A Naval Biographical Dictionary/King, Edward Durnford

by William Richard O'Byrne

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KING, Kt, K.C.H. (Vice-Admiral of the Red, 1841. f-p., 24; h-p., 37.)

Sir Edward Durnford King is son of the late Wm. King, Esq., of Southampton, and of Harbest and Brockley, co. Suffolk, by Hannah, daughter and co-heiress of Anthony Isaacson, Esq., of Fenton, co. Northumberland; and brother of the late Capt. Andw. King, R.N.^[1]

This officer (whose name had been borne, from 24 March, 1786, until 1788, on the books of the Irresistible 74, guard-ship at Chatham, Capt. Sir Andw. Snape Hamond) embarked, in June, 1789, as Midshipman, on board the Director 64, Capt. Thos. West, and was next, between Nov. 1790 and Feb. 1793, employed, on the Home, American, and Newfoundland stations, in the Boyne 98, Capt. Geo. Bowyer, Carnatic 74, Capt. John Ford, Bellona 74, Capt. Fras. John Hartwell, Resistance, Capt. John O’Brien, Alcide 74, Capt. Sir Andw. Snape Douglas, and Assistance, flag-ship of Sir Rich. King. He then successively joined, in the capacity of Master’s Mate, the Prince, Barfleur, and Glory 98’s, the latter commanded by Capt. Bourmaster, and the two former by Capt. Cuthbert Collingwood, Flag-Captain to Rear-Admiral Bowyer, through whose recommendation of his conduct on board the Barfleur in the actions of 29 May and 1 June, 1794, he was promoted, on 5 Sept. in that year, to a Lieutenancy in the Robust 74, Capt. Edw. Thornbrough. Being appointed, 30 June, 1795, to the Dryad of 44 guns and 251 men, Capts. Rohit. Forbes and Lord Amelius Beauclerk, Mr. King, as First-Lieutenant to the latter officer, assisted at the capture, 13 June, 1796, after a close and spirited action of 45 minutes, attended with a loss to the British of only 2 men killed and 7 wounded, of the French frigate La Proserpine, of 42 guns and 348 men, 30 of whom were slain and 45 wounded. Being recommended by his Captain on the occasion as an officer truly deserving the notice of the Lords Commissioners,^[2] and being in consequence rewarded with a Commander’s commission bearing date 23 of the same month, he was appointed, 21 June, 1798, to the command of the Gaieté sloop-of-war, employed at first in the North Sea, and then in the West Indies, where he co-operated, as senior officer of a squadron in the Gulf of Paria, in the protection of Trininad, cruized with much Success off the island of Guadeloupe, and was often under the fire of the enemy’s batteries. On 28 Sept. 1800 Capt. King was nominated Acting-Captain of the Leviathan 74, flag-ship of Sir John Thos. Duckworth – an appointment which the Admiralty confirmed 8 Jan. 1801. In the following June, after he had assisted at the reduction of the French island of St. Martin, and of the Danish and Swedish islands of Ste. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. Bartholomew, and had gained the approbation of the Commander-in-Chief for the manner in which, in conjunction with Brigadier-Generals Maitland and Fuller, he had settled the terms of capitulation^[3] he removed to the Andromeda frigate, also on the West India station, whence, in Nov. of the same year, he invalided. His next appointment was, 16 April, 1805, to the Endymion 40, in which frigate we find him, until the ensuing September, employed in the blockade of Cadiz. On 19 Aug., being on the look-out off Cape St. Mary, Capt. King fell in with the combined fleets, of France and Spain, consisting of 26 sail-of-the-line and nine frigates, whom, although he was chased by two of the former and one of the latter, he contrived to watch^[4] into the port of Cadiz. He then, having closely reconnoitred the enemy, repaired with the intelligence of their situations, and of their partially dismantled state, to Vice-Admiral Collingwood, at the time off the Gut of Gibraltar with only four ships-of-the-line, who thereupon immediately returned to Cadiz and resumed the blockade. Impressed with a full sense of Capt. King’s zeal and ability, the Vice-Admiral afterwards selected him to follow the enemy, in the event of their quitting Cadiz, and communicate to the government at home, and the squadrons to the northward, the circumstance of their approach and probable destination – a service of the utmost importance. Napoleon being at the period in anxious expectation of their arrival in the Channel in order to enable him to carry into execution his long-projected descent upon England. The Franco-Spanish fleet, however, as is well known, remained in Cadiz until the arrival of the force Under Lord Nelson, shortly after which the battle of Trafalgar for ever checked its career. At that particular epoch Capt. King was absent on a special service at Gibraltar, and he was in consequence deprived of an opportunity of sharing in the triumph that was then achieved. He continued in the Endymion until Aug. 1806, and was subsequently appointed – 23 March, 1807, to the Monmouth 64, in which ship, on his arrival with a valuable convoy in India, he assisted at the capture of Tranquebar – 24 Sept. 1811, after three years of half-pay, to the Rodney 74, part of the force employed at the blockade of Toulon, where he continued until Nov. 1812 – 14 Nov. 1814, to the Cornwallis 74, fitting for the East Indies, the command of which ship his health obliged him to resign 21 Dec. following – and 27 May, 1825, to the Windsor Castle 74, stationed at first as a guard-ship at Plymouth, and next attached to an expedition to Lisbon, whence he returned to England and was paid off in May, 1828. On 22 July, 1830, our officer was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral; and in Jan. 1833 he was knighted and created a K.C.H. He afterwards commanded-in-chief, at first on the Brazil and Cape of Good Hope stations, and then on the Cape station alone, from 29 July, 1840, until the close of 1842; and since 18 April, 1845 (his promotion to the rank of Vice-Admiral having taken place 23 Nov. 1841), he has had the chief command at the Nore. Agents – Messrs. Ommauney.

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1. The above officer was Midshipman of the Bellerophon in the actions of 28 and 29 May and 1 June, 1794, He served as Senior Lieutenant of the Andromeda frigate at the destruction of a French squadron in Dunkerque harbour 7 July, 1799; was First also of La Désirée in the action off Copenhagen 2 April, 1801; and, as Fourth of the Victory, participated in the glories of Trafalgar 21 Oct. 1805. In 1807 he commanded the Hebe armed ship at the siege of Copenhagen; as he did the Venerable 74 in the attack upon Flushing in 1809, and the Iphigenia frigate at the reduction of Genoa in 1814. His promotion to Post-rank took place 13 Oct. 1807. He died Superintendent of the Packet Establishment at Falmouth 30 June, 1835.
2. Vide Gaz. 1796, p. 579.
3. Vide Gaz. 1801, pp. 516, 519, 521.
4. He even, by a ruse de guerre deterred them from continuing the pursuit they had commenced of the few ships subsequently alluded to as being under the command of Vice-Admiral Collingwood.