Royal Naval Biography/Martin, William
WILLIAM MARTIN, Esq.
[Commander.]
Third son of Mr. Thomas Martin, of Spring Mount, co. Cork, Ireland; a gentleman well known to the government of that kingdom, during the rebellion, as a magistrate and the commander of a corps of yeomanry, who, by his activity and zeal, helped to maintain the peace of his district, obtained himself the good will of the neighbouring gentry, and secured the esteem of General Myers, then commanding at Cork and in the surrounding country.
Mr. William Martin was born near the village of Glamuir, about three miles from Cork, in 1783; and entered the royal navy under the auspices of General Myers, as midshipman on board the Dryad frigate, Captain Charles John Moore Mansfield, employed on the Irish station, where he continued from 1799 until 1802. During the ensuing four years, he served under the same highly respectable officer, in the Minotaur 74, which ship, on the 28th May, 1803, captured the French frigate Franchise, of 44 guns, with a reduced complement of 187 men, returning from St. Domingo. She also formed part of Nelson’s fleet at the glorious battle of Trafalgar.
On the 1st Aug. 1806, Mr. Martin was promoted into the Saturn 74, Captain Lord Amelius Beauclerk, then employed on the Mediterranean station, and subsequently exposed to much peril, in consequence of getting on shore near Cadiz light-house, when returning home for the purpose of undergoing repair. Notwithstanding the difficulty of the service, however, this ship was dismantled and hove down, at Gibraltar, (both garboard strakes out,) re-equipped, and at sea, with the homeward bound trade under her protection, in the space of six weeks from the time of the accident.
Lieutenant Martin now obtained a short respite from active service, but soon joined the Ardent 64, fitting out for the reception of troops destined to Bermuda. On his return from thence, he was removed into the Magnet sloop. Commander John Smith (a), under whom he served for some time, and saw much boat service at the entrance of the German rivers. His next appointment was to the Lion 64, Captain (now Sir Henry) Heathcote, in which ship he proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, Madras, Penang, and China. Whilst in the vicinity of Canton, he volunteered his services, obtained the command of the launch, and went in quest of two American ships from Manilla, reported to be trafficking among the neighbouring islands, and consequently ordered to be detained. The other boats being then employed at a considerable distance from the Lion, his whole force consisted of only twenty men. Scarcely had he arrived at the appointed rendezvous, when five piratical vessels were discovered, each about thirty tons burthen, mounting four or five small guns, and having on board at least thirty men. By these the launch was vigorously attacked; but after an obstinate conflict of two hours and a half, during which they made two unsuccessful attempts to run her down, she compelled them to retreat. In this affair. Lieutenant Martin and eighteen of his gallant companions were wounded.
We next find Lieutenant Martin in the Albion 74, Captain (now Sir John Ferris) Devonshire, cruising on the North American station, from whence he returned home in the Sceptre 74, commanded by the same officer, in 1814. On the 19th July, 1818, he was appointed first lieutenant of the Creole frigate, acting Captain W. B. Dashwood, fitting out to receive the broad pendant of Commodore Bowles, then commanding on the coast of South America, where he had the mortification to be removed into the worn-out Amphion, notwithstanding an assurance received from the Board of Admiralty that he would not be superseded.
The Amphion, into which ship Captain Dash wood was posted, was then under orders for England, and considered hardly seaworthy; the lower masts were so much decayed, that it was found necessary to rig her as a bark, and to reef the fore and main-topmasts to a third down: the hand-pumps were obliged to be kept going the whole of the passage home. In this state she arrived at Deptford, and was immediately ordered to be put out of commission.
On the 18th Nov. 1819, in consideration of his services and the strong recommendation of Captain Dashwood, to whom he first became known on joining the Creole, Lieutenant Martin was appointed to the command of the Clinker gun-brig, fitting out for the Newfoundland station, where we find him performing the anomalous duties of a naval surrogate, and, in April 1821, receiving an address of which the following is a copy:
“Sir,– We the undersigned inhabitants of Harbour Grace, having learnt with sentiments of regret that duty now obliges you to leave us, and thereby vacate that department which during your stay amongst us you have so worthily, nay, impartially filled, conceive ourselves bound to return you our most sincere thanks for, and to express to you our unanimous approbation of, your conduct while filling the truly important situation of Surrogate to the Bay, since the resignation of your predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Leigh. Nor can we but admire the wisdom, and the zeal for the public good evinced by his Excellency[1] in having thus selected so worthy a successor to our late Surrogate. By your appointment, Sir, his Excellency has clearly manifested his desire that justice should be impartially administered; nor can stronger proofs of its being so be given than the contented and tranquil state which all classes exhibit at the present period. Such contentment and tranquillity of the people is perhaps a better proof than any language, however copious or eloquent, could possibly convey. Accept then, Sir, our united thanks and sentiments of approbation; and, as the conduct of every good man should be held forth as a model to posterity, so it shall be our province to hand your’s down to our own and the future inhabitants of Harbour Grace. We have the honor to be. Sir, with sentiments of unfeigned respect and sincerity, your most obedient and truly humble servants.”
(Signed by all the principal inhabitants.)
“To Lieut, William Martin,
“Commanding H.M. brig Clinker.”
The following are copies of two letters subsequently addressed to Lieutenant Martin:–
“H.M.S. Egeria, Newfoundland, 26th April, 1821.
“Dear Sir,– It is with infinite pleasure that I offer you my congratulations on finding you have so satisfactorily terminated your judicial duties at Harbour Grace, as it so honorably appears in the paper of to-day. The address cannot fail, I think, of accelerating that promotion which you have so sanguinely looked for, and, as I am assured by all who have known you long, so well deserved. Until I accidentally met you at this place, I had not the pleasure of ever seeing you; but since that period, I have had repeated proofs of your zeal and attention to all your duties, which has created in me an anxious feeling in your welfare; and I confidently hope that the address which has been presented to you will be as highly appreciated at home as I have reason to know it is in this island, more particularly so at this period, when a petition has been forwarded to England, complaining of the present system of administering justice in this country, which the address alluded to most clearly contradicts. Wishing you every success, believe me, dear Sir, very faithfully yours,
(Signed)“J. Toup Nicolas, Captain.”
“P.S. – I am told you are to go to the southward, under my orders; and I can only say, that had I had to make the solicitation I should have asked for the Clinker; hence I am much pleased with the arrangement.”
“Admiralty, 10th July, 1821.
“Sir,– I am desired by Lord Melville to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th of April, with the satisfactory testimonial herewith returned, the contents of which have been placed upon record; and to acquaint you that a note has been made of your application, and that your claims will be brought under consideration, with those of other officers, in case any general promotion should take place. I am, Sir, &c. &c.
(Signed)“R. H. Hay.”
In the mean time, Lieutenant Martin had been ordered by Sir Charles Hamilton to explore the Grand Esquimaux Inlet, and from thence to proceed to the northward in order to find out and communicate with the different stations of the Moravian missionaries on the coast of Labrador. In performing the first part of this service, he skirted much field ice, passed numerous bergs, communicated with the mountaineer Indians near a fishing station about 100 miles from the entrance of the inlet, and, leaving the Clinker at an anchor there, on account of the shallowness of the water, proceeded in a canoe until his further progress was prevented by a magnificent waterfall, on the morning of the third day. His coasting voyage from the entrance of the inlet to Okak, the northernmost settlement, was most harassing, and pregnant with danger. On his arrival at that and the other stations he had been sent to visit, he was received with great joy, no vessel of any kind, except their own annual brig, having been there for fifty years preceding. On his return to St. John’s, Newfoundland, after an absence of exactly three months, he found that the Lords of the Admiralty had been pleased to promote him to the rank of commander, by commission dated July 19th, 1821. He returned home passenger on board the Egeria in May 1822. Letters, of which the following are copies, were subsequently received by him from the secretary to the “Church of the United Brethren:”–
“London, April 30th, 1822.
“Dear Sir,– Your very obliging letter of the 19th Nov. 1821, ought not to have remained so long unanswered, but I have been nearly the whole of last winter travelling in different parts of England. I received it in Yorkshire, and intended on my return to town to desire Mr. Barrow to forward my answer to you.
“Your account of your visit to our settlements on the coast of Labrador was highly gratifying to me and to our whole society, as likewise to all who have read it. the testimony you are pleased to bear to the character of the missionaries, and to that of the Esquimaux congregations, cannot but be important to those who wish to have such evidence that Christianity has not only been adopted as a system, but that it has brought about a favorable change of heart, mind, and conduct, in a people naturally ignorant and barbarous. This you kindly declare to have witnessed. I can assure you, dear Sir, that if you were gratified, our missionaries were likewise highly delighted with your visit. Both in their official reports and in private letters to me they express themselves in the most lively manner of the sense they have of your goodness, affability, and generous conduct towards the Esquimaux. They feel particularly grateful to you for the good order and discipline you maintained among your crew, insomuch that all their fears of injury to their flocks were immediately quelled. You have thus been a messenger of peace to the Esquimaux, who now declare that their old suspicion that the King of England and his people were not their friends, is now entirely done away with; for that they see that they only mean to do them good. The missionaries feel greatly indebted to his Excellency the Governor of Newfoundland, for having appointed you to command that expedition, and are desirous, if you do me the honor of a visit, that I should express to you once more their esteem and affection, and their thankfulness for the precautionary measures you adopted to keep them from every kind of disturbance. I join them in assurances of sincere regard and esteem, and remain ever, dear Sir, your most obedient and humble servant,
(Signed)“C. F. Latrobe.”
“London, Feb. 22d, 1823.
“Dear Sir,– It was with great pleasure that I received your very obliging letter of the 6th inst., and I sit down to thank you for it, and for that good will you express towards the institution of our church on the coast of Labrador. Your visit to our missionaries will always he remembered by them, and the Esquimaux under their care, with the greatest delight; and the strict discipline you kept upon board your ship, more particularly claims their gratitude, as it contributed so greatly to lessen the anxiety they first felt on the approach of a ship of war, of the conduct of whose crew they could not form very favorable expectations. Captain Booth, who visited that coast this year, though willing to do all and every thing that could satisfy the missionaries, did not seem to have been aware of the necessity of using the same caution, though we have not had any particular complaint of the conduct of the crew. They, however, bartered a good deal with the Esquimaux, who, as you know and justly observe, are like children, and will give away their most useful and necessary articles, even such as their meyaks, and fishing and hunting implements, upon which their existence depends, for any gewgaw or unnecessary thing that happens to please their fancy. I did not hear that they bartered any thing for gin or brandy. The missionaries, however, perceiving what was going on, not only gave the Esquimaux a caution, but spoke to Captain Booth, and he very properly made his men disgorge and return their bargains, for which they, the Esquimaux, were very thankful. Captain Booth called upon me some time ago, and seemed much pleased with his visit to Labrador. I am very sorry that I missed your kind call in June last. I went in May with my son to the continent. The observations you make respecting the visits of ships of war to the coast of Labrador, are indeed very just. Unless conducted in the manner you did, they would necessarily have a very pernicious effect upon the mission; and we hope, that as no particular object can be obtained by them, that it will not become a common practice. You, however, may always consider yourself a privileged man, and to see you will always give the missionaries the greatest pleasure. Indeed, if it were not for the danger of communication between the Esquimaux and the crews, they would only have to regret that such visits must necessarily occur in fine weather only, and when our own vessel is there; and they have so much to do then in the concerns of their ship, that they cannot pay that attention to visitors at that time which they would wish to do. When my friend Lord Gambier was governor at Newfoundland, he intended to send a sloop of war up the coast, to survey it, which would be of great use to us; but he was soon recalled to his station at the Admiralty. Not only do I thank you for your most judicious remarks on the visits of ships of war to our settlements, but more especially do I feel grateful for the spirit which dictates them, and for the true sense you shew of the value of the mission, as it affects the spiritual and temporal welfare of a race of men formerly the most brutal and savage. You have with your eyes seen the change wrought by the Divine power of the gospel of Christ; for nothing else has brought it about. To those who love God and their neighbour as themselves, such manifestations and proofs of his mercy towards mankind, revealed in the gospel of our Saviour, are delighted and most encouraging’. With the sincerest esteem I remain ever, dear Sir, your most obliged and affectionate servant,
(Signed)“C. F. Latrobe.”
The subject of this memoir has been twice married, – 1st, in 1816, to Miss Henning, daughter of one of the senior pursers in the royal navy, which lady died in Ireland shortly after his return from Newfoundland: 2dly, in 1830, to a Miss O’Donnoghue, with whom, and his two surviving children by his first wife, he has ever since resided at his birth-place, near Glamuir. One of his brothers, Robert, a medical man of some eminence, was senior physician to the fever hospital at Cork, where he fell a victim to the effects of a malady he had successfully treated for years. Another brother, Thomas, went out as a cadet to India, where he entered His Majesty’s service, and acted as aide-de-camp to Lord Lake, until the regiment to which he belonged, the 19th light dragoons, received orders for England, when, his health being much impaired by the climate, he came home and retired on half-pay.
- ↑ Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, Bart., Governor of Newfoundland.