room were Lieutenants Mitchell and Sibthorp; Captain Boyd of the Royal Marines; Mr. Owen, the Surgeon; and Mr. Donaldson, the Master. The Gunner, who had two sons on board, threw one of them into the sea, from whence he was taken up by one of the boats; but the poor man, going below for the other, perished in the flames. The remainder of the commissioned and warrant officers, 1 Surgeon’s Mate, a Pilot, 17 Midshipmen, the Captain’s Clerk, the Schoolmaster, 289 seamen, and 60 marines, were rescued, but several of them died after they were taken on board the different ships. Three merchants of Constantinople were on board; two perished; also a Greek pilot. One woman, out of three, saved herself by following her husband with a child in his arms down a rope from the jib-boom end. The total number whose lives were preserved, appears to have been 384.
The cause of this melancholy accident has never been exactly ascertained; but that there was a light in the breadroom, where there ought not to have been one, is certain; for when the First Lieutenant broke open the door of the Surgeon’s cabin, the after bulk-head was already burnt down; and as the Purser’s steward, his assistant, and the cooper, were among the missing, it is but reasonable to suppose the fire was occasioned by their negligence. In pursuance of the standing orders, Captain Blackwood had received the First Lieutenant’s report of his having visited all parts of the ship, with the warrant officers and master at arms, and found all clear and safe; he had also received the particular report of the latter, but not that of the subaltern of the marine guard, who was accustomed to visit all below, and make his report at 9 o’clock; at which hour, as already stated, this unfortunate event took place.
During the subsequent operations of the squadron, Captain Blackwood served as a volunteer in the Royal George, bearing the flag of Sir John T. Duckworth, from whose official letter to Lord Collingwood, relative to the forcing of the passage of the Dardanelles[1], we make the following extract; “To Captain Blackwood, who, after the unfortunate loss of the Ajax, volunteered to serve in the Royal George, great praise is due for his able assistance in regulating the fire of the middle and lower-decks; and when the Royal George anchored, he most readily offered his services to convey a message to the Endymion, of great moment, her pilot having refused to take charge of the ship. From thence he gave his assistance to regulate the landing of the troops from the [Turkish] 64, and setting her on fire; indeed, where anxious service was to be performed, there was his earnest desire to be placed. His officers too requested to serve in the squadron; and their services, in passing through the Dardanelles, met with approbation.”
Towards the latter end of 1807, Captain Blackwood, who had previously undergone the customary ordeal of a court-martial, and been fully acquitted of all blame on account of the loss of the Ajax, was appointed to the Warspite, a new third rate, fitting at Chatham; and in the summer of 1810, we find him commanding the in-shore squadron, off Toulon, consisting of the Warspite, Ajax, and Conqueror, 74’s, Euryalus frigate, and Sheerwater brig. On the 20th July, a detachment of the enemy’s fleet, consisting of six sail of the line, (one a three-decker) and four frigates, put to sea from that port for the purpose of liberating a frigate and convoy, which had been forced to take refuge in Bandol; and no less, to endeavour to cut off the Euryalus and Sheerwater; but the determined conduct of Captain Blackwood, who brought to in order of battle , with his little squadron, and engaged the headmost ships of the enemy’s line, had the effect of completely frustrating their intentions, as regarded the English frigate and brig; though the latter was under their guns, and repeatedly fired at by one of the line-of-battle ships, and a frigate, but without being struck by either. For his gallantry on this occasion. Captain Blackwood had the satisfaction to receive the thanks of Sir Charles Cotton, the Commander-in-Chief on that station.
In the spring of 1813, soon after his return from the Mediterranean, our officer captured three American letters of marque, and several valuable merchantmen. He continued to command the Warspite during the remainder of that year; and in May, 1814, was appointed Captain of the fleet assembled at Spithead, under H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence, who, it will be remembered, hoisted his flag in the Impregnable, of 98 guns, on the occasion of the allied Sovereigns’ visit to this country. On the 4th of the following month, Captain Blackwood was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and shortly after to the dignity of a Baronet of Great Britain. In Aug, 1819, he was nominated a K.C.B., and about the same time appointed Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, at which station he sailed in the Leander, of 60 guns, on the 7th Jan. 1820. He returned to England, Dec. 11, 1822.
Sir Henry Blackwood married, first, Jan. 12, 1795, Jane Mary, second daughter of Launcelot Crosbie, of Tubrid, Esq.; secondly, June 3, 1799, Eliza, fourth daughter of Captain Martin Waghorn, R.N.; and thirdly. May 9, 1803, a daughter of the late Governor Francis Gore. His eldest son is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
JOHN ERSKINE DOUGLAS, Esq
Rear-Admiral of the Red.
This officer was made a Commander in 1794, and obtained post rank, June 10, 1795. From that period he commanded the Garland, a small frigate, employed in the North Sea, until the commencement of 1798, when he removed into the Boston, of 32 guns, stationed off the coast of France. In the following year he proceeded to North America, where he captured and destroyed several of the enemy’s ships, and for several months blockaded the Similante, a French frigate, of far superior force to the Boston, preserving his station, often within range of the enemy, during the heaviest gales and thickest fogs.
About the period of the temporary suspension of hostilities, in 1801, we find the Boston at the Leeward Islands, from whence she returned to Halifax, and continued to be actively employed on that station till the latter end of 1804, when Captain Douglas returned to England after an absence of nearly six years.
Soon after his arrival, our officer was apointed to the Impetueux, of 80 guns, forming part of the Channel fleet. From her he exchanged, early in the following year, into the Bellona, 74, and was again ordered to America, where he assisted at the destruction of the French ship, Impetueux, of 74 guns and 670 men, near Cape Henry[2].
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