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GIBRALTAR AND ITS SIEGES.
[Illustration: GIBRALTAR FROM THE NORTH-WEST.]
GIBRALTAR AND ITS
SIEGES.
WITH A
Description of its Natural Features.
“Where Gibraltar’s cannoned steep
O’erfrowns the wave.”--MATTHEW ARNOLD.
LONDON: THOMAS NELSON AND SONS.
EDINBURGH AND NEW YORK.
1879.
Contents.
PART I.
NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS:--
I. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR IN 1704, 9
II. AN INTERVAL, 21
III. THE GREAT SIEGE, 25
IV. THE FLOATING BATTERIES, 70
V. THE RELIEF, 99
PART II.
GIBRALTAR AS IT WAS AND IS:--
I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION, 116
II. EARLY HISTORY OF THE ROCK, 142
List of Illustrations.
GIBRALTAR FROM THE NORTH-WEST, FRONTISPIECE
ROCK OF GIBRALTAR FROM THE NEUTRAL GROUND, 12
VIEW FROM THE SIGNAL-STATION, 30
THE LANDING-PLACE, AND REMAINS OF MOORISH CASTLE, 32
EUROPA POINT, 38
MAP OF GIBRALTAR AT THE TIME OF THE GREAT SIEGE, 72
LARBOARD AND STARBOARD SIDES OF A SPANISH BATTERING-SHIP, 80
THE GRAND ATTACK UPON GIBRALTAR, SEPTEMBER 13, 1782, 86
THE KING’S BASTION, AND OLD MOORISH CASTLE, 96
THE ROCK AND BAY OF GIBRALTAR (MODERN MAP), 116
THE SIGNAL-STATION, 118
THE MARKET-PLACE, 120
THE ALAMEDA, 122
A MOTLEY GROUP IN THE MAIN STREET, 126
O’HARA’S TOWER ON THE SUGAR-LOAF, 130
CATALAN BAY FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN BATTERY, 132
MARTIN’S CAVE, 136
ST. GEORGE’S HALL, 140
THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR.
PART I.
Naval and Military Annals.
CHAPTER I.
SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR IN 1704.
The year 1704 was the year of Blenheim, that wonderful victory of
Marlborough’s which dissipated Lewis the Fourteenth’s dreams of
universal empire. As stars are extinguished in the light of dawn, so in
the lustre of this great triumph England’s minor successes by sea and
land were forgotten. And to this day, while most men remember when
Blenheim was won, few are mindful of the year in which Gibraltar was
taken. Yet it may well be doubted whether the latter, though the less
famous, was not, so far as British interests are concerned, the more
important success. It is difficult, perhaps, to determine any direct
advantage which England gained by the battle of Blenheim; but by the
possession of Gibraltar she secured the command of the Mediterranean and
of the highway to India.
Gibraltar was captured in the same year in which the battle of Blenheim
was won.
While the Duke of Marlborough was leading his troops to the Rhine, the
Archduke Charles, who had assumed the title of King of Spain, had landed
at Lisbon, with the view of taking the command of an army collected on
the western frontier of the kingdom to which he laid claim. This army
was composed of contingents furnished by England, the Netherlands, and
Portugal; but it was prevented from making any progress by the military
genius of the Duke of Berwick, natural son of James II., who was at the
head of the Spanish forces. At the opposite extremity of the Peninsula,
an effort was made to provoke a rising of the Catalans on behalf of King
Charles. For this purpose, a division of five or six thousand men was
placed under the command of the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, who embarked
at Lisbon in May, in an English fleet of which Sir George Rooke was the
admiral.
The expedition landed at Barcelona, but found the people indisposed to
welcome or support it. It was, therefore, re-embarked; and Rooke,
sailing down the Mediterranean, passed through the Strait, and effected
a junction with the fleet under Sir Cloudesley Shovel. The two admirals
were unwilling that so powerful a force should return to England without
accomplishing something; and a council of war was held on the 17th of
July, at which several schemes were proposed and discussed--among
others, an attack upon Cadiz. This, however, was deemed imprudent with
so small a body of troops; and at length it was decided to strike a
swift and vigorous blow at Gibraltar. The strength of the fortress was
well known; but it was equally well known that the garrison was weak,
and that the Spaniards relied too confidently on the assistance supplied
by Nature.
On the 21st of July, the fleet crossed from Tetuan, and anchored in
Gibraltar Bay. The marines, English and Dutch, numbering one thousand
eight hundred, were then landed, under the orders of the Prince of
Hesse-Darmstadt, to the northward, on the isthmus, now called the
Neutral Ground, which connects the Rock with the mainland. By this
movement, the garrison was prevented from obtaining provisions or
reinforcements from the interior. A summons was sent to the governor to
surrender the stronghold for the service of Charles III., King of Spain;
but the governor replied that he and his veterans were true and loyal
subjects of their natural lord, Philip V., and would sacrifice their
lives in defence of the place. Sir George Rooke immediately gave
directions for the attack to commence; and Rear-Admiral Byng, with one
80-gun and fourteen 70-gun ships, together with Rear-Admiral
Vanderdussen, and six Dutch men-of-war, and some vessels, under Captain
Hicks, destined for the attack of the South Mole, took up their
positions before daylight on the 23rd.
A heavy cannonade was now hurled against the fortifications. In five or
six hours no fewer than fifteen thousand shot were expended; and the
enemy, though they showed the most admirable intrepidity, were driven
from their guns. Captain Whitaker, with the armed boats, was then
ordered to carry the Mole head; a position from which the town would be
at the mercy of the attacking force. The landing was effected with the
utmost alacrity; but Captain Hicks and Jumper, who lay next the mole,
got ahead with their pinnaces, and dashed headlong
[Illustration: ROCK OF GIBRALTAR FROM THE NEUTRAL GROUND.
_Page 11._
]
against the works. The Spaniards had prepared for the assault, and
before abandoning their post sprung a mine, which blew up the
fortifications, killed two lieutenants and forty men, and wounded sixty.
The survivors, however, would not surrender the ground so hardly gained;
and Captain Whitaker coming up, they warily pushed forward, and carried
a small redoubt half-way between the Mole and the town. A second summons
being addressed to the governor, the Marquis de Salines, the garrison
capitulated; and thus, on the 24th, this famous fortress fell into the
hands of the assailants.
The attack was exceedingly brilliant, and the seamen fought with equal
cheerfulness and resolution. It is a proof of the strength of the
fortifications, which mounted one hundred guns, that though the garrison
consisted of only one hundred and fifty men, the loss of the attacking
force was severe. Two lieutenants, one master, and fifty-seven men were
killed; one captain, seven lieutenants, a boatswain, and two hundred and
sixteen men wounded. The marquis was allowed to march out with all the
honours of war; and those inhabitants who chose to remain were
guaranteed the same rights and privileges which they had enjoyed under
Charles II.
Having appointed the Prince of Darmstadt governor, and left as many men
to garrison the Rock as could be spared from the fleet, Sir George Rooke
sailed for Tetuan to take in wood and water. He then went in search of a
French fleet which had been equipped at Toulon, and was under the orders
of the High-Admiral of France, the Comte de Thoulouse, who had been
joined by some Spanish vessels. Rooke came up with the enemy off Malaga
on the 13th of August. The superiority of force lay with the French, who
counted fifty line-of-battle ships, carrying 3543 guns and 24,155 men;
eight frigates, mounting 149 guns, with 1025 men; nine fire-ships; and a
couple of transports. Sir George Rooke had under his command forty-one
English and twelve Dutch sail of the line, carrying 3700 guns and 23,200
men, with six frigates, and seven fire-ships. The French vessels,
however, were better built than the English, and better armed. They
included three ships of 104 guns, and four of 92 and 90 guns, all the
rest being from 88 to 52 guns. On the other hand, the combined fleet
contained only three of 96 guns and two of 90 guns, the remainder being
from 80 to 50.
On Sunday morning, the 13th, the combined fleet being to windward, the
centre led by Sir George Rooke, the van by Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Sir
John Leake, and the rear by the Dutch vice-admiral Callunbuy, signal was
made to bear down upon the enemy; and upon reaching within half
gun-shot, the action began. It was long and hotly contested; the
combatants fought all day; yet not a ship of the hundred vessels engaged
on either side was taken, or burned, or sunk. The French had not at that
time acquired that sense of the superiority of the British at sea which
was forced upon them by a disastrous series of defeats in the
Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; and the British admirals lacked that
boldness of attack and contempt of the enemy which Howe, Jervis, and
Nelson made a tradition. At all events, the battle, though it lasted all
day, had no decisive result; and both fleets drew off at nightfall,
having gained nothing except honour. Sir Cloudesley Shovel describes the
fight as “very sharp;” and adds, “There is hardly a ship that must not
shift one mast, and some must shift all.” The French fleet suffered even
more than the English, and on the following morning sailed away for
Toulon, with a loss in killed and wounded variously estimated at from
2000 to 3000. The loss of the English was 695 killed, and 1663 wounded;
that of the Dutch, 400 killed and wounded. So far as the “butcher’s
bill” went, both England and France had equal reason to claim a victory;
and thus, while a _Te Deum_ was chanted in Notre Dame, thanksgivings
were also publicly offered at St. Paul’s.
* * * * *
The Court of Madrid felt the loss of Gibraltar to be a very serious
blow, and, before the autumn was passed, despatched the Marquis of
Villadaria, with 8000 men, to attempt its recovery. The Earl of Galway,
then in command of the Allied forces in Portugal, sent four regiments,
with supplies of provisions and ammunition, to the relief of the
garrison; and Sir John Leake soon afterwards arrived in the Bay with
twenty sail of English and Dutch ships. Meantime, the Spaniards
prosecuted the siege with much vigour, and harassed the garrison with a
constant and heavy fire.
Sir John Leake, hearing that the enemy were preparing to attack him with
a very powerful fleet, withdrew to Lisbon, in order to refit, and pick
up some ships which he had left behind. On the 25th he again put to sea;
and on the 27th suddenly made his appearance in the Bay, where he
surprised three frigates, two English prizes, and some small vessels.
He then landed the reinforcements, and six months’ supplies of stores,
together with a body of five hundred sailors to assist in repairing the
breaches made by the hostile guns. His arrival is described as very
opportune, for the Spanish general had fixed on that same night for an
attack by sea and land at five several points.
Baffled in this design, and conceiving that the garrison would be less
on their guard while the English fleet rode in the Bay, the marquis
conceived the idea of attempting a _coup-de-main_. On the 31st of
October five hundred picked volunteers pledged themselves on the Holy
Sacrament to capture the fortress or perish. A goatherd led this daring
little band to the south side of the Rock, by the so-called Pass of
Locust-trees; and under cover of the darkness they contrived to climb to
St. Michael’s Cave, where they spent the night. On the following night
they boldly scaled Charles the Fifth’s Wall, and surprised and slew the
guard stationed at the Signal-House and at Middle Hill. They then
proceeded to lower their ropes and ladders, and in this way drew up
several hundreds of their supports. So far they had been favoured by
fortune. But the English sentinels discovering them, now gave the
alarm. All was instant activity and alacrity. A strong detachment of
grenadiers immediately marched up from the town; and plied their
bayonets so lustily that a hundred of the assailants were killed or
hurled headlong over the precipice, while the remainder, with a colonel
and thirty officers, surrendered themselves prisoners.
The Marquis of Villadaria was not disheartened by this failure, and
though the garrison was well supplied with stores by the English fleet,
while his own army was ill-fed and ill-clothed, he kept up a continual
fire. Having received considerable reinforcements, he resolved to storm
a breach which had been effected at two points of the fortifications.
One of these, on the hill, was occupied at night by a captain, three
subalterns, and ninety men; but at daybreak the captain, two of the
subalterns, and sixty men were accustomed to retire. The other breach,
in the Round Tower, was defended by one hundred and eighty men, under a
lieutenant alone. Through deserters from the garrison the marquis had
ascertained these dispositions, and planned his attack accordingly. The
forlorn hope detailed for the upper breach scaled the Rock at night, and
sheltered themselves in its hollows until the captain withdrew in the
morning. They then pushed forwards, and, with a discharge of grenades,
cleared the works of the subaltern and his small party. Simultaneously
the Round Tower was surrounded by three hundred men, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Bain, after a gallant defence, was forced to seek
shelter in the covered way. But, as before, just when the Spaniards
thought success within their grasp, they were doomed to discomfiture.
The garrison had taken the alarm; drum and bugle summoned the regiments
to their different quarters; and a body of five hundred men flung
themselves on the enemy with such determined valour that they were
forced to yield. The tower was retaken, and the Rock cleared of Spanish
soldiers.
The Governments of Spain and France did not yet abandon all hope of
recovering Gibraltar. The Marquis of Villadaria having failed, was
superseded by a veteran French general, the Marshal Tessé; and a
powerful fleet, under Admiral Pointis, was ordered to blockade the port.
The besieging army was reinforced; the entrenchments were repaired and
mounted with new and heavier guns. The English Ministry, apprised of
these measures, strengthened Sir John Leake with some additional ships;
and the gallant admiral, sailing from Lisbon on the 6th of March, came
up with M. Pointis on the 10th, and cut off five of the French
ships--three of which were taken, while the others were driven ashore
and burned. He then stood into the Bay and landed supplies for the use
of the garrison. Despairing of success in any direct attack, the marshal
withdrew his troops from their old positions, and entrenched himself
across the isthmus, so as to prevent the English from making any forays
into the interior.
No further attempt was made upon a fortress which, in the hands of
English soldiers, had proved impregnable; and by the Treaty of Utrecht,
in 1713, Gibraltar was formally ceded to England.