And, Although Sir Richard Had Alleged That The Spaniards
Should Never Have The Glory Of Taking One Ship Of Her
Majesty, which had
been so long and valiantly defended; they answered, that the ship had
six feet water in her
Hold, and three shot holes under water, which were
so weakly stopped, that she must needs sink with the first labouring of
the sea, and was besides so battered and bruised, that she could never
be removed from the place.
While the matter was thus in dispute, Sir Richard refusing to listen to
any reasons, the captain won over the most part to his opinion, and the
master was conveyed on board the Spanish general, Don Alfonso Bacan.
Finding none of his people very ready to attempt boarding the Revenge
again, and fearing lest Sir Richard might blow up both them and himself,
as he learned from the master his dangerous disposition; Don Alfonso
agreed that all their lives should be saved, the ships company sent to
England, and the better sort to pay such reasonable ransom as their
estate could bear, all in the meantime to be free from prison or the
gallies. He so much the rather consented to these terms, lest any
farther loss or mischief might accrue to themselves, and for the
preservation of Sir Richard, whose notable valour he greatly honoured
and admired. On receiving this answer, in which the safety of life was
promised; the common sort, now at the end of their peril, mostly drew
back from the proposal of Sir Richard and the master gunner, it being no
hard matter to dissuade men from death to life. Finding himself and Sir
Richard thus prevented and mastered by the majority, the master gunner
would have slain himself with his sword, but was prevented by main
force, and locked up in his cabin.
Then the Spanish general sent many boats on board the Revenge, and
several of her men, fearing Sir Richards disposition, stole away on
board the general and other ships. Thus constrained to submit, Sir
Richard was desired by a message from Alfonso Bacan to remove from the
Revenge, as it was filled with blood and the bodies of the slain, and
with wounded men, like a slaughter-house. Sir Richard gave for answer,
that he might do now with his body what he pleased; and while removing
from the ship, he fainted away, and on recovering he requested the
company to pray for him. The Spanish general used Sir Richard with all
humanity, leaving no means untried that tended towards his recovery,
highly commending his valour and worthiness, and greatly bewailing his
dangerous condition; seeing that it was a rare spectacle, and an
instance of resolution seldom met with, for one ship to withstand so
many enemies, to endure the batteries and boardings of so many huge
ships of war, and to resist and repel the assaults and entries of such
numbers of soldiers. All this and more is confirmed, by the recital of a
Spanish captain in that same fleet, who was himself engaged in this
action, and, being severed from the rest in a storm, was taken by the
Lion, a small ship belonging to London, and is now prisoner in London.
The general commanding this great armada, was Don Alphonso Bacan,
brother to the Marquis of Santa Cruz. Britandona was admiral of the
squadron of Biscay. The Marquis of Arumburch [Aremberg] commanded the
squadron of Seville. Luis Coutinho commanded the hulks and flyboats.
There were slain and drowned in this fight, as the before-mentioned
Spanish captain confessed, near a thousand of the enemy, with two
special commanders, Don Luis de San Juan, and Don George de Prunaria de
Mallaga, besides others of special account whose names have not yet
been reported. The admiral of the hulks and the Ascension of Seville
were both sunk at the side of the Revenge. One other ship, which got
into the road of San Miguel, sank there also; and a fourth ship had to
run on shore to save her men. Sir Richard, as it is said, died the
second or third day on board the general, much bewailed by his enemies;
but we have not heard what became of his body, whether it were committed
to the sea or buried on land. The comfort remaining to his friends is,
that he ended his life honourably, having won great reputation for his
nation and his posterity, and hath not outlived his honour.
For the rest of her majestys ships, that entered not into the fight like
the Revenge, the reasons and causes were these: There were of them only
six in all, two whereof were only small ships; and they could be of no
service, as the Revenge was engaged past recovery. The island of Flores
was on one side; 53 sail of Spanish ships were on the other, divided
into several squadrons, all as full of soldiers as they could contain.
Almost one half of our men were sick and unable to serve; the ships were
grown foul, _unroomaged_[374], and hardly able to bear any sail for want
of ballast, having been six months at sea. If all the rest of the ships
had entered into the action, they had been all lost; for the very
hugeness of the Spanish ships, even if no other violence had been
offered, might have crushed them all into shivers between them; by which
the loss and dishonour to the queen had been far greater, than any
injury the enemy could have sustained. It is nevertheless true, that the
Lord Thomas Howard would have entered between the squadrons of the
enemy, but the others would on no account consent; and even the master
of his own ship threatened to leap into the sea, rather than conduct the
admirals ship and the rest to be a certain prey to the enemy, where
there was no hope or possibility of victory or even of defence.
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