an account of the expedition to carthagena, with

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SOUTHERN

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GIONAL

LIBRARY

FACILITY

AN

ACCOUNTOF T H E

EXPEDITIONT O

CARrHAGENA, ^c,

[Price One Shilling]

See the Plan of the City aiid Harbour of

Carthagena, publiflied in the LONDONMAGAZINE for Jpril 1740 ; which will

ferve to give the Readers of this Pamphlet a

clearer Idea of it's Contents,

AN

ACCOUNTO F T H E

EXPEDITIONTO

CARTHAGENA,WITH

Explanatory Notes

AND

OBSERVATIONS.The Third Edition.

Vbi per focordiam vires, tempus, ingenium defiuxere

natura infirmitas accufatur : fuam quique culpam aSfores

ad negotia transferunt. Sa l lu st .

LONDON:Printed for M. Cooper, at the Globe in

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AN 'AA^

AC C O U N XO F T H E

, EXPEDITION^ TO

^CARTHAGE NJ, ^c.

IThaving been refolved in a ge-

neral Council of War, held at

Spanijh Town, to prevent, if

w poffible, the French Fleet joining the

^ Enemy before any Expedition fhould

. be undertaken by Land : the PFolf

^ Sloop, Captain Dandridge^ was dif-

§ patched up to Port Louisy to ob-

^ fervc if the Fleet was in that Port:

\ And on the 2 2d of January^ which

was the fooneft the Fleet could be

got ready for the Sea, Sir Chaloner

Ogle and his Divifion failed out of

B Pore

44S050

a An Account of the

Port Royal Harbour ; and two Days

after Mr. Lejlock and his Divifion;

and on the Monday following the

Admiral with the reft of the Squa-

dron (leaving behind him the Fal-

mouth and Litchfield to bring up the

Tranfports;) but the Land Breeze

failing, and a great Swell rolling

down, obliged them to anchor at

the Keys (where the Augufia drove

afliore, and beat off her Rudder,

and great part of her Kcel.y On the

2 8th the Admiral weighed Anchor,

and plied up to Windward, and the

31ft joined Sir Chaloner Ogle and

Mr. Lefiock with their Divifions off

Port Morantj and the Day follow-

ing was joined by the Falmouth^

Litchfield^ and Tranfports. Februa-

ry the 7 th the Fleet made Cape 7/-

beroon on the Ifland Hifpaniola^ and

off there was joined by the Cumber-

la?td^ Captain Stewart^ from Lisbony

(who had been feparated from the

Fleet

Expedition to Carthagena. 3

Fleet in the Storm the ift of No-

vember) and the next Day the WolfSloop came into the Fleet \A'\ and

brought with her a Prench Sloop.

The 1 3th the Fleet anchored at the

Ifle of Vache^ about two Leagues

to the Weftward of Port Louisy

\A\ When Captain Danbridge^ of the W^olft

came into the Fleet, he acquainted the Admiral,

that the Marquis jyAntin and twelve Ships of

War were then in Fort Louis^ which was the

Reafon the Admiral purfued his Courfe up to

the Ifle of Vache, where when the Fleet arrived,

a French Officer coming on board the Weymouth^told, the Marquis D*Antin was gone Home:Upon the Admiral's being informed of this, hefent Captain Knowles up in the Spence Sloop to

reconnoitre,who returned with Anfwer,that there

was but one Ship of War in Port Louis, and that

I

the reft were all light Merchant Ships i how-ever the Admiral chofe to be more certain, andhaving an Opportunity of fending an Anfwer to

the French Officer's Meflage, the next Day fent

Captain Knowles and Captain Bofcawen aftiore

to the Governor, who being politely received,

and fatisfied with their Remarks, returned in

the Evening to the Admiral, and confirmed theforegoing Obfervation, who, without lofs ofTime, carried the Fleet where they could beft

and fpeedieft be watered.

B 2 where

4 swAn Account of the ^ ,

where they flayed but four Days,

having gained Intelligence the French

Fleet was divided, and failed (the

Marquis D'Anttn and twelve Sail

being gone for Old France^ and Mr.

Rochejieulle and fix Sail for Petit

Guavas) upon which the Fleet wentand anchored in Tiberoon^ DonnaMariay and Irijh Bays, to Woodand Water; and on the 25th failed

from thence, when the Weymouth^

Experiment^ and Spence Sloop, were

difpatched a head over to Cartba'

genay to found Punta Canoa Bay,

for the fafer anchoring the Fleet,

which arrived there the 5th of

March in the Evening ; and three

Days after the fame Ships, together

with the Dunkirk^ were ordered by

the Admiral down off Boccachica^

to found and fee if the Fleet might

lafely anchor there, and how near

Ships might come to batter the Forts

oi St, Philip diudi St. Jago'y and fo

foon


foon as the Admiral had received

the Reports from the Commandersof thefe Ships, a Council of Warwas held, wherein it was refolved to

fend three eighty Gun Ships, the

Norfolk,^ Captain Graves^ the Shrewf-

bury^ Captain Townfendy and the

Rujfellj Captain Norris, to batter

the Forts abovementioned 5 the

Princefs y^melia^ Captain Hemming--

ton^ to fire againft the Fafcine Bat-

tery, and the Litchfield'^ Captain

Cleveland^ againft the little Battery

oi Chamba 'y(but thefe two laft the

Enemy had abandoned) and accord-

ingly the 9th in the Morning they

weighed Anchor from Punta CanoaBay, together with Sir Chaloner

Ogky and the reft of his Divifion,

(he being to command the Attack)

and about two Hours afterwards, the

Admiral and the reft of the Fleet

got under fail : At Noon the Nor-

Ifolky Rujfel^ and Shrewsbury began

*3 to

6 An Acecount of the

to cannonade the Forts, and in about

three Hours time drove the Enemyfrom their Guns, and obHged them

to abandon their Forts [jB] : Imme-diately on this Sir Chaloner Ogle

made the Signal for landing the

Troops, which was repeated by the

Admiral, who was juft come to an

Anchor, (a little to the Eaftward)

and about five o'clock in the Even-

ing, a Body of Troops were landed

without Oppofition ; but the Gene-

ral not thinking the Body fufficient,

[5] This Succefs was obtained by the Lofs

only of fix Men aboard the Norfolk and Rujfelly

but the Shrewjburfs Cable being fhot (before

her other Anchor could be veered aground)

flie met with worfe Luck: She drove fo far as to

open the whole Fire of the Caftle of Boccachicay

four of the Enemy's Ships of fixty and feventy.

Guns, that were moored athwart the Harbour's

Mouth, the Battery of St. Jofeph, and twoFafcine Batteries, that were on the Barradero

Side ; all this Fire fhe lay fingly expofed to till

dark, when {he took the Benefit of the Land-Wind, and ran ofF, being greatly fhattered in

her Hull, Mails, and Rigging, and a great manyMen killed and wounded.

Expedition to Carthagena. 7(he landing with them^ embarked

again in the Boats, and fent for

more [C]. About eight o'clock

they landed again, and went and

took Poffeffion of the Forts oi St»

Philip and St. Jago^ and about nine

the Bomb-ketches were carried in

Shore, and began to play on the

Caftle of Boccachica. The three

next Days were fpent in landing the

remainder of the Forces, the Bag-

gage, ^c [£)] and by the i6th

all

[C] It was a Body of eight hundred Grena-

diers that firft landed, who, during the Timethat more Troops were fent for (which was up-

wards of two Hours before they came) were

kept in the Boats, within twenty Yards of the

Shore, and fo clofely crouded, fcarce one Mancould have ufed his Arms, that had they had

any Enemy to have dealt with, but daftardly

Spaniards^ they muft and would have been cut

all to pieces.

[D] During the firft three Days the Troopswere afhore, they were employed in no oneThing, no not fo much as to clear the Groundfor their Encampment, but kept under ArmsNight and Day (where, by the Heat of the

Sun,

S An Account of the

all the Cannon, Mortars, and Ord-

nance Stores were landed [£]. But

the principal Engineer not arriving

till the 15 th, no Spot was pitched

Sun, on a white burning Sand, they were

fcorched to Death, and by the Inclemency of

the Dews in the Night, they got Colds, fo

that many of them fell fick) whereas had they

been inftantly employed to have encamped and

opened Ground in the Woods for that Purpofe,

they would have been fhaded by the Trees,

freed from the burning Heat of the Sand, and

many of them preferved from the Enemy's

Shot, that miffed our Battery.

\E\ In the firft Place it muft be obferved,

that there never was Application made what

particular Ordnance, Stores, i^c. to land, or

rfny Scheme formed what Sort of Cannon might

be neceffary, or what Quantity of Stores want-

ing, but the whole was landed, and a confider-

able Part loft by being waftied off the Beach

by the Sea, and feveral Carriages broke to pieces

by the Enemy's Shot, and the reft left in Heapsin the utmoft Confiifion; notwithftanding there

were near five hundred Seamen appointed for

this Purpofe ; but thofe Officers, whofe Bufinefs

it was to have formed an Artillery Park (though

God knows they called this fo) and difpofed ofthe Stores in a regular Manner and Order,

were

upon

Expedition to Carthagena. 9i]pon for raifing a Battery [Fj againft

the Enemy, fo that the clearing a

i^^ Buflies away down by the Wa-ter Side, for to pitch their Tents,

was all the material Work the Armydid

[F] Such was the Knowledge of tke Sub-Engineers, that not one of them knew whereto chufe out a Spot of Ground for raifing a

Battery, neither had they prepared Fafcines,

Pickets, or any Materials, till their Prin-

cipal arrived (and after he had pitched on aPlace, he made a Demand of thirty thoufand

Fafcines of twelve Foot long, twenty thoufand

of nine Foot long, and forty thoufand Pickets,

whereas one thoufand five hundred Fafcines

built the Battery) who, Vauban like, would notbegin to work, till all his Materials were on the

Spot; and then, with five hundred Seanien, twoor three hundred Blacks, and as many Soldiers

as the General could fpare for Pioneers, he wasten Days ercding a Battery ; and when it wasdone, it was parallel to neither Face nor Cur-

tain of the Fortification, and the Breach waimade in the angular Point of the Baftion, nei-

ther was there any fafe Communication with it,

for no Trench was ever cut, or propofed, only

a Path through the Woods, and that aimoft in

a ftrait Line-, fo that every Shot enfiladed it,

and killed twenty times the Number of Merkgoing to and from the Battery, that were killed

C every

to An Account of the

did for near a Week ; and the Ene-

my was contented to let them be

pretty quiet, only now and then

firing a Shot, until they opened a

Bomb-Battery of four Mortars and

fbme Royals on the 17th [G], and

then the Fafcine Battery on the

Barradera

tvcry where clfe during the Siege ; nor would

the Engineer be prevailed on (any more than

the General) to cut off the Communication from

the ToMfrn td Boccacbica (by which they might

have prevented the Enemy from receiving any

Succours by Land, feen all their Motions in the

Harbour, and hindered any Incurfions from the

Caftle) nbtwithftanding the Admiral frequently

folicited the General and wrote to him to have

jt done.

[G] This Thing, called a Bomb-Battery, wasilfo a Mark of the Genius and Underftanding ofthe Engineers. It was a Platform, laid behind

a fmall rifing Rock, open on all Sides, no Conj-munication to it, either by Trench, Epaulment,

or any Security whatfoever, that the Enemyfaw every Man (from the Caftle) that went in,

or out, as they were obliged to pals over highGround, to come at the Battery, and then it lay

quite expofed to the Barradera Battery •, fo that

the Shot fired from thence paflcd in at one End,and out at the other -, and if tli^y did no Exe*

ojtion

Expedition to Carthagena, 1

1

Barradera Side annoyed them great-

ly, and particularly the Camp, fo

that they were obliged to remove ij:

feveral Paces ofF.

[iif] This being reprefented to

the Admiral, Orders were given for

all

cution there, were fure to do fome in the

Camp. And as to the Ufcfulncfs of it, and the

Service that was performed by the excellent

Bombardeers, every idle Spcflator was a Judge;though it was oftentimes obferved, by Order,

that not fix Shells out of forty had done Exe-cution, and that, on the contrary, fcarcc one offorty of the Enemy's ever mifled.

[//J The Camp (it has been obferved before)

was pitched on a low Sand, but being fhelterea

(as a dircdl Objedl) from the Barradera Battery,

by the Rock that St. Philip ftood on, could not

be feen, but lying in the Line of Direction ofthe Shot fired from thence, at the famous Bomb-Battery, was fure to be flanked by every Shot,

which oiifTed that, and though it might be pru-

dent to try Movings, on this Occafion, yet it

was a bad Example to the Soldiers, especially

when the Chiefs moved off firft, and the Thingwas done without regular and publick Orders';

befides the Time it took up at that Conjundure(when more material Works were in Hand, andthe Army leflening every Day by Sicknefs,

which was not to be regained.) Whereas had the

'J.C2 Encampment

1 2 An Account of the

slU"Boats of the Squadron to be rea-

dy at Midnight (manned and armed)

to go to furprize the Barradera Bat-

tery, and the Command given to

Captain Bofcawen [/], in which

they happily fucceeded, fpiked up^ . all

Encampment been formed at firft, a few Yards

up in the Woods, none of the Enemy's Guns

could have been brought to bear on it, nor in-

deed would they have been able to have dif-

' covered where it was -, befides the great Advan-

tage of Men's being cool, and particularly after

working •, but, as it was placec^, inftead of a cool

Retreat, to retire to Reft, after being heated by

the warm Labour, their Tents were a hotter.

.. [/] The following Captains were alfo ordered

upon this Expedition, vix- Capt, Watfon^ Coates,

Lawrence, Colehy, and LawSy and all the Barges

^nd Pinnaces of the Fleet. They went away

from their Ships about Midnight, and rowed

pretty far to Leeward, to avoid being feen, or

the Noife of their Oars heard, and propofed

]anding in a fmall fandy Bay, behind the Barra-

dera Battery, into which was a narrow Channel,

between two Reefs of Rocks, and a four GunBattery on the Strand, facing the Channel (both

unknown to every Perfon there) which, fo foon

^s fome of the Boats had got into the Channel,

"began to fire on them -, but the brave Tars

landed, «ind rulhcd in at the Embrazures, and• —r^ -•- - ^

took


3

all the Guns ; burnt the Carriages,

Platforms, and Guard-houfe ; de-

jook PofiefTion of the Battery, before the Ene-

my could fire a fecond Time. This firing alarmed

the Barradera Battery, and the Enemy turned

three Pieces of Canon on the Platform, which

they fired with Grape Shot, fo foon as the Sea-

men advanced ; but potwithftainding that, and

the Difficulties and Badnefs of the Road (which

was through a Morafs, and where but one Mancould walk abreaft, and full of Stumps of Man-groves each a Foot or more high, the Seamenattacked it ; and, after a fmart though ihort

Refiftance, carried it, took nine Prifoners, fpiked

up fifteen Guns (from eighteen to twenty four

Pounders)burned the Carriages,Platforms, Guard-

houfes, and Magazine ; and it may with Jullice

be allowed (from the many Difficulties that at-

tended this Adion, in Regard to the advantage-

ous Situation of the Barradera Battery, the

Boats being furprifed with a four Gun Battery,

juft as they were going to land, and no Perfon

acquainted with the Place) as bold and furprifing

an Enterprife, as is to be met with ; and the

Confternation it put the Enemy in feems to con-

firm this Opinion; for although Boccacbica CaUk,and the Enemy's four Ships, were not morethan Mufket Shot off, yet neither they, norSi. Jofeph^s (which was ftill nearer) ever fired a

Shot. So that it feems as if they could notbelieve the Thing, though they faw all in Flames.

For this gallant Adion the Admiral rewarded

j . every common Man with a Dollar apiece.

ftroycd

J 4 y//^ Account of the

ftroycd the Magazine, and took

feveral Prifoners \K\ The next

Morning, as foon as it was Day, the

Enemy from Boccachica began to

fire warmly at the Bomb-Battery, (as

if they were angry at what happen-

ed the Night before) though with-

out doing them any particular Da-

mage ; and as they were fenfible of

the Ufefulnefs and advantageous

Situation of this Battery, they fee

bufily about repairing fome Part of

it, and on the 20th had built up

fome Embrazures and mounted two

Guns, and fired them on the Bomb-Battery again, which the Admiral

obferving, ordered the R'tppon^ a

fixty Gun fhip, to go and anchor as

near it, as poffible, and keep fir-

\K\ The Succefs of this Aftion may be faid

•o have given the Army both Spirits and Plea-

fure (fro tempore) as it freed them from the

greateft Annoyance of their Camp, and gave

them an Opportunity of working quietly on their

Battery.

ing


5

ing on it to prevent the Enemy *»

working on it any farther [L], fo

that all the next Day the Army was

in a State of Tranquillity, and ork

Sunday the 2 2d their grand Batte-

ry of twenty Guns being finiflied,

about eight o'clock in the Morning

began to play very brifkly on the

Ciftle, as did the Bomb-Battery, and

thirty or forty Cohorns and Royals

planted on the Platform behind the»

[L] Becaufe the Enemy made fuch quick

Difpatch in repairing fome Part of the Bafradera

Battery, mounting and firing fome Pieces again,

the Army began to refie^El, and fay, the Battery

was not efFedtually deftroyed, though hundreds

of Men were feen conftantly at work, andBoats with Caiihon, Stores, and Fafcines, paffing

and repairing hourly, both from Boccacbica andthe Ships : But the Truth was, the Army wasnot accuftomed to work in that brifk Manner

:,

No! Working was no Part of their Trade.

However, when the fixty Gun Ship went in

againft the Battery, that the Enemy was obliged

to bring their Guns to fire at her, the'Armycooled in their Refentmencs, and all was well,

while the Enemy was quiet. .

f> rfJiJr .WkWO* "Otf tVk b.^"^<-><

Cannon,

1 6 An Account of the

Cannon [M], which the Enemy'

returned

[Af] This grand Affair having taken up near

a Fortnight in raifing, and many more Menemployed to work, than was neceffary (for there

were five hundred Seamen, between two andthree hundred Blacks, befides as many Pioneers

as could be fpared out of the Army) muchExecution may be expeded therefrom : But alas I

the Engineers would by no Means outdo them-felvcs ; the Battery was conftruftcd in a Wood !'

and no more Ground was cleared, than a Spaceneceflary for fo ftupendous a Building {yt'iS. the

Enemy Ihould fee the Army ! ) For fo great

Caution was ufed, that before the Wood in the

Front of the Battery was cut down, it was a.

Doubt, whether any Guns could be brought to-

bear on the Caftle ; and as it was, no Gunscould be brought to play on the Enemy's Ship- *

ing, although it was cxpe<fled they would in-

ftantly fire on the Battery, and be capable ofdoing it the greateft Damage ; (which they did)

and had not an Epaulment been thrown up at

the Eaft End, every Shot from the Ships mufthave raked the Battery, and deftroyed Numbersof Men. The Army allowed the Tars behavedgallantly ; for it muft be remarked, they hadSeamen to fight the Guns in the Battery, as well

as help, to build it. Whether the Engineers pro-

pofed to batter the angular Point of the Baftion

in Breach is Matter of Doubt, at the firfl lay-

ing out of their Battery •, (but infinite Reafons

may be alDgned for the Abfurdity, befides that

Kxpedition to Carthagena. 1 7returned as biiflcly from the Caftle,

the four Ships [A^] (Don Blafs\ in

particular) St, Jofeph'^ and fomefew Guns from the Barradera^ fo

that the Work was warm on both

Sides. On the 23d the 5(y;^^j Suf-

folk^ Tilbury^ Prince Frederick,^ andHampton Ceurty were ordered in

great one, of having the Fire of two Flanks to

deftroy, inftead of one) however it is generally

believed, it was Haphazard ; for the moft im-partial Judges in the Navy and Army agree, if

the Enemy had cut down eighty or an hundredPaces of the Woods further round the Caftle^

the Undertaking would have been fo difficult,

as to have Ihocked the Science of all the En-gineers, if not quite dilheartened them, from fo

daring an Enterprize.

[JV] The Pofition the Enemy had lain their

Ships in, was beyond all Doubt the mod ad-

vantageous, could be formed by Man i both for

oppofing any Attempt, that might be made byShipping on the Entrance into the Harbour;or annoy any Battery, that could be raifed

aftiore; and as they found no Battery againft

them, they failed not to play as brifkly (as

Spaniards will do when there is no body to hurt

them) and did ten times more Damage than the

Caftle.

D againft

^8 An Account of the

Sig^.inR.Boccachica to cannonade [0]

;

but the Boyne having anchrred fo

far to Leeward, as to lie ex[ ofv^d to

the whole Fire of the Knemy's Ships,

and St. yofeph\ Battery, was muchfliattered, and ordered off again that

Night. The Prince Frederick and

Hampton Courts fharing the Fire of

the Enemy, that had been employed

iagainft the Boyne, were alfo muchfhattered ' by Morning, when they

were likewife ordered to come off;

the former having loft her Captain,

[0] Thefe Ships were ordered to cannonadepurely to oblige the General, who, bccaufe the

Enemy's Ships fired at his Battery, defired the

Admiral would fend Ships to cannonade the

Caftle, though there was a Battery of twentyGuns to fire againft five or fix tfor that was all

the Caftle could bring to bear on the Battery)

fo they had their Mafts and Yards fhot to pieces,

and Numbers of Men killed and wounded, with-

out doing any other Damage than beating dowii

the Rubbifh-, (which the Battery would have donein half the Time, as being twice as. near) for

they could not come to hurt the Enemy's Ships,

nor did it divert their Ships from firing at the

Battery.

and


9

and both many Men killed andwounded. The Suffolk and Itlhury

happening to anchor well to the

Northward, lay battering till the

next Evening (and with fomc Suc-

cefs, particularly againft the Breach)

when the Admiral fent Orders for

them to draw off. The Army nowbegan to look on the Breach as ac-

ceffible, but the Guns in the Bar-

radera Battery, being able to annoy

them in their Attack, a Reprefcn-

tation thereof was made to the Ad-miral, who immediately directed

the Princefs Amelia^ Litchfieldj and

Shorebamy to go in, and anchor as

nigh it as poffible, and fent the Boats

of the Squadron again manned and

arm'd, under the Command of Cap-

tain Watfon to deftroy it [P], which

they

[P] So foon as the Enemy faw the Boats

coming to Land, and thefe Ships come to anAnchor cloie to the Battery, they deferred it,

s^nd fpikcd up the Guns •, but Captain Watforiy

P 2 a;id

20 An Account of the

they did effedually, and with fcarcc

any Oppofition ; the greateft part of

the Guns in Boccachica Caftle be-

ing now difmounted, the Armythought proper to entertain the Ene-

my's Ships, by widening five or fix

Embrazures of their Battery, andplaying fome Guns on them, whichthe Ships as civilly returned, 'till

Night clofed in, and firing ceafed onboth Sides [^J. The 25th in the

Morning it was difcovered, the Ene-

my

and Captain Coates marched into it, and ripped

up the Platforms, burned them and the Carriages,

and effefhially dcmolifhcd the Battery : The Ene-

my fired at them from their Shipping, but with-

out much Damage,

[^] ^^ ^"^y tie remarked as fomething ex-

traordinary, that although the Army thought

the Breach jull pra6licable, they fhould entirely

ceafe firing, the Night before they intended the

Attack •, as it is a fort of an eftablilhed Rule in

till regular Sieges, to keep firing in the Night,

to prevent the Enemy's removing the Rubblfh,

that is beat down in the Day, which the Enemywould certainly have done, if they had been

fufficiently ftrong j for they began that Night a•

~

Counter-


my had been throwing up fome

Fafcine Works on the Ramparts

;

however as they had not moved a-

way any Rubbifh from the Breach,

it was refolved this Evening to at-

tack it by Storm [/?], and accord-

ingly foon after Sun-fet a Body of

Troops marched up and mountedthe

Counter-Battery of Fafcincs on the Ramparts,

in order to have difputed it longer, which if they

had had Time to have finifhed, and Numbersto have carried on both Works together, (viz.)

moving the Rubbifh from the Foot of the

Breach, and compleating thefe Counter-Batteries,

they would have rendered the Attack as difficult

as from the Beginning.

[i^] The Army having fent in the Night to

reconnoitre the Breach,and judging it furmounta-

ble, refolved this Evening to attack it, and after

having made their neceffary Difpofitions, fent

off to acquaint the Admiral with their Defign,

and that fo foon as three Shells fhould be thrown

in the Evening by way of Signal, the Battery

fhould begin to fire warmly, till the Soldiers

were almoft at the Foot of the Breach, and then

to ceafe, and they rufh in, which had the de-

fired Effe6l ; for on the Battery's playing, the

Enemy retired off their Ramparts, except only

one Centinel, and he hid himfclf behind fomeFafcines >

*

aa An Account of the

the Breach undifcovered, and quiet-

ly took Pofleffion of the Caftle, the

Enemy flying out at the Gate fo foon

as they faw the Troops on the

Ramparts, and heard their Huzza's.

Thofe aboard their Ships were in the

utmoft Confternation at fuch a fud-

den and fuccefsful Event, and with

all

Fafcines -, that the Troops mounted the Breach *

undifcovered, and were actually huzzaing onthe Ramparts, and hoifting the Englifi Flag,

before the Enemy were apprifed of them ; whomade the beft of their Way out of their Caftle

Gate, excepting two, who were taken Prifoners

;

fo that there was not a Mufktt fired in Oppofi-

tion, nor a Gun from any of the Enemy's Ships,

which isbothaftonifhing and remarkable, as their

Broadfides lay to the Caftle, and the Admiral (DonBlafs) was aboard. But fuch was the Panick

they were in, that happy was he that could get

firfl; into a Boat to fave himfelf : (and the Dondid not look behind him) Each Ship was feu t tied

ready for finking, and had a large fquare Plugin the Hole \ but the St. Philip's People not

readily getting them out, fet fire to her; the

Africa and St. Carlos were funk, as it was in-

tended the Galicia fhould alfo, in order to pre-

vent any Ship's getting through the Channel,

which (had the Scheme been effe(5led) wouldhave


all precipitate Surprize betook them-

felves to their Boats, fetting Fire to

one of their Ships, and linking twoothers. At the fame time the At-

tack was to be made on the Caftle,

(in order to divide the Enemy's

Forces) the Admiral had given Or-r

have rendered it difEcnlt to pafs, if pra<Elical>l6

at all, without weighing fome one or other ofthe Ships. This Victory (it will readily be al-

lowed) gave the Army a great Share of Spirits,

as it freed them from Hardships (modern Gen-tlemen Soldiers are not ufed to) and gavethem Poffeflion of an Ifland (as well as theCaftle) in which the Enemy could not come to

difturb them, efpecially while they had got aFleet of Ships of War to attend on them ; for,

to their great Glory be it fpoken, they couldnot venture to move along Shore without Menof War to attend on them, as they marched, andthe conftant Cry was, Why donU yeu ccme to ourAjfifiance? Nay, fo great a Liking had they tothe Sea, that they could not find their Way intothe Caftle, after the Breach was made, withouta Sea Pilot to condud: them ; and what is worthNotice is, he was a Spmiard, and a Prifoner^but the General imagined, he might be as gooda Pilot by Land, as by Sea, and fo fent to theAdmiral, to defire he might ih€W ths Troopsthe Way into the Caftle. y...j .;i'<iJiU

2 ^ ders

J,4 An Account of the

ders for the Attack of the Caftle of

St, yofeph by Boats, and fentthem

away under the Command of Cap-

tain KnowleSy who took Pofieffion

of it about ten a Clock at Night,

the Enemy abandoning it after fir^

ing fome Guns : The Boats after-

wards went and took Poffeflion of

the Galicia, the SpaniJIj Admiral's

Ship, and then went to Work on

cutting the Boom \^S\ and moving

the Galicia out of the Channel ; and

next

[6"] The Admiral's Scheme for attacking St»

Jofeph^s Had drawn all the Attention of the

Enemy.that Way ; for fo foon as they faw the

Boats going to Land, their Shi^s began to fire

pretty brifkly, and St. JofepFs Battery fired alfo ;

but as cheBuihes prevented their feeing the Men;they did but little Harm. The Enemy fent,.

feveral large Boats full of Men from their».

Ships into the Battery, which is pretty plairf

they did not exped: Boccachica wouldhave beert

attacked at that Time, or confequently they

would not have fent them there. (Whereforci

it is evident, this Scheme facilitated the Army'sbecoming Matters oi Boccachica, and put an End;to the Difputc fooner than was expedled, or

could

Expedition to C'diVthz.gtviz. 25

next Morning the Admiral in the

Princefs Caroline^ the fVorceJler^

and fome other Ships failed into the

Harbour of Carthagena^ and the

whole Fleet and Tranfports continu-

ed to fail and warp in as faft as con-

veniently they could. The Enemyfteing the Admiral and feveral Ships

got into the Harbour, began to ex-

could pofTibly have happened, had any Nation

but pufillanimous Spaniards had the Defence of

it ; for had the Place been defended equal to

it*s Strength and excellent Difpofition, both of

the Ships and Batteries, it would have been a

difficult Tafk for the Fleet and Army both to

have rendered themfelves Mailers of it.} Butfo foon as they faw the Caftlc taken, they madethe beft of their Way off, in what Boats they

could get, and abandoned %t. Jofeph\ likewife,

leaving only one drunken Man behind (whowas to have blown it up) fo foon as the Boats

had got Poffeffion. Captain Coates was left to

command this Fort,and the Captains Knowks and

Watfon went aboard the Galicia^ where they

found the Captain of her, and about fixty Men,whom they took Prifoners, and carried aboard

of the Admiral, the reft of the Crew having run

^way with the Boats, and prevented their efcap-

jngand finking their Ship, as was intended.

£ ped

ad ^r,Jr^ Account of the

pe<St a Vifit at Cajlillo Grande' foot)

^

and as Mancinilla Fort lay oppofite

to it within Gun-fhot, and was not

capable of making any great De-

fence, tliey thought proper to de-

ftroy it, left we (hould take Poffef-

fion of it, and fo batter the Caftle.

On the 28th the Admiral being in-

formed of two fmall Batteries that

guarded the Pcijfa Cavallos [7"J, fent

the Weyjnouth and Cr infer Sloop to'

demolifli them, and take all the

Imbarkations and Canoes that were

there ; and difpofed the Fire-fliips

and fmall Frigates round the Har-

[7*] TPaffa Cavallos is a Creek, that parts the

grand Baru from the Main, th'ough which the

Supplies of Provifions that come from '^'olu and

^ina mull pals ; and here the Enemy had erefted

two fmall Batteries, oneof four Guns, the other

of eight, which were demolifhed by the Weymouthand Cruifer. The latter was fent up the Creek,

to bring away five or fix Sina Hulks (VefleJs fo

called, as being dug out of one folid Tree, and

big enough ordinarily to carry twenty Tuns) that

Jay there, whith were very ufeful to the Fleet

in watering. n

hour,

Expedition to Carthagena. i/

hour, to guard every Pafs and Creek,

in order to cut off any Supplier go-^

ing to the Town. On the 30th

the Rear- Admiral and feveral Ships

turned up the Harbour, and an-

chored a ihiall Diftance from Cajlillo

Grande^ where the Enemy made a

Shew of preparing to receive them

;

[/^] and in order to flop the Fleet

here, had funk feven Ships acrofs

the Channel, and moored two of

their Men of War, the Conquejlodore

of fixty fix Guns, and the Dtagonof

[/^ Between Cajlillo Grande and Manchinilla

Fort is a large Channel, that goes up as it were

into another Harbour or large Bafon ; in the

Middle of the Channel is a Shoal, that divided

it into two Channels •, on each Side the Shoal the

Enemy had moored Ships, and funk them ; andin the Channel next the Caftle had moored Vffo

fixty Gun Ships, the Conquejlodore and Dragon,

and untiled their Houfcs in the Cattle, as if in^

tended to defend it -, but obfcrving the Boats

founding, and well knowing how near the Ships

could lay their Broadiides againft it, they cer^

tainly judged right in abandoning it, and fink-

ing their* Ships, as they mult have loft manyMen in defending them, and thofe that had

E 2 " happened

a8 An Account of the

of iixty. The 31ft early in the

Morning, Captain Knowles obferved

the enemy's two Men of War funk,

and not perceiving any Men in the

Caftle went and acquainted Sir

Chaloner Ogle^ that it was his Opi-

nion the Enemy had abandoned

Cajlillo Grande'^ who immediately

ordered him to weigh Anchor, and

run in with his Ship, and fire on ir,

which he did ; and the Caftle mak-

ing no return, he fent his Boats a-

fhore, and took PoflefGon of it, and

hoifted the Englijh Flag : And on

the Admiral's receiving Intelligence,

he ordered a proper Number of

Forces to garifon it \}^\ Thenext

happened to have been left, after the Caftle and

Ships had been taken, muil have fubmitted to

have been Prifoners •, for there was no Way of

their efcaping, either by Land or Water ; and

as their. Numbers were not great, it was beft

colle<5ling them in one Body, and at one Place,

to make anEffbrt.

[JV] Though this Caftle was capable of mak-ing a pretty good Defence, yet the above Reafons

,2 juftify

Expedition to Carthagena. 2,9

next Day Captain Griffin^ and Cap-

tain Rentoney were fent to fee if it

was poflible to get paft the Enemy's

Ships they had funk, and finding the

Conquejlodores Stern afloat, the Bur-

jord warped up, and cut the Stern

Moorings, and hove her round, which

opened a fair Channel, and the

Bomb-Ketches, and two twenty

Gun Ships went through. By this

Time the Admiral, and greateft Part

of the Squadron, were come up the

Harbour. Mr. Lejlock and his Divi-

fion was left at Boccachica^ with

Orders to reimbark the Forces,

and Cannon as faft as poflible. Thefecond in the Morning the Bomb-Ketches began to play on the Town,and fome of the Guns of Cajlillo

juflify the Enemy in abandoning it. There wasin the Caftle fifty fevcn Guns, which the Enemyhad fpiked up, and the Powder they had throwninto the Ciftern of Water, and fpoiled, but

moft of the Guns were got clear again, and the

Caftle was garifoned with one hundred regular

Xroops, an? about fifty Seameq.

Grande-i

30 An Acecount of the

Grandcy that were cleared, fired ona French Ship that lay up at the

Head of the Harbour [X], upon

which the Enemy fet Fire to her,

and fhe burned the greateft Part of

the Day. Next Day the JVeymouth

getting through the Channel, the

Town began to fire on her, but

without doing any material Damage.Great Part of the Tranfports with

the Troops being now come up the

Harbour, this Night the Wey?nouthy

the three Fire-fhips, and the Cruifer

Sloop, being defigned by the Ad-miral to cover the landing of the

Forces, warped over on the other

Side the Harbour undifcovered by

\X\ This French Ship had been fupplying

the Enemy with Ammunition, and had not hadTime to get away, before the Place was invefted *,

and during the Siege of Boccachica Caftle, hadbeen ufed as an Hofpital Ship, to receive the

Enemy's wounded, and ferved to carry them to

Town, or fetch Ammunition, or Stores, fromthe Caftle, as Occafion required, and, to prevent

her being deftroyed by the Englifi^ > the Enemy^chofe rather to burn her. •

* "' the


1

the Enemy, who in the Morning, to

fhew their Refentment, gave therri

a Salvo of what Cannon fronted that

Way ;(but firing through the Buflies

did no Execution) the Cruifer Sloop

drawing but little Water, warped

up a Creek, and a Party of the

Enemy from a Breaft-work they had

thrown up, fired fmartly on her

with their Mufketry, but were quick-

ly diflodged, a brifk fire, chiefly with

Grape Shot, having been kept all

Night to fcour the Woods. About

5 o'clock next Morning, being the

5th, the Forces were landed [2^],

and in their marching up from the

Waterfide had a fmall Skirmifli with

fome of the Enemy's Troops that

had

[T\ All the Boats of the Fleet having been

crdered to hold thcmfelves in Readinefs for

Jianding the Forces, each refpedlive Tranfport

was to (hew a Signal Light at Midnight, wherethe Boats went and received the feveral Regi-

ments according as dircded, and from thence

w^nt and rendezvoufed aboard the IVeymouth till

. ,\ dawn


had made a Lodgment in the Woods,

whom they foon put to Flight ; and

about a Mile further were attacked

a fecond Time, but the Enemy as

foon {hewed their Backs again. Find-

ing the Country open hereabouts,

the

dawn of Day ; and after her fcouring the Woodsbrifkly with Grape-Shot, iBc. at half an Hourpaft four o'clock in the Morning they were

landed at a Place called Gratia^ formerly a

Country Houfe hired by the South-Sea Fafbors,

and one Mac Pherfon^ who had alfo been in

that Company's Service, and was well acquainted

with the Country, was their Guide. But, as

throughout the whole. Things were done with-

out Order or Method, fo they went on ftill

;

for notwithftanding the Army had been apprifcd

of the Enemy's having made Lodgments along

the Road, yet they landed without a GrenadoShell, or a Field-Piece, and were likewife told,

the Road was even and able to fuftain the

Weight of the heavieft Cannon. However,Providence continued to favour them better than

their own Prudence could have guided, andhappily they were landed with the Lx)fs only of

one Man, and two or three wounded, although

fome Parties of the Enemy attacked them twice

:

At which Time the Ships proved of great Ser-

vice, as they could fee every Motion the Enemymade, and fired an^ong them very fucccfsfully

;

. for

^xpe^itiontoCznhzgtnz. 33the Army did not chufe to make any

further Advances, fo they pitched

for no fooner did they attempt to make a Stand

and draw up, than the Shot difperfed themi

and fwept off Numbers; fo that if the Armyhad vouchfafed to have.pufhed their Succefs, it

is a general received Opinion feven amopgft

themfelves now) they might have, rendered them-

felves Matters of tho Caftle of St. Lazare that

Day (even without Field-Pieces) for the whol6

Force of the Town was out againft them (as

they were told by fome Prifoners they took andfome Deferters) and very impoliticaliy divided

into feVel^al Bodies; and iii the Panick theijr

were in, and each Party running different Ways,it would have been no difficult Tafk^ to have

rendered themfelves Mafters of that fmall Re-doubt, if not fucceedcd in forcing the City Gates;

for what had they to do, but to follow tiie

Enemy dofe at their Heels, and {laughter"them?

Before they had got into the Town, the othe'r

muft; for when they were mixed in a Bodyamongft their Enemy, the Town dared not ven-

ture to have fired, tor fear of killing their ownPeople ; but inftead of mtking Ufe of any of

thefe Advantages, they contented themfelves in

taking Pofleffion of the Ground the Enemjrhad left them Mafters ofj and there pofted their

Advanced Guards, and retired with the maidBody behind i> Ptf/>« to encamp; and here al-

moft as many Days were fpeat ia formirig w,Encampment, AsoxBoccacbita.

F oii

^4 ^^ Account of the

on a Place for encamping, andthe Evening fent a Party up to LaPapa to take Poffcffion of that, if

the Enemy had abandoned it [Z.]

In the mean while all poffible Dif-

patch was made in landing the Bag-

gagCj Provifion, Cannon, Ammu-nition, &Pc. [-^] which the Enemyfurprifingly fuffered, notwithftand-

ing the landing Place was within

reach of the Guns of St, Lazare ;

yet they fired but feldom, for it ap-

peared afterwards their Attention was

more

[2] La Papa is a Convent, which ftands on

the Top of the higheft Hill, near Carthagena^

and was a moft advantageous Part for obferving

the Enemy's Motions, as it overlooked the

Town and Country for many Leagues round

about.

\A\ Though it might have been expefted

from the Lofs and Deftrudion of Ordnance

Stores at Boccacbicay more Care would have been

taken here, yet, inftead of that, the worthy

Officer of the Train doubled his Negled, and

Things were in much more Diforder and Con-

fufion than they were there, notwithftanding

here was Choice of Ground to pitch upon for

Expedition to Carthagena. 35more towards their own Safety, (or

'tis certain they might have done a

great deal of Mifchief ;) for whilft

the Army were employed, and get-

ting their things afhore, the Enemywere as bufy in making a Eafcine

Battery of four Pieces of Cannonon the Brow of the Hill, and car-

rying on a Trench (or Line) round

the 'Foot of the Caftle, which they

completed in a veryfhortTirne,[S],

quicker than the Army could makea Battery

an Artillery Park; but it was too much Trouble

and Labour to move the Stores from the Place

where they were firft put down in, at landing,

and required more Attendance than • could be

fpared from the Bottle (and it is a well knoWnProverb, When the Shepherd's away^ the. Floekwill ftray^ fo that out of two or three hundred

Men, that wer§ appointed to attend thisService,

it was "Well if thirty were found at Work.

!

\JS\ When the Army landed, there were fcaree

any Works worth Notice round the Caftle of

St.Lazare, but a Fafcine Battery, of five Gunson the North Side of the Hill (which was built

the Year before, when Admiral F^r»a« bom-barded the Town) andi was oi no Service, but

F 2 in


a Battery only for three Mortars,

and throw up a fmall Breaft-work

for their Advance Guards. But no

Care was yet taken to cut ofF the

Communication between Town and

Country [C]. Complaints now be-

gan to be rriade, that the Numberof

\n Cafe of Approaches being made tliat WaytBut as the Enemy faw the Army (difpofed to

Reft rather than Work) go on (lowly, they took

Occafion to improve their Time, and with un-

wearied Diligence fet to Work, and in three

Days Time completed a four Gun Battery, and

entrenched themfelves in Lines round about the

Foot of the Caftle, which v/ere ftrpnger, and

of much more Importance, than the Caftle itfelf,

and drew thofe Guns off the Fafcine Battery on

the North Port, and mounted them in this newBattery, and fahited the Army frequently with

them, whilft they were working on their Bomb-Battery and Lodgment for their AdvancedGuards.

[C] It has been remarked, that neither General

jior Engineer could be prevailed on to cut off the

Communication, notwithftanding the Admiralreprefented the NecefTity thereof, as the moftfure Meahs to diftrefs the Enemy, and had fent

the Dunkirk to anchor off the Boguilla^ to pre-

vent any Embarkation bringing Supplies by "Wa-''•t '. Ui^

Expedition to Carthagena. 37of Sick was greatly increafed in the

Camp ; upon which the Admiral

immediately fuppHed them with a

Detachment of Lord yames Caven*

dijh and Colonel Bland's Regiments,

that

t?r, as he had done the Falmouth at the gran4

BdrUy on the Outfide of PaJ/a Cavallos (before

the taking of Boccachica) which cfFedually pre-

vented any Refrefhments coming to the Enemyfrom 'TolUi and the River Sina, their principal

Markets ; yet nothing was of Weight enough for

its being done here, although fo very eafy, andthe Army were complaining heavily, for wantof Refrefhments, and yet fufFcred Supplies daily

to go into the Town. The Boguilla is the Mouthof the Lake (behind Carthagena) that opens into

the Sea, where the Enemy kept a Guard oif

about an hundred Men, and was the only Waypoflibly they had left for Supplies to come to

them ; and though fre(h, Provifions were fcarcc

in the Camp, and would l;iave been exceedingly

beneficial to the Sick, yet fa httl.e Pains did the

Army care to take to get it, tW when the Ge*neral Was acquainted, that a Drove of three or

four hundred Head of Oxen were going along

the Strand, he did not difpatch a Party to inter-

cept them, or endeavour to cut them oiF, not in

three Hours after he had been informed of the

Thing, and then the Catde were going into the

1'own. But fo far were the Army from being.1 difpofei


that had remained aboard the Ships

as part of their Compliments, anda Body of iuch Americans as were

fit for Duty [£)].

Upon

difpofed to cut off the Communication on that

Side, that they were continually forming Ideas

of the Enemy's coming that Way to attack them,

and that they were aftually raifing Batteries onfome of the Iflands in the Lake, to drive themout of the Cgmp, and could not be convinced to

the contrary, till the Admiral ordered a large

Canoe to be carried over Land, and launched

into the Lake, which was manned and armed,and an Officer of the Weymouth and a Land Offi-

cer fent in her round the Lake, to reconnoitre

;

upon whofe Return, thofc dreadful Apprehert-

iions were diffipated. \ .' ' i

,-

. .;

-

[D] From the firft Sight of the 'American

ITroops they were defpifed, and as many of themwere /r^, (fufpefted Papifts) were never employ-ed till now, but as Sicknefe encreafed amongftthe others (and hourly Attacks expefted from the

Enemy) it was thought expedient to have themafhore; and though it is moft certain, there wasfcarce one but knew what Opinion had been con-

ceived of them, nay indeed told them, that

had not the Fellows been better than they weretaken for, it was enough to have exafperated

them to have deferted. The other Soldiers of

Lord James Cffuendijh and Col. Blanks Regiments

were as good Troops as any on the Expedition

;

4.•• • and

Expedition to Carthagena. 39Upon this Reinforcement, and

the Apprehenfions of the rainy Sea^

»

Tons, which were daily expeded,

on the eighth in the Afternoon a

Land Council of War was held [£],wherein it was refolved to attack the

Caftle and Trenches of St. Lazare^

and after this Reinforcement, it was expefted

the Communication would have been immedi-.

ately cut ofFj (as it had been fuggcfted Numbers.could not be fpared before) but fo far from that^'

that the Army ftill complained^ that they hadnot Men enough to relieve their Guards ; and in-

deed, according to the Number they mounted,Marlborough^ Army would fcarce have been fuffi-

cient ; for the Advance Guard confifted of five

hundred Men, the Picket eight hundred, befides

feveral other Out-Guards of one hundred^ andfome fifty ; whereas the Enemy had but oneGuard (that faced this Way) without their Work^and that of feven Men only. Thus were die

poor Wretches harafifed.

[£] When the Council of War met, feveral

of the general Officers and Colonels di (Tented

from this Refolution, as judging it too rafh anUndertaking, without a proper Breach being

made firft, or at leaft before the Place had been

well reconnoitred -, but in order to folve this laft;

Difficulty, there were feveral Deferters tbaC

offered to go as Guides, and three of the moftineelligent were pitched upon.

I(without

^o An Account of the

(without firft raifing a Battery to

make a Breach) and to this Refolu-

tion the Engineer joined in Opini-

on [FJ. Accordingly on the ninth

in the Morning between three and

four o'clock the Attack was madcj

and maintained yery rcfolutely on

both Sides till between fix and fe-

ven, when the Enemy obliged the

Forces to retreat after a confiderable

Lofs of Officers and Men [G] Af-

ter the Mifcarriage df this Scheme

(which

\F\ The principal Ehgineer being killed at

Boccachicdi his Succeflbr (being none of the moft

knowing in the Science) did not chufe any

Works fliould be taken in Hand, as they wouldOcpofe his Ignorance; fo chearfiilly gave into

that Opinion.

[G] After the Majority of the Council of

. War had determined on the Attack, a proper

Time was now the Queftion, as to which the

Deferters informed them, about two o'Clock in

the Morning would be the beft Time ; for the

Guards from the Town that nightly patr6led

round the Foot of the Hill would by that Timebe returned and gone to their refpeftivc Homes

;

becaufcas Dutywent hard(theirNumbers beingbutfmall)

Kxpedhion to Carthagena. 4 1

(which was the occafion oftheTowni's

not being taken) the Army iickened

furprifingly fad, and thofe that werekilled being efteemed the Flower of

the

ffhail) it Was cuftomary fof th6m, as Toon as

they had performed their Rout, to go to Bed ;

and further obferved, that when a Spaniard haslaid himfelf down to deep, it is no eafy Talk toraife him to fight y but thefe Arguments wereof no Force to the General ; juft before Daywas his Time j aecordingly, about four o'CJockin the Morning the Attack began, and a Partyof Grenadiers, along with Colonel Grant, en-tered the Trenches at the Foot of the CaftJcj

but not being fullained, were cut off, and Colo-nel Grant fnot through the Body. After this,

inftcad of rufhing in. Sword in Hand, andmingling with the Enemy in the Trenches, a full

Stop was made, and the Men ftood firing in

Plotoons-, thofe that had Room, ^nd could wheeloff for others, did, but the greateft Part ftood

and fired all their Ammunition away, while the

Enemy (as it was now Day-light, and they

could take Aim) were mowing them down, like

.Qrafs, with their Cannon, Mu(ketry, and Gre-

ftadoes -, notv/ithftanding which, the Troopsface^l them like Lions, and wanted but to havebeen led or, or told what they were to havedone, and they certainly would have taken the

Place. But, inftead of that, from the moftxctlknt Dilpofition that was made, no Officer

G . attempted

d^% An Account of the

the Flock, the General declared he

was no longer in a Condition to

defend

attempted to lead them on, and the Grenado

Shells, that fhould have been in the Front,

and diftributed among the Soldiers, were in

Boxes in the Rear -, nor was there one Length

of lighted Match among them. The Wooipacks

and Scaling Ladders were alfo in the Rear. But

when Colonel Grant entered the Trenches, fuch

Call was made for them, that fome few were carried

up the Hill ; however as he, poor Gentleman, fell,

no body elfe tried to make Ufe of them •,

and (o amongft other Things they were left for

thd Enemy. As this Scheme was but badly

formed from the Beginning, (and indeed maybe properly called the General's own Scheme) fp

it as unfortunately ended \ for the Admiral not

being acquainted with this Refolution of the

Council of War, (either by Letter or Meffage)

had not an Opportunity of afting in Conjundlion

with them, and affifting them with a Body of

Seamen, as it is evident he would have done

;

for as foon as he was acquainted the Fort was

attacked, and got up and faw the Troops at a

Stand, the Inftant a Signal could be feen, (at

Dawn of Day) he made one for all the Boats in

the Fleet manned and armed, and fent themwith Orders to follow the General's Diredions

;

but it was too late \ before they got alhore, the

Troops were returned from tlie Attack.

Various

Expedition toC?iYthsigtn2i. 43defend himfelf^^ much more to carry

on a Siege againft the Place, and

hoped, if the Admiral (who had

ordered the Weymouth to ered: a

Various are the Accounts of the Lofles fuftain-

cd in this A^ion ; but it is generally believed,

there were upwards of one hundred Men killed,

and near two hundred wounded, thirty of whomwere taken Prifoners, Numbers ofArms, Colours,

Drums, Woolpacks, Grenadoes, Pick-axes, Sho-

vels, Scaling Ladders, ^c, were left behind in

the Retreat, which the Enemy arrogantly di-

verted themfelves withal, for fome Time, onthe Top of the Hill, taking Care to let the Armyfee them.

As when Faults are committed, the firft Thingfought after is an Excufe-, fo, not fucceeding in

this Attack, the Army now fell to blaming the

Guides, faying, they had led them the wrongWay \ the Guides again fay, the Army would

not follow them the Way they would have led

them i but had Reafon alone been their Guide,

fure they fhould have attacked the Caftle on the

weakeft Side -, (for they all knew one Side wasde-

fencelefs) whereas they attacked it on the flrong-

eft Side, where the Hill was moft difficult of

Accefs i and when they found themfelves re-

pulfed, and at a Lofs what to do, the fpeedicr

they had made their Retreat, the fmaller had

been their Lx>fs.

G 2 Bomb-

44 -^^ Account of the

Bomb-Battery, which was liniflied

and played in two Days) expecfled

any Thing to be done, he would

order fome Ships in to cannonade

the Town \H\ otherwife defired

thefe Things might be confidered in

a general Council of War, of Sea and

Land

[//] The Admiral had fent feveral OHTcers

in to found, and try if Ships might come near

enough to batter, who all gave it, as their Opi-

nions, that there could not more than three Ships

pofTibly anchor at the upper End of the Harbour i

and if they were laid but in a Foot Water morethan they drew, they would not be in a Point-

Blank-Shot, and confequently could do no ma^terial Execution ; however, to convince the

General, that Ships could be of no manner of

Service to him, the Admiral caufed the Galicia

(one of the S;anijh Siiips) to be fitted proper for

battering, by forming, between each Port, Mer-lons (or Cafes) of fix Foot thick, and filled with

rammed Earth or Sand, and fent her in to canno-

nade the Town •, but it was foon found, (he could

not come near enough to do any Service •, for the

enemy had demoliflied her fo, in two or three

Hours, that fhe would have funk in half an Hourmore, if the had not been drawn off ; and it

may be efiablifhed as a general Rule, for Ships

to goby, that unlefs they can come within half

4 Mufkqt

Exedition to Carthagena. 45Land Officers, and accordingly on

the 1 5th a Council of War was held,

who came to a Refolution (upon the

General's Reprefentation of the bad

State of the Army) [/], to have

the Cannpn and Forces reimbarked

with all convenient Speed, and the

17th in the Night the Troops were

accordingly [iiT] taken off the Shore.

Notliing

^ Mufket or Piftol Shot of a Fortification, it

will have the Advantage of them, for the further

you lye off, the more Guns they can bring to

bear againft you ; whereas, when you go {o near,

there can no more Guns annoy you, than are

mounted within the Length of your Ship \ andthe Difference of Brifknefs in firing, betwixt a

Ship and a Fort, is fo great, befides the Oddsin Number of Guns, that it is impoflible to with-

Itand a Ship long. After this Experiment the

Galicia was burned.

[/] After the famous Battle of St. Lazare^

the Troops fickened very faft, infomuch, that

by Account delivered in (and the General's Re-port) between Thurfday Morning and Friday

Night, theyhad dwindled away from 6645 ^^

3200, and 1200 of thefe were Americans ^ andnot efteemed fit for Service.

[X] When the Council of War agreed to the

Forces being embarked, tha General urged, that

they

3

46 An Account of the \

Nothing remained now but to get

the Fleet and Tranfports ready for

Sea, and to demolifh the Caftlesand

Fortifications already taken, whichlaft was effedlually done by blowing

them up, and by the i 2 th of Maythe whole Fleet and Forces had tak-

en leave of Carthagena,

they might come off in the Night, left the Ene-my fhould make a Sortie, fo that the Boats wereordered afhore about nine o*Clock, and from the

Apprehcnfions they were in of the Enemy*s

being at their Heejs, many of them left their

Baggage, and Numbers of them their Tents andArms, which the Enemy came the next Morningand picked up. The Tents they pitched uponSt. Lazare Hill, and other Places, where they

might beft be feen, and by a Flag of Truce that

had Occafion to pafs the next Day, about Ex-change of Prifoners, they failed not to exprefs

their Aftonifhment at the precipitate Retreat ofthe Army. Thus ended this famous Expedition,

that was the greateft and moft expenfive that

ever entered the American Seas, and whichEurope gazed on with Admiration and Atten-

tion.

A P P E N-

it r..l <»4

APPEKDIX.iV . . . -isM h3-i

INorder more fully and clearly to form a

Judgment of the foregoing Expedition,

it may not be improper to fubjoin this

Narrative of the Enenay's Situation, Strength,

arid Difpofition at Carthagena^ as the Fleet

arid Fbrtes found them on their Arrival there

:

And in order to carry it on agreeable to the

Advarices that were made, begirt with a

Difpofition of Punta Canoa Bay, where the

Fleet firft anchorect This Bay is aboiit fiv6

Miles to the North Weft of the City of

Carthagena, but not an extraordinary good

anchoring Place, as the Water is Ihoal a

great Way off the Shore, and the Coaft.

pretty ftrait, that Ships are not much fhel'-.

tered with the Point of Land, from the'.

Violence of the Breezes that generally blow/

tn thie Bottom of this Bay is an Entrance

into the great Lake of Jefea, (called the

Boqmlla) where the Enemy had a fmall

Fafcine

48 APPENDIX.Fafcinc Battery of four Pieces of Cannon^

and kept a Guard; but upon the Fleet's Arri-

val, (and during the Time they continued

to lie there) a confiderable Number of the

Enemy's Forces, both Horfe and Foot, kept

conftantly there, expeding a Defcent. Thenext Place of Note was the Cruizes^ wherethe Enemy kept a Guard ordinarily of i

hundred Men : This Place is about half Wayfrom the Boquilla to the Town, and guards

a narrow Creek or Pafs from the Town to

the Lake, called Pajfa de yuan D'higola^

through which Supplies come in Canoes from

the other Side of the Lake to the Towii

:

As for the City itfelf, Nature has fortified

that againft any Attempt by Sea, the Water(hoaling near a League off, and the Shore

being plentifully bounded with Rocks j be-

fides, the Sea is very feldom fmooth, fo that

it is difficult at all Times landing. However,

as the Enemy knew the Bravery of thofe

they had to deal with, they began to wall

this Side of the Town, and make a Ravelin

in the Middle, there being already a flrong

Baftion at each End. Bocca Grande being

the next Place the Enemy ilifpcifted an At-

tempt might be defigned, had ported twoof their Men of War, the Conquejiodore of

fixty fix Guns, and the Dragon of fixty to

guard it, and began two Fafcine Batteries,

one

APPENDIX. 49one on each Point of the Entrance. *Thi8

Paflage, called Bocca Grande, was formerly

the principal Entrance into the Harbour,but by Storms, and the Force of the Sea,

a Bank was thrown up, which quite clofed

the Entrance, and then it was called BoccaSerrada ; but as flrange Revolutions are fre-

quent in thefe Countries, within thefe fewYears this Pafifagc has broke out again, andthere is now nine or ten Foot Water in it.

About three Miles below this, on the Ifland

of Terra Bomha, was a fmall Fort of four

Gun«, called Battery de Chamba j and half

a Mile further, a Fafcine Battery of twelve

Guns, (both of thefe the Enemy had aban-

doned.) The next Places of Defence werethe Forts of ^t. Philip and St, Jago, oneof feven Guns, the other of fifteen, whichferved as Redoubts to the Caflle of Bocca^

chica. One of thefe Forts was built on the

Rock Ponti landed oD, find, probably to

prevent any one's landing there again, (efpe-

cially fo eafily as he . did.) The Caftle ofBoccachica was the Enemy's chief Depen-dance, as it guarded the Entrance into the

Harbour. It is a regular Square, with four

Baflions well built, and was capable ofmaking a ftout Defence if vyell garifoned,

and would have been much ftronger bad the

.Glacis and Counterfcarp been finished. Ther^e

. H was

50 APPENDIX.was mounted in it eighty two Guns, and

three Mortars, and-^he Enemy had cleared

three or four hundred Yards of the Woodsround it, to prevent Approaches being madeundifcovered, (z^ Ponti did in 1697.) Onthe other Side the Harbour's Mouth was a

Fafcine Battery of fifteen Guns, called the

'Barradera ; and in a fmall Bay a back of

that, another Battery of four Guns ; and

facing the Entrance of the Harbour, on a

imall flat Ifland, flood Sf. Jojeph'% Fort of

twenty one Guns : From this Fort to Boc-

cachica Caftle a Boom and Cables were fix-

ed acrofs, faftned with three large Anchors

at each End j and juft within the Boom was

moored in a Line four Men of War, the

Oalicia of iixty fix Guns, (aboard which

was the Admiral Don B/a/s ULefo^ the

Africa and St. Carlos^ each of fixty fix

Guns, and the St. Philip of feventy Guns,

which fpread the Width of the Harbour's

Mouth, that there was not room for a Ship

cither to pafs a head or a ftern of them, fo

that it was impoflible for ftiipping to force

an Entrance into the Harbour \ and had the

Enemy here made a Defence equal to the ad-

mirable Difpofition they had formed, it mufthave been a difiicult Tafk for the Fleet to

have got in, even after Boccachica Caftle was

taken. About four or five Miles from hence

is SI

APPENDIX. 51is a Creek, or Paflagc, that parts the GrandBaru from the Main called Pajfa Cava/ks^

through which there is Water enough for

fmall Veffels : This Pafs the Enemy haddefended with two Fafcine Batteries, one of

eight Guns, the other of four, as well to

proted: their own Imbarkations that comethis Way with Provifions from To/Uy and the

River Sifia, as to prevent any Attempts being

made this Way. The next place of De-fence was Cajlillo Grande^ which is about

eight Miles up the Harbour. This Caftle

is a regular Square with four Baftions, ftrong

and well built, and defended to the Land bya wet Ditch and Glacis proper, and one

Face towards the Sea has a Raveline, and a

double Line of Guns. This Caftle can

mount iixty one Guns, though there was.

but fifty feven in it. Oppofite to this was a

Horfe-ftioe Battery of twelve Guns, called

Mancinilla ; and in the Middle between thefc

two Forts is a large Shoal with not above

two or three Foot Water on if, which di-

vides the Channel into two : In each of

thefe Paflages were Ships funk acrois, to pre-

vent, if pofTible, the Fleet's getting by ; for

that Part of the Flarbour above thefe Caftles

is a perfe(5l Bafon, and feems rather like oneHarbour within another, fo that if fome of

tlie Ships cguld not have got pail to have co-

H 2 vered

52 APPENDIX.vered the Troops landing (where they did)

they muft have marched feveral Miles, and

been greatly expofed ; befides, it would have

been exceffively difficult tranfporting the

Cannon, neither could the Bomb-Ketches

have got near enough this Way to have di-

verted the Town ; fo that the Intent of this

Difpofition was exceeding good, had it been

efFe(5tually executed, (but Fear made the

Enemy work in too much Hurry.) Nearthree Miles^further up the Harbour, on two

flat fandy Iflands, or Keys, ftands the fa-

mous City of Carthagena^ and Himani, called

its Suburbs, which are both irregular Fi-

gures, but well fortified to the Land with

flrong Baftions at proper Diftances, and

Lakes and Morafles running round them

;

and the Water at the Head of the Harbour

{hoal fo far off, that Ships cannot comenear enough to do any material Execution

with their Guns, which adds much to it's

Strength,

About a Quarter of a Mile from the

Gate of Himani^ on a pretty high Emi-nence, flands the Caftle (or Redoubt) of St»

La^-are, which in itfelf is but trifling, but

it's Situation very advantageous, and by fome

new Works lately thrown up muc'.i ftrength-

cned. This Redoubt overlooks all the Town,'w.-'.'i - •* z but

APPENDIX. 53but has a Brow of a Hill (about four hun-dred Yards from it) that overlooks it as

much, and entirely commands it, wherewould have been a proper Place to have

raifed a Battery, which the Enemy full

well knew, for they conftantly kept aGuard there, to obferve the Army's Mo-tions. As it was this famous Caftle put anEnd to the Siege oi Carthagena^ a particu-

lar Defcription of it may not be unwelcome.

The Hill it ftands on is about fifty or jfixty

Foot high, naturally fteep, but made morefo by the Earth out of the Trenches andLines being thrown over the Brow. TheCaftle is a Square of about fifty Foot, withthree Demi-Baftions, two Guns in each Face,

one in each Flank, and three in each Curtain.

When the Army firft landed, there was nomaterial Works about the Caftle, but a'

Fafcine Battery, of five Guns at the NorthEnd of the Hill, facing the Brow of the

commanding Hill abovementioned ; but

whilft they were encamping, ^c. the Ene-my cut Lines round the Foot of the Caftle,

and eredted another Fafcine- Battery on the

South Brow of the Hill, and brought four

Guns out of the Nbrth Battery, and mountedin this, as it commanded the Afcent ofthe

Hill beft 3 thefe Lines ran in Traverfes, and

commu-

54 APPENDIX.communicated from Battery to Battery, and

were a better Defence, and much ftronger,

than all the other Works together. After

the Attack, the Enemy being able to judge

where their Foible lay, mounted two Guns in

the Lines, againft the angular Point of one

of the Baftions (which was not defended)

where the Troops afcended the Hill, and to

the South Part of the Hill lengthened their

Lines, and made a Stair-cafe up the Hill, to

the Fafcine-Battery, and a Breaft-work crofs

the Road, from the Foot of the Hill downto the Water-fide, which effecflually blocked

themfelves up, and was a Security againft

the Army's making a fecond Attack, and

coming at them the right Way, as they

might have done at firft, had they taken the

Guide's Advice. The Side next the Town is

quite defencelefs, and the Way into the Caftle

up a Ladder, on that Side, which draws up,

like a Bridge.

From the feveral Examinations of Defert-

crs it appeared, the Number of the Enemydid not exceed four thoufand, (regular Forces,

Seamen, Militia, Blacks, and Indians includ-

ed) and daily Experience convinced us of the

Goodnefs of their Engineers, Bombardiers,

and Gunners, as Defertion and Cowardice

convinced us of ths Badnefs of others.

Having

APPENDIX.s-;

Having given an Account ofthe Enemy'sSituation and Strength, it may likewife beneceffary to relate Ibme Account of the State

of the Army, and what pretty Inftruments

and Materials they were furnifhed withal.

That the whole Body of the Troops, that

came from England (unlefs two Regiments)

were raw, new raifed, undifciplmed Men,is a Fadt known to every onej and the

greateft Part of the Officers commandingthem, either young Gentlemen whofe Qua-lity or Intereft entitled them to Preferment,

or abandoned Wretches of the Town, whofeProftitution had made them ufeful on fomedirty Occafion, and by Way of Rewardwere provided for in the Army j but both

thefe Sorts of Gentlemen had never {<&Qn anyServices, confequently, knew not properly

how to adt, or command ; fo that the wor-

thy old experienced Officers, who had (erved

long and well, underwent a c-ontinual Hard-fliip, in teaching and difciplining a youngraw Army, at a Time when they were onService, and every one ought to havie been

M afters of their Trade, inftead of having

it to learn ; and thus, by more frec^u^ntly

. expofing themfelves, moft of them were

knocked on the Head. As for thQAmeri-' (an Troops, they wert in general many

Degrees

56 A P P E N D I X.Degrees worfe, but the Officers in particu-

lar, who were compofed of Blackfmiths,

TaylorS) Shoemakers, and all the Banditti

that Country affords, infomuch, that the

other Parts of the Army held them in fcorn.

And for Engineers, Bombardiers, and Gun-ners, worfe never bore the Name, or could

be picked out of all Europe.

Amongft the ten Engineers, there wasbut one who ever faw a Siege (and that wasthe fimple Siege of Gibraltar) and he was

killed at Boccachica, in the midft of his owndefencelefs Works; fo that the reft may juft-

ly have been faid to be left without a Head.

As for the Bombardiers and Gunners, the

Coionel commanding the Train was in his

grand Climaderick, and confequently very

unfit to be fent upon this Expedition ; but

he, poor Gentleman, was foon difpatched

(thanks to the' Ignornace of the Engineers)

and his Succeflbr took care to render him-

felf as unfit for Duty, by Excefs of Drink-

ing, as Old Age rendered the other ; and as

to Inferiors of both Sorts, Bombardiers and

Cannoneers, many of them were Country

Fellows, who told the General they were

provided for in the Train for voting for

Mr.-'— and Mr. fuch a one, &c. Out of

thefe few that were good, by conftant At-

tendance

APPENDIX. 57tendance and Duty*s falling hard few were

left, and indeed they had not many Oppor-

tunities of (hewing their Abilities, the Ma-terials they were provided withal being moftly

bad ; for two thirds of ,the Bomb-Shells ei-

ther broke ftiort in the Air, or their Fufees

went out, and they never broke at all ; nor

were there one in three of the Grenadoe^

would burft ; the Shells were fo thick,, andthe Cavity fo fmall, they would not hold

Powder fufficient to crack them ; nay, fo

little Care was taken in providing and pack-

ing up proper Materials for a Train of Ar-^

tillery,. that out of eight Pieces of Batterings

Cannon-Principals, one was found defedivc;

and unferviceable, and the Expedition hadlike to have fet forward, without a Plankor Joift for Hatforms for the Guns,^ or anyBill-Hppks to cv^t Fafcines and clear theGround, had not Lord Cathcart been in-

formed thefc Things were wanting, and;

wrote timely to have them ^applied be-fore the Fleet failed, which l^y then at St.

Helkns,

Upon the whole, the Service that has.

been performed beft demonftrates the Good-ncfs of this Army : How much it has fuf-.

fcred, as well as the Reputation of the N.a-

4 ii tion.

58 APPENDIX.tion, by the Death of Lord Catbcart, the

End of the Expedition muft refolve.

Thus much may be faid in Behalf of

the common Soldiers, though they were

raw and undifciplined, they wanted not for

"Courage and Rcfolution becoming Englifi-

men*

F I N I S.

»4 80 fi^l

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an account of the expedition to carthagena, with

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