"divifion to the mouth of the harbour, and fend CHAP. "three eighty gun fhips, the Norfolk, Shrewf VI. bury, and Ruffel, to batter the forts of St "Philip and St Jago, while the Princess Amelia 1741. "fired against the Fafcine battery, and the "Litchfield against the little battery of Cham"ba." The general afterwards affembled a council of war of land officers, when a difpofition was made for landing the troops, which was, the grenadiers to be first landed, and to be fuftained by a brigade, commanded by Brigadier Guife and Colonel Wolfe. On the 9th Sir Chaloner Ogle, having shifted his flag on board the Jerfey, accompanied with General Wentworth, moved forward with his divifion for executing the attack against the forts and batteries on Terra Bomba; the vice admiral weighed and moved after him with his divifion and all the tranfports, leaving Commodore Leftock with his divifion at anchor behind. The vice admiral embarked all the grenadiers in the firefhips in fhore, as if he propofed landing there that morning, but ordered them to follow him in time, to be ready for landing that evening to leeward. The fmall fort of Chamba fired a few guns, but was deferted as foon as the ship pofted there could take her ftation and begin to fire. At the Fascine battery the Spaniards had not yet had time for getting any guns mounted, fo there was no fire from thence; and at noon the Norfolk, Ruffel and Shrewsbury, being judiciously anchored very close under the forts of St Jago and St Philip, made fo warm a fire, that in less than an hour they shattered them fufficiently, and drove every Spaniard out of them, so as to enable the fhips to make good a defcent with 500 grenadiers, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel R 2 I. PART Colonel Cochrane, under the walls of thofe forts, who about eight o' clock took poffeffion ~ of both of them, without having fo much as a 1741. fingle mufket fhot fired at his men. General Wentworth, with Brigadier Guife and Colonel Wolfe, attended the landing of the grenadiers, but the brigade did not come down till the day following, being prevented by the strong breezes. This fuccefs was obtained by the lofs only of fix men killed and wounded aboard the Norfolk and Ruffel, but the Shrewsbury, lying fouthermoft, had her cable cut by the Spanish fhot, and before she could let down another anchor, falling to leeward, drove towards the mouth of the harbour, where fhe lay expofed to the whole fire of the Spaniards, having two fascine batteries on the Barradera fide, the forts of Boca Chica and St Jofeph, with four men of war of fixty and feventy guns that were moored athwart the mouth of the harbour, all firing at her together with about 160 guns, which the Shrewf bury could return only with twenty-fix; in this fituation Capt. Townsend, who commanded her, chofe to maintain his poft, like a brave gallant officer, rather than retire in view of the enemy, where he lay engaged feven hours, maintaining a very good fire from his fhip, till night coming on put a flop to the Spanish fire, when the Shrewsbury had orders to retire, after having twenty men killed and forty wounded, fixteen fhot between wind and water, 250 fhot in her hull, and her mafts yards and rigging fhot all to pieces. About nine the fame evening the bomb ketches were carried in fhore, and began to play upon Boca Chica caftle. The 10th by noon the two regiments of Harrifon and Wentworth, and the fix regiments of marines landed without without oppofition, and then all the boats and CHAP. great numbers of feamen were kept conftantly VI. employed in landing the artillery, ordnance ftores, tents and baggage. After fuch a fa- 1741. vourable defcent, this fuccefs fhould have been pushed forward by the land forces with all poffible vigour, as nothing could more intimidate the Spaniards, than for part of the troops immediately to have advanced and took poft upon the upper grounds, to cover their motions and lay thofe of the Spaniards open to them; and for the whole body to be advancing after them, as faft as they could cut their way through the woods, to go across to the infide of the harbour, as the Spaniards fear of having their troops made prifoners in Boca Chica, would have greatly lef fened their numbers in the oppofition; and of this General Wentworth, on the 11th, was apprized jointly by the vice admiral and Sir Chaloner Ogle, on their perceiving the flow progress of the engineers and lazinefs of the foldiers, which could not fail of giving them uneafinefs, as they dreaded many fatal confequences from delays. On the 12th the Ludlow-Caftle got in to play on the caftle of Boca Chica from a mortar fhe had on board; on the 13th they began to play on the castle from a bomb battery on fhore, erected between the forts St Philip and Jago; and on the 15th at noon they completed the landing of all the artillery and ordnance ftores, and twelve twenty-four pounders lent out of the fhips at the general's request. THE troops, during the first three days they were afhore, remained very inactive in forming their encampments, ftanding expofed to the violent heat of the fun on a white burning fand, and catching cold by the inclemency of the night dews, PART dews, many of them fell fick; whereas, had I. they been inftantly employed to have opened ground in the woods for an encampment, they 1741. would have been fhaded by the trees, freed from the burning heat of the fand, and many of them preferved from the fhot of the Spaniards. The camp was pitched on a low fand, and being fheltered from the Barradera battery by the rock that fort St Philip ftood on, could not be feen, but lying in the line of direction of the shot fired from thence by the Spaniards at the bomb battery, was often flanked by fhot that miffed the bomb battery. Sicknefs was encreased among the forces on fhore, the engineers were both ig norant and dilatory, and nothing material was executed: this occafioned complaints from the vice admiral, efpecially as he had difpofitions to make to forward the fuccefs of the expedition, that were to be regulated by the operations of the army, fuch meafures requiring pofitive information to found them upon; and Brigadier Wentworth returned him the melancholly account of being little affifted by his general officers. On fuch emergencies, whoever was guilty of delay was guilty of treachery; they ought to have confidered the Spaniards had kingdoms behind them to draw fuccours from, and that the British troops had not yet fo much as advanced to cut off the communication of the common road from Carthagena, a thing abfolutely neceffary; and as they could expect no further fuccours, all delays were very fatal, as floth and idleness are the breeders of complaints and mutinous difpofitions, and in a climate of fuch inclemency, the certain root of contagious dilorders; while brifknefs and activity in carrying on a fervice, produce chear fulness fulness and vivacity, the attendants of harmony CHAP, and health. VI. THE vice admiral, perceiving the camp to be greatly annoyed by the fascine battery on the Bar 1741. radera fide of the harbour, employed officers to reconnoitre it, and was forming a fcheme to attack it, which was the more immediately put in execution on receiving a complaint from the brigadier general, of the army being much galled by the fire from that battery; for the vice admiral held a council of war on the 17th, when it was refolved "To attack it with 300 failors, "and 200 foldiers detached from thofe remain ing on board the fleet." Accordingly orders were given for all the boats of the squadron manned and armed to be ready at midnight, with all the barges and pinnaces of the fleet, to furprize the Barradera battery. The boats of each divifion were put under the command of Capt. Wat fon, with the captains Norris and Colby under him, and the failors when landed were to be commanded by Capt. Bofcawen, having under him captains Laws and Coates, and the foldiers were under the direction of Capt. Washington and Capt. Murray; but the wind blowing too hard at the time appointed, and all the fucceeding day, the execution of the defign was retarded till the 19th at night, when it was executed with wonderful refolution and fuccefs. About midnight the boats went away from their fhips, and rowed pretty far to leeward to avoid being feen or difcovered by the noife of their oars; they rowed about a mile to leeward of the Barradera battery, which confifted of fifteen twentyfour pounders, and landed in a small fandy bay, into which was a narrow channel between two reefs of rocks, and a battery of five guns on the ftrand |