A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Shillingford, Alexander
SHILLINGFORD. (Lieutenant, 1815. f-p., 21; h-p., 19.)
Alexander Shillingford is second son of Thos. Shillingford, Esq., late Captain of the Royal Bucks Yeomanry.
This officer entered the Navy, 1 Feb. 1807, as Fst.-cl. Vol. on board the Dreadnought 98, Capts. Wm. Lechmere, Geo. Burgoyne Salt, and Valentine Collard, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Thos. Sotheby in the Channel, where he attained the rating of Midshipman 1 Feb. 1809, and saw much boat-service. Proceeding in Oct. 1810 to the Mediterranean in the Hibernia 120, Capt. White, he continued actively employed on that station until his return home in Aug. 1814 in the Ville de Paris 110 and Rodney and Milford 74’s, all flag-ships of Rear-Admiral Thos. Fras. Fremantle. In 1813 he was present at the reduction of Trieste. On his subsequent arrival in the West Indies in the Magnificent 74, Capt. Willoughby Thos. Lake, he was nominated, 25 Nov. 1814, Acting-Lieutenant of the Cydnus 38, Capts. Fred. Langford and Hon. Robt. Cavendish Spencer; in command of one of the boats of which ship we find him, 14 Dec. in the same year, assisting at the capture, on Lake Borgne, of five American gun-boats under Commodore Jones, whose desperate resistance occasioned the British a loss of 17 men killed and 77 wounded. He joined in the ensuing attack upon New Orleans, and was in the boats co-operating with the army on the Mississippi on the fatal 8 Jan. 1815. He continued in the Cydnus (to which ship he was confirmed 28 Feb. 1815) until 21 Jan. 1816; and since 30 March, 1835, has been employed in the Coast Guard.
Lieut. Shillingford married, 23 Dec. 1830, Lucy, daughter of Wm. Gurden, Esq., a lady by whom he has issue three children.