Battle of Orford Ness
1704 CE.
Shown on the map at 52.046°, 1.744°.
The Battle of Orford Ness was fought between a southbound Swedish merchant convoy escorted by the 56-gun ship of the line Öland and an English squadron of eight ships of the line and a frigate off Orford Ness on 7 August 1704. The English squadron, under Rear-admiral William Whetstone, began following the convoy upon sighting it. When Whetstone caught up with the Swedes, he demanded they salute his ships as the Swedish convoy was in English waters. Öland's captain, Gustaf von Psilander, under strict orders from Charles XII of Sweden not to salute to foreign ships first, refused and sent his 30 year old lieutenant Herman Schmidt in the gig to the English command ship, and according to von Psilander the following conversation ensued between Herman and the english captain Thomas Butler; – Do You not see the Flag of the Queen of England? – We see it, but do You not see the flag of the King of Sweden? – We do, but why do You not fulfill Your obligation to the Queen of England? – What obligation does the King of Sweden owe the Queen of England? – You must lower your topsails. – My commander have been given no such orders, and he will not lower them. – Well, I shall teach You this present
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Orford Ness (1704), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.