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Tuesday, October 18, 2005

English Captain: John Clements

John Clements served in the Restoration navy, and then he served in the navy for William and Mary. In 1667, he was appointed by the Duke of York to command the Merlin yacht. In 1671, he commanded the Monmouth yacht. In 1672, the Duke of York appointed him to command the Greyhound. The King reappointed him to command the Greyhound on 5 May 1679. The Commissioners appointed him to command the Cleveland yacht on 7 May 1680. He was reappointed to command the Cleveland yacht on 1 April 1685. King James II appointed him to command the Henrietta yacht on 4 May 1688. He was switched to the Katherine yacht on 18 May. The Lord Dartmouth appointed him to command the 3rd Rate Cambridge (70 guns) on 14 December 1688. He fought in the Battle of Bantry Bay on 1 May 1689, under the command of Admiral Herbert. In 1690, he fought in the Battle of Beachy Head, where he commanded the 3rd Rate Expedition (70 guns). He was assigned to the Red Squadron. In 1692, he fought in the Battle of Barfleur, where he commanded the 2nd Rate Duchess (90 guns). He was assigned to Sir John Ashby's Blue Squadron. John Clement's last command was the St. Andrew, which he left on 3 December 1693. Andrew writes, in addition that "probably under the patronage of Queen Anne's husband and Lord High Admiral, Prince George of Denmark, he was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital in 1704. He died within a few months, after which his widow presented this portrait to the Hospital." Sources:
  1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898.
  2. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.

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