William Hutcheon Hall

{{Short description|Royal Navy Admiral (c. 1797–1878)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = Admiral |name = Sir William Hutcheon Hall |honorific_suffix={{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|FRS}} |image = William Hutcheon Hall.jpg |image_size = 250 |caption = Hall carrying a sword presented to him by the crew of the ''Nemesis'', in the background is the bombardment of Bomarsund |birth_date = c. 1797 |death_date = 25 June 1878 (aged 80–81) |burial_label = Buried |burial_place = St Lawrence's Church, England |birth_place = Berwick, Northumberland, England |death_place = Kensington, London, England |nickname = Nemesis Hall |allegiance = United Kingdom |branch = Royal Navy |service_years = 1811–1866 |rank = Admiral |service_number = |unit = |commands = ''Nemesis''<br/>HMS ''Terrible''<br/>HMS ''Dragon''<br/>HMS ''Hecla''<br/>HMS ''Blenheim'' |battles = {{Tree list}} *Napoleonic Wars *First Opium War **Second Battle of Chuenpi **Battle of the Bogue **Battle of First Bar **Broadway expedition **First Battle of Canton **Second Battle of Canton{{WIA}} **Battle of Amoy **Capture of Chusan **Battle of Chinhai **Battle of Tzeki **Battle of Chapu **Battle of Woosung *Crimean War **Battle of Bomarsund **Bombardment of Sveaborg {{Tree list/end}} |awards = |relations = |other_work = }}

Admiral '''Sir William Hutcheon Hall''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|FRS}} (c. 1797 – 25 June 1878), was a British Royal Navy officer. He served in the First Anglo-Chinese War and Crimean War. He was one of the first British officers to make a thorough study of steam engines. In China, he commanded the iron steamship ''Nemesis'' of the East India Company. Although it was not officially commissioned as a Royal Navy warship, the Admiralty enabled Hall to count his time in the ''Nemesis'' as if he had served in one of Her Majesty's Ships.

==Early life and career== Hall was born circa 1797 in Berwick, Northumberland, England, to William Hall and his wife Mary (née Hutcheon).<ref name="odnb">Laughton, J. K.. "Hall, Sir William Hutcheon (1797?–1878)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/11998}}.</ref><ref>Marshall, Adrian G. (2016). ''Nemesis: The First Iron Warship and Her World''. Singapore: NUS Press. p. 4. {{ISBN|9789971698225}}.</ref> He joined the Royal Navy on 24 October 1811 as a first-class volunteer on board {{HMS|Warrior|1781|6}} under Captains George Byng and John Tremayne Rodd.<ref name="nbd">{{cite wikisource |first=William Richard |last=O'Byrne |chapter=Hall, William Hutcheon |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |year=1849 |publisher=John Murray}}</ref> In 1816–17, he served as a midshipman under Captain Basil Hall, with whom he attended William Amherst's embassy visit to China. After returning to England in November 1817, he was appointed to the frigate, {{HMS|Iphigenia|1808|6}}, under Captain Robert Mends in the West Africa Squadron. He was later promoted as master of the sloop, {{HMS|Morgiana}}. In this rank, he served in the British West Indies, Mediterranean, and Home stations until 1836. After studying steam engines in Glasgow, Scotland, and on board steamers trading to Ireland, he travelled to the United States, where he was employed in steamboats on the Delaware and Hudson.<ref name="dnb">Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (1890). ''[https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft#page/94/mode/2up Dictionary of National Biography]''. Volume 24. New York: Macmillan and Co. pp. 94–95.</ref><ref name="obituary">"Obituary: Admiral Sir William Hutcheon Hall, F. R. S., K. C. B.". ''Proceedings of the Royal Society and Monthly Record of Geography'' (The Royal Geographical Society) '''1''' (3): 214–216. March 1879. {{ISSN|0266-626X}}.</ref>

==China== In November 1839, Hall obtained command of ''Nemesis'' of the British East India Company in China, where he served in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42).<ref name="dnb" /> For his services, the Admiralty procured an Order in Council to enable it to make him a lieutenant on 8 January 1841. The Admiralty later obtained power to enable him to count his time in the ''Nemesis'' as if he had served in one of Her Majesty's Ships.<ref name="clowes">Clowes, William Laird (1901). ''[https://archive.org/stream/royalnavyhistory06clowuoft#page/284/mode/2up The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present]''. Volume 6. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company. p. 285.</ref> The ship's first engagement was against Chinese forts and a fleet of junks in the Second Battle of Chuenpi on 7 January 1841.<ref>Bernard, William Dallas; Hall, William Hutcheon (1845). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=uTkQAAAAYAAJ Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843]'' (2nd ed.). London: Henry Colburn. p. 125.</ref> He was Mentioned in Despatches for his part in the battle.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=19984|pages=1426–1430|date=3 June 1841}}</ref> He later fought in the Battle of First Bar on 27 February,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=19987|pages=1500–1501|date=11 June 1841}}</ref> and the Broadway expedition on 13–15 March. In commemoration of his service, he was commonly known in the navy as "Nemesis Hall".<ref name="dnb" /><ref name="obituary" /> William Dallas Bernard, an Oxford graduate who studied life and customs in China, used Hall's notes to write an account of the war in the ''Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843'' (1844).<ref>Hoe, Susanna; Roebuck, Derek (1999). ''The Taking of Hong Kong: Charles and Clara Elliot in China Waters''. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press. p. 259. {{ISBN|0-7007-1145-7}}.</ref> Under the command of Richard Collinson, then Lieutenant Hall also saw action on the island of Taisam near Ningbo in February 1842 on the ''Nemesis''.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia|page=300|publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Company|date=1842|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dJhFAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> He was promoted captain with seniority on 22 October 1842.<ref name="servicerecords">Service records for William Hutcheon Hall, see [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7914204 Hall, William H—Admiralty: Officers' Service Records (Series III)—Commission and Warrant Branch: Executive Officers A-L] and [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7897387 Hall, William H—Admiralty: Officers' Service Records (Series III)], ''DocumentsOnline'', The National Archives (fee usually required to view pdfs of full original records). Retrieved on 16 March 2010.</ref>

==Russia== After the outbreak of the Crimean War (1853–56) against Russia, Hall was not able to obtain command of a vessel corresponding to his seniority, so on 15 March 1854 he accepted the 6-gun paddle steamer, {{HMS|Hecla|1839|6}}, which was engaged in the Baltic and was again Mentioned in Despatches, and slightly wounded.<ref name="dnb" /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21558|pages=1676–1677|date=2 June 1854}}</ref> He transferred to the 72-gun {{HMS|Blenheim|1813|6}} in November 1854, and in 1855 was engaged in the capture of Bomarsund, among other battles.<ref name="dnb" /><ref name="obituary" /><ref name=servicerecords/> Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, second son of Tsar Nicholas I, remarked, "of all bold and seamanlike operations, this of Captain Hall's—taking his steamer seven miles up a creek of intricate navigation in an enemy's country—is the most daring I could have imagined; I cannot but admire such gallantry, even in an enemy."<ref>Royer, Alfred (1854). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nudBAAAAcAAJ The English Prisoners in Russia]'' (3rd ed.). London: Chapman and Hall. p. 161.</ref> Hall was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21743|pages=2653–2654|date=10 July 1855}}</ref>

==Works and later life== [[File:1911_Britannica_-_Anchor_-_Hall.png |thumb|Hall's patent anchor; Hingley's became sole manufacturers of these anchors in 1891]] Hall was one of the first British officers to make a thorough study of steam engines.<ref name="clowes" /> He invented iron bilge tanks for ships, adopted by the navy, and "Hall's patent anchor".<ref name="odnb" /> On 30 April 1845, he married Hilare Caroline Byng, third daughter of his first captain, George Byng.<ref name="nbd" /> They had one daughter, Frances Russell Hall, who married Captain Charles Davis Lucas in 1879.<ref name="dnb" /> Lucas had won the Victoria Cross while serving under Hall in 1854 aboard HMS ''Hecla''. Hall was appointed to {{HMS|William and Mary}} on 3 March 1847 to assist in relief efforts during the Great Famine of Ireland. He was transferred to {{HMS|Dragon|1798|6}} on 6 May. During his time in command of ''Dragon'', he was reprimanded for the poor state of her gunnery, and the ship was paid off on 8 June 1850.<ref name="servicerecords" />

In 1847, Hall was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, where he served several years in its council. His writings involved developing national defences, and employing boatmen, fishermen, and armed merchant steamers as part of the naval reserve. He was an active supporter of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society for 26 years. In 1863, he was promoted to rear admiral.<ref name="obituary" /> He retired from active service on 2 April 1866,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23094|page=2190|date=3 April 1866}}</ref> was promoted a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 March 1867,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23230|pages=1724–1725|date=15 March 1867}}</ref> and was promoted (on the retired list) to vice admiral on 26 July 1869,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23527|page=4639|date=17 August 1869}}</ref> and admiral on 11 December 1875.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24278|page=6577|date=24 December 1875}}</ref> He died of apoplexy at Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, London, on 25 June 1878, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Lawrence's Church, Mereworth, Kent, on 29 June.<ref name="odnb" />

==Selected works== *Bernard, W. D.; Hall, W. H. (1844). ''Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EQjHGlPbjPkC Vol. 1] / [https://books.google.com/books?id=9HZCAAAAcAAJ Vol. 2]. London: Henry Colburn. *Bernard, W. D.; Hall, W. H. (1845). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=uTkQAAAAYAAJ Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843]'' (2nd ed.). London: Henry Colburn. *Bernard, W. D.; Hall, W. H. (1847). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gnlFAQAAMAAJ The Nemesis in China]'' (3rd ed.). London: Henry Colburn. *Hall, W. H. (1852). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MKdWAAAAcAAJ Sailors' Homes, Their Origin and Progress]''. London: W. H. Dalton. *Hall, W. H. (1876). ''Our National Defences''.

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category|William Hutcheon Hall}} * {{Gutenberg author | id=42356}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Hutcheon Hall |birth=1797 |death=1878 |sopt=t}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, William Hutcheon}} Category:1790s births Category:1878 deaths Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath Category:British fellows of the Royal Society Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Royal Navy admirals Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Category:Royal Navy personnel of the First Opium War Category:People from Berwick-upon-Tweed Category:Officers of the West Africa Squadron