Admiral, however, sailed on the first notice, and though the wind blew hard into Plymouth Sound, got out to sea, but not without great difficulty. The next day, being the 20th of July, they saw the Spanish navy drawn up in a half-moon form, sailing slowly through the channel, its wings being nearly seven miles asunder. The Admiral suffered them to pass by quietly, that having the advantage of the wind he might the better attack them in the rear, which he performed with equal courage and success, and though Don Martinez de Ricalde did all that it was possible for a brave officer to do, yet they were put into the utmost disorder, and many of them received considerable damage. More would have been done, but that a great part of the English fleet lay at too great a distance, so that the Admiral was forced to wait for them. The night following, a Dutch gunner who had been illtreated by some Spanish officers, set fire to the ship on board which was their treasure; nor was it without great difficulty that the flames were extinguished. The greatest part of the money was put on board a galleon commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, which soon after sprung her foremast, and being thus disabled, and the night very dark, fell into the hands of Sir Francis Drake, who sent her captain to Dartmouth, and left the money on board to be plundered by his men. The next day was spent by the Spanish general in disposing his fleet, issuing orders to his officers, and despatching an advice-boat to hasten the Duke of Parma, by giving him an account of the great loss he had already suffered and the extreme danger he was in. On the 23d they fought again, with variety of success, which, however, demonstrated to the Spaniards that the mighty bulk of their ships was a disadvantage to them, their shot flying over the heads of the English, while every bullet of the latter took effect. On the 24th, the English were able to do little for want of ammunition; but a supply arriving in the evening, the Admiral made all necessary dispositions for attacking the Spaniards in the midst of the night, dividing his fleet into four squadrons, the first commanded by himself, the second by Sir Francis Drake, the third by Admiral Hawkins, and the fourth by Captain Martin Frobisher, but a dead calm prevented the execution of this design. On the 25th one of the Spanish ships was taken, and on the 26th the Admiral resolved to make no further attempts upon them, till they should enter the Straits of Dover, where he knew Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter waited for them with a fresh squadron. He also took this opportunity of knighting Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, Roger Townsend, Admiral Hawkins, and Captain Frobisher, for their gallant behaviour throughout the engagement. The wind favouring the Spanish fleet, they continued their course up the channel, with the English ships close in their rear. The strength of the Spaniards had not only alarmed but excited the courage of the whole nation, insomuch that every man of quality and fortune was ambitious of distinguishing himself by appearing upon this occasion against the common enemy. With this public spirited view the Earls of Oxford, Northumberland, and Cumberland, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas Vavasor, and many others, fitted out ships at their own expense, and went, most of them in person, to attend the Admiral. Men of lower rank showed their zeal and loyalty by sending ammunition and provisions, and so unanimous were all men against these foreigners, that even the Roman Catholics, whom the Spaniards expected to have found in arms, were glad to wipe away the aspersions which had been thrown upon them, by serving as common soldiers. When, therefore, the Spanish fleet anchored on the 27th of July before Calais, the English admiral had with him nearly a hundred and forty ships, which enabled him to gall the enemy extremely; but perceiving on the 28th that the Spaniards had so disposed their larger ships that it would be a very difficult matter to put them again into disorder, he resolved to practise an expedient long before in contemplation, in case the enemy should come up the river Thames, which was to convert some of his worst vessels into fire ships. This method he accordingly pursued, filling eight large barques with all sorts of combustible matter, and sending them under the command of the Captains Young and Prowse, about midnight into the thickest part of the Spanish fleet, when they speedily began to blaze, and as the Admiral had foreseen, obliged the navy to separate, and each ship by steering a separate course to seek its own safety. The next day a large galeas ran ashore on the sands of Calais, where she was plundered by the English. Desirous, however, of attempting somewhat, the Spaniards again rendezvoused near Gravelines, where they waited for some time, in hopes that the prince of Parma would come out; but in this they were disappointed, whether through the want of power or of will in that great general is uncertain. At last, finding themselves hard pressed by the English fleet, which continued to make a terrible fire upon them, they made a bold attempt to retreat through the Straits of Dover; but the wind coming about, with hard gales at north-west, drove them on the coast of Zealand, but soon after veering to the south-west, they tacked and got out of danger. The Duke de Medina Sidonia took this opportunity of calling a council of war, wherein, after mature deliberation, it was resolved that there were now no hopes left of succeeding, and therefore the most prudent thing they could do was to drop their design and to save as many ships as possible. This resolution was immediately carried into execution, and the whole Spanish navy made all the sail they could for their own coast, going north-about, which exposed them to a variety of unforeseen dangers. The English Admiral very prudently sent Lord Henry Seymour with a strong squadron to cruize on the coast of Zealand, to prevent any danger from their joining with the prince of Parma, and afterwards left them to pursue their course. When the Spanish fleet arrived on the coast of Scotland, and found that care was everywhere taken they should meet with no supply, they threw their horses and mules overboard, and such of them as had a proper store of water bore away directly for the Bay of Biscay, with the Duke of Medina Sidonia, making in all about twenty-five ships. The rest, about forty sail, under the command of the Vice-Admiral, stood over for the coast of Ireland, intending to water at Cape Clear. On the 2d of September, however, a tempest arose, and drove most of them ashore, so that upwards of thirty ships and many thousand men perished on the Irish coast. Some, likewise, were forced a second time into the English channel, where they were taken either by the English or by the Rochellers. Several very large vessels were lost among the western isles and upon the coast of Argyleshire. Out of these about five hundred persons were saved, who came into Edinburgh in a manner naked, and out of mere charity were clothed by the inhabitants of that city, who also attempted to send them home to Spain; but as if misfortunes were always to attend them, they were forced in their passage upon the coast of Norfolk, and obliged to put into Yarmouth, where they stayed till advice was given to the queen and council, who considering the miseries they had already felt, and not willing to appear less compassionate than the Scots, suffered them to continue their voyage. Thus in the short space of a month this mighty fleet, which had been no less than three years preparing, was destroyed and brought to nothing. Of one hundred and thirty ships there returned but fifty-three or four, and of the people embarked there perished twenty thousand men at least. We may best form an idea of their loss from the precaution taken by king Philip to hide it, which was by publishing a proclamation to prohibit mourning. With a hypocrisy peculiar to his character, he on hearing the news dropped down on his knees, and returned thanks to God that it was no The Duke of Medina Sidonia escaped punishment through the interest of his wife; but as for Don Diego Flores de Valdes, whose persuasions induced the general to take that rash step, he was arrested as soon as he set foot on shore, and conducted to the castle of St. Andero, after which he was never heard of more. The same writer from whom we have this particular, remarks also an error in the conduct of the English, viz., that they did not attack the Spanish fleet after it had arrived before Gravelines, which, however, he assures us was not through any fault in the Admiral, but was occasioned through the negligence of some under officers who had the direction of the military stores, and had been too sparing of powder and ammunition; otherwise he tells us, it was thought the Duke de Medina Sidonia, at the persuasion of his confessor, would have yielded both himself and his ships, which it seems were in that particular not at all better provided. This would have been a conquest indeed, a conquest equally glorious and important, the loss of which ought to teach posterity not to be too hasty in censuring great officers, or too remiss in punishing little ones. In the present case this mischance seems to have been covered by the many favours bestowed by Providence, and the offenders to have escaped through that general joy which deliverance from so great an evil diffused through the whole nation. It seems to be injurious to the reputation of those brave men who on this occasion achieved such great things, to give no account of the force of the English fleet, which, however, I find not in any of our general historians, a deficiency that I shall endeavour to supply, by adding a list collected at that time. A LIST OF THE ENGLISH FLEET IN THE YEAR 1588. Men-of-war belonging to her Majesty,..... Other ships hired by her Majesty for this service,... Furnished by the city of London, being double the number the queen demanded, all well manned, and thoroughly provided with ammunition and provision,.. Tenders and store-ships,... Furnished by the city of Bristol, large and strong ships, and which did excellent service,. A tender,.... From Barnstaple, merchant ships converted into frigates,... A stout pinnace,.. From Plymouth, stout ships, every way equal to the queen's men-of-war, A fly-boat,. Under the command of Lord Henry Seymour in the narrow seas, of the queen's ships and vessels in her service,... Ships fitted out at the expense of the nobility, gentry, and commons of England,... 16 43 By the merchant adventurers, prime ships, and excellently well furnished,..... Sir William Winter's pinnace,. 10 1 In all 143 |