A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Simmons, Edward
SIMMONS. (Lieut., 1811. f-p., 13; h-p., 31.)
Edward Simmons was born in March, 1790, at Gillingham, co. Kent.
This officer entered the Navy, 21 March, 1803, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Minotaur 74, Capts. John Child Purvis and Chas. John Moore Mansfield; under the latter of whom he fought as Midshipman at the battle of Trafalgar, 21 Oct. 1805, and was present, in 1807, at the bombardment of Copenhagen. Being placed, on the surrender of the Danish capital, on board the Neptunos 80, he had the misfortune while in that ship to be wrecked and to lose all he possessed. He joined next, in Dec. 1807, the Astraea 32, Capt. Edm. Heywood, on the West India station; where, while under the temporary command of Lieut. Edm. Potenger Greenlaw, he was again wrecked, on a coral reef off the island of Anagada, 24 May, 1808, and a second time lost his all. He served subsequently in the Jason and Ethalion frigates, both commanded by Sir Thos. John Cochrane, Ulysses 44, Capt. Hon. Warwick Lake, Franchise 36, Capt. John Allen, Bellona 74, Capt. John Erskine Douglas, Galatea 42, Capt. Woodley Losack, President frigate, Capt. Sam. Warren, Scipion 74, flag-ship of Hon. Sir Robt. Stopford, and Galatea again, Capt. W. Losack. In 1809 he assisted, in the Ethalion, at the capture of Martinique, and (with his name on the books of the Ulysses) commanded a gun-boat during the operations in the Scheldt. In the Galatea, of which ship he was confirmed a Lieutenant after having acted for upwards of two months as such, 14 May, 1811, he took part, 20 of the latter month (while cruizing off Madagascar, in company with the Astraea and Phoebe frigates, about equal in force to the Galatea and 18-gun brig Racehorse) in a long and trying action with the French 40-gun frigates Renommée, Clorinde, and Néréide, in which the Galatea, besides being much damaged in her hull, masts, and rigging, sustained a loss of 16 men killed and 46 wounded. He afterwards visited the West Indies and Newfoundland He left the Galatea in Nov. 1815; and was lastly, from Feb. 1830 until April, 1831, employed in the Coast Blockade as Supernumerary-Lieutenant of the Talavera 74, Capts. Hugh Pigot and David Colly.
The Lieutenant is married. Agents – Messrs. Ommanney.