William Mulcaster
Encyclopedia
Capt Sir William Howe Mulcaster KCH (1785 – 2 March 1837) was an officer in the British
Royal Navy
who played a distinguished part in the Anglo-American War of 1812
, in particular in the Engagements on Lake Ontario
.
He was the son of a senior officer in the Royal Engineers
and entered the Royal Navy at the age of 15. In 1809, he was serving as a Lieutenant in HMS "Confiance". One of his fellow officers was his future commander, James Lucas Yeo
. "Confiance" played a significant part in the capture of Cayenne
, for which Mulcaster received a commemorative sword from the Prince Regent of Portugal
and was promoted to Commander.
He was appointed to command the brig-rigged sloop of war
Emulous
serving at Halifax, Nova Scotia
. Shortly after war with America broke out in 1812, Emulous was wrecked on Cape Sable Island, and Mulcaster was recruited for service on the Great Lakes
by Yeo (whose frigate, HMS Southampton
had also been wrecked shortly before in the Caribbean
).
Mulcaster was initially offered command of the flotilla on Lake Erie
but he declined on grounds of the scarcity of resources there. Instead, he acted as second in command to Yeo. In that role, he commanded the sloop Royal George
in 1813 in several actions on Lake Ontario
against the American squadron led by Isaac Chauncey
.
Both combatants on Lake Ontario were building progressively larger ships of war. Yeo laid down a frigate
, to be named Prince Regent
, and requested the Admiralty
to promote Mulcaster to the rank of Post-Captain
to command her. This was agreed. Before the ship was launched, in late 1813, Mulcaster commanded a flotilla of gunboats escorting supply convoys up the Saint Lawrence River
. He encountered the vessels of American General James Wilkinson
's expedition against Montreal
at French Creek and harassed the American encampments. When Wilkinson set off down the Saint Lawrence, Mulcaster hastened to Kingston
with the news and then, with a detachment of soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison
, sailed in pursuit with armed schooners and gunboats. On November 11, Mulcaster's gunboats helped goad Wilkinson into a hasty attack which led to the American defeat at the Battle of Crysler's Farm
.
On May 2, 1814, the British fleet and army on Lake Ontario mounted the Raid on Fort Oswego
to intercept supplies and armaments for the American fleet. Mulcaster took part in the landing, leading 200 sailors armed with boarding pikes but he was severely wounded by a grapeshot and eventually lost a leg. This ended his active career, for which he received a pension of £300 and was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath
.
In 1831 he received a knighthood and became aide de camp to King William IV
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
who played a distinguished part in the Anglo-American War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, in particular in the Engagements on Lake Ontario
Engagements on Lake Ontario
The Engagements on Lake Ontario encompass the prolonged naval contest for control of the lake during the War of 1812. Few actions were fought, none of which had decisive results, and the contest essentially became a naval building race, sometimes referred to sarcastically as the "Battle of the...
.
He was the son of a senior officer in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
and entered the Royal Navy at the age of 15. In 1809, he was serving as a Lieutenant in HMS "Confiance". One of his fellow officers was his future commander, James Lucas Yeo
James Lucas Yeo
Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812.Yeo was born in Southampton on 7 October 1782, and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 10. He first saw action as a lieutenant aboard a brig in the Adriatic Sea, and distinguished himself during the...
. "Confiance" played a significant part in the capture of Cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
, for which Mulcaster received a commemorative sword from the Prince Regent of Portugal
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
and was promoted to Commander.
He was appointed to command the brig-rigged sloop of war
Cruizer class brig-sloop
The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...
Emulous
HMS Emulous (1806)
HMS Emulous was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop, built by William Row at Newcastle and launched in 1806. She survived an inconclusive but bloody battle with a French frigate during the Napoleonic Wars and captured a number of prizes, including two privateers, on the Halifax station...
serving at Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. Shortly after war with America broke out in 1812, Emulous was wrecked on Cape Sable Island, and Mulcaster was recruited for service on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
by Yeo (whose frigate, HMS Southampton
HMS Southampton (1757)
HMS Southampton was the name ship of the 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and served for more than half a century until wrecked in 1812.- Fate :...
had also been wrecked shortly before in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
).
Mulcaster was initially offered command of the flotilla on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
but he declined on grounds of the scarcity of resources there. Instead, he acted as second in command to Yeo. In that role, he commanded the sloop Royal George
HMS Royal George (1809)
HMS Royal George was a British 20-gun wooden sloop of the Provincial Marine, and subsequently, the Royal Navy, operating on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812 with a crew of 200....
in 1813 in several actions on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
against the American squadron led by Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey was an officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:Chauncey, born in Black Rock, Connecticut, 20 February 1779, was appointed a Lieutenant in the Navy from 17 September 1798...
.
Both combatants on Lake Ontario were building progressively larger ships of war. Yeo laid down a 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"...
, to be named Prince Regent
HMS Prince Regent (1814)
HMS Prince Regent was a 56-gun British warship that served on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. The Prince Regent was built at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Upper Canada and launched on 14 April 1814. Following the War of 1812 the frigate was renamed HMS Kingston on 9 December...
, and requested 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 promote Mulcaster to the rank of 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:...
to command her. This was agreed. Before the ship was launched, in late 1813, Mulcaster commanded a flotilla of gunboats escorting supply convoys up the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
. He encountered the vessels of American General James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...
's expedition against Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
at French Creek and harassed the American encampments. When Wilkinson set off down the Saint Lawrence, Mulcaster hastened to Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
with the news and then, with a detachment of soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison
Joseph Wanton Morrison
Joseph Wanton Morrison was a British soldier, best known for commanding the British troops at the Battle of Crysler's Farm during the War of 1812.-Early career:...
, sailed in pursuit with armed schooners and gunboats. On November 11, Mulcaster's gunboats helped goad Wilkinson into a hasty attack which led to the American defeat at the Battle of Crysler's Farm
Battle of Crysler's Farm
The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the Anglo-American War of 1812. A British and Canadian force won a victory over an American force which greatly outnumbered them...
.
On May 2, 1814, the British fleet and army on Lake Ontario mounted the Raid on Fort Oswego
Raid on Fort Oswego
The Battle of Fort Oswego was a partially successful British raid on an American fort and village in May 1814 during the War of 1812.-Background:...
to intercept supplies and armaments for the American fleet. Mulcaster took part in the landing, leading 200 sailors armed with boarding pikes but he was severely wounded by a grapeshot and eventually lost a leg. This ended his active career, for which he received a pension of £300 and was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath
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...
.
In 1831 he received a knighthood and became aide de camp to King William IV
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...
.