Naval/Maritime History 18th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 1 June


1710 – Death of David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)

David Mitchell (Royal Navy officer) - Wikipedia

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1754 – Launch of Fleur de Lys, (launched 1 June 1754 at Brest) – burnt to avoid capture 1760.

Comète class, (30-gun design by Joseph-Louis Ollivier, with 26 x 8-pounder and 4 x 4-pounder guns).
Comète, (launched 20 December 1752 at Brest) – captured by British Navy 16 March 1761, becoming HMS Comet.
Fleur de Lys, (launched 1 June 1754 at Brest) – burnt to avoid capture 1760.
Concorde, (launched 15 November 1755 at Brest) – wrecked 1756.


1757 – Launch of Spanish España 68 (launched 1 June 1757 at Cádiz) - Stricken to BU 12 December 1807

África class all ordered 1751-57 at Cadiz (Carraca Dyd), 68 guns
África 68 (launched 20 November 1752 at Cadiz) - stricken 8 August 1806 and BU 1809
Firme 68 (launched 22 June 1754 at Cadiz) - Captured by Britain 22 July 1805, retaining same name, BU 1814
Aquiles 68 (launched 5 September 1754 at Cadiz) - Stricken 7 August 1790
España 68 (launched 1 June 1757 at Cádiz) - Stricken to BU 12 December 1807


1779 – Launch of HMS Pegasus was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

HMS Pegasus was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Pegasus was first commissioned in May 1779 under the command of Captain John Bazely.

HMS Pegasus (1779) - Wikipedia

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Collections - National Maritime Museum

1795 Adam Duncan promoted to full Admiral.


1795 - Pandour, a French a 14-gun gun-brig launched in 1780 as a cutter, which the Royal Navy captured in December 1795. The Navy took her into service as Pandora (or Pandour), but she foundered in June 1797

French cutter Pandour (1780) - Wikipedia

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1796 – Launch of HMS Merlin was one of the two original Merlin-class sloops that served the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars.

HMS Merlin was one of the two original Merlin-class sloops that served the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. She was launched in 1796 and was broken up in 1803. Her greatest accomplishment was her role as the leading vessel in a motley flotilla of local vessels that defeated a Spanish attack on the British colonists in Honduras at the Battle of St. George's Caye. She later captured a number of small merchant vessels in the West Indies before returning to Britain, where she was broken up.

HMS Merlin (1796) - Wikipedia

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Collections - National Maritime Museum

1797 HMS Astraea (32), Cptn. Richard Dacres, captures the Dutch privateer Stuiver (10) off the Scaw

HMS Astraea (or Astrea) was a 32-gun Fifth Rate Active-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Fabian at E. Cowes launched her in 1781, and she saw action in the American War of Independence as well as during the Napoleonic Wars. She is best known for her capture of the larger French frigate Gloire in a battle on 10 April 1795, while under the command of Captain Lord Henry Paulet. She was wrecked on 23 March 1808 off the coast of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands.


Capture of the American Frigate South Carolina by the British frigates Diomede, Quebec and Astrea, c.1925, National Archives of Canada

HMS Astraea (1781) - Wikipedia

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1814 Start of 4 day British operation in the River Patuxent.


1825 - June 1 - Greeks defeat Turks between Euboea and Andros


1848 – Launch of HMS Colossus was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Pembroke Dockyard.

HMS Colossus was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 1 June 1848 at Pembroke Dockyard.
Colossus was fitted with screw propulsion in 1864, and was sold out of the navy in 1867.

HMS Colossus (1848) - Wikipedia

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Vanguard-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

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Collections - National Maritime Museum

1871 - Two ships under the squadron command of Commodore John Rodgers, on USS Colorado, are attacked from Korean forts and batteries. The squadron is carrying Frederick Low, U.S. foreign minister to China, who was sent to negotiate trade with Korea. A Marine Corps expedition destroys the forts and inflicts heavy casualties on the Koreans on June 10-11.


1882 – Launch of Aagot was a three-masted square rig sailing ship built by Dobie & Company, Govan for the Firth Line, as Firth of Clyde

Aagot was a three-masted square rig sailing ship built by Dobie & Company, Govan for the Firth Line, as Firth of Clyde and was launched on 1 June 1882. She was wrecked on Wardang Island on 11 October 1907


Wreck of the 1,242 GRT three-masted sailing ship Aagot, formerly Firth of Clyde, on Wardang Island, South Australia, in 1907. (From description supplied with photograph). Dobie & Co of Govan, Scotland built her in 1882 as the square-rigger Firth of Clyde for James Spencer & Co of Glasgow. Herman Jacobsen of Sarpsborg, Norway bought her in 1904 and had her converted into a barque. On 12 October 1907 she ran aground on Wardang Island in the Spencer Gulf and was wrecked.

Aagot (1882) - Wikipedia

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1887 – Launch of The Russian battleship Sinop (Russian: Синоп) was a battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy, being the third ship of the Ekaterina II class.

The Russian battleship Sinop (Russian: Синоп) was a battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy, being the third ship of the Ekaterina II class. She was named after the Russian victory at the Battle of Sinop in 1853. The ship participated in the pursuit of the mutinous battleship Potemkin in June 1905[a] and towed her back to Sevastopol from Constanța, Romania, where Potemkin had sought asylum. Several proposals were made for Sinop's reconstruction with modern guns and better quality armor during the 1900s, but both were cancelled. She was converted to a gunnery training ship in 1910 before she became a guardship at Sevastopol and had her 12-inch (305 mm) guns removed in exchange for four single 203 mm (8.0 in)/50 guns in turrets. Sinop was refitted in 1916 with torpedo bulges to act as "mine-bumpers" for a proposed operation in the heavily mined Bosphorus. Both the Bolsheviks and the Whites captured her during the Russian Civil War after her engines were destroyed by the British in 1919. She was scrapped by the Soviets beginning in 1922.

Russian battleship Sinop - Wikipedia

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1889 – Launch of Imperator Nikolai I (Russian: Император Николай I) was a Russian Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleship built for the Baltic Fleet in the late 1880s.

Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I (1889) - Wikipedia

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1899 – Launch of SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ("HMS Emperor William the Great")[a] was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built around the turn of the 20th century.

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse - Wikipedia

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1902 Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr born

Rear Admiral Clarence Wade McClusky, Jr., (1 June 1902 – 27 June 1976) was a United States Navy aviator during World War II and the early Cold War period. He is credited with playing a major part in the Battle of Midway. In the words of Admiral Chester Nimitz, McClusky's decision to continue the search for the enemy and his judgment as to where the enemy might be found, "decided the fate of our carrier task force and our forces at Midway"

C. Wade McClusky - Wikipedia

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1935 – Launch of Shōhō (Japanese: 祥鳳, "Auspicious Phoenix" or "Happy Phoenix") was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō - Wikipedia

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1939 – Launch of Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴, "Soaring Crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class.

Shōkaku (Japanese: 翔鶴, "Soaring Crane") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class. Along with her sister ship Zuikaku, she took part in several key naval battles during the Pacific War, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands before being torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. submarine at the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku - Wikipedia

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1941 - May 21-June 1 - End of Battle of Crete - Royal Navy loses three cruisers and 6 destroyers to Axis air attacks

Battle of Crete - Wikipedia

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1943 - USS Trigger (SS 237) sinks Japanese merchant collier Noborikawa Maru off Kominato, southern Honshu.


1944 - Blimp Squadron Fourteen (ZP 14) Airships, (K 123) and (K 130), complete the first crossing of the Atlantic by non-rigid, lighter-than-air aircraft. The journey takes 50 hours after leaving Naval Air Station, South Weymouth, Mass., and arriving at Gibraltar.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1653 - First day of Battle of the Gabbard Bank, off the coast of Suffolk.
English fleet of 100 ships under Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane and Admirals John Lawson and William Penn beat of 98 Dutch ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-admiral Witte de With.
On second day the English were joined by Admiral Robert Blake, but Tromp decided to attack but was routed, the English chasing them until well in the evening.


The naval Battle of the Gabbard, also known as the Battle of Gabbard Bank, the Battle of the North Foreland or the second Battle of Nieuwpoort took place on 2–3 June 1653 (12–13 June 1653 Gregorian calendar). during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the Gabbard shoal off the coast of Suffolk, England between fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces.




The Battle of the Gabbard, 2 June 1653 by Heerman Witmont
A large grisaille drawing in brown ink. It shows the English and Dutch fleets engaged during the Battle of the Gabbard, 2 June 1653. The increasing conflict of trade interests between England and the Netherlands in the first half of the 17th century came to a head in 1651, when Cromwell's Navigation Act restricted English trade to English ships and thereby struck at the Dutch position as 'the carriers of Europe'. A Dutch diplomatic mission to resolve problems failed and the first of three rapidly ensuing Anglo-Dutch sea wars that lasted to 1674 broke out in 1652 (-1654). The Gabbard action took its name from the shoal off the Suffolk coast near Solebay where it was fought. Both sides fielded their full force, the English with 100 ships and five fireships and the Dutch with 98 ships and six fireships. The English were under the joint command of the Generals at Sea, George Monck and Richard Deane, joined on the second day by Admiral Robert Blake, while Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp commanded the Dutch. During the first day, Tromp boarded Admiral William Penn's flagship, the 'James', 66 guns, but was beaten back. Boarded in turn by Penn, Tromp only managed to dislodge him by blowing up the decks of the 'Brederode', 59 guns. On the second day the Dutch broke in confusion after Blake joined the fray, and were forced to accept that the English were masters of the sea. Deane was killed by the first salvo at the Gabbard and Blake became seriously ill. So it was left to Monk to command alone at the last action of the war, the Battle of Scheveningen on 31 July. On the right side of the picture is the 'Resolution', 88 guns, previously known as the 'Prince Royal'. She is shown in port-quarter view, in action to port with the 'Brederode' in starboard-quarter view, on the left of the picture. The latter's stern is ornately carved with lions both holding the Dutch lion cartouche and also sitting on the rail. The date of the ship '1645' is inscribed on her stern. The 'Resolution' is also in action to starboard with a Dutch ship, bow on. Another Dutch ship to the right and beyond is almost stern on. The 'Brederode' is also engaged to port with an English ship, of which only the port bow can be seen. There are ships in action in the left background. The profusion of masts and flags demonstrates the number of ships involved in the action. The English ships wear the Commonwealth colours of a St George's cross and Irish harp. The 'Brederode' wears a flag and ensign with the lion of Holland. Behind the principal ship on either side is a line of their fleet. The centre of the painting is obscured with smoke. In the foreground the artist has created the rhythmic effect of the movement of the waves. Wreckage is shown in the water in the central foreground. The technique of grisaille involved drawing with pen and ink, or ink wash, on prepared gesso panels or canvas and is more accurately described as pen-painting (penschilderij). This technique enabled the drawing to be highly detailed and demonstrate the artist's ability and knowledge of shipping. In this painting the artist has used pen and brush in brown pigment over graphite under-drawing. The off-white ground is laid on oak panel. Pen-painting was pioneered by Witmont and his friend Willem van de Velde the Elder, who were its two finest practitioners. Witmont was born and died in Delft and was also an engraver and a member of the Guild of Delft from 1644. The painting is signed 'H. Wit Mont' on the floating spar lower right and inscribed on the stern of the 'Brederode', 'ANNO. BRE DE ROO DE. 1645'


The battle
The English fleet had 100 ships commanded by Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane and Admirals John Lawson and William Penn. The Dutch had 98 ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-admiral Witte de With, divided in five squadrons. On 2 June 1653 the Dutch attacked but were beaten back because the English employed line-of-battle tactics, making the Dutch pay a high price for attempting to board. The Dutch fleet, consisting of lighter ships, was severely damaged and lost two ships.

On 3 June the English were joined by Admiral Robert Blake, but Tromp decided to try again a direct attack though his ships were practically out of ammunition. A sudden lull however made his ships sitting ducks for the superior English guns. The Dutch were routed, the English chasing them until well in the evening, capturing many Dutch ships. The battle ended with the Dutch losing in total seventeen ships, of which six were sunk and eleven captured. The English lost no ships, but Deane was killed. Tactically this was the worst defeat in Dutch naval history with the exception of the Battle of Lowestoft; strategically the defeat threatened to be disastrous.

The victory meant that the English control over the English Channel, regained by the Battle of Portland in March after it had been lost in the Battle of Dungeness, was now extended to the North Sea. After the battle, the English imposed a blockade on the Dutch coast, capturing many merchant ships and crippling the Dutch economy . The fleets met again on 29–31 July 1653 (8–10 August 1653 Gregorian calendar) at the Battle of Scheveningen.

Ships involved
England
Red Squadron

Van Division Triumph, 62 (flagship of Vice-Admiral James Peacock) Laurel, 48 Bear, 46 Adventure, 40 London, 40 Mary, 37 Heartsease, 36 Hound, 36 Providence, 33 Hannibal, 44 (hired merchantman) Thomas and William, 36 (hired merchantman) Anne and Joyce, 34 (hired merchantman)

Centre Division Resolution, 88 (flagship of Generals-at-Sea George Monck and Richard Deane) Worcester, 50 Advice, 42 Diamond 42 Marmaduke, 42 (Commanded by Edward Blagg of Plymouth)[1] Pelican, 40 Sapphire, 38 Mermaid, 26 Martin, 14 Fortune, 10 (fireship) Fox, 10 (fireship) Renown, 10 (fireship) Golden Fleece, 44 (hired merchantman) Society, 44 (hired merchantman) Malaga Merchant, 36 (hired merchantman) Loyalty, 34 (hired merchantman)

Rear Division Speaker, 56 (flagship of Rear-Admiral Samuel Howett) Sussex, 46 Tiger, 40 Violet, 40 Sophia, 38 Guinea, 34 Falmouth, 26 Phoenix, 34 (hired merchantman) Hambro' Merchant, 34 (hired merchantman(Captained by William Pestell) Four Sisters, 30 (hired merchantman)

White Squadron Expedition, 32 Assurance, 36 Portsmouth, 38 Centurion, 42 Assistance, 40 Foresight, 42 Ruby, 42 & others

Blue Squadron Nonsuch, 40 Dragon, 38 President, 40 Amity, 36 Convertine, 44 Kentish, 50 Welcome, 40 & others

Netherlands
98 ships - of which 6 sunk and 11 captured

• Brederode, 54 (flagship of Admiral Tromp)

some ships are listed in the threedecks-page




The ‘Brederode’, 59 guns, built 1646, sunk in action 1658, is viewed from the starboard quarter. On the tafferel is the quartered and ineschutcheoned arms of Willem II on a crowned shield supported by two lions. On the rail above, there is a half-length figure of Neptune. Below on the wing transom is inscribed ‘BRE….’ This is an offset from an elaborate drawing, partly worked up with wash and with a little pencil added to the guns




Scale: 1:48. A full hull model of the 55-gun three-decker ‘Prince Royal’ (circa 1610), built plank on frame in the Navy Board style. The model is equipped, fully rigged with a highly decorated hull, nearly all of which is based on the fine contemporary painting of her by the Dutch artist Adam Willaerts (see BHC0266 and BHC0267). Designed and built by the well-known shipwright Phineas Pett, the ‘Prince Royal’ was floated out of the building dock at Woolwich on 25 September 1610, and had the distinction of being the first three-decker in the Royal Navy. It was common practice during the 17th century for major warships of this size to undergo several repairs during their careers and this ship in its last configuration had a gun deck measuring 160 feet in length and was capable of mounting up to 90 guns in total. It was not until her 40th year, under her Commonwealth name ‘Resolution’ that she saw action engaging successfully at the battles of Kentish Knock, North Foreland and Scheveningen, during the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54). During the reign of Charles II, she survived the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, but during the Four Day’s Battle, 1–4 June 1666, she ran aground and was captured and subsequently burnt by the Dutch

Battle of the Gabbard - Wikipedia

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Battle of the Gabbard, 2nd June 1653 - 3rd June 1653

Description and participants : Battle of the Gabbard, 2nd June 1653 (1653/06/12 NS) - 3rd June 1653 (1653/06/13 NS)

threedecks.org

Collections - National Maritime Museum

Collections - National Maritime Museum

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1666 - Four Days Battle - Second Day


Second Day
On the morning of the second day Monck decided to destroy the Dutch by a direct attack and sailed to them from the southwest; but De Ruyter in De Zeven Provinciën crossed his line sailing to the southeast, heavily damaging the English fleet and gaining the weather gauge. HMS Anne, HMS Bristol and HMS Baltimore had to return to the Thames. After a calm used for repairs he turned to attack the English from the south with the red flag raised, the sign for an all-out attack, but just when he approached the enemy line he noticed to his dismay that part of the rear squadron under Tromp had got separated and now was positioned to the other side of the English line who had surrounded Tromp and were giving him his belly full. Often this is explained by assuming Tromp had not followed orders, but although he is indeed infamous for his usual insubordination, this time he simply had not seen the sign flags and the look-out of the centre mistakenly reported a confirmation sign. De Ruyter took in the red flag and broke through the enemy line with Vice Admiral Johan de Liefde, while the rest of the Dutch fleet under Aert van Nes headed south. He secured all of Tromp's ships except the burnt Liefde and the sinking Spieghel on which Vice-Admiral Abraham van der Hulst had just been killed by a musket shot in the breast and returned to join van Nes and the main force by again breaking through, noticing with satisfaction the second time the English ships quickly gave way.

Tromp, switching to his fourth ship already, then visited De Ruyter to thank him for the rescue. Both men were in a dark mood. Rear-Admiral Frederick Stachouwer had also been killed. The previous day the damaged Hollandia had been sent home together with the Gelderland, Delft, Reiger, Asperen and Beschermer to guard the three captured English vessels; now also the damaged Pacificatie, Vrijheid, Provincie Utrecht and Calantsoog had to return and only a handful of the rear squadron remained. Besides, the enemy had again gained the weather gauge, the dangers of which became immediately clear as George Ayscue, seeing the two Admirals together in a vulnerable position, tried to isolate them; with great difficulty they managed to return to their main force.


Willem van de Velde: Episode from the Four Day Battle

Both fleets now passed three times in opposite tack; on the second pass De Zeven Provinciën got damaged and De Ruyter retreated from the fight to repair his ship. Later some historians would accuse him of cowardice, but he had strict detailed written orders from the States General to act exactly so, to prevent a repeat of the events of the Battle of Lowestoft when the loss of the supreme commander had wrecked the Dutch command structure. Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes led the third pass.

As the Dutch were in a leeward position their guns had a superior range and some English ships now took dreadful damage. HMS Loyal Subject turned for the home port and had to be written off on arrival. HMS Black Eagle (the former Groningen) raised the distress flag but simply disintegrated before any ships could assist.

Then, at three in the afternoon, a Dutch flotilla of twelve ships appeared on the horizon. Monck was shocked, not because the event was totally unexpected but because his worst fear seemed to come true. The English had learned from their excellent intelligence network that the Dutch planned to keep a strong fourth squadron behind as a tactical reserve. Surely these new ships must be the avantguard of a fresh force. Monck ordered to check for the number of operational English ships. When only 29 ships reported to have any fight left in them, and Rupert was still nowhere to be seen, he decided to withdraw. In fact De Ruyter had just before the battle been convinced by the other admirals to use only three squadrons. Monck had never noticed that the Rainbow had disappeared - indeed he couldn't understand where Berkeley had gone either. The dozen ships were those of Tromp's squadron giving chase and now rejoining the fight after the intended prey had escaped to Ostend. The entire English fleet tacked to the southwest at four. The straggling St Paul (the former Sint Paulus) was captured in the evening.


De Zeven Provinciën (Dutch: "the seven provinces") was a Dutch ship of the line, originally armed with 80 guns. The name of the ship refers to the seven autonomous provinces that made up the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. The vessel was built in 1664-65 for the Admiralty of de Maze in Rotterdam by the master shipbuilder Salomon Jansz van den Tempel.

Naval/Maritime History - 22nd of March - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 1 June 1666 - Four Days Battle First day of The Four Days Battle, off the North Foreland between the English fleet of 56 ships, under George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, and the Dutch fleet of 84 ships, under Lt.-Admiral Michiel de...

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Four Days' Battle - Wikipedia

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Dutch ship De Zeven Provinciën (1665) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1676 – The naval Battle of Palermo
A French force led by Abraham Duquesne attacked a Spanish force supported by a Dutch maritime expedition force.
Largely because the Dutch and Spanish ships were at bay making repairs from an earlier a battle, the French fleet destroyed four Spanish and three Dutch ships with fireships.


The naval Battle of Palermo took place on 2 June 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War, between a French force sent to support a revolt in the city of Messina against the Spanish rule in Sicily, and a Spanish force supported by a Dutch maritime expedition force.





Background
The Dutch and Spanish ships were at bay making repairs from an earlier Battle of Augusta where Dutch Lt. Admiral General de Ruyter suffered lethal injuries. His death caused a severe impact on morale of the Dutch. The command of their fleet was transferred to Vice Admiral den Haen while the general command was assumed by Spanish Admiral de Ibarra. The French fleet under nominal command of Comte de Vivonne arrived from Messina. The actual planning of the battle belonged to Vice Admiral Duquesne, Rear Admiral de Tourville and Rear Admiral Gabaret. The Dutch were inclined to meet the French at sea, but they were disappointed greatly by the Spanish conduct in the previous battle. The Dutch and Spanish ships of the line and frigates were springed in a battle line order across the bay with the Spanish galleys in front of them to protect from enemy fireships. The French fleet was larger and more powerful. Many Spanish ships were of older designs equipped with low calibre cannons and incomplete untrained crews. The Dutch crews were very well trained, though also incomplete due to irrecoverable losses in the previous battles and a dysentery epidemic. The French plan was to engage in combat with the Spanish ships first, continue with the Dutch ships and coastal batteries until the bay got covered with gunpowder smoke under which the fireships should attack.

The battle
The Spanish ships couldn't maintain the battle order for a long time. Many of them cut spring ropes and left the line without order. Three Spanish frigates were burnt due to a French fireship attack. Two Spanish galleys were destroyed by artillery fire with Admiral de Villaroel killed. When Spanish resistance on the right side of the line collapsed, the French attacked the left side and centre consisting of the Dutch ships mostly with all their force. The Spanish flagship, 70-gun Nuestra Señora del Pilar, was attacked by four French fireships, caught fire and exploded with 200 sailors and both Admirals, de Ibarra and de La Cerda, killed. The majority of Dutch losses could be attributed to another successful French fireship attack on 68-gun Steenbergen which collided with two other Dutch ships, 50-gun Vrijheid and 36-gun Leiden, in a failed evasive manoeuvre. All three Dutch ships caught fire and exploded, though most of their crews escaped successfully. Rear Admiral van Middelandt was killed on board Steenbergen. The Dutch continued to resist though. Vice Admiral den Haen was killed by a cannonball while commanding his flagship, 76-gun Gouda. With all Dutch and Spanish admirals killed, a flag officer of late de Ruyter, Captain Callenburgh of 76-gun Eendracht, assumed general command. One of Spanish coastal batteries exploded and the town caught fire. The Dutch and Spanish were in a dire position, though the French lost all their fireships by this time and Vivonne ordered a return to Messina.

Aftermath
It could be argued the French would have been able to achieve a complete destruction of the allied Dutch and Spanish fleet at the cost of higher French losses. However, Vivonne decided the battle had been won already and it was better to return without losing a single warship. The French victory achieved little, and the French forces in Sicily were recalled on 1 January 1678. As in the Franco-Spanish War of 1635-1659, in the Franco-Dutch War Spain retained its position in Italy and proved able to thwart French hopes of major gains.


The battle of Palermo

Order of battle
France

• 24 ships of the line (50 to 80 guns)
• 5 frigates (38 to 46 guns)
• 25 galleys
• 9 fireships

Vanguard (Duquesne)

• Fortune 56 (Marquis d'Amfreville)
• Aimable 56 (Monsieur de La Barre)
• Saint-Esprit 72 (Vice Admiral Duquesne)
• Grand 72 (Monsieur de Beaulieu)
• Joli 46 (Monsieur de Belle-Isle)
• Éclatant 60 (Marquis de Coëtlogon)
• Mignon 46 (Monsieur de Relingues)
• Aquilon 50 (Monsieur de Montreuil)
• Vaillant 54 (Monsieur de Septesme)
• Parfait 60 (Monsieur de Chasteneuf)

Main force (Vivonne)

• Sceptre 80 (Comte de Vivonne, Rear Admiral Count de Tourville)
• Pompeux 72 (Chevalier de Valbelle)
• Saint Michel 60 (Marquis de Preuilly d'Humiéres)
• Agréable 56 (Monsieur d'Ailly)
• Téméraire 50 (Chevalier de Lhery)
• Syrène 46 (Chevalier de Béthune)
• Assuré 56 (Marquis de Villette-Mursay)
• Brusque 46 (Chevalier de La Motte)
• Sage 54 (Marquis de Langeron)
• Fier 60 (Monsieur de Chabert)

Rearguard (Gabaret)

• Lys 74 (Rear Admiral Gabaret)
• Heureux 54 (Monsieur de La Bretesche)
• Apollon 54 (Chevalier de Forbin)
• Trident 38 (Chevalier de Bellefontaine)
• Sans-Pareil 70 (Monsieur de Châteauneuf)
• Magnifique 72 (Monsieur de La Gravière)
• Vermandois 50 (Monsieur de La Porte)
• Prudent 54 (Monsieur de La Fayette)
• Fidèle 56 (Chevalier de Cogolin)

Netherlands

• Vrijheid 50 (Adam van Brederode) - blown up
• Stad en Lande 54 (Joris Andringa)
• Spiegel 70 (Gilles Schey)
• Provincie van Utrecht 60 (Jan de Jong)
• Steenbergen 68 (Rear Admiral Pieter van Middelandt, killed) - blown up
• Kraanvogel 46 (Jacob Willemszoon Broeder)
• Zuiderhuis 46 (Pieter de Sitter)
• Gouda 76 (Vice Admiral Jan den Haen, killed)
• Leeuwen 50 (Frans Willem, Graaf van Stierum)
• Damiaten 34 (Isaac van Uitterwijk)
• Edam 34 (Cornelis van der Zaan)
• Groenwijf 36 (Juriaan Baak)
• Eendracht 76 (Gerard Callenburgh)
• Oosterwijk 60 (Jacob Teding van Berkhout)
• Harderwijk 46 (Mattheus Megang)
• Leiden 36 (Jan van Abkoude) - blown up
• Wakende Boei 46 (Cornelis Tijloos)

Spain

• Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Capitana Real) 64/74 (1000-1100 crew) Almirante Don Diego de Ibarra (killed) - blown up
• Santiago (Nueva Real) 80
• San Antonio de Napoles 44/46 (500 crew) - burnt
• San Felipe 40/44 - burnt
• San Carlo/Salvator delle Fiandre/San Salvador (Almiranta de Flandres) 40/42/48 (350 crew) - burnt
• San Joaquin/San Juan 80
• San Gabriel 40
• Santa Ana 54/60 - probably burnt and salvaged
• Nuestra Señora del Rosario 50
• Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, probable
• Nuestra Señora del Rosario y Las Animas, probable
• 19 galleys, including San Jose (Almirante Juan de Villaroel, killed), sunk, and San Salvador, sunk

Battle of Palermo - Wikipedia

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Battle of Palermo, 2nd June 1676

Description and participants : Battle of Palermo, 2nd June 1676 (1676/06/12 NS)

threedecks.org

Seeschlacht vor Palermo – Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1733 – Launch of HMS Tilbury, a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the dimensions of the 1719 Establishment,


HMS Tilbury was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the dimensions of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 2 June 1733.



The Tilbury was part of Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon's fleet and took part in the expedition to Cartagena de Indias during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
Tilbury was accidentally burnt in 1742.









Scale: 1:48. A Georgian full hull model of a 60-gun, two-decker ship of the line (circa 1720). The model is decked and equipped. It is a very early example of the Georgian models that came to replace Navy Board models over the first half of the 18th century. The dimensions relate to the 1719 Establishment for 60-gun ships, although the model represents the general design for two-deck, third rate warships, rather than a particular ship. The ship would have been approximately 144 feet in length, with a beam of 39 feet, and would have weighed about 955 tons. It carried twenty-four 24-pound guns on its gun deck, twenty-six 9-pounders on its upper deck, eight 6-pounders on its quarterdeck and two 6-pounders on the forecastle. Four hundred men would have served on a ship of this type, of which 11 were built. Many served in foreign waters. The ‘Tilbury’, for example, was launched in 1733 and joined Vernon’s fleet during the War of Jenkins’ Ear. It served off Cartagena in 1741 before being accidentally burnt off Hispaniola in 1744

HMS Tilbury (1733) - Wikipedia

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https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66373.html

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1757 – Launch of HMS Pembroke, a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1752


HMS Pembroke was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Plymouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1752, and launched on 2 June 1757.
Pembroke was converted to serve as a hulk in 1776, and was eventually broken up in 1793.



Crew
For her first two years Pembroke was captained by John Simcoe, the father of John Graves Simcoe who became the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. When the elder Simcoe died in 1759 he was replaced by John Wheelock who served as captain for the remaining seventeen years of Pembroke's active service. Thomas Bisset served as ships master during her commissioning, then responsibility passed to James Cook, who would later become the first European to reach the eastern Australian coastline. Cook served as master until 1759 with duties then devolving to John Cleader.

Service
Pembroke saw service in the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War, including the Siege of Louisbourg under Captain Simcoe, and the Capture of Québec under Captain Wheelock, both with James Cook as master. In advance of the latter battle, the ship played an important role charting the approaches to Québec up the St. Lawrence River, so that the main fleet could follow.



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, sheer lines (no waterlines), and longitudinal half-breadth for Pembroke (1757), a 60-gun Fourth Rate, two decker, similar to the captured French 74-gun ship Monarch (captured 1747). This plan superceded an earlier plan. Signed by John Lock [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1752-1755

HMS Pembroke (1757) - Wikipedia

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https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-338200;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=P

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1779 - HMS Ruby (64) versus french La Prudente (36)


Description of the action
The British ships Ruby, 64, Captain Michael John Everitt, Molus, 32, and the sloop Jamaica, 18, were cruising off Hayti, when on June 2nd, in the Bay of Gonave, they fell in with the French frigate Prudente, 36, 3 Captain d'Escars. The Ruby chased her for some hours, and was much annoyed by the well-directed fire of the enemy's stern-chasers, by which Captain Everitt and a sailor lost their lives. When within easy range of her, at about sunset, the Ruby compelled her to strike, with the loss of two killed and three wounded. She was purchased into the British Navy under the same name.


HMS Ruby was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1776 at Woolwich.




Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Ruby (1776), 64-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as built at Woolwich Dockyard. Signed by Nicholas Phillips [Master Shipwright, Woolwich Dockyard, 1773-1778]

She was converted to serve as a receiving ship in 1813, and was broken up in 1821.

The British ships Ruby, 64, Captain Michael John Everitt, Aeolus (or Eolus), 32, and the sloop Jamaica, 18, were cruising off Hayti, when on 2 June 1779, in the Bay of Gonave, they fell in with the 36-gun French frigate Prudente, Captain d'Escars. Ruby chased Prudente for some hours, and was much annoyed by the well-directed fire of the enemy's stern-chasers, by which Captain Everitt and a sailor lost their lives. When within easy range of Prudente, at about sunset, Ruby compelled her to strike, with the loss of two killed and three wounded. The British Navy took Prudente into service under the same name.

HMS Ruby (Capt Stanhope) sailed with the first squadron (under Capt John Blankett) to take part in the 1st British Occupation of the Cape, leaving England on 27 February 1795. There she was used on patrols and general duties but saw no action. The Battle of Muizenberg on 7th August 1795 triggered the collapse of the Dutch forces which controlled the Cape of Good Hope at the time.


Representation of the Distressed Situation of His Majesty's Ships Ruby, Hector, Berwick and Bristol when Dismasted in the Great Hurricane October 6th 1780
Print

Ruby v La Prudente, 2nd June 1779

Description and participants : Ruby v La Prudente, 2nd June 1779

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HMS Ruby (1776) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1779 - HMS Glasgow (20) burnt by accident in Montego Bay, Jamaica


HMS Glasgow was a 20-gun sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and took part in the American Revolutionary War. She is most famous for her encounter with the maiden voyage of the Continental Navy off Block Island on 6 April 1776. In that action, Glasgow engaged a squadron of 6 ships of the Continental Navy, managing to escape intact.

She later chased two large Continental frigates in the Caribbean before she was accidentally burned in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1779.





Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half-breadth for Rose (1757) and Glasgow (1757), both 20-gun Sixth Rate Sloops


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile proposed (and approved) for Rose (1757) and Glasgow (1757), both 20-gun Sixth Rate Sloops


Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the quarter deck, forecastle, upper deck, lower deck, and fore & aft platforms for Glasgow (1757), a 20-gun Sixth Rate. Signed by Edward Hunt [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1767-1772]

HMS Glasgow (1757) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1806 – Launch of HMS Boreas, a Laurel-class 22-gun post ship launched in 1806.
She wrecked off the coast of Guernsey on 28 November 1807 with the loss of most of her crew of 154 men


HMS Boreas was a Laurel-class 22-gun post ship launched in 1806. She wrecked off the coast of Guernsey on 28 November 1807 with the loss of most of her crew of 154 men.





Service
The Royal Navy commissioned her under the command of Captain Robert Scott. On 2 October 1807 she captured, after a four-hour chase, the French privateer schooner Victoire. The privateer had a crew of 28 men and was armed with swivel guns and small arms. She had sailed from Morlaix the day before and had already captured an American brig, which Boreas recaptured. On 8 October Boreas and Brilliant captured the Danish ships St Hans and Montreal.

Wreck
Boreas sailed from Saint Peter Port to the rescue of a pilot cutter that was in difficulty in bad weather. sailing back around Guernsey with the boat in tow, she struck the Requiers rock. An expert pilot was on board, who had ordered the ship to put about, however the officer of the watch refused to act without permission from the Captain, resulting in the loss of the ship in the confusion. After efforts to save her failed, Scott ordered the crew to abandon ship. He sent some men ahead in boats that landed at Hanois Point, but strong seas, and the desertion of many of the men prevented the boats from going back to rescue the remaining men. Boreas eventually sank, with only her rigging remaining above water.

Next morning boats dispatched by Admiral James Saumarez, commander of the Royal Navy Channel Islands squadron and himself a Guernsey native, rescued thirty men. In all, 120 persons drowned, including Scott. Twenty-six of the survivors took advantage of the situation to desert.

The normal Court Martial was held with the Captain, officers and crew being praised for their "standing in good conduct".

Post script
The sinking added greatly to the call to construct a lighthouse, which resulted in Les Hanois Lighthouse being erected in 1860-62.

Fort Grey on Guernsey is now a shipwreck museum and holds one of the cannon from Boreas that points towards the reef where she sank.


The Laurel-class sailing sixth rates were a series of six post ships built to an 1805 design by Sir John Henslow. The first three were launched in 1806, two more in 1807, and the last in 1812. The vessels of the class served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War.

Ships in class

• HMS Boreas
• HMS Laurel
  • Builder: Nicholas Bools & William Good, Bridport, Dorset
  • Ordered: 30 January 1805
  • Laid down: June 1805
  • Launched: 2 June 1806
  • Completed: 16 November 1806 at Plymouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Captured by the French on 12 September 1808. The French named her Esperance. Unicorn recaptured her on 12 April 1810 off the Île de Ré. She was armed en flute and was carrying a cargo of colonial produce from Île de France while under the command of a lieutenant de vaisseau.[1] The Royal Navy took her back into service as HMS Laurestinus. She wrecked in the Bahamas in August 1813.
• HMS Comus
• HMS Garland
• HMS Perseus
• HMS Volage

HMS Boreas (1806) - Wikipedia

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Laurel-class post ship - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1806 – Launch of French brig Griffon, a Palinure-class brig


The French brig Griffon, was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1806. After HMS Bacchante captured her in 1808, the Royal Navy took her into service. Griffon participated in one action that resulted in her crew being awarded the Naval General Service Medal. Two of her officers were subject to notable courts martial, one for murder and one for smuggling, with the murderer being hanged and the smuggler dismissed the Navy. The Navy sold Griffon in 1819 to Hills & Co., who proceeded to use her as a London-based whaler. She sailed to the South Seas fishery under some under different masters. Hill & Co. then sold her to Wilson & Co. who employed her on one last whaling voyage that ended in 1850.





French career
From 17 March to 4 November 1806, Griffon, under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Jacques Gautier, was at Rochefort and the Bay of Aiguillon. Then she served in the roads of the Ile d'Aix between March and August 1807.[5] Finally, in early 1808 she carried troops from Rochefort to Martinique.

On the way Griffon encountered one or more British frigates. The frigate may have been Acasta, and according to the same report, Griffon was in company with the French brigs Palinure and Pilade. On 17 March Griffon took refuge at Marin, Martinique. Palinure and Pilade sailed on to the roads at Trinité.

On 27 March 1808 the boats of Ulysses, Castor, Hippomenes and Morne Fortunee attempted to cut out Griffon from Marin. They succeeded in capturing a battery but Griffon's fire drove them back empty handed, and with heavy casualties. Later, Griffon continued on to Fort-de-France.

Capture
On 11 May 1808 Bacchante captured Griffon off Cape Antonio. Bacchante pursued Griffon for almost seven hours, and fought her for a half an hour. Griffon only struck when she found herself crowded some 100 metres from the breakers with Bacchante only some 200 meters from her. Griffon was still under Gautier's command. In the engagement Griffon had five men wounded, while Bacchante suffered no casualties.

Griffon had sailed from Rochefort to Martinique, via Pensacola. Bacchante sent her into Jamaica.

sistership

This lithograph depicts the French brig Palinure in action with the British brig Carnation off Martinique on 3rd October 1808. Both ships are seen in port broadside view, on port tacks, Palinure slightly to windward of Carnation. The crews swarm on the decks. On Palinure, they have climbed the bowsprit in readiness to board Carnation, while on Carnation they are ranged at the rails firing hand weapons to repel the French boarding party. Eventually Palinure succeeded in taking Carnation, although they later burnt her to prevent recapture in February 1809


Royal Navy career
The Navy commissioned Griffon at Jamaica under Lieutenant Henry Spark Jones. Lieutenant Allen, or Lieutenant T.P.J. Parry, replaced him in December 1808.

Griffon was among the vessels that carried out the blockade of the city of Santo Domingo that accompanied the siege, and was present on 6 July 1809 at its surrender. Griffon's captain at Santo Domingo was Lieutenant J. Gore (acting).

Griffon arrived at Sheerness on 10 October 1809. She then underwent fitting at Chatham between February 1810 and December 1811. Commander John Tannock recommissioned her in November 1811, but handed over command to Commander George Trollope in February 1812.

On 27 March, near Dieppe, Griffon and Rosario intercepted a 13-strong flotilla heading there from Boulogne-sur-Mer. The two British vessels engaged them closely, capturing three brigs (praams Nos. 95, 246, and 314), and driving two more onto the shore. Each French brig was armed with three 24-pounder guns and an 8" howitzer. The British casualties amounted to one officer and four men wounded. The British sent their prizes into Plymouth.

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Griffon 27 March 1812" and "Rosario 27 March 1812" to the five surviving claimants from Griffon and the seven from Rosario.

Lieutenant Richard Steward Gamage joined Griffon in July as her first lieutenant. On 10 September the Milford, Mann, master, put into Ramsgate. She had been sailing from Chepstow to Deptford when she ran foul of Griffin and lost her foremast and suffered other damage.

On 20 October Griffon was in the Downs and Gamage was in command, Trollope having gone ashore. Gamage was a mild man who, in a sudden and uncharacteristic fit of rage, stabbed an insubordinate sergeant of Marines to death with a sword thrust. A court martial on 27 October found Gamage guilty of murder and sentenced him to hang. Appeals for clemency, including from the crew, were rejected and Gamage was hanged on 23 November from Griffon's yardarm. As was customary, all vessels in the Downs sent two boats alongside Griffon to witness the execution; the men who remained on the vessels were required to watch from the decks of their vessels.

That December a report appeared in the press that Griffon's crew had mutinied and sailed her to Boulogne. The petty officers, seamen, and marines of the crew wrote a letter to Trollope, subsequently published, affirming their satisfaction with him and their other officers.

In June 1814 Commander George Hewson replaced Trollope, who had been promoted to post captain on 7 June.

Post-war
Commander James A. Murray assumed command in May 1816.

On 20 September Lieutenant William Elliot Wright was appointed acting commander at Saint Helena. On Griffon's return to Britain Wright's appointment was confirmed on 20 August 1817. However, Wright then underwent a court martial for having smuggled 53 yards of crepe and other contraband while Griffon was at Portsmouth. The court ordered Wright dismissed the service. However, he was reinstated in 1819 without loss of rank.

In March 1819, the Commissioners of the Navy put Griffon up for sale at Deptford. They sold her to Hills & Co. for £1,700 on 11 March 1819.

Whaler
Lloyd's Register for 1819 showed a Griffon, French-built sloop, 9 [sic] years since capture, and 435 tons (bm), with owner Hills & Co.; later, the entry gave her burthen as 439 tons. This vessel continued in commercial service for Hills & Co. for some 27 years. The last year with an entry for this vessel was 1846, and that entry was without a trade route. A database on whaling shows that Griffin was a whaler and that she returned from her last voyage in 1850.

French brig Griffon (1806) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
2 June 1810 – Launch of HMS Macedonian, a 38-gun fifth rate Lively-class frigate in the Royal Navy, later captured by USS United States during the War of 1812


HMS Macedonian was a 38-gun fifth rate Lively-class frigate in the Royal Navy, later captured by USS United States during the War of 1812. She was built at Woolwich Dockyard, England in 1809, launched 2 June 1810 and commissioned the same month. She was commanded by Captain Lord William FitzRoy. Among the original crew was the 13-year-old Samuel Leech, who later wrote a memoir of his experiences.






As HMS Macedonian
Macedonian first delivered a company of soldiers to Lisbon, Portugal, then remained in the area, guarding against the possibility of French naval attack. During this period, FitzRoy made personal profit by falsification of records of ships' stores, for which he was court-martialled in March 1811 and dismissed from the service (he was quietly reinstated in August, presumably due to his aristocratic rank).

FitzRoy's replacement, William Waldegrave, was an interim appointment whose command lasted for only a few weeks before he was himself replaced by John Surnam Carden. One of Carden's first actions was to hire a band, a move popular with the crew, but he did not get along with the first lieutenant David Hope.

In January 1812, Macedonian was ordered to secretly deliver some bills of exchange to Norfolk, Virginia and to bring back an equivalent quantity of gold and silver currency, as part of a scheme to keep the Bank of England solvent. During the visit, Carden socialised with the notables of Norfolk, including Captain Stephen Decatur, but bungled the mission by inadvertently revealing what was planned, and had to return to Lisbon empty handed. Captain Carden dined frequently with Decatur and his wife Susan and jokingly bet a beaver hat on the outcome of a battle of their ships. They had come to consider one another friends.

In September 1812, Macedonian was ordered to accompany an East Indiaman as far as Madeira, then to cruise in search of prizes as long as his supplies permitted.


Engagement between the United States and the Macedonian, by Thomas Birch, 1813

Loss to USS United States
Main article: USS United States vs HMS Macedonian
Macedonian left Madeira on 22 October 1812, but only a few days later, on the morning of 25 October, encountered USS United States, commanded by Carden's former dinner host Decatur. The United States had just declared war on the United Kingdom, and both captains were eager to achieve personal glory in a fight.

Unfortunately for Macedonian, United States was a 44-gun heavy frigate, and her broadside was 864 pounds of metal, versus Macedonian's 528 pounds. USS United States hove round, turning downwind and making HMS Macedonian chase her. Within a few minutes of closing, fire from United States's 24-pounder cannons brought down all three of Macedonian's masts, and riddled the hull. United States then pulled away temporarily, leaving Carden and Hope time to contemplate their lack of options. Finally, with United States preparing to rake the British vessel again, Carden struck his colors, making Macedonian the second Royal Navy vessel to surrender to the Americans during the war.


HMS Macedonian (left) of the Lively class, painting of its engagement with USS United States, 1812, by Thomas Birch

As USS Macedonian
Decatur was careful to preserve Macedonian, sending over a detail to help repair her. This took a full two weeks. Decatur then brought the captured ship into Newport, Rhode Island as a prize on 4 December 1812, causing an immediate national sensation. USS Constitution had previously beaten HMS Guerriere, but Guerriere had been too badly damaged to save. Macedonian was a sizable and welcome addition to the then tiny US Navy.

Macedonian was immediately taken into the United States Navy, retaining the name as Macedonian under the command of Captain Jacob Jones.

Early in May after receiving needed repairs Macedonian, along with United States and the sloop Hornet hoped to make their way to sea from the anchorage of Staten Island by way of Sandy Hook but were because of the British Blockade, two ships of the line and three frigates guarding that passage Decatur, determined, took his squadron and crossing New York harbor made his way up the East River by way of Hell Gate, New York, 24 May 1813. While sailing along Long Island Sound on the night of 24 May the flagship United States was struck by lightning, causing damage to the main mast, which came crashing down and causing serious damage to the vessel. Macedonian, being close by, immediately distanced herself from the periled United States. After hasty repairs the fleet continued on their way eastward along the Sound. Because of unfavorable winds and a passage not favorable to heavy vessels, the fleet finally reached Montauk Point, the easternmost point of Long Island. The open sea was now before them but the British had blockading vessels there lying in wait. Outmatched, the fleet had no alternative but to turn back, making their way to the Thames River (Connecticut), where Macedonian and the rest of the fleet remained until the end of the war.

On 20 May 1815 she departed for the Mediterranean to join Commodore Decatur's 10-ship squadron in the Second Barbary War in Algeria, a renewal of naval action against the Barbary powers, to stop harassment of American shipping. On 17 June the frigate assisted in the capture of the Algerian flagship, the frigate Mashuda, by frigates Constellation and Guerriere, the sloops-of-war Epervier and Ontario.

The signing of a treaty with Tunis and Tripoli on 7 August, following that with Algeria in June, won maritime freedom in the Mediterranean. The next three years Macedonian patrolled there and off the East Coast.

From January 1819 to March 1821 the frigate operated off the Pacific coast of South America, giving aid and protection to the commercial ships in the area during the disorders following the Latin American colonial revolts, before returning to Boston in June 1821.

During this period she worked as a banking ship, doing business with privateers of every kind. Captain Downes often kept his midshipmen and other trusted aides busy counting specie. Many deposits were made, with many single deposits of over 100,000.

The men complained bitterly about their treatment, writing of how they were forced to eat mealy grain while counting hundreds of thousands of dollars in specie. Many of the men felt that Captain Downes was doing this for the "good of the Captain" and wondered when they would be used for the purpose they joined the Navy for rather than for the Captain's personal enrichment.

She next cruised in the West Indies where she helped suppress piracy, into 1826.

On 11 June 1826 Macedonian departed Norfolk for service on the Pacific station, returning to Hampton Roads, 30 October 1828. She was decommissioned in 1828 and was broken up at the Norfolk Navy Yard. The crew for this final voyage included William Henry Leonard Poe, brother of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. HMS Macedonian's captured ensign was on display at Mahan Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, but was removed on 27 February 2018 for preservation.

HMS Macedonian - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 2 June


1688 - Action of 1688/06/02, 2nd June 1688

Action of 1688/06/02, 2nd June 1688

Description and participants : Action of 1688/06/02, 2nd June 1688

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1717 - Battle of Imbros, 12th June 1717 - 14th June 1717

Battle of Imbros, 12th June 1717 - 14th June 1717

Description and participants : Battle of Imbros, 12th June 1717 (1717/06/23 NS) - 14th June 1717 (1717/06/25 NS)

threedecks.org

1773 George III reviewed the English Fleet at Portsmouth.


1789 - June 2–4 - Russians defeat Turks at Sinope


1805 HMS Diamond Rock capitulated.

Battle of Diamond Rock - Wikipedia

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Diamond Rock - Wikipedia

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1805 - Boats of HMS Loire (40), Cptn. Frederick Maitland, cut out privateer felucca Esperamza from Camarinas Bay. Another privateer was taken but abandoned and 3 merchant vessels were destroyed.

On 2 June 1805 boats from Loire captured the Spanish privateer felucca Esperanza alias San Pedro in the Bay of Camarinas, east of Cape Finisterre. She was armed with three eighteen-pounders, four four-pounder brass swivels and a crew of 50 men. Loire had only three men slightly wounded. The captured Spanish crew had lost 19 of their 50 men, mostly killed by pike and sword; some however jumped overboard

Loire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured following the Battle of Tory Island by a Royal Navy frigate squadron and subsequently taken into British service as HMS Loire.


Capture of Loire

French frigate Loire (1796) - Wikipedia

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1807 – Launch of Providence was a merchant ship built at Calcutta, India, and launched in 1807.

Providence was a merchant ship built at Calcutta, India, and launched in 1807. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), on one of which she delivered convicts to New South Wales. The ship was scuttled at St Martin's, Isles of Scilly in 1833 after grounding while on a voyage from London to Bombay, India.


East Indiaman Providence, Thomas Whitcombe, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_(1807_ship)


1814 - During the War of 1812, the sloop of war Wasp, commanded by Capt. Johnston Blakely, captures and burns the British merchant barque Neptune, southwest of Ireland.

USS Wasp (1814) - Wikipedia

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1865 - Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith signs the Terms of Surrender for the Confederate forces onboard USS Fort Jackson in Galveston Bay, Texas.


1915, June 2 – - British gunboat HMS Odin damages Ottoman gunboat Marmaris which beaches itself off Amarah in the Tigris River.


1941 - The first aircraft escort vessel, USS Long Island (CVE 1), is commissioned. Following World War II, she participates in Operation "Magic Carpet."


1943 - USS PC 565 sinks German submarine U 521 off the Virginia capes. The German sub had sunk four Allied merchant vessels, including two U.S. vessels: tanker Hahira (Nov. 3, 1942) and merchant Molly Pitcher (March 18, 1943).


1943 - 2 June, the Battle of the Messina convoy.

The British destroyer HMS Jervis and the Greek Vasilissa Olga carried out a night sweep along the Gulf of Squillace, where they found a small two-ship convoy escorted by the Spica-class torpedo boat Castore. Supported by a Wellington bomber which dropped flares on the target, the Allied units engaged the Italian steamers Vragnizza and Postumia. The destroyers lost track of the convoy after the intervention of the escort, which laid smoke and returned fire. Castore was disabled and sank before dawn, but her counterattack allowed the freighters to limp away. Vragnizza and Postumia, both damaged during the action, reached Messina at 16.30

HMS Jervis - Wikipedia

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Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga - Wikipedia

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1943 - USS Tambor (SS 198) sinks Japanese transport Eika Maru in the Tonkin Gulf off French Indochina.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1602 - Battle of Sesimbra Bay


The Battle of Sesimbra Bay was a naval engagement that took place on 3 June 1602, during the Anglo-Spanish War. It was fought off the coast of Portugal (then within the Iberian Union) between an English naval expeditionary force sent out from orders by Queen Elizabeth I to prevent any further Spanish incursions against Ireland or England itself. The English force under Richard Leveson and William Monson met a fleet of Spanish galleys and a large carrack at Sesimbra Bay commanded by Álvaro de Bazán and Federico Spinola. The English were victorious in battle, sinking two galleys, forced the rest to retreat, immobilized the fort and captured the carrack in what was the last expedition to be sent to Spain by orders of the Queen before her death the following year.



Background
In order to prevent another Spanish invasion of Ireland, Queen Elizabeth I decided to fit out another fleet. Sir Richard Leveson was chosen for this command as he had defeated the Spanish under Pedro de Zubiaur at Castlehaven and successfully blockaded Kinsale from any further reinforcement later leading to the victory there early in 1602. He was to command a fleet of nine English and twelve Dutch ships, which were 'to infest the Spanish coast.' The Dutch ships were, however, late in joining, and Leveson left his vice-admiral Sir William Monson to wait for the Dutch while he put to sea with only five ships on 19 March. Within two or three days the queen sent orders to Monson to sail at once to join his admiral, for she had word that 'the silver ships had arrived at Terceira' but they had in fact arrived and left again.

Federico Spinola, younger brother of Ambrogio Spinola, had distinguished himself greatly as a soldier in the Army of Flanders and, in 1599, had successfully voyaged through the English Channel passing the Straits of Dover unmolested. Buoyed by this achievement he had indulged Philip III of Spain, the Duke of Lerma and Martín de Padilla in a vision of a massive galley-borne invasion of England from Flanders. However the council brought him down to a mere eight galleys, provided at Spinola's expense. He was on his way from San Lucar to Lisbon but was diverted by the Viceroy of Portugal to see to the protection of a richly-laden Portuguese carrack anchored in the bay at Sesimbra.

It was not till the end of May that the two English squadrons met with each other. On 1 June the English were off Lisbon with two captured Spanish prizes when word reached them that a large carrack and eleven galleys were in the vicinity of Sesimbra Bay. Some of the English ships had been sent home mainly due to disease and/or unseaworthiness; others had separated & they too went back home; there were now only five ships in total with Leveson.

Battle

Portrait of Richard Leveson

On the morning of the 3 June, Monson and Leveson found the Spanish ships strongly posted under the guns of Fort Santiago de Sesimbra and an old but armed Moorish castle further inland on a hill. The Spanish fleet consisted of eight galleys under the command of Spinola and another three under Álvaro de Bazán which had just recently arrived. At mid morning Monson with Garland, Leveson with Warspite, Edward Manwaring with Dreadnought, followed by Nonpareil, Adventure and two captured prizes, they entered the bay of Sesimbra. As well as the carrack the Spanish galleys consisted of de Bazán's Christopher, Spinola's St Lewis, Forteleza, Trinidad, St John, Leva, Occasion, San Jacinto, Lazar, Padilla and San Felipe. The galleys had large cannons of sixty pounders in their bows and formed a tight defensive formation in the shallows around the carrack.

As the English entered the bay, without hesitation they fired with everything they had at the anchored and secured galleys but made sure they were out of effective range of the Spanish 60-pounder (27 kg) cannon. Monson's Garland was able to bombard the Spanish galleys with her sixteen culverins forcing them to break formation. Much damage was caused but soon the galleys began to row side to side in the harbour in an attempt to avoid fire from Garland, which was now anchored. Leveson in Warspite however had problems with the wind and was soon being blown out of the road stead despite efforts to keep Warspite in one position. Once out of effective range Leveson then rowed in a launch under fire and went on board Garland to join Monson and the rest of the fleet.

When Bazán's galleys did break formation Dreadnought with her shallow draught sailed into the confusion and took them on all at close range with her eleven demi-culverins and ten sakers. Bazán had suffered significant losses with all three of his galleys damaged and was himself soon so badly wounded that there was much disorganization. Monson decided to concentrate his fire on Spinola's galleys and within a few hours Garland and Nonpareil pounded them to the point that two of his galleys, Trinidad and Occasion, were soon burned and sunk, the captain of the latter being taken prisoner. The galley slaves swam (if they could) to the English ships and Bazán's battered galleys managed to flee the action heading North.

Capture of São Valentinho
The great carrack itself was surrounded and the remaining galleys under Spinola decided that the only sensible option was to retreat out of range from the bay. The rest of his galleys were already badly damaged, the galley slaves had been exhausted to the point of near death. To the surprise of the English the fire from Fort Santiago de Sesimbra began to slacken; Nonpareil, Adventure and occasional fire from Warspite had poured enough accurate fire into the fortress to put most of the guns out of action within an hour. With the destruction and retreat of the galleys it became clear that the carrack was lost.


Battle of Sesimbra Bay 1602 by Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom

Under closer inspection the English realized that the carrack was huge a 1,700-ton vessel, São Valentinho, recently returned from the Portuguese Indies laden with goods. The castle and the various shore defences could not fire for fear of hitting their own ships as a result ineffectual fire continued throughout the battle. The English ships though kept up enough fire to silence the rest of the shore defences and Garland and Dreadnought sailed to port and starboard respectively of São Valentinho. She was soon boarded and within minutes the top deck had been secured with only a few losses and Monson wanted no more bloodshed.

End
A parlay was offered by Monson which the Spanish reluctantly accepted and the battle was now effectively over. After Monson boarded the carrack, he was soon recognized by several Spanish officers as being their former prisoner. It turned out the galley Leva, which was present at the battle but had fled, was the same galley present at Battle of Berlengas Islands which had taken Monson prisoner; for Monson this was revenge. At first the Spanish and Portuguese under Don Diego Lobo wanted to give the English just the cargo and leave the ship with their colours flying but Monson was adamant and wanted the whole ship but would release all the prisoners under terms. He also forced the Spanish to cease firing and allow the English to leave unmolested. The Spanish could not burn the ship without being fired upon by the English and had São Valentinho surrounded by which two were powerful galleons.

In this position the Spanish agreed to the English terms; to allow São Valentinho to be taken and the castle and shore defences to seize firing. The next day after a celebratory evening meal with the Spanish and Portuguese officers on board Garland, the English vessels towed out São Valentinho and with the victorious English sailing back to Plymouth unmolested.


The Fort of Santiago at Sesimbra. During the battle it was put out of action by English warships

Aftermath
Casualties were heavy amongst the Spanish; around 800, most of which were from the galleys. The Portuguese carrack São Valentinho was a great prize in itself; the cargo on board totalled over a million ducats, about £44,000 which just about covered the costs of the summer campaigning. São Valentinho was very similar in design to Madre de Deus which had been captured at Flores in 1592. English casualties were only twelve killed and thirty wounded, chiefly aboard Garland. William Monson was very nearly killed; he had fought in armor and had his doublet carried away by a ball.

Monson and Leveson were both received as heroes on their return by Queen Elizabeth and the booty was given to the crown. Leveson and Monson in return each received £3000 from the Queen and soon after their services were recommended to King James I both becoming admirals of the English Channel. The Spanish viceroy of Portugal was incensed with the defeat and the loss of the carrack, he had Don Diego Lobo condemned to death but he escaped through a window with the aid of his sister and fled to Italy.

Bazán would recover from his wounds and went on to command galleys in the Kingdom of Naples and later in life was to win fame in the Relief of Genoa. Spinola would suffer another defeat, this time at the hands of Sir Robert Mansell and a Dutch fleet in October of the same year in the Battle of the Narrow Seas in which his remaining six galleys that had escaped were intercepted and destroyed with only Spinola's escaping.

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Battle of Sesimbra Bay, 3rd June 1602

Description and participants : Battle of Sesimbra Bay, 3rd June 1602 (1602/06/13 NS)

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1665 - Battle of Lowestoft - Part I
English fleet of 109 ships, under James Stuart, Duke of York, badly defeat Dutch fleet of 103 ships, under Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam (Killed in Action). The Dutch lost 17 ships and the English lost 1 ship.


The Battle of Lowestoft took place on 13 June [O.S. 3 June] 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size commanded by James, Duke of York forty miles east of the port of Lowestoft in Suffolk.




The Battle of Lowestoft by Hendrik van Minderhout, showing HMS Royal Charles and the Eendracht

Background
The Dutch were desperate to prevent a second English blockade of their ports after the first was broken off by the English for lack of supplies. The leading Dutch politician, Johan de Witt, ordered Van Wassenaer to attack the English aggressively during a period of stable eastern winds which would have given the Dutch the weather gage. Van Wassenaer however, perhaps feeling that his fleet was still too inferior in training and firepower to really challenge the English in full battle, postponed the fight till the wind turned in order to seek a minor confrontation in a defensive leeward position from which he could disengage quickly and return without openly disobeying orders. His attitude would cost him a sixth of his fleet and his life.

The reason for the large number of squadrons was that the smaller Dutch admiralties—and the many new flag officers recently appointed by them—insisted on having their own squadron; the Admiralties of Amsterdam and the Maas (i.e. Rotterdam) then split their fleets to make squadrons of equal size to those of the smaller fleets.

Both national fleets could only be so large by employing armed merchants: the English used 24 of these; the Dutch twelve, some of them enormous Dutch East India Company warships, specially brought over from the Indies. The Dutch also had activated eighteen laid up warships from the previous war.

On 11 June Van Wassenaer sighted the English fleet but there was a calm and no battle could take place. On 12 June the wind again started to blow—and from the east, giving Van Wassenaer the weather gage. However, he simply didn't attack, despite clear orders to do so under these conditions. Next morning the wind had turned to the west and now he approached the enemy fleet.

The English fleet of 109 ships carried 4,542 guns and 22,055 men; it consisted of three squadrons:

1. James himself commanded the van, the squadron of the red flag
2. Prince Rupert of the Rhine commanded the centre, the squadron of the white flag and
3. Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, commanded the rearguard, the squadron of the blue flag

The Dutch fleet of 103 ships carrying 4,869 guns and 21,613 men had no fewer than seven squadrons:

1. from the Admiralty of Amsterdam, commanded by Van Wassenaer himself in Eendracht
2. commanded by Lieutenant Admiral Johan Evertsen on Hof van Zeeland
3. from the Admiralty of de Maze, commanded by Lieutenant Admiral Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer on Groot Hollandia
4. the Frisian fleet, commanded by Lieutenant Admiral Auke Stellingwerf on Sevenwolden
5. from the Admiralty of the Northern Quarter, commanded by Vice Admiral Cornelis Tromp on Liefde
6. the Zealandic fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Cornelis Evertsen the Elder on Vlissingen and
7. commanded by Vice Admiral Volckert Schram on Wapen van Nassau

Battle
Further information: Order of battle at the Battle of Lowestoft
It is difficult to give a strictly coherent account of the battle. Whilst there is a wealth of historical sources, these have never been properly studied. The English found the behaviour of 'foggy Opdam' (as they would sometimes call him) puzzling and ascribed all kinds of intentions to him that, in reality, he never had. After the defeat the surviving Dutch flag officers, in order to exonerate themselves, pretended their fleet had followed the original written orders, blaming misfortune and cowardice among the merchant captains for the disaster.

In the early morning of the 13th the Dutch fleet was positioned to the southeast of the English fleet. Most English historians have assumed Van Wassenaer (who on 12 June had sent all of his silverware and other valuables home as to show how much confidence he had in himself) made a sudden dash to the west, trying to regain the weather gage, and the English beat him to it. If so, the wind must have been blowing from the southwest—otherwise there was no gain in this manoeuvre—but this makes it difficult to explain how the English fleet, sailing to the south, could be swifter than the Dutch. An alternative interpretation, more in accordance with the Dutch sources, would be that the wind was blowing from the northwest and Van Wassenaer tried to engage the English from a defensive leeward position, his favorite tactic. Indeed, both fleets passed in opposite tack and then turned. During the turn the Great Charity (originally an Amsterdam Directors' ship the "Groote Liefde", captured during the Battle of Portland in 1653) became isolated and was boarded and captured by captain Jan den Haen, the later admiral, who immediately returned with his prize to the Netherlands, an obviously unsound practice that would be forbidden after this battle.

Later an English victory tune "The Dutch Armado A Meer Bravado" declared: "Fortune was pleasant when she lent the Dutch our 'Charity' a thing they wanted much".


Battle of Lowestoft by Adriaen Van Diest, c. 1670s

After this there was a second pass. Though the English had some trouble controlling these manoeuvres, the Dutch now completely failed to maintain a line of battle. In theory their being in a leeward position would have given their guns a superior range, allowing them to destroy from a safe distance the rigging of the English ships with chain-shot. In reality the several squadrons began to block each other's line of sight, those flagofficers and captains most hungry for battle left the less enthusiastic and older ships quickly behind, while company ships—never trained in these tactics—behaved as if no other vessels were present and this disorder caused a part of the English line to shift over some heavier Dutch ships who only just managed to escape to their main force. Later they would claim they had intentionally tried to directly attack the enemy in accordance with general orders. Some other ships happened to be in an optimal range for the English to concentrate their fire and took heavy damage. The young life of the commander of the Frisian fleet, Lieutenant-Admiral Auke Stellingwerf, was ended when he was shot in two. Veteran Lieutenant-Admiral Kortenaer, probably the most competent Dutch commander present, was fatally wounded in the hip by a cannonball. Quartermaster Ate Stinstra took command of Kortenaer's ship. Van Wassenaer now suspended the squadron command structure, hoping by placing all ships directly under his own guidance to bring some coherence to the Dutch force. This only added to the confusion however.

Again both fleets turned. And now something strange happened that has proven very difficult to explain. After the manoeuvre the English rear should obviously have been to the north of the centre. All sources agree however that it resulted in a reversed order of the English fleet in that the rearguard was now to the south of the centre. The traditional English solution to this riddle has been that their fleet tacked synchronously, i.e. each individual ship turned simultaneously to reverse fleet order, instead of turning one behind the other. If true that would have been a truly unique accomplishment for that age. Dutch sources suggest a different explanation: while executing the third turn the Dutch fleet lost all coherence because the wind suddenly turned to the southwest. It then slammed into the English van and centre. The English rear, avoiding the mass of confused ships, sailed behind the Dutch fleet to the south. A flotilla from the van then closed the trap completely, blocking the intended return to the Dutch coast. This scenario explains why all manoeuvring stopped and why some English flotillas clearly report trying to sail to the west, which would be inexplicable if they had not been to the east of the Dutch fleet.

If indeed surrounded the Dutch would have been in a hopeless position. The English main force to the west of them would have had the weather gage precluding boarding as a viable tactic. The English rear, firing from a leeward position, could have damaged the Dutch with impunity. As the Dutch had again the weather gauge in relation to the English rear, some of their ships wore to the east to attack it. Through such an action Montague's flagship was boarded and temporarily taken over by the crew of Oranje, commanded by captain Bastian Senten, who even raised the Dutch flag on the Prince Royal until Rupert himself in the Royal James came to the rescue retaking the ship.[2] At that point, the entire battle seems to have degenerated into a gigantic shapeless mêlée. During these fights the Earl of Marlborough and the Earl of Portland perished. A few hours later around noon Montague raised the blue squadron flag on his mizen topmast—"A sign for my squadron to follow"—and indeed most captains of the English rear followed their leader when he went straight for the Dutch 'line' and broke through it (most likely he sailed through a gap) effectively dividing the Dutch fleet and surrounding part of it (if the traditional English scenario is true now for the first time a part only of the Dutch fleet was surrounded).

Apart from these positional problems the Dutch had a structural disadvantage: on average their guns were much lighter. Especially the eight largest English vessels were almost unsinkable themselves but could wreck the smallest Dutch ships with a single broadside. The larger Dutch vessels therefore tried to protect the little ones. The Dutch flagship Eendracht duelled the Royal Charles. James was nearly killed by a Dutch chain-shot decapitating several of his courtiers, The Hon. Richard Boyle (son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington), Viscount Muskerry and the Earl of Falmouth who was not highly thought of, prompting the "poet of state affairs" (probably Andrew Marvell using the name of John Denham) to later declare: "His shatterd' head the fearless duke disdains, and gave the last first proof that he had brains". Around three in the afternoon the duel between the Royal Charles and the Eendracht ended abruptly when the Eendracht exploded, killing Van Obdam and all but five of the crew. Kortenaer was second in command; though fatally wounded he hadn't died yet and the other Admirals were unaware of his condition. For hours the Dutch fleet was therefore without effective command. After the Eendracht had exploded, the English immediately became more aggressive, while many Dutch captains faltered: some Dutch ships already fled a little later, followed by Kortenaer's ship the Groot Hollandia now commanded by Stinstra. This had a negative effect on Dutch morale.

By evening most of the Dutch fleet was in full flight, save for 40 ships or so under Vice-Admiral Cornelis Tromp and Lieutenant-Admiral Johan Evertsen, both having assumed command (showing the utter confusion on the Dutch side), who made possible an escape and covered the flight, thus preventing complete catastrophe, though 16 more ships were lost.

..... to be continued ....

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Order of battle at the Battle of Lowestoft - Wikipedia

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Battle of Lowestoft, 3rd June 1665

Description and participants : Battle of Lowestoft, 3rd June 1665 (1665/06/13 NS)

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1665 - Battle of Lowestoft - Part II


Aftermath
The English lost only one ship, the captured Great Charity mentioned above. Eight Dutch ships were sunk by the English; six of these were burnt in two separate incidents when they got entangled while fleeing and set ablaze by a fire ship: this happened to the Tergoes entangling with the company ship the Maarseveen and the merchantman the Swanenburg; and also to the Koevorden, the Stad Utrecht and the Prinse Maurits. The earlier mentioned company ship the Oranje exploded after being set on fire by another fire ship following many an attempt to block, board and enter the Charles; in which she was prevented first by the Mary under captain Jeremiah Smith (the Mary would lose 99 men of its crew), one of York's seconds, and later by the Royal Oak, the Essex and the Royal Katherine. According to some the Oranje lost half of its crew of 400 before succumbing, a severely wounded Senten (rumoured to be an expatriate Scotsman) was picked up by an English vessel and shortly after succumbed himself. During the Dutch flight the English captured nine more ships: Hilversum, Delft, Zeelandia, Wapen van Edam and Jonge Prins; the VOC-ship Nagelboom and the merchants Carolus Quintus, Mars and Geldersche Ruyter. Tromp was captured but escaped. Eight older ships had to be written off later, as the costs of repair would have exceeded their value.

The English had lost one flag officer: Rear-Admiral Robert Samsun, while Vice Admiral Lawson was mortally wounded. Notable English captains present at the battle included Captain of the Fleet William Penn in the Royal Charles, ex-buccaneer Christopher Myngs and George Ayscue. It has always been a mystery why the English fleet didn't at least try to pursue the Dutch. Several anecdotes are told to explain this. According to one Penn remarked to James that he was looking forward to the heavy fighting the next day — since he believed the Dutch were at their best when cornered. James, having narrowly escaped death already, then would have lost his nerve completely. Another report has it that Lord Henry Brouncker was frightened and gave flagcaptain John Harman the false order to take in sail Charles late at night. The Royal Charles did reduce sail in the course of the evening and the rest of the English fleet followed suit.

The outcome of the battle was partially caused by an inequality in firepower, but the Dutch had already embarked on an ambitious expansion programme, building many heavier ships. The English failed to take advantage of their victory. They never managed an effective blockade of the Dutch coast and could not prevent the VOC-fleet from returning from the Indies (Battle of Vågen). The fleets, now much more equal in quality, met again at the Four Days' Battle in June 1666.

One other result was that a Dutch captain, Laurens Heemskerck, fled to England after having been condemned to death for cowardice shown during the battle—and then, working for the English, encouraged and assisted them in their raid on the Vlie estuary resulting in Holmes's Bonfire.



The Battle of Lowestoft by Hendrik van Minderhout, showing HMS Royal Charles and the Eendracht


Dutch ship Eendracht (1655)
The Eendracht or Eendragt ("Concord" - more precisely translated as "Unity") was the usual flagship of the confederate navy of the United Provinces (a precursor state of the Netherlands) between 1655 and 1665. Eendragt was the more common spelling in the 17th century; Eendracht is the modern Dutch standard spelling.




Portrait of Eendracht by Willem van de Velde the Elder

Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp had for many years insisted on the construction of a new flagship to replace the Brederode, which was too lightly armed with only 56 guns. For reasons of cost and impracticality (Dutch home waters being very shallow) this was refused until the events of the First Anglo-Dutch War made it painfully clear that much heavier ships were needed. In February 1653 it was decided that the cost was to be shared confederately by the seven provinces of the Netherlands. The project was at the instigation of Cornelis de Witt moved to the wharf of Goossen Schacks van der Arent in Dordrecht for a ship to be built under the supervision of shipwright Jan Salomonszoon van den Tempel who had previously designed Brederode and the earlier flagship Aemilia. The Admiralty of de Maze based in Rotterdam (one of the five autonomous Dutch admiralties) therefore signed a contract with van den Tempel on 8 March 1653 and he then laid the keel of a ship of 150 (Amstrerdam) feet in length.

Due to conflicts about cost, size and materials, Eendracht was only finished in January 1655 when the First Anglo-Dutch War had already ended and Tromp was dead. At first it was intended to name the then 58-gun ship Prins Willem after the infant son of the late stadtholder William II of Orange, but Johan de Witt, Grand Pensionary with the States of Holland, decided to rename the project after the main ideal of his domestic policy: the concord between all provinces and citizens, also expressed in the official motto of the Republic: Concordia res parvae crescunt, "Small things grow through concord". When he happened to be absent for a month the Orangist faction changed the name back, but the States hurriedly reverted this when De Witt after his return merely expressed his amazement.



Here, the ‘Eendracht’ is portrayed from the port quarter, as she was after the battle of the Sound in 1658. Several guns appear to be missing from the ship’s ports and some of the portlids (the rectangular lids which close a porthole) are missing, having been shot away. The hull of the ship is also scarred with shot holes. The fore course (the largest sail on the front mast) and the lower parts of the main and mizzen masts are depicted. In addition, there are three small barges floating in the water alongside the boat, underneath her stern. On the ship’s tafferel on the far left is the lion of the United Provinces. There are also two bunches of grapes hanging on either side of the lion and above the fence pictured in the tafferel. Above the grapes is the inscription: ‘ANNO 1654’. On the counter, below, is a ribbon, which is left blank. This is an accurate drawing of a ship in her damaged state after the battle of the Sound in 1658. There is a comparable work in the Boymans Museum, Rotterdam (MB1866/ T 310). This work also depicts the ‘Eendracht’ from the port quarter and probably in reverse. It is less complete in its decoration than the NMM picture

Service history
Initially the Eendracht mounted only 58 guns, comprising sixteen bronze 24-pdrs and twelve iron 12-pdrs on the lower deck, twenty iron 8-pdrs on the upper deck, and 10 bronze 6-pdrs on the quarterdeck. She became the flagship of Tromp's successor Lieutenant-Admiraal Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam. She took part in the expedition to Danzig in 1656, by when she had been increased to 68 guns, and she fought successfully in the Northern Wars, defeating the Swedish fleet in the Battle of the Sound on 8 November 1658, by which time she carried 72 guns.

By the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War she had been re-armed to carry 72 guns, now comprising four 36-pdrs, twenty-six 24-pdrs, twenty 12-pdrm eighteen 6-pdrs and four 2-pdrs. In the Battle of Lowestoft on 13 June 1665, the first battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Eendracht, then armed with 73 guns, duelled the much heavier 80-gun English flagship Royal Charles. The Dutch chain shot killed a number of courtiers standing next to Lord High Admiral James Stuart on the English ship, but in the early afternoon Eendracht was hit in the powder room and exploded, killing Van Obdam. There were only five survivors out of the crew of 409. The Maas Amiralty promptly ordered a replacement 76-gun ship (of 160 Amsterdam feet in length) to carry the same name; she was built at Rotterdam by Salomon Janszoon van den Tempel, son of the previous builder, and completed in time to take part in the battles in the summer of 1666.


A portrait of the ‘Eendracht’ viewed from before the port beam. The drawing is inscribed in grey ink in the upper right, ‘d eendraght genamt, gemaekt t Rotterdam’ (Called the ‘Eendracht’, built at Rotterdam), and in brown ink in the lower left, ‘… eendraght genamt en gevoort Anno 1665 bij d Hr van Opdam als adr van Hollant’ (Called the ‘Eendracht’ and commanded in the year 1665 by Heer van Obdam as admiral of Holland). The drawing is signed in brown ink ‘W.V.V.J’. The ‘Eendracht’, 70-guns, was built in 1653 and blown up at the battle of Lowestoft in 1665 when van Obdam was killed


A grisaille (or pen painting) of the Dutch ship 'The Eendracht in the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. Kronborg castle and the town of Helsingor are visible on the shore, with other Dutch shipping in the background

Battle of Lowestoft - Wikipedia

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Battle of Lowestoft, 3rd June 1665

Description and participants : Battle of Lowestoft, 3rd June 1665 (1665/06/13 NS)

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1666 - Four Days Battle - Third Day


Third Day

Surrender of the Prince Royal

On the third day the English continued to retreat to the west. The Dutch advanced on a broad front, Van Nes still in command, both to catch any more stragglers and to avoid the enormous 32-pounder stern cannon of the big ships. In the evening Rupert, having already on the first day been ordered to join Monck, at last appeared with twenty ships. He had been unable to reach Monck earlier because he had sailed as far as Wight in search of the imaginary French fleet. Monck ordered his fleet to set a straight course for the green squadron despite warnings that this would take them over the infamous Galloper Shoal at low tide. HMS Royal Charles and HMS Royal Katherine indeed were grounded but managed to get free in time; but HMS Prince Royal was stuck fast.

Vice-Admiral George Ayscue, commander of the white squadron, pleaded with his men to stay calm until flood would lift the ship; but when two fire ships approached the crew panicked. A certain Lambeth struck the flag and Ayscue had to surrender to Tromp on the Gouda, the first and last time in history an English admiral of so high a rank would be captured at sea. De Ruyter had clear orders to destroy any prize; as the English fleet was still close he couldn't disobey in the matter of such a capital vessel and ordered the Prince burnt. Tromp didn't dare to make any objections because he had already sent home some prizes against orders; but later he would freely express his discontent, in 1681 still trying to get compensation from the admiralty of Amsterdam for this perceived wrong.

Van Nes now tried to prevent both English fleets from joining. But when they both sailed behind the back of his blocking squadron, De Ruyter took over operational command and ordered to wait. This way he regained the weather gauge.



English ship Prince Royal (1610)
Prince Royal was a 55-gun royal ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett I at Woolwich and launched in 1610. The ship's fittings were carved by Sebastian Vicars, and painted and gilded by Robert Peake and Paul Isackson between Easter and Michaelmas 1611.





She was the first ship of the line with three complete gun decks, although when first completed the upper deck carried no guns in the waist, and was stepped down aft because of the large amount of sheer (the manner in which the decks rose towards the stern and bow). In 1621 a refit saw the removal of this step-down, with all three gun decks now being continuous.


Prince Royal arriving at Flushing in 1613

From 1639 to 1641 she was rebuilt by Peter Pett at Woolwich as a 70-gun first-rate ship.[2] During the time of the Commonwealth of England, she was named Resolution and fought in most battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War. By 1660 she was carrying 80 guns, and with the English Restoration of King Charles II she resumed the name Royal Prince. In 1663 she was rebuilt again at Woolwich Dockyard by Sir Phineas Pett II as a 92-gun first-rate ship of the line.


The surrender of Prince Royal at the Four Days Battle, 3 June 1666, by Willem van de Velde the Younger

In 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, she served as the flagship of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich at the Battle of Lowestoft on 3 June. A year later in 1666, she was Vice-Admiral George Ayscue's flagship in the Four Days Battle, on the third day of which (3 June by the Julian calendar then used in England) she ran aground on the Galloper Sand. When Dutch fireships surrounded the stranded ship, the crew panicked and Ayscue was forced to surrender to Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp who was aboard the Gouda. The Dutch managed to free the ship from the shoal, but found her steering to be irreparably damaged. In accordance with standing orders issued by the States-General of the Netherlands, Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter ordered the Prince Royal to be burned, to prevent her recapture.

This is one of a series of paintings produced to record the marriage of Frederick, Elector Palatine, to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I and Anne of Denmark, in 1613. After elaborate celebrations, the couple and their retinue processed to the coast at Margate, via Greenwich, Rochester and Canterbury. There they boarded the 'Prince Royal' and eventually set sail for the Continent on 25 April 1613. The Prince, later King of Bohemia, was seen as one of the champions of Protestantism in Germany but after only one year as king he lost Bohemia and the Palatine, at the start of the Thirty Years War, 1618-48. The political aim of the marriage, which was to gain support from James I for the South German Protestant Alliance, therefore failed and Frederick and Elizabeth went into exile as the ill-fated 'Winter King and Queen'. In 1661, nine months before her death, Elizabeth returned to England and it was her grandson, the Elector of Hanover, who in 1714 succeeded to the English throne as George I, on the failure of the direct Stuart line. The painting documents their departure from Margate aboard the English flagship, 'Prince Royal'. This was the pride of the fleet and was built in 1610 under the auspices of Henry, Prince of Wales, by Phineas Pett. Henry's initials 'H.P.' appeared on the side with a liberal decoration of his Prince of Wales's feathers and a figurehead representing St George, England's patron saint. Sadly Henry died shortly before his sister's wedding and the ship was subsequently completed under the direction of Sir Allen Apsley, Victualler of the Navy. The 'Prince' was the only ship of importance built during the reign of King James I. She is shown flying the Royal Standard of the Stuarts, 1603-89, at the main and a white pennant and the Union flag at the fore, mizzen and the stern. She is firing a salute and her deck and rigging are crowded with people and crew, carefully observed by the artist. The little ship on the right, which also bears the Prince of Wales's feathers, may be the 'Phoenix' a small vessel laid down in June 1612 as a 'pinnace to the great ship, the "Prince" in which the Prince's Highness did purpose to solace himself sometimes into the Narrow Seas'. There were other ships present at the event, also shown in other versions of the painting and others related, and identified by flags, coats of arms and inscriptions. This is not an eyewitness account, being painted none years after the event, but the artist has captured the moment when the couple have already embarked and the fleet is preparing to set sail. This narrative differs from one by Willarts's son, Abraham, in the Royal Collection, in which the royal couple can be seen on the jetty about to be taken out to their ship in the bay. Here the bay behind is crowded with warships together with a variety of small craft including barges and fishing vessels. A variety of social types are ranged along the shore on the right to watch the departure. They an affluent couple standing with several children. An elderly hatless man is seated on the shore and another man reclines on a small boat on the shoreline, with his back to the action. The buildings of Margate are shown in the distance on the right, indicated by roofs, windmills and wisps of smoke trailing upwards. The white cliffs are carefully shown to reaffirm that that this is an English departure scene. Arrivals and departures formed a popular artistic theme in the Dutch Republic. When of important people, they made strong political statements and this series of paintings was use by the United Provinces to proclaim loyalty to the Protestant cause. Who commissioned the various treatments by Willarts of the marriage voyage of the Elector and his bride is not known, although Frederick and Elizabeth both owned paintings by him. A larger version of the same event by Willarts, but with a different grouping of the ships, was purchased by Queen Victoria and is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Born in Antwerp, Willarts emigrated from Flanders to the northern Netherlands at a time when many protestant Flemings did so, to seek work free from religious or political persecution. A leading marine painter, he also spent some time in England before settling in inland Utrecht, aged 23, in 1604, where he lived for the rest of his life. Here he knew Roelandt Savery, whose influence can be seen in his landscapes, and he was almost certainly influenced by the Brueghel family since he also painted genre subjects. He had three sons who were also marine painters. He produced at least three versions of this painting, each dealing with a different viewpoint of the embarkation and a fourth showing the arrival at Flushing. The painting is signed and dated 1622 on piece of drift wood bottom right. See also BHC4176

The Four Days Battle was one of several naval engagements, which took place on the southern part of the North Sea, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-7). The Second Dutch War was one of three trade wars between the British and the Dutch between 1652 and 1673. In the present painting Storck has combined numerous events from the Four Days Battle in order to emphasize the ferocity with which both sides fought. In this action the Duke of Albermarle, as Admiral of the Fleet, with only a part of the English fleet, attacked the whole Dutch fleet under the Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. Prominent in the foreground, to the left, is the stern of Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter's ship 'De Zeven Provincien' (Seven Provinces), 80 guns. She flies the Dutch flag from the mainmast together with her squadron pennant. The stern is decorated with the lion emblem of the Dutch Republic which is surrounded by the armorial bearings of the provinces. The date 'Anno 1665' is inscribed on the rail and refers to the year the ship was launched. On the right the English flagship 'Royal Prince', 85 guns, under the command of Admiral Sir George Ayscue, is shown grounded on the Galloper Shoals on the third day of the battle. She is flying the ensign of the English white squadron on the mainmast and the Stuart royal arms are visible carved on her stern. 'De Zeven Provincien' and 'Royal Prince' release clouds of white smoke as they fire their guns. The ‘Royal Prince’ was eventually taken by Cornelis Tromp and De Ruyter subsequently gave orders to burn her. Visible between 'De Zeven Provincien' and 'Royal Prince' is the ‘Royal Charles', 86 guns, under the command of Admiral George Monck. Her main mast has been severed by a shot and is jutting out precariously. Numerous Dutch ships wearing the tricolour can be seen on the left. The third ship from the left is the 'Eendracht' (Concord), 80 guns, under Captain Aert van Nes, and the one behind the vessel farthest left is Captain Adriaanszoon's 'Reiger' (Heron). The English vessel with the broken foremast, on the far left, is the 'Swiftsure', 64 guns, under Captain Sir William Berkeley. This fell into the hands of the Dutch on the second day of the battle. In the foreground, Storck has shown the panic as an English ship goes down. Her men are frantically trying to reach safety but some have fallen overboard and boats advance from the right to rescue the survivors. The artist has highlighted the drama, intensity and human cost of the fight. On 4 June, the English sounded a retreat after having suffered heavy losses. The victory over their arch-rival at sea was of particular importance to the Dutch Republic and represented the only real Dutch triumph during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, other than the Medway raid of 1667. Abraham Storck's river and coastal scenes were influenced by Ludolf Backhuysen, Willem van de Velde the younger and Jan Abrahamsz straten. Storck composed his depictions carefully and was very precise in every detail. He showed considerable accuracy in depicting ships' rigging and technical details. Moreover his Dutch harbour and river views often depict the recreational and ceremonial aspects of shipping. In particular he concentrated on showing pleasure yachts and ceremonial gatherings of ships. He, also, concentrated on depictions of both spectators and passengers. In such work he showed great skill depicting the human figure through characterization and attention to costume and detail. To contrast with the sombre surroundings, he used bright colouring and light and dark effects on the ships’ sails and flags. In this way Storck dramatized his sea battles, which are reminiscent of paintings by his Amsterdam predecessors Reinier Nooms (called Zeeman) and Jan Abrahamsz straten. The painting is signed 'A Storck Fecit' bottom right on the plank. It is a rare example of a naval battle scene by Abraham Storck. However he is known to have painted three other versions of this subject. A larger version is in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and there are another two versions in Minneapolis and Paris. Upon his death in 1708, Houbraken described Abraham Storck as a painter of ‘tempestuous and tranquil seascapes’. Storck’s output was extensive, including sea battles, townscapes, river scenes and depictions of whaling. He was born in Amsterdam in 1644, the youngest son of the painter Jan Jansz Sturck, also known as Sturckenburch. It is likely that Abraham Storck and his brothers Johannes and Jacob were trained and educated by their father and the painter Jan Abrahamsz straten, who was an acquaintance of the family. By 1688 Storck was a member of the Guild of St Luke in Amsterdam. He was buried at the St Anthonis cemetery in Amsterdam in April 1708

Four Days' Battle - Wikipedia

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English ship Prince Royal (1610) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1692 - Launch of HMS Russell, an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Portsmouth Dockyard


HMS Russell was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard on 3 June 1692.








She was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Rotherhithe, and was relaunched on 16 March 1709. Instead of mounting her 80 guns on two decks, as she had done as originally built, she now mounted them on three decks, but remained classified as a third rate. On 4 February 1729 she was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt to the 1719 Establishment at Deptford, from where she was relaunched on 8 September 1735.

Russell was sunk as a breakwater in 1762.


The Capture of the 'Glorioso', 8 October 1747


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Boyne (1708), Russell (1709), and Humber (1708), as originally designed as two-deckers under the 1691 programme. They were all later rebuilt as 1706 Establishment Third Rate, three-deckers

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1776 – Launch of The second USS Boston, a 24-gun frigate, by Stephen and Ralph Cross, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and completed the following year.
and
3 June 1776 – Launch of The second USS Hancock, one of the first 13 frigates of the Continental Navy. A resolution of the Continental Congress of British North America 13 December 1775 authorized her construction; she was named for John Hancock.



Continental Frigates Hancock and Boston capturing British Frigate Fox 7 June 1777

USS Boston (1777)
The second USS Boston was a 24-gun frigate, launched 3 June 1776 by Stephen and Ralph Cross, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and completed the following year. In American service she captured a number of British vessels. The British captured Boston at the fall of Charleston, South Carolina, renamed her HMS Charlestown (or Charles Town), and took her into service. She was engaged in one major fight with two French frigates, which she survived and which saved the convoy she was protecting. The British sold Charlestown in 1783, immediately after the end of the war.







USS Hancock (1776)
The second Hancock was one of the first 13 frigates of the Continental Navy. A resolution of the Continental Congress of British North America 13 December 1775 authorized her construction; she was named for John Hancock. In her career she served under the American, British and French flags.

USS Hancock (1776) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1780 – Launch of HMS Minerva, a 38-gun fifth-rate Royal Navy frigate. The first of four Minerva-class frigates,


HMS Minerva (1780)
HMS Minerva was a 38-gun fifth-rate Royal Navy frigate. The first of four Minerva-class frigates, she was launched on 3 June 1780, and commissioned soon thereafter. In 1798 she was renamed Pallas and employed as a troopship. She was broken up in 1803.




Drawing of the outline of the Minerva


Service as HMS Minerva
Captain Charles Fielding commissioned Minerva in April 1780, for the Channel At some point Minerva captured the French brig Jupiter. Between 24 and 27 December 1780, Minerva captured the Thomas en Jank, the Yonge Frone Teglaar, and the Zeepost.

On 11 April 1781, Minerva was serving with Vice-Admiral George Darby's Channel Fleet off Cape St Vincent when the British spotted three vessels. Darby sent Alexander, Foudroyant, and Minerva in pursuit, but the three vessels, which turned out to be enemy frigates, made it safely to Cadiz. Some time thereafter vessels of the Fleet made attacks on some gunboats, during which Minerva had some men badly wounded.[6] Minervawas among the many ships of Darby's Fleet that shared in the prize money for the capture of Duc de Chartres, the Spanish frigate Santa Leocadia, and the French brig Trois Amis.

The next day, Darby's squadron of 29 ships of the line, and the 100 store ships from England laden for the relief of Gibraltar that they were escorting, entered the bay there. Later, on 9 June Minerva sailed with the Lisbon trade.

On 9 October 1781, Minerva, Monsieur, Flora, and Crocodile captured the American privateer Hercules. The next day Minerva and Monsieur captured the American privateer Jason.

In early 1782 Captain the Honourable Thomas Pakenham assumed command of Minerva. On 11 March 1782, Minerva and Daphne captured the brig Pearl off Oporto.

On 28 October Minerva was among the British ships that shared in the capture of the Dutch East Indiaman Young Susanna, off Ceylon.

Minerva was present at the action off Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, but as a transport she was not involved in the fighting. As a storeship she was transporting military stores and provisions in support of the British army which was planning to attack Cuddalore.

Recommissioned in 1790 under Captain Robert Sutton, she sailed for the East Indies on 27 December. In the beginning of November 1791, Minerva, Commodore William Cornwallis, accompanied by the 36-gun frigate Phoenix, Captain Sir Richard Strachan, and Perseverance, Captain Isaac Smith, was in the roads at Tellicherry, a fort and anchorage situated a few leagues south of Mangalore. Phoenix was ordered to stop and search the French frigate Résolue, which was escorting a number of merchant ships believed to be carrying military supplies to support Tippu Sultan. Résolue resisted Phoenix and a brief fight ensued before Résolue struck her colours. The French captain insisted on considering his ship as a British prize, so Cornwallis ordered Strachan to tow her into Mahé and return her to the French commodore.


Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline, sheer lines with stern quarter decoration and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Minerva (1780). From Tyne & Wear Archives Service, Blandford House, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

French Revolutionary Wars
In 1793, Captain J. Whitby took command of Minerva, which was flying Rear Admiral Cornwallis's flag. On 24 June she took the ship Citoyen off Cuddalore.

From 1 August 1793, together with three East Indiamen — Triton, Warley, and Royal Charlotte — Minerva blockaded the Port of Pondicherry while the army besieged the fort. The governor initially refused to surrender, so on 20 August the British began a bombardment. The governor surrendered the town on 23 August. During the siege, Minerva, with the admiral on board, chased off the French frigate Sybile, which had attempted to reach the town. Sybille had had 150 artillerymen on board so chasing her off was helpful to the siege. The British vessels also captured a vessel "from the islands" that was bringing in military supplies.

Minerva returned to Britain and was paid off in April 1794. In July 1795, Captain Thomas Peyton recommissioned her for service in Strachan's squadron, which was attached to the main British fleet.

In September 1796 Gilbert Elliot, the British viceroy of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, decided that it was necessary to clear out Capraja, which belonged to the Genoese and which served as a base for privateers. He sent Lord Nelson in Captain, together with Gorgon, Vanneau, the cutter Rose, and troops of the 51st Regiment of Foot to accomplish this task in September. On their way, Minerva joined them. The troops landed on 18 September and the island surrendered immediately. On 27 September, Minerva was in company with the hired armed cutter Lady Jane when they captured two Spanish vessels, the Santa Francisco Xavier and the Nostra Senora de la Miserecordia.

On 13 November 1796, Minerva and Melampus, encountered the French corvette Etonnant off Barfleur and drove her ashore. Etonnant carried eighteen 18-pounders and was a new vessel on her first cruise. She was carrying naval and military stores from Havre to Brest.

On 19 April 1797, the hired armed cutter Grand Falconer with Diamond, Minerva, Cynthia] and Camilla in company, captured the American ship Favourite. Later that month, Diamond and Minerva grounded near Cape Barfleur and both had to be docked for repairs when they returned to port.

Still, in October Minerva and Lively captured the Marselloise as she was sailing from Guadeloupe to France. They then took the richly laden former Sugar Cane into Martinique.

Service as troopship HMS Pallas
Between July 1797 and May 1798, the Admiralty converted Minerva into a troopship armed en flûte and renamed her Pallas. Pallas, the lead ship of the Pallas-class frigates, had just been wrecked, freeing the name. Captain John Mackellar recommissioned Pallas in February 1798.

In May 1798, Pallas (though still known as Minerva in the dispatches) participated in Home Popham's expedition to Ostend. The British Army force of about 1,300 were landed to destroy the locks and sluice gates on the Bruges canal to prevent the French from moving gunboats and transports from Flushing to Ostend and Dunkirk for an invasion of Britain. Although the British succeeded in damaging the sluice gates, the evacuation of the contingent failed due to bad weather and they were captured. The French also captured Mackellar and his boat crew.

Commander Joseph Edmunds took over as captain in July. On 20 May 1800, Pallas was in the squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith, off Genoa. Keith was blockading and bombarding Genoa when he decided to send in boats under the cover of the bombardment to try to cut-out some armed French vessels. At 1am on the 21st the boats succeeded in boarding, carrying, and bringing off the largest galley, the Prima. She had fifty oars and a crew of 257 men, and was under the command of Captain Patrizio Galleano. She was armed with two brass 36-pounder guns and had 30 brass swivel guns stored below deck, together with a large quantity of side arms and small arms. The British suffered only four men wounded, one of whom was from Pallas.

Then on 30 May, Pallas recaptured the English (Minorcan) tartane Rosario, which was sailing from Leghorn to Minorca, in ballast. Two days later Pallas captured a Ragusan ship sailing from Leghorn to Barcelona with a cargo of sundries. On 7 June Pallas captured the Ardita off the coast of Italy. Amongst other cargo she was carrying statuary.

From 8 August 1801, Pallas was involved in transporting a portion of the British Army under General Coote from Cairo to the west of Alexandria. The Siege of Alexandria ended on 30 August with the capitulation of Alexandria. Because Pallas served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

Fate
Pallas was paid off in May 1802 and put in ordinary. She was broken up at Chatham in March 1803.





Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model 'Minerva' (1780), a 38-gun frigate, built in 'bread and butter' fashion, planked and finished in the Georgian style. Model is partially decked, equipped and mounted on modern hull crutches. It has been identified by comparison to the original ship plans held in the NMM collection, as well as by the presence of a carved owl on the stern decoration, a figure associated with the 'Minerva’. Built at the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, it had a gun deck length of 141 feet by 39 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 940 (builders old measurement). The 'Minerva’ was the first of a group of five 38-gun frigates built with identical dimensions. It took part in Admiral William Hotham’s action off Genoa in 1795 and was later renamed 'Pallas’ in 1798. It was eventually sold for breaking up in 1803




Scale: 1:48. A Georgian full hull model of a 38-gun frigate (1780). The model is decked. The name ‘Amazon’ has been associated with the model, but its dimensions do not suit any ship of that name. From the model the vessel measured 141 feet in length (lower deck) by 39 feet in the beam, displacing 940 tons, builders own measurement. It was armed with twenty eight 18-pounders on the upper deck and ten 9-pounders on the quarterdeck. This model represents a proposed design for a 38-gun frigate, probably of the ‘Minerva’ class (see SLR0317). The use of bone for the deadeyes, stanchions, steering wheel and small items of decoration was a feature of some official models of the late 18th century. G. W. French of Chatham made the model in about 1800 for Sir Evan Nepean (1751–1822), First Secretary to the Admiralty, 1795–1804. Frigates were fifth-or sixth-rate ships and so not expected to lie in the line of battle. With the advantage of superior sailing qualities over the larger ships of the line, they were used with the fleet for such tasks as lookout or, in battle, as repeating ships to fly the admiral’s signals. They also cruised independently in search of privateers

HMS Minerva (1780) - Wikipedia

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Minerva-class frigate - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 June 1813 - USS Eagle (1812) captured
Part of Thomas Macdonough's fleet overtaken by British while on blockade patrol at the Battle of Lake Champlain. Renamed HMS Finch


USS Eagle (1812)
USS Eagle, was a ship which served in the United States Navy in 1813-1815. Originally a merchant sloop, she was purchased at Vergennes, Vermont on Lake Champlain in 1812 and fitted as either sloop of war or brigfor naval service. The British captured her in 1813 and renamed her HMS Finch, only to lose her back to the Americans at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814.[Note 1] She was sold in 1815.






American service and capture
She cruised on the lake under the command of Sailing Master J. Loomis as a member of Commodore Thomas Macdonough's squadron blockading the British advance from Canada. Major George Taylor of the 100th Regiment captured Eagle on 3 June 1813 on the Sorrell River near Ile aux Noix on the Canadian side of the lake, after a fight of three-and-a-half hours; British casualties were three men wounded and American casualties were one man killed and eight severely wounded. (Both vessels were taken into Royal Navy service, but the Americans recaptured them the next year.) The British took her into the Royal Navy as HMS Shannon but later renamed her HMS Chubb.

British service and recapture
Finch accompanied the expedition that burned the arsenal and storehouses at Plattsburg, New York. She was under the command of Lieutenant William Hicks on 11 September 1814 at the Battle of Lake Champlain. She was bringing up the rear of the British line together with some gunboats. She was ordered to sail towards and engage the USS Preble, a sloop of seven guns. As she did so, the schooner USS Ticonderoga fired on Finch shooting away her rigging. Finch ran aground near Crab Island where a small American shore battery commenced firing on her. Unable to free herself, and with two men wounded, Hicks struck the colors.

Fate
After the Americans recaptured Finch they took her back into the U.S. Navy under her original name. After the war, she was sold in July 1815 at Whitehall, New York.

USS Eagle (1812) - Wikipedia

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