Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Dundas KCB

Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Dundas KCB
Title:Rear Admiral Sir
First name:Thomas
Surname:Dundas
Post-nominals:KCB
Year elected:1823
Last year on list:1841
MembershipNaval
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Dundas KCB (c. 1765 – 29 March 1841) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. An effective frigate captain he made a number of small captures, but did not see action in any major fleet clashes, until he was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He played an important role in relaying signals before the battle, and in towing dismasted British ships to safety afterwards. He had a largely uneventful career thereafter, rising through the ranks and eventually dying a vice-admiral.

Little is known about Dundas's early life, but he appears to have been born in or around 1765, and to have joined the navy in 1778, during the American War of Independence. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 July 1793, shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, with one of his earliest commands being the sloop HMS Merlin. His next promotion was to commander on 2 September 1795, and he was then raised to post-captain on 9 July 1798. Dundas received command of the 20-gun sixth rate HMS Prompte shortly afterwards and in 1799 he captured a valuable Spanish whaling ship. In March 1799 he captured a Spanish warship, the Urca Cargadora, pierced for 26 guns, but only mounting 12. He was then moved to HMS Solebay, and escorted a convoy of merchantmen to the Mediterranean, returning to Britain on 2 July 1802.

Dundas was advanced to rear-admiral on 27 May 1825, vice-admiral on 10 January 1837 and appointed and invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 September 1831. He died in Reading, Berkshire on 29 March 1841. The sword he received for Trafalgar is currently held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum.

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