Thomas Staines Sir Thomas Staines , ( 1776 – 13 July 1830 ) , Captain in the Royal Navy , Knight Commander of the Bath , and of the Sicilian Order of St . Ferdinand and Merit , and Knight of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent . French Revolutionary Wars . Staines joined on 3 July 1796 on his promotion to Lieutenant . Commander Philip Wodehouse had taken command of " Peterel " by December 1796 , when " Peterel " landed a small party under Lieutenant Thomas Staines on the coast of Corsica . The landing party attacked a Martello tower , which they captured , and threw its gun , a long 32 - pounder , over the cliff . " Peterel " s next captain was Commander William Proby , Lord Proby , who took over in March 1797 . In June 1797 , Wodehouse authorised Staines to take 20 men in two of the ship ' s boats to cut out a French privateer that had been preying on merchant vessels off the coast of Tuscany . After a skirmish in which the British had five men wounded and the French lost several dead and wounded , the British took the privateer , which had a crew of 45 men and was armed with two long guns and several swivels . In September 1798 , Commander Henry Digby sailed " Peterel " from Gibraltar to Faro , Portugal , to deliver despatches from Earl St . Vincent for the Lisbon packet . Staines took the six men in " Peterel " s jolly boat to deliver the despatches to the packet when the jolly boat overturned in heavy seas . Four men drowned , and Staines and the sixth man were only rescued after four hours . " Peterel " participated in the Capture of Minorca by the British expedition under Commodore John Duckworth . On 12 November 1798 the Spanish 40 - gun frigate " Flora " , in company with the 40 - gun " Proserpina " and the 34 - gun ships " Pomona " and " Casilda " , captured " Peterel " whilst she was operating off Minorca . One of the Spanish ships fired a broadside after she surrendered . After removing the prisoners from the ship , the Spanish plundered their clothes and possessions , murdering a seaman who attempted to defend his property . Duckworth detached to pursue the sloop and on 13 November she retook " Peterel " and her 72 - man Spanish prize crew , which was under the command of Don Antonio Franco Gandrada , Second Captain of " Flora " . Captain James Bowen of " Argo " put his own prize crew of 46 officers seamen and marines aboard " Peterel " . Duckworth later appointed his first lieutenant , George Jones , to command " Peterel " . Most of the clothes belonging to Captain Long and his officers , including Staines , were subsequently recovered . This charge of ill - usage was officially contradicted in the Madrid Gazette of 12 April , but was , nevertheless , essentially true . The Spanish squadron , already being chased the next day by several British ships , completely outsailed their pursuers and returned to Cartagena with the prisoners . After a detention of 14 days at Cartagena , Lieutenant Staines and his fellow prisoners were embarked in a merchant brig bound to Malaga ; but they did not arrive there until 24 December , a westerly wind having obliged the vessel to anchor off Almeria , where she was detained upwards of three weeks , and her passengers confined on shore during that period . From Malaga , the British were marched to Gibraltar , under a strong escort of soldiers , who treated both officers and men with great brutality , but particularly Lieutenant Staines , who had received a sabre wound in the wrist whilst parrying a blow which one of those soldiers had aimed at his head . On their arrival at the rock , a court - martial was assembled to investigate the circumstances attending their capture by the Spanish squadron ; and as no blame could be attached to any individual , the whole of them were sent back to the " Peterel " immediately after their acquittal . Captain George Long fell at Elba and on 3 February 1799 Francis Austen , the brother of author Jane Austen and future admiral of the fleet , took command of " Peterel " . " Peterel " and Austen shared in the proceeds of the capture on 18 June 1799 of the French frigates " Courageuse " , " Alceste " , and " Junon " , and the brigs " Alerte " and " Salamine " . Thereafter , " Peterel " captured or cut out from ports an armed galley , a transport brig carrying cannons and ammunition , and some twenty merchant vessels . Staines frequently commanded the cutting out expeditions . Napoleonic Wars . From March 1807 through November 1809 , he was captain of HMS " Cyane " . It was his service on " Cyane " , particularly at Naples between 25 and 27 June 1809 , which cost him his arm , that led to his knighthood and the Order of Saint Ferdinand . On 17 September 1814 HMS " Briton " under his command , along with HMS " Tagus " , were the first British ships to visit the Pitcairn Islands after the " Bounty " and discover the fate of the mutineers – this was six and half years after the American ship " Topaz " rediscovered Pitcairn . However , Staines was unaware of that discovery .