Samuel Butcher ( Royal Navy officer ) Vice - Admiral Samuel Butcher ( 22 November 1770 – 8 May 1849 ) was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Biography . Butcher was born in Cople , Bedfordshire , the son of Thomas Butcher of Northampton , and Elizabeth Ives , and was the grandson of Robert Butcher of Ickleford , Hertfordshire , Lord of the Manor of Ravensden , and High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1761 . He entered the Navy on 4 February 1786 , as captain ' s servant on board the cutter , under the command of his relative Lieutenant Robert Barlow , employed in suppressing smuggling in the English Channel . From November 1788 Butcher served as an able seaman in , the flagship of Admiral Mark Milbanke at Newfoundland . In June 1791 Butcher rejoined Barlow as a master ' s mate in the 16 - gun brig - sloop , attached to the Channel Fleet . He later served in the 98 - gun ship , bearing the flag of Rear - Admiral Alan Gardner , and was present at the unsuccessful first attempt to capture Martinique in 1793 . He also took part , under Admiral Lord Howe , in the actions of 28 and 29 May , and 1 June 1794 , on the two last days with the rank of acting - lieutenant . Butcher was confirmed in that rank on 17 July 1794 , while serving once again under Barlow , now aboard the frigate . He was the first lieutenant of " Aquilon " when she acted as a repeating ship in Admiral Lord Bridport ' s battle with the French off the Ile de Groix on 23 June 1795 . On 9 October 1795 Butcher was appointed to the ship , flagship of Lord Hugh Seymour , serving in the Channel and the West Indies . On 28 April 1800 he was appointed by Lord Seymour as commander of the brig . " Guachapin " was a former Spanish letter of marque and mounted fourteen 4 - pounder guns and two 18 - pounder carronades , with a complement of 65 men and boys . On 19 February 1801 his promotion to commander was confirmed . On 21 April 1801 , Butcher , under cover of the " Guachapin " s fire , cut out a privateer from the Bay of Aguada , Puerto Rico , even though it was lashed to the shore and defended by two formidable batteries and a range of howitzers and small arms . On 18 August 1801 , while cruising between Martinique and Saint Lucia , " Guachapin " fought and captured the Spanish letter - of - marque " La Teresa " , which had a crew of 120 ( nearly twice that of " Guachapin " ) , and was more heavily armed , with two long 18 - pounder guns , ten long 12 - pounder guns , and six 36 - pounder carronades . The action lasted for two and half hours , with the yards of the two ships being part of the time locked together . However , when , under Captain Loftus Otway Bland , approached , " La Teresa " surrendered . For these and other services Butcher was promoted to post - rank on 29 April 1802 , during the Peace of Amiens . Between March 1804 and December 1808 , Butcher commanded a district of Sea Fencibles in Ireland , but did not return to sea until 18 November 1812 when he was appointed to temporary command of the 74 - gun ship . Soon after , on 21 December 1812 , he was took command of the 50 - gun frigate . He was employed in protecting shipping in the Great Belt , and was particularly successful in capturing the enemy ' s gun - boats and privateers . For example : On 1 March 1814 Butcher in " Antelope " joined the fleet of Admiral William Young off the mouth of the Eastern Scheldt in the Netherlands . " Antelope " was sent with two other ships to reinforce the squadron of frigates in the Western Scheldt , but owing to the illness of one pilot and the desertion of the other , " Antelope " ran aground off Flushing . For 48 hours she lay exposed to continuous barrage of shells from enemy batteries on shore , but was ( to the astonishment of the whole fleet ) eventually able to free herself and escape . Subsequently , by order from Lord Melville , Captain Butcher attended a grand levée at Portsmouth , and was presented to the Prince Regent by Rear - Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood as " the officer who had so highly distinguished himself in the Scheldt . " After a voyage to Quebec , Butcher paid off the " Antelope " on 22 December 1815 . Butcher saw no further service afloat , but continued to progress up the Navy List until attaining flag - rank ; being promoted to rear - admiral on 17 August 1840 , then to vice - admiral on 19 February 1847 . He died at Cobh , County Cork , on 8 May 1849 , and was interred in the family vault at St . Mary ' s , Shandon , Cork . Personal life . On 4 February 1806 Butcher married Elizabeth , the daughter of Richard Townsend Herbert , MP , of Killarney , Co . Kerry . Over the next twenty - one years they had thirteen children , nine boys and four girls : Coat of arms . According to the visitation of the Ulster King of Arms , Butcher of Danesfort , Killarney , Co . Kerry , and Cork was entitled to a coat of arms described thusly :