Francis Wheler Sir Francis Wheler ( sometimes spelt Wheeler ) ( 1656 – 19 February 1694 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Nine Years ' War . Wheler spent the early part of his career in the Mediterranean , eventually being promoted to command his own ships , and being particularly active against the Algerine and Salé pirates that infested the region . He went on to serve in British waters , and was knight ed by King James II . Wheler remained in the navy after the Glorious Revolution and his continued good service led to the command of a squadron . He fought at Beachy Head and Barfleur , and in 1692 was promoted to flag rank . He took a fleet out to attack French possessions in the Caribbean and North America , but his attack on Martinique ended in failure when large numbers of the troops involved became sick . He floated the idea of an attack on Quebec , but insufficient troops could be found , and an assault on Newfoundland was similarly considered but rejected after the defences were found to be too great to overcome . Wheler nevertheless received another promotion , and went out to the Mediterranean in command of a large convoy . He made little attempt to engage the French warships he encountered on the voyage , but concentrated on reaching Cadiz safely . After successfully escorting the convoy Wheler attempted to navigate the strait of Gibraltar , but encountered fierce winds . His fleet was scattered and a number of ships were wrecked , while his flagship , , foundered with heavy loss of life early in the morning of 19 February 1694 . Wheler was among the dead , his body being washed up two days later . Family and early life . Francis Wheler was born in 1656 , a younger son of Sir Charles Wheler and his wife Dorothy Bindlosse . He entered the navy and on 30 April 1678 was appointed second - lieutenant aboard by Vice - Admiral Sir Arthur Herbert , while serving in the Mediterranean . Wheler continued in " Rupert " under Sir John Narborough , who promoted him to first - lieutenant on 5 May 1679 , and on 6 April 1680 moved aboard at the same rank , serving under Herbert again . Herbert appointed Wheler to post - captain on 11 September 1680 and gave him command of . On 8 April 1681 he came across a British ship , under Captain Booth , fighting an Algerine pirate ship named " Golden Horse " . The " Golden Horse " had been on the point of surrendering , but mistaking Wheler ' s ship for one of his allies , fought on until " Nonsuch " came up and hoisted her colours , at which the pirate vessel surrendered . Serving as " Nonsuch " s master at the time was John Benbow , who was later court - martialed for his comments regarding " Adventure " s fighting ability . Wheler took command of on 9 August 1681 and in October fought an action against a large Salé pirate vessel , named " Admiral of Salé " . The pirate ship put up a spirited defence , and sustained so much damage that she sank shortly after surrendering to Wheler . Wheler ' s next command was , which he was appointed to on 25 August 1683 . He commanded her until August 1688 , when he was moved to by King James II , and moved again on 16 November by the King to . It was about this time that Wheler received a knight hood from the King . Wheler remained in the navy after the Glorious Revolution , and in April 1689 was sent to join his old patron Sir Arthur Herbert , by now Earl of Torrington . Torrington had however been engaged at the indecisive Battle of Bantry Bay , and returned to port before Wheler could join him . Wheler ' s voyage was not entirely unsuccessful , for he had captured a large and valuable merchant ship bound for Brest from St Domingo . Command and flag rank . In July Torrington gave Wheler command of a squadron of eleven ships and sent him to blockade Brest . While off the port he captured a French warship and 26 other vessels , many of them carrying stores and ammunition for the Jacobite forces in Ireland . Wheler took command of the 90 - gun and fought at the Battle of Beachy Head on 10 July 1690 , and at the Battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692 . He was promoted to rear - admiral of the blue in October 1692 , and sent out to the West Indies in command of a squadron . He arrived at Madeira on 26 January , but did not reach Barbados until 1 March . There a council of war was convened , and the decision taken to attack Martinique . However no preparations had been made , and the proposed 800 men from the local militia that would be used to supplement the troops had yet to be raised . The Captain - General of the Leeward Islands , Colonel Codrington , had not been approached for assistance either . The expedition therefore did not depart until 30 March , arriving at Martinique on 1 April , but still without Codrington and his reinforcements . The British force consisted of 2 , 300 soldiers , including 800 men from the Barbados militia , and a further 1 , 500 sailors detached under Wheler ' s command . Codrington and his men arrived on 9 April , and a landing was effected on 17 April . After some initial success in securing strategic positions and repulsing a French attack , the expedition suffered heavy losses through sickness , with 1 , 000 men succumbing , and the British assault petered out . A council was held on 20 April , and the expedition was abandoned , and the men evacuated . Codrington then proposed an attack on Guadeloupe , but Wheler had orders to leave the West Indies by May , and was doubtful that the inexperienced and sickly troops would have much chance of success . Wheler sailed to Boston , arriving there on 12 June , and proposing to the governor there , Sir William Phips , an attack on Quebec . Phips demurred , on the grounds that there were no troops available . While anchored at Boston he had invited Reverend Cotton Mather to come out to his ships to read a sermon to the men . Mather had been rowed out on Phips ' s barge , but had become seasick and had turned back . Instead Mather gave a sermon in his meeting house on shore , which was attended by a number of the British commanders , including Wheler . Wheler then took his fleet to Newfoundland , but there he found Placentia heavily defended , and decided against an attack . He returned to Britain in October , with his crews ravaged by disease . Despite the failure of his expedition , the causes were attributed to circumstances beyond his control , and he was promoted to rear - admiral of the red and ordered to the Mediterranean as commander of a fleet . Voyage to the Mediterranean . The fleet , consisting of twenty ships of the line and frigates was ready by November but were detained in port by contrary winds until 27 December . He was finally able to sail from Plymouth , and was joined on 29 December by a merchant convoy , which he escorted as far as Cape Finisterre . With him were Vice - Admiral Sir Thomas Hopsonn , Rear - Admiral John Nevell and a Dutch squadron under Gerard Callenburgh . French vessels were sighted on a number of occasions , but managed to outsail the British ships Wheler sent to chase them . Wheler was reluctant to separate his squadron after the disaster that had befallen George Rooke some months previously , where part of his scattered convoy had been captured by the French . Wheler reached Cadiz on 19 January , having safely brought his convoy of 165 merchant ships to port . The homeward bound convoy was placed under Hopsonn , and after staying at Cadiz a month , Wheler left port on 10 February and attempted to pass through the straits , but was prevented by contrary winds . He tried again on 17 February but was again forced back by the winds , which rose to a hurricane early on the morning of 19 February . The fleet was scattered , several ships mistaking the Bay of Gibraltar for the straits and running into it . There a number foundered or were wrecked , including , and Wheler ' s flagship , . " Sussex " foundered at 5 in the morning of 19 February , with the loss of all but two of her crew of 550 . Wheler ' s body was washed up two days later , ' much mangled ' . There were reports that it was embalmed and sent back to England for burial , but these were judged doubtful by historian J . K . Laughton . Family and issue . Wheler had married Arabella Clinton , and together the two had two boys and a girl , the latter named Anna - Sophia , while the eldest boy was named Charles , and were mentioned in Wheler ' s will of 1692 . These presumably died young , as later records mention only two surviving children , the second son , named William , and a third son , named Francis , was probably born in either 1693 or 1694 . William ' s son , Francis , produced a daughter named Jane who married Henry Hood , 2nd Viscount Hood , becoming the mother of Samuel Hood , 2nd Baron Bridport .