a Spanish town and fortification on the south side of the bay of Honduras, N. Lat. 15. 50. W. Long. 89. 50. from London. It is the key to the bay; and such is the depth of the water, that ships of any burden may ride in the harbour with safety. It is a place of the utmost importance to Spain, as the register ships to and from Guatemala are sent to it in the time of war. The town was first established in 1751, under the command of Don Joseph Antonio de Palmo. At that period the inhabitants were about 20 white men, 60 mulattoes and free negroes, and 200 slaves to the king of Spain; and the military force consisted of about 30 soldiers, besides officers. The fort was originally composed of sand confined in boarded coffers, and faced with half-burnt bricks. It was defended by 12 fine brass 24 pounders mounted, four or five iron guns of different bores, and some field-pieces. The Spaniards, sensible of the importance of the place, afterwards fortified it at an incredible expense, the stone of which the walls are built having been raised from the sea, and brought from the distance of 20 leagues. The outworks were not completely finished in the year 1779, though 1000 men had then been employed upon them for 20 years.

Towards the end of that year an expedition was undertaken against this fortress, in consequence of one formed by the Spaniards against the British logwood cutters in the bay of Honduras and on the Mosquito shore. The latter, finding themselves hard pressed by their enemies, applied to General Dulling governor of Jamaica for assistance; who accordingly sent a detachment to their relief under Captain Dalrymple, with necessary supplies of arms, ammunition, and artillery. Before their arrival, however, the Spaniards had taken possession of St George's Key, the chief settlement of the British in these parts, which they plundered, and took a number of prisoners; but those who escaped, being joined by a body of their countrymen, retook it, and forced the enemy to retire. In the mean time Captain Dalrymple, who had been informed of the loss of the place, was hastening to the relief of the inhabitants, and in his way fell in with Admiral Parker, who was in quest of some register ships; but which, retreating into the harbour of Omoa, were too strongly protected by the fort there to be attacked by sea. As the Spaniards, however, had now been compelled to abandon St George's Key, it was proposed to unite the British forces by sea and land, and to attempt the conquest of this fortress. As the force under Captain Dalrymple was too inconsiderable to attempt the fort by land, it was augmented by the marines of the squadron and a strong party of the settlers; though, after all, it did not exceed the number of the garrison who opposed them.

The troops were landed at about nine miles distance from the fort in the dusk of the evening, with a design to march directly forward, in order to surprise and carry it by escalade in the night time. No roads, however, being found, they were obliged to explore their way through narrow foot-paths, morasses, and over mountains so beet with precipices, that they were obliged, in order to avoid them, to make use of lights made of the cabbage tree. In consequence of these impediments they were yet at a considerable distance from the fort, when the approach of day discovered them to the enemy. An engagement ensued, in which the Spaniards were quickly routed and driven into the town: from whence as they continued to fire upon the British, it was found necessary to set fire to it, though very much against the inclination of the assailants.

In the mean time the squadron took the opportunity, while the town was in flames, to come into the bay, and approach the fort with an intention to batter it; but the garrison returned the fire so briskly, that no impression could be made by that of the squadron, which was detained by want of wind from approaching sufficiently near. The troops then, being masters of the ground adjacent to the fort, erected several batteries in such situations as were most proper for annoying it; but though they carried on their operations with great vigour, it was still found that heavier artillery than any they possessed would be requisite, the walls being no less than 18 feet in thickness; in consequence of which they resolved fill to attempt the place by escalade.

The attempt was made on the 21st of October, early in the morning. The troops entered the ditch, which fortunately for them happened to be dry, and fixed their scaling ladders against the walls, which were near 30 feet high. Two seamen mounted first; and, with admirable courage and presence of mind, stood by the ladder which they had mounted, to guard it till others ascended; ed; and boldly presented their pieces against a large party drawn up to receive them, though they prudently retained their fire till their comrades came up.

The squadron, now drawing near, kept up a heavy and continual fire upon the fort, while the Spaniards were struck with such surprize at the excessive celerity and boldness of the assailants, that they remained motionless and unable to oppose their enemies, notwithstanding the exhortation and example of their officers. From this panic they never recovered; and while the seamen and soldiers continued to scale the walls with amazing quickness, the Spaniards never made any effort to defend themselves. About 100 of them escaped over the walls on the opposite side of the fort; the remainder surrendered at discretion.

The whole of this transaction reflected the highest lustre both on the conduct and courage of the British; and an instance of heroism is related in a British sailor to which history affords nothing superior. This man, having scaled the walls, had armed himself with a cutlass in each hand. Thus armed, he met with a Spanish officer unarmed, and just roused from sleep. The generous tar scorned to take advantage of his condition, and therefore presented him with one of his own cutlasses saying, "You are now on a footing with me!" The officer, however, was too much struck with admiration at his conduct to accept the offer, and took care to make the circumstance sufficiently known.—The value of the booty taken on this occasion amounted to three millions of dollars; but the loss most sensibly felt by the Spaniards was that of 250 quintals of quicksilver, a commodity indispensably necessary in extracting the precious metals from their ores. They offered therefore to ransom it at any price: but though the retention of it was far from affording a profit equal to that offered by the Spaniards, the British commanders absolutely refused to part with it, on account of the advantages the enemy would derive from having the metal in their possession. For the same reason they refused to accept of any ransom for the fort, though the governor offered to lay down 300,000 dollars for it. The Spanish military and the inhabitants were treated with the utmost humanity; their personal effects remaining untouched: and this generosity must have appeared to greater advantage, when contrasted with the behaviour of their own countrymen at Honduras, where the British were treated with remarkable severity. The church plate and ornaments were restored, on condition that the terms of capitulation should be faithfully kept.

In a short time, however, it appeared that it would have been better to have accepted of a ransom for the fort, as from circumstances at that time it could not be retained in the possession of Britain. A garrison was indeed left for its defence on the departure of the British squadron; but as it was very inconsiderable, on account of the small number of men that could be spared, the Spaniards quickly determined to make an attempt to regain the fort. For this purpose—a body of 2000 men were collected, who invested it on the 25th of November. The British defended it with the utmost bravery; keeping up a constant fire on the enemy, and obliging them to retire for shelter, and take up their quarters behind a hill. Here they made preparations for an assault, in which their numbers left the success, as they supposed, by no means dubious. The garrison was therefore summoned to surrender, with a promise of the honours of war and a safe conveyance to Great Britain, denouncing at the same time the utmost vengeance in case of a refusal; which being refused, the necessary preparations were made for an eclade.

The condition of the garrison was now such as could afford very little hope of being able to make any effectual resistance. They were but 85 in number, most of whom were become incapable of duty either from illness or excessive fatigue. They were now also obliged to make one sentinel answer for five, by shifting his place, and challenging as many times. There was no surgeon to attend the sick and wounded; nor had they even any water but what came from a floop of war that lay abreast of the fort. In this desperate situation, they resolved, notwithstanding the menaces of the Spanish commander to render the place as unserviceable as they could. For this purpose they spiked up all the guns; destroying the stores and ammunition that could not be carried off: they even locked the gates of the fort, after which they embarked without the loss of a single man. All this was performed in defiance of the large force that besieged them; and the exploit, when duly considered, must appear not less a matter of astonishment than the extraordinary manner in which the fort had been taken. The officer who commanded in this remarkable retreat was Captain Hulke of the navy.