| Summary : 1602 wreck of Spanish galley, one of two thought to have foundered after being rammed by either an English or a Dutch warship during the Battle of Goodwin Sands on 24 September 1602. The location of the battle is thought to have been off St. Margaret's at Cliffe, since three galley slaves jumped overboard and swam to that place. The combined English and Dutch fleets intercepted six Spanish galleys in the Straits of Dover en route from Spain and/or Lisbon to Flanders, of which only two are believed to have escaped either the battle or the ensuing storm, one of which later ran ashore at Calais. The lost galley was constructed of wood, and powered by both sails and oars, as confirmed in a contemporary illustration of the incident. For the account of the battle itself, please see 1572890; for the other ship which was rammed and sunk, please see 1572909; and for the two other galleys which were potentially ‘wrecked’ please see 1572913 and 1572915. There was much confusion typical of reports of wrecks in battle, with another claim that three were 'shot and sunk'. As two out of the six galleys were said to have escaped, and so as not to artificially inflate the numbers of wrecks, the latter two have been recorded as both 'wrecked' and as lost to gun action. It is possible that one of the rammed vessels was in fact lost to gun action, acknowledged in the present record, or that gun action supported the ramming. |
More information : One of two vessels sunk by ramming in this battle, for convenience interpreted as a vessel sunk by 'stemming'. It is possible that at least one of these vessels was also subject to gun action, since 'three were shot and sunk':
Documentary Evidence:
No.15. Sept. 24. Blackfriars. Henry Lord Cobham to Sec. Cecil. I send news of what the Queen's ships have done. I hope the next news will be that the galleys are taken, which would be more famous than any action that has happened this great while. Encloses:
No.15 (i): Sir Thos. Fane to Lord Cobham. The Queen's ships have fought with the galleys and dispersed them, and greatly hurt them; three of their galley slaves leaped into the sea over against St. Margaret's, and swam ashore. I have put them into Dover Castle. Dover Castle, 10pm, 24 Sept. 1602.' (1)
No.16. Sept. 27. - to Lord -.
'As it is a ticklish thing for ships to intercept galleys, I let you know that having been advertised that Spinola passed hitherward from Lisbon, with six galleys for Sluys, Her Majesty appointed Sir Robt. Mansell to join with the States' fleet before Dunkirk and Sluys, to impeach them; Sir Robt. Mansell with three ships rode about Dungeness, a good distance apart. Two fly-boats rode higher to the westward, one to give the other the alarm; the rest rode before Dunkirk and Sluys. On Thursday last, one of the fly-boats met them holding their course north-east, whereupon the fly-boats wrought across the Channel. Sir Robert put himself into the middle of the Channel, and shot off to give the ships to the eastward warning.
'At last the galleys bore up close to the English shore, within the Goodwin towards the Downs, those ships sailing after sometimes shooting, but to little purpose, for night came on, whereupon five Flemings riding in the Downs, hearing the report of the ordnance, set sail ahead of them, and in a great storm, crossed them, and they seeking to make over towards the Flemish coast, three were shot and sunk, as Sir Robert has now brought word. Thereupon 16 or 17 sail that were riding before Dunkirk and Sluys weighed, had them in chase, and put them to the eastward of Sluys, by which all men assure themselves that they are all cast away, for the storm was such that Thursday night, as they had much ado to live themselves.' (1)
'London 23. John Chamberlain to Dud. Carleton [in Paris]. Sir Robt. Mansfield [sic] and the Vice-Admiral of Flushing met six of Spinola's galleys, stemmed or overran two, and spoiled the rest, of which one is run aground near Calais.' (2)
Photograph of medal in the collections of the National Maritime Museum commemorating the action off the Goodwin Sands, with inscription on reverse: TRIREM VI DEPRESS. FRACT. FUGATISQ. Ao. MDCII. A conventionalised naval battle is seen with 6 galleys with oars, characterised as Spanish with crosses on their sails, and two other large ships from the opposing side in a close melee, possibly representing the act of ramming mentioned in (2) above. (3)
Catalogue entry [without photograph] of a similar medal in the collections of the British Museum. The inscription is translated thus: Six galleys sunk, wrecked and put to flight in the year 1602. The States of the United Provinces ordered this medal to be struck.' (4)
'The eight galleys which Leveson and Monson met at Cezimbra (of which they sank two) had been assembled by the indefatigable Spinola to reinforce his Flanders Squadron. This time he was not so lucky; conditions were again idea ("Galleys will outsail all ships in such a loom gale of wind and smooth sea as we had that night") but his enemies were forewarned and waiting for him in the Straits of Dover. The English squadron under Sir Robert Mansell intercepted some of the galleys and forced the rest into the hands of the Dutch. Only Spinola's own galley and one other escaped.' (5) [This referenced in part to Maunsell and Statham, "History of the Family of Maunsell", I, 372, London, 1917, which quotes Sir Robert Mansell's own work, "A true Report of the Service done upon certaine Gallies", London, 1602.]
Date of incident given as 23 September 1602. (5)
'In September 1602 he was sent out in command of a small squadron to intercept six galleys, which were reported on their way from Lisbon to the Low Countries. He posted himself with three ships off Dungeness, with two fly-boats to the westward. In the Downs and off Dunkirk were some Dutch ships. On the 23rd the galleys appeared and were at once attacked. After being very roughly handled by the English they dispersed and fled, but only to fall into the hands of the Dutch, by whom and by a gale which came on afterwards they were completely destroyed.' [This source is referenced to the Calendar of State Papers Domestic, 27 Sept. 1602 and to Mansell's own work, "A true Report . . . "]. (6)
Interpretation of the Wreck:
All sources appear to agree on six galleys intercepted by a combined Anglo-Dutch force. The number of losses appears unclear. It seems that two were certainly sunk by ramming, since two at least were 'stemmed or overran' in source (2). The medal described in (3) and (4) states that six galleys were 'sunk, wrecked, or put to flight', but does not note the number of each.
For convenience, the present wreck record is interpreted as a vessel which was ‘stemmed’ i.e. deliberately rammed by the 'stem' (fore-post) of the ramming vessel, a contemporary usage as noted by the OED (7), which quotes, for example, Sir Walter Raleigh, "History of the World", in 1614: '…stemming the formost of their enemies, and chasing the rest…' (8)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |