| Summary : 1602 wreck of Spanish galley, one of two thought to have been ‘wrecked’ after being involved in the Battle of the Goodwin Sands on 24 September 1602. As three galley slaves jumped overboard and swam for St. Margaret's at Cliffe, the battle has been located off that place. The combined English and Dutch fleets intercepted six Spanish galleys in the Straits of Dover en route from Spain and/or Lisbon for Flanders, only two of which escaped, 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. It is unclear how this galley was ‘wrecked’: contemporary language, 'spoilt', and 'broken' suggests the vessel was damaged in action, and would appear to be consistent with the account of three vessels 'shot and sunk'. There is also a suggestion that a gale which subsequently sprang up accounted for her loss, particularly if she had been previously disabled by the action. This confusion is typical of wrecks reported from battles. 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 'wrecked' vessels, including the present record, have been recorded as foundering following gun action. It is possible that one of the rammed vessels was in fact one of the vessels also lost to gun action, or that gun action supported the ramming. The proximity of the Goodwin Sands may have been another factor. For the account of the battle itself, please see 1572890; for the other vessel which was ‘wrecked’ following the battle, please see 1572915; and for the two ships which were rammed and sunk, please see 1572903 and 1572909. |
More information : The first of two vessels interpreted as having been 'wrecked' in this action. It is unclear whether this was due to battle damage, i.e. 'spoiling', which may be consistent with the three vessels 'shot and sunk', or to environmental causes, e.g. the proximity of the Goodwin Sands. For convenience, the former is preferred, with an acknowledgement that two are said to have escaped: it may be that one of the three 'shot and sunk' was shot in addition to being rammed.
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.
Source (2) states that the remainder of the vessels [that is, apart from those 'stemmed or overran'] were 'spoiled'. The Latin word FRACTI as depicted on the medal (3)(4) conventionally means 'wrecked' (as it is translated in (4)), but it may mean nothing more than 'damaged' in this instance, rather than completely wrecked, when taken in conjunction with 'spoiled'.
Source (6), taken from Mansell's own account of the engagement, suggests that all the vessels were destroyed either in the action by the Dutch or by the gale that sprang up afterwards. The detail of the gale may be enough to suggest that the translation of FRACTI is correct and that any ships damaged or structurally weakened in the battle were subsequently wrecked in the gale, possibly on the Goodwin Sands; their proximity may have been a factor, regardless of the weather conditions. These two galleys appear less securely recorded as wrecks than the ships sunk by ramming, but are included to illustrate the archaeological potential of this battle. (7)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |