William Taylor ( Royal Navy officer ) William Taylor ( 1760 – 19 July 1842 ) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Entering the navy early in his life , Taylor served as a midshipman on Cook ' s third voyage of discovery . He was promoted shortly after his return to England and commanded ships during the American War of Independence . In common with other officers , he struggled to find employment during the years of peace , but was given a ship to command for a few years in 1788 . He was on bad terms with his lieutenant however , and a court - martial ensued . Taylor returned to an active career on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars , still commanding small ships and escorting trade . Promoted to post captain in 1793 , he moved to command several frigates in British waters , or as far afield as North America . His later service was on the African coast , where he took part in the capture of Gorée in 1801 , and in the Caribbean . He does not appear to have held any seagoing commands during the Napoleonic Wars , but continued to be promoted , rising to flag rank in 1811 . He eventually reached the rank of admiral of the red , before his death in 1842 . He was by this time the last surviving officer from Cook ' s third voyage . Early career . Taylor was born in 1760 and entered the navy at an early age . By 1776 he was a midshipman , and joined Captain James Cook ' s third voyage of discovery , serving aboard . He returned with the expedition after Cook ' s death , and on 28 October 1780 was promoted to lieutenant . The American War of Independence having broken out by now , he saw further service and was soon promoted to commander , on 21 January 1783 , and was given command of the brig - sloop . He also appears to have commissioned the brig - sloop in May 1783 , but if so , the command was short - lived , and she was under another commander by 1784 . Taylor instead took command of the 14 - gun towards the end of the war with America , and remained in command after the peace , until 1786 . Taylor then seems to have spent some time without a ship , before commissioning the 14 - gun sloop in January 1788 . His command of " Thorn " was notable for a court - martial Taylor brought against his lieutenant , a man named Thackeray . Among other charges , Thackeray was alleged to have gone to Taylor , while he was alone in his cabin , and to have called him a " scoundrel " and a " liar " . The offence being given in private , the court had only Taylor ' s word that it was true , creating a brief legal quandary over whether Taylor , who as usual in court - martials , was acting as the prosecutor , could give evidence on his own behalf , and together with the accused . After some deliberation , Taylor was allowed to give his evidence , as criminal trials such as court - martials , were adjudged to be on behalf of the Crown , unlike civil prosecutions . Thackeray was subsequently stripped of his rank and reduced to a midshipman . Taylor served in command of " Thorn " off Shetland until 1790 , and paid her off after the period of the Spanish armament had passed . French Revolutionary Wars . On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars , Taylor commissioned the 12 - gun in April 1794 and served in the English Channel and the North Sea . One of his early tasks was to sail with the Mediterranean Fleet under Lord Hood , and he left Spithead on 22 May 1793 . He accompanied the fleet as far as Gibraltar , and then returned , escorting the homeward - bound trade . After this service Taylor was promoted to post - captain on 24 September 1793 and was appointed to command in November . From the " Prompte " he moved into the 32 - gun in 1795 and served on a number of stations . He was first on the Scottish coast , and on 6 March 1796 seized the 36 - gun Batavian frigate " Zefir " in the Forth , in company with and . Taylor then took " Andromeda " to North America , sailing to Newfoundland and Halifax on 24 May 1796 . He returned to cruise in the English Channel and the North Sea between 1797 and 1798 . Taylor was given command of the 48 - gun in spring 1799 , succeeding Captain The Hon . Michael de Courcy , and commanded her on African coast . He took part in the capture of Gorée from the French in April 1801 , while cruising with a squadron under the command of Captain Sir Charles Hamilton . Hamilton , in command of the 44 - gun had received intelligence that there were three French frigates at anchor there . Hamilton sailed to investigate , taking with him Taylor in " Magnanime " , and Captain Solomon Ferris , in command of the 64 - gun . The frigates were not there , so Hamilton summoned the governor and ordered him to surrender . The governor agreed , and Hamilton and his force took possession on 5 April . Taylor was later in the Leeward Islands , where he remained for the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars . Family and later life . Taylor does not appear to have commanded any further ships during his career , but he continued to be promoted , being advanced to rear - admiral on 1 August 1811 , vice - admiral on 12 August 1819 and admiral in 1830 . He settled at Greenwich with his wife Isabella and had at least one daughter , Grace , who married William Padfield , squire of Hayling Island , in 1814 . William Taylor reached the rank of Admiral of the Red before his death on 19 July 1842 at his residence at Maze Hill , Greenwich , at the age of 82 . He was by this time the last surviving officer from Cook ' s third voyage . Notes . a . " Zefir " was brought into the service as , and spent some time as a frigate before being reduced to a storeship . She was broken up in 1834 .