TOULON.
The impetuosity that had characterised Rupert in his earlier actions, and had detracted from the value of his services, was now tempered and subdued, and made him what he was not before, a safe commander. In the action with Opdam’s fleet, the prince rendered most important service, that encouraged the belief that he would achieve high distinction as a naval commander. On the 24th June, Prince Rupert again attacked the Dutch, pursued them to their own coast, and blocked them up in their harbours. Again, in the autumn of the same year, having the sole command of the English fleet, Prince Rupert, learning that the Dutch were endeavouring to form a junction with a French squadron of forty sail, followed them so closely into Boulogne Roads as to place them in imminent danger. A violent storm compelled the prince to return to St. Helen’s Bay, and prevented him from following up his advantage. Sir Thomas Allen did so shortly afterwards.
Prince Rupert on his return was warmly welcomed by the king and the nation, with whom he was becoming a popular favourite. He was now associated with the Duke of Albemarle in the command of the English navy.
In the spring of 1666 the duke and Prince Rupert were afloat with a fleet that had been equipped for operations against the Dutch. It was unfortunate that their power should have been divided, by detaching Prince Rupert with a squadron, to look for the French and thwart their naval operations. The duke had a fleet of sixty ships. On the morning of the 1st of June he got sight of the Dutch fleet, under Admirals Evertsen, De Ruyter, and Van Tromp,[4] which was found to consist of ninety-one ships, many of them first-rates, with a number and weight of guns greatly superior to those of the English fleet. Lord Albemarle, without hesitation, gave battle. The fight was carried on with desperate bravery during the whole of that day, and resumed on the day following. The action is described in our notice of the Duke of Albemarle. Prince Rupert could find no trace of any French fleet destined to assist the Dutch, and returned to his home station. On the 3rd June he came up with the Duke of Albemarle, whose greatly overmatched squadrons had been so knocked about and reduced, as to necessitate retreat, which he conducted with great skill and undiminished courage. In joining forces with the duke, a great misfortune happened to Prince Rupert’s squadron. The Royal Prince, commanded by Sir George Ayscough, the largest and heaviest ship in the fleet, ran aground on the Galloper Sands; being without hope of relief, it was surrendered, and Ayscough, its commander, taken prisoner.
[4] Cornelius Van Tromp, second son of the great admiral killed in 1653.
On the morning of the 4th June, the combined squadrons of Albemarle and Rupert, although still greatly inferior in power to the Dutch, started after them in pursuit,—the Dutch being almost out of sight. About eight in the morning they again commenced their onslaught upon each other. Five times the English fleet charged through the Dutch line, firing into it, right and left. Rupert’s ship became disabled, and that of Albemarle terribly shattered, and the injuries on both sides were most disastrous. About seven in the evening the hostile fleets drew off from each other,—their commanders appearing to agree, tacitly, in thinking that they had enough of it, for the present.
This, which may be pronounced a drawn battle, has been regarded as the most terrible action fought in this, or perhaps in any other war. So the Dutch admirals also considered it. De Witt says of it: “If the English were beat, their defeat did them more honour than all their former victories; all that the Dutch had discovered was, that Englishmen might be killed, and English ships might be burned, but English courage was invincible.” It is not easy to say who were victors on the whole, and what the losses were of the victors and the vanquished respectively. Dutch historians compute our loss at sixteen men-of-war, of which ten were sunk and six taken. Our writers put the Dutch loss at fifteen men-of-war, twenty-one captains, and five thousand men. The Dutch themselves admit that they lost nine ships, and had a prodigious number of men slain. Discounting even the lowest estimates, it seems impossible to realise the scenes that produced such ghastly results.
Only a short breathing-time was taken by the combatants, and a brief space for a hurried repair of damages. Before the end of June the Dutch fleet was again at sea, and was met by an English fleet of eighty men-of-war of different sizes, and nineteen fire-ships, divided into three squadrons. The command was again with the Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert. The Dutch fleet of eighty-eight men-of-war, and twenty fire-ships, was also in three squadrons, commanded by Admirals De Ruyter, John Evertsen, brother to the admiral who was killed in a former engagement, and Cornelius Van Tromp.
About noon the hostile fleets came into contact off the North Foreland. Rupert and the duke, who were in the same ship, made a desperate attack upon De Ruyter’s ship, which was in the centre of the Dutch fleet. After fighting for about three hours, their ship had sustained such serious injuries as to force them to betake themselves to another. The most dogged bravery was displayed on both sides, but the English had the best of the battle. The Dutch retreated. All that night Prince Rupert and the duke followed in pursuit of De Ruyter. When the gallant Dutchman found himself so hard pressed, and his fleet in such imminent danger, he is said to have cried in despair, “My God, what a wretch am I! Is there not one of these thousands of bullets to put me out of pain?” He reached, however, the shallow coast of Holland, where the English could not follow him. Prince Rupert sent a small shallop, with two small guns on board, close up to De Ruyter’s ship,—the men rowing it into position,—and opened fire upon the admiral. A return shot proved convincing to the assailants that this was too dangerous, and the shallop was rowed back.
This, it is stated, was the most decided and unquestioned victory gained during the war. The Dutch were completely defeated, and the two great admirals, De Ruyter and Van Tromp, could only attempt their defence by angry recriminations. The Dutch lost twenty ships in the action; four of their admirals, and a great many captains, and about four thousand men were killed, with as many wounded. The English lost one ship burnt, had three captains and about three hundred men killed.