Summary : 1653 wreck of Dutch warship which foundered following gun action by the English on the first day (1582336) of the Battle of Portland or Three Days' Battle (1582162) as the Dutch escorts defended the convoy of Dutch merchantmen bound home for the Netherlands which was under their protection. In the Julian or Old Style calendar still in use in England, this first day of the Battle was 18th February, but was 28th February in the Gregorian or New Style calendar already adopted by the Dutch. On the English side the SAMPSON also sank on this first day (900423), taking the MEERMAN (1582430) down with her. The ARKE TROIJANE (899236) and KROON IMPERIAAL (1439277) were also sunk, the former certainly on the first day of the action; the date the latter was sunk is unclear. The English claimed greater numbers, including the firing of Dutch ships on each of the three days of the battle, for which representative records appear at 1582720, 1582735 and 1582743. It appears that three Dutch fireships were also expended on the first day (1582702, 1582709, and 1582715).The Dutch VOGELSTRUIS was also captured on the same day and hulked in English service, eventually being sunk as a harbour foundation (1582452). Constructed of wood, the ENGEL GABRIEL was a sailing vessel. |
More information : Primary Sources:
A document from the Wrangell collection relating to the ENGEL GABRIEL is reproduced in (8) in the entry for 17-AUG-2006:
Length 130ft x 30ft x 13.5ft, 36 guns, broken down as follows: 18 x 12pdr; 10 x 8pdr; 4 x 6pdr; 4 x 4pdr. 120 men.
Notes reproducing a document from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, inventory of ENGEL GABRIEL, hired in Amsterdam 1652, and signed by Isaac Sweers on the 12th August of that year.
Dimensions: 136ft x 29ft 8in, 36 guns, 18 x 12pdr; 2 x 8pdr; 12 x 6pdr; 4 x 4pdr. (8)
Pictorial Sources:
A series of prints by Jodocus Hondius III, based on contemporary sources and printed over 1654-6 (and thus not rushed out immediately after the battle), includes as the first in the series the first day of the Battle of Portland. It is not immune from artistic and narrative devices, namely placing the wrecked ships in the foreground and telescoping events which clearly happened at different times and in different places, but it appears to attempt to give this first day some kind of context, not least in a topographical outline of the English coast at the top of the print, which runs left to right from Portland to the Isle of Wight.
In this view the ENGEL GABRIEL is shown at bottom right, not named as such but labelled as Captain Zweers' ship, together with the REGENBOOM (in fact, English RAINBOW), both sinking (according to other sources, the RAINBOW did not sink on this occasion). The viewpoint of the print suggests that the position of loss took place at the most south-easterly point of this area of the engagement between Portland and the Isle of Wight. (
Secondary Sources:
The third of three Dutch warships recorded as lost in this battle by source (3), indexed as UNIDENTIFIED in source (3).
According to an account of the action between the English and Dutch fleets which lasted for three days over 18 - 20 February 1653, the latter admitted after the battle to the loss of at least 50 men o'war.
'Robert Blackborne to Captain Badiley . . . from morning until evening, the greater part of these three days, 60 ships commanded by Generals Blake, Deane and Monk, were deeply engaged with 80 sail of the enemy's men o'war and 400 merchantmen between Portland and the Isle of Wight, in which we took 50 merchantmen who are brought into Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Dover and the west, besides 50 of the men-o-war, sunk by their own confession, and four taken, one of which was 1,300 tons and is now at Portsmouth.' (2)
Another UNIDENTIFIED record in source (3) states that three Dutch men of war were sunk between Portland and the Isle of Wight following battle, 19-FEB-1652 (according to the English Julian or 'Old Style' calendar, and this record, based on source (2) above, appears to be one of them.
Source (3) expresses the date of loss as 14-MAR-1653, the date the account is entered in the Calendar of State Papers. The departure point is given as the Netherlands in that source.
Known as the Battle of Portland or the Three Days' Battle [Driedaagse Zeeslag], in which "various ships were lost on both sides". According to Dutch sources this battle occurred on 28 February to 2 March, since the Dutch had already adopted the Gregorian calendar. (4)
The battle started as Marten Tromp's fleet sailed from La Rochelle, escorting a fleet of 152 homeward-bound merchantmen from the Atlantic to Holland, to be met by the English fleet off Portland. No casualties are mentioned in this source although it is mentioned that the English took 8 ships, and 62 merchantmen, some of whom may be among the ships lost. (5)
For convenience this third ship is identified as the ENGEL GABRIEL, sunk in action at the Battle of Portland. She was a hired vessel, with a crew of 130 men and 36 guns, 124 x 29 x 13 feet. (6)
The ENGEL GABRIEL, commanded by Isaac Sweers, with 36 guns, was sunk by gunfire at Portland. [Entry for 03-JUN-2009]. (8)
Hired: 1652 (6) Armament: 36 guns (6)(8); 18 x 12pdr; 10 x 8pdr; 4 x 6pdr; 4 x 4pdr (8) Commanding Officer: Zweers (7); Isaac Sweers (8); Isaak Sweers (8) Crew: 120 (Wrangell Collection document, reproduced in (8)); 130 (6) Owner: Netherlands [United Provinces] Navy [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |