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Captain William Gordon Rutherfurd RN, CB (1765 – 14 January 1818) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars whose career was almost entirely conducted in the West Indies except for a brief stay in European waters during which he commanded the ship of the line at the battle of Trafalgar. ==Early life== Rutherfurd was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, to loyalist parents in 1764. His father was John Rutherfurd of Bowland Stow and his mother, Frances, was the widow of Gabriel Johnson the late governor. The family returned to Scotland and the young William was educated at University of St Andrew. The Rutherfurds moved to the Caribbean during the Revolution and in 1788 William was sent to sea aboard . Rutherfurd was a capable sailor and possessed a large amount of patronage. He joined the 98 gun, second rate, ''HMS Boyne'', the flagship of Sir John Jervis in the West Indies, shortly after the outbreak of the French revolutionary wars and in 1793 he was promoted to acting lieutenant with his position being confirmed on 9 January 1794.〔 Rutherfurd was in the thick of the action during the 1794 West Indies campaign, serving with distinction as a junior officer in command of a landing party; storming forts on Martinique and taking part in operations in St Lucia and Guadeloupe.〔 He received several accolades for his actions including, on 4 July, promotion to commander of the 16 gun sloop, ''Nautilus''. Remaining in the Caribbean, Rutherfurd then made the next leap to Post captain on 15 November 1796. In this capacity he successively commanded: The frigate ''HMS Adventure'', the third rate ''HMS Dictator'', the third rate ''HMS Brunswick'' and the 5th rate ''HMS Decade''.〔 Rutherford was instrumental in several minor skirmishes with enemy shipping amongst the islands, including the capture of Curacoa in 1800 for which he was again lauded. He returned to home waters in ''HMS Decade'' in 1804 and joined the Channel Fleet in the blockade of Cherbourg.〔 The following year he was granted the 74 gun new ship ''Swiftsure'' participating in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast and in the summer of 1805 he was dispatched to join Admiral Nelson's fleet off Cadiz and so was present at the battle on 21 October.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Gordon Rutherfurd」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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