The Dutch fleet consisted of eighty-eight men of war and twenty fireships, and was divided into three squadrons, under de Ruyter, Evertz, and Van Tromp. On the 25th July, about noon, the English fleet came up with the enemy off the North Foreland. Sir Thomas Allen, with the white squadron, began the battle by attacking Evertz. About one o’clock Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle made a desperate attack upon de Ruyter, and after fighting about three hours were obliged to go on board another ship. During this interval, the Admirals Allen, Tyddiman, and Utber, in the white squadron, had utterly defeated Evertz: his Vice-Admiral de Vries, and Rear-Admiral Keenders, being both killed. The Vice-Admiral of Zealand was taken, and another ship of fifty guns burnt. The Prince and the Duke, who were both in the same ship, fought de Ruyter, ship to ship; disabled the Guelderland of sixty-six guns, one of his seconds; killed the Captain of another, and mortally wounded two more, after which the Dutch squadron began to fly. De Ruyter’s ship was so miserably torn, and his crew so dispirited and fatigued, that he could make but little resistance, and nothing but the want of wind could have hindered the English from boarding him. De Ruyter continued his retreat all that night, and the next day Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle pursued him as fast as the wind would permit. A fireship was then dispatched to bear down on the Dutch Admiral, and missed very little of setting him on fire. At last they approached so near to each other as to cannonade a second time, when De Ruyter finding himself so extremely oppressed, and his fleet in the most imminent danger, that in a fit of despair he cried: “My God, what a wretch am I among so many thousand bullets! is there not one to put me out of my pain?” By degrees, however, the Dutch drew near their own shallow coast, where the English could not follow them. On this occasion Prince Rupert ungenerously insulted him, by sending a little shallop, called Fanfan, with only two guns on board, which, being rowed near to De Ruyter’s ship, fired upon him for two hours; at last a ball from the Dutch Admiral so damaged his contemptible enemy, that the crew were forced to sheer off very briskly, to save their lives. This was one of the greatest victories obtained at this war. In this battle the Dutch lost twenty ships, had four Admirals and a great many captains killed; as to common seamen, the number slain was computed to be 4,000, and 3,000 wounded. The English had only the Resolution burnt, three captains and about 300 seamen killed.