More information : Archaeological Remains:
A wooden box, lined inside with baize, with a hinged lid, said to have been built out of wood found from the Dutch ship MATTHIAS or CHARLES V. Inside the lid bears the legend:
'This Box was part of the MATTHIAS or CHARLES THE VTH Dutch Men-of -war which were sunk in St Mary's Creek, Chatham, in the year 1667 when the Dutch Fleet came up the Medway in that year and was found by a party of convicts during the excavating of the new docks and Basins at the Extension Works St Mary's Island HM Dockyard Chatham in the year 1876. Thos Luker. Metropolitan Police.' (6)
Documentary Evidence:
Primary Sources:
'Whitehall, June 16 . . . the Enemy taking the advantage of an Easterly Wind and the Tide, which both served them, pressed on, and though their first Ship struck upon the Chain, the second broke through; and notwithstanding a stout resistance, in which our Men shewed infinite courage, with considerable loss to the Enemy, yet they clapt their Fireships aboard the MATTHIAS and the UNITY, that lay at anchor, as a Guard to the Chain, and then upon the CHARLES THE FIFTH, all three of them Dutch Ships, that had been formerly taken from them.' (5)
June [20.] Whitehall. Hen. Muddiman to Sir George Cooke, at Wheatley, Doncaster. News-letter.
'The issue of the treaty of Breda seems to depend on the success of the Dutch fleet; on the 6th it appeared off Harwich and the neighbourhood, only frightening a few fishermen, landing on the coasts, and driving off some cattle. On the 10th it came within shot of Sheerness, and after some hours took the guns, and on the 11th, by degrees got 20 or 22 ships over the narrow part of the river at Chatham, where ships had been sunk; after 2½ hours' fighting, one guard ship after another was fired and blown up, and the enemy master of the chain. They then took the ROYAL CHARLES, quenching the flames, though she stranded, and also the MATTHIAS, CHARLES V, and AMITY.' (8)
Pictorial Sources:
John Evelyn's sketch of the ships in the river during the Raid on the Medway, made on the spot, contains a key. At No.7 the CHARLES V is depicted towards the Hoo side of the river, west of the chain. (4)
A contemporary Dutch topographical print of the Raid on the Medway similarly contains a key and shows at No.17, the CAROLUS QUINTUS "burnt by the SCHIEDAM". She is shown lying west of the chain, and appears to be further over towards the Kent shore. (7)
Secondary Sources:
Prior History:
Prize, ex. CAROLUS QUINTUS. (1)
CAROLUS QUINTUS, Dutch mercantile vessel hired in 1665 and present on the Dutch side at the Battle of Lowestoft that same year. (9) She was captured at Lowestoft and became the CHARLES V. She was burnt by a fireship and her remains were sold in October 1667. (10)
There had been plans as early as 25 March 1667 to use the CHARLES V and MATTHIAS, moored within, i.e. west of, the chain, as a reinforcement to its defences. (4)
Account of Wreck Event:
Stationed at the northern end of the protective chain stretched across the river. Attacked by two Dutch fireships, the CHARLES sank one, but the second came alongside and set her on fire. Simultaneously, she was boarded by boats' crews who drove off or captured the defenders. After removing the prisoners she was allowed to burn out. The remains were sold 12 October 1667 to a Mr Gould. (1)
Dutch CAROLUS V, prize, burnt by the Dutch 1667. (2)
Dutch CAROLUS V, captured 1665, burnt by the Dutch at Chatham on 12-JUN-1667. (3)
On Monday 10 June soldiers were sent aboard the two guardships at the chain. The following day their positions were adjusted slightly to allow them to bring their broadsides to bear upon the chain, with further troops aboard.
The DELFT attacked the CHARLES V on the Hoo side of the river, but was in turn sunk by the response of the CHARLES V's guns. Another fireship then attacked her with greater success. The Dutch commander Van Brakel boarded her and ordered her flag to be hauled down. Many of her crew had deserted on seeing his approach and her commanding officer was forced to surrender with what remained of his crew. The Dutch were unable to extinguish the fire they had started, which burned for the rest of the day, and she blew up.
'Before this occurred, it seems very probable that she had drifted up the river. In 1876, when new basis [sic = foundations] were being constructed during extensions to Chatham Dockyard, the remains of an old man-of-war were found at the east end of St. Mary's Creek, with her guns embedded in the mud around her. This wreck may have been either the SANCTA MARIA or the CHARLES V. In a survey of the Medway made on 10 and 11 October 1667 [referenced to the Slaone MS.2448, ff.39-40] both these ships were reported as lying sunk on the south-east side of Cockham Wood Reach.
She was thus one of the ships destroyed by fire. Pepys requested an account of the physical damage to the ships and the financial loss they represented, sent to him on 17 August 1667. James Norman, Clerk of the Survey at Chatham, replied that the CHARLES V was valued at £550.
Her "bottom" was sold at auction for £8 on 22 September 1669, a higher value than the valuation sent to the Navy Board on 4 October 1669, at £5. (4)
Acquired: 1665 (2)(3); 1666 (1)
Armament: 52 guns (2)(3); 54 guns (1)
Commanding Officer: Capt. John Fortescue RN (1)
Owner: Royal Navy (all sources)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |