Fighting Instructions, 1530-1816 Part 6

[1] 'Journal of the Vanguard' (Ess.e.x's flagship), and Cecil to Ess.e.x, _S.P. Dom. Car. I_, xi.

[2] 'Journal of the Expedition,' _S. P. Dom. Car., I_, x. 67.

_LORD WIMBLEDON_, 1625, _No._ 1, _Oct._ 3.

[+State Papers Domestic, Car. I, ix.+]

_A copy of those instructions which were sent unto the Earl of Ess.e.x and given by Sir Edward Cecil, Knight, admiral of the fleet, lieutenant-general and marshal of his majesty's land force now at sea, to be duly performed by all commanders, and their captains and masters, and other inferior officers, both by sea and land, for the better government of his majesty's fleet. Dated in the Sound of Plymouth, aboard his majesty's good ship the Anne Royal, the third of October_, 1625.

1. First above all things you shall provide that G.o.d be duly served twice every day by all the land and sea companies in your ship, according to the usual prayers and liturgy of the Church of England, and shall set and discharge every watch with the singing of a psalm and prayer usual at sea.

2. You shall keep the company from swearing, blaspheming, drunkenness, dicing, carding, cheating, picking and stealing, and the like disorders.

3. You shall take care to have all your company live orderly and peaceable, and shall charge your officers faithfully to perform their office and duty of his and their places. And if any seaman or soldier shall raise tumult, mutiny or conspiracy, or commit murder, quarrel, fight or draw weapon to that end, or be a sleeper at his watch, or make noise, or not betake himself to his place of rest after his watch is out, or shall not keep his cabin cleanly, or be discontented with the proportion of victuals a.s.signed unto him, or shall spoil or waste them or any other necessary provisions in the ships, or shall not keep clean his arms, or shall go ash.o.r.e without leave, or shall be found guilty of any other crime or offence, you shall use due severity in the punishment or reformation thereof according to the known orders of the sea.

4. For any capital or heinous offence that shall be committed in your ship by the land or sea men, the land and sea commanders shall join together to take a due examination thereof in writing, and shall acquaint me therewith, to the end that I may proceed in judgment according to the quality of the offence.

5. No sea captain shall meddle with the punishing of any land soldiers, but shall leave them to their commanders; neither shall the land commanders meddle with the punishing of the seamen.

6. You shall with the master take a particular account of the stores of the boatswain and carpenters of the ship, examining their receipts, expenses and remains, not suffering any unnecessary waste to be made of their provisions, or any work to be done which shall not be needful for the service.

7. You shall every week take the like account of the purser and steward of the quant.i.ty and quality of victuals that are spent, and provide for the preservation thereof without any superfluous expense. And if any person be in that office suspected[1] for the wasting and consuming of victuals, you shall remove him and acquaint me thereof, and shall give me a particular account from time to time of the expense, goodness, quant.i.ty and quality of your victuals.

8. You shall likewise take a particular account of the master gunner for the shot, powder, munition and all other manner of stores contained in his indenture, and shall not suffer any part thereof to be sold, embezzled or wasted, nor any piece of ordnance to be shot off without directions, keeping also an account of every several piece shot off in your ship, to the end I may know how the powder is spent.

9. You shall suffer no boat to go from your ship without special leave and upon necessary causes, to fetch water or some other needful thing, and then you shall send some of your officers or men of trust, for whose good carriage and speedy return you will answer.

10. You shall have a special care to prevent the dreadful accident of fire, and let no candles be used without lanterns, nor any at all in or about the powder room. Let no tobacco be taken between the decks, or in the cabins or in any part of the ship, but upon the forecastle or upper deck, where shall stand tubs of water for them to throw their ashes into and empty their pipes.

11. Let no man give offence to his officer, or strike his equal or inferior on board, and let mutinous persons be punished in most severe manner.

12. Let no man depart out of his ship in which he is first entered without leave of his commander, and let no captain give him entertainment after he is listed, upon pain of severity of the law in that case.

13. If any fire should happen in your ship, notwithstanding your care (which G.o.d forbid!), then you shall shoot off two pieces of ordnance, one presently after the other, and if it be in the night you shall hang out four lanterns with lights upon the yards, that the next ships to you may speed to succour you.

14. If the ship should happen to spend a mast, or spring a leak, which by increasing upon you may grow to present danger, then you shall shoot off two pieces of ordnance, the one a good while after the other, and hang out two lights on the main shrouds, the one a man's height over the other, so as they may be discernible.

15. If the ship should happen to ran on ground upon any danger (which G.o.d forbid!) then you shall shoot off four pieces of ordnance distinctly, one after the other; if in the night, hang out as many lights as you can, to the end the fleet may take notice thereof.

16. You shall favour your topmasts and the head of your mainmast by bearing indifferent sail, especially in foul weather and in a head sea and when your ship goeth by the wind; lest, by the loss of a mast upon a needless adventure, the service is deprived of your help when there is greatest cause to use it.

17. The whole fleet is to be divided into three squadrons: the admiral's squadron to wear red flags and red pennants on the main topmast-head; the vice-admiral's squadron to wear blue flags and blue pennants on the fore topmast-heads; the rear-admiral's squadron to wear white flags and white pennants on the mizen topmast-heads.[2]

18. The admirals and officers are to speak with me twice a day, morning and evening, to receive my directions and commands, which the rest of the ships are duly to perform. If I be ahead I will stay for them, if to leeward I will bear up to them. If foul weather should happen, you are not to come too near me or any other ship to hazard any danger at all. And when I have hailed you, you are to fall astern, that the rest of the ships in like manner may come up to receive my commands.

19. You shall make in every ship two captains of the watch, or more (if need be), who shall make choice of soldiers or seamen to them to search every watch in the night between the decks, that no fire or candle be carried about the ship after the watch is set, nor that no candle be burning in any cabin without a lantern, nor that neither but whilst they are making themselves ready, and to see the fire put out in the cook's room, for there is no danger so inevitable as the ship's firing.

20. You shall cause the landmen to learn the names and places of the ropes that they may a.s.sist the sailors in their labours upon the decks, though they cannot go up to the tops and yards.

21. You shall train and instruct such sailors and mariners as shall be found fit to the use of the musket, as you do your landmen, and register their names in a list by themselves, making no difference for matter of discipline between the sailors and soldiers aboard you.

22. You shall not give chase nor send aboard any ship but by order from me, or my vice-admiral or rear-admiral; and if you come near any ship in your course belonging to any prince or state you shall only make stay of her, and bring her to me or the next officer, without taking anything from them or their companies by force, but shall charge all your company from pillaging between decks or breaking up any hold, or embezzling any goods so seized and taken, upon pain of severity of the law in that case.

23. You shall fall astern of me and the admirals of your several squadrons unto the places a.s.signed unto you, and follow their lights as aforesaid, receiving such instructions from me or them in the morning what course to hold. And if you shall at any time be separated from the fleet by foul weather, chase or otherwise, you shall shape your course for the southward cape upon the coast of Spain in the lat.i.tude of 37, one of the places of rendezvous; if you miss me there, then sail directly for the Bay of Cales or St. Lucar, which is the other place a.s.signed for rendezvous.

24. You must have a special care in times of calms and foggy weather to give such a berth one unto the other as to keep your ships clear, and not come foul one of another. Especially in fogs and mists you shall sound with drum or trumpet, or make a noise with your men, or shoot off muskets, to give warning to other ships to avoid the danger of boarding or coming foul one of another.

25. If you or any other two or three of the fleet discover any sail at sea to the windward or leeward of the admiral, which the admiral cannot discern, if she be a great ship you shall signify the same by striking or hoisting of your main topsail so often as you conceive the ship to be hundred tons of burthen; and if you discover a small ship you shall give the like signs by striking your fore topsail; but if you discover many ships you shall strike your main topsail often and put out your ensign in the maintop; and if such ship or fleet go large before the wind, you shall after your sign given do the like, till you perceive that the admiral and the rest of the squadrons have seen your sign and your so standing; and if you went large at the time of discovery of such ship or fleet, you shall for a little time hale aft your sheets and then go large again, that the rest of the fleet and squadrons may know that you go large to show that the ship or fleet discovered keeps that course.

26. If the ship or fleet discovered have their tacks aboard and stand upon a wind, then if you had your tack aboard at the time of the discovery you shall bear up for a little time, and after hale aft your sheets again to show us what course the ship or fleet holdeth.

27. If you discover any ship or fleet by night, and they be [to]

windward of you, the general or admirals, you shall presently bear up to give us knowledge if you can speak with her; if not, you may keep your luff and shoot off a piece of ordnance by which we shall know you give chase, to the end that the rest may follow accordingly.

28. For a general rule let no man presume to shoot off any pieces of ordnance but in discovery of ships or fleet by night, or being in danger of the enemy, or of fire, or of sinking, that it may be unto us a most certain intelligence of some matter of importance.

29. If any man shall steal any victuals by breaking into the hold or otherwise, he shall receive the punishment of a thief and murderer of his fellows.

30. No man shall keep any feasting or drinking between meals, or drink any health upon the ship's provisions; neither shall the steward deliver any candle to any private man or for any private use.

31. In foul weather every man shall set his sail to keep company with the rest of the fleet, and not run too far ahead by day but that he may fall astern the admiral before night.

32. In case the fleet or any part of us should be set upon, the sea-captain shall appoint sufficient company to a.s.sist the gunners, after which (if the fight require it) the cabins between the decks shall be taken down, [and] all beds and sacks employed for bulwarks. The musketeers of every ship shall be divided under captains or other officers, some for the forecastle, some for the waist, and others for the p.o.o.p, where they shall abide if they be not otherwise directed.

33. An officer or two shall be appointed to take care that no loose powder be carried between [the decks] nor near any linstock or match in hand. You shall saw divers hogsheads in two parts, and, filling them with water, set them aloft the decks. You shall divide your carpenters, some in hold, if any shot come between wind and water, and the rest between the decks, with plates of lead, plugs and all things necessary laid by them. You shall also lay by your tubs of water certain wet blankets, to cast upon and cloak any fire.

34. The master and boatswain shall appoint a convenient number of sailors to every sail, and to every such company a master's mate or a quartermaster, so as when every man knows his charge and his place, things may be done without noise or confusion; and no man [is] to speak but the officers.

35. No man shall board any enemy's ship, especially such as command the king's ships, without special order from me. The loss of one of our ships will be an encouragement to the enemy, and by that means our fleet may be engaged, it being a great dishonour to lose the least of our fleet. If we be under the lee of an enemy, every squadron and ship shall labour to recover the wind (if the admiral endeavour it). But if we find an enemy to leeward of us the whole fleet shall follow in their several places, the admirals with the head of the enemy, the vice-admirals with the body, and the rear-admirals with the sternmost ships of the chase, (or other leading ships which shall be appointed) within musket-shot of the enemy, giving so much liberty to the leading ship as after her broadside[3] delivered she may stay and trim her sails; then is the second ship to give her side, and the third and fourth, with the rest of that division; which done they shall all tack as the first ship and give their other sides, keeping the enemy under perpetual volley. This you must do upon the windermost ship or ships of an enemy, which you shall either batter in pieces, or force him or them to bear up, and so entangle them or drive them foul one of another to their utter confusion.

36. Your musketeers, divided into quarters of the ship, shall not discharge their shot but at such a distance as their commanders shall direct them.

37. If the admiral or admirals give chase, and be the headmost man, the next ship shall take up his boat if other order be not given, or if any other ship be appointed to give chase, the next ship (if the [4] chasing ship have[5] a boat at her stern) shall take it.

38. Whosoever shall show himself a coward upon any landing or otherwise, he shall be disarmed and made a labourer or carrier of victuals for the army.

39. No man shall land anywhere in any foreign parts without order from me, or by the sergeant-major or other officer upon pain of death.

40. Wheresoever we shall land no man shall force any woman upon pain of death.

41. You shall avoid sleeping upon the ground and the drinking of new wines, and eating new fruits, and fresh fish until it has been salted three hours, and also forbear sleeping upon the deck in the night time, for fear of the serene[6] that falls, all which will breed dangerous fluxes and diseases.

42. When the admiral shall hang out the arms of England in the mizen shrouds, then shall the council of war come aboard; and when that shall be taken in and the St. George hung in the main shrouds, that is for a general council.[7]

For any orders upon the land (if G.o.d send us thither) we shall establish them. For matter of sailing or discipline at sea if there be cause you shall receive other directions, to which I refer you.