Anglo-Dutch Wars

Cornelis Toelast served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1645, he was off Dunkirk with Joris van Cats. On 19 April 1646, his ship was in the Texel roads with a coating of ice. He was nominally part of Tromp's fleet that was blockading Dunkirk. He commanded the ship Zutphen in Witte de With's fleet that was sent to Brazil in 1648. On 19 February 1649, he was killed at Guararapes. De With took months before he was willing to appoint a successor. Barent Cramer thought he should have been appointed, but Witte de With appointed Claes de With, his cousin, instead. Sources:

1. Dr. M.G. De Boer, Tromp en de Duinkerkers, 1949.
2. W. J. van Hoboken, Witte de With in Brazilië, 1955.

There is a passage in De Ruyter's journal about Cornelis Taenman. I have made a few minor corrections in spellings: "...we found one of our Vice-Admirals foundered in fourteen fathoms of water on the North bank of the Meuse, the topmasts above water. It was Captain Taenman of Enkhuizen." This occurred during the rear-guard action towards the end of the battle. His ship, the Prins Maurits was apparently sunk by gunfire.

Cornelis Laurenszoon served the Amsterdam Directors. His ship was apparently one of those added to the fleet after the Battle of Portland. He commanded the larger of the two ship named Sint Matheeus. His ship was 144ft long and had a beam of 36ft. My estimate is that the hold was 17ft in height. We know the ship's measurements taken by the English, and the 17ft is an estimation based on the English depth. He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard, where his ship was one of those which collided and became entangled in the evening of the second day (13 June 1653). One ship broke free, the small Friesland jacht Prins Willem (Jan Coenders). The others were captured. They were the Sint Matheeus (Cornelis Laurenszoon), the Vergulde Zon (Jacob Duym), and the Halve Maan (Hendrik Pieterszoon). Sources:

1. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912.
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
3. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.V, 1928.

In Dr. M. G. De Boer's book Tromp en de Duinkerkers (1949), there is a list of captains in his fleet, with their affiliations. The list leaves something to be desired, but it is better than nothing. I don't have too much faith in some of my interpretations. I would welcome a better translation to English than I have been able to make:

separated to Gelderland:  Captain Codde
Half Gelderland, half Drenthe:  Captain Maerten Schaeff
  These both to Amsterdam sacked

Holland, Rotterdam: the ship Aemelia, the previous 
  memorandum reflects the current situation of the ship

 Vice-Admiral Witte de With
 Captain Willem Coulster
 Captain Job Forant
   These three ships have the 2nd of these selected;
     the fifth ship remains defective

Holland, Amsterdam:  the Schout-bij-Nacht Cats
   Captain Cornelis Toelast. These two lay in the Texel 
    crowned with ice aloft
   Captain Jacob Paulussen Cort. This ship lays at Amsterdam.
   Captain Matthijs Gilliszoon. He has apparently sailed 
     on the 15th for the Wielingen after the 
       Vice-Admiral De With gave way. 
   Captain Barent Cramer with his rowjacht, lies at 
      Amsterdam at the end of his service.
   Captain Govert Voorns. In November, the Admiralty 
     had requested a subsidy to pay for building 
     a new ship in its place.

Holland, the Noorderkwartier, of Hoorn: Captain Jan Gijsen.
   Cpatain Willem Claeszoon Ham.

Enkhuizen: Captain Lieven de Zeeuw.
   Captain Paulus Coole.
   Captain Jan Backer. These five are one fifth 
     of the Holland crew, laying cashiered (paid off?) 
     and remain with defects 

of Zeeland:  Commandeur Joost Bankert
   Captain Frans Janszoon
   Ship of Captain Ringelszoon. There three 
      capital ships went to the Brazil in the service 
      of the West-Indies Company. They sailed and 
      are apparently still being maintained by 
      the company.
   The frigate of Captain Swart.
   The frigate of Captain Regermorter. On the 15th, 
      these two should be ready for 10 weeks at sea.

Utrecht: These two ships have several years of defects, 
    and apparently still are defective.

Friesland: Captain Bouckhorst
   Captain Hendrik Janszoon Camp.
   Captain Joris Pieterszoon Broeck.
     All should know that repairs of these three 
       ships have commenced.
   Captain Van der Parre.
   This new ship lays at Rotterdam for years and rots.
   Captain Tjaert de Groot.
   (there is another sentence of which I cannot make 
       into a reasonable sentence:
     Hier is tot Harlingen een nieuw holl voor 
      gemaeckt, dan of nu in zee gebracht sal werden, 
         is ons noch onbewust.)

Overijssel:  Captain Dirk Crijnszoon Verveen.
       This ship lies paid off at Schiedam. The 
          General's frigate commanded by Jan Aerts Verhaeff, 
          lies rotting at Rotterdam.

I dislike pop3 mail, but it seems a necessary evil. The reasons that I don't like it are that I can only access it from Outlook on the machine where it is downloaded from the mail server, and if anything goes wrong with the machine, the spam filter, the mail is lost forever. I lost such a mail today (two copies, apparently), as my machine, running Windows XP Home Edition, spontaneously rebooted. I only knew that I had such a mail from the K9 Spam Filter, as no copy ever made its way to Outlook, due to the reboot. When I processed the mails in the spam filter, not realizing that it was not in Outlook, I lost the mail forever. During the reboot, the spam filter failed, and marked all the spam as good. It was when I was reviewing them that I realized that a mail with the subject "off topic" was good. If by the off chance that the writer who sent the mail could resend, I hope to see it and read what you wrote.

We knew that there was a Dutch captain at the Battle of Dungeness who we had not previously seen, or at least, had not recognized him. C.T. Atkinson had erroneously read his handwritten name from Jan Evertsen's journal as Hermes Munnick. That was wrong, of course. I have a copy of Jan Evertsen's journal, and the name is clearly Herman Munnick or Munnich. He was listed with Pieter Florissen's squadron, which included captains from the Noorderkwartier. I had not understood, until recently, that the ship named Wapen van Holland (30 guns), taken on 22 July 1652 by the English was a ship hired by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. I just looked at page 314 in Vol.IV of The First Dutch War. The entry at the top of the page continues from the previous page. All the ships in that list and the succeeding list were either States' ships form the Noorderkwartier or were hired by them. There is an note about Captain Munnekes commanding the hired ship Wapen van Holland. My estimate is pretty certain that Herman Munnekes (or Munnick) was captain of the Wapen van Holland when the ship was taken by the English on 22 July. This was the ship that served in the English navy through the rest of the war as the Arms of Holland, so the ship must have been judged to have been a suitable warship.

I have updated the list of Dutch losses in the First Anglo-Dutch War at AngloDutchWarsBlog.com, based on what we have learned in the last few weeks.

Sijmon (Simon) Corneliszoon van der Meer (often just called Simon Corneliszoon) served the Rotterdam Directors. In June 1652, he commanded the ship Prins, sailing with a small group of ships in the Channel with Jan Evertsen. They were attacked by English frigates and the Prins was sunk by gunfire. This is the ship mentioned in several lists as being sunk by gunfire. He fought in the Battle of Dungeness and the Battle of Portland in the ship Meerman (28 guns). According to Jodocus Hondius, the ship carried 4 brass and 24 iron guns. He joined the fleet on 10 May 1653 after having convoyed 13 merchant ships from the Meuse. Dr. Ballhausen say that he fought in the Battle of the Gabbard in June, still in the Meerman, although that may or may not be the case. He definitely fought in the Battle of Scheveningen, as on 13 August 1653, his ship, the Sint Pieter, was mastless and lying at Goeree with the Burg (Hendrik Adriaanszoon Glas) and the Liefde (Jan Tissen) . 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. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.V, 1928.
4. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.
5. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.III, 1869.
6. Jodocus Hondius, Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden, 1654.

Tijs Tijmenszoon Peereboom served the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. He commanded the hired ship Peereboom (perhaps named after himself, and belonging to him). The Peereboom seens to have carried 24 guns and had a crew of 80 men. He served with the fleet in the summer of 1652 and sailed to the Shetlands with Tromp in July and August 1652. He joined Witte de With's fleet on 18 October 1652, as part of a group of 7 ships with Pieter Florissen. He fought in the Battle of Dungeness in December 1652. I seem to have been mistaken about Anthonis Fappenlain being lieutenant of the Peereboom. In fact, he was Hendrik Huyskens' lieutenant on the Westfriesland. The Peereboom was one of the ships that was listed by Witte de With as having run from the battle. Captain Peereboom received a sentence of four years imprisonment, while Antonis Fappenlain received three years. Sources:

1. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912.
2. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923.
3. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.VI, 1930.
4. Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906.

In 1628 and 1629, Joris Gijsbrecht van Heerd commanded the small Rotterdam vessel Neptunis. The Neptunis as a small vessel of 30 lasts. She carried 8 guns and had a crew of46 men. In 1629, the Neptunis carried an armament consisting of 2-8pdr and 6-3pdr guns. A vessel of 30 lasts could be as small as 65ft x 16ft x 6ft. One question is if this is a different vessel from the Rotterdam ship Neptunis (40 lasts) commanded by Daniel Climmer Goeren in 1628. That was said to be a vessel of 40 lasts, but the last figure is very elastic and often just an estimate. To make things even more interesting, there was a Rotterdam ship Neptunis built in 1623 that was commanded by Cornelis Arentszoon de Jonge in 1629. This was a vessel of 30 lasts carrying 6-4pdr, 2-2.5pdr, and 10-steenstukken with 20 chambers. There was another, much larger Rotterdam ship named Neptunis that was built in 1623 and which was of 170 lasts. To throw even more mud into the soup, Sebastian de Munnick commanded a Rotterdam vessel named Neptunis in 1628 which was just 28 lasts. The complete list of old ships named Neptunis which belonged to the Admiralty of the Maze or Rotterdam must include the Neptunis built in 1614. This was commanded by Adriaan Engelen Silvergieter in 1629. This was a ship of 140 lasts that carried the following guns:

2-chambered 24pdr, 2-12pdr, 2-chambered 12pdr, 
2-5pdr drakes, 13-4pdr, and 6-steenstukken

As Prof. Jan Glete says, steenstukken in this period were probably swivel guns, not actually throwing stone shot, as their name might imply. What killed stone shot was the cost of manufacture, more than any other factor.

Maarten de Graeff served the Amsterdam Directors. He was another of the captains who took part in Witte de With's operation to force a convoy of merchant ships into the Sound in 1645. The sailed from Vlieland in about June. Maarten de Graeff commanded the Hollandia (26 guns and a crew of 86 men). From early 1652 (about March), he commanded the ship Prinses Roijaal (28 guns and a crew of 110 men). The Prinses Roijaal was a substantial ship with dimensions of 127ft x 27ft x 12.5ft with an armament consisting of the standard 12-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, and 2-3pdr. Accordign to Dr. Ballhausen, he fought in the Battle off Dover on 29 May 1652. Maarten de Graeff was with the fleet in June and took part in the voyage to the Shetlands in July and August 1652. He is another example of a captain and ship that disappear from the published literature after the voyage to the Shetlands. You might wonder if the ship was lost in the storm. Sources:

1. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923.
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
3. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.
4. G. W. Kernkamp, De Sleutels van de Sont, 1890.
5. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652.

Jacob Pieterszoon Houck served the Hoorn Directors. In 1645, he commanded the Zwarte Beer (24 guns and a crew of 81 men) and was in Witte de With's fleet that forced a convoy of Dutch merchant ships into the Sound without paying the toll. In 1652, he commanded the Hoorn Director's ship Sampson (30 guns and a crew of 110 men). He was with the fleet in June 1652 and took part in Tromp's voyage to the Shetlands in July and August. He seems to have been absent from the Battle of the Kentish Knock, but probably fought in the Battle of Dungeness. He disappears from the published literature after that date. We only know the name of ship ship from a manuscript from the Nationaal Archief dated 20 September 1652. I had not expected to ever learn what the ship's name was until the name appeared in this manuscript. Sources:

1. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.
2. Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906.
3. G. W. Kernkamp, De Sleutels van de Sont, 1890.
4. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652.

Andrew says that Gerrit van Lummen commanded a ship for the Admiralty of the Maze in 1641-1642. We know that he commanded the Burght (24 guns) for the Old Directors of Amsterdam in 1645. He took part in Witte de With's successful operation to push a large merchant fleet into the Sound without paying the toll to the Danes. He was appointed to command the Amsterdam Directors' ship Neptunis (36 guns) in March 1652. The Neptunis was a very large ship (perhaps as big as 250 or 260 lasts), having dimensions of 138ft x 32ft x 13ft. She carried 4-24pdr, 12-12pdr, 6-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 4-4pdr, and 4-3pdr guns. Her crew was nominally 125 men. Dr. Ballhausen says that he fought in the Battle off Dover on 29 May 1652. I have not been able to verify that, but that is very plausible. He was with the fleet in June and took part in the voyage to the Shetlands in July and August 1652. For whatever reason, Gerrit van Lummen doesn't appear in the commonly available published literature, except in the June 1652 list. We have to wonder if his ship was lost in the storm off the Shetlands. He certainly was not with the 65 ships seen in the Shetlands after the storm. Of course, others survived and made their way home independently. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Directors' Ship Information 1652-1653", 2004.
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
3. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.
4. G. W. Kernkamp, De Sleutels van de Sont, 1890.
5. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652.

Carl Stapel found a Van deVelde drawing showing the stern of the VOC ship Mercurius plus the dimensions. The Mercurius was commanded by Captain Pieter de Bitter in 1653. The ship was sunk at the Battle of Scheveningen. We probably should not post the drawing, as someone probably has the rights. The dimenisions are as follows:

Length   123ft
Beam      30ft
Hold      12ft

The ship carried 40 guns and the note says that the crew was 100 men, although Captain Warnsinck had said that the crew was 200 men. By my calculation, the Mercurius was a ship of about 200 lasts.

Charles Talbot served in the Restoration navy. The Duke of York appointed him as a lieutenant on Royal Charles in 1661. In 1662, he was a lieutenant on the Royal James and then the Reserve. In 1663, he was appointed as lieutenant of the Jersey. In 1664, he was lieutenant on the Golden Lion, and then became captain of the Garland (28 guns). He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in the Garland and was assigned to Prince Rupert's division in the White Squadron. In 1666, he was appointed as captain of the Elizabeth (40 guns). Frank Fox described him as a "gentleman captain". In May 1666, he escorted four merchantmen to Lisbon. He made a report that indicated that a French fleet was off Lisbon. Eventually, information surfaced that what he had seen were Spanish ships. He fought in the St. James's Day Battle where he was assigned to John Kempthorne's division in the Blue Squadron. He was dismissed from the service for abandoning the battle early. His influential friends had him restored to service, only to be permanently removed and imprisoned in 1667 for losing a ship. There is a considerable gap, and then, according to Pepys, the King seems to have appointed him captain of the Mary Rose on 23 April 1678. On 28 March 1685, the King appointed him captain of the Falcon. 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.

Ralph Wrenn served in the Restoration navy and continued in William and Mary's navy in the War of the English Succession. In 1672, he commanded the Hopewell fireship. In 1673, he commanded the Rose dogger. On 23 February 1675, the King appointed him as First Lieutenant of the Reserve. On 12 July 1677, the King appointed him to command the Young Spragge fireship. On 4 November 1679, the Commissioners appointed him as Lieutenant of the Kingfisher. He took part in a desperate fight with 7 Algerine pirates on 21 May 1681, in which his captain, Morgan Kempthorne, Admiral John Kempthorne's son, was mortslly wounded. Ralph Wrenn continued to command the ship and repelled further attacks. As recognition of his gallant fight, on 9 August 1681, Admiral Herbert appointed him to command the Nonsuch. On 23 May 1682, the Commissioners appointed him to command the Centurion. The King reappointed him to command the Centurion on 5 May 1685. King James II appointed him to command the Mary Rose on 26 July 1687. On 5 September 1688, the King appointed him to command the Greenwich. On 26 December 1691, he set sail for the West Indies to replace Commodore Wright, who had failed to take Guadaloupe. He was in the Norwich (46 guns) for the coming operations in the West Indies. On 21 February 1692, he fought a successful actiojn against a much larger French squadron and was successful in losing no ships, despite being outnumbered 18 to 7. He died on 26 March, after reaching Carlisle Bay the day before. Sources:

1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.
2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

I was very grateful to receive photocopies from the Marineblad from 1895. This was thank to the Marineblad Secretary, Mw drs. Lijmbach, and the Koninklijke Vereniging van Marineofficieren in Den Haag. The article is entitled "Strategische Denkbeelden in den Eersten Engelschen Oorlog", by luitenant-ter-zee 1st Class J. J. L. Willinge. One interesting table from the article is as follows:

On 28 May 1652

Channel              20 ships  (Jan Evertsen)
Northern squadron    10 ships  (Witte de With)
Retour fleet and 
  Greenland traders  20 ships
Herring fleet        25 ships  (van Dongen)
Main fleet           42 ships  (Tromp)

Carl Stapel had recommended the Oranjenummer of the Marineblad for 1898 to me (it says Marine Blad). The copy I purchased is dated 31 August 1898. I am not certain if this is the volume he recommended or not. In any case, I suspect that I need to collect every volume that becomes available, since the Marineblad is difficult if not impossible to find in the US. My copy arrived today. The volume is very large. The dedication is to Her Majesty Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, Queen of the Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau (my translation from the Dutch).

I was reviewing Vreugdenhil's list of Dutch ships and I now suspect that Sijmon Corneliszoon's ship sunk in June 1652 was the Rotterdam Director's ship Prins. The Prins is mentioned by Vreugdenhil as having been sunk in 1652, and is a Rotterdam Director's ship. The Prins is the only ship mentioned in the published literature that I have seen that fits the ship sunk in June.

Dominick Nugent served in the Restoration navy. In 1665, he was lieutenant on the 3rd Rate Lion. In 1668, he was appointed as lieutenant of the 3rd Rate Revenge. He was reappointed in 1669 as lieutenant of the Revenge. On 2 May 1671, he had led a boat attack, with the fireship Eagle, on Algerine pirates. The attack failed, but was eventually successfully executed in daylight on 8 May. In 1671, he was appointed as captain of the 4th Rate Advice (50 guns). On 13 January 1672, he was reappointed as captain of the Advice. He fought in the Battle of Solebay and was probably assigned to the Red Squadron. In August, he was with the fleet and assigned to Sir Edward Spragge's division in the Blue Squadron. He seems to have fought in the Schooneveld battles in the Advice (48 guns). On 28 June 1673, Prince Rupert appointed him as captain of the 3rd Rate Fairfax. He also apparently fought in the Battle of the Texel in the Fairfax. On 30 January 1678 (they called in 1677 in the Old Style), the King appointed him to command the boats at Chatham. On 29 July 1682, the Commissioners appointed him captain of the Thomas and Catherine. Only a short time later, on 8 August 1682, the Commissioners appointed him as captain of the John and Alexander. On 11 June 1685, the King appointed him as captain of the Charles galley. On 30 August, the King reappointed him as captain of the Charles galley. Less than a month later, on 27 September, he was appointed as captain fo the Reserve. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.
2. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

Sir Joseph Jordan served in the Parliamentarian, Commonwealth, and Restoration navies. As early as 1642, he commanded the hired ship Caesar. From 1643 until 1646, he commanded the 4th Rate Expedition. From 1647 until 1648, he was back in the Expedition. From 1650 until 1652, he commanded the 4th Rate Pelican (42 guns). He fought in the Battle of Plymouth on 16 August 1652, under Sir George Ayscue's command. He also fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock, the first action between the main fleets. In 1653, he was in the Vanguard and then the Triumph. He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653, where he was Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron and flew his flag on the Vanguard (56 guns). He also very likely fought at the Battle of Scheveningen in that same command. In 1654, he commanded the 2nd Rate George. He was Rear-Admiral in Blake's fleet that was sent to the Mediterranean Sea in 1654. Jordan returned home on the Hampshire on 1 September 1654 to take care of personal business. From 1654 until 1655, he commanded the 2nd Rate Unicorn. In 1664, he was back in command of the St. George (called George during the Commonwealth). He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 in the St. George. When Sir John Lawson was wounded in the battle. At William Penn's suggestion, the Duke of York ordered Joseph Jordan to take command of the Royal Oak and lead the division, which he did quite well for the remainder of the battle. He fought in the Four Days' Battle as Vice-Admiral of the Red Squadron with his flag on the Royal Oak. He also fought in the St. James's Day Battle in that same position. In 1668, he flew his flag from the 2nd Rate Victory. Later in 1668, he was in the 2nd Rate Henry. Finally, in 1672, he flew his flag on the Sovereign. He fought in the Battle of Solebay, where he was Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron. After the battle, he was moved to the Red Squadron. He was not employed again at sea, after September, as there was controversy over his support, or lack of support, to the Earl of Sandwich at Solebay. 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, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.
3. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
4. Michael Baumber, General-at-Sea, 1989.
5. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.
6. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
7. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

We still have many unresolved questions about Dutch ships and captains during the First Anglo-Dutch War. We have filled in some gaps in the last 3 years, including in the last 6 months, but many remain. One question, still, is if Bastiaan Centen took command of the Haas in 't Veld from Leendert den Haen, or if the Haes that he commanded was a different ship. The ship that he commanded had been hired by the Vlissingen Directors. He apparently commanded her in the Battle of Dungeness, and probably, beyond that date. He fought in the Battle of Portland, as he was with the 17 ships that went to Vlissingen after the battle. We also know that he fought in the Battle of Scheveningen, where he was assigned to Frans Mangelaer's small unit (certainly not a "squadron"). He was assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. Sources:

1. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Vol.IV, 1927.
2. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910.
3. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912.
4. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930.

Ever since I had seen Vol.I of The First Dutch and had read that Sijmon Corneliszoon's Rotterdam Directors' ship had been sunk by gunfire. We now can be reasonably certain that this occurred in June 1652, and that the incident was that recorded by Dr. Elias in Vol.II of "Schetsen". I had attempted a translation and paraphrased that a few days ago. The mystery is solved. As usual, the mystery was caused by too many people (including myself) not having read enough of the published literature (much less the contents of the Nationaal Archief).

Dr. Elias, in De Vlootbouw in Nederland tells about the situation in the Dutch fleet, starting in 1652, when they had to rely upon hired ships for their fleet. This is my paraphrase and summary from a passage in that book:

The country entered into a naval war with inadequate seapower. The quality of our ships was made worse by the need to be equipped with largely hired ships. At the beginning of 1652 there were no more than 5 ships in service, to which were added the fishery protection ships for defending the herring busses. Among the 79 ships, these hardly mattered. This proportion was totally reversed after March 3, when their High Majesties made a move that intimidated the English: the massive hiring and outfitting of 150 ships. This transformed the navy so that the greatest proportion were hired. By June 1652, 99 of the 186 ships were cruisers hired to aid the cause. In service in March 1653, of a total of 226 ships, no less than 150 were hired. The unfavorable situation was we can infer from the fact that in Tromp’s attack on the Downs in July 1652, there were 58 hired ships and only 34 states’ ships. A year later, Tromp and de With lead a fleet at Terheide with 57 hired ships and 49 states’ ships. From this we can see that our strong fleet formations in the war were due to the practice of hiring ships. The hired ships were not warships and lacked the construction features of purpose-built warships. There were many complaints from the commanders about the nature of the hired ships.

Sources:

1. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933.

How insufficient the measures taken after the outbreak of the war were was proved all too swiftly. Heavy losses which were sustained in the month of June in the narrow seas. The first victims of this unlucky political situation were 6 merchant ships from the Caribbean escorted by Captain van den Kerckhoff in the ship Nijmegen. They were unexpectedly attacked by three English warships on 10 June between Dover and Calais and the Nijmegen was sunk. In an encounter a week later between two ships under Jan Evertsen and a Directors' ship of the Maze and two strong parliaments ships, the Dutch "men and mouse" were sunk. This is based on my translation from Dr. Elias. Source:

1. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.II, 1923.

Tromp led his fleet southward, when he received a message about cruising along the shore from the Texel to the Flemish coast. He was able to locate the group of 7 Vlissingen and Middelburg Directors' ships, under the command of Jan Thyssen. He was unsuccessful in locating Jan Evertsen, who he had hoped to find. One Jan Thyssen's ships was insufficiently ballasted and was unnavigable, so he sent her into Vlissingen. The rest brought his strength up to 42 warships, where he was sailing off the Hoofden. This was circa 23 May 1652. This is based on my translation of a passage in Dr. Elias's book. Sources:

1. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Vol.II, 1923.

In 1645, Cornelis van Houtten served the Admiralty of the Maze. He commanded the ship Gekroonde Liefde (33 guns) in Witte de With's fleet that forced a large convoy of merchant ships into the Baltic without paying the toll to the Danes. In 1652, he served the Amsterdam Directors. When the Witte Lam (28 guns) was hired, presumably on 12 March 1652, he was assigned as captain. His lieutenant was Jan Janszoon van Ridderstraet. He was with the fleet in the summer and sailed with Tromp to the Shetlands in July and August 1652. He fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock in October. His ship lost its bowsprit in the battle. We don't see him mentioned after the battle. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Directors' Ship Information 1652-1653", 2004.
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
3. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Vol.III, 1925.

Cornelis Hoola served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In February 1652, his ship was fired upon off Falmouth for not saluting the English colors. He was operating with the fleet in June 1652. In July and August, he was with Tromp's fleet on the voyage to the Shetlands. In August, he ship, the Leiden (28 guns) was with Witte de With's squadron. He fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 8 October 1652, where his ship loss its mainmast. In early December 1652, he is mentioned in reference to convoying the Archengel Michiel which was bound for the Mediterranean Sea. He is still listed as captain of the Leiden in an undated list which seems to be from early March 1653. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910.
2. Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Vol.III, 1925.
3. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.
4. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900.

Witte de With's journal starting from 24 August 1652 refers to Corstiaean Corstiaenszoon as commanding a Rotterdam Directors' ship. On that date, Witte de With had 22 ships with him. This is the list:

Rotterdam Admiralty

Witte de With             Prinses Louise     36 guns
Aert van Nes              Gelderland         26 guns

Rotterdam Directors

Ruth Jacobszoon Buys      (not known)        26 guns
Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon  Prins te Paard     38 guns

Amsterdam Admiralty

Gideon de Wildt           Vrede              42 guns
Cornelis Hoola            Leiden             28 guns
Abraham van der Hulst     (not known)        26 guns
Albert de Graeff          Hollandia          32 guns
Joris van der Zaan        Campen             38 guns
Nicolaes Marrevelt        Zeelandia          36 guns
Jacob Paulussen Cort      Star               28 guns
Jan van Campen            Overijssel         28 guns
Dirk Schey                Achilles           28 guns

Amsterdam Directors

Cornelis van Houtten     Witte Lam          30 guns
Abraham van Campen       Arke Troijane      28 guns
Jacob Corneliszoon Swart Faam               28 guns
Stoffel Juriaenszoon     Sint Francisco     28 guns

Noorderkwartier Admiralty

Arent Dirckszoon         Monnick            24 guns

Hoorn Dirctors

Pieter Adriaanszoon
       van Blocker       (not known)        28 guns

Zeeland Admiralty

Adriaan Bankert          (not known)        26 guns

Middelburg Directors

Jacob Penssen            Gouden Leeuw       30 guns
Johannes de Regermorter  (not known)        30 guns

As you can see, there are still some holes in our knowledge of ships and captains of the First Anglo-Dutch War.

A tentative list of ships and captains is as follows. It is less satisfactory than I would like:

Ship name            Commander                 Guns Crew Notes

Prins te Paard       Corstiaen Corstiaensz.    38   120              
                     Jacob Cleydijck          
Jonas                Jan de Liefde             36   125
Meerman              Jacob Cleydijck           30   120  Sunk at Portland in 1653
Sint Pieter          Isaac de Jongh            29   110  Foundered off 
                                                         the Shetlands 1652
?                    Adriaan de Zeeuw                    July 1652 in the Meuse
                                                         "is slaeghs geweest"
Kalmar Sleutel?      Sijmon Corneliszoon                 sunk on July 22, 1652
Meerman              Sijmon Corn. van der Meer 28        (at Portland) 
Sint Pieter          Sijmon Cornelszoon                  
Burgh                Hendrik Adriaanz. Glas              

I was glad to receive a package of copies, today, from Friesland. The first page of the set of copies has a title that says "Een en ander over Friesland's Zeewezen voor 1665". Some of the goodies contained are the geneology for the Stellingwerff family, showing Aucke and Frederick, the guns and crew for the Zevenwolden (38 guns and crew of 135 men). It also mentions Ariaen Heeres Cleyntie's ship, by name, in 1652. He commanded the Vergulde Pelicaen. His fellow Harlingen Directors' captain, Andries Douweszoon Pascaert, commanded the Sint Vincent in September 1652.

Teunis Post served the Admiralty of Zeeland. On about 16 May 1673, he was with the fleet in the adviesjacht Parel (8 guns) in Lt-Admiral Bankert's squadron. He fought in the First Schooneveld Battle on 7 June. Since he was also with the fleet on 12 June, he probably fought in the Second Schooneveld Battle, as well. He fought in the Battle of the Texel in August 1673, where he commanded the adviesjacht Parel (6 guns). He was assigned to Cornelis Tromp's division. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.

I was rereading the section in Vol.V of The First Dutch War, where there is a discussion of the Dutch fleet organization at the time of the Battle of the Gabbard. I have written about this before, I believe, but it seems worth noting again. There were five squadrons, each with an admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral (in Dutch, Schout-bij-Nacht). The guns are those that are known. They well may have actually carried more in the battle:

1. Tromp's squadron 
   Admiral:       Maarten Tromp, in Brederode, 54 guns Flag captain Egbert Kortenaer
   Vice-Admiral:  Gideon de Wildt, in Vrede, 44 guns
   Rear-Admiral:  Abel Roelants, in Prinses Louise, 36 guns

2. Jan Evertsen's squadron
   Admiral:       Jan Evertsen, in Vlissingen, 40 guns Flag captain Jan Pouwelszoon
   Vice-Admiral:  Cornelis Evertsen de Oude, Wapen van Zeeland, 30 guns
   Rear-Admiral:  Adriaan Kempen, in Amsterdam, 30 guns

3. Witte de With's squadron
   Admiral:    Witte de With, in Vrijheid, 44 guns Flag captain Abraham van der Hulst
   Vice-Admiral:  Jan de Lapper, in Fazant, 32 guns
   Rear-Admiral:  Jacob Cleydyck, in Prins te Paard, 38 guns

4. De Ruyter's squadron
   Admiral:       Michiel De Ruyter, in Witte Lam, 40 guns flag captain Jan Thyssen
   Vice-Admiral:  Adriaan Janszoon den Oven, in Neptunis, 28 guns
   Rear-Admiral:  Markus Hartman, in Gekroonde Liefde, 36 guns

5. Pieter Florissen's squadron
   Admiral:       Pieter Florissen, in Monnikendam, 38 guns
   Vice-Admiral:  Gillis Thyssen Campen, in Groningen, 42 guns
   Rear-Admiral:  Claes Bastiaanszoon Jaersvelt, in David en Goliad, 34 guns
   

Jacob Stadtlander served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1672, he commanded the adviesjacht Eenhoorn (10 guns). He fought at the Battle of Solebay, where he was assigned to Van Ghent's squadron. He was still with the fleet in August. We don't see him mentioned again until July 1675, when he sailed with De Ruyter's fleet that eventually went to the Mediterranean Sea. He commanded the supply ship Zwarte Tas (4 guns). He fought in the Battle of Stromboli on 8 January 1676, where he was assigned to Nikolaas Verschuur's squadron. He also fought in the Battle of Etna on 22 April 1676, where he was in De Ruyter's squadron. We don't know if he was at the Battle of Palermo, or not, due to the limitations of our list for that battle. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.

Arent Ruighaver (or Ruyghaver) served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He took part in De Ruyter's expedition to Martinique in 1674, where he commanded the fireship Salm (4 guns). IN 1675, he sailed to the Mediterranean Sea with De Ruyter's fleet. He commanded the fireship Melkmeisje (4 guns). On 8 January 1676, he fought in the Battle of Stromboli, where he was assigned to De Ruyter's Second Squadron. He also fought in the Battle of Etna (Agosta) on 22 April, where he was still assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. Since I do not have a list for the Battle of Palermo on 2 June 1676, I do not know if he took part. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.

Carl Stapel makes a good point:

Be aware that people commanding fireships were not always captains ordinaris or extra-ordinaris but commandeur. Furthermore people commanding adviesjachten and galjoten were also commanders and captains. Sometimes commanders of galjoten are called schippers for they were hired by the admirality with their ship and crew.

For instance Peter Melkenbeeke was never a captain but always remained commander a rank lower then lieutenant.

I come from the American naval tradition where we would call every ship or boat commander "captain", even if they were an Lieutenant (Junior Grade), so I have been sloppy about referring to Dutch naval officers as captains, when they were just Commandeurs.

Wijbrand Barendszoon (Wijbrant Barentszoon) served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He fought in the First Schooneveld Battle, where he commanded the fireship Sayer (4 guns). He was also in De Ruyter's squadron on 12 June. In August, he commanded the fireship Zaaier (4 guns) and fought in the Battle of the Texel. He was assigned to Aert van Nes's division in De Ruyter's squadron. In 1675, he sailed for the Mediterranean Sea with De Ruyter's fleet. He commanded the snauw Kreeft (8 guns). On 8 January 1676, he fought in the Battle of Stromboli, where he was assigned to De Ruyter's Second Squadron. He also fought in the Battle of Etna on 22 April 1676, where he was in De Ruyter's squadron. The list for the Battle of Palermo only has ships of the line, so it is unclear if he fought in the disastrous last battle. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.

Jan Kramer served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In May 1672, he commanded the adviesjacht Kater (10 guns) with the fleet. He fought in the Battle of Solebay, where he was attached to Lt-Admiral Bankert's squadron. He was still with the fleet in August. In 1673, he commanded the adviesjacht Egmond (10 guns). He fought in the First Schooneveld Battle and was in Cornelis Tromp's squadron. Perhaps he fought in the second battle, as well. In August, he fought in the Battle of the Texel, where he was assigned to Cornelis Tromp's division. Sources:]

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.
2. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
3. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.
4. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst Schooneveld I 7 juni 1673", 2005.

At some point, hopefully, there will be the lists for the Dutch fleet sent to the Mediterranean in 1675 and 1676 on Kentishknock.com. The lists include:

• De Ruyter's fleet that sailed for the Mediterranean Sea in 1675
• De Ruyter's fleet at the Battle of Stromboli on 8 January 1676
• De Ruyter's fleet at the Battle of Etna (or Agosta) on 22 April 1676
• The Dutch fleet at the Battle of Palermo on 2 June 1676

Philips Melkenbeeke served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was with De Ruyter's expedition to Martinique in June 1674, where he commanded the snauw Tonijn (8 guns). He sailed with De Ruyter's fleet to the Mediterranean Sea in 1675, still commanding the Tonijn. He fought in the Battle of Stromboli on 8 January 1676, where he was assigned to De Ruyter's Second Squadron. He also fought in the Battle of Etna on 22 April 1676, where he was still assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. It is unclear if he fought in the Battle of Palermo, as the list in Brandt seems to omit ships other than those in the line. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.

The Dutch fleet sailed in early August with Michiel De Ruyter as its new commander. The real commander was Johan de Witt, who was with De Ruyter in the Delfland. The fleet sailed to Bergen to join the merchant ships that had been sheltering there. They sailed, but were scattered by one of the fall storms that proved so devastating during the mini-ice age that lasted until the early 1700's. The weather in northern waters seemed to be worse than usual than when the climate was warmer. After the storm, De Ruyter was only able to find 47 ships, while 80 had become separated.

Edward Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, had pushed for the English fleet to sail, in hopes of intercepting De Ruyter on the homeward voyage. On 3 September, English frigates found a group of Dutch ships 90 miles to the northwest of the Texel. The Dutch attempted to flee, but the Hoop (40 guns) was taken by the 3rd Rate Mary, the Groningen (50 guns) was taken by the 4th Rate Adventure, the Westfriesland (50 guns) was taken by the 4th Rate Assurance, and the Zevenwolden (56 guns) was taken by the 4th Rate Antelope. The 5th Rate Hector and the 4th Rate Adventure chased and took a 60-gun East Indiaman, the Phoenix. The East Indiaman Sloot Honingen was taken by the 5th Rate Milford and the 3rd rate Plymouth. The Hector was lost abruptly, when it foundered after the Phoenix had surrendered.

On 4 September, another 7 merchantmen were taken, one by the Adventure. The English fleet then took some time to search along the east side of the Dogger Bank. At that date, De Ruyter, with part of his fleet was to the south of the Dogger Bank. On 3 September, he found Tjerk Hiddes de Vries with several ships which joined the fleet. Now, both the Dutch and English fleets sought each other. The state of scouting doctrine at this date was abysmal, so the fleets were blindly sailing, hoping to find each other.

In the early morning of 9 September, 15 of the missing Dutch ships blundered into the English fleet. By 9am, 7 more ships were taken, along with 4 East Indiamen which had been serving with the fleet as warships. The captured East Indiamen included the former warship Huis te Zwieten (70 guns) (Witte de With's flagship in the fall of 1653), the Gelderesche Ruyter (46 guns), the Sint Paulus of Enkhuizen and the Sint Paulus of Middelburg (both 40 guns).

In the afternoon, the English sailed close to a group of 30 ships commanded by Aert van Nes. Some shots were exchanged, and Sir Thomas Allin burnt the Sint Paulus of Middelburg, as he expected a battle. The Earl of Sandwich became uneasy about having an under-manned fleet with 23 Dutch prizes, and he withdrew. This was fortunate, as another storm came up in the night. This is based on the account by Frank Fox in A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666 (1996).

Huybrecht van der Zaan was apparently brother to Willem and Joris. He was father of Cornelis van der Zaan, who lived from 1640 until 1693. Carl Stapel had seen Huybrecht van der Zaan referenced by R.B. Prud'homme van Reine. He was said to have been killed on February 28, 1653, on the first day of the Three Days' Battle (Portland). That is also when I believe that his brother, Joris van der Zaan, was killed. I have not been able to find any published references to Huybrecht van der Zaan, so I would be interested if anyone knows more about him. Joris, Willem, and Cornelis are mentioned by Mollema, but not Huybrecht.

Jan Minne served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He commanded the Prins te Paard (52 guns) with Scheper's expedition to the Sound in 1683. His ship was one of those wrecked and he was drowned in a storm on 15 November 1683. The disaster was in part due to the fact that little maintenance had been performed on the ships and they were poorly equipped. De Jonge only mentions him in conjunction with the expedition to the Sound and his death in the storm. Sources:

1. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.III, 1869.
2. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vloot van 1683 naar de Sont ", 2005.

Willem de Rave served the Admiralty of the Maze (Rotterdam). He lived from about 1650 until 1685. He was with the fleet on 7 May, when he was assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. He commanded the fireship Eenhoorn through 1673. He fought in the First Schooneveld battle, where he was assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. He was also with the fleet on 12 June, so he probably fought in the Second Schooneveld battle, as well. In August, he fought in the Battle of the Texel, where his fireship Eenhoorn was assigned to Jan de Liefde's division in De Ruyter's squadron. IN 1683, he was second flagcaptain on Willem Schepers' flagship, the Vrijheid (80 guns). Presumably, he survived the storm, since he lived until 1685. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.
Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst 1683 bestaande uit 29 gewapende oorlogsschepen", 2005.
4. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst Schooneveld I 7 juni 1673", 2005.

Matthijs Laurenszoon served the Admiralty of Zeeland. He was with the fleet on 23 May 1673, where he commanded the adviesjacht Zwaluw (6 guns), when he was attached to Lt-Admiral Bankert's squadron. He was apparently absent from the First Schooneveld Battle. He certainly was present with the fleet on 12 June, when he was still with Bankert's squadron. He fought in the Battle of the Texel in August, where he was assigned to Cornelis Evertsen's division in Bankert's squadron. In 1674, he was with De Ruyter's expedition to Martinique. He commanded the water fluit Bruijnvisch. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.
3. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst Schooneveld I 7 juni 1673", 2005.

Nicolaes (Claes) Portugaal served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In August 1672, he commanded the adviesjacht Mercurius (12 guns). On 7 June 1673, he fought in the First Schooneveld Battle, where he commanded the adviesjacht Triton (10 guns). He was assigned to Cornelis Tromp's Van Squadron. He probably fought in the Second Schooneveld Battle, as well, as he was with the fleet on 12 June. Again, he was in Tromp's squadron. He also fought in the Battle of the Texel in August 1673. He was assigned to Isaac Sweers' division in Tromp's squadron. In June 1674, he commanded the snauw Hoen (12 guns) in De Ruyter's fleet sent to Martinique. He was assigned to De Ruyter's squadron. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.
3. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst Schooneveld I 7 juni 1673", 2005.

Cornelis Gerritszoon served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In June 1667, he commanded the Galei van Dover prize (22 guns) with the fleet. He was assigned to Van Ghent's Third Squadron. He took part in the Raid on Chatham, still in Van Ghent's squadron. He was with the fleet on July 15, 1667, where he commanded the adviesjacht Prins te Paard (16 guns), which was with De Ruyter. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
2. Carl Stapel, unpublished manuscript "Vlootlijst tocht naar Chatham", 2005.