Sir Isaac Coffin (Baronet )

Notes on Officer

Admiral of the White; M.P. for Ilchester; and a Member of the Bath and West of England Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

The Coffin family has been allied, by intermarriages, with the honorable houses of Chudleigh, Gary, Prideaux, Cockminton, Hathey, Hingeston, &c. So far back as the reign of King Henry II. we find Sir Richard Coffin, of Portledge, in the parish of Alwington, in the northern part of the county of Devon, Knight, which ancient seat and manor had been in the possession of his ancestors from the Norman conquest. The family very early spread itself into several branches, which flourished so well in divers places of Devonshire, that they left their name and adjunct to many of them, as Combe Coffin, now Combe Pyne, in the east part; Coffin’s Will, in the south part; and Coffin’s Ingarly, in the west part thereof; in which latter place the mansion house was near the church, and had attached to it an extensive deer park, now wholly demolished.

The direct ancestor of the subject of this memoir was Tristram Coffin, of Brixton, near Kitley, co. Devon, Esq., who emigrated to North America in 1642, (taking with him the widow of his brother, who had been killed in battle) and settled in the township of Salisbury, near Newbury Port. In 1776, the loyalty by which the Coffins in America distinguished themselves, having rendered them obnoxious to the republicans, they were compelled to return to the mother country.

Our officer is the fourth and youngest son of Nathaniel Coffin, Esq., Cashier of the Customs in the port of Boston, by Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Barnes, Esq. merchant of the same place, and was born May 16, 1759. He entered the naval service hi May 1773, under the auspices of Rear-Admiral John Montagu, who confided him to the care of the late Lieutenant William Hunter, of Greenwich Hospital, at that period commanding the Gaspée brig, on the American station.

“Of all the young men” says Lieutenant Hunter, “I ever had the care of, none answered my expectations equal to Isaac Coffin. He pleased me so much, that I took all the pains in my power to make him a good seaman; and I succeeded to the height of my wishes; for never did I know a young man acquire so much nautical knowledge in so short a time. But when he became of use to me, the Admiral thought proper to move him. We parted with considerable regret.”

Mr. Coffin, after quitting the Gaspée, served as Midshipman successively on board the Captain, Kingfisher, Fowey, and Diligent, on the Halifax station; from the latter vessel he was removed into the Romney, of 50 guns, bearing the flag of his patron at Newfoundland; and in the summer of 1778, he obtained a Lieutenancy, and the command of the Placentia cutter. In the ensuing spring he served as a volunteer on board the Sybil frigate, Captain Pasley; and was soon after appointed to the command of le Pinson armed ship. In this vessel, owing to the negligence of the Master who had charge of her, he had the misfortune to be wrecked on the coast of Labrador; upon which he returned to St. John’s, where he was tried by a Court-Martial, and fully acquitted, his conduct being considered that of an able officer and seaman, wholly free from blame.

Lieutenant Coffin now came to England, and in November 1779, was appointed to the Adamant, about to be launched at Liverpool. In June 1780, that ship sailed for Plymouth under jury masts; and in the month of August following, she was ordered to escort the trade bound to New York. His next appointment was to the London, of 98 guns, the flagship of Rear-Admiral Graves, then second in command on the coast of America; and from her he removed into the Royal Oak, a third rate, under Vice-Admiral Arbuthnot, Commander-in-Chief, to whom he acted as signal Lieutenant in the action off Cape Henry, March 16. 1781.

The Royal Oak, on her return to New York, ran aground, and received so much damage that she was obliged to go to Halifax to be hove down. In July following, Lieutenant Coffin received the official notification of his promotion to the rank of Commander; and on his arrival at New York joined the Avenger sloop, in which vessel he proceeded up the North River, where he remained some months at the British advanced post; and, in January 1782, exchanged with the present Sir Alexander Cochrane, into the Pachahunter sloop.

From New York, Captain Coffin proceeded to Barbadoes, where he found Sir Samuel Hood about to depart for St. Kitt’s in quest of the French fleet. Hereupon he solicited and obtained permission to serve as a volunteer, and was consequently received on board the Barfleur, of 98 guns, bearing the flag of that excellent officer, who shortly after sailed with the spirited intention of attacking the enemy at anchor. This event afforded Captain Coffin an opportunity of participating in some splendid service, the details of which will be found under the head of Retired Captain John N. Inglefield.

Shortly after the memorable battle of April 12, 1782, Captain Coffin, who, subsequent to the extraordinary and glorious achievement at St. Kitt’s, had rejoined his sloop, went with part of the crew of the Santa Ammonica, which had been wrecked at Tortola, to Jamaica; where, through the influence of Sir Samuel Hood, he was appointed Captain of the Shrewsbury, of 74 guns, and confirmed in that rank June 13, 1782.

Previous to this event, while at Antigua, the town of St. John’s caught fire, and in a short space was nearly consumed; but Captain Coffin, with the crew of the Pachahunter and other sailors, collected by his exertions, at length succeeded in arresting the progress of the flames, at the imminent risk of his life. For this service he had the satisfaction of receiving an address of thanks from the legislative body of the island.

In the month of December following, our officer exchanged with Captain Hotchkiss of the Hydra, a 20-gun ship, in which he returned to England, and on his arrival was put out of commission. The next command which he enjoyed was in 1786, when, after spending some time in France, he was appointed to the Thisbe frigate, and directed to take Lord Dorchester and his family to Quebec, where he arrived on the 23d October, and after a stay of two days proceeded to Halifax to winter. In the ensuing spring he returned to Canada, and remained there about a twelve-month. In the course of the year 1788, Captain Coffin, being irritated at some unmerited treatment by the Admiralty, went over to Flanders, and entered into the service of the Brabant patriots. The conduct, however, of Lord Howe, who then presided at the Board, and his colleagues, having been declared illegal by the twelve judges, decided Captain Coffin’s return into the service of his King and Country; and at the Spanish armament in 1790, he was appointed to the Alligator, of 28 guns.

At this latter period, while lying at the Nore, the wind blowing strong, a man fell overboard; Captain Coffin, impelled by a generous and disinterested spirit of humanity, leaped in after him, and was so fortunate as to rescue a fellow being from the merciless deep. His exertions on this occasion, unfortunately produced a severe rupture; the effects of which frequently recall to his recollection the noble act by which they were occasioned.

In the spring of 1791, our officer, having previously been to Cork, where he received the flag of Admiral Cosby, was once more ordered to America, from whence he returned with Lord Dorchester and his family, in the ensuing autumn. The Alligator was soon after paid off at Deptford.

At the commencement of the war with the French republic, Captain Coffin, who had in the interim visited Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, obtained the command of the Melampus frigate, in which he was employed on Channel service until the close of 1794; when one night, by exerting himself too violently, he became ruptured on both sides, which obliged him to quit his ship, and for four months he remained literally a cripple, being at the same time afflicted with a fistula.

On his recovery he went to Leith, being appointed to the regulating service at that port; and in October 1795, we find him proceeding to Corsica, where he served as Resident Commissioner until the evacuation of that island, Oct. 15, 1796. From thence he removed to Lisbon, where he continued during a period of two years, actively employed as the head of the naval establishment at that place.

Towards the latter end of the year 1798, when the island of Minorca fell into the possession of the British, Commissioner Coffin was appointed to the superintendance of the arsenal at Port Mahon; and after the lapse of a few months, returned to England on his way to Nova Scotia, whither he proceeded in the Venus frigate.

Our officer continued to perform the arduous duties of a Resident Commissioner of the Navy, first at Halifax, and subsequently at Sheerness, until April 1804, on the 23d of which month he was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and soon after hoisted his flag on board the Gladiator, being appointed to superintend the harbour duty at Portsmouth. On the 19th May in the same year, he was raised to the dignity of a Baronet of Great Britain, as a reward for his unremitting zeal and persevering efforts for the good of the public service.

Sir Isaac Coffin hauled down his flag on being promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral, April 28, 1808, since which date he has not been employed. He became a full Admiral June 4, 1814; and at the general election in 1818, was chosen representative in Parliament for the borough of Ilchester. He married, April 3, 1811, Elizabeth Browne, only child of William Greenly, of Titley-court, co. Hereford, Esq. Previous to his marriage he obtained the royal permission to take the name and arms of Greenly, in addition to his own, but which he relinquished in March 1813.

Sir Isaac is proprietor of the Magdalen Islands, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He has crossed the Atlantic, on service and pleasure, no less than thirty times.