Battle - 1721 - March 03 - Lighting them up off St Johns

Ships in Action:
Captain Avis Faegun - ('Heavy Hercules'-class)

Captain Roger Berett - HMS Caldonia ('Valiant'-class)

Captain Robert Middlemore - HMS Fearless ('Mercy'-class)

Captain Will Collister - HMS Manannan ('Alexander'-class)

20 other British Captains

18 Spanish Captains

Action Setup:
The Spaniards aimed to take St. John's from the hands of his Royal Britannic Majesty. The various squadrons of the Caribbean quickly reacted and gathered a fleet to defend this vital economic port. 24 Captains gathered in St. John's to prepare for battle. I was there as one of four Captains of the St. George Squadron. This was to be my first major battle in the Caribbean, and I most caught up in the excitement. Captain Middlemore, likewise attending his first major fleet action, and I exchanged witticisms and attempted to calm each other in the ready room. The Captains were divided into four groups. I myself sailed in the white group, consisting of heavy fifth-rates and a couple of fourth-rates.

The Action Itself:
A fresh westerly breeze, that is, with a wind blowing from the east, cooled us as we set sail from the harbour. Admiral Brogsitter, commanding our fleet, ordered the formation of a line running north-south due south from the port. The Spaniards approached our port from the southeast, but halted in their advance a little more than 1000 yards from our line. Captain Thomas Baines, that turncoat, repeatedly harassed the front of our line, though our disciplined Captains held their positions and order was rigorously kept.

After a 30 minutes exchange of cannon fire between the head of our line and Captain Baines, he retreated to the Spanish Line which set full sail due west into the forefront of our line. As our two mighty lines collided an inferno of gunfire erupted, and for the better part of the following five minutes the deafening roar of our cannons silenced any conversation aboard the ships. The Spaniards had struck our line not far from our heaviest vessels, amongst others; two first-rate ships of the line.

The first two losses to the Spaniards came remarkably quickly as Admiral Brogsitter, in combination with the commendable group Commanders, most successfully managed to focus our fleet's fire. Once two of their number had sunk, the rest soon followed in a murderous volcano of a barrage. Orders were clear and concise, as were our actions. Within ten minutes fifteen of their vessels had been sunk, with a loss of two of ours.

Personally, there was little to do aboard the Manannan other than keep our fire coming. Other than the single Spanish roundshot that seems to have accidently been sent our way, we sustained no enemy fire and the Manannan's paintwork looked as magnificent returning to St. John's as it had leaving.

The surviving five Spaniards fled to the northeast but were soon caught up and a further two enemy vessels were sunk. The final Spaniard to lose his command was a Captain Felipe Cortes. It is his demise to which the most memorable communication from the port battle pertained. Upon having finally chased down the cowardly Spaniard, Admiral Brogsitter cooly ordered: "No boarding please, just light him up.".

The Result:
The Spanish fielded 18 ships and lost 15 of them. We brought a full fleet of 24 sail and lost 2. This battle was nothing other than a decisive British victory.

Lessons Learned:
This being my first port battle, amidst the enthrallment and excitement of having been there, I certainly picked up the procedure. I feel entirely comfortable with the prospect of further port battles and am most grateful as to have been chosen to partake in this most victorious one.