IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0064 HAR/101-204
Held at: National Maritime Museum
Title: Fiott, Lieutenant William Edward (1786-1849)
Date(s): [1809-1848]
Level of description: sub-fonds
Extent: 4ft; 123cm
Name of creator(s): Fiott | William Edward | 1786-1849 | Lieutenant
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Fiott joined the Navy as a volunteer in 1798 and was present at the battle of Copenhagen, 1801. He took part in the Walcheren expedition of 1809 and in 1810 was made a lieutenant but court-martialled in the same year for using seditious language, dismissed his ship and put to the bottom of the Lieutenants' List. Soon afterwards, however, he was appointed to the MARLBOROUGH and served in the West Indies. After two years on half-pay he bought the QUEEN, a trading vessel, which was lost in 1818. From then until 1827 he owned the RETRENCH, sailing as master while still on half-pay until 1823. In this year the RETRENCH was attacked by Spanish pirates off Cuba. When he received a commission In 1823 to command HMS RENEGADE in the West Indies, he employed another half-pay naval captain on the Retrench, which was wrecked in 1824 but salvaged and, in 1827, sold In 1824 he was court-martialled again on various charges including that of mistreating his crew but was acquitted. From 1827 Fiott lived on the continent and remained there until his death.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Lt William Edward Fiott's life is fully covered by this collection, which is composed largely of loose papers These consist of official service documents, material on Walcheren, both his courts martial, papers covering the RENEGADE period and a log, 1823 to 1824. There are extensive papers and volumes for the period when he was merchant ship master and owner, including legal agreements, crew lists and account and freight books. Finally, there are private letters received, 1809 and 1848, and yearly diaries, 1837 to 1847.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Conditions governing access:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Finding aids:
Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
The papers are part of the collection from Hartwell, Buckinghamshire, sold by Mrs Benedict Eyre at Sotheby's in 1939.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Edited by Sarah Drewery, Jun 2011.
Date(s) of descriptions: 2010-08-26