A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Welsh, George
WELSH. (Retired Commander, 1844. f-p., 18; h-p., 32.)
George Welsh entered the Navy, 12 Jan. 1797, as Midshipman, on board the Stork 18, Capt. Rich. Harrison Pearson, stationed in the North Sea, where he joined, in Jan. and April, 1798, the Braakel 54 and Veteran 64, both commanded by Capt. Jas. Robt. Mosse. In the latter ship, commanded next by Capt. Archibald Collingwood Dickson, he accompanied the expedition of 1799 to Holland, witnessed the surrender there of the Dutch squadron under Rear-Admiral Storey, and fought in the action off Copenhagen 2 April, 1801. In June, 1802 (he had attained the rating of Master’s Mate in April, 1799), he was appointed Admiralty-Midshipman of the Concorde 36, Capt. John Wood. Sailing in her for the East Indies he was nominated, in Jan. and May, 1805, Master’s Mate, on that station, of the Howe 38, Capt. Edw. Ratsey, and Culloden 74, bearing the flag of Sir Edw. Pellew. After acting for some months as Signal-Lieutenant in the latter ship, he was ordered, in Feb. 1806, to act as Lieutenant in his old frigate the Concorde, then commanded by Capt. John Cramer. He was officially promoted 21 Sept. 1807; and on his return to England he was appointed, 23 March and 8 Aug. 1808, to the Polyphemus 64, Capt. Peter Heywood, and Briseis 10, Capts. Robt. Pettet, John Miller Adye, Chas. Thurlow Smith, and Geo. Bentham (Acting). As Senior of the latter vessel he commanded a division of the storming party at the capture of Cuxhaven in July, 1809. In the course of the same year, for his conduct in having, in a single boat with only six men, taken the Courier, a Danish privateer, he received the public thanks of the Commander-in- Chief and a present of 50 guineas from the Chamber of Commerce at Heligoland. He was subsequently wounded in an engagement with a fleet of Danish gun-boats; and on 14 Oct. 1810 he assisted at the capture, after a chase of eight hours, and a desperate conflict of one, in which the enemy had 8 killed and 19 wounded, and the British 4 killed and 11 badly wounded, of the French privateer Sans Souci of 14 guns and 55 men – a service for which Capt. Bentham was confirmed in the rank of Commander. In Feb. 1811, Mr. Welsh invalided from the Briseis. He was employed lastly, from Oct. 1813 until Nov. 1814, in command of a Signal station on the coast of Suffolk; and, from Aug. 1820 until Jan. 1824, in the Coast Guard at Kessingland. He was placed on the List of Retired Commanders 15 April, 1844.
During the war Commander Welsh was present at the capture and destruction of 17 sail-of-the-line, 6 frigates, and 10 privateers – the latter varying in force from 4 guns and 21 men to 26 guns and 240 men.