William Gordon Rutherfurd Captain William Gordon Rutherfurd RN , CB ( 1765 – 14 January 1818 ) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars whose career was almost entirely conducted in the West Indies except for a brief stay in European waters during which he commanded the ship of the line at the battle of Trafalgar . Early life . Rutherfurd was born in Wilmington , North Carolina , USA , to loyalist parents in 1764 . His father was John Rutherford of Bowland Stow and his mother , Frances , was the widow of Gabriel Johnson the late governor . The family returned to Scotland and the young William was educated at University of St Andrew . The Rutherfurd ' s moved to the Caribbean during the Revolution and in 1788 William was sent to sea aboard . Rutherfurd was a capable sailor and possessed a large amount of patronage . He joined the 98 gun , second rate , " HMS Boyne " , the flagship of Sir John Jervis in the West Indies , shortly after the outbreak of the French revolutionary wars and in 1793 he was promoted to acting lieutenant with his position being confirmed on 9 January 1794 . Rutherfurd was in the thick of the action during the 1794 West Indies campaign , serving with distinction as a junior officer in command of a landing party ; storming forts on Martinique and taking part in operations in St Lucia and Guadeloupe . He received several accolades for his actions including , on 4 July , promotion to commander of the 16 gun sloop , " Nautilus " . Remaining in the Caribbean , Rutherfurd then made the next leap to Post captain on 15 November 1796 . In this capacity he successively commanded : The frigate " HMS Adventure " , the third rate " HMS Dictator " , the third rate " HMS Brunswick " and the 5th rate " HMS Decade " . Rutherford was instrumental in several minor skirmishes with enemy shipping amongst the islands , including the capture of Curacoa in 1800 for which he was again lauded . He returned to home waters in " HMS Decade " in 1804 and joined the Channel Fleet in the blockade of Cherbourg . The following year he was granted the 74 gun new ship " Swiftsure " participating in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast and in the summer of 1805 he was dispatched to join Admiral Nelson ' s fleet off Cadiz and so was present at the battle on 21 October . Trafalgar . Situated far to the rear of Admiral Collingwood ' s division , Rutherfurd made strenuous efforts to reach the battle , but although she was quite a new ship " Swiftsure " had been at sea for sometime and so had damage to her hull which prevented her from making great speed . It thus took several hours for " Swiftsure " to reach the fight , but when she did she proved decisive in several of the southern combats , engaging at various times with the 80 gun Spanish ship , " Argonauta " and the 74 gun French ship , " Achille " . had been dismasted and was being pounded by three enemy ships when from the gunsmoke emerged the " Swiftsure " , her crew cheering and her guns firing double shotted rounds into the enemy , principally the " Achille " which was dismasted and caught fire , flames racing through the wooden ship . As thousands of panicking French sailors jumped into the sea , Rutherfurd ordered his ship ' s boats to rescue as many survivors as could be found , pulling hundreds aboard his ship but losing several men when the " Achille " ' s magazines suddenly detonated , swamping one of his boats . " Swiftsure " then tried to engage the 74 gun " Aigle " and the 80 gun " Neptune " . " Aigle " moved away however when her captain spotted the arrival of " HMS Polyphemus " . Following the battle , the barely damaged " Swiftsure " took the sinking " Redoutable " in tow but was forced to cut the line when the French ship suddenly sank . Amongst the hundreds who drowned were five " Swiftsure " men . Rutherfurd returned to Gibraltar and from there travelled to Britain , where he was rewarded for his part in the action , but was then relegated to shore service and long periods of unemployment , unfortunately not possessing the seniority to make the jump to Admiral that so many of his contemporaries did . Later career and death . Suffering from ill - health , in 1814 he was put in command of Greenwich Hospital and a year later was made a Companion of the Bath upon the inception of that order . He died in 1818 after a long illness and was buried in the Church of St . Margaret , Westminster , where his grave marker is still visible . Namesake . The Royal Navy has named one ship for Rutherford , the frigate , which was in commission from 1943 to 1945 and saw action in World War II . Notes . a . Also spelled " Rutherford " . b 4 June 1815 . c Memorial : Wall marble tablet , St Margaret ’ s Church , Westminster , London .