Note 12 — LETTERS FROM CORNISH TO CLEVLAND
Reading edition
Its artillery was in the hold, and it only carried above hatches, five cannons of the caliber of eight, and four of the caliber of four. Notwithstanding this surprise, the unfortunate condition of the vessel, and the formidable force of the English, its commander, who was a Gallego, and the other Spaniards who were aboard it, as if they knew what had happened in Manila, and were of a mind to vindicate the luster of their fatherland, there at stake, fought desperately, and received 1,700 balls of the caliber of 18 and 24. Thirty-five of the English were killed and eighteen Spaniards in addition to the wounded. The ship after being captured was towed to Cavite, where it arrived November 12, 1762. The silks, spices, gold dust, and other effects that it contained, were worth 2,000,000 pesos fuertes. See Montero y Vidal, ii, pp. 16, 17, note 2.
“The Holy Trinity [‘Santisima Trinidad’], a rich galleon, taken at the Manilas by Adm. Cornish, arrived in Plymouth Road, June 9, commanded by Lieut. Mainwaring Wilding.” (Scots Magazine, 1764, xxvi, p. 348.)
“The Santissima Trinidad, the galleon which was taken in her voyage to Acapulco during the siege of Manila, is now advertised for sale at Plymouth. This ship is one of the largest ever seen in Britain. She is upwards of 2000 tons burthen; the gun-deck measures 167 feet 6 inches; the breadth, 50 feet 6 inches; the depth of the hold from the poop-deck, 30 feet 6 inches; and her draught of water when she arrived at Plymouth was 28 feet.” (Ut supra, p. 515.)
“On the 14th of August, the great cause of the Manila ship, Santissima Trinidad, was determined by the lords of appeals for prizes, the sentence affirmed, and the Spanish claim wholly rejected.” (Ut supra, 1765, xxvii, p. 493.) ↑