Rosario, the capitana or flagship of the Andalusian squadron, commanded by Don Pedro de Valdes—a ship of 1,150 tons, 46 guns, and 422 men, which had been disabled by a collision, deserted by the fleet, and which fell into the hands of Drake as he returned from the mistaken chase of some passing merchant ships. On the 27th the Spaniards anchored off Calais, where they hoped to communicate with the Duke of Parma. For this, however, time was not given them; but in panic and confusion they were driven from their anchors by fireships on the night of the 28th, and on the following day, Monday, 29 July, the decisive action was fought off Gravelines. Howard was somewhat behind, having been engaged taking possession of a stranded galleass, and the leading of the fleet at the critical moment fell to Drake (Barrow, p. 305). From morning till nigh sundown the battle raged; but the Spaniards could offer little defence except the passive resistance of their thick sides, which did not avail much at close quarters. Their loss in ships was considerable, that in men still greater; and, taking advantage of a favourable shift of wind, they fled to the north, closely followed by the English under the immediate command of Howard and Drake, who wrote the same evening to Walsyngham: 'God hath given us so good a day in forcing the enemy so far to leeward as I hope in God the Prince of Parma and the Duke of Sidonia shall not shake hands this few days. And whensoever they shall meet, I believe neither of them will greatly rejoice of this day's service' (Cal. State Papers, Dom., 29 July). Barrow (p. 300) expresses an opinion that the date is incorrect, and that the letter refers to the transactions of two days earlier; but this is not substantiated by any evidence, and the proposed change of date to 27 July appears as unwarranted as it is uncalled for. In any case, there is no possibility of error as to the letter dated 'this last day of July,' in which Drake wrote: 'There was never anything pleased me better than the seeing the enemy flying with a southerly wind to the northwards. God grant you have a good eye to the Duke of Parma; for with the grace of God, if we live, I doubt it not but ere it be long so to handle the matter with the Duke of Sidonia as he shall wish himself at St. Mary Port among his orange-trees' (ib. 31 July; Barrow, p. 304). Though sorely in want of powder and provisions, which the shameful parsimony of the queen had denied them, and with their men dying fast of dysentery brought on by drinking the poisonous beer which the queen had forced on them (Cal. State Papers, Dom.—Heneage to Walsyngham, Burghley to Walsyngham, 9 Aug.), they kept up the appearance of pursuit for several days. Not till Friday, 2 Aug., did they turn back, 'leaving the Spanish fleet so far to the northwards that they could neither recover England nor Scotland' (ib.—Drake to the queen, 8 Aug.). And so by the 9th they anchored off Margate, where crowds of their men, dead or dying, were sent ashore (ib.—Howard to Burghley, 10 Aug., Howard to the queen, 22 Aug., Howard to Council, 22 Aug.; Froude, xii. 431).
It was at this time that a violent quarrel broke out between Drake and Sir Martin Frobisher, who appears to have thought himself aggrieved by Drake's supposed claim to the prisoners and spoil of the Rosario (Cal. State Papers, Dom., 10 Aug.; Motley, Hist. of the United Netherlands, ii. 525). Of the circumstances of Frobisher's claim we have no account; but though it has been commonly said that Drake and his men shared the spoil of this ship to the extent of fifty-five thousand ducats in gold (Speed, Hist. of Gr. Britaine, p. 1202; Duro, i. 83), there is evidence that the cash was lodged by Drake with Howard, and by him accounted for in the queen's service (Cal. State Papers, Dom., 27 Aug.). Drake's profit was apparently limited to the 3,000l. which was paid, three years later, as the ransom of Don Pedro de Valdes (Barrow, pp. 304, 315), and afterwards led to a lawsuit among his successors (Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. iii. 25). Of the way in which his quarrel with Frobisher was settled we have no account; but though both continued actively employed, it would appear that some care was taken to prevent their meeting.
Drake's idea was that the Armada, driven from England and Scotland, would take refuge in Denmark. It might, of course, attempt to go home by the west of Ireland; but the number of their sick, the shattered state of their hulls and rigging, the loss of their anchors, and their want of provisions and water rendered it, he thought, more likely that they would seek some port where they could refresh, provision, and refit. In this case the Armada might be expected back again before very many weeks, and he therefore urged on the queen and her ministers the necessity of not being in a hurry to relax their exertions, to disband the army, or to pay off the ships. The Prince of Parma was as a bear robbed of her whelps, and being so great a soldier might be expected presently to undertake some great matter 'if he may' (Drake to Walsyngham, 10, 23 Aug.). By little and little, however, the cruel fate of the mighty armament became known in England and in
