The Rise and Fall of the Amerikaner Republics

Sevarics

Sevarics

The First Anglo-Dutch War: Part One​

Seven years after the conclusion of the Twelve Years War, tensions between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of the Netherlands erupted into the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1667. While the Dutch had originally thought that they would win any naval based war due to their naval prowess, with the transfer of territory into the Netherlands since the original Dutch revolt, the Dutch had had to continuously invest in their landed defenses, thereby depriving their navy of funding that would have otherwise assured Dutch superiority. Even though the first shots were fired in the waters around Europe, the majority of the war would take place in the New World as colonial militias from New England and Queensland battled with their New Hollandish counterparts. Oddly enough in the New World, the colonial troops on both sides referred to the war itself as the Cousins War due to the fact that Alexander, King of the Netherlands, was the cousin of Henry X, King of England. Yet, even though they saw it as a sort of pissing match between the Cousin-Kings, the militiamen were willing to fight and die in order to protect their land from what they saw as unjust encroachments and invasions, either by the colonial populations themselves, or by their native allies among the local tribes.

Unfortunately for New Holland, even though Pieter van Rosenvelt had done much to prepare the colony by increasing defenses and investing what money he could in the construction of forts, the wars in Europe had prevented the New Holland Company from being able to invest much in their colony as most of their investments had been tied up. Nevertheless, van Rosenvelt was determined to fight until the end for his newfound home and for his family. Consequently, Pieter led the New Hollandish militia from New Amsterdam into New England in response to the New English raids that had devastated the settlements along the Connecticut River. In New England, he was able to route the English forces at the First Battle of the Connecticut, incurring only minor losses. Proceeding onward, he hoped to be able to capture Stafford [1], Pembroke [2], and, Berkley [3], the three important English settlements that stood between his forces and the capital of New England, New Lancaster [4]. Initially successful, at Stafford, van Rosenvelt managed to capture Captain Charles Bennett, one of the leading colonial leaders of the New English armed forces, while forcing those men not captured or killed, to flee onward to Pembroke. With the First Battle of the Connecticut and the Capture of Stafford under his belt, Pieter left his son, Nicolas, in command of a small battalion of troops in Stafford, while he pressed onward to Pembroke on the tails of the troops that had fled following the Battle of Stafford.

At Berkley, though, van Rosenvelt’s luck ran out, however, when the forces under his control were ambushed by those of Captain Edward Bingley and Captain Thomas Darcy, who had their main army under Darcy face the forces under Pieter head on, while the cavalry under Bingley completed a surprise charge from behind, catching the New Hollandish militia completely unawares. True to his nature, van Rosenvelt attempted to keep his men in control and prevent them from scattering in the face of the two-pronged attack. However, as the cavalry under Bingley crashed into his forces, the New Hollandish broke ranks and began to take on serious casualties as the cavalry and the advancing infantrymen cut them down. However, van Rosenvelt refused to cower and instead lifted his saber forward as he urged his steed onward toward Captain Bingley. Mythologized as “Van Rosenvelt’s Last Stand,” men on both sides took note as he continued forward, cutting down those in front of him even as his own men abandoned him. Some New Hollandish found a new sense of courage in their leader’s actions and followed behind him. Nevertheless, despite his bravery, there was nothing Pieter could do to ultimately win the battle. Despite this, though, he continued his charge even after his horse fell before the New English enemy. Picking himself up, he grabbed his bayonet and drove it into the steed of Captain Bingley, causing the New Englishman to fall backward on to the ground. Before Pieter could take out the man, however, he was likewise brought down, impaled by a bayonet from behind as he stood over the cowering Bingley.

With news of the loss at Berkley materializing westward with the fleeing Dutch troops, the New Hollandish forces at Stafford under the late Pieter van Rosenvelt’s son, Nicolas, began to move onward to Pembroke, intent on avenging the death of their leader and preventing the New English from retaking their settlement. When Nicolas arrived at Pembroke, though, he found a town full of wounded soldiers that had survived the loss at Berkley. While he had hoped to revitalize the men that had served under his father, he knew that in their condition they would be more or less useless to him, and, as a result, ordered their removal back to Stafford, knowing that if they were captured at Pembroke, the English would likely abandon them to their fates. As they trickled out, Nicolas attempted to fortify Pembroke to the best of his abilities, but, the equipment he needed to properly defend it was few and far between. Consequently, as the last of the injured men left, Nicolas ordered every useful supply taken from the town as it was stripped of everything the Dutchmen could find value of, food, guns, gunpowder, cannons, metal, cattle, before putting the town to the torch and retreating back to Stafford, which Nicolas was determined to prevent the New English from taking.

[1] OTL Old Lyme, Conn
[2] OTL New London, Conn
[3] OTL Providence, RI
[4] OTL Boston, Mass
 
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