Richard Grindall
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral
Sir Richard Grindall KCB
(1750 – 23 May 1820) was an officer in the British Royal Navy
whose distinguished career during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars
was highlighted by his presence at the battle of Trafalgar
in 1805, when despite being cursed with the slow and ungainly 98 gun HMS Prince
was instrumental in the final stages of the battle and especially in the chaotic storm which followed, when many of the British fleet would have been lost but for the efforts of Grindall and other captains of largely undamaged ships.
on 7 January 1772 as an Able Seaman
on James Cook
Second voyage (1772–75). He messed with the midshipmen during the voyage.
Grindall had a late initiation to the Royal Navy, only making lieutenant in 1776, a full eight years past the date most of his contemporaries had reached that rank. Almost his entire service was spent in ships of the line especially flagships, including HMS Barfleur
, Samuel Hood
's flagship in the West Indies during 1781. In this ship he saw his first action off Martinique
and was promoted two year later to Post Captain.
The outbreak of the Revolutionary War saw him in command of the frigate
HMS Thalia
, but after an uneventful time in command he was transferred to HMS Irresistible
in 1795 and was engaged with the French Brest
fleet in the battle of Groix
. The next eight years was slow and uneventful for Grindall, consisting of constant blockade and convoy work and little chance for action or excitement. Following the Peace of Amiens, this seemed likely to continue, as he was given the huge Prince, which had a reputation for "sailing like a haystack". This unfortunately proved to be the case, and the boring blockade duty continued, joining Nelson off Cadiz
in 1805. It was on the 21 October that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet attempted to escape and Grindall lined up in Collingwood's division to attack them.
Unfortunately for Grindall's hopes of action, the ship was such an awful sailer that she was passed by her whole division, and took over two hours to cover the two or three miles to reach the battle. By the time she arrived most of the enemy fleet was in British hands or had fled, leaving few targets for the Prince's massive broadsides. She did fire on the Spanish flagship Principe de Asturias
and the already blazing Achille
but was not attacked and suffered no damage or casualties. Making the most of his unique position, Grindall immediately launched boats and rescued hundreds of struggling survivors in the water, including many from the sinking Achille.
In the week of ferocious storms which followed the battle the sturdy Prince was invaluable, providing replacement stores to more battered ships and towing those that needed it. She also played the humanitarian very successfully, at one point saving 350 men from the sinking Santissima Trinidad
who would otherwise have drowned. When his laden ship arrived at Gibraltar
, it was ready to sail again in a matter of hours.
Thanks to his good long service record, Grindall was made a Rear Admiral
and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the general promotion which followed the action on the 9 November. This however spelt doom for his career, as so many admirals were created that not enough posts could be found for them, and Grindall was one of the promoted men who never commanded at sea again, taking a shore appointment in late 1805 and retiring with his family soon afterwards as a Vice-Admiral. His retiremnet was a difficult one however, as two of his sons who had joined the navy in their father's footsteps, Edmund and Festing Horatio , died in 1811 and 1812 from unconnected illness. When Richard Grindall died in Wickham
in 1820 he was interred next to them , joined by his wife Katherine in 1831.
, C. S. Forester
, ISBN 0-14-002901-X.
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Sir Richard Grindall KCB
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...
(1750 – 23 May 1820) was an officer in the British 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...
whose distinguished career during the American War of Independence, 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...
was highlighted by his presence 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 ....
in 1805, when despite being cursed with the slow and ungainly 98 gun HMS Prince
HMS Prince (1788)
HMS Prince was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 July 1788 at Woolwich. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.-Life:...
was instrumental in the final stages of the battle and especially in the chaotic storm which followed, when many of the British fleet would have been lost but for the efforts of Grindall and other captains of largely undamaged ships.
Biography
Born in 1750, Grindall joined the ResolutionHMS Resolution (Cook)
HMS Resolution was a sloop of the Royal Navy, and the ship in which Captain James Cook made his second and third voyages of exploration in the Pacific...
on 7 January 1772 as an Able Seaman
Able Seaman (occupation)
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
on James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
Second voyage (1772–75). He messed with the midshipmen during the voyage.
Grindall had a late initiation to the Royal Navy, only making lieutenant in 1776, a full eight years past the date most of his contemporaries had reached that rank. Almost his entire service was spent in ships of the line especially flagships, including HMS Barfleur
HMS Barfleur (1768)
HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William, and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making...
, Samuel Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
's flagship in the West Indies during 1781. In this ship he saw his first action off 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 was promoted two year later to Post Captain.
The outbreak of the Revolutionary War saw him in command of the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Thalia
HMS Thalia
Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Thalia, after Thalia, the name of a number of figures in Greek mythology:*HMS Thalia was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1782 as . She was renamed HMS Thalia in 1783 and was broken up in 1814. was a 46-gun fifth rate launched in 1830 and broken...
, but after an uneventful time in command he was transferred to HMS Irresistible
HMS Irresistible (1782)
HMS Irresistible was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 December 1782 at Harwich.She fought at the Battle of Groix in 1795, and at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.Irresistible was broken up in 1806....
in 1795 and was engaged with the French Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
fleet in the battle of Groix
Battle of Groix
The Second Battle of Groix was a naval engagement that took place on 23 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary War off the west coast of France....
. The next eight years was slow and uneventful for Grindall, consisting of constant blockade and convoy work and little chance for action or excitement. Following the Peace of Amiens, this seemed likely to continue, as he was given the huge Prince, which had a reputation for "sailing like a haystack". This unfortunately proved to be the case, and the boring blockade duty continued, joining Nelson 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....
in 1805. It was on the 21 October that the combined Franco-Spanish fleet attempted to escape and Grindall lined up in Collingwood's division to attack them.
Unfortunately for Grindall's hopes of action, the ship was such an awful sailer that she was passed by her whole division, and took over two hours to cover the two or three miles to reach the battle. By the time she arrived most of the enemy fleet was in British hands or had fled, leaving few targets for the Prince's massive broadsides. She did fire on the Spanish flagship Principe de Asturias
Spanish ship Principe de Asturias
A number of ships of the Armade España have been named Principe de Astorias, including -...
and the already blazing 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...
but was not attacked and suffered no damage or casualties. Making the most of his unique position, Grindall immediately launched boats and rescued hundreds of struggling survivors in the water, including many from the sinking Achille.
In the week of ferocious storms which followed the battle the sturdy Prince was invaluable, providing replacement stores to more battered ships and towing those that needed it. She also played the humanitarian very successfully, at one point saving 350 men from the sinking Santissima Trinidad
Spanish Ship Santissima Trinidad
The Santísima Trinidad was the name of several Spanish shipsIt may refer to:* Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad * Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad...
who would otherwise have drowned. When his laden ship arrived at 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...
, it was ready to sail again in a matter of hours.
Thanks to his good long service record, Grindall was made a 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"...
and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the general promotion which followed the action on the 9 November. This however spelt doom for his career, as so many admirals were created that not enough posts could be found for them, and Grindall was one of the promoted men who never commanded at sea again, taking a shore appointment in late 1805 and retiring with his family soon afterwards as a Vice-Admiral. His retiremnet was a difficult one however, as two of his sons who had joined the navy in their father's footsteps, Edmund and Festing Horatio , died in 1811 and 1812 from unconnected illness. When Richard Grindall died in Wickham
Wickham
Wickham, formerly spelled Wykeham, is a small historic village and civil parish in Hampshire, southern England, located about three miles north of Fareham. It is within the City of Winchester local government district, although it is considerably closer to Fareham than to Winchester...
in 1820 he was interred next to them , joined by his wife Katherine in 1831.
Further reading
- The Trafalgar Captains, Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005, ISBN 1-86176-247-X
- Maev Kennedy, Trafalgar anniversary resurrects haystack jibe, The Guardian, 23rd October 2006
Fiction
Appears as a character in the book Hornblower and the HotspurHornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower and the Hotspur is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester.It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication.-Plot summary:...
, C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
, ISBN 0-14-002901-X.