THE CAPTURE OF GIBRALTAR.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 1929, 20 March 1905, Page 2

THE CAPTURE OF GIBRALTAR.

July 23rd. 190-1 was 1 iic two hundredth anniversary of the British capture of Gibraltar, and there is none of our Possessions which gives the average Englishman such a feeling of satisfaction. Its strategical importance, the imposing grandeur of its appearance, and its position, sentinel-like, at the door of the Mediterranean, ail appeal to his imagination; and, in audition, his patriotic pride is stirred by the knowledge that, impregnable as the fortress is supposed to be, it was captured by his forefathers. It, is a curious fact that despite this pride in the possession of Gibraltar, not one Englishman in twenty knows anything of the deed which made it British, save only the two facts that it was an accident in the War of the Spanish Succession, and that Admiral Sir George Rooke was in chief command.

Rooke captured Gibraltar in lack lof something better to do. Finding it futile to attempt the reduction of Barcelona, and failing to find the French fleet (the prime object of his presence in the Mediterranean), he 1 felt, the necessity of striking a blow somewhere, and decided that that blow should be struck at Gibraltar. It is unlikely that he realized the strategical importance of the place any more than it was realised by other British officers and the Government at home (for our ancestors : did not attach much importance to the capture of the stronghold ; they thought infinitely more of the unfin- ! ished naval battle off Malaga, which Sir George fought three weeks later) and we may safely conclude that in making the' attack and capture he had no other object in view than to do as much damage to the enemy as possible. Sir George Rooke's fleet was a I very powerful one, and it is remarkable for the fact that of the five I British Admirals holding commands i in it, no less than four of them were I men whose names have found a pla.ee lin the history of our country—Adj rairal Sir George Rooke, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel, Vice-Admiral Sir John Leake, and Rear-Admiral : George Byng (afterwards Viscount ! Torrington).

There were also present Rear-Ad-I miral Bilks, and Admiral Cullem- : berg and Rear-Admiral Vanderdussen with a Dutch squadron. ! On .July 21st, 1704- (ho fleet appeared oh" Gibraltar, and at three o'clock in the afternoon 1,8(10 marines, under the command of (he Prince of Hesse D'Armsdadt, . were landed on the narrow neck of land ; to the north of the town, thus cut- ' ting off the garrison's communieaI tions by land. Of these 1,800 'marines about 1,400 were British land about 400 'Dutch, and they carried with them shovels, hatchets, I and the other implements necessary \ for entrenching should a siege render

such a course necessary. As soon as lie had got his marines ashore the Prince of Hesse sent a messenger to the town summoning (lie Governor to surrender Gibraltar for the service of his Catholic Majesty Charles King of Spain. The Governor replied that he held the town for the service of Ids Catholic Majesty Philip, of Spain, and he and his garrison would die in its defence.

The following day Sir George I Rooke ordered twenty-live ships to I draw in and open the bombardment, | but. the wind being contrary, they i were unable to get into position, ; and withdrew after discharging a '•■ few shells. At the same time, howi ever, a number of boats were lowered for a daring attack upon a I French privateer, which lay at anchor beneath the guns of the Old i Mole. Dashing in they readied the i privateer, set fire to her, and rcI gained the fleet with scarcely any 1 loss. At five o'clock the next morning, duly 28, the fleet began the I bombardment in earnest, and a terrific fire wa.s maintained until eleven j o'clock. By that time the effects of the storm of shot and shell were apparent, for it was plain that many of the enemy's guns were dismounted. All the boats were now lowered and manned, and. under the command of Captain tCdward Whitaker, they rowed to the South Mole Head with the intention of capturing it. They landed without meeting any opposition, and it seemed that the enemy had deserted (hat post, but suddenly a tremendous explosion | rent the ground on which they stood and the masonry of the fortification was rent asunder and scattered. The enemy had sprung a mine, and the charred and mutilated bodies of two British officers and forty seamen [ testified to its success. Sixty more j were wounded, but nevertheless, Brij fish held fast to the Mole and advancing, took by storm a redoubt situated about midway between the Mole and the town, and captured many guns.

At a little chapel outside the town the women and children of the garrison were gathered at their Sunday devotions, and earnest must their prayers have been, accompanied as they were by all the terrifying sounds of the bombardment. Word reached them that the British sailors were advancing towards the town, and that unless they hurried back, they should be cvrt off. The frightened women and children started running towards the Rate. From the deck of one of the ships a British captain saw the flying crowd, and at once realised the moral advantage that would be pained by preventing them from entering the town. He discharged a couple of shells so accurately that they exploded in the path the fugitives would have to traverse on their way home. The shells fell too far away to hurt them, but near enough to terrify them. The panic-stricken crowd wavered, turned and fled back to the chapel, and the advance of the sailors effectively cut them off.

The Prince of Hesse, who, with his | marines, was at the North Gate, i promptly took advantage of the situation by demanding the instant surrender of the town. The Governor who was already doubting the i ability of ids small garrison to repel a general assault, had pressure brought to bear upon him by the '• husbands and fathers of the women and children cut oil' in the chape] and j lie sent back to the Prince an I intimation that he was prepared to ! discuss terms of surrender. HonourI able terms were granted to the gar--1 rison, and the Prince marched in with his marines and took possession of the place. He found that the garrison consisted of ir.it LSO men, not nearly enough to man the large number of guns that were mounted. The loss of the British was only '•'> officers and 57 men killed and eight officers and 20S men wounded —a by jio means heavy price to pay for the possession of such a place as "The Rock." Since the British Marines marched • iato G-lbxeAtgtr on July 23, 1704, the

Spaniards have laid vigorous siege to it three times in the hope of regaining their lost territory. Towards the end of the year in which it was taken from them they made their first attempt, and in 1727, an army of mercenaries, composed of some of the finest fighting material in Europe, lay before the town from January to July. The most remarkable effort of all, however, was the siege which began in 1779. The allied Spanish and French fleets assailed the fortress from the sea, and a combined army of two nations operated against it on land. The fact that England was also at war with her American colonists and with Holland made the allies feel sure of success, and they pressed the siege vigorously. The following year Admiral Rodney met and defected the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent, which gave him an opportunity of carrying supplies to the beleaguered garrison. He sailed away again, for there was more important work for him to do elsewhere, and left the fate of Gibraltar in the hands of Governor Eliott. This capable and energetic officer was equal to his formidable ~ task, and defended his charge so courageously and ably that in September, 1782, after a strenuous siege of more than three weeks, the allies withdrew and definitely abandoned the siege. Thus have all the attempts upon the fartress failed, and Gibraltar remains a monument to brave British seamen, and a symbol of England's greatness —"The Evening Standard."