A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Clifford, Augustus William James
CLIFFORD, Kt. Bart., C.B. (Captain, 1812. f-p., 21; h-p., 26.)
Sir Augustus William James Clifford entered the Navy, in May, 1800, as Midshipman (under the auspices of Earl Spencer, then First Lord of the Admiralty), on board the Ville de Paris 110, successive flag-ship in the Channel of Earl St. Vincent and Hon. Wm. Cornwallis. He removed, in May, 1802, to the Centaur 74, Capt. Bendall Robt. Littlehales; served, from Sept. following until April, 1806, on board the Argo 44, and Tigre 80, both commanded by Capt. Benj. Hallowell; next joined the Dreadnought 98, bearing the flag of the Earl of Northesk; and, on 25 June, 1806, was promoted to a Lieutenancy in the Royal George 100, flag-ship, off Cadiz, of Sir John Thos. Duckworth. While in the Argo, Mr. Clifford had visited the coast of Africa, and, in June, 1803, assisted at the reduction of Ste. Lucie and Tobago; on board the Tigre he had again, in 1805, been to the West Indies, in quest, with Lord Nelson, of the Franco-Spanish fleet. From 12 Nov. 1806, until Feb. 1811, we once more find him with Capt. Hallowell in the Tigre; during which period, independently of his services on shore as Aide-de-Camp to that officer at the reduction of Alexandria and throughout the various other operations of 1807 in Egypt, he served in the boats under Lieut. John Tailour, on the night of 31 Oct. 1809, at the capture and destruction, after a fearful struggle and a loss to the British of 15 killed and 55 wounded, of the French store-ship Lamproie of 16 guns and 116 men, bombards Victoire and Grondeur, and armed xebec Normande, with a convoy of seven merchant-vessels, defended by numerous strong batteries in the Bay of Rosas.[1] Having obtained his second promotal commission 12 Feb. 1811, and assumed command of the Cephalus sloop of 18 guns, Capt. Clifford, in June following, contributed to the destruction of 10 large armed feluccas, on the beach, near Cetraro, in the Gulf of Policastro; after which, on the evening of 4 July, he voluntarily, and in a most handsome manner, being at the time in company with the 36-gun frigate Unité, led into the anchorage, between Civita Vecchia and the mouth of the Tiber, and there, having anchored under the fire of a battery of four 9 and 6 pounders, which was quickly silenced, headed the boats of the two ships, and, without the slightest loss, brought out three merchant-vessels, although exposed to a smart fire of musketry from their crews, and from a party of soldiers drawn up on a height above.[2] On 21 of the same month, after victoriously cannonading (in conjunction with the Thames 32) a flotilla of 11 gun-boats, together with a felucca, carrying in the whole 13 guns and 280 men, and moored across the harbour of Porto del Infreschi, as also a round tower and a body of musketry on the adjacent hills, he again took command of the boats and obtained possession of all the vessels of war, of 15 merchantmen, and of 34 spars.[3] Towards the close of Sept., Capt. Clifford brought Lord Wm. Bentinck home from Palermo, and then, returning to the coast of Italy, continued, until posted 23 July, 1812, to discharge many important services, especially on one occasion, when, in unison with the Euryalus frigate, and Pilot brig, the Cephalus was for five hours hotly engaged in an ineffectual attempt to destroy a convoy and some land-batteries, and lost, besides being much shattered, 1 Lieutenant killed and 19 men wounded. He ultimately returned to England with despatches of Lord W. Bentinck, and appears to have been subsequently appointed — 23 Aug. 1814, for a few months, to the Bonne Citoyenne 20, on the Irish station — 22 Oct. 1821, to the Euryalus 42, in which frigate he escorted W. R. Hamilton, Esq., the British Ambassador, to the Court of Naples — 27 May, 1826, to the Herald yacht, appointed to attend the Duke of Devonshire on the occasion of his Grace’s magnificent embassy to Russia — and, 11 Aug. 1827, to the Undaunted 46. In that frigate Capt. Clifford was soon afterwards employed in attendance on the Lord High Admiral during his official visit to Chatham and Sheerness, in commemoration of which event, and as a token of the satisfaction he felt at the manner of his reception, his Royal Highness presented him with a sword, and also with a piece of plate, of the value of 50l. Capt. Clifford, who, in 1828, took out his friend Lord Wm. Bentinck, as Governor-General, to India, and brought home Major-General Bourke, late Lieutenant-Governor of the Cape, has not been afloat since 1831. He was created a C.B. 8 Dec. 1815; sat in Parliament for Dungarvon in 1820, and for Bandon Bridge in 1818 and 1831; received the honour of Knighthood 4 Aug. 1830; attained the dignity of a Baronet 30 June, 1838; was appointed, in 1844, to act as Grand Chamberlain, in the absence of Lord Willoughby d’Eresby; and, since 25 July, 1832, has filled the office of Gentleman-Usher of the Black Rod, to which he was nominated by the Duke of Devonshire, at that time Lord Chamberlain.
Sir Augustus Clifford married, 20 Oct. 1815, Elizabeth Frances, second daughter of Lord John Townshend, and has, with three daughters, three sons, of whom the eldest, William John Cavendish, is a Commander R.N., and the second, Robert Cavendish Spencer, a Captain in the Grenadier Guards. Agents — Pettet and Newton.