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William Martin ( – 17 September 1756) was an officer of 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 ...
who saw service during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
and the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...
. He rose from obscure origins to see service during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was promoted to command several ships, seeing service in home waters and in the Mediterranean during the years of peace, and shortly after the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession, was rewarded for his good service with a posting as
commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...
, and command of a squadron. He served under several of the Mediterranean Fleet's commanders,
Nicholas Haddock Admiral Nicholas Haddock (1686 – 26 September 1746) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Commander-in-Chief of Britain's naval forces in the Mediterranean between 1738 and 1742. Despite an active and successful early and middle career, his re ...
,
Richard Lestock Admiral Richard Lestock (22 February 1679 – 17 December 1746) was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the def ...
, and most significantly
Thomas Mathews Thomas Mathews (October 16762 October 1751) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of admiral. Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the ...
. Mathews was engaged in promoting British interests in the Mediterranean during the war, and policing the neutrality of the Mediterranean kingdoms, trying to prevent them joining the war in support of Britain's enemies. Several times Martin was sent with squadrons to rival nation's ports, to threaten them with naval retaliation if they did not comply with British demands, and was uniformly successful in convincing local rulers not to resist. Promoted to
flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...
during the war, Martin served in a junior role in commanding the principal fleets, mainly in British waters, but also on an expedition to Lisbon. Rising steadily through the ranks, and taking command in his own right eventually, he eventually retired ashore towards the conclusion of the war, and died in 1756 with the rank of admiral of the blue.


Family and early life

Little is known about Martin's early life. He may have been the eldest son of Tutchen Martin, resident of
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, and his wife Bennet Gash, or Gage.Pearsall, 2004 Other accounts suggest that he was the son of
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...
George Martin, who died in 1724. William Martin appears to have entered the navy, as a volunteer-per-order, on 26 August 1708, joining . ''Dragon'' went out to Newfoundland in May 1710, but Martin did not accompany her, having been left at Plymouth on account of his health. Instead he went out to the Mediterranean aboard and was promoted to second lieutenant of on 30 July 1710 by Sir John Norris. Martin remained in the Mediterranean for the next few years, being transferred to on 4 January 1712 by Sir John Jennings and serving aboard her until July 1714. Martin then went out with the fleet despatched to the
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under Sir John Norris, and served at first aboard Norris's flagship , but transferring at some point between 1715 and 1718 to , before returning to ''Cumberland''. He was promoted to captain of ''Cumberland'' on 9 October 1718, remaining with her until 9 February 1720, when he took command of , still with Norris's fleet in the Baltic between 1720 and 1721. He afterwards went to American waters to combat piracy.


Command and Mediterranean

Martin took command of in 1727, and was assigned at first to the fleet supporting
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, and then to service 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 ...
with Sir Charles Wager's fleet. He left ''Advice'' in 1732 and took command of the following year. His command of ''Sunderland'' lasted until 1737, and took him to Lisbon and into the Mediterranean. His service in these waters continued after his transfer to in May 1738, with ''Ipswich'' assigned to Rear-Admiral
Nicholas Haddock Admiral Nicholas Haddock (1686 – 26 September 1746) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Commander-in-Chief of Britain's naval forces in the Mediterranean between 1738 and 1742. Despite an active and successful early and middle career, his re ...
's fleet. Martin's service continued after the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession, and he was appointed commodore in January 1741 and given a detached squadron off Cadiz. Haddock returned to England at about this time, handing over command in the Mediterranean to his second officer,
Richard Lestock Admiral Richard Lestock (22 February 1679 – 17 December 1746) was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the def ...
, who was in turn superseded by the arrival of Vice-Admiral
Thomas Mathews Thomas Mathews (October 16762 October 1751) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of admiral. Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the ...
. Mathews had the task of carrying out diplomatic missions with the Mediterranean states and of securing British interests during the war. The Neapolitans had, in violation of their claims of neutrality, sent troops to support Britain's enemy, Spain, and Mathews was determined to force their withdrawal from the war. In July 1742 Mathews sent Martin, in command of squadron, to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
'to bring the King of the two Sicilies to a just sense of his errors in having attacked in conjunction with the Spaniards the Queen of Hungary's territories in Italy.'


Mission to Naples

Martin arrived at Naples on the afternoon of 19 August, with orders to capture, sink or burn any vessels carrying military stores and supplies he found there and 'to use his utmost to lay the said city in ashes, unless the King of the two Sicilies shall agree forthwith not only to withdraw his troops now acting in conjunction with those of the King of Spain in Italy, but to forbear from giving in future any assistance of what kind soever.' Martin sent his
flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...
, Merrick de L'Angle, onshore to present the terms to the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, demanding that an answer be returned within half an hour. The small squadron was considerably more powerful than anything the Neapolitans could muster, and after calling an emergency council, the King and his ministers attempted to make conditions, sending a deputy back to Martin with de L'Angle. Martin instead stated that he was sent 'as an officer to act, not a minister to treat', and once more demanded the King comply with the demands. With no way of resisting, the Neapolitans confirmed their neutrality, and promised to withdraw their troops. His objective achieved, Martin weighed anchor at midnight, and sailed to rejoin Mathews at Hyères Bay.


Actions against the Genoese

Martin's next task involved cruising to protect
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
from Spanish attacks, and in February 1743 he went to the Genoese town of Ajaccio, with orders to destroy some Spanish
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there. On arrival Martin again threatened to destroy the town with a naval bombardment, unless the inhabitants agreed to demolish the magazines, which they did. Despite this, the Genoese continued to provide assistance to the Spanish, and news reached Mathews early in 1743 that a Spanish ship had collected levies from Corsica and sailed them to Italy, anchoring at Ajaccio. Mathews despatched Martin on 13 February in ''Ipswich'', and accompanied by HMS ''Revenge'' and to Ajaccio. Martin anchored off the port on 18 February, with his quarry, the ''San Isidro'', anchored inside, hauled in close to the shore batteries. Martin weighed anchor at 4 am the next morning and warped into the harbour, laying ''Ipswich'' alongside the Spanish vessel, while ''Revenge'' did the same. The ships exchanged a heavy fire until the ''San Isidro'' caught fire and blew up at noon. Martin then returned to Mathews at Hyères.


Flag rank

After these successes Martin sailed back to England, arriving there late in 1743, and receiving a promotion to rear admiral on 7 December. He received a command in the Channel Fleet in February 1744 under his old commander, Sir John Norris, and was promoted to vice admiral on 23 June 1744. Martin was appointed second in command of the fleet sent to Lisbon under Sir
John Balchen Admiral of the White Sir John Balchen (2 February 1670 – 4 October 1744), sometimes written as Balchin, was an officer of the British Royal Navy with a long and distinguished career during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the course ...
, and while there produced a report on the contract hospitals. Martin was highly critical of them, and influenced the later decision to introduce dedicated medical centres solely for naval use. Balchen was lost during the return voyage to England, when his flagship, the 100-gun , disappeared at sea. Martin replaced him as commander of the fleet, a post he held until 1745.


Fleet commands and later life

Martin was based in the Downs under Admiral Edward Vernon in December 1745, and then succeeded Vernon in the command. The fleet had been stationed off the Downs to meet the threat of a French invasion to support a
Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...
. One such fleet had already been dispersed the previous year, and with the collapse of the threat Martin returned to his usual station, and commanded the main fleet until his retirement in July 1746 on health grounds. He was promoted to full admiral on 15 July 1747, and retired to
Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
where he died on 17 September 1756. He had married Mary Atkins, of Twell,
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on 16 August 1726, but the couple did not have any children.


Notes

a. The squadron consisted of Martin's 70-gun ''Ipswich'', the 50-gun , Captain Solomon Gideon; the 50-gun , Captain Harry Powlett; the 40-gun , Captain Richard Hughes; the 20-gun , Captain Merrick de L’Angle; and the 8-gun
bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounted ...
s , Captain J. Bowdler; , Captain J. Philipson; and , Captain the Hon. George Edgcumbe. Also listed in some sources as forming the squadron are a
xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...
named ''Guarland's Prize'', and the bomb vessel .


Citations


References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, William 1690s births 1756 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession