The Adventures of Roderick Random

Landing at La Quinta

Ships managed to open a passage through the blocked harbour—where old galleons and two sunk men-of-war obstructed the channel—to facilitate a second landing at La Quinta near the town. After faint resistance from Spanish militia opposing their disembarkation, the troops established camp with plans to besiege St. Lazar castle.

Assault on St. Lazar

The castle of St. Lazar, which overlooked and commanded the city, was attacked by musketry alone following a council of war decision, despite lacking proper siege approaches. The assault met with devastating consequences, the enemy providing such fierce resistance that most of the attacking detachment was killed on the spot. The remains of the army subsequently retreated to the ships.

The Retreat and Losses

The army that had landed with eight thousand able men near Bocca Chica was reduced to fifteen hundred fit for service following the failed assault. The sick and wounded were squeezed into transport vessels, prompting the author’s sardonic commentary on this outcome.

Hospital Ship Conditions

The sick and wounded were crammed into certain vessels called hospital ships, though they lacked adequate surgeons, nurses, or cooks. With insufficient space between decks to sit upright, wounds and amputations became infested with maggots amid the corruption. Though each major ship could have spared a surgeon, neither the general nor the admiral requested such assistance from the other.

Discord Between Commanders

The author depicts growing discord between the army general and the naval admiral, comparing their mutual resentment to Caesar and Pompey. The general could not accept a superior while the admiral was impatient of an equal. This division prevented coordination that might have saved lives or secured victory. The author employs a proverb about dropping between two stools to illustrate how their failure to cooperate doomed the enterprise.