Edward Rotheram

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Edward Rotheram
Edward Rotheram as a Post captain of 3 year seniority
Born	1753 Hexham, Northumberland, England
Died	6 November 1830 Bildeston, Suffolk, England
Occupation	Royal Navy Officer

Captain Edward Rotherham, RN, CB (1753 - 6 November 1830) was a senior British naval officer who serevd for many years during the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars, seeing some action, including two major battles. His most important achievement occurred in 1805 at the battle of Trafalgar, at which he was flag captain on the HMS Royal Sovereign to Admiral Sir Cuthbert Collingwood, second in command of the fleet and first ship into action.

1 Career
2 Further reading
- 2.1 Fictional references
3 External links

[edit] Career

Born in 1753 at Hexham in Northumberland to Dr. John Rotheram M.D., Rotherham went to sea at an early age as a sailor on colliers sailing from Newcastle. So, when he made the unusual jump from merchant seaman to midshipman in the Royal Navy in 1777, he was experienced in seamanship and was able to rise rapidly through the ranks. He became closely acquainted with Lord Howe during his early years at sea, and it was under Howe's influence that he was promoted to lieutenant on 14 April 1793, on the HMS Monarch, and then again to commander in 6 July 1794, after distinguishing himself on the HMS Culloden on the Glorious First of June.

Rotherham gave solid, if undistinguished service during the next six years, making Post Captain on 27 August 1800. He commanded a number of ships before securing command of the first rate ship of the line HMS Royal Sovereign, a much-sought after position. He did not get along with his admiral, although he did enjoy a good relationship with Lord Nelson, who was in overall command when Royal Sovereign joined the fleet off Cadiz.

During the battle of Trafalgar on the 21 October 1805, Rotherham led his ship into action rapidly, and Royal Sovereign was the first to breach the Combined Fleet's line, engaging the Spanish flagship Santa Ana. Although other ships joined the fight from both sides, this engagement was the longest and in some ways the most dramatic of the battle; the two huge ships traded broadside after broadside for several hours. Royal Sovereign suffered 47 killed 94 wounded, while the Santa Ana reportedly took over 300 casualties before she surrendered. Afterwards, Collingwood left the crippled flagship as he was needed to direct the fight elsewhere, leaving Rotherham to continue exchanging gunfire with passing enemy ships.

After the battle, the frigate HMS Euryalus took the Royal Sovereign in tow and returned her safely to Gibraltar. The Santa Ana was lost in the storm that followed the battle. Rotherham was given command of the HMS Bellerophon (called "Billy Ruffian" by the sailors) after its previous captain, John Cooke, was killed in action. Rotheram brought her back to Britain, accompanying the HMS Victory and Nelson's body. At the funeral, Rotherham was a guideon bearer and he also received several gifts of money and valuable swords for his part in the action. He remained in command of the Bellerophon for the next four years, in the English Channel and the North Sea, before returning to shore in 1809.

Bellerophon was Rotherham's last sea-going command. He settled down in England with his family in semi-retirement. He was occasionally called on for administrative posts, and was commissioner for Greenwich Hospital from 1828 to 1830. In 1815, he had been made a Companion of the Bath on 4 June 1815, and was slated for further honours, when he died suddenly in 1830, aged 77. He was buried in the local St Mary Magdelene Church in Bildeston in Suffolk, where his grave and a wall memorial to him are still legible today.