Admiral Sir Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey (25 July 1827 – 22 October 1922) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer, appointed aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria. He distinguished himself in Canada during the Fenian raids, and was thanked in Parliament for suppressing riots in Jamaica.

Early life

De Horsey was the son of Spencer de Horsey, of Great Glemham Suffolk, and Lady Louise, a daughter of the first

Earl of Stradbroke Earl of Stradbroke, in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for John Rous, 1st Baron Rous, who had earlier represented Suffolk in the House of Commons. He had already succeeded his fa ...

. His only sister was the Countess of Cardigan, whose reminiscences caused a scandal when they were published.

Naval career

De Horsey joined the

in 1840William Loney RN
/ref> and served on the coast of Syria later that year. He received the Naval General Service Medal and bar for his service in Syria as well as a medal for his service in Acre given by the Sultan of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Promoted to Lieutenant in July 1846 and to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

in June 1853, he was given command of the paddle

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

HMS'' Devastation'' that same month and of HMS ''Victor'' from November 1855. Promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in September 1857, he commanded HMS ''Brisk'' from May 1859, HMS ''Wolverine'' from May 1864, HMS ''Aurora'' from November 1865 and HMS ''Hector'' from May 1868. He was Senior Officer on the Lakes of Canada during the Fenian raids; for this he was awarded the Canadian Medal. In 1871 he was made ADC to Queen Victoria.Obituary: Algernon De Horsey, The Times, October 1922 In July 1872, having been promoted to Commodore, he became Senior Naval Officer in Jamaica with his pennant in HMS ''Aboukir'' and responsible for superintending Jamaica Dockyard. He captured the Spanish

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...

'' Manuela'', and suppressed riots in Jamaica for which he was thanked in Parliament. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in 1876, with his flag in HMS ''Repulse'', HMS ''Shah'' and then HMS ''Triumph''. In this capacity he

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be '' ...

with the

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Q ...

during the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian civil war. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron with his flag in HMS ''Northumberland'' in December 1884. He was promoted to full Admiral in April 1885 and placed on retired list in July 1892. On 8 September 1878, Admiral de Horsey in the ''Shah'' visited

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

. His Admiralty report includes the remark, "One stranger, an American, has settled on the island – a doubtful acquisition." This line inspired

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

to write the short story ''

The Great Revolution in Pitcairn Butterworth Stavely is a fictional character in Mark Twain's 1879 story "The Great Revolution in Pitcairn". He is an American adventurer and filibuster who instigates a ''coup d'état'' on the Pitcairn Islands and has himself crowned "Emperor B ...

'' (1879). He was appointed KCB on 9 November 1903 and lived at Melcombe House in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes ...

. He frequently contributed letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' and wrote ''An African Pilot'' and ''The Rule of the Road at Sea''. He was chairman of

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

magistrates for many years and Deputy Lieutenant. On 7 November 1913, he was appointed a deputy governor of the Isle of Wight. He died on 22 October 1922 and was described by ''The Times'' as "Doyen of the Navy". He is buried, together with his wife Caroline, at Carisbrooke (Mountjoy) Cemetery within sight of Carisbrooke Castle.

Family

He married Caroline, daughter of Admiral Andrew Drew, in 1861 and was the father of Louisa Mary Adeline de Horsey Phillips and grandfather of Admiral Tom Phillips. His son was Vice Admiral

Victor Yorke de Horsey The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French sho ...

while his other daughter married Major William Croughton of the

3rd Dragoon Guards The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) ...

Legacy

De Horsey Island De Horsey Island is an island at the mouth of the Skeena River in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, immediately south of the southern tip of the Tsimpsean Peninsula and immediately east of Smith Island. Separating it from tha ...

at the mouth of the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

on the North Coast of British Columbia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, was named for de Horsey, as was

De Horsey Passage De Horsey Passage is a short strait in the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, separating De Horsey Island to the east from Smith Island to the west. The passage, like the island, was named for Rear Admiral Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey, ...

, which separates it from

Smith Island Smith Island or Smith's Island may refer to the following places: Antarctica * Smith Islands, Wilkes Land * Smith Island (South Shetland Islands) Australia * Smith Islands National Park, Queensland *Smith Island (South Australia) Bermuda * Smith ...

to its west.BC Names/GeoBC entry "De Horsey Island"
/ref>

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsey, Algernon 1827 births 1922 deaths Royal Navy admirals History of British Columbia Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People of the Fenian raids Royal Navy personnel of the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841) Deputy Lieutenants of the Isle of Wight