^Up. XVlll.from the Revolution^ to theDeathoj K.William
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The French, at this Time, hadnine-teenPriyateers out of Guadalupe an dMar-tinica , and three Ships of War, one offour and forty Guns, another of forty,and the third a small Dutch Ship, takenat Camaret-B ay; Which Privateerswere chiefly supported, by such Mer-chant-Ships, and Vessels of ours, asthey frequently took, loaden with Pro-visions for the Islands. Besides, theFrench General had Notice of our com-ing, (f) and daily expected the Squa-dron at Hifpaniola, where they had mu-ster’d up all their Strength together,and this, notwithstanding the greatCare which was taken at home, forkeeping the Expedition private.
When the Squadron arrived at Sava-na, the Commadore met with a Letterfrom the Governour of St. Domingo, bywhich he assured him, that if he would
come thither, he should be assisted inattempting the Enemy, on that Coast;Whereupon, he failed with three Shipsof War, and two Firefhips, having sentthe Transports, with the Remainder ofthe Squadron, to the Gulph of Samina ,on the North Side of the Island.
When he landed, he desired the As-sistance of the President of St. Domingo ,and delivered to him theKing of Spain sLetters; But tho’ he made, at first, aShew of Readiness to comply therewith ;Yet he soon raised insignificantScruples*(g) by which twelve Days Time waslost; And then it was agreed, that heshould forthwith march, with seventeenHundred of his Men, and one Hundredand fifty English, to Machaneel- Bay, onthe North-side of the Island, where theSquadron was to meet him. Qf)
8 Q_, Accorbxngev
Wilmot’s Instructions, with the Orders for theDistribution of Prizes, &c. in the fame Words,with his. To this he adds his own Instructions,which being ( Mutatis Mutandis) much the lamewith Captain Wilmot’s , I shall not trouble theReader with a Repetition of them ; And only ob-serve, that he had a separate Power over theLand-Forces, independant of Captain WVmot , anda Commiffion to Supply the Vacancy of all Officersunder his Command, in Cafe of Death, Desertion,Csfc. To all this the Colonel subjoins an Accountof his Regiment, which he fays, consisted oftwelve Hundred Men, commanded by himself, asColonel, his Brother, Jarvis Lillingsion, as Ma-jor, and four Captains. Each Company had twoLieutenants, one Ensign, six Sergeants, six Cor-porals, two Drums, and two Hundred privateSentinels, making two Hundred and eighteen Menin a Company.
The Train of Artillery (continues he) consist-ed of twelve Pieces of Cannon, viz. twoEighreen-pounders, four Twenty-four Pounders, and sixField-pieces, with two Mortars.
The Stores were in all Things proportioned tothe Design, And we had eight and twenty Gunnersand Firemen, twelve Hundred Spare-Arms, fiveHundred Barrels of Powder, with Plenty of allManner of Ammunitions, and other Necessaries.
Colonel Lillingsion , in his Account of theformer Part of the Voyage, gives a more particu-lar Relation of the Manner of Captain Wjhnofsbreaking the King’s Command, in Opening hisInstructions, before he was warranted to do it;His early Attempts to overset the Design, by suf-fering a Store-ship, in which was the best of theArtillery, and its Appurtenances, to be left be-hind, if the Colonel had not prevented it ; HisAttempts to draw the Colonel into clandestineMeasures to enrich themselves, tho’ to the Ruinof the Design ; His Treachery in Leaving theColonel, with eighteen Land-Officers, behind, atMadera ; And the fortunate Accident whichbrought them to the Fleet again ;Of all whichMr.Eurchett not only not fays a Word : But, takingno Notice of the Colonel’s separate Instructionsand Commiffion, places the whole Conduct 0 f theVoyage; under tha Direction and Management ofCaptain Wilmot , which (adds he) is a Mistake.
\f) Colonel Lillingsion observes, that Cap-
tain Wilmot was so far from carefully concealingthe Design {as he ought to have done ) that he tookall the directest Methods in the World, to makehis Arrival in those Parts as publick, as was possi-ble ; For both at Antegoa and Montferrat , he tookthe Liberty, at his going on Shoar, to tell pub-lickly, both what he was come for, and whitherhe was going: But this was not all; For CaptainButtler , Commander of the Winchester , a Third-Rate, failed along the Coast of Guadelupe , nearto the Shoar, and fired several Shot on Shoar;Which could not be otherwise look’d upon, thanas a Defiance, and a plain Intimation, that we de-signed to visit them ihcrtly; And consequentlymust put them upon the necessary Preparations,for their Defence.
(g) This Colonel Lillingsion denies, and callsit an Aspersion thrown upon him, by Mr. Bur -chett , and a notorious Falfe-hood, adding, thatthis President or Governour, was ready to com-ply with every Thing, which could reasonably beexpected, and forward enough to promote theExpedition; (tho' not in any great Readinesswhen they came there ;) That what Mr. Bur-chett calls insignificant Scruples were nothing buta strict Observance of his Duty, and Instructions,by which he was tied down to concert Measuresfor this Expedition, with the Commander inChief of the Land-Forces, and with him only, andtherefore would have nothing to do with Wilmot,but refer’d him, to concert with the Spanish Ad-miral ; That this affronted Wilmot , who so dis-dained to talk with the Spanijh Admiral, that hestudied always after to affront him ; That in thisDispute the twelve Days were lost ; For Wilmotwould suffer nothing to be done; “ And ( adds“ he) had not I at last prevailed with the Spanijh" Governour, to admit Wilmot into our Consul-“ tations, and so reconciled the Matter, nothing" had been done.
{h) Colonel Lillingsion, fays the Agreementwas, that he was to joyn his Regiment of twelveHundred Men, and the Commadore to add fiveHundred Seamen, to the seventeen HundredSpaniards , for the Land Force ; And that theSpaniards agreed to add three small Men of Warto our Fleet; Which they did, and to avoid Scru-ples, the Spanifi Admiral took down his Flag, assoon as he came to the English Fleet.
703
16 9.;.
Col. Lilling-slon’i Rest.p. 45-
p. 47-