744 Ann. Naval Expeditions, &c. of the -English, Book V-

1702. where he soon after joined the Rest ofhis Squadron, with Rear-AdmiralWhetstone, (n)

The twentieth of September , the*Tle Cap- York and the :Norwich arrived at Ja-^efore^ ma ' lca > with a Supply of Stores and Pro-' Court Mar- visions; And the necessary Preparationstial-y^ being made, the Captains, who had

failed so fcandaloufly, in the Perform-ance of their Duty, were brought totheir Trials, on the sixth of Ofiober, ata Court-Martial, in which, Rear-Ad-miral Whetjione presided, and after seve-ral Days spent, in examining Witnesies,and hearing what they could alledge,in their Justification, Sentence was pro-And coadem- nounced against them, according toned. their Deserts. (0)

The fourth of November , the Vice-Admiral died, upon which the Com-mand of the Squadron devolved on Rear-Admiral Whets one , who having madewhat Dispatch he could, in refitting theShips, left Part of them at Jamaica , forthe security of the Island, and with theRemainder cruised on the North andSouth Sides of Mispaniola ; Where weshall leave him, to take a View ofTransactions nearer home.

Sir John Munden’j Attempt, to inter- \no>cept a Squadron of French Ships, go-ing to the Groyne, and from thence tothe West-Indies.

In the Month of April, Informationwas given to the Earl of Nottingham ,one of Her Majesty’s Principal Secreta-ries of State, that about two ThousandMen were raised in Spain , and design’dfor the Wef -Indies, with the Duke ofAlbuquerque who was going Vice-roy toMexico, and that it was determined, heshould be at the Groyne , on or about theeighth of May, N. S. where the Sol-diers were to embark, when the FrenchShips, design’d for that Purpose, arriv-ed. The intercepting os these Shipsand Troops being deemed an importantPiece of Service, the Earl of Pembroke ,(pursuant to a Resolution of the CabinetCouncil) sent Orders to Sir John Munden ,Rear-Admiral of the Red, on the fifthof May , to take eight Third-Rate-Ships,at Spithead, together with two Fire-ships, and to man them immediatelyout of other Ships, there and atPortsmouth, that they might be fit forService. This done, he was ordered,with the first fair Wind, to repair tosuch a Station off of the Groyne , wherehe might best receive Intelligence ofthe Enemy, (p')

The

trie Life of (*) This is not the only Instance (fays the& J Author of the Life of Queen Ann) wherein the

Nation suffered by the Unskiifulnels, Treachery,or Cowardice of our Commanders at Sea, in thefirst Year of the Queen : Nor is it inuch to bewondered at, when, in a preceding Reign, thatcovetous Spirit had overspread the Face of thewhole Kingdom, when Men perfectly scrambledfor the Revenues of the Crown, and made theirprivate Fortunes out of the Nation's Treasure.When Mony, oftener than Merit, gained Ad-mission to a Command, no Wonder that suchScoundrels as Wade and Kirkby were trusted withour Men of War. If there be anyTruth in thissevere Reflection, I hope we have never had suchTimes since, nor never shall again.

Annals ofQ. (0) The Captains, Kir by And Wade, of the

Ann. Defiance and Greenwich, were sentenced to be

shot to Death, which was not put in Execution,'till they arrived, in the Bristol, at Plymouth, a-board which Ship they were executed, withoutbeing suffered to land: For the Orders sent fromhence did not come in Time, to Jamaica. Cap-tain Constable , of the Windsor, was calhiered,and sentenced to be imprisoned, during Her Ma-jesty's Pleasure ; Captain Hudson, Commander ofthe Pendennis, died some Days before his Trial,otherwise he would, in all Likelihood, have re-ceived the fame Sentence, as those of the Defi-ance and Greenwich ; And the Vice-Admiral'sown Captain, Fogg, with Captain Vincent. Com-mander of the Falmouth, were suspended, forsigning to the Paper drawn up and delivered by

the others, wherein they gave their Reasons fornot renewing the Engagement; But the Vice-Ad-miral having represented, that these two Gentle-men had behaved very well in the Action, andthey alledging, in their own Justification, thatthey did it only because they were persuaded theCaptains who had behaved so cowardly before,would now wholly desert, the Lord High Admi-ral was pleased, to send Orders for their beingemployed again.

I cannot, with Mr. Sec. Burchett, prevail onmyself to conceal the Names of these Traytorsto their Country, and think the Reason he al-ledges for his so doing, (their having behavedwell on other Occasions) rather enhances than ex-tenuates their Crime. Cowardice may be natu-ral, and beyond a Man's Will or Power to over-come ; But Treachery must be premeditated andwilful. Their Sentence was certainly very just,especially if, (as the Author of the Britip Em-pire in America observes) during thewhoIeCourseof the Wars between England and France, nevertwo Englishmen brought such Dishonour on theirCountry, as Kirkby and Wade ; Besides the greatProfit (fays the lame Author) they hindered theNation from receiving, by the Destruction of D*

Gaffe, and his Squadron, which perhaps wouldhave prevented the French in all their Designs onthe Wst.Indies, and forwarded the Reduction pithe Spanijh Dominions there. jtnrck^'

( p) Sir John Munden'i Instructions. ®

If he gained certain Intelligence, that theywere at the Groyne , or in any Port thereabouts*