Gibraltar, ever since its capture by the English in 1704, had been a source of jealousy and uneasiness to Spain; as soon as ever an opportunity offered for the commencement of hostilities, Spain assumed an aggressive attitude, and in 1779 sat down before the place at St. Roque with a powerful camp, and sent out a fleet to cut off supplies. The gallant old General Elliot, and the no less gallant veteran Boyd, defended the rock nobly, and found their best help in the Soldier Artificers. The sufferings of the undaunted garrison were great—the price of mutton or beef being 3s. 6d. a pound, eggs sixpence each, and mouldy biscuit crumbs 1s. a pound; but the indomitable energy of the men never slackened; they laboured night and day, piercing the rock with subterranean passages, and forming vast receptacles for stores and ammunition in the solid stone. Failing in their efforts to reduce the garrison by famine, the French and Spaniards, after three years’ beleaguering, began a terrific bombardment. Fire was opened with unexampled fury, and continued incessantly for days and weeks. The battering flotilla was warmly received by the “dwellers in the rock.” But for a long period the battering ships seemed invulnerable. At length red-hot shot was employed by the garrison, and sheets of resistless flame burst in all directions from the flotilla: the whole of the batteries were burnt; the magazines blew up, one after another; and it was a miracle that the loss of the enemy by drowning did not exceed the number saved by the merciful efforts of the garrison.
The contest was still prolonged: the enemy were bent on reducing their invincible opponents at all cost. The British were in no mood to yield; red-hot shot was their grand specific; the Artificers were instantly employed in erecting kilns in various parts of the fortress, each kiln capable of heating a hundred shot in an hour.
The struggle continued for some time; from one thousand to two thousand rounds were poured into the garrison in the twenty-four hours, and this was kept up for months. During the cannonade, the Artificers under the engineers were constantly engaged in the diversified works of the fortress, and they began to rebuild the fortification known as the Orange Bastion, on the sea line, and in the face of a galling fire completed their work in three months. The number of the Artificers had been augmented by the arrival of one hundred and forty-one mechanics, under Lord Howe; but, even taking this into account, the erection of such a work in solid masonry, and under such circumstances, is unprecedented in any siege.
Failing to obtain the submission of the garrison either by famine or bombardment, the enemy attempted to mine a cave in the rock, by which to blow up the north front, and thus make a breach for their easy entrance into the fortress. The secret was revealed by a deserter; but very little attention was paid to his statement, until the discovery of the enemy’s proceedings was made by Sergeant Thomas Jackson, who, making a perilous descent of the rock by the help of ropes and ladders, ascertained beyond all doubt the work in which the Spaniards were engaged. The ratification of peace put an end to all military operations, and terminated a siege which extended—with circumstances of unparalleled difficulty and danger—over a period of four years.
During the whole of this memorable defence, the Company of Artificers proved themselves to be good and brave soldiers, and no less conspicuous for their skill, usefulness, and zeal in the works—works, as the commander of the hostile forces [Duc de Crillon] remarked, “worthy of the Romans.”
At the close of the siege, there were twenty-nine rank and file wanting to complete the number of Soldier Artificers. The deficiency was speedily supplied, and the company was never allowed to sink beneath its established number. A force of more than two hundred and twenty non-commissioned officers and artificers were employed in restoring the work which had suffered during the bombardment; and to expedite the labour, the Soldier Artisans were excused from all garrison routine, as well as from their own regimental guard and routine, and freed from all interference likely to interrupt them in the performance of their working duties. Still, to impress them with the recollection that their civil employments and privileges did not make them any the less soldiers, they were paraded, generally under arms, on Sundays; and to heighten the effect of their military appearance, wore accoutrements which had belonged to a disbanded Newfoundland regiment, purchased for them at the economical outlay of seven shillings a set. Perhaps no body of men subject to the articles of war were ever permitted to live and work under a milder surveillance; and it may be added, that none could have rendered service more in keeping with the indulgences bestowed.
In the summer of 1786 the company was divided into two, the chief engineer still continuing in command of both companies. About the same time, those men who were disqualified in any way for service were removed from the corps, and the enlistment of labourers, in addition to skilled hands, was authorized by the Government. Five batches of recruits were sent to the Rock in rapid succession. The second party of recruits, comprising fifty-eight men, twenty-eight women, and twelve children, were destroyed in a storm off Dunkirk. Only three persons escaped.
The valuable services rendered by the corps, and the hearty good-will with which they invariably laboured, led to a still further extension of their privileges. They were allowed to pass in and out of garrison on Sundays and holidays without a written pass, and to wear at pleasure whatever dress suited their inclination. It was not uncommon, therefore, for the non-commissioned officers and the respectable portion of the privates to stroll about garrison or ramble into Spain, dressed in black silk and satin breeches, white silk stockings, and silver knee or shoe buckles, drab beaver hats and scarlet jackets, tastefully trimmed with white kerseymere.
In 1787 the king’s authority was granted “for establishing a corps of Royal Military Artificers.” It was to consist of six companies, of a hundred men each. Officers of the Royal Engineers were appointed to command the corps; and when required to parade with other regiments the corps was directed to take post next on the left of the Royal Artillery. The companies were ordered to serve at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth, Gosport, Plymouth, and one company was divided between Jersey and Guernsey. The companies at Gibraltar, although similarly constituted, remained a distinct and separate body until their incorporation with the corps in 1797. The recruiting was carried on by the captains of companies; there was no standard as to height fixed, but labourers were not enlisted over twenty-five years of age nor any artificer over thirty, unless he had been employed in the Ordnance Department and was known to be an expert workman of good character. The bounty given at first to each recruit was five guineas, but during time of peace it was reduced to three. Labourers promoted to the rank of artificers received a bonus of two guineas, an additional 3d. a day, and were privileged to wear a gold-laced hat.
By the operative classes some opposition was offered to the enrolment of the Royal Artificers, and on more than one occasion a serious outbreak took place between the civilians and the military; the jealousy, however, at last died out, and the old animosity was forgotten.