Entered the navy at the age of 17; became captain of the Speedy , a sloop-of-war of 14 guns and 54 men; captured in ten months 33 vessels; was captured by a French squadron, but had his sword returned to him; signalised himself afterwards in a succession of daring feats; selected to burn the French fleet lying at anchor in the Basque Roads, he was successful by means of fire-ships in destroying several vessels, but complained he was not supported by Lord Gambier, the admiral, a complaint which was fatal to his promotion in the service; disgraced otherwise, he went abroad and served in foreign navies, and materially contributed to the establishment of the republic of Chile and the empire of Brazil; in 1830 he was restored by his party, the Whigs, to his naval rank, as a man who had been the victim of the opposite party, and made a vice-admiral of the Blue in 1841; he afterwards vindicated himself in his "Autobiography of a Seaman" (1775-1860).