["The bottom of the 'Royal James' is got afloat, and those of the
'Loyal London' and 'Royal Oak' soon will be so. Many men are at work
to put Sheerness in a posture of defence, and a boom is being fitted
over the river by Upnor Castle, which with the good fortifications
will leave nothing to fear."--Calendar of State Papers, 1667, p.
285.]

and several other of our ships by us sunk, and several of the enemy's,
whereof three men-of-war that they could not get off, and so burned. We
did also see several dead bodies lie by the side of the water. I do not
see that Upnor Castle hath received any hurt by them, though they played
long against it; and they themselves shot till they had hardly a gun
left upon the carriages, so badly provided they were: they have now
made two batteries on that side, which will be very good, and do good
service. So to the chaine, and there saw it fast at the end on Upnor
side of the River; very fast, and borne up upon the several stages
across the River; and where it is broke nobody can tell me. I went on
shore on Upnor side to look upon the end of the chaine; and caused
the link to be measured, and it was six inches and one-fourth in
circumference. They have burned the Crane House that was to hawl it
taught. It seems very remarkable to me, and of great honour to the
Dutch, that those of them that did go on shore to Gillingham, though
they went in fear of their lives, and were some of them killed; and,
notwithstanding their provocation at Schelling, yet killed none of our
people nor plundered their houses, but did take some things of easy
carriage, and left the rest, and not a house burned; and, which is to
our eternal disgrace, that what my Lord Douglas's men, who come after
them, found there, they plundered and took all away; and the watermen
that carried us did further tell us, that our own soldiers are far more
terrible to those people of the country-towns than the Dutch themselves.
We were told at the batteries, upon my seeing of the field-guns that
were there, that, had they come a day sooner, they had been able to have
saved all; but they had no orders, and lay lingering upon the way, and
did not come forward for want of direction. Commissioner Pett's house
was all unfurnished, he having carried away all his goods. I met with no
satisfaction whereabouts the chaine was broke, but do confess I met with
nobody that I could well expect to have satisfaction [from], it