The question was raised as to which English ships went over to the Royalists in 1648. William Laird Clowes, in Vol.II of
The Royal Navy, a History, on a note on page 80. In June 1648, William Batten took a squadron of ships and declared for the Royalist side. In October 1647, Colonel Thomas Rainborough had been appointed command the Parliamentarian winter guard. When Col. Rainborough tried to board the Constant Reformation in March 1648, he was refused entry. Col. Rainborough had complained of his treatment, but the parliament reappointed William Batten to command the fleet. The sailors in the fleet were generally hoping to make an arrangement with King Charles. In June, William Batten took 11 ships from the Thames and sailed across to Holland. The list of ships included:
- Swallow, 36 guns 3rd Rate
- Constant Reformation, 46 guns 2nd Rate
- Convertine, 42 guns 2nd Rate
- Antelope, 36 guns 3rd Rate
- Satisfaction, 26 guns 5th Rate
- Constant Warwick, 26 guns 4th Rate
- Blackmoor Lady, 18 guns 5th rate
- Hind, 13 guns 6th Rate
- Crescent, 14 guns 6th Rate
- Roebuck, 10 guns 6th Rate and
- Pelican, 10 guns 6th Rate
The Truelove, 12 guns (6th Rate) must have been among them, for in November, the ships, Satisfaction, Hind, and Truelove deserted the Royalists and returned to the Parliamentarian side. The Constant Warwick had left the Royalists after arriving and returned to England. Sources:
- R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
- William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898
- J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962
