78
BEVAN—BEVIANS—BEVIS—BICKERSTAFF.
He left the Dreadnought in April, 1806, but was afterwards appointed – 24 March, 1808, to the Myrtle sloop, Capt. Thos. Innes, employed in the Channel – 24 May following, to the Téméraire 98, Capt. Sir Chas. Hamilton, flag-ship subsequently of Rear-Admiral Manley Dixon, on the Baltic station – 17 Nov. 1809, to the Tonnant 80, Capt. Sir C. Hamilton, attached for some time to the force off Cadiz – and, 24 Feb. 1812, after an interval of 15 months, to the Zephyr sloop, Capt. Thos. Cuthbert Hitchens, stationed on the north coast of Spain. Not having been employed since Aug. 1813, he at length accepted the rank he now holds, 4 April, 1832.
Commander Betty married, 11 March, 1799, and has issue two children.
BEVAN. (Lieutenant, 1828.)
Edward Bevan entered the Royal Naval College 10 Aug. 1820, and first embarked on board the Active 46, Capt. Andrew King. Having served his time in that frigate, and in the Briton 46, Capt. Sir Murray Maxwell, and Barham 50, flag-ship of Hon. Chas. Elphinstone Fleeming, on the South American and West India stations, he passed his examination in 1827; and, on 23 May, 1828, was made Lieutenant into the Valorous 28, Capt. Henry Gosset. His subsequent appointments were – to the Herald yacht, Capt. Geo. Berkeley Maxwell – 1 Feb. 1831, to the Revenge 76, Capts. Jas. Hillyar and Donald Hugh Mackay, on the Channel and Lisbon stations – 27 Nov. 1833, to the Stag 46, Capt. Nicholas Lockyer, employed on Particular Service – 9 June, 1836, as First-Lieutenant, to the Madagascar 46, Capt. Sir John Strutt Peyton, in the West Indies – 6 Sept. 1837, to the Pembroke 74, Capt. Fairfax Moresby, in the Mediterranean – and, 9 July, 1838, to the Royal George yacht, Capt. Lord Adolphus FitzClarence, from which vessel ill health obliged him to invalid early in 1840. During the term of his employment under the last-mentioned officer, Lieut. Bevan commanded the Pantaloon tender, of 10 guns. He has since been on half-pay. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.
BEVIANS. (Lieutenant, 1846.)
Robert John Bevians passed his examination 2 March, 1831; and served in the Coast Guard from 12 Dec. 1839, until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, 1 July, 1846. He is now unemployed.
BEVIS. (Commander, 1829.)
Thomas Bevis entered the Navy, 5 Nov. 1797, at a very early age, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Terror bomb, Lieut.-Commander Rich. Horsley, from which he removed, in Dec. 1800, to the Otter fire-ship, Capt. Geo. M‘Kinley. In that vessel he attended the expedition to Copenhagen in 1801, and in the battle of 2 April, having been temporarily transferred to the Dart sloop, Capt. John Ferris Devonshire, attached to the division of the fleet under Lord Nelson, was very hotly engaged. He subsequently served with Capt. Geo. M‘Kinley in the Ardent 64 – then for a short time in the Tartar frigate, Capt. Jas. Walker, at Spithead – and again under Capt. M‘Kinley, chiefly as Master’s Mate, in the Pelican sloop, Abergavenny 54, Ganges 74, and Roebuck 44, all on the Jamaica station, until appointed Acting-Lieutenant, 10 Nov. 1804, of the Diligence 18, Capt. Alex. Robt. Kerr, stationed off Boulogne, where, during a period of 12 months, he appears to have been almost daily employed, either on boat service or in actual collision with the enemy. He rejoined Capt. M‘Kinley, in Nov. 1805, as Master’s Mate, on board the Roebuck, at North Yarmouth; next accompanied him into the Quebec 32; and was only officially promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, after a further servitude, as Midshipman, in the Royal George 100, bearing the flag off Cadiz of Sir John Thos. Duckworth, 24 Sept. 1806. We then find him joining in succession – 24 Nov. 1806, the Antelope 50, Capts. Henry Bazely and Edw. Galway, in which ship he made a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope – 24 April, 1809, the Isis 50, Capt. Woodley Losack, under whom he attended the expedition to Flushing – 29 Jan. 1810, as Senior Lieutenant, the Beagle 18, Capt. Wm. Brooking Dolling, employed on the Home station – and, 7 Sept. 1810, the Galatea 36, Capt. W. Losack, on the Cape of Good Hope and West India stations, where he served, nearly the whole time in a similar capacity, until July, 1814. On 20 May, 1811, while cruizing off Madagascar in company with the 36-gun frigates Astrea and Phoebe, and 18-gun brig Racehorse, the whole under the orders of Commodore Chas. Marsh Schomberg, the Galatea fell in with the three French 40-gun frigates Renommée, Clorinde, and Néréide, having each 200 troops on board. In the long and desperate conflict which ensued, the Galatea, owing to the situation of the combatants from light and variable airs, became peculiarly the recipient of a most destructive fire from the Renommée and Clorinde, which, besides filling the hold with four feet of water, completely riddled her hull, badly wounded her masts, yards, and bowsprit, cut to pieces her rigging of every sort, killed 16 of her crew, and wounded 46 – a loss exceeding that of the Astrea and Phoebe united. The Renommée and Néréide were ultimately captured, but the Clorinde effected her escape. Among the wounded on board the Galatea was Mr. Bevis himself, in the right thigh, but who, nevertheless, could not be prevailed upon to leave the deck for more than a few minutes.[1] Yet – notwithstanding the facts we have stated, although the First-Lieutenants of the two other frigates were promoted, and the Admiralty expressed their satisfaction at the conduct of the Galatea – yet was Mr. Bevis, without any one drawback on his gallant and meritorious conduct, passed over, and suffered to continue for a further period of 18 years on the Lieutenants’ list. His succeeding appointments were – 1 Nov. 1814, as First, to the Bombay 74, flag-ship of Sir Chas. Vinicombe Penrose in the Mediterranean, whence he returned in July, 1816 – 25 Aug. 1818, to the Euryalus 42, Capt. Thos. Huskisson, from which frigate he invalided in April, 1819 – 18 Feb. 1821, to a command in the Coast Guard – and 2 Dec. 1828, again as First-Lieutenant, to the Prince Regent 120, bearing the flag at the Nore of Hon. Sir Henry Blackwood. He was at length advanced to his present rank 3 Aug. 1829; and since 5 Feb. 1839, previously to which period he had held the same office at Milford and Holyhead, has been employed as Superintendent of the Packet service at Liverpool. He is also Resident Agent for Transports at the latter port, having received the appointment in April, 1843.
BICKERSTAFF. (Lieutenant, 1814. f-p.,16; h-p., 26.)
Francis Bickerstaff entered the Navy, 17 March, 1805, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Malabar 50, Capts. Robt. Hall and John Ayscough; and, on 2 Jan. 1806, served in the boats of that ship at the destruction, off the island of Cuba (the Wolfe 18, in company), of the two French privateers, Le Régulateur and Napoléon, of 5 guns each, and a crew united of 146 men, after a well-contested action of an hour and three quarters. On next joining, with Capt. Ayscough, the Success 32, we agaan find him contributing, in the boats, to the capture, 20 Nov. following, under a destructive shower of grape and musketry from the crew, 50 in number, who had landed on the same island and posted themselves on an eminence, of Le Vengeur, another privateer, lashed to the shore. Being transferred, m May, 1807, to the Superb 74, commanded by the late Sir Rich. Goodwin Keats, Mr. Bickerstaff attended the ensuing expedition to Copenhagen – then went to the Mediterranean in pursuit of a French squadron which had effected its escape from Rochefort – witnessed the embarkation from Nyeborg, in Aug. 1808, of the Spanish army under the Marquess de la Romana – was in the Superb when, frozen up at Gottenborg in Jan. 1809, she was only extricated by a canal being cut through four miles of ice – and,
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1811, p. 2191.
