55-657: Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth , GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence , the French Revolutionary Wars , and the Napoleonic Wars . His younger brother Israel Pellew also pursued a naval career. Pellew was born at Dover , the second son of Samuel Pellew (1712–1764), commander of a Dover packet , and his wife, Constantia Langford. The Pellew family
110-511: A broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of
165-503: A comprehensive collection of artefacts that belonged to him. On 28 May 1783, Pellew married Susan Frowde . They had four sons and two daughters. These children were: The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands situated in the Gulf of Carpentaria were named after Pellew by Matthew Flinders , who visited them in 1802. Other Australian geographical features include Cape Pellew (adjacent to the islands) and Exmouth Gulf . Point Pellew, Alaska
220-476: A minor naval engagement took place during the American War of Independence between a French privateer frigate and a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate HMS Apollo off the coast near Ostend . In mid June HMS Apollo under the command of Philemon Pownoll was cruising in company with the 32-gun HMS Cleopatra , under Captain the Hon. George Murray . On the 15th a cutter was sighted while cruising in
275-501: A period of tacking, the two engaged in broadsides while running for Ostend . After nearly an hour of intense cannonading Pownoll was hit by a cannonball and killed. Lieutenant Edward Pellew who succeeded to the command continued the battle eventually driving the Stanislaus on shore not far from Ostend. Apart from her captain, Apollo lost five men killed and had twenty wounded. A Royal Marine detachment sent ashore later captured
330-555: A property owned by his brother who was a senior customs officer of Flushing. This met with indifferent success, during which time he attempted to sell a bull, only to find that it was in the ownership of a neighbouring farmer. The Russians offered him a command in the Russian navy but Pellew declined the offer. He was still struggling with the difficulties of his farm when the revolutionary government of France declared war on Great Britain on 1 February 1793. Pellew immediately applied for
385-462: A ship and was appointed to the Nymphe , a 36-gun frigate which he fitted out in a remarkably short time. He had expected a good deal of difficulty in manning her and had enlisted some 80 Cornish miners who were sent round to the ship at Spithead . He put to sea with these and about a dozen seamen, plus officers who were obliged to help in the work aloft. He filled his complement of crew by pressing from
440-460: A short but very sharp action, Cléopâtre ' s mizzenmast and wheel were shot away, making the ship unmanageable, and it fell foul of the Nymphe . Pellew's crew boarded her in a fierce rush and captured her. Mullon was mortally wounded, and died trying to swallow his commission, which in his dying agony he had mistaken for the code of secret signals. The code thus fell intact into Pellew's hands, and
495-517: Is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of
550-599: Is conducted, that is used as sleeping quarters for new recruits. Additionally, a Sea Cadet Unit in Truro is called T.S. Pellew . A building at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter, Devon is used as a temporary billet and a training facility for the Army Cadet force as well as other units. It was handed over to the army from the navy. However, it retains the name Pellew House in memory of Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth. Pellew
605-477: Is featured as the Captain of Indefatigable in some of C. S. Forester 's fictional Horatio Hornblower novels. In the television adaptations , he is portrayed by Robert Lindsay and given a more prominent role. He appears as a midshipman in the novel Jack Absolute by Chris Humphreys . Pellew is the name of a minor character in several of Patrick O'Brian 's Aubrey–Maturin novels, including The Reverse of
SECTION 10
#1732791115481660-614: The Artois , in which he captured a large frigate-built privateer on 1 July. From 1786 to 1789, he commanded the frigate Winchelsea under the Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland , returning home each winter by Cádiz and Lisbon . Afterwards, he commanded the Salisbury on the same station as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Milbanke . In 1791, he was placed on half-pay and tried his hand at farming on Treverry Farm near Helston,
715-576: The Barbary states . Victory at the Bombardment of Algiers secured the release of the 1,200 Christian slaves in the city. For this action, he was created 1st Viscount Exmouth on 10 December 1816. Following his return to England, he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1817 to 1821, when he effectively retired from active service. He continued to attend and speak in the House of Lords . In 1832, he
770-480: The North Sea and Murray was sent to investigate it. After closing to within gunshot of the cutter by 10.30am, a large sail was observed standing off the land. Whilst Cleopatra was taking the cutter, Apollo went to investigate the large sail. The two ships closed, tacking about to gain the weather gauge , and eventually opened fire. Apollo ' s opponent was the 26-gun French privateer Stanislaus , and after
825-663: The Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish a permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of
880-557: The 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by
935-705: The English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended the concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred the Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission
990-415: The Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received the promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted,
1045-802: The Lisbon Opera orchestra. Pellew was promoted to rear admiral in 1804. He was then appointed Commander-in-Chief, East Indies . It took six months to sail out to Penang , so he took up the appointment in 1805. When in February 1808 Pellew was at sea in his flagship, HMS Culloden , he heard of the outbreak of war between the United Kingdom and Denmark. He immediately sailed to the Danish settlement at Tranquebar , taking it by surprise. When Admiral Drury arrived to replace Pellew as C-in-C, East Indies, and to seize Tranquebar, he found that he
1100-808: The Medal and The Surgeon's Mate . He has a small role as a captain in the American Revolution in Rabble in Arms , a historical novel by Kenneth Roberts . He appears in Alexander Kent 's Adam Bolitho novel Relentless Pursuit , which partially relates to Pellew's expedition against the Barbary States. He also appears in the twenty-second Thomas Kydd novel, To The Eastern Seas by Julian Stockwin. Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
1155-1001: The Most Honourable and Most Ancient Order of the Annunziata of the Royal House of Savoy , High Steward of Great Yarmouth, and one of the Elder Brethren of the Hon. Corporation of the Trinity House . He bought Bitton House in Teignmouth in 1812 and it was his home until his death in 1833. He was buried in Christow on the eastern edge of Dartmoor on 30 Jan 1833. A note on the parish burial record states, "No Singing, No Sermon". The museum in Teignmouth has
SECTION 20
#17327911154811210-565: The North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine , the forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it
1265-553: The Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons Action of 15 June 1780 The action of 15 June 1780 was
1320-573: The age of 14, but soon deserted because of unfair treatment to another midshipman. Pellew described himself as "pock-marked, ugly, uninteresting and uneducated"; a naval historian adds that he was "tough, brave, skilful, lucky, and unscrupulous". In 1770, Pellew entered the Royal Navy on board HMS Juno with Captain John Stott , and made a voyage to the Falkland Islands . In 1772, he followed Stott to HMS Alarm and in her
1375-515: The close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of
1430-469: The concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on the understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In
1485-570: The corvettes Alerte and Espion , both of which had been Royal Navy sloops. Pellew refused to burn either ship, as they contained wounded men, and the French later refloated Espion . The squadron also captured many vessels from French coastal convoys. By 1794, he was commodore of the Western Squadron . In 1795, he took command of HMS Indefatigable , the ship with which he is most closely associated. The squadron also comprised
1540-499: The death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of
1595-596: The end of the year, he was appointed to the Licorne which went out to Newfoundland in the spring of 1779, returning in the winter, when Pellew was moved into the Apollo with his old captain Pownoll. On 15 June 1780, the Apollo engaged a large French privateer, the Stanislaus , off Ostend . Pownoll was killed by a musket-shot, but Pellew continued the action and dismasted the Stanislaus , driving her on shore where she
1650-627: The fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John ,
1705-519: The fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth - Misplaced Pages Continue
1760-596: The fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as
1815-417: The fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by
1870-505: The frigates HMS Argo , HMS Concord , HMS Révolutionnaire , and HMS Amazon . He was a good swimmer and noted for saving the lives of several seamen who had fallen overboard. The most striking life-saving event was on 26 January 1796 when the East Indiaman Dutton was carrying more than four hundred troops, together with many women and children, when it ran aground under Plymouth Hoe . Due to
1925-495: The heavy seas, the crew and soldiers aboard were unable to get to shore. Pellew swam out to the wreck with a line and, with help from young Irishman Jeremiah Coghlan , helped rig a lifeline that saved almost all aboard. For this feat he was created a baronet on 18 March 1796. On 13 April 1796, off the coasts of Ireland, his squadron captured the French frigate Unité , and the Virginie nine days later. His most noted action
1980-574: The merchant ships in the Channel, but with very few seasoned navy men. On 18 June, Nymphe sailed from Falmouth on the news that two French frigates had been seen in the Channel. At the action of 18 June 1793 , Nymphe fell in with the Cléopâtre , also of 36 guns and commanded by Captain Jean Mullon, one of the few officers of the ancien régime who still remained in the French navy. After
2035-411: The official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to the post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of
2090-471: The shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by the case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of
2145-469: The spring of 1776. In October, Pellew and midshipman Brown were detached for service in the Carleton tender on Lake Champlain , under Lieutenant Dacres . During the Battle of Valcour Island on 11 October, Dacres and Brown were both severely wounded, and the command devolved on Pellew. Pellew extricated the vessel from a position of great danger by his personal gallantry. As a reward for his service, he
2200-585: The squadron engaged a French squadron to the southwest of Guernsey, the stronger British force quickly overpowering their opponents in an action where Arethusa played the primary role in fighting the Pomone , at the time the largest frigate in service. Pomone surrendered after an engagement that lasted less than half an hour. The French had suffered between 80 and 100 casualties; Arethusa had only three dead and five wounded. Warren's squadron went on to destroy one frigate and capture another. They also drove ashore
2255-564: The stormy conditions, the frigates avoided bearing the brunt of the superior firepower of the French. In the early morning of 14 January, the three ships were embayed on a lee shore in Audierne Bay. Both the Droits de l'Homme and Amazon ran aground, but Indefatigable managed to claw her way off the lee shore to safety. Pellew was also responsible for pressing young violinist and composer Joseph Antonio Emidy who had been playing in
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth - Misplaced Pages Continue
2310-428: Was Cornish , descended from a family that came originally from Normandy , but had for many centuries been settled in the west of Cornwall . Edward's grandfather, Humphrey Pellew (1650–1721), a merchant and ship owner, son of a naval officer, resided at Flushing manor-house in the parish of Mylor. Part of the town of Flushing was built by Samuel Trefusis, MP for Penryn ; the other part was built by Humphrey Pellew, who
2365-919: Was appointed Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and Admiral of the Red Squadron of His Majesty's Fleet, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, also of the Royal and distinguished Order of Charles III of Spain, of the Military Order of William of the Netherlands, of the Royal Sicilian Order of St. Ferdinand and Merit , of the Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus of Sardinia, Knight of
2420-468: Was appointed to the Pelican , a small French prize, so small indeed that he used to say "his servant could dress his hair from the deck while he sat in the cabin." On 28 April while cruising on the coast of Brittany , he engaged three privateers and drove them on shore. In special reward for this service, he was promoted to post rank on 25 May and, ten days later, was appointed to the temporary command of
2475-536: Was buried there. He also had a property and a tobacco plantation in Maryland . Part of the town of Annapolis stands on what was, before the American Revolution, the estate of the Pellews. On the death of Edward's father in 1764 the family removed to Penzance , and Pellew was educated for some years at Truro Grammar School . He was a pugnacious youth, which did not endear him to his headmaster. He ran away to sea at
2530-512: Was forwarded to the Admiralty . Cléopâtre was the first frigate taken in the war and was brought to Portsmouth . The Earl of Chatham presented Pellew to the king on 29 June, and the king knighted him. Pellew transferred to HMS Arethusa in December 1793. In 1794, Arethusa was part of the western squadron of frigates based at Falmouth under Sir John Borlase Warren . On 23 April,
2585-615: Was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held the formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from
2640-428: Was immediately appointed to command the Carleton . In December, Lord Howe promised him a commission as lieutenant when he could reach New York, and in the following January Lord Sandwich wrote promising to promote him when he came to England. In the summer of 1777, Pellew and a small party of seamen were attached to the army under Burgoyne, and he was present in the fighting at Saratoga , where his youngest brother John
2695-404: Was in the Mediterranean for three years. In consequence of a high-spirited quarrel with his captain, he was put on shore at Marseilles where he found an old friend of his father's in command of a merchant ship. He was able to get a passage to Lisbon and so home. He was later in HMS Blonde , under the command of Captain Philemon Pownoll , which took General John Burgoyne to America in
2750-437: Was killed. He and the rest of the force were taken prisoner. After the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, he was repatriated. He returned to England and was promoted on 9 January 1778 to be lieutenant of the Princess Amelia guardship at Portsmouth . He wanted to be appointed to a seagoing ship, but Lord Sandwich considered that he was bound by the terms of the surrender at Saratoga not to undertake any active service. Towards
2805-470: Was named after Pellew by Captain George Vancouver during his expedition in 1794. Palau (formerly the Pellew or Pelew Islands), east of the Philippines , is often said to be named for Edward Pellew, but it was called that by Captain Henry Wilson in 1783 which was well before Pellew came to prominence. It appears to be an anglicization of the indigenous name Belau. There is also a building named after him in HMS Raleigh , where Naval basic training
SECTION 50
#17327911154812860-424: Was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and
2915-416: Was protected by the neutrality of the coast. On the 18th, Lord Sandwich wrote to him: "I will not delay informing you that I mean to give you immediate promotion as a reward for your gallant and officer-like conduct." On 1 July, he was accordingly promoted to the command of the sloop Hazard , which was employed for the next six months on the east coast of Scotland and was then paid off. In March 1782 Pellew
2970-436: Was the action of 13 January 1797 , cruising in company with HMS Amazon , when the British sighted the French 74-gun ship of the line Droits de l'Homme . Normally, a ship of the line would over-match two frigates , but the Indefatigable was a razée (built as a 3rd rate 64-gun ship of the line and then cut down), the stormy conditions limited the use of the lower gun deck on the French ship and by skillful sailing in
3025-412: Was too late. Pellew's seizing the moment gained him some £40,000–50,000 in prize money . Following his return from the east in 1809, he was appointed to the position of Commander-in-Chief, North Sea from 1810 to 1811 and Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean , from 1811 to 1814, and again from 1815 to 1816. In 1814, he was made Baron Exmouth of Canonteign. In 1816, he led an Anglo- Dutch fleet against
#480519