Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant 'On the 1st of August when the Vanguard anchor'd alongsid...
Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant
'On the 1st of August when the Vanguard anchor'd alongside the Spartiate, she became exposed to the raking fire of the Aquilon, the next ship in the Enemy's line, by which the Vanguard had between fifty and sixty men disabled in the space of ten minutes...Captn. Louis took his station ahead of the Vanguard; the Minotaur not only effectually relieved her from this distressing situation but overpowered her opponent. Lord Nelson felt so grateful to Captn. Louis for his conduct, on this important occasion, that about Nine o'Clock, while yet the combat was raging with the utmost fury, and he himself was suffering severely in the Cockpit from the dreadful wound in his head; he sent for his Lieut., Mr Capel, & ordered him to go on board the Minotaur, in the jolly boat, & desired Captn. Louis would come to him; for that he could not have a moment's peace, until he had thanked him for his conduct...the subsequent meeting which took place between the Admiral and Captain Louis was affecting in the extreme, the latter being over his bleeding friend in silent sermon; "Farewell my dear Louis" said the Admiral: "I shall never forget the obligation I am under to you for your Brave & generous conduct, & now whatever may become of me my mind is at peace." '
The exceptional Naval General Service Medal, Sultan's Medal for Egypt, and Davison's Nile Medal group of three awarded to Admiral Sir J. Hill, Royal Navy, who was First Lieutenant aboard H.M.S. Minotaur at the Battle of the Nile and left a rare first-hand account of the above-mentioned meeting between Admiral Nelson and Captain Thomas Louis; he later had the responsibility of commanding all the vessels detailed for transporting the British army to Belgium prior to the Battle of Waterloo, earning the Duke of Wellington's distinct praise for the efficient manner in which the movement was effected
Naval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, Nile, Egypt (John Hill, Lieut.); Sultan's Medal for Egypt 1801, 48mm, gold, on its original gold chain and hook, unnamed as issued; Alexander Davison's Medal for the Nile 1798, 48mm, silver, first and third traces of old lacquer, a few minor scratches around edges, otherwise good very fine and better (3)
Of six Naval General Service medals to officers with this number and combination of clasps, this example to the most senior officer to submit a claim.
Approximately 45 2nd Class Sultan's Gold medals awarded to officers of the Royal Navy.
John Hill was born at Portsea, Hampshire, in 1774 and entered the Royal Navy (as 'Captain's Steward' aboard the bomb vessel H.M.S. Infernal) on 25 September 1781 at the tender - but not unusual - age of 7. This ship was commanded by his uncle, Commander James Alms, and undoubtedly the patronage and family interest of this future Vice-Admiral did young Hill's career a great deal of good: serving aboard Infernal until March 1783, in April 1788 he joined H.M.S. Nautilus on the Newfoundland station, before removing to various ships of the line including the 74-gun vessels H.M.S. Goliath and H.M.S. Bedford and thence on to the 24-gun frigate H.M.S. Proserpine - this latter ship commanded by that same uncle, James Alms.
Rising progressively through the positions of Midshipman and Master's Mate, Hill passed his examination for Lieutenant and was promoted to that rank on 28 July 1794, with it coming his appointments back to line-of-battle ships - specifically the Invincible, Juste, and Repulse - the latter again commanded by his uncle James. Interestingly, he appears to have been one of the officers aboard the 80-gun Juste when the Spithead mutiny broke out; fortunately bloodless (with the officers merely being turned out of their ships by the muniteers for the duration), Hill suffered no ill effects from this unusual episode in the history of the Royal Navy, and was next appointed to the 98-gun H.M.S. Princess Royal (flagship of Sir John Orde) in the Mediterranean, before transferring - as First Lieutenant - to the 74-gun H.M.S. Minotaur under the command of Captain Thomas Louis. It is worthy of note that Hill had achieved all this by the age of 24.
"Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey"
Fought over 1 - 3 August 1798, the Battle of the Nile was the climax of a three-month campaign across the length and breadth of the Mediterranean; a trying time for Nelson's British fleet which had inadvertantly, on several occasions, completely missed the French fleet and Egyptian invasion force. Tempers were likely frayed and officers anxious (undoubtedly Hill, as second-in-command of the Minotaur, would have felt this only too keenly) until their enemy were discovered at 2pm on 1 August moored in Aboukir Bay. Advancing during the course of the afternoon, the British ships entered the bay just after 6pm and engaged Vice-amiral Brueys's fleet directly: the two forces were almost evenly matched in numbers of ships, though Bruyes's gigantic flagship - the 120-gun Orient - tipped the weight of firepower firmly in French favour.
Minotaur was sixth in the British line of battle, immediately astern of Nelson's own H.M.S. Vanguard; those four ships immediately ahead sailed around the front of the French line, consequently engaging their enemy from an unprepared (and unexpected) direction. Bruyes's fleet was enveloped in deadly fire from all sides - but nevertheless the French fought extremely well with Vanguard herself suffering heavily from accurate cannon and musket fire from Spartiate; Captain Louis and the men of the Minotaur came to their chief's aid and Hill himself later recalled his experiences in a fascinating eye-witness account, related at the beginning of this entry. One can only imagine the scene on deck at this time, especially as darkness enveloped the participants and the flash of gunpowder lit up the night sky - even more so when the Orient exploded at 10pm. Minotaur, meanwhile, had further engaged the 74-gun Aquilon and battered her into submission - some indication of the fierceness of the duel can be seen from the casualty figures: whilst Minotaur lost 87 men killed and wounded but was overall only lightly damaged, Aquilon was completely dismasted, her captain was killed, and no less than 300 of her crew were killed or incapacitated. It is worthy of note that, in his Memorandum of Services dated 30 June 1846, Hill states that he too was 'slightly wounded, but did not return myself as such never having left my quarters', though no further detail on the nature of this wound is immediately apparent.
Promotion and further duties
As befitted the conventions of the time, all surviving senior Lieutenants were promoted Commander in the wake of this great fleet victory; Hill was additionally tasked with taking command of the captured Aquilon and sailing her (along with the remainder of the prizes and portion of the British fleet) to Malta for initial repairs and a measure of the good working relationship between Captain Louis and his second-in-command can be understood from extracts of an extant letter between the two men:
'Dear Hill,
I find it is not in the power of me to see you: God bless you & take care of Aquilon...do mind in the night & station your officers with your own Quarter Masters...you will not forget you are stronger now than you were. Let me have your news often.
Farewell in haste,
your sincere friend Thos Louis
Despite this step up in rank, Hill was destined to spend the next two years (October 1798 - February 1800) on half-pay; this came to an end on 12 February 1800 when he was given command of the troopship Heroine; not some dashing small sloop in which to make his name, but nevertheless he was lucky to have a command at last as, in 1801 - three years after the Nile - almost all the First lieutenants promoted after that battle were still unemployed on half-pay. Those officers in command of transport vessels consequently earned unenviable reputations as too lacking in patronage or ability to progress any further in their careers:
'A Transport Agent or even a Transport Commander was a desperately obscure person, outside all hope of promotion, almost outside the service. 'Some broken-winded old lieutenant, I dare say,' said Pullings, and then with a wry grin he added, 'Not but what I may be precious glad to hoist a plain blue pennant and command a transport myself, one of these days.' (The Ionian Mission, Patrick O'Brian, p164).
Hill was destined to remain involved in transport duties for the rest of his career - but despite the disparaging remarks made by Patrick O'Brian's fictional Lieutenant Thomas Pullings, he was still to see plenty of active and important service. As commander of Heroine, Hill was to spend two years in the Mediterranean conveying troops, and in this capacity he participated in the Egyptian Expedition and the landing of soldiers prior to the Battle of Abukir on 8 March 1801. This service earned him the Sultan's Gold Medal Second Class, and indeed the Log Book of the Heroine notes he also physically served ashore between 24 - 30 April.
Hill departed his first true command on 6 March 1802, thence reverting back to half-pay until 31 March 1804 when he was appointed to command the transport ship Humber; his days in warmer waters were now at an end, and until October 1808 he was exclusively stationed in and around the English Channel, before being placed on half-pay again that month.
A change in fortunes and distinguished service
It appears that some complaint against Hill had been made during his time commanding Humber as from 1808 until March 1813 he received no appointments whatsoever until a letter from one Captain James Bowen, commissioner at the Transport Board, explained the situation and altered things for the better:
'In consequence of my recommending you to be an agent for Transports afloat this Board wrote to the Admiralty yesterday for leave to employ you but upon my going to the...
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Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant
'On the 1st of August when the Vanguard anchor'd alongside the Spartiate, she became exposed to the raking fire of the Aquilon, the next ship in the Enemy's line, by which the Vanguard had between fifty and sixty men disabled in the space of ten minutes...Captn. Louis took his station ahead of the Vanguard; the Minotaur not only effectually relieved her from this distressing situation but overpowered her opponent. Lord Nelson felt so grateful to Captn. Louis for his conduct, on this important occasion, that about Nine o'Clock, while yet the combat was raging with the utmost fury, and he himself was suffering severely in the Cockpit from the dreadful wound in his head; he sent for his Lieut., Mr Capel, & ordered him to go on board the Minotaur, in the jolly boat, & desired Captn. Louis would come to him; for that he could not have a moment's peace, until he had thanked him for his conduct...the subsequent meeting which took place between the Admiral and Captain Louis was affecting in the extreme, the latter being over his bleeding friend in silent sermon; "Farewell my dear Louis" said the Admiral: "I shall never forget the obligation I am under to you for your Brave & generous conduct, & now whatever may become of me my mind is at peace." '
The exceptional Naval General Service Medal, Sultan's Medal for Egypt, and Davison's Nile Medal group of three awarded to Admiral Sir J. Hill, Royal Navy, who was First Lieutenant aboard H.M.S. Minotaur at the Battle of the Nile and left a rare first-hand account of the above-mentioned meeting between Admiral Nelson and Captain Thomas Louis; he later had the responsibility of commanding all the vessels detailed for transporting the British army to Belgium prior to the Battle of Waterloo, earning the Duke of Wellington's distinct praise for the efficient manner in which the movement was effected
Naval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, Nile, Egypt (John Hill, Lieut.); Sultan's Medal for Egypt 1801, 48mm, gold, on its original gold chain and hook, unnamed as issued; Alexander Davison's Medal for the Nile 1798, 48mm, silver, first and third traces of old lacquer, a few minor scratches around edges, otherwise good very fine and better (3)
Of six Naval General Service medals to officers with this number and combination of clasps, this example to the most senior officer to submit a claim.
Approximately 45 2nd Class Sultan's Gold medals awarded to officers of the Royal Navy.
John Hill was born at Portsea, Hampshire, in 1774 and entered the Royal Navy (as 'Captain's Steward' aboard the bomb vessel H.M.S. Infernal) on 25 September 1781 at the tender - but not unusual - age of 7. This ship was commanded by his uncle, Commander James Alms, and undoubtedly the patronage and family interest of this future Vice-Admiral did young Hill's career a great deal of good: serving aboard Infernal until March 1783, in April 1788 he joined H.M.S. Nautilus on the Newfoundland station, before removing to various ships of the line including the 74-gun vessels H.M.S. Goliath and H.M.S. Bedford and thence on to the 24-gun frigate H.M.S. Proserpine - this latter ship commanded by that same uncle, James Alms.
Rising progressively through the positions of Midshipman and Master's Mate, Hill passed his examination for Lieutenant and was promoted to that rank on 28 July 1794, with it coming his appointments back to line-of-battle ships - specifically the Invincible, Juste, and Repulse - the latter again commanded by his uncle James. Interestingly, he appears to have been one of the officers aboard the 80-gun Juste when the Spithead mutiny broke out; fortunately bloodless (with the officers merely being turned out of their ships by the muniteers for the duration), Hill suffered no ill effects from this unusual episode in the history of the Royal Navy, and was next appointed to the 98-gun H.M.S. Princess Royal (flagship of Sir John Orde) in the Mediterranean, before transferring - as First Lieutenant - to the 74-gun H.M.S. Minotaur under the command of Captain Thomas Louis. It is worthy of note that Hill had achieved all this by the age of 24.
"Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey"
Fought over 1 - 3 August 1798, the Battle of the Nile was the climax of a three-month campaign across the length and breadth of the Mediterranean; a trying time for Nelson's British fleet which had inadvertantly, on several occasions, completely missed the French fleet and Egyptian invasion force. Tempers were likely frayed and officers anxious (undoubtedly Hill, as second-in-command of the Minotaur, would have felt this only too keenly) until their enemy were discovered at 2pm on 1 August moored in Aboukir Bay. Advancing during the course of the afternoon, the British ships entered the bay just after 6pm and engaged Vice-amiral Brueys's fleet directly: the two forces were almost evenly matched in numbers of ships, though Bruyes's gigantic flagship - the 120-gun Orient - tipped the weight of firepower firmly in French favour.
Minotaur was sixth in the British line of battle, immediately astern of Nelson's own H.M.S. Vanguard; those four ships immediately ahead sailed around the front of the French line, consequently engaging their enemy from an unprepared (and unexpected) direction. Bruyes's fleet was enveloped in deadly fire from all sides - but nevertheless the French fought extremely well with Vanguard herself suffering heavily from accurate cannon and musket fire from Spartiate; Captain Louis and the men of the Minotaur came to their chief's aid and Hill himself later recalled his experiences in a fascinating eye-witness account, related at the beginning of this entry. One can only imagine the scene on deck at this time, especially as darkness enveloped the participants and the flash of gunpowder lit up the night sky - even more so when the Orient exploded at 10pm. Minotaur, meanwhile, had further engaged the 74-gun Aquilon and battered her into submission - some indication of the fierceness of the duel can be seen from the casualty figures: whilst Minotaur lost 87 men killed and wounded but was overall only lightly damaged, Aquilon was completely dismasted, her captain was killed, and no less than 300 of her crew were killed or incapacitated. It is worthy of note that, in his Memorandum of Services dated 30 June 1846, Hill states that he too was 'slightly wounded, but did not return myself as such never having left my quarters', though no further detail on the nature of this wound is immediately apparent.
Promotion and further duties
As befitted the conventions of the time, all surviving senior Lieutenants were promoted Commander in the wake of this great fleet victory; Hill was additionally tasked with taking command of the captured Aquilon and sailing her (along with the remainder of the prizes and portion of the British fleet) to Malta for initial repairs and a measure of the good working relationship between Captain Louis and his second-in-command can be understood from extracts of an extant letter between the two men:
'Dear Hill,
I find it is not in the power of me to see you: God bless you & take care of Aquilon...do mind in the night & station your officers with your own Quarter Masters...you will not forget you are stronger now than you were. Let me have your news often.
Farewell in haste,
your sincere friend Thos Louis
Despite this step up in rank, Hill was destined to spend the next two years (October 1798 - February 1800) on half-pay; this came to an end on 12 February 1800 when he was given command of the troopship Heroine; not some dashing small sloop in which to make his name, but nevertheless he was lucky to have a command at last as, in 1801 - three years after the Nile - almost all the First lieutenants promoted after that battle were still unemployed on half-pay. Those officers in command of transport vessels consequently earned unenviable reputations as too lacking in patronage or ability to progress any further in their careers:
'A Transport Agent or even a Transport Commander was a desperately obscure person, outside all hope of promotion, almost outside the service. 'Some broken-winded old lieutenant, I dare say,' said Pullings, and then with a wry grin he added, 'Not but what I may be precious glad to hoist a plain blue pennant and command a transport myself, one of these days.' (The Ionian Mission, Patrick O'Brian, p164).
Hill was destined to remain involved in transport duties for the rest of his career - but despite the disparaging remarks made by Patrick O'Brian's fictional Lieutenant Thomas Pullings, he was still to see plenty of active and important service. As commander of Heroine, Hill was to spend two years in the Mediterranean conveying troops, and in this capacity he participated in the Egyptian Expedition and the landing of soldiers prior to the Battle of Abukir on 8 March 1801. This service earned him the Sultan's Gold Medal Second Class, and indeed the Log Book of the Heroine notes he also physically served ashore between 24 - 30 April.
Hill departed his first true command on 6 March 1802, thence reverting back to half-pay until 31 March 1804 when he was appointed to command the transport ship Humber; his days in warmer waters were now at an end, and until October 1808 he was exclusively stationed in and around the English Channel, before being placed on half-pay again that month.
A change in fortunes and distinguished service
It appears that some complaint against Hill had been made during his time commanding Humber as from 1808 until March 1813 he received no appointments whatsoever until a letter from one Captain James Bowen, commissioner at the Transport Board, explained the situation and altered things for the better:
'In consequence of my recommending you to be an agent for Transports afloat this Board wrote to the Admiralty yesterday for leave to employ you but upon my going to the...
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