Career in the navy
Early service
In August 1815 Abraham van den Broecke joined the navy as a midshipman. In 1826 he was mentioned as A.J. de Smit van den Broecke,'extraordinary lieutenant 2nd class'. In 1828 he was a regular lieutenant 2nd class. In December 1832 he commanded gunboat no. 79 near Vlissingen. [1] On 5 April 1834 De Smit van den Broecke became a lieutenant 1st class. [2] In 1835 he was on the ship Snelheid,making a visit to New York. He had a few lines describing him in an American newspaper. [3] In July 1839 De Smit van den Broecke served on the steam vessel Cerberus and temporarily commanded her near Hellevoetsluis. [4]
On 1 October 1840 lieutenant 1st class De Smit van den Broecke got his first official command of a ship when he was appointed as commander of the Cerberus. [5] On 13 September 1842 he became commander of the steam vessel Bromo.
Commanding the warship Bromo in the East Indies
In 1844 de Smit van den Broecke sailed to the Dutch East Indies in command of the Bromo. In March 1845 an experiment with using coal from Banjarmasin instead of European coal was held on board the Bromo. [6] On 6 December 1845 he became a captain lieutenant. [7] In June 1846 De Smit van den Broecke was in the Dutch intervention in northern Bali (1846). Here he commanded the landing division,and a record of his actions was published. [8] On account of the expedition against Bali De Smit van den Broecke became a knight 3rd class in the Military Order of William in December 1846. In January 1848 De Smit van den Broecke sailed the Bromo towards home,and in May 1848 he arrived in Hellevoetsluis.
Commanding on the North Sea
On 1 April 1849 de Smit van den Broecke became commander of the steam vessel Cycloop. [9] In May the Cycloop sailed to London. On board were Prince Henry of the Netherlands (1820–1879),his ADC Ridder van Rappard,VA Lucas and Lt-Colonel Rigot de Bignins. They all visited a ball in Buckingham Palace with about 1,900 invites. In May 1850 the Cycloop conducted spring maneuvers near the coast,shooting with cannon and hand weapons. On 16 April 1851 de Smit van den Broecke changed to the new steam vessel Gedeh. After making a trial run on 28 May 1851,he sailed from Vlissingen to London on 29 May. In London Prince Henry came on board again,and on 11 June they arrived back in Hellevoetsluis. After some uneventful cruises in the North Sea and along the coast,de Smit van den Broecke was promoted by seniority to captain on 1 January 1852. [10] In January 1852 de Smit van den Broecke was to sail the Gedeh to the West Indies in order to collect the crew of the unfit brig Amphitrite. However,before the Gedeh sailed again,De Smit van den Broecke resigned the command and became inactive on 1 February.
Commanding the frigate Doggersbank
In January 1852 There was a rumor that captain de Smit van den Broecke would get the command of the heavy frigate Doggersbank, [11] a ship more fitting for a captain. This appointment indeed took place on 24 February,effective 1 April. On 13 June 1852 the Doggersbank tried to leave Nieuwediep for Vlissingen,but was blown back. A few days later she was towed to Vlissingen. The mission of the Doggersbank was to make a cruise to the Canaries as an exercise trip for 40 midshipmen. On 23 June she left Vlissingen,and on 8 July she was in A Coruña,from whence the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro were visited. On 2 August the Doggersbank arrived back in Nieuwediep from the Canaries. In September the Doggersbank was the flagship of a squadron under RA Bouricius together with the frigate Prins van Oranje,the corvette Sumatra and the Gedeh. The squadron arrived in Gibraltar on 10 October. It left from there in mid October and sailed to Cadiz. From there the two frigates sailed home on 6 November,and arrived back in Nieuwediep on the 18th.
Meanwhile de Smit van den Broecke had been appointed in the 1852 commission for Naval affairs. It had been appointed on 14 February 1852 to advise the minister for the navy about 'some naval affairs'. In it were Prince Henry as LA and president,R.A. S.R. van Franck,captain de Smit van den Broecke,captain-lts C.J. Berghuis and B.G. Escher,lieutenants 1st class J.C. Pieterse and H. Camp,Chief-Engineer A.E. Tromp,engineer 2nd class H.G. Jansen,and administrative officer J.E. Kempe. [12] The commission had to answer a lot of questions. The most important question was whether the navy should use screw-propulsion. This question was answered in the affirmative,and led to the construction of the first big Dutch warships with screw propulsion.
In late January 1853 de Smit van den Broecke took the Doggersbank on a cruise to the Mediterranean. She first left Nieuwediep for Malta,where she arrived on 8 February. On 15 February the Doggersbank left Malta,and on 19 February she reached Smyrna (Turkey). She next sailed to Istanbul,but had to visit Scio after losing sails and anchors. In mid-March she reached Istanbul,from whence she was to return to the Netherlands in mid-April. In fact she returned to Smyrna,and from there reached Alexandria on 27 April. From there she sailed to Malta,and left there on 30 May. On 29 June De Smit van den Broecke arrived back in Den Helder on board the Doggersbank. On 5 August he sailed her to Vlissingen,where she would be cleaned of an infection causing Gas gangrene in very minor wounds. [13] On 6 October 1853 the Doggersbank arrived back in Nieuwediep.
At the end of 1853 de Smit van den Broecke made a second trip to the Mediterranean on board the Doggersbank. After the Doggersbank had been loaded with a half year's provisions,the planned trip was postponed. On 1 November 1853 de Smit van den Broecke finally sailed her out of Texel for the Mediterranean. On 25 November 1853 she reached Malta. Here she was joined by the Prins van Oranje,and together they left for Messina and Naples on 17 December. On 2 February 1854 both arrived in Genoa. On 25 February she arrived in Malta. On 7 March she left Malta for Smyrna,arriving there on 21 March. On 12 June the Doggersbank stranded near Smyrna. In mid August she arrived back in Malta. On 10 October 1854 the Doggersbank arrived in Vlissingen,from whence she continued to Texel. By 10 December 1854 De Smit van den Broecke was known to have been placed on the Guard ship Rijn in Nieuwediep. [14]
