You can now download volumes of The First Dutch War from Google Book Search

I discovered, yesterday, that Google Book Search now makes the volumes of The First Dutch War that are not still under copyright available for download as pdf files. Finding them is a bit tricky, but it is really a great thing. That, along with Granville Penn's book about William Penn are a great help to research, as they are "searchable". For some reason, you can't just search for "The First Dutch War", but have to search for content. For some reason "robert blake 1652 dover" got me to Vol.III of The First Dutch War. I got to Vol.II by searching for "Michiel De Ruyter". I found Vol.I by using "sir george ayscue 1652".

Lieutenants who commanded in 1653

Of the list of lieutenants, these are ones who commanded Amsterdam Directors' ships in 1653:

Adm    Ship          Guns Crew Commander
A-Dir  Moorin                  Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
A-Dir  Koning David            Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsang
A-Dir  Gideon                  Ulrich Claesz de Jager
A-Dir  Gideon                  Dirck Jansz Somer
A-Dir  Rozeboom                Bartholomeus Rietbeeck

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Directors Ship Information", 2004
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Lieutenants of Amsterdam Directors' ships in early 1652

There is an undated list of ship names, captains, lieutenants, and crew numbers from early 1652, possibly from March. Many of the lieutenants commanded Directors' ships in 1653. From this list, we can see that Cornelis Cornelisz Jol was a different man from Cornelis Hoola, despite what Dr. Ballhausen said. At this date, Cornelis Hoola commanded the Leiden. I might be tempted to further change the readings of some of the handwriting, but I don't have time at present:

No. Ship              Captain                  Lieutenant              
1   d'Alexander       Jan Maijkers             Foitus Erlirst          
2   Blauwen Arent     Dirck Pater              Hendrick Hendricksz Hen 
3   St. Salvador      Matthijs Cornelisz       Jan Jansz Lons          
4   de Faem           Jacob Swart              Afweris Kriekie         
10  St. Matheus       Cornelis Naeuoogh        Jan Arensen             
20  Gideon van Sardam HectorBardesius          Ulrich Claesz de Jager  
13  Prins Maurits     Nicolaes de Witt         Marten Juriaensen       
6   Arche Troijane    Abrahamvan Campen        Court Bruijnse          
9   Croon Imperiaal   Cornelis Jansz Poort     Gerrit Drommont         
7   St. Francisco     Stoffel Juriaensz        Jacob Moesman           
8   de Valck          Cornelis Jansz Brouwer   Bartolomeus Riesbeeck   
11  de Roosenboom     Gerrit Schuyt            Barent Philipsen        
5   Princes Roijael   Marten de Graeff         Abraham deKoninck       
    de Neptunis       Gerrit van Lummen        Jan Danielsz van Luijck
    Davit en Goliad   Claes van Jaersvelt      Godefred van Beringer
    Elias             Jacob Sievors Spansennis Frans Francen
    Nassouw           Lambert Pietersz         Dirck Jansz Soomer
    Engel Gabriel     Bastiaen Bardoel         Cornelis Cornelisz Joll
    't Witte Lam      Cornelis van Houten      Jan Jansz van de Ridderstraet
    Swarte Leeuw      Hendrick de Raedt        Robbert Pietersz
    St. Maria         Sipke Fockes             Pieter Jansen
    de Groote Liefde  Bruijn van Seelst        Elaes Cornelisz
    de Groote Gulden Fortuijn 
                      Fredrick de Coninck      Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsang
    de Engel Michiel  Fredrick Boogaert        Adriaen Pietersz

The ships in the Fishery Protection Squadron in 1652 are still something of a mystery

The Hollandsche Mercurius and The First Dutch War, Vol.I, both have the list of ships in the Fishery Protection Squadron that was attacked and eliminated on 22 July 1652. I still am not totally convinced that the list published is accurate. There is reason to believe that the squadron consisted of 15 or 16 ships. There are still many ships in the squadron which have not been found in archival documents. Enough have been found to indicate that the list may, in fact, be accurate, as it is given. We already know that the Marcus Curtius was also taken on 22 July, but is not in those other lists. There are several ships that we have complete information about, including the Marcus Curtius, the Juffrouw Catharina, and the Kalmar Sleutel. The last is from Ron van Maanen's lists, while the others are in the list of Amsterdam ships hired, from the Wrangell Collection. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898
3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Oorlogsschepen" van de admiraliteit van de Maze in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw, undated
4. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
5. list of Admiralty of Amsterdam hired ships from 1652 from the Wrangell Collection, 1652

Two Rotterdam ships named Gelderland

I have had a reader ask me about the ship Gelderland that was built to replace the ship lost in 1629. I had not realized that the larger ship was probably the ship built as the replacement, as early as 1632. These are the details from Ron van Maanen's document "Mazenieuii", about the ships built for Rotterdam:

Gelderland, built in 1628 and lost in 1629

26 guns  crew 85 men

160-180 lasts

Guns: 2-18pdr, 2-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 4-6pdr, 2-4pdr,
   and 2-steenstukken with four chambers (there were two chambers
   per gun, as these were old-style breechloaders)


Gelderland, built somewhere between 1632 and 1634
 last mentioned in 1659

Dimensions in Maas feet:           118ft x 28ft x 12-1/2ft
Est. dimensions in Amsterdam feet: 128-1/2ft x 30-1/2ft x 13-1/2ft

40 Guns on 16 November 1652:  18-18pdr, 12-12pdr, 8-6pdr, and 2-4pdr

Crew: varied from 85 to 140 sailors

Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Oorlogsschepen" van de admiraliteit van de Maze in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw, undated (MAZENIEUII)

Dutch ships in service on 9 June 1652

I was surprised to learn from Carl Stapel, that on 9 June 1652, the Dutch had 186 ships in service. This is a considerably larger number than I had thought, which was about 112 ships. 46 these ships were away from home waters, with as many as 15 ships in the Mediterranean Sea under the command of Joris van Cats. He flew his flag on the new Jaarsveld (44 guns). Another 16 ships were in the fishery protection squadron in the North Sea. 10 ships were still in Brazil, but actually on the return voyage to the Netherlands. 5 more were off the coast of Spain near Cape St. Vincent. Of the 100 ships to be hired by the Admiralties, there were only 38 in service. All 50 of the Directors' ships were in service by this date. Source:

1. Carl Stapel, personal communication "Memorie schepen 9 Juni 1652", 2006

Google Book Search

Google Book Search now has even more good resources available online. There are the British State Papers Domestic for the Commonwealth for 1652 to 1653. You can actually download the PDF file for this book, which is amazing. Frank Fox had highly recommended this book to me. The first three volumes of The First Dutch War are searchable, online. I wish that the rest were available, but they are held up by the copyright issue. I have previously mentioned that Granville Penn's book about William Penn is available, and that is a good primary source. Now, Corbett's booklet about the Earl of Darmouth's van de Velde drawings from the Navy Records Society can be read online.

Another try at Witte de With's squadron in August 1652

This list of Witte de With's squadron in August 1652 is based on the latest information:

Adm Ship            Guns Crew Commander
R   Prinses Louise  36   150  Vice-Admiraal Witte de With
R   Beer            24    91  kapitein Jan de Haes
R   Hollandia       24    97  kapitein Hendrick Ernestus de Bartrij (or Bertrij)
A   Vrijheid        44   150  commandeur Aucke Balck
A   Westfriesland   28   100  kapitein Jan Jansz Boermans
A   Hollandia       30   110  kapitein Albert Claesz de Graeff
A   Gouden Leeuw    24    80  kapitein Gilles Matthijsz Campen
A   Edam            28   100  kapitein Barent Cramer
Z   Sandenburgh     24    85  Pieter Gorcum
N   Schel           24    80  Teunis Vechterszoon

Sources:

1. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
2. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van Nederlandse schepen in maart 1653", 2006
3. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "vlootlijst van schepen van de Maze in september 1652", 2006

The Purmerland

The Hoorn Directors hired the ship Purmerland in 1653. The Purmerland took part in Witte de With's voyage to Norway to bring back merchant ships that had been trapped there by the threat of English cruisers and privateers. Andries Sybrantszoon commanded the ship. Ron van Maanen lists the dimensions of the Purmerland as 127ft x 29ft. He says that she carried between 30 and 34 guns and had a crew of 95 to 150 men. The one place that Ron van Maanen gives guns and crew don't make sense to me, as he wrote that Andries Sybrantsz's ship carried 18 guns and had a crew of 75 men. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Amsterdam ship Duivenvoorde

The Amsterdam ship Duivenvoorde was built in 1655. The ship was burnt at the Four Days' Battle in 1666. Ron van Maanen has details about the ship:

The ship Duivenvoorde

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            32ft
Hold:                          unknown

48 guns on 31 March 1665:
4-18pdr, 18-12pdr, 20-8pdr, and 6-3pdr

Witte de With had referred to Pieter Gorcum's ship as a jacht

In September 1652, in The First Dutch War, Vol.II, Witte de With referred to Pieter Gorcum's ship as a jacht. Carl Stapel and Ron van Maanen both give the ship, the Sandenburgh, a length of 100ft. This is the same length as the Japonder van Dordrecht (or Dordrecht) and the Friesland jacht Waterhond. Both were also 100ft long and were three-masted jachts. The Japonder carried up to 17 guns and the Waterhond carried 16 guns. The Sandenburgh was more heavily armed, with 24 guns and had a crew of 90 men in September 1652. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
2. Carl Stapel, personal communication "Dates of ships of Zeeland", 2006
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Middelburg and Vlissingen Directors' ships all had substantial 8pdr batteries

Amsterdam Directors' ships all had a good 12pdr battery. For 28-gun ships, the armament was often 10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, and 2-3pdr guns. The Middelburg and Vlissingen Directors' ships all had a modest 12pdr battery, except for the Witte Lam, which was often Michiel De Ruyter's flagship from later in 1652. The others had either 2 or 4 12pdr guns, although they would usually have either a few 18pdr or 24pdr guns, as well. The rest had either 10, 14, or 18-8pdr guns. They also had a few 6pdrs, and often had 2 or 4-4pdr guns. Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Directieschepen van Zeeland in 1652", 2006

One ship that I have not seen mentioned: Sint Johannes, an Amsterdam Directors' ship from 1653

A ship, the Sint Johannes, was listed on 8 February 1653, and the details were given, but I have not recognized that this ship is mentioned in any source that I have seen (certainly not in Ron van Maanen's list). This must be an Amsterdam Directors' ship, and I have the details:

The ship Sint Johannes

Length from stem to sternpost:  125ft
Beam inside the planking:        29ft
Hold:                            12-1/2ft
Height between decks:             7ft

28 guns:
2-18pdr, 8-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 6-6pdr, and 2-3pdr

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Directors' Ship Information 1652-1653", 2004

The ship Nieuwkasteel

One of the ships for which we knew the name, captain, and nothing else, was the ship Nieuwkasteel, commanded by Claes Aldertszoon. The Nieuwkasteel was in service in 1652, and then disappears from the published literature. The ship does not seem to have served with the fleet, as there is no mention of the captain's name in the lists that I have for 1652. Carl found that the ship was listed as the Nieuw Casteel, with 19 guns and a crew of 65 men. The captain was Claes Alderts. The ship was paid off, sometime in 1652. The guns and crew indicated to Carl that this was probably a jacht, which would make sense. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Captains", 2004
2. Carl Stapel, personal communication, "lijst alle capiteins 1652 in het Noorderkwartier", 2006

Some Dutch ships from 1641-1642

Ron van Maanen has the details of some Dutch ships from 1641 to 1642. They are the sort of hired ship that was used to fight the Dunkirkers in this period:

Adm Ship                Guns  Crew    Length    Beam     Hold    Height between decks
N   Drie Helden Davids  36    91-100  140ft     29ft     12ft      4-1/2ft
A   Engel Gabriel       28    80      142ft     26-1/2ft 13ft      7ft
N   Gouden Leeuw        24    74-90   112ft     26ft     12-1/2ft  6-1/2ft
N   Graaf Maurits       20-22 55-60   120ft     26ft     11-1/2ft  5-3/4ft
N   Hoop                28    79-80   140ft     26ft     12ft
A   Neptunus            20    59-60   105ft     24ft     10-1/2ft  6-1/2ft
A   Pelikaan            30-32 94-100  136ft     29-1/2ft 14ft      6ft-7in
A   Prins               36-38 116-120 142ft     29-1/2ft 13-1/2ft 
A   Prins van Portugaal 24-26 70      124ft     26ft     11-1/2ft  6ft
M   Roode Leeuw         36-37 118-120 134ft     34ft     14ft      5 or 7ft
A   Sint Andries        36    106-120 136ft     29-1/2ft           6-3/4ft
A   Sint Jacob          26    87-90   123-1/2ft 28-1/2ft           6-1/4ft
N   Sint Maarten        30    100     147ft     28ft     14ft     
M   Tijger              20    54-60   120ft     26ft     11-1/2ft  6ft
M   Witte Engel         30    80-94   130ft     26ft     12-1/2ft  6-1/2ft
A   Zwaan               30-32 89-100  134ft     28-1/2ft 13-1/4ft  6-1/2ft

Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

The Zeeuwsche Jager in May 1653

Captain Lourensz Crijnsz commanded the Zeeuwsche Jager in May 1653. I had, at one point, that that the Zeeuwsche Jager had been converted to a fireship for the Battle of the Gabbard, but that seems not to have been the case. A member of the Crijnssen family (or Crijnszoon) commanded the jacht in mid-1653. In May, the Zeeuwsche Jager carried 14 guns and had a crew of 54 men. Carl Stapel found that the Zeeuwsche Jager's largest guns were 6pdrs. Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van Nederlandse schepen in maart 1653", 2006
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Ron van Maanen lists a ship he calls "Leeuwin"

I was looking over my comprehensive list and comparing it with Ron van Maanen's "Zeeland" list (I have no idea about the origin of the file name). Ron lists a ship he calls "Leeuwin", which was hired by the Middelburg Directors. I had initially thought that this referred to the ship Gouden Leeuw, commanded by Jacob Adriaansz Penssen, but now I think that this was the ship commanded by Johannes van Regermorter at the Three Days' Battle. Apparently, this is the ship that was brought home to Zeeland after the battle by Claes Janszoon. The first time that I had associated Leeuwinne (the archaic spelling) with Johannes van Regermorter was when I was studying Witte de With's journal for May 1653. The Leeuwinne is one of the few ship names listed. Ron van Maanen has dimensions that are apparently for this ship: 120ft length, 27-1/2ft beam, and a height between decks (Ron would argue against this characterization of the number, but it still seems right) of 6-1/4ft. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Zeeland", undated
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Amsterdam Directors' ships in Witte de With's fleet in September 1653

The list of ships and captains with Witte de With's fleet in September 1653 is quite informative. One of the groups of ships is that of the Amsterdam Directors:

Ship                  Guns Crew Captain
Moorinne              30   110  Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
Swarte Leeuw          30   123  Hendrick de Raedt (Aug 1653)
Hercules              27   104  Sijmon Veeneman
Engel Michiel         28    99  Dirck Bogart
Sint Pieter           28   110  Gerrit Schuyt (Aug 1653)
Moor                  36   140  Adriaan Cornelisz van Ackersloot
Coninck Davit         28   104  Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsanck (Vogelsang)
Walvis                32   118  luitenant-commandeur de Beringe (Aug 1653)
Sampson               28   100  Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot
Hollandsche Thuijn    36   140  Herman Walman (Aug 1653)
Ceurvorst van Ceulen  32   124  Sijmon Dootjes
Faam                  28   128  Jacob Swart
Gideon                34    95  Dirck Jansz Somer (May 1653)

Sources:

1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

An interesting reference in Witte de With's journal for May 1653

On page 113 of Witte de With's journal for May 1653, there is an interesting reference to a ship that I have not heard of before. Under the heading of Directors' ships of Amsterdam, there are two entries. The second is obvious enough, Capn Rietbeeck, which refers to Bartholomeus van Rietbeeck, who commanded the ship Rooseboom at this date. The first entry is the interesting one. It says, in Dutch, as best as I can tell:

Capn. Jacob Swart
t'schip de Matenives

The "n" could be a "u", but that does not make any sense (although I can't say that what I wrote does, either). I had briefly thought that the "v" was part of an "r", until looked at the entries nearby, such as Lt-commandeur Marevelt. Sources:

1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Admiralty of Zeeland employed an odd set of gun calibers

From what I have seen from Ron van Maanen's lists, and from what Carl Stapel recently saw, I can tell that the Admiralty of Zeeland had ships equipped with some very different gun calibers, as well as many of the usual types:

24pdr
20pdr  carried by Amsterdam
18pdr
16pdr  carried by West Cappel
15pdr  carried by Hollandia
12pdr
10pdr  carried by Neptunis, Amsterdam, one of the Zeelandias
 9pdr
 8pdr
 7pdr  carried by Goes, Sandenburgh, Eendracht (24 guns)
 6pdr
 5pdr  carried by Zeeuwsche Jager, Wapen van Zeeland
 4pdr
 3pdr

Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van Nederlandse schepen in maart 1653", 2006

Vice-Admiral De With's squadron on 30 April 1653

Page 70 of the letters of Witte de With gives a listing of his squadron, as of 30 April 1653. This is somewhat different from that which raided Scarborough earlier in April. This is the list, suitably annotated:

Adm     Ship                Guns  Crew    Commander
A       Leeuwarden          34      158   Witte de With
                                         Govert Reael, flag captain
Vl-Dir  Gekroonde Liede     36      142   commandeur De Ruyter
                                         Markus Hartman, flag captain
R       Utrecht             22       98   commandeur Leendert Haexwant
Z       Neptunus            28      114   Adriaan Jansz den Gloeyenden Oven
A       Omlandia            30      109   Maarten Schaeff
A       Graaf Willem        40      155   Capt. Verburgh
R       Overijssel          24       98   Dirck Vijgh
N       Prins Maurits       32       97   Capt. Taenman
Z       Amsterdam           30      120   Adriaan Kempen
F       Postpaert           30      106   Isaak Kodde
Z       Hollandia           38      127   Adriaan Bankert
Mi-Dir  Gouden Leeuw        30      110   Jacob Adriaansz Penssen
Ha-Dir  Sint Vincent        28      110   Ariaan Heeres Kleijntje
A-VOC   Gerechtigheid       34      105   Evert Pietersz Swart?
En-Dir  Vergulde Zon        28      115   Jacob Duijm

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van schepen van 20 juni 1653", 2006
3. Witte de With, letters from 1653 to 1658, Archive E8811 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The entry in Witte de With's journal for 31 May 1653

In an entry in Witte de With's journal for 31 May 1653, there is some interesting information, which I have annotated from Carl Stapel's paper:

The vice-admiraal Johan Evertsen was in the ship
of "Capt. Claes":
Adm    Ship          Guns Crew Captain
Z      Milde Maarten 26   110  Claes Jansz Sanger (with Johan Evertsen)
Mi-Dir Leeuwinne     30   120  perhaps the luitenant of the late 
                                   Johannes van Regermorter

Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van schepen van 20 Juni 1653", 2006
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Ron van Maanen's dimensions for the Wapen van Nassouw seem very odd

We now know that the ship provided by the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC was named Wapen van Nassouw (Nassau). The ship was commanded by Jan Arensz van der Werff, and carried 32 guns and had a crew of 124 men in May 1653. The dimensions given by Ron van Maanen are pretty extreme: 130ft x 43ft x 12ft. The beam is very out of line with typical practice. A more reasonable beam would be 33ft, not 43ft. The VOC ships that served with the fleet in 1653 were generally cruisers. For example, Pieter de Bitter's ship Mercurius had dimensions of 123ft x 30ft x 12ft. The large East Indiamen built by the Middelburg Chamber of the VOC were typically 170ft x 38ft x 18ft. For a much shorter ship to have a beam of 43ft is without precedent among the ships that served with the fleet. By the way, Ron has the guns carried by the Wapen van Nassouw: 12-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 8-6pdr, and 2-3pdr. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Oorlogsschepen" van de admiraliteit van de Maze in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw, undated
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Johan Evertsz de Liefde's ship Jonas in 1652 and 1653

Ron van Maanen's document about Rotterdam ships, "Oorlogsschepen" van de admiraliteit van de Maze in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw (undated) gives the armament of Johan Evertsz de Liefde's ship Jonas, a ship hired by the Rotterdam Directors in 1652. This is new information to me, although I have only seen some of the armaments for Rotterdam ships in 1652 for a few days. Ron says that on 1 October 1652, the Jonas carried: 14-12pdr, 4-8pdr, 10-6pdr, 6-4pdr, and 2-3pdr guns.

Claes Jansz Sanger's ship in 1652 to early 1653

I have new information from Carl Stapel, from archival sources, that has caused me to rethink what I had thought I knew about Claes Jansz Sanger's ship. There is a list of De Ruyter's fleet, misplaced in Vol.VI of The First Dutch War, that calls Claes Jansz Sanger's ship the Galjas van Middelburg. Carl found that in a list from March 1653, that Claes Jansz Sanger commanded the ship Middelburg (28 guns). Claes Jansz Sanger was said to have commanded the ship West Cappelle when it was sunk at the Battle of Scheveningen, and I had assumed that he had commanded the same ship for the entire war (as some captains did). Instead, I would now say that he commanded the Middelburg from earlier in 1652 up to at least March 1653, including the Three Days Battle (Portland). Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930
2. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.V, 1928
3. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van Nederlandse schepen in maart 1653", 2006

VOC Ships with the Dutch fleet in May 1653

There seem to have been six VOC ships with the Dutch fleet in May 1653:

Adm    Ship                 Guns  Crew  Captain
R-VOC  Wapen van Nassouw    32    124   Jan Arensz van der Werff
A-VOC  Huis van Nassau      34    112   Jan Pietersz van Srijp
A-VOC  Gerechtigheid        34    105   Evert Pietersz Swart
A-VOC  Mercurius            36    110   Pieter de Bitter
Ho-VOC Sint Willeboort      27    120   Erich Jacobszoon
Mi-VOC Swarte Bul           32    104   Willem Folckertszoon

I you rely upon the current published sources, you would not know this sort of information. Right now, the best information is in the various archives, including the Riksarkivet in Stockholm and the Nationaal Archief in The Hague. Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van schepen van 31 mei 1653", 2006
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The armament of the three-masted jacht Brak

A minor point, but one that I had not known, is that the armament for the Amsterdam three-masted jacht Brak (and probably the Windhond, as well) was 4-8pdr, 12-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. I still do not understand the wide use of the 2-3pdr guns, but they were usually found on all the Amsterdam Directors' ships and others, as well. They were less like to appear on older States' ships. The Brak and Windhond were very similar ships. They both were 115ft long and had beams of only 23ft. Their hold measurements differed slightly, although Ron van Maanen credits them both with 10-1/2ft holds. Sources:

1. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Lijst van Nederlandse schepen in maart 1653", 2006
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon

Lists in 1652 call the captain of the ship we now know was named the Prins, "Corstiaen Corstiaensz". New information found by Carl Stapel seems to indicate that he might have had a last name of "de Munnicq". I have found "Corstiaen" and "Christiaen" frequently being used interchangeably in 17th Century Dutch. Carl found a reference to "Christiaen de Munnicq" as captain of the ship Prins, with 38 guns. The ship is the Rotterdam Directors' ship, so I would surmise that the captain's full name was "Corstiaen Corstiaensz de Munnicq" (or substitute "Christiaen" for "Corstiaen"). (CORRECTED)

The two Noorderkwartier Directors' ships with the fleet in September 1653

There were two Noorderkwartier Directors' ships with Witte de With's fleet in September 1652. Witte de With's journal lists them:

Adm    Ship            guns  crew  Captain
Me-Dir Koning Radbout  28     98   Jan Rootjes
Ho-Dir Sampson         30     95   Jacob Pietersz Houck

I suspect that the Sampson listed in Ron van Maanen's list with dimensions of 132ft x 27ft x 13.5ft, with a height between decks of 6-1/4ft is this ship. He seems to have confused the Sampson (24 guns) commanded by Willem Ham in 1652 with Jacob Pietersz Houck's ship. Ron says that there was a ship mentioned in 1653 with these dimensions, so it must be Capt. Houck's ship. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Noorderkwartier Directors' ship Herderinne

Dirck Gerritsz Pomp commanded the Noorderkwarter Directors' ship Herderinne (the more usual spelling would be Harderin), at least from May to November 1653. This ship seems to have escaped the notice of Ron van Maanen. We are forced to rely upon Witte de With's journals. The ship is also mentioned a large hand-written sheet from May or June 1653. These are some notes about the ship:

         Ship             Guns  Crew  Captain
May 1653 Herderinne       31    125   Dirck Gerritsz Pomp

The ship is named on page 202 of E8812, circa October 1653 in Witte de With's journal. There are very few references to this ship that I have seen.

The Noorderkwartier ship Gouden Leeuw in 1641 to 1642

Ron van Maanen says that the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier had hired a ship named Gouden Leeuw in 1641. The ship was apparently in service until 1642. The unique thing is that the dimensions for the Gouden Leeuw (also known as the Witte Arend) are known. These are the details from Ron, which are similar to those for Gillis Thyssen Campen's ship, Gouden Leeuw, in 1652:

The ship Gouden Leeuw

Length from stem to sternpost: 112ft
Beam:                           26ft
Hold:                           12-1/2ft
Height between decks:            6-1/2ft
24 guns
Crew: 74 to 80 men

Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

The ship Groote Alexander from 1639

Ron van Maanen has as many details for the ship Groote Alexander, which was hired in 1639, as he has for ships that served in the First Anglo-Dutch War. He speculates that this ship might have been the Spanish El Gran Alejandro taken in 1639 (at the Battle of the Downs?). Ron says that in 1639, the ship was five years old. These are the details:

The ship Groote Alexander

Length from stem to sternpost: 135ft
Beam:                           29ft
Hold:                           11ft
Height between decks:            5ft

34 guns:
5-18pdr, 3-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 10-6pdr, 6-4pdr

Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

List with ship names from May 1653

Page 128 from Witte de With's journals (E8812) has a list of ships with names, captains, most of the guns, and most of the crews listed. This is a the list, omitting some additional fields:

Ship              Captain                             Guns  Crew Adm (not in list)
Stad Monnikendam  SbN Pieter Florisz                  36    178  N
Hooren (Hoorn)    Capt. Claes Aldertsz                30     95  N
Sampson           Lt-Commandeur Jacob Albertsz Pool   30    112  A-Dir
Amsterdam         Capt. Pouwels Egbertsz Sonck        30    120  A
Moorjens (Moorin) Capt. Cornelis Cornelisz Jol        28    107  A-Dir
Elias             Capt. Frans Fransz Sluijter         34    107  A-Dir
Gideon            Capt. Dirck Jansz Soomer (Somer)    34     95  A-Dir
Burgh             Capt. Hendrick Glas                 34    119  A-Dir
Peereboom         Capt. Peereboom                     24     86  N
Gulde Pelicaen    Capt. Bartimulus Soudaen            30    120  A-Dir
Profeet Samuel    Capt. Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuijsen 30         N
Beer              Capt. Jan Olij                      32    104  Mo-Dir
(Kameel)          Capt. Bulter                       (42)        Gr-Dir
(Jonas)           Capt. Collerij                      26    110  A
Walvis            Capt. Abraham Verlet (Verleth)      30    104  A-Dir