郾

tical posture of our affairs, it will avail us nothing should she attempt it hereafter. We are at this hour suspended in the bas lance; we cannot transport the provisions from the states in which they are assessed to the army, because we cannot pay the teamsters, who will no longer work for certificates. In a word we are at the end of our tether, and now or never our deliver ance must come."

LETTER

VII.

Rotterdam, May 5, 178054

As

FRIEND GORDON,

S soon as the rupture between Great-Britain and Holland was known at Versailles, the king gave immediate orders that all the Dutch vessels in any of the French ports should be made acquainted with it; and accordingly a circular letter was written by the marquis de Castries on the 25th of last Decem ber, and sent to the several ports. The first material capture made by the British, after the hostile manifesto against the Dutch was that of the Rotterdam of 50 guns and 300 men belonging to the States-General, by the Warwick, capt. Elphinstone, on the 5th of January..

On the 9th the Dutch council of state proposed, that the mast rine of the republic should consist of 94 ships and armed vessels, and 18,430 seamen. There were to be 11 ships of the line, 15 of 50 guns and 2 of 40. Three days after, the States-General published a placart, granting letters of marque against the Bri tish. This was followed after a time by an answer to the Bri tish manifesto.

Notwithstanding the necessary increase of national expences in Great-Britain by the Dutch war, yet toward the end of Janua ry, the house of commons hearkened to the calls of humanity, and in consequence of different petitions, voted for the relief of the sufferers by the hurricane at Barbadoes 80,000l. and at Ja maica 40,000l.

A second attempt has been made upon the isle of Jersey. The baron de Rullecourt, at the head of about 2000 men, conducted it. By the badness of the weather near half his troops were driv

en

en back to France, and never joined him. He at length however made his way with difficulty through the rocks of la Roque Platte, and landed a number in the dark, three miles from St. Helier, the capital of the island, though five vessels were lost, and 200 of his men perished. A small party of militia, meant for the guard of a redoubt in the place, were seized asleep by the. enemy, who were thus, for several hours, on the island without an alarm's being given. The baron, leaving about 120 men in the redoubt, marched to St. Helier. He secured the avenues of the town, surprised the guards in the dark, and possessed the market place without noise. The inhabitants were astonished at break of day, on finding themselves in the hands of an enemy. Maj. Corbet, the deputy-governor, with the magistrates and principle people, being brought prisoners to the court-house, the French commander wrote terms of capitulation, which he proposed to have signed; and by which the island was to be surrendered to France, and the troops to lay down their arms and be sent to Great-Britain. It was in vain remonstrated, that no act of the lieut governor's could have the smallest validity in his pre sent situation. Rullecourt was peremptory, and Corbet too inadvertently signed. The French commander then summoned Elizabeth castle under the terms of the capitulation.. Captains. Aylward and Mulcaster, having escaped thither on the first a larm, and being now in a degree prepared against a sudden attack, rejected the summons, and refused paying the smallest regard to the capitulation, or any orders issued by the lieut. governor in the present circumstances. The French placing Corbet in their front, advanced toward the gate, but were fired upon with such vigor from the castle, that they soon made the best of their way back to the town for shelter.

Meanwhile the alarm extended, and the nearest troops and militia advanced toward the point of danger, and formed on the heights near the town under maj. Pierson, who instantly secur ed a hill of great advantage, which the enemy had overlooked. Rullecourt sent to the major, requiring his compliance with the terms of the capitulation; and received for answer, "that of he and his troops did not lay down their arms within twenty minutes, and surrender themselves prisoners of war at the expiration of that time, they might be certain of an attack." Pierson. was punctual to his word; and made an assault on the town in all accessible parts with such impetuosity,, that the enemy were driven rapidly upon the center of their force in the market-place, where the action was soon decided; for Rullecourt being mortaily wounded, the next in command seeing the hopelessness of their situation,

situation, requested the lieutenant-governor to resume his autho sity, and to accept of their surrender as prisoners of war. The satisfaction arising from so sudden a deliverance and so brave an exertion, was damped by the fall of maj. Pierson, who was shot through the heart in the instant of victory. The extraordinary military abilities displayed by so young an officer (for he was only five and twenty) rendered his death an object of general regret. During the engagement the redoubt was retaken with fixed bayonets, and without firing a shot, by the grenadiers of the 83d regiment. Thus the whole French party, amounting to near 800, were either killed or taken.

On the 24th of January, lord George Gordon was privately taken from the Tower to Westminster-hall, arraigned, and ordered to prepare for trial on Monday the 5th of February. When he came to be tried, though the croud was very large, order was observed, and there was no naischief or violence. About five the next morning he was acquitted. On the news of his acquittal, there were rejoicings and illuminations at Glasgow, Paisley, Dunbar, Montrose, Brechin, and a great number of other towns and villages in Scotland. The Protestant association at Glasgow, made a subscription of several hundred pounds, toward defraying his lordship's expences. It has been suggested, that government did not wish to convict his lordship for fear of offending too many of the Scots.

The garrison and inhabitants of Gibraltar having received no supplies of provision from Great-Britain since the beginning of the preceding year, nor from the Barbary shores, nor the most distant coasts of Africa, were reduced to extreme distress, The governor, ever since October, made a reduction of a quarter of a pound from each man's daily allowance of bread. Their meat was reduced to a pound and a half in the week, and at length was scarcely eatable. The inhabitants had to pay for bad ship biscuit full of worms, a shilling a pound; the same for flour in no better condition; eighteen pence for salt, the sweeping of ships bottoms and store-houses; half a crown for old Irish salt butter, and the same for the worst brown sugar. When the arrival of the vessels from the Mediterranean opened a market for fresh provisions, turkies sold for 31. 12s. a-piece; sucking pigs at two guineas; ducks at half a guinea; and small hens at nine shillings. A guinea was refused for a calf's pluck, and one pound seven shil lings for an ox-head. The interest and honor of Great-Britain were deeply engaged in the timely relief of that fortress. It was accordingly one of the first objects of government in the com mencement of the year; and the grand feet under the conduct of admirals

admirals Darby, Digby, and Sir J. Lockhart Ross, was fitted out early for this service: but only 28 sail of the line could be spared. The French had, at the same time, a fleet little infe rior either in number or force, nearly ready for sea at Brest.

The British fleet sailed [March 13.] with the great East and West-India convoys; but met with a delay on the coast of Ire land, in waiting for the victuallers from Cork, which were to proceed with them to Gibraltar. The East and West-India con voys having' proceeded on their respective voyages, the British fleet, with 97 transports, store-ships and victuatiers, arrived off Cadiz the 12th of April. Don Cordova, with the Spanish fleet, had put into the harbor; and adm. Darby having explored the same, forwarded the convoy to Gibraltar, with some men of war and frigates to cover them, while he cruised with the main body of the fleet off the Straits mouth to watch the enemy. The Spaniards had been for some time employed in constructing a number of gun and bomb boats. The gun boats carried each a long 26 pounder, which threw shot further than any ships guns could reach. This force was rendered still more dangerous by the addition of the bomb boats upon a similar construction. With these they cammonaded and bombarded the British ships every morn ing, till the wind, at its stated hour, began to spring up, when they fled, and were pursued in vain. But they failed in their grand object, and no material damage was done to any part of the shipping.

Nothing could be more grievous to Spain than this relief. She seems to have set her heart so entirely on the recovery of Gibraltar, as not to have had another object in the war. The whole naval and military force of that kingdom, and its resources of every sort, appear to have been directed mainly to that single point. These various powers were called into action, and the unfortunate town, with its miserable inhabitants, were the victims of her indignation. One hundred and seventy pieces of cannon, of the heaviest metal, and eighty mortars, disgorged their tre'mendous torrents of fire all at once upon that narrow spot. This dreadful cannonade and bombardment was continued night and day for a considerable time without intermission. Nothing could be more splendidly magnificent, or dreadfully sublime, than the view and report of this tremendous scene, to those who observ ed them from the neighboring hills of Barbary and Spain during the night; especially in the beginning, when the cannonade of the enemy being returned by gen. Elliot, with stili superior power and greater fierceness, the whole rock seemed to vomit out fire, and all distinction of parts was lost in flame and smoke, VOL. III.

Y

The

The artillery officers and engineers in the garrison computed, that during more than three weeks from the first attack, the Spaniards continued regular to expend at least a thousand bar rels of gunpowder at a hundred weight each, and to fire from four to five thousand shot and shells in every 24 hours upon the fortress. After discharging 75,000 shot, and 25,000 shells in this course of firing, it was lowered to about 600 of both in the 24 hours.

When adm. Rodney returned from New-York to St. Lucia toward the close of the last year, the reports of the dismantled state of St. Vincent through the hurricane, induced him and gen Vaughan to undertake an expedition for the recovery of that island; but after landing a number of troops with the marines on the 16th of December, and continuing a day on the island, the French were found in such force, and their works in such condition, that the commanders were obliged to reimbark the troops without venturing upon an attack.

Not much more than a month after this attempt, the com manders, in consequence of instructions from Great-Britain, directed their views to the reduction of the Dutch island St. Eustatia. This island, though barren and contemptible in itself, had long been the seat of a lucrative and prodigious commerce; and might be considered as the grand free port of the West-Indies and America, and as a general market and magazine to all nati ons. Its richest harvests, however, were during the seasons of warfare among its neighbors, owing to its neutrality and situa tion, with its unbounded and unclogged freedom of trade. The island is a natural fortification, and has but one landing place, which may be easily rendered impracticable to an enemy. The inhabitants, though not very numerous, included a portion of the natives of almost all trading countries.

The British fleet and army appeared [Feb. 3.] before and sur rounded St. Eustatia with a great force. Rodney and Vaughan sent a peremptory summons to the governor, to surrender the island and its dependencies within an hour, accompanied with a threat, that if any resistance was made he must abide the consequences. Mr. de Graaff, totally ignorant of the rupture between GreatBritain and Holland, could scarcely believe the officer who de livered the summons to be serious. But he returned for answer, that being utterly incapable of making any defence, he must of necessity surrender, only recommending the town and inhabitants to the clemency of the British commanders. The wealth of the place excited the astonishment of the conquerors. The whole island seemed to be one vast magazine. All the store-houses were filled with variour commodities: and the very beach was cover

ed