THE NAVY OF THE RESTORATION 



withdrew to the mouth of the Thames in excellent order, reconditioned 

 and was ready to defend William at any moment. He was given no 

 chance, however, for he was immediately arrested and tried by Court 

 Martial. The Court understood something of naval matters and 

 acquitted him honourably, but the King would not accept the verdict, 

 cancelled the decision and dismissed Torrington from the country's 

 service. This action has long been recognised as a gross miscarriage 

 of justice, for the Admiral's action certainly saved the country from 

 invasion and forced Tourville into a corsair war on commerce which 

 was annoying but which did not really make very much difference. 



The Battle of Barfleur. 



Meanwhile James II had failed in his campaign in Ireland, but he 

 had not given up the game and in 1692 he and Louis XIV formed a 

 very ambitious scheme for the invasion of England which was supported 

 by many English politicians. The whole backbone of the invasion 

 would have been French and there is no doubt that even had the fleet 

 not succeeded it would have rallied the whole of England round 

 William. The command of the naval side of the expedition was again 

 given to Tourville, who was then somewhat under a cloud. He was a 

 remarkably gallant man, which may have accounted for the fact that 

 he fought the Battle of Barfleur against the judgment of any experienced 

 Admiral and indeed against the specific orders that had been sent to 

 him from Paris but which apparently did not reach him. The Anglo- 

 Dutch Fleet was over double his strength, consisting of ninety-nine 

 line-of-battle ships and thirty-eight smaller ships, mounting nearly 7,000 

 guns, against his forty-eight battleships and thirteen minor craft, mount- 

 ing 3,240. In spite of this huge disadvantage Tourville fought gallantly 

 and handled his fleet with remarkable skill, making the utmost use of 

 the fog that hid most of the battle. It was an unsatisfactory fight, in 

 which the greatest credit goes not to Admiral Russell but to Rear- 

 Admiral Carter, who had been suspected of treason but who died a 

 gallant death in attempting to hold up the flying French Fleet. Russell 

 was very severely blamed by many for not making a more complete 

 job of it. 



The Battle of La Hague. 



If Russell was criticised for not following up his victory Vice- 

 Admiral Sir Ralph Delavall could not be so blamed, for with his 

 division he found a large portion of the French Fleet near Cherbourg 

 a few days later and after a dashing action with boats and fireships 

 succeeded in destroying three of them. Meanwhile a dozen large 

 enemy ships were sighted in the Bay of La Hogue, where they con- 

 sidered themselves safe, and out of this refuge Vice-Admiral Rooke and 

 his subordinates decided to rout them. At low tide there was so little 

 water that the boats that were soon under way were actually engaged 

 by French cavalry and on more than one occasion a seaman pulled a 

 trooper off his horse with a boat-hook. In spite of all the opposition 



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