Sir Thomas Pasley , 1st Baronet Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley , 1st Baronet ( 2 March 1734 – 29 November 1808 ) was a senior and highly - experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century , who served with distinction at numerous actions of the Seven Years War , American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary Wars . In his youth he was renowned as an efficient and able frigate officer and in later life became a highly respected squadron commander in the Channel Fleet . It was during the latter service when he was awarded his baronetcy after losing a leg at the Glorious First of June , aged 60 . Early career . Thomas Pasley was born in 1734 to James Pasley ( 1695 - 1773 ) , of Craig , Dumfries and his wife Magdalene , daughter of Robert Elliott , of Middlehomehill , Roxburghshire . Thomas was the fifth of the eleven Pasley children , a family of minor landowners in the village of Craig , near Langholm , Dumfriesshire . He was the brother of Gilbert Pasley ( 1733 – 1781 ) , Surgeon - General of Madras , and Margaret , mother of Sir John Malcolm . Gilbert ' s daughter , Eliza , married Sir Robert Campbell ( 1771 – 1858 ) 1st Bt . , of Carrick Buoy , Co . Donegal , a director of the East India Company and a commissioner for the lieutenancy of London . Thomas entered the Royal Navy in 1751 aged 16 , and served as a midshipman aboard the sixth - rate frigate HMS " Garland " . Pasley ' s first captain was Maurice Suckling , who commanded him in the sloop HMS " Weazel " off Jamaica . Pasley later moved to the ship of the line HMS " Dreadnought " under Robert Digby , who was impressed enough with the young officer to bring him along when Digby was transferred to HMS " Bideford " in 1757 . Seven Years War . On " Bideford " , Pasley served as temporary lieutenant on a bullion convoy operation from the West Indies to Britain . As the Seven Years War had broken out the year before , the mission to carry £3 , 000 across the Atlantic was dangerous , but " Bideford " crossed safely and Pasley personally escorted the gold to London , being officially promoted to lieutenant shortly afterwards . Pasley continued to serve with Digby after his promotion , joining the ship of the line HMS " Dunkirk " on the Siege of Rochefort , when a British combined naval and land force failed disastrously to capture the strategic French port . Pasley took his first solo command later in the year with the small fireship HMS " Roman Emperor " , but he soon requested service on a bigger ship , joining his cousin John Elliot , who was captain of the frigate HMS " Hussar " . In November , Elliot used his small ship to destroy the 50 - gun French fourth - rate " Alcyon " , and in early 1758 he captured the French privateer " Vengeance " . The two officers later moved to the larger frigate HMS " Aeolus " and in 1759 captured the corvette " Mignonne " from within Brest Roads . In 1760 , " Aeolus " was blown off course during blockade duties off France and put in to reprovision at Kinsale . There Elliot heard a rumour of a French invasion force landing at Carrickfergus and put to sea in the hope of intercepting the enemy squadron . " Aeolus " was joined by HMS " Brilliant " and HMS " Pallas " and the three frigates attacked the French squadron under François Thurot off the Isle of Man . In a sharp encounter , all three French ships were lost , Pasley leading the charge aboard Thurot ' s flagship " Marischal de Belle Isle " which captured the vessel and during which Thurot was killed . Pasley became first lieutenant as a result of this action and spent the remained of the war on " Aeolus " in the English Channel and subsequently off the Spanish coast on commerce raiding activities . In 1762 , with the war coming to a close , Pasley was made commander and given the small ship HMS " Albany " with which to convoy merchant ships across the Irish Sea . At the pace in 1763 he retained this duty in the 8 - gun HMS " Ranger " and was also employed in seizing smugglers between the islands . In 1769 , Pasley joined HMS " Weazel " which was tasked with transporting structural engineers to the Guinea coast . Arriving in the worst of the wet season , " Weazel " soon became infested with malaria and all four engineers and the majority of the crew succumbed and died in a short period . So depleted was " Weazel ' s " crew that Pasley was forced to impress sailors from West African merchant ships in order to return to Britain safely . American Revolutionary War . After briefly serving on HMS " Pomona " in 1771 , Pasley was promoted to post captain and took command of HMS " Seahorse " in the West Indies . In 1772 he returned to Britain on half - pay and married Mary Heywood , daughter of the chief justice of the Isle of Man . The marriage was a love match and the couple had two daughters . Pasley remained on half - pay until the American Revolutionary War in 1776 , when he was given command of the sloop HMS " Glasgow " . Pasley ' s first duty was escorting a convoy to the West Indies , which he did swiftly and successfully , his wife being presented with plate in reward for his services . He remained on the Jamaica station for the next two years , capturing numerous enemy ships and making a substantial amount in prize money . He returned in 1778 and was placed in command of the half finished HMS " Sybil " , which was launched in 1779 . In her he cruised off Cape St Vincent and later guided a convoy to Newfoundland and a second one back safely . In 1780 he sailed for the Cape of Good Hope and brought back all the documentation and several survivors from Captain James Cook ' s expedition to the Pacific , including Nathaniel Portlock . For these services , Pasley was given the 50 - gun HMS " Jupiter " and in her served in several squadrons and actions , fighting the French at the Battle of Porto Praya under George Johnstone and the Dutch at the Battle of Saldanha Bay ( 1781 ) . On both occasions Pasley was directly responsible for destroying numerous enemy war and merchant ships . In 1782 he convoyed Admiral Hugh Pigot to the West Indies and then cruised off Havana , destroying seven merchants from a convoy and then driving off two Spanish ships of the line when the tried to intervene . At the war ' s conclusion in 1783 , " Jupiter " was paid off and Pasley returned to half - pay . French Revolutionary Wars . In 1788 , Pasley ' s wife died and he rejoined the service as commander in chief at the Medway . Pasley served in HMS " Vengeance " and HMS " Bellerophon " until in 1794 at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars , he was made rear - admiral . Remaining in " Bellerophon " , Pasley commanded the van squadron of the British fleet during the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and led the action on 28 May . Further engaged on 29 May , Pasley was seriously wounded in the general action of the Glorious First of June when Lord Howe ' s fleet defeated Villaret de Joyeuse ' s French . Pasley ' s leg was torn off by cannon shot and he retired below early in the action . his life being saved by emergency surgery . Pasley did not serve in a seagoing capacity again , but was rewarded with promotion , over £1 , 500 worth of gifts , a baronetcy and numerous other awards . He was later promoted again , and became Commander - in - Chief , The Nore in 1798 . In March 1799 he became Commander - in - Chief , Plymouth , but his age and wound prevented active service and he retired in 1801 as a full admiral . Pasley died in 1808 at his estate near Winchester of dropsy . Although he had no male heirs , his baronetcy and estate were passed by special provision to his grandson Thomas Sabine Pasley , later an admiral in his own right .