Thus did the mighty efforts of France and Spain end in defeat and destruction, and the gallant efforts of the brave soldiers who defended Gibraltar elicited the admiration of the nations in Europe. In England the most enthusiastic applause was universal; illuminations and other modes of testifying the joy of the people followed the receipt of the news of the destruction of the boasted invincible battering ships, and every family which could boast a defender of Gibraltar belonging to it, was proud of the honour. The loss of the garrison, on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one officer, two serjeants, and thirteen private soldiers killed; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded; that of the enemy exceeded two thousand officers and soldiers. Although the enemy gave up all hopes of reducing Gibraltar by force of arms, yet some expectation was entertained, that, if the blockade were continued, the garrison might be forced to surrender from the want of provisions; the combined fleet therefore remained in the bay, the besieging army continued in the lines, and about a thousand shots were fired every day from the Spanish batteries. The garrison was encouraged to continue resolute in the defence of the fortress by assurances of their Sovereign's favour and high approbation. The principal Secretary of State, writing to General Eliott, stated,--'I am honored with His Majesty's commands to assure you, in the strongest terms, that no encouragement shall be wanting to the brave officers and soldiers under your command; his royal approbation of the past will, no doubt, be a powerful incentive to future exertions, and I have the King's authority to assure you, that every distinguished act of emulation and gallantry, which shall be performed in the course of the siege, by any, even of the lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from his gracious protection and favour.' [Sidenote: 1783] In October, the combined fleet was much damaged by a storm; and soon afterwards a British naval force arrived, and the garrison was again relieved; when two regiments, the twenty-fifth and fifty-ninth, landed to take part in the defence of the fortress. After the garrison was thus relieved and reinforced a third time, the Court of Madrid gave up all hopes of gaining possession of Gibraltar either by force or stratagem: negociations ensued, and in February, 1783, the Spanish army decamped; the preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been signed in the preceding month. Thus ended the siege of "GIBRALTAR," which is celebrated in the military annals of the eighteenth century, and the successful defence of that fortress, ranks among the noblest efforts of the British arms: it exceeded in duration the famous siege of OSTEND, in the beginning of the seventeenth century.[17]