Shuldham Peard Shuldham Peard ( 1761 – 27 December 1832 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy . He rose to the rank of vice - admiral after seeing service in the American War of Independence , and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . He was the father of John Whitehead Peard , who was known as ' Garibaldi ' s Englishman ' . Family and early life . Shuldham Peard was born at Penryn , Cornwall in 1761 , the third son of Captain George Peard . Shuldham was baptised at St Gluvias on 29 October . At the age of ten he was entered on the books of , and afterwards on those of , as an able seaman . He probably first went afloat in 1776 , in the 64 - gun , with Captain Mark Robinson ; he was afterwards in with Captain William Parker , and in with Captain John Gell on the Newfoundland station . In 1779 , having been sent away in command of a prize , he was taken prisoner and carried into Cadiz . On his return to England he passed his examination on 6 April 1780 , and on 26 April was promoted to the rank of lieutenant . In June 1780 he was appointed to the 74 - gun , one of the ships of the Channel Fleet , and continued in her until February 1782 , taking part in the relief of Gibraltar in April 1781 . From 1785 to 1790 he was in the 74 - gun , the guardship at Plymouth ; in 1790 – 1 , during the Spanish armament , he was in , flagship of Rear - Admiral William Hotham , at Portsmouth , and was again in the " Carnatic " in 1791 – 2 . In January 1793 , after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars he joined Hotham ' s new flagship , the 100 - gun , and went out to the Mediterranean with him . On 30 January 1795 Peard was promoted to command the sloop . Command . On 5 May he was posted to , and in July was appointed to the " Britannia " as second captain . From her , in January 1796 , he was moved into the 98 - gun , which he still commanded on 18 January 1797 , when , as the fleet was leaving Lisbon , she ran aground , had to cut away her masts , and was left behind disabled , while the fleet went on to fight the battle of Cape St . Vincent . The ship afterwards rejoined the flag off Cadiz , and was still there in the beginning of July , when a violent mutiny broke out on board . Peard , with his own hands , assisted by the first lieutenant , seized two of the ringleaders , dragged them out of the crowd , and had them put in irons . His daring and resolute conduct struck terror into the rest , and they returned to their duty ; but the two men were promptly tried , convicted , and hanged on 8 – 9 July . Of Peard ' s conduct on this occasion St . Vincent thought very highly , and many years afterwards wrote , ‘ his merit in facing the mutiny on board the St . George ought never to be forgotten or unrewarded ’ . In March 1799 Peard commissioned the frigate for the Mediterranean , and on his way out , when off Lisbon , fell in with and was chased by the Brest fleet . He , however , made good his escape , and joined Lord Keith off Cadiz on 3 May , in time to warn him of the approaching danger . In the following February the " Success " formed part of the squadron employed in the blockade of Malta , and on the 18th , at the Battle of the Malta Convoy , had a large share in the capture of the " Généreux " , hampering her movements as she tried to escape , and raking her several times . On 9 February 1801 the " Success " was lying at Gibraltar , when a strong French squadron , under Rear - Admiral Honoré Ganteaume , passed through the Straits of Gibraltar . Peard conjectured — as was the fact — that they were bound for Egypt , and thinking that Keith ought to have warning of their presence in the Mediterranean , he immediately followed , hoping to pass them on the way . He fell in with them off Cape Gata , but was prevented by calms and variable winds from passing , and , after a chase of three days , was overtaken and captured . From the prisoners Ganteaume learned that the route to Egypt might be full of danger to himself , and turned aside to Toulon , whence Peard and his men were at once sent in a cartel to Port Mahon . On his return to England he was appointed in June to , in which he joined the squadron at Gibraltar under Sir James Saumarez , and took part in the actions at Algeciras on 6 July , and in the Straits on the night of the 12th . The " Audacious " was afterwards sent to the West Indies , and was paid off in October 1802 . In 1803 and during the Napoleonic Wars Peard commanded the sea fencibles on the coast of Cornwall . Flag rank and later life . On 5 July 1814 he was superannuated as a rear - admiral , but was restored to the active list on 5 July 1827 , advanced to be vice - admiral on 22 July 1830 , and died at Barton Place , near Exeter , on 27 December 1832 . He left two sons , of whom the elder , George , died , a captain in the navy , in 1837 ; the younger , John Whitehead , became famous as " Garibaldi ' s Englishman " .