Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/394

380 out Allieroni's maritime schemes; and both France and England were alive to the importance of crushing these preparations in the bud. In all the ports ships were building, and magazines of arms and ammunition preparing. The French destroyed the magazines and arsenal—a loss calculated at two millions of dollars. By the aid of an English squadron, eight hundred French soldiers were conveyed to Santoña, where the garrison fled at once, and the allies burnt three more ships-of-war, and materials for seven more. This completed the annihilation of the Spanish navy, which was attributed to the jealousy of England.

Berwick having now arrived, advanced on the town of St. Sebastian, which surrendered on the 2nd of August, and the citadel on the 17th of the same month. Philip retreated once more to Madrid in hopeless weakness. Berwick soon overrun the whole of Guipuscoa, which had been greatly exasperated by Alberoni attempting to abolish some of its ancient laws and privileges, in order to assimilate it to the rest of Spain. They therefore not only submitted, but offered to acknowledge themselves part of France on their ancient privileges being guaranteed to them. The French pushed their conquests into Catalonia, took several forts, and made an assault on Rosas. In September, an English squadron, commanded by lord Cobham, and having on board four thousand troops, appeared before Corunna to take vengeance on that fort for the offence of Ormonde's expedition having sailed from it. A near view of the defences of the place, however, deterred Cobham, and he coasted along to Vigo, where many of Ormonde's stores still remained. There the English landed, the place having but a feeble garrison, and commenced an attack upon it. The troops nimbly evacuated the place, and commenced a brisk fire on the invaders from the neighbouring hills, but at such a distance that not a ball reached the English. In the town the English found forty-three pieces of ordnance, eight thousand muskets, two thousand barrels of powder, and seven sloops in the harbour, which were all seized and carried off. The citadel held out till the 21st of October. The English troops made themselves so drunk with the wine which they found in the shops and cellars, that, had the enemy been aware of it, they might have readily surprised them; but they never appeared again. The neighbouring towns of Redondella and Pontevedra were also sacked, and the utmost consternation prevailed in the court of Madrid, where the number of the English was totally unknown, and a great army and general invasion were expected. But the English, though they had failed in the chief object of the expedition, had done what they deemed substantial damage, and so re-embarked and returned home.

In Sicily, for the conquest of which Spain had been thus left exposed, the war was now, too, beginning to run heavily against the Spaniards. Through 1718 the campaign there had been wonderfully encouraged and invigorated by the presence and activity of Byng and his fleet. After the capture of Messina, general Lede, though compelled to retreat thence, marched upon Melazzo, a place of great natural strength, built upon a narrow headland jutting far into the sea. The town would probably have been compelled to surrender, but general Caraffa, with eight thousand Germans, was carried by Byng to its relief; and on its arrival, the garrison making a smart sally, there was a vigorous action fought, and there the two armies entrenched themselves, and thus contrived to face each other without further fighting through the winters of 1717-18. Great numbers on both sides perished from lying on a low, marshy ground, and enduring severe want of provisions. The Spaniards could procure supplies from the interiors, but the Germans and Neapolitans were dependent on supplies by sea, and here Byng served them most essentially. It was an unheard-of thing for vessels to keep these dangerous seas during winter, but Byng braved all the hardships and perils of it. He had posted captain Walton to prevent Cammock and his ships coming out of the Faro of Messina whilst he carried supplies to the imperial army; but Walton being thrown by a tempest from the station, Cammock slipped out, and appearing before Tropea, where the provisions were stored, had nearly obtained an ample supply by writing a letter to the governor as an English officer, at the same time carrying English colours. The ruse was, however, discovered, and Cammock had the luck to regain his retreat before Walton was able to recover his station.

In the spring of 1718 the emperor, having ten thousand foot and three thousand horse liberated through the peace with Turkey, brought them to Naples, in order to be conveyed over to Sicily. Byng engaged to carry them to the bay of Patti, a little to the westward of Malazzo, as the best landing-place; but he strongly represented that a greater number of troops would be necessary to cope with the Spaniards, who were brave soldiers, and under an able general. So far, however, from getting these, he found the army, which was under the command of count de Mercy, almost destitute of artillery, and still more so of money. He stripped his Spanish prizes to furnish them with a train of artillery, and gave powder and ball from his own stores. He landed the German troops safely at Patti on the 28th of May; and the Spaniards at Melazzo, though twenty miles off, immediately decamped in such haste, that they left behind them their sick, two thousand bags of flour, some artillery, and ammunition. De Mercy led his army to Melazzo, Byng sailing along the shore to support them, and anchoring off the town. On arriving, count Seckendorf was dispatched with a sufficient force to clear the Lipari isles of the piratical inhabitants, who had continued to intercept the supplies of the army; and that service being thoroughly performed, De Mercy prepared to follow the Spaniards, who had retreated inland to Villa Franca, and there entrenched themselves. It was the 27th of June, however, before the Austrians were ready to march, for they were proverbially slow, and their army very ill supplied, not only with stores, but with all kinds of requisites. They had few surgeons, and those very bad; and it was remarked by the author of an account of this expedition, that there was little difference betwixt being wounded and killed in action, except that of a lingering or sudden death.

The Spaniards had made their retreat to Villa Franca in a day; but the weather was now become intensely hot, and the Austrians found it a most fatiguing march over rugged and wild mountains, conducted by unwilling guides, and harassed by the armed peasantry of the district. They were worn down by carrying in the burning heat not only