The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-05-14 00:00:00, page 2

As the duke de Crillon, by positive orders of his fo
^ereign, cannot receive any terms of capitulation but
’kinder condition that the garrison shall Surrender pri
soners of war, Mr. Murray agrees to surrender ; but
Jie experts that bis excellency wil allow the, garrison
'mail go out with all the honours of war, which will
contribute to his excellency's glory, as it is manifeft
that no troops have ever given greater proofs of hero
jfm and courage.
Answer. The garrison shall be prisoners of war ; but
in regard to the conflancy, valour and great defence by
.general Murray, and the garrison, the f^id garrison
shall go out, holding the firelock on the fnoulder,
'drums beating, match lighted and flags flying, until
it be filed offin the centre of the army, were they shall
, lay down their arms and flags ; and wifliing to give a
.proof ofmy high, consideration to the general, a cover
ed boat is granted ! o him.
ART. it General Murray demands, that the gar
rison ret rp to England prisoners of war on board of
-flips fornifhed by the king of Spain, and paid by the
eking of England; that provisions be given to the
troops while on the island, and that tee transport ships
.be'proVjfioned from the' floras of the place and with the
'fame quantify they used to be allowed; and besides,
they shall be permitted to take in their beds. Granted.
ART. 111. The Corsicans and Greeks, &c. shall be
carried to' Leghorn: they shall be furnifhed with pro
•vifions from the place, and the freight shall be paid by
by England. Granted.
ART. IV..General Murray relies, that the officers
are,fubje& to the fame conditions as the soldiers, and
that it shall not be allowed to any of them to go home
by land, those excepted whole health requires it: that
his own, being unable to bear a tedious passage by sea,
he hopes he (hall be permitted as well as his family,
to co to Marseilles, and from thence to England ;
to which purprfe, a pass from the king of France- will
be granted by the duke de Crillon. Granted.
ART. V. The duke de Crillon may depend upon
it, i ^ the garrison of fort St. Philip shall not serve
curing the war, 'till exchanged as cu flomary, or 'till
a cartel takes place between the belligerant powers*
Anfw. The confidence I have in the honour of the
garrison of fort St, Philip, leaves me no room to
doubt of the execution of their promise not to serve a
gainst Spain and its allies, till exchanged man for man,
or by the way of a cartel, if any takes place between
their Catholic and Britannic majesties g the officers will
be prisoners on parole of honour, liven and signed un
der their own hands; as to the soldiers a lift will be
made of them,, and the officers shall explain to them the
obligation they have contracted not to serve during
the war till exchanged; and warn them, that if they
are so bold as to forfeit the said obligation they will be
punched with death.
ART. VI. General Murray does not question the
well known humanity of the Duke de Crillon, who
will permit that greens, vegetables, and other p ovifi
ons of the fame kind, be purehafed in the markets of
the island, to forward the recovery of the sick. Granted.
ART. VII. General Murray experts further from
the duke de Crillon's generosity, - that the officers, sol
diers and artificers belonging to the garrison, shall not
be searched nor ill treated by the Spanish soldiers: to
prevent which they will immediately be put in possession
of the marlboro' of the Queen's redoubt, and of the
moon of the Rane. Granted.
ART. VIII. The English garrison shall keep pof
feffon of the other out works till the day of their em
barkation, and they shall not be insulted by the Span
ish soldiers.
Arfw. The whole garrison shall tomorrow in the
morning, evacuate the place, and be conduced to
Aleyor, where they will remain till their embarkati
on; and all attention due to their valour will be paid
to them.
ART. IX. Horaces fha 1 be given on both sides for
the faithful execution of the above articles.
In fort St. Philip, February 4, 1782, eight o'clock in
the. evening.
Anfw. According to the second and third articles
which mention of the tranfportsthat are to be furnifh
ed by Spain his excellency general Murray shall
name some officers to remain as hoffag.es, till the re
turn of the said transports.
Mahon, February 4, 1782, ten o'clock in the evening.
No return of the prisoners or ordnance being 'yet
come to hand, as soon as received, it will be published.
So soon as the kingfreceived the news of so glorious an
event, he ordered immediately a public thanksgiving
to the Lord of Hosts, and a te deum was sung in the
chapel, and a general illumination was exhibited du
ring three nights.
P A R 1 $, March rt.
fl DVICR is 'receiver, that fort St Philip and all its
L ,M exterior works,are ordered to be destroyed. Butthe
'Court of Spain seems determined to prefers the port,
and not fi I it up, as hath been reported.
The firft division of prisoners set off for England the
17th of February ; thefecond was to fail the 20th ; and
next day the duke de Crillon proposed to quit Mahon,
and to repair tc Madrid.
M # A D R I D, February 19.
Colonel Don Pablo Sangro, one of I is excellency the
duke l de Crillon's aid-de.camps, has brought hither
the important arid agreeable news of the surrender of
fort St. Philip the 4th of this month, and tlr.it all the
garrison were prisoners of war.
The 4th inflant general Murray hoifled a white flag
and sent articles of capitulation, which were rejected by
the duke de Crillon, who sent some new ones, which
were received, and follow:
LONDO N.
March 2. It is fufpefkd that the late defeat of lord
North is offing to some trick, similar to that on the
influence ofthe crown, its increase, &c. therefore, as
he is notorious for duplicity, let us wait for repeated
profs of the facerityof parliament.
R T I C L F,
Fropofed by the English general.
No administration were ever united by such strong ties
of friendfhip, and similarity of principle, as the prelent;
nor was their ever an administration so supported by
integrity and ability. If unity and wisdom can
preserve this empire from the distresses which diffidence
and folly has brought upon her, the great danger is
past, and every day's experience will bless her with
encreafing happiness.
April 1. Friday the admirals Barrington, Ross and
Kempenfelt received orders to repair to Portsmouth,
and proceed to sea immediately with the drips ready.
At their return admiral Ross is to take the command
in the North Sea; lord Howe, admirals Barrington
and Kempenfelt will have the command of the channel
fleet. Tile public may then exped " a long pull, a
strong pull, and a pull altogether."
The last Irish paper of February 23d, brings an ac
count, that Mr. Gratten had, on the day proceeding,
opened his promised motion in the house of commons.
It was declarative of the legislative authority of parli
ament, and was one of the most eloquent and masterly
(peaches ever heard in any senate. He spoke for above
two hours, and in the clearest manner shewed the viola
tions that had been made on Magna Charta, the bill of
rights, and the' conftitotion, and that Great-Britain
has no right to make laws to bind Ireland, who has
her own parliament. He moved a long and spirited
address to his majesty, declarative of the rights of Ire
land, that no other power but the king, with the lords
and commons of Ireland, were competent to make laws
for Ireland, though the British parliament had assu
med such a power.
Tiris motion was seconded by Mr. Brownlow, and op
posed by the attorney general, who argued the questi
on on the ground of,endangering a great part of the
property of the kingdom, particularly the forfeited
efiateA, and others held under English a&s ; he moved
to adjourn the queflion to theist of Augufl.
Tois brought on a long debate ; the motion was
supported by Mr. Burgh, Mr. H. Flood, Mr. Yelver
ton, Mr. Ogle, Mr. Bagnell, Mr. Forbes, and seve
ral other gentlemen; and oppdfed by Mr. Mason,
Mr. Hutchinson, the provost, Mr. Daly, Mr. Cle
ments, Mr.'Jephfon and several other gentlemen on
the fame ground, as this not being a proper time.
Mr. Grattan closed with a refutation of the arguments
against the address, and the queflion of adjourning the
address to the >ft of August was put; on which the
house divided.
Ayes - - - 137
Noes - - - 68
Majority for adjournment 69
March 14.The following very important intelligence,
we hear, came in the last private dispatches from fir Sa
muel Hood—That the Spaniards, immediately on hear
ing of the difeomfiture of the French fleet by admira-
Kempenfelt, and the ensuing storm, dispatched one of
their fwifteft failing vessels with the intelligence, on
board of which was not only the signals for the united
fleets the next campaign in the Weft-Indies, but the
whole of their plan of operations. This vessel ran into
the midst of the British fleet, at that time under French
colours, and all the signals, plans, papers, &c. had the
good fortune to fall info our hands, by which means the
whole of their operations will be disconcerted. Among
the many attacks discovered in these papers, one on the
island of Jamaica flood the foremoff.
March 30. In this season of national disgrace and
misfortune, a change of administration may revive the
public -hope ; the long succession of disasters which
marked the measures of the departed ministry, had ex
flinguiflied the confidence of the people ; defeat and
misfortune, by habit, had almost ceased to furprize.
These untoward circumstances, not imputable to want
of virtue or ability in our superiors, tended to depress
the national spirit, to cherish diffention and relaxation
of discipline in our fleets and armies, and to weaken us
by difeord, at a time when unanimity was essential to
our welfare. A change of men became therefore high
ly expedient, and we cannot help joining as friends to
the honour and happiness of Great-Britain, in the ge
neral joy at the profpedt of a combination of the abi
lities and interest of the leading parties in the service
of their country at this critical juncture.
To render the endeavours of the new administration
effectual, it is to be hoped that the closest unanimity
and harmony will prevail among the illustrious charac
ters of all parties; and that forgetting felfiifh rivalfhip
and competition for superior power, the principal con
tention will be, who can do most at this perilous season
to refeue their country from surrounding ruin.
The firft official proceeding of the new administrati
on, may be considered as an happy presage of their fu
ture proceedings. They have laid an embargo on all
outward-bound vessels which was the firft measure ta
ken by the great Chatham when he came into office.
The navy is the natural strength of this country, and
the only strength with which we can fuccefsfully attack
our enemies.
Extract of a letter from Gibraltar, January 29, 1782.
"It iswith pleasure I tell you, that we havedi cover
ed a most dangerous plot formed againfl the garrison by
the Spaniards. It was communicated to us by a Spanish
deserter, and was as follows : the Spaniards have found
means to Corrupt fifteen of our men by°very high bribe
ry and they engaged to open the gate that was pretty
nearly oppofit to St. Roche: in the mean time there
was to be a very formidable force of gun-boats to bat
ter Europa Point, and the new Mole, to divert our at
tention, and the gate being opened, all the.Spanifh forces
were to march in, (word in hand, and carry every
thing before them. This was to have been done in the
night time. The soldiers who were to have betrayed
the garrison, were executed yesterday. Provisions are
very dear. The troops are in good health and fpirii,
and I think it will be impoflible tc reduce the garri
son."
Copy of a letter from the honourable general Murray,
governor of Minorca, to the earl of Flillfborough,
one of his majefly's principal fecret^ries of flute, re
ceived by captain Don, March 19.
From the London Gazette, of Tuesday March 26.
Perhaps a more noble or a more tragical fcence was
never exhibited than that of the march of the garrison
of St. Philip's through the Spanish and French armies.
It confined of no more than fix hundred old decrepid
soldiers, two hundred seamen, one hundred and tweo
\'ty ofthe royal artillery, twenty Corsicans, and twen
ty five Greeks, Turks, Moors, Jews, &c. The two
armies were drawn up in two lines, the battalions
fronting each other formed a bay for us to march
through: they consisted of fourteen thousand men, and
reached from the glacis to George Town, where our
battalions laid down their arms, declaring they had
fu rendered them to God alone; having the consolati
on to know the vi&ors could not plume themselves in
taking an hospital. Snch was the distressing figures of
our men, that many of the Spanish and French troops
are said to have filed tears as they passed them; the
duke de Crillon and the baron de Falkenhayn declare
it is true; I cannot aver this, but I think it was natu
ral , for my own part, I felt no uneasiness on this occa-
Ton but that which proceeded from the miserable dis
order which threatened us with deftrudion. Thanks
to the Almighty, my apprehensions are now abated ; the
humanity of the duke de Crillon (who'e heart was most
sensibly touched by the misfortunes of such brave men)
has gone even beyond my wishes in providing every
thing which can contribute to our recovery. The
Spanish as well as the French surgeons attend our hos
pitals. We are greatly indebted to the baron de Falk
enhayn, who commands the French troops. We owe
infinite obligations to the count de Crillon; they can
never be forgot by any of us. I hope this young
man never will command an army against my sove
reign, for his military talents are as conspicuous as the
goodness of his heart.
Lt's of the killed and wounded, with the number of
our guns which were destroyed by the enemy's batter
ing artillery)which confided of 109 pieces of cannon,
and thirty fix mortars, are inclefed. I shall wait here
until I fee the daft man of my noble garrison fafely and
commbdioufly embarked. If my accompanying them
in a transport to England could be of the fmaljeft ser
vice to ary of them, I would chearfully go with them
by sea ; but as I can be of no further use to them after
they are on board fllip, I trust that his majesty will
approve of rey going to Leghorn to bring home with
me my wife and children, who fled to Italy the evening
of the day the Spanish army landed on the ifiand.
My aid-de camp, captain Don, will have the ho
nour to present this letter to your lordship ; he is well
acquainted with the most minute circumflance'relative
to the siege, is an intelligent, distinguished officer, and
is furnifhed with copies of all the papers I have, which
he will lay before your lordship, if requisite.
The captains Savage, Boothby and Don, of the 51st
regiment, lieutenant Mercier, of ditto, lieutenant Bot
ticher, of Goldacker's regiment, and lieutenant Doug
las, the engineer, are exchanged for the officers we
made prisoners at Cape Mola.
Minorca, Feb. 16, 1782.
My Lord/
J HAVE the honour to acquaint your lordfliip, that
1 fort St. Philip's was surrendered to his Catholic
majesty the s th current. The capitulation accompa
nies this. I flatter myfelf all Europe will agree the
brave garrison shewed uncommon heroism, and that
thirst for glory which has ever distinguished the troops
of my royal mafler. Our necessary guards required
four hundred and fifteen men; the night before the
capitulation, the whole number able to carry arms a
mounted to fix hundred and lixty only, of course there
were none for picquet, and a defe& of one hundred
and seventy to relieve the guards, as is evident by the
returns. The most inveterate (curvy, which, I believe
ever infeded poor mortals, reduced us to this situati
on. The reports of the faculty fully explain the dread
ful havock it made, and that three days further obsti
nacy, on my part, must have inevitably destroyed the
brave remains of this garrison, as they declare there
was no remedy for the men in the hospitals but veget
ables ; and that, of the fix hundred and sixty able to
do duty, five hundred and sixty were actually tainted
with the feurvy, and in all likelihood would have been
in the hospitals in four days time. Such was the un
common spirit of the king's soldiers, that they con
cealed their disorders and inability, rather than go in
to the hospitals; several men died on guard, after
having flood ceotry- Their fate was not difeovered
till called upon for the relief, when it came to their
turn to mount again.
Colonel Pringle and his nephew, lieutenant Pringle,
are to be left hoflages until the transports return agree
able to the capitulation.
St, JOH N's (Antigua) April 10, 1782.
Atone o'clock this morning, a frefh feene of cala
mity opened in this (too ong unfortunate) town. A
fire broke out in Poprfhead street, near the flore oc
cupied by Mr. John Nihell, fronting the north end of
the parade, which, in a very inflant threatened the
deflruaion of the whole town, at leaf? such parts of
it as had been raised since, erefcaped the Conflagrati
on of the 17th of August, 1769.
With the most astonishing rapidity, it swept the
wh@!e double range of buildings comprized between
I have the honour to be, with great truth and regard,
my lord,
Your lordfllip's most obedient,
and most humble servant,
JA. MURRAY.
P. S. It would be unjust and ungrateful was I not to
declare, that from the beginning to the last hour ofthe
siege the officers and men of the royal regiment of ar
tillery, and likewise the seamen, distinguished them
selves: I believe the world cannot produce more expert
gunners and bombadiers than those who served at this
siege, and I am sure the sailors shewed uncommon zeal.
It is necessary likewise to declare, that no garrison was
ever nouriihed with better salt provisions of all kinds than
we had sent to us from England; frefh vegetables we
could not have ; but we had plenty of peafe, good bread
and rice, with currants and raisins ; and left in the fort
fix months full :llowance of all kinds, although a maga
zine, containing fix months more, was burnt by the ene
my's shells. JA. MURRAY.