Officering Byng's Ramillies

[jon_ystrad]

[Wasn't sure whether to put this in people or in ships, but chose the latter as all the people are on one ship]

I believe this timetable is correct:-

Byng appointed 28th September 1755
Gardiner transferred from Colchester to Ramillies as Captain 23 Sep 1755

Bassett and Waudby transferred from Colchester to Ramillies 7 October 1755
William Gough transferred from Kingston to Ramillies 7 October 1755
Edward Clark, 4th Lt, transferred from the Royal George 7 October 1755
Matthew Waterfall, 5th Lt was already on Ramillies
George Hamilton, 6th Lt ???

Given that Bassett and Waudby come from the Colchester, is Gardiner requesting them?

Gough had done a bit of outstanding service in mid September - reference HCA 32/176A/10. These are papers, partly from the Admiralty Prize Court, recording that on 11th September 1755, off Portland, two ships described as tenders of the ship of the line Royal George captured the French merchant ship La Conception. The two tenders are listed as the Elizabeth commanded by Lieutenant William Burr, and the Tasker commanded by Lieutenant William Gough.

I think Gough has previously served under Byng when the latter was Captain of the Sutherland, but only as a Midshipman.
Would he have been requested as 1st Lt
a) by Gardiner
b) bv Byng
c) by joint discussion and agreement between them?

Byng clearly came to rate him, and presumably Bassett too, as after Minorca both were rapidly promoted first to Commander then to Captain

I'm just trying to work out how an officering of these 6 lieutenants came about
Best Regards
Jon N Davies

[jon_ystrad]

Regarding Hamilton, I note that in the book he is listed as being on the Lancaster, BUT he appears in the Antelope's list of supernumeraries which are taken only from the Ramillies and Buckingham (as of the time of the Battle of Minorca)

[jon_ystrad]

Lt George Hamilton's log cover, showing he was on the Ramillies, from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

[jon_ystrad]

As best as I can transcribe it, it says

These are to certify the right honourable the lords commissioners of the admiralty that Lieutenant George Hamilton served in quality of 6th lieutenant of his majesty's shop Ramillies under my command from the 21st day of May 1756 to the 7th of June 1756 then 5th Lieutenant to the 26 June 1756 then 4th lieutenant until the date hereof. During which time he complied with the general printed instructions
Dated on board his majesty's ship the Ramillies in Gibraltar Bay this 2nd day of July 1756
A Gardiner

-------------

NOT SURE why there was a vacancy for 6th Lt on the day after the Battle of Minorca
BUT
the 7th June was the day after 1st Lieutenant Gough was appointed to the Fortune
The 26th June was the day 2nd Lieutenant Bassett was appointed to the Fortune, Gough having been promoted to the Experiment

Thus, Hamilton is rising up the ranks as the top rank is removed.

[Navclio]

The captain of another of the ships in Byng's fleet, Thomas Andrews of Defiance, had been killed, creating a cascade of promotions. Captain Hon. Augustus Hervey of 20-gun frigate Phœnix was reassigned to replace him (this was not a promotion in rank, but the transfer to a larger ship entitled him to a higher rate of pay). That created a vacancy in Phœnix that Byng was entitled to fill. He apparently transferred the commanding officer of Fortune, a small 14-gun "sloop" to Phœnix. That created a vacancy in command of Fortune. Admirals at this time usually filled vacancies in their fleets by promoting the lieutenants of their flagships. That's what Byng did here. Experiment was another 20-gun frigate in his fleet, so when her captain, James Gilchrist, was called to London to testify at Byng's court-martial for not winning the Battle of Minorca, the new first lieutenant of Ramillies, Gough, was promoted to fill that slot. (After the court-martial, Gilchrist was appointed to another frigate and continued his career.)

Service as a lieutenant on a fleet flagship was the surest road to promotion for a British navy officer outside home waters. A senior lieutenant on another ship might even accept the post of sixth lieutenant on a three-decker flagship to get into the promotion queue. Since Byng was found guilty by the court, sentenced to death, and 'executed by musketry," Hough's might have been the last promotion he was able to make. Shortly after the Battle of Minorca, he was replaced in command of the British Mediterranean fleet by Sir Edward Hawke, who did take over Ramillies as his flagship but would have had his own "following" of proteges that he wanted to promote. The existing lieutenants of Ramillies would have needed to work hard to impress him to add them to his following in preference to others to whose families he owed favors or whom he wanted promote on the basis of their previous service with him.

[jon_ystrad]

Thank you. I'll try to draw a large diagram of all this!

One thing I noted looking at the muster of the Antelope OUTBOUND to Gibraltar was that lieutenants for the Ramillies had already been designated, presumably by either the Admiralty or Hawke.

How many of those took up their posts on arrival, I am not sure, since the calling up of the lieutenants at the time of the battle now included two ship captains, so at least 2 (I would think more) lieutenants on the Ramillies had not been serving in that capacity when the battle took place.

James Norman, who was a Midshipman on the Ramillies at the time of the battle, was a lieutenant by the time of the enquiry, so it does look like those promoted to fill vacancies were caught up in the order for all lieutenants of the two flagships to return home on the Antelope. But I will need to do some work on the Antelope's return muster

Best Regards
Jon