1.

PART" with fuch part of the foldiers as could conve "niently go in them directly on board the ad"miral, for his directing a descent with them 1739." where he fhould find it would most favour the "feveral attacks." And the admiral represented to the feveral captains "That from the men's inexperience in fervice, it was necessary to take "more precaution to prevent hurry and confufi"on, and a fruitless wafte of their powder and "fhot; directing them all to give the stricteft

ce

orders, to the refpective officers that were to " command the feveral batteries, to take care "that no gun was fired but what they, or thofe they particularly appointed, faw firft levelled "and directed the firing off; and that they "should strictly prohibit all their men from hal"lowing and making fuch like irregular noife, "that would only serve to throw themselves into "confufion, till fuch time as the service was fully performed and they had nothing left to do but

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to glory in their victory, which fuch confufion "might often prevent and otherwise prove fatal 66 to them. And those that had the coehorn "mortars on board, were directed to make use "of them against the respective forts they were "appointed to batter and destroy."

ABOUT the fame time the admiral ordered Capt. Stapylton in the Sheerness for Carthagena,

To look in on the back of the town and fee "whether the galleons were ftill in that harbour, "and to carefully observe their motions; and if " he found them already at, or in a difpofi

tion for coming to fea, or that any men of "war were to come to join them, then to make "the best of his way for Porto Bello to give the "earliest advice of it he could, to prevent the "admiral's being furprized."

CHAP.

CHAPTER III.

The reduction of PORTO BELLO and CHAGRE, and MOSQUITO expedition against the SPANIARDS.

TH

III.

HE town of Porto Bello is fituated on the CHAP. north fide of the famous ifthmus of Darien, which running in a manner from east to west between the north and fouth feas, joins the two vaft 1739continents of north and fouth America. It is about eighteen leagues from Panama, which lies on the fouth fide of the ifthmus; it has a commodious bay about a mile deep, affording good anchorage and fhelter for fhips, and near half a mile broad at the mouth of the harbour. At the entrance of the north fide of the bay on the fide of a steep rock ftood a ftrong caftle called the Iron Caftle, mounting 78 great guns, with a battery beneath parallel with the water, which mounted 22 guns; the caftle and fort garrifoned by 300 men. On the oppofite fide the bay, but near a mile farther up on an afcent, flood Caftle Gloria, confifting of two regular bastions to the fea mounting 90 guns, with a curtain between them mounting 22 guns, befides a line of eight guns that pointed to the mouth of the harbour, the whole defended by 400 men: a little above

PART this caftle, near the other end of the town on a I. point that ran into the bay, stood fort St Jeronimo, being a kind of quadrangular redoubt, 1739. ftrongly built, well planted with cannon, and properly defended. Under the cannon of Gloria Caftle and Fort St Jeronimo all the fhips belonging to the harbour rode at anchor; and this defence, together with the guns on the Iron Castle, rendered the entrance of the harbour very difficult and extremely dangerous.

AT the bottom of the harbour lies the town, bending along the fhore like a half moon: it is long and narrow, having two principal streets befides thofe that go across, with a fmall parade about the middle of it furrounded with pretty fair houses. It confifts of about 500 houfes, two churches, a treafury, a cuftom-house and an exchange. The eaft fide is low and swampy, and the fea at low water leaves the fhore within the harbour bare a great way from the houfes, which having blackish filthy mud ftinks very much, and breeds noisome vapours through the heat of the climate, it lying in the 10th degree of north latitude; for this reafon it is but thinly peopled, except at the time of the fair, which alone gives reputation to the place, as being the market through which all the wealth of Peru, and the manufactures of Europe annually circulate.

THIS place was taken by the Buccaneers in 1688, but was foon refortified in a much stronger manner, had been long efteemed impreg nable, and was formerly told could not be taken by a large fquadron and at least 8,000 men, when the British fhips and failors lay rotting at the Baf timentos; though Admiral Vernon had afferted, in' an auguft affembly, that he would take it with only fix fhips of war, and to the great reputation of

the British arms, he now convinced the world of CHA P. the truth of fo bold an affirmance by the reduct- III. ion of Porto Bello with only that very force he

had mentioned; which he executed in the fol- 1739. lowing manner.

On the 20th of November, in the evening, the fquadron came in fight of Porto Bello, having been delayed in their paffage by contrary winds. There being but little wind that evening, though a very great fwell, the admiral anchored for that night fix leagues off the fhore, being apprehensive of driving to the eastward of the harbour.

On the 21ft in the morning the admiral plyed to windward in line of battle, but the wind proving eafterly, he was obliged to confine his attack to the Iron Fort only, clofe to which the fquadron was piloted by Capt. Renton.

COMMODORE Brown in the Hampton-Court, who led the attack, executed his part as became an officer of experience and refolution, having fired above 400 fhot in about 25 minutes; and being well followed by Capt. Herbert in the Norwich, and Capt. Mayne in the Worcester, the admiral perceived that fome of the Spaniards fled from feveral parts of the fort; upon which he made the signal for the boats, in which were about 40 failors, a company of marines and their officers, to make the best of their way in order to their landing, whilft he was coming up to the fort to batter it. The admiral luffing up as near to the fort as he could, was welcomed with a volley, which took place with almost every shot: one struck away the ftern of his barge, another broke a large gun on his upper deck, a third went through the fore-top maft, and a fourth, paffing through the awnings within two inches of the main maft, beat down the barricado of the VOL. I. quarter

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PART quarter déck very near the admiral, killed three I. men, and wounded five others, and the Spani

ards vainly imagined they could fink the whole 1739. fquadron; but this was fo far from difcouraging the British feamen, that they returned the falute in fuch a manner, that though the Spaniards fired a few shot amongst them they did the English no material damage afterwards, for the fire of the admiral's fmall arms commanded the Spaniards lower batteries and had a good effect in driving them from thence, where they could do moft harm, and by this means the men were alfo fecured at landing, which, as the Spaniards afterwards confeffed, was the principal occafion of their deferting their lower batteries, the fmall fhot from the former fhips not having reached them, though their cannon had beat down fome of the upper part of the fort. As the boats came near the admiral's fhip, he called to them to go directly on fhore under the walls of the fort in the front of their lower batteries, though there was no breach made: but this anfwered as was expected, they all landed fafe except two foldiers who were killed by fmall arms from the caftle. In fcaling the fort walls, one man fet himself clofe under an embrafure whilft another climbed upon his fhoulders and entered under the mouth of a great gun. This threw the Spaniards into fo general a confternation, that the officers and men who had stood to the lower battery, threw down their arms and fled to the upper part of the fort, where they held up a white flag as a fignal of capitulating. The admiral anfwered with a white flag; but it was fome time before he could ftop his own men, and thofe on board the Strafford Capt. Trevor which followed him, from firing.