The Peace Maker

Was King James I

This Naval history continues on from: "Pepys Volunteers"

The reigns of James I and Charles I were as disasterous to the Fighter element as they were to the Seamen. The principle motives that took men Like Grenville and Cumberland to sea were, patriotism and profit.

But James I killed action by stopping the war, and he killed all chance of the second action by stopping Privateering; and more or less forced his natural fighting leaders out of fighting in the sea-business.

They still existed in the flesh, and their fighting instinct was strong within them, and so they had to look for another outlet. And many did, but not in England, where all forms of blood-letting were now taboo because of the "Peace Maker."

huge numbers crossed to the continent and took service under the great Gustavus Adolphus, Lion of the North; they went there to strike a blow for their religion. Many of them were Scots who rose high in the Swedish Army; but these Fighters were now lost to the sea.

Others whose blood the sea stirred too strongly to be denied, could, and did, still occupy their sea-businesses. But they could only do it at a price, and the price was of a lower status. Without their prince's licence their legal status was that of a Pirate, or something very near to it.

This is why, the careers of such potentially great men like Sir Francis Verney, Sir Anthony Shirley and Sir Henry Mainwaring seemed never to come to fruition, and to be in our own day more than half forgotten. Yet had they lived a few years earlier, their fame might have been on a level with that of Grenville and Cumberland. They are in many respects, their true sea-heirs.

Pepys Volunteers

Shockingly bad

It was indeed deplorable that England at Sea should be deprived of practically her whole fighting breed. By the middle twenties, the man who was England's uncrowned king, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, found himself in the remarkable position of having no field of choice for the high command when he decided to embark upon his unjustifiable sea-ventures.

For the expedition to Cadiz of 1625-that somewhat pathetic "fleet that went to Spain, and when it got there came back again"-he was compelled to give the command to one who by no stretch of imagination could be called a sea-commander.

Sir Edward Cecil, created Viscount Wimbledon for the occasion, he was no mean soldier, but he had no sea-knowledge what-so-ever. Yet it may be argued was knowledge of the sea necessary?

Had the Lord Admiral in 1588, Lord Charles Howard of Effingham, any greater claim to sea-experience? And he had by no means failed in his command.The fact of Howards lack of technical skill cannot be disputed. Yet there is one cardinal point of difference in the two cases.

Elizabeth's Lord Admiral had the incalculable advantage of being able to rely upon a first-rate Staff, containing the best seamen-fighters and the best fighters-seamen in England. Poor Wimbledon had no such technical aid. His main advisers were the Earls of Essex and Denbigh, whose experience of sea-fighting was probably less than his own.

Buckingham sailed again

Next time the ill-starred Buckinghan decided upon a maritime venture, it appears he could not find even a fighter-let alone a sea-fighter to command it.

For the famous expedition to the Ile de Rhe' in 1627 he had to appoint a man who, by training and upbringing, was neither of these; so he took command himself.

The tough characteristics of the distinguished people were exaggerated by grotesque proportions for this Elizabethan adventure, it must be remembered, the problem was exacerated by the absence, not only of the successors of Grenville and Cumberland, but also by that of the heirs of Drake and Hawkins. Both "natural reserves" were dried up.

There is plenty of evidence, that the troubles were not only confined to the high command. All down the scale the personnel was poor: with a few exceptions the captains did not know their jobs, and the spirit, as well as the proficiency, of the men left much to be desired. Here too the old hand-to-mouth policy in the part-time system was breaking down.

The men who were called upon to handle King Charles's Ship-Money Fleets were, one exception, not a great deal better, though not so transparently incompetent. They were of the "fighting officer" type, like the three Earls of Linsey, Warwick and Northumberland, good enough "fighting" material, but lacking in sea-experience, and of course, by no means "whole-timers."

The exception was Sir John Pennington, who had a long naval career to his credit; he had sailed as Vice-Admiral to Raleigh in his tragic Orinoco expedition in 1617. He had been the principle adviser to Charles on naval matters, he was a faithful and all-but-whole-time personal servant of the Crown.

Before the R.N.

The Civil War came, as did the creation of the Commonwealth "permanent" and "national" fleet. The Royal Navy was now upon the threshold, already beginning to cast its shadow upon the the old Fighting Amateur.

At first, events seemed to smile upon the officers. The Civil War, had greatly enlarged the "New Model" fleet, and the Dutch Wars that followed furnished a demand for more officers. A demand soon to be supplied by a permanent and regular personnel, but for the moment only to be satisfied by the old "Reserves."

This would be their last gathering before the truly professional officer-personnal grew up to deprive the "Reserves" for ever of the highest commands. Here too, once attracted into the naval profession, they tended to remain there, since employment in the larger and now permanent navy was greater and more regular.

Two Fighting Soldiers

Two men-one on each side in that troubled age-are outstanding examples. Both took to the sea after making considerable reputations in the land fighting, and both survived to lead the re-united sea-forces of England.

The versatile Prince Rupert, Charles I's nephew, the dashing if reckless cavalry leader of the Civil war. On the King's downfall he took over that part of the fleet which remained with the Crown, and kept the Royal flag flying at sea for some time after it had been hauled down on land.

After the Restoration he reached the very top, and on several occasions he commanded the grand fleet of England in both the Second and Third Dutch Wars.

The other "fighter"-this time a real professional soldier-was George Monk. This stout old warrior enjoyed the remarkable distinction of reaching the top in what, nowadays, we would call three distinct walks of life.

In Cromwell's day he was probably the leading soldier; after the Protector's death he became the political arbiter of the Kingdom, and was primarily responsible for the Restoration of Charles II.

In the First Dutch War, he had temporarily deserted the land for the sea, and proved himself in that bitter conflict to be second only to Blake as a sea-commander.

After the Restoration, as Duke of Albermarle, he advanced even higher in this latter capacity, and was certainly the outstanding sea-figure in the second struggle with the Dutch, leading England's navy in the longest and toughest engagement in which he took part. "The Four Days' Battle."

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Were they Soldiers or Sailors

Were Prince Rupert and Albemarle, soldiers or sailors? Such a question may intrigue the mind of the modern enquirer. It is purely academic.

The answer is; they were "Fighters," and that they lived, in the days when "Fighting" was still a profession of its own, not yet sub-divided, as it is today, into "Land-Fighter" or "Military Officers," and "Sea-Fighters" or "Naval Officers."

It is also to be observed that they could both even find time to adorn other professions as well, professions that do not necessarily have any connection with fighting.

For Ablemarle, as we have seen, played a big part in politics, while Prince Rupert was no mean scientist. Evidently the day of the whole-time professional naval specialist had not arrived yet-not quite.

The Continuation of the Naval History will be: "Blake"

Peace Maker Blake

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