St. James' Day Battle

The battle followed on the heels of the Four Days' Battle of 1–4 June 1666 which is normally considered a Dutch victory.[3] In the early morning of 25 July, the Dutch fleet of 88 ships discovered the English fleet of 89 ships near North Foreland, sailing to the north. De Ruyter gave orders for a chase and the Dutch fleet pursued the English from the southeast in a leeward position, as the wind blew from the northwest. Suddenly, the wind turned to the northeast. The English commander, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, then turned sharply east to regain the weather gauge. De Ruyter followed, but the wind fell and the fleet fell behind. The Dutch van, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Johan Evertsen, was becalmed and drifted away from the line of battle, splitting De Ruyter's fleet in two. This awkward situation lasted for hours; then, again, a soft breeze began to blow from the northeast. Immediately, the English van, commanded by Thomas Allin, and part of the centre formed a line of battle and engaged the Dutch van, still in disarray.

The Dutch failed to form a coherent line of battle in response, and ship after ship was mauled by the combined firepower of the English line. Vice-Admiral Rudolf Coenders was killed, and Lieutenant-Admiral Tjerk Hiddes de Vries had an arm and a leg shot off. De Ruyter formed the Dutch centre and attempted to reach the van, but the wind was against him and he failed to reunite his forces.

With the Dutch van defeated, the English converged to deliver the coup-de-grâce to De Ruyter's centre. George Monck, accompanying Rupert, predicted that De Ruyter would give two broadsides and run, but the latter put up a furious fight on the Dutch flagship De Zeven Provinciën. He withstood a combined attack by Sovereign of the Seas and Royal Charles and forced Rupert to leave the damaged Royal Charles for Royal James. The Dutch centre's resistance enabled the seaworthy remnants of the van to make an escape to the south.

Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp, commanding the Dutch rear, now brought his vessels to De Ruyter's rescue. Tromp ordered his vessels to the west crossing the line of the English rear under the command of Jeremiah Smith. The English rear was now cut off from the centre, and Tromp's squadron began a dogged attack that forced Smith's ships to flee to the west. The pursuit of the English rear lasted well into the night, with Tromp ultimately destroying HMS Resolution with a fireship. After Tromp thrice shot the entire crew from its rigging, Smith's flagship HMS Loyal London caught fire and had to be towed home. The vice commander of the English rear was Edward Spragge, who felt so humiliated by the course of events that he became a personal enemy of Tromp. He would later be killed pursuing Tromp in the Battle of Texel.

On the morning of 26 July, Tromp broke off pursuit, while he was told de Ruyter had also been victorious. However, coming across the drifting flagship of the dying Tjerk Hiddes de Vries, it became clear this was not the case. Behind him, those ships of the English rear still operational had again turned to the east, while in front other enemy squadrons surely awaited him. Tromp evaded attempts to trap him and brought his squadron safely home in the port of Flushing on the morning of 26 July, where he discovered the rest of the Dutch fleet.

St. James Day Fight August 4th, 1666, by Wenceslaus Hollar

At the same time, de Ruyter realised he was also in a dangerous position. His force was now reduced to about forty ships, most of which were badly damaged, while another fifteen ships had apparently lost contact during the night. A strong gale from the east prevented an easy retreat, and to the west, 50 ships from the English van and centre surrounded him in a half-circle, safely bombarding him from a leeward position.

However, de Ruyter was saved by a strong gale which prevented the English from closing with the Dutch, or using their fire ships. The wind changed to a westerly direction and allowed the Dutch fleet to reach safety, with Vice-Admiral Adriaen Banckert covering the retreat of all damaged ships. It became apparent that most of the ships that had become detached had merely drifted away, and now, one after the other, they rejoined.