Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/817

 GIBRALTAR was erected the castle which is still standing at the N. end of the rock. The fortifications were further strengthened in 1161 under the direction of Alhaug Yaix, a celebrated Moorish e.ngineer. In 1309 the place was captured by the Christians under Guzman the Good, and recaptured by the Moors in 1333. In 1349 siege was laid to it again by Alfonso XI. of Castile, but raised in the following year on ac- count of the plague, which carried off the king. Gibraltar was finally captured by the Christians under the duke of Medina Sidonia in 1462. Under the Spanish crown it was so strength- ened as to be considered impregnable ; but it was taken Aug. 4, 1704, by a combined Eng- lish and Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke and the prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, and held till 1713, when it was confirmed to Great Britain by the treaty of Utrecht. Early in 1727 the Spaniards attacked it with a large force, but raised the siege on the signing of preliminaries of a peace with Great Britain in May of the same year. But the most memorable siege of Gibraltar was that of 1779-'83, sustained against the combined land and naval forces of France and Spain. By June 21, 1779, all communica- tion between the rock and the mainland was cut off, and in July the fortress was completely blockaded. The cannonading began in Sep- tember on the part of the besieged, but the Spaniards did not open their fire until January, 1780. The attack and defence which followed fixed the attention of Europe for the next three years. On the part of the besiegers all the resources of war were brought to bear both by land and sea. The best engineers of France and Spain directed the approaches; a powerful fleet anchored in the bay, and for three weeks an incessant bombardment was kept up from 80 mortars and 200 pieces of battering cannon. The garrison, commanded by Sir Gilbert Eliott (afterward Lord Heath- field), and numbering 7,000 men, made a he- roic resistance. On Nov. 27, 1781^ they de- stroyed the enemies' works in a sortie, but the allies at once reconstructed them, and soon brought 1,000 pieces of artillery to play against the fortress, while 47 ships of the line and in- numerable smaller vessels menaced it by sea, and an army of 40,000 men conducted the operations on land. The whole enterprise was directed by the duke de Crillon. Meanwhile Admiral Rodney, having defeated the fleet of Count de Grasse, succeeded in throwing relief into the fort. In September, 1782, the allies attempted to silence the British fire by means of 10 enormous floating batteries constructed by the chevalier d'Arcon in such a manner as to be deemed invulnerable. Each was manned by a picked crew and mounted from 6 to 21 guns. On the 13th they were put in motion, and one of the most dreadful cannonadings known in history was opened on both sides. It continued for several hours with little ad- vantage to either party, but late in the after- noon the effect of the red-hot shot from the GIBSON" 801 garrison became apparent, and soon after mid- night nine of the batteries were on fire. Of their crews about 400 men were saved by the exertions of the British ; the rest perished by the flames, explosions, or drowning. The be- sieged had 16 killed and 68 wounded. Several attempts to storm the rock by land proved equally disastrous. The British received fresh reinforcements, and in February, 1783, the siege was raised on the signing of prelimina- ries of peace. In 1868 a proposal to surrender Gibraltar to Spain was agitated hi England, but did not meet with public favor. As the key to the Mediterranean and one of the chain of fortresses connecting Great Britain with her East Indian possessions, it is of incalculable value for a coaling station, a depot for war material, and a port of refuge. GIBSON. I. A W. county of Tennessee, drain- ed by Forked Deer and Obion rivers ; area, 520 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 25,666, of whom 6,856 were colored. The surface is generally even and the soil fertile. The Mobile and Ohio and the Memphis and Louisville railroads pass through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 116,869 bushels of wheat, 106,775 of Indian corn, 16,319 of peas and beans, 23,440 of Irish and 60,275 of sweet potatoes, 243,746 Ibs. of butter, 879 tons of hay, and 9,815 bales of cotton. There were 5,631 horses, 2,955 mules and asses, 5,470 milch cows, 6,883 other cattle, 14,113 sheep, and 53,103 swine ; 6 man- ufactories of agricultural implements, 10 of bricks, 13 of carriages, 5 of furniture, 3 of iron castings, 1 of kindling wood, 7 of saddlery and harness, 1 of sashes, doors, and blinds, 6 wool carding and cloth dressing establishments, 11 flour mills, 1 planing mill, and 15 saw mills. Capital, Trenton. II. A S. W. county of In- diana, bordering on Illinois, area, 449 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 17,571. It contains coal, and has an undulating surface and a rich soil, watered by the Wabash and Patoka rivers, the for- mer of which forms the W. boundary. The Wabash and Erie canal and the Evansville and Crawfordsville railroad intersect it. The chief productions in 1870 were 457,260 bushels of wheat, 757,933 of Indian corn, 39,807 of oats, 22,979 of potatoes, 102,812 Ibs. of butter, 37,440 of wool, 182,03il of tobacco, and 7,564 tons of hay. There were 5,206 horses, 3,795 milch cows, 6,026 other cattle, 15,038 sheep, and 28,222 swine; 11 manufactories of car- riages, 1 of furniture, 9 of saddlery and har- ness, 4 of woollen goods, 3 distilleries, 12 flour mills, and 6 saw mills. Capital, Princeton. GIBSON, John, an English sculptor, born at Conway, North Wales, in 1791, died in Rome, Jan. 27, 1866. His father, who was a market gardener, removed to Liverpool, and young Gibson, after endeavoring to prevail on his parents to allow him to study painting, was apprenticed at the age of 14 to a cabinet ma- ker, and soon after to a wood carver. He at- tracted the attention of Messrs. Francis, mar- ble cutters, who purchased his indentures and