Part 10

The Danish King now refused to allow the English ships, which had been sent to the Baltic for the naval stores so necessary to the fleet, to return through the Sound or the Belts, and thus proved a new enemy for the Commonwealth to deal with.

As the term for which Blake had been appointed sole General and Admiral of the fleet had expired, he requested the appointment of two colleagues, as he considered the coast command of England equally important with that of the cruising fleet.

Colonel Deane and General Monk were accordingly so commissioned, both these officers being in the land service, and at that time actively employed in Scotland.

Winter had now set in, and Blake distributed the fleet, some for convoy duty, and some for repairs. The Dutch were hard at work in their dock-yards, and Blake, with a reduced force, cruised from port to port of the Channel, not expecting the enemy to appear at sea before the return of fine weather. In this he had greatly mistaken the energy and influence of Tromp, who, in an incredibly short time, fitted out and manned a vast fleet; and while the English squadrons were dispersed in various directions, suddenly appeared off the Goodwins with more than one hundred sail of the line, frigates and fire-ships. His plan was bold and well conceived. Coming suddenly into the Downs with this large force, he intended to close up the Thames, cut off reinforcements preparing there, and then to fall upon Blake’s division, and either capture it or drive it westward out of the Channel; then, with the coast at his mercy, he could dictate terms to the Commonwealth. At that time a winter cruise or campaign was hardly thought possible; but Tromp relied upon a swift and daring blow to finish the war in a few days.

Blake was then in the Triumph, and the first intimation he had of Tromp’s being at sea was from his own look-out ships. On the 9th of December the two fleets were in presence of each other, between Calais and Dover; and the English Admiral then learned that Tromp was in command, and accordingly prepared himself for serious work.

A council of war was held on board the Triumph. Blake declared his intention to fight, even without his detached squadrons, rather than leave the coast exposed to the incursions of the great and uncrippled Dutch fleet.

All that December day the two Admirals worked for the weather gage. The succeeding night was long, cold and stormy, and the ships were unable to keep well together. At daylight of the 10th the manœuvres for the weather gage were renewed, the two flag-ships, the Brederode and the Triumph, both drawing toward the Nase, and by three in the afternoon the fleets were quite near each other, off that headland of Essex.

Tromp being most anxious to engage, made a sudden effort to get alongside the English Admiral. The latter’s ship, however, by a skillful evolution, passed under the Brederode’s bows to the weather gage. In passing the two ships exchanged broadsides, and the battle opened. Blake’s ship was closely followed by the Garland, and missing the Triumph, Tromp ran afoul of this second ship, and carried away her bowsprit and head. The Garland and the Brederode then engaged, the English ship, though much lighter, fighting bravely until joined by the Bonaventure, 30, when the two together rather overmatched the Brederode. Tromp, by every possible appeal, encouraged his men; but his position was becoming very precarious, when Evertz, seeing him in such straits, attacked the Bonaventure, placing that small ship between the two Dutch flag-ships. The four ships were all grappled together, and it was more than an hour before the weight of metal obliged the two English ships to yield. After they had suffered great loss the Dutch boarded and captured them. Of the other English ships the Triumph, the Vanguard and the Victory bore the brunt of the action. In spite of being surrounded by enemies, and suffering severely in men, hull, masts and rigging, they all came out of the desperate encounter uncaptured. Night came early at that season, and the fleets were about separating, when Blake heard of the capture of the Garland and Bonaventure, and he at once attempted their recapture. This brought on a more destructive conflict than the previous one. Blake was surrounded by the Dutch ships, and the Triumph was three times boarded, and the assailants as often repulsed. She was reduced to a wreck, and with difficulty kept afloat, and had it not been for the Sapphire and the Vanguard, which stood by him with extraordinary courage and devotion, the English Admiral must have succumbed. Thick fog and darkness at last interposed and enabled Blake to draw off his ships toward Dover Roads.

The next morning there was a dense fog, and the Dutch were not to be seen. His disabled vessels required a shelter, and the English Admiral, therefore, resolved to run into the Thames, and there repair damages, ascertain the enemy’s intentions, and wait the recall and concentration of his scattered squadrons.

In the action off the Nase the Dutch had had much the best of it, but had lost many men, and one of their ships had blown up, every soul on board of her perishing. Tromp’s and Ruyter’s ships were both unfitted for further service, and many others were crippled; but they were the victors, and once more masters of the Channel.

Blake offered to resign, but the Council would not hear of this, and only seemed intent upon weeding out of the fleet those captains who had not shown sufficient zeal and courage. Several were broken after proper inquiry, among others, Blake’s own brother, who was reported as guilty of neglect of duty.

More vessels were concentrated and placed under Blake’s orders, and the effective force of the navy raised to 30,000 men.

While reforms, renovations and recruitments were being carried on under Blake’s own eye, Tromp sailed up and down the Channel with a broom at his masthead, typical of his having swept the Narrow Seas; and the States General proclaimed a state of blockade of the British Islands.

Caricatures and ballads were circulated in the Dutch cities, all bearing upon the late naval event. The fear that Tromp would seize the Channel islands, and the certainty that he had effectually cut off commerce, hastened the preparations of the English for a second winter campaign; and, on the 8th of February, 1653, Blake, still in the Triumph, sailed, at the head of some sixty men-of-war and frigates, having Monk and Deane with 1200 soldiers from the army on board. Penn, the father of the Quaker proprietor of Pennsylvania, was the vice admiral, and Lawson the rear admiral.

In the Straits of Dover he was joined by the Portsmouth squadron, of twenty sail; and with this addition to his strength, Blake resolved to seek the Dutch fleet, and once more give battle.

Tromp had gone to the southward, to meet a large fleet of Dutch traders which had collected near Rochelle, with the intention of convoying them home. Here intelligence reached him that the English were about to quit the Thames with a large fleet, and he hoped to be able to return in time to block it up in the river mouth, and to keep the Portsmouth squadron from effecting a junction with the main body. But Blake had stolen a march upon the Dutch Admiral, and when the latter came up with Cape la Hogue, he was surprised to find a force equal to his own prepared to dispute the passage of the seas so lately swept by his broom. He, however, accepted battle eagerly, for he was confident of victory.

THE BATTLE OFF PORTLAND.

Day was just breaking, on the morning of the 18th of February, 1653, when the Dutch van was made out from the masthead of the Triumph. Blake was on deck at once, and a grand spectacle he must have had, as the sun rose, showing the heaving wintry sea covered with ships, their sails and pendants lighted up by the early rays. There were seventy-three Dutch ships of war, convoying more than three hundred merchant ships. Owing to the darkness the ships had not seen each other until only three or four miles apart. The English flag-ships happened to be all within hailing distance of each other, but General Monk was some miles astern, in the Vanguard, and the bulk of the English fleet about five miles astern of Admiral Blake when the Dutchmen hove in sight.

Tromp, with his seaman’s eye, saw his advantage, and at once availed himself of it.

With the wind in his favor he might have forced his way by, and carried his convoy to the Scheldt in safety, returning at his leisure to give battle. But he chose to play a bolder game, and fancying that his enemy’s vanguard of some twenty ships could not resist the weight of his attack, he sent his fleet of traders to windward, out of range, with orders to await there the issue of the engagement.

This great battle was fought under circumstances which lent it thrilling interest. Both nations had had time to collect their best fleets, and the largest and finest vessels they had were there arrayed against each other, commanded by the most renowned Admirals. Blake, Deane, Penn and Lawson were on one side; Tromp, De Ruyter, Evertz, Swers, Floritz and De Wilde, all great names, on the other.

The fleets were nearly equal in strength, and their relative merits had to be determined on that day. Even the common seamen on each side felt that this was the decisive battle.

At the outset the Dutch had the wind, and therefore, the advantage of position. They were also well up together, and when they opened on the English vanguard it seemed almost impossible for only about twenty ships to withstand the crash of so many heavy broadsides.

As usual, the Triumph was the first of the English to engage, and the Brederode, ever in the van, was ready to meet her, reserving her fire until within musket shot, when her broadside would have most deadly effect. With a strong favoring breeze Tromp shot by the Triumph, pouring a fearful broadside into her as he passed; and then, tacking, gave her a second and more destructive one, leaving her with decks strewed with killed and wounded, and torn canvas, stranded rigging, and tottering masts. After this the two Admirals parted for the day, for Penn came dashing up, in the Speaker, followed by other vessels, to cover Blake from some part of the circle of fire which threatened him with destruction.

As the other divisions of the English fleet came up the battle became general. On both sides the wreck and destruction was awful. In less than one hour after the first shot was fired almost every ship engaged had received serious damage. At one moment an English crew was to be seen boarding a Dutch man-of-war, and the next they would be driven back, and their own vessel boarded in turn by the doughty Hollanders. Here might be seen a ship completely wrapped in flames; there one foundering, with all her men, their cries for help unheeded by either friend or foe; perhaps elsewhere occurred a fearful explosion, which sent ship and crew into the air together, and added fresh volume to the lurid cloud which hung over the scene.

Cotemporary writers say that the tremendous roar of artillery could be heard along the shores of the Channel, from Boulogne on the one side to Portland Bill on the other.

About midday Monk succeeded in arriving up with his division, and the contest was now entirely upon equal terms. De Ruyter, as ever, in the forefront of battle, added, if possible, to his already well earned renown. Early in the day he singled out and engaged the Prosperous, a hired ship of forty guns, commanded by a Captain Barker. The English ship maintained so steady a fire, in response, that De Ruyter, impatient, and wishing to finish her and pass on to fresh combats, called away his boarders, ran his ship alongside the Prosperous, and the Dutchmen gallantly boarded, leaping down on her deck, sword and pistol in hand. But, to their surprise, they were driven back again in a very few minutes. Not satisfied with forcing back his assailants, Barker threatened De Ruyter in return; but the brave old Dutchman, singing out, “Come lads! that was nothing! at them again!” led them to a second and more successful boarding. Barker and his officers were unable to resist this renewed assault, and were soon prisoners. At this very moment Blake, with several vessels, came up to their assistance. The prize was recovered, and Ruyter himself was surrounded by the English. Vice Admiral Evertz and Captains Swers and Krink hastened, in their turn, to relieve Ruyter from his dangerous position, and the battle soon raged with extraordinary violence around this new centre. Penn’s ship, the Speaker, was so shattered as to be unfit for further service, and when night put an end to the first day’s engagement he was despatched to the Isle of Wight, for the ships left at that station.

The Dutch Captain Cruik, in the Ostrich, was very conspicuous in this day’s engagement. Like a true sailor, he fought till he had not a spar showing above his bulwarks, and his deck was literally covered with the dead and wounded of his devoted crew. At last he was boarded by the English; but, as the ship appeared to be sinking, and her officers and crew were nearly all killed or wounded, the boarders made hasty plunder of her valuables and left her to her fate. De Wilde offered his aid to bring her off; but suddenly it fell calm, and not having a particle of sail spread, the attempt to tow her off failed, and she was again abandoned. Next morning Blake found her floating about, without a living soul on board, and the unburied corpses lying just as they had fallen; occasionally, under a more than ordinarily heavy roll, showing a startling movement.

Captain Swers, afterward a most distinguished Dutch Admiral, was taken prisoner. He had gone to the assistance of Captain De Port, who was being roughly handled by two English frigates, and the four ships were immediately locked together. De Port’s ship had several shots between wind and water, and began to fill. He himself was severely wounded by a large splinter; nevertheless, as he lay on his back, in great agony, he waved his sword, and shouted words of encouragement to his men, until ship and crew all went down into the deep together.

The Dutch had always been noted for close fire, but on this occasion the English fire proved quite as deadly and regular. Swer’s ship foundered from shot holes, himself and those of the officers and crew left being taken on board the frigates, and their lives thus preserved.

Toward dusk of the second day Blake felt himself in a sufficiently strong position to be able to send some of his best sailing ships with orders to gain the wind, and if possible prevent the escape of the vast fleet of rich traders which had remained hove to, awaiting the issue of the action. Tromp saw the movement, and at once divined the cause, so he fell back, with a great part of his fleet, to cover his convoy. This movement put an end to that day’s action; for, seeing their Admiral make sail and leave the enemy, some of the Dutch Captains made sail, and, under the cover of night, were soon far away. Blake remained on the scene of action, but with his men too much exhausted, and his vessels too much damaged, to permit of a chase in a mid-winter night.

Both sides had shown the most devoted valor and untiring zeal. The Dutch had had eight large ships either taken or destroyed. During the battle the Prosperous, the Oak, the Assistance, the Sampson, and several other English ships had been boarded and taken, although most of them were afterward recaptured. The Sampson was so damaged that her Captain, Button, and his officers and men, were taken out of her, and she was allowed to sink.

The flag-ship Triumph suffered most severely. Her Captain, Andrew Ball, was killed, as was the Admiral’s secretary, Sparrow, who was shot down at his side, and nearly half her crew were killed. Blake himself was wounded in the thigh; and the same ball which lamed him for life tore away a part of Deane’s buff coat.

The Dutch loss was never ascertained, but it was very heavy, for some of their ships had nearly all the men killed or wounded; and the appearance of their gun-decks, spattered with blood and brains, shocked even the callous captors.

At night Blake sent many of his wounded on shore, where preparations were made for them, all classes turning out to relieve and succor them. Collections of money and clothing were made in all the South and West of England, and the miserable provision made at that day for the sick and wounded was supplemented by the spontaneous gifts of the people.

Blake’s own wound, which was not really dangerous at first, required repose and proper treatment, but he would not go on shore.

At night the fleets lay close together, never losing sight of each other’s lights during the whole of the long winter’s night. During these dark hours all hands were employed in stopping leaks, repairing sails, and getting gun tackle in readiness to renew the contest in the morning.

A dead calm had succeeded to the fresh breeze which was blowing when the battle began; and if it continued the Dutch could have no choice as to renewing the fight. But at daylight a light breeze sprang up, and Tromp, anxious to take home his convoy in safety, disposed his men of war in the form of a crescent, with the traders in the centre, and crowding all sail, stood directly up Channel. Blake followed in pursuit, with all his available ships. It was noon, however, before the Triumph came within gunshot of the rearmost Dutch ship, and it was two in the afternoon before the main body came up with them, off Dungeness.

Seeing that he would be compelled to fight, Tromp ordered his convoy to make the best of their way to the nearest Dutch port, keeping close along Calais and Dunkirk, for protection; and then he turned upon his pursuers, like a lion at bay.

The battle was renewed with great fury. De Ruyter again performed miracles of courage and conduct, but the fortune of war was against him. After some hours his own ship became unmanageable, and would have fallen into the enemy’s hands but for Tromp, who saw his danger, and sent a ship to extricate him. With great difficulty this was accomplished. An hour or two later Tromp began to haul off towards Boulogne, but it was not until night fell again that the hostile fleets separated once more.

That night proved bitterly cold, but unusually clear, for winter, so that the English fleet was enabled to keep the Dutch lights in sight. On this day just closed Blake had captured or destroyed five of his enemy’s ships, and, in consequence of the recent reforms, had not had occasion to complain of the want of courage, steadiness or promptness of a single commanding officer. In the Dutch fleet Tromp had to contend against want of concert, party bitterness and personal envy in many of his captains. At the close of this day’s fighting several of the latter sent word on board the Brederode that they were out of powder, and Tromp was compelled to send them away in the night, so as to prevent cowardice and treason from spreading to the other ships. To conceal his true motive he pretended to give them orders to take a new position, to windward of the convoy, to protect them from the light craft of the English, which were hovering about.

But when day dawned Blake saw at a glance that the Dutch fleet was considerably reduced in numbers, and inferred that a squadron had been despatched during the night to cover the convoy; and he at once sent a squadron of fleet sailers after them, while he himself bore down once more on his reduced but unconquered enemy. Tromp met him with undaunted courage, and, as usual, fought desperately. But the most he could now hope for, with his reduced fleet, was to occupy Blake until his richly laden convoy could reach a friendly port. But even this seemed doubtful. After the first shock of this day’s renewed fighting he felt that he would be able to afford them but small protection; and he sent Captain Van Ness to the merchant fleet, with orders to crowd all sail for Calais Road. As the fight went on he again sent another officer to hurry them in, or else the English frigates would soon be among them. But the wind was blowing from the French coast, and Van Ness’ most energetic efforts were insufficient to carry the confused mass of traders near enough to the Roads to be out of danger. More than half the men-of-war and frigates of the Dutch fleet had been scattered, taken, or sunk, by this time, and many of the captains who were left had, contrary to Tromp’s orders, retreated upon the flying convoy. Confusion now reigned, and as the English came up, the merchantmen, in their alarm, either ran foul of each other and knocked themselves to pieces, or fell into the enemy’s hands.

Still engaged with the retreating Dutch men-of-war, Blake arrived on the scene in the afternoon, and finding some of the merchant ships actually throwing themselves into his way, he began to suspect that it was done to lure him to make captures and give the discomfited fleet time to rally. He accordingly gave strict orders that every man-of-war still in condition to follow and fight should press on after the main body of the enemy, leaving the traders to be either picked up by the frigates detailed for the purpose, or driven where they could be captured after the Dutch fleet was swept from the Channel. At last darkness put an end to the chase. Tromp ran in and anchored the remnant of his fleet under the French shore, about four miles from Calais. They were in number about one-half what he had sailed with; and all of them more or less damaged.

Blake’s pilots all agreed that Tromp could not, as the winds and tides then were, come out to sea again, in order to get home. He, therefore, anchored his fleet also, and set to repair damages. The night was dark and a gale was blowing, and ships’ lights could not be seen at any distance. At daylight the sea was clear where so many ships had been at anchor at sunset. Tromp had slipped away toward Dunkirk; and afterward succeeded in entering the various ports of Zealand.

Blake felt that it would not be well for him to follow the enemy into the flats and shallows of his own coast, and so he stood over for England. The bad weather continuing, he carried his fleet and the prizes into Stoke Bay, whence he reported his success to Parliament.

During these successive days of fighting there had been great loss of life. Seven Dutch captains were killed, and three taken prisoners. Three English captains were killed, and Blake himself, Rear-Admiral Lawson, and many other distinguished officers wounded. The total loss on each side was never published. A day of thanksgiving was appointed in England, and provision made by public subscription, as well as by the State, for the widows and children of those who had fallen.

Blake took no rest, in spite of his wound, but refitted and revictualed his ships, intending to strike a blow at the Brest privateers.

But in April he received information that the equally indefatigable Tromp was making great efforts to equip another fleet. He at once proceeded off the Texel, with about one hundred sail. In the Texel he saw many men-of-war, but Tromp himself had already gone out to the Northward, to convoy in an expected fleet of traders from Spain and the Levant. By good seamanship he brought them safe home, but not by the Channel which he had formerly brushed down with his broom.

Then came Cromwell’s assumption of supreme power; and political events of magnitude usurped, in English minds, the Dutch war, and all other matters.