Holmes's Bonfire - Second Day of The Raid

Second Day of The Raid

Holmes in the evening of the 19th became aware he had been misinformed; the main shore installations were on the opposite island, Terschelling, in this period called simply Schelling. On its western point was a town, then bearing the prosaic name of 'ter Schelling' ("at Schelling"), that today is called West-Terschelling and which the English then knew as Brandaris after the tall mediaeval lighthouse of the same name, a very distinctive landmark. Terschelling was the main home base of the Dutch whaling industry and there were warehouses, some connected to this trade, others belonging to the Dutch East India Company. The town was wealthy, consisting of about 400 stone houses, but unwalled. Much of the population consisted of pacifist Mennonites, also many retired whalers had settled there.

At 05:00 AM on 20 August, Holmes ordered to attack the town, himself taking the lead in Fan-Fan. A few armed men opposed the landing with musket fire but were soon scared away when six English companies came ashore — though Holmes's personal report gives the impression all of his troops were committed. Holmes left one company to guard the landing site and let the other five march in close formation to the edge of the town. Scouts, spreading out in all directions, soon reported the population had fled, some to more eastern villages, others on any vessel they could find; three companies now entered to plunder and burn the town, while Holmes with two hundred men remained on the outside to the south. Some very old inhabitants had not fled and were, according to the English accounts, treated with all possible respect.

At that moment a high tide occurred, which would greatly facilitate the exit of his frigates from the Vlie. Holmes therefore decided not to burn the eastern villages, to remove his troops from Terschelling, quickly execute a short landing at Vlieland in conformation with his original orders, and retreat before any Dutch counterattack could materialise. After the warehouses had been burnt and perceiving that the troops were more interested in looting than destroying the town, he ordered to set fire also to a few houses on the east side. This way he could force his men to stop plundering, preventing them from lingering too long and missing the favourable tide. It had been a very dry summer and within hours almost the entire town burnt down: only about thirty houses, the townhall, the Dutch Reformed church and the Brandaris lighthouse were spared by the flames. The English troops mostly retreated in good order; to urge them to greater haste Holmes even ordered to fire upon them. One ketch was left behind to pick up possible stragglers; late in the afternoon it indeed saw some men carrying loot; while the ketch sent a sloop, suddenly six (according to English sources; Dutch accounts speak of three) pursuing Schellingers appeared who beat one plunderer to death and took the other, severely wounded, prisoner, sending him to Harlingen. A third, belonging to the same group, had earlier been stabbed to death by them with a pitchfork.

When arriving on the Tyger Holmes learned that Rupert had ordered an immediate retreat, so he decided to forego a last attack on Vlieland; unknown to him the first Dutch reinforcements had already arrived preparing to place two gun batteries, so his decision prevented a contested landing. Accompanying the Dutch troops was the famous naval painter Willem van de Velde the Elder, who would make sketches of the site, that he and his son Willem van de Velde the Younger would develop into some dramatic paintings.