Adjutant-General Jackson, who had been the first to run during the engagement, was tried by a court-martial, convicted of cowardice, cashiered with ignominy, and condemned to serve as a swabber on board the hospital ship!!—General Venables, with a naiveté common to the writers of that age, which, though seldom respectable, is always pleasing, makes the following observations on this sentence. After mentioning the terms of it, he adds, “And justly,—for the benefit of the sick and wounded, who owed their sufferings to his mis-behaviour. A sentence too gentle for so notorious an offender, against whom some of the Colonels made a complaint for whoring and drunkenness at Barbadoes; but not being able to prove the fact, he escaped; though considering his former course of life, the presumptions were strong, he and a woman lodging in one chamber, and not any other person with either, which was enough to induce a belief of his offence, he, having two wives in England, and standing guilty of forgery; all which I desired Major-General Worsley in joining with me to acquaint his Highness (Cromwell) with, that he might be taken off, and not suffered to go with me, lest he should bring a curse on us, as I feared. But his Highness would not hear us.—After this, both perjury and forgery were proved against him, in the case of a Colonel or General, at Barbadoes, ruined by him, by that means. Upon the complaint, and with the advice of the said General, I rebuked him privately; which he took so distastely, that as it afterwards appeared, he studied and endeavoured nothing but mutiny; and found fit matter to work upon, as with an army that has neither pay nor pillage, arms nor ammunition, nor victuals, is not difficult: but this I came to understand afterwards.”—Venables’ Narrative.
A serjeant also, who in the skirmish threw down his arms, crying, “gentlemen, shift for yourselves, we are all lost;” and ran away, was hanged. Other offences met with meet punishments.
Now the business was, to consult what was next to be done. Commissioner Winslow came ashore to press for a third attempt, which the officers of the army would not be persuaded to undertake; for they all, with one consent, declared they would not lead on their men, saying, they would never be got to march up to that place again; or if they did, they would not follow them to a charge, but they freely offered to regiment themselves, and to live and die together. Whereupon, the Commissioners judging it needful to try to raise the soldiers by some success in a smaller exploit, resolved to attempt some other plantation, and at last Jamaica was pitched on to be the place.
During this debate, the soldiers on land were in great want and streights; for though all their provision was spent, yet Penn forbade any supply to be sent them from the fleet, that their scarcity, yea, famine, grew so high, that they ate all the horses, asses, and dogs in the camp; yea, some ate such poisonous food, that they fell dead instantaneously. But beyond all this, a motion was made, that setting sail for England, the soldiers, whom they of the fleet usually called dogs, should be left ashore to the mercy of the enemy; which motion, Venables in behalf of the land-men, stiffly opposed, detesting so great inhumanity. Yet the soldiers were so apprehensive of such a trick, that when they came to go aboard, their officers would not suffer the sea regiment, which was on shore, to be first shipped, lest they should be so left in the lurch.
The fifth day after they set sail from Hispaniola, they came before Jamaica, where remembering the cowardice of the soldiers, which if not experienced, would scarce have been believed so great in Englishmen, they published an order against runaways, that the next man to any that offered to run, should kill him, or be tried for his own life. Which done, Penn and Venables placed themselves in the martin galley, and sailed up to the fort, and played upon it with their great guns, as it did upon them all the time that the soldiers were getting into the flat bottomed boats. Which so soon as they had done, a fresh gale of wind arose, which drove the boats directly upon the fort; this the Spaniards seeing, and a major, their best soldier, being disabled by a shot from the martin galley, they were so daunted that they took to their heels, and left the fort to the English. The army finding fresh water here, and fearing to advance further, lest (it being then three o’clock) they should in a strange country, and without guides, be inconveniently overtaken with night, in some place where they might be more exposed to the enemies assaults, and beating up their quarters, they resolved to stay at that fort, and landing place that night, and rest their weak and sick men. Next morning they marched early, and about noon, came to a Savanna near the chief town of the island, St. Jago, where two or three Spaniards appeared at a distance, making some signals of civility. The like number of English was sent to them, upon which they rode away, but making a stand, one was sent to them to know what they desired; they answered, ‘a treaty.’ The English, replied, they would treat when they saw any impowered thereunto. After some time, a priest and a major were sent from the town. The English as an introduction to the treaty, first demanded to have one hundred cows, with cassavia bread proportionably, sent them immediately; and so daily while the treaty lasted. Cows were sent in, but no bread; that being, as they said, scarce with them. Whereupon Commissioners were appointed on both sides to treat, and in conclusion, the Spaniards yielded to render the island and all in it, and all ships in the havens unto the English; the Spaniards and inhabitants having their lives granted them, and such as would, to be at liberty by a certain day to depart the island, but to take nothing, save their wearing apparel, and their books, and writings with them.
Articles of agreement to this purpose being signed on both sides, the English for their true performance, demanded and had the Governor of the island, and the Spanish Commissioners for hostages; and so they seemed to be in a fair way of settlement, with little ado. Yet after this, a colonel among the Spaniards, who had no good will to the governor, and was a man of interest among the commonalty, persuaded them to drive all the cattle away to the mountains, and thereby starve out the English. Which being understood, one of the Spanish Commissioners, Don Acosta, a Portuguese, sent his priest, an understanding negro, to dissuade them from their purpose. But they being resolute, and instigated by the colonel, hanged the negro, which enraged Acosta, and to be revenged on them for the death of his priest, whom he loved, advised the English that the cattle must necessarily, in a while, come down into the plains to drink. And by his direction, the English recovered the cattle, and prevented their mischief.
After this an order was published, that no private soldier should go out to shoot cows, which was done for two reasons; first, because the soldiers straggling about and going single, were often knocked on the head; and next, because they maimed and marred more than they killed; for it being a very woody country, unless a beast was shot dead, which was but seldom done, it escaped its pursuer, though it often died of its wounds; and many hundreds were found in the woods that had been so slain, and very many running about hurt and wounded. Thus great destruction was made of them, to no bodies advantage, that in the end, they must need have smarted for the want of those which had been thus lavishly spoiled and lost. Besides, the cattle which at their first coming, were seen by great numbers, and so tame, that they might have been easily managed and driven up, were so affrighted by the soldiers disorderly chasing and shouting after them, that they were now grown wild and untractable. And therefore, commanded parties with their officers were thenceforwards ordered out to fetch in cattle as there was need; and by that means they were sufficiently supplied, and no waste made. But bread they still much wanted, for their own store ships not having yet reached them, they had no bread but what came from the fleet, whence it was very sparingly sent, and scarce any but what was bad and corrupt. I find it noted, that in seventeen days time, they had but three biscuits a man; that they could seldom get any thing from the fleet, unless the Commissioner would sign remittances for greater proportions than were indeed delivered; that of above a hundred tuns of brandy, which was put on board in England for this service, and above thirty tuns more taken in at Barbadoes, it could not be observed, that the land-men ever had ten tuns to their use, between the middle of April and the middle of July. So that the soldiers being put to feed wholly on fresh flesh and fruits, without either brandy, or any kind of bread; and that after they had been long at a scanty diet, upon salt meats, it hugely increased sickness among them, insomuch, that after their coming to Jamaica, they died by fifty, sixty, and sometimes a hundred in a week, of fevers and fluxes.
Their streights and distresses being so great, put them on necessity of hastening to distribute the soldiers to plant for themselves, that they might have somewhat of their own to subsist on, without depending on the courtesy of others. And accordingly several of the regiment were dispersed into several places; but though such was their occasion, each for his particular private goods and necessaries, yet they could not without much difficulty, and many fruitless labours, obtain to have their trunks and stuff ashore to them; and many never had them at all, but they were carried back with the fleet into England.
Some discontents grew among the great ones. Venables telling Commissioner Butler of his drunkenness, which he was often guilty of, and in that condition, had discovered too much to the Spaniards, and reproving him for it, made him his enemy, and to practise against him, and thenceforwards he endeavoured to make factions, and raise disgusts in the army.