AN ACCOUNT Of the Late Great Victory Obtained at Sea against the FRENCH By their Majesties Fleet Commanded in Chief by Admiral Russell and the Dutch Commanded by Admiral Allemond near the Cape of Barfleur in May 1692. LONDON Printed for John Rawlins at the Anchor in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1692. THE PREFACE BY the ensuing relation it will appear that France which was not until of late accounted amongst the Nations that were considerable for their Maritime strength was at last become not less formidable at Sea than Land and how great it has been on the Continent is too well known by the Mighty acquisitions that Crown has made in one Age that France it self is almost lost in the midst of that vast Empire which it is now become by most unjustly wresting from all the Neighbouring Princes But the full Force was never known untill these last three Years in which it has made head against almost all the Christian World and for the most part rather gained than lost of those Princes and States in War with her From whence it is Obvious in what condition the rest of Europe had been in but for the powerfull opposition England has made being influenced by their Heroick King which sufficiently shews the Necessity there was for the late Revolution For from that time may Lewis the Fourteenth date the destruction of his Project and the rest of Europe their Enlargement from the Slavery he designed and prepared for them for whatever turns like Fortune he may have they will rather seem than really be the effects of Strength for nothing is plainer than that France has been at the Zenith of its Greatness and now in the Declension may strugle sometimes and do some mischief but never recover power enough to repair the Structure he was forming The Victory their Majesties Fleet has obtained having so shooke that Monarchy that not their Alpes nor Barrier in Flanders can secure France from being pierced to the Heart Another way being now opend which a few months will plainly demonstrate and which performance I shall rather choose to write after than the Predictions now I shall therefore proceed to relate some particulars of this great Conquest which is like yet to be much greater in the Consequence AN ACCOUNT Of the LATE ENGAGEMENT c. THE Power of France was so much encreas'd in Shipping under the Reign of their Present King that it has not been an Imaginary hopes which the French and their Friends in England Conceiv'd that they might make themselves Masters at Sea especially after they had in the Year Ninety made some Experiment of their Strength which if they had been able to Effect this Present Year they had provided themselves of Forces Artillery and Ammunition upon the Coasts of Normandy to have Embarkt on Transport Ships for that Purpose to have made a descent on England under pretence of restoring the Late King James The French promis'd themselves such assur'd Success in this Design that they acted with an unusual Freedom openly declaring their Intentions it being well known that whatever advantages they have obtain'd for the time past Treachery or Secrecy at least were the means whereby they Compassed them and that their Actions might accompany their great Words with indefatigable Industry they work'd on their Fleet at Brest and on the 12th of May their Stile the Count de Tourville set Sail out of the Road of Bertaume for the Coasts of England The French Endeavours were not Confined only to their Port of Brest but at Thoulon also they had equipt 16 large Ships to bring round out of the Mediterranean to joyn the rest but the difficulties they met with had prevented their haste and they had not Patience to expect their Coming but put to Sea with what Strength they had their Party in England having given them repeated Assurances that the English Preparations were very backward having as yet but few Ships at Sea and those small and weakly Mann'd that the Capital Men of War would not get out until the end of May at the soonest the Dutch Squadron were not yet joyn'd nor ready and that it was possible to get between what were already out and the other and prevent their ever coming together and by these means destroy both But as an Earnest of their other Successes they had News that the Count d' Estree with the Thoulon Squadron which at first consisted of 16 great Men of War 6 Fireships and 3 Galliots had on the 18th of April as he was about to pass the Streights fallen into a Storm wherein 2 of his Ships one of 64 the other of 70 Guns run ashore on the Coast of Barbary near Ceuta where 250 Men were drown'd and about 500 more made Prisoners by the Spaniards besides these lost several others were separated Notwithstanding this ill Accident to the French Monsieur Tourville on the 10 of May appear'd near Dartmouth with about 100 Sail of all Sorts but the Wind being Easterly in the Evening he stood off towards their own Coasts the English Fleet which was then out under the Command of Sir Ralph Delaval and Rear-Admiral Carter was about St. Hellen's on the 12th Vice-Admiral Callenburge and Rear Admiral Evertzen with 9 or 10 great Dutch Ships pass'd by Deal and sailed Westward and on the 13th the Wind still Favouring another Dutch Man of War sailed after them and on Thursday the 12th in the Afternoon Admiral Russel weigh'd out of Rye-Bay and about 11 a Clock on Friday Morning joyn'd the English and Dutch at which time the whole Fleet consisted of about 90 Sail for the Line of Battle on the same Day Admiral Russel acquainted the Officers that he had receiv'd a Letter from the Earl of Nottingham by Her Majesty's Command wherein he signified that Her Majesty had been inform'd that a Scandalous Report had been spread abroad as if some of the Officers of the Fleet were disaffected to their Majesty's Service and that her Majesty had order'd the Discharge of several of them but that Her Majesty was assured this Discourse was raised Maliciously by the Enemies of the Government and that Her Majesty was so well pleased and satisfied with their Zeal and Service to their Majesties and the Defence of their Country that she had resolved not to displace any one of them As soon as this was made known to them by the Admiral they made and sent up an Address which was the next Day presented to the Queen by the Lord's Commissioners of the Admiralty And was in these following Words The Address VVEE Your Majesties most Loyal Subjects and Servants Flagg Officers and Captains in your Majesties Fleet out of the deep and grateful sense we have of your Majesties good and just opinion of our Loyalty and Fidelity imparted to us by the Right Honourable Admiral Russel in a Letter to him from my Lord Nottingham do in behalf of our selves and all the other Officers and Seamen humbly presume to Address
the Men of War being designed to be Seventy three which were to have on board Forty thousand Two hundred Ninety nine Men and Five thousand and Nineteen Guns Besides these Officers and Volunteers And in the Fire-ships One hundred Sixty Guns and Two hundred and Forty in the Long-boats By the foregoing relation it will be found that whatever part of this Fleet was out yet the great Ships are very near every one destroyed and the smaller so disabled that some will never be repaired and such that can will be a work of Time and when that is done will be very inconsiderable for 't is easie to determine the strength of such a Fleet whenas they had that vast Addition and were not able to dispute with the Force and Bravery of the English and Dutch Besides all the loss of the Seamen is irreparable the huge number of them that have been cut off by the several ways of burning drowning and killing in the time of the Battel may reasonably be supposed to be more in number than remains in Service in the Trade of France and though those may be possibly spared for their King's Service for I question not but their Trade is near at an end their victorious Neighbours will carefully attend the Increase of more Seamen by that means it is plain that the Power of France is in its declension at Sea which is the place England had most reason to fear it and as 't is not probable they can ever recover their strength so 't is possible and that by a reasonable Conjecture that in a few Months to come the French King will be Master of as few Ships as he found at his coming to the Crown For since the coming away of the News of this last destruction of their Men of War we have received advice of burning more than twenty of their Transport-Ships which lay in the Bay of La Hogue and which the Prisoners declare were designed for embarking of Men for the intended Invasion of England the Admiral found some Obstruction in the Execution of this Design from two small forts that were on the Shore and their small Shot which the French and Irish being drawn down from their Camp made upon our Seamen But the former Successes and the Chearfulness they undertook this Enterprize with made all resistance ineffectual so that the Admiral 's Commands were as punctually performed as they were readily obeyed for not one Ship that lay in all that Bay escaped The Admiral after this commanded the Admiral of the Blue Squadron to sail towards Havre de Grace and if it was practicable to serve the rest of the Transport-Ships that were in that Harbour in the same manner whilst himself with the rest of the Fleet sailed towards the Coast of England and where on the 26th he arrived at Spithead and commanded that the 27th should be observed with Publick Prayers and Thanksgivings throughout the Fleet for the Victory obtained over Their Majesties Enemies On the 30th of May it was credibly reported that a Person of great Quality received a Letter from Plymouth or some place near adjoining that of the four great French Ships formerly mentioned to be disabled and seen off the Isle of Wight three were taken by those refitted at Portsmouth and one sunk Thus nothing but further Additions to the Victory come from all Parts and the Reports of the French Prisoners confirm their loss greater than we knew and some material Passages which we had no other way to be informed of but from themselves one of which I shall in this place recite which is that the French Admiral of the Blue Squadron which was set on Fire the first night of the Engagement had Mr. Fitz James on board that is Brother to the Duke of Berwick but whether he perished in the Flames or saved himself by changing his Ship is not yet certainly known The Dutch both Officers and Seamen showed great forwardness as often as it was their Turn to have the Enemy to engage But they who had so melancholy a share two years before when they were over-powered by the Enemies superior Force were now made amends by the English who happened to have the greatest part of this Action upon their own hands and so gallantly behaved themselves that they never gave an Opportunity to them to signalize themselves when they had the French first to engage as it appears for the most part the English had the Chance of that The first Five hours on the 19th day the French are owned by all that have hitherto given any Account of the Fight to have pursued the Attack they so briskly begun with more Resolution and Bravery than ever that Nation were known to fight at Sea before and had they had any other than such Enemies to deal with might with great Reason have expected the Advantage But the two extreme parts of the English Fleet that composed the Line of Battle not being able to come up with the French to assist those of their own part yet knew how to make the best Improvement of the Time which they did for whilst Admiral Russel engaged the French Admiral and another or two singly by himself part of the Blue Squadron got the Weather-gage which the French had before from the beginning of the Fight And as this very much animated the English and Dutch so it dispirited the Enemy they soon after towing off West-ward And thus happily concluding what may materially be expected at Sea both for this Year and others to come I will entertain you with a Copy of a Letter from an Officer in the Fleet to his Friend in London which is in these Words UPON the opening of the Day in the Nineteenth in the Morning we were Alarm'd by our Scouts from the Windward of the approach of the French Fleet which occasioned us both to draw into a Line of Battle with the Starboard Tacks on board the Dutch leading the Van. The White Squadron of the French commanded by Tourville bore down with all imaginable Gallantry on Mr. Russel our Admiral and the Red the White and Blue commanded by Amfrevile on the Dutch though at so great distance there was little done on either side and Gabaret with the French Blue Squadron kept so far a-Head that the last Twenty Ships of ours a-Stern had hardly any Body to Fire at but what was at a great distance the Rear-Admiral of the Blue who was next the Red had something to do but not much and the Vice-Admiral of the Enemies Blue who ought to have engaged the same Division on our side took Heart-a-grace and with his whole Division run quite away from the Fleet without Firing a Gun the whole Day so that the whole Battle fell on the Red on our side attacked by the French White and assisted by the Rear-Admiral of their Blue For some time of the Day Sir Cloudsley Shovel engaged them of the Blue It was very hotly disputed doubtless on both sides
our selves to your Majesty at this Juncture to undeceive the World in those false and malicious reports that have been lately spread in prejudice of your Majesties Service by People of unreasonable disaffection to your Majesties Government and an obstinate Aversion to the quiet and good of our Country That there are some amongst us that are not truly Zealous for and entirely devoted to your Majesties Service We do therefore most humbly beg your Majesties leave to add to our repeated Oaths this Assurance of our Fidelity That we will with all imaginable Alacrity and Resolution venture our Lives in the Defence of your Majesties undoubted Rights and the Liberty and Religion of our Country against all Foreign and Popish Invaders whatsoever And that God Almighty may preserve your Majesties most sacred Person direct your Councels and prosper your Arms by Sea and Land against your Majesties Enemies let all the People say Amen with your Majesties most Dutiful and Loyal Subjects Dated on board the Brittannia this 15 th Day of May 1692. This Address was Signed by Sir John Ashby Admiral of the Blew Sir Ralph Delaval Vice-Admiral of the Red Mr. Rooke Vice-Admiral of the Blew Sir Clousley Shovel Rear-Admiral of the Red Mr. Carter Rear Admiral of the Blue and the other Commanders of Their Majesties Fleet and Her Majesty received it very Graciously being pleased to say That She always had this Opinion of the Commanders but was very glad this was come to satisfie others The day before this Address was formed the French Fleet was seen off of the Start point near Dartmouth and her Majesty was assured that the Rochfort Squadron under the Command of the Sieur De Vilette had joined the Count de Tourville but that the Thoulon Squadron was not as yet arrived at Brest And Admiral Russel on the 17th Sailed with the whole Fleet English and Dutch to the Westward having a fair Wind and here it may be observed that from the time the French put to Sea until this time the Wind proved Easterly or to the North and that there had not been six hours of Southerly or Westerly Winds which are so frequent more especially at this time of the Year Or else in all probability that part of the Fleet which was first at Sea was in danger to have fallen under the power of the French The French King had most certainly given positive Orders to his Admiral to attack the English and Dutch Fleet when and where ever he met them his Reasons for so peremptory a Command considering how carefully France has managed it self during the whole War both at Sea and Land has occasioned the most curious observers to enquire very carefully into the Cause and has produced very different Opinions concerning the same with some of which I shall acquaint you viz. That the War bore so very hard upon him that he lay under a necessity to make use of his utmost Efforts to end it which a great Victory at Sea would have Contributed much to and that if he was defeated the loss could be scarce heavier to him than the vast Charge of maintaining such a Fleet at that extream Ebb the War has reduced him to But this being a Notion taken up by Men of too fine Speculation I shall wave repeating any more of it but proceed to some other more believed and more probable Reasons which are that Monsieur Pontchartain his intendant General for Maritime Affairs or his Agents had recourse to the old French method of Bribery And had made such offers of Money to some that had Command in the English Fleet that they making it known had leave to accept the Money and were only exhorted to perform their duty to Their Majesties and their Country or whether the Jacobite party in England after having told so many lyes of their own strength and the general Inclination of the People to return to their former Slavery had also brought themselves to believe that the Officers of the Fleet would revolt and had imposed the same upon the French King for Truth or whether they had assured him their weakness or Cowardice was such that they were easily overcome one of these it 's generally believed hastned the French to Sea and upon the English Coast and whichsoever it was tho' no thanks are due to such as would betray their Country yet more advantages have happened by this Advice and Intelligence to this Nation than ever so inconsiderable a party for Sence Fortunes or Courage could have contributed with all their best Intentions and Services which makes it evident that there is nothing so bad that at sometimes is not good for something For now on the 19th Their Majesties Fleet about six Leagues from Cape Barfleur got sight of the French who came down with Wind at S. W. upon the English the first News of the Engagement came from Admiral Russel's own Hand to my Lord Nottingham which I shall recite Verbatim being as brief as it is an exact account of the first days Action A Copy of Admiral Russel's Letter YEsterday about Three in the Morning Cape Barfleur bearing S. W. and by S. distance Seven Leagues my Scouts made the Signal for seeing the Enemy the Wind Westerly The French bore down to me and at Eleven Engaged me but at some distance we continued Fighting till half an hour past Five in the Evening at which time the Enemy Towed away with all their Boats and we after them It was calm all day about six there was a fresh Engagement to the Westward of me which I supposed to be the Blue It continued Calm all Night I can give no particular account of things but that the French were beaten And I am now Steering away for Conquet Road having a fresh gale Easterly but extream Foggy I suppose that is the place they design for if it please God to send us a little clear weather I doubt not but we shall destroy their whole Fleet. I saw in the Night three or four Ships on Fire but I know not what they are so soon as I can give you a more particular relation I shall not be wanting May the 20th 1692. Cape Barflâ—ur S. W. distance 7 Leagues This Letter was sent from the Admiral by the Commander of the Mary Galley to Portsmouth who brought a further account viz. That at Eight a Clock on Friday Morning being the 20th of May he left the Fleet at S. and by W. about Fifteen Leagues distance off of the Isle of Wight that he saw the Seconds of two of the French Admirals sink and many Ships on Fire that the Sea was full of Wrecks of Ships for two Leagues together but that he knew not that any of Their Majesties Ships were lost That the French run and ours pursued them and on the one twentieth we heard from Portsmouth that Their Majesties Ship the Montague came in disabled and Captain Foulk the Commander confirmed the News of the French being beaten that the English