174 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



The English flotilla of gun- 

 boats also destroyed the batteries 

 and redoubts of St. Mary's, and 

 some other points on the Bay of 

 Cadiz. A secret expedition that 

 set sail from Gibraltar, 11th Oc- 

 tober, under the command of 

 lieutenant-colonel lord Blaney, 

 against Malaga, produced very 

 different effects from that of the 

 force under the orders of General 

 Lacey. The object of the expe- 

 dition from Gibraltar was, to take 

 Fort Fangarola, in order to draw 

 the enemy out of Malaga ; then to 

 re-imbark, set sail for that city, 

 and with the assistance of a re- 

 inforcement to be sent without 

 delay from Gibraltar, to destroy 

 the enemy's works at Malaga, and 

 drive away the hordes of priva- 

 teers that took shelter in its har- 

 bour. It was calculated that Fort 

 Fangarola would surrender with- 

 out resistance. The expedition 

 consisted of about 4 or 500 Eng- 

 lish of the 39th regiment, 500 

 German deserters enrolled and 

 armed at Gibraltar, a number of 

 artillery men, and a Spanish re- 

 giment sent over from Ceuta. 

 This armament, the l^th of Oc- 

 tober, disembarked 3 leagues west 

 from Fangarola, situate about 4 

 from Malaga. The garrison, J 60 

 men, when a division of the troops 

 under lord Blaney were within 

 cannon-shot, fired upon them with 

 a 24-pounder, and some other 

 pieces of smaller calibre. Lord 

 Blaney had trusted that a herald 

 of truce would do the business. 

 He had not at hand either scaling- 

 ladders or battering-cannon. He 

 brought up some pieces from the 

 ships in the night, and planted 

 them on ground from whence 

 they could play with advantage. 



The fire of the garrison ceased 

 about eleven o'clock, A. M. But 

 they sallied out and stormed the 

 battery. The officers of the Eng- 

 lish division which remained on 

 the flanks of the height on which 

 the battery was raised, while the 

 rest of the troops were moving to 

 the positions assigned by the Ge- 

 neral, with some artillery men, 

 attacked the assailants, and the 

 battery was cleared. In this gal- 

 lant exploit major Grant, who 

 commanded the division of the 

 89th, was mortally wounded. In 

 a very short time a more numerous 

 party of the French appeared in 

 the midst of the cannon ; the bat- 

 tery was taken, and the English, 

 as well as the rest of the troops, 

 took to flight. The arrival of 

 1,200 men from Malaga, en- 

 couraged the French, and struck 

 a panic into the English and Spa- 

 nish troops. The French from 

 Malaga were disguised in Spanish 

 uniforms ; of which stratagem, 

 on their near approach to Fort 

 Fangarola, lord Blaney was ap- 

 prised by some French deserters: 

 but his Lordship firmly believed 

 them still to be Spaniards, and 

 threatened to cut off with his own 

 hand the head of any traitor that 

 should fire on the troops that were 

 come to join them. He perse- 

 vered in the error of mistaking 

 them for friends till the moment 

 they told him he was their pri- 

 soner ; which happened nearly at 

 the same instant when the battery 

 was taken a second time. It for- 

 tunately happened that the 32nd 

 regiment, which followed the ex- 

 pedition a few days after its de- 

 parture from Gibraltar, had land- 

 ed two companies at the moment 

 when the encounter took place. 



