English Captain: John Barker

John Barker served in the Parliamentarian and Commonwealth navies. In 1643, he commanded the hired merchant ship John and Barbara. In 1646, he commanded the hired merchant ship Lewis in reserve. In 1650, he commanded the Great Lewis. From 1652 to 1653, he commanded the hired merchant ship Prosperous (44 guns). In September 1652, he was assigned to Andrew Ball's squadron sent to the Sound. He was killed in the Battle of Portland. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
3. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962

English Captain: Abraham Allgate

Abraham Allgate served in the Commonwealth navy. From 1653 until 1656, he commanded the 6th Rate Drake. In 1656, he commanded the Wexford (the ex-Royalist Fleetwood), also a 6th Rate. From 1656 until 1658, he commanded the 5th Rate Oxford. He is not mentioned in The First Dutch War nor in Anderson's fleet lists for the First Anglo-Dutch War. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966

Dutch Captain: Schelte Wichelma (or Wiglema)

Schelte Tierks Wichelma (or Wiglema, as De Sneuper calls him) served the Admiralty of Friesland. In the First Anglo-Dutch War, he commanded the ship Frisia. He fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 8 October 1652 under the command of Witte de With. On 10 December 1652, he fought in the Battle of Dungeness, under the command of Lt-Admiral Tromp. He also fought in the Three Days Battle (Portland). His ship had a gunpowder explosion on 28 February 1653 and was destroyed, while Captain Wichelma was killed. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
2. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938

English Captain: John Andrews

John Andrews served in the Restoration navy. In 1664, he was appointed as captain of the Lizard. Apparently on 10 May 1665, he had been with the fleet, but by 3 June 1665, the Lizard was lying at Portsmouth. In 1666, he was appointed to command the Sophia. On the other hand, Syrett and DiNardo say he died before 1665. I have reviewed all relevant sources, and this is the extent of what could be found. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
2. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903

The Monnikendam, by July 1654

I imagine that the Monnikendam carried the same armament in July 1654 as she did in 1653 after being uparmed. Her lower tier was mixed, with 8-18pdr, 10-12pdr, and probably 2-10pdr, possibly able to be used as bow chasers. She seems to have had 10-6pdr and 6-4pdr on the upper tier. The heavier guns were probably aft of the unarmed waist, with the 6-4pdrs forward of the waist. The 2-3pdrs were probably mounted on the quarterdeck or poop. With 18pdrs, the Monnikendam gave Pieter Florissen a better chance when fighting English 3rd and 4th Rates that were also armed with 18pdr culverins on the lower tier. The English 4th Rates usually had 9pdr demi-culverins on the upper tier. We really know very little about the armaments of English ships in the First Anglo-Dutch War. The armaments after the Restoration are better documented, compared to almost no information from the Commonwealth years.

The best of the Amsterdam Directors' ships seem to have had a complete lower tier of 12pdrs

All Dutch ships except for the smallest frigates had two complete decks, until the 1660's, when the first three-decked ships appeared. The smaller Amsterdam Directors' ships seem to have had a lower tier of mixed 12pdr and 8pdr guns. The better ships had either a complete lower tier of 12pdrs or 12pdrs with a few larger guns.

One example is the Kroon Imperiael, commanded by Cornelis Janszoon Poort and sunk at the Battle of Portland. On 27 March 1652, the Kroon Imperiael is listed with 20-12pdr guns, 14-6pdr, and 4-4pdr guns. The probable armament scheme was probably a complete lower tier of 12pdrs, the 14-6pdrs on the upper tier, with an unarmed waist, and the 4-4pdrs on the quarterdeck. From 8 November 1652 until her loss, she apparently had 2-brass 24pdr and 16-12pdr on the lower tier and 12-6pdr on the upper deck with an unarmed waist. The guns on the quarterdeck were now 4-3pdrs.

Another ship, the Groote Liefde, had the same armament from the beginning. On both 27 March 1652 and on 8 November 1652, the Groote Liefde had 2-brass 24pdr and 18-12pdr, all probably on the lower tier. The upper tier had 14-6pdr, probably with an unarmed waist. She also had 4-3pdr on the quarterdeck.

The Moor lacked the 24pdrs. We know that on 28 January 1653, she carried 20-12pdr, probably all on the lower tier and 12-6pdr, probably all on the upper tier with an unarmed waist. She only had 2-3pdrs, probably on the quarterdeck, although possibly on a forecastle.

Other ships had a more mixed armament. For example, the Prins Maurits, commanded by Nicolaes de With and wrecked by bad piloting on 19 November 1652, had a more heterogenous armament. On 12 March 1652, when hired, she had 18-12pdr, probably all on the lower tier. She probably had a mixed upper tier, fairly sparsely armed and with an unarmed waist, having 6-6pdr and 6-4pdr. She also had 4-3pdr, probably on the quarterdeck. By 8 November 1652, she had 18-12pdr, still all probably on the lower tier, and now had 10-8pdr with 4-6pdr, probably on the upper tier with an unarmed waist. I would speculate that the 8pdrs were aft of the waist and the 6pdrs forward. She now had 2-3pdr, probably on the quarterdeck.

The Dutch were amazed at the Battle of the Kentish Knock, when they encountered what they considered to be small frigates armed with some 18pdrs. They really felt that they were out-gunned, especially given that the 2nd Rates had 32pdr demi-cannon and the two 1st Rates had 42pdr cannon. Their best ship, the Brederode, only had four 36pdrs, some 24pdr and 18pdr guns, probably all on the lower tier. The upper tier was armed with 12pdrs, with 6pdrs on the quarterdeck. The Dutch responded by adding guns to their ships. The 120ft-long Prinses Louise was upgunned to 46 guns by December 1652. This clearly was over-arming her, and they seemed to have backed off to a more reasonable number. Still, Pieter Florissen's ship, Monnikendam, went from 32 guns to 38 guns, and Jan Thyssen's Witte Lam went from 32 guns to 40 guns, when she was De Ruyter's flagship in 1653.

A reader's inquiry: about Captain John Giles in Tangier in 1671

A reader made the following query. I have edited that somewhat. QUERY: Can any contributors supply information on a Captain John Giles, of the Percy Kirke regiment in 17th-century Tangier, who, according to Pepys's TANGIERS PAPERS, was married in Tangier January 29th, 1671. The reader wanted to know the maiden name of the woman he married, who may have been a native African, and some biographical information about Captain Giles.

The Harlingen (Friesland) Directors' ships

One question that I had not thought we would answer is the identity of the two Harlingen Directors' ships mentioned in the list in Vol.I of The First Dutch War. This was done from a translation, with corrections, of the list in Hollandsche Mercurious for 1652. There has been some wild variances in the spelling of one captain's name. I am currently using Ariaan Heeres Cleytien. Thanks to a handwritten document dating from September 1652, we know that he commanded the Vergulde Pelicaen (28 guns and a crew of 100 men). The other ship, the Sint Vincent, was commanded by Andries Douweszoon Pascaert. That ship also carried 28 guns but had a crew of 105 men. These ships are listed by captain in Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet about the voyage to the Shetlands commanded by Tromp in July to August 1652. We still don't know dimensions and my never know them. Andries Douweszoon Pascaert was eventually courtmartialed for being disobedient during the Battle of the Gabbard and was dismissed from the service. Ariaan Heeres Cleyntien took over command of the Sint Vincent (which may have carried as many as 30 guns and had a crew of 100 men in later 1652 and beyond). He probably commanded her in the Battle of Scheveningen and was on the voyage to Norway in September to November 1653. He and his ship were lost off the Texel in the storm in early November 1653, when the fleet was caught outside and was not able to get into sheltered waters before the storm hit.

In a related note, it seemed initially that the ship Kameel was a Groningen Directors' ship. The First Dutch War would lead you to believe that Joost Bulter's ship was named the Stad en Lande (Town and Country). However, Dr. Elias and the list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653 pretty clearly indicate that the ship lost at the Battle of the Gabbard in June was a ship belonging to the Admiralty of Friesland. This was a 42-gun ship that was newly completed.

I was impressed with Zoltán Petrofsky's ship models

I was impressed with Zoltán Petrofsky's ship models. They are built the way the original ships were built. He had done a model of the Vasa that included the damage to the hull from sinking. If you look between the decks of the model, the structure looks like photos I have seen of the real Vasa. He has a site with photos of his work.

We know absolutely for sure, the captain and stierman of the Brederode on 14 June 1652

There is a letter signed by the more senior sailors on board the Brederode on 14 June 1652. Abel Roelants was captain and Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer was the stierman. Since Tromp was involved in a battle that started a war, the fight on 29 May 1652 off Dover, he felt the need to justify his actions in that battle. De Jonge reproduces the letter written by Tromp, and then the letter written by his officers and senior enlisted men on the Brederode at that date. The letter was signed on 14 June 1652. Carl Stapel found that Abel Roelants complete name was Abel Roelantszoon Verboom. In the archive of notary entries for Rotterdam, Carl found that Abel Roelantszoon Verboom had been trumpeter on Tromp's ship (the Aemilia) in 1636. Abel Roelantszoon Verboom was born in Den Haag (the Hague).

Two VOC 7-gun ships fought at Lowestoft

We know that two VOC ships armed with 70 guns fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in June 1665. It turns out that we know the armaments of those two ships, although we don't know which one has a specific armament. The two ships were the Delfland and the Huis te Zwieten. De Jonge, in an appendix to Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen lists the armaments of the two ships. They are as follows:

VOC ship 1

70 guns:
1-36pdr
4-24pdr
21-18pdr
20-12pdr
24-8 and 6pdr

VOC ship 2

70 guns:
4-24pdr
22-18pdr
6-12pdr
20-8pdr
14-4pdr
4-smaller

We do know the armament of the Huis te Zwieten in 1654, which consisted of 60 guns, but this doesn't really help much with the armament in 1665:

10-24pdr
16-18pdr
24-12pdr
10-6pdr

Writing was precluded last night, as Blogger was down

Last night, since Blogger was down all evening, I was not able to do any new writing on any of my blogs.

Blogger was down last night, so nothing new got written

I would have written last night, but Blogger was down all evening, so writing was not a possibility. Instead, I worked on my comprehensive list of English and Dutch naval officers, about whom I have written. I have finished Anglo-Dutch Wars blog, and am into mid-2005 on 17th Century Naval Wargaming. I also need to look at Kentishknock.com, to see what I have put there.

I have corrected the post about the ships lost in the storm off the Texel in November 1653

While reviewing the posts to fix problems and to add captains to my list of those about whom I have written, I found that the post from January 2006 about the ships lost in the storm in November 1653 had what essentially a big typo. I just fixed that problem.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I have been fixing all character issues and formatting in the entire blog

I am close to having finished reviewing and correcting all posts since November 2003 on this blog. I have been fixing the early posts where there are formatting issues that greatly detract from reading, and fixing all character set problems, where there are characters in MS Word that were copied and pasted, and don't render in a browser. The motivation behind the review is to collect information about the English and Dutch captains about whom I have written, so that I can better choose candidates to write about in the future, and to eliminate mistaken duplication.

More thoughts on Jacob Claeszoon Boet's ship

I am compiling a complete list of the Dutch and English captains about whom I have written, and I saw, again, a note that I had written about the identity of Jacob Claeszoon Boet's ship:

Dr. Ballhausen read Jodocus Hondius's book Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden (1654) Dr. Ballhausen cites page 82 from that book as the reference for Jacob Claeszoon Boet's ship being the Leeuwin (32 guns and a crew of 115 men). The Leeuwin was a Monnikendam Directors's ship carrying 4-brass and 28-iron guns. If this is correct, then the ship at the Battle of Portland was not the Zeeland Director's ship, but this one. My list lists Jacob Claeszoon Boet's ship, with reservations, as being the Leeuwin.

It still is true that Claes Janszoon's ship, the Leeuwin, was at the Battle of Portland, as he is mentioned as returning home with the 17 Zeeland ships after Portland. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910.
2. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923.
3. Jodocus Hondius, Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden, 1654.

The Letters of Robert Blake

The book edited by J. R. Powell entitled The Letters of Robert Blake, published by the Navy Records Society, has some useful details. For example, this book lists the ships assigned to Robert Blake's squadron at the Battle of the Gabbard. I believe that R. C. Anderson used this information for his article in the Mariner's Mirror about fleet lists in the First Dutch War. There is also important information about Blake's squadron that was pursuing the Royalists prior to the First Dutch War.

Very belatedly, I am compiling a list of English and Dutch naval officers about whom I have written

I am really missing having the usual help that I have been receiving, suggesting naval officers for me to write about. I am hampered by not having a complete list of those of whom I have written. It will take about forever (it seems like) to complete the list, but I have made a small start. They are written on both Anglo-Dutch Wars and 17th Century Naval Wargaming.

Dutch Naval Officer: Hiddes Sjoerd de Vries

Hiddes Sjoerd de Vries served the Admiralty of Friesland. He was born at Sexbierum on 22 December 1645 and died on the North Sea on 1 July 1694. He was appointed as a kapitein-ter-zee in 1683. He was promoted to Schout-bij-Nacht on 26 March 1692. He commanded a squadron off Dunkirk that consisted of 3 ships of 50-54 guns, 2 of 44-46 guns, 2 of 34 guns, 3 of 26-28 guns, 2 of 18 guns, and 2 of 8 and 12 guns. He apparently flew his flag on the Prinse Friso (58 guns). In a fight with French privateers near Dunkirk on 1 July 1694, he was shot in the breast and killed. Sources:

1. Luc Eekhout, Het Admiralenboek: De Vlagofficieren van de Nederlandse marine 1382-1991, 1992.
2. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.III, 1860.

The armament list for a Dutch 30-gun ship from 1616

We know an example armament for a 30-gun Dutch ship from 1616. We even know that lower deck and upper deck guns:

Lower deck:

2-brass 24pdr
2-long 18pdr
2-short brass 18pdr
2-brass 12pdr
12-culverins, 18pdr

Upper deck:

2-brass 6pdr
8-sakers, 5pdr

Sources:

1. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858.

Ship information from October 1700

Jan Glete kindly provided me with a good deal of information that he had found while doing research. Some of the copies are quite hard to read. This Information seems to be from a document from October 1700:

Captain       Built Ship              Length Guns Lost
Manart        1692  Gouda             160    74   1697
Philips?      1692  Reigersberg       156    72   1692
Hogenhoeck    1683  Hollandia         156    72   1698
Becker        1663  Wapen van Utrecht 147    66   1690
Zolem?        1683  Zelandia          145    64   1690
Schrijver     1696  Zeelant           145    64   1692
van der Goes  1683  Frieslant         145    64   1690
Konvent       1684  den Akerboom      140    60   1689
van der Zaen  1686  Castricum         138    50   1692
Lijnslager    1686  Beemster          138    50   1690
Nieulandt     1694  Maen?             138    50   1698

The Netherlands Map24.com is a fun tool

I found it interesting to use the Netherlands Map24 site to find cities and towns in the Netherlands. It is rather slow to run, simply because there is a Java applet involved. Still, the result makes the process worthwhile.

The Dunkirk naval force in 1634

De Jonge lists the strength of the Dunkirk naval force in 1634 as well as in 1642. The 1634 numbers are interesting since they are closer to what fought in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, as well as the battle off Dunkirk earlier in the year. This is a summary:

King's ships

numbers  guns  crew

1       48    300
1       34    200
1       30    150
14       24-26 130-140
2       18-22 130
1       14   
1        6

Ships belonging to persons

3       8-12
8       4-6

The note says that most of these
ships had brass guns. The latter of these
ships operated from  Nieuwpoort and Oostende.

Sources:

1. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858.

A tidbit from a document dated 18 March 1652

The ship Kroon Imperiaal,hired by the Amsterdam Directors in 1652 was a stalwart in battle until her loss at the Battle of Portland in 1653. I have previously published the usual data about her, but there are a few nuggets left from this document dated 18 March 1652. This is from the archive "Directies ter Equipering van Oorlogsschepen 1631-1657" at the Nationaal Archief in the Hague. This is from the listing for the Kroon Imperiaal (Croon Imperiael) with my translation of what I can read, slightly annotated to make sense:

Ship the Croon Imperiael of Mr. Coimans
Arrived in the Texel on 24 March 1652

130ft   length
 30ft   beam
 12-1/2 hold
  7ft   height between decks

Guns in a side note:
 2 24pdr brass of the state
16 12pdr of which 10 are brass
12  6pdr of which 2 are brass
 2  3pdr

The guns:
6 of 12lb iron
2    12lb brass
2    12lb brass
4 pieces 1/2 cartouwen
4 iron 12lb 
2 brass 12lb
2 brass 6lb
12 of 6lb iron
4 of 4lb found with the ship

38 pieces total

From a list of Rotterdam ships dated 11 January 1621

I have one list of ships dated 11 January 1621 from the Admiralty of Rotterdam. The document is from the Staten Generaal 1.01.06 Inventory number 5485.

Leeuwinne  200 lasts  kapitein Schrevel 
                        Jacobsz van Ruijmvelt
Gelderlant 180 lasts  kapitein Geen Schapenham
Tonijn      80 lasts  kapitein Jacob Jansz 
                                  van Nieuvelt
Bruijnvisch 80 lasts  kapitein Claes 
                             Marinusz Juijnbol
Hasewint    60 lasts  kapitein Adriaen Hemheus ?
Utrecht    300 lasts  Lambrecht Hendricksz
Hollandt   180 lasts  Leendert Fransz Valch
Leeuw      200 lasts  Pieter Claesz Rochusz
Tijger     160 lasts  Lucas Jaspersz Goutvelt
a ship     300 lasts  a ship apparently being built
Mars        40 lasts  Pieter Dircksz Liesskint
a ship      ?         Adriaen de Jong
a jacht     ?         ? (a jacht of their prince)
a ship      ?         ?
a jacht     ?         Marinus Pietersz 
                              Hoelentrouer ?

Frank Fox's book Great Ships has appreciated in value

I was amazed to see the prices at which Frank Fox's original book is currently selling. The range is from $214.60 to $511.75 (those are converted currency numbers, so they are only approximate). Look at AddAll used, and search for the author "Frank Fox" and the title "Great Ships".

List of Rotterdam ships from 1629

This is a list of Rotterdam ships in service in 1629, based on my reading and translation of a document from the Nationaal Archief:

 1. the Neptunis
 2. the Dolphijn
 3. the Orangieboom
 4. the Ewer
 5. the Groene Draeck
 6. Eendracht
 7. the Leeuwinne, attacked
 8. the jacht the Swarten Arent
 9. the ship Gelderlant, of about 180 lasts, is 
     on the last of October 1629, under 
     Captain Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter, 
     is sunk, on the land inspected ?
10. the Swarten Leeuw
11. the old Abraham
12. the Vliegende Arent
13. the Wassende Maen
14. Salamander attacked
15. the Bruijnvisch attacked
16. Cleyne Neptunis
17. St. Anthonis is on 5 September 1629 of 
                    60 lasts inspected
18. Zeecalf
19. the Cleyne Orangieboom
20. Zeeridder, under Captain Cornelis Roemer, 
           of 180 lasts on 3 November 1629 
           (the rest is not readable for me)
21. the Leeuw, attacked
22. the Jonas
23. the Tonijn
24. the Prins Hendrick, attacked (aangevocht?)
25. the Sonne (Zon) attacked
26. the Grasmaijer, attacked

I received another book today: The Defeat of James Stuart's Armada 1692

Today, I received the book The Defeat of James Stuart's Armada 1692, by Philip Aubrey. The book was published in 1979. The book was a bargain at £10.50, including shipping.

The original Ark Royal, built in 1587

The original Ark Royal was built for Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587 as the Ark Raleigh. She was built by Peter Pett at Deptford Dockyard. She was a galleon with dimensions of 100ft on the keel, a 37ft beam, and a depth of hold of 15ft. Her burden was 555 tons. Her "tons and tonnage" was 692 tons. She had a crew of nominally 400 men. During the Armada campaign, she served as Lord Howard's flagship. She was rebuilt in 1608 as the Anne Royal. Certain people were scandalized by renaming a proud ship after James I's French wife. James was not popular, at least partly due to his "lifestyle choices". We know her armament at several dates:

                              1599   1603
demi-cannon    (32pdr)         4      4
cannon perrier (24pdr)         4      -
culverin       (18pdr)        12     14
demi-culverin  (9pdr)         12     16
saker          (5-1/4pdr)      6      6
port piece     (9pdr, stone)   4      2
fowler         ?               4      2

Port Pieces and Fowlers were breach loaders. Originally, they were built up iron. They fired stone shot. Peter Kirsch writes that port pieces fired a 9 pound shot. Fowlers often were used to fire small pieces of metal, in scatter shot fashion, as they were used to fire against borders. Fowlers originally fired a solid stone shot, perhaps as big as 5 pounds. The bore was smaller than a port piece, which was about 5.5 inches in diameter. Sources:

1. E. H. H. Archibald, The Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy AD897-1984, 1987
2. J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, 2nd Ed., 1987.
3. Peter Kirsch, The Galleon: Great Ships of the Armada Era, 1990
4. John Knox Laughton, State Papers Relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada Anno 1588, Vol.I, 1894
5. Michael Oppenheim, History of the Administration of the Royal Navy, 1896

I received a book today from Charbo's Antiquariaat

One of my latest purchases arrived today from Charbo's Antiquariaat. The book is by Drs. Arjen van der Kuijl and is called De Glorieuze Overtocht: De expeditie van Willem III naar Engeland in 1688 (The Glorious Crossing: The expedition of Willem III to England in 1688). The book has more detail than is included in the listing in De Jonge's Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen.

More from the article about Willem van de Velde de Oude in Oud Holland 17

This is from my translation of Haverkorn van Rijsewijk's article "The First War with England and W. Van de Velde the Elder" in Vol.17 of the Oud Holland publication. The story picks up after the Battle of Dungeness:

Tromp, after his victory, accompanied the merchant vessels to the Isle of Rhé. On the way, he tooks several English ships as prizes. He stayed at the latitude of Bordeaux to wait for the return fleet. In the middle of February 1653, Tromp left Bordeaux, heading homeward with 70 warships and 150 merchant vessels. At the beginning of the same month, the English fleet, 50 ships strong, left form the Thames, and continuing, now also 70 ships strong, to the Channel. After the example of the Dutch fleet, they now divided into three squadrons, each with its own commander, and known by the color of the flags. Had Willem van de Velde the Elder joined one of these expeditions against the English in 1652? I have not been able to find any proof of that. He specified that he was at sea, in July, with Tromp, and on the unfortunate voyage [to the Shetlands] he would not have been present. In is highly improbable that he accompanied De Ruyter's squadron, as this served solely to escort merchant fleets. And he cannot be associated with the fleet of De With, which won 8 October was beaten. As we have seen, he made a notarized statement on 9 October in Amsterdam. Also, with Tromp's fleet on 1 December 1652 and in February 1653, he was probably not present.

The (online) International Journal of Naval History

The International Journal of Naval History has been around long enough that the first issue was published in 2002. If I have seen the journal previously, I had forgotten about it, but the journal seems worth a read, as Jan Glete has contributed to at least one previous issue. This might be a venue for some articles about the First Anglo-Dutch War and 17th Century Naval History, in general.

English Captain: Thomas Lawson

Thomas Lawson served in the Restoration navy. He was appointed to command the Coast Frigate(34 guns) on 4 January 1665. The Coast Frigate carried 18-demi-culverins (9pdr), 14-sakers (5-1/4pdr), and 2-3pdr. He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where he was assigned to Sir John Lawson's division in the Red Squadron. He also took part in the attack on Bergen, where he was killed on 2 August 1665. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, "Hired Men-of-War, 1664-7", Part II, The Mariner's Mirror Vol.84 No.2 (May 1998).
2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

A theory about Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652

One result of studying the March 1653 list of ships in the Dutch navy is that I can see that the list of ships that were employed by the Admiralty of Amsterdam from May 1652 until March 1653 is very tightly circumscribed. There is no room for "mystery ships". That made me wonder if the ship that Abraham van der Hulst commanded in 1652 is one we already know about. A pretty definitive list for the Admiralty of Amsterdam in early 1653 is published in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV. This list includes losses, and is meant to be comprehensive from the beginning of the war up to the date in which it was compiled. From internal evidence, we would date the list from right after the Battle of Portland and before the results of the Battle of Livorno were learned. As many lists, this may have been compiled and annotated over some months. Anyway, my conjecture is that Abraham van der Hulst may have commanded the 26-gun ship Sampson in 1652, and that Hendrick Adriaanszoon succeeded him in command, at some point. The only flaw in this scenario is that there is a list that says that Hendrick Adriaanszoon was waiting to convoy merchant ships to the Baltic in late July 1652. None of the ships in that list are mentioned by name. As is often the case, only captains are mentioned. If my conjecture is not true, then there is a "mystery ship" involved.

English Captain: John Whately and Thomas Whately

John Whatley served in the Restoration navy. On 9 June 1665, the Duke of York appointed him to command the Zealand prize. He was "discharged dead" on 13 April 1666. Frank Fox has a copy of the Ticket Office compilation that has pay records for captains from 1660-1685, and he kindly provided me with this information. he is often confused with Thomas Whately, who also served in the Restoration navy. A distant storm is incorrect, in that it was not John Whatley who commanded the hired ship John and Katherine in 1665. He commanded her from 21 January 1665 until 11 June 1665. He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where the John and Katherine was heavily damaged. The ship was paid off after the battle. He had been assigned to Christopher Myngs' division in the White Squadron. Sources:

1. Adm. 10/15, Ticket Office compilation, 1660-1685 (which gives dates officers were paid).
2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

English Captain: Joseph Sanders

Joseph Sanders served in the Restoration navy. On 26 February 1665, he was appointed to command the hired ship John and Abigail (40 guns). He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where he was assigned to Christopher Myngs' division in the White Squadron. He commanded the John and Abigail until 10 June. The John and Abigail was apparently heavily damaged at Lowestoft. Joseph Sanders had been caught on the lee side of the Dutch fleet, but had managed to survive passing the length of the fleet, finally passing to the Dutch rear. Sanders had wisely stayed on the starboard tack. Later in 1665, he was appointed to command the Guinea frigate. In 1666, he was appointed as captain of the Breda. He fought in the Four Days' Battle, where he was assigned to Prince Rupert's division in Prince Rupert's squadron. On 25 July 1666, he fought in the St. James's Day Battle, where he was assigned to Sir Robert Holmes's division in the Red Squadron. He was killed in the battle. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

English Captain: Henry Hide

Henry Hide served in the Restoration navy. In 1662, the Duke of York appointed him as Lieutenant of the Yarmouth. In 1663, he was Lieutenant of the old 2nd Rate Rainbow. In 1664, he was appointed as Captain of the old Royalist prize Lizard. Later in 1664, he was Captain of the Sapphire. He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft where he was assigned to Sir William Berkeley's division in the Red Squadron. He is not mentioned further in our sources. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

English Captain: Arthur Laughorne

Arthur Laughorne served in the Restoration navy. In 1660, he was appointed as Lieutenant of the Princess. In 1661, the Duke of York appointed him to command the 6th Rate Drake. In 1662, he commanded the Pembroke. In 1663, he first commanded the Oxford and then the Bonaventure. In 1665, he commanded the Revenge. Syrett and DiNardo say that he was killed in action on 9 September 1666 and that there were two man named Arthur Laughorne. According them, the second continued in service. Frank Fox just says that Arthur Laughorne was wounded in action on 9 September. In 1666, the Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert appointed Arthur Laughorne to command the 5th Rate Colchester. He was in the West Indies in 1667 and was killed in action against the French. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
2. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

I received my copy of Captain Warnsinck's book today

One of the books that I purchased in my last round of buying books about the 1690-1740 period was Captain J.C.M. Warnsinck's book De Vloot van den Koning-Stadhouder 1689-1690, published in 1934. My copy, that I purchased from Antiwuatiaat Brinkman, arrived today. The book only cost 22 euros, although shipping added another 50%.

English Naval Officer: Samuel Wentworth

Samuel Wentworth served in the Restoration navy. In 1665, he commanded the hired ship Exchange (36 guns) from 18 February 1665 until 12 December 1665. He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft where he was assigned to Prince Rupert's division in the Red Squadron. He was selected for the attack on Bergen, but was prevented from reaching the harbour by storms. He took part in the actions of 3 September and 9 September 1665. The Exchange was paid off late in the year. He was brought back into the service in 1672, when he was appointed as Second Lieutenant of the Monmouth. In 1673, he was appointed as First Lieutenant of the same ship. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, "Hired Men-of-War, 1664-7", Part II, The Mariner's Mirror Vol.84 No.2 (May 1998).
2. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.