A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Whitehead, William
WHITEHEAD. (Lieutenant, 1815.)
William Whitehead entered the Navy, 19 Nov. 1808, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Achille 74, commanded by the late Sir Rich. King and by Hon. Geo. Heneage Lawrence Dundas; with the latter of whom he served, from April, 1811, until May, 1814, in the Euryalus 36 and Edinburgh 74. In the Euryalus he cruized in the Channel and assisted at the defence of Cadiz; and in the Edinburgh he was actively employed, as Midshipman, on the coasts of Sicily, Naples, Tuscany, and Genoa. He was present, 5 Oct. 1813, in an attack made by the latter ship, the Impérieuse 38, and Swallow, Éclair, and Pylades sloops, upon the batteries of Port d’Anzo, where a convoy of 29 vessels fell into the hands of the British. In the following Dec. he took part in the unsuccessful operations against Leghorn; and in April, 1814, he contributed to the reduction of Genoa and its dependencies. He returned to England in the summer of 1814 in the San Josef 110, flag-ship of Sir Rich. King; and he was afterwards, from Aug. in the same year until presented in Aug. 1815 with a commission bearing date 4 March preceding, employed on the Irish, North American, and West India stations, in the Centaur 74, Capts. John Chambers White and Thos. Gordon Caulfeild, Vengeur 74, Capt. Tristram Robt. Ricketts (part of the force attached to the expedition against New Orleans), Tonnant 80, and Bulwark 74, flag-ships of Admirals Hon. Sir Alex. Cochrane and Edw. Griffith, and, as Acting-Lieutenant, in the Araxes 38, Capt. Geo. Miller Bligh. His last appointments were – in June, 1819, and Sept. 1823, to the Bulwark 74, flag-ship of Sir John Gore at Chatham, and, as First-Lieutenant, to the Weazle 10, Capt. Timothy Curtis, in the Mediterranean.