Morgan, in attempting to sail out of…
April 1669 CE
Morgan, in attempting to sail out of the lake, finds a reoccupied fort blocking the inlet to the Caribbean, together with three Spanish ships, the Magdalena, the San Luis, and the Soledad.
Given a choice to either surrender or be arrested, he and his men decide to fight for their freedom.
Outnumbered and outgunned, Morgan orders his largest ship, the Satisfaction, to be turned into a “fire ship” to be be sailed directly into the Spanish flagship, the Magdalen.
Filling hollowed-out logs with filled with explosives and dressed them to look like a pirate crew, Morgan instructs the twelve men manning the ship to throw grappling hooks into the rigging of the Magdalen so that it cannot sail free.
Miraculously, Morgan’s plan works and the Magdalen is destroyed.
The second largest Spanish ship, the San Luis, is run ground by the ship under Morgan’s command.
The final ship is taken by the pirates after the ropes become entangled.
After the battle, Morgan is still unable to cross the channel because of the fort, but the Spanish have no ships with which to attack.
Finally, by an ingenious stratagem, he fakes a landward attack on the fort that persuades the commander to shift his cannon, allowing Morgan to slowly creep by the fort using only the movement of the tide, eluded the enemy's guns altogether and escaping in safety.