8 1 4 Ann. Naval Expeditions , &c. of the English, Book ^

1706.

AnotherFrench Shiptaken.

Ships da-maged in aStorm.

Some Shipssuffered toescape-,

Others taken.

TheAdmiralputs twiceto Sea, invain.

The Beginning of August, he detach-ed the Mountague and He ft or, to cruisebetween Puerto Hello and Carthagena,who took a French Ship, of four andtwenty Guns, bound to Cape Francois,with Sugar, Indigo, and between fourand five Thousand Hides, (<;) Thesixteenth of the same Month, the Ad-miral himself sailed again from Jamaica,and, the nineteenth, got fair up withHifpaniola, where he met with suchbad Weather, that he, with great Dif-ficulty, got back to Jamaica, with hisShips in a shattered and disabled Condi-tion.

Some Time after, the Mountague, aShip of sixty Guns, met, on the Coastof Hifpaniola, two Ships, one of eightand forty,’ and the other of six and thir-ty Guns, both loaden, and bound forFrance, with which he engaged aboutan Hour, ’till Night separated them.They had a fair Sight of them, thenext Day; But, by the Cowardice ofthe Officers, and Backwardness of theSailors, they were suffered to escape,(d) Two Fourth-Rates, being after-wards sent in Quest of them, met them,with some Merchant- Ships, in theirCompany ; But they were so intent onseizing the latter, os which they broughtin five, that they gave the former anOpportunity of escaping, (e)

In the Month of March, 1706. theRear-Admiral stretched over again to

the Coast of Hifpaniola, but returned,without having done any Service there.The Beginning of June, having Advice,that some French Ships were at Petit -Guavas, he put to Sea, with one Third-Rate, two Fourth-Rates, two Fifth-Rates, and a Fire-ffiip ; But a strongLee-Current frustrated his Design. (f)

The seventh of July, pursuant toOrders from the Lord High Admiral,the Mountague and Folks on were sent toNewfoundland, to join the Ships thatmight come thither from England ; Andthe five and twentieth, CommadoreKerr, arrived at Jamaica, with a Squa-dron from England, (g) A Council ofWar being, hereupon, called ; (f) AndSir FVilUam IVhetftone having Advice,that some of the Enemy’s Ships and Gal-lions were at Carthagena, it was resolv-ed to proceed in Company thither.

Pursuant to this Resolution, theRear-Admiral and Captain Kerr sailedfrom Jamaica, the eighth of August, andcoming before the Harbour of Cartha-gena, the eighteenth, a Letter was sentto the Governour, with some Declara-tions, inviting him to submit to his law-ful Sovereign, King Charles I. in An-swer to which he said, he knew no o-ther King but Philip. (/) Nothing be-ing, therefore, to be done there, SirJV'Iham JVhetfione returned to Jamaica,and, as soon as the Trade was ready,made the best of his Way for England,

170

6.

CommadA

Ker rarrfat Jaffl slC3 '

Proceed*’■with f .

RearJdf

ralto C arthagen a '

But ret#?,

un,

nsucP)

■ess 1

Br. Emp. inAmerica.Vol. II. p.313.

Burchett.

Br. Emp. inAmerica.Vol. II. p.314.

Burchett.

(c) The Author of the British Empire in A-merica fays this Ship was taken by a Jamaica-Privateer.

( d ) This Matter having been enquired into,at a Court Martial, the Captain was honourablyacquitted, but his Officers dismissed.

(e) The Senior Captain was broke, for his illConduct, by a Court Martial.

The Author of the Britifi Empire in America ,speaking of this Matter fays: The Behaviour ofseveral Captains of Men of War,in these Parts,hasbeen very infamous, and the Nation has sufferedmuch by it. The Bristol and Folkfion met withten Sail of Merchant-men, bound from Petit Gua-vas to France, under Convoy of two' French Menof War, one of four and twenty, and another ofthirty Guns, out of which Captain Anderson ,Commadore of the English , took fix Merchant-men, laden with Sugar, Cocao, Cocheneal andIndigo, and brought them to Jamaica ; Where,when he arrived, Admiral Whetstone held a Courtof Admiralty, and Captain Anderson , with the o-ther Officers, were condemned to lose their Com-missions for not engaging the two French Men ofWar.

ABOUT this Time, there was a great Want ofStores and Provisions in the Squadron, nor couldJamaica furnisli what was necessary ; And, as anAddition to this Misfortune, the Susjolk, wherethe Rear-Admiral's Flag was flying, blew up, by

Accident, in the Gun-Room, where most of theMen were killed, and seventy more, betweenDecks, so burnt, that most of them died.

(/) He, soon aster, got Advice, that Mon-sieur Du Caffe was gone to Carthagena, with eightstout Men of War, and that he was designed fromthence to Puerto Bello , and afterwards (as it wassaid) for La vera Cruz Besides, it was reported,that the Ships to Windward would go to theHavana, and stay there, 'till Monsieur Du Caffejoined them, from La Vera Cruz , so that theywould then be in all sixteen.

(g) The Ships which came from England, withCommadore Kerr, were one Third-, five Fourth-,two Fifth-, two Sixth-Rates, and a Fire-ihip.

(h) It was agreed to fend those Frigats backto Barbadoes, and the Leeward Ifands, which hehad brought from thence, upon Advice thatJamaica was in Danger.

(r) In the Port were fourteen Gallions, all ly-ing close in with the Town, andunrigg'd, and asthe Spaniards would not suffer any Ships to enterthere, or at Puerto Bello, so did not the Pilots,in the Squadron, think it proper to force a Pas-sage ; Because of the Narrowness of the Port, andthe Shoals, unless we were first in Possession oiBocca-Chica- Castle, and the other Forts, sincethere was no turning in for Ships of such Draughtof Water.