A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Shippard, William
SHIPPARD. (Retired Captain, 1846. f-p., 24; h-p., 45.)
William Shippard, born 17 Feb. 1764, near Boness, in Scotland, is son of the late Mr. Shippard, who was Purser of the Vanguard 74, flag-ship of Sir Horatio Nelson at the battle of the Nile 1 Aug. 1798, and who died in 1803 at Jamaica of yellow fever; and brother of the late Alex. Shippard, Esq., Rear-Admiral of the Blue.[1] His grandfather, John Walkinshaw, of Scotston, having sided with the rebels in 1715, was attainted, deprived of his property, and obliged to seek refuge in France, where he remained until pardoned by George II. in 1730. One of his nieces, a daughter of Rear-Admiral Shippard, is married to Lieut. Alex. Buchanan, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, 23 June, 1778, as Midshipman, on board the Medea 28, Capt. Jas. Montagu, stationed on the coast of France, where he took part in an action with the French 50-gun ship Jupiter. Removing, in Feb. 1799, to the Experiment 50, Capt. Sir Jas. Wallace, he assisted, in company with the Pallas 36, Unicorn 20, and two 12-gun brigs, in an attack made, 13 May following, on three French frigates lying in Concale Bay, under the protection of a battery and of several pieces of cannon and howitzers on the beach; the result whereof was the surrender of one of the enemy’s ships, the Danaé 36 (taken possession of by Lieut. Roth, accompanied by Mr. Shippard), and the destruction of the remainder – the fire of the battery being also silenced. In the course of the same year, after she had been totally dismasted in a hurricane, and had thrown all her anchors and upper-deck guns overboard, the Experiment was herself taken, off the coast of America, by the French fleet under Comte d’Estaing. Being soon, however, restored to liberty, Mr. Shippard, in April, 1780, joined the Nonsuch 64, commanded at first by Sir Jas. Wallace, and next by Capt. Truscott. In her he contributed, 15 July ensuing, to the capture, after an action of two hours, of the Belle Poule of 32 guns and 275 men, 25 of whom, including the Captain, were killed and 50 wounded. Subsequently to the relief of Gibraltar by Admiral Darby, the Nonsuch, on 14 May, 1781, was for several hours fiercely engaged with a French 74, the conflict terminating by the separation of the combatants, after a loss to the British ship, which had been reduced to a vrreck, of 26 men killed and 64 wounded. Continuing in the Nonsuch until the peace of 1783, Mr. Shippard was afforded an opportunity of sharing in the victory gained by Rodney over the Comte de Grasse 12 April, 1782. We next, in 1790-1, find him serving on the Home station in the Vengeance 74, Capt. Sir Thos. Rich, and Victory 100, flag-ship of Lord Hood; and in Jan. and Dec. 1793, joining the Monarch 74, commanded by his friend Sir Jas. Wallace, and Sandwich 90, flag-ship of Admiral Roddam at the Nore. He was made Lieutenant, 10 May, 1794, into the Monarch, then bearing the flag of Sir J. Wallace, with whom (deducting a period of two months passed on board the Bonetta sloop) he continued employed at Newfoundland in the Romney 50, until appointed, 10 April, 1797, to the Gibraltar 80, Capts. Hon. Thos. Pakenham and Wm. Hancock Kelly. In that ship he served for nearly six years in the Mediterranean, where, in March, 1803, he removed, as First-Lieutenant, to the Agincourt 64, Capt. Thos. Briggs. He returned to England in March, 1805, and was afterwards employed – from 19 May, 1805, until 20 April, 1807, in the Sea Fencibles in Ireland – from 11 June, 1807, until 16 March, 1809, as Senior, in the Valiant 74, Capt. Jas. Young – and from 29 Oct. 1810, until promoted to the rank of Commander 12 Aug. 1812, in a similar capacity, in the Abercromby 74, Capt. Wm. Chas. Fahie, on the coasts of France and Spain. In the Valiant he accompanied Admiral Gambier in the expedition against Copenhagen; whence on the surrender of the Danish fleet he brought home the Skiold 74. He was placed on the list of Retired Captains 2 Sept. 1846. Agents – Burnett and Holmes.
- ↑ Rear-Admiral Shippard obtained his first commission 23 Oct. 1795; and for the gallantry he displayed when in command of the Admiral Mitchell cutter,of 12 12-pounders and 32 men, in driving on shore, 31 Oct. 1803, near Boulogne, a French brig, mounting 12 32-pounders, was promoted to the rank of Commander 3 March, 1804. He was made Post 22 Jan. 1806, and afterwards commanded the Banterer 22, Namur 74, bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Thos. Wells, at Sheerness, and the Asia 74. The Banterer was wrecked in the river St. Lawrence 29 Oct. 1808, but her Captain was acquitted of any share in the disaster. He attained Flag-rank 28 June, 1838, and died in 1841. He married a daughter of Admiral Sir John Knight, K.C.B.