Sir Thomas Teddeman († 13 May 1668

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

) was an English

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the 17th century. His name was also written as ''Teddiman'', ''Tyddiman'' or ''Teddyman''. The early career of Thomas Teddeman is unknown; he was not a naval captain 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, ...

. He was the namesake of his father, who descended from a family of ship-owners in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. His cousin was the naval captain Henry Teddeman. Teddeman, first serving the

English Commonwealth The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...

, commanded from 1659 till 1660 the ''Tredagh'' (after the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

renamed to ) in the Mediterranean during the Anglo-Spanish War. From 31 May till 10 June 1660 he chased six Spanish vessels he encountered off

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. In May 1661 he became captain of and in 1663 commanded on which he brought the English ambassador to

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, the

Earl of Carlisle Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. History The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliame ...

, to

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in July. In May 1664 Teddeman was made commander of and the same year promoted to captain of . In 1665, during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...

, he distinguished himself as

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

of the Blue Squadron 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 United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size comm ...

, with as flagship the new second rate , and was knighted on 30 June (Old Style). In August 1665 Teddeman was sent on the ''Revenge'' to

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

to capture a Dutch treasure fleet with a flotilla of frigates but was defeated in the

Battle of Vågen The Battle of Vågen was a naval battle between a Netherlands, Dutch merchant and treasure fleet; and an England, English flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The battle took place in Vågen, Bergen, Vågen ...

Commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Pieter de Bitter Pieter de Bitter (15June 1666) was a 17th-century Dutch Republic, Dutch officer of the Dutch East India Company ( nl, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated to VOC). On 12August 1665 (New Style) he won the Battle of Vågen agai ...

. Though this was a major disappointment to

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

, Teddeman's career did not suffer much and he fought, again on the ''Katherine'', the next year as vice admiral of the Blue in the

Four Days Battle The Four Days' Battle, also known as the Four Days' Fight in some English sources and as Vierdaagse Zeeslag in Dutch, was a naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Fought from 1 June to 4 June 1666 in the Julian or Old Style calendar that ...

and as vice-admiral of the White in the

St James's Day Battle St James' Day Battle (also known as St James' Day Fight, the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 25 July 1666 — St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England (4 August 1666 in the Gregoria ...

. In 1667 Teddeman had no command, the main vessels of the English fleet having been laid up. In 1668 he commanded on {{HMS, Cambridge, 1666, 6, but was the subject of an investigation by

English Parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

, trying to establish the causes of the lost war, by which he was much troubled. On 13 May he died from a fever caused by a thrush in the mouth.

Literature

R.C. Anderson, 1964, ''List of English Naval Captains 1642–1660'' Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War 1668 deaths Year of birth missing