Of the author, Colonel Robert Venables, but little is known, and that little not very satisfactory. Among the Manuscripts in the Harleian Collection, are several Pedigrees of the Families of Venables: particularly in that marked ‘1393, f. 39,’ where the great ancestor of Venables is stated to have been Gabriel Venables, who came over with William the Conqueror, and afterwards received the Earldom of Kinderton, in Cheshire, from Hugh Lupus. Another Manuscript, No. 2059, recites a deed from one of the family, residing at Northwich, as early as anno 1260.
But reverting more immediately to the subject of this notice, the Harleian Manuscript ‘1993, f. 52.’ contains a paper, partly in the hand writing of Colonel Venables, which furnishes a detailed account of the time he served in the Parliament Army in Cheshire, and of the pay due to him from 1643 to 1646. From this authority it appears, that in 1644 he was made Governor of Chester; and from other sources we learn, that in 1645, he was Governor of Tarvin. In 1649, he was Commander in Chief of the Forces in Ulster, in Ireland, and had the towns of Lisnegarvy, Antrim, and Belfast delivered to him. His actions in the sister kingdom, are recited in an excessively rare book, entitled ‘A History, or Briefe Chronicle of the Chief Matters of the Irish Warres,’ printed at London, in 1650, 4to.
From this period no trace of him is discoverable, and it is probable that he was unemployed, until Cromwell, at the instigation of Cardinal Mazarine, fitted out a fleet for the conquest of Hispaniola, in 1654, when Colonel Venables, and Admiral Penn, were invested with the command of that armament. It appears however, to have been undertaken in an evil hour, and a contemporary manuscript in the Editor’s possession, and which has not been printed till now, furnishes the most valuable information respecting the disasters which they underwent. The manuscript is evidently addressed to some one, and it commences:—
Sir,
The opinion I was of, in that discourse we had at——, touching the Western Voyage of the English in 1654. I have been since abundantly confirmed in, by the perusal of some Papers and Memoirs of a Person of no mean character throughout that action, whose employment gave him opportunity to know all, at least the most considerable of its transactions, and I have reason to believe, by the account I have had of him, he was sufficiently able to take his measures of them aright. The substance of what I gathered from his notes, and from orders of the Councils of War, as well of the Commissioners, and from declarations of the Army, and letters from persons who held posts in that Army, all which I had the favour to inspect, I will here faithfully present you with. For indeed I am very desirous to beget in you the same sentiments of that affair, which I have, I think, with good reason entertained. And the rather, because the course you design to steer will give you opportunity of converse with those persons, who are most inquisitive after, as most concerned to know, matters of this nature; and yet, perhaps, under greater mistakes in this particular, than any others.
It was doubtless, none of the least ends which that fox, Oliver, had in that design; to rid himself of some persons whom he could neither securely employ, nor safely discard: which end seemed chiefly to influence the managery of the whole business, as you will perceive by the story.
It was pretended at first it should be carried on with great secrecy; but the delay was so great, and thereby the notice of it so public, as alarmed the Spaniards to provide for their reception. Venables moved to have had soldiers for this service drawn out of the Irish Army, which he had been well acquainted with; but it was peremptorily denied, and they were appointed to be drawn out of the army in England, whose officers generally gave out of their several companies the rawest and worst armed they had. And these being hastily shipped off at Portsmouth, the chief of the land officers, who were to go with them, were never suffered to rendezvous, or see together till they came to Barbadoes, where they arrived January 29, 1654-5. Here they found them to want 500 of the number promised, being but 2500 men in all, and not above half of those well armed. And though they had been assured they should find 1500 arms at Barbadoes, yet they could not there make up 200 arms; and all the help they had was to make half-pikes, wherein, and in fixing those arms they had, they met with some difficulty, their smith’s tools being on board their store ships, which were not yet come to them. For those ships took in their provisions at London, and they were promised should meet them at Portsmouth, and there they were told that they should reach them at Barbadoes; which yet they did not, nor till at least six months after. So that much of the provision, which was defective at first taking in, was by that time grown very corrupt.
While they staid at Barbadoes it was plainly discovered that not only the inhabitants there were against the general design, but that the seamen bandied against the land-men, and gave them not that assistance and furtherance which was in their power. Notwithstanding the land-soldiers great want of arms, Penn and the sea-officers would not be prevailed with to furnish them with any, nor so much as to lend them a pike or a lance; though he had above 1200 of the former to spare, and great numbers of the latter were put aboard on purpose for the army to kill cows with. At their leaving that place, the seamen had their full allowance of victuals and brandy on their fish-days; when the land-men had for four days in the week, but half their proportions, the other three fish-days, only bread and water.
In this condition they left Barbadoes, March the last, 1655. By the way they touched at St. Christopher’s, whence they took aboard a regiment of soldiers, who had been raised in that island; among whom they were pleased to find two Englishmen, Cox and Bounty, who had then lately come from Hispaniola, where the former had lived twelve years, and served as a gunner in the castle of St. Domingo.
Now when they were far out at sea, a dormant commission, not before discovered, was broken up, whereby two others, Winslow and Butler, were joined in commission, and equally empowered, with the two generals Venables and Penn; and nothing was to be done without their joint advice and orders: yea, when on shore, Venables, (though he had by his own commission a command of all the land forces in chief,) yet he was by this commission restrained from acting any thing without the concurrence of the commissioners, or such one, or more, of them as was present with him. A great debate now arose between these Commissioners about dividing the lion’s skin, before he was caught, which occasioned much heat among them, and gave great dissatisfaction to the soldiers. There was a clause in this joint commission, that all prizes and booties got by sea or land should be at the disposal of the commissioners, for the advance of the present service and design. This the greater part of the Commissioners judged was to be extended to all sorts of pillage. Venables thought it was meet to interpret it only of ships and their lading, and large quantities of treasure and goods in towns and forts: and that to extend it to all booty, by whomsoever got, would be both impossible to put in execution, and hugely disgustful to the soldier to attempt. When he could not prevail to have his sense of this hard clause pass, he propounded a middle way: that none should conceal or retain any arms, money, plate, jewels, or goods, to his private use, on pain of forfeiting his share in the whole, &c. but that all should be brought in unto officers, chosen by mutual consent, and sworn to be faithful therein; and then distribution to be made to each man according to his quality and desert. And agreeably thereto he framed both an order for the Commissioners to sign, and a declaration for the officers of the army to subscribe, testifying their submission to the order, and that they would endeavour that all under their respective commands should observe it; and further, that when their several pays should be discharged, they would acquiesce in the disposal of the surplus by the Commissioners, either in rewards to the deserving, or in necessaries for the public service, &c. This the Commissioners so far approved as to appoint it to be writ fair, and copies made, for each regiment one. The officers and soldiers were also content, and satisfied therewith; but when it came to the point, only Venables and Penn signed the order, and so the declaration fell too. Which surely was a great oversight in the Commissioners who refused, for by this means they would have soothed and pleased the army with a fair flourish, but in reality had by common consent obtained the whole to be at their own disposal.