Dutch Captain: Johan de Witte

Johan the Witte lived from 1635 to 1683. He was son-in-law of De Ruyter, since he married De Ruyter's daughter Cornelia in1659. He was captain of a company of marines and distinguished himself in September 1673 at the siege of Naarden. Andrew says that Johan de Witte had fought in the Four Days' Battle and the St. James's Day Battle on board his father-in-law's flagship, the Zeven Provinciën. In October, the Admiralty of Amsterdam appointed him a captain. In 1674, he commanded the Provincie van Utrecht (60 guns) in De Ruyter's expedition to Martinique. Sources:

1. J. R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.

2. Carl Stapel, note "Vlootlijst van de tocht naar Martinique", 2005.

Dutch Captain: Hendrik Hondius

Hendrik Hondius served as Cornelis Tromp's flag captain on the Hollandia at the Four Days' Battle in June 1666. He reported after the battle that the Hollandia had been struck by an English incendiary bullet. Frank Fox suspects that such a device caused the loss of the Duivenvoorde and the Hof van Zeeland. After the Hollandia collided with the Liefde, the Hollandia lost her bowsprit and head, she was towed to Goeree while Cornelis Tromp shifted his flag to the Prins van Oranje (or Jonge Prins). Andrew says that he was also at the St. James's Day Battle. The Hollandia's dimensions were: 165ft x 41-3/4ft x 15-1/4ft. At the Four Days' Battle, her crew consisted of 400 sailors and 50 soldiers. Her casualties were 14 killed and 23 wounded. Her armament at the Four Days' Battle was 10-brass 24pdr, 18-iron 18pdr, 28-brass 12pdr, and 24-brass 6pdr. The 18 and 24pdr guns were on the lower tier. The 12pdr were all on the upper tier. The third tier was incomplete, but consisted of 20-6pdr. There were 4-6pdr in the cabin. Sources:

1. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984.

2. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

This is my translation of a passage from Vol.VI of Dr. Elias's work Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen (p.121):

On Monday, the 10th [November, 1653], the storm reached its high point, under dense hail showes and hunt snow. Expecially the Directors’ ships, which were sparingly supplied with anchors and ropes generally, had trouble with what the hurricane had to offer. Many of the ships dragged their anchors and drifted landwards, and this included the majority of the Director’s ships. Against two States’ warships lost (the Gouda of Amsterdam, under captain Ooms, which lost half the crew, and the Prins Willem of the Noorderkwartier, under captain Boermans, with twelve men found dead) were six ships lost from the different Directors.

Dutch Captain: Jan de Haes

Mr. Carl Stapel sent me this information about Jan de Haes. I have done some translation to English:

     Jan de Haes

Admiralty of the Maze

Born       :
Married    :
Died       :  1666   beheaded

Details: nephew of vice-admiral Witte de With

1652  8-1 to 29-8    commander of the hired ship Beer  24 guns  crew of 86 men
1653  8  August      commander of the English prize Rosenkrans. 
                     The ship was almost burned down. 
                     The crew mostly went over to an English ship. 
                     He brought the ship back to  Goeree with a skeleton crew.
1654                 He commanded the Prins Hendrik (1653) in the Channel
1656 19 november     He commanded the Vrede (1654) in the Channel
1657                 He is not still in service of the Admiralty of the Maze
1658  25 sept        He commanded the Gelderland (1634) in a fight with privateers
1659                 In the Sont with the Schiedam (16??)
                          (according to A. Vreugdenhil).  
1666                 He detained captains and threatened them with death. 
                        He was caught, taken, and condemned to death. 
                      (he was extorting merchant and fishing captains)
                     In September 1666, he was beheaded (!)  

The Dutch frigate Schermer (1690)

This from notes supplied by Mr. Carl Stapel. This is my translation:

Schermer frigate built in 1690
                                            Length: Beam:  Hold: Guns  In service:
Amsteram   Schermer or Beschermer  frigate  130ft   34ft   14ft  44    1690–1703

In 1690 built by Hendrick Cardinael at Amsterdam - a ship of the fifth charter 

Date      Captain                 Guns Crew  Notes
1694      Cornelis Hoogenhoek     44         under Hiddes de Vries fought 
                                                against Jean Bart  
1696      Cornelis Hoogenhoek     44   200   convoyer    
23/5/1703 commandeur Jacob Teengs 44         sea battle in the Bay of Biscay 

The ship was captured by French under the command of Duquay-Trouin.

Jacob Teengs was taken prisoner, but was exchanged in half-a-year.

Source: Notes of A Vreugdenhil. Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam

The VOC ship Mars in 1653

On July 20th, 1653, Tromp ordered Reynst Corneliszoon Sevenhuysen to transfer his crew from the Rode Leeuw to the ship Mars. The Mars was on loan from the VOC for service in the war. One source calls Captain Sevenhuysen's old ship the Profeet Samuel. In any case, his old ship was paid off, as it was worn out and would have needed to be refitted. Mr. Carl Stapel had a listing in one of his emails about a Mars.

N Mars hired from the VOC-Enkhuisen 46-50 guns 130ft x 32ft x 13ft

I had thought that this might have been the ship mentioned in published sources.

Dutch Captain: Allart (or Albert) Matthijszoon (Updated)

Allart (or Albert) Matthijszoon (or Mathijszoon) served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was in the fleet equipped and sent to Denmark in 1659 under the command of Michiel De Ruyter. He commanded the Kampen (Campen) (40 guns and a crew of 190 men). From 1661 to 1663, he served under De Ruyter in the Mediterranean Sea. He commanded the frigate Edam (32 guns). He also fought in the Battle of Lowestoft, where he commanded the Hilversum (58 guns and a crew of 258 men). He was assigned to Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer's squadron. At the end of the battle, the Hilversum was attacked by the fireship Bramble, and was then captured by the 4th Rate Bristol. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

2. G. L. Grove, Journalen van de Admiralen Van Wassenaer-Obdam (1658/59) en De Ruyter (1659/60), 1907.

Another good tidbit from Mr. Carl Stapel: Hans Hartwich

This is my translation of another piece from Mr. Carl Stapel about the captain Hans Hartwich.

Hans Hartwich or Hartwijk: Admiralty of Amsterdam 

Date       Adm Ship type       Name    guns  crew  Notes
07-06-1673 A  frigate          Haas    24    100   Schooneveld I
14-06-1673 A  frigte           Haas    24          Schooneveld II
21-08-1673 A  frigate          Haas    24          Kijkduin (Battle of the Texel)
1674       A  transport        Neptunis12    32    off France and to Martinique
1683       A  ship of the line Tijdverdrijf  52    expedition to Gothenburg
15-11-1683 A                   Tijdverdrijf        lost in a strong storm
1691       On 6 June 1691 he was present at the burial of Cornelis Tromp.                       

Dutch Captain: Hugo van Nieuwenhoff (Nieuhoff)

Hugo van Nieuwenhoff (or Nieuhoff) served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1659, he commanded the Doesburg (40 guns) in De Ruyter's fleet in the Sound. In 1661, we find him still commanding the Doesburg (now 42 guns), and with De Ruyter's fleet sent to the Mediterranean Sea. In June 1665, he commanded the Landman (48 guns) and fought in the Battle of Lowestoft. In June 1666, he fought in the Four Days Battle, where he commanded the Stad en Lande (60 guns). In August (July 25, old style), he fought in the St. James's Day Battle, where he was still commanding the Stad en Lande (now 58 guns). Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
2. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedryf van den Heere Michiel De Ruiter, 1687.
3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.
4. G. L. Grove, Journalen van de Admiralen Van Wassenaer-Obdam (1658/59) en De Ruyter (1659/60), 1907.

Abraham van der Hulst also served under De Ruyter in 1661

From Mollema and Brandt, we know that Abraham van der Hulst, who served the Admiralty of Amsterdam, served under the command of De Ruyter in the Mediterranean Sea in 1661. We do not seem to know the name of his ship at that date. He was not with De Ruyter until later. The last we knew, he commanded the Hilversum (50 guns) in 1658.

Dutch Captain: Simon Loncke

Simon Loncke served the Admiralty of Zeeland. He lived from 1635 until 27 March 1676. He was killed in a fight with the redoubtable French privateer Jean Bart. Simon Loncke was a convoy commander in the fight, commanding the small frigate Tholen (18 guns). He was promoted to captain in 1665. According to Mollema, Simon Loncke commanded the Sphaera Mundi (40 guns) under De Ruyter's command. This actually seems to have been in August 1665. According to Frank Fox, he commanded the frigate Visscher (16 guns) in the Battle of Lowestoft. In December 1667, he set sail under the command of Abraham Crijnssen, bound for the Caribbean Sea. He took part in the capture of Suriname and fought in the Battle of Nevis, allied with a squadron from the French West Indies Company. They fought against an English squardron. The French behaved badly and the Dutch escaped without loss. During this period, Simon Loncke commanded the frigate West Cappelle (28 guns). In May 1665, he commanded the frigate Delft in the Battle of Solebay. He also fougth in the Battle of the Texel, where he commanded the Utrecht (50 guns). Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.

2. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996.

3. J. C. Mollema, De Eere Rol, from Geschiedenis van Nederland ter Zee, Vol.II, 1940.

4. J. C. M. Warnsinck, Abraham Crijnssen de verovering van Suriname en zijn zeeslag op Virginië, 1936.

De Ruyter's squadron in 1661

At the end of May of 1661, most Amsterdam ships in the Texel set sail. At that date, De Ruyter was a Vice-Admiral. The following ships had been equipped:

A  Liefde            60  270   Vice-Admiral De Ruyter
A  Geloof            58  260   Commandeur Gideon de Wildt
A  Middelburg        42  190   Willem van der Zaan
A  Muiltromp         42  190   Jan van Campen
A  Vrede             42  190   Jacob van Meeuwen
A  Doesburg          42  190   Hugo van Nijhof
A  Asperen           32  130   Jacob Corneliszoon Swart
A  Edam              32  120   Allart Matthijszoon
A  Star              32  120   Joost Verschuur
A  Groene Kameel, supply fluit Enno Doedes Star

By the time they reached the south coast of Portugal, they had been joined by other ships, so that they were now 17 strong. After a council-of-war, they organized the squadron into four divisions:

First Division:

A  Liefde            60  270   Vice-Admiral De Ruyter
A  Middelburg        42  190   Willem van der Zaan
A  Muiltromp         42  190   Jan van Campen
A  Vrede             42  190   Jacob van Meeuwen
A  Star              32  120   Joost Verschuur

Second Division:

NQ Westfriesland     50        Vice-Admiral Meppel
M  Prinses Louise    40*       Aert van Nes
NQ Hollandsche Tuin  48*       Cornelis Jacobszoon de Boer
NQ Wapen van Alkmaar 38*       Evert Nachtglas

Third Division:

Z  Vlissingen        42*       Schout-bij-Nacht Cornelis Evertsen
Z  Ter Veere         42*       Adriaan Banckert
Z  Delft             34*       Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge
M  Stad Utrecht      42*       Jan de Liefde

Fourth Division:

A  Geloof            58  260   Commandeur Gideon de Wildt
A  Doesburg          42  190   Hugo van Nijhof
A  Asperen           32  130   Jacob Corneliszoon Swart
A  Edam              32  120   Allart Matthijszoon

* estimates

The 40-gun ship Gelderland

I received a piece from Mr. Carl Stapel about the ship Gelderland from 1634. I need to do some more research on this ship, as some of this is different from what I would expect. I was glad to see the dimensions in Amsterdam feet. I could only estimate them, based on the Admiralty of Rotterdam (the Maze) document dated February 26, 1652, which listed them in Maas feet.

Gelderland 
built in 1634                                                        
Admiralty of the Maze     

Gelderland dimensions: 128.5ft x 30.5ft x 13.5ft  40 guns  in service from 1634-1659
  Date Captain                      Guns Crew Notes
  1636 van Coulster
2/1652 Michiel Fransz van den Bergh 40 
  1652 Aert van Nes                           collision with the St Nikolaas ( sunk )
  1653 Aert van Nes
3/1653 Aert van Nes                  40  140  The Three Days Seabattle (Portland)
6/1653 Aert van Nes                  40  140  Battle of Nieuwpoort (the Gabbard)
8/1653 Aert van Nes                  40  140  Battle of Ter Heide (Scheveningen)
  1654 Aert van Nes                  40  
  1657 Leendert Haexwant             50 
  1659 Juriaan Poel or Pols          40  175  April 1659–Sept 1660 in the Sound 
                                                and at Funen  

The ship was last mentioned in 1659.

The Dutch ship Dordrecht, built in 1692

Mr. Carl Stapel has provided details of the ship Dordrecht, built in 1692. This is from the combination from Captain Warnsinck's notes, De Jonge, Mollema, and notes from A. Vreugdenhil. I have translated the Dutch to English:

Dordrecht 1692

Admiralty of the Maze  
Dordrecht 
Length: 156ft
Beam: 42ft
Draft: 15-3/4ft 
Guns: 72 
In service: 1692 – 1716

Built in 1692 by Van Leeuwen - a ship of the second charter
Armament: 14-24pdr; 12-18pdr; 28-12pdr; 10-6pdr and 10-4pdr

  Date  Captain                    Guns Crew Employment
  1694  Evert de Liefde            72        voyage to the Mediterranean Sea
  1695  Evert de Liefde            72        in the Mediterranean Sea
  1696  Evert de Liefde            72   375  with Almonde in the North Sea
  1697  Evert de Liefde            72        in the Channel   
  1700  SBN Paulus van der Dussen  72   400  in the Sound and at
                                               the bombardment of Copenhagen
  1702  Barend van der Pot         72        capture of the silverfleet at Vigo   
  1704  Barend van der Pot         72        capture of Gibraltar
8/1705  Barend van der Pot         72        Battle of Malaga: 4 killed
                                                          and 32 wounded
  1708  Johan van Convent          70        off the coast of Dunkirk

The ship was sold in 1716 as unusable.

Dutch Captain: Isaac Uitterwijk

Isaac Uitterwijk served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1671, he commanded the small frigate Postiljon (24 guns). In 1673, he commanded the Zuiderhuis (44-48 guns). He fought in the Schooneveld battles and the Battle of the Texel in August. In the latter battle, he was assigned to Cornelis Tromp's division. In July 1675, he commanded the frigate Damiaten (34 guns). He went to the Mediterranean with De Ruyter, and fought in the Battles of Stromboli, Agosta (Etna), and Palermo. (The latter information is from Andrew). Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
2. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedryf van den Heere Michiel De Ruiter, 1687.
3. Jaap R. Bruijn, De Oorlogvoering ter zee in 1673 in Journalen en Andere Stukken, 1966.

Dutch Naval Officer: Lodewijk Craft

Lodewijk Craft was the Graaf van Nassau-Saarbrücken. He lived from March 28, 1663 until February 14, 1713. He was an officer of the infantry. He volunteered for the navy in 1683 commanded the fleet that took Willem III to England in 1688. He served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was a kapitein extra-ordinarie in 1688. He was appointed as a kapitein-ter-zee in 1689. On January 2, 1696, he was promoted to Schout-bij-Nacht. He left the service in 1697. This is based on the short biography in Luc Eekhout's Het Admiralenboek.

I finally published the list of De Ruyter's fleet from 1674

It is not near the top of this blog, but I have finally published the list of De Ruyter's fleet that went to Martinique in 1674. It is dated June 8, on this blog.

Dutch Captain: Jan de Groot

Jan de Groot served the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. He commanded the ship Alkmaar at the Battle of the Sound in 1658. The Alkmaar was probably the ship built in 1654 that was 134ft x 34ft x 12ft. He seems to have been assigned to Pieter Florissen's squadron in the battle. His leading and assistant quartermasters only had merchant experience. The ship's upper stern displayed the arms of the city of Alkmaar. Perhaps someone can make a better translation from the German (from a note on page 716 of Dr. Ballhausen's book):

"Er war ganz unerfahren, befand sich auf seinem ersten Seezuge, sein Ober- und Unterseuermann haten seither nur auf Handelsfahrzeugen gedient. Aug dem Hintersteven befand sich das Wappen der Stadt Alkmaar."

Dr. Ballhausen's book is essentially divided into two volumes in one book. The first is about the First Anglo-Dutch War and the second is the war between the Netherlands and Sweden from 1658 to 1659. Sources:

1. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Sowie der Schwedisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1658-1659, 1923.

2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Captains", 2004.

3. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.

4. J. Watts de Peyster, The Battle of the Sound or Baltic, 1858.

Mr. Carl Stapel contributed this information about the frigate Damiaten

This is from another contribution by Mr. Carl Stapel. He sent information about the frigate Damiaten:

Damiaten

The ship was built by Jan van Reene at Amsterdam

Type:      frigate
Admiralty: Amsterdam 
Name:      Damiaten          
Built:     1663  

1663-1689:                 
Length:    120ft     
Beam:      30ft       
Hold:      12.5ft                
Guns:      32
         
1686:
Length:    120ft     
Beam:       29ft                               
Guns:      34

Date      Captain                 Guns Sailors Soldiers  Note

1664      Hendrik Adriaansz       32   135     0         With De Ruyter in the
                                                         Mediterranean Sea

1666 to 1671                                             Hired by Denmark

6/1672    Jan de Jong             32                     Battle of Solebay

5/1673    Mattheeus Megank        32

23-5/1673 Mattheeus Megank        32    84     26        At the first Schooneveld
                                                         battle, Mattheus Megank
                                                          was severely wounded.
                                                         The ship was badly damaged
                                                           and was repaired.
8/1673   Mattheeus Megank         32    79     8         The Battle of the Texel
                                                            (Kijkduin)
1674     Cornelis van der Zaan    34    96     72        With De Ruyter at Martinique
7/1675   Isaac Uitterwijk         34    160              In the Mediterranean Sea
8/1675   Isaac Uitterwijk                                The ship was damaged in a
                                                         storm and was leaky.
                                                         It was repaired
                                                          at La Corona.
8-1/1676  Isaac Uitterwijk        34    160              At the Battle of Stromboli
22-4/1676 Isaac Uitterwijk        34                     At the Battle of Etna
1-6/1676  Isaac Uiterwijk         34                     At the Battle of Palermo
1677                                                     The ship was laid up.
25-6-1686                                                The ship was reported
                                                         to be in the dock at
                                                         Amsterdam
1688      Jan Hogenhoeck          30    140              In the fleet that carried
                                                          Willem III to England
6/1689    Philipe van der Gijssen 36    -                With Gerard Callenburgh
                                                           in the Channel

The ship was last mentioned in 1689.

Dutch Naval Officer: Jan Gerrit van Wassenaer

Luc Eekhout has only a very small entry for Jan Gerrit van Wassenaer. In his other lists we find that he was a Luitenant-Admiraal of the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier and West-Friesland from 1709 to 1711. From 1711 until 1723, he was Luitenant-Admiraal for the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He lived from 1672 to 1723. There is a painting of Jan Gerrit as a child on a page about "Tentoonstelling Duivenvoorde". There is also a listing of his appointments on a page of "W" names. Carl Stapel pointed out De Jonge, so I went there for information. The topic originally had come up due to a communication from LCOL Bruce Adams, MC, USA, as he has a medical paper on the subject. In 1682, Jan Gerrit was appointed as midshipman or naval cadet at the Admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1686, he was a luitenant. From 1688 to 1690, he was flag captain of Philips van Almonde. He fought in the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. The Koning-Stadthouder Willem III appointed him as extra-ordinaris kapitein in 1690. In 1692, he fought in the Battle of La Hougue. When Lodewijk Graaf van Nassau died, Jan Gerrit was promoted to Schout-bij-Nacht for the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He became the squadron commander in the Channel. In 1702 he fought at Cadiz and Vigo Bay. He seems to have been wounded at the former battle. In 1704, he was at the capture of Gibraltar by Rooke. He also fought in the Battle of Malaga. Later in 1704, he was promoted to Vice-Admiraal of Amsterdam, seemingly through political influence. In 1705, his flagship was the Unie (92 guns), and he was present at the capture of Barcelona. In 1706, he was at the relief of Barcelona and the captures of Alicante, Carthagena, and Majorca. In 1707, he commanded the Dutch fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Mr. Stapel points out a reference in Prof. J. R. Bruijn's book from 1993 that says that Jan Gerrit spoke excellent English, and that promoted his rapid advancement. Even though Jan Gerrit never went to sea again, from 1709 to 1711, he was luitenant-admiraal of the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier and West-Friesland. From 1711 until his death, he was luitenant-admiraal of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. This account depends heavily on the paper by Mr. Stapel about Jan Gerrit van Wassenaer. Sources:

1. Jaap R. Bruijn, The Dutch Navy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 1993.
2. Jaap R. Bruijn, Varend Verleden: De Nederlandse Oorlogsvloot in de 17de en 18de eeuw, 1998.
3. Luc Eekhout, Het Admiralenboek: De Vlagofficieren van de Nederlandse marine 1382-1991, 1992.
4. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.IV, 1861.
5. communication from Mr. Carl Stapel.