Edmund Edlyne letter to William Blathwayt, 1692 June 20

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Sr

The trouble & anguish of my soul is so great, that tis
a mighty pain to me, to write you this short Narrative
of the ruin of Port Royal, & the loss of one third
of the Inhabitants, which I guess by inquiry died there
on the 7 June at noon, was a most terrible earth
quake, it came from the North, & attaqued the Town
on the harbor Side, on which Side, was a wharf the whole
length of the place, where stood the Kings house, James
Bastion of 27 guns, Carlisle battery of 14 guns, & the
houses of the greatest Merchants, all these Sunk
down in a minute, to the depth of thre to fiue fadom
water, in the streets next the wharf, the earth opened
its Self wide & deep, & instantly gushed out an inundation
of waters, so that Several people who were Swallowed
up aliue in the ground were spewed up again.

Some were Sunk in the houses, some were buried under
the fals of the Rubbish, some were Swallowed up aliue,
Some were drowned, & Some who had got into clear water
& could Swim, were covered by drifts of timbers & tops
of houses, drown by a strong currant, & there perished.
nothing else was seen but the dead & dying & heard but
Scrieks & cryes: I myself escaped to a miracle, & was
an eye witness of the distruction of the Town, & the distres
of its miserable people, yet tis impossible for any
pen to write, or tongue to relate, the horror & terror
of that day : The living whereof many were covered

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with bruises, blood, & wounds, now fled, some to a part
of the Town yet Standing, & free of water, but the houses
shattered, Some got on pieces of timber, & others in
Canoas & boats to Saue their liues: the Shipping rid
Safe at anchor just by & Saw this Sad tragedy, their
boats came on but Slowly to our assistance, the
Seamen being more dilligent to take up drift
goods then the people: by which baseness, many were
lost which could haue bin Saued: That afternoon the
most of the Seamen, English & Spaniards, contented
themselues with what was floteing on the water
tho Some instantly entred & riffled standing houses,
but the following nights & dayes, those Villains,
more Savage & cruel, then any Indians, & Negros,
robbed all houses, broke in pieces all Scriptores,
boxes, trunks, Chests of drawers, Cabinets, & made spoil
of all of vallue in the town : threatning to kill Several
Inhabitants, if any durst be so hardy to say this house
is mine; our Enemies could not haue treated us wors then
the Seamen : The Remainders of us now lie in the Country
building little hovels, to Shelter ourselues from the weather,
for all the buildings are thrown down in the Island with
the Sugar & Indigo works.

God in his wrath hath mercy, in sending us very seasonable
weather, which we haue not had these thre years, so that the
people in all probability wil be preservued from starving
thro the care of the President & Council, & the charity
of many good people, for very little provisions either
flesh or bread kind are sold, but given for Gods Sake.
But the want of many of our Armes being broke, by
fals of houses, & Sunk in the Sea, giues us cause of
fear of our Enemies, we nevertheless liue in the assurance

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That Their Majesties wil haue a care of their loyal Subjects,
of this their Majesties Island of Jamaica, & speedily
Succor us in our distres.

I haue given you Sr. this short Account how God hath
most miserably afflicted us for our Sins, in his anger,
he stil threatens us with his rod, for the earth quakes
Several times a day stil, tho not so terrible as in the
first dayes, for then the thunder roard loud over our
heads, & the earth trembled under our feet; & the rocks
& mountains fell, & fire ^ bals by day & night shot from heaven
which mine eyes Saw, so that the most hardned Atheist
would haue confessed, that there was a God who govern'd
the World.

Colonel Peter Beckford order'd me to giue you his humble
Service, he is uncapable to write you at present, being
wounded & bruised so that at first his recovery was doubted
off, but God be praised all danger of death is past, he offers
his Service to you to manage the Naval office & auditor
of the Island vacant by the death of Captain Rig: Wilson,
if you please to send him a deputation having lost the
Copie of your Patent, which you Sent him, & he prayes you
to Send him a Patent in his name, to be Register of the
Admiralty, & hath ordered Mr. Gracedieu to pay you what
you shal disburs to procure it.

with Captain Wilson died his Son, Colonel Beckford lost
two daughters & a grand Child, having none left him of
his blood in this Island, but my youngest child, & God
took to himself my wife, & my other child.

About ten dayes before the Earthquake, we had advice
from the North Side of the Island, that the French
were landed & posted themselues at Captain drase[?}
plantation at St. Anns, Two parties under the comand

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of Lieutenant Colonel Clark, & Captains Waters & Southern
endevored to pass the Mountains, but there fell
for Seven dayes, so much rain, as made Several rivers,
unfordable, our men Suffered all the miseries of as
bad weather as could be, but at last they got thro, and
joined Colonel heywood, at Santa Maria, they then march't
to St. Anns, & Colonel burden who comanded all the
Land forces in this expedition, marched from St. Iago
de la Vega with 70 hors of the Reform'd officers, & of
the troop, with about as many foot mounted, they
all arriued within some hours one of another at St.
Ann's, but the Enemy hearing of our parties, went to Leeward
and had got 40 miles march before them, & had cut down
a bridge, which forced our Parties return only Eighteen
of our men of the North side comanded by Lieutenant
Smart laid in ambush, & kild Some of them.

The Same bad weather which hindred our parties passing
the Mountains, blew the Enemies vessels to Sea, & left
their men to shift for themselues, but they made use
of the little time they had & reinforced those on Shore
but the last trip they made from their vessles, the Sea
ran so high, as overset their boats, & drowned Several
of the Enemy.

When we first had the news of the ffrench at the north
Side, both their Majesties Ships the gernsy & swan were
on the careen, the latter in the Earthquake, lost all
her guns, sails, rigging, & ground tackle: Colonel
Beckford who comanded in Port Royal, stood not with
his hands cros, he used all the dilligence imaginable,
& hastned the Vessels to Sea, so there went out their
Majesties ship the gernsy, comanded by Captain Oakly, The
Spanish Convoy of 22 guns comanded by Captain Griffin,
lent by Sr. James del Castillo the assiento's factor
on this occasion, a sloop comanded by Captain Moses,

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Lieutenant of the Gernsy, & another Sloop under the
Comand of Captain John Yeamens, abord which vessels
were full four hundred men, their dispatch is owing
to Colonel Beckford, who furnished the ships with
pouder, armes, granado shels, & stores from the forts,
and in bad weather, piloted the Gernsy thro a narow
Channel, against the Sea breeze, which never before was done
just now Captain Yeamans is come over the
Mountains from the North Side, he & Captain Griffin
who is belieued to be mortaly wounded, fought the
French ship, the Captain whereof when he saw he
must be taken blew his ship up, & Captains Oakly
& Moses landed their men & haue made all the
French which was ashore in the Island prisoners of
War: The ffrench Captain being intreated by his
Boatswain & Guner to take quarter, he first shot
one with a Pistol, & ran the other thro, & then put
fire to the powder. Thus God be praised the Succes
hath answered the dilligence of our officers.
I take leaue & assure you that I am

Sr
Your most humble & obedient
but afflicted Servant.
Edmund Edlyne

Jamaica 20 June 1692

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Jamaica
20 June 1692
From Mr Edlyne

Received August 1692

An Account of the Earthquake
at Jamaica

To
William Blathwaite Esquire
at
Court

Original Format

Ink on paper

Citation

Edlyne, Edmund, “Edmund Edlyne letter to William Blathwayt, 1692 June 20,” William Blathwayt papers at the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed March 29, 2024, https://cwfblathwayt.omeka.net/items/show/1459.