"Neither, while the war lasts, will Gibraltar surrender. Not though Crillon, Nassau, Siegen, with the ablest projectors extant, are there; and Prince Condé and Prince d'Artois have hastened to help. Wondrous leather-roofed floating-batteries, set afloat by French-Spanish Pacte de famille, give gallant summons; to which, nevertheless, Gibraltar answers Plutonically, with mere torrents of red-hot iron,—as if stone Calpe had become a throat of the Pit; and utters such a Doom's-blast of a No, as all men must credit."—Carlyle.
The year 1779 saw England engaged in war on both sides of the Atlantic, with bitter and jealous enemies. Her struggle with the revolted colonies offered a tempting opportunity to France to wipe out her losses during the Seven Years' War,—and to Spain, to wipe out the disgrace which she felt in the possession of Gibraltar by the English. France, accordingly, espoused the cause of the Americans; and Spain, under pretence of the rejection of an offer of mediation between England and France, proposed in terms which could not be accepted, immediately declared a war, which had been decided upon from the day of the disaster at Saratoga, and for which preparations had been progressing for some time without any pretence of concealment.
The Royal Artillery in this year consisted of thirty-two service companies, and eight invalid. The augmentation referred to in the last chapter did not take place until the end of the year. Of this number, one-half—sixteen companies—was in America; one company in Newfoundland; three in the West Indies; three in Minorca; and five in Gibraltar:—a total abroad of twenty-eight service companies out of thirty-two. Nor was it a foreign service, so weary and uneventful as it sometimes is now: it was a time when England was fighting almost for existence, and every company had to share the dangers. Should such a rising against England ever occur again, the Regiment could not select as its model for imitation anything nobler than the five companies which were in Gibraltar during the great siege.
They were the five senior companies of the 2nd Battalion, and they still exist, under the altered nomenclature, as,—
| No. 7 Battery, | 21st Brigade | Intermediately in the 6th Brigade. |
| 2 Battery | 12th Brigade | |
| 7 Battery | 10th Brigade | |
| D Battery | 1st Brigade | |
| 8 Battery | 3rd Brigade |
At the commencement of the siege, Colonel Godwin was in command of the Artillery; but he returned to England in the following year, on promotion to the command of the Battalion, and died in about six years. He was succeeded by Colonel Tovey, the same officer who had been present with his company at Belleisle; and who, having had practical experience of Siege Artillery of the attack, was now to head a train of Artillery of the defence, in which duty and command he died. On his death, which happened at a most exciting period of the siege, he was succeeded by Major Lewis, whose conspicuous gallantry and severe wounds earned for him a well-deserved Good Service Pension.
The strength of the Artillery was wholly inadequate to the number of guns on the Rock. It amounted to a total of 25 officers, and 460 non-commissioned officers and men; whereas, at the termination of the siege, the following was the serviceable and mounted armament:—
Guns.—Seventy-seven 32-pounders; one hundred and twenty-two 24-pounders and 26-pounders; one hundred and four 18-pounders; seventy 12-pounders; sixteen 9-pounders; twenty-five 6-pounders; thirty-eight 4-pounders and 3-pounders.
Mortars.—Twenty-nine 13-inch; one 10-inch; six 8-inch; and thirty-four of smaller natures.
Howitzers.—Nineteen 10-inch, and nine 8-inch.