_ ‘bour, and obstructed the approach 
of any shipping. This third en- 
terprige was also’ to have been 
conducted by commodore Nelson, 
through whose activity and enter- 
- without some equally resolute and 
' well-concerted endeavours to annoy 
) theenemy, , 
___ Ithad appeared, in the mean time, 
_ from a variety of intelligence, that 
| the situation of the town of Santa 
) Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe, 
' was such as authorised -an effort to 
_ take possession of it. Could this 
have been effected, it certainly must 
~ have proved a very valuable acqui- 
sition: such being the general opi- 
‘nion, an expedition was resolved 
upon against this celebrated island. 
} The command of it was given to 
) admiral Nelson, recently promoted 
Ie to that rank, who arrived at the 
} place of his destination the twenty- 
Bfourth of July, and immediately 
_ prepared to carry his orders into 
execution. His force consisted of 
~ four ships of the line, and.three fri- 
_ gates. Ashe intended to surprize the 
ensmy, the attack was deferred till 
night. At eleven, about a thousand 
“4 hosen men were embarked in the 
“boats belonging to the syuadron: 
ey proceeded without being dis- 
covered, till they were within less 
|, tha gun-shot of the Mole, stretch- 
/ ing from the town into the sea. 
ee heir approach being perceived, 
' the alarm-bells were rung, and a 
| it emendous fire opened upon them 
from all the batteries, extending 
along the platforms in front of the 
n. “The night was so dark, that 
only five of the boats could find the 
| Mole, A body of five hundred 
men was stationed upon it, for its 
fence. ‘These the soldiers and 
ilors, landing from the boats, at= 
You. XXXIX, 
HISTORY OF EUROPE: 
prizing disposition few days passed. 
[97 
tacked and dispersed, on: the. first 
onset: but such a fire of musketry 
and grape shot was kept up from 
the citadel and houses at the head 
of the Mole, that they could not 
advance, and nearly all of them were 
either killed or wounded. This 
first division was commanded by 
admiral Nelson, in person, having 
under him captains Bowen, Thom- 
son, and Freemantle. The boat in 
which was captain Bowen, with 
a chosen part of his ship’s company, 
never -reached ,the shore: it was 
sunk by a cannon shot, and they all 
perished. The Fox cutter was 
lost in the same manner, with nearly 
one hundred: men. 
The other division, under the 
command: of captains Trowbridge, 
Hood, Millar, and Waller, landed 
at the south of the citadel, making 
their way through a raging surt 
that stove all their boats, and wettcd 
all their ammunition. Notwith- 
standing these difficulties, they pas= 
sed over the walls and batteries, and 
penetrated to the great square of 
the town, where, having formed to 
the number of about four hundred 
men, they marched towards the 
citadel, but found it tdo strong for 
them to attack with any hope of 
succéss., Captain Trowbridge, in 
the mean time, was informed, by ~ 
prisoners taken, that there were 
eight thousand Spaniards, assisted 
by a hundred French. with five, 
field-pieces, preparing to attack 
them. Seeing the impossibility of 
receiving aid from the ships, he 
sent captain Hood with a message 
to the Spanish governor, titat if he 
would allow him freely and with- 
out molestation to embark his peo-. 
ple, and furnish him with boats 
for that purpose, in the stead of 
those that had been stoven, the 
{Hj squadron 
