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542:. Van Ghent, not wanting to take sides in this political dispute, at first refused his appointment asking to be excused for his lack of experience. However, Tromp then wrote him a letter in which he made clear he would not hold any grudges against him and pointing out he would be a fool not to make use of such a rare opportunity. Van Ghent now accepted his appointment to the title (shared with two others) of Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West-Frisia, thereby jumping two ranks. The high rank would in future also provide a believable alibi for having Van Ghent present in the fleet, without suggesting any planned landing operations.
735:. Van Ghent, a personal acquaintance of Temple, let himself be rowed in a boat to the yacht, to inquire why such a hostile attitude was taken. He received the demand that the capital Dutch ships would strike their flag in salute. Indeed, by the 1662 treaty Dutch warships were obliged to salute first, but only when meeting English men-of-war; Van Ghent answered he was uncertain whether a yacht counted as such and that it was not his place to create a legal precedent. Charles now instructed the new ambassador, Sir
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506:. Inclement weather, however, prevented the amphibious landing and the English fleet sailed out from the river Thames. Rendered ineffective and in a sense superfluous, the transport ships were left behind near the Continental coast of Flanders and the Dutch navy actively sought battle with the English fleet. In the ensuing
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The Dutch, having narrowly averted disaster, for the moment abandoned any thought of an amphibious landing. After the battle De Ruyter accused
Cornelis Tromp to have been responsible for the defeat. The latter also came under the suspicion of planning a coup d'état and was cashiered on 24 August. De
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After having served as a squadron commander from 5 September till the middle of
October 1666, as part of the national fleet trying to prevent a possible blockade of the Dutch trade lanes, Van Ghent was dispatched as a flotilla commander in April 1667 to block a Scottish fleet presumably aiming to
758:, Van Ghent first made an attempt from 24 to 26 May to repeat his earlier success at Chatham, but it soon became clear that the English coast had been sufficiently reinforced to repel any attacks. He then participated in the first major sea fight of the war, the
486:, De Ruyter's flagship. Though the English fleet was indeed heavily damaged in the battle and was forced to withdraw, the Dutch fleet was in no condition to press the pursuit, let alone execute a complex landing operation. A major setback was the death of
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However, if Van Ghent would in his capacity of commander of the marines and as an army colonel be present on the fleet, this would be too conspicuous, possibly betraying the plan to the
English. Therefore, Van Ghent was appointed a naval captain with the
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Of noble birth, he made a career in the army from 1645 onwards; he started in the regiment of the Count of Hoorne; in 1648, he was promoted to the rank of captain, serving in said regiment. He first became connected to the navy when during the
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660:, against Algerian corsairs, off the coast of West-Africa. Van Ghent's flotilla consisted of thirteen ships, mostly frigates, from the admiralties of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Zealand. His vice-admirals were Johan de Liefde and
808:; he was reburied at some time before late 1680; the precise date is unknown. The grave memorial is still extant. Van Ghent was deeply mourned in the Republic for having been both a brave and a kind, unpretentious man.
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in an incident, insisting that he was formally treated in accordance with his nominal rank. For the same reason of covert operation, Van Ghent's deputy, Vice-Commander of the
Marines Lieutenant-Colonel
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with a golden enamelled chalice, showing the event; sadly this priceless piece would be lost in the 18th century when it was trampled by the then-owner in anger when he was obliged to pay a gold-tax.
574:, the success of which was mainly due to his merit. The English fleet was laid up at the docks on the Medway due to financial deficits and was vulnerable to attack. Van Ghent first used the
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that Van Ghent would be severely punished for this insolence, but these refused. After a diplomatic row lasting half a year, Charles declared war, explicitly referring to this incident.
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while it was under repair and at its most vulnerable. For this purpose on transport ships, a large marine contingent would be kept in reserve, to be employed when the opportunity arose.
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Together, Van Ghent and De Witt conceived the plan to let a victorious sea battle be followed by an immediate landing on the
English coast, in order to destroy the enemy fleet at the
421:, which was established on 10 December 1665. This is often seen as a precursor of the Dutch Royal Marine Corps. Van Ghent was to be its first commander, carrying the rank of colonel.
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that cut off his lower left leg below the knee and penetrated his torso at five places. He tumbled forward, as his flag captain
Michiel Kindt put it in his log, "utterly dead".
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In 1671 war again threatened with
England. That summer the Dutch confederate fleet was largely kept busy training in preparation for the conflict. Van Ghent commanded, with the
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Witt immediately proposed Van Ghent, seen as politically reliable, as a successor; the very same day he was promoted lieutenant-admiral and appointed commanding admiral in the
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carrying the
Marines. Main objective was to raid the English fleet, which was still lying in the dock with repairs after the battle. Van Ghent was present on his ship, the
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captured and burnt six
Algerine privateers. Two hundred Christian slaves were liberated. As a reward Van Ghent received a golden chain worth eight hundred guilders.
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656:, the government of that province. From May until November 1670 he carried out operations, in cooperation with an English flotilla commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir
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was indeed equivalent to a colonel, many in the army disagreed and Van Ghent himself was bitterly disappointed to be humiliated by the proud
Lieutenant-Admiral
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On 6 March 1663, Van Ghent was appointed a salaried major. On 3 December 1664, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and was appointed as the military governor of
476:, causing such heavy pitching that the foremast broke. The ship had to be towed to port. To be able to continue commanding the marines, Van Ghent moved to the
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After the second Dutch war Van Ghent was inactive as an admiral for three years. In 1668 he was a member of the Council of State with the
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830:"Beach and van Ghent destroy six Barbary ships near Cape Spartel, Morocco, 17 August 1670 | Royal Museums Greenwich"
562:. In fact no naval action followed, although the entire Scottish militia was mobilised to repel a dreaded Dutch landing.
390:, the major Dutch naval port. This promotion was put forward by the threat of a new war with the English: in March 1665,
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490:(Rear-Admiral) Stachouwer, who had extensive amphibious operations' experience, during the second day of the battle.
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that summer tried to create another flag incident to obtain a pretext to declare war. On 24 August the royal yacht
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to escort and protect the Return Fleet, a biannual convoy from the East-Indies, on this occasion commanded by
792:. There it was embalmed because Van Ghent had indicated to his family his desire to be buried in the city of
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was burnt and Montagu drowned. The corpse of Van Ghent was quickly brought back to the Netherlands on the
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of 90 cannon as his flagship, the third squadron, largely consisting of frigates. His vice-admiral was
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398:. In August 1665, Van Ghent was present on De Ruyter's fleet relieving the Dutch treasure fleet at
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when it attacked the Dutch flagship. Forced to drop anchor as her own sails were in tatters, the
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officer and nobleman. His surname is also sometimes rendered Gendt or Gent; he was the first
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to attack the docked English ships with a frigate squadron from 21 June 1667. Three English
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but this location was at the time still occupied by French forces. In August 1674 sculptor
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to London, deliberately sailed through the Dutch fleet being maintained at anchor off
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In May 1667, Van Ghent could finally take part in 'his' amphibious landing, the
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commanding the squadron of the blue. Standing on deck Van Ghent was hit by a
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Six weeks later, the Dutch navy set out again, with the fleet numbering ten
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706:, carrying the wife of the previous English ambassador in the Republic Sir
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At that time, Van Gendt was an unsalaried major, commanding a regiment of
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When the Dutch confederate fleet sailed south to meet the English in the
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and the Count of Hoorn was appointed Captain of another ship by the name
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against Sweden in 1659, he executed a landing on the Danish island of
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640:. He only returned to the Texel, with his escortees, after the
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was damaged, even before the fight proper started, by a sudden
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330:. It is assumed he was born the same day. In 1642, he became
558:), commanding a force of 24 ships, to cruise the northern
406:. The same year, he advised the leading politician of the
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Van Ghent was baptised on 14 May 1626, in the church of
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was taken as a prize. Van Ghent was rewarded by the
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800:began work on Van Ghent's grave memorial in the
546:intercept the first convoy to set out from the
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869:Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars
750:Ghent's tomb effigy in the Domkerk in Utrecht
679:On 17 August 1670, van Ghent on his flagship
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864:Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic
671:The destruction of six Barbary ships near
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
453:, was also made a naval captain, on the
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762:. Commanding the Dutch vanguard on the
612:Immediately after having delivered the
417:, to found a special marine corps, the
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632:. At that time his vice-admiral was
550:. Van Ghent set out on his flagship
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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36:verification
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854:1672 deaths
849:1626 births
783:Royal James
768:Royal James
754:During the
171:7 June 1672
158:14 May 1626
141:Jan de Baen
843:Categories
812:References
599:men-of-war
524:Gelderland
512:Gelderland
504:Gelderland
470:Gelderland
459:Gelderland
455:Kruiningen
438:Gelderland
402:after the
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560:North Sea
552:Hollandia
240:1648–1672
181:, England
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253:Commands
794:Utrecht
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698:. King
681:Spiegel
592:frigate
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338:, as a
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328:Winssen
293:†
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179:Solebay
161:Winssen
83:scholar
806:Arnhem
729:Merlin
704:Merlin
618:Goeree
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245:Rank
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