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Sir George Rooke

Sir George Rooke was the son of Sir William Rooke, Knt. of an ancient and honorable family in the county of Kent, where he was born in the year 1650. His father gave him the education becoming a gentleman, in which, by the quickness of his parts, and the solidity of his judgment, he made an extraordinary progress, insomuch that Sir William Uooke had great hopes, that he would have distinguished himself in an honourable profession, for which he was intended. But as it frequently happens, that genius gives a bias too strong for the views even of a parent to subdue, so Sir William, after a fruitless struggle with his son George's bent to naval employment, at last gave way to his inclinations, and suffered him to make a campaign at sea.

Admiral Herbert distinguished him early, by sending him, in the year 1689, as commodore, with a squadron on the coast of Ireland. In this station, he heartily concurred with Major-general Kirke, in the famous relief of Londonderry. In the beginning of the year 1690, he was, upon tfce recommendation of the earl of Torrington, appointed rear-admiral of the red. He wa promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue, in which station he served in the famous battle of La Hogue, on the 22d of May, 1692, in which he behaved with distinguished courage and conduct.

Admiral Russel, in the spring of the year 1697, being declared earl of Orford, and placed at the head of the admiralty, with a kind of absolute command, his presence was thought so necessary there, that Sir George Rooke was appointed admiral and commander-in-chief of the fleet. As the French avoided fighting, Sir George found it impossible to do any thing very considerable.

When King Christian the Fifth of Denmark died, on August 25, 1699, and left his throne to his son Frederick the Fourth, the danger of a war for the possession of Holstein was already imminent. In January 1700 an alliance was signed at the Hague between England, Brunswick, Luneburg, and Celle, with a view of putting some check on the fiery spirit of the Danish King, and of supporting the Treaty of Altona, by which England, Holland, and other German States guaranteed the Duchy of Holstein to the House of Holstein-Gottorp. The expedition into the Sound in 1700, and the attack on Cadiz and Vigo in 1702 were both episodes in the war of the Spanish Succession, and the first is also connected with the interminable Schleswig-Holstein question. The object of the first expedition was extremely simple. It was to prevent a war between Sweden and Denmark, which, by taking larger dimensions, might embroil the whole of Europe, and seriously interfere with the war which William the Third saw was imminent for curbing the power of Louis XIV. This immediate object was successfully attained, and peace between the two northern Courts was secured by the Treaty of Travendal.

Rooke had prepared to make an attack on Barcelona, an important commercial city, and one that was believed to have much sympathy with the archduke. But the troops which he had on board were insufficient, and the malcontents in the city, who had expected a large force and the presence of the archduke himself, were disappointed. Rooke, therefore, was obliged to retire. As the force was returning, a very important place fell almost by accident into the hands of the English. Gibraltar was not then the strong place that the art of fortification Capture of has made it since ; but it was always very strong by nature ; so strong, that the Spaniards left but a small garrison there, and that garrison was careless in its watching. Rooke determined to make an attempt on Gibraltar. On August 4, 1704 Admiral Rooke surprised Gibraltar : this fortified rock was considered impregnable, and the English have since proved that it is so, but the Spanish soldiers who guarded it were so averse from fighting that they laid down their arms as soon as the Admiral began to disembark his troops. They there hoisted the British flag. In spite of vigorous efforts on the part of enemies to haul it down, that flag has waved over the Rock of Gibraltar from that day (3rd August, 1704) to this.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, as large groups of sail-powered warships met in battle, line-ahead battle formations, wherein one ship followed another, became the norm for fleets. The Royal Navy codified these tactics for their officers in their Fighting Instructions. This doctrine spelled out which ships were to be placed where in the line of battle and charged each captain to maintain the line of battle without breaks, regardless of the peril to his own ship. The "Instructions for the directing and governing her majesty's fleet in sailing and fighting, by the Right Honourable Sir George Rooke, Knight, Vice- Admiral of England, and admiral and commander- in-chief of her majesty's fleet. In the year 1703" were issued in 1703, the second year of the war. It was under Rooke's new instructions that the battle of Malaga was fought in 1704. They were certainly in force in 1705, for a copy of them exists in the log book of the Britannia for that year. They were also used by Sir Clowdisley Shovell during his last command ; as we know by a printed copy with certain manuscript additions of his own, relating to chasing and armed boats, which he issued to his junior flag officer, Sir John Norris, in the Mediterranean, on April 25, 1707. Nor is there any trace of their having been changed during the remainder of the war.

At the battle of Malaga they were very strictly observed, and in the opinion of the time with an entirely satisfactory result; that is to say that, although Rooke's ships were foul and very short of ammunition, he was able to prevent Toulouse breaking his line and so to fight a defensive action, which saved Gibraltar from recapture, and discredited the French navy to such an extent that thenceforth it was entirely neglected by Louis XIV's government, and gave little more trouble to the British fleets. Though no copy of these Fighting Instructions has been found with a later date than 1707, with very slight modifications they continued in use down to the peace of 1783. The evidence is to be found scattered in proceedings of courts-martial, in chance references in admirals despatches, and in signal books.

Rooke was a man, who, to hereditary honors, added reputation founded on personal merit, and who repaid the credit derived to him from his ancestors, by the glory reflected from his own actions. Yet so modest withal, that he coveted titles as little as wealth; and after a life spent in noble atchievements, went to his grave with a moderate fortune, though he had long enjoyed such employments as enabled others to raise princely estates. When the brave Sir George Rooke was making his will, some friends who were present expressed their surprise that he had not more to leave. " Why," said the worthy man, "I do not leave much, but what I do leave was honestly acquired ; for it never cost a sailor a tear, nor my country a farthing."