Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer or Egbert Meussen Cortenaer (1604 – 13 June 1665) was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

of the United Provinces of the Netherlands who was killed in the

Battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the Dutch Republic, United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, at ...

.His second name is also given as ''Bartolomeuszoon'' or ''Meeuwiszoon''. All of these are variations on the

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

"Son of Bartholomew": his father's full name was Bartholomeus, a name often shortened to the last part, pronounced "Meeuwis".

Biography

Kortenaer was born in 1604 in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

of humble origins. In 1626, he was made

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...

, in 1636, second mate. In the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast ...

, he served as first mate in 1652 on the Dutch flagship, '' Brederode''.Kortenaer, Egbert Meeuwszoon
in the

NNBW The ''Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek'' (''NNBW'') is a biographical reference work in the Dutch language. It was published in ten parts between 1911 and 1937 by Sijthoff, Leiden, and the editors were P. C. Molhuysen and P. J. Blok. ...

In the

Battle of Dungeness A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, he lost his right hand and eye. On 10 April 1653, he was made

commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, t ...

to replace

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

Abel Roelants when Lieutenant-Admiral

Maarten Tromp Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp or Maarten van Tromp (23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was an army general and admiral in the Dutch navy during much of the Eighty Years' War and throughout the First Anglo-Dutch War. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spe ...

used ''Brederode'' as his flagship. In the

Battle of Scheveningen The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on July 31st 1653 between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet suffered heavy losses. Background A ...

, Tromp was killed. Kortenaer kept Tromp's standard raised to keep up morale (this was habitual for the Dutch on such occasions) and took command of his squadron. On 21 October 1653, Kortenaer was promoted to captain. In the years after the war, he often commanded squadrons as commodore when flag officers were absent. In the

Battle of the Sound The Battle of the Sound was a naval engagement which took place on 8 November 1658 (29 October O.S.) during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Øresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had invaded Denmark and an army ...

(8 November 1658), serving as flag captain on '' Eendragt'', he beat off every Swedish attack while his commanding officer, Lieutenant-Admiral

Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam (1610 – 13 June 1665) was a Dutch States Navy officer and nobleman who became lieutenant admiral, and supreme commander of the Dutch navy. He had as official titles Banner Lord of Wassenaer, and Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, ...

, was debilitated by

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. After this heroic conduct against the Swedish, Kortenaer was promoted to vice-admiral on 8 May 1659 and knighted by

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III (; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the ...

in the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

. On 29 January 1665, shortly before the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, he was made lieutenant-admiral of the Admiralty of de Maze. He wasn't given command of the confederate Dutch fleet because he was a supporter of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

. A British intelligence report stated, "He is the best man they have". During the

on 13 June 1665, Kortenaer commanded the van and was second in overall command behind Van Wassenaer. He was fatally wounded early in the battle on ''Groot Hollandia'' by a

cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

hitting his hip and buried in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

in a marble grave memorial engraved with a poem by

Gerard Brandt Gerard Brandt (25 July 1626 – 12 October 1685) was a Dutch preacher, playwright, poet, church historian, biographer and naval historian. A well-known writer in his own time, his works include a ''Life of Michiel de Ruyter'' (1687, ''Het Lev ...

:''The Hero of the Maas, bereft of eye'' ::''and his right hand'' :''Yet of the Wheel the Eye, Fist of'' ::''the Fatherland'' :''KORTENAER the Great, the terror'' ::''of foe's fleets'' :''the forcer of the Sound by this grave'' ::''his country greets''

Portraits

File:Wouter Muller - Egbert Kortenaer, luitenant-admiraal van Holland en West-Friesland, gevallen in de slag bij Lowestoft, 1665 NG-VG-1-969.jpg, Commemorative medal by Wouter Muller, 1665 File:Helst, Egbert Kortenaer.jpg, ''Lieutenant-Admiral Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer'', anonymous copy of the Van der Helst portrait, hiding his blind eye File:Admiral Egbert Meeuwisz Kortenaer (1604-1665), after Isaac Mijtens.jpg, ''Lieutenant-Admiral Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer'' (after a painting by Isaac Mijtens)

HNLMS Kortenaer

Several ships of the Dutch navy have been named ''Kortenaer'' after the admiral, * A late-19th century

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

* The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

. * An ex-British S-class destroyer, formerly HMS ''Scorpion'', transferred in 1945 * The lead ship of the s

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kortenaer, Egbert Bartholomeusz 1604 births 1665 deaths 17th-century Dutch military personnel Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Dutch military personnel killed in action People from Groningen (city) Deaths by cannonball