The defeat of the allied forces under the Earl of Galway by the Duke of Berwick at Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707, cast a gloom over the prospects of King Charles in Spain; and in June following, measures were adopted for co-operating with the Duke of Savoy and the Prince Eugene, in an attack upon Toulon. The fleet proceeded for the coast of Italy, and anchored between Nice and Antibes, when a conference took place with the commanders-in-chief of the sea and land forces, and it was decided that a joint attack should be made upon a portion of the enemy’s army which was entrenched upon the river Var; the enemy having evacuated his positions, they were immediately occupied by several hundred British seamen and marines; the passage was thus secured for the Duke of Savoy to prosecute his designs, and ships were stationed along different parts of the sea-coast: every aid was afforded by the fleet; but the enemy, having been reinforced, made a successful sally, and the allied forces sustained considerable loss; the siege was consequently raised on the 10th of August following.
1708
In consequence of King Charles having desired that Sardinia should be reduced, with a view to a passage being opened for his troops into Naples to attack Sicily, and also to secure the means of supplying provisions for his armies, it was decided that a body of marines should be withdrawn from Catalonia to assist in this enterprise. On the 12th of August, 1708, the armament designed for this service arrived before Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, and after receiving a hesitating reply to the summons to surrender, the bombardment commenced on that evening, and continued until the following morning, when, at the break of day, Major-General Wills (Thirtieth regiment), at the head of the Marines, with one Spanish regiment, landed, and the place surrendered.
It was next decided that an attempt should be made upon the island of Minorca. The fleet accordingly set sail, and arrived before Port Mahon on the 28th of August, 1708.
At this period the six marine regiments had been much reduced in numbers by the arduous services on which they had been employed from the commencement of the war, so that it became necessary to draft the men of two of these corps into the other four regiments, in order to render this force effective for the service for which it was now destined, and which, there was reason to expect, would be difficult, and would require the most energetic measures towards effecting the conquest of the island. For this purpose all the Marines fit for service, were drawn from the ships about to return home, and were incorporated in the four regiments which were employed in the reduction of this island. The two regiments (Holl’s and Shannon’s) returned to England in order to recruit their numbers.
The fleet proceeded to commence operations, and the first attack was against Fort Fornelle, which was cannonaded, and surrendered after a contest of four hours; a detachment proceeded to Citadella, the capital, which surrendered; batteries, which had been erected, were opened on the works defending the town of Port Mahon, on the 17th of September, when, after a short but brisk fire, a lodgment was effected under the walls of St. Philip’s Castle, and on the following day the place surrendered.
The valuable and important Island of Minorca was thus reduced to submission to the British Crown by the gallantry of the Navy, and about two thousand four hundred Marines; the island, which was ceded to Great Britain at the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, continued in the British possession until the year 1756, when it was recaptured by a combined Spanish and French force under the command of Marshal the Duke de Richelieu.[7]
1709
In the early part of the year 1709, an armament was prepared for the purpose of attacking Port Royal in the province of Nova Scotia, which was then in possession of the French; the expedition was entrusted to Colonel Nicholson of the Marines, and to Captain Martin of the Navy. The squadron proceeded to Boston, where it was reinforced by some ships, and by provincial auxiliary troops: a council of war was held, and arrangements were made for disembarking the troops, which took place on the 24th of September. The fortress surrendered on the 1st of October, and the Marines took possession. The fortress was named Anna-polis Royal, in honor of Queen Anne, in whose reign the conquest was effected.