The Bravest of the Brave | Page 7

eve of execution, and the English force re-embarked
on their ships. Their success was still less on the side of Portugal,
where the Duke of Berwick, who was in command of the forces of
King Philip, defeated the English and Dutch under the Duke of
Schomberg and captured many towns.
The Portuguese rendered the allies but slight assistance. These reverses
were, however, balanced by the capture of Gibraltar on the 21st of June
by the fleet under Sir George Rooke, and a small land force under
Prince George of Hesse. Schomberg was recalled and Lord Galway
took the command; but he succeeded no better than his predecessor,
and affairs looked but badly for the allies, when the Duke of
Marlborough, with the English and allied troops in Germany, inflicted
the first great check upon the power and ambition of Louis XIV by the
splendid victory of Blenheim.
This defeat of the French had a disastrous effect upon the fortunes of
Philip. He could no longer hope for help from his grandfather, for
Louis was now called upon to muster his whole strength on his eastern
frontier for the defense of his own dominion, and Philip was forced to
depend upon his partisans in Spain only. The partisans of Charles at
once took heart. The Catalans had never been warm in the cause of
Philip; the crowns of Castile, Arragon, and Catalonia had only recently
been united, and dangerous jealousy existed between these provinces.
The Castilians were devoted adherents of Philip, and this in itself was
sufficient to set Catalonia and Arragon against him.
The English government had been informed of this growing discontent
in the north of Spain, and sent out an emissary to inquire into the truth
of the statement. As his report confirmed all that they had heard, it was
decided in the spring of 1705 to send out an expedition which was to
effect a landing in Catalonia, and would, it was hoped, be joined by all
the people of that province and Arragon. By the efforts and patronage
of the Duchess of Marlborough, who was all powerful with Queen
Anne, the Earl of Peterborough was named to the command of the
expedition.
The choice certainly appeared a singular one, for hitherto the earl had
done nothing which would entitle him to so distinguished a position.
Charles Mordaunt was the eldest son of John Lord Mordaunt, Viscount

Avalon, a brave and daring cavalier, who had fought heart and soul for
Charles, and had been tried by Cromwell for treason, and narrowly
escaped execution. On the restoration, as a reward for his risk of life
and fortune, and for his loyalty and ability, he was raised to the
peerage.
His son Charles inherited none of his father's steadfastness. Brought up
in the profligate court of Charles the Second he became an atheist, a
scoffer at morality, and a republican. At the same time he had many
redeeming points. He was brilliant, witty, energetic, and brave. He was
generous and strictly honorable to his word. He was filled with a
burning desire for adventure, and, at the close of 1674, when in his
seventeenth year, he embarked in Admiral Torrington's ship, and
proceeded to join as a volunteer Sir John Narborough's fleet in the
Mediterranean, in order to take part in the expedition to restrain and
revenge the piratical depredations of the barbarous states of Tripoli and
Algiers.
He distinguished himself on the 14th of January, 1675, in an attack by
the boats of the fleet upon four corsair men o' war moored under the
very guns of the castle and fort of Tripoli. The exploit was a successful
one, the ships were all burned, and most of their crews slain. Another
encounter with the fleet of Tripoli took place in February, when the
pirates were again defeated, and the bey forced to grant all the English
demands.
In 1677 the fleet returned to England, and with it Mordaunt, who had
during his absence succeeded to his father's title and estates, John Lord
Mordaunt having died on the 5th of June, 1675. Shortly after his return
to England Lord Mordaunt, though still but twenty years old, married a
daughter of Sir Alexander Fraser. But his spirit was altogether unsuited
to the quiet enjoyment of domestic life, and at the end of September,
1678, he went out as a volunteer in his majesty's ship Bristol, which
was on the point of sailing for the Mediterranean to take part in an
expedition fitting out for the relief of Tangier, then besieged by the
Moors. Nothing, however, came of the expedition, and Mordaunt
returned to England in the autumn of 1679.
In June, 1680, he again sailed for Tangier with a small expedition
commanded by the Earl of Plymouth. The expedition succeeded in