Description:Richard Wisker writes that following the Spanish invasion of Kinsale in 1601 Sir Richard and his cousin Sir John Leveson of Halling (1555-1615) were instrumental in co-ordinating English naval defence forces. A letter from Sir Richard dated 10th January 1601 informs Sir John about his military strategy in the defence of Kinsale. He writes:
‘the next day followinge I was constrayned to ryde ther still the wynde beinge at southeast, and to suffer the fury of their ordenance from the shoare which did much annoye me The night followinge I caused all my shippes to warrpe out thanke God for it In this fight I loste but 13 men and had 30 men hurte or theraboute, only 3 of my own servants hurte all the rest well’
As these brief extracts suggest, Sir Richard Leveson’s private letters are extremely historically valuable, offering the reader contemporary reflections on events.
Contextual information from Richard Wisker, ‘Leveson, Sir Richard (c.1570–1605)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16538]