page_title: Sir William Martin, 4th Baronet
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Sir William Martin, 4th Baronet / Early career
context_page_description: Admiral Sir William Fanshawe Martin, 4th Baronet, GCB, was a Royal Navy officer. As a commander, he provided valuable support to British merchants at Callao in Peru in the early 1820s during the Peruvian War of Independence. He became First Naval Lord in the Second Derby–Disraeli ministry in March 1858 and in that capacity acted as a strong advocate for the procurement of Britain's first ironclad warship. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and in that role provided important assistance during the Italian disturbances in 1860 and 1861, reformed the system of discipline in his fleet and developed a comprehensive system of manoeuvres for steam ships.
context_section_description: Born the eldest son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Martin (a former Controller of the Navy) and Catherine Martin (daughter of Captain Robert Fanshawe RN), Martin joined the Royal Navy in June 1813. He had two brothers, one of whom became Admiral Sir Henry Martin. He joined the fifth-rate HMS Alceste on the East Indies Station in January 1816 after which he transferred to the yacht HMS Prince Regent in 1820 and then to the fifth-rate HMS Glasgow in the Mediterranean Fleet. Promoted to lieutenant on 15 December 1820, he joined the fifth-rate HMS Forte and then the fifth-rate HMS Aurora on the South America Station. Promoted to commander on 8 February 1823, he was given command of the sloop HMS Fly on the South America Station and, in her, provided valuable support to British merchants at Callao in Peru during the Peruvian War of Independence.
  Promoted to captain on 5 June 1824, Martin took command of the sixth-rate HMS Samarang in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1826 and then went onto half-pay in 1831. He took command of the first-rate HMS Queen at Sheerness in July 1844 and then the first-rate HMS Trafalgar at Sheerness in January 1845 and finally the first-rate HMS Prince Regent in the Channel Squadron in December 1847. He went on to be commodore commanding the Channel Squadron with his broad pennant in HMS Prince Regent in December 1849.
caption: The first-rate HMS Queen which Martin commanded
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