United States or Northern Mariana Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Well out in Mortella Bay a large fleet of ships lay at anchor, while much nearer the shore a 74-gun ship and a frigate were visible, also apparently at anchor, and briskly engaging a battery of some sort, which appeared to be built on a projecting point of land.
But though we had taken the Mortella Tower, we were still nearly as far off having San Fiorenzo as ever.
Now this projecting cliff of three peaks they are called, respectively, Montalto, Ierate, and Mortella; Ierate for short is not the actual boundary between the two gulfs; not by a mile or more. No; but from certain points it might well be mistaken for it.
The next day or two passed in a state of comparative inactivity with the fleet, Lord Hood having arrived at the conclusion, through his experience of the effects of the engagement between the "Fortitude" and "Juno" and the Mortella Tower, that a further sea-attack upon that battery would be useless, and that its reduction would have to be effected by the land forces.
At length, after the interchange of a vast amount of correspondence between Lord Hood and Major-General Dundas, the officer in command of the land forces, it was one evening announced that an attack would be made on the following day upon the Mortella Tower from some batteries thrown up on the adjacent heights, and accordingly, the moment that there was light enough to sight the guns, the cannonade commenced.
Lord Hood commenced the siege by attacking the town of Mortella. The garrison fought with great bravery and inflicted heavy loss upon the Fortitude, seventy-four guns, to which the task of battering was assigned. As she was evidently getting the worst of it the Fortitude was withdrawn, but the shore batteries were more successful, and the place being set on fire the garrison surrendered.
Word Of The Day