On the Spanish Main; Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of DarienMasefield, John
History
On the Spanish Main; Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien
Masefield, John
Buccaneers; Spanish Main
Seeing the Spanish foot in some disorder, with many of their officers
killed and few of the men firing, Morgan plied them with shot and sent
his left wing forward as they fell back. The horse made one last gallant
attempt to break the English line, but the attempt caused their
complete destruction. At the same moment Morgan stormed down upon the
foot with all his strength. The Spaniards fired "the Shot they had in
their Muskets," and flung their weapons down, not caring to come to
handystrokes. They ran "everyone which way he could run"--an utter rout
of broken soldiers. The pirates were too fatigued to follow, but they
picked them off as they ran till they were out of musket-shot.
The buccaneers apparently then cleared away the stragglers, by
pistolling them wherever they could find them. In this employment they
beat through the shrubs by the sea, where many poor citizens had hidden
themselves after the final routing of the troops. Some monks who were
brought in to Captain Morgan were treated in the same manner, "for he,
being deaf to their Cries, commanded them to be instantly pistolled,"
which order was obeyed there and then. A captain or colonel of troops
was soon afterwards taken, and held to ransom after a strict
examination. He told Morgan that he might look to have great trouble in
winning the city, for the streets were all dug about with trenches and
mounted with heavy brass guns. He added that the main entrance to the
place was strongly fortified, and protected by a half company of fifty
men with eight brass demi-cannon.
Morgan now bade his men rest themselves and take food before pushing on
to the town. He held a review of his army before he marched, and found
that he had lost heavily--perhaps 200 men--while the Spaniards had lost
about three times that number. "The Pirates," we read, "were nothing
discouraged, seeing their number so much diminished but rather filled
with greater pride than before." The comparative heaviness of the
Spanish loss must have been very comforting. After they had rested and
eaten they set out towards the town, "plighting their Oaths to one
another in general, they would fight till never a man were left alive."
A few prisoners, who seemed rich enough to be held to ransom, were
marched with them under a guard of musketeers.
Long before they trod the streets of Panama, they were under fire from
the batteries, "some of which were charged with small pieces of iron,
and others with musket-bullets."
They lost men at every step; but their ranks kept steady, and street by
street the town was won. The main agony of the fight took place between
two and three o'clock, in the heat of the day, when the last Spanish
gunners were cut to pieces at their guns. After the last gun was taken,
a few Spaniards fired from street corners or from upper windows, but
these were promptly pistolled or knocked on the head. The town was in
the hands of the pirates by the time the bells chimed three that
afternoon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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