Raid on the Medway

Raid on the Medway
Part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Attack on the Medway, June 1667, by Willem van der Stoop
Date 19–24 June 1667 (1667-06-19 – 1667-06-24) Location Chatham, Medway, England 51°24′14″N 0°31′55″E / 51.4039°N 0.531944°E / 51.4039; 0.531944 Result Dutch victory The Treaty of Breda is signed
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Michiel de Ruyter Cornelis de Witt Willem van Ghent Aert Jansse van Nes	Prince Rupert George Monck
Strength
17,500 men[1] 62 warships 15 smaller ships 12 fire ships	several ships fort garrisons
Casualties and losses
50–150 men killed or wounded[2] 8 fireships expended	500 men killed or wounded[2] 13 ships destroyed 2 ships captured 30 ships scuttled

The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, 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.

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. It was one of the worst defeats in the Royal Navy's history, and one of the worst suffered by the British military.^[3] Horace George Franks called it the "most serious defeat it has ever had in its home waters."^[4]