This first royalist attack on Bolton was one of the hardest fought encounters of the whole war. Colonel Assheton himself is said to have showed much bravery, and the hand-to-hand fighting was severe. The losses on either side are difficult to estimate; they seem as usual to have been understated by the Parliamentarian writers. The day after the unsuccessful royalist attack on Bolton, Serg.-Major Birch was sent from Preston with a company of foot to occupy Lancaster. The royalists had never had a garrison in that town, probably thinking it quite secure from attack; there were only a few soldiers in the Castle. Birch entered the town without opposition, and summoned Sir John Girlington and Mr. Kirkby, who were in the Castle, to surrender; being quite unable to defend the place they did so, and were allowed to march away; Birch thereupon took possession of the town for the Parliament. A garrison was left in the Castle under the command of Captain William Shuttleworth. The Parliamentarians did not long retain possession of Lancaster at this time, but their expedition represents a great advance on former operations. Lancaster is 17 miles north of Preston, which had hitherto been the limit of their territory. After this there was some weeks quiet in Lancashire, and the actual recommencement of hostilities was due to a rather curious accident. A large vessel appeared off Rossall Point at the north-west corner of the Fylde, and lay off shore at anchor discharging her guns, for three or four days. She was at first thought to be a royalist vessel; but as no attempt was made to land, a pilot was at length sent out and the ship found to be the Saint Anne of Dunkirk, a Spanish frigate, belonging to the Dunkirk squadron, which had been driven out of her course by contrary winds. She carried recruits on their way to be trained in the Low Countries. Finding that her presence in those waters was quite accidental, the ship was beached in the mouth of the Wyre on the Rossall side (that is in the present Fleetwood Harbour), and she was taken possession of in the name of the Parliament. The Earl of Derby, however, who was at Lathom, heard of the occurrence, and setting off hastily with one troop of horse, he crossed the Ribble and stayed that night (Saturday, March 4) with Mr. Clifton at Lytham Hall. The same day four foot companies of the Parliament's troops arrived in the Fylde from Preston under the command of Major Sparrow, and quartered round Poulton and Singleton. But the conduct of the Parliamentarians was incomprehensible. Next morning (Sunday, March 5) Sparrow drew out his men at a place called The Hoes (now Layton Common), but hearing that the Earl was on his march northwards from Lytham, he retreated, ferried his men over the Wyre, and marched them along the eastern bank of the Estuary to a point opposite to the present town of Fleetwood.[88] Meanwhile Derby rode straight to the ship without resistance; he took prisoners Colonel Dodding and Mr.