Die Lunæ, 17th April, 1699.
1st.—It is resolved, by the Lord’s spiritual and temporal in Parliament assembled, That the squadron commanded by Captain Norris, at St. John’s, in Newfoundland, not going out to fight Pointis, on the several intelligences given, was a very high miscarriage, to the great disservice of the king and kingdom.
2nd. It is resolved that the joining the land officers in the council of war on the 24th July, 1697, was one occasion of the miscarriage in not fighting Pointis.
The first action wherein Captain Mighells had an opportunity of signalising his bravery, is represented as follows: Real-Admiral Dilkes having received orders to look for a grand partee, said to lay in Cancalle Bay, on the cost of Normandy, sailed from Spithead on the 24th July, 1703, in pursuit of them. Having dispatched the Fly, Captain Chamberlain, for intelligence, he was informed, that a fleet of about forty sail were plying towards Granville. The Admiral resolved to sail immediately after them; and having discovered them, determined to attack them at break of day the next morning. He followed them as far as the pilots would venture, and found them to consist of forty-three sail of merchant ships and three men-of-war. On the approach of the English fleet, the French stood in for the shore; and the Admiral being come within four feet of the water which the ships drew, thought it too dangerous to pursue them any farther with the larger men-of-war; and, therefore, having manned all the boats of the fleet, they attacked the French, and so far succeeded, that by noon they had taken fifteen sail, and burnt six; the remainder stood so far into the Bay, that, according to the judgment of the pilots, even the smaller ships could not attack them. Hereupon, the 27th, in the morning it was resolved, in a Council of War, that, under cover of the Hector, Mermaid fireship, the Spy brigantine, a ship of six guns, taken the day before from the enemy, and a ketch fitted as a fireship, all the boats in the squadron should enter the harbour and renew the attack. This service was performed between ten and eleven in the morning, the Admiral being present, accompanied by Captain Fairfax, Captain Legg, and Captain Mighells, as also by Captains Lampries and Pipon. Out of the three men-of-war which the enemy had, one of the eighteen guns they burnt themselves; one of the fourteen guns was set on fire by Mr. Paul, first Lieutenant of the Kent, who, in this service, was shot through the lower jaw, and had four men killed; and the third of eight guns, was brought off. Seventeen merchant ships more were burnt and destroyed; so that of the whole fleet only four escaped by getting under the command of Granville fort. The Queen, to testify her gracious acceptance of so cheerful and effectual a service; and to perpetuate the memory thereof, as well as recompense the gallantry of those who rendered it, ordered gold medals to be struck on this occasion, and to be delivered to the Admiral and all his officers.
The next remarkable action wherein Captain Mighells was eminently distinguished for his conduct and bravery, was the great Malaga fight on the 13th of August, 1704. In this battle he commanded the Monk of sixty guns, 365 men. In this memorable action Captain Mighells gave a most signal instance of true magnanimity and British valour; for the French Admiral having ordered the Serieux of seventy guns, commanded by M. Champmelin, to board the Monk, which he attempted three times, yet he was as often beaten off again by Captain Mighells, with the firmest resolution and courage; and notwithstanding the French, after every repulse, had their wounded men taken off, and their complement restored by their galleys, yet this gallant Captain as constantly cleared the decks of the enemy, and at last forced them to bear away. In these several attacks the Monk had thirty-six men killed and fifty-two wounded, among the latter was Captain Mighells.
The Monk was probably lost near Lowestoft a few years after. In 1719 the Monk, man-of-war, sixty guns, Captain Clinton, coming out of the sea, ran upon Corton sands. The Captain and men left her (except the master and twelve men) and came ashore at Lowestoft. In the night the ship went off the sands, and the master and men brought her up in Corton roads; but afterwards she went ashore at a place called “Old Almonds” (between Corton and Gorleston) where she was totally lost.
In the year 1711, Captain Mighells was again in the Mediterranean, in the Hampton-Court, man-of-war, under Sir John Jennings. The Admiral, after he had appeared off Barcelona, and had taken on board the King of Spain, whom he had landed at Genoa; and had also proceeded to Leghorn, to procure such a supply of stores as that place would afford, sailed for Port Mahon. On his arrival there, he was informed by the Captains of two ships, that they had heard a great firing all the night before. On this intelligence he sent the Chatham and Winchelsea the next morning to try what they could discover; who soon brought him intelligence that the Dutch Vice-Admiral, with his squadron, was in the offing, together with five ships of ours. The ships belonging to the English were the Hampton Court, Captain Mighells; the Nottingham, the Sterling Castle, the Charles galley, and the Lynn; which came from the coast of Catalonia, and in their passage had fallen in with two French men-of-war; the Toulouse and the Trident, each of fifty guns, and four hundred men. The Hampton Court came up with the first of them and engaged her two hours; and to whose commander she struck, at the time when the Sterling Castle came within musket-shot, which was about ten o’clock at night. But the Trident, by the advantage of light winds and the assistance of her oars made her escape. The masts of the Hampton Court being much injured in the fight, they, by the violence of the weather, came next day all by the board, so that she was towed into port by the Sterling Castle.
Captain Mighells, for the many eminent services rendered by him to his country, being made a Rear-Admiral, was appointed a Rear-Admiral of the White, 1718, in a strong squadron sent to the Baltic, under the command of Sir John Norris; this squadron, consisting of ten ships of the line, left Southwold bay on the 1st May, having eighteen sail of merchant ships under convoy. On the second, at three in the morning, they took their departure Lowestoft light-house distant six leagues, and on the 14th May arrived safe at Copenhagen; where, the same day, Sir John Norris had an audience of his Danish Majesty, by whom he was received very graciously; and soon after he sailed, in conjunction with the Danish fleet, and blocked up the Swedes in their harbours, and returned to England again about the latter end of October.
On the 17th December, 1718, war was declared against Spain; and in the beginning of the following year, the nation was under the greatest apprehension of an invasion; and on repeated advices being received of the great preparations made in Spain for that purpose, every necessary precaution was taken to defeat their designs. Sir John Norris set out on the 5th of March, 1719, for Chatham and the Nore; and Rear-Admiral Mighells, for Portsmouth, to forward the sitting out such ships as were in those stations, and to take them under their command. On the 8th of March the Earl of Berkeley kissed his Majesty’s hand on his being appointed commander of the fleet, which was then fitting out with all expedition. The Earl sailed from St. Helen’s to the westward, and after joining Sir John Norris, sailed to the coast of Ireland; from thence he returned on the 4th of April, having dispatched Vice-Admiral Mighells with the Windsor, Monmouth, and Antelope, to the coast of Galicia for intelligence, and then left the command of the fleet to Sir John Norris.
Soon after, advice was received that the fleet of Spanish men-of-war and transports, crowded with men, but wanting all necessaries, had sailed from Cadiz for the Groyne, where they were to be joined by other ships and transports, but had been dispersed in a storm, and driven into different ports, terribly shattered and disabled; some without masts, and others were reduced to the necessity of throwing their horses, stores, and guns overboard, which totally frustrated the designs of the Spaniards to invade England.
The English, being determined to retaliate the insults threatened by the Spaniards in the preceding year, against the British coasts, formed a resolution of sending a fleet and army to the coast of Spain; the former under the command of Vice-Admiral Mighells; the latter under Lord Viscount Cobham. On the 21st of September, 1719, the ships of war and transports, having on board the forces consisting of about six thousand men, sailed from St. Helen’s.
The Admiral arrived upon the coast of Galicia in the month of September, and continued cruising three days in the station appointed for Captain Johnson to join him; but receiving no intelligence of him, and the danger of lying on that coast at that season of the year, with transports, rendering it necessary to take some measures of acting without him, and the wind being fair for Vigo, he came to a resolution of sailing to that port.