of his grandfather Louis XIV. Eight thousand men, under the Marquis
de Villadarias, were immediately detached from the Spanish army
to retake the fortress; and the French Admiral received orders
to engage the British and Dutch fleets, and to co-operate in the
recapture of Gibraltar. The hostile fleets engaged on the 24th of
August, about eleven leagues south of Malaga, and, after each had
suffered severely, they were separated in the night. The enemy
retired to Toulon, and Sir George Rooke sailed to Gibraltar. Here,
after having held a Council of War, it was determined to return
home; and the confederate fleet sailed for England, arriving at
Spithead on the 25th of September. Sir John Leake and Admiral
Vanderdussen were left at Lisbon to protect the coast of Portugal,
and relieve Gibraltar, if it should be besieged as was anticipated.
The Marquis de Villadarias commenced the siege of Gibraltar on the
22nd of October, and the garrison, composed of Marines, under the
command of the Prince of Hesse, sustained a siege by seven thousand
men. The purpose of the enemy was to have stormed from the South
Mole, united with the desperate attempt of a Spanish forlorn-hope
climbing the rock, and a general attack from the mainland. The
fortress was maintained against very superior numbers; and the fire
of the enemy’s batteries having damaged the works, a body of men
was landed from the fleet to assist in the defence. Brigadier Fox,
and several other officers and men, having been killed on the 5th
of December, 1704, aid was solicited from the army in Portugal.
Admiral Sir John Leake accordingly sailed from Lisbon on the 10th
of December, with a fleet, having on board a battalion of the first
and second foot guards; Barrymore’s regiment, now thirteenth foot;
Donegal’s regiment, now thirty-fifth foot; the Dutch regiment of
Waes; and a Portuguese regiment; amounting in all to upwards of
three thousand men. On their passage they fell in with the enemy’s
squadron under Monsieur de Pointi, but they succeeded in arriving
at Gibraltar, although some of the transports had separated.
These corps were safely landed on the 18th of December, and the
Prince, strengthened by this reinforcement, made a sortie on the
23rd, and destroyed the lines, that had been erected within a
hundred and sixty paces of the palisade.
[Sidenote: 1705]
The Marquis de Villadarias, having received a considerable
reinforcement, evinced a disposition to storm the place, and on the
2nd of February, 1705, an attempt was made against the Round Tower,
to ascertain what might be effected by a larger force. On the 7th
the enemy attacked with five hundred chosen grenadiers, French and
Walloons, commanded by Lieut.-General Thouy, and supported by one
thousand Spanish troops. They ascended the hill in perfect silence
at daybreak, and again attempted to storm the Round Tower, which
was defended by Colonel Borr, of the Marines, now thirty-second
regiment. The assailants, by throwing from above great stones
and grenades on his men, at last obliged him to retire into that
part of the works where the foot guards were posted. Flushed with
success, they advanced too far; when they were gallantly charged
by Colonel Moncall, of Barrymore’s (thirteenth) regiment, and
driven from the Round Tower. Colonel Rivett, of the Coldstream foot
guards, having got up the rock on the right of the covered-way with
twenty grenadiers, favoured very much Colonel Moncall’s success.
The garrison by this time had assembled, and kept up so destructive
a fire that the enemy was obliged to make a precipitate retreat,
losing seventy men killed on the spot; upwards of two hundred
wounded; and one captain, four lieutenants, and forty men taken.
The loss on the part of the garrison was twenty-seven men killed,
and one hundred and twenty wounded.
Marshal de Tessé arrived with additional troops to carry on the
siege; the garrison also received fresh reinforcements from
Portugal, besides supplies of every description. Admiral Sir John
Leake sailed from the Tagus on the 6th of March, 1705, and his
arrival in the bay of Gibraltar on the 10th, was again so sudden,
that he completely surprised the Baron de Pointi, together with the
whole of his squadron, consisting of live ships of the line, three
of which were captured, and two were driven on shore, and burnt by
the enemy.
After a siege of seven months the enemy retired, in April, giving
up all hopes of being able to make any impression on the fortress:
his efforts were then confined to a very feeble blockade.
The fortress of Gibraltar, seated upon the territory of Spain,
was thus rendered subject to the British crown by the bravery of
its Navy and Marines: its possession was subsequently secured by
the defence made against the renewed efforts of the Spaniards in
1727, and by the glorious defence sustained by the troops, under
General Lord Heathfield, for three years, from 1779 to 1782, when
it exhibited to the nations of Europe a brilliant instance of
the combined exertions of the British navy and army against the
repeated, but unsuccessful, attempts of Spain and France to recover
this important fortress.
After the Spaniards and French had desisted from further attempts
to retake Gibraltar, the Marine corps were distributed in the
several ships of war which were collected in the Tagus, in order to
co-operate with the land forces on the coast of Spain.
Towards the end of May, the English fleet, with about five thousand
land forces on board, under the joint command of Admiral Sir
Cloudesly Shovel and General the Earl of Peterborough, sailed
from St. Helen’s, and arrived at Lisbon on the 20th of June. King
Charles went on board the Ranelagh on the 23rd of July, and the
Dutch fleet having joined in the Tagus, the confederate squadron
sailed on the 28th, and anchored at Gibraltar on the 11th of
August. The Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, with the battalion of foot
guards, and the thirteenth and thirty-fifth regiments, embarked,
and the fleet sailed for Altea Bay: form thence it again proceeded
on its voyage, and anchored before Barcelona on the 22nd of August.
The Earl of Peterborough commenced active operations against
_Barcelona_ by an attack on the strong fortress of _Montjuich_,
situated on the opposite part of the town, at which the
disembarkation took place, the troops having landed near the river
Bassoz, about three miles east of Barcelona, on the 23rd and
24th of August. On the 28th, King Charles went on shore, when the
inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages flocked to the
camp, and many took arms to act as guerilla-bands and miquelets. A
difference of opinion on the part of the Dutch General occasioned
some delay, but it was ultimately determined to attack the fortress
of _Montjuich_ by storm.
The storming party, consisting of four hundred grenadiers, with
a support of six hundred musketeers, commanded by the Earl
of Peterborough and the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, commenced
their march about ten o’clock on the night of Sunday the 13th
of September round the mountains, and were followed by another
detachment, and a party of dragoons. After traversing many miles of
rugged mountain scenery, by different tracks, the storming party
appeared about break of day at the foot of the mountain. Colonel
Southwell of the sixth foot, which was then acting as Marines, was
ordered to head the attack, and he succeeded in driving the enemy
from the outworks into the castle. Upon this success the Prince of
Hesse, advancing with great eagerness through all the fire, was
shot with a musket-ball in the thigh, and upon being carried to
an adjacent cottage, expired: this accident somewhat damped the
spirits of the soldiers;--at the same time a large reinforcement
was seen advancing from the town to aid the garrison in the Castle,
and the troops received orders from some inferior officer to
retire. The Earl of Peterborough rushed to the spot, countermanded
the order, seized the half-pike out of Lord Charlemont’s hand, and
rallied and led back the soldiers to the posts they had so nobly
won. The Spaniards, who were advancing from the town, turned back,
and the outworks of the Fortress of Montjuich were thus gained;
batteries were constructed, and the inner works were assailed with
cannon-balls, bombs, and grenades. On the 17th of September the
Fort surrendered, and thus facilitated the siege of the _City of
Barcelona_, which was prosecuted with vigour. The Admirals even
relinquished for a time their natural element, and acted on shore
as General Officers;--they came daily from their ships with a body
of men formed into companies, having captains and lieutenants of
their own. Cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices
by the men; and a breach being declared practicable, a body of
soldiers prepared to attack the town: further effusion of blood
was spared, however, by the surrender of the garrison, which
capitulated on the 9th of October.
The capture of Barcelona gave additional reputation to the
arms of the allies, and this splendid achievement was regarded
with astonishment throughout Europe. It was accompanied by the
submission of nearly all Catalonia; and Boyer, in his history
of these wars, observes, “all the generals, admirals, officers,
private soldiers, and seamen, engaged in this memorable expedition,
deserved each their share of the honour.”
[Sidenote: 1706]
King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves
to provide for the security of the towns which had come into
their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests,
spent their time and money in balls and public diversions. The
breaches in _Barcelona_, and the fortress of _Montjuich_, were left
unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile
King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the favourers of
his cause in Portugal, Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine,
and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to
recapture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish
force approached Barcelona by land; a French fleet appeared before
the town, and the garrison, being weak in numbers, regiments were
hurried from other places, one English regiment travelling one
hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part in the
defence of Barcelona. The siege was commenced in the beginning of
April, 1706, when the soldiers repaired the breaches, and entered
upon a resolute and desperate defence. A severe conflict took place
on the 21st of April at _Montjuich_, in which Lord Donegal, of the
thirty-fifth regiment, lost his life, and several prisoners were
taken by the enemy; but when the garrison was nearly exhausted, its
numbers decreased by deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to
about a thousand effective men, and a practicable breach was ready
for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch
fleet arrived with five regiments of foot; the French fleet hurried
from before the town; and the reinforcements were landed.
The French, who had prepared to storm the place on the 10th of May,
relaxed in their efforts, and raised the siege on the following
day, making a precipitate retreat.
The important city of _Barcelona_ being thus relieved, the
fleet sailed on the 12th of May, and landed the forces of every
description on the coast of Valencia. This was preparatory to an
attack on _Alicant_. The capture of _Carthagena_ was in the interim
effected, and a garrison of six hundred marines under Major Hedges
was established for its defence.
The fleet arrived off _Alicant_ on the 26th of June, when the
Governor-General Mahoni, was summoned to surrender: a refusal
being made by the garrison, consisting of one thousand soldiers,
and many inhabitants of the town who had volunteered in its
defence, the bombardment of the city was resolved upon.
Brigadier Richard Gorges, who succeeded the Earl of Donegal, as
colonel of the thirty-fifth regiment, then serving as marines,
moved from Elcho on the 21st of July to within a mile of Alicant,
and all the marines of the fleet, with eight hundred seamen, were
landed on that day, and on the following morning:--the bombardment
commenced on the evening of the 22nd. A detachment of the navy,
under Admiral Sir George Byng, rendered very essential service by
dismounting many of the enemy’s guns on the coast. On the 24th of
July the marines arrived from Carthagena, and were immediately
landed; after four days the troops had gained possession of the
suburbs, and all the boats were manned, and armed, in order to
attack the town. On the 29th of July the ships having made a
practicable breach on the Round Tower, at the west end of the
place, and another at the middle of the curtain, the soldiers
advanced to storm them. General Mahoni retired into the Castle, and
was again summoned by Brigadier Gorges, and was at length obliged
to surrender his charge on the 25th of August, after a most gallant
resistance, and a heavy loss.
The fleet proceeded to _Iviça_, where it arrived on the 9th
of September: the governor immediately saluted, and tendered
submission to King Charles III. It was next resolved to attack
_Majorca_, which surrendered on the 14th of September: a garrison
of one captain, one lieutenant, and one hundred marines, was placed
in this island.
[Sidenote: 1707]
In June, 1707, an opportunity offered of co-operating with the
Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene, in an intended attack upon Toulon:
the fleet proceeded for the coast of Italy, where it anchored, on
the 28th of June, between Nice and Antibes, about a league from
the Var: after a conference between the commanders-in-chief, it
was decided that a joint attack should be made upon a part of the
enemy’s army then entrenched upon that river: the positions, being
evacuated by the enemy, were immediately occupied by six hundred
British seamen and marines: the passage was thus secured for the
Duke of Savoy to prosecute his designs, and frigates were stationed
along different parts of the sea-coast: every aid was afforded by
the fleet both as to men and cannon; but the enemy having daily
augmented his forces, and having made a successful sally, the siege
was raised on the 10th of August, 1707, after a loss of more than a
thousand men. The French, from a sudden dread of consequences, sunk
a number of their largest ships of war, which were ever after unfit
for service.
[Sidenote: 1708]
King Charles having urged the reduction of Sardinia, with a view
to open a passage for his troops in Naples to attack Sicily, as
well as to secure a supply of provisions for his armies, a body
of marines was withdrawn from _Tarragona_, a strong sea-port and
garrison in Catalonia, to assist in this enterprise. On the 12th
of August, 1708, the whole arrived before Cagliari, the capital
of Sardinia; and on receiving an equivocal answer to the summons
to surrender, the bombardment commenced on that evening, and
continued, without intermission, until the next morning, when at
the break of day Major-General Wills (thirtieth regiment) and the
whole of the marines, with one Spanish regiment, were landed. The
place, in consequence, almost immediately surrendered.
The whole having been re-embarked, the fleet again set sail on the
18th of August, 1708, for _Minorca_, and arrived at Port Mahon on
the 28th of that month.
At this period _two_ of the Marine regiments were drafted, and
the officers and men were incorporated into the other _four_, now
employed on this service: this measure had become necessary in
order to supply the casualties which had occurred, and to render
these corps effective. For this purpose all the marines capable of
duty, were drawn from the fleet about to return home, in order to
assist in the reduction of an island, which, it was expected, would
make a spirited and tedious defence.
The first attack was against _Fort Fornede_, which was cannonaded
by two of the ships, and surrendered after a contest of four hours;
a detachment having been pushed to _Citadella_ the capital, it
surrendered without resistance:--the batteries were opened on the
works defending the town of _Port Mahon_ on the 17th of September,
when, after a short but brisk fire, and the loss of only six men, a
lodgment was effected under the walls of St. Philip’s Castle; and
on the next day the place surrendered.
Thus was this strong fortress, and the important _Island of
Minorca_, gained by a force of only two thousand four hundred men;
the garrison consisted of one thousand soldiers, with upwards of
one hundred pieces of cannon mounted.
Admiral Sir George Byng arrived at Lisbon on the 14th of October,
from Portsmouth, having Her Majesty the Queen of Portugal on board;
but although many other objects of service were in contemplation,
nothing further was attempted during the remainder of the year 1708.
On the 28th of October, 1708, the decease of His Royal Highness
the Prince George of Denmark, Consort of Her Majesty Queen Anne,
and Lord High Admiral of England, took place.
[Sidenote: 1709]
In the early part of the year 1709 a plan was formed to attack
_Port Royal_ in the province of Nova Scotia, at that time in
possession of the French: for this purpose a body of four hundred
marines was embarked, and the expedition was entrusted to the joint
conduct of Colonel Nicholson of the Marine forces, and Captain
Martin of the Navy. The squadron proceeded for Boston, where they
were reinforced by some ships, and provincial auxiliaries: for this
intended conquest a council of war was held, and arrangements were
made for the debarkation of a body consisting of two thousand five
hundred men, which took place on the 24th of September. On the 1st
of October the Governor surrendered the fortress, and a garrison of
Marines took possession. The fortress was named _Anna-polis Royal_,
in honour of Queen Anne, in whose reign it was conquered.
At this period the prospects of King Charles III. in obtaining
the monarchy of Spain, had become very gloomy and doubtful. The
town of Alicant had sustained along and obstinate siege, against
very powerful forces of Spain and France. The garrison, consisting
principally of Marines, exhibited the most heroic perseverance in
maintaining the place. The fleet under Admiral Sir George Byng, and
the troops on board, under the command of General Stanhope, were to
have attempted its relief, and the squadron was at the same time
to have attacked the enemy’s lines along the sea shore; but the
weather continuing severe, and heavy gales preventing communication
with the town, the Commander-in-Chief deemed it necessary to
propose terms of surrender, and the remainder of the brave troops
were embarked on board of the fleet, which now proceeded to
Tarragona, Port Mahon, and afterwards to Barcelona. During the
remainder of the year 1709, the fleets attempted nothing beyond the
protecting of the convoys of provisions, where they were considered
necessary, and in harassing the commerce of the enemy.
[Sidenote: 1710]
On the 13th of March, 1710, Admiral Sir John Norris arrived at Port
Mahon, as Commander-in-Chief of the Naval forces. After making
arrangements for disposing of the ships and troops in attacks upon
the enemy, he proceeded to Barcelona on the 18th of June, in order
to concert future operations with His Majesty King Charles III.
An expedition was planned against the _Isle of Cette_ in the
province of Languedoc, where the troops and Marines were landed on
the 13th of July. The place made a feeble resistance, and the Fort,
upon which were mounted eighteen pieces of cannon, surrendered on
the same day. The regiment of Stanhope, and three hundred Marines,
advanced against Adge, and the town was delivered up without
resistance.
The Isle of Cette was shortly afterwards recovered by the French
army, under the Duke of Roquetaine; but the British troops had
previously re-embarked.
[Sidenote: 1711]
In the early part of the year 1711 it was resolved to make
an attack on the town of _Quebec_, the capital of the
French possessions in Canada, for which service Admiral Sir
Hovenden Walker and Major-General John Hill were appointed
Commanders-in-Chief; a large fleet of ships of war formed part of
the armament, which was to be further strengthened by troops from
the American colonies; they were directed to proceed to Boston in
New England, and to make arrangements for this undertaking. They
reached Naerlaskel near Boston on the 24th of June, and having
collected the provincial corps, and withdrawn the Marines from
Anna-polis Royal, which had been occupied by these corps since its
surrender in 1709, they sailed for the object of their destination,
after many delays, on the 30th of July.
The expedition did not reach the River St. Lawrence until the 21st
of August, when it encountered storms, and being furnished with
pilots who were unacquainted with the navigation of that river,
eight transports, a store ship, and a sloop were lost by shipwreck,
and upwards of eighty persons, including officers, soldiers, and
women, principally belonging to Colonel Kane’s fourth regiment, and
Colonel Clayton’s thirty-seventh regiment, perished in this fatal
service.
A scarcity of provisions had arisen, and it was then determined
by a council of war that further operations should be abandoned.
Some of the corps proceeded to Anna-polis Royal, and the squadron
returned to England in the month of October, 1711, after having
left the provincial auxiliaries upon their own coast.
On the 17th of April, 1711, the decease of Joseph I., Emperor of
Germany, occurred, and Charles III., of Spain, was elected Emperor
of Germany at Frankfort, by the name of Charles IV., on the 12th
October following. Further attempts on the part of the British
Government, in the cause of King Charles were now unnecessary, as
he was called upon to assume the Imperial throne of his country.
His Majesty embarked at Barcelona, on the 27th of September, on
board of the confederate fleet, and sailed for Italy.
[Sidenote: 1712]
[Sidenote: 1713]
In the year 1712 negotiations were entered into by Great Britain
and France, and peace was restored by the treaty of Utrecht on
the 31st of March, 1713. By this treaty it was settled, that
Great Britain should retain possession of Gibraltar, Minorca, and
Nova Scotia, which had been conquered during the late war, and in
effecting which, the Marine corps, which had been formed during the
reign of Queen Anne, greatly contributed.
[Sidenote: 1714]
On the return of peace, as concluded by the treaty of Utrecht, in
1713, the corps of Marines, which had been formed in the reign of
Queen Anne, were ordered to be disbanded; they were considered to
be part of a war establishment, and a spirit of public economy, as
well as of jealousy against a standing army, particularly in the
early periods after the Revolution of 1688, afforded to the leaders
of parliamentary debates, and of popular prejudices, grounds of
objection to the maintaining of such corps after the termination of
hostilities.
The arrangements consequent on the general peace having been made,
a great reduction in the forces took place. These arrangements had
scarcely been decided, when the decease of Her Majesty Queen Anne
took place on the 1st of August, 1714, and King George the First
ascended the throne.
Soon after His Majesty’s accession, the peace of the kingdom was
disturbed by the hostile designs of King Louis XV. of France, who
had supported and encouraged James Francis Edward Stuart, son of
His late Majesty King James II., in his endeavours to obtain the
throne of Great Britain; but the loyalty of the people, and the
courage of the troops, defeated the attempts for the restoration of
the Stuart family.
King George I., being supported by the parliament, adopted
active measures for increasing his army, and resisting the plans
of his enemies. Six additional regiments of cavalry, from ninth
to fourteenth dragoons, were raised. The establishments of the
regiments of infantry were increased, and in consideration of the
gallant and extensive services of the Marine corps during the late
war, Wills’s, now _thirtieth_, Goring’s, now _thirty-first_, and
Borr’s, now _thirty-second_, were incorporated with the regiments
of infantry of the line, and ranked according to the dates of their
original formation in 1702.