page_title: William Hotham (Royal Navy officer, born 1772)
section_title: Camperdown and the Cape of Good Hope
hierarchical_section_title: William Hotham (Royal Navy officer, born 1772) / French Revolutionary Wars and first commands / Camperdown and the Cape of Good Hope
context_page_description: Sir William Hotham GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
  Born into a military family Hotham joined the navy as a captain's servant and able seaman, rising through the ranks with service in the Caribbean and Newfoundland. A lieutenant by the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793, Hotham served initially in the Mediterranean, and had been promoted to his first command by 1794. He saw action with his uncle Lord Hotham's fleet at the Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795, after which he returned home, taking command of the 50-gun HMS Adamant shortly before the mutiny at the Nore. His ship and Admiral Adam Duncan's flagship were the only two deckers to remain loyal, and the only two ships left to enforce the blockade of the Dutch coast. Despite their severe disadvantage in numbers, Hotham and Admiral Duncan were able to trick the Dutch to stay in port through use of false signals. After this, Hotham continued to serve with Duncan in the North Sea, and took part in his victory at the Battle of Camperdown in October 1797.
context_section_description: Hotham remained with Duncan's fleet and on 11 October 1797 was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown. He subsequently received the Naval Gold Medal for his part in the battle.  Adamant was then attached to Sir Richard Strachan's squadron patrolling off Le Havre, after which she and Hotham were sent to the Cape of Good Hope, where he remained for the next three years. On 11 December 1799 Hotham was sailing off Port Louis, Mauritius, in company with Captain John Osborn's 74-gun HMS Tremendous when they encountered the 44-gun French frigate Preneuse, under the command of Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite. They chased her, forcing her to run ashore three miles from Port Louis, under the cover of French shore batteries. Hotham took Adamant in close, and tried to work up to the grounded frigate, coming under heavy fire from the batteries and the Preneuse as he did so. After a period of exchanging fire, the Adamant forced the French frigate to strike, and that evening three boats carrying men from Adamant and Tremendous approached with orders to destroy the French vessel. Despite coming under heavy fire from the batteries, they boarded the ship, captured the remaining French crew, including Captain l'Hermite, and removed as much of their captives' private property, they set fire to the Preneuse and returned to their ships without the loss of a single man at the Battle of Port Louis.
  Hotham remained off South Africa and in the Indian Ocean until being recalled to Britain as an escort for a convoy in September 1801, returning on 14 December 1801. The Peace of Amiens left him without a ship, but the resumption of hostilities in 1803 led to his return to active service at sea.
caption: The Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 by Thomas Whitcombe
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