disturbance, than the expeditions made from time to time 
 
 3 Sec the London -Gazette, N. 3861, 3863. where it is faid, (hat the remain- 
 der of the fl?et came in, under the command of Sir Stafford Fairborne. 
 *> Sec the London Gitcrte, N. 38*51. 
 
 by
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 23. 
 
 by the French fhips at Dunkirk, where this year they had a 
 fmall fquadron under the command of the famous monfieur de 
 Pointis. This induced his royal highnels to equip a particular 
 fquadron under the command of commodore Beaumont, which 
 had orders in the latter end of the month of June, to fail to- 
 the mouth of that port, to keep the French (hips from coming 
 out. The ftates-general had, fur the fame purpole, a much 
 ftronger fquadron, under the command of rear-admiral Van- 
 derdulTen, for re.ifons of great importance, as they apprehend- 
 ed ; though it afterwards appeared, that the French kept feven 
 or eight fhips there purely to amule us and the Dutch, and to 
 keep us in perpetual motion. According to the informations 
 we had here, the French were fbmetinaes faid to have a defigri 
 of intercepting our homeward-bound (hips from Sweden and 
 Ruflla; according to others, they meditated a defcent upon 
 Scotland ; and a great deal of pains and expence it coil us, to 
 guard againft both thefe defigns c . 
 
 On the other hand, the Dutch, trho always piqued them- 
 felves on having the beft and earliefl intelligence, were tho- 
 roughly fatisfid, that the Dunkirk fquadron was not intended 
 to attack us, but them; and that the true fcheme of the French 
 was, to make a defcent upon Zealand ; to which purpofe they 
 had likewife information, that a body of eight thoufand land- 
 forces was affembled near Oftend. Full of apprehenlions on 
 this account, they re-inforced their fquadron before Dunkirk to 
 eighteen men of war of the line, and fent vice-admiral Evert- 
 zen to command it. This officer found himfelf fo ftriclly tied 
 up by his inftruclions, that he could not afford any afliflance to 
 our commodore, when, in purfuance to orders from home, he 
 ient to demand it. However, after feveral months fruitiefs at- 
 tendance, and frequent informations given to the earl of Not- 
 tingham, that the French were at lea, and gone here and gone 
 there, it at laft appeared, that commodore Beaumont had been 
 all the while in the right, who affirmed in his letters, that they 
 never ftirred out of the harbour d . 
 
 It 
 
 c The prefent fhte of Fnropc for 1701, p. 317. 
 
 d Burchet's nav.I hid. p. p. 63$. Mem irs of John dn Bjrf, p. ;:y. Lord. 
 r j t. N". ;Sc7. la ill probability, the Frei.ch rhcmfel\e> were (he aurh i
 
 24 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 It may not be amifs to obferve here, that, in the beginning of 
 1702, died the famous John du Bart. He was a native of 
 Dunkirk, as fome fay, though others alledge th:\t he \\as born 
 at Newcaftle upon Tyne, but being carried over a child, was 
 bred up from his infancy in the fea-fervice at Dunkirk . This 
 is certain, that his mother was an Engliih woman, and that he 
 fpent the firft part of his life in ours and the Dutch fervicej 
 but having nothing but his merit to recommend him, he obtain- 
 ed very little, if any, preferment, which difgufted him fo much, 
 that, upon the breaking out of the former war, he entered into 
 the fervice of France, and rofe there to the command of the 
 Dunkirk fquadron ; in which pofl he rendered himfelf fuffi- 
 ciently terrible to the Englifh and Dutch, by taking more of 
 their (hips, than almoft all the other French privateers toge- 
 ther f. 
 
 He was fucceeded in command by the Sieur Pointis, who had 
 taken Carthagena, and whom the French therefore thought it 
 proper to reward j though it is certain he had not either the in- 
 
 thcfc pieces of falfc intelligence, on ptirpofe to alarm us and our allies, and to 
 keep up the reputation of this formidable fqnadron. Thus much indeed was 
 true, that the people in Scotland were in a great meafure rifarfected, and the 
 French, from time to time, promifed them afiiftance from Dunkirk ; but the 
 condiiinn "f their marine was fuch, ns did not enable thc-n to undertake any 
 thing of importance; and indeed the whole ftrenoth of the Dunkirk fquadroii 
 was altogether insufficient for performing any of the enterprizes that it was fup- 
 p >ted to be defigned for. lr. this, therefore, lay the error of our miniflry, that 
 they had not proper intelligence as to the force of that fquadron, for thii 
 would have rendered it impoffible for them to have been played upon as thef 
 were. 
 
 e See the complete hifh of Europe, fir the year 1701, p. 480, 481. 
 
 f This du Bart performed mod of his great exploits by mere dint of know- 
 ledge. He derived from nature a wonderful genius for maritime affairs, and 
 improved this by a fteady application to them. H ; S perfect acquaintance with 
 all the coafls, enabled him to perform wonders j becaufe he, generally fpeaking, 
 had to do with men much inferior to him in this kind of (kill. He was belides, 
 a mod excellent Teaman, ard never trufttd to the care <jf others, what ir was 
 in his power to fee done himfelf. By this means, he kept his /hips conftantly 
 clear, und in readincfs to gn to fea whenever an opportunity offered ; and hii 
 fag.cit, a.id fi:cccfs placed him fo high in the cfteem of Louis XIV. that he 
 generally m^de choice of him for the cxecirion of the moft difficult enterprizej 
 undertaken during !>is icii/i; fuch as the convoying the prince of Cnti to Po- 
 land, and the cfcorting the tranfports for the, intended dcfccnt on England, in 
 1697. 
 
 duftry
 
 o F Qju E E N A N N E. 25 
 
 'ry or the capacity of his predecefTor. But if we had -no- 
 thing but the inilance of this year's trouble and expence, in 
 which no lefs than thirty of ours and the ftates-general's (hips 
 were employed in watching the Dunkirk fquadron, it would be 
 fuflkient to fhew the abfoiute neceffity of keeping that port hi 
 its difmantled lituntion, and never permitting the French to gain 
 by plunder, the effects of other people's induilry ; for it is 
 impoffible any flight commerce carried on there, in times of 
 tranquillity, can make the maritime powers the lead amends 
 for the rilk they muft run$ on the breaking out of a war, fhould 
 this port ever be reftored, and left in that condition at a 
 peace g . 
 
 I am now to fpeak of admiral Benbow's expedition to the 
 Weft Indies, and of his unfortunate death, the memory of 
 which I could, for the honour of my country, wii'h fhould be 
 buried in oblivion ; but lince that is impoflible, I fhall give the 
 faireft and fulleft account of the matter that I am able, ha- 
 ving taken all the pains that I poffibly could, to be perfectly in- 
 formed of eve"ry circumftance relating to that affair, and fhall 
 be particularly careful to avoid concealing truth on the one fide, 
 and no lefs attentive not to exaggerate it on the other. We 
 have already mentioned the caufe and the manner of admiral 
 Benbow's putting to fea with his fquadron, which confifted of 
 two third, and eight fourth rates. 
 
 He arrived at Barbadoes on the third of November, 1701, 
 from whence he failed to examine the ftate of the French, and 
 of our own Leeward-iflands. He found the former in fome 
 confufioni and the latter in fo good a ftate of defence, that he 
 did not look upon himfeif under any necefilty of flaying, and 
 therefore failed to Jamaica 11 . There he received advice of two 
 
 French 
 
 8 I bint this, the rather becaufe fome people have laid a great ftrefs on our dm - 
 mcrce, by means of that port, which, they would have us btlitve, turns in the 
 main more fo our advantage, than to that of the French. It is certain, however, 
 that Aich as are of this opinion, have little acquaintance with the maxims of the 
 French government, or the attention that the prefcnt French miniftry pay to 
 things of this nature; there being perhaps no nation in the world where nicer 
 inquiries are mads into whatever regards commerce. 
 
 h See the Lond. Gaz. jS6i, where it is faid, that all the fe.'.min, a< 
 well as ihe admiral and officers^ were fo well accuftomcd to that climate, 
 
 Til. D t'-:v
 
 16 NAVALHISTORT 
 
 French fquadrons being arrived in the Weft Indies, which 
 alarmed the inhabitants of that ifland and of Barbadoes very 
 much. After taking care, as far as his ftrength would permit, 
 of both places, he formed a defign of attacking Petit Guavas ; 
 but, before he could execute it, he had intelligence that Mon- 
 fieur DucafTe was in the neighbourhood of Hifpaniola, with a 
 fquadron of French (hips, having an intent to fettle the afliento 
 in favour of the French, and to deftroy the Englifli and Dutch 
 trade for negroes. 
 
 Upon this he detached rear-a<Jmiral Whetftone in purfuit of 
 him, and on the eleventh of July T 702, he failed from Jamaica, 
 in order to have joined the rear-admiral : but having intelli- 
 gence that DucafTe was expe&ed at Leogane, on the north-fide 
 of Hifpaniola, he plied for that port, before which he arrived 
 on the twenty-feventh. Not far from the town he perceived 
 feveral fhips at anchor, and one under fail, who fent out her 
 boat to difcover his ftrength, which coming too near was ta- 
 ken ; from the crew of which he learned, that there were fix 
 merchant fhips in the port, and that the fliip they belonged to 
 was a man of war of fifty guns, which the admiral prefled fo 
 hard, that the captain, feeing no probability of efcaping, ran 
 the fhip afhore, and blew her up. On the twenty- eighth the 
 admiral came before the town, where he found a fhip of about 
 eighteen guns hauled under their fortifications, which however 
 did not hinder his burning her. The reft of the fhips had failed 
 before day, in order to get into a better harbour, viz. Cul de 
 Sac, but fome of our fhips, between them and that port took 
 three of them, and funk a fourth. The admiral, after alarming 
 Petit Guavas, which he found it impoffible to attack, failed for 
 Donna Maria bay, where he continued till the tenth of Auguft, 
 when having received advice, that Monfieur DucalTe was failed 
 for Carthagena, and from thence was to fail to Porto-Bello, he 
 refolved to follow him, and accordingly failed that day for the 
 Spaniih coafl of Santa Martha '. 
 
 On 
 
 they were In Tcry good health, and not above ten men fick in the hofpital. Src 
 alfo Burchet's naval hitUry, book v. chap. v. and the complete hiftory of Europe 
 for I70, in the appendix. Annals of queen Anne, vol. i. p. 144. 
 
 ' Mcrcnrc hiftorique et politiqne, 1701. p. 657, where there is a very rxaft 
 account of hii proceedings, while on the ccaft of Hifpan'ula. Sec alfo an 
 
 account
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 27 
 
 On the nineteenth in the evening, he difcovered near that 
 place, ten fail of tall fhips to the weftward : (landing towards 
 them, he found the beft part of them to he French men of 
 war ; upon this he made the ufual fignal for a line of battle, 
 going away with an eafy fail, that his fternmoft (hips might 
 come up and join them, the French fleering along-more under 
 their top-fails. Their fquadron confifted of four (hips, from 
 fixty to feventy guns, with one great Dutch-built (hip of about 
 thirty or forty ; and there was another full of foldiers, the reft 
 fmall ones, and a (loop. Our frigates a-ftern were a long time 
 in coming up, and the night advancing, the admiral fteered 
 along-fide of the French ; but though he endeavoured to near 
 them, yet he intended not to make any attack, until the Defi- 
 ance was got a -bread of the headmoft. 
 
 Before rre could reach that Ration, the Falmouth (which was 
 in the rear) attempted the Dutch (hip, the Windfor the (hip 
 a-breaft of her, as did alfo the Defiance, and foon after, the 
 rear-admiral himfelf was engaged, having firft received the fire 
 of the (hip which was oppofite to him ; but the Defiance and 
 Windfor ftood no more than tvro or three broadfides, before 
 they luft out of gun-fliot, infomuch that the two fternmoft 
 fhips of the enemy lay upon the admiral, and galled him very 
 much ; nor did the fliips in the rear come up to his affiftance with 
 that diligence which might have been expected. From four 
 o'clock until night the fight continued, and though they then left 
 off firing, yet the admiral kept them company ; and being of 
 opinion, that it might be better for the fervice if he had a new 
 line of battle, and led himfelf on all tacks, he did fo, and the 
 line of battle then ftood thus k . 
 
 Guns. 
 
 The Breda, vice-admiral Benbowand captain Fog, - 70 
 
 The Defiance, captain Richard Kirby, - - 64 
 
 The Greenwich, captain Cooper Wade, - "54 
 
 account of the proceedings of vice. admiral Benhow, in ihe Weft Indie?, in the ap- 
 pendix to the complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1702, drawn up frotn his 
 own journal, p. 515. Lond. Gar. K. 3865, 3878. 
 
 Burchei's naval hift. p. 594. Column* loflrara, p. 191. Olimixon's hift. 
 Stuam, vol. ii. p. 303. 
 
 D 2 The
 
 i8 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 Guns. 
 
 The Ruby, captain George Walton, - 48' 
 
 The Pendennis, captain Thomas Hudfon, - 48 
 
 The Windfor, captain John Conftable, - 48 
 
 The Falmouth, captain Samuel Vincent, - 48 
 
 On the twentieth at day-break, he found bimfelf very near 
 the enemy, with only the Ruby to affift him, the reft of the 
 (hips lying three, four, or five miles a-ftern. They had but 
 little wind, and though the admiral was within gun-fliot of the 
 enemy, yet the latter was fo civil as not to tire. About two in 
 the afternoon, the fea-breeze began to blow, and then the ene- 
 my got into a line, making vyhat fail they could : and the reft 
 of the fhips not coming up, the admiral and the Ruby plied 
 them with chace-guns, and kept them company all the next 
 night '. 
 
 On the twenty-firft, the admiral was on the quarter of the 
 fecond fhip of the enemy's line, within point-blank fhot ; but 
 the Ruby being a-head of the fame fhip, flie fired at her, as 
 the other fhip did likewife that was a-head of the admiral. 
 The Breda engaged the (hip that firft attacked the Ruby, and 
 plied her fo warmly, that (lie was forced to tow off. The ad- 
 miral would have followed her, but the Ruby was in fuch a 
 condition that he could not leave her. During this engagement 
 the rear-fhip of the enemy's was a-breaft of the Defiance and 
 Windfor, bat neither of thofe fhips fired a fingle (hot 20 . On the 
 twenty-fecond at day-break, the Greenwich was five leagues 
 a-ftern, though the fignal for battle was never (truck night or 
 
 I Hence it appears, that if the Ruby had defe ted admiral Benbow with the 
 Se could have done nothing; but muft have been obliged to return to Ja- 
 maica, which was what his captains aimed at; and if this could hare been 
 ftfefted, they had in ill probabili y carried their point, and the whole blame 
 bad been thrown upon the admit al; which fL-fBcicntly demonftrates the meiit 
 of the gemleman who Commanded the Ruby, ~viz. the late Sir George Walton, 
 who had, however, been tampered with in his turn by the other captains ; but 
 he c*rne to be fobcr, and toconfidfr thejnaiter better, difcharged his duty 
 
 i him. 
 
 . cr's life of queen Anne, p. 48, 45. Merrurc !,i.T;rique ct politique, 
 -.4. . ilo. j:i. .Ad'air*! Btnbow's ".curnal.
 
 o E QJJ E E N A N N E. 29 
 
 day ; about three in the afternoon the wind came foutherly, 
 which gave the enemy the weather-gage n . 
 
 On the twenty-third the enemy was fix leagues a-head, and 
 the great Dutch ihip feparated from them. At ten, the enemy 
 tacked with the wind at E. N. E. the vice-admiral fetched point- 
 blank within a (hot or two of them, and each gave the other 
 his broadfide. About noon they recovered from the enemy a 
 i'mall Englifh fhip, called the Anne-galley, which they had ta- 
 ken oft' the rock of Lifbon. The Ruby being difabled, the 
 admiral ordered her for Port-Royal. The reft of the fquadron 
 now came up, and the enemy being but two miles off, the 
 brave admiral was in hopes of doing fomething at laft, and 
 therefore continued to fteer after them ; but his ihips, except 
 the Falmouth, were foon a-ftern again; at twelve the enemy 
 fyegan to feparate . 
 
 On the twenty-fourth, about two in the morning, they came 
 up within call of the fternmoft, there being then very little 
 wind. The admiral fired a broadfide with double round below, 
 and round and partridge aloft. At three o'clock the admiral's 
 right kg was fhattercd to pieces by a chain-flior, and he was 
 carried down ; but he prefently ordered his cradle on the quar- 
 ter-deck, and continued the fight till day. Then appeared 
 the ruins of the enemy's fhip of about feventy guns, her 
 main-yard down and fliot to pieces, her fore-top-fiiil-yard fhot 
 away, her mizen-maft fhot by the board, all her rigging gone, 
 and her fides bored to pieces. The admiral foon after difcover- 
 ed the enemy ftanding towards him with a ftrong gale of wind. 
 The Windfor, Pendennis, and Greenwich, a-head of the ene- 
 my, came to the leeward of the difabled fhip, fired their broad* 
 fides, paffed her, and ftood to the fouthward : then came the 
 Detfance, fired part of her broadfide, when the diiabled fhip re. 
 turning about twenty guns, the Defiance put her helm a-wea. 
 ther, and ran away right before the wind, lowered both her 
 
 n See Burchet's naval hiftcry, a;id the account of the proceedings of vice- 
 admiral Benbow, from whence, indeed, moft of the other accounts are tran- 
 fcribed. 
 
 In this, all the accounts we have, agree ; and nothing can be plainer than 
 that, if thefe captains had now returned to their duty, moft of DucaiTe's fquadron 
 muft have been taken. 
 
 top-
 
 So NAVALHISTORY 
 
 top-fails, and ran to the leeward of the Fahnouth, without any 
 regard to the fignal of battle p . 
 
 The enemy feeing the other two (hips ftand to the fouthward, 
 expected they would have tacked and ftood towards them, and 
 therefore they brought their heads to the northward. But 
 when they fa\v thofe (hips did not tack, they immediately bore 
 down upon the admiral, and ran between their difabied fhip and 
 him, and poured in all their fhot, by which they brought down 
 his main-top-fail-yard, and fhattered his rigging very much, none 
 of the other fhips being near him, or taking the leaft notice of 
 his ilgnals, though captain Fog ordered two guns to be fired at 
 the fhips a-head, in order to put them in mind of their duty. The 
 French, feeing things in this confufion, brought to, and lay by 
 their own difabied fliip, re-manned and took her into tow. The 
 Breda's rigging being much fhattered, (he was forced to lie by 
 till ten o'clock, and being by that time refitted, the admiral or- 
 dered his captain to purfue the enemy, then about three miles 
 to the leeward, his line of battle fignal out all the while, and 
 captain Fog, by the admiral's orders, fent to the other captains, 
 to order them to keep the line, and behave like men. Upon 
 this captain Kirby came on board the admiral, and told him, 
 " That he had better defift ; that the French were very ftrong ; 
 " and that from what was pad, he might guefs he could make 
 *' nothing of it q ." 
 
 The brave admiral Benbow, more furprized at this language, 
 than he would have been at the fight of another French fqua- 
 dron, fent for the reft of the captains on board, in order to afk 
 their opinion. They obeyed him indeed, but were moft of them 
 in captain Kirby's way of thinking; which fatisfied the admiral 
 that they were not inclined to fight, and that, as Kirby phrafed 
 it, there iuas nothing to bs iLr.e t though there v/as the faireft op- 
 
 f It wru upon full eviJer.ee of thSsTar, thit captain Kirby (whom the Ga. 
 rette calls. Kirkby) was condemned for cowardice, though on other occ. fions he 
 had behaved well. It was gener lly fuppofcd, that he uas the author of this 
 fchemr; at Icafi, he was charged with being fo, by Wade and Conftablc. 
 
 * Ti.is was depofcd at the triJ, and was not denied by K. rby. After this, 
 the officers of his own fhip prclILd the admiral to retire to Jamaica, from an 
 apprehension, that thefe captains, being become defperate, might go over to the 
 cccniy, to which ihc a8:fted admirii ra-j(\ un viHingly c-jnfentcd. 
 
 portunifT
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 31 
 
 portunity that had yet offered. Our ftrength was, at this time, 
 one (hip of feventy guns, one of fixty-four, one of fixty, and 
 three of fifty; their mafts, yards, and all thirgs elfe in as good 
 condition as could be expected, and not above eight men kiileu, 
 except in the vice-admiral's own (hip, nor was there any want 
 of ammunition ; whereas the enemy had now no more than four 
 fhipSjfrom fixtyto feventy guns, and one of them difabled and in 
 tow. The vice-admiral thought proper upon this, to return to 
 Jamaica, where he arrived with his fquadrcn, very weak with 
 a fever induced by his wounds, and was foon after joined by 
 rear-admiral Whetftone, with the fhips under his command 1 ". 
 
 As foon as he conveniently could, vice-admiral Benbow illued 
 a commiflion to rear-admiral Whetftone, and to feveral cap- 
 tains, to hold a court-martial for the trial of feveral offenders*. 
 On the fixth of October, 1702, the court fat at Port Royal, 
 when captain Kirby, of the Defiance, was brought upon his 
 trial. He was accufed of cowardice, breach of orders, and 
 negleft of duty; which crimes were proved upon oath, by tlie 
 admiral himfdf, ten commiflfion, and eleven warrant officers ; 
 by whofe evidence it appeared that the admiral boarded DucafTe 
 in perfon three times, and received a large wound in his face, 
 and another in his arm, before his leg was fhot off: that Kirbv 5 
 after two or three broadfidcs, kept always out of gun-fhot, and 
 by his behaviour created fuch a fear of his defertion, as greatly 
 difcouraged the Engliih in the engagement : that he kept two cr 
 three miles a-ftern all the fecond day, though commanded again 
 and again to keep his ftation : that the third day he did not fire 
 a gun, though he faw the admiral in the deepeft diltrefs, having 
 two or three French men of war upon him at a time; and that 
 he threatened to kill his boatfwain for repeating the admiral'^ 
 
 r The reafon cf his retiring is given in the (orre.tr note, and the truth cf 
 ihis account is verified in the rufloire de St. Domin?ue, vol. iv. p. 203. 
 
 * An account of the arraignment* and ":. J Richard Kirby, captaiu 
 
 John Confhbie, captain Gjopsr \Vj.ie, cjptsin Samuel V : ncer.t, and c^pta'n 
 Chriftopher Fog, on a t mpl.v.nt exhibited by the judge aclv cate, on behalf of 
 her msjefty, at a c< n.t martial held on board the Breda, in Port Royal harbour 
 in Jamaica, 6r. fur cowardice and other crimes committed by tliem, in a fight 
 at fca, on the ijjth of An?,uft, 1701, for which colonel K-rhy. and captiin Wide, 
 were ler.ter.ced to be tout to dtath. London, 1703, :.:.. 
 
 comnv.r.d
 
 31 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 command to fire. He had very little to f.iy for hiinfelf, and 
 therefore was mcft defervedly femenced to be fliot. 
 
 The fame day captain Conftable, of the Wind for, was tried ; 
 his own officers vindicated him from cowardice, but the reft of 
 the charge being clearly proved, he was lentenced to be ca- 
 fhiered, and to be imprifoned during her majefty's pleafure. The 
 next day captain Wade was tried, and the charge being fully 
 proved by fifteen commiffion and warrant officers on board his 
 own fliip, as alfo, that he was drunk during the whole time of 
 the engagement , he, making little or no defence, had the fame 
 fentence with Kirby. As for captain Hudfon, he died a few 
 days before his trial fhould have come on, and thereby avoided 
 dying as Kirby and Wade did j for his cafe was exactly the fame 
 vith theirs c . 
 
 Upon the twelfth, came on the trials of captain Vincent, com- 
 mander of the Falmouth, and captain Fog, who was captain of 
 the admiral's own fliip the Breda, for figning, at the perfuafion 
 of captain Kirby, a paper, containing an obligation on them- 
 iclves not to fight the French. The fadt was clear, and the 
 captains themfelves did not difpute it. All they offered was in 
 
 t This is tr,ken from the proceedings of the court martial, which is referred 
 to in the London Gazette, N. 3878, where we have the following (hort ac- 
 count of the whole arf.ir. " As foon as M. Ducaflc, with his I'quadron, arj- 
 44 pcared in figh', the admiral immediately made a fignal for battle, and at- 
 " tacltcd the enemy very briikly, and maintained the fight for five days; fo 
 44 that, if he had beeo feconded by the other fhips of his fquadron, he would 
 " certainly have taken or deftroyed all the French ; hut four of his (hips did not 
 ' zfliil him j the Ruby on the nfl was difabled, and afterwards ftnt to Port 
 41 Royal, and the whole burden lay upon the admiral and the Falmouth ; whoj 
 41 however, took a prize, being an Engliili vefT.1, which the enemy had former- 
 " ly taken fiom us; difabled th: enemy's fecond fhip, fo that they were ob.iged 
 4 to tow her away, and very much Shattered the reft of their fquadron, which 
 4C fince is pnt into Porto 3elb. The sdmtral on the i4th, had his leg broke 
 " by a chain-lhot, which ytt, did not dhcourage him from continuing the firJit ; 
 " yet, not being able to prevail with his captains to concur with him in that 
 44 opinion, he was obliged to give over his defign. On the <5th of October, 
 " rear admiral Whecftone, by commifTion from the admiral, held a court-mar- 
 " tial, wherein captain Kirfey, and captain Cooper \vVie, were, fur cowardice 
 ' and breach of orders, condemned to be (hot to death, bin the execution re- 
 41 fpited, till her majefly's pleafure flieuld be known. Captain Conftablc being 
 44 c eared of cowardice, was for breach of orders, caftiiered from her majcfty s 
 " fervice, and condemned to imprifonmeut, during her picture. Captain Hud- 
 " fon died before the trial." 
 
 cxtenuatloa
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 3'j 
 
 Extenuation of their offence, and amounted only to this, that 
 they were apprehenfive Kirby would have deferted to the ene- 
 my, and they took this ftep to prevent it. But this tale would 
 have hardly pafled on the court-martial, if the admiral hhnfelf 
 had not given fome weight to their excufes, by declaring, that 
 however they might be overfeen in fubicribing that paper, yet 
 they certainly behaved themfelves very gallantly in the fight. 
 For the fake of difcipline, the court, however, thought fit to 
 fufpend them j and yet, to favour the captains, this judgment 
 was given with a provifo that intirely took off its edge, viz. 
 That it ftiould not commence till his royal highnefs's pleafure 
 fhould be known u . 
 
 I cannot help taking notice of fecrctary Burchet's odd way of 
 telling this ftory : in the firft place he conceals the names of the 
 criminals ; out of refpect, he fays, to their families, and becaufe 
 one of them (but he doth not tell us which) had behaved well be- 
 fore. He then turns himfelf to admiral Benbow, and gives him a 
 fort of negative character in the following words : " Thus much, 
 " may be obfervcd as to vice-admiral Benbow's conduct, that 
 " although he was a good feaman, and a gallant man, and that 
 " he was qualified in moft refpects to command a fquadron, ef- 
 " pecially in the Weft Indies, in which part of the world he 
 " had had long experience; yet when he found his captains fo 
 " very remifs in their duty, I think he ought, in point of 
 " difcretion, to have fummoned them ; and even that at firft, 
 " on board his own fhip, and there confined them, and placed 
 their firft lieutenants in their rooms, who would have fought 
 " well, were it for no other reafon than the hopes of being 
 " continued in thofe commands, had they furvived W . M 
 
 " Annals of queen Anne, vol. i. p. i5p. Oldmix.m's hiflory of the Stuart?, 
 Vol. ii. p. 304. Trials of colonel Kirby, err. p. 13, I4 
 
 w Naval hiftory, p. 598. The captains who fsffercd, had forrtc very great 
 delations, and, in all probability, a de.lre of being well with them, prevented the 
 infcrting the names of theu offenders in this celebrated performance. But to 
 be fo tender of them, and, in the Very fame breath, to attack obliquely the 
 character of fo worthy a man as admiral Benbow, does no great honour to his 
 hiftory. Bifh'op Bnrnet, likcwife, wlm is fo ready on every occafion to attack 
 the character of Sir George Rooke, vice-idmi/il Graydon, and many others <>f 
 our naval commanders, Is wholly filcnt in refpeft to this btfinefs, there being 
 not the lead trace of it in any part of his wotks, influenced no doubt by the fame 
 motive, that wrought i".. powerfully ?on fecretary Burchct. 
 
 VOL. III. F, This,
 
 ? f NAVALHISTORY 
 
 This, I muft confefs, does not by any means fatisfy me. Ad- 
 miral Benbow was no prophet : he could not foretel that thefe 
 captains would behave ill, nor could he be fure that they did 
 behave ill, till they had frequently difobeyed his fignals. Part 
 of the time he was warmly engaged, and that could be no fea- 
 (bn for confutation 5 and part of the time the weather was foul, 
 ^nd then he could not call them on board. Befides, he was 
 furrounded by bad men, and thought himfelf in fo little capacity 
 of punifh-ing thefe people at fea, that he retired to Jamaica, pure- 
 ly to be fafe. But it would, methinks, have fuited Mr. Bur- 
 ehet r s purpofe better, to have gone to the bottom of this affair, 
 which, for any thing I can learn, the world is unacquainted 
 with yet, and therefore I think myfelf obliged to publifh it. 
 
 The admiral was an honeft, rough fearnan, and fancied that 
 his command was beftowed upon him for no other reafon, than 
 that he fhould fcrve his country : this induced him to treat cap- 
 fain Kirby, and the reft of the gentlemen, a little briikly at Ja- 
 maica, when he found them not quite fo ready to obey his or- 
 ders as he thought was their duty ; and this it was that enga- 
 ged them in the bafe and wicked defign, of putting it out of his 
 power to engage the French, prefuming that, as fo many were 
 concerned in it, they might be able to juftify themfelves, and 
 throw the blame upon the admiral, and fo they hoped to be rid 
 of him. But his rugged honefty baffled them ; and we may 
 guefs at the fpirit of the man, by the anfwer he gave one of his 
 lieutenants, who expreffed his forrow for the lofs of his leg. 
 ' I am forty for it too," fays the gallant Benbow - r " but I had 
 a rather have loft them both, than have feen this difhonour 
 " brought upon the Engjifli nation. But, do you hear, if ano- 
 " ther fliot fhould take me off, behave like brave men, and fight 
 ' it out x ." 
 
 The turn given by the French to this affair, is very extraor- 
 dinary. They tell us, that admiral Benbow, at the diftance of 
 twelve leagues from Santa Martha, with feven men of war, at- 
 tacked M. Due a ill 1 , who, though he had but four, did not re- 
 fcife to fight. The engagement lafted five days, and on the 
 
 T The reader will meet with fome other particulars in the memoirs of admi- 
 ral Benbow, contained in the fourth volume, and communicated hy his de- 
 fccndcuif. 
 
 Cxth
 
 OF Qji E E N ANNE.-' 35 
 
 ilxth Benbow made all the fajl he could for Jamaica. He had 
 a leg lliattered, and died a little while afterwards: his fhips 
 were moft of them in no condition to keep the lea, more than 
 half their crews being killed. Only one fliip of M. DucafTe's 
 fquadron fuffered, and he had but twenty men killed and wound- 
 ed in the whole. However, he did not care to purfue Benbow, 
 who he did not believe to be in fo bad a condition as he really 
 was, and therefore he made the beft of his way to Carthagena, 
 where he arrived in a few days, and where his prefence gave 
 now as much joy as it had formerly (that is, when he plundered 
 it in conjunction with monfieur Pointis) given terror. This is a 
 very florid, and at the lame time a very falfe account of the af- 
 fair, and from thence we may learn the value of inquiries, finc-e 
 the court-martini at Jamaica, by their proceedings, fet this 
 whole bufinefs in its true light, and left us undeniable evidence, 
 that it was not their own bravery, but the treachery of Ben 
 bow's captains, that faved the French fquadron*. 
 
 The rcfle&ions he made oa this unlucky bufinefs, threw the 
 brave admiral into a deep melancholy, which foon brought him 
 to his end j for he died on -the fourth of November, 1702, as 
 much regreted as he deferved z . The command of the fqua- 
 dron then devolved on captain Whetftone, who in this expedi- 
 tion a<Sted as rear-admiral, and of whofe proceedings in the 
 Weft Indies we fliall give an account in its proper piace. Iu- 
 the mean time, it is requiiite that we fhould follow the condem- 
 ned captains home, in order to put an end to this difagreeable 
 narration. They were fcnt from Jamaica, on board her maje- 
 ily's fliip the Briftol, and arrived at Plymouth on the i6th of 
 April, 1703, where (as in all the weftern ports) there lay a dead 
 warrant for their immediate execution, in order to prevent any 
 applications in their favour^ and they were accordingly fliot on 
 board the fliip that brought them home, and ihewed at their 
 death a courage and conftancy of mind, which made it evident, 
 
 y This French account ii taken from the hifloire de St. Domingue, vol. iv. 
 p. zoi, 103, 104. But M. DucafTe was ton brave a man to glofs things in fuch 
 a manner; as the reader will be convinced by reading his letter to admiral Ben- 
 bow, which will be found in his memoirs. 
 
 * London Gazetre, N. 3386. Mercuie hiftoriqiie ct politiqne, torn, xxxiv. 
 p. 335. Buyer's life of queen Anne, p. jo. Pointer's chronological hiftorion, 
 tol. ii. p. 497. 
 
 E 2 that
 
 36 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 that their behaviour in the Lite engagement did not flow from 
 any infirmity of nature, but from the corruption of their minds j 
 and I hope their example will always have a proper effec~l on 
 fuch as are intruded with the like commands a . 
 
 I fhould now, according to the order I have hitherto purfued 
 in this work, take notice of what was tranfacled at home, in 
 relation to the navy, and particularly of what paiTed in parliament 
 upon this fubjecl: : but as the queen's proclamation for a thankf- 
 giving, in which honourable mention is made of the fuccefs at 
 "Vigo, and the thanks beftovved by the houfe of commons on Sir 
 George Rooke for his conduct in that affair, will appear with 
 greater propriety, when I come to the memoirs of his life ; to 
 avoid repetitions I lhall not infift further upon them here. I 
 mult however obferve, that as, in the cafe of Kirby and Wade, 
 her majcfty {hewed a ftricfc regard to juftice, fo, with refpect to 
 admiral Hopfon, fhe gave as lively a teftimony of her juft fenfe 
 of merit, for (he not only conferred on him the, honour of 
 knighthood, but was gracioufly pleafed to fettle upon him a 
 penfion of 500!. a-year for life, with the reveriion of 300!. a- 
 year to his lady, in cafe fhe furvived him, on account of the 
 prodigious fervice he did in breaking the boom at Vigo b . 
 
 But this extraordinary mark of royal favour did not (as in- 
 deed it ought not) fcreen him from a ftrict examination in the 
 houfe of lords, in conjunction with Sir George Rooke, as to 
 the mifcarriage of the defign upon Cadiz ; but upon the ftrileft 
 review that could be made of that whole affair, there appeared 
 ib little colour for cenfuring either of the admirals actions, that 
 how much foever their enemies might defire it, they were at laft 
 glad to let this matter fall. Indeed the fleet, though it had not 
 performed all that was expected, had done as much as was pof- 
 fible for the fervice of the nation, and had thereby afforded an. 
 opportunity to our worthy minirterat Lifbon, Mr, Methuen, to. 
 draw over from his alliance with the two crowns, the king of 
 
 * Sec the London Gazette, N. 3907. Oldmixon's hiflnry of the Stuarts, 
 vol. ii. p. 30 j. The complete hinory of Europe, for 1703, p. 183. 
 
 b This was publifhed in the Gazette of November 30, 1701, with this addi- 
 tion, that he was introduced to the queen, when he received the honour of 
 knighthood, by the hand of his royal highnefs, prince George of Denmark, lord 
 high -admiral of England. See the complete hiflory of Europe, for the year 
 ., p. 4;:. 
 
 Portugal,
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 37 
 
 Portugal, to the intereft of the allies, and to conclude a treaty 
 of commerce there ; which, to fay no more, has been of much, 
 greater benefit to the nation, than many, I might add moft, of 
 the treaties that have been concluded fmce c . 
 
 There had hitherto appeared very little of party-oppofition 
 to the management of the war, and therefore the fupplies for 
 the fervice of the year 1703, were very chearfully granted, and 
 very eafily raifed, which was the reafon that the fleet was 
 much earlier at fea, had all things provided in a better manner, 
 at lefs expence to the nation, and yet fooner than they had ever 
 been before, which was one great reafon why the French ne- 
 ver had any of thofe advantages they boafted of fo much in the 
 former war. In the month of March the queen made a kind 
 of naval promotion d . The marquis of Caermarthen was ad- 
 vanced from being vice-admiral of the white, to be vice-ad- 
 
 c Bifhop Bnrnet gives this account. " A committee of tlie houfe of peers 
 " fat long upon the matter: they examined all the admirals and land-officers, 
 " as well as Rooke himfelf, upon the whole progrefs of that affair. Rooke 
 '' was fo well fnpported by the court, and by his party in the houfe of com- 
 " mons, that he fcemrd to defpife all that the lords could do ; fome who un* 
 " derftood fea-mattcrs, faid, that it appeared from every motion during the 
 " expedition, that he intended to do nothing but amufe and make a (hew; they 
 " alfo concluded, from the protection that the miniftry gave him, that they 
 " intended no other. He took much pains to fliew, how improper a thing a 
 " defcent on Cadiz was, and how fatal the attempt muft have proved : and in 
 " doing this, he arraigned his inflruclions, and the defign he was fent on, with 
 " great boldnefj ; and fhewed little regard to the miniflers, who took more 
 * pains to bring him off, than to juftify themfelves. The lords of the com- 
 " mittee prepared a report, which was hard upon Rooke, and laid it before 
 " the houfe; but fo ftrong a party was made to oppofc every thing that re- 
 '* flecled on him, that though every particular in the report was well proved, 
 ' yet it was rejected, and a vote was carried in his favour, justifying his con- 
 " duel." The truth of this matter is, that as Sir George Rooke knew nothing 
 of his orders, until he came to execute them; fo he was abfolutely free 
 from dependence on any minifter, and fpoke what he thought with the grcateft 
 intrepidity. The main of his defence was this, that his orders were contra- 
 dictory ; that the chief of them required his bringing over the Spaniards, if 
 poffiblc, to the intereft of the houfe of Auftria, and the reft enjoined him to 
 fink thfir fhips and burn the town, which he found fcarce practicable ; and if 
 it had been more fo, not at all eligible, fmce at firft the inhabitants did not 
 difcc.ver any great enmity : and if more had been done, it could only have 
 ferved to have made the Spaniards implacable; and after all, perhaps the town 
 might not have been taken. 
 
 d Oldmixon's hift. of the Srusrw, vol. ii. Annals of queen Anne, vol. ii. 
 p. i, Lend. Ga?. N. 3596.
 
 3* NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 miral of the red ; John Graydon, Efq; was made vice-admiral 
 of the white; John Leake, Efq-, vice-admiral of the bluej 
 George Byng, Efq; rear-admiral of the red ; Thomas Dilkes, 
 Efq; rear-admiral of the white, and Bazil Beaumont, E%; rear- 
 admiral of the blue c . 
 
 The nrft fcherne that was formed for performing any thing 
 remarkable at fea, was upon a foreign plan. It was intended, 
 that the arch-duke Charles, who was to take upon him the title 
 of king of Spain, fhould alfo marry an infanta of Portugal, 
 and, in confequence of that marriage, was to undertake fome- 
 thing of importance immediately, with the afiiftance however 
 of the Enghfh and Dutch ; and fo hearty were the latter, that 
 they fent a fquadron of men of war, with near three thoufand 
 land-troops on board, upon our coaft, and after tofiing and 
 tumbling there for fome weeks, the project in the council of 
 the imperial court was changed, the defign dropt, and the 
 Dutch went home again '. 
 
 Sir George Rooke had propofed a fcheme for diftreffmg the 
 enemy, by failing very early into the bay of Bifcay, where he 
 thought, if they had any men of war without Port Louis and 
 
 e The fupplics granted this year, amounted to 3, :i 7,957 1. 7 s. i d. which in 
 thofe days was thought an immenfe Aim, though we have fmce feen much larger 
 granted, without being wdl able to tell whether for peace or war. As to the 
 promotion, it was declared in the Gazette of March 15, 1704, N. 3895, 
 and was at that time highly applauded, becaufe it was generally conceived, that 
 thofc gentlemen were promoted purely in regard to their merit. It was alfo 
 faid at that time, that Mr. Graydon was advanced on another officer's refufmg to 
 ferve in the Weft Indies. 
 
 f This was among the number of thofc things which geve great offence to 
 the ftate* of Holland. They actually equipped a fquadron, imbarked on board 
 it 3000 land troops, and fent them fo early as the month of Jammy on the 
 'coaft of England, where they were to he joined by twenty fail of r.nglifH men 
 of war, with 3000 land troops : but the Portuguefe match being loft, and the 
 councils of the imperial court taking a fudden turn, this expedition was dropt, 
 and then it was given out, that it was intended for the Weft Indie;.; which, 
 whatever effoft it might have abroad, created abundance of groundlefs reflec- 
 tions at home, as if we had neglefted making war in that part of the world, 
 where we were mofl able to have carried it on with fuccefs, ajid to have drawn 
 advantages from it. But the truth is, our allies would never confent to rur 
 making any conqutfts in the Spanifh Weft Indies, and this rumour of the fleets 
 going thither, was only fpread to alum the Spaniards, and produce fome g< od 
 cffcfts in Europe. 
 
 Rochfort,
 
 o p QJT EENANNE. 39 
 
 Rochfort, they might be furprizcd and taken, or at leaft the 
 commerce might be interrupted ; and for the performance of 
 this fcheme, he took it upon himfelf g . About the n-.idille of 
 the month of April he arrived at St. Helen's, with eighteen 
 fhips of the line h , with which he was rery defirous of failing 
 on the intended expedition, without waiting for the Dutch ; but 
 this proportion was not at firil accepted ; fo that he remained 
 there till the beginning of the month of May, when he was li> 
 ill that he kept his bed, though bifhop Burnet is fo charitable 
 as to fuggeft, that he was only fick of the expedition; which,, 
 had it been true, was no reflection upon him, fince the exe- 
 cution of what he propofed depended entirely on its being; 
 done in time, and the putting off his departure was chargeable 
 on thofe who were vefted with that authority which command- 
 ed him i. 
 
 8 There could not well be a greater fign of his being in earneft ; and, as to 
 the nature of the propofal, it was certainly well calculated for preventing tha 
 French from reaping any benefit from their trade with Spain, or the Spaniards 
 from reeling any effects of Trench protection. Tim agreed exactly wirh the 
 maxim upon which Sir George Rookc always went, of treating the French as 
 enemies, and the Spaniards as allies. For it was his opinion, and he was not 
 (by of declaring it, that U might be very pra<fVc.b!e to retrieve Spain, tl; 
 imp;ffiblc to conquer it. Let it be confidered, how far this was justified by t.Se 
 event. 
 
 fc Burchet's naval hiftory, book v. chap. xiii. Boyer's life of queen A:i;ie, 
 Lond. Ga2. N. 3906. 
 
 That I may not feern to charge this prelate rafl-.lj-, I will produce his own> 
 words : " This year things at fea (lays he) were ill deftpned, and worle exc- 
 " cuted : the making prince George our lord high-admiral, proved in many 
 ** inftances very unhappy to the nation : men of bad defigns impofcd on him; 
 ' he underwood thofe matters very little, and they fheltcred themfelves under 
 " his name, to which a great lubmiffion was paid ; but the compLint? rofe the 
 " higher for that ; our main Reel was ready to go out in May, but the Dutch 
 " fleet was not yet come over j fo Rooke was icnt out to ahrm the co<ft .f 
 " France: he lingered long in port, pretending ill health; upon thai Cht;r- 
 " chill was icnt to command the flict; but Rooke's health returned happily 
 " for him, or he thought fit to l.y aiide that pretence, and went to fca, when: 
 " he continued a mtnth ; but in fucli a fhtion, as if hii dellgii had bten :j 
 " keep far from meeting the French flict, which fsilid out at that time; aJ :o 
 " do the enemy no harm, not fo much as to difairL their qu : et, by coming near 
 " their coifli ; st L'3 he returned wL'h^u;
 
 4 o NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The truth, however, was, that the admiral found himfelf fo 
 ill, that he applied for leave to go to the Bath, which was 
 granted him -, and George Churchill, Efq; admiral of the bluej 
 was lent to take upon him the command. But he not arriving 
 in time, and Sir George finding himfelf better, put to fea, and 
 continued at fea for fomething more than a month ; and then 
 finding what he fufpected at the Ifle of Wight to be true, that 
 the enemy had notice of his defign, and that moft of their 
 fquadrons had filled ; and therefore perceiving that he could do 
 the nation no fervice by remaining longer on the French coaft, 
 returned home about the middle of June, that he might be 
 ready to undertake any more neceflary fervice k . 
 
 This expedition has the misfortune to difpleafe fecretary Bur- 
 chet, who fays, that in his poor opinion ', a fquadron of fmall 
 fhips might have had better fuccefs ; and, in my poor opinion, 
 Sir George Rooke was as good a judge of the probability of 
 this as he. The queftion in fuch cafes is not the fuccefs, but 
 the contrivance and execution of the fcheme ; and if thefe be 
 right, the conduit of the commander cannot be wrong, and 
 therefore ought not to be blamed. When Sir George Rooke 
 returned, he was ftill fo weak and infirm, that he afked and had 
 leave to go to Bath m , his fuperiors feeing no reafon to cenfure 
 his behaviour; and therefore, as foon as he was able to under- 
 take it, we ihall rind him again in command, and employed in 
 a fervice of much greater importance. 
 
 The grand fleet was commanded this year by Sir Cloudeflej 
 Shovel". It confifted at firft of twenty-feven fhips of the line, 
 and the admiral had under him rear-admiral Byng, and Sir 
 Stafford Fairborne ; and being afterwards reinforced with eight 
 
 k Sir George failed, as appears by the Gazette, on the 9th of May. On the 
 a 3d, he fent in the Lenox to Portfmouth, with a French Eaft India (hip worth 
 200,000). on the rs?h of Junr, he fent in Lord Durfley, who commanded ths 
 Liichfield, with a French man of war of 36 guns, and a Weft India nfurshanr- 
 man, worth 40,000). and on the aid of June, Sir George returned with many 
 prizes from the Weft Indies. This is the plain Englifli of the prelate's -without 
 ctterr.ptir.% at:y thing. 
 
 I Naval hift. p. 64?. m See our memoirs of Sir George Rooke, in this 
 
 vol. n Burnet's hift. of his own times, vol. ii. p. jj8. Burchet's naval 
 
 hith book v. chap. xiv. Annals of Qnecn Anne, vol. ii. p. 96. Loud. Gaz. 
 tt. 39*8.
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 41 
 
 fliips more, tlicfc were commanded by vice-admiral Leake". 
 iiis inftru&ions were very large; but all of them might be re- 
 duced to theft three heads, viz. annoying the enemy, aflifting 
 our allies, and protecting our trade. He waited till the middle 
 of June for the Dutch, and then was joined only by twelve 
 fhips of the line, carrying three flags -, and it is certain, that if 
 the force he had with him, had been better adjufted than it 
 was to the things he had orders to perform, yet the time allow- 
 ed him, which was only till the end of September, was much 
 too fhort, ib that it was really impoffible for him to execute the 
 fervices that feemed to be expected ?. He reprefented this, and 
 is commended for it by bifliop Burnet q , who had notwithfhind- 
 ing cenfured another admiral for the fame thing before ; how- 
 ever, Sir Cloudefley Shovel was ordered to obey, and he did 
 ib, but was not able to get clear of the land till near the mid- 
 dle of July, having alfo a fleet of upwards of two hundred and 
 thirty merchant-men under his convoy. 
 
 On the twenty -fourth he arrived off the rock of Lifbon, 
 where he held a council of war, in which the rendezvous was 
 appointed to be held in Altea-bay r . He purfued his inftruc- 
 tions as far as he was able, and having fecured the Turkey fleet, 
 he intended to have ilaid fome time upon the coafl of Italy. 
 But the Dutch admiral informed him, that both his orders and 
 his victuals required his thinking of a fpeedy return j and it 
 was with much difficulty that Sir Cloudefley Shovel prevailed 
 upon him to go to Leghorn s . In the mean time, the inftruc- 
 tions he had to fuccour the Csvennois, who were then in arms 
 agninil the French king, were found impracticable with a fleet j 
 
 Lond. Gn. N. 3931, 3533. 
 
 P This, as I obfervc in the text, is ingcnioufly confefled by bifhop Burnet, 
 who carries his refieft'-ons on this fiibjrft very far; lie fays, it was not cafy to 
 imagine what the defign of Co gteat an expedition could be. Much was faid to 
 the fame purpofe in the houfe of lords; but nobody reflected upon the ad- 
 miral, as indeed there was no reafon for it. But then, I cor.fefs I do not i'tf 
 why the famejaflice ftould r.ot be uone to other admirals, when their conduct 
 appears to have been as innocent, or as laii-iable. 
 
 " Hirtory of his own limes, vol. ii. p. 358. r OldaixonVhiQ. of 
 
 the Stuarts, yol. ii. p. 311. Annals of queen Anne, vol. ii. p. 98. Lond. Gaz. 
 N. 3541. s Burchct'* naval hift. p. 653. The complete hiltory of 
 
 Europe, tor 1703, p. 415. Lond. Gaz. N. 3Jjj, 39;-. 
 
 VOL. HI. F and
 
 4 l NAVALHISTORY 
 
 and therefore the admiral contented himfelf with doing all that 
 could be done, which was to fend the Tartar and the Pembroke 
 upon that coaft, where they alfo found it impoflible to do any 
 thing'. The admiral then detached captain Swanton to Tunis 
 and Tripoli, and fent rear-admiral Byng to Algier, to renew 
 the peace with thofe ftates, and on the twenty- fecond of Sep- 
 tember arrived off Altea, from whence he foon after failed fof 
 England u . 
 
 On the twenty-feventh, in the Streights-mouth, he met with 
 an Algerine man of war becalmed, upon which he immediately 
 took her under his protection, till all the Dutch fhips were paf- 
 fed. 'In this he certainly performed the part of an Englifh ad- 
 miral, preferved the reputation of our flag, did great fervice to 
 cur trade, and put it out of the power of the French to prac- 
 tife upon thofe piratical ftates to our difadvantage, as they had 
 done formerly w . Having intelligence that a fleet of merchant 
 fhips waited for a convoy at Lifbon, he fent Sir Andrew Leake 
 thither with a frnall fquadron x , who efcorted them fafe hito the 
 Downs J. 
 
 On the fixteenth of November, the fleet being off the Ifle of 
 Wight, the Dutch croweded away for their own ports, and left 
 the admiral to fteer for the Downs, which he did j but before 
 he made land, captain (afterwards Sir John) Norris in the Or- 
 
 1 Tt is clear, that the Dutch were victualled for flill a fhortcr time than our 
 fleet j and, if I durft, I would fugged, that our minillry were obliged td 
 comply with the fchemes of our allies, in fuch joint expeditions. Mr. Old- 
 mitton has given laip.c account of the attempt made in favour of the Cevea- 
 nois, and has folly vindicated the admiral's conduit. 
 
 u London Gazette, N'. 3961, 3966. Annals of queen Anne, vol. ii. p. 
 107. w Burchct's naval hiftory, p. <5js. x Lond. Gaz. 
 
 y It is certain, tli.it Sir Cloudcfley gained as much reputation in this expedi- 
 tion, as !t was poflfolc for an admiral to do who bad no opportunity of fight- 
 ing; and thcref:re, thofe people feem to cairy things too far, who fay that 
 this fleet did neith.-r hurt our enemies, nor protect our friends; whereas, in 
 truth, all drcnmfhnces confidcred, it did both j and our allies the Dutch 
 were very well contented with what wa* done; imagining, that the protection 
 of their own trade was a matter of as gtcjt importance, at lead to them, zs the 
 fupport of king Charles's title to the crown of Spain, which the court of Vien- 
 >u left at th&t time intircly to the confederates.
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 43 
 
 ford, a fliip of the third rate, together with the Warfpight cf 
 feventy guns, and the Litchfield of fifty, being a-head of the 
 fleet, gave chace to a French fhip of war, and beginning to 
 engage about eight at night, the difpute continued till two in 
 the morning, when, having loft her fore-top- m aft, and all her 
 fails, and her ftanding and running-rigging being much fhatter- 
 d, flic itruck. This fhip came from Newfoundland, was 
 commanded by Monfieur de la Rue, was named the Hazardous, 
 and had fifty guns mounted, with three hundred and feventy 
 men ; but had more ports, and was larger than any of our 
 Cxty-gun fhips, fo that ihe was regiftered in the lift of our 
 royal navy z . 
 
 This expedition did not reflet much honour upon the nation, 
 and therefore it created fome murmurs ; but thefe fell where 
 they ought ; not upon the admiral, who certainly did all that 
 was in his power, but upon thofe who framed the project, and 
 gave the admiral his inftructions, and who were thought to 
 have rather more power than parts. 
 
 But while the grand fleet was at fea, rear-admiral Dilkes 
 performed a very acceptable fervice to his country on the French 
 coaft. For the lord high-admiral's council having intelligence, 
 that a confiderable fleet of French merchant-fhJps, with their 
 convoy, were in Cancall-bay, orders were fent to the rear-ad- 
 miral, who was then at Spithead with a fmall fquadron, to fail 
 immediately in purfuit of them, which he did on the twenty- 
 fecond of July *. On the twenty-fourth, he ordered the cap- 
 tain of the Nonfuch to ftretch a-head of the fquadron, and 
 Hand as near Alderney as he could, and fend his boat afhore 
 to gain intelligence. On the twenty-fifth he flood towards the 
 Cafquets for the fame purpofe, and at fix in the evening an- 
 chored off the fouth-wefl part of Jerfey ; from whence he fent 
 captain Chamberlain, commander of the Spy brignntine, to the 
 governor, that he might obtain from him the bed intelligence 
 he couhl give. 
 
 * Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 6j6. Oicmixon's hift. of the Stuarts, vol. ii. 
 p. 313. Beyer's life of oufrn Annr, p. 85, 86. London Gaz. N. 3968. 
 Burchet'i naTal hiftcry. Annili of <j'in Ant r, vol. ii. p. I 2. Lond. Gaz. 
 N a - 3934- 
 
 F ; The
 
 44 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The governor fent to him captain James Lamprier, and cap- 
 tain Thomas Pipon, who well underftood that coaft, by whom 
 being informed of a fleet about forty fail, plying to the wind- 
 ward on the fifteenth to get to Granville, the rear-admiral, 
 upon confultation at a council of war with the pilots, refolved 
 to fail immediately, though the tide fell crofs in the night, that 
 getting clear of the weftermoft rocks of the Minques, he might 
 attack the enemy by break of day ; which fucceeded perfectly 
 \vell ; for the next morning, the twenty-fixth, by day-light, 
 perceiving the enemy at an anchor about a league to the weft- 
 ward of Granville, they, upon his approach, got under fail, and 
 flood in for the fhore. 
 
 The rear-admiral followed them as far as the pilot would 
 venture, and found them to conflft cf forty-three merchant- 
 fliips, and three men of war. Being come within four feet 
 water more than the fhip drew, he manned all his boats, and 
 the reft of the mips did the fame. By noon he took fifteen 
 fail, burnt fix, and funk three ; the reft flood fo far into a bay, 
 between Avranche and the mount of St. Michael, that in the 
 judgment of the pilots, our fhips could not attack them ; where- 
 upon, on the twenty-feventh in the morning, it was refolved at 
 a council of war, to go into the bay with the Heftor, Mer- 
 maid, a fire-fhip, the Spy brigantine, a fhip of fix guns, taken 
 the day before from the enemy, a ketch fitted out as a fire-fliip, 
 and all the boats of the fquadron, which was performed be- 
 tween ten and eleven in the morning, the rear-admiral being 
 prefent, accompanied by captain Fairfax, captain Legg, and 
 capt.ipn Mighells j as alfo by the captains Lamprier and Pi- 
 pon b . 
 
 There were three fhips ^quipped for war, one of eighteen 
 guns, which the enemy burnt, the fecond of fourteen guns, 
 which Mr. Paul, firft lieutenant of the Kent, fet on fire, who. 
 in this fervice was fhot through the lower jaw, and four men 
 killed, and a third of eight guns, which was brought off. Se* 
 venteen more of the merchant-fliips were burnt anddcftroyed, 
 by this fccoxul attack, fo that of the whole fleet only four 
 
 * 
 
 b Boyci'i lift of queen Am?. Oidrr.ixon'i i-ft.-ry rf the Stuarts, vol. ii. 
 Mcriurt hif.oriqni ct poli'.iqoe, tome xxxv, p. 230, 251. 
 
 efcaped,
 
 o F QJJ E E x A N N E. 4j 
 
 ffcaped, by getting under the command of Granville-fort. The 
 enemy, during this attack, fent feveral large fhallops from 
 Granville, but with no fuccefs, the rear-admiral having manned 
 a brigantine with eighty men, and another veflel of fix guns, 
 with forty, who covered all the boats. This laft veflel unfor- 
 tunately run a-ground, which obliged the rear-admiral to burn 
 her. There were, during the time of this action, about five 
 thoufand of the enemy feen on fhore, but they did not advance 
 near enough to do their own people any fervice, or ours any 
 hurt. The queen, to teftify her kind acceptance of fo chear- 
 ful and fo effectual a fervice, ordered gold medals to be ftruck 
 on this occafion, and delivered to the rear-admiral and all his 
 ofhcers, who certainly had very well deferved them c . 
 
 We are now to fpeak of the greateft difafter that had hap- 
 pened within the memory of man, at lead, by the fury of the 
 yvinds, I mean the ftorm which began on the twenty- fixth of 
 November, 1703, about eleven in the evening, the wind being 
 W. S. W. and continued with dreadful fiafhes of lightning, 
 till about feven the next morning. The water flowed to .1 
 great height in Weftminfter-hall, and London-bridge was in a 
 manner ftopt up with wrecks. The mifchief done in London 
 was computed at not lefs than a million, and the city of Briftol 
 fullered upxvarus of one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds. 
 But the greatert lofs fell upon our navy, of which there pe- 
 rifhed no lefs than thirteen fhips, upwards of fifteen hundred 
 feamen were drowned d j amongft -whom was BaHl Beaumont, 
 
 E% 
 
 e See the Lone 1 . G*z. N 3 . 3937, 3938. 
 
 d The following is the bed account that can be given of (he particulars of 
 this grsat !of> : 
 
 I. The Rcfrrve, a fourth rate, c:.p:sin John Andcrfon commander, loft at 
 Yarmouth. The captain, the furgeon, the clerk, and 44 wen fared ; the reft 
 of the crew drowned, being 175. 
 
 II. The Vanguard, a fccoaJ rate, funk in Chatham l.-.rbour, with neither 
 rftrn nor gun in her. 
 
 III. The Nonhffmberlind, a tl.irJ rate, captain Greerwsy, loft on the 
 GooJwin finJ ; ill her company wis loft, being 223 rr.er, including twrn 1 }-- 
 Ibur msri..fr. 
 
 IV. The Sterling Ciftic, a third rate, captain Johnfon, on the Goodwin fands, 
 73 men, of which were four msrin; ofEccrs fayed, tht rtf: wtrr drcvrned, be. 
 Ir.g ;o6. 
 
 V. TU
 
 46 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Efq; rear-admiral of the blue, who had been employed all that 
 year in obferving the Dunkirk fquadron, and had by his great 
 care and conduct preferved our merchant-fhips from falling into 
 the hands of the French privateers ; which fervice appeared the 
 more confiderable by the great lofles the Dutch this year fuf- 
 tained e . He was in all other refpeds a man well qualified for 
 
 V. The Mary, a fourth rate, rear-admiral Beaumont, captain Edward Hop- 
 fon, on the Goodwin fands, the captain and purfer a-fhore; one man, whofc 
 name was Thomas Atkins, favcd ; the reft, to the number of 269, with the 
 rear-admiral, drowned. The cfcape of this Atkins was very remarkable. He 
 faw the rear-admiral, whsn the (hip was breaking, get upon a piece of her 
 quarter deck, from which he was foon wafhed off; and abotu the fame time, 
 Atkins was toflid by a wave into the Sterling-Caftle, which finking foon after, 
 he was thrown the third man into her boat, by a wave that wafted him from 
 the wreck. 
 
 VI. The York, a fourth rate, cap'ain Smith, loft at Harwich ; all her men 
 faved except four. 
 
 VJI. The Mortar-bomb, a fifth rate, captain Raymond, on the Goodwin 
 far.ds ; aii her company loft, being 65. 
 
 VIII. The Eagle advice-boat, a fixth rate, captain Bjftock, loft on the coaft 
 of SufTex ; al! her company, beiag 45, faved. 
 
 IX. The Refolution, a third rate, captain Lifle, on the coaft of SufTcx ; all 
 her company, being in, faved. 
 
 X. The Litchfield-prize, a fifth rate, captain Chamberlain, on the coaft of 
 Saflcx ; all her company, being 108, faved. 
 
 XI. The Newcaftle, a fourth rate, captain Carter, lofl at Spithead ; the car- 
 penter and 39 men were faved, and the reft, being 193, drowned. 
 
 XII. The Vefuvius fire (hip, a fifth rate, captain Paddon, at Spithead j all her 
 company, being 48, faved. 
 
 XIII. The Reftoration, a third rate, captain Emms, 387 men, on the Good- 
 win fands ; not one faved. 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel was then in the Downs with feveral great (hips, which 
 were all in the utmoft danger; he cut his main-maft by the hoard, which faved 
 the (hip from running on the Galloper of the breach, of which the was then in 
 view. Sir Stafford Fairborne had his flag, as vice-admiral of the red, flying 
 in the Aflooiation, in which he was driven firft to Gottenburgh, and then to 
 Copenhagen, fiom whence he did not get home till the next year. The Re- 
 venge was forced from her anchors, and with much ado, after driving fome 
 time on the coaft of Holland, got into the river Medway ; the Rutfel, captain 
 Townfend, was forced over to Holland, and the Dorfet, captain Edward Whit- 
 akci, af er ftriking thrice on the Galloptr, drove a fortnight at fca, and then 
 got fafe to the N <re. 
 
 f Butcher's nava! hift. book v. chap, ic, Burnct's hill, of hit own times, 
 vol. ii. Lond. Gaz. K. jpyx. 
 
 the
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 47 
 
 the ferviee of his country, and what made his lofs moft regret- 
 ed, he died in the flower of his age, and in the heat of the 
 war. Thefe lofles, how much fpever they might affect us at 
 home, ferved in Ibme meafure to raife our reputation abroad, 
 for orders were immediately iffued for building more ihips than 
 were deftroyed ; and the queen, by ieveral gracious bounties, 
 gave fuch and fo fpeedy relief to fhipwrccked feamen, and to 
 the diitreffed widows of fuch as were drowned, as might have 
 endeared her to her fubjedts, if ihe had not already fo fully 
 pofiefled their hearts, as to render any increafe of affection im- 
 pofliblef. 
 
 Charles, arch-duke of Auflria, being declared king of Spain 
 by his father, and owned as fuch by the allies, Sir George 
 Rooke was fent in the month of O&ober to Holland, in order 
 to convoy his Catholic majefty to Lilbon . There the Dutch 
 not being 1 ready, the admiral was forced to continue for fome 
 time, and then the great ftorm occafioned a new delay; at la ft 
 he embarked, and with a joint fquadron of Englifh and Dutch 
 fhips, and a confiderable r. umber of tranfports, with land- 
 forces on board, he arrived at Spithead on the twenty- fixth of 
 
 f On the nth of December, the queen publiftied a proclamation for a ger.e- 
 ral fad, on Wednesday (he iota of January f. Ibw-ng, which was kept with 
 wonderful ftriftrefs ; iu the Gazette of Dumber i5:h, the lord high-jdmira!, 
 hy an advertifement dated t:ie ijth, gives notice, that the companies of her 
 rnajefry's (hips which were cart a'.vay, ihcuid he paid that day month, which 
 was dons accordingly; and in the Gazette, N. 3978, appeared the fallowing 
 order : 
 
 " Her majefty taking into confidfration, the great lofs fuftained by the fa- 
 " milies of fuch, as being in her majefty's fcrvice at fea, perilhed by the late 
 " florm ; her ro^jcfly, with the advice of her privy council, is pleafcd to or- 
 " der, as it is hereby ordered accordingly , that the widows and families of 
 " fuch c.-mmiffion and other officers and feamen as have perifhed by rcafon of 
 " the late (torm, in her m;j:l>y's fcrvice at fea, be intiilcd to her majefK's 
 " bounty in the lame manner, as if they had bctr. a.>inliy killed in fight, in 
 " her nnjefty's lervice i; ita, ate rrtinj; to tiie eilabLlhment in that behalf. 
 *' And his royal hi-hnei"s prince George of Denmark, lord high-admiral, is de- 
 41 fired to give the luctlT.ry directions liercin acci'tilifigly." 
 
 The home of cc'mm^ns, which was then fining, aJarefled her majefty upon 
 this melancholy occ^fion, dtfiring her to give immediate clire<fiioiis for repairin" 
 this lofj, and to buiM fuch car.ital fti^s as Hie fh.:uld think fit, and promifed ti* 
 make good the expencc at their next meeting. 
 
 S Land. Gai. N. 3959. 
 
 Decem-
 
 4 8 NAVAL "HIS TORY 
 
 December 11 ; he was there complimented by the dulces of So* 
 nierfct and Marlborough, on the road to Windfor met by his 
 royal highnefs the prince of Denmark, ant! on his arrival was 
 received with all imaginable marks of refpett by the queen, for 
 \vhom he (hewed greater deference than was even expected by 
 the Englifh court'. Here we will end the naval tranfacYions 
 in Europe for this year, and proceed to take a view of what 
 pjiiVed in America, after the death of admiral Benbow in Ja- 
 m?.icu k . 
 
 The 
 
 t> Loncl. G*z. K 
 
 i Burnet's hiftcry of bis own times, vol. ii. p. 354. " About the enJ c,f 
 " December, (fays the bifhop), the kin of Spain landed at Portfmowh. The 
 " uke of S imeri'ct was fent by the queen to receive him, and to bring him to 
 " an interview, which was to Uc ac Wir.dfer ; prince George went and met 
 " him on the way, and he was treated with great magnificence; the court was 
 ' very fpler.did, and much thronged, the queen's behaviour towards him w^s 
 * very noble and obliging : the young king charmed all that were there, he 
 ' had a graviry beyond his age, tempered with much modeQy, his behaviour 
 was in all points fo exact, that there was not a circumnance in his whole de- 
 " portrmnt that was liable to cenfure : he paid an extraordinary refpetf to the 
 " quern, anil yet maintained a due greatnefi in it; he had an art of feeminij 
 " well pleafed with every thing, without fo much as fmiling once all the while 
 " he *at it ccurr, which was only three days : he fpoke but little, and all he 
 " faid was jui : ci;n;s and obliging." Annals of queen Anne, vol. ii. p. 115. 
 Lond. G.z. N. 39? o. 
 
 k M"ft of our hiftorians have placed Sir George Rookc's voyage to Lifb^n 
 in 1703, which is what I do net underfhnd, iince he did not leave England ::il 
 the month of January, 1704, and therefore I have contented tnyfclf with pia 
 ring that part of his expedition within thi"; year, which fell out in it, and left 
 the reft to be rebted in its proper place. I fhall take this opportunity of ob- 
 lerving, that the arch duke Charles was* proclaimed king of Spain at Vienna, 
 on the nth of September, N. S. hi* journey to Portugal being then reiblved 
 on. The choice made of Sir George Rooke to bring him over hither, and con- 
 voy him to Lifbon, was a clear proof that his conduit was eqmlly approved at 
 home and abroad. Indeed it could not be ntherwife, for every body at this 
 time, was fatufied that our rr.iniflry defigned to place king Charles III. on the 
 throne of Spain, p^r;!y by afTilling the Spaniards, who fhou'd declare for him, 
 hat chiefly by compelling the French to abandon the caufe of his rival. Now 
 thi, was cx3t~rly agreeable to Sir George Rooke's way of thinking, who wai 
 fcr treatiii" the Spjriarcs kindly, and fighnog or.ly with the French. This be 
 ing confidercd, we may eafilr account for the making choice of Sir Gecr^e 
 Rooke to command this fleet, though it will not be eafy to divice, why thofe 
 writers bur hardcft on Sir Gi-Trgt'i character, who zrc fotdcft of lord Go- 
 
 dofphin's
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 49 
 
 The ccmmnnJ devolving upon captain Whetftone, whom 
 Mr. Benbow had appointed rear-admiral of his fquadron, he 
 immediately put it into the beft condition poffible for going to 
 fea, and then cruized on the coaft of Hifpaniola. On his re- 
 turn to Jamaica an opportunity offered of (hewing his great 
 concern for the interefts of the colony. A fire breaking out at 
 Port-Royal on the ninth of February, 1703, about noon, burnt 
 it down to the ground before night, leaving nothing {landing 
 but the two fortifications. In this fad diftrefs of the inhabi- 
 tants, which ftill would have been much greater, if the feamen, 
 with great courage and induftry, had not aflifted in preferving 
 their goods and ftores, the rear-admiral publifhed a proclama- 
 tion, in which he promifed to entertain and relieve all fuch as 
 fhould defire it, on board her majefty's fhips, until they could 
 be otherwife provided for ; which he with great care and ten- 
 dernefs performed '. 
 
 Soon after this he failed again on a cruize, in hopes of 
 meeting a confiderable fleet of merchant- fhips, which were ex- 
 pected from France. He fpent five weeks in fearch of them 
 to no purpofe; and after looking into Port Lewis, not finding 
 any thing there, he flood away for Petit Guavas and Leogane. 
 When he arrived near this port, he divided his fquadron, be- 
 caufe when admiral Benbow attacked the enemy here, their 
 fhips efcaped on one fide, as he entered on the other. He 
 therefore failed weftward with part of his Oiips, and lent the 
 reft to the fouth. When tfiefe came in fight, three privateers, 
 which were in every refpcdl ready for fervice, flood away north- 
 Ward ; but the rear-admiral forcing two of them afhore, burnt 
 them, and the other he took. Captain Vincent, who com- 
 manded to the foutluvard, rowed in the night into a, place cal- 
 led the Cul de Sac, where he found four Ihips, one of which 
 he burnt, another he funk, the third (which was a confort of 
 the privateers aforementioned) he towed out, and boarded the 
 fourth, fhe was blown up by the accidental firing of a grenado- 
 
 dolphin's meafure', which we have fhewn to be a thing abfolutely abfurd, fince 
 they thought alike, and adopted the tingle plan that ciuld fo much as promiic 
 fuccefs. 
 
 I Burchet's naval hift. p. jp8. Annals of quetn Anne. London Gazette, 
 N. 3B86, 3897. BritSlh empire in America, vyl. ii. 
 
 VOL. Ill G fhell.
 
 50 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 (hell. From this place the rear-admiral failed to Port de Pa?x, 
 but found no (hipping there ; for the before-mentioned priva- 
 teers were all that the enemy had in thofe parts, with which, 
 and five hundred men, they thought to have made an attempt 
 on the north-fide of Jamaica , and in thefe fhips were taken 
 one hundred and twenty prifoners ra . 
 
 While rear-admiral Whetftone was thus employed, they 
 were far from forgetting the fafety of the plantations at home. 
 Sir George Rooke, in the month of September, 1702, de- 
 tached from the Mediterranean captain Hovenden Walker in 
 the Burford, five more third rates, ten tranfports, and four re- 
 giments on board, for the Leeward-ifhnds ; he arrived in Bar- 
 badoes in the beginning of the month of January; and upon 
 the coming thither foon after of fix of our Eaft India fhips 
 richly laden, he, by the advice of a council of war, fent them 
 home under the convoy of the Expedition, a third rate, captain 
 Knapp commander^ who brought them fafely to England. 
 From Barbadoes, commodore Walker failed to Antigua, where 
 he joined colonel Coddrington, who was about undertaking an 
 expedition to Guadalonpe, in which captain Walker was to af- 
 fift him. They failed from Antigua the latter end of February; 
 on the twelfth of March, general Coddrington landed with 
 great part of the forces, but was fo warmly received by the 
 French, that they would have been able to have done Irttle or 
 nothing, if commodore Walker had not lent in the Ghichefter, 
 which drove the enemy from their batteries, which our men 
 quickly entered n . The next day the reft of the foldiers, and 
 four hundred feamen were landed, who attacked the north part 
 of the town with great fury, forced the enemy to abandon it, 
 and to retreat into the callle and fort, which they defended 
 
 BurcTiet's naval hiftory, p. <5o. Annalt of queen Anne, vol. ii. p. tf. 
 1,-mdon Gazette, N. 5516. It is Tery remaikablc, that Pere le Pcrs, in his 
 accurate hiftury of St. Domingo, ha* nothing ef this expedition, which could not 
 poflibly have efcapcd his notice any more than that which was intended by the 
 French agaiufr, Jamaica. But as no honour cotilt) arifc to his countrymen from 
 the relation of what pafled in this part of the world at this time, he though: pro- 
 per to be filent, rather than record the advantages gained bv the Englifh. 
 
 Burchet's naval hiflory, book v. chap. vi. Coiumna roftrata, p. 191. The 
 complete bid. of Europe, for 1703, p. 131. Loud. Gaz. N. 391*. 
 
 to
 
 OF Qj; E E N ANNE. 51 
 
 to the third of April, and then blowing them both up, re- 
 tired to the mountains. After this our troops ravaged all the 
 country, burnt the town to the ground, razed the fortifica- 
 tions, carried the beft of the artillery on board, burft the reft, 
 and with a very great booty imbarked, without the iofs of a 
 man . 
 
 The French writers give a different account of this affair, and 
 becaufe the Englifh thought fit to retreat, they will needs have 
 it the proof of a victory on their fide p . Now as to this retreat, 
 there were many reafons for it, and fome indeed that rendered 
 it indifpenfibly neceflary. General Coddrington fell fick, and 
 was forced to return to Nevis ; then colonel Whetham, upon 
 whom the command devolved, fell alfo dangeroufly ill, and was 
 carried to Antigua. The command of the land-forces fell next 
 to colonel Willis, who, upon certain information that the 
 French had landed nine hundred men on the back of the ifland, 
 called a council of war, in which it was refolved to imbark the 
 forces ; and this was accordingly done, as I have before obferv- 
 ed, on the feventh of May q . It muft be acknowledged, that 
 this fervice fuffered not a little from fome difputes that happened 
 between the land and fea-officers ; which is, generally fpeaking, 
 the ruin of our Weft India expeditions r . 
 
 As 
 
 There were fom nnlncky circumftances attended this expedition. In the firft 
 "place, when captain Walker arrived, the land-forces had no powder, with which, 
 
 however, they were furnifhed from the fleet. When they came next to exa- 
 mine their rtores clofely, it was found, that in a thoufand flints, there were not 
 fifty fit for mufkcts, nor had they mortars, bombs, pick-axes, fpades, or in- 
 deed any thing proper and convenient for a liege. But we muft take care not 
 to attribute this mifmanagement either to commodore Walker, who commanded 
 here, or to Sir George Rooke, who fent him, f:nce they both acted in obedience 
 to orders; the commodore to thofe of ch admiral, and the admiral receiving 
 his from the fniniflry, who ought to have confidercd better what they were 
 doing. 
 
 P Quincy hirtoire militaire de Louis XIV. torn. iv. P. Daniel journal hifto. 
 rique de Louis XIV. p. an. Limicies de Larrey, the laft mentioned French, 
 riiflorian, fays, that MonGeur Gabaret, arriving at Fort Sr. Mary's, with two 
 frigates, a flutr, nine armed barks an d fevcn hundred men, to rbc afliftance of 
 flic inhabitants, the EngHih did not think tfcemlelves a force fufficient to with- 
 (land them, and therefore reimbarked. 
 
 1 Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 604. 
 
 r The governors of our colonies have fearer ever bren able to agree with the 
 commanders of our fquadronf, and with refpeft to this Vfry expedition, there 
 
 G u-er;
 
 5 2 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 As foon as the news of vice-admiral Bsnbow's misfortune and 
 death arrived in England, it was refolved to fend another flag- 
 officer thither with a coniidcrable fquadron. This command, 
 it is faid, was offered to Sir Stafford Fairborne, who refufed 
 it 5 ; and then it was propofed to Mr. Graydon, who, though 
 a certain prelate' ftyles him a brutal man, made this anfwer, 
 " That it was his duty to go where the queen thought proper 
 " to command him, and that he knew no difference of climates, 
 << when he was to obey her orders." His in/trucYions may be 
 found at large in Burchet u , and the ftrength he was to take 
 with him, confiding only of a third, a fourth, and a fifth rate; 
 which Jaft proved unfit for the voyage, and therefore the Mon- 
 tague of fixty, and the Nonfuch of fifty guns, were ordered to 
 fee him a hundred and fifty leagues into the fea. They failed 
 about the middle of March, and on the eighteenth of that month 
 they fa\v four French (hips to leeward, viz. two of fixty, one 
 of Hfty, and another of forty guns w . This laft being both the 
 fmalleft and fternmoft, the Montague, commanded by captain 
 William Cleveland, bore down to, and foon after engaged her. 
 Hereupon the vice-admiral made the fignal for a line of battle, 
 and confequently for the Montague's coming off; but her fore- 
 top-fail being fhot in pieces the fecond broadhde fhe received 
 from the enemy, fhe could not tack fo foon as otherwife might 
 have been expected, infomuch, that the other three French 
 
 were as warm complaints made agiinft the commodore, at ever came from th* 
 Weft Indies: but he rvprefcntcd, that the load of Giudalcupe was exceflivcly 
 lud ; that lie fcund ii impi.fChle to procure pilots; that fevtral of the fhips loft 
 .-?. the ground t-eing foul, and the water deep, fo that fon:c or other 
 were daily forced out to fea ; and added to this, that the troops were under ex- 
 Cifllvc difficulties, having no guides to .conduit them, and being under the ut- 
 moft want of rccdFuiss to fupport them. Bcfides, the iihnd was not abandjn- 
 <d, till the expedition hud coll us pretty dear, as appears by the following ac- 
 count of our lofs. There were killed in the firft Eclian, one major, two cap-' 
 tiins, ar.ii I:,; l.c;i:cnai.t$ ; and wounded, two colonels, kven captains, and nine 
 l:u:;;nanis ; and three enfigr.i die 1. One hundred and fifty-four f.-Uier* were 
 lilied ; two i.is-i'ired and eleven wuur.dcd ; fcventy-two died ; fifty-nine dcferted ; 
 a.-.d twrlve u- r e taken prifouers. 
 
 . riquc et p..lit!qus, tjm. xxxiv. p. 3j9. - ' Burnet's hif- 
 
 tory of hi* . vol. ii. p. ij;p. u Naval hiftory p. 600. 
 
 \r.uil$ of queen Anr.c, v. 1. ii. p. 2. Oldniixon's l-il>5ry of the Stuartf, 
 
 ;lorLquc et pol:iiquc, torn, xxxi 
 
 fllipS
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N . 53 
 
 jfhips wore, and bearing down to the (hip that had been enga- 
 ged, each of them fired her broadfide at the Montague; but 
 (he being to windward, and the fea running high, as the French 
 generally fire in hopes of wounding mafts, yards, or rigging, 
 all their (hot flew over her, fo that Hie received not any confi- 
 derable damage. The French fliips (which now made the beft 
 of their way from ours) were foul, for they were part of the 
 fquadron under command of Monfieur DucaiTe, with which 
 vice-admiral Benbow engaged in the Weft Indies, and (r.s it was 
 reported) were very rich *. 
 
 This affair drew very heavy reproaches on the admiral, who, 
 notwithftanding, feems to have atted according to the beft of 
 his abilities; and in faying this, I am warranted by the judg- 
 ment of the admiralty- board, who were beft acquainted with 
 Mr. Grnydon's inftruc"r.ions T . He proceeded with all imagin- 
 able diligence in his voyage, and arrived at the ifland of Madeira 
 on the tenth of April, 1703 ; and from thence he failed to Bar- 
 badoes, where he arrived the twelfth of May. The day before 
 came a. brigintine from Guadaloupe, with advice, that commo- 
 dore Walker was there, and that both feamen and foldiers were 
 in danger of being ftarved for want of provifions. The vice- 
 admiral thereupon applied himfelf to the agent-victualler, and 
 
 * Biirchet's naval hift->ry, p. <Soi, <Joi. Culurnna rofhara, p. 191, ipz. 
 London Gazette, N. 3910. 
 
 y Bifhop Burnet blames the admiralty, for infertii'g a paragraph in the Ga- 
 zette, to juftify the adniiral's conducl. It is riecefTiry the reader (hould fee that 
 paragraph, which runs thus: " 1'iymouth, April i<5, The Montague, captaip 
 " Cleveland, commander, is come in here : the Nonfuch and Ihe went from thence 
 " the 1 3th of March, with vice-admiral Grayiloiv, in the Refrlution, captain D.iy, 
 " in the BUckwall, the tranfports with brigadier Columbine's regiment, ftore- 
 " fliips, and merchants, bound to the Weft Indies, and parted from them on 
 " the ifith of the fame, in the latitude of 43 degrees. The capt.un fays, that 
 " on the i3th of that month, in the latitude of 47 degrees, 30 minutes, they 
 " mrt four French men of war, and that he engaged the fternnjoft for fome 
 " time; but ppon his 6i(\ engsping, the vice-admiral made a Cgnal to ciil 
 " him cfT, being under orders not to lofe any time in his paffige, by chacing or 
 " fpeaking with any ftiips whatfocvcr; the contrary winds having kept him here 
 " much longer than was intended, and the fervice upon which he was bound 
 ' very much requiring his prefence, and the regiment that was with him." 
 The fingle quedion that arofc on this fubjecl was, whether admiral Gray-don 
 obeyed his orders ? And thii is plainly decided by the foregoing paragraph in 
 the affirmative. 
 
 having
 
 54 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 having furnithed himfelf with all the beef, pork, bread, and 
 peafe that could be got, he failed on the feventeenth. On the 
 twentieth he ran in with the fort and town of Guadaloupe, and 
 feeing it in ruins, he failed inftantly for Antigua, and from 
 thence to Nevis, where he met with the army and fquadron in 
 the greateft diftrefs ; and having relieved them, he proceeded 
 thence with all the fhips of war to Jamaica, where they arrived 
 the fifth of June z . The firft thing he did there, was to dired 
 a furvey of the fhips under his command ; which proved to be 
 very defective, not only in their hulls, but in their mafts, ftores 
 and rigging; and at the fame time very ill manned. This, to- 
 gether with fome differences that arofe between the admiral and 
 fome of the principal perfons in Jamaica, determined him to fail 
 home as foon as poffible: and accordingly, having left the Nor- 
 wich, the Experiment, and the Sea-horfe, with the Harman 
 and Earl-galley fire-fhips, together with two floops, to attend 
 the ifland j and the Colchefter and Sunderland to convoy home 
 the latter trade, he failed for Blewfields, and proceeding from 
 thence, he fell in with Newfoundland on the fecond of Auguft*. 
 In the evening of that day tnere arofe fuch a fog as had fcarce 
 ever been feen ; for it lafted thirty days complete, and the wea- 
 ther was fo very dark, that it was difficult to difcover one fhip 
 from another : this occafioned the difperfion of the fleet, which 
 could not be brought together again till the third of September, 
 when the vice-admiral thought it proper to confult his officers, 
 as to the principal defign of his voyage, which was the attacking 
 the French at Placentia, and thereby forcing them to quit New- 
 foundland. At this council of war, there were prefent, befides 
 the vice-admiral, rear-admiral Whetftone, and thirteen fea-cap- 
 tains ; of the land-officers, the commander in chief, colonel Ri- 
 vers, fix captains, and an engineer. They took into confidera- 
 tion the queen's inductions to Brigadier Columbine, then de- 
 ceafed, and thofe to Mr. Graydon, and finding all their fhips in 
 
 2 Bnrchet's naval hifrory, p. <5oj. London Gazette, N. 3941. This was 
 eertainly i. very fignal fervice done to the nation; fince, if the admiral had afted 
 lef$ vigoroufly in procuring a fupply, our troops muft neccffirily have perifhed 
 for want. 
 
 Burclvt's naval history, p. 605. Bo/er's Ice of queen Anne. Burnet's 
 hiftory of tmoAH times, tul. ii. p. 319. 
 
 a very
 
 o F Qjcr E E N A N N E. $$ 
 
 a very weak condition, that they were thinly manned, and moft 
 of them fick, already at fhort allowance, and the foldiers, through 
 their being forced to drink water in fo cold a climate, having 
 their limbs benumbed, fo that they were fcarce fit for fervice -, 
 five regiments reduced to one thoufand thirty-five men ; of five 
 hundred they were to receive from New England, there came 
 but feventy, now reduced to twenty-five, and thoie in a manner 
 difabled; and, from the beft accounts, the enemy at Placenti.i 
 judged to be not only Superior in number, and confequently able 
 to make a good reGftance, but the avenues to the place ex- 
 tremely difficult, the grounds marfhy, and no planks, or other 
 materials, for mounting the guns on the batteries ; thefe difficul- 
 ties and obftructionS being maturely confidered, together with 
 the good circumftances the enemy were in, and the afiiftance 
 they might have from their privateers, and other (hipping then 
 at Placentia, the council of war were unanimoufly of opinion, 
 that to make an attempt on that place with the fhips and forces, 
 in fuch a condition and at fuch a feafon of the year, was altoge- 
 ther impracticable ; and, inftead of any probability of fuccefs, 
 might tend to the difhonour of her majefty's arms b . 
 
 This was the end of vice-admiral Graydon's unfortunate ex- 
 pedition ; in which, though it is certain, on the one hand, that 
 he did not do the nation any remarkable fervice, yet it is no leis 
 certain, on the other, that in refpectto protecting the trade, and 
 the reft of the things in his power, he did all the fervice he was 
 able. But it was his misfortune, firft to feel the effects of other 
 men's miftakes, and next to be made anfwerable for them. On 
 his return, the houfe of lords entered into an inquiry into his 
 conduct ; and, befides their former warm vote, which was more 
 than enough to have undone him, came to a refolution of ad- 
 drefling her majefty, to remove him from all employments, for 
 imprefling fervants in the Weft Indies; defiring her, at the 
 fame time, to direct the attorney-general to prolecute him for 
 
 b I trinfcribe this from a MS. account of admiral Grsv^on's defenc?, in which 
 are particulir certificates a* to the truth of each of thelc fact', and which, I IU,T 
 J>ofe, fatisfied the houfe of lords 's to 'his pa-t of the charge; which the admiral 
 looked upon as that which w..uld affecl him moft, fince here he had nol executed 
 hit orders, bat oided attacking the French. 
 
 that
 
 5(5 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 that offence*. This had the defired effect : vice-admiral Gray- 
 don (as to fervice) \vas laid nfide, and his memory has been 
 loaded with the fouleft imputations ; though there is great rea- 
 ibn to believe, that he was rather unlucky than unjuft, and that 
 he fuffered for mifcarringes which it was not in his power* to 
 avoid. In order to have a clearer idea of this, v.-c muft ccnfi- 
 der that he juflified himfelf as to his not fighting the French, 
 under his orders, which were very precife upon that head ; and, 
 if he had not obeyed them, he muft have been anfwernble for 
 all the confcquences before a court-martial ; while, on the other 
 hand, the lords, as the fupreme judicature, decided in this cafe 
 On the reafon of the thing; and becanfe, as they thought, the 
 rieceffity of fighting ought, in his judgment, to have fuperfeded 
 his orders, yet, when he pleaded neceffity in excufe of impref- 
 fing fervants, this would not ferve his turn ; but he was punifh- 
 ed in that cafe as feverely for making ufe of his own judgment^ 
 as for the fuppofed neglect of it in the other. 
 
 In all probability the refentment of the houfe of lords againft 
 this gentleman, was (harpened by their infpecting clofely into* 
 other affairs relating to the navy; in which, it muft be confef- 
 fed, they found things very indifferently managed. As, for in- 
 ftance, complaints had been made to the lord high-admiral, of 
 bad provisions, by which the fenmen were poiibned, as well as 
 the nation cheated ; yet a furvey of the provisions objected to 
 was delayed for three months, which gave an opportunity for 
 making fuch removes and changes, as rendered the proof of this 
 charge altogether impracticable. The merchants complained 
 that they were ill ferved with convoys, and that fo little care 
 was taken of the Newcaftle fleer, as occafioned an exceffive rife 
 of coals: the neglecl of providing for fuch feamen as were pri- 
 foners in France, was likcwife rendered very evident ; as wa$ 
 the danger of the ifland of Jamaica, and the betraying our naval 
 councils to the French. Thefe were all digefted into an addrefs, 
 which was prefented by the houfe of lords to the queen ; to 
 which her majefty was pleafcd to anfwer, that the addrefs con- 
 
 c Ft appears by the Gazette, N. 3p5o, that the vice-adn-.iral arrived in th 
 D')*n*, on the lid of October. See the journal of the houfe of lords. 1 dj noC 
 find that the admiral was ever profecuted, and 1 goefs from a re Mr A ion of Mr. 
 Gldmix ', liat he was not. Hiftory of the Scuarts, vol. ii. p. jip. 
 
 fifted
 
 b F QJLJ E E N A N N E. $7 
 
 fiVted of fo many parts, that flie could not then take notice of 
 them d . In the general, however, fhe promifed fhe would con- 
 fider of themj and give fuch directions as ihould be proper for 
 the fafety and welfare of the nation. 
 
 I think it necelTary to obferve here, that at this time there 
 were very warm difputes in the houfe of lords 6 , as to the con- 
 duel: of the admiralty in the late reign, which had been cenfur- 
 ed by the houfe of commons, and in a great meafure juftified 
 here ; fo that at this feafon all the ftrength of party was exerted 
 on both fides, and the merit of a man was lefs confidered, than 
 the faction to which he attached himfelf f. But it is time to leave 
 fo troublefome and unentertaining a fubjet, in order to return 
 to the conduct of the war, and the great things performed in 
 the year 1 704, for the fervice of which the commons granted 
 upwards of four millions ; and of this the fum of g was for 
 
 the fervice of the navy: which fhews, how defirous the nation 
 was of fupporting the war to the utmoft, and of giving what- 
 ever was neceffary for the fervice of the common caufe, in hopes 
 that it would be honeftly and effectually laid out, for thofe great 
 and falutary purpofes for which it was fo chearfully given. 
 
 The king of Spain was very defirous of profecuting his voy- 
 age to Lifbon, and therefore came to Portfmouth, and would 
 have imbarked on the third of February 11 , if the wind had been 
 
 <1 Burnet's hifWy of his own times, vol. ii. p. 3J9, 36$. Oldmixon's hifto- 
 ry of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 319. Boyer's life of queen Anne. e Burnec's 
 
 hiftiTy f his own times, vol. ii. p. 3^?. 
 
 f The queen, by foft anfwcrs, endeavoured to pacify bdth houfes, which in- 
 deed was the only meafure left f r her to purfue ; fince, if (he had complied with 
 khe demands of either, it rruft have inflamed both. Her prudence therefore, in 
 this refpeft, was very confpicuous ; though perhaps the righted Hep ihe could 
 have taken, would have been to have difmilTed his royal highnefs's council as 
 lord-high admiral, and either reflorcd the carl of Pembroke or appointed com- 
 ihiffi^ner*. 
 
 8 The reader will probably be furprized to find a blank in the text : but tha 
 reafon is, that, after ufing the iHmoft induftry, I have not been able to difcover 
 tvliat the fum was ; which I find has been the cafe of other affiduous inquirers, 
 as well as myfelf. I cannot, however, fill into their opinion, that there was no 
 provifion made for the ordinary of the navy this year} but rather imagine that, 
 by fome miflake. the fum appropriated for that fervice, wa omitted in the votes j 
 and therefore I leave this blank, in hopes that fomc more intelligent reader may 
 be able to fill it up. 
 
 h London Gazette, N. 3990. 
 
 VOL. III. H at
 
 5* N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 at all favourable. Sir George Rooke, who was to command 
 the fleet that efcorted him, and the land forces intended for his 
 iervice, did every thing that could be expected to facilitate the 
 expedition : for when he found the tranfports were ready, and 
 that it was impollible to have the intended number of great fhips 
 fo early at fea, he propofed failing with a fmall fquadron to Lif- 
 bon, and waiting there for a reinforcement. This was a very 
 wife, as well as vigorous Hep ; for, according to the informa- 
 tions our court had received of the defigns of France, they in- 
 tended to have a great naval ftrength in the Mediterranean, 
 which, if it came there earlier than our reinforcement, would 
 have been able to have fhut up our fmall fleet, then in thofe 
 parts, in the river of Lilbon, and have intercepted all our trade 
 homeward-bound ; whereas if, according to Sir George's fcheme, 
 the fupply arrived early enough at Lifbon, our fleet would be fo 
 ftrong as to prevent the junction of the Breft with the Toulon 
 fquadron, and ta perform other requifite fervices on the coaft 
 of Spain '. 
 
 In the fir ft part of his defign>, Sir George was as fortunate as 
 he could wifhj for failing on the twelfth of February, he, after 
 a fine paffage, arrived with the fquadron, and all the tranfports, 
 in the river of Lifbon y on the 2jth j and after two days had 
 been fpent in adjufting the ceremonial, his Catholic majefty was 
 conducted to fhore by the king of Portugal, and moft of the 
 royal family k . Among other debates in relation to this cere- 
 mony, there was one which defer ves particular notice, and that 
 was in relation to our flag. The king of Portugal defired, that, 
 
 i This was certainly a very wife and well judged fclieme, and is a clear and 
 <firetl proof that Sir George Rooke was very dtfkous of doing as much frrvic--. 
 as poujole, and to loie no opportunity of being early in altiort ; his going on 
 this expedition, with the Irrull fyiadron under his command, WHS luble to mary 
 exceptions, if confidered in a prudential light, and with a view to the credit of 
 the admiral j but Sir George disregarded thefe, when they came into compciiiim 
 with the public fervic<- r and ch .fc rather to tifx his own character, than the na- 
 tion's honour, and the profpeft the king of Spain then hid of fucctls, of which his- 
 Catholic majefty was extremely fenfible, and gave upon all occifions the moft 
 ample testimonies of his particular rsfpsct for Sir George Rooke, and jult ac- 
 knowledgment of his fc.-vues. 
 
 k Burnct'i hifiory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 354. The complete liiftory .f 
 Europe for 1704, p. ic8. London Gazette, N. 4000. Bnrchct's naval hillory, 
 p. <S5, 666. 
 
 upon
 
 o F -QJJ E E N A N N E. 59 
 
 upon his coming on board the admiral's fhip in liis barge oi 
 ftate, and ftriking his ftandard, the Englilh Ihg might be ftruck 
 at the fame time ; and that when his Catholic majefty, with him- 
 felf, fhould go off from the fiiip, his ft.mdard might be hoifted, 
 and the admiral's flag continue ftruck until they were on {Lore. 
 This propofuion was made from the king of Portugal, by the 
 king of Spain; to which the admiral replied, that his majefty, 
 fo long as he fhould be on board, might command the flag to 
 be (truck when h pleaieJ ; but that whenever he left the fhip, 
 he was himfelf admiral, and obliged to execute his commiffion 
 by immediately hoifting his flag. This, and fome other reafons, 
 fuisficd the king of .Spain, as well as his Portuguefe majefty; 
 fb that the flag of England was no longer ftruck, than the ftand- 
 ard of Portugal 1 . 
 
 Two days after this, the admiral, in compliance with the re- 
 folution of a council of war, fent a fquadron of feventeen fai!> 
 to cruize off Cape Spartell ; which fquadron was afterwards in- 
 creafcd to twenty-two fail. On the ninth of March the admi- 
 
 1 \Ve take thi* pjfTi<;e fr>m tbe accnn^f puhlilied by authority; and I think 
 
 I may venture to aflcri, mat Sir George Rookt's concern tor tha honour of the 
 flag became him very well, as an F.r^Lih admiral, whatever mi^ht be thought of 
 it at h'ime by loaie Englilh (ratcfn'.eu. Bilhop Burner, fpcaking of our treaty 
 vuth the king of Portugal, mentions a very extraordinary incident relating to 
 this a.Tiir, which I find it nectlljiy to tranfcrih.-. ' I.i this treaty, an accident 
 " happened, thut h^d aimoll ip-./iied 11 : the king of Portugal in-fifled on de- 
 " manding the fl^g, and other relpeds to be p-iiil by our admiral, when he was 
 " in his p"its. The earl of Nottingham inliCcLl it was a dilhonsur to England 
 ' to flrilce, even in another kind's ports. Tnis was not demanded of the fleet 
 " that was feut to bring over quren Katharine; fo, th/.ngh Methuen, cur am- 
 
 II ballad r, had agreed to this article, he prrfied the qn-en not to ratify it." 
 '* The lord Ga^olphin looked on th ; s as to'.< inconfideui?)le to be infifttd on j 
 " the whole Etfiirs of Ecr >pe Aftmrd to turn -u-pon tliis treaty, ar.ii fo imporrant 
 " a matter oujjht not to be retarded a day, for fuch punfriibs, zs a falirte. ot 
 " Oriking the flag; and it feemcd re.ifra'ie, that every fnvere'gn prince fh( uUi 
 " cli'm thei'e a,-knojedj;mci;ts, unlefs where it w<.s otherwite llipiilated by 
 " exprefs treitief. The laying fo much weight on fuch matters very much 
 " Heightened jal ufies ; and it wa fatrl, that the earl of Nottingham, and th 
 " Tories feemcd to l a y hold of evy thing that could obfiruft the progrefs of the 
 " war; wl-.ile the r. und proceeding of the 1 rd Gi'd-.lphin reconciled many ti> 
 " him." The friends of the catl of Godolphin i:eed be under no concern ab-Ut 
 this fK>ry, fince it is moft evident from the f -regoing account of Sir George 
 R: oke's conduct, that the fitf is f*lfe, and that the honour of the Englilh rU^ 
 was never ^ ; vcr. up. 
 
 H 2
 
 to NAVALHISTORY 
 
 ral himfelf put to Tea, and continued cruizing for a month. 
 Rear-admiral Dilkes, who commanded the fquadron before.- 
 mentioned, on the twelfth of March in the morning, difcovered 
 four fail of fhips (landing to the N. E. He had with him three 
 third rates, and two fourth, viz. the Kent, Bedford, Suffolk, 
 Antelope, and Panther. By eleven he came up with them, and 
 the Panther, which was the headmoft of ours, engaged them ; 
 the Suffolk getting the wind pf them, did the fame, as alfo the 
 Antelope, and the Dutch privateer; infomuch, that the fhip of 
 fixty guns ftruck, after exchanging feveral broadfides. The 
 rear-admiral could not get his own fhip in reach of them until 
 noon, and then engaging the commodore, which was a fhip of 
 fixty guns, fhe ftruck to him in a little time, having loft half 
 her complement of men, as the third did foon after, which was 
 a fhip of twenty-four guns ; and in this action the Panther had 
 her fore-top- maft fhot by the board, the Suffolk her main-maft, 
 and the Antelope's mafts and yards were wounded. The two 
 ihips before-mentipned of fixty guns, were galleon men of war, 
 one of them called the Porta-Coeli, and the other the St. The- 
 rcfa, and came from St. Sebaftian's, with bombs, guns, iron 
 bars, e5rr. being bound for Cadiz, where (as it was reported) 
 they were to be fitted out for the Weft Indies, the commodore 
 Don Diego Bicuna having a commiffion to command all the 
 fleet defigned thither; and in thefe fhips were taken near feven 
 hundred prifoners. 
 
 The rear-admiral, by reafoa of bad weather did not arrive, 
 at Lifbon till the twenty-fifth of March, and then in going in 
 he loft the St. Therefa, but moft of the men were faved. Sir 
 George Ropke being alfo returned, and meeting with orders to 
 fail up the Streights, prepared to execute them, though at the 
 fame time, the admiral was extremely preffed by bis Catholic ma- 
 jefty to undertake fomewhat in his favour. The difficulties with 
 which Sir George was at this time eocompaffed, were many and 
 great. In the firft place, the reinforcement he depended on 
 was not arrived; in the next, the queen's orders were pofitive 
 for the relief of Nice and Villa Franca ; and he knew how great 
 
 Sec the London Gazette, N. 4008. Burchet's naval hiftcry, p. 667. An- 
 tals of queen Anne. 
 
 a rilk
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 6l 
 
 a rifk he ran, in cafe either of thofe places were taken for want 
 of timely fuccour. The defign formed in favour of king 
 Charles III. to invade Catalonia, and make an attempt on Bar- 
 celona, was almoit ripe for execution, and that monarch infift- 
 ed very ftrenuoufly that the fleet mould efcort this imbarkation. 
 In this thorny conjuncture the admiral refolved to do as much 
 as in him lay to fatisfy all parties; and we (hall hereafter fee 
 with how great judgment he executed this refolution : in the 
 mean time it is neceflary that we fhould explain the conduct of 
 the adminiftration in regard to the expedition of Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel n . 
 
 After Sir George Rooke failed, the court received intelligence, 
 that the French were very bufy in fitting out a great Iquadron 
 at Breft . This alarmed us very much, hecaufe it was not eafy 
 to forefee how this force would be employed. At all events it 
 was thought proper to equip, with the utmoft expedition, a 
 good fleet, which was put under the command of Sir Cloudef- 
 ley Shovel, admiral of the white, who had under him Sir Stafr 
 ford Fairborne, vice-admiral of the red, and George Byng, 
 Elq; then rear-admiral of the fame fquadron p . The admiral 
 was inftrudted, if he found the Breft fquadron ftill in port, to 
 fend away the trade, (tore-fhips, and victuallers, under a pro- 
 per convoy, to Lifbon, and to remain before that port himfelf 
 to endeavour to keep in the enemy ; or, if that was found im-. 
 practicable, to burn and deftroy them if they came out. But in 
 cafe he found the Breft fquadron already failed, then he was to 
 call a council of war, in order to judge what flrength might be 
 necelTary to be fent to Sir George Rooke ; and if it amounted 
 to twenty-two mips, then he was to fail with them himfelf, that 
 our fleet might, at all events, be ftronger than that of the ene- 
 my. Sir Cloudefley executed his inftructions punctually, and 
 finding that a great ftrength was necefiary in the Mediterranean 
 
 i Btirchet's naval hiftory, book v. ch.ip. xvi. Annals of queen Anne. Lon 
 don Gazette, N. 4017. Lamberti, torn. iti. p. 314. Q^iincy hifloire 
 
 militaire dc Louis XIV. torn. iv. p. 416. P. Daniel journal hiftorique de Louis 
 XIV. annc 1704. P Burchet's naval hiflory, p. 671. Bnrnct's hiflory 
 
 of his own times, vol. ii. p. 388. Londo> Gazette, N. 4018. 
 
 to
 
 62 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 to oppofe the French, he failed thither about the latter end of 
 the month of May q . 
 
 We have now feen how and why the fuccours intended for 
 Sir George Rooke's fleet, were fo long delayed, and what care 
 was taken for their coming, after all, in good time ; we will 
 next therefore return to that admiral, and give a fhort account 
 of the manner in which he extricated himfelf out of the difficul- 
 ties in which we left him. In the firft place he fignified to the 
 prince of Hefle, who h;ul the chief direction of his Catholic ma- 
 jefty's affairs, that if the troops which were to make the attempt 
 on Barcelona, could bs fpeeclily imbarked, he was content to 
 efcort them, and to give all imaginable countenance to his ma- 
 jefty's affairs in Catalonia. In compliance with this offer, he 
 failed accordingly with the tranfports under his convoy, and on 
 the eighteenth of May he arrived before the city of Barcelona 1 ". 
 A prieft and fome others furrendered themfelves, and informed 
 the prince of HefTe, that if fome few forces were landed, and 
 * fhew made of a bombardment, they would declare for king 
 Charles III. and receive him into the place. Upon this there 
 landed, on the nineteenth of May, about twelve hundred ma- 
 rines, four hundred Dutch foot, a company of Catalans, and 
 as many volunteers as made up in the whole two thoufand men. 
 They remained afliore all night ; and the prince finding nothing 
 done, notwithftanding the Dutch had bombarded the place with 
 fome effeft, his highnefs himfelf propofcd the reimbarking the 
 men, from an apprehenfion of their being attacked by a fuperior 
 force. The truth is, that he had great reafon to abandon this 
 defign as he did, fince, in the firft place, the governor had ciii- 
 covcred it, and had fecured the chiefs of the Auftrian party ; 
 
 1 Tt was certainly well judged in Sir CWdtfhy Shovel, fo fail as he did with 
 his flsei into the Mediterranean; for the French, perceiving how much the:: re- 
 putation fuffrrcd by the declenfion of their power at fea, refclved th ; s year to 
 make the utmift effort poffible to recover it, grounding their hopes chiefly on our 
 fleets being divided, and the poflibili:y there was of attacking Sir George R 
 before any rein force <n en t cojild join him j which, but for this prudent mcchod 
 of Sir Cl "Udefley Shovel, might h<ive been ercl-cled. 
 
 r Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 67;. Annals of quren Annf, vol. iii. p. i- -.. 
 Mercure hiftorique et p>jli:ique, torn, xxxvii. p. 109. London Gai::s, 
 N. 4018, 4 oj S . 
 
 and,
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 63 
 
 and, in the next, the force he had with him was not at all pro- 
 portioned to fuch an undertaking 8 . 
 
 In this whole tranfadtion one would imagine the admiral muft 
 have been blamelefs, fince he had done ail that could be ex- 
 pelted from him, and did not retire till his highnefs himfelf 
 thought it requisite. Yet bifhop Burnet has given fuch an ac- 
 count of it, as I muft take the liberty of transcribing, that the 
 public may fee how neceffary it is for an hiftorian to be free 
 from party. l Sir George Rooke came before Barcelona, 
 " where the prince of Heffe D.umftadt affured him, there were 
 " a ftrong party ready to declare for king Charles, as it was 
 " certain there was a great difpofition in many to it. But Rooke 
 " would not ftay above three days before it ; fb that the mo- 
 ' tions within the town, and the difcoveries that many made of 
 " their inclinations, had almoft proved fatal to them. He an- 
 " fwcred, his orders were pofitive ^ he mult make towards 
 ' Nice, which it was believed the French intended to be- 
 " Gege l ." At this rate of writing, no man's fame or memory 
 can be fafe. Yet, to heighten the malice of this rcfiedicn, 
 and to miflead the reader, if poflible, ftill more egregiouily, the 
 bifliop tells us a long ftory, previous to this account, of the ad- 
 miral's reprimanding one of his captains very feverely, for de- 
 parting from his orders u , though the intelligence he brought, 
 
 is 
 
 * There vi^s certainly a very ftrong party in Barcelona for king Cl.arle?, and 
 if they had h.>d courage enough to have declared on the fi:fl airii-ai of the 
 fleet, and had marched cut, and joined the land forces as fbon as they had de- 
 barked, fomething might have been done; but they continued confulting and 
 intriguing, (ill the governor feized their chiefs, and then they themfelves ad. 
 vifed the prince of Hcfte not to remain any longer before the place, on socou.it 
 of its being cqiully inconvenient for him and them. 
 
 1 Hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. ;88. 
 
 u Jn a grand debate in the houfc or" lords, in 1740, this fail happen^ 
 be touched upon by a noble peer, who was fpcaking in that augbtt ficrrb!tf, 
 the late ittoftlioM John duke of Arg\ lc, rofc up and faid, " As for what ha* 
 " been mentioned in relation to aJnr.rai Rook;, we know, my lords, the hif- 
 41 tory fr-'m which it was takfn. It is a fiery of bi'.nop Burnet's, in his hif- 
 " tory of his own times, and thofe who have fat in this hcufe vvirh that pie- 
 " late muft krow he was a very credulous weak man. 1 rftnember him, my 
 " lords, in this honfc, and I likewife re.--.ifm;- .- . lord Halifax, my 
 
 " KnJ Somsr . . ft J n a terror
 
 64 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 is fuppofed to have faved the fleet of England, and of his avoid- 
 ing tke French fleet, and joining Sir Cloudefley Shovel. All 
 of which (to fpeak in the fofteft terms) Teems to have been 
 without any foundation. 
 
 The admiral landed his troops before Barcelona, on the 
 nineteenth of May ; it was the twenty-feventh before they had 
 any intelligence of the Breft fquadron ; and then, ihftead of 
 fhunning, they chaced them \ and on the fixteenth of June, the 
 fleet was joined by Sir Cloudefley Shovel, with the fliips under 
 his command ; upon which it was immediately refolved, to pro- 
 ceed up the Mediterranean, in fearch of the French fleet. The 
 whole of this affair was fo perfectly well conducted, that our 
 allies and our enemies join in commending Sir George Rooke; 
 and yet his memory is in danger of fufferhig with pofterity, 
 merely becaufe he was efteemed a Tory. This it was that drew 
 upon him fo many and fo fevere reflections, obfcured all the 
 great actions he did, and forced men, who valued themfelves 
 on their fkill in writing, not only to mifreprefent, but to falfify 
 facts, that they might be able to caft fuch imputations upon him 
 as he never defer ved w . 
 
 On the twenty-firfr. of May the admiral fteered for the ifles 
 of Heires, but in the paffage met with a ftorm, which feparated 
 his fleet. On the twenty-feventh they joined again, and had 
 fight of a large French fquadron, which they rightly judged to 
 be failing for Toulon ; and therefore it was refolved, in a coun-i 
 cil of war, to chace them thither, and if it was not poffible to 
 prevent their getting into that port, then to fail for Lifbon, in 
 
 1 when he rofc up to fpeak, left he fhould injure their cauic by fome blunder. 
 ' With regard to what he fays againft admiral Rooke, I know I have heard it 
 from thofc that were prefent, that the grezteft part of it is a downright lie : 
 ' The hifhop, it is well known, was no friend to that admiral, and therefore 
 ' he cafily gsve credit, as he generally did in like cafes, to every malicious 
 ' (lory he heard againft him." The hillory and proceedings of the houfe of 
 lords, vol. vii. p. 575. 
 
 w Sec Burchet, book v. chap. xvi. The complete hiflory of Europe for 
 1704, and all the foreign journals of that year. In the Dutch edition of hiihop 
 gurnet's hiftory, there is a large note to fet right, what the editor takes to be the 
 effects of hade or conuifion ; and in that note he dates the fach and dates fairly 
 from our Gazettes, and other public authorities, as I do. Buruet's hiftory, 
 vol. v. p. 770. 
 
 order
 
 6 F QjJ E E N ANN E. 65 
 
 order to wait for a re-inforcement ; which was accordingly 
 done x . On the fourteenth of June our fleet paiTed through 
 the Streight's-mouth, and were joined two days after by Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel, with his fquadron, off Lagos y : a council 
 of war was then called, in order to confider what fervice fhould 
 be proceeded on. Several fchemes were propofed, particularly 
 a fecond attack on Cadiz, which was foon found to be imprac- 
 ticable for want of a fufficient number of land-forces. At this 
 council of war the admiral alfo was pleafed to declare, that he 
 was limited by his inftruclions from attempting any thing) with- 
 out the confent of the kings of Spain and Portugal j which was 
 another difcouragement to the fervice, becaufe thofe princes 
 could very feldom agree on any meafurej fo thatj except fend- 
 ing fome fhips to the Terceras, in order to pr'oteft the home- 
 ward-bound Brazil fleet, there was little done, that I can find, 
 which ought to be confidered as the unavoidable confequence 
 of this order. 
 
 Sir George llooke being very fenfible of the reflections that 
 would fall upon him, if, having fo confiderable a fleet under 
 his command) he fpent the fummer in doing nothing of im-i 
 portance, called a council of war on the feventeenth of July, 
 in the road of Tetuan, where having declared he thought it re* 
 quifite they fhould refolve upon forne fervice or other ; after a 
 long debate it was carried to make a fudden and vigorous at- 
 tempt upon Gibraltar, for three reafons ; Firft, becaufe in the 
 
 x This is a faft, in which Burchet, Oldmixon, the complete hiftory of Eu- 
 rope, and al! cur writers agree, as taking it from the journals dcpofited wi.h the 
 ftcrcrary of the admiralty ; and therefore we may ealilp know what to think of 
 the following paflage in Bu.-nct's hiftory, which follow, immediately the account 
 he had given of the admiral's leaving Barcelona, to fail for the coaft of Italy, ia 
 order to prevent the fiege of Nice, or to relieve it if it was bcfieged. " Having 
 " advice, (fays the btfbop), that the trench made no advances in that defign, he 
 " turned his courfe wtitward, and came in fight of the French fleet, failing 
 " from Breft to Toulon, the advantages he had was fo vifible, that it was ex- 
 " peeled he would have made towards them; he did it not: what orders ha 
 ' had was not known, for the matter never came under examination ; thejr 
 11 got to Toulon, and he fleered another way. The whole French fleet was 
 " then together in that harbour j fur though the Toulon fquadron had been 
 ' out before, it was then in p >rt." 
 
 y Burchet's naval biftery, p. 675. Annals of queen Anne,, vol. ii. p. toj. 
 Lond. Gaz. N. 4"3J. 
 
 VOL, III. t condition
 
 66 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 condition the place then was, there was fome probability of 
 taking it ; which, in cafe it had been properly provided, and 
 there had been in it a numerous garrifon, would have been im- 
 poflible. Secondly, becaufe the poffeflion of that place was of 
 infinite importance during the prefent war. Thirdly, becaufe 
 the taking of this place would give a luftre to the queen's arms, 
 and poflibly difpofe the Spaniards to favour the caufe of king 
 Charles. 
 
 The fleet, in purfuance of this refolution, arrived in the bay 
 ef Gibraltar on the twenty-firlt of July, and the marines, Eng- 
 lifh and Dutch, to the number of eighteen hundred, were 
 landed under the command of the prince of Hefie, on the 
 Ifthmus, to cut off all communication between the town and 
 the continent. His highnefs having taken poft there, fu-mmon- 
 ed the governor ; who anfwered, that he would defend the 
 place to the lait*. On the twenty-fecond the admiral at break 
 of day, gave the fignal for cannonading the town j which was 
 performed with fuch vigour, that fifteen thoufand foot was 
 fpent in five hours; when the admiral perceiving that the ene- 
 my were driven from their fortifications at the fouth mole- 
 head, and that if we were once pofleffed of thefe, the town 
 muft be taken of courfe, he ordered captain Whitaker to arm 
 all the boats, and to attempt to make himfelf mafter of them. 
 
 This order was no fooner ilTued, than captain Hicks and 
 captain Jumptr, who were neareft the mole, pufhed on ihore 
 with their pinnaces, and actually ftized the fortifications before 
 the refk could come up. The Spaniards feeing this, fprung a 
 mine, by which t\vo lieutenants and forty men were killed, 
 and about fixty more wounded : however, they kept pofleffion 
 of the great platform, till they were fuftained by captain 
 "Whitaker, and the feamen under his command, who very foon 
 made hi mfelf mafter of a redoubt, between the mole and the 
 town ; on which the admiral fent in a letter ta the governor, 
 who on the twenty-fourth capitulated 3 , and the prince of Hefle 
 
 * Oldmixon's hrff. of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p x 339. Buyer's life f qn 
 Anne, p. ijj. Merciire hillorique et p- litiqwe, tome xxxvii. p. 339. Lund. 
 Giz. N. 4044. > Burchei'i naval hiftory, p. 678. Annals of qmfn 
 
 Anne, vol. Ui. p. icu. Colmoca roftrau, p. 177, 178. London Gazette, N-. 
 
 tcok
 
 o F Qj: E E x A N N E. 67 
 
 took pofieffion of the place. I mutt, upon this occafion, ob- 
 ferve, that as this defign was contrived by the admirals, fo it 
 was executed entirely by the fcamen, and therefore the whole 
 honour of it is due to them. I muft likewife put the reader in 
 mind, that nothing could have enabled the teamen to take the 
 place, but the cannonading of it in fuch a manner, as obliged 
 the Spaniards to quit their pods ; for the general officers, who 
 viewed the fortifications after the place was in our hands, de- 
 clared, that they might have been defended by fifty men againft 
 as many thoufands. The French indeed fay, in order to dimi- 
 nifh, as much as pof&ble, the glory of this action, that the 
 Spaniards had neither garrifon nor guns ther e ; but this is far 
 from being true, fince there were above one hundred brafs 
 pieces mounted. After putting as many men as could be fpa- 
 red into the place, under the command of the prince of HeiTe p 
 the fleet failed to Tetuan, in order to take in wood and wa- 
 ter*. 
 
 While they lay here, the Dutch admiral fent a flag-officer 
 and fix fhips to Lifbon, under orders to return home, and a 
 promife that he would quickly follow them. On the ninth of 
 Auguft they failed again from Gibraltar, and had fight of the 
 French fleet, which they refolved to engage. The latter de- 
 clined coming to action, and endeavoured to get away; but Sir 
 
 b The marquis <U Quincy tells us, that the conrt of London heing informed 
 of the wccknefs of the garrifon of Gibraltar, gave Sir George R<x>kc orders to 
 attack it j which he did, and was (o lucky as to make himfelf matter of it, 
 Through the negligence of the Spaniards. Though this is the mod accurate 
 book piiblilhed in relation to the laft war, yet, in this point, the author is cer 
 tainly miftaken. We have Sir George Rioke's inftrudi-ms in Burchet, his 
 i nirnals and orders are yet in being, and have been confuited in this work ; 
 but nothing of this fort has been difcovered : and indeed, if any minifter bari 
 been wife enough to contrive this fcheme, he would undoubtedly have done 
 himleif jaftice, by claiming the merit of it. The French hiftorian proceeds to 
 fay, that though Gibraltar was taken for king Charles III. yet it was never p 
 into his poflcfllon, but his been ever fince kept by the English, who, to fay 
 the truth, fays he, have dearly purchafcd it, fince it has coft them more pound* 
 Sterling, ihin there are (tones iy the fortificsdons. JHiflcire railitaire, tome iv. 
 P- 4". 
 
 1 2 George
 
 69 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 George purfued them with all the fail he could make e . On 
 the thirteenth of the fame month, which was Sunday, he came 
 within three leagues of them, when they brought to with their 
 heads to the fouthward, the wind being eafterly, and forming 
 a line, lay in a proper pofture to receive him. They were fifty- 
 two fhips, and twenty-four gallies, very ftrong in the centre, 
 but weaker in the van and rear ; to fupply which, moft of their 
 gallies were placed in thofe fquadrons. In the centre was 
 count Thouloufe, high-admiral of France, with the white fquar 
 dron ; in the van the white and blue flag, and in the rear the 
 blue, each admiral having his vice and rear-admiral. Our fleet 
 confifted of fifty- three fhips ; but the admiral ordered the 
 Swallow and Panther, two fourth rates, with a fifth and a fixth, 
 and two fire-flaips, to lie to windward of him, that if the ene- 
 my's van fhould pufli through our line with their gallies and 
 fire-ihips, they might give them fome diverfiqn d , 
 
 A little after ten in the morning, our fleet bore down in order 
 of battle, and when they came within half gun-fhot of the 
 enemy, the French fet all their fails at once, as if they intended 
 to ftretch a-head and weather us j fo that our admiral, after 
 firing a chace-gun at the French admiral to {lay for him, of 
 which he took no notice, threw abroad the fignal, and began 
 the battle, which fell very heavy on the Royal Catherine, the 
 St. George, and the Shrewfbur^. About two in the afternoon 
 the enemy's van gave way to ours, and the battle ended with 
 the day, when the enemy went away by the help of their 
 gallies, to the leeward. In the night the wind ihifted to the 
 northward, and in the morning to the weftward, which gave 
 the enemy the wind of us. We lay by all day within three 
 leagues pf each other, repairing our defects, and at night they 
 
 e This plainly prov*, that no man was more inclined to fight, than Sir 
 George Ronke, when fighting was a prudent meafure, and in the night of the 
 eleventh, he had the good luck to force one of the enemy's fhips a-(horc, to 
 which they were forced lo fet fire, in order to prevent its filling into our 
 hands. 
 
 d See Sir George Rooke's account of thi% battle, published by authority. 
 Thi difpcfuion plainly proved the admiral's great capici'y, and how dextroufy 
 he could fupply, by good management, any accidental deficiencies he might la- 
 bour aukr. 
 
 filed
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 69 
 
 filed and flood to the northwards. Our fleet endeavoured the 
 two next days to renew the fight, but the French avoided it, 
 and at laft bore away e . 
 
 This plainly difcovers that we had the victory, notwithftand- 
 ing the great advantages of the French : which I think thofe 
 who underftand maritime affairs, will allow to be as great as 
 ever any fleet had. For firft, their fhips were bigger 5 they had 
 feventeen three-deck fhips, and we had but feven. Secondly, 
 they had a great advantage in their weight of metal; for they 
 had fix hundred guns more than we. Thirdly, they were clean 
 fhips, juft come out of port; whereas ours had been long at 
 fea, and had done hard fervice. Fourthly, they had the aflift- 
 ance of their gallies ; and how great an advantage this was, 
 will appear from hence, that about the middle of the fight, the 
 French admiral ordered a feventy-gun fhip to board the Monk, 
 a fixty-gun fhip of ours, commanded by captain Mighells; 
 which fhe did, and was beat off three times, and after every 
 repulfe fhe had her wounded men taken off, and her comple- 
 ment reftored by the gallies. Fifthly, the French fleet was 
 thoroughly provided with ammunition ; which was fo much 
 wanted in ours, that feveral fhips were towed out of the line, 
 becaufe they had not either powder or ball fufficient for a fingle 
 broad fide. But the fkill of the admiral, and the bravery of 
 the officers and feamen under his command, fupplied all defects, 
 and enabled them to give the French fo clear a proof of their 
 fuperiority over them in all refpecls at fea, that they not only- 
 declined renewing the fight at prefent, but avoided us ever after, 
 and durft not venture a battle on that element during the re- 
 mainder of the war. It may be therefore juftly faid, that the 
 battle of Malaga decided the empire of the fea, and left to us 
 and the Dutch an indifputed claim to the title of MARITIME 
 POWERS f. 
 
 It 
 
 e Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 677, $78. Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, 
 vol. ii. p. 339. Columna roftrata, p. 178. See Sir George Rooke's account of this 
 battle, as alfo Sir Cloudefley Shovel's letter, defcribing the fame, in the com- 
 plete hiftory of Europe, for 1704, p. 456 459. 
 
 f I cannot conceive why bithop Burnet, and other writers, fhould fay fo 
 much to the prejudice of their country, purely to leflcn the reputation of the 
 
 admiral,
 
 7 o NAVALHISTORY 
 
 It is true, that the French, according to their old cuftom, 
 chimed the victory. Lewis XIV. wrote a letter, affirming this 
 to the arch-biihop of Paris, dire&ing Te Dtum to be fung on 
 that occafion, and afterwards pubiifhed an account, which I 
 (hall give the reader as near as may be from the gazette, and I 
 fhall then demonftrate, that the whole was no more than an 
 artifice of ftate 8 , in order to leffen the ill confequences that 
 
 were 
 
 dmiral, but I can left of all aceoqnt for the falfchoods that prelate has thruR 
 into his relation. He fays, that moft of the fhips had twenty-five rounds of 
 powder when they began to fight, and that it feldom happened that fo much 
 had been fpcnt in an engagemint at fea. The Dutch admiral Callemberg, in 
 his letter to the dates, fays, thst ten rounds would riot fervs above an hour, 
 and that many of the Englifh (hips bad no more when the engagement was 
 over; fo that if the bifhop intended to infmuate, that the want or" powder was 
 only an excufe, he is effectually refuted by this authority ; and we fee at the 
 fme time, how able he was to make calculations. He commends Shovel's 
 bravery iuflly, but then *dds, that Rooke fought at a greater diftance. Now I 
 think I have feme authority to prove, that he is in the wrong in both ; by 
 which I mean, that though Sir Qoudefley Shovel was a very brave man, yet 
 here he had no great opportunity of (hewing it, whereas Sir George Rooke 
 had and did. For, obferre reader, what Sir Cloudtflcy fays in his letter, print- 
 ed in the complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1704. His words are thefe : 
 " The (hips that fuffered moft in my divifion, were the Lenox, Warfpight, 
 " Tilbury, and Swiftfurc; the reft efcaped pretty well, and I the beft of zlt, 
 " I never took greater pains in al! my life to have been foundly beaten, for 
 ' I fet all my fails, and rowed wiih three boats a-head, to get along-fide with 
 ** the admiral of the white and blue. But he, out-failing me, fhunued figr.t- 
 41 ing, and lay along-fide of the little (hips. Notwithfhnding, the engagement 
 ' was very (harp, and I think the like between two fleets never has been in 
 44 any time. There is hardly a (hip that muft nnt Ihift one maft, and foir.e 
 44 muft fhift ail 5 a great many have futTsred much, but none more than Sir 
 " George Rooks, and captain Jennings, in the St. George." 
 
 8 I think it ncceflary to give the reader a tranfcrip: of this letter, from the 
 French king to cardinal N->a:lles, becaufc two great politicians have differed 
 much about it. Bifliop Burnct fays, that from the coldnefs of this letter, it 
 vas concluded in England, that the French were beat; fo that, io his judgment, 
 this letter was the beft evidence of our victory. Mr. Oldmixon thinks juft 
 the contrary ; the reader, by perafing the ktter, will be able to jud^c for him- 
 fclf: 
 
 " Cousrw, 
 
 " The fleet which I have affcmbled in the Mediterranean, nnder the com- 
 " mand of my fon the count de Thouloufc, admiral of France, has not only 
 44 difappointed the defigns which the joiat fleets of England and Holland had 
 open the cuafts of Catalonia, but has alfo put a glorious end to the cam-
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 71 
 
 were apprehended from the defeat ; and therefore, it is no left 
 injurious to the glory of this nation, than to the honour of Sir 
 George Rooke's memory, to make ufe of the diftorted tales in 
 this relation, to prejudice the indubitable fats contained in ours. 
 The fubftance of this French account was : 
 
 ' That, before the fight, the admiral ordered all the fhips 
 " to make ready ; but the fea being calm, he gave directions 
 " for the gallies to prepare to tow the men of war oiF to fea. 
 " But at day-break the whole fleet weighed by favour of a 
 * breeze that blew gently from the land, and made towards 
 " the enemy, whom the currents had carried out to fea. The 
 " 24th their fleet, in a line of battle, came up with the ene- 
 " my ; the marquis de Vilette, lieutenant-general, commanded 
 * c the van-guard, having behind him in a fecond line the duke 
 " of Turfis, with his own fquadron of feven gallies, and five 
 " of Spain. The count de Thouloufe commanded the centre, 
 ' having behind him the marquis de Royes, with four gallies, 
 *< and the marquis de Langeron had the command of the 
 " rear-guard with eight French gallies, under command 
 <f of the count de Tourville. The enemy's van-guard was 
 " commanded by Sir Cloudefley Shovel; the centre by Sir 
 ft George Rooke ; and the rear-guard were the Dutch ihips, 
 " commanded by vice-admiral Callemberg. They had fixry 
 " fliips of the line, many frigates almofb as large, and bomb- 
 " veflels that did them good fervice. Sir Cloudefley Shovel 
 u advanced before the wind, fcparating hirnfolf from the cen- 
 " tre j but obferving that the marquis de Vilette endeavoured 
 * to lurround him, he kept to the wind, and Sir George Rooke 
 41 feeing the danger he was in, bore upon the king's fleet. 
 
 " paign, by a general cngigemcnf, which ifib;d wholly to my advantage, 
 
 " ch.fcgh the enemies were confulcrabiy more in number, and had a favourable 
 
 ' Miiml. Their fii 11 .efforts were luftaincd, and repuiied with fo mncb valnir 
 
 " by all the ollkeri and equipage of n-.y u':ps, animated by tiie ex<mple of 
 
 " their jjer.eral, that tlie enemies could think, of nothing during the fighf, 
 
 " which lafted ten runus, but how to defend themfelve*, Ii^w to avoid being 
 
 " boarded feversl times by my fnip, and to iecwre themfelves !>y retreat -, 
 
 11 and though the count de Tni.uloufe did ati he conid the two following days 
 
 " to come up with them, he could not bting them to a fecond engagement. 
 
 '' Tt's iuppy fu:Cc.'s ob'.i^s :nc t> r-itur >uc prayers." 
 
 " Ths
 
 72 N .A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 The fight began about ten o'clock, north and fouth off Ma* 
 " laga, ten or eleven leagues from fhore, and lafted till night. 
 " The fire was extraordinary on both fides, and notwithftand- 
 " ing the enemy had the advantage of the wind, which blew 
 " the fmoke upon the French fleet, they always kept as near 1 
 " the wind as they could, while the count de Thouloufe made 
 " all pofl'ible efforts to approach them. The marquis de Vi- 
 " lettc had fo roughly ufcd the van of the enemy, having ob- 
 " liged five of their {hips to quit their line, that he would have 
 " intirely put the fame into diforder, had not a bomb fallen 
 " upon his ftern, and fet it on fire ; which obliged him to quit 
 " the line, and extinguifh the fire. Another bomb fell on the 
 " (hip of the Sieurs de Belleifle, who quitted the line to refit, 
 as did likewife the Sieur de Grancy, Ofmont, Rouvroy, Pon- 
 " tac, and Roche Allard. The latter fought the fhip of Sir 
 * Cloudefley Shovel, of 90 guns, though he had but fixty. 
 ' The Sieur Chammeflin boarded three times a fhip of the 
 " enemy, but quitted the fame, ieeing {he was on fire in feve- 
 " ral places, but becaufe of the fmoke, could not fee whether 
 funk. The bailiff of Lorrain was killed with a cannon-fhot, 
 " and the Sieur de Relingue had a leg {hot off. They were 
 ' the count de Thouloufe's two feconds, and diftinguifhed 
 " themfelves very much, following the example of their gene- 
 { ral. The enemy continuing to {heer off, the fight with the 
 ' van ended about five, with the centre about feven, and with 
 " the rear towards night. The French licet purfued with all 
 " their lights out ; whereas the enemy, their flag-fhips except- 
 ' ed, had none. The 2jth the wind blowing again from the 
 " weft, the enemy failed towards the coaft of Barbary, fo that 
 " they loft fight of them at nigkt. The 26th, in the morning, 
 " they were feen again about four leagues diflance, the wind 
 " having again fhifted to the eaft, which gave them a fair op- 
 c portunity to renew the fight, but they did not think fit to 
 " approach. They were not heard of afterwards ; whereupon 
 it was judged they had repafled the Streights, and this ob- 
 " liged the count de Thouloufe to return the 2 7th to Malaga, 
 *< with the gallics. We had about 1500 men killed or wound- 
 ed. But we do not know the lofs of the enemy, which muft 
 
 " b<r
 
 o t QJT E E N A N N E. 73 
 
 ** bd very great; and feveral perfons faid, that two of their fliips 
 ' funk e." 
 
 I ihall mention but one objection to this account, becaufe I 
 think I need not mention any more, and it is this, that when- 
 ever the French endeavour to account for their not pufhing the 
 affair farther, they infift on the mifchief done them by the 
 Englifh bombs; whereas nothing can be more certain, than 
 that there was not a fingle bomb-veflel in the Englifh. fleet. 
 As to the force on both fides, and the lofs of each, I {hall give 
 a particular account at the bottom of the page b ; and having 
 
 done 
 
 8 See the complete hiftory of Europe, for 1704, p. 787. Hiftoire militairr, 
 torn, iv. p. 4115, Lzmbeiti, tome iii. p. 314. Memoires hiftoriques et chrono- 
 iogiques, P. Daniel, journal hift-irique dc Louis XIV. p. 108, 109. 
 
 h The Enplilh Keet, at the time of this battle, confided of five divifions, 
 hcfiJes the Dutch, of which there were but eleven fhips. The ftrength of the 
 fleet will particularly appear from the following lift, tranftnilted from the ad- 
 miral to the queen. 
 
 O 
 
 o < 
 
 Ships names. 
 
 Ships names. 
 
 c - f Royal Catherine, ) 30 
 
 90 
 
 17 
 
 94 
 
 vn' fRanelagh, 
 
 535 
 
 83 14 
 
 45 
 
 ,c 
 
 St. George, 
 
 680 
 
 95 
 
 4> 
 
 93 
 
 a 
 
 Someriet, 
 
 500 
 
 80 31 
 
 61 
 
 g 
 
 Namnre, 
 
 <SSo 
 
 96 
 
 18 
 
 44 
 
 > 
 
 Firme, 
 
 440 
 
 73 15 
 
 4? 
 
 '5 
 
 Shre*fbury, 
 
 500 
 
 80 
 
 3' 
 
 73 
 
 _ 
 
 Triton, 
 
 130 
 
 50 5 
 
 at 
 
 - 1 " < 
 
 NaiLu, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 i j 
 
 16 
 
 ^ 
 
 Dorfetfhire, 
 
 500 
 
 Si iz 
 
 10 
 
 D 
 
 Grafton, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 31 
 
 65 
 
 1 
 
 Torbiy, 
 
 Sco 
 
 80 ai 
 
 5 
 
 '.E 
 
 Monmoulh, 
 
 4-1 
 
 70 
 
 *7 
 
 61 
 
 
 FiHx, 
 
 440 
 
 70 13 
 
 
 TJ 
 
 Montague, 
 
 j5 - 
 
 63 
 
 ! - 
 
 34 
 
 a 
 
 ton, 
 
 
 60 14 
 
 45 
 
 l_ Panther, 
 
 180 
 
 SO 
 
 10 
 
 
 a; l.Centurion, 
 
 aio 
 
 55 10 
 
 3J 
 
 
 
 4755 
 
 
 '-'} 
 
 jc8 
 
 
 
 379= 
 
 tfTTisT 
 
 351 
 
 ^i fBarflcur, 
 
 710 
 
 9(5 
 
 6 
 
 J4 
 
 * 
 
 fKent, 
 
 400 
 
 70 15 
 
 16 
 
 53 
 
 Eagle, 
 
 442 
 
 70 
 
 7 
 
 57 
 
 | 
 
 Royal Oak, 
 
 500 
 
 76 10 
 
 3* 
 
 o 
 
 Orford, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 
 S allow, 
 
 a8o 
 
 50 I 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 
 w 
 
 A (Til ranee; 
 
 44= 
 
 66 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 . 4 
 
 Cambridge, 
 
 530 
 
 80 II 
 
 i- 
 
 ^ ' 
 
 Warfpight, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 n 
 
 44 
 
 E 
 
 Bedf.'rd, 
 
 440 
 
 70 11 
 
 Si 
 
 g 
 
 Swiftfure, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 3 
 
 33 
 
 -B 
 
 Monk, 
 
 3*5 
 
 60 36 
 
 5* 
 
 3 
 
 Nottingham, 
 
 3<*I 
 
 60 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 Suffolk, 
 
 44= 
 
 70 13 
 
 33 
 
 O 
 
 Tilbury, 
 
 iSo 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 
 ^Burford, 
 
 440 
 
 7O II 
 
 
 ^ (_ Lenox, 
 
 440 
 
 
 13 
 
 78 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .r . , 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 3765 
 
 540 lip 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 3995 
 
 O I 1 
 
 105 
 
 53 
 
 
 Total, 19 
 
 ?8 i 
 
 O 3 C rtfi 7 
 
 
 jjS 
 
 -Prince George, 
 
 700 
 
 
 ;; 
 
 5? 
 
 
 
 >i j > * 
 
 V 3 j woy 
 
 *" 
 
 
 
 
 
 aS 
 
 Biyne, 
 
 500 
 
 83 
 
 4 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 
 Slain. 
 
 687 
 
 8 
 
 i Ncwarke, 
 
 joo 
 
 80 
 
 I J 
 
 31 
 
 Wounded, 
 
 
 >-J < 
 
 I Norfolk, 
 
 5:0 
 
 8) 
 
 IJ 
 
 2.O 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 -^ 
 
 Yarmouth, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 Total killed and 
 
 1 
 
 Englifli, 
 
 1319 
 
 S 
 
 ^Berwick, 
 
 440 
 
 70 
 
 aj 
 
 14 
 
 
 wounded, 
 
 i 
 
 Dutch, 
 
 400 
 
 
 
 3080 
 
 470 
 
 "a7 
 
 III 
 
 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 1719 
 
 Vol.. III. 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 Commiffija
 
 74 N A V A t II I S T O R T 
 
 done this, I believe I need add nothing to fhew the folly of the' 
 French academy's caufing a jnedal to be (Truck upon this occa- 
 fion, as if, inflead of being defeated, the French had gained a 
 viflory worthy the notice of pofterity '. 
 
 After the Englifh had in vain endeavoured to renew the fight, 
 they repaired to Gibraltar, where they continued eight days in 
 order to refit ; and having fupplied that place to the utmoft of 
 their power with ammunition and provifion, it was thought 
 convenient to return to England, care being firft taken to pro- 
 vide fuch a fquadron for the Mediterranean fervice as might fe- 
 cure our trade, and render any defigns of the enemy abortive. 
 On the twenty-fourth of Auguft the admiral failed from Gi- 
 braltar ; on the twenty- fixth he gave orders to Sir John Leake,. 
 to take upon him the command of the fqwadron that was to re- 
 main in the Mediterranean during the winter, and then failed 
 home with the reft, where he arrived fafely on the twenty- 
 
 Gommiflion officers (Tain; captainSj Sir Andrew Leake, and captain C >w : 
 lieutenants four, and warrant officers two. Commiifi >n officers wounded ; cap. 
 tains, Mynge, Baker, Jumper, Mighells,. Kirkfon ; lieutenants thirteen j war- 
 rant-officers, thirteen. 
 
 As to the French fleet, it confided of three fquadrons ; the firft, fixteen fiiips 
 of the line, carrying in all', mo guns, and 7700 men; the white fquadron in 
 the centre, confiding of 17 (hips, carrying 1171 guns, 8-500 men; the blue di- 
 vifion in the rear, confiding <f 17 fhips, which carried 1151 guns, 7615 men. 
 Ito all, 355^3 guns, 141,15; men. Befides this, they had riine frigate 1 ;, as many 
 ftre-fhips, 11 -French and n Spanifh gallics, with two flutes; in all, 92 fail. 
 611 their fide was fliin, a rear-admiral,- rive captains, fix lieutenants, and five 
 fea enfigns. The ount ds Thouloufc himfelf wounded in the forehead, fhoul- 
 der, and thigh ; the co-tint de Religues had his leg ftnt off. The marquis <ie- 
 Herbault, intendant of the fleet; Monfieur DucafTe, commodore of a fqna- 
 dron ; M. de Chateau Regr.ault ; the count dt Phelipeaux ; the count de GJ- 
 minges; M. de Valincouit; the count de Thoul'jufe's fccrctary ; feven cap- 
 tains, eight lieutenants, and ab->ut one hundred and fifty other officers were 
 wounded} as to the lofs of private men, it amounted, in the whole, to 
 3048. 
 
 i In this extraordinary medal, Spain is reprefented fitting, and her arm 
 leaning on a piliar, with viclory over her head; the legend thus: OR*: His- 
 TANIC.E SectJRiTAS, i.e. Tlie fecurity of the Spanifh coafts. To fhew hi>w 
 this was attained, we read in the exergue, ANGLORUM. IT BATAVORUM 
 
 CI.ASSE FuGATA AD MALAGAM, Xxiv Al/GUSTI, A1,DCC.1V. j. C. The 
 
 fcnglirti and Dutch fleet beat at Mahga, 4th of Auguft, 1704. Gerard V*n- 
 Juon, hiftoirc racuUique tlss pays bays, tome iv. p. 457. 
 
 fourth
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 7 
 
 fourth of September k , and was received with all exterior marks 
 of efteem by the miniftry, at the fame time that the populace 
 f he wed for him an unfeigned affection '. 
 
 But though Sir George Rooke had been happy enough to 
 beat the French under great disadvantages, yet he was not able 
 to baffle that fpirit of envy by which he had been fo long per- 
 fecuted. There was a party that not only qudlioned his con- 
 duel and the late victory, but were willing to facrifice the glory 
 of their country, and, as far as in them lay, to propagate the 
 idle ftories invented by the French, as undoubted truths, purely 
 to gratify their own fpleen ; and this too in dired contradiction 
 to the voice of the nation, as appeared by the many addrcfles 
 prefented to the queen, in which the courage, conduct, and 
 fortune of Sir George Rooke are highly extolled. To put 
 this nutter, however, out of doubt, and to (hew the true fenfe 
 of the queen and the miniftry on this fubject, it was thought 
 proper that his royal highnefs prince George, fliould introduce 
 fuch officers of the ileet, as had dderved beft, to her majefty : 
 and accordingly on the ninth of October he prefented, firfr, 
 Sir Cloudefk-y Shove!, who had the honour to kifs her ma- 
 jeft)'s hand; then captain John Jennings, commander of the 
 St. George, upon whom her majelty was pleaied to confer the 
 honour of knighthood" 1 , and on the 22d or 24th of the fame 
 month, George Byng, Lfq; and Thomas Dilkes, Lfq; the for- 
 raer rear-admiral of the red, and the laiter of .the white fqua- 
 dron, were likewife kuightcd". 
 
 k Burchet'* naval l;i:l ^ry, p. fiSo. Annals of queen Anne, vol. ill. p. in. 
 Lond. Gz. N. 4058. 
 
 1 Sir Jt>hn Lcakc had -uniler his command, two (hips of ihe 3d, nine of 
 tlie 4;h, fiur nf the 5th, one of the <5th rate, and a firc-(hip. His orders were 
 to tepiir to Lilbon, from whence ho was to fend home the trade, under a coa- 
 v >y of f>ur men of war. He wa* likewifc to take under his command fuch 
 fr.ip; of the Hates-general, a> remained in ttiofc fc^i ; and it w;* particularly re- 
 commended to liirn to tike care of Gibraltar. Sir Ceorge Rooke carried hcm 
 five id, twenty five jd, and four 4th fjtcs, \vi;h fix firc-ftips, two hofpitat-fhips, 
 and a yacht. 
 
 m Cijmplete hjftory of Furope, Oldmixon, London. Gaz. N. 4c<Ji. which 
 G.zctte is filled with address on the fucccficsof the duke of Marlborough, and 
 Sir Ocorgc Rooke. " Lond. G^z. N . 4:64, 4ij. 
 
 K 2 When
 
 7 <5 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 When the parliament came to fit, which was on the twenty- 
 third of October, new difputes arofe, and great pains were taken 
 to prevent Sir George Rooke's conduct from meeting with pub- 
 lic approbation : this, however, was without fuccefs ; for the 
 houfe of commons, in their addrefs, made ufe of thefe words: 
 " We beg leave to congratulate your majelty upon the great 
 " and glorious fuccefTes with which it has pleafed God to blefs 
 " your majefty in the entire defeat of the united forces of France 
 ' and Bavaria, by the arms of your mrvjefty and your allies, un- 
 f der the command, and by the courage and conduit of the 
 " duke of Marlborongh, and in the victory obtained by your 
 '< majefty's fleet, under the command, and by the courage and 
 " conduct of Sir George Rcoke ." As it was known that 
 thefe exprefnons gave offence to many of the warmeft friends of 
 the miniftry, who thought there was no comparifon between 
 the victories gained at Blenheim and Malaga, the houfe thought 
 fit to exprefs its fentiments more clearly; and having, on the fe- 
 cond of November, taken into their ferious confederation the 
 Services both of the fleet and the army, they unanimoufly voted, 
 " That her majefty be defired to beftow her bounty upon the 
 " feamen and land forces, who had behaved themfelves fo gal- 
 *< lantly in the late actions both by fea and land." To which 
 her majefty very gracioufly anfwered, " That (lie would give 
 " her directions accordingly P." One would have imagined, 
 that acts of fo folemn a nature muft have filenced fuch as pre- 
 tended to doubt the fervices performed by the admiral and the 
 fleet ; and yet it hath fince appeared, that fome of our hifiori- 
 ans q , and many of our memoir-writers r , have attempted to per- 
 ibade us, that, notwithftanding thefe decifions of the queen and 
 parliament, the fleet did little or nothing, and that the light at 
 Malaga was a drawn battle; in which, however, they differ 
 from the Dutch, who confefs that it was the beft fought action 
 recorded in hiftory ; and that the fkill of Sir George Rooke 
 convinced the French, that it was in vain any longer to conteft 
 with the maritime powers the empire of the fea. 
 
 Chandler's debates, vol. iii. p. 393. p Ani.als of queen Anne, 
 
 vol. ii. p. is?. 1 Banirt's hiftory of hi; own times, vol. ii. p. 391. 
 
 Oldmixon, vol. ii. p. 340, and fuo'i wiittis. ' Conduct of Sarah Duchcls 
 
 of RJrlbcrojjh, p. 145. 
 
 Before
 
 o p QJJ E E N A N N E. ~7 
 
 Before we conclude the naval tranfactions of this year, it is 
 necefTary that we fhould again pafs into the Mediterranean, in 
 order to take a view of the fervices performed there by Sir John 
 Leake. The Spaniards, who were the beft judges, found our 
 pofTeffion of Gibraltar fo great a thorn in their fides, that as they 
 very lately prevailed on the French to hazard an engagement at 
 fea, to facilitate their retaking of it, fo they afterwards demand- 
 ed and obtained a fquadron of French mips, under the command 
 of Monf. de Pointis, to affift them in carrying on the fiege. The 
 prince of HeiTe having fent early advice of this to Lilbon, Sir 
 John Leake, in the beginning of the month of October, proceed- 
 ed with his fquadron to the relief of the place, and actually 
 landed fcveral gunners, carpenters, and engineers, with a body 
 of four hundred marines ; but receiving intelligence, that the 
 French were approaching with a force much fuperior to his, he 
 found it necefTary to return again to Lifbon. 
 
 He did this with a view only to refit, and to be in a better 
 condition to fupply and aflift the garrifon in a fecond expedition, 
 for which he had very prudently directed preparations to be 
 made in his abfence. This enabled him to put to fea again on 
 the twenty-fifth of October, and on the twenty-ninth he enter- 
 ed the bay of Gibraltar at a very critical juncture; for that 
 very night the enemy intended to ftorm the town on all fides, 
 and had procured two hundred boats from Cadiz, in order to 
 have landed three thoufand men near the new mould. But Sir 
 John Leake entered fo fuddenly, that he furprifed in the bay two 
 frigates, one of 42, and the other of 24 guns, a brigantine of 
 14, a fire-fliip of 16, a flore-fliip full of bombs and granadoes, 
 two Englilli prizes ; and a Tartane and another frigate of thirty- 
 guns, which had juft got out of the bay, was taken by an Eng- 
 lifh fliip that followed her 5 . 
 
 s Burchet's naval hiftory, book v. chap. 17. Burnet's hiftory of his own 
 times, vol. ii, p. 391. Oldmixon, vol. ii. London Gazette, N. 4066, 407?. 
 N" ; ; only our own writers, but even the marquis de Qnincy acknowledges the 
 truth of this faft : he likewife tells us of an attempt made by 500 men, who 
 crawled up the mountains, and appeared on the back of the town ; which they 
 had certainly taken, if they had been properly fupported ; but he fays nothing 
 of the Englifh forcing them over the precipice, and leaving their mangled car- 
 caflci a melancholy mark of their own rafhneft, and their countrymen's cow- 
 ardice. 
 
 The
 
 7* NAVALHISTORY 
 
 The enemy, notwithftanding thefe difcouragements, continued 
 the fiege, m expectation of a Strong naval fuccour from France, 
 and therefore Sir John Leaks refolved to land as many men as 
 he could fpare, to reinforce the garrifon ; which he performed 
 on the iccond, third, and fourth of November, and continued 
 ilill on the coaft in order to alarm and diftrefs the enemy. On 
 the nineteenth and twentieth, he ordered his fmalleil frigates to 
 go as near the fhore as poflTible, and then manned all his boats, 
 as if he intended a defcent j but this was done fo flowly, and the 
 troops feigned fuch a relu&ancy to land, as gave the Spanilh 
 general time to draw down a great body of cavalry, which ena- 
 bled the admiral to put his defign in execution, and to falute 
 them in fuch a manner with his great and frnall arms, as made 
 them fcamper back to their camp with great precipitation. The 
 Centurion arrived on the twenty-fecond of November, and 
 brought in with her a French prize from Marrinico, very rich- 
 ly laden ; and at the f '.me time gave the admiral intelligence, 
 that he had failed as far as was convenient into the bay of Ca- 
 diz, and had difcovered a very flrong fquadron there, which lie 
 apprehended would ibon be in a condition to fail. Upon this 
 and fo;ne other intimations, Sir John Leake refolved to put to 
 fea, and to ftand with his Sect to the eaftward of Gibraltar, 
 that he might be the better able to take fuch meafures as fhotild 
 be found neceflary, as well for the prefervation of the place, as 
 for fecuring the fuccours that were expe&ed from Lifbon c . 
 
 On the feventh of December arrived the Antelope, with nine 
 tranfports under her convoy ; and two day* afterwards the New- 
 caftle with feven more, having on board near two thoufand 
 land troops. They efcaped the French fleet very luckily; for 
 when they were off cape Spartel they had fight of Monilcur 
 Fointis's fquadron confiding of twenty -four fail of men of \var, 
 under Englifh and Dutch colours. As they expecled to meet 
 the confederate fleet under Sir John Lcake and rear-admiral 
 Vanderduffen thereabouts, they did their utmoft to join them ; 
 but by good fortune were becalmed. They put their boats to 
 fea on both fides to tow the fhips ; but the Englifh obferving 
 
 1 Burchct's naval hiftory, p. <58i. The complete hirtory of Europe f.r 
 1724, P- 517 519. Q^incy hiltoirc militaire, torn. iv. p. 450. Mcrcure hif- 
 toriquc ct p-jlitique, torn. 37. p. 589, 683. London Gazette, N. 4077, 4 -Si.
 
 t QjJ E E N A N N E. fjg 
 
 that the men of war ftretched themfelves, and endeavoured ro 
 make a half-moon to furround them, they made a private fignal, 
 which Sir John Leake would have underftood. This fpoiled 
 the meafures of the French, who were thereby difcovcred, and 
 put up their colours, and endeavoured to fall upon the tranf- 
 ports j but they efcaped by means of their oars j and the night 
 coming on, they got away by favour of a fmall breeze from the 
 fouth-weft. By the arrival of thefe fuccoors, the garrifon wa* 
 increafed to upwards of three thoufaml men ; and having alrea- 
 dy obtained many advantages over the enemy, it was no longer 
 thought requifite to keep the fleet, which by long fervice was 
 now but in an indifferent condition, either in the bay, or on 
 the coaft ; efpecially when it was confidered that Monf. Pointis 
 was fo near with a force equal, if not fuperior to that of Sir 
 John Leake. The prince of Heffe having acknowledged this 
 to be reafonable, the admiral called a council of war on the 
 twenty-firft of December, and having laid before them the true 
 ftate of the cafe, it was unanimoufly refolved to fail with all 
 convenient fpeed to Lifbon in order to refit, and to provide fur- 
 ther fupplie's for the garrifon, in cafe, as the Spaniards gave our x 
 they fhould receive fuch reinforcements from king Louis and 
 king Philip, as would enable them to renew the fiege both by 
 land and fea. This refolution was as fpeedily executed as wifely 
 taken, and the^fleet arrived at Lifbon in the latter end of 1704, 
 where we fhall leave them in order to return to what was doinar 
 
 o- 
 
 at home, and the preparations made for carrying on the war by 
 fea with greater vigour in the next year than they had been at 
 any time fince the beginning of this difpute". 
 
 It was a common complaint at this juncture, that we did not 
 profecute the war at iea with fo much vigour as might be ex- 
 pected from a nation fo powerful on that element : that the 
 enemy's taking our Chips was a reproach on the nation, \vhicli 
 ought to fall under the notice of parliament. In anfwer to this, 
 1 mean in the houfe of commons, it was faid, that though the 
 fa&s could not be denied, yet on the other hand it mull be al- 
 lowed, that the board of admiralty could not do more than the 
 
 u Bnrchet's navil hiftory, p. <SSz. iii. London 
 
 G.zi-tte, N. ^cS;, 4; t .: 
 
 fupi
 
 86 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Applies granted by parliament would enable them ; and that 
 therefore, if more was expected from, more ought to be done 
 for them. This was chiefly faid by the admirals and their friendsj 
 who were very numerous. The houfe having confidered the 
 whole affair with great attention, came at length, on the feventh 
 of November, 1704, to the following refolutions, viz. That 
 forty thoufand feamen mould be allowed for the year 1705, in- 
 cluding eight thoufand marines. On the ninth they refolved that 
 one hundred thoufand pounds mould be allowed for the ordi- 
 nary of the navy for the fame year ; and that forty thoufand 
 pounds fliould be given to the office of ordnance for the fea fer- 
 vice, over and above the ufual provifionj and that ten thoufand 
 pounds fhould be given for making a wharf and ftore-houfe at 
 Portfmouth. Thefe were great and glorious provifions, fuch as 
 fhewed that the people were defirous not to fpare their treafure, 
 where the credit of the crown and their own intereft were at 
 ftake w . 
 
 Yet in the latter end of this, and in the beginning of the fuc- 
 cceding year, certain inquiries were made in the houfe of lords, 
 which did as great honour to that aflembly, as they gave pain to 
 fome in the adminifiration. A great clamour had been raifed 
 againfl the prince's council, for not giving fufficient attention to 
 merchants, and for having very little regard to the refentment 
 ihewn by that houfe againft certain perfons, and certain pro- 
 ceedings. Lord Haverfliam's, and fome other lords warm 
 fpeeches, raifed a great heat ; but before any addrefs was made 
 to the queen, two committees of inquiry were appointed ; one 
 to infpet the books at the admiralty-office, in order to fee ex- 
 at!y what conduct the board had purfued, and the other to 
 confider what was done at fea. This was certainly a very clear 
 and methodical way of afting, and contributed to the laying 
 
 w It muft be obferved, that the ftipplies were carried in the houfe of com- 
 mons before the lead notice was given by the miniftry, that Sir George Rooke 
 had loft their favour. In this, there was a great deal of policy, becaufe the ma- 
 jority of that houfe of commons were Tories ; and if they had been at all aware 
 of Sir George Rookc'& being forced to rcfign, or, as Mr. Oldmixon phrafes if, 
 being laid afide, they might have been lefs inclined to receive from the rnmHlry 
 implicitly the terms of the fupply. 
 
 open
 
 OF QJJ E E N A N N E. 81 
 
 pcn all the wrong fteps that had been winked at, either on ac- 
 count of private friendships, or through the prejudices of party. 
 
 In the firft place, the houfe obferved, that twenty-two (hips 
 had been employed to cruize the whole fummer, and they fhew- 
 ed, from their accounts returned to the admiralty-office, that 
 they had performed their duty fo negligently, as not to have 
 done more than from three fliips, commanded by active captains, 
 might have been juftly expected. They likewife complained, 
 that there were ten flags in pay, three of which were not at fea ; 
 that Mr. Churchill had not been at fea in any one year this war ; 
 trut Mr. Graydon had been afhore all the laft year, and that he 
 had been employed, notwithftanding a former addrefs for his 
 difcharge; that bir James Wilhart, though a rear-admiral, had 
 the laft year been Sir George Kooke's captain ; that Sir John 
 Munden, though he had not done his duty, had a penfion of 
 three hundred and nineteen pounds a-year, $3Y. Though the 
 queen could not be very well pleafed with an addrefs which re- 
 flected on the fupinenefs of her royal confort, yet flie concealed 
 her difiike; and anfwered, Feb. 5, " Your addrefs contains ma- 
 " ny obfervations, which I will confider particularly, and give 
 " fuch directions upon them, as may be moft for the advantage 
 " of the public fervice V 
 
 Thus, between the two houfes, the bufinefs of the nation, 
 vrith refpect to naval affairs, was very fully done. The lords 
 took care to correct, or at leaft to point out, what was amifs in 
 
 x This addrefs of the lords was prefentcJ to the queen on the jth of Februa- 
 ry, 1704-5. It is, without queftion, one of the moft valuabh (rate paper* ex. 
 Unt, as it is a noble infhncc of the true fpirit of an Engiith parliament. It 
 Thews, how inquiries may, and ought to be conducted, and how agrerable it Is 
 to the nature of our conftitution to lay before the crown, and exhibit to the 
 people true reprefcntations of the ftate of public affairs, that men may fee how 
 the money goes, which is faid to be raifed for their fervice, and not look upon 
 the public as a bad ftsward, that receives and pays without account. This, 1 
 will be bold to fay, was the rtafon that this war was carried on fo much cheaper 
 than our nival armaments have been ever fince : for, when inquiries are fre- 
 quent, frauds frldom happen; but when thefe are either difcouraged, made only 
 for form, or fo turned as to fervc the little purpofes of pjrties, who, under 
 cdonr of difcovering the faults of a mimftry, mean no more than to bcccm* 
 minifters theatfelves; things rnuft go from bad to worfe, and a fpitil of plunder- 
 ing infinuate itfelf through all public cftcct. 
 
 VOL. HI. L pafr
 
 paft tranfalions , and the commons made ample provifion- for 
 the thorough fupply of whatever was neceffary in times to come. 
 Yet in doing all this, Tome {harp expreffions efcaped, efpecially 
 in the houfe of peers, which certainly flowed rather from a zeal 
 to party, than any love to juftice ; which gave fuch difguft to 
 Sir George Rooke, that, after all the honours had been paid 
 him, he declined any further command, as defiring that the 
 queen might be eafy, and the nation well ferved, rather than 
 that any opportunities might be given him of adding either to 
 his reputation or eftate. This is the true ftate of the cafe, as 
 far as I have been able ta karn ; nor can I believe,, what fome 
 warm people have ventured to affert, that the lord treafurer, 
 Godolphin, procured Sir George to be laid afide y in order to 
 gratify the duke of Marlborough ; a fuggeftion better becoming 
 the narrow fpirit of a party-writer, than the wifdom of that 
 great lord, or the known calmnefs and equanimity of the noble 
 duke 7. 
 
 In 
 
 T Mr. Hornby, the reputed author of the famous caveat again ft the Whigs r 
 which is now become extremely fcarce, gives the following reflections on the 
 difgrace of this great admiral. " In 1704," fays he " Sir George Rooke, with 
 " a crew of cabin-boys, took the almoft impregnable fortrefs of Gibraltar; to- 
 ' that, at the fame time, Britifh trophies were creeled eaflward as far as the 
 ** banks of the Danube, and her flags were feen waving on the towers of the 
 " moft weftern part of Europe, where Hercules fixed his ne plus ultra. After 
 ' this, under great difadvantages, both in the number 1 , rates, and condition of 
 ' his (hips, and, above all, in the want of ammunition, he fo far convinced the 
 " French how unequal a match they were for us on the watry element, that 
 " they never after ventured to equip another royal navy; yet, how were his 
 " fervices undervalued by the faction here! Gibraltar, which was able to defy 
 " the power of Spain, arid to baffle and wafte their army in a fruitlcfs fiege, and 
 44 which is like to continue to future ages, an honour to our arms, and a fafc- 
 " guard to our commerce, was a place of no ftrength or value, and the engage- 
 " mem at fta was celebrated with lampoons, inflcad of congratulations. Nei- 
 " ther his aclions in this war, nor in the laft, his conduft in faving our Turkey 
 " fleet, or his courage in deftroying the French (hips at La Hogue, could pre- 
 " vail with them to allow him any (hare of (kill or bravery ; fo that he is to 
 " wait for juftice from impartial poftcrity, not only in thefe qualities, but 
 one much more rare in this age, which he (hewed in refufing to afk a privy feal 
 for a fnm of money remaining in his hands of what had been remitted to him ; 
 " as he had not waded it in monftrous bowls of punch, fo he fcorocd to enrich 
 
 himfelf by converting the public treafurc to his own ufe, but jnftly accounted 
 
 * for it. Thcfc monuments, in fpice of envy and detraction, will remain ta 
 
 " his
 
 o F QJJ E E -N A N N E. 83 
 
 In confequence of this meafure, however brought about, a 
 fort of thorough change enfued in the admiralty. Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel was appointed rear-admiral of England, and admiral and 
 commander in chief of the fleet ; Sir John Leake was appointed 
 vice-admiral of the white fquadron, as Sir George Byng was of 
 the blue; Sir Thomas Dilkes, rear-admiral of the red; William 
 Whetftone, Efq; rear-admiral of the white, and Sir John Jen- 
 nings, rear-admiral of the blue. I have thrown thefe debates 
 and promotions into the moft regular order I could, for the 
 reader's eafe and my own, that I might the fooner return to ac- 
 tion, and to the exploits of our fea force, under thefe new com- 
 manders ; and though I have not obferved the ftrict rules of 
 chronology, yet, as the promotions were the effect of the in- 
 quiries, I hope the reader will be fatisfied with my manner of 
 Hating it. Thefe formalities thus fettled, let us now proceed to 
 the tranfactions of the fleet, tinder the command of Sir John 
 Leake in the Mediterranean, who fhewed no lefs prudence and 
 fortitude in preferving Gibraltar, than Sir George Rooke had 
 done courage and conduct in acquiring it*. 
 
 The French and Spaniards, as their own writers confefs, 
 were obftinate in their refolution of retaking Gibraltar, colt 
 what it would. The eagernefs (hewn by king Philip on this oc- 
 cafion, had like to have been fatal to him ; and the method he 
 took to regain Gibraltar, had well nigh loft him Spain, by dif- 
 gufting moft of the nobility. Hitherto, the marquis Villadarias 
 had commanded before the town, and had done all that a man 
 could do, in a very bad fealbn, with very indifferent troops. 
 King Philip, however, removed him, and fent marfhal de Tcfie, 
 a Frenchman, with the title of captain-general, to command in 
 his place ; and, at the fame time, baron de Pointis was ordered 
 to fail with his fquadron from Cadiz to block up the place by 
 fea. This being performed, the Spaniards made no doubt of 
 
 41 his honour in the records of time, and his memory will live without the aflif- 
 " tar re or cxpence of a lumpilb pile of flooes, ckmped up againft the walls of 
 " \Veftminfter abbey, as was beftowed to commemorate the lofs of fome of her 
 " majefty's Ihips, and the more valuable lives of many of her fnbjeAs, for 
 " want of common care and discretion." 
 
 z London Gazette, N. 4086, 4090, 4091. Burner, vol. i : . Oldmixon, vol. ii. 
 ilci's debates, vol. iii. 
 
 L 2 their
 
 84 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 their being quickly mailers of the city ; and indeed the prince 
 of Heffe found the French general fo much better acquainted 
 with the art of war, and fo much better fupplied with all things 
 neceffary, than the Spaniard had been, that he thought it requi- 
 fite to fend an exprefs dire&ly to Lifbon, to defire Sir John 
 Leake to come with all imaginable fpeed to his affiftance *. Sir 
 Thomas Dilkes was in the mean time arrived from England, 
 with five third rates, and a body of troops ; and thefe being 
 imbarked, Sir John failed from Lifbon on the fixth of March, 
 to prevent the lofs of this important fortrefs b . 
 
 Upon the ninth of the fame month, he had fight of cape 
 Spartell, but not having light enough to reach the bay of Gi- 
 braltar, he thought proper to lie by, to prevent his being difco- 
 vered from the Spanifli fhore, intending to furprize the enemy 
 early in the morning j but, by bad weather, was prevented from 
 making fail fo foon as he intended. About half an hour paft 
 five, he was within two miles of cape Cabretta, when he dif- 
 covered only five fail making out of the bay, and a gun fired 
 at them from Europa point ; whereupon, concluding the gar- 
 rifon was fafe, he gave chace to the (hips, which proved to be 
 the Magnanimous of 74 guns, the Lilly of 86, the Ardent of 
 66, the Arrogant of 60, and the Marquis of 56. 
 
 At firft, they made for the Barbary fhore ; but feeing our 
 fleet gained upon them, they flood for the Spanifli coaft : at 
 nine o'clock Sir Thomas Dilkes, on board her majefty's fhip Re- 
 venge, together with the Newcaftle, Antelope, Expedition, and 
 a Dutch man of war, got within half gunfhot of the Arrogant, 
 and after a very little refinance fhe ftruck, the Newcaftlc's 
 boat getting fir ft on board her. Before one o'clock, the Ardent 
 and the Marquis, with two Dutch men of war, and the Mag- 
 nanimous, with the Lilly, ran afhore a little to the weft ward of 
 
 a It was the great misfortnne of king Philip, that few of the Spanlfh officer* 
 were able to fcrve him cffedhnlly ; and yet none of them could bear the 
 thoughts of ferviiig undtr Frenchmen. His making marihal dc TuTe captain- 
 gcnerol, gave exceffive offence, infomuch, that many of the principal nobility, 
 and fome Who hd considerable offices about his prrfT, immediately entered in-' 
 :. intrigues for driving him out again. Quincy, hiftoirc miliuire, p.44L Mc- 
 oure* dc Li Torres, La-v-berr, 4rc. 
 
 b London (Jwcttc, N"-". 4104, 4106. 
 
 Marbclla,
 
 p f QJJ E E N A N N E. 85 
 
 Marbella. The former, on board which was the baron de 
 Pointis, ran afhore with fo much force, that all her mafts came 
 by the board as foon as (he ftruck upon the ground, and only 
 her hull, from the traffril to the midfhips, remained above wa- 
 ter, which the enemy fet fire to in the night, as they did to the 
 Lilly next morning. After the engagement was over, our fqua- 
 dron got farther from the fhore, and on the twelfth looked in- 
 to Malaga road, where her majefty's fhips, the Swallow and 
 Leopard, chaced a French merchant-man afhore, of the burden 
 of about three hundred tons, which the enemy burnt. The reft 
 of the enemy's ihips, having been blown from their anchors 
 fome days before Sir John's arrival, took fhelter in Malaga bay ; 
 and foon after hearing the report of our guns, cut their cables 
 and made the belt of their way to Toulon c . 
 
 Upon this, marflial de Tefle, finding it now abfolutely in vain 
 to continue the fiege, formed a blockade, and withdrew the rell 
 of his troops. M. Pointis was well received at the court of 
 France, notwithftanding his misfortune, neither did the marfhal 
 de Tede meet with any check on account of his behaviour ; and 
 indeed it would have been hard if he had, fince he had done all 
 that man could do, there having been thrown into Gibraltar, by 
 the fifteenth of March, new ftile, more than eight thoufand 
 bombs, and upwards of feventy thoufand cannon-fhot fired, 
 though to very little purpofe d . 
 
 While thefe great things were doing in the Mediterranean, 
 Sir George Byng was fent with a fmall fquadron of cruizers in- 
 to the Soundings. He failed in the latter end of January, with, 
 a large and rich fleet of outward-bound merchant-fhips. As 
 foon as he had feen thefe fafe into the fea, he difpofed of his 
 fquadron in fuch a manner, as he thought moft proper for fe- 
 curing our own trade, and for meeting with the French priva- 
 
 c Burchet, Burnet, Oldmixon ; but all thefe are taken frcm the account pub- 
 Ufced in the Gazette, N=. 4115. 
 
 d The ohftinacjr of the twr> courts, in obliging their generals to continue thi* 
 fiege, when tfwy were thoroughly fenfible that it was to no purpofe, proved the 
 ruin of their affairs in Spain, at leaft for that campaign ; and if it had not been 
 for he accident of the earl of Galway's lofing his arm by a cannon-fhot, which 
 occafioned the railing the fiege of Badajcz, king Philip in all probabiliiy had 
 been driven out of Spain. Memoircs dc la Torres, torn iv. p. 134. Quincy 
 hiftiorc militairc, torn. iv. p. 441, 451. Lamberti, torn. iii. p. 5:4. 
 
 teers.
 
 85 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 teers. Amongft other new regulations which had been the con- 
 fequence of tkeir merchants complaint, one was the fending a 
 ilag-officer to have the conftant direction of the cruizers ; which 
 in this cafe appeared a very wife provilion, fince Sir George 
 Byng, by this difpofition of his fliips, was fo fortunate as to take 
 from the enemy a man of war of forty-four guns, twelve priva- 
 teers, and feven merchant-fhips, moft of which were richly la- 
 den from the Weft Indies. The number of men taken on board 
 all thefe prizes was upwards of two thoufand, and of guns three 
 hundred thirty-four. This remarkable fuccefs made a great noife 
 at that time 9 it was published by particular directions from the 
 court, and has been fince thought worthy of being inferted in a 
 general hiftory ; and yet there is not a word faid of the whole 
 affair by Mr. fecretary Burchet, who muft have known all the 
 particulars of it as well, or better than any man, which renders 
 his omifBon the more extraordinary. This gave fuch a blow to 
 the French privateers, that they fcarce ventured into the chan- 
 nel all the year after, but chofe rather to fail northward, in 
 hopes of meeting with fome of our fliips homeward-bound from 
 the Baltic e . 
 
 We are now to give an account of the exploits that were per- 
 formed by the grand fleet, which was commanded by the fa- 
 mous earl of Peterborough, and Sir Cloudefley Shovel, as joint 
 admirals ; and the firft orders they received, were, to proceed 
 for the Mediterranean, with the force then ready, which amount- 
 ed to twenty-nine fail of line-of-battle (hips, befides frigates, 
 
 c See the Gazette, N. 4107, Sir George took at this time the following 
 
 Privateers. Guns. Men. Privateers. Guns. Men. 
 
 Thetis, a man of war of 44 150 Sanfpareil, - 20 i $5 
 
 Defm ria, - - 36 140 Minerve, - - 169* 
 
 Phil'ppo, - . -11 no Marveilleux, - - - 14 85 
 
 Conftable, . 30 aio Poftboy, - - - 10 7.. 
 
 Voler, - - . 18 no B>naventure, - - 10 70 
 
 RoyaJ, - i<5 zco Admirable, - n 75 
 
 Bcringhcn, - ^4 160 
 
 Avalfo fevcn French mcrclur.t-fliips, moft of them richly laden, from tljc 
 Indies. 
 
 Hrc-fliJps,
 
 F QjT EEN A N N E. 8 7 
 
 fire- (hips, bombs, and other fmall craft f. On the eleventh of 
 June they arrived in the river of Lifbon, where they found Sir 
 John Leake, with his fquadron, in great want of provifions ; 
 upon which the admiral ordered them to be fupplied out of the 
 ftores brought from England, and that for four months whole 
 allowance. On the fifteenth of June a council of war was held, 
 at which were prefent the joint admirals, Sir Stafford Fairborne, 
 Sir John Leake, Sir Thomas Dilkes, and John Norris, Efq; 
 then captain to Sir Cloudefley Shovel; of the Dutch, admiral 
 Ailemond, vice-admiral Waflenaer, rear-admiral Vanderdullcrn, 
 and rear-admiral de Jonge ; in which it was determined to put 
 to fea with forty-eight {hips of the line, Englifh and Dutch, and 
 difpofe them in fuch a ftation between cape Spartell and the 
 bay of Cadiz, as might beft prevent the junction of the French 
 fquadron from Toulon and Breft g . 
 
 On the twenty- fecond of June, Sir Cloudefley Shovel, with 
 the fleet, failed for Lifoon ; from thence he failed to Altea-bav, 
 and there took in his Catholic majefty, who prefTed the earl of 
 Peterborough to make an immediate attempt on the city of 
 Barcelona, and the province of Catalonia j where he was af- 
 fured the people were well affected to him h . This being agreed 
 to, the fleet failed accordingly to Barcelona, and arrived on the 
 twelfth of Auguft. After the troops were debarked, there 
 were many difputes, whether the fiege fhould, or fhould nor, 
 be undertaken ; but at laft the affirmative carried it ; and then 
 a propofal was made, that the fleet mould land two thoufand 
 five hundred men, exclulive of the marines, and that the Dutch 
 fhould land fix hundred of their men ; which was agreed to ; 
 on condition, however, that on the firft certain intelligence of 
 the French fleet's being at fea, both feamen and marines fhould 
 
 f Burchet's navj hift. book v. chap. i9. Annals of queen Anne, vol. iv. 
 p. 137. London Gazette, N. 4116. Sir Cloadtfky Shovel was the^ fcarr.an 
 picked out by the oppoiite party, to rivJ Sir George Rooke, and mighty ex- 
 pectations were raifed or> account of his being it the head of the grand fleet. 
 There was likewife a good d:il of pains taken to eqtiip the (hips he was to com- 
 mand in fuch a manner, as that he might -*ant nothing abroad ; but by his acli- 
 Tity this year, jnftify their eenfuret of what was done the laft. 
 
 Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 69;. h Barnct's hifh of his own 
 
 times, vol. ii. r. 419. Anna's of q.tt?er> Annr, vc'. i-'. p. 137". Lend. Gaz. 
 X^. 4 }<S, 4:46- 
 
 imbark
 
 88 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 imbarlc again immediately. It was next deliberated in a council 
 of war, whether the admiral's inftruclions, in regard to the 
 duke of Savoy, fhould be complied with or not ; and it was 
 refolved, that as the winter feafon was advancing, it was tod 
 late for the fleet to proceed to the coaft of Italy : and, at the 
 fame council of war, it was determined ro return to England 
 the firft fair wind after the twentieth of September'. 
 
 On the third of September, the prince of HefTe having 
 formed a fcheme for attacking Fort Mountjuic, it was-putirt 
 execution ; and though it coft his highnefs his life, yet, through 
 the extraordinary bravery of the earl of Peterborough, who 
 renewed the attack, it was taken. This giving a happy pro- 
 fpeft of the reduction of the place, the gunners and carpenters 
 demanded by my lord Peterborough, were ordered by Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel to be in conftant readinefs to land. After 
 this fuccefs, the fiege was puttied with great vigour ; the 
 trenches were opened the ninth, and batteries raifed for fifty 
 guns and twenty mortars. His Catholic majefty having at length 
 confented to it, our bomb-veffVls threw four hundred and twelve 
 (hells into the town ; and eight Englifh and Dutch (hips, under 
 the command of Sir Stafford Fairborne, being appointed to can- 
 nonade it from the fea, while the cannon from the batteries and 
 fort continued to do the like on fliore, the viceroy defired to 
 capitulate the twenty-third, and the capitulation being figned the 
 twenty-eighth, the gate and baftion of St. Angelo was deliver- 
 ed up the fame day, and the whole city in a few days after: 
 The furrender of this capital of Catalonia fo ftrengthened king 
 Charles's party, that the whole principality, Rofe's only except- 
 ed, fubmitted foon after k . 
 
 i It is very clear from the original papers, which have been printed in relation 
 to this affair, that the admiral, from the time of his coming before Barcelona, to 
 the reducing t.f that city, did all that was in his power for the fervice of king 
 Chirks j and it like*i(e app-.ars from the letters of the prince of HtfT: to him, 
 that he was the perfc-n principally depended upon by his Catholic majefty, and to 
 whom he constantly applied when diflrefled by his wants, or vexed by the earl of 
 Peterborough's humours. It is no lefs clear from the fame letters, that the earl of 
 Peterborough applied to him in like manner in all his difficulties, and was con- 
 ftanlly affiftfd and relieved ; fo that one may fafcly afTcit, that Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel was the foul of this expedition, and that without him nothing was, not 
 indeed could be done. 
 
 k Burchet's naval hifK p. <J8<5, 687. The complete hift. of Europe for 170;, 
 p. 313. Lond. G;z. NO. 4164, 4177. 4178, 
 
 All.
 
 o F Qj? E E N ANNE. 
 
 All the world knows, that the reduction of Barcelona has 
 been confuiered as one of the mod extraordinary events that 
 fell out in this, or perhaps in any modern war ; and though we 
 have already many accounts of it, which feem to attribute it, 
 fome to one thing, fome to another ; yet I will be bold to fay, 
 that nothing but the afJiftance given by our fleet could poflibly 
 have reduced it. When there wanted men to carry on the 
 works, thefe were fpared from the fleet ; fo were carpenters 
 and engineers. While our army was before the place, captain 
 Loads was fent to reduce Denia, and captain Cavendiih to take 
 Terragona, both which they effected. When artillery was 
 xvantcd, it was landed from the fleet, and when ammunition 
 was wanted for this artillery, all the twenty-four and eighteen 
 pound fhot were landed for the fupply of the batteries, except 
 as much as would fupply thirty rounds ; and when the city 
 was taken, and a garrilbn eftablifhed there by king Charles 
 the third, the fleet landed eighteen hundred barrels of gun- 
 powdcri eight brafs cannon, and all the three pound fhot they 
 had i. 
 
 On the firft of October it was refolved in a council of war, 
 that iSir Cloudefley Shovel fhould proceed for England with the 
 beft part of the fleet ; that Sir John Leake, with a ftrong fqua- 
 dron, fhould be left in the Mediterranean ; that fix fhips fhould 
 be left to attend the earl of Peterborough, two more remain at 
 Gibraltar, and a third and fourth rate be employed at the re- 
 queft of his Portuguefe majefly in cruizing for the homeward- 
 bound Brazil fleet" 1 . 
 
 In 
 
 1 Oldm'xon's hifbry of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 361. Burchet, annals of 
 queen Anne, vol. iv. p. 141. Mercure hiflorique ec pulitique, tome xxxix, 
 p. 366. 
 
 ra In ori.:r to convince t^e read;r f the truth of what has been jfHrted, it 
 iruy not be amifs to hy before him part of a letter written by Sir CIoiidefl;y to 
 his royal highneit the lord rn"h-idmiral, dated Oftober n, 1705, containing an 
 : of whu parted in ihe laft days of this fiege. 
 
 " The 1 7th, our battery of thirty guns was opened, and fourteen of them 
 ** began to play, with very great execution, upon that pirt cf the wall wher 
 " the breach was defigned ; the carl of Peterborough came aboard, and repre- 
 " Tented to us the gieat rccefGty he laboured under for .want of mcney for 
 fubfifting the army, and cst:)ing on the fiege of Ba:c:lona, and the fer- 
 
 VOL. IH. M " vices
 
 9 o NAVALHISTORY 
 
 In purfuance of thefe refolutions, Sir Cloudefley, with nine- 
 teen fhips of the line, and part of the Dutch fleet, pafled the 
 Streights on the fixteenth of October, and arrived happily at 
 Spithead on the twenty-fixth of November following, after as 
 glorious a fea-campaign, as either ourfelves or our allies could 
 expect n . 
 
 It is but juft, in fuch a hiftory as this, to mention our lofles 
 as well as our fuccefTes : among thefe I was in fome doubt, 
 whether I ought to reckon the taking a great part of our 
 homeward-bound Baltic fleet, with their convoy, confifting of 
 three men of war, by the Dunkirk fquadron, of which we 
 have a large account in the French hiftorians ; 1 fay, I was in 
 fome doubt about this, as finding no notice taken of it, ei- 
 ther by Mr. Burchet or our Gazettes; but as I am fatisfied 
 
 " vices in Catalonii, and, in very prefiing circumstances, defired the affiltance of 
 " the fleet ; upon which our flag-officers came to the inclofed refolution : To 
 " lend the earl of Peterborough forty thoufand dollars, out of the contingent 
 " and Ihort allowance money of the fleet. The ijth, we came to thefe rcfolu- 
 " tions, viz. To remain longer before Barcelona than was agreed on at fit ft ; to 
 " give all the affifrance in our power, and to hy a fire-lnip alhore with two hnn- 
 41 dred barrels of powder; and a further demand being made for guns for the 
 " batteries, we landed fourteen more, which made up in all 71 guns, where- 
 " cf jo were twenty-four pounders that we landed here, with their utenfils 
 " and ammunition. We continue to bombard the town from the fea, as 
 ' our fmall (lore of (hells and the weather will permit. The zoth, a de- 
 " mand was made for more fhot, and we called together the Englim flag officers, 
 " and came to a refolution to fupply all the batteries with all the twenty-four 
 41 and twenty-eight pound (hot, except a very fmall quantity, which was accord- 
 *' ir.gly done. 
 
 " The azd, the prince cf Lichenftein, and the earl of Peterborough having 
 " defired, at the rcqueft of his Catholic majefty, that the town of Lerida might, 
 " for its fecurity, be furnifhed with about fifty barrels of powder j and a furlhtr 
 " fupply of (hot being demanded for the batteries a-(hore, it was confidercd at a 
 " council of war, and we came to the inclofed refolutions, viz. To furnifli fifty 
 " barrels of powder for Lerida, and to fend fo many more twenty- four and 
 " eighteen pound (hot a-(hore, as would reduce the Englifh to thirty rounds, as 
 " likewife to be farther alTiftant upon timely notice. 
 
 " The 13d, at night, our breach being made, and all things prepared for an 
 " attack, the town as again fummoned, and they defired to capitulate, ami 
 " (milages were exchanged ; on our fide, brigadier Stanhope, and on the enemy's, 
 " the marquis de Rivera; and all hoftilities ceafed." 
 
 Burchet's naval hilt. p. 1587, 688. Annals of queen Anne, vol. iv. p. 154. 
 Lond. Gaz. X. 4175. 
 
 that
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 91 
 
 that the Dutch writers would not be partial to our enemies in 
 fuch a cafe, I find myfelf obliged to relate the fact as it is ftated 
 by them. 
 
 The count de St. Paul, after the death of the famous John 
 du Bart, was looked upon as the beft feaman in France, and 
 therefore was, promoted to the command of the Dunkirk fqua- 
 dron, in the room of Monf. de Pointis. We had a fquadron 
 under the command of Sir Thomas Dilkes, to watch that port, 
 and another in the Soundings ; yet Mr. de St. Paul found 
 means to get out with his fquadron, confifting of five men of 
 war and five privateers, and were joined at fea by feveral other 
 privateers ; on the 2oth of October, O. S. they fell in with 
 our Baltic fleer, and having directed Mr. du Bart, with one of 
 the men of war and the privateers, to fecure as many of the 
 Englifh fhips as poflible, Mr. de St. Paul, with the other three 
 men of war, attacked the convoy, which made a very gallant 
 defence, but was at laft forced to yield, and the count d'llliers, 
 who commanded after the death of Mr. de St. Paul, (who 
 was (hot in the midft of the action with a mufquet-ball), car- 
 ried our three men of war, and twelve merchant-fhips, into 
 Dunkirk. I am extremely furprized not to find the leait notice 
 of this in any of the memoir-writers ; but before I part with the 
 fact, I mud remark a very extraordinary faying of Lewis XIV. 
 when the news was brought him at Verfailles. 
 
 The perfon who told it, thought the king received him very 
 coldly, and repeated it therefore pretty loud, that there were 
 three Englifh men of war, and twelve merchant-men, carried 
 into Dunkirk. " Very well," returned the king, with a figh ; 
 " I wi(h they were all fafe in any Englim port, if that would 
 ' reftore me Mr. de St. Paul." This was certainly a very no- 
 ble and generous fpeech, and it was by fuch teftiinonies of re- 
 fpect as thefe, that, in the midft of his misfortunes, the French 
 king always maintained a fucceflion of brave officers, ever ready 
 to expofe their lives in his iervice . 
 
 At 
 
 This I take from a private letter from Paris, publiftied in thr Mercnre hi- 
 
 florique, 1705, ar.d it is confirmed likcwife by father Daniel, and other hifto- 
 
 rians. Her majefty queen Anne fhewed no lefs rcg.ird to merit, on a recom- 
 
 lution from his Catholic majefly. Captain John N'jrris (whom I take to 
 
 M i havo
 
 92 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 At home we had this year a fignal inftance of naval difci- 
 pl'tne, which therefore deferves a place in this work. One. 
 captain Crofs, who commanded the Elifabeth, gave her up to 
 the French in the channel, after a very flight defence. He was 
 tried by a court-martial on board the Triumph, on the twenty- 
 fifth of Atiguft; Sir George Byng being preiident, and having 
 twelve captains to aflift him. It appeared there, that he {hewed 
 the utmoft figns of fear, which intimidated the men; and that 
 if he had behaved as he ought to have done, the enemy might 
 have been repulfed, and the fhip faved. He offered fcveral 
 things in his defence, fuch as that his furgeon was fick, and. 
 many of the men were drunk, and would not do their duty; 
 hut, upon a full hearing, he was declared guilty of neglecl: of 
 duty, and the fentcnce pronounced upon him was, that he fliould, 
 be cafhiered, rendered incapable to ferve her majefly in any 
 capacity, forfeit all the arrears due to him, and remain a pri- 
 foner for life p . 
 
 Our trade efcaped, generally fpeaking, better this year, than 
 it had done formerly ; for in the month of November there ar- 
 rived ten Eaft India fiiips, that had for fome time put into Ire- 
 land : a few days after, there came thirty Weft Indiamen into 
 the Downs, and the very fame day nineteen vefiels from B.irba- 
 does, which were given over for loft. Yet all this could not 
 quiet the merchants; they dill exclaimed grievoufly againft the 
 lord high-admiral's council, and things rofe to fuch a height, 
 that I find in fome of the Dutch papers of that time, it was 
 expected the queen would have reftored the earl of Pembroke, 
 and that his royal highnefs Pnould have been cre.ited lord high- 
 conflable of England ; but by degrees this affair bL-w over, for 
 the prince's council were extremely wife in one particular; they 
 
 lia ve been the late we i thy Sir John Norris) having difHngu'u'hcd himfelf in an 
 extraordinary manner i'i the attack of fort Montjuic, king Cnarles III. was 
 : . letter \ > his favour to the queen, who knighted him, and made 
 him t prcfent cf a t'nouf^nd guineas. 
 
 r Tiic evidence againft this man was very full and d-.sr, and a ref-.lution 
 
 ; hren taken t;> preferve for the future very ftritl ilifcipline in the navy, it 
 
 i to m,.ke fuch an tximp!c of him as he deferred; and this it w.is 
 
 .!.'iK:d iht queen to fufFer this fentence r<> he put in execution without any 
 
 . ^; to bU impiifoirnenr. Annils of queen Anne, vol. iv. p. 
 
 conftantly
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 93 
 
 constantly printed large vindications of their conduct, and ac- 
 counted fo plaufibly for every thing that was charged upon, 
 them, that it was a very few only, and thofe too well verfed in 
 maritime affairs, who were able to diftinguifh where they were 
 fight, or where they were wrong ; fo that they never wanted 
 a ftrong party for them amongft the people; and even at this 
 day it is very difficult, if not altogether impracticable, to dif- 
 tinguifh between the complaints that were excited by a fpirit of 
 party, and thofe that were really grounded on their mifcawiages 
 or neglects q . 
 
 In this year our fucceffes had been fo great both by fea and 
 land, and there appeared fo fair a profpect of humbling the 
 houfe of Bourbon in Flanders, and of driving them out of 
 Spain, that when her majefty thought fit to recommend the 
 Spanifh war in a particular manner to parliament, the houfe of 
 commons immediately voted two hundred and fifty thoufand 
 pounds, for the profecution of thofe fucceffes ; and for the 
 whole fervice of Spain, during the fucceeding year, they gave 
 no lefs than feven hundred twenty-fix thoufand fcven hundred 
 and forty pounds ; afterwards they voted for the fupply of the 
 fea-fervice, for the year 1706, forty thoufand men, including 
 the marines ; they then voted one hundred and twenty thou- 
 fand pounds, for the ordinary of the navy j ten thoufand 
 pounds to the office of ordnance, for the works at Portfmouth, 
 and eighteen thoufand two hundred ninety-eight pounds leven- 
 teen (hillings one farthing, for ordnance ftores and carriages, 
 for the eight new fhips built to fupply the lofs of fuch as pe- 
 rifbed in the great ftorm r . 
 
 1 B (hop Bur^et, vol. ii. p. 413, wives a very different ace- unt of our af- 
 fa ; rs at fcj in this ye^r, from th >ie that I have already cited from him, and 
 therefore it i> but jull that I ihould preient the reader with this : " Oar affair* 
 " at fra were m re profper^us this year, than they had been formerly. In 
 " the beginning of this feafon, our crirzers took fo many of the French pri- 
 " vateers, that we had fome thoufands of their Teamen in our hands. We 
 " kept fuch a fquV.ron before Ercft, that the French fleet did not think 6t to 
 " venture tut, and their Tnulon fiquadron had fufT;red fo much in the aclions 
 " of the former years, that they either ccald not, or would not, venture 
 " out: by this means, cur navigation was fate, and our trade was profper- 
 " ou." 
 
 r See the vote? of the houfe of commons, for the year 1705. Anr.als of 
 queen Anne, vcl. iv. p. 197. OldtEixoo'i hil'i. of" liie S:uarts, vtl. ii. p. 367. 
 
 After
 
 94 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 After fo generous a fupply, the miniftry had nothing to 
 confider, but how to employ it in fuch a manner, as that thofe, 
 upon whom it was raifed, might be fatisfied that it was laid 
 out for their fervice ; and this produced a refolution of equip- 
 ping a numerous fleet, as early as it was poflible : but it being 
 found by experience, that it was {imply impracticable to man 
 the navy, as the laws then ftood, both houfes, to (hew their 
 e t Trne(l defire to put maritime affairs into the beft condition pof- 
 fible, came to certain refolutions, upon which a bill was 
 brought in, that perfectly anfwered its purpofe for that time, 
 and enabled Sir Cloudefley Shovel to man very fully, and in 
 good time, the large fleet that was intended for the Mediter- 
 ranean fervice s . 
 
 This, with the fettling the terms of the union, were the 
 matters which principally took up the attention of this feflion of 
 parliament. While the houfe was ftill fitting, Sir Edward 
 \Vhitaker had orders to afiemble a fquadron to convoy the duke 
 of Marlborough to Holland, which he did in the beginning of 
 
 * The hoiife came to tlnfe refo!utior.s on Thurfday the 14 h of March, 1705 5, 
 and it is ncct-fliiy tiut tne reader fhould be made acquainted with them. In 
 few words, then, they were, i. That in order to man the navy far this year, 
 the jnftices of pcice, and other civil magistrates, be 5m powered and directed 
 to make fcarch after Teamen that lay concealed. . That the faid juftices and 
 civil magifbates, caufe fnch feamen, when found, to be delivered to fuch per- 
 lons as fhould be appointed to receive them. 3. That a penalty (h'niid he hid 
 upon fuch perfons as fhould preTume to conceal feamen. 4. That a reward be 
 given to fuch perfons a* fhnu!d difcover, and take up Inch hidden feamen. 
 5. That conduft- money he allowed. 6. That feamen being turned over from 
 one fhip to another, fhould receive the wages due on the former iHps. 7. That 
 able-bodied land-men be raifed for the fea fervice. To bring thcfc ref;lutions 
 to elfecl, they ordered, th.it the committee to whom the bill for the encou- 
 ragement and increafe of Teamen, &c. was committed, (hoi: 1:1 have pow^r r> 
 receive * claufe or cUnfes pursuant thereunto, and to receive a clair'e f<-.r dif- 
 i-l-Miving fnch feamen, and other infolvent prifoners, as were in prilon for 
 dfbt, and delivering them into her tmjrily's fervice on board the fleet. \Vhtch 
 being pafijd into an act, received ihc royal alfrnt on the nineteenth. The 
 r-me day the lords addrefK-d her mj-cfty on the fame fubjcft, praying her to 
 lake it into her royal care, and employ proper perfons to confijer of effectual 
 means, to reftore the difcipliue of the navy, in order to be laid before the 
 parliament the beginning of the next feffion. I'urfuaiit to which her maiefty, 
 a few days after, caufed a long proclamation .to be publifhed, for the better 
 o txccuik ;:icr>rionc-d.
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANN E. 93 
 
 the month of April, and having; feen the yachts fafe into the 
 Maefe, returned by the middle of the month c . 
 
 Before we mention the proceedings of the grand fleet, it will 
 be necefTary to give an account of the exploits performed by 
 Sir John Leake, whom we lately left fteering his courfe for the 
 river of Lifbon. In that paflage he had the misfortune to 
 meet with worfe weather, and more contrary winds, than was 
 ufual in thofe feas, or in that feafon. This unforefeen accident 
 reduced the Engliih fquadron to ibme (traits for proviilons; 
 and the Dutch, who are much heavier failers, to far greater. 
 However, when they were off cape St. Vincent, they met the 
 Pembroke, Roebuck, and Falcon, which efcorted a fmail fleet 
 of victuallers, that could not have arrived more opportunely, 
 or have been confequently more welcome". 
 
 On his coming to Lifbon, Sir John Leake had fome propc- 
 fals made him by the Portuguefe miniftry, which were thought 
 altogether impracticable in the then fituation of things, and. 
 therefore Sir John waved complying with them. In the begin- 
 ning of the month of February, came letters from the admi- 
 ralty, with advice of the mighty preparations that were making 
 in the French ports, and the refolution that had been taken by 
 the Spaniards to fend away their galleons directly from Cadiz, 
 under a French convoy, for the Well Indies ; which Sir John 
 was directed to confider, and, if poffible to prevent ; of which 
 mighty hopes were conceived in England, when thefe new, 
 u-ere made public ; Sir John being held as able, and reputed 
 withal as fortunate an admiral as any in the fervice, and indeed 
 deierved to be fo reputed vr . 
 
 t Annals of qrren Ann?, vol. T. p. 4. London Gjz-ttf, K. 4119. 
 u Burchct's invil hift. hook v. chap. 19. The complete hilt, of Europe !i>r 
 I?:<5, p. 6. I.ond G^z. N. .jt$>4, 4ip8. 
 
 w This fcheme of feeding fo great a fleet into the Weft Indies, was of the 
 lift importance to tlic hoiif; of Bonrb n ; fince, withour a Aipply cf nv.ney, 
 the war could not be carried on in Furopc; as, on the other hand, theie wjs 
 litilc hopes of preftrving the Weft Indies in a due dependence upon Spai >, 
 without furnilhing them from time to tune with proper fvipplics. If, there- 
 fore, we could have taken the aiieons at this time, it is moft evident, that we 
 muft have dilappointed both tluir dtfiv''S which, as affairs then ftoid, w.-n'.l 
 in all prolvi'oili'y hav: oblpc-1 king Pliilip to re 1 . ire into France, at Icaft for 
 the prcfcnr, ir.J pniupj huvc piu ii tur ever out of his power to return tt> 
 Spain. 
 
 Upon
 
 $6 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 Upon this intelligence, he called a council of war on the fix- 
 teenth of February, in which it was refblved, to proceed di- 
 rectly with the fhips then ready, which were nine third rates, 
 one fourth, two frigates, two fire-fhips, and one bomb-velTel, 
 Englifh -, fix fhips of the line, one frigate, two (ire-fhips, and 
 a bomb-vefiel, Dutch j and with thefe, in cafe the galleons were 
 in the harbour of Cadiz, to enter it diretUy, if wind and wea- 
 ther would permit, and either take or deftroy them. On the 
 nineteenth another council of war was held, before which was 
 laid a memorial of the Portuguefe minifiry, directed to Mr. 
 Methuen, in relation to the homeward-bound Brazil fleet ; and 
 ftricl inftrudYions from the lord high -admiral for fuccouring his 
 Catholic majeity without delay *. Upon mature deliberation, 
 they remained fixed to their former rcfolves, with thefe addi- 
 tions only, that as foon as they had executed their intended de- 
 fign on the galleons, they would make fuch a detachment as the 
 Portuguefe delircd ; and that whenever they fhould be joined 
 with the ihips and tranfports from England nt Gibraltar, whi- 
 ther they intended to repair, they would inftantly fleer their 
 courfe for the coaft of Catalonia. 
 
 "When thefe refblutions were formed, and the day fixed for 
 the departure of our fleet, Sir John Leake acquainted Mr. 
 Methuen, then our ambaffador at the court of Portugal, that it 
 would be neccfuiry to lay an embargo on all fhips and veffels, 
 that the enemy might have no intelligence of our defign , andj 
 upon Mr. Methuen's application, fuch an order was granted. 
 But as there is norhing weaker, or at leaft nothing more fub- 
 jet to difappointment, than human policy, fo this point that 
 was thought fo neceffary to our fecurity, proved, by an acci- 
 dent, if indeed it ought to be fo called, altogether unaccount- 
 able, the ruin of our defign. Sir John Leake failed with the 
 fleet*under his command, on the twenty-fourth of February ; 
 but, when he arrived before fort St. Julian, the duke de 
 Cadaval, who commanded there, difcharged firft feveral fingle 
 guns, and then fired the cannon of a whole baftion upon 
 
 * Burchtt's nsval h;ft. p. 689. Annals of queen Annr, vol. v. p. 131. 
 
 Mercuu- i.i!':. ,1 ;.- ':: _ , ton;e x!. p. 461. 
 
 him.
 
 F QUEEN ANNE. 07 
 
 him y . This furprized the admiral very much, who fending to 
 know the reafon of it, the duke pretended that k was done in 
 purfuance of the order of embargo, .as if the court of Portugal 
 could poffibly intend to detain the fleet of the allies in their har- 
 bour. Thisdifpute hindered Sir John's failing, fomewhat more 
 than twenty- four hours, and in the mean time the Portuguefr, 
 who doubted whether the embargo did not extend to the fleet 
 of the allies, fuffered five merchant ups, two of which were 
 Danes, and were fuppofed to have given notice of the defign, to 
 go out of the port the next day after the embargo was laid z . 
 
 On the twenty-fcventh Sir John Leake reached cape St. Vin- 
 cent, where he met with an eafterly wind, which decayed il> 
 about noon, that it became perfectly calm. Next morning, 
 however, he lay fair for the galleons, if they had come -out be- 
 fore the wind would fuffer him ro reach Cadiz. But that night 
 he received advice, that the galleons had failed witb a very hard 
 gale at eaft, on the tenth of March, N. S. the twenty-feventh, 
 of February according to ours ; fc that k is plain that if he had 
 failed on the twenty fourth he muft have met them. He was 
 likewife informed, that they con filled of thirty- fix fail, that is 
 to fay twenty-four galleons, and ten or twelve French privateer*,, 
 from forty to fifty-fix guns, which were ordered to fee them 
 fafe into the fea. Sir John fteered after them, though with lit- 
 tle hopes of coming up, unlefs the eaft wind had left them when 
 they were at the heighth of cape St. Vincent. Next morning" 
 he faw two fail a-head, to which the fleer gave chace*. Abou: 
 ik, the Dutch vice-admiral WaiTenaer took cue of them, and 
 foon after the other was taken by the Northumberland ; thejr 
 
 V Burchet's nav.l hifl. p. <?oo. The complete hKlory of Europe for 1706, p. 
 <Sz. Mtrcnre hidorique et poli:iqne, tome 40. London Gazette, N. 4110. 
 
 2 It was very jnftly fufpeftcd, that there was more of treachery than of miftakr, 
 in this odd affjir; and, indeed, whotvcr confwlts the hrfto-y of the war in Spain, 
 as written under the dire&ion of lord Galwiy, will find lufficient rsafon to believe, 
 that the French hud always a flrong party in the court of Portugal, who made ic 
 their liufinei's to thwart vigorous meaftirrs, and to give all the checks pofiible to 
 the fchcmes formed by the allies, for putbing on the war with vigour, from th 
 fide of Portugal; and this waj fnmetimw lo barefaced, that Me, Meihuen *a 
 conftrained to threaten them into better behaviour. 
 
 3 Burchet's ruval hiftory. AnnaU of queen Anne, v.-l. v. p. i jr, i ji. Lon~ 
 d. n Gazette, N . 4115. 
 
 VOL. III. N proved
 
 98 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 proved to be Spanifh {hips bound for the Canaries ; and as they 
 failed from Cadiz the day after the galleons, it was thought 
 needlefs to continue the chace any longer b . 
 
 We are now to turn our eyes towards the conduft of king 
 Charles III. He had been left in the city of Barcelona with a 
 very fmall garrifon, while the earl of Peterborough went to 
 conquer the kingdom of Valentia, which he very happily ac- 
 complihed, though with a very inccnfiderable force c . The 
 French and Spaniards in the mean time were projecting the de- 
 itrudion of king Charles's affairs at a fingle blow ; and it muft 
 be acknowledged, that their fcheme was fo well laid, that no- 
 thing but a few untoward accidents could polnbly have difap 
 pointed it. This defign of theirs was to fhut him up in Barce- 
 lona, which city they intended to attack both by land and fea, 
 in the beginning of the month of March, when they looked 
 upon it as a ching iinpolTibk for our fleet to have fuccoured him, 
 as indeed it would have proved. The command of the land ar- 
 my was committed to marfhal Teffe, but xvhether he really 
 wanted activity in his own nature, or was fo croffed in all his 
 undertakings by the grandees of Spain, that he could do no- 
 thing ; I fay, whichever was the cafe, fo it was, that when the 
 count de Thouloufe was ready to fail with the French fleet 
 from Toulon, the Spanifh army was in no condition to form 
 the liege; fo that the whole month of March was fpun out in 
 preparations, and the place was net inverted till the beginning 
 of April d . 
 
 This defign was very early difcovered here at home, and ad- 
 
 b The maflm of thefe two prizes owned to Sir John Leake, that (hey had 
 intelligence it Cadi? of his defign, and that this induced the galleons to fail as 
 ihey diJ. N.>W, tn underftand this perfectly, it is nerelTiry to t/Iifervc, that 
 the order for the embargo was obtained on the izd. The two Daniih (hips were 
 permitted to fail on the ijd. Sir John Leake, with bis fleet was retarded, as we 
 have related in the text, on the evening of the 24th, and did not iail till late en 
 the i jth. 
 
 c See Dr. Friend's hiftory of the campaign of Valentia, st the end of his ac- 
 count of lha earl of Peterborough's cvru'uft in Spain, p. 197. Burnet'* hiftory of 
 his own tinu-<, vol. ii. p. 443, 444. Buyer's life of queen Anne, p. 107, *c8. 
 :. ; tk>rians. Sse likewifc the London Gazette, : . 4116, 
 
 * This accou .t I have taken from the Ficncli hilioiiur.s, Q^incy, hiftoirewi- 
 .:. T. p. 104. La.-.jber.i, Km. iv. p. J4"5. 
 
 vice
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. pcj 
 
 vice was Tent of it to Sir John Leake before he failed from Lif- 
 bon ; but it does not appear, that either the earl of Peterborough, 
 or king Charles, apprehended this mifchief, at leaft in due time, 
 otherwife the king would have been provided with a better gar- 
 rifon, and the place have been certainly put into a condition of 
 making a greater reilfhnce. After miffing his defign on the 
 galleons, the fleet under the command of Sir John Leake, re- 
 paired to Gibraltar, where he received a letter from his Catho- 
 lic majefty intreating his immediate affiitance, in terms which 
 fuiliciently difcovered the deep diftrefs he was in, and the con- 
 cern and terror he was under c . 
 
 The king's fears were far from being ill founded. M. Tefle 
 came before the place with a numerous army, and the count de 
 Thoulo'ufe landed ammunition and provifion fufficient for the fer- 
 vice of an army of thirty thoufand men for two months ; fo that 
 
 e The ftylc and contents c.f Kirg Charhs's letter to Sir John Leake, ar; f o 
 fingular, th;t they certainly deferve the reader's notice. 
 
 "I THE KING. 
 
 " Admiral Le-ke, 
 
 " I am difpolcd to tski u^.or. me this occsGon to advife you of the high rt.k 
 11 this principaiiiy and my royal perfon is found in; for I rr.ake no doiib; be- 
 '" fore to morrow the cm my will muicft us. T.'.ey have already blockaded me 
 " with a fq'ia.lrcn, and tlicir army is now a I not I in li^ht of this city, and hp 
 ' their quick maiche^, have obtained fome pofts, which, if they might have 
 " been prevented, would very much have hiudued their dcfigns. 
 
 " I am rclolvrd, although 1 (ind myklf with fuch a fmall garrifon (as a thcu 
 " fand men of rfgv.hr troops, sr.d ft ur hundred horfe) not to le^ve this pi_ce 
 " for, in the prefent curjunifturc, I have coi.fidereJ, that my goin^ hence v. ill 
 be the lofs of the citr, and consequently of all the other pLccs which tnc 
 " happy 1'uccefs of the hi} campa ; gn hath reduced to my obedience j f9r wi.icii 
 " reaion, it is my opii'i -n to riik all, and venture the Cafualties that a fiege ij 
 *' incident to, putting juft truft and confidence in y^ur known zeal towards the 
 " great forwarding the common Caufe, making no doubt how much you have 
 ' contributed towards the Hico.urs fjrwardneU. I hope in a few days you wiil 
 " appear before thi fJjc., wi.cte yom known \alotir and a^ivity may meet with 
 11 a glorious fucccis, f^r v.l.ich I fi.ail again conftitute you the credit cf my roval 
 " gratitude. 
 
 " Given at Earcsbna, the 3i(l of March, 
 
 " I the KING. 
 By command f the king my matter, 
 
 " Hs.NRY Dt GUNTIR." 
 
 N 2 it
 
 N A V A L H 1 S- T O R Y 
 
 it is very evident, the French did all that could be expected 
 from them by fea j and if their endeavours had been as well fe- 
 conded on (here, the place had undoubtedly been loft. But it 
 fo fell out, that the Sieur de Lepara, their principal engineer, 
 was far enough fiom being a perfect mafter of his trade. He 
 made a miftake at the beginning, which loft him eight or ten 
 days time, and before he could correct this, they loft him by a 
 iliot from the place. This proved an irreparable misfortune ;. 
 for though he was but an indifferent engineer,, yet after his death 
 it appeared they had not his equal, fo that when they came to 
 make an aflault on the place, they were repelled with confider- 
 able lofs. Thefe circurnfhmces I thought it neceifary to relate, 
 previous to our account of Sir John Leake's proceedings ; and 
 having now fhewn the errors, mi(l*kes, and misfortunes of the 
 French and Spaniards before Barcelona, we will return to our 
 fleet, and the meafures taken for relieving king Charles by rail- 
 ing the fiege f. 
 
 (7n the third of April, commodore Price, with fix Englifli 
 and as many more Dutch men of war, joined Sir John Leake, 
 who, in a council of war held on the fixth, refolved, in obedi- 
 ence to king Charles's letter, to fail immediately to Barcelona. 
 In purfuance of this refolution, he arrived on the eighteenth in 
 Altea-bay, and the next day had intelligence, that Sir George 
 Byng, with a fquadron from England, w,rs coming up j three- 
 days after they were joined by commodore Walker, with his 
 fquadron, as they had been the day before by Sir George Byng ; 
 nd then it was determined to fail north of Majorca, and that 
 each fhip fhould make the beft of her way without (laying for 
 the reft*. Upon the twenty-fixth the earl of Peterborough 
 came off from Terragona, with a fquadron of barks, having 
 fourteen hundred land forces on board; and when he came to 
 the fleet, hoifted the union-flag on board the Prince George, 
 
 f All tho French hmoridns ayree, t'lat their dtfign on Barcelona mifcarrie<i 
 through their cwn fault, and, generally fpeaking, relate the whole affair as f 
 have done in the text. But if any reader of a more curious and critical difpofnion 
 thsn ordinary, would fee a Ion* ami exacl detail of this affair, he may be iatisfied 
 in the admirable memoirs of M. de Feuquicres, torn. iv. p. 151. 
 
 R Burchet'j naval hiflory, p. <5j>i. Burnet'i hiftory of his own times, vol. ii- 
 p. 444. London Gazelle, N. 41^1, 
 
 as
 
 o r QJJ E E N A N N E. i CM 
 
 as admiral and commander in chief h . His excellency found 
 that the councils of war had rejected his propofals, and indeed 
 their rejecting them faved the place ; lince before his arrival, 
 Sir George Byng, Sir John Jennings, and admiral "Wafienaer, 
 Lad anchored in the road of Barcelona, and by the contrivance 
 of Sir George Byng, a confiderable body of troops had been 
 thrown into the town'. 
 
 On the twenty-feventh in the afternoon, the whole fleet ar- 
 rived in the harbour of Barcelonaj without meeting with the 
 leaft opposition ; for the count de Thouloufe having received an 
 exaft account of the naval force of the allies, thought fit to fail 
 away with the French fleet to Toulcn , which obliged the land- 
 army (as we fhall hereafter fee) to raife the fiege with great pre- 
 cipitation. This relief appeared the more furprifing, and muft 
 have been confequently the more grateful to king Charles, and 
 all his faithful fubjecls, fince it prevented their deftruclion but 
 by a few hours, the enemy having made all the neceflary difpo- 
 fitions for florming the place that very night, when, coniidering 
 the extreme weaknefs of the garrrfon, their iuccefs could fcarce 
 have been doubted k . 
 
 Two days after the arrival of the fleet, M. de TefTe thought 
 fit to raiie the fiege in a very extraordinary manner, for which 
 our own, and the French hiftcrians, profefs themfelves equally 
 at a lofs to account. His army confuted ftill of fourteen thou- 
 fand men, the fuccours thrown into the place did not exceed 
 fix thoufand; fo that it was very ftrange he fhould leave behind 
 him a train of one hundred and fix pieces of brafs cannon, for- 
 ty-fcven mortars, two thouland bombs, ten thoufand grenades, 
 forty thouland cannon-fhot, two hundred barrels of n;ufquet- 
 
 h Dr. Friend's ac:ount of the earl of P. ter borough's corcuft in ?pain, p, 55, 
 Annals of queen Anne, vol. 5. p. 135. I.ondun G'z-t'r, N. ^z]Z. 
 
 i All thefe brif: and etnaorjinar,' nr.eiforts, wh : ch appeared by the eve^t h> 
 indifpf r.fibly nccetrary, were concirtcd s vc'.l a- extcutet', by < nr admirals only : the 
 till of Peterborough, 'h-i'gh he had been confhntly before of a fintimf nt di efliy 
 di:Tcrrnt, when h; law them jut in prsfli.e, arri forei'iu 'ns he e?fily nvgh, 
 goixl effcf>s, very judici^nCy Approved them. Iinpjrtul itq ii:y into the m_n.g - 
 rr.tnt rf the war \n Srain, p. ici. 
 
 k Ei;rch-.t'j n^val hiltory, p. 693. Ru- ". 447. OHmixcn's hirtory 
 
 of the S'uait?, vo!. ii. p. 3-0. Rrvtr'- ii'V . ?. 140. Qii.nry, 
 
 nuiitiirf, torn. 5. Ftrsquicies, it Larre; . 
 
 (hot,
 
 ioi N A V A L H I S T O 11 Y 
 
 fhot, five thoufand barrels of powder, eight thoufand fwords, 
 eighteen thoufand facks of corn, bcfides flour, rye, and oats, in 
 proportion, not only undeftroyed, but untouched, as if they in- 
 tended it as a prefent to the befieged, by way of compenfatioa 
 for the trouble they had given them. 
 
 Yet to me the caufe of this is pretty evident ' ; the marfhal 
 fiiw himfelf under the necefHty of regaining the kingdom of Ca- 
 ftile, by a ftrange fort of a march, firft into Roufillon, then 
 round by the Pyrenees, and fo through Navarre, which con- 
 drained him to leave his fick nnd wounded in his camp, with a 
 letter recommending them to the earl of Peterborough's clemen- 
 cy : and, I make no manner of tjueftion, that he chofe to let 
 things remain as he did, that thefe helplefs people might obtain 
 the more favour; which, though ncedlefs, when he had to do 
 with an Englifh general, was neverthelefs humane in him C1 . 
 The admiral took to himfelf and his officers the honour of this 
 great exploit, which was one of the mcft important, and with- 
 al one of the moft honourable, that happened throughout the 
 war". His moft Catholic majefty, on the other hand, was no 
 lefs ready in paying a juft tribute of praife and refpel to his 
 merit ; fo that, if ever there was a faft fo well eftablifhed as to 
 
 1 Th: accounts thrt I have given of the railing of 'his fiege, are taken from 
 French hiftomns, who arc certainly like to he heft informed, and, with rtfped 
 to the (lores left behind, moft impartial : and this, I fuppofe, is AifHcicnt to A- 
 tis.'y the mcft critical reader, as to the difference between my computations and 
 thofe he may meet with in Corns other hiltoties. 
 
 m See the London Gazette, N. 4^;^ ) already cited. 
 
 n This appears by Sir John Lcake's letter to the prince's fecretary, dated at 
 Barcelona, May ift, 1706, in which, among other tilings, he fays, " The i7th 
 ' of lfl mouth I got to this place, and in a lucky time to refcuc it from falling 
 " into the cnemy'i hands, for they expeclcd to have been ilcrmed the next 
 ".night. Count Thr.uloufc, with the fleet under his command, which cor.fifled 
 * of about a3 of the line, retired the night before ; but if it had pleafed 
 " God, that the wind hid continued that brought Sir George Byng to me, I 
 " believe I (hsuld have btcn able to have given ynn a much better account uf 
 ' his ftrength. This comes by captain George Dehvale, who is fent by my 
 14 Lord Peterborough, with the king of Spain's, and his lordfhip's own letters 
 *' to her mi'jefty, in the Faulcon, which (hip his excellency has appointed Mr. 
 " Robert Dciavaif, brother to captain Dclivale, to command." 
 
 be
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 103 
 
 be out of all clifpute it is this, that Barcelona was relieved by 
 Sir John Leake . 
 
 The next great fervice that was attempted, was the reducing 
 Alicant ; and in failing thither, putting into Altea-bay, the ad- 
 miral received notice, that Carthagena was difpofed to fubmit : 
 upon which Sir John Jennings was fent to that city, who re- 
 turned on the twenty-fourth of June, after leaving a garrifon in 
 the place. But with refpecl to Alicant, the governor refufed 
 
 A more pregnant proof of this cannot he had, than from the following let. 
 ter of his Catholic majcity, to Sir John Lcake, future the relief of Barce- 
 lona, indeed, but which evidently fhrw?, tha; the king placed all his hopes in 
 our naval force, aad expected from Sir John Leakc alone, that it fhculd be ex 
 crted for his preservation. This letter, to fay the truth, is fo honourable to the 
 British arms, as well as to the vtrv wortl.y man to whom it is acidrdled, that I 
 thought fit to tranfcribc the whole, otherwife the laft paragraph might very well 
 have fetved my purpofe. 
 
 "SIR, 
 
 " It is wuh no final! fatisfac"lion, that I have been irfoimc^, from the carl 
 " of Peterborough's letters, "f your happy arrival upon the coaft of Valentia. 
 " I doubt nor, but you hsvc heard of the loi's of M-intjuic, and of the condi- 
 " ti-jn my town of Barcelona is in, 'where I was willing to furTer rnyfclf 10 
 " be befiegcd, and to endure all the haidfhips and accidents of war, to encourage 
 " both the garrifon and my fubjcfts, by my prefence, to make a long and vigu- 
 " rons defence. 
 
 " It items, by the enemy's motions, they have already received notice of 
 " your approach ; but inftead of thinking to retreat, they have redoubled their 
 " eif'ms, and fire upon the jbreach, which will be In a condition to be ftormed 
 " after to-morrow at far:hefl ; and i'i all appearance, they will make a dcfperate 
 " attempt to- render themfclves mafters of this town, before the fleet can arrive 
 " with the fuccours. 
 
 " Hence you will judge of the indifpenfible necefliry there if, that you fr.oultl 
 " do your utmoft endeavours to relieve us without lofs of iime, and bring the 
 " fiict diretlly hither, together wuh the troops, to my town of Barcelona, 
 " without flopping or difimharking the forces elfe where, (as fome other per- 
 " fons may pretend to direft you) for they can be no where fo neccfiary as in 
 " this town, which is at the very point of being loft for want of relief. Wherc- 
 " fcrc I p'ay God to have you in his ruly protection, and expecting the 
 " pleafure of feeing you as foon as pofllble, I aflure you of my perfccl cftecm and 
 " acknewledgment. 
 
 " Barcelona, May 4, N. S, 1706. CHARLES. 
 
 " P. 5. Sir, you will difiern the condition we are in by our letters, and I hope 
 " you will ctmc as foon as pofuble to fave us, of which you alone fhall have the 
 " l >ry. For the reft, I refer you to Mr. Stanhope's letter." 
 
 to
 
 164 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 to furrender, and therefore it was refolved to befiegc it by Ian J, 
 while it was attacked by the fleet at fea P. To facilitate this, 
 feamen were landed from the fleet, and Sir George Byng, with 
 five Hiips, anchored in a line fo near the town, that he quickly 
 difmounted ail the enemy's artillery, though the guns pointing 
 towards the lea were no fewer than one hundred and fixty, 
 
 On the twenty-eighth in the morning, it was refolved to at- 
 tack the place on all fides ; and with this view Sir John Jen- 
 nings landed the marines he brought from Carthagena. About 
 nine in the morning the {hips had made a breach in the round 
 tower, at the weft end of the town, and another in the middle 
 of the curtain, between the mole and the eaftermoft baftion, 
 when the land-forces marching up towards the walls of the city, 
 fifteen grenadiers, whh an officer and ferjeant, advancing, without 
 order fo to do, to the breach of the round tower, all the boats 
 under the command of Sir John Jennings, went direllyto fuf- 
 tain them, but before the men landed, the grenadiers were 
 beaten back. However, the boats proceeded, and all the men 
 getting afhore, captain Evans of the Royal Oak mounted the 
 breach firft, got into the town with two or three of the boats 
 crews ; captain Paflenger of the Royal Anne followed, and next 
 to him captain Watkins of the St. George, with fome feamen. 
 Sir John Jennings, with the re it of the feamen and forces, who 
 were in pofieflion of the fuburbs, moved on to fupport them ; 
 who coming into the town fecured the polls, and made proper 
 difpofitions until the reft got in, when Mahoni retiring inrothc 
 cattle, left them in pofieifion, with the lofs of but very few 
 men 11 ; colonel Petit, however, was killed in the fuburbs, (land- 
 ing arm and arm with Sir John Jennings, by a fmall (hot out of 
 a window, as they were viewing the ground for railing a batte- 
 ry againft the wail of the town ; befides whom there were not 
 above thirty killed either of the fea or land forces; and not 
 more than eighty wounded, notwithftanding the Spaniards had. 
 a continued communication froai one houfe to another, and fir- 
 
 P Burner's hiftjry of bis own times, vil. ii. p. 450. Burchtt's rav^l hiftory, 
 p. <J?4. Ar.r.als of quten Anne, vol. v. p. 304, joy. Load. GJZ. N. 4148. 
 
 <> Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 6pj. Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. 'i. 
 Boyer's lif; of quren Anne, p. 140. Tvlercure hiftorique et politiqu?, torn. 41. p. 
 fit. L >ndo.n Gizrtte, N. 4*57. 
 
 ed
 
 O F QjJ E E N A N N E. 165 
 
 rd on our men from the windows and holes made for that pur- 
 pole r . 
 
 Next day brigadier Gorge, who commanded the troops be- 
 fore the place, fummoned count Mahoni to furrender, which 
 he abfolutely refufed to do ; but the (hips continuing to can- 
 nonade very brilkly, and a great number of bombs being thrown 
 into their works, the garrifon, which confifted moflly of Nea- 
 politans, compelled the governor to give up the place, notwith- 
 ftanding all his declarations to the contrary. Brigadier Gorge 
 took poflefljon of it, and was appointed governor s . 
 
 It was even then much difputed, whether this place was of 
 any ufe, and whether the time and men loft before it were nor 
 abfolmely thrown away. But, be that ns it will, the conduct 
 of Sir John Leake, and the courage of his officers and fenmen 
 are no way impeached thereby ; nor does it at all leiTen the glory 
 of this nftion, which was one of the boldeft that ever was per- 
 formed by men, that it was undertaken to little or no purpofe 1 . 
 Thus much is certain, that foon after the taking of Alicant, 
 Icing Philip's forces were intirely driven out of Arragon, and 
 that whole kingdom reduced to the obedience of his compe- 
 titor. 
 
 r AH that T have faid, wiih refpeft to the fervice performed by the fleet, i 
 fully .confirmed by the au'.hor of the inquiry into the management of the war 
 in Spain, who gives us the following account of thi* tranfa&Jon, p. 135-1 
 " Brigadier Gorge's troops, which were fo much wanted in Ciftile, really con- 
 " tribnted very little towards the reduction of Alicant ; for as the fleet, with- 
 " cut any affiflance from the army, had made themfelves mailers of Cartha- 
 " gena, rot 1 ng before, by the exemplary courage and conduft of Sir George 
 " Byng, and Sir Juhn Jennings ; fo nw the fquadron, which Sir John Leake 
 " had ordered Sir George Byng to command for that purpofe, bombarded and 
 " -cannonaded tlie town of Aiicant with fo much fuccds, that in a few days 
 " they made two practicable breaches in the wall, between (he ft and weft 
 ' gates, which the failors bravely (termed ; and Sir George Byng Jieing in 
 " p.jff. fiion of the phce, forced open the gates to let ihe land forces in, 
 " \vho having loft their engineer Petit, were not yet even maflers of the 
 * Juhurbs." 
 
 s Barrel's hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 540. Colutnna roftrata, p. 163- 
 Annals of queen Anne, vol. v. p. 306. Lond. Gaz. N.4Z6tf. 
 
 1 The truth of this fully appears in a letter from brigadier Gorge to Sir John 
 I,;ake, in which he complains of being left in the midft of enemies, in f.> 
 dlrtrtrflcd a condition, that unlefs Sir John was able to relieve him, he mould find 
 himfclf obliged to abandon it. 
 
 VOL. III. O After
 
 106 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 After the redu&ion of Alicant, Sir John Leake, in the be- 
 ginning of the month of September, failed to Altea-bay, from 
 whence he fent Sir John Jennings with his fquadron, intended 
 for the Weft India fervice, to refit at Lifbon. He next made 
 the neceflary difpofition for a winter fquadron, which was to 
 be commanded by Sir George Byng, and then proceeded to put 
 in execution his laft orders, which were to reduce the iflands 
 of Ivica and Majorca. Thefe iflands not only belong to the 
 crown of Spain, but their fituation rendered them very necef- 
 ftry at this time to the allies, as affording them an opportunity 
 of fupplying the places they had lately reduced with provifions, 
 and fecuring a proper retreat for their fmaller vefiels, when- 
 ever it mould be found necciTary to keep a fquadron in thofe 
 feas during the winter. It does not appear, that the Spanim. 
 court had taken any precautions for their defence, as being in- 
 tirely occupied with the thoughts of preferving Minorca, which 
 was looked upon as the ifland of greateft importance, and 
 therefore moll of their regular troops were there". 
 
 On the fixth of September, Sir John failed from Altea- 
 bay, and on the ninth anchored before Ivica. This ifland, 
 which is about fourfcore miles in circuit, abounds with corn, 
 wine, fruit, fait, csV. and the inhabitants being a trading peo- 
 ple, were rather inclined to fubmit to the allies, than to remain 
 under their old government ; and therefore, on the firft fum- 
 mons, they fent deputies to make their fubmifiion, which was 
 readily accepted, and king Charles III. immediately proclaim- 
 ed x . On the thirteenth the fleet failed for Majorca, and ar- 
 rived on the fourteenth before Palma. This ifland, which is 
 one of the fined in the world, abounding with all the necef- 
 faries of life, well planted and well peopled, and fo large as to 
 be once accounted a kingdom, was at this time governed by 
 the Conde de Alcudia, who was a native of the place. He 
 Was warmly in the intereft of king Philip, and when the ad- 
 miral fummoned him, lent him a Spanifh anfwer, " That he 
 " would defend the ifland as long as there was a man in it." 
 
 Burchct'j naval hiftory, p. <J?5. Aunals of queen Anne, vol. r. p. 306. 
 Lond. Gaz. N'. 4167. x Columna roftrata, p. sSj. The complete 
 
 liillory of Europe for i;?v p. 35?. Mercure hiftoriqu; et pclu;q-.;e, tome xii. 
 I 5i5. 
 
 But
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 107 
 
 But upon throwing three or four bombs into the place, which 
 did no great mifchief, the inhabitants rofe and forced the vice- 
 roy to iurrender. He fhewed his wifdom, however, where he 
 could not fhew his courage, by making a very prudent capitu- 
 lation. 
 
 oir John Leake left a garrifon in Porto-Pin, and two men of 
 war to carry oft' the Conde, and fuch other of the inhabitants 
 as were difaifeted to king Charles III. and on the twenty-third 
 of the fame month he profecuted his voyage for England, Be* 
 fore his departure he received a letter from his Catholic ma 
 jefty, who very gratefully acknowledged his fervices he had 
 done him, and expreffed the higheft fatisfaction as to his con- 
 duct on all occafions. On the fecond of October Sir John paf- 
 fed the Streights, and on the fourth, when he was off the 
 fouth cape, detached Sir George Byng, with the winrer-fqua- 
 dron, for Lifbon. On the feventeenth he arrived fafe at St. 
 Helen's, having been feparated in a ftofm from the reft of the 
 fleet, which came foon after into Portfmouth. And thus ended 
 as fuccefsful a fea-campaign as is recorded in our own, or per- 
 haps in any other hiflory y . 
 
 Sir Stafford Fairborne, then vice-admiral of the red, was 
 appointed, with a fmall fquadron, to look into the mouth of 
 the river Charent, with orders alfo to deftroy fuch (hips as the 
 enemy might have at Rochfort. He failed for this purpofe in 
 the latter end of the month of April, and after continuing at 
 fea about three weeks, he returned to Plymouth with a few 
 prizes 2 . Soon after he received orders to fail for the Downs, 
 from whence he was quickly ordered over to Flanders, to af- 
 'fift in taking Oftend. Arriving before that place, he flood in 
 fo near the town, that they fired upon him, which he returned; 
 but was foon after ordered to Newport, frona whence, after 
 the blockade of that place was formed, he came back to 
 
 y See the Lord. GHZ. K. 4171, in which there is a large account of the ca< 
 pituhtion with the viceroy of Majorca, which /hews that Sir John Leake was a 
 very able man in the clofct, as well at the field, and knew how to treat, as Weil 
 as how to act in a rougher manner. 
 
 z Burchet's naval hiftory, hook v. chap. ao". Anna'.s of qneen Anne, vol. v. 
 Mercure hi(lori<j\ie et politique, tome xl. p. $37. London Gazette, N a . 4*18, 
 4^41. 
 
 O 2 Often.d,.
 
 ic8 N A V A L HISTORY 
 
 Oftend. A fcheme had been contrived by Tome of the land- 
 officers for deftroying the little veffels belonging to that port i 
 but when it came to be executed, it was found wholly imprac- 
 ticable. The entrance of the harbour being long, narrow, and 
 crooked, whatever veffel or (hip attempted to go in, muft ine- 
 vitably be much expofed to the platform of guns ; fo that there 
 feemed but little hopes of attempting any thing againft the (hips 
 by fea, which lay all in a clutter clofe to the quay, on the back 
 iide.of the town j but there were letters in the camp which 
 iufinuated, that as foon as the trenches were opened, the bat- 
 teries rnifed, and fome bombs thrown into the place, the Spa- 
 niards in garrifon, a (lifted by the feamen and burghers, would 
 oblige the French garrifon to yield. 
 
 On the nineteenth of June, the trenches were opened before 
 the place ; Sir Stafford Fairborne, with his fquadron, cannon- 
 aded it by fea, and at the fame time two bomb-vefiels were fent 
 as near as might be, and when they came to play did great exe- 
 cution. Sir Stafford likewife caufed all the fmall frigates to run 
 in as near the town as poflible, and to difcharge their broad- 
 lides ; which they did with fo little damage to themfelves, and 
 ib great hurt ro the place, that the people began to mutiny, and 
 the governor found himfclf (as he pretended) under a neceffuy 
 of capitulating, which he did on the twenty-fifth. 
 
 Thus the city of Oftend, which had formerly held out fo. 
 
 many months, was taken in a week ; though, betides the 
 
 Spanifh garrifon, count de la Mothe, was there with a confi- 
 
 dcrable body of French troops, which he undertook fhould 
 
 not fcrve again in fix. months j and, as one of their own wri- 
 
 ters pleafantly fay?-, it h.id been very happy for France, if he* 
 
 ior himfclf undertaken never to ferve again. After the fur- 
 
 iler of O fiend, Sir Stafford Fairborne returned to Spithead, 
 
 ;o affift in convoking a body of troops that were intended for a 
 
 del cent * . 
 
 Before 
 
 * la the f>cge of Ofter.i, the duke of Mariborough give fignal proofs ct" 
 
 ; rrfonal cou;age ; for, coming to make visit to M. cl'Auverquerque, he 
 
 *ent irro the ircncbes, where he ftaid a confidtrdblc lime, ad examined 
 
 Vf:ry thing very attentively, thotigh the enemy, who had fbckcned their fire 
 
 i; with exctflive violence, at fscn as they knew by the ialute of 
 
 the
 
 O F QjJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 Bdore we fpeak of the proceedings of the grand fleet under 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, it will be requifite to fay fomething of 
 the intended defcent which we have juft mentioned : this was a, 
 deilgn framed upon the reprefentation of fome French Hugue- 
 nots ; particularly the famous marquis Guifcard, who was af- 
 terwards engaged in. a defign to aflaffinate the queen. The 
 land-forces defigned for chis fervice confifted of very near ten 
 thoufand men. They were to be commanded in chief by the 
 earl Rivers ; under him by the lieutenant-generals Earle and d? 
 Guifcard : the earl of Eflex, and lord Mordaunr, eldcft Ion to 
 the ea r l of Peterborough, were to ferve in this expedition as 
 major-generals. On the loth of Auguft the fleet under the 
 command of Sir Cloudefley Shovel, failed from St. Helen's; 
 but not being joined time enough by the Dutch, this project 
 proved abortive; and it was relolvcJ, that the fleet fhould pro- 
 ceed to Lifbon with thefc forces on board, and that they faould 
 be employed in the iervice of his Catholic majefty b . 
 
 It does not appear, that after their difappointment in this 
 fcheme of making a defcent on France, the miniftry came to 
 any refolution as to the employment of the grand fleet, or of 
 ;he land-forces on board it ; it looks as if all things had been, 
 trufted to the wifdom of the admiral, Sir Cloudefley Shovel, 
 and of the general. The fleet was extremely late before it faiU 
 ed for the Mediterranean, viz. the firft of October, and being 
 in the Soundings on the tenth of the fame month, the Barfleur, 
 a iecond rate, fprung a dangerous leak, which obliged the ad- 
 miral to fend her home, and to take the earl Rivers, and his 
 principal officers, into his own fhip the Affociation. Proceed- 
 ing in their voyage, they met with exceeding bad weather, in- 
 jfomuch, that when the admiral arrived in the river of Lilbon r 
 he had with him but four men of war, and fifty tranfports; 
 but he had the good luck to find the reft of the fleet arrived 
 
 the fleet, that his gr .ce was come to the camp. In doing this, contrary to his 
 tifu.l cufrom, he ftuwcd, that when he was more careful of his perfon, it was 
 out of refpe^ to tl>e fervice, and not for any want of lhat temper of miud 
 which commonly patlcs for hcroifra. 
 
 b Biirnet's hid. of his own times, vol. ii. p. 453. Annals of quten Anne, 
 vol. v. p. 310, 311. Mercure hiftorique et poli;ir t uf, tome &!i. p. 207, 303. 
 Lon. Gv. N. 415*, 
 
 before
 
 tia N A V A L H I S TO R Y 
 
 before him, fo that he began immediately to prepare for a&ion, 
 and fent two fhips of Sir George Byng's fquadron to Alicant, 
 with money and neceflaries for the army, then under the com- 
 mand of the earl of Galway, which was in very great want of 
 them c . 
 
 While he was thus employed, he heard, with great regret, 
 of the diforders that had fallen out in the Spanilh court and in 
 our army. It is very hard to fay, who was, or who was not, 
 in the right ; but this is certain, that in confequence of thefe 
 difputes, king Charles III. loft his intereft among the Spaniards ; 
 nnd though he was once mafter of Madrid, he was forced to 
 quit it again, and his affairs began to fall into fuch confufion, 
 that the admiral at Li{bon could fcarce tell what he had to do, 
 or how he was to afc for his Catholic majefty's fervice, and 
 therefore thought it requifite to fend colonel Worfley to Valen- 
 cia, in order to receive from the king himlelf, and the general, 
 a certain account of their affairs, and a true ftate of the fer- 
 vices they expelled from him. While this gentleman was gone, 
 and before the admiral had it in his power to take any fettled 
 refolution, the king of Portugal died, which threw the affairs 
 of that kingdom into fome confufion ; and that could not hap- 
 pen without affefting us. We before obferved, that the Por- 
 tuguefe miniftry afted in a manner no way fuitable to the ftricl 
 alliance which then fubfifted between our court and theirs. But 
 now things grew worfe and worfe; and whatever fentiments 
 the new king might be of, his minifters ventured to take fome 
 fuch fteps, as were not to be borne with patience by an admiral 
 of Sir Cloudefley Shovel's temper d . 
 
 Upon the return of colonel Worfley, the admiral was ap- 
 prized, by letters from the king and the earl of Galway, that, 
 
 '-'nrchet's naval hiflory, book v. chap. xxiv. Qldmtxon's hiftory of the 
 Stuarts, vol. ii. Beyer's life of queen Anne, p. 145. Merciue hiftorique et 
 politique, tome x!i. p. 579. Lond. Gaz. N. 4*68. 
 
 d In order to be better informed of the particulars here mentioned, the rea- 
 der may confult our larger hiftorians, the collections of Lamberti, and the me- 
 moirs of the count de la Torres. The narrow bounds prefcribed to my work, 
 will not allow me to enter deeply into political difquifuions, for that would draw 
 me befide my purpofe, fo that whenever I touch upon them, it is only to prc- 
 fetv: the connexion that is necefTary to render the accounts I give of naval af- 
 fair* eafy, and fully underflood. 
 
 unlefa
 
 o F QJJ EENANNE. in 
 
 imlefs he could bring earl Rivers, and the forces under his com- 
 mand, and land them fo as that they might come to their afiift- 
 ance, things were likely to fall into as great confufion as they 
 were in the winter before, whereby all the advantages would 
 be loft which had been afterwards procured at fo vaft an ex- 
 pence, both of blood and treafure, by the maritime powers. 
 Thefe advices gave the admiral fo much the more concern, as 
 he knew that the lliips were fo much damaged by the rough 
 weather they had met with in their pafTage, that it was impof- 
 fible to fit them fpeedily for fea ; and that, on the other hand, 
 the land-forces were fo much reduced by ficknefs, death, and 
 other accidents, that, inftead of ten, there were fcarce fix thou- 
 fand effective men. He refolved, however, to do the belt he 
 could to comply with the king and the general's defire ; the ra- 
 ther becaufe he faw that nothing but fpirit and diligence could 
 poflibly recover thofe advantages, which had been loft through 
 divifions and neglect of duty. He gave orders, therefore, for 
 repairing, with the utmoft diligence, the mifchief that had been 
 done to his fhips j directed the tranfports to be victualled, and 
 made the other necefiary difpofitions for proceeding with both 
 the fleet and army for the Spanifh coaft, and in the mean time 
 difpatched five men of war with a confiderable fum of moi. :y 
 and clothes for the troops c , and was on the very point of im- 
 barking the forces, when he was reftrained by an order from 
 England, of which we {hall fay more when we come to treat 
 of the trania&ions of the enfuing year, to which it properly 
 belongs f . 
 
 In the mean time, captain William Coney, who commanded 
 the Piomney, a (hip of fifty guns, having been difpatched, as 
 we before oblcrved, by Sir Cloudeiley Shovel, to cruize in thofe 
 fras, and being then with the Milford and Fowey, two fifth 
 rates, they received intelligence on the twelfth of December, 
 that a French (hip of fixty guns, with thirty pieces of fine bra-li 
 
 c Lomlun Gizrtttf, N". 4189. 
 
 f I cannot pretend to fay where the bkme lay, ss to the mifcsrria^s tfiat 
 bappened in Spain; the rsailrr will perhaps be beft a!;ls to judge by comj 
 Dr. Frimd'* account of the carl of Pcterlmroi^h's condv.ft in Sp-:n, the i-arl of 
 Galway's namtivr, auj the I i-ity th: >. . icb 1 L..VC 
 
 {o eitcn iiii 
 
 cannon
 
 ii2 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 cannon on board, that had been taken out of the fliip command- 
 ed by M. de Pointis, and which he had run afhore when he fleet 
 from Sir John Leake, lay at anchor under the cannon of M.ih- 
 ga, he refolved to go and attempt her; which deilgn he put in 
 execution, though one of the fifth rates was accidentally difa- 
 bled, and the other feparated from him ; and failing direc\!y un- 
 der the cannon of the place, cut her from her anchors, notwith- 
 ftanding all the fire they could make, and carried her fafe into 
 the harbour of Gibraltar. 
 
 On the twenty-fixth of the fame month he chaced, and camfc 
 up with another French (hip, called the Content, that carried 
 fixty-four guns. The captain of her, inftead of attempting to 
 fight the Englifh Hups, got as Toon as he could under the can- 
 non of a little cnitle, about eight leagues weft of Ameria, 
 where he crept as cloie as it was pofiible to the fhore. Captain 
 Coney anchored before him, and ordered the Milford and Fowey 
 to do the fame, the one a-head, the other a-flern. They plied 
 their guns for about three hours very brifkly, and then the 
 French (hip took fire, blew up, and was entirely deftroyed, with 
 moft of her men. This fhip had been detached by M. Villars, 
 to bring the before-mentioned fhip from Malagas. Some time 
 after captain Coney took another French (hip, called the Mer- 
 cury, of forty-two guns, which the French king had lent the 
 merchants, and which at their expence was fitted out r.s a pri- 
 vateer 11 . 
 
 I fhould now proceed to refume the hiftory of affairs in the 
 "Weft Indies, but that there remains a remarkable action or two 
 in Europe, which I think deferve notice, and therefore I have fet 
 them down here, in the clofe of the yenr, by themfelves, not find- 
 ing it fo eafy to reduce them toany particular fervice. On the nine- 
 teenth of April, the Refolution, a feventy-gun fhip, command- 
 
 B Bu'dict, p. 719. I.ediard, vol. ii. p. 811. But both their accounts are 
 taken from the London Gazette, N. 4158. 
 
 h Mr. fecretary Botchei fays, this happened on the 8:h of July; but Mr. 
 L_-d ; .ar<l c-njfflurcd very rightly, that, inftead of July, it fhould have been Ja- 
 nuary ; and fo it appears l.y tl.r account we have of this traniatfion in the Gazette, 
 N. 43^4, where the snide is ria'.td from Lifbon, February 9. N. S. which is 
 r>ne proof out of many of the wretched incorreflnefs of this naval hiftory, as to 
 fiates, in which one would have expected, from its author'j ftation, remarkable 
 regularity and cxiflricfs. 
 
 rd
 
 F QjL- E E N A N N E. I 13 
 
 fed by captain Mordaunr, youngeft fon of the er,rl of Peterbo- 
 rongli, having his father on board, and his Catholic majefty's 
 envoy to the duke of S.ivoy, fell in with fix large {hips of the 
 enemy, in his paffage to Genoa ; the earl of Peterborough per- 
 ceiving the danger, defired that himfelf, and the Spanifh envoy, 
 might be put en board a fmall frigate, called the Enterprize ; 
 for as he took his bufinefs then to be negociating, not fighting, 
 he was willing to efcape to Oncglia, if it was poffible, which, 
 according to his ufual good fortune, he was lucky enough to 
 effect 
 
 The Milford, a fifth rate, which we have lately mentioned, 
 was likcwife with captain Mordaunt, but feeing the danger, ran 
 from it, and efcapecl. On the twentieth the weather proved 
 very bad, fo that the Refolution was in part difabled, which 
 gave the enemy an opportunity of coming up with her, ; upon 
 whicl) captain Mordaunt, by advice of his officers, refolved to 
 run her afhore, having received a great deal of damage in the 
 engagement. About three in the afternoon he effected this, 
 and ran her a-ground in a fandy bay, within a third of a cable's 
 length of the land, and directly under the cannon of the caflle 
 of Ventimiglia, belonging to the Genoefe, who notwithstanding 
 g-.ive them not the leaft affiflance. About half an hour after 
 four, captain Mordaunt, being difabled by a (hot in his thigh, 
 was carried on fhore, but would not retire far from his fhip ; 
 and about five the French commodore manned out all the boats 
 of his fquadron, in order to board the Refolution, under the 
 fire of one of their feventy-gun (hips, which plied ours warmlv 
 all the while ; but the Refolation, even in the condition fhe was 
 in; gave them fuch a reception, as obliged them to return to 
 their refpective fliips. On the twenty-firft, about half an hour 
 paft fix in the morning, one of the enemy's fhips of eighty guns 
 weighing her anchor, brought to under the Refolution's item, 
 and about nine o'clock, a fpring being put under the cable, fhe 
 lay with her broadfide towards her, while fhe at the fame time 
 looked with her head right into the fhore, fothat it was not pof- 
 fible to bring any more guns to bear upon the French fhip, than 
 thofe of her ftern-chace ; and the others being within lefs than, 
 gun-fhot, and the water coming into the Refolution as high as 
 her gun- deck, captain Mordaunt fent to his officers for their 
 
 VOL. III. P opinion
 
 opinion what was fitting to be done ; and, purfuant to their ad- 
 vice, he gave them directions to fet her immediately on fire, 
 which they did about eleven o'clock, after the men were all put 
 on fhore ; and by three in the afternoon flie was burnt to the 
 water's edge '. 
 
 In the month of November, a fingular adventure happened 
 to the Lifbon packet-boat, which was taken by a Dunkirk pri- 
 vateer of confiderable force. The mate, who had the care of 
 the packet, hid it when the privateer appeared firft in fight, and 
 being foon after killed, the captain threw over a cheft of papers, 
 with a weight of lead, juft as the enemy boarded him, which 
 they took for the mail, and therefore did not make fo ftrict a 
 feareh as otherwife they would have done. At fea they were 
 feparated from the privateer, which gave eleven Englilh failors 
 an opportunity of riling upon fifteen Frenchmen, making them- 
 felves mafters of the vefTel, and carrying her into the Texel ? 
 where the government letters were happily found, fewed up in 
 an oil-fkin cafe, and thrown into a water-caik. We ended our 
 laft account of affairs in the Weft Indies with the return of ad- 
 miral Graydon's fquadron from thence : it is now requisite that 
 we mould enter into a detail of what paffed in thofe parts, from 
 that time to the clofe cf the year 1706". 
 
 The complaints which had been made in almoft every feflion 
 of parliament, of mifcarriages and mifdemeanors in the Weft 
 Indies, engaged the miniilry to make choice of .Sir William 
 Whetftone to go thither with a fquadron of feven men of war, 
 in order to fettle affairs after the ravages which they had an ac- 
 count had been committed in thofe parts. He failed accordingly 
 with the trade in the fpring of the year 1705, and arrived, on 
 the feventeenth of May, fufely at Jamaica '. There he foon re- 
 ceived intelligence, that a ftout fquadron of the enemy's flu'ps 
 was on the coaft of Hifpaniola, and that feveral rich fhips were 
 fpeedily expected from the coaft of New Spain. Upon this, he 
 ordered the fquadron to be put in a pofture of failing as foon as 
 poflible, and having left a fufficient convoy for the protection o 
 
 Rurchcf $ naval hiCory, p. 691. k London Gazttte, N. 417?. 
 
 * .London Gazette, N. 410;, 4.154. 
 
 the
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 115 
 
 the homeward-bound fleet, he proceeded, on the fixth of June, 
 for the Spanifh coaft tn . 
 
 On the feventeenth of the fame month, being then within 
 fight of Carthagena, he chaced a fhip, which in the night ran 
 in among the Sambay keys, where there are very uncertain 
 foundings and Ihoal-water, infomuch, that the Briftol, a fhip 
 of fifty guns, came on ground, but was got off again with little 
 or no damage ; however, he came up with the French fhip, 
 and after two hours difpute with thofe that were neareft to her, 
 flie fubmitted. She had forty-fix guns mounted, and carried 
 out with her three hundred and feventy men ; but buried all but 
 one hundred and fifty, unlefs it were a few they had put info 
 prizes. She had brought fix hundred and forty negroes from 
 Guinea, of which two hundred and forty diexl, and moft of the 
 reft were put on more at Martinico, the ifland of St. Thomas 
 and Santa Martha, for they had heard that a fquadron of Eng- 
 lilh (hips was in the Weft Indies. The rear-admiral plying then 
 to the eaftward, difcovered off the river Grande two fail, clofe 
 in with the land, one of which being forced on fhore, was burnt 
 by her own men, being a privateer fitted out at Martinico, to 
 difturb our trade. 
 
 The coaft being thus alarmed, and no profpeft of any im- 
 mediate fervice, he returned back to Jamaica; but appointed 
 three of the beft failers to cruize twenty days off Anigada, in 
 the windward paffage, for the French in their return home, it 
 being the ufual feafon for them to go from Petit Guavas, Port 
 de Paix, and other places ; but thofe fhips joined him again 
 without meeting with any fuccefs n . 
 
 On his return to Jamaica, he had intelligence of a rich (hip 
 bound from Carthagena to Port Lewis, and in order to take 
 her, he detached the Montague and the He6lor, who though 
 they milled their intended prize, brought in a French fhip of 
 twenty-four guns, laden with iugar, indigo, and hides. To- 
 wards the latter end of the fame month, the rear-admiral put 
 to fea, to cruize off Hifpaniola, where he met with fuch a 
 ftorm, as forced him back to Jamaica in a very diftrcffed condi~ 
 
 Btuchet'i naval hiftory, book v. chap. 10. 
 
 a Burchet's naval hiiWy, p. 69?. London Gjvttt, X. 41 4- 
 
 P 2 tiOTV
 
 ii<5 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 tion. While the fhips, particularly his own, were refuting, 
 the Montague, a fixty-gun ihip, was fent to cruize on the coaft 
 of Hifpaniola, where he met with two French (hips, one of 
 forty-eight, the other of thirty-fix guns, and the captain brave- 
 ly engaged them both till he loft them in the night. The next 
 morning he had fight of them again, and would willingly 
 have renewed the engagement, but his officers and feamen were 
 not in the humour to fight, and fo the Frenchmen efcaped. 
 The captain, (whofe name Mr. Burchet hath not thought fit to 
 tranfmit to pofterity, though for what reafon I cannot imagine), 
 on his return to Jamaica complained to the admiral, and brought 
 the whole aff..:r underthe examination of a court-martial, where 
 it fully appeared, that he had done his duty to the utmoft of 
 his power, and he was thereupon honourably acquitted ; but as 
 for his officers, they were broke, as they well deferved, and ma- 
 ny of his feamen punifhcrd . 
 
 The admiral, in the mean time, to repair this mifhke as far 
 as he was able, fent cwo fourth rates, the Briftol and the Foilc- 
 ftone, in queft of thofe fhips, they fell in wich them and the 
 vefTels under their convoy ; they behaved very brilkly in feizing 
 the defencdefs merchant-men ; but though they had it abfo- 
 lutely in their power to have fought at leafr, if not to have ta- 
 ken the men of war, they let them flip through their hand?, 
 \vith half the fleet under their care ; for which fcandalous ne- 
 glect, the fenior oflicer, whofe name is again milling in Mr. 
 Burchet's hiftory, but which I have reafon to beiieve was Au- 
 derfon, came to be tried, broke, and rendered incapable to 
 ferve at feaP. 
 
 I am very forry that a mere particular detail of thefe affairs 
 cannot tie had, becaufe the merit of hiilory is the bellowing 
 
 iirchet's nav.lhift. p. 699. Lord. Gaz. N. 4176. 
 
 P Mr. Oljmixori, who was the author of the Britifh empire- in America, 
 vol. ii. p. 314, gives us the following account. The Briftol aivl F llcflone met 
 with tcu fail of mcrchjnt-men, bound from Petit G.avas to l-nn-e, under con- 
 voy ot : > Frcflch nien v>f wir, one of ft.ur and rwcuty, and another of thirty 
 jHins, ou> (>r'\i.!cli captdin Ancerfoji, commodore of the P^ngliih, took dx mer- 
 c 11. f mtn. ].{. n with Tu^ir, cocoa, crchirtcul, and indigo, and hrcught them to 
 JTI it arrived, admiral \Vhetftone h;!d a court-martial, and captain 
 
 /\ ',<Li K.-i, with rhe other rfrlc.rs, were condemned to \sf: thrir cotnmifllons for uot 
 rnofwar. 
 
 jtlft
 
 o F Qju EENANNE. 117 
 
 juft praifes on worthy men, and fetting fuch a mark of dif- 
 grace on men of another character as they deferve. A little 
 after thefe unlucky incidents, while the admiral was detained 
 for want of ftores at Jamaica, the Suffolk, where his ft,ag was 
 flying, by fome unfortunate accident, which I think was never 
 accounted for, blew up in the gun-room, where moft of the 
 men were killed, and feventy more in their hammocks were fo 
 burnt, that the greateft part of them died. When things were 
 once more put in tolerable order, he failed for the coail of 
 Hifpaniola, and had thoughts of ftretching over again to the 
 main, with a view to have fent the orders of his Catholic ma- 
 jefty, king Charles III. to the governor of Carthagcna ; bi.t 
 finding this impracticable, and himfelf much too weak to un- 
 dertake any thing againft the French in thofe feas, he returned 
 back to Jamaica* 3 . 
 
 I do not find in any of the accounts that I have met with, 
 that Sir William Whetftone was fo much as fufpected of being 
 in any degree wanting in his duty ; but fo it was, that through 
 negleb of our admiralty, and a mercenary fpirit in fome of 
 our governors of colonies, and captains of men of war, things 
 were fallen into fuch diftra&ion in the Weft Indies, that we 
 were not either in a condition to hurt the enemy's fettlements, 
 or fo much as able to defend our own. The truth feems to be, 
 that the great fleets we fitted out every year for the Mediterra- 
 nean, and the cruizers that were neceflary upon our own coafls, 
 took up fo many (hips, that it was fcarce poflible to fupply even 
 the reafonable demands of the Weft Indies. 
 
 The enemy, on the other hand, had fome very fignal advan-* 
 tages; for after Sir George Rooke had taught them, that fea- 
 fights were not for their advantage, they had recourfe to their 
 old trade of carrying on a piratical war ; and as they had little 
 trade to protect, and many good fhips, they were able to fur- 
 nifh out (tout fquadrons for this purpofe. Add to all that has 
 been faid, the great concerns they had in the Weft Indies, where 
 
 3 Burchet's natal h'.ftcrr, p. 699. During the time that the aJmirml was in 
 the Weft Indies, he had, a: fome write, the good fortune to nuke prize of two 
 r^h Spanilh ihips, on board of which were two hundred thoufand pieces of eighf, 
 and a great quantity of valuable goods, Mercure l.ifterique ct poliiique, tome 
 xii. p. 309.
 
 u8 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 now not only the French, but the Spanifh. fettlements were 
 immediately under their care, and where, as France had the 
 free ufe of the ports, fo (he had the direction alfo of the naval 
 force of both nations, without which Ihe could never have car- 
 ried on the war r . 
 
 The driving the Engliflt out of the Leeward-iflands, was the 
 point the French had moft in view, and having a very exact ac- 
 count of our condition there, the governor of St. Domingo, 
 M. Iberville, had orders to aCTill: in an attempt that was to be 
 made on St. Chriftopher's. It is in truth a very difficult thing 
 to give a fair account of this matter, fince the French magnify 
 it, and fuch of our writers as have taken any notice of it, have 
 done all they could to leiTen and difparage it. The moft pro- 
 bable relation that I have met with amongft many, fets the af- 
 fair in this light. The count de Chavagnac, with a fmall fqua- 
 dron of French men of war, attacked the ifland of St. Chrif- 
 topher's in the month of March, where they burnt and plun- 
 dered feveral plantations ; but when they came to attack the 
 caftle, they were repulfed with lofs*. They would, however, 
 in all probability, have carried their point at lad, if the gover- 
 nor of Barbadoes, on receiving information of what had hap- 
 pened, had not fent down thither a floop, with intelligence to 
 the governor, that a fquadron from England was coming to his 
 relief. This reaching the ears of the French, as it was intended 
 it fhould, they imbarked in much hafte, after having done a 
 great deal of mifchief; but, however, nothing comparable to 
 what the French writers fay c . 
 
 r I do not pretend to give the reader thefe reflections as my own, becinfe I am 
 very ftnfihle that they have been made before by other writers. A 1 the merit 
 that I would affiime, if, thst of introducing them properly, and fo as to prove 
 what it certainly imports us much to know, that the French are as vigilant in 
 making the moft of every advantage, as we are generally backward in tiling fuch 
 opportunities as our fitualion and naval force afford. 
 
 * Burchet's naval hid. p. 699. Lond. Gaz. N. 4x30. Me. -jrc hiftorique 
 t politicjue, tome xl. p. 618. 
 
 i Father Daniel, in his journal of the reign of Lewis XIV. p. 156. compute! 
 the plunder ef St. Chriftophe-'s at three millions of French money, or 150,000 
 pounds of ours; which is, I think, incredible; efpccially, if the French retired 
 in frme kind of confirmation ; and that they did is pretty certain, fincc the count 
 dt CbiUM&oac ws !iuc(li<,oed about it when he returned to France. 
 
 But,
 
 OF QJTEEN ANNE. 119 
 
 But, unluckily for us, before count de Chavagnac fallal, 
 count Iberville joined him with his fquadron ; fo that they had 
 now five ftout men of -war, fome frigates, and twenty floops, 
 with which they refolved to attack Ncvib. They landed in 
 Green-bay, in the evening of the twenty-fecond of the fame 
 month, which was Good-Friday ; and they pufhed their opera- 
 tions fo brilkly, that by the twenty-fourth, which was Eafter- 
 Sunday, the inhabitants made a capitulation, by which they pro- 
 mifed to deliver up all their negroes, and to procure a number 
 of prifoners, equal to that of themfelvcs, to be fet at liberty in 
 Europe, in confideration of their not being taken off the ifland. 
 Our Gazette fays, that the French broke thcfe articles, by 
 treating them barbaroufiy, burning their houfes and fug ir works, 
 and other actions of the like nature. But other accounts fay, 
 that the inhabitants could not comply with their capitulation, 
 becaufe the negroes retiring into the mountains, ftood on their 
 defence, and when attacked, killed a great number of the 
 French. Upon this the inhabitants came to a new agreement 
 on the fixth of April, in which they undertook to deliver to 
 the French, in lefs than fix months, one thoufand four hundred 
 negroes, or one hundred and forty thouiand pieces of eight ; 
 upon which the French retired, carrying off with them moft ot 
 the effecls, and a great number of negroes, but fewer certainly 
 than feven thoufand, as a French hiltorian computes them u . 
 A little after this unfortunate accident, commodore Ker arrived 
 with a confiderable force in the Leeward- iflands, and having 
 ftationed feveral {hips according to his inilru&ions, he bore 
 away with the reft for Jamaica, which was theft thought to be 
 in danger, from the junction of Ibervillc's fquadron, with that 
 of DucafTe w . 
 
 In the mean time rear-admiral Whetftonc failed with a few 
 (hips from Jamaica, in hopes of attacking DucalTe, before he 
 
 " Moft of jhefe particulars I have drawn from a priv.ite letter, written by a 
 plant, r, but ten d*ys afVr the !a(l eip'nil-tion. The inquifitive reader may 
 conlult the Gazette, N. 4141, and O'dmixon's hittory of the Britilh 
 empire in Ameiica, vol. ii. p. 154. Mercure hifLrique et politique, tome x!i. 
 p. 198. 
 
 Burchct's naval hid. p. 700. Lond. G;z. N. 4165. KiftviTe de St. Do- 
 ul. iv. p. in,. 
 
 was
 
 120 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 was joined by the fuccours he expected. But this defign being 
 defeated by bad weather, he returned to Jamaica about the mid- 
 dle of July, and towards the latter end of the fame month was 
 joined by commodore Ker, with the fquadron under his com- 
 mand. There being now fo considerable a force, the admiral 
 was very defirous that fomething fhould be attempted capable 
 of effacing the memory of paft miftakes, and worthy the naval 
 force of the Britifh nation. After mature deliberation, it was 
 refolved to proceed to Carthagena, where they knew the gal- 
 leons were, to try what effects king Charles's lecters would 
 produce, and whether the governor might not be wrought upon 
 by our fuccefles in Europe, to own him for his rightful fove- 
 reign in America. With this view, Sir William Whetftone 
 and captain Ker failed from Jamaica on the eighth of Auguft, 
 and on the eighteenth arrived before Carthagena, and fent in a 
 packet to the governor. At firft he trifled a little, and gave 
 evafive aniwers, but when mere clofely preffed, he declared 
 roundly, that he knew no fovereign but Philip V. and that no 
 other he would obey. There were at that time in the port 
 fourteen large galleons, lying clofc in with the city, and un- 
 rigged. The admiral was for attempting to burn them, but the 
 pilots unanimoufly declared, that any frich deilgn would be 
 found impracticable, unlefs we were firft in pofTeffion of Bocca 
 Chica caftle, and the other forts; and even in that cafe, it 
 was very doubtful whether fhips of fo great a fize as theirs 
 could get in *. 
 
 Then it was taken into confideration, what further fervice 
 might be done, and the refult of this was, a refolution to re- 
 turn to Jamaica : from whence, as foon as the trade was ready, 
 the rear admiral was to convoy them home, and commodore 
 Ker to remain behind, in order to take upon him the command 
 of the force left in the Weft Indies. This fcheme was imme- 
 diately put in execution, and, upon their return, Sir William 
 made all pofiible difpatch, in order to get home in time ; and 
 accordingly leaving the ifland the latter end of October, he ar- 
 lived at Plymouth on the twenty-third of December, 1706, 
 with the Suffolk, Briftol, Refcrve, and Vulcan fire-fliip, and a 
 
 * Burchet's naval hifr. 7 709, Lor.d. Gaz. N'. 4175. 
 
 fleet
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 121 
 
 'fleet of merchant-men under his convoy, having been landed 
 abroad, and performed little, though no man in the fervice had 
 {hewn a greater fpirit of activity, before his being fcnt on this 
 Weft India expedition". 
 
 The fquadron which commodore Ker brought into the Weft 
 Indies, confided of fix fliips of the line, three frigates, and a 
 fire-fliip. With this force he ftretchecl over from Jamaica to 
 the ccafl of Hifpaniola, from thence to the main, where he 
 cruized till the fourth of September ; and then the winds pro- 
 ving northerly, he returned to Hifpaniola, on the coaft of 
 which ifland he held a council of war, in order to determine 
 whether it might not be practicable to furprize Port Lewis. 
 But the pilots not being well acquainted with the entrance into 
 that port, it was refolved to proceed directly to Petit Guavas, 
 nnd to go to the northward of the ifland of Guanaua, in order 
 the better to prevent their dcfign from being discovered. On 
 the thirteenth of September he detached captain Boyce, in the 
 Dunkirk-prize, with all the boats in the fquadrcn manned and 
 armed, with orders to range along the bays of Leogane and 
 Petit Guavas, in the night, with all imaginable care and cau- 
 tion, and fo to difpofe themfelves as that they might deftroy the 
 enemy's fhips in either of thofe roads, and be able to return to 
 the fquadron next morning on a fignal given. But how well 
 foever this fcheme might be laid, it mifcarried through the ill 
 conduct of fome of the officers, who running in too near the 
 fhore, alarmed the inhabitants to fuch a degree, that any far- 
 ther attempt was rendered impracticable 2 . 
 
 Upon this difappointment, commodore Ker returned to Ja- 
 maica, in order to refit his velTcls, and to rermir the damage he 
 had fuflained in this fruitlefs expedition. But while he was thus 
 employed, he was attacked by a new and greater evil, occa- 
 iioned by a mortality which prevailed among the feamen, and 
 that to fuch a degree, as in a manner utterly difabled him from 
 any further fervice. The merchants, however, who fuffered 
 for want of fliips to protect them, lofing abundance of floops, 
 laden with fiiver, upon the Spanifli coafts, began to complain 
 
 y London GiZ.tte, X . 4292. Mercurc hiftcrique et poliiiquc, tome xl'u. 
 p. q8. z Buiihtt'i nava! hift. p. 700. Ledijrd's nav.l hiftory, 
 
 Vcl. ii. p. 8 1 J. 
 
 VOL. III. Q loudly
 
 122 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 loudly of the commodore's conduct ; and even went fo far, as 
 to fend home an agent, who had inftru&ions to lay the matter 
 before the houfe of commons, where, after a full and fair ex- 
 amination, this officer's behaviour received a cenfure, in confe- 
 quence of which he was laid afide. In the mean time the 
 command in the Weft Indies fell into the hands of Sir John 
 Jennings, who had been, as we before obferved, detached for 
 that purpofe, with a confiderable fquadron from the Streights. 
 But, as his proceedings belong to the fucceeding year, we 
 muft refer the reader to that part of our hiftory, for an account 
 of them 3 . 
 
 We muft, before we leave America, take notice of a difap- 
 pointment the enemy met with in attacking Carolina. The 
 French had long had their eyes on our northern colonies, which 
 were then in a very flourifhing condition ; amongft other pro- 
 jects that M. Iberville had been furniflied with, one was the 
 attacking, and, as far as it fhould be in his power, deftroying 
 the province of Carolina. When therefore he had finifhed his 
 defigns in the Leeward-iflands, he failed with a fquadron of fix 
 men of war, and ieveral tranfports for South Carolina. He 
 made a defcent in the neighbourhood of Charles-town, with 
 about eight hundred and fifty foldiers and feamen, and fent an 
 officer to fummon the governor to furrender the city and colony 
 to the French king, telling him at the fame time, that he would 
 allow him but an hour to confider of it. Sir Henry Johnfon. 
 told him, that was much too long a fpace, for that he did not 
 want half a minute to refolve ongoing his duty ; and that there- 
 fore he was at liberty to return, and tell thofe that fent him, 
 that the Englifhwere not to be frightened with words, for they 
 fliould foon find that they were able to return blows. 
 
 Upon this fpirited anfwer followed an attack, in which the 
 French met with fo vigorous a refiftance, that they were glad 
 to retreat with the lois of three hundred killed, drowned or 
 taken ; and among the latter ten officers, viz. their chief com- 
 
 * I thought it more expedient to take notice of this matter here, than pofl- 
 f one it abfoliitely, tiJ! we come to fpeak of the proceedings of parliament, in 
 the year 1707, where we (hall however be obliged to refiime it, and where (he 
 rea-Jer will have a more particular account of what the offences were, with 
 nl.ich ihl, gentleman wa charged. 
 
 mnnder
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 123 
 
 mander at land, his lieutenant, three captains of {hips, four 
 lieutenants, and a mafter, who together offered ten thoufand 
 pieces of eight for their ranfoms. One of the French (hips ha- 
 ving ventured to make a defcent at the diftance of fix miles from 
 Charles-town, the governor fent a detachment of militia to the 
 afliftance of the planters, who were fo lucky as to make them- 
 felves mafters of the fhip, with all its crew, which confifted of 
 about one hundred and forty men b . 
 
 The French had alfo fome defigns upon New York, of which 
 we had fo early intelligence in England, that lord Cornbury, 
 eldeft fon to the earl of Clarendon, was fent over to take upon 
 him the government ; and he finding all things in great confufion, 
 and the few fortrefles in that country running to ruin, firft ob- 
 tained from the affembly a confiderable fupply for that fervice, 
 and then ordered a general embargo to be laid, which enabled 
 him to employ fifteen hundred men, in working on their forti- 
 fications j fo that they were, in a very fliort time, put into a 
 good pofture of defence, and all the views of the enemy dif- 
 appointed on that fide. We had not, however, as great fuc- 
 cefs in bringing home the Virginia fleet, part of which fell into 
 the hands of the French privateers, and the reft were feparated 
 by a ftorm, which occasioned great apprehenfions and uneafi- 
 nefles about them ; but moft of them, notwithstanding, arrived 
 at laft fafe in the weftern ports. The merchants, however, 
 raifed loud complaints againft the admiralty, who had now, in 
 a great meafure, loft their intereft in the houfe of commons ; 
 fo that whatever charges were brought againft them, had all 
 the encouragement that could be expected, and the merchants 
 were left at full liberty to produce their witnefles, and to make 
 out all that they could ; which, though it afforded no remedy 
 to thefe mifchiefs, yet it took the weight off the miniftry, and 
 gave the nation general fatisfa&ion, as all inquiries, itri&ly and 
 impartially proiccuted, ever muft c . 
 
 t> Sec the complete hiflory of Europe, for the year 1706, p. ;4S. and.the Mer- 
 cure hift. 1707, vol. i. p. 9^. Father Daniel takes not the leaft notice of the 
 matter, and indeed few or none of the French hirtoriatis have courage enough to 
 report fairly their defeats. 
 
 c Burnct, Oldmison, Brrift empire in America, vol. Si, p. 14?* 
 
 Qji We
 
 124 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 "We nre now, according to the method hitherto purfued it} 
 this \vork, to give the reader an account of the meafures taken 
 for the fuppiying the fervice of the fucceeding year; and this 
 the fuccefs attending the war, both by fea and land, enables us 
 to do in a very fhort fpnce. The queen opened the feffions on 
 the third of December, i 706, with a moft gracious fpeech, 
 wherein (he took notice of what had been already done, and of 
 the reafons which obliged her to defire, that as great difpatch 
 as poffible might be given to the fupplies ; and how much 
 weight her majefty's recommendation had, will appear from 
 hence, that though they amounted to no lefs than five millions 
 eight hundred ninety-three thoufand three hundred eighty-one 
 pounds fifteen millings and three-pence three farthings, yet they 
 vvere voted in lefs than a week; fo that the queen came on the 
 twenty-firll: to the houfe of peers, and having fent for the com- 
 mons, the fpeaker prefented the bills, and in his fpeech on that 
 occafion, took notice, " That as the glorious viftory obtained 
 " by the duke of Marlborough, at Ramillies, was fo furprizing, 
 " that the battle was fought before it could be thought the 
 " armies were in the field, fo it was no lefs furprizing, that 
 " the commons had granted fupplies to her majefty before 
 " the enemy could well know that her parliament was fit- 
 " ting d ." 
 
 This care of the public thus fhcwn, the houfe went into the 
 comlderation of the feveral expeditions executed within thecom- 
 pafs of the preceding year ; nnd after a long debate, on the 
 twenty-ieventh of January, in relation to the method of carry- 
 ing on the war in Sptein, it was carried en the queftion, by a 
 majority of two hundred and fifty, againft one hundred and 
 firry, that the feveral fums of money for the extraordinary fer- 
 vices for the year 1706, which had been agreed to by this 
 lioufe, had been advanced and expended for the prdcrvation of 
 our firm ally the duke of Savoy, for promoting the intereit of 
 king Charles III. in Spain, againft the common enemy, and for 
 the fafety and honour of the nation c . Not long after, the houfe 
 proceeded to take into confideration the report from the com- 
 
 d S Chand'er's debates, vol. iv. p. 47. e Biirnei's hift. of his own 
 
 times, Vul. ii. p. jfy. Annals of queen Anne, vol. v. p. 435. 
 
 mittee,
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 125 
 
 mittee, to whom the petition of feveral proprietors of planta- 
 tions in the illands of Nevis and St. Chriitopher's in America, 
 and other merchants trading to the fame, on behalf of them- 
 fclves and the other inhabitants and traders to the faid illands, 
 was referred, and the lame being read, it was refolved, " That 
 " an humble addrefs be prefented to her majefty, that flie will 
 u be pleafed to appoint fuch perfons, as her majefty (hall think 
 " fit, to inquire into the true ftate of the lofles of the people of 
 " the iflunds of Nevis and St. Chriftop/er's, in order to lay 
 *' the fame before this houfe the next fcftion of parliament, to 
 " apply what may be convenient for the better fecuring thofe 
 " iflands, and fupplying them with neceiiaries in order to a re- 
 " fettlement." The laid addrefs being prefented accordingly, 
 her majefty was pleafed to aufwer, " That Ihe was very well 
 " pleafed to find the houfe of commons had fo compaffionate 
 " a fenfe of the loffes of her fubjec"ls in Nevis and tSt. Chrifto- 
 " pher's; as alfo with the concern they ihewed upon this occa- 
 " lion for the plantations, which were fo jullly intitled to their 
 " care, by the large returns they made to the public ; and her 
 mnjelty would give the neceiTary orders for what the houfe 
 44 had dofired in that matter." Accordingly her majefty was 
 afterwards pleafed to appoint two gentlemen, of known ability 
 and integrity, to go to the faid illands, to procure an exact 
 ftate of the lofTes of her fubjecls there, in order to their be- 
 ing put on fuch a footing, as might be beft for the particular 
 benefit of the inhabitants, and the general good of thefe king- 
 doms f . 
 
 The houfe having had notice of the great declenfion of our 
 intereft in, and of our lucrative trade to Newfoundland ; the 
 Marquis of Caermarthen having likewife acquainted them, that 
 certain pirates had made a great and dangerous fettlement at 
 Madagafcar, where they threatened to erect a kind of thievifh 
 republic, little inferior to thofe on the coaft of Barbary ; and 
 having offered to go himfe'f with a fmall fquadron, to put an 
 end to this mifchief while there was a probability of doing it, 
 the houfe appointed a committee to take thefe matters into their 
 
 f The complete hiflory of Turope for 1707, p. 118. Chandler's debates, vol. 
 iv. p, 6$. 
 
 confideration ;
 
 126 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 confideration ; who, after having thoroughly examined them, 
 came to the following refolutions 8 : 
 
 *' I. That a great number of pirates have fettled themfelves in 
 * the ifland of Madagafcar, from whence they have committed 
 ' many great piracies, robberies, and depredations, very ruin- 
 ' ous to trade, and whereby the lives of many of her majefty's 
 lf good fubjetts have been deftroyed. 
 
 " II. That an humble addrefs be prefented to her majefty, 
 " that Ihe would be graciouily pleafed to take into her royal 
 " confideration, how the faid pirates may be fuppreffed, and 
 " their further piracies, robberies, and depredations, may be 
 " effectually prevented." Which refolutions were on the 8th 
 of April agreed to by the houfe. The fame day it was refolved, 
 f That an humble addrefs be prefented to her majefty, that fhe 
 " will be gracioufly pleafed to ufe her royal endeavours to re- 
 " cover and preferve the ancient pofTcffions, trade, and fifliery, 
 " in Newfoundland." 
 
 Her majefty received thefe addrefies very gracioufly, and 
 promifed that proper care fhould be taken with refpedl to the 
 matters contained in them : and thus ended the proceedings of 
 this fetTion of parliament, with which I fliall conclude the events 
 of this winter. 
 
 We have now run through the naval tranfadions of about 
 eighteen years, in which fhort fpace there happened fo many 
 tilings worthy of remark, and our maritime power increafed to 
 fuch a degree, that it is with no fmall difficulty that I have been 
 able to bring them into this compafs. But a bare relation of 
 events will very little benefit ordinary readers, if they are not 
 attended with fome few reflections, in order to point out the ad- 
 vantages and difadvantages which befel fociety in confequence of 
 thefe tranfacYions. The two wars in which we were engaged, 
 in conjunction with the Dutch, as they demonstrated on the one 
 hand our mighty power at fea, fo on the other they put us to a 
 prodigious expence. The houfe of commons, in the year 1702, 
 in a reprefentation to the queen, fay exprefsly, that from No- 
 vember 1688, to March the eighth, 1701, there had been raifed 
 
 Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 387. Annals of queen Anne, 
 v .1. v. p. 48*. 
 
 for
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 for the fervice of the war, forty- five millions five hundred fixty- 
 eight thoufand feven hundred twenty-five pounds nineteen (hil- 
 lings and two-pence half-penny; an immenfe fum indeed! As to 
 the expences of queen Anne's war, \ve fhall take notice of them 
 when we come to the conclufion of it : at prefent let us obferve, 
 that one national end, with refpeft to England, was, in this latt 
 war particularly, in a great meafure anfwered, I mean the de- 
 ftru&ion of the French power at fea ; for after the battle of 
 Malaga, we hear no more of their great fleets ; and though bv 
 this the number of their privateers was very much increase), 
 yet the lofies of our merchants were far lefs in the latter than 
 in the former reign, which I think was chiefly owing to a feiies 
 of inquiries conftantly carried on either in one houle of parlia- 
 ment or the other. 
 
 The fuccefs of our arms at fea, and the neceflity of protecting 
 our trade, joined to the popularity of every ftep taken towards 
 the increafmg our maritime power, occafioned fuch meafures 
 to be purfued in order thereto, as annually added to its force. 
 The great ftorm in 1703, the misfortunes that fo many fqua- 
 drons met with in the Weft Indies, our ill luck in regard to the 
 Dunkirk privateers, and, in fhort, every other untoward acci- 
 dent which fell out within this period of time, though it bore 
 hard upon private perfons, and was injurious to our trade in ge- 
 neral, yet it was in the main beneficial to our marine, inafmuch 
 as it gave a handle for augmenting it, as every thing tending 
 thereto was well received. Hence arofe that mighty difference 
 which, at the clofe of the year 1706, appeared in the royal na- 
 vy ; which not only in the number, but in the quality of the 
 fhips of which it was compofed, was greatly funerior to what it 
 had been from the time of tho icwli.t.on, or even before it. 
 
 The economy and difcipline of our marine was alfo much 
 mended, and thole jealoufies in a great meafure worn out, 
 which had been very prejudicial to men of the greatefl merit, 
 during the preceding feign, as they certainly were in the latter 
 part of this, when they were mod unfortunately revived. The 
 great encouragement given to the lailors, by taking the utmoft 
 care of the fick and wounded, exacl: and fpeedy paying of prize- 
 money, and the many extraordinary orders that from time to 
 time were iiTi;ej in their favour, and are ft ill to be met with in 
 
 our
 
 128 NAVALHISTOR1L 
 
 our Gazettes, from whence feme of them have been cite. 
 this work, gave a mighty fpirit to our failors, and in a manner 
 extinguished that prejudice which has fince revived againft going 
 to lea in a man of war. Thus, in this refpett, whatever we 
 nv.^ht do in others, the nation certainly throve by the war, that 
 is to fay, we grew conftantly ftrcnger, our fleets more nume- 
 rous and better manned ; fo that at the time I conclude this 
 chapter, we were much more capable of aiTerting our claim to 
 the dominion of the fea, than at the time the war began. 
 
 If any of my readers ihoulcl entertain a doubt, either as to 
 the truth of the fafts here laid down, or the validity of the 
 judgment I have delivered upon them, I think I need only turn 
 him over, for fatisfnction, to foreign authors ; for certainly, if 
 they concur in fentiment with me on this head, there ought to 
 be no difpute about it. But if we dip into any of the French 
 political writers, we fhall not fail to find them deploring the vi- 
 fible decay of their maritime power, from ths time of the battle 
 of Malaga, and conftantly blaming the adminiftration for not 
 bending their thoughts to the recovery of it fo much as they 
 ought to have done ; which they, generally fpeaking, afcribe to 
 the vaft exper.ce of the war by land, which would not, by 
 any means, admit the diverting fuch fupplies as were neceflary 
 for the fervice of the fea. From thefe complaints, which are 
 certainly well founded, it is manifest that, on the one hand, 
 their maritime power declined, whilft ours increafed; and, on 
 the other, that this dcclenfion grew fo fft upon them, that 
 their ableft minifters thought it in vain jto ftruggle, and there- 
 fore gave up all further concern for their reputation in this re- 
 fpect, in a fit of defpair, out of which nothing but our inacti- 
 vity or negligence would recover them. 
 
 T j this I may add, that as the Spanifh naval power had been 
 long decaying, fo by this war it was totally deftroyed : they 
 had indeed a few gallies in the battle of Malaga, and it may 
 be half a dozen men of war in the Weft Indies; but, upon the 
 whole, they had fuch occafion for (hips of force, and had fo 
 few of them, that the affifbnce given them by the French, 
 contributed not a little to the declenfion of their marine, as ap- 
 pears by the deftruciion of their men of war at Vigo, which 
 was a lofi they were never able to repair ; and though it be 
 
 very
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 129 
 
 very true, that whilft Spain was governed by a prince of the 
 houfe of Auftria, and lived in amity with us, we were rather 
 bound to encourage and protect, than any way to lefTen or de- 
 prefs the Spanifli power at fea; yet by the palling of this crown 
 into the houfe of Bourbon, our intereft, in this refpect, was 
 entirely changed, and the lefTening their maritime ftrength was 
 a comparative augmentation of our own ; and this I take to be 
 the principal reafon, that through the courfe of the war, France 
 complained fo much of the burden of Spain. For though by 
 the returns of her plate-fleets, and letting the French for a time 
 Hi are in the trade of the South-Seas, fhe might repair that Jofs 
 of treafure, which the maintaining fo many armies for her fcr- 
 vice might occallon, yet the lofs of that maritime power, which 
 was now to protect both dates, was a lofs that never could be 
 repaired, as reafon informed all wife people then, and as we 
 have been taught by experience fince. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be faid, that as the Dutch were concerned 
 in this war as well as we, as they fliared jointly in the dangers 
 and expences of it, fo they muft have been equally gainers in 
 refpedl to their trade and maritime power. But as to this it is 
 moil evident, that the French, according to the information 
 they received from the moft intelligent Dutchmen, take the 
 thing to be quite otherwife, and argue on it to the Dutch them- 
 felves, as if it was a fact out of difpute, from whence they 
 take occafion to alledge, that while the Englifti made a pretence 
 of ruining the maritime power of France, they in reality aimed 
 at doing as much for the Dutch, in order to fecure univerfal 
 trade, and the fupreme power of the fea, to themfelves. How 
 far the fortune of war might put this in our power, I will not 
 fay, but this I will venture to aflert, and hope it will bz readily 
 credited, that fuch a thing was never in our intention. The 
 fupplanting allies is a ftrain of policy common to the French, 
 but, without partiality I may fay, unknown to Britons. We 
 have fought for our allies, and conquered for our allies ; nay, 
 we have fometimes paid our allies for fighting in their own 
 c^aufe, and for their own profit -, but to outwit our allies, efpe- 
 cially our favourite allies the Dutch, was, I dare fay, never in 
 $ur will, or in our power. 
 
 VOL. HI. R This
 
 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 This indeed I muft own, that in the conduft of this laft war, 
 efpecially to the year 1706, we had as much the lead in coun- 
 cils as ever the Dutch had in the former war \ for this we paid 
 largely, and, I think, we had a right to it, if we got any thing 
 by it. I muft alfo ingenioufly confefs, that the economy of the 
 Dutch greatly hurt their reputation and their trade. Their men 
 of war in the Mediterranean were always victualled fhort, and 
 their convoys were fo weak and ill-provided, that for one (hip 
 AVC loft, they loft five, which begat a general notion, that we 
 were the fafer carriers, which certainly had a good effect : fo 
 that, taking all things together, I doubt whether the credit of 
 the Englifh nation abroad, or the fpirits of the people at home, 
 were ever higher than at this period of time. 
 
 Hence it was that our trade rather increafed than diminished 
 in this laft war, and that we gained fo fignally by our ftridl in- 
 tercourfe with Portugal ; concerning which I will take the li- 
 berty of running over a few facts that are not commonly at- 
 tended to. When the war firft broke out, Portugal was allied 
 to the two crowns ; and with great difficulty it was that we 
 detached that monarch from their intereft: but the means by 
 which we detached him, ought not to remain a fecret. In the 
 treaty he concluded with Lewis XIV. and his grandfon, he had 
 ftipulated that he (hould be protected by an annual fleet from 
 France ; but when he found that this could not be complied 
 with, and that if he performed his part of the agreement, his 
 coaft would be left open to the infults of the maritime powers, 
 he faw the neceffity of changing his party, which induced him 
 to make a treaty with us in 1703 ; and when the French mini- 
 fter, M. de Chateauneuf, reproached him for thus changing 
 fides, Don Pedro replied, with great fpirit, " If your mafter 
 " had fent thirty {hips of the line to cruize between Lifbon and 
 *' Setubal, I had never quitted his alliance ; and therefore I 
 <* would have you let him know, that he ought to blame him- 
 " felf, not me, for the confequences." 
 
 By the treaty of commerce concluded with the fame crown 
 by Mr. Methuen* we were prodigious gainers ; and I will even 
 tenture to fay, that this fingle alliance was worth more to us, 
 than all the negociations in the former reign. The Portuguef<* 
 began to feel the comfortable effects of the mines they had dif- 
 
 covered
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 131 
 
 covered in Brazil, and the prodigious commerce that followed 
 thereupon with us, made their good fortune in this refpect, in 
 a great meafure ours alfo ; and fo it has been ever fince, other- 
 wife I know not how the expences of the war could have been 
 borne: for, as Dr. Davenant juftly computed, the running cafh 
 of this kingdom, at the time the revolution happened, could not 
 be above eighteen millions; at the acceflion of the queen we had 
 not fo much ; but at the time of concluding the union it was 
 increafed again very conliderably, which mufl be attributed in 
 a great meafure to our Portugal trade : and this, as I have 
 made it manifeft, we owed entirely to our fuperior power at 
 tea. 
 
 As to our trade with the Spanim Weft Indies, by the canal 
 of Cadiz, it was certainly very much interrupted by the war at 
 the beginning ; but afterwards it was in a good meafure refto- 
 red, as well by our direct correfpondence with Spain, after the 
 reduction of feveral provinces under the power of K. Charles III. 
 as through Portugal, by which a very great, though con- 
 traband trade, was carried on. We were at the fame time very 
 great gainers by our commerce with the Spaniards in the Weft 
 Indies, as I am fatistied from feveral French authors, who com- 
 plain that their colonies fuffered much lefs from our naval force 
 than they did from the lofs of this trade ; which is ftrongly 
 confirmed by the complaints of the Jamaica merchants againit 
 commodore Ker, who was very negligent in protecting their 
 floop trade, by which they were great fufferers. The reafon, 
 they aflign alfo for his negligence, is yet a ftronger proof ; for 
 they alledge, that he would not grant them convoys, without 
 fharing in their profits; and if thefe had not been very confi- 
 derable, they could never have tempted an officer of his rank 
 to run fuch a riik. The fame thing may be faid of the com- 
 plaints of the other colonies, which, however juft in themfelves^ 
 yet if they, as evident it is they did, grew richer, more popu- 
 lous, and carried their trade farther than in former times, then 
 it is furely as evident, that the nation in general gained confi- 
 derably in this branch ; to which I may add, that the act for 
 giving a bounty upon hemp imported from our plantations, and 
 other Jaws, were fufficient inftances of the inclination of the 
 
 R 2 rruniftry
 
 i 3 ? NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 miniftry to promote commerce and navigation as far as lay in. 
 their power. 
 
 There is another remark that naturally arifes upon this fub- 
 ject, and that is, the mighty fpirit which appeared amongft our 
 merchants, and enabled them to carry on all their fchemes with 
 fuch vigour, as kept a conftant circulation of money through 
 the kingdom, and afforded fuch mighty encouragement to all 
 manufactures, as have rendered the remembrance of thofe times 
 grateful in \vorfe. Our fuccefies abroad, our victories by land 
 and fea, the refpecT: paid to us by all the ftates of Kurope, ferved, 
 to heighten and fuftain this fpirit, which is at once the fource 
 and foul of profperity ; and a nation grows low and lifelefs, as 
 ibon as it is taken away. 
 
 There were indeed fome accidental advantages which attend- 
 ed the latter part efpecially of this period, that have not been 
 always vifible in preceding or fucceeding times. Amongft thefe 
 1 reckon, in the firft place, an unfeigned loyalty, for it was 
 the felicity of this princefs, that her perfon was dear to nil her 
 fubjefts, nay, even to thofe who queftioned her title ; and this 
 produced another advantage, which was a kind of coalition of 
 parties, of which I rather chufe to fay fomething at the end of 
 this chapter, becaufe, after the union, parties broke loofe again, 
 and threw us, as they will always do, into the utmoft confusion. 
 At the beginning of the war, the Tories were as heartily for it 
 as the Whigs , and if they grew weary of it by degrees, it muft 
 be acknowledged, that they might be tempted thereto in fome 
 refpects by the ill ufage they met with. 
 
 While the duke of Marlborough was efteemed a Tory, his 
 fervices were often extenuated j and though the parliament gave 
 him thanks, there was a party that denied him merit. When 
 lie and the treaftirer went over to the Whigs, the fcale turned 
 fo ftrongly in their favour, that none could be employed who 
 \vere not of this denomination -, and thus Sir George Rooke 
 xv.is bid auV.e, immediately after he had gained a victory, ho- 
 nourable in every refpeft, but mod honourable in this, that it 
 was wholly otving to the prudence and conduct of the admiral. 
 i.-cf-ire the Whigs gained this afccndency, and both parties were 
 imbarked in the caufe of their country, their unanimity pro- 
 duced thole lupplies, which enabled our armies and fleets to aft 
 
 as
 
 O F QjT E E N ANNE. 133 
 
 as they did ; and taught the moft haughty and faithlefs of all 
 powers, that bounds might be fet to its force, though not to 
 its ambition. The laft advantage of which I (hall fpeak, was 
 the public fpirit of parliaments in the queen's reign. If they 
 gave in one feflions, they inquired in the next ; and it is impok 
 fible to mention any remarkable expedition within the firft fi* 
 years, which was not examined and cleared up by fuch inqui- 
 ries ; fo that the people faw and knew what they were doing, 
 which encouraged them to pay chearfully, at the fame time that 
 it put them upon endeavouring to acquire by their induftry what 
 might maintain them happily, notwithftanding thefe large, but 
 necellary expences. 
 
 It is certainly matter of great fatisfaction to me, and muft be 
 fo to every man who wifhes well to his country, that after run- 
 ning through a feries of fuch events, fetting out at firft with 
 the fight of fo great a naval power as the French king had af- 
 fembled, while we ftruggled under many difficulties ; and when 
 we got out of that troublefome war, found ourfelves loaded 
 with a debt too heavy to be (haken off in a fhort interval of 
 peace ; it muft, I fay, be a great fatisfaclion to be able, at the 
 clofe of this chapter, to aflert, that we had overcome all thefe 
 difficulties; and, inftead of feeing the navy of France riding on 
 our coafts, fent every year a powerful fleet to infult theirs, fupe- 
 rior to them, not only in the ocean, but in the Mediterranean, 
 forcing them, as it were, intirely out of the lea ; and this, not 
 by the thunder of our cannon, but by the diftant profpeft of 
 our flag ; as, at the raifing the fiege of Barcelona, when the fon, 
 of the French king, the famous count Thouloufe, high-admiral 
 of France, fled from Sir John Leake, and took flicker in the 
 harbour of Toulon. 
 
 By this, we not only fecured our trade in the Levant, and 
 ftrengthened our intereft with all the Italian princes, but ftrucl: 
 the ftates of Barbary with terror, and even awed the Grand 
 Signior himfelf fo far, as to prevent his liftening to any propo- 
 fitions from France. Such were the fruits of the increafe of 
 our naval power, and of the manner in which it was employed , 
 and though fome, through mifconception of the advantages 
 flowing from this difpofition in thofe princes and ftates; and 
 fome again, from a perverfe humour, perhi.ps, of objecting 
 
 againft
 
 i 3 4 NAVAL HISTORY, fcV. 
 
 againft whatever carried us into a great expence, inveighed 
 againft fending fuch mighty fleets into thofe feas ; yet nothing 
 can be plainer, than that while we continued this war, fuch 
 fleets were neceffary ; that they at once protected our allies, and 
 attached them to our intereft ; and, which is of greater impor- 
 tance than all the reft, that they eftablilhed our reputation for 
 maritime force fo effectually, that we feel even at this day the 
 happy effects of that fame which we then acquired. Of what 
 confequence, therefore, could the expences of thefe fleets, 
 however large, be to a nation like this ? efpecially if we confi- 
 der, that the greateft part of it only fhifted hands ; fince it is 
 the peculiar property of naval expences, that, though they rife 
 ever fo high, they can hardly ever impoverifh, becaufe they are 
 raifed on one part of the fociety, and laid out with the other, 
 and, by a natural circulation, muft certainly very foon return 
 into the firft hands. 
 
 It is a further fatisfaction, that we can fafely fay our trade 
 flourifhed through the courfe of the war, and our merchants 
 were fo loyal to the queen, and fo well affected to her govern- 
 ment, that upon every occafion they were ready to credit the 
 adminiftration with the beft part of that immenfe wealth that 
 had been raifed under their protection. Thefe were glorious 
 times indeed, if riches, victory, and honour, can render a na- 
 tion glorious ; and for all thefe mighty advantages, we ftood in- 
 debted to the maternal affection of the queen ; the wifdom and 
 probity of her minifters ; the heroic courage and generous pub- 
 lic-fpirit of the officers fhe employed by land and fea ; and, 
 above all, to the fincere union of parties amongft us, the con- 
 tempt of private advantages, and a fteady concern for the 
 fafety, reputation, and future profperity of this nation. 
 
 LIVES
 
 C 135 
 
 LIVES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ADMIRALS: 
 
 INCLUDING A NEW AND ACCURATE 
 
 NAVAL HISTORY. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 The Naval Hiftory of GREAT BRITAIN, from the 
 Union of the two kingdoms, to the end of the reign 
 of her majefty queen Anne. 
 
 AS I propofe to make the UNION of the two kingdoms 
 the great event from whence, in this chapter, I (hall 
 deduce our naval hiftory to the prefent times ; and as 
 this event in itfelf has had a great influence on the naval power 
 and commerce of this nation, I think I cannot aft with greater 
 propriety, than to open the cljapter with an impartial account 
 of that important tranfacYion a . This I take to be the more 
 
 * There were feveral curious and valnalle treatifes publifhed on this impor- 
 tant fubjeft, amongft others, The rights and interefts of the two Britiih mo- 
 narchies inquired into, and cleared. War between the two Britiih monarchies 
 confidcred. Efliy upon the union : all thefc in quarto. The in:crcfls of the 
 two kingdoms, and the confequcnces of their union dated. The union of Great 
 Britain in civil . I us concern;, by Simon Mackenzie, of Allangrange, 
 
 itt 8vo, and many others, I>cfiJes fingle papers,
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 necefTary, becaufe almoft all hiftorians, and writers of me* 
 moirs, have given too much way to their paffions and preju- 
 dices, in what they fay about it ; and this to fo great a degree, 
 that they not only contradict and abufe each other, but alfo 
 darken things in fuch a manner, that even the mod intelligent 
 reader can hardly difcern the truth 5 . As I am not confcious 
 of feeling in myfelf fo much as a fpark of party heat ; as I 
 have fome relation to, and at the fame time an equal affection 
 For both countries, without the leaft bias in favour of either, I 
 fhall endeavour to give a clear, fuccinct, and fair account of 
 this whole bufinefs; in order to which, I fhall begin with the 
 motives' which induced the queen's miniftry to puih this matter 
 fo earneftly at that time : I ihall next confider, the advantages 
 propofed to each nation from this UNION, which will confe- 
 quently oblige me to fay fomewhat of the perfons who oppofed, 
 and the grounds of their oppofition to it ; after which, I fhall 
 give a very fhort detail of the rife, progrefs, conclufion, and 
 confequences of it. 
 
 It had been very apparent almoft to every Englifli miniftry, 
 from the time the two kingdoms had been united under one 
 monarch, that fomething was wanting to complete that ftrength 
 and harmony, which every reafonable man looked for from 
 this conjunction ; neither was it long, before fome able ftatef- 
 men perceived what it was that mull produce this effect ; and 
 a national union accordingly was propofed in the reign of king 
 James I. c 
 
 It was defeated then, as great and good defigns are generally 
 defeated, through want of public fpirit. The king was partial 
 to his countrymen, and the Englifh were partial to their coun- 
 try. The former thought it his duty to make all his old de- 
 pendents rich, in a manner not over juftifiable; and the laft 
 defpifed the poverty of that nation to fuch a degree, that they 
 
 b Bifhop Burnet's hiftory of his own times. Oldmixon's hiftory of the 
 Stiurti. Memoirs of ths affairs of Scotland, by George Lockhart, Efq; of 
 Carnwath. c Sec Sir Francis Bacon's weighty fpeech upon this Ab- 
 
 jeft. See alfo what is thrown out by Francis Ofborne, in different parts of 
 his works, upon this topic, more cfpccially in his traditional memoirs of king 
 James I. 
 
 forgot
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 137 
 
 forgot how far their own power and riches might fuffer front 
 fuck treatment. 
 
 Under king Charles I. his old hereditary fubjects departed 
 from their duty to him, and, a potent faction in England in- 
 clining the fame way, the great weight of thefe northern neigh- 
 bours was foon made but too evident, by the murder of the 
 king, and the deftruction of the conftitutions of both kingdoms. 
 After the reftoration, the politics of Charles II. took fuch a 
 turn, as necefiarily occalioned all thoughts of a clofer union 
 between the two crowns to be laid afide, it having been a max- 
 im, during his reign, to make ufe of one nation to awe the 
 other. The unfortunate king James II. fat too fhort a time on 
 the throne, and felt too many cares, from the time he afcended 
 it, to form any projects of this nature, though otherwife much 
 might have been expected from him ; for he was certainly a 
 better judge himfelf, of the intereft of both kingdoms, than 
 any prince of his line. Some thoughts there were of an union 
 in the beginning of king William's time; but the defign was 
 ilr >pped from the belief, or rather the apprehenfion, of its be- 
 irg impracticable d . 
 
 The lord high-treafurer Godolphin, one of the ableft-and 
 moft prudent minifters we ever had, faw very foon the expedi- 
 ency of fuch a thorough national union, for the public fervice, 
 and the neceflity of it, for his own fafety. He faw that, with- 
 out this, the Hanover fuccefHon could never take place, the 
 war with France be effectually carried on, or the new fyftem, 
 that he was then introducing, ever be eftablifhed on a firm 
 bafis. As he was far from affecting the exercife of a boundlefs 
 arbitrary power, fo, to eftablilh his influence in Scotland, he 
 had, through the advice of fome of the ftatefmen of that coun- 
 
 d In the text I have given a fuccin<ft account of the feveral defigns formed for 
 viniiiiig the t*o kingdoms. I am not ignorant, that there were other attempts of 
 that nature; iiich us in the reign of king Charles II. in the beginning of that of 
 king William ; as alfo in the beginning of the queen's reign: but thefe were mere 
 arts of ftate policy, and not founded upon any fettled defion of really bringing it 
 tbout ; and therefore, as the nature of this work would not allow me to enter in- 
 to a ftrift chronologic -1 deduction of this affair, I thought the heft thing I could 
 <!o, was to give the reader, as far as in my power hy, a tru; ftatc of the nutter, 
 in the (horteft compafs pcflibb. 
 
 VOL. HI, S ;ry.
 
 J3 8 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 try, given way to the palling fome adls of parliament there, 
 which enabled the people to ftand upon even ground with the 
 Englifh, and put it in their power, when they were at anytime 
 croiTed, to carry things very high, ' and confequently to talk 
 much higher 6 . 
 
 In order to rid himfelf of thefe difficulties, the treafurer, in 
 conjunction with lord Somers, formed the fcheme of the union, 
 which they refolved fhould not be a temporary expedient, but 
 fuch an at as might remove all their doubts and fears effectu- 
 ally, and for ever. When they had fettled this project to their 
 own fatisfaction, they took the advice of ibme great men of the 
 other kingdom, particularly the earl of Stair, a man of vaft 
 abilities, apd, in all the fenfes of the word, a perfect politi- 
 cian. He it was who gave them the lights they wanted ; he 
 (hewed them how, and by what means, his countrymen might 
 be managed; he pointed out fuch as would oppofe it heartily, 
 and fuch as would oppofe it only till they found their account 
 in defifting from that oppofition. In ihort, he gave both 
 the firft plan of, and the laft form to this great work, and 
 dictated the means which made it both plaufible and practica- 
 ble'. 
 
 In 
 
 e Whatever other writers may aftcrt, this was undoubtedly the faft. The 
 Englilh parliament had recommended the fuccellion, I mean the procuring tho 
 Hanover fucceffion to be fettled in Scotland, very earneftly. The parliament of 
 Scotland, inclined to make ufe of this opportunity, to gee fume favourable 
 conditions flipulated for their trade; and as quiet was at this time very nccef- 
 fary, and in the nature of the thing, perhaps, the defires of the parliament of 
 Scotland not altogether Dnreafonable, they were allowed to pafs an aft, by 
 which the prerogative of the crown was limited, and peace and war were left, 
 not only to the approbation, but to the confent of parliament. This, with 
 another aft impowering the Scots to arm themfelves, alarmed the Englifh 
 houfe of commons to fuch a degree, as to addrefs the queen, to order the militia 
 c( the four northern counties to be difciplined, and to take fome other fleps, 
 which had a direft tendency to plunge the two nations in a war. The treafurer, 
 therefore, faw himfelf under the neccfiity of bringing about an union, to avoid 
 thcfe mighty inconveniencies, and te enable him to carry on his great fchenoe, 
 of ruining the power of France ; which muft certainly have mifcarried, if thcfe 
 domeftic quarrels had come to extremities. 
 
 f The notion of the earl of Stair, that if a confiderable number of the Ja- 
 cobitei could be brought to approve this meafure as commiffioncrs, they would 
 be forced to fecond it in parliament, was extremely well founded, as the even! 
 
 proved.
 
 OP QJJ E E N ANNE. 139 
 
 In regard to the advantages refulting from this meafure to 
 both kingdoms, they were, in the judgment of the miniftry, 
 very great ; on the fide of England efpecially, and of Scotland 
 apparently. With regard to the former, the benefits derived 
 from it were real and fubftantial, but fome of them were fuch as 
 it was not thought proper to avow. For example, the go- 
 vernment in England could never be fafe, whilft Scotland re- 
 mained an independent kingdom, at liberty to make laws, fet 
 up trading companies, or raile forces whenever flie thought fit; 
 nor was the fucceffion fafe, while the parliament of Scotland 
 had an indubitable right to depart from that meafure, and a 
 ftrong party was actually formed in that country for departing 
 from it. 
 
 An entire, aWblute, and uniform dominion over Scotland, 
 was necefTary to the fafety, power, and commerce of England; 
 and this dominion could be attained no other way. The dan- 
 ger of having princes drawn to purfue different meafures in the 
 different kingdoms, or to govern in England upon the maxims 
 of northern minifters, the mifchiefs of which had been feverely 
 felt, and thoroughly understood, from the power of tlie duke 
 of Lauderdale with king Charles II. which laited during life, 
 and which, without difputing how far it was right or wrong, 
 enabled the king to maintain his power in both countries, and 
 that too in a higher degree than was vry acceptable to a great 
 part of his fubje&s, in either, was yet recent. 
 
 The other motives that were commonly infifted upon, were 
 thefe, Wz. The uniting the interefts of both kingdoms, which 
 had often thwarted each other, and thereby giving the united 
 kingdoms, or, which was the fame thing, England, much 
 greater force, and confequently much greater weight abroad $ 
 the convenience of bringing both nations under one form of 
 
 proved. For, whatever ways and means were made ufe of, to engage the 
 high Tones in this comrriiTi -n, to fign the articles of the treaty, which (except 
 Mr. Lockhart of Carnwaih) they all did; yet this is certain, that they adhered 
 to their lentiments in parliament, and pufhcd the affair with effect } Ib that, if 
 \ve confider that it brought about a total change of the conftitution, inftead of 
 fceing amazed at the difficulties it met with, we flail be furprizcd, that they were 
 fo eafily got over ; efpecully if we reflect on the temper of the nation in general, 
 ami the great repugnar.ce it rr..-ft have had to fomc particular points in this 
 treaty. 
 
 S 2 govern-
 
 N A V A L H I S T Q R Y 
 
 government, the feat of which muft always remain fixed iq 
 England, and confequently all advantages accruing to Scotland, 
 for the future, muft be drawn to, and centre there j the extir- 
 pating the French and Jacobite intereft, where it was evidently 
 ftrongeft, introducing the Hanover fucceflion, lecuring the Pro- 
 teftant intereft, giving one turn of mind to all the people in the 
 ifland, putting them under the fame rulers, the fame taxes, and 
 the fame prohibitions, fo as to have but one political head, with 
 a due fubortlination of members; thefe were confidcrations fo 
 high in themfelves, and of fuch certainty in their confequences, 
 that the bulk of the Englifli nobility and gentry were no fooner 
 acquainted with them, than they were convinced of their uti- 
 lity, and that it was not very eafy to fet the purchafe at too 
 high a ratej efpecially, when they confidered the mifchicfs to 
 which they had been cxpofcd in former times from the want of 
 fuch an union. The miniftry had a juft forefighr of this, and 
 gave themfelves, therefore, very little trouble about preparing 
 their friends in England for the reception and execution of 
 their fcheme, becaufe they knew, that whenever it was propo- 
 fed and explained, it would make its own way ; and their good 
 fenfe, and right judgment in this management, were fully jufti- 
 fied by the event. 
 
 ' The advantages propofed to Scotland, were the freeing that 
 kingdom from all the grievances of which they had fo long, 
 and fojuftly complained; fuch as, that their intereft always 
 gave way to that of England ; that their concerns abroad were 
 j'acriikecl, inftead of being protected; that, with equal preju- 
 dice to them, they were confidered fometimes as fubjcls, but 
 .'y a-o foreigners; that they were difcouraged in carrying on 
 their trade and manufactures; and, in fine, continually upbraid- 
 .d with their poverty, while it was made an invariable maxim 
 of Englim policy, to keep them poor. By this union, it was 
 propofed to make them one nation with the Englifh, and to ad- 
 mit them to a full participation of their liberties, privileges, and 
 commerce; as alfo to a {hare in the government and legiflature, 
 .ind a perpetual conjunction of interests at home and abroad; 
 nccforward the government of the united kingdom 
 -ally in the hands of perfons of both countries, 
 
 which
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE, m 
 
 which wpuld prevent partiality on the one fide, and take away 
 many hardfhips that had hitherto been felt on the other. 
 
 In {hort, it was infinuated, that, for the fake of peace and 
 general fecurity, the Engliih were content to grant their neigh- 
 bours, not only as good conditions as they could well expect, 
 but even better than they could reafonably defire; and that, to 
 obtain the friendfhip and afiiftance of Scotland, the people of 
 England were defirous to bury in oblivion all their former pre- 
 judices, and to cortribute, as far as lay in their power, to fujv 
 port and enrich the inhabitants of the northern part of the 
 ifland, and to treat them ib favourably in point of taxes, as that 
 they (hould have many and ftrong reafons to be very well plea- 
 led with the exchange of nominal prerogatives, for real and 
 weighty advantages. 
 
 Such as oppofed the union in Scotland, were either the 
 friends of the Stuart family, or fuch as were, from neglect or 
 difappointment, difcontented under that adminiftration. The 
 former were in earneft concerned for the dignity and indepen- 
 dency of the crown of Scotland, the honour of the nobility, 
 and the welfare of the people, coniklered by them as a nation 
 having interefts feparate from, and in fome cafes oppofite to, 
 thofe of the Englifh. Thefe men, upon their principles, hear- 
 tily diftiked the union, and had reafon to diilike it 2. But as 
 
 for 
 
 C Bifhop ljurnet's reflexions upon this fubjeft, which he underftord as well 
 ss any wan, deferve the reader'* notice and attention. " The treaty," fys IIP, 
 " being Kid before the parliament in Scotland, met with great oppofition there. 
 " It was v fib'e, that the nobility of that kingdom fuffered a great diminution 
 " by it; f.-r, though it was agreed, that they Ihould ei.jjy all the other pri- 
 " vileges of the peers of England, yet the greateft of them all, which wa* 
 " the voting in the houfe of lords, was retrained to fixteen, to be elected by 
 " the reft, at evrry new parliament; yet there was a greater majority of the 
 " nobility that concurred in voting for the union, than in the other (tares of 
 " that kingdom. The commiiHoners for the (hires and boronghs were almofl 
 *' equally divided, though it was evident, they were to be the chief gainer* 
 " by it; among thefe, the union was agreed to, by a very fmail majority : it 
 " was the iiobiliiy tht in every vote turned the fcale for the union. They 
 ' were feverely reflected on by thofe who oppofed it ; it was faid, many of 
 " them were bought off to fell their country, and their birthright, All thofe 
 " who adhered inflexibly to the Jacobite intertft, oppofed every flep that wa* 
 ' made, with great vehemence; for they faw, that the union flruck at th 
 " root of all their views and defigns for a nrw revolution; yet thefe could tiot 
 ; * Lave raifed or irin!ir,eJ (b gr:it an o{:r>oliJivr. &5 was now made, if the Pre<- 
 
 " hytcriaiis
 
 i 4 i N A V A L rt I S T O R Y 
 
 for the malecontents, they fet up pretences of an odd, and ex- 
 traordinary nature, and while they pretended zeal for the go- 
 vernment, alledged, that Scotland would be prejudiced by the 
 union ; which, according to their principles, it was impoflible 
 to prove. 
 
 There was a third party in Scotland, which muft be allowed 
 by men of all principles, to have acted with great candour and 
 uprightnefs. Thefe were ftyled the Squadrone, and, if I might 
 be allowed to tranflate the word into political English, I fhould 
 call them Old Whigs. They had been very inftrumental in the 
 r evolution, and were cordial friends to the government ; but, 
 from motives of ftate which I fhall not take upon me to ex- 
 plain, had been turned out of their places, and ill enough treat- 
 ed during this reign. Thefe men, however, remained firm to 
 their principles, which led them to approve and promote the 
 union ; nnd they did it with great zeal. Their arguments were 
 ftrong and conclufive, and made the greater impreilion, becaufc 
 they were difinterefted. There was, as is ufual in cafes of the 
 like nature, a good deal of corruption praclifed; but all this 
 vould never have carried the point, if it had not been abetted 
 by the induftry and zeal of thefe worthy men. The carl of 
 Stair, who was not of their number, knew this, and therefore 
 ^dvifed taking them, and the country party, into the commif- 
 iion for fettling that important treaty ; but his advice was fol- 
 lowed by the minifters only in the latter part, which, though it 
 amazed the world at that time, had however the erTet he ex- 
 pected from it, and was one great caufe that the affair fucceed- 
 <d fo well as it did. 
 
 All things being thus fettled, the queen, by her commifiion, 
 tlated at Kenfington, the 2yth of February, 1706, in virtue of 
 powers granted to her by an act of parliament, pafied in ocot- 
 
 " byterians had not been poffcffed with a jealmry, that the cinfrquerice of 
 " this union would be the change of church-government among them, and that 
 " they would be fwallowed up by the church of England. Thii took fuch root 
 " in many, thdt DO afTurances that were offered could remove their fears. It 
 " v*ai iutufed into them, chiefly by the old duchefs of Hamilton, who had 
 great credit with them. And it was fuggefted, that fhe and her fon had per- 
 V vitas, as hoping, that if Scotland ftiould continue a feparate kinsdom, 
 " the crown might come into their family, they being the next in blood after 
 " **" Jssics'j ' r
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 145 
 
 land, appointed thirty commifiioners on the part of Scotland, 
 and on the loth of April following, her majefty appointed ns 
 many Englifh commiflioners h . This commiffion was opened 
 at the Cockpit, on the i6th of April, 1706, William Cowper, 
 Efq; then lord-keeper, delivering the fenfe of the Englifli com- 
 miflioners, and the earl of Seafield, lord high-chancellor oL 
 Scotland, afted in like manner on the part of their commiiiion- 
 ers. On the firlt of May, the queen paid them a vitlt, and 
 inquired into the progrefs they had made '. 
 
 About a month after, fhe did the fame ; and thefe inftances 
 of royal care had fuch an effct, that on the 22d of July, the 
 commiflioners iigned and fealed the articles, which were pre- 
 fented to the queen the next day k . By thefe articles, which 
 were in number twenty- five, the two kingdoms of England and 
 Scotland, were united, under the title of GREAT BRITAIN; 
 the Proteftant fucccflion fettled ; one parliament eftabliflied ; the 
 common enjoyment of privileges and commerce Stipulated ; 
 fhips built in Scotland, admitted under the act of navigation ; 
 an equal diftribution of cuftoms and excifcs fixed ; the duties 
 upon fait regulated; the land-tax adjufted in the following pro- 
 portion, viz. that when England paid 1,997,736!. 8s. 4^d. 
 Scotland fhould pay 48,000 1. and fo in proportion j and, as 
 an equivalent for Scotland's being charged with the debts of 
 England, there was granted to the former by the latter, the 
 fum of 398,085 1. 10 s. to be applied to the difcharge of the 
 public debts of the kingdom of Scotland, the capital ftock of 
 the African and India company, with intereft at 5 per cent, and 
 for the improvement of manufactures and trade in that part of 
 the iiland. It was alfo provided, that the monies and weights 
 
 h Burnet's hift. of his own times, vol. Ji. p. 441?. Oldmixnn's hift. of the 
 Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 375. See the journal of the proceedings of the noble and 
 honourable perfons who aftcd for both nations in the treaty of union, which 
 began on the i<5;h of April, 1706, and was concluded on the xzd of July fol- 
 lowing, with the articles then agreed on in London, 17315, The queen's com- 
 miffions to the lords commiflioners of both kingd-ims are prefixed thereto. 
 Boycr's life of queen Anne, p. 131. i Journal of the proceedings, 
 
 f&c. p. xa. The corrp'.-te hift. of Europe, for 17015, p. 131. k Bur- 
 
 nci's hifl. of his "\vn times, v 1. ii. p. 457. Oldmixon's hift. of the Stuarts, 
 vol. ii. p. 376. Journal of the proceedings, &c. p. J4, 55. The complete 
 kift. of Eur;pe, for I7c6, p. 146. Load. Gaz. N. 4147. 
 
 Of
 
 144 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 of Scotland fhould be the fame with thofe of England ; the 
 Scots courts of juftice were preferved, together with all here- 
 ditary offices, and the rights and privileges of the royal bo- 
 roughs ; the reprefenttttive of Scotland was fixed at fixteeri 
 peers, and forty-five commoners, which though fmall in propor- 
 tion to the Englifli peers and commoners, yet was high in com- 
 parifon of the lhare borne by Scotland in the taxes ; the rights 
 and privileges of the reft of the peers were fully fecured ; fd 
 that, except fitting in the houie, they were to enjoy all the 
 privileges of the peerage ; and all the laws of either king- 
 dom, inconfiftent with the union, were declared null aud 
 void '. 
 
 In the next fefllon of parliament in Scotland, the union was 
 carried, though not without great debates, and fome protcfts. 
 In England it went eafier. In the houie of commons, there 
 was little or no oppofition j there would have been a very warm 
 one in the houfe of lords, but it was prevented by the wifdorn 
 of Sir Simon Harcourt, after vifcount Harcourt, and lord-chan- 
 cellor, who drew the at fo, that it would admit of no debate^ 
 but upon the general queftion, whether it fhould, or fhould not 
 
 pals m . 
 
 It 
 
 The advantages on the fide of Scotland were fnch, as enabled thofe who 
 fuppotted the union, to fd)' many Ihong things in its favour; for wHereas, 
 when England paid two millions' by way of land-tax, Scotland was to pay but 
 forty-eight thoufand pounds, yer, in return for bearing a fortieth part of th* 
 expencc, they had th: eleventh part of the legillaturc given them ; and the 
 event has (hewn, that the power of their members in a Britilii parliament, is 
 not fo inconfiderable ai the enemies of that treaty represented it to the parlia- 
 ment. There were, betides, fome other ftrcng motives which induced the bet- 
 ter fort or' the inhabitants of Scotland to with well to the union. A great part 
 of the gentry of that kingdom, who had been often in England, and obferved 
 the protection that all men had from a houfe of commons, and the fecurity 
 that it procured ajjainft partial judges and a violent miniftry, entered into the 
 defign with great zeal. The opening a free trade, not only with England, hut 
 with the plantation*, ^nd the protection of the fleet of England, drew in thofe 
 tvhr> understood thofe matters, and law there was no other way to make the 
 ration rich and confideriblr. Thofe alto who had engsged deeply in the dcfigii 
 of Dirien, and were great lofcrs by it, faw now an honourable way to be re- 
 imburfed; which made them wifh well to the union, and promote it. 
 
 m We have this faV. from bifhop fiurnet,' who lays it tiown in a very clear 
 and fatisfaclory manner. " When all was agreed to, (fays he), in both houicj, 
 " a b-.ll was ordered to be brought Tn, to enaft it, which was prepared by Har- 
 " court ; with fo particular a' contrivance, that it cot off all debates. The 
 
 " preamble
 
 o F Qj; E E N ANNE. 145 
 
 R was carried in the houfe of commons by a majority of 274, 
 apainit 160, and was carried up to the houfe of lords on the 
 fi; ll of March, by the late earl of Wilmington, then Spencer 
 Compton, Efq; pafied in that houfe by a majority of 55, to 29, 
 and on the iixth of March the queen came, and gave her royal 
 afient ; upon which occafion her majefty delivered herfelf thus : 
 " I confider this union as a matter of the greateft importance, 
 " to the wealth, ftrength, and fafety of the whole ifland , 
 " and at the fame time as a work of fo much difficulty and 
 " nicety in its own nature, that, till now, all attempts which 
 " have been made towards it, in the courfe of above one hun- 
 " dred years, have proved ineffectual ; and therefore, I make 
 " no doubt, but it will be remembered and fpoke of hereafter, 
 " to the honour of thofe who have been inftrumental in bring- 
 ' ing it to fuch a happy conclufion. I defire, and expedl from 
 *' all my fubjecls, of both nations, that from henceforth they 
 aft with all poflible refpecl: and kindncfs to one another, 
 *' that fo it may appear to all the world, they have hearts dif- 
 " poled to become one people ; this will be a great pleafure to 
 " riK", and will make us all quickly fenlible of the good effects 
 < of this union. And I cannot but look upon it as a particu- 
 u lar happiuefsj that in my reign, fo full a provifion is made 
 " for the peace and quiet of my people> and for the iecu- 
 
 ** preamble was a recital of the articles, as they Were pafled In Scotland, tnge- 
 " ther with the acts made in bath parliaments, for the fecrrity of their ftveral 
 " churches; and, in conclufnn, there came one enacting chufc, ratifying all. 
 " This put thofc upon great difficulties, who had refolved to objcft to fcveral 
 " article?, and to infifl on demanding fomc alterations in therh ; for they 
 " could not come to any debate about them ; they could n<-t objtft to (he re- 
 " cital, it heing but hare matter of facl 5 and they had not flrength enough to 
 " oppofe the general enacting claufe, nor was it eafy to come at particulars, 
 " and to oif^r provifos relating f> them- The matter was carried on with fuch 
 " zeal, that it paffird through the houfe of commons, before thofe^ who in- 
 " tended to oppofe it, had recovered themfelves out of the furprize under 
 " which the form it was-drawn in had put them. It did not flick long in the 
 " houfe of lords, for all the articles bad been copioufly debated there for fe- 
 k< veral days brfore the bi'l was fsnt up to them; and thus this great defign, 
 ' fo long wifhed and laboured for in Vain, was begun, and happily endec!, 
 ' within the compafs of nine manths. The union was to commence on the 
 l< firft of May, and till that time the two kingdom* were (till diflincf, and their 
 *' two parliaments condrned flill to fit." 
 
 VOL. III. T " rity
 
 *< rity of our religion, by fo firm an eftablifliment of the Pro- 
 f teftant fucceflion throughout Great Britain. Gentlemen of 
 " the houfe of commons-, I take this occafion to remind you 
 ' of making effectual provifion for the payment of the equi- 
 n valent to Scotland, within the time appointed by this act, 
 " and I am periuaded you will fhew as much readinefs in this 
 " particular, as you havs done in all the parts of this great 
 " work." 
 
 It is certain, that the paffing the union was a mortal blow to 
 the French ;; and k is no lefs certain, that the French did not 
 xert themfelvcs, as they might have done, to prevent it. Yet 
 I am far from thinking with bifhop Eurnet n , (though I efteerrv 
 his account of the union very much), that this proceeded from 
 an abfoiute inability, and that they did not, according to their 
 common practice, try the influence of their, gold, becaufe they 
 had it not ; I fay, I do not think this, becaufe I apprehend I 
 fhall be able to (hew the contrary. The true reafon, then, in 
 my judgment, why the French were fo cool in this affair, was 
 this ; they thought that, though the union would deftroy their 
 intereft in Scotland intirely, if it eould be cftablifhed, yet, that 
 the fuftering that law to pais, was the likelieft way for them to 
 defeat it : for they depended upon a back game ; and, looking 
 upon it as a thing certain, that this would throw Scotland into 
 the utmoft confufion, they projected an invafion, not with any 
 fincere intention of fixing the fon of king James upon the throne 
 f Scotland, but of making ufe of him to excite a civil war iiv 
 that kingdom, which, they apprehended, would at leaft force 
 England to confent to the difiblution of the union, in order to 
 make the people of Scotland eafy. 
 
 If this had not been their fcheme, why did they afterwards 
 attempt the invafion ? If want of money had been the only 
 reafon for their not exerting their influence, how came they by 
 the mighty fums of ready money, which that fruitlefs and 
 foolifh invafion coft them ? I have now done with this affair 
 of the union, and fiiall only add my opinion of it freely,, which' 
 is, that both nations have been great gainers by it, and that 
 neither have the leaft caufe to complain of it. If, on the one 
 
 n Hiftcry of his own times, vol. ii. p. 461. 
 
 hand,,
 
 o F "Qjj E E N ANNE. 147 
 
 ; hand, the inhabitants of North Britain ha-ve not profited r.s 
 much by it as they expedled, it is their own fault ; for, with- 
 out induftry and application to TRADE, it is impoflible any na- 
 tion fhould be great gainers by it ; and, on the other, if the 
 Englifh repine at feeing fo many of that nation in civil, mili- 
 tary, and naval employments, they are blind to their own in- 
 tereffo.; for it is plain, that by ailing in this manner, thefe men 
 wafte all their days in the.fervice of England ; whereas, if they 
 applied themf'clves to commerce and manufactures, they might 
 live happily in their own, and enjoy there the greateft freedom 
 and independency. 
 
 The war had now continued long enough to mate both fides 
 very weary of it, and yet the French were not fufficiently hum- 
 bled, to think of peace on the terms prefcribed to them. On 
 the contrary, they found means this campaign, to bring more 
 troops into the field, than fince the war began ; which obliged 
 the allies to make as formidable augmentations to onpofe them, 
 In fhort, as the maritime powers bore the largefl (hare in the 
 expence, and reaped the leaft immediate benefit from the con- 
 tinuance of the war, it was reiblved to make the utmoft efforts 
 this year to put an end to it. With this view, the duke of 
 Marlborough, and the Englifh miniftry, concerted feveral 
 fchemes for diftrefling the enemy on all fides, particularly in 
 Spain, in Italy, and even in their own country ; and this, efpe- 
 cially, by the help of the great maritime power we then had 
 in the Mediterranean . It would lead us into frequent and 
 unneceffary repetitions, if we fhould enter here into a copious 
 detail of thefe projects., and therefore, to avoid fuel* inconve- 
 niencies, we will fpeak of each in its turn, and, as near as may 
 be, in the order of time in which they were undertaken. 
 
 It is very furprifing, tha: France, after foch a fenes of misfortunes, ftiould 
 be *ble to make the figure that the did this year. The truth, however, feem* 
 fo be, that the abfulme power of her government, give her great advantages 
 over the allies. The emperor's confuting to the evacuation of Italy, without 
 fo much as confuting either Great Britain or Holland, was the great fource of 
 king Philip's fuccefs in Spain ; and whoever confiders attentively the Fiench 
 fchemes fr carrying on this campaign, will eafily difcern, that they muft hjve 
 met with the like fuccefs every where clfe, if it had not been for our expedition 
 again^ Toulon. Qnincy, hiftoire militaire, tome v. p. 171, Memoirei de la 
 , totr v. p. 59. Litr.:?rs, tome iii. p. JJQ. 
 
 T 2 la
 
 i 4 & NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 In refpeet to the war with Spain, an opinion began about 
 this time to prevail in England, that it was neglected, chiefly 
 becaufe the miniftry found it impracticable to pufli this, and 
 the v?zr in Flanders at the fame time. The duke of Marlbo- 
 rough knowing how injurious this reptort was to his reputation, 
 prefled the profecution of the war in Spain this year, with the 
 utmoft fpirit , the rather, becaufe a great reinforcement of Eng- 
 lifh and Dutch troops had been lately fent thither : and it was 
 very well known, that Sir Cloudefley Shovel would neglect no- 
 thing that might contribute to the advancement of the fervice. 
 The arifiy under the command of the earl of Galway, was 
 very early in the field, and promifed great things ; but whether 
 his abilities were unequal tc fuch a command, as fome have 
 fupgeftecl ; or, as others ailedge, king Charles ruined his own 
 affairs, by marching back with a great body of troops into Ca- 
 talonia ; fo it was, that about the middle of the month of 
 April, that nobleman found himfelf under the dreadful necef- 
 fity (at leaft as he imagined) of either ftarving, or fighting a fu- 
 perior army p , 
 
 Accordingly, on the I4th of April, his Iord(hip, with about 
 {Ixteen thoufand men, ventured to give battle to the duke of 
 Berwick, who had twenty-four thoufand, and of thefe near 
 eight thonfand horfe an,d dragoons, that were very fine troops. 
 The Englifh and Dutch were at firft victorious, and broke 
 through the enemy twice ; but the Portuguefe, it is faid, be- 
 haved very ill, or rather did not behave at all, which gave the 
 enemy an opportunity of Hanking the Englifh and Dutch, of 
 whom about ten thoufand were killed or taken pi ifoners. The 
 earl of Galway retired with the broken remains of his army, 
 which, however, nothing could have faved, but the timely ap- 
 pearance of our fleet* 1 . Sir Cloudeflcy Shovel knowing the 
 tliftrefs our army was in, through the want of almoft every 
 thing neceffary, fent Sir George Byng, with a ftrong fquadron, 
 to the coaft of Spain for their relief. Sir George failed on the 
 
 p This is a matter much too long for us to tlifcufs, and therefore we men- 
 tion in it terms not leaning to one fide or the other. 
 
 ' '.-e the complete hift. of Europe, for 1707. Burnet's hiftory of his own 
 times, vol. ii. p 475. OMmixon's hid. of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 350. Buyer's 
 life of queen Ani:s, p. i<?a. Lond. Gaz* N'\ 4537- 
 
 thirtieth
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. J4<p 
 
 thirtieth of March, and coming off Gape St. Vincent, on 
 the fifteenth of April, he received there the news of our de- 
 feat r . 
 
 He foon after received a meffage from lord Galway, ac- 
 quainting him with the diftrefs he was in, and defiring, that 
 whatever he brought for the ufe of the army, might be carried 
 t;o Tortofa, in Catalonia, to which place his lordfhip defigned 
 to retreat, and that, if poflible, he would fave the fick and 
 wounded men at Denia, Gandia, and Valencia, where it was 
 intended the bridges of boats, baggage, and all things that 
 could be got together, fhould be put on board. Accordingly, 
 he took care of the fick and wounded men, and fent them to 
 Tortofa, where the lord Galway propofed to make a (land with 
 the poor remains of the army. This fervice employed Sir 
 George Byng almoft the whole month of April, and then he 
 was in daily expectation of being joined by Sir Cloudefiey 
 Shovel, from Lifhon, either on that part of the coaft of Spain, 
 or at Barcelona, whither he was defigned s . Thus all the great 
 things that were hoped for, from the augmentation of our 
 forces in Spain, were abfolutcly-difappointed j and this, chiefly, 
 through the unaccountable mifmanagement of that prince, for 
 whofe fervice all thefe expensive and hazardous expeditions 
 were undertaken. Let us now turn our eyes to Italy, where 
 we fhall find a fcene much of the fame nature. 
 
 The firft defign that was formed upon Toulon, by the duke 
 of Savoy, is very pofitively faid to have been concerted with the 
 famous earl of Peterborough j but his royal highnefs, finding 
 that nobleman had no longer any great credit at court, he changed 
 the fcheme entirely, and concerted by his minifters at London 
 a new one, with the duke of MarlboroughA This, to fay the 
 
 truth, 
 
 r Reflections mJIiraires et politiques de marquis de St. Cruz, tome xi. p. 163, 
 164. s Burchct's naval hiftory, b. v. chap. xxiv. Complete hift. of 
 
 Euiope, for 1707. Lond. Gaz, N. 4334. 
 
 1 This is a very dark and perplexed affair ; and, for any thing I can per- 
 ceive, moft ef our hiftorians are at a lofs about it. The truth of the matter, 
 to me, feems to be this. The duke of Savoy, and prince Eugene, firft propo- 
 fed attacking Toulon, to the earl of Peterborough, who thereupon wrote to 
 his court about it. In the mean time, the duke of Marlborongh had propofed 
 the fame thing 10 count Maffey abroad, and afterwards concerted the whole 
 
 fcheme
 
 tec NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 truth, was the beft defign laid during the war, if we except the 
 inarch into Germany, which had this advantage over it, that 
 it was not only laid, but executed by the duke of Marlborough. 
 The taking Toulon, if it could have been effected, would have 
 <leftroyed for ever the maritime power of France ; rendered 
 her utterly incapable of carrying on any commerce with Spa- 
 Tiifh America^and have diftrefied her to fuch a degree at h::me, 
 as muft have produced an immediate peace, even upon worle 
 terms than had been hitherto prefcribed to her. All things 
 were foon fettled between us and the duke of Savoy ; he could 
 not undertake fuch an expedition without large fupplies of mo- 
 Tiey, and thefe we both promifed and paid him : yet, even this 
 would not have engaged him in fo dangerous an attempt, if 
 we had not given him the ftrongeft afl~urances, that our fleet 
 fhould conftantly attend him ; which we likewife very punctu- 
 ally fulfilled . 
 
 The firft ill omen that appeared, was, the refolution taken 
 by the emperor, at this juncture, when his forces in Italy 
 fhould have been employed in promoting our defign, to make 
 with them the conqurft of the kingdom of Naples. In vain 
 our minifters reprefented to his imperial majefty the mighty 
 things we had done for him and his family ; the great im- 
 portance of the prefent undertaking to the common caufe, and 
 the certainty of his acquiring Naples without refiftance after 
 this expedition was over. In vain were the like applications 
 from the Dutch ; and in vain the earl of Manchester's journey, 
 and the queen's letter to diffuade him from that ill-timed at- 
 tempt, though written in the ftrcngeft terms, and all with her 
 own hand. He alledged, that fuch affurances had been given 
 to his friends in Naples, th?.t fomething fhould be immediately 
 done for their fervice, that it was impoQible for him to ik fift, 
 
 fcheme with that minifter, and count Briancon at London. The duke f Sa- 
 voy, however, did not think fit to acquaint the earl of Peterborough, that his 
 project was laid afide 5 and this ic was, if I conjecture right, that created all this 
 confufion. 
 
 * Complete hiftory of Europe, for 1707, p. us. It is from this period we 
 are to date fome part of the queen's miniftry growing coid in the profccution of 
 the war, in which they fufpefted our allies had each their private in:crefis in view, 
 while they all concurred in loading ui with expences. 
 
 and
 
 OF QjJ E E N A N N" E. 
 
 and therefore, notwitbftanding all thefe applications, count 
 Daun had orders to march with 12,000' men, part of the 
 tioops that mould have been employed in the expedition againft 
 Toulon, to invade that kingdom; which he accordingly per- 
 formed w . 
 
 The duke of Savoy, notwithftanding this difappointment r 
 continued, at leafl in all appearance, firm in his refolution r and 
 it was refolved to profecute this- great defign, with the affiftance 
 of the Englifh fleet. Accordingly, Sir Cloudeiley Shovel ha- 
 ving joined Sir George Byng, near Alicant, failed for the coafir 
 of Italy, and on the 5th of June, came to an anchor before 
 Final, with a fleet of forty-three men of war, and fifty-feven 
 tranfports x . Prince Eugene went thither to confer with the 
 admiral ; and foon after the fleet failed for Nice, where, on the 
 2pth of the fame month, the admiral had the honour to enter- 
 tain the duke of Savoy, prince Eugene, moft of the general 
 officers, together with the Englifli and Dutch minifters, on 
 board his own fhip, the Aflbciation y . 
 
 After dinner> they held a council of war, and therein it was 
 refolved to force a paffage over the Var, in which hazardous 
 enterprize the Englifh admiral promifed to aflift. On the laft 
 of June, this daring attempt was undertaken, to the great afto- 
 nifhment of the French, who believed their works upon that 
 river to be impregnable ; and fo indeed they had proved, to 
 
 ** Bifhop Burner, vol. ii. p. 476", 478, reflects upon this ftep taken by the em- 
 peror, very feverely; and, I think, with great jaftice. But the emperor wenc 
 yet further; for he fent fuch orders to prince Eugeue, to avoid, on all occa- 
 lions, expofing his troops that were to be employed in the Toulon cxpcciimio, 
 as proved one great CaUle of the rnifcarriage of the allies when they came befosc- 
 ihat city. 
 
 x Loud. G,z. N D . 4343. Columna roftrata, p. 184, Mercure hiftorique ct 
 politique, tome xliii. p. n. 
 
 y Sir Cliurltfley Shovel, though he was not one of the politeft officers we 
 ever lud, l>,ew<J a great deal of prudence and address, in the magnificent enter- 
 tainment he made upon this occafion. The duke, when he came on hoard the 
 AftJcia;icn, found a guard of halberdiers, in new liveries, at the gwat cabbin- 
 door. At ihe upper end of ths table was fet an armed chair, with a crimfon vtl- 
 Vet canopy. The table con filled of livy covers, and every thing was fo welt 
 managed, that his royal highncfs could not forbear faying to the admiral at din- 
 i.cr. " It" your excellency hud paid m a rftt at Turin, I could fcarce hve 
 * k trcEttd 1 you lo wall," 
 
 any
 
 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 any forces in the world, except Englifli Teamen. The late gal- 
 lant Sir John, then only captain, Norris, with feme Britifh, 
 and one Dutch man of war, failed to the mouth of the river^ 
 und imbarking fix hundred feamen, and marines, in open boats, 
 entered it, and advanced within mufket-fhot of the enemy's 
 works, making fuch a terrible fire upon them, that their caval- 
 ry, and many of their foot, aftoniihed at an attack they never 
 iufpected, began to quit their intrenchments, and could not be 
 prevailed upon by their officers to return 2 . 
 
 Sir Cloudellcy Shovel, who followed Sir John Norris to the 
 place of action, no fooner faw this confuflon, than he ordered 
 Sir John to land with the feamen and marines, in order to flank" 
 the enemy. This was performed with fo much fpirit, and Sir 
 John and his feamen fcampered over the works, the French 
 thought inacceffible, fo fuddenly, that the enemy, frruck with 
 a panic, threw down their arms, and fled with the utmoft 
 precipitation. The duke of Savoy immediately purfued this ad- 
 vantage, and in a fingle half hour palTed that river, which, in 
 the judgment of the beft officers in his army, had, without this 
 affiftance, proved the m plus ultra of his expedition 8 . 
 
 On the 2d of July, his royal highnefs, and prince Eugene^ 
 with the Britiili envoy, and Sir John Norris, dined again on 
 board the admiral ; and after dinner, they entered into a con- 
 ference, wherein, upon mature deliberation, his royal highnefs 
 was pleafed to declare, that fince the queen of Great Britain 
 
 * Lond. Gaz. Is . 4351. Complete hift. of Europe, for 1707, p. 1*3, 114. 
 Memoires hilloriques ct chronologiques. 
 
 It may not be amifs to cite, on this occafion, the words of the difpatch, 
 received from the confederate camp, July 14, N. S. as they are printed in the 
 Lond. Gaz. N. 43i'i. " The admiral himfelf followed Sir John Norris to 
 " the place of alhon, and obfervifig the diforder of the enemy, commanded 
 " him to put to land, and fhnk tliem in their intrenchments. His men ad 
 " vanced in fo undaunted a manner, that the enemy, fearing to be furrcund- 
 " ed, matched out of their works, and retired with great precipitation. His 
 " royal highntU having received from the admiral an account, that we were 
 " in polIifTun of the enemy's works, ordered his trocps to pafs the river, 
 " which they did v.:th fo great eagernefs, that above a hundred men were driven 
 " down by the violence of the flream, and ten of them drowned; which was all 
 ' the lofs we fulbii-ed, in forcing a pafs, where we expected the moft vigorou* 
 ' oppofition.'' Thus we ice this whole affair was effected by EnglUh 
 fi!ors.
 
 o F QJJ EENANNE. i $$ 
 
 liaJ enrnefUy recommended to him the marching directly to 
 Toulon, without lofing time in the fiege of any place, of lefs 
 importance, he Was refolved to comply with her majefty's pro- 
 pofal, and hoped for a good conclufion of the affair, through 
 the continuance of her majefty's friendfhip and affiftance, which 
 had encouraged him to undertake it. The army of the allies 
 confined of about 35,000 men, all inured to hardships, com- 
 manded by officers of the greateft experience, and of the high- 
 ell reputation, fupported by a numerous fleet, commanded bj 
 an admiral of known courage and conduct, who, upon all oc- 
 cafions, (hewed the utmoft zeal for the fervice, and particular- 
 ly in this laft conference, where the duke of Savoy having ob- 
 ferved, that even after Toulon was taken, himfelf and his army 
 might find it impracticable to retreat j the admiral replied, 
 " I hope better things from your royal highnefs's fortune ; but, 
 " if there fhould beany appearance of fuch an event'3 happen - 
 u ing, your highnefs may rely upon me, I will take care to 
 " fupply a fufficient number of tranfports to imbark all ychir 
 " troops." The duke thanked him for his generous offer ; 
 told him, he depended chiefly on the affiitance he expected 
 from him, and that, if he would repair to the ifland of Hieres, 
 he fliould not long remain there, before he had advice of the 
 army's being in the neighbourhood of Toulon, and that then 
 he fhould expect to fee the fleet in the road b . 
 
 It is impoffibleto defcribe the confufion into which this march 
 of the duke of Savoy threw the French. Toulon was not in 
 any ftate of defence j they had no troops in that part of the 
 country ; they fcarce knew whence to bring them; They had 
 then in the port a better fleet than they have been mafters of 
 fince ; belides twenty-five frigates, fire-fhips, and other veiTels 
 of the fame fize, all of which, they were fenfible, were in tiie 
 
 h Tiais Far all thing? went well, becaufe all parties were agreed ; but from 
 thi* very moment the bufmefs began to be clouded. The duke of SaV'iy, 
 whatever the reafon w.ts, did not mike the expedition he might hive done; 
 for though he began his rrurch from the Var, os the jd of July, yet he did 
 not arrive before Toulon till the isth. Bat when he found it nectdary to 
 make his retreat, he did It with much greater expedition, for though he be- 
 gan it on the izlh of Angufl, lie reached the Var by the ipth of the frse 
 nv.imh. 
 
 VOL. III. U utmoft
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ntmoft danger of being defrroyed c . In this diftrefs, Lewis XIV. 
 fliewed lefs prefence of mind than on any other occafion in his 
 \vhole reign ; for he condescended to recal the beft officer in 
 France, whom he had difgraced, I mean the marfhal Catinat, in 
 order to confult him ; and, after taking his advice, was prevailed 
 upon, by female intrigues, to truft the execution of an affair of 
 fuch importance to the marfhal de Tefie, \vho had fo notori- 
 oufly blemifhed the honour of the French arms, by raifing the 
 fiege of Gibraltar d . 
 
 To lay the truth, the zeal of his fubje&s contributed more 
 to the prefervation of the place, than either the monarch's care, 
 or the fkill of his generals ; for the nobility and gentry of the 
 adjacent provinces, did not content themfelves with arming and 
 marching thither their tenants and fervants, but even coined 
 
 6 r take this from the LonJ. Gaz. N. 43)57. in which there if the following 
 ft of the large men of war then in that port : 
 
 Guns. 
 
 
 i ro 
 
 L'F.Jatant,. 
 
 1^4 
 
 L'Henry, 
 
 ioa 
 
 L'Erueil, 
 
 too 
 
 Le Thonloufc 
 
 $6 
 
 L'Eole, 
 
 e-z 
 
 Le Serieux, 
 
 ;>i 
 
 Le Cantcnt, 
 
 90 
 
 Le St. Louis, 
 
 90 
 
 Le Pendant, 
 
 P-& 
 
 Le Vermandois, 
 
 90 
 
 Le Temeraire, 
 
 86 
 
 Le Laurier, 
 
 86 
 
 Le Furieux, 
 
 84 
 
 La Zchndc, 
 
 80 
 
 L'Entreprenant, 
 
 80 
 
 Le Fleuron, 
 
 T* 
 
 Le Trident, 
 
 ^6 
 
 Le Dlamant, 
 
 70 
 
 Le Sage, 
 
 70 
 
 Lc Ruby, 
 
 70 
 
 Le Mercure-, 
 
 68 
 
 La Perle, 
 
 68 
 
 La Mcdufc, 
 
 Gnns. 
 66 
 66 
 
 te Terrible; 
 Le Foudroyanf, 
 Le Soliel Royar, 
 f Admirable, 
 Le Triomphatif, 
 
 L^rgiieilleux, 91 Le Sfrieux, 60 
 
 Triumphant, pi Lc Content, -0 
 
 Le St. Phillippe, co Le St. Louis, (To 
 
 lie Magnifique, 
 Le Tonnant, 
 
 Le Scrptre, oo Le Temeraire. 60 
 
 La C'-uronne, 
 
 tfo 
 
 Ee MonarqiK, 84- La Zchndc, <To 
 
 Le Pompeux, 80 L'Enfreprenant, j5- 
 
 L'Intrepidc, 
 
 Lc Neptwne, fS Le Trident, 56 
 
 Le Parfait, 
 Le St. Efp.it, 
 Le Bizarre, 
 
 LTnvinciblc, 70 Le Mercure-, 55 
 
 L'Hcureux, 
 Le Conftant, 
 
 d Hid. militaire de Lou'n XIV. tome v. p. 357. Reflexions militates et po- 
 litiqucn, de M. St. Ciuz, tome viii. p. 91. Memories do M. dc Fcuquiere, tornc 
 ii. p. 144. 
 
 their
 
 QT QJJE*:N ANNE. 15- 
 
 their plate, and pawned their jewels, to raife money to pay the 
 workmen employed in the fortifications, which were carried 
 on with fuch amazing alacrity, that in three weeks time, the 
 town, as well as the port, was in a pretty good ftate of de- 
 fence; and they had, befides, in the neighbourhood three in- 
 trenched camps, which, ho\vever, was all owing to the dilato- 
 rinefs of the allies 6 . 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, with the fleet under his command, 
 failed for the Hieres, after having made all the neceflary difpo- 
 fiticns for fecuring a fafe and conftant intercourfe between the 
 army, and the dominions of the duke of Savoy, upon which 
 the fuccefs of the whole was then thought to depend. It was 
 the ijth of July before the fiege of Toulon was formed, and 
 on the 1 7th admiral Shovel landed, and affiited at a council of 
 war, in which many demands were made on the fleet for the 
 fervice of the army, and the admiral chearfully promifed all 
 that was in his power, which he accordingly performed. One 
 hundred cannon were landed from the fleet for the batteries, 
 with two hundred rounds of powder and fhot, and a confider- 
 able number of fcamen to ferve as gunners; and cordage, nails 
 and fpikes, with all other things wanting for the camp, (for in~ 
 deed they were but poorly furniflied), were Supplied from the 
 ihips ; fo that affairs had a very good face till the 4th of Au- 
 guft, when early in the morning the enemy, making a vigorous 
 
 ' One need not wonder at the furprke the French court was ir, when the 
 drfign of the duke of f^voy was no longer to be doubted; Toulon was th<-n in, 
 fuch a fitr.ation, that, if the duke of Savoy had marched expediti'>ufly, it U 
 not eafy to conceive how hit enterprizc cou'd have mifcarrird. They did not 
 begin to foiti'y the city, till he pafcd the Var, and it was the 7ih of Augnft, 
 "N. S. before M. Tcffi arrived there. Four days fooner would, have given his 
 royal highnefs potTfHpn of Toulon, without a blow, unlefi the French had 
 been mad enough to have flood a fborm ; and in that cafe, the difpi'.te mud 
 have been over in a few hours. As it was, the duke of Savoy fjund the enemy 
 as firongas himfelf, they had foe thoufand men in the town, and twenty-fi/ur 
 thoufand in the ncighbotirh od of it. The very moment the allies arrived, 
 the generals differed, his royal highnefs fent orders to prirce Eugene, to pof- 
 fefs himfelf of mount St. Anr, which he rcfufed to do, becaufe, as I luve ob~ 
 fetycd, the emp-rror had ordered him not to expofe his troops. Foul weather, 
 too, prevented the fleet from landing artillery, and ammunition ; in all this time the 
 m. my'* form wtre increafing, finee the allies never had it in their power to inveil 
 'Toulon. 
 
 V 2 fally,
 
 i5* NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fally, forced moft, if not all the confederate troops out of their 
 works, and took pofleffion to the right, where they continued 
 all day, and upon their going off deftroyed them, drawing away 
 eight or ten guns into the town ; in which adion there were 
 killed and wounded on the fide of the duke of Savoy above 
 eight hundred men, among whom were the prince of Saxe 
 Gptha, and fome officers of diftin&ion f . 
 
 This attempt being made with fuch fuperiority of numbers, 
 it put the troops under great apprehenfions, and the generals 
 were of opinion, it would not be proper to carry on the fiege, 
 lince, while the duke of Savoy's army decreafed, the enemy 
 continually gathered flrength, infomuch that, on the fixth of 
 Auguft, his royal highnefs defired the admiral would immedi- 
 ately imbark the flck and wounded, and withdraw the cannon, 
 in order to his railing the liege, which from this time was turn- 
 ed only to a cannonading and bombardment. His royal high- 
 nefs alfo informed him, that he propofed to decamp the loth in 
 the morning, and defired that the fleet might accompany the 
 army as far as the Var ; which being done, it was propofed to 
 carry the duke, prince Eugene, and the troops which could be 
 fpared for fervice in that country, on board the fleet to Spain ; 
 but fince there was not any thing determined in this affair, the 
 admiral foon after fhaped his courfe down the Streights, as we 
 {hall fee hereafter g . 
 
 f Hift. rmliraire de Louis XIV. tome v. p. $66. Memoires de la Torre, tome 
 v. p. 67. Memoires hiftoriques et chronologiques. 
 
 S Many reafous were affigned for the raifing this fiege; I flull mention only 
 a few. Jt was faid, that Sir Cloudtfley Shovel difgufted the duke of Savoy 
 by detaining tie payment of his fubfidies, which were due on his palling the 
 Var. I apprehend, however, this fa,ft could not be true, fincc the admir.-l 
 failed the next day; and therefore, he muft either have paid the money, or his 
 royal highnefs weuld not hive, ftirred a foot further. Bifhop Buriu-i fays, that 
 the duke was afraid of getting to Toulon before the fleet, and in that cafe, he 
 would have wanted provifions ; all our Gazettes contradift this, and fay, that 
 if he had arrived there fooner, he muft have taken the place, and all the 
 Trench magazines. I think the/e are three fubftantul reafons which cannot he 
 difputed, and which fotficiently account for the failing of this defign. Firft, 
 the want of twelve thonfand imperialifts, which, as I huve faid, wer; fent to 
 Naples. Sec >ndlv, the difagreemcnt between his royal highnefs, and prince 
 Eugene. Thirdly, the treacherous correfpondence held by the countefs of 
 S:fTon, fifler-in-hw in the prince, and the duke's near relation, of which we 
 : ve ui ac.-aUiit in the Lond. Gaz. N 70 . 4368. 
 
 The
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 157 
 
 The very day the army began to march, the fleet drew as 
 near the place as poflible, and five bomb-veffels, fupported by 
 the lighted frigates, and all the boats of the men of war, un- 
 der the command of rear-admiral Dilkes, advanced into the 
 creek of fort St. Lewis, and notwithftanding a prodigious fire 
 from the place, bombarded the town and harbour, from noon 
 till five the next morning, and this with all the fuccefs that 
 could be expected. By this means the land-army had time to 
 quit their camp at La Villette, which they did in five columns 
 in great fafety, the enemy having fomething elfe to do than to 
 purfue them : and as to any attempts afterwards, his royal 
 highnefs put them pretty much out of their power, by march- 
 ing, in two days, as far as in his approach to the place he bad 
 marched in fix. This difaftrous end had the famous Cege of 
 Toulon, from whence the confederates hoped, and the French 
 feared fo much h . 
 
 To fpeak impartially, one may fafely fet the faults of both 
 generals againft each other. If the duke of Savoy had arrived 
 a week fooner, he had carried his point : and if, on the other 
 hand, marfhal Teffe had underftood his bufinefs, as well as 
 marfhal Catinat, his royal highnefs had returned without an 
 army'. After all, this bufinefs, though it mifcarried in the 
 main, proved of great fervice to the allies, and had many hap- 
 py confequences, which perhaps ought to balance the expence 
 of it ; for befides the great damage the French fuftained in their 
 (hipping ; the burning and deftroying of eight of their capital 
 (hips ; the blowing up feveral magazines , the burning of above 
 one hundred and fixty houfes in Toulon, and the devaluations 
 committed in Provence by both armies, to the value of thirty 
 millions of French livres j this enterprize (which ftruck a greater 
 
 h In all the party difputes from this time, the mifcarriaee of thij liege was 
 continually mentioned as a proof of the infincerity of our allies. 
 
 1 This is the opinion of all the French writers, and feems to be founded in 
 truth ; for it is certain, that except the lofs his royal highnefs fuftained by fo 
 quick a march, and the defertion that attended it, he was very little incom- 
 moded by the purfiiit of the enemy ; and yet the ficgc and the retreat are faid 
 to have coft him thirteen thoufand men. Hiftoire militaire, par M. Qnincy, tome 
 v p. 369. Memoires de la Torre?, tome v. p. 67. Hift. de Louii XIV. tome v. 
 P. 44' 
 
 terror
 
 x$8 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 terror throughout all France, than had been known there du- 
 ring the whole reign of Lewis XIV.) brought thefe further ad- 
 vantages to the common caufe, that it caufed a great diverfion 
 of the enemies forces, thereby their army in Germany was 
 veakened, the duke of Orleans's progrefs, after the battle of 
 Almanza, retarded in Spain; the fuccouring of Naples preven- 
 ted ; and the conquefts of the allies in Italy fecured k . 
 
 I muft obferve further, that as no prince hi the world knew 
 better than the duke of Savoy how to repair faults, and recover 
 pad mifcarriages ; fo he gave on this occafion a noble proof of 
 his high fpirit, and great prefence of mind, by inverting the 
 important fortrefs of Suza, which furrendered at difcretion, on 
 the 24th of September, and thereby gave him an open palugc 
 into Dauphine, at the fame time that it enabled him to fliut the 
 French effectually out of his dominions '. 
 
 Our admiral, not a little chagrined at the mifcarriage of an 
 xpedition upon which he had fet his heart, after having affign- 
 ed Sir Thomas Dilkes a fquadron of thirteen fail, for the Me- 
 diterranean fervice, failed with the red: of the fleet from Gibral- 
 tar". On the 23d of October, he had ninety fathom water 
 in the Soundings, in the afternoon he brought the licet to and 
 lay by. At fix in the evening he made fail again, and ftood 
 away under his courfes, whence it is prefumed, he believed he 
 faw the light of Scilly^ foon after which he made fignals of 
 danger, as feveral other fhips did n . Sir George Byng, who 
 was then within lefs than half a mile to the windward of him, 
 faw the breaches of the fea, and foon after the rocki, cabled 
 the Bithop and his Clerics, upon which the admiral ftriick; 
 (though, according to fome, Sir Cloudefley ftruck upon the 
 Gilflon rock, and not upon the Bifhop and his Clerks), and 
 in two minutes there was nothing more of him, or his (hip 
 ieen. 
 
 k Thefe were certain advantages, hut fu;h advantages as were in no degree due 
 to the fkifi, courage, or diligence of our allies. 
 
 1 The complete hiftory of Europe, for 1707, p. 31$. Lond. Gaz. N"-. 4375. 
 Annals of queen Anne. m Burchei's niv.il hiltory, p. 734. n Old- 
 
 inixon's hift. of the Stuart?, vol. ii. p. 394. Complete hiltcry of Europe, for 
 p. 34J- 
 
 B.fides
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 Befides the AiTociation, the Eagle, captain Robert Hancock,, 
 of feventy guns, and the Romney, captain William Coney, of 
 fifty guns, periftied : the Firebrand fire- fhip was loft likewiicj 
 but captain Piercy, who commanded her, and moft of the com- 
 pany were faved : the Phcenix fire-fhip, commanded by captain 
 Sanfom, ran afhore, but was happily got off again , 'ibc 
 Royal Anne, in which Sir George Byng bore his flag, was 
 faved by the prefence of mind of the officers and men, who in 
 a minute's time fet her top-fails, when ihe was within a {hip's, 
 length of the rocks. Lord Durfley, in the St. George, ran as 
 great hazard, and was favcd by mere accident ; he ftruck on 
 the fame rocks with Sir Cloudefley, and that wave which beat 
 out the admiral's lights, fet his fhip afloat. The day after this 
 unhappy accident, fome country fellows took up Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel's body, ftripped him, and buried him in the fand ; but 
 the boats crew of the Salisbury, and the Antelope, having dif- 
 covered it, dug him up again, put his corpfe on board the Salif- 
 bury, by whom k was brought home to Plymouth, on the 28th 
 of October, conveyed thence to London, and buried with great 
 Solemnity in Weftminfter-abbey, where a magnificent tomb was- 
 foon after creeled to his memory p . 
 
 Rear-admiral Dilkes, with the fquadron appointed for the 
 Mediterranean fervice, lailed from Gibraltar on the 5th of Oc- 
 tober, in order to have efcorted a convoy of troops,, and pro- 
 vifions from Italy to Catalonia. But when he was fome leagues 
 weftward of Barcelona, he received feveral exprefles, defiring 
 that he would enter that port, his Catholic mnjerty having fome 
 matters of great confequence to communicate to him. The ad- 
 miral accordingly repaired thither, and found that the principal 
 point in view with his Catholic majefty was, the ix'du&ion of 
 the ifland of Sardinia, and the defence of the Catalonian coalts. 
 
 c Burnet's Mflory of his own times, vol. is. p. 485. Cjlumna roftrata, p. 185. 
 Lonrf. Gaz. N. 4?8o. 
 
 P We (hall have cccafioa to fpe k, hereafter, more at large of this unfortu- 
 mate event, when we come to the memoirs of this admiral. There were rear 
 n-.ne hundred perfons on board the AfTociation when fte was loft, and not a fcul 
 cicapfil. The chaplain happened to go on board another fhip that mon.irg, in 
 ortier to a'-rn'n.ller ths f^crirrveot to fome dyinj. peopt-, *nd by thi* means his 
 . . u . 
 
 The
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The proportion made by his majefty, not being confiftent with 
 the orders Sir Thomas Dilkcs had already received, he found 
 himfelf under a neceffity of waving, in the belt manner he 
 could, complying with what his Catholic majefty defired ; and 
 fince the care of the imbarkation in Italy, was particularly re- 
 commended to him, by his inftructions, he failed from Barce^ 
 lona on the fecond of November ; but meeting with hard gales 
 of wind, his fquadron was Separated, and could not join again 
 before the I4th, when, being off Cape Corfica, he received a 
 letter from the king of Spain, which contained an account of 
 the lofs of Lerida, and of the great danger of Tortofa and 
 Terragond q . 
 
 He arrived at Leghorn the ipth of November but met iri 
 the road with fo terrible a ftorm, that almoft every (hip in his 
 fquadron fuffered by it. At his arrival he demanded a falute of 
 feventeen guns, which was refufed him : upon this, he wrote 
 to her majefty's minifter at the court of the grand duke, who 
 complained of the difrefpedt. The fecretary of ftate fent him 
 foon after an anfwer, importing, that the caftle of Leghorn ne- 
 ver faluted any flag under the degree of a vice-admiral firft ; 
 and therefore Sir Thomas Dilkes, being a rear-admiral only, 
 had no right to expect it ; and as to the number of guns, Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel was content with eleven, and returned thfc 
 fame number 1 ". On the firft of December, this difpute being 
 adjufted, he was invited on fhore, and died a few days after-i 
 wards of a fever, caufed, as moft people imagined, by an Italian 
 dinner. 
 
 Upon his deceafe, the command devolved on captain Jafper 
 Hicks, who was the fenior officer, and who failed from Leg* 
 horn to the coaft of Genoa, where imbarking the troops at 
 Vado, a little town to the weftward of Savona, he efcorted 
 them fafely to Spain, and then proceeded with his fquadron to 
 Lifbon, where he received orders to put it in the beft condition 
 
 i Mercorc hidoriqn; ct politique pour 1'Annee, 1708, vol. i. p. no. 
 
 ' The court of Tufcany was all along rnanifeftly partial to the French, and 
 this demand of Sir Thomas Dilkes was founded upen fome extraordinary civilities 
 that had been paid to French fljgs. The feamcn always looked upon the 
 admiral as a martyr for the honour of his country, and I wondet thai nobody has 
 touched on this matter. Sec Burchet's naval hilt. p. 73$. 
 
 be
 
 o f QjiEfcN A N N E. xd 
 
 r-e could, agninft the arrival of Sir John Leake, who was 
 coming, with the title of admiral and commander in chief, 
 from England. It may not be amiis to obferve, that this year 
 the enemy had a coniiderable force in the Mediterranean, which, 
 relieved their party in the ifland of Minorca, and did other 
 fervices in thofe parts ; but it was in a manner by ftealth, ai.d 
 in the abfence of our fleet, which, as the reader has feen, was 
 then before Toulon. I (hall conclude this fubjetl, with obfer- 
 ving, that how iil foever our affairs went in Spain, it was owing 
 imirely to the difputes amongft our land-officers, and the mil- 
 chiefs and mifcarriages induced thereby : for, at fea, all things 
 went well ; our fleets and fquadrons did all that could be ex- 
 pected from them, and it feemed to be our misfortune, that it 
 was not in their power to do all that was to be done s . 
 
 If it had, we had certainly carried our point; and king Phi- 
 lip, notwithftanding all the great fuccours he received from his 
 grandfather, had been obliged to quit his pretenfions to Spain, 
 and the Indies 1 . But, as bifhop Burnet has fliewn, the Au- 
 ftrian politics, at this juncture, fell in with the French ; and 
 yet we continued to ferve that auguft houfe, not only at 
 the expence of our interefi, but, as it were, in fpite of their 
 teeth u . 
 
 Before 
 
 * Complete hift.iry of Eurtpe, for 1707. Burner, Burchet. Oldmijton, in- 
 toals of queen Anne, ire. 
 
 E It is true, many, indeed mod of the ancient nobility, adhered fteadily to 
 king Philip; but fHil, partly from the mifuuderftanding between the kingdoms 
 and principalities which compofe the Spanifh monarchy, the feuds amongfl the 
 grandees, and the infimiations of feme politicians, that as they became Bour- 
 bonites onlv to prevent the difmccnbering the dominions of their crown, they 
 might turn Aufbians again if they foond this the only way of comparing this 
 end ; there was <i firong party for king Charles III. who, by the affiftance ot 
 the maritime powers, nvght have been placed and kept upon the throne, at 
 Icuft for a confidcrab'.e time. 
 
 u As this is a very extraordinary aflirtion, I think myfelt" obliged to cite 
 bilhop Bnrnet's own words. " The court of France, finding they could ooC 
 " prevail on the king of Sweden, made a public application to the Pope for hi 
 '' mediating a peace. They offered the dominions in Italy to king Charles; 
 " to the dates, a barrier in the Netherlands, ind a compenfation to the duke 
 " of Sivoy, for the waftc made in his country ; provided that, on tbofe eon- 
 " ditions, kiog Philip iawid Juep Spain, and tljc Wtfi Indie*. Is. WAS thought 
 
 VCJL. III. JL " th
 
 T6*2 N A V A L K I S T O R Y 
 
 Before I return to the confederation of affairs nearer home r 
 ;t will be proper to fay fomething as to a fecret treaty between 
 fhe queen of Great Britain, and king Charles III. of .Spain, 
 becaufe that was the real fource of fome very great events 
 which afterwards happened, though there is very little mention 
 made of this treaty in any of our hiltories. Mr. Stanhope, 
 afterwards esrl Stanhope, and a great minifier here, then ma- 
 naged her majefty's affairs with king Charles, He, representing 
 the zeal with which Great Britain had always fupported his Ca-> 
 rholic majeftv, and the immenfe expence fhe had been at, in or- 
 der to eftablifh him on the throne of his anceftors, prevailed on 
 him, partly out of gratitude, and partly from a fenfe of the ne- 
 eeflity he lay under of depending ftilBon our protection, to con- 
 clude fecretly a treaty of commerce, extremely favourable for 
 the fubjech of Britain, and which, in cafe that prince had been 
 firmly eftablifhed on the throne of Spain, mud quickly have 
 reimburfed the nation all flie had laid out for the fervice of his- 
 Catholic Majefty. 
 
 By it, the Englifh alone were intruded with the B-arbary 
 trade, and were to import into all the maritime places in Spain, 
 futh kind of goods from thence as- mould appear to them pro- 
 per, and without paying any higher duty, than if thofe goods' 
 were actually the growth and merchandize of Great Britain. 
 The Englifh merchants refidmg in Spain, were to give fecurity 
 for their duties-, and were to pay them fix months after the 
 goods were landed and fold. A new book of rates was to be 
 eftablimed, by EnglHh and Spanifh commiffioners, which was 
 not to be altered, and all merchandizes that were omitted there- 
 in, were to pay feven per cent ad. -valorem^ according to the 
 invoice. Thefe advantages were in themfelves very great ; but 
 there were ftill greater fecured by a feparate article, in which 
 it was mutually agreed, that the whole commerce of the Spa- 
 nilh Weft Indies fhould be carried on by a joint company of 
 Spanifh and Briti/h merchants : but becaufe this could not be 
 
 " the court of Vienna wifhed this project might be entertained; but the other 
 l * allies were fi difgufled at it, that they made no fleps towardi it. The court 
 " of Vienna did what they could to confound the defigns of this campaign, for 
 " they ordered a detachment of twelve thotifand men to march from the army 
 " iiVto Lc-mlirdy, ty the kingdom of N^les, ~r." 
 
 immediately
 
 C<F QJJ-EEN ANNE. 
 
 immediately carried into execution, fince Spain and the Indiea 
 were then in the hands of king Philip, it was further ftipula- 
 ted, (as far as king Charles could confent), that her Britannic 
 majefty fhould, for the prefenr, trade freely in all the ports of 
 the Weft Indies, with ten fhips, each of the burden of five 
 hundred tons, under the efcort of as many (hips of war as her 
 majefty fhould think proper. France was to be for ever ex- 
 cluded from this commerce ; and if, at any time afterwards, 
 either of the contracting parties fhould depart from this agree- 
 ment, then they were to forfeit all the advantages granted 
 them by this treaty ; which was figned the tenth of July, 
 1707, by the minifters of his Catholic raajcfty, and Mr. Stan- 
 hope w . 
 
 The perfon who was intruded to carry this important treaty 
 to London, imbarked, for the greater expedition, on board 9 
 fmall veflel bound for Genoa, which veflel was unluckily taken 
 by a French privateer. The exprefs, as is ufual in fuch cafes, 
 threw his mail overboard; but the French captain promifing a 
 confiderable reward, in cafe it could be recovered, a negro flavf- 
 undertook to dive, and bring it up; which he performed, and 
 it was immediately tranfmitted to the marquis de Torci, ths 
 French king^s minifter for foreign affairs, who took care to fend 
 a copy of it, very fpeedily, to the Hague, where it made a 
 great impreffion en the ftates-general, though they did not 
 
 w Some people have affected to doubt, w!>ether there ever was fch a treaty 
 a this; but that was only at a time when there was a ueceflity of keeping it 
 feoret. Do&or S*ift, who wrote the conduft of the allies, and wh- had a 
 good lights as any writer of that time, fays a little difingenii.ufiy. " Our trade 
 " with Spain was referred the fame way-; but this they will pretend to be 
 " of no confcquence, becaufe that kingdom was to be under the houfe of An* 
 " ftria, and we have already made a treaty with king Cha:les. I have indeei 
 " heard of a trt:y made by Mr. Stanhope with that prince, for fettling our 
 " omrocrce with Spain: but, whatever it were, there was another between 
 ' us and Holland, which went hand in hand with it. 1 mean that of the l>tr- 
 " Her, whtrein a clauJc was inferted, by which all advantages propofed for 
 " Britain, are to be in common with Holland." Swift's mifcrllanies, vol. iii. 
 p. 3. The obfervation I would make, is, that the facl here hid down, is by 
 no means true ; the barrier treaty, and this with Spain, could not be carried on 
 together, fince the one was figned the loth of July, 1707, and the other on the 
 3.9 th of Oftober, 1709. As to the treaty iifclf, the iu<i"ifitivc iv-aJer may, if 
 be pirafes, conlui' LaoiLeni, vol. iv. p. 59*. 
 
 X 2 thinfc
 
 1 54 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 think fit to complain of it, but contented themfelves with gi- 
 ving, as far us they were able, fuch a turn to the war, as might 
 render it beneficial to themfelves ; and ever after afiifted his 
 Catholic majefty but coolly, and no farther than they were ob- 
 liged by treaty. 
 
 It was afterwards converted into a reafon for concluding a 
 negociation, very favourable to their trade, with the Dutch, 
 wherein, amongft other things, it was agreed, that, whatever 
 advantages we fhoukl obtain from Spain, the Dutch fhould en- 
 joy the like ; which treaty, if it was ever intended fliould be 
 fairly executed, would have been very injurious to us, fince, 
 while we bore the whole burden of the war, it would have ta- 
 ken from us all hopes of recompence after a peace, fince to 
 fhare the Spanilh trade with the Dutch by treaty, was very lit- 
 tle better than agreeing to give it up to them in a fhort fpace of 
 time 5 ?. 
 
 This fecret negociation had ftill farther confequences, fince 
 it gave the French an opportunity of fuggefting, in a ieparate 
 treaty, that article upon which the bou,th-Sea company is 
 founded, and without the aftiftance of which, the intelligent 
 part of mankind know very well the peace of Utrecht could 
 never have been made, or the public debts brought into that 
 Ctuation in which we now find them y . From thefe remarks 
 on fecret treaties, let us return now to the open operations of, 
 the war. 
 
 At the time that our fleets were every where fuperior to. 
 thofe of the enemy, our trade fuffered in almoft all parts of the 
 world, by their fmall fquadrons of men of war, as well as pri- 
 
 y I have here attempted to exphin the matter, as it appears to me, fairly, 
 nd naturally, by making part of the barrier treaty a confequence of the Dutch 
 being acquainted with our fecret treaty ; though, perhaps, at the negociation 
 of the barrier treaty, it might not be mentioned in direcl terms. For, the af- 
 fairs of our miniftry began then to be pretty much perplexed, and the natural 
 confequence was, the centering their own fupport, more than the intcreft of 
 the nation; which is the cafe with every declining iruuiftry, and has been more 
 fatal to us, than all the efforts of our enemies. 
 
 y In my Lft note, I have a little digreflid in point of time, and therefore I 
 r.uft refcrthc reader fnr the verification of this hf\, tj what I fhall be oMiged 
 f-rr to f iv , in refprft to the caufes and confequences of the treaty of 
 : which f fliull take particiila: notice of this trticle. 
 
 va f
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 yateers. This, though it fell heavily upon us, was a plain proof 
 of the weaknefs of the French power ; fince it never can be 
 conceived, that fo haughty a prince as Lewis XIV. would have 
 ftooped to this piratical way of carrying on the war, if he could 
 have maintained it in a manner more honourable z . 
 
 Sir Thomas Hardy, who had commanded a fquadron in the 
 Soundings a year before, and who had this year been employed 
 on the coaft of Ireland, to protect the Eaft India fleet, was, 
 in the beginning of the month of July, ordered to efcort the 
 Lifbon trade. Sir Thomas, purfuant to this order, failed with 
 the fquadron under his command, and the outward-bound mer- 
 chant-men. But being feveral times forced hack by contrary 
 winds, it was the 2yth of Augull, 1707, before they got ninety- 
 three leagues off the Lizard. About half an hour after two 
 that afternoon, captain Kirktown, in the Defiance, who was 
 in the rear of the fleet, made the iignal of feeing fix fail, 
 which being alfo feen about three, right a-ftern from the mafr- 
 head of the Kent, Sir Thomas Hardy brought to for the rear, 
 that were a great way off, and fpread very much, to come up 
 with the body of the fleer, confuting in all of above two hun- 
 dred fail'. 
 
 Between 
 
 2 This conduct of the French king, in the fituation his affairs were then in, 
 We muft allow to be extremely prudent. He found, that fitting out great flectt 
 was an expence he could not bear; that the allies were too ftrong for him at 
 fea, and therefore it was requisite to employ (hips in fume other method, for 
 his own fervice, and his fubjefls advantage, which put him upon lending his 
 men of war to fuch merchants as were willing to fit them out for privateers ; 
 and the fquaJrons of Forb.n, and Guai Trouin, were equipped on this ac- 
 count. 
 
 Sir Thomas's orders were dated the zd of July, 1707, and by them he 
 was directed to convoy aH the outward-bound fhips that were ready to fail, and 
 fee them tare about no leagues beyond the Land's end, and then to detach with 
 them fome men of war, under the command of captain Kirktown ; and him- 
 felf, with the reft of the fhips under his command, to cruize in fuch Aation, 
 or Rations, as fhould be thought (upon advifing with the feveral captains with 
 him) the moft proper for meeting with, and protecting the homeward-bound 
 Lifbon trade. This order further directed, that in cafe Sir Thomas Hardy 
 fhould, in his pafTage from Spithead into the Soundings, get fight of the fqua- 
 dron of French fhips, (which had been lately feen off the Lizard), he was 
 forthwith to detach captain Kirktown from biro on hii voyage to Lifbon, as be- 
 fore
 
 Between three and four o'clock, Sir Thomas Hardy percei- 
 ving, that the fix fail came up with him a-pace, notwithftand- 
 ing it was little wind, and thereby judging they might be feek- 
 ers, made the fignal for the ihips that were to continue with 
 him, to chace to windward, and alfo -chaced himfelf with them, 
 both to prevent thefe fix fail from taking fome of the heavy 
 failers, and to try to come up with them, in cafe they were 
 enemies. About five, the fix fail were feen from the Kent's 
 deck, making all the fail they could before the wind after the 
 fleet. Soon after they {hortened fail, and brought to, to fpeak 
 with one another; whereupon, Sir Thomas Hardy believing 
 them to be the French fquadron, mentioned in his orders, made 
 the fignal for the Lifbon fleet to part, whiltt he, with his own 
 fquadron, continued to chace to windward the enemy, who had 
 formed themfelves in a line of battle. About fix, the fix fail 
 bore away, and flood to the eaftward of him, and lie, with 
 his fquadron, tacked after them, and continued the chace till 
 jpear feven o'clock; but then confidering that it was almoft 
 night, that the fix fail were then hauled to, and almoft in the 
 wind's eye, he favv no probability of coming up with, or keep- 
 ing fight of them, it being little wind ; and, therefore, he 
 made the fignal for the captains with him, to advife with them 
 according to his orders. The refult of this confutation (which 
 was figned by fourteen captains) was, that Sir Thomas Hardy 
 Should leave off chace ; and, left the enemy, fuppofed to be 
 Guai Trouin's fquadron, of whofe ftrength he was informed 
 i>y a letter from the admiralty, dated the 8th of July, 1707, 
 ihould pafs by him in the night, and lall upon the irade, which 
 could not be protected by the convoys directed to be left with 
 them ; all the captains unanimously agreed, that it was for her 
 majefty's fervice, to bear away, and keep company with the 
 Lifbon fleet, till they got 120 leagues at leafb from the Land's- 
 end, according to his royal highnef&'s order. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hardy complied with their advice, and faw all 
 the fleet fafe as far as he was diredled. But, upon the com- 
 fort directed ; and he, with the reft of the fhips under his command, to give chace 
 to, and ufe his utmott endeavours to come up wirh, and take and dtflroy the faid 
 fhips of the enemy; but if he found that he could not come up with them, he 
 H*S to cruize in the Soundings, as i>ef: directed. 
 
 plaint
 
 0p QJJ E E N ANNE. 167 
 
 plaint of Tome merchants, farmifing that Sir Thomas Hardy had 
 not chaced the fix fail of French men of war, a court martial 
 was ordered to examine his conduct therein. This court, ha- 
 ting lifted every circumftance of this affair, and heard the prin- 
 cipal officers of the fquadron upon their oaths, declared their 
 opinion to be, that Sir Thomas Hardy had complied with his 
 royal bighnels the lord high-admiral's orders, both with regard 
 to the chacing the enemy, and alfo the protecting the trade j 
 and accordingly, the court did acquit the faid Sir Thomas Hnr- 
 dy, from the charge brought againft him. There never was> 
 perhaps, a more juft fentence than this, or pronounced upon 
 fuller evidence, and yet Sir Thomas Hardy had his conduct 
 eanvafled afterwards in every place where it was poffiWe to call 
 it in queltion; which, in fpite of all the prejudices that pre- 
 vailed at that time, turned very much to his advantage ; for he 
 not only efcaped all cenfure, but continued to be employed,, 
 and acquired greater honour from the clearing up this charge > 
 than he could have done by barely convoying the fleet, if no 
 fuch accident had happened b . 
 
 Towards the latter end of April, a large fleet of fhips bound 
 for Portugal, and the Weft Indies, and making in all a fleet of 
 fifty-five fail, had a convoy appointed them, confuting of three 
 men of war, the Royal Oak, of 76 guns, captain Baron 
 
 b The prrfulent of rtiis council r.f war, wsi Sir John Leake, Knt. vice ad- 
 miral of the whice. Ic was held on board her msjcfty's (hip the Albemarle, 
 Oftober ic, i-or, in Pprtl'mou'.h harbour; and the capoins who, with the 
 prt!:dcnt, limned his acqiiktal, were, Hv'Venden W.lkcr, Henry Lumlev, Ste- 
 phen Mutin, T. Meads, Henry Gore, Charles Stewart, J. PJU!. After this, 
 the proceedii.gi were laid before the queen in council, where all was heard ovch 
 again, but n. .thing appeared which Could any way impeach the honour of Sir 
 .us Hardy, or the cuicrrj who acquitted him; however, to obiigc the 
 merchant.', the fentence was trjnfmiited to the admirblry, and there it was exa- 
 mined before r-i? royal hi^hnefs the lord Hgh-admiral, and the following flag- 
 oEcert, admin! Churchill, Sir Staffbid Forborne, Sir John Leakr, Sir Geo. 
 Syng, Sir John >i.>rrif, ar.ri sir James Withal, who all approved the fentence 
 of ire comt-m.irti-1, and give their opinion un^er their hands. One would 
 have imagined, that here the t'ling rruift have ended, but it did not ; for as loon 
 as the houfe of common? fat, a n.-.tion was ira;'r, that Sir Thomas Hardy /hcnid 
 mem! ; ui . and jj.ve fo clear an acccunt of his c-nduc>, that the 
 
 vfabfri * . '. d:i:red it might be
 
 1 68 NAVAL HIS TOHY 
 
 Wylde, commander and commodore ; the Grafton, of 70 guns; 
 captain Edward Acton; the Hampton-Court, of 70 guns, cap- 
 tain George Clements. They failed on the firfc of May, from 
 the Downs, and fell in, on the fecond, with the Dunkirk fqua- 
 dron, commanded by M. Forbin, confifting of ten men of war$ 
 a frigate, and four privateers. The commodore drew five of 
 the ftoutefl merchant-fhips into the line, and fought bravely 
 two hours and a half; but then, captain Acton being killed^ 
 and his fhip taken, and the Hampton-Court foon fharing the 
 fame fate, after having funk the Salifbury, then in the hands of 
 the French, by her fide ; the commodore thought proper to 
 fhift for himfelf as well as he could, which it was not very eafy 
 for him to do, as he was immediately attacked by three of the 
 largeft French men of war, and had eleven feet water in his 
 hold. He difengaged himfelf, notwithstanding, and with great 
 difficulty ran on fhore near DungenefTe, from whence he foort 
 got off, and brought his fhip into the Downs. But while the 
 men of war were thus engaged, the lighteft of the enemy's 
 frigates, and their privateers, took one and twenty of our mer- 
 chant-fhips, and carried them, with the two men of war, into 
 Dunkirk. 
 
 The moft extraordinary thing that happened in this engage^ 
 ment, was the conduct of a midfhipman, on board the Hamp- 
 ton-Court, who, while the enemy were employed in plunder- 
 ing the fhip, conveyed captain Clements, who was mortally 
 wounded in the belly, into the long-boat, into which himi 
 felf, and feven of the failors crept through the port-holes^ 
 and concealed themfelves, as well as they could, under the 
 thouls. The enemy, in the mean time, driving with the fiood 
 when they thought themfelves at a fufficient diftance, they fell 
 to their oars, and had the good fortune to get into Rye har- 
 bour on the third of May c . This affair made a very great 
 noife, the merchants affirming, that there was time enough 
 for the admiralty to have acquainted commodore Wylde$ 
 that the Dunkirk fquadron was at fea ; which, in all pro- 
 See the Lorn] G*z. X. 4.j:$>. Mcrcure biflorique et politique, tome xliu 
 
 . <n- 
 
 bability,
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 
 
 bability, might have enabled him to have efcaped this misfor- 
 tune d . 
 
 The French, according to their ufual cuftom, magnified this 
 fuccefs of theirs excefiively ; for they afferted, that befides the 
 three men of war, there was a frigate of forty guns fent to 
 ftrengthen the convoy, and that the fleet of merchant-men 
 confifted of fourfcore fail, of which they took twenty-two, and 
 made 1200 prifoners. In Forbin's memoirs, we have fome 
 very extraordinary circumftances ; fuch as, that he engaged the 
 commodore himfelf, and killed him with a muiket-fhot through 
 a port-hole, while he was giving his orders fword in hand, 
 between decks, and afterwards made himfelf matter of his 
 fliip ; in which, as we have feen, there is not one word of 
 truth : and all that can be faiti in excufe of the French relation 
 is, that Mr. Forbin miftook the Hampton-Court for the com- 
 modore. 
 
 All the French relations, however, do us the juftice to own, 
 that our captains behaved extremely well, and that their vi&ory 
 colt them very dear. The French king, as foon as he had ad- 
 vice of this engagement, promoted M. Forbin to the rank of 
 chef d'efcadre, and gave him likewife the title of count 6 , which 
 he foon after merited by an extraordinary exploit, of which we 
 are next to give an account. 
 
 The Ruffia fleet being this year very numerous, and very 
 richly laden, Sir Benjamin Ayloffe, being then governor, and 
 
 * Tnefe fafts depend upon the reprefcntations made by the merchants to 
 parliament, in the eiifoing feflion, and the anfwer to that reprcfentation, by 
 the council of the lord high-admiral, in his royal highnefs's name. It is, I 
 think, not a little improbable, that the admiralty Ihould have any treacherous 
 dcfign ; but there is nothing more likely, than that fome under officers of that 
 board, might fend copies of letters, orders for convoys, and {uch like pa- 
 per?, at the hazard of their necks; as the very fame year Gregg did from ths 
 fecretary's office, for which he fuffered at Tyburn, and people very unjuftly 
 afperfed his mailer. 
 
 e Hifloire militaire, tome v. p. 68, P. Daniel, p. 444. Forbin's memoir*. 
 In fome of thefe relations, the number of prifoners is computed at 1 100, and 
 the value of the prizes at 5,000,000 livres, that is about ijo,oool. Sterling; 
 which is a little incredible, confidering they took fo few fhips; but, as the French 
 had nothing to confole them for their mighty lodes, bat thefe little advan- 
 tages at fea, we need nor it all wonder, that they took fo much pain* to magnify 
 them. 
 
 VOL. HI. Y fome
 
 T 7 o NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fbme other principal merchants, applied themfelves to the ad- 
 miralty, in order to know what convoy they might expect, and 
 particularly took notice of the apprehensions they were under, 
 from the Dunkirk fquadron ; they were told, that they fliould 
 have oner fourth, and two fifth rates, with which they were 
 Tery mtrch diflatisfied. Ta make them in fome meafure eafy, 
 Sir William "Whet (lone had or.ders to convoy them beyond the 
 illands of Shetland f . Accordingly the fleet, confifting of about 
 fifty merchant-men,, failed, and were actually convoyed, as far 
 as his inftructions directed, by admiral Whetftoue, who left 
 them about three weeks before they were taken, to proceed on 
 their voyage, under their proper convoy. 
 
 Some time after captain Haddock, who commanded, made a 
 fignal of his feeing eleven fail of the enemy's (hips, which fome 
 of the fleet not regarding, but trulting to their good failing, fif- 
 teen of them fell into the enemy's hand, off the ifiand of Kildine, 
 on the coaft of Lapland, on the 1 1 th of July ; and the reft of the 
 fleet, confifting of about forty ihips, with their convoy of three 
 men of war, by the favour of a hard gale, and a thick fog, 
 got into Archangel*. The accounts we have of this affair 
 are remarkably dark and embarrafled, which were calculated, 
 probably, to juftify the conduct of the prince's council, and ad- 
 miral Whetftone, who were much complained of; but the 
 French accounts are clearer, though a little exaggerated. 
 
 f Lond. GJZ. N. 4JS7- Po'mtcr r J chronological hiilorian, vok Si. p. ST-~ 
 Mcrcurc hiftoiique et policique, tome xliii. p. 330. 
 
 _ 8 One captain Nenyan, commander of the fliip Kenyon and Benjamin, 
 made oath before the houfc of lords, that, on or about the pth of July, 1707, 
 his fhip, with eleven or twelve other*, were unfortunately taken in (heir voyage 
 Co Archangel, by tfr chevalier Forbin's fquadron, confifting of feven French 
 ;~iiip.>of war; that his Ihip was the firft taken, and he was immediately carried 
 on board Forbin, who demanded of him, what number of Jhips for convoy 
 the Engiiili, bcund for Archangd, had with them. He anfvered, twelve fail: 
 to which Forbin replied, he (pake what wjs falfe j for there were only three 
 Ihips of war, convoy to the ZngliQi fk-ct : Fotbin then declaring, that he knew 
 admiral Whetftone, with his iqiiailron, came no farther than the ifle of Shetland, 
 and then returned back again. Thi* made a great noife, and the more fo, becaufe 
 tdfunl Whetftone was a man not beloved, and people were very dtfirous of 
 fixing an imputation upon him, in order to get him laid sfide ; but it docs no: 
 >fj>car, that ia this in Ranee they earned their point. 
 
 According
 
 OF QjTEEN ANNE. l-Jl 
 
 According to them, M. Forbin failed again from Dunkirk, 
 on the laft of May, with the fame fqnadronj and on the jith 
 of July, perceiving the Englifh fleet, he immediately fell in 
 with them, took nineteen fail ; but being too far from any port 
 of France, to think of carrying them in with fafety, he firfi 
 unloaded, and then burnt them. In the memoirs which go un- 
 der his name, the matter is carried fti-11 farther ; for he afferts, 
 that he took twenty, of which he burnt fifteen : that, after- 
 wards, he took four more, and when they got into the harbour 
 of Kildine, he likewife took four, and burnt eighteen; but 
 he agrees, that foon after he deftroyed all his prizes, and 
 computes the value of the goods he preserved to 1,200,000 
 livres. 
 
 I fufpec~l there is fome confufion and miftake in tliefe ac- 
 counts, becaufe I find, that on the firft of Auguft following, he 
 deftroyed the Dutch homeward-bound fleet from Archangel; 
 and as father Daniel comptites the fhips taken, and burnt, iu 
 both erKerprizes,, at forty fail, I am inclined to think him. 
 nearer the truth than any of the ref:' 1 . On the return of the 
 Dunkirk fquadron, count Forbin received orders to join that 
 which had been fitted out from Breft, under the command of 
 M. du Guai Trouin, which he accordingly did, on the 8th of 
 Odober. 
 
 In the latter end of Auguft, there was a great fleet ready 
 for Lisbon, having on board provifions, military (lores, and 
 upwards of a thoufand horfes, for the king of Portugal's fer- 
 vice. The merchants xvere extremely uneafy on the head of a 
 convoy. They obfcrved, that fo many fhips had been taken 
 in performing the voyage to Portugal, that it not only affected 
 the commerce, but the reputation of this kingdom, and obliged 
 the Portugueze to fend their orders for corn even againft their 
 will into Holland; for this reafon, they earneftly inlifted, that 
 
 h HiftoVre imSitaire, tome v. p. 467. P. Daniel, p. 145. During the 
 whole war, the maritime powers futfcrcd excelUvely, in the Baltic, where, al- 
 moH every year, the Dunkirk (quadron made many prizes; and thin, at laft, 
 determined the Dutch to keep a conflant force in thofc feas, as long as the 
 weather would permit, rightly judging, that no expence could be too great 
 for the protection of tbir trade, and preferving their reputation at a maritime 
 power.
 
 j 7 2 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fuch a convoy might be given them, upon this occafion, as 
 might effectually fecure fo great a fleet, (for there were no fewer 
 than one hundred and thirty merchant-men), and thereby re- 
 cover our credit at Lifbon ; and, in confequence of it, our corn 
 trade, which had been in a great meafure diverted into other 
 hands for the two laft years . 
 
 Thefe reprefentations were by no means pleating to the ad- 
 miralty, where admiral Churchill, the duke of Marlborough's 
 brother, commonly exprefTed the fenfe of his royal highnefs's 
 council, and thereby drew on himfelf the merchants difpleafure 
 in the higheft degree. He told them, upon this occafion, that 
 they mould be furnifhed with as fpeedy and as ftrong a convoy 
 as could poflibly be provided for them ; yet it fo fell out, that 
 it was the 24th of September before this convoy was ready to 
 fail. It confifted of the Cumberland, captain Richard Ed- 
 wards, of eighty guns; the Devonfhire, of the fame force; 
 the Royal Oak, of feventy-fix ; the Chefter and Ruby, each of 
 fifty guns. But, to fay the truth, the Chefter and Ruby were, 
 properly fpeaking, the convoy ; for the other three fhips were 
 pnly to fee the (hips fifty leagues beyond Scilly. The fleet did 
 not fail till the pth of October, and on the loth, they fell in 
 with the joint fleet of count Forbin and M. du Guai Trouin, 
 pff the Lizard k . 
 
 The French were at leaft twelve fail of line-of-battle fhips. 
 The convoy difpofed themfelves in a line, and thereby gave the 
 merchant fhips an opportunity of efcaping. M. du Guai at- 
 tacked the Cumberland, about twelve at noon, and with the 
 afliftance of two other fhips, after an obftinate difpute, carried 
 her; the Devonfhire defended herfelf, for a long time, againft 
 feven, and till evening againft five French fhips , but then, by 
 fome accident, which will remain for ever unknown, took fire, 
 and blew up; two only, out of nine hundred men, efcaped ; 
 the Royal Oak made a vigorous refiftance, and having fet the 
 Frenph fhip which attacked her, and was commanded by M. de 
 
 i Hiftory of Eutope, for the year 1707, p. 435. At this period the merchants 
 were at open wsr with the admiralty ; and as fome admirals were dilhked, and 
 fomc of his royal highnefs's council naturally ijjorole, there never wanted fuel 
 f mingh for popular clamour. 
 
 k MCTCUK hift. tt pulitique, tome xHii. p 556, 557. 
 
 JSearnois,
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 173 
 
 Bearnois, on fire, got fafe into Kingfale harbour ; the count dc 
 Forbin took the Chefter, and meflieurs de Courferat and de 
 Nefmond took the Ruby. As for the Lifbon fleet, they very 
 prudently faved themfelves during the engagement ; but the 
 French made a prodigious boafting of the men of war they had 
 taken, though the difpute was fo very unequal, and though in 
 effedl the convoy did all that- could be expected from them, by 
 fecuring the merchants at their own expence '. 
 
 It is certain, that misfortunes like thefe are great enough in 
 themfelves ; and, therefore, there is no need of exaggerating 
 them, either at the time they happen, or in fuch works as are 
 written on fubje&s which oblige their authors to tranfmit ac- 
 counts of them to pofterity. Yet, fomething of this fort there 
 feems to be, in the following paflage from bifhop Burnet m , 
 which I tranfcribe in his own words, and at large, that I may 
 not be fufpedled of partiality. " A convoy of five fliips of the 
 f f line of battle, was fent to Portugal, to guard a great fleet of 
 merchant fliips, and they were ordered to fail, as if it had 
 < been by concert, at a time when a fquadron from Dunkirk 
 " had joined another from Breft, and lay in the way waiting 
 for them. Some advertifements were brought to the admi- 
 " ralty of this conjunction ; but they were not believed. When 
 " the French fet upon them, the convoy did their part very 
 " gallantly, though the enemy were three to one ; one of the 
 " {hips was blown up, three of them were taken, fo that only 
 " one of them efcaped, much fhattered. But they had fought 
 c fo long, that moft of the merchant-men had time to get 
 
 I See the hiftory of Europe, for the year 1707. Culumna roflrata, p. 183. 
 Point:r's chronological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. 573. London Gazette, N. 4380. 
 Alfo N. 4381, where, in an article from Lifbon, dated October 31. N. S. it 
 is faid, " Twenty fail of Britifli merchant-men are already in this port, and 
 as many more apptar coming in at the bar, all belonging to the fleet under 
 the late convoy of commodore Edwards, they attribute their fafety to the 
 bravery of their convoy, and particularly of the Devonfhire, which main- 
 tained a running fight, againfl five men of war, till the duflc of the evening, 
 by favour of which, moft of the tranfporrs and trading fhips made their 
 cfcape. There are already come in about fix hundred of the horfc defigned 
 for the fervice of his Portugucfc majefly." 
 n > Hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 488. 
 
 ' away,
 
 i 7 4 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ' away, and failed on, not being purfued, and fo got fafe to 
 Lilbon." 
 
 In order to demon ftrate the abfolute injufrice of this fuggef- 
 tion, I fiiall only obferve, that it appears from all the French 
 writers, that the junction of the Dunkirk and Breft fquadron. 
 happened in the afternoon of the Sth; that the Lifbon fleet 
 failed from Plymouth on the pth, and that the engagement hap- 
 pened on the loth, before noon j fo that any intelligence could 
 be given to the admiralty, of the junction of the French fqua- 
 drons, time enough to have prevented this unlucky accident, is 
 n thing, that, to every candid reader, even at this diftance of 
 time, muft appear perfectly incredible". 
 
 But, in the midil of fo many difcoumgemenrs, the nation was 
 not altogether deprived of good fortune, even in refpecT. to thefe 
 little difputes; for at the very clofe of the year, captain Had- 
 dock, in her majefty's iliip the Ludlow-Caftle, got fight, off 
 the long fand, of two frigates, which proved to be the Night- 
 ingale and Squirrel, formerly her majetty's fhips, but taken by 
 the French, and now fitted out from Dunkirk, as privateers, 
 and each of them having as many men as the Ludlow- 
 Caftle. They both lay by, till he came within gun-fhot 
 of them ; but then made fail from him before the wind. 
 At eleven at night, he came up with the Nightingale, 
 and took her, arid as foon as the captain of the Squirrel 
 perceived it, he crowded fail and ftood away. The captain 
 of the Nightingale was one Thomas Smith, who had formerly 
 commanded a fioop in her majefty's fervice, and was broke at a 
 court-martial for irregular practices : captain Haddock, who 
 died lately an admiral, and who commanded the fquadron in 
 the Mediterranean, immediately before the laft war, carried in 
 his prize to Hull, from whence he thought fit to fend up sll 
 the Englifh who were on board the Nightingale, viz. captain 
 Thomas Smith, who commanded the Ihip ; Charles Aiflaby, 
 lieutenant; Mr. Harwood, who acted as a midfhip-man ; an 
 Irifh prieft, and an EnglifL failor, who were immediately com- 
 
 n The marquis dc Quincy, father Dan'el, and M. Forbin, in his memoirs, 
 all agree as to tliefe dates ; fo that it is impoflible they ftould be wrong ; and it 
 is, confe^uently, as impoflible that our prelate's fii r picion fljiuld be right. 
 
 mitted
 
 OF QJJ E E N A N N E. 1-5 
 
 mitted clofc prifoners for high treafon, and a profecution, by the 
 attorney-general, diretled againft them . 
 
 About the fame time, arrived the welcome news of our fuc- 
 cefs in Newfoundland, where captain John Underdown, com- 
 mander of her majefty's fhip the Falkland, having received ad- 
 vice on the 25th of July, that the enemy had many fhips em- 
 ployed in the fishery, in feveral harbours to the northward, our 
 commanders of fhips, merchants, and inhabitants, petitioned 
 him to endeavour the deftroying of them, and by that means 
 to encourage and protect the Britifh trade in thofe places. In 
 purfuance of which reprefentations, on the 26th of July, cap- 
 tain Underdown fct fail from St. John's, having taken major 
 Lloyd, who defired to be employed in the expedition, with 
 twenty of his company, on board the Falkland, and twenty 
 more of the fame company, on board the Nonfuch. On the 
 27th, they came before Bonavis, and finding there no appear, 
 ance of an enemy, the commodore ordered captain Hughts up- 
 on that ftation, to fail with him. 
 
 On the 2d of Auguft, they ftood into the bay of Blanche, 
 till they came off Fleur-de-lis harbour. Major Lloyd was im- 
 mediately fent into the harbour in the commodore's pinnace, 
 and the lieutenant of the Falkland, in the pinnace belonging to 
 the Nonfuch, in order to make what difcoveries they were able. 
 They found there were feveral fbges, and other necelTaries for 
 the fifhery, to which they fet fire, and afterwards they return- 
 ed without any lofs fuftained, on board the men of war. By 
 fix the next morning they doubled the cnpc, and faw a fhip, 
 which, upon the brilk exchange of a few fhot, ftruck ; the 
 commodore fcnt his boats aboard, and found her to be from 
 St. Male's, carrying about three hundred and fixty tons, thirty 
 guns, and one hundred and ten men, called the Duke of Or- 
 leans. In another arm >.-{ the bay, named EquiiletU', was a;io 
 
 Thf making examples of tliefe fort of men, is a thing of abfolwfe nccef. 
 f;ty in time of war; and I veiy mucli doubt, wi.cihcr i: is iuit a fufc kind of 
 pity, ever to let them efcr.pe. This Smith, and or.c: capt.iiu Ri<;!>y, who flcj 
 from hence for an infamous crime, did us psodigi.-.us milchicf, by their ferving 
 ilic French during '.':.; *M ; i;id ycr, ., :,c *-; fu.Tcred 
 
 ta gf. ;wiy. 
 
 ther
 
 t 7 6 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ther large (hip; but the place being rocky, and the water (hal- 
 low, it was impoffible for either the Falkland or Nonfuch to 
 come near her ; whereupon, the Medway's prize was ordered to 
 go as clofe in as (he could, with fafety; and, at the lame time, 
 captain Carleton, major Lloyd, and the lieutenant of the Falk- 
 land, in boats well manned and armed, were directed to land 
 upon the ifland under which (he lay. This was executed with 
 fo good effect, that the enemy, after having fired feveral broad- 
 fides, being no longer able to keep the deck, againft our fmall 
 (hot from the fhore, (truck. This (hip was of the force of 
 twenty guns, and fourfcore men, belonging alfo to St. Malo. 
 Having here received information, that about three leagues to 
 the northward, in La Couche, there were two fliips, one of 
 thirty-two guns, and the other of twenty-fix, both of St. Ma- 
 lo j the commodore gave captain Hughes directions to burn 
 the lafl prize, and afterwards to join him at La Couche, him- 
 felf in the Falkland, with the Nonfuch, making the beft of 
 their way thither. 
 
 The fifth, in the afternoon, they came into La Couche, 
 where they found the two (hips in readinefs for failing. The 
 enemy fired feveral broadfides at them, which, as foon as our 
 men of war returned, they fet their fhips on fire, and left them, 
 going over to the next harbour, called Caroufe, in which, the 
 commodore had received intelligence, there were four (hips. 
 He immediately weighed, and flood for that harbour, and 
 about eight o'clock at night was joined by the Medway's prize; 
 but there being very little wind at S. W. and much difficulty in 
 getting out, it was about fix the next morning before he got 
 ofF the harbour's mouth. The commodore fent in his boat, 
 but found the enemy had efcaped, having by the advantage of 
 little wind, and the great number of men and boats, cut and 
 towed out. The Britifh (hips ftood to the northward, and faw 
 feveral vefiels, to which they gave chace ; about five in the af- 
 ternoon they came off the harbour of St. Julian, where they 
 discovered a (hip, and having loft fight of the vellels they had 
 purfued, ftood in for the harbour, and came to an anchor in 
 twenty-fix fathom water. The place where the (hip was haul- 
 ed in, being very narrow and fhoally, the commodore ordered 
 the Medway's prize to go as near as pofTibly (lie could. The 
 
 enemy
 
 o F QJJ E N A N N E. i ; 7 
 
 fencmy fired two guns, but it was not thought fit to attack her 
 tiii the morning. Accordinglyj the fixth of Auguft, at four 
 of the clock, captain Carleton, major Lloyd, and lieutenant 
 Eagle, went in, with all their boats well manned and armed, 
 and immediately landing, drove the enemy from their pofts, 
 who were likewife on fhore. Our men took their boats, and 
 went aboard their (hip, where they found the enemy had laid 
 ieveral trains of powder^ in order to blow her up ; which be- 
 ing feafonably difcovered, fhe was preferved, and by noon they 
 towed her out to fea. But the Britifli pilots being unacquaint- 
 ed with the coaft, and the commodore thinking it not proper to 
 go farther to the northward, it was rcfolved to fail back to 
 Caroufe, and there remain till they were joined by the duke of 
 Orleans prize, which was left at Grand Ganarie, with a lieu- 
 tenant and fixty men. 
 
 In the way to Caroufe, it was thought fit to look into Petit 
 Maiftre, where they deftroyed great numbers of boats and 
 ftages, with vaft quantities of filh and oil ; about feven at 
 night, they came to an anchor in Caroufe harbour, and moor- 
 ed. On the 1 2th and 1 3th, it blew a hnrd gale at S. W. Ha- 
 ving deftroyed the fifliery at Petit Maiftre, and the duke of 
 Orleans prize being come to La Couche, on the 14th, by four 
 in the morning, they weighed and ftood out to fea, taking her 
 with them, and fteered for St. John's harbour, where the 
 Falkland and Nonfuch, with the two prizes, arrived the i/th 
 of the fame month, having before given the Medway's prize 
 orders to fail to Trinity p . 
 
 We ought now, according to the method that has been ge- 
 nerally obferved, to fpeak of the proceedings in the "Weft In- 
 dies-, but, as what was done there this year, is fo ftri&ly 
 connected with what happened in the following, that it is 
 fcarce poflible to divide them, without deftroying the perfpi- 
 
 P The damage the enemy received, was as follows. Two fhips taken, on* 
 of thirty guns, anJ 110 men; and another of twenty guns, and 100 men; 
 one (hip taken and burnt, of twenty guns, and eighty men. Two fhips burnt 
 by the enemy, one of 32, and another of 26 guns; 228 fifhir.g boats burnt; 
 470 boats and fhallops, that were not employed in the 6(hery this feafbn, burnt ; 
 23 fhgcs burnt ; 23 tr;in vats burnt ; 77,280 Quintals of fifli deflroycJ ; 1368 
 hoglheads of train oil dcftroyeJi 
 
 VOL. III. Z cuitv
 
 rjS N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 cuity of both relations ; I (hall defer faying any thing of the 
 events that fell out in that part of the world, till I come to 
 fpeak of them in their proper place ; that is, after having ac- 
 counted for the naval proceedings in the fucceeding year, f 
 the rather incline to make this frnall breach in my ufual method, 
 becaufe I am umier a neceflity of fpeaking more largely than in 
 other places^ of what was done in parliament this year, in re- 
 ference to the navy, for this weighty reafon, viz. that the ftrit 
 inquiries made by both houfes into matters of fuch confe- 
 quence, not only demonftrate the vigour of our conftitution 
 at that time, but afford, perhaps, the very beft precedents 
 for reviving fuch inquiries, that are to be met with in our hif- 
 tory. 
 
 The firft parliament of GREAT BRITAIN, met upon the 
 23d of October, when the eyes not only of this kingdom, but 
 of all Europe, were fixed upon them. The earlieft thing they 
 did was, to make choice of John Smith, Efq-, for their fpeaker ; 
 and the next, in the houfe of commons, was, to vote an ad- 
 drefs of thanks to the queen, for her moft gracious fpeech 
 made to them on the fixth of November, to which day they 
 had adjourned q . In the houfe of lords it went otherwife; in- 
 ftead of their ufual addrefs, their lordfhips proceeded to a di- 
 rect coufideration of the ftate of the kingdom, in which very 
 warm debates arofe, in regard to the navy efpecially. As to 
 this, it was affirmed, '* That the lord high-admiral's name was 
 4 abufed by fuch as were mtrufled with the management of 
 " his authority ; that the council of his royal highnefs fludied 
 " nothing but how to render their places profitable to them- 
 felves and their creatures, though at the expence of the na- 
 " tion ; that it was vifible, their own haughtinefs, together 
 * with the treachery, corruption, and careleflnefs of their de- 
 ** pendents, were the true fources of thofe mifchiefs which be- 
 " fet our merchants, and difcredited the moft glorious reign 
 " in the Britilh annals. But> though reafon and experience 
 " ought to have convinced thele men of their own incapacity, 
 " yet they had, with a brutifh obftinacy, perfifted in the pur- 
 
 J OMir.ixon'. hiftory of the Stuarts, vol.!'. p. 394. Boyer'* life of queen 
 Ar.r.e, p. 5:8- TLc c mpletc hiit. of Europe, for i 707^ p. 39 j. 
 
 fuit
 
 OF QjD E E N ANNE. 
 
 fuit of their own meafures, haughtily rejecting the advice of 
 the merchants, when offered in time, and faucily contemning 
 " their complaints, when fufferers by the very errors they had 
 prediaed r ." 
 
 This produced the appointing of a committee, in which thin 
 matter might be refumed, upon the ipth of December, at 
 which her majefty was prefent. The fheriffs of London, who 
 were Benjamin Green, Efq; and Sir Charles Peers, Knt. pre- 
 fented a petition, figned by two hundred of the moft eminent 
 n-.erchants of the city of London, fetting forth the great loiTes 
 they had lately fuftained at fea, for want of convoys and 
 cruizers ; and praying, that fome remedy might be fpeedily 
 applied, that the trade of the nation might not be entirely de- 
 ftroyed s . 
 
 Ihe houfe went as heartily into this matter as the fufFerers 
 could defire, and appointed the a6th to hear the merchants fur- 
 ther, in a grand committee, where they were permitted to make 
 a regular charge, and encouraged to exhibit their evidence. 
 In the courfe of this inquiry, it fully appeared to their lord- 
 fhips, that many (hips of war were not iitted out to fea, but 
 lay in port neglected, and in great decay. That convoys had 
 been often flatly denied the merchants, and th.ir, when they 
 were promifed, they were fo long delayed, that the merchants 
 loft their markets, were put to great charges, and, where they 
 had perirhable goods, fullered great damage in them. The 
 cruizers were not ordered to proper ftations in the channel^ 
 and, when convoys were appointed, and ready to put to fea, 
 they had not their failing orders fent them till the enemies pri- 
 vateer fquadrons were laid in their way, and with fuperior force 
 prepared to fall on them ; which had often happened, 
 
 r Burner's hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 489. Oldn::xon, Annals of 
 qnrcn Anne. Chandler's debate*, vol. ii. p. 180185. 
 
 s It ii city te difcern, from the fcopr of this petition, and the fuprort it 
 Tret with, that public fpi'it flourished during tHis reign. ]t a not pretended, 
 that any refprfr, due ro ths crown fhou'd rrotetfl futh as wire bad fervants; 
 or, that attacking ihem, was offending majrfty. It was not fjid, that expoiing 
 ihrm nfkfled on his royal highnefs, or that in a t me of war we ought to be 
 filtnt on fuch fubjecls ; but it was f-iJ, produce your fsftf, make good the 
 charge, and we will procure yon jufVce. 
 
 Z 2 Many
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Many advertifements, by which thefe misfortunes might have 
 been prevented, had been offered to the admiralty ; but ha4 
 not only been neglected by them, but thofe who offered them, 
 had been ill treated for doing it. To carry thefe things as far 
 as poffible, they caufed an exaft report to be drawn of their 
 proceedings ; fent it to the admiralty-office ; received the beft 
 nnfwer that could be given from thence ; heard the merchants 
 by way of reply to this, digefted the whole into a fecond re-r 
 port, and, together with an addrefs fuitable to a matter of fuch 
 mighty confequence, laid it before her mnjefty, on the firft of 
 March 1707, and expreffed themfelves thereupon, in terms it 
 ivould be extremely injurious to deprive the reader of the plea-r 
 iure of reading, corifidering the ftridl connection it has with the 
 fubjeft of this work, the true fpirit of patriotifm that appears 
 therein, and the excellent example afforded thereby ; and 
 therefore I have placed it at the bottom of the page c . Her 
 
 majefty 
 
 1 I fhall crte here only their lotvHhips conclufion, after fetting forth the 
 grievances comphined of by the merchants, the anfwer by the admiralty, and 
 the merchants replication. 
 
 *' May it pirafe your m jefty, 
 
 " We having thus performed, what we take ourfelves to be indifpenfihly. 
 c obliged to, cannot doubt hut it will be gracioufly accepted by your majelly, 
 " as coming from moft dutiful fubjefts, who finccrcly wifh they may never 
 " have occafion hereafter to make addrcfles to your majefl;-, but to congratu- 
 " Ijte your fucctfies, or to return humble acknowledgments for the bleflings 
 " of your reign. 
 
 ' \Ve befeech your majefty to believe, that none of your fiibjetfs do ex- 
 " ceed us in true refpefl to his royal highnefs the lord high-admiral. His great 
 " jrcrfoojl virtues require it, and his near relation to your maicfty makes it 
 " our duty. An.l qs we do not mean that any thing in this addrefs fhould in 
 " the leaft rcfleft upon him; fo we are very well afTured, his royal higlmefs 
 11 will never filter other perfons to proted themfelves under his name, from a 
 *' jnfl purfuit of fuch faults or ncglefts, as immediately tend to the ruin of 
 '' frade, and the deftrtxftion of Britain. 
 
 There cannot be a plainer proof, that fome perfons employed by the lord 
 " high-a-.iiirLl, have made the worft ufe imaginable of the trurt he hon-urs 
 them with, than in their prcfuming to lay fuch an anfwer before the hotife 
 V of lords in his name. 
 
 " For (not to take notice of the many thing-: which in the fecond i- port have 
 ". been already laid before your msj.fly), throughout the whole paper, there 
 '.'. is not the Iwrt hjpes given, that for the future any better care.ftull b: taken 
 
 ". of
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 181 
 
 majefty received this addrefs very gracioufly, and promifed to 
 pay all the regard thereto, that the nature of the thing, and 
 the refpeft due to the advice of the hereditary council of her 
 kingdoms deferved. 
 
 The houfe of commons alfo went into a grand committee, 
 on the affairs of the navy, of which Sir Richard Onflow was 
 chairman ; they heard with great attention all the merchants 
 had to fay, and carefully examined all the evidence they could 
 produce ; and though there were fome people who endeavour- 
 ed to ftop the mouths of the merchants, when they ran out 
 into invidious characters of thofe officers by whom they thought 
 themfelves wronged, yet the majority of the houfe were in- 
 clined to hear their fentiments, and encouraged them to go on. 
 Both lords and commons concurred in carrying to the throne, 
 fuch complaints as appeared to be well founded ; and with this 
 view their lordftiips, on the 7th of February, addrefled the 
 queen to lay afide captain Ker u ; and on the 26th of the fame 
 
 month, 
 
 " of the trade ; on the contrary, the whole turn of the anfurer feems to be in. 
 " tended, for expofing the complaints of the merchants, rather than pitying 
 " their lodes. \Ve arc fore, nothing can be more remote frsm the goodnel's 
 " and companion of the lord high-admiral's temper, and the tender regard he 
 " has always (hewn for your majefty's Aibjecls. 
 " May it pleafe your majcfty, 
 
 " It is a mod undoubted maxim, that the honour, fecurity, and wealth of 
 " this kingdom, does depend upon the protection and encouragement of trade, 
 '' and the improving, and right managing its naval flrength. Other nation?, 
 " who were formerly great and powerful at fea, have, by negligence and mif- 
 " management, loft their trade, and have feen their maritime power intircly 
 " ruined. Therefore, we do in the moft earned manner befeech your ma- 
 " jefty, that the fei affairs may always be your firft, and moft peculiar care. 
 e humbly hope, tliDt it fhall be your majcfty's chief and conftant inftruc- 
 " tion, to all who fhall have the honour to be employed in your councils, 
 " and in the administration of affairs, that they be continually intent and 
 " watchful in what concerns the trade and fleet ; and that every one of them 
 " may be made to know, it is his particular charge to take care that the feanien 
 4< be encouraged, the trade protected, difcipline reftored, and a new fpirit and 
 " vigour put into the whole adminiftration of the navy." 
 
 1 The houfe of lords, in their addrefs, inform her majefty, that a complaint 
 had been lodged before them, by Mr. Thomas Wood, in behalf of himfeif 
 and divers other Jamaica merchants, againft captain \Villiam Kcr, late com- 
 mander of a fquadron of her majefty's (hips at that illand, for refufing to grant 
 conveys for their (hips to the Spanifh coaft of America ; and in particular, that 
 
 the
 
 182 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 month, the houfe of commons prefentcd an addrefs of the fame 
 nature, againft the fame perfon w . 
 
 the fjid Mr. Thomas Wood had offered to the faid captain Kir, the fum of 
 fix hundred pounds as a gratuity, if he would order one of her majefty's men 
 of war, under his command, to go as convoy to the Neptune (loop, and Mar- 
 tha galley, Laden with woollen and other goods of her mijefty's fubjtcl. 
 That the fjid captaiu Ker, at trut time, teemed pleafcd with the propofal, and 
 laid, the Windior fhuuld be the fhip ; and ordered Mr. Wood to make what 
 difpatch he could, in getting the galley and fljop ready. On which encourage- 
 ment, he got them ready to fail, and bought tr-rc'e hundred negrtes to put on 
 board them, and then .acquainted captain Ker therewith, and with the great 
 charge he was at in maintaining the negroes, and his fear of ficknefs. Captain 
 Ker then faid, he feared he could not fpare a man of war; but the next day 
 fent Mr. Tudor Trtv>r, captain of the Windfor, to acquaint Mr. Wood, that 
 captain Ker faid, he thonght Mr. Wood could n^t have offered lefs than two 
 thoufand, or at Irall fifteen hundred pounds. Whereupon Mr. Wood declared, 
 the fum was lo great, that the trade c:u!d no! bear it, and fo the lloop and gal- 
 ley proceeded on the voyage without convoy ; and in their return the fljop, 
 loaded with great wealth, being ptirfned hy French privateers, and having na 
 convoy, and crowding two much fa'l t< get from the enemy, was unhappily 
 overfet and loft. The faid Mr. Thomas Wood ali'o made another complaint, 
 ti>at upon a further application to the f.id Mr. Ker, far a convoy for three 
 (loop?, bound f r the faid Spanilh coafts, he promiled to give the Experiment 
 man of war, commanded by captain Bowler, a* a convoy; for which the 
 faid Mr. Wood agreed to give eight hundred pounds, four hundred pounds, 
 part whereof, was paid the faid Bowler, and the other four hundred 
 pounds was made payable by note to one Mr. Herbert, for the ufc of Mr. 
 Ker, which note was lent in a letter to Mr. Ker, and by him put into Mr. Her- 
 bert's hands. And, befides that, as a farther encouragement for allowing the 
 faid convoy, Mr. Ker had an adventure of fifteen hundred pounds in the faid 
 floops, without advancing any money. To this complaint Mr. Ker put in his 
 anfwer, and both parties were fully heard by themielves, and their witnefles ; 
 and upon the whole marrer, the houfe came to this foll.jwing refolution : 
 " That the faid complaint of the faid Mr. Wo id, againft the faid captain Ker, 
 " as well in relation to the Neptune and Manha galley, as alfo in relation 
 " to the other three floops, that went u;ider the convoy of the Experiment 
 " man of war, hath b=en fully made ou:, and proved to the fthfatlijn of 
 this houfe." 
 
 The queen gave orly a general anfwer to this addrefs, hut did not fay p ,fi- 
 tively that fhe would comply with it. 
 
 w On the z6th if February, i-.pon the report of Sir Richard Onflow, fro n 
 the committee of the whole houfe, the commons came to three rcfolutions 
 againft commodore Ksr ; to which they added a fourth, t'lz. " That an hum- 
 " ble addrefs he prefentcd to her majelty, lying before her the faid relohi- 
 " tiont, and humbly dt firing, that her majcfly will be pleafed not to employ 
 * hc faid captain Ker in her majsffy's fervice for the future." This adiire:* 
 having been prefented to the queen, ten days after her majeily declared, that 
 (he would comply wi:h it. 
 
 Thcfe
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 1 83 
 
 Thefe warm proceedings had a proper effeft ; they convinced 
 fuch as fat at the admiralty-board, that it was dangerous to 
 treat Britifh merchants with contempt-, as, on the other hand, 
 it taught the officers to know, that having friends at the board, 
 or being tried, where no evidence could reach them, would 
 not always fecure them from punifhment*. On the com- 
 plaint of the merchants, however, againft Sir Thomas Hardy, 
 though profecuted with great heat, both houfes concurred to 
 vindicate him, which was fiifficient to encourage the officers 
 of the navy to do their duty ; fince, where they could prove 
 they had done this, it was moft clear they ran no hazard j 
 but, if purfued by clamour, were fure to come ofl" with reputa- 
 tion y . 
 
 As the feafon for atlion was now coming on, the lord high- 
 admiral made the following promotions : Sir John Lcakc was de- 
 
 * Up^n a fair computation, made about this time, of the lof of (hip* at 
 fca, lincc the beginning cf this war, it was found, that the lofs the French had 
 fultained in their (hipping, far exceeded that of Great Britain, fince we had only 
 thirty men of war taken, or deftroyed, and one thoufand one hundred forty- 
 fix merchant (hips taken, of which three hundred were re-taktn. \Vhcreas, we 
 had either taken or deftroyed, eighty of their (hips of war, and taken or burnt 
 one thoufand three hundred forty-fix of their merchantmen, including thofe de- 
 ftroytd in the Well Indies. By way of fupplcment to this lift, it may r. >t b 
 amifs to take notice, that it appeared from the lord high-admiral's anfwer to the 
 report of the houfe of peers, there were one hundred teventyfive of the ene- 
 mies privateers taken, as allo the re-captures by her msji.lty's (hips of war, from 
 the 4th of May, 170*, to the ilk of December, 1707, were one hundred 
 twenty-eight; which amounted, by appraifement, to above the fum of 81,97 >U 
 and the re-captures by private rrs, within that time, to 33,054]. burh which iums 
 amount to 111,030!. exclufwe of culloms. 
 
 y Upon a complaint to the houfe of lords, of a mafter of a Canary (hip, 
 that Sir Thomas Hardy had refufed to convoy him from Plymouth, their lord- 
 lliips ordered Sir Thomas to attend the houfe, who direttsd lam '.o attend the 
 committee. The latter took occafion to examine, likewife, the papers relating 
 to his trial; and after they had read them, the next day Sir Thomas Hardy, 
 with two merchants, and the matter of the Car.ary (hip, were called in befms 
 their lordfliips; Sir Thomas having Ihcwrd his orders, to watrant his refuel 
 of convoy, he was ordered to withdraw ; and fjon after captain Philips, depu- 
 ty-ufher of the black rod, came out to Sir Thoma?, and told him, that : 
 iordfhips found, he had fully juftified himfelf, and done his duty in every re- 
 fprft ; and therefore, that he was difch. " .nee upon 
 
 :>mmt;:ec. 
 
 chred
 
 i84 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 clared admiral of the white, and admiral and commander in chief 
 of her majefty's fleet ; Sir George Byng, admiral of the blue j 
 Sir John Jennings, vice-admiral of the red ; Sir John Norris, 
 vice-admiral of the white ; the lord Durfley, vice-admiral of the 
 blue; Sir Edward Whitaker, rear- admiral of the red ; and John 
 Baker, Efq-, rear-admiral of the white z . Some alterations were 
 likewife made in his royal highnefs's council a . 
 
 An aft pafled for regulating convoys, and cruizers ; and a 
 further term of fourteen years and a half was granted to the 
 Eaft India Company, in confideration of their advancing 
 1,200,030!. for the public fervice, there being granted in the 
 whole, for the year 1708, no lefs than 5,933,657!. 175. 4d. 
 a fupply unheard of in former times, and for a great part of 
 which we ftand indebted to this day. Of this, upwards of 
 2,300,000!. were intended for the fervice of the fleet, and 
 great things were expected, efpecially fince all parts of the 
 ifland feemed heartily united in one intereft ; and the carrying 
 on the war, humbling France, and exalting the houfe of Au- 
 flria, were every where confidered as the great objects of our 
 care b ; as being efTentially neceflary to the welfare of the na- 
 tion. 
 
 But, before our projects were thoroughly adjufted, the 
 French actually played off one of theirs ; which put us into 
 great confufion, and had like to have had much worfe confe-* 
 quences. This was, the attempt upon Scotland, in favour of 
 the chevalier de St. George; which was the Nomme de Guerre 
 they were pleafed to give the perfon, whom the queen foon af* 
 
 z London Gazette, N. 4405. The complete hiftory of Europe, for 1708, 
 page 5- 
 
 Henry Saint John, Efq; afterwards lord vifcount Bolingbroke, having re- 
 figned the office of fecretary of war, Robert Walpole, E q; afterwards earl of 
 Orford, and then one of the prince's council, fucceeded him ; and in the month 
 of April following, the carl of Weemys, a nobleman of Scotland, and Sir John 
 Leake, were added to hi* royal highncfs's council, in order to oblige both 
 nations. Pointer's chronological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. jpi. Oidmison, vol. ii. 
 p. 400- 
 
 b Burnet's hiftory of h's own time?, vol. ii. Oldmixon's rrftory of the 
 Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 395. Boyer'j life of queen Ar.ne, p. 31$, Chdler"s de- 
 lates, vol. iii. 
 
 ter
 
 o i- Q^u E E N ANN E. 185 
 
 trr diiftinguifhetj by the name of the Pretender . The defign 
 is faid to have been carried on with great fecrecy j but this mull 
 be underftood only of the French court ; for it was fufficiently 
 known, and talked of in Scotland, long before it was under- 
 taken d . I do not think, that fo idle an expedition demands, in 
 a work of this nature, a very critical explanation, and there- 
 fore, I (hall content myfelf with faying, that it ought to be 
 reckoned amongft the number of thofe affronts, of which the 
 French have never been fparing to this nation, and was chiefly 
 deiigned to fhew how much, in fpite of all the power of the 
 allies, Lewis XIV. was able to alarm and diftradl us. 
 
 The troops, intended for this attempt, were about eleven or 
 twelve battalions, under the command of the marquis de Gace, 
 afterwards ftyled the marfhal de M.itignon. The fleet confiit- 
 ed of but eight men of war, which was commanded by the 
 count cie Forbin, who is faid to have difliked the defign, be- 
 caufe, very probably, he knew the bottom of it j for it is very 
 certain, the French neVer intended to land, and refufed the 
 chevalier to fet him on (hore, though he would have gone with 
 his own fervants. The true fcheme of the French king was 
 to create a diverfion, and, if poflible, raife a rebellion in 
 Scotland, that, by means of trials and executions, the queen 
 and her miniftry might be fufficiently embarraiTed at home, and 
 have the lefs leifure to profecute their views abroad ; and, from 
 thefe motives, he ordered his minifters in all foreign courts to 
 talk in very magnificent terms, of the fuccours he gave to the 
 king of Lngland, as he thought fit to call him, that, on the 
 rebound, they might make the louder noife in Britain, and 
 induce us to believe our danger the greater, and more inevita- 
 ble 6 . 
 
 In this rtfpe&f the French politics had their effedl ; for, on 
 general Cadogan's fending over an exprefs, difclofing the whole 
 
 c Sec the proclamation in the London Gazette, X. 4416, as alfo the queen's 
 fpfech to bo:h hjufes, March eleventh, 1707-8. in the Gazette, N. 4418. 
 "1 Burnei's hiflory of his owi times, vol. ii. p. 499. Oldmixon's hiftory of the 
 Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 401. Boyer's life of queen Anne. e Qtitncy hiftoirc 
 
 militaire dc Louis XFV. torn. v. p. 478. Lamberti, tome v. p. 17. Mcmoircf 
 de Forbin, which appears from this part of them to be fpuriom. 
 
 VOL. III. A a defign,
 
 i86 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 defign, the queen, by Mr. fecretary Boyle, acquainted the 
 houfe of commons therewith, on the fourth of March, and 
 received a very loyal addrefs from them, as well as from the 
 lords f ; but the apprehenfions exprefled here, and in Holland, 
 had fuch an effect upon the monied intereft, that it occafioned 
 a prodigious run upon the bank, and difturbed our foreign re- 
 mittances fo much, that all thinking people were at this time 
 convinced of the great rifle a nation runs, that engages in a fo- 
 reign war, while heavily loaded with debts at home. Our 
 public fecurities fell furprizingly, and things would have fallen 
 into downright confufion, if the fright had not been quickly 
 over. 
 
 This was owing to the care of the admiralty, who, with 
 remarkable diligence, fitted out a fleet of twenty-four men of 
 war, with which Sir George Byng and lord Durfley failed 
 for the French coaft, on the 2yth of February, without dimi- 
 nifhing the convoy of the Lifbon fleet ; which, when we had 
 time to confider it, appeared prodigious, and fufficiently con- 
 vinced the French, that a real invafion was not at all their bu- 
 {inefs h . On Sir George Byng's anchoring before Gravelin, 
 the French officers laid afide their embarkation ; but, upon ex- 
 prefs orders from court, were obliged to refume it, and on the 
 fixth of March adually failed out of Dunkirk j but being ta- 
 
 ( The complete hidory of Europe, for 1708, p. 114. Boyer's life of queen 
 Anne, p. 314. S Burner's hiflory of his own rimes, vol. ii. p. 500. 
 
 Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 316. Mercure hillorique er polirique, tome xliv. 
 P- 333- 
 
 *> The run tipon the tnnk fo much alarmed the exchequer, that all ways and 
 means poflible were concerted, to put an immediate ftop to it ; in order to which, 
 the lord high-treafurer not only allowed fix, inftead of three per cent, for all 
 the money circulating by their bills, but alfo fupplied them with large fums of 
 money out of his private fortune, as the r'r.kci of M*rlborough, Newcaflle, So- 
 meriet, and other noblemen alfo did ; which, with the calling in of 10 per cent. 
 upon tbeir capital, brought all things right again fooner than it could have been, 
 expecled. On the aoth of March the houfe of commons came to a resolution, 
 that whoever defigncdly endeavoured to deftroy, or lefTen the public credi', efpe- 
 cially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invafion, was guiliy 
 of a high crime and niifdemcaaor, and was an enemy to her majefty and her 
 kingdom*. 
 
 ken
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 187 
 
 ken fhort by contrary winds, came to an anchor till the eighth, 
 and then continued their voyage for Scotland '. 
 
 Sir George Byng purfued them with a fleet of forty fhips 
 of the line, befides frigates and fire-fhips. He afterwards de- 
 tached rear-admiral Baker, with a fmall fquadron, to convoy 
 the troops that were fent from Oftend, and profecuted his ex- 
 pedition with the reft k . On the 13th of March, the French 
 were difcovered in the Frith of Edinburgh, where they made 
 fignals, but to no purpofe, and then fteered a N. E. courfe, as 
 if they intended to have gone to St. Andrews. Sir George 
 Byng followed them, and took the Salifbury, an Englifli prize, 
 then in their fervice, with feveral perfons of quality on board - 9 
 finding it was altogether impoffible to come up with the enemy, 
 he returned with the fleet to Leith, where he continued till he 
 received advice of count Forbin's getting back to Dunkirk, and 
 then proceeded to the Downs, purfuant to the orders he re- 
 ceived from the miniftry, from whence he foon came to Lon- 
 don, where he was moft gracioufly received by the queen his 
 fovereign, and by his royal highnefs prince George of Den- 
 mark '. 
 
 One would have imagined, that this apparent fuccefs muft 
 have fatisfied every body ; and that, after defeating fo extraor- 
 dinary a fcheme, as at that time this was allowed to be, and 
 reftoring public credit, as it were, in an inftant, there flioukl 
 have been an univerfal tribute of applaufe paid to the admiral, 
 by all degrees of people. Yet, this was fo far from falling 
 out, that Sir George Byng had fcarce fet his foot in London, 
 before it was whifpered, that the parliament would inquire 
 
 j Oldmixon's hiftory of the Smarts, Tol. ii. The complete hiftory of Europe, 
 for 1708, p. 130. See the marfhal Matignon's letter to monficur Chamillard, the 
 fecictary of Gate, dated Dunkirk, April 7th, in Lamberti, tome v. p. 14. 
 k Burnec's hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. $00. Sec the London Gazetcr, 
 N". 441.3. 
 
 1 The Salisbury prize \vas a very confiderable thing, if we confider the num- 
 ber of perfons taken on board. For, beiides lord Qrithn, lord Clermonr, 
 Charles Middlecon, and Francis Wsuchope, Eiqrs. who had all followed the 
 fortunes of king James; there were likewife feveral land and fea-jfficers in the 
 French fetvice, of very great diftinftion, five companies of the regiment of 
 Beam, and all the fhip's company, conGrting of 303 mm. London Gazette, 
 N. 44o. 
 
 A a 2 into
 
 j88 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 into his conduct-, which took rile from a very foolilh per- 
 fuafion, that having once^bad fight of the enemy's fleet, he 
 might, if he pleafed, have taken every fhip as well as the Sa- 
 lifbury ra . 
 
 The truth of the matter was, that the French having amufed 
 the Jacobites in Scotland, with a propofal about befieging the 
 caftle of Edinburgh, Sir George Byng was particularly inftruct- 
 ed to ufe all means for preventing that, by hindering the 
 French from landing in the neighbourhood. This he effectu- 
 ally did, and, by doing it, anfwered the principal end for which 
 he was fent. But the fame malicious people, who firft propa- 
 gated this ftory, invented alfo another, viz. that Sir George 
 was hindered from taking the French fleet, by his fhips being 
 foul ; which actually produced an inquiry in the houfe of 
 commons, and an addrefs to the queen, to direct, that an ac- 
 count might be laid before them of the number of fhips that 
 went on the expedition with Sir George Byng, and when the; 
 fame were cleaned". That done, they refolved the thanks of 
 the houfe mould be given to the prince, as lord high-admiral, 
 for his great care in fo expeditioufly fetting forth fo great a 
 number of fhips, whereby the fleet under Sir George Byng was 
 enabled, fo happily, to prevent the intended invafion. 
 
 This was a very wife and well-concerted mealure, fince it 
 fully fatisfied the world of the falfehood of thofe reports, and 
 at the fame time gave great Jatisfaction to the queen, and her 
 royal ccnfort, the prince of Denmark, who had both teftified 
 an unufual concern in relation to the report of the houfe of 
 lords, which they conceived affected his royal highnefs's cha- 
 racter, as lord high-admiral; and therefore, to give this mef- 
 fnge of thanks a better grace, and make it more acceptable, the 
 utmoft care was taken in the choice of thofe who were appoint- 
 ed to carry it . 
 
 Thus 
 
 " Olilmtxon's hiftory of the S'oarts, vol. ii. p. 407. C ycr's 1 fc of qu-.en 
 Anne, p. 3^1. The complete hlft. of Europe, for 1708, p. 174. 
 n Chandler's debates, vol. iii. p. 95. 
 
 r The ra<ncs of tl.e pcrfons appointed to orry his roya' i^Ws the m-f- 
 *ere, Sir Ru-hard Oi.flow, Mr. fecretary B -vie, Mr. Compt-.n, Mr. Sc .- 
 -lore! Kuily, lord Wii.'iam P al .L:, liie CJil | 'nm,
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 189 
 
 Thus ended this affair of the invafion, which made fo much 
 noife at that time, and which has been handed down in fo ma- 
 ny different lights to pofterity. An affair, indeed, which fpeaks 
 the true policy of France, and fhews how artfully (he can ferve 
 her own ends, and with how great readinefs fhe betrays, and 
 gives up to deilruttion, fuch as are fimple enough to truft her. 
 But, through the wifdom of the Britifh miniftry, joined to the 
 cunning of fome of the nobility of Scotland, who were taken 
 into cuftody upon this occafion, and who, it is generally thought, 
 gave fuch lights as enabled the government to take thefe ef- 
 fectual methods ; the latter part of the French fcheme proved 
 as abortive as the firft ; all the prifoners being foon after fet at 
 liberty, and every thing being done to iacisfy and quiet the peo- 
 ple of that country p . 
 
 The great point the miniftry had in view this year, was, to 
 put the affairs of his Catholic majefty into better order, and to 
 repair, as far s it was pofiible, the many unlucky confequer.ces 
 of the fatal battle of Almanza. Sir John Leake, who com- 
 manded the grand fleet, was fo early at fea, that on the 27th of 
 March he arrived at Lifbon ; having, in his way thither, feen 
 the merchant fhips bound to Virginia, and the Canaries, with 
 their refpeclive convoys, well into the fea, and taken care for 
 the fccurity of others defigned to the ports of Portugal q . Here 
 he found the fhips that had been left with captain Hickes, which 
 were fourteen of the third rate, befides fmall frigates, and bomb- 
 veffels j and at a council of war it was refolved, that, as foon 
 as the tranfports were ready to receive the horfe on board, the 
 fleet fliould proceed to Vado, and that fuch of the Ihips of war 
 as could noc be got ready by that time, fhouid follow to Barce- 
 
 ajmiral Churchill, Mr. Bromley, Sir Godfrey Copley, Sir Thomas Hanmer, 
 Sir Thomas Lyttleton. Sir Dwid Dalrymplc, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Morrifon, 
 Mr. Brewer, Sir John S*inton, Sir John Erfkine, Mr. HaJden, Mr. Cockburnc, 
 Sir John Holland, and Mr. Wortley. 
 
 P It is evident from the French writers, that they are as much divided in 
 their femiments, and confequently as much in the dark as we. Marfhal Matig- 
 non's letter fhews plainly, it was, on the Cdc of France, a mere temporary di 
 vtrfi'jn. Thofe who were fufpefted to have invited it were infmcerc, and the 
 perfons embarked, were the dupes of friends and foe?. 
 
 <l Burchet's naval hiflory, p. 749. Burnct's hiftory of his own times, vol. 
 ii. p. 504. L^riiLn Gazetie, N. 4414, alfo X. 4414. 
 
 lona,
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Jona, where there would be orders left how they fliould farther 
 proceed. But, as for the Dutch fhips, they were all feparated 
 in bad weather, between England and Lifbon. It was alfo de- 
 termined, at the defire of the king of Portugal, to appoint the 
 Warfpight, Rupert, and Triton, to cruize off the Tercera, 
 or Azores iflands, for the fecurity of his majefty's fleet expect- 
 ed from Brazil; nor was there any care omitted to guard the 
 Streights mouth, left otherwife our trade ihould fuffer by the 
 enemy's cruizers or privateers r . The procuring tranfport fhips, 
 and putting them in a condition for receiving the horfe, took up 
 a confiderable time; but, on the 23d of April, the admiral was 
 ready to fail with as many as could carry fifteen hundred, with 
 one fecond rate, twelve third rates, two fourths, a fire-fhip, 
 bomb-vefiels, &c. together with twelve fhips of the line of bat- 
 tle of the ftates-general ; and, upon advice from colonel Elliot, 
 governor of Gibraltar, and from other hands, that fome French 
 fliips of war were feen cruizing off the Streights mouth ; one 
 third, and one fourth rate, and another of the Dutch fliips of 
 war, were appointed to ftrengthen thole before ordered to ply 
 up and down in that ftation 5 . 
 
 The admiral failed from the river of Lifbon, on the 28th of 
 April, and, in his paflage up the Streights, he, on the i ith of 
 May, being about twelve leagues from Alicant, had fight of ic- 
 veral veiTels, which he took for fifhing-boats. But he had a 
 better account of them the next clay, for having detached be- 
 fore fome light frigates from Barcelona, to give notice of the 
 approach of his fleet, one of them had the good luck to take a 
 
 r Boyer's life of qneen Anne, p 349. Oldmixcn, vol. ii. p. 413. The com- 
 plete hiftory of Europe, for i 708, p. 187, 188. London Gazette, N. 4428. 
 
 s There was an abfohite ncceffity of fending fo flrong a fleet to the relief of 
 the king of Spain, for without it he muft have been obliged to quit that king- 
 d >m. The enemy had no lefs th.-.n three armies in the fuld, under the com- 
 mand of the duke of Orleans, the duke of Noailles, and the marquis de Biy ; 
 while king Charles was in a manner fhut up in bis city of Barcelona, and had no 
 hopes of his being delivered, but by our fleers traufporting the German troops, 
 that lay ready for his lervice in Italy. Yet, very foon after the arrival of Sir 
 John Leake in theft feas, his affairs began to change their afpetl, and he haJ a 
 eonfiderable army in the field, under the command of that confum mate officer 
 count Starcmberg. Eurcl.et, Burner, Oldmlxon, anrals of" queen Anne. Com- 
 plete liiftory of Europe, for 1708. 
 
 French
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 191 
 
 French frigate of twenty-four guns, and thereby obtained an ac- 
 count of the convoy that was expected. Upon this, the cap- 
 tains of our frigates made the neceflary difpofitions for intercep- 
 ting them c . The next day, the French convoy appeared in 
 fight, confifting of three men of war, one of forty-four, ano- 
 ther of forty, and the third of thirty-two guns, with ninety 
 fettees and tartanes laden with -wheat, barley, and oil, for the 
 ufe of the duke of Oileans's army, and bound for Penifcola, near 
 the mouth of the Ebro. The Britifh frigates bore down imme- 
 diately upon the enemy's men ct war, and thefe abandoning 
 their barks, and endeavouring to make their efcape, came in 
 view of the confederate fleet, which, feeing ieven men of war, 
 concluded they were enemies, and thereupon the admiral made 
 a fignal to give them chace. But as the great lliips could not 
 follow them near the coaft, the French made their efcape in the 
 night. The vice-admiral of the white, who failed on the left 
 with his diviiion, perceiving the barks near the coaft, fcnt his 
 long-boats and fmall fhips, and took feveral of them u . The 
 next morning they faw feme of them difperfed, which were 
 likewife fecured by the long-boats: and fome barks of Catalo- 
 nia, coming out of their harbours at the fame time, to have a 
 {hare in the booty ; fixty-nine of them were taken, and the reft 
 difperfed w . 
 
 On the 1 5th of May, the admiral arrived at Barcelona, where 
 he was joined by feveral of our fhips, and complimented by the 
 
 c Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 750. London Gaaette, "N. 4435. Mercure 
 hiftoriqr.e et politique TAnnee, 1708, torn. x.iv. p. 670, 673. 
 
 u Burchet's naval hiltory, p. 750. The complete hiltory of Europe, for 
 1708, p. 188. London Gazette, N 4447, as alfo N. 4453. Authors differ 
 as to the number taken, as do the Gazettes likewife. 
 
 w This might have proved an affair very confiderable in its confequences, if 
 the duke of Orleans, who commanded the army of king Philip, had n< t becu 
 one of the firft generals of the age; but he f'urefeeing that this accident mi^ht 
 bappen, had provided againft it, by ordering a great quantity of oats and bcan, 
 which had been laid up for the ufe of the cavaliy, to be employed in mrki:i 
 bread, till his army could be better fupp'ieo. This capture, however, proved 
 of the utmolt fervice to king Charles, as it enabled his army, afur ic was once 
 formed, to take the fitld lome weeks fooncr than it cculd othcrwife have done; 
 and the readincfs with which the admiral caufcd the cargi-.es of his prizes to be 
 fent to the king's magazines, furTiciently proves the pub.ic fjn.i: til Sn Juhu 
 J.f,ikc, and the great concern he had fur this Ki .. 
 
 king
 
 ipz N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 king of Spain, on his late fuccefs ; his Catholic majefty took this 
 opportunity of ileliring a fquadron might be left under his di- 
 rection at Barcelona, while the fleet croffed to Iraly, to bring 
 over the reinforcements he expected, and the queen of Spain, 
 who, it was thought, was by this time arrived at Genoa. He 
 fignified alfo his defire, that the provifions lately uken might 
 be laid up in his magazines, which were but indifferently fur- 
 nifhed ; that care might be taken for reducing Sardinia as foon 
 as poffible, and that, whenever the fervice would permit, fuch 
 difpofitions might be made, as would contribute to the conqueft 
 of Sicily, which kingdom he judged might be recovered by the 
 forces that were then under count Daun, and the care of the 
 then viceroy of Naples. 
 
 As to the provisions, the admiral ordered they flioulJ be dif- 
 pofed of, as the king required j but with refpec~l to his other 
 demands, the admiral thought it neceffhry to call a council of 
 war, to determine which fhould be executed, fince it appeared 
 abfolutely impracticable to undertake them all. At this council 
 were prefent, befides himfelf, Sir John Norris, Sir Edward 
 "Whitaker, Sir Thomas Hardy, and two of the Englifh captains; 
 as alfo baron WafTenaer, and two of the Dutch x . It was there, 
 after mature deliberation, determined to leave with the king 
 two third rates, one fourth, and one fifth rate of ours, and two 
 fhips of the ftates-general, and with the reft of the fleer, to 
 proceed forthwith to the port of Vado, in order to the tranf- 
 porting the horfe and foot from thence to Barcelona, as alfo her 
 majefty the queen of Spain, if fhe fhould be ready when the 
 fleet arrived y . 
 
 * Burcbei's naval hiftory, p. 751. Burnft's hiflory of his own times, v.>l. ii. 
 p. 504. Mcrcure hiftorique et politique, torn. xlv. p. o. 
 
 * The great reaf'-n that his Catholic irujefly was fo defirons of having a fqua- 
 dron to cruize on the coaft of Catalonia, was the apprehenfions he was then un- 
 der, that the French would attempt to fend a new convoy of provisions fr<>m 
 Provence, and Languedoc, into Spain. Befidei, during the abfence of the fleet; 
 his affair* were in fuch a diftrefTed condition, that it was abfolutely necef- 
 fary he fhould have always a naval force in the nsighbonrhood of B.irctl .ma^ 
 to fecure his perfon, in cafe of any imforcfeen accidcn; ; and thefe were the 
 reafors th;it dctirmincd the admiral, and the council ol war, to co.Tipiy with 
 I is majeft)'s rcqueft, to the uimoft of their power. 
 
 The
 
 b F QJJ E E N ANNE. 193 
 
 The admiral failed in purfuance of this refolution, and on the 
 29th of May fafely anchored before Vado ; but finding nothing 
 in readinefs, he fent Sir Thomas Hardy to wait on the queen of 
 Spain at Milan, where he arrived the i8th of June, and was re- 
 ceived with all poflible marks of refpect and efteem z . Upon 
 his prefling inftances, her majefty confented to fet out imme- 
 diately for Genoa, where fhe arrived on the firft of July, em- 
 barked on the fecond, and arrived happily at Mataro on the 
 14th a . 
 
 After having conduced the queen, with all imaginable re- 
 fpect, to Barcelona, the admiral thought next of the reduction 
 of Sardinia, which he performed almoft as foon as he arrived. 
 He appeared before Cagliari on the firft of Auguft, and having 
 fummoned it, the marquis of Jamaica, who commanded there 
 for king Philip, declared his refolution of holding out to the 
 laft extremity. Upon this, the admiral ordered the place to be 
 bombarded all that night, and the next morning major-general 
 "Wills landed about i8oe men, and made the necefiary difpo- 
 fitions for attacking the city ; but the Spanifh governor, believ- 
 ing himfelf now at the laft extremity, faved them any further 
 trouble by coming to a fpeedy capitulation 5 . The reduction of 
 this ifland, was of equal advantage to the common caufe, and 
 to that of king Charles ; for it gave great fecurity to our navi- 
 gation, and enabled his Catholic majefty to fupply himfelf from, 
 thence, as often as he had occafion, with corn and other pro* 
 vifions c . 
 
 The 
 
 z Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 414. The complete hiflory of 
 Europe, for 1708, p. 147. London Gazette, NO. 4453, 4457, 4460. 
 
 8 As it was certainly known, that king Philip's confort contributed not a lir- 
 tle to fix the Spaniards firmly to the king her hufband's intercft ; it was refolveJ 
 the year before, to fix upon a wife for king Charles, and accordingly, the princcfs 
 Elifabeth Chriftiana of Wolfet.buttle was ehofen. She lived many years after 
 her huftund, and was mother to the emprefs queen of Hungary. Before her 
 marriage, her imperal majefty was a Proteftant, nor did lie change her religion, 
 till fhe had advifed with the Lutheran clergy, who declared, that fbc might hope 
 for falvation in the church of Rome. 
 
 b Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 75*. Burnet's hiftory of his own times, vol. i!. 
 p. 51*. London Gazette, N. 4479. Mercurc hiftoriquc et politique, torn. xlv. 
 p. 3s,4".48j. 
 
 c This iflind lies to the north of Corfica, from which it is divided by a fmall 
 and (hallow arm of tin fa. It has on the cad, the tea of Sicily ; on the weft, 
 
 Vol.. HI. Bb the
 
 i 9 4 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The admiral had fcarce completed the conqueft of this Sffand, 
 before his afilftance was required for the reducing another; and 
 therefore failing from Cagliari the i8th of Auguft, he arrived 
 before Port Mahon on the 25th; but not finding lieutenant- 
 general Stanhope, (afterwards earl Stanhope, and fecretary of 
 ftate), he fent two Ihips of the third rate to Majorca, to haften 
 the embarkation of thofe which were to be furnifhed from that 
 ifland. Thefe returned the i ft of September with fome fettees, 
 laden with military ftores for the army ; nor was it more than 
 two days, before the Milford, and three Dutch fhips of war, 
 arrived with the lieutenant-general, being followed by five third 
 rates, convoy to fifteen tranfports, that had on board them the 
 land forces ; whereupon a council of war was held of the fea 
 officers, and it was relblved, that the fhips which were to re- 
 turn to Great Britain, fhould leave behind them, to affift in the 
 attempt, all the marines, above the middle complement of each 
 of them, and that the fquadron of Englifh and Dutch, defign- 
 ed to be continued abroad with Sir Edward Whitaker, fhould 
 remain at Port Mahon, to affift with their marines and feamen 
 in the reduction of that place, fo long as the lieutenant-general 
 fhould deiire it ; due regard being had to the feafon of the year, 
 the time their provifions might laft, and the tranfporting from 
 Naples to Barcelona, four thoufand of the emperor's troops for 
 the fervice of his Catholic majefty. It was alfd refolved, that 
 the Englifh fhips fhould fpare the forces as much bread as they 
 could, and both they and the Dutch all their cannon-fhot, ex- 
 cept what might be neceffary for their own defence ; and that, 
 when every thing fhould be landed, which was neceffary for the 
 ficge, the admiral fhould proceed to England, with one fecond 
 rate, and fix thirds of ours, and eight Dutch fhips of the line ; but 
 fome time after this, he fent home two Englifh and two Dutch 
 ihips of war, with the empty tranfports of both nations, in or- 
 
 the Mediterranean ; on the fouth, the coaft of Afric, from which it is not di- 
 (tu.it above fifty leagues. It is divided into two parts by the rivers Credo and 
 Lirfo, and is extremely fruitful in corn, oil, honey, and all the neceflaries of 
 life. As foon as the Englifh fleet appeared, the clergy declared unanimoufly for 
 king Charles; and the admiral had the fithf-.clion of feeing the new viceroy he 
 carried over, eftauliftied in the peaceable poflrffion of his government in the fpice 
 of a week, and without the lofs of fo much as a man. The rc.der will fi d the 
 capkulaujui hi large, in the complete hill, of Europe, for 1708, p. i6t. 
 
 dcr
 
 o F QJJ E E x ANNE. ip- 
 
 tler to their being discharged. The fiege was carried on with 
 fuch vigour, that, by the end of October, the place furrender- 
 ed, and the garrifon, confifting of about a thoufand men, march- 
 ed out, and were afterwards tranfported on board our veiiols, 
 fome to France, and others to Spain, according to the articles 
 of the capitulation" 1 . 
 
 Before this conqueft of Port Mahon, Fort Fornelle, which 
 had beneath it a harbour little lefs conliderable, though Ids 
 known than Port Mahon, had fubmitted to the obedience of 
 king Charles. This fervice was owing to captain Butkr, and 
 captain Fairborne, who battered that fort, with the two fhips 
 under their command, till they obliged it to furrender. The 
 place was naturally ftrong, and was, bclides, tolerably fortified j 
 having four baftions, and twelve pieces of brafs cannon : yet, it 
 coft but four hours time, and the Jofs of fix men killed, and 
 twelve wounded. They found in the garrifon, a hundred can- 
 non, three thoufand barrels of powder, and all things necefTary 
 for a good defence. 
 
 Some little time after, the general fent a detachment of about 
 a hundred Spaniards, with three hundred or more of the mar- 
 quis Pifaro's regiment, to Citadclla, the chief town of the ifland 
 on the weft fide thereof. Sir Edward \Yhitaker difpatched 
 two fhips of war thither; which place put them to no great 
 trouble, for the garrifon, immediately furrendering, were made 
 prifoners of war, confirming of a hundred French, and as many 
 Spaniards. Being thus polTeired of this important ifland, T. e 
 had thereby the advantage of an excellent harbour, which, dur- 
 ing the war, was exceedingly ufeful to us in the cleaning and 
 refuting fuch of our fhips as were employed in the Mediterra- 
 nean ; and not only magazines of ilores were lodged there for 
 that purpole, but fuch officers appointed to relide on the place, 
 
 * The troops under the command of general Stinh^ps, confided pf no more 
 than two thoufand fix hundred men, wl.iili were landed at Port Mahon on the 
 1 4th of October. They were not able to batter the p'ace till the i3th, and two 
 dj\s after it forrendered ; about fifty men were killed and wounded in the fiege, 
 and among the former, captain Stanhope of the M.lfjr.!, brother to the general, 
 * y<H!'g gentleman of great hope?, and who had dillinguiihed himiclf remarkably 
 upon this occafion. Burchct's naval hiltory, p. 753. Burner's hiftory of his 
 own times, vol. ii. p. ju. Mercure htforiqu? ct p ilit ; que, torn. xlv. p. 373, 
 483. 
 
 B b 2 as
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 as were judged requiGte, and a vaft expence faved thereby to 
 the nation 5 . 
 
 But it is now time we fhould return to the fleet, which^ as 
 we obferved, failed under the command of Sir John Leake for 
 England, the fixth of September. His excellency, on his ar- 
 rival at Gibraltar, being there informed, that four French men 
 of war had taken fome of our merchant fhips, running, as they 
 called it, without convoy, near cape Spartel, and carried them 
 fnto Cadiz ; he thought proper to leave a fmall fquadron, con- 
 fifting of two third rates,, one fourth, and a fifth, to cruize in 
 that ftation, in order to prevent fuch accidents for the future, 
 and then purfued his voyage to England, where he arrived fafe- 
 ly at St. Helen's, on the ipth of October f , having met in the 
 Soundings with the fquadron cruizing there under the command 
 of lord Durfley, afterwards earl Berkley, and for fome time at 
 the head of the admiralty. 
 
 e The reduction of the ifland of Minorca, was fo confiderable a fervice, thqt 
 all imaginable pains were taken to make the Brit-fh nation fenfible thereof, by 
 giving an exact relation of that whole proceeding in the Gazette; and after ge- 
 neral Stanhope had tranfmitted an account of the conqueil of the whole ifland. 
 the earl of Sunderland, then principal fccretary of ftate, wrote the following let- 
 ter to his excellency upon that fnbjeft : 
 
 "SIR, 
 
 " I received on Monday (he favour of yours of the joth September, N. S. hy 
 " captain Moyfer, with the wel'come news of your raking Port Mahon ; which 
 " though it came at the fame time as the news of taking of Lifle, yet was not at 
 *' all leflened by it; everybody looking upon our being in pofletUon of Port 
 * Mahon, as of the laft confluence to the carrying on the war in Spain j be- 
 " fides the other advantages, if we are wife, we may reap from if, both in war 
 and peace. I cannot exprefs to you the fcnfe the queen, and evfry body 
 " here, have of your zeal and conduct, in this affair, to which this very impor- 
 " tant fuccefs is fo much owing. I heartily condole with you for the lofs of 
 " your brother, which, indeed, is a public lofs to us all, he was fo dcferving a 
 " young man. I muft not omit telling you, the queen does entirely approve of 
 " your leaving an Englifti garrifon in Port Mahon, for the reafons you mention, 
 * though fome of them muft be kept fecrct. Her majefty doth approve alfo of 
 the governor you have named," &c. Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 753. Beyer's 
 life of queen Anne, p. 350, 351. The complete hiftory of Europe, for 1708, p. 
 311. London Gazette, N. 448 r. 
 
 f Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 753. Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarti, vol. ii. 
 ute liLloriquc ct politiquc, torn. x!v. p. 531. 
 
 Sir
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. jpy 
 
 Sir Edward Whitaker had now the fole command of the 
 fquadron left for the Mediterranean fervice, and was confe* 
 quently expofed to all the difficulties which ufually happen to 
 officers under different orders. On one fide, he was bound to 
 regulate his conduct by the inftructions left him by Sir John 
 Leake ; on the other, he was continually folicited by king 
 Charles, to undertake this or that expedition for his fervice. 
 The chief thing the imperial court had at this time in view, 
 was, the reduction of the ifland of Sicily, an enterprize not to 
 be undertaken, but in conjunction with our fleet j and, as it 
 afterwards proved, not then neither ; for when Sir Edward had 
 difpofed every thing in the beft manner poflible, for the fup- 
 porting this defign, the viceroy of Naples declared, there were 
 fuch difcontents in that kingdom, as would not allow him to 
 fend any troops from thence ; but, if Sir Edward Whitaker 
 would furnifh him with a fmall fquadron, he was ready to un- 
 dertake the reduction of the places on the coaft of Tufcany, 
 which belonged to the crown of Spain 2 . 
 
 In compliance with this requeft, the Defiance, and the York, 
 with the Terrible bomb-vefiel, were fent into the road of Piom- 
 bino ; but the Germans, as ufual, were fo backward in their 
 preparations, that it was neceflary to continue a month longer 
 in thofe feas ; to very little purpofe, at leaft with refpect to ei- 
 ther of the defigns before- mentioned : but, in regard to a dif- 
 pute that then fubfifted between his holinefs and the imperial 
 court, and which had almoft rifen into a war, it had a better 
 effect ; for our chacing fome of the Pope's gallies, and threa- 
 tening to bombard Civita Vecchia, contributed not a little to 
 bring down the pontiff's haughty ftomach, and inclined hitn 
 to an accommodation upon terms acceptable to the imperial 
 court. 
 
 All this time, Sir Edward Whitaker himfelf was at Leghorn, 
 attending the motions of the German troops, where he un- 
 expectedly received a letter from king Charles III. of a very 
 extraordinary nature. His majefty acquainted him therein, that 
 the enemy had not only befieged the city of Denia, in Valencia, 
 
 8 Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 754. Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 350. The 
 complete hiftory of Europe, for 1708, p. 313. 
 
 but
 
 198 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 but had threatened allb to attack Alicant, in which they were 
 to be fupported by a French fleet of fifteen ihips of the line. 
 For thele reafons, and to prevent his being iurrounded in Ca- 
 talonia, his majefty earneiUy intreated him not to pafs the 
 btreights, as by Sir John Leake's inftruttions he was required 
 to do, but to remain upon the coaft of Spain ; alluring him, if 
 he did otherwiie, he would charge upon him all the misfor- 
 tunes that might happen to his affairs. General Stanhope alfo 
 wrote much to the lame purpole; upon which it was refolved, 
 in a council of war, to proceed immediately to Vado, to take 
 on board there a reinforcement of German loot, for the fervice 
 of king Charles, and then fail dirccHy for Barcelona 11 . 
 
 In purfuance of this defign, Sir Ldward Whitaker left Leg- 
 horn on the 2 yth of November, and having executed it very 
 fuccefsfully, arrived fafely at Barcelona. There the king ac- 
 quainted him by letter, that, according to what had been agreed 
 on, at a council of war held in his royal prefence, the moft 
 considerable fervice the fquadron under his command could do, 
 at that juncture, was to return to Italy, and convoy the troops 
 from thence deilgned for Catalonia; but withal, recommended 
 to him not only the convoying the tranfports, with corn from 
 Majorca, and their being afterwards fent to Sardinia, for a fur- 
 ther lupply, and for horfes to mount their cavalry, but that, 
 when he fliould be on the coaft of Italy, he would appoint 
 fuch fhips as cardinal Grimani might defire, to fecure the 
 paiTage of the Pharo of Meflina, which might conduce to the 
 
 & The affairs of kin* Philip continued to pr fper, after the battle of Almanza, 
 on all fides. The duke of Orleans commanded the heft part of the year, and 
 after making liimklf mailer of Tortola, had certainly earned his conquefts far. 
 ther, if the French couit had not thought fit to recal him ; the reafons ot v. 
 extrawdin*ry ftep have btcn foir.e-Ji-hat differently reported. It is, on the one 
 hand, aliedgcr!, that the princcis of Urfin*, who at that time entirely governed 
 king Philip, fell into a corrcfpondence with the enemies of the i!ukc ot Orleans 
 at the French court, and by a multitude of intrigues, rendmd him odious to his 
 ancle, Le*ii XIV. Un the other haiid, it is as confidently affirmed, that I is 
 K yal highnefs held a lecret correspondence with the allies, and had actu.lly 
 formed a project for fupphming king Phiiip. Whatever hi? political fchcmcs 
 might be, he certainly fhewcd himftlf an able general, fince, by keiping count 
 .Srarenbcrg employed in Catalonia, he gave li.f tbcv.licr d'AiftlJt time to con- 
 quer acd fc-.urc the kingdom of \V. 
 
 mere
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 1^9 
 
 more fpeedy accommodation of affairs that were negotiating at 
 Rome. 
 
 Hereupon it was agreed, that the Dutch (hips fliould proceed 
 dired.lv to Majorca, and convoy the tranfports to Barcelona, 
 and from thence to Cagliari, as foon as they fhould be unladen, 
 while the reft of the fquadron made the bed of their way to 
 Leghorn, where arriving, they met with very bad weather j 
 but had advice, that matters were accommodated at Rome, the 
 Pope having owned Charles III. king of Spain ; and from the 
 marquis de Prie, that three thouf.md effective men fliould be 
 ready to embark at Naples, as foon as they arrived there'. 
 Thefe negociations took, up the remaining p::rt of the winter, 
 and therefore, here we are to put an end to our account of Sir 
 Edward Whitaker's fquadron, the proceedings of which we 
 fliall refume, when we come to fpeak of the naval tronfactions 
 of the enfuirig year. 
 
 The fquadron appointed to cruize in the Soundings, was 
 commanded this year by lord Durfley, who was very fortunate 
 in protecting our trade, but not altogether fo happy in chacing 
 the French fhips that appeared from time to time upon our 
 coaft, which was intirely owing to the foulnefs of his (hips, 
 and to the cleannefs of theirs. In the middle of the fummer, 
 a refolution was taken, to make a defcent on, or at lead to 
 alarm, the coaft of France ; and Sir George Byng as admiral, 
 and lord Durfley as vice-admiral, of the blue, were appointed 
 to command the fleet deftined for that purpofe, and lieutenant- 
 general Erie had the command of the land-forces. Many 
 things were given out with relation to this expedition, the true 
 
 i The Pope had all along (hewn a great inclination to f.ivour the French in- 
 tereft, and the emperor having differed with him abiut their temporal right;, 
 die Pope began to raife troops, and to behave as if he intended to difpute the 
 point aftir the manner of foverei^n? ; but the German troops entering the ec- 
 clffiaftical flate, and living there at difcretion, and the Eng'ifh fl.-et threatening 
 his coaftf, he wa onftrained, much againft his will, and afrer draggling againft 
 it t-> the utmolr. of his pawer, to acknowledge king Charles, and to fobmif, 
 in every other tel'pcO, to the terms prefctibed by the emperor. About the 
 fame time, fever*! of the fortrtiTes on the cp(r. of Tufcany were reduced by 
 the Countenance of orr hVet; and fomethin?, probably, had been attempted i-i 
 Siiiiy, but that kino Philip fent over thither cou.it Mahoni, an experienced of- 
 ft .: , with a fciioj.able reinforcement of three thoufinj tre.i. 
 
 cfefign
 
 200 
 
 defign of which was diflurbing the French naval armaments on 
 their coafts, and obliging the French court to march great bo- 
 dies of men to protecl their maritime towns, which neceffarily 
 occafioned the diminiming of their army in Flanders. On the 
 27th of July, the fleet, with the tranfportSj having the troops 
 on board which were intended for the defcent, failed from 
 Spithead, and came the next day to an anchor off Deal. The 
 2pth, they ftood over to the coaft of Picardy, as well to alarm 
 as to amufe the enemy, and to be ready for further orders. 
 The firft of Auguft the fleet failed again, and anchored the 
 next day in the hay of Boulogne, where they made a feint 
 of landing their troops ; the third, they ftood in pretty nigh 
 the Ihore, to obferve the condition of the enemy. The fourth 
 they weighed 5 but anchored again about noon in the bay of 
 Eftaples. 
 
 Here a detachment of troops were actually landed ; but the 
 project on (here, which this defcent was to have countenanced, 
 being by this time laid afide, an exprefs brought new orders 
 from England, upon which the troops were re-embarked. The 
 feventh, they ftood over again to the coaft of England, and, 
 being joined by feveral more tranfports in Dover road, arrived 
 the nth in the bay of La Hogue. The 12th, it was defigned 
 to have landed the troops ; but, upon viewing the coaft, they 
 found fo many of the enemy's forces brought together, to op- 
 pofe a defcent, and fo many forts and batteries on (hore, that 
 it was judged impra&icabk. The I4th, the fleet failed again 
 to the weftward ; but, the wind coming about the next day, 
 they altered their courfe, and lay before Cherbourg, but found 
 no profpect of doing any thing there. The f.ime day, the lord 
 Durfley, in the Oxford, with fix other men of war, and fri- 
 gates, failed to the weftward to cruize in the Soundings. The 
 I yth, the reft of the fleet returned to the bay of La Hogue j 
 but the men growing fickly, and provifions falling ilu *., Sir 
 George Byng returned to Spithead on the 28th k . 
 
 When 
 
 k Mr. fecretary Burchet takes not the leaft notice of this expedition, though 
 we have a very large account of it in the Gazettes, N. 4458, 4459, 44<5< 
 4461, frc. The French hiftorians, likewife, magnify the great advantage they 
 obtained by repelling this invafion. After thus ahrmrig the French coaft, 
 and creating the enemy inexpreffibic trouble, the duke of Blulfcorotigh dcfired, 
 
 thft
 
 bf Qj) E E N ANNE. -ci 
 
 "When the fquadron under lord Durfley had been victualled, 
 and refitted, at Plymouth, he failed from thence on the 28th 
 of September, with five (hips of war, and was joined the next 
 day by the Hampfhire, which had taken a fmall French privateer; 
 His lordfhip took another himfelf, of twenty-four guns, be- 
 longing to St. Malo, which had done a great deal of mifchief. 
 On the 7th of November his loidfhip returned to Plymouth, 
 and foon after the Hampfhire brought in a privateer of 16 guns, 
 and a rich merchant-man bound to the "Weft Indies; the Sa- 
 lifoury likewiie brought in two prizes, and, through the great 
 vigilance of this noble commander, the whole coaft was very 
 thoroughly protected. In the middle of December, his lord- 
 fhip having cleaned his (hip, put to fea again with his fquadron, 
 and, on the 29th, faw two (hips, which chaced him ; but when 
 they came near, they bore away, and then his lordfhip return- 
 ed the compliment, by chacing them with all the fail he could 
 make, and at laft came within gun-lhot, when their commander 
 lightened them by throwing many things overboard, and fo 
 they efcaped -, which gave great concern to his lordfhip, the 
 one being a fixty, the other a fifty-gun fhip : fo that, after a fhorc 
 cruize, he returned with his fquadron to Plymouth, without 
 being able to make any other prize than a French fifhing-vefTel 
 from the banks of Newfoundland. 
 
 This indefatigable diligence of his lordfhip, though it was 
 not attended with any extraordinary fuccefs, gave great fatisfac- 
 tion to the merchants, as it hindered the French privateers 
 from venturing near our coafls, as they had done for many 
 years before, to the incxprefTible damage of our trade, as well 
 as to the prejudice of our reputation as a maritime power* 
 It was, therefore, jufily refolved, to give his lordfhip an ex- 
 traordinary mark of her majefly's favour, by promoting him to 
 the rank of vice-admiral of the white; and though this was 
 fomewhat retarded, by the death of his royal highnefs the lord- 
 
 that this body of troops might be landed st Oftend, which was accordingly per- 
 formed on the twenty- third of September, at fo critical a juncture, that it is 
 thought, if they had not a-rived as they did, the city of Lille could fcarce have 
 been taken. 
 
 VOL. III. C c high.
 
 202 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 high-admiral, yet it took place in the fpring of the fueceeding 
 year '. 
 
 Before we part with this fubjecl, in order to account, as we 
 have promifed to do, for what happened this year in the Welt 
 Indies, it is requifite to fpeak of the paffage of the queen of 
 Portugal on board our lieet to Lii-bon. Her majefty was fty- 
 I'ed, before her marriage, the arch-duchefs Mary-Anne of Au- 
 ftria, daughter ta the emperor Leopold, and lifter to the em- 
 peror Jofeph. This marriage was thought to be highly advan- 
 tageous to the common caufe, and was therefore very grateful 
 to our court, who readily offered to fend her majefty to Lifbon 
 on board a Britifh fquadron. In the beginning of the month 
 of September flic fet out for Holland, where rear-admiral 
 Baker attended, with a fmall iquadron, to bring her over m ; 
 which he accordingly did on the 2jth of that month, and 
 landed her at Portfmouth, where fhe ftaid fome days at the 
 houfe of Thomas Ridge, Efq; and the queen, being then at 
 Windfor, fent inftantly the duke of Grafton to compliment her 
 majefty on her part, as his royal highnefs the prince of Den- 
 mark did the lord Delawar n . On the fixth of October, about 
 three in the afternoon, the queen of Portugal went on board 
 the Royal Anne, where her majefty was received by Sir George 
 Byng, and, on her going off, the governor fainted her with alt 
 the cannoR of the place j. and the next noorning, at 7 o*clock r 
 the fleet weighed and put to fea, when all the cannon of the 
 town were again difcharged'. 
 
 Sir George Byng proceeded with a fair wind, and, after a 
 quick and eaiy pafiage, brought her majefty fafety into the river 
 cf Lifbon, on the i6th of the fame moirth. The king, with 
 
 I What I have here advanced, is on all hinds allowed, and even by birtiop 
 Burner himfelf, who qont'eiTe^, that much greater care was taken of or trade, and 
 the French, privateers were more efT.-clnally rcftnined, than in any year mice the 
 w*r began. Burchet's lunal hiftory, p. 710. Burner, Gldmixon, complete hilto- 
 ry of Europe, for the year 1708. Annals of c^ween Ar.ne. Clumna roflrata, 
 p. a&8. 
 
 a Boyer's hirtory of queen Anne, p. jj4. Mercurc hiftorique et politiqne^ 
 tome x!v. p, 306. London G:iz-tte, N"'. 446(5, 4469. n Burnefs 
 
 liiltory of bis own times, vol. ;:. p. 515. Buyer's life of queen Anne, p. 
 354. M=rcurc hifloriquc et politic}*],:, tonia x!v. p. 410. London Gazette, 
 
 feveral
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 203 
 
 feveral magnificent barges, went on board the Royal Anne to 
 welcome the queen ; and, returning from thence, their majefties 
 landed at the bridge of the palace, under a magnificent trium- 
 phal arch, from whence they proceeded through a vaft crowd 
 of people to the royal chapel, where they received the nuptial 
 benediction-, and heard Te Deum fung. His majefty conducted 
 the queen to her apartment, and they tapped in public with 
 the infantas. There were great rejoicings upon this occafion,. 
 and fire-works and illuminations for three nights together. 
 The queen having generoufly expreffcd her great fatisfattion as 
 to the entertainment fhe had received during her ftay in Eng- 
 land, undoubtedly the king was very liberal in his magnificent 
 prefents to the admiral and others that conducted her. The 
 arrival of the queen was attended with fome other circumftan- 
 ces, which increafed the joy of the people; for, on the 12th, 
 four fhips from Brazil came into the river, and reported, that 
 the reft of that fo long expected fleet were near the coaft . 
 Several other fhips came in afterwards, fo that, out of about 
 a hundred fail, there were but thirty or forty wanting, which 
 were detained by contrary winds. The cargo was rich, and 
 there was a good quantity of gold in fpecie aboard p . 
 
 Sir George, the very next day after Jus arrival, had intelli- 
 gence, that fome French fhips of confiderable force had been 
 feen upon the coaft, which were fuppofed to be waiting for the 
 reft of the homeward-bound Brazil fleet. Upon this, he im- 
 mediately failed in queft of them, though without fuccefs, ex- 
 
 The complete hifl. of Europ?, for 1708, p. 315. Lonrl. Gaz. N. 4478, 
 4484, 4487. This fleet is faid to have been the richeft that ever arrived in the 
 river of Lilban, as we have remarked in the text, having on b'-ard ten thon- 
 faiid arobas of gold, each aruba weighing thirty-two pounds weight, and a great 
 cjuami'y f diamonds, befiJes merchandize, and was Valued, in the whole, at 
 fifty-two million* of crufadoes. 
 
 PCol>nel Godfrey, who had married the duke of Marltorongh's fifler, was 
 fcnt to Portfmouth, to defray the f xpeuces of the quren of Portugal's houfe- 
 iiold, while (he continued there, and accordingly he kept eight tabl;s all that 
 time. Her majefly, in tcftim ;ny of her grateful fenfc of the homuirs paid her 
 by our court, made a prefent to the duke of Grafton of a diamond riig, worth 
 twe<vc thoufand crowns, and gave admiral Byng her picture, fet with diamonds, 
 to a very great value. Her padi^e was remarkably happy, as fhs was not above 
 )'. it fea. Mcrcure hifbriquc ct politique, tome x!v. p. 574. 
 
 C G 2 cept
 
 204 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 cept that the news of being at fea forced them to retire, and 
 thereby fecured the fafe arrival in port of the remaining thirty- 
 four fliips, which dropped in by degrees. About the middle 
 of November, Sir George received orders to proceed to Port 
 Mahon, to winter there, and to leave Sir John Jennings at 
 Lifbon with a fmall fquadron. Bat, before he left that river, 
 he received the queen's inftru&ions to wear the union flag in 
 the Mediterranean 11 . He failed on the 27th of December, 
 with fix fliips of the line, two fire-fhips, and three ftore-fhips 
 or tenders,, leaving directions with Sir John Jennings, to ap- 
 point the firft fliips he fhould have clean, to guard the mouth 
 of the Streights ; and having fent two third rates, two fourths, 
 nnd a iifth a-head of him to Alicant, to allure the governor 
 of the caftle there of his afliftance, he arrived himfelf about 
 the height of cape Palos the third of January, when ftanding 
 in for Alicant, the wind came off from the land fo fre/h, at 
 N. N. W. that he could not fetch the bay, fo that he bore 
 away to Port Mahon ; but when he had got within four leagues 
 of that place, which was on the fifth, the wind came to the 
 north, and N. N. E. blowing extreme hard, with much fnow ; 
 and the next day it was fo very tempeftuous, that it Separated 
 moft of the fquadron, forcing him almoft as high as Sardinia; 
 but on the 12th, he got into Port Mahon, where he found 
 moft of the fquadron ". 
 
 When we laft mentioned the exploits of the Englifh navy in 
 America, we gave an account of the arrival there of Sir John 
 Jennings, who commanded in thcfe parts from October 1706, 
 to January 1707, without having it in his power to perform 
 any thing very remarkable. He was fucceeded in his command 
 by commodore Wager, who arrived at Jamaica in the fummer 
 of the year 1707, and difpofed all things in fuch a manner, 
 that the defigns of the enemy were' rendered abfoltitcly abor- 
 tive ; the feveral Englifh fettlements were thoroughly protected, 
 and fuch convoys granted the merchants, as put the trade of 
 that part of the world into n much better condition than it 
 had been fince the breaking out of the \\-i\r ; all which was 
 
 1 B'jvchet's naval hiftory, p. 757. Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 3^5. 
 * Bmchct's naval hiftory, p. 757. Boyer's life of queen Anne. M.rcure hi- 
 ;: et politique, tome xlvi. p. iji. Lend. Gaz. N. 4517. 
 
 very
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 205 
 
 very honourably acknowledged by the planters and mer- 
 chants*. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1708, that part of the world 
 was much alarmed with the news of M. du Gaffe's arrival, 
 with a French fcjuadron of great force, and which, it was fup- 
 pofed, had fome defign upon the ifland of Jamaica. This ap- 
 prehenfion, however, foon went over, upon the commodore's 
 receiving certain intelligence, that du Caffe was failed for the 
 Havannah, in order to conduct home the galleons. It is cer- 
 tain, that under his convoy they might have been abfolutely 
 fafe, fmce he had double the ftrength of the Englifh fleet in 
 thofe feas ; and, therefore, we may very well admire, that 
 commodore Wager fhould even form a defign upon thefe trea- 
 fure-fhips, and much more that he fhould fucceed in it, in 
 fpite of all the care and vigilance of M. du Caffe, at once 
 the moft able and moft active fea-officer then in the French 
 fervice c . 
 
 Such as knew the difpofition of the late Sir Charles Wager 
 will readily acquit me of flattery, when I venture to give this 
 character of him : that he was an officer who valued his repu- 
 tation as much, and his fortune as little, as any man that ever 
 was in the Britifli fervice. Avarice, therefore, had no fhare in 
 this project of his, which was grounded only in a defire of 
 doing his duty, and reftoring the reputation of the Britifli arms, 
 which had not been a little funk in that part of the world, efpe-? 
 cially by the covetoufnefs and cowardly proceedings of fbme of 
 our commanders. The commodore underftood perfectly the 
 route of the galleons : he knew that they were to fail from 
 Porto-Bello to Carthagena, and from thence to the Havannah, 
 nnd, as he was very fenfible that it was to no purpofe to attempt 
 them after they had joined du Caffe, he was refolved to try if 
 
 s The commodore was a man particularly agreeable to people in that part 
 of tlic\v>rld, fr.m his d.finterefled difpofi:ion, and from his defire to contri- 
 bute in every rcfptft to the protection of their trade, which he did not OR\f 
 without fceking, but even without accepting any gratifications, as the merchants 
 ttiemfclves wrote to the board of admiralty. 
 
 : JHiftoire militaire, tome vi. p. 124. 
 
 it
 
 206 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 it was not poffible to intercept them in their paflage from Porto 
 Bello to Carthagena". 
 
 With this view he fent captain Humphrey Pudner, in the Se- 
 verne, to watch the enemy's motions in Porto Bello, from 
 whom he received advice, on the 23d of May, that on the ipth 
 the galleons were failed. The commodore had then with him 
 the Expedition, Kingfton, Portland, and Vulture fire-fliip, and 
 cruized to the ayth, in expectation of the galleons, but not 
 meeting with them, the commodore began to fear they had in- 
 telligence of his being on the coaft, and were gone for the 
 Havannah w . 
 
 On the 28th of May, about noon, the galleons, in all feven- 
 teen fail, were difcerned from his top-maft-head, and at the 
 fame time they difcovered him ; but, defpifing fo fmall a force, 
 refolved to proceed. He chaced them till evening, when they, 
 finding they could not weather the Baru, a fmall ifland which 
 lay in their paflage to Carthagena, refolved to difpute the mat- 
 ter there, and ftretching therefore to the northward with an 
 cafy fail, they drew as well as they could into a line of battle. 
 The admiral, who wore a white pennant at the main-top-maft- 
 head, in the centre, the vice-admiral, with the fame pennant at 
 the fore- top-maft-head, in the rear, and the rear-admiral, who 
 bore the pennant on the mizen-top-maft-head, in the van, about 
 half a mile from each other, there being other {hips between 
 them x . 
 
 u Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 70$. Cclumna roflraU, p. 191. The complete 
 tiiftory of Europe, fr.r 1708, p. 151. 
 
 w This was an affair of prodigious confeqnence; for, firft, the galleons had 
 not returned to Europe fur fevcr.il years, arid confequcntly were extravagantly 
 rich. This very fquadron that was attacked by commodore Wager, had on 
 board forty-eight millions of pieces of eight. The Spaniards and French de- 
 pended intirely upon this Hippiy, their call) and credit being abfolutely worn 
 out, fo that their mint bi!!s were at thirty and forty per cent, difcounr. It 
 was for thefc reafons, that care wa taken to fend fo ftrong a French fqiiadron 
 into the Weft Indies, and under the command too of an officer, who, belides 
 his high reputation in every other refpecl, was the beft acquainted of any man 
 ^ith thofe fes. 
 
 x Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 705. Mtrcure hiftoriqtie et potitique, tome x!v. 
 p. A$o, 507. Pciater's chronological biflorian, vol. ii. p. 538. 
 
 Of
 
 O F QjJ E E N A N N E. 20? 
 
 Of the feventeen, two were floops, and one a brigantine, 
 which ftood in for the land; two others of them were French 
 ihips, which running away, had no ilure in the a&ion ; the reft 
 Spaniards. The commodore inftantly made his difpofition ; he 
 refolved to attack the admiral himfclf, gave inftruftions to cap- 
 tain Simon Bridge?, who commanded the Kingfton, to engage 
 the vice-admiral, and fent his boat to the Portland, commanded 
 by captain Edward Windfor, with orders to attack the rear- 
 admiral, and as there was no immediate occalion for the fire- 
 ihip, (he plied to the windward *. 
 
 The fun was juft fetting when commodore Wager ca-re up 
 with the admiral, and then, beginning to engage, in about an 
 hour and hall's time, (it being dark), [he blew up, not with- 
 out great danger to the Expedition, from the fplinters and 
 planks which fell on board her, on fire, and the great heat of 
 the blafl z . Hereupon the commodore put abroad his fignal 
 lights, for keeping company, and endeavoured to continue fight 
 of fome of the enemy's ihips ; but finding, after this accident, 
 they began to feparate, and difcovering but one, which was the 
 rear-admiral, he made fail after her, and coming up about tea 
 o'clock, when he could not judge which way her head lay, it 
 being very dark, he happened to fire his broadfide, at leafl 
 many guns, into her ftern, which did fo much damage, that it 
 teemed to difable her from making fail, and being then to lee- 
 ward, he tacking on the Spaniard, got to windward of him, 
 and the Kingfton and Portland, (which had, by reafon of the 
 darknefs of the night, or the blowing up of the Spanifh admi- 
 ral, which made it very thick thereabouts, loft light of the 
 other fhips), following his lights foon after, came up with him, 
 and aflifted in taking the rear-admiral, who called for quarter 
 about two in the morning. On board of this fhip he fent his 
 boats to bring to him the chief orHcers, and before the riling 
 
 y Commodore Wager was wont to fay, in pr\vte converfaiion, that a man 
 who would not fight for a gillcon, would fight for nothing ; and, pp-bibiy it 
 was in a full peifiufion of this, that he aitcniptt-d fo r.un.cioui a fquadiua with 
 fo fmall a forre. 
 
 z Biirnct's l. : .!l<>ry of 1::; own I:. ii;. Ebyct's fife of" queen 
 
 Anne. p. ;;.. Lon-}. 
 
 of
 
 208 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 of the fun, he faw one large fliip on his weather-bow, and 
 three fail upon the weather-quarter, three or four leagues off 
 ours, lying then with their heads to the north, the wind being 
 at N. E. an eafy gale. Then he put out the fignal lor the 
 Kingfton and Portland to chace to windward, not being able 
 himfelf to make fail, being much difabled ; and, as he had a 
 great part of his men in the prize, fo were there no lefs than 
 three hundred Spanifh prifoners on board his own fnip*. 
 
 On Sunday the 3oth, the wind being from the N. E. to 
 N. N. W. and but little of it, the Kingfton and Portland had left 
 off chace; but he made the fignal for continuing it, which they 
 did, and ran him out of fight, the fire-fhip ftill continuing with 
 him, and he having lain by fometime, not only to put the prize 
 in a condition of failing, but to refit his own rigging, made 
 fail eaftward on the 31 ft, when the Kingfton and Portland 
 joined him, and gave him an account, that the ihip they chaced 
 was the vice-admiral ; to which, as they faid, they came fo 
 near as to fire their broadfides into her ; but were fo far ad- 
 vanced towards the Salmadinas, a fhoal off Carthagena, that 
 they were forced to tack and leave her. This gave the com-' 
 modore great uneafmefs, and determined him to call the cap* 
 tains of thefe fhips to account; but, in the mean time, he fent 
 them orders to take or deftroy a galleon of forty guns, which 
 he underftood, by a Swedifh. {hip that had been trading at Baru, 
 had taken flicker in that ifland. 
 
 She was juil coming out of port as the Kingfton and Port- 
 land appeared; upon which her crew ran her afhore, fet her 
 on fire, arid blew her up, f,o that nothing could be got out of 
 her, as our captains affirmed, and this, as it appeared to the 
 commodore afterwards, was true. On the fecond of June, 
 the commodore finding his provifions and water ihort, the wind 
 contrary, and nothing more to be done in thofe parts, refolved 
 to fet the Spanifh. prifoners a-fhore, according to their requeft, 
 on the ifland of Baru, and then proceed for Jamaica ; which 
 he performed accordingly, and the Spauilh rear-admiral re- 
 
 a Barchct's naval hiftory, p. 705. Burner. The comp'efe fiiflory of Eti- 
 rope, for 1708. Annals cf queen Anne. OUmixon's hittory of the Stuarts, 
 vol. ii. p. 414. 
 
 tained,
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 209 
 
 tained, as long as he lived, a grateful fenfe of the commodore's 
 civility b . 
 
 On the 8th of July, the Expedition, Kingfton, and Vulture 
 fire-fhip, brought the prize fafe into Port-Royal harbour, 
 where the commodore foon after arrived. He found, at his 
 return, the new aft of parliament for the diftribution of prizes i 
 and though he had before permitted the failors to plunder as 
 they thought fit, when the prize was taken, yet now he ap- 
 pointed agents, in obedience to that act of parliament, and or- 
 dered captain Long to deliver up near thirty thoufand pounds 
 worth of filver and effects, that he had taken between decks, 
 in order to fatisfy the failors of the uprightnefs of his intentions. 
 He likewife took care to difpatch proper intelligence to Eng- 
 land, that fhips might be fitted out to cruize for the galleons 
 that had efcaped ; and, on the 23d of July, he held a court- 
 martial on the two captains who had behaved fo indifferently in. 
 the late engagement c . 
 
 A few 
 
 b According to the account given to the commodore by thefe prifoners, of 
 the ftrength and value of the fquadron, and which fcems to defcrve more cre- 
 dit than any others, the admiral, called the St. Jofeph, carried fixty-four guns, 
 and had fix hundred men, of wham feventccn only were favcd, and had on 
 board about feven millions in gold ind (liver; the vice-admiral mounted fixty- 
 four guns, and had between ftur and five hundred men, with about fix mil- 
 lions ; the rear-admiral mounted forty-four guns, but carried eleven mor in 
 her hold, and had only thirteen chefls of pieces of eight, and fourteen fous 
 pf filver, the reft of the galleons were, for the mofl part, loaded with cocoa. 
 It is very remarkable, that in all the aftion, the commodore had but two men 
 killed, and nine wounded. I (hall take this opportunity of adding a fuccin^l 
 account, of a gallant exploit perfotmed by an Englith officer, a little before 
 the taking the galleons. Ciptain Colcbay, commander of a privateer (loop, of 
 about an hundred men, meeting with fourteen fail of hrigantines and fl >opi, 
 laden with valuable goods, going from the galleons at Porto Bcllo, to Pana- 
 ma, under convoy of a guard floop, bravely fought the guard floop, and took 
 her and fix more. The Spaniards offered the captain one hundred and eighty 
 thoufand pieces of eight for the ranfom of the floop, which he refufed. 
 
 In the London Gazette, K. 447$, we have the following account of the, 
 proceedings of this court-martial : 
 At a court-martial held on board her m^fly's (hip Expedition, at Port Royal, 
 
 in Jamaica, the 2$<1 of July 1708, 
 PRESENT, 
 
 Charles Wager, E'Vj; commander in chief of a fquadron of her msjcfly** 
 fiiips in the Weft Indis*, P?. s si o E N T . 
 
 Vol.. IIL D d Captain
 
 iro NAVAL HI STORt 
 
 A few days after, the commodore received a commiffion, ap- 
 pointing him rear-admiral of the blue d , which bore date before 1 
 his taking of the galleon ; and therefore, as Mr. Lediard very 
 juftly obferves 6 , ought not to be confidered as a reward for 
 that action } in- which lightj however, many other writers have 
 
 Captain Barrow Harris, of the Affiftancej captain Tudor Trevor, of the 
 tV'indfor, captain Humphrey P'udner, of the Severne ; captain Stephen Hutch- 
 ins, of the Scarborough; captain Henry Long, of the Expedition j captain 
 Abraham Tudor, of the Dolphin. 
 
 All duly fworn, according to an aft of parliament. 
 
 Captain Simon Bridges, commander of her majefty's (hip the Kingfton, was 
 tried for not having performed his duty ifl a late aclion with the Spanifh gal- 
 leons, on the coafl of Carthagena, in New Spain, on the z8th, agth, and 3oth 
 f May laft ; and it did appear by evidence upon oath, that the faid captain Si- 
 mon Bridges, through mffcondnct, did not life his utmoft endeavours to en- 
 gage, and take the enemy, on the a8ih of May laft, at night ; and that he 
 did too negligently pnrfue the chace of the Spaniih vice-admiral, the ipth and. 
 3oth : and that he left off chace, when within gun-fhot of the faid fhip, doubt- 
 ing the pilot's knowledge, and bearing near the fhoal, called Salmadinas, though 
 the pilot offered to carry the fhip within the faid fhoal, after the frid vice-admt- 
 fal ; but no want of perfonal courage being alledged againfl him, this court 
 docs only find him guilty of the breach of part of the nth, and part of the 
 J4th articles of war, and for the fa hi cffbr.ee, do difmifs him, the fasd captain 
 Simon Bridges, from bting captain of her imjefty's fhip Xingftorv. 
 
 Captain Edward Windfor, com minder of her majefry's fhip the Portland, 
 feeing tried for not doing his duty, in a late action with the Spaniflr galleons, 
 on rtie coafl of Cmhagena, in New Spain, on the jSth, apth, and joth of May 
 hit; it did Appear, by evidence upon oath, that the faid captain Edward Wind- 
 for was flick hi his duty, by not bearing fo near the enemy as to keep fight 
 of fome of them, when they were engaged on the a8th at night ; that upon 
 chacing the enemy next day, by fignal from the commodore, he left off chace, 
 and bore down to the Kingrton in the evening, when he ought not to have done 
 fo ; and that on th<! 3oth, when the Kingfton and Portland chaced the vice-ad- 
 miral of the galleons, near the Salmadinas, he fhortened fail before he came 
 tip with the faid fhip, fo far as he might have donej but it appears, that he 
 was led into thefc rmfhkes throagh want of judgment, and having too great 
 a regard to captain Bridges, of the Kingfton, as a fenior officer. This court 
 having duly confidered the whole matter, do find him guilty of the breach of 
 for.-.= part of the nth, and part of the 141)1 artic'es of war, and for the faid 
 offence, do difmifs him, the faid captain Edward Windfor, from being captain 
 of her majefty's fhip Portland. 
 
 d Burchet's naval hiflory, p. 709. e Naval liifiory of England, 
 
 V>1. ". p. 838. 
 
 placed
 
 OF QjJEEN ANNE. 211 
 
 placed it f . Captain John Edwards arriving at Jamaica, with, 
 the Monmouth, a third rate, the Jerfey, a fourth, and the 
 Roebuck, a fifth rate, brought the rear-admiral orders, to fend 
 Jiome with him, the Expedition, Y/indfor, Afliftance, Dolphin, 
 Dunkirk's prize, and Vulture fire-fhip, with which he complied ; 
 and by the latter end of September, they all failed for England, 
 the Dunkirk's prize excepted, which frigate, not being in a 
 condition to be trufted home In the winter, the rear-admiral 
 ient her out en a fhort cruize, with the Monmouth, (the fhip in 
 which he was to hoift his flag), under the command of his firft 
 lieutenant, when, in the Expedition, captain Purvis and they 
 brought in two French merchant fliips, one of one hundred, the 
 other of one hundred and fifty tons, loaden with wine, brandy, 
 and other goods, from R.ochelle to Petit Guavas ; but cruizing 
 foon after, on the north iide of Hifpaniola, the Dunkirk's prize 
 chaced a French fhip, until (lie .ran on fliore near Port Fran^oife, 
 and following her too near, the pilot not being well acquainted, 
 fhe ftruck upon a ledge of rocks, where, being a very weak 
 fhip, flie foon bulged ; captain Purvis, with fome of his men, 
 got upon a (mail key, or uninhabited ifland, within fhot of the 
 French fhip ; and though (lie had fourteen guns, and iixty men, 
 and fired fmartly upon them, yet having his own boats, with a 
 canoe he had taken, and having made a ftage, from whence h 
 \vas ready to attack them, the French demanded quarter, and 
 furrendered tke Ihip, upon agreement, that her commander and 
 jnen fliould be put -on iuore j and with this fhip captain Purvis 
 arrived at Jamaica, with all his company, except twenty-one, 
 who refufed to affift in the attempt, believing it altogether im- 
 poiTible to fucceed therein *. 
 
 Upon intelligence fent the rear-admiral from the admiralty,, 
 that M. du Guai Trouln was failed with a ftrong fquadron, 
 \vhich it was believed might be intended to execute Tome defigm 
 upon the ifland of Jamaica, a council of war was held on the 
 i ft of December, 1708, where were prefenl, bdides rear-ad- 
 
 f Columns roftrafa, p. 193. The complete hlfiory of Europr, for 1708, 
 f. 151. Pointer's chionological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. jpp. 
 
 <J Curchefs n*val hiltoiy, p. 71 p. Annals of queen Anne. OLlmixon's hif- 
 fory of ihe Stuan=, v< 1. ii. 
 
 D a ^ jrJrai
 
 ?i2 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 miral Wager, captain Trevor, of the Kingfton ; captain Pudner, 
 of the Severne; captain Hutchins, of the Portland ; captain Ver- 
 non, of the Jerfey ; captain Charles Hardy, of the Roebuck ; 
 and it being judged, that, if they made fuch an attempt, it 
 would be againft the harbour of Port Royal ; it was determin- 
 ed, that all her majefty's {hips there, except fuch as it might be 
 receflary to fend to windward, for intelligence, or on any other 
 extraordinary occafion, fhould be drawn up in a line, at the 
 entrance of the faid harbour, fo as that, with the affiftance of 
 the fort, they might in the beft manner poilible defend it, and 
 moft annoy the enemy. The 1 8th of January, another council 
 of war was called, and fince the letter of advice before-men- 
 tioned was dated almoft fix months before, it was confidered, 
 vhether the fquadron fhould be kept any longer together, fince 
 the enemies ihips had not appeared ; in which it was at length 
 determined, they ought to be employed on ncceflary fervices. 
 Thus we have brought the proceedings in the Weft Indies 
 down to the clofe of this year, and, according to the method 
 hitherto purfued, we are now to return home, and to give an 
 account of fuch remarkable events there, as have relation to the 
 affairs of the navy b . 
 
 On the ayth of October, a court-martial was held on board 
 the Royal Anne, at Spithead, for the trials of captain Richard 
 Edwards, of the Cumberland; captain John Balchen, of the 
 Chefter ; and captain Baron Wild, of the Royal Oak ; the two 
 f.rft for lofing their fliips, and the lafl for breaking the line, 
 dilobeying his commanding officer's orders, and neglect of duty. 
 After a ftrict examination of witnefTes, and free liberty given 
 to the perfons accufed to make their defence, and to produce 
 whatever teftimonies were in their power, captain Edwards was 
 moft honourably acquitted, and declared to have done his duty, 
 in every refpect, both as captain and commodore; and captain 
 John Balchen was alfo acquitted ; but captain Baron Wild be- 
 ing found guilty of neglect of duty, and diibbeying orders, was 
 
 h The French writers themfelves own, that affairs went very ill in this part 
 of the wr.rld j and bifhop Burner, who is ufually hard enough upin the mifcar- 
 ri<ge> at Tea, ha* nothing to fjy as to this year's conduift, hut that we did not 
 ?ke fo many of the galleons GS -vas expr teH ; yet he 1 .ys this .it the right door, 
 ^ mean t that cf the Cdpf-i:is who \vc:e broke by the court-martial. 
 
 not
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 213 
 
 jnot only caftiiered, but declared incapable of ever ferving in the 
 royal navy'. 
 
 On the 28th of October, died his royal highnefs George 
 prince of Denmark, lord high-admiral of England, and her 
 Britifh majefty's confort, at Kenfington, of an afthma k . He 
 was born in 1653 ; married to her majefty the 28th of July, 
 1683; and on the 13:!! of November, 1708, he was interred 
 in the abbey-church of Weftminfter, at ten in the evening. At 
 this hour, the ordnance on the platform, and on board all the 
 ihips in the harbour of Portfmouth, were fired, a minute after 
 each other, which lalied for fome hours ; and the next morn- 
 ing the union flag was hoifted again, which had been taken 
 down on the news of his royal highnefs's death '. Her majefty 
 was pleafed to keep the admiralty in her own hands, for about 
 three weeks; and, on the 25th of November, fhe appointed 
 Thomas earl of Pembroke m lord high-admiral of Great Bri- 
 tain and Ireland, to the great fatisfaction of the whole nation n . 
 
 The new parliament meeting on the i8th of November, and 
 having chofen Sir Richard Onflow, Bart, for their fpeaker, the 
 lord high-chancellor, in a fpeech from the throne, recommend- 
 ed a provifion for the navy, and efpecially for the building of 
 
 i Annals of queen Anne. Lediard's naval hiftory. k Boyer's life of 
 
 queen Anne, p. 357. Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 41 j. Lon- 
 don Gazette, N. 4484. ' The complete hiilory of Europe, for 1708, 
 p. 431. London Gazette, N. 4488, 4489. m Burnct's hiftory of 
 his own times, vol. ii. p. 516. Pointer's chronological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. 6oz. 
 London Gazette, N. 4492. 
 
 n Bifhop Burnet gives this account of the matter : " In the end of Oft,>bcr, 
 " George prince of Denmark died, in the fifty-fixth year of his age, after he 
 had been twenty five years and fome months married to the queen: he was 
 41 aflhmatical, which grew on him with his years; for fome time he was confi- 
 " dered as a dying man, but the laft year of hU life he feemed to recover a 
 14 better flate of health. The queen had been, during the whole courfe of her 
 " marriage, an extraordinary tender and affectionate wife; and in all his ill- 
 " neis, which laded fome years, fhe would never leave his bed, but fometimct 
 ' fat up half the night in the bed by him, with fuch care and concern, that fhe 
 ' was looked on, very defervcdly, as a pattern in this refpeft. This prince 
 " had (hewed himfclf brave in war, both in Denmark and Ireland : hi> temper 
 " was mild and gentle : he had made a good progrefs in mathematics : he had 
 ' travelled through France, Italy, and Germany, and knew much more than 
 1 he could well cxprcfs ; for he fpokc srquired languages ill and ungracefully." 
 
 new-
 
 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 new fhips, and fortifying our ports. On the fixth of December, 
 the houfe of commons addreffed, for an account of the number 
 of men, that might be wanting to man her majefty's navy, for 
 the year 1709; which was promifed, and upon this, accounts 
 being laid before the houfe, they agreed to it immediately, and 
 voted the fame number of men, with the fame allowance, and 
 the fame fiun for the ordinary u/e of the navy, as had been gi- 
 ven the year before ; but foon after, the commons thought fit to 
 appoint a committee to inquire into the number of (hips employ- 
 ed as cruizers and convoys ; as alfo to difcover the true reafons 
 oi the great increafe of the navy debt; and on their report, they 
 came to a refolution on the 24th of March, " That an addrefs 
 " be prefented to her majefty, to defire that flis would be pleal- 
 " ed to give directions to the proper officers, to lay before the 
 " houfe, an account of all the fums of money granted, or vo- 
 ' ted, fince her majeft/s acceffion to the crown, and how far 
 the fame had proved deficient." At the fame time,, they or- 
 dered the commiffioners of the navy to lay before them the 
 caufes of the increafe of the debt of the navy. But, to this ad- 
 drefs, it feems, the miniftry did not think fit her majefty fhould 
 give any anfwer; fo the affair dropped for that time . It u 
 certain, and indeed it was very natural, this conduct of the 
 court gave great offence j yet the commons were fo hearty in 
 the profecution of the war, that, with their ufual liberality, 
 they gave for the fervice of the year 1709, jio leis a fum than 
 6,457,830!. 
 
 There were alfo in this feffion fome other things done for 
 promoting trade and the plantations, fuch as a grant of 103,203!. 
 for the rdief of the inhabitants of St. Nevis, and St. Chrifto- 
 phers, and a vote in favour of the trade to Africa p ; but the 
 xnofl remarkable was, the joint addrefs of both houfes, that her 
 majefty would be pleafed not to conclude any peace with the 
 French king, unlefs he contented to demolifh the fortifications 
 and harbour of Dunkirk $ which point being accordingly infift- 
 
 Bnrnet'i bi'ory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 51 5. Oldmixon's hiflory of 
 t> e Sfuatts, vol. ii. p. 414, 415. The complete hiftory of Europe, for the 
 yr.tr i^cc, p. 43, 44. Chandler's debates, vol. iv. p. ir4. 
 
 P Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 379. The complete hi:l)ry of Ei.fope, for 
 JFI 3 9j f- S3- Oids. A'jfi'a hr'h.-v < f ;i .- .,!. ii, 
 
 ed
 
 F QjJ E E N A tt N . 2 I 
 
 id upon in the conferences at the Hague, with M. deTorci, for 
 fettling the preliminaries of a general peace ; and that minitter 
 fhewing greater reluctance to confent to this, than to any other 
 of the articles, alledging, that his matter bought, and paid for this 
 town and port, befides laying out immenfe fums upon it iince f 
 which fo provoked prince Eugene, that he could not help telling 
 the French minifters, with great warmth, that he wondered 
 they fhould fpend fo many words about it, and that they ought 
 rather to admire the generofity of a princefs, who, having it iri 
 her power to prefcribe them harder terms, and force them to 
 deliver that, with what other places fh<r pleafed, and revive ma- 
 ny pretenfions of the crown of England, gave an unparalleled 
 example of her moderation t} . This had fuch an effect, that 
 the point was immediately given up, and the following article 
 makes the feventeenth of the preliminaries they agreed on. 
 
 " His moft Chrillian majefty promifes, to caufe all the fcrti- 
 " locations of the town of Dunkirk, the harbour, and Ryf- 
 <c banck, and others depending on the fame, withoot any ex- 
 '* ception, to be demoliflied at his own charges ; fo that one 
 " half of the fortifications be demoliflied, and one half of the 
 " harbour filled up within two months, and the other half of 
 " the faid fortifications razed, and the other half of the faid 
 ** harbour filled up in two other months, the whole to the fa- 
 *' tisfaction of the queen of Great Britain, and the lords the 
 " States-general of the United Provinces; and it (hall never 
 " be allowed to re-eftabliih the faid fortifications, or render the 
 '* harbour navigable, directly or indirectly r ." 
 
 I have taken particular notice of this, in order to fhew how 
 unanimous all parties in this nation have ever been, as to their 
 fentiments on this head ; for it was lord Somers who moved 
 this affair in the upper houfe: and therefore, the meafure ought 
 to be confidered as a direct proof of the difpofition of the Whig 
 miniftry, as the inferting a like chufe in the treaty of Utrecht, 
 plainly (hews the fenfe of Tory minifters ; whence I conclude, 
 that there muft be a total revolution of parties in this country, 
 
 <> Complete hiftory of Europe, for trie year 1-09, p. 140. T Tliefs 
 
 articles miy be found in all the general co!lefthr:s; panicuLiily in the CumpL'e 
 hilbry of Europe before- mentioned, p. MJ. 
 
 before
 
 2ir5 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 before there can arife a fet of men capable of weakening this 
 part of our fecurity, in any refpect, by consenting to, or even 
 conniving at the reftoring this port, fo fatal to the commerce of 
 the two maritime powers. To thefe points, I fhall add the in- 
 quiry into the conduct of the miniftry in the late invafion, 
 which was juflified by the refolutions of the houfe of commons, 
 and the diligence of the admiralty commended '. 
 
 Before we proceed to the operations of the year 1709, it may 
 not be amifs to take notice of a great naval promotion made by 
 her majefty, for this reafon, becaufe it was one of the nobleft 
 teftimonies of her majefty's concern and regard towards fuch of 
 her fubjedts as had ferved with extraordinary diligence and acti- 
 vity at fea j for the poft of rear-admiral of Great Britain having 
 been vacant fince the death of Sir Cloudefley Shovel, her maje- 
 fty, of her mere grace and favour, without the interpofition of 
 any of her minifters, beftowed it on Sir JOHN LEAKE, with 
 this remarkable compliment, " That fhe was put in mind of it 
 * by the voice of the people.*' 
 
 Early in the fpring, lord Durfley, who commanded in the 
 Soundings, was at fea with his fquadron, and took feveral prizes 
 from the French ; and on the 22d of February, his lordfhip 
 having only with him the Kent, Plymouth, Monk, and Litch- 
 ficld, fell in with eleven fail twelve leagues from Scilly. This 
 happened about three in the morning, and their lights being 
 feen, his lordfliip made the fignal for wearing, which was obey- 
 ed, though not without imminent danger of falling amongft the 
 enemy ; for this proved to be M. du Guai Trouin's fquadron. 
 However, through the darknefs of the weather, his lordfhip 
 miffed them ; and then ftretching away for Plymouth, captain 
 Stuart of the Dartmouth, whom his lordfhip had fent in a little 
 before with a prize, informed him, that he had been chaced by 
 nine large fhips off the Lizard, and that they were the fame, in 
 his judgment, which had fallen in with, and engaged captain 
 Toilet in his pafiage from Ireland . This affair having made 
 a great noife, and doing extraordinary honour to the bravery of 
 
 s Burnrt, Oldrrixon, complete hiftory of Europe, annali of queen Anne,' 
 Chandler's debates, trc. r Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 711. The 
 
 complete hiftory of Europe, for 1705, Annals of queen Aune. 
 
 our
 
 o F QJJ EExANNE. 217 
 
 Our Englifli officers, I (hall give a particular account of it from 
 the captain's own papers. 
 
 On the 25th of February, captain Toilet, in the Aflurance, 
 of 70 guns, with the Sunderland, of 60, Hampshire and 
 Anglefea, of 50 guns each, failed from Corke, and being joined 
 by the Afliflance, a 50 gun fhip, as alfo with the trade from 
 Kingfale, continued his voyage for England. On the fecond of 
 March, about five in the morning, being then eight leagues 
 S. S. W. of the Lizard, he faw four fail Handing after him. 
 About feven, they came within random fliot j whereupon he 
 made the lignal for drawing into a line of battle*, and another 
 for the merchant- men to bear away as they bed could for their 
 own fecurity ; fome of them, with the Angiefea and the Sunder- 
 land, having before loft company. About eight, the enemy 
 bore down in a line, and when they were come within mufket 
 /hot, they hoifted French colours. 
 
 The French commodore, who was in a fhip of 70 guns or up- 
 wards, came ranging along the larboard fide of the Aflurance, 
 and fell aboard her, fo that they engaged yard-arm and yard- 
 arm, for the fpace of almoft half an hour ; during which, the 
 Frenchman plied captain Toilet fo warmly with fmall fhotj as 
 to cut otfmoft of his marines and feamen that were quartered 
 on deck. They then put oil, and fell on board again on the lee 
 fiJe of the Affurance, fir ft ranging on her bow, and then on 
 her quarter, while Ihe fired her upper deck, and part of her 
 lower deck guns, with fuch vigour, that fhe obliged the enemy 
 to filler off, and ft.uul away a-head towards the merchant-men. 
 The three other ihips, which were of 40 or 5? guns, then, 
 came ranging along-iijc; the AiTurance, firing feveral broad- 
 fides into her, and after that bore away as the former. Ths 
 damage fhe received was very great ; her fides were Ihot through 
 and through in manv places j her fhrouds and back-ftays cut to 
 pieces, as likewife her main and falfe ftay ; which, if not time- 
 ly feen, had occafioned the lofs of her mail. Her fore-fail ani 
 fore-top-fail were torn to pieces ; her beft bower cut away ; one 
 of the flukes of the fpare anchor (hot off, and her fmali bower, 
 by the enemies boarding, drove through her bow. All pofllbls 
 difpacch was made in fitting her rigging, which, with the bending 
 of a new fore-fail,and fore-top-fail, took up fome tiir.e. After this 
 VOL. III. E e
 
 iT8' NAVAL H I S t~ O K Y 
 
 the fhipsof war all bore down, to fecure what merchant fliips they 
 could, expecYmg to have engaged the enemy again ; but they de- 
 clined it. The captain of the Aflurance, who had been four 
 months fick, and had been carried upon deck in a chair, was 
 wounded ; the firft lieutenant was {hot in the leg, which being 
 drefTed, he then returned to his charge upon deck ; the fecond 
 lieutenant was killed, as were feveral French officers, whom they 
 brought from Ireland ; but more of the latter were wounded. 
 In the whole,- the Aflurance had five and twenty killed, and 
 three and fifty wounded, and fomeof tbefe died of their wounds; 
 for the enemy making their chief attempt on her, {he had been 
 feverely treated ; the Hampshire had only twa killed, and ele- 
 ven wounded ; t'he Afliftanee eight killed, and one and twenty 
 xvounded, aaiong the latter was captain Tudor, her commander, 
 who died afterwards of his wounds u . 
 
 M. du Guai Trouin, who commanded the French fqundron^ 
 had abundance of men killed and wounded, and took only five 
 merchant-men, which it was believed he fent into Breft. In the 
 memoirs, which go under his name, it is -Acknowledged, that 
 our officers did their duty extremely well j that not only his 
 own flvip was very roughly handled by captain Toilet, but alfc^ 
 that the Amazon, and the Glory, that were with him, met the 
 Hke reception from the Hampflme and the Affiftance. As to 
 the five prizes, he fays, that two of them were fent to 8t^ 
 Maloe's, one got into Calais, and the other two foundered ort 
 the Englifli coafl w . 
 
 " It is amazing that Mr. Secretary Bnrchet fhouJJ commit fo grofs a mifLke 
 as lie his done, with refpecl to the dates in this engagement. He tells us, p. 713, 
 that captaia Toilet failed from Corke on the ijth of April ; and immediately 
 it'tcr, he informs ivs, that the engagement happened on the 6th ; but he dots not 
 t.MI us of what month,, though, from the former account, it muft hive been 
 May. Mr. Lcdiard faw, and corrtftul this miflake ; hut without bringing us 
 any authority, though he happens to be right in his conjeiftare. We do nor, 
 however, trull to that method. In the London Gazette, N. 4521, is a letter 
 from on board the AfTurance, with jn ace ant of this tranfa(fHon, dated in Ha- 
 ni oz;, March 3, and therein the engagement is cxprf*Iy faid to have happened 
 ttie day before. 
 
 w The French journals of thofe limes, acknowledge the fame thing, and 
 mvn, that their fhips were very roughly treated; and that, if our fquadron had 
 *xcu flrougtr, it would have been di.'lkult for them to efcapc.
 
 OF -QjJ E E N ANNE, 
 
 Lord Durfley, on the 2oth of March, ordered three (hips to 
 cruize off Breft, to gain intelligence, and in the mean time the 
 Salifbury took a French Weil India fhip,, richly laden ; but the 
 nioft valuable part of her effects were immediately taken out, 
 becaufe flie proved fo leaky, that it was fufpscled (he might 
 founder at fea. On the 291!!, his lordfhip had orders to fee the 
 Lisbon fleet of merchantmen fafe into the fea ; but his lordfhip 
 having .received certain intelligence, that M. du Gusi Tiouin. 
 was then cruizing at the diftance of about thirty-five -leagues 
 from Scilly, his.lordfbip propofed to leave the trade and tranf- 
 ports, under the protection of Tome Dutch men of war that 
 were expected from Portfmouth, and refolved to go himfelf in 
 fearch of the enemy j but thefe Dutch Ihips of war not arriving 
 in time, his lordthip thought it better to comply with his orders. 
 He accordingly efcorted the Lifbon fleet as for as he was direct- 
 ed, and had fcarce parted from thero, on the pth of April, be- 
 fore he difcovered the Achilles, commanded by M. du Guai 
 Trouin, and the Glory, who, the day before, had taken the 
 Briftol man of war, a fifty-gun fhip , his lordlhip immediately 
 gave them chace, recovered the Briftol, which, by a (hot in her 
 bread-room, funk afterwards; but all the men, except twenty, 
 were faved. The Achilles, much mattered, efcapcd by her 
 fwift failing, but the Le Gloire, a French man of war of 44 
 guns and 312 men was taken ; his lordfhip having about feventy 
 men killed and wounded in the action x . On the 26th of April, 
 two fmall fhips were taken, and on the 7th of May, a privateer, 
 carrying 14 guns, and 100 men; but the provilions through, 
 all the thips then growing very ihort, his lordfhip found it ne- 
 xrelTary to return to Plymouth on the I3th, with his fquadron, 
 which confitied at that time of one third and feven fourth rates, 
 .and there received the unwelcpme news, that her rrtajefty's fhip 
 
 * London GiizrttP 3 N. 45-;o. All our public acc.MJnrs cell the French man 
 of war taken -in this engagement, Lc Gioirc ; hut it appezrj -fjom the Frrnch 
 writers, thst ihe (rue n.tne of it was, Lc Giorieux. In the account publiihcd 
 by the admiralty, it appeirs, that the Briftol, captain Gore, wai taken in her 
 pafTjgs from Plymouth to Lilbon, after a very warm Jifpute, in which ihe had 
 /evenly men killed and wounded. The French man of war was taken by cap- 
 t-\n Thomas Matthe*s, afterwards admiral and :i,n,.T.;flJer in chief in ihe Me- 
 
 E e 2 th
 
 220 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 the Sweepftakes, of 32 guns, haJ been taken by two French 
 privateers, each of which was of greater force than that frigate- 
 
 To balance this piece of ill news, there arrived, about the 
 fame time, advice, that four French men of war had attacked 
 fome New England fhips, laden with mafts, under the convoy 
 of captain Walter Ryddcl, in the Falmouth, a (hip of 50 guns, 
 about twenty.fotir leagues from Scilly. This happened on the 
 iSth of May, and the. French commodore, a fixty-gun fhip 
 attempting to board the Falmouth, captain Ryddel faved him 
 the trouble, by filling his head-fails, and laying her on board 
 under her boltfprit, directly athwart her hawfer, and at the 
 fame time raked her fore and aft with his cannon. The enemy 
 continued in this pofture about an hour and half, during which 
 time he entered many men, but they were repulfed. How- 
 ever, the number of men on board her being much greater than 
 thofe in the Falmouth, it occafioned various turns : but at 
 length he thought fit to retire, having firft cut all the laniards 
 of the Falmouth's fore and mizen fhrouds, believing it might 
 prevent her following to refcue the convoys, which the enemy 
 flood after. Notwithftanding this, captain Ptyddel made fail 
 after him with fuch diligence, as enabled him, notwithftanding 
 the bad condition he was in, to preferve them all, and to bring 
 them fafe into Plymouth. In this aQion the Falmouth had 
 thirteen men killed, and fifty- fix wounded. The captain him- 
 felf was wounded in the right leg, and had feveral other hurts ; 
 r.nd the fecond lieutenant, and Mr. Lawfon, a volunteer, were 
 fhot through the body ; the Falmouth had twenty thoufand 
 pounds, New England money, on board her at the time of the 
 engagement*. 
 
 On the very fame day, application being made to his excel- 
 lency Thomas earl of Wharton, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 
 iignifying that two French privateers had entered Bantry Bay, 
 and furprized the Ruth of London, a "Weft India ihip, fuppof- 
 ed to be worth 25,000!. at leaft ; his lordihip ordered captain 
 Camock, in the Speedwell, then in the harbour of Kingfale, to 
 
 T See the LonJon Gaiett', N. 4.; I?. Complete hiflr>ryof Europe, for the 
 y-r i -09,- p. i3j. Burchef, Ar.rals of queen Anne: tut al! ihefe accounts 
 -re t-k n from that in the Giz^ae. 
 
 proceed
 
 OF QjJ E E N ANNE. 221 
 
 proceed immediately in queft of the faid privateers and their 
 prize. lie accordingly failed directly for Beer-haven, at the 
 very entrance of which he met one of the privateers and 
 the prize, making the bell of their way to France. The prixo 
 was immediately retaken, on boa"rd which the captain put his 
 lieutenant with forty men, and then continued the chace all 
 night ; but finding the privateer had given him the flip, he ths 
 next morning entered Bantry Bay, and took the other privateer, 
 with thirty men on board, mod of them Irilh, whom he fent 
 to the prifon of Corke, in order to their being tried for high, 
 treafon z . Three weeks afterwards, the fame alert officer had 
 the good luck to furprife a French privateer of twelve guns and 
 ninety men, on the very point of taking three merchantmen, 
 richly laden, all of whom he brought fafe into the port of Lon- 
 donderry a . 
 
 It is now time to return to the proceedings of Sir Georre 
 Eyng, whom we left in the harbour of Port Mahon, where 
 he was extremely diftreffcd for want of naval ftores, which, 
 were on board the Arrogant, a fhip that had been miffing from 
 his arrival in that harbour, in queft of which he detached (hips 
 to Majorca, and to the port of Cagliari in Sardinia; and at the 
 fame time difpatched orders to Sir Ldward "VVhitakcr, who 
 was ftill on the coaft of Italy, to join him with his fquadron, 
 in cafe the emperor's troops, that were defigned for Catalonia, 
 were not as yet ready. All the month of February, 1709, was 
 fpent in tedious expectations ; but at hit, about the middle of 
 M.irch, Sir Edward Whitaker arrived, with about 3500 men, 
 in tranfports under his convoy, to the great joy of Sir George 
 Byng and general Stanhope, who had long waited for thefc 
 forces, in order to attempt fomething for the relief of Alicanr, 
 then befieged by an army of 12,000 men, and for the fafety of 
 which, king Charles had exprefled unufual concern. As this 
 city and caitle had been taken, as we before have fhewn, by 
 the remarkable valour of the Britifh feamen ; as the prefent 
 lu a ge of it was one of the moft remarkable actions in this age $ 
 and as the attempt made for its relief cannot well be underftood. 
 
 * See Lon.1. Giz. N. 4544- Pointer's chronologies! hUlory, vo!. ii. p. 621. 
 1 See the LonJoi. Gaz;e, N. 455&, 
 
 without;
 
 22Z NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 without it -, I fhall take the liberty of giving a fuccintfc account 
 of the whole affair, from the time the place was inverted, to 
 its furrender b . 
 
 ALICANT is a city and port, commanded by a ftrong 
 caftle, funding on a rock, at a fmall distance from the fea, 
 and about fixty-eight miles fouth from the capital city of Va- 
 lencia. There was in it a pretty good garrifon, under the 
 command of major-general Richards, which made an obftinate 
 defence againft a very numerous army of the enemy, with a 
 very large train of heavy artillery, and excellently fupplied with 
 ammunition. At laft, the city being abfolutely untenable, the 
 garrifon refolved to retire into the caftle, which had hitherto 
 been efteemed impregnable. They funk three cifterns in the 
 folid rock, and then, wkh incredible labour filled them with 
 water. The troops that retired into it, were Sir Charles Ho- 
 tham's regiment, and that of colonel Sibourg, generally called 
 the French regiment, becaufe it was compofed of refugees. 
 After fome progrefs made in this fecond fiege, the French faw 
 that it was impoflible to do any great matter in the ufual way, 
 and therefore, contrary to all expectation, refolded upon a 
 work excefiively laborious, and, in all outward appearance, im- 
 pradticable $ which was that of mining through the folid rock, 
 in order to blow up the caftle and its garrifon into the air toge- 
 ther. At firft major-general Richards, and all the officers in 
 the place, looked upon the enemy's fcheme as a thing utterly 
 impoflible to be accomplifhed, and were fecretly well pleafed 
 with their undertaking, in hopes it would give time for our fleet 
 to come to their relief ; yet, this did not hinder them from doing 
 all that lay in their power to incommode the workmen, and, 
 at Jaft to countermine them c . 
 
 The befiegers, however, wrought fo inceffantly, and brought 
 fuch numbers of peasants to affift them in their labour*, that 
 ihey having, in about twelve weeks time, finifhed the works 
 thought proper for this fervice, by very experienced engineers, 
 and charged them with 1500 barrels of powder, feveral large 
 
 t> Bnrchet's naval hiftory, p. 758. Beyer's life of queen Anne, p. 39?. 
 
 lyiercure hi'.toriquc et poiitique, tome xlvi. p. 374. c Burchet 
 
 wfc jupra. Tite complete hiftory of Europe, for r?;p, p, 118. Pointer's 
 
 ' :a! lAiilory, v >! I, r>. 614. 
 
 becimsj
 
 F QjJ E E N ANNE. 22 3 
 
 beam;?, iron bars, and crows, and other utenfils of deftruclion, 
 lummoned the caftle to furrender, March aoth, mod lolemnly 
 affuring a fafe and honourable convoy to Barcelona, with bag 
 and baggage for every perfon in it, if they fubmitted within 
 three days, and prevented the ruin of the caftle ; but threaten- 
 ed otherwife, no mercy fhould be fhewn, if any might acci- 
 dentally efcape the blow : and, to demorrftrate the reality of 
 their dcfign, they defired the garrifon might depute three, or 
 more engineers, with other gentlemen of competent ikill, to 
 view their works, and make a faithful report of what they faw. 
 Accordingly, two field officers went to the mine, and were al- 
 lowed the liberty of making what fcrutiny they pleafed; upon 
 which they told the governor, that, if their judgment failed 
 them not, the explofion would carry up the whole caftle to the 
 eaftermoft battery, unlefs it took vent in their own countermine, 
 or vein ; but, at leaft, they conceived it would carry away the 
 fea-battery, the lodging-rooms in the caAle-clofe, iome of the 
 chambers cut for foldiers barracks, and, they very much feared, 
 might affect the great ciftern *. 
 
 A grand council of war was called upon this ; the French 
 meffage delivered, and the engineers made their report ; the 
 beficged acknowledged their want of water ; but believing the. 
 fleet might be fenfible of their diftrefs, and confequently under 
 fome concern for their relief, their unanimous refolution was, 
 to commit themfelves to the providence of God, and, what- 
 ever fate attended them, to (land the Bringing of the mine. 
 The French general, and Spanifh officers, expreflcd the utmofl 
 concern at this anfwer, and the fecond night of the three al- 
 lowed, fent to divert them from what they called, and it is very 
 likely thought, inexcufable obftinacy, offering the fame ho- 
 nourable articles as before, even upon that Inte compliance; 
 but thefe fttil were rejected by the befieged. The fatal third 
 night approaching, and no fleet feen, the French fent their Lift 
 fummons, and withal an affurance, that their mine was primed, 
 and fhould be fprung by fix o'clock the next morning; ami 
 though, as they faw, all hope and profpecl of relief was vain, 
 
 d Beyer's life of queen Anne, p. 393. Taubman's mem; irs of t!ie Bri. 
 lifb fleets and f^uadrons in the Mediterranean, p, 31, 33, Annal* of queen 
 Ann*. 
 
 jet
 
 124 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 yet there was room for fafety fi.il!, and the terms already pro- 
 pofed was in their power to accept. The befieged perfifted in 
 their adherence to the refult of their firft council, and the 
 French met their ufual anfwer again ; therefore, as a prologue 
 to their intended tragedy, they ordered all the inhabitants of 
 that quarter to withdraw from their houfes before five o'clock 
 the enfuing morning. The befieged, in the mean time, kept a 
 general guard, devoting themfelves to their meditations. The 
 hiajor-general, colonel Sibourg, and lieutenant-colonel Thor- 
 nicroft, of Sir Charles Hotham's regiment, fat together in 
 the governor's ufunl lodging-room ; other officers cantoned 
 themfelves as their tempers inclined them, to pafs the melan- 
 choly night e . 
 
 At length, day appearing, the governor was informed, that 
 the inhabitants were flying in crowds to the weftermofl part of 
 the town.' The governor, attended by the above-mentioned 
 gentlemen, and about five or fix other officers, went to the 
 weft battery, to inform himfelf better. After he had remain- 
 ed there about a quarter of an hour, lieutenant-colonel Thor- 
 nicroft delired him to remove, as being unable to do any fer- 
 vice there ; he and colonel Sibourg both anfwered, that no 
 danger was to be apprehended there, more than in any other 
 place; and that there they would wait the event. The lieute- 
 nant-colonel remained, bccaufe his fuperiors did, and other of- 
 ficers imitated the fame example : but the hour of five being 
 now confuierably paft, the corporal's guard cried out, that the 
 train was fired, obierving fomc finoke from the lighted matches, 
 and other coinbuftible matter near it, from whence the fame 
 afcended to the centincls above. The governor and field-officers 
 were then urged to retreat, but refufed. 
 
 The mine at hft blew up ; the rock opened and (hut ; the 
 whole mountain felt the convulfion ; the governor and fkld- 
 officers, with their company, ten guns, and two mortars, were 
 buried in the abyfs; the walls of the cattle (hook, part of the 
 great ciftern fell, another ciftern almoft clofed, and the rock 
 fhut a man to his neck in its cliff, who lived many hours in that 
 af9!ting pofture. About thirty-fix centinels and women were 
 
 Mercurc hiftorjque et politique, tome xlvi. p. 471. 
 
 fwallowed
 
 O F QjJ E E N ANN . 225 
 
 fivallowed in different quarters, whofe dying groans were heard, 
 fome of them afrer the fourth mournful day. Many houfcs of 
 he town were overwhelmed in their ruins, and the caftle fuf- 
 fered much ; bur, that it wears any form at nil, was owing to 
 the vent which the cxplofion forced through the veins of the 
 rock, and the countermine. After the lofs of the chief officers, 
 the government fell of cburfe to lieutenant-colonel Dalbeumej 
 rather as I apprehend D'Albon, of Sibourg's regiment, who 
 drew out a detachment from the whole garrifon, and with it 
 made a defperate fally, to fhew how little he was moved at 
 their thunder. The bombs from the caftle played on the towii 
 more violently, and the (hot galled every corner of their ftreets , 
 which marks of their refentment they continued till the arrivr.l 
 of our fleet, which they had expected fo longf. 
 
 The Spanifh and French historians fpeak of this ab!on with 
 all imaginable regard to the gallant defence made by the be- 
 fieged. The Spanim army was commanded by the chevalier 
 d'Asfeldt, \vlio was then in the French fervice, and looked up- 
 on as the very belt officer they ever fent to king Philip. Hi 
 was an excellent engineer, faw at once what was to be done, 
 and having formed his plan, pitrfued it fteadily, and nccom- 
 plifhed it generally. Under him commanded don Pedro Ron- 
 quillo, a Spani(h general of diftinguifhed merit. D'Asfeldc 
 contrived and directed the mine, Ronquillo raifed and defended 
 the entrenchments between the caftle and the fea. Both punc- 
 tually performed their parts, though both were difficult. IT A - 
 feldt was very ftricl and auftere ; the Spaniards, even of his 
 own party, thought him cruel; yet, upon this occafion, he not 
 only (hewed himfelf generous, but humane. He ufed every 
 r-rgument poffible to perfuade major-general Richards to fpar 
 himfelf and his brave garrifon, and deplored their lof> wit;* 
 tendernels and aftecUon. The Spaniards magnified th, . 
 
 f This Vn:.;or genera! Ri:' ' an Eng'ifhrnan, was an rffi<^r in the 
 
 king of Sp , and of the Romifh re'igion ; I \ -ti-'n 
 
 Mm w : .t!i r, c of don Jasn Ricardo j thcrs pLfifLcd, bcGicithe 
 
 citi.c-rs meu;iji!-\: in theux". 
 a I the niint;< 
 
 VOT. C
 
 NAVAL HISTORY" 
 
 conduft, and called the ruined caftle, the monument of Englifti 
 courage g . 
 
 On the 5th of April, about eight o'clock in the morning,. 
 Sir Edward Whitaktr's fquadron arrived, and attempted the 
 relief of the caftle ; his ihips were the Defiance, Northumber- 
 land, EiTex, York, and Dunkirk. The laft went within the 
 line, as drawing lefs water than the other, in three and a half 
 fathom j then laying her broadfide to the eaft part of the town, 
 began to cannonade a. battery of four guns, and two others 
 raifed under the hill, each mounted with two guns, and from 
 the mole-head, a forty-two pounder. The wind having blown,, 
 frefh the night before, and' an unhappy fwell rolling in from 
 tiie eafhvard at eleven > the great fhips were obliged to weigh 
 their anchors, making our of cannon-fhot. The Dunkirk ha- 
 ving much of her rigging damaged, and her fmall bower cut 
 between one and two, fell fail a-ftern, lying expofed to the; 
 enemy's fhot, bombs, and carcaffes, till three in the afternoon, 
 at which time, by winding the right way, fhe with much diffi- 
 culty got off. The weather continuing very bad till the 7th, 
 and it not being known to what e;ctremities the garrifon might 
 be reduced, and the enemy increafing confiderably in ftrengtb, 
 the general fent a flag of truce a- more, with propofals for fur- 
 rendering the caftle h ; which being agreed to y and our men 
 embarked, the admiral (Sir George Syng) proceeded with the 
 troops towards Barcelona, having detached fome (hips to cruize- 
 for the Turkey fleet j others, with tranfports for corn to Bar- 
 5ary ; and the Suffolk, Humber, and Ipfwieh, which he left to 
 clean at Port Mahon, were under orders to proceed to Genoa 
 and Final, in order to embarking and tranfporting the German 
 troops from thofe places to Catalonia. 
 
 In his way to Barcelona he landed general Stanhope, with 
 the troops, at Terragona, and returning with the garrifon ot 
 the caftle of Alicant to Port Mahon, joined fome other fhips 
 to thofe he firft intended for Genoa and Final, and fent them 
 
 ReflrDinns roilifaires et politiqnes p?r Ic 3VI. <le Santa Crnz, tome viii. p. ;:, 
 &, 95. tome ix. p. 197. Memoires ilc M. de St. Philippe pour fcrvir a la hith.ue 
 rf'Kfpagnc, tome ii. p. 118, 143. h Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 75 5 
 
 Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 415. The complete hift. of Lurojic, 
 *'-'* '7^9, p. iiji. Lond. Gaz; it^. 4544. 
 
 thither
 
 CT "Qjti E E N ANN E. 227 
 
 thither under the command of Sir Edward "VVhita'ker ; but di- 
 rected him iirfl to proceed to Leghorn, for a fupply of provi- 
 fions, which was at this time very much wanted. The few 
 (hips he had with him at Port Mahon, he was cleaning as fait 
 as poffible, that fo they might cruize againlt the enemy, who 
 had taken the Faukon, a fhip of thirty-two gun?, off Cape de 
 Gat, in her pafiage to Lifbon, from whence he had ordered 
 Sir John Jennings to join him, with the fhips under his com- 
 mand, who was off Gibraltar the 21 ft of May, with fixteen 
 inen of war, English and Dutch, and about forty tranfpon-, 
 laden with corn, as alfo provifions and ftores for the fleet in 
 the Mediterranean, and arrived at Port Mahon the 28th ; from 
 whence he guarded the corn lliips to Barcelona, and was joined 
 the 8th of June by Sir George Byng, with the reft of the Eng- 
 lifli and Dutch men of war ; and there Sir Edward Whitaker 
 arrived with his frjuadron from Italy, and above two thoufar.a 
 recruits for the army in Catalonia. 
 
 A council of war being held, it was determined, thr.t fince 
 the king of Spain, as the .pcrfture of his affairs tlveo flood, coulJ 
 not come to any resolution relating to the fleet's abiding in the 
 reduction of thofe parts of Spain, ftill in the poffeffion of the 
 enemy, the admiral Ihould fail to a flat ion ten leagues fouth of 
 Cape Toulon, not only for intercepting the enemy's trade, but 
 to alarm them all that might be; but fince it was neceffary that 
 a fquadron (houkl be on the coaft of Portugal, Sir John Jen- 
 nings was fent thither with one fhip of the fecond rate, four of 
 the third, five of the fourth, and three of the fifth '. 
 
 Sir George Byng arrived before Toulon the 2.1 (i of June, 
 in which harbour he faw only eight fhips rigged, and one large 
 tnan of war on the careen, the reft being difarmed.; which f.i- 
 tisfied him, that the informations he -had formerly received 
 were true, that the enemy did not intend, in fa<ft was not able, 
 to bring out any fleet that year ; but were refolded to content 
 -themfelves with fending abroad fmall fquadrons to protect their 
 corn-fleets k . After having thus infulied Toulon, he in a Ihort 
 
 i Hifloire miiitaire, tome vi. p. 153. Burchet's rava! hiftory, b. v. r. 29. 
 Annals of queen Anne. k Burchet's ravaj hift. p. 759. Mcrciua 
 
 ,>riy e ct puiitiquc, tome xlvii p. Tip. J.ond. Gz. X. 4567. 
 i- f 2
 
 aj8 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 time returned to Barcelona road, where he found moft of the 
 fhips arrived from the fervices upon which he had fent them; 
 and fome of them, particularly the Centurion and Dunkirk, 
 had been fp fortunate as to make a great many prizes. The 
 court of Spain was, at the inftance of cardinal Grimani, very 
 uefirous to have the reduction of Sicily attempted, and was in- 
 formed by general Stanhope, that it was her majefty's pleafure, 
 part of the fleet fhould affift in the defign upon Cadiz ; but the 
 Dutch fhips having been fcparated in bad weather, and ours 
 being too few to anfwer thefe and many other fervices the court 
 propofed, he fufpended for fome time the coming to any refo- 
 lution, being every day in expectation of the fhips of the 
 fhtes-general. 
 
 Bat at length, that the fervice might not faffer through de- 
 lay, the admiral formed a difpofition of her majefty's fhips, and 
 iippointetl Sir Edward Whitaker for the fervice of Sicily, while 
 lie hitnfelf designed to proceed on the other with general Stan- 
 hope. The 26th of July, the court of Spain having notice of 
 the enemies penetrating into the Lampourdan, with intention, 
 -as they apprehended, to befiege Girone ; and there being a 
 want of fhips to prqtedl the coafts of Catalonia} and hinder the 
 enemies having f applies by fea, as alfo a fquadron to bring over 
 ihc prizes laden with corn from Porto Farina, which they 
 were in great want of in that principality, and fome fhips to 
 go to Italy, for money to fubfirt the troops ; the court feemed 
 to lay afide the defign on Sicily, and the admiral fent five fhips 
 for the velTels laden with corn ', which have been before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The warmth, impatience, and irrefolution of the court at 
 Barcelona, obliged the admirals to drop both thefe great de- 
 figns ; for, without regard to what had been refolved, or even 
 for what themfelves had demanded before, they were continu- 
 ally defiring fomething new to be done fur them, without ever 
 confidering, that it was irnpoffible our fhips could perform one 
 fervice, without neglecting another. Thus, upon an appre- 
 henfion that the enemy would attack Girone, the Englifh fhips 
 
 ' Bn:-chet's r.ava! hiflory, p. 750, 7 <5 C . L-nchn Gazette, N. 4571, 
 
 .' 
 
 were.
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 229 
 
 jyere de fired to intercept their fubfiftence. Soon after, they 
 were diilrefled for want of provifions themfelves, and then the 
 mod necefiary thing that could be done, t was to fend for the 
 prizes laden with corn from Porto Farina. By that time this 
 was refolved on, money grew fcarce, and then his Catholic 
 majefty hoped, that the Englifh fhips would go and fetch it im- 
 mediately from Italy. The manner in which thefe demands 
 were made, and the apprehenfions the officers were under of 
 complaints being fent home, induced them to comply with every 
 thing, as far as was in their power; fo that of necefiity, as the 
 moft diftant and leaft practicable, the expedition againll Sicily 
 was laid afide. Our admirals, however, ftill flattered themfelves 
 that fomething might be done at Cadiz, where it was known 
 the people were in want of bread, and were, befide?, highly 
 difcontented with the French government m . 
 
 On the 27th of July, the Dutch fqtiadron arrived from Leg- 
 horn, upon which Sir George Byng called a council of war, and 
 Jaid before them the queen's orders, the defires of his Catho- 
 lic mnjefty, and the project formed by themfelves for attempt- 
 ing C.idiz ; but the commander in chief of the Dutch (hips ex- 
 cufed himfelf from any fhare in it; declaring, that they were 
 viftualled only till the end of AuguiV, which difabled him from 
 undertaking any fervice beyond the 2oth of that month". On 
 the 28th of the month laft mentioned, three Englifh. men of 
 war, the NalTau, Ludlow Caftle, and Antelope, failed for Barce- 
 lona, having on board a great fum of money, for the fervice of 
 his Catholic majefty . Jt was then agreed, that Sir George 
 1") ng fliould proceed to Cadiz, and the Dutch fliips be employ- 
 ed in other fervices ; which, however, could not be executed ; 
 and therefore Sir George Byng refolved to return home to Eng- 
 land, having taken on board the fleet general Stanhope, with 
 
 It was a gnat misfmune to king Charles, that he had no body about him 
 capable of giving him good advice, or of confidering what was fit to be under- 
 taken in the fituation his affairs were in. This fingle miflake at grafping at every 
 tiling, when fcarce any thing was in his power, proved the ruin of all his under-, 
 takings ; though, as this hifloiy fully (hews, our fea officers did for him all he 
 could expect, and more a great deal than the officers of any other nation would 
 have done, as is evident frm " The impartial inqnjry into the management of 
 ' the war with Spain," and all the hiflorirs of thofe times. 
 
 Biuchet's nav.il i.iftciy, p. 760. London G zettf, N. 4580". 
 
 coloncj
 
 colonel Harrifon's regiment of foot, and a Spanifh regiment of 
 dragoons, whom he landed fafely at Gibraltar on the 3jlt p . 
 On the 25th of September he failed for England, arriving at 
 .St. Helen's, in the Royal Anne, with the Torbay, Chichefter, 
 Colchefter, and Antelope, and a fmali prize taken by the Chi- 
 chefler, in her way from Gibraltar, on the jjth of October <>. 
 
 Sir Edward "VVhitaker was left with a pretty ftrong fquadron 
 Jn the Medkerranean, where, in the Bay of Rofes, he difcover- 
 d the grand convoy, intended for the French forces in the 
 LampounJan, which confided of forty large veffels, laden with 
 corn, and other provifions, of which he took thirty, and hin- 
 dered the reft from putting to fea ; by which the enemy was 
 greatly diftreffed, and king Charles's army fo happily fupp'iect 
 with provifions, as to be able to keep the field, which other- 
 vife they could not have dene r . And having thus attended our 
 ileets in the Mediterranean, as long as they were employed in 
 any confiderable fervice, we (hall now return to the exploits 
 performed in the Soundings by lord Durfley, with the fquadron 
 under his command. 
 
 Sir George Byng, in his return from the Mediterranean, ha- 
 ving obtained an exaft detail of the ftrength, fhtion, and de- 
 figns of M. du Guai Trouin, fent an account of it to the lord 
 high-admiral, who immediately difpatched it to the lord Durfley, 
 juft returned from cruizing for a corn fleet, which the French 
 expected from the Baltic. His lord (hip's inftrudtions were, to 
 give the enemy all the disturbance he could, and to take parti- 
 cular care of the Weft India trade, the intercepting of which 
 v/ns the fervice that was principally defigned by M. <Ju Guai 
 Trouin. On the ijth of October, his lordlhip failed from Ply- 
 mouth, with one third rate, and two fourths, having before de- 
 tached captain Vincent with fix Chips, to fecure the Vv'cii India 
 fleet; and foon after, his lordihip joined that detachment, by 
 
 P London Gazette, N. 4585, 4*90, 4594. <> London Gazette, 
 
 N. 46oj, 4<5o<S. Mcrcurc hiftorique et politique, torn, xlvii p. 443, 556. 
 
 r I t:nd this put in a much ftror.^er light by Tome Dutch writers, who tell u;, 
 that admir.,1 Whitiker, with fifteen fail of men of war, entered the By of 
 Rolef, and dcflroyed fifty Frsnch thips, laden wirh corn. They add, that the 
 a-.'.mirnl was inclined to aflift his Catholic mijefty in reducing Rofes, which 
 wml'i have left the enemy without a Tea-port in Catalonia; but his advice was 
 pet ftlloweJ, which was nuich to the prejudice of king Charles's alFJrs. 
 
 > which
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 231 
 
 which he effectually prevented the French from fucceeding in 
 their defign. On the laft of Oxftober, his lordfhip being then 
 oil" Scilly, took a large French (hip from Guadaloupe*, and a 
 Jmall privateer. Three weeks after, he met with the Barba- 
 lioes fleet, and having fafliciently flrengthened their convoy^ 
 detached two frigates for intelligence, into the road of Brcfr, 
 that he might be the better enabled to undertake further fcr- 
 vice. 
 
 While his lordfhip was thus employed, there happened,, in 
 the latter end of November, fuch an accident to one of the 
 (hips of his fquadron, as very will deferves our notice. Cap- 
 twin Hughes in the Winchefter, chaced a fhip, which proved to> 
 be a Dutch privateer, whofe commander being required to 
 ftrike, he, inftead of paying that rcfpect due to the flag of Eng- 
 land, fired both great and fmall fhot into him ; but being an- 
 fwered in the fame manner, after an obstinate difpute (though it 
 was very well known the Winchefter was an Englifh fhip of 
 war) the commanding officer was killed, and between thirty and 
 forty of the Dutch feamen'. 
 
 His lordfhip being then vice-admiral of the red, detached, on 
 the pth of December, captain Hartnol, in the Reflauration,. 
 with four other fnips, to cruize fifteen or twenty leagues weifc. 
 of Scilly, to protedl fome Eaft India ihips, and their convoys, 
 from Ireland j and, on the 2d of January, was going from Ply- 
 mouth, with ieven clean frigates to relieve them j but being or- 
 ilcred to proceed part of the way with Sir John Norris, towards 
 Lilbon ; his lordfhip, after complying with this order, remained 
 in his appointed ftation till he was forced from it by foul wea- 
 ther; which, however, gave him an opportunity of taking a 
 French privateer of twenty guns, and retaking the St. Peter cf 
 
 ' According to forre accounts, tliis was a very coflfiderable pr'v ; rn !e."s 
 tliar; i ir.ip of 40 J'liis, with a cargo wwh an huiulrcd thousand p' ;i^ds. Indeff?, 
 this lord took lo oiany, and f-j rkh prizes, thjt I do not w i. .! .,nr 
 
 wri-ers gte* tttaiy of ffuing ih?m cl^wn j for I obfcrvr, tlia: f.-metinics. 
 ts are nut t!'.>- "/Cirr't fivcmites. 
 
 c I cannot find any arc-iT.r of this :P the Dutch writers, zr.d f rrufl CLr.fi.-f>, 
 I winder that Mr. Bisrchrt rsvr it ; p!<cc in his hiflorr. Tl.is, ivj>*c-. 
 ten-tin, tHat the t-c'iiv: IT of the cjp'ain va'. not mjy ri^ht in itljf, but i"> 
 
 .a-jr. antr he hoiflcJ his ". -^ ^" i>ya:d 
 
 B;
 
 2 3 l NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Dublin, a rich fhip, of which the enemy had made themfelves 
 mailers, off Cape Clear. His lordlhip, confidering that the 
 Eaft India trade were not yet arrived from Ireland, appointed 
 three (hips of his fquadron to fee them fafe from thence. 
 
 On the 21 ft of February, the Kent brought into Plymouth 
 a fmall privateer, and a French merchant fhip ; as the Reltaura- 
 tion and Augufl did the next day four more, which were bound 
 from Nantz to Martinico; and not many days after, his lordlhip 
 appointed the Reftauration and Auguft, to fee two Eaft India 
 (hips well into the fca ; but, by contrary winds, they were for-^ 
 ced back again. The loth of March, the Montague took a 
 privateer of ten guns, and his lordfhip having feen the Eaft In- 
 dia fhips, and thole bound to the Ifle of May, a hundred and 
 fifty leagues from Scilly, returned to Plymouth the pth of May ; 
 feven days after which, the Lyon, Colchefter, and Litchfieldj 
 brought in four prizes, two of them privateers, the others mer- 
 chant fhips; when his lordfhip leaving the fquadron, came to 
 town, after having acquired as much reputation as it was poffi- 
 ble for an officer to do in that difficult ftation u , and where 
 jnany had loft the credit for which they had toiled many years. 
 
 Before I proceed to the events in the Weft Indies, I mall 
 take notice of fome accidents that happened in our naval affairs^ 
 and which feem to have efcaped the attention of moft, if not 
 all our hiftorians. la the firft place, I am to obferve, that in 
 the latter end of June, her majefty's (hip the Fowey, of thirty- 
 two guns, was taken in the Mediterranean, by two French men 
 of war of greater flrength w . Oil the 23d of September, cap* 
 tain Hanway, in her majefty's fhip the Plymouth, of fixty guns, 
 arrived at Plymouth with a French man of war, which he had 
 taken on the 2oth. Captain Hanway was bound to Plymouth^ 
 in order to repr.ir fome damages he had received ; and about 
 
 u Burchet lays, that he obtained leave of the lord high-admiral to Come to 
 
 town : but that cv.r.ld not be ; for the lord high-admiral was removed in the 
 
 beginning- of November, and this was in the March following. I mention it 
 
 :o (hew the inaccu-acy of that writer, in things with which he ouht to' 
 
 l.avc been beft ac<f.uir.:c !. 
 
 w Pointer's chronological hiflcry, vol. ii. p. 648. See Tanbman's hiftory 
 before cited. As for t^e Ftench hifLrians, they cither f<.y nothing of this 
 matter, or they hive multiplied tS-.is into three fhips, anj have givm the cre- 
 dit df uki::2 J'U:.T. to ciptsir> de l'A : ^!e, ia the Phee.iix. 
 
 fcvea
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 fevcri leagues N. W. by N. from the Deadman, he faw this fhip, 
 and chaced her two hours, before he came up with her ; as foon, 
 as he came near enough to engage, he fired upon her with 
 great vigour, and after a fliarp action, which lafted above an 
 hour, he obliged her to furrender. The French fhip was called 
 L'Adriad, had been fitted out from Dunkirk, commanded by 
 the Sieur Jacques Cufhard, having forty guns mounted, (but 
 had pores for forty- eight), and two hundred and fixty men oa 
 board; feveral of the men belonging to the Plymouth being 
 fick on more, captain Hanway could make ufe of no more guns 
 in this action than the enemy's fhip had mounted. The cap- 
 tain of the French vefTel, with fourteen other officers and fea- 
 men, were killed in the engagement, and fixty wounded ; of 
 the Plymouth's company, the captain of a company of marines 
 on board, and feven men, were killed, and fixteen wounded '. 
 In the latter end of the month of October, the Weft India 
 fleet, being about one hundred and fifty leagues off the Lizard, 
 met with a violent ftorm, by which they were feparated from 
 five fhips of war, appointed for their convoy; the Newcaftle, 
 which was one of them, being fo ihattered, that fhe loft her 
 main-imft, and with much difficulty got toFalmouth ; loon af- 
 ter, the Hampfhire and the Gloucefter were attacked by the 
 fquadron of M. du Giui Trouin, and made a gallant defence, 
 notwithftanding the great inequality offeree ; which, however, 
 -gave the fhips under their convoy an opportunity to elcape. At 
 laft, after feven hours fight, the Gloucefter, a fixty-gun fhip, 
 and jufl rebuilt, was taken ; but the Hampfhire obliged the ene- 
 my to llieer off, and in a very Ihattered condition got into Bal- 
 timore y . On Chriftmas day, the Solebay man of war, with 
 eight merchant Ihips under her convoy, bound to Lynn in Nor- 
 folk, were unfortunately loir upon Bofton-Knocl^, and only 
 
 * See the London Gzrcttf, 7s T . 4593. 
 
 > Pointer's chr nological hiflory, voi. ii. p. 649. Mercure hifioriqae, tonj, 
 xlvii. p. 661. Father Daniel places the lofs of this fhip, *hich, he fays, car- 
 ried :eventy-two pieces of c.nn>.r>, anil four hundred anti fifty men, on the 6th. 
 of N.'Vemfoer, N. S. but all our nival hiftorians arc qui'e .llent ahmit it, thong 1 -, 
 I think, the captain's defence d-es js much tnoic honeai :h... ir.r bl"; of a iix. 
 ty gun (Ilip can di:cr:di:. 
 
 VOL. III. G g
 
 2 3 4 NAVAL H I S T O R T 
 
 two boats full of men faved out of all the fhips z . From thefe 
 difagreeable accidents, let us now return to the condudt of ad*- 
 miral Wager in the Weft 1 Indies. 
 
 As this admiral had always been extremely careful of the 
 trade in that part of the world, fo, in the fpring of the year 
 1 709, he fent captain Hutchins, in the Portland, to protect the 
 trading (loops that were going to Porto Bello. Ail the latter 
 flart of the month of April, captain Hutchins lay in the Bafti* 
 mentos ; from whence he defcried four large fhips, two of fifty, 
 and two of thirty guns, in the harbours of Porto Bello. The 
 two largefly a? he was informed by the private traders, were 
 the Coventry, a fourth rate, taken from us by the French, and 
 the Minion, both from Guinea. Oh the firft of May he had 
 intelligence, that they failed the evening before ; upon which he 
 ftood to the northward' till the third, when he gained fight of 
 them about eight in the morning. Ar noon, he difcovered their 
 nulls" very plain, and" they being to windward, bore down to 
 him, firing {bme giins as they palled by j foon after which' they 
 wore, as if they* defigned'to engage in the evening, but did not; 
 It was little wind, and about fix o'clock he tacked upon'them, 
 and keeping fight all"' night/, near eight in the morning- he came 
 up within pifrol flior of the Minion^ but was obliged to fight 
 her to leeWard, becaufe he could not pofilbly carry out his lee 
 guns, though the fhips of the enemy did. The Coventry, af- 
 ter he had been' warmly engaged, got on his lee bow, and fir- 
 ing very fmartly at his mafts> did them no little damage ; but he 
 being not willing to be diverted from the Minion, plyed her ve- 
 ry fmartly, nor could (he get from him, until they fhot his main- 
 top-fail-yard in two, when both of them fhot a-head, he creep*- 
 ing after them as faft as pofuble in that crippled condition ; in 
 the mean while,-fpHeing his rigging, bending new fails, and'ro- 
 pairing other damages in the belt manner he could . 
 
 * Remarkable accidents at fea, p. 35. 
 
 a Mr. Burchet, as Mr. Ledi.ird well obferves, has made a great miHakc in the 
 latc of this aftion, which he has placed ihiricen months before it happened j 
 but he gives us no authority for his correftion ; I have before me, the captain's 
 own account, publiflied in the London Gazette, N. 4747, which has enabled 
 me Co fct all the dates right, that are every one wrong in Boichet's hiftory. 
 
 About
 
 OF Q^U E E N A-NNE. 
 
 About four in the morning a boat was perceived going from 
 the Minion to the Coventry, So that he believed he had much 
 difabled the former, and that by the frequent pafling of the boat 
 between them, flie was fending the beft,.part of her loading on 
 board the other. By ten at night he had completed all his work, 
 and the next morning was ready for a fecond encounter ; but 
 it proving little wind, he could not come up with them until the 
 6th, when before feven in the morning, -he was clbfe in with 
 the Coventry, which iliip hauled up her main-fail, and lay by 
 for him. Coming nearer to her, it was obferved Hie had many 
 fmall-fhot men, fo that he durft not clap her -on board as he 
 had defigned, but plied her with his guns ^ in the mean time, 
 he received but little damage from the Minion. Between eleven 
 and twelve, he brought the Coventry's main-matt by the board, 
 and then her fire was much ItiTenedj however, continuing to 
 do what they could, at half an hour part twelve fhe fkruck; the 
 firft captain being killed, the fecond wounded, and a great 
 Slaughter made among the men, many of them being thofe who 
 belonged to the Minion.; whereas of ours there were but nine 
 killed, and .twelve woundeJ, mod of whom recovered ; and in 
 the prize, 'there were about twenty thoufand pieces of eight, 
 .great part whereof were found among the French feamen b . 
 
 Rear-admiral Wager, upon the prefiing felicitation of the 
 merchants, fent the Severn and Scarborough to England, to 
 .convoy home the trade, becaufe they were but weakly manned, 
 and according to the orders he had from the-lord. high-admiral, 
 when any {hips under his command -were fo reduced by ficknef&, 
 as to have no more men on board than w^re necefTary to navi- 
 gate the fibip, thefe ihips were to be lent home; and the reafon 
 of this was, that by an aft of parliament, which paifed foon after 
 commodore Ker's affair, our admirals were ab'fplutely restrained 
 from prefling men on any account in the Weft ludice; fo that, 
 in truth, there was nothing left for an admiral to do in fuch a 
 cafe, but to fend home (hips that were of no further ufe. All 
 the time the rear-admiral continued in this Station, he took care 
 ;o keep a iufficient number of fhips to cruize upon the enemy, 
 
 b See a large account of thi e^ormanf., :n thr London Gzzsttr, N. 
 tflcriure hiltor.^c ct . -;T ( . xlvli. p. 7;. 
 
 and
 
 NAVAL HI STORY 
 
 and to protect our trade, which they did with all the fuccefd 
 that could be wifhed or expe&ed c . But in the autumn, our 
 admiral was ordered home ; and accordingly he left the few 
 men of war that were Rationed on the coaft of Jamaica under 
 the command of captain Tudor Trevor, who was foon after re- 
 lieved by captain Span. As for the rear-admiral, he had a fafe 
 and ipeedy voyage home, where he was received, on his com- 
 ing from St. Helens, in the month of November, with all the 
 refpetfc imaginable ; the letters from the "Wed Indies having, 
 contrary to cuftom, done the greateft honour to the vigilance o 
 our navy in thofe parts, while under his direction ; which is a 
 clear confutation of a modern maxim at a certain board, that it 
 is Jmpofiibie to fatisfy the merchants at home, or the planters 
 abroad d . 
 
 Before I clofe this account of our affairs in America, it is ne- 
 ceilary I mould fay fomething of a misfortune that befel us in 
 Newfoundland ; and the rather, becaufe none of our hiftorians 
 have been particular about it, for which reafon, I am obliged to 
 take what I have to relate, intirely upon the credit of a French 
 v/riter. The Sieur de Saintovide, the king's lieutenant at Pla- 
 centia, took the fort of St. John, on the eaft fide of Nexr- 
 ioundhnd, by fcalade, in which adlicn the governor was 
 wounded, and made prifoner, as were the foldicrs of the gar- 
 rifon, confining of about a hundred men. This, my author 
 f.ys, happened on the ift of January, 1709, and the next dajr 
 informs us, tint the fort at the mouth of the harbour, built on 
 a rock, and extremely well fortified, furrendered alfo, and the 
 
 ~'h; rear admirjl having appo : nttj the Portland to fre fome merchant (hips 
 
 hrongh th: windward pa^e,' Ihe returned with a Frtnch prize, taken near 
 
 f'.peSt. Nicholas, worih ab nt fix thousand pounds. Capt-in VWnon all"-, in 
 
 'i-.ejerfey, ti.ok, in January, a Spatiilh floop laden with tobacco, and retook, 
 
 :.vu Frenth (loops, a Guinea (hip with lour Inni(iri.d re^r^s. Captain 
 
 Kjrdy of the Roebuik brought in a br'gar.tine, pAiiJy ioa icn wiih indigo, taken 
 
 ;: GU.VJS -.v!iic?i he met en the north fu!e of i'ln'pjniola, as (he *a g^ing 
 
 ( --m ther.ce to Fort de P^x, or Port Frap9ois ; htr maflcr pretended he belong- 
 
 -.: r<> Ci:rsr;io, and produced a paper from the Duul. governor there, empoww- 
 
 ini: him to tiade any where in the Well Indict. 
 
 d Burchet's njval hiftory. p. 7 j. Lediird's naval hirtory, vl. ii. p. 839. 
 ill Of qneen AMP-, ,,. 408. >I-r M-_- i y , . , l-nglan^ 
 
 i him ihehououf of knighth.xjd. 
 
 garrifon,
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 237 
 
 garrifon, corvfiftingof fixty men, were made prifoners of war. 
 This affair muft have been attended with very bad coniequences 
 for the prefent ; but, as we fhall fee, thefe were not only re- 
 medied in the fuccceding year, but the French fettlements, in 
 their turn, were in a manner totally deftroyed e . But it is now- 
 time for us to return home, and to conclude the hiflory of this 
 year with a fliort account of the alterations made with refpeck 
 lo the management of naval affairs. 
 
 The earl of Pembroke, finding the fble care and direction of 
 the fleet a load too heavy for him to bear, though he had dif- 
 chargcd his office of lord high-admiral in every refpeft to the 
 general content of all parties, very prudently and virtuouflv re- 
 folved to lay it down ( . A great deal of pains were taken to 
 divert his lordfliip from this refolution, but to no purpofe -, he 
 thought the bufinefs might be better done by one who had 
 greater experience in maritime affairs; and thereupon, this high 
 office was offered to that gallant fea-officer the earl of Orford, 
 who abfolutely refufed it, though he was willing to accept a 
 fhare in the direction of the admiralty. Her majefty, there- 
 fore, in the beginning of the month of November, thought 
 proper to direft a commiflion, whereby Hie confiituteci and ap- 
 pointed Edward earl of Orford, Sir John Leake, Sir George 
 Byng, George Dodington, and Paul Mcthuen, Elqrs. commil- 
 lioners, for executing the office of lord high-admiral of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, in the room of the earl of Pembroke, on 
 whom the queen beftowed a yearly penfion of three thoufand 
 pounds per annum, payable out of the revenue of the Pod- 
 office, in confideration of his eminent Cervices *. 
 
 Soon after this alteration, there followed a promotion, viz. 
 on the 1 2th of November, 1709, her majefty being plealol 
 
 e Totiriul hiftorique f^c Louis XIV. per Pcre Danre', r*- *J<5 *S7- Heir. 
 furm u?, that thtrc were vaft qniniities of artillery and ammunition f.>und in 
 thjUc twj fjrts, which I think a litilc improh.Hc; hue ;hat our le'tlcn.ents woe 
 in a great mcj'ure ruined, teems to be confirmed by !cv:rl ot oar uwii p^iiiK'ui 
 pamphlets, pulliihed tl.is year. 
 
 f Burnet's hiftory of his own tithe.;, voJ. ii. p. 557. Oldmixon'* l.iftory of 
 the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 417. Annals of queen Anne, for the ytar i7rp, p. 105. 
 t Barnct. Boyer'j life of Qnecn Anne, p-4'3- Po:ntct's chror.ci ^ ;al hillu. 
 
 riar, Tijl. ii. p. fiii. Ljud. G-z. N. 4611, 
 
 \ 
 
 to
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 to appoint a gentleman who had been long laid afide, -y;z. 
 Matthew Aylmer, Efq; admiral and commander in chief of 
 her majefty's fleet ; the lord Duriley vice-admiral ; and Charles 
 Wager, Efq; rear-admiral of the red. .Sir John Jennings ad- 
 wiiral; Sir Edward Whitaker vice-admiral of the white. And, 
 >ir John Norris, admiral j and John Baker, Eiq^ vice-admiral ot 
 the blue h . 
 
 The parliament met, and the queen laid before them the pro- 
 ceedings of the laft year, and directed an account of the ex- 
 pences of rthe government, both ovil and military, to be lent 
 them from the refpeciive offices. The bufinefs of Dr, Sache- 
 verel took up the beft part of the feflion; but it happened 
 luckily, that the fupplies were firfr. granted, amounting in the 
 whole to fix millions, one hundred eighty-four thoufand, one 
 hundred fixty-fix pounds, feven fhillings; in order to -the raifing 
 of which, a lottery was eftablifhed, of one million five hundred 
 thoufand pounds, of which fix hundred taoufand pounds was 
 fubfcribed on the 2Gth of January, being the firfl: day the books 
 were opened, and all the reft in lefs than x weeks '. Ihis 
 was fufficient to fhew the flrength of public credit .at that 
 time, as alfo the difpofition of the coaimons, to continue the 
 xvar till the ends of it were anfwered^ but, after SacheverePs 
 trial, it was foon perceived,' that this ardour began *o abate, 
 which we find attributed by our historians to many different 
 xiaufes. 
 
 The chief, however, fcems to have been the .management of 
 the French king, who, by publifhirjg to all the worJd the 
 .mighty offers of peace that he had made to the allies, and 
 drefiing up in the ftrongeft colours the hard conditions which 
 
 h Bayer's life of qnecn Anne, p. 403. The complete hiftory of Europe, for 
 1709. P- JUS- Oldmixon's hiftory of rhe Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 417. 
 
 5 Burnef* hiftory of fiis own times, vol. ii. p. 537. Annals of queen Anne, 
 
 vol. viij. p. 335. (..Mdmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 4x9. Chandler's 
 
 <kba'es, vol. iv. p. 193. Thefe immenfc grants of parliament ftruck the French 
 
 pr digioufly ; for while their credit was low, or in a manner qoire gone, ours w&s 
 
 in in zsnith. And, without queftion, if eer our creJit (hoiiM fail, cither in re- 
 
 fpefl to money, or the reputation of our government, the French will gain as 
 
 greit an afrendency over us, as we then had over them; this we mention as a 
 
 vort! y of ftrtfl corfiJcr-tion here, becauie in France :: h Lut too wc.i 
 
 .'
 
 O F QjT E E N ANNE. 
 
 the allies would have impofed upon him, and with which hit 
 declared he would have complied, if they had not appeared 
 impoflible, and calculated rather to prevent, than promote the 
 re-eftablifhment of the tranquillity of Europe. By theferepre- 
 fentations, he raifed g*eat compaffion among the neutral power^ 
 excited divifions among the allies, and caufed great jealoufies 
 and heart-burnings, both here and in Holland. This did net 
 hinder our miniftry from purfuing their former fchemes, an<i 
 endeavouring to reftore a martial fpirit, by the fuccefs of their 
 defigns on all fides ; and as they had hitherto found their con- 
 duft moft liable to be attacked on the fubject of the war in 
 Spain-, they took all imaginable care to iffue very early the 
 fums granted for that ferviee, which amounted to about a mil- 
 lion ; but it was refolved, llnce there was no immediate occa- 
 fion for great fleets in the Mediterranean, to recal Sir Edward 
 XVhitaker, and to leave admiral Baker, with a fmall fqua- 
 dron, to protect the trade, and obey the orders of king 
 Charles III A 
 
 Matthew Aylmer, Efq-, admiral of the fleet, being in the 
 Soundings with a confiderable force, faw all the feveral fttets of 
 our otitward-bound merchant-men f.\fc into the fea,.and having 
 fent them forward on their refpetive voyages,, upon the 27th, 
 of July, he remained cruizing for two days afterwards, abouc 
 fixty-eight leagues S-. W. by W. from the Lizard. On the 
 at noon^ he discovered 13 fail N. . of him. He ordtr- 
 
 fc As f have been hitherto very particular m relation to the war in Spain t 
 whkh- vc certainly carrisd on with great vigour, though under i-nfinite difacivan- 
 lages, I (hall here lay before the reader, at once,, the fcveral fums graatcd for this 
 fcrvice : 
 
 * ^. 
 
 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-rr.fl 
 
 - 998,711 
 
 1,175,0^1 16 
 
 ed
 
 240 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ed the Kent, Affurnnce, and York, to chace a-head, and fol- 
 lowed with the reft of the fliips under his command ; but the 
 weather proving hazy, he could not difcover next morning more 
 than one merchant Ihip. He received advice, however, be- 
 fore noon, that the Allurance had made prize of one of the 
 enemy's veffels, upon which he immediately fent his boat to 
 bring the mafter of her on board him j which was accordingly 
 clone l . 
 
 This Frenchman informed the admiral, that the (hips he had 
 feen the day before, were 14 merchant-men, bound for the 
 banks of Newfoundland, and Martinico, under convoy of the 
 Superbe, a French man of war of 56 guns, and the Concord 
 of 30 : that the former, having feen them into the fea, was to 
 cruize in the Soundings, and the latter to proceed to Guinea ; 
 and that, on their perceiving the Englilh fleet, the Concord bore 
 away with the merchant-men under his convoy. Soon after 
 this the Kent, commanded by captain Robert Johnfon, came up 
 with, and engaged the Superbe, for the fpace of an hour, when 
 fhe ftruck ; in which adlion captain Johnfon behaved like a gal- 
 lant oflicer, and an experienced feaman; for, as he attacked 
 the French fhip without waiting for other fiiips, fo fhe was ta- 
 ken by him without any afliftance, although fhe had a greater 
 number of men than the Kent. Both of them were very much 
 fhattered in the fight ; but fo good a failer was the Superbe, 
 thrtt, had fhe not been three months off the ground, fhe would 
 in all probability have efcaped. This fhip had taken feveral va- 
 luable prizes from us before, and our cruizers had often chaced 
 her without fuccefs ; but falling thus into our pofleffion, fhe 
 was regiftered in the Britilh navy, being a very beautiful velTel, 
 in 1 not above eighteen months old n . 
 
 Sir Edward Whitakcr was at Port Mahon with his fquadron, 
 when he received the order before- mentioned, and failing from 
 thence on the 2-jih of March, he arrived at Lifhon on the 4th 
 of April, with three fhips of the third rate, where he made 
 fome flay, in order to take the homeward-bound merchant- me ri 
 
 ' Diird:et* naval hift ry, h'x^ v. chap. 30. Mercurc h,ftoriqe et p.li- 
 tioise, tome xlix. p. ui. Boyer'* iirr of mieen Anne. > Btirchet's 
 
 >iavi.l hillorv, p. if'3. T.IL cyn;j,:f.e Lirtury of Europe, for die year 1710. 
 Ltd;-.!.!, Oidnlkoh. 
 
 under
 
 tJF QJJ E E tf ANNE. 241 
 
 under his protection ; and then failing on the 2pth of that 
 month, he arrived fafely on the fidt of June with our own, 
 and the Dutch and Portugal fleetj and their convoys, in our 
 channel . As for vice-admiral Baker, having conducted the 
 tranfports to the feveral ports to which they were bound, he, in 
 his return to Barcelona, got fight, off the Faro of Medina, of 
 four large fliips, with kveral fettees under their convoy ; this 
 was on the 2d of May, and he chaced them with, all the dili- 
 gence poffible. The next morning captain Matters, ia the 
 Fame, came up with, and took one of the lliips, and foon af- 
 ter captain Cleveland, in the Suffolk, took another, called Le 
 Galliard, of fifty-fix guns ; but the remaining two, which were 
 gallies, efcaped, with moft of the fettees. The vice-admiral 
 having feen the tranfports fafe into Barcelona, and having re- 
 ceived advice, that Sir John Norris, with a fquadron under his 
 command^ was at Terragona, and that he was come to com- 
 mand in the Mediterranean, refolved to join him as foon as 
 poffible, in order to execute any orders he brought with him 
 from England, or to contribute, as far as in his power lay, to 
 the fupport of king Charleys affairs, which were now in a 
 more ilourifhing condition than they had been for fome years 
 paft. We will take notice next of admiral Norris's in(trutions, 
 and of what, in purfuance ..: then., he performed curing ths 
 time he commanded in thefe parts . 
 
 The grand fleet (iciigned for this year's fervice in the ? 
 terranean, failed from Plymouth on the I2th of January un- 
 der the command of Sir John Norris, who having icen the 
 Virginia^ and other merchantmen bound to the Welt Indies, 
 fafe into the fea, arrived at Pert Mahon on the 13th of March, 
 where he was joined by Sir La ward Whiraker, and a Dutch 
 r^ar-admiral. Immediately after his arrival., h^ liUched t: 
 ifh, and two Dutch men of war, with the public mo : 
 recruits, and ammunition, to Barcelona, in order to receive 
 Catholic mnjeltva coiuni.:nJs. "\Vhile the adnuidl remained 
 
 " BuTthr " . --ft ?.-l : -i: - 
 
 tlviii. p. f.' ' '-chat's ni'il b'.'- 
 
 p. 768. Mcicirt 
 Aaat. 
 
 . ITT. II h
 
 2^ N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 here, he had the mortification of hearing, that two of our merr 
 of war had been taken by the French ; with this alleviating 
 circumftance, however, that- both officers and men had beha- 
 ved bravely, and that the misfortune was entirely owing to the 
 enemy's having a Superior force p . 
 
 Not long after, he received more welcome intelligence, viz. 
 that two of our fhips had taken a French man of war of fixty 
 guns, called the Moor, a very fine fhip, and which was after- 
 wards regifbered in the lift of our royal navy q . After making 
 the neceftary difpofitions for the many ferviees that were requi- 
 red from the fleet, Sir John failed on the 7th of April, from 
 Port Mahon, and arrived on the i ith at Barcelona. There 
 he was informed by the king of Spain, that the enemy had a 
 defign, either upon Sardinia or Naples, and that the duke de 
 Turfis, a Genoefe nobleman, who commanded a fleet of gal- 
 lies fbr the fervice of king Philip^was at fc 3 in order to exe- 
 
 P Tfcefe two flrlps were the PerrArr.Jec, of fixt^-four guns, commanded hy 
 captain Rumfey, and 'the Faulcon, of thirty-two guns, ceromai.dfd by capuin 
 Conftable. "They were cruizing to the fonthwaid of Nice, when, on the tgth 
 cf December, they difcovercd five fail of fliip?, which they took to be part 
 of Sir Edward \Viiitakcr'$ fquadron. However, they flood towards them '* 
 but perceiving they haJ "rench colours, and two of them (landing in lor An- 
 tibes, they made the fignal appointed by Sir Edward 'Whitaker, which was an* 
 fwered by the enemy, two ot their iWps hoifted Engliih crlour? 5 and the third 
 Dutch, and irn'mcdiately bore down up:>n thcrs.. Oor captains were not, how- 
 fVtr, deceived, bXit flood on thtir guard, arrd'when they difcovcred them to be 
 very Urge fhipj, made all the fail r'rona them they could ; but they having a brifir 
 gale, and our fh ps but little wind, the' Touluufe, a fcventy-gun (hip, came 
 lap with, and attacked the Pembroke, and iu lets than half an hour the other 
 two, one cirrying lixty-fix gims, and the other fifty, attacked her likewife, 
 and having taken her, purfued, came up with, -and took the Faulcon. Captain 
 Rumfey was killed in the cnga-gcment, in which he loft one hundred and 
 forty men, her mizeri-maft was brought by the board, and all-her rigging torft 
 to pieces, Uefore the officers agreed to fnrrender. Captain Conftahlc, in the- 
 raulcon, had a Iliot through his ihouldi-r, and yet he never flirred from his poft, 
 or confented to (Irike his enfign, till he had but fixteen found men left out of his 
 crew. 
 
 1 This (hip was an excellent failer, and had done a great deal of mifchief to or 
 trade. Captain Thomas Lorg, in the Ureda, a llouc fcventy-gun (hip, came up 
 with her, about forty leagues S, W. by W. off Cape Roxent, and in a Ihort and 
 brifk difpute her commander was killed. Soon after the Warfpight, cap-ain Jo- 
 li is Cr.>w, came unJcr her ouar.er, and was ready to lay her on board j and then 
 flie (truck. 
 
 euic
 
 OF 'QjJ-E-E-K A N "N E. 
 
 this cnterprize. His majefty likcwife informed him, that 
 he was in great want of the German fuccours, that were pro- 
 mifed him from Italy. The admiral refolved to do hi beft to- 
 wards anfwering both thefe demands of his Catholic majefly, 
 and having firft landed the viceroy in Sardinia, where :he found 
 *11 things <juiet, -he proceeded to the coaft of Italy,, in order to 
 embark the fuccours before- mentioned. -On the 6th of May, 
 Sir John Norris arrived at Leghorn, and having there provided 
 for the fecurity of our Levant trade, which was much diflurbed 
 by monfieur de L'Aigle ; he failed from thence to Vado Bay, 
 where, while the Germans were embarking, he had intelli- 
 gence, that the Italian gallies had actually taken on board a 
 body of upwards of two thouland men, in order to make a 
 defcent on the ifland of Sardinia 1 . 
 
 Upon this, Sir John Norris called a cotmcil of war, and in 
 purfuance of the refoJutions taken there, he, on the firit of 
 June, detached four men of war to convoy the tranlports to 
 Barcelona-; he likewife detached five Englifh and four Dutch 
 men of war, to cruize in the height of Toulon, for a convoy 
 which the French expected from the Levant. The fame day 
 he failed with the reft of the confederate fleet, with two impe- 
 rial regiments, -to go to the am" fiance of Sardinia, upon certain 
 advice, that the duke de Turfis was /failed with his gallies, and, 
 as we obferved before, fome -land forces on board, to invade 
 that ifland. The id they came before La Baftida, in Corfica, 
 and faw a little French merchant fhip coming frcm the Archi- 
 pelago, which, upon the approach of our dleet, retired under 
 the cannon of that place 4 upon this, admiral .Norris 4ent fomc 
 boats which brought away the "feip, bet the men made their 
 efcape on ihore. A bark coming -from the iiiore^ brought the 
 admiral advice, that the duke de Turfis, having conduced fome 
 days at Porto Vecchio, was failed to Bonifacio, with a defign 
 to execute his intended -enterprize againfl Sardinia; whereupon 
 they failed again; on the jth came into the bay of Terra 
 Nova, in Sardinia, wherein they found four tartanes of the 
 -enemy, which had lauded there four hundred men, atnl fixry 
 
 r Burchit's r.ava! hiftory, p. ;6p. Complete hlftory of Eiropr, fcr 1710, p. 
 Tj K.-nna roftrat*, p. 189, 
 
 II h A
 
 *44 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 officers, under the command of the count de CaRillo. They 
 took, the fame day in the evening, thole four ihips, and un- 
 derftanding by the prifoners, that the count, with his forces, 
 was but two miles off upon that fhore, the admirals refolved to 
 Jand feme forces to attack them, which was done the next day. 
 They marched directly to Terra Nova, Avhere the enemy were 
 pofted j but the count de Caftillo feeing it was in vain for him to 
 offer any refinance, furrendered at difcretion ; fo that they took 
 four hundred and fifty foldiers prifoners, with fixty-three offi- 
 cers, and feveral perfons of quality, natives of Sardinia; who, 
 being difafreted to the German government, had joined the 
 enemy, or had gone with the count de Caftillo in this expedi- 
 tion, in hopes that their intereft would occafion an iiifurrectiou 
 in favour of king Philip V s . 
 
 Their enterprize having fucceedM beyond expe&ation, and 
 there being no danger of any rebellion on that lide, the troops 
 returned on board, the 7th, and the admirals refolved to go in 
 quell of the duke de Turfi?, who, according to the report of 
 the prifoners, was failed to another bay, on the oppofite fide of 
 the ifland, to land the reft of his forces. On the 8th, they 
 < ame, by favour of a frelh gale, into the canal of Bonifacio, 
 ivhere they were ipformed, by a Neapolitan felucca, that the 
 ciuke de Turn's, was failed the night before from thence, with 
 intention to retire into the gulf of Ajazzio, in Corlica; where- 
 upon they made all the fail they could, in hopes of coming up 
 with him in that bay ; but in the morning of the pth, when 
 they came into the fame, they were informed that the duke 
 de Turlis, forefeeing they would purlue him, was failed thence 
 the night before, with his gallies, having left in this gulf eight 
 large barks, with five hundred foldiers on board, and the greateft 
 part of his ammunition, artillery, and provisions, in hopes that 
 they would not take them in a neutral place. 
 
 l>ut Sir John Norris thought fit to feize them, and fignified 
 to the republic of Genoa, that the queen <sf Great Britain, his 
 xvtiftrefs, could not but exprefs on ?.\\ occallons the highcft re- 
 Untment againft them, for having permitted the duke de Turfis, 
 
 Amah of q -ft n Ar.nc, re!, ix. p. -7. Vcren'C Mff^q':? ct p-ilitiq'ie 
 
 ) A. i! -, i;iC'> '.'J-fl' *!'* Oiu nucr/i ! :':o . of ;h' ii. 
 
 one
 
 OF QjJ KEN ANN E. 245 
 
 one of their fubjecls, to make, in their dominions, fuch an ar- 
 mament defigned againft one of the kingdoms belonging to the 
 king of Spain her ally, and that, looking upon their permiflion 
 or connivance as a breach of their neutrality, he would attack 
 the queen's enemies in all their harbours. The Genoefe gover- 
 nor, to whom thefe reprefentations were made, anfwered with 
 as much fubmiilion as could be expected ; promifed that he 
 would not fupply the duke de Turfis, or any that belonged to 
 him, with provifions ; and moft earneftly requefted, that the 
 admiral would not land any troops upon the ifland. The admi- 
 ral having confidered his requeft, ami being fenfible that it 
 would be to very little purpofe to attempt following the enemy 
 into the mountains, thought proper to grant it, and thereupon 
 proceeded immediately for Barcelona, where he arrived on the 
 i8th of June ; and the king of Spain defiring that part of the. 
 troops might be landed in Valencia, and that the fleet might be 
 as loon as poffible at Terragona, it was refolved to fail thither 
 directly, and to leave orders for vice-admiral Baker to follow; 
 which orders, as I have already fhewn, he punctually obeyed c . 
 The inhabitants of the Cevennes having given the king of 
 France a great deal of difturbance, and having numbers of their 
 countrymen in foreign fervice, it was proposed to the Britifh 
 miniftry, that notwithstanding the mifcarriage of former at- 
 tempts, fomething Ihould be again undertaken in their favour; 
 and to enforce this advice, it was obferved, that the Camifars, 
 then in arms, were within fifteen leagues of Montpelier, and 
 thr*t it was poffible to land our troops at Port Cette, within a 
 fingle league of that city. Upon this, the miniftry themfelves, 
 conceiving fuch an expedition might difconcert the enemies de- 
 ligns in Spain, or at leaft facilitate king Charles's enterprizes in 
 Catalonia, refolved to fend a gentleman to Spain, thoroughly 
 inftructed as to the whole of this affair, with orders to pro- 
 pofe it to general Stanhope, and Sir John Norris, upon whofe 
 approbation, and the confent of the king of Spain, the defign 
 was to be immediately put in execution, by the fleet then on the 
 coaft of Catalonia. It mult be allowed, that this project was 
 
 f Riirchct'.; naval hiftory, p. 771. C.>lum"3 rcftrata, p. 189. The complete 
 '>{ Europe, for 1710, p. sio. 
 
 very
 
 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 very well formed, and, according to the beft informations that I 
 fiave been able to obtain, if our troops had actually fixed them- 
 felves for three days at Cette., we might, with the afliftance of 
 the duke of Savoy, have given the French king more trouble 
 than he had ever met with from any of our projects during the 
 war. For his own fuhjecls, then in arms againft him, were a 
 bold, daring, hardy people, and, with a very -little encourage- 
 ment from us, would have formed .an army of twenty or thirty 
 thoufand men, to whom all the French exiles, in every part of 
 Europe, would have reforted^ and, as among them there were 
 sriany experienced officers, it is not eafy to conceive, what con- 
 iequences this affair might havehad, or to v/hat extentthe flame 
 might have fpread". 
 
 On the arrival of this gentleman from England, general Stan- 
 hope, who was a very enterprizing officer, eagerly embraced 
 the fcheme, and prevailed upon king Charles to" permit a body 
 of troops, though indeed it was but a very fmall one, to embark 
 on board the fleet. This resolution being taken, was commu- 
 siicated to Sir John Norris, who, on the 6th of July, held a 
 great council of war, in which it was refolved, to fend an ex- 
 $>refs to the dulie of Savoy, and to embark the forces immedi- 
 ately, that an affair of fuch importance might not fuiFer by de- 
 ijy. The command of thefe troops, which confined of no more 
 than the regiment of colonel Stanhope, and three hundred men 
 from Port Mahon, was given to major-general SciiTan, a native 
 of Languedoc, and a very good officer. The fleet failed from 
 Barcelona on the ninth, and arrived before Cette on the ipth. 
 The next morning, by break of day, the troops, which were 
 but feven hundred men, and who had landed the evening be- 
 fore, without any oppofition, marched directly towards the 
 town- Sir John Norris appointed fomc (hips to batter the fort at 
 the mole- head, upon which the inhabitants retired to the church, 
 and foon after both town and fort furrendered; as in the 
 evening .of the next day did the town of Agde; fo that now we 
 had firm footing in the enemy's country: and this expedition 
 had a more promifmg appearance than any that had been hi- 
 
 " Btirehet's naval hiftory, p. 771. TIic complete hifbry of Europe fjr i-ic, 
 p. 541. Oldt&ixon'c hiltjry of the Stuarts, vol. ii.
 
 P QJJ E E M ANNE. ~^j 
 
 therto undertaken againft France; our only !nisfortune was, that 
 there were fo few men fpared for fo important a defign w . 
 
 On the 17th, major-general Seifian received advice, that the 
 duke of Roquelaure was advancing with 400 dragoons, anct 
 4000 militia, to ford the lake, and re-poillfs Cette; upon 
 which the major-general thought proper to leavs a hundred and 
 forty men to fecure the bridge of Agde, au.l marched with the 
 reft of the forces to oppofe the enemy j writing at the Cime time 
 to the admirals Norris and Sommelfdyke, to deflre them, to fend 
 all the boats of the fleet, with as many men as they could fpare 
 into the Etang or Lake, to attack the enemy in their paffage 
 through the fame j which was done accordingly. The duke of 
 lloqmrlaure, feeing his deugn prevented by thefe precautions, 
 returned to Meze, aad the admirals and general detached a 
 major, with a hundred and fifty men, to reinforce the detach- 
 ment left to fecure the bridge of Agde ; but, at the fame time 
 advice came, that this important poft had been abandoned upon 
 a fatfe alarm. Neverthelefs, i: was reiblved to prevent the ene- 
 my, and to return to Adge with firaliops by fea, in order to re- 
 gain that poft-, but the very moment that this was to be ex- 
 ecuted, a ftrong wind happened to r;&, which obliged them. 
 to abandon- that defign, and direct all their care to fecure Cette. 
 
 In fhort, the duke de Noaiiles, arrived at Agde, the fame day 
 that they were to return thither. They began then to think of 
 the defence of the mountain of Cette, and pofted there the few- 
 troops they had in the vineyards, furrounded with a flight wall ; 
 hut with orders to retire, yet not before the arrival of the ene- 
 my. The officer, who commanded fifty men, did not rightly ap- 
 prehend this- order, or elfe he was furpritcd ; for fcurce had a few 
 French dragoons fired upon our men, before they furrendered to 
 them at discretion. The other troops retired in d:A>rder, though 
 fhe neceffary difpofi-tions had been made to fupport th-em iu their 
 retreat, and the feveral officers did all that could be expeclrrt 
 from their courage and experience to rally the troops. "While 
 thefe were rc-imbarking on the j/th, a captain was kfr in th- 
 fort, with fifty mer> to cover the retreat. It wns ret ncccinblr, 
 
 lut on the fide of the moL', and was defended by two pieces of 
 
 % 
 
 w Bover's life of queen Anne, p. 4,5. C^! -r"2 r.^.-it.''., " i?o. Ma'cure 
 i;floiijue ct polity i- , torn. xHr. p. 112, zit.
 
 2 4 8 N A V A L HISTORY 
 
 cannon in the place that leads to it ; and befides, the enemy had 
 no boats. The fhallops were juft by the fort the whole morn- 
 ing; but admiral Norris had no fooner put off to go on board 
 his fhip, but the enemy fcnt word to the captain, that if he did 
 not immediately furrender the fort, he muft expect no quarter. 
 "Whereupon the officer let down the bridge, and furremlered at 
 difcretion, even before the troops were re-imbarked x . The 
 duke de Roquelaure fent them back the captain who had fo ill 
 defended the fort, in exchange for a burgher who had been re- 
 leafed before ; but the captain was fet a-fhore again, and told, 
 that fince he had been fo complaifant to M. de Roquelaure, as 
 to deliver up the fort to him, it was but reafonable he fliould be 
 near the duke's perfon, and treated according to his merit y . 
 
 Thus ended an expedition, from which much was expected, 
 and which had no other good effect, except obliging the enemy 
 to recal a confiderable body of their troops from Rouffillon ; iii 
 doing this the duke de Noailles made a very remarkable march, 
 of which the French have boafted exceflively, Sir John Nor- 
 ris having re-imbarlced the forces, failed on the lyth, and {hew- 
 ed himfelf off' Toulon and Marfeilles; fome days after, he ftood 
 into the road of Hieres, where he discovered a French fly-boar* 
 carrying fifty gun?, under three forts, upon the ifland of Port 
 Croix; upon which he inftantly detached fome Englifh and 
 
 x Sec the relation of this dcfc?nr, in a letter from on board the Dutch ad 
 miral, dated from the confederate rL-et it Vado, Aagult the 7th, 1710, in the 
 annals of queen Anne, vol. ix. p. bj. 
 
 X Father Daniel gives us a very p >mpcus account of this bufinefs: the allies, 
 fays he, appeared before Port de Cttte, with twenty-five men of war, and im- 
 mediately made theirfclves mafier> of tlie place. The ciuke de Roqufl.ure^ 
 who commmded in Languedoc, i id tut three frjops of horfe, and there- 
 fore he fent directly to the duke dr .\ >iiiles fir aiTlftance, who, in the fpace of 
 rnree day, hronght 900 h<>r<c, anu i: >o grcr.sdiers into the neighbourhood of 
 Agdc; from whence they forced the rr.finv to retire immediately, with the lofs 
 of three or four hundred men. fie citifd!:', however, that ic \v?.s-an a.Tair cf 
 great confrquence, fir.ce, if . . had become makers of that port, thty 
 
 might have been able to fupport the rebels in Francs, which mill have brought 
 liie gresteH rr.ifericj i:pon thsr k.ri.l m. The moft extraordinary thing, he ttl's 
 us, is, that the French nt y: -ad'ur, aiid a few horfts : hut even this 
 
 v as too nu:ch IT on tr Frenc':: v.: ; 'rrs to own, and therefore they have out th* 
 >.offe, 2nd teil us I. 1 ..: . ; k i.cj 1, :;-... , L - ^.-^ipg (^fjs it wis 
 
 
 
 Dutch
 
 o p QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 Dutch frigates, under the command of captain Stepney, to at- 
 tack both the ihip and the fortrefles. This was performed with 
 great vigour, and in a fliort time the fhip was abandoned, and 
 the loweft of the three forts ; upon this our boats rowed haftily 
 to board the veflel, into which our men had fcarce entered, be- 
 fore the (hip, by a train laid for that purpofe by the enemy, 
 was blown up, and thirty-five of our people either killed or 
 wounded. This misfortune was foon followed by another ; for 
 our fhips that were cruizing off Toulon, being diftrefied for wa- 
 ter, failed to an adjacent ifland for a fupply, and in the mean 
 time a great corn fleet, for which they were waiting, took that 
 opportunity to enter the port of Toulon. 
 
 On the 1 4th of Auguft, Sir John Norris returned to Fort 
 Mahon, where he received the welcome news of the great vic- 
 tory of SarragofFa. He then expected to have failed on an ex- 
 pedition for the fervice of his Catholic majefty ; but was difap- 
 pointed, partly through fome delay made by the troops in cm- 
 barking, and partly by the hafte the Dutch were in to return 
 home ; fo that, finding it impracticable to do any further fer- 
 vice for the prefent, he ordered moft of his (hips to be cleaned ; 
 which being performed, he failed on the 3Oth of October from 
 Port Mahon, and on the 6th of November he took three French 
 (hips from Newfoundland. After this, he fecured the Turkey 
 fleet, and then attempted to annoy the enemy in the Bay of 
 Rofes, where he met with fuch a ftcrm, as drove the Refolu- 
 tion on fhore, on the coaft of Catalonia, near to Barcelona, 
 where flic was loft, notwithftanding all imaginable care to pre- 
 vent it, and the rcll of the fleet was forced into the harbour of 
 Port Mahon z . 
 
 His Catholic majefty's affairs had by this time taken a. new 
 and unfavourable turn, and therefore his majefty wrote in pref- 
 fing terms to Sir John Norris, in order to engage him to fail 
 over to the Italian coaft, to bring, with the utmoft expedition, 
 fuch troops as could be fpared from thence for his fervice. S:r 
 John failed from Barcelona, and arrived on the ipth of March 
 in the bay of Vado a ; on the 22d following, the Severne, Lion, 
 
 * Biirchet's naval biOory, hook v. chap. 31. I.edmd's ruvat hiflory, vol. ii. 
 p. 846, 847. Aura!* of qu en Anne. London Gazette, N". aSio. 
 
 > M.-, cure hift, ri^ue et poliii^uc, torn. 1. p. 476. l.er.i. . -. N'. 4'^' 
 
 VOL. III. I i and
 
 250 NAVAL H I S T' O R' Y 
 
 nnd Lime, made the fignal of feeing four (hips -, upon which the' 
 admiral ordered the Naflau and Exeter to give them chace, and : 
 upon hearing a great firing of guns, detached the Dartmouth 
 -and WincheHea to their afliftance. On the 27th, the Severne 
 and Lime came into the road, and captain Pudner, \vho com- 
 manded the former, gave Sir John Norris an account, that, in 
 Conjunction with the Lion and Lime, he had, the day before, 
 Engaged four French (hips, from fixty to forty guns, for above 
 two hours r and then the French crowded all the fail they could, 
 nnd made aw-ay ; the Severne, being clifabled, returned with the 
 Lime into Vado road j but captain Galfridus Walpole, who 
 commanded the Lion, continued the chnce, though he had his 
 right arm (hot away, about forty men killed and wounded, and 
 his (hip much torn by the enemy's fhot. The Exeter, com- 
 manded by captain Raymond, came up with one of the French- 
 men, and, after a brifk engagement of above two hours, took 
 her ; but he was fo difabled, that he was forced to let her go 
 again. She proved to be the Pembroke, which had been taken 
 from us a year before, that was, while in our fervice, a fixty- 
 gun fhip ; but at this time ihe mounted no more than fifty b . 
 
 Sir John having given the necefTary directions for embarking 
 the troops on board an hundred and twenty tranfports, in order 
 to efcort them to Barcelona, received advice,, while he was wait- 
 hig for a wind, that Sir John J-ennings was arrived at Port Ma- 
 hon, in order to command in the Mediterranean.. We have al- 
 ready, contrary to our ufual method, carried this part of the 
 hiftory beyond the bounds of the year 1710, which was occa- 
 fioned by a defire of preferving perfpicuity,, which otherwife 
 could not have been fo well done ; and, for the fame reafon r 
 we (hall proceed with Sir John Morris's conduct, though it will 
 <arry us almoft to the dole of the year 1711: which, however,, 
 is better than breaking the thread of the narration, to refume it 
 again at a great dittanee of time ; and this, too, when ail that 
 can be faid about it will fall within a very narrow compafs. 
 
 b Burchct's naval hifrory, p. 774. Lediard's naval hiflory, vol. ii, p. 47. 
 London Gazette, Js". 4837. 
 
 He
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. 25 i 
 
 'He failed from Vado for Pore Mahon, in April c -, but was 
 forced by a ftorm into the road of Arafio, where, with gre?.t 
 difficulty, he procured forage for the horfes, and where he lay 
 wind-bound till the 4th of May, and then proceeded to Barce- 
 lona, arrived there,, and landed the-troops on the eighth, where, 
 having confuked with the cuke of Argyle, and taken care to 
 fend a ftrong fquadron to Genoa for the public money, hs 
 thought next of proceeding home with the Turkey trade j anci, 
 with that view, ordered captain Cornwall to efcort them to 
 Gibraltar, or Lifbon, and there wait for his arrival. This be- 
 ing performed, he followed them as foon as the king of Spain's 
 affairs would permit ; and failing with them >under his convoy 
 from Lifbon on the I5th of September, he arrived with them 
 off the Ifle of Wight the 8th of October, 1711, with four 
 fliips of the third rate, feven of the fourth, three of the fifth, 
 two bomb-velTels, two ftore-lhips, and an hofpital-fhip ; and 
 from thence held on his courie to the Downs, leaving the com- 
 mand of the fleet that continued in the Mediterranean to Sir 
 John Jennings, of whofe proceedings we fliall fpeak in their 
 proper place 4 but, at prefent, it is recjuifite that we ihould give 
 an account, as we promifed, of the expedition let on foot for 
 reftoring our affairs in Newfoundland d . 
 
 The check we had received the year before, had given the 
 miniftry great difquiet. They found themlelves, at this juncture, 
 in a very critical iltuation, and were therefore under a kind of 
 neceffity of providing againfl any new clamours, which they 
 : were ienfible would be let up, in cafe the French were not ef- 
 fectually rooted out in a place v/hich fo nearly affected our mer- 
 chants, and upon which their commerce with Spain, Portugal^ 
 and Italy, fo much depended. In order, therefore, to provide 
 
 Burchet's naval hiftory, book v. chap. j*. The complete hhtcry of En. 
 rope, for 1711, p. 120, an. Lordon Gazette, N. 4844, 4^46, 48(54. There 
 are various accounts of the lofs Inflamed in ibis ftorm; the French reported it 
 as very confiderable; fome fay there were only three barks deftrojred, two of 
 which funk at lea, and the other w< forced by fticfs of weather to put into 
 Jvlarfeillcs. 
 
 d Burchet's naval hiftory, p 775. Annals of queen Anne, for the year 1711, 
 vol. x.. Burr.et's hiftjry of ills own times, vol. :i. p. 574, London Gazette,
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 in the beft manner pofllblo for fo important an undertaking, 
 they made choice of two officers of great worth and experience, 
 one of them to command the fquadron, the other the land 
 forces that were to be put on board it. The former was cap- 
 tain George Martin, and the latter, colonel Francis Nicholfon, 
 who was fent to Bofton in New England, in order to provide 
 every thing neceffary for the expedition, and to draw together 
 fuch forces as could be fpared from that colony, fo that they 
 might be able to embark as foon as the fquadron fhould ar- 
 rive e . 
 
 This fquadron confided of the Dragon, a fifty-gun fhip, 
 commanded by captain George Martin ; the Falmouth, of fifty 
 guns, by captain Walter R.ydel ; the Leoiwff, of thirty-two 
 guns, by captain George Gordon ; the Feverfham, of thirty- 
 fix guns, by captain Robert Pafton, and the Star bomb-ketch, 
 by captain Thomas Rochfort ; to which was afterwards added, 
 the Chefter, a fifty-gun fhip, commanded by captain Thomas 
 Matthews. Captain Martin arriving in New England, found 
 all things properly adjufled for the execution of this enterprize 
 :.ft the French fettlement, without delay ; in confeqnence of 
 which, he proceeded from Nantaflcet road the i 8th of Septem- 
 ber, with the' Dragon, Falmouth, Leoftaff, Feverfham, and 
 Srnr bomb-vcficl, the Provence galley, two hofpital-fhips, 
 thirty-one tranfports, and two thotifand land forces, having 
 f'i-.t ;he Chefter before, to endeavour to intercept any fupplies 
 which the enemy might attempt to fend toPoit-Royal, in Nova 
 Srotiaj and on the 24th, in the afternoon, he anchored at the 
 entrance of the harbour. A council of war was called, and, 
 purfaant to what was agreed, the fmall embarkations and 
 
 f Burchct's naval hiftory, p, 7<5j. C-lnmna rof!r:t3, p. 194. Beyer's life 
 
 of qdeen Ar.ne, p. 458. Mcrcure liiftnriqne ft po itiqne, tcme I. p. 77. An- 
 
 f queen Anne, vnl. ix. p. 191. See the j -urrnl of *n cxptdi'.ion pcr- 
 
 fo'iDfd by the forrt-i of our fovereign larfy Anne, under the command of the 
 
 ;.:b!e F.ancit Nieholfcn, general a"d commander in chitf, in the year 
 
 i;i -., ftr the rctJuclion of Port Ro^al in Nova Scotia, or any other 
 
 .n thofi parts cf America., then in pc/ffcfTion of the French. London, 
 
 4-0. 
 
 boat*
 
 o F Qju E E K ANNE. 253 
 
 bonts were gotten ready to receive the men, and put them on 
 Ihore f . 
 
 Things being in this fituation, on the 25 th of September, 
 about fix in the morning, colonel Vetch, and colonel Reading, 
 \vith fifty men each, together with Mr. Forbi-s, the engineer, 
 went on (here to vieiv the ground for landing the troops; arul 
 foon after colonel Nicholfon himfelf, with a body of men, ac- 
 tually landed ; the enemy firing at the boats in which they 
 were, from their batteries of cannon and mortars, but with no 
 great fuccefs. Colonel Vetch, with five hundred on the north, 
 fide, fo lined the fhore, as that he protected the landing of the 
 cannon, ammunition, and (lores, and the mortar being fixed 
 on board the bomb-velfel, (he driving up with the tide of flood, 
 within cannon-ihot of the fort, both that day and the next, 
 bombarded the enemy therein, which did in a great meafure in- 
 duce them to capitulate, fooner than otherwifo they would 
 have done : not but that they were very much galled in the 
 attempts made on them, and the warm fire from the artillery 
 on Ihore; but the 28th, 29th, and 3Oth, the bomb-veflel 
 was not able to throw any (hells, by rcaibn of hard gales of 
 wind g . 
 
 At a council of war, held on the firft of Odlober, two let- 
 ters, which were received from monfieur Subercafe, directed to 
 colonel Nicholfon, were taken into ccnfideration^ together with 
 
 f This expedition, which was on; of the mof! fortunate that we had under- 
 taken in this part of ihe world, owed its fuccefs in a great meafure to the 
 conduct of colonel Francis Nichnlt'on, who maintained a pcrf.ct agreement 
 with commodore Martin, and the reft of the fea officers, who, en their pait, 
 omitted nothing that was demanded for the ufc of the troops, and fupported 
 them very cordially upon all occafions, with tl;eir b: ats and men. Another 
 thing that contributed not a little to this happy event was, the trjops being 
 fcafosied true were fent upon this expedition, and having officers well ao 
 qiuii.ted, not ( nly with their duty, but wi(h the climate, ard lunation of 
 places; which, in affairs of thii natute, are cir.umifances of the iitmoft con- 
 fcqucnce. 
 
 6 It may not be amifs to remark here, that this place, now Annapolis, has 
 a very fine bafon, capable of holding a large fleer; that it commands a v^lu. 
 aMe country, which fettled, would prove a cover and protection to New 
 England; and that it was at this juncture a nefl of French privateers, and 
 tlience ftylcd ihcir American Dtu.kiA. Tlicit circutr.llanccs P..CW the v.^l.ic of 
 this cor<jiieft, 
 
 the
 
 254 N A V A L H 1 S T O R Y 
 
 the anfwers which he had made thereunto; and the prelimi- 
 naries being agreed on, the governor marching out of the fort, 
 with the garrifon h , our troops took poiTeffion of it foon after, 
 
 with 
 
 l> This capitulation is worth the reader's notice, hiafrnnch as it contains 
 the terms upon which we were put in pr>(Teffion of the province of Acadia, as 
 the French call it, or, as we ityic it, the province of Nova Scotia. The ar- 
 ticles were, 
 
 i. That the garrifon (hall march out with their arms and baggage, drums 
 beating, and colours flying. 
 
 x_ That there fhall be a fufficient number of (hips and provvfions to tranfport 
 the faid gairifon to Rochelie, or Rochfort, by the ihorteft pafTogc $ where they 
 Ihall be furnilhed with pafTp ires .for their return. 
 
 3. That I, col >nel Nicholfon, may take out fix guns, and two mortars, fucii 
 as I ihall think fit. 
 
 4. That the officers fhall carry out all their effefts of what fort foever^ 
 except they do agree to the felling of them, the payment of which to be 
 tana fide. 
 
 j. That the inhabitants, within cannon {hot of the fort of Port- Royal, (hall 
 remain Hpon their eftjtes, with theif corn, -cattle, and furniture, during tw 
 Tears, in cafe they are not dtfirous to go before; they taking the oiths of al- 
 i.*giance and fidelity to her facred majefty of Great Britain. 
 
 6. That a veiTil be provided fcr the privateers belonging to the iflands of 
 America, for thdr tranfportation thither. 
 
 7. That thofe thtt arc defirous to go for Plagsntia, in Newfoundland, fliall 
 fiave leave by the neareft paiTage. 
 
 8. That the Canadians, or thofc that are defirous to go thither, may, during 
 !ic fpace of one year. 
 
 9. That the efTcfts, ornaments, atenfils of the diapel and liofpital, fhall be 
 Delivered to the almoner. 
 
 10. I promife to deliver the fort of Port-Royal into the hands of Francis 
 Nicholfon, Efi)j for the queen of Grdt Britain, &c. within three days after the 
 ratification ef this prefcnt treaty j with all the eficcls bdunging to the king, as 
 juns, mortars^ bomLs, balls, powder, and all other fmall arms. 
 
 n. I will difcover, upon my faith, all the mines, fougaiTes, aiid caremates. 
 n. AH the articles of this prefent treaty fhall be executed upon good faith, 
 without difficulty, and figned by each other, at her majcfty of Great Britain's 
 , before Port-Royal fort, the fecond day of Oclober, in the ninth year 
 rn jtfty'i rei^n, amoyie Dtmui 1710. 
 
 FRANCIS NICHOLS ON. 
 
 SUSERC ASE. 
 i 
 
 The general declared, that within cannon (hot of Port- 
 , in the (;." . co be andcrflood, three Englifh milts
 
 O F QjJ E E N ANNE. 2j 
 
 with drums beating, and colours flying ; where holding the 
 union flag, they, in honour of her majcfty, called the place 
 Annapolis Royal j aud a fufficient number of men being left 
 therein, the (hips and troops proceeded to New England as foon 
 as all things neceiTary were fettled; from whence captain Mar- 
 tin departed, not long after, in order to put in execution the 
 remaining part of his instructions, and prepare for his return to 
 England. 
 
 Thefe were not all the misfortunes that befel the French 5r> 
 this part of the world, for our men. of war and privateers 
 took this year near fifty of their fhips. The Portland and the 
 Valeur took, in their paffage to Newfoundland, two very rich 
 prizes, value thirty thoufand pounds. But not long after, the 
 Valeur was furprized in harbour, and taken by the French, ami 
 in the month of Auguft, captain John Alclred, in the Rochef- 
 ter ; captain Humphrey Pudner, in the Severne; and captain 
 George Purvis, in the Portland, viiited all the French harbours 
 on the north fide of Newfoundland, and in a manner totally 
 deftroyed them*. Of all thefe tranfatYions, however, the ac- 
 curate father Daniel fays not one word ; and, indeed, as to the 
 latter part of this relation Mr. Burchet is filent alfo, though ic 
 was certainly of very great confequence to the trade and interefh 
 of Great Britain k . 
 
 We 
 
 round the fort, to be henceforward caller! Annapilis Royal; and the in- 
 habitants within the (aid three miles to have the benefit of that article. Which 
 perfons, male and female, comprehended in the faid article, according to a lift of 
 their names given in to the general by Mr. Allen, amount to four hundred 
 and eighty-one perfons. 
 
 1 The complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1710, p. 588. Annals of 
 <he reign of queen Anne, vol. ix. p. 4:4. 
 
 k An account cif the exccirion done by this fquadron. 
 Harbours names, French fhips ramrs. Men. Guns. Tons. 
 
 La Couche, La Comtelle d'Evereux, 7i 16 100 taken. 
 
 Ditto, L* Couronne, 70 14 aoo burnt. 
 
 Carouze, Le Mirqiris dn Bay, 10 18 400 taken. 
 
 Ditto, Le Compte de Bonrepos, no ij 40 burnt. 
 
 Ditto, I.'Aigle Noire, 70 11 100 taken. 
 
 Petit Maitre, Frar.g;.! Mairr, 80 18 ijo ditro. 
 
 Great St. Julian, Franc >is de la Piix, no 30 400 ditto. 
 
 Litile St. Julian, St. Piene, 90 10 190 cfcaped. 
 
 Ditto, I,.-. 30 i ditrc. 
 
 Ail
 
 256 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 We are now to return home, in order to take notice of what 
 happened here, relating to the affairs of the navy ; and as 
 thefe are commonly influenced by. a total change in the mini- 
 ftry, it may not be amifs to obferve, that, in the beginning of 
 the month of Auguft, the earl of Godolphin was removed 
 from being lord high-treafurer, and that high office was put 
 into commiPiion '. This great change was quickly followed by 
 others of the fame nature ; for, about fix weeks after, Ed- 
 ward earl of Orford having refigned his place of firft lord- 
 comrniflioner of the admiralty, the queen appointed Sir John 
 Leake, Sir George Byng, George Doddington, Efq; Paul 
 Methuen, Efq; and John Aiflabie, Efq-, lords-coinmifTioners 
 for executing the office of lord high-admiral of Great Britain. 
 But this commiffion did not continue long in this lituation, for 
 in the month of December, Sir James Wifhart, and George 
 Clarke, Efq; were appointed lords-commiffioners of the admi- 
 ralty, in the room of George Doddington, and Paul Methuen, 
 Efqrs m . 
 
 The new parliament met on the 25th of November, and, on 
 the 2)th, the commons chofe William Bromley, Efq; of Wor- 
 ccfterfliire, for their fpe?.ker. The queen, in her fpeech from 
 the throne, recommended the carrying on the war in very pa- 
 thetic terms, and the commons, in their addrefs, promifed her 
 majefty to take proper care of it. Accordingly, on the 5th of 
 December, they voted 40,000 men for the fea fervice, for the 
 year 1711, and 120,000! for the ordinary of the navy; on 
 the loth of February they voted, that the fum of 5ji3O,539l. 
 5 s. 6 d. be granted for payment of the debts of the navy, 
 and for ftrvices performed by them on account of land forces 
 to Michaelmas 1710, exclufive of the regifter office j and, ori 
 
 All the fifh, oil, f a|, vat, boats, f-flmijr tackle, d~c. of the above-men- 
 tioned fhips fc'l into <>ur hands, and were either taken or dcffroyerl by us. 
 And the t*o fhips which efciiped, left eve.) their anchors and cables, and fonts 
 of their (ails behind. 
 
 I Biirnct's Mllory of his own time?, vol. ii. p. 551. OMmifcon's hiilory of 
 the StoaJt*, v J. ii. 11.446. C>nducl of Sarah, (inchefs dowager of Marlb > 
 rough, p. 260. . ni Kurort's hiftory of hit own times, vol. ii. 
 
 p. J5j. The complete hiftcry of Rurope, for 1710, p. 570. Merture hiilo- 
 liquc ct poiiiiqiit, ; .ft O f queen Ai!;.e, p. 483. 
 
 the
 
 dp QJJ E E N ANNE. 557 
 
 the 2oth of the faid month, they refolved that 103,303!. 
 us. 4 d. be granted for the ufe of fuch proprietors, or inha- 
 bitants only, of Nevis and St. Chriftopher's, who were fuffer- 
 ers by the French invafion, and who have fettled, or fhall re- 
 fettle their plantations in the faid iflands 11 . I do not well 
 know, whether I ought to add, as an inftance of the care of 
 parliament in refpedt to our commerce, that this year an at 
 was paiTed for incorporating a company to carry on a trade to 
 the South-Seas . While thefe regulations were making by the 
 legiflature, her majefty took care to provide for action ; and in 
 conlequence thereof, appointed Sir John Leakej rear-admiral 
 of Great Britain, to be admiral and commander in chief of her 
 fleet, in the room of Matthew Aylmer, Efq; at the fame time 
 flie appointed Sir Thomas Hardy rear-admiral of the blue ; and 
 fome time after Sir George Byng was made admiral of the 
 white. Thefe neceflary circumftances premifed, we may now 
 proceed to the naval operations of the next year p . 
 
 The grand fleet, under the command of Sir JohnLeake, had 
 very little to do; It was intended for the defence of our coaft^ 
 and for keeping the enemy in awe, which was very effectually 
 performed ; for the French king, from the many misfortunes 
 he had met with, was utterly incapable of equipping any capi- 
 tal (hips; and therefore^ contenting himfelf with lending out, 
 as he had done for fome years paftj fmall fqu?.drons to annoy 
 our trade, he feemed no longer to look on France as 3. mari- 
 time power q . Sir Thomas Hardy, rear-admiral of the blue* 
 was fent with a ftrong iquadron, confiding of four fourth rates, 
 two fifths, and two fixths, to block up the port of Dunkirk. 
 On the 2ift of May he arrived before that port, into which he 
 forced two privateers of twenty guns each, and a dogger which 
 carried eight ; and this, notwithstanding the enemy's fire from 
 the platform at the pier-head. While he was in this fituation, 
 he difcovered in the bafoli four fixty-gun {hips, and two fmal- 
 
 n Burnet'i hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. $57, jSj. Boycr's life of 
 ijuetn Anne, p. 480, 493. Chandler's debates, vol. iv. p. 194, 199. 
 
 Burnet's hirtory of hi* own times, vol. ii. p. 57}. OldmiJtun's hiftory of 
 the Stuarts, VoL ii. p. 455. London Gare:te, NO. 5860. P The 
 
 Complete hiftory of Eur'p?, for 1711, p. 79. Annalt rf quren Anne, vol. ix. 
 p. 335- 1 Burchc'.'s uaval niftory, p. ?8p. 
 
 * VOL. lit K k kr
 
 N A V A L HISTORY 
 
 ler veiTelf, all unrigged, and had certain information of a fma& 
 fquadron that was fitting there for the fea ; after which he 
 cruized as carefully as he could, asr well for that, as for the 
 convoy from Brctagne j but both, notwithstanding all his vigi- 
 lance, efcaped him. 
 
 On the 27th of June, an Englifh-man of war, called the 
 Advice, commanded by Kenneth, lord Duffus, was attacked in 
 Yarmouth roads, by frveral French privateers r . His lordfhip 
 engaged them with great bravery, and did not give up his (hip, 
 which was a fourth ra:c of forty-fix guns, till all his fails were 
 torn to pieces, not a brace or bowling left, the fhrouds cut 
 away, two-thirds of his men killed and wounded, and his lord- 
 ihip had five balls in his- body. The eight privateers that took 
 him, brought the fliip with great triumph into Dunkirk, where 
 they moft inhumanly ftripped both officers and private men of 
 their wearing, apparel, and> but for the kindnefs of the inhabi- 
 tants, had lef: them in a manner naked. Such was the brutal 
 behaviour of thefe barbarous plunderers, and to fuch we muft 
 remain expofed, if that infamous neft of pirates, deftroyed for 
 the common fafety of mankind, fhall ever, through the weak- 
 nefs of our councils, be fettled or fortified again. 
 
 On the 8th of Auguft, Sir Thomas Hardy being in Yar~ 
 mouth roads, with his fquadron, received orders to proceed as 
 far northwards as the ifiands of Orkney, in order to fecure the 
 Ruffia trade, and to Tend fome mips that were with him to the 
 Downs; the admiralty having received certain intelligence, that 
 M. de Saus, a French ofEcer, had'atually got to fea from Dun- 
 kirk, with four large fliips, viz. one of fifty guns, one of twenty- 
 eight, one of twenty-fix, and 0115 of twenty-four : in purfu- 
 ance of thefe orders, Sir Thomas fow the Ruffia fleet, which 
 was remarkably rich that year, as iar as Shetland j and then 
 fending them forward with a proper convoy, he returned to the 
 Downs, where he received orders to proceed weftward, in 
 queft of M. du CaiTe. While our fhips were thus employed, a 
 misfortune befel us upon our own coaft; for M. de Saus, with 
 
 r Columns rodrata, p. ij>o. Th: complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 
 1711. But the f.fti related in the text are taken chie"ty from the London G;<- 
 jtttf, N c . 48->j. 
 
 hi*
 
 t> F QjJ E E N ANN E. i-0 
 
 hfe privateers, fell in with our Virginia fleet, which. confifted of 
 twenty-two fail, two of which were forced alhore, four efcaped, 
 end nil the reft were taken s . 
 
 As foon as the news of this was carried -to England, order* 
 were fent to purfue the French fquadron, and to prevent, if 
 pofiible, their getting back to Dunkirk.; but the fieur Saus 
 found means to rid hirafeif of thefe attendants, though they 
 ^ere once within fight of him, and carried fix of his prizes 
 into Dunkirk, leaving the rell at ^Cologne, Calais, and other 
 ports on the eoaft ^. Our cruizers and privateers repaired, in 
 ibme degree, this misfortune, by the depredations they commit- 
 ted on the coafts of France, from whence they brought a great 
 number of fmall prizes, which, if they did not turn much to 
 our benefit, were, however, a .great prejudice to -France, fincc 
 moft of them were laden with corn, and other .provifions, of 
 which at that juncture the people were in great need. But k 
 is now time to return to the proceedings of our fquadrons in 
 the Mediterranean, where, as we have before fhewn, Sir John 
 Jennings commanded in chief, with a numerous fleet, of whole 
 defigns we fhall now fpeak particularly, as they were the lait 
 that were formed during this war in thofe. parts. 
 
 The affairs of king Charles had fufiered fo feverely fince the 
 "battle loft at Villa Viciofa, that even his beft friends almoft de- 
 .fpaired of retrieving them. It was, however, refolved to fend 
 thither a large naval force, to aflift in whatever meafures might 
 be thought proper, either for reftoring his hope?, or providing 
 for the fafet.y of his perfon. The duke of Argyle commanded 
 the r.ngliih troops, -with circumirances equally honourable to 
 himfelf, and fhameful tolhofe who fufiered fo many brave men 
 to fall under fuch heavy misfortunes. The army was but thin* 
 and well it might be fo, iince general Stanhope had been hc- 
 iieged, and taken, with eight battalions, and as many fqua- 
 drons, a few months before, in the miferr.ble hamlet of 
 !3rihuega. But this was not all ; the regiments, thin as they 
 Avsre, were alfo ragged and Starving, having no credit but what 
 his grace procured for them, who foon brought things into bet- 
 
 * Burchct's mval hift. b. r. chap. 34. Anrals of queen Anne, vol. X. 
 r Burchet, Journal hiftori^uc d: Louis XIV. p. 173, 
 
 2 tcr
 
 263 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 ter order, and his very little army under good difcipline. In 
 fliort, he appeared there, what he appeared every where, not 
 only a brave man and an a&ive officer ; not barely a great ge- 
 neral, or an able ftatefman, but a friend to mankind, and a 
 lover of his country. He fed the hungry, he clothed the na- 
 ked, he flopped defertion ; not by feverities, but by convincing 
 his foldiers that they could be nfed no where fo well; info- 
 much that when Sir John Jennings arrived at Barcelona witR 
 Lis fleet, in the latter end of March, he found things on the 
 niending hand". 
 
 After performing fome few neceffary fervices, it was refol- 
 ved, that the fleet fhould cruize off Toulon, in order to inter- 
 cept the fupplies which the enemy expected from Languedoc, 
 snd their corn-fleet from the Levant. While he was in this 
 ftation, he received orders from England, to return immediate- 
 ly to the coaft of Catalonia, that he might be ready to carry 
 
 11 Biffcop Burnet, inr'ecd, has given a very cliff-rent account of this matter. 
 " The bufinefs of Spain had been fo much prtfL-d from the throne, and fo 
 *' much infixed on all this ftffion, and the commons had given 1.500,000!. 
 " for that fervice, (a fum far ;,eyoml all that had been granted in any preced- 
 ' ing feflion), fo that it was expected matters would have been carried there in 
 " another minner than formerly. The duke of Argylc was fent to command 
 " the queen's troops there, and he fecrncd full of htut; hut all oqr hopes failed. 
 " The duke of Vcndome's army was in fo ill a condition, that if Staremberg 
 " had been fupp-rted, he promifed himfelf great advantages. It does not yet 
 " appear, what made this to fail, for the parliament has not yet taken this into 
 " examination. It is certain, the duke of Argyle did nothing ; neither he n r 
 ' his troops were once named during the whole campaign. He wrote over very 
 ' heavy complaints, that he was not fupported, by the failing of the remittances 
 ' that he e*pefted : but what ground there was for that, does not yet appear; 
 " for, though he afterwards carne over, he was very filent, and feemed in a 
 " good under/landing with the minifters." The Uft words of this amazing 
 piece of" hifhry fuflkiently explain it. The duke of Argyle agreed with that 
 niiniflry, with whom the prelate could not agree. He complained of the condi- 
 tion in which he found the troop?, which was owing to the avarice of fome low 
 inflrumen,ts of the old minifrry, ard he made no complaints againft the new, 
 r.ecaole he was fenfible they fupp'ied him as well as they were able: but he 
 differed from them afterwards, when he faw juft caufe for it : and indeed, 
 through his whole life, he was particularly remark-.ble for keeping up a fpwit 
 fuitable to his birth, quality, and that moft illuflrious title, by which the 
 greater* patriots in Scotland had, through a long feriej of years, been diftin- 
 uilhcd.
 
 O F QjLJ E E N A N N E. 26*1 
 
 the king of Spain to Genoa, or where elfe he fhould defire w ; 
 his majefty, by the death of his brother, the emperor Jofeph, 
 being lately become fole heir of all the dominions of the houfe 
 of Auftria. He was likewife dire&ed to afford all the ailliftance 
 pofiible to the kingdom of Naples, in cafe any commotion 
 Ihould happen there at this iunclure ; and accordingly he re- 
 paired to Barcelona, to confult his majefty and the duke of 
 Argyle, as to the propereft method of executing thefe orders 
 having firit detached two men of war of the third, one of the 
 fourth, and one of the fifth rate, to cruize on the coafl of Na- 
 ples, with orders to aflift the fubjets of the houfe of Auftria, 
 it any attempts fliould be made for reducing the garrifons of 
 Orbitello, or Piombino x . 
 
 On his arrival there, he found the king not at all inclined to 
 quit Catalonia, till fuch time as he had advice of his being elect- 
 ed emperor, in which he was promifed all the afliftance that 
 could be afforded him by the high allies; and, on the other 
 hand, he found his majefty equally unwilling to part with this 
 fleet, upon which all his hopes depended. Sir John Jennings 
 contented himfelf, therefore, with failing from Barcelona, on 
 the 1 3th of July, for Port Mahon, where he arrived on the 
 1 8th, having firft of all promifed the king of Spain, to return 
 as foon as the fhips were refitted, and he had taken in a proper 
 fupply of provifions, which began to grow very fcarce; and this 
 promife he exactly performed by the 26th, when we find him 
 again in the road of Barcelona, with one lecond, five third, 
 and one fourth rate, befides feven Dutch men of war, under 
 the command of vice-admiral Peiterfon, having ten other ftiips, 
 molt of the line, abroad on neceffary fervice. When thefe had 
 joined him he took the king of Spain on board, having then a 
 fleet of twenty-four fhips of war, and landed him in ten days 
 time at Genoa ; from whence the admiral failed to Leghorn, 
 being in great want of cables and other ftores, in order to pro- 
 cure fuch as the place would afford , and while he was there, 
 
 w London Gazette, N. 4841, 4881. x Burchct's naval hiftory, 
 
 hook v. chap. 36. The complete hiilory of Europe, for 1711. London Ga- 
 icttc, N. 4,836.
 
 two of Cur captains brought in two rich prizes from the Le- 
 vant y . 
 
 His excellency continued in that port to the 2d of November, 
 vhen he failed for Vado Bay, and having embarked the forces 
 that were ready to proceed for Catalonia, he fent them under 
 the protection of five men of war and two fire- {hips, to Barce- 
 lona, under the command of captain Swanton, with whofe fqua- 
 dron, and three Dutch (hips of war, the admiral failed as far 
 weftward as cape Rofes; and was then to repair to Port Ma- 
 hon, where captain Swanton was ordered to join him, as foon 
 35 he had feeri the tranfports in fafety, that the admiral might 
 be able to make a detachment for prote&ing the coafts of Por- 
 tugal; as aifo ibme (hips to cruize in the Streights mouth, for 
 the fecurity of our trade. When the admiral had made the ifland 
 of Minorca, the wind blew exceiBvely hard from the north- 
 eaft, which obliged him to come to an anchor on the north fide 
 f the ifland, where moll of the fhips fails blew away from 
 their yards; but he got, however, the next day into Port Mahoru 
 On his arrival he was informed, by the captains of two {hips 
 he found there, that they had heard a great firing of guns all 
 the night before; upon which he fent the Chatham and Win- 
 chelfea, the next morning, to fee what they could difcover ; 
 who foon brought an account, that the Dutch vice-admiral, 
 with his fquadron, was in the effing, together with four Britillt 
 Ihips *. 
 
 Thefe fliips of ours were the Hampton-court, commanded 
 by captain Mighells; the Steriing-caftle, the Nottingham, the 
 .Charles galley, and the Lynn, which came from the coaft of 
 Catalonia, and in their pafiage had fallen in with two French 
 men of war, the Thouloufe, and the Trident, each of fifty 
 guns, and four hundred men. The Hampton-court came up 
 with the firrt of them, and engaged her two hours, to whofe 
 commander, by the time the Sterling-caftle was within muiket- 
 
 T Burchet's nava! Mftcry, M fupra. The complete hilory of Europe fl>r 
 1711, p. 365. Annals of queen Anne, vol. x. p. 76. London Gzetfe, 
 K. 49<3<3, 4514, 4915, 4919, 4917- z B-irchct's naval hiftory, p. 79$. 
 
 Ltfdijfd's nival h ; 0.-rj', vo}. ii/ Annals of queen Anne. Mercure hiftorique 
 et p iliciquf , torn. Li. p. 131. London Gazette, N, 4891. 
 
 {hot
 
 o p QJJ E E N ANNE. 263 
 
 fhc* (which vras about ten at night) (he ftruck ; but by the ad- 
 vantage of little winds, the Trident got away with her oars. 
 The Hampton-court's mafts being much wounded in the fight, 
 they, by the violence of the weather, came next day all by the 
 board, fo that fhe was tovred into port by the Sterling-cattle. 
 The firft captain of the Thoukmfe, was M. Grand Pre, and the 
 fecond captain one Rigby,. an Englifhman, who had formerly 
 bore command in our fieet. From the former of them the ad- 
 miral accepted his parole of honour for fix months , but the lat- 
 ter he detained, although M. Grand Pre affured him he was 
 naturalized in France, and was become a Roman Catholic ; but 
 fome way or other he found means to efcape, and it was believ- 
 ed he got on board a fhip bound for Genoa, which lay in the 
 harbour of Mahon*. About the fame time, the Reftoration, a 
 ihip of feventy guns, was loft on the back fide of the Mallora, 
 ofF Leghorn, but all her officers and men were faved ; nor fell 
 it out better with a fettee, that had on board to the value of 
 four thoufand crowns, which (he was bringing from one of the 
 ports of Corfica b . 
 
 The French having at prefent no fleet in the Mediterranean, 
 the admiral was at liberty to employ his fhips in fuch a manner, 
 as might beft anfwer the purpofe of protecting Catalonia, and 
 incommoding the enemy; which he accordingly did, till towards 
 the end of the year he received advice, that the French were 
 bufy at Toulon, in fitting out a considerable force, which was 
 to put to fea in the fpriag, of which the admiral took all the 
 care he could to be particularly informed, and at laft received 
 a certain account, that this fqoadron was to eonfift of eleven or 
 twelve (hips, of which eight were of the line, and three or four 
 
 * I have not been able to recover any further particulars as to thek captures, 
 though I have taken all the pains I d til4 to inquire after them. This Rigby 
 had ma-le himlelf very infaoious before he left England,, having been I ng in 
 Newgate, and having received sentence for a rnuft fcantidluiis crime at the Old 
 Biiley. Yet he -as preferred in France for his (kill in the marine, nd might, 
 after this misfortune, have patted his time wi:h e.fe at Icart, it' not reputation j 
 but his cxptnces wrere fo larje, that, as .' inf >-r> ;.'., he brought upon 
 
 rrmfclf the juft reward of a life fo wickedly j'pciit ; and is thtrefore a fit w*rn- 
 irz to all luch rene^adocs as pref-r the iucrcafc of ibeir private fortune, to 
 the honour or welfare of their country. 
 
 S Bur:.he'/ ; ;>-, p. ?p<J. London Gii:tte, N*. 4934. 
 
 were
 
 2<5 4 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 were frigates ; that they were to proceed firft to Cadiz, and 
 from thence to the Weft Indies c . Upon this, the admiral, on 
 the 2 1 ft of February, held a council of war, in which, upon a 
 itrit examination, it was found, that the ihips under his com* 
 mand, could not put to fea till fupplied with proviiions from 
 Italy , and therefore a frigate was dilpatched to vice-admiral 
 Baker, then at Lifhon, with this intelligence, that he might 
 ftrengthen the convoy of the ftore-fhips and victuallers fent 
 from thence, and at the fame time it was refolved, that as foon 
 as the Englifli and Dutch mips arrived from Italy, the admiral 
 fliould cruize between Port Mahon and Cape de Gatt, not only 
 for the protection of the convoy, but in order to intercept the 
 enemy. 
 
 This neceffary fupply of provifions, and naval ftores, arriving 
 fafe at Port Mahon, and the admiral having intelligence from 
 all fides, of the great naval preparations of the enemy, it was 
 determined in a council of war, held on the i ith of March, to 
 put to fea with one fecond, three third, two fifth rate, and 
 two fire-fhips of ours, and nine mips of the States-General, and 
 to cruize ten or twelve leagues from Cape Toulon, until more 
 certain advice of the enemy could be had. Captain Walpole, 
 in the Lion, joining the fleet from Genoa, and informing them, 
 that he had feen in his paflage ni:;c :;,!! ihips to the N. W. of 
 the ifland of Minorca; it was refoivc : in a council of war, held 
 on the 23d of March, to proceed to the fouthward of Majorca 
 and Ivica, in order to intercept the enemy, if it was poflible, 
 between that and Cape St. Martin, in their paflage down the 
 Streights. Obtaining, however, no further intelligence, he 
 came to an anchor on the iirft of April off the ifland of For- 
 mentara, from whence he fent two clean (hips to look into the" 
 bays of Denea, Xabea, and Altea, as alfo into Alicant road ; 
 and, in cafe they brought him no advice, it was determined to 
 fail immediately to Barcelona. This was accordingly done, and 
 on his arrival there, and hearing nothing of the French, he fent 
 a clean frigate to look into the harbour of Toulon, in order to 
 difcover what they were doing there> with a refolution, upon 
 
 c Biirchet's naval hiftory, p. 798. LcdiarJ, vol. ii. Mercurc hiftorique ei 
 p.iliticjur, torn, liii. p. 410. 
 
 the
 
 F QjJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 the return of that (hip, to proceed to Port Mahon, there to re- 
 vilual, and then to Itand over to the Italian coaft, in order to 
 bring from thence a new fupply of troops to Catalonia d . 
 
 We are now to proceed to an account of what was done this 
 year in the Weft Indies* where, when we fpoke laft of affairs 
 jn thofe parts, we left commodore Littleton with a ftrong fqua- 
 dron under his command. This gentleman was extremely well 
 qualified for this ftation: he had all the abilities and experience 
 that could be wifhed for in a Tea-officer, and yet was as ready 
 to afk, and receive advice, as if he had neither. On his firlt 
 arrival in thofe parts, which was in the month of November, 
 1710, he took all the care that was poflible to obtain proper in- 
 telligence of the motions of the galleons^ which were ftill at 
 Carthagena j and at the fame time he neglected nothing that 
 the merchants thought requifite, either for the fccurity of their 
 trade in thofe parts, or for the fafe convoy of fiich (hips as from 
 time to time were fent home j fo that, during his ftay at Jamai- 
 ca, there were few or no complaints, but every body ftudied to 
 mind his own bufinefs, and to difcharge, when called upon, his 
 duty in the public fervice. 
 
 The defire of taking the galleons, was what principally occu- 
 pied the thoughts of the commodore, and as he was frequently 
 perplexed with falfe intelligence, he ftationed the Nonfuch and 
 the Roebuck, on the Spanifh coaft, giving orders to captairi 
 Hardy, who commanded the former, to difpatch the fcoebucli 
 to Jamaica, with any certain intelligence he could obtain, either 
 as to the time when it was propofed the galleons fhould fail, 
 or the ftrength of the convoy that was to accompany them. 
 Thefe orders were faithfully executed, though very little intel- 
 ligencej except that the galleons had as yet no convoy, could, 
 for many months, be procured. 
 
 In May, 1711, the commodore received an account from the 
 matters of fome veilels from Madeira, that M. du CaiTe, with 
 a fquadron under his command, had been feen from that ifland. 
 Soon after, a Spanilh {loop was taken, in which was a letter 
 from the governor of Carthagena, exprefling his hopes, that 
 
 d Burchct. Complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1711. Life of queen 
 Anne. Memoirs of the war id Spain, &c. 
 
 VOL. III. L 1 M. du
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 M. du GarTe -would fhortly arrive with feven fail of ftout fhips,. 
 in order to convoy the galleons. Upon this, the commodore 
 immediately fent an advice-boat to recal the Nonfuch, and, in 
 the mean time, began to prepare for an expedition, refolving 
 not to lofe this opportunity of attacking the French fquadron, 
 and having a chance for making prize of fome of the galleons*. 
 
 The Jcrfey, commanded by- captain Vernon, was then cruiz- 
 ing' to the windward of Jamaica, and having taken a French 
 {hip belonging to the port of Breft, whith carried thirty guns, 
 and one hundred and twenty men r he carried her into Jamaica, 
 on the 23d of May. The captain of this vefTel informed the 
 commodare, that he had been trading on the coaft of New- 
 Spain, from whence, proceeding to Port Lewis, in- Bifpaniola, 
 where he put on fliore the money he had taken,, he was failing 
 from thence to Petit Guavas, in order to take in there a cargo 
 for France,- when he fell into the hands of captain Vernon. He 
 added, that he failed from Port Lewis on the 2oth, in company 
 with M. du Gafle, who was gone for Garthagena, and that his 
 fquadron confifted of one (hip of feventy-four guns, another of 
 fixty, one of fifty, one of twenty -four, and one of twenty ; but 
 captain Hardy arriving on the 2yth, affured Mr. Littleton, that 
 two fhips of the French fquadron, one of which was the Glou- 
 cefter, of fifty guns, formerly taken from us, and another of 
 forty-four, arrived at Carthagena,- ten days before, and waited 
 for M. du Gafle, who defigned, as foon as the galleons could 
 be ready, to fail wirh them for the Havannah, and from thence 
 to Cadiz. 
 
 Upon this, captain Vernon was fent over to the coaft of New 
 Spain ; and returning on the 4th of July, reported, that on the 
 i8th of June, he had looked into the port of Carthagena, 
 where he faw twelve fiiips, fix rigged, and fix unrigged, and 
 five floops ; the fix fhips that were rigged, he informed the com- 
 modore, where the St. Michaely of feventy-four gunsj the Her- 
 cules, of fixty ; the Griffin, of fifty ; two finall frigates, and 
 rhe vice-admiral of the galleons, which carried fixty auns :' and 
 that, of the fhips that were unrigged, there were two lit the up- 
 per end of the harbour, preparing for fea, one of which he bc- 
 
 < Surchct'i naval hiltery, p. 7", 711. 
 
 lieved
 
 OT -QjU E E N ANNE. 267 
 
 Sieved to be the Minion, of fifty guns, and another of forty, the 
 reft he took to be trading veiTds f. 
 
 Upon the I5th of July, the commodore failed with one third 
 rate, four fourth rates, and rviloop* for -Carthagena ; and ar- 
 riving on the coaft of New Spain on the 26th, he difcovered 
 five fhips to the leeward, which he chaced into Boca-Chica, at 
 the entrance of Carthagena harbour. Upon this, he ftood orT 
 to fea the greateft part of the night ; but ftretching in to the fhore 
 next morning, chaced four (hips, and about fix came up with 
 the vice-admiral of the galleons, and a Spanifh merchant {hip , 
 and as M. du'Calfe had taken moft of the money cut of die gal- 
 leon, having fome fufpicion of the commanding officer on board 
 her j fo was this very carrack the fame which had efcaped 
 from Mr. Wager, as hath been before related 5 and coming 
 from Carthagena, in company with fome French fhips of war, 
 it happened '(he was feparated from them, and believing onp 
 iliips to be thofe with M. du CafTe, (as her commander faid), lay 
 by the greateft part of the day, and when Mr. Littleton came 
 near, hoifted SpanHli colours, and a -flag at the fore- top- ma ft* 
 head, fo that between five and fix at night, the Salisbury's 
 prize, commanded by captain Robert Harland, engaged her , 
 foon after which., the Salisbury, commanded by captain Francis 
 iiofier, did the fame h . 
 
 The commodore being within piftol fnot, was juft going to 
 fire into her when they ftruck their colours; and the Jerky, 
 going after one of the merchant fliips, took her; the NonfucK 
 chacing the ether, flie efca.ped in the night. The 
 
 f Burchet's navjl hliWy, biok v. chap. xx. Colutnr.a roftrala, p. jgj, 
 Wercure hiftorique ct poliiiqiie, torn. It. p. 433. 
 
 8 The commodore -haifted his broad pennant in the Defiance; and the fhips 
 that fdile<} with him, were the Salilbuty, Sahibury'* prize, Jcj-fey. Nonfuch, and 
 Jamaica fl-jop. In thtir paffige, the Salisbury's prize fprnng htr main mart, 
 which occafioned fom delay, till it could be fecurt J, and then they proceeded ; 
 captain Vern^n, in the Jerfey, having been fcnt, while the reft of the fqiudron 
 liy hy, to look into Carthagena. 
 
 h It is of confeqiience wher we can come at fuch diftlnft rtLtions as this is, 
 for the ufe of young officers, to whom they arc acceptable. It would be of fer~ 
 vice, and indeed of great fervice, if a diftinft and clear narrative of every cxpcdi- 
 tinn, drawn, or at Itaft figned by the commanding officer, was depofited in the 
 ^dairalcy, as well as a fea jourr.al. 
 
 L 1 3 of
 
 263 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 of the galleons, being wounded by a fmall fliot, died foon after. 
 M. du Cafle had taken moft of the money out of the galleon, 
 except what was found in fome boxes which belonged to private 
 psrfons. She had fixty brafs guns mounted, and three hun- 
 dred and twenty-five men j and the (hip which the Jerfey took, 
 was a veffel belonging to the merchants, of about four hundred 
 tons, and twenty-fix guns, laden for the moft part with cocoa 
 and wool. The prifoners, by the defcription given to them of 
 the fhips which were feen by the commodore, the day he came 
 cfr of Carthagena, afTured him, they were thofe with M. du 
 Cafle, and that he had been out of Carthagena but two days, 
 being feparated from the Spanifh vice-admiral, and nine mer- 
 chant (hips, the day after he came out; and fmce Mr. Littleton 
 was well allured tha.t he intended to touch at the Havannah, it 
 was determined to cruize a little to the leeward of Point Pedro 
 flioals, as the moft proper place for intercepting them, until 
 iuch time as further intelligence could be gained from captain 
 Hook, of the Jamaica floop, who was fent over to the coaft 
 with fome Spanifh prifoners'. 
 
 About this time the French formed a very memorable defign 
 of attacking the Leeward lilands, and this, with the natural 
 Itrength of their, own colonies , for which purpofe they aflem- 
 bled, in the month of May and June, about two thoufand men 
 in Martinico ; thefe they embarked on board the following vef- 
 fels, viz. a large (hip, of thirty-fix guns, a hag-boat of twenty- 
 four guns, two merchant (hips, and nine privateer (loops. They 
 put to fea on the loth of June, with an intent to land on the 
 ifland of Antigua ; but they were fcarce clear of their own 
 illand, before they met with her majefty's ihip the Newcaftle, 
 commanded by captain Bourn, who attacked them fo brifldy, 
 that, notwithltanding it was a calm, and they lay in fuch a 
 manner, as that it was impofiible for him to bring his broadfide 
 
 5 This account is taken from the commodore's letter, dated on board the De- 
 fiance, in Port-Royal harhour, Augtift 13, 1711. He (ays, in the fame letter, 
 that he had but one man killed, and fix wounded in the engagement ; and thongti 
 nri'her he, nor any of our hirtoiians, infift much on the value of this capture, yet 
 a Dutch writer informs us, that the two ptizf;, with the tff.fts on buard thcnj, 
 nh cue hundred thoufand pounds.
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 269 
 
 to bear upon them ; yet, after an action of three hours, in 
 which the French loft fixty-four men, he obliged them to re- 
 linquifli their enterprize, and to take the opportunity of the firft 
 little breeze that fprung up, to return into one of the ports of 
 their own iflands. 
 
 Unwilling, however, absolutely to abandon their defign, they 
 refitted their veiTels, and beat up for volunteers, and, on the 
 1 6th, landed near fifteen hundred men on the ifland of Mont- 
 ferrat ; they debarked thefe troops about twelve at night, and 
 began to plunder the adjacent country; but being informed that 
 captain Bourn failed from thence that very day, and was ex- 
 pedled again the next, they embarked in fuch a hurry, that they 
 left fifteen or twenty of their men behind them, who were made 
 prifoners by the inhabitants of the ifland, and thus ended this 
 project, through the courage and conduct of this worthy com- 
 mander. The French, however, did not efcape totally un- 
 chaftiled for this mifchief, for captain Lifle, in her majefty's 
 (hip the Diamond, having notice of their fituation, and fufpeft- 
 ing that fome of their tranfports would very foon put to fea, he 
 kept cruizing, together with the Panther, and another of her 
 majefty's fhips, at a fmall diftance from the coaft, and in a 
 fiiort time took three of them, befides oilier prizes, fo that the 
 enemy were effectually cured of their inclinations to make de- 
 fcents for this year *. 
 
 To return now to commodore Littleton, who having fent 
 away the homeward-bound trade in the month of Auguft, un- 
 der the convoy of the Nonfuch, returned again to his cruizing 
 itation, in the latter end of the fame month. He had not been 
 long at fea, before the captain of the Medway's prize, whom 
 he had fent to Blewfields-bay in Jamaica, brought him advice, 
 that the mafter of a trading veflel had lately made oath before 
 lord Archibald Hamilton, then governor of Jamaica, that eigh- 
 teen French men of war, having a large number of tranfports 
 with foldiers under their convoy, arrived lately at Martim'cO| 
 
 k See captain Bourn's letter, dated from Carlifle-bay, in Barbadoes, July 
 17, 1711, and two letters from captain Lille, the firft dated July 11, and the 
 fecond July 30, 1711; the former from Antigua, and the litter from St. Cbri- 
 ftaphcr's, in the London Gazette, N. 4906. 
 
 from
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 from whence, it was believed, they would very fpeedily fail, te 
 make an attempt upon Jamaica. This intelligence induced the 
 commodore to fail inftantly back to ths ifland, where the go- 
 vernor allured him, there was not a word of truth in the ftory. 
 This accident, however, had a very ill effect, fince at that very 
 inftant M. du Gaffe, v;irh his fquadron, got fafe into the Ha- 
 vannah, which he could not pofObly have done, if the commo- 
 dore had kept his ftation. It may be believed, this difappoint- 
 ment gave him infinite difturbance, but it did not, however, 
 hinder his cruizing for fome time off the Havannah, in hopes of 
 repairing this difafter ; in which he did not fucceed '. 
 
 Upon his return to Jamaica, he found the Thetis, a French 
 man of war, lately taken, arrived from New England ; and 
 foon after captain Leftock, in the Weymouth, from the fame 
 place, with a fmall privateer, which he had taken on the coall 
 of Porto Rico, in his paflage. There were at this time many- 
 merchant (hips ready to fail home, with whom the commodore 
 fent the Anglefea, Fowey, and Scarborough ; the laft-mention- 
 cd fhip had been taken from the French by the two former, 
 upon the coafl of Guinea, where, not long before, the French 
 tiad taken her from us. Thus ended the operations of the na- 
 val campaign for this year in the Weft Indies In . 
 
 But, before we leave America, it is necefiary that we fhould 
 enter into a cireumftantial account of that famous expedition 
 againft the French fettlements in Canada, which makes fo great 
 a figure in the French hiftories, and on which we find fo many 
 reflections made in our own ; the fubject indeed is both intricate 
 and unplcafant, but, withal, it is extremely neceilary to fet it in 
 a clear light ; fince, notwithflanding its mifcarriage, through a 
 concurrence of unforefeen, as well as unlucky accidents, it was 
 certainly one of the beft intended, and very far from being one 
 of the worft contrived defigns that was fet on foot during this 
 war, and, therefore, we hope the reader will not think an 
 impartial relation of the whole affair unworthy of his attention". 
 
 The 
 
 I Bnrchet's naval hiftory, p. ?TJ. Briiilh empire !n America, vol. ii. p. 34?. 
 111 Burchcr, p. 71$, 716. Annals of queen Anne, /ire. 
 
 " At tbis diflance of time, when the parties arc all dead, and the circnmr 
 flaucc6 of things fo altered, as to kavc no room for either pre poiTcfll jns or pre-
 
 OP QJJ E E N ANNE. 271 
 
 The difturbance given us by the French in North America, 
 and the apprehenfions our colonies were under, from the 
 ftrength of their fettlements in Canada, have been fo often men- 
 tioned, that I think I need not infift upon them here : I fhall 
 content myfelf therefore with obferving, that the earl of Go- 
 dolphin had often exprefled a ftrong defire of attempting fome- 
 thing of confequence in this part of the world, that might exalt 
 our own character, and humble the haughtinefs of the enemy. 
 Sir llovenden Walker informs us, that he was confulted by 
 that great minifter, in reference to this defign-, yet I very much 
 doubt, whether the whole of it was then communicated to him, 
 fmce it is very certain, that it was not either he, or general Hill, 
 who were to have been employed in the expedition, as it was 
 then intended ; but Sir Thomas Hardy was to have command- 
 ed the fleet, and the land forces were to have been under gene- 
 ral Maccartney. It has been remarked by bifhop Burnet, and 
 fbme other writers, that the whole of this defign was concert- 
 ed without any application to, or confent of parliament ; and 
 this, that prelate fays, was the more inexcufable, becaufe it was 
 contrived and carried into execution, at a time when the parlia- 
 ment was fitting . 
 
 The force of this objection, I mufl confefs, I do not fee ; 
 for if expeditions of fuch a nature, with all the eftimates of 
 expences necefTary for rendering them effectual, were to be laid 
 
 jadicty, one may hopf, that a candid inquiry into fo very important an expedi- 
 t on, will merit the favour, as well as claim the attention, of every judicious 
 reader, for many reafons. 
 
 c The bithop'i account runs thus : " An expedition was defigned by fea, for 
 
 " taking Quebec and Piacenria, and, fur that end, five thoufand men were 
 
 " brought from Fhnders. Hill, who was brother to the favourite, had the 
 
 " command. There was a firong fquadron of men of war ordered t<> ft cure the 
 
 " tranfport fleet ; they were furnifticd from hence with provifions, only for three 
 
 " months ; but they dt figned to tike in a iecond fupply at New England. A com- 
 
 " 'miffioner of the v.lroaliir.g then told me, he could net gucfs what made them 
 
 '' to he fer; ont f.. ill fornifhed, for they had ft >res lying on their hands fur a foil 
 
 ' fupply." Mr OUmixon writes with lefs rcfentment ; !? attributes this pr.j.-tl 
 
 or : ginally to governor Nicholfon, and I believe wirh tru:h ; Ho (a-\-s, the four Lidiaii 
 
 .::>icfs, who were brought over hither, n.d prelVnted to the <JOP, foiicited it 
 
 ;ly; and, in fir.r, that it hid been certainly a very good pr . j-!i, if i; haI 
 
 it.ro good hands. Pv.:, he ini-i.uates, th.t it was rti'de ajjl>; the con- 
 
 ^ '.-h, I thiiik, rSl! .^ic. 
 
 "^re
 
 372 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 before parliament before they could be undertaken, I think it 
 muft be obvious to every intelligent reader, that this would af- 
 ford fuch an opportunity of oppofing defigns of this nature at 
 home, and making all the world acquainted with them abroad, 
 that it would be afterwards feldom advifable to execute them. 
 But there is another remark made by Mr. Burchet, which ap- 
 pears to have a better foundation. He fays, that this defign 
 was induftrioufly concealed from the lords of the admiralty, as 
 long as it was pofTible, and that at laft they were trufted only 
 with the executive part, and not at all with the direction ; for 
 otherwife, he thinks, it muft have been impoffible that fuch large 
 Ihips ihould have been ordered for an expedition into the river 
 of St. Lawrence, which was well known to their lordihips to 
 be fo hazardous a navigation, and for which, therefore, fhips of 
 fuch a burden were altogether unfit p . 
 
 This remark, I fay, has greater weight with me, becaufe it 
 plainly proves, that how right focver the intention of a miniftry 
 
 P How far the following account of ihis matter, taken from a letter of Mr. 
 fecretary St. John's, to Sir Hovenden Walker, dated April 17, 1711, will ob- 
 viate even this objection, I muft leave to the reader ; with this obfervation, 
 however, that if the fentiments contained in it were not fincere, the writef 
 muft have been the greateft diilcmbkr in the world. " The Humber and De- 
 " vondiire will proceed with you, of thofe which are ordered to cruize in the 
 " Soundings, it will not, I doubr, be poffible for you to be joined by any. 
 " The lords of the admiralty, yp.u find, look on ihefe additional (hips as gi ; 
 " VCR you for the expecli.im, and it is fit they fhould do fo ; but when you 
 " are got far enough into the fea, you arc to fend back two of the ten failj 
 " and if you find any of the eight firft, appointed to compofe your fquadron, 
 *' not fit for the voyage, as the Torbay is reported not to be^ y u may, in 
 " fuch cafe, fend home the flrip which is unfit, taking which you (hall like 
 < bed of the two additional (hips in lieu of her. The meffenger who brings 
 " this packet, i ordered to flay till difpatchcd back again by Mr. Hill and your- 
 " felf. I mnft tell you, that I find her majefty extremely impatient to hear 
 " you arc failed, and concerned left you fhould lofe the advantage of this 
 *' caftcrly wind. I hope, therefore, by the return of the meffenger, yott 
 " will inform me exactly when you (hall be ready to proceed. I have nothing 
 " more to add, but to recommend all pcffible expedition to yon, upon which,- 
 *' morally and probably fp-aking, your fuccefs intirely depends. That you 
 44 may have a profpcrous voyage, anj be, together with Mr. Hill, the inftru- 
 *' ments of doing fo much honour, and bringing fo much advantage to you? 
 11 country, as are propofed by the attempt you are ordered to make, is the 
 " hearty prayers of, 
 
 " SIR, your, fcV." 
 
 Ihay
 
 OF QjJ E N ANNE. 2*3 
 
 may be, in endeavouring to preferve an abfolute fecrecy as to 
 defigns of this fort ; yet, in cafe of any mifcarriage, their con- 
 duit will be always liable to great imputations, where they 
 avoid communicating their councils to fuch branches of the 
 adminiftration, as feem to have a right to regulate and direct 
 them q . 
 
 In refpect to this defign upon Quebec, it feems to have been 
 principally under the direction of the lord vifcount Bolingbroke, 
 then Mr. fecretary St. John, by whofe intereft, I fuppofe, Sir 
 Hovenden Walker, rear-admiral of the white, was appointed 
 to command in chief, and general Hill, who was brother to 
 lady Mafliam, was likewile appointed commander of about five 
 thoufand land-forces, that were to be employed in this deHgn. 
 As it was the firft, and indeed the only great undertaking of 
 the new miniftry, I cannot believe but that they were in ear- 
 neft, and really in hopes of raifing their reputation, by giving 
 an extraordinary blow to the French power in thofe parts j 
 which I conceive muft evidently appear, if we confider the 
 great force employed for this purpofe, and which will be bell 
 made known to the reader, by giving him Sir Hovenden Wal- 
 ker's line of battle, as we find it in the appendix to his own 
 account. 
 
 Ships. Commanders. Men, Guns. 
 
 Torbay, Captain Moody, 500 80 
 
 Monmouth, Mitchell, 400 70 
 
 Sunderland, Gore, 365 60 
 
 Diamond, Lille, 190 40 
 
 Devon&ire, Arris, 5:0 tfo 
 
 Edgar, Sir Hovenden Walker, ? 
 Captain Soans, -> 
 
 Humber, Culliford, 5:^ 8v 
 
 1 -One may fairly colleft from this, that the miniflers who en:.; 
 fcheme, *ere no: only ih roughly in earned, but alfo extremely fanguine in 
 fccfpttf to its fucccfs, otherwifc they wi.nll never have taken this method; and 
 Aire there wa nothing criminal, in definno to recover Canada out ot the 
 of th; French, or in propofing, for the protection and Security of oiu 
 colonies, to d:ive them entirely out of N'^rth America, which was the av >*<" 
 deilgn of this en;erprz:, auj w- ulJ have been a I'giul bentfit Co Great Bti- 
 tain. 
 
 Vor,. III. JM m Ships.
 
 NATAL HISTORY 
 
 Ships. Commanders. Men. Gunsv 
 
 Montague, Captain Walton, 365 60 
 
 Kingfton, Winder, 365 60 
 
 Swiftfure, Cooper, 400 70 
 
 Dunkirk, Butler, 3.65 60 
 
 Together with the Bedford-Galley frigate, Bafiliflc and Granada; 
 bombs, with the Experiment, the bombs tender. 
 
 There were, beiides, thirty-three tranfports, with the regi- 
 ments of brigadier HiH, colonel Windrcfs, colonel Ciayton r 
 colonel Kane, lieutenant-general Seymour, colonel Difney, co- 
 loiiel Kirk, and a battalion of marines, under the command of 
 colonel Charleft Churchill, making in all upwards of five thou- 
 fand men, and eight tranfports and tenders belonging to the 
 train r . 
 
 The rnftraclions given by her raajefty to Sir Hovenden Wal- 
 ker, required him, as foon as the general and troops were em- 
 barked, to proceed to Button directly, without touching at any 
 place whatfoever; and, if he judged it convenient, he was to 
 detach, in his pafiage, a ihip of war, with the artillery, ftores, 
 clothes, and other necefiaries, to New York j but, if he found 
 this inexpedient, he was to fend them from Bofton. On his 
 arrival at that place, he was to take the Leopard and Saphire 
 wnder his command, and in cafe; the general thought it necei- 
 fary, he was to affift him in exchanging the garrifon of Anna- 
 polis Royal-, and in tranfporting the old garrifon y v.-;th ftores, 
 back to New England-. He was, when at Bofton, to take un- 
 der his care all tranfport velicls, ketches, hoys, boats, and 
 other necefTaries provided in New England ; and as foon as the 
 forces from hence, and thofe raifed there, fhould be on board, 
 he was to fail with them all into the river of St. Lawrence, up 
 to Quebec,- in order to attack that place ; and being arrived, to 
 make a proper difpofnion of the fliips for that purpofe, as well 
 of fuch as might be fit to employ before the town, as others, 
 upon confulting with the general, to paf> that place, and pro- 
 ceed up the river towards the lake, not only to prevent any 
 communication with Quebec, but to protect the canoes, and 
 
 ' ?rc the appendix to Sir Hovcnccn Walker's full account of the late expedi- 
 tion u Canada, p. 188 jpi. 
 
 boats,
 
 o F CMJ E E %* ANNE. 
 
 boats, -with the forces from New York ; to which end he 
 empowered to convert fome of the fmall veffels fent from hence, 
 or New England, into frigates, fuitable to the navigation of the 
 ripper part of the river, and to man and arm them accordingly. 
 .At New England, or elfewhere, he was to alEft the general 
 with veflels and boats proper for landing the forces, and em 
 barking them again, but more especially upon -his arrival at 
 Quebec, or for tranfporting them from place 10 place. He wars 
 alfo ordered to fend to the general fuch marine Soldiers z-, 
 fhouhl be on board the fquadron, when he fhouid demand 
 fame, which he was to have the chief command of while em- 
 ployed on fliore; beGeies which, he was .to affift him with fuch 
 a number of feamen, gunners, guns, ammunition, and other 
 {lores from the fhips, as he mould demand for the land-frrvice, 
 which feamen were to a {lift in drawing and mounting the can- 
 non, or otherwise as -fliould be found jnccelTary.. lie was itricr- 
 ly required to lofe no time in proceeding to New England, and 
 from thence to the river of St. Lawrence ; nor in putting in 
 execution the fervice of Quebec : but that, on his parr, all ex- 
 pedition ihould be ufed in the reduction of the place, and o/ 
 the country of -Canada, or New Frr.nce, and in the feafonable 
 return of the fquadron and transports*. 
 
 He was further inftrudted, which fliews that this de/ign 
 had been very thoroughly confidered, in cafe of fuccefs, to 
 leave luch a .naval force as he thought proper in the river of St. 
 Lawrence, and to nfia-ke ufe of any of the enemy's hips that 
 might be taken, to bring into Europe fuch governors, regular 
 troops, religious perfons., or others wham the general, by his 
 inftructtons was direled to fend away from Canada, with 
 whatever necciTaries fer their tranfportation he ihould think re- 
 quifite. Thele fervices being provided for, he was to take en 
 board the general, if he fliould think fit to return, und fuch 
 of the forces as fhould not be found necelfary to live in 
 Canada; and, if the feafon of the year would -permit, he 
 was to proceed to attack Placentia, in Newfoundland, in 
 fuch a manner as general Hill fiiould dire#; -and this fer- 
 *-.ice being over, he was to -order fuch fhips of war as did 
 
 See the infiniftion* at hrgr, -n -he bcfore-mtntioned tppfn^ix, p. ttftf. 
 
 Mm?
 
 2*6 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 not properly belong to his fquadron, to their feveral ftationa, 
 directing the matters of the tranfports, which he ihould have 
 no further occafion for, to go and feek freight, either in ports 
 upon the continent of America, or in the iilands, in order to 
 cafe the public of the charge of them, and for the benefit of 
 the Britiih commerce'. 
 
 On the 2yth of April, 1711, Sir Hovenden Walker failed 
 with the men of war and tranfports under his command ; but 
 coming off the Start the firft of May, a wefterly wind obliged 
 him to put into Plymouth"; from whence he failed again in 
 
 * Tefidcs tr-efe inflniftioas, the admiral was fnrniftied with copies of thofe 
 ftnt to the refpcclive governors of MafTichufetVbay, and New Hampfhire; 
 the additional inftruftions fent to the governor of Ne* York, as well as tho r e 
 to Fraocis Nicholf'on, E("q; and the governors of Connecticut, Rhode Ifland, 
 Providence, and Pcnnfylvania, that he might be convinced the adminiftration 
 had taken ai! the ca'e in their power, that lie might not fail for want of proper 
 sffi/rance, or be in any douhr as to what v. as, or was not in the power of fuch 
 perfons as he, in the courfe of his expedition might hare occafion to apply 
 tr ; which, without doubt, was very tjfeful, and highly proper iu his circum- 
 fbnccs. 
 
 u As I have all along endeavoured to treat every fobjcft that fell in my 
 way as impartially as poffible, fo I think it mv du;y to -jive the reader here 
 f. ktrer from lord Bolinghroke to the admiral, which, I think, evidently proves, 
 that rainifter had thi delign as much at heart as any rain in his Itaiion could, 
 have. 
 
 "SIR, 
 
 " The wind being come about to the font h, I take it for granted, that this, 
 ' letter will find you at Plymouth, cr at Tori-ay, the ufnal bane of our mari- 
 '.' time expeditions. You mud allow me to tell you, that the queen is very 
 " uneafy at the unaccountjble lols of time in ymir ftay at Portfmouth ; and^ 
 " if the Devonfhire could not be refitted fooiicr, you ought rather to have 
 " left her behind, than delay your failing. If the tranfports were the occafion 
 ' of this misfortune, the commifTk>ners, or mailers of them are 10 blame, 
 ' and fhould be complained of. I tnk it for grsnfcc 1 ., if y^u continue any 
 ' time wind-bound, that you will be flopped for good and all; ar.d the whole 
 " expence and trouble will be thrown away; a'.d t!-. we fhall make as little 
 ' of onr Meet this year, as we have done in former fummers. In cafe provi- 
 ' dence will carry 11$ forward in fpitc of cur teeth ; I hope (he taft delay 
 " will be a warning to you, and that you will improve to day, inftead of de- 
 " pending upon to-morrow. If any thing is to be ordered, or done here, let 
 " i.ic know by ejcprefs, and there fball be as much expedition ufed, as I wilh 
 " there had been at Portfmouth. I have fent to Colcby, to go wherever you 
 V arc driven back, thjt this part of tire fcivicc may have the due care taken 
 
 , May i, 171^ I arr, SIR, fc." 
 
 two
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 277 
 
 two dnys time, and continued his voyage very happily towards 
 New England, where he arrived on the 24th of June, without 
 any ether accident, than two of his captains difobeying his or- 
 ders, viz. captain Scans, of the Edgar, and captain Butler, in the 
 Dunkirk ; they had both chaced without ijgnal, and left the fleet, 
 notwithstanding the flricl injunction of the admiral, grounded 
 on his inftruclions to the contrary. As captain Soans had join- 
 ed the fleet again the next day, he was only mulcted three 
 months pay, but captain Butler having never been feen by the 
 fleer, till their arrival at Nantafket, near Bofton, was difcharged 
 and difmhTed from his command w . 
 
 The admiral was far from meeting, in New England, with 
 that hearty zeal for the fervice which he expected ; for being 
 obliged to take up a great quantity of provisions for the fervice- 
 of the fleet and tranfports, he found the utmoft difficulty there- 
 in, as appears very clearly from the authentic papers inferred, or 
 annexed by way of appendix to his account. From thefe it is 
 evident, that the perfon who was depended upon for that fer- 
 vice, not only refufed it, but endeavoured to ferve his private 
 intereft, at the expence of the public, by buying up great quanti- 
 ties on his own account, in order to vend them again to whoever 
 fhould undertake to fupply the fleet ; fo that by the flownefs of 
 the colony, and the avarice of this particular perfon, the whole 
 expedition was ruined*. 
 
 The admiral and general did all that was in their power, by 
 memorials and felicitations, to remedy this inconvenience; but 
 
 w The leniences of thefe courts martial are in the appendix to Sir Hoven- 
 den Walker's account; where, in that of caprain Thomas Butler it is Isid, 
 that he feparate.l from the fleet on the iSth of May, in order to chace a fmall 
 ihip which he took, and applied the produce far his own private advantage, by 
 which he was guilty of a pofitivc breach both of orders and discipline. 
 
 * Amongft other pieces of fecret hillory rcUtivc to this attempt, one was, 
 that the French had their eniifTaries in New England, and that by an adroit 
 application of money, they produced thtfc disappointments and delays, which 
 rendered it inrffcclual. But as I never heard there were any direft proofs gi- 
 v-. n of this, I am inclined to believe avarice and private intcrdl (erred the 
 French more effectually, and with Icfs expence, than any agents .jf theirs could 
 have done. But in thofe days, mu^h was afcribcd to French jjnM, when in 
 truth they had little gold to give. 
 
 to
 
 278 NAV -A L HISTORY 
 
 to little or no purpofe, fince the inhabitants were extremely fen- 
 fible of their own intereft, and deaf to every thing elfe. Ge- 
 neral Nicholfon came to Bofton, and gave all the affiftance that: 
 was in his power, and fo did fo me other public-fpirited perfons, 
 without which it had been impofiible for the fleet and forces 
 to have proceeded at all$ and, as it was, they found it im- 
 practicable to leave Bofton before the 3oth of July, when, 
 with a few pilots on board, who profeffed their own ignorance, 
 and went ngVmft their will, Sir Hovenden Walker failed for 
 Quebec ?. 
 
 On the 1 4th of Auguft he reached the Bird lihnds, which 
 lie about two hundred and fifty leagues from Cape Anne, and 
 having Tent the Chffter, Leopard, and Saphire, to cruize be- 
 tween Placentia and Cape Breton, an ifland oppofite to New- 
 foundland, expecting their joining him in his paflage to Que- 
 bec ; the former of which fliips had taken, and fent into Bof- 
 ton before he failed thence, a fhip of about one hundred and 
 twenty tons, and ten guns, that had feventy men on board, 
 whereof thirty were foldiers for that garrifon. The LeoftarT, 
 Feverfhnm, Enterprize, and Triton's prize, all finall frigates 
 which were ([rationed at New York and Virginia, he ordered 
 to join him off C?.pe Breton, being empowered by her ma- 
 jefty's orders fo to do, if he fhould find it neceffary ; and this 
 he the rather did, becaufe of the ufe they might be to him in 
 his proceeding up the river to Quebec, which navigation moft 
 of the people with whom he had fpoken, repref-mted to be 
 very dangerous; and therefore he rightly judged the Humber 
 and Devonfhire, which mounted 80 guns each, too big to be 
 ventured thither, for which reafon he fent them home, and 
 ihifted his flag on board the Edgar, a fiiip of 70 guns, general 
 Hill removing into the Windfor, which carried ten lefs ; but 
 fince he had information that a fhip of 60 guns, and another 
 of 30, were expected from France very fuddenly, he ordered 
 the Humber and Devonfhire to cruize on the opening of the 
 bay of St. Lawrence, until the laft of Auguft, and then to 
 
 7 See Sir Hovenden Walker's acconnf. BurcJiet's naval hift-sry, p. 778,779. 
 Annali of queen Ann-, Vul. x. p. 151. Mcrcure hifloricjue et pulitiqur, 
 t^me I. p. 199, 433. 
 
 pur fiie
 
 o F Qj? E E N ANNE. 279 
 
 purfue their voyage home. He had very fair weather until he 
 got into the bay, when it became changeable ; fometimes thick 
 and foggy, and at others calm, with little winds, and the na- 
 vigation appeared to be intricate and hazardous. The 1 8th of 
 Augufr, when he was off Gafpe-bay, near the entrance of 
 the river, it blew frefh at N. W. and for fear the tranfports 
 fliould be feparated, and blown to leeward, he anchored in the 
 bay, where, {laying for an opportunity to proceed up the river, 
 he burnt a French ihip that was fi tiling, not being able to bring 
 her off*. 
 
 On the 2oth of Augufr, the wind veering wcfterly, the ad- 
 miral had hopes of gaining a palTage; but the next day in the 
 afternoon it proved foggy, and continued lo all night, and the 
 day following, with very little wind till towards evening, when 
 there was an extreme thick fog, and it began to blow hard at 
 E. and E. S. E. which rendering it impoilib'.e to fteer any 
 courfe with fafety, having not either fight of land, or found- 
 ings, or anchorage, he, by the advice of the pilots then on 
 board him, both Englifh and French, who were the bcfl in the 
 fleet, made the fignal for the ihips to bring to, with their heads 
 fouthward, at which time it was about eight at night, believing 
 that in that pofture they thould not come near the north (here, 
 but rather have driven with the ftream in the mid channel ; 
 but, on the contrary, as they lay with their heads fouthward, 
 and the winds ealterly, in two hours time he found himfclf on 
 the north ihore among the rocks and iflands, at leaft fifteen 
 leagues farther than the log-line gave, where the whole lleet 
 had like to have been loft ; the men of war efcaping the dan- 
 ^r with the utmoft difficulty, but eight tranfpcrt fliips were 
 caft away 1 , and almoft r.i::. .1 officers, foldiers and fea- 
 
 iT.cn peri flic J b . 
 
 The 
 
 z Sir Hover.den Walker's acr.-.imr, p. in. Burchci's r.zvA hifbry, p. 779. 
 The complete hiltory of Europe, for 1711, p. 370. BJVH juecn 
 
 , p. 5:0. a Columru rolbaia, p. z?;. M..j\v.rc . 
 
 .lie, tome !:. p. 515. Looi. G^z. N. 4710. 
 ! he admiral h pr.bliihed the fjliuwino accoart of the fi-.';; and men that 

 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The French pilot (who, as it was faid, had been forty voy- 
 uges in this river, and eighteen of them in command) informed 
 him, that \vhen it happens to be fo foggy as to prevent the 
 fight of the land, it is impoflible to judge of the currents, or 
 to freer by any courfe ; for that he himfelf had loft uvo Ihips, 
 and been another time cafl away upon the north fiiore, when 
 lie judged himfelf near the fouth; infomuch, that it was ex- 
 tremely difficult to procure men in France, to proceed on fo 
 dangerous a navigation, fince almoft every year they fuffered 
 ihipwreclc c . 
 
 Sir Hovenden Walker plied two days after this with frefh 
 gales at W. and 8. in order to fave what men and ftores he 
 could, and on the 25th of Auguft, by the advice, and with 
 the confent of the general, he called a council of war, confift- 
 irig of ail the fea-officers, wherein great debates arofe, moft of 
 the captains being rather inclined to cenfure the admiral's con- 
 duct, in not calling a council of war before he left Bofton, 
 than to give him any reafon to grow pleafed with councils of 
 war, by the advice they gave him in this. Sir Hovenden told 
 them plainly, that if he had afted amifs in what they mention- 
 ed, he was to anfwer for it in another place, and that the na- 
 ture of the fervice, and the circumftances they were in, requi- 
 red them to confine their deliberations to another matter ; and, 
 therefore, in order to CUT fhort thefe unneceiiary debates, he 
 would propofe the fingle queiiion, proper for their prefent con- 
 Ships names. Men Men 
 tra-ifports. loft. laved. Regiments. 
 
 I.' clla Anne Katherinc, 19* 7 or 8 colonel Windrefie. 
 
 Smyrna Mtrchunr, zoo }o Kaine. 
 
 S.mucl and Anne, 141 7 or 8 liciit.-gcn. Seymour. 
 
 Nathaniel and Eiifabeth, 10 188 ditto. 
 
 Marlbnrough, 131 30 colonel Clayton. 
 
 Chatham, 60 40 Windrefle. 
 
 Colchef>er, 150 180 lieut.-gen. Srymour. 
 
 Concent, victualler, 15 
 
 884 499 
 
 c Sir Hovenden himfeif ^ives Mr. Burchct this account, in a letter fenf him 
 exprtfs hy captain Cook, of the Leopard, dated from on board the Edgar, 
 in Sp^nifh River biy, Sipt. n, 1711. 
 
 fideratior. -,
 
 o F QJJ E E N A N N E. S 8a 
 
 ^deration ; which was, whether they thought it practicable to 
 get up to Quebec or not ? upon which they came unanhiioufly 
 to the following refolution, viz. " That, by rcafon of the igflo-- 
 ranee of the pilots, it was wholly impracticable to go up 
 " the river of St.- Lawrence, with the men of war and tran- 
 " fports, as Tar as Quebec ; as alfo the uncertainty and rapi- 
 " dity of the currents, ns by fatal experience was found d ." 
 Upon this, the S.iphire was Tent to Bofton, with an account cf 
 the misfortune, and the Montague to find cut the Humber and 
 Devonfhire, and to flop all {hips bound up to Quebec; and the 
 Leopard being left with fome floops and brigantines, to take 
 any men from the fhore that might be faved, and to endeavour 
 to weigh fome anchors left behind, he proceeded to Spaniih 
 River, in the ifland of Breton, the rendezvous he had ap- 
 pointed, there to be perfectly informed of the flate of the 
 army and fleet, and to fettle matters for their further pro- 
 ceedings ; but all che fiiips did not join till the 7th of Sep- 
 tember e . 
 
 The admiral being very fenfibleof the reproaches that would 
 be caft Upon him, if^ after failing in his defign on Quebec, he 
 fhould return home without fo much as attempting Placentia, 
 communicated his thoughts upon this fubjeft very freely to the 
 general, and fome land officers, intimating, at the fame time, 
 fome doubt, whether his inftrudlions would warrant fuch a 
 conduct, Without receiving frefh orders from England. Ge- 
 neral Hill agreed with him in the mainj that it was a great mif- 
 fortune to the nation, and vexy unlucky for themfelves, that 
 hitherto they had met with fo little fuccefs in this expedition ; 
 but was quite of a different opinion, as to the return of the 
 fleet and forces to England, which he judged to be abfolutely 
 in the admiral's power ; however, be advifed him to call a 
 
 d This rtfolution \v.-s rrt taken upon any ha rt jr refenrmert of the Jarc ae- 
 cidcn: ; but ai"t;r mature deliberation, i-d very flrift cxarrtinatinn of tvt-r 
 lot tin bo^rd, who all cf th-m urerd in confefTing fc.r i-n.ra cc; ?.-J evei 
 color el \\-ch, who dschred himfcif \hc beft p'bt for that r r=r, now d (i-ed 
 to be excufad from mi.-.dling wi>h fea affair*, zcJ fiid, he Could no: take c'.argt 
 fo much as of a f.ng'e fhip. 
 
 e Sec Sr Hovenden Wilfc-x's *rtco it, p. IJ4- Bnrciet's nartl fciftor , p. *So 
 Land. Git. brfxe ci;eJ. 
 
 VOL. ill. Nn fecond
 
 a** NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fecond council of war, and to be determined by the opinion of. 
 the fea and land officers, to which the admiral readily agreed; 
 and accordingly he made a fignal for a general council of war of 
 ca and land officers,, on Saturday the 8th of September, in 
 Spanifh River road- y and in this council it was unanimoufly de- 
 termined, that any attempt upon Placenta,, con fidermg the late- 
 nefs of the feafon, and their circumitances, was utterly imprac- 
 ticable ( . 
 
 The admiral had now nothing more to do,, than to provide 
 the beft he could for his fafe return hornc r and for the due di- 
 ftribution of ftv.ps and forces to their refpe&ive ftations and 
 garrifons throughout North America, which he feems to have 
 
 performed 
 
 f As this resolution aWolutely decided the who!c bufinefs, as it contain* the 
 vcafons upon which the officers concerned proceeded; and as it fully proves 
 the innocence of the admiral and the general in this affair, the whole of which 
 it fets in a full and clear lijht j I think it ncccflary te tranftribe this papery 
 with the names of the officers prcfent at this council. 
 
 " The twenty- firft article of her majefty's inftruftions to the general, for 
 " attacking Placentia, in Newfoundland, in his return from Canada, together 
 " with the tenth article of the admiral's inflruftions to the fame purpofe, 
 41 being feverally read to tht council of war; as alfo a ktter from colo,el 
 " Dudley, governor of New England, to the admiral, touching the latemfs 
 " of the preparation of pnfcrifions, now making in that colony for the fupply 
 rt of the troops, if they had wintered at Quebec ; all which being maturely 
 " confidered and debated, the queflion was put as follows, T'U. The flate of 
 " prarifions for the mips of war and land forces being confidered, which 
 " provifions not amounting to above ten weeks, at fnort allowance; compr.t- 
 " ing it from the nth of this itifiant, September, as appears by the agent 
 <* victuallers figned account thereof, and allowing it to be all good, and to- 
 " hold out to that time, the fard li-th of September, being the fooneft we can 
 " fajl from thence; and there being no hopes of any fupply from New Erg- 
 " land before the beginning of November ne*f, at fooneft, a* appears by the 
 " advice received in the a'orefaid letter from the governor of New England* 
 ** and the opfniton of two of the members of the council of war, who knew 
 " that country, together with the uncertainty of any provifions coming to us 
 " at Newfoundland,, by reafon the feafoo of the year is fo far advanced, whicB 
 " makes the navigation of that coart fo dangerous; the council of war is ur.a- 
 " nimoufly of opinion, that the attempt for reducing Placentia, under the cir- 
 " cumflanees and difficulties above-mentioned, is at this time altogether im- 
 " practicable, and that it is for her majelty's fervice, that the fquadron and traof- 
 ** ports wiih the Britilh troop*, do forthwith return to Greai Britain, and tl.e 
 " lorcci raifcd in New EngUud to that coloDy." 
 
 Ho vender-
 
 F Qj7 F. E N ANNE. 
 
 performed with all the care and diligence imaginable; and it 
 appears, that in the whole courf: of his command, he preferred 
 a perfect underftanding with the land officers, and gave all the 
 afiiftance that was either defired, or could be expected, to the 
 feveral governors of ourfettlements in that part of the world. 
 In his voyage home, he met with no accidents that either retarded 
 his paflage, or added to the misfortunes he had already met 
 with; but arrived iafeiy at St. Helen's, on the ninth of Oc- 
 tober, 17 n, with the fleet and tranfperts under his conv 
 niand '. 
 
 On the 1 3th, the foldiers having all had their quarters affign- 
 d them, and the tranfports being directed to the leveral ports 
 where the regiments were to deb. trie, the admiral, having had 
 leave for that purpefe, fet our for London. On the ifth, the 
 admiral's (hip, in which he had ho; (led his flag, the Edgar, a 
 third rate, of 70 guns, blew up at Spithead, by which feverai 
 hundred Teamen were lolt, with all Sir liovenden Walker's 
 furniture, (tores, and public papers, books, draughts, journals, 
 charts, 6"<r- the officers original demands, fupplies, and re- 
 ceipts ; which was certainly a very great misfortune to him, and 
 fuch a one as did by no moans deferve to be heightened by any 
 groundlefs or malicious reflections; which, however, were not 
 fpared upon that melancholy occailon. That very evening, Sir 
 Hovenden 'waited upon fecretary St. John, who expreffed an 
 extraordinary concern on the mifcarriage of the expeditio;^ 
 On the ipth, the admiral was introduced to the queen at 
 Windfor, by the duke of Shrewfbury; when her majefty r*- 
 
 HovencJen Walker, J HUI. 
 
 Jofeph S lanos, Charles Churchill, 
 
 John MitchcU, William WiodrciTe, 
 
 R. Arris, M. Kcmpenfelt, 
 
 G. Walton, Jafper CUytan, 
 
 Henry Gore, P. Kirk, 
 
 G. Paddon, H. Difney, 
 
 John Winder, Richard Kane, 
 
 John Cockburn, Samuel Vetch, 
 
 James Cook, Cha. Walton. 
 
 t Burchefs naval hiltorv, p. 781. The complete hiiUry of Europe, for 1711, 
 p. 37 z- Mercure hiftorique ct politique, tome li. p. jitf. 
 
 N n a ccived
 
 aeived him very kindly, gave him her hand to kifs, and told 
 {he was glad tq fee him b . 
 
 The reflexions made by Mr. fecretary Burchet, upon this 
 <jcpedition, are fo extraordinary, and fo out of his ufual way of 
 writing, that I cannot help Uymg them before the reader, with> 
 t few remarks. " Thus ended," fays he, " an expedition fb 
 ** chargeable to the nation, and from which no advantage coukl 
 ?' reafonably be expected, considering how unadvifedly it was 
 " fet on foot, by thofe who nurfcd it upon faife fuggeit'ons 
 ** and representations. Befides, it occafioned our drawing 
 c from our army in Flanders, under the command of his grace 
 41 the duke of M-srlborough, at leaft fix thoufand men ; where, 
 M inftead pf beating up and down at fea, they might, under his 
 < aufpicious conduct, have done their country fervice. Nay, 
 < there may be added to the misfortunes abroad, an unlucky 
 accident which happened even at their return on our eoafl^ 
 f< for a fhip of the fquadron, called the Hdgar, of 70 guns, 
 " had not been many days at an anchor atSphhetd, 'ere (by 
 '* what caufe is unknown) fhe blew up, and all the men which, 
 *' were on board her perifhed '." 
 
 The firft part of this obfervation is taken from Sir Hoyendetj 
 V/alker's letter ; but whereas he fays plainly, that as thefchemc 
 vras contrived by the people of New England, fo it was ruined 
 through their ill conduct ; yet, as it ftands with Mr. Burchet, 
 it looks rather like a reticclion on the adminiftration. The de- 
 {ign itfclf was undoubtedly good ; it was thought of before ; it 
 was attempted foon after the revolution. All thinking men in 
 North America faw not only the expediency, but the neceffity 
 
 h Se? Sir H-'Ttnilen Walker's acco-nf, p. iyr, i;S, Bnrcbct's naval hiftorv, 
 p. 781. P,>ir<tpr's chr.iii;.! igical hilt TV, vo . it p. 685 
 
 i Seehi.< naval hi!>ory, p. ?3i Wh t fcems t > liave dr-wn fo mcch rcfcnt. 
 
 JTiCDt up^n S : r H fcnden Walker was, hi* being cor filleted as a favrurire of 
 
 this adminiltrati^n. At the change i.f the m}.,irtry, he wai fupcrintcr.dint at 
 
 Plytrouth, and was pro-potfd to the vacant fiag in the month of March 1711, 
 
 $ he tells us himtU', out <>f regard to Seniority. In ihc month of April he 
 
 ^s knighreH, atwl appointed commander in chief of this expedition, in which 
 
 jiidtft appeared <o litils blanieab'e to her mjcfiy, and her crur'cil, that, as 
 
 we iiiall fee hererif'er, he was again appointed commanocr in chief in the Weft 
 
 i, in order to rc!i:v coipmodvre Ll;ii:to.': ) and ; :! ere with 
 
 .rpuuiijfl. , 
 
 Of
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 285 
 
 of it, and that, in fact, the thing ftood thus ; we rnuft cither 
 ufe our fuperiority for the deftrutlion of the French, or expect 
 deftruction from them, when, through our neglect, and their 
 own diligence, they became fuperior to us. It \vas, therefore, 
 no objection at all, either to the administration, or to admiral 
 Walter, that their thoughts were To much bent on a matter of 
 fo high confcquence to the commerce and navigation ot Great 
 Britain ; efpecially at fuch a juncture, when, if we had fucceed- 
 cd in our defign, the poffclllon uf Canada muft Lave been 
 yielded to us by a peace. 
 
 1 be fhort victualling of the fleet, which fome have interpret- 
 ed as a proot that the miuiftry were not in earnefl, was, in fat, 
 an evidence of the contrary j for, if they had intended to make 
 a (hew only, they would moft certainly have victualled the fleet 
 for the whole voyage. But then, this would have dikovered 
 the defign long before they failed ; and it is moft certain, that 
 by following the contrary method, the fecret was very well 
 kept. In the next place, it is no lefs certain, that Sir Hoven- 
 den arrived in Bofton in very good time ; and if the people of 
 New England, inftead of that bjck\vardnefs which they expref- 
 fed, and which, as appears from fome intercepted letters, was 
 in part conceived to be occafioned by the intrigues of fome 
 French agents among them ; I fay, if, inflead of this back- 
 wardnefs, they had fhown that zeal, that, from their duty to 
 their mother-country, their own warm profeffions, and the in- 
 tereft they had in the execution of this defign, might well have 
 been expected, the fcheme could not have failed. 
 
 iio tnat, upon the whole, there is not the leaft ground for fay- 
 ing, that the land troops were worfe employed uiulcr the com- 
 mand of general Hill, than they would have been in Flanders 
 under the duke of M?.rlborough ; 1 fay, there is no ground for 
 affirming this, unlefs it can be fuppofed, that the Dutch barrier 
 is actually, and bona fide, of greater confequence to this nation, 
 than our colonies and commerce ; and I muft, for my own parr, 
 confefs, that I can never be much prepofTefied in favour of a 
 writer of naval hiftory, who would infinuate fuch things to his 
 reader. Yet all he lays of this fort, is a very trifle, when com. 
 pared with that molt injurious fugeeftton, as to the blowing uj 
 
 of
 
 285 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 of the Edgar v , which was the higheft misfortune to the admi- 
 ral, and therefore it is barbarous in the laft degree to impute it 
 to him as a difgrace ; nay, the very turn given to it, is as lllly 
 as it is malicious; for if the lofs of the Edgar had been a thing 
 contrived, it might in all probability have been difcovered , 
 whereas, being purely accidental, and all the men in her being 
 blown up, it was fimply impoffible the caufe of this accident 
 fhould ever be known. 
 
 Another party writer has treated this expedition as feverely, 
 but with more wit, fpirit, and decency, than the fecretary; and 
 to fhew my impartiality, I have inferted his reflections at the 
 bottom of the page '. Happy would it be for us, if lefs of par- 
 ty, and more of public fpirit, appeared in our hiftorians ; if the 
 defign of every expedition was impartially reprefented, and ju- 
 ftice done to fuch commanders as did their beii to ferve the na- 
 
 k The blowing tip of the Edgar, on rhe T5th of Oftoher, was certainly a very 
 dreadful accident ; tince, befides her crew, there were forty or fifty people from 
 Portfmouth and Gofpi/rt, whe went to fee their friends. The commifTi. n officers 
 had the good fortune to be on fhore. What made it (till the worfe was, that our 
 feamen had a notion of its being very onrinom, becaufe it was the oldeft (hip in 
 the navy; and fomc went fo far as to .affirm, that it was adually the fhip in which 
 king EdgiT failed, feme part of the eld vcflel being conllantly preferve every 
 time that (lie had been re-lroilt, fo that fhcfe were all ingredients toward* magni- 
 f vine the differs of the Canada expedition ; and f much wonder that this tradi- 
 tion did not frnd a place in Mr. Burchct's hUtofy. 
 
 I The au hor referred to in the tsxt, Dr. Hare, was *hen a reverend divine, and 
 afterwards a right reverend prelate of our church, who, in a treatife, in.iiled, The 
 allies and the late miniftry defended againft France, p. j8. writes thus, " I< ws 
 " plain, by the accocnt given of the expedition, that it was not merely an ac*'- 
 " dent, or any treachery, that was the caiife of the raifcarriage; but a complica- 
 " tion of many difficulties. For firfl, continues he, we are told, that the river 
 *' St. Laurence is navigable only at one time of the year. We let that flip; but 
 " if we had nick'd the time, we could not hare failed up that river without v:ry 
 ' able priors. We had none : if we had taken the prop-r time, and been provi- 
 ded with good pilots, none but fliips of a ccr.a'in bwden can go up the river j 
 ' all our men of war were too big. But if time, and pilot?, and fhipf had been 
 the moft proper for the cnterprize, we fhould have had provifions for more 
 ' months, than we had weeks, to fubfill the fleet and troops during the winter. 
 And what is more, if we had gone in the proper time; if we had had good 
 ' pi ots, if we had carried proper (hips, and had lain in fufficient provisions, it is 
 faid the enemy were fo well provided for a defence, that our forces were not 
 * fufficient; though both troops and officers were fo good, that nothing wouU 
 * Ju been wanted on their fide." 
 
 tion,
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 287 
 
 lion, and were difappointed by accidents, that they could not 
 either forefee or avoid. 
 
 We arc now to return home, and to confider what pafied in 
 parliament, and elfewhere, relating to the fubject of this work ; 
 and, in the firft place, we are to obferve, that as the parliament 
 fat very late in the fummer, fo great pains were taken to difco- 
 ver as many overfights in the conduct of the late miniftry, and 
 that in as many branches of the public bufmefs as it was poffi- 
 ble. Among thefe, the commons, on the 4th of June, 171 1> 
 thought fit to introduce the affairs of the fleet in the following 
 terms : 
 
 " With regard to the dbt of the navy, we find that one 
 " great difcouragement and burden, which that part of the fer- 
 " vice has lain under, has been from a liberty that has been 
 " ufedof diverting federal fums hTued to that fervice, and tranf- 
 " ferring them to other purpofes, for which they were not in- 
 " tended ; particularly, that the fum of fix hundred and fix 
 { thoufand, eight hundred and fix pounds, feven (Killings and 
 " feven pence, belonging to the navy, has been paid for provi- 
 " fions fupplied to land forces fent to Spain and Portugal, and 
 * for the garrifon of Gibraltar j for which no deductions have 
 < been made from the pay of thofc forces, nor nny part of that 
 " fum re-affigned to the victualling, notwichftanding the feveral 
 " acts of parliament provided, and the many letters written, 
 " and reprefentations made to the treafury in that behalf. This 
 < c unjuftifLible proceeding has been a difcouragement to the fea- 
 '* men, occafioned the paying extravagant rates upon con- 
 *' tracts, and has very much contributed to fink the credit of 
 ** the navy. 
 
 " To this we may add, the many notorious embezzlements, 
 <c and fcandalous abufes, which appear to have been prsctifed, 
 as well in the management of your matefty's brcwhoufe, as 
 ' in the contracts for fumifhing the navy with beer. We 
 " have already prefumed to addrefs your majelly, that feveral 
 perfons, whom we diicovcred to have been guilty of thofe 
 ' frauds, fhould be prolecvitcd a: I?AV for their offences, and 
 " we entin.-ly rely upon your majefty's moft gracious aiiurance > 
 " that thofe profecutions fliall be effectually carried on : but 
 " we muft allb, upon this occafion, beg leave further to reprc- 
 
 " lent
 
 288 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fent to your majefty, that the commiflioners appointed t<* 
 take care of the victualling your majeft)'s navy, have beert 
 " guilty of great negligence and renrrffhefs in their duty; for 
 '< the inrtrudlions which go along with that commifiion, are fo 
 ' well adapted to the preventing thole very abufes which have 
 ** been committed, that nothing but a notorious mifmanage- 
 c ment in that office, and an inexcufable negledl in pnrfuing 
 " thofe inftrucTrions, could have given way to the great lofs the 
 " public has fuftained in that part of the fervice m " 
 
 To this the queen was pleafed to ^ive the following very 
 gracious anfwer : " Gentlemen, this reprefentation gives me 
 * frefh affurances of your zeal for my fervice, and for ihe true 
 " intereft of your country. It contains many particulars. I 
 (t will take them all into ferious confederation, and give the ne- 
 ** ceflary directions to redrefs the grievances you complain of. 
 ' Be aflured, that your advice, upon all occafions, has th 
 " greateft weight with me n ." 
 
 The change of the miniftry, and the change of meafures, 
 made it extremely rcquifite to countenance, in the higheft de- 
 gree, whatever had the appearance either of public frugality, or 
 encouraging our navigation, commerce, and influence abroad jfuch 
 an influence, I mean, as might be beneficial to our trade 5 and 
 
 m S >me of our p lircal writers have infintntcd, that all this was the m re 
 f7tcls vf ps-ty r<rf-r.;meir, and a contrivance of the new miniftry, to mifc- 
 preunt the oh', ^s the reader may find at large, in the hiftory written by Mr. 
 O'.dmixon, who tak'.s a grea: deal -.f pains f> fi.ew, :ht thi.fc ccnfures were ab- 
 folutcly g-cundlefs ; but bifliop B^rnet, who had no Jefs rrfpcft f^r the old mi- 
 niftry, and as grejt oppoituniti;s of knowing the truth of things as Mr. Oldmi.ton, 
 gives us quite another account of t^e mat er, which it may i.ot be amifs to give 
 the read-r in his own words. ' Hurley," fjy$ he, in :lic houfe of comnDnJ, 
 ' led them to irqjite in'o f-nr.e alui'ts in the vi<[luall n; the navy: they had 
 '' been publicly p-alif-d for many ycjrs, fome have fid, ever fince the rertora- 
 " lion. The aoufc w.- vifible, but connived a", thar fcveral expenrcs might bs 
 " anfwercd that wty t fome have faid, that the captains tables were kept out 
 ' of ths a':n made in it. Yc: a member rf the boufe, who was a Whig, war 
 41 complainei cf for this, and cxnc i:d the h. ufe; and a p'O'cclitioa was oidtred 
 againft him : but the abufe g- es en ftill, as avowe:lv as ever. H're as a (Tiewr 
 44 of zt-al. and a ieeming dil'ccvery of fraudulent practices, by which the nation 
 " was dc eived." 
 
 n Ch-nd>r*s dibares, vol. iv. p sn. The complete hiftory of Enrope, fr the 
 year 1711, p- *;a. B Iyer'* life of queen Anne, p. 4^9. 
 
 with
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 289 
 
 with a view to thefe, the commons followed their reprefcntation, 
 upon tlxe yth of the fame month, with the following refolutions 
 to addrefs the queen, " To appoint perfons to inquire into the 
 " number and quality of the forces in her majefty's pay in Spaiu 
 " and Portugal, and to examine the (late of the payments and 
 accounts relating to the faid forces, and to the garrifons and 
 " fortifications of Gibraltar and Port Mahon ; and alfo the ac- 
 " counrs of the agent victuallers, and commiffioners of ftores 
 " in thofe parts." 
 
 They alfo refolved to prefent two other ; one, " That rtie 
 " would be pleafed to take fuch meafures as her majefty fliould 
 u judge moft proper, for fupporting the fcttlements in Afric;;, 
 '* and preferve the African trade, till feme other provifion be 
 " raade by parliament for the fame ; and that her majefcy would 
 tf take into conGderation the nature of tht trade, and h 
 " might be bed carried on for the fervice of the kingdom." 
 The other, " That an account be laid before this houfe the be- 
 " ginning of next fcffion of parliament, of the diftribution in- 
 4t tended to be made of the debentures directed to be delivered 
 " by the commiflioners of trade and plantations, for the relief 
 of the fufferers in the iflands of Nevis and St Chriuopher's, 
 " and the re-fettlements made there by the faid fuffcrers." 
 The bufinefs of the nation having been thus fufliciently pro- 
 vided for, the queen thought proper, on the i 2th of the fame 
 month of June, to put an end to the feflion by a prorogation . 
 
 In the recefs of parliament, the new miniftry was coni[ 
 and they had time to form and regulate their deligns. Robert 
 Harley, Efq; who was then at the head of it, had, n little be- 
 fore the rifing of die houfeF, been created earl of Oxford, and 
 earl Mortimer, and had the ftzfFof lord high-treafurer deliver- 
 ed to him, in order to give the greater luftre to his miniftry p , 
 and Charles Benfon, Efq; was conflituted chancellor and un- 
 dsr-trenfurer of the Exchequer" 1 . A new commiflion was 
 granted for the board of trade and plantations, at the head of 
 
 Bnr.ie'.'s hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. j6i. Boyer's life of queen 
 Anne, p. joo. The coir.plete hiftoiy ot Enropc, for 1711, p. 131, i 
 
 P Burnet's hiftory of his own 'irncs, vol. ii. p. jSp. O tin ixor.'s hiftory of 
 thf Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 161. London G.z::tc, N 3 . 4851, 4b;4- 
 
 1 London G::t!<r. X. 48;?. 
 
 VOL. 111. O o wliith
 
 N" A V A L H I S T O' R Y 
 
 which was Charles carl of Winchelfea r ; and the lord-keeper 
 Harcourr, was raifed to the degree of a baron of this realm s . 
 
 Such other promotions were made, as beft fuited with the de- 
 figns of the new miniftryy who, towards the end of the year, 
 drewed plainly their inclination to a peace ; which, however, 
 they were forced to manage with very great caution. Neither 
 was it without much anxiety, that they confiJered the approach 
 of the next feffion of parliament, early in the month of Decem- 
 ber, as indeed they had good reafon, fince it was known, before 
 the meeting of the houfes r that the lords would very ftrongly 
 reprefent againft the making any peace, by which Spain and 
 the Weft Indies were left to the houfe of Bourbon. 
 
 On the 7th of December, the queen opened the feflion with 
 a fpeech, in which {he fpoke much of peace ; of the improve- 
 ment of commerce ; of eaSng the people; of reforming abufes; 
 of maintaining the poor; and, in fhort, of every thing that was 
 proper to conciliate the minds of moderate people, who were 
 not fo felicitous about parties, as defirous of feeing their coun- 
 try happy*. The houfe of lords entered, however, upon the 
 meafures that were expected u ; but the commons complied 
 more readily with the intimations of the court : and as foon as 
 the eftimates were laid before them, came to a refolntion, that 
 40,000 feamen, including 8oco marines, iliould be employed 
 lor the fea fervice, and that i 80,000 pounds fhould be granted 
 for the ordinary of the navy. They likewife granted all that 
 was required for the fervice of the war, and made provifions 
 for railing the mighty fum given for the fervices- of that year, 
 and which amounted to no lefs than 6,656,967 pounds, very 
 early, and with a j-emarkable chearfulnefs ; fo that it looked as 
 if the miniftry were determined to mafce a peace fword in ham!, 
 and to take no ilep that might polTibly errconrage the enemy to 
 think we would by down our arms, till all the ends of the 
 gramd alliance were cilctlually anfwcred w . 
 
 r London Gaz-tte, N. 4?5c-. * London Gizefte, N. 4895. 
 
 1 Annal- of qu:eti Anne, vol. x. p. aCi. Chandler's debate', vol. iv. p. Ji*-. 
 London Gazette, N. 1936. u Burnet's lu'lK-ry of his own times, vol. 
 
 ii. p S 8 3- w Boyct's life of queen .Arnc, p. 518. The complete hiftory 
 
 of Europe, for 1711, p. 4151. PuiHicr's chroni>!:'^s:jl hiSoiian, vol. ii. p. ?ao. 
 
 Sir
 
 t> F Qjr E E.N A K N .. zpr 
 
 'Sir John Leake was now at the head of the admiralty, and 
 in that quality managed the bufinefs of the board in the houfe 
 of commons ; and as the feaibn for adtion advanced., he receiv- 
 ed a commiflion to command again in .the channel, as he had 
 done the year before , and the command of the fquadron in the 
 Soundings was left to Sir Thomas Hardy, whole proceedings 
 we mall next refume, as a proper introduction to the operations 
 of the year 1712. The. rather, becaufe the grand fleet did little 
 more this year, than convoy a body of troops, commanded by 
 lieutenant-general Will, who were fent to take poiTcflion of 
 Dunkirk ; which fervicc ended, they returned into the Downs "^ 
 but, as to Sir Thomas Hardy, he continued to act effectually, 
 and to take all the care that was in his power to diftrefs the 
 enemy in their naval concerns, till his diligence, in this z efpect, 
 was fuperfeded by the conclution of the peace. 
 
 Early in the Spring, he had intelligence of the return of M. 
 du CaiTe from America, for whom he cruized with the utmoit 
 diligence during the whole month of February ; but with little 
 or no .fuccefs, except picking up now and then fome fmail 
 French veiTels. He watched with the fame afliduity for M. du 
 Guai Trouin ; but was again difappointed. In the beginning 
 of the month of Auguft, Sir Thomas chaccd fix fiiips, and a 
 tartan. One of them immediately hoifted a broad white pen- 
 nant at the main-top-maft^head, fhortened fail, and made a fig- 
 nal for the line-of battle ; and then tacked, and flood towards 
 kirn, upon a fuppofition, as it was afterwards owned, that our 
 ihips were privateers from Pluming, with two prizes ; but 
 v/hen they came nearer, and found their miftake, they kept their 
 wind, and did all they could to make their efcape, our ihips 
 purfuing them with the ut mod diligence. 
 
 About five in the afternoon, the admiral -came up with the 
 biggeft of them, which was the Griin, a Ring's (hip, -but then 
 in the fervice of the merchants *. It was commanded by the 
 chevalier d'Aire, knight of the order jof St. Lewis, who ihrAT- 
 tened fail immediately, brought to, and fent fome -of his officers 
 
 * Mercnre hiftorlque et politique, tom. liii. p. 100, i~r. )' Burchet's 
 
 naval hiftory, book v. chap, xxxiv. Lediard, vol. ii. Mcrcure hiftoriqne et po- 
 i ; t'qiir, tom. liii. p. 333. 
 
 ,O o 2 on
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 on board our flag, to inform him, that he was bound with bale 
 goods for La Vera Cruz, and that before he failed from Brett, 
 he had received letters from Paris, importing, that in a few 
 days he might have had the queen of England's pafs ; but that 
 his friends advifed him not to lofe a wind, in order to wait for 
 it ; but Sir Thomas told the lieutenant, that if they had no 
 pafs, he fliould look on the fhip as a good prize; and accord- 
 ingly fent his own lieutenant to take pofleflion of her, himfelf, 
 with the other fliips of his fquadron, continuing the chace. 
 About eleven at night, the Windfor engaged the St. Efprit, a 
 dip of thirty-fix guns, and one hundred feventy-five men, la- 
 den with bale goods for Cadiz, and about an hour after (lie 
 blew up, juft as the captain had given orders to ftrike-, but the 
 captain, with about thirty-five men, were faved by our boats. 
 The Berwick took the Adventure, of Havre de Grace, carry- 
 ing twelve guns and forty men, bound for Newfoundland ; but 
 the matter producing the queen's pafs, flie had leave to continue 
 her voyage. The lame fliip took alfo the Incomparable, of fix- 
 teen guns, bound for Martinico ; and the Ruby man of war 
 likewiie took a fmall French fhip of twelve guns, which was 
 alfo called the Ruby, bound for St. Domingo ; fo that of this 
 French fquadron, only one fhip of eight guns, and the tartan, 
 cfcaped. The Griffin was certainly a good prize ; but our mi- 
 nifters were fo very defirous of obliging their new friends, that, 
 after a long fuit, in order to obtain the condemnation of the 
 .".lid veffel, Sir Thomas Hardy, and the reft of the captors, 
 were obliged to accept of a fum of money, far fbort of the value 
 of the fhip and cargo, which has been jultly confidered as a 
 hard fliip upon thefe brave men z . 
 
 Vice admiral Baker was, in the beginning of this year, at 
 Lifbon, with a conficlerable fquadron of our {hips, from whence 
 he failed on the eighth of February, in order to cruize off 
 
 z Hurchet, Oldmixorr, snnaU of queen Anne, complete hiftory of Europe, 
 fir the year 1711. and the political trfatifes of that year. In thefe laft mention- 
 ed pieces, thi* affair i* very warmiy treated. The trirh feems to have been, 
 that at tliis jun<fhiie, the Englilh and French minifrry ftood in need of each 
 other's indulgence, and therefore we need not wonder at a transition of this 
 (rt, common encugh i;i all governments, under circun-.fhnces of the like na- 
 
 
 
 Cape
 
 O F QjJ E E N ANN E. 
 
 Cape St. Mary's*. He had not been long in that ftation, be- 
 fore he ran a large Spanifh (hip of fixty guns on fhore, upon 
 the Portuguefe coaft, the wind being at that time fo high that 
 they durft not venture near her. The inhabitants of the coun- 
 try, however, went on board and plundered her ; the cargo, 
 confifling of fugar, cocoa, fnuff, hides, and twenty thoufand 
 pieces of eight b . The vice-admiral prefented a memorial to 
 the king of Portugal, fetting forth his right to her, and de- 
 manding, that the effects taken in this clandcfline manner, 
 fhould be delivered up ; but they were fo effectually fecrered, 
 that it was not in the power of the court to give him any re- 
 drefs c . 
 
 On his return to Lifhon, he found orders from England to 
 cruize with five fhips of war, for the fecurity of the homeward- 
 bound Brazil fleet, on which fervice the court of Portugal de- 
 fired he might proceed by the pth of April, and that two fri- 
 gates might be fent with their outward-bound Kail India fleet 
 as far as the Madeiras. The vice-admiral was very willing to 
 comply with this; but the difficulty was, how to do it without 
 departing from his orders, fince he had directions from the 
 Iprds of the admiralty, to fend two fhips to cruize in the 
 Straights mouth; however, he had hopes, that the Dutch com- 
 mander in chief would have taken care of this Eait India 
 fleet. 
 
 On the firft of April, arrived a convoy with provlfions and 
 {lores from England, which determined him, fince the Dutch 
 had difappointcd the Portuguefe in their expectations, to lend a 
 fourth rate frigate with the Eait India fhips as far as the wcfteru 
 iilands, and tp cruize hirnfelf for the Brazil fleet, in fuch a fta- 
 tion, as that he might be eafily joined by the before-mentioned 
 ihip ; and at the fame time he difpatched captain Maurice, with 
 
 a Biuchet's naval hiftory, book v. chap. xxxv. Mcrcure hiftorique et po- 
 liiiq'.ic, tome lii. p. 45 5. b Lcciiard's navil hiftory, vol. ii. 
 
 p. SGI. Mcrcure hidoi.vjue ct politique, tome lii. p. 590. Annals of queen 
 Anne. 
 
 c .All applications of any kind were very iudiffcren:ly received at this court, 
 from the beginning of the war to the end of it; which ucc-ifionccl many reflec- 
 tions at home upon the old rr.iniftry, who did all they could to difguife thefs 
 rnifchiefs, which were on the contrary reniiercd as public as pclfiblr, in order 
 to feivc their own purposes by the new. 
 
 a final)
 
 a 9 4 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 a frnall fquadron, jto cruize in the Streights mouth. He con- 
 tinued cruizing about the weftern iflaruls for feveral months, 
 under great apprehenfions, that the French fquadron under the 
 command of M. Caflard, was bound for the Brazils.; till, at 
 laft, the provifions on board his fquadron being reduced to five 
 veeks at fhort allowance, h was neceiTary for him to think of 
 returning to Portugal ; but being ftill apprehen-five, that if the 
 Brazil fleet failed before the French fquadron, the latter would 
 undoubtedly follow them to the Terccras, where they knew 
 that fleet muft refrefh; he refolved to continue in his ftation as 
 long as it -was poflible, in -order to which, he engaged the Por- 
 tuguefe to furnifh him with three weeks frefh proviiions. OH 
 t"he iith of September, being off the Hlands of Tercera, he 
 met with a Portaguefe frigate, which informed him, that he 
 had left the fleet but three days before, and that he believed 
 they would be that day in the road of Angra, the chief town 
 in the tfland of Tercera d . 
 
 Soon after he had this advice, a violent ftorm arofe, which 
 very much lhattered the fhips, and drove him io far, that he 
 could not fetch the ifland again; and judging that it muft alfo 
 have the fame effect on the Brazil fleet, he made an eafy fail 
 towards Lifbon, in order to pick up fuch as fhould be ftraggling 
 from their convoys ; but had no fight or intelligence of them, 
 till he came off the rock, when he found they arrived the very 
 Axy before he made the land ; and as the ce-ffation of arms was 
 foon after concluded, the fquadron of fhips -trader his command 
 was called home c . 
 
 Sir 
 
 d Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 791, 792. The complete -hiflory of Europe, 
 for the year 1711. Mcrcure hiifoiique et p<4iti(jue, tomclii. p. 693. 
 
 c The anther of the conduft of the allies, that is, the late celebrated T3r. 
 i-iwift, criticifes upon thofe anicles in the grand alliance, hy which we were 
 Jionnd to take fo much care of the -concerns of this prince, -very freely. 
 ** By two articles of thit treaty," fayf he, " befides the honour of being con- 
 *' voys, and guardsnn ordinary to the Porrugucfe fhips and coafts, we arc to 
 *' guefs the enemies thoughts, and to tike the king of Portugal's word, when- 
 ' ever he hath a fancy that he fhail be invndrd. \Ve are alfo to fiirmlh him 
 *' with a ftrength fnperi.> r to what the enemy intends to invade any of hi 
 " domini ns with, let that be what it will. And until we know what the ene- 
 i f,rces art, his PorUiguefe majefty is lb!c jiulge wfiat (trettgih is fupe- 
 ' r- ', ,J *l;;t will be ib!r to pr-vc'-.tan - / 1'sr.d our fleers 
 
 bcnerct 
 i
 
 F QjJ E E N A N N E. 
 
 Sir John Jennings at this time commanded the grand fleet in 
 the Mediterranean, and in the month of May joined the Dutch 
 vice-admiral with the tranfports, having on board ii>; thoufancl 
 five hundred men, which were put on fhore in two days time; 
 and his imperial majefty and count Staremberg, prefling th 
 necefiity of carrying the cavalry over from Italy, it was refol- 
 ved the admiral Ihould return to Vado, from whence he failed 
 with the tranfports on the twenty-feventh of July, arrived at 
 Barcelona on the fcventh of Auguft, where, foon after, hr 
 received the queen's orders for a fufpenfion of arms, both 
 by fea and land, and a letter from the lord Vifcount Boling- 
 broke, directing him to fuffer a great French corn-fleet to pafs 
 unmolefted, every {hip of which he rvuft otherwife have taken ; 
 from this time, though the admiral was no longer concerned 
 in military operations, yet he was very far from being inactive, 
 fmce he tranfported the emprefs with her retinue, from Barce- 
 lona to Genoa f, efcorted thirty thoufand men at two embarka- 
 tions, from Catalonia to Naples,, and afterwards carried over 
 the duke and duchefs of Savoy, from VHla Franca to their 
 new kingdom of Sicily ; which, though done m the fucceed- 
 ing year, I mention in this place, that I may not be obliged 
 to return into the Mediterranean, merely to fpeak of matters of 
 parade 3. 
 
 " whenever he pleafes, up^n hi* errand?, to fome of the fo-'thefl parts of the 
 " world, or keep them attending upon his own coafts tHI he thinks fit to Jif- 
 " mifs them. Thefe fleets mufr, like*-iic be fubjecl i.i ill things, not only to 
 " the king, hut to his viceroys, admiral*, and vernors, in any of his fo- 
 " reign dominion*, when he is in an humour to apprehend an ir.fjlion, which 
 " I believe is an indigmty that was never offered before, except to a conquer- 
 *' ed nation. Jti the dcfei five al.iance wi h this cr>wn, which is t-i remia 
 *' perpetual, and where only Enolanrl and Ho.lind a*e partirs with th:m, the 
 " fame care, in almoft chc /amc words, i taken for far ftret to attend their 
 " coafis and foreign d >mini<>ns, and to be unc.er the fame obedience. \Ve, and 
 " the ftates, are fike*ife to fnrnifh ih^m uh twelve thoufand mrn at r ur own 
 " charge, which we are conltantly to recruit, and thcle are u be lubjcft to tha 
 " Portugucfe generals." 
 
 f Burchet'* n..val hiftory, ho,>k r. chap. xxxv!. Merrure hiftoiique et po. 
 liiique, tome l^ii. p. i ? i. tome liv. p. 476. Her imperial m-i;rty prefented 
 Sir John Jennings, at his depsrture, with her pifhira fet in diamonds, and 
 gave his nephew alfo a verjr fine d'amond ting. I Mrrcore hifto- 
 
 lique ;t pt>litiqvie, tome Iv. p. 477. 
 
 We
 
 296 NAVAL HIS T O R Y 
 
 We are next, according to the method hitherto constantly 
 purlued, to return to the Weil Indies, where we left commo- 
 dore Littleton, with a fmall fquadron, protecting the trade, 
 and annoying the enemy as much as his itrength would permit; 
 but the government having certain intelligence, that the French 
 were fending a confiderable force into that part of the world, 
 in order to difturb our trade, and perhaps to attack fome of the 
 Leeward Iflunds ; the court thought it neceffary to fend an offi- 
 cer of rank, with a confiderable fquadron thither, for which 
 lervice they made choice of Sir Hovenden Walker ; which 
 fhews,. that the adminiflration did not conceive he had brought 
 any llain upon them by his conduct in the Canada expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 He received his commiflion in the beginning of the month of 
 April, and on the 28th of the fame month he failed from Sr. 
 Helen's, with about an hundred merchant-fhips under his con- 
 voy 11 . He parted on the 4th of May, being then fourteen 
 leagues from Cape Finifterre, with the Litchfield and South- 
 Sea-Caft!e, and the trade bound to Portugal ; and arriving at 
 ihe Madeiras with the Monmouth, a third rate, the Auguft and 
 Centurion, fourth rates, the Scarborough and Roebuck, fifth 
 rates, and a frigate of twenty guns, it was determined to leave 
 the Barbadoes trade there, under their proper convoy, confift- 
 ing of the Woolwich, Swallow, and Lime; but that fleet, ta- 
 king in their wine fooner than ufual, failed with the fquadron on 
 the 28th of the fame month for the Weft ladies. 
 
 On the 24th of June, admiral Walker arrived at Antigua, 
 where the governor was more apprehenfive of an infurrection 
 amongfl the inhabitants, than of an invafion from the French ; 
 and indeed things were at that time in a very unfettled condi- 
 tion in the Leeward Iflands, where the governor, colonel Dou- 
 glas, was upon almofi as bad terms with the people as his pre- 
 deceflbr, colonel Parke, whom they murdered for his tyranni- 
 cal behaviour. Admiral Walker promifed the governor, that if 
 any thing like an infurrettion happened, he would fend him any 
 affiftance he fhould require from Jamaica; but advifed him to 
 
 h Burchet's navJ hift >ry, bv>k v. chap, xxx'ii. LcdiatiT* rnval hiftory, 
 vol. ii. p. 859. B.)yei'j life of queen Anne. 
 
 treat
 
 c F QJJ E E N A N N E. 
 
 treat the people with lenity, and to confider, that though he 
 was fent over with inftrudlions to profecute fuch as were con- 
 cerned in deftroying the late governor, yet this was to be done 
 in a legal manner, and with due regard to the liberty of the 
 fubjeS, and the monftrous provocations they had received, be- 
 fore they had proceeded to extremities, not juftifiable indeed, 
 but, at the fame time, not altogether incxcuiable. But this 
 governor, who \vr.s fo careful of his own fafety, gave him not 
 the leaft intelligence that a French fquadron was expected in 
 thofe parts ; though, if he had taken any pains to be properly- 
 informed, he might have known that the French at Martinico 
 expected, at this very time, the arrival of M. CuTard, with 
 nine men of war. Sir Hovenden Walker failing from thence, 
 arrived fafely at Jamaica on the 6th of July, where having 
 made the neceffary difpofitions for fending home the trade, 
 and ftationing properly the {hips under" his command, he re- 
 ceived, when he leaft expected it, the news by an advice- 
 boat, of an attempt made by the French upon Antigua and 
 Montferrat '. 
 
 This expedition of monfieur CafTard deferves to be particu- 
 larly taken notice of. He failed from Toulon with a ftout fqua- 
 dron of th^ king's Ihips, and is faid to have had general in- 
 ftrulions to annoy their enemies. As there was, even at this 
 time, a negociation carrying on between the Britifh and French 
 minifters, it is furprifing that the latter did not give him orders 
 to forbear attacking our colonies, till fuch time as he received 
 intelligence from France, the neglecl of which occr.iloned grc.\t 
 murmuring in England, and might have retarded the peace, ; 
 the news had arrived before it was fo far advanced k . M. Caf- 
 
 fard 
 
 ! Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 781. Britifh empire 5n America, vol. ii. p. 54;. 
 and, it' the re-Jer is inclined to inquire particularly into the arf.ir ot colonel 
 Parkes, Mr. French's hiftory oF that tranfaftion, and the nf*er to it. 
 
 k I have been informed, by f.m; who were very well acquainted with the 
 politics of the French court, that this expedition was prr-jefted in revenge c t 
 that undertaken againft Q_iubec, of which the French have quite dillcient no- 
 liont from thofe that prevailed here; and with rrtfon, fince, h wever it was 
 executed, it wat unqut(iional>!r *eil contrived, efpeciallr as the author; of it 
 liaJ even then a peace in their hesds, by which they would withi-nt doubt hav 
 got ar.y contjucft that might hvc been mide by that :*:cr ctT.ctJ!!y 
 
 Vet. nr. I'P
 
 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 fard failed firft to St. Jago,. which is the principal of the ifhnds 
 of Cape de Verde, of which he made himfelf mafter without 
 much difficulty, and having blown up the fort, and carried off 
 whatever he could meet with, continued his voyage for the 
 Weft Indies, where he arrived in the beginning of the month 
 of July ; and having drawn together in. Martinico upwards of 
 three thoufand men, he had thoughts of attacking Antigua ; 
 but finding it very difficult to land there, he fell upon Mont- 
 ferrat,. where he met with a very feeble refiftance j the inhabi- 
 tants retiring into the heart of the iiland, becaufe in the 
 mountains they had a fortrefs almoft inacceffible. The French- 
 continued upon the place fome days, doing all the mifchief pof- 
 fible; but having information that feveral of our (hips were 
 coming to the relief of the ifland,. they abandoned it, though 
 not till they had in a manner totally deitroyed all the fetvlements 
 in it '. 
 
 Some mifchief they did to our trade on the coaft of Antigua, 
 but finding themiclves very much difliked by fuch as wifhed well 
 to peace, they refolved to give over cruizing upon the Englifli ; 
 upon which they prepared every thing neceflary for a longer 
 voyage, and then Hood over to the continent, where they at- 
 tacked the Dutch fettlement of Surinam, and obliged the inha- 
 bitants to pay them eight hundred thoufand pieces of eight by- 
 way of contribution ; this was in the month of October ; and,, 
 in the mean time, captain Archibald Hamilton, in her majefty's 
 (hip the Woolwich, having received an account at Antigua of 
 the cefTation of arms ; and that the French had, notwithftand- 
 ing, carried feveral prizes into Martinico ; he fent a fliip thi- 
 ther to demand them of Mr. Phelypeaux, general of the 
 French iflands, who ordered all of them to be reftorcd, and 
 fuch goods as had been taken out of them to be put on board 
 again m 
 
 But the French p-ehibly defigned a general interruption of the commerce of 
 rlie ll.es, in order to bring them fooner to a peace; for, as the reader fees 
 in the tex{, M. Culf.rd did not attack us alone, but the Portugucfc alfo, and 
 the Dutch. 
 
 ' P. Daniel, journal hiftorique de Louis XIV. p. 190. Memoircs hiftoriques. 
 Mircure hiilorique et politique, tome liii. p. 194, 433, 560. 
 
 ra Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 784, 785. LcdSarJ r vol. ii. Iliftcry of the 
 lail war. Beyer's Life of qjiccn Anne, 
 
 Sir
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 
 
 Sir Hovenden Walker, in the mean time, remained at Ja- 
 maica, where he gave the neceiTary orders for the fecurity ot 
 the trade, for cruizing on the French coaft, and for protecting 
 the private commerce of the inhabitants with the Spaniards at 
 Porto Bello, St. Domingo, and other places. While he was 
 thus employed, there happened, in the night of the 2pth of 
 Auguft, a hurricane much more violent than had been felt for 
 many years in the iiland. It began about nine at night, and 
 continued raging with the utmoll vehemence till twelve. The 
 lightning, in the mean time, covered the earth in continued 
 gleams of fulphureous fire, the wind blowing all the time, not 
 only with prodigious force, but with a horrid noife. In the 
 morning a moft dreadful profpedl: appeared, many houfes blown 
 flat upon the ground, moft of the reft ftripped and laid open ; 
 trees torn up by the roots , the weft end of the church ruined 
 by the fall of its walls ; the governor's hotrfe difmantled, and 
 fcarce a dwelling in the iflancl remaining untouched. Several 
 people were drowned on the fliore, in .the tevnpeft, the lea for- 
 cing the boats and canoes a great way upon land at Spanifli- 
 town, and wafliing away the houfes ; fo that, w'hat with the 
 wind and the water, there was not above two Handing, and 
 few or none of the ihips of war, but were either driven a- 
 ihore, loft their malts, or were otherwife difabled. The hol- 
 pital was blown down to the ground, and feveral of the fick 
 people killed ; and, on the firft of September, a third rate, 
 the Monmouth, which had been on the coaft of Hifpa- 
 niola, came 'in with jury-mafts, having -loft her proper mafts 
 in the violence of the weather, and another, if her main- 
 tnaft had not given way, muft (as her commander believed) 
 have inftantly overfet. It -required fome time to repair the 
 damages which her majefty's {hips fuftained by this unfor- 
 tunate accident ; and, while this was doing, a very great defer- 
 tion happened among our failors, owing chiefly to the arts and 
 intrigues of the captains of privateers, who made no fcruple of 
 preferring their private advantage to the fecurity of commerce, 
 and the welfare of their country. By that time the difputes 
 which thefe tranfactions occafioned were tolerably compofed, 
 Sir Hovenden Walker received an order from the lords of th^ 
 .iralty, to return home, after having firit proclaimed th
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 cefiation of arms, which he accordingly did, and, after a pro-? 
 fperous voyage, arrived in Dover road on the 26th of May, 
 1713". 
 
 We are now arrived at the period of the naval operations in 
 this war, and our next bufinefs will be to give an account of 
 what advantages were gained, and of what might have been 
 gained by the fucceeding peace. It will however be proper, 
 previous to this, to obferve, that the adminiftration had fome 
 difputes with their old friends, and their new ones, in relation 
 to the affairs of commerce, before the peace \yas concluded . 
 
 In 
 
 n Bnrchet's naval hlflory, p. 785. Biitifh empire in America, vol. ii. p. 34$. 
 The complete hiftory of Europe, for 1711, p. 14. 
 
 * It will appear in the next note, that we thought ourftlvcs much injured by 
 ihe manner in wliii'h the Dutcli conducted the war at fea. Here, thertfoie, 
 from t!ie author of the conduft of the allies, I will take notice of fome com. 
 plaints that were made of another nature, with a view to have it underflood, 
 that the carrying on the war was a thing now no longer practicable. By the 
 grand alliance between the empire, England and Holland, we were to 4 Hill the 
 other two, Ivtit viribus, by fej and land. By a convention fubfcquent to this 
 treaty, the proportion which the feveral patties (hould contribute towards the 
 war, were adjufled in the following manner : The emperor was obliged to fur- 
 nilh ninety thoufand men again ft France, either in Italy, or upon the Rhine { 
 Holland to bring futy ihoufand into the field in Flanders, exclufive of garri- 
 fons; and we forty thoufand. In the winter, 1701, which was the next year, 
 tlic nuke of Marlbor'eugh propofed the raifing of ten thousand men more, by 
 way of augmentation, and to carry on the war with greater vigour; to which 
 t'le parliament agreed, and the Dutch were to raiCe the fame number- This 
 was, upon a par, dircflly contrary to the former fHpulation, whereby our part 
 was to be a third lefs than theirs ; and therefore it was granted, with a condi- 
 tion, that Holland fhould break off all trade and commerce with France. But 
 v this condition was never executed, the Dutch only amufmg us with a fpeciouj 
 declaration till our fefllon of parliament was ended, and the following year it 
 was taken off by concert between our general and the dates, without any rea- 
 i'-n afiigned for the fatisfaclion of the kingdom. The next, and fome enduing 
 campaigns., further additional taxes were allowed by parliament for the war in 
 Flanders; and in every new fupply the Dutch gradually U-iTcned their pro- 
 portion, although the parliament addtef&d the qu.?en, that the States might be 
 defired to obferv.e th^m according to agreement ; which had no other eflccl, than 
 to teach them to elude if, by making the'r troops nominal corps ; as they did 
 by keeping np the number of regiments, hut (inking a fifrh part of the men 
 ind money : fo that at length things were juit inverted, and in ill new levies 
 uo contiibired n third more than the Dutch ; who at firft were obliged to the 
 fame proportion moreJban us. Befides, the more towns we conquered for the 
 , :!;e worfe condition we were in towards reducing the common enemy, 
 
 ind
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 301 
 
 In the firfl place, it was thought a little hard that the Dutch, 
 throughout the whole conrfe of this long and expenfive war, 
 fhould not have furnihed their quota of fliips and men in any 
 one year j and this notwithftanding repeated expostulations with 
 the States-general upon this fubjetb' 1 . With this grievance the 
 
 nation 
 
 nd confrquently of putting an end to the war. For they made no fcrnple rif 
 employing the troops of their quota, towards garrifoning every town, as fall as 
 it was taken, direftly contrary to the agreement between u ; by which all gar. 
 rifons were particularly excluded. This at length arrived, by feveral fteps, to 
 Aich a height, that there were not the laft year in the field, fo many forces undsr 
 the duke of Marlborough's command in Flanders, as Ikiuin alone maintained 
 for that fervice ; nor had been for fome years pift. 
 
 P This parliamentary representation was made OR the 4th of March, 1711, 
 and the paragraphs particularly referred to in the text, arc thefc that follow : 
 
 " For obtaining the ends fpecified in the grand alliance, the three confederate 
 
 " powers engaged to affift each other with their whole force, according to fuch 
 
 " proportions as Ihould be fpecified in a particular convention afterwards to 
 
 " be msc'e for that purpofe. We do not find that any fuch convention was 
 
 " ever ratified ; but it appears that there was an agreement concluded, which, 
 
 " by common confent, was underftood to be binding upon each party rc- 
 
 " fpeclively, and according to which the proportions of Great Britain wire, 
 
 " from the beginning, regulated and founded. The terms of that agreement 
 
 " were : That, for the fervice at land, his imperial imjefty fhould furnillj 
 
 " ninety thoufand men ; the king of Great Britaip forty thoufand, and the 
 
 " States general one hundred and two thoufand, of which there were forty-two 
 
 " thoufand intended to fupply their garrifons, and fixty thoufand to aft sgainit 
 
 " the common enemy in the field ; and with regard to the operations of the 
 
 " war at fca, they were agreed to he performed jointly by Great Britain and 
 
 ' the States-general, the quota of (hips to he furnifhed for that fervice being 
 
 " five eighths on the psrt of Great Britain, and three eighths on the part of the 
 
 !' States-general. 
 
 " Upon this foot the war began in the year t7oi, at which time the whole 
 " yearly expence of it to England, amounted to three millions, feven hun- 
 " dred and fix thoufand, four hundred and ninety-four pounds. A very great 
 *' charge it was then thought by your majefty's fubjctts, after the fhort inter- 
 " val of cafe they had enjoyed, from the burden of the former war; but yet 
 " a very moderate proportion, in comparifon with the load which hath fince 
 " been laid upon them ; for it appears, by eHimales given in to your com- 
 " mons, that the fums neceiLry to carry on the fervice of this prcfent year, 
 " in the fame manner it was performed the lafl year, amount to more than fix 
 " million;, nine hundred and fixty thoufand pounds, befides intereft for the 
 " public debt, and the deficiencies accruing the laft year; which two articles 
 " require one million, one hundred and forty-three thoufand pounds more; fo 
 ' that the whole demand upon your commons arc rifen to more thin eight mil- 
 
 " liotjf 

 
 NAVAL- HISTORY 
 
 nation was acquainted, and exprefied no fmall refentment there- 
 at, notwithftanding the pains taken by the friends of the Dutch 
 to perfuade them of the contrary. 
 
 To fay the truth, the matter was carried very high on both 
 fides ; for the houfe of commons, having reprefcnted thefe omi- 
 fions in our allies, as indubitable matters of fact, in order to 
 juftify the meafures that were taking towards a peace, it was 
 but natural for the ftates, who were averfe to that peace, to 
 reply as they did to this accufation ; which, however, inftead 
 of fatisfying, provoked the houfe of commons to fuch a degree, 
 that, upon the printing of the anfvver they gave here, they de- 
 
 " lions for the prefent annual fupply. We know yonr majifty's tender regard 
 " for the weifare of your people, will make it nneafy to you to hear of fo greart a 
 * c prcfiure as this upon them ; and as we are allured, it will fully convince your 
 " nujefty of the ncccffity of our prefent inquiry, fo we beg leave to repretem to 
 you from what ciuies, and by what (leps this immcnfe charge appears to have 
 " grown upon us. 
 
 " The fervice at fea, as it lias been very large and ex tend ve in itielf, fo it 
 " hath been carried on through the whole courfe of the war, in a manner 
 " highly difadvantageous to your majetty, and your kingdom j for- the necef- 
 " fity of affairs requiring that great flsets fhould be fitted out every year, as 
 ' well for maintaining a faperiority in the Mediterranean, as for oppofing any 
 " force which the enemy might prepare, either at Dunkirk, or in the ports of 
 " \Ve(t France ; your majefty's example and readinefs in fitting cut your pro* 
 " portion of (hips, for all parts of that fervice, have been fo far from pre- 
 " vailing with the States-general to keep pace with you, that they have bc?n 
 " deficient every year to a great degree, in proportion t > what your msjtlty 
 tf hath furniftied, fometimes no icfs than two-thirds, and generally more tham 
 41 half of their qunta. From hence your majefty has been obliged, for the 
 " preventing difappointmcnts in the moft prefllng fervice, to ftipply thofede- 
 *' ficiencies by additional reinforcements of your own (hips ; nor hath the fin- 
 " gle increafe of fuch a charge, been the only ill conftquence tht attended 
 *' it j for by thU means the -debt of the navy hath been enhanced: fo th:-.t the 
 " difccunts arifing from the credit of it, have afTcc~ted all other pans of the 
 " fervice. From the fame caufe your majcfty's fhips of war have been forced, 
 " in greater numbers, 10 continue in remote feas, and at unfeafo;iable tirrcs 
 " of the year, to the great damage and decay ot" <he Britifh navy. This allo 
 " hath been tlie occafion that your majefty hath been ftraitened in your con- 
 " voys for trade; your coatts have been expofed, for w.ant of a fufficient 
 " number of cruizers to guard them, and you have been difabled from an- 
 " noying the enemy in their moft beneficial commerce with the Weft Indies, 
 " from whence they received thofe vaft fupplies of treafure, without which they 
 " could not haye fiipp Ttcd the eypcnccs of thi waj." 
 
 clartd
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 303 
 
 clared that this was a breach of privilege, and the paper itfelf 
 a fcandalous, infamous, and feditious libel ; for which the prin- 
 ter was put in prifon, which prevented the publishing the re- 
 mainder of the States representation q ; this was looked upon as 
 a very ftrange procedure, and which feemed calculated rather 
 to give credit to that reprefentation, than to refute it ; which, 
 however, might have been eafily done ; for that we really bore 
 a greater proportion of expence in- this refpeft during the war, 
 than we ought to have done, is a thing very certain - T but it is 
 the fault of all administrations, to be rather inclined to fuch 
 fliort nnfwers as may be given by a<Sts of power, than to thofe 
 that might be furnifhed by the exercife of reafon -, and for this 
 they are defervedly punifhed, by being often thought tyrannical 
 in thofe als, the juftice of which might be eafily defended. 
 In this cafe, however, the nation concurred in opinion with 
 
 1 The States-general, by their memorial prefented to the queen, April ?, 
 ITI, obfervc, that the grand alliance only Ipeciries, that all the contracting 
 parties fhall profecute this war with their whole force ; and therefore, if the 
 Itatts have exerted the utmoft of their f>rce, they have fulfilled their engge- 
 ments; but they infift further, that the Clips furni&ed for the noith Tea, had 
 been left out, not with (landing ihofe (hips were for the joint iervke ; and they 
 allcJge further, that the number of (hips which the Stares were to employ, ought 
 to be regulated, not by the number actually put into commilTIon by England, 
 but by the number that was fit and realonaWe for England to pot into ccimmi;- 
 lion, or at leafk.+>y the number propofed to the States, upon it:tiing the annual 
 quotas for the wir. As the States lud the paper drawn up by order of the lords 
 of the admiralty, and figned by Mr. fccretary Burchet, containing an account 
 of the Etiglifh and Dutch ihips fitted out during the war ; fo they likcwife thonght 
 proper to add another account of their own, which they pro felled (hemfeivcs 
 able to make good from authentic vouchers ; and as we tann^t tcaiitcribe all thefe 
 papers nt large, we (hall content ourfclvcs with making an abflralr. of both ac- 
 r< unts, in which the firft column confilfs !' the year ; the (ecu* J < f the Englifh 
 mea of war ; the third of the fhips <>f the States-general, according to Mr. 
 Eurchct's account j and the fourth of ihc Ihips according to ihiir own. This 
 p:iper having been printed in part, in the Daily Courant of Monday, April ^ 
 i^ii, the houfc of commons came thereupon to the refutation mentioned in the 
 text, and committed Mr. Samud Buck!;\ t'.rpiinting it, who remained in cufto- 
 iy during the remjinder of the felTio;':. 
 
 i?ci 74 53 Ji 1707 7* a? 4? 
 
 1703 79 ii sc. 1708 69 aj 5j 
 
 1704 74 1 3 >:" 1709 6a n 50 
 72 I 1710 (5* xj 4j 
 
 7711 i9 4 
 
 their
 
 304 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 their reprefentatiVes,- and things went on, upon a fuppofmorf 
 that this charge againft the Dutch was fully made out \ which 
 encouraged the friends of the miniflry to attack the reft of our 
 allies, particularly the emperor, on the fame fubjecl: : but, as 
 thee altercations have no immediate concern with the proper 
 bufinefs of this work, I fhall not infill upon them, but leave 
 them with this remark, that in all future alliances, our minifiers 
 ought to be careful, not only in making the belt terms they can 
 for the nation, but alfo in feeing thofe terms punctually fujfil- 
 led, fince it is impofiible, efpecially under our prefent circum- 
 ftances, for the nation to bear with patience luch a&s of in- 
 dulgence towards foreigners, at their expence, when it is vifl- 
 ble, that, with all their induftry, the inhabitants of Great Bri- 
 tain are fcarce able to fupport the neeeffary charges of their go- 
 vernment, joined to that vaft expence which their generous con- 
 cern for the balance of power in Europe, and the liberty of 
 their neighbours hath brought upon them r . 
 
 The difference with the French court was occafioned chiefly 
 from M. Cailard's expedition in the Weft Indies, as we have 
 before hinted. The French miniflry, who knew the importance 
 of being well at that time with the people of Great Britain, 
 abfolutely disclaimed that commander j infifling that he had 
 only general inftrutlions, that he had mifapplied them, and that 
 proper fatisfaclion fhoulct be given. On the other hand, the 
 Britiili miniftry were too far advanced in their pacific meafures, 
 to think of retreating, and fo were content with thefe ex- 
 cufes, without infifling en the puniihment of this officer} 
 which, if what the French court faid was true, he certainly 
 deferred. 
 
 r The bift nfe that can be made of liiflory, is to correct, in cur times, tbe 
 errors committed in thofe of our anceftors, and certainly there are, among ihefe, 
 v', i.-ii better deferve our a:cntion, than the conduct our minilters have 
 pHrlutd, when we have engaged in confederacy with our neighbours. A eoiifc- 
 deracy implies a joint concern, and if, while this lubfifb, the whole, or by far 
 the grea-.eft p^rt of the expence is thrown upon any one of the allied powers, it 
 arpucs injurtici.- in the reft, and weakneis in fuch as are intruded with the con- 
 cerns rif the injured p>>wcr. There is actually no more public fpirit in a mini- 
 (ler, loading clamicflinely hi countrymen with more than they ought to pay, 
 thin tru-re i charity in a great man's fteward, who relieves the poor out of his 
 rcilk-f's efla'.c, wl.ilc 1m creditors remain wniaiisfied. 
 
 The
 
 OF QJJ E E N ANNE. 305 
 
 The firft great ftep to the peace was getting Dunkirk put into 
 our hands, which was reprefented as a thing impoflible ; and 
 with the promife of which the French only amufcd us. On 
 the nth of July, however, arrived an exprefs, with the news, 
 that a few days before, the town, citadel, Ryfbank, and all the 
 fortifications of that important place, were delivered up to bri- 
 gadier Hill, whom her majefty appointed governor and com- 
 mander in chief 5 . Her mujefty, thenceforward, treated openly 
 with the French court, though always under a proniife that due 
 care (hould be taken of the 'Jlies; and for this the miniftry 
 pleaded many things in their own juftification. For, firft, they 
 alledged, that fince the king of Spvn was become emperor, it 
 was no longer requiflte to infill: upon bis having the whole do- 
 minions of theSpanifli monarchy: they infifted next, that if it 
 had been ever fo requifite, the thing wa$ impracticable, the 
 nation having found, by experience, that it xvos impofiible to 
 carry on the war in Spain to any purpofe. This had indeed 
 been long a point out of difpute, one of the warmed partifans 
 of the houfe of Auflria having freely declared as much a good 
 while before, in a debate in the houfe of lords; but added at 
 the fame time, though it was impracticable, a vote that no jreace 
 could be made, if Spain and the Indies were left to the hi 
 of Bourbon, was expedient at that juncture ; and yet upon this 
 expedient, and at the fame time impracticable vote, all the cla- 
 mours were afterwards railed. The friends to the treaty faid 
 Farther, that the nation was unable to carry on the war longer, 
 efpecially in the manner in which it had been carried on ; and 
 that therefore, how much -s might hate our enemies, 
 
 it was neceffary to make a peace, if we had any regard for 
 ourfelves. They added, beikles, that they intended to make a 
 peace on the plan of the general alliance, every article of 
 which, they faid, had been broke through, by fublequenr a- 
 greements during the courfe of the warj fo that they would 
 be thought to have the caufe of liberty, and the balance of 
 power more at heart, than even thofe who were for carrying on 
 the war. 
 
 * Barnet's hiflory of his own rim?-, vnl. ". p. tfio. OUmixsn'j hiftory of 
 t'ie Simm, vol. 11. p. $04. The complete hift. of turopc, ftr IT^-J P- 33- 
 
 VOL. III. Q^q On
 
 3 o6 NAVAL HI STORY 
 
 On the rpth of Auguft, 1712, an inftrument for a fufperi- 
 fion of arms was figned at Paris, by the lord vifcount Boling- 
 broke, and the marquis de Torcy, for four months'; and, in 
 eonfequence of this, the neceflary meafures were taken for 
 completing the peace : king Philip of Spain Aimmoned a cortez, 
 or general afTembly of the ftates of his kingdom, before whom*, 
 and with whofe confent r he made a renunciation of the crown 
 of France, the queen having before appointed lord Lexington 
 to be prefcnt at that ceremony. The negociations at Utrecht,, 
 however, went on very flowly, r.r ' withstanding the pains taken. 
 by the enrl of Strafford u , and coclor Robinfon, bifhop of Brif- 
 tol, her majeily's plenipotentiaries ; and the great activity of the 
 French minifters T who \vere the marfhal d'Uxeiles, a very able 
 ftatefmaB, of whom prince Eugene faid, with great fpirit, upon* 
 this occafion, that be was the only French marfhal he feared ;. 
 the famous Abbs de Polignac, afterwards cardinal by the fame 
 title, the ablest head in France ; and M. Mefhager, now raifed 
 to the tit If of count de St. John, Who was entrufted with the 
 firft negociations ; and from this flownefs it was found necetfary 
 to renew the fufpenfion of arms four months longer w . 
 
 At laft, when the great influence of the queen was diftrernedy 
 by laer procuring the kingdom of Sicily for her coufin the duke- 
 <5f Savoy, which was her majtlty's own adt, the allies, moft of 
 them, thought fit to comply, and accept the terms fne had ftU 
 pulated for them, though with a vifible reluctance. The em- 
 peror only remained firm to his firft refolutien, and made the 
 neceffary difpofitions- for carrying On the war alone; confentingf. 
 however, to evacuate Catalonia, and to accept of a neutrality 
 for Italy, under the guaranty of her Britannic majefty. On the 
 
 r Bnrnet's hiftury of his own times, Tol. it. p. tfojo. Boycr's life of queer* 
 Anne. LamSerti racmoiri;?, ire. tome vii. p. 481. Aftes & memoircs dc la 
 l?aix d'Utrecht, tome ii. p. 16. Mercure hilloriHiie et poliuque, tome liv. p. 83. 
 
 u T!ie connection necefiiry in the te^t, obliges me fj mention here, that 
 about the Utter end of Aujjtfft, her majfcfty appointed the earl of Stralford, Sir 
 John Leake, Sir George Byng, knts. Sir William Drake, bart. John Aiflabie, 
 l:)'q; Sir Jamei Wifhart, knt. and George Clarke, Efq; to be commirtioners for 
 executing the office of 1-id liiwh-admiral of Great Britain. 
 
 w Lamb;r;i mcmoire>, ire. vol. viii. p. i. Memoires de marquis de T.ircy, 
 tome ii. At\c% oc mcoioires de la Paix d'Uirccht, tome ii. p. 161. Bwrnet, 
 *?n!. ii. p. 611. OKltuixou. Maurc hiAoriquc ct poihiquc, borne liv. p. 84. 
 
 ipth
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANN . 307 
 
 -i 9th of January, 1712-13, the -new treaty of barrier and fuc- 
 celTion was figned by the miniilers of Great Britain, an^of the 
 States General, whereby the latter obtained a mighty acceffion 
 of territories, and a very great inereafe of power. On the ift 
 of March, the inftruments relating to -Catalonia and Italy were 
 executed ; and on the 4th of the fame month, the duke of 
 Berry, and 'the duke of Orleans, renounced their right to the 
 crown of Spain, in the parliament of Paris. Thefe prelimi- 
 naries being thus fettled, the great work advanced more briik- 
 iy, and ty the end of the month, it was brought to itc coqclu- 
 fion *. 
 
 On the-firft of April, 1713?, the famous treaty of Utrecht 
 was figned, as fowie would have us believe, in a clandefiine 
 manner. The truth <was, that, to prevent difputes and protefts, 
 which might have furnifhed matter for dangerous purfuits in 
 England, 'it was refolved -to fign the tre.ity privately, at the 
 houfe of the bifhop of Briftol, which was accordingly done, un- 
 der pretence of a conference ; which being a thing frequent 
 during that congrefs, rendered the matter lefs fufpe&ed. The 
 earl of Strafford, and the bifhop of Briftol, figned firft ; then 
 the minifters of the duke of Savoy, declared king of Sicily by 
 that treaty ; thofe of the king of Portugal after them ; then the 
 plenipotentiaries of rhe king of : Prufiia, and thofe of the'States- 
 Gcneral laft of all. The whole was over about two in the 
 morning, occafioned by the length. of the treaties that were to 
 be read before they were figned; and when -the bufmefs was 
 ended, the refpecl:ive minifters withdrew to their own places of 
 refidence, without any noife, or without directing any public 
 .rejoicings, as might have been expected upon fuch an occa- 
 
 I have been the more particular in thefe circumflances, be- 
 caufe fome hiftorians have reprelented them as matters of great 
 importance. To fpeak impartially, I think there is very little, 
 if any thing, in them j for in moft ieparate peaces, the fame 
 
 x Buyer's life of qn?en Anne. Lambert: meoioiret, tome viii. p. 54, Artes 
 it tnemoircs de la Paix d 1 Utrecht, lame ii, p. 160. Mcrcurc hiHoriijue et poli- 
 tique, tome liv. p. 230, 339. )' Corps univcrfel diplomatique, tome 
 
 viii. p. i. p. 339. z Lambcrti, tome viii. p. 71. Journal hiflorique de 
 
 voiiis XI^. p. i0? . Mcrcure hiflorique politiqtif, tomr liv. p. 461.
 
 3 c8 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 thing has been done, particularly in that of Nimeguen ; and I 
 could name other, perhaps later, examples of a like conduct ; 
 fo that, upon the whole, this ought to be confidered rather as 
 a misfortune than a fault. I (hall not pretend to infift, that all 
 was obtained by the treaty of Utrecht, that might have been 
 obtained from France, after fo long and fo fuccefsful a war ; 
 but undoubtedly there was much obtained, and more might 
 have been obtained, if it had not been for the difturbance given 
 to the minifters at home, fin^e, whatever people may fuggeft, 
 all parties are alike friends to France, who thwart public mea- 
 fures, from a pure fpirit of oppofition. The Tories had embar- 
 rafifed the Whigs in their adminiftration, during the laft years 
 of the war; and the Whigs, in return, were rdblved to make 
 the Tories as uneafy as poflible, in their project of making a 
 peace. Both parties were in their turns gainers by this manner 
 of acYing ; but both were gainers at the expence of the nation ; 
 and therefore as they have no reafon, they have as little right to 
 reproach each other a . 
 
 I have 
 
 The earl of Oxford, in the clofe of his anfwer to the articles of impeach- 
 ment, gives a very full and clear account of the motives to the peace upon his 
 own knowledge; and as they are hid in fueh a piece, to which few readers refuit 
 for faishclion in matters of this nature, I thought it might not be amifs, to 
 make this fubjeft the clearer, to afford them a place at the bottom of the page. 
 As to the peace in general, he (ihe faid earl) thinks he has very good rcafon to 
 fay, that the queen had nothing more at heart, than to procure fo great a blef- 
 fin<; for her people ; and that, when it was obtained, fhc had this {atisfacliun in 
 herfelf, that fhe had taken the mod proper methods to juftify htr conduct, 
 both towards her allies, and towards her own fubjtcls. For, upon a review of 
 her majelly's whole proceeding, in relation to war and peace, he believes it will 
 appear, and hath in part appeared, by the anfwer of the faid earl to the laid ar- 
 ticles, that, as her majefty entered further into the war than (he was obliged by 
 any treaties ftibfiftirg at the time of her acccfllon to the throne, fo fhe contribut- 
 ed mere men and money towards the carrying it on afterwards, than flic was 
 engaged to provide by any fubfcjucnt treaties. That her earned dtfircs of 
 peace being twice fruftratcd, when fuch conditions mi^ht hive been obtained, 
 as would have fully anfwered all the ends for which war was at firft declared : 
 that all our fuccefTcs and victories ending in the annual increafe of the charge 
 of England, without any further afliflapce from our allies, and her kingdom bo 
 .ii.vcilhd to fuch a degree (notwithftanding the great advantages obtained 
 by her arms) that fbe was no; able to continue the war, .upon the foot it then 
 one year longer, whiifl htr s!l:c rcfu.'cj to continue it upon thnfe f^iul 
 
 conditions
 
 o F QJJ E E N ANNE. 309 
 
 I have faid, there was much obtained by the treaty of 
 Utrecht ; it is requifite that I fhould make this good, becaufe 
 for many years, the contrary has been taken for granted ; and 
 J dare fay, there are many thoufands of people in England, 
 who think we loft much, and none of our allies got any thing 
 by that peare. The true ftandard for adjufting this, muft be 
 the ends of the war; for as no war can be juft, in which the 
 aggrelTors know not for what they fight, fo no peace can be a 
 bad one, by which the ends of the war are obtained. 
 
 In the fir ft place, we fought again ft France to fettle ourfelves ; 
 that crown had never explicitly acknowledged our government 
 here at home. We fought next, for fettling the balance of 
 power in Europe, by obtaining a reaibnable fatisfaclion for the 
 claims of the houfe of Auftria to Spain and the Indies. Ano- 
 ther motive to the war was, the fecuring a barrier to the Dutch, 
 
 conditions to which they were by treaties obliged : (he was at hft contained, 
 in compaflion to her people, to hearken to the overtures of peace then maiie 
 her from France, without relying fuither on the vain hopes of gaining more ad- 
 v ntigeous terms, by protra&ir.g the war a year longer. She had Carried it on 
 for fome time under that profpcel, without reaping the benefits propofed, evtn 
 at jonQures that feemed moft favourable to her demands, and to the pretenfions 
 of her allies. She had, indeed, by that means, raifcd the glory of her arms } 
 but khe could not think this a fufScient recompence for the ir.creafing mifcries of 
 her people, and therefore revived to lay hold of this opportunity, then offered 
 to her, oi ending the war with a peace, if it might be obtained upon terms eve- 
 ry way juft, fafe, and honourable; and thofc who were then empl yed in her 
 nidjsfiy'i councils, thought thcmfelvcs obliged to fecotid her good intentions 
 in this cafe, and to obey her commands with all readinefs. The faid earl ore- 
 fume, on this occafion, to mention to your lordfhips, th: faying of as wife a 
 man, and as great a general as the laft age produced, the d:ifce cf Psrma, when 
 Fiance was in a far lower condition than now, being almoft tq'.uliy diviii- 
 tween two contending parties, and Spain was at the height of its glcry, c 
 himfelf at the head of a Spanifh army, fupported one of thofe parties, sffe- pi. 
 ris itfelf had been briieged by the other; it was his opinion, (.-.nd ti.e advict K: 
 gave to his m^jcfty the king cf Spain was grounded upon ii), " That if Francs 
 " were to be got, only by reducing irs towns, the world woiilj foor.er be at ?n 
 " end thsn fcch a war." The queen feemed at this time, with ureter rcafxi, 
 to frame the like judgment, and it was therefore her pieafurc, and a great inftance 
 (as the faid earl conceives) of her wifdom and goodnefs, to think of fecuring a 
 peace, while fbe appeared able to carry on ihc war, her armies being full and 
 numerous, and before the exhanfted condition of her kingdom*, and ihe imp (Ti* 
 bility, on her fiJe, cf aiiinuiniiig (a difprcportioaits aa expsoce, was clifcovcted 
 by her eneoiie*. 
 
 and
 
 3 io NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 and an adequate recompence to the reft of our allies, for the in- 
 juries they had received from France. Let us fee now what 
 was obtained by the treaty of Utrecht, upon thefe feveral heads. 
 Jn the fir ft place, the title of queen Anne was acknowledged ia 
 the ftrongeft and moft explicit terms ; the fettlement of the fuc- 
 ceflion in the illuftrious houfe of Hanover, was likewife owned, 
 and the perfon who claimed before the queen, and to defeat 
 ivhofe pretentious the aft of fettlernent was made, was exclud- 
 ed the dominions of France, and his moft Chriftian majcfty pro- 
 rnifed never to admit htm again, though he had owned him 
 over and over} and he Kkewrfe promifed never to affift or pro- 
 tect him, or any of his adherents. As to the fecond, a reafon- 
 i;ble fatisfadYion was obtained for the emperor, though he re- 
 iufed to accept it; and the moft fblemn renunciations of the 
 two branches of the houfe of Bourbon, are inferted in the body 
 of the treaty itfelf, in order, as far as the thing was poflible, to 
 fecure all Europe againft the apprehenfions of feeing the crowns 
 of France and Spain devolve upon one prince ; and, to obviate 
 another objection as to the commerce of 'New Spain, it is ex- 
 prefsly provided, that the "French fhould enjoy no .privilege of 
 navigation thither, beyond what had been enjoyed under the 
 kings ef Spain of the Auftrian line. In regard to our allies, it 
 is plain, that the duke of Savoy, who indeed well deferved it, 
 having fteadily adhered to the alliance in times of the deepett 
 cliftrefs, had full fatisfadtion given him, and hi fuch a manner 
 too, as had a -vifible tendency to the properly fixing the balance 
 of power ; and the kings of Portugal, Pruffia, and the States, 
 were likewife fatisfied. 
 
 I know it may be faid, that there was a force upon the latter; 
 but I know people are very unfit judges in their own caufe, and 
 that the Spates got by this treaty., not only fuch a barrier as 
 feemed reafonable to us, but as good a one as the emperor 
 thought fit for them, after all our fuccefies, and when the allies 
 were upon the beft terms with each other. To fay then, that 
 the treaty of Utrecht did nothing, and that all our expenses, 
 and all our victories in that long war, were abfolutely thrown 
 , is much beycnd the truth; but that a better treaty might 
 
 have
 
 o F Qj; E E N A N N E. 511 
 
 have been made, I fhall not difpute, becaufe I think there is no 
 arguing about poffibilities b . 
 
 Before I part with this treaty, however, I muft obferve, that 
 k was very extraordinary in one refpect ; it procured us much 
 greater advantages,. I mean the people of Great Britain, as a 
 trading nation, than any treaty with which I am acquainted ei- 
 ther before or fince; and upon thefe, I muft particularly Jnfift, 
 becaufe they are immediately within my province. \Ve have 
 feen that Dunkirk was long before put into our hands ; let us 
 now fee what was to become of it ; and becaufe this is a point 
 that has been fince, and may be hereafter, attended with warm 
 difpute?, I think it neeeflary to tranfcribe the ninth article cf the 
 treaty, by which this great point (great indeed, if we confuler 
 either the humbling France, cr fecuring ourfelves) was effectu- 
 ally fettled. Thus it runs : " The molt Chriftian king fliall take 
 " care, that all the fortifications of the city of Dunkirk be 
 " razed; that the harbour be filled up.; and that the fluices,. 
 " or moles, which ferve to cleanfe the harbour,, be levelled, 
 " and that at the fame king's own expence, within the fpace of 
 <( five months after the conditions of peace are concluded and 
 M figned ; that is to fay, the fortifications towards the fea, with- 
 " in the fpace of two months v and thofe towards the land, to- 
 ' gether with the faid banks, within three months ;. on this ex- 
 " prefs condition alfo, that the faid fortifications, harbour* 
 *' moles, or fluices, be never repaired again." 
 
 The demolition of this place was of prodigious importance ; it 
 lies but thirteen leagues from the fouth Foreland, and any eafter- 
 
 *> The account hifhop Burnet has given us, will be fufHcicnt to clear np to th- 
 reader, the fatisfafiion fecured to the princes and flares engaged uitii us in the 
 War. " As for th* aliie< T " fys he, " Pi.rtugat and Savoy were fatUficd ; th 
 IC emperor was, to have the duchy of Mil--n, the kingdom of S'lplts, ar,<! tl c 
 ' Spsniih htehcTFanfis ; Sicily wa to he given to the duke of Savoy, \*uii tlitf 
 " ti:le of king; and S;rdinia, whh the Ome title, was t-> be j:\tn to the cltr- 
 *' tor cf Bavaria, in lieu of his lolfcs j the flutes were to drhver up Lills, r<i 
 " the liitle places ahout it ; and In fides (he places of which they were polliflcci, 
 *' they were to have Namur, Charleroy, Luxembiirgh, Ypre>, and Xewport j 
 " the king or Pruffii was to have the Upper GiicUkr, in lieu of Orange, au.d 
 " the other eftatcs which the fami y had in Tranche Comtc." This was all I 
 think ncccfTiry to iniert heie, with relation to our treaty ; the crnper.T wa* to 
 have time, to the feft c,f J*ne, to declare his accepting cf it.
 
 312 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 ly wind, which carries our fhips down the channel, brings out 
 thofe at Dunkirk, to meet and intercept them ; which, during 
 the two wars preceding this treaty, made it often fufpecled, that 
 the French had intelligence, either from our admiralty, or fe- 
 cretary's oiHce ; though very probably without foundation, fince 
 the very fituation of the place furnifhed the enemy with advan- 
 tages enough ; for the eaft end of the channel, which is fo 
 much expofed to Dunkirk, is but feven leagues broad, and gives 
 them an opportunity of feeing our fhips from fide to fide. It 
 clearly appears from hence, that fix parts in nine of our trade 
 from the port of London, were freed from moft: of the hazards 
 felt in thofe wars; and though part of this muft be expofed 
 when it pafTes through the chops, or weftern entrance of the 
 channel, yet it muft be confidered, that it was liable alfo to this 
 before, fo that no new inconvenience is created : and befides, 
 this is only the fouth trade ; fuch Ihips as go to Holland, Ham- 
 burgh, or the north, are abfolutely free. Befides all this, the 
 demolition of DUNKIRK was an inexpreffible blow to the 
 French naval power, and even to their* trade, efpecially to the 
 Well: Indies ; fo that a clearer proof could not be of our fupe- 
 rior force, and of their diirrefs, than the fubmiflion of France 
 to this article. It is true, they endeavoured to fhift off, and af- 
 terwards to mitigate the execution of it; but in vain. The 
 queen infilled upon Dunkirk's being demolished effectually, ac- 
 cording to the letter, and it was demolifhed as effectually as 
 could be defired ; whether ever it (hall be reftored, or if in time 
 of war reftored, fuffcred to continue, fo as to become, as in 
 times paft, a terror to the Englifh nation, depends upon our- 
 felves and future adminiftrations c . 
 
 By the loth and I ith articles, the countries comprifed in the 
 charter of the Hudfon's-bay company, of which the French had 
 got poiTeflion^ partly in the time of peacej and partly in that of 
 war, were to be reftored ; and not only reftored, but his moft 
 Chriftian majefty farther ftipulated,that whatever had been taken 
 
 * Burner, OMrnixon, complete hift^ry of Europe, for the year 1773, life of 
 queen Anne, continuition of Rapin's r.iiViry, the importance of Dunkirk corli- 
 dered, F.ench faith in the dsmolitian of Dunkirk, and many other parrp!.lct> 
 upon the fame fcL-in^, pur.LPr.cd ia thjfc ti.nes. 
 
 in
 
 o ? QJJ E E N A N N . 313 
 
 in time of peace, or whatever injuries had been done to the 
 HudfonVbay company, before the commencement of the warj 
 fliould be fairly examined, and full fatisfation made. The like 
 is ftipulated with refpecl to the depredations by M. Caflard, 
 in the Leeward Ifland?, after the negociations for peace were 
 begun. 
 
 By the I2th article, the ifland of St. Chriftopher, and the 
 whole country of Nova Scotia, are yielded to the queen of 
 Great Britain, as by the 1 3th article, is the whole country of 
 Newfoundland ; but the ifland of Cape Breton, is by the fame 
 article given up to France, which has been reprefented as a 
 monftrous piece of complaifance, though there fcems to be 
 great reafon to believe, it was much lefs owing to the inclina- 
 tion of the Englifh minifters, than to their inability of funding 
 out any longer againft the opposition carried on at home ; and 
 for this reafon it is made one of the charges againft the earl of 
 Oxford, in the I3th article of his impeachment, wherein it was 
 affirmed, that Cape Breton was part of Nova Scotia ; and the 
 earl in his anfwer to that article aflerts, that he had gone no 
 farther than king William had gone in the treaty of Ryfwick. 
 But, however we might fail as to the point of Cape Breton; 
 yet undoubtedly we acquired more by the treaty of Utrecht, 
 than by any of our former treaties; I mean at the expence of 
 the French, who at the time this treaty was figned, were actu- 
 ally in poifcffiori of Placentia in Newfoundland d . 
 
 But, 
 
 * The Ctrl of 6xf>rd, ?vsn afer h: \v.-: :rm;achrd, t'l -vght he !i ui a right 
 to value himfclf upon th ; s tiejty ; nd theiefore, in his aniwi-r, auer havi'-g 
 t*ken notice of the niiTkultiej 10 which we were reduced by il;e war, he pro- 
 ceeds to fpeak in the foil win rstm.-, of the acc>u:rg from the t:ci- 
 tv of Utrecht. At this jurxfluie the queen enteiei upon a n ? cij'lon of p-act. 
 v.i h circomftances of great honour to hcifclf: France acplyinp to I er h.llon 
 this acccmt, prcvioul^y owning her title, anJ aclcncwledg.rg th: rig. : of thi 
 ^jnt fucccfli 'fi, 'wo chief gr-.-u".ds upon which the :;!ar:tion of the laft 
 v. ar was built. As to the iln-i, it w.s conai.fli-t in the fi-ne manner as a.l 
 t-fa'icS of peicc, in confederacies, har: ev.-r been, and according to the kn w n 
 l.ws of nat'ons in fuch ca'es, the fifft motion and the fever>l (\>r>i to it, as fifl 
 *i tber r'pcned int.i proiuifjlj fit f>r cirf>de-arion, htio;, w'tnont c'elay, 
 RiUiicated to the States Gerer;i!. li; the IT.T.J ,,f this pe*o . 
 ntis'achon and fecurity, t-ue to any of the allir? - rd for 
 thenn by the qu:cn, and their juft pretrnl-or.s trtlelujj . o Urgrr 
 
 YOL. III. Rr
 
 3 i4 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 But, befides thefe mighty advantages, there were others dill 
 more confiderable (the demolition of Dunkirk only excepted) 
 procured from the crown of Spain ; for by the loth article, the 
 full and entire property of the town and caftle of Gibraltar, 
 with all things thereto belonging, are given up to the crown of 
 Great Britain, in propriety, to be held and enjoyed abfolutely, 
 with all manner of ri^ht for ever, without any exception or 
 impediment whatfoever. By the i ith article, his Catholic ma- 
 jefty doth in like manner, for himfelf, his heirs, and fucceflbrs, 
 yield to the crown of England, the whole ifland of Minorca, 
 transferring to the faid crown for ever, all right, and the moft 
 abfolnte dominion over the faid iiland, and in particular over 
 the town, caftle, and fortifications of Port Mahon. All that 
 Spain referves to itfelf, being no more than the right of pre- 
 emption, in cafe the crown of Great Britain (hall at any time 
 think fit to alienate or difpofe of the faid fortrefs of Gibraltar, 
 or ifland of Minorca. By the 13th and ijth articles, the Af- 
 fiento treaty is confirmed as fully^ effectually, and authentical- 
 ly, us if the fame had been repeated word for word in the faid 
 treaty, which was ftgned at Utrecht, on the ad of July, O. S. 
 by the bifliop of Briftol, then lord privy -fed, and the earl of 
 Strafford, her majefty's plenipotentiaries, and the duke de Oflu- 
 
 dvartagrs were aflfla''y procured for Great Britain, in particular, than ever 
 Lad been demanded before, in any treaty or nrgociaMon between this and any 
 Other foreign rtare. The fa d earl c^avts leave on this occafion, to appeal te 
 your lord(Hp, wheth-r all the ends for which the war was entered into, have r.ot by 
 this trea y been fu.ly attained ? "Whether it does not appear by the beft of proofs, 
 expeiience, that the kingdoms of France and Spaii, are, by the con end >ns of this 
 treaty, moft eftVftuaMy ftparatcd ? And whe'.her any of er expedient could have 
 been fo Uiccifsfvil to th I purpofe, as that whereby it is now happily br ught about ? 
 Whether the balance of power in Europe be not now upon, a better foot, than 
 5t has been for an hunJrrd years fart ? Whether the advantages that have a.crued 
 to Great Britain by this treaty, do not appear, and have not appeared, in the 
 fecurity of the Potcftant fucceflion, and in his maiefty's peace^bic accefiion to 
 the ihrone, with the univcrf-1 app'aufe of his fubjefts; i.i the addition ma.le to 
 our wealth in the great quantities of bu lion lately coined at the mint ; by the vaft 
 increase of (hipping employed fince the peace, in the fifbery, a 10 in merchandize, 
 end by the remarkable rile of the cuft ms ujon import, and of our manufactu e% 
 and the growth of our countiy upon export ? For the ptoof of \\hich particulars, 
 he refers hiirTelf to thofc offices and books, \\he.eia an an h<.ntk acccu.it of them 
 is contained. 
 
 na,
 
 o F QJJ EENANNE. 315 
 
 na, and the marquis de Monteleon, plenipotentiaries from his 
 Catholic maje(ly e . 
 
 The ASSIENTO has flnce made fo great a figure in our hifto- 
 rics, and there will be fuch frequent occaGon to mention it in 
 the fubfequent part of this work, (as that contract was the bads 
 of the South Sea trade), that I find myfelf under a necellky, as 
 well for the fake of order and perfpicuity, as for the perform- 
 ance of what I promifed, to enter into a full and ic-^ular ac. 
 count of all the fteps taken for erecYmg and dhiulilhing this 
 great company, which was one of the moft fignal performances 
 of the Oxford miniflryf. 
 
 The earl of Godolphin, and his friends, had been peculiarly 
 happy in the condul of public affairs, and the maimainance of 
 public credit, fo long as the oppoittion given them did not rife 
 ib high, as to hinder their carrying public points in the houfe of 
 commons ; but after they once found themfelves in that fituatioa, 
 their difficulties grew upon them daily, fo that they were forced 
 to contract debts in the public fervice, exciufive of fuch as were 
 contracted, and provided for annually by parliament. At firft 
 thefe debts were feldom mentioned, fome of them being pretty 
 old, and others incurred by deficiencies, and the application of 
 funds to other fervices than thofe for which they were original- 
 ly deCgned. The drawing thefe debts out of obfcurity, and dc- 
 
 ' As to this t cafy with Spain, the e^rl of Oxf rd, in l.is anfvrer to the irr> 
 f a hment, let us into a ftCt of very great import j for, fjjs he, as for the 
 mrtrn corccr.ed previously with France, for the particular intcreft of England 
 \vi;hou: >he original inierventi^-n of Holland, the States were fo far from pro- 
 tclHng againft her majefty's /ncafuns, and condemning her conduct in this refpecl 
 that their miniftcr proftertd feyjer-.l limes, in their i amc, to have led the v. . 
 the moft difficult part of the whole r.cgocia ion, and to have done hu irm >it to 
 facilitate the concluflon of it, provided his matters might have a (hare in the Afiien- 
 to contract, and trade to the Spanifh We^ Ir.dlts, one of thofe advances which 
 France had d (covered its willingne!* ihuuld Ue allowed, prev^ufly, and cntife'y ta 
 England. 
 
 f Sobfequent events may miflead us, in tefpeft to the value cf this c<->nceflion. 
 But if experience, (fur we actually had this contract for negroes in the re : gn of 
 king William) ; if the opinion cf other nations, (f r the French loft it with regret, 
 and the Dutch were eager for a ftcrz in it), or the fenfe cf oir Spari(h merchant.', 
 caul; a certain the point this was a valuable accu.fuioa, 
 
 R r 2 clarfog
 
 <*i6 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 O 
 
 claring them unprovided for, was one of the firft ats of the 
 new miniUry*. 
 
 Their next care was, to form the proprietors of thefe debts 
 into a new company, which, they conceived, would be as much 
 dependent upon, and as ufeful to them, as the bank, or Eaft 
 India company had been to the former miniftry. But the bufi- 
 nefs was, to find out a proper pretence of erecting fuch a new 
 company; and this was very happily found, and very dextrouf- 
 ly applied. It was always matter of wonder to the greateft part 
 of this nation, why the war was not puflied in the Weft Indies j 
 efpecially, fince there was a claufe in the grand alliance, where- 
 by we were intitled to hold whatever we could conquer in thofe 
 parts. Some political reafons, however, retrained the vigour 
 of our arms in that particular; and this, though the old mini- 
 ftry were very little to blame in it, made one great topic of pub- 
 lic clamour 11 . 
 
 When a thing is once made the theme of common difcourfc, 
 many lights come to be ftruck out. in relation to it, that were 
 not thought of before ; and this was the cafe here : fome mer- 
 
 8 The debts declared by th flatutf, are as fallow : 
 
 Debt to the ravy, old, ntw, and c'eficieut 5> T 3>SJ9. 
 
 Pebr to che ordnance 154^4 
 
 Pent to tranfpcrt-fcrvice 414,791 
 
 Oid *rmy-debentures^of laft war 1,018,656 
 
 Deficient Allies 8 Gulie . tz 024 
 
 pjovifif.ns for the navy, Oft. Nov. D-c. 1710 37 8 > 8 S9 
 
 Sutfidies to the duchy of Hjnover, 1696 85.000 
 
 I .tereft on dirt", Irom C r riftmas 1710 a d 1711 P-J'S 
 
 L'^ans i>n cu.tctns, &t. 8 Annse 1,156,552 
 
 Intereft on dilto 74> ! ' ; 76 
 
 Jntertrt on the \\h .le from Lady-day to Chiiftmas, 1711 ^(,-,2: 
 
 To the ytar's fsrvice 1711 5Oo,coo 
 
 Add, >or tdd fhill:ngs nd per.ce j 
 
 ^ If we had taken p'ices from t'iSpJnhrds in Americ*, it vould rave given 
 *n opporsnnity to Tu.h of the grandees as had tmbrsccd the p.r y of C varies ]JI. to 
 hare qii'.t:ed ir, and reconciled themftl.cs to king Philip. It wou.d havegiv.n 
 umbr.ge to. nd furnided a precedent for the Dutch. It was thought this point 
 was weir fe; tied a.id fcurc-i ty our private treaty. Befdss thefe, which were not 
 flight mot : ves, there were < t',;ers which are elfewhtre mentior.e', that hindered the 
 formfr miniftry, or raibcr tc .dcrcd :: i.npraftiwble f.r thcni io take anj fieps of 
 ;bi; autur:. 
 
 chants
 
 OF QJJ E E N A N 7 N E. 317 
 
 chants of Briftol taking this matter into conficleration, began to 
 apprehend, that, however the miniftry might be bound, private 
 perfons were not obliged to let flip advantages of this nature; 
 and therefore they refolved to fit out two fhips for the South 
 Seas, upon their private account; which they did; and thefs 
 fhips returning in the year 1711, after having made many rich, 
 prizes, the wealth of the South Seas came to make a great 
 noife". 
 
 This determined the new miniftry to join an ample fe- 
 curity for the debts hitherto unprovided for, with the pro- 
 fpect of the trade from the South Seas, and by this means, 
 fix their whole defign at once. Upon this plan, they made 
 fome propofals to the monied people, who, having been long 
 attached to the former adminiftration, treated the whole as 
 chimerical, and a project that could never be brought to 
 bear. I mention this circumftance, only to (hew how little 
 dependence fhould be placed on the refolution of men who, are 
 known to be governed by nothing but their interefts; for, not- 
 withftanding their flighting the propofal when it was firft made, 
 
 lord Oxford aod his friends carried on this fcheme with fuccefs k 
 
 
 
 In 
 
 \ As the buGnefs of ihis voyage to the S >uth Seas very nearly cencerns the 
 f.ibject of this work, it may rot be amifs to ukc notice, as concifely as poffiblc, 
 of the melt remarkable circum'tances attending this a.Ttir. The fhips fitted out 
 upon this occafion, wire the Duke of thirty gans, and 170 men, commanded 
 by captain Woods Rogers ; and the Duchets, of twenty fix guns, and. 150 mfr, 
 u"dcr the command of Stephen Courtney. The famous capui/-, Djmpkr, whole 
 vovjgrs have made him known throughout Europe, was on board one of thcie 
 vdTis, as pilot; thy failed from B'ifkl on the ift of Auguft, i7c;J, and hav- 
 ing happiiy palled the Surights of Mjgcilan, they not only took tcveral ih'ps in 
 the South Seas, but f;vt ral towns allo upon the coaft; and on the aid of De- 
 cember, 1709, they mtt with the Acapu co Ihip, trnt is, the kfier of the two 
 ftiips which fail annually from ihe Eail Indies to Mexico ; (be w.s of the burdca 
 of 4:0 tons, and cai-itd twenty guns, and as many pattararnes. The action 
 li'led about half an hour, and the value of the prize was about 2,000,000 j ierrg 
 of eight; the larger Acapulo foip fell alfo in tlieir way, which tliey attacked tw 
 days fuccijfi.fly ; but, as fhe was of 900 tons burden, and had Coo r. Co oa 
 board, they found it impodibie to take her, which made them determine to re- 
 turn by the Eaft Indies; captain Dover being appointed comminocr of the Aca- 
 pulco ihip, with which they arrived fafely in the Downs, on tne id of Octcber, 
 
 nit. 
 
 k This fettling the unliquidated debts, giving fatisfa&ion thereby to the pub- 
 lic ercdicors, and framing ;he plau of the S:u:.VSca comj-iry, are all enume- 
 rated
 
 318 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 In the firft place, they took care to give a very plaufible ac- 
 count to the world, of the nature of this undertaking; and, 
 which fliewed their political dexterity, they made the very con- 
 tempt, which was at firft expreffed for their defign, fubfervient 
 to its extenfion; for they gave out, that the laft miniftry having 
 been carelefs of the nation's intei eft in this refpecl, were defir- 
 ous of covering their reputation, by reprefenting that as imprac*- 
 ticable, which they had never attempted ', They took notice 
 likewife of its having been always thought the fureft way of 
 diftrefling the Spaniards ; and, to demonftrate this, they print- 
 ed a propofal of the like nature, which was made in parliament, 
 fo long ago as in the year 1624. They further obferved, that 
 this was profecuting the war againft the French too, who car- 
 ried on a mighty trade in the South Seas, and were actually 
 making fettlements there. This took off the edge from every 
 argument that could be offered, as to the impoflibility of the 
 deiign ; for all who talked in that ftyle, were con fidered now as 
 enemies to the Englifh nation, and perfons abfolutely in a fo- 
 reign intereft m . 
 
 To give the thing the higheft glofs, and to fix the nation in 
 a full opinion of the great profit that might be made by this 
 trade, care was taken to circulate a notion in Holland, about 
 the time that Sir Hovenden Walker undertook his expedition 
 againft Canada, that the true intention of that armament was 
 
 rated in the preamble of the patent, creating him carl of Oxford, and eatl Morti- 
 mer. 
 
 I There appeared feveral treatifcs about this time, on the fubj.ft, the titles 
 of force of which are worth preferving, (i.) A letter to a member of parlia- 
 ment, on the fettling a trade to the South Sea of America, with reafons for en- 
 couraging a commerce between Great Britain and the countries fituated in thofc 
 feas. London, 1711, 4to. (2.) A true account of the dcfign and advantage! 
 of a South Sea trade, with anfwers to all the objections made againft it. Lon- 
 don, lyiijSvo. (3.) An eflay on the nature and methods f carrying on a 
 trade to the South Seas. By Rnbert Allan, who redded fbme years in the king. 
 <lom of Peru. London, 171*, 8 vo. 
 
 m There nev<r was a period when party fpiri: ran higher, and confeqi'ently 
 when truth was more difguifed, or falfchood better drafted, than in this. There 
 u-as K-fs regard paid to the weight of propofitions- than to the perfons who pro- 
 pofed them, and therefore the only way of coming at truth, is to confider thefe 
 proportions, without refpc ?.ing who fupportcd, or who cenfured. 
 
 againft
 
 OF QJJEEN A N N E. 3 t 9 
 
 againft Peru. This had the deagned effect ; the Dutch took 
 umbrage at it, and expreffed loudly enough their dhTatisfaction 
 at our entering on any fuch views. This anfwered the endpro- 
 pofed, and begot an extraordinary concurrence in the new 
 icheme here. The debts unprovided for, were next liquidated 
 at 9,47 r ,3 24 1. on which an annuity at the rate of 6 1. per cent, 
 was granted, until the principal was paid, which annuity 
 amounted to 568,279 1. n 
 
 The company was incorporated for carrying on a trade to 
 the South Seas ; and, by their charter, there was in vetted ia 
 them and their fucceiTors, the fole trade into, and from, all the 
 kingdoms and lands on the eaft fide of America, from the river 
 Oroonoko, to the fouthermoft part of Terra del Fuego, and 
 on the weft fide thereof, from the faid fouthermott part of 
 Terra del Fuego, through the South Sea, to the northermoft 
 part of America, and into, and from all the countries, iflands, 
 and places within the faid limits, which are reputed to belong 
 to Spain, or which Ihall hereafter be found out, or difcovered 
 within the limits aforefaid, not exceeding three hundred leagues 
 from the continent of America, on the faid weft fide thereof, 
 except the kingdom of Brazil, and fuch other places on the 
 eaft fide of America, as are now in the polTl-fTion of the king 
 of Portugal, and the country of Surinam, in the poffeffion of 
 the States-General. And to give the thing ftill the greater fane* 
 tion, the faid company, and none elfe, were to trade within 
 the faid limits; and if any other perfon fhould prefume to 
 trade to the South Seas, they were to forfeit the fliip and 
 goods, and double the value : one fourth part to the crown ; 
 another fourth part to the profecutor ; and the remaining half 
 to the ufe of the company. And it is alfo provided, that the 
 company fhall be the fole owners of the inlands, forts, (r'r. 
 which they fhall difcover, and ered within the faid limits, to 
 be held of the crown, under the nnnual-rent of one ounce cf 
 gold, and of all fhips taken as prize, by the fhips of the faid 
 
 " Annals of quern Ar.nr, vo ! . r. p. iiS, ;:? Eirrct's hifiory ef his 
 gwn times, vol. ii. p. 569. Oi-ir.uon's : the Stuans, vol. ii. 
 
 P- 459- 
 
 company,
 
 320 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 company, and the company may feize, by force of arms, all 
 other Britifli (hips trading in thofe feas. 
 
 The (lock of this corporation was to arife from the fubferip- 
 tion of thefe public debts, and the fum of 8,279!. was grant- 
 ed for the charges of management ; and as trade could not be 
 carried on without money, fo the governor and directors 
 of the new company had power, by their charter, to make 
 any call, not exceeding ten per cent, for the profecution of this 
 trade p . 
 
 The lord high-treafurer Oxford, than whom no mimfter had 
 cleaner hands, or a founder head, faw, with great fatisfa&ion, 
 the South-Sea company's ftock fubfcribed, by the very people 
 who, upon its firft propofal, had treated his project as a chi- 
 mera. He knew, much better than they, how far it was chi- 
 merical; he knew, that no advantageous trade could be carried 
 on according to the fcheme of the charter; but when the char- 
 ter was granted, it v/as too early for him to difcover what he 
 really meant by trade to the South Seas. In the year 1713, 
 the ASSIENTO treaty, or agreement between king Philip of 
 Spain, and the Guinea company in France, for the furnifhing 
 negroes to the Weft Indies, determined ; and the lord-treafurer 
 had an agent of his in Spain, who took notice of it to the 
 tluke d'Ofluna, hinting alfo, that the granting this to the Eng- 
 11 fh might prove a means towards bringing about a peace ; inaf- 
 much, as this had been one of the principal points propofed by 
 the private treaty between Great Britain and king Charles. The 
 propofal was eagerly embraced, becaufe it not only has! a ten* 
 
 This was, indeed, liable to the objection made by Come of the writers 
 riefore-mentionedf that the trade was chimerical, as in truth the company never 
 attempted to fend a (hip into the Sotirh S<a. fiut the mtnifter had very juft 
 frafons to proceed as ke did. Fiitt, lie was obliged to feitle the company 
 \.v ; .th;ut 1 >fs of time, and, while the war continued, expeditions mi^lit have 
 l-een nude into the Sou'li Se*s. Secondly, the forming this company, and the 
 Unor of i:s charter, abroad die Spaniard:, and difpofed them to nuke any 
 conceflbns, in order to procure a peace with Britain. Thirdly, the Aflirnto 
 was obtained for this company, in litu of this trade granted them to the South' 
 S-a. 
 
 P Statire o. Annae, cap. it. Charter of the Sou:h-Sa company. See 
 alfo the fcvcial tre*tifes which have been before referred ro, rthtivc to this 
 fuhjtrt. 
 
 dency
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. ? 2 1 
 
 ticncy to nr.fvrer the great end of fettling king Philip's title ; 
 but it alfo gave a handle to the Spaniards to rid themfelves of 
 the French, whofe dealings in the South Seas had long given 
 them, as it ought to have given us, great umbrage''. 
 
 Thus this wife and able minifter brought about in Spain, 
 what few had any thoughts of in England ; and procured this 
 to be offered by king Philip, as a means of conciliating the in- 
 terefls of the two crowns, and renewing the old correfpondence 
 between the two nations. In confequence of this, a projecl, 
 confifting of forty-two articles, was delivered to his Catholic 
 majcfty, who, on the 26th of March, 1713, ratified them by 
 his royal decree ?.t Madrid ; and thefe are the articles fo folemn- 
 ly confirmed in the treaty of peace before-mentioned, and which 
 have been the bafis of the trade carried on by the South-Sea 
 company; and which, if it has not, might certainly have been 
 made extremely beneficial to this nation r . 
 
 This ASSIENTO contract ftipuiates, in the firft: place, thnf 
 from the firft of May i7'-3 to the firft of May 1743, the 
 company (hall tranfport into the Spanifh Weft Indies 144,000 
 negroes of both fcxes, and of all ages, at the rate of 4800 
 negroes every year ; that for each negroe the AfTicntifrs fhall 
 pay 33-*- pieces of eight, in full for all royal dt:tie? ; that 
 the faid Allientifts fhall advance his Catholic majefty 200,000 
 pieces of eight, upon the t | cribed in the contract.; that 
 
 twice a-year they Hull p.-.y the before-mentioned duties of 4000 
 negroes, his Catholic majcfty giving them the duty on the other 
 800, to balance their rilk, and extraordinary cxpences ; that 
 his Catholic mjjcfty, and trc queen of Great Britain fhail each 
 be concerned a quarter part in the faid trade, and fhall be al- 
 
 1 This leids me to take n >tke of sn immediate and capita! advantage which 
 refu'ted to Britain from this tranfa&ion. It wrought upon the natural jejloufy 
 f the Spaniard', who r ever retted till they ridded ihemfelre* of the French 
 triocr*, wl>o <*.te become perfeIy well acquainted with the route hyC.;c 
 Horn, and l.ad rvcn parted thit ay t:> the E*ft Indies, and fo round by the 
 Cipe ot G od Hope to Europe, a* appear* by Frezicr's and Buibioai's voy- 
 ages; a: d, but for this treaty, iio queftion wculd, in the fpace of a fi.w 
 years, have worked themfclve* into a regular correfponde^cr this way into both 
 Indies. 
 
 r AcVs & memoirrs de la p^'x d'L'trccht, tnme v. -. --., r -7: ' plomatiqcj, 
 tome vir p r. p. 350. Lanibcni, tome viii. p. ; -. 
 
 VOL. III. S f lowed
 
 322 NAVAL HIS T O R Y 
 
 lowed a quarter of the profits, which (hall be accounted for, 
 by the Aflientifts, upon oath, that during the fpace, neither 
 the French Guinea company, or the fubjec"ts of any other 
 crown, fliall have any licence to import negroes^ and in cafe 
 they fhould import them, they fliall be confidered as contra- 
 band, and the company fliall have power to confifcate them, 
 with many other claufes for the fecurity of this trade, which are 
 not necefiary for me here to mention. I (hall: content myfelf 
 with obferving, that the rights and privileges granted by this- 
 contract were all by direction from the queen, properly align- 
 ed to the South-Sea company ; and though it might be, as I 
 believe it was, true, that a little jobbing was pra&rfcd in ma- 
 king' the aflignments,, yet the whole was moft advantageous to 
 this nation- ; and if we have not reaped fuch benefits from this 
 contract as we might have done, we ought not to blame the 
 treaty of Utrecht, but ourfclves; for there is no ferving any 
 nation after it is come to a certain height of corruption. 
 
 It has been fuggeftecl, that, whatever benefits we might re- 
 ceive by this treaty, there were ftill much greater advantages 
 that might have been acquired, if we had not fuffered them to- 
 flip through our fingers* I fhall-take fome notice of thefe. In 
 the firft place, 5t has been (aid,, that we might have made our- 
 felves mafters of the Indies, or at leaft of the trade of them. 
 I do not fee how this ean be proved. For, on the one hand r 
 our open enemies were extremely ftrong there,, fo as not only 
 to at upon the defenfive, but even to attack, and that fuccefs- 
 fully too, the fettlements of our allies, the Portuguefe; and, on ; 
 the other hand, not the Dutch only, but all the confederates 
 were extremely averfe to our making conquefts in the Weft- 
 Indies i which were amongft the true and weighty reafons 
 why, under die earl of Godolphin's adminiflration,. they were 
 forborne s . 
 
 s We have more than once touched the reafonr why, under that minifler, we 
 <!fd not carry on a fca war againfl Spain, in the Indies, and we alfo acquainted' 
 the reader with the articles of ihe fecret treaty ; to which we will now add, that 
 our navy was fo fully employed, that, perhaps, lefs cogent reafons might have 
 induced our ftatefmen not to attempt any thing at fuch a diftance, rather than 
 rifk the attempting what would have exafpcratcd friends as well as foes, with 
 fmall hopes of fuccefs, 
 
 la
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 323 
 
 In time of war, therefore, k does not appear we were able 
 to do much againft the "Spaniards, and againft the French we 
 were ftill in a worfe condition ; for in the iflands they were too 
 ftrong for us, from their having but few colonies, and thofe 
 well peopled ; and in Canada they found the fnuation of the 
 country and its climate, fuilkiently defended them againft all 
 we could do. It was only in Newfoundland that we had any 
 profpecl of making conquefts ; and there they gave us up Pla- 
 centia, the only .place they held 1 . 
 
 I have already mentioned the affair of Cape Breton, which 
 tome writers have called a mine of gold, given up by the treaty 
 of Utrecht to the Trench ; and the reafon afiigned "for it is 
 this: that if that ifland had not been left to the French, we 
 Should have poiTefTed the fifnery in that part of the world with- 
 out a rival; and might confequently have made what market 
 of it we pleafcd. Yet, however acceptable this reafon may be 
 at home, I am fure nothing raifes us fo many enemies abroad ; 
 this notion of monopolizing trade, and fhutting our neighbours 
 out of it by force, has a very bad effect, and is the engine con- 
 ftantly made ufe of by the French, to prejudice our once good 
 allies the Dutch againft us. I crave leave to add, that expe- 
 rience hath fhewn the fact to be otherwife than it was then re r 
 prelented ; we were, till the laft war with Spain, in pofTeflioH 
 of a very great trade in Newfoundland ; and, whenever a defi- 
 nitive peace is made, on the concluflon of the prefent, care will 
 no doubt be taken, that it (hall be fecured to u; in its full ex- 
 tent, as a compenfation for our expence, and then I conceive 
 we fliall have no great caufe to murmur u . 
 
 We find it allb objected, that greater fecurity was not obr 
 tained for us in the Mediterranean ; where, they fay, we fhould 
 
 ' This w^s a confiderable place, and in part the obj : ec"r, of Sir -Hovendeo 
 Vv'alker's exped:t:on, and the French chofe to give it up to faci'itate a peace rj- 
 ther than have it taken -from them, as it certai/ily would -haw been, hjd the 
 war continued. ft was equally a misfortune to the French, and to us, that 
 the Ifle of Cips Breton wa> not alfo given up, which has been a bone of con- 
 tention ever fince. 
 
 " This entire ceffion of the fifliery ought to he confidered as the fole means 
 of prcferving peace, and the confrqucnces attending this treaty before ti5, fhciv 
 that all other cxpuH-'.Vi ie ijuflidluil, which, till experience (hewcii it, c.i.ldisot 
 
 S f 2 no:
 
 . 4 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 not only have had Gibraltar, but a territory round it. It were 
 to be wifhed they had given us a plan of this fortrefs, with the 
 territory they expccled, and then at the clofe of the enfuing 
 \var, perhaps it might have been obtained. But it is our mis- 
 fortune, that even in points of fuch importance as thefe, we 
 borrow our opinions rather from the parties to which we attach 
 curfelves, than from the nature of things themfelves. For let 
 it be remembered, that many of thofe who infifted with the 
 utmoft vehemence on this error, in the treaty of Utrecht, af- 
 terwards, when their fchemes of politics were changed, were 
 as warm in afferting, that Gibraltar and Port Mahon too were 
 of little or no ufe, and were actually inclined to give them up 
 to Spain, not in confideration of any equivalent to be given to 
 Great Britain, but in order to have fuch a peace made, as would 
 fuit the intereft of our foreign allies. It is not, therefore, eafy 
 to difcern, through the mifts of parties, what in this refpeft 
 are the true interests of Britain". 
 
 All that can be fairly faid of this matter, lies in a narrow 
 compafs ; the fecurity of our trade in the Mediterranean is well 
 provided for, by our having in our poffeflion the very beft ha- 
 ven in the Mediterranean, I mean that of Port Mahon, the in- 
 Huence derived from which, when properly attended to, mufl; 
 always make us mafters of thofe feas, and put it in our power to 
 give law to the French. If an Englifh civil government were 
 once eftablifhed in the ifland of Minorca, and a large well-built; 
 city erected there, capable of becoming the centre of our trade 
 in thofe parts, we fliould very foon fee the worth of that ifland, 
 and recover the beft part of the trade we have loft. But mili- 
 tary governments agree fo little with the induftry of a trading 
 people, and are in themfelves fo repugnant to the genius of the 
 Briti/h nation, that I do not at all wonder men of good fenfe, 
 and thofe too of all parties, have fecretly an inclination, that 
 both Gibraltar and Minorca fliould be given up for the fame 
 reafon that the patriots in king Charles lld.'s reign, forced him 
 
 w The fignre we make, as a maritime powrr, in Europe, requires we fhculd 
 have f rnptr fta'ions in the Mediterranean ; ic wiii he the peculiar and perpe- 
 tual glory of this reign, that in it they were gained : experience has (hewn 
 their utility, and, agaifift fuch arguments, conjcfturcs and plaufibilitics will 
 -.' .vtr prevail. 
 
 to
 
 OF QJJEEN ANNE. 325 
 
 to part with Tangier. But, be this as it will, we certainly have 
 no right to cry down the treaty of Utrecht, for furnifhing us 
 with advantages, which our own corruption will not allow us 
 to keep. 
 
 To conclude this part of my fubject, I muft obfcrve, that, 
 upon the clofe of the war, the French found themfelves totally 
 deprived of all pretenfions to the dominion of the fea. We 
 have, in part, demonftrated this in the laft volume; but fame- 
 thing more remains to be faid here. Molt of our conquefts, 
 indeed all of them that were of any ufe to us, were made by, 
 or at leaft chiefly by our fleets. Sir George Rooke took Gi- 
 braltar, and ."Sir John Leake reduced Minorca ; and it is alfo evi- 
 dent, thai it was our fleet alone that fupported king Charles in 
 Catalonia, and kept the king of Portugal fteady to the grand 
 alliance; which, befides the advantages it brought to the com- 
 mon caufe, lecured to us the invaluable profits of our trade to 
 that country; and all this againft the fpirit, genius, and inclina- 
 tion of the king of Portugal, and his minifters, who were all 
 at that time in the French intereft in their hearts; from which 
 they had never departed fo much as in fliew, if the mod Chri- 
 Itian king had been able to perform what we did ; fmce it is 
 well known, that the Portuguese fir ft offered themfelves to, 
 and contracted an alliance with that monarch, and his grandfoa 
 of Spain x . 
 
 At the fame time, our fleets prevented the French from fo 
 much as failing on the Mediterranean, where they had made a 
 figure in the laft war, and kept many of the Italian ftates in 
 awe. The very Algerines, and other piratical ftates of Bar- 
 bary, contrary to their natural propenfity to the French, were 
 now obfequious to us, and entertained no manner of doubt of 
 the fuperiority of our flag. To fpeak the truth, the flacknefs 
 of the Dutch, in fending (hips to this part of the world, had 
 in this relpect an efledt happy enough for us, fince it occaCon- 
 ed our being confidered as the leading power, by all who had 
 any concerns with us and them. Yet it muft be admitted, that 
 
 x In every war this has been fufficiently feen. Our fleet is naturally the of- 
 fenfive flrength of this nation, by which the power of Biitain i k-iied, being t 
 fome lime cr other felt under every clime, 
 
 in
 
 326 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 in the courfe of this war, the French performed fome extraor- 
 dinary exploits in the attacking the fleets and colonies of us, 
 ;md our allies, at which we need not wonder, fince now this 
 was all they had in their power ; and though it difturbed us a 
 good deal, and brought them fome profit, yet it was more a 
 mark of their weaknefs than of ours^ for what greater, what 
 more glorious argument of our naval force, than -our finking a 
 great maritime power into a petty piratical ftate y ? 
 
 Let us but confider the figure that France made at the be- 
 ginning of the -laft war, and at the end of this. She had then 
 her fleets as well as we; nay, fhe had fometimes better fleets; 
 inftead of waiting till (he was attacked, or giving MS the trou- 
 ble to go and feek. her fquadrons at a diftance, (lie fpread the 
 (ea with her navy, and infu'lted us upon our own coafts^ though 
 xve had Spain for us in all that war, yet it was thought ex- 
 tremely dangerous for us to winter m hs ports ; and every body 
 knows, every body may fee from this, and other hiftories, that 
 while we protected Spain by our fleets, we were often in dan- 
 ger, for want of them, of being invaded by France at home. 
 But, in this war, the enemy feldom appeared at fea, and al- 
 ways quitted it at our approach. Our naval empire commenced 
 from the battle of Malaga ; the extinction of the French force 
 at fea, was in a manner completed by our enterprize on Tou- 
 lon. They were, from that time, incapable of any great expe- 
 dition, and the only attempt of that kind they made, I mean 
 the pitiful one on Scotland, very fully fhewed it. They ftole 
 from our fieet through the advantage of winds and tides ; the 
 apprehenfion of being overtaken, hindered them from landing, 
 and their return was a plain flight. 
 
 In a word, to fum up all, we had to deal, in the firft war, 
 with the fleets of Breft and Toulon, capable of diluting with 
 
 y It is really wonderful that this h& has not been more considered. When 
 tnarfhall Tourvtile lay in wait for the Smyrna fleet, what was it lefs than con- 
 verting the naval power of France into privateers. Comrnercle biflibm ir.l.'r- 
 -cl-jfa. Commerce rendered impracticable to enemies, is the legend of the medal 
 ftruck upon that event. After the battle of Malaga, the men of war were let, or 
 tent, to the merchants, to be fitted out as corfairs. John du Bart, Mr. du Guai 
 '<~rouin, ar.ci Fourbin, were the heroes who kept up the French fame at fea, and 
 were employed in pi:king up trjj; -.;&!*, while cur fquadron* wc fulfilling 
 
 L. Oik. 
 
 US
 
 OF QJJ E EN ANN E.. 327 
 
 ua the dominion of the fea in our full ftrength ; in this, if we 
 could guard againfl the Piccaroons of St. Maloes, and Dun- 
 kirk, all was well ; our merchant-men fuffered fometimes -, but 
 our fleets and fquadrom were always late ; nay, ev?n in the 
 trivial war between fmglc fhips, we had the advantage, upon 
 the whole,, as appears by the admiralty's computation j which 
 ihews, not only the French fullered more than we, but, what 
 I believe tew people have oblcrved, that they fullered a 
 third more in this war, than they did in the lalt, notwithftand- 
 ing the many lea-lights in that, and there being but a fiogle one 
 ia this 2 . 
 
 z The truth of what is afTerted in this pa-ajr^ph, will appear at firft fight, by 
 comparing the two following liils, wh c.. Jhc* th: ioU lu::a:r.ed by England and 
 France, in this war, \v;th ;ho(e in vc... i;i. p. 214, 225. \vh.rc we have fhewn wnaf 
 vtas loll on bofi fides in the Lift war, and frjrn \\he..ce it ii minifeft, that ihc 
 French loft 754 guns, and conkquently 11,310 tc.is ot Ihipp ng more in this war. 
 than in that. 
 A LIST of English Ihi..s!oft, or taken, in 
 
 queen Axxz's war. French fhips loft r taken. 
 
 Guns. Number. Guns. Guns. Number. Gur9v 
 
 90 8 720 
 
 96 8 6SS 
 
 70 3 210 
 
 64 i 64 
 
 ^O 2 ICO 
 
 4 i 4* 
 
 40 i 40 
 
 3 6 i 7J , 
 
 34 * 34 
 
 Total, 38 1596 31 i - yi. 
 
 30 2 60 
 
 28 I aS 
 
 24 3 igz 
 
 Total, 52 3094 
 
 38 1596 
 
 80 
 
 a 
 
 i do 
 
 70 
 
 4 
 
 280 
 
 60 
 
 2' . 
 
 1 10 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 400 
 
 4* 
 
 i 
 
 4.S- 
 
 40 
 
 z 
 
 80 
 
 36 
 
 j 
 
 36 
 
 3 2 
 
 4 
 
 I2& 
 
 30 
 
 . i 
 
 30 
 
 .8 
 
 i 
 
 25 
 
 *4 
 
 ii 
 
 164, 
 
 22 
 
 , i . 
 
 21 
 
 Th: K,f: of the Frirub exceeds ours, iS 
 
 There
 
 32S NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 There happened no further naval armaments within the com- 
 pafs of this reign, except the fending a fquadron into the Me- 
 diterranean, under the command of Sir James Wifhart ; the 
 defign of it, without queftion, was to execute what remained 
 to be executed of the peace-, and as his Catholic majefty was; 
 at that time, intent on the reduction of Catalonia, the Englilli 
 fleet rendered him fome fervices-, which, however, made a 
 great noife at home ; for, as the Catalans had been originally 
 brought into the war by the perfuafion of the queen's minifter^ 
 and upon repeated promifes of her majefty's conftant fupport of 
 them, it was thought not a little extraordinary, that the Eng- 
 lifh fleet {hould afford any countenance, much lefs affiftancej 
 to the enemies of that brave people, who ftill considered them- 
 felves as the allies of Great Britain a . 
 
 It is true, that many plaufible things were offered in excufe 
 of this conduct. It is faid, that her majefty had done all that 
 lay in her power, to procure for thofe people the continuance 
 of their ancient privileges ; and that though flie had not abfo- 
 lutely fucceeded in this, yet flie had procured them an equiva- 
 lent for their ancient privileges ; which was fharing thofe of 
 Caftile, and particularly that of being capable of having a con- 
 cern in the trad to the Weft Indies, from which all other fub- 
 jcls of the crown of Spain are excluded. To this it was added, 
 that it was in a great meafure owing to the faults of the Cata- 
 lans themfelves, that her majefty's interpoiition did not fucceed 
 to the full; fince, w-hile flie was applying in their favour to king 
 Philip, they actually declared war agninlt him ; which put it 
 out of her majefty's power to folicit for them any longer. lc 
 was likcwife alledged, that the emperor might have ftipulated 
 conditions for them, under the guaranty of her majefty, in his 
 provifional treaty for the evacuation of that province ; fo that, 
 upon the whole, it ought to be underftood, that whatever mer- 
 cy thefe people received, flowed from the care taken of them 
 by the queen ; whereas, the many and great miferies they fuf. 
 
 a The queen had etfcitfd tl-.efe people to take up arm?, by her minifter, Mit- 
 ford Crow, E.'q; who had letters of credence. The earl of Peterborough had 
 treated with them by her orders. fnftruflions were conceived in ftrong terms 
 in their favour, when lord Lexington was fcnt to Spain, not was it ever the 
 queen's intention they lluuld be given up. 
 
 fered,
 
 o p QJJ E E N ANNE. 329 
 
 Ferecl, were abfolutely the effe&s of their own perverfenefs and 
 obftinacy b . 
 
 But, that I may not appear an apologift, rather than an hifto- 
 rian, I muft fpeak my fentiments fincerely of this matter. The 
 obligation that Great Britain was under, to proteft thefe people, 
 was very clear, and withal fo ftrong, and fo binding on the go- 
 vernment, that it is impoflible to conceive, how any minifters, 
 and efpecially thofe who counter-figned the very inftrucYions for 
 giving fuch aflurances to the Catalans, could believe it right, 
 or could even imagine it excufable, not to fecure them their 
 privileges by the peace. As to their having this in their power, 
 it appears to me a thing pafl all doubt ; for, when they firft 
 thought of the peace, they knew the engagements they were 
 under to thefe people, and they ought to have taken care, that 
 what had been promifed them upon the public faith, fhould have 
 been performed. Befides, it appears plainly by the treaty of 
 peace with Spain, that our miniftry had power enough to ob- 
 tain the whole kingdom of Sicily for the duke of Savoy; and 
 one cannot eafily conceive, that people, who were able to do fo 
 much to oblige one ally, fhould not be able to obtain juftice 
 for another c . 
 
 The truth feems to have been, that the Spanifh court were 
 very defirous of carrying this point, and found a way to gain 
 our minifter, who was fent thither before the formal conclu- 
 fion of the treaty, to relax a little in this particular ; which, 
 perhaps, he did not confider in the light that I do j and after- 
 wards, it was impoifible 10 recover, what had been departeJ 
 from. I am very far, however, from thinking, that all the 
 minifters then about the queen were culpable in this matter. I 
 
 b They were o'oftirare in their ave-fion to king Philip, even wbrr. 
 thcmfclves left by ihe allies. ; they firft dcfircd to be aumxid to the hereditary 
 dominions of the hu:"c of Aoftria, then to become a fiee republic, and, by the 
 imperial miniftcr at (Jonfliniinople, they demanded (he protection cf the Ottoman 
 Porte. 
 
 c However their behaviour, as Rated in their former note, m : ght excufe his 
 Catholic majefty, it did by no rneaas jullify the queen's miniflers, who ihoc'.d 
 have infifted upon king Ph ; lip's offering them their privilege*, *s well as a ge- 
 neral aTmcOy ; after -vaici., iJ tht; h:d continued in arms, the queen's h 
 had been favrd. 
 
 VOL. III. T t
 
 NAVAL HISTORY, &' . 
 
 have reafon to doubt, whether the lord-treafurer Oxford" came 
 into that meafure ; and I have authority to fay, that the late duke 
 of Buckinghamfhire was fo far from concurring in it, that he 
 brought this matter twice upon the carpet in council, and exerted 
 aril his intereft to have prevented the Catalans from being given 
 up as they were. I am likevvife allured, that whatever Sir James 
 Wifhart did, was from his own conftruction of his inftructions, 
 and not from any exprefs directions contained" in them. This, 
 fo far as I have been able to learn, is the truth, and the whole 
 truth without difguife or extenuation ; and, if there was any 
 minifter, whofe intereft with the queen contributed in any de- 
 gree to thefe poor people's misfortune, I freely own, that I think 
 he departed in this refpect from the duty he owed to his miftrefs 
 and to his country. 
 
 I am now to proceed from the general hifrory of the naval 
 operations in this reign, to the particular memoirs of fuch emi- 
 nent feamen as flouriihed in it ; and as I have taken particular 
 pains to be well informed as to their conduct and behaviour, fa 
 1 fhall deliver what has come to my hands, with the utmoft im- 
 partiality ; at the fame time, I muft exprefs my deep regret, that 
 many circumftances relating to the worthy men of whom I am 
 now to fpeak, are attended with more obfcurity than I could 
 tvifh, notwithstanding the recentnefs of the facts, and the obli- 
 gation that public and private hiftorians were under, to have 
 preferved, as far as lay in their power, whatever might have 
 Contributed to the honour of thofe brave officers, who fo gal- 
 lantly expofed themfelves for the advantage of their country, 
 itnd to whofe courage and conduct we fiand indebted for the 
 many advantages this nation ftrll enjoys, as well as for the force 
 and reputation of our maritime power, which has extended it- 
 felf to the moft diftant parts of the world, and, under this reign 
 particularly, drew the highefl refpedtto the Englilh flag where- 
 ever it appeared. As it fecured to us fuch a mighty acccffion o 
 trade, that the fhipping of this kingdom was increafed near a 
 third, in the Ihort interval between the conclufion of the peace 
 and the death of the queen. 
 
 MEMOIRS
 
 MEMOIRS, foV. 331 
 
 MEMOIRS of Vice-admiral BENBO1V, 
 
 AS fame ought conftantly to attend on virtue, fo, without 
 doubt, it ought to follow, in a particular manner, that 
 kind of virtue which is of greateft ufe to fociety, I mean, fin- 
 cere, aflive, and well-conjucled public fpirit. This it was, 
 that diftinguifhed the gentleman of whom I zm now to fpealc, 
 and that in an age when public fpirit was not only out of fa- 
 ihion, but out of countenance; when a man who profeiTed to 
 love his country, if known to have fenfe, was thought to be a 
 'hypocrite ; and, if not known to have it, a fool. Mr. Benbow 
 was neither ; he had a probity that was never questioned, and 
 a knowledge of men and things, which always procured him 
 credit, in whatever ftation he appeared 11 . 
 
 But there was this peculiar in his character, that never any 
 addition of fortune or honour accrued to himfelf, but fome 
 good refulted from it to his country ; for that reafon I have, 
 with great care, collected every circumftance, relating to his 
 progrefs through life, from private hands ; which I flatter my- 
 felf will be fo much the more agreeable to the public, from the 
 want of pains in other writers to vindicate the memory of this 
 great man ; which they have rather injured, by heapin-g together 
 idle and iH-founded ftories, nnd reprefenting, as the rough be- 
 haviour of a tar, that fteady courage, and that ftric"l regard for 
 difcipline, which were not the foibles, as fome people would in- 
 finuate, but the truly laudable qualities of this honeft, gallant, 
 and accomplished admiral c , 
 
 d The Deader will difcern, from the fafts delivered 5n there memoirs, tTiat 
 the firft beginning, the progrrfs, and indeed every Cngle acccfli"n of character, 
 as well as every flep of preferment after that character brought him into the 
 fervice, were the folc effects' of his merit ; unaffifted by felicitation, unfuppurted 
 by connection. 
 
 e Amongft other worthy gentlemen to whom I fhnd indebted, for miny parti, 
 culars recorded in thefe memoirs, I am especially bound to mention the late wor- 
 thy Piul CMtoi., Efq; of ?n ancient and honourable family in Beikfhire, who 
 married one of the daughters and co-heirefTcs of vice-admiral Benbow, and into 
 whole hands many of his father in law's papers came after his ucccafe. 
 
 Tt 2 It
 
 33* M E M O I R S OF 
 
 It would have been, I think, no reflection upon the merit of 
 this worthy man, if he had really fprung, as fome authors fug- 
 geft he did, from a very mean original ; but the fact is abfo- 
 lutely otherwife. He was defcended from the antient and ho- 
 nourable family of the Benbows in the county of Salop ; which, 
 though now funk in point of riches and credit, is ftill remember- 
 ed with honour, as it deferves to be, fince the misfortune of 
 the family were not the effects of their follies and vices, but 
 owing to their firmnefs and fortitude, their attachment to ho- 
 nour in preference to intereft, and their unfhaken adherence to 
 the good old Englifh principles of loyalty and patriotifm f. 
 
 "When the civil war broke out, king Charles I. relying ftrong- 
 ly on the affeclion of the inhabitants of this county, repaired in 
 perfon to Shrewfbury,entered that city on the 2cth of September, 
 1 642, and the fame day made a folemn and public declaration, that 
 he did not carry on this war from a thirft of blood, of conqueft, 
 or of abfolute power, but from a defire of preferring his own 
 jufl rights, and thofe of his people, fince he was determined, if 
 God gave him fuccefs therein, to be as tender of the privileges 
 of parliament, as of his own prerogative. Upon this declara- 
 tion, the lords Newport and Littleton, with the greateft part of 
 the gentry in that county, came in, and offered his majefty their 
 fervice ; among thefe, were Thomas Benbow, and John Ben- 
 bow, Efqrs. both men of eftates, and both colonels in the king's 
 fervice, of whofe fortunes I am obliged to fay fomewhat, fince 
 the latter was the father of our admiral, and there are many 
 things worthy of being recorded, that befel them both s. 
 
 "When his majefty's affairs were thrown into abfoiute confu- 
 fion, and he had been traiteroufly murdered, fuch gentlemen as 
 
 . f Camden's remains, p. Hi. Vcrftegan's reflitution of decayed intelligence, 
 chap. ix. Charter'* analyils of honour, p. 73. We may, from the account* 
 iveii by thefe learned authors, collect from both firnamc and arms, that Bcnhow 
 ]< a Saxon family, as Bowes, called in Latin, de arcutus, ceruinly appears to be, 
 and as Stron'bow and Bowman are efteemed. 
 
 i The earl of Clarendon gives a large account of this affair, in his hiftory, 
 
 nd t.kes particular notice of the king's coining hii plate there, which inclined 
 
 . ne:i uid gentlemen to bring in theirs, as alfo confiderable (urns of 
 
 jn<fr.cy. See the folio edition of hii Mftory, p. 148: but, as for the king's 
 
 , ;: m.y be found at largi in IIta:h* chroniJ--, p. 38, $9. 
 
 had.
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL B E N E O W. 333 
 
 had ferved in his army, retired into the country, and lived as 
 privately as they could. But, though their interelh were much 
 reduced, and their fortunes in a great me?.fure ruined, yet their 
 fpirit remained unbroken, and they acted as chenrfuily for the 
 fervice of king Charles II. as if they had never fuffered at all by 
 ferving his father ; fo much a better principle is loyalty than cor- 
 ruption. When therefore that prince marched from Scotland, 
 towards "Worcefter, the two Benbows, amongft other gentle- 
 men of the county of Salop, went to attend him ; and after 
 fighting bravely in the fupport of their fovereign, were both 
 taken prifonen by the rebels h . 
 
 That unfortunate battle was fought September -3, 1^51, and 
 foon after a court-martial was appointed to fit at Chefter, where- 
 in colonel Macworth had the chair as prefident, and mnjcr-ge- 
 neral Mitton, and other {launch friends to the cnule, ailifted j 
 by whom ten gentlemen, of the firft families in England, were 
 illegally and barbaroufly fentenccd to death, for barely corre- 
 fponding with his majefty, and five of them were executed. They 
 then proceeded to try Sir Timothy Fetherfton hough, colonel 
 Thomas Benbow, and the earl of Derby, for being in his fervice. 
 They were all condemned, and, in order to ftrike the greater 
 terror in different parts of the county, the earl of Derby was 
 adjudged to fuffer death on the ijth of October, at Bolton; 
 Sir Timothy to be beheaded on the I7th, at Chefter; and colo- 
 nel Thomas Benbow to be (hot on the ipth, at Shrewfbury ; all 
 thefe (ententes were feverally put in execution > ; which, I think, 
 Sufficiently (hews, that the Benbows were then, or had been 
 lately, a very confiderable family in Shropfhire; for otherwils 
 the colonel would hardly have been fcnt out of the world in fo 
 good company". 
 
 h Whitlocke'; memorials, p. jn. Heath's chronicle of :he civil wart, p. 30*. 
 A new hiftory of loyal martyrs, p. 255. i LI 'yd'* memorial* of loyal 
 
 futferers, p. 558, where, from his own, or the printer's inaccuracy, it is Benlow 
 im'ead of Beubovr. Sir George Wharton, in his Gtfta Britar-.iuTUfr, fays, he 
 (offered at Shre*fbury, Otobcr 15, ifiji, the fame day the earl of Derby M 
 beheaded at Bolton. Wr.idocke, in his memorial?, p. 511, (},:.-* it i'o like* 
 wf. k Tbi is not mentioned in Clarer.d.i.-.'s hiilory, !>nt U pdrticu- 
 
 larly tiken notice of by Sir Philip Warwick, Dr. Ba:?i, wrkcrs of 
 
 limes, and in Heath'* chronicle, p. 301, 
 
 As
 
 334 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 As for colonel John Benbow, he made his efcape, after a 
 fhort imprifonment, and lived privately in his own country, till 
 after the reftoration, when he was far in years, and yet fo 
 much tofeek for a livelihood, that he was glad to accept of a 
 fmall office belonging to the ordnance in the Tower, which juft 
 brought him an income fumcient to fubfift himfelf and his fami- 
 ly without danger of llarving. In this Ctuation he was, when 
 a little before the breaking out of the firft Dutch war, the king 
 came to the Tower to examine the magazines. There his ma- 
 jefty caft his eye on the good old colonel, who had now been 
 diftinguifhed by a fine head of grey hairs for twenty years. The 
 king, whofe memory was as quick as his eye, knew him at firft 
 fight, and immediately came up and embraced him. " My old 
 ' friend, colonel Benbow," faid he, < what do you here ?" I 
 have, returned the colonel, a place of fourfcore pounds a-year, 
 in which I ferve your majeity as chearfuliy, as if it brought me 
 in four thoufand. " Alas !" faid the king, " is that all that 
 " could be found for an old friend at \Vorcefter ? Colonel 
 *' Legge, bring this gentleman to me to-morrow, and I will 
 *' provide for him and his family as it becomes me." But, fhort 
 as the time was, the colonel did not live to receive, or fo much 
 as to claim, the effects of this gracious promife ; for the fenfe of 
 the king's gratitude and goodnefs fo overcame his fpirits, that, 
 fitting down on a bench, he there breathed his laft, before the 
 king was well out of the Tower. And thus, both brothers 
 fell martyrs to the royal caufe, one in grief, and the other in 
 joy'. 
 
 "When we confider the many misfortunes, and diftreffed cir- 
 cumftances of the father, it is impoflible not to be furprized at 
 the poverty, or not feel compaffion for the condition of his fa- 
 mily, of the ftate of which, at the time of his deceafe, I am not 
 able to give any diftincl account ; all that I have been able to 
 learn, is, that this fon John, who was then about fifteen, was 
 bred to the fea ; but that it was in fo low a ftation as a water- 
 man's boy, which feme writers pofitively affirm, I can hardly 
 believe, becauie, even in king Charles Ild.'s reign, he was own- 
 
 l Thh particular I had from Mr. Chiton, aod U has been likewife confirmed to 
 
 cr
 
 V i c E-A~D M i R A L -B E N B O \V. 33$ 
 
 er and commander of a fhip called the Benbow frigate, and 
 made then as refpeclable a figure as any man concerned in the 
 trade to the Mediterranean. He was always considered by the 
 merchants, as a bold, brave, and active commander, one who 
 took care of his feamen, and was therefore chearfully obeyed 
 by them, though he maintained ftrict difcipline, with greater 
 fafety there, than afterwards in the royal navy. This behaviour 
 raifed his reputation greatly, fo that no man was better known, 
 or more efteemed by the merchants upon the Exchange, than 
 captain Benbow. It does not, however, appear, that he ever 
 fought any preferment in that whole reign; neither is it likely 
 he would have met with it in the next, but from a remarkable 
 accident, of which I {hall give the reader the beft account I 
 can, becatife it gave rife to all his future fortunes, and is withal 
 as extraordinary a ftory in itfelf, as perhaps ever appeared ri . 
 
 In the year 1686, captain Benbow, in his own vciitl the 
 Benbow frigate, vras attacked in his pafiage to Cadiz by a .Sally 
 rover, againft whom he defended himielf, though very unequal 
 in the number of men, with the utmoft bravery, till at la ft the 
 Moors boarded him ; but were quickly beat rr,t ri his (hip 
 again, with the lofs of thirteen men, whofe heads captain Ben- 
 bow ordered to be cut off, and thrown into a tub of pork- 
 pickle. When he arrived at C.idiz, he went aihore, and on.it.r- 
 ed a negro fervant to follow him, with the Moors heads in a 
 fack. He had fcarce landed, before the officers of the revenue 
 inquired of his fervant what he had in his fack ? The captain 
 anf ered, fait provifions for his own ufe. That mp.y be, an- 
 fwered the officers ; but we muft infift upon feeing them. Cap- 
 tain Benbow alledged, that he was no ftranger there ; that he 
 did not ufe to run goods, and pretended to take it very ill that 
 he was fufpecled. The officers told him, that the maniitrates 
 were fitting not far off, and that if they were fatisfied with his 
 word, his fervant might carry the provifion where he pleafrd ; 
 but that otherwife it was not in their power to grant any fuch 
 difpenfation. 
 
 m See the complete h'fto-y nf Enr-n^, fi702, p. 40^, .117. O 3-rixnn's 
 of th: Sruirts, vo.. ii. p, -03. Cd.uefs colunma j.fij^ti, p. 
 
 The
 
 33<5 M E M O I R S o F 
 
 The captain confented to the propofal ; and iuvr.y they inarch- 
 ed to the cuftom-houfe, Mr. Benbow in the front, his man in 
 the centre, and the officers in the rear. The magistrates, when 
 he came before them, treated captain Benbow with great civili- 
 ty i told him, they were forry to make a point of fuch a trifle, 
 but that, fince he had refufed to fliew the contents of his fack 
 to their officer;:, the nature of their employments obliged them 
 to demand a fight of them j and that, as they doubted not they 
 were fait provisions, the fhewing them could be of no great 
 confequence one way or other. " I told you," fays the captain 
 fternly, " they were fait provifions for my own ufe. Cvefar, 
 ' throw them down upon the table ; and, gentlemen, if you like 
 " them, they are at your fervice." The Spaniards were exceed- 
 ingly ftruck at the fight of the Moors heads, and no lefs aftonifh- 
 ed at the account of the captain's adventure, who, with fo fmall 
 a force, had been able to defeat fuch a number of barbarians. 
 They fent an account of the whole matter to the court of Ma- 
 drid, and Charles II. then king of Spain, was fo much pleafed 
 with it, that he would needs fee the Englifh captain, who made 
 a journey to court, where he was received with great teftimo- 
 nies of refpec"l, and not only difmiffed with a handfome prefent, 
 but his Catholic majefty was alfo pleafed to write a letter in his 
 behalf to king James, who, upon the captain's return, gave him 
 a fhip, which was his introduction to the royal navy 11 . 
 
 After the revolution, he difdnguifhed himfelf by feveral fuc- 
 cefsful cruizes in the channel, where he was employed at the 
 requeftof the merchants, and not only did his duty by protecling 
 the trade, and annoying the enemy, but was alfo remarkably 
 careful in examining the French ports, gaining intelligence, and 
 formin:; fchemes for difturbing the French commerce, and fe- 
 curing our own. For this reafon he was commonly made 
 choice of to command the fquadrons employed in bombarding 
 the French ports, of which we have given a large account in our 
 fecond volume ; and therefore it is altogether unneceffary to re- 
 peat thofe things here. 1 fhall content myfelf, for this reafon, 
 
 n This I had from the before mentioned Mr. Cain n. 
 
 o See volume ii. of this work, particularly p. 40?, 420. Burchet's naral me. 
 moirs, p. 2jt. Lstrey H. (loirs d'Arg'.eter.e, ton:e iv. p. -40. 
 
 with
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BENBOW. 337 
 
 With remarking, that he {hewed no lefs courage than condutTt 
 upon fuch occafions, being always prefent in his boar, as well 
 to encourage as to inftrucr. the feamen and engineers, accord- 
 ing to his manner of ever enforcing his commands by his ex- 
 ample p . 
 
 The diligence and activity of captain Benbow, could not fail 
 of recommending him to the favour of fo wife and brave a princs 
 as king William ; to whofe perfonal kindnefs, founded on a jufc 
 fenfe of Mr. Benbow's merit, he owed his being fo early pro- 
 moted to a flag ; after which he was generally employed as the 
 moft experienced feaman in the navy, to watch the motions of 
 the French at Dunkirk, and to prevent, as far as it was poffible, 
 the depredations of du Bart ; in which he (hewed fuch dili- 
 gence, and did fuch tlgnal fervice, by preferving our merchant 
 ihips, that he efcaped the flighted cenfure, when libels flew 
 about againft almoft every other officer of rank in the whole 
 fleet. The truth really was, that the feamen generally confi- 
 dered rear-admiral Benbow as their greateft patron; one, who 
 not only ufed them well while under his care, but was always 
 ready to interpofe in their favour, as far as his intereft went, 
 when they were ill-treated by others q . 
 
 There was, at that time, a warm difpute as to the expedi- 
 ency of preferring mere feamen, or, as they were then called 
 tarpaulins, or gentlemen, in the navy : admiral Benbow was 
 conluhed more than once by the king upon that fubjcdt, and 
 always gave it as his opinion, that it was beft to employ both ; 
 that a feaman ihould never lofe preferment for want of recom- 
 mendation, or a gentleman obtain it, barely from that motive. 
 He was alib a great enemy to party-diftinclions, and thought a 
 man's merit ought to be judged of from his actions at fea, ra- 
 ther than from the company he kept on Ihore ; and for this rea- 
 fon he lived upon good terms with the admirals of ditferenc 
 
 P Burchet, Burnet, Oldmixon, &c. 
 
 1 There were ma y ttv^-re pamphlets written in this reign againft the mana- 
 gers of the fleet; but in all theie we find him treated ai an officer of the C.d 
 (lamp, one who had defervcd the polt to which be uai railed, a Heady (civu 
 to the crown, and the :.uais:i'i Iri.r.cl. 
 
 VOL. lit. U u parties,
 
 ?3* M E M O I R S o? 
 
 parties, who were all of them ready to teflify, upon any occ- 
 flon, his courage and condul r . 
 
 In the year 1697, ne was ^ ent with, a fmall fquadron before 
 Dunkirk; where he faved the Virginia and Weft India fleet 
 from falling into the hands of the French privateers, for which 
 he received the thanks of the merchants. He would likewife 
 have fuccceded in reftraining du Bart from going out, if the 
 Dutch rear-admiral Vandergoeshad been in a condition to afiift 
 him, or if the lords of the admiralty had been inclined to have 
 taken his advice ; for obferving, in the beginning of Auguft, 
 that the French frigates were hauled into the bafon, to clean, 
 he judged their defign to be what it really proved, to put to fea 
 by the next fpring-tide ; and, therefore, as his (hips were all 
 foul, he wrote up to the board, to defire that four of the bcft 
 failers might be ordered to Sheernefs to clean, and that the 
 others might come to the Downs, not only to take in water, 
 which they very much wanted, but alfo to heel and fcrub; 
 which he judged might have been done, before the fpring-tide 
 gave the French an opportunity of getting over the Barj but 
 this was not then thought advifable, though he afterwards re- 
 ceived orders for it, when the thing was too late. By this un- 
 lucky accident, the French had an opportunity given them of 
 getting out with five clean (hips ; yet this, however, did not 
 hinder the admiral from purfuing them as well as he was able ; 
 and fome (hips of his fquadron had the good luclc to take a 
 Dunkirk privateer of ten guns, and forty men, which had done 
 a great deal of mifchief. This was one of the laft adlions of 
 the war, and the rear-admiral foon after received orders to re- 
 turn home with the fquadron under his command 5 . 
 
 It is very well known, that after the peace of Ryfwick, and 
 even while the partition treaties were negociating, king "William 
 had formed a defign of doing fomething very confiderable in 
 
 ' I have thefc fa<?b, not only from private authority, but alfo from a rrul i- 
 t-_iHe of poliiicil treaiifes publilhed under that reign; in which, as great freedom 
 *-as ufed, fo there is not the leafl reafon to believe, that ir our admiral had been 
 guilty of atiy exc^Tes in point of power, or any oniifTicns in refpeft of duty, 
 they would have been concealed. 
 
 > Eurchet, Burnet, and oar cwn luflory under the naval tranfaftions of the. 
 year 1697, vol. ii. p. ^y. 
 
 the
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BENBOW. 339 
 
 <he Weft Indies. This project had long occupied the king's 
 thoughts, into which, it is laid, it was firft put by father Hcn- 
 nepin, who was extremely weil acquainted with that part of 
 the world. The king had turned it feveral times in his mind j 
 and, at laft, took a fettled refolution, that, if the French at- 
 tempted to deceive him, as he had great reafon to believe they 
 would, fomething of conlcquence Ihould be dene in that part 
 of the world. 
 
 In the mean time, however, he thought fit to fend a fmall 
 iquadron, of three fourth rates, into the Weft Indies, under 
 the command of rear-admiral Benbow l , who had private in- 
 ftru6lions from the king, to make the beft obfervations hr 
 could on the Spanifh ports and fettlemcnts, but to keep as f Jr 
 as poflible with the governors, and to afford them any aflift- 
 ance, if they defired ir. He was likewife inftrucled to watch 
 the galleons ; for the king of Spain, Charles II. was then 
 thought to be in a dying condition. Rear-admiral Benbow 
 failed in the month of November, 1698, and did not arrive in 
 the Weft Indies till the February following, where he found 
 things in a very indifferent fituation. Moft of our colonies 
 were in a bad condition, many of thcrn engaged in warm dff- 
 putes with their governors ; the forces that fliould have been 
 kept up in them for their defence, fo reduced by ficknefs, de- 
 fertion, and other accidents-, that little cr nothing was to be 
 expected from them. The admiral carried with him colonel 
 Collingwood's regiment, which he difpofed of to the bcft ad- 
 vantage in the Leeward Iflands". 
 
 He then addrciled himfelf to execute his commifllon, and 
 failed for that purpofe to Carthagena, where he met with a very 
 indifferent reception from the governor, which lie returned, by 
 talking to him in a ftyle fo very plain, that forced him, though 
 he had been wanting in civility, to make it up, in ionic 
 
 1 This was, properly fpeaking, a voyage chiefly of obfervation, that, upoa 
 his report, the king might the better tike his meafiircs upon his C;KMic m.-- 
 jefty's death, when, if a war w;s nccdl'iry, king Wilii-m's p!n was tf rrskeir 
 . :h :rt as pcfllble, by ftriking a great blow in Europr, and another in An 
 at once. 
 
 u Burcliei's jollification of his naval memoirs, p. 151, where h: Iftcws why fo 
 lit Ic could be done, even by fo good art officer. 
 
 U U 4 f:rc,
 
 34 M E M O I R S OF 
 
 fure, by doing jaftice ; and in the fame manner he proceeded 
 with the governor of Porto Bello, as I have {hewn elfewhere ; 
 but fiill the great ends of his commiffion remained altogether 
 nnanfwcred, not through any fault of the admiral's, but for 
 want of a fuflkient force, either to engage the Spaniards to 
 confide in him, or to perform any thing confiderable, in cafe 
 the French had fent a ftrong fleet into that part of the world, 
 as it was then expeted they would have done. This affair was 
 complained of in parliament, where the fmallnefs of the fqua- 
 dron, and the fending it fo kte, were very fevcrely reflected 
 upon w ; though, at the fame time, great compliments were 
 paid to admiral Benbow's courage, capacity, and integrity, by 
 both parties ; and when he returned home two years after, he 
 brought with him authentic testimonies of his having done the 
 merchants and planters all the fervices they could either expet 
 or defire ; fo that he was received with the moft cordial friend- 
 fhip by his majefty x ; who, as a mark of his royal favour, was 
 graciouily pleafed to grant him' an augmentation of arms, by 
 adding to the three bent bows, which he and his family already 
 bore, as many arrows, 
 
 The whole fyftem of affairs in Europe was changed by that 
 time admiral Benbow came back ; the king had difcovered the 
 ilifingenuity of the French, and faw himfelf under an abfolute 
 neceffity of entering upon a new war, while he was fenfible the 
 nation was as yet very little recovered from the expences of the 
 laft. One of Ms firft cares was, to put the fleet into as good 
 condition as it was poffible, and to give the command of it to 
 
 ^ This mofl clearly decides as to his character, and ought to encourage every 
 rfEcer in like fhtion to d.> his dmy (readily and corre&ly, for then even the 
 -.vatit of fnccefs may contri!mtc to rife of reputation. 
 
 x It is certain, that the French had great advantages from the nature of 
 iheiv n.'verprocnt, which enabled them to rake much quicker meafures for ef- 
 fecting thtir purpofcs, than we could do to oppofe them; but, as this was in 
 great degree owi;,g to over-fights and mifmana^ements in the former war, fo it 
 ftews the ncctllity there ;s of ffrift and p r uJent inquiries in <^rder to obtain the 
 cor.fi.'ence r f this na:ion ; which, whenever it is acquired, will he always found 
 an ovtr balance evrn frr the French power; whereas, if the people of England 
 entertain any doubts of the manner in which their money is to be employed, je 
 will often be found ilifnci:!t, fjme titr.c or other, perhaps ijnprafticablc, to make 
 
 A e .r- 
 
 officers
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BE^NBOW. 341 
 
 officers that might in all refpecls be depended upon ; and to 
 this difpofition of the king's, Mr. Benbow owed his being de- 
 clared vice-admiral of the blue. He was at that time cruizing 
 off Dunkirk, in order to prevent, what was then much dread- 
 ed here, an invafion. There was, as yet, no war declared be- 
 tween the two crowns ; but this was held to be no fecuritv 
 againft France ; and it was no fooner known, that they were 
 fitting out a ftrong fquadron at Dunkirk, than it was firmly 
 believed to be intended to cover a defcent. Vice-admiral Ben- 
 bow fatisfied the miniftry, that there was no danger on this 
 fide; and then it was refolved to profecute, without delay, the 
 projects formerly concerted, in order to difappoint the French 
 in their views upon the Spanifh fucceffion ; to facilitate which, 
 it was thought abfolutely neceflary to fend, without delay, a 
 ftrong fquadron to the Weft Indies. 
 
 This fqnadron was to confift of two third rates, and eight 
 fourths; which was as great a ftrength as it was judged could 
 be at that time fpared ; and it was thought indifpenfibly requi- 
 fite that it fhould be under the orders of an officer, \vhofe 
 courage and conduct might be fafely relied on, and whofe ex- 
 perience might give the world a good opinion of the choice 
 made of him for this important command; upon the right ma- 
 nagement of which, it was believed, the fuccefs of the war 
 would in a great meafure depend. Mr. Benbow was thought 
 of by the miniftry, as foon as the expedition was refolved ; br.t 
 the king would not hear of it. He faid, that Benbow was in 
 a manner juft come home from thence, where he had met with 
 nothing but difficulties ; and that, therefore, it was but fair fome 
 Other officer fhould take his turn y . One or two were named, 
 and confulted; but either their health, or their affairs were in 
 fuch diforder, that they moft earneftly defired to be excufed ; 
 upon which the king faid merrily to fome of his ministers, al- 
 luding to the drefs and appearance of thefe gentlemen, " Well 
 
 7 This was the American branch of the grand fcheme before hinted, and *rtt 
 to fcize the galleons; at the fame time, the fleet which was tj fail into the Me- 
 diterranean took Cadiz, and g-,ve ns a fecure entrance into Andahifia ; than which, 
 a morefimple, more noble, or more practicable defign, the human mind cou!4 
 not conceive. 
 
 then,
 
 34* M E M O I R S o P 
 
 " then, I find \ve mufl fpare our beaus, and fend honeft Ben- 
 bow." 
 
 His majefty, accordingly, fent for him upon this occafion, 
 and aficed him, whether he was willing to go to the Weft In- 
 dies, afluring him, if he was not, he would not take it amifs, 
 if he defired to be excufed. Mr. Benbow anfwered bluntly, 
 " That he did not underftand fuch compliments ; that he 
 " thought he had no right to chufe his ftation ; and that, if 
 ' his majefty thought fit to fend him to the Eaft or Weft Indies, 
 " or any where elfe, he would chearfully execute his orders 
 " as became him." Thus the matter was fettled, in very 
 few words, and the command of the Weft India fquadron 
 conferred, without any mixture of envy, on our vice-admiral 
 Benbow 2 . 
 
 To conceal the defign of this fquadron, but above ail to pre- 
 vent the French from having any juft notions of its force, Sir 
 George Ptooke, then admiral of the fleet, had orders to con- 
 voy it as far as Sciily, and to fend a ftrong fquadron with it 
 thence, to fee it well into the fea ; all which he punctually per- 
 formed ; fo that admiral Benbow departed in the month of 
 September, 1701 ; the world in general believing, that he 
 \vas gone with Sir John Munden, who commanded the fqua- 
 dron that accompanied him into the Mediterranean ; and to 
 render this ftill more credible, our minifter at Madrid was or- 
 dered to demand the free ufe of the Spanifh. ports ; which was 
 accordingly performed*. As foon as it was known in England, 
 that vice-admiral Benbow was failed, with ten fhips only, for 
 the Weft Indies, and it was difcovered, that the great arma- 
 ment at Breft, with which we were long amufed, was intended 
 for the fame part of the world, a mighty clamour was raifed 
 here at home, as if he had been fent to be facrificed, and 
 heavy reflections were made upon the inactivity of our gr.r.id 
 fleet ; whereas, in truth, the whole affair had been conduct- 
 ed with all imaginable prudence, and the vice-admiral had 
 
 z Mod of th:fc particulars I had from perfons of reputation, opon their own 
 
 Burchet's nav=.l hiftory, p. 593. Hifbry of Europe, for 1701, p. 117. 
 Life of king "William, p. 6*^. 
 
 as
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BENBOW. 343 
 
 as considerable a fquadron, as, all things maturely weighed, 
 it was, in that critical juncture, thought poflible to be fpa 
 red h . 
 
 It is certain, that king William formed great hopes of this 
 expedition, knowing well that vice-admiral Benbow would exe- 
 cute, with the greateft fpirit and punctuality, the instructions he 
 had received ; which were to engage the Spanifh governors, if 
 poffible, to difown king Philip ; or, in cafe that could not be 
 brought about, to make hiinfclf mafter of the galleons. In 
 this defign it is very plain, that the admiral would have fuc- 
 ceeded, notwithftanding the fmallnefs of his force, if his offi- 
 cers had clone their duty ; and it is no lefs certain, that the an- 
 xiety the vice-admiral was under, about the execution of his 
 orders, was the principal reafon for his maintaining fo ftrict 
 <]ifcipline, which proved unluckily the occnfion of his coming 
 to an untimely end. Yet there is no reafon to cenfure either 
 the king's project, or the admiral's conduct; both were right 
 in themfelves, though neither was attended with the fuccefs it 
 deferved c . 
 
 The 
 
 b The fending vice-admiral Benbow at that critical featon, wa a very judi- 
 cfons meafurc, the faults were committed afterwards. Sir Jul.n r.Iundcn was 
 pnnilhed for the confeqncnce, vather than the nature t f his error. A ftrong 
 j<iuadron (liould have been then fcnt to the fupport of Benbow, which had faved 
 hi<r>, and (erved the nation. 
 
 c Tint I may not fecm to fpeak altogether without book, 1 (hall cite a paf~ 
 f.oc from a pamphlet published in 1701, intitled, The prefent condition of 
 the Englifh navy, p. 14. " A new war I believe to be unavoidable ; and we 
 >' arc much beholden to the lift patliamenr, that we are oot entered into it 
 " already, and fo btcome the Fight-alls, the Pay-alls, and the Lc. e-a)!s, of 
 11 Europe, as we hare bitlurto bcm. But, if we have a war managed as the. 
 ' hft was, we had better fpcnd a iiulc money in booms and chains, to fccure 
 " our Ships in Harbour, than to (end them abroad to fpcr.d cur money, lofc 
 ' our reputation, and not fecure our tr^de. I csr.ntic perluadc iryfclf, 
 " the parliament of England will evermore fcr.d the r.ativc ftrength of their 
 " country aiiroad in other people's <juarrt!>, ;.r.d be at the c'.-:^ of levies, 
 " cluthiiijs, arms, and tranfportations, to put their ov\.-, dmgrr t: 
 
 " home, by a (landing army, when tlvey have done the bis! : . c:s of our allies 
 ' abroad. The mcr. we left, and the money we fpci.t i.i the laft war, ss alfo, 
 " how h^rd it wai to get them difluiido.. > the irtcral of men 
 
 " that wanted to fupport thtir titles to their illegal grants, snd ill <;t!en ; 
 ' is too f.elh in our memories, ever to bring oi:rfe>. like har<l- 
 
 " 4 ; p. I fir; fee that the war will ">c r.ov. . ''7 ill 
 
 * jtntw
 
 3-H MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The French knew too well the importance of the Spanifh. 
 Weft Indies, not to think of providing for their fecurity, as 
 foon as ever they refolved to accept, the will of his Catholic ma- 
 jefty, the late king Charles II. which, it may be, was fome 
 time before his death, though, to fave appearances, folemnly 
 debated after the contents of the will were communicated by 
 the privy- council of Spain. The officer whom his moft Chrif- 
 tian majefty made choice of to command the iquadron which 
 was firft to be fent thither, was the famous M. du Cafle, go- 
 vernor of St. Domingo. He was to carry with him one hun- 
 dred officers of all ranks, who were intended to difcipline the 
 Spanifh militia in the kingdom of Mexico ; but, before this 
 could be done, it was thought neceflary to fend M. du Cafle to 
 Madrid, to aik the confent of the Spanim council, which took 
 up forne time; for though the Spaniards could not but be fenfi- 
 ble in how wretched a iituation their affairs in the Weft Indies 
 were, yet it was with great reluclancy, that they gave way 
 to this expedient, though a little reflection (of which no na- 
 tion is more capable) .vraVi have ihewn them, that in reality 
 they had no choice to make; but, when they had once come 
 to a refolution, that M. du CufTe fhould be fent, they were 
 continually foliciting the French court to difpatca him imme- 
 diately d . 
 
 " omn of fticcefs, from the hft fumnier's expedition of our fleet. Our mo 
 '' dern Wiiigs, in cheir legion Icrt.r.;, and Kentilh petitions, exclaimed againft 
 " the parliament, became they railed no mere money; but I hope theie folk, 
 " if they have any brains, or hunefty, arc now fenfible of their groundlefs 
 ' complaint, when they find how little has been done for what was then 
 '* raifcd. Tiicy gve 1,500,000 pounds for the fleet, for this expedition ; and 
 ' u-hat has been the crfcil ? the whole fleet went to convoy Benbow in his 
 " way to the Well Indies, and, while they were gone, onr modern Whigs, 
 hoafted of their conduct and bnilc c0ies in the air, to hold the money they 
 ' fhould bring home in the Spanifh galleons ; but, in a fhort time, we found 
 " them all a: Spittuad, except a few Ihips that proceeded with Benbow to 
 " the Weft Indies, where, if they be not talmalh'd, they have good fcr- 
 " tune." 
 
 d Memoires de la Torre, tome i, ii, iii. where it manifeftly appears, thac 
 the hopes of preserving their monarchy cr.tire, having the protection of the 
 fleets and armies of France, and being relieved from the pillages to which they 
 had been ex poled during the lall rci^n^ dcieimintd the grandee* to call in the 
 duke of Ar.jou. 
 
 The
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL B E N B O W. 345 
 
 The French councils, which were better conducted, had, as 
 We already fuggefted, forefeen all theie difficulties ; and, there- 
 fore, had a fquadron ready at Breft, confiding of five {hips of 
 the line, and feveral large veflels laden with arms and ammuni- 
 tion, which, under the command of the marquis de Coetlogon, 
 in the month of April, 1701, failed for the Spanifh Weft In* 
 dies; and on the 2oth of October the count de Chateau-Re- 
 naud failed alfo with fourteen fhips of the line, and fixteen fri- 
 gates, to meet the galleons, that were fuppofed to be already 
 departed from the Havannah, under the cfcort of the marquis 
 de Coetlogon , and, after all this, M. du Cafle likewife failed 
 with his fquadron ; from whence the Englilh reader will eafily 
 fee, that as admiral Bsnbow received no fupplies, he was truly 
 in danger of being crufhed by the fuperior power of our ene- 
 mies, and that extraordinary diligence which was ufed to 
 ftrengthen and fupport them e . 
 
 When vice-admiral Benbow arrived firft at Jamaica, which 
 was at the clofe of the year 1701, he made fuch ju(l and wife 
 difpofitions for fecuring our own trade, and annoying that of 
 the enemy, that the French faw, with great amazement, all 
 their fchemes defeated ; which they had been enabled to form, 
 by their having much earlier intelligence than we of the intend- 
 ed war ; and their own writers fairly admit, that even after the 
 arrival of the marquis de Coetlogon, they were conftrained to 
 adt only on the defenfive ; and found all the grand projects they 
 had meditated, for attacking Jamaica and the Leeward Iflandf, 
 entirely fruftrated f. 
 
 . The Dutch accounts, at the fame time, from Curocoa, did 
 plainly, that, notwithstanding all the bluftering of the French, 
 vice-admiral Benbow, with a fmall Engliili fquadron, remained 
 .niafter of thofe fcas 5 nor did he fail to make ufe of this advau- 
 
 e Hiftoire militaire, torn. v. and in general all ihe French hirtorians, who aie 
 fcxtfemcly careful to prefcrve diftinf accounts, even of /uch fcherhes as have 
 proved abortive j and in this they are certainly riglit, becaufe it fecurcs their re- 
 putation with posterity, and Ihcws they did iul fail from want of ikill or atten- 
 tion, but from want of fortune. 
 
 F Hiftoire de St. Doniingue, tome IT. p. 197. tvlcmoires hiRorlijues ct chra 
 nologiques. 
 
 VOL. lit, X x tagc,
 
 246 M E M' OIKS O'P 
 
 t age, by taking many prizes, and by giving all imaginable coun> 
 tenance to the private trade carried on by the Englifh on the 
 Spanifh coafts : but, in a few weeks time, the fcene began to 
 change ; for the vice-admiral had firft the news of M. Chateau 
 Kenaud r s arrival at Martinico, with a fquadron much ftronger 
 than his own ; and, foon after, information that this fquadron 
 bad been joined by the marquis de Coetlogon from the Havan- 
 nah, which alarmed the inhabitants of Barbadoes and Jamaica 
 exceflively, becaufe we had no force capable of refitting this 
 French fleet, in cafe their commanders were determined taaft 
 effenfively*. 
 
 In this uncertain fituation, things continued to the end of 
 April, 1702, when the vice-admiral refolved, notwithstanding 
 there was great want of men on board the fquadron, to put to 
 fea, in order to cruize between Jamaica and Hifpaniola ; and 
 accordingly he failed on the 8th of Slay ; but, before he 
 was quite clear of the iffand of Jamaica, he met with rear-ad- 
 miral Whetftone,.with whom he returned, to communicate ta 
 rhe government fome orders received from England ; having 
 firft fent the Filmouth, Ruby, and Experiment, to cruize off 
 Petit Guavas. He had advice about the middle of May> that r 
 on the iSth of the preceding month, there paffed by Camana- 
 goto, on Terra Firma v feventeen tall fliips, which fteered to- 
 wards the weft end of Cuba. Thefe (hips he judged to be part 
 of M. Chateau-Renaud's fquadron, and that they were bound 
 to the Havanaah, to offer their fervice for convoy-ing home the 
 flota ; but he had not ftrength to follow them, without fub- 
 jeling the iflarxl to the infults.of thofe fliips which were at Leo- 
 gane. Some little' time after, the matter of a Spanifh floop from 
 Cuba, acquainted him, that M. Chateau-Renaod was actually 
 arrived at the Havannah, with twenty-fix fhips of war, waiting, 
 for the flota from La Vera Cruir ; and this was confirmed bv 
 the fhips he had fent out, which, during their cruize in thole 
 parts, had taken four prizes j one of them a fhip mounted 
 with no more than twenty-four, but capable of carrying forty 
 guns h . 
 
 e Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 551. Annals of qnecn Anne, vol i. p. 144. 
 Rricifh empire Jo Ameiica, vol. ii. p. 337. h Hifloire dc St. Dominguc, 
 
 tome tv. liv. xi. p. 197. Memoires hi/lcriqae ct politiquc v torn, xixiii, p. 657. 
 
 Men:oircs hiftoriqius et chroouto^i^acs. 
 
 The
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL B E N B O W. 
 
 The vice-admiral being likewife informed, by a floop front 
 Petit Guavas, that four fhips, with provisions, were bound irom 
 thence to the Ha-vannah, he fent three frigates to intercept 
 them, between Cape St. Nicholas, and Cape M.n'ze, the very 
 track leading thither; but they had not the expected fuccefs. 
 The fame day he detached rear-admiral Whctftone, with two 
 third rates, three fourths, and a fire-fhip, to intercept M. du 
 CafTe, who, he had heard, was expected at Port Lewis, at the 
 weft end of Hifpaniola, a little within the ifie of Afn, with four 
 iliips of war, to fettle the AfGcnto at Cart-hagena, and todeftroy 
 the trade of the Englifh and Dutch for negroes, refelving to 
 Tail himfelf, in live cr fix days, with the remainder of the 
 Squadron, in fenrcb of thefe French ihips, in cafe the rear-ad- 
 miral fhould mifs them '. 
 
 I have given fo full and particular an account, in tl>e former part 
 of this volume, of what happened on the admiral's failing to inter- 
 cept du CaiTe, that I fiiall confrac myfelf hereto fuch circumftan- 
 <:es as are perfonal only,. The fcheme formed by admiral Ben bo*-, 
 /or the deilruction of the French force in the Weft Indies, and 
 having a chance for 'the galleons., fhews him to have been a ve- 
 ry able and judicious coinmander, and effectually drfproves that 
 idle and ridiculous cahimny of his being a mere feaman. He 
 faw, that the French officers were exceflively ewibarrafled by the 
 wayward conduct of the Spaniards, who would not take a fin- 
 gle ftep out of their own road, though for their own fervice. 
 He refolved to take advantage of this, and to attack the fmalleft 
 of their fquadrons, having -before let>t home fuch an account ot 
 the rrumber and value of the Spanilh iliips, and of the ftrength 
 of the French iijuadrons that were to efcort them, as might ena- 
 ble the minittry to take ail proper mcafures for intercepting them, 
 ekher in their palTage from the Weft Indies, or when it ihould 
 be known that they were arrived in the European fens. When, 
 he had done this, ,hc failed from Jamaka on the nth of July, 
 with two third rates, iix fourths, a fire-fhip, bomb, tende^ 
 and floop, in hopes of meeting rear-admir-U Whetftone ; but 
 miffing him, he failed not, however, fufl to give the utmoti 
 
 i Admiral Benbow's journal. AnnaU of queen Anne, vol. I. p. 1*3. Old- 
 aixon't biftor)- o; the Stains, vol. it. p. 303. 
 
 X x 2
 
 348 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 fturbance to the French fettlements in St. Domingo, and then 
 failed in fearch of du Gaffe's fquadron, which he came up with 
 and engaged, on Wednefday the 1 9th of Auguft, and fought 
 him bravely for five days ; which not only demonstrates the 
 courage and conduct of this gallant feaman, but the fidelity and 
 attachment of his own (hip's company ; fince it is impoffihle he 
 could, in fuch circumftances, have maintained the engagement 
 fo long, if his inferior officers, and all the common feamen, had 
 not been very affectionate. The French accounts, indeed, re- 
 prefent the whole affair to their own advantage ; but M. du 
 Caffe, who was a brave man, and withal by much the beft judge 
 of this matter, has put the thing out of difpute, by the follow, 
 ing fhort letter, written by him immediately after his arrival 
 at Carthagcna ; the original of which is ftill, or was very late- 
 Jy, in the hands of admiral Benbow's family k . 
 
 SIR, 
 
 " I had little hopes, on Monday laft, but to have fupped 
 < in your cabbin : but it pleafed God to order it other- 
 < wife -, I am thankful for it. As for thofe cowardly captains 
 
 who deferted you, hang them up ; for, by , they de- 
 
 " ferve it. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Du CASSE.'* 
 
 The firft care the admiral had, after his return to Jamaica, 
 Vas, to provide for the officers who 'iiftinguifhed themfelves in 
 the late engagement ; and next, to bring thofe to juflice, who 
 fcad fo bafely betrayed their truft ; and in this he was fo enrneft, 
 that perhaps he failed a little in point of form, fmce, in order 
 to their trial, he granted a commiffion, which it has been que- 
 ilioned, whether he might legally do; but he certainly a&ed 
 from two very excufable reafons ; the firft was, that he found 
 himfelf in no condition to prefide in a court-martial, having been 
 ill of a fever, which enfued upon cutting off his leg from the 
 rime of hjs coming a-fhore ; the other, that, in cafe he had 
 
 k The copy of tlm letter I received from Mr. Calton, wh<.fe authority I have 
 t ofieu mentioned. 
 
 been
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BEN BOW. 34$ 
 
 been able to affift upon that occafion, he was dcfirous of de- 
 clining it, from his having fo great a perfonal interdt in the af- 
 fair. After the cpurt- martial was over, the admiral lived near 
 a month ; for that court fat on the 6th of October, and the ad- 
 miral died on the 4th of November following '. 
 
 He was all that time extremely fenfible of his danger, and 
 never entertained any flattering hopes of recovery. Yet, during 
 that long illnefs, he fupported his character as an Englifh ad- 
 miral, with the fame firmnefs he had fhewn during the engage- 
 ment, giving all the neceflary orders for protecting the trade t 
 that could have been expected from him, if he had been in 
 perfect health ; and, in the letters he wrote home to his lady, 
 he difcovercd much greater anxiety for the intereft of the nation, 
 than for his private fortune, or the concerns of his family. 
 The queen had fo juft a regard for the memory of this gallant 
 man, that fhe fpoke of his lofs with great regret; and, as 
 I have already fhewn, would not fuffer herfelf to be teaz- 
 ed into an ill-timed al of mercy (though, like all her family, 
 moft tender in her own nature) towards thofe, who, through, 
 their cowardice, were fprinkled with his blood. His fitter had, 
 in his life-time, prefented the. admiral's picture to the corpora- 
 tion of Shrewfbury, who caufed it to be hung up in their town- 
 hall ; where it ftill remains, as a teftimony of the regard his 
 countrymen had for this worthy officer and true patriot m . 
 
 The vice-admiral left behind him a numerous pofterity of 
 both fexes; but his fons dying, all of them without ifTue, his 
 two furviving daughters, became co-heirefles ; and of thefe, the 
 eldeft married Paul Calton, Efq; of Milton, near Abington, in 
 the county of Berks. John Benbow, one of his fons, claims 
 fome notice in a work of this nature, independent of his relation 
 to his gallant father. He was bred to the fea, and went to the 
 
 1 London Gazette, N. 388(5. Hiftory of Europe, for i;cj, p. 497. Britifh 
 empire in America, vol. ii. p. 339. 
 
 TI Burchet's naval hiflory, p. 598. Boyer's life of queen Anne, p. 49, jo, 51.- 
 Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 303. C.>lumna roftrata, p. 191. 
 Mercure hiftorique et politique, torn, xxxiv. p. 335, where it is uid, his body 
 was fent fur home in order to be folemnly interred at the public expcnce, which, 
 <onfidcring the manner of his death, would have been certainly right. 
 
 Eaft
 
 MEMOIR S o* 
 
 Eaft Indies in quality of fourth mate, oa board the Dcgravc, 
 captain William Young, commander, which fhippafied through 
 the Downs, on February 19, 1701, when admiral Bervbow 
 lay there with his fquadron, ready to proceed to the Weft Indies. 
 The Degrave was a fine (hip, of 700 tons, and carried fifty-two 
 guns ; flie was bound for Fort St. George, in the Eaft Inclirf , 
 where fhe fafely arrived, and proceeded from thence to Bengal, 
 where her captain and firft mate died ^ by which means the 
 command devolved on the captain's fon, who was fecond mate, 
 and Mr. John Benbow became fecond mate. From Bengal, they 
 failed for the Cape of Good Hope ; but, in going out of the 
 river, the (hip ran a-ground and ftuck faft ; fhe floated again the 
 next high tide, and put to fea with little or no damage, as they 
 then imagined ; but they very foon after found her fo leaky, 
 that they were forced to keep two chain-pumps continually go- 
 ing ; in this condition they failed two months, before they reach- 
 ed the ifiand of St. Maurice, at that time inhabited by the 
 Dutch, who received them kindly, gave them all the affiftance 
 in their power, permitting them to fet up a tent on fhore, into 
 which they brought mod part of their cargo, having unladen 
 their fhip, in order to fearch for the leak; which, however, 
 they could not find. After about a month's ftay ?.t the ifiand 
 before-mentioned, and taking on board about fifty Lafcars, or 
 moorifh feamen, they failed directly for the Cape of Good 
 Hope ; they had then about one hundred and feventy hands on 
 board, and, though the Lafcars could not do much in point of 
 navigation, they were, however, of great ufe, as they eafed the 
 Englifh feamen from the labour of pumping. Yet, after all, it 
 was fatal for them, that this rafh resolution was taken, of put- 
 ting to fea before they ftopped, or even difcovered the leak ; 
 for in a few days time it gained fo much upon them, that, not- 
 withftanding they pumped day and night, it was as much as 
 they could do, to keep the veflel above water, though they 
 were ftill above fix hundred leagues from their intended port", 
 
 n Moft of this account is liken from fhe travels of Robert Drury ; which 
 book, fo far as it relates to Mr. Benbow, is very exafl, as I have been informed 
 by this gentleman's relations, from whom alfo I had fome other circnmftances, 
 the reader will find intcrfperfcd through this remarkable l.iftory. 
 
 The
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL BEN" BOW. 351 
 
 The flup's company, believing that common danger put them 
 all on an equality, reprefented to captain Young, that his de- 
 fign of proceeding to the Cape, was become impracticable ; and 
 that therefore the wifeft thing he could do, was to make the 
 neareft land r which was that of Madagafcar, to the fouthward 
 of which, they had failed about an hundred leagues. The cap- 
 tain complied with their advice, and endeavoured to run the 
 fhip on Ihore j. but that was found impracticable likewife j fa 
 that when they were within a quarter of a mile of the coaft, 
 they let go an anchor firft, and then cue down all her marts and 
 rigging, and threw their gm9 and goods overboard, in hopes 
 f making the fhip fwim nearer ; but this being found alfo im- 
 poiTible, and having already loft their long-boat and pinnace, 
 they refolved to make a raft, which they did in the night ; and 
 the next morning Mr. Prat:, their chief mate, with four men, 
 went in a little boat on fhore with a rope, by which they pro- 
 pofed to warp the rift. 
 
 This boat was ftaved te* pieces,, before it reached the land; 
 but the men efcaped, and fecured the rope, which brought the 
 raft on Ihore, with the reft of the ihip's company, except the 
 captain, who remained laft on board the hip, and did not leave 
 her, till he found {he began to break to pieces, and then he 
 threw himfelf into the fea, and foam a-fkore. They were 
 quickly made prifoners by the king of that part of the ifland, 
 who carried them fifty miles up into the country, where they 
 found one captain Drumracnd, and one captain Stewart, with 
 a few of their fhip's crew, in the fame fkuation with themfelves; 
 and who foon let them into a perfect knowledge of their con- 
 dition,, by afluring them that the king intended to make them. 
 ierve him in his wars, and would never permit them to return 
 to Europe; wtiich ftruck them, as may be imagined, wkh the 
 uta^oft conftemation*. 
 
 In 
 
 Trws captain Drummor.d the fame I h'.re mentioned in my former vo- 
 lume, a* coiumandsr of the Riling Sun, a ftiip bel .ngir.fc, to t'.c Sd.ts Eaft Indi* 
 Company; he came to traHe at MadagaKar, and wl.Ue h;s ftip Uy it anchor, fl.c 
 was furprized by a p'naic, who iufVeeJ thi capta>n, i h h:s fritj.d capU:n 
 i i.v. it, *nd a lew Land:, to jp alhote in the Imi^-boat, " the ttrrit.ries cf the 
 fame prince who msde Mr. Benbuw pril-.ocr. It was f - '"eJ murder 
 
 ot tbii caotiin Drumu ..*, : :.: M - ' '..".. g;n-
 
 3.52 MEMOIRSot 
 
 In this diftrefs, the captains Drummond, Stewart, and Yourig; 
 held a confultation, in conjunction with Mr. Pratt, and Mr. 
 Benbow, in which captain Drummond propofed it, as the only 
 expedient by which they could pollibly recover their liberty, to 
 feize the black king, and march off with him prifoner into 
 fome other province of the ifland, where the fhips more fre- 
 quently came. Mr. Benbow warmly efpoufed this propofal, 
 and ailifted with great courage in the execution of it, which 
 was performed with more cafe than was expected ; and the 
 king, his fon, and his queen, were made prifoners ; but the 
 queen was releafed by captain Young, out of mere pity. It is 
 not very eafy to conceive a bolder enterprize than this, when 
 between fifty and fixty white people, and not above half of 
 thefe armed, carried off a black prince, out of the midft of 
 his capital, and in the fight of fome hundreds, nay, fome thou- 
 fands, of his fubjecls, better armed than themfelves ; who 
 were, notwithftanding, retrained from firing upon them, by 
 captain Young's threatening immediately to kill their king if 
 they did. 
 
 Afterwards, however, they mifmanaged the thing ftrangely; 
 for, upon a propofal made by the negroes to give them fix gun's 
 for their king, it was agreed to give him up; upon a fuppofition 
 that the blacks would then follow them no farther j and this, 
 notwithftanding Mr. Benbow warmly oppofed it, and fhewed 
 them the mifchievous confequences with which fo wild a mea- 
 fure muft be attended. The king being given up, the blacks 
 frill continued to follow them, though at a diftance, at laft it 
 was agreed to give up the prince too, upon a fuppofition, that 
 this would put an end to the purfuit ; taking, however, three 
 
 tleman, his mate, Mr. Mather, and feveral other pcrfons, were executed in 
 Scotland, on the left mony i.f a b'ack, and more had been executed, but for 
 the care of tiie late worthy duke of Argyle, who interpofed out of pure genero* 
 fity, and procured their pardons. I remember, while a boy, to have feen this 
 Cfp.ain Green's original journal, in the cufiody of a merchant in Edinburgh, wha 
 dm him nil the fervice in his power^ at the hazard of his own life j from which 
 juurnal it appeared, that they only met with captain Drummond at fea, as they 
 were homeward bound, on board whofe fhip captain Green dined, and received from 
 him a piefent of a bib!e, which was made life of to corroborate the black's vf. 
 dence ; who, from a wicked ipirit of revenge, perjured himfeif, lhat he might mar- 
 dtr his roafter.
 
 "V i c - A L> M i R A L BENBOW. 353 
 
 people, who, the blacks told them, were the principal men in 
 their country, by way of hoftages, of whom two foon made 
 {heir efcape ; and then the blacks not only purfued them, but 
 began to fire upon them, which hitherto they had not done. 
 The weaknefs of their own conduct, and the wifdom of Mr. 
 Ben bow's advice, was by this time vifible to every bodyj 
 and, as it now appeared clearly they had nothing for it but 
 fighting, they began to difpofe their little army in order of bar- 
 tie. Thirty-fix -armed men were divided into four bodies, com- 
 manded by the three captains and Mr. Benbow ; but, after art 
 engagement that lafted from noon till fix in the evening, it was 
 agreed to treat. The negroes demanded their arms, and then 
 promifed to let them go ; and, at the perfuafion of captain 
 Young, this wild proportion was accepted, though vigoroufly 
 oppofed by Mr. Benbow ; but, when it came to be put in exe- 
 cution, the captains Drummond and Stewart p , with four or 
 five of their ciew, refufed to deliver their arms, and marched 
 off unperceived in the night, accompanied by Mr. Benbow, 
 and got fafe to Port Dauphine, while the reft were cruelly mur- 
 dered, except one Robert Drury, a boy of fifteen or fixteen 
 years old, whom they preferved, and made a flave. As for 
 Mr. Benbow, after remaining feveral years amongft the negroes, 
 where he Hved after their trunner, and went naked, he efcaped, 
 on boird a Dutch Hup, the captain of which had been well 
 acquainted with his father, and, for his iake treated .him with 
 great kindnefs and refpect q . 
 
 P The reader tray, perhspi, be defirom f>f knowing what became of tin's 
 captain Drummond, of which nothing more can be fair?, -han what is found in 
 the travels of Drnry, who -remained fo many years up.n the ifland. He in- 
 forms us, that he faw captain Diummond once, fever*! -years jfter they parf- 
 cd, and that he was tiien at liberty, and lived a happily as it ws pr>{fiblc foe 
 a man of hi* education to do in fuch a country; and he farther adds, ihjt 
 the year he came away, which was in i-,\6, he was informed, that capu r. 
 Druminond had been killed by a negro ; but without any particular ciicani. 
 (lances. 
 
 1 1 had this pcrtinilar of Mr. Benhow's efcape, in a Dutch fhip, from ferc- 
 nl perfons of Mr. Bcnbow's acquaintance, who had received it from his own 
 mouth ; for his efcape was fo wonderful, and attended with fuch furprifirg cir- 
 eumftanccs, that many people had the curicfity to vifit "Mr. Benbow, in order to 
 hear it from himfelf, in which he very readily gratified them, though otherwite a 
 xnan of much tacitarnity. 
 
 . . III. Y y
 
 354 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This Mr. John Benbow lived many years after here in Eng- 
 land, and competed a work, intitled, " A complete defcrip- 
 " tion of the fouth part of the Ifland of Madagafcar ," which 
 was a very curious and accurate performance, and therefore, 
 often borrowed by his acquaintance, with iome of whom it 
 flill remains ; nor ruve the family, after the ftriclefr. fearch, 
 been able to retrieve it. It would be certainly a kind prefent 
 to the learned world, and, at the fame time, an acl: of great 
 jufrice to the memory of Mr. Benbow, if any gentleman, in 
 whofe hands it now is, would publilh it, becaufe it contains 
 many things of a commercial, as well as hiftorical and philofo- 
 phical nature. I dp not know whether, ftridlly fpeaking, fo 
 long an account of Mr. Benbovv's misfortunes be reconcileable 
 to a work of this nature j but as the recital of them cannot 
 but be entertaining to the reader ; and as fo many remarkable 
 fadls might have been buried in oblivion, if I had not taken 
 this occafion to preferve them, I hope I fhall at lean: {land ex- 
 cufed, if not juflified, for the liberty I have taken ; and, in this 
 hope, I return to the thread of my hiftory, and to the memoirs 
 which occur next in order of time r . 
 
 r As I have made great life of Drmy's travtl?, I think it neceflary to infert 
 the following cerrificatr, by captain William Mackeit, whofe reputation was fo 
 well cfkbl;(hcd, both for undtrftai ding and pnbity, that n-b-dy judged it pof- 
 fjble for him to be cither deceived himfelf in a cafe of this nature, or capable of 
 entering into a defign of deceiving or amufing others ; and, therefore, his certi- 
 ficate fceros fuflicicnt t~ eftablifh this author's credit. It runs thus : 
 
 " This is to certify, That Robert Drury, fifteen years a Ihve in MaJagaf- 
 V car, now living in L< ndon, was redseme/1 from tlvence, and brought into Eng- 
 V land, his native country, by myfeif. I cfteem him an honefl, indnftrious man, 
 " of good reputation, and do firmly believe, that the account he gives cf his 
 \\ ihange and Airpr-fi.jg adventures is gcnuiue and authentic. 
 
 " May 7, i;jS. W. MACKKTT.'* 
 
 EMOJRS
 
 SIR RALPH DEL AVAL, KNT. 
 
 MEMOIRS of SIR RALPH DELAVAL, 
 
 Km. Vice-admiral of the Red, and Joint-admiral and 
 Commander in Chief of the Fleet. 
 
 IT is a misfortune, which we mud be content to deplore, 
 without hopes of redrefs, fince it is a misfortune flowing 
 from liberty, that in all free countries the greateft men are lia- 
 ble to be facrificed to clamour ; and innocence is not always a 
 Security againft the ihafts of envy. This was the cafe of the 
 gentleman of whom we are now to fpeak, and who, in the 
 fhoit fpace of one (ingle litmmer, was in the higheft credit, loft 
 it, and was actually laid afide : fo fluctuating a thing is human 
 happincis ; fo fickle a poilefiion is popularity, and fo little to be 
 depended on a prince's favour ! Thefe are the reflections that 
 \vill naturally arife on the reading the memoirs of our admiral ; 
 and they are premifed only to ihew, that I think as the reader 
 does, and do not believe myfelf obliged to follow the humours 
 of thofe, who have treated his memory with the lame prejudice 
 with which they purfued him living. 
 
 Sir Ralph Delaval was the fon of a worthy gentleman in the 
 north of England, of the fame name, diftinguiftied for his loy- 
 alty to king Charles I. and king Charles II. and to whofe hotife 
 general Lefley had leave given him by Cromwell to retire, after 
 the fatal battle of Worcefter s . Mr. Ralph Delaval came very 
 early into the navy, under the protection of the duke of Yoik, 
 who treated him with great kindnefs, and took care he fhoulJ 
 not lofe his turn in preferment. By this means it was, that lie 
 came to be captain of the York, a third rate man of war, ia 
 which ftation the revolution found him c . 
 
 He concurred heartily in that great change, though he haj 
 no hand in making it j and, therefore, king William, who was 
 
 * Complete hiftory of Europe, for 1707, p. 445. r Memoirs of the 
 
 fhtc of the royal navy of England for ten yt-jrs, ending December iC 
 mucl Pcpys, Eiq; fecretary to die aimirahy, duiing the reigns yf kingChailes II. 
 snd king Jamc* II. LuDtl.ui, 1690, 12010, p. 
 
 Y v 2 3 pr
 
 M E M O I R S OF 
 
 a prince of great penetration, foon promoted him to the rank 
 of rear-admiral of the blue ; and at the fame time conferred 
 upon him the honour of knighthood ; in this ftation he ferved* 
 wider the earl of Torrington, in the famous battle off Beachy- 
 Head, in which the Englifh and Dutch fleets were beat by the 
 French on the 3Oth of June, 1690 ; but without any impeach- 
 ment of his own character, either in point of courage or con- 
 duel, as appears plainly by hrs being appointed president of the 
 ceurt-martial which tried the earl, and which fat on board the 
 Kent, on the icthr of December in the fame year, and in 
 which he was unanimoufly acquitted ; and, if I miftake not, 
 the fhare he had in that affair fubjeted him to the hatred of a 
 certain fet of men ever after ; but that he was in reality no way 
 to blame, will appear by his being, immediately after declared 
 vice-admiral of the blue by king William, in which ftation' he 
 ferved, the next year, under admiral Ruflel ; and, in the winter 
 of the fame year, was appointed to command a fquadron in the 
 Soundings ; where, if he did little, it was owing to the bad 
 feafon of the- year, and contrary winds, by which he was four 
 times beat back into Torbay ; however, he punctually executed 
 his orders, and thereby hindered the French from relieving- 
 Limerick, which much facilitated the reduction of the king- 
 dom of Ireland u . 
 
 In 1692, when it was known the French were fitting out by 
 far the greateft fleet they ever had at fea, he was appointed to 
 ferve under admiral RuiTel> was alfo declared vice-admiral of 
 the red, and intrnfted with a large fquadron of Englifh and 
 Dutch fhips, with __ owters to cruize for our homeward-bound 
 fleet from the /Mediterranean, and then join the main fleet ; 
 \vhich he performed with great condudl and fuccefs j and ha- 
 ving firft feen feventy of our merchant-men fafe into port, he 
 next, according to his inftruclions, joined admiral Ruflel on 
 the 13111 of May, at St. Helen's; which was then juftly confi- 
 dered as a very frgmd fervice, for, if he had been twenty-four 
 
 u Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 418. Bifhop Rennet's complete hiftory of Eng- 
 'and, vol. iii. Pointer's chronological hiftvriao, vol. i. p. 375. 
 
 hour 3
 
 SIR RALPH DELAVAL, K N T. 
 
 hours later, it might have been of the greateft prejudice to the 
 fervice *'. 
 
 On the 1 5th of the fame month, a council of war was cal- 
 led of all the flag-officers on board the tieet, wherein it was 
 refolved, in obedience to the pofitive commands of queen Mary 
 who was then regent,, to fail the firft fair weather for the coaft 
 of France. In this council of war the admiral took notice of 
 an intimation which had been given him by the fecretary of 
 ftate, that reports were fpread, as if feveral captains of the fleet 
 had given fecret aflurances to king James's friends on ihore, of 
 their readinefs to join them, and of their confidence that they 
 fhould be able to carry over a great part of the fleet. As no- 
 body knew againft whom this information was particularly 
 pointed, it was thought neceilary, that the queen might be 
 thoroughly fatisfied of their loyalty and integrity, to draw up 
 the following paper, which was done upon the fpot x . 
 
 " We, your majefty's moft dutiful and loyal fubjedls and fsr- 
 <c vants, flag-officers and captains in your majefty's fleet, out 
 <{ of a deep and grateful fenfe of your maj.efty's good and juft 
 " opinion of our loyalty and fidelity* imparted to us by the 
 " right honourable admiral RulTel, in a letter to him from the. 
 " earl of Nottingham, principal fecretary of ftate, do, in be- 
 " half of ourfelves, and all the other officers and feamen > 
 humbly prefume to addrefs ourfelves to your majefty at this 
 juncture, to undeceive the world as to thofe falfe and mail- 
 cious reports which have been lately fpread in prejudice of 
 " your majefty's fervice, by people difaffecTred to the govern- 
 " ment, and who have an, averfion to the quiet and good of 
 v their country ; that there are fome among us who are not 
 " truly zealous for, and entirely devoted to, the prefent happy 
 " eftablifhment. We do> therefore, moft hombly beg leave to 
 ' { add to our repeated oaths, this afTurance of our fidelity : 
 " That we will, with all imaginable alacrity and refolution, 
 
 w Burchet's naval memoirs, p. 1 54, 135. This is a protfof his Zealand 
 afHvity in the fervice, independent of its confrquences. 
 
 x Lond. Gaz. K. 1767. Kennet's complete hillory f Enhr.<J, vol. iii. 
 p. /*4~% Siii;.'p Burnci's hirtory of his o\v.- ri.-o s, v< i. :'. p. 91. 
 
 <c venture
 
 o* 
 
 " venture ourfelves in the defence of the government, and of 
 " the religion and liberty of our country, againft all Popim in- 
 " vaders whatfoever. And, that God Ah nighty may preferve 
 your majefty's moft facred perfon, direct your councils, and 
 " profper your arms by Tea and land againft your enemies* 
 may all people fay Amen, with your majefty's mod dutiful 
 * and loyal fubjetts. Dared on board the Britannia, at St. He- 
 " len's, the I5th of May, 1692." This addrefs was figned by- 
 Sir John Afiiby, admiral of the blue ; Sir Ralph Delaval, vice- 
 admiral of the red ; George Rooke, Efq; vice-admiral of the 
 blue ; Sir Cloudefley Shovel, rear-admiral of the red; Richard 
 Carter, Efq; rear-admiral of the blue ; and all the captains of 
 the fleet *. 
 
 On the 1 8th of May, admiral Ruflel flood over to the French 
 coaft, and, on the ipth, engaged the enemy in the glorious 
 battle of La Hogue ; in which Sir Ralph Delaval, as vice-ad- 
 miral of the red, did his duty with great reputation, and, pur-* 
 fuant to the admiral's order, formed the rear of the fleet in 
 fuch a manner, that though feveral of the French fhips that had 
 fuffered lead, hovered round, and attempted to do mifchief^ 
 they were obliged, at length, to feek their fafety, as the reft of 
 the fleet had done before, by a plain flight z ; and he after- 
 wards did remarkable fervice in deftroying Ibme of the enemy's 
 largeft fhips a . 
 
 It was natural to exoeft, after fo gallant an a&ion as this^ 
 that every officer who had a fignal concern therein, fhould be 
 encouraged and promoted -, but it fell out, in fome meafure^ 
 otherwife, from that caufe which is generally fatal to the me- 
 rits of Englifli officers, the power of party-intereft. A fpirit 
 
 y It would have been of fome ufe, if the names of thefe captains had beeri 
 printed, of which I take notice, in order, as far as is in my power, to prevent 
 future oroiilious of the like kind, which defeat us of lights in hiftory, which 
 are often of more consequence than perhaps the writers of the Gazettes caa 
 imagine. 
 
 = Sc-3 the admiral's letter to the earl of Nottingham, and all the relations 
 luthert > publifned of that engagement, in which this faft of prcferving the rear 
 ofoiir fleet is allowed to have Tecured and ettablifhcd the vilory, and to hafc 
 contributed the nvft of any thing to the defeat of the French. 
 
 * Life of king William, p. ;ji. Burchs.'s natal mem:ir?, p. 145. Larrey 
 ire d'Ar.^'.cttrre, tjmc iy. p. in. 
 
 had
 
 SIR RALPH DEL AVAL, KNT. 359 
 
 had been raifed againft admiral RufTel, who commanded in 
 chief; and king William, for certain reafons, found bimfelf 
 under a necefiity of laying that great man aCde, which alfo ob- 
 liged him to put the command of the fleet into commifiion b . 
 
 Accordingly, Henry Kiilegrew, Efq; Sir Ralph Delaval, and 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, Knts. were appointed joint-admirals of 
 the fleet, which was reputed one of the greateft the maritime 
 powers had ever fent to fea c . In the month of May, the ad- 
 mirals formed their line of battle at St. Helen's, which confiit- 
 ed of feventy fhips of the line, thirteen frigates, nineteen fire- 
 (hips, befides brigantines, bomb-veflels, and hofpital-fhips. 
 Bifhop Burnet d , and fome other writers, would have us believe, 
 that the inactivity of this mighty naval armament was owing 
 to the fecret inclination that two of the admirals, Kiilegrew 
 and Delaval, had for the fervice of king James ; but the real 
 truth of the matter was, that the fleet was not either victualled 
 or manned j the men being put to fliort allowance at their firft 
 going to fea, and five regiments of foot ordered on board from 
 Portfmouth, purely to make up an appearance of manning. 
 
 Befides all this, the miniftry were abfolutely deceived in their 
 intelligence; in confequence of which they fent impracticable, 
 inconfiilent, and, at laft, contrary orders. For, firft, the ad- 
 mirals were enjoined to attack the French fleet at Breft, to 
 which port it was believed the Toulon fquadron was already 
 come, and dilpofitions were accordingly made for that fervice ; 
 but, upon fending the "VYarfpight to look into Breft, it was 
 found there was not fo much as a fhip there. Before the re- 
 turn of this frigate, the grand fleet had convoyed Sir George 
 Rooke, with the great Turkey fleet under his care, twenty 
 leagues farther than it was firft intended ; and yet they had 
 fcarce parted with them, before they had an account, that the 
 Toulon fquadron was actually in the Mediterranean. It was 
 
 b Burchet's navJ memoirs, p. IJ7, where it appears, that admiral RufTel 
 was exceedingly uneafy at his having nothing to do, but ly toffing at fea, ex- 
 pecYmg troops, tranfports, and orders, which came at lafl fo prcpofteronflf, 
 that after all he could do nothing. This uneafinefs wai eftcemed pride and pec. 
 virtinefs, for which the fubverter of the naval power of France, as this gentle- 
 man was owned to be, in the medals (truck for the victory, was for the prcfent 
 deprived of command. 
 
 e See vol. ii. p. 375. d H:ft:ry of his own times, vol. ii. p. 103. 
 
 then
 
 then propofed, in a council of war, to follow Sir George to 
 JLifbon ; but this defign was laid afide for two reafons ; firft, 
 becaufe the court having already fent orders to Sir George to 
 return, it was very uncertain, whether they fhould be able to 
 meet him; and, fecondly, becaufe upon a review of their 
 provifions, and after an equal repartition of them it was found, 
 they had not fufficient for fuch an expedition, even at fhort al- 
 lowance *. 
 
 The admirals having communicated all this to the court, or- 
 ders were fent them, on the 25th of Auguft, to return to St. 
 Helen's, which they did ; and having landed the rt giments they 
 had on board, the fleet feparated, part of the great fhips were 
 laid up, and the remainder were appointed for a winter guard ; 
 and thus (if they can be fo called) the operations of the cam- 
 paign ended f . The misfortune that befel Sir George Rooke, 
 and the Turkey fleet under his convoy, naturally occafioned a 
 great clamour ; and upon this, a very ftridl inquiry was made 
 into the affair, firft by the privy-council, and then by parlia- 
 ment, where, on the 1 7th of November, the houfe of com- 
 mons came to a refolution, K That, in the affair of convoying 
 *' Sir George Roote to fea, there had been a notorious and trea- 
 <f cherous mismanagement j" and yet, when the quefHon was 
 put for cenfuring the admirals who commanded in chief, it met 
 with a negative 8 . 
 
 We muft therefore, in order to reconcile thefe two votes, 
 
 This is aroono; the numHrr of thofs tranfaftion*, which never are to be n- 
 *ierfto->d from general hiftorics, and which are with very great difficulty unra- 
 vel ed in a houfe of commons. He who obeys orders does his duty certainly, 
 though he (hould do his country injury by his obedience, becanfc a genera! 
 example of difobediervce is of much worfe con r e<ju:nce than any particular wrong 
 ilcp with regard to the conduct of SP expedition j and befides, if yau take away 
 tail general rule of obedience, it is impolitic fur men to know how to condut 
 themfelves from the higheft to the lowcft flation ; add to all which, that w"herc 
 men receive doubtful, perplexed, and confufed orders, they ought, in regard to 
 their own fafcty, to adhere clofcly to the letter, and leave Tuch as drew the orders 
 to anfwer for them. 
 
 f Biirchet's naval hiflory, p. 490. The prefsnt flate of Europe for tn< 
 jftiomh of Airlift, 1693. London Gazette, N. *por. 8 Rennet's hi- 
 
 /I ;ry of England, vol. iii. p. 657. Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. i:. 
 f>. 87. Chandler's debates, vol. ii. p. 410, 412,.
 
 SIR RALPH D E L A V A L, K N T. 36* 
 
 fuppofe the opinion of the houfe" of commons to have been, that 
 this notorious and treacherous mifmanagement was not in them : 
 And indeed bifhop Bui-net, though he condemns the admirals, 
 has left us fuch an account of their juftificatiou, as feems to 
 confirm this fuppofition ; for he fays, that the orders lent them 
 from the cabinet council, were ill given, and worfe executed R . 
 Now, it may be questioned, how bad orders can be well exe- 
 cuted ? But the Bi/hop goes farther; he tells us, that thefe or- 
 ders were weakly drawn, ambiguous and defective j to which 
 he adds, that the admirals ihewed no other fign of zeal, than 
 tn ftriclly obeying thefe orders. I mould be gla;l to know, what 
 other zeal they could (hew, when under fuch inductions, and 
 with a fleet in fuch a condition'. 
 
 The bufinefsj however, ended in laying Mr. Killegrew and 
 ftir Ralph Delaval afide ; and, to fpeak my fcntiments freely, 'I 
 believe this to be as much the effect of party-fpirit, asthe laying 
 afide admiral Ruflel was the year before. As for Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel, he happened to be in favour with the party that diflik- 
 ed the other two admirals, and fo he efcaped, though he had 
 concurred with them in every thing. I do not fay this, with the 
 fmalleft defign of relieving on the memory of that brave man, 
 who, I am entirely perfuaded, was not at all culpable ; but only 
 to fliew the pernicious effets of party intrigues, by which aH 
 things were then governed : I wifh I could fay, that nothing 
 like it has ever happened fince". 
 
 & Hiftory of his own time*, vol. ii. p. tay. 
 
 i If it had ever occuned to biftiop Burnet, that the ahfurd, confuted, indi 
 jjefled orders, which hicifclf fuogefts to difgufhrd admiral Ruilcl, as to hindcT 
 his doing any thing of conuqacnce, after his glorious vifl.'ry the year hcf,)r.- T 
 came from the very fame perfons who puzzled and perplexed the j--int admirals, 
 he would not h*ve imputed difjrfl^iion to them, bm have acquitfccd with the 
 houfe ot" commons in ccnfuring their iiiailivity wuhout Lading ti.c com.ii^n 
 
 ders. 
 
 k In fuch cafe?, the faireft wy i? to take the judgmant of the (ailor*. If a 
 
 man, who has been Hnfortwnate, retains the love of fuch as he commanded ; 
 -there feems to .be no reifon for laying him afide, bscaule fuch an officer, when 
 employed again, will be m nc vi^ilint than any other, in order to retrieve his 
 tredit ; and the French hive, generally fpeaking, pur foed thi> mixim with equal 
 honour and advantag;. It is jl>-. ays right to punilh bad crmduft in an officer, 
 even where he has fucctfi ; but to puniih a good officer merely for wint of fnc- 
 ccf;, is barbarous and baf; ; contrary to the maxitui of (jifcipline and good 
 policy. 
 
 T.. III. Zz Sir
 
 362 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 Sir Ralph Delaval lived thenceforward privately, as a country 
 gentleman, upon his' own eftate, which was very conildevable, 
 and troubled not himfelf with public affairs. He died in the be- 
 ginning of the month of January, 1707, and on the 2T,d of the 
 fame month was buried with great folemnity in Weftminfter- 
 Abbey. The violence of party- prejudice being then abated, he, 
 went to the grave with the reputation of a great and gallant of- 
 ficer, and of a generous, hofpitable man ; which, according to 
 the beft accounts I have bt:en able to procure, he certainly de- 
 ferved j though he was fo unfortunate as to pafs nine years of 
 his life in an obfcure retirement, and that too, in a feafon when 
 his fcrvite might have been moft ufeful to his country '. 
 
 MEMOIRS of SIR CLOUDKSLEY SHOVEL, 
 Knight, Hear-Admiral of England, csV. 
 
 T is certainly a juft ohfervation, that virtue alone creates no- 
 bility. He who enjoys a title by birth, derives it from the 
 virtue of his ancettors ; and he who raifes himfelf into high rank, 
 which is a Fort of f.-lf-creation, fupplies the want of anceftors 
 by perfonal merit. Under all free governments, the latter ought 
 to be encouraged, as well as the former refpe&ed ; for, as eve- 
 ry luch government muft ilourilh or decline, according to that 
 portion of public fpirit, which is found among its fubjecls ; fo 
 the only means by which this fpirit can be either excited or 
 maintained, is the proper diflribution of rewards, and the Ariel 
 fiunifhment of criminals. "Where virtue is neglected, and vice 
 unpunifhed, corruption is at the height, and the difiolution of 
 that llare near at hand. 
 
 V\ r e were not in r.ny fuch fituation, at the time this brave man 
 was born, which was about the year 1650. His parents were 
 but in middling circumftances ; and as they had fome expecta- 
 tions from a relation, whole name was Cloudefley, they thought 
 In to beftow that name upon their fon, as a probable means of 
 recommending him to this relation's notice. But, whether they 
 
 ' Th eomp'cte hiftory of Europe, f.r tlit ve.r J->~7, p. 447- Le Neve's 
 mor.uuicnu Anglicana, p. in. Macurehiiloricjucct pol'uitjiie, lorn. xlii. p. 180. 
 
 were
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 36; 
 
 were difappointed in their view?, or, from what other accident 
 it arofe, I am not able to fay ; but fo it was, that youn^ 
 Cloudefley Shovel was put out apprentice to a mean trade, I 
 think to that of a fhoemaker, to which he applied himfclf for 
 fome years , but being of an afpiring difpofition, and finding no 
 appearance of railing his fortune in that way, he betook himlelf 
 to the fea, under the protection of Sir John Narborough, with, 
 whom, I fpeak it to his honour, he went as a cabin-boy ; but 
 applying himfelf very afliduoufly to navigation, and having na- 
 turally a genius for that art, he foon became an able feaman ; 
 and as thofe were ftirring times, in which merit always thrives, 
 he quickly arrived at preferment. This he, in a great meafurr, 
 owed to the favour of that famous perfon, who, having been 
 cabin-boy to Sir Chriftopher Mynnes, was a man who railed 
 himfelf to the highefi: honours of his profefllon, by mere dint 
 of capacity, and therefore proved a generous patron of all w!v> 
 discovered any extraordinary degree of worth, and this was 
 what recommended Mr. Shovel to his notice m . 
 
 Afrer the clofe of the fecond Dutch war, our merchants, in 
 the Mediterranean, found themfelves very much J litre fled by the 
 piratical ftate of Tripoli ; which, notwithstanding feveral trea- 
 ties of peace that had been concluded with them, began to com- 
 mit frefh depredations, almoft as early as the Dutch war broke 
 out. As foon, therefore, as the king found himfelf at leifure, 
 he ordered a ftrong fquadron into thofe parts, to reprefs the in- 
 folence of thefe corlairs, under the command of Sir John Nar- 
 borough, who arrived before Tripoli in the fpring of the year 
 1674, where he found all things in very good order for hib n 
 ception. The appearance of the enemy's ftrength, joined to the 
 nature of his inftruc'tions, which directed him to try negocia- 
 tion rather than force, determined him to fend a perfon in whom 
 he could confide, to the Dey of Tripoli, to propofe terms of 
 accommodation, and thofe too very moderate in their nature ; 
 for he defired only fatisfatiion for what was paft, and fccurity 
 for the time to corne. The admiral intruded Mr. Shovel with 
 this mefTage, who accordingly went on fhore, and delivered it 
 vith great fpirit. But the Dey, defpilin^ his youth, tr> 
 
 M Complete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1707, p. 409. 
 
 Z him
 
 364 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 him with much difrefpeft, and fent him back with an indefinite 
 anfwer n . 
 
 Mr. Shovel, on his return to the admiral, acquainted him 
 with fome remarks he had made on fhore : Sir John fent him 
 back again with another meflage, and well furnifhed with pro- 
 per rules for conducting his inquiries and obfervations. The 
 Dey's behaviour was worfe the fecond time; but Mr. Shovel, 
 though naturally warm* bore it with wonderful patience, and 
 made ufe of it as an excufe for fraying fome time longer on 
 fhore. When he returned, he affured the admiral,, that it was 
 very practicable to burn the fliips in the harbour, norwithftand- 
 ing their lines and forts : accordingly, in the night of the 4th of 
 March, lieutenant Shovel, with all the boats in the fleet, filled 
 with combuftible matter, went boldly into the harbour, and, as 
 I have already related in another place , deftroyed the enemy's 
 fliips, with a degree of fuccefs fcarce to-be conceived ; of which 
 bir John Narborough gave fo honourable an account in all his 
 letters, that the next year Mr. Shovel had the command given 
 him of the Sapphire, a fifth, rate, from whence he was not long 
 after removed into the James galley, a fourth rate, in which he 
 continued to the death of king Charles II. who firft railed, and 
 had always a great kindnefs for him P. 
 
 There were reafons which engaged king James to employ 
 captain Shovel, though he was a man far enough from being in 
 Lis favour ; accordingly he was preferred to the command of the 
 Dover, a fourth rare, in which fituation he was, when the re- 
 
 B The reader lias feen the whole of this affair in the former volume, which 
 plainly fhews, of how great Importance it is to excite and encourage an obfcrv- 
 ing fpirit, and an intrepid valour in young officers, Sir John N^rborough frank- 
 ly afcribing this important fervicr to the courage, and, which is more, to the 
 conduct of his boy Shovel, as he always called him. 
 
 See vol. ij. p. itf. 
 
 P Rennet's complete hiftory of England, volume iii. p. 355. Burchet's naval 
 hUtory, p. 404. Columna roftrata, p. 151, and Sir John Narborough's letter 
 to Sir Paul Rycaut. Memoirs of Sir Cloudeflcy Shovel, p. i. This hardy n. 
 tzrprfee was not only highly honourable to the reputarion of the Englilh arms at 
 fea, but of infinite confequence to our commerce} which remained from this 
 time forward fafe from the intuits of theie barbarous and thicvifh enemies, who 
 were now convinced, that futs and lines were no Icciirilits againft the courage of 
 Englifc fcamcn. 
 
 voluticn
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 36^ 
 
 tolution took place q . This was very fortunate for captain Sho- 
 vel, as weil as very agreeable to his way of thinking-, which, 
 together with his activity in the fervice, (for he was in every 
 engagement almoft that happened during that reign), made him 
 very confpicuous, and made his rife in the navy as quick as he 
 could with. He was in the firfl battle, 1 mean that of Bantry- 
 bay, in the Edgar, a third rate, and gave fuch fignal marks of 
 his courage and conduct, that when king William came down 
 to Portsmouth, he was pieafed, on the recommendation of ad- 
 miral Herbert, who, for that adlion, wns raifed to the dignity 
 of earl of Torrington, to confer upon him and captain Afhby, 
 of the Defiance, the honour of knighthood r . 
 
 This was ioon followed by further fervices, as they were by 
 additional rewards j for Sir Cloudefley, after crui2ing in the 
 Soundings, and on the coaft of Ireland, during the winter of 
 the year 1690, and the enfuing fpring, was, in the month of 
 June, employed in convoying king William and his army into 
 Ireland ; who was fo highly latisfied with his diligence and dex- 
 terity, (for without queftion, in matters of this nature, he was 
 one of the ablefl commanders ever put to lea), that he was gra- 
 cioufly pieafed, not only to appoint him rear-admiral of the blue, 
 but did him alfo the honour, with his own hands, to deliver 
 him his commiflion s . 
 
 After performing this fervice, it was intended he fliould have 
 joined the grand fleet; but on the loth of July, king William 
 receiving information, that the enemy intended to fend upwards 
 of twenty fmall frigates, the biggeft not above thirty- fix guns, 
 into St. George's channel, to burn the tranfport-fliips, he was 
 ordered to cruize oft' Scilly, or in fuch a ftation as he fhould 
 judge mod proper for preventing that defign ; and to fend fri- 
 gates to ply eartward and weflward, to gain intelligence of the 
 body of the French fleet, fo that he might be the better able to 
 provide for his own fafety. And they, upon meeting with vice- 
 
 1 Pepy's memoirs of the royal navy of F.nglanJ, p. tC$. r An im- 
 
 partial account of feme remarkable pafiigcs i.i the life of Arthur, earl of Tor- 
 rington, p. 10. Oldir.ixon's hilloiy of the Stuarts, vol. it. p. n. Memoirs of 
 Sir Cloudclky ShovtJ, p. 10. * Burchet'* fietnoirs, p. j8. Kennet'i 
 
 complete hiflory of E'.igUnd, vol. i . Sho- 
 
 vel, ;. 
 
 admiral
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 admiral Kill ogre w, in his return from the Streights, were tc* 
 give him notice of all circum fiances, that fo he might likewife 
 take care not to be intercepted'. 
 
 He cruized up and down in the aforefaid ftation, till the 2iffc 
 of July, without meeting ?y thing remarkable; and then the 
 Dover and Experiment joined him from the coaft of Ireland, 
 with a ketch that came out of Kingfale, on board of which was 
 colonel Hacketi captain John Hamilton, Archibald Cockburn, 
 Efq; Anthony Thompfon, Efq; captain Thomas Power, Mr. 
 William Sutton, and fix fervants, who were following king 
 James to France, in order to their accompanying him in his in- 
 tended expedition to England. They gave Sir Cloudefley an 
 account, that king James took fhipping at Duncannon, and 
 failed to Kingfale ; but after (laying there a little above two 
 hours, he proceeded to France, with two Spanifh frigates, that 
 bad lain there for that purpofe a confiderable time ; and that 
 lie carried with him the lord Powis, Sir Pioger Strickland, and 
 captain Richard Trevanion". 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel failed afterwards to Kingfale, and, as I 
 have fhewn in the former volume, did all that could reafonably 
 be expected from him, in regard to what was prefcribed by his 
 orders, and yet without much fuccefs. But an opportunity 
 quickly offered of demonftrating his zeal and affelion for the 
 fervice. General Kirke, with a handful of troops, was before 
 the ftrong town of Waterford, which he could not take, on ac- 
 count of the numerous garrifon in Duncannon caftle, command- 
 ed by general Bourk, who profeffed his refolution to defend 
 both town and fort, as lo'ng as one ftone remained upon ano- 
 ther ; Sir Cloudefley rightly guefied, that a good part of this 
 bravery proceeded from certain intelligence, that Mr. Kirke had 
 not a fingle piece of cannon ; upon which he font him word, 
 that he was ready to affift him from his fquadron, not only with 
 
 t Thefe expeditions, which r've !i;t!e plesftire to either author or reader, are 
 moft perilous to fti ofik i is. If they peif.rm all they are commanded, which 
 ii always difficult, not always poflibls, thrre is no praife to be hoped. But, if 
 lliey fiil, a U.>rm of clammr arif'e?, am! as men of courage are fetdom men of 
 art, ''.is odd s they fi.ffcr Hr.pwreck on fhore. 
 
 " Knrchrt s niv.il hiftory, p. 431. The complete hu'Lry of liarope, for 
 p. si- JHcaiuirs o: t'.i C.enickfi.y Shovel. 
 
 guns,
 
 SIR GLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 367 
 
 guns, but with boats and men; which, on the general's accept- 
 ing thispropofition, he accordingly did ; and then general Bonrfc 
 was fo prudent as to furrender the place, before there was fo 
 much as one ftone beat from another w . 
 
 The remainder of the year 1690 was fpent by Sir Cloudefley 
 for the moft part in cruizing, till he was ordered to make part 
 of Sir George Rooke's fquadron, which efcorted the king to 
 Holland, in the month of January following x . On the 1 3th 
 of April his majefty landed in England, when having given di- 
 rections for haftening out the fleet, and difpatchcd other af- 
 fairs of great importance, that prince embarked again for Hol- 
 land, on the i ft of May, and on the i 8th of October follow- 
 ing returned to England, in the Mary yacht, being then alfo 
 attended by a fquadron of men of war, under tluj command 
 of Sir Cloudefley Shovel y . 
 
 It was his felicity, that, as his fervices were well intended, 
 fo, generally fpeaking, they were well received ; and, if Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel at any time miffed of fuccefs, nobody ever 
 pretended to fix imputations upon his conduct. His courage, 
 and his fincerity, were alike unqueftionable ; and though thi? 
 
 w<-,s not the mo ft credulous aqe, vet there never was heard of 
 
 , 
 luch an infidel, as one who did not believe Shovel had both. 
 
 On this account, moft people were very well fatisfied, when 
 the king, in the fpring of the year 1693, and juft before he fet 
 out for Holland, declared him rear-admiral of the red; and, at 
 the fame time, commander of the fquadron that was to convoy 
 him thither 2 . On his return from thence, he joined admiral lluficl 
 with the grand fleet, and had a great fhare in the danger, and 
 as great a lhare in the glory of the famous victory at La Hogue. 
 For the French, after an engagement for fome hours, breaking 
 their line, and Tourville being difcovered to tow away north- 
 ward, when the weather cleared up, the Englifh admiral gave 
 the fignal for chacing, and lent notice to all the fliips, that the 
 
 w Burners hiftory of h's own times, vol. ii. p. 57. Oldmixon's hiftory of the 
 Stuar's, vol. ii. HifldVy of ihe wars in Iieiand, p. i 38, 139. 
 
 * Eu-chet's m-miirs, p. 63. Rennet's Kiliory ot England, vol. iii. p. 612. 
 T! e ptcft-nt Hate c.f Europe, for the month of January, if.yi, p. ",4 
 
 y Kennet's hirtory of England, vol. iii. p. tfiS. ii The complete 
 
 of Eun p, for 17^7, p. 504. 
 
 enemy
 
 M E M O I R S o F 
 
 enemy was retiring. At the fame time, feveral broadfideff 
 were heard to the weft ward, and, though the fHps that fired 
 could not be feen, it was concluded they were the blue fquadron, 
 that by a fhift of wind had weathered the French ; it proved, 
 however, to be the brave Sir Cloudefley Shovel, rear-admiral of 
 the red, who had, with wonderful pains and diligence, weather- 
 ed their admiral's own fquadron, and got between them and 
 their admiral of the blue"; but, after he had fired upon the 
 French for fome time, Tourville, as well as the admiral of that 
 fquadron, came to an anchor with fome of the fliips of their 
 diviGon, but could not difcover one another by reafon of the 
 thicknefs of the weather b . 
 
 When it was thought requifite, as we have had occaflon more 
 than once to obferve, that the fleet Ihould be put under the joint 
 admirals in the fucceeding year, he was one j and perhaps, if 
 there had been nothing more than this joint commiflion, VfQ 
 might well enough account from thence for the misfortune that 
 happened in our affairs at fea during the year 1693 c . This the 
 intelligent reader will the more eafily credit, when he is put in 
 mind, that thtfe joint admirals were of different parties ; that is 
 to fay, Killegrew and Delaval were declared lories, and Shovel 
 a determined Whig. Yet, as they were all good feamen, and 
 very probably all meant their country well, though they did not 
 agree in the manner of ferving it, it is moil: likely, that, upon 
 mature confideration of the pofture things were then in, the or- 
 ders they had received from court, and the condition of the 
 fleet, which was not either half- manned or half- victualled, the 
 admirals might agree, that a cautious execution of the inflruc- 
 tions they had received was a method as fafe for the nation, and 
 more fo for themfelves, than any other they could take. There 
 
 a Kennet. Cjlumna roflrata, p. 260. Memoirs of Sir Cloudeflcy Shovel, 
 
 P- S 1 - 
 
 *> It may not be ami's to mention here the care taken by queen Mary to er, 
 rage thufe who had behaved fo well in this engagement ; for the v.as r.o (boner in- 
 formed of the viflory, than (he immediately Cent down 30,000 1. to be ditfnbuted 
 smongft the foldicrs and fe<-men, and gold medals for all (he officers. Colonel 
 Hafthus, *ho was ki'lsd in the fight, was buried on the yth of June in great ftate, 
 the >juecn I'enOi >g her coaches, and the nob'lity and gentry two hundred more ; the 
 whole b-'ing tfc-uted ! y ei^ru companies of guards. 
 
 < LonJofi G..z ttr, N. 2839. The complete hiftory of Europe for 1707, 
 p. O. Mcmoiis of Sir Cloudtllcj Saovcl, p. 5$. 
 
 was,
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 3^9 
 
 teas, therefore, no great reafon for that piece of Dutch wit 
 played off upon this occafion in a picture, wherein the taking of 
 the Smyrna fleet was reprefented at a diftance, and Sir Cloude- 
 fley Shovel on board his own (hip, with his hands tied behind 
 him, one end of the cord being held by each of his colleagues ; 
 to infinuate, that he would have prevented this misfortune, if 
 the admirals Killegrew and Dclaval had not hindered him d . 
 
 But, when the affair came to be very flriclly inquired into in 
 parliament, Sir Cloudefley Shovel, at the bar of the houfe, de- 
 fended his colleagues as weil as himfelf, and gave fo clear and 
 plain an account of the matter, that it fatisfied all people, who 
 were capable of being fatisfied, of the innocence of the com- 
 manders, I mean in point of treachery, which had been aflerted 
 by a vote of the houfe of commons; for which, if there was any 
 foundation, it muft have lain either among the inferior people at 
 the admiralty, or thofe in the fecretary of ftate's office, who weru 
 bribed to give intelligence to the French e . But pcffibly even 
 this was but fufpicion. 
 
 The character of Sir Cloudefley Shovel remr.ining abfolutely 
 unimpeached, we find him again at fea, in the year 1694, in the 
 channel, and on the French coaft, where he had the honour to 
 command, as vice-admiral of the red, under lord Berkley, ad- 
 miral of the blue, in the famous expedition to Camaret-bay ; of 
 which I have already given fo large an account, that I think it 
 altogether needlefs to repeat it here, and therefore (hall only fay, 
 that Sir Cloudefley diftinguifiied himfelf by his fpeedy and dex- 
 trous embarkation of the land forces, when they failed upon that 
 unfortunate expedition, as alfo when, on their return to Eng- 
 land, it was thought neceflary to fend the fleet again upon the 
 coaft of France, to bombard Di? pe and other places f . 
 
 Towards the end of the feafon the command devolved upon 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, by lord Berkley's coming to London , 
 and then he received his majefty's exprefs commands to under- 
 take the bombardment of Dunkirk, which he attempted, as I 
 have fhewn in the naval hiftory of that year, to no purpofe, 
 
 d The complete hift ry of Europe for 1707, p. 507. e P.'irnciS hi;'- 
 
 of his own times, vol. ii. p. 115, 116. Ktnnci, and all cor hift.-iians. Chand- 
 ler'* debates, vol. ii. p. 418, 411. f Mercure hiflorique et politiqur, 
 tome xv:i. p 119, wbcrc there tie very pertinent rtmsrks on theft cxpf 
 
 VOL. III. 3 A thr.
 
 37 M E M Q I R S of 
 
 through the fault of the engineer, who had promifed more 
 either he, or, as was then believed, any other man could per- 
 form. Sir Cloudefley Shovel, however, took care to demonftrate 
 from his conduft, that there was no fault lay in him ; for he 
 went with a boat within the enemy's works, and fo became an 
 eye-witnefs of the hnpoiTl.bility of doing what his orders dire&etl 
 to be done , ad therefore, on his coming home, he was per- 
 feHy well received, and continued to be employed as a man 
 who would command fuceefs where it was poffible, and orait 
 nothing in his power where it was not. He had his (bare in the 
 remaining part of the war, and, after the peace of Ryfwick, was 
 always confulted by his majefty, whenever maritime affairs were 
 under confederation *. 
 
 In the beginning of the reign of queen Anne he was not much 
 in favour, and therefore I do not find him employed, though he 
 \vas then admiral of the white, in any affair of importance, till 
 he was fcnt to Vigo, after the taking that place by Sir George 
 Rooke, to bring home the fpoils of the Spanlfli and French fleet. 
 This was in the latter end of the year 1702, and he performed 
 all that was expected from him, with that zeal and expedition 
 which he had formerly fhewed upon every occafion : for, arri- 
 ving at Vigo on the 1 6th of October, he got things into fuch 
 forwardnefs, that he carried off whatever could poflibly be 
 brought home, burnt the reft, and, notwithftanding the ftormy 
 feafon of the year, the foulnefs of his (hips, and his being em- 
 barrafTed with prizes, arrived fafely in the Downs on the yth of 
 November ; which was confi Jered as fo remarkable a fervice by 
 the court, that it was immediately relblyed to employ him in af- 
 fairs of the greateft confequence for the future h . 
 
 Accordingly he commanded the grand fleet up the Straits in 
 the year 1703, where he did every thing it was poflible for an 
 admiral to do, whofe inftruftions were very exteniive, and who 
 yet wanted an adequate force to accomplifh a great part of thofe 
 inftru&ions. It is in fuch conjunctures as thefe that the (kill and 
 
 S Burchet's naval hiftory, book iv. ch. 13. The fecond volume of thishiftorf 
 wnder the year 1694. The complete hiftory of Europe for 1707, p. 508. Me- 
 moirs or Sir Cloudcfley Shovel, p. 60. k Burchet'i naval hillory, p. 6i&. 
 Cplumru rodrata, p. 17$. Memoirs of Sir C^judtflcy Shovel, p. 83, 84. Loo- 
 den Gaame, N ? . 3861, 386*. 
 
 capacity
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 371 
 
 capacity of am admiral chiefly appear j and in this expedition Sir 
 Cloudefley gave as convincing proofs of his courage and conduct 
 as any admiral could do ; for he protected our trade from all at- 
 tempts of the French ; he did what was to be done for the relief 
 of the Proteftants then in arms in the Cevennes j he countenan- 
 ced fuch of the Italian powers as were inclined to favour the 
 cairie of the allies, and he ftruck fuch a terror into the friends 
 of the French, that they xlurft not perform what they had pro- 
 mifed to undertake for that court - : . 
 
 All this he did whh, a fleet very indifferently manned, and dill 
 worfe victualled -, fo that, notwithftanding the management of 
 our affairs at fea was feverely cenfured that year in the houfe of 
 commons, yet ail parties agreed, that Sir Cloudefley Shovel had 
 done his duty in every refpeft, and very well deferved the high 
 truft and confidence that had been repofed in him k . 
 
 In the year 1704, Sir George Rook commanded the grand 
 fleet in the Mediterranean, to reinforce which Sir Cloudefley 
 Shovel was fent with a powerful fquadron ; and he took fucU 
 cate not only to execute his orders^ but to diflinguifli in what 
 
 i Oldmuon's hiflory oT the Smarts, vol. ii. p. 315. The complete hiftory of 
 Europe for 1703, p. 319. London Gazette, N. 3928. 
 
 k Bifhop Bui-net gives us but a melancholy account of this expedition, and yet 
 "he very honcftly juftifics the admiral's conduct. This prelate's account of the 
 matter is very curious, and *ery well worth the reader's notice. I have not 
 touched it in the former part of this volume, and therefore I thiirk it will not be 
 ainifs to infert it here, as a proof that I do not over-rate tic merit of the grc^t 
 men whofe actions I record : " It was refolvcd to fend a ftrccig fleet into the 
 *' Mediterranean j it was near the end of Jsne before they were ready to fail; 
 * and they had orders to come out of the Straits by the end of September. 
 ' Every thing was fo ill laid in this expedition, as if it Ivd been intended, that 
 *' nothing fhould be done by it, btCdcs the convoying our merchant Aips, wUich 
 " did not require -the fourth prt of fuch a fofce. Shovel was fent to command j 
 " when he law his infirucliuns, he r:prefeutcd to the minillrjr, that nothing 
 " cruld be expected from this voyage : he was ordered to go, and he oheyed his 
 *' orders. He got to Leghorn by the beginning of September. His arrival fcetn - 
 " ed to be of great consequence, and the allies began to take courage from k; 
 <; but they were foon disappointed of thek hopes, when they underftood that, 
 " by his orders, he could only (lay a tew days there. Nor was it eafy to imar 
 " gine what the dcfign of fo great an expedition could be, or hy fo much mo- 
 " ney was thrown away on fuch a prcjcct, which rraJe us defpifed by our ene- 
 ' mies, while it provoked our friends, who might juftly think they could not de- 
 ' pend upon fuch an ally, who managed fo great a force with fo poor a conduct, 
 " a^ neither to hurt their enemies, nor protect their friecds by it." 
 
 3 A a manner
 
 372 M E M O I R S OF 
 
 manner they ought to be executed, that, by joining the fleet in 
 the midfl of the month of June, he was very inftrumental in the 
 fingular fuccefs that followed, as by that very action he effectu- 
 ally difappointed all the French fchemes, though that court had 
 boafted, they fhould be able to reftore their maritime power, 
 and give law to the confederates at fea that fummer 1 . 
 
 He took his part in the glorious action off Malaga, in which 
 he behaved with the utmoft bravery, as bifhop Burnet very juftly 
 obferves ; and yet he had the good luck to efcape extremely well 
 in that action, though, as he (aid himfelf in his letter, he never 
 took more pains to be well beat in his life; but he was very far 
 from taking to himfelf, what fome have fmce endeavoured to 
 confer upon him, the glory of beating the French fleet, while 
 Sir George Rooke only looked on, or fought at a diftance. This 
 was not at all in Sir Cloudefley's nature; he would no more be 
 guilty of an act of injuilice of this fort, than he would have been 
 patient in bearing it. He knew very well his own merit and his 
 admiral's, and he did juftice to both in the letter he wrote on 
 that occafion, and of which the reader may find an extract in 
 the former part of this volume. 
 
 This battle was fought on the 1 3th of Augufb, 1704; Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel and Sir John Leakeled the van; Sir Cloude- 
 fley's division confided of nine fliips, the Barfleur, Eagle, Or- 
 ford, AfTurance, Warfpight, Swiftfure, Nottingham, Tilbury, 
 and the Lenox, in which they had only one officer killed, -ci-z~. 
 the firft lieutenant of the Lenox, and feven wounded, 105 pri- 
 vate men killed, and 303 wounded n . After this victory the 
 French never durft think of fighting our fleets ; and, upon Sir 
 Cloudefley Shovel's return, he was prefented to the queen by 
 prince George, as lord high-admiral of England, met with a very- 
 gracious reception, and was the next year employed as n com- 
 mander 
 
 I Lamberti, fome iii. p. 314. Qnmcy, hiftoire militair?, tome iv. p. 416. 
 M<rnoirs d'Efpagne, tome i. p. 17; iSi. m Burner's hiftory of his own 
 
 firms, vol, ii. p. 350. Columns rMrata, p. 178. London Gazette, N. 4054. 
 
 n 1 (hall be obliged to touch fome particulars in thi. engagement, when I come 
 ro the memoirs of Sir George Roike ; but it may not be .-imifs to obferve hers 
 incidentally, that, at the beginning of the battle, ST Cloudefley Shovel, with 
 the van of the Englifh fleet, narrowly milled being furrounded by the French, 
 h'.it that Sir George Rooks perceiving th-.ir defign, bore down immediately to 
 
 hit
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KKT. 373 
 
 mander in chief, being appointed rear-admiral of the fleet of 
 England on the 6th of January following . 
 
 Sir Cloudefley had no concern in the arts made ufe of to leffen 
 the reputation of Sir George Rooke, in order to pave the way 
 for laying him afide p ; but after this was done, and it became 
 neceffary to fend both a fleet and army to Spain, Sir Cloudefley 
 thought it reafonable to accept the command of the fleet, jointly 
 with the earl of Peterborough and Monmouth, and accordingly 
 arrived at Lifbon with the fleet, which confined of twenty-nine 
 line-of-battle {hips, in the month of June, 1705, and, towards 
 jhe latter end of the fame month, failed from thence to Catalo- 
 nia, arriving before the city of Barcelona on the i 2th of Auguft q , 
 when the fiege of the place was undertaken, though theEnglifh 
 army was very little, if at all, fuperior to the garrifon within the 
 town. 
 
 There certainly never was an admiral in a more untoward 
 fituation than that in which Sir Cloudefley Shovel found him- 
 fclf here. The fcheme itfelf appeared very impracticable ; the 
 land-officers divided in their opinions; the prince of Heflc 
 d'Armftadt, upon whom king Charles principally depended, was 
 not in fpeaking terms with the earl of Peterborough ; all things 
 neceffary for the fiege were in a manner wanting, and all hopes 
 of fupply depended on admiral Shovel, who on this occaiiou 
 gave the moft fignai proofs not only of his vigilance, dexterity, 
 and courage, but of his conftancy, patience, and zeal for the 
 public fer?ice r . 
 
 fie 
 
 his affiftance ; which feafonabie fuccoor Sir Cloudtfley Shovel returned in the lat- 
 ter part of the engagement, when, fcveral (hips of the admiral's ilivifion being 
 f' reed out of the line for want of ammunition, Sir Cloudefley very gallantly 
 came in to his aid, and drew fcvcial of the enemy's Ihips from our centre, 
 which, afur they had felt the furce of feme of Sir Cloudcflcy Shovel'* divi- 
 fion, did not think it fate to adr:nce along his ; but, 'being clean and better fail- 
 ers, they fet their fprit-fails, and with their bous z head, towed from him, wish, 
 cut giving him the opportunity of exchanging with them fo much as a fingle 
 broad fide. 
 
 London Gazette, N. 4086. P The complete hiflory of Europe for 
 
 17=J, P- J- Memoirs of Sit Cloudeflty Shovel. 
 
 <1 Sir Clondefley failed from Spithead to St. Helen's on the zzd of May j tha 
 earl of Peterborough went on board the next day, sod the i^.h the fleet failed to 
 the weftward. London Gazette, N. 4116. ' Burchei's naval hiflory, 
 
 bock v. cb. 1 8. Burnei's hiftory c,f his own time*, TO!, ii. p. 4:5. Dr. Fteinv'.'j 
 ' '
 
 374 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 He furnifhed guns for the batteries, and men to ferve them ; 
 he landed, for the ufe of the army, almoll all the military ftores 
 of the fleet ; he not only gave prudent advice himfelf in all coun- 
 cils of war, but he moderated the heats and refentments of 
 others, and, in fhort, was fo ufeful, fo ready, ami fo determi- 
 ned in the fervice, and took fuch care that every thing he pro- 
 mifed fliould be fully and punctually performed, that his pre- 
 fence and councils in a manner forced the land-officers to conti- 
 nue the fiege, till the place was taken, to the furprize of all the 
 world, and, perhaps, moft of all to the furprife of thofe by 
 whom it was taken ; for, if we mayguefs at their fentiments by 
 what they declared und-er their hands in feveral councils of war, 
 they fcarce believed it practicable to reduce fo ftrong a place 
 with fo fmall a force, and that fo ill provided s . 
 
 How great a fenfe the queen had of this important fervice, 
 and how much flie was perfuaded it would contribute to the ad- 
 vantage of the common caufe, the reputation of her arms abroad, 
 and the fatisfa&ion of her fubjecls at home, may appear from 
 her going exprefsly to parliament, upon this occafion, upon the 
 syth of November, 1 705, where, being feated on the throne, (he 
 fent for the h.ofe of commons on purpofe to communicate to 
 them the news of this important fuccefs, wnich ihe did in the 
 following fpeech, that deferves, for its Angularity, as well as for 
 its relation to the fubjeft in hand, a place in this hiftory : 
 
 ' My lords and gentlemen, 
 
 " Having newly received letters from the king of Spain and 
 *< the earl of Peterborough, which contain a very particular ac- 
 " count of our great and happy fuccefles in Catalonia, and fhew- 
 * ing at the fame time the reafonablenefs of their being imme- 
 ' diately fupported, I look upon this to be a matter of fuch 
 confequence in itfelf, and fo agreeable to you, that I have or- 
 < dered a copy of the king of Spain's letter to myfelf, and a let- 
 * ter from the junto of the military army of Catalonia, and an- 
 
 acconr.t of fhe carl of Peterborough's condufl in Spain, p. 34. An impartial in. 
 <(iiiry into :he management of the war in Spain, p. 17. Boyer's life of queen 
 .Anne. s Oldmixon's hiftory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 361. The complete 
 
 Wflory of Kurope for 1705, p- 584. London Gazette, N, 4164, 4169, 4177, 
 Meaioifs of, Sir Ci<>9dtfley Sbore!, p. icC.
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 375 
 
 < other letter from the city of Vich, as alfo an extract of the 
 earl of Peterborough's letter to me, to be communicated to 
 both houfes of parliament. 
 
 " I recommend the confederation of them to you, gentlemen 
 of the houfe of commons, very particularly, as the fpeedieft 
 way to reftore the monarchy of Spain to the houfe of Auftria; 
 " and therefore I affure myfelf, you will enable me to prolecute 
 " the advantages we have gained, in the molt effectual manner, 
 and to improve the opportunity, which God Almighty is plea- 
 " fed to afford us, of putting a prosperous end to the prefeat 
 " war. 
 
 " My lords and gentlemen, 
 
 " I mult not lofe this occafion of defiring you to give ac muck 
 difpatch to the matters before you as the nature of them al- 
 " low, that fo, in our preparations for next year, you may be 
 " early, which cannot fail of being a great advantage to us c ." 
 
 The next year Sir Clouclefley again commanded the fleet; but 
 it failed very late u , fo as not to reach the river of Lifbon till the 
 month of November; and, even when it arrived there, the dif- 
 putes which arofe amongft the lords of king Charles's council 
 and his generals, with the delays of the Portuguese, who were 
 far from being hearty in his caufe, difappointed all the great de- 
 figns of the maritime powers, and the efrecls that might have 
 been reafonably expected from the powerful reinforcement of 
 troops which were embarked on board the grand fleet. In thi* 
 uneafy fituation Sir Cloudefley Shovel did all that could be ex- 
 pected from a wife and vigilant commander; for he not only 
 clofely attended to the proper duties of his own charge, but left 
 no method untried to prevail upon the generals and favourites oi 
 king Charles to come to fuch an agreement, as might fecure the 
 advantages already obtained, and effectually fix their matter, 
 who was then at Madrid, upon the throne of Spain. 
 
 But, though the care and concern of the admiral had very lit- 
 tle effect on this fide, yet his reprefentations in Portugal met 
 
 * London Gazette, N. 4177. 
 
 u The queen's fleet, under the command of Sir Cloudefley Shovel, with the 
 land forc-s on board, and the earl 'f Riv-rs -.< general in chief, failrd from 
 Torbay the firft of Oftokcr. London G;zett, N-. 4168. 
 
 witii
 
 376 M E M O I R S o F 
 
 \vith greater regard. It feems that one of the young princes of 
 the royal family, who was of a very wild temper, had committed 
 fome odd iniults on the feamen as they carne afhore from the 
 fleet, and the forts, at the entrance of the river, had fired upon 
 fome of our men of war ; upon which Sir Cloudefley made his 
 reprefentations to the minrftry ; and, having received a very dif- 
 fatisfactory anfwer, he immediately demanded a conference with 
 a perfon of great diftinc~lion, who was then at the head of their 
 councils, and told him plainly, that the feamen, fo long as he 
 bore the Englifh flag, fhould maintain the ftridlcft difcipline 
 while in the harbour of Portugal, and therefore he expected it 
 fhould receive thofe marks of friendfhip and refpect, which were 
 due to fo great a princefs as the queen his fovereign; or, in cafe 
 of any failure, he Ihould think himfelf obliged to do his feamen, 
 and the honour of his country, right, and not fuffer the Englifh 
 flag to be infulted, while he had the honour to wear it. This 
 Sir Cloudefley exprefTcd in fuch a manner, and feconded his 
 words with fo brifk a refentment, when the firil-mentioned af- 
 front was next repeated, that the crown of Portugal thought fit 
 to ifliie out fuch orders as he delired, and things wore another 
 face in that part of the world ever afterwards ; which was en- 
 tirely owing to the courage and conduct of Sir Cloudefley, who 
 knew very well how to diftinguifh between thecomplaifance due 
 to an ally, and that complying forbearance which is unworthy 
 of an Englilh admiral w . 
 
 The beginning of the year 1707 wore but an indifferent af- 
 pecl: for Sir Cloudefley. He had difpofed all things in fuch a 
 manner, as that he might be able to fuccour Alicant j and very 
 probably had fucceeded therein, if not prevented, when the 
 troops were on the point of embarking, by an order from 
 England. This order was obtained by the prefling inftances of 
 the court of Pgrtugal, which reprefented here, that the forces 
 might be more effectually employed in conjunction with their 
 army. Orders were fent to this purpofe, and a memorial was 
 drawn up, containing the terms upon which her Britannic ma- 
 jefty would confent to the proportions made by the Portugueze 
 minifter, in the name; and on the behalf of his mafter. But, 
 
 w They had behaved in the fame way to Sir John Lcakc in February, 1706. 
 See Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 6yo, yip. 
 
 nouvhh-
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 377 
 
 n'Otwithftinding this application, the Portugueze, being either 
 unwilling or unable to comply with thofe demands, it was rc- 
 folved in a council of war to refume the former project, and to 
 land them at Alicant ; for which orders foon after arrived from 
 England x . 
 
 According to this refolution, the confederate fleet failed on 
 the )th of January, with the land-forces from Lifbon to Ali- 
 cant, where they arrived on the 28th of the fame month, and 
 were actually landed. But, through the delays the expedition 
 met with, (an account of which we have formerly given), the 
 troops, which at their failing from England were little if any 
 thing fhort of io,coo men, were now found to be fcarca 7000 ; 
 and Sir Cloudefley finding that his prelence would be of little 
 ufe there, and that the fleet ftood in need of repairs, left Ali- 
 cant on the i"th of February, and returned to Lifbon, where 
 he arrived the iith of March following. There he received 
 orders to prepare for the expedition againft Toulon; of which 
 we have already faid much, and therefore lhall be the more 
 concife in what we are obliged to add further upon that fubject 
 here *. 
 
 The inftruftions which Sir Cloudefley Shovel received, in re- 
 lation to this important affair, which, if it had fucceeded, muft 
 have put an end to the war, by obliging the French king to 
 abandon the fupport of his grandfon in Spain, were fent him 
 to Lifbon ; and, in obedience to them, the admiral made fuch 
 difpatch, that on the loth of May he failed for Alicant; 
 where, having joined Sir George Byng, he proceeded to the 
 coaft of Italy, and in the latter end of the month of June, 
 came to an anchor between Nice and Antibes ; where he waited 
 the arrival of the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene, who ac- 
 
 * Thcfc dif| Hte , ard the delays they occafi ;ned, ruirei our affairs, and made 
 this, which was ih: moll exaenfive of all our wars, the moft ineffeflua!. T e 
 Sriani'h tmiecontents had their particu'ar vuwS, fo had the PoitUU--zc, Ib had the 
 Germans likcwifc ; Charles 111. as e called him, ind:ed had none, but followed 
 the humour of his iavuri c rjr the ime being. 
 
 Y Bu'net's hiftory of his . v.-n times, vol. ii. p. 4-9. The complete hiflory o: 
 Europe, for 1707, p $t. Ljnd^i, G.zette, NO. .jzpo, 4jOi, 43^8, 4312. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 B ' tually
 
 3.78 MEMOIR Sop 
 
 tually came on board the 29th of that month, and were enter- 
 tained by Sir Cloudciley with the utmoft magnificence z . 
 
 The enemy were at that time ftrongly entrenched on the ri- 
 ver Var, and had extended their works above four miles into 
 the country. Thefe entrenchments were defended by 800 
 horfe, and fix battalions of foot, and a reinforcement was daily- 
 expelled, of three battalions more, under the command of 
 lieutenant-general Dillon, an old Irilh officer, from whofe cou- 
 rage and conduct the French had reafon to experfl as much as 
 from any man in their fervice; and indeed if he had arrived in 
 thofe lines, it is very doubtful whether the confederates could 
 have forced them.. But Sir Cloudefley having obferved to the 
 duke, that part of the French lines were fo near the fea, that it 
 was in his power to cannonade them ; and that he would land 
 a body of feamen, who fliould attack the higheft and frrongeft 
 of their entrenchments , his royal highnefs confented that they 
 fliould be attacked immediately*. 
 
 Accordingly, on the ift of July, Sir Cloudefley ordered four 
 Englith, and one Dutch man of war, to enter the mouth of 
 the river Var, where they began to cannonade the French 
 lines; foon after which, fix hundred Englifli feamen landed in 
 open boats, under the command of Sir John Norris, who was 
 quickly followed by the admiral j and having begun the attack, 
 the enemy were fo terrified with fuch an unexpected lalutation, 
 that they threw down their arms,, after a lliort difpute, and 
 abandoned their works b . 
 
 This great effort made by the Englifh, not only procured an 
 eafy paflage, where the greateft refinance was expected, but 
 totally difconcerted the French fchemes, fince the troops had 
 fearce quitted thefe entrenchments before they met, in their 
 
 2 Burner, vol. ii. Co'umiu roftrat>, p. 484. Tie complete hiflery of Europe 
 for 1707, p. z<5i. L'-n.- 1 . G r. N. 4352. RI< m its of Sir Cl udtfley Shovel, 
 P- 115 a Burchet's naval hift.ry, p. 731, 732 Burnet's hifiory <-f r. - 
 
 own limes, vol. : .i. p. 476. Beyer's life of qiuen Anne. Lond. Gaz. M-.ino u 
 01" Sir Cloudtfl y Shovd, p, 112. 
 
 > See the London G-zette, Nr. 4351, wherein there is an account of this 
 expedition, by authority. Compete hiftory of Europe, for the year 1707, 
 ar>d all the French wiiters, who agree, ihat if this pafs had not been forced 
 b the En^'.ift, (he duks of S^voy nd his aimy could not haye proceedid 
 
 march,
 
 STR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KXT. 379 
 
 march, lieutenant-general Dillon, at the head of his twelve 
 battalions, who was fo aftonilhed, that he fut^red himfelf to 
 be perfuaded to abandon the to\vn of St. Paul, and to continue 
 this retreat. On the I4th, a council of war was held on board 
 ihe admiral, in which it was refolved to profecute the march to 
 Toulaji, which the duke of Savoy promifcd to reach in fix 
 days. It appears from this account^ that whatever there w.v. 
 of zeal and fpirit in the conduct of this affair, proceeded from 
 the diligence and activity of Sir Cloudefley- He propofcd 
 forcing the paffage of the Var, and executed it ; he induced 
 his royal highnefs of Savoy to purfue his march immediate- 
 ly; and, as foon as that refolutioa was taken, the admiral 
 failed with his fleet for the iflands of Hieres, leaving ten or 
 twelve frigates to interrupt the enemies ccrrefpondence with 
 Italy c . 
 
 The ftory, therefore, that is told of Sir Cloudefley's detain- 
 ing a fum of money, muft be without foundation : for, before 
 the attack, his royal highnefs n>uft have been perfectly fatislied, 
 otherwife he would not have undertaken it.; and he marched 
 as foon as prince Eugene joined him, with the remainder of 
 the forces, Sir Cloudefley Shovel-feeing no more of him till he 
 reached Toulon d . But, in-ftead of iixj his royal highnefs made 
 
 it 
 
 * Burnet's hiffory of his own times, vol ii, p. 477, 478. The complete 
 Ki!t .ry of Europe, for 1707. Ol.mixon, Buyer, and all our hifloriins. Me- 
 moirs of Sir Cli'Udefl.-y Shfvd. 
 
 d I have, in the farmer part of this vclume, given fome account of the real 
 and pretended reafons for ihe mifcarriage of this expedition ; aiid ^ there lay the 
 gret-(\ weight on the body of forces fcnt by the ernprror Jcieph, to conquer 
 the kingdom of Niplesj which expedition, firA delayed, and then weakened, 
 the attempt upon Toulon ; but I had not at that time feen a valuable letter of 
 her rr.ajtfty queen Anne to the ejnpcror, upon thh <ut>jtt ; which, as it wss 
 ncv.r pubiilhed, as it was wrirten with her o*n b*nd, and eontiins matter of ao 
 txtraorJinary nature, I thonglit it mi^ht not he amifs to infert it here, rather 
 than conceal it from the reader. This later was to felicitate the emperor CD th.? 
 luccefs of his armj in Naplef. 
 
 "SIR, my Brother, 
 
 <( I rtj 'ice with all my hearf, with yonr imprris! msjcfty, on the reduclisn 
 " of the kingdom of Naples to the ohedience of the Catholic kiiig, of which 
 <( he has given me an account by his letter of the 301}) ef Augu'.t iaft j and I 
 ' hope that by a joint puri'uit, for the time to cjtne, of whatever Itiall be ad- 
 
 B a " Vintacoi,*
 
 3 8o M E M O I R S o F 
 
 it full twelve days before he attacked, in any manner, the place; 
 and then never pretended to lay any blame upon Sir Cloudefley, 
 but threw it on prince Eugene, who commanded the emperor's 
 forces, and who had orders not to expofe them. It is true, 
 that when Sir Cloudefley went firft to compliment the duke 
 upon his fafe arrival, and to receive his commands about land- 
 ing artillery and ammunition, his royal highnefs told him, he 
 was glad to foe him at laft, for the maritime powers had made 
 him wait a long while ; to which, when Sir Cloudefley anfwer- 
 ed, that he had not waited a moment fince it was in his power, 
 to wait upon his royal highnefs -, he replied, fmiling, " I did 
 * not fay you, but the maritime powers had made rne wait ; 
 for this expedition I concerted fo long ago as 1093; and 
 ' fourteen years is a long time to waif, Sir Cloudeiley 6 ." 
 
 The admiral ordered immediately one hundred pieces of can- 
 non to be landed from the fleet, for the fervice of the batte- 
 ries, with two hundred rounds of powder and fhot, and a 
 conluierable number of feamen to ferve as gunners ; neither was 
 he wanting, in any thing that was defired from him, during the 
 whole affair, but rnthcr exceeded what the duke and prince 
 Lugene could reafonably expeCt, as well with regard to his per- 
 fonal attendance as to the fervice of the fleet. Befides, there 
 >vas not any misfortune on his fide, but it fell out altogether 
 amongft the land-troops, who were beat from their pofts with 
 very great lofs on the 15th of Auguft, N. S. On the i6th th^ 
 fleet began to cannonade the town, and throw bombs in the 
 night, which was continued till fuch time as the fiege was rai- 
 led, and which obliged the French to fink all their capital fhips, 
 
 " vantageous to the common caufe, this fuccefs will be followed by another, 
 " equaLy glorious and important to the hcufe of Auftria, in putting my bro- 
 " ther, :he Ca:!ilic king, in pt.fllfllon <>f the Spaniin monarchy, by the power- 
 tut fncC'iins that your imperial majefty will, after t!-is happy event, be able 
 <l to fiuailh him ; to whom I wifh all kind of pr >fperity, and t-> your impeiial 
 u-fty a continual fcrics of good fonunc. This will give me cxrrcmc plea. 
 ' fine, as being, 
 
 " Your imperial majcfiy's 
 
 " Moft aflcftionatc fifier, 
 
 " Ktnfington, Sept. o, 1707. " ANNE R." 
 
 c Mcrcurc hiftoriquc, 1707? vol. ii. p. 331. 
 
 a diftrefa
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 381 
 
 a diftrefs that more than countervailed the whole expence of this 
 fervice, great as it wasf. 
 
 As the duke of Savoy never would have undertaken this af- 
 fair without the afliftance of the fleet, commanded by Sir 
 Cloudefley -, as he did nothing, when before Toulon, but by the 
 afliftance of the fleet, from whence he had all his military 
 rtores ; fo he could not poffibly have made a fafe retreat, if it 
 had not been covered by the confederate fleet, which attended 
 him again to the time of his repafling the Var. There fome 
 new difputes happened, in which Sir Cloudefley had little or 
 no concern. Her Britannic majefty's miniftcr laboured to per- 
 fuade prince Eugene to take upon him the command of all the 
 forces in Spain, in which the duke of Savoy likewife concur- 
 red ; and Sir Cloudefley offered to tranfport his royal highnefs, 
 with a body of troops under his command ; but this propofi- 
 tion being rejected, his excellency bore away for the Streights; 
 and foon after, refolved to return home, which was the laft aft 
 of his life g . 
 
 He left Sir Thomas Dilkes at Gibraltar, with nine fhips of 
 the line ; three fifth rates, and one of the fixth, for the fecurity 
 of the coafts of Itnly, and then proceeded with the remainder 
 of the fleet, confiding of ten (hips of the line, five frigates, four 
 fire-fhips, a floop, and a yacht, for England h . On the 22d of 
 Olober, he came into the Soundings, and in the morning had 
 ninety fathom water. About noon he lay by ; but, at fix in 
 the evening, he made fail again, and flood away under his 
 courfes, believing, as it is prefumed, that he faw the light on 
 St. Agnes, one of the iflands of Scilly. Soon after which, fe- 
 veral fhips of his fleet made the fignal of diftrefs, as he himfelf 
 did ; and it was with much difficulty that Sir George Byng, in 
 the Royal Anne, faved himfelf, having one of the rocks under 
 her main chains. Sir John Norris, and lord Duriley, alfo ran 
 very great rifles; and, as we have fhewn elfewhere, feveral 
 fhips beiiJes the admiral's perifhed. There were with him, on 
 
 f BurcJ-et's naval hidny, p. 732. Boycr's life of queen Anne, p. 303. Me. 
 jnoirs of Sir Cloudefley Shovel. 8 Burnet. Oldmixon's hiftury of Eu- 
 
 rope, f r the year 17:7, p. J~, 303. Annals of queen Anne, p. 107, 108. 
 London Gazette, N. 4364. " Burchct's naval hiftory, p. 7:3. 
 
 board
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 board the Aflbciarion, his fons-in-law, Sir John Narborough, 
 and James his brother, Mr. Trelawny, eldeft fon to the bifhop 
 of Winchefter, and feveral other young gentlemen of quality '. 
 There is no faying how this unhappy accident fell out, or to 
 whofe fault it was owing, though a report prevailed immediate- 
 ly after it happened, that a great part of the crew had got 
 drunk for joy that they were within fight of land. 
 
 Sir Cloudefley's body was thrown a-fhore the next day upon 
 the ifland of Scilly, where fome fifhermen took him up, and, 
 having ftolen a valuabie emerald ring from his finger, ftripped 
 and buried him. This ring, being {hewn about, made a great 
 noife all over the ifland, and coming to the ears of Mr. Paxton, 
 vho was purfer of the Arundel, he found out the fellows, de- 
 clared the ring to be Sir Cloudeiley Shovel's, and obliged them 
 to difcover where they had buried the body*; which he took 
 up, and carried on board his own fnip, in which it was tranf- 
 ported to Plymouth, conveyed from thence by land to London, 
 and buried, from his houfe in Soho-fquare, in Weftminfter- 
 abbey, with great folemnity, where, if not an elegant, an ex- 
 penfive monument of white marble was afterwards ercled, by 
 the queen's direction, in order to do honour to the memory of 
 fo great a man, and l"o worthy and ufeful a fubjecl: '. 
 
 Since the laft edition of this work, a very ingenious and in- 
 <juiHtive writer c , who had himfelf paid a villt to thcfe iflands, 
 
 ' Hornet's fv.ftory cf his own times, vol. ii. p. 48?. Oldmixon's hiftoi-y of 
 the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 394. Colurnna roftrata, p. aSi, 186. Boyer's life of 
 <}uren Anne, p. 304. Memoirs of Sir Clouchfiey Shovel, p. no. London 
 C.r:'.te, N. 4380. 
 
 k Mercare hift-riqiie et p-litiqus, tome xliii. p. <58, <5<Sp. Heath's natural 
 and hiftorica.1 accciint of the iflinds of Scilly, p. 141, 144. There arc various 
 accounts of the finding Sir Cloudefley's body; fume fay, hewisfiifi diicoverrd 
 upon a hitch, with a liulc dog dead by him, eiideavoniing by that means to fave 
 himfelf. A foldkr belonging to St. Mary's garrifcn, is tcported to have firft mst 
 with it, and to have interred it in the fand at Porthelic, which foldicr lady Sho- 
 ycl, as feme write, rewarded with a penfion for life. 
 
 I Anti^uiries of the Abbey of We ft minder, vol. ii. p. 11. Annals of queen 
 Anne, v-1. vi.p. 305. London Gazette, N. 4397. m Obfervaaons on 
 
 the ancient and prefent (late of the iHands of Scilly, and their importance to the 
 trade of G.-eu Erit-in, in a tetter to the reverend Charle* Lyttkt. n, L. L. D. 
 dtan of Exeter, and F. R. S. 3y William Botlale. M. A. F. R. S. Oxford, 
 f7JS. 4to. p. iS-iS. 
 
 has
 
 SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL, KNT. 
 
 has given us a farther account of this matter, which the reader 
 will be pkafed to fee in his own words. " Before I come to 
 " defcribe the ancient fepulchres of thefe iflands,'' fays this re- 
 Terend author, " give me leave to make a fmall excurfion from 
 " the Druid pale, and, now I am fo near the ipot, to carry you 
 " down to the grave of Sir Cloudefky Shovel. In a cave called 
 ' Porthelic, between theTolmens, which I have been defcrib- 
 " ing to you, the body of this great fea-captain, after his fhip- 
 " wreck in the year i 707, was found naked, and not to be di- 
 * ftinguiflied from the moft ordinary failor under his command ; 
 " and here he was buried, a bank of fand offering itfeif very 
 '* opportunely for that purpofe. The nature of the place, it 
 c muft be allowed, would make it doubly inhuman not to have 
 " buried him, (whoever he was), and is, therefore, the firft ar- 
 " gument Archytas makes ufe of to bcfpeak the fame friendly 
 *' office after a like misfortune. 
 
 tf At fu t naitiUy vjg* ne parce malignus arena 
 . " QJJibuS) et capiti inhumato 
 " Partliulam dare* -- 
 
 HoR. ode xxviii. lib. t, 
 
 f< Stay, traveller, and let thy gen'rous breaft, 
 * Gucfs the fad tale, and bear my bones to rclt. 
 ' See where, at hand, thefe fports of wind and wave, 
 " May find tbe wiili'd-for, tho' a fancly grave. 
 
 " His body was afterwards taken up, and conveyed to v 
 " minfter-abbey, and a little pit on this fandy green flill ihcws, 
 
 -- " Pulveris exigui parua munera" Ibidem. 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel, at the time of his death, -was rear- 
 admiral of England, admiral of the vhire, and commander in> 
 chief of her majcfty's fleet, one of the council to prince George 
 of Denmark, as lord high-admiral of En2l;*nd, elder brother 
 of Trinity-houfe, and one of the governors of Greenwich-hol- 
 pital ; in all which Oations he discharged histruft with thegrt^t- 
 eft honour and integrity ; and as, in his public character, he 
 was- an accomplished fw- officer, cr.c who hud niways the . 
 
 of
 
 384 MEMOIRS o t 
 
 of his queen, and the good of his country at heart j fo in all 
 circumftances of private life, as an hufband, parent, or mafter 
 of his family, he conducted himfeif with fuch prudence, wif- 
 dom, and tenderneis, that few men lived more beloved, or died 
 more lamented. Her majefty cxprefTed a very particular con- 
 cern for his lofs, and was pleafed to tell Sir John Leake, when 
 Hie made him rear-admiral of England, that me knew no man 
 fo fit to repair the lofs of the ableft feaman in her fervice n . 
 
 Sir Cloudefley Shovel married the widow of his friend and 
 patron, Sir John Nai borough, who was the daughter of cap- 
 tain Hill, by whom he left two daughters, co-heireffes : Eliza- 
 beth the eldeft, efpoufed to Robert lord Romney , and after- 
 wards to John lord Carmichael, now earl of Hyndford, and 
 who deceaied at the Hague in 1750 ; Anne, who became the 
 wife of the honourable Rober: Manljl P, and, upon his demife, 
 married P^obert Blackwood, Efq; of London, merchant. Lady 
 Shovel had alfo three children by her firft hufband : John, 
 who, while a child, was created a baronet, and James Narbo- 
 rough, Efq; who, as we have already mentioned, were loft in 
 the Affociation, with their father-in-law ; likewife a daughter, 
 Elizabeth, married to Sir Thomas D'aeth, of Knowlton, in the 
 county of Kent q , baronet, and who departed this life in 1721. 
 After furviving the unfof tunnte Sir Cloudefley twenty-five years, 
 her ladyfhip deceafed, March the I5th, 1732, at her houfe in 
 Thrift-ftreet, near Soho-fquare, having lived to a great age. It 
 may not be improper to add to thefe memoirs, his monumental 
 infcription in Weftminfter-abbey ; fince it is the only one of its 
 kind, and ftands there as a perpetual memorial of the fervices 
 he rendered his country, and of the grateful fenfe retained by 
 the great and glorious princefs who employed him, and under 
 \vhofe aufpicious conduct the arms ot Great Britain, by fea and 
 land, were ever victorious. Thus that infcription runs'": 
 
 n Burchet's nav.l Itifrory, p. 733. Burner. The Complete hiftory of Europe, 
 for 1707, p. 511. Memoirs of Sir Cloiulefley Shovel, p. liz Boyer's life of 
 queen Anne, p. 304, 305. Collins's peerage of England, edit. 1756, 
 
 Vol. v. p. 337. P Collins's peerage of England, edit. 1741, vol. iv. 
 
 p. -. T 3. <J F.ngi'rti ')arotiet-;;e v ;i. iv. p. 184. Harris's hiftory of 
 
 Ksnr, p. 7i. ' A:.:icju:tics of St. Pctci's, Wcftminftcr, vol. ii. p. 11, i*. 
 
 " Sir
 
 SIR G'EOPvGE ROOKE, KNT. 38$ 
 
 *< Sir Cloudefley Shovel, knt. rear-admiral of Great Britam ; 
 admiral and commander in chief of the fleet ; the juft rewards 
 tf or" lon^ -and faithful fervices : he was defervedly beloved of 
 * his country, and efteemed, rhough Jreaded, by the enemy: 
 ** who had often experienced his conduct and courage. Being 
 *' (hipwrecked on the rocks of Scilly, m his voyage from T:ni- 
 " Ion, the 22d of October, 1707, at night, in the 57th year 
 *' of his age. 
 
 " His fate was lamented by all ; but especially -the feafaring 
 * part of the nation, to whom he was a worthy example. His 
 " body was flung on the {hore, and buried wrth others in the 
 " fands ; but being foon afrer taken up, was phced under this 
 " monument, which his royal miftrefs has caufed to be erected, 
 * c to commemorate his fteady Joyalty, and extraordinary vh> 
 " tues." 
 
 MEMOIRS of SIR GEORGE ROOKE, Kru. 
 
 Vice-admiral, and Lieutenant of the Admiralty of 
 England, and Lieutenant of the Fleets and Seas of" 
 this Kingdom, one of her Majefty's moft honourable 
 JYivy Cotmcil, &c. 
 
 IT is a thing we may reasonably expeft, and it is commonly 
 found true, from experience, that fuch perfons as rife in- 
 to high and honourable employments, by dint of merit, and are 
 withal of a refpcdlable defcent, as they enjoy their fortunes with, 
 lefs envy, fo they are, generally fperiking^ more attached to the 
 government and conftitution of their country, than thofe who, 
 by a hafty rife from a low beginning, haye fin all concern for 
 thofe eftabiifhmerrts from which they derive no honour; and 
 are therefore more prone to changes and revolutions, in which 
 men of active parts muft be always confiderable. This truth was 
 never more manifeft, than in the conduct of the illuftrious perfon, 
 of whom we are now to fpeak. A man, who, to hereditary ho- 
 nours, added reputation founded on perfonal merit, and who 
 repaid the credit derived to him from his anceftors, by the glo r 
 ry reflected from his own actions. Yet fo modeft withal, that 
 he coveted titles as litde as wealth ; and after a life fpent in no- 
 L. III. 3C tl
 
 385 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ble achievements, went to his grave with a moderate fortune, 
 though he had long enjoyed fuch employments as enabled others 
 to raife princely eftates. 
 
 He was the fon of Sir William Rooke, knt. of an ancient 
 and honourable family in the county of Kent, where he was 
 born, in the year 1650 ; his father gave him the education be- 
 coming a gentleman, in which, by the quicknefs of his parts, 
 and the folidity of his judgment, he made an extraordinary pro- 
 grefs, infomuch that Sir William Rooke had great hopes, that 
 lie would have riiftinguiihed himfelf in an honourable profeflion, 
 for which he was intended*. 13ut as it frequently happens, 
 fhat genius gives a bias too ftrong for the views even of a pa- 
 rent to fubdue, fo Sir William, afrer a fruitlefs ftruggle with 
 bis fon George's bent to naval employment, at laft gave way to 
 his inclinations, and fuffered him to make a campaign at fea. 
 
 His firft ftation in the navy was that of volunteer, then ftyl- 
 cd a reformade, in which he diftinguifhed himfelf, by his un- 
 daunted courage and indefatigable application. This quickly 
 acquired him the poft of a lieutenant, from whence he rofe to 
 that of a captain before he was thirty, a thing, in thofe days, 
 thought very extraordinary, when no man, let his quality be 
 what it would, was advanced to that ftation, before he had 
 given ample, as well as inconteftable teflimonies, of his being 
 able to fill it with honour. Thefe preferments he enjoyed under 
 the reign of Charles II, and under that of his fucceffor, king 
 James, he was appointed to the command of the Deptford, a 
 fourth rate man of war, in which poft the revolution found 
 him '. 
 
 Admiral Herbert diftinguifhed him early, by fending him, in 
 the year 1680, as commodore, with a fquadron on the conft of 
 Jreland. In this ftation, he heartily cpncurred with major-ge- 
 neral Kirke, in the famous relief of Londonderry, affiiting in 
 perfon in taking the ifland in the Lake, which opened a paffage 
 
 * The complete hiftory of Europe for 1709, p. 383. I.ife of Sir George 
 Rooke, p. i. See the infcription on his monument. The hiftory and antiqui. 
 tifs of the ca'hedral church of Canterbury, by the reverend Mr. J. Dart, 
 London, 1716, folio, p. 75, 79. t Pepys'j memoirs of the royal navy 
 
 of England, p. 1(54. Mcmoiis of Sir George Rookr, MS. Annals of queen 
 Aiirt, v-i. viii. p 
 
 for
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 387 
 
 for the relief of the town". Soon after, he was employed in 
 efcorting the duke of Schomberg's army, and landing them fafc 
 near Carrickfergus, facilitated the fiege of that place, arid, af- 
 ter it was taken, failed with his fquadron along the coaft ; 
 where he firft looked into the harbour of Dublin, manned all 
 his boats, and infulted the place where king James was in per- 
 fon -, and, in the night of the i8th of September, he formed a 
 defign of burning all the veffels in the harbour; which he would 
 have certainly executed, if the wind had not fhifted, Ib as to 
 drive him out to fea w . 
 
 From thence he failed to Corke, into which haven he like- 
 \vife looked, though, in the apprehenfion of the people of Ire- 
 land, it was the bell fortified port in the ifland 5 but Sir George' 
 foon convinced them of the contrary; for, notwithftanding all 
 the fire from their batteries, he entered and took pofTcflion of the 
 great ifland ; and might have done more, but that his fliips were 
 fo foul, that they could fcarce fwim ; and his provilions grown fp 
 fhort, that he was obliged to repair to the Downs, where he ar- 
 rived in the middle of October, having acquired great reputation 
 by his activity and good fervice*. In the beginning of the year 
 1690, he was, upon the recommendation of the earl of Torring- 
 ton, appointed rear-admiral of the red y , and, in that ftation, fer- 
 ved in the fight oft'Beachy-head, which happened on the goth of 
 June the fame year; and, notwithftanding the misfortune of our 
 arms, which was indifpmably the greateil we ever met with at 
 fea, admiral Rooke was allowed to have done his duty with 
 much refolution ; and therefore the lords and others, appointc-J 
 to inquire into the conduct of that affair, had orders to examine 
 him and Sir John Afhby, who, in their accounts, juftified their 
 admiral, and Ihewed, that the misfortune happened by their be- 
 ing obliged to fight under vaft difadvantages*. 
 
 It was believed by many, that this would have been a, bar to 
 
 11 Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 417. Columna roltrata, p. 155. The complete 
 hiftory of Europe, for 1709, p. 384. w Life of Sir George 
 
 Rcoke.p. ? ii. K . .1 's hirt;>ry .if England, vol. iii. p. 580. Hiftory of 
 the war* in Ireland, ciwp. vi. Burchet's memoirs, p. jz. x Burcliet's 
 
 fiscal hiftory, p. 4:1. 1 Oldrnixon'i hiirory rf the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 41. 
 
 Lite of kint; William, p. 1^5. z Burchet's memoirs, p. ji. K.noct. 
 
 An impartial account o: io:iie remarkable p^'iges in the life of Arihur, carl i>f 
 p. 13. 
 
 3C2 his
 
 MEMOIRS o F 
 
 his preferment ; fcut it proved otherwife, and he was immedr- 
 irtely appointed to command the fquadron that convoyed the 
 king to Holland a ; and afterwards joined the grand fleet, under 
 the command of Mr. Ruflel, who was then admiral of the red 
 fquadron, and commander in chief; but that year being fpent 
 without action, the French declining it,, and the admiral being 
 too wife a man to rifk the fate of his predeceffor, by any rafh 
 attempt, rear-admiral Rooke had no opportunity of diftinguifh- 
 ing himfetf further, than by exaUy obeying orders, and pro- 
 tecting our trade ; which he did very effectually b - 
 
 In the fpring of the facceedrng year, he again convoyed king 
 "William to Holland, and was then, or very foon after, promot- 
 ed to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue c , in which ftation he 
 ferved in the famous battle of La Hogue, on the 22d of May, 
 1692, in which he behaved with diltinguifbed courage and con- 
 duel, as the relation publifhed by admiral Ruflel fully (hews; 
 and it was awing to his vigorous behaviour, that the laft ftroke 
 was given on that important day, which threw the French en- 
 tirely into confufion, and forced them to run fuch hazards, in 
 order to fhelter themfelvea from their victorious enemies. 
 
 But the next day, which was Monday the 23d of May, was 
 for him ftill much more glorious v for vice-admiral Rooke had 
 orders to go into La Hogue, and burn the enemy's fhips as they 
 lay J . There were thirteen large men of war, which had crowd- 
 ed as far up as pofiible, and the tranfports, tenders, and fhips 
 with ammunition, were difpofed in fuch a manner, that it was 
 thought impoflible to burn them. Betides all this, the French 
 camp was in fight, with all the French and Irifh troops that 
 were to have been employed in the ir.vafton, and feveral batte- 
 ries upon thre coaft, well fupplied with heavy artillery. The 
 vice-admiral, however, made the necefEtry preparations for obey- 
 ing his orders, nottvithftanding he faw the difpofuions made on 
 fliore for his reception ; but, when he came to make the at- 
 tempt, he found it impoflible to carry in the {hips of his fqua- 
 
 Kenuet's hifrnry of England, vol. iii. p. 61 x. Annals cf (^ Anne, vol. viii, 
 P- 3 6 3- b Burchet. The complete hiltory of Europe for 1709. Life of 
 
 Sir George Rooke, p. n 15. c Buyer's life of queen Anne, p. 4$. 
 
 d Burchet's memoirs, p. 145. Kcnner, and other writers. The preftnt ftate of 
 Europe for the year t6$i, p. io<5. Columna rollrata, p. i<Si. Life of Sir George 
 Rooke, p. i f, 1 8. See admiial Ruflcl's letter to the earl of Nuttin^ham in vol. ii^ 
 P' 3$9. as alio our account of this famous aftion.
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 
 
 dron , yet even this did not difcourage him. He ordered his light 
 frigates to ply in dofe to the fhore, and, having manned out all 
 his boats, went himfelf to give directions for the attack, burned 
 that very night fix three-deck fhips ; and the next day, being the 
 24th, he burnt fix more from feventy-itx to fixty guns, and de- 
 ftroyed the thirteenth, which was a ihip of fifty-fix guns, toge- 
 ther with moftof thetranfports and ammunition-vefiels, and this 
 under the fire of all thofe batteries I have before mentioned, in 
 fight of the French and IrHh troops ; and yet, through the wife 
 conduct of their commander, this bold enterprize coil the lives 
 of no more than ten men. In order to have a diltinct conception 
 of the merit of this moft glorious action, we ned only cart our 
 eyes on the letter written to their high mightineiles the States- 
 General by their admiral Allemonde, who was prefent, and who 
 penned this letter on the 24th, before vice-admiral Piooke went 
 the very laft time into La Hogue to burn the remaining ihips and 
 tranfports. It is but natural to believe the admiral gave the beft 
 account in his power to his mailers ; and we cannot believe he 
 meant to flatter theEngliih officer, fince it does not appear from 
 his letter, that he fo much as knew who he was ; thefe circum- 
 itances therefore confidered, his epiftle may be jtiftly looked 
 upon as the moft authentic teftimony that can be oifcred on this 
 fubjca c . 
 
 It 
 
 c This letter of admiral Allemonde, was dated from on board the Prince, near 
 
 June 3, 
 
 Cipe Barfleur, i6yi, in which letter he fays : 
 May 24, 
 
 " I camr to an author order this c*pe where I have been fince yeflerday 
 " in the afternoon wiih your high mightiness fquadron, ami that of Sir _.oha 
 " Alhby, admiral of the English blue fquadron, and lome ether fhips of their 
 " Britannic wajrlHes. At which tiroe be in,; informed by the captain of a French 
 " fite-fh:p, who w^s uken prifontr, that shout twelve of the fhips that had tought 
 " gainl> your high mi^htincires Iquadron, and to wtiich we had ^ivcn chacc, 
 " wtie got in among tr.e rocks. I prepared to go and d'.ftny thfn. B.ir, as 1 
 <c \*a ready to put my dcfign in execution, I f< ; und that admiral R : 
 " orders to the fame pnrpjle. Prt-icnily I offered him >"iir fugh mi : - 
 " light frigates and firc-fhips to biTilt his Ihipi, and immediately avc til neccf- 
 " Lry orders, in c-fe he fh'>uld mike u;c of tliem ; but, as ycr, I know not 
 " whether th-ife frigate-, or firc-lhips were employed or n -. Alt that lean aflbrc 
 " your hi^h luightiiicfT^i U, that, tiro lame *.?y they ^iution to dellroy 
 
 (i ;hc.fct*flve fhips, thry burnt fix or" the biggtil, of three decks; 
 
 J '.I::; day the ref! thjt un./i, _-s ^t"
 
 M E M O I R S o F 
 
 It was extremely happy for Mr. Rooke, that lie ferved a brave 
 prince, who would not take his informations upon truft, but in- 
 quired particularly into every man's conduct before he puniihed 
 or rewarded. The behaviour of the vice-admiral at La Hogue 
 appeared to him fo great, and fo worthy of public notice, that, 
 having no opportunity at that time of providing for him, he fet- 
 tled a penfion of a thoufand pounds per annum on him for lit'e f . 
 In the fpring of the year his majefty'thought fit to go to Portf- 
 mouth, as king Charles II. had fometimts done, to view the 
 fleet, and, going on board Mr. Rooke's (hip then in the har- 
 bour, dined with him, and conferred on him the honour of 
 knighthood g , having a little before made a grand naval promo- 
 tion, in which he was declared vice admiral of the red' 1 ; and, 
 the direction of the fleet being now put in commifiion, Sir George 
 Rooke was intrufted with the command of ti>e fquidron that 
 was to efcort the Smyrna fleet, and the joint admirals received 
 orders to accompany him as far to fea as they Ihould think pro- 
 per , after which his inftru&ions were, to take the bell car_' of 
 the fleet he could, and, i.j cafe- of any mistortune, to retire into 
 fome of the Spanifh port:;, and put himfelf under the protection 
 of their cannon '. 
 
 It cannot be fuppofed, that Sir George Rooke had any better 
 intelligence than the admirals or the fecretaries of ftate, and 
 therefore we ought to afcribe the great umvillingnefs he (hewed 
 to part with the grand fleet fo loon, to his fuperior ikill in n.ival 
 affairs, from whence he judged, that, fince the French fquadron 
 was not at Breft, it mull be gone to Toulon, for which he 
 
 " cannon, ran the fame fate, being burnt with all their ammunition and provi- 
 ' fion, together with the fix other fmallcr vefle.U, which they had lightened of 
 " their gans, to try whether it were poffible to fave them by towing them any 
 *' higher; fo that this expedition has completed the irreparable ruin of the enc 
 " my's fleet. I ur.dcrlUiiil this day, from aboard admiral RufTcI, that orders 
 are given out to burn the tranfport-veflels that jre in the bay of La Hogue, 
 ' tv> the numbct of about 500, if it may be done with fafety 5 but I tear the ex- 
 41 ecution of the eiittrprize will be very difficult by rcafon of the fhallownefs of 
 *' the water where theic vcflils ly, and the rififtai.ce which may be made from 
 ' the land, and therefore leave the fuccefs of the defign to Providence." 
 
 t" l.jfe of Sir George Rooke, p. 19. The complete hiftory of Europe for 1709, 
 p. 385. London Gjz.tte, N. 2$4J . h London G;7.=Uc, N. 1843. 
 
 I Biirchei':. mcmoTs, p. 175. Liie of Sir George Rooke, p. 11, 13. Life of 
 king William, p. 365, 364. 
 
 though:
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 394 
 
 thought there could fcarce be a better reafon affigned than their 
 hopes of intercepting the Smyrna fleet under his convoy. How. 
 ever, he failed, as his orders and duty required; and on the 151!* 
 of June, being about fixty leagues fhort of Cape St, Vincent, he 
 ordered the Lark to ftretch a-head of his fcouts into Lagos-bay ; 
 but, next day having confirmed accounts of the danger they 
 were in, he propofed in a council of war to keep the wind, or 
 ly by all that night, that fo a difcovery of the enemy's ftrength 
 might be made next morning. But in this he was over-ruled, 
 and it was urged that the wind being frefh northerly, it gave 
 the fleet a fair opportunity of pufhing for Cadiz; purfuant to this 
 refolution, the admiral ran along the fliore all night with a preft 
 fail, and forced feveral of the enemy's (hips to cut from their 
 anchors in Lagos-bay k . 
 
 The next day, when he was with his fleet off Villa Nova, it 
 fell calm, and, a little after day-break, ten fail of the enemy'* 
 men of war, and feveral fmall fhips, were feen in the offing. 
 The French no fooner difcovered Sir George Rooke, than they 
 ftood away with their boats a-head, fetting fire to forne, and 
 finking others of their fmall craft, which yet did not hinder fe- 
 veral of them from falling into our hands, as a fire-fhip likewife 
 did, by dropping into the fleet in the night. The crew of this 
 ihip, being carried on board the flag-fhip, and examined by the 
 admiral, told him a very plaufible tale, viz. That the French 
 fquadron confifted but of fifteen fhips of the line, notwithftand- 
 ing there were three flags, and had with them forty-fix merchant- 
 men and ftore-fhips, that were bound either to Toulon, or to 
 join M. d'Eftrees 1 . They faid alfo, that the fquadron had been, 
 becalmed off the cape, and that, having watered in the bay f 
 they were bound directly into the Straits, without any intention, 
 of feeing our fleet. 
 
 fc The French fleet under marfhal Tourville had waited fome time for the 
 Englilh Smyrna fleet; they had certainly very early and very exarfl intelligence, 
 which is much lefs to be wondered at, than that this fleet of French men of war 
 fhnuld remain a month on the Spanifh coaft, without our having any timely no- 
 tice of it ; and in reality this was the very poinc upon which the houfc of com- 
 moi s grounded their vote of treachery. 
 
 l Burnet's hifK-ry of his own tunes, vol. ii. p. nj. Columna roflrata, p. 161, 
 The complete hiflory of Europe for i;op, p. 386. Burchet's naval hiflory. 
 London Gazcite, N. iS33,
 
 392 MEMOIRSoF 
 
 This at firft, with the hafty retreat of their men of war in the 
 morning, and their deferring and burning their fmall veffels, 
 gained a perfect belief with the admiral and the reft of the of- 
 ficers -, but afterwards it was judged, (and with reafon too), that 
 this precipitate retreat was purpofely to amufe us, arid thereby 
 draw the whole fquadron infenfibly in to the enemy. About 
 noon the fea breeze fprung up to W. N. W. and N. W. and 
 then the admiral bore away along Chore upon the enemy, difco- 
 vcring their ftrength the more the nearer he came to them, and 
 at laft counted about eighty fail ^ but the number with which they 
 plyed up to him was not above fixteen, with three flags, the ad- 
 miral, vice-admiral of the blue, and rear-admiral of the white. 
 The vice-admiral of the blue ftood off to lea, in order to wea- 
 ther our fquadron, and fall in with the merchant-fliips, whilft 
 the body of their fleet lay promifcuouily to leeward one of ano- 
 ther as far as they could be feen, efpecially their biggeft fhips. 
 
 About three in the afternoon the Dutch vice-admiral fent Sir 
 George Rooke advice, that he was now perfectly fenfible of the 
 fraud, as difcovering plainly the enemy's whole fleet ; but that, 
 in his judgment, the bell courfe that could be taken was, by alt 
 means to avoid fighting. Sir George differed with him in that 
 point, and had actually difpofed all things for engaging the ene- 
 my ; but reflecting that he fhould take upon himfelf the whole 
 blame of this affair, if he fought contrary to the Dutch admi- 
 ral's ftntiments, he brought to, and then ftood oft' with an eafy 
 fail, and at the fame time difpatched the Sheernefs, with orders 
 to the fmall (hips, that were on the coaft, to endeavour to get 
 along Chore fn the night, and fave themfelves in the Spanifh 
 ports ; which advice, as it was feafonably fuggefted, fo it was 
 happily purfued, no lefs than fifty getting into the port of Cadiz 
 only m . 
 
 n Ths fir! account we had of this u -.lucky hufinefs was by a letter frrm cap- 
 tain Littleton, commander of the Falor of Smyrna, which, I take it, was an 
 iired man of war, that is, a merchantman turned into a mm of war to flrengtn- 
 en the convoy. Hi? letter gave i he merchants fome confolatien, becaufi h not 
 onlv afiured thim, that his own, and between forty and fifty more (hips, wers 
 fate at Ca iiz, but that the admiral was efcaped, and had cjrried off a great part of 
 the fisa with him, notwiihrtindipg the vaft fupeiiariry of the enemy. 
 
 I have
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 393 
 
 I have already given fo large an account of this affair n , as well 
 from foreign writers as our own, that I think it needlefs to fay 
 more here, except as to the perfonnl conduct of the vice-admiral. 
 His whole fquadron confined of no more than twenty-three fliips 
 of war-, of thefe thirteen only were Englifh, eight Dutch, and 
 two Hamburghers. The fleet of merchantmen under his convoy 
 was compofed of four hundred fail of all nations, though the 
 greater part of them were Englifti (hips . The fleet under 
 M. Tourville confitted of one hundred and twenty fail, of which 
 iixty-four were of the line, and eighteen three-deck (hips; yet 
 Sir George Rooke faved all the men of war ; for he brought 
 twelve of them to Kingfale, and the other got into Cadiz ; and he 
 iikewife brought back with him iixty merchantmen, and, having 
 fent the Lark with advice of his misfortune, he afterwards pro- 
 ceeded from Kingfale, with the largeft (hips, to join the grand 
 fleet P. 
 
 One thing, indeed, is very remarkable with refpect to this 
 fmgular transaction, viz. That, while in France the people in 
 general charged their admirals with not making the moft of their 
 advantage, and the admirals themfelves charged each other with 
 \vant of conduct, and neglect of duty, there was not fo much 
 as a fingle reflection made upon Sir George Rooke's behaviour j 
 but, on the contrary, he was faid in the Dutch gazettes to have 
 gained more reputation by his efcape, than accrued to the French 
 by their conqueft. On his returti home the merchants gave him 
 their thanks ; the king promoted him from being vice-admiral of 
 the blue to the rank of vice-admiral of the red, and foon after, 
 as a farther mark of his favour and confidence, made him one 
 of the iords-commiflioners of the admiralty ; and, before the 
 clofe of the year 1694, promoted him again from vice-admiral 
 of the red to admiral of the blue % 
 
 In 
 
 See vol.il. of ibis wark, p. 378 3?S. Ksnnet's complete hifiory 
 
 f England, vol. lii. p. 657. Tne preient ftafe of Europe for the month of Jul), 
 i^93. Life of Sir George Rooke. P Burner's hiftory tl his own times, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 116. OUrn.xon. The complete h'ftory of Europe for 1709, p. 387, 
 3 Sg. q Life of Sir George Rooke, p 42. Life cf K. William, p. 375. 
 
 r We muft not imagine, however, that Sir George efVaped ali trouble m this 
 affair j on the contrary, he was examined at the bar of the hcufc of comment, 
 ar.d thit very ftriclly, though he was lo very ill that he could fcarce fUnd */:on 
 oL.III. - E>
 
 394 
 
 In the month of May, 1695, admiral Rooke commanded the 
 fquadron which convoyed the king to Holland s ; and in the au- 
 tumn of the fame year, being then admiral of the white, he was 
 alfo appointed admiral and commander in chief in the Mediter- 
 ranean, having a fleet of feventy men of war and merchant-Chips 
 under his care ; and, having very fuccefsfully executed this com- 
 mifiion, he remained feveral months in the Mediterranean with 
 a very fmall force, where, ncverthelefs, he made a fhift to pre- 
 ferve our trade from the infults of the enemy ; and at length, 
 receiving orders to return, he executed them with fo much pru- 
 dence, that he arrived fafely on the Eng! ih coaft on the 22d of 
 April, 1696, to the great joy and fatish&ion of the nation in 
 general, which was much alarmed, from an apprehenfion, that 
 the French fleet at Toulon fhould come up with him, to which 
 he was much inferior in ftrength'. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, he took upon him the command of the 
 fleet, had orders to proceed to the Soundings", and to lie in 
 fuch a flat ion, as he Ihould judge moft proper for preventing 
 the French fleet from getting into any port of France ; but re- 
 ceiving intelligence, that the Toulon iquadron was got fafe into 
 Breft, and the largdt {hips in the fleet being very foul, he 
 thought fit to return, agreeable to his inftruttions, and put int 
 Torbay w . 
 
 his feet ; and, therefore, was at laft aUcwed a chair. He f.iid, that when he 
 patted from ins gra.id fiecr, he had a ve;y briflc gale of wind, which dro\e him 
 C.reftly upon the enemy, and rct<r<1 J the a-:v:ce-boats that weie i'ent af er him', 
 wi;h ir.tellipence and orders to return. He faid further, that if his op.n.on hji 
 nit b'-en over-iul d, he might very pn.bably have pjficd the enemy in the night, 
 nd then a Jew only of the heavirft 1" i.^ve fallen into their hands. 
 
 Yet, he added, that he did not fufped he was ovcr-tultJ by the majority of 
 v> : es in the counc-.i of ar, from ar:y br>d dcfign, or want of zeal in the cum- 
 m.ndvrs ; hul fr..m t'..eir not givirg crtoic to his fufpicion, that it uas tl.e 
 %bol;; Frerich flee, iu LaguS-bayj anj for ar.y frjuadron they were not af.aid uf 
 
 * Ker.net'* inffory of England, vol. iii. p. 6^7. The piefcnt Mate of Europe, for 
 i6q$, p. 117. Bryor'a life or" queen 'Anne, p. 45. t Euichet's naval 
 
 .y, book iv.'ciiau. xv. The comp'tte hiftt.ry of Europe for i 71.9. Lite o'f 
 Sir George Rookc, p. 45. London Gazette, N. 3:- 
 
 " Butchet's memoirs, p. 332. Tie trcfcnt ita'.c of Europe, fcr 1695, p. 168. 
 .N c . ,182. * Licdon G.scitc, h,. 3186-,, 3187. 
 
 There
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 395 
 
 There the fleet being reinforced to eighty-five fail of the line, 
 Sir George Rooke formed the glorious project of burning the 
 whole French fleet, or forcing them to take flicker in the har- 
 bour of Breft, while we bombarded all the adjacent coafts ; 
 but, while he was meditating this great defign, he unexpectedly 
 received orders to return to London, and attend his duty at the 
 board*; yet, fo defirous he was of being in action, and fo 
 thoroughly perfuaded of the pofTibility of the thing, that, upon, 
 his coming to town, he propofed the matter to the duke of 
 Shrewsbury, who approved it, but found it requifite to lay 
 his project before the privy council, where it was confidered, 
 till the feafon for putting it in execution was intirely over, and 
 then declared a very prudent, well- concerted mealure, and ano- 
 ther admiral blamed for not doing what he would willingly 
 have done; but that the captains of the fleet were unanimoufly 
 of opinion, that it was too late in the year to think of attempt- 
 ing an expedition of fuch importance y . 
 
 Admiral Ruffel, in the fpring of the yenr 1697, being decla- 
 red earl of Orford, and placed at the head of the admiralty, 
 with a kind of abfolute command, his prefence was thought Ib 
 neceflary there, that Sir George Rooke was appointed admiral 
 and commander in chief of the fleet z , which put to fea in a 
 very indifferent condition, being but half manned, and fcarce 
 half victualled, towards the latter end of June; as the French 
 avoided fighting, Sir George found it importable to do any thintj 
 very confiderable; and yet this fummer's expedition gained him 
 no fmall reputation, and that from an aclion, bold in icfelf, but 
 withal ftric'tly juft, and very beneficial to the nation. For as he 
 was cruizing off the French coaft, he met with a large fleet of 
 Swedifh merchantmen, and having obliged them to bring to, 
 aud fubmit to be iearched, he found jult grounds to believe, thut 
 
 * London G ze!tc, N. 3190. 
 
 T Tr.e r.-a cr will find this prcj-.- of Sir George RoMce's, and a Urge account 
 f th*t affair, by turning to 'he navjl i pc ati ns of tr.r year io u uich it happened, 
 in ou Urmer voluoie ; 4110 from thtncc he will eafiiy c ile>, that Sir Gt 
 Ro kc wi- iSutious onlv, when he w-ntci a proper ftrcngth, and that no admiral 
 was iiorc active or vigorous than he, whenever Uich a torce was uruer, his com- 
 mand. 
 
 * London G:zettr, K. 3i33, 3295. 
 
 3 D 2
 
 MEMOIRS of 
 
 their cargoes belonged moft of them to French merchants ; upon 
 which he fent them, under the convoy of fome frigates, into 
 Plymouth. This made a great noife, the Swedifh minifter in- 
 terpofed, and fome of our ftatefmen were inclined to difapprove 
 Sir George's conduct*. 
 
 But as he was a man not apt to take rafh fteps, and confe- 
 quently feldom in the wrong, he was not of a temper to be 
 frightened from his duty, or to be brought to defift from any 
 
 a We have the whole of this matter f;t in a clear Hg'ir, in a (mall quarto 
 pamphlet of two fheeis, intitled, A fhort account of the true ftate of the cafe of 
 the Swedifh merchant-fleet, lately br ughi up on (heir voyage from France, by ad- 
 miral Rooke, and i"rnt into Plymouth. 
 
 The a. count given in this pamphlet, of the fraud, runs thus: " The Swede did 
 " build a fhip, of more or lefs tons, on his cwn acccu it ; whereupon he could 
 " fa'ely make oath before the rrHgiftrate, that the fame fhip was his ovn, and 
 ' did really belong to him, and was bui't at his proper cofts and charges ; and 
 '* thereupon he obtained a pafs ror ihe f*id fhip, as being a Sivedifh fh ; p, built 
 " in S*eJeland, and belonging to one of thai king's fubjcft?. This being rone, 
 " the Swere fold and tranfported the very fame (hip to a Darch, Lubeck, or 
 " Hamburgh merchant; who, in ccnfidetation of the other fervice, did give him 
 " cne quarter, or eighth part, (as they eou d beft agree upon) in the faid fhip 
 " on condition, thst the Swede fhtuld always provide new pafTes as often as 
 " there fhrn d be occafion for them ; and that the did fhip fhould always go Under 
 *' the Swede's name, and by th.it mcinJ traffic nnmoleP.ed t.->, and with France} 
 " which p a<ftice the Swele flattered himfelr that he might fecnrely enough con- 
 " tinue, wi hout afling thereby ag^intt his con'.cience, or commi'ting the lead 
 *' perury by fo doing; there being no occifion, accord ng to tie coflom and l*wi 
 " of that country, to make oa h a-fre(h for every other voyage, for getting of new 
 " pafles, becaufi the firfl oath fuffices f r good and all. So that, by ;his men. 
 " tal refervation, the Swede could obtain as many pafTes as he pleated, and for 
 " all that, his confcience not concerned in the leaft thereby. Nay, by the 
 *' pioofs made sgaiaft the faid SweJifh fleet, taken from their own hand-wri- 
 " tings, books, and letters, now u-.der examination in the court of admiralty^ 
 " it does maniteftiy appear, thaf, to take off all fufpicion, and to obviite all 
 *' ebj colons and dangers that might b.fal fuch a fh ; p, the foieign merchant or- 
 " dered the S*ede to make a bill of fale of the fhip, in the Swede's own name, 
 " thongb he had not the leaft right to the fiiJ fh : p, nor did any part therein 
 " belong to him. An t f artifice has alfo been nfed, the more eafily to ob- 
 " tin the partes i.i Stockholm, vix. Some of thofe foreign merchants fent their 
 " fervants thither to be nude burghers, pro f^rma ; and by this means they 
 " procured the paffcs, although fiuh ftrvant had neither eflate nor money for 
 h:mfelf, but was fuppljed by his mafler, who lived either in Holland, at Lu- 
 ' beck, or at Hamburgh, or tifewherc, opoa whole account this gUwious trace wts 
 " tarried tfn." 
 
 thing
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 397 
 
 thing he took to be right. Sir George therefore inGfted, that 
 the matter lliould be brought to- a fair trial, before the court of 
 admiralty : where, upon the clearelt evidence, it plainly appear- 
 ed, that thefe Swedifh ihips were freighted by French merchants, 
 partly with French goods, but chiefly with Indian merchandize, 
 which had been taken out of Lngliih and Dutch (hips ; and 
 that the Swedes had no further concern therein, than as they 
 received 2 per cent, by way of gratification, for lending their 
 names, procuring pafles, and taking other neceflary precautions 
 for fcreening the French merchants effects ; fo that the whole 
 of this rich fleet was adjudged to be good prize : and the cla- 
 mour that had been raifed againft Sir George Rooke, was con- 
 verted into general app!aufe b ! 
 
 He was again ordered to fea, though it was very late in the 
 year, and continued on the French coafrs till towards the month 
 of October, making luch detachments as were neceflary for fe- 
 curing our own homeward-bound trade, and that of the Dutch; 
 which he performed very fucccfsfully, as the gazettes of that 
 nation gratefully acknowledge ; and the campaign and the war 
 ending together, he gave the neceflary orders for laying up the 
 
 b We may eafily guefs at the evidence upon which thefc fr.ips were declared 
 hwful prize, from the fo!l<v*in htttr of inftruftion, written by a French mer- 
 chant, to John Conrad Dobcrik, dated July 16", 1696. 
 
 " 1 think ym, that y u will help Martin Francen. I have bought a fly-boat 
 " here, of jo ton, for a gicd friend, and would gladly let her fail under 
 " your name, on condition that you (hould have a certain pr fit for it ; and l 
 ' Turing myfelf, that you will not retufc me, feeing it can be done without pre- 
 " judice to you. I have caufed the hill of iale to be made in your name, t;rz. 
 " That I have bought the faid (hip for your account and adventure. Now, T 
 " wculd fain have a (kipper come from Stockholm, who is a burgher there, and 
 " I judge it to be nectfTary, ift, That a notary's bill of fale be fcnt ovrr 
 " idly, T!>at a declaration be made before i notary, and witnefTes, that the faiu 
 11 Iliip doth beloi>g to y >n. 3 !ly, Tlut you write a le ter to the magifhate of 
 " Stockholm, to gram y, u to paf; ; and 4*.r.ly, To \vtiiea letter to Mr. Con- 
 " lad, to fend fucli a matter \vi;h a psfs, with order to follow my direction 
 " whilft you are in Sp^in. V.'r.en you come hither, we (hall agree what y u 
 " fhll have for each pafs th^t yo^i (hall (er,;l for here. The declaration before 
 " a notary I ft ill Tend you to f:gn, ard the witnefl;s who fubfcribe fh.ill be 
 " Luke Williarr'V-p, Marcu Bt-min, arid the br iker ; they not knowing other- 
 " wiie, but ihat I bought the ih:p for your account; in this ma..ne-r, no pais 
 " can be denied, and \\lien oiicc a pafs ii ukea ont, one may aiwayi be had, 
 ' 6-f." 
 
 great
 
 3 o8 M E M O I R S o t 
 
 great fhips, and then returned to town, where he was received 
 with equal fatisfaetion by all parties, having as yet done little 
 to difoblige thcfe who afterwards perfecuted him with the ut- 
 mofl rancour. 
 
 This violent refentment was chiefly owing to his conduct in 
 parliament ; for being next year elected member for Portf- 
 mouth c , and voting moftly with thofe that were called lories, 
 great pains were taken to ruin him in the king's opinion j but, 
 to the immortal honour of king William, when preiTed to re- 
 move Sir George Rooke from his feat at the admiralty-board, 
 he anfwered plainly, I WILL NOT. " Sir George Rooke 
 " (continued his majefty,) ferved me faithfully at fea, and I will 
 < never uifplace him, for acting as he thinks moft for the fer- 
 " vice of his country in the houfe of commons." An anfwer 
 truly worthy of a Britiih prince, as it tends to preferve the free- 
 dom of our confutation, and what is elTential thereto, the liber- 
 ty of parliament. The whole year 1699 was fpent in peace, fo 
 that Sir George Rooke had leiiure to attend his duty in the 
 houfe; which he did with very great conftancy, and behaved 
 there as he thought became him ; but was very rarely a Ipeaker, 
 though not at all deficient in that particular, as appeared, when 
 he was heard at the bar, on the builnefs of the Smyrna fleet in 
 1693. But in the fpring of the year 1700, a war broke out in 
 the north, which had like to have totr.iiy overturned the balance 
 of power in that part of Europe, through a iliameful confede- 
 racy, formed againft Charles XII. of Sweden, then in a manner 
 a child, which moved king William to fend a fleet thither to his 
 affiftance; which was undoubtedly the wifefl foreign meafure in 
 that whole reign ; and, as it was well concerted, Ib it was very 
 prudently and happily executed ; for Sir George Rooke, who 
 was entrufted with the command of the combined fleet of the 
 maritime powers, did their bufinefs effectually, by fuccouring 
 the Swedes, without opprefnng the Danes ; as I have fhewn in 
 its proper place, and have remarked, that the king of Sweden, 
 upon this occafion> gave a noble initance of his early genius, by 
 
 c The complete hil^ry of Europe for 170?, p. 389. Life of Sir George 
 Royke, p. 6:. Parliamentary rfgiftfr, p. 197. 
 
 penetrating
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, K N T. 399 
 
 penetrating Sir George Rooke's orders, from the confederation 
 of his conduct d . 
 
 Sir George Rooke was elected in the new parliament of 1701, 
 for the town of Portfinouth , which was not then confidered in 
 that light in which navy boroughs have lince ftood ; if it had, 
 they would have obliged the court in their members. Bi'hop 
 Burnet tells us, that though the miniftry had a clear majority, 
 in whatever related to the king's bufmefs, yet the activity of the 
 angry fide was fuch, that they had a majority in chufing the 
 fpeaker, and in determining controverted elections e . The truth 
 of the matter was, the miniftry perfuaded the king to abet the 
 intereft of Sir Thomas Littleton, againft Robert Harley, Efq; 
 afterwards the famous earl of Oxford ; and with this view his 
 majefty fpoke to Sir George Rooke, Sir Charles Hedges, and 
 feveral other perfons of diftinction, in favour of Sir Thomas ; 
 vhich however had not the defired effect, fince they voted for 
 Mr. Harley, who was accordingly placed in the chair. I men- 
 tion this, to fhew the fteadineis of Sir George Rooke, and to 
 prove, that he was a man who acted upon principle, and was 
 hot governed in his political conduct either by hopes or fears f . 
 
 Yet Sir George was for the war againft France, and for car- 
 rying it on vigorously; and, as I Ihall Ihew hereafter, he was 
 uniform in his conduct, though he had the misfortune to be 
 cenfured for want of vigour, merely becaufe he fhewed too 
 ftrong an inclination that way. I do not fay this from any lik- 
 ing 1 have to the maintaining paradoxes, or playing with words j 
 but becaufe I take it to be the fair truth, and that I could noc 
 exprefs it otherwife, without doing his memory injuftice 8 . 
 
 d Life of Sir George Rooke, p. 63. The c mplcte h-ftory of Europe for 
 1709, p. 389. S-e vol. iii. p. 253, 256. e Pailiamen:ary remitter, 
 
 p. 19-. Hittory of nis own times, vol. ii. p. 295. 
 
 f It was cert.-inly wrung in tke king to interfe e in this matter at all, btcaufe he 
 ran too great a. riik, in cafe of a di fappointment ; ana rx:-ericnc: wii! always (hew, 
 that in the end fuch princes are f.iteft, and moft ta;-py, as iuf.fr the m-caine of* 
 |overnrne!it to roll on, according to its natural conftruction, without umper 
 all; which ferves only to fpoii it, and expoi'c them extremely. 
 
 C The tea er, if he confults Burnet's hiftory, and compares it i:h Oldmixori's, 
 
 >;l! b.- convinced cf Lhc ;.uiu ot wUat 1 iaj, 
 
 Upon
 
 400 M E M O I R S o F 
 
 Upon the acceflion of queen Anne, in 1702, Sir George was- 
 conftituted vice-admiral, and lieutenant of the admiralty of Eng- 
 land, as alfo lieutenant of the fleets and feas of this kingdom h ; 
 and, upon the declaration of war againft France, it was refol- 
 ved, that Sir George Rooke (hould command the grand fleet 
 fent againft Cadiz, his grace the duke of Ormond having the 
 command in chief of the land forces '. I {hall not enter into 
 the hiftory of that expedition, becaufe I have already given the 
 beft account of it that was in my power k : I (hall only fay here, 
 that when it appeared to be a thing very difficult, if not imprac- 
 ticable, for the land-forces to make themfelves mafters of the 
 place, Sir George Rooke propofed bombarding it ; which occa- 
 fioned a long reprefentation from the prince of Hefle Dannftadt, 
 letting forth, that fuch a proceeding would entirely alienate the 
 affection of the Spaniards from the houfe of Auftria ; and as Sir 
 George could not but difcern the inconfiftency of this method 
 with the manifefto which had been publifhed in the duke of 
 Ormond's name and his own, he was prevailed upon to defift; 
 and when he had done this, he judged it beft to return home 
 both with the fleet and army ; the land and fea-officers unani- 
 moufly concurring, in that refpect, with him in opinion ; ex- 
 cepting only the duke of Ormond, and baron Sparr, who pro- 
 tefted againft it. Upon this opinion, for returning home, the 
 charge was founded againft him, for want of vigour, whereas 
 nothing can be more clear, than that Sir George inclined to act 
 more vigoroufly than his inftructions would permit ; and there- 
 fore when he faw that propofal rejected, and that nothing could 
 be done abroad, thought it the wifqft way to come home. Of 
 this he was certainly the beft judge, fince he had been often in 
 thole parts before, and knew very well, if once the Spaniards 
 took a resolution, fair words would not go far towards making 
 them alter it '. 
 
 b London Gazette, N. 3810. i The duke of Ormond had been ap- 
 
 f inteo commander in chief o rhe lar.d forcer, in the month preceding. L ndon 
 
 c, N. 5803. k See vol. iii. p. 9. ' Burchet's navaj 
 
 r.i^o y, book v. i:i<-p. x. Oldin xon's hiflory of the Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 289. Bur- 
 
 <'. I'., c. :-o. The eomple-e hiftory of Europe, for 1702. Li'e of Sir 
 
 t/tur t c F-Lcfc-,) f. 6S-~ipo. Buy IT'S lift cf <j'.'scO Aiie. 
 
 On
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 40 j 
 
 'On the 1 9th of September, 1702, the fleet failed 1 *, and had 
 for feveral days a fair but very gentle wind ; and, in their pa- 
 fage home, the admiral on the 6th of October received an ac- 
 count from captain Hardy, that the galleons, under the efcort of 
 a flrong French fquadron, were got into the harbour of Vigo j 
 upon which Sir George relblved to attack them ; and, having 
 declared this refolution the next day in a council of flag-officers, 
 they concurred with him, and it was unanimouily refolved to 
 put it in execution $ accordingly the fleet failed for ^ 7 ^go, and on 
 the nth of October came before the harbour of Rodondello, 
 where the French commodore,, to do him juftice, had neglected 
 nothing that was neceflary for putting the place into the beft 
 pofture of defence poffible, which, however, did not fignify 
 much; for a detachment of fifteen Englilh and ten Dutch men 
 of war of the line of battle., and all the fire-ihips, were ordered 
 in, the frigates and bemb-vecls were to follow the rear of the 
 detachment, and the great (hips were to move after them, while 
 the army was to land near Rodondello. The whole fervice was 
 performed under Sir George's directions with admirable conduct 
 and bravery, all the fhips deftroyed or taken, prodigious damage 
 done to the enemy,, and immenfe wealth acquired by the allies. 
 Afterwards the duke of Ormond, and Sir George Rooke, though, 
 he was much indifpofed with the gout, congratulated each other 
 on this glorious fuccefs, and then continued their voyage home, 
 arriving fafely in the Downs on the 7th of November j and the 
 admiral foon after came up to London 11 ,. 
 
 While the fleet and army were thus employed abroad, her 
 majefty had thought fit, from the advice of her miniflers, to call 
 a new parliament at home, to meet on the aothof Otober; of 
 which .parliament Sir George was, in his abfence, chofen a mem- 
 ber for Portfmouth ; and, as foon as he catne to take his feat ia 
 ihe houfe, the Speaker was directed, in the name of the com- 
 
 i" Burchet's navsj hiftory, p. Cij. London Gazette, N. 3850, 38*8. 
 Burnet's hift; ry of his own times, vol. ii. p. 331. Oldmixon's hiflory f the 
 Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 191. Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 615. Anrul; of queen Anne, 
 vol. viii. p. 363, 364. Life of Sir George Rooke, p. ioi. London Gazette, 
 3860. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 E
 
 mons of England, to return him thanks ; which he did in the 
 followin terms : 
 
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, 
 
 " You are now returned to this houfe after a moft glorious 
 " expedition : her majefty began her reign with a declaration, 
 " that her heart was truly Englifh ; and Heaven hath made her 
 " triumph over the enemies of England : for this thanks hath 
 '* been returned in a moft folemn manner to almighty God. 
 " There remains yet a debt of gratitude to thofe who have been 
 " the inftruments of fo wonderful a victory, (the duke of Or-* 
 " mond ajid yourfelf, who had the command of the fea and land; 
 (l forces). In former times admirals and generals have had fuc- 
 *' cefs againft France and Spain feparately, but this action at 
 " Vigo hath been a victory over them confederated together ; 
 " you have not only fpoiled the enemy, but enriched your own 
 " country ; common victories bring terrors to the conquered ; 
 " but you brought deftrudtion upon them, and additional 
 " ftrength to England. 
 
 " France hath endeavoured to fupport its ambition by the 
 " riches of India; your fuccefs, Sir, hath only left them the 
 *' burden of Spain, and ftripped them of the affiftance of it. 
 " The wealth of Spain and ihips of France are by this victory 
 " brought over to our jufter caufe. This is an action fo glorious 
 ' in the performance, and fo extenfive in its confequence, that, 
 as all times will preferve the qiemory of it, fo every day will 
 ' inform us of the benefit. 
 
 " No doubt, Sir, but in France you are written, in remark- 
 " able characters, in the black lift of thofe who have taken 
 French gold; and it is juftice done to the duke of Ormond, 
 " and your merit, that ihould ftand recorded in the regifrers of 
 " this houfe, as the fole inftrument of this glorious victory j 
 * therefore this houfe came to the following refolution : 
 
 ' Refolved, nemrie contradicentt t That the thanks of this 
 " houie be given to the duke of Ormond, and Sir George Rooke, 
 " for the great and fignnl fervice performed by them, for the 
 < e nation, at lea and land ; which thanks I now return you." 
 
 The complete hiftory rf Europe for the year 1701, p. 443. Chandler's de- 
 &ii;s vol. iii. p. Z44. Life of Sir Qssrgc Roukc, p. 116. 
 
 To
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 403 
 
 To this Sir George Rooke anfwered : 
 
 " Mr. SPEAKER, 
 
 " I am now under great difficulty how to exprefs myfelf on 
 " this very great occafion : I think myfelf very happy, that, in 
 " zeal and duty to yourfelf, it hath been my good fortune to be 
 " the inftrument of that which may deferve your notice, and 
 " much more the return of your thanks. 
 
 " I am extremely fenfible of this great honour, and fhall take 
 " all the care I can to preferve it to my grave, and convey it to 
 my pofterity, without fpot or blemifh, by a conftant affection, 
 t( and zealous perfeverance in the queen's and your fervice. Sir, 
 " no man hath the command of fortune, but every man hath 
 " virtue at his will ; and though I may not always be fuccefsful 
 " in your fervice, as upon this expedition, yet I may prefume to 
 " affiire, I (hall never be more faulty. 
 
 " I muftVepeat my inability to exprefs myfelf upon this occa- 
 " (ion; but, as I have a due fenfe of the honour this houfe hath 
 " been pleafed to do me, I lhall always retain a due and grate- 
 ful memory of it. And, though my duty and allegiance are 
 * ftrong obligations upon me to do my bed in the fervice of my 
 " country, I (hall always take this as a particular tie upon me 
 " to do right and juftke to your fervice upon all occaiioiib." 
 
 But, notwithstanding the queen's having celebrated this alion 
 by a day of thankfgivingP, that her example had been imitated 
 by the States-General 51 , this thanks of the houfe of common?, 
 and the queen's giving a feat to Sir George Rooke in the privy- 
 council 1 ', it was refolved to inquire into his conduct in the houfe 
 of lords, the reaibn of which is very candidly given by biftiop 
 Burnet* ; he tells us, that the duke of Ormond was extremely 
 angry with Sir George Rooke, had complained loudly of his 
 behaviour at Cadiz, upon his return home; and though hq was 
 afterwards foftened, that is, in the bifhop's opinion, by being 
 made lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and (b willing to drop his com- 
 plaint, yet he had fpoken of the matter to fo many lords, that it 
 
 P London Gazette, X. 5859, 3861. 1 London Gazette, N. 
 
 Lopion Gazette, N :> . >8$4. * Hiftory of his own tim;$, vol. ii p. 34:. 
 
 3 E 2 was
 
 404 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was impoflable to avoid an inquiry, though he might not thea 
 defire it. 
 
 A committee was accordingly appointed by the houfe of lords 
 to examine into the whole affair ; and they did it very effectually, 
 not only by confidering the inftrudYions and other papers relating 
 to the Cadiz expedition, but by fending for Sir George Rooke,. 
 and the principal fea and land officers,, all of whom were very 
 ftridtly examined. In his defence the brfhop admits, that Sir 
 George arraigned his inftructions very freely, and took very lit- 
 tle care of a miniftry, which, according to this prelate's account,, 
 took fo much care of him. 
 
 The truth of the matter was, Sir George fet the whole affair 
 in its proper light. He (hewed that, throughout the whole ex- 
 pedition, the enemy had great advantages r for, if it was confi- 
 dered on the peaceable fide, they had a king of Spain, called to 
 the fucceflion by the will of the laft king, and acknowledged by 
 the beft part of the nation ; whereas the allies had not then fet 
 p any other king, but invited the Spaniards, in general terms, 
 to fupport the intereft of the houfe of Auftria, which was very 
 inconfiftent with the temper and genius of a nation always dif- 
 ringuifhed for their loyalty: that, on the fide of war, the in- 
 ftructions feemed to eontradift themfelves ; for, whereas they 
 were impowered to ufe hoftilities, the declaration promifed peace 
 and protection r ; that, confequently,. whoever executed thefe in- 
 itruftions, would be liable either to a charge of mewing too- 
 much pity and concern for thofe people, or of not acting vigo- 
 roufly in the fupport of the common caufe ; and Sir George ob- 
 ftrved, that, by endeavouring to avoid giving grounds for either,, 
 be had drawn upon himfelf both thefe charges. 
 
 For, whereas he inclined to gentle methods when they firffc 
 came before the place, the conftruclion given to this was, that 
 he intended only to amufe and make a fliew, but that, finding 
 this indulgence had no effect, and that, after the outrages com- 
 mitted at Port St. Maries, there was nothing to be hoped for 
 from the Spaniards, he propofed bombarding the place ; which 
 mull have fucceeded r but that the prince of HcfTe Darmftadc 
 
 r See the declaration pobliftied by the dhke of Ormond at his firfl coming on 
 the Spaniili coafl, dited the nft of Aug. N. S. in the London Gazette, N. 384 j 
 The complete hiftory of Europe for I'TDS, p. 31*^ 
 
 protefted
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 405 
 
 protefted againft this, as an aciion that would alienate the people 
 entirely from the intereft of the houfe of Auftria; he then 
 thought that, as fair means would do nothing, and force was 
 not to be tried, the only meafore left was to return home. The 
 committee made their report, and the houfe pafTed a vote, 
 which fully juftifiej Sir George Rooke's conduct, the duke 
 thinking it proper to be abfent upon that occafion 11 . 
 
 In the year 1 703 Sir George Rooke was again at fea, but 
 waited fo long for the Dutch, that the fcheme, which was a very- 
 good one, and entirely of his own projecting, became imprac- 
 ticable j and as he was reftrained from faiHng, when he de- 
 fired, by orders from the lord high-admiral, fo he had orders 
 for failing, when he thcught the proper time was part ; which, 
 however, he obeyed, and continued for about a month upon the 
 French coafts ; and, having greatly alarmed them, returned back 
 with the fleet, having done lefs, indeed, than he could have 
 wiflied, but not lefs th.m might have been expelled from a fleet 
 in fuch a condition as his was, failing fo late in the year w . His 
 enemies indeed faid then, as they faid often, that he intended to 
 do nothing ; which can fcarce be believed >(! nee he was extreme- 
 ly ill when he took the command upon him j growing worfe, 
 defired to refign it * ; but afterwards, finding himfclf better, put 
 to fea y. This certainly looked as if he had the expedition 
 much at heart ; for, though fome men trifle with the affairs of 
 their country, yet certainly no man, who had common fenfe, 
 ever played the fool with his own health and fafety a . 
 
 u The moft natural ace -unt of the duke'* behaviour i<, that when he faw the 
 nnrcafonablcnefs of his own heat, ud the jufticc of the admiral's fcntiments, 
 clearly made our, he was alhamcd of the trouble he had giren the houfe, and, as 
 a man < f honour, retired, that his prefcnce might not put any of his friends 
 under difficulties. It mult be Kkewife observed, that the houfe of lords was not 
 at all difjofedto favour R><>ke's piny, but rather the concary, as appears by the 
 whole pi oceedings of that icfiion ; fo that nothing can be more partial than to 
 a cribe this vote to partiality. 
 
 w Burchet's naval hiftory, book 7. ch. 13. The complete hift^ry of Europe 
 f-r 1703. Life <,f Sir George Rooke, p. 119. London Gazette, N. 3905, 3907, 
 39 JI - * L ndon Gazette, N. 3911. y London Gazette, N. 3914. 
 
 * London Gazette, :5i j. ' St c v.-l. ii5. p. 3*, :?. 
 
 On
 
 M E M O I R S o t 
 
 On his return Sir George had a fcvere fit of the gout, which 
 obliged him to go down to Bath 3 , and then it was given out, 
 that he did this becaufe he was laid afide. But the contrary very 
 fpeedily appeared ; party-meafures were not yet fo ftrongly fup- 
 ported as to produce any event like this, and therefore, upon 
 his coming to town again, Sir George was as well received at 
 court as ever, ftood in the fame light with his royal highnefs 
 the lord high-admiral, and was foon after employed in a ftation 
 worthy of his chara&er, and of the high pofts he had already 
 filled b. 
 
 A refolution having been taken by the Britifh miniftry to fend 
 over king Charles III. of Spain on board our fleet, in the fpring 
 of the year 1 704, choice was made of Sir George Rooke to com- 
 mand the fhips of war employed for that purpofe ; and he (hew- 
 ed himfelf extremely active and vigilant in this fervice c . He was 
 at Portfmotith in the beginning of the month of February, where 
 he did every thing that could be expe&ed from him to haften 
 the expedition ; but finding that the Dutch were backward in 
 fending the fhips that were to have joined the fleet, and that the 
 king was extremely eager to be gone, he very generoufly made 
 a propofal for the furtherance of that defign; which fhews him 
 to have been as hearty towards the common caufe as any admi- 
 ral then living , for he offered to proceed with his Catholic ma- 
 jefty, without waiting for the Dutch, if he could have aflurance 
 given him, that he fliould have proper nffiftance fent after him 
 to Lifbon j and this alTurance, upon 1 which he infilled, was no- 
 thing more than putting Sir Cloudcfley Shovel at the head of 
 that reinforcement. 
 
 Sir George returned to Sr. Helen's on the iid of June with the fleet. Lon- 
 don Gazette, N. 3915. Burchet's naval hiftory, p. 641. 
 
 ' I have already given a full account of this matter, and therefore it is unne- 
 ceflary to detain the reader long upon it here. . I cannot, however, help intima- 
 ting, that thtiv feems 10 have been Jbmc fecret at the bottom of this ndertakirrj, r , 
 with which, hitherto, the wrrld is not thoroughly acquainted, and therefore 
 cannot fo perfeflly judge of the admiral's conduct; it may h-, poftericy will ob- 
 tain, from memoirs nrt hic.Serto publilhed, an exaft detail of the management of 
 the war in Spain, which would bring many fingular pafoges ti> light. 
 
 e Bui net's hiftory oi his own limes, Vui, ii. p. 354. Cldsiixoi]. Boycr's life 
 f queen Anoc. 
 
 This
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 407 
 
 This propofition was accepted, and Sir George failed on the 
 12th of February d , from St. Helen's, and continued his voy- 
 age fo happily to Lifbon, that he arrived there fafely on the 
 ?5th; the king of Spain exprefling the higheft fatisfaction in 
 refpedt to the admiral, and the zeal and diligence he had fhewn 
 in his fervice e . That this proceeded entirely from fentiments 
 of public fpirit, and not from any views of ingratiating himfelf 
 with that monarch, or any other foreign prince, is evident from 
 Sir George's refuting to gratify the kings of Spain and Portu- 
 gal, in a point of ceremony which he thought injurious to the 
 honour of the Britifh flag, of which we have given a large 
 account in the former part of this volume ; and yet neither of 
 the kings took this at all amifs, but treated him with the fame 
 regard and efteem as before f . 
 
 When the expedition againft Barcelona was fint fet on foot, 
 Sir George Rcoke immediately concurred to the utmoft of his 
 power, and the fleet arrived fafely before that city in the begin- 
 ning of May 5 the troops on board were, with great difficulty, 
 inade up two thoufand men, by volunteers from the fleet; and 
 yet, with this handful of forces, the place might poffibly have 
 been taken, if the partizans of the houfe of Auftria, initead of 
 holding private confutations, had ventured upon fome vigorous 
 refolution, and executed it immediately s ; but they met fo of- 
 ten, and to fo little purpofe, that king Philip's viceroy difcover- 
 ed the delign, and arreited the perfons who were at the head 
 of it i which fruftrated the whole affair, and engaged even the 
 
 d Burchet's naval hiftory, book y. chap. xvi. Lond. Gaz. N. 3993. 
 
 c That prince prefented Sir George Rooke with a fword, the hilt of which 
 was fet with diamonds ; a buckle f T a hatband, adorned in like manner, and alfu 
 a button and loop. He gave captain Wilhart hii picture fet with diamonds, and 
 two hundred guineas. One hundred guineas to Sir George Rooke'* ucretarj, 
 and various other prcfcr.u to the reft of the officeri. 
 
 f See vol. iii. p. 59. 
 
 8 Here fomething might have been done, if there had been a fuflicient num- 
 ber of land forces ; for the people were tnungh inclined to revolt, if they had not 
 be'en det?fred by thtir fears. My Spanilh author paints this finely ; the male, 
 contents, fays he, durft riot join fo fmall a body of troops, and fo ( permanent) 
 tra-,.. nee remained Soya!, with the btft will in 
 
 the world to have cted othciwilc. 
 
 gallant
 
 493 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 gallant and enterprizing prince of HefTe Darmftadt, to defire 
 the admiral to re-embark the troops, which he accordingly 
 did ". 
 
 The attempt on Barcelona having thus miscarried, the admi- 
 ral, though not joined by the reinforcement from England* 
 chnced the Breft fquadron into Toulon; and having afterwards 
 palled through the Streights-mouth, joined Sir Cloudefley Sho- 
 vel, with the fleet under his command, off Lagos ; and conti- 
 nued cruizing for about a month, in expectation of orders from 
 home, or from the court of Spain. On the I7th of July, be- 
 ing in the road of Tetuan, a council of war was called, in 
 which feveral fchemes were examined, but were all found to 
 be impracticable ; at laft, Sir George Rooke propofed the at- 
 tacking of Gibraltar, which was agreed to, and immediately 
 put in execution; for, the fleet arriving there on the 2ift of 
 the fame month, the troops, which were but eighteen hundred 
 men, were landed the fame day; the admiral gave the lignal 
 for cannonading the place on the 22d, and, by the glorious 
 courage of the Englifh feamen, the place was taken on the 24th, 
 as the reader will fee by Sir George Rooke's own account ', 
 
 which 
 
 fc Burchet's naval hiOory, p. 670, 7?, 676. Bnrnet's hiftory of his own 
 t'.r.ics, vol. ii. p. j8. The complete hiftory of Eun.pe, for 1704, p. 183. Life 
 of Sir George Rooke, p. 113. London Gazette, N. 4->i8, 4035. 
 
 J This is to be found in the London Gazette, N. 404;, and whoever c^nfidfri 
 the confequence of this atlion, and compares it with the modcfty of Sir George 
 Rooke's cxpteilions, will need no other character of the man. 
 
 41 The i ?th of July, the fleet being then about feven leagues to the eaflward 
 *' of Tetuan, a council of war was held on board the Royal Catherine, wheie- 
 41 in it was refolved to make a fudden attempt upon Gibraltar; and accord- 
 ' inoly the fleet failed thither, and the lift got into that bay j and, at three 
 " o'clock in the afternoon, th marines, Englifn and Dutch, to the number 
 41 of 1800, with the prince of H^lT; at the head of them, were put on fliorc 
 " on the neck of land to the northward of the town, to cut off any commu. 
 <( r.ication with the country. His highnefs having ported his men there, fent 
 *' a fummons to the governor to furrender the place, for the fervice of his 
 " Catholic majcftyj which he rejected with great obftinacyj the admiral, ou 
 " the nd in the morning, gave orders that the (hips which had been appoini- 
 * ed to cannonade the town, under the command of rear-admiral Byng, and 
 " rear-admiral Vanderduilen, as alfo thofe which were to baticr the fouth 
 ,* mols head, commanded by captain Hicks of the Yarmouth, fhould range 
 iccocdin^ly j but tLe wind bljvung contrary, they c >uld nor 
 
 ". poflibly
 
 SIR GEORGE R O O K E, K N T. 409 
 
 which we have placed at the bottom of the page. After this 
 remarkable fervice, the Dutch admiral thought of nothing but 
 returning home, and actually detached fix men of war to Lii- 
 bon j fo little appearance was there of any engagement. 
 
 But, 
 
 " poflibly g*t into thrir places, till the day wa? fp-nt. In the mean time, to 
 " amuie the enemv, ciptain Whitaker w.'.s fen: with feme boats, who burnt a 
 " French privates r of twelve gn s at the rrole. The 231, foon af'er break of 
 " day, the (Kips l-eing all placed, the admiral gave the fig<-.al for beginning 
 " the cannonade: which was performed with veiy g-eat lu y, aboe I5,oco 
 *' dot being made in five or f:x hou:s time againft the t >wn, infomuch that 
 " the ene.ny were foon b^at fiorn their guns, efpecially at tl e f uth mole- 
 " hed: wh^reup^n the admiral, c.nfidering that by gaining th; f rtificatioi 
 " they fr.ouU of conftquence rtdjce the to.vn, ordered captain Whitaker, 
 ' with a!! the boats, arme.1, to endeavour to pofle's himfeli" or it ; wh'ch w*s 
 " performed with treat expedition. En: cjptjin Hicks, and capiain Jumper, 
 " who lay next the mole, had pushed afliorc wiih their pinr.acef, and fomt: 
 " other boats, before the reft ccu;d c^rrsc up j whtrcupjn the enemy fpning 1 
 " mine, that blew up the fortifications upon the mole, killed two 1'eute: avs, 
 " and about fo ty men, an wounccd about fixiy. Hav.cv;r, our men kejt 
 " pofleffion of the great platf,rm which they had made themirlves rraflers o', 
 ** and captain Whiiaker landed wiih the refl cf the feamen which had been 
 " oidered upon this fcrvice ; the/ a Ivanced, a took a redcubt, cr frrall 
 " bftion, half way between the m^le and the town, and pofieire.l tl,CTifclv; 
 *' of many of thj enemy's canncn. The zdmiral then fent a letter to tr.e go- 
 ' vernor, and at the fame time a mefTage to the prince of HefTe to fen-l to him a 
 " peremT'orv fuiimons ; whicn M-- highnefs did accordirg'y; aid on tUe 4th 
 " in the morn ; rf, ths governor defining to capitulate, homages were exchanged, 
 " and the capitulation b'-in conc'u-ied, the prince mar:htd imo the town in the 
 " evening, and ti>ok ppf!eni..n of the land and noith-molegate $, and the out-works. 
 " The articles are in fuhftance as u.'low : 
 
 I. That the ga riibn, offcrrs and faldiers, may depart, with thtir ncce/Tary 
 * ms and Sagi-jjf, ?nd the orfice-f and ot.'.er gen KKIC.I <.f the tcwn .-nay allo cauv 
 their ho.fi* with them j tiiey may likev. lit h<vc whit boats they ji.a'.l li^Vc ociac:} 
 
 II. Ti at they m^y tak? o-jt of th: garr ; on thrfe {,i<cei of trafs canron, of dif- 
 fereat weight, with twelve charges of powJer and ball. 
 
 III. That they may tike provinces of tresJ, wine, acd fleft, for fix day* 
 rna ^h. 
 
 IV. That nnne of the offir-rs ha^aje be fcnc'e 1 , although it '..e 
 tut in c'rc : s rr tru k. . Tin t'le g-rjfon depart in three cays; ant! iVch ol 
 the : r nece.raries as th:y cannot carry out with co.ive n'encv, may remain in the 
 g.irrifo.1, and be afterv ards fent for; and th^t they (hall have \kt lib;r<; to 
 make ufe of fomc ca;:s. 
 
 VOL. III. ~T V. Th.t
 
 M O I R 
 
 o F 
 
 But, on the pth of Auguft, the French fleet, undsr flic" 
 command of the count de Thouloufe, was firft fcen at fea, and 
 Appeared to be by much the ftrongeft that had been equipped" 
 during this whole war;. the Engliih admiral, however, refolved- 
 to do all that lay in his power to force an engagement. I have 
 already given a fair account k of the battle which followed off 
 Malaga, and alfo the relation publimed by the French court ; 
 but I purpofely referveJ Sir George Rookc's own account, as 
 published by authority, for this place, to which, indeed, it 
 properly belongs. It was dated from on board the Royal Ka- 
 therine, off Gape St. Vincent, Auguft 27, O. S. 1704, and 
 addreiTcd to his royal highnefs prince George of Denmark '. 
 It runs thus : 
 
 " On' the pth inftattt, returning from watering our fhips on 
 ' the coaft of Barbary, to Gibraltar, with little wind eafterly, 
 tf our fcouts to the windward made the llgnals of feeing the 
 enemy's fleet ~ r which, according to the account they gave, 
 * confifted of fixty-fix fail, and' were about ten leagues to 
 windward of us. A council of flag-officers was called,. 
 c wherein it was determined to lie to the eaftward of Gibral- 
 * tar, to receive and engage them. But perceiving that night, 
 by the report of their ijgnal guns, that they wrought from 
 
 V. That fuch inhabitants', and fokJiers, and- officers of the town, a are willing 
 to remain there, fhal! have the Ume privileges they enin ed in the time of 
 Chitk-s II. and the : r religion and tribunals (hall rema n untouched, ujon coiidition 
 that thry take an oath of fidelity to king Ch*r'.es Hi. as tiuir lawful ki,-,g aaj 
 Bi fter. 
 
 Vf. That they fhall difcovrr all their mag.zinesof powder, and other ammuni- 
 tior, rr pn vifionS" and arms, that may be in the city. 
 
 VII. That all the French, and fubjeds nf the French king, are exclude 1 from 
 any part of thcfe caf i.uhticrs, and all their e!?ech lhali remain ai our difpofal, and 
 llu-ir pcrfons prifvnersof v.ar. 
 
 " The town is exrrtmely firong, and bad an h-jndred guns iruur.ted, all 
 " facing the ft 2, and the two narrow pjfTes to the l*nd, and' was well (applied 
 " with ammunition. Tl t orrcsts, who have viewed the fort fica' ions, affirm 
 ' here never was fuch an attack --s the Icamen tnide; ftr that fifty men might 
 * l have defendfd thofe ^oiks rgainft thoufonds. Ever fir.ce our coming 10 the bay, 
 ** grtat numbers of" Spar.iarcs have appeared on the hills; but none of them have 
 ' thought fit to advance Cowards us." 
 
 * Sec TO!, iii. p. 67. 1 See the Lor.d. Gar. N. 4054.
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 41* 
 
 us, we followed them in the morning, with aE the fail we 
 M could make. 
 
 " On the nth, we forced one of the enemy's fhrps a-fhore, 
 " near 'Fuengorolo ; the crew quitted her, fet ler on fire, and 
 * { fhe blew up immediately. We continued fti-11 purfuing them ; 
 -* and the 12th, not hearing ai>y.of their guns -all night, r.or 
 *' feeing any of their >fcouts in the morning, our admiral had a 
 jealoufy they might make a double, and, by the help of 
 ** their gallies, flip between us and -the fhore to -the weftward : 
 *< fo that a council of war was called, wherein i; was refolved, 
 " That, in cafe we did not iee the enemy before night, we 
 " fhould make the beft of our way to Gibraltar; but ftanding 
 *' in to the fliore abovt noon, we difcovered the enemy's fleet 
 " and gallies to the weftward, near Cape Malaga, going very 
 ." large. We immediately made all the fail we could, and con- 
 ' ttnued the chace all night. 
 
 " On Sunday the I3th, in the morning., we were within 
 .'* three leagues of the enemy, who brought to, with their 
 " heads to the foufhward, the .wind being eafterly, formed 
 ' their line and lay to to receive us. Their line confifted 
 .* of fifty-two (kips, and twenty-four gallies ; they were very 
 " ftrong in the centre, and weaker in the van and rear, to ftip- 
 <" ply which, moft of the gallies were divided into tiiofe iquar- 
 ' ters. In the center was monfieur de Thouloufe, with the 
 " white fquadron , in the van the white and blue, and in the 
 ? l rear the blue; each admiral had his vice and rear-admirals : 
 " our line comifted of fifty-three fhips, the admiral, and rear- 
 /' admirals Byng and Dilkes, being in the center; Sir Cloudef- 
 < { ley Shovel and Sir John Leake led the van, and the Dutch 
 '* the rear. 
 
 " The admiral ordered tlie Swallow and Panther, with the 
 *< Lark and Newport, and two fire-fhips, to lie to the wind- 
 .' ward .of us, that, in cafe the enemy's van fliould pufh through 
 our line .with their gallies and fire-fiiips, they might give 
 " them fome diverGon. 
 
 " We bore down upon the enemy in order of 'battle, a little 
 
 * after ten o'clock, when being about half gun-fhot from them, 
 
 ' they fet all their fails at occe, and feemed to intend to flretch 
 
 *' i-hcad and weather us, fo that our admiral, after firing a 
 
 3 F 2 < chace r
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " chace-gun at the French admiral, to ftay for him, of which 
 " he took no notice, put the fignal out, and began the battle, 
 " which fell very heavy on the Royal Katherine, St. George, 
 " and the Shrtwfbury. About two in the afternoon, the ene- 
 <c my's van gave way to ours, and the battle ended with the 
 " day, when the enemy went away, by the help of their gal- 
 " lies, to the leeward. In the night the wind Ihifted to the 
 northward, and in the morning to the weftward, which gave 
 " the enemy the wind of us. We lay by nil day, within three 
 " leagues one of another, repairing our dt:k:cls 5 and at night 
 " they filled and flood to the northward. 
 
 " On the I5th, in the morning, the enemy was got four or 
 " five leagues to the weftward of us; but a little before noon 
 " we had a breeze of wind eafterly, with which we bore down 
 < on them till four o'clock in the afternoon : it being too late 
 " to engage, we brought to, and lay by with our heads to the 
 " northward all night. 
 
 " On the 1 6th, in the morning, the wind being ft ill eafterly, 
 " hazy weather, and having no light of the enemy or their 
 " fcouts, we filled and bore away to the weftward, fuppcfing 
 41 they would have gone away for Cadiz ; but being advifed 
 tf from Gibraltar, and the coaft of Barbary, that they did not 
 " pafs the Streights, we concluded they had been fo feverely 
 " treated as to oblige them to return to Toulon. 
 
 " The admiral fays, he muft do the officers the jufticeto fay, 
 " that every man in the line did his duty, without giving the 
 " leaft umbrage for cenfure or reflection, and that he never 
 <f obferved the true Englilh fpirit fo apparent and prevalent in 
 " our feamen as en this occv.fion. 
 
 ' This battle is fo much the more glorious to her majeuVs 
 f arms, bccaufe the enemy had a fuperiority of fix hundred 
 " great guns, and likewife the advantage of cleaner fhips, be- 
 " ing lattly come ouc of port, not to mention the great ufe of 
 their gallics, in towing on or off their great (hips, and in 
 " fupplying them with frerti men, as often as they had any kil- 
 led or difabled. But all thefe difadvantages were furmounted 
 by the bravery and good conduct of our ofBccrs, and the un- 
 *' daunted courage of our feamen." 
 
 On
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KKT. 413 
 
 On the return of Sir George Rooke to Portfmouth, and co- 
 ming up from thence to Windfor, where the court then reGded, 
 he was extremely well received by the queen, and his royal 
 highnefs the lord high-admiral m . Bur, unluckily tor him, the 
 battle off Malaga was, fome way or other, compared to that 
 of Blenheim, fought the fame year ; which made the matter of 
 fact a point of party-debate, and in the addrclTes lent up from 
 all parts of her majefty's dominions, the Whigs took ail ima- 
 ginable care to magnify the duke of Marlborough's fuccefs, 
 without faying a word of the viclory at fea ; whereas the To- 
 ries were equally zealous in their compliments upon both n j 
 and, to fay the truth, both of thefe battles v.x-rc decillve j 
 that of Blenheim put an end to the influence of France in the 
 empire, as that off Malaga extinguiihed the French power at 
 fea. 
 
 Amongft thefe addreffcs, the following was the mod remark- 
 able; it was prefented by hir Richard Vyvyan, bart. and James 
 Buller, Efq; knights cf the (hire for the county of Cornwall, 
 attended by the representatives of boroughs in that county, and 
 the principal gentry, introduced by the lord Granville, lord- 
 warden of the Itannarics : the addrefs itfelf being penned by a 
 relation of his, whofe writings will always do honour to the 
 Engliih language . 
 
 '" To the QJJEEN's moft excellent majcfty : 
 
 " Permit, madam, the landlords, bounders, adventurers, 
 " and whole body of the tinners of Cornwall, with hearts full 
 " of all dutiful acknowledgments, to approach your mnjefty, 
 " who want words to exprefs their gratitude, their joy, their 
 " admiration, for the wonderful fucceis of your majeity's arms, 
 under the conduct of his grace the duke of Marlborough. 
 
 " Never was fuccefs greater in all its circumftance?, a defign 
 " more fecretly carried on, fo efTetlually fupported from home, 
 
 Lo-d^n GazeVf, N. 4058. n E\<h >p Furnet's liiflory of h^sowa 
 
 times, vol. i ; . p. 391. B.yer'i life of ^ueen Aii.ie, p. 154. OUiT.ixon's 
 l.ilory of the Stmrts, vol. ii. p, 340, 341. Life ol" Sir George Reck?, r- J 35' 
 
 Lend. Gi:. N. 4074.
 
 414 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ** fo vigoroufly executed abroad, on which no lefs than the li- 
 ** berty of Europe depended ; a caule worthy the beft of prin- 
 c ces, a victory worthy the greateft of generals, which will 
 " tranfcnit to ail future ages your majefty's name truly great ; 
 " great for. deliverance, not for oppreffion. 
 
 " But it is not enough that your majefty triumphs at land ; 
 " to complete your glory, your forces at fea have likewife done 
 *< wonders. A fleet fo much inferior, in fo ill a condition, by 
 *< being fo long out, in fuch want of ammunition, by taking 
 tf Gibraltar without gallies, which were of fo great fervice to 
 tl the enemy : all thefe difadvantages confidered, nothing cer- 
 " tainly cculd equal the conduct of your admiral, the bravery 
 *' of your officers, the courage of your feamen during the en- 
 *' gagemect, but their conduct, their bravery, and their cou- 
 <c rage after it, whereby they perfected a victory, which other- 
 " wife, in human probability, muft have ended in an overthrow ; 
 *' an alion as great in itfclf as happy in its consequences. 
 
 " May your majefty cever want fuch commanders by fea an4 
 *< land, fuch adminiftration in the management of the public 
 <c treafure, which fo much contributes to the fuccefs of armies 
 *' and of fleet?. 
 
 <c May your majefty never want (what fare you never can) 
 * c the henrts, the hands, the purfes, of all your people. Had 
 " not we (madam) of this county inherited the loyalty of our 
 <f anceftors, {which your majefty has been pleafed fo gracioufly 
 <c to remember), fuch obligations muft have engaged the utmoft 
 " refpeci ; and fuch all of us will ever pay to your facred per- 
 '* fon and government, as with one voice we daily pray, LONG 
 <* LIVE QUEEN ANNE, to whom many nations owe their 
 *< prefervation." 
 
 This, and fome other addrefFes of the like nature, alarmed 
 the minifrry extremely j and they took fo much pains to hinder 
 ..Sir George Rooke from receiving the compliments ufual upon 
 fuch fucceiTes, that it became vifible he muft either give way or 
 a change very fpeedily happen in the adminiftration. Yet even 
 the weight of the miniftry could not prevent the houfe of com- 
 mons from complimenting the queen, exprefsly upon the advan- 
 ob'ained at fea tinder the conduct of our admiral ; but the 
 -o were under a more immediate influence -it
 
 SIR GEORGE KOOKE, KNT. 41$ 
 
 that time, was entirely filent j the commons, however, as if 
 they intended to pufh this matter as far as it would go, prefent- 
 cd another addrefs on the ad of November, in which they de- 
 fired her majefty to beftow a bounty upon the feamen and land- 
 forces, who had behaved themfelves fo gallantly in the late ac- 
 tions at fea and land p . 
 
 This determined the point, and Sir George Rooke perceiving 
 that, as he rofe in credit with his country, he loft his interefc 
 in thofe at the helm, refolved to retire from public bufinefs, and- 
 prevent the affairs of the nation from receiving any difturbance 
 upon his account. Thus, immediately after he had rendered 
 iuch important fervices to his country, as the taking the fortrcfs 
 of Gibraltar, and beating the whole naval force of France m 
 the battle off Malaga, (the la ft engagement which, during dm 
 nvar, happened between thefe two nations at fea), he was con- 
 ftrained to quit his command ; and as the Tories had before 
 driven the earl of Orford from his pott, immediately after the 
 glorious victory at La Hogue, fo the Whigs returned them the 
 compliment, by making ufe of their afcenclency to the like good 
 purpofe, with regard to Sir George Rooke : fuch is the effect 
 or. party-fpirit in general ! fuch the heat with which it proceeds I 
 fuch its dangerous and deitructive effects, with rcipect to tl:c 
 welfare of the ftate * ! 
 
 After this ftrange return for the fervices he had done his 
 country, Sir George Rooke palled the remainder of his days a& 
 a private gentleman, and for the moll part at his feat in Kent. 
 His zeal for the church, and his ftrict adherence to the Tories,, 
 made him the darling of one fet of people, and expofed him no- 
 lefs to the averfion of another; which is the reafon that an hil- 
 torian finds it difficult to obtain his true character, from th? 
 writings of thofe who flourished in the fame period of time., 
 For my part, I have {luclieu his actions, and his behaviour, and 
 from thence have collected what i have delivered of him, with- 
 out favour or prejudice : he was certainly an olficer of great 
 merit, if either conduct or courage could entitle him to thac 
 
 P Sec Chandler's debates, vol. iii. p. ^93, 394. Annali of qncrn Ar.ne, v I. 
 >v. p. 151, 153. Oh!mix;,n, a:;d c.ther wii;ers. 1 liurchet, tutnu. 
 
 Oldmixon, complete hiilury of liuropc, for die year 1709. Annuls ofijui.cn 
 viuae, Lik of r;uccn Ar.i.r, Mtn.u.ii of l>ir George lUcke, i :. 
 
 character.
 
 M E M O I R S OF 
 
 character. The former appeared in his behaviour on the Irifli 
 Nation, in his wife and prudent management, when he preferved 
 io great a part of the Smyrna fleet, and particularly in the tak- 
 ing of Gibraltar, which was a project conceived and executed 
 in leis than a week. Of his courage he gave abundant teftimo- 
 nies j but efpecially in burning the French (hips at La Hogue, 
 and in the battle off Malaga, where he behaved with all the 
 reloluticn of a Britiih admiral ; and as he was firft in com- 
 mand, was fir/I alfo in danger. 
 
 In party-matters, he was, perhaps, too warm and eager, for 
 all men have their failings, even the greateft and beft ; but in 
 action he was. perfectly cool and temperate, gave his orders 
 with the utmoft ferenity, and as he was careful in marking the 
 conduct of his principal officers, fo his candour and juflice were 
 always confpicucus in the accounts he gave of them to his lupe- 
 riors; he there knew no party, no private con (iderations, but 
 commended merit wherever it appeared. He had a fortitude of 
 mind that enabled him to behave with dignity upon all occa- 
 fions, in the day of examination as well as in the day of battle ; 
 and though he was more than once called to the bar of the houfe 
 of commons, yet he always efcaped cenfure ; as he likewife did 
 before the lords ; not by fluffing the fault upon others, or 
 meanly complying with the temper of the times, but by main- 
 taining fteadily what he thought right, and fpeaking his fenti- 
 ments with that freedom which becomes an Englishman, when- 
 ever his conduct in his country's fcrvice is brought in queflion. 
 In a word, he was equally fuperior to popular clamour, and po- 
 pular applaufe ; but, above all, he had a noble contempt for 
 foreign interefb, when incompatible with our own, and knew 
 not what it was to feek the favour of the great, but by perform- 
 ing fuch actions as deferved it. 
 
 In his private life he was a good hufband and a kind matter, 
 lived hofpitably towards his neighbours, and left behind him a 
 moderate fortune : fo moderate, that when he came to make his 
 will, it furprized thofe that were prefent ; but Sir Geoxge afiign- 
 ed the reafon in few words. " I do not leave much^Taid he, 
 
 '^^B 
 
 " but what I leave was honeftly gotten, it never colt a failor a 
 tear, or the nation a farthing." As to this laft article,! can- 
 not but take notice, thatj even after he was laid afide, a privy 
 
 leal
 
 SIR GEORGE ROOKE, KNT. 
 
 feal was offered him for paffing his accounts, but he refufed it, 
 and made them up in the ordinary way, and with all the exaft- 
 nefs imaginable. 
 
 The gout, which had for many years greatly afflicted him, 
 brought him at laft to his grave, on t-he 24th of January i 708-9, 
 in the fifty-eighth year cf his age. Sir George was thrice mar- 
 ried ; firfl, to Mrs. Mary Howe, the daughter of Sir Thomas 
 Howe of Cold Berwick, in tlie county of Wilts, baronet: 
 next, to Mrs. Mary Lutterel, daughter of colonel Francis Lut- 
 terel of Dunfter-caftle, .in Sornerfetfhire, who died in child-bed, 
 of her firft -child, in the month of July, 1702 ; and, laftly, to 
 Mrs. Katherine Knatchbull, daughter to Sir Thomas Knatch- 
 bull of Merfhem-hatch, in the county of Kent, baronet; by 
 which wives he left only one fon, born of the fecond, George 
 Kooke, Eiq; the foie heir of his fortune 1 ". 
 
 But his executors took care'to fecure his memory, by erect- 
 ing a beautiful monument ia the cathedral church of Canterbu- 
 ry, with an excellent character of the deceafed infcribed there- 
 on, and which, as well for the beauty of the ftyle as the exafit 
 fettling of facts and dates, it may not be amifs to exhibit at the 
 clofe of this life ; -the rather becauie it is among the fmall num- 
 ber of infcriptioris which feem to be, in fome meafurc, equal to 
 the worth of the eminent perfons whofe praifes they record. 
 The executors of Sir George Rooke were William Bro^dnax, 
 and Samuel Miller, Efcjrs. 
 
 I. M. S. 
 
 Georgii Rooke Militis, 
 Gulielmi Rooke, Militis filii, 
 
 Anglicc Vice-Admiralli 
 
 Oh quantum eft hiftoriie in ifto nomine I 
 
 At quantillum hie titulis potis eft enarrare ! 
 
 Frofugientibus ex Acie Gallis Anno MDCXCU. 
 
 fpfe apertS Cymbula. 
 
 Immiftus tormentorum globis, 
 
 Imbribufque glandiuin 
 
 f The complete hilory of Europe, for 1709, p. 396. Annals of qncen Anne, 
 ii. viii. p. 354. Pointer's chronological hiflorian, vol. ii.p. ($41. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 G fTot
 
 4 i8 M E M O I R S OF 
 
 (Tot Gallis teftibus credite pofteri) 
 Ukrices primus flammas aptans, 
 Naves Bellicas XIII. juxta La Hogue combuffit 
 Compofitis dehinc inter Suevum et Danum 
 
 Summo confilio, et juftitia difcordiis; 
 
 Et pacato feptentrione, ad Meridiem fe convertit, 
 
 Jterumque exufta aut capta ad Vigonem 
 
 Tota Prrelidiatrice hoftium ClaiTe, 
 Atque onerariis immenfice molis argento feeds 
 
 In Patriam feliciter addudtis, 
 
 Opimam prajdam, fide integerrima 
 
 In JErarium publicum deportavit. 
 
 Gibraltariam copiis navalibus 
 
 Paucioribus horis cepit 
 
 Quam poftea menfibus irrito conatu 
 
 Juftus obfidebat exercitus. 
 
 Et eadem fere imprefiione 
 
 Inftruciiffimam Gallorem claflem 
 
 Inferior multo viribus, 
 Confilio et fortitudine longe fuperior, 
 denuo in aciem prodituram, profligavi^. 
 
 Carolo III. ad folium ~) 
 Hifpaniis ad Libertatem > viam aperuit- 
 
 Europae ad Pacem j 
 His atque nliis exantlatis laboribus 
 
 Ileroi Chriftiano, 
 Ob egregiam in Ecclefiam pietatem 
 
 Ob fidem Gulielmo magno, 
 
 Et ANN^E OPTIMA 
 
 SanlifTime femper prxflitam ; 
 
 pb^s T onien Britannicum per terrarum Orbem 
 
 Amplificatum & decoratumj 
 
 Non titulos fuperbos 
 
 Non opes invidiofas, 
 
 Nee inanes vulgi plaufus ; 
 
 Sed optimx maitis confcientiam, 
 
 Bonorum amorem omnium, 
 
 Otium in paternis fedibus 
 
 Et .T.orrcuT in Chrifto conccffit Deus. 
 
 Obii
 
 GEORGE CHURCHILL, Esq. 419 
 
 Obiit XXIV. die Januar. Anno ^Etat. fuse LVIII. Chrifti 
 MDCCV11I. 
 
 MEMOIRS of GEORGE CHURCHILL, Efq; 
 Admiral of the White, one of the Lord High-admi- 
 ral's Council, Groom of the Bed-chamber to Prince 
 GEORGE of Denmark, &c. 
 
 AS there are fome who feem born to eafy fortunes, and to 
 a fafe and quiet paffage through the world j fo there are 
 others unlucky enough to be continually expofed to envy, 
 though not excluded from honours. This arifes from different 
 caufes, but chiefly from the want of popular talents, of which 
 many are deprived by nature, and not a few neglecl: the ufe. 
 I cannot fay whether the firft was the misfortune, or the fecond 
 the fault, of the gentleman whofe life I am at prefeiit to confi- 
 der ; but certain it is, that few men were more expofed to envy 
 than he ; efpecially if we remember, that he rofe no higher in 
 his profeffion than might feem the juft reward of his fervices. 
 But, however he might be perfecuted by this i'pirit in his life- 
 time, there feems to be not the leaft reafon that the effects of 
 popular diflike fhould attend his memory ; and, therefore; it 
 fhall be my bufinefs to give as clear and candid an account of 
 his actions as I can ; and this without any bias either from fa- 
 Tour or prejudice. 
 
 He was the fecond fon (his grace the duke of Marlborough 
 being the eldeft) of Sir Winfton Churchill, knt. clerk of 
 the board of green- cloth, and of a worthy family in Dorfet- 
 fhire 5 . He was born in the year 1652, fome fay in February, 
 1653 c , and entered early into the fea-fervice, where he alwavs 
 behaved with great courage and reputation, and this added to 
 the intereft of his family, procured him the command of a man 
 of war before he was quite thirty, which was a thing very un-r 
 ufual in thofe days. In the reign of king James II. he was 
 
 * See the infcription npon h's monument. Antiquities of the abbey of \VcO- 
 miuner, v.>l. ii. p. 10, -.o. c LtdiariTs lite gf John, duke, of 
 
 Mar!b;r&ugh, vol. i. ; 
 
 % 3^2 made
 
 MEMOIRS o tf 
 
 made captain of the Newcaftle u , a fourth rate ; and fbon atte? 
 the revolution he had a third rate given him. In the famous 
 battle of La Hogue he commanded the St. Andrew, a fecond: 
 rate, in which he performed as good fervice as any officer in 
 the fleet, according to all the accounts that were publifhed of 
 that engagement w ; and yet, very foon after v he quitted the 
 fervice, for which feveral reafons were affigned ; but the true 
 one is faid to have been the promotion of colonel Aylmer to- 
 the rank of rear-admiral, who being a younger oflker, Mr. 
 Churchill could not think of ferving unxJer him, but retired, 
 and lived privately for fome years x . 
 
 I (hall not take upon me to cenfure this part of his conduct; 
 though I muft fay, that I think it would be a very difficult talk 
 to juftify it ; fince every man is bound to ferve his country, 
 whether he be rewarded or not ; and, therefore, every refigna- 
 tion of this fort is ufually attributed to a narrow and felfifh fpi- 
 rit, though it is not impartible it may fpring from a nobler prin- 
 ciple ; however, it is better certainly for an officer to avoid all 
 thofe fteps in his conduct that are liable to fuch finifter inter- 
 pretations. 
 
 In the year itfpp, he had an opportunity of coming again 
 into bufinefs ; for the current then bore fo hard on the earl of 
 Orford, who was at the head of the admiralty, that he found 
 it necefTary to refign y -, upon which a new commiflion iflued, 
 and another before the clofe of the year, in which admiral 
 George Churchill was, arnongft others, included, and in which 
 he continued near two years ; and then king "William was plea- 
 fed to declare Thomas, earl of Pembroke, lord high-admiral*,, 
 which threw him out again, though but for a very fhort time ; 
 fince, upon the acceflion of queen Anne, and the promotion 
 of her confort, prince George of Denmark, to be lord high- 
 admiral, he was appointed one of hi? council a , and was refto- 
 red to his rank in the navy b , which was chiefly owing to the 
 
 Pfpyi's memoir* of the royal navy of England, p. itftf. * Burchet's 
 
 jwvsl hiftory, p. 460. x The complete hiftory of Europe, fqr 
 
 J7ic, p. 15. y Btirnct's hiliory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 137. 
 
 Oldmixon'i hiflory of the S:uarts, vul. ii. p. 193. Life of king William, 
 p. 516". z Burnci's hiftcry of his own times, vol. ii. p. 313. 
 
 London Gszftte, N. 3811. b Lond. Gaz. N. 3810.
 
 GEORGE CHURCHILL, Esc^ 42? 
 
 high degree of favour in which he ftood with his royal high- 
 ncfs ; who, among many other virtues which adorned his cha- 
 racter, was for none more remarkable than for fteadily fupport- 
 ing fuch as he had onee honoured with his friend fliip. 
 
 His being made adrr.iral of the blue, had the fame effect up- 
 on admiral Aylmer, as it is confidently faid the promotion of 
 that gentleman had a few years before upon Mr. Churchill - y 
 for he immediately quitted the fervice, and remained for feverai 
 years unemployed. But, whatever iatisfalion Mr. Churchill 
 might receive from this victory over his rival, it is very certain 
 that lie could not be faid to enjoy much pleafure in the poft to 
 which he was raifed ; for, during the fix years he fat at that 
 board, as his royal highnefs's council was continually attacked, 
 fo Mr. Churchill, in particular, had a double portion of that 
 fpite and refentment devolved upon Imn, with which our great 
 lolfes at fea infpired many of our merchants; and this was very 
 probably increafed by the warmth of the admiral's temper, who 
 had a very free way of fpeaking, and took, perhaps, too gruat 
 liberties with men of inch importance L . 
 
 For, as the naval power of Great Britain arifes abfolutely 
 from her extenfive trade, and the number of fhips employed 
 therein, it is very certain that there is a great refpetl due to 
 thofe who carry on that trade, and ate thereby fo very inftru- 
 mental to the wealth, profperity, and grandeur of this nation, 
 which are all founded upon its commerce. However, Mr. 
 Churchill maintained himfelf, by his intercft with prince George, 
 not only againft the clamours of the many, and the intrigues of 
 the few, but againft feverai addrettes and representations of the 
 houfe of lords, which were particularly calculated for his re- 
 moval. 
 
 His royal highnefs deceafmg on the 28th of October, 1708; 
 the commiCion which impowerecl his council to at, naturally 
 determined; and thenceforward admiral Churchill led a private 
 life, at a pleafant houfe he had in Wind for- P<irk, where he 
 conftructed the fmeft aviary that was ever feen in Britain, which 
 he had collected with great care, and at a vaft exper.ce. T!u.> 
 collection of bir,!s, at his deceufe, he left to his two intimate 
 
 c - Hurpft's hifl^ry rf ' i- own rim?*, vol. ii. O.dn.lxi-i.'i hiilory of ihs 
 S.Uiru, vol. ii. Boycr, and i\\ cur writers. 
 
 fricmSi
 
 422 M E M O 1 R S o P 
 
 friends and patrons, James, duke of Ormond, and Arthur, earl 
 of Torrington d . He was never married, but dying in very- 
 good circumftances, he left the beft part of his fortune to his 
 natural ion. He deceafed on the 8th of May, 1710, in the 
 58th year of his age, and was buried, with great funeral fo- 
 lemnity, in the fouth ifle of Weftminfter-Abbey % where a 
 beautiful monument has been ere&ed to his memory, with the 
 following elegant Latin infcription ; which I infert as one of 
 the moft curious pieces of its kind that is any where to be met 
 with ; and as it contains a very full character of him, I need 
 not add any thing further upon that fubjeft. 
 
 P. S. E. 
 GEORGIUS CHURCHILL, 
 
 "VVinftonii eqnitis aurati ex agro Dorceftrienfi 
 
 Filius natu fecundus ; 
 Invittiffimi Ducis Marlburii 
 
 Frater non indignus 
 
 A prima juventute militue nomen dedit 
 
 Et fub regibas Carolo et Jacobo 
 
 Terra mariq; 
 
 Multa cum laude meruit. 
 
 Sereniflimo Principi Georgii de Dania 
 
 Per viginti plus annos \ cubiculis 
 
 Fide, obfequio, moribus 
 Gratum fe reddidit et charum. 
 
 Regnante Guliclmo 
 
 Quo die clafTis Gallica ab Anglis 
 
 Ad oras Neuftriae fugata et combufta eft! 
 
 (Die Temper memorabili) 
 
 Eo animi vigore et fortidunine pugnavir. 
 
 Quo Ducem Anglum decuit 
 
 Mox ab eodem rege, 
 
 jqtiiffim6 meritorum judice, 
 
 Unus e commifTariis admiralliac conftitutus 
 
 J The c*>mp!ere hift. of Europe, fof 1710, p. 16. e Lediard's lift 
 
 offhcdukeof Mailborough, vol. i. p. 8. Annals of queen Anne, vol. ix. p. 
 4i5. Le Neve's moi.umcru Ang!-c*na, p. iS). 
 
 Res
 
 DAVID MITCHELL, KNT. 423 
 
 Res maritimas, quarum erat peritifiimus, 
 
 Curavit diu et ornavit 
 Sub foeliciflimo demum Annre imperio 
 Inftaurato iterum bello contra Gallos, 
 Infeftiffimos hoftes Britanni nominis 
 
 Ex admirallis unus 
 
 Et celfiffimo Principi Daniss 
 
 Magnaj totius Britannia admirallo 
 
 Fadlus e confiliis 
 Curarum omnium et laborum particeps 
 
 Domino fuo 
 
 Foslicidimam navabat operam, 
 Donee fradtae gallorum vires 
 
 Toto mari ceflerant 
 Inde principis optimi lateri adhrerens 
 
 Ad extremum ufq; diem 
 Omnia grati piiq; animi oflicia 
 
 Periolvit : 
 Laboribus tandem et morbis confectus, 
 
 Inter amplexus & lachrymas 
 
 Amicorum, clientum, et fervorum, 
 
 Quos humanus, officiofus, liberalis, 
 
 Grates devinftos & fideles habuit, 
 
 Pius, tranquillus, animofus, caelebs 
 
 Obijt viii. Maij. 
 
 jEtat. LVIII. 
 
 MDCCX. 
 
 MEMOIRS of SIR DAVID MITCHELL, KNT. 
 Vice-admiral of the Red, one of the Lords-commif- 
 fioners of the Admiralty, and of the Council to 
 Prince GEORGE of Denmark, 
 
 AMONG other reafons, of which there are many, for 
 preferving, as far as poilible, the memoirs of deferving 
 perfons deceafed, who have rofe to that degree of eminence by 
 the fervices they have rendered to their country, this is not the- 
 
 leafl-
 
 Jeaft confiderable, vis. to engage others to proceed as they 
 have done, and to deferve like honours from a like conduct. 
 It is certainly the higheft encouragement to behave well, to fee 
 that in preceding times men have afcended thereby to the high- 
 eft honours of which their profeflions were capable ; and this 
 without the countenance of great relations, or the afilftance of 
 any other friends than thofe procured to them by the difplay 
 of their own defert. But, if this be a thing of confequence in 
 every fituation of life, it is much more fo in refpect to naval 
 affairs ; for as there are none of the fubjects of Great Britain 
 more ufeful, or who reflect more honour upon their country, 
 than fuch as are employed in the navy, fo there is nothing that 
 contributes fo highly to the fupport of that generous fpirit, and 
 invincible courage, by which they have been always diftinguifh- 
 ed, as the thoughts of their being able to rife in their own pro- 
 feflion, by mere dint of merit, and without borrowing any 
 help from thole kinds of arts, to which, from their education 
 and manner of living, they muft be necefiarily ftrangers. This 
 it was that chiefly induced me to preferve fuch fragments as I 
 could collect in relation to the life of Sir David Mitchell, who 
 was promoted without envy, lived with univerfal reputation, 
 and died with the character of an experienced fcaman, and a 
 worthy honeft gentleman. 
 
 He was defcended from a very reputable family in Scotland, 
 though of fmr.ll fortune; and at the age of fixteen, was put out 
 apprentice to the matter of a trading veflel who lived at Leith f ; 
 with him Mr. Mitchell continued feven years, and afterwards fer- 
 ved as a mate on board feveral other fhips, especially in northern 
 voyages ; by which he not only acquired great experience as 
 a fcaman, but alfo attained the knowledge of moft modern lan- 
 guages ; which, with his fuperior ikill in the mathematics, and 
 other genteel accomplifhments, recommended him to the favour 
 of his officers, after he had been prefled to fea in. the Dutch 
 wars. At the revolution he was made a captain, and being re- 
 markable for his thorough acquaintance with maritime affairs, 
 a-i-.i known to be firmly attached to that government, he was 
 
 :' qoc?r A:..,- Th.- ccr-pN: i.iftory cf liir-pr, for
 
 SIR DAVID MITCHELL, KNT. 425 
 
 very foon diftinguifhed and promoted ; fo that in April 1693, 
 he commanded the fquadron that convoyed the king to Hollands, 
 and having, by this means, an opportunity of converfing freely 
 and frequently with his majefty, became much in his favour, 
 that prince, the 8th of February preceding, having made him 
 rear-admiral of the blue h ; and not long after, appointed him 
 one of the grooms of his bed-chamber. In 1694, Sir David 
 Mitchell, being then a knight, and rear-admiral of the red, fail- 
 ed with admiral RulFel into the Mediterranean j and on the ad- 
 miral's return home, he was appointed to command in chief a 
 fquadron left in tho& feas ; in the execution of which commif- 
 fion he behaved himfelf with great reputation' ; and, in 1696, 
 ferved under Sir George Rooke, with whom he lived in great 
 friendfhip k , notwithftanding he owed his rife and fortunes, in 
 fome meafure, to the kindnefs of admiral RuiTd, in procefs of 
 time earl of Orford. 
 
 I have already taken notice, in the former volume, that he 
 brought over, and carried back, his Czarim majefty, Peter the 
 Great, emperor of Ruffia, who was fo extremely pleafed with 
 the company of Sir David Mitchell, (from whomj he often pro- 
 fefied, he learned more of maritime affairs than from any other 
 perfon whatever), that he offered him the higheft preferments 
 ^n Mufcovy, if he would have accompanied him thither ; but his 
 propofal was not agreeable either to Sir David's circumftance-. 
 or inclinations ; for having, on the death of Sir Fleetwood 
 Sheppard, been appointed gentleman-ufher of the black rod ', 
 and having alfo his pay as a vice-admiral, he had no reafon to 
 quit the fervice of his native country, even to oblige fo great a 
 prince. 
 
 In his paffage from Holland, his Czarifh majefty afked admi- 
 ral Mitchell, who gave fatisfalory anlvvers to all his maritime 
 queftions, the manner in ufe in the Britifh navy, of correcting 
 lailors who deferved punifliment ; when the admiral mentioning 
 keel-hawling, among many others, that prince ^defired it might 
 be explained to him, not by words, but by experiment ; which 
 
 6 London Gazette, N. a? 58. h LoftJon Gazette, N. 2843. 
 
 i Burchtt's naval hill ry, p. 519. k The complete hirtcry of Europe 
 
 for 1710, p. 30. I Aniuh of queen Anr.e, vol. ix. p. 418. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 H the
 
 426 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 the admiral excufed, as not having then an offender who rfe- 
 ferved it. The Czar replied, " Take one of my men," but Sir 
 David informed him, that all on board his Oiip were under the 
 protection of the laws of England, and he was accountable for 
 every man there, according to thofe laws, upon which that mo- 
 narch perfifted no farther in his requeft m . The king likewife 
 directed admiral Mitchell to wait on the Czar to- Portfmouth, 
 and put the fleet out to fea which lay at Spithead, on purpofe 
 to entertain him with a mock engagement, which he had feen, 
 alfo in Holland, but not fo much to his fatisfaction, it affording 
 his imperial majefty fo great pleafure, that he declared he 
 thought an Engliih admiral a much happier man than a Czar 
 ef Mufcovy "". 
 
 His (kill and conduct as a feaman, and his perfect acquain- 
 tance with every branch of naval affairs, rendered him extreme- 
 ly ufeful, as his polite behaviour made him agreeable to every 
 adminifrration. Upon the accefiion of queen Anne, Sir Dr.vid 
 Mitchell was appointed one of the council to prince George of 
 Denmark, as lord high-admiral, in which honourable office he 
 continued till the year before the prince's death, when he was 
 laid afide ; but upon another change of affairs he was fent over 
 to Holland, with a commiffion of great importance, which was 
 *o expoftulate with their High Mightinelfes, about the deficien- 
 cies of their quotas during the continuance of the war, which 
 commiflion he difcharged with great honour p . This was the 
 laft public aft of his life ; for, foon after his return to England, 
 he deceafed, at his feat called Popes, in Hertford/hire, on the 
 firft of June, 1710, with as fair a reputation as any man of his 
 rank and character could acquire, and Kes buried in the parifh- 
 church of Hatfield in the county before-mentioned q . 
 
 WE have now finifhed, not only the naval hiftory, but the 
 navah memoirs of this reign, by annexing the beft accounts we 
 
 Oldminn's hiftory of ihe Stuarts, vol. ii. p. 167. n The hiftory of 
 
 the life cfPter I. emperor of RiifTn, by John Motley, Efj; edit. 1740, 121110. 
 vol. i. p. 78- London Gazrtte, N. 3^12. P See the in- 
 
 fcription on hit Tr.omiment. London Gazfttf, N. 4089, 4095. 1 The 
 
 fomplfte hiflory of Europe, for 1710. Pointer's chronological Liftoiijn, vol. 
 :i. p. 675, LeNtvc'i jronuiMcriU/ins'icsna, p. igS, zotf. 
 
 could;
 
 OF QJJ E EN ANNE. 427 
 
 could coHeb of thofe great men who ferved their country under 
 the happy aufpice of this illuftrious princefsj l ^e few things 
 that remain to be faid, are of a miscellaneous nature, and 
 are brought in here, becaufe they relate to naval affairs, and 
 fo are connected with our hiftory more than with any other, 
 and are at the fame time of too great importance to be 
 fuffered to fleep in oblivion, -while it is in our power to fiwe 
 them. 
 
 Of all the reigns fince the conqueft, it may be truly faid, that 
 the Britifh ronftitution never appeared with greater luftre, than 
 under that of the queen 4 by which I mean, that the preroga- 
 tive, or influence of the crown, was never Ids exerted than by 
 queen Anne and her minifters. 
 
 Thus immediately after the peace of Utrecht, in order to fiiew 
 the care a-nd concern that was had for the trade of the nation, 
 the commiflioners appointed for taking and fhting the public 
 accounts, directed Dr. Charles D'Avenant, dire&or-general of 
 the exports and imports, to lay before them dirtincfc annual ao 
 counts of the importations and exportations of all commodities 
 into and out of this kingdom, which he accordingly did, with 
 his own remarks and reflexions; a thing of very great impor- 
 tance to the (late, and a precedent worthy of imitation; becaufe, 
 without fitch authentic grounds, it is limply impoflible that any 
 probable conjecture fliould be made as to the growth or decay 
 of our -commerce in genera-!, or how far it is, or is not, affect- 
 ed by the encouragement or difcourjgernent of particular 
 branches; which, however, are points of great importance to 
 every government, and without a competent knowledge of 
 which, no miniitry can ever make a figure, or any parliament be 
 able to decide with certsinty, as to thofe points which are of 
 greatefl confluence to their constituents'". 
 
 At the dole of that work Dr. D'Avenant enters largely into 
 the advantages that might be made by a trade carried on direclly 
 
 r This report conGfti of two parts, 4r>th printed in 1711, 8\n. and fliew m . 
 tiy rccrivcd cpini-ns, in regjrd to the general curmerce, not to have been 
 founded in faft<, Vut rather in conjtftures, and fomrtimes influenced by party 
 prejudices. The matters mentioned in the text, are to be IBCC wilh in the full 
 ftfoit, p. 74, 7j, 76, 7?. 
 
 3 H z into
 
 4 28 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 into the South-feas, and that in terms which (hew plainly, the 
 commerce of this company was not, even in a commercial fenfe, 
 fo vifionary a thing as the enemies of the lord high-treafurer 
 Oxford, its patron, pretended for he there fays plainly, that 
 ihis company naight extend the trade of the nation by vending 
 its commodities and manufactures in unknown countries, and 
 gives his reaions why he fo thought. I muft confefs, that I ne- 
 ver underftood the fcope of this great man's reafoning upon that 
 f ubjecl till I read a book lately publifhed by Mr. Dobbs, where- 
 in he has fhewn, with great public-fpirit, how this may be done, 
 either by difcovering a north-weft paffage into thofe feas, and 
 fixing colonies in the countries beyond California, or by profe- 
 cuting thofe difcoveries that have been already made by the 
 Dutch, and fome of our own navigators, in refpeft to the Terra 
 Auftralis, through the Straits of Magellan, either of which 
 would open to us a new commerce, infinitely more advantageous 
 than that of Spain to her Indies, becaufe thefe new-difcovered 
 countries are fo fituated, as that their inhabitants muft itand in 
 \v.>.!it of our goods, at the fame time that they ftand polTeiTed of 
 gold, filver, fpices, and other rich commodities, which muft 
 vome to us in return ; and therefore Dr. D'Avenant had greac 
 icafon to fuggeft, that the new South-fea might prove as bene- 
 ikial to Britain as her old Eaft India company. This very dif- 
 courfe of his, being addrefied to the commiffioners for taking 
 iind dating accounts, is the clearefl demonftration, that, when 
 the South-fea company was ere&ed, there was a profpecl of thefe 
 advantages, and that, with a view to thefe, the powers of the 
 company were rendered fo extenfive, and their capital made fq 
 large 5 . 
 
 If this has not hitherto been done, Aill however it may be 
 done, fince the fame powers remain vefted in the company by 
 their charter; and it is the more reafonable, that fomething of 
 this fort fhould be attempted, becaufe the Affiento contract is now 
 given up. Befides, if we are able to fettle any new colonies in 
 that part of the globe, we fliould be able to trade with the Spa- 
 niard^ without an Affiento, and fecure to ourfelves fuch a pro- 
 
 * n account of thecrmn'rirs ,-ulj iningto Hudfon's bay in the north weft part 
 c-i Americ.;, <rc, by Arthur Dobta, Efq; London, 1744, 410, p. \66 169. 
 
 portion
 
 OF QjJEkM ANNE. 42$ 
 
 portion of commerce as might perhaps equal all that we now 
 poffefs. But, if it fhould be found, that, notwithftanding thefe 
 extenfive powers, the company is either not inclined, or difabled 
 to carry on fuch a new trade, then I humbly think it will be 
 high time for the legislature to transfer thofe powers to fome 
 other body-corporate, that may be able and willing to exert 
 them, and this with fuch claufes of emendation or reftri&ion, as 
 the experience we have fince had of the management of public 
 companies (hall fuggeft to be either necefiary or expedient c . 
 
 In the fame report by Dr. D'Avenant there are feveral other 
 curious remarks on almoft all the branches of our commerce; 
 and if fuch a general ftate of trade as this were to be laid before 
 the parliament, once at leaft in every reign, we fhould then be 
 able to judge both of the efficacy of the laws already made, and 
 of the ufefulnefs and expediency of new ones. But it is now time 
 to return from this digreflion, into which I was led by the de- 
 fire of preferving a hint which feems fo very capable of improve- 
 ment, to the laft acts of the queen's government and lifa, with 
 which I fhall conclude this chapter. 
 
 The treaty of Utrecht, which put an end to our difputes 
 Abroad, proved the caufe of high debates and great diftrac"tions 
 at home. The people grew uneafy, the miniftry divided, and 
 the heats and violence of party rofe to fuch a height, that her 
 majefty found herfelf fo embarralled, as not to be able either to 
 depend upon thofe in power, or venture to turn them out. The 
 uneafmefs of mind, that fuch a perplexed fituation of affairs 
 oceafioned, had a very bad effect upon her health, which had 
 been in a declining condition from the time of prince George's 
 death ; and this weaknefs of her's ferved to increafe thofe difor- 
 ders in her government, which were fo grievous to herfelf, and 
 fo detrimental to her fubje&s: for her minifters, forgetting their 
 duty to her and their regard for their country, confulted only 
 their ambition and their private views ; fo that, whenever they 
 
 t The refti tude of grafting and continuing an eiclufive trade to any company 
 has been warmly difputcd; but fiirc the impropriety of continuing exclusive 
 powers to a company, that carries on no commerce, will not admit of any dif- 
 all. 
 
 jnet
 
 NAVALH1STORY 
 
 met in council, they ftucRd rather to crofs each other's propo- 
 fals, than to fettle or purfue any regular plan ; and to fuch a 
 monftrous extravagance thefe jealoufies rofe at laft, that it is be- 
 lieved a quarrel between two of her principal minifters, in her 
 prefence, proved, in fome meafure, the caufe of her death". 
 
 For being at Kenfington, to which {he had removed from 
 Windfor, (he was feized on the 2pth of July with a drowiinefs 
 and finking of her fpirits, and the next day, about feven in the 
 morning, was ftruck with an apoplexy, and from that time con- 
 tinued in a dying condition. About three in the afternoon (he 
 was fenfible, and, at the requeft of the privy-council, declared 
 the duke of Shrew(bury lord high-treafurer of Great Britain, 
 though he was already lord-chamberlain, and lord-lieutenant of 
 Ireland, This was the laft act of her adminiftration , for the 
 council now took upon themfelves the direction of public affairs, 
 appointing the earl of Berkley to hoift his flag on board the fleet, 
 and fending general Whitham to take the command in Scotland, 
 nnd likewife difpatched orders for the immediate embarkation of 
 fcven Britifh battalions from Flanders. In the mean time the 
 queen continued in the hands of her phyficians and domeftics, 
 fome of whom flattered tiiemfelves with falfe hopes to the laft ; 
 but, the blifters not riling, her majefty about feven in the morn- 
 ing, on the firft of Auguft, 1714, breathed her laft w . The fol- 
 lowing character I have taken from a hiftory of her reign in MS. 
 which now, in all probability, will never be printed : 
 
 ANNE STUART, daughter to James II. king of England, csV. 
 was born at Sr, James's, February 6, 1664-5, ac 39 n 'i nutes P a ft 
 eleven at night. She was tenderly and carefully educated; and, 
 fiaving from nature the moft valuable gifts, (lie became a very 
 r.ccomplifhed princefs. She was moderately tall, nnd well-pro- 
 portioned, her complexion and fhnpe excellent, till her conftitu- 
 tion was impaired by grief and ficknefs. She appeared to beft 
 nd vantage fpeaking; for flie had a clear harmonious voice, great 
 good fenfe, and a very happy elocution. Her piety was unaffcci- 
 
 " ?v*emo:rs of th: four !afl years of the reign of queen Anne, p. 31 j, jitJ. 
 w Lamberti, IOTC viii. p. 657, 65?. where there is a very curi-ui and circutn- 
 fiantwl account of her irajcfty's bsliaviour in her lau momects. 
 
 ed;
 
 F QJJ EENANNE. 431 
 
 ed ; her humility fincere ; her good-nature very confpicuous, bus 
 would have been more fo, had it not been inherent in her fami- 
 ly. As a wife, fhe was the pattern of conjugal fidelity, without 
 any affectation of fondnefs. Her tendernefs, as a mother, to her 
 children, was regulated by the rules of reafon and religion ; but 
 her indulgence, as the mother of her fubjecls, knew no bounds. 
 It was her only foible, that the uprightnels of her own intentions 
 left her without fufpicion. Her affection for her people was fo 
 apparent, that it was never doubted, and fo tirmly rooted, as to 
 be difcernable in her laft words. With a juft fenfo of her own 
 high dignity, fhe had a true concern for the rights of her fub- 
 jecls, and a ftrong paffion for the glory of the nation ; fhe loved 
 public-fp:rit, and encouraged it ; and, though fhe was naturally 
 magnificent and generous, yet fhe was frugal in her private cx- 
 pences, not to hoard, but to beftow on the neceffities of the 
 fbte. She gave her tenths to the clergy, which will remain a 
 Lifting monument of her zeal for the church. The many good 
 laws, and the numerous happy events which fell out in her reign, 
 will ever preferve her memory in efteem with thofe who wifh 
 well to the ftate. In a word, flie was bleffed with all the en- 
 dowments that could make a woman admired, and exerted all 
 the virtues neceflary to make a monarch beloved. At her death 
 her lofs was thought irretrievable, and few who remember her 
 have altered their opinions. It would be improper to fay more, 
 and ingratitude to have faid lefs. 
 
 Her majefry had iflue by the prince of Denmark, r. A daugh- 
 ter, that was ftill-born the I2th of May, 1684; 2. Lady Mary, 
 a fecond daughter, born the id of June, 1685, and died in Fe- 
 bruary, 1690; 3. Anne Sophia, who was born the 12th of 
 May, 1686, and died the February following ; q. William, duke 
 of Glourefter, born the 24th of July, 1689, who lived to be 
 eleven years of age; 5. The lady Mary, born October 1690, 
 who lived no longer than to be baptized ; 6. George, another 
 Ion, who died alfo foon after lie w as- born. 
 
 ABSTRACT
 
 432 N A V A L H I S T O R Y, feV. 
 
 ABSTRACT of the ROYAL NAVY, as it flood at the 
 Death of the QUEEN. 
 
 Rates. Number. Guns. Men. 
 
 I- 7 74 
 
 f *l 
 
 II. 
 
 13 
 
 1170 
 
 7194 
 
 III. 
 
 39 
 
 2890 
 
 16,089 
 
 IV. 
 
 66 
 
 3490 
 
 16,058 
 
 V. 
 
 32 
 
 1 190 
 
 4160 
 
 VI. 
 
 *5 
 
 500 
 
 1047 
 
 182 9954 49,860 
 
 Fire-fliips, 
 about 
 
 LIVES
 
 C 433 ] 
 
 LIVES 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ADMIRALS: 
 
 INCLUDING A NEW AND ACCURATE 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Containing the Naval Hiftory of GREAT BRITAIN, 
 from the acceffion of king George I. to the time of 
 his demife. 
 
 WE are now to enter on a new period of thnc ; and a 
 great change in our government, brought about by a 
 ftatute made in the twelfth year of king William III. 
 for limiting the fucceffion of the crown ; by which, after the 
 death of the queen, then princefs Anne, without iiTue, it was to 
 pals to the moft illuftrious houfe of Hanover, as the next Pro- 
 teftant heirs : for the princefs Sophia, eleftrefs-dowager of Hano- 
 ver, was daughter to the queen of Bohemia, who, before her mar- 
 riage with the elector Palatine, was ftiled the princefs Elifabeth 
 of Great Britain, daughter to James VI. of Scotland, and I. of 
 England*; in whom united all the hereditary claims to the im- 
 perial crown of thefe realms. 
 
 x Star, n \Vi!!. III. cap. j. fcft. i. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 I But
 
 NAVAL HIS TORT 
 
 But the princefs Sophia dying a very little while before 
 <}ueen, GEORGE-LEWIS, elector of Hanover, her Ton, became 
 heir of this crown on the demife of queen Anne, and was ac- 
 cordingly called to the fuccefilon, in the manner directed by an- 
 other ftatute palled in the fourth year of her majefty's reign *. 
 
 For, by that law, the adminiftration of the government, im-- 
 mediately on the queen's death, devolved on feven perfcns na- 
 med in the aft, in conjunction with as many as the fuccefibr 
 fbould think fit to- appoint, in the manner directed by that 
 law z . 
 
 The feven juftices fixed by the ftatute were, the archbifhop 
 of Canterbury, Dr. Thomas Tennifon , the lord high-chancel- 
 lor, Simon, lord Harcourt ; the lord-preildent of the council, 
 John, duke of Buckinghamshire ; the lord high-treafurer, Charles, 
 duke of Shrewfoury ; the lord privy-feal, William, earl of Dart- 
 mouth ; firft lord-commiffioner of the admiralty, Thomas, earl 
 of StrafFord ; and lord chief-juftice of the King's-Bench, Sir 
 Thomas Parker. The lords juftices appointed by the fucceflbr 
 were, the lord archbifhop of York, Sir William Dawes - y the 
 dukes of Shrewfbury, Somerfet, Bolton, Devonfhire, Kent, 
 Argyle, Montrofe, aud Roxborough ; the earls of Pembroke, 
 Anglefea, Cariifle, Nottingham, Abingdcn, Scarborough, and 
 Orford ; the lord vifcount Townfhend ; and the lords Halifax 
 and Cowper a . 
 
 Thefe lords juftices, the fame day the queen died, ifFued a 
 proclamation, declaring the acceffion of king George I. and 
 commanding him to be proclaimed through all parts of the 
 kingdom ; which was done accordingly. On the next day they 
 fent the earl of Dorfct to his majefty, to invite him over j and 
 on the 3d of Auguft the lor<l high-chancellor, in the name of 
 
 y See Burnct's hiftory of his own times, vol. ii. p. 431434. 
 
 z It may not be amifs to remark, that the eUdoMte was created in 1651, in 
 favour of du'^e Ernefl Auguflus of Hanover, his majcrty's father who, in iCpS, 
 was fucceedcd by this monarch in that quality, his mother the princefs Sophia, 
 being ftyled cleftrefs-dowager, who dcceafcd at the age of eighty four, June 8, 
 r 7 i 4) N. S. 
 
 Latr.berti, torn. viii. p. C$p, where there are various remarkable particn- 
 Iwn 
 
 the
 
 P K i * G G E O R G E J. 43- 
 
 the lords juftices, opened the fcflion of parliament by a fpeech 6 . 
 On the i yth of the Tame month, the earl of Berkley failed with. 
 a fquadron of fixteen men of war, and lix yachts, for Holland, 
 in order to attend his m.iiefty., where he was joined by eight 
 fhips of the States-Genera!, uader rear-admiral Coperen ; and., 
 to fecure the coafts and the channel, admiral Wager -was lent 
 down to Portfmouth, and Sir Thomas Hardy to Plymouth, to 
 equip fuch (hips as were fit i>>r fervice c . 
 
 His majeily arriving from Holland on the I 8th of September, 
 and making his public entry on the 2oth, took the reins of go- 
 vernment into his own hands ; and very foon made fome confi- 
 derable alterations in the feveral boards ; particularly in that of 
 the admiralty, which was clean fwept ; for, inftead of Thoma?, 
 e.r I of Stratford, Sir John Leake, Sir William Drake, John 
 .Aifiabie, Eiq, Sir James Wifhart, and Dr. John Clarke, who 
 were there on the demife of the late queen, his majefty appoint- 
 ed Edward, earl of Orford, Sir George Byng, George Doding- 
 ton, Efq; Sir John Jennings, Sir Charles Turner, Abraham 
 Stanyan, and George Bailiie, Efqrs d . In the month of No- 
 vember, Matthew Aylmer, Efq; was declared admiral and com- 
 mander in chief of his majdiy's fleet ; and, Toon after, Sir 
 Charles Wager, rear-admiral of the red, was i'ait to relieve Sir 
 James Wifliari in the Mcditerraneau c . 
 
 b O'dmixin's hirtory of Enlind, vol. ri. p. 56.3, 564. TirdaPs continuari r. 
 of Rapin, Y'!. :v. p. J93, 394. Annals of king George, vol. i. p. 34. 
 c Lediard'^ rav:il Ir.itory, va|. ii. p. 866* d Oldmixc'D's hiltory of 
 
 EP^! p. f6. A:.n.l; of kir.g George, vol. i. p. 237. Hiduiital rc- 
 
 . v 1. ii p. i*, in the appendix. 
 
 e In order to render the Athfecjuent hiftor more clear, it will be requisite to 
 give the reader a ihou (lite ot the commands in the navy, at ttie acctfiiun of kiug 
 Cecrge I. 
 
 Sir John Leake, Kniht, rear-admiral of Great Britain. 
 
 Ma'.the* Ayimcr, Ei'q; admiral and commander in chief of his msjefty'i fleet-. 
 
 Sir James Willurt, Kr.ight, admrr.il cf the white fquadron. 
 
 S:r J.'hn Korr:?, Knighr, admiral of the blue. 
 
 James, catl of Berkley, vicc^admind of the red. 
 
 Sir Edward W.-'irakcr, Knight, vice-admiral of the white. 
 
 J.ihn Baker, Elq, vice-admiral of the blue. 
 
 S r Gcmics Yt'.igtr, Knight, rear-admiral of the red. 
 
 Sir Hovenden \Va.ker, rear-admiral of the white, 
 
 $ir Thomas Hardy, Kjiight, rear-admiral of the blue. 
 
 3 I 2 Th3
 
 436 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The fubject of this work obliges me only to take notice of 
 fuch ats of the new government as relate to naval affairs ; and 
 therefore, after obferving that a new parliament was fummoned, 
 and met at Weftminfter, March the jyth, the next thing that 
 occurs is, that, on the ift of April, 1715, they came to a refo- 
 lution to allow ten thoufand feamen, at four pounds a-month ; 
 and, on the (pth of May following, granted 35,574!. 35. 6d. 
 for the half-pay of fea-officers ; 197,896!. 175. 6 d. for the 
 ordinary of the navy; and 237,277 1. for the extraordinary re- 
 pairs of the navy, and rebuilding of fhips. Thefe large fums 
 were thought neceffary, becaufe, at this juncture, the fleet of 
 Great Britain was very much decayed ; and it was forefeen, 
 that, notwithstanding the peace fo lately concluded, new ciifputes 
 w^re likely to arife, which might require frefh armaments f. 
 
 Amongft thefe difputes, the moft ferious was that in which 
 we were engaged with Sweden. This had begun before the 
 C]ueen's death, and was occasioned by the Swedifh privateers 
 taking many of our fhips, which, with their cargoes, were con- 
 iifcated, under a pretence that we allifted and fupplied the Czar 
 snd his fubjets with fhips, arms, ammunition, fe'r. contrary, 
 as was fuggefted, to our treaties with the crown of Sweden. 
 Mr. Jackfon, her jnajcfty's minifter at Stockholm, had prefent- 
 ed feveral memorials upon this fubjet, without receiving any fa- 
 tisfaclory anfwer ; and therefore it was now thought expedient 
 'to make ufe of more effectual means, viz. fvnding a ftrong 
 fquadron of men of war into the Baltic, the rather becaufe 
 their high mightinefTes the States-General, labouring under the 
 fame inconveniencies, found themfelves obliged, alter all pacific 
 methods had been tried in vain, to have recourfe to the fame 
 nieafures, in order to protect the commerce of their fubjeclss. 
 
 This once refolved, a fquadron of twenty fail was appointed 
 for this fervice, and the command given to Sir John Norris, 
 who was then admiral of the blue, and who had Sir Thomas 
 Hardy, rear-admiral of the fame fqwadron, to affifl him h . The 
 admiral hoifted his flag on board the Cumberland, a third rate, 
 
 f Annals rf king George, vol. i. p. 41?. Hiftorical reader, v I. i. p. 141. 
 
 Lambcfti, torn. viii. p. 815, where ihe matter is treated at large. 
 h When the commerce of Britain fuffcrs, a Bri i(h fiitt is tlic (picked and 
 pioft effectual remedy that can br applied. 
 
 having
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 437 
 
 having ten fhips of the line in his divifion. Sir Thomas Hardy 
 was in the Norfolk, a third rate alfo, and had in his diviiion 
 eight (hips of the line, thejVIermaid frigate of thirty-two guns, 
 and the Drake floop, which carried fixteen. This fleet failed 
 from the Nore on the i8th of May ', and arrived in the Sound 
 on the loth of June k following ; where finding the Dutch fqua- 
 dron, a conference was held on board the Cumberland on the 
 I4th, in which it w^s refolved, that the combined fquadron 
 ihould proceed together, with the Jtnglifli and Dutch merchant- 
 men under their convoy, for their refpeclive ports ; which they 
 performed accordingly by the clofe of die month 1 . 
 
 One of the rirft things Sir John Morris did, was, to difparch 
 an exprefs to the court of Stockholm, in order to be fatisfied 
 whether the Swedes were refolved to go on in their practice of 
 feizing and confifcating our fliips ; or whether, before it was too 
 late, they would confcnt to enter into a negociation for deter- 
 mining the difputes which had arifen between the two nations. 
 The anfwer he received was fo loofe and uncertain, that he re- 
 folved to proceed according to his inftrulions. After Sir John's 
 departure from Copenhagen, there arrived, under the convoy 
 of two Britifli men of war, forty-fix merchant fhips, that were 
 not ready to fail from England with Sir John Norris. Thefe 
 fhips remained till the Danifli fleet was ready to fail, in order to 
 take the advantage of their convoy. About the middle of the 
 month of Auguft, the Danifh fleet, confifting of twenty fliips of 
 the line, with the Ruflian fquadron, refolved to fail up the Bal- 
 tic with the E.ngli(h and Dutch m . 
 
 As the Czar of Mufcovy was at this time at Copenhagen, and 
 defigned to command his own fliips, feveral confutations wera 
 held to regulate the command of the feveral fquadrons of diffe- 
 rent nations then in that road, which together were called the 
 confederate fleet. It was at laft refolved to give the chief com- 
 
 i Oldmtxon's hiilory of England, vol. ii. p. 595. Annals of king George, 
 Vol. i. p. 429. Salmon's chronological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. 48, 
 
 k Mercure hiftoriqoc et politique, torn. Ixi. p. 40. 
 
 1 Thefe admirals were fent to proteft our trade, and they paid due regard to 
 their inftructions. 
 
 1 Tindal's continuation of Rap : n, vol. iv. p. 413. Annals of king George, 
 Tol. iii. p. ic j\ 
 
 man4
 
 43$ NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 mand of it to the Czar of Mufcovy, but fo, that Sir John Norria 
 fhould command the vanguard of the united fleet, the Czar the 
 body of the line of battle, the Dunifh admiral count Gueldenlew 
 the rear, and that the Dutch commodore, with his fquadron 
 and five Britifh men of war, fliould proceed with the trade of 
 both nations for their refpeclive harbours in the Baltic. Accord- 
 ing to this refolution, the i6th the Czar hoifted his imperial flag, 
 as admiral, on board one of his fineft fhips, and was thereupon 
 immediately faluted by Sir John Morris with a difcharge of his 
 cannon, which was followed by the Danifli and Dutch ; and, 
 thefe compliments being paid, his Czarian inajefty gave the fignal 
 for failing ; the i8th they came to an anchor in the Kieger- 
 Bucht, from whence they failed towards Bornholm, where, being 
 informed that the Swedifli fleet was returned to Carifcroon n , the 
 Britilh and Dutch merchant Ihips, with their convoys, leparated, 
 and proceeded on their refpe&ive voyages, and the Czar, with 
 his fquadron, failed for the coaft of Mecklenburg . 
 
 The Swedes had at this time a very numerous fleet, and in 
 pretty good condition; but they were too wife to hazard it againft 
 fuch an unequal force as that of the confederates, and therefore 
 withdrew it into one of their own ports, till they could receive 
 the king's abfolute orders. On the 28th of October Sir John 
 Norris, with the Briti(h fquadron under his command, and the 
 Danilh men of war commanded by count Gueldenlew, arrived at 
 Bornholm, on which day the two cruizers, which Sir John Nor- 
 ris had tent to Carifcroon, returned to him with an account, that 
 they had feen the Swedifli fleet, with two flags and feven broad 
 pendants, in Carifcroon, and all the (hips they could difcover 
 lay rigged, as alfo that they had three cruizers under fail off 
 the port. That night Sir John Norris fent thefe two cruizers, 
 being the beft failers of his fquadron, to Dantzick, to haften the 
 trade down the Baltic, and, if they found the fix Britifh men of 
 war and all the merchantmen had joined there, to order the 
 commodore not to lofe a moment that could be made ufe of for 
 failing, but to proceed. Thefe cruizers arrived at Dantzick on 
 
 n Led ; ard's nava! hirtory, vol. ii. p. 9<Jp. Mercurc hiftoriqne et po'itiqiie, 
 tome Ijti. p, 16 1. Gordon's lite of Prtcr the Great, vol. ii. p. 77. Lam- 
 
 berti, tc<me ix. p. <5io. where the political motives of this c.Cifure are copioufly 
 
 the
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 (he 30th, where they joined the Britifh men of war, and the 
 trade, which on the 31 ft all failed from Dantzick p . 
 
 On the pth of November the Britifli men of war, with the 
 trade, joined Sir John Norris's fquadron at Bornholm, (having 
 failed from the fleet offDantzick on the 4th of this month), and 
 the next day came all with him into the road of Copenhagen. 
 On the I 2th arrived the Dutch trade with their convoy, which 
 hncl been obliged to ft.iy after ours at Dantzick for proviilons. 
 A few days after, Sir John failed from the road of Copenhagen ; 
 and, notwithftanding his fleet, as well ns the merchantmen un- 
 der his convoy, were furprifed by a violent ftorm, which difper- 
 fed them, and in which the Augufl of fixty guns, and the Gar- 
 land of twenty-four, were unfortunately loir ; yet the reft, with 
 all the trade, fafely arrived at the Trow on the 2yth of Novem- 
 ber in the morning. Sir John Norris left ieven (hips of war, un- 
 der the command of commodore Cleeland, in the Baltic, to aft 
 in conjunction with the Danes, and for the farther fecurity of 
 the Britifh trade, if neceffary q . Thus I have profecuted the 
 biftory of this Baltic expedition, from the failing to the return, 
 of the fleet, that the reader might the better apprehend it : and 
 BOW I ought to recur to the proceedings of our fleets in the 
 channel, but that it feems requifite to clear up fome points rela- 
 ting to this Baltic expedition, which have of late been the fubject 
 of high difputes. 
 
 The great point in queftion as to this Swedilh expedition is, 
 whether it took rife from our own concerns, or from thofe of 
 the electorate of Hanover. On the one hand it is very certain 
 that the Swedifli privateers took our (hips as well as thofe of 
 other nations, and that, in fitting our fleet for thofe feas, we did. 
 no more than the Dutch. On the arrival of Sir John Norris in 
 the Baltic, our minifter prefented a memorial, in which he fet 
 forth the particular damages fuftained by our merchants, amount- 
 ing to 69,024 1. 2*. pd. for which he demanded fatisfaclion, 
 and at the fame time infifred on the repeal of an edict, v. hu~h his 
 hwcdifh mvjtfty had lately publlfned, and by which the 
 
 P V iltaire, hifloitr lc Charles XII. r A <!; Sucdc, llv. vii. where thefe 
 
 .irrd ery (iip;rfi. q Lfdi.srd''; !. ii. p. 870, 
 
 Annuls of king G. r^r. v -! iii. p. i:~ l' ;e ) Jwmc
 
 440 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 merce of the Baltic was wholly prohibited to the Englifh. This 
 memorial was prefented June 15, 1715, and in it the nature of 
 Sir John Morris's commiffion was explained-, fo that, thus far, 
 all this quarrel feems to arile from his majefty's care of the Bri- 
 tifli commerce r . 
 
 But, as elector of Hanover, he had alfo fome difputes with 
 his majefty of Sweden, of quite a different nature ; for having 
 purchaled from the crown of Denmark the duchies of Bremen 
 and Verdcn, which had been taken from the crown of Sweden, 
 he found himfclf obliged, in quality of elector, to concur with 
 the firft- mentioned power in declaring war againft Sweden; and, 
 even before this was done, fome Englifh (hips joined the Danifh 
 fleet, in order to diftrefs the Swedes. Of this the Swedifh mi- 
 nifter here complained by a memorial delivered to lord Town- 
 fhend, then fecretary of ftate, dated October 3, 1715. His 
 Swedifh majefty alfo, in anfwer to the Hanoverian declaration 
 of war, publifhed fome very fevere reflections, in which he af- 
 ferts, that the honour of the Britifh flag had been proftituted to 
 ferve the interefls of another ftate, and in order to create an in- 
 terconrfe between the king's regal and electoral dominions*. 
 Thus far I have given the evidence on both fides, and leave the 
 \vhole to the determination of the reader, with this obfervation 
 only, that the Dutch, though no lefs injured, no Icfs concerned 
 in their trade than we, did not, however, think it neceflary to 
 come to fuch extremities. 
 
 While this fquadron was employed in the Baltic, the rebellion 
 was extinguifhed in Scotland, but with fo little afliftance from 
 our naval force, that it fcarce deferves to be mentioned. It is 
 true, Sir George Byng was fent to hoift his flag in the Downs 
 in the middle of fummer, and continued there as long as the 
 feafon would permit c ; but no enemy appeared, and Sir John 
 Jennings was lent to Edinburgh, from whence he went on board 
 the Oxford in the Frith, and hoifted his flag as commander in 
 
 r Lambert!, tome ix. p. 151. Tind*Ps continuation of Rapin, vol. iv. p. 413. 
 Hillorical rcgifler for the year 1716, p. 51$. * Lambetti, tome ix. p. 301. 
 
 Hifluricjl rcgidcr for 17 r 6, p. 15. Tindai's continuation of R*pin, vol. iv. Old- 
 mixon, v.,1. ii. and other writers. t I.edLrd's naval hift.iry, vol. ii. 
 
 p. 867. Annals rf king G.orge, val. ii. p. 3. Salmon's chronological hiftorian, 
 vol ii. p. 50. 
 
 chief
 
 OF KING 'GEOR Gfc I. 441 
 
 chief of the fquadron then upon the confts, which would have 
 been highly ferviceable in cafe the pretender's adherents had ei- 
 ther had any naval force, or had been fuccoured from beyond 
 the Teas : but there was nothing of this kind. The rebellion 
 broke out under the influence and direction of the earl of Mar, 
 \vho was foon joined by the clans ; and, the duke of Argyll being 
 fent down againft him, it quickly appeared how ill their meafures 
 had been taken. His grace had indeed but a fmall number of 
 regular troops under his command ; but his intereft was fo exten- 
 five, that he not only engaged many powerful families to declare 
 for king George, but, which perhaps was the greater fervice of 
 the two, engaged many more to remain quiet, who otherwife 
 had joined the rebels. The bufincfs was decided by the battle 
 of SherifF-muir, near Dunblain, fought November 13, 1715", 
 the fame day that general Fofter, and the Englifh who were in 
 arms, furrendered at Prefton. Yet, after ihis, the chevalier de 
 St. George ventured over into Scotland in a very poor vellel, 
 where fcon finding his affairs defpcrate, and his perfon in the 
 utmoft danger, he contrived to make his efcape from the north 
 with the utmoft fecrecy, which he eSecled by going on board 
 a clean-tallowed French fnow, which failedout of the harbour 
 of Montrofe w , February the third, in fight of feme Engliih 
 men of war, but kept fo clofe along {hore, that they foon found 
 it was impoffible to follow her. 
 
 Thefe were the principal tranfaclions of this year, at the clofe 
 of which things were ftiil in fuck confufion, that the parliament 
 thought fit to grant very large fupplies for the enfuing year, vrz. 
 i<"\oco feamen at the rate of 4!. per month, the fums of 
 237,849!. 195. 6 d. for the ordinary of the navy, and 23,623!. 
 for the extraordinary repairs of the navy*. We have already 
 taken notice of what paired under Sir John Norris in the Baltic, 
 and have therefore only to obferve, that this year fome of the 
 piratical republics iu Barbary having broke the peace, admiral 
 
 u Oldmixon'i hiftorjr of England, vol. ii.. p. Ctt. Tindal's continuation of 
 R.ip;n, vol. iv. p. 459. Historical regirter for 1716, p. 108, 109. Mcrcure hi- 
 frorique et poiitique, tome lix. p. (171. w Annals of king Gsorg;, v^l. ii. 
 
 p ijs. Hlrtiricai reglfler f. r 171(5, p. 115. Mercure hiltoriq-.ie ct pclitiqoc, 
 tome Ix. p. 353. * Tiudil. Oldmixon. Aunls of king Gsorge, vol. 
 
 in. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 Baker,
 
 444 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 Baker, who had the command of the Englifh fquadron in tlir 
 Mediterranean, received orders to bring them to reafon, which 
 he did without any great difficulty. But the Salee rovers ftilt 
 did a great deal of mifchief, and it was the more difficult to 
 fupprefs them, becaufe their fhips were fo final], and drew fo 
 h'ttle water, that our men of war were very feldom able to come 
 near enough to exchange fhot with them. At laft captain Del- 
 garno, one of the moft active officers in the navy, in his maje- 
 fty's fliip the Hind of twenty guns only, came up with one of 
 their beft men of war of twenty-four guns, and, after an obfti- 
 nate engagement of two hours and a half, obliged her to ftrike ; 
 but (he had not been in his porTellion above a quarter of an hour 
 before {he funk, and all her crew, except thirty-eight hands, 
 perifhed : this, with the lofs of another veffel of eight guns, 
 and two more of fixteen guns each, which were forced on 
 ihore by his majefty's fhip the Bridgewater, delivered, in a great 
 meafure, the Englifh commerce in the Mediterranean from the 
 interruptions given by thefe pirates *. 
 
 In the month of July his majefly went over to HoHand,efcorted 
 by an Engliih fquadron r and from thence continued his journey 
 by land to Hanoves, where the difturbances in the north made 
 his prefence at t-hat time particularly neceflary, and where he 
 Continued the reft of the year 1716, at the clofe of which ad- 
 miral Aylmer failed with his fquadron for Holland to efcort him 
 home z . In the mean time the government was employed in ex- 
 tinguilhing the remains of the rebellion here and in Scotland, 
 and providing, in the beft manner they could, againft the revi- 
 val of fuch difturbances, of which they had the greater hopes 
 from the conduct which the regent of France purfued, who 
 fhewed a ftrong inclination to live upon good terms with Great 
 Britain, as was indeed hisintereft". But it very foon appear- 
 ed, that, notwithftanxling the chevalier's adherents had loft 
 their hopes with refpeft to fuccours from France, they had ftill 
 another power willing and ready to affift them. 
 
 y Lediard's naval hifiory, vol. ii. p. 858, 869. z Hiftorical regifter for 
 
 1716, p. 3SJ. Mercure hifloriquc et politique, tome Ixii. p. an. a Tin- 
 
 dal's continuation of Rapin, vjl. iv. p. 50;. Annals of king George, vol. iii. 
 p. icy.
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 443 
 
 Upon his majefty's return a dangerous confpiracy was faid to 
 be difcovered, in which many were engaged at home and abroad, 
 and for defeating of which it was thought necefTary to fecure 
 the perfon and papers of count Gyllenbourg b , then his Swedilh 
 majefty's ambaiTador at this court, and who at the time of his 
 death was prime minifter of that kingdom ; a fact which flruck 
 the foreign minifters here with the utmoft furprife, from which, 
 however, they .quickly recovered themfelves, when they were 
 informed, that it was not for any acl of his minrftry, but for his 
 being concerned in the management of a plot againft the govern- 
 ment . About the fame time the famous baron Goertz d was, 
 at his Britannic majefty's requeft, arrefted in Holland, where he 
 acted as minifter from the king of Sweden. In order to fatisfy 
 the world, the letters and papers relating to the invafion, which 
 ,'t was faid his Swedifh majefty intended to have made in Scot- 
 land, were rendered public 6 , and the parliament foon after 
 /hewed the warmeft refentment at the infolence of this attempt. 
 
 It was indeed amazing, that a prince, already overwhelmed 
 by fo many and fo powerful enemies, fhould think of adding to 
 their number by practices of this kind : but whoever confiders 
 the genius and fpirit of the late Charles XII. will eaJlly conceive, 
 that it was natural enough for him to embrace any expedient, 
 how dangerous foever, which itemed to promife the diilblving 
 that confederacy by which he was diftrelTed. But his defign was 
 not only rendered abortive by this unexpected difcovery, which 
 .put it abfolutely out of his power to carry it into execution ; but 
 Jt likewife brought upon him new difficulties, in confequence of, 
 his Britannic majefty's refentment of f'uch behaviour, which pre- 
 femJy difcovered itielf by the vigorous refolutions taken here ; 
 for, on the 2 1 ft of February, it was relblved in the houfe of 
 commons, " That a bill be brought in to authorilV his majefty 
 " to prohibit commerce with Sweden, during fuch a time as his 
 majefty (hall think it neceflary, for the fafcty and peace of his 
 
 b Oldmixon'i hiflory of England, vol. ii. p. <>3 ' Salmon's chronological Iii- 
 ftorian, vol. ii. p. 69. Mcrcure Jiiftorique et poliiiqne, tome Ixii. p. 114^ 
 * Sec Mr. Secretary Stanhope's Ittrtr to the foreign miniflers, then redding in 
 England, in the hiftorical rtgifter for the year 1717, p. 67. d Annals of 
 
 king George, vol iii. p. 141. c Hiftorical regiftcr for 1717, p. 7*. Mer- 
 
 '(loriqnc ct ptli:i^ue, tome Ixii. p. 341. 
 
 3 K 2 c kingdom ^'
 
 444 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 " kingdom ," which afterwards pafled both houfes, and had 
 the royal afient; and, on the 2dof March, a proclamation was 
 publiihed for this purpofe f . 
 
 As it was forefeen that this affair muft neceilarilyoccafipn the 
 fending another f^uadron to the Baltic, the nsceflary fupplies 
 vrere , -ly granted, viz. 10,000 feamen for the fervice 
 
 of the year 1717 ; 226,799!. 55. 3d. for the ordinary of the 
 navy, and 20,761!. for the extraordinary repairs, and for the 
 furnifliing fuch faa-ftores as might be necelTary 8. Immediately 
 alter, orders were iffued for forming a grand fquadron, confift- 
 ing of twenty-one fiiips of the line, befides frigates, for the Bal- 
 tic, the command of which was given to Sir George Byng, who 
 was to have had two admirals under him, with an additional 
 force; but, before thofe (hips were ready, the miniftry altered 
 their deiign, and Sir George, in obedience to frefh orders, 
 Uiied on the 3oth of March for Copenhagen h . 
 
 Whatever neceffity there might be for thefe vigorous mcafures, 
 yet it is certain, that this neceflity did not fo fully appear to many 
 who were hitherto fuppofed as penetrating politicians as any in 
 this kingdom ; and therefore an oppofition was created where 
 it was leait expedted, I mean by fome who had the honour to 
 he in the king's councils, which, however did not hinder them 
 from exprefling their ien'timents with a Britifli freedom. Their 
 arguments, however, had ib little weight, that, as foon as Sir 
 George Byng was failed, fome of the great minifters prevailed 
 upon his majefty to lend, on the 3d of April, 1717, a meflage to 
 the hcufe of commons to this eftc<ft; " That, being defirous to 
 < fecure his kingdoms againft the prefent dangers with which 
 < they were threatened from Sweden, he hoped they would 
 ' enable him to make good fuch engagements as might eafe his 
 people of all future charge and npprehenfions upon this ac- 
 " count'." This occafioncd warm debates in the houfe, it 
 being faid, that the demanding afupply, without communicating 
 the particular ufes to which it was to be appropriated, was un- 
 
 f Chandlrr's debate?, vol. vi. p. 109. Hirtorical regiftcr for 1717, p. 170. 
 f Annuls of K. George, vol. iii. p. 151. Tindal's continuation ef Rjpin, vol. iv. 
 Jlitloiical regilter f -r 17 17, p. 113. h OUmixon's liiflory of England, 
 
 in), ii/p. 6$6. Hiftoricjl rcgifltr for 1717, p. 73. Cjlumna roftrata, p. 300. 
 
 ..ii.altr'* db-u-. vol. vi. p. 115. 
 
 parliamentary}
 
 OF KING G E O R G E. I. 445 
 
 parliamentary ; and even Mr. Walpole, afterwards created earl 
 of Orford, and Mr. Speaker, appear to be againft it. How- 
 ever, it was at length carried in the committee, by 164 to 149, 
 * That it was the opinion of the committee, that a fum notex- 
 " ceeding two hundred and fifty thoufand pounds be granted 
 " to his majefty, to concert fuch meafures with foreign princes 
 <f and ftates as may prevent any charge and apprehenfion from 
 *' the defigns of Sweden for the future." When the queftiou 
 for agreeing with the committee was put in the houfe, it was 
 carried but by four voices, viz. yeas 153, noes 149 k . 
 
 The next morning Mr. Secretary Stanhope let the lord Town- 
 /hend know, that his majefty had no farther occafion for his 
 fervice, as lord-lieutenant of Ireland: whereupon Mr. Walpole, 
 who was then firft commiflioner of the treafury, Mr. Methuen 
 fecretary of ftate, and Mr. Pulteney fecretary at war, laid down 
 their employments'. A few days after, Edward, (RuiTel) earl 
 of Orford, refigned his office of firfl lord of the admiralty ; 
 upon which his majefty thought proper to change that board, 
 and accordingly, James, earl of Berkley, Matthew Aylmer, Efq; 
 Sir George Byng, James Cockburn, and William Chetwynd, 
 Efqrs. were made lords commiflioners of the admiralty m . 
 
 It was neceiTary to take notice of thefe domeftic proceedings, 
 before we followed Sir George Byng with his fleet into the 
 Baltic ; \yhere fo little was performed, that it is not eufy to give 
 the reader any tolerable fatisfac^ion about it. On the nth of 
 April, Sir George arrived in the road of Copenhagen ; the next 
 day he had an audience of the king of Denmark, and aflifted 
 at feveral conferences, which were held in the fucceeding week, 
 in order to fettle the operations by fea, and the command of the 
 confederate fleet, in cafe it fhould be thought requisite for the 
 feveral fquadrons to join". Sir George next detached five fliips 
 of the line to cruize in the Categat, between Gottenburgh and 
 the point of Schagen, to cover the trade from the Swedilh pri- 
 
 k Tindal's co .tinuation of Rapin, vol. iv. p. 511. Annals of king Geo^e, TO!. 
 iii. p. 162. Hiftoric.l rcgii'.ei tor 1717, p. 153. ' OMmix-ui h: 
 
 EngUml, vol. ii. p. 639. " Annals of king George, Vol. .ii. p. 169 
 
 inon's chronological hirtorian, vol. ii. p. 71. n Led ard'a r.avai n 
 
 Tol. ii. p. 871. Annals of king George, Tol. iii. p. 317. Mcrcure hiil.iric 
 :n. ix'i. p, 507. 
 
 vat-
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 wateers. The Danifh cruizers being like wife employed for the 
 fame purpofc, the paffage was fo effectually fecured, that no 
 ihips could pafs out of that port. Sir George himfelf waited 
 only for a fair wind to fail with the reft of the Britim fquadron 
 into the Baltic, where the Swedes, however, had by this time 
 abfolutely laid afide whatever defigns were formed, either to our 
 prejudice or againft the general peace of Europe. 
 
 On the yth of May, however, our admiral failed from Co- 
 jrenhagen, having under his convoy a great n-umber of merchant 
 Ihips, bound for feveral parts of the Baltic, and in the Kioger- 
 bucht was joined by the Danifn fleet, commanded by vice-ad- 
 injnl Gabel : they failed together towards Carlfcroon; but were 
 obliged by contrary winds to return. As no erremy appeared, 
 and the feafon of the year began to advance, Sir George Byng 
 thought of coming home with the fleet ; and accordingly, oa 
 the 2d of November, paft the Sound with nine Englifh. men 
 of war, three frigates, and three veflels of fmall burden, leaving 
 behind him fix men of war, to ab in conjunction with the Da- 
 ttifh fleet; and on the i5th of the fame month arrived fafe at 
 the mouth of the Thames ; there leaving his fquadron, he came 
 up to London, where he was gracioufly received by his majefty.. 
 So that here ended the naval expedition for this year, and with 
 it, in a great meafure, all the apprehenfions the nation was un- 
 der from the Swedes p . . 
 
 In 
 
 LediarJ's navi] hiftory, vol. r. j\ $72. Annals of king Gstrge, vo'. iv. p, 63. 
 Mercure hiftotiqoc & pclitiqtie, torn.. Ix-ji. p. 689. 
 
 V To quiet the nr.-n s of the prople, and pievent their tunning into a notion 
 *hat tn.c fiitlng out this flfet was no: real y ir.Un.ied f'or the hor.our and lervice of 
 JGreat Britain, the following account vVas published in the Gazette. 
 
 ddmiraly-cffice, June 18. 
 
 " Captain Leftock of the Panther, -who commands the /hips appointed by Sir 
 ' George Byng t cru'ee off Go tenburgh, givts an account by his letter, dated 
 " the ij-hof laft mor.th, that on the 27th of April he fa ; !ed out of Ma:de ia 
 " Norwa, and three ca\s after t>'o!i a Swedifti priviteer-dogger of fix guns 
 " anrt feventy-two rmn, commanded by one St. Le^er, the per'bn who lomc 
 ' --ime fnce feized on? of our' packet-boats. That the fame afternoon he rc- 
 * took a -Dutch hoy, which had been taken the day before by a Swedi/h fhip of 
 " ten f,m? ; and on the i<t of May, in the afternoon, he met and t. ok the 
 ' prr^teer irto whof- hands the huy had fallen ; all which prizes were carried 
 " i to ArmdH ; an<? tl L.'h at night, the Stafford retook a Dufch fly- 
 
 ** item:. By di. . < Ltftcfk, djwd th* z6th of M'y, he 
 
 ' * .
 
 or KING GEORGE r. 4-7 
 
 In the mean time his majefty had thought fit to appoint Sir 
 John Norris envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the 1 
 Czar of Mufcovy q ; and, as if things began to be fo difpofed a* 
 to admit of a peace in the north, a refolution was taken to dif- 
 eharge count Gyllenbourg,, which was thus brought about. His 1 
 royal highnefs the duke ot Orleans ordered the French minifler 
 here r to acquaint the king, that his royal highnefs was perfecl- 
 Jy well informed as to the king of Sweden's difpofition, and 
 that he was thoroughly fluisfied, that his Swedifh majefty had 
 not, or ever had, any intention to difturb the tranquillity of his 
 Britannic majefty's dominions; that if, therefore, his minifters 
 had entered into any practices of that kind, it was entirety with- 
 out his knowledge ; and that, upon their return- to Sweden, he 
 would caufe a ftrift inquiry to be made into their condudt, in 
 order to punifh them, if they flioukl be proved guilty *. Upon 
 this propofition from the regent of France, it was agreed, that 
 count Gyllenbourg mould be exchanged againft Mr. Jackfon, 
 the Englifh minilter at Stockholm, and that baron Goertz 
 fhould be releafed from his confinement in Holland, which was 
 accordingly performed. Yet the ftorm did not entirely blow 
 over ; but the Swedifh quarrel ftill proved a fource of new ex- 
 pence to the Britifh nation 1 . 
 
 The miniftry, to (hew that their thoughts were not wholly 
 taken up by thefe difputes in the north, framed at this time -A 
 very juft and laudable defign of fupprsfnng the pirates in the 
 Weft Indies, who, fince the clofe of the late war, were become 
 very numerous and highly infolent. And to give the public a 
 juft idea of their care in this refpett, they caufed an order ot 
 
 < gave an arc- MTU, that his majcfty's (hip the Severn had taken a pirate, and r;- 
 ' taken a Dutch fry-boat ; that the Chatham had taken two Swedilh priviteetsj 
 " and that, on the i5th of the faid mouth of May, oaf ihips took a SwcdWh in- 
 " gantine of eight guns and twenty-fix mci)." 
 
 1 Hilicricil legifter for 1717, P- ^9- r Tindal's continuation of fca- 
 
 pin, vol. iv. p. 540. Oldmix ;n's hiitjry of England, v I. ii. p. 649. Annuls 
 of king George, vol. iii. p. jiO. V'oliaire liiftoirc <ie Charlss XII. 
 
 roi de Suede, lib. viii. where he )'..>$, they were itleaieJ without his S*cdi:h mi- 
 jelly's deigning to give the king "f Rri:ain the Tmallefl fatisfsftion. Yet lie ac- 
 knowlengts the principal point the Cur carried, while in France, was enwjging 
 the duke regent to intetefl hiinfch ^ir. t Hifl'-ricai 
 
 lot i77i p. 35- Mticure L'.ihiriquc & pulitiijuc, torn. Isiii. . 3:6.
 
 448 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 council, dated the 1 5th of September, 1717, to be publifliedj 
 to the effec"t following, viz. " That complaint having been 
 " made to his majefty by great numbers of merchants, matters 
 ' of flaps, and others, as well as by the feveral governors of 
 " his majefty's iflands and plantations in the Weft Indies, that 
 the pirates are grown fo numerous, that they infeft not only 
 " the feas of Jamaica, but even thofe of the northern continent 
 " of America ; and that unlefs fome effeclual means be uied, 
 f the whole trade from Great Britain in thofe parts will not on- 
 * ly be obftrudted, but be in imminent danger of being loft ; his 
 majefty has, upon mature deliberation in council, been gra- 
 '< cioufly pleafed, in the firft place, to order a proper force to 
 " be employed for fuppreffing the faid piracies 5 and, that no- 
 *' thing may be wanting- for the more effectual putting an end to 
 " the faid piracies, his majefty had alfo been gracioufly pleafed 
 < { to iiTue a proclamation, dated the 5th inftant. And, whereas 
 ' it hath alfo been repreiented to his majefty, that the houfe of 
 " lords had addrefled her late majefty on this account, particu- 
 <* larly with refpetl to the Bahama- iflands ; but that there were 
 " not any means ufed, in compliance with that addrefs, for fe- 
 < curing the faid Bahama-iflands; and that, at this time, the 
 pirates have a lodgment with a battery on Harbour-iiland, one 
 " of the Bahamas, as alfo, that the ufual retreat, and general re- 
 * ceptacle for pirates, is at Providence, the principal of thofe 
 iflands ; his majefty has been farther plealed to give directions 
 * for diflodging thofe pirates, who have taken fhclter in the 
 faid iflands, as well r^ for fecuring thofe iflands, and making 
 ' fettlements, and a fortification there, for the fafety and bene- 
 t fit of the trade and navigation of thofe feas for the future u ." 
 By a proclamation, dated the fifth of September, 1717 w , his 
 majefty promifed his pardon to any Englifh Weft India pirates, 
 who fhould furrender themfelves on or before the 5th of Sep- 
 tember following, for all piracies committed before the $:h of 
 January preceding : and, after the laid 5th of September any of 
 his majefty's officers by fea or land, who fhould take a pirate, 
 Upon his conviclion, to have for a captain, a hundred pounds ; 
 
 < 
 
 AnniU of king George, vol. iv. p. 317. Oldmixon, vo!. ii. Tindal't con- 
 titmation of Rapin, v,.l. i\-. w j-jidoiical rcgitkr for 1717, p. 37. Sal- 
 
 rooi/s chronological !ij(lrLn, Vol. ii. p. 77. 
 
 fo;-
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 449 
 
 for any other officer, from a lieutenant down to a gunner, forty 
 pounds; for an inferior officer, thirty pounds; and for every 
 private man, twenty pounds. Laftly, any pirate delivering up 
 a captain, or commander, on or before the 6th of September 
 following, (fo as he fhould be convicted), was to have two hun- 
 dred pounds reward, to be paid at the treafury. We (hall, in 
 treating of the events of next year, give a large account of the 
 good effects which this proclamation produced, by giving an im- 
 mediate check to the infolency of thefc fort of people, and oper.- 
 ing a way to their total iupprefiion. But it is now time to re- 
 turn to affairs of greater importance, and to fay fomewhat of the 
 politics of the Britiili miniftry at this juncture ; the rather, be- 
 caufe all the naval tranfaclions which follow, depend entirely 
 upon them. 
 
 The troubles of the north ftill fubfifting, we could not fud- 
 denly extricate ourfelves from the fliare \ve had taken in them; 
 though it was vifibly fuch a one, as had put our commerce un- 
 der great difficulties abroad, and perplexed us not a little at 
 home. The merchants complained of the bad effects which the 
 prohibition of trade with Sweden had produced; averting that, 
 inftead of thirty thoufands pounds a-jrar, which the balance of 
 that trade conftantly brought us, we now loft ninety thoufanJ. 
 pounds a-year, by purchafing Swedish commodities from other 
 people, particularly from the Dutch, who raifed the price of 
 Swedifh iron four pounds a ton ; which was thought the hard- 
 er, b^caufe, ifi the original quarrel, the Dutch were as deep as 
 ourfelves, and now, by an unaccountable turn, they were i:i 
 poffeflion of the whole Swedifh trade ; and we, after all ou; 
 maments, were imirely excluded x . 
 
 This was the effect of the Swedifh w?.r abroad ; but here at 
 home, things were in a worfe fituation ; for feveral of the lead- 
 ing patriots who had refigned their places, upon that change of 
 me.ilures which produced the Swedifh war, infilled v/armlv, 
 both within doors, and without, that it was now carried on, 
 not only without regard, but in direct oppofition, and with ma- 
 iiifeft difddvantage to the intere.1 of Grc:. .. Li proof of 
 
 x Chandlei'i debates v-1 . vi. p. i-S. II: C: .-, Lr 1718, p. 145. 
 
 AnnaUof king Ge-.r^r, yL iv. p. 113. 
 
 VOL. III. 

 
 NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 this, they alledged not only the memorials prefented from time 
 to time by the Swedifh minifters, but thofe alfo delivered of late 
 by the minifter from the Czar ; which concurred in affirming, 
 that all our meafures in the north were governed by the Ger- 
 man intereft y . I do not take upon me to determine whether 
 thefe gentlemen were in the right, or in the wrong. I only re- 
 late matters of faft as I find them : and relate them, becaufe my 
 hiftory would not be intelligible without them, 
 
 The miniftry, however, did not change their fentiments, but 
 pcrfifted Hill in their refohition, to bring the king of Sweden to- 
 fuch terms as they thought reafonable by force. This was a 
 method, which, of all princes, Charles XII. could leaft bear; 
 and therefore inftead of thinking of a peace upon fuch terms, 
 he turned his thoughts intirely on the means of carrying on the 
 war ; and, though his affairs were in a very low and diftreffed 
 condition, yet his heroic fpirit, joined to the indefatigable pains 
 he took, put them at laft into fuch a pofture, that, if he had 
 not been ihatched away by a fudden death, it is highly proba- 
 ble he would have reftored them, at leaft on the fide of Ger- 
 many z . 
 
 But this was not the only affair of confequence that employ- 
 ed the thoughts of the admrniftration. We were then in clofe 
 confederacy with the emperor and France, and, in conjunction 
 with thefe powers, had undertaken to fettle the affairs of Eu- 
 rope on a better foundation than the treaty of Utreeht left 
 them. With this view, the triple alliance was concluded on the 
 4th Janaaryy 1717 a ; and, that not anfwering the end expected 
 from it, we next entered (as will be fliewn) into the famous qua- 
 druple alliance 5 , which was intended to remedy all thefe defects, 
 and to fix the general tranquillity for ever. Yet, by unforefeen 
 accidents, to which human policy will be always liable, this al- 
 
 y Lambert!, torn. ?.. p. 4051, where the reader may find the fcveral me- 
 morials, and anfwers to them. z Voltaire hiftoire de Charles XII. roi 
 de Suede, liv. viii. p. 318, 319. Mercure hiftorique et politique, torn. Ixvi. 
 p. 37. Oldmixon's hiftory, vol. ii. p. <5z8. Corps univerfel diploma- 
 tique, t' m. viii. part I. p. 484. Tindal's continuation of Rapin, vol. iv. p. 508. 
 Oldmixon's hiftury of the Smarts, vol. ii. p. 660. Annals of king George, vol. 
 iv. p. 139. b Corps univerfel diplomatique, torn. viii. part I. p. 53-1. 
 Annaliof king George, vol. iv. p. 156. Historical regiAcr, for 1718, p. 311. 
 
 Fiance
 
 OF KING G E O R G E I. 4 -i 
 
 liance proved the caufe of an immediate war between us and 
 Spain, and in its confequences was the fource of all the troubles 
 that difturbed Europe, from the time of its conclufion to the 
 peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
 By this quadruple treaty (the terms of which were already 
 fixed, though it was not executed for fome months afterwards) 
 the contracting powers undertook to fatisfy the emperor and the 
 king of Spain ; in order to which, his imperial msjefty was to 
 have Sicily given him$ and the reverfion of all the Italian do- 
 minions, which the queen of Spain pretended was to be fecured 
 to her pofterity. The crown of Spain was highly difpleafed 
 with the provifion made for its i mere ft ; and though the empe- 
 ror feemed to be very well contented at this juncture -, yet, as 
 foon as Spain was compelled to accept what ,was now offered 
 her, he alfo grew difpleafed with this partition, and we were 
 many years unable to keep them both in any temper, or pre- 
 ferve ourfelves from being involved in their quarrels, as the rea- 
 der, in the courfe of this work, will be fufficiently informed. 
 Thefe Spanilh difputes were another ground of oppofition, which 
 afforded room for the then patriots to complain, that we were 
 more attentive to the intereft of the emperor, than careful of the 
 commerce of Great Britain. In fpite of this clamour, the mi- 
 niftry concerted with the emperor and France, the proper means 
 for executing the projel which gave birth to this treaty, by 
 taking the ifland of Sicily from the duke of Savoy, who was 
 now poffeffed of it, with the title of king, and giving it to his 
 imperial majefty ; to which the firft-mentioned prince was ob- 
 liged to fubmit, becaufe he faw plainly, that if he did not con- 
 fent to yield this kingdom to the emperor, he mould either have 
 it taken from him by force, or lofc it to the Spaniards, from 
 vvhom Sardinia was, by our plan, to be taken and beftowed on, 
 the duke of Savoy, in exchange for Sicily . 
 
 In this critical lituation things were, when the parliament met 
 on the 21 ft of November, 1717 ; and, on the 2d of December 
 following, they granted, as the cuftom had been of late years, 
 10,000 feamen for the year 1718, and 224,837!. 14 s. nd, 
 
 c Tindal's continuation of Rapin, vol. iv. p. $61. Oldmixon's hiftory of 
 rn^hnd, vol. ii. p. 66s. Annals of king George, vol. iv, p. i83, 183. 
 
 3 L 2 for
 
 452 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 for the ordinary of the navy. But, as this would by no means 
 anfvver the defigns that had been formed by the adminiftra- 
 tion, the king was prevailed upon to fend a meflage to the houfe 
 of commons on the lyth of March, conceived in the following 
 terms d : 
 
 "GEORGE REX. 
 
 " His majefty be^ng at prefent engaged in feveral negocia- 
 " tions, of the utmoil concern to the welfare of thefe king- 
 " doms, and the tranquillity of Europe; and having lately re~ 
 " ceived information from abroad, which makes him judge that 
 " it will give weight to his endeavours, if a naval force be em- 
 " ployed where it (hall be neceffary, does think fit to ac- 
 " quaint this houfe therewith; not doubting, but that in cafe 
 " he fhould be obliged, at this critical juncture, to exceed 
 " the number of men granted this year for the fea-fervice, 
 ' the houfe will at iheir next meeting provide for fuch ex- 
 *' ceeding." 
 
 This mefiage was brought to the houfe by Mr. Bofcawen, 
 and an addrefs, promifing to make good fuch exceedings as 
 were mentioned, if they fhould be found neceffary, was moved 
 for by Sir Wiiliam Strickland, arid agreed to, -without a divi- 
 fion ; which was extremely agreeable to the court e . The next 
 day the king thought fit to nuke fome alterations at the navy- 
 board ; and, accordingly, James, earl of Berkley, Sir George 
 Byng, Sir John Jennings, John Cockburn, and William Chet- 
 vynd, Efqrs. Sir John Norris, and Sir Charles Wager, were 
 declared commiflioners for executing the office of lord high- 
 admiral of England, Ireland, C2V. the right honourable James, 
 earl of Berkley, appointed vice-admiral, and Matthew Aylmer, 
 jLfij; rear-admiral of Great Britain, who was foon after raited 
 to the dignity of a baron of the kingdom of Ireland f. 
 
 <* C-andler's debates, vol. vi. p. ijo, iS~<. * Annals of king 
 
 Cerrge, vol. iv. p. in, in. Ol.imixon's hirtory of England, vol. ii. p. 658. 
 
 Tindal'* continuation of Rapin, V: J. i'. p. j<5i. f Hillorical rcgifter 
 
 t'jr 1718, p. n. Ar.nals of" king Giorgs, vjl. iv. p. 377. Simon's chrtnvlo- 
 
 :.!tcrian, v I. ii. p. So. 
 
 While
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 453 
 
 While thcfe fteps were taking, a great number of large (hips 
 were put into commiflion, and fuch other meafures purfued, as 
 rendered it evident, that the fleet now fitting out, would not 
 prove a fleet of parade. The Spanifh minifter here, M. de 
 Monteleone, who was a man of forefight and intrigue, bein^ 
 alarmed at thefe appearances, reprefented in a memorial, <.!; ': 
 the 1 8th of March, 1718, " That fo powerful an armament, 
 " in time of peace, could not but caufe umbrage to the king 
 " his mafter, and alter the good intelligence that reigned be- 
 " tween the two crowns." The king nnfwered, " That it was 
 " not his intention to conceal the fubjett of that armament ; 
 " and that he defigned foon to fend admiral Byng, with a 
 *' powerful fquadron, into the Mediterranean Sea, in order to 
 maintain the neutrality of Italy, againft tbofe who fhould 
 " leek to difturb it g ." The reafon aifigned for acling with fo 
 much vigour, was the difpcfitions made in Spain for attacking 
 the ifland of Sicily, and the hardfhips that were put upon the 
 Britifh merchants. Cardinal Alberoci, who was then at the 
 head of the Spanifh affairs, defended himfelf, and the meafures 
 he had taken, with great fpirit, endeavouring to make the 
 world believe, that the Spanilh expedition againft the ifland of 
 Sicily was not fo much a m.itter of choice, as of necellity. I 
 fhould wrong that able minifter extremely, if I fhould endea- 
 vour to give his lenfe in any other words than his own ; and/ 
 therefore, I have preferred his letter upon this fubject h j which 
 
 is 
 
 8 Tintiai's continuation of Rapin, vol. \v. p. 562. Oldmixon, vol. ii. 
 Anna's of king George, vol. iv. p. 1 66. Mcrcu.c hifloriipe et poiitiqur, 
 tyrr.e Ixiv. p. 467. 
 
 h The htrcr referred to in the text was wri'ten by cardinal Aiberon! to the 
 tnarquii de B:rretti LanJi, his Catholic majefty'* ambaiT.dor to thcSraies Gene. 
 ral, who communicated it to their high mightintiTcs. Tiie ntc.tr will esfily 
 perceive, ih.it this letter falls a good deal later in point of lirr.e, ihsn where I 
 place h; hut, a> it csntsins \he rcafons of the Sicil.an txpeJ.iionj 1 thought it 
 came in heft for my purp^fe here. 
 
 " I arqnamt your excellency, ?hat my lord Stanhope fet out the 26th of 
 " thii tr.tMith from (Lc court at the E.'curia! fur Madrid; whence he w^s to 
 " proceed in his purncy to Paris ; having fetn proofs fufficient, during his fiay 
 " here, of the confhncy and Srmnefs wi:h which the king rejoclcd the projccl 
 ' ot" t.hr prii;r'f' meJiitor', and :hc fufpeaScii of arms lal' prrrofeJ. Hr
 
 454 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 is fo much the more curious, as no notice at all is taken o.f it, 
 in fome late accounts of this expedition. 
 
 " learned from their mcjefties own mouths, in two long conferences, to 
 *' which he had the honeur to be admitted, that they detefted that project, as 
 " unjufr, prejudicial, and offenfive to iheir honour j I told him, that I did 
 ' not comprthtnd wlut motive could induce the ronf.derated powers to admit 
 *' th: duke of Savoy into their alliance ; not only confiJering of what little life 
 <; he will be to them, but becaafe it is certain thofe powers have no need of 
 " the troops of Savoy, unlefs trnt prince will maintain them at his own ex- 
 '' pence, whkh will be very difficult to obtain. 
 
 " As for Sicily, I declared to my lord Stanhope, in the preftnce of the mar- 
 " quis de Nancre, that France and Great Britain had of themfelves, and none 
 " elfe whatever, induced the king to recover that kingdom ; for both thefe 
 " courts had afTured his majtfty, that the duke of Sav. y was treaiirg with the 
 " arch-duke to give up to him that if] and, if he would accept of it; but that 
 " he had refufcd it, confidcring it would be better for him to receive it by the 
 *' difpofition of the powers mediators, and with the confent of Spain, becaufc 
 ' in that cafe he would have the advantage to obtain it by a more jufl and 
 *' more authentic title J bf fides the afTursnce of keeping it by the favour of (\t 
 " powerful a guaranty. I likewife (hewed my lord Suohope, that tte arch- 
 " duke bein'g mafter of Sicily, all Italy will become fl.ves to the Grrmsns, 
 " ami the powers of Europe not be able to fet her at liberty. Arxl, that thp 
 *' Germans in the lad war, with a fmall body of troops, made hta.l, and cUi"- 
 41 putcd the ground agah-.ft two crowns, which had formi< J /ar-le armies in Lom- 
 *' bardy, were maftcrs of the country, and a great number of confiderablc 
 *' places. I alCo repiefented to him very clearly, thst, to nuke war in Lom- 
 * bardy was to make it in a labyrinth, and that it was (he fatal burial place of 
 " the French and Engliih. That every year of the laft war coft France j8,3Dj 
 " or 2J,oeo recruits, and above fifteen millions : thit the duke of VenJofme, 
 " ai the time things went profperoufly, Aid, tht if the war in Italy lafted, 
 " the two trowns muft indifpenfibly abandon that province, becaufe of the im- 
 " menfe tha'ge. That, according to the engagements now propnfed, the fuc- 
 Ji t-ours of Gieat Britain are far orf, and impracticable, tad that the reft would 
 * cofl a potofi, enough to ruin a kingdom. That at prefrnt thofe of France 
 <l are i.i poiTibie, and would be generally oppofed by the nation. That the 
 * { arch-ctjke would triumph with ail thcfe advantages, snd England pot reco* 
 *' vcr the leafi re-imburfcment ; when, on the contrary, (he might grin con- 
 " fiderahly, by Tiding with Sp 3 in. In conclcfion, I told lord Stanhope plsinly, 
 i: that t^ie propofnion of giving Sicily to the arch- iuke was abfolntely fatal ; 
 * ; ?nd that of fettling bounds afterwards to his vaft deflgns, a mere dream and 
 " illofion, fince that prince, Vting pofTefTed of Sicily, would have no farher 
 *' need either of France or England, for bringing immediately the reft of Italy 
 " under fuhjrftionj snd no power would he in a condition to oppofe it. This 
 " is th- fobfhnce of all the conferences my lord Sranhcpe had, and your ex- 
 i: as occallc.'n ih^Jl t-rTrr."
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 About the middle of the month of March, Sir George Byng 
 was appointed admiral and commander in chief of the fquadrort 
 intended for the Mediterranean ; and, on the '24th of May fol- 
 lowing, he received his inftrulions, which were to this pur- 
 pofe. *< That he fliould, upon his arrival in the Mediterra- 
 * nean, acquaint the king of Spain, and likewife the viceroy 
 " of Naples, and governor of Milan, he was fent into that 
 " fea, in order to promote all meafures that might beft contri- 
 " bute to the competing the differences arifen between the two 
 " crowns, and for preventing any farther violation of the neu- 
 " trality of Italy, which he was to fee preferved. That he. 
 *' was to make inftances to both parties to forbear all acts of 
 " hoftility, in order to the fetting on foot, and concluding the 
 ** proper negociations of peace. But, in cafe the Spaniards 
 " (hould ftill perfift to attack the emperor's territory in Italy, or 
 " to land in any part of Italy for that purpofe, or fhould endea- 
 " vour to make themfelves matters of the ifland of Sicily, 
 *< which muft be with a defign to invade the kingdom of Na- 
 " pies, he was then, with all his power, to hinder and obftruci 
 " the fame ; but, if they were already landed, he was to en- 
 " deavour amicably to diffiiade them from perfevering in fuch 
 " an attempt, and to ofler them his afliftance to withdraw their 
 l troops, and put an end to all farther acts of hoftility; but, 
 " if his friendly endeavours Ihould prove ineffectual, he \vas 
 < ( then to defend the territories attacked, by keeping company 
 t( with, or intercepting their (hips, convoys, or (if necdTary) 
 " by oppofing them openly.'* It is evident that thefe inftruc- 
 tions were not of the cleareft kind ; but, it feems, they v.-ere 
 explained to him before- hand, by the great men who had then 
 the direction of all things, as appears by a letter which is ftiil 
 preferved, and which I have placed in the notes . 
 
 The 
 
 1 The letter referred to in the trx% is from Mr Sfcrerary Cr gz c , immedi- 
 ately before his eotbaikaiioti ; it i prtfe've<I Ky the arrnrate hifiorian of this 
 expedition, in hi-- apprrJix, p. 2'8. <>' his o-ig'nil Pilition; from whence I 
 have tranftriKe.) tt, s a full pr.,of 'hit Sir George afleii accorJing to the verbal 
 explication of his writu-n orJc;s by iht niiniOers. 
 
 "SIR, Cockpit, May 27, O. S. 17,8. 
 
 " I inrl ->fe to you his msjcfty's infti-uftions, as. well *ifh rclttivn to your 
 '* cotiduft in the McdiwfraaeMu as to the treaty with the Moors. 
 
 After
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The admiral failed the 151)1 of June, 1718, from Spitheadj 
 with twenty fhips of the line of battle, two fire-fhips, two 
 bomb-veffels, an hofpital-fhip, and a ftore-fhip*. Being got 
 into the ocean, he fent the Rupert to Lifbon for intelligence ; 
 and arriving the 3Oth otF Cape St. Vincent, he difpatched the 
 Superbe to Cadiz, with a gentleman, who curried a letter from 
 him to colonel Stanhope, (tke late earl of Harrington), the 
 king's envoy at Madrid, wherein he defired that minifter to ac- 
 quaint the king of Spain with his arrival in thofe parts, in his 
 way to the Mediterranean, and to lay before him the infiruc- 
 tions he was to aft under with his fquadron ; of which he gave 
 a very ample detail in his letter. 
 
 The envoy fliewed the letter to the cardinal Alberoni, who, 
 upon reading it, told him with fome warmth, " That his ma- 
 ' fter would run all hazards, and even fuffer himfelf to be 
 <{ driven out of Spain, rather than recal his troops, or confent 
 ' to any fufpenfion of arms;" adding, " That the Spaniards 
 ' were not to be frighted, and he was fb well convinced of 
 " tlTeir fleet's doing their duty, that if the admiral fhould think 
 " fit to attack them, he fhould be in no pain for the fuccefs." 
 Mr. Stanhope having in his hand a lift of the Britifh fquadron, 
 deiired his eminence to perufe it, and to compare its ftrength 
 \vith that of their own fquadron ; which the cardinal took and 
 threw on the ground wirh much paffion. Mr. Stanhope, with 
 great temper, intreated him " To confider the fincere attention 
 " the king, his mafter, had to the honour and intereft of his 
 " Catholic mnjefty, which it was impoffible for him to give 
 " greater proots of than he had done, by his unwearied en- 
 
 " After what pafTed yefterjay between my lord Sunder'and, my lord Stan- 
 " hope, you and me, when we were toge her at lord Sianhope'i lodgings, 
 *' there remains nothing; for me, hut to wilh van a good voyage, and fuccefs in 
 " your ur.di.-ukings. I d> it vsry heartily, and am, wi.h gcCit truth, 
 " S f R, 
 
 " Your moft obedient, 
 
 " H'-imbie fervant, 
 
 ' J. C R A G G S." 
 
 k Tindal's con'ir-.-r: n of Ra^in, vol. iv. p. 5<53. Columna roflrata, p. 
 301. Annals of kinj; George, vol. iv. p. 151. Mcrcure hii^oriquc et politique, 
 Ixv. p. too, i^i. 
 
 " deavours
 
 opKiNG GEORGE I. 457 
 
 cc deavours through the whole courfe of the prefent negocia- 
 " tion, to procure the moft advantageous conditions pofllble for 
 Spain, in which he had fucceeded even beyond what any un- 
 " prejudiced perfon could have hoped for ; and that, though 
 " by the treaty of Utrecht for the neutrality of Italy, which 
 ' was entered into at the requeft of the king of Spain himfelf, 
 " as alfo by that of Weflmi after, the 25th of May, 1716, his 
 " majefty found himfelf obliged to defend the emperor's domi- 
 nions when attacked, he had hitherto only acted as a media- 
 " tor, though, ever fince the enterprize againft Sardinia, by his 
 " treaties he became a party in the war, and for this year laft 
 " pad had been ftrongly called upon by the emperor to com- 
 " ply with his engagements; and that, even now, when it was 
 <{ iinpoflible for him to delay any longer the fending his fleer. 
 " into the Mediterranean, it plainly appeared by the admiral's 
 " inftructions, which he communicated to his eminence, and 
 ' by the orders he had himfelf received, that his majefty had 
 " nothing more at heart, than that his fleet might be employed 
 " in promoting the interefts of the king of Spain, and 'hoped 
 " his Catholic majefty would not, by refufing to recal his troops, 
 " or conlent to a cellation of arm?, put it out of his power to 
 " give all the proofs of iincere friendlhip he always defigned 
 " to cultivate with his Catholic majefty." 
 
 All that the cardinal could be brought to promife was, to lay 
 the admiral's letter before the king 1 , and to let the envoy-know 
 his refolution upon it in two days : but it was nine before he 
 could obtain and lend it away ; the cardinal probably hoping, 
 that the admiral would delay taking vigorous meafures in ex- 
 pectation of it, and perhaps put into fome of the ports of 
 Spain, and thereby give time for their fleet and forces to fe- 
 cure a good footing in Sicily. The anfwer was wrote under 
 the admiral's letter in thefe words : " His Catholic majefty 
 *' has done rne the honour to tell me. that the chevalier 
 
 1 Oldmixon's hiitnry of England, vol. ii. p. 661. Tindil's ronMnuation cf 
 Rapin, abif.frj. Af.nals of kin" George, vol. iv. p. 189. S.-c Mr. Secretary 
 Ciags' Icitcr to the nmquis uc Moittrlcouc, ia thw r^iiter for 1718, 
 
 p. 307. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 M Byng
 
 NAVAL HISTORt 
 
 * Byng may execute the orders which he has from the king h- 
 mafter. 
 
 " The cardinal ALBERONi* 5 ." 
 Efcurial, July 15, 1718. 
 
 Mr. Stanhope feeing things terxu'ng to a rapture, gave private 
 and early notice of his apprehenfions to the Englifh confulS, 
 and merchants fettled in the Spanifh fea-ports, advifing them to 
 fecure their effects againft the dangers that might arife from a 
 breach between the two crowns. This (hewed plainly enough, 
 that our minifter was perfectly acquainted with the difpofition 
 of the adminiftration it home, who, notwithstanding they ftea- 
 dily purfued thefe warlike meafures, as conftantly adhered to 
 their firft refolution, of throwing the weight of this rupture, if 
 pofiible, on the cou'rt of Spain n . With this view, lord Stan- 
 hope fet out himfelf for Madrid, in order to make new propo- 
 fitions to his Catholic majefty ; which, if accepted, might pre- 
 vent things from coming to extremities ; in which negociation 
 he nlually laboured till very neaf the time that hoftilities were 
 begun ; but to no purpofe, for cardinal Alberoni was as much 
 bent on executing his own fcheme, as the Britifli miniftry could 
 be with regard to theirs j and therefore rejected all the prbpo- 
 fals that were made him, with a fintmefs that was ftiled info- 
 lence by his enemies . 
 
 The admiral purfuing his voyage with unfavourable winds, it 
 was the 8th of July before he made Cape Spartel, where the 
 
 ra See the account of the expedition of the British fleet to Sicily, p, 8. As 
 this is collected very fairly from original papers, I depend upon it as to fafts ; 
 but have endeavoured to ftate them with concurring evidence, in s manner m.TC 
 fnitab'e to this hiltory, ia which I defire to be confidcred in no other light than 
 as a lover of trnth, independent of Complaisance or party. 
 
 n M. de St. Philippe memoires pour fervir a I'hiftotre de l'Efpgne, tome iii. 
 p. i33, iSp. 
 
 Annals of king George, vol. v, p. 7. Lord Stanb6pe afrived at Madrid 
 on the nth of Auguft, and on the i4.:h had a long conference with the cardinal 
 at the Efcurial, which gave him great hopes of fuccefs ; bur, it feems, the news 
 which that court received a few days after, from Sicily, fo elevated the prime 
 minifter, that all profpeft of a pacification vanifncd, which hi lofdfhip no 
 fooncr perceived, than he left Spain as foon as poflible, having his audience of 
 leave on the i<5ih of the fatr.c month. Mcrcure hiftorique ct politique, tome 
 J*v. p. 3S^. 
 
 Supe'rbe
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 459 
 
 Superbe and Rupert rejoined him, and brought him advice of 
 the mighty preparations the Spaniards had made at Barcelona, 
 and of their fleet failing from thence the i8th of June to the 
 eaftward. In pacing by Gibraltar, vice-admiral Cornwall came 
 out of that port and joined him, with the Argyle and Charles 
 galley. The fquadron wanting water, and the wind continuing 
 contrary, they anchored off Cape Malaga ; where having eom- 
 pleated their watering m four days, they proceeded to Minorca, 
 where the admiral was to land four regiments of foot, which 
 he carried out from England, in order to relieve the fokliers 
 there in the garrifon, who were to embark and ferve on board 
 the fqtiadron. On the 23d of July he anchored with the fqua- 
 dron off Port Mahon : here he received advice, that the Spa- 
 ni(h fleet had been feen the 3oth of June, within forty leagues 
 off Naples, fleering S. E. upon which he difpatched away ex- 
 prefles to the governor of Milan, and viceroy of Naples, to 
 inform them of his arrival in the Mediterranean ; and having 
 fhifted the garrifons of Minorca, he failed from thence the 
 twenty-fifth of July, and arrived the iiril of Auguft in the bay 
 of Naples *'. 
 
 One need not wonder that the German government was ex- 
 tremely weil pleafed at the admiral's arrival, or that they paid 
 him every honour in their power, ilnce it is very certain, that 
 his coming fo luckily preferved that kingdom for the houfe of 
 Auftria, which had otherwife, in all probability, fhared the fate 
 of Sicily ; that the marquis de Lede had conquered almoft as 
 foon as he landed, or rather his landing gave people an oppor- 
 tunity of declaring for that pqwer, which, though it had loft its 
 fovereigcty over them, bad flill preferved their aifelions q . 
 
 P Ti-idat's continuation of Rapin, val. iv. p. 567. Columns nftrata, p. 501, 
 303. Mcrcuic hiiloriqac et politiqac, come ixv. Leaurd's naval hiflory, vol. 11. 
 p. 876. 
 
 1 The imperijl viceroy of Naples prefented Sir George wijh a (word fct with 
 diamonds, and a very rich ftaffof command; and to the admiral's fort he made 
 a prefent of a *y fine (word. After the conference the admiral was fplcndidly 
 entertained at dinner, and then lodged in the palace of the duke de Matelona, 
 which had been magnificently fitted up for his recep:lon. The viceroy likewife 
 fent refrelhments to the fleet, confifling of a hundred oxen, three hundred flieep, 
 hx hundred pounds of Aigar, fcventy hogfheads of brandy, and icveral other 
 aaags. 
 
 3 M 2 This
 
 4<fc NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 This news alarmed the viceroy of Naples, who had now no 
 hopes but from the defence that might be made by the citadel of 
 Meflina ; and from that he could have no great confidence, fmce 
 it was garrifoned by the duke of Savoy's troops, who could not 
 be fuppofed to intereft themfelves much in preferving a place 
 which their matter was to part with fo foon. The viceroy, there- 
 fore, wifely confidered how he might make the beft ufe of the 
 Britilh fleet and his own forces ; upon which he came at laft to 
 this prudent rcfolution, which was, to embark 2000 German 
 foot under the command of general Wetzel, who were to take 
 poffeflion of the citadel of Me (fin a, and fort Salvador, in purfu- 
 ance of an agreement with the duke of Savoy, who, finding that 
 at all -events he was to lofe the ifland, contrived to lofe it fo, as 
 that he might get fomething for it. Thefe German forces were 
 to be efcorted by the Britifh fleet, which failed for that purpofe 
 from Naples on the 6th of Auguft, and arrived on the pth in 
 view of the Faro of Meflina r . 
 
 TheSpanifh army, after having taken the city laft-mentioned, 
 were now encamped before the citadel, which the troops, under 
 the protection of Sir George Byng, were going to relieve. 1$ 
 was therefore highly likely that an action would enfue; and for 
 this reafon it was thought requifite to put on {till a peaceable 
 appearance, in order to throw the blame upon the Spaniards ; 
 which, however, was pretty difficult to do, fince, with refpeft 
 to the treaty of Utrecht, (the only treaty of which the Spaniards 
 could take any notice), the Germans were as much invaders as. 
 they, and confequently the efccrting an invafion feemed to be an 
 odd way of confci ving a neutrality s . This ftep, however, was 
 
 necefiary 
 
 r M. c!e St. Pli'.lijipc mcmoires pour fervir a I'hiftcire de 1'Efpagne, tome iii. 
 p. IPS- 
 
 * Af cur rrhiilers, in conjunct >a with thofe of the emperor and France, 
 
 v:r.- dt rcit pains to infpire ail Europe with fhe ntn^ofl horror f-r cardinal Al-' 
 
 1'cron:, fo that minilter, than whom perhaps there nevrr was an abler politician, 
 
 ib'-ught tit,-cn his fide, to publifh feveral pieces, in order to fhew, that the pre-' 
 
 fert difpure was not between the Englifn aaj Spanilh rations, hut between the 
 
 :h miniflry, who would give law to the king of Spain, and the Spanifh na 
 
 hat were determined not to receive it. Amongft thcfe the following m- 
 
 niicrtr) as thought the moft remarkable, and will fervc to give the reader a clar 
 
 idea of the manner in which the court <if Spain would 1 ave had this affair under- 
 
 . It is a !: -r::t;n by th.; caroinul ;o the M. de Dcict;i La;idi ; but ths 
 
 reader
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 Iieceffary to be taken ; and the admiral, who in point of good 
 fenfe and good breeding was as able a man as any in his time, 
 did it with a very good grace. 
 
 He 
 
 reader will fee by the clofe of it, why I ftyle it a manifefro; in which HgSt -t 
 was alfo confidered by our court, as appears by fecretary Craggs's letter to the 
 Spanifb minuter, dated from H tin pton court, Sept. 4, 1718, in which he com- 
 plains loudly of this proceeding, as if intended to excite the merchant* to dit". 
 affection towards the government. 
 
 "SIR, 
 
 " It is notorious every where, that the miuiQry of Great Britain, being pre- 
 " p'-flcficd by their padlons and private views, have endeavoured, by all ima- 
 " ginab'e means, to infut'e into the Englifh nation an entire dift.uO and averfioa 
 " for Spain, to engage the (aid nation to purfue the maxim* < f that miniftry, 
 " which are fo prcjudic'ul and contrary to the common good. It it known, true 
 " of lite the government of England hath u/ed their utmolt endeavours to per- 
 " fuade the nation, that the application and defigns of Spain were to increa f c 
 11 confiderably her naval forces, to oppofe the commerce which all nations in 
 " general carry on with the Indies, notuithltanuing the two lall treaties; ami 
 " the religious obfervati >n of his m.jefty's roy.il word ought to convince 
 " the E.-.g'.ifb of the aitifice with which thofe rumours are fpread, and which are 
 " contrived only to excite diflrufr, and difunion with the Spaniards; and every 
 *' man of !'<-und judgment will rcfliO, that God has put the Indies into the 
 " power of that monarchy, to the end that -1! nations might partake of that ad- 
 ?' vantage : however, it i* the kirig's uill, that, for the greater proof of the fi: - 
 " ctre defire he has to maintain the puilic tranquillity, and for difpclling re- 
 " pnrts fo pern-cious to the quiet of the lubjtcls of Spain an 1 Etighnd, your ex- 
 " cellency fbould allure the Englith merchants th^t are in Hjlland, and a 1 thote 
 who are concerned in commerce, that his inanity will never alter the eilablilh- 
 " ed laws, nor ever infringe the treaties which the Englifh nation enjoy, with f> 
 " grrat benefit, by his generofity ; and that the naval force.' of Spain ate to con- 
 " Cft or.ly of a limited number, that may be liilficient to fccure her coafts in the 
 ' Mediterranean, and to defend and convey her galleons. For a proof of what 
 ' h; maJL-fty orders me to fjy to your excellency, a new conjuncture jvift now 
 .rs itl'clf, in which the king my maftcr, to fignaiize his IDVC of the Britifa 
 <( nation, palTes by wi'hout refentment the contents of the paper here fu!>join. 
 " ed, which is a c^py of that delivered by Mr. Stanhope, and by which an open 
 " rupture is declared, if the projeft be not accepted ; and they offer to oblige 
 " the Ung to it by threats. On the contrary, his m.jefty, ir.ftead of being pro- 
 " voked at fuch a proceeding, has ordered, as an inftance of the go_.d faith witk 
 " which be hath Always a<Hed, that the effcfts and merchandiz; of the Englifh, 
 " which are in the fl >ta that is newly arrived it Csdiz frcm the Lidies, fhall not 
 " be t. uchtd, nor any charge made in relation to them, it being the king's in- 
 41 tendon, ihat what belongs to eich of the EigiiC*i merchants refpeftivcly fton!^ 
 " be delivered to them. The refc.<lu:iou is very different from the rumour* 
 " ( which the Briti!)) minulry fpreads, and is an pr^of, tiia; the kinp'f
 
 462 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 He fent for this purpofe his firft captain, who was captain 
 Saumlers, with a letter to the marquis de Lede, in which he 
 acquainted him, " That the king his mafter, being engaged by 
 " feveral treaties to preferve the tranquillity of Italy, had ho- 
 c< noured him with the command of a fquadron of (hips, which 
 < he had fent into thefefeas, and that he came fully impowered 
 < and inftructed to promote fuch meafures as might beft ac- 
 commodate all differences between the powers concerned ; 
 * that his majefty was employing his utmoft endeavours to bring 
 about a general pacification, and was not without hopes of 
 < { fuccefs. He therefore propofed to him to come to a ceflation 
 ' of arms in Sicily for two months, in order to give time to the 
 " feveral courts to conclude on fuch refolutions as might reftore 
 < a lading peace :" but added, " That, if he was not fo happy to 
 <* fucceed in this offer of fervice, nor to be inftrumental in bring- 
 " ing about fo defirable a work, he then hoped to merit his ex- 
 * { celiency'sefteem in the executionof the other part of his orders, 
 which were, to ufe all his force to prevent farther attempts to 
 ' difturb the dominions his mafter flood engaged to defend." 
 
 The next morning the captain returned with the general's an- 
 fwer, " That it would be an inexprefllble joy for his perfon to 
 " contribute to fo laudable an end as peace ; but, as he had no 
 *' powers to treat, he could not of confequence agree to any 
 " fufpenfion of arms, even at the expence of what the courage 
 *' of his mafter^s arms might be put to, but fhould follow hi* 
 " orders, which directed him to feize on Sicily for his mafter 
 *' the king of Spain : that he had a true fenie of hisaccompliili- 
 < ed expreffions ; but his mafter's forces would always be uni- 
 < verfally efteemed in facrificing themfclves for the prefervation. 
 *' of their credit, in which cafes the fuccefs did npt always an- 
 " fwer the idea that were formed for it c ." 
 
 *' will ever 5ndin him to promote the benefit of that cation. His rrajeOy or. 
 " ders, that your excellency read this letter to all Engiifh merchants in general, 
 *' as alfo the contents of the paper hereunto annexed, and that you at!t;re them, 
 41 that the king will firmly maintain the treaty, preferring the advantages of the 
 11 British ruti'n foal! other fatisfattnn, and hoping that, in return, men fo wife, 
 - to prudent, and fo imeliigerir, will not let thtm'elves be drawn away by the 
 ' perftiiinon, and for the pitvate ends of the Konlilt minifiry, which are entire- 
 ' ly fdtal to the peace of the two naiionj and of the two kingdoms. 
 
 ' I am, fr." 
 .. a\ die Mflo''y of the expedition before cl:cA. 
 
 According
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 According to the beft accounts the admiral could receive, he 
 ivas led to conclude that the Spanifh fleet was failed from Mal- 
 ta, in order to avoid him ; and therefore, upon receiving the 
 marquis's anfwer, he immediately weighed, with an intention to 
 come with his fquadron before Meffina, in order to encourage 
 and fupport the garrifon in the citadel ; but as he ftood in about 
 the point of the Faro, towards Medina, he faw two of the 
 Spanifh fcouts in the Faro ; and being informed at the fame 
 time, by a felucca that came off from the Calabrian {Lore, that 
 they faw from the hills the Spanifh fleet lying by, the admiral 
 altered his defign, and fending away general Wetzel with the 
 German troops to Reggio, under the convoy of two men of 
 war, he ftood through the Faro with his fquadron, with nil the 
 fail he could, after their fcouts, imagining they would lead him 
 to their fleet, which accordingly they did j for about noon he 
 had a fair fight of their whole fleet, lying by, and drawn into 
 a line of battle, conlllting of twenty-feven fail of men of war, 
 fmall and great, befides two fire-fhips, four bomb-veffels, feven 
 gallies, and feveral Ihips laden with ftores and provifions, com- 
 manded by the admiral don Antonio de Cafteneta, and under 
 him four rear-admirals, Chacon, Mari, Guevara, and Cammock; 
 on the fight of the Englifh fquadron they ftood away large, but 
 in good order of battle u . 
 
 The admiral followed them all the reft of that day and the 
 fucceeding night, with fmall gales N. E. and fometimes calm, 
 with fair weather ; the next morning early (the i ith) the Eng- 
 li(h being got pretty near them w , the marquis de Mari, rear- 
 admiral, 
 
 u Hi. de St. Philippe memcires ponr fcrrir a 1'hiftoire de I'Efpagne, tome iii. 
 p. J97, 198, 299. 
 
 w It is evident from hence that our admiral had no intention to decline fight- 
 ing; and the following letter from earl Sunhope, then fccretary of ftatr, plain- 
 ly proves it was not the intention of thofe who fent him that he ihould declirt 
 fiohting. It is a curious piece, and very well wotthy of the r.-adcr's notice, as 
 It tends to explain the great view of thi* expedition. 
 
 " Bayonnr, Sfptfmlicr i, 1718. 
 
 " Being arrived here la!> night, in fix days from Madrid, I do, in purfnance 
 ' of the commands I have From hi* majcfiy, take this Heft opportunity of ac- 
 " qu/inting you, that n^'lu.:^ has paflcd at Madrid which IhouIJ divirt you 
 " frcm purfuing the inflrufthnt you have. 
 
 " If
 
 464 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 admiral, with fix Span! Hi men of war, and all the gallics, fire- 
 fhips, bomb-veiYels, and ftore-fhips, feparated from their main 
 fleet, and ftood in for the Sicilian Ihore , upon which the admi- 
 ral detached captain Walton in the Canterbury, with five more 
 fhips after them ; and the Argyle fired a (hot to bring her to, 
 but fhc not minding it, the Argyle fired a fecond, and the Can- 
 terbury, being fomething nearer, fired a third ; upon which the 
 Spanifh fhip fired her ftern-chace at the Canterbury, and then 
 the engagement began *. 
 
 The admiral purfuing the main body of the Spanifh fleet, the 
 Orford, captain Falkingham, and the Grafton, captain Had- 
 dock, came up firil with them, about ten of the clock, at whoni 
 the Spaniards fired their ftern-chace guns. The admiral fent 
 orders to thofe two fhips not to fire, unlefs the Spaniards re- 
 peated their firing, which, as foon as they did, the Orford at- 
 tacked the Santa Rofa, of fixtj-four guns, and took her. The 
 St. Carlos, of fixty guns, (truck next, without much oppofitioo, 
 to the Kent, captain Matthews. The Grafton attacked warmly 
 the Prince of Afturias, of ieventy guns, formerly called the 
 Cumberland, in which was rear-admiral Chacon ; but the Breda 
 and Captain coming up, captain Haddock left that fhip, much 
 fh.attered, for them to take, and ftretched a-head after another 
 fhip of fixty gunsj which had kept firing on his ftarboard bow 
 during his engagement with the Prince of Afturias. About one 
 
 ' Tf the nt-.vs which I lc:rn at B*y.inne, that the citadel of Medina it taken, 
 " be not true, or if, notwithilanding ;he Spaniards have that port, their rh-et, 
 " by contrary winds, or any other accident, fhould not have got into the har- 
 *' hour, and that you h-ive an opportunity of attacking them, I am perfuaded 
 " you will not let Inch an occafion flip; and I agree perfectly in opinion with 
 " what h recommended to you by Mr. Secretary Craggs, that the firft blow you 
 " give, (hould, if porti'iir, be decifive. 
 
 ' Tlie two great oi j ct.-, which, I think, we onght to have in view, are, to 
 " deflroy their fiect, ir putfible, and to pteferve fuch a footing in Sicily as may 
 " enable us to land an army there." 
 
 x Sec the line of batilc, inserted at the end of this relation. It was un- 
 doubtedly an act of ralhnefs in cardinal Al ! >eroni to give any fighting orders to 
 the Spanifh admiial, if he did give them. But from what is here {aid, the con- 
 trary is the mull prohabU-; indeed, the refoliuion of the Spanilh admirals feems 
 to prove, they were not guided by any orders; if fo, v-e mud conclude they 
 a#cd from a pri: ciple of frif j>r:fcrv.i:k-i!, and fuugiit 01 Jy bccaufc ;hcy were 
 forced to it. 
 
 o'clock
 
 OF KING G E O R G E I. 465 
 
 o'clock the Kent, and foon after the Superbe, captain Matter, 
 came up with, and engaged the Spanifli admiral of feventy-four 
 guns, who, with two fhips more, fired on them, and made a 
 running fight till about three; and then the Kent, bearing down 
 under his ftern, gave him her broadfide, and fell to leeward af- 
 terwards; the Superbe, putting forward to lay the admiral 
 a-board, fell on his weather-quarter ; upon which, the Spanifli 
 admiral fhifting his helm, the Superbe ranged under his lee- 
 quarter; on which he ftruck to her. At the fame time the Bar- 
 fleur, in which was the admiral, being a-ftern of the Spanifli 
 admiral, within (hot, and inclining on his weather-quarter, 
 rear-admiral Guevara and another fixty-gun fhip, which were 
 to windward, bore down upon him, and gave him their broad- 
 fides, and then clapped upon a wind, {landing in for land. The 
 admiral immediately tacked and ftood after them until it was 
 almoft night, but it being little wind, and they hauling away 
 out of his reach, he left purfuing them, and ftood in to the 
 fleet, which he joined two hours after night y . 
 
 The Eflex took the Juno of thirty-fix gtms, the Montague 
 and Rupert took the Volante of forty-four guns, and rear- 
 admiral Delaval, in the Dorfetfhire> took the Ifabella of fixry 
 guns. The action happened off Cape PaiTaro, at about 1 fix 
 leagues diftance from the fhore z . The Engliih received but 
 
 little 
 
 T Oldmixon's hiitory of Enghnd, vvl. ii. p. 653. Tindal's continuation of 
 Rapin, vol. iv. p. 558. Annals of king George, vol. v. p. 12. Columna ro- 
 flrata, p. 303 305. Mercbrc hiftorique ct politique, tome Ixv. p. 339. 
 
 z A LIST of the Briiifh fleet under the command of Sir George Byr.g, in ?Us 
 sAion off Gape Paflaro in Sicily, in the jtu i;i3, 
 
 Ships. Captains. Men. Guns. 
 
 r Admiral Byng, ~\ 
 
 Barflcur, < i George Sa.inders, 730 93 
 
 (. i Richard Leftock, J 
 r Vice-admiral Cornwall, > 
 Shrcwftury, | John Bilchen , j 545 
 
 c Rear-ad'miral Delav.il, > 
 Corfetlhirc, { John Furger> j 53S 
 
 Bnrford, Charles Vanbrugh, 440 70 
 
 Ellex, Richard Rowzier, 440 70 
 
 Grafton, Nicliohs Haddock, 440 7 
 
 Lenox, Charki Strickland, 440 7^ 
 
 Carried over 3570 510 
 
 VOL. III. 3 N Shrps.
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 little damage : the fliip tliat fuffered mod was the Graftor>, 
 which being a good failer, her captain engaged feveral (hips of 
 the enemy, always purfuing the headmoft, and leaving thofe 
 ihips he had difabled or damaged to be taken by thole that fol- 
 lowed him. The admiral lay by fomc days at fea to refit the 
 rigging of his ihips, and to repair the damages which the prizes 
 had fuftaiued ; and the i8th received a letter from captain 
 Walton, who had been fent in purfuit of the Spanifh (hips 
 that efcapeJ. The letter is fingular enough in its kind to 
 delerve notice, and therefore the hiftorian of this expedition 
 has, with great judgment, preferved it. Thus it runs : 
 
 S I R, 
 
 " WE have taken and deflroyed all the Spanifh {hips and 
 " vefie Is which were upon the coaft, the number as er mar- 
 gin. 
 
 " I am, sV. 
 
 G. WALTON." 
 
 Canterbury, off Svracufa, 
 Aug. i<S, 1718. 
 
 Thefe fhips that captain Walton thruft into his margin 
 would have furniihed matter for fome pages in a French rela- 
 tion ; for, from the account they referred to, it appeared, that: 
 he had taken four Spanifh men of war, one of iixty guns, corn- 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Orford, 
 
 Kent, 
 
 Royal Oak, 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Canterbury, 
 
 Dreadnought, 
 
 Rippon, 
 
 fruperhe, 
 
 Rupert, 
 
 Dvinkirk, 
 
 Montague, 
 
 Rochcfter, 
 
 Argylc, 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Brought over 
 Bjrrow Harris, 
 Edward Falkiogham, 
 Thomas Mitthew?, 
 Thomas Kempthorne, 
 Archibald Hamilton, 
 George Walton, 
 WilHam Haddock, 
 Chrirtopher Obrian, 
 Streynfham Maftcr, 
 Arthur Field, 
 Francis Drake, 
 Thomas Beverly, 
 Jofeph Winder, 
 
 Norbury, 
 
 Men. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 440 
 440 
 440 
 443 
 440 
 36s 
 
 1400 
 
 manded
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 407 
 
 man3ed by rear-admiral Mari, one of fifty-four, one of forty, 
 and one of twenty-four guns with a bomb-veffel, and a (hip 
 laden with arms ; and burnt four men of war, one of fifty-four 
 guns, two of forty, and one of thirty guns, with a fire-mip and 
 2 bomb-veiTel *. Such is the account given of this famous action 
 by our admiral : the Spaniards publifhed likewife an account 
 on their fide, which was printed in Holland, and circulated 
 with great induflry throughout all Europe, in order to make 
 "fuch impreilions as might ferve their purpofe, and incline the 
 world to believe, that their fleet had not been attacked and 
 beaten fairly, but had been furprifed and deftroyed without that 
 kind of notice which the laws of nature and nations require, 
 to diftinguHh force of arms from piratical violence. It is but 
 juit in any caufe to hear both parties, and the office of an hifto- 
 rian obliges him to record whatever may give light to the event* 
 of that period he pretends to illuftrate by his writings. For this 
 reafon I have thought it requiilte to give place -here to the Spu- 
 niih account without curtailing or difguifing it b . 
 
 " On the pth of Auguft, in the morning, the Englifli fqua- 
 ** dron was difcovered near the tower of Faro, which lay by 
 " toward:, night, off Cape Delia Metelle, over-againft the faid 
 *' tower. The Spaniili fquadron was then in the Streight, and 
 fome fhips and frigates were fent to other places; belides the 
 44 detachment commanded by admiral Guevara, And, as the 
 
 This account is taken fr Tn the feveral letters written -hy the admiral, or pub,- 
 liihcd wi:h his authority; and from hence it i> vilible, that the entire definition 
 of" the Spai-.ilh maritime power was the principal point in viw, and, as fuch, pur- 
 fued with equal fteadincfs and vigour ; and, at the fam; time, abundance of 
 .pamphlets were publillifd here, to ftew the expediency of this meafnre, and the 
 benefit's that would reiu't to Great Biuain frum this dcftrufticn of the naval 
 power of Spain. The Spaniards, on tiie othtr hand, filled ail the world with 
 C'jmpljirts of our infinccrity and ambition. Before the blow was ftruck, faid they, 
 th; Ei.'glifh prttendt:d to hr guardians of the nen:raK:y of Italy, and to have arm- 
 ed only tor the ('Ac of preserving peace; bm, now they have icconjpHiljcd their 
 cids, tliey avow them, and fay plainly, tii.-.t they were reWved not to fnffcr 
 Spain to revive her maritime power. In whi-t ctiapter of the law of na inns do we 
 icid of this ri^ht of prevention ? 
 
 !' Tr.ere are many thingj in this relation more a^rsuble to the Spinifh humour 
 -> truth ; bjt, however, bv thr comparifon cf th:s with our a-imiral's ac. 
 , come to be explained which ot!.er*:je migh: have been 
 D obicuriiy, 
 
 3 N i intention
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 " intention of the Englifh in coming fo near was not known, 
 " the admirals of the Spanifh fquadron refolved to go out of 
 f { the Streight, to join together near Cape Spartivento, carry- 
 " ing along with them the tranfports laden with provifions, 
 " that they might penetrate the better into the dcfigns of the 
 " Englifh ; the rather, becaufe the officer whom Sir George 
 " Byng had fent to the marquis de Lede was not yet returned. 
 ( The faid officer had orders to propofe to the faid marquis a 
 " fufpenfion of arms for two months ; upon which the faid 
 " marquis anfwered him, that he could not do it without or- 
 tf ders from court. Neverthelefs, though it was believed that 
 * f the alternative was taken of fending a courier to Madrid 
 a with the faid propofal, the Englilh fquadron took the oppor- 
 ** tunity of night to furprife the Spanifh fquadron, and to im- 
 " prove thofe advantages which were owing to diflimulation. 
 
 < f The faid Englifh fquadron, on the loth in the morning, 
 * advanced farther into the Faro, and was faluted by all the 
 " Spanifli fliips and vefiels which were there; and it is to be 
 " obferved, that admiral Byng having convoyed fome tranf. 
 " port-veflels as far as Rixoles, with the arch-duke's troops, 
 the officer difpatched to the marquis de Lede affirmed, that 
 < it was not to commit any at of hoftility, but only that the 
 < faid tranfports might be fecured from infults under his pro- 
 tection. 
 
 The Spanifh fquadron fent two light frigates to get intel- 
 ligence of the Englifh fquadron ; and though they faw the 
 " Englifh made all the fail they could (their intention being 
 < l not known) to approach the Spanifh fquadron, whofe admi- 
 ' ral knew not then whether the Englifh came as friends or 
 " enemies, yet the Spaniards, being two leagues from the Eng- 
 " lifh, refolved to retire towards Cape Paflaro, but without 
 < making much fail, that it might not be thought they fufpecl;- 
 " ed any hoftilities. During this a calm happened, by which 
 the fliips of both fquadrons fell in one among another; and 
 < the Spanifh admiral, perceiving this accident, caufed the ihips 
 " of the line to be towed, in order to feparate them from the 
 '' Lnglifh, and join them in one body, without permitting the 
 ' gallies to begin any aft of hoflility ; which they might have 
 i " Jons to thdr advantage during the calm. The weather 
 
 " changed
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 * f changed when the marquis cle Mari was near land, and by 
 confequence feparated from the reft, making the rear-guard, 
 f with feveral frigates, and other tranfport-velTels, which 
 " made up his divifion, and endeavoured, though in vnin, to 
 join the main body of the Spanifh fqtiadron, while the Eng- 
 " lifh held on their way, their diflimulation, filling their fails 
 <f to gain the wind, and cut off the laid divifion of the faid 
 marquis de Mari ; and having at laft fucceeded in it, they at- 
 " tacked him with fix fhips, and obliged him to feparate from 
 " the reft of the fquadron, and to make towards the coaft, 
 " where they flood it againft feven fhips of the line, as long as 
 " the fituation permitted ; and being no longer able to refiff, 
 " the marquis de Mari faveci his men, by running his fhips a- 
 " ground, fome of which were burnt by his own order, and 
 " others taken by the enemy. 
 
 " Seventeen fhips of the line, the remainder of the Englifh 
 " fquadron, attacked the Royal St. Philip, the Prince of A- 
 fturias, the St. Ferdinand, St. Charles, St. Ifabella, St. Pe- 
 " dro, and the frigates St. Rofa, Pearl, Juno, and Volante, 
 " which continued making towards Cape PafTaro ; and as they 
 " retired in a line, becauie of the inequality of their ftrengrh, 
 " the Englifh attacked thole that compofed the rear-guard, 
 " with four or five fhips, and took them ; and this happened 
 " fucceffively to the others, which, notwithstanding all the fail 
 " they made, could not avoid being beaten ; infomuch, that 
 <e every Spanifh fliip being attacked feparately by five, fix, or 
 " feven of theirs, after a bloody and obftinate figlu, they made 
 " themfelves mafters at laft of the Royal St. Philip, the Prince 
 " of Afturias, the St. Charles, the St. Ifabella, St. Rofa, the 
 " Volante, and the Juno. 
 
 " While the Royal St. Philip was engaged with the Englifh, 
 " the rear-admiral of the fquadron, don Balthazer de Guevara, 
 ' returned from Malta with two fhips of the line, and turning 
 " his prow towards the St. Philip, pafTed by the Englifh fhips 
 " which were a-breaft of him, firing upon each of them, and 
 " then attacked admiral Byng's fhips, which followed the St. 
 " Philip, and retired in the night, being very much damaged; 
 " for after the engagement, he flayed three or four days fifty 
 f leagues at fea, uot only to repair the Spanifh fliips, which he 
 
 had
 
 470 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ' had taken, and were all (battered to pieces ; but alfo to make 
 " good the damages which himfelf had fuffered ; wherefore 
 " he could not enter Syracufa till the i6th or i;th of Auguit, 
 " and that with a great deal of difficulty. 
 
 " The particulars of the action are, that the whole divifion 
 " of the Englifh admiral, which confifted of (even (hips of the 
 <f line, and a fire-fhip, having attacked the Royal St. Philip, 
 " at two in the afternoon the fight began, by a fhip of feven ty 
 (i guns, and another of (ixty, from which he received two 
 tf broadfides ; and advancing towards the Royal St. Philip, 
 <{ don Antonio de Caftaiieta defended himfelf fo well, that the 
 " faid two (hips retired, and two others, viz. one of eighty 
 guns, and the other of feventy, renewed the attack; and 
 ' the faid fhip of eighty guns retired very much (haltered, 
 ' without making into the line; but others making towards the 
 " 'Spanifh admiral, they fired upon him, while it was impofTi- 
 < ble for him to hurt them, and (hot away all his rigging, 
 ec without leaving him one entire fail, while two others, one 
 f< of thirty, and the other of fixty guns, attacked the fhir- 
 <f board of his (hip, to oblige him to fur,readerj but defending 
 " himfelf till the EngliPn admiral was refclved to board him, 
 *' and carried a fire- fhip to reduce him by the flames, which 
 ' the Spanilh commander prevented ; but after having loft 200 
 " men, and maintained the fight till towards night, don Anto- 
 * f nio de Caftaimta received a {hot which pierced his left leg, 
 ; and wounded his right heel. Yet, nevertheJefs he continued 
 ' to defend himfeif till a cannon-bullet having cut a man in 
 *' two, the pieces of which fell upon him, and left him. half 
 ' dead, he was forced to furrender. 
 
 *< The Prince of Afturias, commanded by con Fernanoo 
 ' Chucon, was at the faRie time attacked by three (Lips of 
 " equal force, againft which he defended himfelf valiantly, 
 * s avoiding being boarded, till, being wounded, and having loft 
 " moft of his men, he was obliged to furrender his fhip, 
 *' which was all (hot through and through, after having (hot 
 " down the malts of an Englifh. fhip that retired out of the 
 " fight. 
 
 <* Captain don Antonio Gonfales, commander of the frigate 
 " St. Rold, defended himfelf above three hours agiiinft live 
 
 Engliilx
 
 o F K i N c GEORGE I. 47 r 
 
 " Englifh fhips, who did not take him till after they had 
 < broke all his fails and marts. 
 
 " The Volante, commanded by captain don Antonio Efcu- 
 " dero, knight of the order of Malta, fought three hours and 
 " a half againft three Englifh fhips ; and having loft his fails, 
 " he put up others that were in ftore, and was juft going to 
 " board one of the three fhips that attacked him j but his own 
 " b.ing fhot through and through by fix cannon bullets, and 
 " the water coming in, he was obliged to furrender, becauiV 
 * the (hip's crew forced him. 
 
 " The Juno was engaged aHb by three Englifh fhips ; yet 
 f maintained the fight above three hours, not furrendering till 
 " after moft of her men were killed, and the (hip juft falling 
 " in pieces. 
 
 " Captain don Gabriel Aldercte, alfo defended the frigate 
 called the Pearl, againft three Englifh Ihips for three hours ;. 
 " and after having fhot down the marts of one, which imme- 
 ( diately retired, he was relieved by admiral don Balthazar de 
 " Guevara, and had the good fortune to efcape to Malta. 
 
 " Captain don Andrea Reggio, knight of the order of Mal- 
 *< ta, who was fartheft advanced with the (hip the Ifabella, 
 " was purfued all that night by feveral Englifh (hips ; and, af- 
 ter having defended himfelf for four hours, he furrendercd 
 " the next day. 
 
 " The frigate called tbe Surprize, which was of the marquis 
 " de Mari's divifion, and by confequence farther advanced than 
 " the others, was attacked by three Englifh fliips, and main- 
 (( tained a fight for three hours, till the captain don Michael 
 de Sada, knight of the order of St. John, being wounded, 
 ** moft of her men killed, and all her rigging fpoilcd, (lie was 
 ' forced to furrender. 
 
 The other light fhips and frigntes of the Spanifh fqua- 
 * dron, not already mentioned, rtrtired to Malta and Sardi- 
 < nia; as did alfo the admiral don H.ilthazar de Guevara, with 
 " his two (liips St. Lewis and St. John, after having been en- 
 " g a g e d with the Englifh nil-.v.irr.l, ;'.ud having refcued the fri- 
 <{ gate called the PC.
 
 472 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 " It muft not be forgot, that the marines in every fhip 
 " fignalized and diftinguifhed themfelvcs with a great deal of 
 " valour, they being compofed of the nobility of Spain. 
 
 " The feven gallies which were under the command of ad- 
 (t miral don Francifco de Grimao, having done all that was 
 " poffible to join the Spanifh fhips, feeing that there was ftill 
 " a frefh gale of wind, retired to Palermo. 
 
 " Befides the above-mentioned fliips, which the Englifli took 
 out of the main body of the Spamfli fquadron, they alfo 
 " made themfelves mafters of the Royal, and of two frigates, 
 " St. Ifidore, and the Eagle j thofe fhat were burnt by the or- 
 " der of the marquis de Mari, are two bomb-gallies, a fire- 
 " fhip, and the Efperanca frigate, io that the fhips which ef- 
 " caped out of the battle are the following : St. Lewis, St. 
 " John, St. Ferdinand, and St. Peter ; and die frigates Her* 
 " mione, Pearl, Galera, Porcupine, Thouloufe, Lyon, Little 
 St. John, the Arrow, Little St. Ferdinand, a bomb-galley, 
 and a fhip of Pintado. 
 
 " This is the account of the fea-fight which was at the 
 " height of Abola, or the Gulf of 1'Ariga, in the canal of 
 " Ivlr.lta, between the Spani/li and Euglilh fquadrons, the laft 
 " of which, by ill faith, and the fuperiority of their ftrength, 
 { had the advantage to beat the Spanifh fhips fmgly, one by 
 " one; and it is to be believed, by the defence the Spaniards 
 " made, that if they had a&ed jointly, the battle would have 
 " ended more happily for them. 
 
 " Immediately after the fight, a captain of the Englifli fqua- 
 dron came, in the name of admiral Byng, to make a com- 
 ' pliment of excufe to the marquis de Lede, giving him to un- 
 derftand, that the Spaniards had been the aggreflors, and 
 ' that this aflion ought not to be looked upon as a rupture, 
 f becaiife the Engliih did not take it as fuch. To which it was 
 " anfwered, that Spain on the contrary will reckon it a formal 
 * rupture ; and that they would do the Englifli all the damages 
 " and hoflilities imaginable, by giving orders to begin with re- 
 " prifals ; and, in confcquence of this, feveral Spanifli veflels, 
 
 " and
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 
 
 473 
 
 and Guevara's fquadron, have already taken fome En^lifh 
 fhips c ." 
 
 c A LIST of the SPANISH FLEET, in the aftbn off Cape Paffaro, in the 
 year 1718, under the corn man J ot DON ANTONIO DE CASTANETA, includ- 
 ing two fhi.s which wereamoogS thole that captain WALTON deftroyed, on ti.c 
 coatt of Ci.ily. 
 
 SHIPS. 
 
 St. Phil p, the 
 P:ince ,t A.lu.'iaS 
 The Ro.al 
 St. Lewis 
 St. 1'e.d.nand 
 
 St. Carlos 
 Sancla Ifanella 
 Sanc*a R fa 
 S:. J hn Baptift 
 St. Peter 
 
 CAPTAINS. 
 
 AJnvrai Caflaoeta, taken 
 Rear-adirira! Chacon, taken 
 Rear admiral Mari, taken 
 Reai-admiti! Guevara, efcaped 
 Rear admiral Cammock, cleaned, 
 furA a;terwards dt Mciiina 
 Mole 
 
 Ptince de Chalay, taken 
 Don Andrea R.zio, taken 
 D. ii Antonio Gunfaies, taken 
 Don Francifco Geireia, efcaped 
 Don A itonic Arriijgo, efcaped, 
 
 afterwaras ioft in tti^ gui! r 
 
 Taren o 
 
 Pearl 
 
 Don Gabriel Alderete, efcaped 
 
 300 
 
 S= 
 
 Sr. Ifidore 
 
 Don Manuel villa Vicent a, tiken 
 
 300 
 300 
 
 50 
 
 1/Efperanza 
 
 D>>n Juan Ucifiiio and Bariandi.") 
 bu lit J 
 
 300 
 
 46 
 
 Volante 
 
 Don Antonio Efcndera, taken 
 
 300 
 
 44 
 
 Harmonia 
 
 Don Rodrigo de Tones, efcped,~) 
 
 300 
 
 44 
 
 
 funk a t-iwards in Medina > 
 
 300 
 
 44 
 
 Porcupine 
 
 A Fe.ichman, efcaped 
 
 250 
 
 44 
 
 Surprize 
 
 Don Michael de Sada, knight of") 
 Malta, taken j 
 
 IS 
 
 36 
 
 Juno 
 
 Don Pe-ro Moyana, taken 
 
 5 
 
 36 
 
 La Galera 
 
 Don Franc. fco AKerera, efcaf ed 
 
 aco 
 
 30 
 
 La Caftilla 
 
 Don Franc fco Lenio, knight of") 
 Malta, efcaped J 
 
 2CO 
 
 3 
 
 dunt de Thouloufe 
 
 D~n Jofeph Joco'ia, efcaped, taken") 
 
 
 
 
 in Mcflin* Mole J 
 
 a o 
 
 3 3 
 
 Tyg-r 
 
 Don Covaigne, tiken 
 
 240 
 
 26 
 
 Eagle 
 
 D ,n Luc s Mafnata, taken 
 
 140 
 
 *4 
 
 Sr. Francis Areres 
 
 Ja:ob, a Scoifman, ekaped 
 
 iao 
 
 21 
 
 J.ittle St. Ferdiiiand 
 
 (r 4 
 
 150 
 
 ao 
 
 t neaped 
 
 Liitie St. John 
 
 D n Ignari.i Vi evale, ef.apcd, ta-? 
 
 
 
 
 ken afterw..r<is 
 
 150 
 
 i:> 
 
 Arrow 
 
 D^n Juwi Pap jen', efcaped 
 
 IOO 
 
 iS 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 3 o 
 
 There
 
 474 N r A V A L HISTORY 
 
 There is no queftion to be made, but that both thefe rela- 
 tions retain fome tindlure of the paflions and prejudices of thofe 
 who drew them up ; and it is no lefs certain, that what waa 
 commonly reported at that time, of the bad behaviour of the 
 Spaniards, and of their making but a weak defence, was indif- 
 ferently founded. For the truth is, that their fleet, though 
 ftrong in appearance, was every way inferior to ours; their fbips 
 being eld, their artillery none of the beft, and their feamen 
 moft of them not to be depended upon d . Yet it is agreed on 
 all hands,, that their admirals defended themfelves gallantly; fo 
 that, upon the whole, their defeat may be charged upon their 
 irrefolution at the beginning, and their not taking good advice 
 when it was given them. 
 
 I mean that of rear-admiral Cammock, an Irifh gentleman, 
 \vho had ferved long in our navy, and who was (to fpeak impar- 
 tially) a much better leaman than any who bore command in the 
 Spanifh fleet. He knew perfectly well the frrength of both par- 
 lies, and faw plainly, that nothing could lave the Spaniards but 
 a wife difpofition - r and therefore, in the laft council of war held 
 before the battle, he propofed,that they fhould remain at anchor 
 in' the road of Paradife, ranging their (hips in a line of battle,, 
 with their broadfides to the lea ; which meafure would certainly 
 have given the Englifh admiral infinite trouble to attack them ;. 
 for the coaft there is fo bold, that their biggefl fhips could ride 
 with a cable a-fhore, and farther out the currents are fo various 
 and rapid, that it would be hardly practicable to get up to them* 
 but impoflible to anchor, or ly by them in order of battle. 
 Befides, they might have lain fo near the fhore r and could have 
 received fo great reinforcements of feldiers from the army- to 
 man and defend them, and the annoyance the Spaniards might 
 have given, from the fcveral- batteries they could have planted 
 along the fhore, would have been fuch,.that the only way of 
 attacking the fhips feemed to be by boarding and grappling with 
 them at once, to prevent being caft off by the currents, whicl*- 
 would have been an hazardous undertaking, wherein the Spa- 
 
 d M. cV S . Phi i: pr me mo : rf t pour fervir a Pi iftc ire de 1'Efpagne, tome iii. p. 
 297, wheie he fays the fame th.r 1-flo, and hiaius thf ir admiral Cilla':etn, for lofir.g 
 th.ee dj*s, in \\'.r.ch t'ra: he c:i&ht J.avc r.hed Malu, ani tbcitby favedths whole 
 
 aiards-
 
 OF KING GEORGE!. 47 j 
 
 niards would have had many advantages, and the Englifh admi- 
 ral have run the -chance of deftroying his fleet, or buying a vic- 
 tory, if he fucceeded, very dear c . The Spanifii admirals wa - 
 too much perfuaded of their own ftrength, and the courage af 
 their Teamen, or elfe they foolifhly depended on their not bein^ 
 attacked by our ileet. Whatever the motive was, they flighted 
 this falutary counfei, and were thereby undone. 
 
 As foon as admiral Byng had obtained a full account of the 
 whole tranfaction, he difpatched away his eldeft ion to 'England'', 
 who, arriving at Hampton-court in fifteen days from Naples, 
 brought thither the agreeable confirmation of what public fame 
 had before reported, and upon which the king had already writ- 
 ten a letter to the admiral with his own hand s. Mr. Byng me: 
 with a moft gracious reception from his majefty, who made him 
 
 c Thi? wa the fentiment of admiral Byng, and therefore we may conclude, 
 he who gave the advice was a good Teaman. 
 
 f London Gaze te, K. 6673. 
 
 3 This circumftance, as well as the ftyle of the foil >wing letter, will fufiiciently 
 demonftrate how welcome the news was to his majtfty, and how much he appro, 
 ved Sir George Byng's c.>n.lud, and the fyftem on whicli it was founded. 
 
 " Monf. le<:iifv. Bvsc, 
 
 " Qji >y qe je n'ay p a * encore rrceu Ac vos novclles en droit tare, j'ay p- 
 *' pris la viftoire que la flute a rempoitee feus vos orclres, et je n'ay pas T u'.il 
 " VPUS dirterer Ic contentment qr.e mon appn-ba'i' n de votre curdui: vous poui- 
 " roit donner. Je vous en rcmrrci--, et je fouhaite que vons en temoign:ez IT.J. 
 ' fatisfaclijn a tous les braves gens, qui le font diftingiuz dans cette occaiioi , 
 " Le fecretsire d'etat Craggs a orclrc de vous itiformer plus au long denies in. 
 " tentions mais j'ay v -ulu v^us aCIircr moy meme que je fuis, monficiir le cha- 
 " v-ilier Byng 
 
 " A Hdmpton-ronrf, " VoJre ?>nn amy, 
 
 " ceasd'Aaut, 1718. " G JE O R G E R. " 
 
 In CngHftj tlwii : 
 c Sir GEORGE BvNt7, 
 
 " Although I have itceived no news from you <!ireclly, lam informed of th 
 " v'rflory obtained by the fleet under your comnrand, and woifid not theref<c 
 " defer givin? you that fuufaQkM which mud rffult frnm my approbation of, 
 " your condaft. I give you my thsnk, and deliic yon will tcftify my fahfdtfiim 
 <c to all the brave men who have diDinguiflied themfelves on this occifi>in. Mr. 
 41 fccretary Craggs has orders to inform you more fully of my iotentior.s ; but i 
 <' was wil.ing myfelf to allure you, thai 1 im 
 
 " Hampton-court, " V;.ur gr>ol friend, 
 
 * .g. ij, 1718. GEORGE R."
 
 476 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 a handfome prefent, and fent him back with plenipotentiary 
 powers to his father, to negociate with the feveral princes and 
 ftates of Italy as there fhould be occafion, and with his royal 
 grant, to the officers and feamen, of all prizes taken by them 
 from the Spaniards h . 
 
 The admiral in the mean time profecuted his affairs with great 
 diligence, procured the emperor's troops free ace efs into rh<: ior- 
 trefles that were ftill held out in Sicily, failed afterward to Malta> 
 and brought out the Sicilian gallies under the command of the 
 marquis de Rivaroles, and a fliip belonging to the Turkey com- 
 pany> which had been blocked up there by rear-admiral Cam- 
 mock, with a few ihips which he had faved after the late engage- 
 uient, and then failed back again to Naples, where he arrived 
 on the 2d of November, and foon after received a gracious letter 
 from the emperor Charles VI. written with his own hand >, ac- 
 companied 
 
 h The earl of Sunderl^nd, then at the l^ad of the Britim adminiflra ion, had 
 a very great opinion of Sir George Byrg's fakirs, and thought they qualified 
 him equally for command at fea and f< r the functions ef a minifler on ihote : a 
 clrcumflance of which he very ably availed himfeif, without intending to create a 
 precedent. 
 
 i Cory of the EMPEROR'S LETTER to the ADMIRAL, written by his own 
 
 hand: 
 " Monfieur Amiral et Gnevalier BYNG, 
 
 " J' a y recu avec beacoup dc fatisfailion et de joy, par le portenr de celle ry la 
 " votre du i8me d'Aout. Quand de fcens que vous eti z romme de fa majtli^ 
 " le r y votre maitre pour commandez fa flotte dans la Mediterranee, i? couceus 
 f' d'abord toutes Its bonnes -.fix ranees. Le glorieux fuccefs pcurtaut les a en 
 " qaeique mdiij-re furpafle. Vous avpz en cette occafi-m donne des preuves Q'U'.C 
 " yaleur, cond lite, et zele pour la c.-mmune caufe tres fingulkr ; la gl:ire que 
 " runs en rcfulte eft bicii grande, mais auffi en rien mi indre ma reconnoiiTance 
 " crmme vous Texpiiquera plus le comp'e de Hamilton, d.mp'cz toujours fur 
 " la conilnua ion de ma reconno:fljnce, et de mon atltilion priant Dieu ^u'il \ous 
 " ait en fa faints garde. 
 
 " A Viennc, ce 2ime 
 
 ' OiTobre, 1718. C H A R L E S." 
 
 *' AJmira! Sir GEORGE BYNG, 
 
 " I have received with a great deal of joy and fatisfaclion, hy the bearer of 
 
 < this, yours of the i8th of Auguft. As foon as I knew you was named hy the 
 
 " kiv.g -jonrmafler to command his fket in the. Midi:erranean, J conceived the 
 
 :e(l hopes "unjginable from that very circumftance. The giuriouc fuccefs 
 
 hd^e hid fuip^fT.?. however, my expectation*. Ycu have given, upon 
 
 this
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 477 
 
 companied with a picture of his imperial i^ajefty, fe round 
 with very large diamonds, as a mark of the grateful fenfe he 
 had of the fignal fervices rendered -by his excellency to the 
 houfe of Auftria. 
 
 As for the prizes that had been taken, they werefentto Port 
 Mahon, where by fome accident the Royal Philip took fire, and 
 blew up, with moft of the crew on board ; but the admiral had 
 been before fet a-fhore in Sicily, with fome other prifoners of 
 diftinction, where he died foon after of his wounds k . 
 
 The Spanifh court, exceffively provoked at this unexpected 
 blow, which had in a manner totally deftroyed the naval force 
 they had been at fo much pains to raife, were not flow in ex- 
 preflir.g their refentments. On the ift of September rear-ad- 
 miral Guevara, with fome fhips under his command, entered 
 the port of Cadiz, and made himfe.f mafter of all the Engliih 
 fhips that were there ; and at the fame time ail the effects of 
 the Engliih merchants were feized in Malaga and other ports 
 of Spain, which, as foon as it was known here, produced re- 
 prifals on our part '. But it is now time to leave the Mediter- 
 ranean, and the affairs of Spain, in order to give an account 
 of what patted in the northern feas. 
 
 A refolution having been taken, as before obferved, to fend a 
 ftrong iquadron to the Baltic, it was put under the command of 
 Sir John Norris and rear-admiral Mighels, who, with ten fail 
 of the line of battle, left Sole-bay on the ift of May, having 
 eighteen merchant- fhips under their convoy, and on the I4th 
 arrived fafely at Copenhagen, where the fame day Sir John 
 Norris had an audience of his Danifli majefty, by whom he was 
 very gracioufly received ; and, foon after, he failed, in conjunc- 
 tion with the Danifh fleet, to the coaft of Sweden, where the 
 
 *' this occafion, very fingular proofs of your courage, conduft, and zeil for the 
 " common <aufe: the glory you obtain from thtnce is indeed great, and yet my 
 4< gratitude fills nothing (liort thereof, as count Hamilton will f'u ly inform you. 
 " You mjy always depend upon the continuance of my thankfulnels and afFedion 
 ' towards you : may God have you al*avs in his holy keeping. 
 
 ' Vienna, Oftober 22, " C H A R L E S." 
 
 " O. S. 171*. 
 
 k Lediard's navjl hiftory, vol. ii. p. SSi. Annals of king George, vol. v. 
 Tindal's continuation of Ripin, TO!, iv. If Annals of king George, 
 
 TO!. ?. p. loS. 4 
 
 king
 
 NAVALHISTORY 
 
 king found himfelf obliged to lay up his (hips in his own hai> 
 hours, and to take all pofftble precautions for their fecurity m . 
 That monarch, however, was far from being idle, notwithftand- 
 ing he was fenfible of the great fuperiority of his enemies, but 
 endeavoured to p'rovide, in the beft manner he was able, for his 
 own fecurity, by making a peace with the Czar, and in the 
 mean time turning his arms againft the king of Denmark in 
 Norway, which kingdom he entered with an army of thirty 
 thoufand men, in two bodies, one commanded by general Aren- 
 felt, and the other by himfelf in perfon n . 
 
 He had all the fuccefs in this expedition that he could wifh, 
 efpecially the feafon of the year considered ; for it was in the 
 depth of winter that he penetrated into that frozen country^ 
 where, at the fiege of Frederickfhall, he was killed by a cannon 
 bullet, about nine in the evening, on the 3oth of November, 
 1718. The death of this enterprifing monarch gave quite a 
 new turn to the affairs in the north, and particularly freed us 
 from all apprehenfions on that fide. Before this extraordinary 
 event happened, Sir John Norris was returned with the fleet 
 tinder his command to England, where he fafely arrived in the 
 latter end of the month of October . 
 
 There remains only one tranfaction more of this year, which 
 in a work of this kind requires to be mentioned ; and it is the ac- 
 count we pronaifed to give of the reduction of the pirates. Cap-, 
 tain Wood Rogers, having been appointed governor of the Ba- 
 hama Iflands, failed for Providence, which was to be the feat 
 of his government, on the r ith of April, and after a fliort and 
 cafy paiTage, arriving there, he took poiTcflion of the town of 
 NalVau, the fort belonging to it, and of the whole ifland, the 
 people receiving him with all imaginable joy, and many of th^ 
 pirates fubmitting immediately P. He proceeded foon after in 
 terming a council, and fettling the civil government of thofe 
 
 m Oidmixon's hiftory of England, vol. ii. p. 660. Lediard's naval hiftory, vol. 
 it. f. 873. Mercurc biiiorique et pclitiqur, tome Ixiv. p. 614. 
 
 ra Voltaire, hiftoire de Cdarles XII. roi de Suedr, liv. v.ii. Gen. Gordon's hi- 
 flory of Peter ihe Great, vol. ii. p. 155. De la Mottraye's travels, vol. ii. chap. 
 ii'. Lediard's naval hiitory, vol. ii. p. $74. P Annals of 
 
 kin; Ge rge, ot. jv. p. 330, Salmon's chronological hiHorian, vol. ii. p. 86. 
 litercure hif.o i^us et po!it:c[ue, tame Ixiv. p. 579. 
 
 ifla&de
 
 OF KING G E O Ft G E I. 479 
 
 iflands, appointing civil and military officers, raifing militia, and 
 taking every other ftep necefiary for procuring fafety at Lome, 
 and iecurity from any thing that might be attempted from 
 abroad, in which, by degrees, he fucceeded. Some of the pi- 
 rates, 'tis true, rejected at firfl all terms, and did a great deal 
 of mifchief on the coaft of Carolina; but when they faw th*t 
 governor Rogers had thoroughly fettled himfelf at Providence, 
 and that the inhabitants of the Bahama Iflands found themfelves 
 obliged through intereft to be honeft, they began to doubt of 
 their fituation, and thought proper to go and beg that mercy 
 which at firft they refufcd ; fo that by the :ft of July, 1719, to 
 which day the king's proclamation had been extended, there 
 were not above three or four veflels of thofe pirates who con- 
 tinued their trade, and two of them being taken, and their 
 crews executed, the reft diJberled out of fear, and became there- 
 by lefs terrible* 1 . 
 
 Thus, in a fhort time, and chiefly through the fteady and 
 prudent conduct of governor Rogers, this herd of villains \vas 
 in fome meafure diiTclved, who for many years had frighted the 
 Weft Indies, and the northern colonies; coming at laft to be fo 
 ftrong, that few merchant-men were fate, and withal fo cruel 
 and barbarous, that flavery among the Turks was preferable to 
 falling into their hands. It had been i.appy for us, if the ma- 
 nagement of the Spanilh gnarda coftns had been committed to 
 the care of fome man of like fpirit, \vho might have delivered 
 the merchants from being plundered, without involving the 
 cation in a war r . 
 
 The parliament met on the iith of November, and one of 
 the firft things they went upon, was the affair of Spain, which 
 had indeed engroiicd all public converfation, from the time ot 
 the ftroke given to their fleet in the Mediterranean, fome look- 
 ing upon that as one ef the robkft exploits fince the revolution ; 
 but others confidered it in quite another Hgl.t 5 ; and when an 
 addrtfs was moved for to juitify that meafure, it was warmly 
 
 1 This captain W<< ds R'gers made the lour of the globe, in the famcus expe- 
 dition from Bi.Ao', in the Duke and I'ni 
 
 ' Lrdiaid's nav .1 h'nioty, wil. ii. r. 873, $74. T nJzl, OJdtnixon. 
 
 ' (
 
 4 8o NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 oppofed by the dukes of Buckingham, Devonfhire, and Argyle; 
 the earls of Nottingham, Cowper, Orford, and Hay 5 the lords 
 North, Grey, and Harcourt, in the houfe of peers; and by 
 Mr. Shippen, Mr. Freeman, Sir Thomas Hanmer, Horatio 
 Walpole, Efq; and Robert Walpole, Efq; in the houfe of com- 
 mons ; but without effecV. On the ipth of the fame month 
 the houfe of commons voted 13,500 feamen for the iervice of 
 the year 1719, at 4!. a month j and at the fame time granted 
 187,638!. 175. 6d. for the ordinary of the navy; and that we 
 may range all the fums given under the fame head, it may not 
 be amifs to obferve, that, on the ipth of January, the houfe of 
 commons granted 25,000!. for the half pay of fea-ofEcers u . 
 
 On the 1 7th of December, 1 7 1 8, a declaration of war in form 
 was publifhed againfl the crown of Spain w ; as to the expedi- 
 ency of which, many bold things were faid in the houfe of com- 
 mons, efpecially with regard to the pretenfions, and the inten- 
 tions of thofe who made this war ; for the miniftry infifted 
 ftrongly, that it was made in favour of trade, and upon repeat- 
 ed complaints from the merchants. It was urged by a great 
 fpeaker, who is ftill living, that the miniflers had fhewn no 
 great concern for the trade and intereft of the nation, fince it 
 appeared by the anfwer of a fecretary of ftate to the msrquis de 
 Montekon's letter, that they would have pafled by the violations 
 of the treaties' of commerce, provided Spain had accepted the 
 terms of the quadruple alliance ; and, that his majefty did not 
 feek to aggrandize himfelf by any new acquifition, but was ra- 
 ther inclined to facrifice fomething of his own, to procure the 
 general quiet and tranquillity. That nobody could yet tell how 
 far that facrifice was to extend ; but certainly it was a very un- 
 common piece of condefcenfion. Another member went yet 
 farther, and made ufe of his favourite exprefiion, infinuating, 
 that this war feemed to be calculated for another meridian; but 
 wrapped up the inuendo fo dextroufly, that no exception was 
 taken to it. The miniftry, however, continued the purfuit of 
 their own fcheme, in ipite of oppofition, and took fuch vigor- 
 
 t O'dm'xon'3 hiftory of England, vol. ii. p. 668. Hiftorical regiftcr for 1718, 
 p. 413. u Annals of king GeorfC, vol. v. p. 166. Hiftoiiiil icg'.fter fcf 
 
 1718, p. 423. Tindai's continua ion of Rapin, vol. iv, p. 5"3, 
 
 w Annals of king George, vol. V. p. 69. 
 
 out
 
 OF KING G E O R G E I. 481 
 
 meafures for obliging Spain to accept the terms afilgned her 
 by the quadruple alliance, that fhe loft all patience, and rcfci- 
 ved to attempt any thing that might either free her from this 
 neceifity, or ferve to exprefs her refentments againft fuch r.s 
 endeavoured to impofe it upon her, and with this view fhe 
 drew together a great number of tranfports at Cadiz and Cor- 
 runna*. 
 
 The late earl of Stair, who was then our minifter at the court 
 ef France, difpatched the firft certain intelligence of the dellgns 
 of Spain; which were, to have fent a considerable body of 
 troops, under the command of the late duke of Ormonde, into 
 the weft of England ; upon this, the moft effectual methods 
 were taken here for defeating that fcheme, A fleet was imme- 
 diately ordered to be got ready to put to fca ; a proclamation 
 ilTued for apprehending James Butler, late duke of Ormonde-, 
 with a promife of 5000 1. to the peribn that fhould feize him ; 
 and an embargo was laid on all (hipping ". Thefe precautions . 
 were attended with fuch fuccefs, and the fleet was fitted out 
 with fo much expedition, that on the 5th of April Sir John 
 Norris failed from Spithead to the weftward, with nine men of 
 war; antl on the lyth, the earl of Berkley failed from St. He- 
 len's, with fcven other men of war to join him, which he did 
 the next day- 4 . 
 
 The government likewife took fome other very falutnry mea- 
 fures to oppofe this intended invalion of the Spaniards. The 
 troops in the weft of England, where it was conjectured. they 
 defigned to land, were reinforced by feveral regiments quarter- 
 td in othr parts of the kingdom, and four battalions were fent 
 for over from Ireland, and were landed at Minehead and Bri- 
 ftol, while at the fame time the allies of his majefty were dellr- 
 ed to get in readinefs the fuccours, which by feveral treaties they 
 ftood engaged to furniih in cafe of a rebellion, or, if the Britilh 
 
 * Chandler'* deSstes, vol. v. p. 19"), 191. Annals of kinp George, vol. v. 
 p. 235. y TinJol's c.-ntinuation of Rzpin, vol. iv. p. 583- Oldmixon's 
 
 ry' of EnglauJ, vol. ii. p. 677- See the ptoclamaticn in ihe hiftotical rtgi- 
 fler for 1719, p. I j6. z M. <j e . S:. Hhiiippc mcrroiies pour fervir 3 
 
 1'hiftoirc :e 1'Cfpagne, vol. iii. p. 3;4, 3>5, 35^- Lcdi.rJ's raval hiltory, vol. 
 ii. p. 882. Annals of kii g Geoige, vol. v. p. 233. Hifloricil rcgifter tor 
 1719, p. 162, 163. 
 
 VOL. 111. 3 P dominions
 
 482 NAVAL HI STORY 
 
 dominions fhould be invaded by any foreign power. Accord- 
 ingly, about the middle of April, two battalions of Switzers, in 
 the fervice of the States-General, arrived in the river Thames ; 
 and about the fame time three battalions of Dutch troops, ma- 
 king together the full complement of men which Holland was 
 obliged to furnifh, landed in the north of England. But by 
 this time came certain advice, that the Spanifh fleet defigned for 
 this expedition, confifting of five men of war, and about forty 
 tranfports, having on board the late duke of Ormonde, and up- 
 wards of 5000 men, a great quantity of ammunition, fpare 
 arms, and one million of pieces ot eight, which failed from Ca- 
 diz On the 2^d of February, O. S. being on the 28th of that 
 month about fifty leagues to the weftward of cape Finifterre, 
 ra^t with a violent ftorm, which lafted forty-eight hours, and 
 entirely difperfed them*. Thus, this defign of the Spaniards, 
 whatever it was, became abortive. 
 
 What lofs they met with is uncertain ; but feveral of their 
 veifels returned to the ports of Spain in a very (battered condi- 
 tion. A very fmall part, however, of this embarkation, had 
 fomewhat a different fortune ; for the earls of Marfhal and Sea- 
 forth, and the marquis of Tullibardin, with about four hundred 
 men, moft Spaniards, on board three frigates and five tranfports, 
 Ian/led in the (hire of Jlofs in Scotland, where they were joined 
 by fifteen or fixteen hundred Scots, and had inftruclions to 
 wait the duke of Ormonde's orders, and the account of his be^ 
 5ng landed in England. But the whole defign being quafhed by 
 the difperfion of the Spanilh fleet, the Highland troops were de- 
 feated r.t Glenlhiel, and the auxiliary Spaniards furrendered at 
 difcretion. They had met with a check before at Donan Caftle, 
 which was fecured by his majefty's (hips, the "Worcefter, Kn- 
 Urprize, and Flamborough, the caftle being blown up, and the 
 Created part of their ammunition taken or deftroycd b . 
 
 It may be proper, in this place, to take notice, that we ac"led 
 now in fuch clofe conjunction with France, that the regent de- 
 
 2 Oldmixnn'i MOory of England, vol. ii. p. 6??. TlricUI's continuation f 
 
 r..,pin, vol. iv. p. 584. Annals of k : rg Gewigc, vol. v. p. 25^. Mcuurf h f- 
 
 lo.-iqne et pn'.it'ij'ip, torn. Uvi. p. 474, 574. b Anfals of king George, 
 
 r. p. 2$[. Tinc'al'o cc-n'inu.ition or Rjpii', nf-i fnf.ru. Salnion's chrona- 
 
 ;cg'c! hifluridiT, vol. ii. p. 8V- IliAoric:! r-:gi!kr I'.r 171';. p- 'J- 
 
 clared
 
 OF KING G E O Pt G E I. 
 
 clared war againft his coufin the king of Spain ; and though 
 marfhal Villars, and Tome other officers of great rank, rcfufecl, 
 from a point of honour, to lead an army againll a grandfon ot 
 France, yet marfhal Berwick, who, by the victory of Alman- 
 za, fixed that prince upon his throne, accepted the command of 
 the army which was appointed to invade his territories, in or- 
 der to force him to fuch conditions as were thought requifite for 
 eftab! ifhing the general tranquillity of Europe. Many people 
 here fufpecled that this war would produce no great effects ; but 
 it proved quite otherwife ; for the marquis de Silly advanced in, 
 the month of April as far as Port Pafiage, where he found fix 
 men of war juft finifhed, upon the ftocks, all which, prompted 
 thereto by colonel Stanhope, (afterwards earl of Harrington), 
 he burned, together with timber, mafts, and naval ftores, to 
 the value of half a million fterling ; which was a greater real 
 lofs to the Spaniards than that they fuftained by our beating 
 their fleet. Soon after, the duke of Berwick befieged Fontara- 
 bia, both which actions fhewed, that the French were actually 
 in earned c . 
 
 While the Spaniards were pleating themfelves with chimerical 
 notions of invalions it was impofli'ole to effecl againil us, our 
 admiral in the Mediterranean was diftreffing them effcclually ; 
 for, having early in the fpring failed from Port Mahon to Na- 
 ples, he there adjufted every thing for the reduction of Sicily, 
 in which he ad~led with fuch zeal, and what he c!id was atren J- 
 ed with fo great fuccefs, that not only the imperial army was 
 tranfported into the ifland, and fo well fupplied with all things 
 neceflary from our fleet, (which at the fame time attended and, 
 difturbed all the motions of the enemy's arajy), that it may bs 
 truly faiil, the fuccefs of that expedition was as much owing t > 
 the Engliih admiral, as to the German general ; and that ths 
 Engliih fleet did no lei's fervice than the army. To enter into 
 all the particulars of this Sicilian expedition, would take up 
 much more room than I have to fpare, and would, befides, ob- 
 lige me to digrefs from my proper ftibjecl, fincc the motions of 
 a fleet attending lanu army, for the fervice of the emperor, 
 
 Merciire h;ficr : que ct foliticjue, torn. Ixvi. p. 535. Ar:r-l . r k't * Get-r^', 
 p. ?:>*. i: ". ".-j ; rc^ifttr for 1719, p..i80. 
 
 : P ; cannot
 
 NAVAL HIS TO R Y 
 
 cannot be, ftrictly fpeaking, thought a part of the Britiflv nav?J 
 hiftory d ; for which reafons I Ihall fpeak of it as concifely as 
 in ay be. 
 
 There is, however, one circumftance that deferves to be made 
 known to pofterity, and which I will not therefore omit. The 
 imperialists having taken the city of Meflina, on the 8th of Au- 
 guft, 1719, the admiral landed a body of Englifh grenadiers, 
 \vho very quickly made thenifelves maiters of the tower of Faro, 
 by which, having opened a free paiTige for the (hips, he came 
 to an anchor in Paradife road ; and this being perceived by the 
 officers of the Spanifh men of war in the Mole, who began to 
 defpair of getting out to fea, they unbent their fails, and unrig- 
 ged their (hips, and refolved to wait their fate, which they 
 knew mufl be the fame with that of the citadel - t and this gave 
 great fatisfaction to the admiral, who now found himfelf at li- 
 berty to employ his ihips in other fervices, which had been for 
 a long time employed in blocking up that port e . 
 
 But, -while all things were in this profperous condition, a dif- 
 pute arofe among the allies about the difpofition of the Spanifh 
 Ihips before-mentioned, which, upon taking the citadel, would 
 of courfe fall into their hands. Signior Scrampi, general of the 
 king of Sardinia's gallies, firft ftarted the queftion, and claimed 
 the two bell of lixty, and the other of fixty-four guns, new 
 ihips, which had belonged to his mafter, and were feized by the 
 Spaniards in the port of Palermo. He grounded his right on 
 the convention made at Vienna the 29th of December, 1718, 
 in which it was faidj " That as to the fhips belonging to the 
 " king of Sardinia, if they be taken in port, they fhall be re- 
 <{ ftored him ; but that this fhall be referred to admiral Byng to 
 " anfwer." To this the admiral replied, " That this convention 
 
 d The reader may inform himfelf fully as to all thefe circum fiances, by pe- 
 nning the ACCOUNT of the EXPEDITION to SICILY, which I have cited fo of- 
 ten, and which is a very ample biftory of that me norsble war, that embarrafled 
 \it fo much while it continued; and which has been buried in obfcurity ever 
 fincc, except as to the pr mile it occafioned about Gibraltar; of which we (hall 
 hear mere than one;, before we c.mciuile this volume ; and perhaps we mar, 
 fome time or other, find the luxury of that promife no unufeful piece of intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 e M. de St. Philippe tnemoircs pour fcivir a 1'hifloirc dc TE^pagne, torn. ill. 
 p. 411, 411, 413. 
 
 " having
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 485 
 
 " having been only a ground-work for another to be made at 
 " Naples, he could be directed by none but that which had 
 " been made in confequence thereof, in April 17191 between 
 " the viceroy of Naples, the marquis cle Breilie, minifter of 
 " Sardinia, and himfclf, in which no mention is made of 
 " thofe (hips; and as for the reference to his opinion, he 
 " did freely declare he could not think the king of Sardinia had 
 " any lhadow of title to them; that they had. been taken by 
 " the enemy, were now fitted out and armed at their expence, 
 " and under their colours ; that they would put out to lea if he 
 did not hinder them, and attack all Englifh (hips they met 
 " with, and, if ftronger, take them ; fo that he could no; con- 
 * { fider them in any other light than as they were the fhips of 
 " an enemy." Count de Merci next put in his claim for the 
 emperor, alledging, " That as thofe (hips would be found 
 " within the port of a town taken by his matter's arms, accord- 
 " ing to the right of nations they belonged to him." The ad- 
 miral replied, '* That it was owing to his keeping two fqua- 
 " drons on purpofe, and at a great hazard, to watch and cb- 
 " ftrrve thofe (hips, that they were now confined within the 
 " port ; which if he was to withdraw, they would (till be able 
 " to go to fea, and he fhould have a chance of meeting with 
 * and taking them f ." 
 
 But reflecting afterwards with himfeif, that pofiibly the gar- 
 rifon might capitulate for the fafe return of thofe (hips into 
 Spain, which he was determined never to fuffer ; that, on the 
 other hand, the right of poileiTion might breed an inconvenient 
 difpute at that critical juncture among the princes concerned ; 
 and, if it fhould be at length determined that they did not be- 
 long to England, it were better they belonged to nobody, he 
 propofed to count de Mc/rci to erect a battery, and deftroy them 
 as they lay in the baton ; who urged, that he had no orders 
 concerning thofe (hips, and muft write to Vienna for inilruc- 
 tions about it. The admiral replied with fome warmth, that he 
 
 f Sir George Byng undcrftood the ^p:rit of his inOrnOi^i) 1 , ani 4 , without be- 
 ing ir.quifuivc inc<> the nature of our quarrel with Spain, refolv^d to ire Ins 
 heft cndcav 'iirs to put it out of the Spaniards powtr to kurt us; and, in i>,ing 
 this, uc Huil fee he cuuid l;e pcren-pt ry, as well a> compUiftnt, tj our al- 
 lies. 
 
 could
 
 486 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 could not want a power to deftroy every thing that belonged to 
 the enemy, and intifted on it with fo much firmnefs, that, the 
 general, being concerned in interest not to carry matters to 
 an open mifunderftanding, caufed a battery to be erected, not- 
 withstanding the proteftations of Signior Scrampi, which, in a 
 little time, funk and dcftroyed them, and thereby compleated 
 the ruin of the naval power of Spain . 
 
 The imperial court had formed a defign of making themfelves 
 matters again of Sardinia, out of which they had been driven, 
 as is before obferved, by the Spaniards , but our admiral judged 
 it more for the fervice of the houfe of Auftria, that this army 
 fhould be immediately tranfported into Sicily. In order to ef- 
 fect this, and at the fame time to procure artillery for carrying 
 on the liege of the citadel of Meffina, he went over to Naples, 
 where, finding that the government was abfolutely unable to 
 furnifh the military ftores that were wanting, he very generouf- 
 }y granted to his imperial majefty the cannon out of the Britifll 
 prizes, and procured, upon his own credit, powder and other 
 ammunition from Genoa; and foon after went thither himfelf, 
 in order to haften the embarkation of the troops, which was 
 made fooner than could have been expected, merely through the 
 diligence of the admiral, and in fpite of the delays affected by 
 the then count, afterwards bafhaw Bonneval, who was appoint- 
 ed to command them b . 
 
 After the citadel of Meffma furrendered, Sir George Byng 
 re-embarked a great part of the army, and landed them upon 
 another part of the ifland, by which fpeedy and unexpected 
 conveyance they diftrefled the enemy to fuch a degree, that the 
 marquis de Lede, who commanded the Spanifh forces in chief, 
 propofed to evacuate the ifland, to which the Germans were 
 very well inclined ; bet our admiral protefted againft it, and de- 
 elared, that the Spanifh troops fhould never be permitted to quit 
 Sicily and return home, till a general peace was concluded. In 
 
 8 Expedition to Sicily, p. 6z. Lcd'ard's naval hiflory, vol. ii. p. 83j. Co- 
 i.imna r< fhata, p. 311. 
 
 h This man, whole turl nlent difpofition led him firft to fight againfl his coun 
 try, was now out of humour in the German fervice, and at length fled to the 
 Turks. But Sir George knowing his own bufir.efs perfectly, pailcd over punc-> 
 t.iios in order to accunip', 
 
 this
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 487 
 
 this Sir George certainly ac"!ed as became a Britifh admiral, and 
 after having done fo many fervices for the imperialifts, iniifteil 
 on their doing what was juft with refpedt to us, and holding the 
 Spaniih troops in the uneafy fituation they now were, till they 
 gave ample fatisfaclion to the court of London, as well as to 
 that of Vienna. It muft, however, be confidered, that, in the 
 firft place, the admiral had the detention of the Spaniards in 
 his own hands, fince the Germans could do nothing in that 
 matter without him ; and, on the other hand, our demands on 
 the court of Spain were as much for the intereft of the com- 
 mon caufe as for our own, fo that though the Jteadinefs of ad- 
 miral Byng deferved commendation, yet there feemed to be no 
 great praifes due to the German complaifance '. 
 
 The more effectually to humble Spain, and at the fame time 
 to convince the whole world that we could not only contrive 
 but execute an invafion, a fecret defign was formed for fending 
 a fleet and army to the coafts of Spain, which was very fuccefs- 
 fully performed ; and, on the 21 ft of September, 1719} vice- 
 admiral Mighels, with a ftrong fquadron of his majefty's fhips 
 under his command, and the tranfports, having on board the 
 forces commanded by the late lord vifcount Cobham, confift- 
 ing of about 6oco men, failed from St. Helen's ; and the firft 
 account we had of them is comprized in the following letter, 
 which, indeed, contains the only good account that was ever 
 publifhed of this expedition; and therefore I prefume the read- 
 er will not be difpleafed to fee it k . 
 
 " His excellency the lord-vifcount Cobham, with the men of 
 war commanded by vice-admiral Mighels, and the tranfports 
 fl having the forces on board, arriving on the coaft of Galicia, 
 " kept cruizing three days in the ftation appointed for captain 
 < Johnfon to join them ; but having no news of him, and the 
 t( danger of lying on the coaft at this feafon of the year with 
 " tranfports, rendering it neceffary to take fome meafures of act- 
 
 1 This was eftermed a mighty fcnrice by one party in England, and treated 
 \vi-h very S'cat cortempl liy anoiher. 
 
 k Ledhrd's naval hiltory, vol. ii. p. 884- Hiftoricil reg'fter for 1719, p. 37- 
 Columna r,ilra;a, p. 3=9. Mcrcure hifloriquc & politique, torn. Ixvii. p. 
 45 tf.
 
 4 88 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 *< ing without him, and the wind offering fair for Vigo, his 
 " lordlhip took the refolution of going thither. 
 
 " On the 29th of September, O. S- they entered the harbour 
 " of Vigo, and the grenadiers, being immediately landed about 
 ' three miles from the town, drew up on the beach ; fome pea- 
 " fants fired from the mountains at a great diftance, but without 
 any execution. Hislordfhip went a-fhore with the grenadiers, 
 ' and the regiments followed as faft as the boats could carry 
 " them. That night, and the following day and night, the troops 
 " lay upon their arms. In the mean while provifions for four 
 " days were brought a-fhore, and guards were potted in feveral 
 " avenues to the diftance of above a mile up the country. 
 
 " On the lit of October his lordlhip moved, with the forces, 
 " nearer the town, and encamped at a ftrong poft, with the left 
 " to the fea, near the village of Boas, and the right extended 
 * towards the mountains. This motion of the army, and fome 
 f parties that were ordered to view the town and citadel, gave 
 * the enemy fome apprehenfions, that preparations were making 
 " to attack them; whereupon they fet fire to the carriages 
 " of the cannon of the town, nailed thofe cannon, and by 
 " all their motions feemed to be determined to abandon the 
 " town to the care of the magiftrates and inhabitants, and to 
 " retire with the regular troops into the citadel ; whereupon the 
 " lord Cobhani fcnt to fummon the town to furrender, which 
 " the magiftrates made no difficulty of doing; and the fame 
 tf night his lordfhip ordered brigadier Horn-wood, with eight 
 hundred men, to take poft in the town, and Fort St. Seba- 
 " ftian, which the enemy had alfo abandoned. 
 
 " On the 3d a bomb-velTel began to bombard the citadel, but 
 (t with little execution by reafon of the great diftance. That 
 *' evening the large mortars ami the cohorn-mortars were landed 
 " at the town ; between forty and fifty of them, great and fmall, 
 " placed on a battery under cover of Fort St. Sebaftian, began 
 " in the night to play upon the citadel, and continued it four 
 days with great fuccefs. The fourth day his lordfhip ordered 
 < the battering cannon to be landed, and, with fome others 
 " found in the town, to be placed on the battery of Fort J-t. 
 " Sebaftian. At the fame time his lordfhip fent the governor 
 ** 9 fummons to furrender, fignifying, that, if he ftaid till our 
 
 " battery
 
 CF KING GEORGE L 489 
 
 " battery of cannon was ready, he {hould have no quarter. 
 < Colonel Ligonier was fent with this meffage, but found the 
 " governor Don Jofeph de los Cereos had the day before been 
 " carried out of the caftle wounded ; the lieutenant-colonel, 
 " who commanded in his abfence, defired leave and time to fend 
 " to the marquis de Rifburg at Tuy for his directions ; but, be- 
 " ing told the hoftilities fhould be continued if they did not fend 
 " their capitulation without any delay, they foon complied '." 
 
 The capitulation confided of ten articles, by which the gar- 
 rifon were permitted to march out with the honours of war, and 
 the place, with all its works, magazines, and whatever they 
 contained either of ammunition or provifions, were delivered 
 up to his excellency the lord Cobhatn. 
 
 On the loth of the fame month, in the morning, the garrifon 
 marched our, confifting of 469 men, (officers included), having 
 had above 300 killed or wounded by our bombs. The place, it 
 is faid, cod us but two officers, and three or four men killed. 
 There were in the town about fixty pieces of large iron cannon 
 which the enemy abandoned, and thele they nailed and damaged 
 as much as their time would give them leave ; and in the citadel 
 were forty-three pieces, of which fifteen were brafs, and two 
 large mortars, befides above two thoufand barrels of powder, 
 and fevcral chefts of arms, amounting in the whole to about 8000 
 mufquets ; all which ftores and brafs ordnance were lodged there 
 from on board the fhips that were to have vifited Great Britain 
 in the preceding fpring, and the very troops that gave up Vigo 
 were part alfo of thofe corps which were to have been employed 
 in that expedition ; fcven Ihips were feized in the harbour, three 
 of which were fitting up for privateers, one of which was to 
 carry twenty-four guns ; the reil were trading veffels m . 
 
 Vigo being thus taken, the lord Cobham ordered major-ge- 
 neral Wade to embark with a thoufand men on board four tranf- 
 ports, and to fail to the upper end of the bay of Vigo ; which h<; 
 accordingly did on the i4th, and, having landed his men, march- 
 
 1 This relation was p ublifhed in the London Gazette, dated Whitehall, Oft - 
 t>er , 1719. 
 
 m Oicmixon's hiftory cf England, vol. i : . p. 625. Annuls of ktne Csorer 
 ri. p. 55. Tindal's cor.tinujtion of Rapin, vol. if. p. 6. - hirior'quc 
 
 ef politiquc, tome Ixvii. p- 57?. 
 
 VOL. III. Q d
 
 490 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 cd to Ponta-Vedra, which place furrendered without oppofition/ 
 the magiftrates of the town meeting them with the keys. 
 
 In this place were taken two forty-eight pounders, four twen~ 
 ty-four pounders, fix eight pounders, and four mortars, air: 
 brafs, befides feventy pieces of iron cannon, two thoufand fm all- 
 arms, fome bombs, fcrV. all which, except the twenty-four 
 pounders, were embarked, and major-general Wade returned 
 with his booty and troops to Vigo on the 2jd n . 
 
 The next day the lord Cobham, finding it would be impofli- 
 ble for him to maintain his ground any longer in Spain, order- 
 ed the forces' to be embarked, as likewife the cannon, csV. 
 which being done by the 27th, he failed that day for England, 
 where he arrived the iith of November, having loft in the 
 whole expedition about three hundred of his men, who were 
 either killed, died, or deferted . 
 
 There is yet another expedition, of which we mufl take fome 
 notice before we fhut up the tranfaclions of this year, and it is 
 that of Sir John Norris into the Baltic. Things had now changed 
 their face in the north ; the Swedes, fince the death of their 
 king, wer<* become our friends, and the great defign offending 
 this fleet was to protect thefe new friends againft our old allies 
 fhe Ruffians. The queen of Sweden was extremely well pleafed 
 on the receiving fo ieafcnable a fuccour. In the beginning cf 
 September Sir Johit Norris, with' his fquadron joined the Swe- 
 <.1ifh fleet, and on the 6th of the fame month arrived at the Dah- 
 len near Stockholm, .where her majefty's confort, the late king 
 of Sweden, did him the honour to dine on board his fliips p . 
 This junction of the Englifh and Swedifh fleets broke all the 
 rneafures of the Czar Peter the Great, who had ruined the 
 Swedifhcoaft in a cruel manner, but was now forced to retire 
 with 1 his fleet into the harbour of Revel q . 
 
 n M. de St. Philippe memoires pour fcrvir a 1'hift >ire <5e 1'Efpagne, fome iii. 
 p. 409. Columns nftrara, p. 311. Hiftcrical repiiler for 1719, p. 387^, 
 
 LcJiard's navsl hiftory, vol. ii. p. ?8e'. P Oldmiron's hiftory of England, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 680. Anna's of king George, vol. vi. p. 25. Mercure hiftorique et po- 
 liiique, tome Ixvii. p. 390. 
 
 1 The Czar had more than one Eng'ifl) admiral in his fervice, and they honft- 
 ly reprefented the rifle he ran of feeing the naval force, which was the creature 
 rf his own brain, and which he nurfcd with fo much ctre, ftrangled, as fooo as 
 hrought forth, by an unequal cor.tcft v,'i;h a Brilifh fleet, *hich he might avoid 
 anv di(hoi;cur, 
 
 The
 
 t>F KING GEOR.GE J. 
 
 The lord Carteret, now earl of Granville, was then ambaf- 
 fador at Stockholm, and, in conjunction with Sir John Norri?, 
 laboured afliduoufly to bring the conferences at the ifland of 
 Ahland to a happy conclusion ; but the Czar not being at that 
 time difpofed to think of pacific meafures, they could not prevail ; 
 fo that, about the middle of September, the conferences broke 
 up. All this time the fleet continued near Stockholm ; but the 
 winter feafon coming on, and there being no reafon to fear any 
 farther attacks on the Swedes, as the Danes had accepted his 
 Britannic majefty's mediation, Sir John Norris thought of return- 
 ing home, and accordingly failed from Jilfenap on the 27th of 
 October, with a krge fleet of merchantmen under his convoy, 
 and fafely arrived at Copenhagen on the 6th of November, where 
 he was received by his Danifli majefty with all imaginable marks 
 cf diftinftion and efteem. It muft indeed be allowed, to the 
 honour of this worthy admiral's memory, that, whatever views 
 the miniftry might have at home, he confulted the nation's glory 
 ebroad, and, by preferving the balance of power in the north, 
 rendered the higheft fervice to his country. On the I2th of the 
 fame month the fleet failed from .Copenhagen, and on the xyth 
 met with a dreadful ftorm, which damaged feveral (hips, bui 
 deftroyed none. Towards the dole of the month tjiey arrived 
 Tafe, and on the la ft day of November Sir John came to Lon- 
 don, after having managed with great reputation, and finifhed 
 v/ith much expedition, an enterprise which,. in lefs able hands, 
 would either have brought difcredit on our naval power, or in- 
 volved the nation in a bloody war ; but by his-ftendy and pru- 
 tient conducl they were both avoided, and a Hop put to thofc 
 troubles, which for many years had embroiled the north r . 
 
 His majefty returned from Hanover about the middle of No- 
 vember, 1719, and the parliament met the latter end of the 
 fame month, when there were very warm debates upon the 
 fubje&of the Sicilian expedition ; where many great men, and 
 good patriots, thought our fleet had done too much for the 
 Germans, and too little for themfelves. On the other hand, 
 the friends of the miniicry maintained, that their meafures were 
 
 r Ledi.r.l's naval biftrry, TO'. H. p. ^64. TinJal's continuition of Rapir, vol. 
 'j. M:.-cure bift.jrqae a ajli'i*}*. tome tivi-. p 681. 
 
 ri
 
 492 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 right ; that the giving Sicily to the emperor, and Sardinia to 
 the duke of Savoy, would effectually fix the balance of power 
 in Italy, and free us, and the reft of Europe, from the appre- 
 henfions created by the mighty naval power of Spain. 
 
 It is not, ftri&ly fpeaking, my bufmefs, and to fay the truth, 
 the compafs of this work will not allow me to enlarge much 
 upon it, if an inquiry into the politics of thofe times was more 
 fo than it is ; but thus much I think is to be faid, in juftice to 
 Sir George Byng ; that the queftion does not at all refpetl his 
 behaviour, fince the merit of an officer confifts in executing his 
 orders, for which alone he is anfwerable, and not at ail for the 
 rectitude of thofe orders. If this be not allowed, we muft 
 never hope to be well ferved at Tea, fince the admiral who 
 takes upon him to interpret his inftru^lions, will never want 
 excufes for his management, be ic what it will ; and if this pro- 
 pofltion be once granted, Sir George Byng muft be allowed to 
 have done his duty, as well as any admiral ever did ; for to his 
 conduct it was entirely owing that Sicily was fubdued, and his 
 Catholic majefty forced to accept the terms prefcribed to him by 
 the quadruple alliance. He it was who firft enabled the Ger- 
 mans to fet foot in that iiland ; by him they were fupported in 
 nil they did -, and by his councils they were directed, or they 
 had otherwife been again expelled the ifland, even after the ta- 
 king of 'Medina. As warm debates were there about our pro- 
 ceedings in the Baltic, which, whether they were right or 
 wrong, ought not to affect the character of the admiral, who 
 punctually executed his inflruclions, and performed all that was, 
 or could be, expected from him ; neither was this denied by 
 i as oppoied the miniflry, and whofe fbitiments were at this 
 lime over-ruled in parliament 5 . 
 
 On the id of December, the naval fupplies for the enfu- 
 ing year were fettled. 13,500 men were allowed for the fer- 
 vice of 1720, and the fum of 4!. per month as ufual, granted 
 
 * It is a ieat misfortune in ihis country, that in all party-deputes, in which 
 the only rial objift it power, po'iiical, and fomeriires religious fyftems are 
 idoptcd, and mair.uintd wish fuch plaulibiiily on both fides, that an honeft in- 
 quirer is hard put to it to fin-], and when he his four d, ruas the hazard of 
 .' In. v. mures to Jcclaic fo; TRUTH. 
 
 for 
 
 ' ' 
 i
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 493 
 
 for that purpofe; 2 1 7>9 ' 8 1. i o s. 8 d. was given for the ordi- 
 nary of the navy, and 79,723!. for the extraordinary repairs. 
 Soon after a demand was made for a considerable fum, ex- 
 pended in the neceffary fervice of the lair, year, beyond what 
 was provided for by parliament ; and after great debates, in 
 which thofe then in oppofuion took great freedoms, a vote was 
 obtained on the ^th of January, for 377,5611.63. p^d. in 
 difcharge of thofe expences. In the beginning of the month 
 of February, the king of Spain acceded to the quadruple al- 
 liance c ; and, as a confequence thereof, a cefiatton of arms 
 was foon after publifhed, which was quickly followed by a con- 
 vention in Sicily for the evacuation of that iiland, and alfo of 
 the ifland of Sardinia; and thus the houle of Auftria got pof- 
 fcffion of the kingdom of Sicily by means of the Britilh fleet. 
 But, what return the imperial court made Great Britain for 
 thefe favours, we fliall fee in its proper place. About the fame 
 time, a meflenger difpatched by the then lord Carteret, from 
 Stockholm, brought the instrument of the treaty of friendihi^ 
 and alliance concluded between his mr.jefty and the crown of 
 Sweden u . 
 
 The Czar of Mufcovy remaining ftill at war with that crown, 
 and having entered into meafures that, in the opinion of our 
 court, were calculated to overturn the balance of power in the 
 north, it was refolved to fend Sir John Norris once more with 
 a fleet of twenty men of war under his command, into thoi'^ 
 feas. The deilgn of this was, to fecure the Swedes from feel- 
 ing the Czar's refentment, or from being forced to accept fuch 
 hard and unequal conditions as he might endeavour to impofe. 
 The better to underftand this, it will be requifue to obferve, 
 that the Swedes had made fome great alterations in their go- 
 vernment, not only by averting their crown to be elective, but 
 by making choice of the prince of Heiie, confort to the queen 
 their foveieign, for their king, on her motion and requeft; 
 notwithftaoding the claim of the duke of Holflein, her fitter's 
 
 t 1 amHer'i, tome x_ append, p. 59, 60, 61. together *i:h.h!s Citholic ma 
 aft ot acceptation. u Aiinate of king George, ol. vi. p. pS. lliftorical re- 
 
 gifler, far i~io, p. 5. Salmrn's rh o.-.cU'^n .! hiu- t'arj, \cl. ;!. n 04. Lro';e.ti, 
 
 3 .-: . \ 3 . 10, 
 
 fen,
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 ion, to the fucceflion. This young prince the Czar was pleafed 
 to take under his protection, and propofed to the Swedes, that 
 if they would fettle the crown upon him, his Czarifh majefty 
 would give him his daughter, with the provinces conquered 
 from Sweden, by way of dowry ; but, in cafe this was refufed, 
 he threatened to purfue the war more vigoroufly than ever, 
 and for that purpoie began to make very great naval prepara- 
 tions w . 
 
 As our old league with Sweden was now renewed, the Bri- 
 tifh fleet, on the i6th of April*, failed for the Baltic; in the 
 beginning of the month of May they were joined, on the coaft 
 of Sweden, by a fquadron of fhips belonging to that crown ; 
 and, on the 24th of the fame month, being near the coaft of 
 Ahland, they were joined by feven Swedifti men of war more, 
 under the command of admiral Wachmeifter; the 26th it was 
 refolved, that the fleet fhould proceed towards the coaft of 
 Revel; which faved the Swedes from feeling at that juncture 
 any marks of the Czar's difpleafure. In the mean time, our 
 minifter at the court of Denmark having prepared that monarch 
 for an accommodation with Sweden, lord Carteret ? who was 
 our minifter at Stockholm, negociated, and brought to a happy 
 conclufion the treaty of peace between the two crowns, under 
 -our mediation, and went afterwards to .Copenhagen to prefent 
 it to his Danifh,majefty, of whom he had an audience on the 
 2pth of June 1720, for that purpofe. 
 
 His lordQiip continued forfome time after at the Danifli 
 court, where he was treated with miufual marks of efteem and 
 refpect, by a prince who was allowed to be one of the wifeft 
 crowned heads in Europe., and who, ?.s a fign.il teftimony of 
 his favour to that accomplished fbtefman, took a fword from 
 his fide, richly fet with diamonds, to the value of five thou- 
 fand pounds, of which he made a prefent to his lordfliip y . 
 
 w Mr. de la Motray's travels, vol. ii. chap. xir. He was upon the fpot in 
 the coherences on the ifle of Ahland. x OldmixorTs hiftory of 
 
 England, vol. is. p. 695. Lejiard's naval hiftory, vol. ii. p. 887. Anna's of 
 ling Gerrgc, vol. v!. p. jgg. y Tindal's continuation of" Rapirt, 
 
 *oJ. ii. p. 617. Hirtorical r^gifter for 1710, p. 241. Oldmixor.'s hiftorjr 
 of Engia.,r, -. ' ,nae Ixix. p. 76, 
 
 r 5 S. 
 
 1
 
 OF KING GEORGE!. 
 
 The feafon for aclion being over, Sir John Norris, on the 
 8th of September, failed with the fquadron under his command 
 to Stockholm. The new king of Sweden did him the honour 
 to dine with him on board his (hip, accompanied by Mr. Finch, 
 the Britiih envoy r and the PolHh minifter prince Lubomiriki,- 
 and other perfons of diftin&ion ; and his excellency foon after 
 returned with the fquadron under his command to England 7 . 
 The Czar bore this interpofition of ours very impatiently, aiui 
 his minifters did not fail to impute it wholly to the intereft 
 which his majefty, as a German prince, had to compromife af- 
 tairs with Sweden, with relation to the acquifition he had 
 made of the duchies of Bremen and Verden. However, thus 
 much is very certain, that whatever benefit his majefty, as elec- 
 tor of Hanover, might draw from the protection afforded 19 
 Sweden by the Britiih fleet, this was a mcafure, as things then 
 flood, entirely correfponding with the Britifh intereft ; and we 
 had often interpoied in the very fame manner under former 
 reigns, to prevent fuch conquefti in the north as might be fatal 
 to a commerce, upon the proper carrying on of which, in a 
 great meafure, depends almoft all the other branches of our 
 trade. The infinuations, therefore, of the Czar had no great 
 weight at the time, either with us, or with other powers, as 
 appears by the conduct of Pruflia and Denmark, both makii;-; 
 feparate treaties w'rth Sweden, notwithftanding all the expoftu- 
 lations, remonftrances, and even threatenings of his Czarifh 
 majefty to prevent it a . Neither is it at all impoffible, that the 
 very dread of that exorbitant power, to which that ambitious 
 monarch afpired, might contribute as much to their taking that 
 refolution, as any other motive whatever b . 
 
 His majefty having fpent the fummer in his German domi- 
 nions, returned to Great Britain in the month of November i 
 and the parliament meeting on the 8th of December following, 
 the proceedings of the whole year were laki before that aagnft 
 
 2 Lediard's naval hiilory, vcl. ii. p. 888. Salmon's chronological hlft"tian, vo<. 
 ii. p. 103. * Limi.tr. i, tome x. append. N. n, iz. RoufTct, tome 
 
 i. p. 373. Le dreit pubVc de 1'Europe, chap. viii. p. 99. 
 
 b Oldmix n.'s hiftory of Er.^'ar.d, vol. ii. p. 711. Ti dal's cor.tinuadon of R^- 
 j.'.:., vol. ii. p. 619. 
 
 aflembly ;
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 affembly ; in which it was inGfted upon, that the money iffued 
 for the fea-fervice hid produced all the defired effects ; and 
 that, as peace had been fettled by the force of our arms in the 
 Mediterranean a few months before, fo it was highly probable 
 that the very terror of our arms would caufe the troubles of 
 the north to fubfide in a few months to come. Upon thefc 
 fu>geftions a confiderable naval force was afked for the next 
 year ; and though there was a good deal of oppofition, and a 
 great many bold fpeeches made, yet in the end the point was 
 carried ; and, on the ipth of December, the houfe of commons 
 refolved, that 10,000 men be allowed for the fea-fervice, for the 
 year 1721$ at 4!. a man per month, for thirteen months: that 
 219,049!. 14*. be granted for the ordinary of the navy ; and 
 50,200!. for extra- repairs for the fame year c . This provifiou 
 being made, it was refolved to fend Sir John Norris, and rear- 
 admiral Hopfon, with a fquadron of thirteen men of war of 
 the line, befides frigates and bomb-ketches, into the Baltic, 
 to put an end to thefe difputes, which had already coft our al- 
 lies fo much blood, and ourfelves fo large a proportion of 
 treafure, and which it was thought could not be foon fettled any 
 other way. 
 
 The Czar having fliil in view the reduction of the Swedes 
 to his own terms, was very early at fea with a large fleet, and, 
 defigning to ftrike a terror into the whole Swediih nation, he 
 ravaged their coafts with incredible fury, to give it the fofteft 
 name, committing fuch cruelties as were fcarce ever heard of 
 amongH: the molt barbarous nations; yet the Swedes kept up 
 their fpirits, and depending on our protection, did not take any 
 hafty meafures, but infifted on certain mitigations, which by 
 this firmnefs they at laft obtained. In the middle of the month 
 of April, Sir John Norris failed from the Nore, and towards 
 the latter end of the fame month arrived at Copenhagen, where 
 he was received w'lth all imaginable marks of efteem d j foon 
 after he continued his voyage for the coaft of Sweden, where 
 he was joined by a few Swedifh fhips. His appearance in thofe 
 feas, and with fuch a force, produced greater confequences 
 
 c H'lftrtiral regtfter for t?ai, p. 14, 25. d Lediard's naval hiftory, 
 
 vol. ii ? S$5. M-r u.c hilr rir.ue ct poll i]ur, tome Ixx. p. 715. 
 
 than
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 497 
 
 than were expe&ed from it ; for the Czar doubting his own 
 itrength, and fearing, upon the lofs of a battle, that his whole 
 naval force would be deitroyed, as he had feen of late to be 
 the cafe of Spain, he began to be more inclinable to a peace, 
 which was concluded at Neifladt, upon the thirty-firft of Au- 
 guft'. 
 
 This treaty having fettled the Czar's rights to the conquered 
 provinces, and fecurcd to the Swedes various immunities and 
 privileges, in order to bring them more readily to conlent to 
 fuch termc as they would have otherwife thought hard, fatisfied 
 in fome meafure both crowns. Sir John Norris continued ail 
 this time with his fleet in the neighbourhood of Stockholm, in 
 order to give weight to the negociations of Mr. Finch ; and 
 the peace being iigned and ratified, he took leave of the Swc- 
 difli court, and failed for Copenhagen, where he arrived in the 
 beginning of the month of October; and on the 6th of the 
 fame month, returning home, arrived fafeiy at the Nore on the 
 2Oth f, leaving the north in perfect quiet, and all its powers 
 under a juft ferife of the feafonable interpolition of Great Bri- 
 tain, in favour of that balance of power in thofe parts, which 
 is of fuch high conference to the tranquillity of Europe in ge- 
 neral, as well as the particular advantage of each of the mo- 
 narchs thus (not without much difficulty) reconciled. 
 
 At home, the difputes and uneafinefs which had been occa- 
 fioned by the execution of the South-fea fcheme, kept the na- 
 tion in a high ferment, and put the court under a neceffity of 
 altering its meafures, and making fome changes in the adrr.ini- 
 flration ; among which, we may reckon the great alteration ct 
 the board of admiralty, which took place in the month of Sep- 
 tember, when his majefty was pleafed to order letters patent 
 to pafs the great feal, conitituting the right honourable James, 
 earl or Berkley, Sir John Jennings, John Cockburn, and Wil- 
 liam Chetwynd, Efqrs. Sir John Norris, Sir Charles Wager, 
 and Daniel Pulteney, Efq; commifTioners for executing the of- 
 
 e Lambcr'.i, tome x. append. N 3 . ij. Roufet, tome i. p. 317. Le dro ? t 
 public dc I'Europe, chip. viii. p. 103. f Oldmixon's hiftory u 
 
 land, vol. ii. p. 7115. Tindal's continuation of Rapin, v.,i, iv. p. 6jo, 653. 
 Mrrcure hiflorique pulitiqiic, tcme Ixxi. p. $99. 
 
 VOL. III. -: R
 
 49* N A V A L R I S T O- R Y 
 
 fice of lord high-admiral of Great Britain, &c*. This ap'-- 
 pointment gave the moft general fatisfalion at that time; and 1 
 it mult be allowed by all who were well acquainted with their- 
 characters, that the board was never better fettled than by thefe 
 gentlemen, four of whom were as great feamen as any in this' 
 age , and the other three as well acquainted with the bufinefs 
 of the office, and the duties of their poll,, as any that ever 
 filled them. 
 
 The parliament met on the igth of October, and on the 27th 
 of the feme month, the houfe of commons granted 7000 mea 
 for the fervice of the fea, for the year 1722, at the ufual rate 
 of 4!. a man per month ; and on the 2d of November, they re- 
 folvedy that the fum of 218^,799 1. 45. 7 d. be granted for the 
 ordinary of the navy for the fame year h . This was a very mo- 
 derate expence, and very agreeable to the lltuation of our af- 
 fairs at th.it time, which had not been a little difordered by the 
 large diftmrfements into which we had been drawn for many 
 years paft. It was not long, however, after this grant was made,, 
 before a new fquadron was ordered to be got ready, confiding 
 of thirteen very large (hips, which fqjuadron was to be com- 
 manded by Sir Charles Wager, and rear-admiral Holler. The 
 destination of this armament was never certainly known ; but 
 the moft probable account that has been given, is, that it was 
 intended to chaftife the Portuguefe, for an infult offered by them 
 to Mr. Wingfield and Mr. Roberts, two gentlemen of the fac- 
 tory at Lilbon, whofe goods they feized, imprifoned their per- 
 fons, and even went fo far as to condemn them to be hanged) 
 upon a very trifling pretence >. 
 
 The cafe was this: There is a law in Portugal, which for- 
 bids the exportation of any coin whatfoever out of that king- 
 dom, upon pain of death : but it was a law never infilled upon, 
 and therefojffe to be thought obfolete, and, by euftom, in a man- 
 ner repealed \ which conftru&ion was juftilied by the tranfport- 
 ing gold coin from Liibon to other countries almoft every day, 
 and in fuch a manner, as the court could not be ignorant of it. 
 
 Z Hiftorical regifter-for 1711, p. 18. Oldmixon. Salmon's chronological hi- 
 
 ftoiian, vol. ii. p. 114. 1> Hiftorical rcgifter for 171*, p. 10, Ii. 
 
 ' I.ctliard's nav^l hiftory, vol. ii. p, 88j>. OMmixon's hiftory of England, 
 vol. ii. p. T*S> 
 
 Whaft
 
 OF KING GEORGE!. 499 
 
 'What induced the Portuguefe miniftry to venture upon fuch an 
 ill-timed feverity, is not well known ; but the vigorous meafures 
 taken by our court, were certainly the propereft methods that 
 could be taken, to hinder their proceeding to execution. At 
 the fame time, our minrfter -ftated the cafe ef thofe gentlemen in 
 the faireft and fulleft -light, obferving to the king of Portugal, 
 that of all nations in Europe, the Englifli leaft deferved to be 
 thus ufed, becaufe-they took the largeft quantity of the manu- 
 factures of Portugal, in exchange for fheir own, -of which lafi 
 the Portuguefe alfo exported a great deal. That the balance of 
 trade in our favour had been, and muft be, always difcharged 
 in gold, and that confequently thefe fevere proceedings, if not 
 remitted, muil not only produce an immediate rupture bet-ween 
 the two nations, but alfo hinder all commerce between them 
 for the future. By degrees thefe reprefentations were attended 
 to, the merchants releafed, their goods refiored, and the whole 
 affair was amicably adjufted. Upon this, our naval armament 
 was laid afide, and the mutual intereft of the two nations, af- 
 ter this explanation, being better underftood, the harmony be- 
 tween them was effectually reftored, and this unlucky interrup- 
 tion of it buried on both fides in oblivion. 
 
 "We may, from this inftance, dilcern, how dangerous a thing 
 it is, in any ftate, to fufrer thefe fleeping laws to remain virtual- 
 ty, and yet not actually repealed, fince, in certain conjunctures, 
 there never will be wanting a fort of enterprizing men, who 
 will endeavour to make their advantage of fuch penal fhuutes, 
 difguifing their private views, under a fpecious pretence of pur- 
 iuing the public good. As, on the other hand, we cannot avoid 
 obferving, that the beft way to fecure jufticc to our fubjcfits 
 abroad, is always to keep up a confiderabie maritime force at 
 home, that rt may be known to all nations, with whom we 
 have any dealings, we are always in a fituation to exact a fpee- 
 dy and ample fatisfaclion for any infults that are otfered to our 
 merchants, as believing it but equitable to employ in favour of 
 our commerce, that power which is the refuit of it; which ne- 
 ver can be attained, but by encouraging an extenftvc trade, and 
 which never can decay or decline, if we do not fuffer our 
 neighbours to interfere therein to our prejudice, by not apply- 
 Jmely and effectual remedies upon their firft invafions. But 
 3 R 2
 
 5 oo NAVALHISTORY 
 
 to return from thefe falutary cautions, to the thread of our nar- 
 ration. 
 
 The pirates in the Weft Indies, which had received fome 
 check from the vigorous difpofitions of governor Rogers, and. 
 other commanders in thofe parts, began to take breath again, 
 and by degrees grew fo bold as even to annoy our colonies more 
 than ever. This was owing to feveral caufes; particularly to 
 the encouragement they had met with of late from the Spani- 
 ards, and to the want of a fufficient force in the North Ameri- 
 can fea3 k . The merchants, finding themfelves extremely dif- 
 treffed by a grievance that increafed every day, made repeat- 
 ed reprefentations, upon this head, to the government ; upon 
 which, frefh orders were fent to the officers of ths navy cruiz- 
 ing on the coaft of Guinea, and in the Weft Indies, to exert 
 themfelves, with the utmoft diligence, in crufhmg thefe enemies 
 to mankind; and thefe injunctions had at length the defired ef- 
 fect. There was among thefe pirates, on the coaft of Africa, 
 onePvoberts, a man whofe parts deferved a better employment ; 
 he was an able feaman, and a good commander, and had with, 
 him two very ftout (hips, one commanded by himfelf, of forty 
 guns, and one hundred and fifty-two men ; the other of thirty- 
 two guns, and one hundred and thirty-two men ; and to complete 
 his fquadron, he foon added a third, of twenty-four guns, and 
 ninety men :'with this force, Roberts had done a great deal of 
 rnifchief in the Well Indies, before he failed for Africa, where 
 he likewife took abundance of prizes, till in the month of April, 
 1722, he was taken by the then captain, afterwards Sir Chalo- 
 ner Ogle. 
 
 Captain Ogle was then in the Swallow, and was cruizing off 
 Cape Lopez, when he had intelligence of Roberta's being not 
 far from him, and in confequence of t'ois he went immediately in 
 fearch of him, and foon after discovered the pirates in a very con- 
 venient bay, where the biggell and the kaft fhip were upon the 
 ))cel Scrubbing '. Captain Ogle taking in his lower tier of guns, 
 and lying at a diftance, Roberts took him for a merchantman, 
 
 fc Tindal's continuation of Papin, vol. ir. Otclmixon's hiflory of EngUi d, 
 
 ii. p. 714. Laliard's navaj hiftory, vol. ii. p. 890. 1 See captain, 
 
 <cer*irJs admiral, Ogle's letter to the lords of ihe admiralty, containing an fx- 
 
 j.M rcl.ti-m of this tranf-<fJL n, dated Swallow, jr. Cape e>.afl ruaj, Africa, April 
 
 :A regifUr fwr 1711, p. 344 347. 
 
 and
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. ^i 
 
 and immediately ordered his confort Skyrm to flip his cable, and 
 run out after him. Captain Ogle crowded all the fail he could 
 to decoy the pirate to fuch a diftance, that his conibrts might not 
 hear the guns, and then fuddenly tacked, run out his lower tier, 
 and gave the pirate a broadfide, by which their captain was kil- 
 led ; which fo difcouraged the crew, that after a briflc engage- 
 ment, which lafted about an hour and 'a half, they furrendered. 
 Captain Ogle returned then to the hay, hoifting the king's co- 
 lours, under the pirates black flag with a death's head in it. This 
 prudent ftratagem had the defircd efftxl ; for the pirates, -feeing 
 the black flag uppermoft, concluded the king's (hip ha.i been 
 taken, and came out full of joy to congratulate their coniort on 
 the victory. This joy of theirs was, however, of no long con- 
 tinuancej for captain Ogle gave them a very warm reception i 
 and, though Roberts fought with the utmoft bravery for near 
 two hours, yet, being at lair, killed, the courage of his men im- 
 mediately funk, and both fhips yielded. Captain Ogle carried 
 thefe three prizes, with about one hundred and fixty men that 
 were t?.ken in them, to Cape Coaft-cafHe, where they were in- 
 ftantly brought to their trials. Sevcuty-four were capitally con- 
 viewed, of whom fifty-two were executed, and moft of them 
 hung in chains in feveral places, which ftruck a terror in that 
 part of the world, as the taking feveral pirates in the Weft In- 
 dies, towards the latter end of the year, did in thofe feas m . But 
 thefe lucceiTes were far from putting an end to the mifchief ; fo 
 that it was found necefTary foon after to fend feveral ihips of 
 war to the northern colonies and Jamaica, where by degrees 
 they extirpated entirely this dangerous crew of robbers. 
 
 As this year was very barren in naval tranfaclions, I think I 
 am at liberty to take nptice of an event that otherwife might feem 
 of too little importance to be recorded. The cafe was this : 
 The government had intelligence, that the emiiTaries of the pre- 
 tender were very bufy in carrying ou their intrigues at feveral 
 foreign courts, and that, for the greater expedition and fecurity, 
 they had fitted out a fliip called the Refolution, which then lay- 
 in the Mole of Genoa. It was in the midft of autumn when this 
 intelligence was received ; upon which orders were immediately 
 
 "> Oldmixon'i hiili.ry of E:>olmd, vol. ii. p. 714. Ledurd's rr.val KifJcry, 
 vol. ii. p. S?l. 
 
 difpatchcd
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 difpatched to the captains of fuch of our men of war, as were 
 cruizing in the Mediterranean, to feize and poffefs themfelves of 
 this veffel, which they accordingly did in the beginning of the 
 month of November ". But it fo happened, that moft of her 
 officers were at this juncture on fhore, which oWiged Mr. Da- 
 venant, his majefty's envoy extraordinary to that republic, to 
 demand them of the fenate and ftate of Genoa ; but the fenate 
 were either fo unwilling, or fo dilatory in this affair, that the 
 perfons concerned had an opportunity, which they did not mifs, 
 of making their efcape ; and though they were a little unlucky 
 in lofing their fhip, which was a pretty good one, yet they were 
 very fortunate in faving themfelves, fince, if they had been taken, 
 they would have been treated as rebels, or perhaps confidered 
 as pirates, as fome people were in king William's time, who 
 afted under a commifiion from king James II. 
 
 The parliament having met on the 9th of October, the houfe 
 of commons, on the 24th of the fame month, granted 10,000 
 men for the fea-fervice, at four pounds per man per month, for 
 the year 1723 ; and, on the 29th, they refolved, that 216,388!. 
 145. 8d. be allowed for the ordinary of the navy, for the 
 fame year ; and foon after the king was pleafed to promote Sir 
 George Walton, knight, to the rank of rear-admiral of the 
 blue, in the room of admiral Mighels, who was appointed to 
 fucceed Thomas Swanton, Efq; lately deceafed, as comptroller 
 of the navy ; and admiral Littleton dying the fifth of February, 
 rear-admiral Strickland fucceeded him as vice-admiral of the 
 white ; the other admirals taking place according to their feni- 
 oritf P. 
 
 The naval tranfacYions of this year were, as I have already- 
 hinted, very inconfiderable ; for though fome great {hips were 
 put into commiflion, and there wns once a defign of fitting out 
 a fleet, yet it was very foon after laid afide. But that we may 
 not feem to pafs by any thing that has the fmalleft relation to 
 the fubjeft of this work, we {hall take notice of an account re- 
 
 * Memire hiftorique ct politiqne, torn. lx*iv. p. 131. Le-iiard's naval hiftory, 
 vol. ii. p. 891. Oldmixon's hift'jry of England, vol. ii. p. 734. 
 
 Hiftorical regifter for 1711, p. 3jtf. 
 
 P Oldmixon's hirtory of England, vol. ii. p. 7^.4. Hiftorical regiftcr for 1713, 
 f. , la. Salmoa'i eh* . -iclpjir*'. btfior.'an, oi. ii. ; 
 
 cr.
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 503 
 
 reived about this time of an extraordinary hurricane at Jamaica, 
 faid to be the moft remarkable that ever happened in that iiland; 
 which account, as it is in iticlt equally curiuus and remarkable, 
 fo it is the more valuable, becaule not to be met with elJe- 
 where q . 
 
 " To Sir H. S. Bart. 
 
 " Dated at Port-Royal in Jamaica, Nov. 13, [722* 
 " Since my laft to you, the affairs of the ifland are altered 
 " infinitely for the worfe. This change has been made by a 
 " moft terrible ftorm that happened the 28th of Auguft laft ; 
 " the damage which Jamaica has fuffered by it is too great to 
 " be ealily repaired again. Abundance of people have loft 
 " their lives by it, in one part or other of this iiland ; fome of 
 " them were dafhed in pieces by the fudden fall of their houfes, 
 " but the much greater part were fwept away by a u/rible in- 
 " undation of the fea, which being railed by the violence of the 
 " wind to a much greater height than was ever known before, 
 ' in many parts of the ifland broke over its ancient bounds, 
 " and of a fiidden overflowed a large tract of land, carrying 
 " away with an irrefiftible force, men, caule, houfes, and, in 
 fhort, every thing that flood in its \vay. 
 
 " In this laft calamity, the unfortunate town of Port Royal, 
 " has had, at leaft, its full (hare. And here 1 confefs myfelf 
 " at a lofs for words to give a juft description of the horror of 
 " that icene that we the afflicted inhabitants faw before our 
 " eyes. When the terror of the fea broke in upon us from all 
 " quarters with an impetuous force, confpired with the violence 
 " of the wind to cut off all hopes of fafety from us, and we 
 " had no other choice before us, but that difmal one of perifli- 
 " ing in the waters if we fled out of our houfes, or of being 
 
 1 Hurricane, which the French write Ouragnn, is a word, in the language of 
 the Caribbec Indians, exprfffing a vi -!e:,t temped, in which the wind veers fr..m 
 one point of the compafs to another. I: is preceded hrft by a dead calm, the 
 fun or moon very red, then a ftrcnjj weft uind. When this ("hifts to the north, 
 the hurricane begins, cominuis Ihifti: g weftward, till it conic to Couth-cart, and 
 there Mops. The bounds of thefe dreadrul ftorms are from July zj, to Septem- 
 ber 8, O. S. but in general Auguft is looked on, in America, as tne hurrua're 
 month. 
 
 " buried
 
 504 N A V A L H I S T O R Y 
 
 " buried ursJer the ruins if we continued in them. In this 
 " fearful fufpence we were held for feveral hours, for the vio- 
 lence of the ftorm began about eight in the morning, and did 
 " not fenfibly abate till between twelve and one, within which 
 " ipace of time the wind and fea together demolished a confi- 
 " derable part of the town, laid the churches even with the 
 " ground, dellroyed above one hundred and twenty white in- 
 * { habitants, and one hundred and fifty flaves, beiides ruining 
 ft almoft all the ftorehoufes in the town, together with all the 
 f< goods that were in them, which amounted to a confiderablc 
 11 value. 
 
 ' We had at Port-Royal two very formidable enemies to 
 " encounter at the fame time, viz. the wind and the fea; the 
 " fituation of the place, it being at all times furrounded with 
 lf the fea, rendering it more expofed than other places, to the 
 *' fury of that boifterous clement ; our defence agninfh the fea^ 
 *' confiiis in a great wall, round all along on the eaftern (Lore 
 *' of the town, the fide upon which xve apprehend rnoft dan- 
 " ger. This wall is raifed about nine feet above the furface of 
 " the water, and may be about fix or feven feet broad. And 
 *' for-thefe twenty years paft (for ib long the wall has been 
 " built) it has proved a fufficient fecurity to the town. But, in 
 " this fatal ftorm, the fea fcorned to be reftrained by fo mean 
 " a bulwark ; for the wind having, as I obferved before, raifed 
 " it very much above its ordinary height; it broke over the 
 * wall with fuch a force, as nothing was able to withftand. 
 " Two or three rows of houfes that were next to the wall, 
 " and ran parallel with it, were entirely taken away, among 
 " which was the church, a handfome building, and very ftrong, 
 " which was fo perfectly demolilhed, that fcarce one brick was 
 " left upon another. 
 
 " A conilderable part of the wall of the caftle was thrown 
 " down, notwith landing its being of a prodigious thickncfs, 
 " and founded altogctlier ivj->6n a rock, and the whole fort was 
 ' in the utmcft danger of being loft, the fea breaking quite 
 " over the walls of it, though they are reckoned to (land thirty 
 * feet above the water. This information I had from the cap- 
 " tain of the fort, and other officers, that were in it during the 
 " florin, who ail told mej that they expected every minute to 
 
 have
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 505 
 
 '- have the fort wafhed away, and gave up themfelves and the 
 " whole garrifon for loft. In the higheft Greets in the town, 
 " and thofe that are moft remote from the fea, the water rofe 
 ' to between five and fix feet ; and at the lame time the cur- 
 ** rent was fo rapid, that it was fcarce poffible for the ftrongeft 
 4f perfon to keep his legs, or to prevent himfelf from being car- 
 ried away by it. In thefe circumftanccs we were obliged to 
 " betake ourfelves to our chambers and upper rooms ; where 
 " yet we ran the utmoft hazard of peri filing by the fall of our 
 houfes, which trembled and fliook over our heads to a degree 
 that is fcarce credible. The roofs were for the moft pare 
 " carried off by the violence of the wind, and particularly in 
 11 the houfe to which mine and Several other families had beta- 
 4i ken ourfelves, the gable end was beaten in with fuch a force, 
 that a large parcel of bricks fell through the garret floor into 
 " the chamber where we were, and had they fallen upon any 
 tf of us, muft infallibly have beaten out our brains ; but God was 
 *' pleafed to order it fo, that not afoul received any hurt. 
 
 " There was, the morning on which the ftorm happened, a 
 *' good fleet of ihips riding in the harbour of Port-Royal, moft 
 " of which had taken in their full freight, and were to have 
 ' proceeded home in a few days, had they not been prevented 
 <( by this terrible ftorm, which left but one veffel in the har- 
 -" hour, befides four fail of men of war, all which had their 
 <* math and rigging blown away, and the fliips themfelves, 
 " though in as fecure a harbour as any ia the whole Weft 
 " Indies, were as near to deftruclion as it was poQible to be, 
 " and efcape it. But the moft fenfible proof of the unaccount- 
 '* able force of the wind and fea together, was, the vaft quan- 
 ' tity of ftones that were thrown over the town-wall ; which, 
 " as I obferved before, ftands nine feet above the furface of 
 4< the water, and yet fuch a prodigious number were forced 
 <l over it, that ahnoft an hundred negroes were employed for 
 " near fix weeks together to throw them back again into the 
 " fea, and fome of thofe ftones were fo vaftly big, that it was 
 " as much as nine or ten men coulj do to heave them back 
 < f again over the wall. 
 
 VOL. IIL 3$ "Jam
 
 5 oo NAVAL HIS TORY 
 
 I am fenfible this part of the relation will feem a little 
 " ftrange; but yet I doubt not of obtaining your belief, when 
 '* J affirm it to you of my own knowledge for a certain truth. 
 
 * But Port-Royal was not the only place that fuffered in the 
 " ftorm: at Kingston alfo great damage was done; abundance 
 <* of houfes were blown quite down, and many more were fo 
 " miferably broken and fhattered, as to be little better than 
 " none ; abundance of rich goods were fpoiled by the rait), the 
 warehoufes being either blown down or uncovered. But 
 they had only one enemy to encounter, viz the wind, and 
 " were not prevented by the fea from forfaking their falling 
 " houfes, and betaking themfdves to the favarinahs or opefi 
 fields, where they were obliged to throw themfdves all along 
 ' upon the ground, to prevent their being blown away ; and 
 < yet, even in Kingfton, fome perfons were killed, amongfl 
 *' whom was a very worthy gentlewoman, the wife of the re- 
 " verend Mr. May, minifter of the town, and the bifhop of 
 " London's commifT.iry; fhe was killed by the fall of their 
 *' houfe, as fhe lay with her hufband under a large table, who 
 *' had alfo the misfortune of having his own leg broke. Ail 
 * the vefiels that rode in the harbour of Kingfton, which were 
 " between forty and fifty fai!, were either driven on lliore or 
 " overfet and funk. Abundance of the men and goods were 
 " loft, and one could not forbear being furprifed to fee 
 ' large (hips, with all their heavy lading in tlvem, thrown quite 
 up upon the dry land; and nothing could afford a more dif- 
 { n:al profpcct than the harbour did the next day, which was 
 ' covered with nothing but wrecks and dead bodies. 
 
 " At Spanilh Town nobody indeed was killed, but a great 
 " many had very narrow efcapes, fome families having fcarce 
 " quitted their houles before they fell down tlat at once, with- 
 ** out giving any warning. The king's houfe ftands, indeed, 
 il but it is all uncovered, and the flables, coach-houfes, ts"s. 
 * are cuite demoliflied. The river, near to which the town is 
 " fituated, fvvelled to fuch a degree as was never before known ; 
 < and 1 was allured by the miniiter of the place, Mr. Scott, it 
 ' role full forty feet perpendicular above the ordinary mark, 
 ' ami did incredible damage to the eftates that lay bordering 
 " upon it. Fioui other 'parts of the country we had very me- 
 
 ** lancholy
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 507 
 
 lanclioly accounts of the .great lolTes they had fuftained, and 
 t( particularly at Old Harbour, a village built at a little diftance 
 " from that Jhore ; the fea made fuch hafte to devour, as moft 
 " unexpectedly to intercept many poor creatures before they 
 " had time to make their efcape, and almoft forty poor fouls 
 " perifhed all together in one houfe ; and whilft they only 
 " fought fecurity from the wind, expofed themfelves to be de- 
 " ftroyed by the fea, from whence, when they firil fled, they 
 ' apprehended no danger. In Clarendon and Vere pariQies 
 " great mifchief was done ; in the latter the minifter, Mr. 
 " White, had his leg broke by the fall of the houfe where he 
 " was, not to mention feveral perfons that were killed outright. 
 
 But I fliould quite tire out your patience, fhould I under- 
 " take to give you a particular account of the damages that 
 ' were done by the ftorm in all parts of the ifland. It (hall 
 " therefore fuffice to fay, that the damage which the trading 
 < part of the ifland has fuftained, by the lofs of their fhipping 
 " and goods, 'is not to be valued; and, on the other hand, it 
 is impofllble to fay how deeply the planting intereflhas fhared 
 " in this common calamity, by the lofs of dwelling- houfes and 
 ' fusar- works, and many other ways. And, in fhort, had the 
 < fury of the ftorm lafted much longer, the whole ifland muft 
 have been one general wreck, and nothing but final and uni- 
 verfal ruin could have enfued r ." 
 
 There remains but one thing more to be mentioned within 
 the compafs of this year, and that is, the perplexed fituation 
 of affairs on the continent making it necelTary for his mnj^uy to 
 vifit his German dominions, he embarked on board the Caroli- 
 na yacht on the }d of Juno, arrived fafely in Holland on the 
 7th, and continued his journey by land to Hanover, where he 
 remained during the -eft of the yeur i 723 -, at the clofe of which 
 Sir John Norris, with a fmall fquadron of men of \vr.r w.:s fent 
 to eicort him from Holland -, and he returned fafely to S:. 
 James's on the 3oth of December 3 . 
 
 British empire in America, vol. ii. p. 3<Ji, contains an acccunt of this dread- 
 fill c..hmity, by ? , then g vernor. 
 
 s (, ,l>oty of Ef.filand, v,. . ii. p. 741, 747- T'liuiaTs cwtinns- 
 
 tion rf Rapif, vol. iv. p. 673, 676. Lediard's nuvai hiOcry, vA ii. p 
 891. 
 
 82 The
 
 5o3 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 The parliament, which had been farther prorogued, on ac* 
 count of the king's ftay abroad, was now fummoned to meet 
 on the pth of January ; and care was taken in the mean time, 
 to regulate whatever had relation to foreign affairs, in fuch a 
 manner as that his majeftr might affure both houfes, in his 
 fpeech from the throne, that, through his afliduous application 
 to bufinefs while at Hanover, all affairs had been adjufted, fo 
 that moft of the courts of Europe were, at that juncture, either 
 in a favourable difpofition towards us, or at leaft in no condi- 
 tion to create in us any apprehenfions on account of their arma- 
 ments or intrigues. 
 
 In this ftatethey continued for about two years, that is to far, 
 till a little before the treaty of Hanover, which was concluded 
 thereon the 3d of September, 1725 r . It is fufficiemly known 
 to every body, this alliance was concerted in order to v prevent 
 the bad effects that were apprehended from the treaty of Vien- 
 na ; in which, (at leaft it was fo fuggefted) there were many 
 things dangerous to the trade of England, and the fucceffion of 
 the royal family ; but this, however, the late emperor Charles VI. 
 abfolutely denied, and took a very ftrange as well as extraordi- 
 nary meafure, which was to appeal from the judgment of the 
 king and his miniftry to that of the people of this nation, for 
 whom he profeffed the warmed gratitude, and the higheft 
 efteem u ; however, there was no great fign of this in the pro- 
 clamation, publifhed fome time after, for prohibiting any of the 
 goods and manufactures of Great Britain from being imported 
 into the ifland of Sicily, of which we had fo lately, and at fuch 
 a mighty expence to ourfelves, put him in poilcflion. 
 
 The year 1726 opened very inaufpicioufly : his majefty em- 
 Barked on board the Carolina yacht, at Helvoetfluys, about one 
 in the afternoon on new-year's-day, with a fair wind at north- 
 eaft, and failed immediately. But, about feven the fame even- 
 ing, a moft violent ftorm arofe, with hail and rain, which fo 
 feparated the fleet, that only one man of war, commanded by 
 captain Danfie, kept company with the king's yacht, on board 
 of which was Sir John Norris. The tempeft continued fo high,. 
 
 f I.smbmi, torn. x. append. N. xxiii. RouflVr, torn. ii. p. 189. Le dmit 
 public de PF.urop?, chap. vii. p. 71. u Rouflet, torn. iii. p. 349, where 
 
 :-.*.dcr will 6>d thcrcfident Palm's memorial, dated Marck 13, 17*7. 
 
 and
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 50? 
 
 sncPrhe Tea fo boifterous, for about thirty-fix hours, that the 
 whole fleet was in the utmoft danger. The third, in the morn- 
 ing, the yachts and men of war were near Dover ; and one of 
 the yachts, with fome of his majefty's attendants, entered the 
 river ; but it was thought more advifable that his majefty fliould 
 land at Rye, where he arrived about noon ; and on the 9th, in 
 the evening, he came from thence to his palace at St. James's, 
 in perfect health w .' 
 
 On the aoth of January the parliament met, and the king 
 made a very remarkable fpeech from the throne x , in which he 
 took notice of the critical fituation of affairs in turope, and of 
 the meafures he had taken for fupporting thcj honour of his 
 crown, and preferving the juft rights of his people. When this 
 fpeech came to be debated in the houfe of commons, very warm 
 things were fiid, by thofe who were then in the oppofition., 
 againft the plan of the Hanover alliance, which, though it was 
 alfo difliked by many of the minifters here at home, yet was 
 ftrenuoufly fupported by others, and even by them, in that de- 
 bate'. 
 
 Ii has been generally faid, and I believe with truth, that the 
 fecretary of ftute, then abroad with his majefty, was the fole, or 
 at leaft the principal advifer in that affair, which gave a new turn- 
 to our politic?, and engaged us in a fcheme for humbling the 
 houfe of Atiffcria, which we had fo long and even fo lately fup- 
 ported, and in the fupport of which we have been fince alfo en- 
 gaged at an expence, that might certainly have been fpared, if 
 this fcheme had not taken place ; fuch fluctuations there are in 
 modern policy, and fo dearly do whole nations pay for the in- 
 trigues, caprices, and errors of particular men! But to proceed. 
 
 On the 26th of January the houfe of commons refolved, that 
 ten thoufand men be employed for the fea-fervice, for the year 
 1726, at 4!. a man per mouth for thirteen months. The 231! 
 of February they refolved, that 212,381!. 55. be granted for 
 
 w Oldmixon's hiilofy of England, vol. ii. p. 775. Tindal's continuation of 
 Rapin, vol. iv. p. 591. Mercure hiflorique ct pJiriquc, tmc Ixxx. p. in. I.e- 
 diard'. naval hiftory, v>l. ii. p. 893. * Chandler's debates, vol. vi. p. 349. 
 
 y The point in the treaty of Vienna, which chi.fly atfcdtcd the ttiaritiincpower.;, 
 *as tbe coi.fHin..ti,r. of the Oflend company. 
 
 the
 
 5 io N A V A L H I S T O R.Y 
 
 the ordinary of the navy for the fame year z . But this provision, 
 as the affairs of Europe then flood, being not thought f ufficient, 
 his majefty held it requifite, on the 24th of March, to fend a 
 mefftge to the houfe of commons a , importing, that he found it 
 sbfolutely necefTary to augment his maritime force, and hoped 
 he fhould be enabled, by the afliftance of parliament, to increafe 
 the number of feamen already voted and granted for the fervice 
 of this year, that he might be thereby enabled not only to fecure 
 to his own fubje&s the full and free enjoyment of their trade and 
 navigation, but in the belt manner to prevent and fruftrate fuch 
 defigns as had been formed againft the particular interefl of this 
 nation, and the general peace of Europe. Upon this mefTage 
 there was a very warm debate, which ifTued in an addrefs from 
 the houfe to his majefty, defiring, < That he would be pleafed 
 " to make fuch an addition to the number of feamen already 
 voted, and to concert fuch other meafures as he in his great 
 " wifdom fhould think moft conducive to the fecurity ot the 
 * trade and navigation of this kingdom, ami to the prefervation 
 " of the peace of Europe, alluring his majefty that they would 
 " effectually provide for, and make good, all fuch expences and 
 " engagements as fhould be entered into for obtaining thofe 
 " great and deferable ends b ." 
 
 The adminifhruion had all things now in their own power, 
 nnd were at full liberty to ai as they thought fit; but, before 
 \ve proceed to what they did, it will be reaibnable to take a view 
 of what was then looked upon as the fcheme of our enemies. 
 This I think the more reafonable, becaufe hitherto it has never 
 been done, at leafl in a clear, intelligible way, fo that a reader 
 of common capacity might underfland it. As foon as the courts 
 of Vienna and Madrid apprehended that their views werecroffed, 
 ;md the ends propofed by their conjunction utterly difappointed 
 by the counter-alliance at Hanover, they immediately refolved to 
 have recourfe to farther negociations, in order to increafe the 
 number of their allies; and, when they found themfelves fuffi- 
 ciently powerful, they defigned to have referred to open force. 
 
 * Hiftorica! regifter for 1716, p. 51, 70. 
 
 a Oldmixon's hiflory of England, vol. i;. p. 783. Tindal's continuation of 
 Rjpin, vol. iv. p. 695. 
 
 b Chandler's debate*, vol. vj. p. 
 
 With
 
 o F KIN G G E O R G E I. 511 
 
 With a view to render this fcheme effectual, the emperor be- 
 gan to execute projects in the north, in which he met at firil 
 with fome extraordinary fuccefs. The Czarina Catherine, dow- 
 ager of the Czar Peter the Great, had conceived a diftafte to 
 Britifh court, and had, by fo%e people about her, been drawn 
 to believe it might prove no difficult matter to overturn the go- 
 vernment in Britain. The fame fcheme had been propofed and 
 countenanced at the Imperial court by fome of the miniiters, ns 
 the emprcfs-dovvager informed the king ; and, on the credit of 
 that information, 'his majeity mentioned it in his fpeech. The 
 Spanifh court readily adopted that or any other expedient which 
 might procure taem Gibraltar, and facilitate their acquifitions 
 in Italy, then and long after the great objects of their policy . 
 
 Thus the Hanover alliance, originally contrived for the fecur- 
 ing that electorate, proved the means of bringing it into fome 
 degree of danger, and perhaps the fame caule will hardly ever 
 fail to produce the fame effects ; whence it is evident, that, the 
 lefs fhare xve take in the affairs of the continent, the lefs the pre- 
 fent royal family will be expofed to fuch attempts ; and therefore 
 a wife miniftry will be fure to inform their matter, that purfuing 
 the real and acknowledged interetts of Great Britain will conci- 
 liate all the powers of the continent except France, and that at- 
 tempts to aggrandize his electoral dominions will always create 
 him enemies, difturb the peace of Germany, and ba- 
 
 lance of Europe. 
 
 I have already obferved, that the miniftry at home were by- 
 no means the authors of the Hanover alliance, though they 
 looked on themfelvcs as obliged to fupport it ; and therefore, as 
 foon as they were acquainted with the ithemes formed by the 
 allies of Vienna, they let about difappointing them with all their 
 force. In order to this, they did not much truft tcr their good 
 allies the French, or to the flow affiftance of the Dutch, but 
 chofe the fhortelt and moft expeditious method poffible, of help- 
 ing themfelves, with which view it w.;s reklved to fend a ftrong 
 fleet into the Baltic to awe the Czarina, to bring round another 
 power, and to keep fteady a third. It was iikewife thought re- 
 
 c RooflV, tome iii. wht c the pracipiJ f ullic rapers -egat ing thifc foitir-l 
 Uil'puus naa; be coiii'ultc<i. 
 
 itCtc
 
 s it NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 quifite to have another ftrong fquadron on the coaft of Spain to 
 intimidate his Catholic majeity, and to render his efforts, if he 
 ihould make any againft Gibraltar, ineffe&ual ; and, to fum up 
 all, as they very well knew that money was not only the finews 
 of war, but the great bond of friendfhip, at lead among ftates 
 and princes, they determined to fend a confiderable force to the 
 Indies, in order to block up the galleons, as the fliorteft means 
 of dirTolving the union between their Imperial and Catholic ma- 
 jefties, being -Satisfied, that, if the former could not receive his 
 fubfidies, the latter could never rely upon his afiiftance : fuch 
 were the plans on both fides at this critical juncture ! 
 
 The command of the fieet intended for the Baltic was given 
 to Sir Charles Wager, vice-admiral of the red, who had under 
 him Sir George Walton, rear-admiral of the blue. The fquadron 
 they were to command confifted of twenty fhins of the line, one 
 frigate, two fire- (hips, and one hofpital-fhip. His final inftruc- 
 tions having been given to the commander in chief, he on the 
 1 3th of April, 1726, hoifted his flag on board the Torbay, a 
 third rate man of war, at the Nore d . He was faluted thereupon 
 by all the (hips lying there, and returned their falutes with one 
 and twenty guns. About an hour after, Sir George Walton 
 hoifted his flag on board the Cumberland, at her mizen-top-maft 
 head, and faluted the admiral with nineteen guns, and was an- 
 fwered with feventeen. The I4th, Sir Charles delivered out a 
 line of battle, and a rendezvous for Copenhagen road, or the 
 Dablen, near Stockholm, with failing intlr ucYions. The I7th 
 in the morning, the fleet weighed, and fct fail from the Nore. 
 Cn the 2^c! of the fame month, the fleet came to an anchor in 
 the road of Copenhagen; and on the 25th, Sir Charles pre- 
 fented his mr.jefty's letter to the king of Denmark in cabinet- 
 council, dined with his Danilh majefty the fame day, and en- 
 tertained the then prince royal of Denmark on board his owa 
 {hip the next. On the 6th of May, the fleet under the com- 
 mand of Sir Charles Wager anchored near Stockholm. 
 
 The very next day Stephen Pointz, Efq; his majefty's envoy 
 extraordinary and plenipotentiary, accompanied by Mr. Jackibn, 
 
 d OUm'xon's hif.ory of Enghnd, vol. ii. p. 784. Ltdurd's naval hiftory, vol. 
 
 ".-,_-. 
 
 Ml
 
 OF KING G E O R G E I. 513 
 
 his majefty's refident, came on board the admiral. The Sth, 
 Sir Charles went up to that city with them j and on the ictb, 
 had an audience of the king of Sweden, in the prefence of fe- 
 veral of the fenators, to which he was introduced by Mr. Pointz. 
 Sir Charles delivered a letter from the king his mafter to his 
 Swedifh. majefty, by whom he was very graciouily received c . 
 The 1 4th of the fame month the fquadron of Danifh men of war 
 failed from Copenhagen for the ifland of jBornholm, in order to 
 join the Britifti fquadron. Thefe ceremonies over, Sir Charles 
 Wager failed with his fquadron to the ifland of Narignan, with- 
 in three leagues of Pievel. There, on the 25th of May, captain 
 Deane, who had been on board thePort-Mahon, nearer in with 
 the fhore, returned on board the T orbay, and brought the ad- 
 miral an account, that he had fpoken with a Lubecker that came 
 five days before from Peteriburgh, whofe mafter informed him, 
 that there were fixteen Ruffian men of war in the road at Cron- 
 flot, with three flags flying, viz. lord-admiral Apraxin, vice- 
 admiral Gordon, and rear-admiral Saunders; that a great num- 
 ber of gallies were in readinefs, of which but twelve were at 
 Cronflot, and the reft at Peteriburgh, or Wyburgh*". 
 
 The admiral took the firft opportunity offending his majefty's 
 letter to the Czarina, inclofed in a letter to her admiral Apraxin, 
 in which letter his msjefty expoftulated very freely with her on 
 the fubjec"! of her armaments by fea and land, and on the in- 
 trigues which her miniflers had lately entered into with the a- 
 gents of the pretender . It is laid, that the Ruffian court was 
 very much nettled at this appearance of a Britifh fleet upon their 
 coafts, and was inclined to have come to extremities, rather 
 than endure it. But vice-admiral Gordon very wifely reprefent- 
 ed to the council, that the Ruffian fleet was in no condition to 
 venture an engagement with that of Great Britain ; upon which 
 orders were given for laying it up, and for fecuring, in the beft 
 manner pofiible, both it and the gallies from, being infulted. In 
 the month of July prince M^nzikorT, who was theu prime mini- 
 
 Hiftorical regifter for 171$, p. 19?, 316. Mercnre hiftorfqne et polUque, 
 tome Ixxx. p. 549, 6$G. Salmon's chronological hiftorian, vol. ii. p. i<5j. 
 f Lcdiard's naval hiftory, vol. ii. p. Spj. Tindai'i continuation of Rapin, vol. 
 v. p. 697. B See the kin^s letter and the emprcf' anfwer in the biftorical 
 
 for i?i<J, p. it/3. 
 
 VOL. III. 3 T
 
 NAVAL HISTORY 
 
 fter, coming to Revel, mutual civilities pafled between him and 
 Sir Charles Wager ; and his highnefs, to (hew his regard to the 
 Englifh officers, frequently invited them to his own tabls h . 
 
 The Britifh fleet, while in this ftation, was joined by a Da- 
 nifli fquadron, commanded by rear-admiral Bitte, and remained 
 before Revel till the i8th of September, \vhen, having received 
 certain intelligence that the Ruffians would not be able to at- 
 tempt any thing that year, he failed for Copenhagen, and from 
 thence home, arriving fafely at the Gunfleet on the firft of No- 
 vember'. It mult be allowed that Sir Charles Wager perform- 
 ed, on this occafion, all that could be expected from the wif- 
 dom amd fkill of an Englifh admiral ; fo that this expedition ef- 
 fectually anfwered its end, which ought to be confidered as an 
 honour to his memory, whether that end fhall be thought right 
 or wrong ; for that is a mere political difpute, which nei- 
 ther can, or ought to affect the charader of the admiral in the 
 leaft. 
 
 The fleet that was fent to the coaft of Spain, was commanded 
 by Sir John Jennings, and confided of nine large men of war, 
 which were afterwards joined in the Mediterranean by fcveral 
 fliips that were cruizing there. The admiral failed on the 2cth 
 of July from St. Helen's; and, on the 3d of Auguft, entered 
 \\\e bay of St. Antonio, which alarmed the Spaniards excef- 
 iively, who immediately drew down a great body of regular 
 .troops towards the coaft. When the fleet firft entered the bay, 
 fame pieces of cannon were fired n't the foremoft fiiips; but 
 tiie governor of St. Antonio prcfently fent an officer to Sir John 
 :ings to excufe it, and to afuire him it was an aft of indif- 
 ;->n committed by the governor of the fort, without orders. 
 On the 25111 of the fame month the fleet arrived at Lifbon,and 
 received there with all poffible marks of refpeft ; and Sir 
 John Jennings having received a meffage from the king of Por- 
 tugal, intimating that he would be glad to fee him, the admiral 
 
 * rp'-a! hiflvry, vol. ii. p. Rp5. Hiftr>ri;al re^flcr 
 MotikVs life of the emprtl"> Ca'l)cr : nc, v:-i.'. ii. p. 183. 187. i Tindai's 
 
 n.;i-.,n of R;.p;, lf vol. iv. p. ,urc Liiloriqus ct politique, tome
 
 OF KIN G G E O R G E I. 515 
 
 landed, paid his compliments to his majefty k , and then return- 
 ing on board his fquadron, failed from the river of Lifbon for 
 the bay of Bulls, near Cadiz, where he was treated with great 
 diftin&ion, and had all the refrefhments he defired lent him, by 
 order of the Spanifli governor. 
 
 He cruized for fome time after off Cape St. Mary's, in order 
 to wait for the (hips that were to join him. On the 7th of 
 the fame month rear-admiral Hopfon, with four Britilh men of 
 war, came into the river of Lifbon, and one of the fhips ha- 
 ving loft her main-yard, and another having her fore-maft da- 
 maged, the rear-admiral applied to our minifrer, brigadier Dor- 
 mer, who immediately obtained an order from his Portugueze 
 majefty, for furnifhing every thing that was nectilary out of 
 his naval ftores. The gth, his mnjefty's Ihips the Winchelfea 
 and Swallow, which failed fome time before from the Downs, 
 came into the entrance of the river Tagus, and the next day 
 proceeded to join Sir John Jennings. 
 
 It would be needlefs for me to enter into a farther or more 
 particular detail of the motions of this fquadron, which foou 
 after returned to Spithead '. It is fufficient to obferve, that it 
 anfwered perfectly the ends propofed by it ; alarmed the Spanifh 
 court to the higheit degree, obliged it to abandon the meafures 
 then taking to the prejudice of Great Britain, and gave fuch 
 fpirits to the party in Spain which oppofed thofe dangerous 
 councils, as enabled them to triumph over all oppofition. The 
 duke de R-ipperda, who had been lately prime miniiler, the 
 very man who had negociated the treaty of Vienna, by whofe 
 intrigues the two courts had been embroiled, took ihehcr, at 
 the time of his difgrace, in the houfe of the earl of Harring- 
 ton, then colonel Stanhope, and our minifter at Madrid ; and 
 though he was taken from thence by force, yet the terror of a 
 Britiih fquadron upon the coaft, prevailed upon the Spaniih 
 court to lay afide r.ll thoughts of proceeding agair.ft him c?.pi* 
 tally, which they before intended, for betraying to the Britifh, 
 miniftry thofe very defigns that occafioned the lending of this 
 
 k Lft'.'urd's naval hifWy, vol. ii. p. 808. Hiflorical regirter for 1715, p. 315-. 
 350. Merrnre iflorique et politiquc, tome Ixxxi. p. in, 545. 
 
 I Tirulit'- c >i .^nu'ition cf Rapin, vol. iv. p. 698. Lediard"-. ry, 
 
 v,.| ii. p. &pp. :. --riquc et politic,::;, tcmc Ixxxi. p. 
 
 3 T = i
 
 5itf NAVALHISTORY 
 
 % 
 
 fleet ; and he foon after made his efcape from the caftle of Se- 
 govia, and retired hither as to the only place of fafety, from 
 the refentment of his Catholic majefty ra . Such were the events 
 that attended the expedition of Sir John Jennings on the 
 coaft of Spain : let us proceed to the tranfactions in the Weft 
 Indies. 
 
 As the execution of all the great defigris formed by the 
 Vienna allies, depended entirely on the fupplies that were ex- 
 pelled from the Spanifh Weft Indies, our miniftry thought they 
 could not take either a wifer or a bolder meafure, than fending 
 a fquadron into thofe parts to bk>ck up the galleons, and fo 
 prevent them from, receiving thofe fupplies. A fquadron was 
 accordingly ordered to bfe equipped for that purpofe, the com- 
 mand of which was given to Francis Hofier, Efq; rear-admiral 
 of the blue, an excellent officer ; but what his inftru&ions' 
 were, I am not able to fay, as having no better authority to pro- 
 ceed upon than bare conjectures. He failed from Plymouth 
 on the c>th of April, 1726 j and though he had a very quick 
 paffage, yet the Spaniards had previous notice of his defign, by 
 an advice-boat from Cadiz, fo that before he reached the Bafti- 
 mentos, the treafure which had been on board the galleons, 
 and which that year confifted of about fix millions and a half 
 fterling, was fairly carried back to Panama, on the other fide 
 the Ifthmus. On the 6th of June vice-admiral Hofier anchored 
 within fight of Porto Bello j upon which the governor fent to 
 know his demands . The vice-admiral anfsvered, with great 
 prudence and temper, that he waited for the Royal George, a 
 large South-fea fliip, then in the harbour, which had difpofed 
 of all her cargo, and had a very large fum of money on board. 
 The Spaniards, in hopes of getting rid of fo troublefome a 
 gueft, haftened her away; which, I think, was the greateffc 
 iervice this fquadron performed. With refpeft to the blocking 
 up of the galleons, that was fo much magnified here at home, 
 it was really a dream, for his remaining there three weeks, was 
 
 n Memoirs of tlie <luke de Ripperda. Historical regifter for the year 1717. 
 
 Tindal.OMmixon, and other writers. n Lediard's naval hiftory, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 899. lliftorical reglfter for i7ifi, p. 3^0. Mercure hiltorique et po- 
 Ktique, Come Ixxxi. p. 4.41.
 
 OF KING GEORGE I. 517 
 
 time fuflicient to put it out of their power to return for that 
 feafon j and, therefore, his continuing there fix months, as he 
 did, till his fquadron, that had been the terror, become the jefl 
 of the Spaniards, was altogether needlefs. A little before 
 Chriftmas he weighed, and failed for Jamaica, after fuch a lols 
 of men, and in fo wretched a condition, that I cannot prevail 
 upon myfelf to enter into the particulars of a difafter, which I 
 heartily wifli could be blotted out of the annals, and out of the 
 remembrance of this nation . 
 
 It happened very luckily for him, that there were at that 
 time in the ifiand of Jamaica, a great number of feamen out of 
 employment, fo that in two months time his fquadron was once 
 more manned, and in a condition to put to fea ; which he did^ 
 and ftood over to Carthagena, where he was able to do HttJe 
 or nothing ; for the Spaniards had by this time recovered their 
 fpirits, and began to make reprifcls, feizing the Prince Frederic, 
 a South-fea fhip, then at La Vera Cruz, with all the veffels 
 and effects belonging to that company, which admiral Hofier 
 did indeed demand, but to no purpofe. He continued cruizing 
 in thofe feas, and fome of his (hips took feveral Spanifh prizes, 
 moft of which were afterwards reftored 9 and in this fituation 
 things continued till the vice-admiral breathed his laft, on the 
 23d of Auguft, 1727. But that, and what followed, being 
 without the limits of this work, I have nothing farther to fay 
 of this expedition, which, whether well or ill concerted at 
 home, was undoubtedly executed with great courage arid con- 
 duct by this unfortunate commander, who loft his feamen txvScc 
 over, and whofe fhips were totally ruined- by the worms in thofe 
 feas, which created a mighty clamour at home, and was, with- 
 out doubt, a prodigious lofs to the nation. 
 
 The Spaniards, intending to fb'ew that they were not intimi- 
 dated by thefe mighty naval armaments^ proceeded in the 
 fcheme they had formed, of attacking the important fortrefs of 
 Gibraltar j and towards the clofe of the year 1726, their army, 
 under the count de las Torres, actually came before the place. 
 Our minifiry at home having had previous intelligence of this 
 
 Lcdiard's naval hifto.y, vol. ii. p. Qoo. Oidmixon. Mercurc 
 t politique, torn: Ixxxii. ;. i/\ 
 
 defign
 
 $18 > N A V A L HISTORY 
 
 defign, ordered a fmall fquadron to be got ready at Portfmouth 
 in the month of December; and on the 24th, Sir Charles 
 Wager, having hoifted his flag on board the Kent, as foon as 
 the wind would permit, failed, in order to join rear-admiral 
 Hopfon, for the relief of that garrifon, which he performed 
 very effectually in the fucceeding year p . 
 
 The parliament met on the lyth of January, 1727, and on 
 the 23d of the fame month the houie of commons cairie to a 
 refolution, that 20,000 men fliould be allowed for the fea-fer- 
 vice, at the ufual rate of 4 1. a-month per man ; and on the 
 firft of the next month, they voted 199,071 1. for the ordinary 
 of the navy q . The firft uie made of thefe extraordinary fup- 
 plies was, to fend once more a fleet into the Baltic, where, it 
 was faid, the Czarina was preparing to attack the Swedes ; and 
 afterwards to proceed to the execution of defigns which have 
 been formerly mentioned. On the 21 ft of April, captain Mau- 
 rice, commander of the Naflau, was appointed rear-admiral of 
 the white fquadron, and captain Robert Hughes, commander 
 of the Hampton-Court, rear-admiral of the blue fquadron of 
 his majefly's fleet; and v captain Rogers was appointed to com- 
 mand the Naffau in the room of admiral Maurice. They were 
 all three to ferve under Sir John Norris, who failed the latter 
 end of that month, and arrived on the coaft of Jutland the 8th 
 of May r , anchored in fight of Elfineur the nth; the next 
 day in the road of Copenhagen ; the king of Denmark being 
 jit his palace st Frederic kfourgh, Sir John, with the lord 
 Glenorchy, his majefly's minifter at that court, waited on his 
 Dariim majefty, and was extremely well received. But while 
 he was employed in this expedition, that event fell out, which 
 puts a period to our labours. 
 
 This event was the death of King GEORGE I. which hap- 
 pened at his brother's palace, in the city of Olnaburgh, June, 
 the nth, 1727, about one in the morning, in the thirteenth 
 
 P Ol^mixon's h'fio-y of England, vol. ii. p. 8?2, 8^5- TinJsl's continua- 
 tion oir Rapin, vol. iv. p. 709 Lrtiurci's naval hiftory, vol. ii. p. 901. Hi- 
 ! rrpilter for the year 1 727, p. 1 2O. Mtrci:re hifk.nicj'ie et poli.'iqtie, 
 lomc Isxxii. p. 236, 351, 383, 566. 1 Hiftotical rpgifter for 1727, 
 
 p. /8, 8-. r LeJiard's naval hiftory, vol. ii. p. 905. Tituial's 
 
 coijt'iiiui'.ioii of Rap'n, vol. iv. p. 709, 710. Oidmiaon, vl. i".. p. 805. 
 
 vear
 
 OF KING G E O R G E I. 519 
 
 year of his reign, and in the flxty-eight of his life s . To fpeak 
 without flattery, his majefty was a prince of great virtues, and 
 had many qualities truly amiable. He was very well acquainted 
 \vith the general intereft of all the princes in Europe, and par- 
 ticularly well verfed in whatever related to German affairs, with 
 refpeft to which he always acted as a true patriot, and a firm 
 friend to the conftitution of the empire. As to his conduct 
 after his accefiion to the Britifh throne, his minifters were in- 
 tirely accountable for it ; for he conftantly declared to them, 
 that his intention was to govern according to the laws, and ;vith 
 no other view th^n the general good of his people. He was 
 allowed, by the beft judges of military flcill, to be an excellent 
 officer. He was very capable of application, and underftood 
 bufinefs as well as any prince of his time. In his amufements 
 he was eafy and familiar, of a temper very fenfibie of the iervi- 
 ces that were rendered him ; firm in his friend ihips, naturally 
 averfe to violent meafures, and as compaflionate as any prince 
 that ever fat upon a throne, 
 
 Hiftorical rcgiQfr for 1717, p. 1-1. Mercurs hirtoriqni & p'tliib.u?, t.->m. 
 Ixxxiii. p. 39. London Gazette of June i5th, i>: 7 . M. da la M^irr.r/'s tr;~ 
 veU, vol. iii. p. 177, where there is a difticift ai-cvnn: of li : 
 from biron Fibrke, who attfr.dcd ' 
 
 A LIST
 
 A LIST of the ENGLISH NAVY, as it flood at the Acceffion 
 of GEORGE II. 
 
 Rates. IS 
 
 i of Ships. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Guns, i 
 
 5 wive] 
 
 I. 
 
 7 
 
 5,460 
 
 700 
 
 
 II. 
 
 13 
 
 8,840 
 
 1*17 
 
 
 
 Ci6 
 
 8,320 
 
 1,280 
 
 
 
 
 C 2 4 
 
 10,568 
 
 1,680 
 
 
 IV. 
 
 $24 
 {.40 
 
 37,600 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 V. 
 
 H 
 
 4,800 
 '55 
 
 960 
 
 3 
 
 
 VI 
 
 C i 
 
 140 
 
 22 
 
 
 * !* 
 
 28 
 
 35^ 
 
 560 
 
 
 Flre-fhips 
 
 3 
 
 155 
 
 24 
 
 
 Bombs 
 
 3 
 
 120 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 Store-fhip 
 
 i 
 
 90 
 
 20 
 
 
 Sloops 
 
 '5 
 
 990 
 
 78 
 
 78 
 
 Yachts 
 
 7 
 
 260 
 
 
 
 Ditto, foull 
 
 5 
 
 29 
 
 26 
 
 6 
 
 Hoys 
 
 ii 
 
 87 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 Smacks 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Long-boat 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Buoy- boat 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Lighter 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Hulks 
 
 9 
 
 J59 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 283 
 
 64,514 
 
 ND of VOL. III.