The ship Sint Laurens

After seeing my entry for the ship Sint Laurens, a West Indiaman hired in 1639 for service with the fleet, I wondered if that could have been the same ship hired by the Directors of Middelburg in 1652. We have the dimensions for the Sint Laurens: 137ft x 29ft x 14ft x ?. In 1639, the sint Laurens carried 32 guns and had a crew of 87 men. Adriaen Dommertszoon commanded the Sint Laurens in 1639. The ship hired in 1652 was armed with 30 guns and we think that it had a crew of 105 men. The captain, in 1652, was Bastiaen Tuynemans. If the Sint Laurens was a new ship in 1639, then the ship would have been capable of serving in 1652.

The picture of the Brederode under repair

I had decided quite a while ago that the drawing of the Brederode under repair must have been after the battle of Dungeness. My reasoning was that the ships shown in the harbor were Dungeness-related, such as the captured Garland. The other possibility is that the picture was of the Brederode after the Battle of Portland (or the Three Days Battle). I still believe that the Brederode took more damage at the Battle of Dungeness, when the ship was almost captured by the Garland and Anthony Bonaventure. I had not read about the Brederode having that much damage at the Three Days Battle other than the underwater damage that required constant pumping.

Dr. Simon Hart's papers from the Municipal Archive in Amsterdam

Carl Stapel had told me about Dr. Simon Hart's papers at the Municipal Archive at Amsterdam (or whatever they call it now). What we were interested in at the time were the ship contracts and inventories for ships hired for service by the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1652 and 1653. Dr. Hart's papers actually include much more and I received the set in PDF files. I got my copies in December 2006. The ship contracts and inventories were from the notary archives. The reference for the Gouden Reael (or is it the Gulden Reael?) is GAA 883-471, Jan Volckertsz Oli # 1848. I have found the archive in Amsterdam easy to deal with, so anyone who has an interest in this topic should see if they can get the PDF files. Even better, if you have the means, is to get photographs of the originals from the notary archive. The PDF files included scans of photocopies, so the photographs are much superior.

A list from Thurloe's papers in The First Dutch War

I had the opportunity while I was working in Minneapolis to see an original set of Thurloe's Papers at the University of Minnesota library in a special collection: "The James Ford Bell Library". In Volume 5 of Letters and Papers Relating to the First Dutch War there is a list from Thurloe. The list is pretty much garbled from the original, which I believe that I have also seen. This was a list of Dutch warships near the Texel after the Battle of the Gabbard. I have tried to correct the list. The list includes the name Ganapan. My explanation for that was that it was a ship named the Sampson. The Dutch handwriting used a style for the S that is essentially the same as the G. The handwriting was sloppy enough, that when I first saw it, it appeared to say Ganapan.

The Admiralty of Amsterdam

Overissel         Jan van Campen           ready
Pelicaen          Jan Overcamp             ready
Engel Gabriel     Adriaan van den Bosch    ready
Hollandia         Evert Anthonissen        not ready, just 86 men
Groningen         Gilles Thijssen Campen   not ready, is repairing
Bommel            Pieter van Brakel        not ready, is in Balck
Gouden Reael      Adriaan van Loenen       ready
Windhond, frigate Jan Heertjes             ready
Brack, frigate    Jan Admirael             ready

Directors of Amsterdam

Keurvorst van Keulen  Sijmon Dootjes       ready

Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier

Lastdrager        Gerrit Munt              not ready, has but 60 men
Eenhoorn          Jan Heck                 not ready
Harder            Jan Backer               ready

Directors of Medemblik

Koning Radboud    Jan Rootjes              ready

Directors of Enkhuizen

Harderin          Dirk Gerritszoon Pomp    ready

Gun lists for the yacht Jager

The most accessible gun list for the yacht Jager that fought in the First Anglo-Dutch War is that from 6 December 1652, from the Collectie Johan de Witt, Inv.Nr.2774: 6-bronze 6pdr, 2-bronze 5pdr, 2-iron 4pdr, and 4-iron 3pdr guns. There does not seem to be a gun list included in the comprehensive fleet list from 23 June 1653. There is little about minor ships included in that list.

The list in Vol.I of The First Dutch War (Letters and Papers...)

If you are a First Anglo-Dutch War aficionado, you are probably familiar with the list of ships published in Vol.I of the Fist Dutch War. The real title is something like "Letters and Papers Relating to the First Anglo-Dutch War". The list is drawn from the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1652. The Hollandsche Mercurius was a paper published by Pieter Casteleyn. The publication was available in bound volumes, sometimes in irregular groupings of years. My volume that includes 1666 is very non-standard. I also have what seems to be a Seventeenth Century reprint without the illustrations for which the paper was known. One of the more notable ships that made an appearance in that list was the inland waters yacht Zeeuwsche Jager or Jaeger. The commander listed was Adriaan Janszoon den Oven (or den Goeyenden Oven). He commanded the ship Neptunus in the Battle of the Gabbard, where it was sunk, and he disappeared from view. I am unsure if he was killed or died in captivity, as so many Dutch captains did. The list gives the armament as 14 guns and the crew as 56 men. The contract for the Jager was dated in February 1643. The dimensions listed were 80ft x 19ft x 6-1/2ft. That later dimension seems to have been the hold, with no deck height given. The keel length was 70 feet. The dimensions are from an archive that is located at the Zeeuwse Archief in Middelburg.

The forty convoyers of 1648

After the peace treaty in 1648 that ended both the Thirty Years War and the Dutch war of independence, funding was voted to provide for forty ship, which were characterized as convoyers. I have not seen the original list of ships. All I have are several competing lists from late 1652. One of those lists, dated 28 November 1652 shows the ships as follows:

Adm  Ship                  Commander                             Guns
R    Gorcum                Capt. Willem Adriaensen Warmont       30
R    Rotterdam             Capt. Jan Aertsen Verhaeff            30
R    Schiedam              Capt. Dirck Juijnbol                  30
 (or Gelderland)
R    Gelderland            Capt. Aert Jansen van Nes             24
R    Maeght Dordrecht      Capt. Sier de Liefde                  26
R    Nimmegen              Capt. Paulus van Kerckhoff            26
A    Vrijheid              Capt. Augustinnus Balck               46
A    Aertsengel Michael    Capt. Willem Nieuhoff                 40
A    Utrecht               Capt. Jan Roeteringh                  30
A    Campen                Capt. Joris van Zaan                  40
A    Zeelandia             Lt.-Capt. Claes Marrevelt             34
A    Hollandia             Capt. Evert Anthonissen               32
A    Zutphen               Capt. Ewout Jeroensen,                28
                             Lt. Joris Jansen Block
A    Phesant               Capt. Jan Jansz Lapper                28
A    Bommel                Capt. Pieter van Brakel               30
A    Groningen             Capt. Abraham van der Hulst           40
A    Graaf Willem          Capt. Jan Gideonsz Verburgh           40
A    Brack, jacht          Capt. Pieter van Zalingen             18
A    Engel                 Capt. Maerten Schaeff                 26
A    Omlandia              Capt. Jacob Troncquois,               30
                             Capt. Boetius Schaeff
A    Middelburg            Capt. Jeroen Adelaer                  26
Z    Zeeuwsche Leeuw       Capt. Cornelis Evertsen de Oude       27
Z    Westcappel            Capt. Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge      28
Z    Amsterdam             Capt. Adriaen Kempen                  32
Z    galias Middelburg     Capt. Claes Jansen Sanger             26
Z    galias Sandenburgh    Capt. Pieter Gorcum                   24
Z    Wapen van Zeeland     Capt. Joris Willemsz Blocq            34
Z    Hasewint              Capt. Jacob Verhelle                  28
Z    Jager, jacht          Capt. Adriaen Jansen Gloeijenden Oven 14
N    Hoorn                 Capt. Pieter Aldertsz                 32
N    Prins Maurits         Capt. Cornelis Taenman                28
N    Wapen van Monnikendam Capt. Arent Dircksen                  24
N   Casteel van Medemblick Capt. Gabriel Theunissen              26
N    Wapen van Alkmaar     Capt. Gerrit Nobel                    24
N    Sampson               Capt. Willem Ham                      26

We don't have a source that shows how the ships of the Admiralty of Friesland were divided between convoyers, cruiser, and ships of the Extraordinary Equipage. We can pretty easily guess the ships in the latter category, but not the first two.

Ships in Tromp's squadron on 15 September 1639

Dr. De Boer's book, Tromp en de Armada van 1639, gives Tromp's squadron. I have supplied the missing details:

Adm Ship Guns Crew Commander R Aemilia 57 240 Lt-Adm Tromp R Gelderland 34 120 Willem van Colster A Frederik Hendrik 36 120 Pieter Pietersz de Wint N Sampson 32 120 Claes Cornelisz Ham N Hollandsche Tuin 32 120 Lambert Ijsbrantsz Halffhoorn A Deventer 28 110 Robbert Post A Omlandia 28 80 Jan Gerbrandsz Z Veere 32 110 Cornelis Ringelsz WIC Salamander 40 110 Laurens Pietersz Bachuysen N Groote Christoffel 28 90 Frederik Pietersz F Gideon 24 100 Hendrik Jansz Camp Z Meerminne 28 105 Jan Paulusz on the ship of Jan Jacobsz Vlieger

The Sao Bartholomeu, captured by the Dutch

Does anyone have the dimensions for the ship Sao Bartholomeu, captured by the Dutch in Brazil? There is a question about the fate of this ship after being intercepted by the English while returning from Brazil in 1652.

The Noorderkwartier ship Sampson

The Noorderkwartier ship Sampson was one of the ships captured by the English on 22 July 1652. The Staat van Oorlog te Water for the year 1629 said that the Sampson was 220 lasts, but then it also said the the Eenhoorn was 220 lasts. Since we know the exact dimensions for the Eenhoorn, built in 1623 or 1625, we know that the ship was actually 200 lasts. Perhaps the Sampson was also a ship of dimensions 125ft x 29ft x 11-1/2ft x 6-3/4ft, which were the Eenhoorn's dimensions.

The Dutch navy in the First Anglo-Dutch War: what we know and sources

When we look at the period of the First Anglo-Dutch War, we can divide up war into segments of time, based on our knowledge and sources. We can characterize the sources as being from the Nationaal Archief, in The Hague, from Notary Archives from the cities, and more obscure sources such as the Riksarkivet in Stockholm. From February 1652 until August 1652, our knowledge is very incomplete. We have fairly good information from this period about ships hired by the Directors of Amsterdam. We also have good information about ships of the Admiralty of Rotterdam (or the Maze). We have some lists, but little actual ship data from this period. From September 1652 until December 1652, we have better ship data for the Admiralty of Amsterdam, the Admiralty of Zeeland, and the Admiralty of Friesland. We have poor information from this period about the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier and the various directors other than Amsterdam. We also do not have much information about the VOC ships employed from July to October 1652. Given that the Vogelstruis served from at least July to February 28, 1653, we have very little information (which seems rather surprising). The period of January 1653 to April 1653 is the least documented period of the war. While we have some information from this period, we really do not have the fundamentals: fleet lists and ship data for the majority of the navy. From April until November 1653, we have much more complete information, although still with gaps. It will take some revelations about obscure sources and privately held papers to change the situation. We can speculate that there is more (and we know this to be true) that is known but is being closely held for now. I would be happy to buy other authors' books, if I can find out the sources that they used. I like having photographs of the original documents, not just information about what was found.

Guns from October 1639

One page that I received recently has a gun inventory for one ship and some other gun weights:

Bronze guns

5pdr   1780 lbs
5pdr   1787 lbs
7pdr   2700 lbs
7pdr   2400 lbs

Spanish guns
7pdr   2521 lbs
7pdr   2545 lbs
7pdr   2687 lbs
7pdr   2520 lbs
5pdr   1868 lbs
5pdr   1810 lbs

Iron Gotelingen

6pdr   2040 lbs
6pdr   1980 lbs
6pdr   2220 lbs
6pdr   2270 lbs
6pdr   2910 lbs
4pdr   1770 lbs

These date from early October 1639

Continued Vreugdenhil commentary: 28-31

This is a continuation of what I started on the other blog:

    Name                  Guns   Adty.       Date   Length   Beam     Depth
28. Griffioen             26*    Z           1620   112*     27*      10.5*
                             the ship commanded by Cornelis Loncke in 1649.
                             Note that these are all estimates (*)

29. Groningen             40-48  A           1641   125      31       12 
                          the Staat van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654
                            gives larger dimensions

30. Haarlem               36-44  A           1644   128      31-1/2   12

    Name                  Guns   Adty.       Date   Length   Beam     Depth
31. Hollandsche Tuin      32-36  N           1632   128*     29*      11-1/4*
                  This was the ship commanded by Lambert Ysbrantsz Halffhoorn in 1639
                    and Jan Adriaansz Backer in 1652

Continued Vreugdenhil commentary

This is a continuation of what I started on the other blog:

    Name                  Guns  Adty.       Date   Length   Beam     Depth
20. Frisia (frigate)      12    F           1637*  78*      17-1/2*
                  If this is the same vessel as that listed in the Staat van Oorlog
                    te Water for the year 1654, then the dimensions are exact.
                    Joost Bulter was listed as captain in 1648, where the vessel
                    was called a frigate, not a smack

21. Gekroonde Liefde     23    Z                   110       23-1/2 
                  This was the ship commanded by Dingeman Cats from after the 
                   Battle of the Kentish Knock until at least November 1653.
                   The Gekroonde Liefde survived the storm off the Texel
                   after returning from Norway with Witte de With's fleet.

22. Gelderland           40    M            1632   128-8/11  30-6/11 13-7/11
                  This ship served in the Mediterranean Sea during 
                    the First Anglo-Dutch War. The captain was Michiel Fransz
                    van der Bergh. Vreugdenhil gave the dimensions in Maas feet,
                    while these are in Amsterdam feet

    Name                  Guns  Adty.       Date   Length   Beam     Depth
23. Gelderland           24    M            1636   109-1/11 25-1/11  8-8/11
                  This was the ship commanded by Aert van Nes from the fall of
                  1652 until the end of the First Anglo-Dutch War. Vreugdenhil
                  gives the dimensions in Maas feet. The Staat van Oorlog te Water
                  for the year 1654 gives the wrong dimensions (those for the 
                  larger ships, such as the Gorcum and Rotterdam)

The Achilles

In the fall of 2006, Prof. Jan Glete had sent me a copy of a document from the Riksarkivet that listed all the ship hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1652. When I examined the list, I immediately saw that the the ship Achilles that Dirk Scheij commanded was the 131ft ship and that the ship carried but 28 guns. As we accumulated more information about the First Anglo-Dutch War, from the Nationaal Archief, I noticed that the Achilles was not mentioned after the Battle of Portland. Yes, the Staat van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 and a list from 1655 mentioned the Achilles, but the ship seems to have not been employed after the Battle of Portland. The last mention is the list that is reproduced in Vol.IV of The First Dutch War that lists all Amsterdam ships. (NOTE: I just looked at J.C. De Jonge's notes for 1654, and he credits the Achilles with 32 guns at that date, which explains Vreugdenhil).

A little Vreugdenhil commentary

I would do some updates to Vreugdenhil's list as follows:

    Name               Guns      Adty.      Date     Length    Beam      Depth
1.  Achilles            28-32     A         1630*    131       29        13
        This was the ship commanded by Dirk Schey in 1652 and early 1653.
        J.C. De Jonge, in his notes for 1654, credits the Achilles with 32 guns.

(2. Achilles is a mistake. There was no second Achilles)

3.  Bommel              30-34     A         1645*    120       28-3/4    11-3/4
       This was the ship commanded by Pieter van Brakel in 1652-1653

4.  Breda               28-32     F         1637     120       29        11-1/2
       This was the ship commanded by Hendrik Jansz Camp in Brazil up to 1652
       and by Adriaan Bruynsvelt in 1652-1653

5.  Brederode           54-59     M         1644     144       35-3/11   14-2/11
       The corresponding dimensions in Maas feet were 132ft x 32-1/4ft x 13ft

6.  Burcht van Alkmaar  24-28     N         1645*
       This was the ship commanded by Gerrit Nobel in 1652. The ship was also 
       called the Wapen van Alkmaar

7.  Dolfijn             30-32     A         1633     120       28        10-1/2
      The dimensions in the Staat van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654
      were incorrect, even though lists in 1652-1653 had the correct dimensions

8.  Dolfijn             32        M         1631     120       27-9/11   13-7/11
      The dimensions in the Staat van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654
      were incorrect, even though lists in 1652-1653 had the correct dimensions.
      The correct dimensions in Maas feet were 110ft x 25-1/2ft x 12-1/2ft

9.  Maagd van Dordrecht 42-46     M         1631     141-9/11* 34-10/11* 14-2*
       Discarded prior to 1645

10. Drente (jacht)      16*       A         1637     88*       22*       9
       

Note that all these dimensions are in Amsterdam feet of 283mm and divided into 11 inches. One problem with Vreugdenhil's list is that the earlier Rotterdam ships (Admiralty of the Maze) actually have the dimensions in Maas feet (308mm divided into 12 inches) shown.

How mismatched were the Shannon and Chesapeake?

My attention was taken to the fight between the British frigate Shannon and the American frigate Chesapeake, during the War of 1812. I wondered just how mismatched the two ships were. This is the data for the Shannon:

LGD: 150ft-1-1/2in
LK:  125ft-2-7/8in
B:    39ft-9in
D:    13ft-9in

Guns: 28-18pdr, 10-9pdr, 8-32pdr carronades

This is the data for the Chesapeake:

LGD: 151ft
LK:  126ft-7in
B:    40ft-11in
D:    13ft-9in

Guns: 28-18pdr, 2-9pdr, 16-32pdr carronades

On paper, they seem pretty well matched, although the Chesapeake had the disadvantage of so many carronades, so that an enemy might fight beyond their range. The Chesapeake was said to have a crew of new recruits, while the Shannon was commanded by Philip Broke, a premier British frigate captain.

Some Hollandsche Mercurius years are available in Google Book Search

A correspondent of mine pointed out that Google Book Search now has some Hollandsche Mercurius years available as full view items. I hope that they eventually will have full coverage. I happen to have the 17th Century publications for 1650-1658 and 1665-1671, although what I have lacks the nice Reinier Nooms illustrations of the original. The Hollandsche Mercurius is a useful source, although it does not replace what original archival sources that still exist. I would also like to see the Ontstelde-Zee (1654), by "Jodocus Hondius" (apparently a pseudonym) appear in Google Books. The James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota holds a copy. Copies may be more freely available in Europe than here.

The Amsterdam ship Zeeland in 1631

From the list of ships dated 4 July 1631 that I received recently, there is the ship Zeeland, commanded by Joris van Cats. This was a ship of 225 lasts, which might have been built to the standard 125ft x 31ft x 12ft x 7ft dimensions. The Zeeland had a crew of 95 men and was armed with the following guns:

4-bronze 18pdr
2-bronze 8pdr
6-iron 12pdr
10-iron 8pdr
4-iron 5pdr
2-bronze 3pdr bases

The hired ship Postpaert

You will see the hired ship Postpaert mentioned in The First Dutch War book. The Postpaert was hired by the Admiralty of Friesland in 1652 and served through at least late 1653. The Postpaert was armed with 30 guns: 10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, and 4-4pdr guns. The Postpaert had dimensions of 118ft x 28ft x 13ft x 7ft. For most of the First Anglo-Dutch War, Isaac Codde was the Postpaert's captain.