I.

THE vice admiral immediately communicated CHAP. this letter to Sir Chaloner Ogle, which gave them both a very fenfible mortification, to find the expedition on the point of being abandoned, when 1741, there was the greatest probability of crowning it with a glorious termination. The country was entirely deferted, except an inconfiderable body of Spaniards that lay lurking up and down, without either the power or inclination to face the Englifh; and the flying of the women and children to St Jago, muft increase their scarcity of provifions and add to their terror and confufion, which was fo great, that the governor and principal inhabitants were conftantly in the utmost dread from an attack over land; and fo much were they perfuaded of this, that the governor and grandees would not trust themselves to fleep in the town or forts, but repaired every night into the woods to fleep in fecurity: fo that if the general had improved on this confternation a mong the Spaniards, and ordered a chofen detachment of 1,000 men, with 1,000 negroes to have gone with them for carrying a week's pro-vifions, and attacked the upper batteries of the Eftrella and Santa Catalina, which they might have done in three days, he would thereby foon have determined the fate of St Jago: for fuch a general confufion had prepoffeffed the Spaniards, they must have eafily fucceeded; which was afterwards fupported by the intelligence pro-, cured from all the Spanish intercepted letters.

HAD this defign been executed, as the vice admiral would have been at hand to have pufbed into the harbour, the town of St Jago, and all the reft, would have fallen of courfe; efpecially as the Spaniards had but little ammunition of any fort, and the town being open, would have VOL. I. been

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PART been under the command of the guns of the II. fquadron. But by an unhappy fatality this opportunity was neglected; and the general, hav1741. ing affembled a council of war on the 9th, it was refolved, "That they could not march any

body of their troops further into the country, "without expofing them to certain ruin; and "that they were firmly of opinion, that their

advancing with the army to St Jago, in their "prefent circumftances, was impracticable." The principal part of thefe objections, were founded on the difficulty of marching the army to St Jago without cannon; which was what the officers of the fquadron never conceived to be neceffary, as they had always advised a fudden attack on the batteries, by a felect number of the choicest troops.

On the 13th a general council of war affembled, at which were prefent both the officers of the navy and army; when the officers of the army declared, " They thought it impractica

❝ble to advance further into the country:" a circumftance extremely difagreeable to the naval officers, and quite contrary to their opinions; but as their inftructions gave no authority to the naval officers to deliberate on the regulations of the army by land, Vice Admiral Vernon and Sir Chaloner Ogle, after fuggefting their opini ons to the land officers, and leaving with them copies of all the evidence they had procured, exhorted them to do the utmost of their power for the honour and fervice of the British nation; and separated without thinking any new refolu tions neceffary to be formed.

THE different fentiments, of the officers in the fea and land fervice, gave Vice Admiral Vernon the deepest concern; he had faithfully and dili gently discharged his duty, but if his abilities had

been

been fuperior to what he had already evinced them, CHAP. the vice admiral found how vain must be all his I. attempts, if unequally yoked to fuch as were to contribute to the execution of them; therefore, 1741. though not acquainted with Lord Cathcart but in his general character, no man more fincerely mourned the lofs his majesty's fervice had in fo valuable a commander: the vice admiral believed his fucceffor to be an honeft well-meaning gentleman, but had feen no apparent proof to fet him in the light of an experienced general; and all his counsellors appeared to be actuated by fuch general principles, as ferved to manifest to the vice admiral their difpofition of returning home, and fearing to furnish occafions for their longer refidence in a climate fo difagree able to their inclinations.

THOUGH the vice admiral, from the reports made to him by feveral experienced officers, was fully convinced of the impracticability of forcing a paffage into the narrow entrance of the harbour of St Jago, unless the batteries lying above the Morro caftle had been firft furprized and taken: yet, under a concern for having fo little done, where nothing had appeared to op pose the progress of fo large a force as had been landed, and then lay quiet in their camp, he determined to go, and perfonally view the entrance into the faid harbour: he failed up there in the Orford, together with the Montagu, on the 4th of September, and carefully reconnoitring the harbour of St Jago, found it to be all an iron fhore, and no anchorage off it; and that it was not a fafe harbour, even for a friendly ship to frequent; for they must run in close to the fhore, to windward off the mouth of the harbour, and muft drive down clofe under the Morro

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PART Morro caftle, drop an anchor there, and then II. warp in. warp in. Had the fcheme for attacking the town by fea appeared practicable in any light, 1741. the vice admiral, vexed with a conduct that seemed to him unaccountable in the general, he would have been as refolute as any man; but as he must encounter fo many difficulties, he could not refolve to throw his majesty's fquadron away against the rocks, without the least appearance of fuccefs.

SICKNESS, the certain attendant of indolence and inactivity in the warm climates of America, had began to fpread among the forces in their encampment, infomuch that they had already loft above 200 officers; the general acquainted Vice Admiral Vernon, that if they fuftained any greater diminution through their prefent illness, that they would be unable even to maintain themselves in their encampment: but the admiral, acquainting him that a letter from Sir Charles Wager had given him information that a reinforcement of 2,000 men might be daily expected from England, endeavoured to perfuade him, if he could not advance any further, to continue in the advantageous poft he had poffeffed, and wait the arrival of the expected fuccours, to complete the reduction of the whole, or the eastern part of the island: which, in a general council of war, held on the 28th of October, after declaring their inability of attacking the Havanna, La Vera Cruz, Mexico, Carthagena, and Panama, was unanimoufly refolved upon.

.!

NOTWITHSTANDING this refolution, as the army was soon after feized with a general fick. nefs, having loft the greatest part of their num ber, and the furvivors daily dying, the general fummoned

I.

fummoned a council of war, confifting of the CHAP. land officers, who met on the 7th of November, and declared their opinion, "That no time "ought to be loft in embarking the troops on 1741. "board their transports; and that it might be < done with the utmost expedition; they thought "all the affiftance which could be had from the "fleet was neceflary, for which end proper ap"plication was without delay to be made to "Vice Admiral Vernon." Upon which the re-imbarkation of the troops was effected on the 20th of November, without having a fingle fhot fired at either the army or tranfports.

On the 25th the general council of war affembled, and having a difference in fentiments of what was moft for the royal fervice, the land officers determined to return with the tranfports to Jamaica, and the naval officers refolved to proceed to meet the expected reinforcement, after seeing the transports difpatched under proper convoys; the vice admiral having before dif patched part of the fquadron to cruize for, and give him notice of their arrival.

THE flotilla and tranfports having fallen down the river, to which the vice admiral had given the name of Augufta, in honour of her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, proceeded to fea on the 28th; and the vice admiral on the 6th of December, put to fea with his remaining fquadron, confifting of eight fhips of the line, a firefhip, an hofpital fhip, and two tenders, and proceeded to cruize off Hifpaniola, in expectation of meeting the reinforcement from England.

By these unhappy diffentions between the naval and land officers, was this important enterprize abandoned, with a more fhameful afpect on the part of the army, than their late fatal re

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