George Duff
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Captain George Duff RN (c. 1 February 1764 – 21 October 1805) was a British naval officer during the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
and the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, who was killed by a cannonball at the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
.


Early life

Born at Banff,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the son of Banff Sheriff Clerk James Duff (1729–1804) by his marriage to Helen Skene 1734–1764, he was a kinsman (first cousin once removed) to the
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
Earls of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the r ...
. George Duff had a passion for the sea from early childhood, stowing away on a merchant ship for a voyage when not yet a teenager. At thirteen he joined his great uncle Captain (later Admiral) Robert Duff in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, and was commissioned lieutenant at sixteen, breaking several fleet regulations but made possible by his uncle's interest in his career. During these years, Duff saw action thirteen times on both sides of the Atlantic, including at the
Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...
and culminating in the
battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...
in 1782 when he was serving on .


Naval career

With a reputation thus secured and plenty of family interest in his career, Duff had little difficulty progressing, being promoted to commander in 1790 and then
Post Captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...
in 1793, a meteoric rise resulting from the growth of the Navy in the buildup to war during this period. It was at this time that he married his childhood sweetheart, Sophia Dirom (sister of
Alexander Dirom Lieutenant General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Alexander Dirom of Luce Bay, Luce and Mount Annan Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (21May 17576October 1830) was a British military commander who saw overseas service in Barbados, Jamaica a ...
) in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and that his son
Norwich Duff Admiral Norwich Duff FRSE (15 August 1792 – 21 April 1862) was a Royal Navy officer. Life The son of Captain George Duff RN, and Sophia Dirom, he was born at 9 South Castle Street, Edinburgh. He entered the Royal Navy in July 1805, just befor ...
(later to become an admiral in his own right) was born. In the next ten years, Duff commanded , and all very capably, but without winning the acclaim of some of his contemporaries, particularly those in the Mediterranean under
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
. Duff was a proud Scotsman as well as a strict disciplinarian. He enforced cleanliness parades every week, and made every effort to make sure that as many Scots as possible served on his ships, although he never gave them preferential treatment over their English comrades. He was also a devoted husband and wrote lengthy letters to his wife during every journey. He and his wife felt that the letters were so personal that they destroyed them after reading, and so the only survivor is his final letter home, which Sophia reportedly was unable to destroy. Following the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...
, Duff was given , something of a celebrity ship in the Royal Navy following her capture of the French ''Hercule'' in 1799 in which her captain Alexander Hood was killed. Rapidly moulding the ship with his own brand of Scottish discipline, Duff took her to join the fleet off Cadiz at the beginning of October and instantly became friends with Nelson, despite their vastly different characters. Such was Duff's reputation, that Nelson entrusted him with the command of the inshore squadron, which watched the harbour entrance for an enemy appearance. The job was dangerous due to the proximity of the shore, and unpleasant because ships stationed at this point were exposed to the enemy and the threat of failure if the enemy were able to escape. Duff handled the job excellently however, and on 21 October reported that the enemy had left Cadiz and were heading out to sea.


Trafalgar

When the battle began, ''Mars'' was stationed directly astern of and was ordered by Nelson to attempt to overtake this, Collingwood's flagship, if he was able. Collingwood however had the advantage, with the Royal Sovereign's hull having been freshly re-coppered before action, so the ''Mars'' was the second ship to enter the enemy lines. During this approach, which due to poor wind had been conducted at walking speed, Duff was able to write a final note home to his wife, which he entrusted to his thirteen-year-old son Norwich, who was serving as a
midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
on ''Mars'':
''"Dearest Sophia, I have just time to tell you we are going into Action with the Combined Fleet. I hope and trust in God that we shall all behave as becomes us, and that I may yet have the happiness of taking my beloved wife and children in my arms. Norwich is quite well and happy. I have, however, ordered him off the quarter-deck. Yours ever, and most truly, George"''


Death

Duff did not see more than the few opening shots of the battle, for as ''Mars'' engaged the French ''Fougueux'' and ''Pluton'', a cannonball from ''Fougueux'' raked the quarter-deck and struck Captain Duff at the base of the neck, severing his head completely. The crew were undismayed however, carrying the headless corpse around the deck and giving three cheers in memory of their captain, before replacing him where he fell and covering him with a Union Flag. Command of the ''Mars'' devolved on the first lieutenant,
William Hennah Captain William Hennah (January 1768 – 23 December 1832) was British naval officer, whose largely undistinguished career was suddenly highlighted by his assumption of command of HMS ''Mars'' at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 upon the death of ...
, who performed a good service and was promoted as a reward.


Burial and memorial

Following the battle, Duff was buried at sea with his shipmates, 28 of whom had been killed and 69 wounded in the fight. Both Collingwood and young Norwich Duff wrote letters of consolation to Sophia Duff, and Captain Duff was mentioned with honour alongside Nelson and John Cooke in the official report of the battle.
Lloyd's Patriotic Fund Lloyd's Patriotic Fund was founded on 28 July 1803 at Lloyd's Coffee House, and continues to the present day. Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund now works closely with armed forces charities to identify the individuals and their families who are in urgent ne ...
granted Sophia honours and money. Norwich remained in the Navy, retiring many years later as an admiral. A large marble monument by John Bacon with the inscription "Erected at the Public Expense to the memory of Captain George Duff who was killed the XXIst of Octr MDCCCV. commanding the Mars in the battle of Trafalgar in the forty-second year of his age and the twenty-ninth of his service." was raised in
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
on the wall on the south side of a passage, next to Nelson's tomb, where it can still be seen. George, his mother-in-law Anne (née Fotheringham) and Norwich were all painted by Sir
Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a fo ...
.


Namesakes

The Royal Navy has named two ships after Duff. The first, a
Captain-class frigate The Captain class was the designation given to 78 frigates of the Royal Navy, constructed in the United States, launched in 1942–1943 and delivered to the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Lend-Lease agreement (under which the Uni ...
constructed in the United States in 1942-1943 as HMS ''Duff'' (BDE-20), was retained by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
as the
destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
. The second was the Captain-class frigate , which served from 1943 to 1944.Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS Duff 352 (DE 64)
/ref>


Further reading

*''The Trafalgar Captains'', Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005,


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, George 1764 births 1805 deaths British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars People who died at sea Burials at sea Scottish sailors Royal Navy officers People from Banff, Aberdeenshire Royal Navy captains at the Battle of Trafalgar Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Paintings by Henry Raeburn