**Up.XXI. from the Revolution to the Heath of K.Willi
am.
„ * *\in<r
fe* Hoi
'and.
i d ^ral
o ;£ a : l °f
Afford.
r-Ls
■gun.
ton, and having embarked at Margate,the six and twentieth, landed, the nextDay, in Holland, where I shall leave himfor a Time. Four Days after His Ma-jesty’s Departure, among other Ad-vancements, which were publickly de-clared, was that of Admiral Rufsel,who was made Baron of Shingey, Vis-count Barfleur, and Earl of Or-ford.
THEGrand Business* of this Year,wasthe Treaty of Ryswick, the Prelimina-ries to which were settled, the tenthof February, and, in Consequencethereof, the first Conference was heldin that Palace, the ninth of May ; Butas the Peace was not concluded, ’till theMonth of September, and Hostilitieswere continued in the mean Time, Ishall return to the Fleet. (Jb )
Sir George Rooke’r Proceedings to andfrom the Soundings.
George SiR GeorgeRooke being appointed Ad-miral of the main Body of the FleetKt, ° the Beginning of the Year 1697. he ar-rived, the second of June, with thegreat Ships, off of the South-Foreland,
72I
designing to stop Tides, from thence to 1697.Spit head ; But being, the next Day, atAnchor, off of Dover, a strong S. W.
Wind obliged him to return to theDowns. The tenth, in the Evening, hearrived at St. Helen ’s, and there metthe Dutch Rear-Admiral Najfau, withten Men of War, of that Nation, whichwere to convoy several Merchant-Shipsto Holland, and then to joyn the Fleet:
And, the fourteenth, a Council ofWar was called, (c)
Small Frigats, for preventing the E- jgr an t 0 fnemy’s discovering the Weakness of our [mall Ships,Squadron, were very much wanted;
For tho’ the Fleet, if together, wouldhave made seven and forty English, andthree and twenty Dutch, of the Line,besides seventeen Fire-ships, and othersmall Craft; Yet, at this Time, threeand forty of those seventy Ships wereabsent; {d) So that, had not Rear-Ad-miral Najfau joined, with the ten Shipsmentioned above, the Fleet could hard-ly have proceeded to Sea, at all ; Andbesides, the Ships were victual’d butfor a very short Time.
The five and twentieth of June, Mitchel <aW
r a 1 B em bow
join the
Vice-Admiral Mitchel, and Rear-Ad t
miral Bembow, joining the Fleet with Fleet.
the
V
(b) The fifth of February , Captain Jennings ,Commander of the Plymouth, being cruising, to-gether with the i?jy<?-Frigat, upon the French- Coast,near Forn-Head , about eight in the Morning,espy’d three Sail standing towards him, and two ofthem came within two Guns-shot of him, before hebore down upon them; When, not liking the Looksof him, they bore away. However, in less thanan Hour, he came up with one of them, which,presently after, springing both her Fore-top-mast, and Main-mast, upon the firing one Gun,was forced to Strike. This Ship was calledthe New Cherbourg , a Man of War, ofsix and thirty Guns, and one Hundred and fiftyMen. Captain Jennings , having left his Prizewith the Rye , gave Chace to the other, andcame up with her about one of the Clock, and,after an Engagement of near three Hours, tookher likewise ; She was called the Dolphin of St.Ma lo, commanded by the Sieur de la Rue , butWas formerly the Betty of Brifol, and, when Ihewas taken, carried but eight and twenty Guns,and one Hundred ninety-fix Men, of which threeand thirty were killed and wounded.
(c) At this Council were present, besides theAdmiral, Sir Cloudejly Shovel , Admiral of theBlue, and the Vice-Admirals Aylmer and Mitchel-,And it was agreed, that since there was a greatWant of Men and Provisions, and but little Pros-pect of a sudden Supply, so many Ships should besent to Sea, as could be manned up to their middleComplements, while thole, from which the MenWere taken, secured themfefves in Portsmouth-Harbour; And, the next Day, at another Consul-tation, where there were also present the DutchAdmiral, Vice-Admiral Callemberg , Rear-Admi-ral, Mew, and Mr. Bokenham, first Captain to
the Admiral, it was resolved, to proceed off ofUftsant, for Intelligence, and then to govern them-selves, as a Council of War sliould think mostadvifeable.
(d) They were on the following Services , viz.
Rates.
ist.
2d.
sd.
4th.
With Vice-Admiral Mit-
chel, in the Soundings.
1
0
8
O
With Captain Beaumont,
in the North Sea.
O
0
4
a
With Rear-Admiral Bembow,
in the Soundings.
0
0
I
1
Off of Cape La Hogue. 0
Convoy between the Downs and
0
I
0
Falmouth.
0
0
I
0
At Woolwich.
6
0
0
1
At Hudson s-Bay.
0
0
0
i
On the Fishery.
0
0
0
r
At Hull.
0
0
I
0
Between the Ife of Wight and
Portland-
0
0
0
1
At the Nore.
0
0
I
0
Unmanned at Black-
fakes.
0
0
0
Unmanned at Ports-
mouth.
0
2
8
0
With Rear-Admiral Nassau ,
on the Coast of Holland,
0
8
I
0
Expected from North-
Holland .
0
I
I
0
In all, Dutch %n&Englip
I
15
22
S