William Mounsey
Encyclopedia
William Mounsey CB
(1766 – 25 September 1830) was a British officer of the Royal Navy
. He served during the American Revolutionary
, the French Revolutionary
and the Napoleonic Wars
, rising to the rank of Captain
.
aboard , under Captain Sir Digby Dent, who would become Mounsey's patron. The Royal Oak was sent to the North American Station in May to reinforce Vice-admiral Mariot Arbuthnot's fleet. During the voyage Mounsey took part in the capture of a French East Indiaman. They reached their destination on 13 July, after which Arbuthnot raised his flag aboard the Royal Oak, whilst Dent and Mounsey moved aboard . The Raisonnable then returned home with despatches, but the ship was so badly damaged by a gale whilst crossing the Atlantic, that she was paid off on her arrival for large-scale repairs. Dent and Mounsey transferred again, this time to , initially under Vice-Admiral George Darby
, but later being detached to land stores at Gibraltar
in April 1781.
Dent and Mounsey were transferred again at the end of the year, this time to the third rate . Dent retired about this time due to ill-health, with Captain William Allen. Mounsey and the Cumberland sailed to the East Indies
on 6 February 1782, joining the squadron there under Sir Richard Bickerton. They were in time to see action at the Battle of Cuddalore
, between Sir Edward Hughes and the Bailli de Suffren
. Cumberland had two killed and 11 wounded in the battle, fought on 20 June 1783. Mounsey returned to England in May 1784, becoming midshipman aboard the sloop
. He passed his lieutenant's examination on 3 December 1788, and went on to serve aboard , , and .
, Mounsey returned to HMS Victory, then under Admiral Lord Hood
. He was promoted to lieutenant on 22 May 1793, and appointed to , under Robert Manners-Sutton, and then to the frigate . He was present at the occupation of Toulon
, and at numerous assaults during the capture of Corsica
. Whilst blockading Bastia
, he led a dangerous attempt to cut-out a vessel laden with gunpowder, lying the harbour. Mounsey was successful, and the loss of the ship accelerate the fall of the city. He returned to Britain aboard , and was afterwards appointed to , , HMS Duke, and in succession. On 6 July 1801 he led the boats from Clyde and her escorts to destroy the beached wreck of , coming under heavy fire as they did so. Mounsey remained aboard HMS Clyde until being promoted to commander on 29 April 1802. He took command of the sloop HMS Rosario on 17 May 1802. During his time aboard her he was tasked with carrying despatches, reconnoitring enemy positions, escorting convoys and conducting revenue duties. Also during this period he captured a number of enemy merchants, as well as a 22-gun privateer
.
then at Lisbon
. He returned to England after completing this, and on 18 June sailed from Spithead
in company with . The two were acting as escorts for a convoy bound for Quebec
. Whilst travelling with the convoy on 2 July, a suspicious sail was sighted astern, and Mounsey dropped back to investigate. In doing so he lost sight of the convoy and in sailing to rejoin them, came across a French frigate on 5 July, which was in the process of capturing an English merchant. Despite the much larger size of the frigate, Mounsey immediately gave chase, at which the French ship fled northwards. After a chase lasting 18 hours the Bonne Citoyenne caught up with the French ship on the morning of 6 July and brought her to battle. The subsequent engagement lasted seven hours, with Bonne Citoyenne at an disadvantage early on, when three of her guns were dismounted. She nevertheless fired 129 broadsides to the enemy's 70. By the end of the battle Bonne Citoyenne had lost her top masts, her lower masts were badly damaged, and her rigging, sails and boats had been shot to pieces. Running out of powder Mounsey decided to force the issue and ordered his men to be prepared to board the French ship. Before he could do so, the French surrendered and Mounsey took possession.
The enemy ship was discovered to be the Furieuse, which had sailed from the Îles des Saintes
on 1 April, carrying sugar and coffee to France. She was capable of carrying 48 guns, but was only carrying 20 at the time. Despite this she had a much larger crew, with 200 sailors, 40 soldiers, and a detachment of troops from the 60th regiment of the line. She had suffered heavy damage, with her masts shot away, five feet of water in the hold and 35 killed and 37 wounded. In contrast, Bonne Citoyenne had just one man killed and five wounded. The frigate was patched up and towed into Halifax
, where both were repaired. The captured frigate was later commissioned into the Royal Navy as , whilst the Bonne Citoyenne returned to England in September.
The capture of the Furieuse was hailed as a great victory. Henry Phipps
, First Lord of the Admiralty wrote to Mounsey
A round of promotions followed the victory, the first lieutenant was promoted to commander and Mounsey was promoted to post captain. He was offered command of the Furieuse, once she had been repaired, which he accepted, taking command on her commissioning in November 1811.
under Admiral Edward Pellew
. The French fleet sailed out in May 1812, consisting of 12 sail of the line and seven frigates, of which one ship of the line
and two frigates began to chase the British inshore squadron, consisting of the Furieuse, and the frigates and , and the brig
. The French gave up the chase when the British made clear their intention to fight.
On 9 November 1812 Mounsey captured the French privateer
Nebrophonus, and on 10 January 1813 captured the privateer Argus. In February 1813 Mounsey supported Charles John Napier in in the capture of the island of Ponza
. They landed troops on 26 February, under fire from shore batteries, which soon subdued resistance. The capture of the harbour eliminated an infamous corsair
haven, and provided an anchorage for Royal Navy ships watching Naples
. On 7 May boats from Furieuse captured the French Conception, towing her out to sea under heavy fire. One man was killed and another five wounded in this operation. On 4 October a convoy was sighted off Civitavecchia
. Despite being heavily protected by two gunboats and a number of shore batteries, an operation was attempted. Marines from Furieuse′s boats stormed and captured a fort, under cover from Furieuse′s guns. The enemy retreated to a nearby castle and continued to fire on the British forces. Nevertheless the British were able to sink the gunboats, and bring out 16 of the merchant ships. The Furieuse kept up a steady fire, preventing reinforcements from Civitavecchia from intervening. Two of the British party were killed and 10 wounded in the operation.
For the rest of 1813 Furieuse formed part of Admiral Sir Josias Rowley
's squadron, and was present at the capture of Via Reggio, and the unsuccessful assault on Livorno
in December. In early March 1814, still with Rowley, Furieuse assisted in the occupation of La Spezia
and the surrounding areas. On 17 April a squadron consisting of Furieuse, , , and supported the successful assault on Genoa
. The end of the War of the Sixth Coalition
in 1814 led to Furieuse transferring to the Caribbean, where she escorted transports. She conveyed the 62nd regiment
to Halifax
, and with the end of the War of 1812
, remained in the area to support the troops.
HMS Furieuse was paid off in autumn 1815 and was sold for breaking up in October 1816 at Deptford
. Mounsey was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1815, and also received the Naval Gold Medal
for the capture of the Furieuse. With the end of the wars with France he retired from active service, and died on 25 September 1830 at the age of 64.
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...
(1766 – 25 September 1830) was a British 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...
. He served during the American Revolutionary
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, 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 the 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...
, rising to the rank of Captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
.
Family and early life
Mounsey was born in 1766, as the fifth son of George Mounsey, of Carlisle. He joined the navy on 23 February 1780, at the age of 13, becoming 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...
aboard , under Captain Sir Digby Dent, who would become Mounsey's patron. The Royal Oak was sent to the North American Station in May to reinforce Vice-admiral Mariot Arbuthnot's fleet. During the voyage Mounsey took part in the capture of a French East Indiaman. They reached their destination on 13 July, after which Arbuthnot raised his flag aboard the Royal Oak, whilst Dent and Mounsey moved aboard . The Raisonnable then returned home with despatches, but the ship was so badly damaged by a gale whilst crossing the Atlantic, that she was paid off on her arrival for large-scale repairs. Dent and Mounsey transferred again, this time to , initially under Vice-Admiral George Darby
George Darby
Vice Admiral George Darby was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby III Esq. , of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland.-Early career:Darby joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer...
, but later being detached to land stores at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in April 1781.
Dent and Mounsey were transferred again at the end of the year, this time to the third rate . Dent retired about this time due to ill-health, with Captain William Allen. Mounsey and the Cumberland sailed to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
on 6 February 1782, joining the squadron there under Sir Richard Bickerton. They were in time to see action at the Battle of Cuddalore
Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
The Battle of Cuddalore was a battle between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a slightly smaller French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India near Cuddalore during the American Revolutionary War, which in 1780 had sparked the Second Mysore War in India...
, between Sir Edward Hughes and the Bailli de Suffren
Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez
Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren , French admiral, was the third son of the marquis de Saint Tropez, head of a family of nobles of Provence which claimed to have emigrated from Lucca in the 14th century...
. Cumberland had two killed and 11 wounded in the battle, fought on 20 June 1783. Mounsey returned to England in May 1784, becoming midshipman aboard the sloop
Sloop-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...
. He passed his lieutenant's examination on 3 December 1788, and went on to serve aboard , , and .
Lieutenancy and promotions
With the outbreak of the French Revolutionary WarsFrench 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...
, Mounsey returned to HMS Victory, then under Admiral Lord Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
. He was promoted to lieutenant on 22 May 1793, and appointed to , under Robert Manners-Sutton, and then to the frigate . He was present at the occupation of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, and at numerous assaults during the capture of 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....
. Whilst blockading Bastia
Bastia
Bastia is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It is also the second-largest city in Corsica after Ajaccio and the capital of the department....
, he led a dangerous attempt to cut-out a vessel laden with gunpowder, lying the harbour. Mounsey was successful, and the loss of the ship accelerate the fall of the city. He returned to Britain aboard , and was afterwards appointed to , , HMS Duke, and in succession. On 6 July 1801 he led the boats from Clyde and her escorts to destroy the beached wreck of , coming under heavy fire as they did so. Mounsey remained aboard HMS Clyde until being promoted to commander on 29 April 1802. He took command of the sloop HMS Rosario on 17 May 1802. During his time aboard her he was tasked with carrying despatches, reconnoitring enemy positions, escorting convoys and conducting revenue duties. Also during this period he captured a number of enemy merchants, as well as a 22-gun 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...
.
HMS Bonne Citoyenne and the Furieuse
He left the Rosario in autumn 1808, and on 18 April 1809, he was appointed to the 20-gun . He was sent with despatches for Earl St VincentJohn Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
then at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. He returned to England after completing this, and on 18 June sailed from Spithead
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...
in company with . The two were acting as escorts for a convoy bound for Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Whilst travelling with the convoy on 2 July, a suspicious sail was sighted astern, and Mounsey dropped back to investigate. In doing so he lost sight of the convoy and in sailing to rejoin them, came across a French frigate on 5 July, which was in the process of capturing an English merchant. Despite the much larger size of the frigate, Mounsey immediately gave chase, at which the French ship fled northwards. After a chase lasting 18 hours the Bonne Citoyenne caught up with the French ship on the morning of 6 July and brought her to battle. The subsequent engagement lasted seven hours, with Bonne Citoyenne at an disadvantage early on, when three of her guns were dismounted. She nevertheless fired 129 broadsides to the enemy's 70. By the end of the battle Bonne Citoyenne had lost her top masts, her lower masts were badly damaged, and her rigging, sails and boats had been shot to pieces. Running out of powder Mounsey decided to force the issue and ordered his men to be prepared to board the French ship. Before he could do so, the French surrendered and Mounsey took possession.
Îles des Saintes
The Îles des Saintes , also called simply Les Saintes , is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island, on the West of Marie-Galante and in the North of Dominica in the arc of Lesser Antilles...
on 1 April, carrying sugar and coffee to France. She was capable of carrying 48 guns, but was only carrying 20 at the time. Despite this she had a much larger crew, with 200 sailors, 40 soldiers, and a detachment of troops from the 60th regiment of the line. She had suffered heavy damage, with her masts shot away, five feet of water in the hold and 35 killed and 37 wounded. In contrast, Bonne Citoyenne had just one man killed and five wounded. The frigate was patched up and towed into Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, where both were repaired. The captured frigate was later commissioned into the Royal Navy as , whilst the Bonne Citoyenne returned to England in September.
The capture of the Furieuse was hailed as a great victory. Henry Phipps
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave GCB, PC , styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician...
, First Lord of the Admiralty wrote to Mounsey
Sir, - I did not fail this day, to lay before his Majesty the particulars of your conduct in the attack and capture of the Furieuse, French frigate, on the 6th July. The enterprising gallantry with which you approached and attack a ship bearing such an appearance of a commanding superiority of force, and the skill, courage, and perseverance manifested by you, and the officers, seamen, and marines under your command, during an action of such long continuance, and so warmly contested, have received his Majesty's fullest approbation...
A round of promotions followed the victory, the first lieutenant was promoted to commander and Mounsey was promoted to post captain. He was offered command of the Furieuse, once she had been repaired, which he accepted, taking command on her commissioning in November 1811.
Command of the Furieuse
Mounsey and the Furieuse were initially employed in escorting a convoy to the Mediterranean, after which she joined the fleet blockading ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
under Admiral Edward Pellew
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
. The French fleet sailed out in May 1812, consisting of 12 sail of the line and seven frigates, of which one ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
and two frigates began to chase the British inshore squadron, consisting of the Furieuse, and the frigates and , and the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
. The French gave up the chase when the British made clear their intention to fight.
On 9 November 1812 Mounsey captured the French 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...
Nebrophonus, and on 10 January 1813 captured the privateer Argus. In February 1813 Mounsey supported Charles John Napier in in the capture of the island of Ponza
Ponza
Ponza is the largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located 33 km south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the Lazio region....
. They landed troops on 26 February, under fire from shore batteries, which soon subdued resistance. The capture of the harbour eliminated an infamous corsair
Corsair
Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
haven, and provided an anchorage for Royal Navy ships watching Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. On 7 May boats from Furieuse captured the French Conception, towing her out to sea under heavy fire. One man was killed and another five wounded in this operation. On 4 October a convoy was sighted off Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
. Despite being heavily protected by two gunboats and a number of shore batteries, an operation was attempted. Marines from Furieuse′s boats stormed and captured a fort, under cover from Furieuse′s guns. The enemy retreated to a nearby castle and continued to fire on the British forces. Nevertheless the British were able to sink the gunboats, and bring out 16 of the merchant ships. The Furieuse kept up a steady fire, preventing reinforcements from Civitavecchia from intervening. Two of the British party were killed and 10 wounded in the operation.
For the rest of 1813 Furieuse formed part of Admiral Sir Josias Rowley
Josias Rowley
Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG , known as "The Sweeper of the Seas", was a naval officer who commanded the campaign that captured the French Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius in 1810.-Naval career:...
's squadron, and was present at the capture of Via Reggio, and the unsuccessful assault on Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
in December. In early March 1814, still with Rowley, Furieuse assisted in the occupation of La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
and the surrounding areas. On 17 April a squadron consisting of Furieuse, , , and supported the successful assault on 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....
. The end of the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
in 1814 led to Furieuse transferring to the Caribbean, where she escorted transports. She conveyed the 62nd regiment
Wiltshire Regiment
The Wiltshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 62nd Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment of Foot....
to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, and with the end of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, remained in the area to support the troops.
HMS Furieuse was paid off in autumn 1815 and was sold for breaking up in October 1816 at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
. Mounsey was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1815, and also received the Naval Gold Medal
Naval Gold Medal
The Naval Gold Medal was a medal awarded between 1793 and 1840 to senior officers of the Royal Navy in specified actions.Two different sizes were struck. 22 large-size medals were awarded to flag officers , commodores and captains of the fleet...
for the capture of the Furieuse. With the end of the wars with France he retired from active service, and died on 25 September 1830 at the age of 64.