THE year 1704 was the year of Blenheim, that wonderful victory of Marlborough’s which dissipated Lewis the Fourteenth’s dreams of universal empire. As stars are extinguished in the light of dawn, so in the lustre of this great triumph England’s minor successes by sea and land were forgotten. And to this day, while most men remember when Blenheim was won, few are mindful of the year in which Gibraltar was taken. Yet it may well be doubted whether the latter, though the less famous, was not, so far as British interests are concerned, the more important success. It is{10} difficult, perhaps, to determine any direct advantage which England gained by the battle of Blenheim; but by the possession of Gibraltar she secured the command of the Mediterranean and of the highway to India.

Gibraltar was captured in the same year in which the battle of Blenheim was won.

While the Duke of Marlborough was leading his troops to the Rhine, the Archduke Charles, who had assumed the title of King of Spain, had landed at Lisbon, with the view of taking the command of an army collected on the western frontier of the kingdom to which he laid claim. This army was composed of contingents furnished by England, the Netherlands, and Portugal; but it was prevented from making any progress by the military genius of the Duke of Berwick, natural son of James II., who was at the head of the Spanish forces. At the opposite extremity of the Peninsula, an effort was made to provoke a rising of the Catalans on behalf of King Charles. For this purpose, a division of five or six thousand men was placed under the command of the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, who embarked at Lisbon in May, in an English fleet of which Sir George Rooke was the admiral.{11}

The expedition landed at Barcelona, but found the people indisposed to welcome or support it. It was, therefore, re-embarked; and Rooke, sailing down the Mediterranean, passed through the Strait, and effected a junction with the fleet under Sir Cloudesley Shovel. The two admirals were unwilling that so powerful a force should return to England without accomplishing something; and a council of war was held on the 17th of July, at which several schemes were proposed and discussed—among others, an attack upon Cadiz. This, however, was deemed imprudent with so small a body of troops; and at length it was decided to strike a swift and vigorous blow at Gibraltar. The strength of the fortress was well known; but it was equally well known that the garrison was weak, and that the Spaniards relied too confidently on the assistance supplied by Nature.

On the 21st of July, the fleet crossed from Tetuan, and anchored in Gibraltar Bay. The marines, English and Dutch, numbering one thousand eight hundred, were then landed, under the orders of the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, to the northward, on the isthmus, now called the Neutral Ground, which connects the Rock with the mainland. By this movement, the garrison was prevented from obtain{12}ing provisions or reinforcements from the interior. A summons was sent to the governor to surrender the stronghold for the service of Charles III., King of Spain; but the governor replied that he and his veterans were true and loyal subjects of their natural lord, Philip V., and would sacrifice their lives in defence of the place. Sir George Rooke immediately gave directions for the attack to commence; and Rear-Admiral Byng, with one 80-gun and fourteen 70-gun ships, together with Rear-Admiral Vanderdussen, and six Dutch men-of-war, and some vessels, under Captain Hicks, destined for the attack of the South Mole, took up their positions before daylight on the 23rd.

A heavy cannonade was now hurled against the fortifications. In five or six hours no fewer than fifteen thousand shot were expended; and the enemy, though they showed the most admirable intrepidity, were driven from their guns. Captain Whitaker, with the armed boats, was then ordered to carry the Mole head; a position from which the town would be at the mercy of the attacking force. The landing was effected with the utmost alacrity; but Captain Hicks and Jumper, who lay next the mole, got ahead with their pinnaces, and dashed headlong

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ROCK OF GIBRALTAR FROM THE NEUTRAL GROUND.

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against the works. The Spaniards had prepared for the assault, and before abandoning their post sprung a mine, which blew up the fortifications, killed two lieutenants and forty men, and wounded sixty. The survivors, however, would not surrender the ground so hardly gained; and Captain Whitaker coming up, they warily pushed forward, and carried a small redoubt half-way between the Mole and the town. A second summons being addressed to the governor, the Marquis de Salines, the garrison capitulated; and thus, on the 24th, this famous fortress fell into the hands of the assailants.

The attack was exceedingly brilliant, and the seamen fought with equal cheerfulness and resolution. It is a proof of the strength of the fortifications, which mounted one hundred guns, that though the garrison consisted of only one hundred and fifty men, the loss of the attacking force was severe. Two lieutenants, one master, and fifty-seven men were killed; one captain, seven lieutenants, a boatswain, and two hundred and sixteen men wounded. The marquis was allowed to march out with all the honours of war; and those inhabitants who chose to remain were guaranteed the same rights and privileges which they had enjoyed under Charles II.{14}

Having appointed the Prince of Darmstadt governor, and left as many men to garrison the Rock as could be spared from the fleet, Sir George Rooke sailed for Tetuan to take in wood and water. He then went in search of a French fleet which had been equipped at Toulon, and was under the orders of the High-Admiral of France, the Comte de Thoulouse, who had been joined by some Spanish vessels. Rooke came up with the enemy off Malaga on the 13th of August. The superiority of force lay with the French, who counted fifty line-of-battle ships, carrying 3543 guns and 24,155 men; eight frigates, mounting 149 guns, with 1025 men; nine fire-ships; and a couple of transports. Sir George Rooke had under his command forty-one English and twelve Dutch sail of the line, carrying 3700 guns and 23,200 men, with six frigates, and seven fire-ships. The French vessels, however, were better built than the English, and better armed. They included three ships of 104 guns, and four of 92 and 90 guns, all the rest being from 88 to 52 guns. On the other hand, the combined fleet contained only three of 96 guns and two of 90 guns, the remainder being from 80 to 50.

On Sunday morning, the 13th, the combined fleet{15} being to windward, the centre led by Sir George Rooke, ............