Admiral Byng certainly deserved to be dismissed from the service; but his execution was a political murder. He was shot on March 14, 1758, after eight months of close arrest. He had forty years of naval service. George II. would show no mercy, and there was a malignant political clique whose neglect of duty would be lost sight of through this persecution of a scape-goat even unto death. The mistaken resentment of a deluded populace was stimulated to the utmost. The loss of Minorca was due quite as much to the neglect of Ministers in not taking earlier steps for its defence as to the misconduct of Admiral Byng.
At the peace in 1763 Minorca was restored to England, and enjoyed another nineteen years of good government and prosperity, making altogether sixty-seven years.
But when the American colonies broke out in rebellion and the chief Powers of Europe seized the opportunity to attack our country in its great difficulty—first France, then Spain, then Holland, England’s enemies, thought their opportunity had come. They were mistaken, for England is never greater than when surrounded by enemies. She gave France her answer off Martinique; France and Spain together in Gibraltar Bay. But she could not be everywhere, and poor little Minorca was lost. While England was dealing back such telling blows elsewhere, the French and Spaniards landed, and laid siege to the castle of San Felipe. Their leader, De Crillon, pushed on the attack, but the English Governor, General Murray, made a most gallant defence. It was in 1782. Murray did not surrender until his garrison was reduced to six hundred men, while the besiegers had twelve thousand. It was typical of the whole war—England standing proudly at bay and dealing out far more than she got, with rebels, French, Spaniards, Dutch, all yelping round her. Peace was signed in 1783, but Minorca was lost.
Don Luis Berton de los Balbs, Duke of Crillon, Marquis of Valleron, and Count of St. Pol, was made a Grandee of Spain and Duke of Mahon in 1790 for subduing six hundred English soldiers by starvation with an army of twelve thousand men. He died in 1796. The second Duke of Mahon was Viceroy of Navarre for Joseph Bonaparte, and a traitor to his country. His niece Victoriana, Duchess of Mahon, succeeded to all the titles, and was living in 1870.
Thus was Minorca twice lost, after most gallant defences against tremendous odds by Generals Blakeney and Murray. The little island was destined once more to become a British possession for a few years, and then to be separated from her truest and best friends for ever.
CHAPTER VII
The third occupation of Minorca—Loss of British rule
When the War of the French Revolution broke out England had no base within the Mediterranean. The necessity for such a base was very much increased when Napoleon got possession of Malta. Lord St. Vincent had taken the command of the Mediterranean station in December 1795; on February 14, 1797, he fought the great battle which gave him his title, and afterwards kept up the blockade of Cadiz. He knew that Napoleon was meditating the Egyptian expedition, and detached Nelson with thirteen sail of the line to watch and, if possible, to intercept the enemy. At the same time he sent home an urgent appeal for reinforcements, and Sir Roger Curtis was sent to him with eight sail of the line.
Lord St. Vincent came to the conclusion that the possession of a base within the Mediterranean for the English fleet was of such importance that it was necessary to occupy Minorca once more. He was not a man to let the grass grow under his feet. He had no sooner come to this conclusion than he proceeded to act upon it. He organised a squadron of six ships, to be led by Commodore Duckworth:
Leviathan (74), Commodore Duckworth.
Centaur (74), Captain John Markham.
Argo (44), Captain J. Bowen.
Aurora (28), Captain Caulfield.
Cormorant (20), Captain Lord Mark Kerr.
Peterel (16), Captain Charles Long.
The squadron convoyed several transports with troops under the command of General the Hon. Charles Stuart, a younger son of the Earl of Bute, the Prime Minister. After a tedious passage, owing to contrary winds, the squadron brought to within five miles of the port of Fornelle, on the north coast of Minorca, on November 7, 1798. Fornelle is a very large and spacious harbour, but it contains many shoals and much foul ground. On the west side of the entrance there is an old fort, consisting of four bastions connected by curtains. On the other side there is an atalaya or signal station. After a reconnaissance, it was decided that Fornelle was not a desirable place for landing the troops. It was decided to send the smaller ships and transports to Addaya Creek, while the two line-of-battle ships stood off and on outside.