Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer or Egbert Meussen Cortenaer (1604 – 13 June 1665) was an admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 of the United Provinces

Dutch Republic

The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 of the Netherlands. His second name is also given as Bartolomeuszoon or Meeuwiszoon. All of these are variations on the patronym "Son of Bartholomew".

Kortenaer was born in 1604 in Groningen of humble origins. In 1626 he was made boatswain

Boatswain

A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...

, in 1636 second mate. In the First Anglo-Dutch War

First Anglo-Dutch War

The First Anglo–Dutch War was the first of the four Anglo–Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but...

 he served as first mate in 1652 on the Dutch flagship, Brederode

Dutch ship Brederode

Brederode was a ship of the line of the navy of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the flagship of the Dutch fleet in the First Anglo-Dutch War. Throughout her career, she carried from 53-59 guns...

. In the Battle of Dungeness

Battle of Dungeness

The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 10 December 1652 during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent.- Background :...

 he lost his right hand and eye. On 10 April 1653 he was made commandeur

Commandeur

Commandeur is a title in French and Dutch , usually rendered in English as Commander, with different uses. The literal meaning is he who commands, parallel to Commandant. In most senses the German equivalent is Kommandeur....

 to replace flag captain

Flag captain

In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...

 Abel Roelants when Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp

Maarten Tromp

Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy. His first name is also spelled as Maerten.-Early life:...

 used Brederode as his flagship. In the Battle of Scheveningen

Battle of Scheveningen

The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War...

 Tromp was killed. Kortenaer kept Tromp's standard raised to keep up morale (this was habitual for the Dutch on such occasions) and took command of his squadron. On 21 October 1653 Kortenaer was promoted to captain. In the years after the war he often commanded squadrons as commodore when flag officers were absent.

In the Battle of the Sound

Battle of the Sound

The naval Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658 during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Oresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had defeated Denmark and an army under Charles X of Sweden had Copenhagen itself under siege...

 (8 November 1658), serving as flag captain on Eendragt, he beat off every Swedish attack while his commanding officer Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam

Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam

Jacob, Banner Lord of Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek, Opmeer, Zuidwijk and Kernhem was a Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral, and supreme commander of the confederate Dutch navy. The name Obdam was then also spelled as Opdam...

 was debilitated by gout

Gout

Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...

. After this heroic conduct against the Swedish, Kortenaer was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 8 May 1659 and knighted by Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

 in the Order of the Elephant

Order of the Elephant

The Order of the Elephant is the highest order of Denmark. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively bestowed on royalty and heads of state.- History :A Danish religious...

. On 29 January 1665, shortly before the Second Anglo-Dutch War

Second Anglo-Dutch War

The Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....

, he was made Lieutenant-Admiral of the Admiralty of de Maze

Admiralty of Rotterdam

The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Admiralties in the Dutch Republic.-History:It was set up in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when William I of Orange's supporters decided to pool their naval resources at Rotterdam...

. He wasn't given command of the confederate Dutch fleet because he was a supporter of the House of Orange

Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....

. A British intelligence report stated: "He is the best man they have".

During the Battle of Lowestoft

Battle of Lowestoft

The naval Battle of Lowestoft took place on 13 June 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size commanded by James Stuart, Duke of York forty...

 on 13 June 1665 Kortenaer commanded the van and was second in overall command behind Van Wassenaer. He was fatally wounded early in the battle on Groot Hollandia by a cannonball

Round shot

Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...

 hitting his hip and buried in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

 in a marble grave memorial engraved by a poem of Gerard Brandt:

The Hero of the Maas, bereft of eye

and his right hand

Yet of the Wheel the Eye, Fist of

the Fatherland

KORTENAER the Great, the terror

of foe's fleets

the forcer of the Sound by this grave

his country greets

HNLMS Kortenaer

Several ships of the Dutch navy have been named Kortenaer after the admiral,

• A late-19th Century Coastal defence ship
  Coastal defence ship
  Coastal defence ships were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrificed speed and range for armour and armament...
  
  
• The World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
   destroyer
  Destroyer
  In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
  
   HNLMS Kortenaer
  HNLMS Kortenaer
  HNLMS Kortenaer was an of the Royal Netherlands Navy, named after 17th century Dutch Admiral Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer.-Service history:She served mostly in the Netherlands East Indies, and when war broke out in 1941 she was at Surabaya....
  
  .
• An ex-British S Class destroyer
  S and T class destroyer
  The S and T class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were built as two flotillas, known as the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla respectively and they served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II.-Design features:The S class, introduced the CP ...
  
   formerly HMS Scorpion transferred in 1945
• The lead ship of the Kortenaer class frigate
  Kortenaer class frigate
  The Kortenaer class was a class of frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were built to be a general purpose frigate; able to combat all surface, submarine and aircraft targets. Like some of the other frigates of the 1970s and 1980s, they featured a COGOG propulsion system...
  
  s