When it was found impracticable for the land forces to make themselves masters of Cadiz, Sir George Rooke proposed bombarding it, but this suggestion meeting with opposition the admiral decided to return home.
On September 19th, 1702, the fleet sailed homeward bound, but on October 6th the admiral received information from Captain Hardy that a number of galleons under the escort of a strong French squadron had entered the harbour of Vigo; upon which Sir George called a council of war composed of English and Dutch flag-officers, by whom it was resolved to sail to Vigo as expeditiously as possible, and attack the enemy.
The passage into the harbour was not more than three-quarters of a mile across, and was defended on the north side by a battery of eight brass and twelve iron guns; and on the south by a platform of twenty brass and twenty iron guns, also a stone fort, with a breast-work and deep trench before it, mounting ten guns and manned by five hundred men. There was, from one side of the harbour to the other, a strong boom composed of ships-yards and top masts, fastened together with three-inch rope, and underneath with hawsers and cables. The top-chain at each end was moored to a seventy-gun ship; one the Hope, which had been taken from the English, and the other the Bourbon. Within the boom were moored five ships, of between sixty and seventy guns each, with their broadsides fronting the entrance of the passage, so as to command any ship that came near the boom, forts, and platform.
The admirals removed their flags from the great ships into third-rates, the first- and second-rates being all too big to go in. Sir George Rooke went out of the Royal Sovereign into the Somerset; Admiral Hopson out of the Prince George into the Torbay; Admiral Fairbourne out of the St. George into the Essex; and Admiral Graydon out of the Triumph into the Northumberland. A detachment of fifteen English and ten Dutch men-of-war, with all their fire-ships, frigates, and bomb-vessels, was ordered to go upon the service.
The Duke of Ormond, to facilitate this attack, landed two thousand five hundred men on the south side of the river, at a distance of about six miles from Vigo; and Lord Shannon, at the head of five hundred men, attacked the stone fort at the entrance of the harbour and made himself master of the platform of forty pieces of cannon. The French governor, M. Sozel, ordered the gates of the fort to be thrown open, resolving to force his way through the English troops. But though there was great bravery, there was but very little judgment in this action, for his order was no sooner obeyed than the grenadiers stormed the place, sword in hand, and forced the garrison, consisting of about three hundred and fifty Frenchmen and Spaniards, to surrender as prisoners of war.
As soon as our flag was seen flying from the fort the ships advanced; and Vice-admiral Hopson in the Torbay, crowding all the sail he could, ran directly against the boom, and broke it; upon which the Kent, with the rest of the squadron, English and Dutch, entered the harbour. The enemy made a prodigious fire upon them, both from their ships and batteries on shore, until the latter were captured by our grenadiers; who, seeing the execution done by their guns on the fleet, stormed them with incredible resolution. In the meantime, one of the enemy's fire-ships had laid the Torbay on board and did her considerable damage. Her foretop mast was shot by the board; most of the sails burnt or scorched; the fore-yard consumed to a cinder; the larboard shrouds, fore and aft, burnt to the dead eyes; several ports blown off the hinges; her larboard side entirely scorched; one hundred and fifteen men killed and drowned, of whom about sixty jumped overboard as soon as they were grappled by the fire-ship.
In the meantime Captain William Bokenham, in the Association, a ship of ninety guns, lay with her broadside to the battery, on the left of the harbour, which was soon disabled; and Captain Francis Wyvill, in the Barfleur, a ship of the same force, was sent to batter the fort on the other side, which was a very dangerous and troublesome service, since the enemy's shot pierced the ship through and through, and for some time he durst not fire a gun because our troops were between him and the fort; but they soon drove the enemy from their post, and then the struggle was between the French firing their ships and the galleons and our men endeavouring to save them. In this dispute the Association had her main-mast shot, and two men killed; the Kent had her fore-mast shot and the boatswain wounded; the Barfleur had her main-mast shot, two men killed, and two wounded; the Mary had her bowsprit shot. Of the troops there were only two lieutenants and thirty men killed, and four superior officers wounded; a very inconsiderable loss, considering that the enemy had fifteen French men-of-war, two frigates and a fire-ship, burnt, sunk, or taken, besides seventeen galleons.
Six galleons were taken by the English and five by the Dutch, who sank six. As to the wealth on board the galleons we have no exact account. Of the silver fourteen millions of pieces were saved; of the goods about five. Four millions of plate were destroyed with ten millions of merchandise; and about two millions in silver and five in goods were brought away by the English and Dutch.
Sir Cloudesley Shovel arriving on October 16th as the troops were embarking, the admiral left him at Vigo with orders to see that the French men-of-war and the galleons that we had taken, and that were in a condition to be brought to England, were carefully rigged and properly supplied with men. He was likewise directed to burn such as could not be brought home, and to take the best care he could to prevent embezzlements. After appointing a strong squadron for this service, the admiral, with the rest of the fleet and one of the Spanish galleons, sailed home, and arrived in the Downs on November 7th, 1702, whence the great ships were sent round to Chatham.