Francis Augustus Collier

In 1803 he was promoted to Lieutenant and in 1805 to Commander.[1] Between 25 October 1805 and 15 January 1806 he commanded Nimrod in the Caribbean.

Pearl Rock and Martinique

On 12 December 1808, Commander Collier was captain of Circe was in charge of a squadron that included Stork, Epervier and Express.^[3] The vessels joined to attack the French 16-gun brig Cygne and two schooners off Saint-Pierre, Martinique. Circe sent in her boats, which the French repelled, causing 56 casualties, dead, wounded and missing.^[3]

That evening Amaranthe, under the command of Captain Edward Pelham Brenton, joined Circe and Stork.^[3] The next day fire from Amaranthe compelled the crew of Cygne to abandon her and Amaranthe's boats boarded and destroyed the French vessel. For her part Amaranthe lost one man killed and five wounded due to fire from batteries on the shore. One schooner was run ashore and destroyed.^[3]

Amaranthe's boats, assisted by boats from the schooner Express, boarded the second schooner and set fire to her too.^[3] This expedition cost Amaranthe her sailing master, Joshua Jones, who was severely wounded. The other British vessels that contributed boats also had casualties. Including the losses in the earlier fighting before Amaranthe arrived, the British had lost some 12 men killed, 31 wounded, and 26 missing (drowned or prisoners) for little gain.^[3] Brenton was promoted to Post-captain soon after the battle, with the promotion being back dated to 13 December, the date of the battle. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "OFF THE PEARL ROCK 13 DECR. 1808".^[4]

For his part in this action, Collier received a promotion to

Collier served as captain of Cyane from September 1810 until May 1812. In early 1812, a seaman named Oakey struck Collier, was charged, found guilty and sentenced to death. His plea for a stay of execution was denied, and every ship in port sent a boat of seamen to witness the hanging. Oakey came on deck with his arms tied behind him, attended by the Chaplain, and the sentence of the Court Martial was read. Then Captain Hall produced a letter from the Prince Regent that, at Collier's request, commuted Oakey's sentence to transportation. The reprieve surprised Oakey, who fell on his knees and wept.^[6]

Post-war

At the end of the war in 1815 Collier was made a

In 1820 the pirate states signed a treaty that effectively eliminated them as a threat to British shipping. In 1822 Collier returned to Britain, and between 1826 and 1830 he was the commodore in command of the West African Station.[1] He raised his pennant in Sybille; during the time she was engaged in anti-slavery duties off West Africa, Sybille captured numerous slavers and freed some 3,500 slaves.^{[citation needed]}

Late career and honours

For his varied service he was

He died in October 1849 at Hong Kong, and is buried at Hong Kong Cemetery. He was survived by his second wife, Catherine Thistlethwaite, whom he had married in 1831, and their child, Selina Catherine Collier, although few details are known of his family life.^[1] He was, however, a well-known figure on the racecourse in the 1830s and early 1840s and won the 1836 Ascot Derby (now known as The King Edward VII Stakes) with Lieutenant.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

See also

• O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). A Naval Biographical Dictionary . John Murray – via Wikisource.

References

• Collier, Sir Francis Augustus,
  Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, J. K. Laughton
  , (subscription required), Retrieved 20 March 2009

• Francis Augustus Collier at Find a Grave