c >^ %. o C- •^-oo^ %'^ -^^.^ <^^ ^" a' .\\ a 0' -n\ •^ 8 1 A "* 1><^^ .^^' '^>- '^^> ^ -1^. v"^' -^^ V .Oc ^o 0^ v^' N^^ ■-^^ ,^^' •^.. \./ >*' ;/ .N^^' -. ^^'■^-. ■"oi: * 8 1 \<^ aV -^p '^-^ s'V'^ ^^ u \^ -"^.^ v^' 'o. .#\^ .0 o ^-^. "^^, S E A K I N G S AND Naval Heroes ^e Great Sea. Fights qf the World FROM Salamis. B.C. 480 to Santiago. A.D. 1 898 BY HARTWELL JAMES \\ WITH ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY- SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS PHILADELPHIA HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY '• .♦. ••- » • • 3^7 THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two CoHita Received SEP. 25 1901 /»COPVR|0HT ENTRY CLASS ^XXc. N». COPY B. Copyk:grt 1901 BY HeN SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. the year 31, B. C, Cleopatra with an Egyptian squad- ron accompanied Antony into the action, but took to flight when the fate of the battle was in doubt. The enemy hotly pursued her ships, but she succeeded in gaining the harbor of Alexandria. The fleets met near the promotory of Actium, on the west coast of Greece. Octavius had two hundred and sixty ships, or galleys, Antony had two hundred and twenty, besides Cleopatra's Egyptian fleet of sixty vessels. Shippen, an able and judicious writer, de- scribes the scene as grand in the extreme. 'The flashing of arms, and glinting of the sun upon polished casques, the streaming flags, and thousands of oars simultaneously put in motion, gave life and animation ; while the blare of brazen trumpets and the shouts of the myriads of combatants were echoed from the shores by the cheers and cries of two large armies, each encouraging its own fleet, and inciting them to the greater exertion. ''Cleopatra's large and magnificent galley hovered in the rear of the fleet, with the purple sails furled, and the poop occupied by herself and her ladies, surrounded by all the splendor of the Egyptian court." For several days the sea had been too rough to allow either fleet to offer battle, but at last the waters became smoother and with a quiet breeze the galleys of Antony stood out to sea, and a terrible battle began. For a long time neither side gained any decided advantage. The huge hulks that carried the fortunes of Antony hurled massive stones from their wooden towers, and grappled their assailants with ponderous irons. But they were 2 a s J - c3 ^ a; t-l CD > 28 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. too clumsy for manoeuvering, while the lighter galleys of Octavius, with their well trained rowers, were able to sweep away the banks of their opponent's oars under cover of a shower of arrows. One historian says, ''While the Antonian barges rolled heavily on the water, incapable of attacking their puny assailants, suddenly Cleopatra's galley, moored in the rear, hoisted sail, and threaded the maze of com- batants, followed by the Egyptian squadron of sixty vessels. Antony was not unprepared for the signal. He leapt into a boat and hastened after her. The shame and rage of his adherents filled them with despair. Many tore down their turrets and threw them into the sea, to lighten their decks for flight ; yet many con- tinued to fight recklessly or blindly. Too lofty to be scaled, too powerful to be run down, their huge ves- sels were at last destroyed by fire." So complete a victory as that of Octavius at Actium has seldom been won so easily. Antony and Cleopatra fled from Actium in the same vessel, and entered the harbor of Alexandria with laurels displayed on her deck. But the disaster could not be kept from the people of Cleopatra's own capital, who now gave her neither love or obedience. The wretched pair attempted to flee into Arabia, but the inhabitants of the Red Sea Coast de- stroyed their ships. An attempt to escape into Spain v/as considered, but abandoned. Then each began to negotiate separately with the victor. Antony, receiv- ing no encouragement from Octavius, gave himself a mortal wound, and Cleopatra after using all her bland- ishments upon Octavius only to learn that she was to THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. 29 grace his triumph in Rome, perished by the bite of an asp, brought to her, it is said, in a basket of figs. She was found dead on her couch, with her two women weeping beside her, by an officer of Octavius. "Is this weh?" exclaimed the Roman. "It is well," replied one of the weeping women, "and worthy of the daughter of Kings." At the triumph of Octavius, her image was carried on a bier, the arms encircled by two serpents. The dyn- asty of the Ptolemies ceased to reign and Octavius was master of the world. THE BATTLE OFF THE MELORIA (A. D. 1241) PISANS AND GENOESE AS far back as the year 925, Pisa was the principal city of Tuscany. In 1005 the Pisans began to be nowerful at sea, and th.eir naval strength in- creased with e^'ery succeeding year. Carthage fell be- fore them in 1035, and 1063 ^^^^s a glorious year in their annals, for mindful of their former successes agfainst the Saracens, thev determined to measure their strength anew with that restless people. Palermo, in Sicily, at that time was held by the Mussulmans, and against them a powerful fleet was fitted out and des- 30 Battle Between Pisans and Saracen Corsairs. 31 32 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. patched. On their arrival at their destination, they made a bold dash at the port, broke the chain which was its sole protection, and proceeded to burn the ves- sels it contained. Seeing no chance to effect a landing, they pulled out of the port with numerous galleys, heavily laden, as their prizes. The period of the Crusaders brought increased riches and influence to Pisa, but the exploit which most raised the Pisans in the estimation of Europe was the expedition against the Balearic Isles, situated on the Spanish coast and peopled by Saracen corsairs. They first attacked the smallest of the islands which, though it appears to have been the weakest of the three princi- pal ones, occupied them ten days of repeated assault. Majorca, the largest island, was thenext point of attack and offered a stout resistance, but it was finally taken with great slaughter. Then the capture of Minorca, shortly after, crowned the undertaking with glory. The character and value of the booty taken cannot be enumerated. All the gold — the gems, the rich spoil of many years' piracy fell a prey to the conquerors ; while the fervor of the victory filled Christendom with joy. Later, a rivalry sprang up between Pisa and Genoa, an- other maritime republic, and their disputes began to be frequent and fierce. The year 1241 brought the Pisans and Genoese again into collision. Frederick II., the emperor, was engaged in hostilities with Rome, to which city the most eminent ecclesiastics of Christendom had been invited, to con- cert measures with the Pope to withstand the German power. As many eminent French prelates were to em- 34 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. bark at Genoa, to reach their destination by sea, Fred- erick persuaded the Pisans to unite their forces with those from Sicily and attack the Genoese fleet on their voyage. The Pisans hesitated out of respect for the church, and even went so far as to dissuade their rivals from attempting- the passages ; but the Genoese, dis- daining the ad\'ice, though inferior in the number of their ships, which were crowded with helpless pas- sengers, set sail, and hugged the shores more closely than usual, as if in contempt of their adver- saries. But they soon paid dearly for this presumption. Not far from the Meloria, a ridge of rocks in sight of the present city of Leghorn, they were met, on May 3, 1241, by the Pisan fleet. A conflict ensued, the more terrible from the inability of many to take part in the affair, who yet were cut down in the sanguinary fight. The Genoese were completely worsted; nineteen of their galleys were taken, and three sank : four thousand pris- oners, comprising two cardinals and many inferior ec- clesiastics, were conveyed to Pisa in triumph ; the only distinction shown to the churchmen was their being bound with silver chains. THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO (A. I). 1571) SPAIN, VENICE AND ROME AGAINST TURKEY ON October 7, 1571, the Gulf of Lepanto was the scene of a great sea fight in which the naval power of Turkey was for the tinie being de- stroyed. Spain, Venice and Rome had formed a coali- tion to "make perpetual war" against the Turks, and also the Moors of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. A for- midable armament was provided, and the command of it was given to Don John of Austria, a youth in his twenty- fourth year, closely connected to the Spanish 35 36 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. king, a man of brilliant talents, amiable character and great popularity. The Christian victory was complete ; only a few ves- sels of the Turkish fleet escaping, while thirty-five thou- sand of their men were killed or captured, and fifteen thousand Christian galley slaves were set at liberty. Historians regard this battle as a decisive historic struggle between the West and the East, and record the joy with which it inspired all Christian Europe. Before going into battle every man on the Christian ships fell on his knees and prayed that success might be on their side. The fleet then advanced in three col- umns ; the Genoese Admiral, Doria, on the right; the centre commanded by Don John himself, the left by Barberigo, the Venetian admiral. The Spanish squad- ron under Marquis de Santa Cruz, was held in reserve. The Turkish fleet came on in magnificent array, gaudy with gilded prows and streaming pennons ; the flag of Ali Pasha, the Turkish commander, floating above a huge galley. They began cannonading and soon the vessels were passing each other, delivering terrible broadsides upon each other. Barberigo was wounded in the eye by an arrow ; Doria fought to prevent Uluch Ali from turning his flank, and succeeded. The Capifana, a great Maltese galley, was captured by the Turks, and several others were sunk. Don John singled out the galley of Ali Pasha and made for it at his best. The Turk did not disdain the encounter and the two vessels came together with a crash. Ali's ship over which the great Ottoman stand- ard was flying was much larger than that of Don John, THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO. J?7 but both crews fought with desperation. The fight now became general ; even the rowers rising from their benches to join in the combat. Christians and Turks The Battie of Lepanto. met hand to hand and decks were sHppery with blood. At the third attempt, Don Juan succeeded in boarding his huge adversary; Ali was killed and the great Q ^'ea icings. Si. SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. Eqaestrian Statue of Don John of Austria. banner of the Prophet was torn down and displayed on the Christian ships. This was the turning point in the THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO. 39 battle, and after four hours of terrific hand-to-hand fighting the remnants of the Turkish fleet retreated. Among the Venetian ships was the Marqucsa, and on board of her, sick with a fever, was a young man — Miguel de Cervantes, Vvho, in after life became the author of "Don Quixote." He left his sick bed to share in the fighting, and in command of twelve soldiers was given a post of great danger. His conduct was so brave that he attracted the attention of Don John him- self. The Marqucsa dashed into the fight and fell upon the galley of the commander of the right wing of the Turkish fleet. Five hundred men of her crew were killed before the Turk surrendered. Cervantes received two severe wounds in this engagement , one in the chest and one in the left hand which rendered it useless for life. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE (A. D. 1540-1596) FRANCIS DRAKE, the famous admiral, was born near Tavistock, in Devonshire, England, about 1540 according to most authorities. During his youth he was under the care of Sir John Hawkins, who educated the lad and then apprenticed him to the master of a coasting vessel. At eighteen years of age he was the purser of a ship, and two years later accom- panid Sir John Hawkins in one of his voyages to the African coast to procure negro slaves. On the homeward voyage Hawkins' little fleet of five small weather-beaten vessels put into the harbor of San Juan d'Ulloa for repairs, and while there was at- tacked by a heavy Spanish fleet which took three of 40 41 42 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. their number and burned them after making prisoners of the crews. Drake was in command of the Judith and after fighting the Spaniards with the greatest of courage, managed to escape and after many hardships made his way back to England, as poor as when he set forth on the voyage. He had acquired the reputation of a fearless and gallant seaman, however, and soon ob- tained a privateering commission from Queen Eliza- beth. In 1570 he set sail for the Spanish Main and ob- tained much information regarding the Spanish settle- ments and cities. He then deliberately planned a voy- age that should indemnify him for former losses at the hands of the Spaniards, and in addition to this, he re- solved to humble the arrogance of the Spaniards, who claimed a monopoly of the seas. Still another motive entered into the composition of his plans ; he was a stern Puritan in religious beliefs and had a Puritan's hatred of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. English seamen had been burned by the Holy Inquisi- tion and others had met death in Spanish prisons and on Spanish galleys, and he longed to become their avenger. Drake sailed on May 29, 1572, in command of the Pasha of twenty tons and thtSzvan, of twenty-five tons : the former carrying a crew of forty-seven men and boys ; the latter manned by twenty-six souls. These tiny craft with their handful of men were in the lan- guage of the times, ''Richly furnished with victuals and apparel for a whole year; and no less beautifully pro- vided of all manner of munition, artillery, stuff, and tools that were requisite for such a man-of-war in such SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 43 an attempt, but especially having three dainty pinnaces, taken asunder all in pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up as occasion served." He was afterwards joined by another vessel ; and with this small squadron he took and plundered the Spanish town of Nom- b r e de Dios. He then made his way to the I s t h m u s of Panama, cross- ed it, and from top of a ''good- ly and great high tree" ob- tained his first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. He besought God to allow him to sail an English ship on the shining waters that lay before his eves. Sir Francis Drake. Tlien Drake descended, and with his men went down the road to Panama to capture the mule train bringing ingots and bars and coin for the coffers of the King of Spain. But the alarm had been given out and the treas- 44 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. ure was withheld. The mules bore nothing more val- uable than provisions, and so Drake sacked the town, but obtained little from it by comparison. Then he dis- appeared. News came of him at sea, and then the mule-bells jingled merrily on the way to the treasure house at Nombre de Dios, for was not the terrible Drake at sea ? A band of soldiers and three trams loaded wit\ prodig- ious treasure, which had been accumulating, started, fearing nothing for Nombre de Dios. But the Span- iards breathed more freely when the landmarks told them the end of their journey was near. The bells gave warning to the watchmen at the gate. The Virgin be praised ! The Spaniard had outwitted the vaunted ad- venturer. The treasure was safe, and Drake was at sea. Crash ! Rattle ! Thud ! Bullets and arrows came sing- ing, whistling, crashing singly or in volley, into the train and their escort. The whistle of the English leader, the curses of the Spaniards, the prayers of the muleteers minoled with the silvery tones of the bells, The attack was too fierce for the escort. They fled and told within the city that Drake was again pillaging the treasure. Drake was forced to bury about half of the plunder, but he reached the shore with the remainder, and set sail for England, which he reached on August 9, 1573. His return with the wealth he had wrested from the Spaniard, added to his reputation and raised him high in popular esteem. At his own expense he then fitted out three ships and joined Essex's expedition to Ireland, SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 45 and upon his return to England, a friend introduced him to Queen EHzabeth and procured him a favorable reception at Court. Soon the grand expedition that was to immortalize his name began to take shape. The Queen furnished him with money and Drake soon gath- ered a fleet of fine vessels, the united crews of which only numbered one hundred and sixty-six men. Drake's own ship was the Pelican of one hundred and twenty tons. She was armed with twenty brass and iron guns and in all respects w-as splendidly fitted up. As one chronicler said, ''Drake did not omit to make provision for ornament and delight ; carrying to this purpos'e wath him expert musicians, rich furniture (all the vessels for his tables, yea, many belonging to the workroom, being of pure silver,) with divers stores of all sorts of curious workmanship, whereby the civility and magnificence of his native country might, among'all nations whither he should come, be the more admired." He sailed on December 13, 1577. Drake found Spanish vessels to rifle and capture, early on his voyage. He then stretched across the At- lantic and reached the shore of America in April, 1578. After putting to sea again, one of his ships w^as lost, but he held on, stopping and trading with the natives on his way, until after seeing no land for fifty-nine days he reached the coast of Brazil. Some natives were seen to whom they made a signal by hoisting a white cloth, w^hich they answered by ges- tures and speech, but kept at a distance. A violent storm had reparated his ships, so Drake waited a while to give his consorts a chance to join him. They did not 46 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. appear, and Winter was sent to find them. He found the Sii'an and brought her in. A Httle later the Httle fleet anchored in Port St. Juhan. Here by a fooHsh trial of skill with bows and arrows, Drake lost two of his most valuable men. Robert Winter, partly in sport, and partly to show his English skill, iDroke his bow while pulling the string, and while he was busy fixing it again, some natives shot at him, and wounded him in the shoulder and lungs. On this, the gunner, Oliver, took aim at them with his musket, but it missed fire, and he was slain outright by an arrow. Winter died at the end of two days, and l3oth the men were buried with military honors, in one grave. None of the party would have escaped if it had not been for the coolness of Drake. He ordered his men to elude as much as possible the aim of their enemies, and to pick up and break the arrows as they fell, he himself setting the example, and this they did with so much diligence that the savages soon became short of arrows. Then he took a musket, and killed the one who began the quarrel on the spot. While here, Drake organized a court-martial and tried Doughty, his second in com- mand, for mutiny. The court adjudged him guilty and he was beheaded. Drake sailed from Port St. Julian with his fleet re- duced to three ships, and on August 20 came to the mouth of the Straits of Magellan. Here Drake changed the name of his ship the Pelican, to the Golden Hind. 'The fruits of the voyage were now about to com- mence. No Englishman had as yet passed Magellan's Straits — Cape Horn was unknown. Tierra del Fuego SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 47 was supposed to be part of a solid continent which stretched unbroken to the Antarctic Pole. A single narrow channel was the only access to the Pacific then believed to exist. There were no charts, no records of past experiences. It was known that Magellan had "Drake Ordered His Men to Pick Up and Break the Arrows." gone through, but that was all. It was the wildest and worst season of the year, and the vessels in which the attempt was to be made were cockleshells." But Drake was not to be daunted. He entered the straits and when near the western extremity landed on "a large 48 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. and fruitful island" which he named Elizabeth in honor of the Queen. He found there ''many fruitful valleys, full of grass, and herds of very strange creatures feed- ing." The passage of the straits was a memorable event, Drake having been the second person who accomplished it. Violent storms reduced the little fleet to one. The Golden Hind was now left completely alone and with a reduced crew, another storm arose, and the vessel was driven to the very southern extremity of the Amer- ican continent, and thus Drake was the first to discover Cape Horn. After a time the storm abated, and en- abled Drake to proceed northward. He soon fell in with a Spanish ship from wdiich he took a quantity of gold and other valuables. At Tarapaca, according to one historian, he captured silver in bars to the value of four hundred thousand ducats, in a single afternoon. Boldly entering the harbor of Callao, Drake rifled seventeen Spanish ships of everything they had of value that was easy of removal, and then turned them adrift. He then learned that a great treasure-ship, the Caca- fuego had sailed shortly before for Panama. Promis- ing a gold chain to the man who first sighted the coveted ship, Drake started in pursuit. Soon, he met a brigantine from whom he took eighty pounds of pure gold and a large crucifix studded with emeralds as large as pigeons' eggs. Drake refitted and provisioned the Golden Hind at the port of Angapulea, and then kept on his way to the north, ''not forgetting" as the old narrative has it, "to take with us a certain pot (of about a bushd in big- SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 49 nesse) full of ryalls of plate, which we found in the towne, together with a chain of gold and some other jewels, which we entreated a gentleman Spaniard to leave behind him as he was flying out of the towne." Off Quito, the look-out on the Golden Hind d e s- cried the Ca- c a f u e g o, which un- s u spiciously s 1 a ck e n e d sail and waited for the a p - proa c h i n g vessel. When within a ca- ble's length of the Span- iard, Drake poured a We Entreated a Spaniard." broadside into the galleon ; her main mast went by the board and a shower of arrows swept her decks : her commander was wounded and in a few moments the Englishmen boarded and took possession of the ship. 50 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. The treasures on board were so rich that the vahie always remained a secret between Drake and the crew. It is probably not an exaggeration to place it at five million dollars of our money. The great Spanish galleon returned to Callao, and Drake kept on his way, thinking to discover a route home by the north-east. He kept on up the coast of Mexico and landed in what is now Lower California. On his way many rich prizes fell into his hands. He now changed his course, and after many days sighted the group of islands now called the Philippines. Here he anchored and watered his ships, and then sailed to Ternate, the capital of the Moluccas. On anchoring at this city, Drake sent a message with a velvet cloak for the king, and soon that monarch came off to the ship and was received by Drake in great state, himself and all his officers being dressed in their richest clothing, guns firing and trumpets sounding. With his ship well provisioned and watered, Drake took leave of the king and threaded his way among the rocks and shoals of those seas. All went well until one night when the Golden Hind struck upon a reef and stayed there. Fortunately at low water, as the ship fell over on one side, she slipped off from the reef and floated in deep water. From that time the voyage was prosperous, and on September 26, 1580. *Sve safely, with joyful minds and thankful hearts to God, arrived at Plymouth, the place of our first setting forth, after we had spent two years, ten months, and some odd days beside, in seeing the wonders of the Lord in the deep, in discovering so many admirable things, in going The Monarch Was Received by Drake iu Great State." 51 52 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. through with so many strange adventures, in escaping out of so many dangers, and overcoming so many diffi- cuhies, in this our encompassing of this nether globe, and passing round about the world." From Plymouth, Drake took the Golden Hind to Deptford, and there Queen Elizabeth went on board his ship, partook of a banquet and conferred upon him the honor of knighthood. She also gave directions for the preservation of his ship that it might remain a monu- ment of his own and his country's glory. After the lapse of about a hundred years it became so decayed that it was broken up. A chair was made out of the sound timber and presented to the University of Ox- ford by Charles II. In 1585 Drake sailed for the West Indies with a fleet and took several Spanish cities. Two years later, with thirty ships he sailed for the coast of Spain, and in the bay of Cadiz plundered and burned scores of Spanish ships — a feat which he called "singeing the King of Spain's beard." On the afternoon of July 19, 1588, there was gath- ered together at the bowling green on the bold, rocky ridge known as Plymouth Hoe, a group of sea-cap- tains the like of which the world had never seen before. Drake, whose very name was a terror on every Span- ish coast in the Old World and in the New was there, and with him were Lord Howard, the High-Admiral of England, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher and other high ofificers of the fleet. Out in the sound lay the English fleet waiting for the Great Armada to a 3 1 Aeit Kniga 53 54 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. come in sight, or until news was brought by one of the many vessels which were watching along the coast. A match at bowls, one of the oldest of English pas- times, was being played, and in the middle of the game an armed vessel was seen to be making its way into Plymouth harbor with all sails set. The captain of the ship landed in great haste and told the English officers that he had that morning seen the Spanish fleet off the Cornish coast. The news created great excitement and the captains began at once to hurry down to the water, shouting for their boats. But Drake would not have it so. He coolly checked his comrades and in- sisted that the game should be played out, saying : ''There's plenty of time to win this game and to thrash the Spaniards too." The match was resumed, and when it was finished, Drake and his companions embarked- on their ships to begin the fight on the morrow. When the English ships met the Great Armada, Drake was in the thickest of the fighting. One of his prizes was a large galleon commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, who yielded on the bare mention of his name. In 1589, the war with Spain continuing, Drake com- manded the fleet sent to restore Don Antonio, King of Portugal, but owing to differences between the vari- ous commanders, the object w^as not accomplished. In 1590 he devoted himself to civil engineering. He con- tracted with the town of Plymouth to supply it with water w^hich he brought from a distance of nearly twenty-five miles. The following year he built six Destruction of the Spanish Armada. *' Drake Was in the Thickest of the Fighting. 55 56 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. mills for grinding corn. In 1593 he represented Plym- outh in Parliament. In 1594 Drake and Hawkins fitted out a formidable expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, but very little came of it. Drake felt the re- "Drake Insisted that the Game Should be Played Out." verses that befel the expedition very keenly and this was the principal cause of his death which took place on his own ship off Porto Bello, on January 28, 1 596. A fine statue on Plymouth Hoe has been raised to the memory of the great admiral. THE GREAT ARMADA (A. D. 1588) ENGLAND AND SPAIN DURING the reign of Queen Elizabeth of Eng- land, Philip 11. of Spain formed the project to unite in a universal monarchy the other states of Europe. He also desired to strike a decisive blow at the Protestant faith, of which England was the bal- wark. Besides, England had been his active, persever- ing, and successful enemy. She had plundered his col- onies, inflicted ignominious defeat on his squadrons, captured his cities and burned his arsenals. Personal as well as political revenge urged him to attack this 57 58 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. power ; the renown of his troops was high and his fleet was more numerous and better appointed than that of any other European state. He made his preparations carefully and was ready to attack in 1587, but Sir Francis Drake, Vice-Admiral of Eng- land, made a bold dash into the harbor of Cadiz and destroyed nearly a hundred ships with immense stores of provisions. Then the death of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, an experienced sailor and commander-in-chief of the Spanish forces was another blow to the cause, but at length a huge armament was gatnered with the Duke of Medina Sidonia as admiral. The Lord High Admiral of England was Lord Howard of Effingham and with him were such men as Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to sail around the world; Sir John Hawkins, the rough veteran of many a daring voyage and desperate battle, and Sir Martin Frobisher, one of the earliest explorers of the Arctic seas. Sir Walter Raleigh, too, was there, and many other brave men and skilful mariners. England had not been idle, ^^^ith intense enthusiasm the people gladly furnished ships and stores, and raised troops to defend the coasts. The royal navy was increased by the addition of privateers and merchantmen to about one hundred and eighty vessels carrying about eigh- teen thousand sailors. This artillery, however, was only half the weight of the Spanish guns. The 'Tnvincible Armada" as the Spaniards called it, membered one hundred and fifty large vessels, nearly twenty thousand soldiers, upwards of eight thousand sailors, nearly twenty-five thousand slaves as rowers. THE GREAT ARMADA. 59 and carried two thousand four hundred and thirty-one cannon. This great fleet sailed from Lisbon on May 29, Lord Howard of Effingham. 1588, but a severe storm shattered a number of the ships and compelled them all to put into the port of Corunna for repairs. It was on July 12, that the great 60 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. expedition finally sailed from Spain. In the words of an eminent historian, ''The scene as the fleet passed out of the harbor must have been singularly beautiful. It was a treacherous interval of real summer. The early sunrise was lighting the long chain of the Galician mountains, marking with shadows the cleft defiles, and shining softly on the white walls and vineyards of Cor- unna. The wind was light, and falling towards a calm ; the great galleons drifted slowly with the tide on the purple water, the long streamers trailing from the trucks, the red crosses, the emblem of the crusade, showing bright upon the hanging sails. The fruit- boats were bringing off the last fresh supplies, and the pinnaces hastened to the ships with the last loiterers on shore. Out of thirty thousand men who that morn- ing stood upon the decks of the proud Armada, twenty thousand and more were never again to see the hills of Spain. Of the remnant who in two short months crept back ragged and torn, all but a few hundreds returned only to die." Seven days later, the beacon-lights along the coast of England gave warning of the approach of the enemy, and on the following day the Armada, in tl-e form of a crescent measuring seven miles from tip to tip swept up the English channel. Plymouth was passed towards evening, and during the night a part of the English ships glided out of the sound and got behind the stately Spanish ships. The action began on July 20. Lord Howard in his ship swept along the Spanish array, knocking out spars and rigging with his well delivered broadsides. The English ships were light and admir- 62 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. ably handled, manoeuvering with ease and inflicting frightful injuries upon the "moving castles." The Spanish guns were worked slowly and the English ships were seldom hit ; but the fire of the English vessels was rapid and deadly. All day the fleet Englishmen pounded the "high-towered, broad-bowed" galleons and then the Spanish Admiral signalled to the fleet to stand up the channel. On they went, with the ships of England hanging on their rear. A stormy night settled down and threw the tall Spaniards into confusion. Drake captured one; another was wrecked by an ex- plosion. All the next week the running fight contin- ued and then the Spaniards anchored m the roads of Calais, and sent for help to the Prince of Parma, but he declined to afford any assistance. At this time. Lord Howard determined to drive the Spanish ships into the open sea and prepared eight fire- ships for that purpose. \Mien things were ready they were fired and allowed to drift down with the tide. Taken by surprise, the Spaniards cut their cables and left the shore. Soon they were scattered far and wide and then Drake attacked them, driving them together in a confused mass. If his ammunition had not become exhausted he would probably have driven them upon the shore of Flanders, but as it was, he inflicted enor- mous injuries in that one day's fighting. The next day, the disheartened Spaniards held a council of war and resolved to return to Spain by the North Sea, rather than to face Drake and the English fleet. Many of their ships were disabled and four thousand men had been killed. With Drake and Howard pursuing them 64 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. they faced the dangers of the North Sea. Continuous gales shattered their unseaworthy vessels and drove them on the rocks of Scotland and the wild Irish coast. Soon the shores were strewn with wrecks and hundreds who escaped the sea were killed l^y the Irish. The Armada Driven on the Irisli Coast. Philip was unwilling to give honor to his enemies, but said : ''I sent my ships against men, not against the seas." England recognized the hand of Providence in the storm that drove the Spanish ships on the rocks of Scotland and Ireland, and on the monument erected in 1888 on Plymouth Hoe, called the Armada Memorial are inscribed the words : "He blew with His winds, and thev were scattered." MAETIN HAEPERTZOON TEOMP (A. D. 1597-1653) ADMIRAL TROMP was born at Bridle, South Holland, in 1597. His father was an officer in the Dutch navy and took his son to sea be- fore he was nine years old. In 1606 he took part in the expedition to Gibraltar in which the Spanish fleet was destroyed and although he must have known that there was great danger, he took the boy with him, and as Martin had witnessed several small fights at sea he was delighted to go along. Before the battle he told Mar- tin to remain in the cabin, and the boy obeyed, but when the cannon thundered, and the ship creaked and trembled in every plank, and the cabin became full of sulphurous smoke, Martin could stand it no longer 65 66 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. and flew on deck to his father, just in time to see him fall, covered with blood. At first the boy wept and threw himself on the life- less body, but soon a fierce spirit took possession of him. His eyes flamed with anger though his face was still wet with tears. Running to the first officer, and pointing to the Spanish vessel with which they were engaged he exclaimed : "Will you not revenge my father's death?" The sailors had been somewhat disheartened by the death of their commander, but when they heard the words of the boy they renewed the fight with great vigor, boarded the Spanish ship and destroyed it. From such a beginning, -cit is no wonder Tromp stayed in the navy and climbed from the lowest post, gaining a knowledge as he went along of every detail in a sailor's life. At the age of twenty-five he was a lieutenant, and two years later was made the captain of a frigate. He was now on the road to fame and fortune, but he continued to work and study. He served under several famous admirals and at last rose to be Admiral of Holland. In 1639 an immense Spanish fleet sailed on an ex- pedition against Holland. It consisted of sixty-seven men-of-war, and since the days of the Great Armada no such fleet had been on the high seas. It carried in all nearly two thousand guns and twenty-four thou- sand men. One of the ships, the Mater Teresa was the largest vessel that had ever been seen ; it carried sev- enty guns and twelve hundred men. As opposed to this formidable array, Tron p's force ADMIRAL TROMP. 67 was almost laughable. He had thirteen ships and when he was joined by De Witt and Bancquert their joint forces were only thirty- one ships and not more than two thousand five h u n d r e d men. But the Dutch d i d not seem to be a t - a 11 afraid. They knew what Tromp and De Witt had done before and relied upon them to pull through all right. The white sails of the Spaniards spread over a distance of several miles , , _ , , _ ^, " Revenge My Father's Death!" on the morn- ^ -^ ing when De W^itt came on board Tromp' s ship wdiere the captains were assembled. Tromp began to speak of prudence, but De Witt would not hear of it. 68 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. ''Not a bit of it," he cried in his impetuous manner; ''there is room at the bottom for them all, and the sooner we begin to send them there the better." The plan of battle was soon ar- ranged a n d then the cap- tains were rowed to their o w n ships. Tromp ran close to the Spanish admiral and gave him a broad side which was the signal for a general en- gage m e n t. The Dutch worked their ships so well that the S p aniards tacked about coast, getting OSS "Not a Bit of It," He Cried. and turned towards the English under shelter of the castle of Dover with the ADMIRAL TROMP. of two ships. Tromp held him there sending De Witt home for reinforcements, while he found time himself to run over to Calais and buy forty thousand pounds of powder and four thousand cannon balls. TROMP AND D'OQUENDO (A. I). 1()39) DUTCH AND SPANISH T ROMP'S opponent w^as Admiral D'Oquendo, a famous naval commander, and one w^hose name has always been preserved in the Spanish navy. A splendid cruiser bearing his name was one of the Spanish ships destroyed by Rear-Admiral Schley dur- ing hostilities between the United States and Spain in 1898. When Tromp returned to his fleet he found that the English Admiral, Sir John Pennington, had come out with some thirty well-armed ships to see what was going on. Salutes were exchanged and then Tromp paid Pennington a visit. "What are you doing here with such a large fleet, Admiral Tromp?" asked Pennington. ''I am looking after my enemy, who has taken shel- ter under your guns, Sir John," replied Tromp. r; Sea Kings. 70 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. ''But you must use no violence in these waters and in sight of these shores," continued the EngHsh Ad- miral. "You need not fear that we shall use any violence to you. Sir John." ''Mind what you are about. Admiral," said Penn- ington, "for I have the King's commands to help who- ever is attacked first." Tromp was perplexed. He did not want to bring about a war with England, and yet he was determined to fight D'Oquendo ; so he remained in spite of all the efforts of Pennington to induce him to depart. Mean- while, his government built ship after ship and sent them to him until his fleet numbered over one hun- dred vessels. The English were clearly in sympathy with the Spaniards and piloted some of their ships out to sea. Tromp simply waited, and when Pennington told him that it would be much nobler on his part to run out to sea and wait for his enemy there, he replied that he would like nothing better if D'Oquendo would do the same. Pennington talked it over with D'Oquendo and then reported to Tromp that the Span- iard would have gone out long ago but that he had no powder. Tromp sent back word that he might have half of his. Then D'Oquendo said that it was not only powder that he wanted ; he had no masts and booms for his ships. "There is no need to wait," replied Tromp, "I have enough for both. Here is a whole ship load of my masts and you are welcome to them if you will only come out and fight." 71 72 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. Weeks passed; the predicament of the Spanish fleet was the laughing-stock of Europe, and all Pennington could do was to report to Tromp that he would fight the fleet that fired the first shot. Tromp planned and planned to induce the Spaniard to attack him, and one day he got his ship in good condition and sailed right through the Spanish fleet. This made the Spaniards angry and they fired at him, but all the damage they did was to make a hole in one of the sails. Then they fired again and killed a Dutch sailor. Tromp sent the body of the man on board Pennington's ship and wrote him a letter saying: ''You see they have begun. They have fired the first shot at us, and by rights you ought to attack them. But if you will keep perfectly neutral I will manage the business all by myself." The battle began at sunrise the next day. Tromp had very much lighter ships than his adversary, and was inferior to him in guns and soldiers. Pennington re- mained neutral and looked on with amazement. Tromp divided his fleet into six squadrons and at- tacked the Spanish on all sides throwing their huge, clumsy ships into confusion and then pounding them with shot. The monster Spanish ship. Mater Teresa fought with three Dutchmen and only succumbed when set fire to by a fire-ship. A thousand men were on her decks begging for mercy. Then the powder on board exploded. ''The sight was awful and horrible. Out of one thousand not two hundred were saved. The others were hurled half-charred into the water, or blown to pieces in the air. Never did the heavens re-echo a more frightful crash. The guns were hurled ADMIRAL TROMP. 73 red-hot into the air; and, in the darkness, the flames looked as if hell itself had opened his jaws." Eleven ships of Spain surrendered without firing a shot ; some were stranded ; others ran ashore. D'Oquendo got away to sea with twelve ships, but Tromp followed him and captured three of them. For weeks, crushed timbers and shivered beams ; chests of treasure and mangled bodies were cast upon the Eng- lish and French shores. Tromp was loaded with honors upon his return home, and one of the results of his victory was to place the Repul^lic of the Netherlands in a position equal to that of England and France. Tromp was at Dover in 1642 at a time when King Charles L was visiting that city, and was complimented by that monarch who also bestowed on him the honor of knighthood. Ten years later, the cordiality and good understanding that had existed between the two countries was torn asunder and in May, 1652, their fleets met in combat, and the Dutch had rather the worst of it. In the following November, Tromp again encountered Blake in the Strait of Dover, this time successfully. TROMP AND BLAKE OFF DOVER ( A. D. 1652) DUTCH AND ENGLISH A DMIRAL ROBERT BLAKE commanded the English fleet, with his flag hoisted on the Tri- uiiiph, and with him was A-dmiral Wihiam Penn, the father of Wihiam Penn the Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania. He commanded the Speaker. On the afternoon of December 9, the bat- tle began. Tromp exchanged a broadside with Blake, and then fell upon the Garland, boring a hole into her stern with his bowsprit. Eversten, the Dutch Vice- Admiral engaged the Adventure, and for more than an hour the four ships fought in the blind- ing smoke, tossed hither and thither by the waves. The Garland surrendered after nearly all her officers had been killed, andEvertsen captured the Adventure. Blake's captains fought o-allantly but his fleet would have been destroyed if night had net fallen upon the scene. In his own words, ''by occasion of the night ■coming on we were saved, be'ng then left almost alone." He reached Dover in a sadly disabled condi- tion, having had three of hi-^ sh-'ps sunk and one burned, besides the two that were captured. His loss in killed and wounded was very large. 74 TROMP AND BLAKE. 75 Tromp was very proud of his victory over Blake and wanted to sail up the Thames where the remnant of the English fleet had gone for shelter, but for want Tromp' s Victory over Blake off Dover. of pilots the plan was given up. It is said that after his victory Tromp sailed up and down the English Channel with a broom fixed at his masthead, to show that he had swept his "enemies from the sea. 76 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. During the battle, one of Tromp's sailors hurried past him with a bag of powder, and not recognizing the Admiral, called to him to get out of the way, em- phasizing the remark with a box on the ear that nearly knocked him down. Tromp made no reply, but after the battle was over he sent for the sailor, who remem- bered striking some one. "You need not be afraid my son," said Tromp, ''for you did your duty. Never allow any man to interfere in the execution of your orders. But next time you hit, don't hit so hard." Then he promoted the sailor. TROMP AND BLAKE OFF PORTLAND (A. I). 1058) ENGLISH AND DUTCH ON February t8, 1653, Tromp and Blake met again, while the Dutch Admiral was convoying a fleet of m.erchantmen. Tromp was in the Brc- dcrode, and Blake in his old ship, the Triumph. The fight lasted all day with great fury. For miles the sea was covered with ships fighting in groups of three or four as well as in pairs. One Dutch captain rammed an English ship and friend and foe went down together. Another was on the point of blowing up his own vessel when a JO o a o ^ 77 78 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. friend came up. His ship was sinking and in despair he boarded the nearest Enghsh vessel and took it, only to lose it to another Englishman. Then with his men he took refuge on his friend's ship, wdiile his own sank to the bottom. Tromp's marvelous ability as a seaman enabled him to save all the merchantmen that day, and after night came on a council of war was held on his ship. The next day the fight was renewed. Six times Blake attempted to break the Dutch line, and was as often foiled, and so the day wore on. Still protecting the merchant fleet, Tromp fought on and on. Half of his ships were now without ammunition and several detached themselves from the fleet and set sail for home. Like a flash, Tromp headed them off and gave them a broadside. This brought them to their senses and they returned. The final attack of the English was in the after- noon. Tromp met it boldly, but the shock was ter- rific and many Dutch ships went down before the superior numbers of the foe. Most of those that re- mained were only kept afloat by pumping and there was scarcely a shot left. A few of the merchantmen were captured, but the bulk of the fleet was saved. By midnight the English had disappeared and the Dutch fleet limped heavily to the Meuse. Tromp had the w^orst of this running fight. OFF THE NORTH FORELAND (A. D. 1653) ENGLISH AND DUTCH THE fleets of England and Holland grappled again on June 2, 1653. The number of their ships was equal, but the English had larger guns and more of them.' The Dutch were short of provisions, men and ammunition — the fault of the government. Tromp fought w^ith indomitable courage. He had abandoned all hope of victory, but he determined to die hard. He carried the quarterdeck of the English Vice- Admiral, Penn, but thirteen English ships came to the rescue. Their crews swarmed on Tromp' s deck, and forced his crew below. Tromp dragged two small barrels of gunpowder to the centre of the middle deck and set fire to them. Half the upper deck, filled w^ith English sailors was blown away; the other half was burning. Two of the Dutch admirals, De Witt and De Ruyter, now rushed up with part of their squadrons and crashed into the group. Thirty ships were huddled together in the smash. The carnage was fearful and some of the Dutch captains became confused and fled. Many were taken and sunk. Still fighting, Tromp 79 80 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. ordered a retreat and the English did not dare to follow him among the shoals. The victory was with them, however. They had sunk six Dutch ships, blown up two and they now carried thirteen away in triumph. TROMP AND MONK OFF HOLLAND (A. D. 1()53) ENGLISH AND DUTCH ri^ ROMP'S last battle was fought on July 31, I i<^^53. within sight of the Dutch coast. Monk, the English commander, ordered his captains to give or take no quarter, and, *'in a few hours," says one historian, "the air was filled with frag- ments of ships blown up, and human bodies, and the sea dyed with the blood of the slain and the wounded. A furious fire was opened on both sides and soon Tromp's ship was enveloped in smoke. When it emerged, a signal was flying that drew all the captains to it. A musket ball had pierced the heart of their commander and he had died with a prayer to the God of battles on his lips. His flag was again hoisted and Evertsen assumed command. Around the body of the dead admiral then waged one of the most furious battles ever seen, but it was in vain to resist longer, and the remnant of the Dutch TROMP AND MONK. 81 fleet retired as best they could, before the victorious Enghsh ships." Tromp's remains were buried with great pomp at General and Admiral George Monk, Duke of Albemarle. Delft, and on his magnificent tomb is written : ''He left to posterity a grand example of mastery in naval 82 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. warfare, of fidelity to the State, of prudence, of cour- age, of intrepidity and of immovable firmness." EOBEET BLAKE (A. I). 1599-1657) ROBERT BLAKE, one of England's famous ad- mirals, was born in August, 1599, at Bridge- water, in Somersetshire, England, one year be- fore Oliver Cromwell. The lives of these two great men may be said to have run parallel in the service of their country ; their characters were much alike, and they died within a few months of each other. After receiving a grammar school education, Blake was sent to the University of Oxford, and after re- ceiving his degree returned to his father's house. He became active in the politics of the day and by his hon- esty, disinterestedness and public spirit, became a man of mark among his neighbors. He served in Parlia- ment, and later, raised a troop of horse and rendered effective service to his country, becoming a colonel. Notwithstanding that he knew nothing of ships and had no knowledge of naval matters, Blake, with two others were made ''Generals and Admirals at sea," and invested with ample powers in 1649. He was fifty years old when he entered upon his naval career, but he pursued it with even more than his usual ADMIRAL BLAKE. 83 activity. He blockaded Prince Rupert's fleet for a whole winter, and then he fell upon a Portugese fleet which vv^as returning richly laden from Bra- zil. He captured seven- teen ships, burned three more, and brought his prizes safely home. Soon afterwards, he captured a French man- of-war and then pur- sued his old enemy. Prince Rupert, again. In 1651 he succeeded in destroying his fleet with the exception of two ships. The next year, Eng- land and Holland were at war, and Blake had command of the English fleet for nine months. He got the best of the Dutch Admiral Tromp General and Admiral Robert Blake, in their first engagement, and later captured a large part of the Dutch fishing fleet. Afterwards he de- feated De Ruyter and De Witt in the Downs and chased them for four days. In the third battle Tromp commanded the Dutch fleet and defeated Blake. The next time these admirals met on the seas, a three days' 84 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. battle occurred in which the Enghsh were victorious. Blake was severely wounded in this battle. At the Action between Blake and Tromp. next encounter between the rival fleets Tromp was killed and the victory remained with the English. ADMIRAL BLAKE. 85 111 health then compelled Blake to retire from the service for a time, but in 1654 he was in the IMediter- ranean, battering the forts of Tunis. In April, 1657, war between England and Spain having been declared some time previously, Blake learned that the Spanish "^^ V %f^' Prince E a pert. plate fleet was in the bay of Santa Cruz, in the Island of Teneriffe. The position was a very strong one and Blake was sick at the time, but he sprang from his sick bed, and ordered his fleet to enter the bay and fall on the Spaniards. Carlyle. in his graphic description of the battle says : g Sea Kings. 86 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. "Blake arrives there in time this Monday morning (April 20) ; finds the fleet fast moored in Santa Cruz Bay; rich silver-ships, strong war-ships, sixteen as we count them ; stronger almost than himself, and moored here under defences unassailable apparently by any mortal. Santa Cruz Bay is shaped as a horse-shoe; at the entrance are castles, in the inner circuit are other castles, eight of them in all, bristling with great guns; warships moored at the entrance, war-frigates moored all around the beach, and men and gunners at com- mand ; one great magazine of sleeping thunder and de- struction ; to appearance, if you wish for sure suicide to run into, this must be it. Blake, taking measure of the Inisiness, runs into it, defying its loud thunder — much out-thunders it — mere whirlwinds of fire and iron hail, the old Peak never heard the like; silences the castles ; sinks or burns every ship in the harbor ; annihilates the Spanish fleet ; and then, the wind veer- ing round in his favor, sails out again, leaving Santa Cruz Bay much astonished at him." Blake got safely out to sea after one of the most daring actions on record, but his health continued to fail and he died at sea, but in sight of Plymouth, Au- gust 7, 1657. His remains laid in state for a time in London and then were interred in Westminster Ab- bey. Charles II. ordered them exhumed in 1661 and removed from the abbey, but they were reinterred in the churchyard of St. Margarets. MICHAEL ADRIANSZOON DE RUYTER (A. I). 1607-1676) H E is at once an admiral, a captain, a pilot, a sailor, a soldier," said the English after the battle of the Solebay. These words were spoken of the famons Dutch Ad- miral De Ruyter, who was born in the town of Flush- ing on March 24, 1607. One" day when he was a lad of about twelve years, a great crowd w^as gathered in the market-place of Flushing, then one of the busiest and most prosperous of Holland's towns. Apple- women, poultry women, vendors of cheese, and huck- sters of meat had deserted their stalls, and all were staring and pointing at the church spire that overhung the market-place, and in the clear blue sky seemed to soar to an immense height. 87 88 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. Aloft there, on the very topmost pinnacle, astride of the golden ball that blazed and flashed in the sun's rays, a figure was seated and frantically waving to the crowd below. "Who is it?" ''Young Michael Adrianszoon." ''An anointed young scamp." As the two gossips turned, they caught sight of a burly, broad-shouldered figure, strap in hand, trudging down the market-place towards them. "Adrian INIichaelson, your son's in trouble again," said one. "H'm, so I see," growled the father, shading his eyes with one hand to get a good look. He was a heavy fellow whose shoulders were used to carry heavy beer- barrels from morning until night, and there was little doubt he could make the strap felt. But the boy was not within strapping distance. The boy on the spire was shouting with all his might, apparently well satisfied with his exploit. The people in the market place began to shout to him to come down. They bawled themselves red in the face, but the boy took the sounds for compliments and waved his cap the more. Suddenly a louder shout went up. The daring- boy gripping the weathercock with one hand was actual- ly dancing on top of the great gilt ball ! "He's standing on one leg!" "He's oroinc to stand on his head !" "Fine doings on top of a holy building !" Then some one with sharper wits, called out, "He got up there by the ladder — he must have! And he can't come down for the workmen have taken it off." ADMIRAL DE RUYTER. 89 When the boy found that the ladder was really gone, he sat down to wait for the return of the workmen, but became dull work, and he thought out a plan which would still give the peo- ple so m e- thing to stare at and wind up his per- f o r m a n c e finely. Clasping his a r m s firmly around the top of the ball, he lowered his body until his toes touched the topmost slate. Only a por- tion of the spire had been repaired. He Got Tp There By the Ladder." and he had chosen a spot where the slates were rotten. His toes just reached. It was a terrible moment for the spectators, and for the boy too, 90 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. for if he failed to kick through a slate, it was douhtful if his strength would hold out to pull himself back to the top of the ball again. The little legs waved in the air as his toes went tap, tap, on the slates. Like most young Hollanders he wore shoes with stout iron toe-plates. It was the only way in wdiich a profligate waste of shoe-leather could be retarded. These iron plates saved him, for at last he cracked the slate and pushed a toe through — then an- other. The wooden framework on which the slates rested, formed a series of ladders, of which the boy had just laid bare the topmost rung. He worked his feet in at the hole till they rested on the frame work, and so gained a footing, by the aid of which he kicked in more of the slates. But now he must get his hands off the ball, and at last they unclasp and move inch by inch over its face until the base of the ball is grasped. Then with a long breath his right leg is lowered, and he kicks away mer- rily at a lower tier of slates. Soon his hand is on the top rung of the framework, and he lowers himself easily as down a ladder. Cheerfully kicking in slate after slate he reached the parapet, and with a wave of his cap and a merry shout disappeared down the stair of the tower. His father had taken the strap home, reserving the punishment for the seclusion of the home ; the crowd melted away, but the boy did not appear. Suddenly a dismal sound arose within the building. Michael had inflated the organ and then ran around to the keyboard in time to produce a note of surpassing melancholy. ADMIRAL DE RUYTER. 91 Into the church dashed the beadle, and around the organ rushed Michael , finding time now and then to give the Jid Admiral De Ruyter bellows another squeeze, then around to the front again to produce another discord. Then the bov became 92 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. weary of this game, and dashed into the aisle, leading the beadle a dance in and out among the pillars, until that worthy sunk into a seat and mopped his brow. "You — young villain !" he panted. "You — graceless — young — demon !" Michael made him a low bow, and scampered out of the church. He went home and was duly flogged. He went to school and raised a revolution there. He was set to work in a rope-yard and neglected to make the rope which his master vowed would hang him in time. He left his work to play, and his play to fight. Finally his master sought the boy's father. "That boy of yours is a confirmed rascal. I can do nothing with him. Send him to sea." "So I would, only you see his mother is afraid he'll be drowned if he goes." "And Fm morally certain he'll be hanged if he stays. There's a ship of mine sailing next week for the Indies. Send him in her; if he tries any of his capers there — " A piece of rope twirled in the air finished the sen- tence. Michael went to sea on December 26, 161 8, but he did not go to the bad, for he made himself a name that history cherishes. From cabin-boy he grew to be a captain in the Dutch navy in 1635 and the next year the merchants of Flushing gave him a ship and sent him against the French pirates who were preying on their commerce. In 1640, he was the rear-admiral of a fleet fitted out to assist Portu^^^al against Spain. Some years later he defeated an Algerian fleet four times as THE DUTCH IN THE MEDWAY. 93 large as his own. In 1652 he and Admiral DeWitt attacked the fleet of the English Admiral Blake ofif the month of the Thames, bnt were beaten off. They had their revenge two months later, for Blake was defeated off Dover. In 1653, De Rnyter was with Tromp in the battle where the famons Admiral was killed. He was in many of the naval engagements between England and Holland, and then in the ^Mediterranean made him- self a terror to Turkish and Algerian pirates. In 1659 De Ruyter joined the Kipg of Denmark in his war with Sweden, and was ennobled and given a pension at the close of the war. When England and Holland went to war again, De Ruyter had plenty to do. He was tlien admiral-in-chief of the Dutch navy. Monk and Prince Rupert fought him for four days in June, 1666; and in July Monk drove him back to Holland. THE DUTCH IN THE MEDWAY (A. D. 1667) DUTCH AND ENGLISH ON June 17 De Ruyter with about seventy ships anchored in the mouth of the Thames. A council of general officers was then called and the object of the expedition made known to them. The next morning the Dutch ships were higher up the river, but navip^ation was slow and difficult for the Thames 94 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. was full of sands and dangerous shoals. It was not until the afternoon of the 20th that they were opposite Sheerness. The feeble garrison made the best re- sistance possible, but unless the English could arrest their progress, the way to London was now open to the Dutch. They sunk ships in the river and stretched a chain from shore to shore above them, but these offered no obstacle for the Dutch ships broke the chain and passed between the vessels, aided by a high tide and an easterly wind. In triumph they passed up the river, throwing the city of London in consternation. Charles II. of England had never forgiven the Hol- landers for the degree of exclusion which thev had pro- nounced against his house. But he had neglected his ports, and at the very moment when De Ruyter was sailing up the Thames, he was wasting his time in the frivolities of his court. Monk, De Ruyter's old an- tagonist, was aged and suffering, but he personally hastened to encounter the Dutch. When the bullets were whistling about him, his aides-de-camp begged him to retire. 'Tf I was afraid of bullets, gentlemen," said Monk, *'I should long ago have quitted this business." On June 22, some of De Ruyter's vessels and five or six fire-ships advanced up the Medway which they ascended as far as Upnor Castle, capturing three Eng- lish ships on their way. They fired upon the castle for some time without doing much damage, and then the fire ships, going farther up, burned three ships, the Loyal London, Great James, and Royal Oak; they also captured the Royal Charles, and then got to sea with- 03 95 96 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. out doing further injury; their loss being two small ships only. This descent upon England was planned with the ut- most deliberation in Holland. The Dutch corre- spondents in England sent word that there were not half-a-dozen good ships afloat, and that if a good fleet De AVitt and De Ruyter Consulting the Map of London were sent over it would meet with little or no re- sistance. Peace negotiations were going on at Breda and the Government of Holland sent word to their representatives to draw them out as long as possible, for they were going to play the English a trick. Then De Ruyter was sent for, a map of London was pro- duced, showing how few ships, castles or soldiers were IN THE SOLEBAY. 97 about, and De Witt and the Admiral laid their plans with many a chuckle. So, while the gentlemen at Breda were discussing the articles of peace, De Ruyter sailed out with his fleet. The peace loetween England and Holland was concluded in the same year, however. No further hostilities between these two nations oc- curred until 1672, when it appearing desirable to quar- rel again an English squadron was sent to intercept the Dutch homeward-bound Smyrna fleet. The English commander met \\ith no great success, however, and was himself severely wounded. IN THE SOLEBAY (A. I). lG72j HOLLAND AGAINST ENGLAND AND FRANCE ON May 28, De Ruyter with Bancquert and Van Ghent met the allied fleets of England and France in the Solebay. The Dutch fleet con- sisted of seventy-five large ships and forty frigates; the English, under the Duke of York and the Earl of Sandwich, had one hundred vessels ; and the French ships commanded by Count d'Estrees, num- bered forty, \\lien the Dutch fleet appeared in the ofling the allied fleets were lying in the Sole- bay, and so much were they taken by surprise that 98 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. many ships cut their cahles, and the utmost speed was necessary to enable them to get ready to receive the enemy. Admiral Bancquert commenced the action by an at- tack upon Count d'Estrees, and after a short time the French left the fight. De Ruyter assailed the Duke of York's squadron, and the St. Michael bearmg his royal highness' flag, soon lost her mainmast. The largest ship present, the Royal James, carried the flag of the Earl of Sandwich. She was attacked by the Great Hol- land, Captain Adrian Brackel, who was supported by Van Ghent and a squadron of five ships. It was a ter- rible struggle. Van Ghent was killed, three of the five ships sunk, and the Great Holland beaten off with the loss of her captain and most of her officers, as well as two-thirds of her crew\ The Royal James was greatly damaged, and at last a Dutch fire-ship boarded, and set her on fire. The crew were struck with a sudden terror and leaped into the water from all sides. Six hundred of the thousand men she contained were lying on her decks, killed or wounded and unable to move. The sea was covered with men who had escaped one death only to find another. The Earl of Sandwich and his two sons attempted to leave the ship in a boat, when it became overcrowded, capsized, and sank leaving the Earl on board to find a horrible death in the flames. His body was afterwards found floating in the bay, so scorched and disfigured that he could only be recog- nized by his clothes. With reunited squadrons the English then attacked IN THE SOLEBAY. 99 the Dutch. De Ruyter narrowly escaped destruction from a fire-ship, and being wounded, with his ship badly Destruction of the "Royal James" in the Solebay disabled, he was obliged to quit the combat. Then with some order restored among their squadrons, the L.ofC. 100 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. Dutch renewed the attack, and the fury of the fight was renewed ; but the French still kept at a distance. Finally, about nine o'clock at night, both fleets having suffered severely, their fire slackened, and as if by nutual consent, they separated, the Dutch bearing away to the north unmolested. De Ruyter took his ships home, and when it was learned that the allied fleets had retired and that one of their most gallant admirals had been burned on one of the noblest ships, Holland was jubilant. But not for long, however. De Ruyter soon began to feel that popular gratitude was more fickle than the winds and waves with which he had fought all his life. Foolish rumors and lies were circulated about and a mob of senseless and cruel inhabitants of the Hague murdered the two brothers De Witt, trampling upon and disfig- uring their bodies in the most bloodthirsty manner. De Ruyter was deeply shocked when he heard of it and ex- claimed, "My poor country. God forbid that there should be any more such riots." De Ruyter 's sympathy for the unfortunate victims became known to the people while he was aw^ay at sea, and not long after the deplorable occurrence Mrs. De Ruyter was warned that her house might be attacked and plundered. One day she, with her daughter and niece, and two female servants were alone in the house when suddenly hundreds of people from the lowest classes came pouring towards the house. Mrs. De Ruy- ter sent for her son-in-law in haste, and standing on the steps of the Admiral's house he asked the mob what they wanted. A thousand voices shouted that. IN THE SOLEBAY 101 *'the Admiral had sold the fleet to the French." The women said, "he was to receive a gold piece for every one of their husbands," while others cried that the Ad- miral had been brought into the Hague, bound hand and foot like a felon. Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich Mrs. De Ruyter ran into her room and soon re- turned with a letter which she gave to her son-in-law. ''Does anyone know the Admiral's handv/riting?" he asked. Fifty voices answered, "Yes," and the letter was handed round. It was dated from his ship and in it he said he hoped soon again to meet the enemy. Even 7 Sea Kings. 102 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. fought this did not satisfy the people and it required the pres- ence of a large body of troops to disperse the mob. De Ruyter three more furious battles with h i s oppo- nents. The first of these took place on the anniver- sary of the b a't 1 1 e of Solebay, and the Dutch ^^• i t h d r e w fro m the action and took refuge among the sand s of their o w n coasts, where they knew they would not be fol- lowed. The oi- . .1 *^ . 1, T ix second action Showing the Admirars Letter. . , ^ was mdeci- sive, but on August 21, 1673, the battle at the mouth of the Texel was fought and lasted from early morning IN THE SOLEBAY. 103 until nightfall. All along the Dutch coast the inhabi- tants ran to the churches, bells were tolled, and the thunder of the cannon was listened to with breathless suspense. \\'hen night fell, De Ruyter had beaten back the English fleet. In 1675, De Ruyter was helping the Spaniards against the French in the Mediterranean. He met the French fleet early in the year, and again in April. Both his legs were shot off in the last encounter, and he died in Syracuse, April 29, 1676. His remains were taken to Amsterdam, where a magnificent monument was raised to his memory. J(3HN PAUL JONES (A. 1). 1747-1792) IN December, 1775, the Continental Congress issued its first naval commissions, and among them was one for John Paul Jones. At that time he was twenty-eight years old, slight in stature, with a thoughtful expression, and dark piercing eyes. He was the youngest of the five sons of John Paul, a gardener, who lived at Arbigland, Scotland. His birth occurred on July 6, 1747. As the lad grew up, he was charmed by local legends, or the tales of ocean perils and delighted to sail tiny fleets in the little bays and inlets of the Kircudbright shore. When he reached the age of twelve years he went to sea, and not long afterwards visited Virginia where an older 104 JOHN PAUL JONES. 105 brother had been settled for some time. He applied himself to the study of navigation and kindred sub- i^ Commodore John Paul Jones. jects, and when he reached the age of six- teen he obtained the position of third mate in a 106 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. slaver, hailing from White Haven. In three years he was first mate of another vessel in the same trade, but he had seen enough of the cruel business, and in 1768, left the ship in the West Indies, and returned to Scot- land. Captain Paul, as he was now called, commanded a vessel in the West India trade for sometime, and then went to Virginia to take charge of the estate of his brother, who had meanwhile died. For a time he abandoned the ocean, and settled down to plantation life. The flame of the Revolution, kindled at Lexine- ton, aroused him from his peaceful life near Freder- icksburg, and, armed with a letter from Hugh Mercer — afterwards a general in the patriot cause, he ap- peared before the Marine Committee of the Conti- nental Congress in Philadelphia and offered his ser- vices. At this time he affixed Jones to his name, but he never explained his reasons for doing so. One man, Richard Henry Lee, knew the man and his his- tory, and so, on December 22, 1775, a commission as lieutenant in the American navy was made out to John Paul Jones. Jones was offered the command of a sloop, but pre- ferred to serve on a larger vessel even in a subordinate position. He was then ordered to the Alfred, nhich with six other vessels all taken from the merchant ser- vice were under the command of Comniodcn-e Esek Hopkins. While on the Alfred. Lieutenant Jones hoisted with his own hands the first ensign ever dis- played on an American man-of-war. After some months of service in the Alfred, Jones was given the JOHN PAUL JONES. 107 command of the sloop Providence, twelve guns, and performed many brave exploits in that little craft. Jones' commission as captain is dated Octo- ber lo, 1776. Still in the Providence he chased the Solebay frigate, supposing her to be an English mer- chantman. He nar- rowly escaped capture, but by consummate skill managed to get away. ' Later in the year he made one of his daring cruises. In forty-seven days he captured sixteen prizes, destroyed many small vessels, and spread dis- may among the Tories and fisher-folk along the coasts of Nova Scotia and Cape Bre- ton. At one time he made an attempt to liberate a hundred American prisoners who were kept at work in the coal mines of Cape Breton, but the Jones Raised the First Ensign Ever Displayed on an Ameri- can Man-of-War 108 SEA KINGS AND NAVAL HEROES. harbors ^vere frozen and the plan had to be aban- doned. ^ , , Upon his retnrn, Jones was not promoted as he should have been. On the contrary he was degraded. I w C O ! N G R E S a The.O E L t C A T t S e(«t»»f U N | T E D S WA T £ S of NewH^mfJb.r^ Mipeiu/ithL'aj, Rlfxitlllo^t, C<»'*''7.c///. A/fuT"--*! NcvjA-/,y. Penn/jJvMit. OeUvarcfiufjUtut. Vu^itUt Wt fVpofmg ef^)rc^^l T'ofl a d Confidentt id fou! PttriotUiJ. 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