# Royal Naval Biography/Hamilton, Edward

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SIR EDWARD HAMILTON, Bart. Rear-Admiral of the Blue; Knight Commander of the most honorable Military Order of the Bath; and a Knight by Patent under the Great Seal.
This officer, whose family pedigree has already been given in our memoir of his brother, Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, Bart., is the second son and youngest child of the late Sir John Hamilton, Bart., Captain R.N.; was born March 12, 1772, and may be truly called a son of Neptune, having first gone to sea at the age of seven years, with his father, who then commanded the Hector, of 74 guns, in which ship, and in the Ramillies of the same force, (Captain J. Moutray) he served on the West India station till 1781, during which time he was in one general action with the French fleet, and experienced the dreadful hurricane of 1780. On the return of peace, he was sent to the Royal Grammar School at Guildford, where he continued for a period of three years. In 1787, he went again to sea to complete his time as a Midshipman, and served until 1790 in the West Indies. At the period of the Spanish armament, we find him on board the Melampus frigate, commanded by the present Sir Charles Morice Pole, and stationed in the Channel. During the subsequent dispute with Russia, he served in the Victory, a first rate, bearing the flag of Lord Hood, who had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of a squadron destined for the Baltic. When this armament was dismantled, Mr. Hamilton went over to the University of Caen, in Lower Normandy, and afterwards travelled through part of France, visiting all the sea-ports along the coast. Soon after his return to England, he proceeded to Portugal, and visited all the ports in that kingdom. While he was thus acquiring a competent knowledge of foreign languages, he did not omit making such nautical observations, as might on a future emergency be of essential benefit to himself and his country.
​At the commencement of hostilities against the French republic in 1793, Mr. Hamilton joined Earl Howe’s flagship, the Queen Charlotte; and from her was appointed a Lieutenant of the Dido frigate, commanded by his brother. In the course of the same year, the Dido being on a cruise off Norway, fell in with, and drove on shore, a French brig privateer, of 13 guns and 45 men. Sir Charles, confiding in that arduous spirit of enterprise which his brother had on every occasion manifested, sent him in a boat with only 8 men to take possession of her, which he succeeded in doing after a trivial opposition from her crew, who had been obliged to land before they could carry their intention of burning her into effect. He then landed, and after some resistance, compelled 13 of the Frenchmen to surrender, whom he brought off in triumph to the frigate.
The Dido being afterwards attached to the fleet under Lord Hood, in the Mediterranean, Lieutenant Hamilton was employed on shore at the reduction of Bastia, in Corsica, and afterwards commanded a party of British and Corsicans at the siege of Girilotte, a strong post near Calvi, against which he erected batteries within point-blank shot, and kept up an incessant fire until the enemy surrendered.
After performing this service, Mr. Hamilton was received by the Commander-in-Chief on board his flag-ship, the Victory, of which he soon became first Lieutenant. His advancement to the rank of Commander did not, however, take place so soon as he had reason to expect, Lord Hood being obliged to return to England for the re-establishment of his health. On the contrary, when that nobleman was unexpectedly ordered to strike his flag, in May 1705, Mr. Hamilton had the mortification to find himself reduced to be junior Lieutenant of the Victory; and thus all his hopes of promotion for a time vanished.
Immediately after this event, the Victory was again ordered to the Mediterranean, where she arrived in time to take an ​active part in the action of July 13, 1795, on which occasion she carried the flag of Rear-Admiral Mann, and, with a few other ships of the van-division, bore the brunt of the enemy’s fire, the centre and rear not being able to get up, owing to vexatious calms and baffling winds.
Towards the latter end of the same year Sir John Jervis hoisted his flag on board the Victory; and in January following, Lieutenant Hamilton was promoted to the rank of Commander, in the Comet fire-ship. In that vessel he was sent to the West Indies, where he served upwards of twelve months, without any opportunity to signalize himself. Having returned to Lisbon with despatches, he was there posted, June 3, 1797, into the San Josef, of 110 guns, from which ship he exchanged into the Surprise, a small frigate, mounting twenty-four 32-pounders, and eight 18-pounders (carronades) with a complement of 197 men . From this period till the conclusion of the year, he was employed in escorting the trade to and from Newfoundland.
In July 1798, Captain Hamilton was ordered to convoy a fleet to Jamaica, where he arrived with his charge on the 3d Oct. He continued on that station till Jan. 20, 1800, and during that time was constantly engaged in the most active and hazardous services. The annoyance he gave to the enemy will readily be conceived when we state that he captured, burnt, or otherwise destroyed, upwards of eighty armed vessels and merchantmen; and that those which he preserved were sold for no less a sum than 200,000 pounds currency. At one time he chased a privateer and her prize into Laguna, on the north side of Cuba; and after having effected their destruction, was two days and nights in constant action with the batteries, the baffling winds and light airs preventing his clearing the port.
His achievement in boarding and cutting out the Hermione, of 44 guns, and manned with nearly 400 Spaniards, from the harbour of Porto Cabello, though surrounded by ​200 pieces of cannon mounted on the batteries, stands unparalleled in our naval annals, as combining the most judicious disposition of attack with the most daring gallantry; and as we cannot be too minute in transmitting to posterity every particular relative to such glorious deeds of enterprise, we think it will be gratifying to our readers to blend in our narrative of this exploit many authentic and interesting facts, that do not appear in any of the official accounts that were published.
Towards the latter end of Oct. 1799, Captain Hamilton having received orders from Sir Hyde Parker, to cruise between the island of Aruba and Cape St. Roman, near the Gulf of Maracaybo, for the ship in question, which from information was said to be on the point of sailing for the Havannah through that channel, he immediately proceeded off Porto Cabello, and found the intelligence that had been received in every particular correct.
Notwithstanding the Hermione was moored head and stern between two very strong batteries at the entrance of the harbour, the honor of his country and the glory of the British navy were (as he emphatically expresses himself,) great inducements for him to make an attempt to cut her out. Accordingly, on the morning of the 25th Oct., after spending two days in reconnoitring and arranging his plan, he proceeded to the attack with a chosen band of 100 men.
Being discovered by two Spanish guard-boats, at the distance of three-quarters of a mile, the frigate had time to prepare for the encounter, and to discharge both her main-deck and forecastle guns, which were considerably depressed, and pointed to a centre. Two of the English boats, in the confusion, ran foul of the guard-boats, each mounting a long 12-pounder; but after some scuffle, and considerable delay, cleared themselves, and united in the attack. Captain Hamilton, with the Gunner, and 8 or 10 men from his boat, got first on board, and took possession of the forecastle without much resistance. The gig got up on the larboard bow, and came to the assistance of the Captain, under the command of the Surgeon, Mr. M‘Mullen; the black cutter, commanded by a Lieutenant, was beaten off, and could not board on either gangway. The red cutter, under the orders ​of the Boatswain, shared the same fate. The first Lieutenant was to have had the direction of cutting the bower cable, in the launch; and the jolly-boat, under the direction of the Carpenter, the stern cable; these boats had, besides their proper crews, (who were not to move out of them, but immediately to go a-head and take the ship in tow) as many boarders as they could stow.
Advancing aft, with an intention of getting to the general rendezvous, the quarter-deck, Captain Hamilton met with a furious opposition; and having several of his people wounded, he left the Gunner with about 12 men in charge of the starboard gangway, whilst with the Surgeon’s party, he himself proceeded by the opposite side to the quarter-deck, and thus placed the enemy between the boarding parties. The quarter-deck was now most obstinately disputed (principally by the Spanish officers), for upwards of a quarter of an hour, and a dreadful carnage took place. Great numbers of the enemy were killed; some got down the after-ladder, and others jumped overboard; and in this part of the affair it was that Captain Hamilton received several wounds, to be hereafter noticed. The first Lieutenant had by this time boarded, and shortly after the acting Lieutenant of Marines, with his small party; and the cables being now cut, the boats under the direction of the second Lieutenant, went a-head, and with their hook-ropes took the ship in tow. The hands that were stationed for that purpose had let fall the fore and mtzen topsails, and every boat and man betook themselves, in conformity with the order and arrangements made prior to the attack, to the different services allotted to them.
Immediately after the quarter-deck was taken possession of, and the force of the assailants increased by the marines and others who had boarded from different boats, no time was lost in making an attack upon the main-deck; for which purpose the marine officer, Mons. de la Tour du Pin, and Surgeon, (Captain Hamilton, and Mr. Maxwell the Gunner, being at this time too badly wounded to make a part of the number,) followed the Spaniards down the after-ladder so immediately that they had not time to make any regular ​defence; and the constant fire which was kept up from those who remained upon deck, enabled those officers to carry their point after a most dreadful slaughter. The firing that was kept up on board by both parties, made it uncertain to those on shore who had possession of the ship; consequently they did not know when to begin their fire; and before the batteries opened, the Hermione, by means of the boats towing, and the sails, had considerably increased her distance from the shore. The forts commenced a tremendous cannonade nearly at the same instant; but the lightness of the wind prevented them from pointing their guns direct to the object, the smoke not clearing away for a considerable time after the discharge. Several shot struck the Hermione; one, a 24-pounder, passing through her under-water, obliged the captors to rig the pumps immediately, and it was with difficulty the leak was kept under by heeling the ship. The main and spring stays were both shot away; and there being a great headswell, the mast was with difficulty secured. When the ship had been towed out of gun-shot of the batteries, the boats were called alongside; then, and not until then, had any of those people put their feet on board, being constantly employed towing, and greatly exposed to the enemy’s fire. At noon on the same day, the whole of the prisoners were put into an American schooner, to be landed at Porto Cabello.
The future historian might doubt the credibility of the fact, were it not so well authenticated, that on this memorable occasion the assailants had no more than 1 officer, Mr. John Busey, acting Lieutenant, killed, and 12 officers and men wounded. Amongst the latter number was Captain Hamilton, who, besides a tremendous blow from the butt-end of a musket, which broke over his head and knocked him down senseless on the deck, received a severe wound by the cut of a sabre on the left thigh, another by a pike in the right thigh, and a contusion on the right shin bone by a grapeshot; one of his fingers was much cut, and his loins and kidneys so much bruised as at times to require the highest medical advice and assistance; it is also to be lamented, that he still occasionally suffers considerable pain from these last bruises.
As generosity and humanity are generally allied to true courage and magnanimity, we cannot resist in this place ​giving a trait of our officer’s conduct in this respect. He rewarded the seamen who so much distinguished themselves on the above occasion, by dividing amongst them no less a sum than 500l. of his own share of prize-money; thus setting a noble example of valor and liberality, which has ever its due influence on the minds and hearts of British seamen.
Captain Hamilton’s extraordinary gallantry and ability made a deep impression on the public mind. His late Majesty, as a token of approbation, was graciously pleased to create him a Knight, by letters patent under the Great Seal, and honored him with the naval gold medal of Merit. The House of Assembly voted him a sword value 300 guineas, and the Common Council of London the freedom of that city.
In the month of April, 1800, Sir Edward Hamilton, returning home in the Jamaica packet, for the cure of his wounds, was captured by a privateer, and carried into a French port; from whence he was sent to Paris, where he remained six weeks, and was taken particular notice of by Buonaparte, who at length agreed to his being exchanged for six Midshipmen.
On the 25th Oct. 1800, being the anniversary of the abovementioned exploit, Sir Edward, by special invitation, dined at the Mansion House; and the Chamberlain of London having delivered to him the freedom of the city in a gold box value 50 guineas, communicated to him in a very appropriate speech, the thanks of the Corporation for his conduct in an action which, to use the language of his Commander-in-Chief, Sir Hyde Parker, “must ever rank among the foremost of the gallant actions executed by our Navy.”
About this period, Earl Spencer, then at the head of the Admiralty, in consideration of the number and severity of Sir Edward Hamilton’s wounds, gave directions for a pension of 300l. per annum to be settled on him for life; but our officer’s near relative, the late Marquis of Abercorn, ​recommended him by no means to accept it; stating as a reason, that he had already enriched himself by prize-money; and that it might be made an excuse for not employing him actively. A short time after, Admiral Lord Hood, who ever had the interest of the navy at heart, called at his former Lieutenant’s house, and finding him at home, said, “Sir Edward, I hear you have refused a pension for your wounds, and in doing so, I think you have done an injustice to the service; for recollect, that other officers may not have had the good fortune which you have met with; and this will be a precedent for refusing pensions to those who may be similarly wounded, without losing a limb.” Sir Edward’s reply was strictly in unison with his well-known character: “My Lord, I have applied again for service, and I am more desirous of putting into execution a plan I have given in to Lord Spencer, than receiving a pension.” Here the conversation ended, and his Lordship took leave. Shortly after this, in an interview with Earl Spencer, that nobleman offered Sir Edward an addition to his armorial bearings, which he also declined. The Earl then expressed his regret that Sir Edward’s standing on the list of Post-Captains would not admit of his soliciting higher honors for him.
Our officer’s next appointment was to the Trent, a fine 36-gun frigate, in which he continued during the remainder of the war, occasionally commanding a small squadron employed in the blockade of Havre de Grace, Cherbourgh, and St. Maloes. Whilst on that service, he captured and destroyed several of the enemy’s privateers and merchantmen, and completely stopped the coasting trade on the northern shores of France.
On the 3d April, 1801, Sir Edward Hamilton discovered a large ship under the protection of two armed vessels, proceed from Brehat to Plampoul, and immediately despatched the Trent’s boats to attack them. The armed vessels, after sustaining a severe conflict, supported by an incessant fire from five batteries, were driven on the rocks, and destroyed. The ship was taken possession of in the most spirited manner, and found to be laden principally with corn. Two Frenchmen were lying dead on her decks, and several were drowned; the remainder effected their escape.
In the execution of this service, the Trent had but one ​man killed; this was her Captain’s coxswain, whose aged mother was afterwards placed in the workhouse of Mary-le-bone parish, and during the remainder of her life, allowed by Sir Edward half-a-crown per week to procure tea and sugar. She died about 1814. The only person wounded was Lieutenant Taite, of the Marines, who lost his right leg, and to whom, on the salvage money for the re-capture being paid, Sir Edward presented 100 guineas (one moiety of his own share), for the purchase of a sword. With the other half he bought a chronometer for his first Lieutenant, Mr. George Chamberlayne, who had conducted the enterprise.
During the greater part of the late war, the subject of this memoir commanded the Mary yacht. He was nominated a K.C.B. Jan. 2, 1815; appointed to the Prince Regent yacht, Dec. 7, in the same year; and created a Baronet of Great Britain, as a reward for his meritorious services, Dec. 8, 1818. His advancement to the rank of Rear-Admiral took place July 19, 1821.
Sir Edward Hamilton married, in Nov. 1804, a daughter of John Macnamara, of Langoed Castle, co. Brecon, Esq. and niece to Rear-Admiral James Macnamara, by whom he has issue.
Country-seat.– Trebinsharn House, Breconshire, South Wales.
Town Residence.– 38, Nottingham Place.
* ↑ In addition to the insignia of K.C.B. Sir Edward wears the naval medal of merit.
* ↑ For the information of our non-professional readers, it is necessary to observe that a Commander-in-Chief may appoint the junior commissioned officer, or any other, to be the first Lieutenant of the ship in which his flag is hoisted; but in private ships Lieutenants must take rank according to the seniority of their commissions.
* ↑ See p 159.
* ↑ The Surprise had been the French corvette Unite, taken in 1796. She was unique, in having a 36-gun ship’s main-mast, with the fore and mizen-masts of a 28. This was a plan of Captain Hamilton’s, and she appears not to have been complained of as a sailer.
* ↑ According to the plan of attack, six men were assigned to loose the above-mentioned sails; four to the former, two to the latter.
* ↑ Soon after the above brilliant affair, and subsequent to Captain Hamilton’s departure for England, a seaman who had belonged to his boat’s crew was taken up as a deserter from the Swallow sloop of war, and tried by a Court-Martial. At his trial it appeared in evidence that he had saved his gallant leader’s life, when lying on the Hermione’s quarter-deck disarmed. The Court, considering the mitigating circumstance in his favor, thought proper to recommend him to mercy; and the sentence of three hundred lashes, ordered to he inflicted, was remitted.
addenda to flag-officers
SIR EDWARD HAMILTON, Bart. K.C.B. Rear-Admiral of the Red. (Vol. I. Part II. p. 829.)
On the 22d Jan. 1802, a court-martial assembled on board the Gladiator 44, in Portsmouth harbour, to try Sir Edward Hamilton, then captain of the Trent frigate, for seizing his gunner, Mr. William Bowman, up in the main rigging, on the 11th of that month.
The first lieutenant of the Trent stated in his evidence, that Sir Edward, on going out of the ship, between nine and ten o’clock in the forenoon, gave very particular orders to have the guns and carronades on the quarter-deck cleaned, which orders he repeated to the gunner; that Sir Edward returned about eleven o’clock, swore his orders had not been complied with, called the gunner a d__d old rascal, and instantly ordered him and his whole crew to be seized up in the rigging. The witness further stated, that the guns, carriages, &c. appeared to him to have been remarkably well cleaned. A rope-yarn, or part of a swab, lay on the muzzle of one carronade; the carriage of another was marked by the feet of the top-men ascending the shrouds, which he explained to Sir Edward, but to no purpose. These facts were corroborated by other officers and the quarter-master of the watch. It appeared that the gunner, an elderly man with a family, remained seized up about an hour and a half, and requested the surgeon, who was walking the quarter-deck, to represent to Sir Edward, that if he was not taken down he should faint:– that, in consequence of the surgeon’s representation, he was taken down and brought aft, where he actually fainted; that he requested Sir Edward repeatedly, if culpable, to try him by a court-martial, and, in pity to his age and infirmities, not to seize him up. This ​transaction took place during frosty weather. The gunner’s crew were kept up in the rigging until half-past three in the afternoon.
Sir Edward Hamilton, in his defence, said, that motives of humanity had often restrained him from bringing the gunner to a court-martial for repeated intoxication, as he had a family, and was an old man; that he had not the least intention to hurt him; and that the punishment was ordered in the heat of violent passion, in consequence of the gunner having disobeyed his orders. After maturely and considerately weighing the whole of the evidence, as well as Sir Edward Hamilton’s defence, the Court were of opinion that the charge had been proved, and therefore sentenced him to be dismissed his Majesty’s service. Sir Edward was restored to his former rank in June 1802.