Dr. Ballhausen's list for the Dutch at Dover on 29 May 1652

As you might expect, Dr. Ballhausen's list of Dutch captains at the Battle of Dover on 29 May 1652 has some errors. The surprise is that the list is in the "not that bad" category. He has listed most of the captains, although he has some, such as Reijnst Sevenhuijsen, who was not there. He omits other, such as Gijsbert Malcontent, who was there but is not included in Dr. Ballhausen's list in his book Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923. The text is better than the lists. R. C. Anderson, who criticized the English lists, praised Dr. Ballhausen's account of the First Anglo-Dutch War in the Mediterranean Sea.

Two very similar ships: the Hollandia and the Amsterdam

In 1652 and up to March 1653, Albert Claesz Graeff commanded the Amsterdam hired ship Hollandia. This was a ship with dimensions of 130ft x 29ft x 13ft. The ship carried 18-12pdr, 14-6pdr, and 2-4pdr guns in 1652. I realized the Sijmon van der Aeck's ship, the Amsterdam hired ship named Amsterdam was very similar. The dimensions were the same: 130ft x 29ft x 13ft. The Amsterdam was armed differently, however: 10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, and 4-3pdr guns. The Hollandia seems to have been discarded after the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland). The Amsterdam served up to at least November 1653, although a different captain was in command after April 1653, Paulus Egbertsz Sonck. The Amsterdam was with Witte de With on the voyage to Norway from September to November 1653. These were originally both nominally 30 gun ships with a crew of 100 to 120 men.

As you can tell, writing has been impacted by other things

I have enough going on beyond my research and writing, that blogging has considerably slowed. I hope to be picking up the pace, eventually.

The fluit ship St. Jan Babtista

This Rotterdam list dated 7 March 1652 has a ship with a name spelled St. Jan Babtista. I would be surprised if this is the same ship that we see in the fishery protection squadron.

The fluit ship St. Jan Babtista (St. John the Baptist)

Dimensions in Maas feet:       113ft x     21-1/2ft x 11ft x 4-1/2ft
Dimensions in Amsterdam feet:  123ft-3in x 23ft-5in x 12ft x 4ft-10in

The Duintjes

On 24 August 1652, Witte de With had been anchored off the Duintjes in his flagship, the Prinses Louise (36 guns). He was called to a meeting with Lords and Councillors, where they had reviewed what ships might be available to be the nucleus of a new fleet under Witte de With's command. They decided that there were between 16 and 18 ships that might be quickly cleaned and readied where they lay. I was curious as to where the Duintjes were located. I found a nice map that shows that the Duintjes are across from Vlissingen (Flushing):

This area was used as a fleet anchorage during the Anglo-Dutch Wars.

The Wapen van Sweden

In one list, the captain of the Zeeland hired ship Wapen van Sweden is called Captain Jacob Zichels (I usually write his name as Sichelszoon or Sichelssen). This particular list seems to date from 13 November 1652.

This has been a bad week for blogging

Sadly, this week has been busy enough that I have had little time for blogging. I have some vague hopes that the situation will improve, at least eventually.

Many of the Dutch ships in service in mid-1653 were very ligthly armed

I have been studying the list of ships "at Vlissingen" after the Battle of the Gabbard (the Zeeslag bij Nieuwpoort) and I continued to be amazed at how many ships were lightly armed. Many ships were armed with 22 to 26 guns, and of those, only a few of 8 and 12pdr. For the Roskam (spelled Roscam in the document), there 4-12pdr and 2-8pdr, and the rest of the 24 guns were smaller. The Roscam was the ship commanded by Corstiaen Eldertszoon for most of the war. CORRECTION: I had thought that this was one of the ships wrecked or foundered in the storm off the Texel, but Carl Stapel points out that was not the case. Also, by September 1653, Jan Fransz Blom commanded the Roskam, not Corstiaen Eldertszoon. The Roskam arrived at the port of Rotterdam on 19 December 1653. By 8 January 1654, the Roskam was discarded and was transferred to the owners in Rotterdam. I believe that Corstiaen Eldertszoon was eventually appointed to command the Gorcum (or Gorinchem) after Willem Ariaensz Warmont was killed at the Battle of Scheveningen.

Lambert Bartelszoon's ship in 1652 and 1653

Lambert Bartelszoon commanded a ship named Eendracht that had been hired by the Admiralty of Zeeland in 1652. He spent much of the First Anglo-Dutch War with the main Dutch battlefleet, except for period during mid-1653, when he was engaged in warfare against English commerce. For a long time, when I saw the listing for his ship, with 18 guns and a crew of 100 men, I assumed that the 18 was a typographical error for 28. But no, that was not the case. He did command a lightly-armed frigate that would have been suitable as a scout. His ship was one of the 100 ships to be hired by the admiralties in 1652.

The hired ship Jonas in June 1653

One inventory that I have from 22 June 1653 is for the hired ship Jonas, commanded by Joris de Caullerij (made famous by a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn). The inventory is noteworthy for having a list of guns and their weights:

That inventory has gun weights (there are only 25 guns listed):

12pdr  3015 lbs
12pdr  2930 lbs

 8pdr  2320 lbs
 8pdr  2300 lbs
 8pdr  2220 lbs
 8pdr  2210 lbs

 6pdr  2560 lbs
 6pdr  2520 lbs
 6pdr  2400 lbs
 6pdr  2260 lbs
 6pdr  2240 lbs
 6pdr  2220 lbs
 6pdr  2190 lbs
 6pdr  2190 lbs
 6pdr  2140 lbs
 6pdr  2000 lbs
 6pdr  1900 lbs

 5pdr  1420 lbs
 5pdr  1410 lbs
 5pdr  1395 lbs
 5pdr  1385 lbs
 5pdr  1385 lbs
 5pdr  1365 lbs

 3pdr   730 lbs
 3pdr   720 lbs

The fireship Graaf Sonderlandt

The Graaf Sonderlandt was one of the fireships in service in 1652:

Admiralty of Amsterdam  

fireship Graf Sonderlandt  1652

Dimensions:  107ft x 23ft x 11ft x 5ft

1652  fireship  schipper Herries Janszoon
      crew: 18 men

The Noorderkwartier ship Roode Leeuw

In the summer and fall of 1652, Rens Sevenhuijsen commanded the Noorderkwartier hired ship Roode Leeuw (24 guns and a crew of about 85 men). David de Wildt's list of ships, dated 22 February 1652 gives the dimensions for a ship named Roode Leeuw: 126-1/2ft x 26-1/2ft x 13ft x 6-1/2ft. Some of the dimensions given in this list are either identical or very close to known dimensions for the ships mentioned, while in other cases, they are different. Because of that, we do not know if this is correct or not. I assume that the dimensions are at least plausible. We need to find the document for hiring the Roode Leeuw, and we may learn more. The Roode Leeuw was discarded by 4 November 1653. Perhaps this was one of the ships that received enough damage in the Battle of the Kentish Knock to be not worth repairing.

Are the Sint Michiel and the Engel Michiel the same ship?

I have some notes about what I have assumed is the same ship. In one case, Frederick Bogaart's ship is called the Engel Michiel and in another case, it is called the Sint Michiel. Is it, in fact, the same ship or two ships? These are my notes, so far:

A-Dir  Engel Michiel or Sint Michiel  1652

Dimensions:
22/02/1652  120ft x 27-1/2ft x 13ft x 6-1/2ft
27/03/1652  120ft x 27-3/4ft x 13ft x 6-3/4ft

Guns:
20/01/1653  10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, 2-3pdr

28/04/1652  The ship the Engel Michiel, of the Greenland trade, 
            arrived in the Texel
20/01/1653  The ship the St. Michiel, of the Greenland Company, was hired
31/05/1653  kapitein Frederick Bogaart, under Tromp's flag near Zeeland
20/06/1653  kapitein Frederick Bogaart, 
            Engel Michiel, with 28 guns and a crew of 110 men
            list of ships in service between 8 May and 20 June 1653

So, where did the Friesland ship Groningen come from?

The bottom line is that I have no definite information about the origins of the Frisian ship Groningen which fought in the Battle of the Sound in 1658 and that was captured by the English in 1665. Clearly, Dr. Weber and Vice-Admiral van Foreest thought that very likely, the Groningen was the ship listed in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 as having been purchased (in 1652?). Dr. Weber used the dimensions of that ship for those of the Groningen in the book about the Four Days' Battle. The Groenewald was a mystery ship, as there is no sign of the ship having served in the First Anglo-Dutch War, despite what Vreugdenhil wrote in his list. The ship Groenewold was ship number 122 in Vreugdenhil's list. The Groenewold is described as entering service in 1652 and last being mentioned in 1655. He gives the dimensions as 132-1/2ft x 31ft x 13ft and says that the Groenewold carried 44 guns. Vreugdenhil shows the Groningen as first appearing in 1658, in time for the Battle of the Sound.

The Middelburg Directors' ship Sint Laurens

The English captured the Middelburg Directors' ship Sint Laurens (30 guns) on 29 May 1652, the initial battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. The Sint Laurens was commanded by kapitein Bastiaan Tuynemans. He and his luitenant were taken prisoner, along with the rest of the crew. I have not seen any solid information about the Sint Laurens, in what I have received from archives in the Netherlands. I assume, based on minimal informaition, that the Sint Laurens was similar to the Leeuwinne, Johannes van Regermorter's ship, which carried 30 guns and had a crew of 105 men. The Leeuwinne was also a Middelburg Directors' ship. The Leeuwinne was 120ft long, and I would guess that the Sint Laurens was, as well. I also assume that the Sint Laurens also had a crew of 105 men.

The Amsterdam Directors' ship Prinses Roijaal

When I saw the Prinses Roijaal in a list, with data, I couldn't think which ship it was. Then I remembered that this was the Amsterdam Directors' ship commanded by Maarten de Graaf. The Prinses Roijaal actually arrived in the Texel roads on 8 April 1652 and joined the fleet, under the flag of Maarten Tromp, on 16 May 1652. He fought in the Battle of Dover on 29 May 1652 that opened the First Anglo-Dutch War. He was in the van squadron, under the command of temporary Vice-Admiral Jan Thijssen. The Prinses Roijaal was one of at least six ships lost in the storm off the Shetlands in early August 1652. That incident temporarily cost Maarten Tromp his command of the fleet. He was commonly held responsible for the disaster. If you are not familiar with the Prinses Roijaal, the dimensions of the ship were 127ft x 27ft x 12-1/2ft x 6-3/4ft. The armament consisted of 12-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, and 2-3pdr guns.

We owe a great debt to Ron van Maanen and his work

I have not said this enough, in the past. We owe a great debt to Ron van Maanen for his pioneering research about Dutch warships in the archives in the Netherlands. As I have pointed out previously, this is a page about his current work on a different topic. I had heard about Ron van Maanen's work in Jan Glete's book Navies and Nations. Ron had focused more on the ships themselves, which has been very useful and interesting to see. We have gone off in a different direction that depends on knowing about orders of battle, naval officers, and the naval administration, as well as the ships.

My information about the Amsterdam ship Utrecht in 1652 and 1653

This is still a work in progress, but perhaps what I have would be useful. This is what I have right now for the Amsterdam ship Utrecht, built in 1633 for the years 1652 and 1653. The Utrecht was in the Mediterranean Sea until after the Battle of Livorno in March 1653:

A  Utrecht or Uijtrecht  1633

Dimensions:
      1652  120ft x 28-3/4ft x 11-3/4ft x 6-3/4ft
27/03/1653  120ft x 27-1/2ft x 12ft x 6-3/4ft

Guns:
19/11/1652  18-12pdr, 12-6pdr
27/03/1653  18-12pdr, 12-6pdr, 2-4pdr

19/11/1652  the ship Uijtrecht, kapitein Roeteringh, 
            with 30 guns and a crew of 110 men
27/03/1653  the ship Uijtrecht, commanded by kapitein Jan Roeteringh, 
            armed with 32 guns and with a crew of 110 men and 20 musketeers

Sorry, I am binging on processing photographs

Once I figured out how to process photographs so that I could print them and so that they look more like the actual document, that has been addictive. I have been spending all my time doing that. I use 602Photo to do image adjustment and RGB color tuning. I also sometimes adjust the brightness and contrast. Then, I am using Paint to add the date that I received the photographs and the original file name. When there were two pages in one photograph, I create "a" and "b" copies, one for the left page and one for the right page. I use 602Photo to print on my Canon "all-in-one" box.

Image tuning photographs of documents

I have been pleasantly surprised at how effective image processing can be for making photographs of documents more readable. The best program in the 602Software suite, in my opinion, is 602Photo. I am using that to process copies of photographs from the Nationaal Archief, in The Hague. Right now, I am processing photographs of handwritten documents from 1652, all relating to the Dutch navy, fleet, ships, and naval officers. The photographs all have a green tinge, for some reason. I am cropping the black background, making them easier to print, doing "image tuning", and adjusting brightness and contrast. One new thing that I am doing is adjusting "color channels". I can make the pages in the image look more like the actual document. I have been helped by my visit to the Nationaal Archief, back on 8 May 2007 with Carl Stapel, where I was able to see and handle some of the actual pages.

Nico Brinck's Swedish 12pdr gun

One of the drawings that Nico Brinck sent me several years ago shows an iron Swedish 12pdr gun manufactured by Finspong. The gun had been purchased by the Admiraliteit van Friesland. The inside bore of the gun was 12cm or 4.7244 English inches. An Amsterdam inch is 283mm/ft divided into inches of 25.73mm. That is larger than the English inch of 25.4mm, so the bore in Amsterdam inches is 4.664in. The gun is 260cm long or 9ft-2in in Amsterdam feet. The length in English inches is 102.36 inches or 8ft-6.36 inches. The weight is 3208 lbs, compared to the 3480 lbs for the bronze 18pdr gun from 1632.