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CHAPTER XXVI.
PORT MAHON

The military importance of the capture of Minorca from the English in 1782 was not, perhaps, such as to warrant a separate chapter for its consideration. But the defence of St. Philip's Castle by the English against the combined forces of France and Spain was so exceptionally gallant, their sufferings so great, and the zeal and courage of the Artillery, especially, so conspicuous, that something more than a passing mention is necessary in a work of this nature.

The siege lasted from the 19th August, 1781, to the 5th February, 1782. General Murray was Governor, and Sir William Draper, Lieutenant-Governor. The strength of the garrison at the commencement of the siege was 2295 of all ranks; at the end of the siege, this number had been reduced to 1227, but so many of these were in hospital, that the whole number able to march out at the capitulation did not exceed – to use the Governor's own words – "600 old decrepit soldiers, 200 seamen, 170 of the Royal Artillery, 2 °Corsicans, 25 Greeks, Moors, &c."

In a postscript to the official report of the capitulation the Governor says: – "It would be unjust and ungrateful were I not to declare that from the beginning to the last hour of the siege, the officers and men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery distinguished themselves. I believe the world cannot produce more expert gunners and bombardiers than those who served in this siege." This alone would make imperative some notice of this siege in a narrative of the services of the Corps.

In the Castle of St. Philip's, there were at the commencement of the siege 234 guns and mortars. At the end, no less than 78 of these had been rendered unserviceable by the enemy's fire. The batteries were almost demolished, and the buildings a heap of ruins.

The following officers of the Royal Artillery were present:

Major Walton.

Captains: Fead, Lambert, Schalch, Parry, and Dixon.

First Lieutenants: Irwin, Woodward, Lemoine, Neville, and Bradbridge.

Second Lieutenants: Hope, Wulff, and Hamilton.

In addition to the Artillery the garrison was composed of two Regiments of British, and two of Hanoverian troops.

The commandant of the enemy's forces was the Duke de Crillon, the same officer who after the capitulation of St. Philip's proceeded to command at the Siege of Gibraltar. He drew upon himself a well-merited rebuke from General Murray, whom he had endeavoured to bribe, with a view to the immediate surrender of the Castle; a rebuke which he felt, and answered with great respect and admiration.

There is in the Royal Artillery Record Office a journal kept during the siege by Captain F. M. Dixon, R.A., from which the following details are taken, many of which would lose their force if given except in the writer's own words. The siege commenced on the 20th August, when there was nothing but confusion and disorder within St. Philip's, to which the troops had retired; but the enemy did not commence firing on the Castle until the 15th September. The English had not been so quiet; they commenced firing at a great range on the 27th August, and with great success. At the request of the Duke de Crillon, all the English families had been sent out, in humane anticipation of the intended bombardment. Desertion from the enemy was frequent at first; and as the siege progressed it was occasional from the British troops. When a deserter was captured, he received no mercy.

The most deadly enemy of the garrison was scurvy. Hence an order on the 7th November, 1781, for an officer and six men per company to be told off daily to gather pot-herbs on the glacis. Anything of a vegetable nature brought a fabulous price; tea was sold at thirty shillings a pound; the number of sick increased every day, the men concealing their illness to the last rather than go to hospital, and very frequently dying on duty from sheer exhaustion: – "Our people," says the diary, "do more than can be expected, considering their strength; the scurvy is inveterate… 108 men fell sick in two days with the scurvy… I am sorry our men are so very sickly; our people fall down surprisingly, we have not a relief… The Hanoverians die very fast: there is no fighting against God… Our troops increase vastly in their sickness;" and so on. Among those who fell a victim during the siege was Captain Lambert, of the Artillery.

So heavy were the duties that even the General's orderly sergeants were given up to diminish the burden; and when the capitulation was resolved upon, it was found that while the necessary guards required 415 men, there were only 660 able to carry arms, leaving, as the Governor said, no men for piquet, and a deficiency of 170 men to relieve the guard. Against this small force, entrenched in what was now a mere heap of rubbish, there was an enemy, whose lowest number was estimated at 15,000, and was more likely 20,000.

Some of the enemy's batteries were armed with 13-inch mortars. When the British ammunition ran short, the shells of the enemy which had not burst were returned to them, and in default of these, stone projectiles were used with much effect.

On the 12th December, 1781, the following batteries had been opened against the Castle: —

But the above list does not exhaust the number which ultimately directed their fire on the Castle. New batteries were prepared without intermission, hemming in with a deadly circle the devoted garrison. Some extracts from Captain Dixon's diary will give some idea of the fire to which the place was subjected: —

January 6th, 1782. "A little before seven o'clock this morning they gave three cheers and fired a feu de joie; then all their batteries fired upon us with great fury, which was equally returned by our brave Artillery. Our General declared he had never seen guns and mortars better served than ours were."

January 7th, 1782. "Such a terrible fire, night and day, from both sides, never has been seen at any siege. We knew of 86 brass guns and 40 mortars against us… Our batteries are greatly demolished; it is with great difficulty that we can stand to our guns."

January 9. "All last night and this day they never ceased firing, and we as well returned it. You would have thought the elements were in a blaze. It has been observed they fire about 750 shot and shell every hour. Who in the name of God is able to stand it? We hear they have 200 guns in their park."

January 10. "The enemy had 36 shells in flight at the same time. God has been with us in preserving our people: they are in high spirits, and behave as Englishmen. Considering our small garrison, they do wonders. Our Generals constantly visit all the works… A great number of shells fell within the limits of the Castle… A shell fell in the General's quarters, wounded Captain Fead of the Artillery, and two other officers."

January 11. "The enemy keep up, if possible, a fiercer fire than yesterday. A man might safely swear, for six days past, the firing was so quick that it was like a proof at Woolwich of 200 cannon. About a quarter past six, the enemy began to fire shells, I may say innumerable."

January 19. "Never was Artillery better served, I may say in favour of our own corps."

January 20. "This night shells meet shells in the air. We have a great many sick and wounded, and those that have died of their wounds… Our sentries have hardly time to call out, 'A shell!' and 'Down!' before others are at their heels."

January 24. "The Artillery have had hard duty and are greatly fatigued. The scurvy rages among our men."

The casualties among the small garrison, between the 6th and 25th of January, 1782, included 24 killed, 34 died, 71 wounded, and 4 deserted.

January 28, 1782. "They fire shot and shell every minute. The poor Castle is in a tattered and rotten condition, as indeed are all the works in general… The Castle and every battery round it are so filled by the excavations made by the enemy's shells, that he must be a nimble young man who can go from one battery to another without danger. The Castle, their grand mark, as well as the rest of the works, are in a most shocking plight."

On the 4th February, a new and powerful battery of the enemy's, on a very commanding situation, being ready to open fire, a white flag was hoisted, the drums beat a parley, and an officer was sent out with the proposed terms of capitulation; which were ultimately amended and agreed to. By the second Article of the Treaty, "in consideration of the constancy and valour with which General Murray and his garrison have behaved by their brave defence, they shall be permitted to march out with shouldered arms, drums beating, matches lighted, and colours flying, until they get towards the centre of the Spanish troops." This was done at noon on the following day, between two lines of the Spanish and French troops. So pitiable and deplorable was the appearance of the handful of men who marched out that the conquerors are said to have shed tears as they looked at them. In the official report of General Murray, he alludes to this, saying that the Duke de Crillon averred it to be true. When the men laid down their arms, they declared that they surrendered them to God alone, "having the consolation that the victors could not plume themselves upon taking a hospital."

Captain Schalch was the senior officer of Artillery left to march out at the head of the dwindled and crippled remnant of the three companies. Of them, and their comrades of the other arms, the Governor said in a final General Order, dated at Mahon, 28th February, 1782, that he had not words to express his admiration of their brave behaviour; and that while he lived he should be proud of calling himself the father of such distinguished officers and soldiers as he had had the honour to command.

So ended the Train of Artillery for Port Mahon, which the reader will remember was one of those quoted in 1716 as a reason for some permanent force of Artillery at home. Since 1709, with a short interval in the time of the Seven Years' War, a train had remained in Minorca; but now, overpowered by numbers, the force of which it was a part had to evacuate the island. It was a stirring time for the Foreign establishments, as they were called in pre-regimental days: that in Gibraltar was earning for itself an immortal name; those in America were within the clouds of smoke and war which covered the whole continent; and this one had just been compelled to die hard. Of the four, which were used as arguments for the creation of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, only one remains at this day – that at Gibraltar. Those at Annapolis and Placentia have vanished before the breath of economy, and the dawn of a new colonial system; and in this brief chapter may be learnt the end of the other, the Train of Artillery for service at Port Mahon.

N.B.– It is worthy of mention, that during this siege, three non-commissioned officers, Sergeants-Major J. Swaine, J. Shand, and J. Rostrow, were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Regiment, by the Governor, for their gallantry. They were afterwards posted to the Invalid Battalion.

CHAPTER XXVII.
The American War of Independence

There are few campaigns in English history which have been more systematically misunderstood, and more deliberately ignored, than the American War between 1775 and 1783. The disadvantages under which the British troops laboured were many and great; they were not merely local, as in most English wars, but were magnified and intensified by the unpopularity of the campaign at home, by the positive hostility of a large party, including some of the most eloquent politicians, and by the inflated statements of the Government, which made the tale of disaster – when it came to be known – more irritating and intolerable.

Soldiers will fight for a nation which is in earnest: British soldiers will even fight when they are merely the police to execute the wishes of a Government, instead of a people. But in the one case they are fired with enthusiasm, – in the other, their prompter is the coldest duty.

The American War was at once unpopular and unsuccessful. When it was over, the nation seemed inspired by a longing to forget it; it was associated in their minds with everything that was unpleasant; and the labour of searching for the points in it which were worthy of being treasured was not appreciated. English historians have always been reluctant to pen the pages of their country's disasters; and their silence is at once characteristic of, and thoroughly understood by, the English people. There has, however, been a species of self-denying ordinance laid down by English writers, and spouted ad nauseam by English speakers, in which the whole blame of this war is accepted almost greedily and its losses painted in heightened colours as the legitimate consequences of national error. England was to blame – taxation without representation undoubtedly is unjust; but were American motives at the outset pure? It may readily be granted that after the first shedding of blood the resistance of the colonists was prompted by a keen sense of injury such as might well animate a free and high-spirited people; but, before the sword was drawn, the motives of the Boston recusants no more deserve to be called worthy, than the policy of England deserves to be called statesmanship.

England, with the name, had also the responsibilities of a mighty and extended empire. Her colonies had the name and the advantages, without the responsibilities. The parent was sorely pressed and heavily taxed, to protect the children; the children were becoming so strong and rich that they might well be expected to do something for themselves. The question was "How?" It is only just to say that when the answer to the question involved the defence of their own soil by their own right hand, no more eager assistants to the Empire could be found than our American colonists. But when they were asked to look beyond their own shores, to contribute their share to the maintenance of the Empire elsewhere – perhaps no bad way of ensuring increased security for themselves – the answer was "No!" They would shed their blood in defence of their own plot of ground; but they would not open their purses to assist the general welfare of the Empire.

The colonial difficulty in more recent times has been met by presenting to the colonies the liberty desired by the old American provinces, but at the same time throwing on them to a great extent the duty of their own defence. It is a mere suspension of the difficulty, well enough in theory, but which must break down in practice. While the parent has the sole power of declaring war, and of involving in its area distant children, innocent and ignorant of the cause, she can no more throw off the duty of their defence than she can bury herself beneath the waves that chafe her coasts. But, for the present, it affords a tolerable compromise. In the future, unless our rulers can spare time from the discussion of such petty measures as the Ballot, for the consideration of a question which involves the national existence, the Colonial Question is as certain again to face us as a difficulty, as it did in 1775. Then, the system which seemed most natural to the rulers of England was to accept the duty of the Empire's defence, but to insist on the colonies contributing to the cost. Unwise as this step was, the colonies being unrepresented in the Taxing Body, it might have been borne, had it not interfered with certain vested, although ignoble rights. The collection of the new revenue required imperial cruisers to enforce it: and these vessels sorely interfered with the habits and customs of the merchants of Massachusetts, who were the most systematic smugglers. With what petty matters are the beginnings of great revolutions entwined! The sensuality of Henry VIII. was a means to the religious reformation of England: the selfishness of the Boston traders was the note which raised in America the thirst for independence. It is an easy thing to raise a cry which shall at once carry with it the populace, and yet smother the real issues. And this was done in Boston. Up to the commencement of military operations, it is difficult to say which is the least enticing subject for contemplation, the blind, unreasoning, unaccommodating temper of the English Government, or the selfish, partisan, ignoble motives of those who were really the prime movers of the Revolution, although soon dwarfed and put out of sight by the Frankenstein which their cunning had called into existence. It is almost a relief to the student, when the sword is drawn: he has then to deal with men, not schemers; he has then pictures to gaze at of an earnest people fighting for independence, or, on the other hand, an outnumbered army fighting for duty; and he has then such figures to worship as that purest and noblest in history, George Washington, for the proper revelation of whose character the losses of that war's continuance may be counted to all time as a clear gain. What a grim satire it reads as one finds this god-like man a puppet in the hands of those who were as incapable of understanding his greatness as of wielding his sword! Wellington in Spain, worried by departmental idiocy in England, was an object of pity, but his troubles are dwarfed by those under which a weaker man than Washington would have resigned in disgust. It is pleasant to read of the gallant way in which the Royal Artillery acquitted itself in the American War: but no encomium from an English General has greater value than that of Washington, who urged his own Artillery to emulate that of his enemy: and in all the satisfaction which such praise from Washington, as an enemy, must beget, there is mingled a feeling of pride that it should have been in a school of war, where Washington was a comrade, instead of an enemy, that he had taken the first lessons in the science of which he proved so great a master.

It is to be regretted that the silence of the one country's historians on the subject of the American War is not compensated by the undoubted loquacity and grandiloquence of the other's. The student is equally baffled by the former, and bewildered by the latter. Perhaps the pride and boasting of the young country is natural: perhaps it was to be expected that ere long the fact would be forgotten that without the assistance of France and Spain to distract England, their independence could never have been achieved; but when coupled with this forgetfulness, comes an exaggeration of petty encounters into high-sounding battles, and of defeats like that of Bunker's Hill into something like victories, to be celebrated by national monuments, the student may smile complacently at the enthusiasm of the conquerors, but must regret the dust which is thrown in his eyes by their boasting and party-feeling.

There are fortunately two comparatively temperate writers, who were contemporary with the war, and took part in it on opposite sides, Stedman and Lee, – the latter being the officer who commanded the celebrated Partisan Legion (as it was called), on the American side; and in endeavouring to arrive at the truth as to the war, the student cannot do better than adhere to them.

The war, like the siege of Gibraltar, divides itself into epochs. The first, and most northerly, embraces Massachusetts and Canada; the second concentrates itself round New York, with the episode of Saratoga; and the third and last, derives its main interest from the operations in the South, culminating in the disastrous capitulation of Yorktown. In tracing the services of the Artillery during the various stages, we shall have a glimpse of nearly every operation of importance which occurred during the war.

Although the 4th Battalion was not the only representative of the Royal Artillery in America during the war – the 1st and 3rd Battalions also being represented – its commanding officers, Colonels Cleaveland and Pattison, who served on the Staff of the Army as Brigadiers, were in command of the Artillery on the Continent; and, therefore, in tracing the services of the corps, the records of the 4th Battalion form the best groundwork. When hostilities commenced, in Massachusetts, the head-quarters of the battalion were in Boston. General Gage, who commanded the troops, had failed to conciliate the colonial representatives. On the 25th February, 1775, he sent a party of infantry and marines to seize some guns which he understood were in the town of Salem; but on their arrival, they found that the guns had been removed. On the evening of the 18th April, in the same year, he sent a similar body – about 900 strong – to the town of Concord on a like errand, and here the first blood of the war was shed. Great mismanagement was displayed on the part of the English commander, and a very decided hostility on the part of the colonists, ultimately rendering a retreat necessary. The troops commenced retiring on Lexington, under an incessant, although irregular fire from the militia and peasantry; and luckily, on their arrival at that town, they met a reinforcement under Lord Percy, sent to their assistance, and accompanied by two field-guns. This was the first appearance of the Royal Artillery in the war. Under the fire of the guns, the troops were able to continue their retreat comparatively unmolested; but before they reached Boston, they had sustained a loss of no less than 273 killed, wounded, and prisoners. This number was considered sufficient to justify the Americans in honouring the conflicts which occurred, by the high-sounding titles of the "Battles of Concord and Lexington." Effective as the fire of the English guns was, complaints were made, probably in self-defence, by the commanding officer of the troops, that the Artillery were inadequately supplied with ammunition on the occasion. A strong remonstrance was immediately addressed by Colonel Cleaveland to the Master-General of the Ordnance, stating the true facts. "I find it has been said in England, that ammunition was wanting for the two guns which went with the Brigade to Lexington – that they had only 24 rounds per gun. I had a waggon with 140 rounds on the parade, and Lord Percy refused to take it, saying it might retard their march, and that he did not imagine there would be any occasion for more than was on the side boxes."³⁰

On the 17th June, 1775, the Battle of Bunker's Hill, as it is called, although Breed's Hill was the real scene of operations, (Bunker's Hill, which was intended to be fortified, being considerably more distant from Boston,) was fought; and in the batteries on Cop's Hill, and with the guns actually on the field, five companies of the 4th Battalion were present – Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 8. Eight field-guns were actually in action; but twelve accompanied the attacking force – four light 12-pounders, four 5½-inch howitzers, and four light 6-pounders. The attack was made under the fire of the guns, "The troops advancing slowly, and halting at intervals to give time for the Artillery to produce some effect."³¹ In these words, the recently exploded traditions are apparent, which wedded the Artillery to the infantry during an engagement, instead of allowing it independent action. One statement is made by Stedman, generally a most accurate writer, which it is difficult to reconcile with Colonel Cleaveland's official report. "During the engagement," writes the former, "a supply of ball for the Artillery, sent from the Ordnance Department in Boston, was found to be of larger dimensions than fitted the calibres of the field-pieces that accompanied the detachment; an oversight which prevented the further use of the Artillery." In opposition to this statement, Colonel Cleaveland's report to the Master-General may be quoted. "At Bunker's Hill, I sent sixty-six rounds to each gun, and not more than half was fired."³² Had the reason been that given by Stedman, Colonel Cleaveland was too truthful a man to omit mentioning it. The Battle of Bunker's Hill was the Inkermann of the American War. The British lost 1054 killed and wounded; the enemy admitted a loss of 449. The latter had the advantage of an elevated and entrenched position; the former fought in heavy marching order – on a hot summer day – and had to ascend a steep hill in the face of a heavy and continuous fire. The loss fell most heavily on those who met hand to hand; the Artillery met with but little casualty. According to the 4th Battalion records, Captain-Lieutenant Lemoine, Lieutenant Shuttleworth, and nine matrosses were wounded; according to Colonel Cleaveland's MSS., this number was increased by Captain Huddlestone, whom he includes among the wounded.

The English plan of attack was faulty, and the defence of the Americans was admirable; but these facts merely rendered the victory of the English troops more creditable. It was a barren victory – perhaps, even, an injurious one. It did not save Boston from the blockade, which from this day became more thorough, and it certainly encouraged the American militia, who found with what effect they could fight against those regular troops from whom they had hitherto shrunk a little, with a species of superstitious dread.

But it was not the less a complete victory, a soldiers' victory, by sheer hard and close fighting; and, even more, an officers' victory – for at one time nothing but the energy and gallantry of the officers would have rallied the troops, reeling under a tremendous fire.

In the meantime, the rebels or patriots, as they were called respectively by enemies and friends, resolved to invade Canada. Nos. 3 and 6 Companies of the 4th Battalion were scattered over the provinces, and on the lakes, in detachments. On the 3rd May, 1775, a small body of the Americans, (who had already possessed themselves of artillery,) attacked with success Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In November, the posts of Chambly and St. John were also taken, and with the exception of one officer and eight men, the whole of No. 6 Company was now captive, and remained so until exchanged on the 7th April, 1777. Two men belonging to the company were killed at St. John. The capture of these posts placed at the disposal of the Americans a quantity of guns, ammunition, and stores, of which they had stood sorely in need: and the supply was largely increased by the fortunate capture of an ordnance transport from Woolwich, heavily laden with a valuable cargo.

On the 25th September, an ill-judged and unsuccessful attack was made on Montreal by a small force of rebels, in which their commander was taken prisoner; but later in the year – a more formidable demonstration being made by a force under General Montgomery – the Commandant, General Carleton, withdrew to Quebec: and Montreal fell into the enemy's hands. Part of No. 3 Company was made prisoner on this occasion.

The siege of Quebec was the next episode in the Canadian part of the war. It was totally unsuccessful; and the gallant commander of the Americans – General Montgomery, who had fought under Wolfe at the same place – was killed. The Artillery present in Quebec belonged to No. 3 Company, 4th Battalion; but they were very few in number. They were under the command of Captain Jones, whose services on the occasion received the highest praise. A sort of blockade of the town was kept up by General Montgomery's successor – Arnold, – but it was indifferently conducted; and as soon as a man-of-war was able to get up through the ice, General Carleton sallied out and routed the American forces in a most thorough manner. Very little more was done in Canada during the war. The loyalty of the inhabitants was unmistakable; and it cannot fail to surprise one who remembers for how very brief a time the French Canadians had been under British rule. Even later in the war, when the French fleet came to render active assistance to the Americans, and the Admiral appealed to the French colonists to rise, his appeal was unsuccessful. Either the British rule had already become popular, because, on the whole, kind and just; or the sympathies of the French Canadians – although, perhaps, not with the English – were still more averse from the American cause, which was associated in their minds with the old New England enemies who had waged with them such an incessant border-warfare. The loyalty of Canada is one of the marvels of English history. It seems unalienable, as it certainly is unselfish. Tested, sixteen years after its conquest, by the great American War; and again in the present century by the second American War; tried sorely by a too paternal Colonial Office, which retarded its advancement, its hindrance made all the more plain by the spectacle, across the frontier, of the American Republic attaining a marvellous wealth and development; exposed to risk from enemies whom it did not know, and in quarrels in which it had no share, merely on account of its connection with England; suffering, without indemnity, loss of life and of treasure by invasion from lawless banditti, who thought to strike England through her dependency; chilled by neglect, and depressed by words which, if they had any meaning at all, insinuated that she was a burden to the parent, and half suggested to her to take her leave, and to quit the Empire of which she had been so staunch a member; – tested, tried, endangered, suffering, and neglected, the loyalty of Canada remains undimmed. It is, as has been said, a marvel! Let England take heed that she do not underrate this treasure of a people's tried affection.

In the meantime, while Canada had been invaded by the rebels, their army, under Washington, had gradually surrounded Boston, and established a very thorough blockade – causing great hardship and suffering to the troops. On the 2nd and 3rd of March, 1776, they established batteries to the east and west of the town, which the Royal Artillery vainly endeavoured for fourteen days to silence; and ultimately it was decided to evacuate Boston, and retire to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to prepare for an attack upon New York later in the year, and with large naval and military reinforcements from England.