The British Fleet at the Battle of the Texel / Kijkduin, 11/21 August 1673 – Part 2

The second part of a detailed analysis by Frank Fox and myself…

Last week’s post described the context and events of the Battle of the Texel, and its decisive influence on public opinion that led to Britain’s withdrawal from the Third Anglo-Dutch War.  However, to understand the battle properly – as, indeed, is the case with every naval battle – it is essential to know exactly which ships were where.  But one of the principal difficulties with many accounts of the battle of the Texel has been a lack of certainty about the actual composition of the British fleet, let alone its dispositions.  Even general lists of individual squadrons do not provide an entirely satisfactory picture, given the importance of knowing where particular ships lay in the line-of-battle to any attempt to understand accounts penned on board those ships.  An effort to assemble a reasonably comprehensive list of the British fleet was made by R C Anderson in his Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War (Navy Records Society, 1946), but this exercise suffered from the circumstances in which it was produced; Anderson assembled his material during and just after the Second World War, when both the (then) Public Record Office and British Museum were inaccessible to researchers, and his remark that ‘it is probable . . . that they would not add very much further information’ has proved to be well wide of the mark.[1]  In the National Archives, Kew (TNA), ADM 8/1 (fleet disposition book, 1673-89) provides a list of the Red and Blue squadrons without detail for 1 July and a complete, fully detailed order-of-battle compiled on 21 July, although the latter is out of place in the volume.[2]  An exact copy of the ADM 8/1 order-of-battle can be found in TNA PRO 30/24/5 (Shaftsbury Papers).  As with all of ADM 8, lists are invariably several days (at least) outdated simply due to the slow pace of communications in the seventeenth century.  The unknown compiler in this case was unaware that the fifth-rate Algier, a member of the main fleet, had been irrevocably wrecked on the Nore Sand on 17 July.

These written sources can be supplemented by examination of the many Van de Velde eyewitness drawings of the battle.  For example, one drawing reveals that some ships lost their place during the series of tacks carried out by the fleet before the fighting began.  The second-rate St George, an old, heavy sailer, fell back into Kempthorne’s division, which is presumably why she came up on the Prince from astern and was thus available for the transfer of Sir Edward Spragge’s flag that took place during the battle.  The same drawing shows the Royal Charles sailing right alongside the Prince, thereby opening the question of whether there had been an alteration (intentional or otherwise) in the order of the vessels near Spragge’s flagship.  This, it turns out, is described if not fully explained in a report written by flag-captain Thomas Fowler of the Prince.[3]

By using the manuscript lists, drawings, and references to squadron composition in individual reports and correspondence, it has been possible to correct some of Anderson’s conjectures about the composition of the fleet and to present a more complete list of that fleet in its line-of-battle.  Anderson erroneously included the Success (detached to Sheerness), and wrongly suggested that the Leopard (in the Mediterranean) and Portland (at Jamaica) could have been present at the Texel.[4]  He omitted the Nightingale, assigned the Advice and Lion to the wrong squadrons, and was unable to allocate fourteen ships to squadrons at all.  Anderson assumed that both the Antelope and Constant Warwick had been detached to convoy prizes before the battle began; this was true of the Antelope, which came into Harwich Bay on 9 August with a prize, and did not return to the fleet.[5]  But the absence of the Constant Warwick is not so certain.  Anderson’s source (CSPD 1673, 485) mentions only that the captured East India flute Papenburg had been sent in on 10 August, but says nothing of the Constant Warwick.  She is first mentioned three days after the battle, when the Essex ketch patrolling off Aldburgh (only a little over 100 miles from the fleet) sent word to Whitehall that the Constant Warwick would escort the Papenburg into the Thames.  This was acknowledged by Admiralty Secretary Samuel Pepys on the 16^th, which was also when news of the outcome of the battle and Spragge’s death were received; this report might have come from the Constant Warwick, which could have been detached after the action and overtaken the prize.  Afterwards, she was sent to Woolwich for refitting, which suggests battle damage.[6]  But since these possibilities require speculation either way, the ship is included in the list below with what must be described as an emphatic question mark.  She is the only ship about which there is any significant doubt.

Anderson did not deal with fireships, but two of those on the fleet list, the Golden Hand under William Mather and the Marigold under John Rice, developed uncontrollable leaks in stormy weather off the Texel before the battle and foundered, the Golden Hand on 7 August and the Marigold on the 10^th.  Ironically, the fireship Olive Branch under William Lee is reported by many sources (including Pepys) to have sunk on 10 August, but did not.  Only one vessel is recorded as joining the fleet after 1 July, and that only temporarily.  The sixth-rate Greyhound, Captain John Clements, brought the commander of the intended invasion army, Count Schomberg, to confer with Prince Rupert on 18 July.  The Greyhound approached with a George’s cross at the main in honour of his passenger, which so infuriated Rupert that he had Clements clapped in irons – probably the only serving captain who suffered such an indignity during the period.  He was soon forgiven and restored to his ship, however, and returned Schomberg to shore at Yarmouth to await developments.[7]

In the following amended list, only points of contention between the main sources listed above have been annotated, together with some instances in which the placing of ships is based on evidence contained in correspondence or ships’ journals rather than the main sources.  Ships are listed in their sailing order within the line-of-battle, from van to rear of each of the English squadrons.  As was usual from about 1665, the vice-admiral of the Blue commanded the rear division so that a relatively experienced flag-officer would be in the lead division if the fleet sailed in reversed order.  Flagships and their commanders are in bold type.  Ships lost in the battle and commanders killed are indicated by an asterisk.  The relatively few light frigates and small vessels whose division assignments are known are indicated by a notation following their names with ‘R’ or ‘B’ for Red or Blue squadron and ‘a’, ‘v’, or ‘r’ for admiral’s, vice-admiral’s, or rear-admiral’s division.  The sloops listed were fast vessels capable of both sail and oared propulsion; they usually served as tenders for large ships or ‘advice boats’ for delivering messages and dispatches.  The numbers of guns and complements are from ADM 8/1 (except the Rupert for which a gunner’s return differing by two guns survives in TNA WO 55/1654).  These armament figures often vary considerably from those supplied by Anderson.  Except for the Rupert, the numbers of guns given by ADM 8/1 agree perfectly with those listed in the relatively few ships for which gunners’ returns from 1673 or captain’s enumerations survive.

 

TEXEL FLEET LIST
RATE	SHIP	GUNS	MEN	CAPTAIN
RED SQUADRON
Van Division, Vice-Admiral’s
4	Constant Warwick (?)	42	170	Joseph Harris
3	Anne	60	340	Thomas Elliott
2	French Ruby	80	550	Thomas Roomcoyle
3	Lion	60	340	John Ashby
1	London	100	750	Vice-Admiral Sir John Harman    2nd William Houlding
3	Warspite	68	400	Robert Stout
4	Happy Return	48	240	John Stainsby
2	Triumph	70	500	William Davies
4	Stavoreen	50	200	Charles Royden
Fireships
	Leopard*	6	35	Matthias Bird
	Robert	4	30	Richard Collins
	George	6	45	John Marshall
	Amity	6	30	William Pooley
Centre Division, Admiral’s
2	Royal Katherine	100	600	George Legge
3	Mary	60	300	Sir Roger Strickland
2	Henry	80	530	Sir John Ernle
4	Crown	50	200	Richard Carter
3	Rupert	64	400	Sir John Holmes
1	Royal Sovereign	100	850	Adm Prince Rupert   2nd Sir William Reeves*   3rd John Wetwang
3	Resolution	70	400	Sir John Berry
4	Princess	54	240	Thomas Mayo
3	Edgar	74	400	Richard Le Neve*
2	Old James	70	500	James Storey
Fireships
	Ann & Christopher	8	40	Richard Haddock
	Friendship*	6	30	John Kelsey
	Katherine*	6	30	John Votier
	Supply*	6	35	Henry Williams
	Hopewell*	6	35	Henry Fitton
	St Lawrence*	6	20	John Cooke
	Hawke	2	16	John Lucas
	Thomas & Edward	6	30	Matthew Dawson
Rear Division, Rear-Admiral’s
4	Mary Rose	48	220	Thomas Hamilton
2	Victory	80	530	Sir William Jennens
4	Assurance	42	170	Ralph Lascelles
3	Fairfax	72	340	Dominic Nugent
1	Charles	100	750	Rear-Admiral Sir John Chicheley   2nd Richard Dickinson
3	Monmouth	70	400	Robert Robinson
4	Newcastle	52	240	John Pierce
4	Nonsuch	40	170	Lawrence Wright
4	Yarmouth	52	240	John Keene
Fireships
	Truelove*	2	25	Peter Bonamy
	Dartmouth	4	16	John Burdick
	Wivenhoe	6	20	William Jacques
	Olive Branch	6	35	William Lee
BLUE SQUADRON
Van Division, Rear-Admiral’s
4	Hampshire	46	200	Richard Griffith
3	York	62	340	Henry Clarke
4	Sweepstakes	40	170	Peter Belbin
3	Swiftsure	66	400	Richard Rooth
1	St Michael	98	700	R-Adm the Earl of Ossory   2nd John Narbrough
4	Greenwich	60	280	Thomas Bridgman
4	Foresight	52	220	Richard James
2	Rainbow	56	410	Mark Harrison
4	Portsmouth	48	200	James Page
Fireships
	Firebush	4	14	John Maine
	Hope Prize	2	16	John Martin
Centre Division, Admiral’s
3	Dreadnought	66	360	Richard Trevanion
2	St George	68	460	Thomas Darcy
4	Bristol [8]	48	220	Eric Sieubladh [9]
3	Henrietta	60	340	Gustavus, Count Horne [9]
1	Royal Charles [10]	102	800	John Hayward*
1	Prince	100	800	Adm Sir Edward Spragge*   2nd Thomas Fowler
4	Swallow [11]	46	220	Edward Russell
3	Cambridge	70	400	Arthur Herbert
4	Advice	46	220	John Dawson
3	Dunkirk	60	340	Francis Courtenay*
Fireships
	Society*	6	45	Robert Washbourne
	Prudent Mary*	6	45	Christopher Billop
	Benjamin	6	24	John Pollea
	Blessing*	4	20	William Andrews
	Pearl*	6	30	William Booth
Rear-Division, Vice-Admiral’s
4	Diamond	48	220	John Shelley
2	Unicorn	64	420	John Rogers
4	Ruby	48	220	Stephen Pyend
3	Monck	58	340	Bernard Ludman
1	St Andrew	100	750	V-Adm Sir John Kempthorne   2nd John Archer
3	Plymouth	58	340	Anthony Young
4	Falcon	42	170	Thomas Andrews
3	Gloucester	60	340	William Coleman
4	Bonadventure	52	220	Henry Killigrew
Fireships
	Hester	6	20	Richard Painter
	Jason	4	20	Francis Turner
Light Frigates and Small Warships, not in line
5	Nightingale	34	140	Edward Pierce
5	Guernsey [B-a]	30	150	Leonard Harris
5	Pearl [R-a] [12]	28	150	Thomas Booth
6	Roebuck	18	80	Charles Lloyd
	Henrietta Yacht* [B-r][13]	8	30	Thomas Guy
	Roe Dogger* [14]	6	12	Joseph Simmons
	Rose Dogger* [14]	6	12	Ralph Wrenn
	Fox Shallop	0	7	Morgan Phillips
	John’s Advice Hospital	?	54	Robert Elfrith
Sloops
	Bonetta	4	36	John Macklin
	Cutter	4	12	Walter Power
	Chatham	4	36	William Watson
	Chatham Double	4	36	Joseph Perriman
	Dolphin*	4	36	William Orchard
	Emsworth	6	30	Richard Country
	Hound	8	36	Robert Winn
	Invention	4	12	William Dixie
	Lizard [B-r]	4	25	John Nicholson
	Prevention	4	12	Elias Clifford
	Spy	4	30	Peter Cooper
	Vulture	4	36	Robert Porteen
	Woolwich	4	36	Alexander Smart

 

References

 

1. Journals and Narratives, 400-3.

2. At fo. 39; the date of 21 July is supplied by fo. 5, listing the distribution of ships not a part of Prince Rupert’s fleet, and which fo. 39 should have immediately followed.

3. See note 10 below.

4. Success: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, J R Tanner ed., volume ii (Navy Records Society, London, 1904), 16-18, 23, and 28; Leopard and Portland: TNA ADM 8/1, fo. 5.

5. Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, 1673, F H Blackburne Daniell ed. (London, 1902), 488; Cat. Pepysian MSS ii, 24.

6. Cat. Pepysian MSS ii, 29-30.

7. Journals and Narratives, 342; CSPD 1673, 459.

8. The Bristol had not been assigned a station when the battle-line in TNA ADM 8/1 was drawn up on 21 July. She was probably assigned to Spragge’s division since she was one of the options considered for changing his flag.  It seems likely that she was in the station shown, in place of the Antelope which had been detached with a prize taken on 26 July (Journals and Narratives, 309).

9. Sieubladh (or Sjöblad) and Horne were Swedish officers who had first served in the English fleet as volunteers during the second Anglo-Dutch war. Both subsequently returned to Sweden and held high rank during the war with Denmark later in the 1670s.

10. In the battle-line in TNA ADM 8/1, the Royal Charles was stationed as the next-to-last ship in Spragge’s division. However, an account by flag-captain Thomas Fowler of the Prince in BL Egerton MSS 928, fos 143-4, relates that when the fighting began, the Royal Charles was his next-ahead, the Cambridge his next-astern, with the Swallow sailing alongside the Prince to windward.  This might or might not have reflected intentional changes in the order-of-battle, but the ships are here given as Fowler indicates, with the Swallow arbitrarily shown astern of the flagship.

11. The Swallow was assigned as the aftermost ship in the rear-admiral’s division of the Blue by TNA ADM 8/1. However, a casualty list for this division was compiled by flag-captain John Narbrough of the St Michael and printed in the Naval Chronicle, volume 5 (1801), 221-3.  This shows that the Portsmouth, not originally assigned a station in TNA ADM 8/1, displaced the Swallow, which shifted to another division, obviously Spragge’s as reported in note 10.

12. CSPD 1673, 490 and 520-1 (the latter is Rupert’s account, saying that the Pearl fought well in his division); Cf Pearl log, TNA ADM 51/3932.

13. The Henrietta yacht was a tender for Ossory’s St. Michael and sank alongside her. CSPD 1673, 523, gives details.

14. The Roe was sunk and the Rose captured. Doggers such as these commonly served as tenders for the warships, and there were probably other unrecorded doggers present as well.