A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Scrymgour, William
SCRYMGOUR. (Lieut., 1815. f.p., 28; h-p., 14.)
William Scrymgour entered the Navy, 18 May, 1805, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Elephant 74, Capt. Geo. Dundas, in which ship he served in the North Sea and West Indies until Sept. 1807. From Aug. 1808 until July, 1814, he was employed as Midshipman, chiefly on the Mediterranean station, in the Tigre 74, Capt. Benj. Hallowell, Royal Sovereign 100, Capt. Joseph Spear, Téméraire 98, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Fras. Pickmore, and Union 98, Capts. Sam. Hood Linzee, Wm. Kent, and Robt. Rolles. During that period he was in frequent action with the enemy’s batteries; he aided in the Tigre, in Oct. 1809, in causing the self-destruction, near Cape Cette, of the French ships-of-the- line Robuste and Lion; and in the Union, besides sharing in two partial actions, fought 5 Nov. 1813 and 13 Feb. 1814, with the French Toulon fleet, he beheld the fall of Genoa. On leaving the ship last mentioned he became Master’s Mate of the Alceste armée en flûte, Capt. Dan. Lawrence, and sailed soon afterwards with the expedition against New Orleans. While there he was for six weeks employed in a boat in co-operation with the army, was particularly active along the left bank of the Mississippi, and, during the retreat of the British, commanded a schooner. In the fulfilment of his duties his conduct was such as to elicit the highest commendations of Capt. Lawrence. On leaving the Alceste, about Sept. 1815, he took up a commission bearing date 15 March in that year. He was afterwards employed in the Transport Service – from 22 Aug. 1820 until 13 June, 1822, on board the Nautilus, in conveying troops and stores to the West Indies, Davis’ Strait (whither in 1821 he accompanied Capt. Parry’s Polar Expedition), and the Cape of Good Hope – from 14 Nov. 1822 until 10 Nov. 1824, on board the Loyal Briton and Duchess of York, for the purpose of keeping up the communication in the West India Islands – from 11 Nov. 1824 until 3 March, 1833, as Resident Agent at Gibraltar – from 4 March, 1833, until 25 Nov. 1834, as Agent in the Orestes at Bermuda and in the West Indies – from 24 April, 1835, until 6 Sept. 1838, on board the Prince Regent, in North America and the West Indies, in the Mediterranean, and on the north coast of Spain – from 19 Dec. 1838 until 27 June, 1339, on board the Barossa in the West Indies – and from 15 Oct. 1839 until 1 July, 1840, in the Lord Lynedoch at the Cape of Good Hope. During 18 years that be was so engaged, his intelligence, skill, and judgment, his zeal and unremitting activity, procured him testimonials of no ordinary character, conveying to him, in the most lively and flattering terms, the praises of Sir Wm. Edw. Parry, Lieut.-General Henry Warde, Military Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, Lieut.-Colonels J. Marshall and J. Mair, Military Secretaries to Sir Geo. Don and Sir Wm. Houston, Governors of Gibraltar, Colonel D. Falla, Town Major of Gibraltar, Admiral Sir Thos. Byam Martin, Comptroller of the Navy, J. Meek, Esq., Comptroller of the Victuallingand Transport Service, and the late Vice-Admiral Wm. Young, many years Resident Agent at Deptford. In 1824, as mentioned above, he accepted the appointment of Resident Agent at Gibraltar, under an idea that the office was a permanent one; yet when it was abolished in 1833 he was refused compensation. In 1826 an order in council was issued to the effect that “no Lieutenant who had not served two years in one of H.M. ships should be promoted to the rank of Commander.” Prior to the enactment of this regulation he had, as we have shown, served nearly four years as Lieutenant; notwithstanding which, when at a later date, encouraged by his high testimonials, he applied for promotion, he was informed that he had not any service as Lieutenant that could be allowed.