Drake and Fenner were the first English captains who attacked the
unwieldy leviathans; then came Fenton, Southwell, Burton, Cross, Raynor,
and then the lord admiral, with Lord Thomas Howard and Lord Sheffield.
The Spaniards only thought of forming and keeping close together, and
were driven by the English past Dunkirk, and far away from the Prince of
Parma, who, in watching their defeat from the coast, must, as Drake
expressed it, have chafed like a bear robbed of her whelps. This was
indeed the last and the decisive battle between the two fleets. It is,
perhaps, best described in the very words of the contemporary writer, as
we may read them in Hakluyt:
"Upon the 29 of July in the morning, the Spanish fleet after the forsayd
tumult, having arranged themselues againe into order, were, within sight
of Greveling, most bravely and furiously encountered by the English,
where they once again got the wind of the Spaniards, who suffered
themselues to be deprived of the commodity of the place in Caleis road,
and of the advantage of the wind neer unto Dunkerk, rather than they
would change their array or separate their forces now conjoyned and
united together, standing only upon their defence.
"And albeit there were many excellent and warlike ships in the English
fleet, yet scarce were there 22 or 23 among them all, which matched 90
of the Spanish ships in the bigness, or could conveniently assault them.
Wherefore the English shippes using their prerogative of nimble
steerage, whereby they could turn and wield themselues with the wind
which way they listed, came often times very near upon the Spaniards,
and charged them so sore that now and then they were but a pike's length
asunder; and so continually giving them one broad side after another,
they discharged all their shot, both great and small, upon them,
spending one whole day, from morning till night, in that violent kind of
conflict, untill such time as powder and bullets failed them.
"In regard of which want they thought it convenient not to pursue the
Spaniards any longer, because they had many great advantages of the
English, namely, for the extraordinary bigness of their shippes, and
also for that they were so neerely conjoyned, and kept together in so
good array, that they could by no meanes be fought withall one to one.
The English thought, therefore, that they had right well acquitted
themselues in chasing the Spaniards first from Caleis, and then from
Dunkerk, and by that means to have hindered them from joyning with the
Duke of Parma his forces, and getting the wind of them, to have driven
them from their own coasts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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