Order of battle at the Battle of Camperdown
Introduction ''The Battle of Camperdown'', painted by Philip de Loutherbourg in 1799.The Battle of Camperdown was an important naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought off Camperduin on the North Holland coast on 11 October 1797 between a British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter. The French Republic had overrun the Dutch Republic two years earlier, reforming it into the Batavian Republic. In early 1797, the Batavian Navy was ordered to sail to Brest and unite with the French Atlantic Fleet in preparation for an invasion of Ireland. Shortly afterwards, the British fleets were paralysed by the Spithead and Nore mutinies, in which the sailors refused to take their ships to sea until they were awarded better pay and conditions. , the English Channel was undefended, but the Dutch failed to take the opportunity to sail from their harbour in the Texel: their preparations were not complete, and a small squadron of loyal British ships under Duncan convinced de Winter that the British fleet was at sea by sending nonsensical signals to fictitious ships over the horizon.By October 1797, the plan to attack Ireland had been abandoned and the British North Sea Fleet was again at full strength. During a brief period replenishing supplies at Yarmouth, news reached Duncan on 10 October that the Dutch had sailed  and he returned to the Dutch coast, intercepting de Winter's fleet on its way back to the Texel. The Dutch formed a line of battle in shallow coastal waters to meet Duncan's attack, which was conducted in a confused mass, the British fleet separating into two groups that struck the vanguard and rear of the Dutch fleet, overwhelming each in turn and capturing eleven ships, including de Winter's flagship ''Vrijheid''. On the return journey, three of the captured ships were lost, and  . Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the battle as each fleet had been trained to aim at the hulls of their opponents, maximising the damage to personnel.Although the sailors of both fleets fought hard, they were suffering from popular unrest; the mutinies in Britain continued to overshadow the Royal Navy, while the Dutch sailors were unhappy with French dominion and, in marked difference to their officers, were generally supporters of the exiled House of Orange. In addition, the Dutch were disaffected and poorly trained due to the long months blockaded in their harbours, which made them inferior seamen and gunners when compared with the highly experienced British crews, and the Dutch ships were more weakly constructed than their British counterparts with a shallower draught, a necessity in the shallow waters of the Dutch coast but a liability when fighting warships built for the open ocean. The Dutch did, however, have the advantage of weight of shot, especially when their well-armed frigates and brigs are included statistically. Unlike their British equivalents, these lighter craft were intended to contribute in battle, covering the gaps in the line between their larger companions.
Orders of battle ''The ships in the orders of battle below are listed in the order in which they appeared in the respective battle lines. Listed in the casualties section are the totals of killed and wounded as best as can be established: due to the nature of the battle, Dutch losses were hard to calculate precisely. Officers killed in action or who subsequently died of wounds received are marked with a † symbol. As carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate, these ships may have actually been carrying additional or fewer guns than indicated below. ''* ===British fleet===+Admiral Duncan's fleet Ship Rate Guns Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded TotalWindward division HMS ''Triumph'' Third rate 74Captain William Essington    Hull and masts damaged, ten guns dismounted HMS ''Venerable'' Third rate 74Admiral Adam DuncanCaptain William George Fairfax    Hull and masts very badly damaged HMS ''Ardent'' Third rate 64Captain Richard Rundle Burges     Hull and masts very badly damaged HMS ''Bedford'' Third rate 74Captain Sir Thomas Byard    Hull and rigging badly damaged HMS ''Lancaster'' Third rate 64Captain John Wells    Lightly damaged HMS ''Belliqueux'' Third rate 64Captain John Inglis    Hull and rigging badly damaged HMS ''Adamant'' Fourth rate 50Captain William Hotham    Undamaged HMS ''Isis'' Fourth rate 50Captain William Mitchell    Lightly damaged  Sixth rate 28Captain Peter Halkett    Not engaged in the action.Leeward division  Third rate 74 Captain Henry Trollope    Lightly damaged HMS ''Director'' Third rate 64 Captain William Bligh    Masts and rigging damaged HMS ''Montagu'' Third rate 74Captain John Knight    Lightly damaged HMS ''Veteran'' Third rate 64Captain George Gregory    Three guns dismounted, otherwise lightly damaged HMS ''Monarch'' Third rate 74Vice-Admiral Richard OnslowCaptain Edward O'Bryen    Hull and masts very badly damaged  Third rate 74 Captain William O'Bryen Drury    Hull and masts badly damaged  Third rate 64 Captain James Walker    Lightly damaged  Third rate 64 Captain John Williamson    Very lightly damaged  Fifth rate 40Captain Francis Fayerman    UndamagedMinor warships  Sloop 16Commander Charles Paget    Not engaged in the action. ''Rose'' Hired cutter 10Lieutenant Joseph Brodie    Not engaged in the action. ''King George'' Hired cutter 12Lieutenant James Rains    Not engaged in the action. ''Active'' Hired cutter 12Lieutenant J. Hamilton    Not engaged in the action. ''Diligent'' Hired cutter 6Lieutenant T. Dawson    Not engaged in the action. ''Speculator'' Hired lugger 8Lieutenant H. Hales    Not engaged in the action.Total casualties: 203 killed, 622 wounded===Batavian fleet===+ Vice-Admiral de Winter's fleetLine of battle Ship Rate Guns Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total ''Gelijkheid'' * Third rate 68 Commander H. A. Ruijsch 40 killed Badly damaged and may have been dismasted. Captured at 15:10, later became HMS ''Gelykheid'' ''Beschermer'' Fourth rate 56 Captain Dooitze Eelkes Hinxt  Unknown Lightly damaged ''Hercules'' * Third rate 64 Commander Ruijsoort Unknown Hull very badly damaged and set on fire, mizenmast collapsed. Captured and became HMS ''Delft''. ''Admiraal Tjerk Hiddes De Vries'' * Third rate 68 Captain J. B. Zegers Unknown Badly damaged and ship may have been dismasted. Captured at 15:00, later became HMS ''Devries'' ''Vrijheid'' * Third rate 74 Vice-Admiraal Jan de WinterCommander L. W. van Rossum  58 98 156 Hull very badly damaged and ship dismasted. Captured at 15:15, later became HMS ''Vryheid'' ''Staaten Generaal'' Third rate 74 Rear-Admiral Samuel Story 20 40 60 Hull badly damaged, masts and rigging lightly damaged ''Wassenaar'' * Third rate 64 Commander A. Holland  Unknown Damaged. First captured at 14:00, subsequently rejoined the combat and was captured again. Later became HMS ''Wassenaer'' ''Batavier'' Fourth rate 56 Commander Souter Unknown Lightly damaged ''Brutus'' Third rate 74 Rear-Admiral Johan Bloys van TreslongCommodore Polders 10 50 60  Lightly damaged ''Leijden'' Third rate 68 Commander J. D. Musquetier Unknown Lightly damaged ''Mars'' Fifth rate razee 44 Commander D. H. Kolff 1 14 15 Mizenmast collapsed ''Cerberus'' Third rate 68 Commander Jacobsen 5 9 14 Lightly damaged ''Jupiter'' * Third rate 72 Rear-Admiral Hermanus Reijntjes  61 killed Hull and rigging severely damaged, main and mizenmasts collapsed. Captured at 13:45, later became HMS ''Camperdown'' ''Haarlem'' * Third rate 68 Captain O. Wiggerts Heavy casualties Hull severely damaged and mizenmast collapsed. Captured at 13:15, later became HMS ''Haerlem'' ''Alkmaar'' * Fourth rate 56 Captain J. W. Krafft 26 62 82 Hull severely damaged and ship dismasted in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Captured at 14:30, later became HMS ''Alkmaar''. ''Delft'' * Fourth rate 56 Captain Gerrit Verdooren van Asperen 43 76 119 Hull severely damaged. Captured at 14:15.Sank during journey to Britain with the loss of an additional 34 lives.Frigate line ''Atalante'' Brig 18 Commander B. Pletsz Unknown ''Heldin'' Fifth rate 32 Commander Johan Ferdinand Dumesnil de l'Estrille Unknown ''Galathée'' Brig 18 Commander Riverij Unknown ''Minerva'' Sixth rate 24 Commander Eijlbracht Unknown ''Ajax'' Brig 18 Lieutenant Arkenbout Unknown ''Waakzaamheid'' Sixth rate 24 Commander Meindert van Nierop Unknown ''Ambuscade'' * Fifth rate 36 Commander J. Huijs Unknown Captured but later driven ashore on the Dutch coast and retaken by Dutch forces ''Daphné'' Brig 18 Lieutenant Frederiks Unknown Badly damaged ''Monnikkendam'' * Fifth rate 44 Commander Thomas Lancester 50 killed Badly damaged. Captured at 14:00 but subsequently wrecked on the Dutch coast ''Haasje'' Advice boat 6 Lieutenant Hartingveld UnknownTotal casualties: 540 killed, 620 wounded
References
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