Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1912-10-18
old ROYAL SHIPS
War Vessels of the Time of Eliza.
beth Reproduced.
TIE STORY OF THE REVENGE.

This Fighting Craft Was Present a.
the Battle In 1853 That Killed SPANS
HOPE of Conquest Of the Seas-Also
In brakes Expedition.
Inc cillef attraction, from the nau.
tlcal point Of view, at the exhibition.
"ShakeSnearo's England" in london.
was a reproduction of the famous Eng.
llSl warShip. the Revenge which took
part in brakes expedition to Virginia
and went down in 1891 off the Azores
under command of brave Sir Richard
Grenville.
It IS reported that the cost of erect.
Ing the reproduction of the Revenge
amounted to $4,000. The Revenge
was present at the famous battle which
put an end to SPANS aspirations to the
empire of the seas in l5SS. The Snan-
lSh ARMADA consisted OF 1870 shps. OF
an aggregate burden OF JT.S6S tons,
carrying $50 pieces Of cannon 1926
soldiers and navigated by 1O.53S mar
lners and slaves, besides which there
was an iulmcnSe fleet Of smaller vcs.
sells, laden with stores and arms. which
it was intended to distribute to those
10y whom the SpaniardS hoped to he
joined on thci arrival in England. Eliz.
aGcthS feet consisted Of 19T vessels,
or which only thirty-four belonged TO
the state. The remainder were ships
of I'll, Il
small, hired Ivy the state or provided 10y
private owners, and fitted out hastily
for war purposes by their owners or
the ports,
Many of the latter were contributed
by the Cirque Ports, which in return
for certain privileges were compelled
to supply the sovereign with fifty
seven ships. each carrying twenty.one
men and Il boy. for fifteen days once Il
year at the ports expense. The lar
gest ships in the English force are
sometimes stated to have carried fifty
five or sixty guns. and one may have
carried siXty-eght guns. The arma-
ment Of the Triumph. which WAS the
heaviest armed English vessel. COM
priSed four cannon. three demicaunun.
seventeen culverins, eight dcmicul-
verins, six rakers and four small
pieces The Elizabeth Jones. of 900
tons. built in 1853. carried tfty.si1
guns. and the Ark Royal. Lord How
ards flagship, launched in 1857. had
dfty.eight guns and a crew of 40. her
tonnage being 500.
The principal royal ships and the
number Of guns they. carried were. ~
far rs can he ascertaned accurately:
Ark Royal tifty-eight guns; Lion, thir-
ty-eight; Triumph. forty.twn; Victory,
forty 1.-TWO: R0navcnturc, tbirty-four,
Dreadnought, thirty-two; Nonparcil
thirty-eght: Rainbow. forty; Mary
Rose. thirty.siX; Antelope, thirty:
SWiftsurc, forty-two. The Spanish
ships were rather floating fortresSo$
packed with soldiers, and desired to
come to close quarters. SO that the
fight should he of the hand Ia hand
description. to which they We're ac-
customed. The English ships were
smaller and. though more numerous.
of little more than half the total tom
mage of the armada and were ON the
whole more lightly armed. OF the
merchant ships engaged the largest
were the Leicester. sometimes called
the Gallcon Leicester. and the Merchant
Royal. each of 800 tons. The great
@alleyS and @allcascs ~ the armada
were not the largest ships afloat by n
great deal. for they were far exceeded
in size by many contemporary mpr-
chantmcn in the Mediterranean.
It was ElizahpthS father. Henry
VIII. who virtually founded the royal
navy of England. Strictly speaking,
before his time there was no perma-
nent naval establishment. and IN time
of war the requisite number Of yes-
sells, many of which can hardly be
considered IN any other light than ~
mere transports, were furnished 10y
different Scaports.
In 1I4G the first regular list OF the
navy was published, from which we
learn that it then consisted of twenty
shippes. fifteen Galleases. ten pynnaces
and thirteen roo bargeS." admeasurins
i2.455 tons and naviGated by S.l46 sea-
men. The expense of maintaining the
English navy in 1919 was under Eli
600. whereas for the present fiscal
wear it amounts to some G4J.OO0O0