Thomas Bladen Capel Admiral Sir Thomas Bladen Capel GCB RN ( 25 August 1776 – 4 March 1853 ) was an officer in the British Royal Navy whose distinguished service in the French Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him rapid promotion and great acclaim both in and out of the Navy . He was also a great friend of Admiral Nelson and can be considered a full member of Nelson ' s " band of brothers " . Naval career . Early Years . Born in August 1776 and raised in London , Thomas Capel was the fourth son of William Anne Capel , 4th Earl of Essex and first child of his second wife , Harriet . His mother also had influence as the daughter of Colonel Thomas Bladen , and Capel received preferential treatment due to his status from a very young age . Entered onto the books of on 22 March 1782 as servant to Captain Waldegrave . He was just five years and 7 months old and this customary practice enabled him to rise rapidly through the ranks when he finally did go to sea . Capel first served on on the Newfoundland station in April 1792 , then on 1 March 1793 , as a midshipman aboard , where he was highly praised for his seamanship and discipline . Following his captain , John Manley , he transferred to the 38 - gun frigate before serving under Lord Hugh Seymour in the 3rd rate vessels ( 74 guns ) and ( 80 guns ) , where he saw action at the battle of Groix in 1795 . After the battle , " San Pareil " and her crew returned to the channel and blockade duty . Capel was promoted to acting lieutenant in the May 1796 and on 5 April 1797 he joined the newly built frigate as a lieutenant under Captain , the Honourable Arthur Kaye Legge . Battle of the Nile . In April 1798 he joined the flagship of Rear - Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson , the newly refitted 74 gun , under Captain Edward Berry . On 8 May the " Vanguard " , as part of a small squadron , left Gibraltar to re - establish a presence in the Mediterranean and to search for the French fleet . On 20 May , they were struck by a sudden gale in which the " Vanguard " lost her entire foremast assembly and both her main and mizzen topmasts . Despite the arrival of reinforcements , including ten ships of the line , on the 6 June ; Nelson remained aboard the jury masted , " Vanguard " . Therefore Capel was serving as Nelson ' s signal lieutenant on 1 August 1798 when Nelson ' s fleet destroyed the French at the battle of the Nile . He impressed the admiral to such a degree , he was mentioned in dispatches as " a most excellent officer " and presented with the sword of the senior , surviving French admiral . First Commands . Capel was made acting commander of the 16 - gun brig , and was given the honour of carrying the second set of dispatches to London despite the claims of a large number of superior officers . The first dispatches , carried by Berry in were captured shortly after leaving , which meant that when Capel arrived in London after passage in the brig and overland travel , he was the first to bring news of the victory . His promotion to commander was confirmed when he was given command of the elderly fireship on the home station , and was subsequently made post captain on 27 December 1798 . Following this promotion , he was then transferred on 5 January from " Alecto " into the 22 - gun post - ship , a sixth - rate frigate which sailed under his command for Jamaica on 23 April 1799 . On 19 July 1800 he transferred to command of a 32 - gun fifth - rate frigate which was wrecked on the Triangle Rocks in the Gulf of Mexico on 9 June 1801 . Renewed Hostilities . In the May 1802 shortly after the Peace of Amiens , Capel was appointed to the 38 gun , fifth rate frigate which took him from Spithead to the Mediterranean where he joined as her captain . When war with France was renewed in April 1803 Capel , still in HMS " Phoebe " was re - attached to Nelson and began the task of observing French naval movements . In April 1805 " Phoebe " spotted Vice - Admiral Villeneuve ' s squadron leaving Toulon and while Nelson pursued them to the West Indies and back , Capel was ordered to use a squadron of 5 frigates and 2 bomb vessel s to block French passage to Sicily , Sardinia and Egypt . The Franco - Spanish fleet entered Cadiz on 20 August " Phoebe " joined the blockading fleet . In October 1805 , Capel ' s squadron was based at Gibraltar acting as the eyes of the British fleet and when the Combined Fleet put to sea , " Phoebe " was one of the chain of ships who relayed signals to Nelson ' s fleet , 48 miles away . Trafalgar . On 21 October , Capel was summoned to to receive his final orders for the upcoming battle . " Phoebe " and the three other frigates were to stay to windward and repeat signals to the ships in the rear ; any escaping enemy ships were to be pursued and forced to strike their colours ; and any dismasted British , or captured enemy ships were to be taken in tow . Capel was present throughout the ensuing battle of Trafalgar , relaying Nelson ' s signals to the rest of fleet , and remaining close to the action although not actually engaged with the enemy . In the storm which followed the battle , " Phoebe " was essential in saving the captured " Swiftsure " and the Spanish ship " Bahama " , bringing them all safely to Gibraltar thanks to " extraordinary exertions " . When the disabled " Fougueux " drifted away , Capel made repeated efforts to retrieve her but she broke up when she was blown ashore the next day . Turkish Straits . After Trafalgar , Capel returned to England where he sat on the court martial of Vice - Admiral Sir Robert Calder , before being appointed to the 4th rate 40 gun . Capel ' s ship carried the British ambassador , Sir Charles Arbuthnot , to Constantinople and then in 1807 , on hearing of a plot to kidnap Sir Charles and some leading British Merchants , Capel foiled the attempt by inviting them to dine aboard the " Endymion " before setting sail . On 16 September 1807 " Endymion " captured the " Santa Rosalinda " . Capel ' s share of the prize money was 838 pounds , 17 shillings and 2½ pence . Capel returned to Constantinople later that year when he took part in further the forcing of the Dardanelles under Sir John Duckworth . On the way back to the Aegean , " Endymion " was hit by two 800 lb stone shot which killed three and injured ten of her crew . Capel was once again mentioned in dispatches for his part in the battle and received the ship of the line as a command , which he took to the North American station at the outbreak of the War of 1812 . 1812 . Capel remained on the North American station for the duration of the war where he commanded a small squadron along the Eastern seaboard . During this conflict , Capel maintained a careful watch on the passage of American shipping , especially their frigate base at New London , which he effectively nullified . Along with other American vessels , in April 1813 Capel captured the American merchantman " Caroline " . The prize money distributed to Capel amounted to 82 pounds and 10¾ pence . On 27 June 1813 , off Nova Scotia , Capel trapped the Young Teazer in a harbour , which was blown up rather than captured . In another capture , that of the American merchantman " Montezuma " on 14 October 1814 Capel received 777 pounds , 11 shillings and 3¾ pence . He returned home in 1814 and was awarded the CB in June 1815 . Latter Years . Capel commanded the Royal Yachts " Royal George " and " Apollo " between 15 December 1821 and 27 May 1827 , earning greater promotion and favours from his new patrons . Despite the slower promotion rate in peacetime , he became a rear - admiral of the blue squadron on 27 May 1825 and rear - admiral of the red squadron on 22 July 1830 and was knighted soon afterwards and awarded the KCB in February 1832 . In May 1834 , Sir Thomas Capel served as commander in chief of the Far East squadron until July 1837 aboard the fourth - rate frigate . He was promoted to vice - admiral on 10 January 1837 . In 1847 , a full admiral , an aged Capel sat on the board that decided to issue the Naval General Service Medal for Naval service between 1793 and 1840 , and which contained a Trafalgar clasp that Capel himself wore . He became Commander - in - Chief , Portsmouth in 1848 and made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in April 1852 . Thomas Bladen Capel died at his home in Rutland Gate , London on 4 March 1853 . He was buried in Kensal Green cemetery in a family plot , later joined by his wife Dame Harriet Capel . Their grave can still be seen and is largely still legible . Family . In 1816 he married Harriet Catherine Smyth ; they had no children . In her diary published by Hertfordshire Record Publications Lady Adela Caroline Harriett Capel ( Daughter of Arthur Algernon [ Capel later Capell ] , 6th Earl of Essex , and Admiral Bladen Capel ' s great niece ) calls him " uncle Bladen , and refers to times spent with him and his wife at Little Cassiobury . She lived at Cassiobury House and they lived in Little Cassiobury . Designed by Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham in the late 17th century it was built as the Cassiobury Estate ' s dower house , which still exists in Hempstead Road , Watford .