George Edmund Byron Bettesworth
| George Edmund Byron Bettesworth | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1785 |
| Died | 16 May 1808 (aged c23) Alvøen, Norway |
| Buried at | Howick, Northumberland |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Rank | Post-Captain |
| Unit |
HMS Phoebe HMS Centaur |
| Commands held |
HMS Curieux HMS Crocodile HMS Tartar |
| Wars | |
George Edmund Byron Bettesworth (1785 – 16 May 1808) was a British Naval Officer. During his service he participated in a notable single ship action,and had been wounded 24 times, which is probably a record.
At an early age he went to sea as midshipman under Captain Robert Barlow, who commanded the frigate HMS Phoebe. While with Phoebe Bettesworth participated in two notable single ship actions. On 21 December 1797 Phoebe captured the French 36-gun frigate Nérëide. Then on 19 February 1801, she captured the 38-gun Africaine, which was crowded with the 400 soldiers she was carrying to Egypt. In the battle, Phoebe had one man killed and 14 wounded. The French had some 200 men killed, and 143 wounded, many of them critically. The high casualty count was due to the soldiers remaining on deck as a point of honor, even though they could not contribute to the battle.
Bettesworth remained with Phoebe until January 1804 when was he was promoted to lieutenant on HMS Centaur. On 4 February 1804 he took part in a cutting out expedition that captured the 16-gun French privateer Curieux at Fort Royal harbour, Martinique. Bettesworth received a slight wound in this engagement. The Royal Navy took Curieux into service as the sloop-of-war HMS Curieux. After her first commander, Robert Carhew Reynolds, died of the wounds he had received during her capture, Bettesworth then became her commander.
While captain of the Curieux, Bettesworth one day took her jolly boat in shore, together with the purser, who played his violin. A local black came out of the undergrowth on shore and held up a pair of fowl, indicating that he sought to sell them. Bettesworth took the bait and had his men row to the shore. The moment the boat touched the beach, a squadron of cavalry burst from the undergrowth. Their gunfire wounded Bettesworth in the thigh, causing substantial loss of blood, and broke the coxswain's arm. At Bettesworth's urging, the crew of his boat got it off the beach and rowed back to Curieux. On the way back Bettesworth wanted to open a bottle of champagne, but the purser broke it in his nervousness.
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