Paterson (Charles William) Papers, 1777-approximately 1858, bulk 1793-1798
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Charles William Paterson Papers
- Dates:
- 1777-approximately 1858, bulk 1793-1798
- Creators:
- Paterson, Charles William, 1756-1841.
- Abstract:
- This small collection contains papers of British Naval officer Charles William Paterson (1756-1841), who became Admiral of the White in 1837. The twin cores of this collection are six letters from Paterson in 1793-1794 to family during his naval service chiefly in the Mediterranean, and the Navy Board's various administrative letters to Paterson in 1798.
- Extent:
- 43 pieces. 1 box.
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Charles William Paterson Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The twin cores of this small collection consist of (1) six letters from Captain Paterson to his uncle Charles William Tonyn (d. 1805, rector of Radnage in Buckinghamshire) and to his grandmother, written chiefly from the Mediterranean in 1793-1794, mentioning in passing the French Royalist uprising at Toulon in November 1793, Sir william Sidney Smith's attack on the French naval fleet and arsenal in the Inner Harbor at Toulon, and Paterson's own concerns for his family, patronage, and promotion, and (2) the Navy Board's various letters to Paterson concerning the personnel, supplies, and refitting of the ship Admiral de Vries at Chatham Yard in 1798. Other than a brief testimonial and a list of his promotions, there is virtually nothing about Paterson's earlier service in North America or his activities during the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Charles William Paterson (1756-1841), British naval officer and ultimately Admiral of the White, began his career in North American waters serving under Admiral Lord Howe during the Revolutionary War. He was appointed to the store-ship Gorgon in 1793 and served under Lord Hood at Toulon Bay, was promoted post captain in January 1794, commanded the Ariadne and the Melpomene in the Mediterranean, and returned to England in 1795. In 1798 he was appointed to the Admiral de Vries and supervised its repair and refitting at the Chatham naval dockyard. From 1800 to 1802 Paterson commanded the Montagu and then the San Fiorenzo in the English Channel, and later in the war served at Portchester Castle and Spithead. He was promoted Vice Admiral in 1819, and Admiral of the White in 1837.
Paterson married Jane Ellen Yeats in March 1801; they had at least one son, George Yeats Paterson, also an officer in the Royal Navy. Charles William Paterson died, probably at his home near Portsmouth, in March 1841.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Richard Ford Manuscripts Ltd., London, September 2011.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged in chronological order.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © December 2011
- Date Encoded:
- Machine readable finding aid encoded by Diann Benti in November 2016 from PDF finding aid originally in the Huntington Digital Library.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Charles William Paterson Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191