Mitchell's ultimatum wins the fleet without battle

Mitchell gave Story one hour to surrender and even placed Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Maitland inside the Dutch council of war as a British observer. Maitland recorded the captains' open attachment to the Stadtholder for General Dundas while their crews refused to man guns and threw ammunition overboard. The council unanimously decided to lower the Batavian flag and become prisoners of war, although mutineers had already torn the flag down on most ships. British officers then had to restore order after mutineers drowned one officer and assaulted others. Mitchell accepted the surrender in the Prince of Orange's name before ordering the Orange flag raised. This formal sequence was distinct from the disloyal organizing that preceded it. Mitchell's success rested on recognizing that the opposing fleet had already lost the internal cohesion required to resist his ultimatum.