Edward Thornbrough Admiral Sir Edward Thornbrough , GCB ( 27 July 1754 – 3 April 1834 ) was a senior , long - serving veteran officer of the British Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century . He saw action in the American Revolutionary War , the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , being wounded several times and once captured by American forces after a shipwreck . During the wreck , his conduct towards American prisoners aboard his ship was considered so exemplary that the American authorities later released him without parole or exchange . During the later conflict , Thornbrough won praise for taking his frigate into the thick of the action at the Glorious First of June , towing the shattered HMS " Bellerophon " to safety after she was isolated by several French ships of the line . Later , Thornbrough became a senior admiral in both the Channel Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet under Cuthbert Collingwood , who held him in high esteem . He retired in 1818 and settled in Devon with his third wife , dying in 1834 . Early career . Thornbrough was born in 1754 , the son of Commander Edward and Mary Thornbrough . With a father in the Navy , young Edward ' s career was destined , especially given his close proximity in his early life to the sea ; he was born on Plymouth Dock . Thornbrough joined his father at sea in 1761 , as captain ' s servant on HMS " Arrogant " , and spent two years in the Mediterranean becoming used to the sea . Aged nine in 1763 , he attended school whilst being on the books of HMS " Firm " . He returned to the sea in 1768 aboard HMS " Temeraire " with his father . The ship was commanded by Edward Le Cras . Thornbrough would later marry two of Le Cras ' s daughters . " Temeraire " was guardship at Portsmouth , and in the time of peace this was a monotonous duty . Thornbrough therefore moved around several ships to broaden his education , traveling to Gibraltar and spending time on HMS " Albion " . He moved to HMS " Captain " with his father and in 1771 they sailed for Boston . For two more years the ship acted as guardship in the American port and also provided a floating headquarters for Admiral John Montagu . Thornbrough performed a brief independent cruise in HMS " Cruizer " , but the service was otherwise uneventful and he returned to Britain with " Captain " in 1774 . American Revolutionary War . In 1775 , at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , Thornbrough returned to North America in the sloop HMS " Falcon " as second in command . " Falcon " participated in the bombardment of rebel positions during the Battle of Bunker Hill , and in August Thornbrough was badly wounded in a failed attempt to seize an American schooner from Cape Ann harbour . Invalided to Britain , Thornbrough recovered in 1776 and joined the frigate HMS " Richmond " off the Eastern Seaboard . In 1779 he was transferred to HMS " Garland " and escorted a convoy to Newfoundland . Returning to Europe in 1780 , Thornbrough joined the frigate HMS " Flora " and in her participated in the capture of the French frigate " Nymphe " after a long and bloody action . As consequence of his part in this engagement , Thornbrough was promoted to commander and took over the hired vessel HMS " Britannia " escorting a convoy to New York . On arrival , Thornbrough was again promoted to post captain and took over captaincy of the frigate HMS " Blonde " . In 1782 , " Blonde " captured an American brig and attempted to tow her to Halifax , Nova Scotia . During the operation the ship became lost in fog and " Blonde " was wrecked on a rocky islet whilst the brig continued to Halifax . On the islet , Thornbrough made sure that the American prisoners from the brig were given the same standards of treatment as the British sailors . When the survivors were rescued by two American ships a few days later , the American authorities were so impressed with his behaviour that they conveyed him to New York and released him without conditions as a reward . Returning to Britain , Thornbrough was to be given the ship of the line HMS " Egmont " , but the end of the war prevented this . French Revolutionary Wars . The ten years of peace following the American war resulted in many officers entering semi - retirement on half - pay . Thornbrough however was given the prize frigate HMS " Hebe " and had Prince William Henry on board as a lieutenant . Although the Prince was a notoriously difficult officer to serve alongside , Thornbrough became friends with his subordinate , whose patronage would help him with his future career . Thornbrough married Ann Le Cras in 1784 , and Prince William requested that their first son was to be named after him . The son would later become Lieutenant William Henry Thornbrough , but died in 1798 aged 14 . The couple would also have another son who became an admiral and four daughters . Also in 1784 , Thornbrough ' s father died . In 1790 during the Spanish armament , Thornbrough briefly took over HMS " Scipio " . At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars , Thornbrough requested and received command of the frigate HMS " Latona " . In November 1793 , Thornbrough engaged several French ships of the line in a vain attempt to delay them until British warships could arrive to challenge them . In May 1794 , " Latona " was a scout for the Channel Fleet under Lord Howe during the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 . The campaign resulted in the Glorious First of June , when " Latona " was initially used as a repeating ship to relay Howe ' s signals down the British line . Later in the action however , Thornbrough was called on to take his diminutive ships through the battle lines to rescue the shattered HMS " Bellerophon " which was being pounded by several large French ships . " Latona " not only reached " Bellerophon " , but then drove off the French battleships with her small broadsides and took the dismasted " Bellerophon " in tow to safety , all without suffering a casualty . Thornbrough then took command of the ship of the line HMS " Robust " with the Channel Fleet , participated in the ill - fated 1795 invasion of Quiberon Bay with French Royalist forces . The operation was a failure and " Robust " was also engaged in its desperate evacuation . Three years later , Thornbrough participated in another invasion , this time thwarting a French attempt to land troops in Ireland . At the Battle of Donegal , Sir John Borlase Warren ' s squadron , including " Robust " , destroyed a French troops convoy off Tory Island in the north of Ireland . As reward , Thornbrough was given the thanks of parliament and took over the 90 - gun HMS " Formidable " , flagship of Sir Charles Cotton . " Formidable " then entered the Mediterranean and spent several months searching for an elusive enemy fleet . Napoleonic Wars . In 1801 , Thornbrough became a rear - admiral and commanded the inshore squadron off Brest in his flagship HMS " Mars " . In 1801 his first wife died and a year later , Thornbrough married Elizabeth Jeynes of Bristol . With the renewal of war in 1803 , Thornbrough led a squadron in the North Sea under Viscount Keith and later was fleet captain to Lord Gardner . In 1805 he was in HMS " Kent " on his way to join Nelson ' s fleet off Cadiz when he heard of the Battle of Trafalgar . That year he was promoted to vice - admiral and led the independent blockade of Rochefort and later a squadron in the English Channel from HMS " Prince of Wales " . A period of ill - health required a brief shore leave in 1807 , but he was soon back at sea , in HMS " Royal Sovereign " . For the next three years he was second in command to Lord Collingwood in the Mediterranean but returned to Britain in December 1809 due to ill - health shortly before his commander ' s death . Both Collingwood and Earl St Vincent admired his spirit , professional skill and bravery , but the latter considered that Thornbrough was too indecisive to make a good fleet commander . Retirement . Until 1813 , Thornbrough busied himself in command of the Ireland station . In 1813 he again briefly retired as a full admiral and in 1815 was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his long service . In 1813 his second wife had died and again he remarried less than a year later , to Frances Le Cras , younger sister of his first wife . Between 1815 and 1818 , Thornbrough served as Commander - in - Chief , Portsmouth and he retired for good in 1818 after just under 50 years of service in the Navy , an exceptionally long career . Thornbrough lived the rest of his life at Bishopsteignton Lodge in Devon . In 1825 he was made a Knight Grand Cross . He was however active in naval circles and became Vice - Admiral of the United Kingdom and Lieutenant of the Admiralty in 1833 during his retirement . He died at home in 1834 .