Cuthbert Collingwood 1st Baron Collingwood
Cuthbert Collingwood, from the painting by Henry Howard at Greenwich Hospital.
Born	26 September 1748(1748-09-26) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Died	7 March 1810 (aged 61) Ville de Paris, off Port Mahon
Occupation	Royal Navy Admiral

Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Horatio Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1748 ( MDCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1810 ( MDCCCX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Mahón (alternately Maó in Catalan) is a Municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca (the Balearic Islands The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1748 ( MDCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1810 ( MDCCCX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson 1st Viscount Nelson 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758– 21 October 1805 was a British The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions

Early years

Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England His early education was at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS At the age of eleven, he went to sea as a volunteer on board the frigate HMS Shannon under the command of his cousin Captain (later Admiral) Richard Brathwaite, who took charge of his nautical education. Richard Braithwaite or Brathwaite (1588-1673 was an English Poet. After several years of service under Captain Brathwaite and Captain (later Admiral) Robert Roddam, Collingwood sailed to Boston in 1774 with Admiral Samuel Graves, where he fought in the British naval brigade at the battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775), and was afterwards commissioned as a lieutenant. Roddam Hall is a privately owned 18th century country house near Wooler, Northumberland. Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Admiral Samuel Graves RN (1713 - 1787 was a British Admiral who fought for the British in the American Revolution. A Naval Brigade is a body of Sailors serving in a ground combat role to augment land forces The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 on Breed's Hill, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary ^[1] In 1779 Collingwood succeeded Nelson as commander ^[2] of HMS Badger, and the next year he again succeeded Nelson as Post-Captain^[3] of Hinchinbrook, a small frigate. Year 1779 ( MDCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Post-Captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy. Nelson had been the captain of a failed expedition to cross Central America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by navigating boats along the San Juan River, Lake Nicaragua, and Lake Leon. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Lake Leon is a small Lake on the eastern side of Tallahassee Florida, USA. Nelson was debilitated by disease and had to recover before being promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood succeeded him in command of the Hinchinbrook and brought the remainder of the expedition back to Jamaica.

First major command

After commanding in another small frigate, Collingwood was promoted to 64 gun ship of the line HMS Sampson, and in 1783 he was appointed to HMS Mediator and posted to the West Indies, where he remained until the end of 1786, again, together with Nelson, preventing American ships from trading with the West Indies. A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

In 1786 Collingwood returned to England, where, with the exception of a voyage to the West Indies, he remained until 1793. Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In that year, he was appointed captain of HMS Prince, the flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in the Channel Fleet. Life She saw relatively little action during her career and seems to have been a relatively poor sailer—she sailed according to one observing captain 'like a haystack flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well George Bowyer had a Hit single in the UK Singles Chart in 1998 with the Song, "Guardians of the Land" Around 1791, Collingwood married Sarah Blackett, granddaughter of his former commander Robert Roddam.

As captain of HMS Barfleur, Collingwood was present at the Glorious First of June. The Glorious First of June (also known as the Third Battle of Ushant, and in France as the fr ''Bataille du 13 prairial an 2'' or fr ''Combat de Prairial'' On board the Excellent he participated in the victory of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797), establishing a good reputation in the fleet for his conduct during the battle. In the Battle of Cape St Vincent ( 14 February, 1797) a British fleet under John Jervis defeated a larger Spanish fleet under After blockading Cadiz, he returned for a few weeks to Portsmouth to repair. Cádiz ( Spanish:) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of the same name, a province which is one of eight History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which At the beginning of 1799 Collingwood was raised to the rank of rear-admiral,^[4] and hoisting his flag in the Triumph, he joined the Channel Fleet, with which he proceeded to the Mediterranean, where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were assembled. The Channel Fleet is the historical name used for the group of Royal Navy Warships that defended the waters of the English Channel. Collingwood continued to be actively employed in blockading the enemy, until the peace of Amiens allowed him to return to England. The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended the hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars.

With the resumption of hostilities with France in the spring of 1803 he left home, never again to return. First he blockaded the French fleet off Brest. Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. In 1804 was promoted to vice-admiral^[5]. Nearly two years were spent here but with Napoleon planning and equipping his armed forces for an invasion of Britain, the campaign which was to decide the fate of Europe and the command of the sea was starting. The French fleet having sailed from Toulon, Admiral Collingwood was appointed to command a squadron, with orders to pursue them. Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large The combined fleets of France and Spain, after sailing to the West Indies, returned to Cadiz. On their way they encountered Collingwood's small squadron off Cadiz. He only had three ships with him; but he succeeded in avoiding the pursuit, although chased by sixteen ships of the line. Before half of the enemy's force had entered the harbour he resumed the blockade, using false signals to disguise the small size of his squadron. He was shortly joined by Nelson who hoped to lure the combined fleet into a major engagement.

Battle of Trafalgar

The combined fleet, at last, sailed from Cadiz in October 1805. The Battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. The Battle of Trafalgar ( 21 October 1805) was a historic sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the Villeneuve, the French admiral, drew up his fleet in the form of a crescent. Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve ( 31 December 1763 &ndash 22 April 1806) was a French naval officer during the The British fleet bore down in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in the Victory, and the other by Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign. The Royal Sovereign was the swifter sailer, mainly because its hull had been given a new layer of copper which lacked the friction of old, well used copper and thus was much faster. Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet, it was the first engaged. "See," said Nelson, pointing to the Royal Sovereign as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" Probably it was at the same moment that Collingwood, as if in response to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain, "What would Nelson give to be here?"

The Royal Sovereign closed with the Spanish admiral's ship and fired her broadsides with such rapidity and precision at the Santa Ana, that the Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun. Several other vessels came to her assistance, and hemmed in the Royal Sovereign on all sides; but the latter, after being severely damaged, was relieved by the arrival of the rest of the British squadron. Not long afterwards the Santa Ana struck her colours. On the death of Nelson, Collingwood assumed the supreme command. Despite Nelson's dying command that the fleet should anchor, Collingwood did not issue the order (battle damage may have prevented ships from anchoring even if ordered). In the ensuing storm, many of the captured prizes were lost.

Collingwood was raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood of Coldburne and Heathpool, and received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, with a pension of £2000 per annum. Hethpool House is an Edwardian house at Kirknewton, near Wooller, Northumberland which has Grade II listed building status

Later career

From Trafalgar until his death, no great naval action was fought; but Collingwood was occupied in important political and diplomatic transactions in the Mediterranean, in which he displayed tact and judgment. He was appointed to the command of the Mediterranean fleet. His health, however, which had begun to decline prior to Trafalgar in 1805, seemed entirely to fail, and he repeatedly requested to be relieved of his command, that he might return home. However the government urgently requested him to remain, on the ground that his country could not dispense with his services. This treatment has been regarded as harsh. After many fruitless attempts to induce the French fleet to put to sea in the attempt to complete the destruction of the enemy ships, he died of cancer on board the Ville de Paris, off Port Mahon, on 7 March 1810. Mahón (alternately Maó in Catalan) is a Municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca (the Balearic Islands Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1810 ( MDCCCX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Evaluation

Collingwood's merits as a naval officer were in many respects of the first order. He was considered inferior to Nelson in original genius and romantic daring. However he was Nelson's equal or even superior in seamanship, in general talent, and strategic thinking. His political judgement was remarkable and he was consulted on questions of general policy, of regulation, and even of trade. He was opposed to impressment and to flogging and was considered so kind and generous that he was called "father" by the common sailors. Impressment (colloquially " the Press " or " press-ganging " is the act of conscripting people to serve in the military or navy usually Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip" the human body Between Nelson and Collingwood a close friendship existed, from their first acquaintance in early life till the Nelson's death at Trafalgar; and they lie side by side in St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. As Lord Collingwood died without male issue, his barony became extinct at his death.

Dudley Pope relates an aspect of Collingwood at the beginning of chapter three of his Life in Nelson's Navy: "Captain Cuthbert Collingwood, later to become an admiral and Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, had his home at Morpeth, in Northumberland, and when he was there on half pay or on leave he loved to walk over the hills with his dog Bounce. Dudley Bernard Egerton Pope ( 29 December 1925 - 25 April 1997) was a British Writer of both Nautical fiction He always started off with a handful of acorns in his pockets, and as he walked he would press an acorn into the soil whenever he saw a good place for an oak tree to grow. Some of the oaks he planted are probably still growing more than a century and a half later ready to be cut to build ships of the line at a time when nuclear submarines are patrolling the seas, because Collingwood's purpose was to make sure that the Navy would never want for oaks to build the fighting ships upon which the country's safety depended. . . . "

Memorials

The Maritime Warfare School of the Royal Navy is commissioned as HMS Collingwood, home to training for warfare, weapon engineering and communications disciplines. HMS Collingwood is a Stone frigate (shore establishment of the Royal Navy.

The town of Collingwood, Ontario on Georgian Bay and the suburb of Collingwood in the Australian city of Melbourne is named in his honour. Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario. Geographically it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (French baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, located in Ontario, Canada. Collingwood is an Inner city Suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The Collingwood Channel near Vancouver, in Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada, is named in his honour. Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal Howe Sound is a roughly triangular sound, actually a network of Fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver. British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C

The monument to Collingwood at Tynemouth

A statue erected in his honour overlooks the River Tyne in the town of Tynemouth, at the foot of which are some of the cannon from the Royal Sovereign

Trivia

Collingwood resided at Collingwood House in the town of Morpeth which lies some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The River Tyne is a River in England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers the North Tyne and the South Tyne. This article concerns itself with the village For the Parliament constituency of the same name see Tynemouth (UK Parliament constituency Tynemouth Collingwood House is a late 18th century Georgian house having Grade II* listed building status at Oldgate Morpeth, Northumberland. Morpeth is the County town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England He is known to have remarked, "whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth. "

One of the five houses of British public school Churcher's College is named for him, as is one of the four houses of Newcastle Royal Grammar School. The house system is a traditional feature of British Schools and schools in ex- British colonies, similar to the collegiate system of a University The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located An independent school in the United Kingdom is a school relying upon private sources for all of its funding predominantly in the form of school fees Churcher's College is an English Co-educational public school - that is an independent, fee-paying school which is a member of the

Further reading

• The Trafalgar Captains, Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005, ISBN 1-86176-247-X
• Admiral Collingwood - Nelson's Own Hero, Max Adams, Phoenix, London, 2005, ISBN 0-3043-6729-X

References

• A Fine Old English Gentleman exemplified in the Life and Character of Lord Collingwood, a Biographical Study, by William Davies (London, 1875).
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• Trafalgar order of battle

1. ^ Lieutenant 17 June 1775
2. ^ Commander 20 June 1779
3. ^ Captain 22 March 1780
4. ^ Rear Admiral of the White 14 February 1810, of the Red 1 January 1801
5. ^ Vice Admiral of the Blue 23 April 1804, of the Red 5 November 1805

External links

• Royal Navy Museum page about Collingwood
• Find-A-Grave profile for Cuthbert Collingwood
• Cuthbert Collingwood bio
• Animation of the Battle of Trafalgar