Gibraltar and Its Sieges, with a Description of Its Natural Features.

by Frederic George Stephens

The bombardment for some weeks had gradually slackened, and by this time was reduced to a discharge of three shells in twenty-four hours; which the English soldiers, from an idea that the Spaniards intended by the number some allusion to the Trinity, with much more profanity than humour named Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Captain Drinkwater gravely observes that probably the Spaniards might entertain a bigoted respect for that mystical number, and, remembering the heretical condition of the English, might apprehend some efficacy from it in the great work of “converting the garrison to the Catholic faith;” an attempt at jocosity not much more successful than that of the soldiers! Uncle Toby, in Sterne’s great fiction, tells us that “our army swore terribly in Flanders.” There seems good reason to believe that they swore terribly and acted vilely in Gibraltar. A wide chasm separates the British soldiers of to-day from the British soldiers of yesterday. They were then recruited from the lowest classes, the scum and refuse of society, the outpourings of our jails, and it was with difficulty that even a terribly rigid discipline kept them in order. They were ill-fed, ill-paid, ill-treated; and their moral character was of the very lowest. But to-day the soldier is thoughtfully cared for, not only as regards his material but his moral and intellectual wants. Hence the ranks of our army now include a large proportion of respectable young men, who are aware that good conduct will place great prizes within their reach. The only bonds between them and their predecessors are those of loyalty and courage. The soldiers of Napier who stormed Magdala are as eminent for their courage and faithfulness as were those of Elliot who defended Gibraltar. In these virtues they could not surpass their predecessors; but in all other respects they are unquestionably above them.

An incident occurred on the 27th which is worth recording. During an attack made by the gun and mortar boats, a shell burst within the hospital and killed an artillerist. Some time before, this man, a very gallant fellow, had broken his thigh; his active spirit was ill able to endure the confinement his case rendered necessary, and he tottered abroad in order to enjoy the fresh air in the hospital court. Unfortunately, in one of his lively moods he fell, and was compelled to take to his bed again. He was lying there when a shell from the mortar boats crashed into the ward, and rebounding, lodged upon him. The invalids and convalescents in the same room contrived, by vigorous exertions, to crawl out on hands and knees, while the fuse was burning; but the unfortunate artillerist was kept down by the weight of the shell, which after some seconds exploded, tore off both his legs, and scorched him piteously. Strange to say, he survived the shock, and was sensible up to the moment that death relieved him from his agony. His last words were a regret that he had not died on the batteries, “with his face to the foe,” as all true soldiers wish.

A few days later a shell wounded a private of the 73rd; that is, he was knocked down by the wind of it; and the shell, instantly bursting, killed a soldier standing close by, and mangled most terribly the hero of our anecdote. His head was fractured, his left arm broken in two places, one of his legs shattered, the skin and muscles of part of his right hand torn off, the middle finger crushed, and his whole body most severely bruised. In a word, the man was reduced to a bleeding and mutilated mass of flesh, and his recovery seemed hopeless. The surgeons who took charge of him were at a loss to which injury they should first give their attention. That evening, however, he was trepanned; a few days afterwards his leg was amputated. All his wounds and fractures were carefully dressed, and, thanks, it may be supposed, to a wonderfully robust constitution, as well as to the skill of his medical attendants, his cure was completely effected. His name, adds the historian, is Donald Ross; and he long continued to enjoy His Majesty’s bounty in the shape of a pension of ninepence a day. “Ninepence a day,” however, seems but poor payment for a trepanned skull, an amputated leg, and a shattered right hand!

The enemy, by this time, had completed the construction of an advanced range of batteries, which, in spite of the continual fire of the garrison, assumed a threatening aspect. They rolled a storm of shot and shell upon the British works, doing serious execution; and the strength and energies of the defenders were severely taxed. A battery named St. Carlos was especially annoying, from its position, and the heavy ordnance with which it was mounted. Acting on information which he obtained from two deserters, General Elliot determined on an attempt to destroy it. He formed his plans with the secrecy and deliberation characteristic of the man, and communicated them to no one until the hour fixed for their execution. On the evening of the 26th of November, as the gates were shut after first gun-fire, he assembled on the Redsands, now called the Alameda, a detachment consisting of a couple of regiments, the grenadiers and light infantry from the other regiments, one hundred artillery, and two hundred workmen (or sappers and miners, as we now call them),—in all, about 2074 men, with 99 officers, and 147 non-commissioned officers. Each private carried thirty-six rounds of ammunition, and “a good flint in his piece, with another in his pocket.” In those days rifled guns, Sniders, and Martini-Henrys had not been dreamed of; and the British musket was a cumbrous weapon, in which the charge was ignited by a spark from a flint.

The officers having received their instructions, the whole force, with one hundred sailors from the ships in the Bay, assembled under the command of Brigadier Ross, and being divided into three columns, armed with fire-fagots and other implements, advanced, under cover of the darkness, against the enemy’s batteries. In the deepest silence they marched under the dark shadow of the Rock; but, in spite of all their precautions, the right column was seen and challenged by the Spanish sentinels, who instantly fired. The officer in command, forming his attacking corps, dashed forward at a brisk pace for the extremity of the parallel, which he entered without opposition, and began to dismantle. Part of Hardenberg’s regiment in the darkness mistook their way, and found themselves, before they discovered their error, in front of the terrible St. Carlos battery. Satisfied with the object before them, they rushed at it, cheering, mounted the parapet, and flung themselves into the middle of the works. There was no resource for the Spaniards, in the presence of men so determined, but to retreat; which they did, without loss of time. The central and left columns were equally successful; for Elliot’s warriors were men of a very resolute temper, and having made up their minds to carry the Spanish batteries, what could the Spaniards do but let them have their way! The British commanders then reformed their ranks, while the pioneers and artillerymen proceeded to do their duty.

The batteries were soon prepared for the operation of the fire-fagots, and these being ignited, the flames spread rapidly in every direction. The whole line of works soon presented one vast mass of fire and lurid smoke, which threw its glare over the Rock, was reflected in the waters of the Bay, and revealed every object in the vicinity.

Their task thus successfully accomplished, the British soldiers prepared to regain their own lines. Such had been their dash and courage that the Spaniards, though at a short distance they had one hundred and thirty-five guns mounted, seemed stricken with a panic, and made no effort to impede their operations. Thus, in a single hour the British were able to reduce to ruins the labours of many weeks. The event “challenges greater admiration,” says Drinkwater, “when we reflect that the batteries were distant near three-quarters of a mile from the garrison, and only within a few hundred yards of a besieging enemy’s lines.” There can be no doubt that the achievement was a brilliant one; the coup de main was well conceived, and well executed, with but a trifling loss of life. Only five men were killed; the wounded and missing did not exceed twenty-five. Altogether, it served to show the Spaniards of what sort of stuff the British soldier was made.

CHAPTER IV.
THE FLOATING BATTERIES.

HE blow so suddenly and effectually levelled at the Spaniards seems for a time to have paralyzed their energies. But about the beginning of December they recovered themselves to some extent, and the besieged could see a large body of their men busily engaged in making fascines, with a view to the reconstruction of their batteries. It was also ascertained that the allied Governments of France and Spain had determined upon concentrating in front of Gibraltar a force which should render resistance impossible; that several French regiments were to be despatched to the assistance of the besieging army; and the conduct of the operations entrusted to the Duke of Crillon, who had recently gained a high reputation by his conquest of Minorca.