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Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood

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For the English naturalist, surgeon and physician, see Cuthbert Collingwood (naturalist).

The Lord Collingwood
Born(1748-09-26)26 September 1748
Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England
Died7 March 1810(1810-03-07) (aged 61)
HMS Ville de Paris, off Port Mahon, Mediterranean Sea
Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
 United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1761–1810
RankVice-Admiral of the Red[1]
CommandsMediterranean Fleet
Collingwood's Squadron
HMS Triumph
HMS Barfleur
HMS Excellent
HMS Prince
HMS Mediator
HMS Sampson
HMS Pelican
HMS Hinchinbrook
HMS Badger
Battles / wars
Spouse(s)
Sarah Blackett
​
(m. 1791)​
[1]
Children3[1]
Signature

Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and later lived in Morpeth, Northumberland. He entered the Royal Navy at a young age, eventually rising from midshipman to lieutenant in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill during which he led a naval brigade. In the 1780s and 1790s Collingwood would participate in the French Revolutionary Wars, during which time he captained several ships and reached the rank of Post Captain. He took part in several key naval battles of the time, including the Glorious First of June and the Battle of Cape St Vincent. In 1799, he was promoted to rear-admiral and later vice-admiral, where he undertook a variety of command roles during the Napoleonic Wars, including serving as second in command of the British Fleet under Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Following Nelson's death, Collingwood became commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. He remained in post despite worsening health for several years and after finally being allowed to resign, he would die a day later at sea on the journey back to England. Collingwood was a respected admiral during the days of sail and notable as a friend and partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars as well as Nelson's successor in several Royal Navy commands.[2]

Early years

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Sources vary as to the exact date but Collingwood was born on either 24 or 26 September 1748 in Newcastle upon Tyne in a house (since demolished) on a street of medieval origin named 'the Side'.[3][4] He had 10 siblings, although only 6 survived into adulthood, including his two brothers Wilfred and John (Wilfred would also serve as a naval officer).[3][5] The Collingwood family were an old small landowning family from the border region between England and Scotland.[6] Collingwood's great-grandfather was executed by hanging in Liverpool for supporting the House of Stuart in battle during the Jacobite rising of 1715.[6] His grandfather and father were therefore deprived of their estate in Eslington Park, Northumbria.[6] His father, also Cuthbert, had instead become a local merchant and small business owner (though would later be declared bankrupt) and his mother, Milcah came from near Appleby-in-Westmorland.[3] At age 11, he began studying at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle receiving instruction in Latin.[7] The school was well known for flogging as a form of discipline even for younger students and it was said that this punishment led to Collingwood's dislike of the punishment and why he used it sparingly on his ships when later a Captain.[8] However, Collingwood did not stay at school long and expressed an interest to go to sea so that at the age of 12, he went to sea as a volunteer and apprentice on board the sixth-rate HMS Shannon under the command of his cousin Captain Richard Braithwaite (or Brathwaite), who took charge of his nautical education.[7] He received instruction in sailing, mathematics (including trigonometry), navigation (including celestial navigation) and in how to use a sextant. [9] Collingwood would spend several years of apprentice service under Braithwaite, including when Braithwaite changed ship to HMS Gibraltar and saw sea service in home waters, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.[10]

In 1766, in his 18th year, Collingwood was officially rated as midshipman.[11][12] In 1767, he was transferred to the sixth-rate HMS Liverpool (1758) assigned to the Mediterranean fleet.[13][12] He served on the ship for several years, becoming Master's Mate (a position responsible for navigation) while preparing for his lieutenancy examinations.[13][12] In 1772, Collingwood spent a short period attached to HMS Lenox, a guardship at Portsmouth commanded by Captain Robert Roddam.[14] In 1773, he was sent to Sheerness in Kent with a party of 18 seaman and joined HMS Portland.[15] The ship joined a convoy of merchant ships and headed for the Americas via Madeira.[15] The ship patrolled waters around the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands and Jamaica.[16] On 1 June 1773, Collingwood was discharged from the Portland and sent to serve on HMS Princess Amelia.[17] The Amelia sailed to Florida and then Newfoundland before returning to England in August 1773.[17]

With the discontent forming in the Americas that would result in the ensuing American Revolutionary War, Collingwood sailed to Boston in 1774 with Admiral Samuel Graves on board HMS Preston.[18] He would remain on the ship as it was stationed in Boston Harbour for some 18 months on station.[19] However, as American revolutionary forces encircled the town, Collingwood fought in the British naval brigade ashore at the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775.[20] Collingwood was in command of the boats that landed the second wave of troops of William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe.[20][21] Following the battle, he was commissioned as acting lieutenant.[20] To have his promotion confirmed by the Admiralty, Collingwood required to return to England and so transferred to HMS Somerset as fourth lieutenant, as the ship sailed to Nova Scotia before proceeding onto England in February 1776.[22][23] He stayed in London during this time and his rank of lieutenant was officially confirmed in the Spring of 1776.[20]

In April 1776, he joined the 14-gun HMS Hornet as first lieutenant, where he was required to form a press-gang before the ship sailed to the West Indies.[24] Collingwood remained onboard as the ship arrived in Jamaica with a remit to protect shipping against American privateers and prevent smuggling.[24] Collingwood believed that the ship's Captain, Commander Haswell was a "rotten officer" who lacked the courage to engage enemy shipping and they disagreed onboard, leading to Haswell following up with court-martial proceedings for "disobedience and neglect of orders" against Collingwood in September 1777.[25] However, the court martial at Port Royal, Jamaica acquitted Collingwood of the charges.[25] Shortly after his court-martial in 1777, Collingwood met Horatio Nelson when they both served on the frigate HMS Lowestoffe.[26] The two officers would become good friends.[26] After Nelson had left the Lowestoffe, Collingwood was given the post of second lieutenant on HMS Bristol on station in the West Indies.[26]

Minor command

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Silhouette of Collingwood drawn by Horatio Nelson when both were serving in the West Indies

On 20 June 1779, Collingwood succeeded Nelson as commander of the brig HMS Badger, his first full command.[26] On 22 March 1780 he again succeeded Nelson, this time as post-captain of HMS Hinchinbrook, a small frigate.[27] Nelson had been the leader of a failed expedition to cross Central America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by navigating boats along the San Juan River, Lake Nicaragua and Lake Leon. Nelson was debilitated by disease and had to recover before being promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood succeeded him in command of Hinchinbrook and brought the remainder of the expedition back to Jamaica.[27] By 1781, he had been appointed to command another small frigate HMS Pelican.[27] On 22 July 1781, under Collingwood, Pelican captured the French 16-gun ship Le Cerf on 22 July.[28] While navigating off Morant Cays, Jamaica, the ship was destroyed by a hurricane and the crew shipwrecked.[29] Collingwood led his crew ashore in rafts (made from broken rigging and planks) where they remained for ten days until rescued.[30][29] The subsequent court-martial, mandatory for any Captain who loses his ship declared him not at fault for the loss of the ship, given the tremendous extent of the hurricane that had caused much damage across the region.[30] Collingwood remained without ship on half-pay in the East Indies before returning to England in early 1782.[31] After a brief time in London, Collingwood was appointed to command to the third-rate 64-gun ship of the line HMS Sampson.[32]

By 1783, Collingwood had been transferred to command the fourth-rate 44-gun HMS Mediator which sailed in September 1783 to take up post in the West Indies.[32] The ship was stationed at English Bay and then in Barbados.[33] Nelson renewed his friendship with Captain Horatio Nelson while in the region.[33] In 1784 he and Nelson were together ashore in Antigua for several weeks where they both became attracted to the unobtainable American-born Mary Moutray, wo was married to Royal Commissioner of the island.[33] During frequent evenings together with Mary, Collingwood and Nelson both sketched each other and Collingwood kept the sketch.[34][35] Collingwood remained in the West Indies until the end of 1786, again, together with Nelson and this time his brother, Commander Wilfred Collingwood, with their mission being to prevent American ships from trading with the West Indies under the Navigation Acts.[35][36] During this time, Collingwood and Nelson in their ships seized several US merchantman as prizes in consequence of trading illegally.[37]

In July 1786, Collingwood returned to England where his ship's company were paid off.[38] Collingwood was given an extended leave and as a relatively junior post-captain in a time of increased levels of peace, he was not given a ship for several years.[39] Despite frequent attempts to secure a ship in London, Collingwood returned north to Newcastle for months at a time to spend time with his extended family, during which he learned that his brother, Captain Wilfried Collingwood had died at sea.[39] As a result of the developing Nootka Crisis by June 1790, Collingwood had been given command of the 32-gun frigate HMS Mermaid.[40] The frigate sailed again to the West Indies under Admiral Cornish.[40] Shortly before the ship sailed, Collingwood began correspondence with Sarah Blackett, daughter of acquaintance John Erasmus Blackett, merchant and mayor of Newcastle whom he met through his friend and superior Admiral Roddam.[41][42] In 1791, the results of war having lessened, Collingood returned to England on the Mermaid arriving at Portsmouth in April 1791.[41] Collingwood was put on half-pay ashore and remained without command again until 1793. However, on paying off Collingwood returned to Newcastle where on 18 June 1791, at Newcastle Cathedral he married Sarah, the Cathedral being some 50 yards from where he was born.[43][44] Her dowry was £6250 and in 1792, the Collingwoods used it to rent a house on Oldgate Street in Morpeth.[44] In May 1792, they had a daughter, Sarah.[45] His second daughter, Mary, would be born in the summer of 1793, after he had returned to sea.[43]

Major command

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Collingwood took part in the battle known as the Glorious First of June.

Following the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars, in 1793, he was appointed captain of HMS Prince, the flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in the Channel Fleet.[46] [47] Collingwood joined the ship in Plymouth, where it was fitted out and crewed (with manning being difficult) before heading to station at Spithead.[47] After sometime on station in the Prince, it was found the ship had poor sailing qualities so Collingwood and Bowyer transferred to HMS Barfleur.[48][49] The Barfleur would sail with the rest of the fleet under overall command of Admiral Howe in an effort to engage a large portion of the French Fleet and prevent a merchant convoy reaching France.[50] This resulted in the battle of June 1794 that became known as the Glorious First of June.[50] The Barfleur came under fire during the battle, during which time Bowyer lost his leg in action and Collingwood directed sailing of the ship from the quarterdeck during the main action.[51] Because he was not mentioned specifically in Howe's report to the admiralty, whether by error or intention,[52] Collingwood was disappointed not to receive a Naval Gold Medal for the action unlike the other Captains present.[50] He would later receive the medal some years later with an apology.[53][54] However, on returning to England he was one of a select group of captains who were invited to dine with King George III.[55]

In late 1794, he was given command of the third-rate HMS Hector.[56] Collingwood was onboard for the fitting out by delays in obtaining sufficient crew resulted in his ship being kept in port.[56] He returned home briefly to see his family but after only a few days was recalled to Plymouth to command the third-rate HMS Excellent, a ship which he would command for the next four years.[56] After leaving England, the ship sailed for the Mediterranean Sea, protecting a merchant convoy to Corsica before joining British forces in blockade off Italy at Livorno (Leghorn), where Collingwood would meet once serve with his friend Horatio Nelson.[57] Collingwood and his ship would winter off Corsica until spring 1796, during which time the ship had a minor collision in the darkness with HMS Princess Royal.[58] The Excellent served as part of the fleet under Admiral Jervis, stationed off Saint Florent.[59] As the Spanish joined the French in war, the fleet sailed west to Gibraltar at the end of 1796.[59] The fleet took up station off Lisbon in January 1797 with the aim being to bring the French and Spanish fleets to battle.[59][60]

Battle of Cape St Vincent

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HMS Excellent with other ships during the battle at Cape St Vincent, 1797. Collingwood would serve four years in command of the ship.

In February 1797, on board Excellent he participated in the victory of the Battle of Cape St Vincent.[61] As the British fleet began to pass in parallel to the enemy fleet, Jervis ordered his ships to tack in succession and engage.[61] Nelson saw an opportunity to engage the Spanish fleet directly and left the line of the fleet, heading straight for the Spanish van.[61] Collingwood, who was at the rear of the line, saw Nelson's action and ordered his ship to follow and engage directly.[61] Jervis later approved of their actions following victory.[61] Collingwood and his ship directly engaged the far larger 112-gun Salvador del Mundo and after several rapid and accurate broadsides from Excellent, the Spanish ship struck her colours (though she would later attempt to fight again before being finally captured).[61][62][63] The two ships had been "so close that a man might jump from one to another".[62] The Excellent sailed on, engaging the 74-gun San Ysidore and causing her to surrender also.[61][63] The Excellent then moved to support Nelson and his ship which was being engaged by two Spanish ships at once.[62] Together both Spanish ships were also defeated.[62] During the engagement, a double-headed shot narrowly missed Collingwood's head, hitting the base of the mast near where he stood.[61] He took it home as a souvenir for his father-in-law.[61][64] Collingwood's actions established his good reputation in the fleet for his conduct and gallantry during the battle.[65][66] He received a Gold Medal for his conduct as well as the one owed to him for the Glorious First of June.[67][68] He had originally declined the medal as he argued to receive such a distinction now would be to acknowledge the propriety of the injustice of not receiving the earlier medal.[67] Lord Spencer, the First Lord of the Admiralty who wrote "the former medal would have been transmitted to you some months ago if a proper and safe conveyance had been found for it".[69] Nelson's and Collingwood's decision to leave the line of battle and engage the enemy directly were seen as decisive in the British victory that followed.[62][67]

Promotion to rear-admiral

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Collingwood shown in later life in a painting in Paxton House

After the battle, Collingwood and his ship would take up station blockading Cadiz and he was promoted to the rank of Commodore.[70][71] He is said to have written that the time on blockade was dreary.[71] In late 1798, he returned to Portsmouth with his ship to repair.[70] By February 1799, he had returned home to Morpeth to spend time with his family.[72] While at home, he learned that he was to be raised to the rank of rear-admiral (of the White 14 February 1799).[72] In June 1799, Collingwood returned to sea, hoisting his flag in the 74-gun HMS Triumph, joined the Channel Fleet and sailed to the Mediterranean where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were assembled.[73] Several enemy ships were captured and Collingwood's share of the prize money amounted to some £4,000.[74] In 1800, he had transferred his flag from Triumph to HMS Barfleur, which he had sailed on a few years earlier as captain.[75] Collingwood continued to be actively over the next several years in blockading the enemy until the Peace of Amiens allowed him to return home.[76] However, he was able to briefly spend time with his family in Plymouth who had travelled to join him where the Barfleur repaired and took supplies.[77] At this time, he also purchased the freehold of the house, later known as Collingwood House that they had rented in Morpeth and had purchased a pet dog, Bounce, who joined him on his ship.[77] When not at sea he resided at in the town of Morpeth which lies some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and Chirton Hall in Chirton, now a western suburb of North Shields. Of his time in Morpeth, he is known to have remarked, "whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth." He was elevated to rear-admiral of the Red on 1 January 1801.[77] He remained on service until May 1802 when he was allowed to sign off his ship and return home for leave.[78][79]

With the resumption of hostilities with France in the spring of 1803 he left home to the Admiralty and then a ship, never to return home again.[80] Nearly two years were spent off Brest in anticipation for Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom. Together, with his pet dog Bounce, Collingwood joined the frigate HMS Diamond and raised his flag.[80] In August 1803, Collingwood was able to transfer his flag to the larger 74-gun HMS Venerable.[81] which then joined other ships and blockaded the French fleet off Brest in late 1803.[81] The Venerable returned to Plymouth for repairs and to take food and supplies over Christmas.[81][82]

Promotion to vice-admiral

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After discovering that great repairs were needed to the Venerable,[82] in February 1804, he transferred his flag to HMS Culloden resuming blockade with the fleet off France.[81] He briefly moved his flag to the 98-gun HMS Prince but returned after only a few months to the Culloden again.[83] In April 1804, Collingwood was promoted to vice-admiral (of the Blue 23 April 1804).[83][84] In August 1804, he transferred to the relatively new 98-gun second-rate HMS Dreadnought which would be his ship until shortly before the Battle of Trafalgar.[83] The ship spent time on blockade before supplying and repairing at Cawsand Bay, Cornwall over winter.[83]

When the French fleet sailed from Toulon, Admiral Collingwood was appointed to command a squadron, with orders to pursue them.[85] The combined fleets of France and Spain, after sailing to the West Indies, returned to Cadiz.[85] On their way they encountered Collingwood's small squadron off Cadiz in August 1805.[85] He had only three ships with him; but he succeeded in avoiding them despite being chased by 16 ships of the line.[86] Before half of the enemy's force had entered the harbour he resumed the blockade off Cadiz by shortening sail and standing towards the combined fleet for battle.[85] Using false signals to disguise the small size of his squadron, the combined fleet believed Collingwood's force part of a much larger fleet and did not engage, returning to harbour.[85][76][86] His action was seen as a tactical victory that would be one of several factors that led to the events of the Battle of Trafalgar.[85] He was soon joined by several other ships, increasing the blockade and then by Nelson who took command of the squadron and hoped to lure the combined fleet into a major engagement.[87]

Battle of Trafalgar

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Main article: Battle of Trafalgar
The opening engagement at Trafalgar; Royal Sovereign raking the stern of the Spanish flagship Santa Ana; John Wilson Carmichael

In mid-September, at Nelson's order, Collingwood transferred his flag to the 100-gun HMS Royal Sovereign and was appointed second-in-command.[87] The Royal Sovereign had just been given a new layer of copper on its hull and was therefore the fastest of the large ships at Trafalgar.[87] On 9 October, Nelson sent Collingwood his plan of attack (the 'Nelson Touch') and this was subsequently relayed to the Captains in the fleet.[88] On the morning of 20 October, the combined French and Spanish fleet sailed from Cadiz in October 1805.[88] The Battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. Villeneuve, the French admiral, drew up his fleet in the form of a crescent. The British fleet bore down in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in HMS Victory, and the other by Collingwood in HMS Royal Sovereign. Royal Sovereign raced ahead of the other ships as she was the swifter sailer because of her new copper hull.[89] Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet, she was the first engaged and was targeted by six enemy ships.[89] "See", said Nelson, pointing to Royal Sovereign as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!"[90] Probably it was at the same moment that Collingwood, as if in response to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain, "What would Nelson give to be here?"[76]

Royal Sovereign closed with the Spanish admiral's ship and fired her broadsides with such rapidity and precision at Santa Ana that the Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun.[91] This was seen as a feat that owed much to Collingwood's frequent drilling of his gunnery crew: he believed that if a ship could release 3 well aimed broadsides in five minutes, "no enemy could resist them".[92] Several other vessels came to Santa Ana's assistance and hemmed in Royal Sovereign on all sides; the latter, after being severely damaged, was relieved by the arrival of the rest of the British squadron, but was left unable to manoeuvre as the ship had been dismasted.[91] Not long afterwards Santa Ana struck her colours.[76][91] Collingwood was wounded in the battle by a splinter that gashed his leg.[91] During the intense firing, one officer reported that he ate an apple while discussing the progress of the fight.[91] Collingwood had been fortunate, as he was one of only three officers left alive on the quarterdeck.[91]

On the death of Nelson, Collingwood assumed command of the fleet and his position as acting commander-in-chief, transferring his flag to the frigate HMS Euryalus because of the damage to the Sovereign.[93] Anticipating that a storm was forming, Nelson had intended that the fleet should anchor after the battle.[93] However, on taking command Collingwood chose not to issue such an order for several reasons.[93] Many of the British ships and prizes were so damaged that they were unable to anchor, and Collingwood concentrated efforts on taking only those damaged vessels likely to survive the storm in tow.[93] In the ensuing gale, many of the prizes were wrecked on the rocky shore and others were destroyed to prevent their recapture, though no British ship was lost.[94] Collingwood wrote his official dispatch to the Admiralty as two letters on 22 and 24 October, informing Britain of victory in battle but the loss of Nelson.[95]

Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet

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Annuity to Lord Collingwood, etc. Act 1806
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act for settling and securing certain Annuities on Cuthbert Lord Collingwood, and the several other Persons therein described, in Consideration of the signal and important Service performed by the said Cuthbert Lord Collingwood to His Majesty and the Public.
Citation46 Geo. 3. c. 13
Dates
Royal assent22 March 1806
Commencement22 March 1806
Repealed6 August 1872
Other legislation
Repealed byStatute Law Revision Act 1872
Status: Repealed
Memorial to Collingwood, St Paul's Cathedral, by Richard Westmacott[96]

After the Battle, Collingwood was concerned with getting the worse ships away for repairs while maintaining the blockade.[97] On 9 November 1805, Collingwood was raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood, of Caldburne and Hethpool in the County of Northumberland.[98] He also received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and was awarded a pension of £2,000 per annum. Together with all Trafalgar captains and admirals, he also received a Naval Gold Medal, his third, after those for the Glorious First of June and Cape St Vincent.[99] Only Nelson and Sir Edward Berry share the distinction of three gold medals for service during the wars against France.[99] In the Spring of 1806, Collingwood's was formally appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.[100] He was also elevated to Vice-Admiral of the Red.[100] In 1806, while at sea, he organised the sale of his house at Morpeth after fully inheriting the Chirton estate from his wealthy third cousin, Edward Collingwood.[101] The Chirton estate was held in trust and included the estate house, a coal mine, cottages and other buildings.[102][103] However, Collingwood would not spend any significant time at the property, as he remained on post in the Mediterranean.[102][103] In October 1806, he transferred his flag to HMS Queen and in April 1806 he transferred his flag to HMS Queen.[104][105]

From Trafalgar until his death, no great naval action was fought in the Mediterranean Sea as a result of the British blockade and manoeuvrings of ships to prevent an enemy fleet from forming.[106] Collingwood's time as Commander-in-Chief would involve maintaining the blockade of French and Spanish ships around the coasts of the Mediterranean.[97] This included preventing French squadrons from sailing from the ports of Toulon and Cartagena.[97] Although several small French fleets would attempt to run the blockade and one successfully landed troops in the Caribbean two months after Trafalgar, the majority were either intercepted or forced to return to port by superior firepower.[106] Collingwood was occupied in important political and diplomatic transactions in the Mediterranean, in which he displayed tact and judgement.[107] His influence in the Navy was significant at this time, with his role as head of some 30,000 men in ships and ports.[108] He made visits and carried out diplomatic discussions with States and authorities including Morocco, Naples and the Ottoman Empire.[107][109] In February 1807, he dispatched ships under his second-in-command Sr John Duckworth and a squadron to the Dardanelles.[110] The squadron had some minor engagements with the Turkish but eventually withdrew to prevent ships being damaged by bombardment from ashore.[110] Collingwood later visited the Dardanelles himself in August 1807 to negotiate with the Pasha and Sultan under a flag of truce.[111] As a result, the Ottoman empire agreed to remain neutral in the Mediterranean.[111] In late 1807 and early 1808, he wintered with his ship at Syracuse in Sicily.[112] In March 1808, French forces attempted to break out at sail to Italy but were prevented by the assembly of a fleet of ships under Collingwood.[113] Collingwood also first wrote of his worsening health, with poor bowels and a complaint about lack of exercise having spent several years at sea.[113]

In 1808, Collingwood sent ships to support British forces and Spanish partisans during the Peninsular War, including preventing the supply by sea of French forces in Spain.[114] In late 1808 and early 1809, his ship, Ocean had repairs and was stationed at Malta. While in Malta, Collingwood was given the additional honorary appointment of Major-General of Marines.[115] The appointment included some £1,400 as a stipend but carried no duties.[115] In March 1809, Ocean was sent back to England and Collingwood transferred his flag to what would be his last vessel, HMS Ville de Paris.[116] Collingwood stationed himself off Port Mahon and Menorca, organising the continuing blockade of French ports, before joining the blockade of Toulon in the summer of 1809.[117] The blockade intercepted a convoy, capturing some 13 ships and destroying two line ships in a minor action.[118] Collingwood's own health continued to decline at sea and his pet dog, Bounce, also died from natural cases in late 1809.[118] He requested to be relieved of his command of the fleet so that he might return home, however the government urgently required an admiral with the experience and skill of Collingwood to remain, on the grounds that his country could not dispense with his services in the face of the still potent threat that the French and their allies could pose. Over-wintering off Menorca, his health began to decline alarmingly by November 1809 and by February 1810 could barely walk.[119] He was forced to again request the Admiralty to allow him to return home, which was finally granted in February 1810.[119] He surrendered command of the Mediterranean on 3 March 1810, temporarily to Rear-admiral George Martin before it passed officially to Sir Charles Cotton.[119]

Death

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After finally being given permission to return home, Collingwood died as a result of cancer on board HMS Ville de Paris, off Port Mahon as he sailed for England, on 7 March 1810.[120][121] The Ville de Paris returned his body to England, where it was then taken by barge up the River Thames to London.[121] He was laid to rest beside Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.[121][122]

On his death, Collingwood's estate was valued at £160,000.[101] This was a considerable sum for the period and especially for a naval officer from a less than affluent background.[101] His will left £40,000 each to both his daughters as specific legacies.[101] As Collingwood died without male issue, his barony became extinct at his death.[123]

Legacy

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Evaluation

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The Collingwood Monument at Tynemouth.

Collingwood's merits as a naval officer were in many respects of the first order. His political judgement was remarkable and he was consulted on questions of general policy, of regulation, and even of trade. He was opposed to impressment and to flogging and was considered so kind and generous that he was called "father" by the common sailors. Nelson and Collingwood enjoyed a close friendship, from their first acquaintance in early life until Nelson's death at Trafalgar; and they are both entombed in St Paul's Cathedral.[76]

Collingwood had a reputation for financial prudence and careful investment, including being careful with the spending of naval funds.[102]

Thackeray held that there was no better example of a virtuous Christian Knight than Collingwood:[124]

Another true knight of those days was Cuthbert Collingwood; and I think, since heaven made gentlemen, there is no record of a better one than that. Of brighter deeds, I grant you, we may read performed by others; but where of a nobler, kinder, more beautiful life of duty, of a gentler, truer heart? Beyond dazzle of success and blaze of genius, I fancy shining a hundred and a hundred times higher, the sublime purity of Collingwood's gentle glory. His heroism stirs British hearts when we recall it. His love, and goodness, and piety make one thrill with happy emotion. As one reads of him and his great comrade going into the victory with which their names are immortally connected, how the old English word comes up, and that old English feeling of what I should like to call Christian honour!

With the aim of growing trees for Britain's future, Collingwood was known for dropping acorns as he walked around the countryside.[125] Dudley Pope relates an aspect of Collingwood at the beginning of chapter three of his Life in Nelson's Navy:

Captain Cuthbert Collingwood, later to become an admiral and Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, had his home at Morpeth, in Northumberland, and when he was there on half pay or on leave he loved to walk over the hills with his dog Bounce. He always started off with a handful of acorns in his pockets, and as he walked he would press an acorn into the soil whenever he saw a good place for an oak tree to grow. Some of the oaks he planted are probably still growing more than a century and a half later ready to be cut to build ships of the line at a time when nuclear submarines are patrolling the seas, because Collingwood's purpose was to make sure that the Navy would never want for oaks to build the fighting ships upon which the country's safety depended.

Collingwood once wrote to his wife that he'd rather his body be added to Britain's sea defences rather than given the pomp of a ceremonial burial.[126]

Sailor Robert Hay who served with Collingwood wrote that: "He and his dog Bounce were known to every member of the crew. How attentive he was to the health and comfort and happiness of his crew! A man who could not be happy under him, could have been happy nowhere; a look of displeasure from him was as bad as a dozen at the gangway from another man". and that: "a better seaman, a better friend to seamen - a more zealous defender of the country's rights and honour, never trod the quarterdeck."[126][127]

Memorials

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The Collingwood Monument in Newcastle Cathedral.

Collingwood has been memorialised in name with a Royal navy shore establishment, several towns and some 27 streets, schools and public houses.[128] Dedicated to his name, the Maritime Warfare School of the Royal Navy is commissioned as HMS Collingwood, home to training for warfare, weapon engineering and communications disciplines.[128] The town of Collingwood, Ontario, on Georgian Bay in Canada, the suburb of Collingwood in the Australian city of Melbourne, the town of Collingwood, New Zealand and the Collingwood Channel (an entrance of Howe Sound near Vancouver, British Columbia), are named in his honour. One of the four houses at Collingwood's old school the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, is named after him. One of the five houses of British public school Churcher's College is named after him, as is one of the eleven houses at The Royal Hospital School. One of the three secondary Schools within Excelsior Academy in Newcastle was named after Collingwood in 2013. A battalion of the Royal Naval Division (1914 to 1919) was named after Collingwood.[129] It took part in the Antwerp Campaign (October 1914) and at Gallipoli. The Collingwood Battalion received so many casualties at the 3rd battle of Krithia, Gallipoli, on 4 June 1915 that it never reformed.[130] From 1978 until 1992, British Rail locomotive 50005 was named Collingwood.[131] In November 2005, English, Welsh & Scottish named locomotive 90020 Collingwood at Newcastle station.[132] The Collingwood Society, is a members society dedicated to his memory.[133]

A large monument, The Collingwood Monument, stands in his honour and overlooks the River Tyne at Tynemouth.[134] His Grade II listed statue was sculpted by John Graham Lough and stands atop a pedestal designed by John Dobson.[135] The four cannon on the walls flanking the steps at its base came from his flagship, Royal Sovereign.[136] There is also a carved memorial to him at Newcastle Cathedral.[137]

Collingwood's former temporary residence in Es Castell close to Mahon, Menorca is now a hotel and home to a collection of heirlooms relating to his time on the island.[138]

March 2010 saw the 200th anniversary of Collingwood's death and a number of major events were organised by 'Collingwood 2010' on Tyneside, in Morpeth and the island of Menorca.[139][134]

Literature

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Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Letitia Elizabeth Landon celebrates the Admiral in her poetical illustration Admiral Lord Collingwood in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833.[140] This is to an engraving of a variation on the painting by Henry Howard, apparently by his son Frank Howard.

Collingwood is fictionalized as "Admiral Sir John Thornton" in Patrick O'Brian's "The Ionian Mission." He appears under his own name in Hornblower and the Atropos, when Hornblower's ship joins the Mediterranean fleet a few months after Trafalgar.[141]

Arms

[edit]
Coat of arms of Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Coronet
A coronet of an Baron
Crest
1st (augmentation): The stern of the Royal Sovereign man of war, in waves, between a branch of laurel and a branch of oak all proper, 2nd: A stag at gaze under an oak tree proper.
Escutcheon
Argent a chevron between three stags' heads erased sable, with an augmentation, on a chief wavy gules a lion passant guardant navally crowned Or, with the word Trafalgar over the lion of the last.
Supporters
Dexter, an eagle proper, navally crowned Or; Sinister, a lion, holding in the dexter paw a slip of oak fructed proper.
Motto
Ferar unus et idem.[142]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Cuthbert Collingwood". The National Archives - Trafalgar Ancestors. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. ^ Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood Archived 17 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, HMS Collingwood Officers' Association.
  3. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 35-36.
  4. ^ Murray 1936, p. 17.
  5. ^ Murray 1936, p. 19.
  6. ^ a b c Murray 1936, p. 18.
  7. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 41.
  8. ^ Murray 1936, p. 20-22.
  9. ^ Murray 1936, p. 24.
  10. ^ Adams 2005, p. 47.
  11. ^ Adams 2005, p. 48.
  12. ^ a b c Murray 1936, p. 27.
  13. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 50.
  14. ^ Adams 2005, p. 55.
  15. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 56.
  16. ^ Adams 2005, p. 57.
  17. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 59-60.
  18. ^ Adams 2005, p. 63.
  19. ^ Adams 2005, p. 66.
  20. ^ a b c d Adams 2005, p. 68-69.
  21. ^ Murray 1936, p. 33-39.
  22. ^ Adams 2005, p. 40.
  23. ^ Murray 1936, p. 56.
  24. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 70-72.
  25. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 73-75.
  26. ^ a b c d Adams 2005, p. 76-78.
  27. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 79.
  28. ^ Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. London: Pen & Sword. p. 1257. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
  29. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 48-49.
  30. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 80.
  31. ^ Adams 2005, p. 81.
  32. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 82-83.
  33. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 86-89.
  34. ^ "Horatio Nelson drawn by Cuthbert Collingwood when both were serving in the West Indies | Royal Museums Greenwich". www.rmg.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  35. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 90.
  36. ^ Murray 1936, p. 53.
  37. ^ Adams 2005, p. 92.
  38. ^ Adams 2005, p. 98.
  39. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 98-102.
  40. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 107.
  41. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 109.
  42. ^ Murray 1936, p. 58.
  43. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 110.
  44. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 63.
  45. ^ Adams 2005, p. 111.
  46. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 690.
  47. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 67-70.
  48. ^ Murray 1936, p. 71.
  49. ^ Adams 2005, p. 126.
  50. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 127-128.
  51. ^ Adams 2005, p. 131.
  52. ^ Murray 1936, p. 81.
  53. ^ Adams 2005, p. 132-133.
  54. ^ "Naval Gold Medal (Captain's) for The Battle of the First of June 1794". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  55. ^ Adams 2005, p. 134.
  56. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 135.
  57. ^ Adams 2005, p. 141.
  58. ^ Adams 2005, p. 143.
  59. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 145-146.
  60. ^ Murray 1936, p. 96.
  61. ^ a b c d e f g h i Adams 2005, p. 148-151.
  62. ^ a b c d e Mackay, Ruddock F.; Duffy, Michael (2009). Hawke, Nelson and British Naval Leadership, 1747-1805. Woodbridge, UK ; Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-84383-499-1. OCLC 427612403.
  63. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 98.
  64. ^ Murray 1936, p. 101.
  65. ^ Adams 2005, p. 152.
  66. ^ Davidson, James D.G. (18 September 2006). Admiral Lord St. Vincent: Saint or Tyrant?. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-84468-184-6.
  67. ^ a b c Murray 1936, p. 102-103.
  68. ^ "Naval Gold Medal (Captain's) for The Battle of Cape St. Vincent 1797". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  69. ^ Article on Collingwood at Volume 12, page 671, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004.
  70. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 156-159.
  71. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 118.
  72. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 160-161.
  73. ^ Adams 2005, p. 164-167.
  74. ^ Murray 1936, p. 131.
  75. ^ Adams 2005, p. 169.
  76. ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911, p. 691.
  77. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 172-173.
  78. ^ Adams 2005, p. 180.
  79. ^ Murray 1936, p. 137.
  80. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 185-186.
  81. ^ a b c d Adams 2005, p. 188-190.
  82. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 151.
  83. ^ a b c d Adams 2005, p. 192-193.
  84. ^ Murray 1936, p. 152.
  85. ^ a b c d e f Adams 2005, p. 195-199.
  86. ^ a b Murray 1936, p. 159.
  87. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 201.
  88. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 202-204.
  89. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 208.
  90. ^ Adams 2005, p. 209.
  91. ^ a b c d e f Adams 2005, p. 210-211.
  92. ^ See Trafalgar (1959) by Oliver Warner
  93. ^ a b c d Adams 2005, p. 213.
  94. ^ Adams 2005, p. 214-215.
  95. ^ Adams 2005, p. 215-216.
  96. ^ "War Memorials Register: Admiral Lord Collingwood". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  97. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 220.
  98. ^ "No. 15859". The London Gazette. 5 November 1805. p. 1376.
  99. ^ a b Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Cuthbert Collingwood: Volume 12. pp. 673. Published Oxford University Press, 2004.
  100. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 218.
  101. ^ a b c d Hilton 2009, p. 296.
  102. ^ a b c Hilton 2009, p. 297.
  103. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 231-233.
  104. ^ Adams 2005, p. 230.
  105. ^ Adams 2005, p. 222.
  106. ^ a b Hilton 2009, p. 250.
  107. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 221-229.
  108. ^ Adams 2005, p. 241.
  109. ^ Adams 2005, p. 221-235.
  110. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 237-239.
  111. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 241-243.
  112. ^ Adams 2005, p. 245-246.
  113. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 247-251.
  114. ^ Adams 2005, p. 252-259.
  115. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 260-261.
  116. ^ Adams 2005, p. 263.
  117. ^ Adams 2005, p. 264.
  118. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 269.
  119. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 271-272.
  120. ^ Adkins 2005, p. 238.
  121. ^ a b c Adams 2005, p. 273.
  122. ^ "Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 453: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909.
  123. ^ "Extinct Baronies of England". 20 Trees. 25 May 1915. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  124. ^ The collected works of William Makepeace Thackeray, Public Domain
  125. ^ "From the archive, 1 March 1910: Collingwood, forgotten hero of Trafalgar". the Guardian. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  126. ^ a b See Chapter 6 of Book 3, A Warriors Life (2013), Roger Gard's translation of Servitude et grandeur militaires by Alfred de Vigny along with Gard's notes.
  127. ^ "ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD". BBC. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  128. ^ a b Adams 2005, p. 276.
  129. ^ "The Collingwood Battalion, Royal Naval Division : a short history of the Collingwood Battalion in the Dardanelles together with biographical notes of all the officers and a list of the men". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  130. ^ "Collingwood Sailors pay tribute to Collingwood Battalion". Royal Navy. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  131. ^ Namings Rail issue 527 23 November 2005 page 51
  132. ^ "EWS names 90 after Trafalgar admiral" Rail issue 527 23 November 2005 page 21.
  133. ^ "Dedicated to the memory of Cuthbert Collingwood, Vice-Admiral of the Red, 1st Baron Collingwood of Caldburne and Hethpoole in Northumberland (26th September 1748 – 7th March 1810)". The Collingwood Society. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  134. ^ a b Kinghorn, Kristie (23 February 2010). "Admiral Collingwood: a local hero". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  135. ^ "SINE Project, Structure Details for Collingwood Monument". ncl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014.
  136. ^ "Collingwood Monument - North Tyneside". www.visitnorthtyneside.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  137. ^ "Collections and research". Newcastle Cathedral. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  138. ^ Hotel Admirante-Collingwood House Archived 30 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 September 2015
  139. ^ "2010 Festival". The Collingwood Society. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  140. ^ Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1832). "picture". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. Fisher, Son & Co.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1832). "poetical illustration". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. Fisher, Son & Co.
  141. ^ Forester, Cecel (1953). "9". Hornblower and the Atropos. Boston: Little. OCLC 364440. Collingwood shook hands with him in the great cabin below. He was a large man, stoop-shouldered, with a pleasant smile. He eagerly took the packets Hornblower offered him, glancing at the superscriptions.
  142. ^ Burke, Bernard (1884). The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time. London: Harrison & sons. p. 216.

Further reading

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  • Adams, Max (2005). Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's Own Hero. London: Orion Books. ISBN 978-0297846406.
  • Adkins, Roy (2005). Trafalgar: Biography of a Battle. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0670034482.
  • Mackesy, Piers. "Collingwood in the Mediterranean." History Today (March 1960), Vol. 10 Issue 3, p202-210.
  • Murray, Geoffrey (1936). The Life of Admiral Collingwood. London: Hutchinson & Co.
  • Hilton, J. D. (2009). "An Admiral and his money: Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood". The Mariner's Mirror. 95 (3): 296–300. doi:10.1080/00253359.2009.10657105. ISSN 0025-3359.
  • Warner, Oliver. The Life and Letters of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood, Oxford University Press, 1968.
  • The Trafalgar Captains, Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005, ISBN 1-86176-247-X.
  • The Naval Chronicle Volume 15, 1806. J. Gold, London (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-108-01854-8).
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Article on Collingwood at Volume 12, pages 670–5. Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0198613873
  • A Fine Old English Gentleman exemplified in the Life and Character of Lord Collingwood, a Biographical Study, by William Davies (London, 1875).
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Collingwood, Cuthbert Collingwood, Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 690–691.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
1805–1810 		Succeeded by
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