Royal Naval Biography/Pell, Watkin Owen
WATKIN OWEN PELL, Esq.
[Post-Captain of 1813.]
A native of Northamptonshire. This officer entered the navy under the auspices of Earl Spencer, and first embarked as midshipman on board la Loire frigate, Captain James N. Newman, April 3, 1799. On the 5th February, 1800, he had the misfortune to lose his left leg in action with la Pallas French frigate, the capture of which has been recorded at pp. 248-250 of Vol. II. Part I.
During the peace of Amiens, Mr. Pell served under Captain, (now Sir James Athol) Wood, in the Acasta 40; and he appears to have continued with that officer till October, 1804. We next find him joining the Veteran 64, commanded by Captain Newman, with whom he removed to the Vanguard, 74, at Jamaica, in July 1805. The latter ship being paid off, towards the close of the same year, he was then received on board la Virginie frigate, in which he remained, under Captain Edward Brace, till his promotion to the rank of lieutenant, November 11, 1806.
On the 4th of April, 1808, Mr. Pell, then first of the Mercury 28[1], commanded a division of boats at the capture of seven Spanish tartans, loaded with valuable ship timber, for the arsenal at Cadiz; the dashing manner in which this service was executed, under the directions of Lieutenant Allan Stewart, of the Alceste, will be seen by reference to p. 802 of Vol. II. Part II.
The important services performed by the Mercury and her boats, between October 1808, and February 1810, have been noticed in our memoir of Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, C.B., who thus describes the capture of la Leda[2].
“Mercury, off Rovigno, 2nd April, 1809.
“Sir,– The boats of H.M. ship under my command, last night, cut out of the harbour of Rovigno, and from under a very heavy fire of great guns and musketry, la Leda, Venetian gun-boat, carrying one long 24-pounder and six large swivels; another of the same description was lying close to her, and would certainly have been captured also, had not a fog unexpectedly come on, which completely deranged the plan of attack, thereby obliging the boats to tow the vessel out, under the additional fire of five guns on an island, which was to have been stormed by the marines. When the strength and situation of the harbour of Rovigno are considered (the entrance not being more than 100 yards wide); that the gun-boats were moored close to two heavy batteries, and that they were so well prepared as to fire several times before our boats got up; that they had been reinforced that evening by a detachment of soldiers, and had boarding-nettings nearly up to their mast-heads: I do not think more bravery was ever displayed, than by the officers, seamen, and marines employed on this occasion. They were commanded and led on in the most gallant manner by the first lieutenant, Watkin Owen Pell, who received two severe wounds in boarding, and has before lost a leg in the service of his country. Enclosed is a list of the killed and wounded, and the names of the officers employed on this service[3]. I have the honor to be, &c.
(Signed)“Henry Duncan.”
“To Captain William Hoste, H.M.S. Amphion.”
While endeavoring to get though la Leda’s boarding-netting, Lieutenant Pell received the contents of a blunderbuss in his right hand and arm, which were perforated by no less than seven balls. The officers employed under his orders on this occasion were Lieutenant Robert James Gordon; Mr.Richard Hildyard, master; Lieutenant James Whylock, R.M.; Messrs. Stirling, Wilkes, Parker, and Adams, midshipmen; Mr. Robert Williams, assistant surgeon; Mr. George Anderson, captain’s-clerk; and Mr. Jeremiah Crawley, carpenter. The following is a copy of Captain Duncan’s official letter reporting the capture of la Pugliese:–
“Mercury, off Manfredoina, Sept. 8, 1809.
“In obedience to your orders of the 3st ult. to endeavour to take or destroy the enemy’s schooner in the harbour of Barletta, I have the honor to inform you, that we got off the port on the 2d instant; but the weather would not allow of our making the attempt till last night, when she was boarded, and carried in the most gallant style, by the boats of H.M. ship under my command. She proves to be the French schooner of war , launched at Barletta about three months ago, pierced for 10 guns, had on board 3 six-pounders and 2 eighteens, commanded hy an enseigne de vaisseau, with a complement of 50 men, but had only 31 on board, who were so prepared for the attack, as to be able to fire on our boats before they got alongside.
“It gives me most sincere pleasure to add, that this service has been performed without a man being hurt on our side; and as, besides her own means of defence, she was moored with eight cables inside, and almost touching a mule lined with musketry, and within musket-shot of a castle mounting 8 guns, and of two armed feluccas, from under which fire she was towed without rudder or sails, I must principally attribute this good fortune to the judicious and prompt manner in which the attack was made> which strongly marks the judgment and gallantry of the first Lieutenant, Pell, who directed it. He speaks in the highest terms of the assistance he received from the second Lieutenant, Gordon, Lieutenant Whylock, R.M., Mr. Sandell the gunner, and Mr. Anderson, captains-clerk, each of whom commanded a boat; and of the excellent good conduct of the other officers, seamen, and marines, employed under him. I have the honor to be, &c.
(Signed)“Hy. Duncan.”
“To Captain Hargood, H.M.S. Northumberland.”
In Aug. 1809, the Patriotic Society voted Lieutenant Pell 80l. for the purchase of a sword; and he was subsequently presented with another by Captain Duncan, through whose generous and unremitting exertions in his behalf, he obtained the rank of Commander, Mar. 29, 1810.
From Nov. 11, 1810, until. Dec. 5, 1811, we find Captain Pell commanding the Thunder bomb, and actively employed in the defence of Cadiz. At the latter period he was detached, in company with the Stately 64, Druid frigate, and several gunboats, to co-operate with the garrison of Tariffa, then besieged by 10,000 French troops, under Marshal Victor[4]. After contributing to the safety of that place, he resumed his former station before fort Catalina; and continued to protect Isla de Leon, until the whole of the enemy’s works were abandoned, in Aug. 1812[5].
The Thunder was next employed on the coast of Valencia, from whence she returned home in Sept. 1813. On the 9th of the ensuing month, Captain Pell reported the capture of le Neptune, French privateer, mounting 16 guns, with a complement of 65 men; the following is an extract of his official letter:–
“At 8-30 A.M., Owers light hearing N.N.E., observed a lugger to windward, under easy sail; altered our course to near the shore, and took in the studding-sails; the lugger immediately bore up and followed; at 10-30, she came up on the larboard quarter, and hailed us to bring to and strike; her decks were full of men, in readiness for boarding. She put her helm up to lay us alongside, we put ours down, and fired four guns and a volley of musketry; she fell on board, and was carried in the most gallant style by boarding. The enemy had 4 men killed and 10 wounded; 5 very severely, 1 since dead: I am happy to say, that we had only 2 men wounded.”
Captain Pell’s post commission bears date Nov. 1, 1813. His last appointment was, Oct. 4, 1814, to the Menai 24, in which ship, after serving for some time on the Irish station, he joined Rear-Admiral Griffith, at Bermuda, from whence he was sent, with a small force under his orders, to cruise in the bay of Fundy. We lastly find him employed off the Chesapeake, and in visiting several American ports, subsequent to the termination of hostilities. The Menai was paid off at Chatham, in Feb. 1817.
Captain Pell did not retire to private life without undergoing the ordeal of a court-martial, a circumstance which, in justice to his character, we must here record.
A midshipman of the Menai, named Butcher, who had always been treated with extreme kindness and consideration, requited his commander’s friendly regard with a degree of perfidy and ingratitude of which, to the honor of human nature, instances are very rare. Without any assignable, or even conceivable reason, he brought charges against him, of a description equally malicious and ridiculous; and which, indeed, bore upon the very face of them their own refutation. To repeat the whole would be both tedious and useless:– one was, that he had made an improper conversion of ship’s stores; another, that he had cut the standing stays, and lashed them with eyes abaft the masts; a third, that he had ordered a red ensign to be entered as blown away, although not hoisted on the day that it was expended; and a fourth, that he had threatened to flog a midshipman. It is sufficient to state, that the charges exhibited against Captain Pell were declared to be “scandalous, vexatious, and frivolous, tending to the subversion of all discipline in his Majesty’s service;” and that Captain Pell was consequently acquitted of all and every part of them. At the close of the proceedings, the president addressed the exonerated party thus:–
“Captain Pell,– I have peculiar pleasure in restoring your sword to you, and I most sincerely hope, you will long continue to wield it with the same honor and advantage to your country, which have distinguished all your public services. In returning your sword to you, I have the further satisfaction to say, that it is pure, and unsullied by the foul, wicked, and diabolical attack upon your honor.”
Mr. Butcher’s base conduct met with its due reward. The Admiralty immediately directed, that he should no longer continue in his Majesty’s service, and ordered Captain Pell to mark upon his discharge ticket that he was dismissed from it by their lordships’ order, without any certificates.
Agents.– Messrs. Stilwell.
- ↑ Captain James A. Gordon.
- ↑ See Vol. II. Part II. p. 990.
- ↑ 1 killed, 4 severely wounded.
- ↑ See Vol. II, Part I., p. 298.
- ↑ See Suppl. Part II. p. 325, et seq.