In 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War Dutch admiral Abraham Crijnssen fought the Battle of The James River (1667) in which he captured the English merchant fleet laden with tobacco from the Colony of Virginia and of the Province of Maryland.

[a] These ships would form the nucleus of an improvised English fighting force that was further made up of armed merchantmen that would defend the combined Virginia and Maryland tobacco fleets that was about to depart for England in early July 1673.

[7] When the three remaining English ships had come within a cable length of the anchored Dutchmen they jibed and ran before the wind toward the James river.

[e] Gardiner alone fought an hours long running battle with Swaenenburgh and the other Dutch warships, until the falling dusk made them break off the fight.

But while sailing up to join the anchored ship of Binckes, Swaenenburgh, misjudging the shoals, also ran aground, but with difficulty refloated during the night.

[f] [2][12] Due to the many shoals in the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth Rivers, which caused them to run aground repeatedly,[g] the Dutch ships kept their distance for five days, unable to get to the main tobacco fleet.

However, a few days later, when Evertsen questioned Hopkins and captain Davis of the captured ketch more closely, Hopkins blurted out that governor Lovelace of the New York colony, up to 1664 the Dutch colony of New Netherland, was absent from his post, and that Fort James on the point of Manhattan (formerly protecting New Amsterdam, which was now called New York) was only weakly defended.

This motivated Evertsen and Binckes to attempt to surprise the fort, and land marines on Manhattan, which resulted in the Dutch recapture of New Netherland on 30 July 1673 (O.S.