The published Naval General Service Medal rolls confirm William Cutler as a Private in the Royal Marines aboard the Victorious for the action against the Rivoli on 22.2.1812, one of just 67 recipients of this clasp recorded on the Admiralty roll.

For one of the finest actions commemorated by the Naval General Service Medal, namely the capture of the French 74-gun Rivoli, and the destruction of the corvette Mercure, in the Gulf of Trieste, off Venice on 22.2.1812, following 'a desperate engagement lasting more than four hours'.