[11] The Dutch did, however, have the advantage of weight of shot, especially when their well-armed frigates and brigs are included statistically. [3], By October 1797, the plan to attack Ireland had been abandoned and the British North Sea Fleet was again at full strength. In a letter complaining of Clerk's assertion that he had been responsible for all of the major naval victories of the war, St Vincent wrote that Duncan "was a brave officer, little versed in the subtleties of naval tactics, and who would have been quickly embarrassed by them. [39] Duncan intended to follow Lord Howe's manoeuvres at the Glorious First of June three years earlier and bring each ship through the Dutch line between two opponents, but the Dutch formation and proximity to the shore rendered this plan impractical. Aware that their vessel would be unable to resist the attack, Beschermer's surviving officers turned away towards the shore, rapidly followed by the unengaged portions of the Dutch line. The Dutch fleet was broken as a fighting force, losing ten ships and more than 1,100 men. [55] At the height of the combat, the colours and signal flags on Venerable were brought down by cannon fire. De Loutherbourg was celebrated for his dramatic depictions of maritime disasters and sea battles. Battle of Camperdown. Share this image on social platforms. In the winter of 1794–1795, forces of the French Republic overran the neighbouring Dutch Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. The subject here is the decisive moment in the battle of Camperdown, off the Dutch coast, in 1797. . The Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797. Zoom in to this image. The The Battle of Camperdown painting originally painted by William Adolphus Knell can be yours today. Casualties had been significantly higher, particularly on Vrijheid, than on board the British vessels and the small numbers of British sailors placed aboard as prize crews were unable to cope alone, and in the high winds many masts collapsed to the deck and huge quantities of water leaked into the hulls. . Artwork page for ‘The Battle of Camperdown’, Philip James De Loutherbourg, 1799 on display at Tate Britain. [53], The Battle of Camperdown, Thomas Whitcombe, 1798, Tate Gallery, While the Dutch rearguard was overwhelmed by British numbers, a more equal combat was being contested to the north. [68] Gold medals were created and presented to the captains and both Houses of Parliament voted their thanks for their victory. Captured at 14:30, later became HMS. [51], The Dutch central division joined the battle at the head of the line shortly after the engagement of Triumph and Bedford, causing considerable damage to all of the British vessels, particularly Venerable. [61] De Winter was permitted to send despatches to the Batavian government, in which he blamed Story and his centre for not maintaining the combat longer. So fierce was his tone that the men fell silent and hesitantly returned to their quarters except five ringleaders whom he admonished personally on his quarterdeck before issuing a general pardon and dismissing them to their duty. The crew fitted jury masts, but they too collapsed and the hull flooded to a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m). [42] To compensate, Duncan signalled for his ships to form line and sail southeast on the port tack so that they had the wind directly behind them. add example. There is disagreement as to the identity of. [45] De Winter gave urgent orders for the van and centre to drop back to assist the rear, but there was little time and his situation looked desperate: although the Dutch and British lines each mustered 16 ships, the British vessels were almost all larger and more strongly built than their Dutch counterparts and their crews were experienced seamen in the heavy weather conditions while the Dutch crews, confined to port for the previous year, had little understanding of the skills required in combat at sea. The battle was the most significant action between British and Dutch forces during the French Revolutionary Wars and resulted in a complete victory for the British, who captured eleven Dutch ships without losing any of their own. The French Republic had overrun the Dutch Republic two years earlier, reforming it into the Batavian Republic. News then arrived that the Dutch fleet under De Winter was preparing to sail, and Duncan's fleet was ordered by Lord Spencer to blockade the Dutch coast. Commander Johan Ferdinand Dumesnil de l'Estrille, Captured but later driven ashore on the Dutch coast and retaken by Dutch forces, Badly damaged. The battle became a popular theme for contemporary artists and many paintings depicting it are held in National collections in the United Kingdom, including paintings by Thomas Whitcombe and Philip de Loutherbourg in the Tate Gallery,[98][99] Whitcombe, Samuel Drummond and Daniel Orme at the National Maritime Museum,[100][101][102] and George Chambers, Sr. and John Singleton Copley at the National Gallery of Scotland. The French then reorganised the country as a client state named the Batavian Republic, and it joined France against the allies in the War of the First Coalition. For the next 24 hours the 66-year-old Duncan remained on duty without a break, organising the scattered fleet on its journey home. [81] On 23 December, the King lead a thanksgiving procession and ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral in London at which Duncan carried De Winter's flag from Vrijheid and Onslow carried Reijntjes' flag from Jupiter, followed by Fairfax, Essington, Mitchell, Bligh, Walker, Trollope, Drury, O'Bryen, Gregory and Hotham as well as numerous seamen from the fleet. The first total is taken from the naval abstract of 1793. [52] Agincourt's captain John Williamson was subsequently court-martialled and dismissed. In the confusion, the tail of the Dutch line disintegrated into a chaotic melee, with eight British ships of the line fighting four Dutch and the frigate Monnikkendam. The Battle of Camperdown (known in Dutch as the Zeeslag bij Kamperduin) was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy (Dutch) fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter. With the Navy suffering severe shortages in men and equipment and with other theatres of war deemed more important, small, old and poorly maintained ships were activated from reserve and based in harbours in East Anglia, principally the port of Yarmouth, under the command of Admiral Adam Duncan. [82], Not all of the reactions were positive: several of Duncan's captains were criticised for their failure to rapidly and decisively engage the enemy, including Captain Wells of Lancaster. De Winter was immediately taken to see Duncan, the Dutch officer holding out his sword as a token of surrender. [6] On the return journey, three of the captured ships were lost, and none of the surviving Dutch prizes was ever suitable for active service again. Local boats came out to the stranded vessel and all aboard were saved, the 35 British prisoners taken to a prison hulk at Flushing. [84] At the conclusion of the trial on 1 January 1798, Williamson was found guilty of the first charge and not guilty of the latter, resulting in demotion to the bottom of the post captains list and prohibition from further naval service. Although most sources give the date of the battle as 11 October. The battle split into two melees, one to south, or leeward, where the more numerous British overwhelmed the Dutch rear, and one to the north, or windward, where a more evenly matched exchange centred on the battling flagships. [94] Duncan was subsequently indirectly criticised some years after the battle by his colleague Earl St Vincent, who had won the Battle of Cape St Vincent over a Spanish fleet nine months before Camperdown. en She served at the Battle of Camperdown and during the Napoleonic Wars. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Order_of_battle_at_the_Battle_of_Camperdown&oldid=966214615, French Revolutionary Wars orders of battle, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Hull and masts damaged, ten guns dismounted, Three guns dismounted, otherwise lightly damaged, Badly damaged and may have been dismasted. [18] Calmed by his subordinates, he instead assembled his officers and the Royal Marines aboard his ship and advanced on the men in the rigging, demanding to know what they were doing. 186 relations. He is a heart of oak; he is a seaman every inch of him, and as to a bit of a broadside, it only makes the old cock young again. 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