Connolly, Commander Mathew
Commander Mathew Connolly was a member of the Royal Navy who helped to capture and hang Tathlasut for his attempted murder of Thomas Williams in the summer of 1856.1 Connolly led 400 of Her Majesty’s seamen and marines into the Cowichan valley in the search for the culprit.2 Governor James Douglas was so impressed with Connolly’s extraordinary merit that, in his report of the expedition, he recommended Connolly receive a promotion.3 Henry Labouchere responded to Douglas stating that copies of his recommendation had been forwarded to the Board of Admiralty.4 Just over a year later, Connolly was promoted to Captain on 5 February 1858.5 He remained in the Royal Navy as a captain until 21 December 1871 when he retired.6
Mentions of this person in the documents
People in this document

Douglas, Sir James

Labouchere, Henry

Tathlasut

Williams, Thomas

Places in this document

Cowichan Region

The Colonial Despatches Team. Connolly, Commander Mathew. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/connolly.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)