Witte de With's squadron in June and December 1652

Witte de With commanded a squadron at the outset of the First Anglo-Dutch War. For a brief period, he commanded the main fleet, and then he was back to being a squadron commander. His permanent rank was Vice-Admiral. We know his squadron's composition at several dates in 1652:

Commander                 Adm    Ship                  Guns Crew ? June 4 Aug 2 Dec
Augustijn Balck           A      Vrijheid              46   150  X      X     X
Ernestus de Bertrij       R      Hollandia             ?    ?    X      X     
Jan Jansz Boermans        A      Prins Willem          28   100  X      X    
Adriaan Bruynsvelt        F      Breda                 28    85*              X
Abraham van Campen        A-Dir  Arke Troijane         28   100               X
Gillis Thyssen Campen     A      Gouden Leeuw          24    80  X      X    
Jacob Cleijdijck          R-Dir  Meerman               30   120               X
Marinus de Clerck         R      some ship (Schiedam?) ?    ?                 X
Barent Cramer             A      Edam                  28   100  X      X
Pieter Gorcum             Z      Dordrecht, jacht      17    50  X      X
Albert de Graeff          A      Hollandia             32   110  X      X
Jan de Haes               R      Gulden Beer           24    80  X      X     X
Dirck Juynbol             R      Gelderland            30   131               X
Hendrick Kroeger          A      Leiden                28   100               X
Nicolaes Marrevelt        A      Zeelandia             36   120               X
Cornelis Naeuoogh         A-Dir  Sint Matheeus         36   135               X
Cornelis Jansz Poort      A-Dir  Kroon Imperiaal       34   125               X 
Dirck Schey               A      Achilles              28   100               X
Teunis Vechterszoon       N      Scheletje             24    70  X      X    
Dirck Vijch               R      Overijssel            22    80               X
Jan Reyndersz Wagenaer    F      Graaf Hendrick        30   100               X
Schelte Wiglema           F      Frisia                ?    ?                 X
Witte Cornelisz de With   R      Prinses Louise        36   120* X      X     X

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "The Dutch Fleet on 4 August 1652 as listed in Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet", 2006
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898
3. Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906

Ships that joined Witte de With's fleet with De Ruyter prior to the Battle of the Kentish Knock

After Michiel De Ruyter's fleet had joined Witte de With, before the Battle of the Kentish Knock. Witte de With sent in a group of ships that had been with De Ruyter but were in need of repair, mostly from damage taken in the Battle of Plymouth. The rest of the ships stayed with the fleet. This is the list of ships that stayed:

Adm    Rank       Commander               Ship                  Guns Crew
R-Dir  luitenant  Jan Jansz van der Valch Sint Pieter           28   122
A      commandeur Jan Gideonsz Verburch   Graaf Willem          40   140
A      kapitein   Cornelis van Velsen     Gelderland            28   100
A-VOC  kapitein   Pieter Salmonszoon      Vrede                 40   200
A-VOC  kapitein   Douwe Auckes            Vogelstruis           40   200
A      kapitein   Lucas Albertssen        Drie Coningen         36   130
A      kapitein   Emmanuel Zalingen       Aartsengel Michiel    40   140*
A      kapitein   Sijmon van der Aeck     Amsterdam             30   100
A      kapitein   Isaak Sweers            Engel Gabriel         36   130
A      kapitein   Jan Egbertsz Ooms       Gouda                 28    86
A      kapitein   Claes Sael              Maria                 30   100
Z      kapitein   Frans Crijsz Mangelaer  Liefde                30   110
Z      kapitein   Cornelis Loncke         Faam                  30   110
Vl-Dir kapitein   Leendert den Haen       Haes in 't Velt       30   108
Z      kapitein   Laurens Pensier         Sint Jan              26   100
Z      kapitein   Cornelis Kuijper        Ter Goes              26   109
N      kapitein   Gabriel Antheunissen    Kasteel van Medemblik 26   100
N      luitenant  Tijmen Claeszoon        Westergo              28    98
N      kapitein   Reinier Sekema          Hector van Troijen    24    70

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900

English Captain: John Grove

John Grove served in both the Commonwealth and Restoration navies. From 1653 until 1654, he commanded the 4th Rate Marmaduke. From 1654 until 1655, he commanded the Dutch prize Cardiff (ex-Fortuijn). From 1655 until after the Restoration, he commanded the 5th Rate Pembroke. He was continued in command in 1660, although it is not clear for how long. He died sometime before 1689. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
3. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994
4. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903

I am having trouble explaining a short list of ships from Jan Glete's notes

I have been fascinated by a short list of ship names from Jan Glete's notes from the Nationaal Archief when he was doing research a long time ago for his book Navies and Nations (I believe). The list has some very interesting names, and was included in his notes about Directors' ships hired in 1652 and 1653. This is the list, dating from 30 March 1652, as best as I can recreate it:

Colburg
Harderin
Harderwijk
Herenberg
Wesp (Weesp?)
Zutphen

The list is a problem, because we think that we know the composition of the "Fifty Ships", none of these names are part of that list. Rick van Velden was not able to find the list from 30 March 1652, so finding the truth will entail searching in the Nationaal Archief, presumably under the area where the Directors' ships information is located.

One of the best books in the Google Book Search

For the researcher in 17th Century naval history, one of the gems in Google Book Search is Granville Penn's biography of Sir William Penn, dating from 1833. I own a poor copy that is very fragile and in tatters. One of the most useful features is the presence of many ship lists, especially those dating from the English Civil War. They provide details about ships that later served in the First Anglo-Dutch War. There is an interesting list dating from April 1642 that starts on page 22 of Volume I. You can find the next page (page 23) by searching in Google Book Search for "Hopeful Luke" with the quotation marks. There are many more like that list that are useful for firming up data about ships in service in the period of 1642 to 1652. (see Granville Penn's book, Memorials of the Professional Life of Admiral Sir William Penn, London, 1833).

Ayscue's squadron sent to Barbados, returning in early 1652

Sir George Ayscue was sent with a squadron to Barbados to take action against Royalists and Dutch merchants trading there. The squadron returned home sometime in early 1652. This is the list of ships:

Rate Ship                 Date   Guns Crew  Commander
2nd  Rainbow              1617   52   280   Sir George Ayscue
4th  Amity                1650   36   150   Michael Packe
5th  Success (M)          1650   30    90   Edward Witheridge
5th  Ruth (M)                    30    80   Edward Thompson
5th  Brazil frigate (M)          24    70   Thomas Heath
5th  Malaga Merchant (M)         30    90   Henry Collins
4th  Increase of London (M)      36   100   Thomas Varvell

Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898

The original 50 Directors' ships of 1652

I think at this point, we can make a pretty complete listing of the Fifty Directors' ships of 1652:

7 Rotterdam Directors' ships

Adm   Captain                      Ship              Guns Crew
R-Dir Ruth Jacobsz Buys            a ship            26   105
R-Dir Jan Evertsz de Liefde        Jonas             36   125
R-Dir Jacob Cleijdijck             Meerman           30   120
R-Dir Isaak de Jongh               Sint Pieter       29   110
R-Dir Adriaan de Zeeuw             Burcht            28   105
R-Dir Simon Cornelisz van der Meer Prins             ?    ?
R-Dir Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon     Prins te Paard    38   120

24 Amsterdam Directors' ships

Adm   Captain                      Ship              Guns Crew
A-Dir Jan Maijkers                 Alexander         28   100
A-Dir Dirck Pater                  Blauwe Arend      28   105
A-Dir Matthijs Corneliszoon        Sint Salvador     34   120
A-Dir Jacob Swart                  Vliegende Faam    28   110
A-Dir Abraham van Campen           Arke Troijane     28   100
A-Dir Cornelis Jansz Poort         Kroon Imperiaal   34   125
A-Dir Cornelis Jansz Brouwer       Valck             28   105
A-Dir Maarten de Graeff            Prinses Roijaal   28   110
A-Dir Gerrit van Lummen            Neptunis          36   125
A-Dir Cornelis Naeuoogh            Sint Matheeus     36   135
A-Dir Nicolaes de With             Prins Maurits     34   115
A-Dir Gerrit Schuyt                Rooseboom         28   105
A-Dir Bastiaen Bardoel             Engel Gabriel     28   110
A-Dir Cornelis van Houtten         Witte Lam         30   110
A-Dir Stoffel Juriaenszoon         Sint Francisco    28   105
A-Dir Jacob Sijvertsz Spanheijm    Elias             34   121
A-Dir Hendrick de Raedt            Zwarte Leeuw      30   130
A-Dir Sipke Fockes                 Sint Maria        28   100
A-Dir Bruyn van Seelst             Groote Liefde     38   125
A-Dir Lambert Pieterszoon          Nassouw           34   130
A-Dir Fredrick de Coninck   Groote Vergulde Fortuijn 35   135
A-Dir Fredrick Bogaert             Engel Michiel     30   115

9 Zeeland Directors' ships

Adm    Captain                    Ship                Guns Crew
Mi-Dir Jan Le Sage                Vergulde Haan       30   105
Mi-Dir Jacob Adriaansz Penssen    Gouden Leeuw        30   110
Mi-Dir Johannes van Regermorter   some ship           30   105
Mi-Dir Bastiaan Tuyneman          Sint Laurens        30   105
Vl-Dir Jan Thyssen                Witte Lam           32   110
Vl-Dir Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge Vlissingen          26   110
Vl-Dir Allert Janszoon            Dubbele Arend       28   110
Zi-Dir Cornelis Rocusz Fincen     Liefde              34   110
Ve-Dir Jan Olivierszoon           Wapen van der Veere 38   125

7 Noorderkwartier Directors' Ships

Adm    Captain                      Ship               Guns Crew
Ho-Dir Jacob Pietersz Houck         Sampson            30   110
Ho-Dir Pieter Adriaensz van Blocker a ship             28   105
En-Dir Gijsbert Malcontent          a ship             28   110
En-Dir Jacob Claesz Duijm           Vergulde Zon       28   108
Me-Dir Jan Pietersz Deught          Sint Jeronimus     30   110
Ed-Dir Jan Fredricksz Houcboot      Vergulde Meerman   30   110
Mo-Dir Jacob Claesz Boot            Zwarte Beer        32   115

2 Friesland Directors' ships

Adm    Captain                      Ship               Guns Crew
Ha-Dir Andries Douwesz Pascaert     Sint Vincent       28   105
Ha-Dir Adriaan Heeres Cleijntien    Vergulde Pelicaen  28   100

1 Groningen Directors' ship

Adm    Captain                      Ship               Guns Crew
Gr-Dir Joost Bulter                 Kameel             42   ?

Sources:

1. list of the fleet on 19/20 September 1652 from the Nationaal Archief
2. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923
3. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Directors' Ship Information 1652-1653", 2004
4. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
5. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898

From the list of Convoy ships from 1652

In The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, there are three ships mentioned in a translated memorandum, listing convoy ships. The list very likely dates from sometime in 1652:

Adm Captain                   Ship              Guns  Crew
N   Tijs Tijmensz Peereboom   Peereboom         24    70
N   Teunis Vechterszoon       Scheletje         24    70
N   Willem Ham                Sampson           24    80

Willem Ham's ship was taken by the English in the "Disaster" on 22 July 1652, when the fishery protection squadron ships were captured or sunk. Until at least after October, Teunis Vechterszoon's ship was part of Witte de With's squadron. Hendrik de Raedt's pamphlet says of the ship that it was "of Medemblick". Tijs Tijmensz Peereboom served at least until the summer of 1653.

Witte de With's fleet on 17 September 1652

Several days before the Battle of the Kentish Knock, Witte de With's fleet consisted of the following ships and captains:

Rotterdam Admiralty Ships

Prinses Louise, 36 guns   Vice-Admiral Witte de With
Gorinchem, 30 guns        Captain Jan Jacobsz van Nes

Rotterdam Directors' Ships

Prins te Paard, 38 guns   Captain Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon
some ship, 26 guns        Captain Ruth Jacobsz Buys

Amsterdam Admiralty Ships

Vrede, 42 guns            Commandeur Gideon de Wildte
Campen, 38 guns           Captain Joris van der Zaan
some ship, 26 guns        Captain Abraham van der Hulst
Leiden, 28 guns           Captain Cornelis Cornelisz Jol (Hoola)
Zutphen, 28 guns          Captain Ewout Jeroenszoon
Hollandsche Tuin, 24 guns Captain Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon
Gouden Leeuw, 24 guns     Captain Gillis Thyssen Campen
Achilles, 28 guns         Captain Dirk Schey
Star, 28 guns             Captain Jacob Paulusz Cort
Hollandia, 32 guns        Captain Albert Claesz de Graeff
Zeelandia, 36 guns        Lieutenant-Commander Nicolaes Marrevelt

Amsterdam Directors' Ships

Faam, 28 guns             Captain Jacob Andriesz Swart
Witte Lam, 28 guns        Captain Cornelis van Houtten
Arke Troijane, 28 guns    Captain Abraham van Campen
Sint Francisco, 28 guns   Captain Stoffel Juriaenszoon

Zeeland Admiralty Ships

Wapen van Zeeland, 30 guns Commandeur Cornelis Evertsen de Oude
some ship, 26 guns         Captain Adriaan Banckert
Amsterdam, 30 guns         Captain Adriaan Kempen
Hollandia, ? guns          Captain Philips Joosten
Dordrecht, 17 guns         Captain Pieter Gorcum
Zeeridder, 28 guns         Captain Gillis Janszoon

East Indiamen from Middelburg

Prins Willem, 40 guns      Captain Jacob Gaeuw
Louisa Hendrika, 45 guns   Captain Pieter Marcuszoon

Zeeland Directors Ships

Dubbele Arend, 26 guns     Captain Allert Janszoon (Vlissingen)
some ship, 30 guns         Captain Johannes van Regermorter (Middelburg)
Haes in 't Veld, 30 guns   Captain Bastiaan Sentsen (Centsen or Centen) (Vlissingen)
Gouden Leeuw, 30 guns      Captain Jacob Adriaansz Penssen (Middelburg)

Noorderkwartier Admiralty Ships

Prins Maurits, 28 guns       Captain Cornelis Pietersz Taeman
Monnick, 24 guns             Captain Arent Dirckszoon
Burcht van Alkmaar, 24 guns  Captain Gerrit Nobel
Wapen van Enkhuizen, 30 guns Captain Gerrit Femssen

Friesland Admiralty Ships

some ship, ? guns            Captain Belevelt
Frisia, ? guns               Captain Schelte Wiglema
Gelderland, 24 guns          Captain Laurens Degelcamp
Breda, 28 guns               Captain Adriaan Bruynsveld

Fireships

Eenhoorn          commandeur Laurens Josiaszoon
Vale Haen         commandeur Pieter Marcuszoon
Graaf Sonderlandt commandeur Hendrick Janszoon
Vergulde Buys     commandeur Ary Cornelsz
Amsterdam         commandeur Dirck Dirckszoon
Hoop              commandeur Schooneveld
Vos               commandeur Jan Jacobszoon
some fireship     commandeur Jacob Janszoon  

The fireship data is not quite so reliable as the other data, as I had to rely on the document from The First Dutch War, Vol.II. I used my unpublished paper "Dutch Ships 1600-1700" to fill in the details, as well as my document "The Dutch Fleet on 4 August 1652 as listed in Hendrik de Raedt's pamphlet". That document is less complete for fireships.

The Poort van Troijen

The Onstelde-Zee was published in 1654. The book is very rare, and is an account of the First Anglo-Dutch War from the Dutch perspective. The book was published shortly after the end of the war, and has a great deal of animosity towards the English, perhaps understandably. The author, Jodocus Hondius, names a few ships in the book. One of them is the Poort van Troijen. What Hondius wrote was something like this on page 83 of the Onstelde-Zee:

Den Capiteyn op de Poort van Trojen , raakten regens een Engelfman heftigh Slaags, die hy zoo luftigh war in zyn Staertse ribben gaf, zoo dat hy een Schoot onder water hebbende'thag-je, rnoft laten glijen, en zigh over gaf.

De Kapiteyn met zyn Volk van de Poort van Trojen bemerkende dat den Engelsman zoude zinken, haalden degerectste goederen daar uyt, onder andren ook een deel Sek, daar mede zy haar vrolijk maakten , zonder aght te nemen oft zy ook onder water ge aakt waren, onder wyl zy dan dus over haar verkregen Victorie heel Sorgeloos malkander luftigh toe braghten en dronken maakten zo zonk haar Schip (dat mede onder water geschoten was) vast wegh begevende een deel van haar dit ongeluk ziende inde boot, zoo dat daar af maar 9 mannen ontquamen , eenige andre met de tweede boot wilende vlughten , geraakten onder de Nok van de Focke-Ree, die haar (alzoo 't Schip Schielijk oversloegh te zink n ) onder water mede sleepten.

This is based on an OCR of the document. It was corrected, but still may have variances from the archaic spellings in the document. I tried to change all the places where there was an "f" that was there because of the archaic "s" that looked like an "f" without the horizontal bar. Dr. Ballhausen identified this ship with Jacob Sievertsz Spanheijm, who was killed in the battle. However, we know that his ship was actually the Elias (34 guns), and the Elias survived the battle, only to be captured at the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653. The only ship at Portland with a similar name was Abraham van Campen's ship, the Arke Troijane (28 guns). Abraham van Campen was killed and his ship was sunk in the battle.

Did the ships bound for Brazil in early July 1652 join the fleet?

Page 282 of The First Dutch War, Vol.V, mentions at least two ships bound for Brazil that seem to have been ordered to join the Dutch fleet, instead. One was the Witte Eenhoorn, lying in the Delft harbour. The other ship was the Gecroonde Haes, commanded by Captain Ezechiel or Ezekiel. Did these ships actually join the fleet, or not?

The Noorderkwartier Directors' ships from 1652 until 1653

Reaction to this list is basically "nothing new here", but it is a summary of my current information and analysis about what ships were hired by the Directors in the port cities in the Noorderkwartier during 1652 to 1653. This is the list:

Edam Directors

Ship             Guns Crew Captain                  Sources:
Vergulde Meerman 30   110  Jan Fredericksz Houcboot raedt, fleet2
Halve Maan       30*  110* Hendrick Pieterszoon     1DW4 p.324, 
                                                      aitzema3 p.822

Enkhuizen Directors

Ship           Guns Crew Captain              Sources:
?              28   110  Gijsbert Malcontent  raedt, 1DW1
Vergulde Zon   28   105  Jacob Claesz Duijm   fleet2, 1DW1, 1DW4, raedt

Hoorn Directors

Ship     Guns Crew Captain                      Sources:
Sampson  30   110  Jacob Pietersz Hoeck (Houck) raedt, fleet2
?        28   105  Pieter Adriaensz van Blocker raedt, 1DW1

Medemblik Directors

Ship            Guns Crew Captain                Sources:
Sint Jeronimus  30   110  Jan Pietersz Deught    raedt, 1DW3, schet4
Koning Radbout  ?    ?    Jan Rootjes (Rootiers) schet6, 1DW5 p.185,
                                                   1DW6 pp.160 & 175

Monnikendam Directors

Ship          Guns Crew Captain              Sources:
Zwarte Beer   32   115  Jacob Claesz Boot    raedt, 1DW3, schet4

Sources:

Sources:

Aitzema3 Lieuwe van Aitzema, Staet in Oorlogh in ende omtrent 
              de Vereenigte Nederlanden, Vol.III, 1655-1671
1DW1     Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898
1DW3     Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., 
              The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906
1DW4     C. T. Atkinson,  Ed., The First Dutch War,  Vol.IV, 1910
1DW5     C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912
1DW6     C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930
schet4   Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van 
             ons Zeewezen, Vol.IV, 1927
schet5   Johan E. Elias, Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van 
             ons zeewezen, Vol.V, 1928
fleet2   list of the Dutch fleet 19/20 September 1652 from the Nationaal Archief
raedt    Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het 
             beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652

Dutch Commander of Marines: Gerolf van Isselmuyden

Gerolf van Isselmuyden lived until 11 August 1674. In 1672, he was commander of the sea soldiers. He distinguished himself in the defense of the Smyrna convoy under De Haze. Also in 1672, he was severely wounded in the Battle of Solebay. In 1674, he was killed as captain of the marines in the Battle of Senef. The Battle of Senef was fought between armies commanded by Prince Condé for the French and William of Orange. My piece about Francois Palm has a little more on the Battle of Senef, where Francois Palm was also killed. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, "Dutch Captain: Francois Palm", 17th Century Naval Wargaming, 2005
2. J. C. Mollema, De Eere Rol, from Geschiedenis van Nederland ter Zee, Vol.II, 1940

Dutch Naval Officer: Gerard van Meeckeren

Gerard van Meeckeren was a Zeeland naval officer. He lived from about 1500 until about 1570. He was a Vice-Admiral of Flanders, Holland, and Zeeland from 1523 until 1553. In 1528, he fought the French near Dieppe and sank the French vice-admiral. In 1532, he was vice-admiral of a squadron in the Sound. He was Lieutenant-Admiral of the admiralty of Burgundy-Beveren in 1533. Also in 1533, he opened the Sound for Dutch shipping. In 1636, he took many prizes in the war on France. In 1543, he was a squadron commander on the French coast. He burnt many ships in the Garonne. In 1544, he was a squadron commander in the Channel. On 1 December 1553, he was Vice-Admiral of Dunkirk. As Vice-Admiral of Dunkirk, he was responsible for the supervision of the Dunkirk herring fishery. He left the service on 2 July 1562. This is based on my translation of the two sources. Sources:

1. Luc Eekhout, Het Admiralenboek: De Vlagofficieren van de Nederlandse marine 1382-1991, 1992
2. J. C. Mollema, De Eere Rol, from Geschiedenis van Nederland ter Zee, Vol.II, 1940

More about Cornelis Corneliszoon de Groot

I have previously written about Cornelis Corneliszoon de Groot (July 10, 2004). I noticed his name in my list, and I wanted to do some further research. On 17 April 1653, Cornelis de Groot served in Witte de With's squadron and attended a council of war on board the ship Luipaard. Cornelis de Groot was one of a number of captains from Witte de With's squadron who was present. The list of naval officers included (some of which may not have been captains):

Witte Cornelisz de With
Jan Jansz de Lapper (who apparently was illiterate)
Leendert Arensz Haexwant
Maarten Schaeff
Dirk Vijch
Claes Bastiaensz van Jaersvelt
Gerbrant Schatter
Govert Reael
Gerrit Schuyt
Cornelis Jacobsz Brouwer
Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot
Jan Pietersz van Strijp
Pieter Janszoon
Egbert Janszoon Schaeff
Hendrick Hendrickszoon
J. J. Vermoes
Cornelis Taenman
Hendrik Kroeger
Frederick Bogaart

Cornelis de Groot had told the group that the Bay of Scarborough was not a location where the Dutch fleet could successfully engage the English. It was "an unsheltered lee coast", and the seas were usually high, because of lack of shelter and the winds which were typical there. The bay is also very narrow, which would hamper maneuver. From documents, we know that Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot's ship was the Samson, a ship of the Amsterdam Directors. We know her specifications:

28 guns
crew 100 men

Length: 119ft
Beam:    28ft
Hold:    13ft
Height between decks: 6.25ft or 6.5ft

Guns: 10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, and 2-3pdr

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.IV, 1927
3. document listing Amsterdam Directors' ships dated 27 January 1653, 1653

Dutch Captain: Jacob Anthoniszoon

Jacob Anthoniszoon was a captain and fought in the Dutch rebellion against Spain with the Sea Beggars (Watergeus). He was born in Haarlem lived until about 1590. In 1572, he fought in the capture of Den Briel. In 1573, he commanded the Kleine Galei on the Haarlemmermeer and recaptured the Groote Galei. He took part in the attempt on Haarlem in 1573. In 1588, he served under Van Duyvenvoorde on the Flemish coast. In 1589, he was a Vice-Admiral of Amsterdam before Dunkirk. Sources:

1. Luc Eekhout, Het Admiralenboek: De Vlagofficieren van de Nederlandse marine 1382-1991, 1992
2. J. C. Mollema, De Eere Rol, from Geschiedenis van Nederland ter Zee, Vol.II, 1940

Bad Blogger problems

I have been dismayed with Blogger the last few days, especially, due to some severe outages that have started in the late morning. The one today lasted 9 hours or more, with some momentary returns to service. I will try to do some writing while they are up.

My current research project

For the short term, I am working on an improved list of the Dutch ships which fought in the Three Days' Battle, or Battle of Portland. I am using The First Dutch War, Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1653, some archival documents from 1653, and De Sneuper website for Frisian ships and captains. I also will be reluctantly using Dr. Ballhausen's book, despite its obvious faults. I will also be consulting the volume of Saken van Staet in Oorlogh in ende omtrent de Vereenigte Nederlanden that covers early 1653 and Hondius's book Onstelde-Zee oft Zeedaden voorgevallen tusschen d. Vereenigde. Nederland en Engelandt, from 1654. I don't expect much from the last, but feel compelled to consult it for completeness.

The nine Zeeland Directors' ships in July 1653

Carl Stapel had a list of the Zeeland Directors' ships in his list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653. I have tried to correct and fill in the gaps for that list. This reflects my latest estimates:

Directors      Ship             Guns  Commander
Middelburg-dir Leeuwin          30    vice-admiraal Johan Evertsen
                                      vlagcapitein Claes Janszoon?
Vlissingen-dir Vlissingen       26    capitein Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge  
Veere-dir      Wapen ter Veere  38    capitein Jan Olivierszoon
Middelburg-dir Gouden Leeuw     30    capiteun Jacob Adriaansz Penssen  
Vlissingen-dir Witte Lam        40    cmdr Michiel de Ruyter 
Middelburg-dir Gekroonde Liefde 36    capitein Markus Hartman 
Vlissingen-dir Haes in 't Velt  30    capitein Bastiaan Centen
Zierikzee-dir  Liefde           34    Cornelis Rocusz Fincen
Vlissingen-dir Dubbele Arend    26    formerly commanded by Allert Janszoon

The ships that I listed for 1654 are not a complete list

My list of Dutch ships in 1654 are just those whose captain I know and where I have a list of the guns carried. There are more ships mentioned in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 than I have shown. Carl Stapel compiled a list that included:

Amsterdam 17 ships
Friesland  5 ships
the Maze (Rotterdam) 12 ships
Noorderkwartier 7 ships
Zeeland   20 ships

At least one of the Zeeland ships listed in the Staet had been sunk at the Battle of Scheveningen in August 1653. This was the small warship West Capelle, commanded by Claes Janszoon Sanger. This was the ship also known as the Galjas van Middelburg, and which fought in the Battle of Plymouth in August 1652.

Some odd armaments on Dutch ships in 1654

I have not seen an explanation for some of the down-gunning of Dutch ships in 1654 that is evident from the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654. I have wondered if it was because of a gun shortage, as there were new ships to arm, or if it was reduced armament for overseas service. There were also many ships with an odd assortment of guns, as though they were armed with whatever guns could be found. There are some shot weights that seem to have been very non-standard (such as the 14pdr). In any case, these are examples of the phenomena:

Key:
A=Amsterdam
F=Friesland
N=Noorderkwartier
R=Rotterdam
ss=steenstukken
Ad = Admiralty
pr=pounder
Ch.=Chambered gun
SbN=Schout-bij-Nacht (Rear-Admiral)

1654
Ad Ship                  Captain                   Guns Gun List
A  Stavoren              Evert Anthonisz             32 4-24pr,20-12pr,4-8pr,4-6pr drakes
R  Gelderland           Michiel Fransz van den Bergh 40 18-18pr,10-12pr,2-Ch.12pr,6-6pr,
                                                          2-Ch.6pr,2-Ch.4pr
R  Haij, jacht           Jan Jansz Blom              10 6-4pr,4-ss
F  Westergo              Allert Pietersz de Boer     44 2-24pr,12-18pr,12-12pr,10-8pr,8-6pr
A  Stad en Lande         Pieter van Brakel           48 22-18pr,20-8pr,6-6pr drakes
F  Prinses Albertina     Adriaan Bruynsvelt          44 14-18pr,12-12pr,10-8pr,8-6pr
A  Groningen             Gillis Tijssen Campen       34 18-12pr,4-10pr,8-8pr,4-4pr
A  Huis van Jaarsveld    Jan van Campen              32 2-24pr,20-12pr,6-8pr,4-6pr drakes
F  Omlandia              Laurens Degelcamp           30 2-12pr,3-9pr,6-8pr,6-6pr,9-5pr,2-4pr,2-3pr
N  Wapen van Alkmaar     Arent Dircksz               28 4-12pr,14-8pr,6-6pr,4-4pr
R  Gorinchem (Gorcum)    Corstiaen Eldertsz          30 2-15pr,16-12pr,6-6pr,6-5pr
N  Jozua                 Vice-Adm Pieter Florissen   50 4-24pr,18-18pr,10-12pr,10-8pr,4-6pr,4-4pr
R  Utrecht               Leendert Adriaansz Haexwant 22 6-Ch.12pr,10-8pr,2-6pr,4-4pr
N  Prinses Roijaal       Captain Ham                 24 2-18pr,2-14pr,4-12pr,12-8pr,4-6pr
N  Eenhoorn              Jan Jansz Heck              30 7-12pr,2-14pr,4-12pr,12-8pr,4-6pr
N  Kasteel van Medemblik Adriaan Houttuijn           28 10-12pr,8-8pr,6-4pr,2-3pr
A  Vrijheid              Abraham van der Hulst       46 4-24pr,18-18pr,6-12pr,14-8pr,4-6pr drakes
A  Maan                  Hendrik Huyskens            40 4-18pr,16-12pr,16-8pr,4-4pr
R  Dolphijn              Paulus van den Kerckhoff    32 2-Ch.24pr,18-12pr,8-6pr,2-Ch.5pr,2-4pr
R  Prins Willem          Hendrik Jansz de Munnick*   44 4-24pr,10-18pr,12-12pr,10-8pr,8-6pr
R  Prinses Louise        Aert Jansz van Nes          38 4-24pr,20-12pr,10-Ch.12pr,4-Ch.5pr
R  Gelderland            Aert Jansz van Nes          22 2-Ch.12pr,10-8pr,6-6pr,4-4pr
A  Leeuwarden            Jan Egbertsz Ooms           34 4-18pr,14-12pr,14-6pr,2-4pr
F  Oostergo              Rombout van der Parre       52 2-24pr,22-18pr,20-12pr,8-6pr
N  Enkhuizen             Dirk Gerritsz Pomp          28 4-12pr,14-8pr,6-6pr,4-4pr
A  Huis te Zwieten       Vice-Admiral de Ruyter      60 10-24pr,16-18pr,24-12pr,10-6pr drakes
A  Fortuijn, jacht       Pieter Salomonsz            14 14-4pr
A  Vereenigden Provincien Maarten Schaeff            32 4-24pr,14-12pr,10-8pr,4-6pr
A  Zuiderhuis            Dirk Schey                  32 4-18pr,16-12pr,4-10pr,4-8pr,4-6pr drakes
N  Jonge Prins           Cornelis Barentsz Slordt    28 2-24pr,10-12pr,8-8pr,2-5pr,4-4pr,2-2pr
F  Breda                 Captain Stellingwerff       32 6-12pr,10-8pr,12-6pr,4-4pr
A  Vrede                 Isaak Sweers                32 4-24pr,18-12pr,6-8pr,4-6pr drakes
A  Huis te Cruiningen    SbN Cornelis Tromp          54 24-18pr,6-12pr,16-8pr,8-6pr drakes
A  Amsterdam             Jan Gideonsz Verburgh       50 22-18pr,10-12pr,12-8pr,6-6pr drakes
R  Rotterdam             Jan Aertsz Verhaeff         30 2-Ch.24pr,18-18pr,8-8pr,2-Ch.4pr
A  Landman               Dirk Quirijnen Verveen      44 4-24pr,24-12pr,12-8pr,4-6pr drakes
R  Overijssel            Dirk Vijch                  22 4-Ch.24pr,2-12pr,4-8pr,12-6pr
R  Eendracht             Lt-Admiral van Wassenaer    58 16-24pr,12-12pr,20-8pr,10-6pr drakes
A  Huis te Oosterwijk    Gideon de Wildt             56 24-18pr,24-12pr,8-6pr drakes
R  Brederode             Witte Cornelisz de With     54 4-Ch.36pr,12-24pr,8-18pr,20-12pr,10-Ch.6pr
A  Campen                Willem van der Zaan         42 4-18pr,22-12pr,10-8pr,4-6pr drakes

The list of ships for 1628

De Jonge has a list of ships for 1628, with numbers, guns, and ranges of lasts for all five admiralties. While I have a Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1628, this list appears to be more complete, although it lacks ship names, as is usual for De Jonge. This list contains multiple entries for ship, and multiple entries for captain, as in some cases, multiple captains commanded the same ship in the year and a captain may have commanded multiple ships in that same year. There also may be cases where there are variations of a captain's name that have so far gone unrecognized in my list. This is a starting point for analysis, at least.

Adm Ship               Captain                    Guns Crew  Size
N   Vliegende Texel    Jan Maertsz Aecker            ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Vliegende Arent    Pieter Jansz Aersgat                  120 lasts
R   a jacht            Aert Aertsz                   ?  ?     20 lasts
A   Sphera Mundi       Evert Anthonisz               ?  ?    100 lasts
R   a jacht            Jan Gijsbertsz Arckel         ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Leeuwinne          Cornelis de Bagijn            ?   90  180 lasts
A   Meermin            Claes Gerritsz Bardenwijl     ?  ?    100 lasts
N   Waterhond,jacht    Dirck Barentsz                ?   55   40 lasts
R   a ship             Captain Beaumont              ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Jonas              Martin Crijne Beermans        ?  ?     90 lasts
Z?  Zeeuwsche Leeuw    Joosten Berck                 ?   85* 160 lasts
A   Orangieboom        Dirck Jansz Bijnacht          ?  ?    120 lasts
N   Dido, jacht        Harman Block                  10  59   48 lasts
Z   Arent              Jacob Danielsz Blockmaecker       70  ?   lasts
A   Gouden Leeuw       Jan Bocnan                    32  85  ?   lasts
A   Gulde Raven        Cornelis Jacobsz Boes         ?  ?    100 lasts
N   Roode Leeuw        Herman Bondervijnon           ?   85  130 lasts
R   Abrahams Offerande Claes Jorisz Bontenburch      ?   85  180 lasts
A   Sint Clara         Cornelis Jacobsz Bors         20  80  100 lasts
A   Goude Leeuw        Hans Bournon                  24  85  150 lasts 4/1628
A   Roode Leeuw        Hans Bournon                  ?  100  150 lasts later in 1628
Z   Sonne (Zon)        Pieter Jansz Bovne            ?   40  ?   lasts
A   Arnhem             Abraham Pietersz van Brakel   ?   30  ?   lasts
A   Duijff             Pieter Aertsz van Brakel      ?   42  ?   lasts
A   Witte Leeuw        Willem van Brederode          ?  ?     90 lasts
Z   Hoop               Cornelis Legiersz Broeder     ?   30  ?   lasts
R   Mars               Jan Matthijsz Brouwer          6  30   36 lasts
R   Abraham            Jan Bruijnsertsz              ?  ?    150 lasts
R   Donnoseiheijt      Pieter Loijsz Bul             ?  ?     40 lasts
N   Mars               Willem Codde van den Burch    ?  100  160 lasts
Z   Zeepaert           Jacob Cornelisz Calis         ?   70   80 lasts
A   Windhond, jacht    Tijs Hermansz van Campen      ?  ?     40 lasts
A   Meerminne          Floris Jansz Cats             16  70  100 lasts
A   Zeeland            Joris van Cats                30  95  200 lasts
A   Goude Leeuw        Tijmen Claesz                 12  60   80 lasts 3/1628
A   Macreel, jacht     Tijmen Claesz                 ?  ?     60 lasts later in 1628
A   Swarte Beer        Willem Jansz Clas             18  75  120 lasts
R   Neptunis, boat     Daniel Climmer                ?  ?     40 lasts
Z   Eenhoorn           Jan de Cock                   ?   30  ?   lasts
N   Eendracht          Willem Jansz Codde            36 100  300 lasts 5/1628
N   Mars               Willem Jansz Codde            ?   90  160 lasts 1628
R   a jacht of war     Jan Marinusz Coelantrouwer    ?  ?     20 lasts
R   Hollandsche Tuin   Pieter Marinusz Coelantrouwer  4* 30   40 lasts
R   Witte Fortuijn     Joris Alexander de Coninck     8  26   30 lasts
N   Valck              Volckert Coninck              ?   75  150 lasts
R   Swarte Leeuw       Frans Jacobsz Coniv           16  80  130 lasts
A   Wapen van Edam     Hendrick Hendricksz Cop       ?  100  150 lasts
Z   a ship             Daniel Cornelisz              ?   20  ?
R   Drie Coningen      Pieter Cornelisz              ?  ?     80 lasts
Z   Aeolus             Adriaan Sanders van Cruiningen?  ?    170 lasts
N   Griffoen           Cornelis Cuijter              ?   75  100 lasts
A   Heij               Wolfert van Deijman           18  60   60 lasts
A   Leiden             Hendrick Cornelisz Denijs     ?  ?    110 lasts
A   Gelderland         Hendrick Cornelisz Denijs     26 120  200 lasts 
R   a new galley       Jan van Dieman                ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Duijvel            Joris Dirck                   ?  ?     40 lasts
N   Medemblick         Jan Dircksz                   ?   75  150 lasts
N   Gouden Leeuw       Jacob Sijmonsz Dolphijn       ?   75  180 lasts
A   Huis van Nassau    Barent Pietersz Dorrevelt     22  80  130 lasts
R   Sonne (Zon)        Dirck Willemsz Duijmass        6  40   30 lasts
Z   Neptunis           Pieter Cornelisz Duivichrijck ?   30  ?   lasts
N   Hollandsche Tuin   Jan Eliasz                    28  85  200 lasts
Z   Zeeridder          Jan Evertsen                  ?  ?    180 lasts
Z   Zeeridder          Jan Ewoutsz                   ?   90  180 lasts
R   a frigate          Adriaan Claesz Fib            ?  ?    ?   lasts
A   Overijssel         Anthonis Florisz              24  85  150 lasts
N   Swarte Beer        Jacob Fransz                  20  75  160 lasts
N   Hoop               Gerrit Claesz Fuijter         22  75  150 lasts
Z   Dolphijn           Nicolaes Jansz Gauw           ?   35   60 lasts
R   Engel              Jacob Fransz de Geris          4  30   30 lasts
N   Neptunis           Jan Gijlsz                    ?   85  240 lasts
A   Tonijn             Dirck Jansz Goethaes          18  85  140 lasts
R   Salm               Lucas Jaspersz van Goutvelt    6  30   28 lasts
R   Braessen           Jan Coenens Gruijs            ?  ?    ?   lasts
Z   Liefde             Adriaan Marinusz Hackelaer        35*  40 lasts
A   Thetis             Anthonis van der Haept        36 100  250 lasts
N   Groene Draeck      Jan Ysbrantsz Halfhoorn       30  85  150 lasts
N   Groene Draech      Claes Jansz Ham               30  85  150 lasts 5/1628
N   Makreel            Claes Jansz Ham               ?   75  120 lasts
R   Bonte Kraan        Gerrit Claesz Ham              6  30   28 lasts
A   Jaeger             Cornelis Gerritsz Hasevelt    10  50   60 lasts
R   Neptunis           Joris Gijsbert van Heert      ?  ?     30 lasts
A   Witte Beer         Chijs Hermantsz               22  70  100 lasts
A   Vliegende Hert     Jacob Hermantsz               20 100  110 lasts
A   Brack              Harman Mourisz Hobbe           6 ?    ?   lasts
N   Zeehaan           Albert Cornelisz 't Jonge Hoen ?   75  130 lasts
N   Neptunis           Govert Albertsz 't Hoen       28  85  240 lasts
Z   Witte Leeuw        Geleijn Pietersz Holck        ?   70   80 lasts
Z   Postpaert          Jan Hollaer                   ?   85  140 lasts
Z   Sampson            Vice-Admiral Marinus Hollaer  ?   50  ?   lasts
R   Steur              Pieter Willemsz de Jaeger     ?  ?     16 lasts
A   Witte Beer         Pieter Jansz                  ?  ?    100 lasts
A   Haringen           Ewout Jeronsz                 ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Neptunis           Claes Marinusz Juynbol        26  85  170 lasts
Z   Sint Joris         Adriaan Kempen                ?   90  180 lasts
R   Halve Maen         Jan Jansz van den Kerckhoff   ?   90  180 lasts
N   Orange Storck,boat Maerten Sijbrantsz Krook      ?   55   50 lasts
N   Vliegende Draeck   Cornelis Kuijt                24  85  180 lasts
Z   Vos                Cornelis Jansz Lantschot      ?   36  ?   lasts
A   Goude Leeuw        Jan Jansz de Lapper           ?  ?     50 lasts
A   Gecroonde Leeuw    Jan Jansz de Lapper           ?   75  110 lasts 2/1628
R   Dolphijn           Willeboort Leendertsz         27  85  170 lasts
R   a ship             Cornelis van Leeuw            16  50   36 lasts
A   Groene Draeck      Frans Lemmen                  ?  ?    100 lasts
A Swarte Stekende Leeuwinne Anthonis van Lieterkecke ?  ?     50 lasts
R Groene Vligende Draeck Jasper Liefhebber           ?   95  220 lasts
R   a ship             Aert Lieffkint                 8  50   40 lasts
R   Roode Leeuw        Pieter Dircksz Liesskint      ?  ?     40 lasts
R   Delft, galley      Vigoreus van der Linden        3  30   36 lasts
Z   Hond               Cornelis Loncke               ?   80  150 lasts
A   Macreel            Pieter Luijtsz                ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   Sint Jan, boat     Cornelis Maes                 ?  ?     40 lasts
N   Meibeeck*          Commandeur Melcknap           ?   31  ?   lasts
N   a ship             Jan Melcknap                  ?  100  ?   lasts
A   Hollandia          Cornelis Moons                ?  ?    100 lasts
A   Brack              Herman Mourisz                ?  ?     40 lasts
A   a ship             Pieter van Murop              ?  ?    ?   lasts
R   a ship             Jan van Nes                   ?  ?    ?   lasts
A   a ship          Willem Adriaansz van Nesselmonde ?  ?    ?   lasts
A   Zwoll              Thomas Pietersz Nolleman      24  80  100 lasts
R   Sint Anthonis,boat Adriaan Ongensen              18 ?     65 lasts
R   Dijntvogel         Cornelis Teunisz Onteboter    ?  ?     26 lasts
A   a ship             Jan Pellicoorms               ?  ?    ?   lasts
Z   Zeelandschen Post  Jan Philipsz                  ?   20  ?   lasts
A   Zeehaan, frigate   Rombout Philipsz              ?  ?    ?   lasts
Z   a ship             Marinus Pietersz              ?   30  ?   lasts
A   Meerman            Pieter Pietersz               22  70  100 lasts
A   Swol (Zwoll)       Thomas Pietersz               24? 80? 100 lasts
A   a ship             Sijmon Poort                  ?   30  ?   lasts
N   Hollandsche Tuin   Hillebrant Gerbrandsz Quast   ?   85  180 lasts
Z   Goude Leeuw        Cornelis van Regermorter      ?   40  ?   lasts
A   Dolphijn, jacht    Engbert Rijkerken             14  50   60 lasts
R   Griffoen           Pieter van Rijsbergen         18  40   40 lasts
R   Zeeridder          Cornelis Jansz Brouwer        ?  ?    150 lasts
A   Tonijn             Carsten Pietersz Rosengaert   ?  100  140 lasts
N   Hoop               Gerrit Ruyter                 ?   75  150 lasts
N   Neptunis           Meeus Sandersz                24  85  180/200 lasts
A   Vriesland          Pieter Jansz Santvoort        28  80  140 lasts
A   a ship             Barent Hendricksz Schaeff     ?  ?    ?   lasts
Z   Hasewind          Adriaan Pietersz Scheijteruijt ?   50   70 lasts
N   Swarte Beer        Cornelis Schellinghout        ?   75  150 lasts
N   Eenhoorn           Cornelis Jans Schellinghout   30  85  200 lasts 5/1628
Z   a ship             Frans Jacobsz Schortant       ?   30  ?   lasts
A   Zeehaan, frigate   Hendrick Schevels              6  50   50 lasts
R   Dolphijn, frigate  Anthonis van Schuijlenborgh   13  30   28 lasts
R   Neptunis           Sebastiaan de Munnick         ?  ?     28 lasts
A   the great fluit    Franscois Semms               16  80  150 lasts
R   Bruijnvisch        Claes Sijmonsz Sierves        ?   70   90 lasts
R   Zeekalf            Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter 23  85  170 lasts
N   Swarte Raaf        Dirck Slop*                   ?   30  ?   lasts
A   Haarlem            Hendrick Dircksz Sluiter      ?  ?    225 lasts
R   Sint Joris         Adriaan Cornelisz Smoor       12  24   28 lasts
R   Orangieboom        Andries van Soetendael        22  90  180 lasts
A   Meerman            Bartholomeus de Sterche       ?  ?    100 lasts
A   Edam               Bartholomeus de Sterche       30 115  150 lasts
R   Brasser            Jan Hendricksz Storm           8  24   24 lasts
N   Sampson            Arent Thomasz                 ?   85  240 lasts
A   Amsterdam          Ellert Thomasz                26 100  180 lasts
A   Bruijnvisch        Michiel Thomasz               ?  ?     70 lasts
N   Sampson            Jan Tijssen                   26  85  220 lasts
N   Kat, jacht         Tijmen Tijssen                 8  50   40 lasts
R   Gelderland         Maarten Harpertsz Tromp       24  80  160 lasts
A   Campen             Dionys Tronquoij              24  80  140 lasts
R   Zeeridder          Cornelis Leendertsz Valck     29  75  120 lasts
R   Maan               Albert van Velsen             ?  ?     30 lasts
R   Swarten Leeuw      Jan Jorisz Verdonck           ?  ?     80 lasts
R   Papegeij           Anthoni Verhaer               ?  ?     26 lasts
A   Gecroonde Leeuw    Pieter Pietersz Vianen        ?  ?    130 lasts
A   Gouda              Cornelis van Vijch            31  95  170 lasts
A   a ship             Sijbert Vijch                 ?   30  ?   lasts
A   Utrecht            Jacob Volckertsz Vinck        30  80  150 lasts
Z   Meerminne          Jan Jacobsz Vlieger           24  90  200 lasts
A   Leiden             Pieter Meeusz Vloo            20 100  110 lasts 3/1628
A   Campen             Pieter Meeusz Vloo            ?  ?    140 lasts
R   a jacht of war     Jacob Stevensz van der Vlies  10  17  ?   lasts
A   Haring, frigate    Otto Vollenhoven              12  50   50 lasts
A   Witte Leeuw        Elias Vonck                   22  70  100 lasts
A   Gulden Windhond    Jan Voseijenn                 12 ?    ?   lasts
N   Medemblick         Pieter de Vries               24  85  180 lasts
Z   Luipaard           Adriaan de Wale               ?   75  100 lasts
Z   Orangieboom        Adriaan Mateijsz Waarewijck   ?   30  ?   lasts
A   a ship             Jan Wiggertsz                 ?  ?    ?   lasts
N   Vliegende Draeck   Jacob Willemsz                ?   90  120 lasts
A   Steur                                            ?   30  ?   lasts
R   Salm               Sijbert Wor                   ?  ?     40 lasts
A   Friesland          Jan Ysbrantsz                 28  80  150 lasts
A   Groene Draeck      Veijmar Zalingen              20  70  100 lasts
R   Sint Andries       Adriaan Zockingen             ?  ?    140 lasts

Thoughts about some Dutch ships

Almost certainly the ship Huis van Nassau was one of the 128ft, 250 last ships built by the Admiralty of Amsterdam. The Maan, built in 1643, had dimensions of 128ft x 31.5ft x 12ft. Another ship from which we might be able to extrapolate is the Noorderkwartier ship Eenhoorn (or Witte Eenhoorn) built in 1625. She survived the First Anglo-Dutch War from 1652 to 1654, so she was very long-lived. She had dimensions of 125ft x 29ft x 12ft (the hold is an estimate). She was of 200 lasts. So we might ask if there were other ships built by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier in the mid to late 1620's and of 200 lasts. There was at least one: the Hollandsche Tuin, commanded by Jan Eliaszoon in 1628. She carried 28 guns and had a crew of 85 men. Another possibility is the Neptunis (24 guns and a crew of 85 men). She also was listed as being of 200 lasts. It is difficult to assess how useful it is to know the Eenhoorn's armament, as what we know dates from 1654: 7-12pdr, 13-10pdr, 4-8pdr, 2-6pdr, 2-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. It seems that she had an armament composed of guns that happened to be available, as it is quite an odd collection.

Amsterdam ships from the July 1653 list

Let us try again to give a list of ships of the Admiralty of Amsterdam for the 25 ships listed in the July 1653 list of ships at Vlissingen (and the Texel and Goeree). I can't match ships against numbers, but I will give a list as best we can:

Vrijheid        46 guns Abraham van der Hulst
Vrede           44 guns Gideon de Wildt
Groningen       42 guns Gillis Tijsen Campen
Campen          40 guns Willem van der Zaan
Graaf Willem    40 guns Jan Gideonsz Verburgh

Leeuwarden      36 guns Witte de With, flag captain Govert Reael
Zeelandia       36 guns Nicholas Marrevelt
Drie Coningen   36 guns Lucas Albertssen?8
Dolphijn        32 guns Gerbrand Schatter
Fazant          32 guns Jan Jansz de Lapper

Star            30 guns Jacob Paulusz Cort
Jonas           30 guns Joris Caulerij (Colerij)
Omlandia        30 guns Jacob Troncquoij
Bommel          30 guns Pieter van Brakel
Gelderland      28 guns Cornelis van Velsen-ship blown up

Leiden          28 guns Hendrik Kroeger
Overijssel      28 guns Jan van Campen
Gouda           28 guns Jan Egbertsz Ooms
Prins Willem    28 guns Jan Jansz Boermans
Prinses Aemilia 28 guns Jan ter Stegen-lost

Goude Reael     28 guns Adriaan van Loenen
Hoop            ?       Boetius Schaeff
Zutphen         26 guns Hillebrand Jeroszoon de Moy?
Windhond        18 guns Jan Admirael
Brak            18 guns Pieter van Zalingen or Foppe Binckes

I had not thought that I could complete the list, but I believe that this very close to being correct, if not so, as is.

More about the Prinses Roijael Maria from Carl Stapel

Carl Stapel passed on the following additional information about the Prinses Roijael Maria (which I have slightly edited):

The ship [Prinses Roijael Maria] was taken in June 1652 in an English harbor. Its captain was Joost van Colster son of captain Willem Joosten van Colster. Joost van Colster commanded the Gelderland in the relief squadron to Brazil with Witte de With.

According to the notaries, Joost van Colster left the navy in July 1652 and became a merchant...!

The Prinses Roijael Maria

By the early 1640's, the Aemilia was out of service, due in part to hard service in battle in 1639 and damage from a storm while carrying Queen Henrietta Marie from England to the Netherlands in February 1643. Many people wanted to repair the Aemilia, due in part to her significant role in greatly damaging the Spanish Armada of 1639. Jan Salomonszoon, the shipbuilder, preferred to build a new ship in her place. This eventually resulted in the construction of the Brederode, which in May 1645 became Witte de With's flagship. In the Aemilia's place, Tromp moved his flag to the new, but much smaller ship, the Prinses Roijael Maria. Her dimensions, in Amsterdam feet were 124ft x 29.5ft x 13ft. Dr. Elias says that she carried 32 guns in 1643. She carried 34 guns, in 1652, prior to her capture in port, by the English. Her lower tier were mainly 12pdr, while the Aemilia carried 36pdr, 24pdr, and 18pdr on the lower tier (4-36pdr, 11-24pr,12-18pdr, 21-12pdr, and 9-6pdr, altogether). The Prinses Roijael Maria was taken by the English at the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War, which caught some Dutch warships in English ports, where they were seized. The Prinses Roijael Maria eventually served as the Princess Maria in the English service.

By 1664, Amsterdam had discarded their aversion to large ships

By the time that the new construction program, prior to the Second Anglo-Dutch War, had commenced in 1664, Amsterdam had accepted that larger ships were necessary to be able to effectively fight the English. Their ships were often still armed with a mixed armament on the lower deck, due to their not having solved their gun supply problem. Frank Fox says that by the time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch had acquired sufficient guns to be able to more heavily arm their ships. I do not have much information about this issue, but I do know that Michiel De Ruyter's flagship, the Zeven Provinciën, carried a complete lower tier of 36pdrs in the Third War.

Many of the ships in Witte de With's squadron that went to Brazil were gone before 1652

Witte de With's squadron that went to Brazil in late 1647 and early 1648 were gone before 1652:

Adm Ship Name      Guns  Initial Commander       Fate
M   Brederode        49  Witte Cornelisz de With Sunk in 1658 at Battle of the Sound
M   Gelderland       40  Joost van Coulster      Not mentioned after 1659
M   Dolphijn         32  Job Forant              Last mentioned in 1657
A   Huis van Nassau  40  Govert Forens           Damaged on 28 Sept 1648
                                                  captured by Portuguese
A   Haarlem          36  Matthijs Gillissen      Last mentioned in 1666
A   Utrecht          32  Jacob Paulusz Cort      Exploded on 28 Sept 1648
A   (Groot)Zutphen   30  Cornelis Toelast        Last mentioned in 1665
A   Overijssel       28  Dirck Crijnen Verveen   Sold upon return
N   Eendracht        41  Paulus Coolen           Burnt in action in 1676
N   Wapen van Nassau 38  Lieven de Zeeuw         Gone before 1652
N   Witte Eenhoorn   30  Jan Gijzen              Last mentioned in 1655
N   Koning David     34* Willem Claesz Ham       Gone before 1652
A   Gewapende Ruyter 36  Boetius Schaeff         In June 1652, captured by English

Of 13 ships, including the Portuguese prize, 5 were lost or gone before 1652. Several had long service, such as the Noorderkwartier ship Eendracht.

Ships needing repairs after the Battle of Portland in 1653

I have a number of documents dating from March 1653, following the Battle of Portland (or the Three Days' Battle, as the Dutch call it) that list ships that had been at the battle, had survived in the Dutch service, and now needed repairs. These are the ships mentioned:

Gidion
Elias
Burgh
Sint Maria
Lam

The ships named are all Directors' ships. They seem to have been ships hired by different Directors. The Lam reference could be one of two ships. One hired by the Middelburg Directors or one hired by the Amsterdam Directors. The Burgh is probably the Rotterdam Directors' ship. The three pages date from 11 March, 14 March, and 22 March 1653, and are from the Nationaal Archief. Rick van Velden found them for me in September 2003.

English Captain: John Blythe

John Blythe served in the Commonwealth navy. in 1654, he commanded the 5th Rate Recovery. In 1655, he commanded the prize Hound (36 guns). In 1656, he commanded the 6th Rate Martin (12 guns). From 1656 until 1657, he commanded the 4th Rate Dover (40 guns). Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
3. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898

The list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653: the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier

According to the list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653, there were 10 ships in the service of the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier at the Battle of the Gabbard. Number 65 was apparently Pieter Florissen's flagship, the Monnikendam (36 guns). Number 72 was captured by the English. This must be the Stad van Medemblick (26 guns, or perhaps 30 guns by 1653) commanded by Pieter Schellinger. This ship was one of the 36 cruisers funded in 1651 by the Staten Generaal.

East India Company ships from the Amsterdam Chamber in July 1653

The July 1653 list of ships includes three ships from the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC. One of them is listed as being unready. I believe that these are the ships in question:

Ship            Commander               Guns Crew Length  Beam Hold
Gerechtigheid   Evert Pietersz Swart
Mercurius       Pieter de Bitter        40   200  123ft   30ft 12ft
Huis van Nassau Jan Pietersz van Strijp

Another candidate is the Vrede (although she may have been purchased)

Vrede           Pieter Salomonszoon     40   200  131.5ft 32.5ft

I am not absolutely sure about the Huis van Nassau, so as usual, there is a great deal of uncertainty.

The Dolphijn in 1629 and in 1633

I have previously written about the Rotterdam ship Dolphijn in the year 1629. Four years later, she was still commanded by Willeboort Leendertszoon. In 1629, she carried the following guns:

2-brass half-cartouwen 24pdr
2-brass chambered 24pdr
2-brass 12pdr ("veltstucken")
8-iron 8pdr
4-iron 6pdr
2-iron 5pdr
2-iron 4pdr
5-steenstukken with 10 chambers

In 1633, she was armed with the following guns:

2-brass half-cartouwen 24pdr
2-brass chambered 24pdr
2-brass 12pdr
8-iron   8pdr
4-iron   6pdr
4-iron   5pdr
2-iorn   4pdr
5-steenstukken with 5 chambers

As you can see, the armament changed very little from 1629 to 1633. I had expected that there would be no change, but that is not the case. The 1633 information is from the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1633, while the 1629 information is from the Staet for 1629.

The mystery remains as to why Vreugdenhil missed so many ships from 1652 to 1653

I had only known that there were a large number of ships not mentioned in Vreugdenhil, from 1652 to 1653, from seeing the list translated and republished in The First Dutch War, Vol.I (from the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1652). From the published sources, there many ships for which I could not apply names. Only after Jan Glete sent me a copy of his notes and then Rick van Velden, at the Nationaal Archief found documents for me, was I able to give names to most of the ships in that list (from about June 1652). It is harder to understand, as Dr. Johan E. Elias, in Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen mentioned by name, and sometimes included the captain's name, for some of the ships in the service of the Amsterdam Directors. This was quite a bit before Vreugdenhil compiled his list. Dr. Ballhausen made no attempt, apparently, to use anything but published sources, so his book is even less useful, in that respect. Of course, Dr. Ballhausen did use some very obscure published sources, and he did supply names of ships and information not published elsewhere, except for the original source. Apparently, Vreugdenhil used Dr. Ballhausen's book for part of his list, although Vreugdenhil seems to have been savvier than Dr. Ballhausen.

More Directors' ships

This is somewhat redundant, but I have firmed up in my mind those who employed the ship Kameel, commanded by Joost Bulter. I will also list the Harlingen (Friesland) Directors' ships. One was apparently retired after the Battle of the Gabbard, and captains were changed.

Adm      Ship Name         Guns Crew  Commander
Gro-Dir  Kameel            42         Joost Bulter
Ha-Dir   Vergulde Pelicaen 28   100   Adriaan Heeres Cleyntien
Ha-Dir   Sint Vincent      28   105   Andries Douweszoon Pascaert

After the Battle of the Gabbard, Andries Douwesz Pascaert was dismissed from the service. Adriaan Heeres Cleyntien commanded the Sint Vincent until her loss in the storm in early November 1653. Joost Bulter's ship, of course, was sunk at the Battle of the Gabbard, by gunfire. Joost Bulter was killed in the battle. The July 1653 list of ships at Vlissingen (and Goeree and the Texel) indicates that the Kameel was a ship in the service of the Admiralty of Friesland, but that seems to be not the case. Also note that most sources don't list the guns or armament of the Sint Vincent. The Vergulde Pelicaen is not mentioned by name in any published source. A handwritten list from September 1652 supplies the names and captains of both Harlingen Directors' ships. Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet supplies the guns and crew information. We were able to confirm Dr. Ballhausen's giving 42 guns as the Kameel's armament, as I have Richard Badiley's biography, where that information is listed.

New construction in Zeeland between 1653 and July 1654

As part of the new construction program initiated during the First Anglo-Dutch War, seven new ships had come into service with the Admiralty of Zeeland between 1653 and July 1654. I have based this list upon the appendix in Vol.I of J. C. De Jonge's book, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. This is the list, with ship names applied, based on the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654:

Ship name            Guns Crew Length Beam Hold  Commander
Zeelandia              50  95  136    34   13.75 Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge
Utrecht                40  95  134    33   13.5 
Vlissingen             40  95  130    34   13.5  Frans Mangelaer
Middelburg             40  90  130    34   13.5  Cornelis Evertsen de Oude
Kampveere              40  90  130    34   13.5  Pieter Gorcum
Dordrecht              40  90  130    34   13.5

Sources:

1. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
2. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858
3. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654
4. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938

English Captain: Daniel Baker

Daniel Baker served in the Commonwealth navy. In 1656, he commanded the Hopewell pink (20 guns). From 1656 until 1657, he commanded the Lizard (20 guns), a Royalist prize. Sadly, neither the ships nor Daniel Baker are otherwise mentioned in sources available to me. Sources:

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

I appears that I have solved the cross browser issues in this blog

I have been particularly unhappy with how this blog appeared in Internet Explorer. Even in Firefox, there were "issues". I seem to have solved them. The only question is how the blog would appear on a lower resolution display. I was forced to do some "absolute positioning" with CSS to get an acceptable appearance.

The Noorderkwartier ships from the July 1654 list

De Jonge has a list in an appendix to Vol.I of his six volume work that lists Dutch ships in service in 1654. This list seems closely aligned with the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, dated in July 1654. There is some additional information in De Jonge's list, as he supplies lengths for some Zeeland ships beyond what I found in my copies of the Staet. I thought it must be useful to try and fill in parts of the list with actual names (De Jonge omitted ship names). Here is my attempt for the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier:

Jozua                  50  95  136 34   14 
Gelderland             50  95  136 34   14

Drie Helden Davids     46  90  130 34   13.5
Caleb                  46  90  130 32.5 12.5
Jupiter                46  90  130 32   12 

Eendracht              41  90  130 32   12

Monnikendam            38  80  120 28.5 11 

Alckmaer               32  90  130 32   12   Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuysen

Wapen van Enkhuijsen   34  80              
Eenhoorn               30  80  125 29        Jan Jansz Heck
Enkhuijsen             30  80  116 26.5 10   Claes Backer

Casteel van Medemblick 28  80  120 27   11   Adriaan Houttuijn
Enkhuijsen             28  80  116 26.5 10   Dirck Gerritsz Pomp
Jonge Prins            28  80  120 28   11.5 Cornelis Barendsz Slordt
Wapen van Monnikendam  28  75  116 26.5 10   Arent Dirckszoon
Prinses Roijael        26  75  125 30   11.5 Captain (Willem?) Ham
Hoorn                  26  75  116 26.5 10 

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
2. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858
3. Staet van Oorlogh te Water for the year 1654, 1654

Cafe Press has the canvas bags in stock

I have been waiting for this: Cafe Press has the canvas bags in stock. My wife likes the Brederode "photo", in particular:

The nine Zeeland Directors' ships

Zeeland as allocated nine ships from the 50 Directors' ships funded in 1652. Again, we have a list of nine ships from the Hollandsche Mercurius list, reprinted in The First Dutch War, Vol.I and also from Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet. This is the list:

kapitein Jan le Sage                Mi-Dir Vergulde Haan   30 105
kapitein Jacob Adriaansz Penssen    Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw    30 110
kapitein Johannes van Regermorter   Mi-Dir ?               30 105
kapitein Bastiaan Tuynemans         Mi-Dir Sint Laurens    30 105*
kapitein Jan Thyssen                Vl-Dir Witte Lam       32 110
kapitein Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge Vl-Dir Vlissingen      26 110
kapitein Allert Janszoon            Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend   28 110
kapitein Cornelis Rocusensz Fincen  Zi-Dir Liefde          34 110
kapitein Jan Olivierszoon           Ve-Dir Wapen ter Veere 38 125

The Sint Laurens was captured by the English on 29 May 1652, in the opening battle of the war, near Dover and the Downs. The issues again revolve around the existence of at least one other ship that was known to be Zeeland Directors' ships. By July 1652, Leendert den Haen commanded the Haes in 't Veld (30 guns and a crew of 108 ships). This ship seems to have been the one later commanded by Bastiaan Centsen. The exact timing is unclear, but by the Battle of Dungeness, Bastiaan Centsen was captain of the Haes in 't Veld. He took the English ship Hercules after the battle.

Carl Stapel has a really good list of Dutch ships in service before the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War

Carl Stapel shared with me his list of Dutch ships in service before the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War. Right now, the list primarily covers Directors' ships. His list for the Rotterdam or Maze Directors is quite good:

Adm   Ship name    Guns Crew Commander
M-Dir Burcht         28 105  Adriaen de Zeeuw 
M-Dir Jonas          36 125  Johan de Lieffde  
M-Dir Meerman        30 120  Jacob Cleijdijck 
M-Dir Prins                  Symon Cornelisz van der Meer 
M-Dir Prins te Paard 38 110  Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon   
M-Dir Sint Andries   26 105  Ruth Jacobsz Buys    
M-Dir Sint Pieter    29 110  Isaac de Jongh

I thought that his information for Adriaen de Zeeuw makes a good deal of sense. I suspect that his name for Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship is derived from me, and that I had just made an estimate, so I would like to find more information to have more confidence in the name of his ship. In any case, I am going forward with the information from Carl's list as my "current working assumption".

Known war losses from the first 24 Amsterdam Directors' ships

Of the first 24 ships hired by the Amsterdam Directors in early March 1652, none were lost during 1652, except for the Prins Maurits. That changed in 1653. These are the ships that were lost and their fate. I have only listed the original captain:

Captain                 Ship           Guns Fate
Abraham van Kampen      Arke Troijnane  28  Sunk at the Battle of Portland
Cornelis Jansz Poort    Kroon Imperiael 34  Sunk at the Battle of Portland
Nicolaes de With        Prins Maurits   34  Wrecked in November 1652
Bartholmeus Rietbeeck   Rooseboom       28  Captured at the Battle of the Gabbard
Stoffel Juriaenszoon    Sint Francisco  28  Captured at the Battle of Portland
Jacob Syverstz Spanheym Elias           34  Captured at the Battle of the Gabbard
Bruyn van Seelst        Groote Liefde   38  Captured at the Battle of Portland

Several of the captured ships saw long service in the English navy, such as the Groote Liefde, which was recaptured by the Dutch at the Battle of Lowestoft, in June 1665.

Amsterdam hired ships in March 1653

From my list of ships in service with the Dutch fleet in March 1653, there are the Amsterdam hired ships:

Hired ships

Rank      Name                    Adm/Dir guns Sailors Soldiers Ship
kapitein  Willem van Nieuhoff     A       40   130     20       Aertsengel Michiel
kapitein  Lucas Albertssen?       A       36   130     20       Drie Coningen
kapitein  Adriaan van den Bosch   A       36   130     20       Engel Gabriel
kapitein  Evert Anthonissen       A       32   130     20       Hollandia
kapitein  Albert Claesz de Graeff A       32   100     20       Hollandia            
kapitein  Jacob Troncquois        A       30   100     20       Omlandia             
kapitein  Sijmon van der Aeck?    A       30   100     20       Amsterdam            
kapitein  Jacob Schellinger       A       28   100     20       Venetia              
kapitein  Jacob Janssen Roocher   A       28   100     20       Julius Caesar        
kapitein  Cornelis Janszoon       A       28   100     20       Jupiter              
kapitein  Hendrick Govertszoon    A       28   100     20       Star                 
kapitein  Pieter Tuenisz Bontebotter A    28   100     20       Zwarten Arend        
kapitein  Pieter van Breen        A       28   100     20       Sint Pieter          
kapitein  Sijbrant Jansz Mol      A       28   100     20       Witte Olifant        
kapitein  Meijndert Theunisz OosterwoutA  28   100     20       Salomons Ordeel      
kapitein  Adriaan Rodenhaes       A       28   100     20       Rodenhaes            
kapitein  Pieter Jansz de Vries   A       28   100     20       Suzanna              
kapitein  Harman Sonne            A       28   100     20       Madonna della Vigna  
kapitein  Jan Boermans            A       28   100     20       Prins Willem         
kapitein  Cornelis van Velsen     A       28   100     20       Gelderland           
kapitein  Adriaan van Loenen      A       28   100     20       Goude Reael          
kapitein  Jan ter Stegen          A       28   100     20       Prinses Aemilia      
?         ?                       A       28   100     20       Hoop                 
?         ?                       A       28   100     20       Engel                
kapitein  Hendrik Adriaanszoon    A       26    90     20       Sampson              
?         ?                       A       24    80     20       Goude Leeuw          
?         ?                       A       24    80     20       Patientia            
?         ?                       A       24    80     20       Keyser               
?         ?                       A       24    80     20       Hoop                 
kapitein  Hillebrant Jeroenszoon  A       24    80     20       Hollandsche Tuin     
kapitein  Dirk Pietersz Heertjens A       18    70     15       Windhond             

The ships with unknown captains were paid off sometime before this, or around this time and their captains were reassigned to replace captains who were dismissed from the service. A feature of this list is that there seems to be no room for a mystery ship, such as that commanded by Abraham van der Hulst in 1652 (a ship of 26 guns). That was why it seemed that he might have commanded the Sampson (26 guns), later commanded by Hendrick Adriaanszoon. Another question is if the Hoop (28 guns) listed here was the ship commanded by Boëtius Schaeff at the Battle of the Gabbard, when he was killed.

The 36 Cruisers funded in 1651

The first really substantial preparation for the coming war by the Dutch was the funding of 36 cruisers to add to the 40 ships funded after the Peace of Münster in 1648. We know the identity of the 7 Noorderkwartier ships, thanks to the document included in Vol.IV of The First Dutch War:

Prinses Roijael, 34 guns     Captain Albert Corneliszoon 't Hoen crew 140
Jonge Prins, 28 guns         Captain Cornelis Barentszoon Slordt crew 115
Eendracht, 40 guns           Captain Jacob de Boer               crew 140
Alckmaar, 28 guns            Captain Jan Warnaertszoon Capelman  crew 95
Monnikendam, 36 guns         Captain Pieter Florissen            crew 138
Wapen van Enkhuizen, 34 guns Captain Gerrit Femssen              crew 110
Stad van Medemblick, 30 guns Captain Pieter Schellinger          crew 110

As for the others, we suspect that ships that were completed from about 1650 until 1652 fall into that bucket:

Admiralty of Amsterdam

Vrede, 44 guns               Commandeur Gideon de Wildt (1650)
Vrijheid, 44 guns            Commandeur Augustijn Balck (1651)
Overijssel, 28 guns          Captain Jan van Campen (1650)
Campen, 38 guns              Joris van der Zaan (1652)
Jaarsveld, 44 guns           Joris van Cats (1651)
Maagd van Enkhuizen, 34 guns Cornelis Tromp (purchased in 1651)

Admiralty of Zeeland

Amsterdam (1651)
Ter Goes (1652)
Zeeridder (1652)

The rest must have been commissioning of existing ships, like the Noorderkwartier ships. At this point, unless we can find more information, we cannot do any better than guess.

The planned Dutch ships for the First Anglo-Dutch War

I have only been able to find the allotments of Dutch ships for the First Anglo-Dutch War from H. T. Colenbrander's book of documents from foreign archives:

Forty ships of 1648

Rotterdam        8 ships
Amsterdam       16 ships
Zeeland          8 ships
Noorderkwartier  8 ships

Total           40 ships

Thirty-Six ships of 1651

Rotterdam        7 ships
Amsterdam       14 ships
Zeeland          7 ships
Noorderkwartier  7 ships
Friesland        1 ship

Total           36 ships

One Hundred Ships of 1652

Rotterdam       16-1/2 ships
Amsterdam       33 ships
Zeeland         16-1/2 ships
Noorderkwartier 16-1/2 ships
Friesland       16-1/2 ships

Total          100 ships

Fifty Directors’ ships of 1652

Rotterdam                      7 ships
Amsterdam                     24 ships
Zeeland                        9 ships
Cities of the Noorderkwartier  7 ships
Friesland                      2 ships
Groningen                      1 ship

Total                         50 ships

The first thirty ship building program

Rotterdam        5 ships
Amsterdam       10 ships
Zeeland          5 ships
Noorderkwartier  5 ships
Friesland        5 ships

Total           30 ships

The fractional ship numbers just make the list less useful. Sources:

1. H. T. Colenbrander, Bescheiden uit vreemde archieven omtrent de groote Nederlandsche zeeoorlogen 1652-1676, 1919

Directors' ships from later in 1653

Dr. Elias, in volumes V and VI of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen identifies some Directors' ships that were in service later in 1653 (some of them were lost in the storm in early November 1653):

• Burgh, Hendrick Andriaenszoon Glas, Rotterdam Directors (13 August 1653)
• Catarina (28 guns), Jacob Janszoon Coppe, Amsterdam Directors (30 January 1653)
• Halve Maen (30 guns), Hendrik Pieterszoon, Edam Directors (June 1653)
• Hollandsche Tuin (32 guns), Joris Janszoon Block, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
• Keurvorst van Keulen (34 guns), Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
• Koning David (28 guns), Captain Vogelsang, Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
• Koning Radboud, Jan Rootiers, Medemblick Directors (9 November 1653)
• Leeuwin, Claes Janszoon, Middelburg Directors (21 May 1653)
• Luipaard, Cornelis Tiebij, some Zeeland Directors (9 November 1653)
• Moor, 34 guns and a crew of 108 men, Adriaen Cornelisz van Ackersloot, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
• Moorin (28 guns), Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
• Pelikaan (or Gulden Pelikaan) (28 guns), Barend Tijmenszoon Soudaen, Amsterdam Directors (18 March 1653)
• Purmerland, Andries Sijbrantszoon, Amsterdam Directors (19 July 1653)
• Samson (28 guns) (27 January 1653)
• Schacht den Harculus, 28 guns, Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
• Sint Johannes (28 guns), assumed to be an Amsterdam Directors' ship (8 February 1653)
• Sint Matheeus, Cornelis Laurenszoon, Amsterdam Directors (June 1653)
• Sint Pieter (28 guns) (10 January 1653)
• Sint Pieter, Simon Corneliszoon, Rotterdam Directors (13 August 1653)
• Vergulde Zon (28 guns and a crew of 108 men), Jacob Claeszoon Duijm, Enkhuizen Directors (not the Monnikendam Directors, apparently) (1652 and 1653)
• Walvisch, 30 guns and a crew of 110 men, Abraham Verleth, Amsterdam Directors (perhas 17 August 1653)

There is ambiguity about several of the ships. For example, was the Halve Maen hired by the Edam Directors or Monnikendam Directors? Was the Zon, commanded by Jacob Claesz Duijm, hired by the Enkhuizen Directors or the Edam Directors? There are some references from July 1653 that are different from the other references. The Vergulde Zon is perhaps inconsistent with the rest, as she was a ship hired in 1653, but her situation was ambiguous, and it seemed worth clarifying the record. The Vergulde Zon fought in the Battle of the Gabbard, in June 1653, and was taken by the English. One positive thing is that Vol.V of The First Dutch War, agrees with the Directors for the two ambiguous ships.

I am still looking at alternatives for publishing reference material

Frank Fox has been encouraging me to get at least some of my research into print. Because of the presumed limited audience for 17th Century naval history and ship data, I have thought that a publishing-on-demand solution would be what was needed. Cafe Press, who provides our "gear" and hosts our store with my various pieces of art on them, also does publishing on demand. They have a more limited set of options than Lulu, started by the founder of "Red Hat", the Linux company. there are also other options, for a cost, such as Xlibris.

Some of my projects are the sort of thing that the Society for Nautical Research has published in the past. Frank Fox says that there is no funding for anything from them, these days. Some of my projects that are pretty far progressed include:

1. Dutch Naval Officers: 1600-1720
2. English Naval Officers: 1642-1720
3. Dutch Ships in Various Operations in the First Anglo-Dutch War
4. Dutch Ships: 1620-1720
5. The First Anglo-Dutch War

Other longer-term projects include English translations of some books:

1. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
2. Jodocus Hondius, Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden, 1654

English Captain: Thomas Wright

Thomas Wright served in the Commonwealth navy. In 1652, he commanded the hired ship John and Elizabeth (26 guns). He may have commanded her at the Battle of Plymouth on 26 August 1652. From 1653 until 1655, he commanded the Heartsease (36 guns). He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard on 12 and 13 June 1653. He was assigned to James Peacock's division in the Red Squadron. He very likely fought in the Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653 (all these dates are new style). From 1656 until 1660, he commanded the Fame. The Fame must be the captured French Renommée, which eventually served a fireship. Sources:

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

Dutch ships and captains

So, given how much we have learned, what Dutch ships are there where know about the ship and not the captain, or know about the captain and not his ship's name? This is the current list, as far as I can tell. Hopefully, I have not overlooked too many:

Adm    Ship                  Guns Crew  Captain
Z      ?                     26   100   Adriaan Banckert (1652)
Z      ?                     18   100   Lambert Bartelszoon (1652)
Ho-Dir ?                     28   105   Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker (1652)
N      ?                     ?     ?    Jan Bourgoigne (1652)
Z      ?                     ?     ?    Daniel Cornelisz Brackman (1652)
R-Dir  ?                     26   105   Ruth Jacobsz Buys (1652)
Z      ?                     ?     ?    Jan Duijm (1653)
A      ?                     26   100   Abraham van der Hulst (1652)
?      ?                     ?     ?    Andries Kroeger (December 1652)
En-Dir ?                     28   110   Gijsbert Malcontent (1652)
N      ?                     ?     ?    Herman Munnekes (December 1652)
Mi-Dir ?                     30   105   Johannes Regermorter (1652)
Z      ?                     ?     ?    Jacob Wolfertszoon (1652)
A      Achilles              32    ?    ?(from 1630, but July 1654)
?      Arke Noach            24    80   ?(22 July 1652)
?-Dir  Colburg               ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir  Harderin              ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir  Harderwijk            ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir  Herenberg             ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
A-Dir  Keurvorst van Keulen  34    ?    ?(4 April 1653)
?-Dir  Samson                28    ?    ?(27 January 1653)
En-Dir Sampson van Enkhuizen 28   100*  ?(22 July 1652)
A-Dir  Schacht den Harculus  28    ?    ?(4 April 1653)
?      Sint Jan Baptist      22    80   ?(22 July 1652)
?-Dir  Sint Johannes         28    ?    ?(8 February 1653)
?-Dir  Sint Pieter           28    ?    ?(10 January 1653)
?-Dir  Wesp                  ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir  Zutphen               ?     ?    ?(30 March 1652)
A      Zwaan                 28   100*  ?(22 July 1652)

Some interesting tidbits from Dr. Ballhausen about ships at the Battle of Scheveningen

While Dr. Ballhausen seems to have not used any archival documents, he did do a comprehensive review of the published literature, much of it quite obscure. He often makes assessments that I would not accept. I will list some interesting information about ships and captains from the list for Scheveningen (Katwijk-aan-Zee):

Adm    Captain                      Ship                   Guns  Crew
       Jan Bonkier                  Zeepaard               ?     ?
A      Cornelis Cornelisz Jol       Moorin                 28    105
Z      Cornelis Evertsen de Oude    Wapen van Zeeland      26-28 130
                                     or Zeeuwsche Leeuw
Mi-Dir ?                            Antonius Bonavetura    36-38 110
A      Pieter Teunissen Bontebotter Zwarte Arend           28    100
F      Frederick Stellingwerff      Zevenwolden            38    135
F      Lieutenant Hasselgants       Sara                   24     85
Ha-Dir Ariaan Heeres Kleintje       Sint Vincent           28    100
Vl-Dir Michiel De Ruyter            Witte Lam              40    150
        flag captain Gillis Janszoon
Mi-Dir Markus Hartman               Gekroonde Liefde       36    145
A-VOC  Jacob Swart                  Gerechtigheid          45*   200*
WIC?   Captain Ezechiel             Gecroende Haes         ?     ?
A      Jan Rootjes                  Raadhuis van Medemblik ?     ?
  (or is it the Koning Radbout or Radbout van Medemblik of the
     Medemblick Directors, as Dr. Elias says)
A      Captain Dirick (Dircksz?)    Zeepaardstoet van      ?     ?
                                     Enkhuizen
N      Reynst Cornelisz Zevenhuisen Mars                   45*   200*

I have made a few corrections to the information.

More ships which fought in the Battle of Scheveningen

From Dr. Elias, in Vol.V of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, we know more ships that fought in the Battle of Scheveningen. Some of these duplicate what is in other lists:

Adm    Ship            Guns Crew Commander
A-Dir  Blauwe Arend    28   110  Hendrik Claesz van der Streeck
A-VOC  Huis van Nassau ?    ?    Jan Pietersz van Strijp
NQ     Peereboom       24    80  Tijs Tijmansz Peereboom
Mi-VOC Zwarte Bul      ?    ?    Willem Folkertszoon
A      Groningen       42   140  Gillis Thyssen Campen
A      Westfriesland   28   140  Hendrik Huyskens
A      Zutphen         26   120  Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon
A      Gouden Reael    28   110  Adriaan van Loenen
A-Dir  Moor            34   108  Adriaan Cornelisz van Ackersloot
A-Dir  Walvisch        30   110  Abraham Verleth
NQ     Prins Maurits   32   110  Cornelis Taenman (sunk)
NQ     Monnikendam     38   138  Pieter Florissen
R      Rosencrans      42   ?    Jan de Haes (partially burnt)
A      Jonas           ?    ?    Joris de Caulerij (Colerij)
F      Graaf Willem    12   ?    Jan Coenders
A      Brak            18   70   Poppe Brinckers (Binckes)
Z      Vlissingen      40   ?    Jan Evertsen, flag captain
                                 Jan Pouwelszoon
A      Vrijheid        46   170  Witte de With, flag captain
                                 Abraham van der Hulst
R-Dir  Sint Pieter     ?    ?    Simon Corneliszoon van der Meer
R-Dir  Burgh           ?    ?    Hendrik Adriaansz Glas
Z      Liefde          ?    ?    Jan Thyssen
Z      Hollandia       38   160  Adriaan Bankert (sunk)
Z      Westcappel      28   110  Claes Janszoon Sanger (sunk)
Z      Eendracht        24    98  Andries Fortuijn (burnt)
Z      Zeeuwsche Leeuw  30   120  Cornelis Evertsen de Oude (sunk)
A      Hollandia        32   120  Evert Antonissen (sunk)
A      Dolphijn         32   100  Gerbrand Schatter (sunk)
A      Omlandia         ?    ?    Maarten Schaeff (sunk)
F      Zevenwolden      38   135  Frederick Stellingwerff (sunk)
A-VOC  Mercurius        40   200  Pieter de Bitter (sunk)
Z      Witte Lam        40   145  Michiel de Ruyter
NQ     Hoorn            28   105  Pieter Aldertszoon
R      Gorcum           30   131  Willem Adriaanz Warmont (killed)
R      Roskam           26   105  Corstiaen Eldertszoon
R      Brederode        54   270  Maarten Tromp (killed), flag captain
                                   Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer

I have taken some of the data from my unpublished list of Dutch ships and captains. Between all the lists, we have a good number of the ships that fought at Scheveningen. There is also the list of captains from Michiel De Ruyter's squadron, for example. The latter has one error, because Anthony Foppenthey (or Fappenlain) was Hendrik Huysken's lieutenant on the Westfriesland.

So what does the July 1653 list indicate about the Directors?

The July 1653 list has relevant information about the Directors and which ships were taken at the Battle of the Gabbard:

Directors of Edam

• one ship was captured

Directors of Monnikendam

• one ship was captured
• The other ship was a great ship, which was also very good. The ship was not ready for service in war, however.

No ships are listed for the Directors of Enkhuizen.

The Hoorn Directors have one ship listed:

• Not ready for service in war. The ship has sand ballast.

Issues about captains, ships, and who they served

There seem to be some inconsistencies about which captain and ship served which Directors. On page 94 of Vol.V of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Jacob Duym is said to have served the Edam Directors and commanded the Zon (Vergulde Zon), but in Hendrik de Raedt's pamphlet and in Aitzema (page 822, Vol.III of Saken van Staet in Oorlogh in ende omtrent de Vereenigte Nederlanden) he is said to have been in the service of the Enkhuizen Directors. In the same reference in Aitzema, Hendrick Pieterszoon is said to have commanded a ship, the Man van Edam, an Edam Directors' ship. The Man van Edam must refer to the Maan, or Halve Maan, which was captured by the English at the Battle of the Gabbard. Again, Dr. Elias, in Schetsen, writes that Hendrick Pieterszoon was in the service of the Monnikendam Directors. I found the page in Aitzema because Dr. Ballhausen referred to it, in reference to his list for the Battle of the Gabbard, where he mentioned the Man van Edam, commanded by Hendrick Pieterszoon.

Ships we think that we can identify in the July 1653 list of ships at Vlissingen

There are a few ships in the July 1653 list of ships lying at Vlissingen that are explicitly named. There are also a good number that we can identify from the context:

List No. Adm    Name         Guns Crew Commander
13       A      Gelderland     28 100  Cornelis van Velsen-blown up
47       M      Brederode      54 250  Lt-Admiral Tromp-most ready of all
65       Ed-Dir Vergulde Star  28 108  Jacob Claesz Duijm-captured
66       N      Monnikendam    38 138  Pieter Florissen-ship 
                                             of the commandeur
72       N      Stad Medemblik 30 110  Pieter Schellinger-captured
76       Mo-Dir Halve Maan     30 110  Hendrik Pieterszoon-captured
77       Mo-Dir Zwarte Beer    32 115  Jan Cornelisz Oly
87       Z      Neptunus       28 134  Adriaan Jansz den Oven-captured
100      Mi-VOC Zwarte Bul     ?  ?    Willem Folkertszoon
101      F      Zevenwolden    38 135  Frederick Stellingwerff
102      F      Sara           24  85  Luitenant Hasselgants-unready fluit
103      F      Westergo       28  98  Tijmen Claeszoon-captured
104      F      Kameel         42   ?  Joost Bulter-sunk
105      Ha-Dir Sint Vincent   28 105  Ariaan Heeres Cleijntien

From other sources, we can fill in more ships, but not by list number.

Perhaps this might be of interest to others

I have been doing more research about the Dutch fishery protection squadron that was captured or sunk on 22 July 1652:

I am less sure of the mappings between the complete list of captains, ships, and admiralties:

Ship              Guns Crew Captain            Adm  References
Paulus (Sint Paul)24   80   Dirk van Dongen    M    1DW4,p.383,Vreug 194
Waterhond         24   80   Renout Venhuijsen  M    1DW1, p.383, Vreug 213
Kalmar Sleutel    24   80   Dirk Vijch         M    1DW1,p.383, Vreug 141
Wapen van Holland 30  110   Herman Munnekes    N    1DW4,p.314,Vreug 208,
                                                    1DW1 p.383
Adam en Eva       24   80   Jan Heck           N    1DW4, p.314, Vreug 91

(from The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, page 314, this appears to be a ship hired by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier, despite what Vreugdenhil says. The Adam en Eva is listed in a group of Noorderkwartier ships on page 314 of The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, as I wrote.

Ship               Gun Crew   Captain          Adm  References
Sampson van Hoorn   24   80   Willem Ham       N    1DW1,p.383,1DW4,p.313,
                                                    Vreug 182
Sampson van
Enkhuizen           28  100                    En-Dir? 1DW1,p.383,
                                                      Vreug 181
Land van Beloften   24   80   Jan Noblet       N    1DW4,p.314,Vreug 146
Marcus Curtius      24   80   Hendrik Kroeger  A    1DW4,p.310,Vreug 153
Juffrouw Catharina  24   80   Dirk Bogaart     A    1DW4,p.310,Vreug 100
Zwaan van Amsterdam 28  100                    A    1DW1,p.383,Vreug 219
Arke Noach          24   80                    A    1DW1,p.383,Vreug 163
Sint Jan Baptist    22   80                    A    1DW1,p.383,Vreug 188

I had thought that this might have been one of the squadron of possibly 15 ships, but this was taken by James Peacock in October 1652. Vreugdenhil had listed the Morgenstar (Morgenster) as being a fishery protection ship

Ship              Guns Crew Captain            Adm  References
Morgenstar        20   80                      ?    Vreug, p.160

Key:
References:
1DW1 = The First Dutch War, Vol.I
1DW4 = The First Dutch War, Vol.IV
Vreug = Vreugdenhil's list from 1938
Admiralties:
A = Admiralty of Amsterdam
M = Admiralty of the Maze
N = Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier
En-Dir = Enkhuizen Directors

Marco Schuffelen keeps adding new, good stuff

I have been remiss in not checking Marco Schuffelen's site more frequently. He now has a page called "Everyday Dutch". As I continue to struggle to learn more Dutch, and to learn to speak and understand spoken Dutch, I need this kind of material. I can read a good deal of Dutch, at least if the topic is 17th Century Dutch naval and maritime history. Since I want to be visiting the Netherlands to research, I would like to have some basic facility with the spoken language. His main site (the new one) "Hear Dutch Here" has the cool picture: "The Bitter Draught" of the guy who has just tasted something really bad (presumably extremely bitter). This is his old home page.

I have taken on a new project: to transcribe and translate Witte de With's journal for 1 October to 5 November 1658

Now that I have Witte de With's journal from 1 October to 5 November 1658, I need to transcribe and translate it. I suspect that the contents will be of some historical interest. They chronicle the last month of Vice-Admiral Witte de With's life, at least from a professional perspective.

The journal of Hendrick Ernst de Bertry

I had seen that there was a pamphlet listed in Knuttel's list that contained part of Hendrick Ernst de Bertry's journal. Carl Stapel says that it is for the period of the voyage to the Shetlands in July and August 1652. Captain de Bertry commanded the hired ship Hollandia for the Admiralty of the Maze. I am always hoping to discover more information about Dutch captains and warships in 1652 and 1653.

The journals of Witte de With

When the Brederode was taken by the Swedes at the Battle of the Sound, the ship was in a sinking condition and they "ransacked" the ship. For that we may be thankful, as they rescued Vice-Admiral Witte de With's letters and journals. They are in the Swedish archives, with the papers of the Swedish Admiral Wrangel. Carl Stapel had told me about the journals. Prof. Jan Glete, who is in Stockholm, at the university, had seen them, told us about the letterbook. He was disappointed that there were no ship lists, as I am, although I did not really expect to find anything but lists of captains. Those do exist in the journal. Thanks to Ambassador Antoine van Dongen, Dutch Ambassador to Sweden, I have a copy of Witte de With's journal from 1 October to 5 November, 1658. The last date is the last entry in the journal. I find the handwriting very neat and relatively easy to read, although I can only read part of the words, without more details study. There are quite a few lists of captains. This may blow apart one theory of mine, about a certain captain's name. Grove gives the name as Jan Samplon, while Witte de With seems to have written the name as Jan Semplon. After reading more of the journal, I must say that the handwriting is not uniformly neat. Some of it is harder to read, as it might have been written more hastily. I really am grateful for the kindness of the Ambassador in sending me the copies.

English Captain: Matthew Dawson

Matthew Dawson served in the Restoration navy as a fireship commander. In 1672, he commanded the Success fireship (6 guns). In April and May 1672, the Success was attached to the Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron's division. The Success was sunk in 1673. In 1673, he commanded the Thomas and Edward fireship (6 guns). The Thomas and Edward was sold in 1674. Finally, on 7 May 1678, the King appointed him as captain of the Spanish Merchant fireship (8 guns). The Spanish Merchant was sold in 1686. Oddly enough, the second edition of Anderson's list has missing entries in the index, which is why I used the first edition. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946
2. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1935
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903