William Whetstone

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir William Whetstone (died 1711) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Family and early life Whetstone appears to have been born into a naval family, his father John Whetstone had probably been a naval officer. William established himself in Bristol, becoming a member of Bristol corporation and commanding a merchant ship, the Mary of Bristol, with which he carried out trading with Virginia and Barbados. His trading appears to have been in a wide variety of goods, including serge.

He appears to have married a woman named Sarah by 1677, and that year he took an apprenticeship that would last until 1684. This marriage produced two sons and two daughters, his eldest daughter, also named Sarah, married the naval officer Woodes Rogers. William's first wife died in 1698 and was buried in the church of St Nicholas's, Bristol, on 19 October 1698. He held it until June 1703, when he was superseded by Vice-Admiral John Graydon. Whetstone went on to engage and destroy a number of privateers off San Domingo but an attempt on the French colony at Placentia had to be abandoned because of the weather, the island's defences, and sickness in the fleet. Whetstone and Graydon then departed Jamaica, with Whetstone returning to England in October 1703. Wishart was then promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue as well, and made senior to Whetstone through antedating his commission. Whetstone was given command of a squadron in the English Channel in March 1704, and on 7 August fought a battle with the Swedish warship Öland when her captain Gustaf von Psilander refused to salute Whetstone's squadron. The English captured Öland and a Swedish convoy she was escorting but both were released following diplomatic negotiations. Whetstone was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White on 18 January 1705 and on 17 February was made commander-in-chief of the Jamaica Station, before being knighted five days later.

He raised his flag aboard HMS Montagu and arrived at Jamaica to take up his post in mid May. He was largely thwarted though by the weakness of the ships under his command. The smaller vessels were able to take several valuable prizes, but he was not strong enough to allow him to attack any Spanish settlements. He hoped to convince the governor of Cartagena to declare in favour of King Charles, but received the reply that the governor 'knew no sovereign but King Philip’. Whetstone continued to persist though, and in 1706, he and Governor Handyside attempted to persuade the Spanish colonies at Cuba and Cartagena to declare in favour of Charles. Whetstone was relieved later that year by a squadron under William Kerr, and returned to England in December 1706.

Final actions and fall from grace Whetstone was given command of a squadron in May 1707, and ordered to operate off Dunkirk against Claude de Forbin, a dangerous corsair. In June he was ordered to escort a convoy of nineteen ships of the Muscovy Company as far as the Shetland Islands. He sailed with them until they were well past Shetland, before returning home. The convoy was later intercepted by Forbin, who was able to capture fifteen of the merchants. Though the orders were at fault for being insufficient in their scope, and Whetstone had fulfilled them in full, the Muscovy Company was outraged. A trial was held at which Whetstone was accused of leaving the ships to be attacked. The Admiralty defended him, but eventually Whetstone was made the scapegoat. He was dismissed from his command and received no further employment. He died in 1711, and was buried with at St Michael's, Bristol on 3 April 1711. He had been remarried by this time to Mary (or Maria), with whom he had a daughter, named Mary. At the time of his death, Whetstone was owed the substantial sum of £2500 by various debtors.