Royal Navy. Commission assigning Lieutenant Thomas Sparke Thompson to HMS Spartiate. 23rd December 1825. Oblog vellum folio partially printed document with manuscript insertions.
Signed by Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, in his capacity as Junior Naval Lord and two others. With papered Admiralty seal and revenue stamps to the left side margin.

HMS Spartiate was famously present at the Battle of Trafalgar. During the 1820s and 30s, the ship was assigned to the Royal Navy's South American Station. In 1824 she suffered damages in fulfilling these duties and the Navy sent shipwrights from England for repairs. Thomas Sparke Thompson began his naval career on September 25, 1810, as a Volunteer Second-Class on board the Galatea (36), under the command of Captain Woodley Losack. On May 20, 1811, he was present during a frigate action off Madagascar. Following his participation in the blockade of Cherbourg, he joined the Akbar (50) as a Midshipman in 1813, serving under Captains Sir Archibald Collingwood Dickson and Charles Sullen. He was stationed in the Brazilian, North American, and Home waters for approximately four years. He later served in the East Indies, North American coast, Channel, West Indies, and African coast as a Midshipman and Master's Mate on the Phaeton (46), under Captains William Henry Dillon, William Augustus Montagu, and Henry Evelyn Bitfield Sturt, as well as the Maidstone (42), commanded by Commodore Charles Bullen. During his time on the African coast, he engaged in extensive boat service on various rivers. Tragically, on one occasion, he witnessed the drowning of an officer (an Assistant Surgeon) and ten men in the treacherous waters at the entrance of the Bonny River. Contracting fever in the Bight of Benin, he was eventually sent home due to his deteriorating health. Before joining the Galatea, he held the position of Junior Lieutenant on the Spartiate (76), under Captain Frederick Warren, stationed in Portsmouth. While serving on the Royal Charlotte, where he served as First Lieutenant for a period of time, he also commanded the vessel's tenders, the Tiger and Quail. During his time on the Comus, Captain Thompson was responsible for the blockade of ports such as Maldonado and the Buenos Ayrean squadron. In October 1845, he was appointed Acting Captain of the Curaçoa 24, and he conducted the blockade of Buenos Aires. Upon returning to the Comus, he served as the Senior Officer in the Parana and Uruguay rivers, collaborating with the French squadron in various capacities. Notably, he orchestrated the evacuation of distressed English and European individuals from Mercedes in the Rio Negro. He was placed on the Retired List as Rear-Admiral in 1864 and Vice-Admiral in 1871.