 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2011) |
Andrew Ball (died 1653) was an English officer of the Royal and Commonwealth Navy.
| | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2011) |
Andrew Ball (died 1653) was an English officer of the Royal and Commonwealth Navy.
The first official mention of his name is as captain of the Adventure in 1648, when Vice-Admiral William Batten carried part of the fleet over to Holland to join Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales. Ball was one of those who stayed with Sir George Ayscue, and who afterwards, on 25 September 1648, signed the refusal to desert.
During 1649 he was employed in the English Channel, cruising off the Lizard or Land's End for the safeguard of merchant ships against pirates and sea-rovers, and on 21 December was ordered specially to attend to Prince Rupert's movements. In November 1650, still in the Adventure, he was selected to accompany Captain Sir William Penn to the Mediterranean, and was on that voyage for nearly sixteen months, arriving in the Downs on 1 April 1652.
During the following summer he was engaged in fitting out the Antelope , a new ship only just launched, and in September was sent to Copenhagen in command of a squadron of eighteen ships. The King of Denmark, on some misunderstanding about the Sound dues, had laid an embargo on about twenty English merchant ships that were in Danish harbours, and it was hoped that the appearance of a respectable force would remove the difficulty. They sailed from Yarmouth on 9 September, and on the 20th anchored a few miles below Elsinore; there they remained, treating with the King of Denmark, but forbidden to use force, as the King of Denmark was probably aware. They were still hoping that the ships might be released, when, on 30 September, they were caught in the open roadstead in a violent storm; the cables parted, the Antelope was hurled on shore, the other ships, more or less damaged, were swept out to sea. It was not till 2 October that they could get back and take up the survivors from the wreck; after which they did not stay for further negotiations, but set sail for England, and arrived in Bridlington Bay on the 14th. They went on to Harwich and the Thames, to refit.
After the severe check which Robert Blake received at the Battle of Dungeness, on 30 November, Ball was appointed to the 50-gun Lion, in the room of Captain Saltonstall, whose conduct in the battle had been called into question. He was occupied during the next two months in refitting the Lion, and then joined the fleet off Queenborough at the beginning of February 1653, when Blake promoted him to the command of his own ship, the Triumph, (a position somewhat analogous to what was later known as captain of the fleet, which confers the temporary rank of rear-admiral). The fleet, having sailed to the westward, encountered the Dutch off Portland on 18 February 1653. The fight, the Battle of Portland, lasted throughout the day, and during the whole time the enemy's chief efforts were directed against the Triumph, which suffered heavily in hull of the ship, in rigging, and in men; her captain, Andrew Ball, being one of the killed.
In acknowledgement of Ball's services, the state assigned a gratuity of £1,000 to his widow. The Andrew Ball who commanded the Orange Tree in the Mediterranean, under Sir Thomas Allin, in 1668, and was then accidentally drowned, may have been a son.
Richard Deane, Englishman who supported the Parliamentarian cause in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was a General at Sea, major-general and one of the regicides of Charles I.
The naval Battle of Portland, or Three Days' Battle took place during 18–20 February 1653, during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when the fleet of the Commonwealth of England under General at Sea Robert Blake was attacked by a fleet of the Dutch Republic under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp escorting merchant shipping through the English Channel.
General at Sea Robert Blake was an important naval commander of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. His successes have been considered to have "never been excelled, not even by Nelson" according to one biographer. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into the early 20th century. Despite this, due to deliberate attempts to expunge the Parliamentarians from history following the Restoration, Blake's achievements tend to remain unrecognized.
The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent.
HMS Ruby was a 40-gun frigate of the Commonwealth of England, built by Peter Pett at Deptford. She took part in numerous actions during all three of the Anglo-Dutch Wars of 1652–54, 1665–67 and 1672–74. She later served in the West Indies, and in 1683 was sent to the Leeward Islands to protect their British settlements against Caribbean pirate raids. In 1687 the notorious English pirate Joseph Bannister was captured by the crew of Ruby and brought to Port Royal for trial. She would be rebuilt in 1687. She was captured by the French in October 1707.
HMS Assurance was a 32-gun fourth-rate of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1646. She was in the Parliamentary force during the English Civil War, then the Commonwealth Navy and was incorporated into the Royal Navy after the Restoration in 1660. During her time in the Commonwealth Navy she partook in the Battles of Dover, Portland, Gabbard and Texel. She foundered in a gale at Woolwich in 1660 and was salved. After the Restoration she partook in the Battle of Lowestoffe, the Four Days Fight and the Texel (1673). She was reduced to a Fifth Rate in 1690 before being sold in 1698.
HMS Adventure was a 34-gun fourth-rate of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett II at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1646. With the outbreak of the English Civil War she served on the Parliamentary side until 1649. She was incorporated into the Commonwealth Navy in 1650. She partook in the Battle off Dover in 1652, the Battle of Portland and the Battle of Gabbard in 1653. Adventure was employed on Bulstrode Whitelocke's embassy to Sweden, 1653–1654. After the Restoration she was incorporated into the Royal Navy. She was present at the Battle of Lowestoft (1665) and the Battle of Solebay (1672). She also participated in the Golden Horse and Two Lions actions in 1681. She was in the Battle of Barfleur in 1692. She captured several ships in the later part of her career, before being captured by the French in 1709.
Nonsuch was a 32-gun fourth-rate of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1646. She was in the Parliamentary force during the English Civil War, then the Commonwealth Navy and was incorporated into the Royal Navy after the Restoration in 1660. During her time in the Commonwealth Navy she partook in the Battles of Krntish Knock, Portland and Gabbard. She was wreck at Gibraltar in 1664.
Sapphire was a 38-gun fourth-rate of the Commonwealth of England. After commissioning she was actively involved in the First Anglo-Dutch War participating in most major fleet actions. During the Second Anglo-Dutch War she was only in the first two engagements then spent her time in Irish Waters and the Mediterranean. She was run ashore due to a pending attack by suspected Algerian pirates on Sicily in March 1670.
HMS President was a 34-gun fourth-rate of the English Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1650. She was incorporated into the Commonwealth Navy in 1650. She partook in the Battle off Dover and Kentish Knock in 1652, the Battle of Portland, the Gabbard and Scheveningen in 1653. She was renamed Bonaventure in 1660. After the Restoration she was incorporated into the Royal Navy. She was present at the Battle of Lowestoft (1665), the Four Days Battle and the Oxfordness in 1666. She was rebuilt in 1666. She was present at the Battle of Martinique in 1667, Battle of Solebay (1672), Battle of Schooneveld and Texel in 1673, the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, the Battle of Barfleur 1692.
Foresight was a 40-gun fourth-rate of the Commonwealth of England, after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 she was incorporated into the Navy of the Kingdom of England. During her time in the Commonwealth Navy she partook in the First Anglo-Dutch war being present in the battles of Dungeness, Kentish Knock, Portland, The Gabbard and Scheveningen. She was also present at the Battle of Santa Cruz and the bombardment of Porto Farina, In the Second Anglo-Dutch War she was involved in the Battle of Vagen and the St James Day Fight. During the Third Anglo-Dutch War she participated in the battles of Schooneveld and Texel. For the remainder of her career she was in the West Indies, the Mediterranean and North American waters. She was wrecked south of Cuba in July 1698.
Sir Richard Haddock was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral in August 1690. In Herge's Adventures of Tintin, Richard Haddock was one of the inspirations for Captain Haddock's 17th century ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock.
Admiral Sir Thomas Allin, 1st Baronet (1612–1685) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service in the English Civil War, and the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars. A Royalist during the Civil War, he returned to service after the Restoration and eventually rose to the rank of Admiral of the White after serving under some of the most distinguished military figures of the era, including Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
Richard Badiley was an English naval officer. He saw service during the First Anglo-Dutch War.
Robert Fairfax was a rear admiral and politician.
Robert Mann was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars, eventually rising to the rank of admiral of the red.
Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Styner (1625–1662) was an English naval officer who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. During the First Anglo-Dutch War he commanded the Foresight in actions at Portland (February), and the Gabbard (June), and in the Battle of Scheveningen, 1653. During the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660), he won renown and a fortune in prize money when he captured a great part of the Spanish West Indian treasure fleet off Cadiz in 1656. He was knighted by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell for services in Admiral Robert Blake's destruction of Spanish ships at Santa Cruz, 1657. He was a rear-admiral of the fleet which brought Charles II to England in 1660. He was again knighted at the Restoration. He died at Lisbon, while serving as vice-admiral of the Mediterranean fleet.
John Barker was an English ship-owner.
Sir John Harman was an English naval officer who was captain and then admiral during the three Anglo-Dutch wars between 1652 and 1673. He fought in several major battles. He was captain of the flagship of the Duke of York, the future King James II of England, in the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. The Dutch were defeated but escaped when Harman reduced sail due to a mistaken order. There was a great scandal over this incident, but Harman was completely absolved and was promoted to rear admiral. He played an epic role in the St. James's Day Battle in 1666. In 1667 he destroyed a French fleet off Martinique, then captured the French and Dutch colonies in South America. He died while still active as an admiral during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Guinea was a 38-gun fourth rate vessel of the Kingdom of England, Her initial commission was as a Royalist vessel during the English Civil War named Charles. She was captured then commissioned into the Parliamentary Naval Force as Guinea. During the First Anglo-Dutch War she partook in the Battle of Kentish Knock, the Battle of Portland and the Battle of The Gabbard. During the Second Anglo-Dutch War she participated in the Battle of Lowestoft, the Battle of Vagen and the St James Day Fight. She was sold on 27 November 1667.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Ball, Andrew". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.