November 20th, 1845.
On the eastern shores of South America, and to the south of the
Brazils, will be found the mouth of the mighty river La Plata, with
the city of Monte Video on the northern shore, and Buenos Ayres some
way up on the southern. At the time to which we are about to refer,
Juan Manuel de Rosas had, in the confusion which was created after
the Declaration of Independence, by the South American states, worked
his way up to power in that of La Plata. With a devoted army of
gauchos, the wild horsemen of the Pampas, he took possession of
Buenos Ayres, and afterwards assisted the butcher Orribe, in his
attempt to make himself master of Monte Video, the capital of the
Banda Oriental.[1]
Now, by an old treaty, the English, and French Governments had
guaranteed the integrity of the Banda Oriental, and, accordingly,
Rosas was ordered by these governments to withdraw his troops from
the territory. As he did not do so, his squadron, assisting at the
siege of Monto Video, was taken from him, and a blockade of the
territory over which he held sway was proclaimed about the middle of
1845.
The province of Corrientes, which had revolted from him, and was
under the government of General Maderiaga, and the independent
province of Paraguay, had combined to overthrow the power of Rosas.
He, in return, to harass and annoy them, had closed the outlets of
their rivers, so as to put an effectual stop to all their foreign
commerce.
An English and French squadron were off Monte Video, when this state
of things having continued for some time, it was resolved to open up
the channel of commerce, by sending an expedition to force the Parana.
Rear-Admiral Inglefield was Commander-in-Chief, with his flag on
board the 'Vernon.' The French squadron was commanded by Admiral
Lainé. The command of the English force was given to Captain Charles
Hotham, of Her Majesty's steam-frigate 'Gorgon,' and he had under
him, 'Firebrand,' steam-frigate, Captain J. Hope; 'Philomel,'
surveying-brig, Commander B. J. Sulivan; 'Comus,' 18 guns,
Acting-Commander E. A. Inglefield; 'Dolphin,' brigantine, Lieut. R.
Levinge; 'Fanny,' tender, Lieut. A. C. Key.
The French force was under Capt. Trèhouhart, of the 'San Martin,' 10
guns, with the steamer, 'Fulton,' 2 guns; 'Expeditive,' 16 guns;
'Pandour,' 10; and 'Procida,' 4 guns.
Strong gales prevented the squadron meeting at the appointed
rendezvous, off the Guassu (one of the mouths of the Parana), so soon
as was expected, and consequently they did not begin to ascend till
the 8th of November. On the 18th the expedition arrived within three
miles of the defences General Rosas had caused to be thrown up on the
right bank of the Parana at Punta Obligado, to oppose their progress.
This spot was about 30 miles below the river San Nicholas, and 100
from the mouth of the river.
At daylight the following morning the two Captains reconnoitred the
position of the enemy, and soon discovered that great military skill
had been evinced, both in the ground chosen and the plan of defence
pursued. Four batteries had been erected; two on heights 60 feet
from the water-line, and two in the intervening valley, the whole
mounting 22 pieces of ordnance, 32, 28, 24, 18, and 12 pounders, and,
with the exception of a small open space, were backed by thick woods;
three heavy chains, supported by 24 vessels, were extended across
from the mainland to the island; astern of these lay 10 fire-vessels,
and the west end of the chains was defended by an Argentine
schooner-of-war, carrying six guns. The river at this point is 800
yards wide, and the current runs three miles an hour.
Captains Hotham and Trèhouhart also gained information from various
sources that 3,500 men (cavalry, infantry, and artillery) were
collected, so that it was evident that the enemy had resolved to make
a determined resistance, and that there would be an abundance of work
to be performed.
The two Captains, having completed their reconnaissance, agreed on
their plan of attack. It was as follows:--The ships were to form in
two divisions; the north, under the direction of Capt. Trèhouhart, to
be composed of the 'San Martin,' Capt. Trèhouhart; 'Comus,'
Acting-commander Inglefield; 'Pandour,' Lieut. Du Paie; 'Dolphin,'
Lieut. E. Levinge.
The south division was placed under the command of Commander Sulivan,
and composed of the 'Philomel,' Commander Sulivan; 'Expeditive,'
Lieut. Miniac; 'Fanny' (hired armed), Lieut. Key; 'Procida,' Lieut.
Maria de la Pinzêre. These divisions were to anchor on the north and
south shores at a distance of 700 yards from No. 1 Battery.
The steamers 'Gorgon,' Capt. C. Hotham; 'Fulton,' Lieut. Mazeres; and
'Firebrand,' Capt. J. Hope, were to anchor at a distance of 1,500
yards from the farthest battery. The morning of the 20th broke dark
and foggy, but about 8 A.M. the weather cleared, and a southerly
breeze sprang up. At a quarter to nine the southern division
weighed, and with a light breeze stood towards the batteries,
followed shortly afterwards by the 'San Martin' and 'Comus.' The
'Dolphin' and 'Pandour' had previously anchored on the north shore.
Two of the 'Dolphin's' crew, R. Rowe, gunner's mate, and W. Ross,
caulker's mate, though severely wounded, refused to leave their
quarters till the day was won.
At about ten minutes before ten the batteries commenced the action by
opening a heavy fire on the 'Philomel' and the southern division,
which Commander Sulivan speedily returned with interest. On this
occasion the gallant Lieut. Doyle, of the 'Philomel,' had his arm
shot away, and for some time his life was despaired of; but,
notwithstanding the agony of his wound, he still showed his interest
in the progress of the action. On this the 'Dolphin' weighed, to
support the ships in action, but as some of her sails were shot away
before she could reach her appointed station, the current drove her
astern, and compelled her to anchor; Lieut. Levinge, however,
contrived to place her in a position where her guns did good
execution; she, however, was unavoidably exposed all the time to a
tremendous shower of shot, shell, grape, and rockets, which came
flying over her. During it several of her people were wounded, and
Mr. G. Andrews, clerk in charge, was unhappily killed, while
assisting the surgeon in his duties to the wounded.
The remaining ships of the north division were gallantly led into
action by the brave Capt. Trèhouhart, whose brig succeeded in
reaching her appointed station. A terrific cannonade was now taking
place, increasing as the ships, one after the other, got into action.
It had, however, unfortunately the effect of making the wind fall
light, and in consequence, the ships of the northern division having
to contend with a current running three miles an hour, were compelled
to anchor two cables short of the stations assigned to them. About
this time the Spaniards cast loose the fire-vessels, chained two and
two together, and as they came drifting down rapidly towards the
squadron, the steamers kept moving about, to tow them clear, should
they drift against any of the ships. Fortunately they did no harm,
but till they had drifted past, the steamers could neither anchor nor
open their fire. At about ten minutes to eleven the action became
general, and the effect of the admirable gunnery practice, both of
the English and French crews, was soon evident by the unsteadiness
with which the enemy continued their fire; no men could, however,
have fought more bravely than they did. No sooner had the fire from
the British ships swept one set of men from their guns than they were
replaced by others, compelled, if not determined of their own accord,
to fight to the last. Their cavalry also hovered round the wood, and
drove back those who attempted, as some did, to quit their guns. The
action had continued with unmitigated fury on both sides, when, at
half-past 12, the 'Argentine' schooner 'Republicano,' which guarded
the chains laid across the river, blew up. On this Capt. J. Hope
gallantly volunteered to pull up in his boat and cut the chain, so as
to allow some of the squadron to pass up above the batteries.
Instantly manning his boat, he pulled away to perform this hazardous
exploit. He succeeded in cutting the chain without any casualty, and
a passage being thus cleared, the 'Fulton' passed up the river and
flanked the batteries. She was speedily followed by the 'Firebrand'
and 'Gorgon.' The fire of the batteries had before this told most
fearfully on the 'San Martin' and 'Dolphin.' The cable, indeed, of
the French ship having been shot away, she dropped astern, with
upwards of 100 shot-holes through her sides, and a number of her
people killed and wounded. The 'Expeditive' and 'Comus' were now
ordered to place themselves within musket-shot of the batteries, in
order to assist the flanking fire of the steamers. This they did
forthwith in a most dashing way, under a hot fire, by which the brave
and gallant officer Lieut. C. Brickdale was killed. At length the
fire from the batteries began to slacken, some of the guns being
dismounted, and the gunners driven from the others; and at 4 P.M., an
occasional shot only being fired, Capt. Hotham made the signal for
the boats of the squadron, manned and armed, to rendezvous alongside
the 'Gorgon' and 'Firebrand,' sending at the same time to the French
commander, to propose that the remaining part of their plan, which
was that they should land and storm the batteries, should be carried,
into immediate execution. The officer who bore the message found
Capt. Trèhouhart occupied in moving the French squadron close in to
cover the landing; trusting, therefore, to the covering fire of the
French ships, and knowing that Capt. Trèhouhart would follow with his
division of seamen, Capt. Hotham landed with 180 blue-jackets and 145
marines, when, giving three hearty British cheers, they formed on the
beach preparatory to making a rush up the hill. Commander Sulivan,
who had under him the skirmishing party and light company of seamen,
led the way up the hill, the rest quickly followed, and, as they
reached the crest, they were received by a smart fire of musketry;
the enemy were, however, quickly driven back before the bayonets of
the marines, under the command of Capt. F. Hurdle, R.M., while, at
the same time, the light company of seamen, under Lieut. A. C. Key,
made a dash at the wood, which it was most important to possess, and
carrying it in a few minutes, took possession of it. Shortly after
this the French brigade landed, and the enemy taking to flight in all
directions, little more remained to be done beyond spiking the guns
and destroying the batteries. Captain Hope, after cutting the chain
across the river, landed with Captain Hotham, and acted as his
aid-de-camp throughout the day. So also did Lieut. J. E. W.
Lawrence, of the Marine Artillery, who had exerted himself very much
in drilling a brigade of seamen till they had become most efficient
light troops, and capable, as Captain Hotham states, of resisting
cavalry.
The French commander, Trèhouhart, behaved in the most gallant manner
throughout the action, his brig being exposed all the time to a very
hot fire, by which he lost many of his crew. The casualties of the
French were, 17 killed, and 60 wounded.