Scarce View of Vernon's Capture of Fort San Lorenzo

"An Exact Account of Vice Admiral Vernon's Taking the Castle & Town of Chagre in ye West-Indies, Sent Over by ye Admiral...", Overton, Henry

This fascinating and dramatic engraving depicts the destruction of the fortress of San Lorenzo el Real Chagres, under the command of Vice Admiral Edward Vernon, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, part of the War of the Austrian Succession. After successfully capturing and destroying Portobelo in November 1739, Vernon was determined to eliminate the last Spanish stronghold in the area, a town and fort at the entrance to the Chagres River, just west of Colon. At 3 PM on March 22, 1740, an English squadron composed of the ships Norwich, Stafford, Falmouth, and Princess Louisa, along with bomb vessels, fireships, and transports, began bombarding the fort. The bombing continued until 11 AM on March 24, when Spanish Captain Cevallos finally surrendered by hanging a flag of truce on top of the fort. After securing the fort, the British sent men to take possession of the custom-house on the opposite side of the river. The following day, Vice Admiral Vernon entered the custom-house and ordered his men to remove all goods, comprising of around 4300 bags of Guayaquil cocoa, Jesuit bark, Spanish wool, and other supplies, and load them on to a ship to be sent back to England. Vernon then ordered for everything to be destroyed, including two Spanish sloops in the Chagres River, the custom-house, and the fort.

This engraving illustrates each aspect of the incident, with the bombing of the fort, the flag of truce, the looting and burning of the custom-house, and the sinking of the Spanish ships. The town of Chagres is visible in the background, along with roads leading to Portobelo and Panama City. Text below the view describes the events in detail. The publisher's imprint at top reads: "Sold by H: Overton at the White Horse without Newgate. Publish'd According to Act of Parliament Aug.t 1740."

This engraving is very scarce; we could not find any listing of this engraving for sale by dealers or auction houses in the last 30 years.

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Condition: B+

A strong impression with light toning and professional repairs to several short centerfold separations and to a number of small worm holes. An extraneous horizontal crease has been pressed flat and reinforced on verso with archival material.