The Dutch burn English ships during the expedition to Chatham (Raid on Medway, 1667)

(De Hollanders steken Engelse schepen in brand tijdens de tocht naar Chatham 20 juni 1667)

by Jan van Leyden, 1669

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

(image 19201104, 0.98 MB)

The Raid on Chatham is undoubtedly one of the most impressive victories in Dutch history. The success of this daring expedition is much owed to Grand Pensionary of the Republic Johan de Witt.  He envisioned an attack on the British soil that would provoke a rebellion against the English king; and the planning of the operation started immediately after the great victory of the Four Days’ Battle in 1666.  However, the details of the original plan were soon become known to the English and the operation was cancelled. But the later events of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, such as St. James’ Day Fight and the Holmes Bonfire (1666) were unfortunate for the Dutch and a success was desperately needed in 1667. The plan of the attack was revived and Cornelis de Witt, brother of the Grand Pesionary, was assigned to the fleet as a government delegate. In June 1667 the Dutch fleet commanded by De Ruyter, but effectively guided by Cornelis de Witt entered the Thames.

The first Dutch ships commanded by Willem van Ghent appeared at the mouth of the Thames on June 17. At that moment Dutch intensions were unclear to the English, who were more concerned of an attack on London. But the Dutch primary target were English ships anchored upstream the Medway river. The attack began with an assault on the Sheerness Castle protecting the mouth of the Medway. After a bombardment delivered by the Vreede the garrison fled, and a Dutch landing party captured the unfinished fort. The Dutch marines were strictly forbidden to plunder to shame the Holmes’ outrages on Teschelling. Despite the orders Dutch seamen plundered anyway, and their commander Jan van Brakel was relieved of his command.

Once the fort was captured the Dutch reconnoitered the way upstream and discovered that English had sunk seven ships across the river to block the passage. A small opening was found in the barrier and after some of the sunken ships had been dragged away, the Dutch frigates passed on the rising tide.

Another obstacle was a formidable chain stretched across the river one mile further on near Gillingham. It was protected by artillery positions on the river banks and warships anchored in front of it. The Dutch attacked the chain on the morning of June 22. One of the protecting warships, the Unity (ex Dutch Eendracht) was bordered and captured by Jan van Brakel who was anxious to redeem himself. The Dutch fire ships attacked the English Matthias and Carolus V, which both caught fire and blew up. Later the mighty Royal Charles was taken after putting little resistance. This ship, originally Naseby 80-gun First Rate, renamed Royal Charles after the Restoration, had served as flagship for such famous admirals as Blake, Monck and Duke of York. Its capture was the ultimate humiliation for the English fleet.

The tide began to fall and the Dutch could not proceed any further that day. Still there were three more ships up the river, Royal James, Loyal London and Royal Oak. The English realized that the only way to prevent their capture was to sink them and so they were scuttled. Next day De Ruyter took command of the attack personally. The sunken ships were reached by the fire ships and set on fire.

“The destruction of these three stately and glorious ships of ours was the most dismal spectacle my eyes ever beheld,”
wrote Edward Gregory, Clerk of the Cheque of Chatham Dockyard.

The next day the Dutch finally withdrew. The tide was falling and the ships regularly ran aground. Royal Charles and Unity were taken along as prizes. Despite the obvious success not all objectives were accomplished.  For one, Johan de Witt was not satisfied pointing out that the actions of the fleet were insufficiently aggressive and not accepting arguments of shallow water and adverse wind. Chatham Dockyard was not burnt and had it been destroyed it would have taken a generation to rebuild. Furthermore the political aim was not reached as well. Despite disastrous events such as plague, the Great Fire of London 1666 and then the raid itself, no rebellion ensued.

There are many painting depicting the events of the Raid on Chatham. The impressive work of Jan van Leyden painted in 1667 – 1669 shows the attack of June 20th with Dutch troops storming the Sheerness Castle and burning English ships.

The storming of Sheerness Castle is depicted in detail in this engraving by Willem Schellinks.

Chatham Expedition  and the Capture of the Sheppey Island, 1667

(Tocht naar Chatham en de verovering van het eiland Sheppey, 1667)

by Willem Schellinks

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

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The panoramic painting by Willem Schellinks displays the further events of the Raid. In the middle of the painting one can see scuttled English ships with their masts protruding above water. The Dutch vanguard is already past the obstacle and three more English ships are on fire before Upnor Castle.

The burning of the English fleet near Chatham, June 1667, during the second Anglo-Dutch war

By Willem Schellinks

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

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The moment of triumph, the capture of the Royal James is shown on this work by Peter van den Velde. The unrigged Royal Charles in the center still bearing the Flag of the Red but a Dutch tricolor is already hoisted on the masthead. The burning fire ships are shown grappled with the Matthias and the Carolus V already in flames.

The Dutch burn down the English fleet before Chatham June 20 1667

(Het verbranden van de Engelse vloot voor Chatham)

By Peter van de Velde

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

(image 19741294 px, 2.26MB)

The captured Royal Charles was escorted to the Netherlands by Jan van Brakel. Its arrival at the Goereese Gat is painted by Jeronimus van Diest for Cornelis de Witt. On the poop the Dutch tricolor is flying while the English red flag is hoisted upside down in humiliation.

Arrival of the English Flagship Royal Charles

(Het opbrengen van het Engelse admiraalschip de Royal Charles)

By Jeronymus van Diest (II)

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

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Finally, a painting by workshop of Jan de Baen honours Cornelis de Witt posing as triumphant with the bird’s-eye view of the Medway River dotted with Dutch ships and burning English vessels. This is a replica of the original paining which was destroyed by an angry mob in 1672, the year of Dutch disasters, blamed largely on de Witt brothers, who then were also killed by their angry compatriots.

The Glorification of Cornelis de Witt, with the Raid on Chatham in the Background, from the workshop of Jan de Baen, replica of the original 1667 painting

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

(image 1132960 px, 1.33MB)

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Unsuccessful English attack on the VOC fleet at Bergen, 12 August 1665, by Willem van de Velde the Elder, 1669

(De mislukte aanslag van de Engelsen op de retourvloot in de haven van Bergen)

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

(Image 48222195 pixels, 3.45MB)

In July 1665 Lord Sandwich, commander of the English fleet, took his ships to the sea hoping to exploit the recent victory over the Dutch at Lowestoft. His two targets were de Ruyter’s squadron bound home from West Africa and the Americas, and a rich VOC convoy, which arrived twice a year from East Indies laden with spice, gems and luxury goods.

The English were having their usual problems with victualling, and a long cruising along the coast of Holland was unattractive. Sandwich took his fleet to the north to Denmark-ruled Norway where he expected the VOC convoy to be coming on the route around Scotland on its way home. Denmark was friendly to the Dutch and was obliged to maintain neutrality. The English envoy in Copenhagen, however, reported that King Frederik III of Denmark was about to break his alignment to the Dutch, and was only waiting for a rich Dutch convoy to arrive to one of his ports. The profits from the captured cargo would be shared with the English. At that time a single VOC Indiamen could be worth of £250000, which was a quarter of the English crown annual revenues. The VOC convoy arrived in 1665 to Bergen consisted of 60 ships carrying cargo worth of over 11 million guilders.

Sandwich decided to split his forces and sent 30 of his ships under Sir Thomas Teddiman to attack Bergen. At that time the new orders from the Danish king had not yet arrived, and when the English attacked on August 2nd (Old Style) 1665 they were met with a determined resistance put up by the Dutch Admiral Pieter de Bitter. The Danish commander Claus von Ahlefeldt did not only fail to cooperate with the attackers, instead, the Danish coastal batteries fired upon the English fleet. The attack failed and Teddiman was forced to retreat. The Dutch remained blockaded in the port.

On August 19th a relief force commanded by de Ruyter had arrived. The bad weather made the immediate escape impossible and only on August 30th had the Dutch left the port. Their ships were soon scattered by a gale on the Dogger Bank. Some of them had returned home safely but on September 3rd Sandwich captured total of 27 prizes, including two rich Indiamen. He allowed his unpaid crews to loot them while retaining the lion share of the booty to himself and his captains.

Willem van de Velde was present at the battle of Bergen and recorded it in his sketches. On this pen painting Dutch Indiamen are firing back at the English fleet with Bergenhus fortress in background on the right. On the right one can see the Catharina, one of the Indiamen, repairing the damage to her hull below the waterline. Her captain, Ruth Maximilianesz, is believed to be the commissioner of this painting.

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The Dutch Fleet under Sail

by Willem Van De Velde The Elder, 1672

Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy

(image 8000 x 4400 px, 5,14MB)

‘The Dutch Fleet under Sail’ is believed to be a depiction of the Dutch battle fleet prepared to set sail for the Medway and Sheerness in 1667. This expedition commanded by Admiral De Ruyter resulted in a stunning success. Much of the English navy was destroyed or captured. The Dutch ships that took part in that attack are represented on this painting. At the right is the Witte Olifant (built 1666) easily recognizable by a white elephant on her stern. Further right is the Vrijheid (the Freedom, built 1651, blown up in action 1676). To the left of the Witte Olifant is the Zeelandia with the coat of arms of Zeelandia on her stern. The center of the painting is occupied by the Gouden Leeuw (built 1666), with the image of a rampant golden lion on her tafferel. In the left foreground is the Huis Tijdverdrijf. In the left background the Zeven Provincien is seen. Her stern is decorated with the coat of arms of the seven Provinces of the Republic.

This painting is now kept in Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy. It was acquired in 1674 by Cardinal Leopold de Medici who at that time was travelling to Holland accompanied by his nephew Cosimo III, the crown prince of Tuscany. While being in Holland they visited a number of artists’ studios including the one of Willem van de Velde the Elder. The cardinal and the crown prince were captivated by the artist’s work and purchased a number of his paintings and among them “The Dutch Fleet under Sail”. The cardinal paid 325 guilders for this painting. This work has numerous carefully drawn details that can be studied on this high resolution image.

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By Willem van de Velde the younger

Rijksmuesum Amsterdam

On the third day of the Four Days Battle, 3 (13) June 1666, the flagship of Vice-Admiral  George Ayscue ran aground on the Galloper Sand. Terrified by the approaching Dutch fireships the crew of the “Prince Royal” was forced to surrender. The flood tide subsequently floated the ship, but her rudder was disabled and de Ruyter ordered her burned – to the fury of Cornelis Tromp, to whose squadron she had struck.

‘And so we lost the second best ship in England, having ninety brass pieces of ordnance and eight hundred men, which was a great grief to all the rest of the fleet,’ noted the sailor Edward Barlow.

Even after fifty-six years of service, ‘she was like a castle in the sea, and I believe the best ship that ever was built in the world to endure battering,’ wrote the minister of king Charles, Sir Thomas Clifford, ‘but she is gone and this is an ill subject to be longer upon’.

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By Willem van de Velde, the Elder, 1666-1693

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Willem van de Velde the Elder had accompanied the Dutch Fleet in a galliot to witness the events of the Four Days Battle that took place on June 11-14 1666 off the Flemish and English coasts. He sketched every phase and every detail of the battle. This drawing shows the Dutch fleet on the day before the battle began. The Dutch government had recently abandoned its opposition to bigger vessels and on this picture we can see some new powerful Dutch ships like de Ruyter’s new flagship “De Zeven Provinciën” of 80 guns, equivalent to English second rates. In addition to the new bigger ships the Dutch had mustered a fleet bigger than the opponent’s: eighty-six ships against fewer than sixty in the English squadron.

Colored drawing by Johan Herman Isings (from the sketch by Willem van de Velde, the Elder)

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by Abraham Storck, circa 1670

This battle took place during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664–67). Storck combines various events from the action to emphasize the drama of the encounter. The masts, clouds and gunsmoke form an impenetrable haze. At the centre is the Zeven Provincien, flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It bears a lion, the symbol of the Dutch Republic, on its stern. On the right is the English Royal Prince in full combat, although the ship was actually destroyed earlier in the battle.

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