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Smith Callis | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by an unknown artist | |
| Born | 1709 Rivenhall, Essex |
| Died | 22 October 1761 (aged 52) Bath, Somerset |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | c.1731–1761 |
| Rank | Rear-admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Duke HMS Assistance HMS Oxford HMS Fougueux HMS Culloden |
| Battles/wars | |
Rear-Admiral Smith Callis (1709 – 22 October 1761) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War, most notably fighting the action of 14 June 1742.
Early life[edit]
Smith Callis was born in Rivenhall, Essex, during 1709. He was the son of Robert Callis and had a brother, Richard, and sister, Ann. The latter took the married name Western, dying in 1776.[1]
[edit]
Early service[edit]
Callis joined the Royal Navy at an unrecorded date, with his memorial describing him as having "from his earliest youth trained to the service of the Sea". He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 September 1731.[1][2] Appointed to serve on board the 32-gun frigate HMS Tartar, he continued with the ship until she was paid off on 7 June 1732. Callis next found employment as the second lieutenant of the 40-gun fifth-rate HMS Pearl, joining her on 21 May the following year.[1]
This was his longest period of service in any ship as a commissioned officer, only leaving Pearl five years later when on 27 April 1738 he moved to serve in the same role on board the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Assistance. On 13 October he transferred again, becoming the first lieutenant of the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Salisbury. He moved on 13 July 1740 to serve as second lieutenant of the 60-gun fourth-rate HMS Dragon.[1]
War of the Austrian Succession[edit]
Mediterranean[edit]
With the War of the Austrian Succession beginning, Callis was promoted to commander on 30 November.[1] Already serving in the Mediterranean Sea, Callis was given command of the 8-gun fireship HMS Duke there.[1] In June 1742 five Spanish galleys carrying ammunition and provisions were located by the 60-gun fourth-rate HMS Kingston as they attempted to sail from Antibes to Italy.[3] Working with Kingston and the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Oxford, Duke chased the Spanish ships into the neutral French point of St Tropez. The British ships, unable to enter, began to blockade St Tropez. From inside the port the galleys then fired on the blockaders, breaking the laws of neutrality and giving Captain Richard Norris of Kingston an opening to attack them.[4]
Norris ordered Callis to make the attack, and by expending Duke Callis succeeded in destroying all five of the galleys in the action of 14 June 1742.[4] The commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Vice-Admiral Thomas Mathews, sent Callis back to England carrying his report on the action. For his services at St Tropez, Callis was awarded a specially designed gold medal and chain by George II.[1][5] The face of the medal depicts Callis kneeling before the king as he receives the medal, and the reverse shows Duke making her attack.[3]
West Indies[edit]
Callis was further rewarded on 9 August when George II ordered that he be promoted to captain, and he was given command of his old ship Assistance. Sent to serve on the West Indies Station, under the command of Commodore Charles Knowles he fought at the unsuccessful Battle of La Guaira on 2 March 1743, receiving praise for his actions and Assistance having eighty-four crewmen killed or wounded. Callis next saw action under Knowles at the Battle of Puerto Cabello on 16 April, an attempt to assault and capture the port which was equally unsuccessful. Callis' actions during the battle were again complimented. He continued to serve in the West Indies until he returned Assistance to England in June 1745.[1][6]
Soon after Assistance arrived at Spithead reports came to Callis that the 10-gun sloop HMS Mediator had been captured by a French privateer while traversing The Needles off the Isle of Wight. Taking the initiative without orders, Callis sailed from Spithead and recaptured Mediator with fifty French privateersmen on board.[6] Assistance was paid off on 31 August.[1]
Callis stayed unemployed for only a short period, being instead given command of Oxford on 14 September.[1] He served in 1746 on the controversial court martial of his old commander Mathews and his second-in-command in the Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral Richard Lestock, for their defeat at the Battle of Toulon two years earlier.[6]
Voyage of the Glorioso[edit]
Patrolling off the coast of Spain, Callis encountered the Spanish 70-gun ship of the line Glorioso in October 1747. The Spaniard was undertaking the voyage of the Glorioso and had already beaten off one attack from British warships. Callis attacked Glorioso but eventually retreated as Oxford's opponent was a much more powerful ship. The Spanish vessel would go on to fight two more battles against British ships before finally being captured.[1][7] Callis commanded Oxford until 18 December. In fear that he would be thought poorly of for failing to capture Glorioso, he requested to be court martialled for his actions, and was subsequently acquitted of any wrongdoing.[1][8] With the War of the Austrian Succession ending in the following year, he did not immediately receive a new command.[1]
Seven Years' War[edit]
Callis' period of unemployment ended with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War ten years later, taking command of the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Fougueux on 27 January 1757.[1] He stayed with her only until 23 March; Admiral John Byng had been defeated at the Battle of Minorca on 20 May 1756, and was ordered home to be court martialled. Captain Henry Ward, the commander of one of the ships at Minorca, the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Culloden, also returned from the Mediterranean to give evidence at the trial. Callis was sent out to replace him, taking command of the ship on 1 June. Under the orders of Admiral Edward Boscawen, he was complimented for his part in an unsuccessful attempt to capture two French frigates at Toulon on 7 May 1759.[1][8]
Callis was promoted to rear-admiral on 19 May the same year, but word of his promotion was not sent out to the Mediterranean and, unaware, he continued in command of Culloden. On 18 and 19 August he played a prominent role fighting at the Battle of Lagos, soon after which he finally learned of his elevation to flag rank. Callis later returned to England in Culloden, leaving the ship on 20 August 1760, his last naval service. He died on 16 October 1761 and was buried in Bath Abbey two day later.[1][8] A memorial was erected for him inside.[8]
Notes and citations[edit]
Notes[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harrison (2019), p. 97.
- ^ "Callis, Smith". Bath Abbey Memorials. Bath Abbey. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ a b Winter (1913), p. 305.
- ^ a b Winter (1913), p. 306.
- ^ Charnock (2011), p. 136.
- ^ a b c Charnock (2011), p. 137.
- ^ Charnock (2011), pp. 137–138.
- ^ a b c d Charnock (2011), p. 138.
References[edit]
- Charnock, John (2011) [1797]. Biographia Navalis. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-02635-2.
- Harrison, Cy (2019). Royal Navy Officers of the Seven Years War. Warwick: Helion. ISBN 978-1-912866-68-7.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-78346-925-3.
- Winter, Charles (1913). "A Unique Naval Relic of 1742: The Callis Medal". The British Numismatic Journal. 10: 305–307.