all his greate maste and his fore
topmast desperately wounded, and most of his rigging shot", he was at
last forced to retire. "With as much courage as conduct (and beyond the
hopes or expectation of those who saw that brave action) (he) disengaged
himselfe ... and brought off all the Marylanders but one." The Virginia
fleet, "which were neere 40 sail", secured "almost a tides way before
the enemy, which undoubtedly saved many which otherwise would have bin
lost". Some of the merchantmen took refuge at Fort Nansemond, where the
enemy dared not attack them, others retreated up the river towards
Jamestown. Unfortunately five of them, in the confusion of the flight,
ran aground and were afterwards captured. The four ships which had
grounded before the battle also fell into the hands of the Dutch. Thus,
despite the gallant conduct of the English, the enemy succeeded in
capturing a large part of the tobacco fleet.[424]

Great as was the distress caused by the depredations of the Dutch, the
planters suffered even more during these wars by the stagnation of
trade. The great risk incurred in crossing the ocean necessarily brought
an increase both in freight rates and in the cost of manufactured
goods. In 1667 the Governor and Council declared that the planters were
"inforced to pay 12 pounds to L17 per ton freight" on their tobacco,
"which usually was but at seven pounds".[425] Conditions were even worse
during the second war. In 1673 Berkeley complained that the number of
vessels that dared come to Virginia was so small, that they had "not
brought goods and tools enough for one part of five of the people to go
on with their necessary labor". "And those few goods that are brought,"
he added "have Soe few (and these hard Dealing) Sellers and Soe many
Indigent and necessitous buyors that the Poore Planter gets not the
fourth part ... for his tobacco which he usually has had in other
times."[426]

In this period, so full of suffering and misfortune, the year 1667 was
especially noteworthy for its long series of disasters. In November
Secretary Thomas Ludwell wrote Lord Berkeley, "This poore Country ... is
now reduced to a very miserable Condicon by a continuall course of
misfortune. In Aprill ... we had a most prodigeous Storme of haile, many
of them as bigg as Turkey Eggs, which destroyed most of our younge Mast
and Cattell. On the fifth of June following came the Dutch upon us, and
did soe much mischiefe that we shall never rec