Читать книгу Anson's Voyage Round the World - Richard Cassels Walter - Страница 5

Table of Contents

THE SQUADRON SAILS.

When, in the latter end of the summer of the year 1739, it was foreseen that a war with Spain was inevitable, it was the opinion of several considerable persons, then trusted with the administration of affairs, that the most prudent step the nation could take, on the breaking out of the war, was attacking that Crown in her distant settlements. It was from the first determined that George Anson, Esquire, then captain of the "Centurion", should be employed as commander-in-chief of an expedition of this kind. The squadron, under Mr. Anson, was intended to pass round Cape Horn into the South Seas, and there to range along the coast, cruising upon the enemy in those parts, and attempting their settlements. On the 28th of June, 1740, the Duke of Newcastle, Principal Secretary of State, delivered to him His Majesty's instructions. On the receipt of these, Mr. Anson immediately repaired to Spithead, with a resolution to sail with the first fair wind, flattering himself that all his delays were now at an end. For though he knew by the musters that his squadron wanted 300 seamen of their complement, yet as Sir Charles Wager* informed him that an order from the Board of Admiralty was despatched to Sir John Norris to spare him the numbers which he wanted, he doubted not of his complying therewith. But on his arrival at Portsmouth he found himself greatly mistaken and disappointed in this persuasion, for Admiral Balchen, who succeeded to the command at Spithead after Sir John Norris had sailed to the westward, instead of 300 able sailors, which Mr. Anson wanted of his complement, ordered on board the squadron 170 men only, of which 32 were from the hospital and sick quarters, 37 from the Salisbury, with officers of Colonel Lowther's regiment, and 98 marines; and these were all that were ever granted to make up the forementioned deficiency.

(*Note. Sir Charles Wager was at that time First Lord of the Admiralty in Walpole's Ministry.)

But the Commodore's mortification did not end here. It was at first intended that Colonel Bland's regiment, and three independent companies of 100 men each, should embark as land forces on board the squadron. But this disposition was now changed, and all the land forces that were to be allowed were 500 invalids, to be collected from the out-pensioners of Chelsea College.* As these out-pensioners consist of soldiers, who, from their age, wounds, or other infirmities, are incapable of service in marching regiments, Mr. Anson was greatly chagrined at having such a decrepit detachment allotted to him; for he was fully persuaded that the greatest part of them would perish long before they arrived at the scene of action, since the delays he had already encountered necessarily confined his passage round Cape Horn to the most vigorous season of the year.** They were ordered on board the squadron on the 5th of August; but instead of 500 there came on board no more than 259; for all those who had limbs and strength to walk out of Portsmouth deserted, leaving behind them only such as were literally invalids, most of them being sixty years of age, and some of them upwards of seventy.

(*Note. A local name for Chelsea Hospital, a home for old and disabled soldiers. It was founded by Charles II and the buildings were designed by Wren.)

(**Note. The squadron did not reach the neighbourhood of Cape Horn until March when the autumn of the Southern Hemisphere had begun and with it the stormy season.)

To supply the place of the 240 invalids which had deserted there were ordered on board 210 marines detached from different regiments. These were raw and undisciplined men, for they were just raised, and had scarcely anything more of the soldier than their regimentals, none of them having been so far trained as to be permitted to fire. The last detachment of these marines came on board the 8th of August, and on the 10th the squadron sailed from Spithead to St. Helens, there to wait for a wind to proceed on the expedition.

But the diminishing the strength of the squadron was not the greatest inconvenience which attended these alterations, for the contests, representations, and difficulties which they continually produced occasioned a delay and waste of time which in its consequences was the source of all the disasters to which this enterprise was afterwards exposed. For by this means we were obliged to make our passage round Cape Horn in the most tempestuous season of the year, whence proceeded the separation of our squadron, the loss of numbers of our men, and the imminent hazard of our total destruction. And by this delay, too, the enemy had been so well informed of our designs that a person who had been employed in the South Sea Company's* service, and arrived from Panama three or four days before we left Portsmouth, was able to relate to Mr. Anson most of the particulars of the destination and strength of our squadron from what he had learned among the Spaniards before he left them. And this was afterwards confirmed by a more extraordinary circumstance; for we shall find that when the Spaniards (fully satisfied that our expedition was intended for the South Seas) had fitted out a squadron to oppose us, which had so far got the start of us as to arrive before us off the island of Madeira, the Commander of this squadron was so well instructed in the form and make of Mr. Anson's broad pennant, and had imitated it so exactly that he thereby decoyed the "Pearl", one of our squadron, within gunshot of him before the captain of the Pearl was able to discover his mistake.

(*Note. The South Sea Company was formed in 1711 on the model of the East India Company to trade in the Pacific; and on the conclusion of the Treaty of Utrecht it was given the monopoly of the English trade with the Spanish coasts of America. The grant of certain privileges by Government led to wild speculation in its shares which gave rise to the famous South Sea Bubble of 1720.)

On the 18th of September, 1740, the squadron weighed from St. Helens with a contrary wind. It consisted of five men-of-war, a sloop-of-war, and two victualling ships. They were the Centurion, of 60 guns, 400 men, George Anson, Esquire, commander; the "Gloucester", of 50 guns, 300 men, Richard Norris, commander; the "Severn", of 50 guns, 300 men, the Honourable Edward Legg, commander; the Pearl, of 40 guns, 250 men, Matthew Mitchel, commander; the "Wager", of 28 guns, 160 men, Dandy Kidd, commander; and the "Trial", sloop, of 8 guns, 100 men, the Honourable John Murray, commander. The two victuallers were pinks, the largest about 400 and the other about 200 tons burthen; these were to attend us till the provisions we had taken on board were so far consumed as to make room for the additional quantity they carried with them, which when we had taken into our ships they were to be discharged. Besides the complement of men borne by the above-mentioned ships as their crews, there were embarked on board the squadron about 470 invalids and marines, under the denomination of land forces, which were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Cracherode.

The winds were so contrary that we had the mortification to be forty days in our passage from St. Helens to the island of Madeira, though it is known to be often done in ten or twelve. However, at last, on Monday, October the 25th, at five in the morning, we, to our great joy, made the land, and in the afternoon came to an anchor in Madeira Road.

We continued about a week at this island, watering our ships and providing the squadron with wine and other refreshments.

When Mr. Anson visited the Governor of Madeira* he received information from him that for three or four days in the latter end of October there had appeared, to the westward of that island, seven or eight ships of the line. The Governor assured the Commodore, upon his honour, that none upon the island had either given them intelligence or had in any sort communicated with them, but that he believed them to be either French or Spanish, but was rather inclined to think them Spanish. On this intelligence Mr. Anson sent an officer in a clean sloop eight leagues to the westward to reconnoitre them, and, if possible, to discover what they were. But the officer returned without being able to get a sight of them, so that we still remained in uncertainty. However, we could not but conjecture that this fleet was intended to put a stop to our expedition. Afterwards, in the course of our expedition, we were many of us persuaded that this was the Spanish squadron commanded by Don Joseph Pizarro, which was sent out purposely to traverse the views and enterprises of our squadron, to which in strength they were greatly superior.

(*Note. Madeira then as now belonged to Portugal--a neutral power at that time usually jealous of Spain.)