The Atlantic campaign of 1806.

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The Atlantic campaign of 1806 was one of the most important and complex naval campaigns of the post-Trafalgar Napoleonic Wars. Seeking to take advantage of the withdrawal of British forces from the Atlantic in the aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar, Emperor Napoleon ordered two battle squadrons to sea from the fleet stationed at Brest, during December 1805. Escaping deep into the Atlantic, these squadrons succeeded in disrupting British convoys, evading pursuit by British battle squadrons and reinforcing the French garrison at Santo Domingo. The period of French success was brief: on 6 February 1806 one of the squadrons, under Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues, was intercepted by a British squadron at the Battle of San Domingo and destroyed, losing all five of its ships of the line.



The second French squadron, under Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, cruised in the South Atlantic and the Caribbean during the spring and summer of 1806, conducting several successful raids on British islands in the West Indies. His ability to affect British trade was hampered by the deployment of British squadrons against him and the disobedience of Captain Jérôme Bonaparte, the Emperor's brother. On 18 August an Atlantic hurricane dispersed his ships, causing severe damage and forcing them to take shelter in friendly or neutral harbours in the Americas. Waiting British ships destroyed one vessel, and several others were so badly damaged that they never sailed again, the four survivors limping back to France individually over the next two years. The various British squadrons deployed against him failed to catch Willaumez, but their presence had limited his ability to raid British trade routes. The campaign included a number of subsidiary operations by both British and French ships, some taking advantage of the campaign to conduct smaller operations while the main enemy forces were distracted, others operating as diversions to the principal campaign to attack undefended areas or lure British ships away from the principal French squadrons. Among these operations was the return of the squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois from the Indian Ocean, which was captured at the Action of 13 March 1806; the raiding cruises of L'Hermite's expedition and Lamellerie's expedition, which captured a number of merchant ships but each lost a frigate breaking through the blockade of the French coast; and the destruction of a convoy of seven French ships destined with supplies for the French West Indies at the Action of 25 September 1806.
Rochefort blockade squadrons.

French squadrons.



Admiral Leissègues' squadron.

Both of the principal French squadrons departed Brest on 13 December, remaining together for the first two days before dividing in pursuit of separate British merchant convoys on 15 December. The squadron under Leissègues clashed with the convoy's escort, before breaking off and sailing south for the French Caribbean, where Leissègues was intending to land the 1,000 soldiers carried aboard as reinforcements for the garrison at Santo Domingo, via the Azores. The voyage was long and difficult, Leissègues struggling through winter storms that divided his squadron and inflicted severe damage to his ships. Arriving at Santo Domingo on 20 January, Leissègues disembarked his troops and began extensive repairs to his ships in preparation for raiding cruises in the Caribbean.
On 6 February, Leissègues was surprised at anchor by a squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, which had been taking on fresh supplies at Basseterre when news of Leissègues' arrival reached him. Joined by ships from the West Indian squadron, Duckworth's force was larger than Leissègues' and also had the advantage of the wind that prevented the unprepared French squadron from escaping. Sailing westwards along the coast in a line of battle, Leissègues' flagship Impérial was the first to be attacked, eventually driving ashore along with the next in line, while three others surrendered at the Battle of San Domingo. Leissègues himself escaped ashore; the only surviving ships of his squadron were the frigates, all of which eventually returned to France later in the spring.

Admiral Leissègues' squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Impérial	120	Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues Captain Julien-Gabriel Bigot	Driven ashore and destroyed at the Battle of San Domingo
Alexandre	80	Captain Pierre-Elie Garreau	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo
Brave	74	Commodore Louis-Marie Coudé	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo
Diomède	74	Captain Jean-Baptiste Henry	Driven ashore and destroyed at the Battle of San Domingo.
Jupiter	74	Captain Gaspard Laignel	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo
Comète	40		Returned to France in 1806
Félicité	40		Returned to France in 1806
Diligente	20	Captain Raymond Cocault	Returned to France in 1806

Admiral Willaumez's squadron.





Vétéran reaching the French port of Concarneau, Michel Bouquet
After separating from Leissègues on 15 December, Willaumez sailed south, capturing a number of vessels from a British troop convoy and sending the prizes, with the frigate Volontaire, to Tenerife. Willaumez's intention was to raid the China Fleet, a large convoy of valuable East Indiamen that sailed from the Far East to Britain every year. However, on 23 December he was pursued by Duckworth and driven far off course, so that by the time he reached the Cape of Good Hope, where he planned to resupply his ships, it had already been captured by a British expeditionary force. Turning westwards, Willaumez raided shipping in the South Atlantic until April, when he anchored at Salvador in neutral Brazil. By early May, Willaumez was at sea again, stopping at Cayenne and then splitting his force to raid shipping in the Leeward Islands prior to reuniting at Fort-de-France on Martinique in June.
On 1 July, Willaumez sailed again, attacking shipping at Montserrat, Nevis and St. Kitts before sailing to Tortola in preparation for an attack on the Jamaica convoy. Before he could reach the convoy, Willaumez was intercepted off the Passage Islands by a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and driven northwards into the Bahamas. There he waited for the Jamaica convoy to pass, seizing any ship of any nationality that came within sight, in case they should reveal his position. After several weeks of waiting, Captain Bonaparte, the Emperor's brother and commander of the ship Vétéran, decided that he would no longer submit to Willaumez's command and sailed north during the night of 31 July, without orders or even notifying the admiral. Vétéran eventually returned to France on 26 August, after destroying six ships from a Quebec convoy. Panicked by the unexplained disappearance of one of his ships and its illustrious captain, Willaumez struck north in search of the vessel and as a result missed the passage of the Jamaica convoy, also narrowly avoiding an encounter with the squadrons under Warren and Strachan. On 18 August a hurricane dispersed his ships, severely damaging them and scattering them along the Atlantic Seaboard of the Americas. One was destroyed by a British patrol, two others were too badly damaged to be repaired and were broken up, and three of his ships successfully made the journey back to France over the next two years.

Admiral Willaumez's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Foudroyant	80	Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Phillibert Willaumez Captain Antoine Henri	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Havana. Returned to France in early 1807.
Cassard	74	Commodore Gilbert-Amable Faure	Separated in August hurricane, returned to Brest on 13 October.
Impétueux	74	Commodore Alain-Joseph Le Veyer-Belair	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, driven ashore and destroyed by British ships on 14 September 1806.
Patriote	74	Commodore Joseph-Hyacinthe-Isidore Khrom	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Annapolis. Returned to France in January 1808.
Éole	74	Captain Louis-Gilles Prévost de Lacroix	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Annapolis. Eventually broken up as beyond repair.
Vétéran	74	Captain Jérôme Bonaparte	Separated without orders on 31 July, returning to France alone on 26 August.
Valeureuse	40		Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Philadelphia. Eventually broken up as beyond repair.
Volontaire	40	Captain Bretel	Detached in December 1805 to Tenerife. Captured on 4 March 1806 at Cape Town.
Also two corvettes, names unknown

Admiral Linois's squadron.


One of the minor French squadrons that participated in the campaign was the force under Contre-Admiral Linois, who had sailed for the Indian Ocean with a ship of the line and four frigates in March 1803 during the Peace of Amiens. After brief stops at Puducherry and Île de France, Linois sailed on a raiding cruise to the South China Sea only to be driven off by a British merchant convoy at the Battle of Pulo Aura.
Despite subsequent minor success against merchant ships, including the Battle of Vizagapatam, Linois's failure to inflict significant damage to British trade in the Far East enraged Napoleon, and in late 1805, with supplies running low and his ships in need of repair, Linois began the return journey to Europe with just his flagship and a single frigate remaining.

By the early morning of 13 March 1806 he was in the Mid-Atlantic when his lookouts spotted sails in the distance. Turning his force around to investigate, Linois hoped to encounter a merchant convoy but instead discovered the large British second rate HMS London looming out of the darkness ahead.
Unable to escape, Linois fought until his ships were battered and he himself was badly wounded, but he eventually surrendered to the squadron under Admiral Warren that had followed London. Napoleon's fury at Linois was unabated and the French admiral remained a prisoner of war for the next eight years.

Admiral Linois's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Marengo	74	Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois Captain Joseph-Marie Vrignaud	Captured at the Action of 13 March 1806.
Belle Poule	40	Captain Alain-Adélaïde-Marie Bruilhac	Captured at the Action of 13 March 1806.

Commodore L'Hermite's squadron.
For more details on this topic, see L'Hermite's expedition.
One of the principal French diversionary operations during 1806 was by a force that had been sent to sea in October 1805 as a diversion during the Trafalgar campaign, which by then was almost over. Sailing from Lorient to West Africa, L'Hermite was supposed to have been reinforced by a squadron under Jérôme Bonaparte and attack and capture British forts on the West African coast, thus forcing the detachment of British forces from the main campaign in pursuit.
The events of the end of the Trafalgar campaign cancelled these plans, and the scheduled reinforcements were instead attached to Willaumez's squadron. Despite this setback, L'Hermite continued with elements of the original plan and attacked British merchant ships and slave ships off West Africa during the spring of 1806, inflicting some local damage but failing to capture a trading post or to affect the wider strategic situation.
In June, L'Hermite sailed to Cayenne for supplies and then returned to Europe the following month, encountering part of the British blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis on his return and losing the frigate Président.

Commodore L'Hermite's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Régulus	74	Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite	Returned to Brest on 5 October
Président	40	Captain Labrosse	Captured by a British squadron in the Bay of Biscay on 27 September 1806
Cybèle	40		Damaged in a hurricane on 20 August, forced to shelter in Hampton Roads. Returned to Rochefort in 1807.
Surveillant	corvette		Returned to France in January 1806
Favourite	18		Captured off West Africa on 6 January and attached to squadron. Remained in the Caribbean and was captured by HMS Jason on 27 January 1807.

Commodore La Meillerie's squadron.

For more details on this topic, see La Meillerie's expedition.
One of the French squadrons that operated in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 was the result of opportunity rather than strategy. After the Battle of Trafalgar, most of the French survivors had retreated to Cadiz, where they remained until Duckworth's blockade squadron abandoned the port in November 1805. Although Duckworth's ships were replaced by forces under Lord Collingwood, the replacements were inadequate and on 26 February 1806, while the blockade squadron, which had been pulled back in the hope of luring the French out of the port, had been blown off station, four frigates and a brig escaped. Chased by the British frigate HMS Hydra, Commodore Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie refused battle and abandoned the brig Furet to the British in his haste to escape.
Sailing to Senegal and then Cayenne, La Meillerie's operations had little effect and by 18 May he was already on the return journey to France, hoping to anchor in the Biscay port of Rochefort. On 27 July, the frigates were spotted by HMS Mars, a ship of the line of the British blockade squadron, and chased with the frigate Rhin rapidly falling behind. Declining to support the straggler, La Meillerie ran on towards France while Mars took possession of Rhin, and the surviving ships found safe ports along the Biscay coast.

Commodore La Meillerie's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Hortense	40	Commodore Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie	Returned to Bordeaux on 28 July
Rhin	40	Captain Michel-Jean-André Chesneau	Captured on 28 July by HMS Mars
Hermione	40	Captain Jean-Michel Mahé	Returned to Bordeaux on 28 July
Thémis	36	Commodore Nicolas Jugan	Returned to Rochefort on 28 July
Furet	18	Lieutenant Pierre-Antoine-Toussaint Demai	Captured on 28 February by HMS Hydra

Commodore Soleil's squadron.
The final French operation in the Atlantic during the campaign was an attempt to send seven frigates and corvettes to the French West Indies in September, laden with supplies to help maintain the strength and morale of the garrisons.
With Willaumez believed to be still at sea, September 1806 seemed a good time to send a squadron into the Atlantic, but in fact the force was spotted within hours of leaving Rochefort by the British blockade force under Commodore Sir Samuel Hood. Hood's force gave chase and the large ships of the line soon caught up the frigates in heavy weather. Sending four of his ships off in different directions, Soleil attempted to give them cover with his three largest vessels, but after a hard-fought battle in which Hood lost an arm, four of the French frigates were captured.

Commodore Soleil's Squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Gloire	40	Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806
Minerve	40	Captain Joseph Collet	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806
Armide	40	Captain Jean-Jacques-Jude Langlois	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806
Infatigable	40	Captain Joseph-Maurice Girardias	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806
Thétis	36	Captain Jacques Pinsum
Lynx	16
Sylphe	16

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The French protagonists.

Corentin Urbain de Leissegues.



Leissegues joined the Navy in 1778, at age 20. He served on the frigate Oiseau and took part in patrol in the English Channel, before being transferred on the Nymphe. In 1780, he was promoted to lieutenant de frégate and joined the Magicienne.
In 1781, Leissegues served under Suffren and took part in the campaigns of the Franco-Indian alliances. He received a wound at the head during the Battle of Providien.
From 1785, Leissègues served in the North Sea on the frigate Vigilante. Promoted to sous-lieutenant de vaisseau, he served in the Indian Ocean aboard the frigate Méduse from 1787 to 1791. He took his first command with the brig Furet, off Newfoundland.
Leissègues was promoted to Captain in early 1793 and put in command of a convoy bound for Windward Islands. Arriving at Guadeloupe, he found the island in British hands, and launched a 4-month campaign to re-take it. He was subsequently promoted to contre-amiral.
Upon his return to France, Leissègues was put in charge of harbour inspection from Saint-Malo to Vlissingen. He was then given command of the harbours of Ostend, Vlissingen, and Antwerp, as well of the naval forces stationed near Walcheren.
Leissègues later led a naval division to Northern Africa to reduce attacks by Barbary corsairs. He managed to obtain assurances in Algiers and Tunis, bringing back presents and the ambassador of Tunis to Paris. The same years, he ferried General Brune to Constantinople.
In 1806, Leissègues lead a five-ship squadron to reinforce Santo Domingo. A British squadron led by vice-admiral John Thomas Duckworth intercepted the convoy, and destroyed it in the ensuing Battle of San Domingo.
On 7 April 1809, Leissègues was put in charge of the defence of Venice. He was tasked to provide for Corfu, where he stayed until the surrender of the island to the Allies, in 1814, upon orders of Louis XVIII.
Leissègues returned to Toulon in August 1814. He served under the Bourbon Restoration until 1818, rising to vice-admiral.

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I have found no information on Leissegues' Captain Julien-Gabriel Bigot,but did come across this sketch in a Russian language manuscript.



Julien-Gabriel Bigot

Excepting this.

Bigot de la Robilardierre (Julien-Gabriel)

Born: 4 April 1761
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1774
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 5 January 1799
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 1 January 1812
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: 1798
Died: 14 March 1817

Rob.

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Commodore Louis-Marie Coudé




From French translation.

The son of a merchant, he embarked at the age of 14 on the ships of the East India Company.
Engaged in the Navy on the occasion of the War of Independence of the United States,
he came to the rank of Rear Admiral.
He retired in 1810 and was elected deputy of Morbihan in 1815, during the Hundred Days.

Born: 17 December 1752
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 176Captain de vaisseau 3rd class: 30 October 1793
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 1 January 1794
Chef de Division: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 23 September 1800
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1806
Died: 10 February 1822

Rob.

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Captain Cocault (Raymond)

Born: 20 March 1768
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1781
Captain de fregate: 24 September 1803
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 12 July 1808
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 5 November 1839

Rob.

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Captain Garreau (Pierre-Elie)

Born: 2 September 1766
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1781
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 11 March 1799
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 1 January 1808
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 25 February 1841

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Captain Henry (Jean-Baptiste)

Born: 26 February 1757
Entered naval service either commercial or military position:1768
Captain de vaisseau 3rd class: 2 November 1794
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 23 September 1800
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 1 January 1807
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: : 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur:14 June 1804
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: 1787, 1806
Died: 10 July 1818

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Captain Laignel (Patrice-Gaspard)

Born: 17 March 1769
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1783
Captain de fregate: 22 September 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 24 September 1803
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur:14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1806
Died: 27 March 1855

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Amiral Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez.

(7 August 1763 – 17 May 1845)




He was a French sailor, Navy officer, and admiral of the First French Empire.
Willaumez joined the French Navy at the age of 14, and proved a competent sailor. Having risen to the rank of pilot, he started studying navigation, attracting the attention of his superiors up to Louis XVI himself. He became an officer and served under Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in his expedition to rescue Lapérouse and explore the Indian Ocean and Oceania (including Tasmania, also known as Van Diemen's Land).
At the French Revolution, Willaumez rose in rank and served in Saint-Domingue, where he led a brilliant defence of the frigate Poursuivante against the 74-gun HMS Hercule in the Action of 28 June 1803. He fought the Haitian Revolution, commanding the station of Saint-Domingue.
During the Empire, in 1806, Willaumez commanded a squadron in Atlantic campaign of 1806. He sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, Brazil and the Caribbean, disrupting British trade and harassing their forces. However, the insubordination of Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, who served as Captain of Vétéran in his squadron, forced him to miss a rich convoy. Later, a hurricane damaged and dispersed his ships, of which three were ultimately lost; the others limped back to France one by one.
In May 1808, he attempted to regroup the ships scattered in Brest, Lorient and Rochefort into an eighteen-strong fleet to support the French colonies of the Caribbean; adverse weather and the poor state of the squadron thwarted the plan and he ended being blockaded in Rochefort, leading to the Battle of the Basque Roads, and fell out of favour with Napoléon.
After the war, Willaumez served at the Council of Naval Constructions and as Pair de France. He authored a dictionary of naval terms and sponsored a collection of ship models! (Sounds familiar)

Rob.

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Captain Henri de la Blanchetais (Antoine)

Born: 24 February 1766
Entered naval service either commercial or military position:1781
Captain de fregate: 22 September 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 6 March 1805
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: 1813
Died: 1 October 1843

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Captain Faure (Gilbert-Amable)

Born: 5 April 1755
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1779
Captain de fregate: 5 September 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 22 September 1796
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 23 September 1800
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: None
Died: 31 December 1812

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Commodore Krohm (Joseph-Hyacinthe-Isidore)

Born: 16 August 1766
Entered naval service either commercial or military position:1778
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 13 January 1794
Captain de vaisseau 1st class: 24 September 1803
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur:14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1782, 1795
Died: 21 March 1823

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Captain Jérôme Bonaparte





Jérôme was born in Ajaccio, Corsica the eighth and last surviving child, fifth surviving son, of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was a younger brother of his siblings: Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lucien Bonaparte, Elisa Bonaparte, Louis Bonaparte, Pauline Bonaparte and Caroline Bonaparte.
He studied at the Catholic College of Juilly, and then served with the French Navy in command of the Vétéran 74 before going to the United States. On 13 December 1805, captained by Jérôme Bonaparte, she departed Brest as a unit of Willaumez division, in the context of the Atlantic campaign of 1806. The division was scattered by a hurricane and Vétéran found herself isolated. She cruised off Quebec, destroying merchantmen and skirmishing with Royal Navy forces. She eventually returned to France and escaped the British blockade by fleeing into Concarneau, thanks to the experience of a sailor who had been a fisherman in the region.

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Captain Bretel (Jacques-Francois-Ignace)





Born: 30 July 1764
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1781
Captain de fregate: 27 September 1796
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Died: ?

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Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois.





Born in Brest, Linois joined the French Navy as a volunteer in 1776, when he was 15 years old. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1791 after participating in the American War of Independence. From 1791 to 1793 he was posted to Isle de France (now Mauritius) where he served in the French forces in the Indian Ocean.


After his return to France in 1794, he was based in Brest. Linois was captured by the Royal Navy at the Action of 7 May 1794 while his ship was protecting a convoy of wheat from the United States. He was exchanged and promoted to captain, taking command of the 74-gun Formidable. The following year he was captured again at the battle of Groix, where he was twice wounded and lost an eye; he was again exchanged. In 1796 he took part in the Expédition d'Irlande as a chief of division, leading a 3-ship of the line and 4-frigate squadron, with his flag on Nestor. Arrived in Bantry Bay, the generals opposed a landing, and the squadron headed back to Brest, taking three prizes on the way.


On 12 April 1796 he was captain of Unité when HMS Révolutionnaire captured her. Revolutionnaire had no casualties because the French had fired high, aiming for her rigging; the British fired into their quarry with the result that Unité suffered nine men killed and 11 wounded.


In 1799 Linois was promoted to Rear-Admiral (contre-amiral) and sent to the Mediterranean under Admiral Bruix. As second in command of the squadron under Admiral Ganteaume, he attacked Elba in 1801. Then in command of a small squadron based in Cadiz, he fought a larger British squadron under Sir James Saumarez in the Battle of Algeciras. His squadron prevailed during the first part of the battle, capturing HMS Hannibal, but on the return to Cadiz, two Spanish ships who had joined him were fooled into firing on each other by a British night attack and were lost.


In 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him to command the French forces in the Indian Ocean and, flying his flag aboard the 74-gun-ship Marengo, he harried British merchant ships across the ocean and into the China Seas. At the Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804, a squadron of French naval ships commanded by Linois encountered the British China Fleet of lightly armed merchant ships. The British ships outnumbered Linois' forces, manoeuvred as though preparing to defend themselves, and some flew naval ensigns. The tactics of the convoy commodore Nathaniel Dance fooled Linois into believing that the British fleet was defended by naval escorts and he retired without attacking the virtually defenceless British.


During his squadron's return to France, Linois encountered a large British squadron under Admiral Warren off Cape Verde. In their engagement, known as the Action of 13 March 1806, Linois was wounded and captured again. Napoleon had ended the practice of exchanging officers and Linois remained a prisoner of war until Napoleon fell in 1814. In 1810, while held by the British, Linois was named comte de Linois by Napoleon.


Following the Bourbon restoration, Louis XVIII named him to be Governor of Guadeloupe but as Linois supported Napoleon during the Hundred Days he was forced to resign after the battle of Waterloo. He was court martialled but acquitted in 1816. However, he was placed in retirement and never served again, although he was appointed as an honorary Vice-Admiral (vice-amiral) in 1825. He lived in Versailles, where he died in 1848.

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Captain Vrignaud (Joseph-Marie)

Born: 23 February 1769
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1779
Captain de fregate: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd Class: 24 September 1803
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1806
Died: 26 June 1841

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Captain Bruillac (Alain-Adelaide-Marie)

Born: 21 February 1764
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1776
Captain de fregate: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 22 September 1798
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 20 January 1836

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Extra information thanks to Neil.


Bigot de la Robilardierre (Julien-Gabriel)

24th March 1798 commanded a 40 gun as a Lt on death of Captain Latour off Sumatra 1796.
28th June 1798 in an action with 3 British frigates was run aground and dismasted.
25th April 1799 commanded a 74 Jean Jacques Rousseau during escape of Admiral Bruix from Brest.
14th Dec 1806 commanded the 120 gun Imperial with Vice Admiral Leissegues. (At Brest).

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Contre-amiral Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite.



Early career.

L'Hermite was born to the family of a counselor to the Bailiwick and Présidial of Cotentin.^[1] He joined the Navy in 1780,^[1] at the age of 14 as a novice on the coast guard cutter Pilote-des-Indes, cruising the English Channel, and on which he distinguished himself during the capture of an English privateer off Chausey.

In 1780, he joined the Northumberland as a volunteer and took part in the battles of the American war of Independence.^[1] In 1784, when many French naval ships were put in the reserve, L'Hermite left the Navy and worked as first officer on the fishing ships Modeste and Surveillante off Newfoundland.

In 1787, with Castries's reform of the Navy, l'Hermite took a commission as a sub-lieutenant on the Achille, and later of a number of smaller units that escorted merchantmen. One of these was the Goėland, which was escorting the fishing fleet from Granville to Newfoundland.

French Revolution.

English Channel and Northern Sea.

In February 1793, when war broke out against England, L'Hermite was first officer on the frigate Résolue, and he engaged in commerce raiding in the Channel and off the Atlantic coast of France. Promoted to lieutenant in August 1793, he received command of the Tamise, recently captured from the British by the frigate division to which Résolue belonged.

After extensive tests, Tamise conducted two patrols in the Channel, capturing over 60 prizes, and was then attached to Montagne, the flagship of the Brest squadron. As such, she took part in the Glorious First of June, in which she ferried orders from the admiral to other ships.

In 1795, l'Hermite took command of a frigate squadron bound to raid commerce off Ireland, with his flag on the frigate Seine.^[1] The squadron captured over 80 of small vessels, including HMS Hound, a 16-gun sloop returning from Jamaica, on 23 August. L'Hermitte then led the frigates Seine and Galathée and a corvette to Christiansand, visiting several harbours of the coast of Norway to capture English merchantmen that had fled there. Trapped by cold and disrepair, his ships were forced to spend the winter of 1794-1795 there, where sickness weakened their crews. He returned to France with three prizes, though a storm wrecked Galathée off Penmarc'h.

Indian Ocean.

From February 1796, L'Hermite captained the frigate Vertu in a squadron led by Admiral Sercey, bound for île de France.

He took part in a number of small actions, and was wounded in the Action of 8 September 1796.
In 1798, he took command of the 46-gun frigate Preneuse.^[5] He was tasked to ferry ambassadors sent by Tippu Sultan to Île de France to request help against the British. Spotting two Indiamen off Thalassery, L'Hermite decided to attack. He captured them after a one-hour fight, and in spite of a lightning striking Preneuse's main mast.
When they arrived at Surabaya, the crew of Preneuse mutinied when L'Hermite decided to send the captured flags to Admiral Sercey. Subsequently, five men were court-martialed, found guilty of mutiny, and executed by firing squad.L'Hermite then set out for a three-month patrol in the Chinese seas with Preneuse and Brûle-Gueule, under Don Álava.

In 1799, upon their return to Mauritius, the ships were blockaded by a British squadron of three ships of the line, a frigate and a brig. The French took refuge in Rivière noire, sent seven guns ashore and kept the British at bay for three weeks, before the British squadron renounced and departed.

On 4 September 1799, Preneuse engaged a British frigate squadron that she had approached in the fog and mistaken for merchant vessels, escaping after a furious fight that cost her 40 men.
In October 1799, off Cape of Good Hope, Preneuse was spotted and chased by the 54-gun HMS Jupiter, which was cruising to intercept her. After a 22-hour chase, L'Hermite engaged Jupiter and managed to manoeuver into a favourable position from which he sent her a raking broadside at pistol range, forcing her to sail back to Cape Town
to avoid boarding. His ship damaged and with 80 of his men killed of wounded, L'Hermite returned to Mauritius.




Scuttling of the Preneuse


On her return to Mauritius, Preneuse ran into the 74-gun Tremendous, anchored in front of Port-Louis. As she attempted to escape by sailing in shallow waters, the 50-gun HMS Adamant cut her retreat. Erratic winds then grounded Preneuse on a coral bank, and she came under fire from the two ships of the line, able to return fire only from her stern chasers. L'Hermite sent his sick and wounded ashore and was taken prisoner by Commodore Hotham, who boarded Preneuse and burnt her. Ailing, L'Hermite was received with extreme courtesy by Hotham, and release on parole with his staff a few days later. He returned to Île de France a hero, the population celebrating him and a 15-shot saluted being fired in his honour.

Career during the First Empire.

L'Hermite returned to France in October 1801, where he was received by Bonaparte who promoted him to Captain, and called him "the Brave". He took command of the 74-gun Brutus to ferry her from Lorient to Brest, then of the 80-gun Alexandre, and eventually of the 120-gun Vengeur, as flag officer of Admiral Truguet. L'Hermitte's rising star came to a halt, however, when Truguet was dismissed after speaking against the rise of the Empire, and for one year l'Hermite was left without a command. He was nevertheless made an Officer in the Legion of Honour at the founding of the Order in late 1805.

In 1805, L'Hermite took command of a squadron tasked with raiding commerce in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean, with his flag on the Régulus; the squadron further comprised two frigates and two fireships. The squadron departed Lorient on 31 October 1805 and cruised off the Azores, Cape Verde, the coast of Africa up to Benin, crossed the Atlantic to Brazil, and sailed towards the Caribbean. On 6 January 1806 they captured HMS Favourite. In August 1806, a storm dispersed the squadron and L'Hermite lost his frigates, and he was forced back to Brest by an epidemic of scurvy. in the Iroise Sea, he ran into four British ships of the line blockading Brest, but managed to elude them and reach Brest harbour on 2 September 1806. Having captured around 50 ships and 10 million franc worth of goods during his 11-month campaign, L'Hermite was promoted to rear admiral and made a Baron of the Empire.

In October 1808, L'Hermite was put in command of the Rochefort squadron, raising his flag on Ville de Varsovie. He also served as a rapporteur in the Council of war in the aftermath of the Battle of the Basque Roads. By mid-February, his failing health had forced him to resign his command and he never again occupied a command at sea.
From 1811, L'Hermite was préfet maritime in Toulon. In 1812, he briefly commanded the Mediterranean squadron, which did not sail at the time. His chronic illness forced him to rely on captain Christy-Pallière, who supervised the harbour, to relieve him.

After the Bourbon restoration in 1814, L'Hermite commanded the Ville de Marseille. Louis XVIII sent him to pick up the Duke of Orléans and his family in Palermo. This task earned l'Hermite the cross of the Order of Saint Louis.
During the Hundred Days, L'Hermite declared himself in favour of the King, which caused his immediate dismissal.
L'Hermite retired in 1816 with the honorary rank of vice-admiral, and was made a Knight in the Order of Saint Louis.

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Commodore Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie.





Born to a family of low nobility, Lamellerie entered the French Royal Navy as a midshipman on 4 April 1787, serving on the gabare Écluse. He transferred on the frigate Capricieuse on 9 July 1788, and on Andromaque on 30 October, serving off Santo Domingo. There, he transferred on the 74-gun Fougueux on 1 November 1790, and later on the fluyt Dromadaire.

On 29 October 1793, he was promoted to enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu, he served on the corvette Assemblée nationale from October to November, on the 74-gun Mucius from November to December, on the brig Citoyen from December 1793 to September 1795, and the 74-gun Trajan in November 1795.

Promoted to Lieutenant, Lamellerie served on the Droits de l'Homme from November 1795 to November 1796. He then transferred on the frigate Bravoure.
Promoted to Commander on 22 January 1799, he served on Indivisible before being appointed to captain the frigate Sirène on 22 July 1800.

Promoted to Captain on 24 September 1803, Lamellerie took command of the frigate Hortense and was sent to observe British movements off Toulon, along with the 40-gun Incorruptible. On 4 February 1804, they attacked a convoy, destroying 7 ships. Three days later, they encountered the convoy escorted by the 20-gun sloop HMS Arrow and the 8-gun bomb vessel HMS Acheron; after a one-hour fight and in a sinking condition, Arrow struck her colours and foundered, while Acheron was destroyed. Lamellerie was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour the next day, and promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honour on 14 June.

Hortense was then appointed to Villeneuve's fleet, and took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre and in the Battle of Trafalgar. After reaching Cadiz, Lamellerie was appointed to a frigate division, which he led in Lamellerie's expedition ferrying troops to Segenal and patrolling in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean.
On 20 September 1810, Lamellerie took command of the Triomphant in Rochefort, which he captained until 26 July 1814. At the peace, Lamellerie sailed to Plymouth to ferry prisoners of war back to Brest.

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Captain Chesneau (Michel-Jean-André)

Born: 20 September 1757
Entered naval service either commercial or military position:
Captain de fregate: 21 March 1796
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: None
Died: 3 July 1832

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Captain. Jean-Michel Mahé.





Born: 12 October 1776
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1789
Captain de fregate: 9 November 1804
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 12 July 1808
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 28 March 1812
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: None
Died: 20 February 1833.

Mahé started his career in the merchant Navy in 1789, and became an Midshipman in the Navy on 16 April 1794. He served on the fluyt Duras before embarking on Montagne, flagship of Villaret-Joyeuse on which he took part in the Glorious First of June.

From October 1794, he served on the frigate Fraternité, on which he took part in the Battle of Groix on 23 June 1795 under Lieutenant Florinville. He then served on the brig-aviso Impatient, the lugger Titus and the felucca Fort.
On 7 July 1797, he was promoted to Ensign and given command of the schooner Gentille, escorting convoys off Bretagne. He served twice on the corvette Réolaise, captained the gunboat Caroline in the summer of 1800, and returned on Impatient from October 1800 to January 1801.

In February, he embarked on the frigate Chiffone and took part in the capture of the Portuguese frigate Hirondelle on 16 May 1801. On 16 June, Chiffone captured the East Indiaman Bellona on her way from Bengal to London. Mahé was given command of the captured ship, and a prize crew took Bellona to Mauritius where she arrived a month later. Mahé then returned to France on the merchantman Aventure.
On his return, Mahé was given command of the aviso Vigie, and promoted to Lieutenant on 5 March 1803. On 9 November 1804, he was promoted to Commander and became first officer on Bucentaure in December 1804. On 23 February, he was given command of the frigate Hermione, on which he took part in the capture of HMS Cyane, the Battle of Cape Finisterre, in the Battle of Trafalgar and in Lamellerie's expedition. In late 1807, he took part in a division under Rear-Admiral Baudin, ferrying troops to Martinique, before decommissioning Hermione on 26 May 1808.

Mahé then served on Patriote as adjudant-commandant of the squadron before being promoted to Captain on 12 July 1808. He successively commanded Ville de Varsovie and Patriote in Rochefort. He took part in the Battle of the Basque Roads, where Patriote ran aground and Mahé ordered her artillery thrown overboard to refloat her; on the 12th, Patriote came under fire from the British squadron and Mahé sent his sick and his wounded ashore to prepare his crew for the evacuation of his ship, but she refloated in the night of the 13th and washed to safety under Fort Lupin.

Mahé then commanded Annibal in Toulon. On 18 November 1812, he took command of the 74-gun Borée, which he captained during the Action of 5 November 1813 and until she was decommissioned on 13 June 1814. He eventually retired on 1 January 1816.

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Commodore Jugan (Nicolas-Joseph-Pierre)

Born: 9 June 1774
Entered naval service either commercial or military position:1781
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 24 September 1803
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur:14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 1 January 1810

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Commodore Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil.



Born: 6 January 1767.
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1783
Captain de fregate: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd Class: 24 September 1803
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 5 February 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 11 march 1824.


Born to the family of a surgeon, Soleil started sailing on a merchantman in 1783. In 1785, he served in the French Royal Navy on a fluyt, before returning to merchant shipping.

In August 1789, Soleil joined up as a volunteer aboard on the Brillant. He returned to commerce again in 1790.
On 1 April 1793, Soleil joined the Navy as a midshipman first class, serving on Brillant again. In February 1794, he was promoted to ensign, and served on the Généreux from March.

Soleil was promoted to lieutenant in December 1794, and to commander in March 1796, serving as second captain on Généreux. In July 1796, he was appointed on the Formidable.

In May 1798, Soleil received command of the frigate Diane. He took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta. In August 1800, as the Siege of Malta approached its conclusion and Malta was about to fall to the British, he was ordered back to France. Diane was however intercepted by the British blockade and captured by HMS Success, HMS Northumberland and HMS Genereux.

Back to France, Soleil was court-martialled for the loss of his frigate, as systematic in such cases, and found innocent of the capture. He was then briefly appointed to the Union before taking command of the frigate Volontaire.

Soleil was promoted to captain in September 1803 and appointed to the frigate Hermione. In May 1804, he took command of the 74-gun Lion in Allemand's expedition of 1805.

In September 1806, Soleil was given command of a 5-frigate and 2-corvette squadron in the Atlantic, with his flag on the Gloire. The squadron was bound for Martinique, with a 1600-man Army unit, along with ammunition and other military furniture. On 25 September 1806, four ships of the line under Sir Samuel Hood met and intercepted them, leading to the Action of 25 September 1806. Four of the frigates were captured, and Soleil was taken prisoner by Captain William Lukin of HMS Mars.

Soleil was exchanged in September 1807. He was given command of the 74-gun Pultusk, and in 1809, of the Anversois.

From 1814, Soleil served in Cherbourg harbour. He retired in January 1816.

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Captain Collet (Joseph)

Born: 29 November 1768
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1781
Captain de fregate: 24 September 1803
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 12 July 1808
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Officer of the Legion d’Honneur: 3 October 1811
Wounds recieved while in the service of France: 1805
Died: 20 October 1828

For French speakers there is a whole lot more information here:-

http://www.mi-aime-a-ou.com/saint_de...eph_collet.php

Rob.

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Captain Langlois (Jean-Jacques)

Born: 28 October 1769
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1784
Captain de fregate: 1805
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: 1800
Died: 17 July 1829

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Captain Girardias (Joseph-Maurice)

Born: 7 October 1770
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1785
Captain de fregate: 21 March 1796
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 5 July 1805
Member of the Legion d’Honneur: 14 June 1804
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 10 January 1832

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Captain Pinsun (Jacques)

Born: 27 September 1760
Entered naval service either commercial or military position: 1777
Captain de fregate: 6 March 1805
Captain de vaisseau 2nd class: 6 February 1806
Wounds received while in the service of France: None
Died: 10 November 1810 (Killed in action)

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British squadrons.

Admiral Warren's squadron.





The London Man of War capturing the Marengo Admiral Linois, 13 March 1806, Contemporary engraving by "W. C I"
The squadron under Admiral Warren prepared at Spithead in December 1805 included one second rate, one 80-gun ship of the line and five 74-gun ships of line, but no frigates or smaller vessels to operate as scouts. Prevented from sailing during December by high winds, Warren remained off St Helens on the Isle of Wight until the middle of January, when the winds lifted and he set a course for Madeira. There he was to search for information of the French squadrons and, if no information was forthcoming, to sail for Barbados and augment the squadrons in the Caribbean. For the next two months, Warren remained in the central eastern Atlantic Ocean, aware that Willaumez was cruising to the south and that Leissègues had been destroyed off San Domingo. During February his force was joined by the independently sailing frigate HMS Amazon.
On 13 March 1806, Warren's squadron sighted and pursued two sails to the northeast, which were eventually recognised as the squadron under Admiral Linois, returning to France from an extended cruise in the Indian Ocean. In the ensuing Action of 13 March 1806, London and Amazon were able to defeat and capture the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule, the resulting damage and prizes prompting Warren to return to Britain. During the return journey his squadron was struck by a spring storm and several ships suffered damage and were separated, eventually rejoining Warren's main force and returning to Spithead. In Britain, Warren's ships underwent repairs and London and Repulse were detached, replaced by HMS Fame under Captain Richard Bennet. In late June Warren's squadron sailed again, under orders to intercept Willaumez off the Bahamas. Arriving in the Caribbean on 12 July, Warren narrowly missed intercepting Willaumez's squadron, which had sailed to the north in search of Vétéran.

Admiral Warren's first squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS London	98	Captain Sir Harry Burrard Neale	Engaged at the Action of 13 March 1806
HMS Foudroyant	80	Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren Captain John Chambers White
HMS Ramillies	74	Captain Francis Pickmore	Badly damaged in the storm of 23 April 1806
HMS Hero	74	Captain Alan Gardner
HMS Namur	74	Captain Lawrence Halsted
HMS Repulse	74	Captain Arthur Kaye Legge
HMS Courageux	74	Captain James Bissett
HMS Amazon	38	Captain William Parker	Joined the squadron during February. Engaged at the Action of 13 March 1806.

Admiral Warren's second squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Foudroyant	80	Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren Captain John Chambers White
HMS Ramillies	74	Captain Francis Pickmore
HMS Hero	74	Captain Alan Gardner
HMS Namur	74	Captain Lawrence Halsted
HMS Fame	74	Captain Richard Bennet
HMS Courageux	74	Captain James Bissett
HMS Amazon	38	Captain William Parker

Admiral Strachan's squadron.
Admiral Strachan's squadron was ordered to prepare for sea during December at Plymouth, but like Warren's force, Strachan was trapped by strong winds in Cawsand Bay and could not sail until mid-January. Strachan's orders were to sail for Saint Helena and search for signs of the French squadrons. If their whereabouts could not be discovered, Strachan was to join the squadron under Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham detailed to invade the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope.
During February and March Strachan searched in vain, eventually receiving the news that Willaumez had anchored in neutral Salvador in Brazil during April. Steering northwest in the hope of intercepting the French squadron, Strachan was hampered by the presence of HMS St George, which proved too slow for a flying squadron. Returning to Plymouth, Strachan detached St George and Centaur, which had been made the flagship of the Rochefort blockade squadron and was given HMS Belleisle, HMS Audacious and HMS Montagu as replacements, as well as two frigates.
Departing Plymouth on 19 May, Strachan sailed for the Caribbean, passing Madeira and the Canary Islands before anchoring at Carlisle Bay, Barbados on 8 August. Five days later Strachan sail northwards in pursuit of Willaumez and on 18 August was caught in the same hurricane that dispersed Willaumez's squadron slightly to the north. During August and September, Strachan's scattered ships gathered off the rendezvous point at Chesapeake Bay in the hope of intercepting any French vessels seeking shelter in American ports. On 14 September, Belleisle, Bellona and Melampus sighted the limping French ship Impétueux off Cape Henry and drove her ashore, burning the wreck in violation of American neutrality.

Admiral Strachan's first squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS St George	98	Captain Thomas Bertie	Detached in May at Plymouth
HMS Caesar	80	Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan Captain Charles Richardson
HMS Centaur	74	Captain Sir Samuel Hood	Detached in May at Plymouth
HMS Terrible	74	Captain Lord Henry Paulet
HMS Triumph	74	Captain Henry Inman
HMS Bellona	74	Captain John Erskine Douglas

Admiral Strachan's second squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Not.es
HMS Caesar	80	Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan Captain Charles Richardson
HMS Belleisle	74	Captain William Hargood	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Terrible	74	Captain Lord Henry Paulet
HMS Triumph	74	Captain Sir Thomas Hardy
HMS Bellona	74	Captain John Erskine Douglas	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Audacious	74	Captain Thomas Gosselyn
HMS Montagu	74	Captain Robert Otway
HMS Melampus	36	Captain Stephen Poyntz	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Decade	36	Captain John Stuart

Admiral Duckworth's squadron.




The third principal British squadron deployed during the campaign was never intended to take part in it. Admiral Duckworth had been ordered to lead the blockade of Cadiz in November 1805, following the destruction of the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October. Finding the blockade of the survivors at Cadiz dull, Duckworth sailed south in search of Allemand's expedition, leaving just two frigates to watch the Spanish port. Allemand escaped Duckworth, but on 23 December he was informed of the depredations by Willaumez's squadron and sailed to intercept him. On 25 December he discovered Willaumez but was unable to catch him eventually abandoning the chase and retiring to St. Kitts in the West Indies to take on fresh supplies. There he was joined by several ships of the Leeward Islands squadron under Admiral Cochrane and also learned of the arrival of Leissègues at Santo Domingo. Sailing to intercept the French squadron, Duckworth successfully encountered them on 6 February 1806 and in the ensuing Battle of San Domingo, captured or destroyed all five of the ships of the line, carrying his prizes to Jamaica. Duckworth then returned to Britain, leaving Cochrane with a number of vessels to patrol the Eastern Caribbean in anticipation of the arrival of Willaumez.

Admiral Duckworth's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Canopus	80	Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis Captain Francis Austen	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo
HMS Superb	74	Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth Captain Richard Goodwin Keats	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo
HMS Spencer	74	Captain Robert Stopford	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo
HMS Donegal	74	Captain Pulteney Malcolm	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo
HMS Powerful	74	Captain Robert Plampin	Detached to the Indian Ocean on 2 February 1806
HMS Agamemnon	64	Captain Sir Edward Berry	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo
HMS Acasta	40	Captain Richard Dalling Dunn
HMS Amethyst	36	Captain James William Spranger	Detached to Britain on 26 December 1805
Admiral Cochrane's reinforcements
HMS Northumberland	74	Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane Captain John Morrison	Joined at Basseterre on 21 January 1806. Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo.
HMS Atlas	74	Captain Samuel Pym	Joined at Basseterre on 21 January 1806. Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo.
HMS Magicienne	32	Captain Adam Mackenzie	Joined off Santo Domingo on 5 February 1806
HMS Kingfisher	16	Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane	Joined at Basseterre on 1 February 1806
HMS Epervier	14	Lieutenant James Higginson	Joined off Saint Thomas on 3 February 1806

Admiral Cochrane's squadron.




Following the Battle of San Domingo, Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, newly knighted, gathered a small squadron in anticipation of the arrival of the second French force under Willaumez. Based at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, Cochrane's forces patrolled the Leeward Islands for the French force during the spring, eventually locating Willaumez's ships at Fort-de-France on Martinique on 14 June 1806. An attempt to blockade the port ended in failure as several ships were damaged in high winds, but when Willaumez sailed on 1 July, Cochrane had planned ahead, and brought his squadron to Tortola, blocking the passage through which Willaumez would have to sail to attack the valuable Jamaica convoy, then gathering off Saint Thomas. With his squadron, Cochrane successfully drove off Willaumez on 4 July without a fight, and the French admiral retired to the Bahama Banks to await the convoy's passage northwards. Cochrane spent the next month preparing the convoy for its voyage, which it began during August while Willaumez was out of position to the north.

Admiral Cochrane's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Northumberland	74	Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane Captain Joseph Spear
HMS Elephant	74	Captain George Dundas
HMS Canada	74	Captain John Harvey
HMS Agamemnon	64	Captain Jonas Rose
HMS Ethalion	36	Captain Charles Stuart
HMS Seine	36	Captain David Atkins
HMS Galatea	32	Captain Murray Maxwell
HMS Circe	32	Captain Hugh Pigott

Rochefort blockade squadrons.




Although other British forces were deployed during the year, most were engaged on other operations incidental to the main Atlantic campaign, such as the expeditionary force to the Cape of Good Hope under Commodore Home Riggs Popham. In addition, a number of blockade squadrons were deployed to the major ports of the French Atlantic coast. These forces contained the French warships still at anchor in the ports and restricted the return of French warships from service at sea during the campaign. These forces included a Channel squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis, whose ships intercepted and captured a frigate of Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite's squadron on 27 September, and blockade forces off Cadiz under the distant command of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood and Brest under Admiral William Cornwallis. Cornwallis in particular was particularly effective: under his watch, only one French ship of the line successfully entered or departed Brest harbour during the year.
There was one blockade force that played a particular role in the campaign, the force deployed to the waters off Rochefort, initially under the command of Commodore Richard Goodwin Keats. Under Keats, the French squadron under Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie was intercepted on 17 July, HMS Mars capturing a frigate and chasing the others into port. In August, Keats was replaced by Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, who was to achieve one of the more notable victories of the year at the Action of 25 September 1806, when a French convoy of seven ships sailing to the West Indies was intercepted and defeated. Although Hood's force captured four large modern frigates, the French fought hard and Hood himself was seriously wounded by musket fire, losing an arm.

Commodore Keats' squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Superb	74	Commodore Richard Goodwin Keats
HMS Mars	74	Captain Robert Dudley Oliver	Captured frigate Rhin on 17 July
HMS Africa	64	Captain Henry Digby
Keats' squadron also included two other ships of the line.

Commodore Hood's squadron.
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Monarch	74	Captain Richard Lee	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806
HMS Centaur	74	Commodore Sir Samuel Hood	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806
HMS Mars	74	Captain William Lukin	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806
HMS Windsor Castle	98	Captain Charles Boyles
HMS Achille	74	Captain Richard King
HMS Revenge	74	Captain Sir John Gore
HMS Atalante	16	Commander John Ore Masefield

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Captain Sir Harry Burrard Neale.



Educated at Christchurch Grammar School, Burrard joined the Royal Navy in 1778. He was present at the Siege of Charleston in 1780.
Burrard distinguished himself during the Mutiny at the Nore in 1797. He was one of the Lords of the Admiralty between 1804 and 1807, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 31 July 1810. He was engaged at the Action of 13 March 1806 in HMS London.^[1] He was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815, and advanced to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 14 September 1822. He became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1823, which led to his appointment as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George the following year.
In the summer of 1809 he was called as a witness at the Court-martial of James, Lord Gambier which assessed whether Admiral Lord Gambier had failed to support Captain Lord Cochrane at the Battle of Basque Roads in April 1809. Gambier was controversially cleared of all charges.

Political career.

He was Member of Parliament for Lymington between 1790 and 1802, 1806 to 1807, 1812 to 1823 and 1832 to 1835.^] He was a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III from 1801 to 1812, continuing afterwards at Windsor from 1812 to 1820 during the Regency. He died at age 74 and was buried in Lymington Church, Lymington, Hampshire, England.

Eponyms.

Burrard Inlet was named in his honour by Captain George Vancouver in June 1792, during his expedition of exploration in the Pacific Northwest. During the later development of the city of Vancouver, a major north-south thoroughfare, Burrard Street, was named for the inlet, which subsequently gave its name to Burrard Bridge, one of the three major bridges that connect downtown Vancouver to its suburbs to the south. The inlet and street have inspired many other building, business and institution names in the Vancouver area, so although Harry Burrard never visited British Columbia his name is commonly found in that area.

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Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren.



Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren (died 1763^]) of Stapleford and Little Marlow. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1769, but in 1771 entered the navy as an able seaman; in 1774 he became member of Parliament for Great Marlow; and in 1775 he was created a baronet, the baronetcy held by his ancestors, the Borlases, having become extinct in 1689.
On the 12th of Dec. 1780 he married Caroline daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir John Clavering. She died in 1839.
His career as a seaman really began in 1777, and two years later he obtained command of a ship. In April 1794, as Commodore of the frigate squadron off the north west French coast assisting in the blockade of Brest, Warren and his squadron captured a number of French frigates. In 1795, he commanded one of the two squadrons carrying troops for the Quiberon expedition and in 1796 his frigate squadron off Brest is said to have captured or destroyed 220 vessels. In October 1798, a French fleet — carrying 5,000 men — sailed from Brest intending to invade Ireland. The plan was frustrated in no small part due to the squadron under his command during the Action of 12 October 1798.
In 1802, he was sworn of the Privy Council and sent to St. Petersburg as ambassador extraordinary, but he did not forsake the sea. In 1806 he captured a large French warship, the Marengo, at the Action of 13 March 1806. He was commander-in-chief on the North American Station from 1807 to 1810. He became an admiral in 1810, and was commander-in-chief on this Station again from 1813 to 1814. While in Halifax he determined the late commander John Shortland's dog had been stolen from London and brought to Halifax. He had the dog returned to London to Shortland's widow. During the British invasion of Maryland in 1814, he led a detail of British troops that occupied Havre de Grace and set fire to much of the town, including the home of Commodore John Rodgers. He died on 27 February 1822. His two sons predeceased him. His daughter and heiress, Frances Maria (1784–1837), married George Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon. Their son was George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon.
There is a monument to him in St. Mary's Church, Attenborough in Nottinghamshire. A popular figure in the area of his birth, there are a number of pubs named after him in Nottingham and nearby towns.

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Captain John Chambers White.




White was born in approximately 1770, the son of wealthy New York City merchant Henry White and his wife Eve Van Cortlandt. Henry White was a member of the New York City Council and President of the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1772-73. The Whites were ardent Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War, and in 1783 the family abandoned their home in New York and move to London. John White joined the Royal Navy soon afterwards. In 1790 he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the French Revolutionary Wars, becoming commander of the brig Sylph in 1795.
Sylph was a highly successful cruiser in home waters. At the action of 12 May 1796 she captured the Dutch brig Mercury]]. Then in 1796 she captured the French privateer Phoenix. Sylph assisted Anson in the destruction of the French corvette Calliope at the Action of 16 July 1797. Together, they drove Calliope on shore, where Sylph proceeded to fire on her. When Pomone checked a week later, Calliope was wrecked; her crew were camped on shore trying to salvage what stores they could. Pomone confirmed that the flute Freedom and a brig that Anson and Sylph had also driven ashore too were wrecked. In August, Sylph attacked Sable d'Olonne. In 1798, White seized six French, Spanish and American ships in the Bay of Biscay, and during October participated in the opening stages of the Battle of Tory Island. In 1799, White was rewarded with promotion to post captain and was given command of the ship of the line HMS Renown, flagship of his former squadron commander Sir John Borlase Warren. Renown served in the Mediterranean, and in 1801 engaged the defences of Porto Ferrajo.
In 1803, Renown was attached to the blockade of Toulon, and the following year Warren and White were transferred to the ship of the line HMS Foudroyant in Britain, later assigned to find and defeat the French squadrons in the Atlantic during the Atlantic campaign of 1806. These squadrons could not be found, but Foudroyant was engaged at the successful Action of 13 March 1806, when a separate French squadron was defeated and captured. In 1810, White took command of the first rate HMS Hibernia under Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, sailing for the Mediterranean, where he took command of HMS Centaur off Toulon. In 1811 he assisted the Spanish defenders at the first Siege of Tarragona and subsequently involved in the destruction of the Regulus in 1814.
After the war, White left active service but continued to advance in rank, becoming a rear-admiral in 1830 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1841, by which time he was a vice-admiral. He served as superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard and in January 1844 was made Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, dying suddenly the following year. His first wife had died in 1809 and he was survived by his second, Charlotte Elizabeth and their son General Sir Henry Dalrymple White.

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Captain Francis Pickmore.

	c.1756 Chester, Cheshire, England
Died	24 February 1818 St. John's, Newfoundland
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Vice Admiral

Pickmore spent his early naval career in Newfoundland as a lieutenant in 1777 and by 1814 he had reached the rank of vice-admiral. He was appointed governor of Newfoundland in 1816. Pickmore's term was marked by strife and severe economic depression that had hit the island following the Napoleonic wars and influx of Irish immigrants. Pickmore is noted as the first governor of Newfoundland to stay the winter. He died in St. John's and Captain John Bowker, a senior officer under Pickmore's command, acted as governor until Governor Sir Charles Hamilton arrived.

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Captain Alan Gardner




Naval career.

Born the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner, he followed his father into the Royal Navy. In 1796 he was captain of the frigate HMS Heroine, in 1802 he was captain of Resolution, and in 1805 of the 74-gun HMS Hero – in the latter he was present at the action off Ferrol in 1805, and led the vanguard at the Battle of Cape Finisterre later that year.

In 1815 it was announced that he was to be created a viscount, but he died before the patent had passed the Great Seal. He passed on the title of Baron Gardner to his son, Alan.

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Captain Lawrence William Halsted.





(2 April 1764 – 22 April 1841) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Halsted was the son of a naval officer and served with his father during the first years of the war in America. After his father's death he served under Captain Richard Onslow and was present at the engagements with the Comte d'Estaing and the Comte de Grasse in the West Indies and off the coast of North America. He survived various battles and a hurricane in the Atlantic in 1782, and by the end of the wars had risen to lieutenant.
He received his first independent commands while serving in the East Indies in the inter-war years, and after spending time as a flag captain during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, moved on to command a number of frigates. Halsted went on to achieve particular success aboard HMS Phoenix, and was rewarded with command of a squadron. Ships under his overall command captured two Dutch ships and destroyed several others in the North Sea in 1796, and after a successful period against privateers off Ireland, he moved to the Mediterranean. Here he helped to capture or destroy several French frigates, and by 1805 had command of a ship of the line. He took part in the defeat of a French squadron that had escaped Trafalgar at the Battle of Cape Ortegal, before serving as a captain of the fleet to Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton. Halsted was soon advanced to flag rank himself, and served as commander in chief in the West Indies while a vice-admiral. After a long and distinguished career, Lawrence Halsted died in 1841 with the rank of admiral of the blue.

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Captain Arthur Kaye Legge.



Arthur Kaye Legge was born in 1766, the sixth son of William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth and his wife Frances-Catherine. Among his siblings were George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth, Edward Legge, Bishop of Oxford and Lady Charlotte Feversham, the wife of Lord Feversham. Entering the Navy at a young age, Legge served aboard HMS Prince George with the young Prince William off the Eastern Seaboard of North America.

By 1791, Legge was a lieutenant and held an independent command in the Channel Fleet as captain of HMS Shark. The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 saw Legge promoted, becoming a post captain in the frigate HMS Niger. In this vessel, Legge served in the fleet under Lord Howe that fought in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and the ensuing Glorious First of June. As a frigate captain, Legge was not actively engaged in the battle, but did perform numerous scouting missions during the campaign, relayed signals to the fleet during the battle and gave a tow to badly damaged ships in its aftermath.

In 1795, Legge took command of HMS Latona and formed part of the squadron that escorted Caroline of Brunswick to Britain before her marriage to Prince George. In 1797 he moved to HMS Cambrian and operated independently off the French Channel coast, sailing from Weymouth. During these services he frequently spent time with royalty visiting the port and captured a number of French prizes. Legge remained in command of Cambrian until the Peace of Amiens in 1802.

With the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, Legge was recalled to the Navy and took command of the ship of the line HMS Revenge. In 1805 Revenge was ordered to cruise off the Spanish coast and captured a valuable Spanish merchantship and also participated in the Battle of Cape Finisterre under Robert Calder against the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve. By 1807, Revenge was stationed with the Mediterranean Fleet and participated in the Dardanelles Operation under John Thomas Duckworth. During the attempt to reach Constantinople, Revenge suffered ten men killed and 14 wounded. Legge was later part of the naval contingent in the Walcheren Expedition and, with thousands of his men, contracted malaria and was evacuated home, severely ill.

Flag rank.

In July 1810, Legge was promoted to rear-admiral and the following year was appointed to be commander at Cadiz in Revenge. The Spanish port was an important position as it was the seat of the Spanish government during the Peninsular War which was raging at that time. Legge performed well in this position and returned to Britain in September 1812 to become admiral in command of the River Thames. Legge held this command, from the frigate HMS Thisbe until the end of the war in 1815.

As a member of the nobility, Legge had numerous royal contacts, and became a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III in 1801, a position that he held in London until 1812 and afterwards at Windsor, to where the mentally unbalanced king had retreated, until the king's death in 1820. Legge later marched in the procession at George III's funeral.

By the time of his retirement, Legge had risen to vice-admiral and been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He later became a full admiral in 1830. Legge never married, and on his death in 1835, he was reported to have left over £3,000 to his butler, £1,000 each to his groom, footman, coachman and housekeeper and other substantial amounts to his other servants. He was buried in the family vault in Lewisham.

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Captain James Bissett.



At the Russian armament, in 1791, this officer commanded the Swallow, of 14 guns, on the home station; and in the following year, the Falcon sloop of war, at Jamaica. In 1793, we find him cruising in the Channel, where he appears to have captured several of the enemy’s privateers. He was promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, Oct. 24, 1794; and, in 1795, commanded the Venerable, of 74 guns, bearing the flag of Admiral Duncan, in the North Sea. From that ship he removed into the Janus frigate, and proceeded in her to the West Indies, from whence he returned with the homeward bound trade, in 1797; and from that period we lose sight of him until the month of Dec, 1805, when he sat as a member of the Court-Martial assembled to try the late Sir Robert Calder, for his conduct in the action with the combined fleets of France and Spain, in the preceding summer.
Towards the close of the late war, Captain Bissett commanded the Royal Sovereign a first rate, forming part of the Channel fleet, under Lord Keith. He was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, Dec. 4th, 1813.

Date from	Date to
1778/02/17		Lieutenant
1790/11/22		Commander
1790/11/22	1791/10	Swallow (16), as Commanding Officer
1791/10	1794/10/24	Falcon (14), as Commanding Officer
1794/10/24		Captain
1795/09		Venerable (74), as Commanding Officer
1796/07	1797	Janus (32), as Commanding Officer
1806	1807	Courageux (74), as Commanding Officer
1808/12	1811	Danmark (74), as Commanding Officer
1809/07/28	1809/09/04	Expedition to the Scheldt
1809/07/28	1809/12	Walcheren Expedition
1811	1812/09	Danmark (74), as Commanding Officer
1812/10	1813/12	Royal Sovereign (100), as Commanding Officer
1813/12/04		Rear-Admiral of the Blue
1814/06/04		Rear-Admiral of the White

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Captain William Parker.




Born the son of George Parker (himself the second son of Sir Thomas Parker who had been Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer), William Parker entered the Royal Navy in February 1793 as a captain's servant on the third-rate HMS Orion, serving under Captain John Duckworth. In the Orion, which was part of the Channel Fleet commanded by Lord Howe, Parker took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June in June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. When Captain Duckworth was assigned to another ship, the third-rate HMS Leviathan, Parker followed him, and sailed with him to the West Indies Station where Duckworth appointed him acting lieutenant in the fifth-rate HMS Magicienne. He was appointed to the second-rate HMS Queen, flagship of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in May 1798 and he became acting captain of the sixth-rate HMS Volage on 1 May 1799.

Promoted to lieutenant on 5 September 1799, he cruised for the next few months in HMS Volage in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Cuba. Promoted to commander on 10 October 1799, he was given command of the sloop HMS Stork in November 1799. He returned to England and then spent nearly a year in HMS Stork in the North Sea or with the blockade fleet off Brest.

Promoted to captain on 9 October 1801, Parker assumed command of the sixth-rate HMS Alarm in March 1802 and then the fifth-rate HMS Amazon in October 1802 and remained with her for the next 9 years. The Amazon was attached to the fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson engaged in the pursuit of the French fleet to the West Indies. She was then sent on a cruise westward and therefore missed the Battle of Trafalgar.

The Amazon was later attached to a squadron under Admiral Sir John Warren, participating in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule at the Action of 13 March 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. After Amazon was paid off in January 1812, Parker went onto half-pay. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815.

Parker purchased Shenstone Lodge near Lichfield, where he lived for the next 15 years. He returned to sea as captain of the third-rate HMS Warspite in 1827, and acted as senior officer off the coast of Greece in 1828. He was given command the yacht HMS Prince Regent in December 1828 and, having been promoted to rear-admiral on 22 July 1830, he was appointed second-in-command of the Channel Squadron, under Sir Edward Codrington, in April 1831. He was detached on an independent command on the Iberian Tagus River, hoisting his flag aboard the second-rate HMS Asia, in September 1831 with a mission to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 16 July 1834.

Parker returned to England and briefly served as Second Naval Lord in the Wellington caretaker ministry from August 1834 to December 1834. He became Second Sea Lord again, this time in the Second Melbourne ministry, in April 1835.

Senior command.

Parker left the Admiralty to become Commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station, hoisting his flag in the third-rate HMS Cornwallis, in June 1841. He provided naval support at the Battle of Amoy in August 1841, and having been promoted to vice-admiral on 23 November 1841, also took part in the Battle of Ningpo in March 1842, the Battle of Woosung in June 1842 and the Battle of Chinkiang in July 1842 during the First Opium War.

Parker was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 2 December 1842, given a substantial good-service pension on 26 April 1844 and awarded a baronetcy on 11 November 1844. He became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, hoisting his flag in the first-rate HMS Hibernia in February 1845. In May 1846, because of his knowledge of Portugal and its politics, he was given the additional command of the Channel Squadron while still remaining in charge of the Mediterranean Fleet. He was briefly (for a week) First Naval Lord in the First Russell ministry from 13 July 1846 to 24 July 1846 but gave up the role due to ill health before returning to his command with the Mediterranean Fleet.

Promoted to full admiral on 29 April 1851, Parker became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in May 1854. He retired in May 1857, and, having been promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 27 April 1863, he died from bronchitis on 13 November 1866. He was buried in the churchyard at St John the Baptish Parish Church in Shenstone, and a monument to his memory was erected in Lichfield Cathedral.

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Captain Richard Bennett.

Nothing known at present!
Rob.

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Captain Thomas Bertie.




Bertie was born Thomas Hoar on 3 July 1758 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, the sixth child and fourth son of George Hoar, the Keeper of the Regalia of England at the Tower of London, and his wife Francis. His name was entered into the books of the yacht HMY William & Mary in March 1771, when he was just twelve years old, but this was only for seniority, and he spent his early life being educated, first at a navigation school in his native Stockton, followed by a move to London to attend Mr Eaton's academy, and then Christ's Hospital. He first went to sea in October 1773, joining the 24-gun HMS Seahorse under Captain George Farmer. Also serving aboard the Seahorse as midshipman and able seaman respectively were the young Horatio Nelson and Thomas Troubridge. The three future admirals became good friends and would remain in correspondence with each other throughout their lives.

Hoar transferred to the 50-gun HMS Salisbury under Commodore Sir Edward Hughes on 27 June 1777 at the instigation of Hoar's patron, Lord Mulgrave, and returned to England on 14 May 1778. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 May that year, and appointed to serve aboard the 74-gun HMS Monarch under Joshua Rowley. With Rowley he was present at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, and in December moved with Rowley to the 74-gun HMS Suffolk.

Rowley and Hoar sailed to the West Indies to support operations there against the French fleets. Hoar saw action with Admiral John Byron's fleet at the Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779, and then in two subsequent boat actions in December off Martinique. Hoar continued to serve under Rowley, accompanying him when he moved his flag to the 74-gun HMS Conqueror in March 1780. With Rowley Hoar saw action against the Comte d'Estaing at the Battle of Martinique on 17 April, and in two indecisive actions on 15 and 19 May. Rowley made Hoar his flag-lieutenant for his good service in July, and on 10 August 1782 Hoar was promoted to commander, and given command of the 16-gun sloop HMS Duc d'Estissac based at Port Royal. He remained in this position until the end of the war, at which his ship was paid off after her return to England in August 1783.

Interwar period and marriage.

Hoar remained on half-pay at the rank of commander for the years between the end of the American War of Independence, and the start of the French Revolutionary Wars. He married during this time ashore, taking as his wife Catherine Dorothy Bertie, daughter of Peregrine Bertie. The couple were married at St Marylebone Parish Church on 20 May 1788, after which Hoar took the surname Bertie, in accordance with his father-in-law's will. Also in 1788 he carried out a series of experiments at Spithead, that led to the introduction of lifebuoys into the navy.
The Nootka Crisis in 1790 led to Bertie receiving his long delayed promotion to post-captain, on 22 November 1790. He received the command of HMS Leda but the easing of tensions led to her being paid off and Bertie was left without a ship. This continued even after the start of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, until September 1795, when he took command of the 54-gun HMS Hindostan with orders to serve in the West Indies.

Command.

Bertie followed through on his orders, but while serving at Port-au-Prince in the West Indies he suffered a severe attack of yellow fever, and was invalided home in October 1796. He recovered his health and on 29 March 1797 he was appointed to command the 54-gun HMS Brakel at Plymouth. He was part of the court that court-martialled Captain John Williamson for misconduct during the Battle of Camperdown, and afterwards received an appointment to command the 64-gun HMS Ardent in the North Sea. Nelson wrote to congratulate Bertie, calling the Ardent 'the finest man-of-war upon her decks that ever I saw.' While in command of the Ardent he developed a slight alteration to the 42pdr carronades carried on her main deck. Bertie observed that if the chock were depressed by two inches, the gun could be worked and run out with a smaller number of people, while the recoil was reduced and the force of the shot increased. Bertie reported this to the Board of Ordnance, which subsequently adopted the modification for all the ships in the fleet.

North Sea and Baltic.

Bertie spent the next few years in the North Sea and in blockading the Texel, initially under Admiral Adam Duncan until August 1799, and then Vice-Admiral Andrew Mitchell. After the surrender of the Dutch fleet to Mitchell in the Vlieter Incident on 30 August, Bertie was ordered to take possession of the 68-gun De Ruyter, and then to escort the rest of the prizes to the Nore, arriving there on 10 September. After the failure of the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland, Bertie assisted in the evacuation and received the thanks of Parliament. He then took part in Vice-Admiral Archibald Dickson's expedition to Copenhagen in support of Lord Whitworth's diplomatic mission. Bertie returned to Copenhagen in 1801, with Sir Hyde Parker's expedition, and was detached to join his old friend Nelson's division for the attack on the city.

Bertie and the Ardent were duly engaged in the thick of the fighting, eventually suffering 29 killed and 64 wounded, with another 40 being slightly wounded but able to continue working. During the battle the Ardent forced the surrender of four Danish ships and floating batteries, causing Nelson to come aboard the Ardent the day after the battle to deliver his personal commendations to Ardent's officers and men for their actions. On 9 April Parker moved Bertie to the 74-gun HMS Bellona, replacing her captain, Thomas Boulden Thompson, who had lost a leg in the battle and was temporarily hors de combat. Bertie spent the next year serving in the Baltic, first under Nelson, and then under his successor, Sir Charles Pole.

Cadiz and West Indies.

Bertie was sent home in July 1802 with a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, and went from there to Cadiz, via Cork, in order to blockade the Spanish fleet there. The Peace of Amiens led to his return to England again, but he was soon sent to sea again as part of Charles Tyler's squadron despatched to the West Indies. He returned to Britain in June, where the Bellona was paid off.

Resumption of war.

The resumption of hostilities in 1803 led to Bertie taking command of the 74-gun HMS Courageux on 3 November. The Courageaux became the flagship of Rear-Admiral James Richard Dacres, and in January Bertie attempted to organise a convoy to the West Indies. Soon after leaving Britain a gale blew up, causing considerable damage to the ship and forcing Bertie to return to Britain. Before he could return to sea, a sudden family crisis forced Bertie to resign his command, not returning to active service until December 1805. In that month he was given command of the 98-gun HMS St George, commanding her in the English Channel. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 28 April 1808, and was requested to serve in the Baltic by Sir James Saumarez.

Flag rank and later life.

He flew his flag initially from the 74-gun HMS Orion, followed by the 74-gun HMS Vanguard and the 64-gun HMS Dictator. After a brief return to Britain in January 1809, he returned to the Baltic in March 1809 aboard the 64-gun HMS Stately, where he spent most of the year. He returned to Britain in December, and in February 1810 was obliged to strike his flag owing to his poor health. He was knighted on 24 June 1813 and authorised to accept the award of the Swedish Order of the Sword. He was advanced to a vice-admiral on 4 December 1813. He died at Twyford Lodge, Hampshire, the home of his brother, on 13 June 1825.

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Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan.



Strachan was born in Devon on 27 October 1760, the eldest son of Lieutenant Patrick Strachan RN and a daughter of Captain Pitman RN. His uncle was Sir John Strachan, fifth baronet. Strachan entered the Royal Navy in 1772 at the age of twelve, serving first aboard HMS Intrepid. He sailed with Intrepid to the East Indies, before moving to HMS Orford, then under the command of his uncle. He went on to serve in a number of different ships on the North American Station, first aboard HMS Preston under Commodore William Hotham, followed by HMS Eagle, the flagship of Lord Howe.

Early career.

Strachan went on to serve aboard HMS Actaeon off the coast of Africa, and in the West Indies. On the death of his uncle on 26 December 1777, he succeeded to the baronetcy. He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 April 1779 and was then appointed to HMS Hero in early 1781, under the command of Captain James Hawker. Aboard Hero Strachan was part of Commodore George Johnstone's squadron, and was present at the Battle of Porto Praya against the Bailli de Suffren on 16 April 1781. After this action, Hero moved on to the East Indies, where Strachan moved to take up a post, first aboard HMS Magnanime and then aboard HMS Superb. It was whilst aboard Superb that Strachan was present at the first of four actions that took place between Sir Edward Hughes and de Suffren, the Battle of Sadras on 17 February 1782.

First commands.

After acquitting himself well, Strachan was promoted by Hughes in January 1783 to the command of the cutter HMS Lizard, and then again on 26 April 1783 to be captain of the frigate Naiad. Strachan's next appointment was in 1787 to HMS Vestal. He sailed in the spring of 1788 for China, carrying the ambassador, the Hon. Charles Alan Cathcart. Cathcart died during the journey, as Vestal passed through the Strait of Banca, and the ship returned to England. Strachan and Vestal were then ordered to the East Indies again, to join a squadron under the command of Commodore William Cornwallis. On arrival, Strachan was reassigned to HMS Phoenix. In November 1791 she was ordered to stop and search the French frigate Résolue, which was escorting a number of merchant ships believed to be carrying military supplies to support Tippu Sultan. Résolue resisted Phoenix and a brief fight ensued before Résolue struck her colours. The French captain insisted on considering his ship as a British prize, so Cornwallis ordered Strachan to tow her into Mahé and return her to the French commodore.

Off the French coast.

Strachan returned to England in 1793, and was appointed to command the frigate HMS Concorde and in spring 1794 joined a squadron patrolling off Brest, under the command of Sir John Borlase Warren. The squadron engaged a rival squadron of four French frigates on 23 April 1794 and succeeded in capturing three of them. Strachan and Concorde had forced the surrender of one of them, the frigate L'Engageante. Strachan was then appointed to the 42-gun HMS Melampus which was attached in the summer to the main British fleet. In spring 1795 Strachan was dispatched in command of a squadron of five frigates to cruise off the Normandy and Brittany coasts. He was highly successful at this, capturing or destroying a considerable number of French coastal craft, many laden with military stores and conveyed by armed French warships. On 9 May 1795, he captured Crache-feu, a French three-gun vessel.

Command of the Diamond and the Captain.

In 1796 Strachan was appointed to command HMS Diamond, after her previous captain, Sir Sidney Smith had been captured during a cutting-out expedition. On 31 December 1796, Strachan captured the French 12-gun brig Amaranthe, which the Royal Navy took into service as HMS Amaranthe.
Strachan commanded Diamond until 1799, when he took command of the 74-gun third rate HMS Captain. He took her off the west coast of France, at times operating as part of a squadron, and at other times alone. On 5 November 1800 he came to the assistance of the stranded and sinking HMS Marlborough, which had struck a ledge of rocks near Isle Grouat during the previous night's gale. Captain’s boats were pushed through the surf and were able to take off Marlborough’s officers and crew.

Later in the month, on 17 November, Captain chased a French convoy through the Teignouse Passage between Quiberon and the Ile de Houat, and tried to keep them from reaching safety in the Gulf of Morbihan. Despite his efforts, the convoy reached the cover of a 20-gun corvette, and a number of coastal forts the next day. The situation changed when the hired armed cutter Nile attacked the corvette and forced her aground in Port Navalo. The corvette struck her colours, at which point boats from HMS Magicienne attempted to board and capture her. They were driven off by fire from the corvette and returned to Magicienne. Strachan meanwhile devised a plan to attack the French.
Later that day, Magicienne was ordered to approach, to draw the fire of the batteries. Strachan ordered Lieutenant Hannah and a party of seamen and marines into four boats, which were towed into the harbour by Suwarrow; while Nile and HMS Lurcher towed another four more boats manned by Marlborough’s men who had been rescued by Strachan three weeks previously. Under heavy fire of grape, round and musket-balls from the shore battery high above, they boarded the corvette, and set her on fire. They then re-embarked and began heading back towards Captain, when the corvette blew up with a tremendous explosion. The British lost only one man killed, when a shot hit the fluke of Suwarrow’s anchor, ricocheted, and struck the head of a sailor. Seven others were injured.

In January 1801, Strachan almost died when Captain struck a rock off Ushant with such force that she started taking on water at almost 3 inches a minute, which constantly increased. The damage was so severe that the incoming water nearly overloaded the pumps. She eventually made it into the Sound on 11 January attended by HMS Fisgard and the cutter from HMS Lord Nelson. Captain fired distress guns until she reached the narrows, when all the boats from the dock and the fleet came out to assist her. Captain eventually made it to the Hamoaze, and went back into Cawsand Bay on 5 May.

Command of the Donegal.

In 1802 Strachan was appointed to command HMS Donegal. Whilst serving aboard her, he was made senior officer at Gibraltar and ordered to watch the combined French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz, under the orders of Nelson. Whilst on this station, she spotted and gave chase to the large 42-gun Spanish frigate Amfitrite in November 1804. After pursuing her for 46 hours, Amfitrite lost her mizzen-top-mast and was subsequently overhauled by Donegal.A boat was dispatched from Donegal and the Spanish captain was brought aboard. Sir Richard did not speak Spanish and the captain did not speak English, so it was with difficulty that Sir Richard attempted to inform him that his orders were to return the Amfitrite back to Cadiz. Sir Richard allowed the captain three minutes to decide whether he would comply with the order, but after waiting for six minutes without an answer, opened fire on Amfitrite. The engagement lasted only eight minutes, and resulted in a number of deaths, including the Spanish captain, who fell to a musket ball. Amfitrite surrendered and after being searched, was found to be laden with stores and carrying dispatches from Cadiz to Tenerife and Havana. She was taken over and later commissioned into the Navy as HMS Amfitrite. Donegal would later make another capture off Cadiz, taking a Spanish vessel carrying a cargo reputed to be worth £200,000.

After Trafalgar.

On 23 April 1804 Strachan was made a colonel of marines, and returned to England in HMS Renown. On arrival he was immediately appointed to HMS Caesar and placed in command of a detached squadron including three ships of the line and four frigates in the Bay of Biscay. Whilst sailing off Cape Finisterre on 2 November 1805, the squadron encountered four French ships of the line that had escaped from the Battle of Trafalgar under the command of Rear-Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley. Sir Richard pursued them, bringing them to battle on 4 November. After a short engagement, known as the Battle of Cape Ortegal he captured all of them, completing the destruction of the French fleet. Strachan was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 9 November 1805. When, on 28 January 1806, the thanks of both Houses of Parliament were voted to those who had fought at Trafalgar, Strachan and his command was specially included. He was also (by special Act of Parliament) rewarded with a pension of £1,000 a year. On 29 January he was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB), and the City of London voted him the freedom of the city, and awarded him a sword of honour.

Later career.

Strachan was soon back in service, being dispatched early in 1806 to search for a French squadron reported to have sailed for America. After searching for some time, he failed to locate it and instead returned to watch the port of Rochefort. Thick fog and poor weather covered the port in January 1808, and allowed the French to sail out undetected and escape to the Mediterranean. Strachan gave chase, joining Admiral Collingwood's forces, but the French were able to gain the safety of Toulon. Strachan was ordered to return home, where, in 1809, he became Commander-in-Chief, North Sea watching the Dutch coast.

On 9 June 1809, he was appointed as the naval commander of an expedition, consisting of 264 warships and 352 transports carrying 44,000 troops, to attack the island of Walcheren and destroy the French arsenals in the Scheldt. Strachan was ill-qualified for the position, lacking both the experience and the temperament to hold a joint command in such a complex combined operation. Whilst he was careful to attend to the details of the problems that the Navy might encounter, he failed to consider the army's problems. Relations with the army's commander, Lord Chatham, quickly became strained and the ambitious Walcheren Campaign ended up being abandoned, having only achieved the capture of Flushing. A period of angry recriminations followed the withdrawal, with Chatham presenting a narrative to King George III in 1810, blaming Strachan for the expedition's failure. Strachan defended himself, declaring that the ships had done all that had been required of them. He nevertheless became the scapegoat for the failure, and was not given any more assignments.
The confusion and conflicting accounts led to the following doggerel verse:

Great Chatham, with his sabre drawn,
Stood waiting for Sir Richard Strachan;
Sir Richard, longing to be at 'em,
Stood waiting for the Earl of Chatham.

Later life and death.

Despite these controversies, promotion being entirely on the basis of seniority, he was made a Rear-Admiral of the Red on 25 October 1809, a Vice-Admiral of the Blue on 31 July 1810, Vice-Admiral of the White on 12 August 1812, Vice-Admiral of the Red on 4 June 1814, and Admiral of the White on 19 July 1821. After the defeat of Napoleon, and his temporary incarceration aboard HMS Bellerophon in 1815, Strachan set out to see the man he had spent most of his career fighting to defeat. Napoleon himself was apparently aware of Strachan's deeds.

On Thursday he (Napoleon Bonaparte) gratified the spectators with his appearance frequently on the poop and gangway, on which occasions the British, as well as the French officers, stood uncovered and apart! One of his officers intimating to him, that Sir Richard Strachan was in a barge alongside, Bonaparte instantly took off his hat, and bowed to him with a smile.

The Order of the Bath was reorganised on 2 January 1815, with surviving Knights Companion becoming the first Knights Grand Cross (GCB). Sir Richard Strachan died at his house in Bryanston Square, London, on 3 February 1828. He had married Louisa Dillon, Marchioness of Salsa in 1812.

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Captain.Charles Richardson.




He entered the Navy, 23 Nov. 1787, as Captain’s Servant, on board the Vestal 28, Capt. Rich. John Strachan. He shortly afterwards proceeded on an embassy to China, and, on removing with Sir Richard to the Phoenix 36, was present, 19 Nov. 1791, while cruizing off the Malabar coast in company with the Perseverance frigate, in an obstinate engagement (produced by a resistance on the part of the French Captain to a search being imposed by the British upon two merchant- vessels under his orders) with La Résolue of 46 guns, whose colours were not struck until she had herself sustained a loss of 25 men killed and 40 wounded, and had occasioned one to the Phoenix of 6 killed and 11 wounded. While on the East India station Mr. Richardson was for several months employed in the boats in co-operating, up different rivers, with the army under Sir Robt. Abercrombie in its operations against Tippoo Saib. On his return to England in 1793 he joined (he had previously attained the ratings of Midshipman and Master’s Mate) the Alexander 74, Capt. West, attached to the Channel fleet; and on 4 Aug. 1794, after having fought in the Royal George 100, flagship of Sir Alex. Hood, in Lord Howe’s actions of 29 May and 1 June, he was made Lieutenant into the Circe 28, Capt. Peter Halkett.

The Nore.

Of that frigate he was First-Lieutenant during the great mutiny at the Nore; where his exertions in preventing the crew from acquiring the ascendancy gained him, in common with his Captain and the other officers of the ship, the thanks of the Admiralty. The Circe forming one of Lord Duncan’s repeaters in the action off Camperdown 11 Oct. 1797, Lieut. Richardson on that occasion achieved an important exploit. Fearing lest the Dutch Admiral, De Winter, after his own ship had been dismasted and silenced, should effect his escape on board some other, he volunteered to go in an open boat and take him out. Succeeding in his object he had the honour of presenting him in person to the British Commander-in-Chief; who in consequence received him on promotion in Jan. 1798 on board his flagship the Venerable 74, and made him, 6 March following, his Signal-Lieutenant in the Kent 74, Capt. Wm. Johnstone Hope. In the following year, being sent with the expedition to Holland, Lieut. Richardson commanded a division of seamen attached to the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby from the period of the debarkation near the Helder until the surrender of the Dutch squadron under Admiral Storey. He was then ordered home in charge of a Dutch 68-gun ship. Some time after he had rejoined the Kent he sailed with Sir Ralph Abercromby for Egypt, where he assisted in landing the troops and fought in the battle of 8 March, 1801. In the course of the same month he removed to the Penelope 36, Capt. Hon. Henry Blackwood; and on 12 July, 1802, having previously conveyed Sir Alex. John Ball to Malta, he was nominated Acting-Commander of the Aligator 28, armée en flûte. While in that ship, to which he was confirmed 9 Oct. 1802, Capt. Richardson directed the movements of the flotilla employed at the reduction of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice in 1803, and was highly spoken of in the public despatches for his exertions at the taking of Surinam in the spring of 1804. On 6 July in that year he was in consequence invested by Sir Samuel Hood with the command of the Centaur 74, the ship bearing his broad pendant, an act which the Admiralty confirmed 27 Sept. ensuing. He returned to England in March, 1805; and was subsequently appointed – 11 Jan. 1806, to the Caesar 80 – 21 April, 1810, to the Semiramis 36, in which frigate, employed in the Channel, off Lisbon, and at the Cape of Good Hope, he continued until Aug. 1814 – 29 July, 1819, and 29 July, 1821, to the Leander 60, bearing the flag of Hon. Sir H. Blackwood, and Topaze 46, both on the East India station – and, in 1822, again to the Leander, from which ship he invalided 14 Oct. in the same year. In the Caesar Capt. Richardson went in pursuit, under the flag of Sir Rich. Strachan, of a squadron which had escaped from Brest, was employed off Rochefort, and proceeded to the Mediterranean in quest of another French squadron under Rear-Admiral Allemand. He assisted in the same ship under Rear-Admiral Stopford at the destruction of three French frigates beneath the batteries of Sable d’Olonne, and of the enemy’s squadron in Aix Roads, in Feb. and April 1809; and in the following July sailed, again under Sir Rich. Strachan, with the expedition to the Scheldt. On the town of Camvere offering to surrender, Capt. Richardson, who was the senior naval officer at the time on shore, arranged with Lieutenant-General Fraser the terms upon which the proposal was accepted. During the investment of Flushing he landed at the head of a brigade of seamen, and commanded a battery of 6 24-pounders with much effect. His services throughout the operations were so important and his zeal and bravery so very conspicuous that he elicited the public praise of the Earl of Chatham, the Military Commander-in-Chief, and the high approbation of Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, who conducted the siege, and of Major-General M‘Leod, commanding officer of the Royal Artillery. On 25 Aug. 1811, being at the mouth of the river Gironde in the Semiramis and in company with the Diana 38, Capt. Richardson, while his consort was engaged with the (lately British) gun-brig Teazer of 12 18-pounder carronades, 2 long 18’s, and 85 men, succeeded, “in a manner that characterized the officer and seaman,” in driving on shore, and burning under the guns of the batteries at Royan, Le Pluvier national brig of 16 guns and 136 men. In consideration of this exploit he received the “warmest acknowledgments” of his senior officer, Capt.Wm. Ferris, of the Diana, and the thanks of the Board of Admiralty. The Semiramis afterwards made a large number of prizes, and among them the Grand Jean Bart privateer of 14 guns and 106 men.

In the Far East.

During Capt. Richardson’s command of the Topaze a dispute arose between him and the authorities at Canton, which, before it could be adjusted, became so serious, that all commercial intercourse was suspended, the British factory obliged to embark without passes, and the Hon. Company’s ships to leave the Tigris. The disturbances had their origin in the circumstance of a fire from the Topaze having killed 2 out of a number of Chinese who had severely wounded 14 of her crew while employed filling water at Lintin. On 4 June, 1815, Capt. Richardson was nominated a C.B.; and on 29 June, 1841, a K.C.B. He became a Rear-Admiral 10 Jan. 1837; and a Vice-Admiral 17 Dec. 1847.

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Captain Sir Samuel Hood.




He was the son of Alexander Hood (son of Alexander Hood and Elizabeth, née Beach), and Ann, née Way, He entered the Royal Navy in 1776 at the start of the American Revolutionary War. His first engagement was the First Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, and, soon afterwards transferred to the West Indies, he was present, under the command of his cousin, at all the actions which culminated in Admiral George Rodney's victory of 12 April 1782 in the Battle of the Saintes.

After the peace, like many other British naval officers, Hood spent some time in France, and on his return to England was given the command of a sloop, from which he proceeded in succession to various frigates. In the 32-gun fifth-rate frigate Juno his gallant rescue of some shipwrecked seamen won him a vote of thanks and a sword of honour from the Jamaica assembly.

French Revolutionary Wars.

Early in 1793, after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Hood went to the Mediterranean in Juno under his cousin Lord Hood, and distinguished himself by an audacious feat of coolness and seamanship in extricating his vessel from the harbour of Toulon, which he had entered in ignorance of Lord Hood's withdrawal. In 1795, in Aigle, he was put in command of a squadron for the protection of Levantine commerce, and in early 1797 he was given command of the 74-gun ship of the line Zealous, in which he was present at Admiral Horatio Nelson's unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Captain Hood conducted the negotiations which relieved the squadron from the consequences of its failure.

Napoleonic Wars.

Zealous played an important part at the Battle of the Nile. Her first opponent was put out of action in twelve minutes. Hood immediately engaged other ships, the Guerriere being left powerless to fire a shot.
When Nelson left the coast of Egypt, Hood commanded the blockading force off Alexandria and Rosetta. Later he rejoined Nelson on the coast of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, receiving for his services the order of St Ferdinand.
In the 74-gun third-rate Venerable Hood was present at the Battle of Algeciras on 8 July 1801 and the action in the Straits of Gibraltar that followed. In the Straits his ship suffered heavily, losing 130 officers and men.
In 1802, Hood was employed in Trinidad as a commissioner, and, upon the death of the flag officer commanding the Leeward Islands Station, he succeeded him as Commodore. Island after island fell to him, and soon, outside Martinique, the French had scarcely a foothold in the West Indies. Amongst other measures Hood took one may mention the garrisoning of Diamond Rock, which he commissioned as a sloop-of-war to blockade the approaches of Martinique. For these successes he was, amongst other rewards, appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB).

In command next of the squadron blockading Rochefort, Sir Samuel Hood lost an arm during the Action of 25 September 1806 against a French frigate squadron. Promoted to Rear Admiral a few days after this action, Hood was in 1807 entrusted with the operations against Madeira, which he brought to a successful conclusion.

In 1808 Hood sailed to the Baltic Sea, with his flag in the 74-gun Centaur, to take part in the Russo-Swedish war. In one of the actions of this war Centaur and Implacable, while unsupported by the Swedish ships (which lay to leeward), cut out the Russian 50-gun ship Sevolod from the enemy's line and, after a desperate fight, forced her to strike. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden rewarded Admiral Hood with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword. He became a baronet on 1 April 1809.

Late career.

Present in the roads off Coruña at the re-embarkation of the army of Sir John Moore after the Battle of Coruña, Hood thence returned to the Mediterranean, where for two years he commanded a division of the British fleet. In 1811 he became a Vice Admiral.

In his last command, that of the East Indies Station, he carried out many salutary reforms, especially in matters of discipline and victualling. He died without issue at Madras in 1814, having married Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth.

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Captain Lord Henry Paulet.



Henry Paulet was born in 1767, the younger son of George Paulet, 12th Marquess of Winchester, and a brother to Charles Paulet, the future 13th Marquess of Winchester. Paulet joined the navy as a midshipman during the later years of the American War of Independence. He spent 11 years at this rank, during which time he was present at Admiral Sir George Rodney's victory at the Battle of the Saintes. He was made junior lieutenant aboard HMS Crown at Spithead in early February 1789. The Crown then became flagship of Commodore William Cornwallis, who sailed with a squadron to India. Paulet reached Tenerife with the ship, but on the squadron's arrival there he was transferred to the frigate HMS Phoenix in exchange for one of the Phoenix's lieutenants. Paulet completed the voyage to India with the Phoenix, but shortly after his arrival he learnt that he was not to be taken back aboard the Crown. He was invalided back to Britain aboard the East Indiaman Houghton.

Promotion and command.

Paulet was appointed to HMS Vulcan in 1791, still as a lieutenant, though he was moved to HMS Assistance in April 1792. On 20 February 1793 Paulet received a promotion to master and commander, and command of the sloop HMS Nautilus. He commanded the Nautilus as part of John Laforey's naval force that captured Tobago on 15 April 1793. He was promoted again to post-captain on 9 January 1794 and was given command of HMS Vengeance by Sir John Jervis. Paulet served as flag captain to Commodore Charles Thompson at the capture of Martinique.

Command of HMS Astraea.

After this success, Paulet returned to Britain and was given command of the 32-gun fifth rate HMS Astraea, cruising in the English Channel under the orders of Sir John Colpoys. While sailing in thick fog on 10 April 1795 three sails were spotted through a break. Identifying them as enemy frigates Paulet gave chase to one of them. He closed the distance, and after foiling an attempt from the French ship to rake the Astraea, Paulet came alongside and the two ships exchanged broadsides for nearly an hour before the French ship struck. She was discovered to be the 42-gun Gloire, with 275 men aboard. She had suffered casualties of 40 killed and wounded, while Astraea, of 32 guns and 212 men, had only eight wounded. For this feat Paulet was awarded the Naval Gold Medal.

Command of HMS Thalia.

Paulet's next command was the 36-gun frigate HMS Thalia, attached to Lord Bridport's fleet. He was present at the Battle of Groix, afterwards taking on board the fleet's flag captain, William Domett, and one of the captured French captains. The Thalia almost ran onto rocks while rounding Ushant, but Paulet was able to get her off safely. While returning to the fleet two frigates were spotted in the distance, which Domett feared might be French. In reply Paulet pointed to the guns on the maindeck and said 'Never mind Domett, those are 18-pounders, and hit hard.'
Paulet and the Thalia continued to serve in the Channel until January 1797, when they were sent with Rear-Admiral William Parker to reinforce John Jervis's fleet prior to the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Thalia was not present at the battle though, having been attached to the Mediterranean Fleet a few days earlier. While in the Mediterranean he captured the 16-gun corvette Espoir, and several French and Spanish privateers.

It was about this time that an incident occurred that temporarily clouded his career. In a moment of anger he struck one of the Thalia's lieutenants, Robert Forbes. He was brought to court-martial on 12 June 1798 aboard HMS Prince, and the offence being proved, the court had no choice but to dismiss him from the service. In view of the mitigating circumstances, the court recommended that Paulet be considered for clemency by King George III. The King was pleased to follow the recommendation and reinstated Paulet in the service.

Paulet then received command of the 74-gun HMS Defence. He went with Sir Hyde Parker to the Baltic in 1801 and while he and the Defence were present at the Battle of Copenhagen, they were kept with Parker's reserve squadron and took no part in the fighting.

The Defence was paid off with the conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, though the resumption of hostilities led to Paulet's return to service as captain of HMS Terrible. He commanded her in the blockades of the French and Spanish ports, and by 1806 he was in the West Indies. In August that year the Terrible was caught in a hurricane, completely dismasted and almost wrecked.

Personal and later life.

Paulet was something of an eccentric. On one occasion, while his ship was moored at Spithead, he asked his admiral for permission to take leave to visit London. This was refused, with the comment that Paulet could travel as far on land as he could get in his barge. Thus challenged, Paulet loaded his barge onto a cart and went off to London anyway.

He became a Colonel of Royal Marines on 1 August 1811, and advanced to rear-admiral on 12 August 1812. He replaced William Johnstone Hope as one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in 1813, holding the position until being forced to retire in 1816 due to ill health. On 2 January 1815, Paulet was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in 1819 was promoted to vice-admiral. On 26 October 1813, he married Anna-Maria Ravenscroft, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.

Increasingly ill during his last years from cancer, that it was believed had been brought on by a fall against a slide of one of the carronades aboard the Terrible, Paulet died on 28 January 1832 at his seat of Westhill Lodge, Tichfield, Hampshire. He was buried in the family vault at Amport on 3 February.

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Captain Henry Inman.




Henry Inman was born in 1762, the son of the vicar of the Somerset village of Burrington, Reverend George Inman. Educated by his father until the age of 14, Inman was sent to join the Royal Navy in 1776, posted aboard the 90-gun second rate HMS Barfleur. Barfleur's captain was Sir Samuel Hood, later to become Viscount Hood, who formed a close personal and professional attachment to his subordinate that continued throughout Inman's military service.

After two years on Barfleur, Inman was transferred to the frigate HMS Lark in 1778 for service off New England. The American Revolutionary War had broken out three years earlier, but Barfleur had been based in Britain and so there had been no opportunity for action aboard Hood's ship. His career in Lark was cut short on 5 August 1778, when Captain John Brisbane, the senior officer off Rhode Island, ordered the frigate beached and burnt with four other ships when a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Comte d'Estaing appeared off the harbour. Inman and the rest of the crew were transferred to shore duties and over the following week engaged D'Estaing's ships from fixed gun batteries as they bombarded the British positions.

Inman had lost all his personal possessions in the destruction of Lark and was forced to replace his uniform from his own wages when the Navy refused to provide compensation. Returning to Britain in the frigate HMS Pearl, Inman was promoted to lieutenant in 1780 and returned to the Americas in HMS Camel, transferred soon afterwards into HMS Santa Monica in the West Indies. Shortly after his arrival however, Inman was once again shipwrecked when Santa Monica grounded off Tortola. Although the crew reached the shore in small boats, the ship broke up rapidly and once again Inman lost all of his possessions. Remaining on shore service in the West Indies for the next two years, Inman was again employed in the aftermath of the Battle of the Saintes, appointed to the prize crew of the captured French vessel Hector for the journey to Britain. Hector's masts and hull had been seriously damaged in the battle, requiring lighter spars to be fitted and 22 of her 74 guns removed to make her more seaworthy. As the fleet could not spare men to man her, the 223-strong prize crew was made up of men pressed in the Caribbean, principally invalids unfit for frontline service.

On 14 August 1782, Hector separated from the rest of the prize ships in heavy weather and on 22 August encountered two large French frigates, Aigle of 40 guns and Gloire of 32 guns. Together these vessels significantly outclassed the leaky ship of the line in weight of shot, but Captain John Bourchier determined to resist the French attack, preparing Hector as the French approached. The French ships surrounded Hector at 02:00 and the engagement was furiously contested, with Bourchier wounded early on and many of his officers following him below with serious injuries. Within a short period, Inman was the only officer remaining on deck, but he was able to successfully drive the French away following a failed attempt to board, although Hector was left in a severely damaged state with 75 men killed or wounded. A hurricane that followed the battle inflicted further damage and the ship was badly flooded, seawater ruining the food supplies and threatening to sink the ship completely. Some of the crew were so ill and exhausted that they collapsed and died while manning the pumps. Inman only managed to prevent the remaining sailors from fleeing below decks by carrying loaded pistols and threatening men who refused his orders. Once the storm had abated it was clear that Hector was foundering; her rudder and masts had been torn away and the pumps were unable to keep pace with the water leaking through the battered hull. For two weeks Inman made desperate efforts to keep the ship afloat, as food and water supplies ran low and the hull began to collapse in on itself. Fortunately for the men aboard Hector, the tiny snow Hawke appeared and approached the ship of the line to render assistance. Throwing his cargo overboard, Captain John Hill worked with Inman to supervise the transfer of all of Hector's remaining men, many of whom were wounded or sick, into Hawke as Hector rapidly sank. No men were lost in the operation and Inman was the last to leave, Hector disappearing ten minutes after the boat carrying him reached Hawke. The snow set sail for St John's in Newfoundland, its crew and passengers subsisting on short rations; they arrived off the port on the same day they consumed the last water supplies.

French Revolutionary Wars.

With the Peace of Versailles in 1783, the war ended and Inman was placed on half-pay in reserve, suffering from poor health caused by his ordeal on Hector. Retiring to his father's house in Somerset, Inman was not employed again until 1790, when the Spanish Armament provoked a rapid expansion of the Navy. He was initially commissioned into the frigate HMS Latona under Captain Albemarle Bertie, but in the aftermath of the emergency Inman was given command of the 14-gun cutter HMS Pigmy, stationed on the Isle of Man. He also married the daughter of Commander Thomas Dalby in 1791; the couple would have a son and a daughter. With the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Inman was transferred to Lord Hood's flagship HMS Victory in the Mediterranean, receiving a promotion to commander on 11 September. Serving during the Siege of Toulon, Inman assisted in the removal of captured French ships from Toulon harbour and as a reward was promoted to post captain on 9 October and given command of the newly captured HMS Espion. While she was stationed off Hyères, Aurore engaged French Republican gun batteries, expending 20,000 cannonballs in November and December.
When Toulon fell to the Republicans on 18 December 1793, Inman was initially sent to Corsica and then tasked with carrying a large number of Republican prisoners of war to Malta. With an understrength crew, Inman had difficulty in controlling the prisoners, who deliberately holed the bottom of the ship during the voyage. On arriving at Malta, Inman anchored his leaking ship in deep water under the guns of the port's defensive batteries and then removed his entire crew, leaving instructions with the prisoners that they could either pump out the water and repair the damage or drown when the ship sank. The prisoners repaired the ship and were taken into captivity on Malta. Transferred from Aurore, Inman spent a brief period on the frigate HMS San Fiorenzo before returning to Britain in command of the fourth rate HMS Romney.

Romney was paid off on arrival in Britain and Inman returned to the reserve until 1796, when he was made temporary captain of Lion and then took command of the frigate HMS Espion. Ordered to sail for the River Clyde, Inman set sail with his family on board but Espion, an old ship in a poor state of repair, was struck by a gale in the English Channel and was almost destroyed. Eventually reaching safety in Spithead, Espion was reduced to the reserve until extensive repairs could be made and Inman was again placed on half-pay. He was reinstated in 1797 as temporary commander of the ship of the line HMS Belliqueux in the immediate aftermath of the Nore Mutiny. Belliqueux had been heavily involved in the uprising: three members of the crew were under sentence of death and six others facing severe punishment for their part in the revolt. Inman was consequently afraid for his life and for the next six months slept with three loaded pistols beside him. Belliqueux was assigned to the blockade of the French Atlantic seaport of Brest and Inman continued to perform this service after he was moved to HMS Ramillies during 1798, in which he participated in the chase that eventually led to the capture of Hercule. He was subsequently posted to the frigate HMS Andromeda in early 1799.

Désirée and Copenhagen.



Battle of Copenhagen. Désirée can be seen at the Southern extremity of the Danish line.


On 2 August 1799, Inman seized the neutral merchant ship Vrienden carrying a cargo of hemp. Although the vessel's legal state was uncertain, no merchant claimed its cargo and in 1802 she was condemned and sold for over £2470.

In November 1799, Andromeda was attached to the force that evacuated the Duke of York's army following the failure of the Expedition to Holland and he remained in the region, observing movements off the Elbe. Andromeda also participated in the Raid on Dunkirk on 7 July 1800, when four French frigates were attacked by a squadron of British ships in Dunkirk harbour. Although an assault with fireships failed, HMS Dart captured the French frigate Désirée, with Inman following in the cutter Vigilant, crewed by thirty volunteers from Andromeda. Under fire from all sides, Inman successfully boarded the French ship following her surrender and brought her out of the harbour, sending the crew ashore on parole to avoid having to assign men to guard them. Désirée was brought back to Britain and commissioned into the Royal Navy, Inman taking command of the new frigate.

In 1801, Désirée was attached to the fleet gathering at Yarmouth under Sir Hyde Parker and Lord Nelson for service in the Baltic Sea against the League of Armed Neutrality. Sailing for Denmark in March, the fleet anchored off Copenhagen and on 1 April a squadron under Nelson closed with the Danish fleet, which was anchored in a line of battle protecting the harbour. Désirée was ordered to operate at the Southern end of the Danish line, engaging shore batteries and nearby ships while their attention was focused on the main British battle-line. When the battle began at 10:00 on 2 April, Inman engaged the Provesteen, which was firing on the 50-gun HMS Isis. Désirée succeeded in inflicting considerable damage on the Danish ship and drew some fire away from the battered Isis. Once Provesteen had been abandoned by her Danish crew Désirée was engaged with a number of Danish shore batteries, but due to poor aim of the Danish gunners, who fired over the frigate throughout the engagement, she was not badly damaged and suffered only four men wounded in the battle. At 14:00 Danish fire slackened and shortly afterwards Nelson began to withdraw his ships out of range of the Danes. A number of his ships of the line grounded on the complicated shoals in the region and when Désirée came to the assistance of HMS Bellona] she too became stuck. Bellona was hauled off by Isis shortly afterwards, but Désirée was forced to remain on the sandbank for two days until boats from the squadron could be spared to drag her free.

Napoleonic Wars.

At the Peace of Amiens, Désirée remained in service with orders to sail for the West Indies. Inman, whose health was beginning to suffer, resigned command and returned to his family on half-pay until the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, when he was given the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Utrecht. In 1804 he moved from Utrecht to the 74-gun HMS Triumph and in February 1805 was attached to the fleet under Sir Robert Calder stationed off Cape Finisterre during the Trafalgar campaign. At 11:00 on 22 July, Calder sighted the French and Spanish fleet under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve emerging from the fog off Ferrol and attacked, Triumph third in line behind HMS Hero and HMS Ajax. The battle lines tacked and closed with one another, beginning a general action at 18:00, eventually separating at 21:30. Triumph was heavily engaged in the melee, in which two Spanish ships were captured, and suffered severe damage although light casualties of five killed and six wounded. On 26 July, Inman was briefly detached from the fleet to chase away the French frigate Didon before returning to her station in the battle line, but the action was not resumed, Calder ordering the fleet to return to Britain. In the aftermath of the battle, Calder faced a court martial for his failure to resume the engagement and Inman was called to give evidence: when questioned as to why he had not informed Calder about the damage to his ship, Inman replied "I did not think that a proper time to trouble the admiral with my complaints".

Inman's health had suffered during his long career at sea, and although he returned to sea in December 1805 aboard Triumph during the Atlantic campaign of 1806 as part of the squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, his ill-health forced his replacement by Sir Thomas Hardy in May. Returning to his family ashore, Inman was initially given command of the sea fencibles at King's Lynn before he was made Admiralty commissioner at Madras by Lord Mulgrave in 1809. The journey to India broke his health completely and he died on 15 July 1809, just ten days after arriving in Madras.

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Captain John Erskine Douglas.





The son of David Douglas, a descendant of James Douglas, 2nd earl of Queensberry, Douglas was born in the later 1750s, and joined the British Royal Navy at a young age, reaching the rank of commander in 1794 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Within a year he had been made a post captain and taken command of the small frigate HMS Garland, which he commanded in the North Sea until 1798, when he transferred to the larger frigate HMS Boston. Boston was stationed off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, intercepting numerous French merchant ships trading with American ports. For a time he blockaded the French frigate Sémillante, but by 1801 had sailed for the West Indies, operating in the Leeward Islands and then moving north to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he remained until 1804, continuing in employment throughout the Peace of Amiens.

On his return to Britain, Douglas was given the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Impetueux, moving in 1805 to the 74-gun HMS Bellona, which participated in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 as part of the squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. Ordered to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Bellona was cruising with HMS Belleisle off Cape Henry on 14 September 1806 when the French ship of the line Impétueux was spotted steering into the Chesapeake. Impétueux had been caught in a hurricane earlier in the summer and was badly damaged, limping to port under jury masts. Closely pursued, Impétueux was driven on shore by her captain and the crew scrambled onto the beach as British boats boarded and captured the wreck. Although British intervention on American shore was a clear violation of American neutrality in the war, there was no protest from the American authorities – the only complaint coming from the French consul at Norfolk. Damaged beyond repair, the wreck of Impétueux was burnt on the beach.

Douglas remained off the Chesapeake during 1807 in command of a squadron of smaller vessels observing two French ships of the line at anchor in Hampton Roads. This squadron became embroiled in the controversy surrounding the removal of British deserters from American-flagged vessels that ended with the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair in July 1807 and Douglas exchanged angry letters with the Mayor of Norfolk. Returning to Europe in 1808, Bellona was attached to the Channel Fleet and in 1809 was part of the blockade fleet under Lord Gambier that destroyed a number of French ships at the Battle of Basque Roads. Moving to the North Sea in 1810, Douglas captured the privateer L'Heros du Nord and in 1812 transferred to the 98-gun second rate HMS Prince of Wales in the Mediterranean, where he remained for the rest of the war.

In 1814, Douglas was promoted to rear-admiral and from 1816 served as commander in chief of the Jamaica Station, remaining in the post until 1817. Retiring from active service, Douglas continued to rise through the ranks, becoming a vice-admiral in 1825 and a full admiral in 1838. He died aged 89 at Swallows near Watford in Hertfordshire on 25 July 1847, leaving the considerable fortune of (£3,248,000 as of 2017)

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Captain William Hargood.



(6 May 1762 – 12 December 1839)

He was a British naval officer who served with distinction through the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, during which he gained an unfortunate reputation for bad luck, which seemed to reverse following his courageous actions at the battle of Trafalgar in command of HMS Belleisle.

Born in 1762 into a Royal Navy Dockyard family, the son of a Clerk of the Survey, Hargood was able to secure a position as a midshipman on HMS Triumph, on which he served from 1775 until the following year, in which time he made a convoy to Newfoundland, and then moved to HMS Bristol in which he saw the West Indies and American Eastern Seaboard, being heavily in involved in the landing at Fort Moultrie in 1776. In 1781, Hargood was a lieutenant, serving in the sloop HMS Port Royal when Pensacola fell to the Spanish despite his best efforts to keep it supplied, and in 1782 he was on board HMS Magnificent at the battle of the Saintes.

Hargood continued in service in American waters beyond the end of the war, remaining there until he met Captain William Henry (who in 1830 would succeed his brother to become King of England). The two became firm friends, and William took him as his first lieutenant aboard the frigate HMS Pegasus and then HMS Andromeda, procuring his promotion in 1789 to commander and getting him the sloop HMS Swallow, which he commanded for year off Ireland before moving to HMS Hyaena and the West Indies when he was made a Post Captain.
Captured by the French in 1793 along with his ship, Hargood was exchanged and honourably acquitted and in 1796 given the 50 gun HMS Leopard, a command which ended in disaster, when he was deposed ashore during the Spithead mutiny.

Moving to HMS Nassau and then HMS Intrepid, Hargood convoyed a fleet of East Indiamen to China, where he remained until the Peace of Amiens in 1803, defending Macau at the Macau Incident of January 1799.
On his return at the outbreak of war, he was given the ship of the line HMS Belleisle, a good ship captured from the French in the battle of Groix in 1795. Joining Nelson's fleet in the Mediterranean, Hargood participated in the chase across the Atlantic, and his ship was so worn out it required a refit at Plymouth, only rejoining the fleet two weeks before the battle on 21 October.

During the battle, Belleisle was second in Collingwood's division, following the flagship HMS Royal Sovereign into the enemy lines by just fifteen minutes, and when there held his fire until he was able to discharge both sides simultaneously into the Fougueux and Santa Ana. Belleisle was engaged continuously during the action, often fighting alone against numerous enemy ships, before finally attaching herself to the Argonauta, which she boarded and captured, but not before she was herself dismasted. Belleisle took almost 25% casualties, with 33 dead and 93 wounded, including Hargood, who had suffered severe bruising during the cannonade. Belleisle was lucky to survive the storm, only the constant attentions of the frigate HMS Naiad allowing her to be slowly towed back to Gibraltar.
Following the battle, Hargood, who had been unable to get a favourable commission until this point was suddenly inundated with offers, and after some lucrative shore duties, he was made a rear-admiral and given command of the Channel Islands squadron, which made numerous raids on the French coast and collected a lot of prize money.

In 1811 he married Maria Cocks, and they lived happily together until his death despite their failure to have any children. Following the peace in 1815, Hargood retired from the sea, but retained shore duties, and between this date and his death twenty four years later at his home in Bath, he was made a vice admiral, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, a full Admiral of the White and Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.

Throughout his life he also retained a close and personal friendship with William Henry, even after the latter became King William IV in 1830. He retired to Bath residing at number 9 Royal Crescent until his death and was buried in Bath Abbey where his much faded tombstone can still be seen, along with a lengthy epitaph on a mounted wall plaque.

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Captain Sir Thomas Hardy.




Born the second son of Joseph Hardy and Nanny Hardy (née Masterman) at Kingston Russell House in Long Bredy (or according to some sources in Winterborne St Martin), Hardy joined the navy with his entry aboard the brig HMS Helena on 30 November 1781 as a captain's servant, but left her in April 1782 to attend Crewkerne Grammar School. During his time at school his name was carried on the books of the sixth-rate HMS Seaford and the third-rate HMS Carnatic.

Mediterranean and Nelson.


Hardy joined the fifth-rate HMS Hebe on 5 February 1790 as a midshipman; he later transferred to the sixth-rate HMS Tisiphone under Captain Anthony Hunt, and then followed Hunt to the sixth-rate HMS Amphitrite in May 1793, going out to the Mediterranean in her. Hardy served off Marseilles and Toulon and was commissioned second lieutenant of the fifth-rate HMS Meleager under Captain Charles Tyler on 10 November 1793.

Command of Meleager passed to Captain George Cockburn in June 1794; Cockburn took command of the fifth-rate HMS Minerve in August 1796 and Hardy went with him, swiftly rising to the rank of first lieutenant. Horatio Nelson, then a commodore, moved his Broad pennant to the Minerve in December 1796. While en route to Gibraltar, in the action of 19 December 1796, Minerve and her consort, the fifth-rate HMS Blanche, engaged two Spanish frigates and forced the Santa Sabina to surrender. Lieutenants Hardy and Culverhouse were sent aboard the Santa Sabina with a prize crew, and the three ships continued on towards Gibraltar. Before the night was out, Nelson ran into the Spanish fleet and only managed to get away when Hardy drew the Spanish away from Minerve and fought until being dismasted and captured. Hardy and Culverhouse were almost immediately exchanged for the captain of the Santa Sabina, Don Jacobo Stuart, and were able to rejoin Minerve at Gibraltar on 9 February 1797. With two enemy ships pursuing him, Cockburn ordered more sail. During this operation, a topman fell overboard. The ship hove to and a boat with Hardy in it was lowered to search for the missing mariner. As the enemy ships were closing fast, Cockburn thought it prudent to withdraw, but Nelson overruled him crying "By God, I'll not lose Hardy, back that mizzen topsail!" This confused the Spaniards who checked their own progress, allowing Hardy to return to his ship and make good his escape.


Command and the Nile.


Hardy remained with Minerve until May 1797 when, following a successful cutting out expedition of which he was in charge, he was promoted to master and commander of the newly captured corvette HMS Mutine. Under Hardy's command, Mutine joined a squadron under Captain Thomas Troubridge which met up with Nelson off Toulon in June 1798, located Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. Afterwards, Nelson's flag captain, Edward Berry was sent home with dispatches and Hardy was promoted to captain of Nelson's flagship, HMS Vanguard, in his place on 2 October 1798. HMS Vanguard carried King Ferdinand IV and the British ambassador Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma from Naples to safety in Sicily in December 1798: Hardy did not altogether approve of Lady Hamilton who had once tried to intervene on behalf of a boat's crew - Hardy had the crew flogged twice, once for the original offence and again for petitioning the lady. Nelson transferred his flag to the third-rate HMS Foudroyant on 8 June 1799, taking Hardy with him. In June 1799, the main fleet, led by Foudroyant, landed marines at Naples to assist with the overthrow of the Parthenopean Republic so allowing Ferdinand's kingdom to be re-established. Hardy handed over command of Foudroyant to Sir Edward Berry on 13 October 1799, transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Princess Charlotte and returned to England.

Baltic and Copenhagen.

After a year ashore, Hardy went to Plymouth Dock in December 1800 to take command of the first-rate HMS San Josef, which had just been refitted. He transferred to the second-rate HMS St George and became Nelson's flag captain once more in February 1801. Nelson was appointed second in command of the Baltic fleet, which had been sent to force the Danes to withdraw from the League of Armed Neutrality. On the night of 1 April 1801, Hardy was sent in a boat to take soundings around the anchored Danish fleet. Hardy's ship drew too much water and so took no part in the Battle of Copenhagen the following day. Hardy's work proved to be of great value. The only two ships that went aground, the third-rates HMS Agamemnon and HMS Bellona, were taken in by local pilots and did not follow Hardy's recommended route. Hardy stayed on as flag captain to the new fleet commander, Vice-Admiral Charles Pole, until August 1801 when he took command of the fourth-rate HMS Isis.

Mediterranean and West Indies Campaign.


In July 1802, Hardy was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS Amphion which after taking the new British ambassador to Lisbon, returned to Portsmouth. Nelson was in Portsmouth, as he was due to hoist his flag in the first-rate HMS Victory in May 1803, but on finding the ship not ready for him, transferred his flag to the Amphion and set sail for the Mediterranean. Nelson and Hardy finally transferred to Victory off Toulon on 31 July 1803. Hardy not only served as Nelson's flag captain, but also unofficially as his captain of the fleet. Nelson's fleet continued to blockade Toulon until April 1805, when the French escaped and were pursued to the West Indies and back. After a brief stop at Spithead between 20 August and 14 September 1805, they set sail for Cadiz arriving on 29 September 1805.

Trafalgar.


As Victory approached the enemy line on the morning of 21 October 1805, Hardy urged Nelson to transfer to another ship to avoid the inevitable melee, but Nelson refused. Victory, leading the weather column, came under heavy fire in the opening stages of the Battle of Trafalgar. At one point, a splinter took the buckle from Hardy's shoe, to which Nelson remarked, "This is too warm work Hardy, to last for long".Hardy was with Nelson when he was shot and, towards the end of the battle, as Nelson lay below dying, the two had a number of conversations together. Hardy was able to tell Nelson that 14 or 15 enemy ships had struck their flags: Nelson replied that he had "bargained for 20". In their last conversation, Nelson reminded Hardy to anchor the fleet. Nelson went on to say "take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy, take care of poor Lady Hamilton" and then when the moment came for the two men to part for the last time, Nelson then very close to death, asked Hardy to kiss him. Hardy kissed him on the cheek; "Now I am satisfied," said Nelson, "Thank God I have done my duty". Hardy stood up and then having spent a few moments looking down silently at his friend, knelt and kissed him again on the forehead. "Who is that?" asked Nelson, now barely able to see. "It is Hardy" Hardy replied. "God bless you Hardy" was Nelson's last response. Victory was towed to Gibraltar, arriving on 28 October 1805, where she underwent major repairs, before setting set sail for England on 4 November 1805 and arriving at Portsmouth on 5 December 1805. There Nelson's body was transferred to the Sheerness Commissioner, Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet's yacht Chatham to proceed to Greenwich. Hardy carried one of the banners at Nelson's funeral procession on 9 January 1806.

Later commands.

Hardy was created a baronet on 29 January 1806 and was given command of the third-rate HMS Triumph on the North American Station in May 1806. While in Nova Scotia, he married Anna Louisa Berkley, the daughter of his commander-in-chief, Sir George Cranfield Berkeley. When Admiral Berkley was sent to Lisbon, Hardy went with him as his flag captain in the second-rate HMS Barfleur. Hardy was made a commodore in the Portuguese Navy in 1811.

In August 1812, Hardy was given command of the third-rate HMS Ramillies and was sent back to North America at the outbreak of the War of 1812. On 11 July 1814, Hardy in his flagship, assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Pilkington, led four other warships and several transports carrying 2,000 men of the 102nd Regiment of Foot and a company of Royal Artillery against Fort Sullivan in Eastport, Maine. The American defending force of 70 regulars and 250 militiamen gave up without a fight. Hardy and Pilkington issued a proclamation making it clear Great Britain considered Eastport and the several nearby islands to be British territory. Townspeople were required to take an oath of allegiance to the crown or leave. Two thirds of the inhabitants took the oath, while 500 departed. For the few weeks he remained at the place, Hardy became a favourite of the locals, gaining great respect and popularity. However, Hardy's next venture, the 9–11 August bombardment of Stonington, Connecticut was a defeat; Royal Navy cannonading set 20 buildings on fire while killing a horse and a goose, while reports indicate the sizeable American defending force killed 21 and wounded 50 British attackers. Hardy was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815.

Hardy was given command of the royal yacht HMS Princess Augusta in July 1816 and, then having been promoted to commodore, became Commander-in-Chief on the South America Station, hoisting his broad pennant in third-rate HMS Superb in August 1819, with a mission to prevent the Spanish from interfering in the newly emerging republics of Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.

Flag rank.


Promoted to rear admiral on 27 May 1825,^] Hardy hoisted his flag aboard the third-rate HMS Wellesley and escorted 4,000 British troops to Lisbon, where they helped to quell a revolution by the eight-year-old queen's uncle in December 1826. He was subsequently given command of an experimental squadron in the Channel, moving his flag from the fifth-rate HMS Sybille to the sixth-rate HMS Pyramus before going ashore for the last time on 21 October 1827.

Hardy became First Naval Lord in the Grey ministry in November 1830 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 13 September 1831. As first Naval Lord he refused to become a Member of Parliament and encouraged the introduction of steam warships. He resigned in August 1834 to become Governor of Greenwich Hospital. Hardy was promoted to vice admiral on 10 January 1837.
He died at Greenwich on 20 September 1839. He is buried in the officers vault in Greenwich Hospital Cemetery, just west of National Maritime Museum. The grave lies in the enclosed railed area of the now mainly cleared graveyard, which now serves as a pocket park.

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Captain Thomas Gosselyn.





He was born on the 7th of May, 1765, second son ’of Joshua Gosselin, Esq., Colonel of the North Regiment of Militia, by Martha, daughter of Thos. Le Marchant, Esq., of Guernsey. He was the brother of General Gerard Gosselin, of Mount Ospringe, co. Kent, and also of Lieuts. Corbet and Chas. Gosselin, of the Navy and Army, both of whom died at Trinidad in 1803. His nephew, Lieut. J. C. Gosselin, was a Lieut. in the Royal Navy.

This officer entered the Navy on the 2nd of Aug. 1778, on board the Action 44, Capt. P. Boteler, with whom he removed, in June of the following year, to the Ardent 64. That ship being captured on the 16th of Aug. 1779, by the combined fleets of France and Spain, he remained for three months a prisoner at Alençon, in Normandy.

He next joined the Barfleur 98, bearing the flag of Sir Sam. Hood, in which ship, after witnessing the reduction of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, he fought in the action with the Comte de Grasse off Martinique on the 29th of April, 1781, and in those of the 25th and 26th of Jan. 1782, off St. Kitt’s. Removing then to the Champion, commanded by Capt. Hood, Mr. Gosselin took further part in the memorable operations of the 9th and 12th of April, 1782, and also in the capture, on 19th of the same month, of two French line-of-battle ships, a frigate, and a corvette, the latter of which struck to the sc|Champion after a few broadsides.

After an additional servitude in the Aimable 32, Carnatic 74, Nautilus 16, Grampus 50, Triumph 74, and Barfleur 98, on various stations, he was promoted on the 1st of Dec. 1787, to the rank of Lieutenant; his appointments in which capacity were, it appears, to the Atalanta 16, Crown 64, and Minerva 38, all on the East India station; where he was invested with the command on the 20th of April, 1793, of the Despatch sloop. Capt. Gosselin, whose next appointment was on the 19th of March, 1794, to the Kingfisher 18, subsequently assisted the Hon. Wm. Cornwallis in the capture of a small convoy off Belleisle, and compelled a French frigate to cast off a large store-ship she had in tow. Being confirmed to Post-rank on the 23rd of July, 1795, in the Brunswick 74, he further obtained command, on the 22nd of April and 25th of July, 1796, of the Diamond 38, and Syren 32.

At the conclusion of the mutiny at Spithead in 1797 (previously to which he had captured the Sans Peur French cutter privateer, carrying 2 swivels, some small arms, and 18 men) Capt. Gosselin proceeded in the latter frigate, with the Pearl 32, and 20-gun ships Dart and Arrow, under his orders, to the relief of Sir Rich. Strachan off St. Marcon.

In March, 1798, he sailed in charge of a large convoy for Jamaica and the Leeward Islands, carrying out at the same time Major-General Bowyer, the Governor-General, and Staff; and on this occasion the Masters of the merchantmen presented him with a very valuable sword, as a mark of their respect and esteem. After contributing, in Aug. 1799, to the reduction of the Dutch colony of Surinam, Capt. Gosselin returned to England with another convoy.

He was next employed for three months during the summer of 1800 in attendance upon George III. at Weymouth. In Feb. 1801 we again find him escorting the trade to the West Indies, where he continued until the peace. The Melampus, to which frigate Capt. Gosselin had been removed in the previous Oct., being paid off on the 23rd of June, 1802, he did not again go afloat until the 2nd of Feb. 1804, on which date he was appointed to the Ville de Paris 110 bearing the flag of the Hon. Wm. Cornwallis off Brest; where, on being appointed in the following summer to the Latona 38, he so distinguished himself by his energy in command of the in-shore squadron of frigates as to attract the successive thanks of the above officer and of Lord Gardner and Sir Chas. Cotton.

From the Latona Capt. Gosselin (who had captured in her the Amphion Spanish privateer of 12 guns and 70 men) removed on the 4th of Feb. 1806, to the Audacious 74. In that ship, after having gone to the West Indies in pursuit of Jerome Buonaparte, and been dismasted in a hurricane, he appears to have been employed, first in escorting the army under Sir John Moore to and from Gottenborg, next in conveying that officer and Lieut.Generals Sir Harry Burrard and Sir John Hope to the shores of Portugal, whither he took charge also of the transports, and finally in superintending the embarkation of the army after the battle of Corunna. Capt. Gosselin’s unremitted exertions on the latter occasion procured him the thanks of Sir John Hope, whom he brought home, and also of both Houses of Parliament. He had previously, when ordered to Sweden, carried out Major-General Sir Edw. Paget and Sir John Murray; and he had had the honour, on his return from that country, of affording a passage to Sir John Moore and the above-named Sir John Hope. He left the Audacious in March,1809.

Although subsequently appointed to the Cressy 74, his health prevented him from joining, and he has since been on half-pay. He became a Rear-Admiral on the 4th of June, 1814; a Vice-Admiral on the 27th of May,1825; and a full Admiral on the 23 rd of Nov.1841.

Admiral Gosselin, a Magistrate for Hertfordshire, married on the 18th of March,1809, Sarah, daughter of Jeremiah Rayment Hadsley, Esq., of Ware Priory, in that co., by whom he had issue a son and three daughters.

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Captain Robert Otway.





Otway was born in the family home of Castle Otway (now ruined) in Tipperary, Ireland, one of the very large family of Cooke and Elizabeth Otway. One of his younger brothers was Loftus Otway, later a significant army officer of the Peninsular War. Otway however, chose a navy career over his father's objections and became a midshipman in 1784 on the guardship HMS Elizabeth. Between 1785 and 1793, Otway experienced many transfers between ships, mainly operating on frigates in the Mediterranean, West Indies and along the West African Coast. During this time he served on board HMS Phaeton, HMS Trusty and HMS Blonde, making lieutenant in the sloop HMS Falcon.

French Revolutionary Wars.

The eruption of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 brought Otway back to Europe as lieutenant on the second-rate ship of the line HMS Impregnable with the Channel Fleet. Impregnable was flagship of Rear-Admiral Benjamin Caldwell, who was later to prove an important influence on Otway's career. Within a year of joining the large ship, Otway saw his first action in the massive fleet engagement of the Glorious First of June. Otway distinguished himself in the action by going aloft despite the heavy fire of the French fleet to repair the damaged fore topsail yard and thus allow Impregnable to engage the enemy closer. In the aftermath of the action, Caldwell publicly thanked Otway for his services and appointed him first lieutenant on Caldwell's new flagship, HMS Majestic.

With Majestic in the West Indies as personal favourite of the commander-in-chief, Otway was soon promoted again, becoming commander in early 1795 in command of the brig HMS Thorn. Between 1795 and 1800 as commander of Thorn and subsequently the frigates HMS Mermaid, HMS Ceres and HMS Trent, Otway became one of the most proficient and prolific commerce raiders in the Royal Navy, reputedly capturing or destroying over 200 French and Spanish vessels, making a fortune in prize money in the process. His exploits during this period included destroying, on two separate occasions, the sloops La Belle Créole and Courier National which were on passage to Guadeloupe with orders to massacre the French Royalist population there. He later supported insurgencies in French held Grenada and St. Vincent and also raided La Guayra in Venezuela in an unsuccessful effort to capture the HMS Hermione, whose crew had mutinied, murdered their captain, Hugh Pigot, and turned her over to the Spanish.
Admiral Thomas Ussher, who served under Otway during this period, later reported "that no captain was more attentive to the comfort of his officers and men and that there was so much method in his manner of carrying on the service that, though in a constant state of activity, they had as much leisure as any other ship's company." He also commented that Otway insisted on inspecting every gun aboard after every action and led every coastal raid despite never mentioning this in his dispatches.

In 1800, Otway returned to Europe and was made flag captain to Sir Hyde Parker in HMS Royal George and then HMS London. Otway was still at this post when Parker lead a fleet to the Baltic Sea to engage the League of Armed Neutrality which threatened Britain's trade routes in the region and he was an important contributor to the tactical planning of the Battle of Copenhagen. At Copenhagen, Otway's suggestion that Nelson lead the inshore squadron through the Sound yielded immediate results but when Admiral Parker lost his nerve and ordered Nelson to withdraw, the battle seemed in vain. Otway successfully mediated, mitigating the terms of Parker's signal and then taking a boat to Nelson on the HMS Elephant and supporting Nelson's famous "failure" to see the signal.

Napoleonic Wars.

In the aftermath of the victory and the ensuing Peace of Amiens, Otway spent a period ashore in ill-health. During this time he married Clementina Holloway, daughter of Admiral John Holloway, with whom he would have twelve children. By 1804 he was sufficiently recovered to take command of HMS Montagu off Brest under Admiral William Cornwallis and whilst on this duty he participated in a brief artillery duel with the French ship Alexandre during the French attempt to break the blockade in August 1805. The following year he participated in Sir Richard Strachan's operations in the Atlantic to intercept a French squadron eventually apprehended by another British squadron in the West Indies. In 1807, Otway sailed to Calabria to provide material and military aid to partisans and did the same in 1808 in Catalonia at the outbreak of the Peninsular War.

Taking over HMS Malta in 1809, Otway sailed for England before returning to the Mediterranean in the new HMS Ajax. He later commanded HMS Cumberland in the blockade off Toulon but suffered a recurring bout of ill-health in 1811 which necessitated a period in England recovering. He returned to service in 1813 and commanded Adamant at Leith, before returning to Ajax, which he sailed to the Bay of Biscay. The same year he used Ajax's guns to bombard the breaches of the Spanish fortress town of San Sebastian during the British siege.

In 1814, Otway convoyed merchant ships to Quebec and whilst in Canada was dispatched as a rear-admiral on a special commission to prepare the small ships squadron on Lake Champlain. The commission failed and the squadron was totally defeated at the Battle of Lake Champlain in September although Otway was not present.

Brazil and retirement.

In 1818, three years after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Otway was made commander-in-chief of naval forces at Leith, a commission he performed so well in that in 1826 he was knighted into the Order of the Bath and sent as commander-in-chief to the South American station. There Otway supported the Brazilian forces diplomatically, being presented with the Order of the Southern Cross.

In 1829 he returned to Britain and enjoyed a quiet retirement as courtier, holding the office of Groom of the Bedchamber to King William IV. He was also promoted to full admiral and in 1831 made Baronet of Brighton for his services. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1837.
He died suddenly in 1846, survived by his wife and eight of their twelve children.