There was little to record to the honour of the navy in the reign of James II. As Duke of York he had held the office of Lord High-admiral for years, and he doubtless knew as much about the navy as any man of his time. This knowledge he is said to have employed as soon as he came into power to bring the navy into a state of efficiency, and yet, when in November 1688 the Prince of Orange sailed for England, he was able to effect his passage and land his army at Torbay without any opposition from the fleet.
During the first year of the reign of William and Mary the navy did some service in Ireland, Admiral Herbert engaging the French in Bantry Bay without much success, and Commodore Rooke effecting the relief of Londonderry. The former engagement was virtually a defeat for the English, as the French effected their purpose by landing their supplies and making good their retreat. William III., however, willing to put the best possible construction upon the event, and desirous of conciliating the navy, created Admiral Herbert Earl of Torrington, and knighted Captains John Ashby and Cloudesley Shovel.
As to the remaining naval transactions of this year, they were neither many nor great, but they included the taking of two celebrated sea-officers of the French service, the Chevalier Fourbin and John du Bart. These gentlemen commanded two small frigates, and had under their convoy six rich merchantmen, homeward-bound. Near the Isle of Wight they were chased by two of our fifty-gun ships, which they engaged very bravely, though they saw that it was impossible for them to avoid being taken. All they aimed at was to give their merchantmen time to escape, and in this they succeeded; for, while they fought desperately, the vessels under their convoy got safely into Rochelle. As for the Chevalier Fourbin and Captain Bart, they were carried prisoners into Plymouth, from whence not long after they found means to escape, and got safely over to Calais. For this gallant and generous action the French king rewarded each of them with the command of a man-of-war.
In 1690, however, the fleet was called upon to face a far more formidable encounter. The French, who had for years been paying increased attention to naval affairs, and who had made use of the recent Dutch wars, first on one side and then on the other, to obtain knowledge and experience of maritime affairs, now despatched their fleet with a considerable body of troops to make a descent upon England in the interests of James II., while the Jacobins in London made active preparations for a simultaneous rising.
On June 12th the French fleet put to sea in three squadrons, each squadron being divided into three divisions. Of these the white and blue squadrons, commanded by Count d'Estrees, on board the Le Grand, a ship of eighty-six guns, formed the vanguard, consisting of twenty-six men-of-war. The main body was composed of the white squadron, which consisted likewise of twenty-six sail, commanded by the Admiral Count Tourville in the Royal Sun, a ship of one hundred guns; while the blue squadron, commanded by M. d'Amfreville in the Magnificent, a ship of eighty guns, comprised twenty-five sail and formed the rear-guard. In all there were seventy-eight men-of-war and twenty-two fire-ships, and the whole fleet carried upwards of four thousand seven hundred pieces of cannon. On June the 13th they steered for the English coast, and on the 20th arrived off the Lizard. The next day the admiral took some English fishing-boats; and, after having paid the people who were on board for their fish, set them at liberty again. These men were the first to bring the news of the arrival of the French fleet on our coast, while our own fleet was lying idle in the Downs.
Under the arrangement of the conspirators the French fleet was to enter the Thames, and the Jacobins in London were to rise, seize the queen and her principal ministers, and proclaim James once more king, whereupon James was to leave Ireland to the care of Lauzun and Tyrconnel, return to England and take the head of the revolution, while the French landed troops at Torbay and intercepted the return of William from Ireland.
The Earl of Torrington was at St. Helen's when he received the news of the arrival of the French fleet, which must have surprised him very much, since he was so far from expecting the French in that quarter that he had no scouts to the westward. He put to sea, however, with such ships as he had, and stood to the south-east, leaving orders that all the English and Dutch ships which could have notice should follow him. In the evening he was joined by several more ships, and the next morning he found himself within sight of the enemy. The French landed and made some prisoners on shore; and by them sent a letter from Sir William Jennings, an officer in the navy, who had followed the fortunes of King James and served now as third captain on board the admiral, promising pardon to all such captains as would now adhere to that prince. The next day Torrington received another reinforcement of seven Dutch men-of-war, under the command of Admiral Evertzen, and for some time the English fleet lay off Ventnor, while the French fleet stood off the Needles. It is certain that the Earl of Torrington did not think himself strong enough to venture on an engagement, and in all probability the rest of the admirals agreed with him.
His whole strength consisted of about thirty-four men-of-war of several sizes, and the three Dutch admirals had under their command twenty-two large ships. Outnumbered by more than twenty sail it was perhaps but natural that he should seek to avoid hostilities.
In London, where the Jacobin plot was known, the utmost excitement prevailed. The rival fleets were known to be in sight of each other, and it was clear that the English admiral was reluctant to engage. Under these circumstances the queen, fearful of the consequences of continued tension, by the advice of the privy council sent the earl orders to fight at all costs and compel the French fleet to withdraw. In obedience to this order, as soon as it was light, on June 30th, the admiral threw out the signal for drawing into line and bore down upon the enemy, while they were under sail, with their heads to the northward.
The signal for battle was made about eight, when the French braced their head sails to their masts, in order to lie by. The action began about nine, when the Dutch squadron, which made the van of the united fleets, fell in with the van of the French, and put them into some disorder. About half an hour after our blue squadron engaged their rear very warmly; but the red, commanded by the Earl of Torrington in person, which made the centre of our fleet, could not come up till about ten; and this occasioned a great opening between them and the Dutch. The French, making use of this advantage, weathered, and of course surrounded the Dutch, who defended themselves very gallantly, though they suffered extremely from so unequal a fight. The admiral, seeing their distress, endeavoured to relieve them; and while they dropped their anchors, the only method they had left to preserve themselves, he drove with his own ship and several others between them and the enemy, and in that situation anchored about five in the afternoon, when it grew calm; but discerning how much the Dutch had suffered, and how little probability there was of regaining anything by renewing the fight, he weighed about nine at night, and retired eastward with the tide of flood.
The next day it was resolved in a council of war, held in the afternoon, to preserve the fleet by retreating, and rather to destroy the disabled ships, if they should be pressed by the enemy, than to hazard another engagement by endeavouring to protect them. This resolution was executed with as much success as could be expected, which, however, was chiefly owing to want of experience in the French admirals; for, by not anchoring when the English did, they were driven to a great distance; and, by continuing to chase in a line of battle, instead of leaving every ship at liberty to do her utmost, they could never recover what they lost by their first mistake. But, notwithstanding all this, they pressed on their pursuit as far as Rye Bay; and forcing the Anne, of seventy guns, which had lost all her masts, on shore near Winchelsea, they sent in two ships to burn her, which the captain prevented by setting fire to her himself. The body of the French fleet stood in and out of the bays of Bourne and Pevensey, in Sussex, while about fourteen of their ships anchored near the shore. Some of these attempted to burn a Dutch ship of sixty-four guns, which at low water lay dry; but her commander defended her so stoutly every high water, that they were at length forced to desist, and the captain carried her safe into Holland.
Our loss in this unlucky affair, if we except reputation, was not so great as might have been expected; not more than two ships, two sea captains, two captains of marines, and three hundred and fifty private men. The Dutch were much more unfortunate, because they were more thoroughly engaged. Besides three ships sunk in the fight, they were obliged to set fire to three more that were stranded on the coast of Sussex, losing in all six ships of the line. They likewise lost many gallant officers; particularly their rear-admirals, Dick and Brakel, and Captain Nordel, with a great number of inferior officers and seamen.
After the engagement our fleet retreated towards the River Thames; and the Earl of Torrington, going on shore, left the command to Sir John Ashby. On July 8th the French fleet stood toward their own coast, but were seen, upon the 27th, off the Berry Head, a little to the eastward of Dartmouth, and then, the wind taking them short, they put into Torbay. There they lay but a short time; for they were discovered on the 29th near Plymouth, at which place the necessary preparations were made by platforms and other works to give them a warm reception. On August 5th they appeared again off the Rame Head, in number between sixty and seventy, when, standing westward, they were no more seen in the Channel during 1690.
The earl was tried by court martial on the charge of having from treachery or cowardice misbehaved in his office, drawn dishonour on the English nation and sacrificed our good allies the Dutch. He defended himself with dignity and eloquence, affirming that he fought under orders, against his own judgment and that of his staff, against superior forces without any probability of success; that the Dutch suffered for their own rashness, and that if he had sustained them in the manner they expected, the whole fleet must have been surrounded and destroyed. In the end the earl was acquitted, but the day after the trial he was superseded.
BY JOHN CAMPBELL.
On the dismissal of the Earl of Torrington from the command of the navy, Edward Russel was appointed admiral and commander-in-chief; but twelve months elapsed before an opportunity occurred for wiping out the dishonour of the engagement off Beachy Head.
As soon as Louis XIV. perceived that it was impossible to support the war in Ireland any longer to advantage, he resolved to employ the forces still left with King James to serve his purpose in another way. With this view, he concerted with the malcontents in England an invasion of the coast of Sussex; and though for this design it was necessary to draw together a large number of transports, as well as a very considerable body of troops, he had both in readiness before his purpose was so much as suspected here. The land forces consisted of fourteen battalions of English and Irish troops, and about nine thousand French soldiers, commanded by Marshal de Belfondes; so that in all there were not less than twenty thousand men. The fleet of transports consisted of three hundred sail, and was well provided with everything necessary for the invasion. In short, nothing was wanting to the execution of this design in the beginning of April but the arrival of Count d'Estrees' squadron of twelve men-of-war, which was to escort the embarkation; while the Count de Tourville cruised in the Channel with the grand fleet, ready to put to sea but detained by contrary winds. Things being in this position, King James sent over Colonel Parker and some other agents to give his friends intelligence of his motions; and some of these people, in hopes of reward, gave the first clear account of the whole design to the English government; upon which, order after order was sent to Admiral Russel to hasten out to sea in whatever condition the fleet might be.
There were at this very critical juncture two considerable squadrons at sea; one under the command of Sir Ralph Delaval, sent to bring home a fleet of merchantmen from the Mediterranean; the other under Rear-admiral Carter, near the French coast. It was apprehended that the French would have endeavoured to intercept the former; and therefore, on the last of February, orders were sent by the Groin packet-boat to Vice-admiral Delaval, to avoid coming near Cape St. Vincent, but rather to sail to Dingle Bay, the mouth of the Shannon, or some other port thereabouts. But, for fear these orders might not reach him soon enough at Cadiz, an advice-boat was ordered to cruise for him off Cape Clear, with instructions to put into Cork or Kingsale. However, both these orders missed him, and he was so fortunate as to arrive in the beginning of March, 1692, safe in the Downs.
Rear-admiral Carter was ordered to continue cruising with his squadron of eighteen sail as near the French coast as possible, in order to be the better and earlier informed of the movements of the enemy. King William, as soon as he arrived in Holland, took care to hasten the naval preparations with unusual diligence; so that the fleet was ready to put to sea much sooner than had been expected, or at least much sooner than it had done the year before, and was also in a much better condition. Admiral Russel went on board in the beginning of May, and soon after received orders to cruise between Cape la Hogue and the Isle of Wight till the squadrons should join him, though he had proposed the junction should be made off Beachy Head. However, he obeyed his orders as soon as he received them, and plied down through the sands with a very scanty wind, contrary to the opinion of many of his officers and all the pilots, who were against hazarding so great a fleet in so dangerous an attempt; and yet to this bold stroke of the admiral's was due his subsequent success.
On May the 8th the fleet came safe off Rye, and that night the admiral sent to the Dutch admiral to weigh and make sail after him, that no time might be lost. He also sent a squadron of small ships to look for Sir Ralph Delaval, being in great anxiety until the whole confederate fleet was collected in one body. On May 11th he sailed from Rye Bay for St. Helen's; where in two days' time he was joined by Sir Ralph Delaval and Rear-admiral Carter with their squadrons. While here, the admiral received a letter from the Earl of Nottingham, as secretary of state, written by Queen Mary's direction, wherein he was informed that a scandalous and malicious report had been spread with regard to some of the officers of the fleet, to the effect that they were disaffected or not hearty in the service, and that Her Majesty had thereupon been pressed to discharge many of them from their employment; but Her Majesty charged the admiral to acquaint his officers that she was satisfied this report was raised by the enemies of the government, and that she reposed so entire a confidence in their fidelity that she had resolved not to displace so much as one of them. Upon this the flag-officers and captains drew up a very dutiful and loyal address, dated from on board the Britannia at St. Helen's, May 15th, 1692, which was the same day transmitted to court, and on the next presented by the lords of the Admiralty to Her Majesty, who was pleased to make the following wise and gracious answer, which was published that night in the Gazette: "I always had this opinion of the commanders; but I am glad this is come to satisfy others."
When all the ships, English and Dutch, were assembled the admiral proposed that a small detachment of six or eight frigates might be sent to hover about the coast of Normandy, and that the grand fleet should lie westward of that place, in order to protect them from the enemy. This proposition being in part approved, he detached six light ships to gain intelligence, and sailed on May 18th for the coast of France. The next day, about three in the morning, the scouts westward of the fleet fired swivel-guns, and made the signal of discovering the enemy. Immediately orders were given for drawing into a line of battle; and the signal was made for the rear of the fleet to tack, in order to engage the sooner if the French stood to the northward. A little after four, the sun dispersing the fog, the enemy were seen standing southward. The admiral upon this caused the signal for the rear to tack to be taken in, and bore away with his ship to leeward, that each ship in the fleet might fetch his wake and then be brought to and lay by, with his foretop sail to the mast; that so others might have the better opportunity of placing themselves according to the manner formerly directed for such an occasion.
The confederate fleet was in good order by eight, having the Dutch squadron in the van, the red in the centre, and the blue in the rear. About ten the French fleet bore down upon them with great resolution. About half-past eleven Count Tourville in the Royal Sun brought to and began the fight with Admiral Russel, being within three-quarters musket-shot. He plied his guns very warmly till one, but then began to tow off in great disorder; his rigging, sails, and topsail yards being very much injured. About two the wind shifted; so that five of the enemy's blue squadron posted themselves, three ahead and two astern of their admiral, and fired very briskly till after three. The admiral and his two seconds, Mr. Churchil and Mr. Aylmer, had all these ships to deal with. The fog was so thick about four that the enemy could not be seen; and, as soon as it cleared up, the French admiral was discovered towing away northward; upon which the admiral followed him and made the signal for chasing.
While this passed between the admirals, Sir Cloudesley Shovel got to the windward of Count Tourville's squadron and engaged them; but the fog growing darker than before, they were forced to anchor. The weather clearing up a little, the French followed their flying admiral, and the English chased the best they could. About eight in the evening it grew foggy again, and part of the English blue squadron, having fallen in with the enemy, engaged about half an hour, till, having lost four ships, they bore away for Conquet road. In this short action Rear-admiral Carter was killed.
The 20th of May proved so dark and foggy, that it was eight o'clock before the Dutch discovered the enemy; and then the whole fleet began to chase, the French crowding away westward. About four in the afternoon both fleets anchored; about ten they weighed again, and about twelve Admiral Russel's foretop mast came by the board.
On the 22nd, about seven in the morning, the English fleet continued the chase with all the success they could desire; about eleven the French admiral ran ashore and cut her masts away; upon which her two seconds plied up to her and other ships began to hover about them; and the English admiral ordered Sir Ralph Delaval, who was in the rear, to keep with him a strength sufficient to destroy these ships, and to send the rest, under his command, to join the body of the fleet. In the evening a great number of the enemy's ships were seen going into La Hogue. On the 23rd the admiral sent in Sir George Rooke with several men-of-war, fire-ships, and all the boats of the fleet, to destroy these ships in the bay. On their entering it was perceived that there were thirteen sail; but they were got up so high that none but the small frigates could reach them. Sir George, however, was resolved to execute his orders; and therefore, having manned his boats, he went in person to encourage the attempt, burnt six of them that night, and the other seven the next morning, together with a great number of transport ships, and other vessels laden with ammunition. This remarkable piece of service, the greatest that happened during the whole affair, was performed under a prodigious fire from the enemy's battery on shore, and within sight of the Irish camp, with the loss only of ten men.
Sir John Ashby, with his own squadron and some Dutch ships, pursued the rest of the French fleet till they ran through the Race of Alderney, among such rocks and shoals that our pilots were absolutely against following them; for which the admiral was censured, though some of the ablest seamen in England were of opinion that there could not be a more desperate undertaking than the flight of the French ships through that passage. Though despair might justify the French in making the attempt, clearly prudence forbade the English from following them.
BY JOHN CAMPBELL.
THE LOSS OF THE SMYRNA FLEET OFF ST. VINCENT.—THE DEFEAT OF THE FRENCH AT VIGO.—THE STORMING OF GIBRALTAR.—THE BATTLE OFF MALAGA.
Sir George Rooke was the son of Sir William Rooke, Knt., of an ancient and honourable family in the county of Kent, where he was born in the year 1650.
Originally intended for another profession, his passion for the sea was not to be denied, and Sir William, after a fruitless struggle with his son's bent for the navy, at last gave way and suffered him to go to sea. His first station in the navy was that of a volunteer, then styled a reformade, in which he distinguished himself by his courage and application. This soon secured him the post of lieutenant, from which he rose to that of captain before he was thirty; promotion then thought very extraordinary. Admiral Herbert distinguished him early, by sending him, in the year 1689, as commodore, with a squadron to the coast of Ireland, where he concurred with Major-general Kirke in the relief of Londonderry, assisting in person in taking the island in the Lake, which opened a passage for the relief of the town. In the year 1690 he was appointed rear-admiral of the red; and, in that station, served in the fight off Beachy Head, where, notwithstanding the misfortune of our arms, indisputably the greatest we ever met with at sea, Admiral Rooke was allowed to have done his duty with much resolution. In the spring of 1691 he was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue, in which station he served in the famous battle of La Hogue, on May the 22nd, 1692, and contributed no small share to the victory. For this service, an account of which will be found in the story of "The Victory of La Hogue," he was knighted in the following year.
The direction of the fleet being now put in commission, Sir George Rooke was entrusted with the command of the squadron appointed to escort the Smyrna fleet, and the joint admirals received orders to accompany him as far to sea as they thought proper; after which his instructions were to take the best care of the fleet he could, and, in case of any misfortune, to retire into some of the Spanish ports and put himself under the protection of their guns.
The combined fleet had not proceeded far before the accompanying admirals signified their intention to return, and Sir George Rooke, who had good reason to believe that the French squadron had gone to Toulon with a view to intercepting the ships under his convoy, had to content himself with protesting against the withdrawal of the grand fleet so early in the voyage, and proceeding upon the journey alone. On June the 15th, being about sixty leagues short of Cape St. Vincent, he ordered the Lark to stretch ahead of his scouts into Lagos Bay; and on the following day, having confirmed advice of danger, from the close proximity of the enemy, proposed in a council of war to keep the wind or lie by during the night, with a view to discovering the enemy's strength in the morning. In this he was over-ruled, for it was urged that the wind being fresh northerly, it gave the fleet a fair opportunity of pushing for Cadiz; with which view he ran along the shore all night with a pressed sail, forcing several of the enemy's ships to cut from their anchors in Lagos Bay.
The next day, when off Villa Nova, it fell calm, and a little after daybreak ten sail of the enemy's men-of-war and several small ships were seen in the offing. The French no sooner discovered Sir George Rooke than they stood away with their boats ahead, setting fire to some, and sinking others of their small craft, to save them from falling into his hands. The crew of a fire-ship which fell in with our fleet in the night, being carried on board the flag ship and examined by the admiral, told him that the French squadron consisted of only fifteen ships of the line, notwithstanding there were three flags, and had with them forty-six merchantmen and store-ships, bound either for Toulon or to join M. d'Estrees. They said also that the squadron had been becalmed off the Cape, and that, having watered in the bay, were bound directly into the Straits, without any intention of following our fleet. This story, consistent with the hasty retreat of their men-of-war in the morning and their desertion and destruction of their small vessels, completely deceived the admiral and the rest of the officers; though afterwards it appeared that they made this retreat with a view to drawing the English squadron more completely into their power. About noon the sea breeze sprang up and the admiral bore away along shore upon the enemy, discovering their real strength as he came nearer to them, until at last he sighted about eighty sail.
About three in the afternoon the Dutch vice-admiral sent Sir George Rooke word that, in his judgment, the best course would be to avoid fighting. Sir George differed with him upon the point and had actually made his arrangements for engaging the enemy; but reflecting that he should take upon himself the whole blame of the consequences if he fought contrary to the Dutch admiral's advice, he brought to and then stood off with an easy sail, at the same time despatching the Sheerness with orders to the small ships that were on the coast to endeavour to get along shore in the night and save themselves in the Spanish ports; this, happily, many of them succeeded in doing.
Sir George Rooke's whole squadron consisted of no more than twenty-three ships of war; of these, thirteen only were English, eight Dutch, and two Hamburgers. The fleet of merchantmen under his convoy numbered four hundred sail of all nations, though the greater part of them were English ships. The fleet under M. Tourville consisted of one hundred and twenty sail, of which sixty-four were of the line, and eighteen three-deck ships; yet Sir George Rooke saved all his men-of-war and no less than sixty merchantmen, and was said by the Dutch gazettes to have gained more reputation by his escape than the French had by their victory.
Early in the year 1697 Sir George Rooke was appointed admiral and commander-in-chief of the fleet, and put to sea towards the latter end of June. As the French avoided fighting Sir George found it impossible to do anything with them; but while cruising off the French coast he met with a large fleet of Swedish merchantmen, and having obliged them to bring to and submit to be searched, found just grounds for believing that most of their cargoes belonged to French merchants: upon which he sent them under the convoy of some frigates into Plymouth. This caused a great deal of excitement, the Swedish minister interposing, and some of our statesmen being inclined to disapprove the admiral's conduct.
Upon this Sir George insisted that the matter should be brought to trial before the court of admiralty, where, upon the clearest evidence, it was shown that these Swedish ships were freighted by French merchants, partly with French goods, but chiefly with Indian merchandise, which had been taken out of English and Dutch ships; and that the Swedes had no further concern therein than receiving two per cent. for lending their names, procuring passes, and taking other necessary precautions for screening the effects of the French merchants; so that the whole of this rich fleet was adjudged to be good prize, and the clamour that had been raised against Sir George Rooke was converted into general applause!
The following year he was elected member of parliament for Portsmouth, where, voting mostly with the Tories, the Whigs tried to ruin him in the king's favour; but, to the honour of King William be it said, that when pressed to remove Sir George Rooke from his seat at the Admiralty-board, he answered plainly "Sir George Rooke has served me faithfully at sea, and I will never displace him for acting as he thinks most for the service of his country in the House of Commons."
Upon the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702, Sir George was constituted vice-admiral and lieutenant of the Admiralty of England, as also lieutenant of the fleets and seas of this kingdom; and, upon the declaration of war with France, it was resolved that Sir George Rooke should command the grand fleet sent against Cadiz, the Duke of Ormond having the command-in-chief of the land forces.
When it was found impracticable for the land forces to make themselves masters of Cadiz, Sir George Rooke proposed bombarding it, but this suggestion meeting with opposition the admiral decided to return home.
On September 19th, 1702, the fleet sailed homeward bound, but on October 6th the admiral received information from Captain Hardy that a number of galleons under the escort of a strong French squadron had entered the harbour of Vigo; upon which Sir George called a council of war composed of English and Dutch flag-officers, by whom it was resolved to sail to Vigo as expeditiously as possible, and attack the enemy.
The passage into the harbour was not more than three-quarters of a mile across, and was defended on the north side by a battery of eight brass and twelve iron guns; and on the south by a platform of twenty brass and twenty iron guns, also a stone fort, with a breast-work and deep trench before it, mounting ten guns and manned by five hundred men. There was, from one side of the harbour to the other, a strong boom composed of ships-yards and top masts, fastened together with three-inch rope, and underneath with hawsers and cables. The top-chain at each end was moored to a seventy-gun ship; one the Hope, which had been taken from the English, and the other the Bourbon. Within the boom were moored five ships, of between sixty and seventy guns each, with their broadsides fronting the entrance of the passage, so as to command any ship that came near the boom, forts, and platform.
The admirals removed their flags from the great ships into third-rates, the first- and second-rates being all too big to go in. Sir George Rooke went out of the Royal Sovereign into the Somerset; Admiral Hopson out of the Prince George into the Torbay; Admiral Fairbourne out of the St. George into the Essex; and Admiral Graydon out of the Triumph into the Northumberland. A detachment of fifteen English and ten Dutch men-of-war, with all their fire-ships, frigates, and bomb-vessels, was ordered to go upon the service.
The Duke of Ormond, to facilitate this attack, landed two thousand five hundred men on the south side of the river, at a distance of about six miles from Vigo; and Lord Shannon, at the head of five hundred men, attacked the stone fort at the entrance of the harbour and made himself master of the platform of forty pieces of cannon. The French governor, M. Sozel, ordered the gates of the fort to be thrown open, resolving to force his way through the English troops. But though there was great bravery, there was but very little judgment in this action, for his order was no sooner obeyed than the grenadiers stormed the place, sword in hand, and forced the garrison, consisting of about three hundred and fifty Frenchmen and Spaniards, to surrender as prisoners of war.
As soon as our flag was seen flying from the fort the ships advanced; and Vice-admiral Hopson in the Torbay, crowding all the sail he could, ran directly against the boom, and broke it; upon which the Kent, with the rest of the squadron, English and Dutch, entered the harbour. The enemy made a prodigious fire upon them, both from their ships and batteries on shore, until the latter were captured by our grenadiers; who, seeing the execution done by their guns on the fleet, stormed them with incredible resolution. In the meantime, one of the enemy's fire-ships had laid the Torbay on board and did her considerable damage. Her foretop mast was shot by the board; most of the sails burnt or scorched; the fore-yard consumed to a cinder; the larboard shrouds, fore and aft, burnt to the dead eyes; several ports blown off the hinges; her larboard side entirely scorched; one hundred and fifteen men killed and drowned, of whom about sixty jumped overboard as soon as they were grappled by the fire-ship.
In the meantime Captain William Bokenham, in the Association, a ship of ninety guns, lay with her broadside to the battery, on the left of the harbour, which was soon disabled; and Captain Francis Wyvill, in the Barfleur, a ship of the same force, was sent to batter the fort on the other side, which was a very dangerous and troublesome service, since the enemy's shot pierced the ship through and through, and for some time he durst not fire a gun because our troops were between him and the fort; but they soon drove the enemy from their post, and then the struggle was between the French firing their ships and the galleons and our men endeavouring to save them. In this dispute the Association had her main-mast shot, and two men killed; the Kent had her fore-mast shot and the boatswain wounded; the Barfleur had her main-mast shot, two men killed, and two wounded; the Mary had her bowsprit shot. Of the troops there were only two lieutenants and thirty men killed, and four superior officers wounded; a very inconsiderable loss, considering that the enemy had fifteen French men-of-war, two frigates and a fire-ship, burnt, sunk, or taken, besides seventeen galleons.
Six galleons were taken by the English and five by the Dutch, who sank six. As to the wealth on board the galleons we have no exact account. Of the silver fourteen millions of pieces were saved; of the goods about five. Four millions of plate were destroyed with ten millions of merchandise; and about two millions in silver and five in goods were brought away by the English and Dutch.
Sir Cloudesley Shovel arriving on October 16th as the troops were embarking, the admiral left him at Vigo with orders to see that the French men-of-war and the galleons that we had taken, and that were in a condition to be brought to England, were carefully rigged and properly supplied with men. He was likewise directed to burn such as could not be brought home, and to take the best care he could to prevent embezzlements. After appointing a strong squadron for this service, the admiral, with the rest of the fleet and one of the Spanish galleons, sailed home, and arrived in the Downs on November 7th, 1702, whence the great ships were sent round to Chatham.
The year 1703 was barren of naval achievements; but, if one year can be said to make up for another, 1704 was equal to the occasion. On July 17th the fleet being in the road of Tetuan a council of war was called at which Sir George Rooke proposed the attacking of Gibraltar, a proposal which was immediately agreed to and speedily put into execution, as will be seen by the admiral's own account as follows:—
"July 17th, the fleet being then about seven leagues to the eastward of Tetuan, a council of war was held on board the Royal Catherine, wherein it was resolved to make a sudden attempt upon Gibraltar. Accordingly the fleet sailed thither, and on the 21st got into the bay. At three o'clock in the afternoon the marines, English and Dutch, to the number of one thousand eight hundred, with the Prince of Hesse at the head of them, were put on shore on the neck of land to the northward of the town to cut off all communication with the country. His Highness, having posted his men there, sent a summons to the governor to surrender the place, which he rejected with great obstinacy. The admiral, on the 22nd in the morning, gave orders that the ships which had been appointed to cannonade the town under the command of Rear-admiral Byng and Rear-admiral Vanderdussen, as also of those which were to batter the south mole head, commanded by Captain Hicks of the Yarmouth, should range themselves accordingly; but the wind blowing contrary they could not possibly get into their places till the day was spent. In the meantime, to amuse the enemy, Captain Whitaker was sent with some boats, who burnt a French privateer of twelve guns at the mole. The 23rd, soon after break of day, the ships being all placed, the admiral gave the signal for beginning the cannonade, which was performed with very great fury, above fifteen thousand shot being made in five or six hours' time against the town, insomuch that the enemy were soon beat from their guns, especially at the south mole head: whereupon the admiral, considering that by gaining the fortification they should of consequence reduce the town, ordered Captain Whitaker, with all the boats armed, to endeavour to possess himself of it; which he performed with great expedition. But Captain Hicks and Captain Jumper, who lay next the mole, had pushed on shore with their pinnaces and some other boats before the rest could come up; whereupon the enemy sprang a mine that blew up the fortifications upon the mole, killed two lieutenants and forty men, and wounded about sixty. However, our men kept possession of the great platform which they had made themselves masters of, and Captain Whitaker landed with the rest of the seamen which had been ordered upon this service, who advanced and took a redoubt, or small bastion, halfway between the mole and the town, and possessed themselves of many of the enemy's cannon. The admiral then sent a letter to the governor, and at the same time a message to the Prince of Hesse to send to him a peremptory summons, which His Highness did accordingly; and on the 24th in the morning, the governor, desiring to capitulate, hostages were exchanged, and the capitulation being concluded the prince marched into the town in the evening and took possession of the land and north-mole gates and the out-work.
"The town is extremely strong, and had an hundred guns mounted, all facing the sea and the two narrow passes to the land, and was well supplied with ammunition. The officers, who have viewed the fortifications, affirm there never was such an attack as the seamen made; for that fifty men might have defended those works against thousands."
After this remarkable service the Dutch admiral thought of returning home, and actually detached six men-of-war to Lisbon; so little appearance was there of any further engagement. But on August the 9th the French fleet, under the command of the Count de Toulouse, was seen at sea, and appeared to be the strongest fleet that had been equipped during the whole war; the English admiral, however, resolved to do all in his power to force an engagement, which determination resulted in the battle off Malaga, of which the following is Sir George Rooke's own account, as published by authority. It was dated from on board the Royal Catherine, off Cape St. Vincent, August 27th, 1704, and addressed to his Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark.
"On the 9th instant, returning from watering our ships on the coast of Barbary to Gibraltar, our scouts made the signals of seeing the enemy's fleet; which, according to the account they gave, consisted of sixty-six sail, and were about ten leagues to windward of us. A council of flag-officers was called, wherein it was determined to lie to the eastward of Gibraltar to receive and engage them. But perceiving that night, by the report of their signal guns, that they wrought from us, we followed them in the morning with all the sail we could make.
"On the 11th we forced one of the enemy's ships ashore near Fuengorolo; the crew quitted her, set her on fire and she blew up immediately. We continued still pursuing them, and the 12th, not hearing any of their guns all night nor seeing any of their scouts in the morning, our admiral had a jealousy they might make a double, and, by the help of their galleys, slip between us and the shore to the westward: so that it was resolved, that in case we did not see the enemy before night, we should make the best of our way to Gibraltar; but standing in to the shore about noon we discovered the enemy's fleet and galleys to the westward, near Cape Malaga, going very large. We immediately made all the sail we could and continued the chase all night.
"On Sunday the 13th, in the morning, we were within three leagues of the enemy, who brought to with their heads to the southward, the wind being easterly, formed their line and lay to to receive us. Their line consisted of fifty-two ships and twenty-four galleys; they were very strong in the centre and weaker in the van and rear, to supply which most of the galleys were divided into those quarters. In the centre was Monsieur de Toulouse with the white squadron; in the van the white and blue, and in the rear the blue. Each admiral had his vice- and rear-admirals. Our line consisted of fifty-three ships, the admiral, and Rear-admirals Byng and Dilkes being in the centre; Sir Cloudesley Shovel and Sir John Leake led the van, and the Dutch the rear.
"The admiral ordered the Swallow and Panther, with the Lark and Newport and two fire-ships, to lie to the windward of us, that, in case the enemy's van should push through our line with their galleys and fire-ships, they might give them some diversion.
"We bore down upon the enemy in order of battle a little after ten o'clock, when, being about half gun-shot from them, they set all their sails at once and seemed to intend to stretch ahead and weather us; so that our admiral, after firing a chase-gun at the French admiral to stay for him, of which he took no notice, put the signal out and began the battle, which fell very heavy on the Royal Catherine, St. George, and the Shrewsbury. About two in the afternoon the enemy's van gave way to ours, and the battle ended with the day, when the enemy went away, by the help of their galleys, to the leeward. In the night the wind shifted to the northward, and in the morning to the westward, which gave the enemy the wind of us. We lay by all day, within three leagues one of another; repairing our defects; and at night they filled and stood to the northward.
"On the 15th, in the morning, the enemy was four or five leagues to the westward of us; but a little before noon we had a breeze of wind easterly, with which we bore down on them till four o'clock in the afternoon: it being too late to engage, we brought to and lay by with our heads to the northward all night.
"On the 16th, in the morning, the wind being still easterly, hazy weather, and having no sight of the enemy or their scouts, we filled and bore away to the westward, supposing they would have gone away for Cadiz; but being advised from Gibraltar and the coast of Barbary that they did not pass the Straits, we concluded they had been so severely treated as to oblige them to return to Toulon.
"The admiral says he must do the officers the justice to say that every man in the line did his duty, without giving the least umbrage for censure or reflection, and that he never observed the true English spirit so apparent and prevalent in our seamen as on this occasion.
"This battle is so much the more glorious to Her Majesty's arms because the enemy had a superiority of six hundred great guns, and likewise the advantage of cleaner ships, being lately come out of port, not to mention the great use of their galleys in towing on or off their great ships and in supplying them with fresh men as often as they had any killed or disabled. But all these disadvantages were surmounted by the bravery and good conduct of our officers and the undaunted courage of our seamen."
In this fierce engagement neither side lost a ship, but the carnage was very great, the English killed and wounded numbering three thousand and the French nearly four thousand. The French claimed it as a victory but showed no disposition to follow it up.
Upon his return to England Sir George found himself the subject of much party strife, and, as perceiving that as he rose in credit with his country he lost his interest in those at the helm, resolved to retire from public service and prevent the affairs of the nation from receiving any disturbance upon his account. Retiring to his seat in Kent he spent the rest of his life in rest and peace, dying of the gout on January 24th, 1708-9 in the fifty-eighth year of his age.
A good husband and a kind master, he lived hospitably with his neighbours and left behind him a moderate fortune. "I do not leave much," said he, "but what I leave was honestly gotten; it never cost a sailor a tear or the nation a farthing." After he was laid aside a privy seal was offered him for passing his accounts; but he refused it, and made them up in the ordinary way and with all the exactness imaginable.