Order of battle at the Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown was an important naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars , fought off Camperduin on the North Holland coast on 11 October 1797 between a British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch fleet under Vice - Admiral Jan de Winter . The French Republic had overrun the Dutch Republic two years earlier , reforming it into the Batavian Republic . In early 1797 , the Dutch Navy was ordered to sail to Brest and unite with the French Atlantic Fleet in preparation for an invasion of Ireland . Shortly afterwards , the British fleets were paralysed by the Spithead and Nore mutinies , in which the sailors refused to take their ships to sea until they were awarded better pay and conditions . For two months , the English Channel was undefended , but the Dutch failed to take the opportunity to sail from their harbour in the Texel : their preparations were not complete , and a small squadron of loyal British ships under Duncan convinced de Winter that the British fleet was at sea by sending nonsensical signals to fictitious ships over the horizon . By October 1797 , the plan to attack Ireland had been abandoned and the British North Sea Fleet was again at full strength . During a brief period replenishing supplies at Yarmouth , news reached Duncan on 10 October that the Dutch had sailed on a raiding cruise and he returned to the Dutch coast , intercepting de Winter ' s fleet on its way back to the Texel . The Dutch formed a line of battle in shallow coastal waters to meet Duncan ' s attack , which was conducted in a confused mass , the British fleet separating into two groups that struck the vanguard and rear of the Dutch fleet , overwhelming each in turn and capturing eleven ships , including de Winter ' s flagship " Vrijheid " . On the return journey , three of the captured ships were lost , and none of the surviving Dutch prizes was ever suitable for active service again . Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the battle as each fleet had been trained to aim at the hulls of their opponents , maximising the damage to personnel . Although the sailors of both fleets fought hard , they were suffering from popular unrest ; the mutinies in Britain continued to overshadow the Royal Navy , while the Dutch sailors were unhappy with French dominion and , in marked difference to their officers , were generally supporters of the exiled House of Orange . In addition , the Dutch were disaffected and poorly trained due to the long months blockade d in their harbours , which made them inferior seamen and gunners when compared with the highly experienced British crews , and the Dutch ships were more weakly constructed than their British counterparts with a shallower draught , a necessity in the shallow waters of the Dutch coast but a liability when fighting warships built for the open ocean . The Dutch did , however , have the advantage of weight of shot , especially when their well - armed frigates and brigs are included statistically . Unlike their British equivalents , these lighter craft were intended to contribute in battle , covering the gaps in the line between their larger companions . Orders of battle . " The ships in the orders of battle below are listed in the order in which they appeared in the respective battle lines . Listed in the casualties section are the totals of killed and wounded as best as can be established : due to the nature of the battle , Dutch losses were hard to calculate precisely . Officers killed in action or who subsequently died of wounds received are marked with a † symbol . As carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship ' s rate , these ships may have actually been carrying additional or fewer guns than indicated below . "