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Battle
of Solebay. 28 May 1672. 7 June
1672.
My Lord, The
frequent commands I have received from your Lordship for an Account of
our late Engagement, exact enough to be made publick, do at last come
in this following Narration, which had been sent you sooner, if the Weather, and many
other Accidents that Seamen are liable to, had not hindred us from
having such Accounts from every Flag,
as were necessary to make up one fit for your Lordship, and those you
intend to impart it to; whim I will suppose to be Landmen, for my own
excuse: For, if I were to give such a Relation as would fully satisfie
Seamen, the terms themselves concerning Tacking and Wind &c
without anything material relating to the matter, would be too
voluminous to expect it should find a reader
out of [illegible: Wapping or
Rotherhythe??].
All that I pretend to, is Brevity and truth; for the first, I
must make it good as I can; for the other, I have such Witnesses as
are unquestionable. Our
whole Fleet being at Anchor in Southwold
Bay, taking in Water, on Tuesday the 28th of may, betwixt
Two and three a Clock in the Morning, the Wind E. by N, a small Gale,
one of our Scouts came in, giving the usual Signals of seeing the
Enemy; upon which, His Royal Highness immediately gave those of
weighing Anchor, and getting under Sail, which was performed with all
the speed possible, considering the short warning; for before Seven
the whole Blew Squadron were
a Head of the Red, and the White a Stern; in which order, and at which time, the Battle began,
the Enemy having the Wind of us. The
Squadron under Bankaert
being the Van of their Fleets, attacked the French,
which made the Rear of ours, they both separated themselves from both
their Fleets, and so continued engaged out of our sight almost the
whole day, Sailing to the Southward: At first Bankaert
came briskly down upon Monsieur d’Estrees,
but afterwards finding it too hot, kept at a greater distance. The Earl of Sandwich (in Dutch) with the Blew Squadron in the Van of our Fleet, was attacked by Van Ghent, in the Rear of theirs, and endeavoring to get the Wind of the Enemy, found so great opposition, that after having sunk a man of War which laid him on Board, having above half his men killed, his Ship wholly disabled, and having put off two Fireships, was no longer in a condition to put off the third, which burnt her.
The onely Ship we
lost the whole day; His Lordship, and all the Officers, except Capt. Haddock, being lost with her; of which some few ordinary Men that
were saved by Swimming to our Ships and Boats, give us no farther
Account. The
"Henry",
that was one of the Seconds, commanded by Capt. Digby,
Son to the Earl of Bristol,
having put off several Fireships; most of her Men, her Captain, and
almost all of her Inferior Officers slain, fell into the hands of the
Dutch; but was in a little time retaken, and sent safe into Harbour by
Capt. Strickland in the "Plimouth". Sir
Joseph Jordan, Vice Admiral of the Blew, pursued the design his Admiral did not live to finish, and
succeeded in it, getting the Wind of the Enemy, which he and his
Division kept the rest of the day. The
Body of their Fleet commanded by Monsieur de
Ruyter, attached the Body of ours, commanded by His Royal Highness;
De Ruyter was accompanied by
Van Esse, (Aert
van Nes.) another Admirall, and their Seconds, which
all at a convenient distance fired upon the "Prince",
who being to Windward of her own Division, could receive little or no
assistance from them; the Capt. Sir John
Cox killed, the Main-Top-Mast, Flagstaff, and Standard, being shot
down, and the Ship intirely disabled in three hours time, His Royal
Highness thought it convenient to change his Ship, so that about Ten a
Clock being attended by Monsieur Blanckfort,
my self, Mr. Ashton,
Monsieur du Puys, and John Thompson
his best Pilot, he went on board the "St.
Michael",
Sir Robert Holmes Commander,
and there put up a new Standard, which because of the great smoak,
could not be seen well enough to be attended by his Division.
About this time, the "Royal Katherine"
newly come from the River with fresh men, and wanting many of the
Conveniencies necessary for her defence, was boarded and taken by the
Enemy, her Capt. Sir John Chichely being carried prisoner on Board their Ships; but the
Enemy leaving no great number of Men in her, they were afterwards
overpowred by ours, who carried the Dutch
that had taken her, prisoners, and the Ship safe into Harbor.
His Royal Highness continued on his way, attended by the "Phenix",
Capt. Le Nene Commander, on
Head of him, and the "Fairfax"
Capt. Leg Commander, and the
"Victory" the Earl of Ossory
Commander close a Stern, till afterwards Capt. Berry
in the "Resolution",
and Sir Fretcheville Holles in the "Cambridge",
came also on Head of us, but were both very soon disabled, the latter
having also lost her Commander; the Earl of Ossory
in the "Victory"
took their place; the Engagement being very hot all this time.
Towards Five in the Evening His Royal Highness observing his
Ship to Sail heavily, the "London",
and many of the Vice Admirals Division having ovedrtaken the "St Michael",
found upon enquiry that she had five foot Water in the Hold; so that
with the same Company he brought thither, except his Pilot, who was
killed there, he carried his Standard on Board the "London",
Sir Edward
Spragg Commander; where after fighting an hour or
two with the Ships to Windward, they were forced to bear down, and
gave opportunity to the Duke and Sir Joseph
Jordan to joyn; at which time de
Ruyter put out a Signal,
upon which all his Fleet bore down to joyn the Zealanders,
who with others had engaged the French
all day; who being to Leeward, did as well as it was possible for them
to do with the distance, the Dutch
being to Windward, kept from them.
Thus ended the Battle, and the Day; The Duke with about Thirty
Sail kept to Windward of the Dutch
all night, standing to the S.E. and found himself still so the next
morning, and so continued till about Six a Clock; when seeing some
Ships a Stern, upin supposition, they were the Remainders of our Fleet,
His Royal Highness tacked and stood with them, and found them to be as
he guest, and the whole French
Squadron with them; about Seven he returned to his own Ship, as well
refitted as was possible by the care of Captain Narbrough. About
Ten the whole Fleet were together, and about Twelve we saw the Dutch
standing after us, upon which we Tacked, having the Weather Gage, and
stood to them, in hopes of Engaging them presently: but, when the Van
of our Fleet was come up to the Body of theirs, they Tacked, and stood
back towards their own Coasts; Notwithstanding which we had certainly
engaged them, had we not been prevented about Three a Clock by a
sudden Fogg, which lasted till Six, and though it then cleared up, it
blew so fresh, and was so late, and so near their Bancks, that we did
not think it safe to Attacke them, but continued Sailing by them
almost within Canon shot till Nine at Night; when, being within a
League of the Oyster-Banck,
off the Coast of Zealand, we
Tacked, and stood till Three in the Morning to the North-west, at
which time we stood back till Six, to see if we could perceive the
enemy, which not discovering, we Anchored till the Afternoon, that we
got under Saile, and stood back to our own Coast, being very stormy
weather. As
for our Losses, besides the "Royal
James",
ther is not one ship lost, though several Commanders slain; the Earl
of Sandwich, Mr. Digby
Captain of the "Henry",
Sir Fretcheville Holles
Captain of the "Cambridge",
Sir Jo. Cox Captain of the "Prince",
Captain Pearce of the St.
George, Captain Waterworth of the Anne,
Captain Hannam of the Triumph,
Captain Yennes of the Alice and Francis
Fireship, and Monsieur de la
Rabiniere Rear Admiral of the French,
Captain Elliot of the "York",
Captain Ludman of the "Monck";
and two of the French
Captains, Monsieur des Ardans,
and Monsieur du Mesnou
are wounded; several Lieutenants and inferior Officers are killed,
whose names it were too tedious a business to set down.
Of the Volonteers of Note, My Lord Maidstone,
Mr. Montague, Mr. Richard
Nicholls, and Mr. Roger
Vaughan, both of his Royal Highnesses bedchamber, Mr. Trevanian
His Gentleman-Usher, Sir Philip
Cartwright, Sir Charles Harbord, Captain Bromley,
Captain Bennett, Mr. Cotterel,
Captain Burgh, Captain Barry, Mr. Napier,
brother to a Scotch Lord of that Name, Mr Bowles,
le Chevalier
de Serand, and le Chevalier
de Bezy are killed; and, if there are any others, their names are
not yet come to our Knowledge: Mr. Tufton,
Monsieur le Compte
de Canaples, le Chevalier de
Chasteaumourant, Monsieur Escorbiac,
Mr. Wren, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Howard, Mr. Skelton,
and Mr. Hall are all Wounded, Mr. May
hath lost his Arme. The
Advantage we have over the Enemy consists in a Man of Warr taken of 48
Guns, called the "Steveren",
Commanded by one Elzevir;
Another taken, but afterwards sunk (being Leaky) of 52 Guns, called
the "Josua",
commanded by John Dyche; A Third Sunck by the Earl of Sandwich; A Fourth by Sir Edward
Spragg, both betwixt 60 and 70 Guns; a Fireship taken, and we
forced them to Spend most of the rest, without doing us any damage:
We have very good grounds to believe we have sunk more, and
amongst the rest a Flagship; but, thinking it better to erre on the
modest side, I onely write matter of Fact;
and, least I should break my Word in the other Article, (I mean of
Brevity) I humbly kiss your Hands, and am, My Lord, Your
Lordships most Faithful, and most Obedient Servant, H. Savile. The Writer of this Letter could not think fir to mingle in
his Relation, any Expressions of His Royal Highness’s Personal
Behavior, because it was prepared fir his own sight: But it is most
certain, That never any Prince, or it may be as truly said, and
Private person, was in an Action of War, exposed to more danger from
the beginning to the end of it; His Conduct and Presence of Mind,
equalling his Fearless Courage, and carrying him to change his Ship
three times, setting up the Royal Standard in each of them, to
animate his own Men, and to brave the Enemy. Since
the writing of this Letter, is brought in an Account of the Killed and
Wounded. The
losses on the part of the Enemy, are in this particular, as in all
others, kept very secret; onely they do own from all hands, That they
have had as many Men Killed and Wounded in this Engagement, as in any
two Battles before. FinisNeedless to say, that the Dutch version of De Slag bij Solebay gives a "slightly" different account of the events.
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