Royal Naval Biography/Hanwell, Joseph

by John Marshall

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JOSEPH HANWELL, Esq
Vice-Admiral of the Blue.

This officer was born in London, Dec. 10, 1759; entered the naval service as a Midshipman on board the Ramillies, a third rate, stationed at Chatham, in Nov. 1773; and from that ship was removed to the Carcass sloop of war, in Jan. 1775. His first voyage was to the coast of Guinea; and on his return from thence he joined the Milford, of 28 guns, commanded by Captain John Burr, and fitting for the NorthAmerican station, where she was afterwards most actively employed.

In Dec. 1776, we find Mr. Hanwell entrusted with the charge of a prize taken by the Milford, and which he conducted in safety to Halifax. Returning from thence as a passenger in the George tender, for the purpose of joining his ship in Boston Bay, he had the misfortune to be cast away near the entrance of Piscatoway harbour. This event occurred on the night of the 26th of the above month, during a dreadful snow-storm. The George had previously experienced very tempestuous weather, and being now completely wrecked, her crew were obliged to surrender themselves as prisoners of war. The officers, after remaining a few weeks on their parole in the interior, were exchanged at Rhode Island; and the subject of this sketch was ordered by Commodore Sir Peter Parker, to be received on board the Unicorn frigate, in which he remained until an opportunity presented itself of returning to the Milford in July 1777.

Subsequent to her return from the coast of America the Milford appears to have been stationed in the Channel, and was present in the action between Keppel and d’Orvilliers, July 27, 1778^[1]. From that period we find no particular mention of her until May 10, 1780, on which day, being on her way to Lisbon, she fell in with, and after an hour’s contest, captured the Due de Coigny, a 28-gun frigate belonging to the royal family of France, and fitted out by them as a private ship of war. She was remarkably well officered and manned, having left port with a complement of 250 men, 18 of whom, including her commander, M. Mignionet, were killed, and 16 wounded. The Milford had 4 slain and 3 wounded.

On the 26th Oct. 1780, seven days after quitting the Milford, in which active frigate he had assisted at the capture of no less than seventy vessels belonging to the enemy, Mr. Hanwell was nominated by Vice-Admiral Darby, Commander-in-Chief of the Channel fleet, to act as Lieutenant of the Dublin 74; and the Board of Admiralty being pleased to confirm the appointment, by commission dated Feb. 8, 1781, he continued in that ship during the remainder of the war. The Dublin appears to have been present at the relief of Gibraltar in 1781 and 1782; and formed part of the rear division of Earl Howe’s fleet in the skirmish off Cape Spartel, on the 20th Oct. in the latter year^[2].

From this period, with the exception of his having served for a short time in the Fortitude, of 74 guns, we have no mention of Lieutenant Hanwell until Sept. 1, 1788, when he was appointed to command the Actaeon, a 44-gun ship armed en flute, and employed in the conveyance of troops to and from the colonies. During the Spanish armament in 1790, he took charge of the homeward bound trade off the east end of Jamaica; and having escorted it in safety to England, was promoted to the rank of Commander, on the 21st Oct. in the same year. He continued in the Actaeon until that ship was paid off May 13, 1791.

Our officer’s next appointment wa3 Nov. 12, 1792, to the Scout of 18 guns, in which sloop he was employed for some time on the Gibraltar station. He returned from thence in company with the Lapwing frigate, and a fleet of English and Dutch merchantmen^[3], about the month of April 1793; and was subsequently sent with despatches to the Mediterranean. Having joined Lord Hood at Toulon, the Scout was there actively employed; and in March 1794, formed part of the force sent under the orders of Captain Nelson, to commence the blockade of Bastia.

On the 2d April, Captain Hanwell received orders to anchor his sloop as near as possible to a tower recently taken by the Corsicans, and which was a post of considerable consequence^[4]. In this position, early in the ensuing morning, he sustained the attack of two French gun-boats, supported by three batteries, for upwards of an hour, and succeeded in compelling the former to retreat into the harbour; upon which Lord Hood directed the Scout to be removed out of the reach of the latter. Two days after this affair, our officer was promoted by his Lordship to the command of the Romney, of 50 guns; but, although confirmed in his rank, he had the mortification of being superseded on the 19th of the following month, in consequence of being the junior of three Captains who had been appointed by the Admiralty to command the only two vacant ships on the station^[5].

In consequence of this official error, Captain Hanwell was under the necessity of returning to England^[6], and notwithstanding the recommendations he brought with him from his late Commander-in-Chief to the nobleman then at the head of naval affairs, all his efforts to obtain a frigate were ineffectual. On the 9th April, 1795, he was nominated to regulate the Quota Men raised in Derbyshire, and to survey all the vessels employed on the canals in that county. He afterwards held a similar appointment in Aberdeenshire; and from July 1799, till the end of the following year, we find him employed in raising volunteers at Jersey; from whence he was removed to be Regulating Captain at Exeter, where he continued until the breaking up of the Rendezvous, in Oct. 1801. Captain Hanwell’s next appointment was March 28, 1805, to the Majestic of 74 guns, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Russel, in the North Sea. The command of that ship he was obliged to resign through ill health, in Dec. 1806; from which period we lose sight of him until Feb. 3, 1809, when he was appointed to superintend the payments of ships at the Nore. His advancement to the rank of Rear-Admiral took place Aug. 12, 1812; and he became a Vice-Admiral, July 19, 1821.

Our officer married, May 22, 1787, a Miss Strong, and by that lady had eight children, two of whom lost their lives in the naval service.

Residence.– Wareham, Dorsetshire.

1. See Note †, at p. 195. The Milford on that occasion repeated the signals of the rear division, and was commanded by Sir W. Burnaby, Bart.
2. See pp. 4, 17, 106, and note at p. 33.
3. See p. 426.
4. “Sir.– Lord Hood desires that you will move the Scout directly, and anchor her as near the Tower which the Corsicans took last night as possible. I think you may anchor nearer Bastia than the Tower we landed at yesterday; it is of the greatest consequence, maintaining the post taken by the Corsicans, therefore I trust long before day-light you will be anchored there. Believe me, Yours truly,

   “Horatio Nelson.”

5. Berwick 74, and Romney, 50 guns.
6. On this occasion, Captain Hanwell accompanied Captain A. Hunt, who had been sent overland with the despatches relative to the capture of Bastia; an account of which event will be found at p. 251, et seq.