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February, 1793, advanced to be rearadmiral of the white; and, shortly afterwards, he was nominated commanderin-chief on the Irish station. In this situation he gave general satisfaction; he distressed and injured the common foe to a serious extent; and the cruisers under his directions succeeded in capturing twenty-one vessels of war, mounting altogether five hundred and ninety-six guns. He resigned his office in 1800, in which year he was created a baronet; and, in 1805, he was made admiral of the red; in the November of which year he died, without issue, at his seat in Hampshire.

ROWLEY, (SIR JOSHUA,) was born in 1732; and having entered the navy, commanded the Montagu, of sixty guns; in which, in 1757, he proceeded to the Mediterranean, and there signalized himself, under Admiral Osborn, in the attack made in February, 1758, on the Marquess du Quesne's squadron. On the 20th of November, 1759, he assisted materially in Lord Hawke's defeat of the French fleet under M. Conflans. In 1760, Captain Rowley was commissioned to the Superb, seventy-four; and in May, 1762, was ordered, with a small armament, in charge of the outward-bound convoy to the East Indies. On the 11th of March, he fell in with a very superior force under M. de Ternay; but after he had formed into a line, the enemy took aların, and escaped to avoid an engagement. In 1778, he was appointed a colonel of marines; and, as commander of the Monarch, third-rate, served, on the 27th of July, under Lord Keppel, in his encounter with M. d' Orvilliers. Towards the close of the year, he was appointed to the Suffolk; and, having assumed the rank of commodore, proceeded to join Admiral Byron in the West Indies; escorting thither, at the same time, a fleet of more than two hundred sail of merchantmen. Having reached his destination, he took part, on the 6th of July, 1779, in the engagement with the French squadron off Grenada. He afterwards served in this quarter, successively, under Rearadmiral Darker and Sir G. B. Rodney; the latter of whom, in December, 1780, detached him, with the Vengeance, Magnificent, and Stirling Castle, in

pursuit of three French frigates, which had been seen from the Morne, at St. Lucia; and which, after a long chase, were taken by their pursuers. In the same year, he commanded the Conqueror; and displayed considerable gallantry, in Rodney's encounters with M. de Guichen. Having returned home in 1783, he was not afterwards engaged on active service. On the 10th of June, 1786, he was created a baronet; and, on the 24th of September, 1787, was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the white. He died at his seat, Tendring Hall, on the 26th of February, 1790, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. He was married, on the 18th of March, 1759, to Sarah, the eldest daughter of Bartholomew Barton, Esq. deputy governor of the bank of England, by whom he left issue.

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CHRISTIAN, (Sir HUGH CLOBURY,) was born about 1736, and attained the rank of rear-admiral of the white some time previous to 1795. was principally distinguished for his services in the West Indies, particularly for the assistance he rendered Sir Ralph Abercromby in the retaking of St. Lucia; his share in which affair was thus expressed in the official despatch: -"During the services which have been carried on in the island of St. Lucia, all the courage and every exertion of the army would have proved ineffectual, if Rear-admiral Sir H. C. Christian and the royal navy had not stepped forward with the alacrity which has been so conspicuous in forwarding the most arduous part of the public service; to their skill and unremitting labour is, in a great measure, owing the success which has attended his majesty's arms." In 1797, he returned to England; and, as a reward for his services at St. Lucia, was appointed commander-in-chief at the Cape of Good Hope, where he died in 1798.

RUSSELL, (THOMAS MACNAMARA,) was born about the year 1739; and having, after the death of his father, lost a considerable property, by the negligence of trustees, entered the navy when very young, and served for fourteen years, as a midshipman. Having at length attained the rank of lieutenant, he was employed, on the

American coast, in various ships; and, in 1780, signalized himself on board the Raleigh, at the taking of Charlestown, in South Carolina. He was successively promoted to the ranks of commander and post-captain, which latter he attained on the 7th of May, 1781; and, being on a cruise in the Hussar, of twenty guns, captured a frigate, a privateer, and some other vessels of inferior consequence. On the 22nd of January, 1783, Captain Russell was successfully imposed on by a French frigate, of thirty-eight guns; which, by hoisting English colours over French, made him mistake her for a distressed prize to one of his majesty's ships; but the deceit being soon detected, an action ensued, which ended in the French commander being compelled to strike his colours. On the return of Captain Russell to England, he declined the honour of knighthood, on the ground that his income was insufficient to sustain the rank that was offered. In 1790, he was ordered, in the Diana frigate, to the Jamaica station, where he twice received the public thanks of the inhabitants for his conduct during an expected insurrection among the negroes. While serving in this quarter, he was detached, by Admiral Affleck, to convoy a cargo of provisions, sent, as an act of humanity, from Jamaica to the white people of St. Domingo. He was welcomed with grateful joy; and, as a testimony of the feeling of the inhabitants, was invited to a public dinner, given, at Aux Cayes, by the house of assembly. On this occasion he asked, and obtained a promise, for the release of one of his countrymen, then under sentence of death on a charge of supplying the blacks with arms; of which, it appears, he was innocent. The assembly, however, on the following day, refused to fulfil their agreement; declaring no promise made after dinner could be considered binding; but, after some further negociation, in which Russell threatened to kill a Frenchman for every hair on the head of the murdered Englishman, he was at length set at liberty. Having performed this act of humanity, he returned home in the Diana; and, being soon after put in command of the St. Albans, he was, on the 11th of January, 1796, nominated to the Vengeance, of

seventy-four guns, in which he was present at the taking of St. Lucia and Trinidad. Early in 1799, he served for a short time in the channel fleet; and, on the 23rd of April, 1800, was appointed to the Princess Royal, which he quitted, on his promotion to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue, on the 1st of January following. In 1803, he served, in the North Seas, under the orders of Lord Keith; and, at the latter part of the year 1804, was employed in blockading the ports of the Texel. On the 9th of November, 1805, he was made vice-admiral; and, about the year 1807, he was made commander-in-chief of the North Sea squadron; in which capacity he effected the reduction of Heligoland. On the 12th of August, 1812, he became admiral of the blue; and was afterwards regularly promoted, until he became admiral of the white. He died on the 22nd of July, 1824, in the eightyfifth year of his age; having been married about the year 1793. Admiral Russell was employed in the service of his country a period of seventy years, during which time he was present in thirty-six engagements. always showed himself to be a brave and skilful officer; and possessed, in addition to the qualifications of a good sailor, the manners and urbanity of a finished courtier. The following is an extract from a letter written to him by Nelson, about the year 1803:-" You are a pleasant fellow at all times; and, as Commodore Johnstone said of General Medows, I have no doubt but your company would be delightful, on the day of battle, to your friends, but d-d bad for your enemies. I desire, my dear Russell, you will always consider me as one of the sincerest of the former."

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FREEMAN, (WILLIAM PEERE WILLIAMS,) formerly Williams, was advanced to post rank on the 10th of January, 1771; and, during the war between Great Britain and her North American colonies, proved himself a very efficient officer. In 1780, he was captain of the Flora, of forty-two guns; in which, on the 10th of August, he captured La Nymphe, after a desperate encounter. In March, 1781, he served under Vice-admiral Darby, in his expedition for the relief of Gibraltar;

and, on the 29th of May succeeding, being in company with the Crescent, commanded by the Honourable Thomas Pakenham, he gave chase to two Dutch ships which they had espied off the coast of Barbary. After an action, maintained with great spirit for two hours and a quarter, the Castor surrendered to Captain Williams; but the Crescent, having been disabled, was under the necessity of striking her colours to the Brille, the other ship belonging to the enemy. By a manoeuvre of Captain Williams, she was, however, forced to sail off without her prize. After this encounter, he descried, on the 19th of June, two large frigates bearing down upon him; and, notwithstanding the disabled state of his ships, he manifested an intention of fighting. It was, however, thought prudent, among the English officers, to separate; and the Castor was retaken by the enemy, which also made prize of the Crescent. Captain Williams next commanded the Prince George, of ninetyeight guns, in which he served, under Sir Samuel Hood, at the reduction of the island of St. Christopher's, in the month of March, 1782; and afterwards under Sir George B. Rodney, in his engagements with the Count de Grasse, of the 9th and 12th of April following. He obtained a flag on the 12th of April, 1794; and, on the demise of King George the Fourth, was senior admiral of the red. Some few years back, he obtained the royal license to assume the name of Freeman. Admiral Freeman evinced, on all occasions, skill and gallantry in his profession; and was remarkable for being the oldest officer in the service at the accession of William the Fourth, who appointed him admiral of the fleet, as a mark of respect for his long services.

ONSLOW, (RICHARD,) was born in the year 1741, and was the nephew of Arthur Onslow, the speaker of the house of commons. Having become a midshipman at an early age, he obtained the rank of lieutenant on the 17th of December, 1758, and that of commander on the 11th of February, 1761. Being commissioned, in 1762, to the Humber, he convoyed the outward bound fleet to the Baltic. He continued to command several ships in succession

until 1793; in which year, he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral of the white, and to that of the red in 1794. In the year following, he became vice-admiral of the red; and, in 1796, he held, for a short period, the office of port-admiral of Portsmouth. In October, 1797, the English fleet having fallen in with the Dutch squadron, he distinguished himself in the action that took place, on the 11th of the month, off Camperdown. The engagement was commenced by him, and he succeeded in passing under the stern of the Dutch vice-admiral's ship, at considerable hazard, and caused it ultimately to surrender. Admiral Duncan, in his official despatches, observes: "My signals were obeyed with great promptitude; and Vice-admiral Onslow, in the Monarch, bore down on the enemy's rear in the most gallant manner, his division following his example." Admiral Onslow was rewarded, on the 30th of October, 1797, with a baronetage; besides which, he received the thanks of both houses of parliament, and was presented with the freedom of the city of London, accompanied with a sword of the value of one hundred guineas. Subsequently to this achievement, Sir Richard Onslow was nominated a knight grand cross of the order of the Bath; and was likewise promoted to the rank of admiral of the red, and made a lieutenant-general of marines. He died at Southampton, on the 27th of December, 1818, aged seventy-seven.

GARDINER, (Lord,) son of Colonel Gardiner, of the eleventh regiment of dragoons, was born on the 12th of April, 1742, and commenced his naval career on the 1st of May, 1755, on board the Medway, of sixty guns; to which ship he belonged when she took the Duc d'Aquitaine. The subject of our memoir attained post rank in 1766; and, three years after, was married to the only daughter of Francis Gale, Esq. of Liguania, in Jamaica. He was actively engaged in the West Indies, on the breaking out of the American war; and, in November, 1788, being in command of the Maidstone, he captured the Lyon, a French ship of forty guns, after an action of several hours. He fought, also, in the

battle with the French under D'Estaing; and being afterwards removed to the Duke, of ninety guns, greatly contributed, by his gallantry, to the victory won, on the 12th of April, 1789, by Admiral Rodney. Having returned to England, he was, in January, 1790, appointed a lord of the admiralty; and, on the 1st of February, 1793, was promoted to the rank of admiral. In the beginning of the same year, he was sent to the West Indies; but returned in September with a large fleet of merchantmen under his convoy. On the memorable 1st of June, 1794, he commanded the Queen, of ninety guns; and, for his services on this occasion, was elevated to the rank of a baronet, and his name was included in all the votes of thanks, conferred by public bodies, on the sharers in the glorious victory. He was likewise presented, by George the Third, with a gold chain and medal. In June, 1795, he was present, under Lord Bridport, at the attack of the French fleet off port L'Orient; and had been appointed viceadmiral of the white a short time previously to the contest. In 1796, he was returned member of parliament for Westminster; and having, in the same year, moved his flag to the Royal Sovereign, of one hundred and ten guns, soon after commanded a squadron employed in the channel. On the 14th of February, 1799, he was made viceadmiral of the blue; and appointed commander-in-chief on the Irish coast, on the 30th of August following. On the 2nd of December, 1800, he was created a peer of Ireland, by the style and title of Baron Gardiner, of Úttoxeter; and, a short time before his death, he had the command of the fleet in the channel. He died at Bath, on the 30th of December, 1808, in the sixty-seventh year of his age; and was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, the Honourable Alan Hyde, late Lord Gardiner.

COTTON, (Sir CHARLES,) the son of a baronet, was born about 1746; and, having entered the navy at an early age, gradually rose in the service to the rank of fuil admiral, which he attained on the 28th of April, 1808. Previously to this time, he had received the thanks of parliament for his gal

lantry; and after having obtained his flag, Sir Charles Cotton served in the channel fleet during the greater portion of the time when Earl St. Vincent was its commander-in-chief, first as third, and afterwards as second, in command. During the interval he was thus employed, his conduct was so satisfactory to his superior officer as to obtain from him the esteem of that distinguished hero. When Portugal was in the occupation of the French, Sir Charles was intrusted with the care of a squadron stationed off Lisbon, where he distinguished himself by his kindness and compassion towards the suffering Portuguese; many hundred distressed families of whom he allowed to take refuge in his ships. He opposed, for some time, the convention of Cintra, and thrice returned it to its projectors unexecuted; declaring that while thirty thousand English soldiers were in Portugal, he could not consent to subscribe a document so much in favour of a French army twice beaten. On his return to England, he was appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean; whence he returned, in 1811, for the purpose of assuming the chief command of the channel fleet, and terminated his professional career. He died suddenly, on the 23rd of February, 1812, at Stoke, near Plymouth. Sir Charles Cotton, who had the reputation of an excellent commander and a good man, was married, on the 27th of February, 1798, to Philadelphia, eldest daughter of Sir Joshua Rowley; by whom he had issue two sons and two daughters.

KEATS, (SIR RICHARD GOODWIN,) was born in Devonshire, in 1750; and, having entered the navy, became lieutenant of the Ramillies, and was present in that ship at the action between Admiral Keppel and Count D'Orvilliers, in 1778. He was afterwards acting lieutenant in the Prince George, manof-war; in which ship the Duke of Clarence, then Prince William, commenced his naval career as a midshipman; and of whom Lieutenant Keats had the charge and instruction. About the year 1782, he was promoted to the rank of commander, in the Bonetta sloop; and served, with great credit, on the American station, during the remainder of the colonial war. In 1789,

he was made post-captain; and, after having made several successful cruises in various vessels, was appointed to the Superb, of seventy-four guns, in which he destroyed a Spanish three-decker, off Gibraltar, without losing a single man. In 1804, he was despatched to Algiers, with a consul, whom he succeeded in establishing most honourably, and thus put an end to the differences that had for some time subsisted between Great Britain and that regency. On the 9th of November, he was appointed to one of the vacant colonelcies of royal marines. About the same time, his ship received the flag of Sir J. T. Duckworth, who, after the battle of Cape Trafalgar, was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean fleet, under Lord Collingwood, by whom he was sent in quest of a squadron that had sailed from France, with a view of succouring the important colony of St. Domingo. For their conduct in the action which followed, Captain Keats and the other officers engaged, received the thanks of parliament, and the option of a sword or vase, of the value of £100, voted by the committee of the Patriotic Fund. On the 2nd of October, 1807, he was promoted to the rank of rearadmiral, and hoisted his flag in the Superb, as commander of a division of the fleet stationed in the Baltic, under Sir James Saumarez. On the 31st of July, 1810, he was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral, in which capacity he commanded the naval forces employed for the defence of Cadiz, where he remained till the summer of 1811, when he proceeded to the Mediterranean, and hoisted his flag on board the Hibernia, of one hundred and twenty guns, as second in command on that station. On the 20th of February, 1813, he was named commander-inchief at Newfoundland, and governor of that colony, where his services, as a flag officer, terminated. He became major-general of the royal marines on the 7th of May, 1818, and governor of Greenwich Hospital early in 1821. Sir Richard Keats may, perhaps, be justly esteemed one of the most distinguished of the living naval characters who have served in the long and arduous wars that began with the American contest and ended with the downfal of Napoleon. On the 27th of

June, 1820, he married Mary, eldest daughter of the late Francis Hurt, Esq. of Alderwesley, Derbyshire; by whom he has no issue.

MONTAGU, (GEORGE,) eldest son of Admiral John Montagu, was born on the 12th of December, 1750, and educated at the Royal Naval Academy. About the year 1767, he proceeded, in the Preston, of fifty guns, to the Jamaica station; and, having attained the rank of post-captain, on the 15th of April, 1773, was employed, at the commencement of the American war, in blockading the ports of Marblehead and Salem. After having captured the Washington, of sixteen guns, the first vessel of war sent to sea by the American states, he covered the embarkation of the army at the evacuation of Boston; where, it is said, he was put in the stocks, for walking the streets on a Sunday. By way of retaliation, on the day before the place was abandoned, he invited the mayor and aldermen to dinner, and ordered his boatswain to give them a dozen lashes each. After having assisted at the siege of New York, where his vessel, the Fowey, was stationed, by Lord Howe, as the advanced ship, his health being much impaired, he returned to England; whence, in 1779, he sailed, in the Pearl frigate; and, although only ten of his crew had previously served in a vessel of war, he, soon afterwards, succeeded in taking the Santa Monica, a Spanish frigate, of thirty-two guns and two hundred and eighty men. He was next employed in the fleet sent out under Rodney for the relief of Gibraltar; whence, on the capture of the Caracca convoy, his ship, and the Africa, of sixty-four guns, proceeded with the prizes to England. From thence he went on a cruise off Bermuda; and, on the 30th of September, fell in with, and captured, L'Esperance, a French frigate of nine hundred tons burthen, with a valuable cargo. He returned, in 1782, to England; and, in 1790, was appointed to the Hector, of seventy-four guns; with which he, in 1793, accompanied Rear-admiral Gardner to Barbadoes, and was subsequently despatched, in company with the Hannibal, seventy-four, to reinforce the squadron on the Jamaica station. In

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