Commander 8 June, 1826. His last appointments were – 8 Aug. 1837, as Second-Captain, to the San Josef 110, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Fred. Warren, Admiral-Superintendent at Plymouth, where he remained three years – and, 30 Aug. 1841, to the Serpent 16, from which vessel, fitting at Chatham, he was superseded on being advanced, 23 Nov. following, to Post-rank.
Capt. Scale married, 23 July, 1827, Eliza, fourth daughter of Sir Wm. Jervis Twysden, of Roydon Hall, co. Kent, by whom he has issue a son and daughter.
SEALY. (Lieut., 1828. f-p., 16; h-p., 14.)
John Ludlow Nelson Sealy entered the Navy, 21 July, 1817, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Ganymede 26, Capt. Hon. Robt. Cavendish Spencer, with whom he continued employed as Midshipman in the Mediterranean and South America until transferred, in Sept. 1822, to the Cherokee 10, Capt. Wm. Keats, on the Leith station. Being again, in April, 1823, placed under the orders of Capt. Spencer in the Naiad 46, he returned to the Mediterranean, where he contributed, 31 Jan. 1824, to the utter defeat of the Tripoli Algerine corvette of 18 guns and 100 men, and aided in the boats under Lieut. Michael Quin at the brilliant destruction, on the night of 31 May following, of a 16-gun brig, moored in a position of extraordinary strength alongside the walls of the fortress of Bona, in which was a garrison of about 400 soldiers, who, from cannon and musket, kept up a tremendous fire almost perpendicularly on the deck. After serving for about a year and 10 months, still in the Mediterranean, on board the Zebra 18, Capts. Edw. Rich. Williams and Chas. Cotton, he was there nominated, 28 Nov. 1827 (he had parsed his examination 4 Dec. 1823), Acting-Lieutenant of the Raleigh 18, Capt. John Burnet Dundas. From that sloop, to which the Admiralty confirmed him 9 Jan. following, he removed, in April, 1828, to the Ocean 80, Capt. Patrick Campbell, also on the Mediterranean station, whence, in May, 1830, he returned to England. His last appointment was, 2 Sept. 1832, to the Tyne 28, Capt. Chas. Hope, with whom he served in the Pacific until paid off in Jan. 1834.
Lieut. Sealy is Senior of 1828.
SEARLE, C.B. (Rear-Admiral of the White, 1846. f-p., 26; h-p., 32.)
Thomas Searle was born 29 May, 1777, in Devonshire.
This officer entered the Navy, 21 Nov. 1789, as Ordinary, on board the Mutine cutter, Lieut.-Commander H. West, attached to the force in the Mediterranean, where he remained until Nov. 1791. In Jan. 1792 he joined the Sprightly cutter, Lieut.-Commander R. Reeve, in the Channel; and from April, 1793, until Dec. 1795, he was employed on the coast of Ireland, in the North Sea, and at Newfoundland, as Midshipman and Master’s Mate, in the Sphynx 20, Capt. Rich. Lucas, and Artois and Active frigates, Capts. Lord Chas. Fitzgerald and Thos. Wolley. After again serving in the Channel on board the Royal George 100, bearing the flag of Lord Bridport, he was (at the recommendation of that nobleman and of his Captain, Wm. Domett) made Lieutenant, 19 Aug. 1796, into the Incendiary fire-ship, Capt. Henry Digby, as a reward for the intrepidity he had exhibited in saving the lives of seven persons swamped in a boat alongside. On leaving the Incendiary Mr. Searle, in Dec. 1796, joined the Prince 98, flag-ship of Sir Roger Curtis, also on the Home station; whence, in 1798, he escorted convoy to Quebec in the Nemesis 28, Capt. Robt. Dudley Oliver. On 31 Oct. in the same year he was placed in command, in the North Sea, of the Courier cutter, mounting 12 four-pounders, with a complement of 40 men. While in that vessel he pursued, 12 May, 1799, and for an hour and 40 minutes fought a close action with, a French privateer brig, carrying 16 long nines and sixes, whom superior sailing and advantage of wind enabled to escape. When first observed, off Winterton, on the coast of Norfolk, the enemy’s vessel was in the act of recapturing an English merchant sloop. A privateer lugger, during the whole of the conflict that ensued, was in sight to leeward, but did not attempt to interfere. The British on the occasion had 5 of their number wounded.[1] In the course of the following day the Courier made prize of Le Ribotteur schooner of 6 guns and 26 men. On 10 July in the same year she assisted at the capture of three valuable merchantmen, and the destruction of a galliot laden with ordnance stores, near the island of Ameland; on 11 Aug., having out-sailed her consorts, the Pylades and Espiégle sloops, she was for some time, before those vessels could arrive to her assistance, very gallantly engaged with the late British gun-brig Crash (carrying twelve 18, 24, and 32- pounders, with a crew of 60 men), moored in a narrow passage between the island of Schiermonikoog and the mainland of Groningen;[2] and on 23 Nov. she took (with a loss to herself; incurred during a 50 minutes’ action, of her Master killed and 2 men wounded, and to the enemy of 4 killed and 6 wounded) the French cutter privateer Le Guerrier of 14 four-pounders and 44 men.[3] In one of the above affairs Lieut. Searle was severely burnt by an explosion of gunpowder. For his services he was, at the recommendation of Admiral Lord Duncan, promoted, 26 Nov. 1799, to the rank of Commander. His succeeding appointments were – 1 June, 1800, to the Transport service, in which he continued until 16 Oct. 1802 – 13 July, 1803, to the Sea Fencibles at Portsmouth – 26 April, 6 Sept., and 10 Oct. 1804, to the Perseus bomb, Helder defence-ship, and Autumn 16, all on the coast of France – 22 Jan. 1806, after three months of half-pay, to the Fury bomb, off Boulogne – and, 6 Nov. following, to the Grasshopper of 18 guns (16 32-pounders and 2 long sixes) and 120 men, fitting for the Mediterranean. While commanding the Helder he was intrusted with the charge of one of the principal explosion-vessels employed in the celebrated catamaran attack on the Boulogne flotilla. His career in the Grasshopper was dashing in the extreme. On 11 Dec. 1807 he fought an action, off Cape Palos, with three Spanish vessels-of-war, carrying in the whole 30 guns and 226 men, the largest of which, the San Josef of 12 24-pounders and 99 men, was in 15 minutes compelled to strike her colours. The other two were the Medusa of 10 24-pounders and 77 men, and Aigle of 8 guns, of the same calibre, and 50 men. In reporting this performance to the Admiralty, Lord Collingwood took occasion to refer to it as “an instance of the zeal and enterprise which marked the general conduct” of Capt. Searle. On 4 April, 1808, the Grasshopper, in company with the Alceste and Mercury frigates, made an attack, off the town of Rota, upon a Spanish convoy passing along shore under the protection of about 20 gun-boats and a numerous train of flying artillery on the beach. “At 4 p.m.,” says Capt. Murray Maxwell, the senior officer present, in his public letter detailing the particulars of the affair, “the enemy’s shot and shells from the gun-boats and batteries going over us, H.M. ships opened their fire, which was kept up with great vivacity until half-past six, when we had taken seven of the convoy and driven a great many others on shore in the surf; compelled the gun-boats to retreat, which they did very reluctantly, and not until two of them were destroyed; and actually silenced the batteries at Rota; which latter service was performed by the extraordinary gallantry and good conduct of Capt. Searle, who kept in upon the shoal to the southward of the town so near as to drive the enemy from their guns with grape from his carronades, and at the same time kept in check a division of the gun-boats that had come out from Cadiz to assist the others engaged by the Alceste and Mercury. It was a general cry in both ships,
