Sir George Martin (1764-1847)
Posted captain at the early age of 18 through family influence, Martin fought in a number of significant battles during a long and distinguished career in the Navy and eventually lived to become the Admiral of the Fleet.
Martin was born on 17 January 1765, the third and youngest son of Captain William Martin, and of his wife Arabella Rowley, the daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Rowley. Thus, he was the great nephew Admiral William Martin, and the nephew of Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley. His first cousins included Admiral Bartholomew Rowley and Admiral Sir Charles Rowley. Following his father’s death, his mother married Colonel Samuel Gibbs of East Horsley Park, Surrey – their son, Major-General Sir Samuel Gibbs, was killed on 8 January 1815 in the expedition to New Orleans.
After being borne on the books of the yacht Mary, Commander Richard Edwards, from December 1771 until April 1774, Martin actually went to sea on 20 November 1776 (during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War) aboard the Monarch 74 as servant to his uncle, Captain Joshua Rowley. On 27 July 1778 he was present at the Battle of Ushant, and a year later, on 6 July 1779 witnessed the Battle of Grenada aboard the Suffolk 74, Captain Hugh Cloberry Christian. He was still serving under his uncle at this time, since he had followed Rowley to his new flagship when he had been promoted to rear-admiral in the previous December.
Continuing in the Leeward Islands, Martin appears to have spent short periods over the next year aboard the sloop Cameleon 14 commanded by a cousin, Commander Thomas Watson, the sloop Rover 10, Commander John Duckworth, and the Alert 14, Commander James Vashon. It is also possible that he was employed for a short time on the Actaeon 44, Commander Robert Keeler, and that in 1780 he once more served with his uncle, this time aboard the Conqueror 74, commanded by Captain Watson, at the Battles off Martinique on 17 April and between 15 and 21 May, during which engagements Captain Watson lost his life.
Aged just 15 (five years younger than the regulations required), Martin was commissioned lieutenant on 16 July 1780 of the Russell 74, Captain Robert Hanwell. He soon rejoined his uncle at Jamaica aboard the flagship Princess Royal 98, Captain John Duckworth, seeing further service from June to October 1781 aboard the Ulysses 44, Captain John Thomas, and the Sandwich 90, Captain Sylverius Moriarty.
On 6 November 1781, benefitting again from his naval connections, Martin was promoted commander of the sloop Tobago 16 at Jamaica by Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Parker. On 17 March 1783 (two months after his 18th birthday), he was posted to the Preston 50, the flagship of his uncle at Jamaica. He left that vessel on her return to England in April 1784 following the end of the American Revolutionary War.
With the country at peace, he remained unemployed for the next five years until appointed on 16 June 1789 to command the sixth rate Porcupine 24. This vessel arrived at Belfast in October to begin anti-smuggling operations in Irish waters, but in August 1790 she conveyed pressed men from Carrickfergus to Plymouth to man ships for the Spanish Armament. By the end of November, she was part of Rear-Admiral Samuel Cornish’s squadron at Madeira; the ships then sailed to the West Indies before returning home in February 1791. In May the Porcupine sailed from Plymouth on the impress service once more, and on 15 November she arrived back at the Devonshire base from Ireland to be paid off and refitted. This was not the end of Martin’s command of the Porcupine however, for he recommissioned her in January 1792, and in July she sailed from Portsmouth on a Channel cruise with Vice-Admiral Lord Hood’s squadron of observation. Martin left her in the following month.
On 12 March 1793, six weeks after the start of the French Revolutionary War, he was appointed to the Magicienne 32, a frigate captured from the French in the previous war that had recently been completely repaired and remodelled at Harwich. Joining her at Chatham where she had been coppered, he was ordered down to Blackstakes at the end of May to take in powder and then sailed for the West Indies with a convoy at the end of August, calling en-route at Cork and Madeira. Arriving at Jamaica at the end of 1793, the Magicienns spent two years in this area, but was less successful at taking enemy ships than some of the other ships on the station. In addition, Martin’s frigate lost some seventy men to yellow fever, the inevitable hazard of serving in the Caribbean. In August 1795 she returned to Portsmouth with the Jamaica convoy, despite false reports in French newspapers that she had been captured by their navy. Once back in European waters the Magicienne joined Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey’s squadron of the Channel Fleet for a cruise off the coast of Poitou.
In early November 1795 Martin was appointed to the Irresistible 74, which sailed for the Leeward Islands with Rear-Admiral Hugh Christian’s fleet on 16 November before that force ran into a series of violent storms. Speculation that the Irresistible must have foundered soon began circulating, but on 29 January 1796 she returned to Portsmouth with a number of Christian’s ships. Two weeks later, she arrived off Plymouth and made the signal for a pilot, but on proceeding towards the Hamoaze she grounded on the shore of Firestone Bay – it was only by hoisting the yards over the side to shore her up that she remained upright as the tide ebbed. Two months later she was still under repair at Plymouth, but after moving to Portsmouth in mid-May (carrying two hundred marines for that port), she sailed with Rear-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis’ squadron on a cruise. By the middle of June, she was back with the Channel Fleet at Spithead, and in mid-August she went out once more with Curtis’ squadron.
Towards the end of 1796 the Irresistible was ordered to join Rear-Admiral William Parker’s reinforcements for the Mediterranean Fleet at Lisbon, and she subsequently fought at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 14 February 1797. For a few days following the engagement (in which she lost five men killed and thirteen wounded) the Irresistible flew the broad pennant of Commodore Horatio Nelson, whose own command, the Captain 74, had been badly damaged. On 26 April, in company with the frigate Emerald 36, Captain Velters Berkeley, Martin demonstrated courageous seamanship in avoiding a dangerous reef to capture the Spanish frigate Ninfa 36 and drive another (the Santa Elena 36) ashore in Conil Bay near Cape Trafalgar, an achievement that was hailed as outstanding by the exacting commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Earl St. Vincent.
Continuing with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1797, the Irresistible participated in the blockade of Cadiz, and in November it was reported that she had captured a Spanish register ship homeward bound from Buenos Aires, a valuable prize that was carried into Lisbon. On Boxing Day, she sailed for home with a convoy. In early 1798, Martin took a couple of month’s leave because of his health, and by early March 1798 his ship was in the Downs, where she remained until July.
Martin was next appointed to the newly commissioned Northumberland 74 on 15 July 1798, which left Sheerness for Portsmouth two weeks later, and was with the Mediterranean Fleet off Cadiz at the end of the year. Following the breakout of the Brest Fleet on 25 April 1799 his vessel was part of the squadron under Commodore John Duckworth sent to join Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson off Sicily. On 18 February 1800 the Northumberland assisted in the capture of the French sail of the line Généreux 74 off Malta, and in May Martin took command of the blockade of the island in succession to Captain Thomas Troubridge. In August, in company with the Success 32, Captain Shuldham Peard, he captured the French frigate Diane 40, which had tried to break out of Valetta harbour. Upon the surrender of the French garrison on 5 September, Martin signed their capitulation on behalf of the Royal Navy, and his letter to the Admiralty first announced the liberation of the island.
Continuing in the Mediterranean, the Northumberland served in the expedition to Egypt from March 1801, and she was employed off Alexandria as the siege of that city dragged on. Martin was one of the Mediterranean Fleet captains censured by Vice-Admiral Lord Keith for complaining about the quality of provisions for the sick. Still commanding the Northumberland, in February 1802 Martin was sent to Corfu at the request of the Ottoman government to land troops to restore order and take possession of the forts. During May (peace having been concluded with France) his ship was anchored in the harbour at Valetta with other ships of the fleet, and leaving Malta on 16 July, she arrived at Portsmouth towards the end of August. After undergoing quarantine, she was sent to Plymouth to be paid off.
With war against France once more looming, in March 1803 Martin was appointed to the Colossus 74, building at Deptford. Launched in April, after fitting out she left the Nore in early August to join the Channel Fleet. By late August she was serving with Commodore Sir Edward Pellew off Ferrol, and a couple of months later she departed for Plymouth to refit. While trying to rejoin the fleet, December gales forced her back to Plymouth, and she only joined the the force off Brest in early January 1804. Later that month she was forced off station by more violent winds, but she returned to her post off Brest without having to enter port; however, just days later the weather forced her to run for Torbay. Evidently the atrocious weather had taken its toll on Martin, for at the beginning of March he resigned the command to Captain Michael Seymour on account of his ill-health.
Whilst ashore, Martin was married on 3 April 1804 to Harriet, the daughter of the inventive Captain John Bentinck, sister of Vice-Admiral William Bentinck, and sister-in-law of the future Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins Whitshed. Just three weeks later he was appointed to recommission the Glory 98, which had undergone a thorough refit at Chatham, and in the same month he was honoured for his services by being nominated to the sinecure of colonel of marines. When the Glory arrived at Portsmouth to complete for the Channel Fleet, she was selected by the commander-in-chief, Admiral Hon William Cornwallis, to be his flagship, and Martin was replaced by a temporary flag-captain, William Champain.
On 21 November 1804 Martin was appointed to recommission the Barfleur 98 at Portsmouth, which was manned by crew discharged from the paid-off Triumph 74 (Captain Sir Robert Barlow). On 12 February 1805 she sailed to join the Channel Fleet on blockade service off Brest. She returned to Torbay with the fleet at the end of the month, remaining there for a week before serving on the Brest blockade for the next three months. She saw further service off Rochefort and on 27 June she joined the Ferrol squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Calder, under whom she fought at the disappointing Battle of Finisterre on 22 July 1805, suffering three men killed and seven wounded. Shortly afterwards, the Barfleur was ordered to return home to refit, and she reached Plymouth on 27 August. Sadly, three of her men were drowned on 6 September when their boat capsized in Plymouth Sound, although another six men were saved. Three days later she sailed to rejoin the Channel Fleet but Martin soon returned without his ship, having been invalided home by Admiral Cornwallis.
On 9 November 1805 the 41-year-old Martin was promoted rear-admiral, necessitating his departure from the Barfleur, and in January 1806 he was appointed the second-in-command at Portsmouth with his flag aboard the Gladiator 50, Lieutenant John Price. This was a routine job deputising for Rear-Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin who was on leave, although in July he assumed temporary command of the port on the departure of the commander-in-chief, Admiral John Montagu. He resigned the Portsmouth position shortly after suffering a personal tragedy – the sudden death of his wife at Hampton Court on 15 October.
In June 1807 Martin returned to service when he sailed for the Mediterranean, taking passage aboard the Montagu 74, Captain Robert Otway, and then hoisting his flag on the Queen 98, Charles Inglis. He accompanied the fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood for the Dardanelles in late July, and by the time he left those waters in mid-October he and Captain Inglis had transferred to the Canopus 80. During early 1808 he was with Collingwood at Sicily, and his flagship participated in the fruitless pursuit of the Toulon Fleet following its breakout on 7 February. The summer was spent in command of a squadron off Corfu, and on 16 August the Canopus sailed from Port Mahon to join Vice-Admiral Edward Thornbrough off Toulon.
In June 1809 Martin commanded a force that captured the strategic islands of Ischia and Procida in the Bay of Naples, although they were later evacuated. On 23 October, having been detached with a fast squadron of six ships of the line, he intercepted Rear-Admiral François André Baudin’s smaller force off Cape San Sebastian in Catalonia that was escorting a group of storeships bound for Barcelona. After a two-day chase, his squadron drove two sail of the line aground at Cette (the modern-day Sète) while two frigates and another sail of the line escaped. On the departure for home of the dying Lord Collingwood on 7 March 1810 Martin temporarily took command of the Mediterranean Fleet until the arrival six weeks later of Admiral Sir Charles Cotton. (Coincidentally, he was promoted vice-admiral on 31 July.) For the rest of the year, Vice-Admiral Martin remained (with Captain Inglis) aboard the Canopus based at Palermo in support of Lieutenant-General Sir John Stuart’s army in Sicily. He struck his flag when Rear-Admiral Charles Boyles arrived to succeed him at the end of the year, reaching Portsmouth in May 1811 aboard the sloop Pylades 16, Commander George Ferguson. His services in Italian waters were recognised on 6 July when King Ferdinand I of Naples honoured him with the Order of St Januarius.
After nearly a year ashore, Martin was appointed to command British naval forces in the Tagus in support of ally Portugal and the Earl of Wellington’s army in the Peninsula. After taking passage aboard the Acasta 40, Captain Alexander Robert Kerr, he arrived at Lisbon at the end of June 1812, later hoisting his flag on the Impetueux 74 with his favourite captain, Charles Inglis. In what proved to be a quiet tenure he transferred with Inglis to the Stately 64 in 1813, and when that ship returned home in November, he briefly flew his flag on the tender Wellington and the Sabrina 20, Captain Alexander Mackenzie, before the Rodney 74 arrived at the end of the year with Captain Inglis. He remained in the Tagus until the end of the Napoleonic War, and after he returned to Portsmouth in June 1814 he was knighted by the Prince Regent on the occasion of the visit to Portsmouth of the allied sovereigns to celebrate the arrival of peace.
Martin was one of the many officers created a KCB. on 21 January 1815, and on 29 May he remarried, to Mary Augusta Locke of Norbury, Surrey. In January 1816 Martin dined with the Prince Regent and promenaded with the Duke of Clarence (a serving naval officer in his earlier years) at Brighton. He soon became a regular in the ‘fashionable arrival and departures’ columns of the newspapers, going on a tour in 1817, attending levees, and involving himself in a charity for promoting religion amongst seamen. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 20 February 1821, and on 19 July he was promoted full admiral.
In November 1823 it was reported that he was to become the next commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, and he hoisted his flag aboard the Victory 100, Captain Inglis, on 13 April 1824. During October he hosted the Duke of Clarence on a visit, and continuing the family tradition of advancing relatives, in May 1825 he chose a first cousin once removed, Richard Freeman Rowley, as his flag lieutenant. His uneventful tenure was punctuated by periods of leave and visits by both British and foreign dignitaries before he left the post on 1 May 1827.
Martin did not go to sea again; instead, he retired to Pentland House at Lee near Blackheath and his town residence in Berkeley Square in London. A frequent attendee of levees and dinners with his old friend the Duke of Clarence (installed as King William IV from June 1830), he was appointed to the honorary posts of the Rear-Admiral of Great Britain in 1833, and Vice-Admiral of Great Britain in April 1834. He was invested with the GCMG in May 1837 and emulated his ancestor by living long enough to become the admiral of the fleet on 9 November 1846.
Sir George Martin died in Berkeley Square on 28 July 1847, five years after his second wife, Mary, who had died on 1 March 1842. A private funeral followed with family members, and he was interred in Lee Church, Kent. Martin did not have any children from either of his marriages. His nephew, George Bohun Martin, entered the Navy in 1812 aboard the Impregnable 98, the flagship of Martin’s kinsman, Rear-Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, and was promoted captain in 1828.
Martin was renowned for his chivalrous demeanour towards his colleagues and men.