The
Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the
Battle of the Medway,
Raid on Chatham or the
Battle of Chatham, was a successful
Dutch attack on the largest English naval ships, laid up in the dockyards of their main naval base
Chatham, that took place in June 1667 during the
Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, under nominal command of Lieutenant-Admiral
Michiel de Ruyter, bombarded and then captured the town of
Sheerness, sailed up the
River Thames to
Gravesend, then up the
River Medway to Chatham, where they burned three
capital ships and ten lesser naval vessels and towed away the
Unity and the
Royal Charles, pride and normal
flagship of the English fleet. The raid led to a quick end to the war and a favourable peace for the Dutch. It was one of the worst defeats in the
Royal Navy's history, and one of the worst suffered by the British military.