70 Q W. and M, NavalExpeditions =, &c* of the En]

Book

CHAP, XVIII.

Captain Robert Wilmot’Jr Expedition, with a Squadron of Ships, and a Body of

Land-Forces, to the West-Indies.

1695.

Burchett.Lillingston’rReflections onBurchett'sMemoirs.

B ESIDES some more brief Ac-counts of this Expedition, whichwe find scattered here and there,in several Historians, we havetwo particular Relations of it, {a) whichin some Circumstances differ very wide-ly from one another. To these two, Ishall confine myself; And,as an impar-tial Historian, I think myself obliged,

to relate those Facts, in which they soevidently vary, fairly, and withoutPrejudice, from both, tho’ one of myAuthors is very positiue in accusing theother of a Want of Veracity in everyFact he relates: (f) This done, I shall,without forming any Judgement myself,leave the Decision to the Publics:.

Captain

169^

to keep up the Connexion of History I have hi-therto observed, to say a Word or two, of someTransactions of the former Part of this Year, atand nearer Home.

The thirteenth of February, a French Man ofWar, having taken the Falkland-, some Days be-fore, being separated from the Rest of her Com-pany, came up with the Nonsuch , which had twoor three Merchant-Men, under Convoy, aboutseventy Leagues from Scilly. The Fight beganabout one in the Afternoon, and continued allNight, the Merchant-men making the best oftheir Way for England , in the mean Time. Thenext Morning, the Fight was renewed again, be-tween the two Men of War, 'till at last, theCommander being killed, and her Main- andMiz-zen-Masls being brought by the Board, the Non-such was taken ; However, two Dutch Privateerscame up with the Falkland-, and recovered her,under English Colours. The Dartmouth had thesame Fate with the Nonsuch-, being encounteredby two French Men of War, which carried eachof them two Hundred and fifty Men, and fortyGuns mounted : But it was not 'till all her Mastswere brought by the Board, her Rigging all shat-tered, and the Ship so disabled, that she couldhardly swim, much less defend herself any long-er. But to fill up this Gap, in the Royal Navy,two new Men of War were launched, thisMonth,the Lincoln, of fifty Guns, at Woolwich , thetwentieth ; And the twenty-second,the Cambridge ,of eighty Guns, at Depiford.

I did intend, in this Place, to give my Readera particular Account of the Proceedings of theParliament with Respect to the Eaft-India Com-panies, as being Matters, which properly comewithin my Province; But as such a Relationwould take up more Room, than I can now possi-bly spare, I must refer to our Historians; Andshall only say a Word or two below.

The Queen being now dead, the King, whoRennet. was preparing to go to Holland-, was thoughtfulHist. of K. of proper Persons, to whom he might confide theWilliam. Government, in his Absence, and who might, atthe same Time, have the Approbation of HisPeople. At Length, after mature Deliberation,His Majesty, having prorogued the Parliament,the third of May , declared, the fame Day, inCouncil, that he had appointed the Archbishop ofCanterbury-, Sir John Sommers , Lord Keeper ofthe Great Seal, the Earl of Pembroke-, Lord Pri-vy Seal, the Duke of Devonshire , Lord Stewardof His Majesty's Houshold, the Duke of Shrews-bury, one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries ofState,theEarl of Dorset , Lord Chamberlain of HisHoulhold, and the Lord Godolphtn, first Commis-

sioner of the Treasury, to be Lords Justices ofEngland, for the Administration of the Govern-ment, during His Majesty's Absence, who hadample Powers given them for that End. Thetwelfth of May, the King went from Kenstngtonto Gravesend, and, about six in the Evening, em-barked on Board the William and Mary-Y acht,attended by the Duke of Ormond , the Earls ofEssex and Portland, and other Persons of Quali-ty, and, being convoyed by a Squadron of eigh-teen Men of War, under the Command of SirGeorge Rooke, landed, the fourteenth, at O'range-Polder, from whence His Majesty arrived thefame Evening at the Hague.

I must not conclude this Chapter, withoutmentioning a small, but brave Action of one Wil-liam Thomson, Master of a small Hoy of Pool ,who, with one Man and a Boy, and two smallGuns, took a French Privateer-Sloop, who hadtwo Pattereroes, small Arms and Granadoes, andsixteen Men to manage them , after havingwounded the Captain, the Lieutenant, and fixMen, and having eight found Men when shesurrendered. For which brave Action, the LordsCommissioners of the Admiralty, not only gavehim the Sloop he took, but made him a Presentof a Gold Medal and Chain, of the Value of fif-ty Pound; As they did, about the same Time,two other Rewards, of the same Value, to Wil-liam Williams, of Whitsand- Bay, Master of aFisher-boat, and Peter Jollijf, Master of the Ad-venture-Hoy , for gallant Actions, of the sameNature.

01 mr. ae-

{aj 1 hese two relations are matcretary Burchett, first printed in his Memoirs, andafterwards reprinted, without any essential Alte-ration, in his larger Naval History, which I shallchiefly adhere to in the Text; And that of Co-lonel Luke Lillingfton, Commander in Chief ofthe Land-Forces, in this Expedition, in his Re-flections on . Mr. Burchett’s Memoirs , which Isnail add, in so far as they are contradictory tothe other, in the Notes.

„ In Order, to do myself Juiiice (fays press

Colonel Lillingfton) I must so far be free with Col■ Ljj« nim (Mr. Burchett ) as to tell him, that my ston’ J '^ 'te Tf atlon asl d his are two Opposites ; The fl e di° ni '<.<. ™ ne ? I am ready to vindicate, by

tc ^doubted and irrefragable Evidence, and letnim reconcile his to it if he can." And inanother pi ace . « J cannot forbear observing,-cc jf at ^ r ‘ Burchett has not the Misfortune tocc , ave committed here and there a Mistake, ora k a t m °l* Apthors are obliged to do; But,

^'nether by his Negligence, Ignorance or Wii-fulness, I know not, has the particular Mil-

“ fortune