The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-19


bonlbarding; her 81 guns turned the
tide of battle, and with her heavy
broadside of 30 guns soon battered the
Principe de Asturias the island bat
terry. into silence Her consort poured
fire into the Spanish fleet which was
now short Of powder and struck its
colors. After the conflict of two hours
San Carlos was the only point Of de-
tense left the Spaniards, and that, too,
threatened by q new foe. Bienville was
in the rear ready for an assault, which
he soon boldly made. He was, how
ever, so much inpeded by the stockade
that he withdrew his men until he
could be better prepared for another
attack. In the assault II is said that his
Indian allies enaulated the French SOL
diers in daring and in their efforts to
tear away the impeding stockade, but
the warwhoop was more effectual and
decisive than their valor impressing
the Spaniards as 1t did with visions of
blood dripping scalps, it disposed them
to avoid by surrender the dire conse-
quences of a successful assault, for
they felt that Bienville, however so
disposed would be powerless to stay
the Indians scalping knife when his
blood was at battle heat.
Accordingly. before the battle was
repeated Metamoras signalled for a.
parley. which resulted not in the capit-
ulation on terms which he asked but
in a surrender at discretion; even after
the cooling process OF the time re-
quired for parley and arranging the
surrender the Indians were loathe to
forego their scalping pastine, the pre-
cious boon OF victory, and it was neces-
sary for Bienville to REDEEM the scalps
of the Spaniards by bestowing one
half of their effects upon his allies and
reserving the other half only to his
own soldiers. When Don Alphonso. the
commander OF the Spanish fleet, sur
rendered his sword to Champmeslien,
the latter returned 1t with the compli-
mentary assurance that the Don was
worthy to wear 1t, but Bienville would
not even condescend TO accept that Of
Matamoras, but directed him to deliver
1t to Outstanding soldier.
Having won a surrender at discre-
ton, 1t was Bienville's pleasure to send
Matamoras and a sufficient number of
Spanish troops to Havana in a Spanish
vessel to be exchanged for the French
men who had been sent there in Au-
gust. and thus it was that he worked
deliverance Of his brother, Cheaugua,
from his Imprisonment in Moro castle.
The rest of the Spaniards We're sent 70
France as prisoners of war. 1t was his
will and pleasure likewise to burn the
town of Pensacola and to utterly de-
stroy San Carlos by blowing 1t up
with powder. The only structure left
undestroyed was the magazine which
stood about half a mile from the fort.
Upon the ruins of San Carlos there
was fixed a tablet announcing that in
the year i718, on the 18th OF Septem-
Der, Monsieur Demond ChampIemen,
Commander of His Most Christian
Majesty, captured the place and the
Island OF Santa Rosa by force of arms
Thus did the Pensacola OF Ariola,
after having been a shuttlecock IN the
cruel game OF war, captured and recap
tured. and captured again, within four
months. perish utterly with the throes
of CONFUSION and the glory of con-
flagration, a fate which may be termed
through the intrigues OF Alberoni, the
ambition sand crafty minister of Philip
V, resulting in a war in which Spain
without an ally was confronted by the
united arms Of France, Great Britain,
Holland and Austria. A corpse, was the
vain boast of which he expressed the
change he had made in the Spanish
colony, one of the must disastrous con-
sequences OF which was the ending In
fire and bloodshed OF little settlement
from the far shores OF q new world.
On Feb. 1920, five months after the
destruction Of Pensacola, a treaty of
peace between France and Spain was
signed, but II was not until early in
January. 1928, that Bienvile, under
orders from the French government,
formally restored Pensacola to the
Spaniards or rather the site and sur
roundings OF the first settlement OF
the island town that existed. No ac-
count, but it probably begun immedi-