By John D Ellis
Charles Phillips was born in Goree, Senegal, Africa c.1784. He enlisted on HMS Ajax, a 74-gun frigate, in early August 1804, shortly after it had completed a re-fit and repair in Portsmouth.
The Ajax participated in the 3rd Battle of Finisterre, (July 1805) off Galicia, Spain. A British fleet, under Admiral Richard Calder, fought an indecisive battle against a Franco-Spanish fleet returning from the West Indies (under Admiral Villeneuve). Although Calder was court-martialled and severely censured for the subsequent escape of the Franco-Spanish fleet, the engagement did force Villeneuve to decide against continuing to Brest where it was intended to join other French vessels in order to prepare for a subsequent invasion of Britain. The 3rd Battle of Finisterre cost the Ajax two men killed and sixteen wounded, and it was forced to undergo repairs in Plymouth.
Leaving Plymouth in September 1805 Ajax was part of the fleet under Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar (21st October 1805) that finally engaged Villeneuve’s fleet. Seventh in line in the “Weather Column”, under Nelson himself (on his flag-ship HMS Victory), Ajax fired on the French ship Bucentaure and the Spanish ship Santissima Trinidad. Ajax then assisted HMS Orion in forcing the surrender of the French ship Intrepide and, in the storm following the battle, rescued seamen from damaged ships that were in danger of sinking. Two of the Ajax’s crew were killed and nine wounded at Trafalgar and in the late 1840s the survivors received the “Trafalgar” clasp to the retrospectively awarded “Naval General Service Medal 1793-1814” (although Phillips had died by then).
Following Trafalgar, Ajax participated in the blockade of Cadiz and was one of several ships that shared in the prize money from the capture of the Croatian ship Nemesis.
In early 1807 Ajax was serving with the Malta squadron under Admiral Sir John Duckworth. Whilst participating in the Dardenelles Operation (as part of the Anglo-Turkish War of 1807-1809), an accidental fire destroyed HMS Ajax.
Although 380 of the crew were saved, the fire burnt through the night and cost the lives of 250 Officers and Ratings. In flames, the Ajax drifted onto the Island of Tenedos and blew up. Captain Blackwood, commander of the Ajax, was cleared of blame in the subsequent court-martial. However, for Charles Phillips, the fire on Ajax had serious consequences. In early March 1808 he was admitted to Greenwich Hospital as an in-pensioner, receiving the sum of £12 per annum. This equated to approximately 6d per day, and was the standard rate given to both soldiers and sailors discharged to pension during the Napoleonic Wars. It is worth noting that whilst awarding service with a pension was unusual, 6d per day was half the average daily pay of a British agricultural worker and therefore not a practicable living wage.
On entry it was noted that Phillips had lost his right leg whilst serving on the Ajax in the Dardenelles “when the ship was burnt”. He was 25 years of age, un-married, 5/2” tall and a “man of colour”. Prior to entering Greenwich Hospital he had been living in the Minories, (near the Tower of London).
The service records for Charles Phillips reveal that he served as a Landsman, then Ordinary Seaman, on HMS Ajax between 8th August 1804 and the 20th of October 1807. The service qualifying him for a bounty (in addition to his regular pay), of £1/10s.
A caricature (below) of Greenwich pensioners by John Thurston (held by the National Maritime Museum) and dating from the 1790s-early 1800s) depicts a Black veteran who had lost his right leg.
Charles Phillips remained as a Greenwich in-pensioner into the 1820s and 1830s. The records show that he was still resident in Greenwich Hospital between 1825-1833. He was ‘Discharged Dead’ on 14th April 1837 (ADM 73/45).
A Charles Phillips, aged 56 years, was buried 18th April 1837, in Greenwich, Kent, possibly this was our Black sailor, born in Africa and a veteran of Trafalgar.
Sources:
For Charles Phillips see: TNA ADM 73/21/131. ADM 73/38. ADM 73/42. ADM 73/45. ADM 73/55. ADM 73/66. findmypast.co.uk
For further details on the service of HMS Ajax see threedecks,org
A Caricature of Greenwich Pensioners, Late 1700s, early 1800s. Thurston, J. Copyright National Maritime Museum.