Jeremiah Coghlan CB (c. 1776 – 4 March 1844) was a British naval officer.Not to be confused with merchant and shipowne Jeremiah Coghlan 1756-88 He was famous for his almost legendary feats of daring during the
French Revolutionary
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
and
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. Despite his relatively humble background, he managed to rise from ship's boy to the rank of
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
at the age of 34. This he achieved through notable acts of extraordinary courage and a succession of sea-fights which made him a celebrated hero, almost without equal, and he would later dine with both
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. Coghlan's career was initiated by his patron and close friend
Sir Edward Pellew
Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother I ...
, after Pellew witnessed his heroic efforts during the rescue of the survivors of the
East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
''Dutton''.
Coghlan's exploits have been described as similar to plots for a collection of Hornblower novels Coghlan has also been compared to Hornblower because they were both protégés of Sir Edward Pellew aboard HMS ''Indefatigable''.
From May 1804 he served in the West Indies, returning as Sir Edward Pellew's flag captain on eight years later.
Jeremiah Coghlan also holds the distinction of being the only person in the Royal Navy to have been promoted to Lieutenant after only four years service.
Early years
Jerry Coghlan originally came from
Crookhaven
Crookhaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland, on the most southwestern tip of the island of Ireland. With an out-of-season population of about sixty, it swells in the summer season to about four hundred, when the occupants of the seasonal ...
in Ireland. (his brother Daniel was later the agent for Lloyds). He ran away to sea as a cabin boy, because, he later claimed, his mother had mistreated him.
In one incident his ship became stranded on the rocks in a storm near
Mevagissey
Mevagissey (; kw, Lannvorek) is a village, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.topmast
The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.
The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower ...
. The captain climbed the mast and managed to save the boy, who was the young Jerry Coghlan.
''Dutton''
On 26 January 1796 the ''Dutton'', which was transporting troops to the West Indies, ran aground under the
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
in Plymouth with almost 500 men, women and children still on board. A crowd gathered and watched helpless as the ship lay stricken. Due to the raging storm no boats dared to venture out, but this did not deter Coghlan, aged just 16, from plunging into the raging sea with a rope tied around his body. Although at great risk of being dashed to pieces on the rocks, he was successful in saving several lives. When he was unable to continue swimming, he found a boat and volunteers to man it, and proceeded to save a total of about 50 people.
In the meantime Captain Pellew had managed to board the vessel and was restoring order amongst the chaos. Spurred on by this spectacle of bravery, Coghlan, along with Mr Edsell (signal Midshipman to the port admiral), managed to obtain a boat from the
Barbican
A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe ...
, row out to the ''Dutton'', and bring their boat alongside. It was Coghlan who managed to secure the ''Dutton''s lifeline. This enabled hawsers to be rigged with cradles for hauling people ashore one by one. In the end only fifteen lives were lost.
"Soon after Sir Edward reached the wreck, a small boat belonging to an Irish brig came to alongside, with two persons who greatly assisted him in this work of benevolence. One of these young men was the mate, whom Captain Pellew on the following day received into his own ship, and thenceforward became his steady friend and patron. It is almost unnecessary to add, that this officer is now Captain Coghlan, R.N."
Early career
HMS ''Indefatigable'' and HMS ''Impetueux''
After spending three years on a merchant ship, Coghlan was persuaded to join Sir Edward Pellew on as a midshipman. This "added to the British Navy an officer almost unrivaled in heroic exploits - no less a character than Captain Jeremiah Coghlan"
In the spring of 1799 he moved with Edward Pellew to HMS ''Impetueux''. While on these ships he distinguished himself on numerous occasions with his gallantry on boat services and he also saved the lives of several of their crew members who had accidentally fallen overboard. As a reward for this gallantry Pellew persuaded Admiral Lord St Vincent to give him command of the cutter ''
Viper
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
'' as acting lieutenant.
Notable actions
Cutting out ''Cerbère''
On 29 July 1800, acting Lieutenant Jeremiah Coghlan was in command of the 14-gun cutter ''Viper'', attached to Sir Edward Pellew's squadron, when he led a famous cutting outTo "cut out" is to capture and carry off an enemy vessel while she is at anchor or in a harbour. expedition, during a blockade of
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
, on the South Coast of Brittany.
He persuaded Edward Pellew to lend him a 10-oared cutter and 12 volunteers from ''Impetueux'' and with boats also from and ''Viper'', the Irish fire-eater planned to launch a night raid on some of the gun-boats and vessels which were guarding the entrance to the harbour. Coghlan took six of his own men and Midshipman Silas Paddon from ''Viper'', which made 20 men in total. Striking out ahead Coghlan's boat reached the French gun-brig ''
Cerbère
Cerbère (; ca, Cervera de la Marenda) is a commune and railway town in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.
For this action Earl St Vincent presented the youthful Irishman with a swordPicture in Antiques & Fine Art Magazine. /ref> of 100 guineas value. He was promoted to lieutenant, which required a special order from the King in Council, as he had only been in the Navy four and a half years. Furthermore, the squadron let the boat crews keep the prize money for themselves, in recognition of their gallantry.
Captain Coghlan did not survive to claim the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "29 July Boat Service 1800" awarded in 1847.
''General Ernouf''
On Friday 20 March 1805, Coghlan was in command of
HMS Renard
Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Renard'', or HMS ''Reynard'', after the French for fox, and the anthropomorphic figure of Reynard:
* was an 18-gun sloop that captured from the French in July 1781. She became a hospital sh ...
and her complement of 90 men, off the north coast of
San Domingo
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...
. He gave chase to a French privateer. The quarry was ''General Ernouf'', from Guadeloupe, commanded by Paul Gerard Pointe, with a complement of 160 men, 31 of whom were soldiers. After a chase of about three hours ''Renard'' managed to close in on the Frenchman who immediately opened fire. Legend has it that Monsieur Pointe, on seeing the inferior size of ''Renard'', called for her to
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
, and Captain Coghlan took up his trumpet and replied "Aye! I'll strike, and damned hard too, my lad, directly". Coghlan waited until the French were within pistol-shot and then commenced a disciplined and deadly accurate return of fire. After 35 minutes ''General Ernouf'' was seen to catch fire and ten minutes later she blew up with a dreadful explosion.
Capture of ''Diligent''
On 25 May 1806, in the afternoon, ''Renard'' was about 10 miles north-north-east of the island of Mona when Coghlan spotted a foreign ship near the island of Zacheo off Puerto Rico. A long chase followed that lasted well through the night and into the next day.
On 26 May, while the chase continued throughout the day, it was discovered to be the French navy brig ''Diligent'', of fourteen 6-pounder and two 32-pounder guns. On the 27th, although ''Renard'' was now gaining on the enemy, the weather was becalmed and so yet another day and night passed. By noon on the 28th ''Renard'' had finally got almost near enough to open fire, when ''Diligent''s commander, ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Thévenard, suddenly surrendered his ship without a shot being fired by either side.
When taken on board ''Renard'', M. Thévenard was surprised by the smallness of the vessel and requested that he might be returned to his ship to continue the fight. Coghlan naturally laughed at this request. The Frenchman then very seriously asked that Coghlan might award him a certificate stating that he had not acted cowardly. The Captain replied "No, I cannot do that; but I will give you one that shall specify you have acted 'prudently'!"
Storming the guns at Cassis
In August 1813 Captain
Thomas Ussher
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher KCH CB (1779 – 6 January 1848) was an Anglo-Irish officer of the British Royal Navy who served with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and who in 1814 conveyed Napoleon Bonapart ...
on discovered a number of vessels lying in the
mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
at
Cassis
Cassis (; Occitan: ''Cassís'') is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, in Southern France. In 2016, it ...
, in the south of France. Five heavy gun batteries, one of which was protected by a wall 25 feet high, overlooked the town and harbour. Coghlan led a detachment of 200 marines and managed to overcome the citadel battery by
escalade
{{Unreferenced, date=May 2007
Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare, and though it is no longer common in modern warfare, ...
, under heavy fire. A certain Lieutenant Hunt distinguished himself by being the first over the top.
This battery in possession, the British drove the French at the point of the bayonet and pursued them through the defences to the heights that commanded the town, leaving it entirely at the mercy of the British ships. This enabled under Captain
Sir John Sinclair
Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, a writer on both finance and agriculture, and was one of the first people to use the word ''statistics'' in the English language, in h ...
to enter the mole and capture three gun boats and 24 merchant settees and
tartans
Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
.
The success of the venture was in large part owed to the gallantry of Coghlan and the marines under his command, as was later highlighted in Ussher's letter to Sir Edward Pellew.
Seizing Naples
In early May 1815, Coghlan was captain of HMS ''Alcmene'' as second in command of a British squadron headed by Captain Robert Campbell of on its way to the bay of Naples during the
Neapolitan War
The Neapolitan War, also known as the Austro-Neapolitan War, was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815 when King Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 ...
.
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
, the King of Naples was about to be deposed after his defeat by the Austrians at
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.
It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.
History
Signs of the first inhabitants of this favora ...
. The British squadron managed to prevent two Neapolitan
line-of-battle
The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...
ships, ''Joachim'' and ''Capri'', escaping to France. On board were Napoleon's mother, his brother Jérôme, his sister Pauline and Murat's children together "with all the crown jewels, much public treasure, the pictures and other costly moveables of the palace. The whole of this valuable property, upon its arrival at
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
would of course have been at the disposal of Buonaparte". It was all returned to the Sicilian Court.
On 11 May 1815, the squadron, consisting of ''Tremendous'', ''Alcmene'', and arrived off Naples and blockaded the port. Under the authority of Captain Campbell and after threatening to bombard the city, Coghlan helped to negotiate the treaty, signed on 13 May 1815, which enabled them to gain possession of all the ships and the naval arsenal in the Port of Naples - including ''Joachim'' and ''Capri''. This would later lead to a grant from Parliament of £150,000, as prize money to be shared amongst the officers and crew members.Coghlan's share of the prize money would have been approximately £5800.
Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth, as overall commander, arrived in Naples on the 20th. Although it had been agreed that the Austrians would take over on 23 May, Murat fled the city in disguise on the 19th and so Exmouth despatched Coghlan and 500 marines to restore order in the city. They quelled the rioters at the point of the bayonet and took over all the forts in the city. Coghlan installed himself in the Castle of St Elmo, and united with the civic guard to keep order until the arrival of Prince Leopold on the 23rd.
Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
on 4 March 1844, aged 69.
Family
He married a daughter of Charles Hay of Jamaica, widow of Captain John Marshall, R.N. His son was General Sir William Marcus Coghlan.