The record-union., 1898-06-23
A FAMOUS SIEGE.
MOST INTERESTING BOMBARD-
MENT IN HISTORY.
Spain's Memorable Attempt to Re-
gain Possession Of Gibraltar
From the English.

Undoubtedly the most interesting
story Of the siege and bombardment in
| the annals of warfare since cannon
were first invented is that of the un-
successful attempt of Spain to regain
in 1S19 the fortress of Gibraltar which
England had taken by storm a few
years before. For three years and
seven months the stronghold was in
vested by a large force of all arms,
and a practically uninterrupted fire
from 135 guns, including some fifty
mortars of 13-inch caliber, was main
tanned from January L. 1870, till Feb
ruary ,, 1888. Meanwhile the gallant
little garrison was but once relieved
and suffered all the pangs of starva-
ton, not unmingled sometimes with
feeling of despair Still they clung to
the gigantic rock, repelling attack after
attack with indomitable courage and
endurance and inflicting enormous
losses on their opponents. The latter,
indeed, are deserving of praise for the
pertinacity and perseverance with
which they returned to the fray time
after time undaunted by continual re-
verses, and hopeful ever to retrieve the
disgrac e which they considered the
presence fof the hated ''infidels' put
upon them.
The most interesting and exciting
episode during the long siege was the
ferocious attempt made by the Span
iards toward the close, when they
strained every nerve to dismay and
overcome the. already exhausted but
still unflinehing garrison. More than
10000 troops and 40 pieces of ord
nance of large caliber were at the dis
posal of the Spanish General and an
ingenious type of floating batteries,
strongly resembling the famous
cheese boxes OF RATS of the late war,
had been devised by the dons, who ex-
pected great things of them in the med
itated assault. The numbers of the
opposing forces We're ludicrously dis
proportionate Besides the above men
toned troops and guns, the Spanish
possessed nine line of battle. ships.
fifteen gun or mortar boats, covered
boats sufficient to land nearly 10000
men, and in addition, the ten floating
batteries, which consisted of large ves-
sells, their sides protected by banking
of timber seven feet thick and the
decks and guns screened with slant
ing roof of shot-proof material. To
this gigantic armament the defense
could only oppose some 1000 men,
many of them sick or wounded, and all
reduced to scanty rations for many
months past: ammunition was limited,
and the cannon even then antiquated.
On the Sth Of September, 1872, fire
was opened on the fortress at pre-
concerted signal by the entire strength
of the Spanish artillery both on land
and afloat. The floating batteries"
ho1f md
proved indeed invulnerable to shot and
shell, which lasted all night and day
until late on the 18th On that day the
garrison, unable to make any impress
sion on the fleet, whose efforts were
beginning to give the small force of de-
tenders considerable trouble and in
convenience, conceived the idea of
loading their guns with red hot shot
and burning shells, which, though of
little or no penetrating power, turned
out to be very effective against the
wooden sides of the battleships and
gunboats. In fact, within a very few
hours every one of the floating batter
les lay quiescent on the water, use
less mass of burning hulks. The en-
deavors and energy of the defenders
finally prevailed over the vast numer-
ical superiority of their opponents, and
on the 14th of the month the desperate
ly conducted attack was given up and
the Spanish troops retired to their
lines, severely crippled by the enOr-
nous losses they had suffered; winter
quarters We're taken up, the lombard
ment was practically abandoned, and
peace was declared on the I'd of Feb
ruary following:
Thus ended one of the most memoir
able sieges that can be found in the
pages of history: remarkable for many
reasons. but most of all for the small
loss of life among the defenders, who.
during the three years and a half that
the investment lasted, lost in all but
800 men, While they inflicted on the
enemy total loss of several thousand
men. Gibraltar to-day simply bristles
with artillery; the mountain is honey
combed with passages and galleries
leading to remotely hidden batteries.
some of them excavated by years of
arduous toll in the very bowels of the
gigantic rock. Looking at the huge
guns, many of them of immense weight
and large caliber, one is almost forced
to the conclusion that they must have
grown there" for to one not learned
in the mysterious ways and workings
of the gunner and engineer it seems
absolutely impossible that these mon
strously long engines of destruction
could. by anything but superhuman
agency, have been brought through the
steep and tortuous passages that form
the sole approach to the dark, silent
easements where they repose.
Business is extra good, thank you,''