James was not the only prince of his house to supplement the laurels won on land by achievements on the high seas. His cousins, the Princes Palatine, Rupert and Maurice, had long ago made their names known as valiant mariners. A mystery always hung over the fate of Prince Maurice, who with his ship, the Defiance, vanished in a great storm.[[195]] Rupert himself barely escaped with his life in a small boat when the Constant Reformation was lost with three hundred and thirty-three men, and this year, 1665, he set out to attack the Dutch on the coast of Guinea. He was accompanied down the river by the King and the Duke of York, the latter longing to go with his cousin on this adventure, which, however, came to nothing, for in spite of the Prince’s efforts the fleet did not sail. The next year, however, the long smouldering rivalry with the States General came to a head, and war was declared. A fleet to proceed against the Dutch was assembled at Gunfleet, the Duke, as Lord High Admiral, being in supreme command, and Prince Rupert, Admiral Lawson and Lord Sandwich admirals under him. Charles, by the way, had given the settlement of New Amsterdam to his brother, and it was henceforth known as New York, the Dutch land settlement having been originally taken by James I.
[195]. “A Royal Cavalier: The Romance of Rupert, Prince Palatine.” Mrs Steuart Erskine.
In April the fleet aforesaid began the blockade of the Zuyder Zee, but after a fortnight it was forced to return for provisions, though it had been supposed to be victualled for five months. Prince Rupert, who came to be known as the seaman’s friend, was highly indignant with Pepys and other Admiralty officials on this occasion, but the debts on the fleet had really begun under the Commonwealth and had mounted to such an extent that it was impossible to pay the pursers.[[196]] Finally, after the loss of Hamburg to the Dutch, the English fleet again set sail and headed for Southwold Bay, meeting the enemy on 1st June. For two more days they pursued them, till they succeeded in getting their wind-gauge, fourteen miles from Lowestoft, and the battle actually began at half-past three on the afternoon of 3rd June, Prince Rupert leading the van, the Duke of York the centre, and Sandwich the rear. To James it was probably as keen a satisfaction as it was to his cousin, to vindicate on the sea the reckless valour which in his early youth had distinguished him on land, and it was with the knowledge of his contempt for personal danger, that the Duchess contrived to convey a strict injunction to all his servants to do whatever lay in their power to restrain him on this occasion. It was during the action that the Dutch copied the English tactics of turning, but they found the latter ready for them, their rear and van changing positions. However, the English sustained some disaster by means of a mistake in the new signalling orders, and a false move on the part of Sandwich, who allowed his squadron to become mixed with the enemy. Nevertheless the victory remained with the English, for by seven o’clock the Dutch were in full flight, fourteen of their ships being taken and four thousand men slain. It was even said that they might have been annihilated but for conflicting counsels on the part of the English, and a mistake for which, guilty or innocent, the Duke had to suffer. A council had been held on board his flagship, when some of the captains asked him to discontinue the pursuit. This, however, James refused, giving, on the contrary, the order to press on all sail, and bidding his servants to call him when the Dutch should be sighted. He then went below, and during the night, Brouncker, who was Gentleman of his Bedchamber, going to the admiral, Sir William Penn, bade him shorten sail. Penn, believing this order to come from the Duke, obeyed it, but in the morning James came on deck, and at once questioned the admiral, who promptly accused Brouncker. The latter held his tongue, but his master, declaring he had given no such order, dismissed him from his service. It was at the time considered significant that the Duke did not further punish him, but on the other hand, it may be noticed that James’ own account of the matter is that he intended to punish Brouncker by martial law, but that the House of Commons took up the question, and by impeaching the culprit made any further action on his own part impossible. Lord Montague seems to have believed that the Duke did give the order, but Brouncker when before the House did not even pretend that his master had done so. Whatever were James’ faults, his character for courage and candour make his own account the more probable. In any case he was the ultimate victim, for he was withdrawn from the command of the navy on the ground that it exposed him, the heir presumptive, to too much danger.[[197]] The service thereby lost a valuable head, for he had worked hard to establish it on a permanent footing, and had already evolved some order out of chaos. Yet this department of duty was not, at least at this period of his life, what he most desired, or was most congenial to him. Again on this subject Pepys writes: “He [Mr Coventry] tells me above all of the Duke of York that he is more himself and more of judgment is at hand in him in the middle of a desperate service than at other times, as appeared in the business of Dunkirke, wherein no man ever did braver things or was in hotter service at the close of that day, being surrounded with enemies. And though he is a man naturally martial to the highest degree, yet a man that never in his life talks one word of himself or service of his own, but only that he saw such and such a thing and lays it down for a maxim that a Hector can have no courage.”[[198]]
[196]. “A Royal Cavalier: The Romance of Rupert, Prince Palatine.” Mrs Steuart Erskine.
[197]. “Anecdotal Memoirs of English Princes.” Davenport Adams.
[198]. “Diary.” 4th June 1664.
It is no indifferent testimony, even in an age which produced many brilliant soldiers who left an inheritance of great names. It may be noted that Anne’s cruel enemy, Lord Falmouth, once Sir Charles Berkeley, fell at Southwold Bay.
There are two letters from the Duke of York to the Prince Palatine, which, although they are undated except as to the month, probably refer to this year’s campaign.
“For my deare Cousin,
Prince Rupert.