James Nicoll Morris Vice - Admiral Sir James Nicoll Morris KCB ( 1763 – 15 April 1830 ) was a Royal Navy officer with a history of distinguished service during the American War of Independence , French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars , especially at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 , where the majority of his ship ' s crew were killed or injured , including Morris himself who was wounded in the knee . Throughout all his service , Morris was respected for his " " strict sense of honour " " and " " simplicity and singleness of heart for which he was remarkable " " . Life . Born into a seafaring family in 1763 , Morris joined the navy in 1775 and served aboard several ships , including HMS " Prince of Wales " in numerous actions off the United States seaboard and in the West Indies . In 1776 his father , Captain James Morris RN , was killed whilst attacking Fort Moultrie off Sullivan ' s Island near Charleston , South Carolina , under the command of Lord Cornwallis , but Morris was not present being stationed off the Leeward Islands . In 1779 he fought at the battle of St . Lucia and at the battle of Grenada , making lieutenant the following year as a reward for his good service . At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars , Morris was in command of the sloop HMS " Plato " and succeeded in capturing his French counterpart " Lutine " off Newfoundland , for which he was promoted Post captain in 1793 . Taking over the frigate HMS " Lively " , he commanded her until she was wrecked on Rota Point off Cadiz , and then commanded the frigate HMS " Phaeton " in the Mediterranean , co - operating with Austrian movements in the Aegean Sea and delivering Lord Elgin to Constantinople as ambassador . Following the Peace of Amiens , Morris was given command of the ship of the line HMS " Colossus " , a new , fast and powerful ship , which unfortunately had had a poor previous captain who left behind a backlog of unfinished maintenance work and a surly and unpaid crew . Trafalgar . Morris ' s highly professional attitude and his strict disciplinary record soon straightened out the situation , and when the " Colossus " arrived off Cadiz in the summer of 1805 , his ship was considered by Admiral Nelson to be amongst the crack ships of the squadron . Morris ' s ship was placed in the middle of Collingwood ' s division , and reached battle rapidly thanks to her good seamanship and recent repair . Once engaged , " Colossus " became embroiled in a gun duel with the " Swiftsure " , and was just gaining the upper hand when the " Argonaute " appeared from the smoke on her other side , rammed her and crushed her into the " Swiftsure " . Now with boarders crowding from both sides and unable to escape , Morris ordered his carronades to sweep the French decks clear whilst his main deck guns below fired into the hulls of the enemy . Such was the destruction that both ships drifted off on the swell with enormous losses , and the " Swiftsure " was captured soon afterwards by newly arrived ships . " Colossus " moved on and engaged the " Bahama " , dismasting her before HMS " Orion " arrived to administer the final blows . Morris ' s successes had come at a terrible price . His ship had suffered appalling damage as she was shot through by the two French ships and had lost 206 men killed or wounded , at least 50 casualties higher than any other ship in the fleet . Morris himself had been shot in the knee , and collapsed from loss of blood afterwards , having refused to leave the deck for treatment . His junior officers managed to get the badly damaged ship into Gibraltar , and Morris was lauded as a hero following his recovery . Retirement . Following the battle , Morris ' s injury prevented any vigorous postings , and he fulfilled a number of shore and Home Fleet assignments until 1812 , when he was promoted to rear - admiral and given a minor command during operations in the Baltic Sea . In 1815 , he was initiated into the Order of the Bath , becoming a knight commander and he later made vice - admiral through seniority . Retiring after the war , he lived a peaceful life at Marlow on the Thames , and died at home in 1830 and was buried locally where a marble monument raised by his wife can still be seen . Family . He married , in October 1802 , Margaretta Sarah , daughter of Thomas Somers - Cocks , the well - known banker , and niece of Charles Somers - Cocks , 3rd Earl Somers .