The persons who have served best on this occasion, and who merit rewards from your Majesty, are:  first, the general Don Juan Rronquillo del Castillo, who assisted at Cavite, from the first of November of last year, in the repair and preparation of this fleet, until he sailed from the port with it and fought the flagship of the enemy and defeated and sank it—­and, according to what the prisoners say, it will be incredible in Olanda that there is sufficient force in the Philipinas to have defeated this galleon; next, Captain Don Diego de Quinones, for the service rendered to your Majesty by him in resisting the enemy—­first, at his entrance to the town of Oton (where the Dutch disembarked with six hundred men); then, after killing and wounding many men with less than one hundred soldiers, and causing the enemy to retreat ignominiously after a stay of not more than twenty-four hours in front of the said town, Don Diego came at my orders to serve on this occasion, leaning on a crutch—­for he was not yet recovered from a musket-ball that had passed through one thigh—­and served as commander of a galley.  He found himself near the galleon “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe,” which was grappled to another of the enemy; and, with his aid, the latter was defeated.

Admiral Rodrigo de Guillestigui, commander of the galleon “San Miguel,” grappled with another of the enemy; and although another ship attacked him, and he received great damage from the artillery discharged upon him, he refused to leave his prize until, after fighting with great courage and valor, the galleon to which he was grappled took fire, whereupon with great haste he ungrappled so that the fire should not do him harm.  The vessel that was burning was deserted by its men very hastily, some of whom embarked in the lancha, while others jumped into the water; and, the fire reaching the powder, the ship went down.

Captain Juan Bauptista de Molina, commander of the galleon “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe,” was the first to grapple with a ship which, according to the prisoners who were in the battle, was in Piru, where it and another vessel sunk our almiranta.  He fought as a good soldier until the enemy surrendered after a hard fight.  While a captain and soldiers from our side were in the said vessel, that ship of the enemy’s that was coming down upon it afire, as the executor of divine justice, set fire to this one, and it was burned.  That ship was burned because His [Divine] Majesty did not choose that there should be more spoils from that victory than the memory of the just punishment that He gave by His powerful hand.

Admiral Pedro de Heredia, commander of the galley “San Juan Baptista,” grappled with the hostile almiranta; and after fighting valorously, and having almost defeated it, because it was no longer serving its artillery or musketry, the burning boat charged down upon the two galleons and forced them to ungrapple for fear of the fire.  Thereupon their almiranta got away with some difficulty, because it had so few men left to handle the sails.  The men who escaped from the small boat of the burning ship were taken aboard that vessel, so that they had sufficient men to retreat; and our galleon could not return to attack the said almiranta, which left so badly dismantled that it is thought that it must have sunk.  The facts will be learned with the first advice that comes from Terrenate.