Lancaster, in 1292; and, immediately, from Brian Travers, who went over to Ireland in 1599 as Secretary to the Earl of Leicester, and was father of John Travers, Esq., of St. Barry’s, co. Cork, who married a daughter, Sarah, of Spenser the poet, and had a son, Sir Robt. Travers, who became Vicar-General of Cork and Judge-Advocate-General, and was killed in 1647 in command of a division of the King’s army at the battle of Knockoners, near Youghal!; leaving (by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Primate Boyle) a son, Richard, great-great-grandfather of Sir Eaton, and two daughters, one of whom was married to Wm. Meade, Esq., of Ballintubbir, ancestor of the Earl of Clanwilliam, and the other to Sir Rich. Aldworth, Kt., Provost-Marshal of Munster, and ancestor of Viscount Doneraile.
This officer entered the Navy, 15 Sept. 1798, as Midshipman, on board the Juno 32, Capt. Geo. Dundas, stationed at first in the North Sea. On 11 Aug. 1799 he served as a volunteer in the Juno’s barge in an attack made by the boats of that frigate, of the Latona 38, and of the Plyades and Espiègle sloops, on an armed schooner, which ran herself on shore; and in the course of the same day he witnessed the capture, by the Pylades, Espiègle, and 10-gun cutter Courier, of the late British gun-brig Crash, of 12 carronades and 60 men, moored in a narrow passage between the island of Schiermonikoog and the main-land of Groningen. On the 12th he was present, again as a volunteer, on board the Undaunted schuyt, commanded by Lieut. Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, when that vessel, armed with 2 12-pounder carronades and assisted by the boats of the ships already named, drove the enemy from a 6-gun battery at Schiermonikoog, caused the self-destruction of the Vengeance schooner of 6 guns (two of them long 24-pounders), and took possession of a large row-boat and of 12 merchantmen. Mr. Travers was one of those, on the occasion, who, having landed, demolish«d the battery, spiked four of the guns, long iron 12-pounders, and brought off the remainder, brass 4-pounders. A few days afterwards he accompanied Lieut. Humphreys as a volunteer to the attack, on the coast of Holland, of a merchant-vessel, which, although protected by a battery of 6 guns, was compelled to cut her cables and run on shore, where she was completely destroyed. For the conduct he displayed in the execution of this service he was almost immediately rewarded with the rating of Master’s Mate. Uniting about the same period in the operations connected with the expedition to the Texel, he assisted in landing the troops through a heavy surf, and was present at the surrender of the Holder and of the Dutch squadron under Rear-Admiral Storey. He then proceeded in an armed schuyt up the Zuyder-Zee to act against the town of Lemmer, in West Friesland; at the subsequent successful defence of which place against an overwhelming force of the enemy he landed and distinguished himself most gallantly.[1] After having, on the evacuation of the Helder, conveyed the Duke of York to North Yarmouth, the Juno was ordered to the West Indies; where Mr. Travers remained for six years, seizing with ardour every opportunity that could add to his fame, and on all occasions displaying the utmost valour and address. In Oct. 1800 he served in two of the Juno’s boats, the charge of which (upon the death of Lieut. Burn, the commanding officer, who was killed in the act of boarding) devolved upon him, at the cutting out, from Campeachy Bay, of the Spanish national vessel Volante, of 12 guns and upwards, we believe, of 70 men, whose resistance inflicted on the British a loss of 1 killed and 6 wounded. During the whole period the Juno was stationed in the West Indies (more than two years) Mr. Travers never went into port, except in command of a prize. On one occasion the vessel he had charge of was captured by a Spanish privateer, whose fire, maintained with effect for five hours had so shattered her that she never reached a haven. He was in consequence sent on shore at St. Jago de Cuba, but was soon permitted to return in a cartel to Port Royal. Being removed, in March, 1802, with Capt. Dundas, at the request of the latter, to the Elephant 74, he saw much service in the boats of that ship off the different French ports in St. Domingo; and he was on board of her in a running action with the French 74 Duguay Trouin, off Cape Picolet, 25 July, 1803. In the following Oct., the Elephant being ordered home, he was received, according to his own wish, on board the Hercule 74, Capt. Rich. Dalling Dunn, bearing the flag of Sir John Thos. Duckworth, the Commander-in-Chief. On 30 Nov. in the same year he was present, off Cape François, at the surrender, to a squadron under Commodore John Loring, of the three French 40-gun frigates Surveillante, Clorinde, and Vertu (with the remains on board of General Rochambeau’s army), also of four other national vessels, and of 20 sail of merchantmen; the whole of which were induced to quit the above place and submit to the British, in order to escape the vengeance of the black General Dessalines. Before, however, she had cleared the harbour, La Clorinde had the misfortune to ground under Fort St. Joseph, in possession of the insurgents, and in such a position that to save her was thought impossible. Had it not, indeed, been for the exertions of the present Sir Nesbit Willoughby, whose conduct will be found detailed in its proper place, the doom of all on board, in number 900, would have been inevitably sealed. On the frigate being hove off it was found necessary to get something to the rocks to cast her by, and as no boat was then near, Mr. Travers, who had been in the launch with Lieut. Willoughby, jumped overboard, and, at the imminent hazard of his life, swam on shore with a line, by which he was enabled to haul thither a rope of sufficient strength for the purpose. Uniting next in the attack upon Curaçoa, he landed on that island 31 Jan. 1804, and, in conjunction with his friend Willoughby, stormed and carried Fort Piscadero, a work mounting 10 Dutch 12-pounders, and protecting the intended point of debarkation. He then, by a rapid movement, aided in routing the enemy from all their positions on the heights near the town of St. Ann; and on the following day, as a reward for his exertions, he was allowed to assume command of one of two advanced batteries erected at about 800 yards from that place. On 5 Feb., accompanied by Lieut. Willoughby (to whom the other battery had been intrusted), also by Lieut. Nicholls, R.M., and about 80 or 85 men, he marched out to give battle to 500 Dutch soldiers and French sailors, who were seen approaching, with the apparent determination of capturing the British cannon. Notwithstanding the disparity of the force opposed to them, the latter, in fair fight, with muskets only, were completely defeated; but not until their opponents had sustained a loss of 23 men killed and wounded. Mr. Travers continued in command of his battery, exposed to the perpetual fire of Fort Republique and other superior works, and to constant attacks from the enemy’s sharpshooters, until the 25th; when, all hopes of success being at an end, orders were given to re-embark.[2] On the return of the Hercule to Jamaica he had the satisfaction, for his conduct, of being publicly thanked, in presence of all the Captains at Port Royal, on the quarter-deck by Sir J. T. Duckworth; who, as soon as he had passed his examination, promoted him, 23 Sept. 1804, to the command, with the rank of Lieutenant, of the Ballahou schooner. He had been in command, 14 March preceding, of one of three boats at the capture, by Lieut. Willoughby, of the French privateer La Félicité; and had gained the hearty thanks of Capt. Dunn for his seaman-like intrepidity and skill during a most violent hurricane. The Ballahou being ordered to the Newfoundland station, he was removed by Sir John Duckworth, in Feb. 1805, to the Surveillante frigate, Capt. John Bligh, then about to sail on a cruize off the Spanish Main. The boats of that frigate he led on one occasion to the attack and
