Richard Grindall
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Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Sir Richard Grindall KCB (1750 – 23 May 1820) was an officer in the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
whose distinguished career 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, the
French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...
and the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
was highlighted by his presence at the
battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
in 1805, Despite being slow and ungainly, his 98-gun ship was instrumental in the final stages of the battle and especially in the chaotic storm which followed, when many of the British fleet would have been lost but for the efforts of Grindall and other captains of largely undamaged ships.


Biography

Born in 1750, Grindall joined the on 7 January 1772 as an
able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
on
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
's second voyage (1772–75). He
mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
ed with the
midshipmen 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 Afric ...
during the voyage. Grindall had a late initiation to the Royal Navy, only making lieutenant on 29 November 1776, a full eight years after most of his contemporaries had reached that rank. Almost his entire service was spent in
ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...
especially flagships, including , Samuel Hood's flagship in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
on 21 December 1781. In this ship he saw his first action off
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
and was promoted to
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
on 13 March 1783. The outbreak of the Revolutionary War saw Grindall in command of the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
''Thalia'', but his tenure was uneventful. He was transferred to in 1795 and was engaged with the French Brest fleet in the
battle of Groix The Battle of Groix (, ) took place on 23 June 1795 off the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay during the War of the First Coalition. It was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Ponant Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, whi ...
. The next eight years were slow and uneventful for Grindall, consisting of constant blockade and convoy work and little chance for action or excitement. Following the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, 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 set t ...
, this seemed likely to continue, as he was given the huge ''Prince'', which had a reputation for "sailing like a haystack". This unfortunately proved to be the case, and the blockade duty continued, joining
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 ...
off Cadiz in 1805. On 21 October, the combined Franco-Spanish fleet attempted to escape and Grindall lined up in Collingwood's division to attack them. Unfortunately for Grindall's hopes of action, the ship was so slow that she was passed by her whole division, and took over two hours to cover the two or three miles to reach the battle. By the time she arrived most of the enemy fleet was in British hands or had fled, leaving few targets for the ''Prince''s massive broadsides. She did fire on the Spanish flagship and the already blazing but was not attacked and suffered no damage or casualties. Making the most of his unique position, Grindall immediately launched boats and rescued hundreds of struggling survivors in the water, including many from the sinking ''Achille''. In the week of ferocious storms which followed the battle the sturdy ''Prince'' was invaluable, providing replacement stores to more battered ships and towing those that needed it. At one point she also saved 350 men from the sinking who would otherwise have drowned. When his laden ship arrived at
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, it was ready to sail again in a matter of hours. Thanks to his long and favourable service record, Grindall was made a
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
of the Blue on 9 November 1805, of the White on 28 April 1808, of the Red on 25 October 1809 and Knight Commander of the
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
on 2 January 1815, in the general promotion which followed the action on 9 November. However, this meant the effective end of his career, as so many admirals were created that not enough posts could be found for them. Grindall was one of the promoted men who never commanded at sea again, taking a shore appointment in late 1805 and retiring with his family soon afterwards as a
vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
of the Blue on 31 July 1810, of the White on 12 August 1812, and of the Red on 4 June 1814. His retirement was a difficult one however, as two of his sons who had joined the navy in their father's footsteps, Edmund and Festing Horatio, died in 1811 and 1812 from unconnected illness. The latter had also been present at Trafalgar, as a midshipman on board . When Richard Grindall died in Wickham in 1820 he was interred next to them at St Nicholas Church, Wickham, Hampshire, joined by his wife Katherine in 1831.


Namesakes

Grindall Island in the Clarence Strait, Alaska, takes its name from nearby Grindall Point and Grindall Passage, named after him by Captain
George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...
.


In fiction

Grindall appears as a character in the book ''
Hornblower and the Hotspur ''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' (published 1962) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication, and serves as the basis for one of the episodes ...
'' by
C. S. Forester Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (27 August 1899 – 2 April 1966), known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Royal ...
, .


Further reading

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


References


External links


Richard Grindall bioAnimation of the Battle of Trafalgar

Three Decks Richard Grindall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grindall, Richard 1750 births 1820 deaths People from Holborn Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 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