I received my copy of one of Doeke Roos's books

Yesterday, in the mail, I received the copy of Doeke Roos's book, Zeeuwen en de Westindische Compagnie (1621-1674). It turns out that the copy I received was autographed by Doeke Roos with a blue fountain pen. I can't say that the book had much that I can use, but it is good to have more sources of information, and books that are well documented. The footnotes and bibliography look like they will be useful, which is what I would say about Doeke Roos's latest book, about the Evertsen family, as well.

I have started to fix quote problems (from MS Word)

I had copied and pasted references from a MS Word document. Word had made these into forward and backward quotes, instead of the standard doublequote that HTML browsers can easily render. I just realized the problem this morning, and have a made a small start on fixing the issue.

Additional information about Roger Cuttance

Andrew found additional information about Roger Cuttance. Andrew says that Roger Cuttance played a prominent role in the First Anglo-Dutch War. In 1655, he took part in the expedition to Tunis. He had been Edward Montagu's flag captain at the Restoration, and he continued in that role, after the ship was renamed Royal Charles. He followed him to the Royal James and then to the Royal Prince. From 1662 to 1663, he was a member of the Tangier committee. Tangier had been part of the dowery for Katherine of Braganza, when she married Charles II. In 1665, he was knighted, and then was implicated in the prize goods scandal. He was also a member of the fishery committee. He died in 1669, about the same time as William Penn and Sir Thomas Allin. I have just slightly augmented Andrew's information from what I know from other sources.

English Captain: Roger Cuttance

Roger Cuttance served in both the Commonwealth and Restoration navies. From 1651 to 1652, he commanded the 5th Rate Pearl (24 guns). In August 1652, he fought at the Battle of Plymouth, under Sir George Ayscue. In 1653, he commanded the 4th Rate Sussex (46 guns). In early 1653, he fought at the Battle of Portland. At the Battle of the Gabbard, he was in Samuel Howett's division. He was also likely at the Battle of Scheveningen. From 1654 to 1656, he commanded the 3rd Rate Langport. From 1656 to 1657 and again from 1659 to 1660, he was flag captain, and commanded the 1st Rate Naseby. At the Battle of Lowestoft, he was the Earl of Sandwich's flag captain, and commanded the 1st Rate Royal Prince (86 guns). Because he had been implicated, along with William Penn and the Earl of Sandwich, in the looting of the Indian pize, he was excluded from further command at sea. By then, he had been knighted. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

Andrew found more information about Philip Holland

R. C. Anderson's list of captains didn't acknowledge that he had served after 1660, but I noticed his name in Frank Fox's book, A Distant Storm. Andrew found more information about Philip Holland than I had seen. In 1659, he was with Edward Montagu's fleet sent to the Baltic. This fleet was sent, along with a Dutch fleet commanded by Michiel De Ruyter, to force the Swedes to make peace. Peace finally came only with the death of the Swedish king, Charles X, in 1660. In 1660, Philip Holland and his wife were friends with Samuel Pepys and his wife. They lived near Pepys' parents near Bridwell parish. Captain Holland's wife was characaterized as "plain dowdy", rather unkindly, although probably accurately. In the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Philip Holland initially commanded a fireship. According to Frank Fox, he had taken command of the Loyal Merchant (50 guns) in 1666, and in June was fitting out the ship. He took part in the St. James' Day Battle. Sometime after that, he deserted to the Dutch, and took part in the Raid on Chatham in 1667. He was apprehended in 1672, and saved himself by agreeing to spy on the Dutch for the English.

English Captain: Philip Holland

Philip Holland apparently served in both the Commonwealth and the Restoration navies. Technically, his service from 1648 to 1649 was in the Parliamentarian navy, as well. From 1648 to 1650, Philip Holland commanded the hired merchant ship Falcon. In 1651, he probably commanded the Lily for a period. From 1651 to 1652, he commanded the 6th Rate Cygnet (22 guns). He fought at the Battle of the Kentish Knock, in command of the Cygnet. From 1653 to 1659, he commanded the 4th Rate Assurance (36 guns and a crew of 160 men). He fought at the Battle of Portland in early 1653. He was in Thomas Graves' division at the Battle of the Gabbard. Thomas Graves was Rear-Admiral of the White. Philip Holland was wounded at the Battle of Scheveningen, but recovered. He was unusual in commanding the same ship for 6 years, during the Commonwealth. During the Four Days Battle, Philip Holland and the Loyal Merchant were lying in the Thames, fitting out. At the St. James' Day Battle, he commanded the hired merchant ship Loyal Merchant (50 guns). Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912.
4. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930.
5. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
6. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962.

Privateers Bounty: Battle of Solebay

I experimented earlier this evening with the Battle of Lowestoft, and used my standard tactics. The much larger English fleet still overwhelmed the Dutch. So, I thought it would be interesting to try the Battle of Solebay scenario, with my still commanding the Dutch. I used my standard tactics, with a variation. I fought the battle generally from the leeward, rather than from the windward. The way the AI handled the Allies, I was able to keep them at a distance. I was not able to take the time to fight to the finish. I shut the battle down with the Dutch with 87% and the Allies with 86% of their fleet left. I actually found that I could easily wear to the opposite tack, and keep the Allies from closing, while I was generally raking them.

English Captain: Giles Shelley

Giles Shelley served both the Commonwealth and Restoration navies. In 1653, he commanded the Dutch prize Waterhound (32 guns and a crew of 120 men). He fought at the Battle of Portland, in early 1653. At the Battle of the Gabbard, he was in Thomas Graves' division. Thomas Graves was Rear-Admiral of the White. He almost certainly fought in the Battle of Scheveningen, as well. He was in the Winter Guard for 1653. From 1654 to 1656, he commanded the 5th Rate Colchester. From 1656 to 1657, he commanded the 4th Rate Guinea. From 1659 to 1660, he commanded the old 4th Rate Providence. He started in the Restoration navy as a lieutenant. In 1664, he was promoted to captain. At the Battle of Lowestoft, in 1665, he commanded the hired merchant ship Royal Exchange (46 guns). He was in Sir John Lawson's division in the Duke of York's squadron. He also took part in the Norway operation with the main fleet. Giles Shelley was the Royal Exchange's captain from 2 September 1664 until 14 December 1665. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, “English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War,” The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
4. Frank Fox, “Hired Men-of-War, 1664-7”, Part II, The Mariner's Mirror Vol.84 No.2 (May 1998).
5. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.

English Captain: Thomas Marriot

Thomas Mariott (or Marriot or Marriott) served the Commonwealth navy. I have not been able to confirm that he commanded the Star (20 guns) in 1647. In fact, there seems to be evidence that contradict that. He did command the Discovery (40 guns and a crew of 180 men) from 1651 to 1654. He fought in the Battle of Portland in early 1653. He also fought in the Battle of Scheveningen in August of 1653. In December 1654, the Discovery was lying at Portsmouth, as part of the Winter Guard for 1653. In 1656, he commanded the 2nd Rate Dunbar (64 guns). The Dunbar was renamed Henry in 1660 and had a distinguished career in the Restoration navy. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930.
3. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "English Ships 1652-1654", 2004.
4. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962.

English Captain: Thomas Trenchfield

We know that Thomas Trenchfield served in King Charles' navy up until the start of the Civil War. In 1642, he was captain of the 2nd Rate Unicorn (crew 260 men and 769 tons), and served in the Summer Guard for 1642. In 1646, he was a Rear-Admiral in the Parliamentarian navy, and flew his flag on the 2nd Rate Rainbow. There is a note in the House of Commons Journal for 23 February 1646 appointing him as captain of the Rainbow and as Rear-Admiral. His ship was stationed at Chatham. His ship was assigned to the Summer Guard for 1646. He died later in 1646. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. House of Commons Journal, Volume 4, 23 February 1646.
3. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962.

English Captain: Bartholomew Kitcher (or Ketcher)

In the list of English captains, R. C. Anderson spells the name Bartholomew Ketcher. In an earlier article, R. C. Anderson said that Bartholomew Kitcher probably had fought at the Battle of Scheveningen in the Half Moon (30 guns). Captain Kitcher commanded the Half Moon from 1653 to 1654, and commanded the Great Charity in 1659. Both of these ships were Dutch prizes. The Dutch name for the Half Moon was Halve Maan. The ship had been hired by the Monnikendam Directors. Her Dutch captain was Hendrick Pieterszoon. The ship was captured at the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653. The Great Charity was an Amsterdam Directors' ship, the Groote Liefde (38 guns), captured at the Battle of Portland in February 1653. Her Dutch captain was Bruijn van Seelst. He commanded the ship from early 1652 until the Battle of Portland. She was was a large ship, 132ft x 29ft x 13.5ft (Amsterdam feet). Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1620-1700", 2004.

English Captain: Joseph Ames

Joseph Ames served the Commonwealth navy. In 1653, he commanded the hired merchantman Samuel Talbot (30 guns). At the Battle of the Gabbard, he was in Joseph Jordan's division. Joseph Jordan was Vice-Admiral of the Blue. He also fought at the Battle of Scheveningen. From 1654 to 1660, he commanded the Winsby (50 guns). The Winsby was a 4th Rate that was renamed Happy Return after the Restoration. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, 2nd Ed., 1987.
4. Brian Lavery, The Ship of the Line, Vol.I, 1983.

English Captain: Isias Blowfield

Isias Blowfield served in the Commonwealth navy. From 1652 to 1653, he commanded the Lily (12 guns and a crew of 50 men). Early in 1652, Edmund Barrett still commanded the Lily. On 3 September 1653, Isias Blowfield was still in command of the Lily. From 1653 to 1654, he commanded the prize Convert (32 guns and a crew of 120 men). On 17 December 1653, he was in command of the Convert, lying in the Thames. A letter from Robert Blake from 15 October says that "Esias Blowfield" was commander of the Convert. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930.
3. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.

English Captain: John Goulding (or Golding)

John Goulding served the Royalist cause, then in the Commonwealth and Restoration navies. He was serving the Royalist cause in 1648 to 1649. In 1650, he commanded the Royalist ship Black Prince (10 guns). In 1651, he commanded the St. Michael, and deserted to the Commonwealth. The St. Michael had been a Genoese ship, either St. Michael or Archangel Michael. The Royalists captured her in 1651, but she deserted to the Commonwealth, and was renamed Gilliflower (32 guns). He earned Robert Blake's praise for his service in the Commonwealth cause in late 1651. In 1652, he commanded the Hound (36 guns) at the Battle of the Kentish Knock and then the Waterhound (30 guns) at the Battle of Dungeness. In 1653, he sailed as a privateer. He served the Restoration navy as a captain from 1661. He was killed in action on 13 April 1665. In the Restoration list of captains, he is called John Golding. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, “English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War,” The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966.
4. J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, 2nd Ed., 1987.
5. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.
6. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.

English Captain: Richard Fogge

Richard Fogge served King Charles' navy and the Royalist naval forces. The first record of Richard Fogge has him as captain of the St. James prize. Apparently, this was one of the French ships captured at Rochelle. In 1633, he commanded the Tenth Whelp. In 1635, he commanded the Antelope. The next year, he commanded the Garland. In 1637, he commanded the Convertine. This was the former Destiny, Sir Walter Raleigh's ship. In 1638, he commanded the Happy Entrance. In 1639, he commanded the 2nd Rate James. From 1640-1641, he was back in command of the Garland. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he commanded the 2nd Rate Victory. From there, he commanded the Constant Reformation, which went over to the Royalists. In 1642, parliament ordered that Richard Fogge, and four other captains be removed from command, when the Earl of Warwick took command of the navy. They were accused of not surrendering their ships to the Earl, when commanded to do so. They were ordered to be arrested. Earlier in the year, parliament had approved of him. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. House of Commons Journal Volume 2 10 March 1642.
3. House of Commons Journal Volume 2 04 July 1642.

English Captain: Edmund Chapman

Edmund Chapman commanded the Recovery (24 guns and a crew of 70 men) in early 1652. On 12 May 1652, he was with Anthony Young off the Start, when they stopped the two Dutch warships convoying 7 Straatsvaarders. Michael Baumber says that they were sent to the Start in hopes of meeting Sir George Ayscue's squadron returning from Barbadoes. They had supplies for them and were to warn them of danger of a Dutch attack. In September, he was with Andrew Ball's squadron on the expedition to the Sound. Later in 1652, he commanded the Entrance (43 guns) at the Battle of Dungeness. Edmund Chapman was one of the four captains disciplined for not fighting hard enough in the battle. In 1653, he commanded the Dutch prize Golden Cock (36 guns) at the Battle of Scheveningen, where he was killed. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, “English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War,” The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. Michael Baumber, General-at-Sea, 1989.
4. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.

The magic of maneuvering a fleet as a unit

At least in the simulated world of sailing naval warfare, there seems to be great benefit of maneuvering a fleet of ships together, as if they were being controlled as a unit. You might assume that this means that the ships would be in a single line formation, but in Privateers Bounty, that is difficult to achieve and maintain. Instead, I'm talking about how Witte de With apparently fought the Battle of the Kentish Knock: in a informal line formation. In an informal line formation, ships are not lined up with bowsprit near the stern light of the next ahead, but all the ships are on the same course. When the fleet needs to change direction, in Privateers Bounty, the only way to go is to wear the ships (turn downwind), rather than to tack (turning into the wind). In Privateers Bounty, when you sail in one direction for a while, fighting to get further to the windward, and then wear and head back in the opposite direction, again trying to gain to the windward, an interesting phenomenon occurs. The fleet will elongate along the axis on which they sail. Some ships are slower, some have taken damage and are slowed. Wearing and heading in the opposite direction (or at least the opposite tack) will tend to bunch the ships. The slower ships will be at the rear, until wearing, at which point they are in the lead, and the faster ships catch up with them. Another key point is to moniter your fleet's contact point with the enemy, and maneuver the fleet to keep some distance between your fleet and the enemy. If the gap gets too large, close towards the enemy fleet. I keep "automatic fire on", as that is the default mode, anyway. Since your opponent is usually the Privateers Bounty AI, your positive control of your fleet can wear your opponent down, if you keep following the plan.

Dutch and English ships in the First Anglo-Dutch War

The Dutch were severely outmatched during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The most potent warship was the Brederode (54 guns), equivalent to an English 3rd Rate. The English had two 1st Rates, something like 9 2nd Rates, and three new 3rd Rates at the start of the war. They also had some old Jacobean and Carolean "middling ships" which were approximately 3rd Rates. They also completed several more 3rd Rates during the war. The English had a large number of new 4th rates, each partially or wholly armed on the lower tier with culverins (18pdr). The Dutch had a hard time fighting the 1st Rates under any circumstances, and could only fight the 2nd Rates with a multiple ships. The biggest ships that the Dutch had were Indiamen, but they were unwieldy and poor sailors. The largest of them, the Prins Willem (44 guns), performed so poorly at the Kentish Knock, that she was turned back over to her owners. the Vogelstruis (40 guns) was a smaller ship, and fought at the Battle of Plymouth and the Battle of Portland, where she was lost. In late 1652, Tromp wanted to build a new fleet of larger ships, but this was vetoed by Amsterdam (against their long-term interests), and two 30-ship groups were proposed to be built. 38 of them would be only 130ft long (Amsterdam feet of 283mm). There was an effort to acquire larger ships during the war. Friesland acquired the Groenewold (132ft long), which apparently was renamed Groningen. They also acquired the Zevenwolden (38 guns), which was lost at the Battle of Scheveningen. The new ship Kameel (42 guns) was lost at the Battle of the Gabbard. Two large Genoese ships were taken over and used during the last months of the war: the Huis te Zwieten (60 guns) and the Huis te Kruiningen (54 guns). They were used by Witte de With and Michiel De Ruyter as their flagships for the remainder of the war.

English Captain: Henry Southwood

Henry Southwood served in the Parliamentarian, Commonwealth, and Restoration navies. We first hear of him in 1646, in command of the Warspite, a small vessel. In 1650, he again was recorded as commanding the Warspite. From 1650 to 1652, he commanded the 6th Rate Greyhound (20 guns). He fought in the first battle of the war, off Dover, in May 1652. In the fall, he was with Andrew Ball's abortive expedition to the Sound, where the Antelope was lost in a storm. He was also with Robert Blake at Dungeness. In 1653, he commanded the Dutch prize Violet (40 guns). Captain Southwood was in Samuel Howett's division at the Battle of the Gabbard. Samuel Howett was Rear-Admiral of the Red. In 1654, he commanded the White Raven. He also seems to have fought at the Battle of Scheveningen. The only mention of him after the Restoration is that he was promoted to captain in 1666. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, “English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War,” The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994.

English Captain: "the other" Robert Blake

The less famous Robert Blake served the Commonwealth Navy. He was the nephew of the famous admiral. From 1653 to 1655, he commanded the 4th Rate Hampshire (46 guns). He fought at the Battle of the Gabbard. Michael Baumber says that he "fought with his usual elán and lack of finesse". From 1656 to 1660, he commanded the 3rd Rate Newbury (52 guns). He did not serve after the Restoration. When Robert Blake was dying, his two nephews, Robert and Samuel, accompanied him home. Sources:

1. 1963. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. Michael Baumber, General-at-Sea, 1989.
3. Brian Lavery, The Ship of the Line, Vol.I, 1983.

English Captain: John Gibbs

John Gibbs only appears to have commanded the Garland (44 guns) from 1651 to 1652. He was replaced by Robert Batten, who was killed at the Battle of Dungeness, where the Garland was taken by the Dutch. Michael Baumber says that Captain Gibbs, along with Charles Thorowgood, of the Worcester, were accused of having gotten to the leeward, before the battle began, and did not provide support to Robert Blake in the ensuing fight. This seems to be the same John Gibbs mentioned by Robert Blake, in a letter from June 1650, as an English captain whose ship had been taken in a Portuguese port. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. Michael Baumber, General-At-Sea, 1989.
3. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.
4. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.

English Captain: Thomas Thompson

Thomas Thompson served the Commonwealth navy. From 1649 to 1652, he commanded the Mayflower. This seems to have been the former Irish Fame captured in 1649. In early 1652, the Mayflower carried 14 guns and had a crew of 60 men. From 1653 to 1654, he commanded the Crow, a French prize captured in 1652. Thomas Thompson, in the Crow fought at the Battles of the Gabbard and Scheveningen. In September 1653, the Crow carried 36 guns and had a crew of 140 men. 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. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930.
4. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "English Ships 1652-1654", 2004.
5. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898.

English Captain: Charles Thorowgood

In 1649, Charles Thorowgood commanded the Guinea frigate. In 1650, he was Blake's flag captain on the George. In March, they were off Portugal, hoping to catch Prince Rupert's squadron. He commanded the small 3rd Rate Worcester from 1651 to 1652. Andrew has information that contradicts what Anderson writes. Charles Thorowgood commanded the Worcester at the Battle off Dover in May 1652. Blake was disatisfied with his performance, and Anthony Young was promoted to the Worcester. That seems to have been the end to his career, although Captain Thorowgood's crew petitioned for his reinstatement. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. Michael Baumber, General-At-Sea, 1989.
3. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.

English Captain: Michael Packe

Michael Packe served the Commonwealth navy until he was killed in 1652. In 1650, he commanded the Merchant Frigate, a hired merchantman. From 1651 until his death in 1652, he commanded the Amity (36 guns). At the beginning of the First Anglo-Dutch War, he had been with Sir George Ayscue at Barbadoes. Michael Packe had been a Rear-Admiral in Sir George Ayscue's fleet at the Battle of Plymouth. He had a leg injury that caused his leg to be amputated. He died a short time later. Upon his death, his brother Henry Packe was given command of the Amity. This sort of shift, of a relative taking command when a family member died was not unusual in both the English and Dutch navies. Henry Packe commanded the Amity until the Restoration. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
2. Michael Baumber, General-At-Sea, 1989.
3. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.

Privateers Bounty: Battle of Portland scenario

I'm doing more experiments with me commanding the Dutch fleet against the English. I have deliberately set the difficulty to medium. I have been employing what are now my usual tactics: take the weather gauge, don't close with the enemy, maneuver as one group, always wear, not tack. I have to say that I am amazed the the score is 70% for the Dutch and 31% for the English (the surviving force). I have fought some more, and the score is now 48% to 24%. The remaining English fleet has three 2nd Rates and a 3rd Rate, so they are able to punish the Dutch. I have been fighting this as a "fight to the finish", just to see what I can do with the Dutch. What I wasn't able to do was to finish the battle cleanly. When the big English ships are immobilized, you should be able to put ships in position to rake them, with no opportunity for return fire. You would think, then, that you could systematically "take them apart". I did finish off the Rainbow, Vanguard, and Speaker that way. The Triumph has been tougher to finish off. I just expended three ships to no effect. I shut the game down, giving it up as a lost cause. The Dutch did much better than I expected, up until the last part when I got careless while getting ships in raking position. This is just an interlude in my being sick, so I may not be functioning well (I'm sure that I'm not).

Friesland captains

I'm pretty much convinced, finally, that the name Captain Belevelt is probably correct. I had long thought it was a corruption of Bruynsvelt. The trouble is that in this list of ships in Witte de With's squadron, prior to the Battle of the Kentish Knock, there was both captains Belevelt and Bruynsvelt. Eimert Smits, the researcher behind what is at De Sneuper website lists Captain Belevelt separately. He estimates that Captain Belevelt commanded a 24-guns ship with a crew of 80 men. I wonder, though, if he might have commanded the old landsschip, Omlandia (1628), which was still in service.

Dutch Captain: Hendrik Visscher

The first time that we have seen Hendrik Visscher mentioned was as captain of the Jonge Prins (62 guns) in Jan Meppel's division at the St. James's Day Battle. He served the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. I just looked through the lists in Brandt and saw that he was with the fleet on 23 June 1672. I had missed that the first time I had examined the lists. He was in Banckert's squadron at the Battle of Solebay, and commanded the Wapen van Medemblik (46 guns). At the Schooneveld battles in 1673, he again commanded the Wapen van Medemblik (now 44 guns). For these battles, he was in De Ruyter's squadron. At the Battle of the Texel, we assigned to Jan de Liefde's division. Hendrik Visscher was killed in this battle. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1620-1700", 2004.
3. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687.
4. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter Zee in 1673 In Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.

The 4th Rate Ruby in the Commonwealth Navy

We know that Anthony Houlding commanded the 4th Rate Ruby up until his death at the Battle of Portland. R. C. Anderson lists Robert Saunders as the Ruby's captain at the Battle of the Gabbard. He was in William Penn's division (Admiral of the White) in that battle. He probably was also in command at the Battle of Scheveningen. Edmund Curtis commanded her from sometime later in 1653 through 1654. He is listed as captain in the Winter Guard list for 1653, from December 17, 1653. In a list from September 3, 1653, Robert Saunders was still captain of the Ruby. Robert Kirby commanded her from 1656 until 1660. In between, the Ruby had been in the Mediterranean Sea with Blake, in the war against Spain, but we don't know who was captain. We do know, from Michael Baumber, that in November 1654, Edmund Curtis was still in command. After that date, Blake's letters only refer to the ship, not the captain, so we can't be certain that Edmund Curtis was captain for the rest of the cruise, until Robert Kirby took command in 1656. The expedition to the Mediterranean Sea only ended in 1657, when his fleet returned to Portsmouth. He died right before reaching home.

English Captain: Robert Nixon

Robert Nixon served in the Parliamentarian and Commonwealth navies. He first appears in command of the Humber ketch in the Summer Guard for 1647. He was in the Western Guard commanded by Rear-Admiral Richard Owen. In 1648, he commanded the 6th Rate Roebuck (14 guns) in the Summer Guard. From later in 1648 until 1649, he commanded the Hector (22 guns). From 1649 until 1651, he commanded the Fellowship (28 guns). In 1653, he commanded the 4th Rate Adventure. He definitely was with William Penn's squadron on March 30, 1653, in command of the Adventure (42 guns and a crew of 170 men). He also seems to have commanded the Adventure at the Battle of Portland, before that date. At the Battle of the Gabbard, he was in James Peacock's Division (Vice-Admiral of the Red). He was still in command of the Adventure at the Battle of Scheveningen, and on September 3, 1653. From late 1653 until 1655, he commanded the Centurion (42guns). In 1655, Robert Nixon was still in command of the Centurion, in the Mediterranean Sea, with Robert Blake's squadron. From 1656 until 1659, he commanded the 3rd Rate Worcester (50 guns). He seems to have not served in the Restoration navy. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Flet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror Vol.XXIV, No.4, 1938.
2. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
3. R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men of War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 2nd Edition, 1966.
4. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.VI, 1930.
5. J. R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.
6. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962.

English Captain: Charles Saltonstall

Charles Saltonstall served in the Parliamentarian and Commonwealth navies. In1648, he commanded the 5th Rate Hind in the Summer Guard. In 1650, he commanded the John, a 28-gun vessel purchased in 1646. On November 22, 1650, he was in company with Richard Badiley's squadron in Cartagena Bay. By 1652, he commanded the Lion. At the Battle of Dungeness, Robert Blake accused Charles Saltonstall of not closing with the Dutch and fighting. Michael Baumber, in General-At-Sea, says that all Charles Saltsonstall did was to think for them selves, which did not suit Robert Blake. Their ships were in poor repair, and you could argue that Robert Blake was violating orders in attacking the Dutch, who were present in overwhelming numbers. That did not matter, as at first Charles Saltonstall was removed from command and imprisoned, although he was later set free. The result was that he never again commanded a navy ship at sea. 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, Second Edition, 1966.
3. Michael Baumber, General-At-Sea: Robert Blake and the Seventeenth Century Revolution in Naval Warfare, 1989.
4. J.R. Powell, Ed., The Letters of Robert Blake, 1937.
5. J.R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962.