unnautical reader will imagine our small force to be placed in the nave
of Westminster Abbey, with the enemy attacking the great western tower
from the summit of a cliff 100 feet higher than the tower, so that the
breach in course of formation nearly corresponded to the great west
window of the abbey. It will hence be clear that, in the face of a
determined opposition, it would be no easy matter to scale the external
wall of the tower up to the great west window, and more difficult still
to overcome impediments presently to be mentioned, so as to get down
into the body of the church. These were the points I had to provide
against, for we could neither prevent the French from breaching nor
storming.
It so happened, that just at the spot where the breach was in process of
formation, there was a lofty bomb proof interior arch, upwards of fifty
feet in height. This arch, reaching from the lower part of the breach to
the interior base of the tower, was without much difficulty converted
into an obstacle, of which the French little dreamed; viz. into a chasm,
down which they must have plunged headlong had they attempted to
penetrate an inch beyond the outer wall, even after they had gained it.
The only operation necessary was to break in the crown of the arch, so
that all who on an assault ventured on penetrating farther than the
outer wall of the breach, must of necessity be hurled to the bottom. But
as the fall of a portion of the enemy might not deter the rest from
holding possession of the outer wall till they were provided with the
means of overcoming the obstacle, I got together all the timber at hand,
and constructed a huge wooden case, exactly resembling the hopper of a
mill—the upper part being kept well greased with cooks’ slush from the
_Impérieuse_, so that to retain a hold upon it was impossible. Down
this, with the slightest pressure from behind, the storming party must
have fallen to a depth of fifty feet, and all they could have done, if
not killed, would have been to remain prisoners at the bottom of the
bomb proof.
The mantrap being thus completed,—and to do the Spaniards justice, they
entered with ardour into the work,—the next object was to prepare trains
for the explosion of the magazines, in case evacuation of the fort
became compulsory. This was done in two places; the first deposit of
powder being placed underneath the breach, with the portfire so
arranged, as to go off in about ten minutes; the other beneath the
remaining part of the fortress, with a portfire calculated to burn until
we ourselves were safe on board the frigate.
The French were highly exasperated on finding that the castle had been
reinforced from the _Impérieuse_, of which ship they had by this time
not a few unpleasant reminiscences; they therefore adopted additional
measures to put a stop to our co-operation.
In addition to the previously mentioned battery, another was erected on
the cliff commanding the fortress; and on the 25th, upwards of 300 shots
were directed at the tower, the result being a hole, which speedily
widened into a tolerable breach. Our men were now engaged in blocking it
up as fast as it was made, and working as they did under cover, no loss
was sustained, though every shot brought down large masses of stone
within the fortress; the French thus supplying us with materials for
repair, though rendering a sharp look-out against splinters necessary.
On this day I received a wound, which caused me intolerable agony. Being
anxious, during an ominous pause, to see what the enemy were about, I
incautiously looked round an angle of the tower towards the battery
overhead, and was struck by a stone splinter in the face; the splinter
flattening my nose and then penetrating my mouth. By the skill of our
excellent doctor, Mr. Guthrie, my nose was after a time rendered
serviceable.
Whilst the enemy were breaching the tower, the boats of the _Impérieuse_
inflicted on them such severe chastisement, that detachments of infantry
were stationed on the hills to drive off the boats with musketry; but
our people managed to keep out of harm’s way, whilst directing a
destructive fire upon the nearer portion of our opponents.
On the 26th the French renewed their fire; but as during the previous
night we had filled up the breach with loose rubble, their progress was
by no means rapid, the rubble forming almost as great an obstacle as did
the wall itself. It was, however, evident that the breach must sooner or
later become practicable, so that we turned our attention to the
erection of interior barricades, in case of a sudden attempt to storm.
In addition to these barricades festoons of top chains were brought from
the ship, and suspended over the hopper and elsewhere; the chains being
moreover armed with large fishhooks, so securely fastened, that there
was little danger of those who were caught, getting away before they
were shot.
The barricades constituted what may be termed a rampart within the
breach, constructed of palisades, barrels, bags of earth, &c., these
supplying the place of walls, whilst the descent from the crown of the
bombproof to the bottom, constituted a formidable substitute for a
ditch.
We got to-day a trifling though welcome reinforcement of sixty regular
Spanish, or rather Irish troops in the Spanish service, and sent an
equal number of peasants to Rosas; for though these men were brave, as
are all Catalans, and ready enough, yet their want of military skill
rendered them ill adapted to the work in hand. As soon as the Irish
comprehended our means of defence, and the reception prepared for the
enemy, their delight at the prospective mischief was highly
characteristic, and could not have been exceeded had they been preparing
for a “scrimmage” in their native country.
At midnight the French made a general assault on the town of Rosas, and
after several hours’ hard fighting obtained possession. The _Impérieuse_
and _Fame_ now approached, and commenced a fire which must have caused
great loss to the besiegers, but which failed to dispossess them.
Towards morning—when too late—a detachment of 2000 Spanish troops
arrived from Gerona! Six hours earlier would have saved the town, the
preservation of which was the only object in retaining the fortress.
The practice of the French when breaching the walls of Rosas, was
beautiful. So skilfully was their artillery conducted, that, to use a
schoolboy similitude, every discharge “ruled a straight line” along the
lower part of the walls; this being repeated till the upper portion was
without support, as a matter of course, the whole fell in the ditch,
forming a breach of easy ascent. This operation constituted an object of
great interest to us in the fortress, from which the whole proceedings
were clearly visible.
Having secured the town, the French redoubled their efforts against the
castle, and had they continued with the same vigour, we must have been
driven out. Two of our marines were killed by shot, as was a third by a
stone splinter, so that with all my desire to hold out, I began to doubt
the propriety of sacrificing men to the preservation of a place which
could not be long tenable.
The French being also heartily tired of the loss they were sustaining
from the fire of the ships and boats, sent us a flag of truce, with the
offer of honourable capitulation. This being declined on our part, the
firing recommenced more heavily than before.
On the 28th the fire of the enemy slackened, their troops being engaged
in throwing up intrenchments and constructing batteries in the town, a
second detachment of Spanish troops being on its way now that the place
had fallen. Soon after midday they sent a small party with another flag
of truce. As it was, however, evident that their object was this time to
spy out the state of our defences, we threw some hand grenades towards
them, to show that we would not hold any parley, on which they retired,
and the firing was again renewed.
On the 29th the French opened upon the castle from five different
batteries on the hills, but without damage to life, as our men were now
kept close. The ships and bombs, however, directed upon them a
destructive fire with shot and shell, which considerably damped their
ardour. To-day all access to the citadel was cut off, the French having
succeeded in erecting batteries on both sides the sea gates, so that all
communication with the boats was rendered impossible.
The dawn of the 30th might have been our last, but from the
interposition of what some persons may call presentiment. Long before
daylight I was awoke with an impression that the enemy were in
possession of the castle, though the stillness which prevailed showed
this to be a delusion. Still I could not recompose myself to sleep, and
after lying for some time tossing about, I left my couch, and hastily
went on the esplanade of the fortress. All was perfectly still, and I
felt half ashamed of having given way to such fancies.
A loaded mortar, however, stood before me, pointed, during the day, in
such a direction that the shell should fall on the path over the hill
which the French must necessarily take whenever they might make an
attempt to storm. Without other object than that of diverting my mind
from the unpleasant feeling which had taken possession of it, I fired
the mortar. Before the echo had died away, a volley of musketry from the
advancing column of the enemy showed that the shell had fallen amongst
them, just as they were on the point of storming.
Rushing on, their bullets pattered like hail on the walls of the fort.
To man these was the work of a moment; for, as may be supposed, our
fellows did not wait for another summons, and the first things barely
discernible amidst the darkness were the French scaling ladders ready to
be placed at the foot of the breach, with an attendant body of troops
waiting to ascend, but hesitating, as though the unexpected shell from
our mortar rendered them uncertain as to our preparations for defence.
To the purposeless discharge of that piece of ordnance we owed our
safety, for otherwise they would have been upon us before we even
suspected their presence; and so exasperated were they at our obstinate
defence, that very little attention would have been paid to any demand
for quarter. The French deserved great credit for a silence in their
movements which had not even attracted the attention of the sentries on
the tower.
Whilst the enemy were hesitating, we became better prepared, our men
being ready at every point which commanded the breach. It was not in the
nature of the French to slink off on being detected. In a few minutes on
they came up the ladders, to the certainty of getting either into the
mantrap, or of being hurled from the walls as fast as they came up,
retreat being for a short time impossible, on account of the pressure
from behind. There was now just light enough for them to see the chasm
before them, and the wall was crowded with hesitating men. About forty
had gained the summit of the breach, all of whom were swept off with our
fire; whilst a crowd was waiting below for the chance of sharing the
same fate. Giving them no time for deliberation, several shells which
had been suspended by ropes half-way down the wall, were ignited, our
hand grenades were got to work, and these, together with the musketry,
told fearfully on the mass—which wavered for a few moments, and then
retreated amidst the loud huzzas of our fellows. The French, however,
gallantly carried off their wounded, though they were compelled to leave
the dead, who, till the following morning, lay in a heap close to the
foot of the tower.
Scarcely had we got rid of our assailants, when a numerous body of
troops came down from the hills with muskets firing and drums beating,
nothing doubting that their comrades were in possession of the fortress.
Our lads, having their hands now free, returned their fire with
excellent effect, dropping some at every discharge; when at length,
finding that the assault had failed, and that we were able to offer
effectual resistance, the detachment retreated up the hills as fast as
they could, amidst the derisive cheering of our men.
The force which formed the storming party, consisted, as we afterwards
learned from our prisoners, of one company of grenadiers, two of
carabineers, and four of the voltigeurs of the 1st Light Regiment of
Italy, in all about 1200 men. They were gallantly led, two of the
officers attracting my especial attention. The first was dropped by a
shot, which precipitated him from the walls, but whether he was killed
or only wounded, I do not know, probably wounded only, as his body was
not seen by us amongst the dead. The other was the last man to quit the
walls, and before he could do so, I had covered him with my musket.
Finding escape impossible, he stood like a hero to receive the bullet,
without condescending to lower his sword in token of surrender. I never
saw a braver or a prouder man. Lowering my musket, I paid him the
compliment of remarking, that so fine a fellow was not born to be shot
down like a dog, and that, so far as I was concerned, he was at liberty
to make the best of his way down the ladder; upon which intimation he
bowed as politely as though on parade, and retired just as leisurely.
In this affair we had only three men killed—one of the marines and two
Spaniards, another Spaniard being shot through the thigh and the Spanish
governor of the fortress through the hand; there were, however, a few
minor casualties. The total loss of the enemy, judging from the dead
left behind—upwards of fifty—must have been severe. My determination not
to quit the fortress was therefore increased, as there was every reason
to be satisfied with the efficacy of my hopper trap and fish-hook
chains. In short, it was impossible for any one to get over the one or
through the other. Not a Frenchman had advanced beyond the outer wall.
After this the enemy did not molest us much, except with musketry, which
did no damage, as our men were well under cover. They, however, turned
their attention to the citadel, the Spanish garrison replying smartly to
their fire. The Spaniards with us in the castle likewise behaved with
great gallantry, as did the soldiers of the Irish brigades in the
Spanish service, by whom the peasants before mentioned had been
supplanted. Had the latter remained, the repulse of our assailants might
have been more difficult, though equally certain.
On the 1st of December we passed a tolerably quiet day, the French being
engaged in erecting a new battery, to annoy our boats when coming on
shore, with which they appeared to content themselves.
The 2nd passed over in the same quiet way.
On the 3rd the troops in the citadel made a sortie, apparently in the
hope of dislodging the French from their intrenchments, and an obstinate
engagement ensued, with considerable loss on both sides. By the time
this was over, our friends on the hill had nearly completed another new
battery, and were trying its effect on us somewhat unpleasantly, every
shot knocking down great quantities of stone. A still more unpleasant
circumstance was, that a heavy gale of wind had arisen, before which the
_Impérieuse_ was visibly dragging her anchors, and might be compelled to
go to sea, leaving us to defend ourselves till her return.
On the 4th, the French opened all their batteries on the citadel, eleven
of their guns being brought to bear upon the old breach elsewhere
mentioned as never having been properly repaired. At this point an
immense number of shot and shell were directed, and towards night a
breach was nearly practicable. This operation against the citadel
seeming decisive, the new battery on the hill began upon us in the
castle with redoubled vengeance, and every shot told with effect; the
object no doubt being to storm both fortresses simultaneously on the
following day.
An unfortunate accident occurred in the castle to-day. Five of our men
were loading a gun, intended for employment against a body of French
troops, who were throwing up an intrenchment below us, with the evident
object of cutting us off from retreat or communication with the frigate;
by some mischance the gun exploded, blowing off the arms of a marine,
who died soon after, and knocking a seaman over the castle wall, a depth
of fifty feet. The poor fellow was taken up by the boat’s crew, and
carried on board in a dreadfully shattered condition.
At daylight on the 5th, the French again opened their batteries on the
citadel, and by 8 A.M. the breach was quite practicable. A large body of
troops had assembled for the assault, but the firing suddenly ceased on
both sides, and from the number of men lounging about the breach, it was
clear that a capitulation was in progress. Under these circumstances it
became my duty not to sacrifice our marines and seamen to the mere
excitement of fighting a whole army which could now pay us undivided
attention. We therefore began to think of taking our departure, and
getting our baggage collected, we made signals to the _Impérieuse_ for
all boats to be in readiness to take us off, if the garrison in the
citadel should capitulate. The battery, however, continued firing upon
us as usual, and with decisive effect on the tower. Without taking any
notice of this, we laid trains ready for blowing up the fort.
Soon after our signals were made, the _Fame_ and _Magnificent_—the
latter of which had recently come into the anchorage—got under weigh and
beat towards the landing-place. Our signals having been also understood
by the French, the batteries overhead ceased firing, and a number of
troops approached to take possession. At 11 A.M. we made the signal for
the boats—the _Impérieuse_ attending them close in shore.
We now commenced evacuating the fortress, sending down the troops of the
Bourbon regiment first; the Irish brigade next, and our marines and
seamen last. On the boats pulling in, the ships opened fire with shot
and shell upon the French. We did not, however, receive any molestation
from the latter, whilst our men went down the rope ladders out of the
fort, and by one o’clock all were out of the castle except the gunner
and myself, we having remained to light the portfires attached to the
trains.
After this we got into the boats also unopposed, but the moment they
pulled off from the shore the French opened upon us with musketry and
round shot, fortunately without injury to any one. A stiff breeze now
blowing, enabled the _Impérieuse_ to get close in, so that we were soon
on board.
The French having become practically acquainted with some of our devices
were on their guard, and did not take possession of the castle
immediately on our quitting it, and it was lucky for them that they did
not, for shortly after we got on board the first explosion took place,
blowing up the portion of the fortress which they had been breaching;
but the second train failed, owing, no doubt, to the first shock
disarranging the portfire. Had not this been the case, scarcely one
stone of the castle would have remained on another.
In the evening I directed the _Impérieuse_ to get under weigh and stand
towards La Escala, where we landed the Spanish troops. On the following
morning the _Fame_ parted company for Lord Collingwood’s fleet; and
leaving the _Magnificent_ at anchor with the bombs, we stood towards San
Felin, having the mortification of seeing the French flag flying over
what remained of the Castle of Trinidad, which we had so pertinaciously
endeavoured to defend, and failing in this, should have wholly destroyed
but for the accident of the second portfire becoming out of order.
In the defence of this fortress, we lost only three killed and seven
wounded; the loss of the Spaniards amounting to two killed and five
wounded. Next to the thorough accomplishment of the work in hand my care
was for the lives of the men. Indeed, it is matter of congratulation to
me that no commander having gone through such service ever had fewer men
killed. Lord St. Vincent on a former occasion gave this as a reason for
not promoting my officers, but even a rebuff so unworthy failed to
induce me to depart from my system of taking care of the men, the death
of one of whom would have affected me more than the death of a hundred
enemies, because it would, in my estimation, have been attributable to
my own want of foresight.
The destruction of the French must have been very great. We who were
cooped up in the fortress had only one collision with them, but in that
they suffered fearfully, whilst we escaped scot free. But the fire of
the ships must have told upon them to a great extent.
The subjoined letters from Lord Collingwood to the Secretary of the
Admiralty constitute the only commendations I received for the services
detailed in the preceding chapters.
_Extract of a letter from_ VICE-ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD _to the_ HON.
W. W. POLE, _dated on board the_ Ocean, _Dec. 14, 1808_.
“My letter of the 1st instant would inform you of the enemy having
laid siege to the castle of Rosas, and of the measures taken by the
British ships in that bay in aid of the Spaniards for its defence. The
_Scout_ joined the squadron off Toulon on the 7th, and by her I
received further accounts from Captain Bennett, of the _Fame_, of the
progress the enemy was making against that important fortress.
“Captain Lord Cochrane has maintained himself in the possession of
Trinity castle with great ability and heroism. Although the fort is
laid open by the breach in its works, he has sustained and repelled
several assaults, having formed a sort of rampart within the breach
with his ship’s hammock cloths, awnings, &c., filled with sand and
rubbish. _The zeal and energy with which he has maintained that
fortress excites the highest admiration. His resources for every
exigency have no end._ The Spanish governor of the castle is wounded
and on board the _Meteor_.
“COLLINGWOOD.”
This expression of opinion on the part of Lord Collingwood should have
procured me some commendation from the Naval authorities at home; the
more so as it was spontaneous on his lordship’s part, no official
despatch from me on the subject having at that time reached him. I was,
however, a black sheep at the Admiralty, and, had it been my good
fortune to have been instrumental in raising the siege of Rosas, the
only care taken by the Tory Government at home would, in all
probability, have been how to conceal a knowledge of the fact from the
public. After the evacuation and destruction of the fortress I addressed
to Lord Collingwood the subjoined despatch.
“H. M. Ship _Impérieuse_, Bay of Rosas,
5th Dec. 1808.