English Captain: Zachariah Brown

Zacharia (or Zachary) Brown served in both the Commonwealth and Restoration navies. From 1650 to 1652, he commanded the hired merchantman Hercules (34 guns). The Hercules was intercepted and driven ashore after the Battle of Dungeness by Bastiaan Centen in the ship Haes. The Dutch were able to get the ship off, and took it home to the Netherlands. Zacharias Browne was courtmartialed, convicted, and dismissed for incompetence. He seems to have done better in the Restoration navy. He was appointed as a Captain in 1664. Frank Fox says that "Zachary Brown" commanded the 4th Rate Assistance (40 guns) at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. He was with Sir Jeremy Smith at Tangier from December 1665 until March 1666. At the Four Days Battle in 1666, Captain Brown still commanded the Assistance and was in Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Teddiman's division. At the St. James's Day Battle, he was in Sir Thomas Allin's division. Sir Thomas Allin was Admiral of the White. In this battle, the Assistance carried 46 guns. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. Michael Baumber, General-at-Sea, 1989.
3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
4. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.