by Richard Hiscocks | May 19, 2016
Phillips Cosb (1729-1808) An Irishman despite his foreign birth, Cosby had to wait a long time for the command of a ship. His moment in the sun came at the Battle of Chesapeake Bay in 1781, when he earned immense praise for his bravery and conduct. In later years he...
by Richard Hiscocks | May 2, 2016
Sir John Colpoys 1742-1821. He was born at Ballycain, County Clare, Ireland, the elder son of a Dublin attorney by the name of John Colpoys, and of his wife, Patience Madden. He was the uncle of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys. Colpoys entered the navy in...
by Richard Hiscocks | Apr 14, 2016
Michael Clements @1735-1796. He was born in Colwich, Staffordshire, a son of the Rev. John Clements, the vicar of that parish and later the rector of Long Whatton, Leicestershire. From 1748-9 Clements was employed in the East Indies aboard the Siren 24, Captain...
by Richard Hiscocks | Apr 4, 2016
James Cranston c1733- 1790. He was most probably of Scottish extraction. Cranston joined the Navy on 20 February 1747 as a captain’s servant aboard the Warwick 60, Captain Robert Erskine, and he had been rated as an able seaman by the time that the Spanish sail of the...
by Richard Hiscocks | Mar 10, 2016
Brabazon Christian 1755-1788. He came from an old Isle of Man family that later settled in Ireland. Christian was commissioned lieutenant on 18 July 1776 and commanded the galley Cornwallis 3 at New York during 1777. Promoted commander on 22 November by Vice-Admiral...
by Richard Hiscocks | Mar 7, 2016
Henry Colins Died 1791. Colins was commissioned lieutenant on 2 November 1761. In early September 1769 he took the recommissioned schooner Magdalen 6 out to Virginia from Portsmouth, and he remained in North America for the next six years. His employment on this...
by Richard Hiscocks | Feb 22, 2016
Thomas Collingwood Died 1780. Collingwood was commissioned lieutenant on 28 October 1750, and promoted commander of the sloop Fortune 14 with seniority from 9 September 1756, although whilst in command of this vessel he had previously delivered dispatches from...
by Richard Hiscocks | Feb 21, 2016
Stephen Colby c1720-79. Colby was commissioned lieutenant on 11 March 1741/2 and promoted commander on 30 March 1746 of the newly purchased sloop Albany 10 at Louisbourg. His command of this vessel was brief, for after sailing from Louisbourg on 7 July with dispatches...
by Richard Hiscocks | Feb 12, 2016
Abraham Crespin 1740-1786. He was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, the son of Daniel and Johanna Crespin. Crespin was commissioned lieutenant on 20 January 1762, and in November 1770 was appointed to the schooner Halifax 6, generally serving in North American...
by Richard Hiscocks | Jan 14, 2016
Hon. Sir William Cornwallis 1744-1819. He was born in Suffolk on 20 February 1744, the fourth son of Charles, 1st Earl and 5th Lord Cornwallis, and of his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of Viscount Townshend. He was the younger brother of Charles, 1st Marquess...
by Richard Hiscocks | Jan 9, 2016
Samuel Wittewronge Clayton 1734-1795. He was born on 5 February 1734 in Bridgetown, Barbados, the second son of Samuel Clayton who died within the year, and of his wife, Thomasine Wittewonge. His father was of Irish descent, and his mother was the heiress to a family...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 20, 2015
Sir Benjamin Caldwell 1739-1820. He was born in Liverpool on 31 January 1739, the third son of Charles Caldwell, a solicitor to the Customs in Dublin, and of his wife Elizabeth Heywood. In 1753 Caldwell entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth, and in 1756 joined...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 20, 2015
Sir George Collier 1738-95. Of humble origins, he was born the son of George Collier in London on 11 May 1738, and was the father of Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Augustus Collier. Collier entered the navy in 1751, undergoing his initial service in home waters and with...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 19, 2015
Sir Roger Curtis 1746-1816. He was born on 4 June 1746 at Downton, Wiltshire, the only son of a wealthy tradesman and farmer, Roger Curtis, and of his wife Christabella Blachford. In 1762 Curtis entered the Navy upon the Royal Sovereign 100, Captain Robert Hathorn,...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 18, 2015
Tobias Caulfield 1740-1781. Caulfield was commissioned lieutenant on 20 July 1759, and was wounded when serving aboard the Bristol 50, Captain John Morris, flying the broad pennant of Commodore Sir Peter Parker at the unsuccessful attack on Charleston on 28 June 1776...
