close up with the prince, and then began a very sharp engagement. His
Highness had none to second him but the vice-admiral and rear-admiral of
the blue, Sir John Harman, Captain Davis, and Captain Stout, of his own
division, Sir John Holmes in the _Rupert_, Captain Legge in the _Royal
Katharine_, Sir John Berry in the _Resolution_, Sir John Ernle in the
_Henry_, Sir Roger Strickland in the _Mary_, and Captain Carter in the
_Crown_; in all about thirteen ships. The engagement was very close and
bloody till about seven o'clock, when His Highness forced the Dutch
fleet into great disorder and sent in two fire-ships amongst them to
increase it, at the same time making a signal for the French to bear
down; which, even then, if they had done, a total defeat must have
followed: but, as they took no notice of it and the prince saw that most
of his ships were not in any condition to keep the sea long, he wisely
provided for their safety by making with an easy sail toward our own
coasts.
This battle ended as doubtfully as any of the rest; for the Dutch very
loudly claimed the victory now, as they did before, and with fully as
much reason. The truth is, it seems to have been a drawn battle; since
the Dutch, notwithstanding all their advantages, did not take or sink a
single English man-of-war, and killed but two captains, Sir William
Reeves and Captain Havard, besides our gallant admiral, Sir Edward
Spragge, and no great number of private men. On their side they lost two
vice-admirals, Sweers and Liefde, three captains, and about one thousand
private men.
Soon after this battle the English fleet came into the Thames, and
Prince Rupert returned to court, where he joined his representations to
those of others who were desirous for peace, the result of which was
that a treaty of peace was signed in London on February 9th, 1674,
whereby all differences were adjusted. The limits of the British seas
were particularly defined; and the states undertook that not only
separate ships, but whole fleets should strike their sails to any fleet
or single ship carrying the king's flag, as the custom was in the days
of his ancestors.
The East India trade was likewise settled so as to prevent subsequent
debates, and not leave either party at liberty to encroach upon the
other. Places taken on both sides were by this treaty to be restored;
and the states-general were to pay His Majesty eight hundred thousand
patacoons at four payments; the first, immediately after the
ratification of this treaty, and the other three by annual payments.
Thus ended the third of our Dutch wars; which, though made against the
interest and will of the people, terminated to their advantage; whereas
the former war, begun at the instance of the nation, ended but
indifferently; so little correspondence is there between the grounds and
issues of things.
THE BATTLE OF BEACHY HEAD.
There was little to record to the honour of the navy in the reign of
James II. As Duke of York he had held the office of Lord High-admiral
for years, and he doubtless knew as much about the navy as any man of
his time. This knowledge he is said to have employed as soon as he came
into power to bring the navy into a state of efficiency, and yet, when
in November 1688 the Prince of Orange sailed for England, he was able to
effect his passage and land his army at Torbay without any opposition
from the fleet.
During the first year of the reign of William and Mary the navy did some
service in Ireland, Admiral Herbert engaging the French in Bantry Bay
without much success, and Commodore Rooke effecting the relief of
Londonderry. The former engagement was virtually a defeat for the
English, as the French effected their purpose by landing their supplies
and making good their retreat. William III., however, willing to put the
best possible construction upon the event, and desirous of conciliating
the navy, created Admiral Herbert Earl of Torrington, and knighted
Captains John Ashby and Cloudesley Shovel.
As to the remaining naval transactions of this year, they were neither
many nor great, but they included the taking of two celebrated
sea-officers of the French service, the Chevalier Fourbin and John du
Bart. These gentlemen commanded two small frigates, and had under their
convoy six rich merchantmen, homeward-bound. Near the Isle of Wight they
were chased by two of our fifty-gun ships, which they engaged very
bravely, though they saw that it was impossible for them to avoid being
taken. All they aimed at was to give their merchantmen time to escape,
and in this they succeeded; for, while they fought desperately, the
vessels under their convoy got safely into Rochelle. As for the
Chevalier Fourbin and Captain Bart, they were carried prisoners into
Plymouth, from whence not long after they found means to escape, and got
safely over to Calais. For this gallant and generous action the French
king rewarded each of them with the command of a man-of-war.
In 1690, however, the fleet was called upon to face a far more
formidable encounter. The French, who had for years been paying
increased attention to naval affairs, and who had made use of the recent
Dutch wars, first on one side and then on the other, to obtain knowledge
and experience of maritime affairs, now despatched their fleet with a
considerable body of troops to make a descent upon England in the
interests of James II., while the Jacobins in London made active
preparations for a simultaneous rising.
On June 12th the French fleet put to sea in three squadrons, each
squadron being divided into three divisions. Of these the white and blue
squadrons, commanded by Count d'Estrees, on board the _Le Grand_, a ship
of eighty-six guns, formed the vanguard, consisting of twenty-six
men-of-war. The main body was composed of the white squadron, which
consisted likewise of twenty-six sail, commanded by the Admiral Count
Tourville in the _Royal Sun_, a ship of one hundred guns; while the blue
squadron, commanded by M. d'Amfreville in the _Magnificent_, a ship of
eighty guns, comprised twenty-five sail and formed the rear-guard. In
all there were seventy-eight men-of-war and twenty-two fire-ships, and
the whole fleet carried upwards of four thousand seven hundred pieces of
cannon. On June the 13th they steered for the English coast, and on the
20th arrived off the Lizard. The next day the admiral took some English
fishing-boats; and, after having paid the people who were on board for
their fish, set them at liberty again. These men were the first to bring
the news of the arrival of the French fleet on our coast, while our own
fleet was lying idle in the Downs.
Under the arrangement of the conspirators the French fleet was to enter
the Thames, and the Jacobins in London were to rise, seize the queen and
her principal ministers, and proclaim James once more king, whereupon
James was to leave Ireland to the care of Lauzun and Tyrconnel, return
to England and take the head of the revolution, while the French landed
troops at Torbay and intercepted the return of William from Ireland.
The Earl of Torrington was at St. Helen's when he received the news of
the arrival of the French fleet, which must have surprised him very
much, since he was so far from expecting the French in that quarter that
he had no scouts to the westward. He put to sea, however, with such
ships as he had, and stood to the south-east, leaving orders that all
the English and Dutch ships which could have notice should follow him.
In the evening he was joined by several more ships, and the next morning
he found himself within sight of the enemy. The French landed and made
some prisoners on shore; and by them sent a letter from Sir William
Jennings, an officer in the navy, who had followed the fortunes of King
James and served now as third captain on board the admiral, promising
pardon to all such captains as would now adhere to that prince. The next
day Torrington received another reinforcement of seven Dutch men-of-war,
under the command of Admiral Evertzen, and for some time the English
fleet lay off Ventnor, while the French fleet stood off the Needles. It
is certain that the Earl of Torrington did not think himself strong
enough to venture on an engagement, and in all probability the rest of
the admirals agreed with him.
His whole strength consisted of about thirty-four men-of-war of several
sizes, and the three Dutch admirals had under their command twenty-two
large ships. Outnumbered by more than twenty sail it was perhaps but
natural that he should seek to avoid hostilities.
In London, where the Jacobin plot was known, the utmost excitement
prevailed. The rival fleets were known to be in sight of each other, and
it was clear that the English admiral was reluctant to engage. Under
these circumstances the queen, fearful of the consequences of continued
tension, by the advice of the privy council sent the earl orders to
fight at all costs and compel the French fleet to withdraw. In obedience
to this order, as soon as it was light, on June 30th, the admiral threw
out the signal for drawing into line and bore down upon the enemy, while
they were under sail, with their heads to the northward.
The signal for battle was made about eight, when the French braced their
head sails to their masts, in order to lie by. The action began about
nine, when the Dutch squadron, which made the van of the united fleets,
fell in with the van of the French, and put them into some disorder.
About half an hour after our blue squadron engaged their rear very
warmly; but the red, commanded by the Earl of Torrington in person,
which made the centre of our fleet, could not come up till about ten;
and this occasioned a great opening between them and the Dutch. The
French, making use of this advantage, weathered, and of course
surrounded the Dutch, who defended themselves very gallantly, though
they suffered extremely from so unequal a fight. The admiral, seeing
their distress, endeavoured to relieve them; and while they dropped
their anchors, the only method they had left to preserve themselves, he
drove with his own ship and several others between them and the enemy,
and in that situation anchored about five in the afternoon, when it grew
calm; but discerning how much the Dutch had suffered, and how little
probability there was of regaining anything by renewing the fight, he
weighed about nine at night, and retired eastward with the tide of
flood.
The next day it was resolved in a council of war, held in the afternoon,
to preserve the fleet by retreating, and rather to destroy the disabled
ships, if they should be pressed by the enemy, than to hazard another
engagement by endeavouring to protect them. This resolution was executed
with as much success as could be expected, which, however, was chiefly
owing to want of experience in the French admirals; for, by not
anchoring when the English did, they were driven to a great distance;
and, by continuing to chase in a line of battle, instead of leaving
every ship at liberty to do her utmost, they could never recover what
they lost by their first mistake. But, notwithstanding all this, they
pressed on their pursuit as far as Rye Bay; and forcing the _Anne_, of
seventy guns, which had lost all her masts, on shore near Winchelsea,
they sent in two ships to burn her, which the captain prevented by
setting fire to her himself. The body of the French fleet stood in and
out of the bays of Bourne and Pevensey, in Sussex, while about fourteen
of their ships anchored near the shore. Some of these attempted to burn
a Dutch ship of sixty-four guns, which at low water lay dry; but her
commander defended her so stoutly every high water, that they were at
length forced to desist, and the captain carried her safe into Holland.
Our loss in this unlucky affair, if we except reputation, was not so
great as might have been expected; not more than two ships, two sea
captains, two captains of marines, and three hundred and fifty private
men. The Dutch were much more unfortunate, because they were more
thoroughly engaged. Besides three ships sunk in the fight, they were
obliged to set fire to three more that were stranded on the coast of
Sussex, losing in all six ships of the line. They likewise lost many
gallant officers; particularly their rear-admirals, Dick and Brakel, and
Captain Nordel, with a great number of inferior officers and seamen.
After the engagement our fleet retreated towards the River Thames; and
the Earl of Torrington, going on shore, left the command to Sir John
Ashby. On July 8th the French fleet stood toward their own coast, but
were seen, upon the 27th, off the Berry Head, a little to the eastward
of Dartmouth, and then, the wind taking them short, they put into
Torbay. There they lay but a short time; for they were discovered on the
29th near Plymouth, at which place the necessary preparations were made
by platforms and other works to give them a warm reception. On August
5th they appeared again off the Rame Head, in number between sixty and
seventy, when, standing westward, they were no more seen in the Channel
during 1690.
The earl was tried by court martial on the charge of having from
treachery or cowardice misbehaved in his office, drawn dishonour on the
English nation and sacrificed our good allies the Dutch. He defended
himself with dignity and eloquence, affirming that he fought under
orders, against his own judgment and that of his staff, against superior
forces without any probability of success; that the Dutch suffered for
their own rashness, and that if he had sustained them in the manner they
expected, the whole fleet must have been surrounded and destroyed. In
the end the earl was acquitted, but the day after the trial he was
superseded.
THE VICTORY OF LA HOGUE.
BY JOHN CAMPBELL.
On the dismissal of the Earl of Torrington from the command of the navy,
Edward Russel was appointed admiral and commander-in-chief; but twelve
months elapsed before an opportunity occurred for wiping out the
dishonour of the engagement off Beachy Head.
As soon as Louis XIV. perceived that it was impossible to support the
war in Ireland any longer to advantage, he resolved to employ the forces
still left with King James to serve his purpose in another way. With
this view, he concerted with the malcontents in England an invasion of
the coast of Sussex; and though for this design it was necessary to draw
together a large number of transports, as well as a very considerable
body of troops, he had both in readiness before his purpose was so much
as suspected here. The land forces consisted of fourteen battalions of
English and Irish troops, and about nine thousand French soldiers,
commanded by Marshal de Belfondes; so that in all there were not less
than twenty thousand men. The fleet of transports consisted of three
hundred sail, and was well provided with everything necessary for the
invasion. In short, nothing was wanting to the execution of this design
in the beginning of April but the arrival of Count d'Estrees' squadron
of twelve men-of-war, which was to escort the embarkation; while the
Count de Tourville cruised in the Channel with the grand fleet, ready to
put to sea but detained by contrary winds. Things being in this
position, King James sent over Colonel Parker and some other agents to
give his friends intelligence of his motions; and some of these people,
in hopes of reward, gave the first clear account of the whole design to
the English government; upon which, order after order was sent to
Admiral Russel to hasten out to sea in whatever condition the fleet
might be.
There were at this very critical juncture two considerable squadrons at
sea; one under the command of Sir Ralph Delaval, sent to bring home a
fleet of merchantmen from the Mediterranean; the other under
Rear-admiral Carter, near the French coast. It was apprehended that the
French would have endeavoured to intercept the former; and therefore, on
the last of February, orders were sent by the _Groin_ packet-boat to
Vice-admiral Delaval, to avoid coming near Cape St. Vincent, but rather
to sail to Dingle Bay, the mouth of the Shannon, or some other port
thereabouts. But, for fear these orders might not reach him soon enough
at Cadiz, an advice-boat was ordered to cruise for him off Cape Clear,
with instructions to put into Cork or Kingsale. However, both these
orders missed him, and he was so fortunate as to arrive in the beginning
of March, 1692, safe in the Downs.
Rear-admiral Carter was ordered to continue cruising with his squadron
of eighteen sail as near the French coast as possible, in order to be
the better and earlier informed of the movements of the enemy. King
William, as soon as he arrived in Holland, took care to hasten the naval
preparations with unusual diligence; so that the fleet was ready to put
to sea much sooner than had been expected, or at least much sooner than
it had done the year before, and was also in a much better condition.
Admiral Russel went on board in the beginning of May, and soon after
received orders to cruise between Cape la Hogue and the Isle of Wight
till the squadrons should join him, though he had proposed the junction
should be made off Beachy Head. However, he obeyed his orders as soon as
he received them, and plied down through the sands with a very scanty
wind, contrary to the opinion of many of his officers and all the
pilots, who were against hazarding so great a fleet in so dangerous an
attempt; and yet to this bold stroke of the admiral's was due his
subsequent success.
On May the 8th the fleet came safe off Rye, and that night the admiral
sent to the Dutch admiral to weigh and make sail after him, that no time
might be lost. He also sent a squadron of small ships to look for Sir
Ralph Delaval, being in great anxiety until the whole confederate fleet
was collected in one body. On May 11th he sailed from Rye Bay for St.
Helen's; where in two days' time he was joined by Sir Ralph Delaval and
Rear-admiral Carter with their squadrons. While here, the admiral
received a letter from the Earl of Nottingham, as secretary of state,
written by Queen Mary's direction, wherein he was informed that a
scandalous and malicious report had been spread with regard to some of
the officers of the fleet, to the effect that they were disaffected or
not hearty in the service, and that Her Majesty had thereupon been
pressed to discharge many of them from their employment; but Her Majesty
charged the admiral to acquaint his officers that she was satisfied this
report was raised by the enemies of the government, and that she reposed
so entire a confidence in their fidelity that she had resolved not to
displace so much as one of them. Upon this the flag-officers and
captains drew up a very dutiful and loyal address, dated from on board
the _Britannia_ at St. Helen's, May 15th, 1692, which was the same day
transmitted to court, and on the next presented by the lords of the
Admiralty to Her Majesty, who was pleased to make the following wise and
gracious answer, which was published that night in the _Gazette_: "I
always had this opinion of the commanders; but I am glad this is come to
satisfy others."
When all the ships, English and Dutch, were assembled the admiral
proposed that a small detachment of six or eight frigates might be sent
to hover about the coast of Normandy, and that the grand fleet should
lie westward of that place, in order to protect them from the enemy.
This proposition being in part approved, he detached six light ships to
gain intelligence, and sailed on May 18th for the coast of France. The
next day, about three in the morning, the scouts westward of the fleet
fired swivel-guns, and made the signal of discovering the enemy.
Immediately orders were given for drawing into a line of battle; and the
signal was made for the rear of the fleet to tack, in order to engage
the sooner if the French stood to the northward. A little after four,
the sun dispersing the fog, the enemy were seen standing southward. The
admiral upon this caused the signal for the rear to tack to be taken in,
and bore away with his ship to leeward, that each ship in the fleet
might fetch his wake and then be brought to and lay by, with his foretop
sail to the mast; that so others might have the better opportunity of
placing themselves according to the manner formerly directed for such an
occasion.
The confederate fleet was in good order by eight, having the Dutch
squadron in the van, the red in the centre, and the blue in the rear.
About ten the French fleet bore down upon them with great resolution.
About half-past eleven Count Tourville in the _Royal Sun_ brought to and
began the fight with Admiral Russel, being within three-quarters
musket-shot. He plied his guns very warmly till one, but then began to
tow off in great disorder; his rigging, sails, and topsail yards being
very much injured. About two the wind shifted; so that five of the
enemy's blue squadron posted themselves, three ahead and two astern of
their admiral, and fired very briskly till after three. The admiral and
his two seconds, Mr. Churchil and Mr. Aylmer, had all these ships to
deal with. The fog was so thick about four that the enemy could not be
seen; and, as soon as it cleared up, the French admiral was discovered
towing away northward; upon which the admiral followed him and made the
signal for chasing.
While this passed between the admirals, Sir Cloudesley Shovel got to the
windward of Count Tourville's squadron and engaged them; but the fog
growing darker than before, they were forced to anchor. The weather
clearing up a little, the French followed their flying admiral, and the
English chased the best they could. About eight in the evening it grew
foggy again, and part of the English blue squadron, having fallen in
with the enemy, engaged about half an hour, till, having lost four
ships, they bore away for Conquet road. In this short action
Rear-admiral Carter was killed.
The 20th of May proved so dark and foggy, that it was eight o'clock
before the Dutch discovered the enemy; and then the whole fleet began to
chase, the French crowding away westward. About four in the afternoon
both fleets anchored; about ten they weighed again, and about twelve
Admiral Russel's foretop mast came by the board.
On the 22nd, about seven in the morning, the English fleet continued the
chase with all the success they could desire; about eleven the French
admiral ran ashore and cut her masts away; upon which her two seconds
plied up to her and other ships began to hover about them; and the
English admiral ordered Sir Ralph Delaval, who was in the rear, to keep
with him a strength sufficient to destroy these ships, and to send the
rest, under his command, to join the body of the fleet. In the evening a
great number of the enemy's ships were seen going into La Hogue. On the
23rd the admiral sent in Sir George Rooke with several men-of-war,
fire-ships, and all the boats of the fleet, to destroy these ships in
the bay. On their entering it was perceived that there were thirteen
sail; but they were got up so high that none but the small frigates
could reach them. Sir George, however, was resolved to execute his
orders; and therefore, having manned his boats, he went in person to
encourage the attempt, burnt six of them that night, and the other seven
the next morning, together with a great number of transport ships, and
other vessels laden with ammunition. This remarkable piece of service,
the greatest that happened during the whole affair, was performed under
a prodigious fire from the enemy's battery on shore, and within sight of
the Irish camp, with the loss only of ten men.
Sir John Ashby, with his own squadron and some Dutch ships, pursued the
rest of the French fleet till they ran through the Race of Alderney,
among such rocks and shoals that our pilots were absolutely against
following them; for which the admiral was censured, though some of the
ablest seamen in England were of opinion that there could not be a more
desperate undertaking than the flight of the French ships through that
passage. Though despair might justify the French in making the attempt,
clearly prudence forbade the English from following them.
THE STORY OF SIR GEORGE ROOKE.
BY JOHN CAMPBELL.
THE LOSS OF THE SMYRNA FLEET OFF ST. VINCENT.--THE DEFEAT OF THE
FRENCH AT VIGO.--THE STORMING OF GIBRALTAR.--THE BATTLE OFF
MALAGA.
Sir George Rooke was the son of Sir William Rooke, Knt., of an ancient
and honourable family in the county of Kent, where he was born in the
year 1650.