Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: than the besiegers expected; so that the duke found it necessary to re-embark his troops after they had taken fort St. Catherine, made an unsuccessful attempt on fort Matagorda, and pillaged port St. Mary, contrary to his express orders. His next attempt was more fortunate. The confederates, after leaving Cadiz, sailed for Vigo, where the galleons, under convoy of twenty-three French ships of war, commanded by the count de Chateau-Renaud, had recently arrived from America. As the wealth which those galleons contained was considered as the chief resource of the Spanish monarchy, and even of the whole house of Bourbon, Louis expecting to share in it, the utmost precaution had been taken to secure them. They were removed into a basin, through a narrow entrance, one side of which was defended by a fort, the other by platforms mounted with cannon. A boom was thrown across the mouth of the basin, and within the boom the French squadron was drawn up. But these obstacles were not sufficient to discourage the confederates, when animated by the hopes of so rich a booty. The duke of Ormond having landed part of his troops, took the castle; the boom was broken by the fleet; and the French admiral, perceiving that all farther resistance would be in vain, set fire to his ships. The galleons followed the desperate example; but the English and Dutch were at hand, to extinguish the flames. Six ships of war were . taken, seven sunk, and nine burned. Of thirteen ' galleons, nine fell into the hands of the conquerors, and four were destroyed; and although the greater part of the treasure had been landed, and carried to Lagos, the booty was still very considerable, and the consternation of the house of Bourbon excessive'1. Before intelligence of this important blow arrived in England, both hou...