English Captain: Stephen Rose

Stephen Rose served in the Commonwealth navy for a short time. In 1652, he commanded the Convert (32 guns). He was appointed to command the newly captured Dutch ship on July 12, 1652 (old style). She was lying at Hull. Apparently, the Convert and five other ships were sent to Plymouth on August 24, 1652 to reinforce Sir George Ayscue's fleet, following his battle against the Dutch. Surprisingly, we know the Convert's dimensions, as she survived until 1661, when Pepys starting keeping detailed records. Her English dimensions were 90ft LK x 26ft x 10ft, with a burden of 324 tons. I estimate the Dutch dimensions in Amsterdam feet as 120ft x 29ft x 11ft. She was large enough that the Dutch could have put as many as 32 guns in her. Stephen Rose and the Convert seem to have been part of Andrew Ball's squadron that was dispatched to the Sound. R.C. Anderson listed the Convert as taking part in the Battle of the Kentish Knock, but she seems to have been with Andrew Ball, instead. About the time of the Battle of Dungeness, Stephen Rose and the Convert were engaged in convoying colliers. 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, Great Ships: The Battlefleet of King Charles II, 1980.

4. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900.

5. Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906.