Samuel Story and the Batavian command problem

Story had served for decades, cooperated with the revolutionary transfer of power, and helped assess the neglected Dutch fleet. His cooperation in 1795 went beyond passive compliance: he released and armed 600 French prisoners of war and secured the Meuse naval base for the new regime. At Camperdown, a fire aboard Staten Generaal and drift to leeward took his flagship out of the battle, adding to a record that did little to inspire sailors already divided by politics. In 1798 he was chosen to organize a Batavian squadron for intervention in the Irish Rebellion, but warnings of an Anglo-Russian attack stopped the operation. Loyalty to the Batavian state did not automatically supply the authority, experience, or reputation needed in a crisis. His appointment also reveals how political upheaval had narrowed the republic's pool of credible senior commanders.