Drake and the Tudor Navy, with a History of the Rise of England as a Maritime Power Volume 2 - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 edition. Excerpt: ... far Howard's narrative has been taken up almost entirely with the exploits of himself and his kinsman. For Hawkins he has a brief notice, but again for his vice-admiral nothing but a complete and significant silence. It is only by elimination we can so much as fix Drake's position. Clearly Frobisher, being to the northward, had the port squadron, which would be his natural position as junior flag-officer. Howard as commander-in-chief would certainly be in the centre, and Hawkins, as we have seen, was next him. To Drake is thus left the starboard flauk, which was his by right as vice-admiral. Examining now the part that each squadron took we find that Frobisher attacked the inshore or true left wing of the Spaniards. ' At this time,' says Vanegas, meaning while Hawkins's opening attack on the rearguard was proceeding, ' the enemy's capitana with fifty vessels made head against the left wing of our Armada. The good Oquendo, and the good almirante and the vice-flagship of the galleasses the other three, as we have seen, being engaged to the southward and two other galleons and our capitana made head against them, although with little wind. We had already got the enemy's capitana almost within musket shot, when nine launches got her under way and conveyed her out of our hands with such rapidity, that it was a thing of wonder.' As for Howard, he must have been next, since some of the same ships, which first engaged him, afterwards attacked Frobisher, and two of his squadron, the ' Bear ' and the ' Elizabeth Jonas,' were the first to bear up to the ' Triumph's' relief. Hawkins we know was to the southward, and Drake therefore must have been still further to the south. After Hawkins's first attempt to cut off the isolated vessels in Howard's...