the fleet and of the squadrons was a soldier. Cecil himself and the
Earl of Essex, his vice-admiral, were Low Country colonels of no great
experience in command even ashore, and Lord Denbigh, the rear-admiral,
was a nobleman of next to none at all. Even Cecil's captain, who was
in effect 'captain of the fleet,' was Sir Thomas Love, a sailor of
whose service nothing is recorded, and the only seaman of tried
capacity who held a staff appointment was Essex's captain, Sir Samuel
Argall. It was probably due to this recrudescence of military
influence in the navy that we owe the first attempt to establish a
regular order of battle since the days of Henry VIII.

These remarkable orders appear to have been an after-thought, for they
were not proposed until a day or two after the fleet had sailed. The
first orders issued were a set of general instructions, 'for the
better government of the fleet' dated October 3, when the fleet was
still at Plymouth.

They were, it will be seen, on the traditional lines. Those used by
Ralegh are clearly the precedent upon which they were drawn, and in
particular the article relating to engaging an enemy's fleet follows
closely that recommended by Gorges, with such modifications as the
squadronal organisation of a large fleet demanded. On October 9, the
day the fleet got to sea, a second and more condensed set of 'Fighting
Instructions' was issued, which is remarkable for the modification it
contains of the method of attack from windward.[1] For instead of an
attack by squadrons it seems to contemplate the whole fleet going into
action in succession after the leading ship, an order which has the
appearance of another advance towards the perfected line.

Two days later however the fleet was becalmed, and Cecil took the