A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Castle, William Langford
CASTLE. (Captain, 1841. f-p., 23; h-p., 11.)
William Langford Castle, born 31 March, 1800, is only son of William Castle, Esq., of Sittingbourne, co. Kent.
This officer entered the Navy, 19 May, 1813, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Caledonia 120, Capt. Jeremiah Coghlan, flag-ship of Sir Edw. Pellew; in which he was present, 5 Nov. 1813, and, as Midshipman, 13 Feb. 1814, in two skirmishes with the French fleet off Toulon, besides assisting as junior Aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, at the reduction of Genoa, in April of the latter year. He next served, from June, 1814, until wrecked, in a hurricane, near Smyrna, 20 Feb. 1816, on board the Cossack 28, Capt. Lord Algernon Percy, in North America, Philomel 18, Capt. Jas. Hanway Plumridge, lying at Plymouth, and Phoenix 42, Capt. Chas. John Austen. We then find him doing duty for three years in the Albion 74, flag-ship in the Mediterranean of Sir Chas. Vinicombe Penrose; and, on returning to North America in 1819, in the Newcastle 60, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Edw. Griffith, selected to command the Jane tender. He passed his examination 15 Aug. 1819; was subsequently, on reaching England in the summer of 1822, again employed for a short time in the Albion, Capt. Sir Wm. Hoste, at Portsmouth; and, on next proceeding to the West Indies, in the Isis 50, with the flag flying of Sir Lawrence Wm. Halsted, was appointed, 6 June, 1824, to the command of the Speedwell schooner of 5 guns, in which he appears to have been actively employed against the pirates of Cuba. Mr. Castle, who was promoted into the Helicon 10, Capt. Thos. Fisher, 25 Aug. 1824, afterwards joined in succession, almost invariably as First Lieutenant, the Beaver 10, Capt. John Jas. Onslow, Isis, as before. Rose 20, Capt. Wm. Benj. Suckling, Sybille 48, Commodore Sir Fras. Augustus Collier, Atholl 28, Capt. Alex. Gordon, and Dryad 42, Commodore John Hayes – the three last on the coast of Africa; where, in charge of the Black Joke and Fair Rosamond tenders, and otherwise, we find he contributed to the liberation of many thousand slaves. After holding the acting-command, for some months, of the Medina 20, on the same station, Lieut. Castle obtained a second promotal commission, dated 29 Oct. 1831; subsequently to which he joined – 15 Feb. 1834, the Salamander steam-vessel, employed on Channel service – 4 Aug, 1835, the Pylades 18, again on the African station, where he had the good fortune to emancipate a thousand negroes, and to render such essential benefit to trade as to elicit the thanks of the merchants of Liverpool – and, in Nov. 1840, to the Indus 78, Capt. Sir Jas. Stirling, fitting at Portsmouth, which last appointment, in consequence of disease induced by his long servitude on the coast of Africa, he was compelled to resign. He attained Post-rank 23 Nov. 1841; and is at present on half-pay.
He married, first, 2 April, 1835, Emma, third daughter of Capt. Sir John Hill, R.N., Kt. That lady dying 25 Oct. 1837, he espoused, secondly, 7 July, 1841, Elizabeth Allen, only daughter of Commander Robt. M‘Coy, R.N., by whom he has issue two children. Agent – John P. Muspratt.