"Sir," he added, "you speak as though you designed a total defection from his Majesty and our country." "Why, have not many princes lost their dominions so?" asked Bacon. Goode replied that his followers did not think themselves engaged against the King's authority, but against the Indians. "But I think otherwise, and I am confident of it that it is the mind of this country, and of Maryland and Carolina also to cast off their Governors, ... and if we cannot prevail by arms to make our conditions for peace, or obtain the privilege to elect our own Governor, we may retire to Roanoke."[47] Whether Bacon could have enlisted the peoples of Carolina and Maryland in his cause, secured naval and military aid from the Dutch, and anticipated the American Revolution by a century, must remain in the realm of speculation. But before he could proceed far with his plans he suffered an irreparable disaster--he lost command of the water. In Bacon's Rebellion, as in the Revolution and the War between the States, the great Virginia rivers made it possible for the side which had superior naval forces to penetrate into the heart of the country, while they proved a barrier to the movement of troops by land. So when several merchant vessels, which Bacon had seized and armed, fell into Berkeley's hands, leaving him the undisputed master in Virginia waters, the rebel cause became almost hopeless.[48] Yet it is remarkable that when the Governor had assembled a formidable force, brought them up the James, and occupied Jamestown, Bacon succeeded in driving him out. The place seemed impregnable, since the only approach was over a narrow isthmus, protected by barricades and guarded by the cannon of the ships in the river. Berkeley himself supplies the explanation when he reported that his men refused to fight, but in spite of his urgent pleas, hurried him on shipboard and away.[49] So Bacon's men entered the little capital unopposed. But they realized that they could not hold it, for Berkeley's fleet was still nearby, while other loyalist forces were threatening from the north. After a consultation, the leaders decided to burn the town. Lawrence applied the torch to his own house. Drummond to his, Bacon to the little church, others to Berkeley's five houses, and the statehouse.[50] As Berkeley saw the flames rising above the rooftops and reflected on the waters of the James he cursed the cowardice of the men who had forced him to desert the place.