the fhips, and was proof against all their efforts. Befides, the fire from the oppofite fort of Puntal, and the batteries of the town, galled them extremely. Infomuch that, in order to fave the fhips from abfolute deftruction, they were obliged at length, and unwillingly, to bring them all off. Even this retreat was not effected without difficulty, as the fhips were very much shattered in this long and unequal conteft. They had one hundred and fifty men killed and wounded; and one of the captains, captain Gooftrey of the Marlborough, a brave and experienced officer, was alfo killed. The captains Harvey and Burnett gained, with better fortune, an equal honour, by their firm and intrepid behaviour throughout the whole operation.

This bold attempt, though it had very little effect upon the works on that fide of the fort which the fhips attacked, was nevertheless of confiderable fervice, The enemy's attention being diverted to that fide, the other was a good deal neglected: our fire was poured in the mean time with redoubled fury from the batteries; it became much fuperior to that of the enemy, and did no small damage to their works. But the moment the Spaniards were released from their attention to our men of war, they returned again to the eastward face of the fort: their defence was revived with as much vigour as before; on both fides a conftant unremitted fire was kept up, with a fierce emulation, for feveral days. It now became evident, that the reduction of this fortress was to be a work of time. Never, from the beginning of the war, had the English valour been fo well matched. Here was at

length an adversary worthy of our arms, and our whole military skill and fpirit was put to the feverest trial.

In the midst of this fharp and doubtful contention, the caJuly 3. pital battery against the fort unfortunately took fire; and being chiefly conftructed of timber and fafcines dried by the intense heats and continual cannonade, the flames soon got a-head, and became too powerful for oppofition. The battery wasalmoft wholly confumed. The labour of fix hundred men, for feventeen days, was deftroyed in a moment; and all was to begin anew.

This was a mortifying ftroke. It was felt the more feverely, because the other hardships of the fiege were become by this time almoft infupportable. The fickness, fomething of which the troops had brought with them from Martinico, and which increased infinitely in this unwholefome country and rigorous fervice, had reduced the army to half its number, at the fame time that it doubled the fatigue of those few who ftill preferved fome remains of strength. Five thousand foldiers were at one time down in various diftempers; no less than three thoufand of the feamen were in the fame miferable condition. A total want of good provisions exafperated the disease, and retarded the recovery. The deficiency of water was of all their grievances the greateft, and extremely aggravated all the rest of their fufferings. The procuring from a diftance this wretched fupply, fo unequal to their wants, exhausted all their force. Befides, as the feafon advanced, the prospect of fucceeding grew fainter. The hearts of the most fanguine funk within them,

whilft they beheld this gallant army wasting away by diseases; and they could not avoid trembling for

that noble fleet which had rid fo long on an open fhore, and which must to all appearance be expofed to inevitable ruin, if the hurricane feafon should come on before the reduction of the place. A thousand languishing and impatient looks were caft out for the reinforcement from North America. None how ever as yet appeared; and the exhaufted army was left to its own endeavours. Many fell into despair and died, overcome with fatigue, anguifh and disappointment.

But in the midst of these cruel delays and diftreffes, the fteadiness of the commanders infufed life and activity into their troops, and roufed them to incredible exertions. The rich prize which was before them; the shame of retutning home baffled; and even the ftrenuous refiftance which was made by the enemy; all these motives called loudly on their intereft, their honour, and their pride, and obliged them to the exertion of every nerve, Nobody could imagine that it was this reduced and flender army, by which thefe aftonishing efforts were made, and this extenfive fphere of duty fo perfectly filled. New batteries arofe in the place of the old; the fire foon became equal, and then fuperior to that of the enemy. They by degrees filenced the cannon of the fort, beat to pieces all the upper works, and made at length

July 20. a lodgment in the covered

way. Their hopes were now become more lively. Some days before they had gained this grand advantage, the Jamaica fleet July 12. appeared in its paffage to Europe, with feveral convenien

cies for the fiege. Not many days after this they received a confiderable part of the July 28.

Some

New York reinforcement of the tranfports in their paffage thro' the old Bahama ftreights were loft, but the men were faved on the adjacent iflands.

Thefe favourable events infufed double life into their opérations, in this advanced state of the fiege; but a new and grand difficulty appeared, juft at the feeming accomplishment of their work. An immense ditch yawning before them, for the greater part cut in the folid rock, eighty foot deep, and forty foot wide, To fill it up by any means appeared impoffible. Difficultas the work of mining was in those circumftances, it was the only expedient. It might have been an impracticable one, if fortunately a thin ridge of rock had not been left in order to cover the ditch towards the fea. On this narrow ridge, the miners wholly uncovered, but with very little lofs July 20. paffed the ditch, and foon buried themfelves in the wall.

July 22.

It now became visible to the governor of the Havannah, that the fort must be fpeedily reduced, if left to its own ftrength, At all events fomething must be done in this exigence for its immediate relief. Accordingly before break of day a body of twelve hundred men, moftly compofed of the country militia, mulattoes and negroes, were tranfported across the harbour, climbed the hills, and made three attacks upon our pofts. But the ordinary guards, though furprised, defended themfelves fo refolutely, that the Spaniards made little impreffion, and were not able to ruin any part of the approaches. The

polts

pofts attacked were fpeedily rein. forced, and the enemy, who were little better than a disorderly rabble, and not conducted by proper officers, fell into terror and confufion. They were driven precipitately down the hill with great flaughter; fome gained their boats, others were drowned, and they loft in this well imagined, but ill executed fally, upwards of four hundred men.

This was the laft effort for the relief of the Moro; which, abandoned as it was by the city, and while an enemy was undermining its walls, held out with a fullen refolution, and made no fort of propofal July 30. to capitulate. The mines at length did their bufi nefs. A part of the wall was blown uf, and fell into the ditch; leaving a breach, which tho' very narrow and difficult, the general and engineer judged practicable. The English troops, who were commanded on this moft dangerous of all fervices, rejoiced that it was to be the end of labours much more grievous to them. They mounted the breach, entered the fort, and formed themselves with fo much celerity, and with such a spirited coolness of refolution, that the enemy, who were drawn up to receive them, and who might have made the affault an affair of great bloodfhed, aftonished at their countenance, fled on all hands. About four hundred were flaughtered on the spot, or ran to the water, where they perished. Four hundred more threw down their arms, and obtained quarter. The fecond in command, the marquis de Gonfales, fell whilft he was making brave, but ineffectual efforts to animate and rally his people. Don Lewis de Velafco, the

governor, who had hitherto de

fended the fort with fuch obftinate bravery, feemed refolved in this extremity to fhare the fame fate with it. He collected an hundred men in an intrenchment he had made round his colours. But seeing that all his companions were fled from him, or flaughtered about him, difdaining to retire or call for quarter, he received a mortal wound, and fell, offering his fword to his conquerors. The English wept with pity and admiration over that unfortunate valour, which had occafioned them fo many toilfome hours, and coft them fo many lives.

Thus the Moro came into our poffeffion after a vigorous ftruggle, forty-four days from the time the firft operations had been begun against it. No time was loft to profit of this great advantage, notwithstanding that the ficknefs ftill raged like a peftilence, and that many new and great works were to be undertaken. Not only the fire of the fort was turned against the town;

but a line of batteries was erected along the hill of the Cavannos, on the extremity of which the fort ftands. By these batteries, which mounted three and forty pieces of cannon, and twelve mortars, almost the whole eaftern fide of the city was commanded from one end to the other. Preparations for an attack were also made, and batteries erected to the weftward of the town, which on that fide hath hitherto been only watched. Some time before a part of the Aug. 2. fecond divifion of the troops from North America had arrived. A part had been taken by a fquadron of French men of war; but those who efcaped, came very seasonably, and were of fignal fervice.

When thofe preparations were perfectly ready to take Aug. 10. effect, lord Albemarle by meffage represented to the governor the irrefiftible force of the attack, which he was ready to make upon the town, but which, in order to avoid unneceffary effufion of blood, he was willing to fufpend, that the Spaniards might have leifure to capitulate. The governor in a refolute, but civil manner, returned, that he would defend the place committed to him to the last extremity, and began inftantly to fire.

The

To convince the governor that the menaces employed were not an empty boaft, lord Albemarle the very next morning ordered a general fire from the batteries, which was poured from all fides, with fuch continued and irrefiftible fury, that in fix hours almost all the enemy's guns were filenced. To the inexpreffible joy of the fleet and army, flags of truce appeared from every quarter of the town. A capitulation enfued, in which the eftablished religion, the former laws, and private property were fecured to the inhabitants. garrifon, which was reduced to about feven hundred men, had the honours of war, and were to be conveyed to Spain. A diftrict of an hundred and eighty miles weftward of the Havannah was yielded along with the town. Spaniards ftruggled a long time to fave the men of war; but this was a capital point, and wholly inadmiffible. They alfo made fome attempts to have the harbour declared neutral during the war; but this was no less effential to the completeness of the conqueft, and was steadily refufed. After two

The

two days altercation, they gave up thefe points, and the English troops were put in poffeffion of the Havannah on the 14th of Auguft, when they had been before it two months and eight days.

Although we have not pursued in exact order all the detail of the more minute operations of this memorable fiege, we have dwealt on it a longer time, than we have on our plan generally allowed to such tranfactions; because it was, without queftion, in itself the most confiderable, and in its confequences the moft decifive conqueft we have made fince the beginning of the war; and becaufe in no operation were the courage, fteadiness, and perfeverance of the British troops, and the conduct of their leaders more confpicuous. The acquifition of this place united in itself all the advantages which can be acquired in war. It was a military advantage of the highest class; it was equal to the greateft naval victory, by its effect on the enemy's marine; and in the plunder it equaled the produce of a national fubfidy. Nine fail of the enemy's fhips of the line, fome of the finest veffels in the world, were taken, with four frigates. Three of their capital fhips had been, as already mentioned, funk by themselves at the beginning of the fiege; two more were in forwardness on the ftocks, and thefe were destroyed by the English. The enemy, on this occafion, loft a whole flee In ready money, in the tobacco collected at the Havannah on account of the king of Spain, and in other valuable merchandizes, the plunder did not perhaps fall short of three millions fterling.

Sa

So lucrative a conquest had never before been made. But this immenfe capture, though it inriched individuals, contributed nothing directly to the public fervice. However, it might be faid to contribute fomething to it indirectly; by increafing the flock of the nation, and fupplying that prodigious drain of treasure, which for feveral years had been made from this kingdom for foreign fubfidies, and for the maintenance of armies abroad. If it had not been for fuch pecuniary fupplies, with which the uncommon fucceffes of this war were attended, it never could have been maintained in the extent to which it was carried, notwithstanding the increase of trade, which has been uniformly progreffive for the last three years. It has in a loofe way been computed, that the fuccefs of our arms in the Eaft Indies, independently of the great increafe of valuable merchandize, (which used to be formerly the fole produce and advantage of the Eaft India commerce,) has brought into England during the war, near fix millions in treasure and jewels.

The capture of the Spanish regifter fhip, the Hermione, May 21 which happened foon af

ter the commencement of the war with Spain, and just as she was on

the point of entering one of the ports of Old Spain, muft be added to thefe refources; this capture was little fhort of a million. The taking of this fingle fhip is not altogether unworthy of a place in hiftory; because it had no fmall influence on the affairs of the Bourbon alliance, and confiderably funk those resources of money, which were the principal objects to France, when the formed that famous treaty. All these advantages were without any confiderable allay on the fide of Great Britain; they would have ferved to ballance any poffible fuccefs, which the enemy might have had in Portugal. But their fuccefs in that quarter, where they had entertained the moft fanguine hopes, was by no means confiderable, and very far from tending to any thing decifive. Thefe confiderations helped to dif pofe the Bourbon courts to peace, almoft as foon as they had jointly entered into the war; and Europe, after having been deceived in the hopes of tranquillity, which were entertained from the late negotiation, and plunged apparently deeper than ever into war, was in reality approaching faft to peace, and the public repofe was preparing, when it feemed to be at the greatest distance.

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