Samuel Story
| Samuel Story | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
2 October 1752 Maasbommel, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 8 January 1811 (aged 58) Cleves |
| Allegiance |
 Batavian Republic
|
| Service/branch |
 Batavian Republic Navy
|
| Years of service | 1770–1804 |
| Rank | vice-admiral |
| Commands held |
Jason Pollux |
| Battles/wars | |
Samuel Story (2 October 1752 – 8 January 1811) was a vice-admiral of the navy of the Batavian Republic. He commanded the squadron that surrendered without a fight to the Royal Navy at the Vlieter Incident in 1799.
Story was born in Maasbommel. He entered the navy of the Dutch Republic (Admiralty of the Maze) in 1770. On 5 July 1774 he became a lieutenant on the 20-gun Orangezaal. His first command (in 1781) was the 36-gun frigate Jason. In 1793, he was appointed captain of the 40-gun frigate Pollux at Hellevoetsluis.
In the severe winter of 1794/95 the ships of the Dutch navy at the roadstead of Hellevoetsluis became frozen in the ice on the River Maas. Story's commanding officer Rear-Admiral Pieter Melvill van Carnbee then appointed him commander of the naval base and squadron. The armies of the French Republic had invaded the Netherlands in the course of the War of the First Coalition. They made easy progress in early 1795 and the commander-in-chief of the Dutch navy, lieutenant-admiral Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen ordered Story to offer no resistance. On 3 January 1795, he released and armed 600 French prisoners of war, who had been incarcerated on his base. In that way he secured the base for the Batavian Republic that was proclaimed shortly afterward.
The new government of that Republic appointed Story in February, 1795, to a commission that was charged with making an inventory of the ships of the fleet, and other naval installations, in connection with accusations of neglect by the previous regime. The commission presented its report on 27 May 1795, and concluded that the state of the navy was deplorable. This was the basis for an ambitious programme of naval construction in 1796.
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