English Naval Officer: Jeremy Smith

Jeremy Smith served in both the Commonwealth and the Restoration navies.

Advice (42 guns) in 1653. He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653, where he was assigned to the Red Squadron, in the Generals' division. He very likely fought in the Battle of the Battle of Scheveningen, as well. R. C. Anderson thinks that the Advice was probably absent from the battle and operating off Scotland, but there are two pieces of evidence that argue otherwise. One was the published list of ships and captains at the Gabbard includes the Advice with Jeremy Smith as captain. Then, there is a document from 14 June that Anderson mentions in a note that says that the Advice's lieutenant was killed in the last battle. If we had access to Calendar of State Papers Domestic for 1652 to 1653, perhaps we could resolve the question.

Jeremy Smith continued to serve through the rest of the Interregnum. In 1654, he commanded the Torrington. In 1656, he commanded the Essex. From 1656 until 1657, he commanded the Dunbar.

After the Restoration, he commanded the 3rd Rate Mary (former Speaker) in 1664. He fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where he was a second to the Duke of York. He was caught in a fierce fight with Bastiaan Centen in the Oranje (76 guns). After the battle, Jeremy Smith was knighted for his performance in the battle. He was apparently to the 1st Rate Sovereign, later in the year. This would seem to be contradicted by Frank Fox's list that shows him in the Mary on the expedition to Tangier. In September, he took part in the capture of the Dutch Indiamen. He received a share of the prize money. For his first independent operation, he commanded a fleet sent to Tangier from December 1665 until they returned in March 1666. At the time of the Four Days' Battle, his ship the Mary was at Portsmouth taking on victuals. Later in 1666, he was in the newly completed 2nd Rate Loyal London. He fought in the St. James's Day Battle where he commanded the Blue Squadron and flew his flag on the Loyal London (92 guns). Jeremy Smith was considered to be the protege of the Duke of Albemarle. He was in conflict with Sir Robert Holmes in July 1666, and it took the King's intervention to resolve the situation. In 1668, he was in the 2nd Rate Royal Katherine. Later in 1668, he joined the navy board along with Sir Thomas Allin, and served well until his death in 1675. We also know that he visited the fleet in the fall of 1672, and had responsibility for signing pay tickets for sailors. 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, The Journals of Sir Thomas Allin, Vol.II 1667-1678, 1940.
3. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964.
4. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
5. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903.