English Captain: Thomas Graves

Andrew had found a good article about Thomas Graves. He was a settler in America, and that prompted the article. The article starts off:

Thomas Graves (1) was born 6 June 1605 at Ratcliff, England, near London (or at Stepney, England), was baptized 16 June 1605 at Stepney, part of the city of London, and died 31 July 1653 (31st day, 5th month, 1653, old style calendar) in a sea battle with the Dutch in the English Channel. (A number of sources say he died in Charlestown, MA, but this definitely appears incorrect; e.g., Tracy Genealogy, p. 177, and NEHGS Register.) His will was dated 13 June 1652 and probated 1 Oct. 1653.

R.C. Anderson has very little about Thomas Graves in the captain's list. He only says that he commanded the President from 1652 to 1653, and that he was on the Andrew in 1653, when he was killed. He also has a problem in that he sometimes calls him William Graves. Thomas Graves commanded the President at the Battle of the Kentish Knock, in 1652. He lists him as Thomas Graves, in command of the President, at the Battle of Portland. At the Battle of the Gabbard, he was Rear-Admiral of the White, with his flag on the Andrew (56 guns). He also fought at the Battle of Scheveningen, where he was killed. Mr. Atkinson, in Vol.VI, editor of The First Dutch War, notes the name problem, as well. 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. VI, 1930.