William Hotham

Admiral of the Red Sir William Hotham, GCB (12 February 1772 – 31 May 1848) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Born into a military family Hotham joined the navy as a captain's servant and able seaman, rising through the ranks with service in the Caribbean and Newfoundland. A lieutenant by the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793, Hotham served initially in the Mediterranean, and had been promoted to his first command by 1794.

He saw action with his uncle Lord Hotham's fleet at the Battle of the Hyères Islands in 1795, after which he returned home, taking command of the 50-gun shortly before the mutiny at the Nore. His ship and Admiral Adam Duncan's flagship were the only two deckers to remain loyal, and the only two ships left to enforce the blockade of the Dutch coast. Despite their severe disadvantage in numbers, Hotham and Admiral Duncan were able to trick the Dutch to stay in port through use of false signals. After this, Hotham continued to serve with Duncan in the North Sea, and took part in his victory at the Battle of Camperdown in October 1797.

After further service in the English Channel Hotham went out to the Cape of Good Hope, taking part in the blockade of the French possessions in the Indian Ocean, and in 1799 helping to destroy the French frigate Preneuse. Taking command of shortly after the end of the temporary Peace of Amiens, Hotham served in the Channel until ill health forced him to resign his command and go ashore. Though he briefly commanded a unit of Sea Fencibles, and later the yacht , no seagoing command could be found for him. He spent the rest of the wars ashore, being promoted through the ranks, and being appointed first a Knight Commander and then a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. William Hotham died in 1848 at the age of 76.

Family and early life

Hotham was born into a military family on 12 February 1772, with strong connections to the nobility. He was the second son of General George Hotham, and his wife Diana, the youngest daughter of baronet Sir Warton Pennyman-Warton. He later attended the Royal Naval Academy, and by January 1786 was aboard the 50-gun as a captain's servant and ordinary seaman. On 12 August he was appointed to his first command, the sloop . Hotham continued to serve in the Mediterranean, taking part in the Battle of the Hyères Islands with his uncle's fleet on 13 July 1795. He was sent back to Britain with despatches in early 1796, whereupon Cyclops was paid off on 8 March 1796. He was based at the Nore, operating in the North Sea and blockading the Dutch fleet at the Texel with Admiral Adam Duncan's fleet. He subsequently received the Naval Gold Medal for his part in the battle. They chased her, forcing her to run ashore three miles from Port Louis, under the cover of French shore batteries. Hotham took Adamant in close, and tried to work up to the grounded frigate, coming under heavy fire from the batteries and the Preneuse as he did so. He was employed in the blockade of the invasion flotilla at Boulogne, but his health declined while on this service, and he resigned the command on 8 September 1803. He was advanced to vice-admiral on 19 July 1821, and to full admiral on 10 January 1837. He became a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 4 July 1840. but her name was changed to prior to completion. The second was the Captain-class frigate , which served from 1944 to 1956.