Anexio 1216 (3) - The War at Sea

The following is based on a very readable article by Henry Lewin Cannon written in 1912, "The Battle of Sandwich and Eustace the Monk" published in the English Historical Review (vol 27, p649-670) and available online.


From being virtual lord of England in 1216, and proclaimed King, the French Dauphin Louis was now faced with most of his English allies defecting to Henry III. More and more, he was relying on French troops and supplies, all of which had to be shipped across the Channel. Control of the sea was vital.

Eustace the Monk

The French fleet was led by Eustace the Monk, an infamous character then and for many years afterwards. So infamous infact that it´s hard to get solid information on him. For example, it was believed that he had gone to Toledo in Spain to study and master the Dark Arts, as this was the only way to account for his remarkable abilities. He was credited with the ability to render his ship invisible, a "cloaking device" only revoked if he could be killed.

In fact Eustace was born near Boulogne in 1143, the son of a local lord, and he did actually become a monk, at Samur. But the Count of Boulogne killed his father and later seized all the family land, turning Eustace into an outlaw vowing revenge. When the Count joined the French cause, Eustace joined the English in turn. He must have impressed because in 1206 John sent him with 3 large ships and 5 galleys to recapture the Channel islands, taken by the French in 1204. He did this so successfully that he was awarded the islands. He then raided Nornandy, landing at Harfleur and reaching as far as Pont Aldemer before retiring with the French commander, Cadoc, in hot pursuit. Cadoc made the mistake of attacking him at sea, only to lose 5 ships for his trouble. Eustace was now lauded even more in England, with a "palace" in London and a home in Winchelsea - ironically his local knowledge there was to help the Louis escape from the English 10 years later.

John, for all his many faults, seems to have had a knack for attracting talented men, and keeping their loyalty. With Eustace he went too far. Desperate for allies in France he convinced the Count of Boulogne to switch sides, instantly causing Eustace to do the same. John was well aware of this possibility and tried to capture Eustace, but he escaped with 5 galleys and joined the French, or rather Louis. He raided Folkstone and then returned to the Channel islands, conquering them yet again, and with his brothers setting up as virtual lords of the islands.

The ships

The standard ships in the Channel, for trade and war (interchangeably) were cogs. They were clinker built (with overlapping planks), a single sail, and usually a fairly flat bottom which allowed them to settle flat in harbour for unloading. As a defence against pirates they often had high sides. Those caught by pirates were generally killed and thrown overboard so pirates were especially feared and loathed - when they were captured they could expect little mercy. For war, cogs had added towers at each end for archers.

Seal of the town of Sandwich, 1238, showing a cog prepared for war

There are also several mentions of galleys, especially in the service of Eustace. The difference, basically, is that galleys have oars though they might use a sail if the wind was right. They were much more manoeuvrable than cogs and could be equipped with crippling rams making them the warship of choice in the Mediterranean. But they were poor in rough seas and as specialised warships they were hopelessly uneconomic. So, in general, they were uncommon in the Channel, but maybe worth the trouble at times like this.

The main source of ships for the English was the Cinque Ports, a confederation set up in 1155. Basically the towns from Hastings to Sandwich on the south coast were obliged to supply 57 ships for 15 days every year. In return they were given freedom from taxes and a measure of self government. Frankly, self government was taken as a licence to smuggle, but it did give England a reasonably cheap and effective navy.

The War at Sea

Control of the sea lanes was obviously essential for Louis. Eustace had been involved from the start, ferrying war machines over to the Barons even before Louis arrived. And it was Eustace who, with his local knowledge, saved Louis at Winchelsea. But Louis now needed what was, in effect, an invasion fleet. The problem was that, technically, King Philip couldn't help his son as Louis had been excommunicated, but what he could do was make generous "gifts" to Louis's wife Lady Blanche, which she used to hire a fleet and assemble it at Calais.

Since January the English coast had been under the authority of Philip d' Aubigny. The war here took the form of repeated attempts by the French to force their way across the Channel, some successful, some not. On May 15h a French fleet attempting to sail to Dover was met by 80 ships under d'Aubigny sailing out from Romney, including 20 "Great Ships" especially equipped for fighting. The French fled back to Calais, but 25 were caught up with and eight captured. The English fleet then stationed outside Dover.

On Monday 29th May 120 ships were seen approaching Dover from Calais. The English set sail to escape the larger fleet, chased by the French, but the English were quicker. However, when the French fleet turned back for Dover the English fell on them from behind, capturing another eight ships before escaping.

In August William Marshall visited the south coast, alarmed by reports from Calais. He met the men of the Cinque Ports and promised they would receive back all the privileges they had lost under John, as well as a substantial share of any loot from captured ships. As he had done with the army, Marshall did with the navy, numbers increased and moral soared. There were raids on Calais, and counter raids, wins and losses, but French supplies to England were severely disrupted.

The Battle of Sandwich

A contempory, if not hugely accurate, depiction of the battle.

Bartholomew´s Day, Thursday 24th August 1217, was bright and clear in the Channel. The French fleet left Calais "so dense and in such good order it was like a pitched battle". In the lead was Eustace, as guide, but not as commander. This role fell to Robert de Courteney, the French queens uncle. He had selected for himself the "Great Ship of Bayonne" and loaded it with not only all the gold for Louis, but also horses, a trebuchet and many other supplies. In fact it was so over-loaded that water nearly reached the gunwales - it is hard to believe that Eustace would have been so careless if he had been in charge. To protect all this there were 36 knights as well as other soldiers. In fact 3 other ships were guarded by knights, under Mikiius de Harnes, William of St Omer, and the Mayor of Boulogne, about 100 knights in total. As well there there were 6 other Great Ships with men at arms, and about 70 small transports.

The English fleet was led by Hubert de Burgh, Marshall having reluctantly agreed to stay on land. He had 16 ships "well fitted out" and about 20 smaller ones. De Burgh chose the best ship as his own and took a small number of knights from the Dover garrison, as well as a crack crew from the Cinque Ports. Next we have Richard FitzJohn, another illegitimate son of John, and a nephew of the Earl of Warren, who supplied a crew of knights and men at arms. The third ship that caught attention was especially large and rode high in the water as it was lightly loaded. It was crewed by Marshall's men at arms. Roger of Wendover records that there also galleys in the fleet, equipped with iron prows.

Cannon compares the fleets as follows. The French had a large advantage in both ships and knights, as well as, crucially, the wind behind them. All they had to do was make it to port to win. On the other hand, they were very heavily laden and slow. The English had more freedom of manoeuvre. Also, though both sides had excellent leaders in Eustace and de Burgh, Eustace had to defer to de Courteney, which was to prove decisive.

A 13th cog flying the Cinque Ports flag

To have any chance the English had to be to windward, so De Burgh let the French pass Sandwich and then followed them, sailing ahead of his fleet as if to attack and then feinting away. The French by this time were nearly at Thanet, and in good order, all they had to do was keep on going. But de Courteney saw Burgh's ship apparently fleeing and with only a few ships in company, and decided this was easy meat. Ignoring Eustace he turned and bore down on the English alone.

It was, for the French, a disaster. De Courteney's ship struck the 2nd of the English column under FitzJohn and boarded, but the English put up a fierce fight, and soon 3 more ships arrived and assailed the French ship from all sides. The French fleet meanwhile, was all the time being blown further away. De Courteney had given no signal to follow, and when they realised what was happening it was extremely difficult for the French to change course and intervene.

The final straw was the arrival of the massive cog full of Marshalls men. With a height advantage they fired at will into the French ranks, but that was not all. With the wind behind them someone had the idea to throw jars of lime onto the deck, the powder blowing into the eyes of the French. Until now things had been fairly equal, the elite French crew holding their own, but blinded they stood no chance and English troops poured onto the ship. Most of the French knights at least were kept alive for ransom, but for Eustace the situation was different. Both loathed and feared by the English sailors he was found hiding in the hold and executed

The loss of their leaders panicked the rest of French fleet and they bolted for Calais, the English falling on them like wolves. Ships were rammed or boarded, and the crews slaughtered. Nine or ten Great Ships made it back to Calais, but most of the rest, the transports, were sunk or captured.

With part of their share of the spoils the people of Sandwich erected a hospital for the aged poor, as thanks for their deliverance, and named it in honour of St Bartholomew.

Aftermath

Louis was ruined and De Courteney was given leave to go to London and negotiate a surrender. Louis prevaricated, but in the end he signed the treaty of Lambeth. The terms were actually fairly generous - Marshall calming some of the more blood thirsty of his army. In return for free passage home Louis denounced his claim to the throne and returned the Channel Island back to English care. That was it, he was actually given a payment of 10,000 marks as compensation, although that was to be paid by his former supporters in England.

William Marshall's reputation was now even higher than ever, few men were ever as respected in England. He continued as Regent to Henry but, unfortunately, the old Earl, who had served four kings, died in Caversham in 1219 at the age of 72.

After Marshall's death Hubert de Burgh was made Regent of the young Henry III. He married John's widow Isabel until the marriage was annulled, and then the daughter of the King of Scotland. He stayed influential until 1232 when his enemies discredited him and he was imprisoned. From then on he alternated between the Kings favour and his earldom, and prison, but by his death in 1243 he was free.

William of Cassingham was granted a Crown pension and made Lord of the Weald and Sergeant of the Peace, a post he kept until his death 40 years later in 1257.

Anexio 1216 (2) - Fightback

In October 1216 life was looking good for the French dauphin, Louis. England was so tired of King John that the barons had actually invited Louis and a French army to London, where he had been proclaimed king. Now most of England was under his control and looked set to become another French province. True, some castles still held out, most particularly Dover, and John still had a small army in the field, but it was just a matter of time.

Then Louis received the worst possible news - John had died. Support started to crystallise around Johns young heir, Henry III, encouraged by the highly capable and respected William Marshall. Louis went on the offensive, taking Hertford and Berkhamsted castles in December 1216, but it was soon clear he would need reinforcements. Early in 1217 he set off for France - or tried to.

William Marshall. Actually more a symbolic representation, but it does show a typical knight of the time. From the Historia Major of Matthew Paris

Lewes to Winchelsea

William of Cassingham, who had been leading a guerrilla war against Louis in the Weald, ambushed Louis at Lewes in Sussex, routed his troops and sent them running for the coast. Stragglers were picked off and Louis´s army blocked and channelled by destroyed bridges until they reached Winchelsea, which was exactly where Cassingham wanted them. The men of Winchelsea had burnt their mills and left by boat for Marshall´s army under Philip of Aubigny in Rye, Louis was trapped, hemmed in by the sea, his communications with London broken and ships from the Cinque Ports blockading the coast. Fortunately for him a French fleet managed to break through before his forces were starved into surrender and he was evacuated to France. Louis ran with his tail between his legs, but he wasn´t finished yet.

The 2nd Siege of Dover

Reinforced with a new French army Louis set off across the channel. His plan was to land at Dover and launch his troops against the castle. However, the French siege camp was attacked and destroyed by Cassingham and an illegitimate son of John´s, Oliver, and Louis had to land along the coast at Sandwich. From here he marched overland to Dover and started a siege in earnest, but the garrison under the redoubtable Herbert de Burgh again held out. So many troops were required for the siege, and to keep open communications with London, that they were diverted from other theatres of the war. This opened opportunities

The Battle of Lincoln

William Marshall had skillfully amassed a sizable army, and he now felt able to challenge Louis in the field. Or rather, Thomas, the Count of Perche. Perche was in command of Louis´s largest field force, but he also had his own agenda, hoping to recover the ancestral lands including Newbury in Berkshire and Toddington in Buckinghamshire that John had taken from his family. At this moment he was commanding a mixed English/French force besieging Lincoln, or rather Lincoln castle, the city having already fallen. Marshall assembled in Newark, with 400 knights, an unknown number of foot and mounted troops, and 250 crossbowmen under Falkes de Breaute, a somewhat contraversial figure. He was well named, a John loyalist already responsible for the sacking of Worcester and St Albans, but he was capable.
Marshall approached from the south west, his army in seven divisions, the crossbowmen about a mile in front, the baggage train well behind. His men were well fed and rested, and according to an account by the monk Roger of Wendover, inspired by the presence of the Papal Legate.

The siege of Lincoln Castle

Meanwhile Perche dithered what to do. The English under Robert Fitzwalter wanted to attack, whilst the French were more cautious, according to Wendover because they mistook the baggage train of another army. In the end, Perche decided to hold Marshall at the city walls and press the siege, which gave the initiative to Marshall, a big mistake. De Breaute's crossbowmen stormed the North Gate and then took up positions on the roof tops over looking Perche's troops and poured fire into them. Armour at this time was mainly mail, and a heavy shield, which might give some protection from crossbow bolts, but Breuate's men were aiming for the horses. Knights were sent tumbling to the ground to be picked off, or captured for ransom. Virtually immune from counterattack, the crossbows decimated the besieging army, even before Marshall charged in with his knights and infantry. It was a complete success, Perche killed and most of Louis's commanders captured. A success marred though by the looting of Lincoln, the so called "Lincoln Fair", but nonetheless Louis's army was sent streaming back to London, with many of the French troops being ambushed and killed on the way.

William now felt able to march on London, but it wasn´t to prove necessary. Louis was now relying completely on his links with France, which meant control of the Channel. This was about to be challenged.

Further Reading
An account of William of Cassingham's life can be found in "A Note on William of Cassingham" by GR Stephens (Speculum vol 16, p216, 1942).

Anexio 1216 (1)

It's not generally known that in the Medieval ages a French army successfully invaded England, there were bloody sieges of Dover and Windsor, a guerrilla war in the Kent countryside and a French prince was proclaimed King of England in London.

King John

It was all, unwittingly, due to King John, like so much else from Magna Carta to the legend of Robin Hood. John had signed Magna Carta in June 1215 but characteristically ignored it. Frustrated, the Barons rose in revolt, the "First Barons War". Bizarrely, they were legally entitled to do this by a clause in Magna Carta, clause 61, which allowed the barons to override the King if he broke the agreement, basically an application of the principle that unpaid debts can be recovered by force.

Anyway, the situation soon got past issues of Magna Carta, and it was clear John had to go.

Louis, later when he was King of France

In desperation, the barons offered the crown to Prince Louis of the House of Capet, the ambitious heir to the French crown. He enthusiastically agreed. In May 1216 Louis's army landed in Kent, captured the Cinque Ports, but not Dover, and headed for London. John bolted to Winchester, and Louis entered London virtually unopposed. Partly due to Johns unpopularity, partly sensing which way the wind was blowing, many nobles came to pay homage, and Louis was proclaimed king of England. Even the Scottish King Alexander II came down to acknowledge him, although he did annex Carlise on the way, which presumably belonged to Louis now.

Anyway, although John still had a significant army in the field, Louis soon controlled much of England. The only significant castle holding out against him was Dover, which he had bypassed in the invasion, and which lay on one of his main supply routes.

The siege of Dover

Dover is the closest port to France, and has always been strategically important. Although the castle was not as large as nowadays, it was still pretty impressive, with the keep and inner and outer bailey walls completed. A barbican and two towers protected the gate.


If Louis was lucky to have John as King of England as an opponent, that was balanced by John's generals, some of whom were remarkably competent men. Dover was under the command of the 56 year old Hubert de Burgh, who seems to have been an inspiring, and innovative leader. Hubert was of the de Burgh family from Norfolk and had been part of John's household from an early age. He obviously impressed as he had been made High Sheriff of Dorset, Somerset and Berkshire over the years, and castillan of various castles on the Welsh Marshes and Wallingford in Berkshire. He is destined to play a large part in this story.

Hubert de Burgh (a later representation)

Dover was one of the strongest castles in England, with a strong garrison of 140 knights, many men at arms and plentiful supplies. Louis returned on July 19th and lay siege, billeting his troops in and around the town. Presumably, many of his men were quartered in the fishing village on the east side of the river Dour, nearest the castle, the rest in the better accomadation in the town on the west bank, or local manor houses. He did the right things, seizing high ground to the north and using perriers and mangonels (trebuchets and catapults) to bombard the walls while he undermined the barbican defending the gate with miners. Perriers are a fairly primitive form of trebuchet, basically a high seesaw with a long beam on one side from which hung a sling contatining the rock, and a short beam on the other side from which hung ropes. When the crew, usuually 20-40 men, pulled on the ropes the rock was flung up into the air. This idea is not especially powerful, and also has a range similar to archery, so the crew needed protection or shielding. It's not clear exactly what was meant by a mangonel, as the term meant different things at different times.

Siege engines like this weren't just knocked together on the spot. For instance, for the siege of Bytham in Lincolnshire just 7 years later, 12 carts were used to transport artillery from London in sections. Whether Louis used the Royal stores in London, or had access to his fathers stores in France, which might have been more handy for Dover, is not clear.

A perrier

Mining, though slow, was more effective against such a strong castle as Dover. It was simply a tunnel or even a cavity, shored up with beams, dug not so much to enter the castle as to arrive under the walls. This would then be deliberately collapsed, or exploded, and the wall would fall - obviously someone had to really know what they were doing! In this case someone did, the barbican fell and miners were sent on to topple the two towers of the gate itself. When one tower fell the castle was stormed. Here things started to go wrong, as de Burgh's men drove off the attack, and blocked the breach with timbers taken from castle buildings, and Louis was back where he started.

Meanwhile, Kent was the battlefield for a guerrilla war....

"A certain youth, William by name, a fighter and a loyalist [to King John] who despised those who were not, gathered a vast number of archers in the forests and waste places [of the Kent and Sussex Weald], all of them men of the region, and all the time they attacked and disrupted the enemy, and as a result of their intense resistance many thousands of Frenchmen were slain". Roger of Wendover, Flores Historiarum, II. 182".

William´s origins are a bit of a mystery, he may even have been one of John´s many Flemish mercenaries, but he does seem to have been only about 21 at the time. Somehow he raised thousands of volunteers amonst the archers of the Weald in Kent and Sussex and harrased the French wherever he could. With most communications between London and Dover, or London and France, passing through Kent he was holding the jugular. William has probably suffered historically by starting on the wrong side, which is a pity as with this and his later exploits he makes Robin of Lockesley look very small beer.

We'll meet William of Cassingham and Hubert de Burgh again later, but for now Louis was thinking he didn't have time for all this. On October 14th he called a truce and marched back to London.

Death of John

On October 18th Louis had more bad news, John had died at Newark Castle. Now, the death was so convenient, for so many people, that rumours immediately started. It was poisoned ale, poisoned plums, Shakespere, writing centuries later, has a monk giving the poison. Frankly, its hard to say now how he died. He had apparently contracted dysentery in Lynn (now Kings Lynn) which might well have killed him. Anyway, his body was taken to Worcester where he was buried in the cathedral.

However it had occurred, Johns death changed the game completely. Opposing a cruel and despotic king was one thing, serving a foreign prince quite another. John had an heir, Henry, and attention now focused on him. Nine year old Henry was crowned in Gloucester on October 28th, 1216. They didn't have London, they didn't even have a crown, using a gold necklace, but they had the papal legate in attendence, and crucially, they had a figurehead.

We now meet the third of Louis's nemesi, William Marshall. William was already a major player. At 69 years old he had served Henry II and Richard the Lioneart, and then John. Starting as the younger son of a fairly minor noble, Marshall now was a major landowner in his own right and hugely respected. It was in large part Marshall who had kept John in the game as long as he had, and it was apparently Marshall who John entrusted with Henry´s care on his death bed. On November 11th 1216 the Kings Council appointed Marshall as Regent in Henry's name. The fight back had begun.

Further reading

The sieges of Dover http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/goodall.htm

A Note on William of Cassingham
G. R. Stephens
Speculum, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr., 1941), pp. 216-223

An online guide to trebuchets
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rmine/gctrebs.html

Medieval Dover
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba94/feat3.shtml

The Volunteer Force (3) - the Dover Review

Over the Easter holiday of 1867 there was a Grand Review of the recently formed Volunteer Force, which as well as providing a great spectacle performed two important functions. Firstly, of course, it was experience for the Volunteers of large scale manoeuvres, and a chance to practice their skills. But secondly it also sent a message to any foreign powers contemplating action against the British Isles (ie. France). Just to make the message absolutely clear, the review was held at Dover, the closest point to France and traditionally the Gateway to England.
Over 25,000 troops, 24,000 of them Volunteers, were concentrated there in just 2 days thanks to extensive use of the railway system, as used so successfully by the Prussians just the previous year.

The Volunteers Review was covered extensively in the Illustrated London News, so over to them....

The lounge on Admiralty Pier

“The grand review and field day of the metropolitan volunteer corps at Dover on Easter Monday was the most interesting and successful that has yet been held. ... it exhibited several features of great novelty and importance, with regard both to the special branches of the volunteer force and their cooperation with the land and sea services of the Crown. “

Easter Sunday 1867

Volunteers marching to the review ground

“In Waterloo crescent the London Scottish, who mustered very strongly under Captain Lumsden, were drawn up and at once wheeled into the rear of the Civil Service corps. These two splendid corps proceeded along the Marine Parade and passed thence through Bench street into the market square where another large body of volunteers awaited their arrival. The Queens Westminster, the 1st City of London, brigade and the Cinque Ports artillery corps were extremely well represented and when formed together formed a very formidable appearance. Without delay the united body marched to the castle heights by way of Castle street. Once at the parade ground ... they received the Litany and lessons. In returning the place of honour was given to the London Scottish, headed by two of their bagpipers. Soon after reaching the Marine Parade the volunteers were dismissed and were at liberty to enjoy themselves as they pleased.”

Easter Monday

Volunteers arriving in Dover by train

“On Monday morning the sun shone brightly, though the wind was rather cold. By a quarter past 10 twenty "specials" with some 10,000 men had reached the South Eastern terminus, and 16 had bought between 8,000 and 9,000 troops into that of the London Chatham and Dover line. Assistant inspectors of volunteers were waiting in in both stations to direct the men to the spots were they were to halt until the time of the general muster. Every ship in the harbour had her masts bedizened with flags and as the troops passed along the seamen stood on the decks waving their hats. Two or 3 volunteer bands were playing, staff officers galloped here and there and everywhere and the inhabitants were loud in the expression of their pleasure."

The "invasion" of Dover

“The march past having concluded, the first and second divisions of infantry, the field batteries of the Royal Artillery, and the 1st brigade of Volunteer field batteries, which forces represented the invading army, moved off to the East, and facing around as if marching from Deal, took up a positions North East of the castle. Right before them was Castle Hill fort - an outwork of fortifications close to the spot at which the troops saluted. A little to the right of Castle Hill fort, and in front of it, was the main body of the defending force, consisting of the 3rd and 4th divisions of infantry, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th brigades of artillery and about 200 cavalry. All these troops were supposed to have marched out from Dover to drive back the invaders. Such were the positions before battle commenced, a farm called "Broad Leas Farm" lying between them.”

Map of the battle

“The invading force was commanded by Major General the Hon J Lindsay and the disposition of his army was made in this manner. The 1st division was deployed, skirmishers being thrown out; the 2nd division acting in support formed a continuous line of battalion columns, such intervals being allowed between the brigades as would bring the brigades of the 2nd division in rear of the centre of the corresponding brigades of the 1st division. The 2 field batteries of the Royal Artillery were formed in line on the right, and the 1st brigade of Volunteer field batteries in line on the left of the 1st division."

"The defending force was commanded by Major General Lord George Paget CB, whose disposition of forces was this; the 4th brigade of field batteries was in line with its right on the Deal road. Further to the right the 3rd division of infantry was deployed, having skirmishers thrown out. the third brigade of field batteries in line was on its right. The 4th division of infantry, acting in support, had its brigades in line of continuous columns, and the cavalry was in reserve. The 1st Sussex Artillery and the Cinque Ports artillery proceeded to the forts within the castle to work the batteries on the fortifications. Colonel Childs RA, who had the command of all the troops in the castle, had made arrangements for bringing about 70 guns into action, and having the Volunteers to work them."

"The signal for the commencement of the action, precisely at 1.40 pm, was the firing of a gun from the old keep of the castle. The defenders gave the the enemy battle by making a direct attack with the 3rd division on the invading force, this movement being covered by the force of field artillery and by that of four 42 pounders on the Bell battery of the castle. This battery faces to the North East of the castle and its guns played with great effect on the invaders who, in the face of a tremendous fire, were seen steadily advancing, supported by their own field guns."

A view of the battle

"The action had lasted about a quarter of an hour and the invading party was getting the worst of it, when the vessels of war which had gone round to Deal in the morning were observed approaching from that direction, The Terrible, under full steam, heading the naval squadron, with the Virago, the Lizard and one of the gun boats. Every sail was closely furled, and the yards were all squared and the 4 war steamers approached the town. In covering this operation they exchanged shots with a coast guard station and afterwards, when the battle was at it's height, they engaged the batteries both of the castle and the western forts. The manoeuvring of these vessels of war was quite as interesting as that of the troops in the field. Steaming along the lines of fortifications, now in one direction, now in another, they fired the starboard and then port broadsides and their fire was promptly responded to by the guns of the Guildford, the Shoulder of Mutton, and other batteries on the Western heights, the guns of which were served by Volunteer artillery men, with the assistance of members of the regular forces."

The naval squadron off Dover

Despite naval intervention the invading forces were driven back, and contact with the sea was broken.....

“they made an obstinate stand and for some time both lines were completely engaged. Ultimately however, the attacking forces were overpowered, and , continuing the retreat they fell back on a position in the rear of a hollow or valley close to the village of Guston, and looking towards the sea. The defending force came up and attempted several times by assault to dislodge the enemy from his position” but eventually “the signal was made to put an end to the battle and all the Volunteers moved off the field, proceeding at once to the railway stations on their return to London.”

Units taking part

London Scottish Rifle Volunteers
Raised, as the name suggests, from Scots living in London under the command of Lt Col Lord Elcho. They wore Highland dress, but to avoid interclan rivalry it was in Hodden Grey, not one of the traditional tartans.

Cinque Port Artillery Volunteers
The original Cinque Ports were a federation of towns along the English south coast who banded together for common defence in medieval times. By this time the Cinque Ports had a purely ceremonial role, but when Volunteer units were formed in Dover, and later other towns along the coast, they used the name.

A sergeant in the Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers 1865

1st Sussex Volunteer Artillery
Based in Brighton, they normally formed part of the garrison of Shoreham Fort.

HMS Terrible
a paddle steamer of 19 guns on two decks, she had already served in the Mediterranean and the Crimean war

HMS Virago
a 6 gun paddle sloop, last seen in these blogs at the siege of Petropavlovsk

HMS Lizard
an iron paddle gunboat, with 3 guns.