Tag Archives: Royal Navy

Thomas Kains
HMS Devastation
Royal Navy

Cairn at Grenville, honouring Thomas Kains
Cairn at Grenville, honouring Thomas Kains

Thomas Kains, Lieutenant, HMS Devastation, Royal Navy

Thomas Kains was born in 1790, in Chatham, Kent, England, son of a boatswain in the Royal Navy. In 1804, at the age of 14, he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman on none other than the HMS Agamemnon, the three-deck, 64-gun man-of-war that was said to be Horatio Nelson’s favorite.

Thomas Kains' obelisk in Old St. Thomas Churchyard (overview & close-up of inscription.
Thomas Kains’ obelisk in Old St. Thomas Churchyard (overview & close-up of inscription.

At 15, Thomas Kains was promoted to clerk on the HMS Hyacinth, an 18-gun sloop, on which he served from 1805-1810. Thus, he reached manhood during the tumultuous Napoleonic Wars, engaging in many of its epic naval battles. Kains, a junior officer having been promoted  to the appointment as Ship’s ‘purser’. “The purser is the officer entrusted to receive the provisions and victualling stores, to keep and distribute the same to the ship’s company, and, upon particular and urgent occasions, to purchase and provide, and finally to account for the same.

The Battle of Trafalgar, by Wm Wyllie
The Battle of Trafalgar, by Wm Wyllie

By 1813, Thomas Kains had been promoted to purser aboard the HMS Devastation, an 8-gun bomb vessel. HMS Devastation was part of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s fleet of 27 Royal Navy ships which engaged a larger combined Spanish and French fleet of 33 ships at Trafalgar, off the coast of Spain. Although outnumbered by ships and men, it was an overwhelming victory for Admiral Nelson, having not lost any ships in his fleet.  Final Battle estimates were that the enemy lost 7,000-8,000 men captured as POW, 4.395 KIA,  2,541 WIA, 22 ships captured by the British, with one destroyed. The British lost 458 KIA and 1,208 WIA. Admiral Nelson was killed on his flagship ‘ HMS Victory‘ during the battle.  Thomas Kains would later serve on HMS Victory during the Crimean War 1854-56.

Painting of HMS Victory Charging Enemy : artist Joseph Feely
The HMS Victory Charges, by Joseph Feely

In the spring of 1814, Napoleon had been defeated in Europe and banished to Elba. Britain shifted resources to quell American attempts to invade Canada, initiated in 1812. But, instead of merely defending Canada, Britain went on the offensive.

In Aug 1814, Thomas Kains’ ship HMS Devastation was dispatched to engage in what became known as the Battle of Washington.

HMS Agamemnon painting by artist Geoff Hunt
HMS Agamemnon 1781 Napoleonic War, by Geoff Hunt

On 17 Aug 1814, Devastation, Seahorse, Euryalus, Ætna, Meteor, Erebus and Anne were detached from a British fleet in Chesapeake Bay and moved up the Potomac River to bombard Fort Washington.

In the Battle of Washington, British troops met with light resistance. Caught by surprise, President Madison, government officials, residents who could flee and most military units, hastily abandoned the American capital.

Burning of the White House by artist Tom Freeman
Burning of the White House 24-Aug-1814, by Tom Freeman

On 24 Aug 1814, Thomas Kains was part of the British company charged with destroying the White House, (known then as the Presidential Residence). Upon entering the building, they found a dinner prepared for about forty people. They ate heartily of the sumptuous food and drank the vintage wine. Then they gathered what souvenirs they could carry and set the White House ablaze. Much of Washington was torched, as the British had resolved to burn all government buildings.

The White House was substantially gutted by the fire, but not completely destroyed. Whitewash was used during its restoration, to cover the smoke damage and it was only then that it became know as the White House.

larger_3._bombing_of_ft_mchenry.jpg

British forces turned their attention north to Baltimore, intent on exacting revenge on the notorious privateer-operated clipper ships which were harassing the British Merchant Navy, while outrunning and taunting Royal Navy battleships. But the cannons at Fort McHenry guarded the entrance to Baltimore Harbor.

On the 12 Sept 1814, Devastation, Erebus, Meteor, Ætna, Terror, and Volcano were deployed from Chesapeake Bay up the Patapsco River, in preparation for the attack on Baltimore.

Painting of 1812 Royal Navy bombardment of Ft. McHenry 13/14 Sept 1814: artist R.W. Goettling
Painting of 1812 Royal Navy bombardment of Ft. McHenry 13/14 Sept 1814: artist R.W. Goettling

The bombardment of Fort McHenry began at 5 a.m. on the morning of September 13. Devastation and her five sister ships fired rockets and mortars at Fort McHenry for 25 hours, but the defenders held. At 6 a.m. the following morning, bombardment ceased.

The most memorable outcome of this engagement was not military in nature, but a poem penned by a young American lawyer named Francis Scott Key, who happened to be on one of the British ships to negotiate the release of prisoners captured at the Battle of Washington, three weeks before. He had watched throughout the night, the red glare of the British rockets and cringed at the sound of exploding bombs. To his amazement, in the dawn’s early light of 14 Sept, after 1,500 bombs and rockets had fallen, the American flag hoisted at Fort McHenry was still flying. The poem, which was later renamed and set to music, became America’s national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. Thomas Kains had delivered the fireworks.

Despite their repulse at Baltimore, the British were satisfied with their diversionary raids, especially the burning of Washington. In Canada, Governor General Prevost proclaimed that the burning of the proud American capital was just retribution for the sacking and burning of York (later renamed Toronto) by American troops in 1813.

Kains remained as purser with the HMS Devastation until August 1815, after the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, which brought years of war to an end with the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812-15.

In 1818, Thomas Kains settled briefly in Carillon, Quebec, and then in Grenville. In 1821, he married Mary McMillan, the eldest daughter of Grenville’s founding father, Archibald McMillan. Nine of their children were born in Grenville.

Thomas Kains was engaged for some years in the saw milling and grist milling business in Grenville, where he was also a church warden and justice of the peace. During this time, Kains was appointed, with Denis-Benjamin Papineau, commissioner of roads and bridges, to build the Grenville to Hull road.                                              A cairn was erected in Grenville in honour of Thomas Kains (supporting document image).

Steamboats had started operating on the Ottawa River in 1823. In 1830, Kains entered the employ of McPherson & Crane, as captain of their steamer Shannon. He shuttled cargoes of mail, passengers and goods between Grenville and Bytown until 1841. In 1845, he purchased the steamer, Princess Royal, and ran his own company until 1853.

In the 1851 census, Thomas Kains (61), appears with his wife, Mary McMillan (50), and three of their offspring — Thomas (28), Isabella (18) and Zebee (16). The family was living on Range 1, Lot 7 — about where the old Canadian National railroad bridge once crossed the Ottawa River to Hawkesbury.

HMS Victory at Royal Navy Museum, Portsmouth, UK
HMS Victory at Royal Navy Museum, Portsmouth, UK

But Kains’ Royal Navy career was not yet over. At the onset of the Crimean War, Kains was still a half-pay officer in the Royal Navy. On 31 Dec 1853, at the age of 63, he was called back to active service as paymaster aboard HMS Victory, which had been Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. By that time Victory had been converted to a hospital ship, and docked at Portsmouth, England. He held this post until September, 1854. Kains died shortly thereafter, in Montreal, on 9 May 1855.

Photograph Naval Captain Thomas Kains circa 1854 in full dress naval uniform with decoration. Caption has Kains as a Cpt (Captain), which may, or may not be unlikely. The Royal Museum at Greenwich displays a very similar uniform which had belonged to purser John Lord who had fallen to his death from high in the rigging. This pattern of uniform had the cuffs and collar changed from white to red (Windsor colours) by HM King William IV in 1832.(image attached for confirmation). While commissioned officers and warrant officers were meant to wear what was essentially the same uniform, rank could be discerned by whether the coat was double- or single-breasted, the arrangement of buttons and the width of gold lace on the collar and cuffs, as well as on the epaulettes. That this is a warrant officer's uniform is indicated by the single-breasted coat with its grouping of eight buttons in pairs. In addition, the purser would have only worn one full epaulette and one scale. In this case the photo of John Kains has two full epaulettes, which may have reflected his promotion to the appointment in 1853 to that of Paymaster on HMS Victory.
Photograph Naval Captain Thomas Kains circa 1854 in full dress naval uniform with decoration. Caption has Kains as a Cpt (Captain), which may, or may not be unlikely.
The Royal Museum at Greenwich displays a very similar uniform which had belonged to purser John Lord who had fallen to his death from high in the rigging. This pattern of uniform had the cuffs and collar changed from white to red (Windsor colours) by HM King William IV in 1832.(image attached for confirmation).
While commissioned officers and warrant officers were meant to wear what was essentially the same uniform, rank could be discerned by whether the coat was double- or single-breasted, the arrangement of buttons and the width of gold lace on the collar and cuffs, as well as on the epaulettes. That this is a warrant officer’s uniform is indicated by the single-breasted coat with its grouping of eight buttons in pairs. In addition, the purser would have only worn one full epaulette and one scale. In this case the photo of John Kains has two full epaulettes, which may have reflected his promotion to the appointment in 1853 to that of Paymaster on HMS Victory.

A rare photo of Naval Officer Thomas Kains shows him ‘decorated’ and in the dress uniform of a  Royal Naval Officer  entitled ‘Cpt Thomas Kains’. The uniform is similar to that worn by an 1812 purser, or possibly a Warrant Officer.

RN Purser Uniform circa 1833, by Peter Twist
RN Purser Uniform circa 1833, by Peter Twist

In the intervening years, Kains’ younger brother, George, and several of his own offspring had left Grenville and established themselves in St. Thomas, Ontario. Both Thomas Kains and Mary McMillan are buried there.

Thomas Kains’ epitaph reads as follows:

“Then are they glad because they are at rest, and so we bringeth them into the heaven where they would be.”

Archibald Kains (1865–1944), the grandson of Thomas Kains, journeyed to Washington, DC, in 1939, to return to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt some sterling silver and a small medicine chest that his grandfather had pillaged from the White House on 24 Aug 1814.

Supporting Documents: George Rainey’s bio sketch of Thomas Kains career. Photos of Captain (RN) Thomas Kains, British Naval Muster Pay List, graveyard obelisk, Grenville cairn, naval ships and naval engagement paintings.

Crown Forces
2nd Battle
Sackets Harbor

Marker for the 2nd Battle of Sackets HarborThe British Raid
on the
American Naval Base at
Sacket’s Harbor, 1813

When the campaign season opened in April 1813, the United States planned to exploit their control of Lake Ontario by attacking Kingston, York and Fort George in the Niagara, with a force assembled at Sackets Harbor. As American intelligence indicated the defences at Kingston were formidable, it was decided to first attack York and then hold it until a relief force was detached from Fort George to reclaim it. The Americans would then make a lightening move across Lake Ontario, reduce that fort and, aided by an army that would cross the river, secure the Canadian side of the Niagara. Afterwards, a blockade was to be established at Kingston to contain the British naval squadron. American Commodore Chauncey would then proceed direct to Lake Erie and then “destroy” British naval power, take Malden and Detroit, and then proceed into Lake Huron and attack Mackinac. Continue reading Crown Forces
2nd Battle
Sackets Harbor

James Reekie
Royal Navy

The following is an excerpt from The Green Pastures of Old Brock by James Gordon.

Shortly after Brock Township was surveyed in the year 1817, settlers began to arrive as they wanted to take advantage of the free grants of land.  The practice of giving away land as a means of attracting newcomers ended in 1827. From  that  point  on settlers were  required to purchase land  outright, or alternatively they could  enter  into a lease  agreement either  with  private landowners or with the powerful church of England — holders of land referred to as Clergy Reserve.  By 1837, Brock had 305 adult men, 251 adult women and 684 children under sixteen years of age.

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Royal Navy

Mass GraveOld Fort Erie

Research compiled by the Heritage Arts Legacy of Fort Erie

Fighting was intense during August and September 1814 when the Americans applied pressure and laid .   During those two months, 150 men lost their lives in battle and were buried on the grounds of the fort in a mass grave.

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Thomas Raymond
Royal Navy

This application is sponsored by the Border Historical Society, Eastport, Maine

Thomas Raymond joined the Royal Navy on 17 August 1801 as a midshipman.  He served on HMS Rattlesnake (sloop, 6th rate, 16 guns) until April 1810 when he briefly served on HMS Courageux (ship of the line, 3rd rate, 74 guns).  In December 1810, he passed his Lieutenant’s examination.  Through his training, he qualified as a (Sailing) Master which meant that he was responsible for the ship’s navigation.  From 20 January 1812 to 23 March 1814, he served on HMS Comet (sloop, 6th rate, 18 guns).  He then transferred to HMS Niobe (frigate, 5th rate, 38 guns) as the Master and served on her from September to October 1814.  Niobe had been built as the French ship Diane and was captured by the British in 1800 off Malta.  Raymond’s last ship was HMS Menai (sloop, 6th rate, 26 guns).  He served on her as the Master from 15 October 1814 to 22 January 1817.  While it is not known where he served, it would be reasonable to think that his first years of service were with the Channel Fleet that was blockading Napoleonic France.  It appears that Niobe and Menai were employed in North American waters, most likely on convoy or anti-privateer duties.

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Perry Dumaresq
Royal Navy

Dumaresq, Perry, Naval Officer, office holder, Justice of the Peace, and Judge; b 19 Sept 1788 on the island of Jersey, son of Philippe (Philip) Dumaresq and Jersua (Jerusha) Perry; m 21 Nov 1808 Louisa W Newton in St Paul’s Church (Anglican) in Halifax, and they had 13 children; m secondly 6 Aug 1833 Mary Stewart in Dalhousie, NB, and they had no children; d there 13 March 1839.

Continue reading Perry Dumaresq
Royal Navy