Thomas Dundas (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Dundas KCB
(c. 1765 – 29 March 1841) was an officer of the Royal Navy
, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
. An effective frigate captain he made a number of small captures, but not did not see action in any major fleet clashes, until he was present at the Battle of Trafalgar
in 1805. He played an important role in relaying signals before the battle, and in towing dismasted British ships to safety afterwards. He had a largely uneventful career thereafter, rising through the ranks and eventually dying a vice-admiral.
. His next promotion was to commander on 2 September 1795, and he was then raised to post-captain
on 9 July 1798. Dundas received command of the 20-gun sixth rate shortly afterwards and in 1799 he captured a valuable Spanish whaling ship. In March 1799 he captured a Spanish warship, the Urca Cargadora, pierced for 26 guns, but only mounting 12. He was then moved to , and escorted a convoy of merchantmen to the Mediterranean, returning to Britain on 2 July 1802.
, where he captured several prizes. In late 1804 he captured a Spanish ship worth over 200,000 dollars, and also helped in the capture of the privateer
s Fanny and Superb. The Naiad was also involved in an engagement in the Bay of Gibraltar
with a flotilla of Spanish gunboats. In mid-August 1805 Dundas had a narrow escape when he came across a large fleet off northern Spain, which challenged the Naiad using British codes. This was in fact the combined fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
, heading for Ferrol. Naiad managed to escape, evading fire from the lead French frigates, and on 20 August Dundas fell in with Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Calder
's squadron, on its way to blockade Ferrol.
Calder's force was then sent on to join the ships blockading the combined fleet in Cadiz
under Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
, and Dundas used his time here to harass enemy supply ships. With the arrival on 28 September of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
to take command of the fleet, the main British force withdrew over the horizon. Nelson deployed his frigates, including Dundas's Naiad, and several ships of the line to provide a line by which the enemy fleet could be observed and signals transmitted back to him. When the combined fleet put to sea on 19 October Naiad was third in the line, between the frigate and the 74-gun third rate . As the combined fleet approached the British over the next couple of days, Naiad and the other frigates shadowed it, reporting on its movements.
of the , Blackwood
of the and Capel
of the , to come aboard his flagship
. There they received their orders for the battle, which were to take station windward of the Victory and so repeat his signals to the rest of the fleet. They were also to observe the progress of the battle, report on escaping ships, take over surrendered enemy ships that had not been taken and take in tow dismasted British ships or their prizes. They then all went below and witnessed Nelson's will. The Naiad duly remained out of the general melee, did not open fire, and sustained no casualties. After the battle she took William Hargood
's damaged and dismasted in tow.
Dundas's most significant challenge of the battle was navigating both the Naiad and the crippled Belleisle through the rising storm to the safety of Gibraltar. By 22 October they had lost contact with most of the rest of the fleet, but Dundas persevered, several times having to haul the ships off the coast as strong winds threatened to drive them onshore. Better weather on the morning of 23 October allowed Dundas to make more sail, but the return of the gale in the afternoon placed both ships in difficulties. During the afternoon the crews had a fright when a ship-of-the-line was spotted speeding up from the south. At first it seemed that it could be one of the squadron that had escaped from Trafalgar under Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
, but after an exchange of signals the mystery ship was revealed to be , rushing northwards to join the fleet. Naiad and Belleisle battled the weather for the rest of the day; several times the tow rope snapped, but it was reattached by the Naiad sailing close enough to the unmanageable hulk of the Belleisle for a rope to be thrown across, as the sea was too rough to risk launching boats. At 1940 that evening the two ships collided, damaging Naiads jolly boat
and smashing away most of the starboard quarter gallery.
Dundas was eventually forced to haul away from the Belleisle as night fell, and try to save his own ship. During the night the Naiads larboard topsail sheet blew away, and the reefed topsail sheet was split. The crew were forced to cut away the other sheet to save the yard, but the sheet blew away in the gale. Shortly afterwards the fore topmast staysail was blown to bits. Belleisle was also in a desperate situation, blown almost onto the breakers of the Spanish coast before her crew managed to wear her around. With difficulty she survived the night, and was found when the light came the next morning by Dundas, who had a line reattached. He steered straight for Gibraltar, and came within sight of the rock by midday, despite having been fired on by the Spanish battery at Tarifa
. Dundas took Naiad in and anchored at 1330 that afternoon, while the Belleisle was warped into the mole
. Dundas subsequently was awarded a sword from the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund for his services at Trafalgar.
. Dundas went on to command the 64-gun , another Trafalgar veteran, and the 74-gun . He commissioned on 28 March 1822, and was stationed at Plymouth
. During his career Dundas is said to have invented a type of inflammable ball,
Dundas was advanced to rear-admiral on 27 May 1825, vice-admiral on 10 January 1837 and appointed and invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 September 1831. He died in Reading
, Berkshire
on 29 March 1841. The sword he received for Trafalgar is currently held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(c. 1765 – 29 March 1841) was an officer of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. An effective frigate captain he made a number of small captures, but not did not see action in any major fleet clashes, until he was present at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
in 1805. He played an important role in relaying signals before the battle, and in towing dismasted British ships to safety afterwards. He had a largely uneventful career thereafter, rising through the ranks and eventually dying a vice-admiral.
Early life
Little is known about Dundas's early life, but he appears to have been born in or around 1765, and to have joined the navy in 1778, during the American War of Independence. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 July 1793, shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, with one of his earliest commands being the sloopSloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
. His next promotion was to commander on 2 September 1795, and he was then raised to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
on 9 July 1798. Dundas received command of the 20-gun sixth rate shortly afterwards and in 1799 he captured a valuable Spanish whaling ship. In March 1799 he captured a Spanish warship, the Urca Cargadora, pierced for 26 guns, but only mounting 12. He was then moved to , and escorted a convoy of merchantmen to the Mediterranean, returning to Britain on 2 July 1802.
Frigate captain
With the end of the Peace of Amiens in 1803 Dundas returned to sea in 1804 in command of the 36-gun fifth rate . He was initially assigned to patrol off the west coast of Spain and in the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, where he captured several prizes. In late 1804 he captured a Spanish ship worth over 200,000 dollars, and also helped in the capture of the privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s Fanny and Superb. The Naiad was also involved in an engagement in the Bay of Gibraltar
Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay...
with a flotilla of Spanish gunboats. In mid-August 1805 Dundas had a narrow escape when he came across a large fleet off northern Spain, which challenged the Naiad using British codes. This was in fact the combined fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
, heading for Ferrol. Naiad managed to escape, evading fire from the lead French frigates, and on 20 August Dundas fell in with Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Calder
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
's squadron, on its way to blockade Ferrol.
Calder's force was then sent on to join the ships blockading the combined fleet in Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
under Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
, and Dundas used his time here to harass enemy supply ships. With the arrival on 28 September of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
to take command of the fleet, the main British force withdrew over the horizon. Nelson deployed his frigates, including Dundas's Naiad, and several ships of the line to provide a line by which the enemy fleet could be observed and signals transmitted back to him. When the combined fleet put to sea on 19 October Naiad was third in the line, between the frigate and the 74-gun third rate . As the combined fleet approached the British over the next couple of days, Naiad and the other frigates shadowed it, reporting on its movements.
Nelson and Trafalgar
As the two fleets came within sight on the morning of 21 October, Nelson summoned the four frigate captains, Dundas of the Naiad, ProwseWilliam Prowse
William Prowse CB was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
of the , Blackwood
Henry Blackwood
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
of the and Capel
Thomas Bladen Capel
Admiral Sir Thomas Bladen Capel GCB RN was an officer in the British Royal Navy whose distinguished service in the French Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him rapid promotion and great acclaim both in and out of the Navy...
of the , to come aboard his flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
. There they received their orders for the battle, which were to take station windward of the Victory and so repeat his signals to the rest of the fleet. They were also to observe the progress of the battle, report on escaping ships, take over surrendered enemy ships that had not been taken and take in tow dismasted British ships or their prizes. They then all went below and witnessed Nelson's will. The Naiad duly remained out of the general melee, did not open fire, and sustained no casualties. After the battle she took William Hargood
William Hargood
Admiral Sir William Hargood KCB GCH RN was a British naval officer who served with distinction through the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, during which he gained an unfortunate reputation for bad luck, which seemed to reverse following his...
's damaged and dismasted in tow.
Towing the Belleisle
Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
, but after an exchange of signals the mystery ship was revealed to be , rushing northwards to join the fleet. Naiad and Belleisle battled the weather for the rest of the day; several times the tow rope snapped, but it was reattached by the Naiad sailing close enough to the unmanageable hulk of the Belleisle for a rope to be thrown across, as the sea was too rough to risk launching boats. At 1940 that evening the two ships collided, damaging Naiads jolly boat
Jolly boat
The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. The origins of the name is the subject of debate, but it was by the 18th century one of a number of ship's boats, and was used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small scale activities...
and smashing away most of the starboard quarter gallery.
Dundas was eventually forced to haul away from the Belleisle as night fell, and try to save his own ship. During the night the Naiads larboard topsail sheet blew away, and the reefed topsail sheet was split. The crew were forced to cut away the other sheet to save the yard, but the sheet blew away in the gale. Shortly afterwards the fore topmast staysail was blown to bits. Belleisle was also in a desperate situation, blown almost onto the breakers of the Spanish coast before her crew managed to wear her around. With difficulty she survived the night, and was found when the light came the next morning by Dundas, who had a line reattached. He steered straight for Gibraltar, and came within sight of the rock by midday, despite having been fired on by the Spanish battery at Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
. Dundas took Naiad in and anchored at 1330 that afternoon, while the Belleisle was warped into the mole
Mole (architecture)
A mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or a causeway between places separated by water. The word comes from Middle French mole and ultimately Latin mōlēs meaning a large mass, especially of rock and has the same root as molecule.Historically, the term "mole"...
. Dundas subsequently was awarded a sword from the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund for his services at Trafalgar.
Later years
Dundas remained in command of Naiad until 1808, serving in the blockade of RochefortRochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
. Dundas went on to command the 64-gun , another Trafalgar veteran, and the 74-gun . He commissioned on 28 March 1822, and was stationed at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. During his career Dundas is said to have invented a type of inflammable ball,
... applicable for besieging a town, and peculiar for its small weight, by which means may be thrown to a great distance; and it takes fire on a very curious plan: it spreads a flame on three distinct openings, which is so strong, that the fire extends a full yard in length from the ball itself, and is so powerful, that anything under, over, or near, cannot escape its effects.
Dundas was advanced to rear-admiral on 27 May 1825, vice-admiral on 10 January 1837 and appointed and invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 September 1831. He died in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
on 29 March 1841. The sword he received for Trafalgar is currently held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
.