Captain John Bull 1771–1851

The life of a packet captain was full of danger, but could lead to rich rewards

John Bull, known colloquially as the ‘Commodore’, encapsulates the wealthy, gallant packet captain. He was the son of another experienced packet master James Bull who captained his own ship the

Grantham, which he passed down to John. This lineage secured his ascent, and like his father John Bull was involved in countless skirmishes, further bolstering his notoriety. In one such fracas, he survived despite being “almost wholly incapacitated by a rifle bullet which had pierced both cheeks”, before being thrown – in his own words – into “the most horrible dungeon that can be conceived”.

Bull was famously engaged in action with a Royal Navy ship, the Primrose, in the Bay of Biscay on 12 March 1814. At sea, it was inherently difficult to determine whether a ship on the horizon was friend or foe, and so British ships used a private signal to identify themselves. In the confusion, Bull’s signal wasn’t heeded and the Primrose attacked. At least three lives were lost in the fray.

Typical of packet captains, Bull was impressively wealthy, and capitalised upon his position while captaining his own ship: the Duke of Marlborough. His grand mansion Marlborough House still stands on Falmouth’s Silverdale Road; a crest carved in stone relief of a packet ship hints at the original owner.

Struck By A Musket Ball

Captain James Cunninghame gave this account of his ship’s capture during the American War of Independence: “I was struck by a musket ball in the upper part of