Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/470

456 were, and lord Fitzroy discharged a broadside at one of them, and a fight began. This continued the greater part of the night, and then the vessels hoisted French colours. It now turned out that these ships were part of the French squadron, under the command of the marquis D'Antin, sent to assist the Spanish admiral, De Torres, against the English fleet and colonies. As war was not yet declared betwixt France and England, although the French were thus ready to perpetrate it anywhere on the seas, the firing ceased, as though it had been an accidental mistake. The two commanders exchanged mutual compliments, apologised for the blunder, and separated with an air of friendship, but with a considerable loss on each side. The French ships proceeded to join D'Antin, and to commit any other such mistake whenever the English should attack the Spaniards, or the Spaniards be disposed to attack the English. Ogle joined admiral Vernon in Jamaica, who now found himself at the head of the most formidable fleet and army which ever appeared in those seas, and with full authority to act at his discretion. The united squadron consisted of twenty-nine ships of the line, and an equal number of frigates, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, supplied amply with all necessary stores of ammunition and provisions. Had Vernon been the great commander which the opposition represented him, he had now the opportunity of doing magnificent service, and reducing some of the most important and valuable of the Spanish territories. He had fifteen thousand seamen and twelve thousand soldiers, including an American regiment, and a considerable body of negroes. But Vernon, so far from being the great man that his party had described, and, perhaps, believed him, was a testy, captious, and incompetent person. The palpable thing to do was to sail for Cuba, and endeavour to take Havannah. This place was, according to all accounts, badly garrisoned. There was no chance of its resisting such a force as that of England. The capital once taken, all Cuba must speedily have been reduced; and Spain, thus deprived of one of her finest possessions, would have found us so placed, that we must continually intercept the whole wealth of the Spanish West Indies, and Spain must have been reduced to a humiliating surrender. Sir Chaloner Ogle joined Vernon on the 9th of January, and so time was to be lost, for the wet season set in at the end of April, which, besides the deluges of rain which fall, is attended by a most unhealthy state of the climate. Vernon, however, did not move till towards the end of the month, and then, instead of directing his course towards the Havannah, which lay to the leeward, and could have been reached in three days, he beat up against the wind to Hispaniola, in order to watch the motions of the French fleet under D'Antin. It was the 15th of February before he learned distinctly that the French had sailed for Europe in great distress for men and provisions. Now was the time to make his way to Cuba; but, instead of that, he called a council of war—the resource of a weak commander, and which was followed by its almost invariable result—a contrariety of advice. It was at length concluded that, as admiral Torres had now sailed for Havannah, and thus closed the opportunity for its attack, the fleet should take in wood and water at Hispaniola, and make for the continent of New Spain. On the 4th of March the fleet came to anchor in Playa-Grande, to the windward of Carthagena.

Carthagena was strongly fortified, and the garrison was reinforced by the crews of a squadron lying there under Don Blas de Leso. If the place was to be assaulted, it should have been done at once; but Vernon lay perfectly inactive for five days, as if to allow the enemy to make all his preparations for defence. He then, with a surprising infatuation, landed his troops on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of the harbour called Boca-Chica, or the Little Mouth, which was wonderfully fortified with castles, batteries, bombs, chains, cables, and ships of war. Notwithstanding this, the brave English erected a battery on shore, and played so effectually on the principal fort, that they soon made a breach in it, whilst the fleet fired into the harbour, thus dividing the attention of the enemy. In spite of their advantages, the Spaniards abandoned their forts and batteries, the English entered the breach, the vessels in the harbour were destroyed, and the passage cleared so that the fleet could sail in and support the army. Lord Aubrey Beauclerk was killed whilst he was leading on the ships, but this did not stop the attack. There appeared nothing capable of preventing the conquest of the town but the cabals of the two commanders. Lord Cathcart had caught the endemic fever and died, and was succeeded by general Wentworth in command of the land forces. Wentworth had a great contempt of Vernon, and Vernon was by no means well disposed towards Wentworth. The fleet having entered the harbour, the land forces were all disembarked, and posted within a mile of Carthagena. But there the success stopped. Vernon had written home his dispatches to the duke of Newcastle on the 6th of August, saying, "The wonderful success of this evening and night is so astounding, that we cannot but cry out, 'It is the Lord's doing, and it seems marvellous in our eyes!'"

The news, when it reached England, produced a transport of exultation. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and great rejoicings made, anticipatory of fresh tidings of wonderful success. But very different was the reality. Wentworth called on Vernon to bombard Carthagena from the harbour, whilst he assailed it on land; but Vernon replied that he could not get near enough to attack the town effectually, and that Wentworth must attempt the reduction of the fort San Lazaro, which commanded the town, and might be taken by escalade. Wentworth replied to Vernon with indignation, that he did not support him; that he had landed the troops and their tents, stores, and artillery most negligently, so that his men had had to lie on the bare ground for three nights, under the heavy dews of that unhealthy season, and exposed to the fire of the Spaniards, without any means of returning it. On the other hand, Vernon complained that Wentworth had left open the communication betwixt the town and the country, by which means the enemy was reinforced and the town supplied with abundance of provisions. Amid these recriminations, Wentworth called a council of officers, and it was resolved to attempt the escalade of San Lazaro. Twelve hundred men advanced, under General Guise, to the assault. They were led on by a number of pretended Spanish deserters or guides. Those fellows conducted them, not to the weakest, but to the very