Vice-admiral James Peacock (died 1653) was an English naval officer: first in the Parliamentary Navy during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, afterwards in the Commonwealth Navy during the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

Life

English Civil War

James Peacock appears to have been a merchant and sea captain, whose native place was

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. He is first mentioned as captain of the ''

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

'' frigate for the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, and commanding a squadron of ships-of-war in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

in the summer of 1647. In December he was moved into the ''Tiger'', and continued on the same service till December 1649. During this time he made several prizes, apparently

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s hailing from Jersey or from Ireland; convoyed the trade from Elsinore, and was repeatedly warned to station vessels near the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, to surprise Irish pirates, or on the coast of Norfolk, from Cromer to Lynn, to look out for 'pickaroons', 'pilfering sea-rovers'. In June 1648 he assisted in the

Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise suppor ...

by blockading the river. In September 1649 he was looking out for a ship from Amsterdam laden with arms for the Duke of Montrose. In 1650 the ''Tiger'' was one of a squadron sent to the Mediterranean under Vice-admiral Edward Hall in charge of convoy and for the security of trade against pirates and the Royalist privateers, and also with letters of reprisal against the French.Laughton 1895, p. 141. In January 1650–1 Peacock was awarded a gold chain and medal of the value of 50'' l''. for services at sea; at the same time 50''l''. was ordered to be paid in gratuities to the officers and men of the ''Tiger''. In October 1651 the ''Tiger'' arrived in the Thames, and was ordered to be paid off. The order was apparently annulled, for in January 1651–2, still commanded by ''Peacock'', she was sent to Leith with 80,000''l''. for the army. Afterwards she seems to have captured sundry small pirate vessels, the men of which were lodged in Ipswich gaol.

First Anglo-Dutch War

On 23 May 1652, on the news of the action off Folkestone on the 19th, the ''Tiger'', then in the Thames, was ordered to the Downs. Shortly afterwards she was cruising in the North Sea, and, in company with another frigate, engaged two Dutch men-of-war. On 10 June the Council of State wrote to the generals to signify to Peacock 'their acceptance' of his 'worthy deportment'. On 18 October Peacock reported his arrival at Yarmouth with twenty prizes. A month later he was appointed to command a squadron going to the Mediterranean to reinforce

Richard Badiley Vice-Admiral Richard Badiley ( – 7 or 11 August 1656) was an English naval officer. He saw service during the First Anglo-Dutch War. Early service He was a merchant, ship-owner, and ship-captain, probably related to several Badileys wh ...

, but the defeat of

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

on 30 November prevented his sailing. On 4 December he was ordered to go to the Downs with any ships-of-war ready in the river; on the 7th he was told that he should have a better ship; shortly afterwards he was moved into the ''Rainbow'', and in the following February was appointed Vice-admiral of the White Squadron, in which capacity he took part in the great

Battle of Portland The naval Battle of Portland, or Three Days' Battle took place during 18–20 February 1653 (28 February – 2 March 1653 (Gregorian calendar)), during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when the fleet of the Commonwealth of England under General at ...

on 18 February, and in the pursuit of the Dutch fleet as far as

Gris-Nez Cap Gris-Nez (literally "cape grey nose"; ) is a cape on the Côte d'Opale in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' in northern France. The 'Cliffs of the Cape' is the closest point of France to England – from their English counterparts at ...

. In March Peacock was moved again to the '' Triumph'', and in the action of 2–3 June 1653 was Vice-admiral of the Red Squadron, as also in the concluding action of the war, 29–31 July, when he was mortally wounded. Peacock died a few days later. He left a widow, Mary, and five children, to whom Parliament voted a gratuity of 750''l''., vested in trustees belonging to Ipswich, where they desired that the money might be paid.Laughton 1895. pp. 141–142.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Baumber, Michael (2004)
"Peacock, James (d. 1653), naval officer"
In ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. * Kirsch, Peter (2009)

Great Britain: Seaforth Publishing. * * Plant, David (8 March 2010)
"The Battle of Portland, 1653"
''BCW Project''. Retrieved 16 April 2022.

External links

* Harrison, Cy (24 August 2010)
"James Peacock (d.1653)"
''Three Decks: Warships in the Age of Sail''. Retrieved 16 April 2022. {{Authority control 1653 deaths Royal Navy admirals