William Whetstone
William Whetstone | |
---|---|
HMS Montagu Jamaica Station |
Sir William Whetstone (died 1711) was an officer of the Royal Navy in the later 17th and early eighteenth century. He eventually rose to the rank of rear admiral, having spent his career serving with several distinguished figures.
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.[1]
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.[1]
William entered navy service, being appointed on 30 July 1689 to command the hired ship Europa, and he spent the next two years conveying supplies to Ireland. He was then briefly appointed to command HMS Portsmouth from 3 February to 12 August 1691. Here he came to the attention of Admiral Edward Russell, who described him as 'a good man'. He did not however exert himself on Whetstone's behalf, and William spent 1692 unemployed. He returned to active duty in 1693, at first as the part owner of the privateer Delavall, and later receiving a commission to command HMS Norfolk which was then being built at Southampton. She was launched on 27 March 1693, and Whetstone proceeded to man the ship. He was discharged from her on 23 May. A series of brief commands followed before he took command of HMS York from 13 July 1693 to 13 June 1695.[1]
In the Atlantic and Caribbean
Whetstone's next command was to
By now the
Benbow then ordered the trial by
Promotion
Prince George promoted Whetstone to rear-admiral of the blue in January 1704. This was a measure designed to show both approval of his conduct whilst holding acting rank, and at the same time to separate him from charges arising against Graydon. The promotion caused controversy however, as it was done over the heads of other captains, including Sir James Wishart. Wishart was serving under Sir George Rooke, who threatened to resign over the issue.[3] Wishart was then made a 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 was promoted to rear-admiral of the white on 18 January 1705. The appointment to the post of commander-in-chief in the West Indies came on 17 February,[2] with a knighthood five days later on 22 February.[1]
He raised his flag aboard
Final actions and fall from grace
Whetstone was given command of a squadron in May 1707, and ordered to operate off
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29199. Retrieved 18 October 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b Cundall, p. xx
- ^ James Wishart, Paula Watson, HistoryOfParliament.org, accessed December 2012
Sources
- Cundall, Frank (1915). Historic Jamaica. West India Committee.
External links
- William Whetstone at the National Maritime Museum
- Godfrey, Michael (1979) [1969]. "Whetstone, Sir William". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.