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The Battle of Camperdown (11 October 1797) was a British naval victory in the North Sea over the Dutch[1] during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British fleet under Admiral Duncan defeated the Dutch fleet under Admiral de Winter off the coastal village of Camperduin, north-west of Alkmaar. During the battle a sailor became famous for climbing the mast to replace Admiral Duncan's fallen flag.
[edit] BackgroundThroughout 1797, Duncan had been blockading the Dutch fleet in Den Helder and Texel. The Dutch fleet was intended to cover a landing of French troops in Ireland to support a planned rebellion, and there were plans for the Dutch to eventually land in Scotland with some 50,000 troops and to take over the Scottish central belt with the help of the Society of the United Scotsmen. The long wait in harbour depleted the supplies aboard ship and also sapped morale. The Dutch were unaware that for several weeks, only four of Duncan's ships were maintaining the blockade, as the rest of his squadron had been affected by the unrest later known as the Mutiny at the Nore. By September, the ringleaders of the mutiny had been hanged and the seamen had returned to duty. In late September, the Dutch abandoned their planned invasion. The British Admiralty learned of this and instructed Duncan to take his squadron to Yarmouth to refit. The Dutch took the opportunity to come out into the North Sea, intending to cure unrest among their own crews, and hopefully engage isolated British ships. The British, alerted by the cutter Black Joke and the lugger Speculator, rendezvoused off Texel and waited for the Dutch to return to port. [edit] Battle The two fleets met 18 miles from the Dutch coast, the British with 24 ships heading south-east and the Dutch with 25 in a single line heading north-east. The British attacked in two columns, presaging the Battle of Trafalgar eight years later, with Duncan leading the easternmost group in Venerable and Vice Admiral Richard Onslow leading the westernmost group in Monarch. In this instance, the attack was made in haste to prevent the Dutch ships from reaching the protection of shallow waters near the coast. Duncan hoisted the signal for "General Chase", allowing each ship to engage as opportunity offered. Some British captains actually held back, while others pressed forward. The two British columns formed as ships followed the boldest leaders, Duncan and Onslow. Venerable broke through the Dutch line and engaged de Winter's flagship, Vrijheid, from the lee side. Several British ships broke the Dutch line and ships in both fleets were engaged on both sides. Several Dutch ships managed to flee east; 11 were captured including the flagship, Vrijheid 74, but the British ships were too damaged to pursue the remainder. British casualties were 220 killed and 812 wounded; Dutch casualties were 540 killed and 620 wounded. The similarity in casualty rates reflect both sides tactics of firing into the hulls of their opponents (Mariner's Mirror vol. 23 (1937) lists casualties as British: 193 killed, 622 wounded; Dutch: 520 killed, 952 wounded).  Throughout the battle, the British had the advantage of heavier ships and guns, and also in training. Several British ships were armed with carronades, short guns firing a heavy shot, which had a devastating effect at close range. The Dutch ships captured in the battle were all too badly battered to be repaired. Admiral de Winter was taken prisoner when his flagship, dismasted and with over half her crew killed or wounded, was forced to strike her colours. He attempted to hand his sword to Duncan, but Duncan refused and shook his hand instead. Both Duncan and de Winter were physically large men (Duncan was reportedly six feet, four inches). De Winter later remarked, "It is matter of marvel that two such gigantic objects as Admiral Duncan and myself should have escaped the general carnage of this day."[2] [edit] AftermathAs a result of the battle, the first French expedition to Ireland did not arrive until August 1798, by which time the rebellion had been largely crushed. In addition to being memorialized in paintings (see accompanying pictures), this battle was the subject of an unusual musical work by the London-based Czech-born composer Jan Ladislav Dussek in a 1797 composition. Entitled The Naval Battle and Total Defeat of the Dutch by Admiral Duncan, and scored for piano, violin, cello and percussion, it is a rare instance of 18th-century chamber music that includes percussion. [edit] The Admiral's flagMain article: Jack Crawford (sailor) During the battle, part of the Venerable's mast was felled, including the admiral's flag. Lowering the Admiral's personal flag was a sign of surrender, and even an unintentional fall was unacceptable. Despite being under intense gunfire, a sailor, Jack Crawford, climbed the mast and nailed the colours to the top. After the victory procession in London he was formally presented to the King and was given a government pension of £30 a year, and later a silver medal from the people of Sunderland. However, Crawford fell on hard times and drunkenness, and had to sell his medal. He became the second victim of the cholera epidemic of 1831 and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.[3] The phrase "nail your colours to the mast" has been thought to originate in this event - however the phrase was coined by Sir Walter Scott in his 1808 poem Marmion which is about the Battle of Flodden Field not the Battle of Camperdown.[4] [edit] British fleetShips involved (and their guns), listed in approximate order: [edit] First group
[edit] Second group
[edit] Others
[edit] Dutch fleetShips involved (and their guns), listed in battle order: [edit] Battle line
[edit] Smaller ships on off-battle side, etc.
Second gun figures come from Mariner's Mirror vol. 23 (1937). [edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] External links
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