1888.] on the Invincible Armada : a Tercentenary Retrospect. 323 



on the ships of tlie Spanish rear-giiard, under the command of Don 

 Juan Martinez de Eeealde in the Santa Ana, and without permitting 

 them to close, as they vainly tried to do, pounded them with their 

 great guns for the space of three hours, with such effect that Eeealde 

 sent to Don Pedro de Valdes for assistance, his ship having been 

 hulled several times, and her foremast badly wounded; how Don 

 Pedro's ship, the Nuesfra Senora del Bosario, in going to his assist- 

 ance, fouled first one and then another of her consorts, lost her bow- 

 sprit, foremast and maintopmast, and was left by Medina-Sidonia, 

 who conceived it to be his duty to push on to Dimkirk, even at the 

 sacrifice of this large and powerful ship, which was taken possession 

 of by Drake the next morning, and sent into Torbay ; how another 

 ship, the Xiiestra SeTiora de la Rosa, of 945 tons, was partially blown 

 up and was similarly left to be taken possession of by order of the 

 Admiral, and to be sent into Weymouth ; how on the Tuesday there 

 was another sharp action off Portland, and again, a third on the 

 Thursday oft' the Isle of Wight, when Piecalde's ship, the Santa Ana, 

 of 768 tons, received so much further damage that she left the fleet 

 and ran herself ashore near Havre ; how the English, joined, as they 

 passed along, by many small vessels full of men, but finding their 

 store of shot running short, were content for the next day with closely 

 following up the Spaniards, who on Saturday afternoon anchored off 

 Calais, whilst the English anchored about a mile to westward and to 

 windward of them. Here Howard wars joined by the " squadron of 

 the Narrow Seas," under Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William 

 Wynter, by the contingent of the City of London, under Nicholas 

 Gorges, and by many private ships, bringing the number uj) to a gross 

 total of nearly 200, a large j)roportion of which were very small, but 

 of which, as I have already shown, 49 were eftective ships of war. 

 The Spanish numbers had been reduced by the loss of three, if not 

 four, of their largest and best ships, and were further reduced off 

 Calais by the loss of the San Lorenzo, the largest and most heavily 

 armed of the galeasses. For on Sunday night Howard sent eight 

 fireships in amongst the Spanish fleet ; the Spaniards, panic-struck, 

 cut their cables, and by wind and tide were swejit far to leeward. In 

 the confusion, the San Lorenzo damaged her rudder, and in the 

 morning was driven ashore, and after a sharp fight, captured by the 

 boats of the Arh and some of the smaller ships. But the fleet was 

 away off Gravelines ; and there on that Monday, 29th July, was fought 

 the great battle which — more distinctly perhaps than any battle of 

 modern times — has moulded the history of Europe ; the battle which 

 curbed the gigantic power of Spain, which shattered the Spanish 

 prestige, and established the basis of England's Empii-e. 



It would be pleasant to dwell on the details of this great fight : 

 to tell you how the Spaniards, having formed themselves in a half- 

 moon, convexity in front, were charged on the wings and centre by 

 our fleet; on the westernmost or larboard wing by Drake, with 

 Hawkyns, Frobiser, Fenton, Fenner, and others; in the centre by 

 Howard and his kinsmen, with the Earl of Cumberland : and on the 



