Sketches? Maps? Anything will be appreciated.
By the way, here is a long excerpt of the reference mentioned above:
"The First British Attack (1595)
Sir Francis Drake was a privateer under the service of Queen Elizabeth who had already become a legend in his own time. Drake raided Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and distinguished himself in one of the most decisive naval encounters in the history of Western Europe: the defeat of the Spanish "Armada Invencible" in 1588 (Invincible Armada). After the defeat of the Armada, Drake raided the Spanish and Portuguese coast and in 1595, the Queen asked Drake to undertake the attacks on the Spanish Caribbean ports of Nombre de Dios, Panamá; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On November 22, 1595, Drake appeared off the coast of the San Juan Islet. Since Drake had already attacked the Canary Islands, the Spanish Governor Pedro Suárez Coronel had already made preparations to meet Drake's armada. The Spanish governor had under his command about 1500 soldiers. On the night of the 23rd, Drake sent 1500 of his men (matching the Spanish force) to the attack. A Spanish anonymous account of the attack describes the decisive moment battle:
"[A]t ten o'clock at night, when it was quite dark, the enemy commenced an attack on the port with twenty-five boats, each carrying fifty or sixty men well armed, with the view of the burning frigates…and they all entered close up to the platform of the Rock [the Water Battery], ranging themselves under the fire of the artillery….Dark as it was, the boats were seen, and instantly the guns from the Rock and the fort of [Santa] Helena [Elena] began to play as briskly as possible. Most of the boats attacked the Capitana, the Texeda frigate, setting fire to her at the bow, and throwing into her a quantity of fire-pots and shells, while ours succeeded in extinguishing the flames before they had done any damage, the fight being carried on with cannon, musquetry, and stones.
At the same time they set fire to the [Santa] Ysabel and Magdalena frigates, and to the [Santa] Clara, which was extinguished; but the third time that the Magdalena frigate, of which Domingo de Ynsurraga was captain, took fire, it was impossible to extinguish the flames, as the ship took fire at the stern and burned furiously; and all that could be done to maintain a footing on board was done by the…captain and the people with him, until the ship was just burnt down and twelve men were killed by the enemy's musquetry, besides as many more burnt…The battle lasted for an hour, the most obstinately contested that was ever seen, and the whole port was illuminated by the burning frigate in a manner favourable [sic] for the rest, who could thus see to point our artillery and that of the forts, with which, and with musquetry and the stones thrown from the frigates, they did such effect, that the enemy, after an hour…retreated with the loss of nine or ten boats and more than four hundred men, besides many more wounded; while on our side, the only loss was that of the frigate and forty men killed or burnt, besides a few wounded by the musquetry"
The Spanish defenses at Fort San Felipe del Morro, with the appropriate command and resources proved able to withstand Drake's attack. While the Spanish felt confident on their ability to defend Puerto Rico against enemy attacks, England was already planning another attempt. This time the Spanish were not that fortunate.
The Second British Attack (1598)
After Drake's failure to conquer Puerto Rico, Queen Elizabeth asked Sir George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland, and a privateer, to attack Puerto Rico and secure it for the English Crown. The Earl of Cumberland was another veteran of the battle with the Spanish Armada and a noted mathematician. Taking Puerto Rico would establish an English outpost from which to harass Spanish commerce and Spain's defensive lines. Cumberland also realized Drake's mistake in trying to attack the fortifications of the harbor entrance and decided on another strategy.
On June 16, 1598, Clifford landed his troops in the Condado area, near the San Juan Islet's Eastern side. The next day the English attacked the area where the San Antonio Bridge is, the only land access to the San Juan islet. The Spanish at the Boquerón Battery held the English at bay until the next day, but on June 18, the English were able to silence the defensive outpost and march on San Juan.
After entering the abandoned city, Clifford, informed by reports of the desperate situation of the garrison at El Morro, decided to lay siege on the fortification but did not attempt to take it by force. Meanwhile, the Spaniards, affected by dysentery and the lack of munitions and supplies, were reaching the limit of their resources. On July 1, 1598, the Spanish garrison at El Morro surrendered to the English.
The Spanish surrender opened a three month English control over San Juan. The rest of the inhabitants of the island remained loyal to Spain. Former Governor Pedro Suárez Coronel, who defeated Drake in 1595, was organizing the resistance to the English in the Puerto-Rican hinterland. Meanwhile, the Spanish King Phillip III was already organizing a military expedition to retake the island from English control.
In the meantime, the Earl of Cumberland was facing an unexpected problem. Due to food and water contamination, his troops were decimated (about 400 dead and 400 sick) by dysentery. Faced with the fact that he didn't have enough men to garrison the city, he decided to leave Puerto Rico. Before leaving, the English pillaged and burned San Juan."
Thanks.
CC
