A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Robinson, Charles (a)
ROBINSON. (Lieut., 1809. f-p., 12; h-p., 33.)
Charles Robinson (a) is son of the late Rear-Admiral Hugh Robinson; and brother of Lieut. Thos. Robinson, R.N. (1819), who died 6 May, 1838, at Clifton, near York.
This officer entered the Navy,,11 Nov. 1802, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Caroline of 42 guns, Capts. Benj. Wm. Page, Peter Rainier, and Henry Hart. Under Capt. Page he assisted, during his passage to the East Indies, at the capture of several French vessels and at the detention of two others belonging to the Batavian republic – one of them, the De Haasje brig-of-war. On his arrival in India he aided, under the same officer, in taking, 5 Jan. and 4 Feb. 1804, the privateers Les Frères Unis of 8 guns (pierced for 16) and 134 men, and Le Général de Caen of 22 guns and 200 men. Under Capt. Rainier it was his fortune to be present, 18 Oct. 1806, at the capture, near the island of Java, of the Dutch 14-gun brig Zeerop and, in the course of the same day, after an action of half an hour, of the Maria Riggersbergen of 40 guns and 270 men, 50 of whom were killed and wounded, with a loss to the Caroline, out of 204 men, of 3 killed and 18 wounded. In company with the Maria Riggersbergen were the William 14, Patriot 18, and Zee-Ploeg 14, together with some gun-boats, who partially assisted her: 30 other gun-boats lay in-shore, but did not attempt to come out. On 27 Jan. 1807 Mr. Robinson further contributed to the capture of the St. Raphael Spanish register-ship, mounting 16 guns, with a complement of 97 men, having on board 500,000 dollars in specie and 1700 quintals of copper, besides a valuable cargo. In securing this rich prize the Caroline had 7 men wounded; the enemy’s vessel, before she surrendered, incurred a loss of 27 killed and wounded. After serving for 16 months, part of the time as Master’s Mate, in the Duncan 36, Capts. Thos. Groube, Wm. Wells, and Edw. Tucker, still in the East Indies, Mr. Robinson was nominated, 14 Jan. 1809, Acting-Lieutenant of the Victor sloop, Capt. Edw. Stopford. He was officially promoted on 13 of the following Nov., in the course of which month the Victor was taken by the French frigate La Bellone. Being at the time absent in a prize, he escaped sharing in that catastrophe; and in the following May, after he had been borne as a Supernumerary on the books of the Doris 36, Procris 18, and Clorinde 38, Capts. Christ. Cole, Robt. Maunsell, and Thos. Briggs, he returned to England. His last appointments were – 8 Dec. 1810 and 3 April 1811, to the Magnet 16 and Prospero 18, Capts. John Smith and John Hardy Godby, both in the North Sea – 7 Jan. 1813, to the San Josef 110, Capts. Henry Bourchier and Wm. Stewart, in which ship he fought under the flag of Sir Rich. King in Sir Edw. Pellew’s partial actions with the Toulon fleet 5 Nov. 1813 and 13 Feb. 1814 – 23 Jan. 1815 (having paid the San Josef off as First-Lieutenant in the preceding Aug.) to the Puissant 74, Capt. Benj. Wm. Page, lying at Spithead – and 8 May following, to the Désirée 36, Capt. Wm. Woolridge, bearing the flag of Sir Thos. Fras. Fremantle on the Guernsey station, where he was actively employed during the hundred days’ war, and assisted at the capture of La Ville d’Anvers praam. He left the Désirée 29 Aug. 1815.