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THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 167 
 
 The Havana Expedition of 1762 in the War 
 With Spain. 
 
 BY 
 
 Asa Bird Gardiner, LL.D., L. H. D., 
 
 Secretary-General Society of the Cincinnati, 
 District Attorney of New York. 
 
 On the 1 8th day of May, 1756, Great Britain formally de- 
 clared war against France. 
 
 This compliment was speedily returned with the utmost 
 heartiness by France, whose government saw an opportunity 
 of attacking to advantage the Hanoverian possessions of George 
 II., upon which it was believed, with reason, his affections 
 were more strongly fixed than upon any other of the royal 
 dominions. 
 
 The grounds of the British declaration of war were the en- 
 croachments of the French on the Ohio and in Nova Scotia ; 
 the non-evacuation of four neutral islands in the West Indies 
 as required by the previous treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ; and the 
 invasion of Minorca. 
 
 A condition of practical war had existed in North America 
 for a considerable time along the borders between the English 
 on the one side and the French, with their Indian allies, on the 
 other, and the formal declaration merely brought into the prob- 
 lem regularly organized combatant forces for regular military 
 operations. 
 
 This war, the most glorious ever conducted by the British 
 arms — under the greatest of her statesmen, William Pitt — was 
 
 •s^£ 
 
l68 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 entered upon with great heartiness by the American Colonies. 
 
 Major-General James Abercrombie, who had arrived from 
 England at New York in March, 1756, became Commander-in- 
 Chief. 
 
 The quotas of Provincial or Colony troops required for the 
 campaign then begun were, 3,500 from Massachusetts, 1,000 
 from Rhode Island, 1,000 from New Hampshire, and 1,250 from 
 Connecticut, but this last named Colony voluntarily doubled 
 her quota and sent 2,500 men into the field. 
 
 South Carolina also furnished four independent companies. 
 
 It is not intended in the limits of this paper to enter into the 
 details of this War with France. It formed the school for the 
 Colonies in the art of war for the subsequent Revolution. 
 
 A little idea may be formed of the number of Provincials 
 who served in this war under the British flag, from the fact 
 that in 1755 Massachusetts alone raised 8,000 soldiers, about 
 one-third of her able-bodied population. Baron Dieskau's de- 
 feat in September, 1755, was wholly due to Provincials. In 1756 
 Abercrombie had 7,000 Provincials, of which Connecticut raised 
 2,500, — more than double the number required of her. In 1758 
 Massachusetts raised 6,800 men, of these 2,500 served in gar- 
 rison at Louisbourg, and 300 joined Wolfe before Quebec. 
 There were 14 Provincial regiments under Major-General 
 Abercrombie at Lake George and Ticonderoga in 1758, and 
 the Provincials lost 422, killed, wounded and missing. 
 
 In 1759 Massachusetts sent over 7,000 men into the field, or 
 nearly one-sixth of her able-bodied population. 
 
 Connecticut raised that year 5,000 and New York 1,000. 
 
 Lord Amherst at the capture of Ticonderoga had 5,743 reg- 
 ulars and an equal number of Provincials. 
 
 The massacre of Fort William Henry, the bloody repulse 
 at Ticonderoga and death of the gallant Lord Howe, the cap- 
 ture of Fort Niagara, and Wolfe's glorious campaign against 
 Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham before Quebec, are his- 
 toric events well known to the student of American history. 
 
 In all of them the Provincials had freely shed their blood, 
 and sustained their disproportionate share of military burdens. 
 
 In September, 1760, by the capture of Montreal and its de- 
 
 7-3g 3oo 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF lj62. 169 
 
 pendencies, the whole Dominion of France in North America 
 passed to the British Crown. The conquest of Canada was 
 complete and the Colonies no longer had reason to fear hostile 
 incursions from the North or West. 
 
 Nevertheless, the war continued unbated and the Provincials 
 furnished their quotas of troops which, during 1761, were em- 
 ployed in garrison duty, and in the erection and repairs of roads, 
 barracks and permanent works. 
 
 At the close of the campaign of 1761 it was decided to attack 
 the French West India possessions. 
 
 Major-General, The Honorable Robert Monckton, Governor 
 of New York, was charged with the military operations, and 
 sailed from New York harbor with eleven regiments of reg- 
 ulars and a force of Provincials, and having been joined at 
 Barbadoes by Rear-Admiral Rodney's fleet and reinforcements 
 making an effective force of 18 battalions, beseiged Fort Royal, 
 which capitulated February 4, 1762, and ten days later the 
 conquest of the whole Island of Martinico was effected. 
 
 This was followed by the capture of the islands of St. Lucie, 
 Grenada and St. Vincent. 
 
 We now come to the War with Spain, and the particular events 
 which this paper is intended to elucidate. 
 
 For five years a general war had existed in Europe, and in 
 1 76 1, France, which was much exhausted, made the first move 
 towards a peace, which was seconded by the Courts of St. 
 Petersburgh, Vienna, Sweden and Poland, and acquiesced in 
 by the Courts of London and Berlin. 
 
 Spain had, heretofore, maintained neutrality, but France, by 
 reason of the close relations of the two houses of Bourbon, 
 hoped, with reason, to secure her active intervention to pre- 
 vent the total annihilation of French influence in the West 
 Indies. 
 
 It is not necessary to consider the points raised in the 
 negotiations, the principle one of uti possidetis being urged on 
 both sides, and vigorous exertions were, at the same time, 
 made to capture as much of the enemy's territory as possible 
 before the principle should be applied. 
 
 While the negotiations were in progress in April, 1761, the 
 
170 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 efforts of the Court of Versailles succeeded and Spain inter- 
 vened. 
 
 This came around through the French Agent in London, 
 M. Bussy, insisting, in a private memorial, that Spain might 
 be invited to accede to guaranty the proposed treaty, and that 
 the difficulties between Great Britian and Spain should be 
 finally settled by the restitution of some captures made by the 
 British upon the Spanish flag, and that Great Britian should 
 give Spain the privilege to fish on the banks of New Found- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Pitt rejected with the utmost scorn this proposition from 
 an humbled enemy like France to negotiate through a power 
 actually or seemingly in friendship, and returned his memorial 
 as inadmissible and affronting to the dignity of the King. 
 
 At the same time he directed Lord Bristol, the British Envoy 
 at Madrid, to remonstrate with firmness against such unex- 
 ampled irregularity. 
 
 Already, however, France and Spain had privately concluded 
 and signed a family treaty of date August 25, 1761, by which 
 they agreed to support each other offensively and defensively. 
 
 Mr. Pitt saw that the propositions submitted by France for 
 peace were really intended to cause disagreement, and ac- 
 cordingly gave an ultimatum. 
 
 The Court of Versailles delayed their reply until September 
 1, 1761, after the family compact had been signed, and Mr. Pitt 
 had strong reason to believe that, had this reply been accepted 
 by Great Britian, nevertheless the French Agent, M. Bussy, 
 had secret orders not to sign. 
 
 From this time events hastened apace. Eleven English 
 merchant ships with Spanish pilots aboard were, while in Span- 
 ish waters and within Spanish territorial jurisdiction, permit- 
 ted by the Spanish Government to be captured by a French 
 privateer in violation of the Law of Nations and then condemned 
 in a Spanish Prize Court against the protest of the British 
 Ambassador. 
 
 The determination of the Court of Spain to come to an open 
 rupture became thus manifest to the English people, both in 
 Great Britian and in the Colonies. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 17 1 
 
 Mr. Pitt saw that war was unavoidable and, in order to put 
 England in a better military position to meet her new ad- 
 versary, directed the expedition from New York under Major- 
 General Monckton, which captured the French West Indies. 
 TT /c.r was really begun by Spain, without formal declaration, 
 by the before described flagrant violation of ;the Law of Nations 
 and also by the detention of British ships in her ports and the 
 restraint laid on British subjects in His Most Catholic Majesty's 
 dominions and by a diplomatic fulmination of war, dated De- 
 cember 25, 1 761, by the Spanish Monarch against Mr. Pitt 
 personally — a most remarkable document well worth being 
 studied. 
 
 On January 4, 1762, His Brittanic Majesty declared war 
 against Spain, and on January 16, 1762, the Most Catholic 
 King returned the compliment. 
 
 It is not necessary to describe to this audience Havana or 
 El Moro Castle. In 1762 it was a place of the greatest import- 
 ance to the Spaniards and called by them, not without reason, 
 "The Key to the West Indies." 
 
 It was the place of rendezvous for their fleets and treasure 
 ships on their return from that quarter of the world to Spain. 
 In fact, the whole trade and navigation of the Spanish West 
 Indies, Spanish Main and Mexico centered there, and without 
 that harbor could not well be carried on. Its conquest there- 
 fore exposed all Spanish America to military operations of the 
 English, and would, it was believed, practically finish the war. 
 Havana then had about 30,000 inhabitants of all sorts besides 
 its Spanish garrison, and was well fortified. 
 
 Conquest in the West Indies had ever been a favorite scheme 
 with English statesmen. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, with far-seeing 
 sagacity had essayed the capture of Jamaica in 1655 with a 
 fleet under Admiral Penn and a land force under General 
 Venables. 
 
 Charles II., although not fond of wars, endeavored to frighten 
 Spain into a compliance to grant England an equal share of 
 commerce with herself in the West Indies. 
 
 William III. sent three expeditions to the West Indies, one 
 
172 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 in 1689 of eight (8) ships and regiments ; a second in 1691, of 
 eight (8) ships and a land force, and a third in 1692, consisting 
 of fifteen (15) men-of-war, three (3) fire ships and 1,500 soldiers, 
 but every one of these proved ineffectual. 
 
 In the war declared against Spain on October 23, 1739, to 
 the great joy of all Great Britain, an expedition was sent under 
 the gallant Vice-Admiral, Edward Vernon, who captured Porto 
 Bello with six ships, for which Parliament gave him a vote of 
 thanks. Ten thousand dollars in money, 40 brass cannon, 
 10 field pieces, and other valuable stores were the result of 
 this expedition. 
 
 In February, 1741, Carthagena on the Spanish Main was at- 
 tacked, unsuccessfully, but the fevers of the country almost 
 destroyed the besieging forces and forced the siege to be 
 raised in May following, and the expedition then sailed for 
 Jamaica. 
 
 From here, in July, 1741, Vice-Admiral Vernon sailed with 
 his fleet and remaining land forces to attack St. Iago, or San- 
 tiago as now written, the then capital of Cuba, on the south- 
 east side of that island. The troops were debarked and went 
 into camp, which from the nature of the soil, vegetation and 
 climate, proved very sickly. The difficulties at the mouth of 
 the harbor of St. Iago were found so great that the fleet could 
 not co-operate, and the siege could not be successfully prose- 
 cuted, and on November 20, 1741, all re-embarked, to return 
 to Jamaica. 
 
 A melancholy interest attaches to this first Carthagena and 
 Santiago expedition because of the number of American 
 Provincials engaged in it and the terrible losses they experienced. 
 
 Massachusetts furnished about 1,000 soldiers of whom only 
 about 100 returned. 
 
 Connecticut sent about 500 men of whom only about 50 re- 
 turned. 
 
 The other colonies furnished but few, if any, soldiers. 
 
 Lawrence Washington, a brother of George Washington, 
 was in this first expedition, and Mount Vernon was subse- 
 quently named after Vice-Admiral Vernon who commanded 
 the naval forces. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 73 
 
 A curious fact appears in a dispatch from Admiral Vernon, 
 when in Cuba, to the Duke of Newcastle, dated November 3, 
 1 74 1, in which he said he believed "the principal motive of all 
 the American officers engaging in the service was the hope of 
 being settled in the West Indies and in Cuba preferable to all 
 other places." 
 
 Other unsuccessful expeditions were undertaken in that 
 Spanish War, notably against Panama, La Guira, Port Cavallo, 
 and even against St. Iago de Cuba, but the peace of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, in October, 1748, conditioned on restoration of all 
 conquests, terminated that War with Spain. 
 
 Great Britain had captured from Spain 1,249 ships, and from 
 France 2,185, while Spain had captured 1,360 ships from the 
 British, or in more. France had, however, captured but 
 1,878 ships from the English, or 307 less, making in all 196 
 in excess captured by the British. 
 
 Some of the prizes taken from the Spaniards, however, were 
 of enormous value and on the whole the balance in favor of 
 Great Britain was estimated at two million pounds sterling. 
 
 The losses incurred by Spain in the nine years' war, which 
 thus terminated in 1748, undoubtedly rankled in the Spanish 
 official mind and caused the before recited treacherous inter- 
 position in 1 76 1, which compelled the British Declaration of 
 War of 1 762. 
 
 Upon this rupture with Spain, Admiral Knowles submitted 
 to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland a plan of an 
 expedition against Havana. 
 
 After considering it, Lord Anson, First Lord of the Admir- 
 alty, submitted another instead, which was approved. 
 
 Lieutenant-General, the Earl of Albermarle, a friend and dis- 
 ciple of the Duke of Cumberland, was appointed Commander- 
 in-Chief of the land forces, and Sir George Pocock, Knight of 
 the Bath, Admiral of the Blue, was appointed to the command 
 of the naval forces. 
 
 The British fleet sailed from Portsmouth, England, March 5, 
 1762, and was reinforced at Cape Nichola, the northwest 
 point of Hispaniola, on May 27, 1762. 
 
 It was determined by the British Ministry that certain of 
 
174 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 the American Colonies should also be called upon to contrib- 
 ute to the expedition. 
 
 For a long time the British Government had tried to recruit 
 her regular regiments which were stationed in America from 
 among the Provincials. 
 
 At its urgent solicitation, Colonial Assemblies had passed 
 acts giving bounties to such as would thus enlist. 
 
 Great reluctance was, however, exhibited by the Americans 
 to enlist in the regular service. 
 
 The American was willing to volunteer for six months or a 
 year for duty anywhere on the North American Continent, 
 but not to go abroad. 
 
 To induce him to enter the regular service, the " Royal 
 American Regiment " was raised in New York. This regi- 
 ment was, after the Revolution, known as the " Duke of York's 
 Regiment," and is now the 6oth Foot, "Royal Rifles." It did 
 not, however, when recruited in the Colonies, enlist more than 
 a moiety of the Provincials, and was completed by English- 
 born denizens. 
 
 The next scheme of the British Ministry was to organize 
 Independent Regular Infantry Companies in the Colonies, and 
 of this class four were raised in New York and three in South 
 Carolina, besides three companies of Rangers, all, however, on 
 the Regular establishment. 
 
 To overcome the reluctance of the Americans to engage in 
 the "Havana Expedition," after their terrible experience of 
 twenty years before, it was necessary to involve it in mystery. 
 The war against Spain had been declared at Whitehall on Jan- 
 uary 4, 1762, and was formally proclaimed in New York City 
 at Fort George, facing the Bowling Green, on April 3, 1762, in 
 the presence of the Council of the Province and the militia 
 under arms. 
 
 The proclamation was read by Mr. Banyer of the Council, 
 and three hearty cheers were then given by the militia and 
 assembled citizens. 
 
 On the day before, April 2, 1762, Lieutenant-General Sir Jef- 
 fery Amherst, K. B., Commander of the forces in British North 
 America, from his headquarters in New York City, wrote to 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF I762. 175 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Cadwalader Colden, the Acting Governor 
 of the Province of New York, a remarkably deceptive letter, in 
 order to obtain from the two New York militia regiments, then in 
 Colony service, enough volunteers to fill the quota, then desig- 
 nated by him, of the Province of New York to serve against 
 the Spanish in the deadly climate of Cuba. 
 
 The letter was as follows : — 
 
 Sir:— 
 
 By the Enterprize man of war, I have been honored with His 
 Majesty's commands for forming a detachment of Regulars and 
 Provincials, to be embarked at this place, on an expedition of 
 the utmost importance. That I may comply with the King's 
 orders as early as possible, I have fixed upon the number of 
 Provincials to be employed on this service, and have been as 
 sparing in their numbers as the nature of the service would 
 permit, thd I am confident it will be very agreeable to them, 
 since they will meet with every indulgence and will not be 
 subject to the fatigue that they have gone through in the lo?ig 
 marches informer campaigns, and that as soon as the service is 
 effected, which cannot be of long duration, they shall immedi- 
 ately return to New York. 
 
 The number I am to require from your Province is 553 men, 
 with one Colonel, one Field Officer, and other officers in pro- 
 portion to the above number, and I leave it to you to form 
 them either from one regiment or by detachments from the 
 two, whichever you think can be soonest effected. 
 
 These men will require nothing more from the province 
 than has been usually given them for they shall be furnished 
 with every requisite on their assembling for the expedition. 
 
 I need not, I am persuaded, add any arguments to induce 
 you to give immediate orders for hastening the formation of 
 the above quota as a moment's time is not to be lost in putting 
 His Majesty's commands in execution, and I have only to 
 request that while this service is forwarding, care may be 
 taken that it may not retard the completing of the remainder 
 of the quota demanded by the King, as also furnishing the 
 recruits for the Regular Regiments, as their services will be 
 
1/6 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 essentially requisite for the prosecution of a war wherein the 
 Honor of His Majesty's Crown, the welfare of His subjects 
 and the prosperity of His Kingdoms are so nearly concerned. 
 
 I am, with great regard, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient, 
 
 Humble servant, 
 
 JEFF. AMHERST. 
 
 General Amherst, as Commander-in-Chief, wrote identical let- 
 ters to the Governors of Rhode Island, Connecticut and New 
 Jersey, but prescribed different quotas for each. 
 
 That of Rhode Island was, for example, 207 men, 1 Field 
 Officer, 2 Captains, and the other quotas here in proportion to 
 greater population. 
 
 The specious and intentionally misleading character of Gen- 
 eral Amherst's letter cannot be overlooked. 
 
 He knew that the people of New England and New York, 
 in consequence of the great loss of life incurred in the Santiago 
 Expedition of twenty years before, had a horror of service in 
 the deadly climate of Cuba during the rainy season, and conse- 
 quently, in order to secure compliance, he descended to the 
 arts of the recruiting serjeant in obtaining ''Gentlemen Volun- 
 teers." 
 
 He had been privately informed of the destination of the 
 expedition, and that the principal portion of the regular forces 
 had, probably, already sailed from England. He knew that 
 the enemy's fortified works at Havana were deemed by mili- 
 tary men to be almost impregnable and that the climate was 
 deadly at the season when operations would have to be con- 
 ducted. He knew also that no success could be achieved in a 
 siege or assault without very great loss of life, and almost 
 unparalleled fatigue and labor. 
 
 Yet he calmly wrote to the Colonial Governors who were to 
 furnish quotas, and said as an inducement to the Provincials to 
 enlist, that the nature of the service would "be very agreeable 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF lj62. 1 77 
 
 to them since they will meet with every indulgence and will 
 not be subject to the fatigue that they have gone through in 
 the long marches of former campaigns." 
 
 The New York Assembly, however, became apprehensive of 
 deception and made official inquiry through Acting Governor 
 Colden, to which, on May 20, 1762, from his headquarters in 
 New York, Lieut. -Gen. Amherst replied as follows : — 
 
 " I have just now your letter acquainting me of your having 
 received a private message from the Assembly wherein they 
 inform you that the obstructions to the enlistments arise from 
 an apprehension which generally prevails that the 553 men to 
 be embarked of the Provincial Troops in the pay of this Prov- 
 ince are to be sent to the West Indies and to be compelled to 
 enlist with the Regulars and therefore desiring assurance from 
 me that the Provincial Troops in the pay of the Province are 
 to be employed on the Continent of North America only, and 
 that they shall be returned to the Province as soon as their 
 service is over without being compelled to enlist in the Regu- 
 lar Service. 
 
 With regard to the apprehension of compelling the men to 
 enlist into the Regular Service I need only refer you to my 
 letter of the 2d of April wherein I requested the quota in- 
 tended for the Expedition, and I should be sorry if anyone 
 should entertain such an opinion of me that I would execute 
 His Majesty's commands so ill as to make use of any decep- 
 tions in requiring the men ordered on service. 
 
 Their destinatioti must remain a secret for the present as I 
 am not at liberty to divulge it, but by my forementioned letter 
 you will see that the Provincial Troops are to return as soon as 
 the service on which they are going is effected. * * * I 
 can't help expressing my concern to find that there are only 
 377 men of the New York Detachment as yet embarked, so 
 that there are still wanting to complete 176 men, although 
 both the Rhode Island and Jersey Detachments are complete 
 and on board, and that I am informed the quota demanded 
 from Connecticut is also embarked and I expect them here 
 hourly." 
 
178 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 General Amherst, it will be perceived, was not very frank in 
 his latest communication and intentionally evaded the assur- 
 ance asked for by Governor Colden that the Provincials were 
 to be employed only on the Continent of North America. 
 
 Judging from this correspondence, the conclusion is una- 
 voidable that the Provincial Forces who went on this Havana 
 Expedition of 1762, did not know where they were going and had 
 no idea they were to be employed in the Spanish West Indies. 
 
 General Amherst tried to impress provisions in New York 
 for the expedition at market rates and secured an impress war- 
 rant from Governor Colden and the Council, but certain citi- 
 zens sturdily refused compliance. Among these were Nathan- 
 iel Marston, Robert Rich, John Ray, John Provoost, Robert 
 Townshend and John Berrian. 
 
 Attorney-General Kempe of the Province of New York was 
 appealed to by the Governor, but in a reply dated April 18, 
 1762, said he could find no law authorizing such impress. 
 
 All the Colonies (Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and 
 New Jersey) voted bounties or supplies for those who should 
 enlist. 
 
 New York voted, on May 21, 1762, forty shillings bounty to 
 each man. 
 
 At this time all these Colonies had actually in service and 
 under pay very heavy quotas in proportion to their population 
 and ability. 
 
 The quota of New York for the year 1762 was 1,787 officers 
 and men, who were organized into Provincial regiments. In 
 addition to these the New York Assembly voted bounties of 
 £10 to each of the 479 men who had enlisted in the Province 
 in the regular regiments. 
 
 The only wonder is, considering the population and re- 
 sources of these American Colonies, where they found enough 
 available able-bodied men to meet these continued requisitions 
 of the British Ministry. 
 
 They were, however, deadly in earnest and appreciated much 
 more keenly than did the rural Englishman on his farm or 
 estate in England what a war with France and Spain meant to 
 the Colonies. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 79 
 
 On March 5, 1762, Admiral Sir George Pocock sailed with 
 his fleet of five ships of the Line from Portsmouth, England, 
 convoying 30 transports containing the regular land forces 
 under the Earl of Albemarle, besides 19 store or commissariat 
 ships and eight ships loaded with artillery and military stores. 
 
 Six days later chase was given to a large French merchant 
 ship, which was overtaken and made prize. She had a crew of 
 230 men, and was laden with coffee and pepper. 
 
 A violent storm separated the fleet, but in April they were 
 all reunited in Barbadoes, from whence they went to Martinico 
 and found additional troops. 
 
 Here the army was divided into five Brigades. A battalion 
 of Light Infantry and a battalion of Grenadiers were placed 
 under Colonel Sir Guy Carleton who, twenty years later, com- 
 manded the British army in New York. 
 
 Many names appear in this list who subsequently served 
 against the Americans in the War of the Revolution. 
 
 Sir William Howe who subsequently commanded at "Bran- 
 dywine" and "Germantown" was the Adjutant-General and, 
 of course, became well known to many of the Provincial 
 officers. 
 
 The fleet, having been reinforced in the West Indies, con- 
 sisted of 19 ships of the line, 18 frigates and three bomb- 
 ketches. 
 
 In Havana Harbor the Spaniards had 12 ships of the line 
 and three frigates. 
 
 Moro Castle, the principal fortification, was defended by 154 
 guns and 11 mortars. 
 
 The total effective regular Spanish forces at Havana, in- 
 cluding soldiers, sailors and marines, amounted to 13,610. 
 These, with 14,000 militia, including people of color, raised the 
 total force for defense to 27,610. 
 
 The British began the siege with 12,041 effective regular 
 troops, exclusive of the American Provincials who afterward 
 arrived. 
 
 This effective force included a company of negroes raised 
 for the campaign, in Jamaica. 
 
 The employment of blacks in a military capacity was thus 
 
l80 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 found to be satisfactory. Subsequently Count D'Estaing had 
 a battalion of mulattoes and free negroes in the French contin- 
 gent at the siege of Savannah in 1779, and the Continental 
 Congress authorized during the Revolution the raising of three 
 regiments in the South. 
 
 Many negroes, it may be remarked, were also found during 
 our Revolution serving in the ranks of the Continental regi- 
 ments from Rhode Island, Virginia and other States. 
 
 On May 6, 1762, Admiral Sir George Pocock sailed from 
 Martinico, and on June 7th the whole army was landed without 
 opposition on the Island of Cuba, about six miles to the east- 
 ward of Moro Castle. 
 
 In a contemporary journal of these operations, it is recorded 
 as follows : — 
 
 "June 11, Colonel Guy Carleton attacked and took posses- 
 sion of the heights of the Cavannas where the enemy had cleared 
 away some ground, intending a redoubt. 
 
 These heights partly commanded the Moro, but entirely the 
 town and harbor. This attack was conducted with that skill 
 and bravery which Colonel Carleton has manifested on many 
 occasions, and the loss he had in the attack is scarce to be 
 mentioned." 
 
 Why the Spaniards should have neglected this important 
 point it is now impossible to say. 
 
 Next day, June 12, 1762, the Siege of the Moro was begun. 
 
 Meanwhile the enemy had been vigorously strengthening 
 their works and defending the entrance to the harbor by sink- 
 ing several large ships in the narrow channel. 
 
 From the Journal of the Chief Engineer at this remarkable 
 siege, and from other authentic sources a glimpse is had of the 
 indomitable resolution, pluck, tenacity and bulldog determina- 
 tion exhibited by the English which eventually crowned their 
 labors with success. 
 
 The hardships they sustained were almost inexpressible. 
 
 The earth was everywhere so thin that it was with great 
 difficulty the besiegers could cover themselves in their ap- 
 proaches. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF I762. l8l 
 
 There was no spring nor river near them, and water for 
 drinking and cooking purposes had to be brought from a great 
 distance. Indeed, so scanty and precarious was the supply 
 that the army was obliged to have recourse to water from the 
 ships. 
 
 One can imagine how vile such water must have become 
 after long transport and in such a hot climate. 
 
 Roads for communication had to be cut through thick tropi- 
 cal woods, and the artillery had to be dragged many miles 
 over a rough rocky shore. A number of men dropped dead 
 with heat, thirst and fatigue, but such was the indomitable 
 resolution of our people, such the happy and perfect unanimity 
 which subsisted between the land and the sea services, that 
 no difficulties, no hardships, slackened for a moment the 
 operations against this important, strong and well-defended 
 place. 
 
 Batteries were, in spite of all difficulties, raised against the 
 Moro, and along the hill upon which that fort stood, in order 
 to drive the Spanish ships deeper into the harbor and thus 
 prevent them from interfering with the siege. 
 
 For a long time the fire maintained by the Spaniards and 
 English was near on an equality, and kept up with great vivac- 
 ity on both sides. 
 
 On June 29th the Spaniards, who are particularly tenacious 
 in defense, were repulsed, with a loss of 220 killed, wounded 
 and prisoners, mostly mulattoes and negroes, from which it 
 became apparent that they were saving their real Spanish 
 troops for more important work. 
 
 On July 1st the British ships of the line, "Cambridge," 80, 
 "Dragon," 74, and "Marlborough," 70, sailed in with the sea 
 breeze close to the Moro, and opened a furious fire. 
 
 Never did British naval courage show more gloriously. The 
 attack was spirited, but unsuccessful. 
 
 The ships came under a fire which was not only a plunging 
 one from the Moro, but a raking one from the Town Batteries, 
 and finally withdrew, badly shattered, and with a loss of 157, 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 On July 3d the great besieging battery took fire from dry- 
 ness of the fascines, there having been no rain for two weeks, 
 
1 82 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 and was totally destroyed. Thus was the labor of seventeen 
 days by 500 or 600 men destroyed in a few hours. It was a 
 mortifying and dispiriting stroke of misfortune as the hard- 
 ships of the siege had become almost insupportable. Yellow 
 fever had increased greatly, and what with rigorous service and 
 an unwholesome country, bad provisions, bad and insufficient 
 water supply, heat and exposure, the army was soon reduced 
 by half, and the labors of the remainder doubled. 
 
 No less than 5,000 soldiers and 3,000 sailors were taken 
 down of the fevers and distempers prevailing in the lowlands 
 of Cuba. 
 
 The hurricane season was nigh at hand, but these indom- 
 itable English kept on. New batteries arose in the place of 
 the old ones. Their fire soon became equal and then superior 
 to the Spanish. 
 
 Eighteen heavy guns played on the works, and when they 
 became disabled, as often happened, others were dragged with 
 infinite labor to take their places. 
 
 The Spaniards were found to display unexpected bravery ; or, 
 as the Journal of the British Chief Engineer says : — 
 
 "The Morro was now found to be tougher work and the Span- 
 iards more resolute than was at first imagined." On July 4th 
 he records that the reinforcements from America were much 
 wished for and much wanted. 
 
 Four hundred marines were now landed with 300 seamen to 
 assist at the batteries. 
 
 Stubbornly the English fire was kept up, but as the Span- 
 iards had free access to the town, they repaired, by the aid of 
 slaves, their batteries, and on July 10, 11 and 12, their fire was 
 superior to the English, who then, with unshaken courage, 
 began to erect more batteries. 
 
 The sickness greatly increased, and the heat in the blazing 
 sun was terrific ; nevertheless, a new four-gun battery of thirty- 
 two pounders was opened and annoyed the enemy very much, 
 keeping up a continual fire on the fort. 
 
 On July 1 8th the enemy made a sally from the town and 
 spiked a three-gun battery, but were quickly repulsed. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 83 
 
 Next day the English Engineers made approaches up to the 
 glacis and carried on a sap towards the counterscarp, and on 
 July 20th got possession of the covered way. 
 
 Two days later a sally of the Spaniards was repulsed, and 
 they lost 400 dead, many wounded, and seventy prisoners. 
 
 In repulsing them Colonel Guy Carleton, now a Brigadier, 
 was wounded in the arm. 
 
 Our Chief Engineer in his Journal says, this sallying de- 
 tachment of Spaniards "behaved with great treachery, asking 
 quarter, seeming to surrender themselves, and then stabbing 
 our officers and men as they advanced to receive them. A 
 flag of truce was sent in and this was complained of ; they 
 took the opportunity to desire to bury their dead, which was 
 granted." 
 
 Meanwhile the English engineers kept diligently at work 
 with their mines; but our friend, the engineer, adds, "Our 
 people were now so reduced by sickness that we had but a 
 melancholy prospect." 
 
 On July 28th arrived the first detachment of regulars and 
 Provincial Troops from America in eleven transports under 
 convoy of the "Intrepid," a sixty-four-gun ship, which left 
 New York on June nth. 
 
 While en route four other transports of this detachment and 
 a forty-gun ship ran on a key on the Cuba side, at the en- 
 trance of Bahama Straits and were stranded an hour before 
 daylight on July 24th, and lost, but fortunately all the troops 
 were landed. 
 
 Admiral Sir George Pocock sent transports to take off the 
 seamen and Provincials, and bring them to Havana. Among 
 those thus shipwrecked were Israel Putnam, afterward Senior 
 Major-General of the Continental Army of the Revolution, 
 but then a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Connecticut Provincial 
 Regiment. 
 
 The first detachment which came from New York amounted 
 to 1,400 men, under Brigadier-General Burton, and were landed 
 on July 26th on the western side to reinforce Colonel Howe, 
 whose detachment was scarce able from sickness to defend 
 themselves. 
 
184 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Two days later, on July 30th, about two in the afternoon, 
 the mines were sprung which the English engineers had long 
 been preparing. 
 
 The one in the counterscarp had a very inconsiderable effect, 
 but that in the bastion, having thrown down a part of both 
 faces, made a practicable breach. 
 
 An assault was at once ordered, which was led by Lieuten- 
 ant Charles Forbes of the Royals. The breach was rapidly 
 mounted under heavy fire and the enemy driven from the 
 ramparts. 
 
 The brave Don Luis de Velasco made a noble defense, and 
 while trying to rally his men was mortally wounded. One 
 hundred and thirty Spanish soldiers and several officers were 
 killed, 400 were made prisoners. 
 
 The Marquis Gonzales, second in command in the Moro, 
 was also killed. The British loss was only two officers and 
 30 men killed and wounded. 
 
 The possession of this fort cost 44 days' hard struggle from 
 the time the first operations had been begun against it, during 
 which the Spaniards lost a thousand men. 
 
 Its capture gave universal joy to the besieging troops. 
 
 On August 2d the second division of transports arrived from 
 New York, from whence they had sailed on June 30th. 
 
 While en route, on July 21st, two French ships of the line, 
 three frigates and six brigantines and sloops captured five of 
 the transports containing 350 regulars of Anstruther's regi- 
 ment and 150 Provincials. 
 
 On August 8th the party of Provincials which had been 
 wrecked arrived from the Key. 
 
 After the capture of the Moro, no time was lost in attacking 
 the town. 
 
 On August 10th a flag was sent in and the city summoned 
 to surrender. 
 
 New batteries and field works were erected, and on August 
 nth, at daybreak, 45 pieces of heavy artillery and 8 mortars 
 opened on the Spaniards. 
 
 Soon the Spanish fort Punta was silenced and a flag of truce 
 hung out. A truce was then agreed upon, and two days later, 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 85 
 
 on August 13, 1762, Havana capitulated and the British flag was 
 hoisted. 
 
 The siege had continued two months and eight days, but the 
 American Provincials only got in at the close, the first detach- 
 ment having been under fire but fourteen days and the second 
 detachment but ten days. 
 
 With the capitulation of the city was surrendered a district 
 180 miles to the westward. 
 
 This conquest was, in itself, most considerable, and its con- 
 sequences the most decisive. 
 
 It was a military achievement of the highest class, and ex- 
 hibited in an enduring light the splendid courage and obstinate 
 endurance of the British troops. 
 
 The Spanish fleet of nine sail of the line, taken in the har- 
 bor, and the loss of five more in the siege and many merchant 
 ships, constituted an almost irreparable loss to that haughty 
 monarchy. 
 
 The public plunder taken equalled the produce of a national 
 subsidy. 
 
 During the whole siege the British lost 1 1 officers killed 
 and 19 wounded ; 279 enlisted men killed and 663 wounded, 
 which, with 130 missing and those who died of the fever, 
 amounted to 1,799. 
 
 The Provincials lost only seven, killed and wounded, but the 
 number who died from disease was appalling. 
 
 The prize money distributed to the army, including Pro- 
 vincials, in five dividends, amounted to ^368,092 lis. 6d. 
 
 Every field officer received 
 Every Captain received 
 Every Lieutenant received 
 Every Sergeant received 
 Every Corporal received 
 Every Private received 
 
 As soon as news of the capture was received in Europe, 
 Spain consented to a peace and the preliminaries were signed 
 
 ceived ^86,030 
 
 17s 
 
 2d. 
 
 393 
 
 12 
 
 3K 
 
 129 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 81 
 
 6 
 
 sy A 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 i% 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 8}( 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 3Va 
 
1 86 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 at Fontainebleau, November 3, 1762, and an armistice de- 
 clared. 
 
 On November 23, 1762, the Rhode Island and other 
 Provincial detachments returned to the Colonies from Cuba, 
 broken down by disease and more than decimated by the cli- 
 matic fevers. 
 
 Rhode Island had sent 187 men under Lieut.-Col. Christopher 
 Hargiil. 
 
 Eleven companies went from Connecticut under Colonel 
 Phineas Lyman, with Israel Putman as Lieutenant-Colonel. In 
 a diary kept during the siege by a Chaplain with the Connecti- 
 cut Provincials, their number is given as 917. 
 
 Many names subsequently distinguished in the Revolution 
 are found among these officers. 
 
 Roger Enos, Adjutant of the Connecticut regiment, after- 
 ward Colonel of a Connecticut volunteer regiment. 
 
 John Durkee, afterward Colonel 4th Regiment, Connecticut 
 Continental Infantry of the Revolution, who died in service in 
 1782. 
 
 Elihu Humphrey, long a Captain of Connecticut Contin- 
 entals. 
 
 Zebulon Butler, a Captain of the 7th Company, and after- 
 ward Colonel 5th Regiment Connecticut Continental Line. 
 
 Thomas Knowlton, a Second Lieutenant, who gave his life 
 later on Harlem Heights, New York City, in September, 1776, 
 when commanding the Rangers of General Washington's Army. 
 
 In looking over the rolls of these Connecticut companies we 
 can estimate the extent of the losses in other regiments. 
 
 The 1 st Company had 134 privates of whom 34 died in 
 service. 
 
 The 2d Company had 106 men of whom 75, or about two- 
 thirds, died. 
 
 The 3d Company had 93 men, 29 deaths. 
 
 The 4th Company had 91 men, 37 deaths. 
 
 The 5 th Company had 90 men, 40 deaths. 
 
 The 6th Company had 80 men, 24 deaths. 
 
 The 7th Company had 59 men, 31 deaths. 
 
 The 8th Company had 91 men, 26 deaths. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 87 
 
 The 9th Company had 92 men, 37 deaths. 
 The 10th Company did not go. 
 The nth Company had 89 men, deaths not given. 
 The 12th Company had 76 men, 41 deaths. 
 
 The frightful losses experienced by the British-American 
 forces in this eventful campaign are well illustrated in this 
 table of Connecticut casualties. 
 
 In the regular British Army the 17th Foot, which had been 
 a strong regiment, returned to New York with but 100 
 effectives. 
 
 On December 13, 1762, a British officer at Havana wrote 
 concerning its capture, of which the following is an extract : — 
 
 " We are in possession of the largest and most valuable part 
 of the Island. * * * 
 
 The Spanish inhabitants are curious about nothing ; they 
 are lazy and indolent ; and if the island did not produce almost 
 spontaneously, they would be without the necessaries of life. 
 There is nothing in the shape of a garden, either for pleasure 
 or use, in this large city, which contains about 40,000 inhabit- 
 ants. Their common amusement is smoking segars and lolling 
 in a calash drawn by one sorry mule, with a huge negro on his 
 back and another behind the calash ; in this manner they drive 
 along at the rate of about two miles an hour; and whenever the 
 Ave-Maria bell rings, they all stop and go to prayers, negroes, 
 mules and Spaniards. 
 
 As to the ladies, they are mostly of the hue of the fairer 
 Mulattoes in Carolina, some a good deal whiter, and many not 
 so fair. They wear their hair without caps, and dress much in 
 the squaw fashion ; their garb is commonly a shift and some 
 petticoats, (no stays), and a loose wrapper over their shoulders, 
 whereby they become round-shouldered, and are entirely with- 
 out that delicate taper waist which I so much admire in my 
 fair country-women. People who can converse with them say 
 they are very ignorant, and few of them have any smartness; 
 most of them smoke segars and spit much, even when they do 
 not smoke, which gives room for several conjectures. They 
 
155 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 are very shy in company, and will scarce allow their hand to be 
 touched. 
 
 As to our government here, it is entirely military. * * * 
 We have neither lawyers nor law suits. Among us it is sic 
 volo, sicjubeo. 
 
 We have no Sunday among the English ; as for the natives, 
 they have Sunday every day, they are continually saying mass 
 and carrying the Madonna round the town at night with two 
 or three lanthorns under her petticoats. 
 
 We open a theatre to-morrow night, which exhibits once a 
 
 week, Captain and some others, chief actors and 
 
 managers." 
 
 As before remarked the capture of Havana and contiguous 
 territory compelled the Spanish Government to sue for peace. 
 
 Had it not been for the services of the Provincial regiments 
 of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, 
 who were almost wholly native born Americans, the siege 
 would have had to be raised. Their presence therefore, con- 
 tributed to one of the most substantial and decisive victories 
 of the last century. 
 
 The bones of hundreds of them lie in Cuban soil, unknown, 
 uncared for, but the achievement in which they assisted pro- 
 cured peace and brought the entire Continent of North 
 America under the English-speaking race. France relin- 
 quished all her rights in Canada and in the Mississippi. Spain 
 relinquished Florida, and the Spanish seas were no longer 
 claimed by that bigoted, cruel, and arbitrary power as the ex- 
 clusive domain of Spain under the gift of the Pope. 
 
 The preliminaries of Fontainebleau were the dawn of a new 
 era. The American Provincials taught the art of war and reg- 
 ular discipline by the war then ended, were soon to assert 
 themselves in defense of principles which appealed to the 
 judgment of mankind, and after an eight years war, from the 
 Battle of Lexington in 1775, were to rise as an independent 
 sovereignty in the family of nations and eventually become one 
 of the mighty powers of the earth. 
 
 To our forefathers the war at the time was distressing, but 
 
THE OLD PROVIDENCE THEATRE. 1 89 
 
 it brought them together, shoulder to shoulder, and taught 
 them their power when united. 
 
 History, it has been said, repeats itself, and whoever has fol- 
 lowed the movements of the American army in Cuba, which 
 have terminated in the capture of Santiago and the Spanish 
 forces defending that coast, can perceive that the Americans 
 have experienced the same trials and difficulties, but it is to be 
 hoped not to the same extent the losses from diseases which 
 our ancestors experienced in the campaigns against Spain of 
 1 74 1 and 1762. 
 
 The Old Providence Theatre. 
 
 By Henry L. Greene. 
 
 Amateur performances were sometimes given in this old 
 building and their financial proceeds devoted to charitable 
 objects. In this connection the following letters will be 
 found interesting. They were written by Christopher Rhodes 
 Greene to his parents and were addressed to his father, the 
 late Hon. Job Greene, Greeneville (now Centreville), Warwick. 
 
 "Providence Bank, 21st Octo. 1807. 
 "About three weeks since several young gentlemen of the 
 first respectability in Town associated themselves (and as- 
 sumed the name of the Thespian Club,) for the purpose of im- 
 proving themselves in public speaking. This Society which 
 has been undertaken with universal approbation, and whose 
 first exhibition (on last Monday evening,) was crowned with 
 universal applause, owes its existence to the spirited exertions 
 of Benj' Page Jr Esq and the less meritorious exertions of 
 your son. 
 
190 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 "The Tragedy of Douglas, a tragedy replete with sound 
 morality, the most touching pathos, the most devoted filial 
 affection, glowing with all the fire of genius, and embellished 
 with all the graces of poetry was judiciously selected for our 
 first exhibition. As there is no other place in Town adapted 
 to exhibitions of this kind, we were compelled from urgent 
 necessity to make use of the theatre. From this circum- 
 stance I was apprehensive that an incorrect account of our 
 exhibition might reach you and I have thought proper to give 
 you a general outline of our plan, and the benevolent objects 
 of our institution. In order to have a select and respectable 
 audience it was necessary that the tickets should be sold, and 
 the money arising from such sales after defraying the inci- 
 dental expenses of the exhibition is to be distributed to relieve 
 the distresses of the poor of the Town. There were about 
 three hundred people present at the Theatre on Monday even- 
 ing and the amount of our expenses exceeded one hundred 
 dollars. The balance received, about fifty dollars, remains 
 for the purpose above mentioned. 
 
 "The part of Old Norval was taken by me. It was very 
 pathetic and was so spoken as to gain not only the custom- 
 ary applause of clapping of hands, but that high applause of 
 the heart which is more sincerely expressed by tears." 
 
 Evidently the young man, he was then just twenty-one, 
 doubted the approval of his parents in appearing on the stage 
 of a theatre, hence the above rather apologetic letter. His 
 next letter proved the correctness of his anticipations. 
 
 "Providence 10 November 1807 
 "I have this moment received your affectionate epistle of 
 the 8th filled with the tenderest solicitude as to the conse- 
 quences which might in your opinion result from my exhibit- 
 ing in public. ' Recitation is indeed a fascinating art ; and 
 under due restriction it improves the organs of speech, enables 
 the possessor to express himself with elegance and precision, 
 promotes ease in conversation and manners, expands the mind 
 and elevates the soul.' 
 
THE OLD PROVIDENCE THEATRE. I9I 
 
 " To acquire in an innocent manner accomplishments so 
 elegant, so useful, so noble, so worthy of a rational being, and 
 which would enable us at the same time to do those deeds 
 of charity which angels must smile to behold, were the laud- 
 able and benevolent motives which induced us to come before 
 the public. They must I think obtain the approbation of every 
 mind capable of feeling, of thinking, of reasoning with just- 
 ness or impartiality, of every heart capable of perceiving the 
 beauty of moral rectitude, or of enjoying the delightful sen- 
 sations that result from the performance of virtuous actions. 
 Such being their motives can any one who is acquainted with 
 the individual characters of The Thespian Club, entertain a 
 single fearful apprehension that they will for a moment de- 
 viate from the path of rectitude or be drawn into dissipation, 
 depravity or ruin ? Can the art which displays the beauty of 
 virtue and exposes the deformity of vice in a manner so deeply 
 impressive, be productive of consequences so pernicious and 
 destructive ? Consult your own heart as I have mine, and 
 you will not long deliberate for a conclusion. 
 
 "The Club I believe will not exhibit more than once more. 
 You were mistaken when you said that Capt Page was a 
 member. It is a son of his. A son of Col Wm Peck, Mar- 
 shal of R. I., and W. R. Danforth Esq, Clerk of the Supreme 
 Jud' Court are also members. 
 
 "I shall soon send for your perusal Rev Mr Home's tragedy 
 of Douglas 'a performance which as long as classical elegance 
 shall be admired, or the feelings of humanity exist, as long 
 as virtue or religion shall have an interest in the heart of 
 man, will retain its station in the first rank of dramatic liter- 
 ature.' What mother is there who would not wish her son to 
 resemble the truly excellent amiable, affectionate and heroic 
 Young Norval ? Virtue so exalted and amiable, filial affection 
 so ardent and sincere do not simply gain the cold assent of 
 the understanding but they irresistibly command the entire 
 approbation, the enthusiastic admiration of the heart and 
 soul. 'For,' says Dr Blair, i we must love what is amiable!' 
 
 "Your affectionate son 
 
 "Chris r R. Greene" 
 
192 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 WHO WERE THE RHODE ISLAND SOLDIERS 
 OF THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1762 ? 
 
 The interesting and valuable paper read before the Histor- 
 ical society at its last July quarterly meeting by the Hon. Asa 
 Bird Gardiner, LL. D., and printed in this issue of its publica- 
 tion, awakened much interest to know the names of the Rhode 
 Island officers and men that took part in the Havana Expedi- 
 tion of 1762. With the view of obtaining the desired informa- 
 tion for the benefit of the citizens of the State, His Excellency, 
 Elisha Dyer, addressed our ambassador in London, the Hon. 
 John Hay, a letter of inquiry, the result of which appears in 
 the following correspondence : — 
 
 American Embassy, London, August 29th, 1898. 
 Sir, 
 
 With reference to your letter of 7th ultimo relative to the 
 contingent furnished by the Colony of Rhode Island in 1762 
 for the British expedition to Havana in that year, I have the 
 honour to enclose herewith for your information copies of two 
 notes which I have received from the Foreign Office on that 
 subject, and from which you will observe that, for reasons 
 therein set forth, there are no pay lists nor muster rolls among 
 the archives of the War Office at the Public Record Office. 
 
 Should any further information reach me as a result of the 
 inquiries now being made at the Colonial Office, I shall lose 
 no time in sending it to you. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 To John Hay. 
 
 His Excellency 
 
 The Hon ble Elisha Dyer, 
 
 Governor of Rhode Island. 
 
R. I. SOLDIERS, HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 1 93 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 Foreign Office, August 4, 1898. 
 Your Excellency, 
 
 I duly referred to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for War 
 the request, contained in your note of the 18th ultimo, for in- 
 formation as to the names of the Officers and Men of the Con- 
 tingent furnished by the Colony of Rhode Island for the Ha- 
 vana Expedition of 1762. 
 
 I have now received a letter from the War Office, stating 
 that the subject is receiving every attention, but that it is very 
 doubtful whether the required information can be obtained. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c, 
 
 (Signed) Salisbury. 
 
 His Excellency 
 
 The Honourable John Hay, 
 
 &c, &c, &c. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 Foreign Office, August 22, 1898. 
 Your Excellency, 
 
 In continuation of the Note which I had the honour to ad- 
 dress to you on the 4th instant, concerning the names of the 
 Officers and Men of the Contingent furnished by the Colony 
 of Rhode Island for the Havana Expedition of 1762, I beg 
 leave to inform you that I learn from the Secretary of State 
 for War that after a search in the Records of the War Office, 
 it has been discovered that the " Rhode Island Provincials " 
 were a Colonial corps paid out of Colonial funds, and this 
 being so there are no Pay Lists or Muster Rolls, et cetera, 
 concerning them in the War Office documents which are pre- 
 served at the Public Record Office. 
 
 As it is not unlikely that the required information may be 
 contained in the Colonial correspondence for the period, Lord 
 Lansdowne has caused the matter to be referred to the Colo- 
 nial Office, together with a copy of the enclosed statement, 
 which contains all the information on the subject in the pos- 
 session of the War Office. 
 
194 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 I shall not fail to communicate to Your Excellency the 
 result of the enquiries instituted by the Colonial Office. 
 I have the honour to be, &c, 
 
 (For the Marquis of Salisbury) 
 
 (Signed) F. H. Villiers. 
 His Excellency 
 
 The Honourable John Hay, 
 
 &c, &c, &c. 
 
 [copy.] 
 RHODE ISLAND PROVINCIALS. 
 
 In the " N. American Correspondence 1758 to 1764," there 
 is a letter from Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Commander-in-Chief in 
 North America, dated New York, 12th May, 1762, in which 
 he forwards a List shewing the "State of the Provincial 
 Troops for the year 1762."* This List is a numerical one only, 
 and shews that the Province of Rhode Island " Voted to be 
 Raised" 666 Troops, of whom 207 were for the Havana Expe- 
 dition, and 459 for " Crown point, Niagara, Oswego, and the 
 other posts to the Westward." 
 
 A later letter dated 20th July, 1762, forwards a Duplicate 
 list of the Transports for the first Division, dated New York 
 June, 1762, which shews that 30 Rhode Islanders were em- 
 barked on the "Boscawen" (Master's name Forbes), 137 on 
 the "Three Sisters" (Master's name Maltby) and that the 
 remaining 40 Rhode Islanders were put on board either the 
 "Intrepid" or "Chesterfield" Man-of-War. 
 
 In none of Sir Jeffrey Amherst's letters are any of the 
 Rhode Islanders mentioned by name. 
 
 Note. — Presumably these troops were paid by the colony, 
 and therefore no pay lists would be forwarded to this country. 
 
 To the Editor: — 
 
 In the July number of the Rhode Island Historical Society's 
 quarterly (p. 80) are queries as to the location of Fenner's 
 Square and of Theodore Foster's office in 1786. Fenner's 
 
EDITORIAL NOTES AND CULLINGS. 195 
 
 Square was the land bounded by North Main Street, Market 
 Square, North Water (now Canal) Street, and a gangway. 
 [Record of Deeds in City Record Office, vol. 48, p. 10.] 
 
 Theodore Foster's office, according to an advertisement in 
 the United States Chronicle of July 13, 1786, was on Westmin- 
 ster Street, opposite his residence, which was at the northeast 
 corner of Westminster Street and what is now Eddy Street. 
 [Record of Deeds, vol. 30, p. 202.] 
 
 Clarence S. Brigham. 
 Brown University, 
 Sept. 12, 1898. 
 
 EDITORIAL NOTES AND CULLINGS. 
 
 INFORMATION WANTED. 
 
 Mr. Louis Hasbrouck Von Sakler, of Van Deusen, Berk- 
 shire County, Mass., has addressed the following inquiries to 
 the Rhode Island Historical Society : — 
 
 " Can you identify the following-mentioned islands ? Colo- 
 nial Documents of New York, I., 565, 'Abraham Pieterssen of 
 Haarlem took possession of the island of Ouetenis, in front of 
 Sloops Bay, for the Dutch West India Company in 1636;' 
 II., 134, 'Similar to the preceding — Island of Oueteurs, in 
 front of Sloops Bay and Pequators River; ' II., 409, ' Special 
 possession of Abraham Pietersen of Harrlem, still living, hath 
 on the island of Quetenesse, in Narricanese Bay, near Rhode 
 Island, and again on another island, above and about the Pe- 
 quot River, called by the English— The Dutchman's Island.' 
 Any information and an early answer will be fully appre- 
 ciated." The volumes referred to are in the society's library, 
 and can be consulted by persons interested. 
 
 CORRECTION. 
 
 In the obituary notice of Prof. John Pierce, Vol. VI.. p. 56, 
 10th line from foot, read "hand telephone," instead of "word 
 telephone." 
 
196 
 
 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 List of the Vessels, their Description and Tonnage, Be- 
 longing to the Port of Providence the 
 20th Day of June, 1791. 
 
 No. 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 1 1 
 
 13- 
 
 14. 
 
 i5- 
 16. 
 
 17- 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 23- 
 
 24. 
 
 25- 
 
 26. 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 
 3°- 
 3 r - 
 3 2 - 
 33- 
 34- 
 35- 
 36. 
 37- 
 38- 
 39- 
 40. 
 41. 
 42. 
 
 43- 
 44. 
 
 45- 
 46. 
 
 Vessels Full tonnage < 
 Described. 95th parts. 
 
 14 
 
 958 
 348 
 280 
 250 
 230 
 159 
 
 By Whom Owned. 
 
 Messrs. Brown & Francis Ship 
 
 do. do. 
 
 do. do. 
 
 do. do. 
 
 Messrs. Clarke & Nightingale. . • do. 
 
 do. . . • do. 
 
 Messrs. Brown & Benson do 186 
 
 do. do 208 
 
 Mr. Cyprian Sterrey do 161 
 
 do. do 137 
 
 Messrs. Jos. & Wm. Russell do 146 
 
 Messrs. Brown, Rogers & Brown, do 160 
 
 3< 22 7 
 
 Brown & Benson Brig 163 
 
 do. do 162 
 
 Messrs. Philip & Z. Allen do 166 
 
 do. do 117 
 
 do. do no 
 
 Welcome Arnold do in 
 
 do. do 101 
 
 do. do 168 
 
 Messrs. Brown & Benson do 160 
 
 Thos. Loyd Halsey do 141 
 
 do. do 104 
 
 do. do 151 
 
 William Holuroyd do 129 
 
 John Corlis do 130 
 
 do do 103 
 
 Edward Thurber do 161 
 
 Joseph & Wm. Russell do 120 
 
 James Graves do 78 
 
 Mowry Smith do 90 
 
 Messrs. Young & Brown do 112 
 
 Gideon Bailey do 126 
 
 Messrs. Fenner & White do 92 
 
 Stephen Dexter do 107 
 
 •- 139 
 
 .. 80 
 
 .. 86 
 
 .. 99 
 
 .. 115 
 
 .. 97 
 
 do. do. 
 
 Messrs. Brown & Francis do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Messrs. Clarke & Nightingale . 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Joseph Martin do 
 
 Messrs. Treadwell & Soule do 140 
 
 Messrs. Wards & Brothers do 160 
 
 Abijah Potter do. 130 
 
 Messrs. Brown & Francis do 83 
 
 28 
 7i 
 57 
 
 24 
 *9 
 37 
 
 73 
 
 Vessels' Names. 
 Pres. Washington. 
 Gen'l Washington. 
 
 Warren. 
 
 Hope. 
 
 Providence. 
 
 Lark. 
 
 Hope. 
 
 Hammilton. 
 
 Enterprize. 
 
 Betsey. 
 
 Tristam. 
 
 Union (Sold). 
 
 3* 
 
 66 Commerce. 
 
 73 Rising Sun. 
 
 56 Abigail. 
 
 90 Lydia. 
 
 90 Nancy. 
 
 17 Rebeckah. 
 
 93 Neptune. 
 
 75 Harriott. 
 
 8 Harmony. 
 
 77 Fanny. 
 
 Sally. 
 
 30 Harriott. 
 
 72 Friendship. 
 
 Liberty. 
 
 Sukey. 
 
 21 M ary. 
 
 Ranger. 
 
 26 Betsey. 
 
 33 Nancy. 
 
 51 Betsey. 
 
 19 Sally. 
 
 31 Clinton. 
 
 36 Betsey. 
 
 Dolphin. 
 
 86 Mercury. 
 
 55 Sophia. 
 
 84 Prudent. 
 
 21 Polly. 
 
 54 Chance. 
 
 Betsey. 
 
 Paramaribo. 
 
 Tismigistus. 
 
 Fame. 
 
 19 Friendship. 
 
 4,128 48 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 2IO, 
 
 so that it became to us a pleasant, educational home, and when 
 we, who remain, look back upon the days we passed there, a 
 flood of happy recollections rush in upon us, and in our mem- 
 ories we live again our youthful experiences and recall our 
 former innocent pleasures and delights. And now to the dear 
 old boys and girls, whose youthful forms this pleasing task has 
 brought before my mental vision, and who have seemed to be 
 really present among my hearers, I must say " Good night, 
 sweethearts. The school's dismissed." 
 
 HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1762. 
 
 Rhode Island Contingent Thereof. 
 
 Since the publication in the October Quarterly, 1898 (p. 192), 
 of a correspondence relating to the above subject, the following 
 communications have been received and are hereby submitted 
 to our readers : — 
 
 State of Rhode Island, &c, 
 
 Executive Department, 
 Providence, October 15, 1898. 
 nos Perry, Secretary, 
 <£hode Island Historical Society, 
 Providence, R. I. 
 ar Sir : I beg leave to enclose letter from the Hon. 
 ,ry White in relation to the names of officers and men who 
 med a contingent furnished by Rhode Island to the British 
 xpedition of 1762 to Havana. 
 
 I presume this is in reply to the letter which I sent you 
 sometime in July last. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Elisha Dyer, 
 
 Governor. 
 
 : ? 
 
 ^ I $1 1 
 
220 rhode island historical society. 
 
 American Embassy, London, 
 September 27th, 1898. 
 Sir, 
 
 With reference to Mr. Hay's letter of August 27th, in reply- 
 to yours of July 7th last, I have the honour to transmit to your 
 Excellency copies of notes which we have received from the 
 Marquis of Salisbury relative to the names of the officers and 
 men who formed the contingent furnished by Rhode Island to 
 the British Expedition of 1762 to Havana. 
 
 Upon the receipt of Lord Salisbury's note of 24th instant 
 I at once communicated with Mr. B. F. Stevens, a copy of 
 whose reply I also enclose, together with the Memorial of 
 Colonel Christopher Hargill, referred to therein, which I trust 
 will be of interest to you. 
 
 I much regret that this Embassy has been unable to obtain 
 the information concerning the history of our State for which 
 you asked. 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 Your Excellency's obedient servant, 
 Henry White. 
 To his Excellency, 
 
 The Hon. Elisha Dyer, 
 
 Governor of Rhode Island. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 Foreign Office, 
 
 September 6, 1898. 
 Your Excellency, 
 
 With reference to my Note of the 22nd ultimo I have the 
 honour to inform you that I learn from the Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies that a volume in the Record Offic eentitled 
 "Havannah 1762-63" containing the correspondence con- 
 nected with the capture of that city has been referred to, but 
 though the Rhode Island Contingent of Two hundred and 
 seven men is mentioned in it collectively, no names are given. 
 Two other volumes entitled "Rhode Island 1762-67" and 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 
 
 221 
 
 " I 698-1 782 " have also been searched, but do not contain any- 
 thing relating to this subject. 
 
 As however forty of these troops appear to have been 
 shipped on two men of war, the " Intrepid " and the " Chester- 
 field," the muster books for 1762 of these ships might, Mr. 
 Chamberlain suggests, if they have been preserved, furnish 
 some of the names required. 
 
 An enquiry has accordingly been addressed to the Admir- 
 alty, the result of which I shall have much pleasure in com- 
 municating to your Excellency. 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 with the highest consideration, 
 
 Your Excellency's most obedient, 
 humble servant, 
 
 (For the Marquess of Salisbury) 
 (Sgd.) Martin Gosselin. 
 
 His Excellency, 
 
 The Honourable 
 John Hay, 
 &c, 
 
 &c, 
 
 &c. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 Foreign Office, 
 September 24, 1898. 
 Sir, 
 
 In continuation of the Note which I had the honour to 
 address to Mr. Hay on the 6th instant, I now beg leave to ac- 
 quaint you with the results of the enquiry instituted by the 
 Admiralty respecting the contingent furnished by the State of 
 Rhode Island to the Havana Expedition in 1762. 
 
 The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are informed 
 by the Public Record Office that no Pay Lists or Muster Rolls 
 of the Provincial troops who took part in this expedition are 
 preserved, and beyond the fact that certain "Provincial 
 Troops " were carried on the " Chesterfield " and " Intrepid," 
 the logs of those vessels give no more specific information. 
 
222 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 An attempt has been made to identify the detachment of 
 Rhode Island Provincials from any allusions or references con- 
 tained in the Colonial and Military correspondence of the 
 period, but without success. 
 
 No private collection of papers is known which would be 
 likely to give the information required except the manuscripts 
 of the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street, and with regard 
 to these the Public Record Office suggest that reference might 
 with advantage be made to Mr. B. F. Stevens, the American 
 despatch Agent and well-known expert, who is believed to have 
 made a complete examination of their contents. 
 
 The Record Office add that there can be little doubt that 
 Sir Jeffrey Amherst was furnished with more or less detailed 
 lists of these Provincial troops by the Colonial Governors, but 
 as they were paid by their respective States the original Pay 
 Lists would not have been preserved amongst the War Office 
 Records. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 with the highest consideration, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 (Sgd.) Salisbury. 
 Henry White, Esq. 
 
 &c, &c, &c. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 United States Government Despatch Agenv i . 
 4, Trafalgar Square, W. C, 
 
 London, 27 September, 189S 
 Hon. Henry White, 
 
 American Charge^ d' Affaires, 
 
 123, Victoria Street, S. W. 
 Dear Mr. White : I have received your letter of this date 
 and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this ex- 
 ceedingly interesting correspondence with reference to the 
 Rhode Island soldiers employed on the Havana Expedition of 
 1762. 
 
THE HAVANA EXPEDITION OF 1 762. 223 
 
 My own notes upon the American Manuscripts in the 
 Record Office do not show fuller information than that already 
 communicated to you through the Foreign Office. 
 
 The papers in the Royal Institution are the Headquarter's 
 papers of the British Commanders-in-Chief, Generals Howe, 
 Clinton and Carleton, and of course these papers of the Revo- 
 lution are of a much later date, being from 1775 to 1783. 
 
 I exceedingly regret that I cannot suggest any likely place 
 where the names in detail of Lieut. Colonel Christopher Har- 
 gill, two Captains and subordinate officers, and 207 enlisted 
 soldiers can be found. 
 
 In my search to-day I have found a memorial of Hargill to 
 General Sir Guy Carleton dated in 1783 which is a very curious 
 item of Rhode Island history and I take pleasure in inclosing a 
 copy for the acceptance of the Governor of Rhode Island. 
 William Wanton who signed the certificate at the end of the 
 Memorial was the Governor of Rhode Island. I return the 
 several papers herewith. 
 
 Always yours faithfully, 
 
 (sd) B. F. Stevens. 
 
 To His Excellency General Sir Guy Carleton, Knight of the 
 Most Hondrable Order of the Bath, Commander in Chief, &c., 
 St., &c. 
 
 ] e Memorial of Christopher Hargill Humbly sheweth, 
 
 our Memorialist having already had the honor of rep- 
 g to Your Excellency under the 18th of September 
 nat the respectable Rank he held the last War as Major 
 :i Regiment of Provincials raised by the Colony of Rhode 
 nd, serving at the reduction of Canada, and as Lieut, 
 jlonel at the Siege & conquest of the Havannah rendered 
 lim from his refusal to take any appointment in the Troops 
 raised by that Colony in the late War with Great Britain an 
 Object of suspicion, and the avowal of his Disapprobation of 
 those measures brought upon him the Resentment of the As- 
 sembly, who banished him into the Interiour parts of the Col- 
 ony, and for a Considerable time confined him in a Jail. He 
 now further begs leave to represent, that the subsistence which 
 
224 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 has been granted by the bounty of Government to your 
 Memorialist of a Dollar a Day, has been essentially serviceable 
 in relieving him from many wants which he Otherwise must 
 have Experienced. But as your Memorialist is Advanced in 
 Life, and as his Constitution is greatly impaired ; He Humbly 
 requests Permission in consideration of his former services, as 
 well as his sufferings in the Cause of Government, to represent 
 to your Excellency, That his subsistence has with the greatest 
 Oeconomy been scarcely sufficient to defray the Expences of 
 his Board &c. and as he Intends for Nova Scotia, he therefore 
 Humbly Pray's your Excellency will be pleased to allow such 
 a proportion thereof to be advanced him, as your Excellency 
 may think suitable and proper, to defray the expences he must 
 unavoidably incur to render himself comfortable, and as in 
 Duty bound he will ever Pray. 
 
 Chistopher Hargill. 
 
 New York, June 2nd, 1783. 
 
 The Facts containd in this Memorial are true, and I do 
 verily believe the Memorialist to merit a further [Allowance] 
 from Government ; and for that Purpose I do presume to 
 recommend Him. 
 
 William Wan 
 
 New York, 3d June, 178 [3]. 
 
 EDITORIAL NOTES AND CULLINGS. 
 
 civil service reform sought in these plantations a 
 century and a half ago. 
 
 The following copy of a draft to amend the law concerning 
 the election of Justices of the Peace, and other commissioned 
 officers, was found in the ledger marked "John Angel His 
 Book," which was preserved by Moses Brown and given to this 
 society with other papers in 1897. There is nothing to indi- 
 cate the authorship of the proposed amendment. By referring 
 
 
LEFe '06