Valentine Collard
Encyclopedia
Rear-Admiral Valentine Collard (c. 1770 – 18 March 1846) was a Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
. Born into a naval family, Collard served at numerous engagements of the wars, including the Siege of Toulon
, operations against Corsica
, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Siege of Genoa
, the Battle of Copenhagen
and numerous smaller actions off the Netherlands
, Egypt
and in the Baltic Sea
. His last active service came in 1810, after which he retired to Teddington
in Middlesex
. In his later years he suffered severe ill-health and the loss of his first and second wives, leading him to commit suicide.
at the end of the American War of Independence in 1783. For four years he was under his uncle Captain Valentine Edwards in HMS Shark off Scotland before taking a position on HMS Champion with Sampson Edwards. He later served in HMS Iphigenia, and at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
in 1793 was transferred to HMS St George
in the Mediterranean. There he took part in the Siege of Toulon
engaging French Republican artillery along the siege lines, and in October 1793 was with the force that captured a French ship lying in Genoa
harbour at the Action of 5 October 1793.
In November 1793, while stationed in Sardinia
, Collard was promoted to lieutenant and briefly joined HMS Tartar
before receiving his own small command, the schooner
Petite Boston, which participated in the Siege of Bastia
and Siege of Calvi
on Corsica
. He then spent two years on HMS Eclair before joining HMS Britannia
as senior lieutenant. Britannia was subsequently engaged at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 and Collard was promoted to commander as a reward. He was briefly in command of HMS Fortune, which was wrecked off Portugal
before joining the small frigate HMS Vestal
and participating in the Siege of Genoa
and the blockade of Egypt
, capturing a storeship in 1801. The frigate was paid off in 1802 at the Peace of Amiens and Collard entered the reserve.
In 1804 Collard was returned to service and joined the fleet under Lord Keith
as captain of the brig HMS Railleur and then the explosion vessel HMS St Vincent. He served off the Dutch coast and captured a number of small vessels and military equipment in April 1805. He then commanded a squadron of armed vessels on the Weser River
as part of the defence of Hanover
. In 1806 and 1807 he was placed in command of squadrons of small warships that escorted merchant shipping through the Baltic Sea
, joining with the fleet under James Gambier
that fought in the Battle of Copenhagen
. He then served in a number of temporary captaincies, including postings to HMS Majestic
, HMS Gibraltar and HMS Dreadnought
before he retired from the sea in 1810.
Collard retired to Teddington
in Middlesex
with his first wife, who died in 1821. He remarried in 1823 to May Ann Kempster, who died in 1844. The loss of his second wife drove him into depression, during which he suffered from apoplexy
and eventually committed suicide in March 1846 aged 76. Collard had remained in the Navy after and continued gaining seniority, eventually becoming a rear-admiral in 1841. Throughout his career, Collard was a popular officer, who gained the nickname "the animated life-boat" after rescuing men who fell overboard from his ship on two separate occasions.
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...
. Born into a naval family, Collard served at numerous engagements of the wars, including the Siege of Toulon
Siege of Toulon
The Siege of Toulon was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French city of Toulon. It is also often known as the Fall of Toulon.-Context:...
, operations against Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Siege of Genoa
Siege of Genoa (1800)
In the Siege of Genoa the Austrians besieged and captured Genoa but the smaller French force under André Masséna had diverted enough Austrian troops so that Napoleon could win the Battle of Marengo.-Background:...
, the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
and numerous smaller actions off the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. His last active service came in 1810, after which he retired to Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. In his later years he suffered severe ill-health and the loss of his first and second wives, leading him to commit suicide.
Life
Valentine Collard was born in approximately 1770 into a naval family: two of his uncles were Admiral Sampson Edwards and Captain Valentine Edwards who was killed in a shipwreck in 1794. Pursuing a naval career, Collard first appears in the records as a midshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
at the end of the American War of Independence in 1783. For four years he was under his uncle Captain Valentine Edwards in HMS Shark off Scotland before taking a position on HMS Champion with Sampson Edwards. He later served in HMS Iphigenia, and at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
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...
in 1793 was transferred to HMS St George
HMS St George (1785)
HMS St George was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 October 1785 at Portsmouth. In 1793 she captured one of the richest prizes ever. She then participated in the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795 and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801...
in the Mediterranean. There he took part in the Siege of Toulon
Siege of Toulon
The Siege of Toulon was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French city of Toulon. It is also often known as the Fall of Toulon.-Context:...
engaging French Republican artillery along the siege lines, and in October 1793 was with the force that captured a French ship lying in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
harbour at the Action of 5 October 1793.
In November 1793, while stationed in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Collard was promoted to lieutenant and briefly joined HMS Tartar
HMS Tartar (1756)
HMS Tartar was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was designed by Sir Thomas Slade and based on the Lyme of 1748, "with such alterations as may tend to the better stowing of men and carrying for guns."...
before receiving his own small command, the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Petite Boston, which participated in the Siege of Bastia
Siege of Bastia
The Siege of Bastia took place in 1794 during the French Revolutionary War when an allied force of British and Corsicans laid siege to the French town of Bastia. After a six week siege the garrison surrendered due to a lack of supplies owing to a blockade by the Royal Navy...
and Siege of Calvi
Siege of Calvi
The Siege of Calvi was a siege of French Revolutionary forces in Calvi, Haute-Corse in July and August 1794 by British forces, ending in a British victory.- Context :...
on Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. He then spent two years on HMS Eclair before joining HMS Britannia
HMS Britannia (1762)
HMS Britannia was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was ordered on 25 April 1751 from Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment. Her keel was laid down on 1 July 1751 and she was launched on 19 October 1762. The cost of building and fitting...
as senior lieutenant. Britannia was subsequently engaged at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 and Collard was promoted to commander as a reward. He was briefly in command of HMS Fortune, which was wrecked off Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
before joining the small frigate HMS Vestal
HMS Vestal (1779)
HMS Vestal was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Vestal was first commissioned in November 1779 under the command of Captain George Keppel.- References :...
and participating in the Siege of Genoa
Siege of Genoa (1800)
In the Siege of Genoa the Austrians besieged and captured Genoa but the smaller French force under André Masséna had diverted enough Austrian troops so that Napoleon could win the Battle of Marengo.-Background:...
and the blockade of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, capturing a storeship in 1801. The frigate was paid off in 1802 at the Peace of Amiens and Collard entered the reserve.
In 1804 Collard was returned to service and joined the fleet under Lord Keith
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...
as captain of the brig HMS Railleur and then the explosion vessel HMS St Vincent. He served off the Dutch coast and captured a number of small vessels and military equipment in April 1805. He then commanded a squadron of armed vessels on the Weser River
Weser River
The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...
as part of the defence of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. In 1806 and 1807 he was placed in command of squadrons of small warships that escorted merchant shipping through the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, joining with the fleet under James Gambier
James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...
that fought in the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
. He then served in a number of temporary captaincies, including postings to HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1785)
HMS Majestic was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched on 11 December 1785 at Deptford. She fought at the Battle of the Nile, where she engaged the French ships Tonnant and Heureux, helping to force their surrenders...
, HMS Gibraltar and HMS Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1801)
HMS Dreadnought was a Royal Navy 98-gun second rate. This ship of the line was launched at Portsmouth at midday on Saturday, 13 June 1801, after she had spent 13 years on the stocks...
before he retired from the sea in 1810.
Collard retired to Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
with his first wife, who died in 1821. He remarried in 1823 to May Ann Kempster, who died in 1844. The loss of his second wife drove him into depression, during which he suffered from apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
and eventually committed suicide in March 1846 aged 76. Collard had remained in the Navy after and continued gaining seniority, eventually becoming a rear-admiral in 1841. Throughout his career, Collard was a popular officer, who gained the nickname "the animated life-boat" after rescuing men who fell overboard from his ship on two separate occasions.