CHAPTER XV--Of the Famous Sea Fight of Four Days
During the whole of the month of May the English fleet remained cruisingbetwixt Gravelines and Dover, till Albemarle began to revile the Dutchfor their cowardice in fearing to leave their harbours, while of deBeaufort we had neither signs nor tidings.
At length, on the last day of May, news was brought that the Frenchfleet was actually in the Channel once more, and that de Ruyter and VanTromp, with eighty sail, were already on the way to effect a union withde Beaufort.
A hurried council of war was held on board the flagship, and hereAlbemarle made the first great mistake of his life; for it is reportedhe held the Dutch so cheaply that he ordered Prince Rupert to taketwenty vessels of our fleet and make to the westward to find and engagethe French, while he relied on his remaining fifty-four ships to meetthe formidable array of Dutchmen.
This counsel our captain, Sir George Ascue, ventured to oppose, buthonest George in his wrath bade him hold his tongue, and Prince Ruperthastened on board his ship to detach the squadron of twenty ships inorder to seek de Beaufort. Before nightfall we saw them hull down, andwe set sail so as to arrive off the coast of Holland and destroy deRuyter's craven fleet.
Craven we dubbed them; but when, on the morning of the 1st of June, wefound the Dutch fleet lying at anchor, to our surprise they immediatelyslipped their cables and stood out to meet us, with a courage anddetermination that made Albemarle bitterly regret his lack of caution.
On board the _Prince Royal_ all was bustle and excitement, yet ourpreparations were made without untoward confusion. Sir George made astirring speech, the drums beat to quarters, and then came that irksomeinterval before opening fire that tells so acutely on the nerves of eventhe most hardened veteran.
The action began in a strong wind that, blowing athwart the tide, raisedsuch a steep sea that most of our ships were unable to open theirlee'ard lower-deck ports, a misfortune that more than outbalanced ouradvantage in having the weather gauge.
When within a mile of the enemy a signal was made to shorten sail, butthe hot-headed vice-admiral, Sir William Berkeley, kept on till, half amile ahead of the rest of us, he encountered the fire of over twenty ofthe Dutchmen.
We watched the gallant though unequal conflict. Unflinchingly his shipreceived the tremendous broadsides of the enemy, and, undaunted, SirWilliam returned the fire, till at length the combatants were lost in aheavy pall of smoke. Gradually the noise of the struggle ceased and thesmoke cleared away. Then, to our dismay, we saw the gallant vessel ahelpless, dismasted wreck in the possession of the Dutch.
Now came our turn, and before we were within a comfortable distance ourspars and rigging began to fall on the deck in a manner that none of ushad previously experienced. The solution of the mystery was affordedshortly afterwards by three seamen being cut in two apparently by oneshot, which finished up its career of death by splintering the base ofthe mainmast.
The bos'n, who was standing close to me, hastened to where the missilelay, and lifting it up he exclaimed: "That's where they have us! 'Tis achain shot--a new invention of that stubborn fiend de Wit!"
We were soon hotly engaged. Dead and wounded encumbered our decks,while the new and stately appearance of the _Prince Royal_ altered tillour ship resembled a butcher's shambles. Nevertheless, againsttremendous odds, we kept up a hot fire, and had the satisfaction ofseeing more than one of the towering sides of the Dutchmen crumbled intoa shapeless mass of charred and splintered timbers.
With the approach of night both fleets withdrew; but for us there waslittle rest, as all hands were employed reeving fresh rigging, splicingspars, and plugging shot holes, while our dead were committed to thedeep, and the wounded transhipped to one of the smaller vessels.
As the sun rose we descried the enemy lying a mile from us. Withouthesitation both sides made ready to renew the sanguinary combat. Thewind was now much lighter, and in consequence our ships triced up ourlower-deck ports and ran out their formidable array of guns--a sightthat gave us additional courage,--and the result was not lost upon theDutch.
In spite of their number we stuck closely to them, the flagship of VanTromp, who fought in a manner worthy of our former foeman, hisredoubtable sire, being singled out as a prize worth taking. Threevessels engaged his ship, and were within an ace of making him haul downhis flag, when de Ruyter threw seven of his largest vessels between VanTromp and our shattered ships. Then through the smoke we perceived thatsixteen ships had reinforced the already superior number of theDutchmen, and, to save ourselves from total destruction, Albemarlehoisted a signal for the English to retreat slowly towards the mouth ofthe Thames.
Smarting under the disgrace, we obeyed, firing as we went. Scarcethirty English ships remained out of the fifty-four that commenced thefight. Keeping close together, and yawing from time to time in order todeliver a broadside at our pursuers, we held doggedly on our course,till at length a flat calm set in, and both fleets lay inactive at amile apart, in which situation darkness again overtook us.
Through sheer exhaustion our men were unable to execute even thesmallest, necessary repairs, and throughout the short summer's nightthey slept heavily at their posts.
As daylight dawned upon the third day of the fight we continued ourretreat, and as a faint southerly wind sprang up the enemy drew nearwith the intention of renewing the fight, concentrating their efforts onAlbemarle's ship, which, covering the retreat, presented an undauntedspectacle to our relentless foes.
The _Prince Royal_ was next in line ahead, and so close were we that oneof Albemarle's officers hailed us to the effect that the admiral hadexpressed his intention of firing the magazines should things come tothe worst.
Shortly after midday a loud shout rose from the Dutch ships, and theirrigging was alive with men gazing southward and frantically waving theirarms.
"Send a man aloft there," ordered Sir George Ascue, his face crimsonwith excitement, "and see what those beggars are clamouring over."
The command was obeyed with alacrity, and several of our vessels alsosent a seaman to the masthead on a similar errand.
"Sail, ho!" sang out the lookout. "There's a fleet hull down to thesouth'ard."
"Heaven grant 'tis Rupert's squadron!" ejaculated our captain; "thoughmethinks by their noise those scurvy Dutchmen are sure 'tis deBeaufort."
A few hours would decide whether the English ships would be hopelesslytrapped betwixt the two fleets, or whether Prince Rupert's vessels wouldarrive to turn a retreat into a decisive victory.
The suspense was far more trying than the heat of the engagement hadbeen, but about six o'clock Albemarle hoisted a signal that decided thematter. It was: "Fleet turn four points to the south'ard to effectjunction with Prince Rupert."
Eagerly was the manoeuvre executed, and our shattered fleet bore up tomeet our welcome reinforcements; but at this juncture an accidentoccurred that, as far as we were concerned, threw us into the direstmisfortune.
The _Prince Royal_, on the new course, was the leemost vessel, and tobring her more into line the master sailed her more off the wind thanthe rest.
Suddenly a heavy thud shook us from stem to stern, and our damagedmizzen mast went by the board. Shouts and execrations arose, and allwas confusion; we were hard and fast aground on the Galloper Sands,while we had the mortification of seeing the rest of the fleet stand offand leave us to our fate.
With the falling tide the _Prince Royal_ listed heavily to starboard, sothat her guns were for the most part unworkable, and her great sideswere exposed an easy target for the enemy.
Above the din we heard Sir George's voice ordering the men to fall intotheir stations quietly and orderly. "We're safe enough for the present,my lads," he exclaimed, "for the rascally Dutchmen cannot approach ussave in their pinnaces. These we can easily drive off. At this range,too, their fire will be ineffective. They themselves will be too busywith our ships, and with the next tide we'll float easily enough."
His example animated t
he men, who immediately began to load theirmuskets and serve out boarding pikes and broadswords, while the mastertook steps to lay out a couple of anchors in readiness to warp the shipinto deep water directly the floodtide should release her.
Meanwhile our consorts were miles away, though probably the desiredjunction had been made, and we expected to see their topsails fill asthey turned to renew the combat. But our attention was drawn by thenear approach of the Hollanders. Four large vessels hove to at aquarter of a mile to windward of us and opened a furious fire. Theirshots punished us terribly, though, as if hoping to take possession ofus, they spared us betwixt wind and water, and directed their fire onour upper works and spars. An hour we lay thus, receiving their combinedstorm of shot, yet unable to reply. Splinters flew, ropes, blocks, andspars came tumbling down from aloft, men fell dead or wounded, andshrieks and groans rent the air, while all we could do was to shake ourfists in useless rage at our unapproachable foes.
Presently we saw boatloads of armed men leaving the Dutch ships, and werealized that an attempt was to be made to carry us by boarding. Thisspurred us to action, and directly the boats came within musket range ahot fire was opened on them, though in this act many of our men,exposing themselves recklessly, were shot down by the fire from the gunsof the ships.
Several of the boats were sunk by a well-directed fire from our swivelguns, but eight or nine gained the side of the _Prince Royal_, and,passing under the comparative shelter afforded by our lofty stern,boarded us on the starboard side, where, owing to the list, our bulwarkswere much lower than on the other side.
They clambered up our sides with the greatest intrepidity, but were metwith equal resolution and courage. More boats were sunk alongside bydropping heavy shot into them, those of their crew who wore breastplatesperishing miserably in the sea. Evidently the Dutchmen thought ourlosses under fire had been greater than they actually were; but theysoon realized their mistake, and with thrust of pike, swordthrusts,musket and pistol shots, they were swept aside as fast as their headsappeared above the bulwarks.
"THEY CLAMBERED UP OUR SIDES WITH THE GREATESTINTREPIDITY"]
Only one of the enemy reached our deck, and he was dragged on board bythe clever cast of a running bowline thrown by a seaman, who, seizinghis captive in his powerful grasp, demanded and obtained his surrenderat the point of a gleaming knife, while his comrades roared withlaughter at the hapless Dutchman's discomfiture.
The attempt to board us failed dismally, only four boats, filled withmore or less wounded men, getting clear from our sides, their retreatbeing hailed with shouts of derision from our exultant seamen.
But our joy was turned to feelings of dismay when we perceived that twosmall ships had joined the Dutch men-of-war, and that they were broughtto with reduced canvas immediately to windward of us, and were held bystern moorings only, so that their bows were pointed straight at ourluckless vessel. Most of us knew too much of the art of war to need tohave these new tactics explained: we were to be attacked by fire ships!
In our helpless position we were doomed. Not a boat did we carry thatwas in a condition to float, otherwise volunteers would not have beenlacking who would have risked their lives in an attempt to tow thesefurnaces clear of us. The officers held a consultation--Sir GeorgeAscue was not one of them; whether he was killed or wounded I did not atthat time know--and the opinion of the council was that if we weregrappled by the fire ships our fate would no doubt be a glorious one,but of little use to His Majesty the King. On the other hand, if wesurrendered, there was a possibility of being recaptured by ourconsorts, and thus our services would be still at His Majesty's command.
The latter alternative was accepted, and, amidst the furious andindignant shouts of the seamen, the Cross of St. George was struck, anda white flag fluttered from our mainmast truck.
The Dutchmen immediately sent boats to take possession of theunfortunate _Prince Royal_, but ere the first boat came alongside, mostof the crew had secured their personal belongings. I, for my part, wentbelow and placed all the money I had in a leather pouch, which Istrapped to my waist with a belt underneath my clothing--though it isreported the Hollanders always respect personal property. Then I cameon deck and joined my comrades, who stood in a disconsolate groupawaiting the arrival of our captors.
We were curtly ordered over the side, and hurriedly the whole of thecrew were transferred to the various Dutch ships. The officers weretaken on board the admiral's, where de Ruyter himself accepted oursurrender, complimenting us on our gallant defence, and permitting thesenior officers to retain their swords.
This done, we were sent on board a frigate and placed in a dark, stuffyhole below the waterline. Faintly we could hear the dull booming of theguns, which told us that the fleets were re-engaged, but gradually thesound died away.
Greville Drake had a pocket compass, which showed us that the vessel washeading eastward. Our captors had taken good care that we should notfall into the hands of our friends: we were on our way to Holland andcaptivity.
How the engagement would end we knew not, but our spirits were greatlydepressed with our misfortunes, and one and all, having seen that thecourage and fortitude of our enemies had been unduly depreciated by ourleaders, were far from sanguine as to the prospects of a victory of ourhitherto redoubtable fleet.
Our reveries were cut short by the appearance of a stolid Dutchman, whobrought us a liberal supply of food that, compared with our hard fare ofthe last month, was a bounteous feast. We plied him with eagerquestions, but his only reply was an expressionless shake of his massivehead, and for the time being vague surmises had to suffice.
At length, worn out with bodily fatigue, we threw ourselves down on ourrough and hard pallets, and slept soundly till we were awakened by theunmistakable sounds that accompany the action of a ship taking in sail.
We had arrived in the land of our captivity.
A Lad of Grit: A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea in Restoration Times Page 15