THE DUTCH AVOW SUCH FIERCE FIGHTING NEVER TO HAVE BEEN SEEN.
Those who are “born great” enjoy favourable conditions for also
achieving greatness, provided they are possessed of the necessary
qualifications. On the other hand, there have been many instances of
men who have proved themselves “born to command,” whose forebears have
left no trace of their existence. The naval heroes of the later half
of the seventeenth century belonged to all classes, princes of the
blood royal, scions of ancient and honourable houses, and many without
any early records. The brave Sir Edward Spragge belongs to the last
category.
Sir Edward Spragge, in 1661, was captain of the _Portland_, and
afterwards, in succession, the _Dover_, the _Lion_, the _Royal
James_, and the _Triumph_, which he commanded in the great battle
with the Dutch off Lowestoft, on the 3rd June 1665. The mighty Dutch
fleet in this battle comprised a hundred and three men-of-war, eleven
fire-ships, and seven yachts. It was in seven squadrons, commanded
by Admirals Opdam, Van Tromp, John Evertsen, Cornelius Evertsen,
Cortenaer, Stillingwerth, and Schram. In this important action,
referred to in the sketch of Prince Rupert, Spragge and Van Tromp made
each other’s acquaintance as antagonists. Amongst many devoted heroes
on both sides, Spragge distinguished himself highly by his conspicuous
bravery, which procured him the honour of knighthood, conferred on the
24th June of the same year.
In 1666, Sir Edward was promoted rear-admiral of the white, and again,
vice-admiral of the blue. As commander of the _Dreadnought_, he took
a distinguished part in the four days’ battle with the Dutch in June
1666,--his brave and skilful conduct attracting the particular notice
of the Duke of Albemarle. On the 24th July, Spragge, carrying his flag
in the blue squadron, again engaged Van Tromp; he completely disabled
Tromp’s vice-admiral, killed his rear-admiral, and ruined the rigging
of his ship,--thus contributing greatly to the success of the action.
In the following year Sir Edward was appointed to an onerous duty, by
the Duke of Albemarle--the defence of the fort at Sheerness, threatened
by the Dutch. On the 10th June 1667, the Dutch attacked the fort. The
place was really incapable of effective resistance, its sole defence
consisting of a platform on which fifteen iron guns were mounted. He
bravely continued to resist for a time the combined fierce attack of
about thirty men-of-war. Continued resistance, however, would have
resulted in the inevitable destruction of his gallant garrison, and he
skilfully made good his retreat.
The appearance of the Dutch fleet in the Thames, and the capture of
Sheerness, created a panic in London and in England generally, and
brought many reproaches on Charles II.,--stirring up remembrances of
Cromwell and the Commonwealth, under whose auspices the dignity and
honour of the country had always been maintained. The fort of Sheerness
was destroyed. The Dutch (who had received very little damage), it was
feared, might at the next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their
hostilities even to London Bridge. Thirteen ships were in consequence
sunk at Northfleet and four at Blackwall; platforms were raised in many
places, and furnished with artillery; the trained bands were called
out, and every place was in violent agitation.
Spragge collected such naval force as he could, and retreated up the
Medway, with a squadron of five frigates, seventeen fire-ships,--an
extraordinary proportion!--and a few tenders. He took his station near
the battery at Gillingham, opposite Upnor Castle, where he gave the
Dutch, under Admiral Van Ness, a very warm reception, as they attempted
to force their way up the river. The Dutch retreated, and, after paying
a hostile visit to Harwich, returned again to the Medway, and on the
23rd July sailed up to near the Hope, where a squadron, slightly
reinforced, and placed under the command of Sir Edward Spragge, awaited
them. When the Dutch came up, Sir Edward unfortunately had not arrived
to take the command, and the enemy were very near snatching a victory.
Hostilities were renewed on the second day, under Sir Edward’s personal
command. The enemy were attacked with great vigour and effect, and
the Dutch sheered off, with Spragge in hot pursuit. By dexterous
management he contrived so to tow his fire-ships as to burn twelve of
the enemy’s, with an expenditure of six of his own fire-ships. On the
25th, at daylight, the Dutch had dropped down as far as the buoy at the
Nore. Sir Edward following them was compelled by the tide coming up
against him, to come to an anchor at a point a little below Lee. At one
o’clock, the flood being spent, the Dutch fleet got under way, and our
squadron resumed pursuit. The fleets opened fire upon each other, but
at too great a distance for the guns, such as they were at that period,
to be effective. On the 26th, Sir J. Jordan arrived from Harwich
with a reinforcement. He contrived to pass the Dutch fleet, which lay
between him and Spragge, and joined in the attack upon the Dutch; on
the 27th the Dutch were out of sight, without having given Sir Edward a
chance of closing with them. This was the last action in that war with
the Dutch.
[Illustration: THE DUTCH FLEET CAPTURES SHEERNESS.]
In 1668, Sir Edward was appointed an envoy to the Constable of Castile,
who had recently been made Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Sir
Edward’s function was to compliment the governor on his appointment,
and to complete further negotiations in relation to certain State
measures in which Sir Edward was interested, and with which he was
conversant. The estimation in which Sir Edward was held may be inferred
from the following extract from a letter of Lord Arlington to Sir
William Temple. It is dated London, December 11, 1668. “The bearer, Sir
Edward Spragge, is sent by His Majesty to the Constable of Castile, to
compliment His Excellency upon his arrival in Flanders; where it is
possible you may either meet him, according to your late credential, or
send to him, in order to something in His Majesty’s service, I thought
I could not do less than, in a few lines, let you know that he is a
brave man, and hath long served His Majesty faithfully (particularly
with much gallantry in the last Dutch wars); that you may on all
occasions put that value upon him which is his due, and which shall be
always acknowledged by,” etc. Sir Edward returned to Whitehall from his
embassy on the 29th of January following.
While the Dutch and English had been fighting each other, they had
given a golden opportunity, of which an enemy common to both--the
Algerine corsairs--had taken full advantage. These pirates infested the
Mediterranean, and were the scourge of the traders of Western Europe.
Expeditions had been repeatedly sent against them by both the English
and the Dutch. They had been often punished in skirmishing actions, and
cowed for a little while,--but never crushed. They entered readily into
treaties, binding them to better behaviour, but broke the treaties, and
their promises, before the negotiators of the other part reached their
respective home ports. The merchants complained loudly of their heavy
losses at the hands of the corsairs, and of the ruinous risks, incurred
in the conduct of foreign commerce. The king and his advisers, unable
to deny that the complaints were well grounded, selected Sir Edward
Spragge to command a squadron to be sent against the pirates, in the
hope that he would be successful in his operations, and especially that
he would follow up and establish his success more effectively than had
been done hitherto. Sir Edward had the character at court of possessing
a sound judgment, resolute purpose, daring courage, and withal a
captivating address, and the most polished manners.
Sir Edward sailed from England in the spring of the year 1671, with
five frigates and three fire-ships, in the expectation of being joined
by other ships on the way, so that he might have a fleet of about
twelve sail in all. Misfortunes befell the squadron on the way. The
_Eagle_ fire-ship became disabled in a storm, and another ship sprang
her main-mast, and had to leave for repair. The _Eagle_ had such
refitting as could be done, and the squadron held on its way, and
about May Day 1671, entered the Bay of Boujeiah, or Bugia, in a brisk
gale. The intention was to fire the ships of the Algerines, and a
night attempt was made upon them by the men and boats of the squadron,
but was frustrated by the premature lighting of the fire-ship that
was to have carried the flames into the midst of the Algerines. They
took alarm, and in haste unrigged their ships, and for defence made a
strong boom of the spars, lashed together, and buoyed up with casks.
The discharge of a pistol by a drunken gunner set light to a second
fire-ship, which was destroyed, leaving only one more, the _Little
Victory_, which unfortunately drew too much water to approach the part
of the bay where the Algerines lay.
On the 8th May 1671, a body of horse and foot were seen on shore; they
were an escort to a large supply of ammunition, that had been sent from
Algiers for their ships. On its safe arrival, the Algerines fired off
their cannon, as a joyous salute. Sir Edward Spragge, uncertain as
to future reinforcements, concluded that prompt energetic action was
the most hopeful course to pursue. He directed the _Little Victory_
to be lightened, so that she might not draw above eight feet. About
noon a fine breeze sprang up, and the admiral gave the signal for the
men-of-war to draw into line, and bear into the bay. The ships bore
in as directed. The admiral came to an anchor in four fathom water,
and was a mark within range for the castle guns, which directed their
fire upon him for two hours. His own pinnace and those of the _Mary_
and the _Dragon_ were manned with crews told off for the honourable
and dangerous service of cutting the boom, which they did gallantly,
although not without loss in killed and wounded. In the admiral’s
pinnace there were seven men killed, and all the rest wounded, except
Mr. Harman, who commanded. Lieutenant Pierce, of the _Dragon_, with
ten of his men, were wounded, and one man killed. Lieutenant Pinn, of
the _Mary’s_ boat, was wounded, and eight of his men besides. The boom
being cut, the fire-ship went in, and, getting up athwart the bowsprits
of the Algerine ships,--the _Little Victory_ being thoroughly well
alight,--set fire to, and destroyed the whole of the enemy’s ships.
Captain Harris, who commanded the fire-ship, his master’s mate, a
gunner, and one of the seamen, were badly wounded, and the well-planned
attack might have failed in execution, but for the forethought of
the admiral in appointing a deputy commander to act in case of need.
This was Henry Williams, master’s mate, who had formerly commanded
the _Rose_ fire-ship. As deputy and acting commander, he performed
admirably, with unflinching courage, the duties thus devolving upon
him. The Algerine ships destroyed were--the _White Horse_, the _Orange
Tree_, the _Three Cypress Trees_, each of thirty-four guns; the _Three
Half Moons_, twenty-eight guns; the _Pearl_, twenty-six guns; and the
_Golden Crown_, and _Half Moon_, each of twenty-four guns.
This loss to the Algerines was almost irreparable. These picked
men-of-war ships had been specially selected to fight Sir Edward
Spragge. They were armed with the best brass guns that could be brought
together, taken from their other ships. They were manned by about
nineteen hundred picked men, and commanded by their most courageous
and experienced admiral. Nearly four hundred of the Algerines were
killed. The castle and town were greatly shattered, and a large number
of people in them killed and wounded. The personal suffering was
greatly aggravated from the surgeons’ chests having been burned with
the ships,--thus cutting off the surgical aid and relief that might
otherwise have been given. In addition to the ships enumerated, there
were destroyed with them (of necessity, not willingly) a Genoese ship,
a small English prize, and a settee.
In this memorable and important engagement, Sir Edward Spragge had
seventeen men killed and forty-one wounded; a loss extraordinarily
small, when it is borne in mind that his fleet was exposed to the fire
of the guns of the fortress on land, as well as of the ships.
The internationally interesting fact is worthy of mention here, that
in all our wars with the Algerines, the Spaniards allowed us the free
use of the harbour of Port Mahon,--the English being regarded as the
champions of civilisation and the protectors of the commerce of the
Mediterranean. Sir Edward accordingly repaired to the harbour of Port
Mahon, and there refitted sufficiently to enable him to bring his ships
home. He returned in triumph.
In the subsequent Dutch wars Sir Edward Spragge took a prominent part,
and discharged his duties with consummate skill and invincible courage.
He acted as vice-admiral of the red in the battle of Solebay, and was
afterwards appointed to succeed the Earl of Sandwich as admiral of the
blue. Between this time and the war conducted by Prince Rupert, Sir
Edward was sent to France on an embassy, which he conducted with sound
judgment, to the entire satisfaction of the court.
His Royal Highness the Duke of York having resolved to resume command
of the navy, the duty was assigned to Sir Edward Spragge to make all
necessary preparations for his reception.
At the Solebay fight, 28th May 1673, Sir Edward Spragge took an active
part, and distinguished himself greatly. It is stated that when he
received his appointment from the king for this particular service,
he promised that he would bring to the king, Van Tromp, dead or
alive,--or lose his own life in the attempt. Spragge’s contest with
Van Tromp, ship to ship, lasted for seven hours, in the course of
which the gallant Dutchman was so assailed by his antagonist as to be
compelled to shift from the _Golden Lion_ into the _Prince_, again
into the _Amsterdam_, and yet again, into the _Comet_. In this last
ship, Spragge would have, in part at least, redeemed his promise to
the king, and have done his adversary to death or captivity, but for
Admiral De Ruyter coming to his assistance. Sir Edward’s ship was also
so much damaged as to force him to shift into another, and again into a
third. Prince Rupert and Spragge had had a quarrel, some time previous
to this action, and the breach had not been healed, but this did not
prevent the prince from bearing frank and honourable testimony to Sir
Edward’s bravery. In a letter to the Earl of Arlington, he says: “Sir
Edward Spragge did on his side maintain the fight with so much courage
and resolution, that their whole body gave way to such a degree that,
had it not been for fear of the shoals, we had driven them into their
harbours.” Sir Edward had the advantage of Van Tromp in this action;
Dutch writers admit the extraordinarily pertinacious bravery of Sir
Edward, and Van Tromp himself admits that he was forced to retreat
before it was dark.
[Illustration: ATTACKING A PIRATE OFF ALGIERS.]
A third battle was fought between these redoubtable combatants on
the 11th August 1673. Sir Edward, with the blue squadron, was in the
rear as the fleet neared the enemy. He had engaged to keep closely
in company with Prince Rupert, but with lynx eye detecting what
he considered a provocation on the part of Van Tromp, he laid his
fore-topsail to the mast to wait for him, and, having engaged his
squadron, maintained a hot contest for many hours, at a distance of
several leagues to leeward of the main body of the fleet. Sir Edward,
at the beginning of the action, fought on board the _Royal Prince_;
Van Tromp was in the _Golden Lion_. It is recorded that Van Tromp
avoided--and that Spragge strove to get to--close quarters; however
this may be, after a terrible onslaught on each other for some time,
both of the flag-ships became so much disabled as to compel the two
admirals to change to other ships, Sir Edward to the _St. George_, and
Van Tromp to the _Comet_. Having got on board these ships, the fight
was renewed with, if possible, increased fury, and with determination
on both sides to end it, with either death or victory. Again the
_St. George_, Sir Edward’s flag-ship, was so battered that he was
fain to leave it and take to the _Royal Charles_. This movement, alas!
resulted in a fatal disaster. He had not been rowed many yards from
the _St. George_ when a shot struck the boat. The crew made every
possible exertion to get back to the ship they had just left, but
failed to reach it, and thus this brave commander perished miserably by
drowning. Sir Edward sank with the boat, and, when it rose again, he
rose with it, clutching it by the gunwale, with his head and shoulders
above water, but--dead. How deplorable that this courageous commander
should have been conquered in a trial out of which the dusky, untutored
child of a South Sea Island savage would have come in safety; the hero
could fight from early morn till dewy eve, could possess his soul in
patience on the water for voyages lasting many weeks, covering many
leagues,--but he could not swim a few yards.
In the history of his own times, Bishop Parker thus refers to the last
gallant fight and death of Sir Edward Spragge:--
“There was a remarkable fight between Spragge and Van Tromp; for these,
having mutually agreed to attack each other, not out of hatred, but
from a thirst of glory, engaged with all the rage, or, as it were,
the sport, of war. They came so close to one another that, like an
army of foot, they fought, at once with their guns and their swords.
Almost at every turn, both of their ships, though not sunk, were bored
through,--their cannon being discharged within common gunshot range;
each ship pierced the other as if they had fought with spears. At
length, after several ships had been shattered, as Spragge was passing
from one ship to another, the boat was overturned by a chance shot, and
that great man, being unable to swim, was drowned, to the great grief
of even his generous enemy, who, after the death of Spragge, could
hardly hope to find an enemy equal to himself.” The author of the _Life
of De Ruyter_, referring to this fierce conflict, says: “The Dutch avow
the like never to have been seen; their own two ships (the ships of
Tromp and Spragge) having, without touching a sail, strangely endured
the fury of three hours’ incessant battery.”
It is difficult to get at anything approaching an adequate conception
of the horrible scenes of carnage that must have been presented by
this sanguinary conflict. Some particulars respecting Sir Edward’s
flag-ship, the _Royal Prince_, with which he went into action, may
assist in forming an idea of the dreadful devastation. The _Royal
Prince_ was a first-rate, of 1400 tons burthen, armed with one hundred
pieces of brass ordnance, and carrying seven hundred and eighty men.
She was well built, in perfect condition in all respects, and as fine
a ship as any in either of the fleets. Before Sir Edward Spragge
left the _Royal Prince_, the masts had all been shot away, most of
the guns on the upper tier were disabled, four hundred men had been
killed, and the ship was almost a helpless wreck. In this lamentable
condition a large Dutch man-of-war, with two fire-ships, bore down
upon the miserable object,--the Dutch commander resolving to burn,
sink, or capture the _Royal Prince_. The first lieutenant, considering
continued resistance hopeless, ordered the colours to be struck, and
bid the men shift for themselves as they could. Richard Leake, the
heroic master gunner, could not accept any such finish to the fray; he
boldly took the command, ordered the lieutenant to go below, sank the
two fire-ships, compelled the Dutch man-of-war to sheer off, and, wreck
as it was, brought the _Royal Prince_ into port. This hero, father of
the famous Sir John Leake, was afterwards appointed Keeper of Ordnance
Stores, and Master Gunner of England.
Sir Edward Spragge was highly distinguished for skill and bravery as
a naval commander. To urbane and polite manners he united a resolute
and daring spirit. He was beloved by his men, idolised by his
friends, feared yet honoured by his enemies. His achievements in life
commanded the enthusiastic admiration of his countrymen; his death was
universally mourned.
SIR THOMAS ALLEN.