author

Cooper Willyams

1762–1816

Best known for vivid first-hand accounts of Britain’s naval campaigns, this 18th-century clergyman brought battles and voyages to life with both words and drawings. His books blend eyewitness reporting, travel writing, and an artist’s eye for place.

1 Audiobook

An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794

An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794

by Cooper Willyams

About the author

Cooper Willyams was a British clergyman and artist born in June 1762, probably in Essex. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating in 1784 and later taking his M.A., and he also held church posts including the vicarage of Exning and the rectory of West Lynn.

Alongside his religious career, he developed a strong reputation as a topographical writer and illustrator. In 1793 he sailed as chaplain on HMS Boyne during the West Indies campaign, where he experienced the hardships of the expedition firsthand, including the effects of yellow fever. He later published An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies in 1794, combining narrative with his own illustrations.

Willyams is especially remembered for serving in 1798 as chaplain aboard HMS Swiftsure in Nelson’s squadron at the Battle of the Nile. His A Voyage up the Mediterranean in His Majesty’s Ship the Swiftsure offered one of the earliest detailed accounts of that famous victory, again enriched by his own artwork. He died in London on July 17, 1816.