Our Land Forces being disembarked, erect a fascine battery—our ship is
ordered, with four more, to batter the port of Bocca Chica—Mackshane’s
cowardice—the Chaplain’s frenzy—honest Rattlin loses one hand—his
heroism and reflections on the battle—Crampley’s behaviour to me during
the heat of the Fight
Our forces being landed and stationed as I have already mentioned, set
about erecting a fascine battery to cannonade the principal fort of the
enemy; and in something more than three weeks, it was ready to open.
That we might do the Spaniards as much honour as possible, it was
determined, in a council of war, that five of our largest ships should
attack the fort on one side, while the battery, strengthened by two
mortars and twenty-four cohorns, should ply it on the other.
Accordingly, the signal for our ship to engage, among others, was
hoisted, we being advertised, the night before, to make everything
clear for that purpose; and, in so doing, a difference happened between
Captain Oakum and his well-beloved cousin and counsellor Mackshane,
which had well nigh terminated in an open rupture. The doctor, who had
imagined there was no more danger of being hurt by the enemy’s shot in
the cockpit than in the centre of the earth, was lately informed that a
surgeon’s mate had been killed in that part of the ship by a
cannon-ball from two small redoubts that were destroyed before the
disembarkation of our soldiers; and therefore insisted upon having a
platform raised for the convenience of the sick and wounded in the
after-hold, where he deemed himself more secure than on the deck above.
The captain, offended at this extraordinary proposal, accused him of
pusillanimity, and told him, there was no room in the hold for such an
occasion: or, if there was, he could not expect to be indulged more
than the rest of the surgeons of the navy, who used the cockpit for
that purpose. Fear rendering Mackshane obstinate, he persisted in his
demand, and showed his instructions, by which it was authorised; the
captain swore these instructions were dictated by a parcel of lazy
poltroons who were never at sea; nevertheless he was obliged to comply,
and sent for the carpenter to give him orders about it. But, before any
such measure could be taken, our signal was thrown out, and the doctor
compelled to trust his carcass in the cockpit, where Morgan and I were
busy in putting our instruments and dressings in order.
Our ship, with others destined for this service, immediately weighed,
and in less than half-an-hour came to an anchor before the castle of
Bocca Chica, with a spring upon our cable, and the cannonading (which
indeed was dreadful) began. The surgeon, after having crossed himself,
fell flat on the deck; and the chaplain and purser, who were stationed
with us in quality of assistants, followed his example, while the
Welshman and I sat upon a chest looking at one another with great
discomposure, scarce able to refrain from the like prostration. And
that the reader may know it was not a common occasion that alarmed us
thus, I must inform him of the particulars of this dreadful din that
astonished us. The fire of the Spaniards proceeded from eighty-four
great guns, besides a mortar and small arms, in Bocca Chica; thirty-six
in Fort St. Joseph; twenty in two fascine batteries, and four
men-of-war, mounting sixty-four guns each. This was answered by our
land-battery mounted with twenty-one cannon, two mortars, and
twenty-four cohorns, and five great ships of seventy or eighty guns,
that fired without intermission.
We had not been many minutes engaged, when one of the sailors brought
another on his back to the cockpit, where he tossed him down like a bag
of oats, and pulling out his pouch, put a large chew of tobacco in his
mouth without speaking a word. Morgan immediately examined the
condition of the wounded man, and cried out, “As I shall answer now,
the man is as dead as my great grandfather.” “Dead,” said his comrade;
“he may be dead now, for aught I know, but I’ll be d—d if he was not
alive when I took him up.” So saying, he was about to return to his
quarters, when I bade him carry the body along with him, and throw it
overboard. “D—n the body!” said he, “I think ’tis fair enough if I take
care of my own.” My fellow mate, snatching up the amputation knife,
pursued him half-way up the cock-pit ladder, crying, “You lousy rascal,
is this the churchyard, or the charnel-house, or the sepulchre, or the
golgotha, of the ship?”—but was stopped in his career by one calling,
“Yo he, avast there—scaldings!” “Scaldings!” answered Morgan; “Cot
knows ’tis hot enough indeed: who are you?” “Here’s one!” replied the
voice; and I immediately knew it to be that of my honest friend Jack
Rattlin, who coming towards me, told me, with great deliberation, he
was come to be docked at last, and discovered the remains of one hand,
which had been shattered to pieces with a grape shot. I lamented with
unfeigned sorrow his misfortune, which he bore with heroic courage,
observing, that every shot had its commission: “It was well it did not
take him in the head! or if it had, what then? he should have died
bravely, fighting for his king and country. Death was a debt which
every man owed, and must pay; and that now was as well as another
time.” I was much pleased and edified with the maxims of this
sea-philosopher, who endured the amputation of his left hand without
shrinking, the operation being performed (at his request) by me, after
Mackshane, who was with difficulty prevailed to lift his head from the
deck, had declared there was a necessity for his losing the limb.
While I was employed in dressing the stump, I asked Jack’s opinion of
the battle, who, shaking his head, frankly told me, he believed we
should do no good: “For why? because, instead of dropping anchor close
under shore, where we should have to deal with one corner of Bocca
Chica only, we had opened the harbour, and exposed ourselves to the
whole fire of the enemy from their shipping and Fort St. Joseph, as
well as from the castle we intended to cannonade; that, besides, we lay
at too great a distance to damage the walls, and three parts in four of
our shot did not take place; for there was scarce anybody on board who
understood the pointing of a gun. Ah! God help us!” continued he, “If
your kinsman, Lieutenant Bowling, had been here, we should have had
other guess work.” By this time, our patients had increased to such a
number, that we did not know which to begin with; and the first mate
plainly told the surgeon, that if he did not get up immediately and
perform his duty, he would complain of his behaviour to the admiral,
and make application for his warrant. This remonstrance effectually
roused Mackshane, who was never deaf to an argument in which he thought
his interest was concerned; he therefore rose up, and in order to
strengthen his resolution, had recourse more than once to a case-bottle
of rum, which he freely communicated to the chaplain, and purser, who
had as much need of such extraordinary inspiration as himself. Being
thus supported, he went to work, and arms and legs were hewed down
without mercy. The fumes of the liquor mounting into the parson’s
brain, conspired, with his former agitation of spirits, to make him
quite delirious; he stripped himself to the skin; and, besmearing his
body with blood, could scarce be withheld from running upon deck in
that condition. Jack Rattlin, scandalised at this deportment,
endeavoured to allay his transports with reason; but finding all he
said ineffectual, and great confusion occasioned by his frolics, he
knocked him down with his right hand, and by threats kept him quiet in
that state of humiliation. But it was not in the power of rum to
elevate the purser, who sat on the floor wringing his hands, and
cursing the hour in which he left his peaceable profession of a brewer
in Rochester, to engage in such a life of terror and disquiet.
While we diverted ourselves at the expense of this poor devil, a shot
happened to take us between wind and water, and (its course being
through the purser’s store room) made a terrible havoc and noise among
the jars and bottles in its way, and disconcerted Mackshane so much,
that he dropped his scalpel, and falling down on his knees, pronounced
his Pater-noster aloud: the purser fell backward, and lay without sense
or motion; and the chaplain grew so outrageous, that Rattlin with one
hand could not keep him under; so that we were obliged to confine him
in the surgeon’s cabin, where he was no doubt guilty of a thousand
extravagancies. Much about this time, my old antagonist, Crampley, came
down, with express orders, as he said, to bring me up to the
quarter-deck, to dress a slight wound the captain had received by a
splinter: his reason for honouring me in particular with this piece of
service, being, that in case I should be killed or disabled by the way,
my death or mutilation would be of less consequence to the ship’s
company than that of the doctor or his first mate. At another time,
perhaps, I might have disputed this order, to which I was not bound to
pay the least regard; but as I thought my reputation depended upon my
compliance, I was resolved to convince my rival that I was no more
afraid than he of exposing myself to danger. With this view I provided
myself with dressings, and followed him immediately to the
quarter-deck, through a most infernal scene of slaughter, fire, smoke,
and uproar. Captain Oakum, who leaned against the mizen-mast, no sooner
saw me approach in my shirt, with the sleeves tucked up to my armpits,
and my hands dyed with blood, than he signified his displeasure by a
frown, and asked why the doctor himself did not come? I told him that
Crampley had singled me out, as if by express command; at which reply
he seemed surprised, and threatened to punish the midshipman for his
presumption, after the engagement. In the meantime, I was sent back to
my station, and ordered to tell Mackshane, that the captain expected
him immediately. I got safe back, and delivered my commission to the
doctor, who flatly refused to quit the post assigned to him by his
instructions; whereupon Morgan, who I believe, was jealous of my
reputation for courage, undertook the affair, and ascended with great
intrepidity. The captain, finding the surgeon obstinate, suffered
himself to be dressed, and swore he would confine Mackshane as soon as
the service should be over.