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How the English Militia faced the French raids during the Battle of the Solent

 

Alongside the story of the Mary Rose’s fate in July 1545 is the experience of the militia during the ‘Battle of the Solent’, England’s land army, who were to defend the coastline from enemy raids that targeted the Isle of Wight, and helped halt an invasion from the French.

A French fleet of 235 vessels anchored off the Isle of Wight with 30,000 soldiers in July 1545. England had to face this substantial land army and relied heavily on the local militia to defend, sent from across Hampshire and the surrounding counties. England had no professional standing army. England’s militia system comprised every able man from all walks of life who could wield a weapon between 16 and 60 years of age. These men were regularly mustered, furnished by the parish funds, and forced to drop everything during an emergency to rendezvous towards the coastline when required.

King Henry VIII was already inspecting the Hampshire coastline when news reached him about the French invasion fleet. Henry quickly sent militia to reinforce the Isle of Wight’s land forces who had 1,500 men, 50 garrisoned in forts, and 234 building new defences at Sandown.

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The French troops raiding the town of Bembridge on the Isle of Wight and retreating back to their ships, depicted in the ‘Cowdray Engraving’ for July 1545.

Taking the Isle of Wight

On the days following the sinking of the Mary Rose, between the 20th and 24th July, the French plan was to simultaneously skirmish three different locations on the Isle of Wight to divide the English forces. Their tactic was repeatedly landing thousands of soldiers on the Isle with oared galleys. First, the French successfully raided St Helens point. The fort located here had been bombarding French galleys during the naval conflict previously. As the French infantry approached, the English garrison abandoned the fort and took flight. The second French raid was to the north of Sandown Bay, near Sandown Castle (in the last stages of completion). They landed successfully but, before they could dig in, the local English militia rushed to the beach. A fierce battle broke out on the beaches and cliffs around the castle. Both French captains here, Marsay and Pierre Bon, had fallen. The French retreated back to their ships with many losses. The third, and largest, raid targeted Bonchurch. Led by Seigneur De Taix (the colonel general of the infantry) and Baron de la Garde (the commander of all the galleys), they landed without hindrance. The invaders advanced inland. The English defenders managed to drive back the first French attack, but after the second assault, the outnumbered English and local militia turned tail and fled the battle. English chronicler John Oglander records that the English had the most militia companies of Hampshire here at the time, and many were slain on both sides.

Henry reinforced the island with more militia, 2700 men from Hampshire and a further 900 from Wiltshire all under the command of Edward Bellingham. As the French continued to raid, Henry VIII reinforced the Isle again with 8000 militia which is an impressive display of quick-mustering, undoubtedly due to the presence of the King. The Privy Council letters from the time display continuous correspondence from across England as reinforcements and supplies were sent from all surrounding counties and the Tower of London.

Taking back the Isle of Wight

The English were very successful in the defence with surprise attacks upon the disorganised French raiding parties. The result as reported at the time was decisive, in one instance John Oglander wrote:

“We killed many, took many prisoners and drove the rest down as far as the ships, killing all the way.”

The French were forced back to the ruins of Bembridge (which had felt the full force of the raids from the fleet anchored nearby). They considered the possibility of establishing their own base on the isle which would need a force of 6000 pioneers to construct 3 forts to protect Bembridge and St Helen’s anchorage, with some 6000 infantrymen to defend. Colonel Jean De Taix, general of the land forces, declared this information in a war council and stated they

“did not have the means for this operation”.

The only sensible option for the French was to conduct an evacuation. During this process, the unfortunate galley commander Pierre de Blacas was killed when trying to stop the retreat becoming a rout, with the alleged loss of a galley (as reported by the Spanish Ambassador in England, Van Der Delft).

By 24 July the French strategies had failed and the fleet departed, raiding the south-eastern coastline on the way back to France, having suffered serious losses on land and a humiliating moral defeat at sea. The English resistance was remarkable with very effective mustering and experience fighting in the most difficult circumstances. Yet, the losses had been heavy on the local population. We get a glimpse of the scale of the incoming national reinforcements as the London bands of militia were reportedly sent back home having already reached Farnham in very quick timing.

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Bibliography:

Martin Du Bellay Seigneur de Langey, Les Memoirs De Mess. (Paris, 1569), Gallica Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Letters and Papers, Foreign and Diplomatic, Henry VIII, January-July 1545, The Privy Council. Dasent’s A.P.C., British History Online.

 Isle of Wight Record Office, Sir John Oglander’s narrative of the invasion of the Isle of Wight, OG/AA/28. 21-22.

Charles de La Ronciere, Histoire de la Marine Francaise III, Les Guerres D’Italie, Liberte des Mers (Libraire Plon, Paris 1906).

J. Harper, ‘“At their Uttermost Perils”: The Urgent Preparation of the Elizabethan Militia amidst the 1599 Spanish Armada Crisis in Hampshire, from the Perspective of Sir Richard Paulet and the Lieutenancy’, Southern History(43, 2023), p. 50-84.

Loades, D., Knighton, C. S., Letters from the Mary Rose (The History Press, Cheltenham, 2022).

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