Thomas Fortescue Kennedy Thomas Fortescue Kennedy ( 9 November 1774 – 15 May 1846 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Kennedy was born into a family with a history of military service , and entered the navy shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . After some service on frigates during the various armament crises , in which Kennedy saw service on foreign stations , he was actively involved in the Siege of Toulon , and afterwards was promoted to lieutenant . He spent some time in the East Indies , distinguishing himself in action , before returning to British waters and serving under a number of prominent naval officers aboard ships of the line . One such officer was Eliab Harvey , who later asked for him to become first - lieutenant on his ship , the 98 - gun . Aboard " Temeraire " Kennedy fought at Trafalgar and played a key role in the capture of the French " Fougueux " . Promoted to commander for his services , Kennedy captained a ship during the Walcheren Campaign , before being promoted to post - captain shortly before the end of the Napoleonic Wars . His last posting was in 1834 , as Captain - Superintendent at Sheerness Dockyard . For the last two years of his commission he commanded his old ship , HMS " Temeraire " , which was at Sheerness , serving as a guardship . He was required to arrange and oversee the sale and disposal of the Trafalgar veteran in 1838 , one of his last duties before his own commission ended later that year . Kennedy subsequently went into retirement and died in 1846 . Family and early life . Kennedy was born on 9 November 1774 , the son of Dr Kennedy , the Inspector - General of Army Hospitals and physician to the Prince of Wales . One of several brothers , Thomas was not alone in choosing a military career . At least two brothers joined the army , one became a captain in the 19th Foot and died in Ceylon in 1801 . Another , Sir Robert Hugh Kennedy , served as head of the Army Commissariat under the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War . Thomas Kennedy differed from his brothers in embarking on a career in the navy , joining up on 12 August 1789 as a volunteer first class , under the patronage of Admiral Lord Hood . He was assigned to serve aboard the 74 - gun , which at the time was the guardship at Portsmouth , successively under the commands of Captains Hugh Cloberry Christian and Henry Harvey . He was then assigned to the 28 - gun , under Captain Henry Savage , and sailed with her to Africa and the West Indies . His service here lasted until September 1790 , after which he served as a midshipman on the Home and Newfoundland stations . He was first aboard the 36 - gun , under Captain William Young , before moving to the 74 - gun , under Captain Sir Andrew Snape Douglas , and finally to the sloop , successively under Captains William Elliot and Graham Moore . French Revolutionary Wars . Kennedy then served aboard the 74 - gun , at first under Captain Skeffington Lutwidge , and then Captain George Campbell . With " Terrible " Kennedy went out to join the Mediterranean Fleet , and saw service ashore during the Siege of Toulon . He earned particular praise from Hyde Parker , the captain of the fleet under Admiral Lord Hood , for his role in bringing off 60 French civilians , mostly women , as the city fell to the republicans . Kennedy returned to Britain in 1794 aboard the frigate HMS " Sybille " , under Captain Edward Cooke , and afterwards transferred to the 36 - gun . Kennedy served under two of her captains , Lord Garlies and George Burlton , before returning to HMS " Sybille " . He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 July 1796 , while serving aboard " Sybille " , and went on to distinguish himself in January 1798 in an attack on a gunboat armed with five guns and carrying 50 men in the Bay of Manilla . Despite having only the ships ' barge and 13 men , Kennedy nevertheless captured the gunboat and took possession of it . He was appointed to command his prize during an attack on Samboangon , on Maguindanao , carried out by " Lively " and . Kennedy rejoined " Lively " after this , and continued in her until April 1798 . His next appointment was to the 74 - gun , serving at first under Captain William Essington , and later under captains Thomas Seacombe , Eliab Harvey and Sir Robert Barlow . " Terrible " spent some time during this period as the flagship of Rear - Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood , and Kennedy served in the English Channel and in the Mediterranean . Napoleonic Wars . Trafalgar . After leaving " Triumph " in January 1803 , Kennedy took command of the small tender " Eliza and Jane " in 5 October until 15 November . His role was to convey impressed men from Dublin to Plymouth . He was then asked by his former commander , Eliab Harvey , to join him as his first - lieutenant aboard the 98 - gun . Both Kennedy and Harvey fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 , in which " Temeraire " was second in line behind Lord Nelson ' s flagship , the 100 - gun . During the battle " Temeraire " was engaged in close action with two French warships , " Redoutable " and " Fougueux " . After firing several broadsides into " Fougueux " , Harvey ordered Kennedy to take command of a party of boarders and lead them onto " Fougueux " . Kennedy ' s party entered the French ship via her main deck ports and chains . The French tried to defend the decks port by port , but were steadily overwhelmed . " Fougueux " s captain , Louis Alexis Baudoin , had suffered a fatal wound earlier in the fighting , leaving Commander Francois Bazin in charge . On learning that nearly all of the officers were dead or wounded and that most of the guns were out of action , Bazin surrendered the ship to Kennedy . Commander . Following the decisive victory at Trafalgar , a round of promotions were made to a number of the officers and men who had fought in the battle . Most of the first - lieutenants present at the battle were promoted to commander , and Kennedy duly received his promotion , dated 24 December 1805 . The shortage of ships available for officers of his rank meant that it was not until 29 August 1808 that he received a posting , to the 10 - gun . He commissioned her for service in the North Sea and in 1809 served in the Walcheren Campaign . While in command he took part in the capture of three privateer s and a number of merchantmen , and later commanded a squadron of eight brigs tasked with blockading two 40 - gun French frigates at Dunkirk . His blockade was successful , and being unable to escape , the frigates were eventually laid up . He was eventually promoted to post - captain on 4 December 1813 , but did not receive another ship before the end of the Napoleonic Wars . Later years and family . The draw - down of the navy in peacetime offered few opportunities for further service , but on 24 June 1834 Kennedy received a posting as Captain - Superintendent at Sheerness Dockyard . At Sheerness at this time was the ship Kennedy had served on at Trafalgar , HMS " Temeraire " , now reduced to serving as a victualling hulk . Her final role was as a guardship at Sheerness , under the title ' Guardship of the Ordinary and Captain - Superintendent ' s ship of the Fleet Reserve in the Medway ' . For the last two years of her service , from 1836 to 1838 she was under the nominal command of Captain Kennedy , in his post as Captain - Superintendent of Sheerness . Kennedy was now commander of the ship he had been first - lieutenant of at Trafalgar , and would be her last commander before her sale and disposal . Kennedy received orders from the Admiralty in June 1838 to have " Temeraire " valued in preparation for her sale out of the service , and work began on dismantling her on 4 July . Kennedy delegated this task to Captain Sir John Hill , commander of . " Temeraire " was sold by Dutch auction on 16 August 1838 to John Beatson , a shipbreaker based at Rotherhithe , for £5 , 530 . She was then towed up the Thames to his yard , a voyage that J . M . W . Turner depicted in his painting " The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up , 1838 " . Kennedy ' s commission did not long outlive " Temeraire " s . He left his post at Sheerness in 1838 and went into retirement , dying on 15 May 1846 . Kennedy married twice . His first marriage took place on 2 October 1806 to Louisa Adlam . The marriage produced two sons who survived him , both of whom entered the military and became officers : George Kennedy served in the Royal Artillery , and his brother Hugh Kennedy served in the Royal Marines . Kennedy remarried on 2 October 1834 to Hannah Kennedy , the widow of a Dr Kennedy , but no children are reported .