Naval Expeditions , &c. of the English,

834, Ann.

Eook V«

CHAP, XIII.

an

Continuation of Commadore Wager* j Proceedings in the West-Indies, withAccount of his Sinking the Admiral of the Spanish Gallions ; faking the Rear-Admiral, Obliging the Spaniards to burn another, and Differsng the whole Fleet ;Together with sundry other Franjaclions in America, to the Conclufon of theTear, 1709. {a)

1709.Annals ofA Ann.Compl. Hist.of Europe.Burchett.Journal ofan Officer inthe Squa-dron.

T H E tvventyffecond of December,of the foregoing Year, we leftCommadore Wager returned toJamaica, from the Coast ofHifpaniola, upon some Advices of Mon-sieur Du Cafe's Squadron, which madehim apprehensive he had a Design onthat Island.

A Council of The twenty-third, the CommadoreWar held. being then, with his Squadron, ( b \) inPort-Royal-H arbour, held a Council ofWar, to consider of the several Adviceshe had ’till then received, (c)

During the Month of sanitary, theCommadore sent out several Ships andSloops to cruise, and to get Intelligenceof the Enemy; (d) And, the fifth of theensuing Month, it was resolved, in aCouncil of War, to go over to the Spa-nish Coast; Pursuant to which Resolu-tion, the Commadore sailed, a few Daysafter, to the Keys, where he was join-ed, by several other Ships and Sloops;

Cruisers sentout.

Upon Advice, that the Spanish Gallionswere sailed from Carthagena, for PuertoBello, a Council of War was called thefourteenth, (?) and the sixteenth, theCommadore sailed with such Ships aswere ready, leaving Directions how andwhere the Rest should join him. Thefive and twentieth, they came to anAnchor off of the Isie of Pines, wherethey fill’d Water and cut Wood.

In March, the Commadore receivedAdvice, at two several Times, fromCaptain Pudner, who was stationed nearPuerto Bello, that the Gallions, withthe King’s Mony, could not fail beforethe first of May. (f) Pursuant to aResolution hereupon taken, at aCouncilof War, the Commadore set Sail again,the four and twentieth, to return toJamaica, and sent Captain Pudner Ad-vice of his Sailing; But gave out it wasonly to cruise. (^-)

1709.The CothtnF'dore setsSail-

HE

(a) As it has been a general Rule with me,throughout the whole Course of this History, togive as circumstantial Accounts as I have beenable to procure, of those Expeditions, which havebeen of most Benefit to the Nation, and in whichthe Commanding Officers have, by their Courageand Conduct, acquired such a Degree of Honour,as is the indispensable Duty of every Historian totransmit to Posterity; So the Action I am nowabout to relate, in a particular Manner requiresit: For tho’, by the Neglect (if not Cowardice orTreachery) of two of the Captains, the Success fellgreatly short of what might have been expected,had they done their Duty ; Yet it was considera-ble in it’s Circumstances, and of infinite Advan-tage to the Public st in it’s Consequences.' TheCircumstances we shall see below;And, for the Ad-vantage to the Publick, what can be more evident?The Mony of these Gallions had been greatlywanted, and impatiently expected, in Spain, fortwo Years before ; And now we shall find not on-ly the Expectations of the Spaniards crossed, andtheir Return disappointed; But a great Part oftheir Riches destroyed, which very much weaken-ed the Strength of the Enemy in Spain, and par- ,ticularly in Catalonia.

{I) The Ships the Commadore had then un-der his Command were the Windsor , Expedition,Kingston, Severn, Assistance, Hector and Vulture -Fire-ship.

(?) It was resolved, that the Ships should bedrawn up for the Defence of the Harbour, inConjunction with the Fort j And they were drawnup, accordingly, from the Point of the Fort tothe Salt-Pond. *

(d) One of the Sloops returning,brought withher a Prize which she had taken off of Port St.Louis, by which he had Information, that theFrench Squadron consisting of ten Men of War anda Fire-ship, failed from Pert St. Louis to the Ha-vana, the eighteenth of December■ Another Pri-vateer-SIoop sent in a small Ship, of two Guns,taken off of Hifpaniola, laden with Indigo, andsome Mony.

{d) It was resolved, that as many Ships ascould be spared, for the Service, should go overto the Spanijh Coast to watch their Motions.

(f) about the Middle of this Month, theScarborough Man of War brought two FrenchPrizes into Jamaica, one a homeward-bound Shipof three Hundred Tuns, laden wirh Sugar andother Commodities, the other the fgueen Ann -Packet-Boat, which the French had taken, andwere fitting out for a Privateer. Some Days as-ter,a Jamaica Privateer brought in a French Prizeof a Hundred and fifty Tuns, laden with Wine,Brandy, and other Goods.

(g) This Council of War was held, upon In-formation, that the Spaniards had Notice of theirbeing in that Neighbourhood ; And it was, there-fore, resolved to sa I directly for Jamaica ; Thatif any additional Strength of Ships could be hadthere, sufficient to attack the Spanijh Ships in theHarbour, they might proceed on that Service iThey being, in the mean Time, assured the Spa-niards would not fail, ’till they knew the Coastclear for them, and that before they could haveany Advice, they might return.

Annab c fAu"'

«/