her with perfect safety. The two cases were then removed from the gunwales, when she carried 6 men, but not so steady and safe as she had done nine with the cases lashed outside. Lord Exmouth, Sir William J. Hope, Sir Charles V. Penrose, Sir Pulteney Malcolm, and numerous other naval officers, think very highly of Captain Spencer's plan; but Sir Robert Seppings, the surveyor of the navy, reports, that although "it may be used with effect in particular situations, he does not think it can be usefully employed in ships' boats."

Captain Spencer married, Aug. 31, 1812, Miss Anne Warden Liddon, of Charmouth, co. Dorset, by whom he has several ehildren now living.

Agents.-Messrs. Stilwell.

VILLIERS FRANCIS HATTON, Esq.

ELDEST Son of George Hatton, Esq. formerly M. P. for Lisburne, co. Antrim, by Lady Isabella R. Seymour Conway, sixth daughter of Francis, first Marquis of Hertford.

This officer was born at Dromana, co. Waterford, in 1787; and he entered the naval service, under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Lord Hugh Seymour, in 1799. From that period, we find him serving as a midshipman on board the Sans Pareil 80, bearing his lordship's flag, in the West Indies; Carnatic 74, Captain Charles V. Penrose; St. Fiorenzo frigate, Captain Joseph Bingham; and Trident 64, flag-ship of Vice-Admiral Rainier, until 1805, when he was appointed lieutenant of the Grampus 50, on the East India station. His commission was confirmed by the Admiralty, Jan. 31, 1806.

Lieutenant Hatton, having obtained leave of absence soon after his promotion, returned home in an Indiaman, and was next appointed to the Seagull brig, of 16 guns, on the North Sea station, where he displayed great zeal for the public service, often cruising in an open boat to intercept smugglers, and being repeatedly absent from his vessel for days together. Several of those illicit traders were captured, principally through his exertions. He became first of the Seagull

a short time previous to her very noble action with the Danish 20-gun brig Lougen and six heavy gun-boats, near Christiansand, the particulars of which have been given at p. 377 et seq. of Suppl. Part I. The following is an extract of his gallant commander's official letter reporting the destruction of the Seagull :—

"I cannot speak in terms adequate to the deserts of every officer and man under my command on this trying occasion. I received that support from Mr. Hatton, the first lieutenant, I had every reason to expect from his general good conduct; and the officers and crew have my warmest thanks for their cool and steady behaviour: I consider it a duty I owe to them to add, that British valour was never displayed in a more striking manner than on this occasion, opposed as they were to so very superior a force."

In this desperate battle, Lieutenant Hatton lost an arm, and received two other wounds, one of which, in the knee, nearly deprived him of the use of his right leg. So highly was his meritorious behaviour appreciated by the courtmartial, assembled to enquire into the circumstances attending the loss of the Seagull, that that tribunal deviated from the usual practice in such cases, by distinctly mentioning him in the sentence, of which we shall here give an extract :—

"The Court cannot but express the highest approbation of the conduct of Lieutenant Villiers Francis Hatton, who, although most dangerously wounded, continued to give his support and encouragement to the last; as well as of the noble and steady behaviour of the other officers, and the crew of the Seagull, during so sanguinary and unequal a conflict,—a circumstance which, while it reflects the highest honor on them, does no less credit to the discipline of the King's sloop; and the Court doth therefore most honorably acquit Lieutenant Hatton, the officers and crew; and they are most honorably acquitted accordingly."

It is scarcely necessary to add, that the subject of this memoir was immediately made a commander: his commission as such bears date June 19, 1808, the day on which he so nobly distinguished himself. The pension first granted to him for the loss of his arm, &c. was of very trifling amount, but it has since been increased to 300l. per annum.

Early in 1810, Captain Hatton was appointed to the Wildboar brig; but that vessel was unfortunately wrecked, near Scilly, before he had an opportunity of joining her*. We

* See Suppl. Part II. p. 296.

subsequently find him commanding the Port Mahon brig, on the Portsmouth station, from whence he proceeded to the north coast of Spain, where his boats were very actively employed in landing parties to destroy the fortifications of various places evacuated by the enemy. He obtained post rank Feb. 7, 1812.

Captain Hatton married, in May, 1817, Harriet, daughter of the late Colonel and Lady Cecilia Latouche; by whom he has two children. His only brother, Henry John Hatton, is a Commander R. N.

Agent.-Sir Francis M. Ommanney.

ARTHUR BATT BINGHAM, Esq.

THIS officer is lineally descended from Robert De Bingham, of Binghams Melcombe, near Blandford; whose direct ancestor formed a matrimonial alliance with the Turbevilles, of Dorsetshire, in the reign of Henry I.; and from whose fourth son the Earl of Lucan and Baron Clanmorris trace their descent. A place called Binghams, near Shaftesbury, now belonging to Captain Bingham's mother, and which will become his own at her demise, has been in the possession of the family ever since they first settled in England. Binghams Melcombe was so named in consequence of the above marriage.

Mr. Arthur Batt Bingham was made a lieutenant, May 1, 1804; and at the commencement of 1809, we find him serving as first of la Nereide frigate, Captain Robert Corbett, on the Cape of Good Hope station.

On the 1st May, 1809, la Nereide sailed from Simon's bay, where she had refitted after being dismasted in a hurricane, and proceeded on a cruise off the Mauritius and Bourbon, then in a state of blockade. In Aug. following, his ship's company requiring a change of diet, Captain Corbett anchored off St. Rose, on the eastern side of the latter island, and commenced an attack, within grape-shot, upon two batteries commanding that anchorage. Immediately afterwards, the

Sapphire sloop, Captain Bertie Cornelius Cator (acting) ran between him and the shore, and opened her broadside, which soon had the effect of silencing the enemy's fire: a party of men from the frigate then landed, under the command of Lieutenant Bingham, who made the French governor prisoner, spiked the guns (6 in number), burnt their carriages, and blew up a store of rockets. Lieutenant Bingham then laid a train for the purpose of destroying a bomb-proof magazine, containing 100 barrels of gunpowder; but, unfortunately, the explosion took place much sooner than he expected, and he was blown to a considerable distance, badly scorched and wounded. Having succeeded in making a descent on Bourbon, Captain Corbett lost no time in demanding the necessary supplies, and kept the French officer on board la Nereide, until his requisition was complied with: in the mean time the enemy's guns were brought off, and sunk in deep water, by Captain Cator.

In the performance of the above service, the British had several men killed and wounded: one of la Nereide's marines was slain on the quarter-deck, by a grape shot, just as Lieutenant Bingham was passing him to get into his boat. Captain Cator's conduct, and that of the subject of this memoir, was highly spoken of by Captain Corbett, in his official letter to Vice-Admiral Bertie.

La Nereide formed part of the squadron under Captain, (now Sir Josias) Rowley, at the capture of St. Paul's, Isle Bourbon, in Sept. 1809*. On that occasion, Lieutenant Bingham took possession of la Caroline French frigate, and conveyed her commander's sword to Captain Corbett. Towards the close of the same year, he received an Admiralty commission, promoting him to the command of the Caledon, 'an old, rotten, iron-fastened ship, in which he shortly afterwards returned to England.

Captain Bingham's next appointment was, about Nov. 1810, to the Little Belt, a Danish-built corvette, mounting eighteen 32-pounder carronades and 2 long nines, with a complement of 121 officers, men, and boys. In that vessel

See Vol. I. Part II, p. 627.

he proceeded to the Halifax station, at a period when the conduct of the Americans plainly shewed, that they were bent on war with England. On the 19th April, 1811, being then at Bermuda, he received an order from Rear-Admiral Sawyer, of which the following is a copy :

"You are hereby required and directed to put to sea in H. M. sloop under your command, and proceed, without loss of time, off Charlestown, where you may expect to meet Captain Pechell, in the Guerriere, to whom you will deliver the accompanying packet, and follow his orders for your further proceedings. Should you not meet the Guerriere off Charlestown, you will stand to the northward, and use your utmost endeavours to join him off the Capes of Virginia, or off New York; and in the event of not meeting the Guerriere, you will cruise as long as your provisions and water will last, and then repair to Halifax for further orders. You are to pay due regard to protecting the trade of his Majesty's subjects, and the capture or destruction of the ships of the enemy. You are to be particularly careful, not to give any just cause of offence to the government or subjects of the United States of America; and to give very particular orders to this effect to the officers you may have occasion to send on board ships under the American flag. You are not to anchor in any of the American ports, but in case of absolute necessity, and then put to sea again as soon as possible.

While executing this order, Captain Bingham was most wantonly attacked by Commodore Rodgers, of the U. S. navy, in a frigate mounting 32 long 24-pounders and 22 fortytwo pounder carronades, with a complement of 475 men, including at least 300 British subjects. The following is Captain Bingham's official account of this unexpected ren

contre :

"H. M. sloop Little Belt, May 21, 1811. "Sir,—I beg leave to acquaint you, that in pursuance of your orders to join H. M. S. Guerriere, and being on my return from the northward, not having fallen in with her, at about 11 A. M. May 16th, I saw a strange sail, to which I immediately gave chase; at 1 P. M. discovered her to be a ship of war, apparently a frigate, standing to the eastward, which, when she made us out, edged away for us, and set her royals: made the signal No. 275*, and finding it not answered, concluded she was an American frigate, as she had a commodore's blue pendant flying at the main; hoisted our colours, and made all sail south, the course I intended, steering round

Calling upon the stranger, if a British ship of war, to shew her number.