Raid on the Medway 1667
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 9 June 1667 – 14 June 1667 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1667 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Anglo-Dutch War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Dutch Republic, Kingdom of England | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 51.4039, 0.5319 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War between June 12 to 14 June 1667, (June 22 to June 24 Gregorian modern calendar) was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At the time, the fortress of Upnor Castle and a barrier chain called the "Gillingham Line" were supposed to protect the English ships.
The Dutch, under nominal command of Willem Joseph van Ghent and Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, over several days bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the Thames Estuary to Gravesend, then sailed into the River Medway to Chatham and Gillingham, where they engaged fortifications with cannon fire, burned or captured three capital ships and ten more ships of the line, and captured and towed away the flagship of the English fleet, HMS Royal Charles, the stern of which is still on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Politically, the raid was disastrous for the war plans of Charles II of England. It led to a quick end to the war, and a favourable peace for the Dutch. The raid was one of the worst defeats in both the history of the Royal Navy and British military history more broadly speaking.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Raid on the Medway (revision 1377685570), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Aylesford 455 · 10 km
- Battle of Maidstone 1648 · 15 km
- Battle of the Medway AD 43 · 15 km
- Battle of Benfleet 894 · 16 km
- Battle of Assandun 1016 · 25 km
- Battle of Otford (776) 776 · 26 km
Other battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
- Battle of Barbados (1665) 1665
- Battle of Lowestoft 1665
- Battle of Vågen 1665
- Four Days' Battle 1666
- Holmes's Bonfire 1666
- St. James' Day Battle 1666
- Battle of Landguard Fort 1667
- Battle of Martinique (1667) 1667
- Battle of Nevis 1667
- Recapture of Fort Zeelandia (1667) 1667
All 11 battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War →
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