half-pay in 1831. During his career afloat he was five times sent into port in charge of captured vessels, many of them slavers.
RICHARDSON, K.I.C. (Captain, 1838. f-p., 24;[1] h-p., 27.)
William Richardson is nephew of the late Rear-Admiral Rich. Raggett; and only brother of Capt. John Geo. Richardson, R.M. (1831).
This officer, who had served as Midshipman on board the Alfred 74, Capt. John Bazeley, in Lord Howe’s action, 1 June, 1794, joined, 6 Nov. 1796, the Prince George 98, Capt. John Irwin, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Wm. Parker, under whom he fought in the action off Cape St. Vincent, 14 Feb. 1797. He left the St. George in the ensuing Sept.; and during the next six years was employed off Cadiz, and in the Channel, West Indies, and Mediterranean, principally with the rating of Midshipman, in the Boston 32, Capt. John Irwin, Formidable 98, Queen Charlotte 100, and Barfleur and Téméraire 98’s, flag-ships of Admirals Sir Chas. Thompson and Jas. Hawkins Whitshed, Calcutta 50, Capt. Dan. Woodriff, and Dreadnought 98 and Victory 100, bearing the flags of Hon. Wm. Cornwallis and Lord Nelson. By the latter nobleman he was nominated, 5 Oct. 1803, Acting-Lieutenant of the Termagant sloop, Capt. Robt. Pettet. He was confirmed to that vessel 30 April, 1804. He joined next, 15 May, 1807, the Goshawk sloop, Capt. Alex. Innes, part of the force employed in the expedition to Copenhagen; and was subsequently appointed, in the capacity of First-Lieutenant – 27 May, 1808, 1 Aug. and 18 Dec. 1811, and 2 Oct. 1812, to the Bombay, Rodney, and America 74’s, and Menelaus 38, Capts. Wm. Cuming, Edw. Durnford King, Sir Josias Rowley, and Sir Peter Parker, all in the Mediterranean, where he came into frequent contact with the enemy’s squadron and batteries in the neighbourhood of Toulon – 12 June, 1813 (having left the Menelaus in the preceding Dec), to the Medusa 32, Capt. Geo. Bell, attached to the force in the Channel – 5 Feb. 1814, to the York 74, Capt. Alex. Wilmot Schomberg, with whom he made a voyage to Quebec – and (after five months of half-pay, caused by ill health) 17 June and 18 Aug. 1815, to the Caledonia 120, flagship of Sir Graham Moore, and Rochfort 80, Capt. Sir Arch. Collingwood Dickson, both on the Home station. On 19 May, 1812, he commanded with credit the boats of the America, Leviathan 74, and Éclair sloop, at the capture of 16 and the destruction of two deeply-laden vessels, which had taken shelter under the town and batteries of Languelia, on the coast of Italy, and had been secured by various contrivances to the houses and beach – an exploit that occasioned the British a loss of 16 men killed and 20 wounded.[2] Three months after the paying off of the Rochfort Mr. Richardson, who had for nine years filled the post of First-Lieutenant in different ships, was advanced, 7 Dec. 1818, to the rank of Commander. He was afterwards employed, from 12 May, 1827, until May, 1828, as Second-Captain, in the Windsor Castle 74, Capt. E. D. King, under whom he brought troops home from Lisbon – and from 14 April, 1835, until the close of 1838, in command of the Clio 16. For services performed in the latter vessel (in which he also visited the shores of Africa) on the coasts of Catalonia and Valencia, during the civil war in Spain, he was promoted, 28 June, 1838, to Post-rank, and created by Maria Christina, the Queen-Regent, a Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, the insignia whereof he was permitted by his own sovereign to accept and wear. Since the Clio was put out of commission he has not been afloat.
Capt. Richardson is Honorary Secretary to the Naval Benevolent Society, and has on several occasions received a vote of thanks from the Board of Directors. He married, in 1816, a niece of Vice- Admiral Geo. M‘Kinley, and has issue a daughter and two sons – the one, Rich. M‘Kinley Richardson, a Lieutenant R.N. – the other, C. Richardson, a Clerk in the Admiralty at Somerset House. Agent – J. Hinxman.
RICHES. (Lieutenant, 1814.)
Watson Thomas Riches was present, as Midshipman of the Windsor Castle 98, Capt. Chas. Boyles, in Sir Robt. Calder’s action, 22 July, 1805, at the capture of four heavy French frigates off Rochefort, 25 Sept. 1806, and at the passage of the Dardanells in Feb. 1807. In 1810 he assisted, in the Clorinde 38, Capt. Thos. Briggs, at the capture of the Isle of France; in the following year he co-operated, in the Illustrious 74, Commodore Wm. Robt. Broughton, in the conquest of the island of Java; and in 1813-14 he commanded, with the rating of Master’s Mate, a gun-boat on the river Elbe and at the reduction of Cuxhaven and Gluckstadt. He was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant 22 Jan. 1814; and has been in charge, since 19 Jan. 1839, of a station in the Coast Guard.
RICHIE. (Lieut., 1815. f-p., 13; h-p., 35.)
William Richie entered the Navy, 6 July, 1799, as L.M., on board the Ruby 64, Capts. Alan Hyde Gardner and Solomon Ferris, in which ship and in the Zealous 74, Capt. Sam. Hood Linzee, he was employed, until July, 1802, on the Channel, African, North Sea, Baltic, Cadiz, and West India stations. In May, 1807, after having served for about 15 months at Plymouth and at the Brazils and Cape of Good Hope in the Belleisle 74, Capt. Wm. Hargood, and, as Midshipman, in the Sampson 64, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Chas. Stirling, he joined the Excellent 74, Capts. John West and Edw. Griffith. While on the books of that ship he saw much gun-boat service in the Straits of Gibraltar, was employed on shore at the defence of the fortress of Rosas, on the coast of Spain, in Nov. 1808, and in the following year contributed to the destruction of several of the enemy’s gun-vessels in the Adriatic. Removing, in April, 1810, to the Franchise 36, commanded for some time by Capt. Rich. Buck, he made a voyage to Greenland, and on his return was sent to co-operate with the patriots on the coast of Catalonia. From Dec. 1811 until Aug. 1814 he served in the Channel and Mediterranean, as Master’s Mate, on board the Royal Sovereign 100, Capts. Wm. Bedford, Jas. Bissett, Thos. Gordon Caulfeild, Chas. Thurlow Smith, and Robt. Lambert. He then joined the Vengeur 74, Capt. Tristram Robt. Ricketts, under whom he accompanied the expedition against New Orleans and assisted at the reduction of Fort Bowyer. On leaving the Vengeur in Aug. 1815 he took up a commission bearing date 11 Feb. in that year. He has since been on half-pay. Agents – Burnett and Holmes.
RICHMOND. (Lieut., 1819. f-p., 10; h-p., 28.)
Henry Richmond died in 1848.
This officer entered the Navy, in Dec. 1809, as Fst.-el. Vol., on board the Amethyst frigate, commanded in the Channel by Capt. Jacob Walton; served next, from Feb. 1811 until Aug. 1815, the greater part of the time as Midshipman, in the Surveillante 38, Porcupine 22, and Leander 50, all under the orders of Capt. Sir Geo. Ralph Collier; then joined, in the capacity of Master’s Mate, the Princess floating-battery at Liverpool, Capt. Wm. Simpson; and from June, 1816, until Jan. 1820, was employed at St. Helena as Admiralty-Midshipman in the Eurydice 24 and Conqueror 74, Capts. Robt. Wauchope and Fras. Stanfell, and as Acting- Lieutenant and Lieutenant (commission dated 5 Oct. 1819) in the Nautilus 18, Capt. Isham Fleming Chapman. While attached to the Surveillante he assisted at the reduction, in 1811-12-13, of several of the enemy’s towns and forts on the north coast of Spain, including those of Lequeytio, Bermeo Galea, Algorta, Bagona, El Campillo las Quersas,
