When daylight returned, Lord Howard bad the satisfaction to perceive that his stratagem had produced the desired effect. The enemy was still in extreme disorder, and their ships widely separated and dispersed. Ills fleet having received a great augmentation by the ships fitted out by the nobility and gentry, as well as by those of Lord Seymour, who had left Justiu de Nassau as alone sufficient to guard the coast of Flanders, and being bravely seconded by Sir Francis Drake and all the other officers, he hastened to improve the advantage which was now presented to him, and attacked the enemy in different quarters at the same time with the utmost impetuosity and ardour.
The engagemeut began et four in the morning of August the 8th, and lasted till six at night. The Spaniards in every rencontre displayed the most intrepid bravery; but, from the causes already mentioned, did little execution against the English, while many of their own ships were greatly damaged, and ten of the largest were either run aground, souk, or compelled to surrender.
The principal galeass, commanded by Moncada, having Manriquez, the inepector-general, on board, with 300 galley-slaves and 400 soldiers, was driven whore near Calais. Fifty thousand ducats wore found on board of her. One of the capital ships, having been long battered by an English captain of the name of Cross, was sunk during the engagement. A few only of the crew were saved, who related that oue of the officers on board having proposed to surrender, he was killed by another who was enraged at his proposal; that this other was killed by the brother of the first; and that it was in the midst of this bloody scene that the ship went to the bottom. The fate of two other of the Spanish galleons is particularly mentioned by contemporary historians, the St. Philip and the St. Matthew : after an obstinate en gagement with the English admiral's ship they were obliged to run ashore on the coast of Flanders, where they were taken by the Dutch.
The Duke de Medina now not only despaired of success, but saw clearly that by a continuance of the combat he should risk the entire destruction of his fleet. The bulk of his vessels rendered them unfit not only for fighting, bnt for navigation in the narrow seas. He therefore determined to abandon the further prosecution of his enterprise; yet even to get back to Spain was difficult: he resolved therefore to sail northward, and return by making the circuit of the British Isles. Lord Seymour was detached to follow in his rear, but
from the bad supply of ammunition which he had received from the public offices, was deterred from renewing an attack which in all probability would have led to the Duke de Medina'e surrender.
A dreadful storm arose after the Spaniards had rounded the Orkneys, and the whole fleet was dispersed. Horses, mules, and baggage were thrown overboard to lighten a few of the vessels. Some of the ships were dashed to pieces on the rocks of Norway; some sunk in the middle of tho North Sea; others were thrown upon the coasts of Scotland and the Western Isles—the wreck of one being still visible, it is said, at Tobermory, in the Isle of Mull; and more than thirty were driven by another storm, which overtook them from the west, on different parts of the coast of Ireland. Port na Spagna, on the coast of Antrim, near the Giants' Causeway, obtained its name from this circumstance. (See ' Trans. of Geol. Soc.,' voL iii., plate 10.) Of these, some afterwards reached home in the moat 'shattered con dition, under the Vice-Admiral Recaldo ; others were shipwrecked among the rocks and shallows; and of those which reached the shore many of the crews were barbarously murdered, from au apprehension, it was pretended, that in • couutry where there were so many dis affected Catholics It would have beeu dangerous to show mercy to so great • number of the enemy. Camden says, "They were slain, some of them-by the wild Irish, and others put to the sword by command of the lord-deputy ; for he, fearing lest they would join with the Irish rebels, and seeing that Bingham, governor of Counaught, whom he bad once or twice commanded to show rigour towards them as the yielded themselves„ had refused to do it, sent Fowl, deputy-marshal, who drew them out of their lurking-holes and hiding-placee, and beheaded about two hundred of them." The Doke de Medina, having kept out in the open seas, escaped shipwreck; sod, according to the official accounts, arrived at Santandet In the Bay of Biscay about the cud of September, "with nom mere Oar eixty say me outs of his whole fleece, and those verye much shattered." Strype, In his 'Annals,' reckous the Spanish loss upon the coast o England to have amounted to 15 ships and above 10,000 men, beside 17 *LIN and 5394 men sunk, drowned, and taken upou the coast o Ireland.