The fleet consisted of fifty-seven ships of war, of which twenty-four were Dutch vessels under Admiral Warmond, with three thousand sailors of Holland and Zeeland.  Besides the sailors, there was a force of six thousand foot soldiers, including the English veterans from the Netherlands under Sir Francis Vere.  There were also fifty transports laden with ammunition and stores.  The expedition was under the joint command of Lord High Admiral Howard and of the Earl of Essex.  Many noble and knightly volunteers, both from England and the republic, were on board, including, besides those already mentioned, Lord Thomas Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, Sir John Wingfield, who had commanded at Gertruydenburg, when it had been so treacherously surrendered to Farnese; Count Lewis Gunther of Nassau, who had so recently escaped from the disastrous fight with Mondragon in the Lippe, and was now continuing his education according to the plan laid down for him by his elder brother Lewis William; Nicolas Meetkerk, Peter Regesmortes, Don Christopher of Portugal, son of Don Antonio, and a host of other adventurers.

On the last day of June the expedition arrived off Cadiz.  Next morning they found a splendid Spanish fleet in the harbour of that city, including four of the famous apostolic great galleons, St. Philip, St. Matthew, St. Thomas, and St. Andrew, with twenty or thirty great war-ships besides, and fifty-seven well-armed Indiamen, which were to be convoyed on their outward voyage, with a cargo estimated at twelve millions of ducats.

The St. Philip was the phenomenon of naval architecture of that day, larger and stronger than any ship before known.  She was two thousand tons burthen, carried eighty-two bronze cannon, and had a crew of twelve hundred men.  The other three apostles carried each fifty guns and four hundred men.  The armament of the other war-ships varied from fifty-two to eighteen guns each.  The presence of such a formidable force might have seemed a motive for discouragement, or at least of caution.  On the contrary, the adventurers dashed at once upon their prey; thus finding a larger booty than they had dared to expect.  There was but a brief engagement.  At the outset a Dutch ship accidentally blew up, and gave much encouragement to the Spaniards.  Their joy was but short-lived.  Two of the great galleons were soon captured, the other two, the St. Philip and the St. Thomas, were run aground and burned.  The rest of the war-ships were driven within the harbour, but were unable to prevent a landing of the enemy’s forces.  In the eagerness of the allies to seize the city, they unluckily allowed many of the Indiamen to effect their escape through the puente del Zuazzo, which had not been supposed a navigable passage for ships of such burthen.  Nine hundred soldiers under Essex, and four hundred noble volunteers under Lewis Gunther of Nassau, now sprang on shore, and drove some eleven hundred Spanish skirmishers back within