On both
sides many ships fell out of the fighting line wholly disabled.
Several were sunk, and some on both sides forced to surrender, being
so battered as to be unable to withdraw from the struggle. Prince
Rupert's ship was wholly disabled, and that of Albemarle almost as
severely damaged, and the battle, like those of the preceding days,
ended without any decided advantage on either side. Both nations
claimed the victory, but equally without reason. The Dutch historians
compute our loss at sixteen men-of-war, of which ten were sunk and
six taken, while we admitted only a loss of nine ships, and claimed
that the Dutch lost fifteen men-of-war. Both parties acknowledged
that it was the most terrible battle fought in this, or any other
modern war.
De Witte, who at that time was at the head of the Dutch Republic, and
who was a bitter enemy of the English, owned, some time afterwards,
to Sir William Temple, "that the English got more glory to their
nation through the invincible courage of their seamen during those
engagements than by the two victories of this war, and that he was
sure that his own fleet could not have been brought on to fight the
fifth day, after the disadvantages of the fourth, and he believed
that no other nation was capable of it but the English."
Cyril took no part in the last day's engagement, for Prince Rupert,
when the _Fan Fan_ came near him on his arrival on the previous
evening, returned his salute from the poop, and shouted to him that
on no account was he to adventure into the fight with the _Fan Fan_.
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