THE NAVY OF THE RESTORATION 



day many of the Dutch Captains behaved very badly, while Tromp 

 caused a good deal of confusion by carrying out an independent 

 manoeuvre. At the end of it both British and Dutch had lost about 

 three ships and the enemy were in a far more disorganised condition. 

 Albemarle retreated steadily without any sign of panic, and protected 

 his damaged ships, waiting for Prince Rupert to come up. We lost a 

 big ship by explosion but the Dutch did not dare to pursue their 

 advantage. The sight of a big force to the westward caused very mixed 

 feelings and it was doubtful whether it was Prince Rupert or the French, 

 but luckily it turned out to be the former and, reinforced but still inferior 

 to De Ruyter, the British attacked again. By the end of the fourth day 

 both sides were exhausted and although they had had the better of the 

 fight the Dutch were very glad to get away. Whether our ships were 

 in a position to make any of them prizes had they not gone is another 

 matter, but the Four Days' Fight was in our favour. 



The St. James's Day Fight. 



This famous action, which took place off the North Foreland and 

 is sometimes known as the second battle of the North Foreland was 

 fought on the 25th July, 1666. The British Fleet under the joint 

 command of Albemarle and Prince Rupert was gathered in the Thames 

 Estuary, while a slightly superior Dutch Fleet was under De Ruyter. 

 The enemy planned a landing on the British coast and had taken a 

 large number of soldiers, but they realised that it was impossible to 

 carry out this plan while our fleet was still in being and accordingly 

 they were disembarked before the action. One of the things for which 

 it was conspicuous was a confirmation of the point that had shown itself 

 in the Four Days' Fight, that the British seamanship was rapidly 

 improving and that the ships kept magnificent station considering the 

 circumstances. Once again the Dutch showed the evils of divided 

 command and the most powerful of their squadrons was detached by a 

 smaller one of ours, causing great confusion. Then the Dutch centre 

 gave way and although finally De Ruyter conducted a masterly retreat 

 he lost a number of ships and finally only got a shattered remnant into 

 the shelter of the shallows. 

 Holmes's " Bonfire." 



Soon after this fight, Holmes, who had captured New York, carried 

 out a corsair raid on Terschelling. He burned 170 odd ships and set 

 fire to a number of storehouses ashore containing invaluable munitions, 

 so that altogether it was a most successful raid although it caused the 

 Dutch to strain every nerve to obtain reprisals. By this time they had 

 begun to be very disappointed in their French allies. 

 The Dutch in the Medway. 



Peace negotiations were then commenced at Breda, but Charles II, 

 losing his head over the victories that his seamen had won, dictated 

 impossible terms, although he had let the fleet get into such a bad 

 condition that it was in no state to enforce them. Angered by his. 



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