Benjamin Hallowell Carew

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Benjamin Hallowell's naval career spanned the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, and he took part in a number of important actions in all three. As a lieutenant in Admiral Lord Hood's fleet, he saw action in the Battles of St. Kitts and the Saintes in 1782. He continued on active service after the end of the war. In late 1790 he was promoted to the rank of commander into HMS Scorpion, which he then sailed to the coast of Africa. Commissioned as a post-captain in August 1793, he and his ship took part in the evacuation following the Siege of Toulon in that year. He was involved in the Siege of Bastia under the command of Lord Hood, and then as a volunteer at the capture of Calvi, Corsica, in 1794 (in which Nelson lost the sight of his right eye); he was mentioned in despatches by Lord Hood for his part in this action, and was subsequently given command of HMS Lowestoffe.

By 1795 he was in command of HMS Courageux, and took part with her in the Battle of Hyères. He was not aboard in December 1796 when the vessel was wrecked after an incident in the Bay of Gibraltar during bad weather. Her mooring cable parted and she was driven within range of Spanish shore batteries; Hallowell, ashore to sit at a court-martial, was denied permission to rejoin the ship and take her to safety. She was subsequently wrecked off Monte Hacho in high winds during her officers' attempts to move to a safer anchorage, with the loss of almost 500 lives.

Following her loss, Hallowell served as a volunteer aboard HMS Victory during the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797). Admiral Sir John Jervis commended Hallowell to the Admiralty by for his actions during the battle. Jervis, a stern and imposing figure, informed of the superior odds facing him, he expressed determination to attack no matter how strong the opposition; Hallowell, standing with Jervis on the deck of Victory, reportedly expressed loud approbation and thumped his commander-in-chief on the back in a startling display of familiarity. Subsequently, Hallowell received command of HMS Lively.

On 10 June 1801 Hallowell encountered Pigmy and from her learned that a French squadron under Admiral Ganteaume had put to sea. Hallowell decided to return to reinforce Sir John Warren's squadron, but on 24 June Swiftsure encountered Ganteaume. The faster French squadron, consisting of four ships of the line and a frigate, overtook the already damaged and slow, as well as undermanned, Swiftsure. Indivisible and Dix-Août succeeded in shooting away Swiftsure's yards and masts, crippling her and so forcing Hallowell to surrender. Swiftsure had two men killed, two men mortally wounded, and another six wounded; the French lost 33 killed and wounded.

On his repatriation, Hallowell received the court-martial that was automatic for a Royal Navy captain who had lost his ship, but was honourably acquitted. Meanwhile the French Navy took Swiftsure into service under her own name.

Hallowell is probably best known as the man who made Nelson a present of what would become his own coffin, after the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. Hallowell commanded HMS Swiftsure, a 74-gun ship of the line, during the battle. Swiftsure engaged the French flagship L'Orient at close quarters and played a major role in her destruction. Some time later Hallowell sent Nelson a coffin Hallowell had ordered to be made from a salvaged piece of L'Orient's mainmast, with an accompanying note:

Nelson is said to have been pleased with the gift, keeping it propped against the wall of his cabin for some time, behind the chair in which he sat for dinner, and taking it with him to his next command. After Nelson was killed in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, he was buried in the coffin Hallowell had given him.

Hallowell himself, now in command of HMS Tigre, missed the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson had sent Tigre, along with five other vessels in his squadron, to Gibraltar for water and on convoy duty. However his old command, Swiftsure, took part on the French side. She and her officers and crew, including Hallowell, had been captured in 1801 after a fight with a squadron of five French warships. Hallowell faced a court-martial over this incident when he was returned to England after a short time as a prisoner of war, but he was honorably acquitted of any failure of duty.

Hallowell remained a serving naval officer after Nelson's death and went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cork Station in 1818 and Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1821. He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 1 August 1811; Rear-Admiral of the White in 1812; Vice-Admiral of the Blue on 12 August 1819; Vice-Admiral of the White on 19 July 1821; and Admiral of the Blue in 1830.

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