Person

Thomas Fremantle

0 members

Overview

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Freiherr von Fremantle, (20 November 1765 – 19 December 1819) was a British naval officer in the Royal Navy whose accolades include three separate fleet actions, a close friendship with Lord Nelson, and a barony in Austria. He was the father of Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle, after whom the city Fremantle, in Western Australia, is named. Early career Fremantle was born in 1765, son of John Fremantle, of Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, and Frances, daughter of John Edwards, of Bristol. His younger brother was the politician Sir William Fremantle. He joined the navy in 1777 aged eleven, aboard the frigate HMS Hussar. Profiting from family influence, active commissions in the American War of Independence and a keen sense of seamanship and aggressive tactical awareness, promotion came easily. He was made a lieutenant on 13 March 1782 while on duty in Jamaica and promoted to commander on 13 November 1790, in command of the sloop HMS Spitfire. He was then in a good position to profit from the mass promotions that accompanied the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War in 1793, being made a post-captain on 16 May 1793 in the small frigate HMS Tartar. In this ship he first came to the notice of Horatio Nelson, when they both served at the Siege of Bastia. During the siege, Nelson lost an eye and Fremantle gained a reputation for daring, taking his ship under the fortress walls despite heavy fire from above which had already sunk one frigate in the bay. The following year Fremantle commanded the frigate HMS Inconstant and was engaged in Lord Hotham's indecisive and cautious fleet action in the Gulf of Genoa on 14 March 1795. The French fleet had departed from Toulon and were making for the Italian coast, pursued by Hotham's fleet and an approaching storm. Fremantle, despite unspoken rules of engagement which did not require him to engage ships larger than his own, used his superior speed to overtake the 80-gun Ça Ira, which had been damaged in a collision. By taking his ship under the massive bow of his opponent, he managed to slow her enough for the oncoming British fleet to capture her and another French ship that had turned back in a rescue attempt. The first British ship to the scene was Nelson's HMS Agamemnon, and respect between the two officers was further enhanced.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

On IJR

No public IJR answers mention Thomas Fremantle yet. As people ask about it and share their answers, they'll appear here.

Overview

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Freiherr von Fremantle, (20 November 1765 – 19 December 1819) was a British naval officer in the Royal Navy whose accolades include three separate fleet actions, a close friendship with Lord Nelson, and a barony in Austria. He was the father of Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle, after whom the city Fremantle, in Western Australia, is named. Early career Fremantle was born in 1765, son of John Fremantle, of Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, and Frances, daughter of John Edwards, of Bristol. His younger brother was the politician Sir William Fremantle. He joined the navy in 1777 aged eleven, aboard the frigate HMS Hussar. Profiting from family influence, active commissions in the American War of Independence and a keen sense of seamanship and aggressive tactical awareness, promotion came easily. He was made a lieutenant on 13 March 1782 while on duty in Jamaica and promoted to commander on 13 November 1790, in command of the sloop HMS Spitfire. He was then in a good position to profit from the mass promotions that accompanied the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War in 1793, being made a post-captain on 16 May 1793 in the small frigate HMS Tartar. In this ship he first came to the notice of Horatio Nelson, when they both served at the Siege of Bastia. During the siege, Nelson lost an eye and Fremantle gained a reputation for daring, taking his ship under the fortress walls despite heavy fire from above which had already sunk one frigate in the bay. The following year Fremantle commanded the frigate HMS Inconstant and was engaged in Lord Hotham's indecisive and cautious fleet action in the Gulf of Genoa on 14 March 1795. The French fleet had departed from Toulon and were making for the Italian coast, pursued by Hotham's fleet and an approaching storm. Fremantle, despite unspoken rules of engagement which did not require him to engage ships larger than his own, used his superior speed to overtake the 80-gun Ça Ira, which had been damaged in a collision. By taking his ship under the massive bow of his opponent, he managed to slow her enough for the oncoming British fleet to capture her and another French ship that had turned back in a rescue attempt. The first British ship to the scene was Nelson's HMS Agamemnon, and respect between the two officers was further enhanced.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).