The Noorderkwartier Directors' ship Herderinne

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

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

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

The Noorderkwartier ship Gouden Leeuw in 1641 to 1642

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

The ship Gouden Leeuw

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

Sources:

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 Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

The ship Groote Alexander from 1639

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

The ship Groote Alexander

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

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

Sources:

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 Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

List with ship names from May 1653

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

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

Some interesting ships from 1652-1653

Ron van Maanen lists some ships for 1652-1653 that are interesting enough to bear mentioning:

Adm    Ship           Year Guns Crew   Length  Beam Hold      Ht btw Dks Gun lists
A      Amsterdam       1651 30 100-120 120ft   29ft    11ft   6-3/4ft    10-12#,8-8#,8-6#,4-3#
A      Amsterdam       1652 30 100-120 120ft?  29ft?   11ft?  6-3/4ft    18-12#,10-6#,2-4#
Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend   1652 26 98-118  112ft   26ft    12ft   6ft        2-12#,10-8#,10-6#,4-4#
F      Frisia          1652 28 100-110 120ft   28ft    11ft   7ft        2-12#,4-10#,8-8#,10-6#,4-5#
A      Julius Caesar   1653 28  100    125ft   29ft           7ft
A      Jupiter         1652 28  100    132ft   32ft    12.5ft 7ft
M      Kalmar Sleutel  1652 22   90    112ft   27ft    12ft   6.5ft
M      Koning David,FS 1652  6*  14     98ft   23.5ft  10.75ft7ft  (Maas feet?)
M      Rozenkrans      1653 42  200    137.5ft 35ft    17.5ft            20-18#,22-12#
A      Salomons Ordeel 1653 28  100    141ft   31ft        7ft
Ho-Dir Samson          1652 24  110    132ft   27ft    12.5ft 6.25ft
F      Sara            1652 24 85-90   116ft   25.75ft 11.5ft 7ft

Sources:

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

The Amsterdam ship Groningen

Ron van Maanen has a good bit of information about the Amsterdam ship Groningen that fought in the First and Second Anglo-Dutch Wars:

The ship Groningen, built in 1641
Length from stem to sternpost: 128ft    (5 April 1653: 125ft)
Beam:                           31-1/2ft(5 April 1653:  31ft)
Hold:                           12ft
Height between decks:            7ft

Guns: (the guns varied over time,and these are Ron's numbers)
16 Nov 1653:   4-18pdr, 18-12pdr, 14-8pdr, 4-4pdr
5 April 1653:  4-18pdr, 18-12pdr, 14-8pdr, 4-4pdr
1654:          18-12pdr, 4-10pdr, 4-8pdr (this may be incomplete)
31 March 1665: 4-18pdr, 18-12pdr, 6-3pdr

Sources:

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

Anyone who reads the Anglo-Dutch Wars blog should be reading 17th Century Naval Wargaming, as well

I can imagine that there some readers of Anglo-Dutch Wars blog who have not looked at the 17th Century Naval Wargaming blog, due to the name. They should realize that I post the same sort of material there, as I do here. I have posted more explicitly wargame-related material there, as well, but there is ordinarily little difference between what I post on the two blogs. If you not reading 17th Century Naval Wargaming, as well, you are missing out on relevant information.

Ron van Maanen says that the captured English ship Patrick was called Zwanenbug in Dutch service

Ron van Maanen says that the captured English ship Patrick, taken in 1667, served in the Third Anglo-Dutch War as the Zwanenburg, in the service of the Admiralty of Zeeland. The Zwanenburg measured 142 feet from stem to sternpost and carried somewhere between 42 and 60 guns. The crew was just 121 men. Ron says that there was a 1667 list that called the ship Swaenburgh (ex-Saint Patrick). Sources:

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

Ron van Maanen, for some reason. lists Pieter de Bitter's ship as being from the Middelburg Chamber of the VOC

I was surprised that Ron van Maanen lists Pieter de Bitter's ship Mercurius as belonging to the Middelburg Chamber of the VOC. Our other sources, such as Witte de With's journal for 1653, indicate that the Mercurius belonged to the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC. In May 1653, the Mercurius carried 36 guns and had a crew of 110 men. The dimensions were 122-1/2ft x 30ft x 12ft. The height between decks was either 6-1/4 or 6-1/2ft. The Mercurius was sunk at the Battle of Scheveningen, on 10 August 1653. Captain Warnsinck, in the book De Retourvloot Van Pieter de Bitter (1664-1665), mistakenly described the Mercurius as carrying 40 guns and having a crew of 200 men. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Postiljon van Smyrna

Ron van Maanen has the details of the Friesland ship Postiljon van Smyrna, which was assigned to Auke Stellingwerf's squadron at the Battle of Lowestoft. The ship was commanded by Barend Hiddes de Vries. These are the details:

The ship Postiljon van Smyrna, Capt. Barend Hiddes de Vries

Length from stem to sternpost: 118ft
Beam:                           29ft
Hold:                           12ft
Height between decks:            6ft

40 guns

Crew: 205 men

Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

The Amsterdam Directors ship Engel in 1639

Ron van Maanen has the details for the ship Engel, hired by the Amsterdam Directors in 1639. Presumably, the Engel fought in the Battle of the Downs. These are the details:

The ship Engel

Length from stem to sternpost:  130-1/2ft
Beam:                            25-3/4ft
Hold:                            12-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6-1/2ft (but varied)

34 guns:
12-8pdr, 8-6pdr, 6-4pdr, 2-3pdr, 6-unknown

Crew:
unknown

Sources:

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

Ships at Vlissingen in July 1653

The beginning of the list of ships at Vlissingen in early July 1653 actually lists names of some Amsterdam ships that I would transcribe as follows:

Leeuwarden
Fazant
Dolphijn
Prins Willem
Omlandia
Leiden

To parallel this list, we have page 119 from Witte de With's journals (archive E8812). This list has the following ships and captains:

Ship           Guns Crew  Captain            Length    Beam     Hold    Ht Betw Decks
Leeuwarden     34   148   Govert Reael       120ft     29-3/4ft 11-3/4ft 6-3/4ft
Fazant         32   110   Jan Jansz Lapper   120ft     29ft     12ft     6-3/4ft
Dolphijn       30   110   Gerbrant Schatter  120ft     28ft     10-1/2ft 6-1/4ft
Prins Willem   30   106   Jan Jansz Boermans 
Omlandia       30   109   Maarten Schaeff    120ft     27-1/2ft 12ft     6-3/4ft
Leiden         30   107   Hendrick Kroeger   117-1/2ft 28-1/4ft 11ft     6-3/4ft

By the way, this is in the same order in Witte de With's journal as in the list from July 1653. Note that the published dimensions for the Dolphijn are 116ft x 25ft x 12ft with 32 guns. These dimensions are from a source that Ron van Maanen found, dated 5 April 1653, when the ship carried 32 guns: 8-12pdr, 16-8pdr, and 8-6pdr. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
3. Staten Generaal 1.01.04 Inv. Nr. 5556, "List of ships at Vlissingen on 2 July 1653", 1653
4. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The frigate Delft, captured by the English in 1665

Ron van Maanen has the details of the frigate Delft, captured by the English in 1665. This was a ship built by the Admiralty of the Maze:

The frigate Delft, Capt. Jacob van Boshuisen

Length from stem to sternpost:  111ft-3in
Beam:                            27ft-3in
Hold:                            11ft-2in
Height over hold:                 6ft-6in

36 guns:
8-12pdr, 22-8pdr, 2-6pdr, 4-2pdr

Crew:
150 men

Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
2. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

Cornelis van Houten's ship Witte Lam

Cornelis van Houten commanded an Amsterdam Directors' ship named Witte Lam. That ship nominally carried 28 guns (12-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, and 2-3pdr) but Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet and Witte de With's journal for September 1652 indicate that the Witte Lam carried 30 guns in August and September, and probably at the Battle of the Kentish Knock. The Witte Lam had dimensions: 127ft x 27-1/4ft x 12-1/2ft, with a height over hold of 6-1/2ft. I have not seen this ship mentioned after the Battle of the Kentish Knock, except in the list of 8 November 1652, where it is listed as having 28 guns and a crew of 96 men. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Directors' Ship Information 1652-1653", 2004
2. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652

One outstanding question is which ship Abraham van der Hulst commanded in the period of June to August 1652. Two contemporary sources, which I do not believe are independent sources, are the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1652 and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet, show him commanding a ship of 26 guns with a crew of 100 men. We know from Witte de With's journal that covers September 1652, that Abraham van der Hulst commanded a 40-gun ship that had a crew of 130 men. From the list in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, that I date from about mid-March 1653, that he commanded the Groningen, a 40-gun ship, prior to moving to the Vrijheid, following Augustijn Balck's death. The listing in Witte de With's journal then probably means that Abraham van der Hulst commanded the Groningen in September 1652, and at the Battle of the Kentish Knock. If it were not for the Hollandsche Mercurius and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet, we would conclude that he probably commanded the Groningen through the earlier part of 1652, as well. I have not seen another source that would indicate that anyone else commanded the Groningen during that timeframe. I must say, though, that in other cases, the lists from the Hollandsche Mercurius and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet seem pretty accurate. I do know of a deviation, although not so great, that Gerrit Nobel's ship, the Burgh van Alkmaar actually had 30 guns and a crew of 98 in September 1652, not the 24 guns and the crew of 95 men (not so great a deviation) listed in the published sources. I had thought that perhaps Abraham van der Hulst had commanded the elusive Achilles, built in 1644, up to August 1652, but the existence of the ship is unproved, except for Vreugdenhil and other lists that have obvious inaccuracies. So the question to be answered is if there are handwritten lists with captains, possibly ship names, and guns and crews for June to August 1652 that might clarify this issue. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
3. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
4. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654
5. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938
6. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Carolus Quintus

The ship Carolus Quintus fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. Joris Kuiten commanded the ship, which in June 1665 was listed as carrying 54 guns and having a crew of 200 men. Ron van Maanen has the details, including a gun list. He says that the Carolus Quintus was a ship belonging to the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC:

The ship Carolus Quintus, Capt. Joris Kuiten

Length from stem to sternpost:  132ft
Beam:                            32ft
Hold:                            13-1/2ft

52 guns:
 8-18pdr
12-12pdr
20- 8pdr
12- 3pdr

Crew:  225 men

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

So what is in J. C. De Jonge's notes?

J. C. De Jonge was the author of the multi-volume book Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. To my taste, the best parts of the book are in the appendices. Those for Vol.I are particularly interesting. Now we learn that De Jonge's notes and papers are in the Nationaal Archief. De Jonge had access to documents that were destroyed in the disastrous Minstery of Marine fire in about 1844. The question is if his notes contain the names of ships for which he has gun lists and also for the lists of ships, does he have the names? The one list that I am particularly interested in is that for March 1653. Having the names of the ships in that list would answer many remaining questions. Carl Stapel has the reference for De Jonge's papers:

"the notes of dr J.C. de Jonge filenr 1.01.47.30 almost 1 meter in length... !!" in the Nationaal Archief in The Hague.

Ron van Maanen largely does not mention captains in his list

I consider the fact that Ron van Maanen largely does not mention captains in his list to be a major shortcoming, even though the list is amazing a really useful. For example, when he lists a ship named Hollandia, from a list in April 1653, which Hollandia is that? He gives the dimensions: 120ft x 29ft x 13ft, with 32 guns and a crew of 130 men. The height over hold is 6-1/2ft. We have to guess, then, which ship this was. The Wrangell collection list gives Albert de Graeff's ship dimensions of 130ft x 29ft x 13ft, which seems to be suspiciously similar, except for the length. The other candidate is the Hollandia (32 guns) commanded by Evert Anthonisz Marre ("Evert Anthonissen"). Since the Hollandia immediately before this was sunk in action in 1653, that is more likely to be Evert Anthonissen's ship. Ron gives it dimensions of 120ft x 29ft x 11ft, with a height over hold of 6-3/4ft. He lists 32 guns and a crew of 140 men. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
2. list of Amsterdam hired ships from the Wrangell Collection, Riksarkivet, Stockholm

I had wondered about the Rotterdam ship Vrede

I had known about the existence of a Rotterdam ship named Vrede that had served in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. I had speculated that the Vrede was a 130ft ship, as at the Battle of Lowestoft, the Vrede allegedly carried 40 guns. Ron van Maanen has dimensions and says that the Vrede was completed in 1653, so presumably could have appeared in the latter stages of the First Anglo-Dutch War. This is what I know:

The ship Vrede

Length from stem to sternpost:  111ft
Beam:                            27ft-3in
Hold:                            12ft
Height over hold:                 6ft-6in

Operations:

June 1665, Battle of Lowestoft, commanded by Laurens van Heemskerck
August 1665, with De Ruyter's fleet, commanded by Eland du Bois
August 1666, St. James's Day Battle, commanded by Juriaan Juriaansz Poel
May 1667, took part in operations near England, commanded by Jan van Brakel
   Broke the chain at Chatham

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

Zeeland Directors' ship with Witte de With in September 1652

At one point in September 1652, there were four Zeeland Directors' ships with Witte de With's fleet:

Adm    Ship             Guns   Crew   Captain
Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend    28     111    Aldert (Allert) Jansz
Mi-Dir Leeuwinne        30*    120*   Capt. (Johannes van) Regermorter
Vl-Dir Haes             26     120    Bastiaan Sempsem (as given)
Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw     30     110    Capt. (Jacob) Penssen

* not given in the journal for September 1652

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships and Captains 1652-1654", 2006
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm