A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Collier, Francis Augustus
COLLIER, Kt., C.B., K.C.H., K.L.S. (Rear-Admiral of the Blue, 1846. f-p., 31; h-p., 22.)
Sir Francis Augustus Collier, a protege of the immortal Nelson, is second son of the late Vice-Admiral Sir Geo. Collier, Kt., whose services are recorded in the ‘Naval Chronicle,’ vol. xxxii. p. 265, et sec., and at pp. 353-400; and brother of Capt. H. T. B. Collier, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, in 1794, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Magnanime 44, Capt. Isaac Schomberg, stationed in the Irish Channel; joined, next, the Minotaur 74, Capt. Lewis; and, on becoming attached to the Vanguard 74, flag-ship of Sir Horatio Nelson, bore a part in the victory of the Nile, 1 Aug. 1798. Accompanying his patron, as Midshipman, in 1799, into the Foudroyant 80, Capt. Sir Edw. Berry, he further witnessed, while at the blockade of Malta, the capture, on 18 Feb. 1800, of Le Généreux 74, and Ville de Marseilles store-ship; as also, on 31 March following, after a destructive conflict of an hour and a half, in which the Foudroyant, then in company with the Lion 64, and Penelope 36, had 8 men killed and 69 (including himself) wounded, of Le Guillaume Tell 84, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Decrès. Mr. Collier, who waa likewise present at the first landing in Egypt, subsequently joined the Greyhound and Egyptienne frigates, both commanded by Capt. Chas. Ogle; and, on 11 April, 1803, was promoted, from the Excellent 74, bearing the broad pendant in the West Indies of Hon. Robt. Stopford, to a Lieutenancy in the Osprey 18, Capt. Geo. Younghusband. In the following June he appears to have served on shore at the taking of Ste. Lucie and Tobago; after which he took charge, on 26 Oct., of a captured privateer, La Resource, of 4 guns and 43 men; and, on 23 March, 1804, signalized himself by his bravery and activity, as First of the Osprey, in a gallant action of an hour and 20 minutes, in which that vessel beat off, with a loss to herself of 1 man killed and 16 wounded, the French frigate-built privateer L’Egyptienne, of 36 guns and 248 men, 8 of whom were slain and 19 wounded.[1] While in command of a prize belonging to the Osprey, Mr. Collier also took a privateer of 1 gun and 45 men. Having further served for a few months on board the Centaur 74, Commodore Sir Sam. Hood, he obtained command, 25 Jan. 1805, of the Alligator troop-ship; and next, 25 Oct. following, and Jan. 1806, of the Nimrod and Wolverine sloops, in which latter vessel he captured, in the course of the same year, La Tremeuse national schooner, of 3 guns and 53 men,[2] and the Guadeloupe, Jeune Gabrielle, and Marianne privateers, carrying in the whole 10 guns and 163 men. Assuming the acting-command, 9 Nov. 1808, of the Circe 32, and of a small squadron stationed between the Pearl Rock and the town of St. Pierre, Martinique, Capt. Collier, after silencing, with the assistance of the Stork 18, and Morne Fortunée gun-brig, the fire of two batteries and of a body of troops which protected an enemy’s schooner, came into successful contact, on 12 Dec, with four other batteries, and perseveringly directed the operations which terminated in the destruction of Le Cygne corvette, of 16 guns, and of two schooners, including the one alluded to.[3] We subsequently find him, in command of the Star sloop, contributing to the reduction of Martinique, in Feb. 1809, and then confirmed to Post rank by commission dated back to 13 Dec. 1808. His next appointment was, 3 Sept. 1810, to the Cyane 22, which vessel he commanded in the Mediterranean, Channel, and West Indies, until Feb. 1812, when he became Flag-Captain to Sir Fras. Laforey, in the Dragon 74. While in the Cyane he witnessed the destraction, in Dec. 1810, of L’Elize frigate, near Tatihou island.[4] From 10 Oct. 1812, until 2 Aug. 1815, Capt. Collier afterwards commanded the Grampus 50, in the West Indies and China; and, on 11 Feb. 1818, he was appointed to the Liverpool 50. Being invested towards the close of 1819 with the conduct of the naval part of an expedition fitted out for the purpose of crushing the pirates of the Persian Gulf, he rendered the most ardent and efficient aid to Major-General Sir Wm. Grant Keir, under whom were 3000 troops, and fully succeeded in the object of their joint mission – Ras-al-Khyma, the head-quarters of the freebooters, being taken, their fortifications destroyed, and all their vessels burnt or sunk.[5] Capt. Collier arrived home in Oct. 1822, and afterwards joined – 4 Dec. 1826, the Sybille 48, as Commodore on the coast of Africa, whence he returned early in 1830 – and, for a few months in 1832, the Vernon 50, employed on Particular Service. On 17 Dec. 1841, he was nominated Captain of the William and Mary yacht, and Superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard, appointments which he continued to hold until nominated Commodore and Commander-in-Chief, 30 April, 1846, of the Channel squadron, with his broad pendant in the St. Vincent 120. His promotion to Flag rank took place on 9 Nov. in the latter year.
Sir Fras. Collier was created a C.B. 8 Dec. 1815; knighted 28 July, 1830; made a K.C.H. 1 Jan. 1833; and appointed, in 1837, a Naval Aide-de-camp to the Queen, having previously officiated in a similar capacity at the funeral of William IV. He is also a Knight of the Persian Order of the Lion and Sun. Having lost his first wife, he married a second time, 14 March, 1831, Catherine, daughter of Thos. Thistlethwaite, Esq. of Southwick Park, Hants, by whom he has issue. His eldest daughter by his first marriage, Julia Augusta, married, 30 June, 1835, F. P. B. Martin, Esq., only son of the late Col. Geo. Martin, of the Hon.E.I.C. service. Agents – Goode and Lawrence.