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

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

.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 (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

"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 (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

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, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

, in 1636, second mate. In 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 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 has been succeeded by the ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland''. It was published in ten parts between 1911 and 1937 by ...

In the

Battle of Dungeness The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent. Background In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...

, 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. 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. ...

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 "First ...

Abel Roelants when Lieutenant-Admiral

Maarten Tromp Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...

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

Battle of Scheveningen The Battle of Scheveningen (also known as the Battle of Ter Heijde) was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 31 July 1653 (10 August on the Gregorian calendar), between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England ...

, 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, Banner Lord of Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek, Opmeer, Zuidwijk and Kernhem (1610 – 13 June 1665) was a Dutch nobleman who became lieutenant admiral, and supreme commander of the navy of the Dutch Republic. The name ''Obd ...

, was debilitated by

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

. 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 ( da, Frederik; 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-bi ...

in the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a 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 ...

. On 29 January 1665, shortly before 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 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 (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...

. 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 ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

in a marble grave memorial engraved with a poem by

Gerard Brandt Gerard Brandt (25 July 1626, Amsterdam – 12 October 1685, Amsterdam) 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 Ruy ...

:''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 Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

)

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. * 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)