So The Carack
Proceeded On Her Course, Putting Up A Light On Her Poop, As If In
Defiance Of Us To Follow, And About Midnight Came To Anchor Under The
Island Of Moelia; And When We Perceived This Island, We Too Let Fall Our
Anchors.
Early in the morning of the 7th, before day began to dawn, we prepared
for a new assault, first recommending ourselves to God in prayer.
When
morning came, we found the carack so close to the shore, and the nearest
of our other ships at least a league from us, that we held our hands for
that day, waiting till the carack might weigh and stand out to sea, as
fitter there to deal with her. In the afternoon, we chested our slain
commander, and committed him to the deep, over against the isle of
Moelia, omitting any ceremony of firing funeral-guns usual on such
occasions, that the enemy might not know our loss.
A little before night the carack put to sea, when we also weighed and
made sail after her. The day now left us, and our proud enemy,
unwilling, as it seems, to have the appearance of escaping by flight,
put forth a light on his poop as before, as if for us to follow him,
which we did to some purpose. The night being well spent, we again
commended ourselves and our cause to God in prayer. Soon afterwards, the
day began to dawn, and appeared as if covered by a red mantle, which
proved a bloody one to many who now beheld the light for the last time.
It was now resolved that our four ships were to take their turns in
succession, to endeavour to force this proud Portuguese either to bend
or break. Our ship, the Charles, played her part first;[225] and ere she
had been half an hour engaged with her adversary, a shot from the carack
hitting one of our iron guns on the half-deck, flew all in pieces,
dangerously wounding our new general, and three other mariners who stood
beside him. Captain Pepwell's left eye was beaten out, and he received
two other wounds in his head, and a third in his leg, a ragged piece of
the broken shot sticking fast in the bone, which seemed, by his
complaining, to afflict him more than the rest. Thus was our new
commander welcomed to his authority, and we all considered his wounds as
mortal; but he lived till about fourteen months afterwards, when he died
peaceably in his bed, on his way back to England.
[Footnote 225: This account of the battle is chiefly taken from Terry,
who is more particular in his narrative; but Childe says that Captain
Pepwell, the new general, gave him leave to begin this day's action, as
his ship sailed better, and that, after three or four broadsides, he
gave place to the general. According to modern naval tactics, all four
at once would have assailed the enemy, taking vantage stations on her
quarters and bows.
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