XII. Sir Andrew Barton..............................................................................................
I cannot give a better relation of the fact, which is the subject of the following
ballad, than in an extract from the late Mr. Guthrie 's Peerage; which was begun upon
a very elegant plan, but never finished. Vol. i. 4to. p. 22.
"The transactions which did the greatest honour to the Earl of Surrey[1] and
his family at this time [A. D. 1511] was their behaviour in the case of Barton, a
Scotch sea-officer. This gentleman's father having suffered by sea from the
Portuguese, he had obtained letters of marque for his two sons to make reprisals upon
the subjects of Portugal. It is extremely probable, that the court of Scotland granted
these letters with no very honest intention. The council board of England, at which the
Earl of Surrey held the chief place, was daily pestered with complaints from the
sailors and merchants, that Barton, who was called Sir Andrew Barton, under pretence
of searching for Portuguese goods, interrupted the English navigation. Henry's
situation at that time rendered him backward from breaking with Scotland, so that
their complaints were but coldly received. The Earl of Surrey, however, could not
smother his indignation, but gallantly declared at the council board, that while he had
an estate that could furnish out a ship, or a son that was capable of commanding one,
the narrow seas should not be infested.
"Sir Andrew Barton, who commanded the two Scotch ships, had the reputation
of being one of the ablest sea officers of his time. By his depredations, he had
amassed great wealth, and his ships were very richly laden. Henry, notwithstanding
his situation, could not refuse the generous offer made by the Earl of Surrey. Two
ships were immediately fitted out, and put to sea with letters of marque, under his two
sons, Sir Thomas[2] and Sir Edward Howard. After encountering a great deal of foul
weather, Sir Thomas came up with the Lion, which was commanded by Sir Andrew
Barton in person; and Sir Edward came up with the Union, Barton's other ship, (called
by Hall, the Bark of Scotland.) The engagement which ensued was extremely
obstinate on both sides; but at last the fortune of the Howards prevailed. Sir Andrew
was killed fighting bravely, and encouraging his men with his whistle, to hold out to
the last; and the two Scotch ships, with their crews, were carried into the river
Thames. (Aug. 2, 1511.)
"This exploit had the more merit, as the two English commanders were in a
manner volunteers in the service, by their father's order. But it seems to have laid the
foundation of Sir Edward's fortune; for, on the 7th of April, 1512, the king constituted
him (according to Dugdale) Admiral of England, Wales, &c.
"King James insisted upon satisfaction for the death of Barton, and capture of
his ship: though Henry had generously dismissed the crews, and even agreed that the
parties accused might appear in his courts of admiralty by their attorneys, to vindicate
themselves." This affair was in a great measure the cause of the battle of Flodden, in
which James IV. lost his life.
In the following ballad will be found perhaps some few deviations from the
truth of history: to atone for which it has probably recorded many lesser facts, which
history hath not condescended to relate. I take many of the little circumstances of the
story to be real, because I find one of the most unlikely to be not very remote from the
truth. In Part ii. ver. 156, it is said, that England had before "but two ships of war."
Now the Great Harry had been built only seven years before, viz. in 1504: which "was