supported the security in which it existed on the distance and
remoteness of its position, in relation with Europe, and on the fact
that such an example had never happened, although the two crowns
had often been at war. In such confidence, they had been satisfied
with putting the place in a state of defense against the Moros and
neighboring nations who were little skilled in the art of war, the
management of large artillery, muskets, and in the terrible artifice
of throwing bombs, grenades, shells, etc. For in order that Manila
might be defended against European nations, it would have needed
four thousand well drilled men and all the corresponding equipment,
things which this city has lacked even to the present. [51]
In this state of defense, on the twenty-second of September, 1762,
at half-past five in the evening, a powerful fleet of thirteen vessels
was seen. Although so unexpected a novelty caused the greatest surprise
and the greatest astonishment, since there was no news in Manila of the
war, and it was not supposed even that it had been declared, it was
suspected nevertheless, that that was a hostile fleet. Consequently,
his Excellency, Archbishop Roxo, governor and captain-general, gave on
the spot the orders necessary and in accordance with the circumstances,
to put the place in a state of defense, without forgetting to send
to Cavite the help needed there.
While the preparations for the defense were being made, it was decided
that it was necessary to write to the commander of the squadron,
in order to tell him that he was to announce his nationality, for
what purpose he had come, and the reason why he had entered the
bay, without first having announced himself. The following night,
an officer was assigned to bear this letter. [52] About eleven
o'clock, next morning, a boat which had been sent from the squadron,
drew up to the fort. It bore two English officers, and ours who was
returning, with a communication signed by Admiral Samuel Cornis, and by
Brigadier-general Drapert, commander-in-chief of the land forces of his
Britannic Majesty assigned for the present expedition. In their letter
they announced that they were coming by order of their sovereign,
for the conquest of the islands. Consequently, they urged that the
city of Manila, its fortifications, and its territory, be surrendered
to them. If that were not done, or indeed if any resistance were made
(which they did not expect, unless the authors of the resistance were
crazy), they had brought formidable forces to make themselves masters
of all the land by force of arms, and they would immediately commence
hostilities after hearing the answer. [53]
The captain-general answered them that the proposition which had just
been made could not be accepted by subjects so faithful to their king,
and that they were all resolved to sacrifice their lives for the
defense of religion and the honor of the arms of their sovereign. [54]
As soon as they had received the answer, the entire squadron began
to move about six o'clock on the evening of the twenty-third. They
approached as near as possible to the south shore of the city, opposite
the reduct called San Antonio Abad, which was used as a casemate,
and which was one good half-league distant from the city. That same
night, and until daybreak, the people busied themselves in taking
all the gunpowder from that post. But it was necessary to abandon the
said post with some effects and a goodly quantity of saltpetre, for
the enemy landed at that same place, under support from the artillery
of their ships. They took possession of the reduct as well as of the
churches of Malate, [55] Nuestra Señora de Guia, and Santiago, of the
suburbs and shops along the seashore, between the church of San Juan
de Bagumbayan, which was eighty-five toises from the city, and the
reduct. That same night two pickets of musketeers were detached from
the garrison, commanded by ----, with orders to attack the enemy,
to dislodge them if possible, and to prevent at the same time, the
disembarking which was being continued along various places on the
shore. The pickets suffered a very severe fire from the musketry
of the enemy, who were stationed in the church of Santiago, and the
neighboring houses, so that they retired in disorder.
On the twenty-fourth, about eight o'clock in the morning, they began
to salute the enemy with artillery from the boulevards of the foundry
and from San Andrés, but with little effect, because the enemy were
behind the churches which protected them. [56]
At nine in the morning, a small galley entered the bay, coming from
the Embocadero of San Bernardino, with the news that the galleon
"Philippino" had anchored in Palapa, on its return from Nueva
España. The hostile squadron detached a swift frigate and four armed
chaloupes, which gave chase to the galley. Having fired some shots at
it, the galley made shore at Tambobo. At the same time the majority
of the people on that galley, soldiers and passengers leaped into
the water. Two chaloupes captured it. The captain, a subaltern, who
was in charge of the galley, and some persons who had stayed aboard,
were made prisoners of war. The chaloupes tried to tow the galley,
but not being able to succeed in it, they took all that they could
out of it, [57] except two six-pounder cannons which they were unable
to move; and thereupon abandoned the galley and went back to their
squadron. The captain-general had that galley set afire, after the
two cannons had been taken out of it.
The following night it was resolved to make a vigorous sortie in
order to discomfit the enemy who were fortifying themselves with all
haste in the churches of which we have just spoken, namely, Nuestra
Señora de Guia, Malate, and Santiago. Two four-pounders were detached,
with the necessary artillerymen and the men needed to manage those
cannons, fifty musketeers of the regular troops, some militiamen,
and eight hundred Indian natives with their spears. In charge of
this expedition was Monsieur Fayette (a Frenchman in the service of
Manila). He attacked the enemy at their posts. [58] The action lasted
the greater part of the night, with a sharp fire on both sides; but
Monsieur Fayette having recognized the invincible strength of the corps
opposed to ours, and that fresh forces were continually coming to the
enemy, ordered our men to retire a bit, and take position before the
church of San Juan de Bagumbayan, where he kept his post all night,
firing on the church of Santiago until nine o'clock of the morning
of the twenty-fifth, when all the troops came back under protection
of a new force which was sent them from the city. [59] From that
time until three o'clock in the afternoon, firing was suspended,
because an officer of the hostile camp was received in the place,
who was charged with a special mission. [60]
The bombardment continued without cessation. It did much damage to
the buildings and killed some persons. The bombs that were picked
up entire, were eighteen inches in diameter. They were kept to
send back to the enemy in two mortars which were found in the
royal magazines. That same night, some cannons loaded with grape
were discharged on the enemy. To it was joined a fusillade which
produced a good effect, for on the day of the twenty-sixth, [61]
several corpses were to be seen from the place scattered between the
glacis and the hostile trenches. Some muskets that had been left by
those killed were picked up. Since the enemy did not take them away,
their bodies were buried in the bellies of hungry foxes and dogs
which were very numerous there, and which devoured them in a short
time in the sight of our men who manned the walls.
At eight in the morning, some Indian and mestizo spearmen presented
themselves before the enemy's trenches, without that movement on
their part having been preceded by any order. On approaching the
advanced outposts who were occupying the sacristies of the church
of San Juan de Bagumbayan, the bakery, and other neighboring houses,
those Indians (although few in number), threw themselves on the enemy
with such fury that they gained possession of the posts which have
just been mentioned. They drove out the hostile musketeers, wounding
and killing all that they met. But the English were promptly succored
by a reënforcement of three hundred fusileers, who regained the posts
that they had lost, and caused the Indians to retreat, to whom a signal
was made from the bastion of San Andres to leave a clear field so that
the fire of our artillery could have free play. The artillery did,
by this means, great harm to the enemy.
During the progress of this bloody action, an officer of the camp
was perceived, who was carrying a white flag. He was followed and
accompanied by a young man clad in black, and by a drummer beating the
chamade. The fire of our artillery was suspended, but the fusillade
of the enemy continued with unequaled obstinacy, against the Indian
spearmen who always sustained that fire. Consequently, the Indians
attacked the English officer, killed him, and gave seven mortal wounds
to the young man who accompanied him. The drummer was also killed,
and another person who appeared to be the servant of the officer. The
Indians cut off the head of the latter, but not being longer able to
endure the hostile fire they retired to the covered way of the royal
gate, which was opened for them so that they could reënter. Following
are the facts of the case. The nephew of the archbishop, Don Antonio
Sierra de Tagle, having been made prisoner on board the little galley
and conducted aboard the flagship, of which we have spoken above,
the English commander-in-chief had offered in advance to grant him
his liberty, and the English officer was conducting him for that
purpose. That young man died of his wounds. [62]
During the whole of this day, the bombardment continued with fury,
the enemy having increased their batteries of the church of Santiago
by three mortars. After dinner an officer was despatched to the
camp of the enemy to agree upon a truce, so that they could take
away the body of their officer who had been killed. They did so,
but many other dead bodies were left. On our side also, some who had
been wounded were brought in.
On the morning of the twenty-eighth, a message was received from the
English commander-in-chief, who urgently demanded the head of the
English officer which the Indians had taken: as well as the author of
that deed, with the threat that if it were not done, he would send the
heads of all the prisoners whom they had in their power, and especially
those of two officers, who had been made prisoners aboard the little
galley. That demand was completely satisfied, and we were exculpated
from a deed in which we had no part, and the blame for which was to
be attributed to the lack of civilized customs among the Indians,
and especially to the Sepoys, who, as has been said, did not cease
to continue hostilities by their constant fire. Our captain-general
(the archbishop), mounted on horseback, and went to see the hostile
camp, in order to appease the trouble that that affair had aroused,
and in fact it did not go farther.
The bombardment continued without cessation, and from half-past five
in the evening until seven the flagship and another ship fired on the
city, but with very slight result, for the balls which were fired
horizontally were all buried on the shore, and those to which they
gave a slight elevation, nearly all passed over the city, and were
lost on the other side.
That same day, two mortars were fixed and placed in a battery on the
rampart of the foundry, with which many bombs were thrown into the
hostile camp and into the trenches.
On the twenty-ninth, [63] at six in the morning, the flagship and
another vessel commenced to cannonade the bastion of the foundry,
and made a desperate fire, which continued until eight o'clock with
the same activity. From that time until ten it was moderated. In the
afternoon of that same day, two craft entered by way of the great
strait (of Mariveles). Immediately two of the enemy's squadron were
detached, which having joined the two which were coming, anchored
with them near Manila. It was learned afterward that those craft
were two English frigates, which had become separated from the body
of the squadron in a great storm; as was also the case with the
"Namur," which had lost its masts and had been forced to put in at
Canton. Hence their total squadron numbered sixteen sail.
The thirtieth, the bombardment continued, and the vessels fired
some shots from their cannons. [64] From the city four chaloupes
were seen which had overturned; they were coming ashore with men and
war supplies. The same accident happened to a champan which they had
captured in the days preceding. This accident had happened through
the violence of the west wind which had freshened. This was at four
in the afternoon, and at six, a bomb-ketch made shore opposite the
reduct of San Antonio Abad.
October first, the Indians of Passay reported that a raft had made
the shore, which was built of large masts, small masts, and yards
that had belonged to the bomb-ketch; that this raft had on it the
moorings, and artillery of the above bomb-ketch. They reported that
they had seen many people drowned on the beach. Upon this report,
the native cavalry was detached in order that they might seize those
effects. But when they arrived at the place, they were repulsed by the
enemy's musketry, who had hastened from their general quarter of Malate
and from the powder factory in order to protect the raft and its load.
At daybreak of the second, the enemy placed in operation a battery
of eight twenty-four pounders against the flanked angle of the
bastion of the foundry, and against the face which looked upon their
camp. That battery was so well served, that at ten in the morning,
all the parapet of that part was on the ground. At the same time,
they directed their mortars (nine in number and of various calibers)
toward the bastion itself. The flagship and another vessel bombarded
the same bastion on the side looking seaward, with such fury that
along the shore and beyond the walls on the landside, more than four
thousand twenty-four pound balls were collected. But what molested
us still more was the musketry of the enemy, which was placed in
the tower and church of Santiago, which they had arranged for that
purpose by opening in all the roofs several windows so that they
dominated us. They saw also all that occurred in the city, and
although the greatest efforts and the most powerful attempts were
made to batter down the church with our artillery, we were unable to
do it, or to dislodge the enemy from that post. But it is incredible
that our bastion being open without a parapet on either side, it is
incredible, I say, that of the various officers who sustained it,
and of all the musketeers and artillerymen who were obliged to fire
in barbet, there were killed only two artillerymen, two musketeers,
and three pioneers, in spite of a desperate fire which all those
men suffered from five different parts. It is true that more than
twenty wounded and maimed were taken out, among whom was a lieutenant
belonging to the artillery who lost his right arm. The greater part
of the officers were wounded and bruised from blows with stones,
and had contusions, but that did not prevent them from sticking to
their posts. The vessels ceased their fire at orisons. That of the
camp continued all night with the same activity, so that the artillery
of our bastion having been dismounted, they were obliged to abandon
that post, leaving there only a few sentinels without shelter.
At the same time, various assemblies and parties of Indians from
the provinces were formed to the number of five thousand more or
less. But only two thousand five hundred Pampangos were found who
were deemed capable of undertaking anything. Consequently, it was
resolved to make a sortie. [65] It was to be undertaken at the close
of the night of the third, as follows. The Pampangos were to form in
three columns. The first column was to attack the church of Santiago
on the side where the enemies had their batteries of cannons and
mortars. The second was to hurl itself on Malate and Ermita where
the general quarters were located. The third was to invest by the
sea side. Those three columns were to be supported by two pickets of
musketeers, commanded by the sargento-mayor of Cavite, two captains,
and four subalterns. At the hour set, our Pampangos and pickets sallied
out in the best order, but scarce had they set foot outside the Parián
gate, when they began to utter loud cries in disorder and make a great
racket. That allowed the camp of the enemy to get into readiness to
receive them. In spite of that, the Pampango troops entered their
camp, killed the advance sentinels, and caused great damage to the
enemy. Those Indians themselves suffered no less from the hostile
musketry. They would have suffered still more if confusion had not
reigned there; for the enemy, in their fear of killing one another,
did not dare to play some cannon loaded with grape, which they had
prepared and posted in different places. The pickets seeing this
disorder, halted before the church of San Juan de Bagumbayan, whence
they fired against the church of Santiago, thus protecting the retreat
of the Pampangos, which took place at nine in the morning. The action
was bloody on both sides. One soldier of the pickets was killed and
eight wounded. The mortality among the Pampangos was heavy. It was
learned afterward that the enemy having lost some of their officers,
who were killed in the action, had had more than sixty Pampangos,
whom they had captured and taken prisoners, hanged in their camp. That
action so intimidated and disconcerted all the other Pampangos that
they all retired to their respective villages, so that there remained
very few of them who would return to Manila.
That action did not at all interrupt the fire of the battery against
the bastion of the foundry, so that when daybreak came, it could
be seen that an eighteen-pounder cannon had fallen into the ditch,
and it could not be recovered. The greater part of the face and the
terreplein of the same bastion had also fallen, and their ruins had
dried up the ditch. But what caused the greatest anxiety was that the
engineer recognized that the enemy was busy making a new battery for
the purpose of dismounting the artillery, the collateral flanks of the
bastions San Andrés and San Eugenio, which flanked and defended the
entrance to the covered way and the approach to the breach. In fact,
that battery began to play at noon with so great activity, that it
dismounted the cannons of the flanks in two hours time, overthrew the
parapets, and killed some fusileers and pioneers. Twice were other
parapets made with beams and bags of sand, but each time they were in
ruins the moment after. Consequently, the men were obliged to retire
from those bastions. The bastion of San Andrés did not suffer so much,
for it was stronger. However, it had one cannon of the caliber of
eighteen, which was placed in the elevated flank, dismounted. We had no
other hope than in another cannon of equal caliber, of the two which
were in this flank, for while we still had two cannons of the caliber
of four in the low place, the latter could be of but little service.
Our captain-general, having been informed of everything, called the
council of war in the afternoon of the same day; and that council
lasted until the night. The master-of-camp, the sargento-mayor of the
city, the sargento-mayor of Cavite, the sargento-mayor of the royal
regiment, those of the militia, and the deputies of the merchant body,
of the city, and of the various ecclesiastic orders were present,
all being introduced by the ordinary engineer. The latter, having
reported the fatal condition of the place, advice or opinions were
mutually given. All, with the exception of the military men, were of
the opinion to continue the defense, by making use of the ordinary
means for the repairs necessary to the bastions, and by making ditches,
etc. The military men thought that we ought to capitulate. [66] But
having asked them whether they thought that we ought to capitulate
immediately, they answered no, and that they said it only because
the breach had commenced, and that it would be practicable next day,
and it would be difficult to make the ditches and repairs necessary
to prevent the city from being taken by assault.
Having been informed of everything, our captain-general gave the orders
and made all the preparations necessary for beginning the work, and
for making the proposed ditches. He watched all the operations and
all the movements of the enemy. [67]
At dawn on the fourth, the enemy began to fire shells into the
city. They set fire to several of the buildings, and together with
the shot from the mortar batteries and the fusillade from the tower
of Santiago, which resembled a shower of hail, threw the garrison
and the inhabitants into great consternation, which gradually
increased. [68] All the day of the fourth, and the following night,
were passed in this perplexity, no means being found by which to escape
the danger. Although orders for the ditches and the defense of the
breach were renewed, in order to prevent the assault, and activity
was redoubled and the necessary efforts made, yet there was no means
of executing any of those things, because of the continual and deadly
fire of the enemy.
Consequently, there was no means of getting the bearers of fascines
to work. Finally, at six o'clock in the morning of the fifth, the
enemy's troops left their posts in three columns. The first directed
its course toward the breach; the second toward the royal gate;
and the third marched along the highway surrounding the covered way,
toward the east and bordering on the plaza de armas.
The few soldiers left us occupied the gorge of the bastion of the
foundry, the royal gate, the flank of the bastion of San Andrés,
and the curtain joining them. The enemy were supported by their
batteries and by the fusileers of the tower of Santiago, who poured
in a steady fire. Consequently, it was impossible for ours to occupy
the breach in order to defend the approach. The approaching columns
discharged two rounds with their muskets, by which they swept the two
collateral bastions, the curtain, and all the posts which could oppose
them. Finally, all together, they mounted the breach, and seized the
bastion of the foundry. At the same instant they attacked the royal
gate, which they battered down with axes and iron levers.
After some slight opposition on our side, some officers who were
there, not being able to defend those posts, the enemy fired from
there on the other posts which they seized also following the cordon,
and went to present themselves before the fort whither the governor
and captain-general had retired.
At that moment, the militia, the regular troops, and the Indians who
were in that fort, threw themselves in disorder from the top of the
walls. Many threw themselves into the river, where a number of them
were drowned. Consequently, when the captain-general reached the fort,
he found only the castellan, Monsieur Pignon, his second, and one
artilleryman. The few troops that he found were in confusion and were
throwing themselves from the wall. The enemy's column which entered
by the royal gate directed its course toward the plaza de armas and
seized the palace. [69] That which marched by the highway, took the
small fort which defends the bridge across the Pasig River. Thence
it went to the city, entering by the Parián gate. [70]