Because of Charles ll policy few English warships had crews or were ready for sea. On the 7th June De Ruyter with a fleet of sixty warships, some troop transports and a number of fire-ships anchored in the mouth of the Thames. They effectively blockaded the Thames. From there the Dutch advanced up the main river as far as Tilbury, capturing ships, sinking ships and destroying land fortifications. They advanced up the river Medway as far as Chatham, among the ships they destroyed were three major warships a fourth, The Royal Charles, they took.
The engagement ended about the 2nd August when the Treaty of Breda brought an end to the war.