In the wake of the buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

All this being arranged, the flotilla set sail, but Morgan had no mind to leave an enemy in his rear and decided first to attack and conquer Old Providence (St. Catherine). Not only would this leave a way clear for his retreat, but, in addition, he well knew that countless outlaws and bandits were deported to this island from Panama and that these scoundrels would serve him well as guides.

So great was Morgan’s fame by now that the governor of Old Providence made no show of resistance,—although the place was heavily fortified and well garrisoned,—and offered to surrender provided Morgan would enter into a scheme by which his Excellency might save his face, and his neck as well. This was nothing more nor less than for Morgan to make a sham attack which the governor would pretend to resist. The scheme was carried out; the island fell into the buccaneers’ hands without a [[353]]real blow being struck, and the pirates at once proceeded to rob the people. They destroyed the forts, spiked the guns, and secured thirty thousand pounds of powder, vast amounts of ammunition, and several hundred muskets.

As Morgan had foreseen, there were outlawed bandits on the island, and three of these gladly offered to join his ranks. The next step in the game was in a way the most difficult of all, for in order to reach Panama or to ascend the Chagres River it was necessary to silence Fort San Lorenzo at the river’s mouth, a fortification which was considered absolutely impregnable and had been strengthened and more heavily armed since the capture of Porto Bello two years previously.

Making the excuse that if he sent his entire fleet the Dons would suspect his designs upon Panama, but unquestionably in reality preferring not to risk his own precious life in the taking of a place which would yield no loot, Morgan sent four ships with four hundred men under charge of Captain Brodely (one of the “ancient and expert pirates” referred to by Esquemelling), with orders to take San Lorenzo.

Although all the credit for this spectacularly daring and almost hopeless task is always given to Morgan, he actually had no hand in it, but waited [[354]]in safety at St. Catherine, enjoying good wine and excellent food while Brodely took all the risks and paved the way for the descent upon Panama.

Never in all their savage conflicts did the pirates do harder and more desperate fighting than that at San Lorenzo. We are so accustomed to hearing of the buccaneers’ uninterrupted victories that we have come to think that the Spaniards were cravens, and that they offered little resistance to their enemies. But this is a great mistake. Even the buccaneers freely acknowledged the courage, the determination, and the valor of the Spanish troops. In every case, with the exception of the treacherous surrender of Old Providence by its governor, the Spaniards fought like furies, and in nearly every battle they performed feats of bravery that won the greatest admiration and praise from the pirates. But they were always taken by surprise, were always at a disadvantage, and they were not the adepts at hand-to-hand fighting that the buccaneers were.

Never before had the pirates been so hard put to it as in the taking of the massive fort that guarded the entrance to the Chagres. For an entire night and the following day the battle raged, and when at last the fort was in the hands of the buccaneers they found but thirty men remaining [[355]]of the three hundred and fourteen who had formed its garrison, and not one officer was left alive. Indeed, many of the Spaniards, finding the place was about to fall, cast themselves from the parapets into the river, or upon the rocks at the base of the cliffs, rather than surrender to the hated English.

And had it not been for a mere accident it is questionable if the pirates could have won the day. For hours they had made not the least headway, for outside of the fortress proper were heavy palisades of stakes set in double rows and filled between with earth, and so galling was the fire from the soldiers that, try as they might, the attacking force could not approach these to set them afire or pull them down. But during an assault an arrow from the fort struck one of the pirates in the back and passed completely through his body.

With a curse the fellow dragged the arrow from the wound, wrapped a bit of rag about it, rammed it down his musket, and fired it at the Spaniards. Mad with pain as he was, his only thought was to use the first missile that came to hand, but his act won the day for the buccaneers. The cotton cloth, catching fire from the powder, dropped upon the tinder-like thatch of a house within the fort, and in an instant it was in flames. Close at hand was a great quantity of powder, and ere the Dons realized [[356]]what had occurred there was a terrific explosion which killed many of the soldiers, dismounted several cannon, and caused consternation and confusion among the defenders of the fort. Taking advantage of this, the pirates rushed the works, fired and pulled down the palisades, and clambering across the moat, which was filled with the earth falling from between the palisades, gained the interior of the fortress.

But the fight was by no means over. Inch by inch the Spaniards contested the pirates’ advance, fighting furiously with swords, pistols, and even sticks and stones, while others sought desperately to extinguish the fire now raging within the castle. Although the buccaneers had made the breach and had entered the inner fortifications soon after midnight, yet they had gained not a dozen yards at noon on the following day, and back and forth the battle raged, first one side, then the other, gaining an advantage, while dead and wounded fell on every hand, and Dons and Britons were piled deep in bloody heaps. Soon after noon, however, the pirates gained a breach where the Spanish governor himself with a company of picked corps de garde was stationed, and after desperate hand-to-hand fighting the brave governor fell with a musket ball through his brain. [[357]]