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Hen.VIJX Naval Expeditions , &c. of the English, Booka

1545. Ga Hies and our large Ships would be butsmall, it might very well happen, thatthe Enemy, palling by the Gallies,might, at the same Time, be driven,by the Force of the Current, beyondour Ships too.

These Resolutions being taken, wewaited at Anchor ’till it was High Wa-ter, hoping a Change of Weather ; Butit continued as violent all that Day, andobliged us to wait for the Morning-tide,which proved so favourable, not onlyby a Calm, but a Change of the Windtoo, that we prepar’d to depart, andshape our Course that Way where wewere told we should find the English.The Calm encreased so much, by De-grees, that before Noon we wiih’d no-thing more than to meet those who butjust before had threatned us. In theInstant we discovered some Sails, andour Gallies used all possible Diligence todiscover what they were. Comingnearer, they found them to be Flem-mings, and by them they understood,that the Englijh Fleet was not far off.The Admiral, having received this Ad-vice, went into a large Ship, which hehad pitch’d upon to engage the EnglijhAdmiral, and ordered the Gallies toadvance, to gain more certain Intelli-gence, which by Break of Day theydid, being come within Sight of theEnemy’s Fleet. The Admiral, withthe whole Fleet, followed them, withall the Expedition he could; But it wasso great a Calm, that he made very lit-tle Way, more than he was carried bythe Currents. The Englijh having gota Sight of our Gallies, used their utmostEndeavours to get the Wind, that theymight not be hemm’d in, between themand our Fleet, by the Calm. Our Gal-lies were as assiduous to gain the Wea-ther-gage of them. In this Manner,they spent the best Part of the Day, row-ing and sailing so near to one another,that they could easily discern the Num-ber of each others Ships, and theirBulk.

The mo All this while the Englijh stood out,Fleets meet. w ] t h their Heads towards the Sea, andmade aShew of being desirous to engage;keeping, however, always within Sightof their Shoar. At length, seing ourFleet had got the Weather-gage, andwas following them, in very good Or-der, they no longer dissembled, but,setting their Sails, they ssiap’d theirCourse before the Wind, towards theJJli oj Wight. Monsieur de la Garde

observing this, in Order to stop theirCourse, and to give our Fleet Time tocome up, resolved closely to pursuesome of their Rear-most Ships, whichbeing heavy Vessels, had lagg’d a pret-ty Way behind. This made the Restof the Englijh Fleet slacken their Sails :

But the Gale beginning, immediatelyafter, to fressien, without, however,causing any Swell of the Sea, they re-treated without any Disorder, except-ing only, that we had an Engagementwith them for above two Hours, in so t ^ r $close Fight, that we could hardly dis-jr,^.charge our Guns. They did not spareus; But our Gallies, being low, werethe least exposed to the Fury of theirCannon. The Skirmissi was very warm;

For, the next Morning, we saw a Num-ber of dead Bodies, and a great dealof Timber, swimming on the Surface ofthe Sea : And there could not be lessthan three Hundred Pieces of Cannonfired on both Sides. During the En-gagement, both the Current and theWind carried the Englijh Fleet direct-ly towards their Port, and the Night,coming on, put an End to the Com-bat. The next Morning, when welook’d out for them, we found theywere harboured, and in Safety; Uponwhich the Admiral steer’d his Coursefor Havre de Grace , to take in Re-freshments, and to put on Shoar thesick Men.

Father Daniel’s "Remarks on thisSea-fight.

W e see here (fays this Author) at . ,first View, an Order of Battle moreregular and less confused, than we find Miiice, J,in other Relations, and that the Attack T. II P- 47 'was very well concerted. The Fleet n)e orWwas divided into three Squadrons. The of B attle uiAdmiral, with thirty Ships, was in the moreTe ^/ (l rCenter, having Monsieur de Boutieres,with a Squadron on the Right, andthe Baron de Curton, with another, onthe Left.

The Attack was begun by fourGallies, which were detach’d, underFavour of the Calm, and with such tack-

^ aC( D • t ^ e Mary-Rofe , one of

the Principal Ships of the Englijh Fleet,was funk, with near six Hundred Men“fs* a . nc * t ^ ie Great Henry , in whichxhtt' EngUJh Admiral was, would haveundergone the same Fate, had it notbeen timely succoured.

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