A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Ormond, Francis
ORMOND. (Commander, 1825. f-p., 15; h-p., 28.)
Francis Ormond entered the Navy, 18 Sept. 1804, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Impétueux 74, Capt. Thos. Byam Martin, attached to the Channel fleet; and, between Oct. 1805 and the date of his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant 3 Dec. 1810, was employed on the Home and Baltic stations, as Midshipman and Master’s Mate, in the San Josef 110, bearing the flag of Sir Chas. Cotton, Prince of Wales 98, Capts. T. B. Martin and Sir Home Popham, Implacable 74, Capts. T. B. Martin, Philip Pipon, and Geo. Chas. Mackenzie, and Scipion 74 and Victory 100, flag-ships of Hon. Sir Robt. Stopford and Sir Jas. Saumarez. He was present in the Prince of Wales under the flag of Admiral Gambier at the bombardment of Copenhagen in Sept. 1807; in the Implacable he took part, 26 Aug. 1808, in a gallant action of 20 minutes with the Russian 74-gun ship Sewolod, which was completely silenced, and in the end, with the assistance of the Centaur 74, flag-ship of Sir Sam. Hood, captured and burnt in sight of the whole Russian fleet near Rogerswick, after a total loss to the enemy of 303 men, and to the Implacable, individually, of 6 killed and 25 wounded; and on 7 July, 1809, he assisted, in the Implacable’s boats, in a brilliant attack on a Russian flotilla, described in our memoir of Capt. Chas. Allen. His appointments in the capacity of Lieutenant (after a brief servitude as such in the Alexander 74, Capts. John Quilliam and Robt. Cathcart) were – 18 March, 1811, to the Cherokee sloop, Capt. Wm. Ramage, on the coast of Norway – 2 March, 1812, to the Dictator 64 Capts. Robt. Williams and Wm. Autridge, in the Baltic – 25 May following, for four months, to the Aboukir 74, as Flag-Lieutenant, on the latter station, to Rear-Admiral T. B. Martin – 19 May, 1813, to the Endymion of 48 guns, Capt. Henry Hope, on the coast of North America, whence he returned in Sept. 1815 – 25 July, 1816, to the Impregnable 98, in which ship, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral David Milne, he remained until the following Oct. – 15 March, 1818, to the Iphigenia 42, Capt. Hyde Parker, under whom he escorted the Duke of Richmond as Governor-General to Canada, and then made a voyage to Jamaica, whence, in Aug. 1819, he invalided – towards the close of 1820, to the Atholl 28, Capt. Henry Bourchier – and, after about two years of half-pay, to the Victory 104, flag-ship of Sir Geo. Martin at Portsmouth. In 1812 Mr. Ormond, at that time a Lieutenant of the Aboukir, was attached to the flotilla at the defence of Riga. While serving in the Endymion he commanded a division of gun-boats, under the orders of Capt. Robt. Barrie, in an expedition up the Penobscot river, on which occasion he contributed, and was honourably mentioned for the able assistance he afforded, at the capture of the towns of Castine, Hamden, and Bangor, and the destruction, by the Americans, of the U.S. corvette Adams, a brig pierced for 18 guns, a large privateer, and eight merchant-vessels.[1] He was also present in the Endymion’s boats in an unsuccessful attack upon the American privateer Prince de Neufchâtel, whose opposition occasioned the assailants a loss of 28 killed and 37 badly wounded; and, on 15 Jan. 1815, he contributed in that ship to the memorable capture, after a close action of two hours and a half, a loss to the British, out of 319 men, of 11 killed and 14 wounded, and to the enemy of 35 killed and 70 wounded, of the President American frigate of 56 guns and 465 men. He was Second-Lieutenant of the Impregnable at the battle of Algiers, 27 Aug. 1816. Since his last promotion, which took place 27 May, 1825, he has been on half-pay.
Commander Ormond married, 20 June, 1822, Fanny, daughter of J. Hedges, Esq., of Wallingford.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1814, p. 2031.