DID SIR WALTER RALEIGH REALLY FIGHT AGAINST THE SPANIARDS AT THE BATTLE OF CADIZ in June 1596? Raleigh was accused by some Elizabethans and indeed in later years, by some historians,of hiding in a cave off the coast of Devon whilst the battle took place at Cadiz. So was Sir Walter Raleigh a hero of his day or a coward? You will find out about this ancient Battle in "The King's Quinto: The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh by Barbara O'Sullivan: (1552-1618)(ISBN: 1413708285) www.fetchbook.ca, www.barnesandnoble, www.amazon.com and all good on line bookstores.

Fear hung in the air as the English fleet, the third Squadron, consisting of 96 ships accompanied by a Dutch contingent of 24 ships approached Cadiz on the morning of 22nd June, 1596. The sea swirled around the huge and beautiful English Carracks as the sun shone down on their freshly scrubbed triple decks, overhanging bows and stern castles. Colourful flags and banners fluttered from the flagstaffs depicting the coats of arms of the Lords and Knights aboard the vessels. The ships were armed mainly with the guns of the culverin and demi-culverin class, with weak shot and strong range, and the culverin which fired 17lb shot up to a distance of 330 yards or 2,400 paces. The carracks were followed by the Great Ships of 300 tonnes "which carried demi-culverin guns capable of firing 9lb shot within a range of 2,500 paces" and then the smaller ships - the Galleases, which were worth their weight in gold in sea battle as one Gallease was equal to five Galleys, with the advantage of the speed of a Galley and the firepower of a Galleon. The English had captured many of these Spanish Galleons when the Spanish were defeated at the Battle of the Armada on the 21st July, 1588. The Spanish Galleons were armed with Cannon-Perier which fired stone balls weighing up to 24lb - the ship smashing cannon, preferred by the Spaniards. Sir Walter Raleigh stood proudly on the deck of the "Warspite" and his ship moved off accompanied by the sound of bugles.

August 9, 2004 -- At the Battle of Cadiz the Spanish army had prepared themselves for a land attack by the English soldiers. The civilians had taken the precaution of fleeing inland to safety, carrying their precious belongings with them, taking refuge wherever they could find it among the sandy and grass covered hills. Some of them hid in the long grass, only daring to raise their heads on occasion in order to peer out at their surroundings in bewilderment. As often as they dared to do this, in an effort to observe what was happening around them, an even greater fear built up and surrounded them all. Spanish voices everywhere were crying out that "GUATERAL" (Raleigh) would approach in the morning. The Priests walked amongst the people and spoke to them saying "Have faith in God."

The English crews were up at daybreak and by 7 a.m. while it was assumed the Spanish were still sleeping, Lord Howard hoisted the Royal Standard of the "Ark Raleigh" a ship which Sir Walter Raleigh had commissioned in 1587, being a ship of 800 tonnes which could carry 280 mariners, 34 Gunners, 126 soldiers and carried 55 guns. Raleigh had hoped to command that ship but had sold it to Queen Elizabeth I and it was to be re-named the "Ark Royal". Lord Howard signalled to the ships to move forward and to engage in battle. Lord Howard had given Raleigh the place of honour and he was permitted to lead the Ships of London into Battle. As the ships moved forward, they fired their cannonade in unison so that the King of Spain would be frightened from his bed at the Escorial Palace in Madrid. Raleigh on the "Warspite", led the "Rainbow", followed by "The Lion" the "Mary Rose" and then the "Swiftsure", the "Repulse" (with the Earl of Essex in command), moved forward. Behind them the "Dreadnought" led the "Nonpareil". The blasting cannonade reverberated around the Spanish ships and surprised their crews into the prospective onslaught of battle, with the pitiful realisation that they were not equipped to retaliate sufficiently. Raleigh waved his arms high in the air and ordered that all the ships guns be silenced. The Bugles were taken up and blown loudly in defiance of the Spanish gunfire, from their Galleons, and Raliegh looked to the sea below and watched the Spanish Zabras, fregatas and Patchetas of 60 to 70 tonnes weaving and bobbing on their way towards the English fleet. The Spanish craft were to be picked off by the gunners, mercilessly, and as one by one they sank, their sailors leaping into the sea for comfort, they were rescued by the Spanish, only to be plunged into the sea once more as the rescuing ships also sank. The English fireships of 130 to 150 tonnes were sent ahead of the Fleet to be sacrificed in battle with the due permission of the Captain, and each with a specific target in order to inflict as much damage as possible on the Spanish ships. "If the Captain of a fireship were to be successful in destroying his target he would be rewarded with the sum of 100.00 (or a gold chain and medal of equal value) 'to remain as a Token of Honour to him and Posterity.'

Raleigh's extreme objective was to capture the "St. Philip" and to avenge Spain for the death of his cousin, Sir Richard Grenville who died after writing in agony for three days aboard the "St. Philip" from the effects of crushing and eating glass rather than suffer defeat and offer himself as a prisoner to the Spanish Officers at the Battle of the Azores in 1591. Raleigh was determined not to be outdone by the Lords and nosed forward in the "Warspite" and he swung it athwart so effectively that it blocked the way of all others ships in his path in order to ensure that not even a single flyboat should pass him and he cried out "I did that so I was sure that none should outsmart me again for this day!" The Spanish officers conferred and then despaired of their prospects, as their ships were offered up to the English fleet like helpless pawns in their own seas and as the English nudged towards the Spanish Galleons, the murderous Spanish crews sat below the wooden decks of their ships with hatred flashing in their dark eyes and they waited as patiently as spiders for the English ships to reach them - broadside to broadside. Only then would they engage in battle, man against man, sword against sword. As Raleigh moved forward he laid out a warp by the side of the "St Philip" to "shake hands with her" but the Spaniards, seeing "Guateral" approaching, decided to run their ships aground and they prepared to abandon ship as their decks were peppered and raked with shot and they were suffering under heavy cannon fire. The decks of the "St Philip" ran with the blood of the Spanish crew and its officers. The remaining screaming Spanish sailors either jumped or tumbled into the vicious sea and heavy black mud, some drowning or sinking, others horribly burned and disfigured. The "St. Philip" was afire like a ship from Hell and Raleigh did not know whether the Spanish officers had fired her or whether it had been achieved by cannon fire from the "Warspite." Raleigh and his crew watched in awe of the relentless red, leaping flames that sprang up furiously and ate away at the "St. Philip", as the fire licked the decks and rolled and danced up and down its masts. The red sparks flew high into the air, igniting the wood, and charred cinders which were dripping deep beneath her decks made ready to devour every part of that great ship. Sir Richard Grenville had been avenged, and Sir Walter Raleigh was a happy man that day. As the guns fell silent and billowing black smoke abated, the Spanish crews lying dead could not be counted. But Raleigh had been injured in the midst of the battle. A blast from the "St. Philip" had sent splinters of wood flying through the air and in all directions, some of which had penetrated and gouged Raleigh's left leg. Raleigh walked with the aid of a walking stick thereafter. As the English lords, captains and crews took to their flyboats and headed for the City of Cadiz, rushing headlong into armed combat with the Spaniards they sought to defeat, the few who still stood and were able to fight and offer resistance against the superior English weaponry, did so and the British left a trail of devastation behind them as they continued to sack Cadiz. Raleigh who was in great pain from his leg wound, had insisted upon being taken ashore. He was therefore borne on the shoulders of his men, but his attempts to mount a horse failed due to his terrible wound and the blood soaked through his hose and he would have a bandage to stem the flow from it. Sir Walter Raleigh had been made lame now. He neither claimed nor received recognition for the victory of this battle, through his own strategic planning, and yet he drew comfort from the fact that the great and mighty Galleon, the "St. Philip" now lay at rest at the bottom of the Spanish ocean. The Earl of Essex and Lord Howard rejoiced at their victory and ran wild with delight and held a Banquet to celebrate the Battle of Cadiz. The Earl of Essex proceeded to knight 66 men to commemorate the Battle and wished to hold Cadiz as a fortress to compensate for the loss of Calais, which had been recaptured by the Duc of Guise on the 8th January 1558, having been lost to France for 211 years, thereby destroying the English stronghold and domination of that town. Queen Elizabeth I summoned the Earl of Essex to return to London but King Philip of Spain had ordered his treasure ships to be sunk in the Battle of Cadiz and there was no treasure to take back to England unless they could waylay a Spanish silver fleet on their way home.

Barbara O'Sullivan
The King's Quinto: The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) ISBN: 1413708285

The King's Quinto: The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) by Barbara O'Sullivan
(ISBN 1413708285)

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