88 3 Geo.I. Naval Expeditions 0 &c. of the English, BookVl-

[718.

it being very little Wind, and the Nighton, the Spaniard galed away

coming

from the Graf ton.

Rear Admiral Delaval, with theRoyal Oake, chased two Ships that wentaway more Leewardly than the Rest,(one of them said to be Rear-AdmiralCammock ) but we not having seen themstnce, know not the Success. The Shipwhich, suffered most with us was theGraf ton, the Captain of which tho’ hehad not the Fortune to take any particu-lar Ship, yet was engaged with several,behaved himself very much like an Offi-cer and a Seaman, and bid fair for stop-ping the Way of those four Ships that hepursued, who escaped, not thro’ hisFault, but Failure of Wind, and hisown Sails and Rigging were much £hat-ter’d. ( y)

From on Board the Barfleur, at Sea,Aug. 7. O.S.

Just now is returned one of the eightShips, which the Admiral sent withCaptain Walton, to pursue those of Spain,that went in with theShoar, with a Let-ter from that Captain dated the fifth In-stant, giving an Account, that he, withthe said Ships, had taken one Spanijh

Rear-Admiral of sixty Guns, (z) oneMan of War of four and fifty, one offorty, which gave the Jirgyle the firstBroad-side, one of four and twenty, oneShip laden with Arms, and one Bomb-Vessel; And had burnt one Man of Warof four and fifty Guns, two of fortyeach, one of thirty, one Fireslfip, oneBomb-Vessel, and one Sattee. At theWriting of this Letter, Captain Waltonwas making into Syracusa. The Shipwhich brought this Letter saw Rear-Admiral Delaval, last Night, who hadtaken the Isabella, {a) a Ship of sixtyGuns, with which he was standing inlikewise for Syracusa, to which Placewe are now going, and hope to get inthere this Night, (b)

When the Admiral has joined theShips absent from the Fleet, and whichwe judge are now in Syracusa, with theirPrixes, he designs to fend Vice-AdmiralCornwall'm the Argyle, with seven oreight Ships more, to carry the Ships ta-ken to Port-Mahon, to be secured there,'till His Majesty’s Pleasure be known.He will also put alhoar, in Sicily, theSpanijh Admirals and commanding Offi-cers, with as many of the common Pri-soners as will not be necessary to helpnavigate the Ships taken, (c)

F ROM

1718.

in six several Places, and in danger of sinking, hisCrew obliged him to snrrender.

Let us now consider a little the Absurdity aswell as Falsehood of these pompous Stories, to a-muse the unthinking Part of Mankind, SevenShips, fay these Spanijh Heroes, attack'd the Roy-al St. Philips about two in the Afternoon, andthree more at the fame Time, the Prince of Aftu-rias. The former defended her-self 'till Night, andthe latter till she was quite disabled, and most ofher Men lost. Seven of our Ships they fay, were,st that Time, in Pursuit of eight of theirs, com-manded by the Marquis de Mari. Thus seventeenof our Ships were, at one Time in Action withten of theirs. We had but one and twenty Men ofWar ; Were the remaining four then a Match forthe Rest of the Spanijh Fleet, which were abovetwenty Ships of Force ; Or, were these the onlyMen of Valour among them And all the Rest sovoid of all Courage, to desert their Admiral, andfee, when their Enemy had hardly any Ships topursue them ? Most ridiculous!

( y ) When the Admiral appeared off the Point

of the Faro, the nine and twentieth of July, theGovernour of Melazzo sent off a Vessel with a Let-ter, acquainting him that of seven Hundred Horse,which blocked up that Place, Part went away thatMorning for MeJJina, and that he believed theRest would follow the next Day ; And that, at theSight of the Britijh Fleet, the Country which hadtaken the Part of the Spaniards, appeared readyto return to their Duty.

(z) It was the Royal , commanded by the Mar-quis de Mari.

{a) The Spaniards pretend she was pursued allNight by several Englijh Ships, and did not sur-render to them the next Day, till after a fourHour’s Fight.

(b) According to the Spanijh Accounts, SirGeorge Byng sent immediately aster the Action, aShip, with a Compliment to the Marquis De Le-de, to excuse it, and to give him to understandthat the Spaniards were the Aggressors, and thatthis Action ought not to be look’d upon as a Rup-ture.

(c) A Lift of the Spanish Ships which were in this Engagement , with an Account of what were

taken and burnt, and what escaped.

Ships. Guns.

1 The Royal St. Philip, 74

2 Prince of Afturias, 70

3 Royal, 60

4 St. Charles, 60

5 St. Isabella, 60

6 Santa Rosa, 60

7 St. If dor0, 46

Men. Commanders.

65o Vice-Admiral Caftagnetta.

55 o Rear-Admiral Chacon.

400 Rear-Admiral Marq. de Mari.400 Prince Chalay.

400 Don Andres Rezio.

400 Don Antonio Gonzales.

300 Don Manuel Fillevicentia•

Taken.

C

b

1

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