Lawrence Halsted Sir Lawrence William Halsted GCB ( 2 April 1764 – 22 April 1841 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Halsted was the son of a naval officer and served with his father during the first years of the war in America . After his father ' s death he served under Captain Richard Onslow and was present at the engagements with the Comte d ' Estaing and the Comte de Grasse in the West Indies and off the coast of North America . He survived various battles and a hurricane in the Atlantic in 1782 , and by the end of the wars had risen to lieutenant . He received his first independent commands while serving in the East Indies in the inter - war years , and after spending time as a flag captain during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars , moved on to command a number of frigates . Halsted went on to achieve particular success aboard , and was rewarded with command of a squadron . Ships under his overall command captured two Dutch ships and destroyed several others in the North Sea in 1796 , and after a successful period against privateer s off Ireland , he moved to the Mediterranean . Here he helped to capture or destroy several French frigates , and by 1805 had command of a ship of the line . He took part in the defeat of a French squadron that had escaped Trafalgar at the Battle of Cape Ortegal , before serving as a captain of the fleet to Vice - Admiral Sir Charles Cotton . Halsted was soon advanced to flag rank himself , and served as commander in chief in the West Indies while a vice - admiral . After a long and distinguished career , Lawrence Halsted died in 1841 with the rank of admiral of the blue . Family and early life . Halsted was born in Gosport on 2 April 1764 , the son of naval officer Captain William Anthony Halsted , and his wife Mary , " née " Frankland . Three of Lawrence ' s brothers had naval careers ; Charles Halsted became a lieutenant and was lost with in 1780 , John Halsted became a captain , and George Halsted rose to be a commander . The elder Halsted was appointed commander of the former 60 - gun in March 1776 . " Jersey " had been fitted out as a hospital ship and assigned to Lord Howe ' s fleet for service off North America , and Halsted took his son with him as a midshipman . Lawrence served with his father for the next two years , and participated in a number of naval operations along the American coast before his transfer into Captain Richard Onslow ' s 64 - gun on 25 May 1778 . Halsted ' s father died shortly after this , but Onslow took on the role of patron , and the two sailed to the West Indies with Commodore William Hotham ' s squadron to join Admiral Samuel Barrington . Halsted was aboard " St Alban " s during Barrington ' s clashes with the Comte d ' Estaing including at St Lucia on 15 December 1778 before his ship was ordered back to England with a convoy . " St Albans " was paid off shortly after her arrival , and her crew were transferred to the 74 - gun . Halsted was rated master ' s mate during his time on the " Bellona " , and was present at the battle with the 54 - gun Dutch ship " Princess Caroline " on 30 December 1780 . The " Princess Caroline " was captured and taken into the Royal Navy as . Lawrence ' s good service was rewarded with his lieutenant ' s commission dated 8 December 1781 and an appointment to the newly commissioned " Princess Caroline " , now under Captain Hugh Bromedge . Lieutenancy . " Princess Caroline " went out to the West Indies as a convoy escort , after which Halsted moved aboard the 74 - gun under Captain the Honourable William Cornwallis . With Cornwallis , Halsted saw action at the Battle of the Saintes on 9 – 12 April 1782 , during which battle " Canada " was heavily engaged with the French " Ville de Paris " , flagship of the Comte de Grasse . " Ville de Paris " was captured by the British and " Canada " was one of the ships assigned to escort a convoy of captured French ships and damaged British ships back to Britain . The ships were caught in a hurricane during the voyage across the Atlantic , and the " Ville de Paris " and foundered , while had to be abandoned and burnt . " Canada " survived the storm and made it back to England to be paid off in January 1783 . Halsted ' s next appointment was to the 74 - gun , still serving under Captain Cornwallis . He remained aboard " Ganges " for the next five years , with " Ganges " initially employed as a guardship , before moving to Gibraltar and finally paying off in December 1787 . Halsted now entered a brief period of unemployment , which lasted until 18 November 1788 when he joined Cornwallis ' s new ship , the 64 - gun , as his first - lieutenant and went with him to the East Indies . Cornwallis was commodore in the East Indies , and after continued good service under his command , Halsted was promoted to commander on 20 October 1790 and given command of the sloop . First commands . Halsted was at first engaged in surveying off the Indian coast , before being promoted to post - captain and given command of " Crown " . He remained in " Crown " for a brief period , before resuming his command of " Atalanta " in order to complete his survey work , also using the sloop for the purpose . He returned to England aboard " Swan " in early 1793 and paid her off in May . The French Revolutionary Wars had by now broken out , and Halsted was quickly appointed as acting - captain of under Rear - Admiral John MacBride . He was soon moved aboard and remained in her until April 1794 , when he joined the 74 - gun as flag - captain to Rear - Admiral George Montagu . Halsted and Montagu took part in the naval manoeuvres of the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 , but were not directly engaged at the Glorious First of June , where the British fleet under Lord Howe defeated the French under Villaret de Joyeuse . Halsted followed Montagu when he shifted his flag to the 98 - gun , and the two served with the Channel Fleet until 1795 . Halsted was appointed to command the 32 - gun in February 1795 , and went on to serve in the Channel and in the North Sea . He took over the 36 - gun in October that year , and spent the rest of the French Revolutionary wars in command . HMS " Phoenix " . " Phoenix " and " Argo " . " Phoenix " was at first attached to the fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan , operating in the North Sea . In May 1796 news reached Duncan that a Dutch squadron consisting of the 36 - gun " Argo " and three brig s and a cutter had departed Flickerve , Norway , bound for the Texel . Duncan despatched a squadron of his own to intercept them , consisting of " Phoenix " , the 50 - gun , the 28 - gun and the brig - sloop , and under the overall command of Halsted . The Dutch were intercepted at 5am of 12 May , with " Phoenix " and " Leopard " chasing " Argo " , while " Pegasus " and " Sylph " made after the brigs . " Leopard " eventually fell some way behind , and consequently it was " Phoenix " alone which brought " Argo " to action at 8am . After twenty minutes of fighting Halsted forced " Argo " to strike her colours . " Phoenix " had suffered one man killed and three wounded , while " Argo " had six killed and 28 wounded . Meanwhile " Pegasus " and " Sylph " forced two of the brigs aground and took the small vessel accompanying the Dutch , which turned out to be a former British vessel , " Duke of York " . They then captured the third brig , the 16 - gun " Mercury " . The " Argo " and " Mercury " were both added to the Royal Navy , the " Argo " becoming while " Mercury " became . After this success Halsted was assigned to operate off the Irish coast , where he captured a number of large privateer s including the 4 - gun " Espiègle " off Waterford on 18 May 1797 , the 1 - gun " Brave " off Cape Clear on 24 April 1798 , the 20 - gun " Caroline " on 31 May 1798 , and the 20 - gun " Foudroyant " on 23 January 1799 . Mediterranean . " Phoenix " then went out to the Mediterranean and continued to be active against French privateers . On 11 February 1799 she and the fireship captured the 10 - gun " Éole " off Cape Spartel , while on 3 June 1800 " Phoenix " and took the 14 - gun " Albanaise " . The 4 - gun " Revanche " was taken on 17 June , but she capsized the following day . " Phoenix " went on to join the fleet under Rear - Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton , and Halsted was appointed to command a squadron blockading Elba . While sailing off Elba on the afternoon of 3 August Halsted ' s squadron , consisting of " Phoenix " , the 40 - gun under Captain Edward Leveson Gower and the 32 - gun under Captain Samuel James Ballard , intercepted a French convoy sailing off the west of the island . The convoy , which was bound from Porto Ercole to Porto Longone , was carrying ordnance stores and provisions , and was escorted by the 40 - gun frigate " Carrère " , herself carrying 300 barrels of gunpowder . The British gave chase , ranging up on " Carrère " shortly after 8pm and opening fire . After 10 minutes of exchanging fire with " Pomone " " Carrère " surrendered . She was subsequently taken into the navy as . " Phoenix " continued off Elba , and on 31 August was observed alone anchored off Piombino , causing French General François Watrin to order the two French frigates anchored at Leghorn the " Succès " and " Bravoure " , to put to sea to attempt to capture her . The French ships did so , but early in the morning of 2 September they came across the 38 - gun HMS " Minerve " under Captain George Cockburn , and chased her . Cockburn fled , signalling to " Phoenix " , which quickly got underway , accompanied by " Pomone " . Realising the situation the two French frigates attempted to flee , now pursued by their former quarry , " Minerve " . The " Succès " was unable to keep up with " Bravoure " , and ran aground off Vada . " Minerve " fired a shot at her as she passed by in pursuit of " Bravoure " , at which " Succès " promptly surrendered . " Pomone " ranged alongside to take possession of her , while " Phoenix " and " Minerve " chased " Bravoure " . The changing wind prevented the French vessel from regaining the safety of Leghorn , and she ran aground four miles south of the port . She was soon dismasted and wrecked . The British were able to get " Succès " off without much damage however . She had previously been , and had been captured on 13 February 1801 by a French squadron under Honoré Ganteaume . She was duly readded to the navy under her old name . Halsted remained in the Mediterranean until paying off " Phoenix " in June 1802 . He married Emma Mary Pellew , eldest daughter of Sir Edward Pellew , in 1803 . Atlantic and " Namur " . Halsted was left unemployed during the Peace of Amiens , and did not receive another command until 16 March 1805 , when he took command of , a former 90 - gun ship that had been razeed to a 74 - gun . She was assigned to Sir Richard Strachan ' s squadron , and while sailing off Cape Finisterre on 2 November , the squadron was joined by Halsted ' s old ship , " Phoenix " , now under Captain Thomas Baker . Baker reported that he had been chased by a squadron of four French ships of the line , and had lured them within range of Strachan ' s force . These four ships , under Rear - Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley , had escaped from the Franco - Spanish defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October and were making their way to Rochefort . Strachan immediately took the bulk of his force in pursuit . The British eventually closed on the fleeing French on 4 November , though " Namur " took some time to come into action . She eventually joined the British line astern of and ahead of Strachan ' s flagship . In the ensuing Battle of Cape Ortegal several frigates attacked one side of the French line , while the ships of the line engaged the other , until the French were forced to surrender . " Namur " had four men killed and eight wounded in the action . Halsted and " Namur " were then assigned to Sir John Borlase Warren ' s squadron during the Atlantic campaign of 1806 , until " Namur " was paid off in July 1807 . In December 1807 he became Captain of the Fleet to the commander of the Lisbon station , Vice - Admiral Sir Charles Cotton , serving aboard Cotton ' s flagship . The British fleet were engaged in blockading a Russian fleet under Admiral Dmitry Senyavin in the Tagus after the outbreak of the Anglo - Russian War , but the Convention of Sintra allowed them to sail to Portsmouth . Cotton moved his flag to in December 1808 , taking Halsted with him . Flag rank and later life . Halsted was promoted to rear - admiral on 31 July 1810 , advanced to vice - admiral on 4 June 1814 and was nominated Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815 . He was appointed commander - in - chief in the West Indies in December 1813 , succeeding Commodore Edward Owen in the post . Flying his flag during his time on the station aboard , he became a popular commander , and was rewarded with the thanks of the Jamaican House of Assembly and a service of plate from the merchants of the island at the end of his tenure . Halsted was promoted to admiral of the blue on 22 July 1830 and advanced to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 24 February 1837 , at the same time as being placed on the ' good service pension ' list . His wife Emma died in March 1835 , leaving behind a large family . Sir Lawrence Halsted died at Stoke , Devon in 22 April 1841 . Two of Halsted ' s sons entered service in India , while two more followed him into the navy . One of his sons , Edward Pellew Halsted , reached the rank of vice - admiral and wrote a number of books , including a study of screw - propelled naval ships entitled " The Screw - Fleet of the Navy " . His youngest son , Lieutenant Lawrence G Halsted , died at Bombay on 7 November 1847 while aboard his ship , the steam sloop .