One night over two centuries ago a band of Spaniards, led by a
goatherd, crept up the rock of Gibraltar to St. Michael’s cave, where
dawn overtook them, and where they remained all through the next day.
As soon as darkness had fallen again they scaled the wall, surrounded
the signal house, and in a few moments overpowered the guard. The
British in the fortress never dreamed of danger so close at hand.
Ropes and ladders were lowered stealthily over the precipice, and the
Spaniards, feeling sure of victory, brought up several hundred men for
the attack. If all had gone well, Gibraltar might have been in the
hands of Spain again before sunrise; but some part of the work was
clumsily done, for British sentries caught the alarm, and a body of
grenadiers, hastily called together, rushed out upon their midnight
assailants. Gibraltar was saved for the British. Some of the Spaniards
they hurled over the cliff; the rest surrendered and were taken
prisoners.
The history of Gibraltar was for many centuries one of sieges and
captures. The rock was first known to the Greeks and Romans as one
of the pillars of Hercules; the other, Mt. Abyla, stands on the
African shore. But at that period, when ships rarely sailed out of the
Mediterranean, the “pillar” was unimportant to any great nation in
war. It fell into the hands of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians and
Visigoths at different periods in history. Tarik, landing there when
he crossed from Africa into Spain, built a castle on the rock, which
was therefore called Gebel-al-Tarik (Hill of Tarik), the original form
of the name Gibraltar. It fell into the hands of England after the
Spaniards and Moors had fought over it for centuries.
Once again, in the great siege that began in 1779 and lasted more than
three years, England came dangerously near losing the fortress. Spain
and France took advantage of British losses in America to open fire
on the Mediterranean stronghold. After the garrison of over 5,000 men
had been reduced to starvation, and only the bravery of General Eliott
could keep them together, Gibraltar was bombarded from the mainland.
Just when his command seemed lost under the strain of attack and of
hardships endured so long, the Scotsman led his troops to the attack,
and, taking the much larger Spanish army by surprise, drove them back
and burned their fortifications. Again Spain and France attacked from
the sea; but Eliott burned their ships with redhot cannonballs. The
struggle was renewed from time to time all during the siege, until at
last peace was proclaimed. General Eliott, returning home, was received
with the highest military honors for his courage.
England has been offered all of Spain’s possessions in Africa in
exchange for the one great sterile rock; yet nothing will induce her to
give up that hold on the gate of the Mediterranean.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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