Page:A Naval Biographical Dictionary.djvu/398

GABRIEL—GAGE. service, and died in India in 1815; and a third, Vere, died while First-Lieutenant of H.M.S. in 1824.

This officer entered the Navy, in the early part of the French Revolutionary war, as a Boy, on board the 50, Capt. Frank Sotheron, bearing the flag at Newfoundland of his godfather. Sir Jas. Wallace; the former of whom he accompanied into the 38. He was promoted to a Lieutenancy, 17 March, 1800, in the 16, Capts. Lenox Thompson and Robt. O’Brien, and was afterwards appointed – 1 June, 1802, to the 36, Capt. Hon. Thos. Bladen Capel – and, in 1805-6, as First-Lieutenant, to the 28, and  38, both commanded by Capt. Robt. Barrie. On 14 July, 1803, Mr. Gabriel appears to have been shot through the body and to have had his thigh dreadfully lacerated by a pike during a sanguinary conflict which terminated in the ’s boats obtaining temporary possession of a large fully-manned ship near Civita Veochia. For his gallantry and exertions on this occasion the Patriotic Society presented him with a sword valued at 50l., and also with the sum of 50l. While under Capt. Barrie, with whom he continued until wrecked, on the Needles Point, 14 Oct. 1811, Lieut. Gabriel obtained the official thanks – of Sir Rich. Keats for his zealous exertions, in 1807, in burning H.M. brig, in face of the enemy, when on shore among the breakers on Isle St. Martin, after the boats of the had failed in the attempt, as also for his meritorious exertions to save the crew of H.M. cutter , during a tremendous gale and the most intensely cold weather, off Ile de Ré – of Sir Rich. Strachan and Lord Gardner (the latter of whom strongly recommended him to the Admiralty for promotion) for his able and gallant conduct in capturing and destroying, with the boats of the, 14 of the enemy’s vessels under Sable d’Olonne, 5 June, 1807 – and of Lord Henry Paulet and Lord Collingwood for his gallant conduct in cutting out a large French brig from under the guns of the batteries of Oneglia. He was also publicly thanked for his spirited behaviour, on 11 May, 1810, in capturing, with the boats of the, the French privateer Le Jupiter, of 12 12-pounders and 68 men; and on 1 May, 1811, he was again very highly lauded for the share he took in a valiant action of an hour and a half in Sagone Bay, where the , in company with the 36 and  18, effectually destroyed, after incurring an individual loss of 2 men killed and 19 wounded, the two armed store-ships Giraffe and Nourrice, each mounting from 20 to 30 guns, and protected by a 5-gun battery, a martello tower, and a body of about 200 regular troops. He attained the rank of Commander 21 March, 1812, but was unable to procure employment until 2 June, 1830, when he commissioned the 18, fitting for the West India station; where he was posted, 2 July, 1831, into the  receiving-ship. After creditably conducting the port duties for a short time at Port Royal, he returned to England, and has not since been afloat.

Capt. Gabriel was awarded a pension of 150l. for his wounds 2 Dec. 1815, and nominated a K.H. 1 Jan. 1837. He married, in 1815, Maria, sister of Commander Thos. Holbrook, R.N., by whom he has issue a son and daughter.

 GAGE, Kt., G.C.H.

, born 2 Oct. 1777, is youngest son of General the late celebrated Hon. Thos. Gage, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in North America, by Margaret, daughter of Peter Kemble, Esq., President of the Council of New Jersey; brother-in-law of Admiral Sir Chas. Ogle, Bart, and of the Earl of Abingdon; and uncle of the present Viscount Gage.

This officer entered the Navy, 21 Nov. 1789, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the 74, guard-ship at Portsmouth, Capt. Fras. John Hartwell; and, on 1 Sept. 1790, became Midshipman of the 74, Capt. Arch. Dickson. Until 19 Jan. 1796, he next served, on the Home, West India, and Mediterranean stations, in the 74, Capt. Henry Harvey,  frigate, Capt. Jas. Alms,, Capt. Hon. John Rodney, 74, Capt. A. Dickson,  98, flag-ship (in the actions of 14 March and 13 July, 1795) of Vice-Admiral Sam. Cranston Goodall, 74, Capt. Augustus Montgomery, and  100, flag-ship of Sir John Jervis. On leaving the, Mr. Gage (whose confirmation took place 11 March, 1796) was appointed Acting-Lieutenant of the , of 42 guns and 286 men, Capts. Geo. Henry Towry, Chas. Ogle, and Geo. Cockburn, bearing the broad pendant latterly of Commodore Nelson, by whom he was awarded every praise that gallantry and zeal could entitle him to for his conduct, on 20 Dec. 1796, at the capture, in face of the Spanish fleet, of the Sabina of 40, and defeat of the Matilda of 34 guns – the former of which did not surrender to the (whose loss altogether amounted to 7 men killed and.44 wounded) until after a combat of three hours and an individual loss of 14 killed and 44 wounded, Mr. Gage, who had previously assisted at the capture of L’Etonnant national corvette, of 18 guns, next witnessed the evacuation of Porto Ferrajo, and, on 14 Feb. 1797, was present in the action off Cape St. Vincent. He also, on 28 May, 1797, served with the boats of the and, and particularly distinguished himself at the capture, close to the town of Santa Cruz, after a loss to the British of 15 men wounded, of La Mutine French national corvette of 14 guns, which was brought out notwithstanding a smart fire of musketry from the crew, 113 in number, and a heavy discharge of artillery and small arms from the shore, as also the fire of a large ship at anchor in the road. Attaining the rank of Commander 13 June following, Capt. Gage, on 26 July in the same year, was made Post into the 32. While in that frigate he assisted in seizing several French vessels lying at Tunis, served at the blockade of Malta until Feb. 1799, then escorted the King of Sardinia from Leghorn to Sardinia, captured on 23 of the ensuing June the San Antonio a Spanish brig-of-war, of 14 guns and 70 men, and in July, 1800, contributed to the detention of the Freija Danish frigate, in consequence of a refusal on the part of her Commander to allow the British to search a convoy under his orders. Capt. Gage’s subsequent appointments were – 5 March, 1801, to the 38, on the Channel station, where he elicited the warmest thanks of his senior officer, Capt. Chas. Brisbane, for his judicious arrangement of his boats previously to the cutting out, by them and those of the and, of the French national ship La Chevrette, of 20 guns and 350 men, one of the most brilliant exploits of the kind ever performed – 20 July, 1805, after an interval of three years, to the  38, employed in the North Sea and also in the Mediterranean, which ship, on his return home with Sir Arthur Paget, who had been on an embassy to the Ottoman Porte, he left, in 1808 – and, 5 Feb. 1813, to the  74, part of Sir Edw. Pellew’s fleet in his partial action with the French off Toulon 13 Feb. 1814. He again went on half-pay on 14 Sept. in the latter year; and, assuming the rank of Rear-Admiral, 19 July, 1821, was afterwards employed as Commander-in-Chief of H.M. ships in the East Indies from 13 Dec. 1825, to 9 Jan. 1830 – of a squadron in the Downs from 10 May to 13 July, 1833 – and of the Naval force