William Young (Royal Navy officer, born 1761)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William Young
Vice-Admiral of the Blue
Battles/wars
AwardsOrder of the Crescent

William Young (27 August 1761 – 11 February 1847) was an officer of the

American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He should not be confused with his namesake and near contemporary Vice Admiral William Young
.

He served on several ships during the American War of Independence, rising steadily through the ranks. With the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France he was first engaged in recruiting seamen for the service, after which he became involved in the transport and logistics side of naval warfare, which was to remain his forte for the rest of his career. His service in the West Indies, in home waters and in the Mediterranean brought him to the attention of influential army and navy leaders, who helped him to find postings and be promoted. He mixed with royalty, garnering accolades for his services, and enjoyed the friendship of kings and dukes. Advanced to flag rank in the years after the end of the war, he fathered a large family, and died in 1847 after seventy years of naval service, and with the rank of Vice-Admiral of the blue.

Family and early life

Young was born in

James Young, commanding in the Leeward Islands.[1][2] Young was advanced to midshipman during his time on the Portland, and moved to the tender to the 32-gun HMS Tartar. Here he participated in the capture of over 50 vessels, including several privateers of superior force.[1] Young was then briefly aboard the 74-gun HMS Canada, based at Chatham under Captain Hugh Dalrymple, before returning to his old captain, Thomas Dumaresq, in May 1779 as master's mate aboard HMS Ulysses, a frigate armed en flûte and serving in home waters and in the West Indies.[1]

After leaving the Ulysses, Young served aboard the 64-gun

Joshua Rowley, and then aboard the 32-gun HMS Fox under Captains the Honourable Thomas Windsor, Robert Montagu, and George Stoney.[1] During this time he was sent to Jamaica in charge of a Spanish privateer captured near St. Domingo, and in February 1783 took part in a short action in which Fox captured the Spanish frigate Santa Catalina, with the loss of four men killed and one wounded aboard Fox.[3]

French Revolutionary Wars

With the outbreak of war with

expedition to Egypt.[2] Young went to Egypt with the expeditionary force, but became ill with repeated bilious attacks and was forced to return to Britain in June 1801.[1]

His service in the Mediterranean was noticed and praised by Sir Ralph Abercromby and Lord Keith, and on their recommendations Young was advanced to Post-rank on 29 April 1802.[1] He was presented with the gold medal of the Turkish Order of the Crescent and received a gold-hilted sword from the masters of the ships of the expedition.[1][2]

Napoleonic Wars

With the resumption of hostilities in 1803 Young was sent to

King William IV, and the Dukes of York, Kent, Cambridge and Gloucester.[1][2] On his retirement the different Transport-Lieutenants who had served under him presented him with a silver vase.[1]

Later life

Young was advanced to rear-admiral on the retired list on 10 January 1837, and was restored to the active list on 17 August 1840.

MP for Tynemouth and North Shields between 1832 and 1837.[1] Young died at Denmark Hill, Camberwell, Surrey on 11 February 1847, after spending 70 years in the navy.[1]

Notes

a. ^ O'Byrne has the acting-lieutenancy accompanied with a posting to a 50-gun ship named Gratton.[1] No ship of this name appears in J. J. Colledge's Ships of the Royal Navy, nor Rif Winfield's British Warships in the Age of Sail: 1714-1792. This may be HMS Grafton, which was in the West Indies at the time, though she was a 74-gun ship.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w O'Byrne. O'Byrne's Naval Biography. pp. 1339–40.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Burke. The Patrician. p. 304.
  3. ^ Beatson. Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain. p. 533.
  4. ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792. p. 68.

References

  • Beatson, Robert (1972). Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, from 1727 to 1783. Vol. 5. London: Ardent Media.
    ISBN 0-8398-0189-0
    .
  • Burke, John; Burke, Sir Bernard (1847). The Patrician. Vol. 3. London: E. Churton.
  • O'Byrne, William Richard (1858). Naval Biographical Dictionary. O'Byrne.
  • Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth.
    ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Young_(Royal_Navy_officer,_born_1761)&oldid=1211614479"