Royal Naval Biography/Williams, Thomas
SIR THOMAS WILLIAMS,
Vice-Admiral of the Red, Knight Commander of the most honorable Military Order of the Bath; Groom of the Bed-chamber to H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex; and a Vice-President of the Naval Charitable Society.
This officer, when first Lieutenant of the Assurance, a 44-gun ship, stationed on the coast of America during the war with the colonies, his Captain being at sick quarters, was ordered on a cruize, and in a very short period took several prizes of considerable value. On his return to port, he was promoted by the late Hon. Admiral Digby into the Rhinoceros, stationed as a guard-ship at the mouth of the North river. From that period we find no farther mention of him until the Spanish armament in 1790, when he commanded the Otter sloop, employed in the Channel. On the 22d Nov. in the same year, he obtained post rank; and at the commencement of the war with the French Republic, was appointed to the Lizard of 28 guns, in which ship he captured several of the enemy’s privateers.
From the Lizard, Captain Williams was removed into the Daedalus frigate, and thence to the Unicorn, mounting 38 guns. The former was stationed in the North Sea. In the latter he cruized principally on the coast of Ireland.
On the 30th Aug. 1795, the Unicorn captured the Comet Dutch brig of war, mounting 18 guns. The day before, in company with the Diana and Seahorse, she had also taken an East Indiaman and a South Sea whaler, both of whom had been convoyed from the Cape of Good Hope by the Comet.
At day-break on the morning of the 8th June, 1796, Captain Williams being on a cruize to the westward of Scilly, in company with the Santa Margaritta frigate, gave chase to two large French frigates and a corvette. At 4 P.M. the sternmost ship, finding it impossible to escape, bore round up to rake the Santa Margaritta, in which he was foiled by a skilful manoeuvre of her Commander, who laid his ship most ably alongside the enemy, and in less than twenty minutes compelled him to strike[1].
The other frigate seeing the fate of her companion, endeavoured to obtain the weather-gage of the Unicorn; but by the judicious and seamanlike conduct of Captain Williams, his attempt proved unsuccessful. The parity of sailing in the two ships was such, that a running fight was kept up for ten hours, when our officer had the good fortune to close with his antagonist; a sharp contest ensued, and continued with great impetuosity for 35 minutes, when, on the smoke clearing away, the enemy was observed to have dropped on the Unicorn’s quarter, with the intention to cross herstern, and gain the wind; this manoeuvre of the Frenchman’s was most skilfully defeated, by Captain Williams instantly throwing his sails aback, by which means the ship gathered stern way, passed the enemy’s bow, and resumed her former position. The action was now renewed with fresh vigour; but it lasted only a few minutes, when, after much bravery and good seamanship had been displayed on both sides, the enemy’s ship, having her mizen-mast alone standing, surrendered. She proved to be la Tribune, commanded by Commodore Moulson, pierced for 48 guns, but only 44 mounted, and 339 men, 37 of whom were killed, and 15, including the Commodore, wounded. The Unicorn’s complement of 251 men, was considerably weakened by the absence of a Lieutenant, and several of her best seamen, in a prize recently captured; the total number of her crew in this action may therefore be fairly stated as not exceeding 240, of whom not a man was hurt.
Soon after his return to port, Captain Williams received the honor of knighthood, as a reward for his gallant conduct. On the 7th Jan, 1797, he assisted at the capture of la Ville de l’Orient frigate, armed en flute, employed in the conveyance of troops, and having on board 400 hussars.
In the month of June following, Sir Thomas Williams sat as a member of the Court-Martial appointed to try Parker and the other mutineers belonging to the North Sea fleet[2]. About the same period he was appointed to the command of the Endymion, a frigate of the largest class, stationed in the North Sea. On the 13th Oct. following, he made a spirited attack upon the Brutus, a Dutch line-of-battle ship, bearing the flag of a Rear-Admiral, who had escaped from the battle off Camperdown, and was then lying at anchor with some small vessels, near the heights of Hinder, in six fathoms water; but the Endymion being unsupported, of course nothing decisive could be effected. In the course of the ensuing night Sir Thomas Williams, having been joined by the Beaulieu frigate, again stood in shore, and on the following morning discovered the Brutus at anchor near Goree Gatt. At six o’clock the Dutch Rear-Admiral, not thinking himself safe in that position, with two frigates opposed to him, again weighed, and sought refuge in the Maese; and soon after the British Commanders, being frustrated in their object, hauled their wind, and stood off. The Endymion’s casualties were confined to the loss of her fore-top-gallant-yard, and some trifling injury in her sails and rigging.
We next find Sir Thomas Williams commanding a squadron of frigates, stationed at the entrance of St. George’s Channel. On the 21st June, 1798, he co-operated with the King’s troops in their attack upon Wexford, and destroyed about one hundred large boats and vessels, which the rebels had collected for their escape. On this occasion two of the insurgent chiefs, Hay and Roche, were taken prisoners.
The Endymion was afterwards employed in occasional trips to Lisbon and the Mediterranean, during which she captured several privateers and armed vessels belonging to the enemy, one of which, a new ship pierced for 20 guns, had on board a valuable cargo for the Isle of France[3].
In the spring of 1801, Sir Thomas was removed into the Vanguard, of 74 guns; and after the battle off Copenhagen, sailed to reinforce the fleet in the Baltic, from whence he returned with Sir Charles M. Pole in the ensuing autumn, and was subsequently employed under that officer in the blockade of Cadiz, on which service he remained until the termination of hostilities.
Some time after the renewal of the war, 1803, we find him in the Neptune, of 98 guns, employed in the blockade of Ferrol. In 1808, he accompanied Sir John T. Duckworth to the West Indies in pursuit of a French squadron; and on the 28th April in the same year, he received the honorable appointment of a Colonel of Royal Marines.
Sir Thomas Williams continued in the Neptune until the grand promotion that took place Oct. 25, 1809, the day on which his late Majesty entered into the fiftieth year of his reign; he was then advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral; and between that period and the autumn of 1811, hoisted his flag successively in the North Sea, at Lisbon, and in the Channel fleet.
About the month of Oct. in the last-mentioned year, our officer was appointed Commander-in-Chief at the Nore, on which station he continued during the customary period of three years. He was made a Vice-Admiral, June 4, 1814; and on the 2d Jan. 1815, nominated a K.C.B.
Sir Thomas Williams married, 1800, Miss Whapshare, of Salisbury.
Residence.– Cobham, Surrey.
- ↑ See Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin.
- ↑ For some interesting particulars respecting the mutiny at the Nore, see note at p. 160, et seq.
- ↑ In the list of captures made by Sir Thomas Williams in the Unicorn and Endymion, are fifteen privateers, &c. of different sizes, mounting on the whole 150 guns, and carrying about 900 men.