The general commanding this great armada, was Don Alphonso Bacan, brother to the Marquis of Santa Cruz.  Britandona was admiral of the squadron of Biscay.  The Marquis of Arumburch [Aremberg] commanded the squadron of Seville.  Luis Coutinho commanded the hulks and flyboats.  There were slain and drowned in this fight, as the before-mentioned Spanish captain confessed, near a thousand of the enemy, with two special commanders, Don Luis de San Juan, and Don George de Prunaria de Mallaga, besides others of special account whose names have not yet been reported.  The admiral of the hulks and the Ascension of Seville were both sunk at the side of the Revenge.  One other ship, which got into the road of San Miguel, sank there also; and a fourth ship had to run on shore to save her men.  Sir Richard, as it is said, died the second or third day on board the general, much bewailed by his enemies; but we have not heard what became of his body, whether it were committed to the sea or buried on land.  The comfort remaining to his friends is, that he ended his life honourably, having won great reputation for his nation and his posterity, and hath not outlived his honour.

For the rest of her majestys ships, that entered not into the fight like the Revenge, the reasons and causes were these:  There were of them only six in all, two whereof were only small ships; and they could be of no service, as the Revenge was engaged past recovery.  The island of Flores was on one side; 53 sail of Spanish ships were on the other, divided into several squadrons, all as full of soldiers as they could contain.  Almost one half of our men were sick and unable to serve; the ships were grown foul, unroomaged[374], and hardly able to bear any sail for want of ballast, having been six months at sea.  If all the rest of the ships had entered into the action, they had been all lost; for the very hugeness of the Spanish ships, even if no other violence had been offered, might have crushed them all into shivers between them; by which the loss and dishonour to the queen had been far greater, than any injury the enemy could have sustained.  It is nevertheless true, that the Lord Thomas Howard would have entered between the squadrons of the enemy, but the others would on no account consent; and even the master of his own ship threatened to leap into the sea, rather than conduct the admirals ship and the rest to be a certain prey to the enemy, where there was no hope or possibility of victory or even of defence.  In my opinion, such rashness would have ill assorted with the discretion and trust of a general, to have committed himself and his charge to assured destruction, without any hope or likelihood of prevailing, thereby to have diminished the strength of her majestys navy, and to have increased the pride and glory of the enemy.

[Footnote 374:  This singular antiquated sea term may signify, not in sailing trim.—­E.]