In "sea scouting," it will, of course, be necessary to know a lot of
small as well as big things about our ships which the ordinary fellow
does not know. Here is one. A man-of-war on duty always flies a
pennant at her masthead--that is, a very long, very thin flag, which
makes the mast look like a whip with a lash on the end of it. Here is
the story of it.
In the old days, 250 years ago, Britain and Holland were both powerful
nations at sea and rivals in commerce, but as we had command of the
British Channel we made all foreign ships salute our men-of-war when
passing them.
One day, May 19th, 1652, a Dutch fleet of forty-five ships; under
their great admiral Van Tromp, came sailing up the Channel, and passed
a British Fleet of twenty-three ships under Admiral Blake. Seeing how
strong he was, the Dutch admiral declined to salute us. So our
flagship fired a shot across his bows, as a signal to remind him of
his duty; but Van Tromp promptly replied with a broadside into the
stern of Admiral Blake's ship.
"That's very rude of him to break my windows," remarked Blake, and
promptly ordered his small Fleet to attack the Dutch, although it was
twice as strong.
The battle began at four o'clock in the afternoon, and went on hammer
and tongs till after dark. The firing then lulled, and the British
Fleet, having been badly mauled, spent the whole night repairing
damages.
By dawn, although tired, they were all ready for a further go at the
enemy, but as daylight came on they found there was no enemy to go
for; he had cleared away in the night to less dangerous quarters. But
only for a time, in order to get more ships, and a few days later he
reappeared with something like eighty vessels.
This and a contrary wind proved too much for Blake's small Fleet, and
though he made an obstinate fight of it, he was at last compelled to
take refuge in the Thames, pursued by the Dutchmen.
Then it was that Van Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead, as a sign
that he had swept the British from off the seas. But he was a little
bit "previous," as they say in America. The people in Britain rose to
the occasion, and, instead of being down-hearted, they at once started
to build a stronger Fleet, and trained men and boys--like sea
scouts--to man it.
So soon as the ships were fitted out Blake put to sea with a Fleet of
sixty, and went to look for the Dutchmen, and he soon found them.
Van Tromp, with seventy men-of-war, was coming up the Channel,
guarding a large fleet of richly-laden merchant ships making for
Holland.
The British, of course, went for this convoy, and it was a pretty
tough fight, the Dutch merchantmen crowding on all sail to escape to
Holland, while their men-of-war kept behind them, fighting stubbornly
to hold off the pursuing British. It was a running fight, which was
kept up for three days and nights, and at the end the British came
home triumphant, having captured or sunk seventeen of the enemy's
men-of-war and thirty of his merchant ships.
Van Tromp had to take down his broom.
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