may be fuppofed not feldom to have been shipped for the purpose of being taken. The republic of Holland loudly complained of this conduct, as a breach of the law of nations, particularly when the greatest part of a large fleet was brought into Portsmouth by Captain 'Fielding, a powerful squadron being affigned him for that purpose, but no real injury was at any time sustained. In the month of January, 1780, a fleet, confifting of 21 fhips of the line, under the command of Sir George Rodney, proceeded to the relief of Gibraltar. This fortunate commander had not been many days at sea, before he fell in with 15 fail of Spanifh fhips, laden with naval ftores and provifions, from St. Sebaftian, (the most north eaftern port of Spain, in the Bay of Biscay) bound to Cadiz, which were escorted by a Spanish man of war of 64 guns, and five frigates, all of which were taken Eight days after *, upon doubling Cape St. Vincent, a Spanish fleet, confifting of 11 fail of the line, under the command of Don Juan de Langara was defcried, which he immediately bore down upon, keeping nearer to the fhore than the enemy, to prevent their efeaping into any port; which by the direction in which the wind then blew, was, in the marine phrase, keeping the lee-gage. The engagement began about four o'clock in the afternoon, and after it had continued near 40 minutes, one of the Spanish fhips of 70 guns blew up, and 600 men, who were on board her, perifhed. Soon after which the battle was changed to a flight on the part of the Spaniards. During the night, which immediately came on, the British fhips pursued the enemy through a great fea, the weather proving tempeftuous, and the next morning the fleet had approached January 16, 1780. towards towards the fhoals of St. Lucar. Four Spanish men of war were carried into Gibraltar, among which was the Admi ral's fhip: two other fhips were taken, but being afterwards driven on fhore, the one was loft, and the other refcued. This fignal fuccefs was obtained with the lofs of only 32 men killed, and 102 wounded. The vanquish ed fleet confifted of 14 fail, but three fhips had been feparated from the reft just before the engagement. The scene of this memorable action was the very fame as that on which Bofcawen effected the deftruction of De la Clue's fquadron in the laft war, only the purfuit was made in oppofite directions. Bofcawen completed his triumph on the coaft where Rodney began. Gibraltar being now furnished with the neceffary fupplies, the garrison reinforced with a new raised regiment, and fome veffels defpatched to Port Mahon, Sir George Rodney failed for the West Indies with a part of the fleet; the reft, with the Spanish prizes, returned to England, under the command of Admiral Digby, who, in his way, captured a French man of war, of 64 guns, which was one of a convoy to a fleet of transports destined for the island of Mauritius. The death of Sir Charles Hardy, which happened in May 1780, caufed the fleet for the channel fervice to be put under the command of Admiral Geary, who failed to the westward the beginning of June; but as no junction was formed of the French and Spanish fleets, no enemy appeared to dispute the fovereignty of the ocean. In July he fell in with a large homeward bound fleet of French merchantmen from Port-au-Prince, and captured twelve fail of them; but returning into port a month after, he quitted quitted the command, and was fucceeded by Admiral Darby. Commodore Johnftone, with a small squadron of fhips, was ftationed this fummer off the coaft of Portugal, where feveral French fhips of force, and some rich Spanish vessels were captured. This gentleman had greatly diftinguished himself in the House of Commons, and was no less confpicuous as one of the commiffioners, who went out to offer terms of peace to America; as a naval commander he fhewed great vigilance and address. Hitherto the foreign events which had turned up in the courfe of the year had proved remarkably fortunate for the intereft of this couutry; infomuch as to have rescued it from that danger of immediate ruin which feemed to threaten it; but in abatement of this tide of fuccefs, the Spanish fleet, commanded by Don Louis de Cordova, took five of our Eaft-India fhips outward bound, and a confiderable number of merchantmen, on their voyage to the WeftIndies. However, the confequences attending this lofs, were by no means fo feverely felt by the nation, as the 'capture of an equal number of fhips, homeward-bound, would have been; for being principally freighted with the manufactures of the country, it served to furnish additional employment for the laborious part of the community, at the expence of the wealthy. The conduct which had been pursued by Spain in the Weft-Indies, plainly proves the long-concerted plan which had been formed of breaking with Great-Britain; for war was declared at Porto Rico, a few days after the delivery of the refcript in London. Such a conduct, a Spanish Manifefto, had warmly reprobated on the part of Great Britain Britain towards France in the Eaft-Indies, and the fame paper had predicted, that fimilar proceedings had been fecretly determined upon against the poffeffions of Spain at the Manillas, but in thefe apprehenfions time has proved the court of Spain to have been mistaken. The principal object with the Spaniards, was, to recover the Floridas; but whilft a force was collecting for this purpose by Don Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, a small force was fent from Jamaica, against Omoa, a Spanish fettlement on the Mufquito fore, which was foon taken, to the great annoyance of the enemy; but the unhealthiness of the place caufed it to become the grave of the brave men who fubdued it. Admiral Hyde Parker, on the Leeward island ftation, took and deftroyed a large number of veffels on the coaft of Martinico, which had failed from France for the fupply of that ifland. Several French frigates were likewife taken. Admiral Rodney thrice engaged the French fleet in the Weft-Indies, commanded by M. de Guichen, without any decifive confequences; although the palm of victory was justly claimed by the English Admiral, notwithstanding his force was confiderably inferior, and in the first action, he was badly feconded by many fhips in his fleet. The Hon. Capt. St. John, of the Intrepid, and three of his Lieutenants, were killed. The dreadful hurricanes which fpread defolation over many parts of the Weft-India iflands fome time after, proved fatal to the ships of both nations in those seas. The operations of this campaign in America were car ed on to the fouthward by Sir Henry Clinton in perfon, who, in order to provide a fufficient force for an expedi tion against Charleftown, found it neceffary to evacuate April 17, Mag 15 and 19, 1780: Rhode Rhode Island, although a poffeffion of great importance on account of its valuable haven; a voluntary furrender of it, therefore, furnished a melancholy proof of the difparity of the force employed in this war to the objects fought. The French immediately took poffeffion of a place which they had in vain attempted to fubdue. Charlestown furrendered on the 13th of May, 1780, foon after which Sir Henry Clinton returned to New York, and Earl Cornwallis became Commander in Chief in South Carolina, who three months after, found himself likely to be difpoffeffed of the whole province, the capital excepted, by General Gates, the conqueror of Burgoyne, who commanded a confiderable army of Americans. In this extremity the British General engaged and defeated an enemy almost five times his numbers at Camden; but even this noble atchievement was not fufficient to conciliate the minds of the inhabitants of that province to the cause for which he fought: their will remained unfubdued, and upon every occafion which offered, this inveteracy appeared in hoftile acts. During the whole of the campaign, Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton highly distinguished himself in a variety of rencounters. Many were the actions at sea between the ships of England and France, in which the fuperiority of British sea manship and courage appeared uniformly and confpicuously; which, whilft it seemed to warrant the claim of these islands to the fovereignty of the ocean, served to encourage the hope that the present sharp and doubtful conteft would iffue in the full establishment of that claim. |