Devonport-born men who fought at Trafalgar
Below is a list of Devonport-born men who fought at Trafalgar. The Battle of Trafalgar,
21 October 1805, is considered one of the most significant in British Naval history
- followng which Britian achieved dominance of the seas for the next century.
Plymouth-Dock
(Devonport) played an important role in bringing not just our navy, but also our
country to a position of global power. Local residents of the period are to be applauded;
highly skilled in building the ships in the first instance, they were also skilled in manning them, and mastering the seas. Further, the Hamoaze here in Devonport,
was THE main stretch of water in England used for (a) mooring of foreign ships captured
during the Napoleonic wars, and (b) housing thousands of captured prisoners aboard
hulks.
The following names are extracted from the
National Archives database; apart from 12-year-old William
John Thompson HOOD, whose place of birth was duel-listed as Plymouth-Dock/Ireland, all
the others were listed as born in Plymouth-Dock. (See also Notes at page bottom)
| Name |
Age |
Rank |
Ship |
| Thomas ADAMS |
19 |
Landsman |
CONQUEROR |
| James BLAMY |
29 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Belleisle |
| William BOYD |
37 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Belleisle |
| William BRADFORD |
29 |
Purser's Steward |
HMS Mars |
| Thomas BRAUND |
16 |
Midshipman |
HMS Royal Sovereign |
| John William BRAY |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Sirius |
| Walter BRAY |
33 |
Landsman |
HMS Tonnant |
| Edward BROPHY |
27 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Achille |
| William BROWN |
15 |
Midshipman |
Died. 21 October 1805 |
| Peter BRYAN |
47 |
Sailmaker |
HMS Achille |
| George Henry BUTLER |
13 |
Boy |
HMS Spartiate |
| Henry BUTLER |
30 |
Ropemaker |
HMS Spartiate |
| William CALDWELL |
29 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Victory
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Thomas CASSELAKE |
22 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| James CHURCH |
22 |
Landsman |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| John CLARE |
23 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Britannia |
| William John COCK |
26 |
Midshipman |
HMS Mars |
| Edward COGAR |
50 |
Caulker |
HMS Polyphemus |
| Anthony COLLINS |
27 |
Landsman |
HMS Dreadnought |
| John Francis COOK |
13 |
Volunteer 1st Class |
HMS Mars |
| Thomas COURTIS |
18 |
Midshipman |
HMS Mars |
| John CUMMINS |
23 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Conqueror |
| George DALE |
25 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Prince |
| William DART |
21 |
Boy |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| John DAVIS |
28 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Tonnant |
| William DODD |
21 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Tonnant |
| John DOMETT |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Conqueror |
| Richard DOUGLAS |
17 |
Midshipman |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Christopher DUNN |
20 |
Landsman |
HMS Belleisle |
| Edward P. FOSTER |
18 |
Midshipman |
HMS Mars |
| Philip GARLAND |
16 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Sirius |
| Richard GEORGE |
20 |
Landsman |
HMS Ajax |
| Joseph Collings GILL |
12 |
Midshipman |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Mark GRIGG |
12 |
Volunteer 1st Class |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Lawrence HACKETT |
34 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Spartiate |
| Robert HALF |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Royal Sovereign |
| John HAWKINIS |
30 |
Armourer |
HMS Tonnant |
| Moses HAYNES |
30 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Britannia |
| Thomas HELPMAN |
21 |
Midshipman |
HMS Conqueror |
| John F. HERBERT |
13 |
Volunteer 1st Class |
HMS Thunderer |
| John HERROD |
12 |
Boy |
HMS Spartiate |
| William HERROD |
14 |
B0y |
HMS Spartiate |
| William HEYSON |
20 |
Landsman |
HMS Prince |
| William John Thompson HOOD |
12 |
Volunteer 1st Class |
HMS Achille and HMS Salvador Del Mundo
|
| Samuel JAGO |
26 |
Midshipman |
HMS Belleisle |
| Thomas JAMES |
17 |
Midshipman |
HMS Prince |
| Peard JILLARD |
20 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Sirius |
| Charles JOLLEY |
20 |
Midshipman |
HMS Conqueror |
| Henry LONEY? |
20 |
Master's Mate |
HMS Conqueror |
| James MALONEY |
15 |
Boy |
HMS Conqueror |
| Alexander MAZEY |
24 |
Landsman |
HMS Britannia |
| N? MILLETT |
43 |
Caulker |
HMS Spartiate |
| George MITCHELL |
23 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Belleisle |
| Richard MITCHELL |
25 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Polyphemus |
| Thomas NEWLAND |
35 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Spartiate |
| Charles NILES |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Mars |
| Benjamin NORGATE |
22 |
Landsman |
HMS Tonnant |
| John PASCHO |
29 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| James PEARCE |
29 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Charles PEARNE |
22 |
Landsman |
HMS Britannia |
| John Alexander PHILLIPS |
15 |
Midshipman |
HMS Belleisle |
| Robert PLANT |
17 |
Boy |
HMS Spartiate |
| James POAD |
15 |
Midshipman |
HMS Victory
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| James RICHARDSON |
34 |
Gunner's Mate |
HMS Dreadnought |
| John ROSE |
44 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Ajax |
| James ROWE |
29 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Victory
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Robert ROWE |
24 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Prince |
| James ROWLEY |
21 |
Landsman |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| John SALTER |
11 |
Boy |
HMS Spartiate |
| George SANDERS |
19 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Thunderer |
| John SCOTT |
50 |
Gunner's Mate |
HMS Spartiate |
| John SHEA |
33 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Sirius |
| Richard SNOWDEN |
29 |
Caulker |
HMS Sirius |
| John STEPHENS |
15 |
Boy |
HMS Ajax |
| Daniel H. SULIVAN |
15 |
Midshipman |
HMS Neptune |
| John THOMPSON |
11 |
Boy |
HMS Spartiate |
| John TUCKER |
16 |
Boy |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Thomas J.F. TURNER |
29 |
Ropemaker |
HMS Belleisle
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| William VENNER |
24 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Belleisle |
| William Smith WARREN |
17 |
Volunteer 1st Class |
HMS Achille
(Was at Trafalgar)
|
| Edward WATERS |
23 |
Able Seaman |
HMS Royal Sovereign |
| John WAY |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Conqueror |
| Samuel WILCOCKS |
17 |
Clerk |
HMS Bellerophon |
| Joseph WILLIAMS |
21 |
Midshipman |
HMS Conqueror |
| Thomas WILLIAMS |
26 |
Ordinary Seaman |
HMS Belleisle
Was at Trafalgar
|
| Methuslah WILLS |
24 |
Midshipman |
HMS Dreadnought |
| Joseph WOODWARD |
14 |
Boy |
HMS Neptune |
| George YOUNG |
14 |
Midshipman |
HMS Sirius |
Note:
I contacted the National Archives with the following query... "Did all the persons
listed in your 'served at Trafalgar' database, actually serve at Trafalgar? Sorry
if that seems a daft question, but when you search in deep through the names, then
some of them have in brackets the text.... (was at Trafalgar) - yet others do not
have this text in brackets next to their ship? The thing is... I extracted ALL
of my list of Plymouth-Dock persons from your 'Served at Trafalgar' database. Why do some have
the bracketed text (was at Trafalgar), and others not?
Reply - Thank you for your e-mail.
I am writing to confirm that all the individuals (as far as can be
determined) under the Nelson Trafalgar page, served at Trafalgar.
As you may have noted the Trafalgar Ancestors database project is an
on-going one. For some men there are just some basic facts about them.
Whereas others have more detailed records, for example, Horatio Nelson. In
time we hope that all the records will be as detailed as Nelson's.
The reason why the entry (was at Trafalgar) appears in the service records
screen is to provide contextual information about what other battles
individuals may have served in and what ships they served on at the time of
the battle. This would allow researchers using the database to perhaps
endeavour to locate other sources relating to that particular battle or
ship. This was useful when looking at the careers of men who may have served
on many ships and in other battles during their career.
I hope this explains satisfactorily the reasoning behind these entries.
Yours faithfully
Bruno Pappalardo
Research, Knowledge and Academic Services