English Captain: Henry Killigrew

Henry Killigrew served in the Restoration navy and beyond. In 1666, he was appointed as Lieutenant of the 3rd Rate Cambridge. He was appointed as Lieutenant of the 4th Rate Sapphire in 1667. In 1668, he was appointed as Lieutenant of the small 4th Rate Constant Warwick. In 1672, he was promoted to captain of the Forester (28 guns). In the Forester, he fought in the Battle of Solebay, where he was assigned to Sir John Harman's division. In 1673, he commanded the Bonaventure (48 guns) and then Prince Rupert appointed him as captain of the Monck. He seems to actually have taken over the Bonaventure by August 1672, when he was assigned to Richard Beach's division. Pepys's list says 1673. The King appointed him as captain of the Swan prize on 9 March 1674. On 22 April 1675, the King appointed him as captain of the Harwich. Later in 1675, he commanded the Henrietta. After that, on 7 January 1677, the King appointed him to the Bristol. He was appointed to the 3rd Rate Royal Oak, by the King, on 20 March 1678. Later in 1678, he and his ship were dispatched to the Mediterranean. John Narborough appointed him to command the 3rd Rate Mary on 14 January 1679 (they called it 1678, because of the date of the Old Style end of year). I'm somewhat confused by Pepys's list, as he shows Henry Killigrew commanding the Leopard on 3 January 1679, but it must actually mean 1680, in the new style. 24 days later, he was apparently moved to the 4th Rate Foresight (as of 27 January 1680). By 1 May 1683, he was appointed to command the Montagu. The King appointed him to command the Mordaunt on 20 May 1684. On 20 May 1686, King James II appointed him to command the Dragon, after which he was sent to the Mediterranean Sea. By his efforts at pressing a French privateer, the Marquis de Fleury, he caused Fleury to cease his efforts. By 5 September 1688, he was appointed to command the Portsmouth. By 1689, he was apparently a Vice-Admiral. He was appointed to command in the Mediterranean Sea on 28 December 1689, but did not sail until 7 March 1690. After sailing on 10 May 1690, he chased 10 French ships, but could not catch them due to the foul bottoms of his ships. He was not very energetic, and allowed the French to sail to the Channel to reinforce Tourville for the Battle of Beach Head. Killigrew did not arrive until after the battle. After Beachy Head, Henry Killigrew was one of the fleet's three joint commanders. Again, in 1693, he was one of three joint commanders on one ship. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946.

2. R. C. Anderson, The Journals of Sir Thomas Allin, Vol.II 1667-1678, 1940.

3. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.

4. Julian S. Corbett, “A Note on the Drawings in the Possession of The Earl of Dartmouth Illustrating The Battle of Solebay May 28, 1672 and The Battle of the Texel August 11, 1673”, 1908.

5. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.