William Hutcheon Hall Admiral Sir William Hutcheon Hall , KCB , FRS ( c . 1797 – 25 June 1878 ) , was a British officer in the Royal Navy . He served in the First Anglo - Chinese War and Crimean War . In China , he commanded the iron steamship " Nemesis " of the East India Company . Early life and career . Hall was born circa 1797 to William Hall and his wife Mary ( née Hutcheon ) . He joined the Royal Navy on 24 October 1811 as a first - class volunteer on board HMS " Warrior " under Captains George Byng and John Tremayne Rodd . In 1816 – 17 , he served as a midshipman under Captain Basil Hall , with whom he attended William Amherst ' s embassy visit to China . After returning to England in November 1817 , he was appointed to the frigate , HMS " Iphigenia " , under Captain Robert Mends in the West Africa Squadron . He was later promoted as master of the sloop , HMS " Morgiana " . In this rank , he served in the British West Indies , Mediterranean , and Home stations until 1836 . After studying steam engines in Glascow , Scotland , and on board steamers trading to Ireland , he travelled to the United States , where he was employed in steamboats on the Delaware and Hudson . China . In November 1839 , Hall obtained command of " Nemesis " of the British East India Company in China , where he served in the First Anglo - Chinese War ( 1839 – 43 ) . The ship ' s first engagement was against Chinese forts and a fleet of junks in the Second Battle of Chuenpee on 7 January 1841 . He was Mentioned in Despatches for his part in the battle . He was also present at the Battle of First Bar on 27 February . In commemoration of his service , he was commonly known in the navy as " Nemesis Hall " . William Dallas Bernard , an Oxford graduate who studied life and customs in China , used Hall ' s notes to write an account of the war in the " Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 " ( 1844 ) . Hall was promoted captain with seniority on 22 October 1842 . Russia . After the outbreak of the Crimean War ( 1853 – 56 ) against Russia , Hall was not able to obtain command of a vessel corresponding to his seniority , so on 15 March 1854 he accepted the 6 - gun paddle steamer , HMS " Hecla " , which was engaged in the Baltic and was again Mentioned in Despatches , and slightly wounded . He transferred to the 72 - gun HMS " Blenheim " in November 1854 , and in 1855 was engaged in the capture of Bomarsund , among other battles . Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich , second son of Tsar Nicholas I , remarked , " of all bold and seamanlike operations , this of Captain Hall ' s — taking his steamer seven miles up a creek of intricate navigation in an enemy ' s country — is the most daring I could have imagined ; I cannot but admire such gallantry , even in an enemy . " Hall was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855 . Works and later life . Hall invented iron bilge tanks for ships , adopted by the navy , and " Hall ' s patent anchor " . On 30 April 1845 , he married Hilare Caroline Byng , third daughter of his first captain , George Byng . They had one daughter , Frances Russell Hall , who married Captain Charles Davis Lucas in 1879 . Lucas had won the Victoria Cross while serving under Hall in 1854 aboard HMS " Hecla " . Hall was appointed to HMS " William and Mary " on 3 March 1847 to assist in relief efforts during the Great Irish Potato Famine . He was transferred to HMS " Dragon " on 6 May . During his time in command of " Dragon " , he was reprimanded for the poor state of her gunnery , and the ship was paid off on 8 June 1850 . In 1847 , Hall was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society , where he served several years in its Council . His writings involved developing national defences , and employing boatmen , fishermen , and armed merchant steamers as part of the naval reserve . He was an active supporter of the Shipwrecked Mariners ' Society for 26 years . In 1863 , he was promoted to rear admiral . He retired from active service on 2 April 1866 , was promoted a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 March 1867 , and was promoted ( on the retired list ) to vice admiral on 26 July 1869 , and admiral on 11 December 1875 . He died of apoplexy at Phillimore Gardens , Kensington , London , on 25 June 1878 , and was buried in the churchyard of St . Lawrence ' s Church , Mereworth , Kent , on 29 June .