Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-02-25
A FAMOUS COMBAT.
How the Warspite Fought the Dutch In
1866,


1866.
The history of the British navy is
full Of pages which are unknown to all
but its most dilgent students, and
many engagements which have helped
to make history have passed into the
limbo Of forgotten things and are never
thought of even casually. 1t would
probably puzzle any one to say offhand
whether there had ever been naval
battle on Christmas day, and yet the
victory of Capt. Robt Robinson of the
Warspite. seventy guns, on Dec. 20,
1866 deserves to be remembered. For
not only does it hold a unique position
in the annals Of the navy; but 1t also
preserved for England the Gottenburg
fleet and its precious cargo and gave
the shattered vessels of Albemarle's
fleet the wherewithal to reflt. The Got
tenburg fleet was a convoy of mer-
chantmen which left Sweden every
winter for England with spars, cordage
and sails. In the year 1866 the safe ar
rival of the convoy was of more than
usual Importance, for the engagements
of the Second Dutch war had OCCASION
ed much damage, and repairs were alb
solutely necessary to most Of the ships
to make them at all battle-worthy.
There had been the -four Days Fight"
of Rupert and Monk in June and the
great st. James's day fight in July, in
the former of which the English were
more than half defeated and in the lat
ter victorious. This was due to the
bravado Of Van Tromp, who, in his
eagerness to engage the English White
Squadron became separated from the
remainder of the Dutch fleet under De
Ruyter. After five hours pounding,
with the gun -muZZles Of opponent ships
often touching, De Ruyter withdrew,
leaving Van TrOmp to his fate, but
that officer also succeeded, though with
great loss, In eluding his pursuers. In
the light the Dutch loss twenty men,
of-war and among their killed and
wounded (who numbered thousands)
were four flag officers, Jan Eversten,
De Vries, Rudolf Coenders, and Covert
T'Hoen. The English losses were not
so heavy, but it can be gathered that
the fighting was very severe and that
many vessels were severely mauled.
The navy board realized that the
commander Of the Gottenburg convoy
that year would need to be man of
resource and energy, for small convoy
actions were taking place almost daily,
and that he would need to be well sup
piled with warships. Accordingly they
appointed Capt, Robert Robinson to
the command, with his pennant on the
Warspite. A year earlier, when in
command of the Elizabeth, Capt. Rob
inson had fallen in with a convoy OF
Dutchmen in the Channel and had
captured several, feat which he had
followed up by distinguishing himself
in the light with Opdam. When the
Warspite, the second of her name, was
completed early in July, 1866, he was
appointed to her, and in the st. James's
HSHl, "Iltu liSNi OtiiS 1NSt -
fortnight in service, she engaged and
beat three of the enemy's ships at once.
For four years Capt. Robinson COM
manded the Warspte, and was then
transferred to the Greenwich. In 1870
he was in charge Of a convoy of mer-
chantmen to Gibraltar, and got them
all through the bay in most tempest
uous weather. He was knighted in
1878, commanded the Monmouth at the
battle Of Barheur, and reached the
rank of commodore in 1878.
The ships under his command on the
expedition to Gottenburg were the
Warspite, which was nearly new, and
the Diamond, forty eight guns, Dragon,
Constant Warwick, Jersey, st. Patrick,
Oxford, Nightingale, with fireship,
the Malaga Merchant, all in as good
condition as the miserably parsimon-
ious administration Of the navy at that
time would permit. 1t was on NOV. 23,
1866, that Capt. Robinson and his fleet
left England for Gottenburg, but on his
arrival there he found the convoy far
from ready to start. Many Of the mer-
chantmen had not come in, and others
could not get full crews, and on every
hand there were delays. 1t was not un-
til Dec. Is that they put to sea, and
even then their troubles were not at an
end Two days out they were caught
in a furious storm, which lasted until
the 23d, and left the fleet, which had
originally numbered, without the war
ships, seventy-two vessels, with only
fifty sail, all told.
Capt. Robinson knew well that this
was Just the opportunity the Dutch had
been praying for. He despatched the
Dragoon and the Constant Warwick,
together with the fire ship, to pick up
all the stragglers they could find, and
to rejoin the fleet with all possible
haste. But the Dutch had not been
asleep. One Of their small vessels had
put into Texel to report the approach
of the convoy, and the Dutch admlral
there sent out on Christmas eve hVe
ships to waylay Capt. Robinson. This
squadron was composed Of three two
deckers, the eileen Harderwijk Of thir-
ty-eight guns; the Leijden and the
Els, each Of thirty-six guns, a smaller
frigate, and an armed yacht. And at
II o'clock on the morning of Christmas
Day the two forces met. Capt. Rob-
inson held his course in line, the convoy
being to leeward. The exact order in
which the vessels met is not known,
but according to the fighting etiquette
of the day, the two tlagships, the War
spite and the Cleen Harkerwijk would
tackle each other, the Diamond and the
Ior.nu nresnmahlv engaged one each of