Thomas Eyles
Encyclopedia
Thomas Eyles was an officer of the Royal Navy
who served during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
.
Little has been recorded about Eyles' early life, but he served for much of his time in the navy under the patronage of Sir John Borlase Warren, a prominent naval commander, who arranged for Eyles to have a significant role in the Quiberon Expedition
in 1795. Success in this operation led to a promotion to post-captain
, and command of his own frigate, the 44-gun . Eyles continued to served under Warren in the frigate squadron patrolling the Western Approaches
, often captaining Warren's ships. Eyles saw action at the Battle of Tory Island
in 1798, and later became Warren's flag captain
after Warren's promotion and appointment to serve in the Channel Fleet
.
As one of the early commanders of , Eyles had to deal with a mutiny as disaffected sailors aired their grievances at being sent abroad as peace seemed imminent. The mutiny was put down and Eyles carried out his original mission, sailing to the West Indies, before returning to Britain. Eyles appears to have been unemployed for a time, only returning to command a ship in 1809, and moving to command one of the royal yacht
s shortly before his promotion to rear-admiral in 1814. He rose through the ranks, never hoisting his flag, until his death as a vice-admiral of the white in 1835, at the age of 66.
Little is recorded about Eyles's early life and career in the navy. He was a protégé of Sir John Borlase Warren and was serving aboard Warren's ship, the 44-gun , during the Quiberon Expedition
in mid-1795. Eyles was a lieutenant at this time, and did not have an active posting, but Warren lobbied the Admiralty
to give Eyles a position on the expedition, and himself appointed Eyles to oversee all matters related to signalling and transportation. Encouraged by the expedition's initial success, the Admiralty promoted Eyles to post-captain
on 13 July 1795 and Warren to commodore
. Eyles received an appointment to command the Pomone, initially as acting captain, and later being confirmed as captain. The expedition ultimately ended in the frustration of the British plans to encourage a French Royalist rising, but Eyles and Warren both benefited from it.
, and Eyles played an important part in cruises with the squadron against enemy privateer
s and merchant shipping. Eyles narrowly lost his command in 1796 when, through the ignorance of her French pilot
, Pomone ran aground off Nantes
. She was damaged, but was able to be refloated. Warren sent her into port to be repaired, with the crew struggling to keep her afloat on the voyage to Plymouth
. Eyles managed to get her into port safely, and received the thanks of the Admiralty
for saving the ship.
Eyles remained in command until 1797, capturing either singly, or in company with other vessels, a large number of privateers, including the 8-gun cutter Sans Peur on 13 March 1796, and on 20 March 1796 captured the Etoile and four vessels in a convoy off Pointe du Raz
, on the Brittany
coast. The capture of the 14-gun Fantaisie off Morlaix
followed on 25 May 1796. On 22 August 1796 Eyles was in company with several frigates and smaller ships when the French 36-gun Andromache was spotted making for the Gironde estuary
. The 32-gun , under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats
, and the brig
, made French signals to fool the French ship into anchoring. On discovering her mistake, the French ship attempted to escape, pursued by Galtaea, Pomone and . After a sustained chase, the Andromache ran herself aground, and was later boarded and burnt by boats from the British squadron. Further successes that Eyles had a hand in included the running of the French 28-gun Calliope onto the Penmarcks on 16 July 1797, an attack on a convoy escorted by the 20-gun Réolaise and other ships on 11 August 1797, and engagements with the Egalité on 23 August and the 18-gun cutter Petit Diable on 27 August 1797.
Eyles left Pomone in late 1797, being succeeded by Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds
. Eyles took command of the 74-gun , flying the broad pennant
of Commodore Warren, and under him saw action at the Battle of Tory Island
, in which a French invasion force under Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart
was encountered and successfully dispersed on 12 October 1798.
, in July 1799. The newly commissioned Temeraire then joined the Channel Fleet
under the overall command of Admiral Lord Bridport and supported the blockade of the French port of Brest
, making several long cruises of two or three months at a time patrolling the area. Eyles was superseded during this period by Temeraires former commander, Captain Puget, who resumed command on 14 October 1799, and the following month Temeraire became the flagship of Rear-Admiral James Whitshed.
Eyles continued to serve with Warren, with his next posting as captain of Warren's new flagship, the 74-gun . Eyles was aboard her until November 1800. He then returned after a period of absence to resume command of Temeraire on 31 August 1801. Rear-Admiral Whitshed had struck his flag by now, and in his place Temeraire became the flagship of Rear-Admiral George Campbell
. By this time the Second Coalition against France had collapsed, and negotiations for peace were underway at Amiens
. Lord St Vincent had been promoted to First Lord of the Admiralty, and command of the Channel Fleet passed to Admiral Sir William Cornwallis
. Anticipating the imminent end of the war, Temeraire was taken off blockade duty and sent to Bantry Bay
to await the arrival of a convoy, which she would then escort to the West Indies. Many of the crew had been serving continuously in the navy since the start of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, and had looked forward to returning to England now that peace seemed imminent. On hearing rumours that instead they were to be sent to the West Indies, a group of around a dozen men began to agitate for the rest of the crew to refuse orders to sail for anywhere but England.
and refusing orders to leave, began to argue with the officers. Captain Eyles asked to know their demands, which were an assurance that Temeraire would not go to the West Indies, but instead would return to England. Eventually Rear-Admiral Campbell came down to speak to the men, and having informed them that the officers did not know the destination of the ship, he ordered them to disperse. The men went below decks and the incipient mutiny appeared to have been quashed. Trouble flared up again when the mutineers, believing they would be supported by the majority of the crew, again made their refusal to sail to the West Indies known, and began to agitate against the officers. Campbell met with Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell
the following day and after a period of tensions and standoffs between the officers and the crew, the mutiny collapsed when the marines obeyed orders to arrest the ringleaders.
Temeraire was ordered to Spithead
and an investigation was carried out, which eventually saw the court-martial and punishment of the mutiny's ringleaders. After deliberations, twelve were sentenced to be hanged, the remaining two were to receive two hundred lashes each. Having carried out the executions, Temeraire was immediately sent to sea, and Eyles sailed for Barbados
, arriving there on 24 February, and the ship remained in the West Indies until the summer. During her time there the Treaty of Amiens
was finally signed and ratified, and Temeraire was ordered back to Britain. She arrived into Plymouth
on 28 September and Eyles paid her off
on 5 October.
HMY Royal Charlotte in early 1813, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 4 July 1814. He was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the white in May 1825. He died at this rank on 29 September 1835, at Loddington Hall, Northamptonshire
, at the age of 66, having never hoisted his flag.
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...
who served during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and 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...
.
Little has been recorded about Eyles' early life, but he served for much of his time in the navy under the patronage of Sir John Borlase Warren, a prominent naval commander, who arranged for Eyles to have a significant role in the Quiberon Expedition
Invasion of France (1795)
The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively repulsed on 21 July...
in 1795. Success in this operation led to a promotion to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
, and command of his own frigate, the 44-gun . Eyles continued to served under Warren in the frigate squadron patrolling the Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
, often captaining Warren's ships. Eyles saw action at the Battle of Tory Island
Battle of Tory Island
The Battle of Tory Island, was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal, then in the Kingdom of Ireland...
in 1798, and later became Warren's flag captain
Flag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
after Warren's promotion and appointment to serve in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
.
As one of the early commanders of , Eyles had to deal with a mutiny as disaffected sailors aired their grievances at being sent abroad as peace seemed imminent. The mutiny was put down and Eyles carried out his original mission, sailing to the West Indies, before returning to Britain. Eyles appears to have been unemployed for a time, only returning to command a ship in 1809, and moving to command one of the royal yacht
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head...
s shortly before his promotion to rear-admiral in 1814. He rose through the ranks, never hoisting his flag, until his death as a vice-admiral of the white in 1835, at the age of 66.
Early career
Invasion of France (1795)
The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively repulsed on 21 July...
in mid-1795. Eyles was a lieutenant at this time, and did not have an active posting, but Warren lobbied the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
to give Eyles a position on the expedition, and himself appointed Eyles to oversee all matters related to signalling and transportation. Encouraged by the expedition's initial success, the Admiralty promoted Eyles to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
on 13 July 1795 and Warren to commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
. Eyles received an appointment to command the Pomone, initially as acting captain, and later being confirmed as captain. The expedition ultimately ended in the frustration of the British plans to encourage a French Royalist rising, but Eyles and Warren both benefited from it.
With the frigate squadron
Pomone continued to serve under Commodore Sir John Borlase Warren as part of the frigate squadron in the Western ApproachesWestern Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
, and Eyles played an important part in cruises with the squadron against enemy privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s and merchant shipping. Eyles narrowly lost his command in 1796 when, through the ignorance of her French pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
, Pomone ran aground off Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
. She was damaged, but was able to be refloated. Warren sent her into port to be repaired, with the crew struggling to keep her afloat on the voyage to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Eyles managed to get her into port safely, and received the thanks of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
for saving the ship.
Pointe du Raz
The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is Beg ar Raz. It is the western point of the commune of Plogoff, Finistère....
, on the Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
coast. The capture of the 14-gun Fantaisie off Morlaix
Morlaix
Morlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Leisure and tourism:...
followed on 25 May 1796. On 22 August 1796 Eyles was in company with several frigates and smaller ships when the French 36-gun Andromache was spotted making for the Gironde estuary
Gironde estuary
The Gironde is a navigable estuary , in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just below the centre of Bordeaux...
. The 32-gun , under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats
Richard Goodwin Keats
Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. In 1821 he was made Governor of...
, and the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
, made French signals to fool the French ship into anchoring. On discovering her mistake, the French ship attempted to escape, pursued by Galtaea, Pomone and . After a sustained chase, the Andromache ran herself aground, and was later boarded and burnt by boats from the British squadron. Further successes that Eyles had a hand in included the running of the French 28-gun Calliope onto the Penmarcks on 16 July 1797, an attack on a convoy escorted by the 20-gun Réolaise and other ships on 11 August 1797, and engagements with the Egalité on 23 August and the 18-gun cutter Petit Diable on 27 August 1797.
Eyles left Pomone in late 1797, being succeeded by Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds
Robert Carthew Reynolds
Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds was a long serving and widely respected officer of the British Royal Navy who served in four separate major wars in a 52 year career...
. Eyles took command of the 74-gun , flying the broad pennant
Broad pennant
A broad pennant is a swallow-tailed tapering flag flown from the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of a commodore on board. It is so called because its dimensions are roughly 2:3....
of Commodore Warren, and under him saw action at the Battle of Tory Island
Battle of Tory Island
The Battle of Tory Island, was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal, then in the Kingdom of Ireland...
, in which a French invasion force under Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart
Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart
Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart was a French privateer, navy officer and admiral. He was related to the noted Admiral Maxime de Bompart.He took part in the American War of Independence as a young officer....
was encountered and successfully dispersed on 12 October 1798.
The Brest blockade
Eyles association with Warren continued after Warren's promotion to rear-admiral. When Warren hoisted his flag aboard the 98-gun , Eyles came with him, succeeding Temeraires previous commander, Captain Peter PugetPeter Puget
Peter Puget was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound.-Mr. Midshipman Puget:Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the Huguenots. His father, John, was a successful merchant and banker, but died in 1767, leaving Puget's...
, in July 1799. The newly commissioned Temeraire then joined the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
under the overall command of Admiral Lord Bridport and supported the blockade of the French port of 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...
, making several long cruises of two or three months at a time patrolling the area. Eyles was superseded during this period by Temeraires former commander, Captain Puget, who resumed command on 14 October 1799, and the following month Temeraire became the flagship of Rear-Admiral James Whitshed.
Eyles continued to serve with Warren, with his next posting as captain of Warren's new flagship, the 74-gun . Eyles was aboard her until November 1800. He then returned after a period of absence to resume command of Temeraire on 31 August 1801. Rear-Admiral Whitshed had struck his flag by now, and in his place Temeraire became the flagship of Rear-Admiral George Campbell
George Campbell (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir George Campbell GCB was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.-Naval career:...
. By this time the Second Coalition against France had collapsed, and negotiations for peace were underway at Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
. Lord St Vincent had been promoted to First Lord of the Admiralty, and command of the Channel Fleet passed to Admiral Sir William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
. Anticipating the imminent end of the war, Temeraire was taken off blockade duty and sent to Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
to await the arrival of a convoy, which she would then escort to the West Indies. Many of the crew had been serving continuously in the navy since the start of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, and had looked forward to returning to England now that peace seemed imminent. On hearing rumours that instead they were to be sent to the West Indies, a group of around a dozen men began to agitate for the rest of the crew to refuse orders to sail for anywhere but England.
Mutiny
The first open clash between the mutineers and officers came on the morning of 3 December, when a small group of sailors gathered on the forecastleForecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
and refusing orders to leave, began to argue with the officers. Captain Eyles asked to know their demands, which were an assurance that Temeraire would not go to the West Indies, but instead would return to England. Eventually Rear-Admiral Campbell came down to speak to the men, and having informed them that the officers did not know the destination of the ship, he ordered them to disperse. The men went below decks and the incipient mutiny appeared to have been quashed. Trouble flared up again when the mutineers, believing they would be supported by the majority of the crew, again made their refusal to sail to the West Indies known, and began to agitate against the officers. Campbell met with Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Andrew Mitchell KB was an Admiral of the Blue in the Royal Navy. Married to Mary Uniacke in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 3 May 1805.-Career:...
the following day and after a period of tensions and standoffs between the officers and the crew, the mutiny collapsed when the marines obeyed orders to arrest the ringleaders.
Temeraire was ordered to Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
and an investigation was carried out, which eventually saw the court-martial and punishment of the mutiny's ringleaders. After deliberations, twelve were sentenced to be hanged, the remaining two were to receive two hundred lashes each. Having carried out the executions, Temeraire was immediately sent to sea, and Eyles sailed for Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, arriving there on 24 February, and the ship remained in the West Indies until the summer. During her time there the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
was finally signed and ratified, and Temeraire was ordered back to Britain. She arrived into Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
on 28 September and Eyles paid her off
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
on 5 October.
Later service
Eyles does not appear to have had any more commands until early 1809, when he was appointed to command the 74-gun , which he did until early 1812. He was given command of the royal yachtRoyal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head...
HMY Royal Charlotte in early 1813, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 4 July 1814. He was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the white in May 1825. He died at this rank on 29 September 1835, at Loddington Hall, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, at the age of 66, having never hoisted his flag.