Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession. He interspersed periods spent commanding ships with time at home at the family estate in Llandaff. He distinguished himself with service with Sir George Byng at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718, and went on to command squadrons in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, before largely retiring from naval service. He returned to active service in 1741, following Britain's entry to the War of the Austrian Succession, and took command of the fleet in the Mediterranean. The usual difficulties of performing delicate diplomatic duties were further exacerbated by the fact that he was on bad terms with his second in command, Richard Lestock, on whom he relied to manage the fleet. The pivotal moment of his naval career came in 1744, when he attempted to intercept a Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Toulon. The action was fought in confused circumstances, with poor communications and the breakdown of the chain of command. Despite possessing the superior force, Mathews was unable to secure a decisive result, and the enemy were able to escape with the loss of one ship, while Mathews's fleet lost one and had several others badly damaged.
The failure to secure a victory incensed the British public, and a series of courts-martial and a public inquiry led to several officers being cashiered. Mathews' second in command, Lestock, was tried but acquitted, blaming the outcome on Mathews' poor planning and ill-tempered and unwise attack. Mathews was tried and convicted of the charges, and dismissed from the navy. He returned to his estates at Llandaff, before moving to London and dying there in 1751.
He commanded HMSKingsale in the English Channel from 1704, and in October 1708 took command of HMSGloucester.[1] His next ship was the newly built HMSChester, which was attached to the Channel fleet under Lord Berkeley.[1] The fleet encountered a small French squadron under René Duguay-Trouin in early 1709. The British gave chase, re-capturing one of Duguay-Trouin's prizes, HMSBristol, and capturing another of his ships, Gloire.[2]
Mathews and Chester were then assigned to the fleet sent to reduce and capture Nova Scotia under Commodore George Martin in 1710, and took over command of the force after Martin's return to England.[2] He joined the fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker at Boston in summer 1711, after which he escorted a convoy to New York City. Chester was badly damaged by heavy storms during this mission, and returned to Britain for repairs.[2] Mathews then moved ashore[why?], and spent the next few years at the family seat of Llandaff Court.[2]
Mathews returned to active service in January 1718, following the outbreak of war with Spain, with a temporary appointment to command HMS Prince Frederick, while a new ship, HMSKent, was being fitted out.[2] He took command of Kent on 31 March 1718, and joined Sir George Byng's fleet in the Mediterranean.[2] He participated in the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718, and was then detached in command of a squadron assigned to blockade Messina and hopefully intercept Vice-Admiral George Camocke, a British national serving with the Spanish navy.[2] However, Camocke managed to evade the British and escape in a small boat in January, and the British squadrons were occupied with blockading Sicily until autumn 1720, when Mathews returned to Britain with Byng.[2]
From 1722 to 1724 he was in command of a small squadron sent to the East Indies to expel the Indian MarathaKoli[3]AdmiralKanhoji Angre of the Malabar Coast. The presence of his ships caused Angre's activity to be much reduced, but their strongholds remained impregnable.[2] Mathews' squadron supported Portuguese troops from Goa in an attack on the Maratha fortress at Vijaydurg & Kolaba, but this was repulsed.[2] Mathews returned to Britain in 1724 and thereafter largely retired from the navy, and received no further promotions.[2] It was not until 1736 that he rejoined the service in any capacity, becoming Commissioner of Chatham dockyard, though the appointment was considered a civil one.[2]
War of the Austrian Succession
The outbreak of war with Spain and the imminent threat of war with France during the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession led to Mathews' return to active service, with a promotion directly to vice-admiral of the red on 13 March 1741.[2] He was given a command in the Mediterranean, and made plenipotentiary to Charles Emmanuel III, king of Sardinia, and the other courts of Italy. The appointment was somewhat unexpected, Mathews was not especially distinguished, and had not served in the navy for a number of years.[2] His second in command in the Mediterranean was Rear-Admiral Richard Lestock, a man Mathews knew from his time as commissioner at Chatham, when Lestock had commanded the guard ships stationed in the Medway. The two had not been on good terms, and on receiving the Mediterranean posting, Mathews requested that Lestock be recalled, a request the Admiralty declined to act upon.[2]
The two men continued their disagreements during their time in the Mediterranean, though Mathews' continued distractions with diplomatic duties meant that they did not break out into an open argument.[2] In 1742, Mathews sent a small squadron to Naples to compel King Charles, later the King of Spain, to remain neutral. It was commanded by Commodore William Martin, who refused to enter into negotiations, and gave the king half an hour in which to return an answer.[4] The Neapolitans were forced to agree to the British demands.[5]
In June 1742, a squadron of Spanish galleys, which had taken refuge in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, was burnt by the fire ships of Mathews' fleet. In the meantime a Spanish squadron had taken refuge in Toulon, and was watched by the British fleet from Hyères. On 21 February 1744 (N.S., 10 February O.S.) the Spaniards put to sea in company with a French force. Mathews, who had now returned to his flagship, followed, and an engagement took place on 22 and 23 February.[2]
Battle of Toulon
The Battle of Toulon, by Diego de Mesa
The fleets had become scattered in the light winds as they approached, and as they began to form up for the Battle of Toulon on 22 February, Mathews signalled for the formation of the line of battle.[6] The line had still not been formed as night fell, leading Mathews to hoist the signal to come to, intending for his ships to first finish forming the line. The van and centre squadrons did so, but Lestock commanding the rear obeyed the order to come to, without having formed the line. By daybreak on 21 February, the rear of the British fleet was separated by a considerable distance from the van and centre.[6]
Mathews signalled for Lestock to make more sail, reluctant to start the attack with his ships still disorganised, but the slowness of Lestock to respond caused the Franco-Spanish force to start to slip away to the south. Mathews feared that they would escape him, and pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to join the French force gathered at Brest for the planned invasion of Britain.[6]
Knowing that his duty was to attack, Mathews hoisted the signal to engage the enemy aboard his flagshipHMSNamur, and at one o'clock left the line to attack the Spanish rear, followed by Captain James Cornewall aboard HMS Marlborough.[6] In doing so, the signal to form the line of battle was left flying. The two signals flying simultaneously created confusion, though a number of British commanders, including Captain Edward Hawke, followed Mathews' example.[6] Heavily outnumbered and unsupported, with his other commanders either too uncertain, or in the case of Lestock, possibly pleased to see Mathews in difficulty and unwilling to help him, Namur and Marlborough managed to defeat their opposite numbers in the enemy line, but suffered considerable damage. The French ships came about at 5 o'clock to aid the Spanish, a manoeuvre interpreted by some of the British commanders to be an attempt to double the British line and surround them.[6] With no orders from Mathews and a lack of clear instructions or command structure, the British line broke, and began to flee to the northwest.[6] The Spanish, still on the defensive, neglected to capture the defenceless Marlborough, though they did retake the Poder, which had previously surrendered to the British.[6] The Franco-Spanish fleet then resumed their flight to the southwest, and it was not until 23 February that the British were able to regroup and resume the pursuit. They caught up with the enemy fleet again, which was hampered by towing damaged ships, and were able to retake the Poder, which Mathews ordered to be burnt.[6] By now the British had closed to within a few miles of the enemy fleet but Mathews again signalled for the fleet to come to. The following day, 24 February, the Franco-Spanish fleet was almost out of sight, and Mathews returned to Hyères, and sailed from there to Port Mahon, where he arrived in early March.[6]
Inquiry and dismissal
The failure of the British fleet to bring a decisive action against an inferior foe had significant consequences. The opposing fleet was able to deliver troops and supplies to the Spanish army in Italy, swinging the war in their favour.[6] This was widely remarked on back in Britain. The House of Commons petitioned King George II for a public inquiry. A dozen captains were tried by court-martial and cashiered.[6] Lestock was also tried, but was able to place the blame on Mathews, and, with the help of powerful supporters in government, was acquitted and offered further employment.[6] Mathews was tried by court-martial in 1746, on charges of having brought the fleet into action in a disorganised manner, of having fled the enemy, and of having failed to bring the enemy to action when the conditions were advantageous.[6] In his defence, it was shown that he had fought bravely. However, in June 1747, the court judged the charges were proven and Mathews was dismissed from the service.[6]
Mathews had devoted himself to work at his estate at Llandaff, and did not appear to be affected by the result of the trial.[7] He regarded the outcome as down to factional party politics, rather than as a reflection on his conduct.[7] Mathews moved to Bloomsbury Square in 1749 and died there on 2 October 1751. He was buried at St George's, Bloomsbury.[7]
Personality
Mathews' personality was the subject of particular study during the controversy over Toulon, with his detractors claiming that he was hot-headed, intemperate, and incapable of managing the complex task of commanding a fleet in battle, which had led to the defeat. Horace Walpole, in his correspondence with Sir Horace Mann, noted that "Mathews believes that Providence lives upon beef and pudding, loves prize-fighting and bull-baiting, and drinks fog to the health of Old England."[7] In a speech in the Commons Walpole declared "Mathews remains in the light of a hot, brave, imperious, dull, confused fellow."[7] Mann, who was strongly opposed to how Naples' neutrality had been violated during Mathews' tenure as commander in the Mediterranean, declared "'Tis wonderful how void Admiral Mathews is of common sense, good manners, or knowledge of the world. He understands nothing but Yes or No, and knows no medium."[7] Walpole and his correspondents often referred to Mathews as "Il Furibondo".[7] Despite their criticism, those who knew Mathews personally, while admitting that he could be hot-tempered, described him as "warm-hearted, kindly and affectionate; a clear-sighted magistrate, a capable farmer, and a keen sportsman".[7]
Family and issue
Mathews married Henrietta Burgess, of Antigua, in 1705. The couple had a son, Thomas, who became a major in the army.[7] Henrietta died about 1740, and Mathews remarried about 1745, to Millicent Powell.[7]
Notes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol.37. p.43.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol.37. p.46.
Related Research Articles
The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 and 22 February 1744 NS near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet sailed out with a Spanish force, which had been trapped in Toulon for two years, to break the blockade imposed by the British Mediterranean Fleet.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, he conveyed Prince William of Orange to England and took part in the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts. She is remembered as being Nelson's favourite ship, and was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, being the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
HMS Somerset was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1719 Establishment at Woolwich and launched on 21 October 1731. She was the second ship to bear the name.
Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet was a Royal Navy officer who was the fourth son of Admiral Sir William Rowley. Sir Joshua was from an ancient English family, originating in Staffordshire (England) and was born on 1 May 1734. Rowley served with distinction in a number of battles throughout his career and was highly praised by his contemporaries. Unfortunately whilst his career was often active he did not have the opportunity to command any significant engagements and always followed rather than led. His achievements have therefore been eclipsed by his contemporaries such as Keppel, Hawke, Howe and Rodney. Rowley however remains one of the stalwart commanders of the wooden walls that kept Britain safe for so long.
Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway, 1st Baronet, GCB was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served extensively as a sea captain during the Napoleonic War and later supported the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence. During his long service, Otway saw action across Europe and in North America and was rewarded in his retirement with a knighthood, baronetcy and position as a courtier within the Royal Household.
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet from apoplexy in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies and later at the Glorious First of June. Cotton's most influential service was in 1809 when he planned and executed the evacuation of thousands of British soldiers from Corunna after the disastrous collapse of the land campaign under Sir John Moore.
Admiral of the Fleet John Forbes, styled The Honourable from 1734, was a Royal Navy officer. After taking part in an expedition to Lisbon to support the Portuguese in the face of a Spanish threat, he saw action as captain of the third-rate HMS Norfolk at the Battle of Toulon during the War of the Austrian Succession. He was one of the few captains who really bore down on the enemy.
Admiral Richard Lestock was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the defeat at the Battle of Toulon, and the subsequent court-martial.
Admiral Sir John Moore, 1st Baronet, KB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. He eventually rose to the rank of admiral.
HMS Princess was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She had served for ten years as the Princesa for the Spanish Navy, until her capture off Cape Finisterre in 1740 during the War of the Austrian Succession.
William Martin was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession. He rose from obscure origins to see service during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was promoted to command several ships, seeing service in home waters and in the Mediterranean during the years of peace, and shortly after the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession, was rewarded for his good service with a posting as commodore, and command of a squadron. He served under several of the Mediterranean Fleet's commanders, Nicholas Haddock, Richard Lestock, and most significantly Thomas Mathews. Mathews was engaged in promoting British interests in the Mediterranean during the war, and policing the neutrality of the Mediterranean kingdoms, trying to prevent them joining the war in support of Britain's enemies. Several times Martin was sent with squadrons to rival nation's ports, to threaten them with naval retaliation if they did not comply with British demands, and was uniformly successful in convincing local rulers not to resist.
The Algeciras campaign was an attempt by a French naval squadron from Toulon under Contre-Admiral Charles Linois to join a French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz during June and July 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars prior to a planned operation against either Egypt or Portugal. To reach Cadiz, the French squadron had to pass the British naval base at Gibraltar, which housed the squadron tasked with blockading Cadiz. The British squadron was commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez. After a successful voyage between Toulon and Gibraltar, in which a number of British vessels were captured, the squadron anchored at Algeciras, a fortified port city within sight of Gibraltar across Gibraltar Bay. On 6 July 1801, Saumarez attacked the anchored squadron, in the First Battle of Algeciras. Although severe damage was inflicted on all three French ships of the line, none could be successfully captured and the British were forced to withdraw without HMS Hannibal, which had grounded and was subsequently seized by the French.
The action of 14 June 1742 was a minor naval battle of the War of the Austrian Succession in which a small British squadron under Captain Richard Norris burned 5 Spanish royal galleys at the French port of Saint Tropez. Norris had surprised the galleys near Sainte-Marguerite and had chased and driven them into the French port. The British captain, in spite of alleged French neutrality, followed the Spanish vessels into the port and destroyed them at slight cost.
The Croisière de Bruix was the principal naval campaign of the year 1799 during the French Revolutionary Wars. The expedition began in April 1799 when the bulk of the French Atlantic Fleet under Vice-Admiral Étienne Eustache Bruix departed the base at Brest, evading the British Channel Fleet which was blockading the port and tricking the commander Admiral Lord Bridport into believing their true destination was Ireland. Passing southwards, the French fleet narrowly missed joining with an allied Spanish Navy squadron at Ferrol and was prevented by an easterly gale from uniting with the main Spanish fleet at Cádiz before entering the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean was under British control following the destruction of the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798, and a British fleet nominally under Admiral Earl St Vincent was stationed there. Due however to St. Vincent's ill-health, operational control rested with Vice-Admiral Lord Keith. As Keith sought to chase down the French, the Spanish fleet followed Bruix into the Mediterranean before being badly damaged in a gale and sheltering in Cartagena.
HMS Anne Galley was an 8-gun fire ship of the Royal Navy, launched in 1739 and in active service during the War of the Austrian Succession against Spain and France. Employed against the Spanish Fleet in 1744 off Toulon, she was destroyed while engaging the Spanish flagship Real Felipe.
The Mediterranean campaign of 1793–1796 was a major theater of conflict in the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars. Fought during the War of the First Coalition, the campaign was primarily contested in the Western Mediterranean between the French Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, based at Toulon in Southern France, and the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, supported by the Spanish Navy and the smaller navies of several Italian states. Major fighting was concentrated in the Ligurian Sea, and focused on British maintenance of and French resistance to a British close blockade of the French Mediterranean coast. Additional conflict spread along Mediterranean trade routes, contested by individual warships and small squadrons.
The Battle of the Levant Convoy was a naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars fought on 7 October 1795. During the battle, a powerful French squadron surprised a valuable British convoy from the Levant off Cape St Vincent on the coast of Portugal. The convoy was weakly defended, and although the small escort squadron tried to drive the French back, they were outmatched. In the ensuing action one of the British ships of the line and almost the entire convoy was overrun and captured. The French commander, Commodore Joseph de Richery, then retired to the neutral Spanish port of Cádiz, where he came under blockade.
HMS Intrepid was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, originally built in Toulon for the French Navy. She was launched in 1740, as Sérieux and fought at the Battle of Toulon before her capture by the British at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747. After being renamed and refitted by the Royal Navy, she entered British service in late 1747. Between 1748 and 1752 she was assigned as a guard ship off the coast of Kent in south-east England.
The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 and 22 February 1744 NS near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet combined with a Spanish force, which had been trapped in Toulon for two years, to break the blockade imposed by the British Mediterranean Fleet.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Kingdom of England 
Kingdom of Great Britain 
Royal Navy 
Royal Navy 
