William Gordon Rutherfurd
Encyclopedia
Captain William Gordon Rutherfurd RN
, CB
(1765 – 14 January 1818) was an officer in the Royal Navy
during the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars
whose career was almost entirely conducted in the West Indies except for a brief sojurn in European waters during which he commanded the ship of the line
at the battle of Trafalgar
.
to loyalist parents in 1764. His father was John Rutherford of Bowland Stow and his mother, Frances, was the widow of Gabriel Johnson the late governor. The family returned to Scotland
and the young William was educated at University of St Andrew's university
in Edinburgh. The Rutherfurd's moved to the Caribbean during the Revolution and in 1788 William was sent to sea aboard . Rutherfurd was a capable sailor and possessed a large amount of patronage. He joined the 98 gun, second rate, HMS Boyne
, the flagship of Sir John Jervis in the West Indies, shortly after the outbreak of the French revolutionary wars
and in 1793 he was promoted to acting lieutenant with his position being confirmed on the 9 January 1794.
Rutherfurd was in the thick of the action during the 1794 West Indies campaign, serving with distinction as a junior officer in command of a landing party; storming forts on Martinique
and taking part in operations in St Lucia and Guadeloupe
.
He received several accolades for his actions including, on the 4th July, promotion to commander of the 16 gun sloop, Nautilus.
Remaining in the Caribbean, Rutherfurd then made the next leap to Post captain on the 15th November 1796. In this capacity he successively commanded: The frigate HMS Adventure, the third rate HMS Dictator, the third rate HMS Brunswick and the 5th rate HMS Decade. Rutherford was instrumental in several minor skirmishes with enemy shipping amongst the islands, including the capture of Curacoa
in 1800 for which he was again lauded. He returned to home waters in HMS Decade in 1804 and joined the Channel Fleet
in the blockade of Cherbourg. The following year he was granted the 74 gun new ship Swiftsure participating in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast and in the summer of 1805 he was dispatched to join Admiral Nelson's fleet off Cadiz
and so was present at the battle on the 21 October.
. had been dismasted and was being pounded by three enemy ships when from the gunsmoke emerged the Swiftsure, her crew cheering and her guns firing double shotted rounds into the enemy, principally the Achille
which was dismasted and caught fire, flames racing through the wooden ship. As thousands of panicking French sailors jumped into the sea, Rutherfurd ordered his ship's boats to rescue as many survivors as could be found, pulling hundreds aboard his ship but losing several men when the Achilles magazines suddenly detonated, swamping one of his boats. Swiftsure then tried to engage the 74 gun Aigle and the 80 gun Neptune. Aigle moved away however when her captain spotted the arrival of HMS Polyphemus.
Following the battle, the barely damaged Swiftsure took the sinking Redoutable
in tow but was forced to cut the line when the French ship suddenly sank. Amongst the hundreds who drowned were five Swiftsure men.
Rutherfurd returned to Gibraltar
and from there travelled to Britain, where he was rewarded for his part in the action, but was then relegated to shore service and long periods of unemployment, unfortunately not possessing the seniority to make the jump to Admiral that so many of his contemporaries did.
, where his grave marker is still visible.
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...
, CB
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...
(1765 – 14 January 1818) was an officer in 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...
during the French Revolutionary War 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...
whose career was almost entirely conducted in the West Indies except for a brief sojurn in European waters during which he commanded the 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...
at the battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
.
Early life
Rutherfurd was born in Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
to loyalist parents in 1764. His father was John Rutherford of Bowland Stow and his mother, Frances, was the widow of Gabriel Johnson the late governor. The family returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and the young William was educated at University of St Andrew's university
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
in Edinburgh. The Rutherfurd's moved to the Caribbean during the Revolution and in 1788 William was sent to sea aboard . Rutherfurd was a capable sailor and possessed a large amount of patronage. He joined the 98 gun, second rate, HMS Boyne
HMS Boyne (1790)
HMS Boyne was a 98-gun Royal Navy second-rate ship of the line launched on 27 June 1790 at Woolwich. She was the flagship of Vice Admiral John Jervis in 1794.-Fate:...
, the flagship of Sir John Jervis in the West Indies, shortly after 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...
and in 1793 he was promoted to acting lieutenant with his position being confirmed on the 9 January 1794.
Rutherfurd was in the thick of the action during the 1794 West Indies campaign, serving with distinction as a junior officer in command of a landing party; storming forts on Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
and taking part in operations in St Lucia and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
.
He received several accolades for his actions including, on the 4th July, promotion to commander of the 16 gun sloop, Nautilus.
Remaining in the Caribbean, Rutherfurd then made the next leap to Post captain on the 15th November 1796. In this capacity he successively commanded: The frigate HMS Adventure, the third rate HMS Dictator, the third rate HMS Brunswick and the 5th rate HMS Decade. Rutherford was instrumental in several minor skirmishes with enemy shipping amongst the islands, including the capture of Curacoa
Curacoa
-Naval vessels:Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Curacoa, after the island Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea:*HMS Curacoa, a 36-gun fifth-rate ship launched in 1809...
in 1800 for which he was again lauded. He returned to home waters in HMS Decade in 1804 and joined the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
in the blockade of Cherbourg. The following year he was granted the 74 gun new ship Swiftsure participating in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast and in the summer of 1805 he was dispatched to join Admiral Nelson's fleet off Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and so was present at the battle on the 21 October.
Trafalgar
Situated far to the rear of Admiral Collingwood's division, Rutherfurd made strenuous efforts to reach the battle, but although she was quite a new ship Swiftsure had been at sea for sometime and so had damage to her hull which prevented her from making great speed. It thus took several hours for Swiftsure to reach the fight, but when she did she proved decisive in several of the southern combats, engaging at various times with the 80 gun Spanish ship, Argonauta and the 74 gun French ship, AchilleFrench ship Achille (1803)
The Achille was a 74-gun French ship of the line built at Rochefort in 1803 after plans by Jacques-Noël Sané.Under the command of Captain Louis Gabriel Deniéport, she sailed at the vanguard of the French Fleet on 20 October 1805, just before the Battle of Trafalgar, and she was the first...
. had been dismasted and was being pounded by three enemy ships when from the gunsmoke emerged the Swiftsure, her crew cheering and her guns firing double shotted rounds into the enemy, principally the Achille
French ship Achille (1803)
The Achille was a 74-gun French ship of the line built at Rochefort in 1803 after plans by Jacques-Noël Sané.Under the command of Captain Louis Gabriel Deniéport, she sailed at the vanguard of the French Fleet on 20 October 1805, just before the Battle of Trafalgar, and she was the first...
which was dismasted and caught fire, flames racing through the wooden ship. As thousands of panicking French sailors jumped into the sea, Rutherfurd ordered his ship's boats to rescue as many survivors as could be found, pulling hundreds aboard his ship but losing several men when the Achilles magazines suddenly detonated, swamping one of his boats. Swiftsure then tried to engage the 74 gun Aigle and the 80 gun Neptune. Aigle moved away however when her captain spotted the arrival of HMS Polyphemus.
Following the battle, the barely damaged Swiftsure took the sinking Redoutable
French ship Redoutable (1791)
The Redoutable was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She is known for her duel with HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar and for killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the action.- Early career :...
in tow but was forced to cut the line when the French ship suddenly sank. Amongst the hundreds who drowned were five Swiftsure men.
Rutherfurd returned to 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...
and from there travelled to Britain, where he was rewarded for his part in the action, but was then relegated to shore service and long periods of unemployment, unfortunately not possessing the seniority to make the jump to Admiral that so many of his contemporaries did.
Later career and death
Suffering from ill-health himself, in 1814 he was put in command of Greenwich Hospital and a year later was made a Companion of the Bath upon the inception of that order. He died in 1818 after a long illness and was buried in the Church of St. Margaret, WestminsterSt. Margaret's, Westminster
The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London...
, where his grave marker is still visible.
Further reading
- The Trafalgar Captains, Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005, ISBN 1-86176-247-X