Frederic George Stephens

“ Along the whole face of the lofty cliff, tier after tier, stretch ranges of formidable batteries, with the town of Gibraltar lying sheltered at the northern end. From every nook and every coign of vantage bristle heavy cannon. The midway slope, from the town to the summit of the great Rock, is occupied by white barracks and pleasant villas, which rest in the shadow of leafy groves. The eastern side, however, is one unbroken mass of precipice, relieved by none of those indications of peaceful civilization. ”

“ James’s Park; or the Spanish lady lightly treads, her face concealed by her black silk mantilla, and her hand fluttering the inevitable fan.
Gibraltar has no public buildings of architectural importance; it is essentially a garrison town, a fortified post, in which art and beauty are subordinated to the useful. Except, indeed, at one spot, the Garden, or Alameda—one of the most charming promenades in the world—which extends from the sea-wall to the base of the precipices, formerly known as the “Red Sands.” Here blooms a garden which is truly “a miracle.” ”

“ They could note the almost daily arrival of fresh troops, until the whole shore of the Bay, from Carteia to the heights of San Roque, was covered with tents. Thousands of workmen, under cover of night, pushed the approaches nearer and nearer to the beleaguered fortress. Heavy guns bristled from every point of vantage, and hour after hour poured out their fell contents of shot and shell. It was obvious, too, that the huge men-of-war at Algesiras were being equipped as batteries of a new and formidable character. ”

“ It is difficult to invest with any attraction the daily record of garrison work; and the reader has no means of forming an idea of its arduous character. He wearies of bastions and batteries; of rounds of shot and shell expended; of labours the issue of which is not apparent; of demonstrations which are seemingly all in vain. Yet it is certain that a campaign in the open field, or a great battle like that of Waterloo, makes less demand on the best qualities of a soldier than a protracted siege. ”

“ Thackeray refers in a similar strain to the Garden, or Alameda, which we have just described. It is, he owns, and he might well have said more, a beautiful walk; of which the vegetation has been as laboriously cared for as the tremendous fortifications which flank it on either side. On the one hand rises the vast Rock, with its interminable works of defence; on the other shines Gibraltar Bay, out on which, from the terraces, immense cannon are perpetually looking, surrounded by plantations of cannon-balls and beds of bomb-shells, sufficient, one would think, to blow away the whole peninsula. ”

“ Crouching thus, as it does, at the foot of the hot and arid rock, with its streets and alleys closely jammed together for want of room to expand, the town of Gibraltar is in summer excessively close and oppressive, and at no time can it be, we should imagine, an agreeable place of residence; for not only are its habitations confusedly huddled together, but for the most part exceedingly ill built and unsuitable to the climate. ”

“ Fatigue-parties are seen winding up the hill, and busy about the endless cannon-ball plantations; awkward squads drill in every open space; and sentries are marching to and fro perpetually. Yet the scene, says Thackeray, is always beautiful; especially at evening, when the people are sauntering along the walks, and the moon pours its light on the waters of the Bay and the hills and the twinkling white houses of the opposite shore. Then the place becomes quite romantic: it is too dark to see the dust on the dried leaves ”

“ When the rains set in, wild grasses shoot up in the chinks and fissures; but as soon as the sun reasserts its power, these disappear, and the eye rests only on bare, sombre, and sterile rock. The western slopes, however, present an agreeable contrast to the barrenness which everywhere else is dominant. There the vegetation, though dwarfed, is dense; palmettos flourish, and lavender, and Spanish broom, while the rugged rock absolutely blooms with roses, periwinkles, and asphodels.
The view from the summit is perhaps sufficient to compensate for any deficiency of beauty in the Rock itself. ”

“ Willis’s Batteries are planted on a bold crag, half-way up the Rock, so as to be able to sweep the isthmus with a withering fire; and the rugged front of the Rock yawns with fissures,—los diantes de la vieja, or “the old lady’s teeth,”—from each of which frown the black muzzles of heavy guns; while, in addition, the Old Mole, or “Devil’s Tongue,” projects its threatening mass into the sea. ”

“ The guide lighted a heap of brushwood, the blaze of which disclosed to view a lofty vault-shaped dome, supported as it were on columns of milk-white stalactite, not unlike the trunks of palm-trees, and a variety of fantastic foliage, some stretching down to the very floor of the cavern, others resting midway on rocky ledges and congealed calcareous masses, springing from the floor, “like the vestibule of some palace of the genii.” ”

“ The Spaniards hastened to send off all their boats, which surrounded the floating batteries, in order to save their crews; an operation accomplished with much coolness and courage, in spite of the peril attending it.{89} For not only was it necessary to brave the British fire, but to incur the greatest risk in approaching the burning vessels. Never, perhaps, says a writer, did a more horrible or deplorable spectacle present itself to the eyes of men. The deep darkness that shrouded the distant earth and sea, vividly contrasted with the columns of flame that rose upwards from the blazing wrecks ”

“ It was in the spring of the year that Alonzo sat down before Gibraltar, and he conducted the siege with great vigour, harassing the garrison with constant attacks and incessant storms of missiles, and intercepting their communications by land and sea. He was on the point of success when the plague broke out in his camp, sweeping away thousands of his soldiers, and carrying off himself on the 26th of March{150} 1350. The siege was immediately raised, and the Crescent still shone luridly from the battlements of the fortress-crowned Rock. ”

“ But to-day the soldier is thoughtfully cared for, not only as regards his material but his moral and intellectual wants. Hence the ranks of our army now include a large proportion of respectable young men, who are aware that good conduct will place great prizes within their reach. The only bonds between them and their predecessors are those of loyalty and courage. The soldiers of Napier who stormed Magdala are as eminent for their courage and faithfulness as were those of Elliot who defended Gibraltar. ”

“ The stir and tumult of the battle-field, with its brilliant episodes of valour, its charges of cavalry, its encounter of bayonets, its individual deeds of heroism, and its exhibition of strategical genius, necessarily lend themselves more readily to the description of the chronicler, and exercise a more powerful influence on the imagination of the reader, than the monotonous incidents of a siege. ”

“ Across the Strait the eye rests upon the Spanish fortress of Ceuta, and the mountain-chain which extends from Tetuan to Tangier.
The visitor may prolong his excursion to the ruins of O’Hara’s Tower, above Europa Point. It was built by Governor O’Hara as a belvedere, and forms a picturesque object. Thence, the descent of the eastern side of the Rock is accomplished by a staircase known as “the Mediterranean Steps,” which winds and bends and twists around precipice after precipice, and from point to point, with the Rock above and the blue expanse of the Mediterranean below. ”

“ In 1589 its fortifications were extended and modernized by the imperial engineer, Daniel Speckel:{152} from which date it was regarded as impregnable, until Sir George Rooke dispelled the long-cherished delusion.
In concluding our brief description of Gibraltar, and our summary of its history, we may allude to its intimate connection with the naval annals of Great Britain. How often have our fleets sailed forth from under its guns to encounter the armaments of hostile Powers; how often have they returned victorious, carrying with them the trophies of their prowess! ”

“ The narrow causeway which crosses the artificial morass can be blown away at once by the fortress guns. But even if an enemy overcame this obstacle, he would find himself confronted by a line of strong batteries, stretching from the foot of the Rock to the sea, and at the same time exposed to the cross-fire of three or four rows of guns, placed in tiers along that side of the precipice. As we continue our way along the Neutral Ground, we observe that military science{132} has done its utmost to render it impassable by a hostile force. ”

“ Detachments of infantry were sent to quench the flames, but the enemy’s cannonade became so brisk that great confusion ensued. From this disaster may be dated the irregularities into which, through the combined influence of drink and resentment, many of the soldiers fell. Some died of intoxication on the spot, and others were with difficulty recovered.
“Though riot and violence,” continues Drinkwater, “are most contrary to that spirit of regular discipline which should always prevail in military affairs, something may yet be urged in extenuation of the conduct of the troops. ”

“ As the British soldiers, from the summit of their famous Rock, looked out upon the crowd of masts which gathered in the Bay, it was generally reported among them that their arrival was occasioned by the pressure of a British fleet in hot pursuit. Suddenly a loud cheer was raised, and all exclaimed that the British admiral was certainly in their rear, as a flag for a fleet in sight was waving, they said, from the Signal-post. Hope beamed radiant on every countenance ”

“ About five o’clock the hostile batteries reopened, and their storm of shot and shell was continued uninterruptedly; without interfering, however, with the disembarkation of the supplies. Several soldiers were killed and wounded in their quarters on the 13th. The Spaniards being accustomed to indulge themselves with a siesta in the middle of the day, the garrison and inhabitants enjoyed an interval of peace every noon; otherwise, the roar of the guns and the hiss of the rapid missiles made day and night equally hideous. ”

“ The British Government hastened their preparations for the relief of the garrison, and assembled as speedily as possible a powerful fleet, under Admiral Lord Howe,—afterwards the hero of the 1st of June,—to escort a large convoy containing fresh troops and provisions. When off the Portuguese coast, Lord Howe received information of Elliot’s gallant repulse of the combined French and Spanish attack, and proceeded at once to enter the Gibraltar Strait. The enemy, whose only hope of success lay in reducing the place by famine,{100} endeavoured to prevent this relief from reaching the garrison ”

“ May the great God, whom I worship, grant to{154} my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet! ”

“ The rebuilding of the whole flank of the Prince of Orange’s Bastion, one hundred and twenty feet in length, with solid masonry (which was now nearly finished) , in the face of such powerful artillery, can scarcely be paralleled in any siege.”
On the 2nd of February 1783, the governor received formal despatches from the Duke of Crillon that the preliminaries of a general peace had been signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain. When the boats bearing the intelligence met the British, the Spaniards rose up with “transports of joy,” exclaiming, “We are all friends!” ”

“ Thereupon said General Don to the Spanish commander at Algesiras, “If you begin, I will fire a gun; if that won’t do, I shall fire another; and if you persevere, you shall have a broadside from the galleries.” So the lines were never rebuilt.
Carteia was in old days a Phœnician colony, situated at the point where the river Guadaranque{134} enters Gibraltar Bay, and forms a small but sheltered port. The Phœnicians called it Melcarthes, in honour of their tutelary god, the African Hercules; and for centuries it flourished as the emporium of a very extensive commerce. ”

“ As the baron’s lady-love would doubtless have considered a lover with one leg better than no lover at all, we are convinced she would often have blessed General Elliot for his chivalrous interposition, but that, unfortunately, the baron afterwards died of some internal disease.
The New-Year’s Day of 1782, says our historian, was remarkable for an action of gallantry which is worthy of being rescued from oblivion. An officer of artillery at one of the batteries observing a shell whizzing its way towards his post, got behind a traverse for protection. ”

“ In the month of June the Spaniards showed signs of prosecuting the siege with greater vigour, and made a bold attempt to destroy the vessels in the Bay with fire-ships. But the alarm being given, the Panther, a 60-gun man-of-war, and the other armed vessels, immediately opened a brisk cannonade to check their progress; and springing into their boats, the officers and seamen, with characteristic vigour, grappled the blazing ships. The flames raged fiercely, but our sailors, nothing daunted,{50} towed them under the British guns, where they were soon destroyed. ”

“ Leaving a small force at the foot of Jebel-Tarik, as the Saracens named the Rock, in honour of their{146} leader, Tarik pushed forward to the westward, captured Carteia, and encountered the Goths, under King Roderick, near Xeres in Andalusia. The battle was fiercely contested. The Goths fought with all their old valour, and victory might have rested with King Roderick, had not some of his nobles, with their followers, deserted him at the crisis of the fight, and joined the invaders. The Goths then gave way, and the Moors pressing them closely, their retreat soon became a headlong flight. ”

“ This grand range of batteries, bastions, and ravelins is now armed with upwards of one thousand guns.
To the west lies the Bay, which measures nearly eight miles and a half in length, and upwards of five in breadth; its circuit being between thirty and forty miles. On its western curve, facing the town of Gibraltar, is situated the Spanish town of Algesiras. It boldly indents the shore on the north of the famous Strait, which extends, we may add, from Cape Spartel to Ceuta, on the African coast, and Cape Trafalgar to Europa Point, on the Spanish side. ”