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49 
Chapter 6 - A Beleagured
Island
50
Blakeney's first news of the departure
of Byng's fleet was a feu de joie from the
French lines on Cap Mola, opposite the fort. On land the enemy pressed
the attack day and night but casualties were few on account of the underground
passages of the fort.
On 27 June Richelieu personally
led an assault, which appears to have been courageous and severe: 'Whole
ranks fell around him, while the entire glacis was covered with dead and
dying, some from the musketry and grapeshot poured on them from the front,
others from the mines sprung beneath their feet, and at length he stood
victorious on the summit of the Queen's Redoubt.' Colonel Jefferies was
surrounded and taken prisoner, and Major Cunningham wounded by a bayonet
in the arm. Thus the most important outwork and the assistance of Blakeney's
two most important officers were lost. At the end of this bloody engagement
a short truce was granted at Richelieu's request, to bury the dead and
wounded on both sides.
The end of the siege was not far
off. The outer defence works were now a mass of rubble, and the fort itself
heavily damaged by the continuous bombardment. During the recent parley
Richelieu had poured more men into the lodgements he had gained, and gained
access to the underground passages leading to the very heart of the fort.
A new and determined attack had been made from the sea, by scaling ladders.
After a siege lasting seventy days, on 29 June 1756, Blakeney capitulated.
The customary chamade (drum-beat
signal) was sounded, and three of his officers came out of the fort and
were conducted to Richelieu. The latter did not ask for unconditional surrender,
and agreed to Blakeney's proposed terms. These showed that Blakeney was
a tough and seasoned negotiator. In the Marshal's own words: 'Being desirous
to show General Blakeney the regard due to the brave defence he has made,
his troops were permitted to go, firelocks on their shoulders, drums beating,
colours flying, 20 cartouches each man.' Ships were provided-against the
surety of British hostages - for evacuation of British personnel and families,
all of whom were permitted to take baggage and effects. Food for a twelve-day
voyage to Gibraltar was provided. Sick and wounded who might be unable
to travel were cared for.
The news of the French victory was
brought to Louis XV at Compiegne, by Richelieu's son, de Fronsac, who had
taken part in the expedition. It was the middle of the night, but the king
was roused and there was general rejoicing. Mme de Pompadour had hoped
the marshal would be defeated and .thereby in disgrace, but now that he
was a hero she was prepared to forgive and forget. There were parties and
celebrations, and the Archbishop of Paris ordered the Te Deum to
be sung in Notre Dame.
It was unfortunate that the first
news the British Admiralty received of the defeat was from the same source.
Both Galissonnitre's report of the Battle of Minorca and news of the capitulation
reached the Duke of Newcastle and the king, via the Spanish ambassador
in London. The king was angry, and the source of the news did nothing to
assuage him. Indignation spread over England, and the guilty men of the
administration were determined to distract attention from themselves. When
Byng's own dispatches arrived they decided to arrest him on his return
and bring him to trial. They accordingly 'edited' his account for publication,
suppressing large passages which might be in Byng's favour or implicate
themselves. .
Effigies of the admiral were
burnt by the populace throughout the country, while the more erudite wrote
pamphlets which did not always side with the administration. Presently
more substantial petitions against the government reached the king, one
of which particularly shook the administration. It came from the Lord Mayor
of the City of London, on behalf of the City Merchants. The reason for
this disquiet was that it was the merchants who financed the country's
wars, by acting as its moneylenders.
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