16
WINTER OPERATIONS
flag officers followed (29 January) to definitively exclude any Zeelander from that
position. Nonetheless, the thorny issue of the winter command had been quickly
settled, probably because Evertsen clearly held the senior rank in the winter fleet:
the only non-Zeeland flag officers were the Amsterdammers Jan van Campen
(already Commodore of the Guinea squadron) and Abraham van der Hulst -
promoted to temporary Rear-Admiral only on 29 January.
Of the Amsterdam frigate squadron, captains Fabritius (Leiden, 36) and De Marre
Vollenhoven26) had immense problems crossing the Pampus shoal: this obstacle
was always a problem for Amsterdam ships, but the winter created severe difficul
ties - ice soon made it impassable.48
The small squadron of four Zeeland frigates were under the new Rear-Admiral,
Adriaan Banckert, who shifted his flag and crew from the capital ship Veere into
the frigate Zeeridder (out of use since the summer). Zeeridder was then found to be
defective, and the frigate Goes (still laid up) allocated instead, but in another last-
minute change - Zeeridder was hurriedly repaired in her place. The sortie was
planned for 20 December, but took place at least a week later; it is not clear if the
work on Zeeridder (now up-gunned to 36 guns) was to blame for this delay.4' We
shall see this squadron in action below (see Table 2).
The composition of Evertsen's winter fleet is not easy to establish (see Appendix 1).
In addition to the extra 18 ships, the Guinea force (this expedition was formally
cancelled on 27 January) comprised ten ships, rather than eight, making a com
bined nominal total of 28 ships. Two of the '18 ships', however, were not present
(one Zeelander and one Frisian; see Appendix 1), for an actual total of 26. In
addition, Zeeland was also instructed to have all her own remaining ships ready in
support.50 With four ships actually serving with the combined fleet (and two more
wintering at La Rochelle), nine more major Zeeland warships were in service and
available (see Appendix 2). The movements of the Amsterdam frigate squadron
are unclear, but at some point it did join the others in the Wielings making a
maximum theoretical strength of 39 ships.
The fleet assembled gradually. On 18 December seven ships of the Guinea force
arrived under Van Campen in Luipaard (54); the flagship was a British prize - a
third-rate taken in 1653. This component of the fleet was almost complete at nine
ships with the arrival on 26 December of Rotterdam's Marinus de Clerk (Prins
Maurits, 46) and Amsterdam's Joost Verschuur (Wapen van Edam, 30). Of the
extra 18 ships, the Amsterdammers were the first to be ready - their 6-strong
contingent under Van der Hulst (Amsterdam, 54) sailed from Hellevoetsluis on
17 December and arrived on 20 December. By 26 December the Amsterdam
admiralty complained that only its contingent was present in the Wielings. Three
more Rotterdam ships were, however, en route after being delayed by discontent
in their crews, as well as a shortage of pilots. Nonetheless, on 26-27 December two
more of the extra' 18 arrived: Rotterdam's Jacob van Boshuisen (Delft, 36)
returned from a voyage to England (transporting Secretary Cunaeus), and the
Noorderkwartier's Klaas Valahen (Wapen van Hoorn, 30) who had had to fight
his way through ice.51
The tenth Guinea ship was delayed until around mid-January: at Rotterdam
Corstiaen Eldertszoon's crew refused to sail in Gorincbem (34) because of her leaks;
