John Halsted John Halsted ( 1768 – 2 November 1830 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Born into a naval family , Halsted went to sea at an early age with his father and at least one of his brothers . After a period of schooling he rejoined the navy and served aboard a number of ships and under a variety of notable commanders of the age , until reaching the rank of lieutenant shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . He went out to the East Indies for much of them , serving onshore with troops and later commanding a sloop , before returning to Britain hoping to receive post - rank and the command of a frigate . He was disappointed , the Admiralty declined to confirm his appointment and he spent a number of years without a ship . He returned to active service only in 1804 , with the command of a defence and storeship , followed by a position as agent for transports for the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807 . He again escaped official notice , and it was not until 1808 that he received a promotion to post - captain . He took command of the 74 - gun in 1810 , followed by the 74 - gun in 1813 , commanding them in the North Sea . His final service during the wars was to oversee the impress service at Gosport , a post that allowed him to meet Prince Regent . He seems to have had no further service after the wars ended in 1815 , and eventually died , still a post - captain , in 1830 . Family and early life . Halsted was born in Gosport , Hampshire in 1768 , the third son of naval officer Captain William Anthony Halsted , and his wife Mary , " née " Frankland . Three of John ' s brothers had naval careers ; Charles Halsted became a lieutenant and was lost with in 1780 , Lawrence Halsted had a long career and became an admiral , and George Halsted rose to be a commander . John Halsted also embarked on a naval career in 1776 , joining his brother Lawrence aboard their father ' s ship , the 60 - gun , for service off North America . John was eight years old at the time . William Anthony Halsted died while in command off New York in 1778 , and John was transferred to the 32 - gun , where he remained into 1779 . He was then entered into a school for the next three years , rejoining the navy in 1782 as a midshipman aboard the 98 - gun . The " Blenheim " , commanded at this time by Captain Adam Duncan , went out to relieve Gibraltar with Admiral Lord Howe ' s fleet . Howe ' s fleet was then engaged with a Spanish force under Luis de Córdova at the Battle of Cape Spartel on 20 October 1782 , in which " Blenheim " had two men killed and three wounded . Halsted then transferred to the 98 - gun under Captain Jonathan Faulknor . Halsted now went on to serve aboard a succession of different ships ; the 90 - gun , the Portsmouth guardship and flagship of the Commander - in - Chief , Admiral John Montagu , and then the 74 - gun , commanded successively by the Hon . James Luttrell and Sir Roger Curtis . His next ship was a frigate , the 32 - gun under Captain Edward Thornbrough , followed by the 36 - gun , under Captain Isaac Smith . Halsted went out to the East Indies during " Perseverance " s posting to that station . He then served aboard the 64 - gun , under Captain Robert Manners Sutton , and the 74 - gun under Sir Roger Curtis . He then moved aboard the 100 - gun , the flagship of Admiral Lord Howe . Howe promoted him to lieutenant and in September 1793 arranged for him to be appointed to the 74 - gun . French Revolutionary Wars . The French Revolutionary Wars having broken out by now , " Suffolk " was ordered to the East Indies under Captain Peter Rainier , where Rainier was to take command of the East Indies Station . Halsted was active in operations against French colonies in the East Indies , and Rainier placed him in charge of 100 sailors during shore operations at Ceylon and the Maluku Islands . He returned with the troops to Madras in March 1797 and was appointed to his first command , the sloop . Halsted was only briefly in command in an acting capacity , and at Rainier ' s request he left the ship to take charge of the newly established naval hospital at Madras , having impressed Rainier with his measures while in charge of the sick returning from the expedition to Amboyna . He was then ordered to join the expedition against Manila , travelling to Calcutta to take command of the bomb vessel in July . The expedition was cancelled before it left India , and November 1797 Halsted received a new commission , to take over the 32 - gun from Captain John Murray , Murray having been ordered by the Admiralty to take command of the 36 - gun . " Crescent " was based at the Cape Station , but Murray had affairs to settle in India . Rainier therefore asked Halsted to exchange with Murray and instead sail to take over " Crescent " on the Cape Station , and at the same time carry despatches to be forwarded back to Britain from there . On arriving at the Cape , Halsted found his ship had sailed . Rear - Admiral Thomas Pringle , the station ' s commander - in - chief , had sailed for England sometime before , taking passage on " Crescent " as his flagship . Halsted followed on , delivering his despatches , but to his " mortification " , he found that the Admiralty would not confirm his post - rank , but only offered him the rank of commander , dated from June 1798 , the time of his arrival in Britain . Napoleonic Wars . Halsted then seems to have spent several years without a ship . He was finally given command of , a defence and storeship anchored in the Downs , in 1804 , followed by the position of principle agent for transports for the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807 . His service in the latter role was also marked with personal disappointment , as his contribution was overlooked and not reported back to the Admiralty by the expedition ' s captain of the fleet , Home Riggs Popham . Popham was later censured for this by the Transport Board , and the expedition ' s commander , Lord Gambier . Halsted ' s role then took him to Gibraltar , where he was active until the signing of the Convention of Cintra , after which he finally received a promotion to post - captain , on 21 November 1808 . He stepped down from his post with the Transport Board in 1809 , and on 23 August 1810 succeeded Captain Samuel Warren as commander of the 74 - gun . During this time " Bellerophon " was employed with the North Sea squadron , blockading the Dutch ports . Halsted ' s time in command was relatively brief , he was superseded by Captain Augustus Brine on 5 November 1810 . He next commissioned the newly built 74 - gun in February 1813 , continuing in the North Sea and serving as flag captain to Rear - Admiral John Ferrier . He left " Scarborough " in early 1814 and took charge of the impress service at Gosport , holding the position until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 . During his time in the role , he met the Prince Regent during his visit to Portsmouth Dockyard , and was allowed to kiss his hand . Halsted was later sent with a delegation from the town to read an address to the former Prince Regent , who had since succeeded as King George IV . Halsted was again allowed to kiss the monarch ' s hand . Family and later life . Halsted appears to have had no active seagoing service after the end of the wars with France . He married Miss A . Fowler and had two sons and one daughter . Of his sons , his eldest , Lawrence William , obtained a commission in the 87th Regiment of Foot , while George Anthony followed his father into the navy , having reached the rank of lieutenant by 1830 . Due to his low position on the seniority lists , John Halsted did not live long enough to achieve flag rank . He died , still a post - captain , at Exeter on 2 November 1830 , at the age of 62 . Notes . a . Halsted ' s brief tenure was fortunate for him . His successor aboard " Swift " , Commander Thomas Hayward , took the sloop to sea in July 1797 and was never seen again . She was presumed to have foundered with all hands in a typhoon in the South China Sea .