William Gordon Rutherfurd
Captain William Gordon Rutherfurd (also Rutherford) was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the wars against France. He was born in 1764 in Wilmington, North Carolina, to loyalist parents. The family moved to Scotland, and he studied at the University of St Andrews. During the American Revolution the family went to the Caribbean, and in 1788 he began seafaring on HMS Suffolk.
He served in the West Indies aboard HMS Boyne, the flagship of Sir John Jervis, and was promoted to acting lieutenant in 1793 (confirmed in 1794). He helped storm forts in Martinique and took part in actions in St Lucia and Guadeloupe. On 4 July 1794 he became commander of the 16-gun sloop Nautilus.
Rutherfurd rose to post captain on 15 November 1796 and commanded several ships: the Adventure, the Dictator, the Brunswick and the Decade. He helped capture Curaçao in 1800 and later returned to home waters with the Decade in 1804, joining the blockade of Cherbourg.
In 1805 he commanded the 74-gun Swiftsure and joined Nelson’s fleet off Cadiz. At the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, Swiftsure arrived late but fought hard, engaging enemy ships and rescuing survivors from the burning Achille after it exploded.
Rutherfurd returned to Gibraltar and then Britain. He was rewarded for his service but did not reach admiral rank. In 1814 he was put in charge of Greenwich Hospital, and in 1815 he was made a Companion of the Bath. He died on 14 January 1818 and was buried at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster.
The Royal Navy later named the frigate HMS Rutherford after him, which served in World War II. His name is sometimes spelled Rutherford instead of Rutherfurd.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:41 (CET).