HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS COMMISSION. PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from EYRE AND SPOTTIS WOODE, EAST HARDING STREET, FLEET STREET, E.C., and 32, ABINGDON STREET, WESTMINSTER, S. W.; or JOHN MENZIES & Co., 12, HANOVER STREET, EDINBURGH, and 90, WEST NILE STREET, GLASGOW; or HODGES, FIGGIS, & Co., LIMITED, 104. GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN. INTRODUCTION. WITH the exception of the curious and valuable lists of armour at the Tower and elsewhere-which probably came into the hands of the first Baron Dartmouth when he was Master of the Ordnance, in 1682-the Earl of Dartmouth's manuscripts now preserved at Patshull, commence at the Restoration. The principal part of the collection was reported upon for the Historical Manuscripts Commission in 1887 by Mr. William Hewlett (see 11th Report, Appendix, Part 5). The present volume refers only to the documents that have come to light since that time, and forms an interesting supplement to the earlier report. In this letter prays Colonel The collection opens with the correspondence and papers of Colonel William Legge, father of George Legge, first Baron Dartmouth, and commences with a letter from the famous Charlotte de la Trémouille, widow of James Stanley, Earl of Derby, and the gallant defender of Lathom House and the Isle of Man against the Parliamentary forces. which is dated 18 February 1662, the Countess Legge to use his influence with King Charles II. to obtain a title for her younger children, meaning probably her two younger surviving sons, Edward and William, who, she said, had suffered so greatly in the royal cause by the loss of their father. Her eldest son, Charles, then eighth Earl of Derby, had occasioned great grief to his father and the anger of Charles II. by marrying the daughter of John Kirkhoven, Baron of Rupa, in Holland, and by his will, dated August, 1651, James, Earl of Derby, left his estates to King Charles II., with a desire that they and the title might descend to his second son Edward, to the exclusion of his heir apparent, Charles," and this," he continues, "by by reason of my just offence against Charles, my eldest son, for "his disobedience to his Majesty in the matter of his marriage, "and for his going to join the rebels of England at this time to "the great grief of his parents by which he has brought a stain upon his blood if he were permitted to inherit, but this by his E 85380. Wt. 21255. a 2 66 Majesty's great goodness, may be prevented." An explanation is here given to the reference in the latter part of the Countess's letter as to her husband's intention to bar the entail of the family estates, had he lived, and the invalidity of that portion of his will which proposed to convey the title and estates away from the heir. Colonel William Legge had a considerable amount of property in Ireland, and the letters of his agents there, James and Nicholas Jones, throw some light on the condition of affairs in that country during the fifteen years following the Restoration. At the death of Colonel William Legge, on 13 October 1670, these properties, with others in England, went to his eldest son, George, who had been trained to the sea under Sir Edward Spragg, and who afterwards served under the Duke of York and Prince Rupert in the various naval battles against the Dutch in 1672-3. Hence it is probably that we have such ample information of the naval affairs of that time in this collection. Of the engagement in Sole Bay between the combined English and French fleets and the Dutch on 28 May, 1672, there are full accounts. It appears that the allied fleets were lying in the bay unsuspicious of the proximity of the Dutch, and, as Burnet tells us, more intent upon preparing for Oak Apple day than engaging the enemy, when about 3 or 4 in the morning one of the scouts brought news that the Dutch were in sight. The signal was immediately given by the Duke of York for the fleet to weigh anchor and for the ships to be put into line of action. Before this could be done, however, the Dutch had commenced the attack, and the engagement, which began at between 6 and 7 o'clock in the morning, lasted all day. For some reason full reports of the battle were prepared by the principal commanders who survived the action, and copies of these are amongst the Earl of Dartmouth's MSS. A specially melancholy interest is attached to the account of what happened on board the Royal James, the flagship of Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, a gentleman," as Bishop Parker describes him, " adorned with all the virtues of Alcibiades and untainted by any of his vices." Being hard pressed, the Earl sent unsuccessfully to Sir Joseph Jordan for assistance. His ship was then boarded by a Dutch man of war, which he proposed to get rid of by taking the initiative and boarding the Dutchman himself; however, the force available was too weak, his ship having lost between 250 and 300 men. The Earl fought on bravely in hope of assistance, but none came, Sir Joseph Jordan passing close by to windward very unkindly" taking no notice of him. Jordan, however, states in his account of the battle that he was unable to render assistance. The Earl having repulsed the boarders from the Dutch man of war, was boarded by a fire ship, which set fire to the Royal James, in the destruction of which the gallant Earl perished. The journals of Admiral Sir Edward Spragg, who gives an outspoken account of all he saw and thought, commence with a narrative of the destruction of the Algerine fleet in Bugia Bay in May, 1671, and end off abruptly on the 10 August, 1673, the day before Spragg was drowned in the engagement with the Dutch off the Schoonvelt. In his account of the battle of Sole Bay, and wherever he has an opportunity, he does not fail to find fault with the conduct of the French ships then acting in concert with the English against the Dutch. In consequence of the Test Act, the Duke of York resigned his command of the fleet, and was succeeded by Prince Rupert, whose unpopularity or incompetency alienated the affections of most of the naval officers under his command. In the various engagements off the coast of Holland in the summer of 1673, Sir Edward Spragg severely criticises the Prince's mismanagement, and speaks of the "ill conduct and most notorious cowardice" of the fleet, in which there was want of order, no man well knowing his station. A further account of the naval engagement off the Schoonvelt of 11 August, 1673, will be found in Sir John Narborough's journal. There is little further in the appendix to the present report till after George Legge had been created Baron Dartmouth in 1682, previous to his taking the command of the expedition for the destruction and abandonment of Tangier. Of this expedition and the proceedings of the Commissioners at Tangier, we obtain a considerable amount of information, which, with what has been printed in the former report, gives a fairly complete account of the expedition. Lord Dartmouth was appointed on the 2 July, 1683, sailed in August, and was home again in March, 1684, having fully carried out all the instructions given him as to conveying the residents, who were of various nationalties, to their native lands, |