The Dutch in the Medway, illustration from 'A History of England' by C.R.L. Fletcher and...

Raid on the Medway, June 1667; Battle of the Medway; Raid on Chatham; Battle of Chatham; successful Dutch attack on the largest English naval ships, in the dockyards of the main naval base Chatham during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, under Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the River Thames to Gravesend, 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 flagship of the English fleet. The raid led to a quick end to the war and a favourable peace for the Dutch. Worst defeat in the Royal Navy's history, and one of the worst suffered by the British military