William Young (27 August 1761 – 11 February 1847) 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 F ...
who saw service during the
American War of Independence
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 ...
, and 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 ...
. He should not be confused with his namesake and near contemporary Vice Admiral William Young.
He served on several ships during the American War of Independence, rising steadily through the ranks. With the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France he was first engaged in recruiting seamen for the service, after which he became involved in the transport and logistics side of naval warfare, which was to remain his forte for the rest of his career. His service in the West Indies, in home waters and in the Mediterranean brought him to the attention of influential army and navy leaders, who helped him to find postings and be promoted. He mixed with royalty, garnering accolades for his services, and enjoyed the friendship of kings and dukes. Advanced 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 ...
in the years after the end of the war, he fathered a large family, and died in 1847 after seventy years of naval service, and with the rank of
Vice-Admiral of the blue
The Vice-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, re ...
.
Family and early life
Young was born in Borrowstoness, Scotland on 27 August 1761, the second son of David Young. William Young entered the navy on 16 May 1777 as an able seaman aboard the 50-gun , under Captain
Thomas Dumaresq
Admiral Thomas Dumaresq (1729 – 18 July 1802) was an officer in the British Royal Navy that rose to the rank of Admiral. Dumaresq was notable for his role as Captain of HMS Repulse in the Battle of the Saintes during the American Revolutionary ...
. The ''Portland'' was at this time 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 ...
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
during his time on the ''Portland'', and moved to the tender to the 32-gun . Here he participated in the capture of over 50 vessels, including several
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 ...
s of superior force. Young was then briefly aboard the 74-gun , based 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 ...
under Captain Hugh Dalrymple, before returning to his old captain, Thomas Dumaresq, in May 1779 as master's mate aboard , a frigate armed
en flûte
''En flûte'' (French: "as a fluyt") is a French naval expression of the Age of Sail to designate the use of a warship as a transport with reduced armament.Willaumez, p. 294
Some warships, ships of the line or frigates, were occasionally used wit ...
and serving in home waters and in 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 ...
.
After leaving the ''Ulysses'', Young served aboard the 64-gun , the flagship of Sir Peter Parker at
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 ...
, before being promoted to an acting-lieutenancy on 5 February 1781. He went on to serve aboard , carrying the flag of Rear-Admiral
Joshua Rowley
Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet (1734 – 1790) was a Royal Navy officer who was the fourth son of Admiral Sir William Rowley. Sir Joshua was from an ancient English family, originating in Staffordshire (England) and was born on ...
, and then aboard the 32-gun under Captains the Honourable Thomas Windsor, Robert Montagu, and George Stoney. During this time he was sent to Jamaica in charge of a Spanish privateer captured near St. Domingo, and in February 1783 took part in a short action in which ''Fox'' captured the Spanish frigate ''Santa Catalina'', with the loss of four men killed and one wounded aboard ''Fox''.
French Revolutionary Wars
With the outbreak of war with
Revolutionary France
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 considere ...
, Young was at first engaged in raising upwards of 1000 seamen through voluntary subscriptions from the merchants, bankers, and others of the
city of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, and in December 1794 he joined the navy's Transport department. He was the Principal Agent overseeing the embarking of the troops and civilians during the evacuation of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
in May 1798, where his services brought him to the attention of Brigadier-General Thomas Maitland. Maitland recommended he be promoted to Acting-Commander, and Young received confirmation of the promotion on 3 July 1799. In October he was put in charge of the transports in the Downs and
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
and took them to the
Texel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...
, after which, in July 1800 he oversaw the embarkation of troops for the expedition to
Ferrol Ferrol may refer to:
Places
* Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain
** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club
* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...
, which he accompanied as Principal Agent. Young was appointed by
Lord Keith
Baron Keith was a title that was created three times in British history, with all three creations in favour of the same person, Admiral the Honourable Sir George Keith Elphinstone. He was the fifth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinsto ...
to serve on his flagship, , on 17 November 1800. He was made
captain of the fleet
In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...
and given the task of overseeing the details of the shipping assembled at
Port Mahon
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
for the
expedition to Egypt
The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman territories of Ottoman Egypt, Egypt and Ottoman Syria, Syria, proclaimed to defend French First Republic, French tr ...
. Young went to Egypt with the expeditionary force, but became ill with repeated bilious attacks and was forced to return to Britain in June 1801.
His service in the Mediterranean was noticed and praised by
Sir Ralph Abercromby
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ire ...
and Lord Keith, and on their recommendations Young was advanced to Post-rank on 29 April 1802. He was presented with the gold medal of the Turkish
Order of the Crescent
The Imperial Order of the Crescent ( ota, نشانِ خلال) was a chivalric order of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The order was instituted in 1799 by Sultan Selim III when he wished to reward Horatio Nelson, an Anglican Christian, for his vi ...
and received a gold-hilted sword from the masters of the ships of the expedition.
Napoleonic Wars
With the resumption of hostilities in 1803 Young was sent to
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
Dukes of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...
and
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. He was then employed under Rear-Admiral
James Hawkins-Whitshed
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet, (1762 – 28 October 1849), was a Royal Navy officer. He saw action in command of a sloop-of-war, sloop at the Battle of Martinique (1780), Battle of ...
in fitting out gun-vessels at
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, embarking troops at
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, and establishing signal-posts on the south-west coast of Ireland, in preparation for a threatened French invasion. In October 1805 Young became the Inspecting Agent for Transports on the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, a post he held for the next 25 years, until his retirement in February 1830. During his time in the post he became friends with
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
, and the Dukes of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. On his retirement the different Transport-Lieutenants who had served under him presented him with a silver vase.
Later life
Young was advanced to rear-admiral on the retired list on 10 January 1837, and was restored to the active list on 17 August 1840. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 9 November 1846. Young had married Ann Spencer on 15 February 1789, with the union producing 13 children. His eldest son, William Hall Young, followed his father into the navy, and served as a midshipman in the West Indies, but died 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 October 1809. His second son,
George Frederick Young
George Frederick Young (1791 - 23 February 1870) was an English shipbuilder and politician.
He was born the second son of Vice-Admiral William Young and his wife Ann Curling, the daughter of a shipbuilder. He became a leading partner in Curling, ...
Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 road, A21 ...
,
Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
on 11 February 1847, after spending 70 years in the navy.
Notes
a. O'Byrne has the acting-lieutenancy accompanied with a posting to a 50-gun ship named ''Gratton''. No ship of this name appears in
J. J. Colledge
James Joseph Colledge (1908 – 26 April 1997) was a British naval
Ships of the Royal Navy
''Ships of the Royal Navy'' is a naval history reference work by J. J. Colledge (1908–1997); it provides brief entries on all recorded ships in commission in the Royal Navy from the 15th century, giving location of constructions, date of l ...
'', nor Rif Winfield's ''British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714-1792''. This may be , which was in the West Indies at the time, though she was a 74-gun ship.