Sir
George Ayscue, General-at-Sea,
c.1616-1672
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Sir George Ayscue.
See
also Sir
George Ayscue in Dutch. |
Son
of a distinguished Lincolnshire family, Ayscue was knighted by King
Charles I in 1641. By the summer of 1646, he was serving as a captain
in Parliament's navy After serving as governor of the Isles of
Scilly until January 1647, he returned to sea as captain of the "Antelope" (1647) and the
"Lion" (1648).
When William Batten defected to the Royalists in 1648, Ayscue's influence kept most of the fleet loyal to Parliament. He was appointed Vice-Admiral in the fleet that confronted the Prince of Wales and blockaded the Royalists in Helvoetsluys in August 1648. Ayscue was then promoted to Admiral of the Irish Sea fleet with responsibility for keeping the sea route open to Dublin when it was besieged by the Marquis of Ormond. It is probable that he met and befriended de Ruyter in those days, (1651) as the latter was a factor in Dublin for a Flushing merchant at the time, and a merchant in his own ship the "Salamander".
In
1650, Ayscue was appointed commander of the squadron sent to capture
Barbados from the Royalists. Before setting out, he was diverted to
serve as second-in-command to
Robert
Blake
(Dutch) and
Robert Blake (English)
in his attack on the Scilly Isles, which were
held for Charles II by Sir John Grenville. After the recapture of
Scilly, Ayscue sailed for Barbados in August 1651. He arrived
in October and blockaded the island. The Royalist governor Lord Willoughby surrendered to
Ayscue in January 1652 and Barbados submitted to the Commonwealth.
Other colonies in the West Indies and America submitted without
further resistance.
Ayscue
arrived back in England in May 1652. During the First Anglo-Dutch War, he was
active in harassing Dutch convoys in the Channel. In July, Ayscue's
squadron prepared to engage a much larger Dutch fleet commanded by
Tromp, but the Dutch sailed away when the wind changed. In August
1652, Ayscue's squadron was reinforced. With the "George" as his
flagship, he patrolled the Channel with 38 men-of-war and armed
merchantmen. On 16 August, he clashed with Admiral de Ruyter at the
battle of Plymouth. Ayscue retired from his command soon after the battle.
The reasons for his retirement are unclear. He claimed ill-health, but
he was also known to dislike going to war against a Protestant nation.
Ayscue remained in retirement at Chertsey in Surrey for several years.
In 1658, Cromwell persuaded him to go as a naval advisor to Charles X
of Sweden, where he remained until the Restoration.
Ayscue
was appointed an Admiral in Charles II's navy and fought in the
Second
Anglo-Dutch War.
During the
Four
Days' Battle
(June 1666), Ayscue's
ship ran aground. He was taken prisoner by the Dutch and became the
only British flag-officer in the history of the Royal Navy who was
ever captured and imprisoned by the enemy.
He remained captive
until the war ended in 1667. He was appointed to another command when
the
Third Anglo-Dutch
War broke out, but died in April 1672 before he
could take it up.