Nov 21, 2024 - Sale 2687

Sale 2687 - Lot 269

Unsold
Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
(COLOMBIA.) Diario de todo lo ocurrido en la expugnacion de los fuertes de Bocachica y sitio de . . . Cartagena. 23 pages. 4to, modern ¾ calf; minor foxing. [Madrid?]: "De orden de su Magestad," 1741
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Additional Details

Apparently the first of four 1741 printings. Based on a report by Sebastian de Eslaba, this is the official Spanish account of the Battle of Cartagena in which the British made a massive land and naval assault on the Castle of San Luis de Bocachica. The Spanish under Admiral Blas de Lezo made a strong resistance against a much larger force led by Vice Admiral Edward Vernon; the British were able to take the fort but were unable to hold it.

One of the British officers in the assault was a young infantry captain named Lawrence Washington. Upon returning safely to his plantation in Virginia, he re-named it Mount Vernon in honor of his commanding officer. It later passed to his half-brother George Washington.

European Americana 741/57 (calls for a map, not noted in other sources and not present here); Medina, BHA IV:3265; Palau 71842 (lists other editions only). None traced at auction since 2006.