William Mulcaster
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William Howe Mulcaster (1786 – 1837) was an officer in the British Royal Navy, who played a distinguished part in the Anglo-American War of 1812.
He was the son of a senior officer in the Royal Engineers and entered the Royal Navy at the age of 15. In 1809, he was serving as a Lieutenant in HMS "Confiance". One of his fellow officers was his future commander, James Lucas Yeo. "Confiance" played a significant part in the capture of Cayenne, for which Mulcaster received a commemorative sword from the Prince Regent of Portugal, and was promoted to Commander.
He was appointed to command HM Sloop "Emulous", serving at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shortly after the War with America broke out, "Emulous" was wrecked on Sable Island, but Mulcaster was recruited for service on the Great Lakes by Yeo (whose frigate, HMS "Southampton" had also been wrecked shortly before).
Mulcaster was initially offered command of the flotilla on Lake Erie, but declined on grounds of the scarcity of resources there. Instead, he was second in command to Yeo, and commanded the sloop, "Royal George", in several actions in 1813 on Lake Ontario against the American squadron under Isaac Chauncey.
Both combatants on Lake Ontario were building progressively larger ships of war. Yeo laid down a frigate, to be named "Prince Regent", and requested the Admiralty to promote Mulcaster to the rank of Post Captain to command her. This was agreed. Before the ship was launched, in late 1813, Mulcaster commanded a flotilla of gunboats escorting supply convoys up the Saint Lawrence River. He encountered the boats of American General James Wilkinson's expedition against Montreal, and harassed the American encampments. When Wilkinson set off down the Saint Lawrence, Mulcaster hastened to Kingston, Ontario with the news, and then sailed in pursuit with some armed schooners and gunboats, with a detachment of soldiers embarked. On November 11, Mulcaster's gunboats helped goad Wilkinson into a hasty attack which led to the American defeat at the Battle of Crysler's Farm.
On May 2, 1814, the British fleet and army on Lake Ontario attacked the Americans at Fort Oswego, to intercept supplies for their fleet. Mulcaster took part in the landing, leading 200 sailors armed with boarding pikes. He was severely wounded by a grapeshot, and eventually lost a leg. This ended his active career, but he received a pension of £300, and was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
In 1831 he received a knighthood, and became aide de camp to King William IV.
[edit] Sources
- Hitsman, J. Mackay; and Donald E. Graves (1999). The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History, rev. ed., Toronto: Robin Brass Studio. ISBN 1-896941-13-3.
