''Kingfisher'' was a 46-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, built by Phineas Pett III at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

and launched in 1675. She was specially designed to counter the attacks of Algerine corsairs, or pirates, in the Mediterranean by masquerading as a merchantman, which she achieved by hiding her armament behind false bulkheads. She also was provided with various means of changing her appearance.

Active service

In 1679, Commander Morgan Kempthorne, the 21-year-old son of John Kempthorne, took command of ''Kingfisher'', sailing her to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

with a convoy.

Battle with seven Algerines

On 22 May 1681, soon after leaving Naples, ''Kingfisher'' encountered seven Algerine men-of-war and a

settee A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with uph ...

. The Algerines tried to deceive the English by changing their colours; first they had French, then Dutch and then some of them Algiers colours. One hoisted an English jack and a Turkish or Algerine flag at the main topmasthead. After a long fight, the Algerines gave up, though Kempthorne was killed during the action. Including her captain, ''Kingfisher'' lost eight dead and 38 wounded in a fight that had lasted 12 hours. ''Kingfisher'' was repaired at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

and Kempthorne was buried there. The battle is the subject of several works of art. James II, at the time Duke of York, commissioned an oil painting from

Willem van de Velde the Elder Willem van de Velde the Elder (1610/11 – 13 December 1693) was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter, who produced many precise drawings of ships and ink paintings of fleets, but later learned to use oil paints like his son. Biography W ...

depicting the moment when the leading Algerine ship entered the battle and engaged with ''Kingfisher''. There also exists a

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonali ...

Elisha Kirkall Elisha Kirkall (c.1682–1742) was a prolific English engraver, who made many experiments in printmaking techniques. He was noted for engravings on type metal that could be set up with letterpress for book illustrations, and was also known as a ...

of the battle, previously thought to depict a similar battle by John Kempthorne, Morgan's father; the original is either a painting by

Willem van de Velde the Younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch Republic, Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landsc ...

, or a copy by someone such as Cornelius van de Velde of a lost painting by the Younger. Kirkall's mezzotint is the likely basis for a 1734 painting by

Peter Monamy Peter Monamy was an English people, English Marine art, marine painting, painter who lived between 1681 and 1749. Early life and family Peter Monamy was baptised at the church of St Botolph's Aldgate, St Botolph's-without-Aldgate, London, ...

in the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

(BHC0297). Although it bears the inscription " ''Cap^t Kempthorne's Action in the Mary Rose a small Frigate with seven Algerines in the Mediterranean in 1669''", this inscription was probably added in the late eighteenth century, according to

Geoffrey Callender Sir Geoffrey Arthur Romaine Callender (25 November 1875 – 6 November 1946) was an English naval historian and the first director of the National Maritime Museum from its opening in 1937 until his death in 1946. Life The son of a cotton ...

and

Michael S. Robinson Michael Strang Robinson (1910–1999) was Keeper of Pictures at the National Maritime Museum, London, England. He was an expert on the paintings of Willem van de Velde, the elder and Willem van de Velde, the younger..Obituary, ''Mariner's Mirro ...

, and is erroneous; there is no correspondence between this image and Hollar's eyewitness version, but in the centre of the painting is a small enemy boat that corresponds directly to one referred to in an account of the 1681 action in the ''Kingfisher''. The painting had previously been attributed to

, or speculated to be by van de Velde the Elder, before Monamy's signature and the date of 1734 were found when it was catalogued in the early 1930s. The inscription also contains a couple of lines recounting, with some exaggeration, the action: :''Two we burnt, and two we sank, and two did run away;'' :''But one we carried to Leghorn Roads to show we'd won the day.'' File:HMS 'Kingfisher's action against seven Algerine ships.jpg, ''Kingfisher''s action against seven Algerine ships, 22 May 1681, by

Willem van de Velde, the elder Willem van de Velde the Elder (1610/11 – 13 December 1693) was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter, who produced many precise drawings of ships and ink paintings of fleets, but later learned to use oil paints like his son. Biography W ...

File:Willem van de Velde the Elder (1611-93) - The Action of the Kingfisher with Seven Algerine Ships, 1 June 1681 - RCIN 405178 - Royal Collection.jpg, van de Velde's oil painting of the action, based on the previous sketch File:HMS Mary Rose and pirates.jpg, Mezzotint of the battle by Elisha Kirkall File:Kempthorne and seven Algerines color.png, Possibly the original of Kirkall's mezzotint

Sallee pirates

Three months later,

Francis Wheler Sir Francis Wheler (sometimes spelt Wheeler) (1656 – 19 February 1694) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Nine Years' War. Wheler spent the early part of his career in the Mediterranean, eventually being promoted to comm ...

, formerly captain of , took command of ''Kingfisher'' from her lieutenant, Ralph Wrenn, who took command of ''Nonsuch''. In October, ''Kingfisher'' fought and captured a large Sallee pirate, which however sank shortly after striking.Clowes ''et al.'' (1897-1903), pp.456-7.

Argyll's Ringing

In 1685, during the

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll (26 February 1629 – 30 June 1685) was a Scottish peer and soldier. The hereditary chief of Clan Campbell, and a prominent figure in Scottish politics, he was a Royalist supporter during the latter stage ...

, against King James, ''Kingfisher'' bombarded

Carrick Castle Carrick Castle is a 14th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located between Cuilmuich and Carrick, south of Lochgoilhead. The castle stands on a rocky peninsula, and ...

, badly damaging the keep, which lost its roof. She also captured ''Sophia'', of 145 tons (bm) and 12 guns, which the navy took into service as . Captain Thomas Hamilton commanded Kingfisher in this action. In 1687 Captain Thomas Hamilton died while ''Kingfisher'' was at Boston, Massachusetts.

Fate

''Kingfisher'' was rebuilt at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

in 1699, as a

Fourth Rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

of 46-54 guns. She was hulked in 1706, and was broken up in 1728.

Citations

References

* * Clowes, W. Laird, ''et al.'' (1897–1903) The royal navy: a history from the earliest times to the present. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co.; London : S. Low, Marston and Co.). * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingfisher (1675) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1670s ships