SHOVEL, SIR CLOUDSLEY, a celebrated British naval officer, was born about the year 1650, of humble parents. Having been for some time apprenticed to a shoemaker, lie took a dislike to his profession, and went to sea as a cabin boy under the patronage of Sir John Narborough. By his talents and industry he be came an able seaman; he obtained promotion through the interest of Sir Christopher Myngs. Having dis tinguished himself under Sir John Narborough, in burning the ships of the Dey of Tripoli in 1672,—an enterprise with which lie was intrusted,—he was soon after appointed to the Sapphire, a fifth rate, and subse quently to the James galley, a fourth rate, in which he continued till the death of Charles II.
At the time of the revolution, Captain Shovel com manded the Dover, a fourth rate. At the battle of Bantry bay, where he commanded the Edgar, he distinguished himself so much, that King William conferred upon him the honour of knighthood. In 1690, he was employed to convey the king and his army to Ireland, and he was on that occasion ap pointed rear-admiral of the blue, and his commission delivered to him by the king himself. In 1691, he accompanied the king to Holland; and in 1692, he was made rear-admiral of the red, and a second time at tended his sovereign to Holland. Upon his return he joined rear-admiral Russel with the grand fleet, and shared in the glory of the battle of La Hogue. In the expedition to Camaret bay under Lord Berke ley in 1694, he embarked the forces with great skill in that unlucky expedition. In the same year he bombarded Dieppe, Dunkirk, and other places on the French coast. In 1702, he went to Riga to bring home the spoils of the French and Spanish fleet.
In 1703 he had the command of the grand fleet in the Mediterranean, and exerted himself in aiding the Protestants who were in arms in the Cevennes. Ow
ing to the great share which he had in the victory of the 13th April, 1708, he was in January 1709 appoint ed rear-admiral of the fleet of England, and in the same year he commanded, along,with the earls of Pe terborough and Alonmouth, the fleet which was sent to the Mediterranean. After aiding in the reduction of Barcelona, he made an unsuccessful attempt upon Toulon, and sailed for Gibraltar, where he left a suffi cient force for the defence of the coast of Italy. From Gibraltar he set sail for England with ten ships of the line, five frigates, four fire ships, a sloop, and a yacht. On the 22d October, 1707, lie came to soundings, and next morning he had ninety fathoms water. About noon be lay by, but about six r. believing he saw the light on St. Agnes, one of the Scilly Islands, he set sail again. Soon afterwards several of his ships made signals of distress. The Royal Anne, with Sir George Byng, with difficulty saved herself. Several others encountered the most imminent perils, but the admiral's ship and some others perished with all on board. The body of Sir Cloudsley Shovel was cast ashore next clay on the island of Scilly. The fisher men stripped and buried it, and took an enamelled ring from his finger, which proved the means of discovering the body of the gallant admiral. It was accordingly disinterred, and deposited with great so lemnity in Westminster Abbey, where a magnificent monument of white marble was erected to his memory, by order of Queen Anne. The fate of this distin guished man, however, who was cut off in the fifty seventh year of his age, was lamented by the whole nation. See Campbell's Lives of the .1dmirals.