HURRICANE IN THE BRITISH CHANNEL--SIR GEORGE ROOKE TAKES GIBRALTAR--
SEA-FIGHT OFF MALAGA.
On reaching England once more our hero had great hopes of being able to
get on shore to visit his own family, as well as to make inquiries about
Elizabeth, of whose arrival he had not yet heard. He had actually
obtained leave to go on shore, and was proposing to set off the
following day, when he experienced the truth of the old saying, "There
is many a slip between the cup and the lip."
On the 26th of November, while his ship lay in the Downs--the weather
having hitherto been fine--about eleven o'clock, the wind began to blow
most violently from the West South West. John Deane was the officer on
watch. He had been walking the deck for some time, looking out on
either side--for those were days when it was necessary for seamen to
have their eyes about them--when he observed in the quarter from whence
the wind was coming, bright flashes of lightning. Soon the sea appeared
through the gloom covered with a sheet of foam. Every instant the
lightning increased in vividness, and now loud roars of thunder
reverberated through the sky. Clouds came rushing on in vast masses.
"Call the captain!" said Deane to the midshipmen of the watch. "We are
going to have a night of it, and he's not the man to remain in his bed
at such a time. All hands on deck!" he shouted immediately afterwards.
The crew came rushing up from below with a speed which would have
astonished any one not knowing how quickly sailors can put on their
clothes, many of them, indeed, bringing them up in their hands and
dressing on their way.
"Strike topgallant-masts!" he cried out. "Mr Grummit, range another
cable for the best bower-anchor. We shall want every anchor out
to-night."
Scarcely had these judicious orders been given, when the captain himself
came on deck and took the command, next ordering the top-sail-yards to
be lowered and the top-masts to be housed.
Now, with a loud roar, the gale burst upon the fleet, which lay at
anchor in that exposed situation. The sea rising rapidly, torn up by
the furious tempest, caused the ships to pitch and roll in a fearful
manner, as if it would wrench them from their anchors and drive them
against the dangerous Goodwin Sands. As Jack looked out he could see,
indeed, some of the ships torn away from their anchors, apparently, and
driven hopelessly before the gale. Over others the sea was breaking
furiously, sending the spray high above them, and seeming every moment
about to carry them to the bottom. Those who had been in many a battle,
and gone through many a storm, felt their hearts, for the first time
perhaps, sinking with fear, as the thunder crashed above their heads and
the lightning flashed about the masts, while the foaming seas dashed up
and round them on every side. The position of the "Lennox" was indeed
perilous in the extreme, and little comfort could her crew gain by
watching the fate of others. A large ship lay within sight--she was the
"Mary"--with Rear-Admiral Beaumont's flag flying on board. Sea after
sea came dashing and breaking over her. Now those whose eyes were
turned in that direction saw that she began to move.
"She is driving! she is driving!" exclaimed several.
An instant afterwards she was seen carried before the gale, and ere many
minutes had passed was thrown helplessly upon the Goodwins. Scarcely
had she touched the fatal sands when her masts, bending like
willow-wands, went by the board. The seas leaped triumphantly over her,
and in the short time of one hour, scarce a timber of the stout ship
hung together, while those who looked on knew well what must be the fate
of all her brave crew. Not a man could be expected to live in that
foaming sea. The same fate might any moment be the lot of those on
board the "Lennox."
Thus the whole night was passed, no one knowing whether the next hour
would not be their last. For a long time the gale gave no signs of
abating. The thunder roared as loudly as ever, and the lightning
flashed round their heads. Sometimes, as the vivid lightning enabled
them to pierce the otherwise surrounding gloom, they saw far off some
noble ship torn from her anchors, or the masts of another disappearing
beneath the waves.
When morning broke at length, fearful was the scene of destruction which
met their gaze. Here and there fragments of wreck could be
distinguished on the Goodwins, while many other ships which had escaped
the hurricane presented a shattered and forlorn appearance. By seven
o'clock providentially the wind began to fall, and in a short time it
ceased almost as rapidly as it had commenced. Sad was the number of
ships which had foundered. Among those in the Downs was the
"Northumberland," not one of her company having escaped. The "Stirling
Castle" had also gone down, seventy of her men only having got on shore
in their boats or on pieces of the wreck. Of Admiral Beaumont's ship,
one man alone was saved on a piece of wreck, having been tossed about
all night till at length he was cast on shore. The "Mortar" bomb-vessel
had all her company lost. The number of sailors lost on the Goodwin
Sands during that fatal night, and on all parts of the coast, many more
being cast away in those few hours of the gale, amounted to fifteen
hundred and nineteen. Thirteen men-of-war were totally wrecked, besides
many others greatly injured. The newly-erected Eddystone Lighthouse was
also blown down and entirely destroyed, the unfortunate men who had
charge of it losing their lives. Several ships were forced from their
anchors: among them was the "Revenge," which drove over to the coast of
Holland, where she was nearly cast away. Happily, however, sail was got
on her and she arrived safely in the river Medway. Another ship, the
"Dorset," after striking three times, drove a fortnight to sea, where
she was knocking about in an almost helpless state, till she was enabled
to rig jury-masts and thus get safe back to the Nore.
In London the accidents which happened were numerous, and a large amount
of property was destroyed. The gale blew down a multitude of chimneys,
and even whole buildings; lifted the tops of houses, tore up a number of
trees in Saint James's Park, in the Inns of Court, Moorfields, and at
other places, by the roots, and broke off others in the middle. Several
people were killed in their beds, among them Dr Kidder, Bishop of Bath
and Wells, with his wife. A great number of vessels, barges, and boats
were sunk in the river Thames, and the arches of London Bridge were
stopped with the wrecks of them.
On the 12th of December the Queen published a proclamation for a general
fast, which, on Wednesday, 19th January following, was kept with great
strictness. The Order in Council also appeared in the _Gazette_ for an
advance of wages to the families of those officers and seamen who had
perished in the storm, in the same manner as if they had been killed in
battle. The House of Commons also addressed Her Majesty upon this
melancholy occasion, desiring her to give directions for repairing this
loss, and to build such capital ships as she should think fit, and
promising to make good the expense at their next meeting. Thus, great
as was the loss, the British Navy was restored to that state of
efficiency which it is most important that it should ever maintain.
John Deane had a great disappointment in not being able, after all, to
leave his ship. As soon as the damages she received in the storm were
repaired, she was ordered to rejoin the fleet under Sir George Rooke.
That admiral had been directed to convey the Arch-Duke Charles of
Austria to Lisbon. Before the fleet had reached Finisterre another
violent storm arose, which dispersed the ships and drove them back into
the Channel. The tempestuous weather prevented the admiral from sailing
before the 5th of February, and on the 15th of the same month he arrived
at Lisbon.
A short historical account is now necessary, that the cause of the long
war in which England was engaged may be understood. The King of Spain,
who died in 1700, declared by his will, real or pretended, the Duke of
Anjou, grandson to Louis the Fourteenth, King of the whole Spanish
monarchy. The Spaniards, finding themselves threatened with war by the
Emperor of Germany, and by England, in conjunction with the United
Provinces, delivered themselves up into the hands of France. In
consequence, both the Spanish Netherlands and the Duchy of Milan
received French garrisons, and the French fleet came to Cadiz. A
squadron was also sent to the West Indies, so that the whole Spanish
Empire fell into the hands of the French. The Duke of Burgundy then
having no children, the King of Spain was likely to succeed to the crown
of France, and thus the world saw that a new universal monarchy might
possibly arise out of this conjunction. Hence arose the War of
Succession in Spain. With the object above mentioned of placing the
Duke of Anjou on the throne of Spain, Louis had sacrificed his charming
and clever niece, the granddaughter of our King Charles the First and
Henrietta Maria to an imbecile husband, the thought of whom was hateful
to her, and he also had engaged in a variety of other intrigues with the
same object. The Spaniards in general gave the preference to the
Arch-Duke Charles, or Don Carlos, who was the legitimate heir of the
Spanish monarchy, second son of the Emperor of Austria. The object of
Louis was first to secure his own authority over the Dutch; secondly, to
injure the trade of England, and also of Holland; and, thirdly, to
overthrow Protestantism in all the countries under his influence.
The object of William and the British government, on the other hand,
was--first, to exclude Louis from the Netherlands and West Indies;
secondly, to prevent the union of France and Spain in the person of the
Duke of Anjou or his posterity; and, thirdly, to maintain the Protestant
religion wherever it was established, including the Vaudois provinces.
With these objects, William had exerted his utmost energies to form the
grand alliance of England, Austria, and the States-general against
France. To these were afterwards added some of the Italian states and
Portugal.
The War of Succession lasted, from first to last, fifteen years. It
ended by the accession of the Arch-Duke Don Carlos to the imperial
throne of Germany, and Philip the Fifth, Duke of Anjou, was then
acknowledged by all European sovereigns King of Spain, on the condition
of renouncing all claim to the throne of France for himself and his
descendants. The war had now continued for about two years. The chief
exploit which had hitherto been performed was the capture of the
galleons in the harbour of Vigo, which has already been described. The
Arch-Duke, having landed at Lisbon, marched into Spain with a
considerable body of troops, but was not able to make any progress for a
considerable time. Sir George Rooke, with the fleet, proceeded into the
Mediterranean and made an attack on the important, town of Barcelona.
The fleet at length anchored in the roads of Tetuan, when, on the 17th
of July, Sir George Rooke called a council of war, and placed before the
members a plan he had devised for attacking the fortress of Gibraltar.
Strong as it was, he believed that there was a prospect of capturing it,
having received information that the garrison at that time was but
small. It was a place, also, likely to prove of infinite importance
during the war then going on, and it was hoped that the attacking this
fortress would give a lustre to Queen Anne's armies, and possibly induce
the Spaniards to favour the cause of King Charles.
As no time was to be lost, the fleet sailed in consequence of this
resolution for Gibraltar, and, prepared for battle, took up a position
in the bay on the 21st of July. As the British gazed up on the lofty
rock surmounted by cannon, they might well have felt that it would
require all their bravery and hardihood to conquer the place.
"It must be ours!" exclaimed John Deane, as he looked up at it while he
walked the quarter-deck.
"It shall be!" observed Captain Jumper, who overheard him. "Deane, you
shall accompany me on shore; and I hope before the world is much older,
you and I shall find ourselves inside those walls."
"Or buried under them," said Deane. "For my part, however, I would as
lief be on the top of them."
Meantime the marines, English and Dutch, to the number of eighteen
hundred, were landed on the isthmus by which the rock is joined to the
mainland, to cut off all communication between the town and the
continent.
It was only of late that this fine body of men had been organised and
received the name of marines, their duty being especially to serve on
board ships. They were under command of the Prince of Hesse. His
Highness, having taken post on the isthmus, summoned the governor to
surrender, but that brave officer returned an answer, that he would
defend the place to the last. On the 22nd, the admiral, at break of
day, gave orders that the ships which had been appointed to cannonade
the town, under the command of Rear-Admiral Byng and Rear-Admiral
Vanderdosen, as also those which were to batter the South Mole Head,
commanded by Captain Hicks of the "Weymouth," should arrange themselves
accordingly. The wind, however, blowing contrary, they could not get
into their places till the day was well-nigh spent. In the meantime, to
amuse the enemy, Captain Whitaker was sent in with some boats, and a
French privateer of twelve guns was burned at the Old Mole.
On the 23rd, soon after break of day, the ships being all placed in
their stations, the admiral gave the signal for beginning the cannonade;
and now the guns opened with a furious fire. The shot, like hail, flew
against the Spanish batteries. The British seamen firing as fast as
they could load, in five or six hours upwards of fifteen thousand shot
were calculated to have been discharged against the town, and the enemy
were driven from their guns, especially at the South Mole Head. Seeing
this, the admiral sent an order to Captain Whitaker to attack the town
with all the boats of the fleet. In the meantime, however, Captain
Jumper, who saw what was necessary to be done, and Captain Hicks, who
both lay next the Mole, had pushed on shore with their pinnaces and some
other boats before the rest could come up. John Deane and two other
lieutenants accompanied their captain. They, rushing forward as British
seamen always will do when led by their officers, took possession of the
fort with great bravery, but not without sustaining a considerable loss.
As they, with swords and pistols in their hands, were rushing on,
suddenly a fearful noise was heard. The earth seemed to lift up beneath
their feet, and forty men and two lieutenants were carried up, fearfully
burned and shattered. The survivors, among whom was John Deane,
undaunted by this disaster, fought their way on and took possession of
the grand platform, where they remained until reinforced by a body of
seamen who had come in the boats under Captain Whitaker. The whole body
then advanced and took a redoubt half-way between the Mole and the town,
possessing themselves also of many of the enemy's cannon. The admiral
then sent in a letter to the governor, and at the same time a message to
the Prince of Hesse, directing him to send a peremptory summons, which
His Highness accordingly did.
While this was taking place, John Deane, who had previously surveyed the
rock, got leave from Captain Juniper to lead a body of men up a part of
the cliff which the Spaniards had never thought it possible any human
beings could climb. Deane, however, had often scrambled over the nearly
perpendicular rock on which Nottingham Castle stands, and up its old
rugged towers which yet remain. He had no lack of volunteers, with two
or three midshipmen, ready to accompany him. Stealing away unperceived
by the enemy, they got to the foot of the cliff. With their pistols in
their belts and swords between their teeth they commenced the perilous
ascent. Many who saw them thought they would never succeed, but they
had resolved to persevere. Slowly but surely they proceeded up, hanging
on by each craggy projection, aided by the shrubs which here and there
grew from between the crevices of the rock. At length, when one after
the other they reached the summit, they saw before them a chapel filled
with women, with a vast number of others coming in and going out of it.
These poor creatures had come out of the town, prompted by their
superstitious notions, to implore the protection of the Virgin, to whom
the chapel was dedicated. Jack and his followers, springing forward,
threw themselves between the chapel and the road which led to the town.
By gestures more than by words, he endeavoured to persuade the
frightened matrons and damsels that he and his followers would do them
no harm. With difficulty, however, he could make them understand this,
though he signified by signs that they were all to get inside the chapel
again. Their fears were somewhat overcome when they found that no
insult was offered to any of them. He allowed, however, one of them to
go back into the town to inform the governor that they had fallen into
the hands of the English. The governor, finding that the forts were in
possession of the English and that a large number of women had also
fallen into their hands, consented to agree to the terms proposed by
Admiral Rooke. Hostages were accordingly exchanged, and the
capitulation being concluded, the Prince of Hesse marched into the town
in the evening and took possession of the land and North Mole gates and
the outworks. The Spanish troops were allowed to march out with all the
honours of war, and provisions for a six days' march. Such inhabitants
and soldiers who were willing to take an oath of fidelity to Don Carlos
the Third were allowed to remain. The Spaniards were also to discover
all their magazines of powder and other ammunition or provision and arms
in the city. All subjects of the French King were, however, excluded
from any part of the terms of this capitulation.
The town was found to be extremely strong, with a hundred guns mounted
facing the sea and the narrow pass towards the land. It was well
supplied with ammunition, but the garrison consisted of only a hundred
and fifty men. However, in the opinion of officers who examined the
works, fifty men might have defended them against thousands, so it was
acknowledged that the attack made by the seamen was brave almost beyond
example.
The British lost sixty men killed, including two lieutenants and one
master, and two hundred and sixteen wounded, including one captain,
seven lieutenants, and a boatswain. It is but justice to the naval part
of the expedition to remark that as this design was contrived by the
admiral, so it was executed entirely by the seamen, and therefore the
whole honour of it was due to them. Nothing, indeed, could have enabled
the seamen to take the place but the cannonading of it in a way which
obliged the Spaniards to quit their posts.
After leaving as many men as could be spared to garrison the place,
under the command of the Prince of Hesse, the fleet sailed for Tetuan,
in order to take in wood and water. Immediately the fleet had watered,
it stood out again towards Gibraltar, when on the lath of August about
noon, the enemy's fleet and galleys were discovered to the westward,
near Cape Malaga, going free. The allied fleet accordingly bore after
them in a line of battle. On the morning of the 13th of August they
were within three leagues of the French, and then brought to, with their
heads to the south, the wind being east, and lay in a posture to receive
them. In the English line, Sir George Rooke, with Rear-Admirals Byng
and Dilkes, were in the centre. Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Sir John
Leake led the van, and Vice-Admiral Calemburg and Rear-Admiral
Vanderdosen commanded the ships in the rear.
The English fleet consisted of forty-five ships of the line, and
eighteen smaller vessels. The Dutch had only twelve ships of the line,
while the French fleet consisted of fifty ships of the line, eight
frigates, and eleven smaller vessels, the line-of-battle ships alone
carrying 3530 guns, while the English ships together only carried 3154
guns, and the Dutch ships about 1000 guns.
Though the French endeavoured at first to avoid the battle, yet they had
the advantage over the combined fleet, as they were superior in force,
and all their ships were clean and fully manned. They had also the
advantage of fighting on the coast, and near a harbour of their ally,
and had the benefit of a large number of galleys. The confederates, on
the contrary, besides being away from any friendly port, were thinly
manned, and had a great deficiency of stores and provisions, while the
foulness of their ships was greatly to their prejudice in the day of
battle. Notwithstanding this they were eager for the engagement.
The action which was about to commence was likely to prove of far more
importance than any in which Deane had hitherto engaged, and his heart
beat high as he saw the ships of England bear down upon the enemy. His
own ship the "Lennox" was among those under the command of the brave
Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel.
At about 10 o'clock, when nearly half-gunshot from the enemy, the French
set all their sails at once, and seemed to intend to stretch ahead and
weather the English fleet. Admiral Shovel, on discovering the enemy's
intention, hauled his wind, and Sir George Rooke, seeing what would be
the consequence if the van was intercepted, bore down upon the enemy
with the rest of the confederate fleet, and put out the signal for a
fight, which was immediately begun by Admiral Shovel. The battle raged
with great fury on both sides till about two in the afternoon, when the
enemy's van gave way. The Dutch engaged the enemy with the greatest
courage and alacrity, and being provided with ammunition, continued
firing something later than the rest, but night coming on put a stop to
the engagement. Several of the French ships were compelled to quit the
fight, long before it was over, to repair damages, some of them to stop
leaks which would otherwise have caused them to founder. The French
main body being very strong, and several ships of the admiral's and
Rear-Admirals Byng and Dilke's divisions being also forced to go out of
the line for want of shot, the battle fell very heavily on the admiral's
own ship the "Saint George," as also on the "Shrewsbury." This being
observed by Sir Cloudesley Shovel, he, like a good and valiant officer,
immediately backed astern and endeavoured to reinforce the admiral.
This act of valour and of good seamanship had two useful effects. First
it drew several of the enemy's ships from the British centre, which was
so hard pressed by a great superiority of strength and numbers, and
secondly it drove them at length out of the line, for after they had
felt the effects of the guns of others of the ships of Sir Cloudesley
Shovel's division, which were astern of him, they considered it more
prudent not to advance along his broadside. Being clean and better
sailers, they set their split-sails, and with their boats ahead, towed
away from him, without giving him the opportunity of exchanging a single
broadside with them.
There can be no doubt that the British would have gained a complete
victory had they not have been in want of shot. This had been expended
by the vast number of guns fired at Gibraltar, though every ship had
been furnished with twenty-five rounds the day before the battle, which
would have been sufficient had they got as near the enemy as the admiral
intended. As it was, every ship had expended her ammunition before
night.
In the centre of the line a furious action was going on. The "Serieux,"
a ship in the French admiral's division commanded by Monsieur
Champmelin, however, boarded the "Monk," an English ship commanded by
Captain Mills. He, with great activity and courage, every time cleared
the deck of the enemy, and made them at last bear away. The same French
commander had his ship afterwards so disabled that he was obliged with
others to quit the line. Captain Jumper also added laurels to those he
had already gained, by engaging with his single ship three of the
enemy's; and on this occasion, as he had done at Gibraltar, John Deane
especially distinguished himself. Captain Jumper shook him by the hand,
and thanking him for the aid he had afforded, promised him that he would
not rest till he had recommended him for promotion to the admiral.
About seven in the evening, one of the French admiral's seconds advanced
out of the line, and began a closer engagement with the "Saint George,"
commanded by Captain Jennings; but, although the "Saint George" had
already suffered much, the French ship met with such rough treatment
that she had great difficulty in rejoining the line, after the loss of
both her captains and many of her men.
Among the actions of other brave commanders, that of the gallant Earl of
Dursley, commander of the "Boyne," an eighty-gun ship, must be
mentioned. He was but twenty-three years of age, yet he gave numerous
instances of his undaunted courage, steady resolution, and prudent
conduct.
The battle ended at the close of the day, when the enemy escaped with
the help of their galleys to leeward. In the night the wind shifted to
the north, and in the morning to the west, which placed the enemy on the
weather side of the confederates. Their fleet lay by all day within
three leagues of the French. At night the latter stood away to the
northward. The English lost 687 men killed, and 1632 wounded. The loss
of the French was a Rear-Admiral, five captains, and a number of other
officers killed with 150 wounded, and upwards of 3000 men killed or
wounded. Sir Cloudesley Shovel afterwards declared that this engagement
was the most desperate that had ever taken place between two fleets in
his time. Scarcely a ship escaped without being obliged to shift one of
her masts, and many of them all.