A.D. 1660 to A.D. 1689.
When great guns or cannon came into use, the old style of fighting at
sea was completely changed. We hear of them as early as the thirteenth
century, employed in a naval engagement between the King of Tunis and
the Moorish King of Seville. They were first used on shore by the
English at the battle of Crescy, fought in 1346, and at sea by the
Venetians about the year 1380. In the reigns of Richard the Third and
Henry the Seventh they were first employed by the English at sea. They
were not then, however, as now, pointed through port-holes, but were
mounted so as to fire over the bulwarks of the vessel. In those days,
therefore, ships of war could have had but one armed deck, and were
probably urged by oars as well as by sails. Port-holes were invented by
Descharves, a French builder at Brest, and the first English ship in
which they were formed was the _Henry Grace de Dieu_, built at Erith in
1515. She was said to have been of no less than 1000 tons burden, but
as we are ignorant of the mode in which ships were measured for tonnage
in those days, we cannot tell her actual burden. She must, however,
have been a large vessel, for she had two whole decks, besides what we
now call a forecastle and poop. She mounted altogether eighty pieces,
composed of every calibre in use; but of these not more than fifty-four,
according to the print before us, were pointed through broadside ports.
The rest were either mounted as bow or stern chasers, or as "murdering
pieces," as they were called, which pointed down on the deck; their
object apparently being, should a ship be boarded, to fire on the enemy.
The calibre of great guns was not in those days designated by the
weight of the shot they discharged. This was probably from the reason
that the balls were not all made of the same materials. At first they
were of stone; then those of iron were introduced; and sometimes they
were formed of lead; and, at an early period, hollow iron shot, filled
with combustible matter, were brought into use. Thus the weight of shot
fluctuated too much to serve for the classification of the gun from
which it was fired. Ships' guns in those days were known as cannon,
cannon royal, cannon serpentine, bastard cannon, demi-cannon, and cannon
petro.
The _Sovereign of the Seas_ was built at Woolwich Dockyard, in 1637, by
Mr Phineas Pett, and Mr Thomas Haywood was the designer of her
decorations. She measured, probably, about 1500 tons. He describes her
as having three flush-decks and a forecastle, one half-deck, a
quarter-deck, and a round house. Her lower tier had 30 ports which were
furnished with demi-cannon and whole cannon throughout; her middle tier
had also 30 ports of demi-culverins and whole culverins; her third tier
had 36 ports for other ordnance; her forecastle had 12 ports; and her
half-deck 13 ports. She had 13 or 14 ports more within-board for
murdering pieces, besides a great many loop-holes out of the cabins for
musket-shot. She carried, moreover, 10 pieces of chase ordnance forward
and 10 right aft. This first-rate of the seventeenth century would thus
have had 126 guns; in reality, however, these ports right forward and
right aft, as well as those on the forecastle, had no guns, and thus she
actually carried only 100.
About the middle of the seventeenth century the ships of the British
Navy ceased to carry guns of a similar calibre on the same deck. At the
same time the cumbrous forecastles and aftercastles, which must have
been equally inconvenient both in action and in a sea way, were removed.
The murdering pieces were likewise got rid of, and at the same time, an
English ship of war could fire from her broadside half the number of
guns she carried.
In 1546 Henry the Eighth possessed fifty-eight ships, which were classed
according to their quality; thus there were shyppes, galliasses,
pinnaces, and row-barges. The galliasse was somewhat like the lugger or
felucca of modern days. She probably was a long, low, and sharp-built
vessel, propelled by oars as well as sails--the latter not fixed to a
standing yard, but hoisted like a boat's sail when required. The
pinnace was a small kind of galliasse.
In 1612 we find a list in which the vessels of the Royal Navy were
classed as ships-royal, which measured from 800 to 1200 tons, middling
ships from 600 to 800 tons, small ships from 350 tons, and pinnaces from
80 to 250 tons, divided into rates. They were six in number, and each
rate consisted of two classes, to which different complements of men
were assigned. We are not told what were the armaments of the classes.
The division into rates was adopted to regulate the pay of the officers
and seamen, as is the case at the present day.
In 1651-2, we find a list of all ships, frigates, and other vessels
belonging to the States' Navy classified by the guns they carried. Of
these there were twenty-three classes comprised within the second-rates,
exclusive of two unrated classes--namely, hulks and shallops or
row-barges. The former were used either to lodge the officers and crews
of vessels undergoing repair, or were fitted with shears to erect or
remove masts. In the course of a few years after this, sloops, bombs,
fire-ships, and yachts are spoken of as among the unrated classes; but
in the sixth-rate were comprised vessels mounting only two guns.
Towards the end of the century such small craft were classed by
themselves as sloops.
In 1675 fire-ships first appear in a list of the navy. They were much
used at that time for the purpose of setting fire to the enemy's
vessels. Mr Pepys, who is the chief authority on naval affairs at this
period, says that the Dutch, in the year 1660, made a present of a
yacht, called _Maria_, to Charles the Second, remarking, "until which
time we had not heard of such a name in England."
About the year 1650 a difference was made between the number of guns and
men carried by ships in war time and in peace time, and in war and peace
abroad. This difference, it is evident, arose from the inability of a
ship to carry a sufficient amount of provisions for her crew when sent
on a long voyage. When such was the case it was necessary to reduce
both the number of men and guns, in order to allow room for a sufficient
supply of provisions. As far as we can judge, a first-rate of the
latter end of the seventeenth century mounted her guns on three whole
decks, a quarter-deck, forecastle, and poop; a second-rate mounted hers
on three whole decks and a quarter-deck; a third-rate on two whole
decks, a quarter-deck, forecastle, and poop; a fourth-rate on two whole
decks and a quarter-deck; a fifth-rate on her first gun-deck, with a few
guns on her quarter-deck; a sixth-rate on a single-deck, with or without
any on her quarter-deck.
There were at that period three-deckers of sixty-four guns, and
two-deckers of only thirty guns. With regard to the guns themselves,
the demi-cannon was probably a 32-pounder, the cannon petro a
24-pounder, and the basilisk a 12-pounder; the whole culverin an
18-pounder, and the demi-culverin a 9-pounder; the saker a 6-pounder,
and the mignon a 4-pounder. The smaller guns were called swivels, and
were mounted on upright timbers, having a pivot on which the gun
traversed. Guns at sea were formerly known by the names of beasts and
birds of prey, till about the year 1685 they were designated by the
weight of the shot they carried.
In 1688 we find mention made of bombs, which were vessels carrying six
or eight light guns, and one or two heavy mortars for the purpose of
throwing shells into a town. It is said that they were invented by
Reynaud, a Frenchman, and that they were first employed at the
bombardment of Algiers in 1681.
In the year 1714 we find the navy divided into ten classes, ships
carrying 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 guns. The
first-rate descended no lower than to ships carrying 100 guns; the
second no lower than to those of 90 guns; the third admitted all classes
below and above 60; the fourth between 60 and 50; the fifth between 50
and 30; the sixth comprised all vessels below 50, except sloops, bombs,
etcetera.
By the end of the reign of George the First, ships no longer carried
guns on their poops.
The English style of naming the decks of a ship differs from that of
other nations, and though perfectly understood by her crew, is
calculated to puzzle a landsman. In a one-decked ship the deck on which
the guns are carried is called the main-deck, while the deck below it,
to which there are no ports, the lower or gun-deck. Hence the term
gun-room, occupied by lieutenants or gun-room officers; indeed, the
lowest deck of every ship is called the gun-deck. The quarter of a ship
is that part of the side which lies towards the stern, and hence that
part of the deck is called the quarter-deck, in reference to that
portion of the ship's length over which it originally extended. The
elevation above it is known as the poop, and the raised deck over the
fore-part of the ship is known as the top-gallant forecastle. In early
days, as we have seen in the case of the _Great Harry_ and other ships,
and even in later days, both at the fore and after-part of the ship
there were elevated structures, very properly called castles. In time
these were done away with, but short decks elevated above the main or
chief deck were still retained, as it was found inconvenient for the
seamen when working the ship to descend from one of these elevated decks
and then to be compelled to mount the other to get either fore or aft.
They were connected by a grating or gangway of sufficient width to allow
the crew to pass backwards and forwards. This gangway was still further
widened; it being strengthened by beams running across the ship, allowed
guns to be carried on it. The after-part had long been called the
quarter-deck, and the fore-part the forecastle, while the intermediate
part was now known as the gangway. This name was also applied to the
space left in the bulwarks for entering or leaving the ship. These
portions of the decks now assumed the appearance of an entire even deck
running fore and aft, but it still retained the names originally
bestowed on it, and its imaginary divisions. The centre part of the
ship, where the gangway is placed, is also commonly called the waist,
because originally there was no deck. The deck immediately below this
once-divided deck is always called the main-deck. In a three-decker the
next is called the middle-deck, and the lowest deck on which guns are
carried the lower-deck. Below this again is one still lower-deck called
the orlop-deck. A two-decked ship has no middle-deck, but possesses
only a main and lower-deck, besides the before-mentioned quarter-deck,
gangway, and forecastle. The deck on which a frigate's single battery
is carried is always called her main-deck, because the sailors are wont
to denominate the upper-deck of every ship carrying guns the main-deck.
In a sloop-ship or corvette the only deck, without any one above it on
which guns are carried, is thus invariably called the main-deck, and, as
has before been said, the one beneath it on which the officers and crew
live, and which has no guns, the gun-deck. Ships which have their only
gun-deck running fore and aft for the same height all along are called
flush-decked ships. When the after-part of the deck is raised they are
known as being deep-waisted, as is the case with many merchantmen. The
highest deck of many men-of-war of all rates is often perfectly level,
but others have a short raised deck, extending from just before the
mizen-mast to the stern, which is called the poop, and in many instances
serves as a cover to the captain's cabin. When the admiral is on board
he occupies the after-cabins on the upper-deck. In small men-of-war no
cabins are placed under the poop, nor are they ever under the topgallant
forecastle. On board merchantmen, however, where the poop is of
sufficient elevation and extent to allow of it, the best cabins are
always placed under it, while the crew are almost invariably berthed
under the top-gallant forecastle. Of course, speaking of men-of-war, we
are referring to ships as they were till the invention of low-sided
armour-plated craft, which necessitated a great, if not an entire,
change of terms, and the introduction of a considerable number of new
ones.
Line of battle ships, as their name implies, were such as were capable
from their size, strength, and the number of their guns, of entering
into the line of battle and contending with the largest ships of the
enemy. We first hear of ships appearing in that character in 1691,
forming the British Channel Fleet under Admiral Russell. As far back,
however, as the year 1614, in a list of the ships of the navy, the line
of battle ships are separated from the others. They included all ships
from the first-rate to the fourth-rate. A fleet was now attended by
smaller, swift vessels, whose duty it was to look out for the enemy, and
to perform other detached services. These vessels were comprised in the
fifth and sixth-rates, and from an early period were denominated
frigates. In early days a large number of fast-sailing or fast-rowing
vessels, whether intended for war or for carrying merchandise, were
called frigates. The word friggot or frigat, as it was often written,
derives its origin from a class of long, sharp vessels used in the
Mediterranean, and impelled either by sails or oars, which had a deck,
the topside of which was higher than that of the galley. It in general
had openings like port-holes, through which the oars passed. An Italian
describes the fregata as a little vessel with oars, but whence that name
is derived is uncertain. A species of swift-flying sea-gull is called
by the French a fregate. We have also the frigate-bird; but the name is
generally supposed to be derived from the ship, which, however, may not
really be the case. It is very clear that its principal quality was the
power of moving rapidly either with sails or oars. The French
transferred the fregate of the Mediterranean to the northern shore of
their country, and constructed it with bluffer bows and of a large size,
to contend with the heavy seas of a northern region. English
merchant-ships of the early part of the sixteenth century are frequently
spoken of as frigates, and in the latter part of the century were often,
as we have seen, hired by the sovereign to serve as ships of war. As we
know from the accounts we have already given of the early voyages, some
of their ships were denominated frigates. Thus, one of the ships
serving with Sir Francis Drake is called the frigate _Elizabeth Fownes_,
of 80 guns and 50 men. The Duke of Northumberland, then Sir Robert
Dudley, towards the close of the sixteenth century, designed a ship to
measure 160 feet in length and 24 in breadth, and constructed to carry a
tier of guns on a single whole deck, besides other guns on two short
decks, resembling the poop and top-gallant forecastle of a modern ship.
He named his vessel a fregata, and her guns were placed exactly as those
of a modern frigate.
He designed at the same time seven distinct classes of ships of war,
which he named the _Galleon, Ranibargo, Galizabra, Frigata, Gallerone,
Gallerata_, and _Passavolante_. His designs not being accepted, he, in
the year 1594, built a vessel for himself at Southampton, which measured
300 tons and mounted 30 guns--of course, of small calibre. In her he
made a voyage to India.
Charles the First possessed two frigates, the _Swan_ and _Nicodemus_,
each of 60 tons, 10 men, and 3 guns. They probably were only used as
yachts. The Duke of Buckingham, who was Lord High Admiral from 1619 to
1636, ordered some frigates to be built from the model of two called the
_Providence_ and _Expedition_, captured from the Dunkirkers, mounting,
it is supposed, from 20 to 30 guns, the greater number of which were on
a single-deck. In consequence of seeing a French frigate in the Thames,
Mr Peter Pett took her as his model for building the _Constant Warwick_
in 1649, which was, as he says, the first frigate built in England. She
was intended as a privateer for the Earl of Warwick, who afterwards sold
her to the king. She measured somewhat under 400 tons, and mounted 60
guns, consisting of 18 light demi-culverins or short 9-pounders on the
main-deck, 6 light sakers on the quarter-deck, and 2 mignons on the
after-raised deck, which we should now call the poop.
In those days, and for many years afterwards, the English were addicted
to crowding their vessels with guns, and there can be no doubt that
many, like the _Mary Rose_ and others, were in consequence lost;
especially as their lower-deck ports were often not more than three feet
above the water. The _Constant Warwick_ had afterwards many more guns
placed in her, so that she ultimately rated as a 46-gun ship, when, from
being an incomparable sailer, she became a slug. Mr Pepys remarks on
this subject, in 1663 and 1664: "The Dutch and French built ships of two
decks, which carried from 60 to 70 guns, and so contrived that they
carried their lower guns four feet from the water, and could stow four
months' provisions--whereas our frigates from the Dunkirk build, which
were narrower and sharper, carried their guns but little more than three
feet from the water and but ten weeks provisions."
Attempts were made to counteract this great defect, but without much
success. For several years afterwards Mr Pepys still complained that
frigates were unable to stow a sufficient quantity of provisions, or to
carry their guns high enough out of the water to make them safe.
Up to the early part of the eighteenth century it was a general
complaint that ships of war had more guns placed on board than they
could carry--in consequence, that their lower batteries could not be
opened when there was any sea on, and that they sailed and worked
heavily. It is wonderful, indeed, how British seamen managed to keep
them afloat, as it is worthy of note that those which fell into the
hands of the enemy were nearly always lost under charge of their new
masters. The English, it was said, employed the best materials and
workmanship on their vessels, but the French greatly surpassed them in
their models. The English were the first to abandon the flat form of
the stern under the counter, and to introduce the curved instead, by
which greater strength and lightness as well as beauty was obtained.
In 1748 a ship of 585 tons, to carry 28 guns, 9-pounders on the
main-deck and 3-pounders on the quarter-deck, was built; and in 1757
five other vessels, also called frigates, to carry 28 guns, were
constructed of fir instead of oak, of the same size; but one of them was
captured by the French, and the others in about nine years were broken
up as unserviceable.
The first ship which, according to our present ideas, could properly be
considered a frigate, was the _Southampton_, built at Rotherhithe in the
year 1757 by Mr Robert Inwood, according to a draft of Sir Thomas
Slade, one of the surveyors of the navy. She measured 671 tons, and
mounted 26 12-pounders on the main-deck, 4 6-pounders on the
quarter-deck, and 2 6-pounders on the forecastle. She thus carried all
her guns on a single whole deck, a quarter-deck and forecastle, the
characteristic of the true frigate. She was considered a prime sailer
and first-rate sea-boat, and lasted for fifty-six years, and possibly
would have lasted longer had she not gone to pieces on the rocks.
Shortly after this several 36-gun frigates were built. Each was about
fifty tons larger than the _Southampton_, and carried four guns more,
which were placed on the quarter-deck.
Several French 36-gun frigates captured by the English were found to be
considerably larger. One, the _Dana_, was of 941 tons; and three French
32-gun frigates averaged about 700 tons, though armed like the
_Southampton_.
About 1779 five frigates of 38 guns, and averaging 946 tons, were
launched. They were the _Minerva_, built at Woolwich, the _Arethusa,
Latona, Phaeton_, and _Thetis_. They were first armed with 28
18-pounders on the main-deck and 10 6-pounders, 8 18-pound carronades
and 14 swivels on the quarter-deck and forecastle, and with a complement
of 270 men. Shortly afterwards the complement was increased to 280 men,
9-pounders were placed on board instead of the sixes, the swivels were
omitted, and carronades substituted.
About the same time frigates of 880 tons, to carry 36 guns, 18 and
9-pounders, were built.
Formerly, as has been seen, a number of small vessels were classed as
frigates. About the year 1775 they were placed in a different rate, and
those carrying 20 guns had now the name of 20-gun post-ships given to
them, signifying that they were commanded by post-captains. Afterwards
vessels still called frigates, carrying 24 guns, were also ranked as
post-ships. The French called vessels of this size corvettes, from the
Italian word corvettore, to leap or bound, from which we have derived
the word curvet. The French afterwards applied the name to ships of 24
guns. In order to mount all these guns on a single tier, it was
necessary to increase the dimensions of the ship, and thus she could
carry heavier metal than those ships mounting their guns on a
quarter-deck and forecastle. The English, following their example,
afterwards called all ships carrying 24, 22, and 20 guns post-ships, and
those carrying 18, 16, and 14, or any less number, ship-sloops, to which
the general term of corvette was afterwards applied. The English did
not apply the term corvette to brigs, but designated such two-masted
vessels as brigs-of-war, though they are sometimes spoken of as
brig-sloops.
It will thus be understood that a ship that mounts 24 guns at least on a
single-deck, and other guns on a quarter-deck and forecastle, is
properly called a frigate. When, however, the waist is decked over and
has raised bulwarks with ports in them filled with guns, the vessel
becomes a two-decked ship.
It is necessary to explain the term "flush." In sea language it means
level, a flush-deck is consequently a level deck extending fore and aft.
Such are all the decks of a man-of-war, except of the upper ones. Many
merchantmen are also built in the same way, but others rise abruptly a
foot, or two or three feet, towards the stern, the higher part of the
deck becoming the quarter-deck. Ships thus built are spoken of as
deep-waisted, because the centre part is deeper or lower than the
after-part. The bulwarks in the same way sink in proportion at the
break of the quarter-deck. Up to the present day many of the largest
ships-of-war are flush-decked, as are all brigs-of-war and many
corvettes, but a frigate, which must have a quarter-deck and forecastle,
cannot properly be said to be flush-decked, although, in fact, the
gratings or gangway at the waist give her the appearance of being so to
the unsophisticated eye.
Our knowledge of the state of the navy during the reigns of Charles the
Second and his brother is derived chiefly from Mr Samuel Pepys, who was
clerk of the Acts, through the interest of his relative the Earl of
Sandwich, and was ultimately clerk of the treasurer to the commissioners
of the affairs of Tangier, and surveyor-general of the victualling
department. He spared no pains to check the rapacity of contractors by
whom the naval stores were then supplied; he studied order and economy
in the dockyards, advocated the promotion of old-established officers in
the navy, and resisted to the utmost the infamous system of selling
places, then most unblushingly practised. During the Dutch war the care
of the navy in a great measure rested upon him alone, and by his zeal
and industry he gained the esteem of the Duke of York, with whom, as
Lord High Admiral, he was in constant intercourse. Thus from his diary
we can gain a pretty accurate knowledge of the customs of the times in
the naval service, and the way the affairs of the navy were managed.
In an entry of the 4th of June, 1661, he describes a dinner, where the
discourse was on the subject of young noblemen and gentlemen who thought
of going to sea, the naval service being considered as noble as that of
the land. Lord Crewe remarked that "in Queen Elizabeth's time one young
nobleman would wait with a trencher at the back of another till he come
of age himself;" and he mentioned the Earl of Kent, who was waiting on
Lord Bedford at table when a letter came to that lord announcing that
the earldom had fallen to his servant the young lord; at which he rose
from table and made him sit down in his place, taking a lower for
himself.
It was undoubtedly in this way that many lads of family went to sea to
serve as cabin-boys to captains of distinction, and at the same time to
learn seamanship and navigation.
He gives an amusing account of the sale of two ships at an auction by an
inch of candle. The auctioneer put them up when the candle was first
lighted, and bidding went on till it was burnt down. He describes "how
they do invite one another, and at last how they all do cry, and we have
much to do to tell who did cry last. The ships were the _Indian_, sold
for 1300 pounds, and the _Half-Moone_, sold for 830 pounds." Of course,
the ships were knocked down to the person who made the last bidding
before the candle was burnt out.
It is no wonder that naval affairs went wrong in those days, when money
was wanting to pay both officers and seamen, and to supply stores and
provisions; indeed, what should have been devoted to the purpose was
fearfully misappropriated. On the 14th of August, 1661, he says: "This
morning Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Penn and I waited upon the Duke of York
in his chamber, to give him an account of the condition of the navy for
lack of money, and how our own very bills are offered upon the exchange
to be sold at 20 in the 100 loss. He is much troubled at it, and will
speak to the king and council of it this morning."
The debts of the navy at that time amounted to near 374,000 pounds. He
tells us that he was "writing a little treatise to present to the duke,
about our privileges in the seas, as to other nations striking their
flags to us." The English had long claimed the right to have this
honour paid to their flag, though the people of other countries were
naturally inclined to dispute it, and if not the cause was the pretext
of our wars with the Dutch.
On the 25th of January he met Sir Richard Brown, and discussed with him
Sir N. Crisp's project for "making a great sluice in the king's lands
about Deptford, to be a wet-dock to hold 200 sail of ships. But the
ground, it seems, was long since given by the king to Sir Richard."
On the 14th of March the German Dr Knuffler "came to discourse about
his engine to blow up ships. We doubted not the matter of fact, it
being tried in Cromwell's time, but the safety of carrying them in
ships; but he do tell us that when he comes to tell the king his secret
(for none but the kings successively and their heirs must know it), it
will appear to be of no danger at all. We concluded nothing, but shall
discourse with the Duke of York tomorrow about it."
Chaplains were appointed in those days to ships, though several
instances are given which prove that they were not men likely to advance
the interests of religion. After visiting the yard, he went on board
the _Swallow_ in the dock, "where our navy chaplain preached a sad
sermon, full of nonsense and false Latin; but prayed for the Right
Honourable the principall officers."
Again, he speaks of many rogueries practised. Among others, on the 4th
of June he went "by water to Woolwich, and there saw an experiment made
of Sir R. Ford's Holland's yarne (about which we have lately had so much
stir, and I have much concerned myself for our ropemaker, Mr Hughes,
who represented it so bad), and we found it to be very bad, and broke
sooner than upon a fair trial, five threads of that against four of Riga
yarne; and also that some of it had old stuffe that had been tarred,
covered over with new hempe, which is such a cheat as hath not been
heard of."
The war with the Dutch had not yet commenced, but there was every
probability of it soon breaking out, though the English fleet was at
that time in a sadly unprepared state. On the 28th of June, 1662, he
says: "Great talk there is of a fear of a war with the Dutch, and we
have orders to pitch upon 20 ships to be forthwith set out; but I hope
it is but a scarecrow to the world to let them see that we can be ready
for them; though God knows, the king is not able to set out five ships
at this present without great difficulty, we neither having money,
credit, nor stores."
With regard to the stores, he says, on the 21st of July: "To Woolwich to
the rope-yard, and there looked over several sorts of hemp, and did fall
upon my great survey of seeing the working and experiments of the
strength and the charge in the dressing of every sort; and I do think
have brought it to so great a certainty, as I have done the king some
service in it, and do purpose to get it ready against the duke's coming
to towne to present to him. I see it is impossible for the king to have
things done as cheap as other men."
On the 4th of September he remarks, notwithstanding all their
shortcomings, that the fleet was in a far better condition than in the
days of Queen Elizabeth. "Sir William Compton I heard talk with great
pleasure of the difference between the fleet now and in Queen
Elizabeth's days; where, in 1588, she had but 36 sail great and small in
the world, and ten rounds of powder was their allowance at that time
against the Spaniards."
He speaks of yachts as pleasure vessels, a name derived from the Dutch,
one of which class of vessels so-called had been presented by them to
the late king. "By water to Woolwich; in my way saw the yacht lately
built by our virtuosos (my Lord Brunkard and others, with the help of
Commissioner Pett also), set out from Greenwich with the little Dutch
bezan to try for mastery; and before they got to Woolwich the Dutch beat
them half-a-mile (and I hear this afternoon that, in coming home, it got
above three miles), which all our people are glad of."
On the 18th of February, 1663, he says that he finds "the true charge of
the navy" to be "after the rate of 374,743 pounds a-year."
On the 14th of April Sir George Carteret tells him that Parliament "will
call all things in question; and, above all, the expenses of the navy;"
"and into the truth of the report of people being forced to sell their
bills at 15 per cent, losse in the navy."
On the 23rd of May Sir George says that Parliament intend to report
200,000 pounds per annum as the ordinary charge of the navy.
The importance of having wet-docks in which ships could be fitted out
was well understood. He speaks of finding certain creeks at Portsmouth,
and mentions Commissioner Pett's design to form a wet-dock in Saint
Mary's creek, "which can be done at no great charge, and yet no little
one; he thinks, towards 10,000 pounds;" and that the place is likely to
be a very fit one when the king has money to do it with.
He mentions a letter of Sir William Petty, "wherein he says that his
vessel, which he hath built upon two keels (a model whereof, built for
the king, he shewed me), hath this month won a wager of 50 pounds, in
sailing between Dublin and Holyhead, with the pacquett-boat, the best
ship or vessel the king hath there; and he offers to lay with any vessel
in the world. It is about 30 ton in burden, and carries 30 men, with
good accommodation (as much more as any ship of her burden), and so any
vessel of this figure shall carry more men, with better accommodation by
half, than any other ship. This carries also ten guns of about five
tons weight. In their coming back from Holyhead they started together,
and this vessel came to Dublin by five at night, and the pacquett-boat
not before eight the next morning; and when they come they did believe
that this vessel had been drowned, or at least behind, not thinking she
could have lived in that sea." He concludes, "I only affirm that the
perfection of sailing lies in my principle, find it out who can."
By his account we find that machines to perform the same service as
torpedoes were thought of in those days. He tells "Dr Allen," with
whom he had "some good discourse about physick and chymistry, what
Dribble, the German Doctor, do offer of an instrument to sink ships he
tells me that which is more strange, that something made of gold, which
they call in chymistry _aurum fulminans_, a grain, I think he said, of
it, put into a silver spoon and fired, will give a blow like a musquett,
and strike a hole through the silver spoon downward, without the least
force upward."
He gives an amusing account of a trial about the insurance of a ship,
before Lord Chief-Justice Hide. "It was pleasant to see what mad sort
of testimonys the seamen did give, and could not be got to speak in
order; and then their terms such as the judge could not understand; and
to hear how sillily the counsel and judge would speak as to the terms
necessary in the matter, would make one laugh; and, above all, a
Frenchman, that was forced to speak in French, and took an English oath
he did not understand, and had an interpreter sworn to tell us what he
said, which was the best testimony of all."
On the 3rd of December, 1663, he gives us the satisfactory intelligence
"that the navy (excepting what is due to the yards upon the quarter now
going on) is quite out of debt; which is extraordinary good news, and
upon the 'Change, to hear how our credit goes as good as any merchant's
upon the 'Change is a joyfull thing to consider, which God continue!"
The next day he remarks, "The King of France, they say, is hiring of 60
sail of ships of the Dutch, but it is not said for what design."
On the 22nd of January he went down to Deptford, "and there viewed Sir
William Petty's vessel; which hath an odd appearance, but not such as
people do make of it."
On the 4th of March he "saw several people trying a new-fashion gun,
brought by my Lord Peterborough this morning, to shoot off often, one
after another, without trouble or danger." This must have been
something of the fashion of a revolver of the present day.
One of the first entries regarding the Dutch war is on the 21st of
November, 1644. "This day, for certain, news is come that Teddiman hath
brought in eighteen or twenty Dutchmen, merchants, their Bourdeaux
fleet, and two men-of-war to Portsmouth. And I had letters this
afternoon, that three are brought into the Downes and Dover; so that the
warr is begun: God give a good end to it!"
On the 31st of December he says: "My Lord Sandwich at sea with the fleet
at Portsmouth, sending some about to cruise for taking of ships, which
we have done to a great number."
On the 11th of January, 1665: "This evening, by a letter from Plymouth,
I hear that two of our ships, the _Leopard_ and another, in the
Straights, are lost by running aground; and that three more had like to
have been so, but got off, whereof Captain Allen one; and that a Dutch
fleet are gone thither; and if they should meet with our lame ships, God
knows what would become of them. This I reckon most sad news; God make
us sensible of it!"
The following remarks show the threatening attitude of the Dutch: on the
12th of January, 1665, "Spoke with a Frenchman, who was taken, but
released, by a Dutch man-of-war, of 36 guns (with seven more of the
king's or greater ships), off the North Foreland, by Margett. Which is
a strange attempt, that they should come to our teeth; but, the wind
being easterly, the wind that should bring our force from Portsmouth,
will carry them away home."
On the 15th he was called in, with Sir William Penn, to see the king,
"And there Sir W. Penn spoke pretty well to dissuade the king from
letting the Turkish ships go out; saying (in short), the king having
resolved to have 130 ships out by the spring, he must have above 20 of
them merchantmen. Towards which, he, in the whole river, could find but
12 or 14, and of them the five ships taken up by these merchants were a
part, and so could not be spared. That we should need 30,000 sailors to
man these 130 ships, and of them, in service, we have not above 16,000;
so that we shall need 14,000 more. That these ships will, with their
convoys, carry about 2000 men, and those the best men that could be got;
it being the men used to the southward that are the best men of warr,
though those bred in the north, among the colliers, are good for labour.
That it will not be safe for the merchants, nor honourable for the
king, to expose these rich ships with his convoy of six ships to go, it
not being enough to secure them against the Dutch, who, without doubt,
will have a great fleet in the Straights."
At a visit of the Duke of York, he hears, by a letter from Captain
Allen, "First, of our own loss of two ships, the _Phoenix_ and
_Nonsuch_, in the Bay of Gibraltar; then of his and his seven ships with
him, in the Bay of Cales, or thereabouts, fighting with the 34 Dutch
Smyrna fleet; sinking the _King Solomon_, a ship worth 150,000 pounds,
or more, some say 200,000 pounds, and another; and taking of three
merchant-ships. Two of our ships were disabled by the Dutch
unfortunately falling, against their will, against them--the _Advice_,
Captain W. Poole, and _Antelope_, Captain Clerke. The Dutch men-of-war
did little service. Captain Allen, before he would fire one gun, come
within pistol-shot of the enemy. The Spaniards, at Cales, did stand
laughing at the Dutch, to see them run away and flee to the shore, 34 or
thereabouts, against eight Englishmen at most."
"Captain Allen led the way, and himself writes that all the masters of
the fleet, old and young, were mistaken, and did carry their ships
aground."
"Captain Seale, of the _Milford_, hath done his part very well, in
boarding the _King Solomon_, which held out half-an-hour after she was
boarded; and his men kept her an hour after they did master her, and
then she sank, and drowned about 17 of her men."
He speaks, a few days afterwards, of meeting the owners of the
double-bottomed boat the _Experiment_, which again reminds us of the
plan, at present adopted, to guard ships against the effects of
torpedoes.
On the 17th of April he heard an account of the capture of three
privateers, one of which was commanded by Admiral Everson's son.
Captain Golding, of the _Diamond_, was killed in the action. "Two of
them, one of 32, and the other of 20 odd guns, did stand stoutly up
against her, which hath 46, and the _Yarmouth_ that hath 52, and as many
more men as they. So that they did more than we could expect, not
yielding till many of their men were killed. And Everson, when he was
brought before the Duke of York, and was observed to be shot through the
hat, answered, that he wished it had gone through his head, rather than
been taken. One thing more is written; that two of our ships, the other
day, appearing upon the coast of Holland, they presently fired their
beacons round the country to give them notice. And news is brought the
king, that the Dutch Smyrna fleet is seen upon the back of Scotland;
and, thereupon, the king hath wrote to the duke, that he do appoint a
fleet to go to the northward to try to meet them coming home round;
which God send!"
On the 28th he went down the river to visit the victualling ships,
"where I find all out of order."
On the 8th of June he writes: "Victory over the Dutch, June 3, 1665.
This day they engaged, the Dutch neglecting greatly the opportunity of
the wind they had of us, by which they lost the benefit of their
fire-ships. The Earl of Falmouth, Muskerry, and Mr Richard Boyle
killed on board the duke's ship, the _Royall Charles_, with one shot,
their blood and brains flying in the duke's face, and the head of Mr
Boyle striking down the duke, as some say. The Earle of Marlborough,
Portland, Rear-Admirall Sansum killed, and Capt. Kerby and Ableson. Sir
John Lawson wounded, hath had some bones taken out, and is likely to be
well again. Upon receiving the hurt, he sent to the duke for another to
command the _Royal Oake_. The duke sent Jordan out of the _Saint
George_, who did brave things in her. Capt. Jer. Smith, of the _Mary_,
was second to the duke, and stepped between him and Captain Seaton, of
the _Urania_ (76 guns and 400 men), who had sworn to board the duke,
killed him 200 men, and took the ship himself, losing 99 men, and never
an officer saved but himself and lieutenant. His master, indeed, is
saved, with his leg cut off; Admiral Opdam blown up, Trump killed, and
said by Holmes; all the rest of their admiralls, as they say, but
Everson (whom they dare not trust for his affection to the Prince of
Orange), are killed, we having taken and sunk, as is believed, about 24
of their best ships, killed and taken 8 or 10,000 men, and lost, we
think, not above 700. A greater victory never known in the world. They
are all fled. Some 43 got into the Texell, and others elsewhere, and we
in pursuit of the rest."
On the 16th he goes down to Whitehall, and hears more about the battle.
"Among other things, how my Lord Sandwich, both in his councils and
personal service, hath done most honourably and serviceably. Jonas
Poole, in the _Vanguard_, did basely, so as to be, or will be, turned
out of his ship. Captain Holmes expecting upon Sansum's death to be
made rear-admirall to the prince (but Harman is put in), hath delivered
up to the duke his commission, which the duke took and tore. Several of
our captains have done ill. The great ships are the ships to do the
business, they quite deadening the enemy. They run away upon sight of
the prince. Captain Smith, of the _Mary_, the duke talks mightily of,
and some great thing will be done for him. Strange to hear how the
Dutch do relate, as the duke says, that they are the conquerors, and
bonfires are made in Dunkirke in their behalf, although a clearer
victory can never be expected. Mr Coventry thinks they cannot have
lost less than 6000 men, and we not dead above 200, and wounded about
400; in all about 600. Captain Grove, the duke told us this day, hath
done the basest thing at Lowestoffe, in hearing of the guns, and could
not (as others) be got out, but staid there, for which he will be tried,
and is reckoned a prating coxcombe, and of no courage."
The fleet did not escape the plague, which was at that time raging in
London. On the 12th of August it appeared at Deptford, on board the
_Providence_ fire-ship, which was just fitting out to go to sea.
At Sheerness, a yard was in course of being laid out to lay provisions
for cleaning and repairing of ships, the most proper place for the
purpose.
On the 19th the fleet came home, "to our great grief, with not above
five weeks dry and six weeks wet provisions, however, must go out again,
and the duke hath ordered the _Soveraigne_, and all other ships ready,
to go out to the fleet and strengthen them. This news troubles us all,
but cannot be helped."
On the 9th of September, 1665, he meets Sir William Doyly and Evelyn at
supper: "And I with them full of discourse of the neglect of our
masters, the great officers of state, about all business, and especially
that of money, having now some thousands prisoners kept to no purpose,
at a great charge, and no money provided almost for the doing of it."
"Captain Cocke reports as a certain truth that all the Dutch fleet,
men-of-war and merchant East India ships, are got every one in from
Bergen, the 3rd of this month, Sunday last, which will make us all
ridiculous."
On the 14th, however, he says: "A letter from my Lord Sandwich at
Solebay, of the fleet's meeting with about eighteen more of the Dutch
fleet, and his taking of most of them; and the messenger says, that they
had taken three after the letter was wrote and sealed, which being
twenty-one, and the fourteen took the other day, is forty-five sail,
some of which are good and others rich ships."
On the 18th he goes to Gravesend in the bezan yacht, and "by break of
day we come to within sight of the fleet, which was a very fine thing to
behold, being above 100 ships, great and small, with the flag-ships of
each squadron distinguished by their several flags on their main, fore,
or mizen-masts. Among others, the _Soveraigne, Charles_, and _Prince_,
in the last of which my Lord Sandwich was. And so we come on board, and
we find my Lord Sandwich newly up in his night-gown very well."
He attends a council of war on board, "When comes Sir W. Penn, Sir
Christopher Mingo, Sir Edward Spragg, Sir Jos. Jordan, Sir Thomas
Teddiman, and Sir Roger Omittance." Sir Christopher Mings was one of
the bravest admirals of the day. He was the son of a shoemaker, and had
worked his way up in the sea-service. He was killed the following year,
June, 1666, in action with the Dutch. Pepys describes him as "a very
witty, well-spoken fellow, and mighty free to tell his parentage, being
a shoemaker's son."
On the 25th of January, 1666, he writes: "It is now certain that the
King of France hath publickly declared war against us, and God knows how
little fit we are for it."
As an example of the way affairs were managed, he tells us that, viewing
the yard at Chatham, he observed, "among other things, a team of four
horses coming close by us, drawing a piece of timber that I am confident
one man could easily have carried upon his back. I made the horses be
taken away, and a man or two to take the timber away with their hands."
Still more abominable was the way in which the wages of the unfortunate
seamen were kept back. On the 7th of October, 1665, he writes: "Did
business, though not much, at the office, because of the horrible crowd
and lamentable moan of the poor seamen that lie starving in the streets
for lack of money, which do trouble and perplex me to the heart; and
more at noon, when we were to go through them, for then above a whole
hundred of them followed us, some cursing, some swearing, and some
praying to us." He continues: "Want of money in the navy puts
everything out of order; men grown mutinous, and nobody here to mind the
business of the navy but myself."
On the 19th of May, 1666: "Mr Deane and I did discourse about his ship
_Rupert_, built by him, which succeeds so well as he hath got great
honour by it, and I some by recommending him--the king, duke, and
everybody saying it is the best ship that ever was built. And, then, he
fell to explain to me his manner of casting the draught of water which a
ship will draw beforehand, which is a secret the king and all admire in
him; and he is the first that hath come to any certainty beforehand of
foretelling the draught of water of a ship before she be launched."
On the 4th he describes the fight between the English and Dutch, the
news brought by a Mr Daniel, "who was all muffled up, and his face as
black as the chimney, and covered with dirt, pitch, and tar, and powder,
and muffled with dirty clouts, and his right eye stopped with okum."
The English "found the Dutch fleet at anchor, between Dunkirke and
Ostend, and made them let slip their anchors; they about ninety and we
less than sixty. We fought them and put them to the run, till they met
with about sixteen sail of fresh ships, and so bore up again. The fight
continued till night, and then again the next morning from five till
seven at night. And so, too, yesterday morning they began again, and
continued till about four o'clock, they chasing us for the most part of
Saturday, and yesterday we flying from them." Prince Rupert's fleet,
however, was seen coming, "upon which De Ruyter called a council, and
thereupon their fleet divided into two squadrons--forty in one, and
about thirty in the other; the bigger to follow the duke, the less to
meet the prince. But the prince come up with the generall's fleet, and
the Dutch come together again, and bore towards their own coast, and we
with them. The duke was forced to come to anchor on Friday, having lost
his sails and rigging."
Some days afterwards he continues the description of the fight: "The
commanders, officers, and even the common seamen do condemn every part
of the late conduct of the Duke of Albemarle; running among them in his
retreat, and running the ships on ground; so as nothing can be worse
spoken of. That Holmes, Spragg, and Smith do all the business, and the
old and wiser commanders nothing."
"We lost more after the prince came than before. The _Prince_ was so
maimed, as to be forced to be towed home." Among several commanders
killed in the action was Sir Christopher Mings.
He describes the affection the seamen entertained for those commanders
they esteemed: "About a dozen able, lusty, proper men come to the
coach-side with tears in their eyes, and one of them that spoke for the
rest begun and said to Sir W. Coventry, `We are here a dozen of us, that
have long known and loved and served our dead commander, Sir Christopher
Mings, and have now done the last office of laying him in the ground.
We would be glad we had any other to offer after him, and in revenge of
him. All we have is our lives; if you will please to get His Royal
Highness to give us a fire-ship among us all, here are a dozen of us,
out of all which choose you one of us to be commander, and the rest of
us, whoever he is, will serve him; and, if possible, do that which shall
show our memory of our dead commander, and our revenge.' Sir W.
Coventry was herewith much moved, as well as I, who could hardly abstain
from weeping."
"Sir Christopher Mings was a very stout man, and a man of great parts,
and most excellent tongue among ordinary men; and would have been a most
useful man at such a time as this."
He gives a deplorable account of the state of the navy, the neglect of
business by Charles and his brother, and the want of money. On the 8th
of October, 1665, he writes: "I think of twenty-two ships, we shall make
shift to get out seven. (God help us! men being sick, or provisions
lacking.) There is nothing but discontent among the officers, and all
the old experienced men are slighted."
Speaking of the action with the Dutch, he says: "They do mightily insult
of their victory, and they have great reason. Sir William Barkeley was
killed before his ship taken; and there he lies dead in a sugar-chest,
for everybody to see, with his flag standing up by him. And Sir George
Ascue is carried up and down the Hague for people to see."
The abominable system of the press-gang was then in full force, and was
carried on with the same cruelty which existed till a much later period:
"To the Tower several times, about the business of the pressed men, and
late at it till twelve at night shipping of them. But, Lord! how some
poor women did cry; and in my life I never did see such natural
expression of passion as I did here in some women bewailing themselves,
and running to every parcel of men that were brought one after another
to look for their husbands, and wept over every vessel that went off,
thinking they might be there, and looking after the ship as far as ever
they could by moone-light, that it grieved me to the heart to hear them.
Besides, to see poor, patient, labouring men and housekeepers leaving
poor wives and families, taken up on a sudden by strangers, was very
hard, and that without press-money, but forced against all law to be
gone. It is a great tyranny."
The next morning he went "to Bridewell to see the pressed men, where
there are about 300; but so unruly that I durst not go among them; and
they have reason to be so, having been kept these three days prisoners,
with little or no victuals, and pressed out and contrary to all course
of law, without press-money, and men that are not liable to it."
"I found one of the vessels loaden with the Bridewell birds in a great
mutiny; I think it is much if they do not run the vessel on ground."
He continues: "With regard to the building of ten great ships, none to
be under third-rates; but it is impossible to do it, unless we have some
money."
Sir W. Penn gives his advice as to the mode of fighting at sea: "We must
fight in a line, whereas we fight promiscuously, to our utter and
demonstrable ruin; the Dutch fighting otherwise; and we, whenever we
beat them. 2. We must not desert ships of our own in distress, as we
did, for that makes a captain desperate, and he will fling away his ship
when there are no hopes left him of succour. 3rd. That ships when they
are a little shattered must not take the liberty to come in of
themselves, but refit themselves the best they can, and stay out--many
of our ships coming in with very small disableness. He told me that our
very commanders, nay, our very flag-officers, do stand in need of
exercising among themselves, and discoursing the business of commanding
a fleet; he telling me that even one of our flagmen in the fleet did not
know which tack lost the wind or kept it in the last engagement. Then
in the business of forecastles, which he did oppose, all the world sees
now the use of them for shelter of men."
He observes that "we see many women now-a-days in the streets, but no
men; men being so afraid of the press." He speaks of purchasing "four
or five tons of corke, to send this day to the fleet, being a new device
to make barricados with, instead of junke." The importance of
protecting men against shot was even then, it will be seen, thought of.
On the 10th he goes "to the office; the yard being very full of women
coming to get money for their husbands and friends that are prisoners in
Holland; and they lay clamouring and swearing and cursing us, that my
wife and I were afraid to send a venison-pasty that we have for supper
to-night, to the cook's to be baked."
On the 23rd July Sir W. Coventry talks to him of the "_Loyal London_
(which, by the way, he commends to be the best ship in the world, large
and small) hath above eight hundred men. The first guns made for her
all bursted, but others were made, which answered better."
Speaking of the late battle, he remarks that "the _Resolution_ had all
brass guns, being the same that Sir John Lawson had in her in the
Straights. It is to be observed that the two fleets were even in number
to one ship."
Sir W. Coventry "spoke slightingly of the Duke of Albemarle, saying,
when De Ruyter come to give him a broadside--`Now,' says he (chewing of
tobacco the while), `will this fellow come and give me two broadsides,
and then he shall run;' but it seems he held him to it two hours, till
the duke himself was forced to retreat to refit, and was towed off, and
De Ruyter staid for him till he come back again to fight. One in the
ship saying to the duke, `Sir, methinks De Ruyter hath given us more
than two broadsides.' `Well,' says the duke, `but you shall find him
run by-and-by,' and so he did, but after the duke himself had been first
made to fall of."
From the accounts he gives of the condition of the navy, it is
surprising that our ships were not everywhere beaten. On the 20th of
October he writes: "Commissioner Middleton says that the fleet was in
such a condition as to discipline, as if the devil had commanded it; so
much wickedness of all sorts. Enquiring how it came to pass that so
many ships had miscarried this year, he tells me that the pilots do say
that they dare not do nor go but as the captains will have them; and if
they offer to do otherwise, the captains swear they will run them
through. That he heard Captain Digby (my Lord of Bristoll's son, a
young fellow that never was but one year, if that, in the fleet) say
that he did hope he should not see a tarpawlin have the command of a
ship within this twelve months"--tarpaulin being the common name applied
to a sailor in those days.
On the 19th: "Nothing but distraction and confusion in the affairs of
the navy."
On the 28th he adds: "Captain Guy to dine with me. He cries out of the
discipline of the fleet, and confesses really that the true English
valour we talk of is almost spent and worn out; few of the commanders
doing what they should do, and he much fears we shall therefore be
beaten the next year. He assures me we were beaten home the last June
fight, and that the whole fleet was ashamed to hear of our bonfires.
The _Revenge_ having her forecastle blown up with powder to the killing
of some men in the river, and the _Dyamond_ being overset in the
careening at Sheerness, are further marks of the method all the king's
work is now done in. The _Foresight_ also and another come to disasters
in the same place this week in the cleaning."
On the 2nd of November he describes the _Ruby_, French prize, "the only
ship of war we have taken from any of our enemies this year. It seems a
very good ship, but with galleries quite round the sterne to walk in as
a balcone, which will be taken down."
News of the Dutch having been seen off the mouth of the Thames alarms
every one; and on the 24th of March, 1667, he writes: "By-and-by to the
Duke of Yorke, where we all met, and there was the king also; and all
our discourse was about fortifying of the Medway and Harwich; and here
they advised with Sir Godfrey Lloyd and Sir Bernard de Gunn, the two
great engineers, and had the plates drawn before them; and indeed all
their care they now take is to fortify themselves, and are not ashamed
of it."
On the 9th of June he writes: "I find an order come for the getting some
fire-ships presently to annoy the Dutch, who are in the king's channel,
and expected up higher."
The next day: "News brought us that the Dutch are come up as high as the
Nore; and more pressing orders for fire-ships. We all went down to
Deptford, and pitched upon ships and set men at work, but, Lord! to see
how backwardly things move at this pinch, notwithstanding that by the
enemy being now come up as high as almost the Hope."
Anxiety and terror prevailed in the city, and people were removing their
goods--the thoughtful Mr Pepys making a girdle to carry 300 pounds in
gold about his body. The alarm is further increased when a neighbour
comes up from Chatham, and tells him that that afternoon he "saw the
_Royal James_, the _Oake_, and _London_ burnt by the enemy with their
fire-ships; that two or three men-of-war come up with them, and made no
more of Upnor Castle's shooting than of a fly; that the Dutch are
fitting out the _Royal Charles_."
Ships were to be sunk in the river, about Woolwich, to prevent the Dutch
coming up higher.
"The masters of the ships that are lately taken up, do keep from their
ships all their stores, or as much as they can, so that we cannot
despatch them, having not time to appraise them, nor secure their
payment. Only some little money we have, which we are fain to pay the
men we have with every night, or they will not work. And, indeed, the
hearts as well as the affections of the seamen are turned away; and in
the open streets in Wapping, and up and down, the wives have cried
publickly, `This comes of not paying our husbands; and now your work is
undone, or done by hands that understand it not.'"
Some of the men, "instead of being at work at Deptford, where they were
intended, do come to the office this morning to demand the payment of
their tickets; for otherwise they would, they said, do no more work; and
are, as I understand from everybody that has to do with them, the most
debauched, swearing rogues that ever were in the navy, just like their
prophane commander."
"Nothing but carelessness lost the _Royal Charles_, for they might have
saved her the very tide that the Dutch came up. The Dutch did take her
with a boat of nine men, who found not a man on board her; and presently
a man went up and struck her flag, and jacke, and a trumpeter sounded
upon her, `Joan's placket is torn;' they did carry her down at a time,
both for tides and wind, when the best pilot in Chatham would not have
undertaken it, they heeling her on one side to make her draw little
water, and so carried her away safe."
"It is a sad sight to see so many good ships there sunk in the river,
while we would be thought to be masters of the sea."
He also examines the chain which had been carried across the river, "and
caused the link to be measured, and it was six inches and one-fourth in
circumference."
He commends the Dutch "for the care they do take to encourage their men
to provide great stores of boats to save them; while we have not credit
to find one boat for a ship." The English mode "of preparing of
fire-ships," he observes, "do not do the work, for the fire not being
strong and quick enough to flame up, so as to take the rigging and
sails, lies smothering a great while, half-an-hour before it flames, in
which time they can get the fire-ships off safely. But what a shame it
is to consider how two of our ship's companies did desert their ships.
And one more company did set their ship on fire and leave her; which
afterwards a Feversham fisherman came up to, and put out the fire, and
carried safe into Feversham, where she now is. It was only want of
courage, and a general dismay and abjectness of spirit upon all our men;
God Almighty's curse upon all that we have in hand, for never such an
opportunity was of destroying so many good ships of theirs as we now
had."
To replace the _Royal Charles_ carried away, a new ship was launched on
the 4th of March, 1668, called the _Charles_; "God send her better luck
than the former."
At a Privy Council which he attended, "to discourse about the fitness of
entering of men presently for the manning of the fleet, before one ship
is in condition to receive them," the king observed, "`If ever you
intend to man the fleet without being cheated by the captains and
pursers, you may go to bed and resolve never to have it manned.'"
At another council he speaks of "a proposition made to the Duke of York
by Captain Von Hemskirke, for 20,000 pounds to discover an art how to
make a ship go two feet for one what any ship do now, which the king
inclines to try, it costing him nothing to try; and it is referred to us
to contract with the man." He afterwards says that the secret was only
to make her sail a third faster than any other ship.
On the 25th of March, 1669, a court-martial was held about the loss of
the _Defyance_. The sentence was, "That the gunner of the _Defyance_
should stand upon the _Charles_ three hours with his fault writ upon his
breast, and with a halter about his neck, and so be made incapable of
any service." The ship was burnt by the gunner allowing a girl to carry
a fire into his cabin.
Whatever our shortcomings in regard to naval affairs, it is pleasant to
believe that they cannot possibly be so great as in the days of Mr
Samuel Pepys.