Spanish admiral

“ Now, when the Jesus and the Minion were gotten two ship-lengths from the Spanish fleet, the fight began hot on all sides, so that within one hour the admiral of the Spaniards was supposed to be sunk, their vice-admiral burned, and one other of their principal ships supposed to be sunk, so that the ships were little to annoy us. ”

“ They have suffered the Spanish fleets to sail first for supplies from one port to another, and then from the coasts of Spain to those of America. They have permitted the Spaniards, without opposition, to land in Italy, when it was not necessary even to withhold them from it by any actual violence; for had the fleet, my lords, been under my command, I would have only sent the Spanish admiral a prohibition to sail, and am sure it would have been observed. ”

“ The Spaniards, upon this Occasion had great Advantage, since their Ships had Oars, and ours, by reason of a Calm, had no use of their Sails. However, the English galled the Enemy very much with their Cannon and Chain-Shot; but at last, wanting Powder and other Necessaries to continue the Fight, the Lord Admiral sent some Vessels into the next Port for a Supply. In the mean time, a Council of War was held, wherein it was agreed, That the Fleet should be divided into four Squadrons, to be commanded, the first by the Lord Admiral himself in the Ark-Royal ”

“ Immediately the American fleet of Admiral Sampson blockaded the ships of the enemy, determined to hold it powerless inside the broad harbor, for it followed, as a matter of course, that so long as it was bottled up there it could do nothing to help Spain.
No one could know his weakness better than the Spanish Admiral. He had fine ships and fine guns, but his crews were undisciplined. They were wretched marksmen and in no respect to be compared with our gunners, who demonstrated in the War of 1812 that they have no equals in the whole world. ”

“ A second later, and one of the Olympia’s forward guns had answered the Spanish challenge.
The American ships passed parallel to the Spaniards, and one after another concentrated its fire upon the Reina Cristina, the best ship the enemy possessed, and only fired upon the others when the cruiser was out of range. The Spanish admiral [Pg 229] essayed to attack the Americans by advancing against them with his one good fighting ship, thinking that possibly at closer quarters he might be able to meet his opponents with a better chance of inflicting damage. ”

“ The Spanish admiral took the protest into consideration to the extent of granting forty-eight hours' time. The consuls protested again at this as not being sufficient, and demanded five clear days. The admiral refused to grant more than three; but when, before the three days had expired, the trio of English war-ships made their appearance, and calmly moved between his fleet and the shore, he changed his mind and granted the desired time—which was wise, seeing that the English vessels could blow his squadron out of water with little trouble and not much injury to themselves. ”

“ The Spanish Captain struck without losing more than four men, and when his vessel had received no damage that he could not have repaired while the fight was going on.
The disorderly way in which the Spaniards fought, the state of confusion in which their vessel was, and the fright they were in, appears to have been incredible. I think myself that they were in as abject fear of our Fleet as were the wretches of the Island of St Catherine. I hear that the men of our Fleet behaved in a most praiseworthy manner. Of our people only one ordinary seaman received a wound of any importance. ”

“ We were ordered up to join the admiral off Toulon, but desired to look into the Spanish port of Carthagena on our way, and to report the state of the Spanish squadron in that arsenal. We were received with great politeness by the governor and the officers of the Spanish fleet lying there. These people we found were men of talent and education ”

“ Admiral Cervera, the commander of the Spanish fleet, is most profoundly impressed with the brilliant courage shown by the men who sank the steamer 'Merrimac' in our harbor, and in admiration of their courage he has directed me to say to their countrymen that they are alive, and, with the exception of two of the men who were slightly hurt, they are uninjured. They are now prisoners of war and are being well cared for, and will be treated with every consideration. ”

“ He engaged a Spanish flotilla at the mouth of the Uruguay, and he fought another and more decisive action off Monte Video, capturing four of the Spanish vessels and dispersing the rest. He received the title of admiral, and fitted out a privateer, in which he cruised against the Spaniards in the Pacific. ”

“ On May 28 we saw the Spanish fleet three leagues from the island of Pacheque—in all fourteen sail, besides periagoes. Our fleet consisted of but ten sail. Yet we were not discouraged, but resolved to fight them, for being to windward, we had it in our choice whether we would fight or not. We bore down right afore the wind upon our121 enemies, but night came on without anything besides the exchanging of a few shot. When it grew dark the Spanish admiral put out a light as a signal to his fleet to anchor. We saw the light in the admiral's top about half an hour, and then it was taken down. ”

“ Yet the Commonwealth admiral, [296] like so many other men of strong mind, showed his strength by despising the vain appearance of force. He estimated the inefficiency of the Spaniards at its true value. Moreover, he saw that the forts, if attacked closely, would probably fail to stop the entry of a fleet running before a good breeze and borne on a rising tide. Once in the harbour, and in the midst of the Spanish vessels, he would be comparatively safe, since they would mask the fire of the guns on shore. ”

“ No doubt the Spanish lookouts saw all this and told their admiral what they had seen. So, on that Sunday morning, with every vessel under full steam, the Spaniards raised their anchors and started on their last cruise.
Now let us take a look at the big ships outside. On these everybody was keeping Sunday. The officers had put on their best Sunday clothes, and the men were lying or lounging idly about the deck. Of course, there were lookouts aloft. Great ships like these always have their lookouts. A war-vessel never quite goes to sleep. It always keeps one eye open. ”

“ On the 29th of April a Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Cervera, and consisting of four armoured cruisers and three torpedo boats and “destroyers,” left port in the Cape de Verde Islands and sailed for West Indian waters.
At the outset it was believed that the Spanish navy was vastly superior to that of the United States, for there were several battle ships of vast tonnage and heaviest [240] armament, and cruisers of greater speed than any possessed by the Americans. ”

“ Having thus taken the vice-admiral, he resolved to attempt the man-of-war, with which addition he hoped to master the rest of the fleet: to this end he presently sunk his own boat, putting forth the Spanish colours, and weighed anchor with a little wind which then began to stir, having with threats and promises compelled most of the Spaniards to assist him: but so soon as the man-of-war perceived one of his fleet to sail, he did so too, fearing lest the mariners designed to run away with the riches they had on board. ”

“ While prosecuting this melancholy search, a brother of the cacique Guacanagari came, accompanied by some Indians, to the admiral. These men could speak a few words of Spanish, and knew the names of all the Christians who had been left there. They said that those Spaniards had soon fallen out among themselves after the departure of the admiral, everyone taking for himself as much gold and as many women as he could procure. ”

“ All this time the English admiral lay near at hand, but made no movement in protection of the Spaniards. The English people on shore beheld the destruction of the Spanish fleet with the greatest exultation, the memory of the great Armada being yet so strong amongst them; but Charles had lost his much desired money at the moment that he thought to have grasped it, and with it had acquired an immense amount of foreign odium. ”

“ That it was entirely impossible for them to hope to sail their vessel into the harbor of Puerto Bello, and to attack the Spanish vice-admiral where he lay in the midst of the armed flota; wherefore, if anything was to be accomplished, it must be undertaken by some subtle design rather than by open-handed boldness. ”

“ His excellency, Admiral Sanchez of his majesty’s man-of-war Infanta Isabel, presents his compliments to the commander of the United States cruiser America and begs to say that the passengers, officers and crew of the steamer just sunk, who have sought asylum on the American vessel, are rebels, in arms against his majesty the king of Spain; that their vessel, just sunk, has within the last three hours destroyed the royal Spanish dispatch boat Pizarro. ”

“ Fearless himself, he couldn’t even feel fear for one of those he loved best on earth. Young master very soon made himself at home among us, and in a couple of days the ship’s tailor had as complete a midshipman’s uniform made for him as you’d wish to see.
“We were bound, do you see, to Callao, where the admiral discovered that a large Spanish ship was about to sail for Europe, with great treasure aboard. Besides her, there was a Spanish squadron of considerable force lying in the harbour, under the protection of the guns of the forts. ”

“ At this time the third Spanish vessel was seen coming up to the aid of the Admiral’s ship. Captain Sawkins left the latter to our four canoes and rowed away to meet the oncoming Spaniards. The dispute or fight between them was very hot, as they lay close together, and fought from one side of the deck to the other, both giving and receiving death as fast as they could charge. Meanwhile the first ship tacked about and came up to relieve the Admiral. ”

“ It was known beyond a question that the Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera was hidden within the harbour, not daring to come boldly out while the blockading squadron was so strong, and the first thought of men as well as officers, when these stealthily moving vessels were sighted, was that the Spaniards were making a desperate effort to escape from the trap they had voluntarily entered. ”

“ Having cleared the Minion of the enemy, they did equally effective service with the ship’s guns; they sent a shot into the Spanish vice-admiral’s ship that, probably from piercing the powder-room, blew up the ship and three hundred men with it. On the other hand, all the Englishmen who happened to be on shore were cut off, except three who escaped by swimming from shore to their ships. The English were overmatched to an enormous extent, by the fleet and the attack from the shore. The Spaniards took the Swallow, and burnt the Angel. ”

“ After this Fight there remained of the whole Spanish; Fleet but one hundred and ten, or one hundred and twelve Ships, and those extremely battered and shot through, and having their Rigging much damaged with the Shot.
[106] The next Day, July 30, the Lord Admiral ordered the Lord Henry Seymour, and Sir William Winter to return back with their Squadron into the narrow Seas, to guard the Coasts; as for himself, he resolved to follow the Spanish Fleet, ’till they came as far Northward as the Forth in Scotland, if they bent their Course that way ”

“ Below them, upon a Columna Rostrata, (i.e. a Pillar adorned with the Beaks of Ships,) stands Victory, holding a Shield, upon which are the Names of those brave Persons that were knighted by the Lord-Admiral, as is represented at the Bottom. See Account, &c. p. 16. Others are bringing Weapons out of the Spanish Ships.
Chart IX. and X. At the Top is a curious Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, (taken from a Gold Alto Relievo, in the Collection of Dr. Mead,) thundering down upon Philip II. King of Spain, Pope Sixtus V. (taken from a Copper Medal in the Collection of Tho. Sadler Esq;) ”

“ The Wind then shifted to the South-East, and afterwards to the South-South-West; |Plate 6.|whereupon a Body of English Ships, and several Merchant-Men attacked the Spanish Fleet so sharply to the Westward, that it was all forced to give way. The Lord-Admiral perceiving this, and observing at the same Time the Distress which the Triumph and the five Ships above mentioned in her Company, were in, he ordered some Ships that were then near at hand, to follow him, and to set upon the Spaniards a-fresh ”

“ This island, says Bartolomé de las Casas, the Spanish historian, [146] was “one of the Lucayos, called by the Indians Guanahani. [147] Presently they descried [108] people, naked, and the admiral landed in the boat, which was armed, along with Martin Alonso Pinzon and Vicente Yañez, his brother, captain of the Nina. The admiral bore the royal standard, and the two captains each a banner of the green cross, which all the vessels had carried. The banner was emblazoned with the initials of the names of the king and queen [148] on each side of the cross, with a crown over each letter. ”

“ Finding, however, that there was no attempt to pursue or molest them, they gradually recovered from their terror and approached the Spaniards with great awe, frequently prostrating themselves on the earth and making signs of adoration. During the ceremonies of taking possession, they remained gazing in timid admiration at the complexion, the beards, the shining armor and splendid dress of the Spaniards. The admiral particularly attracted their attention, from his commanding height, his air of authority, his dress of scarlet, and the deference which was paid him by his companions ”