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CONNOLLY.
he assisted at the capture of a large number of the enemy’s vessels, beheld the destruction, in April, 1809, of the French shipping in Aix Roads, and attained the rating of Midshipman 1 Feb. 1810. From Dec. 1811 until May, 1813, he next served in the Channel on board the Tigre 74, Capt. John Halliday; and then, rejoining Capt. Maitland in the Goliath, a cut-down 74, continued with that officer, in the Boyne 98, and Bellerophon 74, on the West India, North American, and Channel stations, until 1815; in July of which year he witnessed the surrender of Napoleon Buonaparte. He was promoted, from the Orontes 36, Capt. Nathaniel Day Cochrane, fitting at Sheerness, 20 Sept. following; and has not since been afloat. Agents – Messrs. Ommanney.
CONNOLLY. (Retired Commander, 1840. f-p., 24; h-p., 43.)
John Bell Connolly, born in 1772, at Chatham, is eldest brother of Commander Matthew Connolly, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy 24 March, 1780, as Gunner’s Servant, on board the Britannia 100, bearing the flag in the Channel of Vice-Admiral Darby, and afterwards of Hon. Sam. Barrington, under whom he took part in Lord Howe’s partial action with the combined fleets of France and Spain, near Gibraltar, 20 Oct. 1782. Between June, 1783, and Oct. 1789, when he attained the rating of Midshipman, he next served on the Home station on board the 14-gun cutters Cockatrice and Sultana, Lieut.-Commanders Wm. Reynolds and Edw. Roe. He then joined, in succession, the Edgar 74, Capts. Chas. Thompson and Anthony Jas. Pye Molloy, Barfleur 98, Royal George 100, and London 98, flag-ships of Admirals Barrington and Goodall, Sultana, Lieut. -Commander Digby Dent, Duke 98, bearing the flag of Admiral Robt. Roddam, Circe 28, Capt. Alan Hyde Gardner, Centurion 50, Capt. Sam. Osborne, and Boyne 98, flagship of Sir John Jervis; and, having passed his examination 4 Nov. 1791, was promoted, 3 Dec. 1793, to a Lieutenancy in the Dromedary 44, Capt. Sandford Tatham. After assisting at the capture of Martinique, Mr. Connolly removed, 26 March, 1794, to the Veteran 64, Capt. Chas. Edmund Nugent, in time to further co-operate in the reduction of Ste. Lucie, Guadeloupe, Mariegalante, and the Saintes. He was afterwards appointed, 15 Nov. 1796 and 15 June, 1798, to the Prince 98, flag-ship of Sir Roger Curtis, and Ajax 74, Capts. John Pakenham and Hon. Alex. Inglis Cochrane, both on the Channel station; and, from 10 Dec. 1799 until the close of 1806, held, with the exception of a few months during the short-lived peace, the successive command of the Britannia and Gladiator hospital and court-martial ships, at Portsmouth. Being afflicted with acute rheumatism and defective sight, he obtained the out-pension of Greenwich Hospital on 22 Sept. in the latter year; and was ultimately invested with his present rank 24 March, 1840.
CONNOLLY.[1] (Commander, 1813. f-p., 24; h-p., 36.)
Matthew Connolly, born 5 July, 1776, at Chatham, is brother of Commanders J. B. and R. L. Connolly, R.N., and of Colonel Wm. Hallett Connolly, R.M., as also of the late Lieut. Peter Connolly, R.M., and the late Capt. Geo. Sloan Connolly, an officer in the Army; and uncle of Lieut. M. Connolly, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, 27 Oct. 1787, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Endymion 44, armée en flûte, Lieut.-Commander Joseph Sail, lying at Portsmouth; after which he served, as Midshipman and Master’s Mate, chiefly in the West Indies, on board the Orion 74, Capts. Andrew Sutherland and Chas. Chamberlayne, Hyaena 24, Capt. Wm. Hargood – which ship, the first lost by the British during the war, was captured, 27 May, 1793, by the French 40-gun frigate Concorde, and sent to Cape François, whence Mr. Connolly, during the ensuing massacre of the white population, had the happiness of effecting the escape of himself and the whole of his shipmates – Goelan brig, Capt. Thos. Wolley, Hannibal 74, Capt. John Colpoys, Theseus 74, Capt. Robt. Calder, and Majestic 74, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Benj. Caldwell. Having passed his examination in Nov. 1793, he was promoted, 15 Jan. 1795, to an Acting-Lieutenancy in the Terpsichore 32, Capt. Rich. Bowen; and, being confirmed on his return home 22 Aug. following, was appointed to his old ship the Theseus, Capts. R. Calder, Herbert Browell, Augustus Montgomery, and John Aylmer, employed off the coasts of France and Spain. Soon after his removal, in May, 1797, to the Irresistible 74, we find Mr. Connolly assisting at the bombardment of Cadiz; and, on the night of 3 July, suffering a loss of 3 men wounded while in command of one of the launches engaged under Lord Nelson in protecting the Thunder bomb against an attack of the Spanish flotilla before that place. From Dec. in the same year until the peace of Amiens he next served, in the Mediterranean and West Indies, on board the Emerald 36, Capts. Lord Proby, Thos. Montray Waller, and Jas. O’Bryen; and during that period assisted at the capture, besides other vessels, of – 19 June, 1799, Rear-Admiral Perrée’s squadron, consisting of three frigates and two brigs – and, 5 April, 1800, of the two Spanish 36-gun frigates El Carmen and Florentina, each laden with 1500 quintals of quicksilver. In April, 1804, Mr. Connolly obtained an appointment in the Isle of Wight district of Sea Fencibles, but removed, 13 Aug. following, as First-Lieutenant, to the Lapwing 28, Capts. Fras. Wm. Fane and Clotworthy Upton; and was subsequently appointed, in the same capacity, on the Home, Mediterranean, and Lisbon stations – 27 July. 1805, and 21 June, 1808, to the Hind 28, and Cambrian 40, Capts. Fane and Chas. Bullen – and, 18 Feb. 1812, to the Pomone 38, Capts. Fane and Philip Carteret. While in command, on the night of 14 April, 1811, of the Cambrian’s boats, he most handsomely cut out a large settee, deeply laden with grain for the French army at Barcelona, from under the Medas Islands and batteries. After serving for 14 years as a First-Lieutenant, Mr. Connolly was at length promoted to his present rank, 4 Dec. 1813; since which period he has been on half-pay.
After the peace. Commander Connolly published, by the direction of the Admiralty, “A System of Great-Gun Exercise for the Navy.” He also gave publicity to “One Universal and Uniform System of Watching, Quartering, and Stationing, adapted to all Classes of Ships.”
CONNOLLY. (Lieutenant, 1842.)
Matthew Connolly is son of Col. Wm. Hallett Connolly, late Commandant of the Woolwich division of Royal Marines; brother of Lieut. Wm. Hallett Connolly, R.N., and of First-Lieut. Rich. Geo. Connolly, R.M.; and nephew of Commander Mat. Connolly, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy 7 Dec. 1832; passed his examination 27 March, 1839; took part, as Mate of the Castor 36, Capt. Edw. Collier, in all the operations of the Syrian campaign, including the capture of Caiffa, where he served on shore, and the bombardment of St. Jean d’Acre; and, after a subsequent attachment to the Beacon surveying vessel, Capt. Thos. Graves, and Lightning steamer, Master-Commanders John Tucker and Geo. Henry Karr Bower, respectively employed on the Mediterranean and Home stations, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 28 Jan. 1842. His next appointments were – 9 March and 27 June, 1842, to the Calcutta 84, and Magicienne 24, Capts. Sir Sam. Roberts and Rich. Laird Warren, in the Mediterranean – and, 2 Feb. 1844, to the Cornwallis 72, flag-ship of Sir Wm. Parker. Mr. Connolly is at present on the East India station, where he is now employed in the
- ↑ Through some error, this officer’s name, in the Navy List, is spelt “Conolly.”
