three o'clock
in the afternoon
Bossu and his men , clad in coats of mail , stood with sword and shield on the deck of the Inquisition to repel all attempts to board . The Dutch attacked with their favourite missiles -- pitched hoops , boiling oil , and molten lead . Again and again they clambered up the lofty sides of the Inquisition and gained a momentary footing on her deck , only to be hurled down again into their ships below . The fight began at three o'clock in the afternoon and lasted till darkness . But even this did not terminate it ; and all night Spaniards and Dutchmen grappled in deadly conflict . All this time the vessels were drifting as the winds and tide took them , and at last grounded on a shoal called The Neck , near Wydeness . Just as morning was breaking John Haring of Horn -- the man who had kept a thousand at bay on the Diemar Dyke , and who now commanded one of the vessels -- gained a footing on the deck of the Inquisition unnoticed by the Spaniards , and hauled down her colours ; but a moment later he fell dead , shot through the body .