English Captain: John Earle

In 1664, John Earle was lieutenant of the 2nd Rate Rainbow. In 1665, he was appointed as captain of the hired merchantman Loyal George. He commanded her from 7 February 1665 until 1 June 1666, when she was captured by the Dutch at the Four Days Battle. Previously, he had fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where he was assigned to the Duke of York's division. John Earle was wounded in the Four Days Battle where he was assigned to Sir William Berkeley's divsion. Later in 1666, he was captain of the Nightingale. In 1668, he was appointed as captain of the Tiger. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

2. Frank Fox, "Hired Men-of-War, 1664-7", Part II, The Mariner's Mirror Vol.84 No.2 (May 1998).

3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.