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 ...

Thomas Ball Sulivan CB (5 January 1781 – 17 November 1857) was a

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 ...

officer who became Senior Officer,

South East Coast of America Station The South East Coast of America Station was a formation of the Royal Navy which existed from 1838 until just after the end of the 19th century. History The station was separated from the Pacific Station in 1838 in order to combat the slave trade ...

Biography

Sulivan was born in Cawsand, Cornwall on 5 January 1780. By 1786, he was recorded on board ''

HMS Triumph Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Triumph''. Another was planned, but renamed before being launched: * English ship ''Triumph'' (1562) was a 68-gun galleon built in 1561. She was rebuilt in 1596, and sold in 1618. * was a 44-gun ...

'' in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, then under the command of

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command ...

. He served on several different naval ships until 1793, when he was sent to Mediterranean to take part in

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, including being part of the crew of '' HMS Southampton'' that captured '' Utile'' in 1796, and was promoted to lieutenant the following year. Sulivan took part in the expedition to Ostend to destroy the

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Canal in May 1798 and was present at the bombardment of the Port of Granville in September 1803. In 1807, he took part in the capture of

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, and was promoted to commander for his efforts. in 1813, after a few commands, his ship '' HMS Woolwich'' was wrecked in a hurricane, although the crew was saved and Sulivan was acquitted by the subsequent court martial. He commanded a naval brigade at the

Battle of Bladensburg The Battle of Bladensburg, also known as the Bladensburg Races, took place during the Chesapeake Campaign, part of the War of 1812, on 24 August 1814, at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. The battle has been described as "t ...

in August 1814 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He went on to be commanding officer of the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in March 1836 and, having been promoted to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

, he became Senior Officer,

in 1838. On 19 March 1808, Sulivan married Henrietta, daughter of Rear-Admiral Bartholomew James. They had fourteen children, four of whom entered the navy. His son,

Bartholomew Sulivan Admiral Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, (18 November 1810 – 1 January 1890) was a British naval officer and hydrographer. He was a leading advocate of the value of nautical surveying in relation to naval operations. Sulivan was born at Mylor ...

, was a naval officer and hydrographer. He received a CB on 5 June 1815. Sulivan died at his home in

Flushing, Cornwall Flushing is a coastal village in the civil parish of Mylor, west Cornwall, UK. It is east of Penryn and south of Truro. It faces Falmouth across the Penryn River, an arm of the Carrick Roads. The village is known for its yearly regatta. ...

on 17 November 1857.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulivan, Thomas Ball 1781 births 1857 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals Companions of the Order of the Bath Sailors from Cornwall

Biography

See also

References