Paul Harris Nicolas - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Paul Harris Nicolas, an elder brother of the English antiquary Nicholas Harris Nicolas

Nicholas Harris Nicolas

Sir Harris Nicolas, KCMG, KH was an English antiquary.-Life:The fourth son of John Harris Nicolas , he was born at Dartmouth. Having served in the navy from 1812 to 1816, he studied law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1825...

, was a nineteenth century British historian, an accomplished, if little known, water colourist, a Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

officer, and a veteran of 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 ....

. Nicolas was the author of the two volume Historical Record of the Royal Marine Forces .

Family origins and early years

Paul Harris Nicolas was born at Saint Martin on Looe Bay, in Cornwall, England,
on March 1, 1790.
The nephew of a British Marine Lieutenant, Nicholas Harris (N.H.) Nicholas (1755–1816) who was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill

Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...

, Paul Harris Nicolas was himself the second of five sons of another noteworthy, if lesser known, British water colourist,Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

John Harris Nicholas 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...

(1758–1844) and his wife, the former Margaret Blake (1762–1852).

With deep roots in Cornwall, the family also claimed French Huguenot origins. In spite of romantic attachments to the past, however, the Royal Navy Commander and his widow continued to spell their name as Nicholas until the end of their lives, long after the decision of their sons (Paul Harris Nicolas and his brothers) to adopt the French-styled "original" spelling of Nicolas.
The four brothers of Paul Harris Nicolas were: Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

John Toup Nicolas, 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...

, 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...

(1788–1851); Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

William Keigwin Nicolas 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...

(1792–1871); Nicholas Harris Nicolas

Nicholas Harris Nicolas

, who attained the rank of Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

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...

; and Charles Henry Nicolas (1801–1881).

Trafalgar and the Royal Marines

Paul Harris Nicolas was commissioned a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

in the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

on July 6, 1805. He was thus not quite sixteen when, aboard the 80 gun HMS Belleisle (1795)

HMS Belleisle (1795)

Lion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the French Navy, which later served in the Royal Navy. She was built at Rochefort. She was later renamed Marat and then Formidable, with the changing fortunes of the French Revolution....

under Captain William Hargood

William Hargood

Admiral Sir William Hargood KCB GCH RN was a British naval officer who served with distinction through the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, during which he gained an unfortunate reputation for bad luck, which seemed to reverse following his...

of 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...

, he joined Lord Nelson's Fleet off Cadiz in the early part of October 1805. In 1829 he published an account of the naval battle in which his ship, alone, was totally dismasted with a loss of 33 officers and men killed (nine of whom were Royal Marines

Royal Marines

), and a further 93 officers and men wounded, including both ship's Captain William Hargood

William Hargood

and Royal Marines

Royal Marines

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

(the later Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

[Army List] and Adjutant-General Sir John Owen KCB KH 1777-1857), who was young Lieutenant P.H. Nicolas' immediate superior in charge of the Marines on the poop. Sergeant John Jackson and 12 other Royal Marines

Royal Marines

also numbered among the ship's casualties. In all, 92 Royal Marines

Royal Marines

officers and over 3,600 Royal Marines

Royal Marines

of other ranks were present at Trafalgar. Four Marine officers were among the killed and 13 more were wounded. Losses in wounded among the rank and file of the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

at Trafalgar was proportionately severe.

Paul Harris Nicolas was promoted to First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

in the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

on July 27, 1808. He fought in the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809.

On June 24, 1813, the Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

married Miss Ann Morcoumbe. In September 1814 First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

Paul Harris Nicolas went on half-pay, which with the passing of years came to amount to his effective retirement from the military.

Later Years, Artistic and Literary Work

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

P.H. Nicolas' skillful watercolour rendering of the HMS Belleisle (1795)
HMS Belleisle (1795)
Lion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the French Navy, which later served in the Royal Navy. She was built at Rochefort. She was later renamed Marat and then Formidable, with the changing fortunes of the French Revolution....

at Trafalgar became the model for the central painting in the work of marine painter William John Huggins

William John Huggins

William John Huggins was a popular English marine painter who won royal patronage for his work.-Life:Little is known of Huggins' early life but he was recorded as being a sailor in the service of the East India Company. During his voyages he made many drawings of ships and landscapes in China and...

which was commissioned to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar by William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

.

His two volume Historical record of the Royal marine forces
is still authoritative for students of the military institution and its changing roll in the course of British history.
In 1848 or 1849, Royal Marines

Royal Marines

First Lieutenant

Paul Harris Nicolas was awarded the Naval General Service Medal (1847) with two clasps (representing Trafalgar and Basque Roads).
In declining health, Paul Harris Nicolas died on May 1, 1860.

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