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 ...
Joseph Ellison (1753 – 1 October 1816) was a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer. Having joined the service at the age of nine, he served during the
Falklands Crisis in 1770 and went on to participate in the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
and
Siege of Pondicherry during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, during which he was promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
. On 4 July 1780 Ellison was serving on board
HMS ''Prudente'' when they engaged, with another British
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
, two French frigates off
Cape Ortegal
Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume
O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...
. Ellison was badly wounded in the back during the battle and had an arm destroyed by a cannon ball that was amputated after the British had attained their victory. Having recuperated from his injuries Ellison was appointed to the
impress service
Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...
where he performed so well that he was promoted to
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
in 1782 and
post-captain in 1783. He took command of
HMS ''Ariadne'' in April of that year and served in her off Ireland investigating fisheries, but in September he temporarily retired from the navy when his wounds began to become more problematic.
By 1785 Ellison's condition had improved once again and he was given command of
HMS ''Druid'', which he would command almost unbrokenly into the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
. In June 1794 he played a prominent part in an action against a much superior French squadron while under the command of
Sir James Saumarez
Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
Early life
Saumarez was born ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
, where the smaller British force successfully escaped the French attack. In June 1795 he was given command of
HMS ''Standard'' in which he participated in the
Quiberon Bay Expedition where he unsuccessfully attempted to force the island of
Belle Île to surrender. After this Ellison left ''Standard'' to again rest and recover his health, and was given
HMS ''Marlborough'' in August 1797.
''Marlborough'' had removed her previous captain during the
Spithead mutiny
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...
and Ellison was brought in as a captain more favourable to seamen. Despite this, while sailing to join the
Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
on 7 May 1798 the crew attempted to mutiny, but Ellison was warned and was able to get on deck before the attack unfolded. He left ''Marlborough'' in November because of another deterioration in his health, and re-joined the impress service until 1801. In 1803 he was appointed a captain of
Greenwich Naval Hospital
Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and ar ...
, where he served until his death in 1816.
Early life
Joseph Ellison was born in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
in 1753. His family were of a respectable background, and he was distantly related to the
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
Richard Ellison and General
Cuthbert Ellison. His father, who was also named Joseph Ellison, died when Ellison was six months old. He was then adopted by a childless aunt who lived in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. He joined the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
at the age of nine.
Naval career
Ellison went to sea initially with Admiral
Sir Edward Hawke
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of T ...
in the 100-gun
ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
HMS ''Royal George''. That ship was
paid off
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
on 18 December 1762 and then in 1763 he transferred to the 60-gun
fourth rate HMS ''Rippon''. He soon after moved to the 74-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Arrogant'', the
guardship at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, in which he served until 1767. At this point he transferred ships again, joining the 32-gun
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
HMS ''Glory'' which was
in ordinary at
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, where he served until he left for the 20-gun frigate
HMS ''Aldborough'' in 1769. Ellison's quick progression through ships continued into 1770, with him then joining the 70-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Boyne''. ''Boyne'' was freshly
commissioned for the
Falklands Crisis and she sailed to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
on 3 June 1771. She returned home in 1772 and became guardship at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
in April 1773, at which point Ellison moved to the 90-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Ocean'', another Plymouth guardship. Soon after this he moved into the 70-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Somerset'' and was then briefly seconded from her to the 74-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Albion''.
American Revolutionary War
![AttackBunkerHill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/AttackBunkerHill.jpg)
After a few months Ellison returned to ''Somerset'', and the ship was sent to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
on 24 October 1774 to serve on the
North America Station. The
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
having by now begun, Captain Edward Le Cras of ''Somerset'' gave Ellison command over three flat-bottomed boats to assist in obstructing groups of American rebels from connecting with one another. This duty required almost constant alertness by the men involved and they were frequently harassed by rebel forces. Ellison re-joined ''Somerset'' only when the craft being used were discharged as being unsuitable for further service. Soon after this Major-General
Sir William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
arrived at Boston to serve as
Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in North America. Having heard that American forces were attacking
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, Howe was conveyed there by Ellison in ''Somerset''s barge. Upon arriving there on 16 June 1775 Ellison assisted Howe's army in burning the town, and he then volunteered to continue on land with the army. It was decided however that he should stay with the barge in case the army needed to retreat. On the following day Howe fought the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
and then re-embarked in Ellison's barge to sail back to Boston.
Ellison's successes in these endeavours led Howe to offer him a commission in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
after they reached Boston, but he declined it. Ellison left North America in March 1776 when ''Somerset'' sailed home. When he reached England, he removed into ''Rippon'', now the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of Commodore
Sir Edward Vernon. They sailed to join the
East Indies Station on 24 November and soon after ''Rippon''s arrival in 1778 the
Anglo-French War began. Having been promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
on 29 July, he fought in a skirmish between the British and French fleets on 10 August off
Pondicherry. After this Vernon sent him to serve in the 14-gun
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
HMS ''Cormorant'', in which he participated in the successful
Siege of Pondicherry in October.
After the siege ''Cormorant'' was sent to serve in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
, sailing for
Suez. Once the ship arrived there a portion of the crew deserted to live with the local population. Ellison was sent ashore to recover the men, but was then captured by some Turks and set before a military tribunal. ''Cormorant''s captain, Commander William Owen, threatened to sail in to the coast and bombard the town Ellison was being held in unless he was given up. The threat was successful and Ellison was released soon after. ''Cormorant'' subsequently sailed to
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, where Owen died in an accident on 24 October. Ellison took temporary command of the ship and sailed her to
Trincomalee where Commander
Charles Pole
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial governor and banker. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the Ame ...
took over. They then sailed home to England carrying dispatches from the army and the navy, arriving in March 1779 after a journey of four months and thirteen days. Pole was appointed to another ship upon his return; Ellison was left in temporary command again, and he sailed ''Cormorant'' to
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
.
Wounding
By the summer of 1779 he was serving on board the 90-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Queen'', the flagship of Vice-Admiral
Sir Robert Harland, in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. He left ''Queen'' towards the end of the year and was appointed to the 36-gun frigate
HMS ''Prudente'', which was at the time preparing to sail at
Deptford. She was commissioned in March 1780 and ''Prudente'' initially sailed to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
and then returned to England to join the Channel Fleet. On the night of 4 July, while patrolling with the 32-gun frigate
HMS ''Licorne'', they engaged two French frigates in a protracted fight off
Cape Ortegal
Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume
O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...
. During the action Ellison had his right arm shattered by an
18-pounder ball; one of the French frigates, the 32-gun
''Capricieuse'', was captured by the British and it was her surgeon that after the battle amputated Ellison's arm. He also received several dangerous wounds to his back during the five hour engagement. ''Prudente''s captain, Captain
William Waldegrave, described Ellison's "great intrepidity" during the action and requested that despite his injuries, he continue to be employed. ''Prudente'' returned to England on 19 July and Ellison was sent ashore under the care of Waldegrave and the now Sir Charles Pole who had come to assist Ellison in his plight. He was put up in
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
, where he received a number of visits from senior officers, including Captain
Lord Hugh Seymour who became a lifelong friend of his.
Impress service
Upon recovering from his wound Ellison petitioned the
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Lord Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...
, for another appointment at sea, but his amputation meant that opportunities were slim for him, and instead he was given command of a section of the
impress service
Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...
. Out of respect for Ellison's previous services Sandwich allowed him to choose what position he wished to have, and he created a new impress post at Gosport for him. Ellison had great success in this position, including on one occasion with fourteen men boarding an
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 ...
and detaining forty-five deserters. Sandwich's successor as First Lord, Admiral
Lord Keppel, was told of his deeds by Admiral
Sir Thomas Pye and Vice-Admiral
John Evans and had him promoted to
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
on 6 June 1782. Ellison was given nominal command of the 14-gun sloop
HMS ''Ostrich'' at this point but stayed at Gosport commanding his section of the impress service. ''Ostrich'' was paid off in August.
Ellison continued to serve in the impress, and was again rewarded for his service when on 21 January 1783 he was promoted to
post-captain. As with ''Ostrich'', for the purpose of his promotion he was nominally in command of the 60-gun fourth rate
HMS ''Panther'' but this ship was in ordinary and Ellison continued to ply his trade in the impress service. As war with France and Spain began to wind down, Ellison left his position with ''Panther'' in the impress and was given command of the 20-gun
post ship HMS ''Ariadne'' in April. He was sent to the north of Ireland with the 16-gun sloop
HMS ''Seaflower'' under his orders, where he went about investigating possible sites for fisheries. This task was unsuccessful and he returned to England in September. He briefly retired from the Royal Navy at this point because his wounds continued to break open and bleed badly and he felt himself incapable of continuing to competently command ''Ariadne''.
''Druid''
In February 1785 his wounds had healed to the extent that he began to petition for command of a frigate, and he received that of the 32-gun
HMS ''Druid''. Ellison commanded ''Druid'' through the years of peace after the Revolutionary War. In May he was sent with Commodore
George Vandeput
Admiral of the Blue George Vandeput (died 14 March 1800) was an English naval officer, the illegitimate son of Sir George Vandeput, 2nd Baronet ( – 17 June 1784) and an unknown mother.
Naval career
He was a midshipman on board HMS ''Neptune'' ...
to convey
Prince Edward to
Stadt
Stad or Stadlandet is a peninsula in Stad Municipality in the northwestern part of the Nordfjord district in Vestland county in Norway. The peninsula is considered the dividing point between the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea to t ...
. After returning from this mission he was given a squadron consisting of the 18-gun sloop
HMS ''Pylades'', 16-gun sloop
HMS ''Fairy'', 10-gun
cutter HMS ''Sprightly'', and 14-gun cutter
HMS ''Barracouta''. The squadron was stationed off
the Lizard on anti-smuggling duties, where they captured a number of craft. After this Ellison and ''Druid'' joined a frigate squadron that included the 28-gun
HMS ''Pegasus'', 28-gun
HMS ''Rose'', and 38-gun
HMS ''Hebe''. For a period of time when ''Hebe'' was absent with the senior officer, Ellison commanded the squadron. In February 1788 ''Druid'' was paid off but he successfully petitioned to be assigned again to that ship, and he re-joined her in October 1790. He joined the fleets that assembled during the
Spanish Armament in October 1790 and the Russian Armament in October 1791. After this he was sent with secret orders to the
Leeward Islands Station
The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, L ...
on 6 April 1792. He returned from the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
in September in company with the 50-gun fourth-rate
HMS ''Medusa'', and while doing so visited
Portland Roads
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...
to pay his respects to
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, who was at the time visiting there. He spoke to the king who was greatly put about upon hearing that Ellison had commanded ''Druid'' for over seven years, but Ellison was resolute in wanting to stay in his ship and joked with the king that he wished he would give ''Druid'' as a present to him.
When the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
began in February 1793 Ellison remained in command of ''Druid'' and he was immediately sent on several cruises off the French coast. On the second of these he took the 28-gun frigate
HMS ''Circe'' under his command and together they captured two merchant ships and the 14-gun
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
''l'Esperance'' in June. By June 1794 he was serving on the
Downs Station
The Downs Station also known as the Commander-in-Chief, the Downs or
Admiral Commanding at the Downs was a formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy based at Deal. It was a major command of the Royal N ...
in a squadron of three frigates commanded by Commodore
Sir James Saumarez
Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
Early life
Saumarez was born ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. On 8 June the squadron
narrowly escaped from a vastly superior French force that included the two 50-gun
razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down (''razeed'') to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French ''vaisseau rasé'', meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship.
Seventeenth century
During the ...
s
''Scévola'' and
''Brutus'' by using Saumarez's local knowledge of the waters. Ellison was specially singled out by Saumarez for praise after the action, he having alongside the 36-gun frigate
HMS ''Crescent'' fought off the main attack of the French force as the British made their escape. Ellison's command of ''Druid'' finally ended in June 1795 when he was given command of the 64-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Standard''. As a sign of official approval of his services Ellison was allowed to bring with him to ''Standard'' all his officers and fifty men from ''Druid''.
Quiberon Bay expedition
Ellison joined Commodore
Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron for the
Quiberon Bay Expedition in which a French Royalist army was to be landed by the Royal Navy. The squadron sailed from
Yarmouth Roads
Yarmouth Roads is a coastal feature in Norfolk, England that was used by merchant and naval ships as an anchorage or roadstead off Great Yarmouth.
Description
The following is a description of Yarmouth Roads that appeared in The Nautical Magazi ...
in the middle of June from where they joined with the fleet of Admiral
Lord Bridport
Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, KB (2 December 17262 May 1814), of Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Origins
He was a younger son of ...
on 21 June. A French fleet under Vice-Admiral
Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral.
Villaret was born at Auch ...
looked to attack the British, and Bridport ordered ''Standard'' and two other of Warren's ships into his line of battle to bolster his force. Ellison was stationed a far distance from the main fleet, however, and he was not able to join in time to fight in the
Battle of Groix on 23 June. Ellison then re-joined Warren and they sailed for Quiberon Bay on 25 June. Ellison was sent to blockade
Belle Île and to overawe the island into surrender with the 38-gun frigate
HMS ''Arethusa'' and two
gunboats under his command. By 16 July talks had broken down and the French governor reaffirmed his republican sympathies, refusing to join the Royalist cause.
Subsequently ''Standard'' was attacked by a bout of
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
, which forced Ellison to land most of his men on the island of
Hœdic. Here he created a temporary hospital for his men out of tents and destroyed the French fortifications present. After six weeks the crew had recovered and Ellison was sent with the 74-gun ship of the line to take the
Count of Artois to
Noirmoutier, and while there the two ships captured several American merchant ships. Having returned to Quiberon Bay, the invasion was called off at the end of the year and Ellison returned to England. On 24 February 1796 Ellison was sent to
St Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
to escort a convoy of eleven East Indiamen into
the Downs. Having completed this on 2 August, ''Standard'' was sent into Sheerness Dockyard for a
refit
Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services for ...
and Ellison obtained permission for an
acting
Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.
Acting involves a broad r ...
captain to take over in this ship for four months while he went on leave to recover his health. The
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
presented him with a gift of 400
guineas in thanks for his services.
''Marlborough'' mutiny and retirement
![Belvedere EIC ship](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Belvedere_EIC_ship.jpg)
Ellison did not re-join ''Standard'' after this and he instead applied to be given command of the 74-gun ship of the line which was at the time in ordinary at Plymouth. ''Magnificent'' took too long to be made ready and so he was instead given command of the 74-gun ship of the line
HMS ''Marlborough'' in August 1797. ''Marlborough'' had been one of the ships to mutiny in the
Spithead mutiny
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...
earlier in the year, and her previous captain had left the ship after this event. The crew of ''Marlborough'' greeted Ellison positively when he came on board to assume command, and they set sail to join Lord Bridport's fleet off
Torbay. Having done so the ships were caught in a gale and the East Indiaman
''Belvedere'' was driven towards them, having lost her rudder. Ellison was sent on board to assist in sailing her to safety and as conditions worsened he succeeded in towing her into
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
, for which he again received the thanks of the East India Company.
Ellison subsequently joined Rear-Admiral
Sir Roger Curtis' squadron off the coast of Ireland, but soon after was sent to join Admiral
Lord St Vincent's Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
off
Cadiz. Midway through the voyage on 7 May 1798 off
Berehaven, Ellison was woken from his sleep by the news that the ship was mutinying and he and his officers were to shortly have their throats cut. He went on deck immediately and took control of ''Marlborough'', dampening the seeds of rebellion among a large group of men that had gathered on the
poopdeck. He brought his officers on deck and stayed there for the rest of the night to ensure the crew stayed below. Ellison was eventually able to force the crew to give up the two leaders of the planned mutiny. ''Marlborough'' safely reached St Vincent's fleet after this and Ellison requested a
court martial for the ringleaders, which produced a death sentence on one of them. Ellison requested to St Vincent that other members of the fleet be the ones to hang the sailor because he felt that his crew would refuse to do so. St Vincent demanded that his crew do it anyway, and had the small boats of the fleet arranged around ''Marlborough'' armed with
carronade
A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...
s as the hanging took place with orders to fire into Ellison's ship if his crew failed to hang the mutineer as ordered. It was thought that Ellison might have been correct in saying that his crew would not complete the hanging when the men hauling on the rope let it go slack as they began to pull, but this was not the case and the execution took place successfully.
![Joseph Mallord William Turner - London from Greenwich Park - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Joseph_Mallord_William_Turner_-_London_from_Greenwich_Park_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
In November Ellison's health began to seriously deteriorate once more and he was forced to leave Cadiz and accept a post in the impress service again, this time stationed at
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
. He left that service in 1801 when it was broken up at the start of the
Peace of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...
. At some point after this he served as lieutenant-governor of the
Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse
The Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse was a medical facility for naval officers and other ranks at Stonehouse, Plymouth.
History
The naval hospital was built between 1758 and 1765 to a design by the little-known Alexander Rovehead. The design was ...
.
While he was unable to again serve at sea, Ellison was subsequently appointed the third captain of
Greenwich Naval Hospital
Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and ar ...
in 1803, and was promoted to second captain there in 1805 with responsibility for the naval pension fund controlled from the hospital. On 9 November of the same year he was made a superannuated captain in the Royal Navy, and thus received no further promotion in the service. He died on 1 October 1816, aged sixty-three, at his apartments in the hospital. His successor as second captain was Captain
Nathaniel Portlock
Nathaniel Portlock (c. 1748 – 12 September 1817) was a British ship's captain, maritime fur trader, and author.
He entered the Royal Navy in 1772 as an able seaman, serving in . In 1776 he joined as master's mate and served on the third Pac ...
, an old friend of Ellison's who had previously named his son, Major-General
Joseph Ellison Portlock
Major-General Joseph Ellison Portlock (30 September 1794 – 14 February 1864) was born at Gosport and was a British geologist and soldier, the only son of Nathaniel Portlock, and a captain in the Royal Navy.
Educated at Blundell's School and t ...
, after him.
Family
Ellison married Esther Collis, the daughter of Thomas Collis of Gosport, at
Alverstoke in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
on 6 November 1779. Together they had at least three sons and three daughters:
* Lieutenant Charles Pole Hardcastle Ellison (d. 22 March 1816), Royal Navy officer
* Lieutenant Cuthbert Waldegrave Ellison (d. 31 December 1800), Royal Navy officer
* Second Captain Joseph Tomkyns Ellison,
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
officer
* ? Ellison, married Lieutenant Frederick Gore Wade of the
25th Light Dragoons
The 25th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1941 to 1947.
Previous regiments bearing the number have been:
* De La Bouchetiere's Regiment of Dragoons was re-formed in 1716 as the 25th Dragoons and disbanded in 1718.
* 25th ...
at
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in March 1810
* Esther Elizabeth Ellison (d. 7 April 1810), married Captain Basden of the
89th Regiment of Foot
The 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised on 3 December 1793. Under the Childers Reforms the regiment amalgamated with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess Victor ...
in 1809
* Dorothea Elizabeth Ellison (d. 21 March 1810)
Character
Ellison was a "popular and courageous officer" according to Anthony Sullivan, a biographer of Saumarez; his presence in naval units was often appreciated by his fellow officers. On a professional level, naval historian Nicholas Tracy writes that he was an "effective administrator, and a captain of men who could be ruthless with those who departed from the code of naval discipline", highlighting the ''Marlborough'' mutiny as an exemplar of his abilities. His continued rise through the ranks despite his wounds demonstrates the meritocratic nature of the eighteenth-century navy. However, his competency was questioned after the mutiny by St Vincent, who suggested that his wounds and long service had impacted his ability to command, at one point threatening to replace Ellison in command of ''Marlborough'' because of this. Despite this Ellison continued to be well thought of by the majority of his peers; there was much dissatisfaction when the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
refused to increase his wound pension from a lieutenant's rate while he served at Greenwich Naval Hospital, he being one of a small minority not to have their rate reflected by their rank.
Notes and citations
Notes
Citations
References
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{{refend
1753 births
1816 deaths
Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne
Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars