272 
Gibraltar. of May 1782, it was discovered that the besiegers had: 
a new plan of operations in view. On the 14th several 
of the large ships at Algeziras struck their yards and 
and a great number of men appeared on 
—_— 
The besie- 
gers resolve 
to attack the top-masts, ; it ; 
: board them; which circumstances led to the belief, 
arrison 
from. the that they were intended to be fitted up as floating bat- 
sea, by teres, for a grand attack to be made upon the garrison 
micas of ,. from the sea; and this opinion was confirmed in the 
pases sy afternoon, by their beginning to cut down the poops of 
1782. two of them. The garrison, on the other hand, made 
various dispositions to repel this meditated attack. The 
Dispositions Works at Waterport were s' ened; an additional 
made by the number of grates for heating shot were distributed 
garrison to along the line-wall; and the navy lowered their yards 
repel the at- and top-masts, to be in readiness to act on shore at a 
ote moment's notice. In the month of June, the army of 
the besiegers was reinforced by a strong b of 
Sssumes the Lrench troops; and the Duke de Crillon assumed the 
pacman aa command of the whole. The Duke had recently re- 
the besie- turned from the conquest of Fort St Philip, in Mmor- 
ging army. ca, and brought with him M. d’Arcon, a famous French 
June. engineer, who had projected the plan of attacking Gib- 
raltar with seapacciguabign, constructed upon such prin~ 
ciples, that they were considered as equally impregna- 
‘ble and incombustible. In the beginning of August, 
d’Artois ar. the enemy completed the first parallel of their ap- 
rives in the proaches, On the 15th the Count d’Artois arrived in 
enemy’s _ the camp ofthe combined army, to serve as a volunteer’ 
camp. at the siege. 
The advan- 
"The Count 
by means of 
red-hot 
batteries which bore upon the western part of the pa~ 
rallel, and was supported through the day with great 
vivacity. The effect of the red-hot shot and carcasses 
exceeded the must sanguine expectations. In a few 
‘hours, the Mahon battery, with the two-gun ‘battery on 
its flank, and great part of the adjoining parallel, were 
-on fire ; jams 29 flames, notwithstanding the enemy’s 
exertions to extinguish them, burnt so rapidly, that the 
whole of their works were consumed before night. The’ 
St Carlos’s and St Martin’s batteries were likewise so 
much deranged, that the enemy were obliged to take 
The combi- down the greater 
ned fleets of  O0 the 12th, the combined fleets of France and — 
France and arrived in the Bay from the westward; and every t ing 
Spain arrive now seemed to indicate the approach of the grand at- 
in the bay. tack. The garrison of Gibraltar, at this time, scarcely 
12th Sept. consisted of more than.7000 effective men, The aecus 
mulated forces of the besiegers, on the other hand, as- 
sumed the most formidable and: imposing attitude. 
There were assembled in the bay 47 sail of the line; 
ten battering ships, deemed perfect in design, and ese 
teemed mvincible, carrying 212 guns ; innumerable fri- 
gates, xebeques, bomb-ketches, cutters, gun and mortar: 
boats, and smaller craft, for disembarking men. On the: 
land side were most stupendous batteries and works, 
mounting 200 pieces of heavy ordnance, and protected 
by an army of nearly 40,000 men, comm a 
victorious and active general, and animated by the im- 
sip the tet mediate presence of two princes of the royal blood of 
tering ships. France. About seven o'clock in the morning of the 
13th Sept. 18th, the battering-ships got under way, and stood:to the 
Grand at- 
tack made 
GIBRALTAR. 
po~ ‘friends on shore, 
Sep- round the disabled ships. At this period, our artillery 
. two o'clock, she appeared as one continued blaze from 
southward, to clear the men of war; ‘then wore to the Gibr 
north, and a little past nine, bore down in admirable : 
order for their several stations, taking their suc. 
cessively to the as and left of the admiral, who. was 
moored in a two-decker about 900 yards off the King’s 
bastion. They were permitted to their distance 
without molestation ; but as soon as the first ship drop. 
ped her anchors, ‘the fire from the garrison commenced. 
The cannonade then became tremendous; which may 
be easily conceived, when it is considered that 400 pie~ 
ces of the heaviest artillery were playing at the same’ 
moment. While’the i attacked the garri~ 
son from the sea, the besi were at. the same tinie 
warmly annoyed by the flanking and reverse fire of the’ 
enemy’s batteries on the isthmus. The latter, 
however, they totally di directing their undi« 
vided attention to the battering-ships. For some hours, 
the attack and defence were so equally well supported, 
as scarcely to-exhibit any appearance of superiority on 
either side. The red-hot shot began to be used about 
twelve o’clock, but did not become general till between 
one and two. Incessant showers of hot balls, carcasses, 
and shells of every species, were now poured upon the 
from all quarters ; and as the masts:of several of 
the shi dar gd away, and the rigging of all in 
great di , the garrison began to entertain’ h 
of a speedy and fevourable result. Smoke was aidan 
ved to issue from the upper part of'the flag-ship, which’ 
‘seemed to increase, notwiths' the constant appli- 
cation of water; and the admiral’s second was percei« 
ved to be in the same condition. Confusion was now 
ay nt on board several of the vessels; in the course 
the evening their cannonade gradually abated, and 
‘about seven bee it almost totally ceased. As the 
evening adv: Faigomest distress were made to their 
i | several boats were seen to row 
‘caused dreadful havoc among them. A little before 
midnight, a wreck floated in, which were 12 men, 
who alone , out of threescore who were on 
‘board their launch. About an hour after midnight, one 
‘of the battering ships was completely in flames ; and by 
stem tostern. Another to the southward was also on 
fire ; and between three and four o’clock,; other’ six in- 
dicated the efficacy of red-hot shot. ‘The sea now pres . 
sented a spectacle of horror; men crying from amidst 
the flames for pity and assistance; others; on board 
those ships where the fire had made little progress, im- 
ploring’ relief with the most expressive gestures and 
signs of despair; while several, equally exposed to the 
dangers of the opposite element, trusted themselves on 
various pieces of the wreck, in hopes of reaching the 
shore. Brigadier Curtis, with the marine brigade, hu- 
manely exerted himself sh mere ipl re many 
as possible of these wretches; and sueceeded in 
bringing off about 350, many of whom were sey 
and some of them dreadfully wounded. Meanwhile the They « 
flames reached the nage of one of the batterin, pr 
ships to the northward, which blew up about five'o'clock Pi)" 
with a terrible explosion. In a quarter ‘of an hour af fiom ¢ 
terwards, another in the centre of the line met with a garriso 
similar fate. Of all these formidable floating-batteries; 
upon ‘which the enemy had rested their most confident 
hopes‘ of ‘success, not one escaped destruction ; and on 
the 14th of September, the patient and intrepid garri- 
son had ‘the: satisfaction of contemplating’ one of the 
— signal and complete defensive ‘victories’ on xe- . 
