556 
GIBRALTAR. 
way between the mole and the town. Upon this the 
governor thought proper to capitulate, and the prince 
of Kefle took poireffion of the gates on the 24tli. The 
garrifon, confilling of one luindred and fifty men, 
marched out with tlie honours of war ; and the Spa¬ 
niards who chofe to remain, were honour.ibly protedted 
in their religion and property. The w'orks w'ere found 
very ftrong, and the place well provided with ammuni¬ 
tion and military flores. The prince of Helfe was made 
governor; and eighteen men of war were left at Lifbon 
under the command of fir John Leake, to fuccouv the 
garrifon if there fliould be occafion. 
The lofs of fuch an important fortrefs having alarmed 
both the courts of Madrid and Paris, orders were fent 
to the marquis de Villadarias, a Spanifh grandee, to re¬ 
take it, in which lie was to be aflilled by a naval force 
from Toulon. The prince of Hefle, therefore, imme¬ 
diately applied to fir John Leake for aflifiance ; but be¬ 
fore tlie latter had time to comply with his requelt, a 
French fleet arrived, and debarked fi.x battalions to the 
afiiltance of the Spaniards ; after which they proceeded 
to the weflward, leaving only fix frigates in the bay. 
The trenches were opened on the nth of October, about 
which time fir John arrived with twenty fail ot Englilh 
and Dutch fliips ; but hearing that the French were 
about to attack him with a fuperior force, he judged 
it proper to return and refit. Having very prudently 
left orders at Lifbon to make preparations for this pur- 
pofe in his abfence, he was enabled to accomplifli the 
work with fuch expedition, that on the 20th ot the 
fame month h.e returned, and took by furprife in the bay 
three frigates, a fire-fliip, tw'O Englifli prizes, a tartan, 
and a llore-fliip. After this exploit lie landed fome 
reinforcements, fupplied the garrii'on with fix months 
provilron and ammunition; at the lame time detaching 
on fliore a body of five hundred Tailors to aflill in re¬ 
pairing the breaches which had been made by the ene¬ 
my’s fire. In the mean while the Spaniards fitted out 
a (Irong fquadron from Cadiz, with a defign to intercept 
the convoys of provifions which might be fent to the 
garrifon ; flattering themfelVes at the fame time, that, 
on tlie arrival of their fleet, fir John would be forced 
to retire, and the garrifon be obliged to furrender to 
tlieir repeated attacks. The land army therefore con¬ 
tinued their fire with additional fury, difmounted many 
of the cannon, and did elfential injury to the works in 
feveral difi'ereiit places. The prince of Hefle, how¬ 
ever, was by no means deficient in his endeavours to 
difappoint their expeilations ; and at this critical junc¬ 
ture the fleet they had long expebled arrived in the 
bay, December 7, 1704, with a proportionable quantity 
of ammunition and provifions. 
Sir John Leake having thus powerfully reinforced the 
garrifon, thought his prefence in the bay no longer ne- 
ceflary, and therefore fet fail for Liibon, where he ar¬ 
rived about the end of the year. In the beginning of 
January 1705, the Spaniards were reinforced by a confi- 
derable body of infantry, and on the iith of the month 
made an attack on the extremity of the King’s Lines, 
but were repulled. The garrifon was now farther rein¬ 
forced by fix companies of Dutcli troops and tw’o hun¬ 
dred Englifli foldiers, togethervvitli fome provifiotis and 
flores. The alfailants, how'ever, perfilled in the tiege. 
The marquis de Villadarias was luperfeded by the mare- 
fchal Telfe, a Frenchman, with whom admiral Pointis 
was delired to co-operate in blocking up the bay. The 
marefchal therefore joined tlie army with four frefh 
battalions, belides eight companies which had been fent 
before. On the part of the Englilh a reinforcement was 
ordered under the command of fir Thomas Dilkes and 
fir John Hardy, to join admirql Leake at Liibon ; which 
junction being erlefled, the whole fleet, conlifling of 
twenty-eight Englilh, four Dutch, and eight Portuguefe, 
men of war, having on-board two battalions of land 
forces, fet fail from Liibon. Fortunately for the be- 
fieged, the incelTant rains and florms had retarded the 
operations of the land forces, and greatly diflrefled the 
fleet of the enemy. Eight fhips of the latter were 
forced from their anchors by the llrong weflerly wind, 
and obliged to drive to fea. At this critical period 
fir John Leake, witli the allied fleet, entered the ftraits ; 
and perceiving five fail making out of the bay, and a 
gun fired at them from the garrifon, he immediately 
gave chace. Three French men of v/ar w’cre taken, 
and the admiral’s fltip and another driven on-fliore, 
where they were burnt. The rell, on hearing tlie report 
of the guns, made the bell of their way to Toulon. 
The garrifon was now fo well fupplied, that mare¬ 
fchal Telfe withdrew his troops from the trenches, and 
and formed a blockade, drawing an intrenchment acrofs 
the illhmus to prevent the garrifon from ravaging the 
country^ The prince of Helfe Hill remained in the gar¬ 
rifon, wliere he repaired the batteries, an.d made fome 
additions to the fortifications ; after which he joined 
the archduke Charles at Liibon. As the latter, how¬ 
ever, was refolved to try his forttine with the earl of 
Peterborough in Valencia and Catalonia, the prince was 
fent back to Gibraltar to prepare part of the garrifon 
for embarkation, and foon after was followed by the 
whole fleet. Major-general Ramos was now appointed 
governor of Gibraltar, in which only twm new batta¬ 
lions were left, as nothing w'as to be apprehended from 
the enemy. 'Lite new governor foon refigned his com¬ 
mand to colonel Roger Elliot, during whole time Gib¬ 
raltar was made a free port by a Ipecial order from the 
queen. 
In 1720, the Spaniards feem to have threatened ano¬ 
ther attack. Ceuta, the Spanifli fortrefs in Barbai)-, 
had been for many years belieged by the Moors ; and a 
powerful armament, commanded by the marquis, de 
l.ada, was now alfemhled in Gibraltar-ba\', under pre. 
tence of relieving that fortrefs, but with a fecret delign 
of furprifing Gibraltar ; for wliich purpofe he had pro¬ 
vided fcaling ladders, A'C. The armament, however, 
had not been fitted ou.’ ^v■ith fuch fecrecy but tliat the 
Britilli minillry had intelligence of it. On this they 
fent orders to colonel Kane, governor of Minorca, to 
embark with part of his garrifon for Gibraltar under 
convoy of the fleet in the Mediterranean. On his arri¬ 
val he compelled the Spanifli commander to abandon 
his defign, juft as the tortrefs was to have fullained a 
gencral airault. Notwithftanding this difappointment, 
the Spaniards continued to keep a watchful eye over 
Gibraltar ; and, in 1726, they aflembled an army in the 
neighbourhood of Algezira, or Old Gibraltar, encamp¬ 
ing, on the 20th of January following, on the plain be. 
low St. Rocii, and erefting a battery on the beach to 
protect their camp. I'hough admiral Hopfon was then 
at anchor in the bay of Gibraltar, yet, as h.e had re¬ 
ceived no intelligence of. the adlual commencement of 
hollilities between Great Britain and Spain, he was 
obliged to allow the boats of the latter to pal’s with 
provifions, arms, and ammunition, betw'een Algezira 
and the camp. The operations of tlie Spaniards, how¬ 
ever, feemed fo evidently to tend towards an attack, 
that the governor thought proper to order fuch of that 
nation as were in the town to leave it, and to forbid 
their galleys to anchor on tliat fide of the bay. 
The count de Las Torres commanded the Spanifli 
forces, amounting to near twenty-thoufand men ; and 
foon after forming his camp, he advanced along the 
neutral ground to within reach of the garrifon. On the 
22d of February, the Spaniards opened their fire with 
feventeen pieces of cannon befides mortars ; and on the 
3d of March they opened a new battery of twenty-two 
guns on the Old Mole ; and on the Sth another of fif¬ 
teen guns, bearing alfo upon the fame Mole, the guns 
of which had annoyed the w'eftern flank of their ap¬ 
proaches. Ail this time the garrifon had kept up a 
conllant and well-direcJed fire from the batteries, which 
bore 
