A GENTLEMANLY ENGLISH COMMANDER.
It was now resolved to despatch a strong squadron to the West Indies[XXXI‑22] for the protection of British commerce, and, in retaliation for the injuries inflicted by the Spaniards, to attack Portobello. So strongly was this city fortified that during a debate of the house of commons one of the members stated that it could not be captured with less than fifty or sixty men-of-war; whereupon Captain Edward Vernon, himself a member, happening to be present, rose and said: "I will forfeit my life if I cannot take it with six ships." The offer was promptly accepted; the captain was given the command of an expedition, and being promoted to the rank of vice-admiral set sail on the 20th of July 1739. Touching at Port Royal he obtained a reënforcement of 240 troops, and after waiting in vain for more land forces from England, put to sea with seven vessels, six of them having on board 2,735 men and 370 guns; one was ordered to cruise off Cartagena, that the commander might make good his promise to capture the city with six ships only. On nearing the coast three Spanish war-vessels were sighted and chased, but made good their escape, and found safe shelter, as their captains supposed, under the cannon of the forts.
At daybreak on the 21st of November the British squadron entered the harbor in line of battle. A brisk fire was at once opened from the strongest fort of the Spaniards, known as the Iron Castle, and against this point Vernon directed his attack. The Hampton Court, a vessel with 70 guns and 500 men, led the way, and, anchoring almost within a cable's length of the fort, bore for some minutes the whole brunt of the fight. Within half an hour two other vessels came into action, and soon the upper portion of the castle wall was battered down, when many of the Spaniards abandoned their guns and fled. Observing this the admiral ordered a lieutenant with forty sailors and a party of marines to land and carry the fort by assault. He then anchored his own ship, the Burford, within half a cable's length of the enemy's cannon, in order to cover the storming party. He met with a warm reception, for the Spaniards opened a point-blank fire on the Burford, and every gun took effect. One shot passed through the fore-top-mast, another struck within two inches of the main-mast, a third broke through the bulwarks of the quarter-deck, close to the spot where Vernon stood, killing two men and wounding five others. The stern of the admiral's barge was shot away, and a large carronade on the main-deck was disabled. But soon the flag-ship brought her starboard broadside to bear on the castle, and at the first discharge drove the Spaniards from their lower batteries; then swinging round on her cable she poured in another volley from her larboard guns. The fire of her small arms commanded the lower embrasures; the men meanwhile had made good their landing from the boats; and soon the white flag was hoisted from the Iron Castle. Firing was continued until dark from two other forts, which then guarded the harbor of Portobello, but on the following morning the city, the fortifications, and all the vessels in port were finally surrendered to the English.[XXXI‑23]
Vernon would not allow his men to pillage the town[XXXI‑24] or molest the inhabitants; but ten thousand pesos intended for the pay of the garrison were found concealed, and distributed among the English forces.[XXXI‑25] The most serviceable pieces of ordnance were placed on board the fleet; the rest were spiked; the ammunition was secured, and after blowing up all the fortifications of the city, Vernon, being now reënforced by several vessels, returned to Port Royal, whence after refitting his fleet he sailed on the 25th of February 1740 for the mouth of the Chagre with six men-of-war, and several fire-ships, bombketches, and tenders.
The castle of San Lorenzo which, it will be remembered, was demolished by Morgan in 1671, had been rebuilt and strongly fortified. Vernon now resolved to destroy it and thus strike another blow at Spain's dominions in Tierra Firme; but first to punish the inhabitants of Cartagena from which city the Spanish admiral, Don Blas, had sent him while at Portobello a message which savored of insolence. The don had accused him of fear, and remarked that "to take Cities and destroy Royal Fortifications was an unusual and unexpected Way of making Reprisals." This remark the British commander deemed sufficient excuse for shelling the city, during which process the customhouse, the Jesuit college, a church, and other buildings were laid in ruins though he did not succeed in capturing Cartagena. The castle of San Lorenzo was surrendered with but slight resistance; and after committing further depredations on the coast Vernon set sail from the shores of Tierra Firme.
About three weeks after the declaration of war between England and Spain, Captain George Anson arrived at Spithead from his cruise off the coast of Africa and in the West Indies. He was placed in charge of an armament consisting of six vessels with 1,510 men and 236 guns, and was promised a force of infantry composed of several hundred choice troops, the purpose of the expedition being to operate on the coast of Peru, and thence to proceed northward, attack Panamá, and capture the treasure-fleet.
VERNON'S EXPEDITION.
In 1741 Vernon, who was now at Jamaica, was placed in charge of the largest fleet and army that had ever been despatched to the West Indies. Twenty-nine ships of the line, with a large number of frigates, bombketches, and fire-ships, manned by 15,000 seamen and having on board about 12,000 troops, were here collected for a descent on the mainland. Anson was directed to coöperate with Vernon by way of the Isthmus; and had not these expeditions suffered a series of reverses, caused in part by the vacillating policy of the British ministry, Spain's dominion in the western world might now have come to an end.
ANSON'S EXPEDITION.
But in place of choice troops a number of raw recruits were placed on board Anson's ships, the only veterans being invalids; and the departure of his squadron was delayed until the 18th of September 1740. After clearing the straits of Magellan they encountered a furious storm which lasted for fifty-eight days. The vessels were parted, and on the 9th of June in the following year the admiral's ship, the Centurion, arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez with her crew prostrated by scurvy. Here he was soon rejoined by two others of the squadron, and after remaining a hundred and four days at the island set sail for the coast of South America, sacking and burning the town of Paita and taking several vessels, by the men on board one of which he was told that Vernon had been defeated at Cartagena. It was resolved not to make any attempt on Panamá; and after some further adventures Anson sailed toward Manila, and captured in that vicinity a prize which rewarded him and his followers for all their toil and suffering. This was a Spanish galleon having on board nearly a million and a half of pesos. Anson then set his face homeward and arrived in England by way of the Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of June 1744, having occupied three years and nine months in his circumnavigation.[XXXI‑26]