Although the fleet list dated 10 May (20 May N.S.) names 109 vessels of the 6th Rate and above, 19 had been detached for other duties before the battle, while 5 previously unlisted vessels had arrived. Thus there were 95 ships at the commencement of the battle. 5 of the detached vessels rejoined the fleet during the battle, bringing the total to exactly 100 ships. This total included 24 hired merchantmen (indicated as such in the 'Notes' column).
The White Squadron The White (or Van) Squadron was under
Prince Rupert - his flagship being the
Royal James.
The Red Squadron The Red (or Centre) Squadron was under the
Duke of York - his flagship being the
Royal Charles.
The Blue Squadron The Blue (or Rear) Squadron was under
Earl of Sandwich - his flagship being the
Royal Prince. Of the ships which had been on the 10 May fleet list but had been detached (excluding the five which rejoined during the battle), the merchantman
Good Hope had been captured by the Dutch on 20 May, the
Merlin was in the Thames, the
Coventry and
Lizard were at Portsmouth, the
Little Mary at Plymouth, the
Paradox at Scilly, the merchantman
Maryland was in Harwich ("defective"), the
Success in Lowestoft, the
Speedwell at Newcastle, the
Little Gift in Ireland and the
Truelove in the Downs. Three more were engaged in scouting - the
Paul,
Hector and
Blackamoor (a pink). None of these was larger than 5th Rate. ==Dutch fleet==