CHA P. VI. Great lofs fuftained by the Spanish fleet in a hurricane, on its way to the attack of West Florida. Is refitted, and again proceeds from the Havannah. Penfacola invefted by fea and land. Gallant defence. Principal redoubt blown up by accident, which compels Governor Chefter and General Campbell to furrender. Weft Indies. Ineffectual attempt on the Inland of St. Vincent. Dutch island of St. Eustatius taken by the British fleet and army, under Sir George Rodney and General Vaughan. Prodigious booty. lands of St. Martin and Saba furrender. Dutch man of war and convoy on their return to Europe, purfued and taken. The fettlements of Demerary, Iffequibo, and the Berbices, on the coast of Surinam, make a tender of fubmiflion to the British government, and are granted favourable conditions. Difcontents, complaints, and law fuits, occafioned by the confifcation of private property at St. Eustatius. M. de Graffe arrives with a fleet and great convoy in the West Indies from Europe. Engagement between him and the Admirals Sir Samuel Hood and Drake, in the Channel of St. Lucia. Sir George Rodney departs from St. Euftatius to oppofe the progress of the enemy. Ineffective attempt made by the Marquis de Bouille on the island of St. Lucia. French invafion of the island of Tobago. Vigorous defence. Public Spirit of the planters. Surrendered by capitulation. M. de Graffe, having escorted a vaft convoy on its way to Europe, proceeds with his fleet to the Chefapeak. Sir George Rodney returns to England; and Sir Samuel Hood fails with a Squadron to counteract the defigns of De Graffe at the Chesapeak. W WHILST Englishman was thus fighting against Englifhman in the Carolina's and Virginia; ftill farther to the fouth ward, Spain was profecuting her views with effect against England in Weft Florida. We have already fhewn the fuccefs that had attended Don Bernardo de Galvez, Governor of Louifiana, in his different expeditions, in the years 1779, and 1780, firft against the British fettlements on the Miffiffippi, and afterwards against the town and fort of Mobille. Thefe fucceffes, and the confequent reduction of General Campbell's fmall force, naturally extended his views to the taking of Penfacola, and thereby completing the con fion. A violent hurricane had nearly ruined the Spanish fleet. Four capital fhips, befides others of different denominations, were totally loft, and all on board perrifhed. The lofs of lives was rated confiderably above two thoufand. The remainder of the shattered fleet put back to the Havannah; feveral of them being much torn and difmafted, and the whole confiderably injured. The critical arrival of four ftorefhips from Spain during their abfence, enabled them to refit fpeedily; and knowing there was no British naval force in the way to oppofe them, without waiting till the whole fleet was in condition, they dispatched five fail of the line, with feveral smaller veffels of war, to conduct Don Galvez, with between seven and eight thousand land forces, on the expedition. This force arrived before Penfacola on the 9th of March, 1781; and were followed in time by Don Solano, with the remainder of the fleet, the whole amounting to 15 fail of the line. The principal ftrength of the place feems to have lain in the defence of the harbour; for while that was made good, the enemy would not only be expofed to great difficulties and disadvantages in their landing, but afterwards in the covering and carrying on of their approaches; and which would ftill be too diftant from the works to produce much effect. But the land batteries were not fufficient to guard the entrance without fome naval fupport; and that which they now had was weak indeed, confifting only of two floops, or other fmall veffels of war. Thefe, however, gallantly feconded the batteries; and both together gave much trouble, and caufed no fmall delay to the enemy. Their vaft fuperiority of force, when it could be brought proper ly to bear, was, however, irrefiftible. The paffage was accordingly at length forced; the landing effected; ground broken; and the fiege commenced in form by fea and land. The garrifon was weak; and composed of almoft all forts of men. Detachments from, or rather the remains of dif ferent British regiments; Mary land and Penfylvania "loyalifts; fome of the German troops of Waldeck; together with failors, marines; inhabitants (for every man was of neceffity a foldier); negroes; and, before the place was clofely invefted, a few Indians; formed the motly affemblage, who were to defend Pensacola, againft fo formidable a force. It was much to the honour of Gen. Campbell, the governor, that there was not the fmallest discordance in fo various a garrison; and it was no lefs praise to themfelves, that the whole behaved bravely, patiently, and obediently, through every part of the fiege. It would be unneceffary to men tion, only that their fate might otherwife appear doubtful, that the captains, officers, and crews of the two royal floops of war, after burning their veffels, bore a diftinguished part in the defence of the fort. Indeed every part of the defence was vigorous; and notwithftanding the weakness of the gar rifon, fome well-directed fallies were gallantly made, and fuccefffully executed. In the first week of May, the befiegers had yet done nothing that looked to a de[G] 2 cifion. cifion. They were not, however, at all flack in advancing their works, and the fate of the place was inevitable; but it would still have coft them confiderably more time and trouble, if an untoward accident had not fruftrated the hopes of the befieged. The principal defence of the place confifted in a strong advanced redoubt, by which it was covered, and which commanded the narrow approach to it on the land fide. This was accordingly to be fupported to the laft; which had hitherto been done with great fpirit, and the works had fuffered lefs than might have been expected. The accidental fallMay 8th. ing of a bomb, near the door of the magazine belonging to the redoubt, and which lay under its center, decided the fate of Pensacola. The burfting of the bomb forced open the door, set fire to the powder within, and in an inftant, the whole body of the redoubt prefented nothing but a heap of rubbish. Of about an hundred men who fuffered by this explofion, three parts loft their lives, and the fourth were miferably maimed and wounded. Two flank works ftill remained entire; and through the extraordinary coolnefs and intrepidity of the officers who commanded in thefe, and the excellent ufe they made of their artillery, the befiegers, who rufhed on pellmell to take advantage of the confufion, and to ftorm the place, were, in the first onfet, repulfed By this brave exertion, time was obtained to carry off the wounded, and fuch artillery as were not buried in the ruins. But the enemy now bringing up their whole force to attack the flank redoubts, they were of neceffity abandoned. The enemy then made a fhew of advancing to ftorm the body of the place; but the countenance they obferved, and the state of preparation they perceived, induced them to relinquish the defign. They, however, now derived fuch advantages from the poffeffion of the ruined redoubt, and of the flank works, that the place was no longer tenable; for they commanded fome of the principal batteries fo effectually with their small arms, that the foldiers and feamen could no longer fland to their guns. In these circumftances, and without the most diftant hope of relief, it would have been madness to contend longer. It was fingular, that in this state of imminent and apparent danger, and with all the horrors of the recent deftruction before their eyes, not a fingle word about a furrender was heard in the garrifon. An honourable capitulation was obtained, by Mr. Chefter, the governor of the province, and Major Gen. Campbell; and that was all that could have been expected, or even hoped. The place May 9th. was delivered up, on the day two months, that the enemy had firft made their appearance. Thus fell the province of Weft Florida, which had been held among the principal acquifitions obtained to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris. Whilft the war thus alternately raged and languished in different parts of the continent of North America, it will be neceffary to take a view of those transactions in the Weft-Indies, which led in no fmall degree in their confe quences quences, to that fatal event which was to clofe the campaign in Virginia, and feemed to threaten no lefs than the total extinction of the British power in that part of the world. Upon the return of Admiral Sir George Rodney from New York to St. Lucia, towards the close of the year 1780, the reports which were received, of the ruinous and difmantled ftate of the island of St. Vincent, through the effects of the late hurricane, induced that commander and Gen. Vaughan, to undertake an expedition for recovery of that ifland. Some troops, with the marines of the fleet, were accordingly landed; but after a day's continuance on the ifland, the enemy were found in fuch force, and their works in fuch condition, that the commanders fuffered the mortification of being obliged to re-embark the troops, without venturing to hazard an attack. the It was not much more than a month after this ineffective attempt, when the commanders in chief by fea and land, in confequence of inftructions from England, directed their views to the reduction of the Dutch ifland of St. Euftatius. This island, barren and contemptible in itself, has long been the feat of a lucrative and prodigious commerce; and indeed might be confidered as the. grand free port of the West Indies and America, and as a general market, and magazine, to all nations. Its richest harvefts were, however, during the feafons of warfare amongst its neighbours; owing to its neutrality and fituation, with its unbounded and unclogged freedom of trade. So strong was the fpirit of commerce," and fo immerfed were its checkered and tranfient inhabitants in traffick and gain, that when Holland herself was engaged in a war, the fame freedom of trade continued, and the enemy were not only fupplied with all manner of common necessaries, but even with naval and military stores, as if no rupture with the parent ftate had taken place. This ifland is a natural fortification; and has but one landing place, which might be easily rendered impracticable to an enemy. But hoftility and war, with refpect to themselves, being totally out of the ideas of fuch a people, defence could not be thought of. It will be eafily conceived, that the inhabitants of fuch a barren rock were not very numerous; and from the circumftances we have related, it will not appear furprizing, that they fhould notwithstanding include in their number, fome lefs or greater portion of the natives of almost all trading coun-tries. The British fleet and army, after exciting an alarm on the coafts of Martinique, with a view only of difguifing their real defign, fuddenly appeared before Feb. 3d. and furrounded the inland of St. Euftatius with a 1781. great force; when Sir George Rodney, and General Vaughan, fent a peremptory fummons to the governor, to furrender the island and its dependencies within an hour; accompanied with a declaration or threat, that if any refiftance was made, he must abide by the confequences. Mr. de Graaff, the governor, totally ignorant of the rupture between England and Holland, [G] 3 Holland, could scarcely, at first, believe the officer who delivered the fummons to be ferious. He however, returned for anfwer, that being utterly incapable of making any defence againft the force which invefted the island, he muft of neceffity furrender it; only recommending the town and inhabitants to the known and ufual clemency of British commanders. The wealth found in the place was fo prodigious, as to excite the. aftonishment even of the conquerors, notwithstanding their intimate previous knowledge of its nature and circumftances. The whole island seemed to be only one vaft magazine. All the florehoufes were not only filled with various commodities, but the beach was covered with hogfheads of fugar and tobacco. The value of the commodities was estimated, by a loose, but fuppofed moderate calculation, as being confiderably above three millions fterling. But this was only a part. The capture of fhipping was immense. Above 250 veffels of all denominations, and many of them richly loaded, were taken in the bay; exclufive of a Dutch frigate of war, of 38 guns, and five leffer ones. The neighbouring fmall iflands of St. Martin and Saba, were reduced in the fame manner; and Sir George Rodney having information, that a fleet of about 30 large fhips, richly laden with fugar, and other Weft-India commodities, had juft before his arrival failed from St. Euftatius for Holland, under convoy of a flag fhip of 60 guns, he immediately difpatched the Monarch and Panther, with the Sybil frigate, in purfuit of them. These foon overtook the convoy; and the Dutch admiral refufing to ftrike his colours (for he had refrained, as he faw he could not fupport it, from hoifting his flag, upon a principle of naval if not national honour), and, all remonftrances proving ineffectual to fubdue his obftinacy, a ihort engagement took place between him, in the Mars, and Capt. Reynolds in the Monarch; in which the former died bravely in defence of his fhip. The Mars then immediately ftruck; and the Panther and Sybil having in the mean time restrained the flight and feparation of the merchantmen, the whole convoy was taken. This was one of the feverest blows that Holland could have received. The Dutch Weft-India company, with the magiftracy and citizens of Amfterdam, were undoubtedly great fufferers upon the occafion. But the greatest weight of the calamity feems to have fallen upon the British merchants, who confiding in the neutrality of the place, and in fome acts of parliament, made to encourage the bringing of their property from the islands lately taken by the French, had accumulated a great quantity of Weft-India produce, as well as of European goods, in this place. For all the property was indifcriminately feized, inventoried, and declared to be confifcated. The keeping up of Dutch colours in the nominal fort at St. Euftatius, rendered it for fome time a decoy to French, Dutch, and American velfels; a confiderable number |