A History of the Knights of Malta/Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVII.
1565.
- Enumeration of the garrison of Malta
- Description of its defences
- The Turkish army and fleet
- The janissaries
- Disembarkation of the force
- Siege of St. Elmo commenced
- Arrival of Dragut
- Repeated assaults
- The fort cut off from succour
- Its fall
- Massacre of the garrison.
A careful examination of the forces within the city was made under the orders of La Valette. With this view, a general parade of the langues was held, at which each was inspected by two knights selected from the other langues. At this parade the following numbers were present:—
| Knights. | Servants-at-arms. | |
| Provence ... ... | 61 ... ... | 15 |
| Auvergne ... ... | 25 ... ... | 14 |
| France... ... ... | 57 ... ... | 24 |
| Italy ... ... ... | 164 ... ... | 5 |
| Aragon... ... ... | 85 ... ... | 2 |
| England... ... ... | 1 ... | 0 |
| Germany ... ... | 13 ... ... | 1 |
| Castile ... ... ... | 68 ... ... | 6 |
making a total of 474 knights and 67 servants-at-arms. The solitary Englishman was Oliver Starkey, Latin secretary to La Valette, and author of the inscription on the tomb of that Grand-Master, by whose side his own remains are laid in the crypt of St. John’s church in Malta. The number of knights present at the siege was eventually increased by nearly 100, many having been unable to reach the island before it began. They consequently mustered at Messina, and awaited opportunities for penetrating into the fortress. There were also several conventual chaplains present, but they can hardly be counted as part of the garrison. It has been stated that the militia had been trained and organized into battalions; the same measures had also been adopted with the crews of the galleys. It was found, therefore, on a general muster, that, in addition to the members of the Order, the strength was as under:—
REGULAR FORCES. Hired Spanish troops ... ... ... 800 Garrisons of St. Elmo and St. Angelo ... 150 Household and guard of Grand-Master ... 150 Artillery ... ... ... ... ... 120
MILITIA AND OTHER FORCES. Militia of the Bourg ... ... ... 500 Ditto of Burmola • and Senglea ... ... 300 Ditto of remainder of island ... ... 4,560 Crews of the galleys t ... ... ... 700 Volunteers from Italy, Sicily, Genoa, Piedmont, &c. ... ... ... ... 875
From these figures it will be seen that, including the Order, La Valette might count upon a force of rather less than 9,000 men for the defence of the island.
A general description of the configuration of the ground forming the two great ports of Malta has been already given. It will now be well, before entering into the detail of the impending memorable siege, to describe more particularly the means of defence which the knights had, during a period of thirty-five years, been able to develop. For this purpose the
After the foundation of Senglea by the Grand-Master La Sangle, a suburb had gradually formed itself between that town and the Bourg, which was called Brmola. The three towns of the Bourg, Iurmola, and Senglea are now commonly known as the three cities, in contradistinction to Valetta.
t This number includes the 500 slaves who were released on promise of faithful service. reader is referred to the map showing the state of the fortress in the year 1565.
The castle of St. Angelo, situated on the most northerly of the promontories which subdivide the grand harbour on its eastern side, occupied only its extremity, and was cut off from the mainland by means of a wet ditch running from sea to sea. In addition to the castle itself, which rose to a considerable height, and presented three tiers of batteries to the entrance of the harbour, there was an enceinte behind the ditch containing four bastions. The Bourg itself, which occupied the remainder of the peninsula, was protected on the land side by a line of rampart broken into two bastions in the centre, and two demibastions at the extremities; this had been strengthened by a ditch of considerable width and depth, but had no ravelin or other outwork. On its northern side, facing the entrance to the harbour, it was enclosed by a bastioned rampart extending to the ditch of St. Angelo, but on the side looking towards Senglea, the line was a mere curtain without flanks. The land front of the Bourg was allotted to the three French langues, as it was considered the most vulnerable part, and consequently the post of honour. The Germans were stationed on the sea face from St. Angelo half way towards the point where it joined the land front. The remainder was taken by the langue of Castile. This post became, during the latter portion of the siege, one of the principal points of attack. The inner face, looking towards Senglea (which has since been destroyed as useless), was manned by the Spanish langue. The garrison of St. Angelo consisted of 50 knights and 600 men, and here, as the citadel of the whole fortress, La Valette took up his abode.
The promontory of Senglea was defended by a very respectable sea front, formed by what had originally been the detached fort of St. Michael. The remainder of its enceinte was an irregular figure, little more than an indented line, except on the land side, where it threw out a bastion. It was garrisoned along its land front by the langue of Aragon, the remainder of the line being taken by the langue of Italy, and the whole being under the command of the grand-admiral de Monte, who in after years became Grand-Master. The extremity of Mount Seeberras was protected by fort St. Elmo, which was on a star  | An image at this location cannot be represented because of a faulty page scan. This work has been transcribed from an electronic scan of an original paper copy of the work. A faulty page scan is present at this location in the scan, rendering it impossible to display an image that should appear at this location in the work. |
There yet remained the Città Notabile and the island of Gozo to protect. Opinions were much divided in the council as to the proper measures to be adopted in these cases. Some were for abandoning both points, and withdrawing their troops to increase the strength in the Bourg; others again, whilst anxious to abandon Gozo, deemed that it would, be prudent to retain possession of the Città Notabile, which might act as a diversion. Either a most seasonable delay would be caused should the Turks decide upon capturing it by siege, or in case they at once sat down before the Bourg, it would prove a constant annoyance in their rear. La Valette ultimately decided upon retaining both posts. Their garrisons were therefore reinforced and placed under the command of knights in whose determination he could confide, and who he felt sure would hold out to the very last.
The commander Romegas, then one of the most daring naval captains the Order possessed, undertook the defence of the port of the galleys. This harbour was the portion of water enclosed between the Bourg and Senglea, and here all the galleys were drawn up at anchor. The entrance to this port was closed by a massive chain, which stretched from point to point.
On the morning of the 18th May, 1565, a signal gun from the castle of St. Angelo, answered from the forts of St. Michael and St. Elmo, announced to the people of Malta that the enemy’s fleet was in sight. At this signal all the inhabitants who had not previously abandoned their homesteads flocked into either the Bourg or the Città Notabile, knowing well that if they were surprised in the open country their doom would be slavery if not death.
The Turkish fleet consisted of 130 galleys and 50 vessels of smaller size, together with a number of transports which were laden with the battering train and stores of the army. The troops embarked on board this fleet consisted of upwards of 30,000 men, of whom 4,500 were janissaries. It may be well here to say a few words on the subject of this redoubtable body, for so many years the chief support of the Turkish empire. Once in every five years a general conscription was levied upon the children of all Christians resident within the empire between the ages of seven and twelve. Such of them as displayed any pre-eminence either of mind or body were carried away to Constantinople, and from that moment became lost to their parents for ever. Those amongst this selected body who exhibited the greatest promise of bodily strength were chosen for the corps of janissaries. Every effort was made from the moment of their selection to endue them with the martial spirit of their calling. Marriage was strictly forbidden; they had therefore no family ties to divide their affections. The esprit de corps thus fostered increased with their age, and they formed a body of troops upon whom the strictest reliance could be placed in the most desperate emergency. Such were the men who composed an important part of the force which Solyman had despatched against Malta. The direction of the fleet was intrusted to Piali, the same admiral who had captured so many Spanish galleys in the late unfortunate expedition of the Sicilian viceroy. The army was placed under the command of Mustapha, a veteran general in whose skill and judgment the sultan placed the utmost reliance, but who mingled with his warlike virtues much ferocity and cruelty of disposition.
After some little cruising backward and forward, the Turks eventually disembarked, partly in the Marsa Scirocco, and partly in St. Thomas’s bay. A small body of knights, under the marshal Coppier, had been sent out to watch the proceedings of the enemy and to cut off stragglers. One of these named De la Rivière fell into the hands of the Turks and was brought before Mustapha, who questioned him closely as to the resources of the place. Rivière assured the pasha that the most complete preparations had been made for the defence, and that the garrison was determined to hold out to the last, being in full assurance of relief from Sicily. On this Mustapha directed that he should be submitted to torture, which for some time he bore with the most unflinching resolution. At length, feigning to be overcome by the agony, he informed the pasha that the post of Castile, at the eastern angle of the land front of the Bourg, was the weakest part of the fortifications. Relying upon this information Mustapha advanced towards the town, intending to make an immediate attack at that point; but on reaching Mount Salvator, a considerable eminence to the southeast of the Bourg, he perceived at a glance that his prisoner had deceived him, and that the angle indicated was in reality the most invulnerable part of the works. The unfortunate knight fell a victim to his constancy, as Mustapha immediately directed him to be put to death.
The appearance of the Turkish army in front of the town was the signal for a number of skirmishes between their advanced posts and small parties of the garrison. La Valette permitted these desultory encounters to be carried on for some time to accustom his troops to the appearance and weapons of the enemy. When he considered that this end had been fairly attained he directed them to remain behind their ramparts, knowing that he could but ill spare any of his slender force in combats which led to no decisive result.
Counsels were divided in the Turkish camp as to the course which should now be pursued. Before leaving Constantinople Solyman had enjoined both Mustapha and Piali to pay the utmost attention and to give the greatest possible weight to the advice of Dragut, who was to join the expedition after its landing. The corsair had not as yet arrived, and in his absence Piali was of opinion that no active measures should be taken, but that they should simply entrench their position. Mustapha, on the other hand, dreaded the loss of valuable time which might allow succours to reach the garrison, and urged pushing on at once with the siege. He pointed out that the fleet lay in a very exposed situation in Mama Seirocco, and that it would be a most important advantage to obtain possession of the Mama Musoetto, within which they would find ample shelter. To do this it was necessary to capture fort St. Elmo, which commanded the entrance to that harbour. He therefore proposed that they should at once lay siege to this work, leaving to Dragut the responibility of deciding upon their future measures. These views prevailed, and the attack on St. Elmo commenced in due form.
Mount Sceberras being but a bare rock, the Turkish engineers were unable to open their trenches in the ordinary manner. Gabions, fascines, and even earth had all to be brought from a distance, a task of enormous labour; but by dint of perseverance and at a great sacrifice of life from the galling and incessant fire of the fort, the work was at length accomplished. The siege operations at this point were very unskilfully designed. For the purpose of sheltering the trenches from the fire of St. Angelo, they were kept on the reverse side of the hill, and thereby left the communication between that fortress and St. Elmo open. Of recent years a subterranean communication has been discovered, the mouth of which was concealed amongst the rocks at the foot of Mount Sceberras, facing St. Angelo. An outlet has also been found in that part of St. Elmo which formed the original fort. Although the passage way has not been traced throughout, it being filled up with débris, there can be little doubt that it was by this channel intercourse was so long kept up between the two forts under cover of night. This would have been impracticable had the Turkish lines overlooked the harbour, and the error led to a protracted and bloody siege before a work which should have been taken in a few days.
The trenches being at length completed, a battery was constructed to bear against the points selected for attack, at a distance of a little less than 200 yards from the fort. It was armed with ten guns throwing 80 lb. shot, three columbrines for 60 lb. shot, and one basilisk for 160 lb. shot. The guns and columbrines were mounted on wheels, but the basilisk required complicated machinery for pointing and checking recoil. The Turks in that age made more use of artillery than any other nation, and their guns were of enormous calibre; the labour of placing them in position was consequently very great, and their fire by no means rapid; still, at short ranges their battering power was terrific. The result speedily manifested itself in the breaches formed both in the fort and ravelin, the ditches of which were choked with the débris.
The slender force which defended the fort was clearly insufficient to hold it in its present state. D’Eguaras therefore despatched an envoy to the Grand-Master demanding further aid, and the Spanish knight La Cerda was selected for the purpose. A worse choice could scarcely have been made. In a garrison where nearly every man was a hero the slightest taint of cowardice became instantly apparent, and unfortunately La Cerda was not free from this weakness. Exaggerating the injuries the fort had sustained, he not only strenuously pressed for immediate reinforcement, but further announced in open council that even under the most favourable circumstances the place could not hold out many days. La Valette was justly irritated with the injudicious envoy for thus publishing what, at all events, should have been reserved for the ear of his chief alone. He was, moreover, much disappointed at this speedy demand for succour before any assault had been delivered, and consequently before many casualties could have occurred. He had counted upon the delay which the attack on St. Elmo would occasion as the salvation of the island, since it would enable the Sicilian viceroy to redeem his pledge, and to hurry to the rescue. If, however, as La Cerda had proclaimed, the fort could only be held for a few days, he might expect to see the siege of the Bourg opened long before Don Garcia could possibly arrive. Turning, therefore, towards La Cerda, he demanded what their loss had been since they had so soon been brought into such a desperate condition. This was a difficult question to answer; La Cerda had been despatched for aid not on account of any serious losses, but because the breached ramparts required a larger force to hold them. His exaggerated account of the state of the work was due to his own desire to see the garrison withdrawn into the Bourg, and he himself thus released from a position of peril to which his courage was unequal. Whilst he was hesitating for a reply, La Valette sternly remarked, “I myself will bring you succour, and if I am not able to remove your terrors, at least I trust to save the fort.” It required the most urgent remonstrances of the council to dissuade the irate chief from making good his words, and himself leading the reinforcements into St. Elmo. He was at length induced to be content with sending fifty knights and 200 Spanish troops under a commander of that langue named Gonzales do Medrano, in whose intrepidity and constancy La Valette felt he could piace implicit reliance.
It was at this moment that Dragut made his appearance with thirteen galleys, having on board a reinforcement of 1,600 men. Much to the mortification of Mustapha he condemned the steps that general had taken. He considered the island of Gozo should first have been seized, and that they should then have advanced upon the Città Notabile and secured that point. They would thus, when attacking the Bourg, have had their rear protected, and the knights would have been unable to draw in any reinforcements, either of men or provisions, from the rest of the island. Now, however, that the siege of St. Elmo had actually commenced, he decided that it should be persevered in, and prosecuted with vigour. Under his directions a second and still more formidable battery was erected on one of the highest points of Mount Sceberras to play both on St. Elmo and St. Angelo. He also constructed a small battery for four guns on the point of land opposite St. Elmo, and forming the other side of the entrance to the Marsa Muscetto. This point has, in consequence, ever since been called point Dragut, and on it now stands a strong work called fort Tigné, from the name of the engineer under whose direction it was erected.
Medrano had not long entered the fort before he proposed a sortie to destroy the enemy’s batteries. This operation he headed in person. At first the attack was completely successful; the Turks were routed, their parapets thrown down, and the result of much labour destroyed. Before long, however, the besiegers rallied, and returned to the attack in overwhelming numbers. Medrano was in consequence compelled to draw off his slender force, and to retreat into the fort. The wind, which at the time was southerly, had blown the smoke in the direction of St. Elmo, and concealed the movements of the Turks from the view of the garrison. To their dismay they perceived, when it had cleared away, that the besiegers had advanced unnoticed, and taken possession of the covered way, within which they were busily engaged entrenching themselves. A heavy fire was at once opened on them, but in vain; the covered way was lost, and from that time became included in the Turkish lines, which were thus brought close to the walls.
A few days later a gross act of carelessness on the part of the besieged caused the loss of the ravelin itself. Some Turkish engineers were engaged, under cover of the night, in making a reconnoissance from the ditch, to which they were able to gain access after the covered way had fallen into their possession. Anxious to discover the strength of the ravelin, one of their number had the hardihood to climb into an embrasure, trusting, in the darkness of the night, to elude the vigilance of the sentries. To his amazement, he found the work apparently untenanted, and certainly unguarded. It has never been clearly understood whence this carelessness arose. Some assert that the sentries, exhausted with the work of the day, were asleep; others, again, suggest that the one in the salient had been killed by a shot, and that the casualty had not been observed by the guard. Be this as it may, the result was most disastrous. The engineer instantly hastened back to camp, informed Mustapha of what he had discovered, and offered to lead a party to the attack of the unprotected ravelin. A chosen band of janissaries was quickly assembled, and, guided by the engineer, stole silently into the work. The defenders were taken completely by surprise, and unable to offer any effective resistance. Driven back by the fierce onset of the janissaries, and their commander slain, they were forced to seek refuge in the fort, whither they were hotly pursued by the Turks. But for the heroic efforts of one of the Spanish officers, of a junior grade, who, standing at the entrance of the drawbridge, withstood for some moments almost single-handed the rush of the enemy, and maintained his post, until he was supported from within, like Horatius in the Roman story, St. Elmo would on that clay have fallen. D’Eguaras, Medrano, and other knights ‘had, on the first sound of the tumult, hurried to the scene of action, and by their exertions eventually succeeded in preventing the enemy from penetrating into the fort. The most powerful efforts were made on either side, the knights striving to retake the ravelin, the Turks to push their advantage still further. Both were, however, unsuccessful. In spite of the most desperate sallies, aided by the fire of two guns which were brought to bear on the outwork, the Turks established a lodgment in the ravelin, but were unable to gain any further ground.
One body of the assailants having thus, at a fearful cost of life, secured a great advantage, the next morning another detachment, stimulated by that success, rushed into the ditch and made a most determined effort to carry the fort itself by esealade. This was an operation not likely to succeed against such men as those who were maintaining St. Elmo. The ladders, moreover, were too short to reach the crest; yet still they struggled on with the most invincible resolution. I-Tore and there a Turk, more daring and more agile than his fellows, would obtain a momentary footing on the parapet, but before his comrades could come to his assistance, he was invariably hurled headlong down. Boiling pitch and wildfire streamed upon the mass congregated in the ditch; huge rocks were hurled upon them, and all the savage ferocity of war was let loose. The castle of St. Angelo was thronged with anxious spectators, eagerly straining their eyes to discover the issue of the fight. Amidst the roar of artillery, the volleys of arquehuses, the screams, shouts, and yells of the combatants, little could be distinguished to mark how the tide of battle turned, as a dense canopy of smoke hung over the fort, rent at intervals by the flashes of the guns, but obscuring from sight all that was taking place. It was not until the sun had declined far towards the west that they were enabled to understand the real state of things. The Turkish standard was then seen waving over the captured ravelin, whilst, on the other hand, the White Cross banner still floated over the fort and cavalier. Finding all efforts to carry the work unavailing, a retreat was sounded, and the Turks withdrew sullenly to their trenches. The gain of the ravelin was, however, an immense advantage to the besiegers, and though the success was purchased at the cost of 2,000 men, Mustapha had cause for congratulation. The loss of the garrison did not exceed 100 men, but of these twenty were knights, whose scanty numbers could ill afford such a diminution. A touching incident is recorded in connection with this day’s struggle. A French knight being mortally wounded, one of the brethren turned to assist him in leaving the spot, but the dying man refused the proffered aid, saying that he was no longer to be counted amongst the living, and crawled unaided away. At the close of the fight his body was discovered in front of the chapel of St. Elmo, whither he had dragged himself to breathe his last before the altar of the Virgin.
As soon as the darkness permitted, La Valette sent boats from the Bourg to remove the wounded and to replace them by a second reinforcement, commanded by a knight named Miranda, who had recently arrived from Sicily. On one of the first days of the siege, whilst the batteries and trenches were being constructed, the Turkish admiral, Piali, had been struck by a splinter of rock. The wound was severe enough to spread consternation, and La Valette took advantage of the confusion to despatch an envoy to Sicily, urging the viceroy to forward instant succour. The messenger returned with a pledge from Don Garcia that he would arrive in Malta by the middle of June if La Valette would send him the fleet of galleys then cooped up in compulsory idleness in the port. It was in company with the bearer of this message that Miranda arrived at Malta. He instantly volunteered his services to join the defenders of St. Elmo. As he had already achieved a high reputation for military genius and courage, La Valette gladly acceded to a request which added to the occupants of that post so experienced a soldier.
The Grand-Master was grievously disappointed at the condition with which the viceroy had hampered his proffer of aid. To despatch the galleys thus demanded he would be obliged to man them with their crews, whose services within the fortress were urgently required. Moreover, although the bulk of these men had been released from slavery on condition of faithful service during the siege, it would have been dangerous to trust them on board in such close proximity to the Turkish fleet. Had they been sent they must have been accompanied by an ample guard. Such a diminution of his already too scanty force could not for a moment be contemplated. La Valette therefore sent off a fresh appeal for unconditional assistance.
Meanwhile he spared no effort to prolong the defence of St. Elmo. Fresh troops were every night introduced into the work to replace casualties. D’Eguaras and de Brogue had both been severely wounded in the last assault, and La Valette had directed their immediate return to the convent. All the writers who have described this siege have united in recording that both these knights refused to abandon their post. With respect to D’Eguaras, there is no doubt that such was the case, as his name appears in the list of the killed in the fort, but the evidence as regards de Broglio is different. In the first place there is no record of his death; but the strongest testimony that he availed himself of La Valette’s permission to retire into the Bourg is the fact that on the 13th June the Grand-Master, in council, appointed Don Melchior de Montserrat governor of St. Elmo, which he could not have done had not do Broglio resigned the post.[1] The Spanish knight, La Cerda, who had previously shown so much panic, took this opportunity of returning to the Bourg amongst the other wounded, although his injury was so slight that it need in no way have incapacitated him from remaining at his post. The Grand-Muster was so indignant at this second exhibition of cowardice that he caused him to be imprisoned. Before the close of the siege, however, La Cerda had, by an honourable death in the face of the enemy, wiped out the stain thus cast upon his fame.
Now that both the covered way and ravelin had fallen into the hands of the besiegers, on the latter of which two guns had been mounted that enfiladed many parts of the rampart, it was difficult for the garrison to find shelter from the pitiless storm of missiles that rained upon them. Had it not been for the promptitude with which La Valette poured his reinforcements into the fort its defenders would have melted away before the murderous fire of the besiegers. In this emergency Miranda proved himself a valuable acquisition, and his ingenuity displayed itself in the numerous devices with which he succeeded in constructing shelter from the Turkish artillery. Meanwhile the fire from the large batteries which played upon the exposed scarps of the work from the summit of Mount Sceberras, aided by that from point Dragut, as well as from some Turkish galleys at long range, which were lying outside the harbour, speedily reduced the whole enceinte to a mass of ruin. It was not a breach of any particular part of the rampart; it was practically almost a demolition of the whole. The bravest now felt that all had been done that was possible to retard the capture of the crumbling fort, and that the time had arrived when, unless they were to be buried beneath the ruins, they should be at once withdrawn and the post abandoned to the enemy.
The reputation of Medrano being such that his report would be free from all suspicion of panic, he was selected to return to the Bourg and explain to the Grand-Master the desperate state of affairs. La Valette could not in his heart deny that all had been done which ingenuity could devise to protract the defence, and that the fort had been maintained against overwhelming odds, with a constancy and devotion worthy of the highest praise. It was also but too evident that, if the lives of these gallant men were not to be deliberately sacrificed, they should be now recalled. Still he could not bring himself to direct the abandonment of the post. By its maintenance the siege of the Bourg was being deferred, and the time prolonged during which the succours so anxiously expected from Sicily might arrive. Toledo had in his last communication to La Valette, insisted on the retention of St. Elmo as one of the essential conditions of his support. Unless, he said, that point were maintained, he should not feel justified in hazarding the emperor’s fleet in any attempt to raise the siege. La Valette felt, therefore, that so much hung on the issue of this struggle, that he was compelled to suppress all feelings of compassion, and leave his brethren to their fate by maintaining St. Elmo at all cost8, until it should be wrested from him by actual capture.
He therefore directed Medrano to return to his post and point out to his comrades the absolute necessity for their holding out to the last extremity. When this stern decree became known, the garrison perceived that they were being deliberately sacrificed for the general safety. Many among them, particularly those who, having grown grey in the service of the Order, were perhaps the more ready to lay down their lives at the will of their chief, prepared to obey the mandate. Others, however, there were of the younger knights—and also of those who, whilst serving under the White Cross flag, were not enrolled in its ranks—who were by no means so willing to await in calm obedience the fate to which the decree of La Valette had doomed them. They were perfectly ready to brave an honourable death in the face of the enemy, with the prospect of striking one last blow in the good cause before they fell; but the present was a very different case. They conceived that they were being needlessly sacrificed merely to prolong the resistance of the fort for a few days; loud exclamations of astonishment and indignation arose therefore amongst their ranks when Medrano delivered his message.
This insubordination did not find vent merely in idle murmurs. That same night a petition was forwarded to the Grand-Master, signed by fifty-three of their number, urging him to relieve them instantly from their untenable post, and threatening, in case of refusal, to sally forth and meet an honourable death in open fight rather than suffer themselves to be buried like dogs beneath the ruins of St. Elmo. La Valette was highly incensed at the insubordinate tone of this document. He informed the bearer that, in his opinion, the vows of the Order imposed upon its members the obligation, not only of laying down their lives when necessary for its defence, but further, of doing so in such a manner and at such a time as he, their Grand-Master, might see fit to appoint. Fearful, however, lest the recusants might be driven to desperation, and in reality execute the threat they had held out, and being, moreover, anxious to prolong, if only for a day, the retention of the fort, he despatched three commissioners to inspect and report on its condition and power of further resistance.
The advent of these knights was hailed by the besieged with the most lively satisfaction, as they deemed it a preliminary step to their being withdrawn into the Bourg. Indeed, they had already begun to make preparations for that event, and when the commissioners arrived were employed in throwing the shot into the wells to prevent their being utilized by the enemy. They pointed out the desperately ruinous state of the ramparts, and appealed with confidence to the inspectors for a justification of their conduct. Two of the commissioners, struck with the demolition which met the eye on all sides, decided, unhesitatingly, that the place was no longer tenable. The third, an Italian knight named de Castriot, was of a different opinion. He stated that although the fort was in a shattered state, and the whole interior exposed to fire, still it was, he thought, feasible, by means of further retrenchments, to maintain it. This unsupported statement appeared to the malcontents little better than an insult, and high words ensued, de Castriot asserting that he was prepared to back his opinion by personally undertaking to conduct the defence. This offer raised such a storm of indignation that a general tumult seemed about to break forth, when the governor, with much presence of mind, caused the alarm to be sounded, on which each one rushed instantly to his post, and the irritating conference was brought to a close.
The commissioners returned to the Bourg, where de Castriot still maintained the views he had already put forth. He requested the permission of the Grand-Master to raise a body of volunteers, with whose aid he guaranteed to maintain St. Elmo against any odds. This gallant offer met the views of La Valette, who foresaw the result that would inevitably follow. Permission was granted to de Castriot to raise his corps, and there were so many applicants that numbers were of necessity rejected. Meanwhile a cold and sarcastic letter was forwarded to the garrison of St. Elmo, informing them of the steps that were being taken, and stating that they would be shortly relieved from their post.
The consternation caused by this letter was great, as every one felt that it would be impossible to accept the offer of safety thus ignominiously tendered. They had requested permission to abandon the fort, but they were not prepared to yield, their places in so honourable a struggle to others. An earnest letter was therefore instantly forwarded to the Bourg, imploring pardon for their previous rebellious conduct, and begging to be permitted still to retain the post of honour. This was the result which La Valette had foreseen, but he did not deem it prudent to accept the submission too promptly. He coldly declined their offer, and once more directed them to prepare for instant relief. This refusal increased the general dismay, and a still more pressing request was forwarded, again imploring that they might have an opportunity of wiping out in their blood the memory of what had passed. They pledged themselves, should they be permitted to remain at their post, to hold it to the very last. This was all that La Valette had desired; the garrison were now roused to such a pitch of enthusiasm that the continued defence of St. Elmo could with safety be intrusted to them. Contenting himself, therefore, with sending into the work a further strong reinforcement, he prepared to await the issue. These incidents had all occurred on the nights of the 13th and 14th of June.
The incessant cannonade of the besiegers had destroyed vast masses of the ramparts, and at length instructions were given by Mustapha for a general assault. During the whole of the 15th of June their artillery played so furiously that the defenders were unable to repair any of the damages. This cannonade was, towards evening, still further increased by fire opened from the fleet. Mustapha, confident of carrying the work on the following day, had directed his ships to be in readiness to force the entrance of the Mama Muscetto as soon as the assault commenced, and for this purpose they arrived from Mama Scirocco that afternoon.
These and other unmistakable symptoms warned the besieged of the impending attack. They therefore took every precaution that their limited means permitted to resist it to the death. huge piles of rock were collected on the parapets, to be hurled on the besiegers’ columns when in the ditch. The knights were told off so that one of them should stand between every three soldiers to direct the defence. Three small bodies were kept in reserve to render assistance at any point which might be hard pressed, and a few who, from wounds or age, were considered the least available for active duty, were appointed to convey ammunition and refreshments to the combatants, so that no one might on any account leave his post. Various descriptions of fireworks were provided. Pots of earthenware, so baked as to break easily, were filled with wildfire; they were of a size that admitted of their being thrown by hand from twenty to thirty yards, and had a narrow orifice closed with linen or thick paper secured by cords dipped in sulphur. Before throwing the missile these cords were lighted, and as on falling the earthenware pot broke in pieces, the contents became at once ignited. This wildfire was composed of saltpetre, ammoniacal salt, pounded sulphur, camphor, varnish, and pitch; it burnt with the utmost fury, clinging to the bodies of those with whom it came in contact. The same material was also placed in hollow cylinders of wood called trumps, which, when lighted, poured forth streams of flame. These trumps, attached to the ends of halberds or partisans, became a most formidable obstacle to the advance of a storming party. Another missile used with great effect at this siege was a hoop of considerable diameter surrounded with flax steeped in inflammable matter and ignited. This, when hurled from above on to a crowded mass of men, often enclosed several in its fiery embrace, and easily succeeded in igniting their clothes, which, after the eastern fashion, were flowing and of light material.
Before dawn on the morning of the 16th, the knights detected the sounds of a religious ceremonial, which they rightly judged was the precursor to an assault. Mustapha’s first step was to line his trenches with arquebusiers to the number of 4,000. These men had already displayed their skill as marksmen, and during this day’s struggle they were of immense use in checking the defenders from exposing themselves on the parapets. At the appointed signal, given by Mustapha himself, a body of janissaries, the leaders of the column, rushed into the ditch at a point where the ruins of the escarp promised the greatest facilities for ascent. During the interval, brief as it was, whilst they were crossing the open ground, the guns of St. Angelo, directed by the watchful La Valette himself, opened with great steadiness and effect upon their dense masses. Indeed, throughout the day, the artillery of that fort rendered the most efficient assistance by raking the flank and rear of the Turkish forces as they advanced to the attack. That of St. Elmo itself was no less vigorously served. From the instant the enemy first showed himself, its guns opened upon the storming battalions, and before the foot of the breach had been attained, many a turbaned head was laid low.
The janissaries, however, were not troops to be diverted even by this deadly fire. With yells of defiance, and shouting the war-cry of their faith, they dashed forward with reckless intrepidity, and as the iron hail ploughed deep furrows in their ranks, they closed in with invincible steadiness, still pushing their way towards the breach. here they met with fresh obstacles and a new foe. Its summit was crowned with men who had despaired of saving their lives, and who stood there prepared only to sell them as dearly as possible. Against this impenetrable phalanx it was in vain even for the redoubtable janissaries to attempt an entrance. Though they threw themselves again and again upon the enemy, they were as often forced Lo recoil, and the mass of killed and wounded with which the breach lay strewn marked at once the vigour of the assault and the desperate gallantry of the defence.
Whilst this main attack was going forward on the land front, two other attempts were being made to carry the fort by escalade, one on the side of the Marsa Muscetto, the other on that of the grand harbour. The first was repulsed without much difficulty. The huge fragments of rock which the defenders hurled from the parapet broke several of the ladders, and the assailants were thereby thrown backward into the ditch, numbers of them being crushed to death. On the grand harbour side, however, the attack was led by a forlorn hope of thirty men, who, with a fanaticism not unusual to their nation and creed, had bound themselves by a solemn oath either to carry the fort or to perish in the attempt. They made their rush at the rampart in full view of St. Angelo, and succeeded in planting their ladders. The defenders were in truth somewhat taken by surprise, never having contemplated that a spot so open to the fire of that fort could be selected for attack. The determined fanatics, followed by a column of janissaries, had well-nigh effected a footing on the works, when the guns of St. Angelo opened upon them. La Valette, who had been watching the conflict from his post of observation, soon perceived the desperate character of the attempt, and at once prepared to render assistance to the defenders. The first shot was, however, most unfortunate, for, instead of faffing amongst the assailants, it raked the interior of the parapet, and killed or wounded eight of the garrison. The succeeding discharges were more effectual, the storming party were thrown into confusion, the ladders destroyed, and their fanatical leaders having all met that fate which they themselves had decreed should be the consequence of failure, the remainder abandoned the attempt, and retired into the trenches.
Still the main attack continued to rage with unabated violence. Fresh battalions were hurried in succession to the foot of the breach by the impetuous Mustapha, and as constantly driven back with great slaughter. Time after time shouts of encouragement and admiration were borne across the harbour from the anxious spectators who crowded the ramparts of St. Angelo, and as these cheering sounds reached the harassed combatants at St. Elmo, they were nerved to redouble their efforts and to continue steadfast in their resistance. They felt, indeed, that their recent insubordination had, to a certain extent, lowered them in the eyes of their comrades, and they rejoiced in having this opportunity of recovering their good fame. For six hours the attack was sustained, and yet the assailants had failed to penetrate at any single point. At length the intolerable heat, combined with the exhaustion of so lengthened a struggle, rendered further efforts impossible, and Mustapha was reluctantly compelled to sound a general retreat. A loud shout of victory arose from the midst of that heroic band, and a responsive echo came floating over the waters from their brethren in the Bourg.
Great as had been their success, it had been dearly purchased, 17 knights and 300 men having fallen. Chief among the former was the gallant Medrano, who was killed in the act of wrenching a standard from the grasp of a Turkish officer. His corpse was removed with all honour into the Bourg, where it was interred in a vault in St. Leonard’s church, set apart for the dignitaries of the Order. The loss of the Turks has not been recorded, but it must have reached a very high figure. Raked as they had been throughout the day by the fire from St. Angelo, and exposed on all sides to that from St. Elmo itself, it is impossible that the struggle could have been maintained for so many hours without fearful havoc in their ranks.
As soon as night had set in, boats were once more despatched from the Bourg with reinforcements, and to remove the wounded. The gallant D’Eguaras was again amongst the latter, but he still refused to leave his post. A most generous rivalry had sprung up in the garrison of the Bourg, each striving to form one of the succouring detachment. Although it was clear to all that the post they sought was almost certain death, the brave volunteers crowded forward, and La Valetto’s only difficulty was whom to select when all appeared so eager. The choice was, however, made,’ and the fort once more placed in as favourable a position for defence as its desperate condition permitted.
In the Turkish camp anxious consultations were held as to the steps to be taken to bring this protracted siege to a conclusion. Dragut, who appears to have been the only commander among the Turks of any real talent, pointed out that so long as the garrison of the Bourg was permitted to keep up a communication with St. Elmo, and to pour in fresh bodies of troops after every assault, the knights would succeed in maintaining the defence. Under his advice, therefore, the headland opposite point Dragut, which forms with the extremity of Mount Sceberras, the entrance into the grand harbour, was occupied, and a battery constructed on it. He also extended the trenches in front of St. Elmo well across the promontory towards St. Angelo, and here he also raised a small battery, which effectually swept the water and precluded the possibility of any boat landing on the rocks beneath the fort.
The construction of these works was attended with great difficulty and much loss of life, the pioneers being fearfully exposed to the fire from St. Angelo. Amongst the casualties was Dragut himself, who was struck on the head by a splinter, and mortally wounded. By dint of perseverance the line was at length finished, and on the 19th of the month the investment was completed, and the garrison of St. Elmo cut off from all further reinforcement.
For three days more, viz., the 19th, 20th, and 21st June, an incessant fire was kept up from thirty-six guns, which were now mounted in the various Turkish batteries. Had the ramparts been constructed entirely of masonry, they would have been almost swept away by the effect of this overwhelming fire, but in many parts they were formed in the solid rock of which the peninsula is composed, and these portions withstood the battering they received. For the same reason no mining operations were practicable, and thus the knights were spared the additional dread of having to contend against an invisible foe.
With the earliest dawn on the 22nd, a fresh assault burst upon St. Elmo. Exhausted as its defenders were with constant watching, short of ammunition, and exposed on their ruined ramparts to the deadly fire of the Turkish arquebusiers, they still met the foe with the same indomitable resolution as before. Three times was the attempt renewed, and as often successfully repulsed, but on each occasion that gallant little band became still further reduced, and the prospect of continued resistance more and more hopeless. In breathless suspense La Valette, from his post of observation, watched the scene of strife, and great was his exultation when once again he heard the sound of retreat issuing from the midst of the Turkish host. Again had the Moslem recoiled in defeat from that blood-stained rock. Still was the White Cross banner waving defiantly from its summit, and the slender relics of its noble garrison once again raised a feeble shout of victory. It was, however, their last expiring effort. Begirt by foes on every side, cut off from all support or aid, and reduced to little more than half their original number, they felt that their last triumph had been gained, and that the morrow’s sun would see the standard of the infidel waving over the ruins of St. Elmo.
In this desperate emergency an expert swimmer contrived to carry a message to La Valette, conveying intelligence, of the truth of which he was, alas! too well assured. All that human effort could accomplish had been done to save that vital point. Its defence had been protracted far beyond what even the most sanguine could have anticipated, and now there remained not the shadow of a doubt that it wanted but the light of another day to insure its destruction. La Valette felt, therefore, that the moment had arrived when, if it were not too late, the remnant of the garrison should be withdrawn from their post, and the ruins of St. Elino left to the enemy. For this purpose he despatched five large boats conveying a body of volunteers, who were even then willing to share the fate of their comrades, and with this succour he forwarded a message to the governor, Don Melchior, leaving to him the option of abandoning the fort and retiring with his gallant little band into the Bourg. The permission came too late. La Valette had sternly refused all suggestions of surrender whilst the road for a retreat lay still open; he had deliberately chosen to sacrifice the brave defenders of St. Elmo for the sake of protracting the siege, and now it was impossible for him to recall that cruel flat. The road of retreat was closed for ever. In vain did the relieving force attempt to approach undetected the rocky inlet where the mouth of the subterranean communication lay hidden, and from whence the ruined fort loomed indistinctly in the darkness of the night. The wary Turk too surely suspected that a last effort would be made to save the victims whom he had now securely enclosed within his grasp, and his watchful sentries gave speedy notification of the approach of the boats. The alarm was instantly sounded, and the battery which Dragut had constructed to sweep the point, opened with deadly precision. Thus discovered, it was, of course, manifestly useless to persevere in the attempt, and with heavy hearts they were compelled to return to the Bourg, leaving their comrades to their fate.
Anxiously had the attempt been watched by the garrison, and when the fire of the Turkish battery told them that it had been discovered and foiled, they felt that all was over. Silently and solemnly they assembled in the little chapel of the fort, and there once more confessed their sins and partook of the Holy Eucharist for the last time on earth. It was a sad and touching sight that midnight gathering around the small altar of St. Elmo’s chapel. Scarred with many a wound, exhausted with days of strife and nights of vigil, every hope of rescue abandoned, that little band of heroes stood once again and for the last time consecrating themselves, their lives and their swords, to the defence of their faith and of their Order. It is only within the last few years that this chapel has been discovered. Until recently, it was supposed that a building now used as a school in the centre of the fort had been the scene of this touching incident. That structure, however, shows by its armorial bearings and other decorations that it is of considerably later date. The newly-discovered original chapel is a little casemate, on the right of the entrance. It has no light except what is derived from an open archway at the back. There are recesses for two altars, one at the back of the casemate, and the other in the centre of the left side. Enough remains of the altar and of the ecclesiastical decorations to mark its original purpose. These had all been covered in, and an intermediate floor had hidden its roof. It is now once more restored, and forms an object of the deepest interest to those who know its history. [2]
The religious ceremony concluded, they proceeded to take such measures as were still within their power to retain the post until the last moment, and then to sell their lives dearly. Such of their number, and they were by no means a small proportion, as were too severely wounded to stand, caused themselves to be conveyed in chairs to the breach, where, sword in hand, and with their face to the foe, they prepared to meet their fate. With the first glimpse of dawn the Turks, who had been anxiously awaiting its appearance to seize upon their prey, rushed fiercely at the breach with frantic shouts. Baffled in so many previous attempts their rage had increased with each new disaster, and now every passion in their hearts was aroused to avenge the fearful losses they had sustained. For four long hours the strife raged wildly around that fated spot, and though each moment lessened the number of the defenders, still the dauntless remnant stood firm. At length, incredible as it may seem, the Turkish force, exhausted with its efforts, once more suspended the assault. No shout of triumph at this unexpected respite arose from the ranks of the garrison, nor did any encouraging voice find its way across the water from St. Angelo. Only sixty men, mostly wounded, remained to dispute the entrance of the foe, and to their imperishable renown be it told, that it was from the almost exhausted efforts of these sixty men that the Turkish columns had recoiled.
The knights took advantage of the interval to bind up their wounds and prepare for a renewal of the conflict. Don Melehior, who was still among the survivors, perceived that the handful remaining within the fort must be overwhelmed by the first rush of the enemy. He therefore recalled the few defenders of the cavalier to reinforce the slender remnant, trusting that his abandonment of that dominating point might remain unperceived, at all events for some time. But in this he underestimated the vigilance of Mustapha. That chief had been too often worsted in his attempts on St. Elmo not to maintain a watchful eye upon all that was passing within its ruins. He detected the movement at once, and despatched a body of janissaries to occupy the abandoned work, which, from its dominant position, commanded the whole interior of the fort. This done, he gave the signal for a renewal of the assault. The defenders were taken by surprise at the suddenness of the onset, and before they had time to rally the fort was lost. All combined action was now over, and it only remained that the last scene should be enacted of that sad tragedy, which has cast such a melancholy interest over the name of St. Elmo.
No quarter was asked or given. Desultory combats in various parts of the enclosure ensued, until the last of the besieged had fallen. A few of the Maltese soldiery, then, as now, expert in the art of swimming and diving, succeeded in making good their escape to St. Angelo amid a storm of missiles. Another body of nine men (whether members of the Order or soldiers is not quite clear) were saved from death by falling into the hands of Dragut’s corsairs. These pirates, realizing the fact that a live Christian was a more valuable article of merchandise than a dead one, and actuated rather by a love of gain than by such fanaticism as stimulated the other Turks, preserved the nine men they had captured for the purpose of utilizing them as galley slaves. The tattered White Cross banner was torn ignominiously from its staff, and on the 3rd of June, the eve of the festival of St. John, the standard of the Moslem was reared in its place.
The natural ferocity of Mustapha’s character had been aroused to the utmost by the desperate resistance he had encountered. Even the senseless and bleeding corpses of the enemy were not sacred from his revengeful malice, he directed that the bodies of the knights should be selected from amongst the other slain, and that their heads should be struck off and erected on poles looking towards St. Angelo. The trunks were then fastened on planks extended in the form of a cross, the same emblem being deeply gashed upon their breasts. Thus mutilated, they were cast into the harbour, on the surface of which they floated. The action of the wind carried them across to St. Angelo, and its garrison was aroused to a frenzy of indignation by the sad spectacle. By La Valette’s direction the poor disfigured remains were reverently raised from their watery bed, and as it was impossible in their then condition to identify them, they were all solemnly buried together in the conventual church of the Bourg. The revenge taken by La Valette was unworthy of his character as a Christian soldier, since he caused all his Turkish prisoners to be decapitated, and their heads to be fired from the guns of St. Angelo. Repulsive as this act seems to modern thought and feeling, it was too much in accordance with the spirit of the age to have been regarded with the slightest disapprobation by the chroniclers of the time.
The intelligence of the capture of St. Elmo was promptly conveyed to the wounded Dragut, who lay at the point the Knights of Malta. death in his tent. A gleam of satisfaction passed over the countenance of the dying man, and as though he had lingered upon earth only to assure himself of the success he had so materially assisted, he no sooner heard the news than he breathed his last. His loss, which in itself was a great blow to the Turks, was by no means the principal price they had to pay for the purchase of St. Elmo. No less than 8,000 of their number fell in the attack from first to last. The loss of the Christians amounted to 1,00, of whom 100 were knights, and 30 servants-at-arms of the Order.
Thus fell that ruined bulwark, after a siege of upwards of a month, shedding, even in its fall, a bright ray of glory over its heroic defenders. Though Mustapha had achieved his object, yet much precious time had been sacrificed, and there can be no doubt that the protracted resistance of St. Elmo was the main cause of the ultimate failure of his enterprise. The losses the Turkish army had sustained, severe though they were, counted but little in Mustapha’s calculations, compared with this great and unexpected waste of time. He had been thus taught the resistance he must expect in every subsequent stage of the undertaking, and even his bold mind quailed beneath the difficulties with which his path was still beset. Well might he, standing upon the ruins of the fort he had gained at such an outlay, and gazing at the lofty ramparts of St. Angelo, whose rising tiers of batteries were still crowned with the White Cross banner, exclaim, in an agony of doubt and perplexity, “What will not the parent cost us when the child has been purchased at so fearful a price?”
- ↑ This appointment was discovered by the author in a manuscript book, one of many valuable documents lying in the Royal Engineer Office at Malta. This book is entitled, “Decreti provisionali del Ven Consiglio in materia di guerra et altre diligenze fatte da Ven. Commis. delle Fortific Agozzini Reali Capne d’armi di queste Città & altri Officli miitari in esecne delle da decreti del V. Consiglio dal 1554, fin al 1645.”
- ↑ This discovery was made by General Montague, of the Royal Engineers, who carried out the restorations that have been effected. The following fact connected with the chapel, though having no direct bearing on the history of the Order of St. John, may not be without interest. General Sir Ralph Abercrombie having been killed in the battle of Alexandria in the year 1801, his body was brought to Malta, where it was interred outside and beneath the walls of St. Elmo. This ground was afterwards taken into the general line of the fortifications, and the vault where Abercrombie lay was embraced in the salient of what was, for that reason, called Abercrombie’s bastion. Alterations in the work necessitated the disturbance of his remains, and the author was employed to superintend the operation. On opening the vault the lead coffin was found in good preservation, excepting that the joints had somewhat given way at head and foot. It was placed in a new oak coffin prepared for the purpose, and taken to the little chapel in St. Elmo above referred to, where it lay for several days until a new resting-place was prepared for it.