Battle of Leghorn The naval Battle of Leghorn ( the Dutch call the encounter by the Italian name Livorno ) took place on 14 March ( 4 March Old Style ) 1653 , during the First Anglo - Dutch War , near Leghorn ( Livorno ) , Italy . It was a victory of a Dutch fleet under Commodore Johan van Galen over an English squadron under Captain Henry Appleton . Afterward an English fleet under Captain Richard Badiley , which Appleton had been trying to reach , came up but was outnumbered and fled . In 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of England , mistakenly believing that the Dutch had been defeated at the Battle of the Kentish Knock , split their fleet between the Mediterranean and home waters . This division of forces led to a defeat at the Battle of Dungeness in December 1652 , and by early 1653 the situation in the Mediterranean was critical too . Appleton ' s squadron of six ships was trapped in Leghorn by a blockading Dutch fleet of 16 ships , while Richard Badiley ' s of eight was at Elba . The only hope for the English was to combine their forces , but Appleton sailed too soon and engaged with the Dutch before Badiley could come up to help . Three of his ships were captured and two destroyed and only " Mary " , sailing faster than the Dutch ships , escaped to join Badiley . Badiley engaged the Dutch , but was heavily outnumbered and retreated . The battle gave the Dutch command of the Mediterranean , placing the English trade with the Levant at their mercy , but Van Galen was mortally wounded , dying on 23 March . One of the Dutch captains at the battle was son of Lieutenant - Admiral Maarten Tromp , Cornelis Tromp , who was to become a famous admiral himself . Ships involved . Netherlands ( Johan van Galen ) . " Vereenigde Provincien " / " Zeven Provincien " ( United Provinces / Seven Provinces ) 40 ( flag ) < br > " Eendracht " ( Concord ) 40 ( Jacob de Boer ) < br > " Maan " ( Moon ) 40 ( Cornelis Tromp ) < br > " Ter Goes " 40 < br > " Zon " ( Sun ) 40 < br > " Zutphen " 36 < br > " Maagd van Enkhuysen " ( Maiden of Enkhuysen ) 34 < br > " Jonge Prins " ( Young Prince ) 28 < br > " Julius Caesar " 28 ( hired merchantman ) < br > " Witte Olifant " ( White Elephant ) 28 ( hired Italian merchantman " Elefante Bianco " ; captain Sijbrant Janszoon Mol ) < br > " Madonna della Vigna " 28 ( hired merchantman ) - Ran aground north of Livorno harbor < br > " Susanna " 28 ( hired merchantman ) < br > " Zwarte Arend " ( Black Eagle ) 28 < br > " Salomons Oordeel " 28 ( hired merchantman ) < br > " Roode Haes " ( Red Hare ) 28 ( hired merchantman ) < br > " Ster " ( Star ) 28 ( hired merchantman ) England . Henry Appleton ' s squadron < br > " Bonaventure " 44 ( Stephen Lyne ) - Blown up by " Vereenigde Provincien " < br > " Leopard " 48 ( flag ) - Captured ( by " Eendracht " ? ) < br > " Sam ( p ) son " 40 ( hired merchantman , Edmund Seaman ) - Burnt by fireship < br > " Mary " 30 ( hired merchantman , Benjamin Fisher ) < br > " Peregrine " 30 ( hired merchantman , John Wood ) - Captured by " Zwarte Arend " < br > " Levant Merchant " 28 / 30 ? ( hired merchantman , Stephen Marsh ) - Captured by " Maagd van Enkhuysen " < br > Richard Badiley ' s fleet < br > " Paragon " 52 ( flag ) < br > " Phoenix " 36 ( Owen Cox ) < br > " Elizabeth " 36 ( Jonas Reeves ) < br > " Constant Warwick " 32 ( Upshott ) < br > " Mary Rose " 32 ( hired merchantman , John Turtley ) < br > " Lewis " 30 ( hired merchantman , William Elle ) < br > " William and Thomas " 30 ( hired merchantman , John Godolphin ) < br > " Thomas Bonaventure " 28 ( hired merchantman , George Hughes ) < br > " ? " ( fireship , Peter Whyting ) The fireship is listed as " Charity " in " Mariner ' s Mirror " vol . 49 , but according to " Mariner ' s Mirror " vol . 24 that ship was expended during an action off Plymouth on 27 August 1652 .