Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, appointed aide-de-camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. He distinguished himself in Canada during the Fenian raids, and was thanked in Parliament for suppressing riots in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

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. 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 Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

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 (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Promoted to lieutenant in July 1846 and to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in June 1853, he was given command of the paddle sloop that same month and of from November 1855. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in September 1857, he commanded from May 1859, from May 1864, from November 1865 and 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 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 Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

'' 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 , and then . In this capacity he engaged with the during the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian civil war. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron with his flag in 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. 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 the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

to write the short story '' The Great Revolution in Pitcairn'' (1879). He was appointed KCB on 9 November 1903 and lived at Melcombe House in

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, 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 b ...

. He frequently contributed letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

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

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

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 while his other daughter married Major William Croughton of the 3rd Dragoon Guards.

Legacy

De Horsey Island 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 na ...

on the

North Coast of British Columbia The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada along the Pacific Ocean is in the pr ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, was named for de Horsey, as was De Horsey Passage, which separates it from Smith Island 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