The Dutch in the Medway by Rogers P. G.;

Author:Rogers, P. G.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
Published: 2017-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER VIII

Sad and Troublesome Times

AT 10 a.m. on Wednesday 12 June, when the leading vessels of van Ghent’s squadron were entering Gillingham Reach, the Duke of Albemarle watched from the shore, and he witnessed, with a bitterness easily imagined, the subsequent débâcle when the Dutch took the Unity, broke through the chain, set the Matthias and Charles V on fire, and captured the Royal Charles and Sancta Maria. After chronicling this melancholy succession of disasters in the report which he afterwards made to the House of Commons, Albemarle observed, abruptly, ‘This was all that I observed of the enemy’s action on Wednesday.’

Indeed, he had had too much to do to spend further time in mere observation of the Dutch after they had been brought to a temporary halt by the ebb of the tide on Wednesday. It could be considered a certainty that, spurred on by their successes, they would, as soon as the tide turned, attempt to do further damage higher up the river, where other ships, including the Royal Oak, Loyal London, and Royal James lay, above Upnor Castle. There was also Chatham Dockyard with its storehouses and other installations to tempt the Dutch on.

After the disasters in Gillingham Reach on Wednesday, Albemarle concentrated his energies on providing for the defence of the ships lying further up the Medway, and the dockyard itself. First he inquired of Sir Edward Scott, whom he had put in charge of Upnor Castle, whether it was in a state of preparedness. He received in reply a request for provisions and stores which Scott said he needed urgently, and sent as much as could be carried by the boats and crews still available for transport duties. He also took the precaution of sending an additional company of soldiers to reinforce the garrison, in case the Dutch should try to repeat their exploit at Sheerness by landing and attempting to take the castle by force. As for the three men-of-war lying just above the castle, Albemarle had decided very early on the Wednesday morning that they should be moved towards the Upnor bank of the Medway till they grounded in the shallow water. He then ordered that holes should be cut in their hulls so that it would be impossible for the Dutch, should they reach the ships, to move them. The work of thus immobilizing the Royal Oak, Royal James, and Loyal London had been carried out successfully before the Dutch ceased their operations on Wednesday.

Albemarle’s main care, however, was to try to provide some defences for the dockyard, and he ordered three batteries to be constructed, one to defend the Old Dockyard, and the other two the New Dockyard further down the river towards St. Mary’s Island. The ten large guns comprising the train of artillery which had just arrived from the Tower of London by way of Gravesend were mounted in a field by the North Crane in the New Dock-yard, and about fifty other guns were placed in various positions whence they could bring fire to bear on ships attempting to sail up the river.

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