enemy seeing our admiral standing towards the land, and that he could not in this manner regain the wind, cast about to seaward; whereupon those of our ships that had the wind of the enemy bore away for him and attackel him. Captain Bertendona[1] very gallantly engaged the English admiral's ship, and would have boarded her, but as he neared her she bore away and stood to seaward. In this action there also participated the San Marcos, San Luis, San Mateo, Rata, Oquendo['s flagship, the Santa Ana], San Felipe, San Juan de Sicilia, in which was Don Diego Tellez Enriquez, who had been in action with the foe since the morning, the galleons Florencia, Santiago, San Juan of Diego Flores's squadron, in which was Don Diego Enriquez, son of the Viecroy of Peru, and the Valencera,[2] of the Levant squadron, in which was the camp-master Don Alonso de Luzon. The galleasses of the vanguard being carried by the current almost within culverin shot, the duke sent them directions that by oar and sail they should endeavour to close with the enemy, to which end he also headed his flagship towards him. The galleasses threatened the ships of their rear, which were engaged with some of our vessels that had closed with and were seeking to board them. These were the galleons Florencia, in which was Gaspar de Sosa;[3] the flagship of Oquendo; the Begoña,[4] in which was Garibay; the Valencera, in which was Don Alonso de Luzon; and the galleon Juan Bautista, in which were Don Juan Maldonado and Don Luis de Maeda; but all to little purpose, for the enemy, seeing that we endeavoured to come to arm's length, bore away, avoiding our attack, thanks to the lightness of his vessels: and afterwards the English returned with tide and wind in their favour, and engaged Juan Martinez de Recalde, who was in the rear. Don Alonso de Leyva went to his aid, the admiral's flagship[5] being still in the hottest of the fight, occupied in supporting those vessels which were in action, at a distance from both fleets, with the English rear. Captain Marolin [de Juan][6] was ordered away in a boat to direct those ships which were nearest to him to afford assistance to Juan Martinez de Recalde, which they did; upon which the enemy relinquished Juan Martinez, and made for the flagship, which was on her way to reinforce the ships above spoken of; and the commander-in-chief, seeing the enemy's flagship in the van, turned towards her and lowered topsails. And the enemy's flagship and all the fleet passed him, firing at him ship by ship, while he, on his side, fired his guns very well and quickly, so that half the enemy's fleet did not draw near, but fired at him from a distance. When the fury of the action had worn itself out, there came to the support of the commander-in-chief Juan Martinez de Recalde, Don Alonso de Leyva, the Marquis of Peñafiel, whe was in the San Marcos, and Oquendo; whereupon the foe bore away and stood out to sea, their admiral shortening sail, having, as it seemed to us, sustained some damage, and re-assembling those of his vessels which had been engaged with our van. In this action, which endured for more than three hours, the galleon Florencia was one of the foremost vessels, and was in close fight with the enemy.
"On Wednesday, July 24th, Juan Martinez de Recalde once more took command of the rear,[7] Don Alonso de Leyva remaining with him, and they dividing between them the forty or more ships belonging to it. The enemy approached our rear and attacked- ↑ Of the Regazona, flagship of the Levant contingent.
- ↑ Trinidad Valencera.
- ↑ Commanding a body of three thousand Portuguese troops.
- ↑ N. S. de Begoña, of the squadron of Diego Flores.
- ↑ The San Martin.
- ↑ One of the duke's staff in the San Martin.
- ↑ Laughton thinks that at about this time he shifted from his original flagship, the Santa Ana, which as early as the 21st had been badly damaged, to the San Juan. II. 360, n.
