The incident at Mount's Bay in July 1595 prompted something of a minor invasion scare. It was probably in response to the obvious lack of preparation that William Waad, who had served as secretary to the Privy Council in 1588, wrote a series of documents the following year. They represent an opinion of the necessary defence preparations in the light of the earlier experience. A selection of his thoughts are set out below.

BIRCH MSS 4109 f343.

Mr Waad's Remonstrative Remonstrances when the Alarms of the Spaniards approached.

To set as many ships to the seas as may be, although they come not time enough to encounter with the enemy, as they may impeach his landing, yet they will serve to keep him in awe and suspense, not to adventure tO land, when he shall see our ships at the seas ready to set upon them upon any advantage.

And if most part of his shipping be easterlings, low country, and such as are taken up by constraint to serve him, he will put no special trust in them to fight by sea; and if he happen to land his men on shore, if they see our forces on the seas on their back, it is likely these ships will, if they can, seek the best means to save themselves. And upon mistrust the enemy hath of them, and for the better strengthening of them, he shall leave part of his soldiers in the ships, his strength will be the less to make any great attempt on land; and he may be so waited on with our ships, as after he hath once landed he never will adventure it again. And if he bend his forces towards Calais, there may notable advantage to be had against their ships after they have landed their men, considering there is no harbour for them in those parts.

Martial men of good experience to be sent down to all the maritime counties, both to take the musters and train the men, and to remain here upon occasion to direct the soldiers under the lieutenants.

Good store of pioneers, spades, shovels, mattocks, and like instruments to be provided.

Forces to be put in a readiness for an army, if need shall require, under a general appointed, that may be assembled at such place as may serve to second the forces that are attempted to impeach the landing of the enemy in all the west parts, who may be directed to give all annoyance, alarms, and continual impeachment to the enemy, and fight with him upon advantage.

Another to be in readiness out of the inland counties to come to London, if that shall be thought necessary, that may serve both for defence of her majesty's person, and of those maritime counties not far distant.

If the enemy should make towards Calais, then the Thames above Gravesend to be regarded, and some good shipping placed there, or other device.

A place where the river Lee doth enter into the Thames hath been thought of as most convenient to fortify; for if the enemy land on Essex side, he must need pass these rivers, which must be guarded also in all places of descent.

Fire works to be provided in the several ports, and to go with the ships, that shall be set forth.

Pinnaces to discover.

Beacons watched.

Recusants restrained. Arms and horses to be sequestered out of their custody.

Powder to be provided both for the store of the counties and the towns corporate.

The ports to be better looked into for passengers by special letters to some special gentlemen adjoining to the ports, to join with the officers of the ports.

The ministers of the French and Dutch churches to be written unto, to know what strangers be within and about London that be not of their churches, or repair to their parish churches.

There is order already taken for men to repair to the Isle of Wight, and likewise an increase of the ward at Plymouth.

The like order to be taken for the supplies that are to repair to Portsmouth.

In ano 88 there was special order given for the defence of the Isle of Thanet.

Sheerness especially to be considered of.

BIRCH MSS 4122 f79

A Paper of Mr Waad concerning the defence of the kingdom against Invasions. November 18, 1596.

Considering Right Hon. the dangerous estate wherein we are fallen through these long times of peace and rest, whereby we are generally grown to the untowardliness in martial actions as, in my simple judgment, if we should encounter and join with the enemy after the old manner and custom in running confusedly to the sea side, there can be no good success expected thereof, but rather on the contrary great danger, hurt and slaughter, if by your wisdoms, to whom belongeth the redress, it may not be thorough seen into and provided.

It may be we presume overmuch of the ancient courage and noble attempts of our ancestors, not weighing the difference of time drawing more to perfection and ripeness of late, whereof our enemies have taken advantage, and increase of knowledge by their late troubles, and we are declined and gone backwards for want of use and practice.

For as weapons, armour, and munition, are but dead things without men's bodies to use them, and they both of little value without skilful leaders to exercise and train them. And as there is nothing but emulation and confusion amongst the best leaders and captains of experience, without some noble honourable minded personage to direct and judge of every man's opinion; so all these be both dangerous and imperfect without a good plot and sure foundation laid to work upon.

Myself being one of the meanest of ability and of skill, have presumed yet to offer this my simple opinion and judgment, as a testimony and witness of the zeal and affection that I bear as well to the preservation of her majesty's most royal person, as to the benefit and safety of this my natural country, hoping your honour will accordingly accept the same, and pardon what is amiss therein.

TRAINING

That there might be also meeting and drawing together of some convenient numbers both of horsemen and footmen to be trained and exercised in all manner of forts and forms, as well frivolous as necessary, to the intent they seeing the difference between good and frivolous orders, they may know the better how to give and receive a charge. For I think, if you shall but ask the opinion of three captains how horsemen ought to charge, and how they should receive a charge, and so likewise of footmen of their retraicts, the three captains will be therein of two opinions at the least.

And yet the first thing we offer unto the enemy is rashly to join battle without any foresight of the inconvenience thereof, a thing to be generally received and conceived of all our nation for the best way, and who should seem to impugn the same is in danger to be made ridiculous, and his reason to be holden (as it were) heresy, and not fit to be heard or read. And yet how rude, ignorant, and untowardly, we should and would present ourselves thereunto, make but some models of convenient numbers assembled, and you shall see the same.

There is a kind of heat and fury in the encounter and joining of battle, the which side can longest retain, on that part goeth the victory. Contrarywise, which side conceiveth the first fear, whether it be upon just cause or not, namely, for lack of good training, that side goeth to wreck, yea, and oftentimes falleth so out before the pikes be couched.

Thus much to the uncertainty of battle, wherein albeit I would wish our nation to be well exercised and trained, being a thing of great moment, yet to be used in our country as the sheet anchor and last refuge of all.

MORALE

If the attempt be made by a prince purposed and appointed to invade, if you give them battle at the first landing, you offer them even the thing they most desire. And it is a thousand to one a conquest the first day. My reasons are these:

First, you give battle. But I pray you with what people? Even with the countrymen altogether unexperienced in martial actions, whose leaders are like to themselves. and one other thing as dangerous as all this, you fight at home, where your people know the next way to save themselves by flight, in recovering of towers, woods, and byeways. Contrarywise, with whom do you encounter, but with a company of pickt and trained soldiers, whose leaders and captains are no doubt men both politic and valiant, who are made so much the more desperate and bold by not leaving to themselves any other hope to save their lives but by marching over their bellies.

And besides it is to be imagined, that having spread some faction before amongst yourselves (as there is no country free from seditious and treacherous malcontents) they are more animated to pursue the victory more sharply.

Again, you once receive an overthrow, what fear and terror you have brought yourselves into? How hardly you shall bring a second battle; and how dangerous to fight with your men dismayed, those that be of experience can judge. Likewise what pride and jollity you have put your enemies in by their victory to march forwards, having no forts nor fenced towns to give them any stop in this fear, or for your own people to take breath and make head again. And that your enemies and factious companies of your own nation may join together, and be furnished of victuals, horse and carriage, at their will and pleasure, without the which no prince can prevail in any invasion; for if you drive him to bring these things with him (as if matters be well foreseen and a good plot laid, you may easily do) a world of shipping will scarce suffice for the transportation thereof; besides an infinite mass and charge, that must be provided beforehand; yea, and what waste and loss thereof will fall out, though wind, weather, and shipping, were had, to pass without disturbance, experience remaineth yet fresh in memory.

Again, if scarcity of victuals and unsavouriness thereof once grow, the pestilence and other sickness which doth assail the best victualled and ordered army that ever was, will then be doubled and trebled in such sort, as it will in short time fight and get the victory for you.

And here, by the way, I would put you in remembrance, that there be continual letts and disturbances by your navy of the quiet passing of their victuals, which should come unto them, whereof you shall oftentimes take advantage also by storms and contrary winds. Wherefore I hold it for the best and surest way (so that your navy be upon the sea, and not prisoned within land) to suffer the enemies coming to invade, to land quietly at his pleasure, which he will otherwise do whether you will or no, only fronting him in the plains with your horsemen, and by all means and diligence to draw the victuals, cattells, carriages, and corn, behind your back, and that which you cannot to waste and spoil, that the enemy take no advantage thereof, keeping in your power such straits and passages with your footmen as may be kept.

The which with small number of your horsemen assistant you may safely do, until greater power do come to back you. And though they win some straight, (which they cannot do without great loss) yet by keeping back-receipts in straits you shall always, if you shall be so driven, retire without any great loss or danger.

And always remember to leave a ward in every place meet to be trenched and guarded, though it be but of twenty or thirty persons, which will be an occasion for the enemy to stop and to stay at the winning of them before they can pass. Because also those few numbers will always annoy their victuals and munition, that daily and hourly must have free and quiet passage unto them.

Now if they tarry the winning or yielding of them up (though it be but a day or two to keep, you get thereby time to yourselves to grow stronger, and your enemy looseth opportunity, and waxeth weaker; for we see and find by experience, that huge armies lying in the fields but fifteen or sixteen weeks, are brought to that weakness, and their first courage so abateth by sickness and pestilence, which are handmaids to such great assemblies, in camp especially, where any want of those things are that belong to the good sustentation of man's body, that they may then with smaller numbers and less danger be dealt withall than at first landing.

Moreover, your people shall in that time attain to some knowledge by daily exercise and use of order with their weapons; and the terror of shot will be more familiar to them, for it is not numbers that doth prevail, but trained men, resolute minds, and good order; for if a prince would only select, and set down, and choose out such men to wear as much, and employ the rest (I mean the baser sort) to spade and shovel; there is no doubt but he shall far sooner attain unto victory by this means, than with rude multitudes, in whom there is nothing but confusion and disorder.

Again, the spade and the shovel are so necessary instruments in the time of war, both to the invader and defender, as nothing is so impossible that thereby may not be atchieved and made easy, and without the employment thereof we cannot presume at any time of safety. I could discourse at large hereof in shewing the use and benefit of them; but because to every man of judgment and experience it iS sufficiently known, I shall not need to speak much therein, but wish you to embrace them, being to a defender so special and singular a commodity, in that he may better be furnished with infinite numbers of them.

PIKE & SHOT

And moreover, if you shall appoint them to weapons who are apter to labour than to fight, you shall find double inconveniency thereby in misplacing them contrary to their natural disposition and use. And touching mine own opinion and judgment, I should more stand in fear of a few pickt and choice soldiers, that were furnished with a sufficient number of pioneers, than with the hugeness of an army of unselected and disfurnished numbers.

Now to say somewhat by the way touching your armed pikers, the only body, strength, and bulwark in the field, it is not a little to be lamented to see them so decayed in this land giving ourselves sos much to that French order of shot, whereby we have so wonderfully weakened ourselves, as it is high time to look to the restoring of them again.

And yet touching the use of shot, as it is a singular weapon, being put into the hands of a skilful and exercised soldier (being the pillars and upholders of the pikes, and without which there is no perfect body), so no doubt, on the contrary part, committed to a coward, or an unskilful man's handling, it is the previest thief in the field; for he robbeth pay, consumeth victuals, and slayeth his own fellows in discharging behind their backs. And one thing even is as ill as this, he continually wasteth powder, the most precious jewel of a prince.

Whereof I would wish captains not only to reject such as are altogether unapt, but also greatly to commend of them, that discharge but few shot, and bestow them well, for it is more worthy of praise to discharge fair and leisurely, than fast and unadvisedly, the one taking advantage by wariness and foresight, whereas the other looseth all with rashness and hast.

But to return to the pike again, myself being in the Low Countries and in the camp, when these great armies were last assembled, and perusing in every severall regiment the sorting and division of weapons, as well as their order and discipline, there were two nations (the French king's one) that had not between them both a hundred pikes; whereof I much marvelling, and desiring greatly to know the cause that had moved them to leave the pike, which in my conceit I always judged the strength of the field; happening afterwards in the company of certain french captains, some of them antient in years, and such as were of the religion, I demanded the reason that had moved them to give over that defensible weapon, the pike, and to betake them altogether to shot? Not to any disliking, or other cause, said they, but for that we have not such personable bodies, as you Englishmen have, to bear them; neither have we them at that commandment as you have, but are forced to hire other nations to supply our insufficiency, for of ourselves we cannot say we can make a complete body.

Moreover they affirmed, that in the time of Newhaven, if we had let them have but 6000 of our armed pikes, they would have marched through all France, so highly esteemed they of the pike, who nevertheless in our judgment seem to have given over the fame, or to make small account thereof.

COMPANIES

Moreover for the better and readier ordering and training of your men in every shire, those, that are appointed to be private captains, should have under every of their several charges only one sort of weapon, viz. one captain to have the charge of pikes, another of shot, &. And no man's band to be less than 200 men.

By means whereof your serjeant major, or such, to whom you shall commit the order of your footmen, may from time to time readily know the numbers of every sort of weapons, whereby at one instant a skilful man may range them into any order and form of battle you will have them. And every captain and his officers shall serve with their own men, which is a matter of great contentment both to captain and soldier. For otherwise he have charge of more sorts of weapons, then must he either disjoin himself from his officers in time of service, or else he must commit his men under another man's direction, which breedeth oftentimes great disliking and murmur.

Other necessary notes to be observed

That there may be order taken to have a store of powder, match, bullets ready cast, moulds of divers bores, charges, bowstrings, shooting gloves, war braces, and such other necessaries fit to be used at that time, whereof the whole shire be able to furnish the tenth part that would be required.

Wherefore it were good to be provided beforehand, and brought in carts to these places of assembly, whereby men may be readily furnished for their money, and the service nothing hindered in the time of need.

That it be looked into by such as have charge to take the view of men and their weapons, that every shot be provided of a mould, a proyning pin, a ferris, and a flint; which things be as needful to be seen unto as the piece itself, although few provide and make reckoning thereof.

That in the said musters and assemblies there be good numbers of labourers appointed, who may also be assigned to have a spade, a mattock, a shovel, an axe, or a bill; and these pioneers to resort to the places of assembly at every alarm; over whom should be a skilful engineer appointed to have a chief charge and government.

And whereas you have great numbers of hacknies, or hobblers, I would wish that upon them you mount as many of the lightest and nimblest shot you can, which may be sent down to the sea side upon any alarm, or to such straits and places of advantage as to a discreet leader shall seem convenient. The which argaletier shall stand you in as great stead as horses of better account.

For if by the means of them men will take their courage to offer a proud attempt upon the enemy, being assured of their succour, if any occasion or appearance of danger force them to retire.

Related Article

Spanish Raid on Mount's Bay, July 1595

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